A businessman is recovering in hospital in Malawi after a dramatic escape from the jaws of a crocodile. Mac Bosco Chawinga, 43, was swimming in a lake in the northern district of Nkhata Bay to cool off after a day's work when he was attacked by a crocodile, police officer Bob Mtekama, told BBC News Online. "Both his arms were inside the full-size crocodile's jaws, and the beast was dragging him into deeper waters when he decided to fight back," Mr Mtekama said. With his arms between the jaws of the beast and his legs pedalling helplessly under the huge reptile, Mr Chawinga decided his only weapon was his teeth. He lunged at the crocodile and aimed at its nose, one of the few soft parts of the crocodile's body. The bite was so deep and hard, Mr Mtekama said, that the beast had to let go of its prey. With his arms and legs bleeding profusely, Mr Chawinga managed to swim ashore and lay on the hot sand. Fishermen found him in a pool of blood and took him to hospital. Next time some goober starts telling you what a tough guy he is, tell 'em about Mac.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/11/2002 08:37 am ||
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Mac the bite!
Posted by: Jack ||
12/11/2002 9:04 Comments ||
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Sometimes, a man's just gotta chew what a man's gotta chew.
(In all seriousness: get well soon, Mr. Chawinga.)
Posted by: Mike ||
12/11/2002 11:56 Comments ||
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Makes the Croc Hunter and Crocodile Dundee look like wimps.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/11/2002 12:35 Comments ||
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Croc bites man? Not news.
Man bites croc? Now that's news.
Source: Daily Islam, Translated By Jihad Unspun
The Karzai administration has started operations against Hizb e Islami with the help of their American counterparts. According to details, 22 Hizb e Islami members were arrested in the chain of events. Don't know if this is the same series of arrests we reported the other day...
A group consisting of secret members of Northern Alliance was sent from Kabiul to Kandahar to carry out operations during the time that an important Hizb e Islamiâs delegation under the leadership of Engineer Qutb ud Din Hilal was present in Kabul. Secret agents, was it? How insidious!
Some of the sources from Hizb e Islami â Hekmatyar have shown their objections to such operations and have talked about the hypocrisy of Karzai administration, which is holding one to one talks with them on one hand while arresting their members on the other. This is distinct from the hypocrisy of meeting with the gummint in Kabul and simultaneously conspiring against it in Kandahar.
Karzai Administration also removed Hizb e Islamiâs five important provincial members from their duties recently.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/11/2002 10:55 am ||
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cry me a river
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/11/2002 11:16 Comments ||
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Ohhhh. So they DO know what the word "hypocrisy" means! From the way they were acting, one would have supposed that they didn't...
After long delays in the testing program, the world's best anti-missile system is about to go into production. Russia's S-400 "Triomf" anti-missile and anti-aircraft system is going through its final trials at Kapustin Yar, and Air Force officials have promised the first customers in the United Arab Emirates that they can take delivery next year. If I was living in this neighborhood, I'd want one too.
Reckoned to be twice as effective as the U.S. Patriot PAC-3 system, the S-400 has an over-the-horizon range of up to 250 miles. The Almaz Central Design Bureau claims the missile is effective against medium-range ballistic missiles with an incoming speed of over 3 miles per second, which means a missile with a 2,000-mile range. Thanks to advance payments by export customers, funding problems have been overcome, says Air Force chief of staff Gen. Boris Cheltsov, and it will be integrated into Moscow's own air defense system over the coming year. Designed for easy export sales, the Triomf missiles can be fitted to the popular S-300 air defense system. It comes in two versions, a 'heavy' anti-missile missile, and a lighter anti-aircraft missile based on the SAM-12 'Gladiator.' The Russians have always had great designers of aircraft and missiles going back to the early days of aviation. Their big problem was always a shortage of money to fully develop them. If they are getting lots of cash from the oil shieks, this could change a lot of things.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/11/2002 03:08 pm ||
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How far is it from the UAE to Israel? Just curious.
#4
To anonymous: To paraphrase Groucho when refused membeship in the NYC Athletic Club: "Why would I want to join a club that would have me as a member".
Posted by: Jack ||
12/12/2002 5:55 Comments ||
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The Russians are in NATO...
Posted by: Brian ||
12/12/2002 11:09 Comments ||
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US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has condemned North Korea over its apparent attempt to deliver a shipment of Scud missiles to Yemen. Acting on American intelligence, the Spanish Navy intercepted and boarded the freighter So San in the Arabian Sea on Monday. US naval forces then conducted a search of the vessel and discovered 15 Scud missiles and warheads hidden under a cargo of cement, along with a quantity of chemicals. Yemen has now confirmed that it ordered the missiles, and has protested to the US and Spain over the ships's seizure. While the Yemeni Government is not regarded as an enemy by the US, there are fears that such military hardware could fall into the hands of radical Islamic groups operating in the country. North Korea has sent missiles to Yemen before.
Mr Rumsfeld said: "North Korea doesn't like to hear me say it, but they continue to be the largest proliferator of missiles and ballistic missile technology on the face of the Earth. "They are putting in the hands of many countries technology and capabilities which have the potential for destroying hundreds of thousands of people." Never know when you're gonna need a No Dong. Yemen could be attacked by one of its neighbors, like Soddy Arabia, at any time. And there's aways the great danger that the inbred tribesmencitizens inhabitants of Hadramaut could, ummm... do something that would require they be scudded.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/11/2002 08:37 am ||
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Go get them, Don!
Can you just see the tribal chiefs meeting?
"Hey, I have No Dong!"
"I have No Dong, too!"
"I want No Dong!"
#3
Sorry mr. Yemeni Ambassador, While we inspecting the Scuds, our Black and Decker 3/8 inch Missle Inspector slipped a few times, so I hope those little teeny holes we drilled in all the fuel lines dont leak too badly.
Posted by: Frank Martin ||
12/11/2002 12:35 Comments ||
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The United States has allowed a ship carrying 15 Scud missiles and warheads to Yemen to proceed on its way after the vessel and its crew were detained for two days. The move came after Yemen lodged formal protests with the US and Spain after both nations' armed forces had seized and boarded the ship. A White House spokesman, Ari Fleischer, said the unflagged freighter So San was released after high-level discussions between US Secretary of State Colin Powell and senior Yemeni Government figures.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/11/2002 13:00 Comments ||
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I wonder what the Yemenis had to say about the missiles being hidden under all that cement?
Posted by: Fred ||
12/11/2002 13:10 Comments ||
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Cement? you mean packing material. We dont get alot of those styrofoam peanuts up here in North Korea.
Gotta lot of cement laying around though. Tastes good too, if you add a little lemon juice to it, it tastes just like chicken.
Posted by: Frank Martin ||
12/11/2002 13:19 Comments ||
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This somewhat makes up for the "secret" cooperation our administration promptly leaked to the media.
Washington has said it is prepared to use nuclear weapons if necessary to respond to any attack with weapons of mass destruction (WMD) against itself or its allies. "The United States will continue to make clear that it reserves the right to respond with overwhelming force - including through resort to all our options," a White House strategy document released on Tuesday said. It is believed to be the first update on America's WMD policy since 1993. It's not an update. It's a reminder. That's always been policy...
BBC Washington correspondent Ian Pannell says that while the new document only restates existing policy, it has been widely interpreted as a direct warning to Iraq. US officials said only that the passage was meant to put emphasis on the role of deterrence against such an attack. WMDs all fall into a single category. If Sammy (or anybody else) was to attack us with one type — say, anthrax — then he shouldn't be surprised to wake up one morning radioactive.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/11/2002 08:37 am ||
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DAMMIT! Does this mean I gotta write up ANOTHER petition?!
Posted by: Ed Asner ||
12/11/2002 13:32 Comments ||
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Tehran Times
A pollster caught in a legal case about a survey that showed most Iranians favor dialogue with the U.S. admitted in court Tuesday to an error of judgement and expressed remorse. It wasn't the data that were wrong, but the taking of it...
On the second day of hearings, Hossein Ghazian of the Ayandeh Polling Institute told a judge he was unaware he had courted accusations of passing sensitive information to foreign governments. "Without paying attention to the nature of the foreign organizations (that commissioned the surveys), I agreed to conduct the polls," Ghazian acknowledged. "I committed an error of judgement because there was a judicial black-hole on this issue," he added, before asking for an acquittal. Obviously the poor man was an unwitting pawn in the hands of insidious spy organizations, such as...
The Ayandeh Institute stands accused of conducting polls on behalf of the Washington-based Gallup organization, which court officials charge is linked to the U.S. government. Oh, heavens! Not... Not... Gallup?
The Judge said Mortazavi had admitted Ayandeh had received 450 million rials (56,000 dollars) from Gallup. He also accused Ghazian of "secret and illegal contacts with elements linked to foreign intelligence services", "incitement to riot" and "propaganda against the Islamic regime." "Yar! We be throwin' the book at 'im!"
"I do not believe in revolt or violence, nor do I believe in revolution. I believe in dialogue and peaceful methods, and that is why I cannot concur with such an accusation," Ghazian replied. "So please tell them to stop hitting me, and please don't stretch my neck!"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/11/2002 10:23 am ||
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The director of a state-owned oil company with interests in Iraq on Tuesday accused U.S. companies of attempting to blackmail Russian oil majors into financing Iraqi opposition parties in return for contract guarantees from a post-Saddam Hussein regime. "The Americans have tried to discuss the issue, including at a level of [direct negotiations] with companies," said Nikolai Tokarev, head of Zarubezhneft, which has been operating in Iraq since the 1960s. "They even proposed we should finance the Iraqi opposition in return for being able to continue work there," he said in an interview published in Vremya Novostei on Tuesday. Works for me.
The statement reflected growing concern among Russian officials and businessmen that a possible U.S. military operation in Iraq could damage Moscow's economic interests in the country.
Russia fears that a new regime in Iraq might renege on Baghdad's obligations to pay off its $7 billion Soviet-era debt to Moscow and award lucrative oil contracts to U.S. and other Western companies, snubbing Russian firms. Tokarev said he had turned down such deals as "dishonorable." Some other Russian companies, however, have accepted similar U.S. proposals and have become involved in a "dirty game," he said, without providing further details. He was unavailable for further comment Tuesday. According to Iraqi officials, Russian oil companies account for 35 percent to 40 percent of Iraqi oil exported under the UN oil-for-food program. Tokarev said the rigid, UN-prescribed pricing policy had made business difficult. International sanctions against Iraq have prevented Zarubezhneft and other Russian companies from fulfilling a 1997 contract to develop the vast West Qurna oil field. Tokarev said that his company, together with another state oil company, Rosneft, was discussing a contract to develop oil fields near the port of Basra in southern Iraq. Don't want anybody else's fingers in their rice bowl.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/11/2002 10:39 am ||
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[snort]
And this is different from what they would
do in the same situation how?
President George Bush has formally approved $92m (£60m) to train a pan-Iraqi militia to help fight a war against Saddam Hussein. Over the past few weeks the Pentagon has been scouring countries looking for bases. A Nato airbase in southern Hungary emerged yesterday as the favourite site. Zaab Sethna, an adviser to the Iraqi National Congress (INC), the biggest of the Iraqi exile groups, said yesterday in London: "We expect a decision from the Pentagon within days" to begin training.
Mr Sethna said the INC has submitted a list of more than 5,000 names to the Pentagon of those ready to take up the gun, and he expected that other groups too had put people forward. "We have volunteers from all over the world," he said. "We are appealing for anyone who is willing to participate. There will be some physical fitness and age requirements." Creation of an Iraqi militia marks a cranking up of the war planning that contrasts with the softer tone from Washington in recent days as its officials analyse the Iraqi declaration on weapons of mass destruction. 5000 isn't a very large force to take on Sammy and his boyz, but it'll make a symbolic presence. They could be the ones who start the fight, and then when they ask for help we would just "assist" them. The White House seems to have a shortage of dummies lately, regardless of what some people think. There're lots of different approaches they could take, and Sammy's got to try and think through all the possibilities...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/11/2002 11:32 am ||
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Lets see. $70 million buys Afghanistan back. $92 million for Iraq - not a bad bargain. One has to wonder if its only a down payment with a big balloon payment in about February?
Posted by: Jack ||
12/12/2002 5:58 Comments ||
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We can teach them to use a laser pointer and a cell phone send them out to find Saddam. How many doubles does Sammy have? Less than 5000 I should think.
A senior Iraqi official called on Gulf governments Wednesday to halt a mounting US military buildup on their soil as a state-run daily urged their citizens to launch attacks on American servicemen. "We hope Gulf Arabs will stop allowing US forces to use their territory to prepare an aggression against Iraq," said Salem Qubaisi, chairman of the Iraqi parliament's foreign affairs committee. "Such an aggression would have disastrous consequences for inter-Arab relations," he warned. Such as they are
Qubaisi recalled that President Saddam Hussein had issued a strong warning to Kuwaiti authorities to stop plotting with the United States, in a keynote address Saturday that included an unprecedented apology to the Kuwaiti people for Iraq's 1990 invasion. That one went over well, not!
Earlier the state-run daily Iraq hit out at Qatar for hosting a weeklong US-British command exercise. The Internal Look war games, which opened at the As-Sayliyah base outside Doha on Monday with the participation of some 1,000 US and British troops, was a precursor to an "attack on a good neighbour", the Al-Iraq newspaper charged. "The leaders of countries hosting such manoeuvres have forgotten Iraq's policies and the resolve of its people to resist foreign attack," the paper said without directly naming Qatar. Oh, I think they know all about your policies, Saddam.
Al-Iraq echoed a call by Saddam in Saturday's speech for Gulf Arabs to attack the thousands of US servicemen now based around the region. "In Iraq we believe it is a debt of honour for any Arab believer to attack the personnel and bases of the US occupation forces," the paper said. "Their dead will go to hell, but those who fall fighting them will be martyrs (who go to paradise)." "We'll fight untill the last Kuwaiti, Quatari, Saudi, etc"
The Iraqi leader's praise for Islamic militants who recently launched a spate of attacks on US servicemen in Kuwait sparked condemnation from the emirate's authorities who accused him of a renewed violation of its security and sovereignty. The number of US servicemen stationed in Kuwait has ballooned in recent days to around 15,000, officials say.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/11/2002 11:36 am ||
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The Turkish military began a heavy reinforcement of its military and paramilitary units on its eastern border with Iraq over the weekend, doubling the usual contingent of some 10,000 troops. Three infantry brigades, with logistics and support units, were moved into the border region from the southern bases near Adana and Galiantep, concentrating around Silopi. All the reinforcing units have experience operating in Northern Iraq. Humm, watching out for Iraqi Kurds running away from the upcoming war, or maybe a more active role? If any armor moves in we'll know for sure.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/11/2002 03:02 pm ||
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A British-born man has appeared in court in the Australian city of Perth charged with plotting to blow up Israeli diplomatic missions in Sydney and Canberra. Jack Roche, a 49-year-old Muslim convert who had previously claimed to have received training from al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, appeared in Perth Magistrate's Court amid tight security and wearing handcuffs. His lawyer, Robert Mazza, said Mr Roche would plead not guilty to two charges of conspiring to bomb the Israeli embassy in Canberra and Israel's consulate in Sydney between February and May 2000. "No, no! Certainly not! Boom some Jews? I'd never do nuttin' like dat!"
In media interviews prior to his arrest, Mr Roche said he had undergone explosives training with the al-Qaeda network in Afghanistan and had tried to recruit other Australians to the cause. At Monday's hearing the prosecution successfully applied for a suppression order on certain aspects of the case. Ooops. They appear to have some intel that says he would...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/11/2002 08:37 am ||
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Mohamed Suleman Vaid's career as a money courier for suspected terrorists might still be going strong had he not stuffed $40,000 in South African currency down his underpants. On April 25, 2001, Mr. Vaid, his drawers weighed down by almost five pounds of cash, tried to cross South Africa's frontier with Swaziland but was stopped when a policeman noticed him "walking awkwardly,". After a quick search, police found Mr. Vaid's stash and another $90,000 in rand jammed into the pockets of a specially designed bodysuit worn by his wife, Moshena, underneath a long black hijab that covered all but her eyes.
Before getting caught, Mr. Vaid had traveled from his home in this balmy Indian Ocean port city through Swaziland to neighboring Mozambique 150 times in 18 months, according to South African investigators. Police say phone records show that sometimes before he left South Africa, Mr. Vaid called a money-changing company in the Mozambican capital, Maputo, that has links to gold dealers in Dubai . South African intelligence officials say the money seized that day, 1.2 million rand -- a whopping sum in local terms -- was destined for a Mozambican businessman of Lebanese origin with dual Czech-Mozambican nationality. The officials believe that businessman is connected to Islamic extremists in Africa and the Middle East.
"There is now suspicion that the money taken to Mozambique was being taken for some sinister purpose," says Monty Moodley, the regional head of South Africa's Asset Forfeiture Unit, which has seized the money. The purpose that Mr. Moodley and other law-enforcement officials suspect is the funding of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terror network in the months before Sept. 11.
The case has assumed a new vigor in the aftermath of last month's terror attacks against Israelis in Kenya. There is growing concern by both South African and American law-enforcement officials that Islamist extremists, including al Qaeda, are using South Africa's open society as a safe haven and a base to raise funds, launder money and plan terror operations. "Our guys are taking a careful look again at South Africa," said one senior U.S. official in Washington. "We are detecting so much smoke lately that something's got to be burning down there somewhere." Specifically, American and South African agents are investigating reports that various militant Islamist groups, including al Qaeda, are laundering money through South Africa, smuggling gold, diamonds and cash through its ports to Dubai and Pakistan, seeking recruits for training, and even possibly looking to obtain dangerous germs from South Africa's former biological-warfare scientists. The idea that South Africa is a potential haven for foreign Islamic militants first surfaced in a report prepared by the country's National Intelligence Agency for President Thabo Mbeki in 1998, after a local Muslim group exploded a bomb in a Planet Hollywood restaurant in Cape Town, killing one person. That bombing came just weeks after al Qaeda blew up the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
The report offers evidence that Hamas, the militant Palestinian group, has been active in South Africa raising funds, organizing anti-Israel campaigns and recruiting local activists for military training in Pakistan since at least 1992. That was the year of a visit to South Africa by Sheikh Muhammed Mahmud Seyom, the former imam of Jerusalem's al Aqsa mosque who was exiled to Sudan in 1988. The report also claims that Hamas used a farm in northern South Africa in 1997 to conduct paramilitary training. Hamas is responsible for many of the suicide bombing attacks inside Israel. Al Qaeda's connections to South Africa apparently date back at least to September 1997, when an Islamic cleric from Pakistan, Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzi, the "legal adviser" to the Taliban government in Afghanistan, visited South Africa to preach pro-Taliban, anti-American messages. Mufti Shamzi is a key supporter of Osama bin Laden and backed the al Qaeda leader's religious decree declaring war on Americans. Recently he and his religious school in Karachi, Pakistan, have been suspected of providing aid and refuge to al Qaeda fighters escaping Afghanistan. Investigators now suspect that Mufti Shamzi's trip to South Africa five years ago may have been aimed at expanding the Taliban-al Qaeda network for future strategic purposes, including finding refuge for fleeing operatives. Mufti Shamzi, through intermediaries at his school, declined repeated requests for an interview.
Concern about al Qaeda fugitives coming to South Africa has been heightened by the recent attacks in Kenya. On Aug. 16, 1998, nine days after the bombing of the U.S. embassy in Tanzania, Khamis Khalfan Mohamed, an al Qaeda operative from Tanzania, fled to South Africa, using a false name and passport. South African Muslims helped Mr. Mohamed find a job flipping hamburgers at the Burger World restaurant in Cape Town, as well as a family to stay with. He might have remained in hiding indefinitely had an FBI agent not spotted his photo among a group of political-asylum applicants in South Africa. U.S. authorities arrested Mr. Mohamed on Oct. 6, 1999, to stand trial in New York for his role in the Tanzanian bombing. Mr. Mohamed was convicted along with three former comrades and is now serving a life sentence.
There are signs al Qaeda may already be here in small numbers, aided and abetted by local radicals. South Africa is home to an indigenous population of 600,000 Muslims, many of them militant in their views toward the U.S. and Israel. The militancy of South African Muslims is well known elsewhere on the continent, not least in Kenya. Najib Balala, a former mayor of Mombasa and a leader of the political opposition on the Kenyan coast, told journalists after the Kenya attacks that as far as he knew the real concentration of al Qaeda on the continent was not in his country but in South Africa. "They have many more fanatics than we do," Mr. Balala said. Last year, one radical South African Muslim group, the Movement Against Illegitimate Leaders, or Mail, claimed that some 1,000 South Africans went to Pakistan and Afghanistan to help the Taliban against U.S.-led attacks. The group said that most of the volunteers had families in Pakistan and were sponsored with money collected at local mosques in Pretoria and from wealthy businessmen. Mail told local reporters that it started recruiting Muslim fighters to "fight for justice" in Afghanistan shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks. Within weeks it claimed to have had 2,000 men ready for jihad.
Jenny Irish, an independent consultant investigating organized crime in the Durban area, says that in the last two years the smuggling of illegal immigrants from Pakistan has picked up dramatically. Police and airport officials say many Pakistanis arrive in South Africa in transit from Dubai and Karachi and fail to make their connecting flights. "They just disappear," said Ms. Irish. "We keep hearing about safe houses in the Durban area which process these people and move them on." Mr. Jones, the former police intelligence chief who is now a security consultant to the South African government, believes some of the illegal immigrants are working hand-in-glove with Islamic jihad groups. Great, another place we have to keep watch on.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/11/2002 10:59 am ||
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The Israelis have long and profitable ties with S Africa, the MOSSAD can cover this one.
Posted by: Brian ||
12/11/2002 10:52 Comments ||
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Amazing that the poor underpaid South African border guards didn't disappear this guy, his wife, and the cash.
#3
As it turns out, Anon, the fellow was originally caught carrying $1 million, and his wife was carrying $3 million, all in small, untracable, unmarked bills. I don't know how it was that the reporter got those other numbers for his story.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/11/2002 21:32 Comments ||
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Formal extradition proceedings against a senior Chechen envoy accused of being a warlord have begun in London. Akhmed Zakayev, 43, is accused by the Russian Federation of offences including waging war in the breakaway republic of Chechnya and at least 302 murders. He was remanded on conditional bail by Bow Street Magistrates Court after the actress Vanessa Redgrave, a Chechen independence campaigner and Mr Zakayev's friend, guaranteed his £50,000 bail. Mr Zakayev, deputy prime minister in the ousted Chechen government, must appear at the central London court again on 9 January, 2003.
Human rights group Amnesty International opposes his extradition, claiming that he could be tortured if he is returned to Russia. Oscar-winning British actress Vanessa Redgrave rejected the charges against Mr Zakayev and said he is a highly respected actor in his home state "not a warlord and not a terrorist". She told The Guardian newspaper: "A large number of professionally prominent people believe he is not a terrorist, a criminal, or a runaway." Oh, well, that's okay with me then. If they don't believe he's a terrorist, how could he be?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/11/2002 08:37 am ||
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Another "harborer" and "apologist" but then again she is an actress (its their nature)who gets paid for pretending and never growing up. That is why we should not pay any attention to their ilk but rather add them to the Thugburg list as co-conspirators.
Posted by: Jack ||
12/11/2002 9:09 Comments ||
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D'ya figure he'll stop to worry about Vanessa's 50,000 quid if he feels the need to scarper?
IslamOnline
About 100 U.S. television and film stars including Matt Damon, Anjelica Huston and Martin Sheen signed a petition released Tuesday against a possible U.S.-led war against Iraq, warning that âwar talk in Washington is alarming and unnecessary.â "I mean, it's Sammy's country. His people gave him 100 percent of the vote. They obviously love him. We should leave him alone!"
Samuel L. Jackson, Mia Farrow, Kim Basinger, Uma Thurman, Tim Robbins and rockers REM also put their names on the list of those opposed to such a U.S.-led strike, Agence France Presse (AFP) reported Wednesday. Stars delivered the petition to the press at a Hollywood restaurant frequented by stars; on hand was Martin Sheen, who plays a fictional U.S. president on the NBC television series âThe West Wing.â That would certainly qualify him to have an opinion, wouldn't it?
In Washington âthey made up their minds a long time ago about going to war. (Itâs a) personal feud, thatâs part of it,â said Sheen alluding to the Gulf War under then President George Bush, father of the incumbent, which did not bring down Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Well, I mean, Sammy did try and have the old man bumped off. So that's obviously why we're ready to go to war. It has nothing to do with what goes on in Iraq...
The petition, also signed by retired admiral Eugene Carroll and Edward Peck, a former U.S. ambassador to Iraq, was announced at a news conference hosted by Mike Farrell, who is co-founder of a new group called Artists United to Win Without War. Mike Farrell said âa tendency of this administration is to imply that anyone who opposes them is somehow less loyal and patriotic. Thatâs not right.â Mike's gonna pop on over to Baghdad and win this one for us. It's not everybody who opposes things the administration does who's unpatriotic; it's just people like Farrell and Sheen...
âWe support rigorous U.N. weapons inspections to assure Iraqâs effective disarmament. However, a preemptive military invasion of Iraq will harm American national interests,â said the signatories in their letter. âSuch a war will increase human suffering, arouse animosity toward our country, increase the likelihood of terrorist attacks, damage the economy, and undermine our moral standing in the world. It will make us less, not more, secure." "It'll destabilize the Middle East, and where would we be then? So don't worry about people having their ears cut off in Iraq â who gives a fart about a bunch of Arabs, anyway?"
"We reject the doctrine â a reversal of long-held American tradition that our country, alone, has the right to launch first-strike attacks,â read the letter. "Yeah. We already launched a second strike attack. Now it's their turn to hit us again..."
The signatories underlined that the âvalid U.S. and U.N. objective of disarming Saddam Hussein can be achieved through legal diplomatic means. There is no need for war. Let us instead devote our resources to improving the security and well-being of people here at home and around the world.â "Yes! Let us turn inward, and devote our attention to ourselves! Let us gaze deeply into the national navel! (Oh, is that lint? Eww! Ucky!) Let us retire to the national bathroom, there to explore our collective sexuality!"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/11/2002 10:45 am ||
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At least the Canadian fools were kind enough to go over and serve as bullseyes human shields. These posers just have a self-serving PR stunt: "Stars delivered the petition to the press at a Hollywood restaurant frequented by stars". How nice, they didn't even have to leave their tables
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/11/2002 12:15 Comments ||
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#2
Here'e the list of these fine upstanding "celebrities"
http://www.msnbc.com/news/845854.asp?cp1=1
1/3 usual suspects, 1/3 people you never heard of, 1/3 people you thought were dead. The correct term for them would probably be "Hollywood's Expansion Team".
#7
God,it's just like Woodstock."If we all think really hard,maybe we can stop this rain!No rain!No rain!No rain!..."
Posted by: El Id ||
12/11/2002 16:45 Comments ||
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#8
Well Mia Farrows' a maroon and REM are bloody boring, but Samuel L Jackson? Bugger! - I always thought he was a top bloke.
Where's Charlton Hestons response - now there's a guy you can trust!
Posted by: Tony ||
12/11/2002 17:32 Comments ||
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#9
Arent many actors Jewish? Have they ever heard the phrase "never again"? Do these pinheaded idiots not understand that the al-queada is TRYING TO KILL US?
Posted by: Frank Martin ||
12/11/2002 17:54 Comments ||
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#10
I sorted them into various categories ("NAME SOUNDS FAMILIAR, TOO TIRED TO GO TO IMDB","ENEMIES OF HUMANITY","USED TO THINK THEY WERE ONE OF THE GOOD ONES/HASN'T WORKED SINCE VOYAGER", etc.) here.
Jamaat-i-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed has urged the government to withdraw the armed forces from the tribal belt and to end the humiliation of the patriotic tribesmen. Speaking to a delegation of tribesmen at the residence of his brother, Ataur Rehman, he alleged that the United States commandos and Federal Bureau of Investigation agents were trespassing the limits of modesty during their hunt for the "so-called" wanted people. "We don't want no furriners sniffin' around these here parts..."
He suggested that the NWFP governor and corps commander should sit with the tribesmen and decide whether they wanted to retain their old tribal setup. He urged the government to explain whether it would follow the old system in the tribal areas or enter a new arrangement with the tribesmen. The tribesmen were not against development, they wanted to have roads, schools, hospitals and dams in their areas, but they must be consulted on all such issues, he said. The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal's provincial government would establish a cell for tribal affairs, he said. "Yep. We wants them new-fangled thangs. But don't you go sniffin' aroun' our wimminfolk!"
He underlined the need for scrapping the Frontier Crimes Regulation-40, and said it had made the lives of the tribesmen miserable. "We don't need none o' that lawn order stuff here. We got our traditions..."
He said democracy had not been restored after the election. Until President Gen Pervez Musharraf was in the army uniform, democracy could not flourish, he said. "How can it be democracy, when I ain't the one in charge? Answer me that, hah?"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/11/2002 04:50 pm ||
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Colombian officials say they have thwarted an assassination attempt against President Alvaro Uribe, while authorities in the capital, Bogota, deactivated at least five powerful car bombs. Authorities say President Uribe was moved to a secure location Wednesday, after officials learned of the plot. The assassination attempt was reportedly planned for Thursday, during a presidential event in Medellin. This comes as authorities in Bogota say they disabled at least five sophisticated car bombs. Police say at least six people, including an electrical engineer, have been arrested.
Authorities say they believe government buildings and public areas were targets. Defense Minister Marta Lucia Ramirez is quoted as saying the explosives could have done "unimaginable damage." Officials say leftist rebels with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia are to blame. The developments come two days after a powerful car bomb ripped through a supermarket parking lot in western Bogota, injuring at least 60 people. Authorities say the leftist rebels were responsible. Colombia is in the midst of a long-running civil war involving the government, leftist rebels and right-wing paramilitaries. Throw in the drug cartels who have all of the above on retainer.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/11/2002 02:29 pm ||
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It's that time of year to remember the needy, especially if they live in a country that has defaulted on its International Monetary Fund loans. The Saudi King Fahd Cultural Center in Buenos Aires has distributed food to 500 poor families in the capital to commemorate Eid al-Fitr, the feast marking the end of the Ramadan fast. Argentina has the largest Muslim population in Latin America, estimated at more than 1 million. Didn't know that.
Former President Carlos Menem is of Syrian descent, and the King Fahd Center is the largest Muslim religious and cultural institution outside of the Middle East. Buenos Aires has three mosques, but the largest mosque in Latin America is in the Argentinean city of Ciudad del Este, an epicenter of Western intelligence focus since the Sept. 11 attacks. The Saudis built the mosque. Argentinean intelligence has also reported sighting a number of Saudi al Qaida operatives there. Saudis + Money + Mosques = al-Qaida. They'll feel right at home visiting the Hitler Youth Retirement Village.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/11/2002 03:15 pm ||
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#1
Yeah, that area's a real hotspot for Islamofascists in South America.
Israeli troops have shot dead a Palestinian militant in an overnight operation in the Balata refugee camp near the West Bank town of Nablus. Both the Israeli army and Palestinians named him as Osama Badra - a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and recently active in Islamic Jihad. An Israeli spokeswoman said he had been shot on the roof of his house while fleeing arrest. She said he had ignored orders to stop. "You'll never take me alive, coppers!... Ow!... Ow!... Hey! Stop that! You're hurting me!"
Eleven alleged members of Islamic Jihad and eight other suspected militants have been detained in operations throughout the West Bank, including the town of Tulkarm and the city of Hebron.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/11/2002 08:37 am ||
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Security forces arrested four wanted Palestinians in Samaria Wednesday in connection with specific terror attacks, reports Israel Radio. East of Nablus, the IDF arrested central Fatah Tanzim operative Sula Tansad. Palestinian sources say that Tansad, known by the nom de guerre Abu Islam, was involved in many terror attacks in the area. North of Tulkarm, the army arrested three men who are suspected of having placed an explosive device at the entrance to Shwaike village Sunday night. Two soldiers were injured, one of them seriously, when the roadside bomb was detonated. Be running out of prison space at this rate.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/11/2002 11:46 am ||
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The leader of Turkey's ruling party, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, promised Tuesday to continue his country's good relations with Israel and to endeavor to strengthen them. Erdogan, whose Islamic Justice and Progress Party swept into power in Turkey's recent elections, spoke at a meeting with Jewish leaders in Washington and discussed Turkey's relations to Israel and the Jewish world. He assured them he had no intention of harming the close relations between Turkey and Israel or restricting the extensive commercial ties between them. He did not, however, refer directly to the two states' military and security relations, when asked.
Some of the Jewish leaders at the meeting felt that Erdogan wanted to send a message through them, that although he heads an Islamic party, he does not intend to alter the character of the relations with Israel. Erdogan asked for the Jewish community's support in Turkey's efforts to become a member of the European Union, and the Jewish leaders promised him they would act to advance this request. He denounced anti-Semitism in every form and promised to continue acting against any manifestation of it in Turkey.
During meetings with President George Bush and his aides, Erdogan was promised that the United States will help Turkey join the EU, as well as provide a generous support package in case of a war with Iraq. Last week, Turkey promised to allow the U.S. to use its air bases for launching espionage and attack missions in a war with Iraq. If they won't let them in the EU, invite them to join NAFTA. That would be a nice stick to shove in the euro's eye.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/11/2002 02:34 pm ||
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#1
Doing that would cause the Greeks to scream bloody murder. Wouldn't want to do that, since they're such close allies and good friends.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/11/2002 15:16 Comments ||
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#2
Remind me again what the Greeks have done for us lately,...OK, make it the last couple of decades.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/11/2002 21:13 Comments ||
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#3
Some Greek soccer fans actually booed, hooted, and catcalled during a pre-game "moment of silence" for 9/11 victims. Seems they're still pissed off that we went after Slobo on behalf of Bosnian & Kosovar Muslims. Some (not all) Greeks take the view that Orthodox Christians, e.g., Greeks & Serbs should stick together. End result--lots of anti-American feelings there.
#4
greece is a hotbed for communist terrorism... greece is an immature and disreputable nation that should be ignored if necessary and publicly snubbed and scolded if possible. russia should be invited to take over in orthodox co-operation and goodwill!
#5
Greece has been one of the few EU members pushing for Turkeys inclusion in the EU. Probably hoping to get Cypress back somehow but never-the-less they are pushing for Turkey.
The US should offer to include Turkey, most of Eastern Europe and the UK into Nafta. Provide an alternative to the EU that doesn't require cashing in thousands of years of history.
The Middle East is bracing for a harsh Israeli military operation in retaliation for the Mombassa bombing. Western diplomatic sources expect the operation to take place in advance of the general elections expected on Jan. 28 to give Prime Minister Ariel Sharon an electoral bounce. Kuwaiti officials say privately they expect Israel's biggest strike since the successful bombing of Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor in June 1981, under Menachem Begin. But since al Qaida is boasting of responsibility for the Kenyan attacks, the question remains -- what will be Israel's target? Decisions, decisions.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/11/2002 02:59 pm ||
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Source: Defense & Foreign Affairs Daily (password required)
A serious, although unsuccessful, coup attempt was made against the Libyan leadership of Col. Muâammar al-Qadhafi on December 5-6, 2002. Absolutely reliable, first-hand sources confirmed to GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs Daily that widespread arrests occurred beginning December 6, 2002, following the unsuccessful attempt. It was also understood that a number of Qadhafi family members were involved in the attempted coup, which was not only aimed at the ailing Col. Qadhafi â who is now well-advanced in his terminal cancer â but also against his "chosen heir" and son, Saif al-Islam. So Muammar's about to peg out, and the family wants to do the silken cord routine on Saif, because some of the other fruits of the old man's loins want to be in charge... Only thing missing is the Grand Vizier, standing in the background, stroking his beard -Fred...
Full specifics of the coup attempt were not available as of late December 11, 2002, other than the fact that there appeared to be a link between the coup and another son of Col. Qadhafi, Dr Moatasam al-Qadhafi, who now lives in exile in Egypt, following a major disagreement with his father. Dr Moatasam, until the beginning of 2002, maintained a militia unit separate from that of Saif al-Islam, but this was forcibly disbanded after the disagreement in early 2002. Several "cousins" within the Qadhafi family were also reported by GIS sources to have been involved. Sources close to Col. Qadhafi said that the Colonelâs response to the coup attempt was "confused", and noted that his health was now deteriorating rapidly. He's knocking at death's door, is he? -Fred
This meant that the response to the coup was clearly in the hands of the loyalists within the security apparatus, almost certainly that run by Hannibal al-Qadhafi. It was also understood that some of the coup organizers, apparently mostly within the Gadadfa tribe of Col. Qadhafi, were supportive of another son of Col. Qadhafi, Mohammed al-Qadhafi. Engineer Mohammed, who is from a different mother to Saif al-Islam, Moatasam, Saâadi, Hannibal and Aisha (whose mother, Safiya, comes from the key Baraâasa tribe, near Beida), is regarded as the most conservative of Qadhafiâs sons, and is understood not to control his own militia. [Hannibal, the youngest son of Qadhafi, does not maintain his own militia, but essentially works directly with Col. Qadhafi, maintaining control over his immediate security.] They expect the old man to keep this stuff straight when he's whacked out on morphine?
Sources said that it was possible that support and planning for the coup attempt could have come from Dr Moatasam in favor of a group within the Gadadfa supporting Eng. Mohammed, on the basis that he was the most capable of the Qadhafi children to succeed the Colonel. However, it is known from close family sources that Col. Qadhafiâs wife, Safiya, had, in recent weeks, been lobbying hard to get her brother-in-law, Abdullah Senussi Megrahi, brought back into favor to help support the fortunes of her son, Saif al-Islam, in the succession process. Shouldn't she be a Circassian wench, with fire in her eyes? Or was I thinking of another Oriental fantasy cliche? -Fred
It is not known how successful her attempts have been. Abdullah Senussi Megrahi â not a member of the Senusi clan which traditionally has ruled most of Libya â was the head of strategic intelligence before Moussa Koussa. Saif al-Islam had, along with External Security Organization (ESO) chief Moussa Koussa, been working hard to win international support for Saif al-Islamâs succession of the Colonel. Moussa Koussa, largely regarded as one of the Colonelâs "old guard", had clearly thrown in his lot with Saif al-Islam as the most favored successor. "Yar, lad! I served yer paw, an' now I'll serve you! T'gither we'll lop off all their heads! Now, here's me plan..." -Fred
Outlook: The Libyan power structure of Col. Muâammar al-Qadhafi is collapsing rapidly, with the predicted infighting among Qadhafi family members now erupting openly and the Armed Forces standing by, without supporting either Qadhafi or the fighting family members because they regard all this as a spectator sport. The US and UK, in particular, have stood by also laughing their heinies off and made no major preparations, although it is believed that the Egyptian authorities have, indeed, taken steps to ensure their position. Egyptian Pres. Hosni Mubarak regards Libya as an Egyptian sphere of influence, and it is possible â even probable â that Egyptian authorities were at least aware of the alleged involvement of Dr Moatasam al-Qadhafi in the latest coup attempt. If that is the case, or even if it is not, Col. Qadhafi must now assume that Pres. Mubarak has decided to move against him. This could get very ugly before it's over.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/11/2002 11:21 am ||
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#1
Cancer. No wonder he looked like hell in those Miss Networld photos. I mean, more than usual. Geepers, another Hannibal coming out of Africa!
#3
Probably none at all. For now, it's a spectator sport. Personally, I'm hoping for large numbers of casualties on both sides, followed by an extended period of anarchy.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/11/2002 11:37 Comments ||
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#4
Is it time to dust off my Wheelus AFB memorabilia?
Posted by: Frank Martin ||
12/11/2002 12:18 Comments ||
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#5
Let the Algerians military conquer Libya, it'd take a week. Tell them we want war crime trials for the Intelligence agents that planned the Lockerbie bombing and we want low oil prices during conflict in "Arabia". They've done a good job keeping down their militants they deserve a chance to take out Libya.
With an oil-rich, well populated neighbor to the West the Egyptians will keep any funny Eastward thoughts to themselves and learn to appreciate the stable border with the Zionist entity.
#6
Qadhafi dies, factions fight over power, lawlessness ensues, refugees flee across border into Egypt, crisis looms, and Pres. Mubarak sends troops in to stabilize the country. Claims U.S. did the same thing in Haiti. Says he will stay until country is ready for free elections. U.S. issues stern protest, sends thank you note. (Egypt tied up in Libya would be too busy to get involved anywhere else)
Posted by: Steve ||
12/11/2002 12:49 Comments ||
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#7
You presume too much of the Egyptian Army; recall that it's not entirely blended together and the logistics train for the soviet and US equipment is very difficult to maintain. Also, Egypt isn't capable of causing much trouble viz. Israel because, well, there's that little Aswan High Dam that could just, you know, have an accident...
Posted by: Brian ||
12/11/2002 17:30 Comments ||
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#8
funny how a tank shell from the sinai can get to the nile highlands... damn bad shot!
plus egypt's already lost the canal once... they might not get it back the second time...
#9
Egypt and Libya have had a few battles over the last couple of decades. I think its military has enough stones to intervene if there's enough of a mess. Recall that Egypt has adventured in Yemen and the Sudan (I believe) in the last few decades. The Pharohs do live, a least in the minds of a few.
Busy day for JI news.
TWO of the teachers are in custody over the Bali blast. The headmaster is on the run, accused of belonging to a terrorist group. A school board member allegedly provided the funds for the Bali bombings while one of Asia's most wanted terrorists occasionally lived on campus. Welcome to the Luqmanul Hakiem school - a tiny religious college set in dense jungle in Malaysia's far south, which is now known as "Terror High". Perfect for a TV movie except that there is no sexy cheerleader.
Every week, a new connection is emerging between the private school and the Bali attacks. Set deep among a large palm plantation and backing on to untouched jungle, the school was frequented by an A to Z of South-East Asian terrorists, including those responsible for the Bali attacks. The campus was established in the mid 1990s by two Indonesians: Abdullah Sungkar and Abu Bakir Bashir, the founders of the JI terror network. Bashir is currently in police custody in Jakarta awaiting questioning in connection with a series of bombings of churches and is suspected of having knowledge of the Bali attacks. Sungkar died in 1999 but was previously a guest of al-Qaeda boss Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan and an enthusiastic supporter of jihad.
Senior teachers at the school included the current JI leader Ali Gufron, aka Mukhlas, who has been described as the mastermind of the Bali attacks. His number two in the bombing, Imam Samudra, was a pupil and later returned as a teacher.
Mukhlas' brother Amrozi, who bought the Mitsubishi L300 for the bombings, was also a regular visitor to the school. One of the logistics experts for the bombing - Idris - is also believed to have visited the school several times. Another frequent visitor was one of the world's most wanted terrorists, Hambali. On the school committee was Wan Min, 42, a Malaysian university lecturer who is alleged to have acted as the bagman to finance the Bali bombing.
Malaysian authorities said they shut down the school because it was not registered but earlier this year police raided the property and took away documents and equipment. The school has about 10 class rooms, dormitory style accommodation, a basketball court a soccer field and a mosque. Locals said about 200 children aged from eight to their mid teens attended the school. Residents in a nearby village said they had seen children as young as seven taken for walks through a nearby cemetery to "toughen them up". Shopkeeper Norazhari Othman said: "It was thought that staying in the cemetery overnight was part of school training to prepare them to be tough and not fear anything." "Don't fear the Reaper"
In a worrying twist, many of the older students have vanished since the school was shut down - sparking fears the next generation of terror graduates are already on the loose. Just say you are having a reunion and see how many show up.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/11/2002 12:22 pm ||
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Bangsamoro Islamic News Agency
Eleven soldiers were slain and 7 others wounded in series of gun battles between government troops and freedom fighters of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the outskirts of Sultan Sa Barongis town in Maguindanao, a report of the Bangsamoro Islamic News Agency [BINA] said today. The military started its three-day offensive last Friday barely a day after Muslims observed Eidul-Fit marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadhan. The military report, however, admitted losing only soldier killed and five others wounded. Ameen told BINA that the MILF suffered two martyred and another two wounded in action. Hmmm... Lemme see, here... Which account is more believable?
The military also said the heavily armed men were members of the notorious "Pentagon" kidnap group. But Muhammad Ameen, secretary to the office of the MILF chairman, disputed the military claim saying that those armed men whom the military attacked were legitimate members of the MILF. "They weren't kidnapping people as part of the Pentagon group. They were doing it on their own..."
Meanwhile, Armed Forces Southern Command chief Lt. Gen. Narciso Abaya said reports of the 6th Army Division whose soldiers figured in the fresh fighting in Maguindanao said three of the bandits were killed while 15 others were wounded.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/11/2002 10:30 am ||
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In a new report on Islamist extremism in Southeast Asia, the International Crisis Group (ICG) reveals a deep rift within the group suspected of carrying out the Bali bombings. Indonesia Backgrounder: How the Jemaah Islamiyah Terrorist Network Operates shows that the JI network may be far more extensive than previously imagined. It also shows how important the communal conflicts in Maluku and Poso were for motivating, recruiting and training the JI rank-and-file. As those conflicts have waned, ICG suggests, the object of JI's wrath may have shifted from Indonesian Christians regarded as responsible for the massacres of Muslims to Westerners seen as supporting the U.S.-led war on terrorism. This is a damned good report, at least given the cursory going-over I was able to give it. It's 50 pages of detail on JI...
In an effort to better understand the network, ICG researchers have examined earlier bombings in Indonesia linked to JI. In particular, they looked at the Christmas Eve 2000 attacks in which more than 30 bombs were delivered to churches or priests in eleven cities, across six provinces, all wired to explode at around the same time. Some key findings emerged.
Finally, ICG found a curious link between Acehnese close to JI and Indonesian military intelligence. Both groups have a history of bitter opposition to the Acehnese rebel movement (GAM), which this week signed a peace agreement with the Indonesian government. This link raises questions about whether military intelligence had more access to information about JI than it has acknowledged to date. "The Indonesian police have done a superb job thus far in the Bali investigations but they're dealing with a large and amorphous network", ICG Indonesia Project Director, Sidney Jones, said. "The government needs to ensure that the intelligence capacity of the police, not the army, is strengthened to cope with this threat. The Indonesian government also needs to get more serious than it has thus far about corruption, with particular attention paid to the trade in arms and explosives". Interesting Definitely interesting. I intend to study the report in detail tonight...
Posted by: Steve ||
12/11/2002 12:36 pm ||
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More details on the split in party ranks in JI.
Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir called on his Jemaah Islamiah followers to suspend armed struggle for a Muslim state, including bombings, shortly before the October 12 Bali attacks, because of fears of a crackdown on activists, an international advisory group has found. After a two-month investigation into the JI terrorist network, the Brussels-based International Crisis Group says disagreements over tactics resulted in a split between the 64-year-old Bashir and younger and more hardline followers. Old guard vs young turks.
The key to Bashir's reservations about continuing a campaign of violence were disclosures last September of testimony, made under CIA questioning, by al-Qaeda agent Omar al-Faruq, who was one of the organisation's main links to Islamic radicals in Indonesia. According to the CIA report, al-Faruq named Bashir as JI leader and the organiser of earlier acts of terrorism. Soon after al-Faruq's testimony became public, meetings with senior JI members were called and Bashir "argued strenuously that bombings and the armed struggle for an Islamic state should be put on hold for the time being because they would have negative repercussions for the movement". "The jigs up!" Catching al-Faruq was a more important snag than it appeared at the time. Seems to have scared Abu into wanting to keep a low profile...
Bashir was concerned the US and Indonesia would crack down in concert on Muslim activists, so the "timing was wrong" for further acts of violence. If the findings of the ICG report are correct, Bashir, who was detained days after the Bali bombings, would appear not to have played any role in planning the attack. He may, however, have had forewarning that a major attack was due to take place. Guilty by association is guilty.
The report provides new details of Bashir's role in planning and supporting terrorist plots and attacks in Indonesia and elsewhere in southeast Asia. It refers to a meeting that took place in the central Java city of Solo in November 2000 between Bashir and other key JI leaders, including operations chief Riduan Isamuddin, alias Hambali, and Faiz bin Abubakar Bafana, now held in Singapore. The meeting discussed three matters - a regular monthly contribution of more than $US1000 ($1790) to an Islamic high school controlled by Bashir, attacks on US interests in Singapore, and plans for Christmas Eve church bombings in Indonesia. Just your standard business meeting, budget forecasts, bombings.
The Singapore attacks were foiled. But the Christmas Eve bombings, largely planned in Malaysia, were carried out that year. Bomb attacks were made on 38 churches or priests in 11 Indonesian cities, killing 19 people and wounding 120. Among the key planners were men now under detention over the Bali bombings: Imam Samudra, born Abdul Aziz, and Mukhlas, born Ali Gufron. Although the 2000 bombing plans were put into effect with Bashir's approval, the ICG report says a split had been building between Bashir and the younger group over his tactics for achieving an Islamic state. Bashir was accused of betraying the vision of JI's founder, Abdullah Sungkar. "They saw Baasyir (Bashir) as too weak, too accommodating, and too easily influenced by others," the report finds, based on interviews and police information. Nice starting point for a interview, play one side against the other. Cops are old hands at this, maybe why they are doing so well.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/11/2002 12:28 pm ||
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The arrest of Ali Gufron, alias Mukhlas, alleged to be the operations chief of Jemaah Islamiyah and of carrying out the October 12 bombings on Bali, was a significant step in exposing the structure of terrorist networks in Indonesia. That's the terrorist network the country's vice president sez doesn't exist...
The arrest of Gufron and Said Sungkar, the youngest brother of the alleged founder of Jemaah Islamiyah and the Ngruki-Al Mukmin boarding school at Solo, Abdullah Sungkar, prompted positive comments coming from western diplomats. ââIt shows that when there is the political will, they have the ability to do it,ââ one said. I missed it when Said was nabbed. Wonder what alias he was using at the time?
It was no secret that the police authorities had been hunting Gufron for several weeks, and the fact that he had not fled Indonesia raises tantalizing questions about the whereabouts of other suspects with possible ties to international terrorist networks in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. The arrest of Gufron also suggests a remarkable arrogance on his part in assuming he would be safe on his own territory, or that he had decided there was little point in running once the first arrests were made. I'd go with the arrogance. If he'd thought he was really in danger, it would have been fairly simple to make it to Malaysia, where he could stand around looking aggrieved and some Arab could finance a mouthpiece for him. I think he thought that even with the coppers hitting the cannon fodder like Brother Amrozi, he was safe because Bashir was staying mum and Hamzah Haz was running interference. I'm sure there are still several people in Southeast Asia who don't think Haz is either an idiot or deeply involved in the mess â and more likely the latter than the former. There may be as many as a dozen.
With Gufronâs arrest, the most hunted man in Southeast Asia is now probably Ridwan Isamuddin, better known as Hambali. He was believed to be the operations chief of Jemaah Islamiyah before he turned over his command to Gufron. As the noose tightens on Hambali, security authorities also expect to uncover a series of links back to covert operations conducted by former intelligence czar General Ali Murtopo in the 1970s in the interests of the Suharto regime. And that might have had something to do with Mukhlas' expectation of the investigation being shortstopped before it got close to him...
An intelligence source told Laksamana.Net that the arrest of Hambali would be a significant step in tracing former high-ranking military officers and probably former government officials who were instrumental in influencing Imam Samudra to mount the Bali operation. This is starting to sound kind of like the way ISI does business, isn't it?
He says authorities also believe to uncover previous bombings such as the church bombings on Christmas eve 2000, and the alleged attempted assassination of President Megawati Sukarnoputri. The source says that in the 1970s Hambali was a Special Operations (Opsus) plant into Jemaah Islamiyah. He was given the codename G-8 and tasked with building the financial structure of Jemaah Islamiyah. "Our man in Ngruki."
Whoever Hambali is, for the incumbent government, capturing the mastermind of the Bali terrorist attack is as much a matter of disclosing the dark forces of the Suharto era rather than only a part of the US war against terrorism and al Qaeda. Guess it's all connected, isn't it?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/11/2002 12:55 pm ||
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#1
If Hambali is the link to the higher-ups, what are the odds he is already "sleeping with the fishes?" If I was involved and worried about being implicated, I'd be busy cleaning up loose ends about now.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/11/2002 21:24 Comments ||
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Indonesian police have linked a deadly bombing at a McDonald's restaurant in central Indonesia to the October 12 Bali bombings.
Meanwhile, deputy national police spokesman Brigadier General Edward Aritonang denied earlier remarks by officers on Java that they had arrested the main suspect in last week's bombing at McDonald's in Makassar, Sulawesi island. The explosion killed three people including one of the alleged bombers. "Was it the red wire first, or the black wire....Boom!"
Aritonang said the man arrested on Wednesday in Java was Abdul Hamid, who is wanted over the Bali bombings, not Agung Hamid, the main suspect in the Makassar blast. Another Bali bomber bagged, they will be having a high school reunion in the slammer.
In Makassar, police chief Major General Firman Gani said evidence was growing that the two blasts were linked.
It was the first time that Indonesian police have said there was a connection between the attacks. "There are indications that all these happenings (in Makassar) are linked with the Bali bombings ... The main targets (are) American and Australian symbols," he said, without elaborating.
He said police were still hunting three people, including Agung Hamid, over the Makassar blasts. A second bomb exploded the same night at a car dealership, but no one was injured. Thought they had rushed when they said they weren't linked.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/11/2002 02:41 pm ||
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#1
Thinking wishfully...
Posted by: Fred ||
12/11/2002 15:18 Comments ||
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A German man who was being investigated in connection with a deadly attack on a Tunisian synagogue in April and may have had contact with al-Qaida leaders has been allowed to leave the country because there was insufficient evidence to arrest him, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. Germany's chief federal prosecutor, Kay Nehm, has said that according to testimony from another terror suspect, the man, identified only as Christian G., had access to the innermost circle of al-Qaida leaders and may have been responsible for finding new members in the country. However, Nehm's office said Wednesday that G., who was under investigation for suspected membership in a terrorist organization, left Germany last month with his family. Oops.
Spokeswoman Frauke Scheuten declined to elaborate on where the family went or exactly how many members traveled with G. "Since the suspicion was not sufficiently strong for an arrest warrant to be issued, the justice authorities did not have the possibility to prevent the suspect leaving the country," a statement from prosecutors said. G., a Polish-born German citizen, was traced as the recipient of an intercepted phone call from the leading suspect in the attack on the synagogue in Djerba, Tunisia that left 19 dead, 14 of them German tourists. He was briefly detained for questioning in the city of Duisburg after the attack. Egg on faces over this one. Should have kept watch on him until you had enough to arrest him.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/11/2002 11:05 am ||
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Egg, or the usual Euro weenie stuff? When the Germans want somebody, he stays held. Latest I saw was that this guy turned up in
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.
