Suicide squads are being trained in Pakistan by al-Qaida operatives to hit targets in Afghanistan and the bombers' families are being promised $50,000, say Afghan and Pakistani sources. The Pakistani government denies the presence of camps here. "Nobody will ever be able to either hide here or establish training camps in Pakistan," said Interior Ministry spokesman Iftikar Ahmed. Ha, ha, ha, ha...he said a funny
But privately, some officials in Pakistan's intelligence community and Interior Ministry say they believe there is such bomb training and that it is protected by Pakistani militants and Taliban sympathizers in the Pakistan military. The nephew of Maulvi Abdul Kabir, the Taliban's No. 3 man, says the training camps are in Bajour and Mansehra, towns in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province where support for the former Afghan regime runs strong. The nephew asked that his name not be used, saying he feared retaliation from both the Taliban and Pakistanis. Unless Maulvi has a hell of a lot of nephews, I'd leave town.
He said he agreed to an exclusive interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday because he believes suicide bombing is wrong. He also seemed interested in getting U.S. attention and possibly a reward. BINGO, he's greedy and stupid.
There is a $10 million reward for Mullah Mohammed Omar, the deposed Taliban leader, but not for most other Taliban officials. The nephew said he has not talked to any U.S. official, and would not approach the Pakistanis because he suspects they are in league with the Taliban. OK, he's not that stupid.
Kabir's nephew had a video taken at a graduation ceremony in the southwestern Pakistan city of Quetta where Kabir and several top Taliban leaders, including former intelligence officials and governors, were present and some spoke. He also had an audio cassette from speeches given at a mosque in Quetta in which Kabir spoke on behalf of Mullah Omar, condemning the U.S. presence in Afghanistan and calling on the faithful to wage a holy war against the Americans. During two weeks of training, would-be bombers are told by Arab instructors that they are waging war on the Jews and "will be martyrs and go straight to heaven and their family will get $50,000," Kabir's nephew said. I must have missed that large Jewish community in Afganistan.
They are trained in small groups and not all are told they must die, he said. Some are taught to detonate bombs by remote control, and to drive explosives-laden trucks into Afghanistan, he said. So far two Afghans and one suspected al-Qaida operative trained at these camps have infiltrated Afghanistan but have been arrested, the nephew said. He did not know whether these were the same people whose arrest was announced by Afghan authorities two months ago after they came from Pakistan in a car packed with explosives. Most likely.
The nephew said one of the men arrested was an Iraqi. Last month, an Iraqi man was arrested in Kabul, the Afghan capital, but the nephew couldn't say whether he was among those trained in Bajour, a tribal region bordering Afghanistan's northeastern province of Kunar. U.S. forces are scouring the mountains that crisscross Afghanistan's Kunar province searching for Taliban and al-Qaida operatives, and for Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, an Iranian-backed rebel commander. A Western intelligence source in Pakistan also said training was going on in Bajour and in Mansehra area. He said there had been reports that Hekmatyar loyalists had purchased several vehicles for the purpose of carrying explosives. Afghan, Pakistani and Western sources say Kabir has forged an alliance with Hekmatyar, who is also being sought by the United States. The AP also acquired books written in both Pashtu and Persian extolling the virtue of carrying out suicide attacks. It cited verses from the Islamic holy book, the Quran, to support suicide attacks. Most Muslim scholars, however, say suicide is against Islamic teachings. Which has not stopped them from preaching it.
Reports of trained suicide squads surfaced last September when one of Hekmatyar's military commanders, Salauddin Safi, told AP that some Taliban had formed an alliance with Hekmatyar's followers, a view shared by Western intelligence sources, who believe Kabir is working with Hekmatyar. With money from al-Qaida and Iran, the two groups formed a new alliance called Lashkar Fedayan-e-Islami, or the Islamic Martyrs Brigade, which Safi said would target U.S. military installations.
In a separate interview, a man who served in the Cabinet of former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said Pakistan's army protects the Taliban. "They have even given them their jeeps to get around safely. Why do you think none of the top Taliban who came to Pakistan have been arrested?" he said.
The nephew said Kabir is protected by Pakistan's intelligence and its military. He travels freely throughout Pakistan, from its deeply Islamic tribal regions to the southwestern city of Quetta and to Haripur, a city 35 miles north of Pakistan's capital, Islamabad. His entourage includes former Taliban governors, intelligence chiefs and, in recent weeks, Maulvi Ghazi, special adviser to Mullah Omar, the nephew said. Omar is high on the U.S. wanted list. With the October election that gave religious hard-liners control of the strategic provinces that border Afghanistan, fugitive Taliban have become increasingly brazen, even launching fund-raising campaigns. During the three-day Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr that ended last weekend, $50,000 was raised by former Taliban Maulvi Baram, the nephew said. The Taliban even issue receipts, which say the money is for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, as the Taliban called the country. Pledge week, wonder if it's tax deductible?
Posted by: Steve ||
12/12/2002 02:52 pm ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Whenever there is conflict, you can find Hek, safely tucked away in Iran. Hek isn't a front-line kind of guy.
Arab News
Saudi farmers have criticized some Arab countries including Egypt and Jordan for importing Israeli dates in place of their products. Abdul Aziz Al-Tuwaijeri, chairman of the date producers and exporters committee at the Qassim Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said Israel has started exporting dates to a number of Arab and Gulf countries. âDespite the small quantity of its production, Israel is posing stiff competition to Saudi dates,â he told Al-Watan. He estimated Israelâs dates output at 12,000 tons. He said that farmers in the Qassim region alone sold dates worth more than SR1.3 billion last Ramadan. Saudi Arabia produces 850,000 tons of dates annually. "Like, no blood for dates, man!"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/12/2002 11:54 am ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
If they shaved a little more often, they could get dates at home.
Posted by: Larry ||
12/12/2002 12:49 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Maybe you should mention their deodorant, too...
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2002 13:36 Comments ||
Top||
Tehran Times
An Israeli delegation is currently in Doha to help Qatari officials adopt security measures for 2006 Asian games, Al-Bayan newspaper reported. That's mighty nice of those Zionists, actually...
The delegation went to Doha at the invitation of Qatari officials, but the Israeli Foreign Ministry has arranged the visit. Relations between Doha and Tel Aviv has been a thorny issue in Qatar's relations with other Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) members. The PGCC groups Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar. Yup. Gotta watch them Zionists. Next thing you know, they'll be sniffin' after them Arabian wimmin. Can't have that, y'know...
Qatar and Oman signed trade agreements with Israel in 1996 and thereafter Tel Aviv set up trade offices in Doha and Muscat. Following the intensification of Zionist atrocities against Palestinians and a flare up of public opinions, Oman closed the Israeli trade office in Doha and severed all its ties with Israel but Qatar is still continuing its relations with this regime. Qatar seems determined to become a modern country. It probably started when they discovered how much they like having indoor plumbing. They're probably not really, truly Arabian at heart. They're entirely too pragmatic. Having Insidious Zionists⢠give advice on security for the Asian Games is something that redounds to the benefit of rational people â the sort of thing real Arabians wouldn't touch with a long stick.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/12/2002 11:54 am ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Some of my associates have been to Doha recently on business and tell me that the place looks more like San Diego - with all the navy, air force and jarheads flooding the town. Says airport resembles a F-16 fighter wing's base more than a commercial airport.
Posted by: Jack ||
12/13/2002 5:38 Comments ||
Top||
Armed confrontations have flared-up against between two Kurdish groups, ending a period of peace enjoyed by the Kurdish population in northern Iraq. Oh? The Talabani guys aren't fighting the Barzani guys, are they?
On late December 3, a group of fighters belonging to Ansar Al-Islam, an armed group accused by Kurdish authorities of relations with Al-Qaeda, unleashed a sudden offensive on sits of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in areas between Halabja and Khormal. After a short while, Ansar Al-Islam fighters seized control of the PUK sites, killing 42 PUK fighters and wounding many others. We knew that...
According to Ansar Al-Islam sources, they lost only four fighters in the skirmishes, although PUK argues that the number of killed Ansar Al-Islam elements exceeds this figure. Days later, the PUK mounted a counter-attack on the same sites captured by Ansar Al-Islam but no fighting was reported as Ansar Al-Islam fighters had already withdrawn. PUK pushed mass military reinforcements towards Halabja to pave the way for an all-out offensive on the sites of Ansar Al-Islam. According to unofficial sources, the PUK forces received orders from PUK leader Jalal Talabani, currently in London to attend an Iraqi opposition meeting, not to broaden the scope of fighting and to wait for this return. Wants to lead the fighting himself? Has something up his sleeve? Wants to have a home to come back to?
Meanwhile, PUK sources said Wednesday, December 11, they killed 24 members of Ansar Al-Islam including Afghan Arabs (Palestinians and Syrians) by shelling their sites. Ansar Al-Islam categorically denies the reports. "Nope. We ain't dead."
Bloody clashes erupted between Ansar Al-Islam and PUK shortly after the September 11, 2002 [sic] attacks on the United States, with PUK exploiting the attacks to accuse Ansar Al-Islam with links to Al-Qaeda. The accusation gained further momentum by the declared so-called âwar on the terrorismâ and the presence of Afghan Arabs who fought in Afghanistan between the ranks of Ansar Al-Islam. Walks like a duck, quacks like a duck...
A number of PUK leaders including Talabani and Barham Saleh, president of the PUK government, visited Washington for direct support in its fight against Ansar Al-Islam. But the United States has refrained from directly interfering in the confrontations. Actually, Talabani said they could take care of it themselves, and Iran also offered to help, for what that'd be worth...
Ansar Al-Islam is made out of three armed groups that broke out of the Islamic Movement in Kurdistan which was led by Sheikh Othman Abdel Aziz. This includes Al-Islah Group, led by Mullah Fateh Krikar, Al-Tawheed Movement and the Hamas group. A local Hamas? Or a tentacle of Sheikh Yassin's?
The three groups joined together under Krikar who was arrested on charges of links with Al-Qaeda. Ansar Al-Islam is now led by Mullah Abu Abdullah El-Shafei, who used to lead Al-Tawheed Movement before it joined Ansar al-Islam. Nice to know. The Bad Guys were having a little organizational trouble after Mullah Krekar was jugged. I guess all the rivals for the Seat of All Power have been killed off.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/12/2002 11:54 am ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
Ananova
North Korea says it is to immediately reactivate a nuclear programme the US suspects was being used to develop weapons. A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman confirms they will revive a Soviet-designed nuclear reactor and resume construction of other nuclear facilities to supply desperately needed power. The move has raised fears of a nuclear crisis in the region. The programme was suspended under a 1994 deal with the US, averting a possible war on the Korean Peninsula. Experts say North Korea could quickly extract enough plutonium from its old facilities to make several nuclear weapons. But the official says they were obliged to revive the programme because of the US-led decision to suspend annual oil shipments of 500,000 tons to the North. "You're not sending us oil, so we have to revive our nuclear program."
"And why ain't we sending you oil?"
"'Cuz we revived our nuclear program..."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/12/2002 11:54 am ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[9 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
....Nobel Peace Prize winner Jimmy Carter was unavailable for comment.
Tehran Times
Iran will not allow Iraqi opposition groups to attack Baghdad from Iranian soil and does not intend to attend a weekend London conference on regime change, a government spokesman said Wednesday. "We will not let anyone use Iranian territory for military objectives against any of our neighbors," Abdollah Ramezanzadeh told reporters. Another week's gone by, another change in policy...
Ramezanzadeh also said Iran "will not participate in the London conference" of Iraqi opposition groups this weekend, even as an observer and even though Tehran has reportedly been invited to send representatives. "No! We hate them! They're evil!"
And the spokesman said Iran played no role in discussions here between visiting Iraqi opposition leaders — Kurdish leader Massound Barzani and Iraqi National Congress (INC) leader Ahmad Chalabi. Barzani revealed late Tuesday he had held a series of unprecedented meetings with Iran's president, foreign minister, intelligence minister, former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Guess Rafsanjani didn't like what he heard...
Officially, Iran is opposed to a U.S. attack on Iraq despite national loathing of its leader Saddam Hussein.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/12/2002 11:54 am ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
The decision by the U.S. to hand over 15 SCUD missiles to Yemen after interdicting them aboard a North Korean vessel on the high seas underscores the legal gray area in which the incident occurred. It was maritime irregularities aboard the SCUD-bearing vessel So San â nationality and papers not being in order, a false manifest and the vessel's refusal to submit to inspection â that allowed the Spanish navy, acting on a U.S. intelligence tip, to seize it in international waters in the Arabian sea. Those irregularities, and the fact that its unlisted cargo of 15 SCUD missiles bound for Yemen was hidden under thousands of bags of cement certainly conveys an air of contraband, but Yemen immediately insisted that it had purchased the missiles in an above-board transaction with North Korea, and that such a transaction violated no laws. Washington decided to hand over the missiles because there was no legal basis to hold them, although U.S. officials still have many questions over the transaction. The legal gray area in which the interdiction occurred highlights the complexities of new era in which the U.S. aims to prevent and preempt the emergence of security threats, sometimes in instances for which the rules may be a little hazy. In the case of the 15 SCUDS aboard the So San, the recipient is a U.S. ally and isn't denying the purchase. And despite the efforts of the U.S. and many other countries to curb missile proliferation, the sale of conventional weapons is not in itself illegal. Yemen on Tuesday protested the seizure of the missile shipment, and demanded its return, and after talks with U.S. officials Washington agreed to hand them over. But the procurement of the SCUDS breaks a promise U.S. officials say Yemen has made to refrain from buying missiles and parts from North Korea, and could cast a chill on the country's relations with Washington. Yemen has long been a stronghold of al-Qaeda, but has since 9/11 worked hard to ally itself with the U.S. war on terrorism. Bush administration officials emphasized on Wednesday that Yemen remains an ally in good standing in the war on terror. But questions raised by the missile incident may bring greater scrutiny of Yemen's performance as a U.S. ally. Play along, help us hunt down al-Qaeda, and you get to keep your new toys. Cause trouble, we take them out.
Yemen claims the missiles, shipped along with high-explosive conventional warheads, had been ordered some time ago for its army, which has a small preexisting stock of SCUDS. Back ordered, Christmas sales are busy.
Some of the weapons had previously been used in Yemen's civil war in 1994. The Soviet-designed SCUD-B with a range of some 200 miles is a common item in the arsenals of the Middle East. They're a 1950s-vintage technology no longer in production in Russia, although North Korea and other countries have continued to manufacture and improve the system. SCUD-Bs of the type suspected of being carried on the So San carry no onboard guidance system â like giant, rocket-powered artillery shells, they are simply pointed in the direction of their target and fired at an optimal angle based on their burn rate. Not much better, if any, than the V-2 they are based on.
As the Gulf War showed, targeting difficulties made the SCUD an ineffective military weapon, although such imperfections would not diminish its appeal to terrorists. Fear of the SCUDS falling into the hands of terrorists may be one reason Washington chose to intercept them. Although Yemen has allied closely with the U.S. in the wake of 9/11, it remains a hotbed of al-Qaeda activity. The weakness of its government and the influence of Islamist groups certainly raises a concern that equipment shipped to the Yemeni military could, in the long run, fall into the hands of terrorists. Yemen's backing of Iraq during the first Gulf War may also have left U.S. officials concerned at the fact that it was acquiring such weapons at a time of mounting tension in the Gulf. Such concerns might be amplified by the fact that Yemen faces no external military threats â its topography alone makes it a difficult country to contemplate invading. Its primary security concern is the domestic threat of Islamist terrorism, and obviously the SCUDs have little use in that battle. Despite recent rapprochement, Yemen has long had a tense relations with its northern neighbor, Saudi Arabia, and Riyadh will share Washington's dismay at the news that the government in Yemen is trying to import medium-range missiles from North Korea. Could be one of the reasons we let them have them. With a 200 mile range, the only other countries in reach are Oman to the east, and across the Red Sea, Erithea, Djibouti and Ethiopia.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/12/2002 12:57 pm ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
"Riyadh will share Washington's dismay"
I'm not at all sure Washington is dismayed. The Soddis, on the other hand...
"Sec. Def. Donald Rumsfeld saluted the victorious Yemeni army during its victory parade through Riyadh today. Bands of Saudi princes with brooms roamed the streets sweeping up debries from the recent Yemeni onslaught."
The Bush administration has received a credible report that Islamic extremists affiliated with al Qaeda took possession of a chemical weapon in Iraq last month or late in October, according to two officials with firsthand knowledge of the report and its source. They said government analysts suspect that the transaction involved the nerve agent VX and that a courier managed to smuggle it overland through Turkey. We'll see where it pops up. Then we'll kill Sammy...
If the report proves true, the transaction marks two significant milestones. It would be the first known acquisition of a nonconventional weapon other than cyanide by al Qaeda or a member of its network. Cyanide's not enough?
It also would be the most concrete evidence to support the charge, aired for months by President Bush and his advisers, that al Qaeda terrorists receive material assistance in Iraq. If advanced publicly by the White House, the report could be used to rebut Iraq's assertion in a 12,000-page declaration Saturday that it had destroyed its entire stock of chemical weapons. You might say that...
On the central question whether Iraqi President Saddam Hussein knew about or authorized such a transaction, U.S. analysts are said to have no evidence. Because Hussein's handpicked Special Security Organization, run by his son Qusay, has long exerted tight control over concealed weapons programs, officials said they presume it would be difficult to transfer a chemical agent without the president's knowledge. Doesn't matter whether Sammy knew about it or not. If it happened in Iraq, on his watch — which has been pretty much since Heck was a pup — then he's going to be held responsible. Especially since he's been saying there isn't any such thing...
Knowledgeable officials, speaking without White House permission, said information about the transfer came from a sensitive and credible source whom they declined to discuss. Among the hundreds of leads in the Threat Matrix, a daily compilation by the CIA, this one has drawn the kind of attention reserved for a much smaller number. "The way we gleaned the information makes us feel confident it is accurate," said one official whose responsibilities are directly involved with the report. "I throw about 99 percent of the spot reports away when I look at them. I didn't throw this one away." That's because it has military significance and if it's confirmed then Sammy's poop's in the street, regardless of how his apologists may squall about it.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/12/2002 01:32 pm ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
Lukoil, Russia's largest oil group by reserves, was informed this week, along with two minority partners in the project, that their contracts in the second phase of the West Qurna field had been terminated, a Lukoil company executive told Russian press agencies on Thursday. Bad move, Sammy. That lets the Russers off the hook, and they can come back when you're decomposing and do business with the new gummint. Now they don't have any reason to bitch when somebody tries to kill you...
Energy Intelligence Group's "Eye on Iraq" on Wednesday first cited extracts of a letter from the Iraqi oil ministry sent on December 9 to Vagit Alekperov, head of Lukoil, saying that its contract was "null and void" because of a failure to fulfil the obligations to develop the field, which has recoverable reserves of 7.3bn barrels. The magazine interpreted the move as a sign of anger over statements by Mr Alekperov that Russia was pushing to protect its interests in the field in the event that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was removed from power, and indications that he had held secret talks with Spencer Abraham, the US energy secretary. That's very interesting. I didn't know that. I wonder if this ties in with the recent kidnappings of relatives of Russian oil company executives?
On September 12 the vice-president of LUKoil Sergei Kukura was kidnapped. A couple of weeks later he re-appeared, but the circumstances of his release remain a mystery. According to some sources, he was freed for a ransom that LUKoil paid; others said the executiveâs release was the result of a special operation.
Earlier this week misfortune fell on the house of LUKoil's vice-president Vagit Sharifov when his father, Sadi, was kidnapped in Georgia. As the Georgian Interior Ministry told Gazeta.Ru, a group of gunmen broke into the Sharifov family house located in the village of Panpiani in the Dmanisi area of Georgia in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Baghdad's move has puzzled some observers, as it will serve to alienate Russia, which has been one of Iraq's strongest supporters in the past in efforts to lift economic sanctions and to resist unilateral and military action by the US. It could result in reduced Russian pressure to protect the existing Iraqi administration, and even further enhance Lukoil's chances of winning a fresh contract should a new regime unfriendly to Mr Hussein take power. Clueless in Baghdad. It's OK to say bad things about countries supporting the U.S., but another thing entirely when you take money out of their pockets. You just picked the Russian Bears pocket.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/12/2002 02:07 pm ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#2
More bad news: The body of Sadi Sharifov, the father of Vagit Sharifov, a Lukoil vice-president, was found by a roadside 60km south-west of the Georgian capital Tbilisi, David Stern reports. He had been kidnapped from his home 10 days ago and apparently died of a heart attack while in captivity.
They seem to think he was kidnapped for ransom, a growth industry in Georgia.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/12/2002 14:45 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Russia's entire refusal to support Bush was based on economics. Have the Iraqis gone mad?
#4
Russia's reluctance to support the US actually made sense - from Moscow's viewpoint anyway - because they had such a critically big investment in Iraq. Now Saddam has gone and yanked the rug out from under them. Smooth move, guys; REAL smooth. If Russia still had any Guards Tank Armies left, I bet Vladimir Putin would be offering a couple of them to GWB for the coalition right about now. More realistically, one may look for Russia to review that 12,000-page Iraqi declaration with a gimlet eye - and a rather more skeptical one than they might have a few days earlier.
Posted by: Joe ||
12/12/2002 17:59 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Privately, the Ruskies were always on side. Putin did the calc and it came us USA. What other result could it have been - status quo? Harldly. But they (and the froggies and leiderhosen crowd also) are all on board except when maintaining their public image. When the rubber hits the road everyone will want to be seen on the bandwagon to Baghdad.
Posted by: Jack ||
12/13/2002 5:44 Comments ||
Top||
President Mohammad Khatami has described the United States and Afghanistan's Taliban as "the two blades of a very dangerous pair of scissors" tarnishing Islam, state news agency IRNA reported Thursday. "God's religion today is lying between the two blades of a very dangerous pair of scissors: one blade is the Islam of the Taliban, while the other is trying to impose war, hatred, animosity and imperialism on the whole world under the pretext of fighting the Islam of the Taliban," Khatami said. "The Islam of the Taliban belongs to those who are portraying God's beautiful religion as ugly, with their repellent views, backward ideology, fossilised habits and rigid-mindeness." Got that part right, I guess...
"On the opposite side are those powers that are trying to tarnish the image of God's religion, which has become a source of uprising for independence and freedom ... from hegemonic powers," he added, calling on Muslim artists "to strive to portray the beauty" of Islam. Maybe we need Muslim painters to portray the beauty of amputations, stonings, beheadings, hangings...
Iran, while a staunch enemy of the ousted fundamentalist Afghan Taliban, has also spoken out against the widening US "war on terrorism". It's all connected, and as it happens Iran is where a lot of it connects.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/12/2002 10:17 pm ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
A former head of hardline vigilante group Ansar-e Hezbollah has warned that Iran is headed for a "political earthquake" due to widespread corruption and loss of Islamic revolutionary values, reports said Thursday. "Corruption, the social divide, nepotism and the loss of revolutionary values have created such a faultline under the feet of the leaders and society that a small tremor would spark a terrifying catastrophe" and "political earthquake," warned Massoud Dehnamaki. Sounds like things are tough in the old Caliphate...
Dehnamaki was a former leader of the Ansar-e Hezbollah (followers of the party of God), a vigilante group best known for its violent attacks on pro-reform meetings, newspapers and publishers. He is now editor of the twice-weekly hardline paper Do Kouheh, and his comments appeared to be directed at both Iran's reformist and conservative camps. "It is not improbable that society is on the verge of an explosion or collapse," he said, quoted in newspapers, arguing that the Islamic republic could not survive "injustice and repression." He said the only solution was to stage a "new revolution" and bring before the courts "all those from the different tendencies of the regime who have betrayed the ideals of the Islamic revolution." "Y'see, if you put me in charge, I'll put everything right..."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/12/2002 10:20 pm ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
Two Iranian reformist deputies have been summoned to appear in court for criticising the sentencing to death for blasphemy of dissident academic Hashem Aghajari, reports said Thursday. The reports said Mohammad Kianoush Rad, a young deputy from the southwestern city of Ahvaz, was the subject of a complaint filed by the Revolutionary Guards and hardline Basij militia. The MP had spoken out against the verdict, which has sparked widespread student protests, at Ahvaz university on November 18. After his speech, he was reportedly attacked and badly beaten by Basij members. Yep. Sounds like the Iranian version of civil, well-reasoned discourse...
Another MP from the western city of Hamedan where Aghajari is being detained, Hossein Loghmanian, was also summoned over similar criticism of the verdict in a speech to the parliament. In January, Loghmanian was sentenced to six months imprisonment for "insulting the judiciary", but was pardoned by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei following protests from the reformist-held parliament. Just as a matter of mechanics, if the judiciary can haul the legislators in because they're not happy with them, it seems only fair that the legislators should be able to haul the judges in, too. But I guess since anybody can be beaten up by the Basij, it all works out in the end.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/12/2002 10:24 pm ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
Israel's intelligence community has warned that Al Qaida could next target Israeli or Jewish interests in Europe for a major attack. Security sources said the intelligence community has determined that Europe is vulnerable to an Al Qaida attack. They cite the freedom of EU nationals, including suspected sleeper agents, to travel throughout Western Europe and gather intelligence and deploy explosives required for a major attack. "We are very worried that the next target will be Europe," a senior Israeli security source said. "We are very vulnerable there. It is easy to move around." The assertion came as Israeli intelligence has warned of an Al Qaida attack in Prague. The Czech capital is a favorite spot for Israeli tourists and officials have warned that they as well as Jewish installations could be a target. "But try and keep it to just killing Jews, Mahmoud. We wouldn't want to bump off any Euros. They might get mad at us and make a strong statement."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/12/2002 01:59 pm ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
Palestinian parliament speaker Ahmed Qorei said Tuesday it will be practically impossible for the Palestinian people to go ahead with the scheduled January 20 presidential and legislative elections. "We can't do it in the shadow of Israeli tanks, so I think it will be difficult to organize the polls," he told reporters following talks with French Foreign Minister, Dominique de Villepin. "Practically speaking, I don't see how it's possible," he said. "We just can't do it. It would be just... just... just too traumatic for us. So I guess Yasser can keep warming the seat until he dies, and then we can try and find one of his relatives, huh?"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/12/2002 12:00 pm ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Crooked cops, Hamas vs. Fatah, no elections, etc.,etc.? Israel oughta just sit back behind the fence, pick them off when they come over and let that shithole implode. Looks like it's heading that way....
Palestinians are undergoing a wave of crime and gang activity following the collapse of police services in the West Bank, according to Palestinian sources and local news reports. Many of the members of the gangs are former Palestinian Authority police officers or Fatah insurgents, the sources said. They said they turned to crime after the the PA failed to pay their salaries. Budget cuts are a bitch, ain't they. Just goes to show, the difference between an "activist" and a crook is where the money comes from...
The focus of the criminal activities is said to be in northern Jerusalem neighborhoods that had been under the civilian rule of the Palestinian Authority. PA police were deployed in the area until the escalation of the Israeli-PA war in 2001, Middle East Newsline reported. Palestinian sources said as a result the area between Jerusalem and Ramallah have become lawless. The Anata refugee camp has been termed "Chicago" in a reference to the 1920s gang wars in the U.S. city. Many Palestinians have sought to protect themselves from the gangs. For the first time in years, Palestinian newspapers contain advertisements for the sale of guard dogs. Guard dogs are real effective against guys packing AK-47s. Since everybody's packing AKs, why don't they use them to shoot back?
The Palestinian sources said a network of gangs have appeared that extort from businessmen, steal property and other assets and work for those who want to eliminate their rivals. This is news? The Paleos have instituted a system of anarchy that must be beloved by the Western anarchokiddies, since that's what they want, too...
The sources said the gangs operate in the Jerusalem and Ramallah areas and face virtually no danger from being captured by either Israeli or Palestinian authorities. On Wednesday, Palestinian dailies published announcements warning the public to beware of these gangs. The announcements disclosed the activities of the criminal network and its record of extortion and deception. Getting too big a problem to sweep under the table? I wonder if they named any names? Or if the perps have been run out of Fatah? Betcha it's no, to both...
An announcement in the Al Quds daily called on the public to resist the gangs. The announcement said the criminal network sells illegal drugs, forges documents and seizes cars and land. Israeli police, they said, have not responded to reports of criminal activity amid reinforcement of Jerusalem from Palestinian insurgents. If the Israeli police tried to crack down, they'd be accused of oppressing the palestinian people. Most likely the Israeli policy is "You made this bed, now sleep in it."
Posted by: Steve ||
12/12/2002 01:53 pm ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
Israel is readying a robust and detailed counter to the U.N. complaints at the killing in Jenin last month of Iain Hook, a Briton working for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, during a gunfight between Israeli soldiers and Palestinians. Israel will present a report to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, largely written by the counter-intelligence group Shin Bet, that documents the routine use of UNRWA facilities by terrorists. Shin Beth cites interrogations of named Palestinians. One, Muhammad Ali Hassan, arrested in February, says he took target practice and stored ammo at an UNRWA school near Nablus. Nidal Nazal, an UNRWA ambulance driver arrested in July, claims his ambulance was used to transport ammunition. Other detainees say UNRWA vehicles were "routinely" used by terrorists for transport, including as getaway vehicles. The Shin Bet report claims the Tanzim group regularly gathered at UNRWA clubs in the Jabalya and El Aroub refugee camps.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/12/2002 12:39 pm ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
Lebanon's militant Hezbollah said Thursday Canada's decision to impose a ban on the group was unjustified and biased and part of the U.S. campaign against Arabs and Muslims. A Hezbollah statement said Canada responded to known and continued U.S. and Israeli demands by completely banning the pro-Iranian Muslim group. Canada decided on the complete ban Wednesday after Hezbollah chief Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah repeatedly encouraged the Palestinians to carry out suicide operations as the only way to end the Israeli occupation. In 2001, Canada outlawed the military wing of Hezbollah and resisted for months pressures to add it to the list of groups accused of being deliberately engaged in terrorist activities. Took them long enough.
The Hezbollah statement refuted Canada's accusations, insisting that the "whole world knows Hezbollah is a resistance movement against the Israeli occupation as provided in international laws." It said describing Hezbollah as a terrorist group using "illusionary pretexts in the absence of proof" was "false and unjust defamation." "We ain't terrorists! We only kill Jews, um, and people who like them, and people who won't let us kill them!"
"The Canadian authorities have committed a grave mistake which will undoubtedly affect their relations with the Arab and Islamic countries," the statement said. It warned Canada of "increased enmity and hatred" against it like against the U.S. administration because of its "blind bias" to Israel.' Bet you wish you hadn't made those defense cuts now, don't you?
The United States placed Hezbollah on its list of groups supporting terrorism after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York and Washington. It has been exerting pressures on Lebanon and Syria to disband Hezbollah. OK, we took too damm long calling them terrorists, too.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/12/2002 12:44 pm ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
Two Israelis - a man and a woman - were killed at around 8 P.M. Thursday in a shooting attack close to the Tomb of the Patriarchs, a Jewish holy site in the center of the West Bank city of Hebron. The two were approaching the Tomb of the Patriarchs when the attack occurred. The woman was killed instantly, while the man died of his wounds while on the way to a Jerusalem hospital. The shooting took place close to the location of an attack last month in which 12 members of the security services were killed in an ambush after Israeli worshippers returned from prayers at the site to a nearby settlement. Another victory by those brave defenders of Paleostein.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/12/2002 01:56 pm ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
Five unarmed Palestinians were killed by IDF fire as they tried to cross the security fence into Israel from the Gaza Strip overnight Wednesday. The Palestinians were killed by a tank shell as they attempted to scale the security fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip, but their bodies were only found during a search Thursday. "An army force identified several suspicious figures crawling towards the border fence near the Karni border crossing overnight," said an IDF source. "This area is barred to Palestinian traffic and there were specific warnings that an infiltration attempt would be carried out in this area.They were found with ladders, apparently having planned to get over the border fence, but no weapons were found," said the source. No Trespassing, and we mean you!
Border Police members foiled an attempt Thursday morning by two armed Palestinians to infiltrate the Gush Katif settlement bloc in the Gaza Strip, killing one of the men, Israel Radio reported. Apparently, troops saw two Palestinians wearing flackjackets and carrying weapons in the area of the settlements Katif and Netzer Hazani. One of the men was cutting the fence, and troops fired at him. The army found an automatic weapon and several hand grenades on the body. Yup, that's a palestinian! At least, what's left of one.
"The forces fired on him and killed him... The other one was apparently behind and managed to flee," said IDF commander Lieutenant Colonel Avi Oved. "Their goal was definitely to get into one of the settlements." The two were armed with automatic rifles, he said. The other infiltrator fled back to the town of Khan Yunis. Exit stage left, hauling ass all the way.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility for the attempted infiltration, saying it was marking the 35th anniversary of its founding. Happy anniversary, MFer's!
Posted by: Steve ||
12/12/2002 01:52 pm ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Funny, I thought they were supposed to martyr themselves. Running away doesn't fulfill that purpose.
Two Patriot missile batteries arrived at the Ashdod port in Israel this week, ahead of a large-scale military exercise by US and Israeli soldiers, according to an Israeli daily report.
The Patriots will stay in Israel, in order to strengthen the country's defenses in the event of an attack by Iraq during the anticipated US operation against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, Tel-Aviv based Haâaretz reported. The Patriot missiles are to help defend Israel against potential Scud missile attacks, as well as any attempts by Iraqi aircraft to enter Israeli airspace and drop biological or chemical weapons on Israeli populations centers. The joint exercise by the US and Israeli armies will also include Arrow and Hawk missiles, as well as an American ship-based radar system designed to pinpoint incoming ground-to-ground missiles. That would be a Ageis radar equipped vessel. They did a successful intercept of a ballistic missile a couple of months ago. There was talk of deploying one off the Israeli coast.
Similar exercises have been conducted during recent years. High-ranking Israeli army sources, for their part, have expressed confidence that the Arrow defense system, complemented by the Patriots for lower trajectory Scud missiles, is fully capable of meeting potential airborne threats. Arrow, Patriot and Ageis, yup, their covered.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/12/2002 02:17 pm ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Green Pine radar, too. Maybe even the MTHEL, if they really want to pull the prototype.
A bomb exploded at an outdoor market in western Algeria on Thursday, killing four people and wounding 16, the official Algerian news agency said. The explosion in the town of Boukadir, 135 miles west of Algiers, occurred at 8 a.m., when the market was crowded with shoppers, the agency reported.
Boukadir is part of an area considered a stronghold of the radical Armed Islamic Group, or GIA. The GIA, like other rival rebel groups, wants to see an Islamic government in Algeria. They rejected President Abedelaziz Bouteflika's national reconciliation plan to end a lengthy civil war.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/12/2002 03:20 pm ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
Laksamana.Net
Police investigating the bomb blast at a McDonaldâs outlet in Makassar, South Sulawesi, say there are indications that one of the suspects received Rp40 million from overseas. I wonder from what part of Arabia?
Police sources quoted by Satunet.com [Note: In Indonesian] said checks on bank accounts kept by suspect Muhtar Daeng Lau contained a Rp40 million deposit they believed had been sent from overseas. âWe suspect there was an outside role in this bombing,â one police source said. Well, yeah. There would be, if the money came from overseas. So, what part of Arabia was it? And who is Muhtar Daeng Lau?
Meanwhile National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said there was also a clear link between the Makassar bombing and the Bali bomb of October 12. âWhile we have yet to be certain who performed the Makassar bombing, information from various sources shows a clear link, although we do not yet have enough evidence to prove it in court.â Bachtiar told reporters in Jakarta. âThe perpetrators knew each other and had met at a number of places. There are indications that there is a network that links these people together.â It's kind of a loose flock of birds of a feather, isn't it?
Bachtiar said it was too early to say whether there was any link to Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia (MMI), the organization led by detained preacher Abu Bakar Baasyir. Other police sources said there were indications that both bombings were related to people connected to Agus Dwikarna, the Makassar resident jailed for 17 years in the Philippines on charges of possessing explosives. âThere is also a similarity in the Bali and Makassar bombings in that both were aimed at clear American targets,â said one officer. But that doesn't necessarily say that both were done by the same gang of thugs. It's entirely possible that it's two separate gangs...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/12/2002 02:18 pm ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
Laksamana.Net
The connection between the Bali bombers and Malaysia is becoming more evident. According to the testimony of one suspect, Ali Gufron alias Mukhlas, a Malaysian man named Wan Min Wan Mat supplied funds amounting to around $30.000 to finance the October 12 Bali bombings. We knew that. Got anything more?
This, according to police, is a significant development. âIf I am not mistaken, Wan Min is the Jemaah Islamiyah treasurer,â said chief police investigator for the Bali bombing, Maj. Gen. I Made Mangku Pastika. Oooh. That's a nice thing to know...
A team is expected to leave for Malaysia soon to cross check the statements given by Gufron. I'll bet they are...
The story of the Malaysian connection began in February 1985, when Abu Bakar Baasyir and the late Abdullah Sungkar, the founder of the Central Java-based Ngruki Islamic boarding school, fled to Malaysia to avoid arrest for their political activities against the Suharto regime. The group, later popularly known as the Ngruki exiles, consisted of Abdullah Sungkar, Abu Bakar Baasyir [Bashir], Fikiruddin,
Abu Jibril alias Fikiruddin Muqti
He is also known as Mohamad Iqbal bin Abdul Rahman. He was arrested by Malaysian police under the country's Internal Security Act. Jibril was seen in a video recruiting Muslim volunteers who were to be sent to Maluku. According to Southeast Asian intelligence reports, Jibril was a key member of the Al Qaeda network. Jibril is the brother of Irfan S. Awwas, an activist with the Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia which is led by Abu Bakar Ba'asyir.
Agus Sunarto, Ahmad Fallah, Rusli Aryus, Mubin Bustami, Fajar Sidiq and Agung Riyadi. After obtaining refuge in Malaysia, in August 1985 the Ngruki group held a series of meetings at which they decided they would seek funds for the movement by asking âjemaah membersâ in Solo to recruit fellow members to work in designated companies in Malaysia and turn over 20% of their salaries to the jemaah. Nice racket, huh? If anybody feels like kicking in 20% of their salary to me, drop me an e-mail. I promise to use the money for women and beer to fight for a, ummmm... non-Islamic state.
Thus, the nucleus of the secret society was set in motion. Abdullah Sungkar, the leading figure of this network, started to identify a number of sympathetic Malaysian suckers businessmen willing to take on Indonesian gunnies workers and help the effort to help the holy men avoid having to get jobs establish an Islamic state. The testimony of Gufron concerning the involvement of Wan Min in supplying funds for the Bali bombing is believed to provide hope of uncovering the involvement of Malaysian suckersmarks businessmen, and the links with their counterparts in Indonesia. Guess you have to sweep up the useful idiots as well...
Wan Min Wan Mat has been picked up in Malaysia, and, according to The Straits Times, admitted that he had been instructed by Hambali to hand over the money to Mukhlas, another key JI operative. Wan Min was told that the money was to fund âan important projectâ in Indonesia, but he was not told what that project was. "No! I mean, really! I had no idea...!"
âOnly after a meeting in Solo, Indonesia, in the middle of the year did the purpose of the funds become clear, he told security officials,â the report states. During his interrogation, Wan Min also made clear that Hambali was still the most important member of the JI network in the region. Wonder where Riduan might be these days?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/12/2002 03:04 pm ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
Research conducted by the International Crisis Group indicates that the activities of the Ngruki circle during their stay in Malaysia deserves special attention in terms of broadening its international network. Just how far this network has extended was evidenced by the trip by Sungkar and Baasyir to Saudi Arabia to seek funds. Hmmm... Funny. My surprise meter hasn't stirred...
At the same time, they decided to strengthen the jemaah militarily by sending volunteers from Indonesia to train in Afghanistan. The international network also widened when the son-in-law of Kahar Muzakkar, a man named Abdul Wahid Kadungga, came to the surface and began to be in intensive contact with Sungkar and Baasyir. Muzakkar was an early-50s proponent on the Dar ul-Islam for Indonesia:
Kahar Muzakkar had impeccable nationalist credentials. He had been one of Sukarno's bodyguards in 1945. From Java, he helped recruit guerrillas from among Sulawesi youths studying there and infiltrated them back into Sulawesi. Despite a noteworthy clash in 1947 with a young Javanese lieutenant colonel named Soeharto that led to a temporary demotion, he remained an important figure in the revolution. He was sent back to South Sulawesi in 1950 and worked to establish the authority of the young republic. For this, he expected his forces to be rewarded with positions in the newly established Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI). Instead, the army leadership, determined to demobilise as many of the militia fighters as possible, not only rejected a separate brigade led by Muzakkar but also seemed to treat the Sulawesi fighters as poor cousins to their counterparts in Java and Sumatra. As a result, Kahar Muzakkar broke with the new republic and led a rebellion that lasted until he was tracked down and shot by the military in February 1965.
Kadungga remains a mysterious figure. He was based first in Germany, then in Holland, becoming a key international contact with links to a radical Egyptian group. He returned periodically to Malaysia. Either an International Man of Mystery or a hobo. Take your pick...
It was Kadungga who is believed to have radicalized the Ngruki network since the mid-1990s. He was the man who met Abu Bakar Baasyir and Abdullah Sungkar on their arrival in Malaysia and arranged a place for them to stay. Helpful little fellow, ain't he?
As a part of the Darul Islam network, Kadungga had fled to Europe and by 1971 was a student in Cologne, Germany. There he helped found the Muslim Youth Association of Europe (PPME, Persatuan Pemuda Muslim se-Eropa). Through that association, he became friendly with Muslim activists from the Middle East and gradually became more radical; he also developed close ties to PAS in Malaysia. Sometime in the 1980s, Kadungga moved to the Hague, and in 1989, he developed a close friendship with Usama Rushdi, or Rashid, of Gama Islami, a breakway faction of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood (Ikhwan ul-Muslimin) â led by Sheikh Umar Abdul Rahman, later convicted in the US in connection with the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Traveled with all the right people, didn't he?
Kadungga reportedly focused his activities on providing religious training to Indonesian students studying in Germany. He also traveled around Europe, the Middle East, Afghanistan, and Southeast Asia during this period and stayed in regular contact with Baasyir and Sungkar. His international connections raised suspicions that his political motivations went beyond establishing Islamic state to a bid for personal power. If this was so, political observers say, Kadungga would have become vulnerable to political influence from beyond the Ngruki network. Simply put, there is a strong possibility that Kadungga decided to cooperate with the Jakarta political elite close to the Suharto circle. Oho! He got turned, did he? A few comely wenches, some good scotch, the promise of a gummint job, and it was all over...
Kadunggaâs appearance in a number of reports in October 2002 strengthened his mysterious image. He is described as having no fixed residence. âOccasionally heâs in the Netherlands, then heâs talking with top officials of PAS in Kelantan or Trengganu, and not long after, heâs conversing with Osama bin Laden in the depths of Afghanistan,â said one report. Yep. A hobo, but one with ambition...
In 1995, by way of Kadunggaâs influence, Baasyir and Sungkar moved beyond their commitment to an Islamic state within Indonesian boundaries and took a more radical stance which promoted the return of an international Islamic caliphate. They could fight it out later over who was going to become caliph and who was going to get to be Grand Vizier...
The shift in orientation took place when Baasyir and Sungkar became close to Gama Islami. Again, it was Kadungga who introduced the Ngruki leaders to Gama Islami. Uncovering the connections between Kadungga and Malaysian supporters of radical Islam appears to be an essential step toward disclosing the mastermind behind Imam Samudra, Ali Gufron and the other Bali bombers. Gema'a was folded into al-Qaeda when Ayman became Binny's second in command. Probably there's a cadre version of it left. Jemaah is likely a clone of the cadre version, then filled out with locals. When the going gets tough, it's likely designed to shrink back to the cadre version while the cannon fodder gets jugged. I'd guess there are a few Bigs who aren't as prominent as Bashir, and are as well-hidden as Hambali is. I'd also guess that Hambali would be a more important catch than Bashir.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/12/2002 03:38 pm ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
A little known Islamic militant group has claimed responsibility for the Bali blasts and is threatening new attacks against Westerners, according to a website mentioned by the main suspect in the bombings. "We are responsible for the incident in . . . Kuta, Bali," a message on the site yesterday from a group calling itself al-Katibul Maut al-Alamiya, or the International Death Brigade claimed. Nice catchy name, you do market research on that?
Authorities have said that another group, Jemaah Islamiah which has links to al Qaeda, was behind the Bali blasts that killed nearly 200 people, mostly foreign tourists. Last week, the Indonesian newspaper Kompas said Imam Samudra, one of the alleged masterminds behind the Bali bombings, told one of its reporters about the website. If you want to be taken seriously, you have to have a website these days. And bombs.
The web message threatens further attacks against Western targets in revenge for the persecution of Muslims in the Middle East, Afghanistan and Bosnia. Bosnia?
Posted by: Steve ||
12/12/2002 03:41 pm ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
Australia will be "destroyed instantly" if it launches a pre-emptive strike against terrorist targets in other countries, warns the man Western governments say is spiritual leader of the terrorist group accused of masterminding the Bali bombings. Abu Bakar Bashir, the cleric said to be head of the recently banned South-East Asian group Jemaah Islamiah, said Australians would be dragged into a war with Muslims if they went along with the "crazy idea" of a pre-emptive strike floated recently by the Prime Minister, John Howard. That idea's looking less crazy every time Abu opens his mouth...
"So, if John Howard's stance is followed by the people of Australia you must know that there will be war in the world and, God willing, Australia will be destroyed instantly due to the crazy idea of its Prime Minister." Or, God willing, Abu and his minions will be doorknob dead...
Abu Bakar said that "Australian people, God willing, have no problem with Islam" but their leaders, like Mr Howard, "do influence their people a lot to make enemies of Islam ... the incumbent prime minister is the ally of George W. Bush, the worst and most evil president in the world. John Howard is his ally." The Australian people — and the American people — had no problem with Islam until Islamists started killing them. Things change, don't they?
Abu Bakar, who heads a militant Islamic garrison boarding school in Central Java where thousands of young men have studied, also said suicide bombings were a "noble thing" when used in the defence of Islam. "Martyrs' bombs are a noble thing, a jihad of high value if you are forced to do it. For instance, in Palestine there is no other way to defend yourself and defend Islam. All Ulamas [Muslim leaders] agree with martyrs' bombs because we are forced to do it. There is no other way to defend ourselves and to defend Islam. Like my Muslim brothers in Palestine facing Israel, they are forced to do such a thing because of the unequal weapons." Didja ever notice how seldom the clerics who're saying what a noble thing suicide bombing is actually explode? Seems it's more noble when the common folk do it...
"Israel gets weapons supplied by Allah's enemy, the American Government, while the Palestinians do not have weapons that are capable of fighting back, so there is no other way but the martyr-bombers way." Unless they felt like negotiating and abiding by their agreements. But that's not the Islamist way...
Abu Bakar made his comments when answering a series of questions prepared by the Herald and put to him and recorded by one of his confidants in the police hospital in Jakarta on Wednesday. In contrast with his comments in an interview with the Herald just after the Bali bombing, Abu Bakar expressed some sympathy for the victims of the attack, who he said appeared to be "only ordinary tourists" and not involved in attacking Islam. However, he said Muslims had no choice but to defend themselves from attacks by the United States and its allies, including Australia. "... We are obliged to defend ourselves and attack people who attack Islam," he said. "And even people who don't give a fart about Islam. It's the same thing, ain't it?"
"In Islam there is no word for hands up, there is no word for surrender, there are only two things, win or die ... if infidels do want to attack Islam, fight Islam, so we are instructed to fight them." Unless the West is wimpier than I think it is — maybe even as wimpy as Abu thinks it is — Abu isn't going to win. That means Abu can start decomposing any time now... Abu Bakar denied knowing Imam Samudra or any of the others arrested over the Bali bombings, claiming they were incapable of organising such an attack. He repeated his belief that the US and Israel were behind the bombings but again offered no evidence to support this. He doesn't need any evidence, does he?
He also continued to deny his involvement in JI, or even that it exists, claiming the group was a US invention to prove that Muslims were terrorists. He admitted making "several trips" to Australia, but not the eleven the Federal Government says he has made. He remembered visiting Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane, but could not recall where he stayed. "I visited Australia because of Koran reading invitations by the Muslim community there ... I stayed in their houses, kept moving and forget who those people are because it is a one-week visit." He had no network in Australia and "all the trips" had been paid for by people in Australia who had invited him. Perhaps Australia should invite those very people to depart?
Abu Bakar, who was arrested under new anti-terrorism legislation passed in the weeks after the Bali bombing, said he would like to visit Australia again but not if the situation was unsafe, as it was now. "The coppers are on to me now. But things'll cool off. Look at the Americans. Not much more than a year ago they were counting corpses. Today they're back to watching Britney's breasts..."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/12/2002 08:44 pm ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Pre-emptive strike? This guy looks like the poster child for it.
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.
