What's clear is that the professionalization of journalismâa trend underway for most of the 20th Centuryâis now in full reverse gear, and the term "correspondent" may go back to its original meaning of "one who corresponds" rather than "high-paid face with good hair." Democratization instead of professionalization? Sounds good to me.
I was just thinking the other day that journalism might be on its way back to the idea of "one who keeps a journal." Wonder if we'll see reporters go back to just reporting?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/24/2002 11:54 am ||
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Ever notice how reporters of the past were "men" like sam fuller, ernie pyle, dash hammett, ernest hemingway, ambrose bierce and today they are a bunch of hairspray wearing vonces with college degrees ( in communication no less!) for cryin-out-loud?
When did people in journalism go from being "one of the people" to having complete contempt for the people?
Posted by: Frank Martin ||
12/24/2002 12:09 Comments ||
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Attackers rocketed an eastern Afghan town on Monday, one day after authorities in the same area seized more than 150 rockets they said were destined for Taliban and al-Qaida fighters. The rocket attack near Jalalabad airport came close to an Afghan army garrison, but did not cause any damage or injuries, police said. Once again, the attackers' ineptitude prevents casualties...
Security forces seized 168 BM-12 rockets and an anti-tank mine there Sunday. The weapons were destined for Taliban and al-Qaida fugitives, said Mohammed Mustafa, commander of the town's 14th Brigade. The rockets were found in a truck after soldiers chased the vehicle for several miles down a dirt road leading toward Tora Bora, scene of some of the heaviest U.S. bombing last year. The men fled, leaving their truck behind, Mustafa said. No arrests were made. Do you get the impression it's time for the First Annual Tora Bora Bombing Competition?
In Farmada, about 10 miles south of Jalalabad, authorities found another 10 BM-12 rockets Sunday in an abandoned vehicle. Farmada was the launch site of the rocket attack on Jalalabad. "Abdul! Where's that truckload of rockets?"
"Uh, I had to take a leak, Effendi. When I was done I just forgot it."
"Well, don't worry about it. There's more where that came from. Now, if we could just hit anything..."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/24/2002 10:48 am ||
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Source: Times Of India
Osama bin Laden is alive and still orchestrating the al-Qaeda terrorist network, Saudi Arabia's former intelligence chief has said on CNN. "I believe he's alive. I believe he is in Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan," said Prince Turki al-Faisal yesterday, adding that he believed bin Laden was in touch with al-Qaeda operatives through satellite phones and couriers. Actually, I'm back to thinking of him as a fine layer of carbon. It was that voiceprint...
Last month the United States came to the same conclusion after analysing a voice message now believed to have come from bin Laden. A public conclusion, for their own reasons. I usually give the U.S. the benefit of the doubt when it comes to disinformation, but...
US and allied forces have been scouring Afghanistan for more than a year, in search for the man behind the September 11, 2001 attacks. Prince Turki said said that bin Laden's old ally, Mullah Omar, the former head of the Taliban, was also probably still alive and residing in Afghanistan. "I don't know if he's operating, but he's still alive," said Prince Turki, who headed up the Saudi intelligence agency for more than 24 years. We know Mullah Omar's still alive. I think there's a reason we haven't caught him, too. And it doesn't have to do with his skills at motorcycling.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/24/2002 11:14 am ||
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What pray tell could the reason be [other than he is irrelevant].
#2
If we know where he is, and they don't know (or believe) we know where he is, then every time he meets one of them, it's another connection on the terror map.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/24/2002 16:47 Comments ||
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Iraq said on Monday it would soon receive the first batch of Arab and European volunteers ready to act as human shields in case the United States launches a military attack. "We are in the process of receiving the first group of volunteers who like to act as human shields," the secretary-general of the Iraq-based Arab Popular Forces Conference, Saad Qasim Hammoudi, told Reuters. "These people will be distributed to vital and strategic installations in all Iraqi governorates. We are expecting volunteers even from the United States and European countries. This is a practical Arab and international reaction to the hostile buildup of troops in the Gulf and neighboring countries." "I am defending the Iraqi people and their Leader from Imperialist aggression! This is so-o-o-o-o neat!"
"Uh, yeah. Stand over here..."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/24/2002 10:48 am ||
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These people will be distributed in little bloody chunks all over the landscape.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/24/2002 11:03 Comments ||
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Wait until Iraq is liberated. Then take the "shields" and parade them around on Iraqi television as pro-Saddam activists. Then hand them over to the new Iraqi Justice Ministry.
Truncheons, Moustaches, Action!
Posted by: Brian ||
12/24/2002 12:22 Comments ||
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"This is a practical Arab and international reaction to the hostile buildup of troops in the Gulf and neighboring countries." Practical reaction? It also happens to be a war crime, Qasim.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
12/24/2002 13:07 Comments ||
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#5
Howza 'bout Alec Baldwin, Barbra Streisand, Sean Penn, Michael Moore, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Mike Farrell, Jimmy Carter, et. al.? The list is endless.
U.S. intelligence has photographic evidence of Iraq hastily clearing and cleaning suspected weapons sites, raising suspicion the activity is intended to avoid detection of prohibited arms by United Nations inspectors. The satellite imagery is part of what the United States will present to U.N. inspectors this week in an effort to help them track down banned weapons. Now my surprise meter's busted. Dammit.
U.S. officials acknowledge the intelligence is circumstantial but not irrefutable proof that Iraq continues to develop weapons in defiance of U.N. resolutions. "We have good evidence of sanitation activities at various sites: carting away scrap, cleaning up and so forth," said a U.S. intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity. They're not even subtle about it...
Sharing of satellite imagery with the United Nations marks the latest round of jousting between the administration and the inspection team. The administration wants a faster, more aggressive pace to the inspections. U.N. officials counter that they need help from U.S. and other intelligence agencies to determine where to go to look for prohibited weapons. The CIA, Defense Intelligence Agency and other branches of U.S. intelligence are pooling information that could be shared with the weapons inspectors. All this is just marking time...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/24/2002 10:48 am ||
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As Chechen Commander Amir Hamzat reported when he called Kavkaz Center editorial staff over the phone that last Friday in the vicinity of Garden Street (Sadovaya Street) in Jokhar Chechen Mujahideen eliminated a group of Russian sappers who were conducting mine-clearing of the Loop Road. As a result of the landmine explosion, three sappers were killed and four seriously wounded. Hamzat's gang is the one that blew the tank last week...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/24/2002 10:49 am ||
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Source: Kavkaz-Center News
During the telephone interview Chechen Commander Amir Abdulla, who headed the Urus-Martan Brigade of Chechen Mujahideen after the death of Halid Sedayev, told Kavkaz Center news agency that last Friday a sabotage group from that Brigade carried out a successful combat operation in the district capital of Achkhoi-Martan. A UAZ jeep with a group of Russian commandos on board was blown up when it was leaving the premises of the local invaders' commandant's office. Seven commandos were killed as a result. The last four who survived were seriously wounded. I notice the "Chechen" commander has an Arab name, unlike his predecessor. I wondere if they're running out of ethnic Chechen thugs and they're down to a purely mercenary army by now? Or have they ditched their Russified Chechen names and adopted Arab names?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/24/2002 10:49 am ||
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Two men who are believed to have been wearing belts with explosives usually worn by suicide bombers were detained in southwest Moscow on Tuesday, sources in law enforcement told Interfax. They said Federal Security Service officers and a mine-clearing team have left to the site.
The Federal Security Service is not commenting on the matter. "The information is being verified, and we cannot officially confirm or deny the media report at this time," a representative of the Federal Security Service told Interfax. "We'll let you know more after they stop screaming"
Posted by: Steve ||
12/24/2002 11:08 am ||
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The pact, sealed on Friday, is the culmination of a decade of efforts to overcome intense rivalries among the different Muslim communities in France. It was reached only after pressure from Nicholas Sarkozy, the interior minister, who organised a closed door conference in a château outside Paris and insisted the meeting could not end until agreement had been reached.
Mr Sarkozy, who is spear-heading a crackdown on crime, has been anxious to bring the Muslim community into formal policy-making on issues that impinge on security and which affect social tensions. Behind this lies a concern that the French authorities have allowed mosques to spring up all over the country financed by individual groups and foreign governments.
Successive governments held back from blocking the spread of mosques for fear of being seen to interfere in religious matters when the French republic is wedded to secular principles. Furthermore, with Algeria, Morocco and Saudi Arabia the main sources of finance, the authorities were reluctant to be seen exercising controls that might antagonise these governments. Already the Algerian-Moroccan rivalries have created frictions in the running of mosques.
The council's composition reflects the importance of the Algerian community, which controls the main mosque in Paris, funded by the Algerian government. The 64-person council will be presided over by a 16-strong executive headed by Dalil Boubakeur, the rector of the Paris mosque. The other main presence is provided by representatives from the Moroccan-backed National Muslim Federation (FNMF) and the Saudi-funded Union of Muslim Organisations (UOIF). One-third of the council members will be co-opted, allowing the state a measure of control. There will also be a 197-member consultative assembly with two-thirds elected.
Critics of the agreement maintain the council is being created to suit government security policy rather than improve relations between French Muslims and the rest of society. They also claim the deal fails to embrace the more radical mosques and could exacerbate the divide between moderates and militants. I don't think the deal was supposed to embrace the "more radical mosques," and the purpose is more to suit the government than to "improve relations between French Muslims and the rest of society." Islamists will regard it as a camel's nose into the tent of power — and it could be. The Leftoids will regard it as a Kumbaya-driven crack in the already crumbling facade of Euroculture, and will expect society to actually benefit from it.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/24/2002 10:49 am ||
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The image of the "Canadian mosaic" as a benevolent tapestry of different cultures and religions is challenged by a new poll that indicates a strong core of support for keeping Muslim immigrants out of the country more than a year after the trauma of Sept. 11, 2001. In November, a poll for Maclean's magazine, Global TV and the Citizen asked 1,400 Canadians across the nation to assess various ways the government might want to respond to the threat of terrorism. "Restricting the number of immigrants that come to Canada from Muslim countries" received a 44-per-cent approval rating, with support running highest in Central Canada and lowest in Alberta and British Columbia. These are the people who don't want to see corpses in the malls of Manitoba...
A marginally lower number — 42 per cent — opposed such restrictions, "Corpses? I don't mind..."
while 12 per cent of respondents were neutral. "Hi! I'm Bob and this is my brother, Doug. We don't have an opinion, see?"
The 44-per-cent approval was down from 49 per cent a year earlier, but the continuing strength of support for restricting Muslims surprised the Strategic Counsel, the Toronto pollster that conducted the Nov. 1-12 telephone survey, whose national results are considered accurate within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Shoulda just polled MPs. Then the results would be more to their liking.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/24/2002 10:49 am ||
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To understand why the %44 approved, see
And be sure to note point 5 & 6 of "The duties and responsibilities of the Khalifa".
Muslims have been outraged by the cover photo of the popular U.S. urban culture magazine One World, which features female rapper Lil Kim wearing the head covering of a burqa and a revealing lingerie set. Oh, horrors! Quick, Ethel! My pills!
Rap music mogul, Russell Simmons proudly places his name on the front cover each issue of his urban culture magazine One World, explicitly endorsing the content that appears both on the cover of each magazine as well as that contained therein. So he's for it, too...
For those sensitive to issues of female modesty, viewing the cover photo at the publicationâs website is probably not advisable. It features female rap artist Lil Kim posed seductively. Her head, with the exception of her eyes, is draped with the top portion of what can only be described as a burqa. Unfortunately, Lil Kimâs burqa does not obscure her body in the least. The rest of the garment is tossed over her left shoulder, leaving her body fully exposed with the exception of a skimpy lingerie set. "Don't look, Mahmoud! There's titties in that thing!"
Whatever Simmons and the One World staff intended with this photo is irrelevant, because for Muslims, both the 7 million in the United States and the 1.2 billion spread across the rest of the world, it is a clear and unambiguous jab at the religion of Islam. Hmmm... Yasss... The joyless masses of Islam have been mooned...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/24/2002 10:49 am ||
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Hey, man, where's the whole picture? Them paleos done cropped it.
New York Law Journal
The NYPD's bid to loosen federal restrictions on surveillance of political groups has angered a non-profit Islamic foundation. In a letter to Southern District Judge Charles S. Haight Jr., an attorney for the Alavi Foundation "strenuously" objected to assertions made by David Cohen, the police department's deputy commissioner of intelligence. Cohen, a 35-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency who joined the NYPD at the start of 2002, is at the forefront of a motion to modify a 1985 consent decree that requires police officers to prove suspicion of criminal activity before they can investigate political groups. The NYPD claims the restrictions of the decree, known as the Handschu guidelines, prevent police officers from investigating terrorism and jeopardize the safety of New Yorkers. They contend that officers should only have to show that an investigation into a political group has a law enforcement purpose, a lower legal standard.
In recent court papers intended to show why the Handschu modifications are essential, Cohen said that Alavi is "totally controlled" by the Iranian government and in 1997 gave $1.4 million to the Al-Farouq mosque in Brooklyn, whose former imam is Sheik Omar Abdul Rahman. Rahman was a spiritual leader for many of the defendants in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and is serving a life sentence for his role in a failed plot to bomb New York City landmarks. An attorney for Alavi said in an 11-page letter that several federal judges had refuted allegations that Alavi was controlled by the Iranian government. He said the group, which was founded by the Shah of Iran in 1973, never gave money to the Al-Farouq mosque. The letter said that in 1997 and 1998, the group gave $69,000 to the Brooklyn Mosque Inc., which is across the street from the Al-Farouq mosque.
Assistant Corporation Counsel Gail Donoghue, who is handling the Handschu case for the police, responded the next day with a brief letter to Judge Haight. She did admit that Cohen made a mistake in his declaration about the years in which Alavi allegedly contributed money to the Al-Farouq mosque. "The words 'in 1997' should read 'by 1992'," the letter said. It added that Cohen believed Alavi's contributions from 1988 to 1992, under the former name Mostazafan Foundation, totaled $1.4 million.
The attorneys for the Handschu plaintiffs, who include the Black Panthers and Buffalo attorney Barbara Handschu, have argued that the surveillance restrictions guard First Amendment rights and do not need to be changed for the police to investigate terrorism. Judge Haight considered the request to depose Cohen at a Dec. 13 hearing, where Donoghue said Cohen could not say anything more than what he has said in documents without compromising privileged law enforcement information. She has asked Judge Haight for a protective order that would prevent Cohen's deposition. I have not idea what the true facts are in this case, but it's an illustration of the juggling act that putting antiterror operations on the police results in. The fact that the Alavi Foundation was founded by the Shah is no guarantee that it wasn't taken over by the Ayatollahs. If the Mostazafan Foundation was a false nose and moustache operation, that would indicate a sinister purpose.
This sort of thing is the reason the financial war on terror doesn't make the papers, and if Cohen's allegations are true â I presume they're based on something other than just guessing, which is why the (lefty) attorneys for the putative bad guys want the sources â it's an indication of how important it is. Our guys on one side of the street, shooting it out with their guys on the other side of the street, is pretty easy to follow. One set of lawyers on one side of the room, and another set on the other side of the room, both arguing and both deposing, isn't as easy to follow. Nobody wants to see First Amendment rights evaporate, and nobody wants to see foreign agents and sympathizers financing a war against us under our noses.
To my uneducated eye, "an investigation into a political group [that] has a law enforcement purpose" seems perfectly reasonable.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/24/2002 10:49 am ||
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Two Hindus related to a police officer have been dragged out of their home and beheaded by suspected Islamic militants in Indian Kashmir, police said. It was the second beheading in the past week in Rajouri district, which borders the Pakistani zone of Kashmir. Five assailants dragged the father and brother of Pawan Kumar, who was on police duty at the time, from their house in the village of Khas in Rajouri, 177 kilometres west of the winter capital Jammu, a police spokesman said. "They barged into the home of Pawan Kumar's parents early in the morning and dragged his father and brother onto the roadside where they beheaded them," the spokesman told AFP by telephone.
Rajouri district, which borders the Pakistani zone of Kashmir, has seen increasing violence, including a grenade attack in the main town Monday that injured two women. Police said they tracked down two rebels overnight who were behind that blast and killed them.
On Friday, a group of suspected militants beheaded two young women and gunned down a third, in what police believe could have been retaliation for their failure to abide by strict Islamic dress codes. The police spokesman said today's killings were believed to have been carried out by the extreme Islamist movement Lashkar-e-Taiba (The Army of the Pure). Pure Evil
Posted by: Steve ||
12/24/2002 10:56 am ||
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Source: Pakistan Daily Times
A serious Indo-US strategic partnership is springing up amidst indications that Washington is beginning to turn sour on Islamabad following significant gains for Islamists in Pakistanâs elections and disclosure of its clandestine nuclear cooperation with North Korea, a leading American think tank said. Other than that, things are fine...
India and the United States have already mapped out an ambitious agenda of bilateral military and strategic contacts over the next two years, Ilan Berman, President for Policy at the American Foreign Policy Council, said. With the worldâs attention focussed on Iraq, a major transformation is taking place largely unnoticed in South Asia - a âserious strategic partnership is springing upâ between India and the United States, he said. Bush Administration has officially rolled back its 4-year-old sanctions against India, he said, adding New Delhi now joins the ranks of US allies like Japan and Singapore, gaining eligibility for significant discretionary military assistance. I've said on a number of occasions that India makes a much more natural ally than Pakland. That's not necessarily an alliance that'll last forever, though, anymore than the U.S.-Pak alliance did. The VHP can be expected to work to make it untenable, not being able to comprehend that it's extremism that bunches our undies, not simply Islam.
Since the Sept 11 attacks the Bush Administration has consistently courted Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf as its ally in Asian stability, Berman said. Now, however, there are indications that the White House is starting to âsourâ on Islamabad, he added. US is beginning to take notice of Pakistanâs increasingly undeniable radicalisation as the October elections brought considerable gains for religious parties. Behind that is the greater focus that's come on Pakland's internal policies and politix. The Deobandi fundo establishment is one of the prime drivers of terrorism in the world. They flourish because Perv and his minions don't have the nerve or strength, on the one hand, to break them, and on the other hand because their fixation on Kashmir makes them valuable.
Likewise troublesome is Pakistanâs track record of proliferation, he said, adding North Koreaâs recent confessions regarding an active nuclear programme exposed a thriving strategic partnership between Islamabad and Pyongyang. Pakistanâs extensive nuclear and missile ties with North Korea, not to mention its ongoing missile assistance to countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran, are now under close scrutiny from Washington, Berman said. Wherever there are nut cases who want some of those Islamic nukes, Pakland's been happy to oblige. I think it's a prestige thing, but I also think it's a part of a push — perhaps an unconscious push — toward Khilafa.
So is Islamabadâs stance on terrorism. Despite rhetorical support for American counter-terrorism efforts, ongoing brokerage of insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir by segments of the Musharraf regime, as well as their tacit provision of aid and comfort to elements of Al Qaeda and the Taliban, has unmistakably placed Pakistan on the wrong side of Washingtonâs war, he said. In the meantime, India has steadily moved into the void left by Pakistani policies, Berman said. NWFP is pretty much autonomous. Perv isn't making an effort to control it, and elements within Pakland are supplying the subversion project against Afghanistan, regardless of Islamabad's protestations of friendship and non-interference.
Politically, Indian policy makers have embraced Americaâs war on terrorism, based on their own experiences in Kashmir, he said. This emerging alignment underscores a signal opportunity for US strategy in South Asia, he said, adding a deeper US-India dialogue could do much to moderate Pakistanâs policies. Tighter New Delhi-Washington ties, coupled with a greater pressure on Islamabad regarding its support for cross-border terrorism, could also work wonders in nudging India and Pakistan toward a lasting diplomatic dialogue, Berman said. The partnership could eventually assume an important role in larger regional security, he added. It's never going to happen. Pakland wants Kashmir, and India refuses to cough it up. Since Pakistan's proven itself to be a bad idea that got worse, I don't think they should.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/24/2002 11:02 am ||
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The Kashmir problem exemplifies everything that is bad with these extremist islamic freaks. Kashmir rightfully belongs to India, even though the majority of the population is Muslim. In fact India has a sizable Muslim population throughout its territory and they're not exactly being persecuted. Just like everywhere else on this planet, the Jihadic aim is not to "free" Muslims from bad people, it's a plain and simple land grab (for the local warlord).
It's interesting to see how the U.S. will deal with Pakistan in the future. For now it can be reasoned that Pak's nukes are in the hands of the military, and this military has enough of a sound mind not to give away nukes as door prizes for welcomed "guests". The trouble will come when more of those extremist freaks gain control of everything in that country. Shortly after Pakistan showcased their nuclear achievement, I heard someone exalt "Now nobody can touch a Muslim country!". There's political trouble brewing.
#2
Its not quite that simple. For example, Pakistan has been pressuring India to hold a referendum by Kashmir over weather they want to be part of India or Pakistan. India has refused repeatedly.
There positions are not taken because Pakistand actually believes in democracy and self-determination, or because India is a tyrant.
Quite simply, a majority would vote to be part of Pakistan, both countries know it... and that's why its not as simple as 'Islam-monkey bad!'
#3
The Muslims make up only the largest group in Kashmir, although their numbers have increased substantially due to the killings of thousands of Hindus, but even if most Muslims wish to be part of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, I can't imagine the idea appeals very much to Kashmirs Buddhists and Hindus.
Posted by: Paul ||
12/24/2002 18:55 Comments ||
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Source: Daily Pakistan
There is increasing concern in Washington over the ease with which suspected al Qaeda fighters and other elements from the Taliban movement slip in and out of Afghanistan into Pakistanâs tribal areas. US officials have been urging Pakistan to âdo moreâ to police its side of the border. Christina Rocca, assistant secretary of state in charge of South Asia, during her recent visit to Pakistan, made this point strongly in her discussions with senior Pakistani officials. She also called on the Prime Minister. "People are starting to talk, y'know..."
There is a feeling here that Pakistan is âmore unwilling than unableâ to come down with a heavy hand on the tribal areas because of the sensitivity of the relationship the federal government has traditionally maintained with tribal elders who administer their own affairs in a more or less un-interfered-with manner. Again, with the induction of an MMA government in Peshawar, the federal authorities are careful not to âraise the temperatureâ on this delicate issue more than they have to. Wouldn't want to irritate Fazl and Sami...
Lt. Gen. Danile McNeill, commander of the US forces in Afghanistan, said that Pakistan could help more by placing more troops in the tribal areas. Putting it mildly...
Asked about the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden and Mullah Mohammad Omar, he said that if they were still alive, they were not in Afghanistan. He did not say where he thought they might be. But he added that he didn't think it was Omaha or Samoa. I think he means he doesn't know if they're in Quetta or Peshawar...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/24/2002 11:08 am ||
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Police seized 1.25 tons of refined opium after a fierce gunbattle with suspected traffickers near the border with Afghanistan in southern Baluchistan province. Acting on a tip that smugglers were using camels to take the drugs over the Afghan border, Pakistani police staked out a mountain road on the weekend and spotted two heavily armed traffickers unloading narcotics from waiting vehicles. While they waited for the camels to arrive, the traffickers, who were in Afghanistan, spotted the police, who were in Pakistan, and opened fire, but fled after a half-hour shootout. Police seized about 2,500 pounds of refined opium with a street value they estimated at $50 million, which the traffickers abandoned at the scene. No arrests were made and there were no reports of injuries. Oh, hell. Now the check's gonna bounce for that latest shipment of rockets...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/24/2002 11:19 am ||
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Y'know that opium's still going to hit the streets, right on schedule - the only difference is that Pakis will get the profits instead of Afghans.
The Shin Bet security service has seized two armed Hamas men who crossed into Israel from Egypt's Sinai peninsula and planned to kidnap an IDF soldier as a bargaining chip for the release of militants held by Israel. The two were captured on December 15, at the end of a pursuit punctuated by gunfire near the Israeli border region of Nitzana, but authorities cleared the incident for publication only on Tuesday. The arrested men, Iyad and Abed al-Bassast Mahmoum of Rafah,, were armed with a handgun and a grenade and were lightly injured in the pursuit.
They told investigators that they had stolen across the border intending to abduct IDF troops and take them to the Gaza Strip, and then begin negotiations aimed at winning the release of jailed comrades. Getting shorthanded, are you?
They admitted that they had been sent on their mission by the Hamas military arm in the Gaza Strip. Their Hamas handler was Salem Mahmoum, a Rafah resident close to Hamas commander Mohammed Deif, one of Israel's most-wanted men and the target of a number of attempted Israeli assassinations. On Monday, a senior IDF commander in the territories warned settlers not to hitchhike. He cited warnings that terrorists might abduct settlers for use as bargaining chips in negotiations with Israel.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/24/2002 11:02 am ||
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And just how exactly were they going to do the abduction? Thats a plan i'd like to see.
Source: Palestine Information Centre
Israeli occupation authorities have declared that a Palestinian was arrested in the Gaza Strip last month on suspicion of being an agent to the Lebanese Hizbullah party. The Zionist premiership issued a statement announcing that the internal security apparatus the Shin Beth had arrested Rabee Ahmed Al-Oweiti, 40, a specialist in civil aviation on charges of planning a number of armed attacks against the Zionist entity on behalf of Hizbullah.
Oweiti arrived in Gaza in 1994 coming from Lebanon following the Oslo accords and his family joined him in 1999. Zionist security claimed that Oweiti was recruited by Hizbullah in February 2001 when he traveled to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj (pilgrimage). It alleged that Oweiti made use of his military expertise during his presence in Lebanon to train Hamas activists in the Strip and to help in improving the Banna missile that was developed by the Hamas Movement in order to be used against Zionist tanks. Oweiti also helped the Palestinian Authority in preparing for repelling Zionist incursions into the Strip and in producing explosive devices and other combat means, according to the Zionist security report. Oweiti's family members said that he denied all charges in a telephone contact with them. "Nope. Nope. Wudn't me..."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/24/2002 11:22 am ||
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What's funny about this article is how it shows the Paleo mentality at its best. Witness the repeated use of "Zionist". The Palestinians as a whole have some serious problems indeed.....
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Police found a machine gun and grenades Tuesday on the side of a road where the Iranian president was scheduled to travel, authorities said.
Police received information that people were in a wooded area near a route Iranian President Mohammad Khatami was to take.
Authorities searched the area and found a bag on the side of the road containing a machine gun with 35 rounds and three grenades. Police were investigating.
This would have been a nice turning point in Iran-Pak Relations, Geez finish the job.
Posted by: Richard ||
12/24/2002 08:35 pm ||
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A Christmas Eve bomb attack on a town mayor's home by suspected Islamic militants has killed at least 13 people and wounded 12 in the southern Philippines, the military has said. Tuesday's blast rocked the house of Mayor Saudie Ampatuan in Datu Piang in Maguindanao province, said army spokesman Maj. Julieto Ando. Ampatuan died of injuries to his head and abdomen. Among those killed were a town councilor, the treasurer and a bodyguard, Ando said. The others were not immediately identified, Ando said. The death toll rose after authorities counted all the dead from hospitals in different towns. Ando said the military suspected the Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels, because "it is only the MILF that is capable of making powerful homemade bombs." That's pretty thin grounds...
The military is holding a witness who claimed he saw a man known to be a follower of a rebel commander planting the bomb, Ando said, adding that the blast was caused by mortars tied up with a timing device. But Moro rebel spokesman Eid Kabalu denied involvement, saying the mayor had many personal and political enemies. "There is no reason for us to do that because the mayor is not our enemy," he said. Even in the Philippines, most people's political enemies don't blow them up with bundles of mortar shells. Having the perp recognized would seem to implicate MILF a little more firmly than just saying "it could only be them."
The military has in the past blamed the rebels for similar attacks in the area, in which mortars were used. In response to the attack, Ando said a battalion of about 500 soldiers were deployed to Datu Piang. The explosion occurred at a gathering honoring a dead relative of the mayor. Ando said Ampatuan is a "nemesis" of the rebels, who earlier this year attacked a convoy transporting Ampatuan and his father, Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan. The men survived the ambush, but two of their bodyguards died. That fact would seem to establish Kabalu as not only a liar, but a damned liar...
Formal peace talks between the government and the MILF are expected to resume next month in Malaysia. Both sides have accuse each other of violating a shaky 1997 truce. What's a few corpses? Talks are the important thing!
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/24/2002 10:49 am ||
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Well, this would seem to set a precedent - what say we bomb a mullah (or imam, your choice) next Ramadan?
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