Geoff Hoon, the defence secretary, is blocking a plan to break the ancient taboo preventing anyone from saying anything officially about the activities of Britainâs special forces. Senior military figures, and even civil servants within the Ministry of Defence, say the existing policy is untenable as special forces are playing an increasingly important role in military operations. The SAS and the SBS, its naval equivalent, are operating in Iraq and Afghanistan in guerrilla warfare and intelligence-gathering operations suited to small, highly mobile units, often with US and Australian special forces whose activities can be reported more freely and accurately.
The Commons defence committee said last week it was told by the MoD about special forces operations but not to tell anyone else. "Because of this longstanding policy on the part of MoD not to speak publicly about the contribution, we have been unable to cover their activities in the way they deserve," it said. The official blanket ban has not stopped inaccurate reporting, though this does not always worry defence chiefs. "It can amount to useful disinformation," a senior military source told the Guardian.
Mr Hoon revealed his approach at a recent lunch with defence correspondents. "You write guff anyway," he said. "It [more openness] will not stop you writing guff."
Ouch
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/28/2004 5:23:22 PM ||
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It's disheartening, though, to spend 25-30 years in the military, do all kind of neat stuff, and when your kids ask you "daddy, what did YOU do in the war?", you have to tell them, "I shuffled papers" or some such, because you can't tell them the truth! But hey, it's a living...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/28/2004 21:51 Comments ||
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Osama bin Laden ordered a strike on Londonâs Heathrow airport months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S., the Sunday Times reported, citing transcripts of interrogations of an al-Qaeda operations chief. Bin Laden, leader of the terrorist network, wanted to punish U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, and considered him his "principal enemy," according to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed .... Mohammed also said that the original plan for the Sept. 11 attacks was to hijack 10 planes and crash them into landmark buildings including the Library Tower in Los Angeles and the Sears Towers in Chicago, before Bin Laden decided synchronising such an attack would be impossible, according to the report.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
03/28/2004 9:43:44 AM ||
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I even saw the interview on TV. Ms. Farias, an unquestionable chavista civil servant, was seen as a public servant not too bent on political activities. Well, it is fascinating to observe how people change when they feel their job threatened. Suddenly she tries to contest the Health Minister for the Vile Person of the Day Award. But public employees do not seem to buy. After all they know very well that recanting will only gain them a couple of months of employment. They know first hand the true nature of the "wonderful Hugo Chavez administration."
But this new unacceptable pressure has not stopped the other forms of Human Rights Violations that started on February 27. Two Primero Justicia activists that were kidnapped last Sunday have been released with clear signs of torture, physical and mental. Celso RodrÃguez and Sergio Vargas, apparently were taken to find out the hiding place of Barutaâs Mayor, Henrique Capriles Radonski. Mr. Capriles lawyers, by the way, have yet to see the charges that are pressed against the mayor, in what is perhaps one of the grossest violation of the judicial process we have seen lately, at a time where such violations abound.
But the hurt within the government at the fast decomposition of its international image since February 27 is plain to observe when the Nationâs ombudsman gives a rather surprising report trying to effectuate some late damage control. He recognized that excessive violence had been used. Yet on TV later he denied that there were political prisoners, but politicians in jail. A pun of dubious taste. No matter, a hardly convincing performance that is probably just the prelude to yet a new disgusting action from the government.
The Coordinadora Democratica promptly replied that there were 18 political prisoners taken since Feb 27. It even gave their locations, while reminding that those were not the only ones as several have been jailed during the past year. In addition, to remind the government what its role is, the CD set up a center to supply the political prisoners since the government is unable to give humanitarian detention conditions to the jailed population. This, by the way, has been decried as one of the biggest failures of the so called Chavez human rights policy. A president "of the people" has let the people rot in jail in conditions that are the worst in our recent history.
The question is very simple, in a situation where political activists are held and tortured, where government officials lie routinely, where public voters are basically told for whom to vote for, how can we conduct a fair electoral campaign? Is the constant violation of civil rights a way to brow beat the opposition? Or is the intention to corner the opposition into some desperate action?
The truth of the matter is that Chavez is promoting the local elections to distract the attention from the Recall Election. He knows full well that doing so will transform the local elections in an indirect referendum. But he is also desperate to gain some time to either fudge the local election results, void the Recall Election, or even to cancel these elections under some National Emergency measure. Which one will it be?
Shades of Stalin?
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/28/2004 5:34:50 PM ||
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Posted by: John Doe TROLL ||
03/28/2004 18:23 Comments ||
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#2
Considering who Chavez's 'friends' are, do you expect anything else?
#3
PLEASE NOTE: Rantburg is a Zionist propaganda BBS spewing hate against Moslems in order to incite wars and sacrifice American lives and resources for the state of Israel.
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#4
PLEASE NOTE: Rantburg is a Zionist propaganda BBS spewing hate against Moslems in order to incite wars and sacrifice American lives and resources for the state of Israel.
See who rules America -- due to censorship we inserted "#", delete it. http://AD#LUSA.com
#5
PLEASE NOTE: Rantburg is a Zionist propaganda BBS spewing hate against Moslems in order to incite wars and sacrifice American lives and resources for the state of Israel.
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Posted by: John Doe ||
03/28/2004 18:11 Comments ||
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#6
PLEASE NOTE: Rantburg is a Zionist propaganda BBS spewing hate against Moslems in order to incite wars and sacrifice American lives and resources for the state of Israel.
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Posted by: John Doe ||
03/28/2004 18:11 Comments ||
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SYDNEY: Australia is to step up its war on terror again by expanding its key intelligence agency and bolstering anti-terrorism powers under new laws approved by cabinet, Prime Minister John Howard has announced. Coming in the aftermath of the Madrid bombings which claimed more than 200 lives, Australia's new laws would allow suspects to be detained by police for questioning for up to 24 hours rather than for an initial period of four hours under current legislation.
Howard said more agents would be recruited for the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), which would undergo significant expansion. "By the end of this year we will have put ASIO in a situation where it has a greater capacity than it's had at any time since it was formed, greater even than during the Cold War," he said. Howards said he had told ASIO director general Denis Richardson the government would provide anything he needed to improve the running of the intelligence agency.
The new laws would also allow people to be prosecuted for being members of terrorist organisations, including those not currently on the official list of outlawed groups. Under the proposed changes, it would be an offence to train with organisations such as Afghanistan's Taliban. "At the moment, it's only an offence to be a member of a listed terrorist organisation," he said. "In future, that will be extended to include not only listed terrorist organisations but also an organisation that is in fact proved to be a terrorist organisation even though it may not be listed."
The government also wants to bar people from making money by writing about or selling their stories about their training with terrorist organisations, Howard told the Nine Network's Sunday program. "I think most people regard it as pretty offensive that somebody can be associated with a terrorist organisation which has killed people (or whose) associates may have killed our people in Bali, and then they go and write a book about it," he said. "I think that sticks in the craw of most Australians."
Howard said new laws approved last week by the federal cabinet would go before a meeting of government MPs for approval on Tuesday.
Australia significantly strengthened its counter-terrorism laws last June in response to the Bali bombing in October 2002 in which 88 Australians were among 202 killed. But the government complained that the demands of the opposition parties and civil libertarians forced it to water down the rules preventing federal police from adequately interrogating French terror suspect Willie Brigitte.
Gotta love the Aussies -- just get down to business and get things done.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/28/2004 12:44:11 AM ||
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Things might not be as bad in Ozland as we think, via Wog Blog:
..."Mark Latham hates Iraqis.
How else to explain his pig ignorance about the help they need.
And Mark Latham has no regard for Oz troops. How else to explain why he thinks our troops in Iraq cannot do good work there and have to come home because our troops and our police here are so incompetent that we cannot be safe.
I was in a Qantas lounge this morning and let rip with a good dose of wog yelling at the teevee. Gate number 8, full flight loads o' people. And this is my straw poll. They all agreed with me.
The man is a fatheaded cheap suit wearing Anti-American wog hater.
European Commission President Romano Prodi said he had no doubt that the Italian left, if elected, would end the nation's military involvement in the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq. Prodi, in a letter published Saturday on the front-page of the Milan daily Corriere della Sera, called the Iraqi occupation the continuation of an illegitimate war that is incapable of restoring peace.
Yet another fine example of ideology blinding someone to reality.
In the letter, Prodi was identified as a top EU official, but his words are believed to reflect his position as a leader of the Olive Tree, a grouping of Italian political parties ranging from former Communists to centrists. Olive Tree will try to unseat Premier Silvio Berlusconi's conservative government in the next parliamentary elections, and Prodi is the presumed challenger for the premiership. Should Olive Tree come to power, "the problem would be to decide whether to continue or interrupt the participation in this war, (and) I have no hesitation in saying that the choice would be ending the intervention," Prodi wrote. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for spring 2006. Despite calling for an end to intervention as now being conducted, Prodi said military force remained necessary because of "anarchy and disorder" in Iraq. The population there must be protected from the risk of civil war and possible terrorism which could root itself in the chaos, he said. To provide this security, "the intervention of the international community is fully justified, no, even indispensable," he said.
Prodi could give John Effing Kerry lessons in being both for and against something.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/28/2004 12:32:41 AM ||
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He might as well have said: "Hey splodey-dopes! Over here! Blow us up over here!"
Perhaps the Italians would be more stalwart than the Spaniards who voted Socialist. (And thereby set themselves up for future bombs for any nnumber of wack-a-doodle causes!)
#7
The risk of civil war and possible terrorism which could root itself in the chaos, he said. To provide this security, "the intervention of the international community is fully justified, no, even indispensable," he said. population there must be protected from the chaos, he said.
And so little boys and girls the United Nations cut and ran
Throughout the 1980s, the Philippinesâ Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) sent some of its members to Pakistan to participate in the Afghan war against the Soviet occupiers. Initially the MILF itself paid these membersâ expenses. In 1988, Mohammed Jamal Khalifa began traveling to the Philippines to establish a branch of the Islamic International Relief Organization (IIRO). This was a Saudi charity that Saudi intelligence agencies had coopted in order to support various operations against the Soviets in Afghanistan. Khalifa initially focused on facilitating Philippine Moslemsâ participation in Afghanistan and then, after the Soviet withdrawal in 1989, redirected his focus to fostering a holy war within the Philippines. By 1991 he settled in the Philippines permanently.
Khalifa established a wide variety of businesses to employ and move Moslems and to cover the transfer of funds. Various businesses dealt in rattan furniture, travel tickets, manpower services, real estate and construction. The investments intended to promote business growth in Moslem areas, especially in the areas where radical groups operated. (Zachary Abuza, Militant Islam in Southeast Asia: Crucible of Terror, pages 91-95; Jason Burke, Al-Qaeda: Casting a Shadow of Terror, page 101).
During the initial period he was sometimes insufficiently careful about protecting his own terrorist activities from exposure. In December 1991, for example, he personally handed out money to pay for the bombing of a Christian church. In January 1992, he personally handed out money to assassinate a Christian missionary and to bomb a market. In February he personally met with a Moslem group to encourage them to assassinate a radio announcer and to bomb a fort. (Maria Ressa, Seeds of Terror, page 27.)
As he developed his organizations, however, he was able to distance from this dirty work and to project a public image as a charitable businessman. Khalifaâs employees, trainees, beneficiaries and supporters were scattered throughout the Moslem population, alert for any threats to the networkâs own security. These associates were attentive to any clues that Philippine or foreign intelligence services might infiltrate or spy on its activities. The MILF even kidnaped and murdered foreigners in the regions where it operated. US citizens who resided in these areas were certainly watched with acute attention.
In 1993, Khalifa separated out a distinct International Relations and Information Center (IRIC) with a somewhat different mission. To head the IRIC he appointed a Turk, Ahmad al-Hamwi, who had moved to the Philippines after the Turkish government banned him from his studies because of suspected involvement in a bombing in 1986. There he married a Filipina woman who had converted to Islam. Hamwi adopted a new name Abu Omar. He met Khalifa in the Philippines 1988 and arranged for Khalifa to marry his wifeâs sister. (Abuza, pages 92, 94, 115). IRICâs other main leader was a Malaysian named Zubair, who had been recruited into Al-Qaeda in Karachi, Pakistan.
I deduce (I have no direct evidence) that Khalifa intended for the IIRO to henceforth limit itself to operations within the Philippine Moslem population, whereas the IRIC would operate within foreign and non-Moslem populations. During 1994 the IRIC funded Ramzi Yousefâs terrorist cell, which planned operations to assassinate the Roman Catholic pope, to blow up US airliners, and to attack government buildings in the United States. (Abuza, page 94).
Yousef incorporated the Bermuda Trading Company as a front to purchase chemicals and other supplies for his bomb-making. Most of the materials imported, probably from Singapore (Abuza, page 104). The choice of Bermuda for the companyâs name perhaps revealed a future intention to relocate to the Western Hemisphere.
=============
In January 1993 Terry and Marife Nichols moved to Marifeâs hometown Cebu City, with the intention of settling there permanently. Cebu City is just north of Mindanao island, where the Philippinesâ Moslems are concentrated, and historically served as the Catholic forepost against the advance of Islam northward. Marifeâs father was a policeman, and the family lived over an international lumber business. In this regard it should be noted that 90% of the Philippines lumber and plywood comes from Mindanao.
Already at that time, Terry Nichols had become very vocal in his criticism of the US government, even having renounced his citizenship. He probably was vocal also about Jewish conspiracies dominating the world. Already by that time he had apparently become involved in the business of buying and selling weapons and military supplies. Since he intended to stay in Cebu City permanently, he probably began exploring possibilities of going into the same kind of business there, perhaps making some initial contacts and inquiries with related businesses in the area.
As it turned out, the Nichols family returned to the United States after only one month. If he had made some contacts during that month, those people might have been surprised and suspicious about the familyâs abrupt departure. Some might have wondered whether his talk was genuine or whether he was some kind of US secret agent whose cover had been blown. This question well might have prompted a decision by his contacts to investigate him and his family.
===============
During the months following the Nicholsâ departure, the Al Qaeda network in the Philippines made a significant effort to improve its intelligence resources for operations in the United States. In May 1993, Clement Rodney Hampton-El, a US citizen who had converted to Islam, was brought to the Philippines for an orientation tour of the terrorist network there, after which a decision was made that he would resettle from the US to the Philippines to support future operations from that base. During the previous years Hampton-El had been involved primarily in a Saudi program to convert US military personnel to the Islamic religion. During the months immediately preceding this resettlement he had been closely involved in the Al-Qaeda cell in New York City that had helped Ramzi Yousef try to blow up the World Trade Center on February 26, 1993. Hampton-Elâs plans to resettle to the Philippines were interrupted, however, when he was arrested in the United States in June 1993.
================
In December 1993 the Nichols family moved to Las Vegas. During the following three months Nichols activities and whereabouts were mysterious. His family continued to live in Las Vegas, but he (he said) commuted to Junction City, Kansas, to organize some kind of business dealing in "military hardware." His ex-wife Lana, who also lived in Las Vegas, had the impression that he traveled to the Philippines frequently â about four times a year â during the years 1993 and 1994, sometimes while Marife was in the United States.
In March 1994, however, he settled on a farm in Marion, Kansas, working regularly as a hired hand on a farm. Then in August, 1994, he gave the farm owner a monthâs notice that he would quit. He told his ex-wife Lana that he had accumulated $12,000 and intended to move permanently back to the Philippines. Marife soon did move there and enrolled in a college. Terry eventually followed her there in late November. He confided to his son Josh he probably would not return to the United States.
On December 16 Timothy Nichols called Lana and confirmed that Nichols had not returned and that she did not know a telephone number where he could be reached. Based on that phone call, McVeigh apparently determined that Nichols very likely would not be in the United States on April 19, when he intended to blow up the Oklahoma City federal building. Within a couple days after that phone call, Lana later read, McVeigh began calling around to other acquaintances to arrange for some transportation help in the coming months. McVeigh did obtain Nicholsâ mailing address from Lana, however.
===============
During this period in the Philippines, Nichols knew a secret that might be very valuable if he planned to establish himself as an arms dealer to Moslems in his new country. He knew that a massive explosion would occur at the Oklahoma City federal building on April 19, 1995.
He apparently had a tentative plan to perhaps return to the Unites States by December 16, 1994, but by that date he had decided to stay on in the Philippines, perhaps because his future there looked promising. Although he now no longer wanted to directly help McVeigh with the bombing, he now had an even stronger, personal motivation to help make sure that the bombing would indeed occur.
At the end of December or beginning of January, I speculate, Nichols contacted McVeigh and recommended a new collaborator to replace himself in McVeighâs further preparations. This new collaborator was a Moslem who had grown up in the United States. Nichols assured McVeigh that he knew from his own connections in the Philippines that this collaborator would be trustworthy and might provide new opportunities to attack the United States government after the Oklahoma City bombing. This manâs name was Abdullah Al-Muhajir, born Jose Padilla.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
03/28/2004 12:59:07 AM ||
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Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
03/28/2004 00:16 ||
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This needs to be tempered with a bit of caution. This particular article creates the impression there aren't any major obstacles in the way of developing, implementing, outfitting, and installing these systems aboard commercial airlines. I read the entire thing, plus a couple of other articles that TechCentralStation linked to but the NYT didn't. There are problems, the most difficult to overcome being the degree of maintenance required. Military systems require about 60 hours of maintenance per 100 hours of flying time per aircraft. Military aircraft fly far fewer hours than civilian aircraft. Civilian aircraft are also forced to fly in more restricted environments than military aircraft, especially in some third-world countries, where they'd be more susceptible to attack anyway. While the military/civilian defense contract industry could probably supply the equipment, there's no guarantee the airline industry could employ it properly to ensure airline safety, nor is there a guarantee they'd be able to maintain it to full capacity and still meet flight requirements. Take the headline with a very large grain of salt, and a bit of skepticism.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/28/2004 22:26 Comments ||
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AUTHORITIES arrested Friday a suspected member of the Abu Sayyaf gang in a raid in a Muslim school in Quezon City suspected of harboring terrorists, GMA Network radio and television reported.
The report said Superintendent Roger Damaso of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) identified a certain Fatima Santos as having been arrested during the raid and who was now in their custody for questioning, the report said.
Santos' name was in a separate warrant, which police secured from the court to look for six people who were allegedly hiding in the school, the report added.
Several tapes containing videos of jihad training, "the September 11 aftermath and other video footage concerning terrorism" were also seized when combined elements of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) swooped down on the school along Ermin Garcia Street in the area of Cubao, the report said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/28/2004 5:00:56 PM ||
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PLEASE NOTE: Rantburg is a Zionist propaganda BBS spewing hate against Moslems in order to incite wars and sacrifice American lives and resources for the state of Israel.
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#5
PLEASE NOTE: Rantburg is a Zionist propaganda BBS spewing hate against Moslems in order to incite wars and sacrifice American lives and resources for the state of Israel.
See who rules America -- due to censorship we inserted "#", delete it. http://AD#LUSA.com
The National Capital Region Police Office and the militaryâs NCR Command placed their units on heightened alert Sunday as they joined a nationwide manhunt for the capture of six suspected members of the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group who reportedly eluded arrest during a raid on their hideout in Quezon City.
Director Ricardo de Leon, Metro Manila police chief, said the police teams and military units were placed on high alert while the suspected terrorists are being tracked down.
On Friday six ASG alleged members identified as Jayud Santos, Abdul Akman, Muslim Carino, Lalib Trinidad, Akman Lunada and Damund Muslin del Rosario managed to escape after policemen raided their safe house on 50 Purdue Street corner Ermin Garcia Street in Quezon City.
During the raid, the police arrested Fatima Santos, a sister of one of the suspects, who was undergoing interrogation at the general headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City.
The police seized from the safehouse an M-4 Carbine rifle, two rocket-propelled grenades and a container of assorted ammunition, which are now in the custody of the Central Police District, the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency for safekeeping.
All three law-enforcement agencies, de Leon said, are now reviewing the evidence, which also include videos, compact discs and other data-storing equipment containing information on terrorist activities.
Members of the ASG were reportedly in Metro Manila to bomb shopping malls and the Metro Rail Transit.
De Leon admitted that ASG posed a serious threat to national security so the policemen and the military have been put on alert for an extended period, including the Holy Week, which starts on April 4.
He said more police foot patrol and soldiers would be fielded around in commercial places to protect the public from possible terrorist attacks.
A military source claimed that some members of the al-Qaeda-linked and Asian-based Jemaâah Islamiyah terrorist network were in Metro Manila, and they might have coordinated with the six suspected ASG members who eluded arrest in undertaking a series of bombings.
De Leon said police and military intelligence operatives were at work, trying to track down ASG members to preempt the bomb plot.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/28/2004 4:57:23 PM ||
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Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra called an emergency security meeting today after a bomb blast hit a tourist district in the Muslim south, injuring 28 people including Malaysian visitors. Deputy Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, Defence Minister Chetta Tanajaro and army commander Chaisit Shinawatra attended the crisis talks on the escalating violence, a government official said. About 55 people including government officials, police and army officers, and even Buddhist monks have been killed in a wave of attacks in the Muslim-dominated south since the beginning of the year.
Another interface between the "Religion of Peace" and the real world, with resulting casualties.
But the bomb blast last night in Sungai Kolok, a town on the Malaysian border that is packed with nightspots, karaoke bars and brothels, is the first time the attacks have targeted civilians or tourist districts. The bomb was placed on a motorcycle near a strip of bars, injuring local residents as well as workers and customers, police said.
Sounds like a jihadi attack all right.
Captain Paibul Wattanatham from Sungai Kolok police station said two people were seriously injured and were being treated in an intensive care unit, but that they were out of danger. They were not immediately able to say how many Malaysians were hurt. "Police are investigating the incident but we cannot disclose the progress we have made yet," he said. Narathiwat provincial governor Wichom Thongsong said the attack was carried out in retaliation for the government's efforts to rein in the violence in the south, including the arrest last week of nine alleged ringleaders. "The bomb was a response to authorities who are working to re-establish order in the south," he said, adding that as yet no one had taken responsibility for the blast.
Just do what the jihadis tell you to do and you won't face any more bombings. Ask Zapatero, he knows.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/28/2004 12:39:13 AM ||
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"Three rings for the Baath-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Taliban-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Saudi where the Shadows lie."
Posted by: Steve ||
03/28/2004 11:19 Comments ||
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#2
Hezbollah is in a precarious position, depending on Syria. If Syria really withdraws and cleans up their act, the only the blackhats will be providing resources to Hezbollah. Israel could take them out any time they wished, and all the "rockets" Hezbollah has aimed at Israel are a 1-sided MAD weapon. Use them and all hell with rain down on Lebanon
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/28/2004 13:05 Comments ||
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I post this because they quote my favorite anti-jihadi, Aaron Weisburd. Just a snippet...
Some groups in the United States and abroad are fighting Islamic terroristsâ use of the Internet. Internet Haganah is one such site. According to director Aaron Weisburd, Haganah is a volunteer-based effort to stop the use of the Internet as a communications and propaganda tool by Islamic terrorist groups and their supporters. âOnce we have identified those sites we do an assortment of things,â he says. âWe investigate where the site is hosted, who the site is registered to. If possible, we try and see if we can figure out who is footing the bill for it. We try and figure out who or what people are participating in the site, particularly with web forums, which are a big part of the online jihad scene. And along the way we also encourage Internet service providers to simply not do business with such people, which weâve also found to be highly effective.â
Aaron Weisburd says that over the last year and a half, Internet Haganahâs efforts have led Internet service providers to remove some 400 to 500 web sites with links to Islamic terrorism. While many of these sites are able to find another host-server, it has become increasingly difficult. But as Mr. Weisburd notes, itâs not the Internet web sites that are so dangerous in themselves; rather, itâs the people behind them.
.... new insights into the terrorist mindset — some of them controversial — are now emerging from research on the hundreds of terrorists captured since Sept. 11, 2001. The conclusion: The average terrorist is young, a family outcast with little formal education or money who was raised in a region of economic and political instability. And, says a U.S. Army expert familiar with the research, many are mentally ill.
Any observer with a bit of objectivity would note the high proportion of loons, psychoceramics and nutballs involved in Global Jihad™. We've noted here a time or two, I think...
"It is surprising the number of Axis I psychological disorders we have among that population," Colonel Larry James, chief psychologist at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., said in a recent talk to Ontario psychologists in Toronto. (The disorders classified as Axis I in the psychologistsâ bible, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, include most of the major mental disorders: anxiety, depression, schizophrenia and phobias.) .... Previous studies have generally concluded mental illness was not a factor in determining who becomes a terrorist. Blind commitment to the cause, not a mental defect, drives terrorists, the argument goes; only Hollywood terrorists are crazy. .... But that was before the war on terrorism. In particular, it was before hundreds of terrorists were captured and taken to places such as Guantanamo Bay, giving experts a rare chance to collect psychological data on a large pool of subjects and to develop a profile of what makes them tick.
In the pre-post-modern world, empirical observation took precedence over theory. Today, such observations are "controversial."
"Mental illness is a factor," Col. James said in an interview. .... "The leaders or the mastermind figures may or may not have mental illness, but again among the foot soldiers, thatâs where youâll see more of the psychiatric types of problems."
The leaders and masterminds are a separate category, and I'd suggest megalomania and psychopathy are probably the most common afflictions...
Col. James believes the reason why psychological disorders have not before been widely detected in terrorists is that the people testing them have not asked the right questions. "We need a new way of conceptualizing these men and women, because the categories we have, they donât fit neatly into." The thinking that drives al-Qaeda — that Westerners are devils and that killing them is serving God — in itself should raise questions about the sanity of its adherents, he says. "That begs the question: Is that a normal healthy thought process?"
You mean outside a mosque, right?
Radical Islamic terrorists might breeze through a standard psych test, he says, but they would surely fail what he called the New York City Taxi Driver Test: Even a cabbie with no formal training could tell that an al-Qaeda member was just "not right."
"That boy's crazy!"
Psychologists have long argued that some high-ranking terrorists may be psychopaths or have personality disorders, while those in lower-level positions such as suicide bombers are more likely to have mental deficiencies or depression, making them easier to manipulate. ....
It takes a special kind of man (or woman) to make an evil minion...
But are most terrorists mentally ill? "Yes and no," says Steven Stein, CEO of Multi-Health Systems and a Toronto psychologist who specializes in the field.
That's a pretty classic beg on a question....
"While some terrorists may have mental health problems, I donât think it is a basic cause of terrorism. There are millions of people worldwide with mental health problems and only a small percentage of them are violent. Much more pervasive among terrorists is being indoctrinated in a culture of hatred. There are much stronger links between hatred and terrorism than any particular mental illness." ....
Which raises the questinio of whether mental illness can be induced. My opinion is that it can. Various incidences of brainwashing, dating from the Korean War through various cults and sects, shows that it can. Jim Jones seconds my opinion and toasts it with Kool-Ade.
Aside from mental illness, terrorists tend to have a low level of education, which makes it easier to indoctrinate and manipulate them, he [Colonel James] says. "A large number of them are functionally illiterate. The average foot-soldier terrorist is not a rocket scientist. Thatâs a factual statement. Iâm not talking about the Osama bin Ladens and the guys who are chemical engineers and have masters degrees and come from tremendously well-educated families. That may be one of the mastermind-type people behind it, but the person who gets on the train or the bus ... with a bomb strapped to their back typically doesnât have a PhD."
The requirement is for somebody who's cheap and easily replaced. Rocket scientists have other uses. It's easier to find slack-jawed yokels to wear the boom belts and wave the AKs. The dumber the better, in most cases. Reminder: 50 percent of everyone you meet is of below-average intelligence.
Family dynamics also play a role, he says. "The folks that are looking for a sense of belongingness, family outcasts.... This person tends to be the black sheep of the family and really doesnât connect well with the rest of the family. If you look at Osama bin Laden, same thing. If you look at his mother and father, he was born to an intact family, very wealthy, very well-educated but for whatever reason ... heâs the one family outcast, long before he got involved in al-Qaeda. So these folks will go out and seek out other organizations, and they are ripe psychologically."
Same thing shows up in the prison population — not in every case, but enough to fill the middle of the bell curve...
Then there is economic status. "The average terrorist really is fairly poor and doesnât have a stable job or goes from job to job ... and so here comes an organization thatâs willing to take them in, feed them, clothe them, educate them and, in their interpretation of the Koran, make them a soldier for the cause and pay them some nominal wages." Indeed, some terrorists are "soldier-of-fortune-mercenary" types, he says. "These are the more sociopathic-type characters. âHey man, thereâs a fight and youâre willing to pay for it. Sign me up, brother, Iâm with you.â"
He's describing a group that's separate from the cannon fodder. These are the guys who're more likely to be the controllers and runners. They've got more on the ball than Mahmoud al-Kaboomi...
Perhaps least surprising is the finding that terrorists tend to come from regions that are in economic and political upheaval, partly because governments lack the will or the resources to challenge terrorist groups that set up shop in such environments, he says. These parts of the world have a plentiful supply of idle youths, who are the cannon fodder of terror. "Itâs more likely to see younger adults and children involved in this. Why? Because theyâre more vulnerable."
By the time all the endocrine adjustments have been made within the body, the urge to display one's ferocity has receded, to be replaced by the urge to procreate and raise young. If we were still apes, it wouldn't be the silverbacks waving AKs, but the young 'uns, just run out of the group. Doing a quick scan of cannon fodder we've run across in these pages, the average age is probably 22 or 23. Runners and controllers tend to be older, and there are precious few 40- and 50-year-olds to be found. The guys at the top are old farts.
Up to a third of the combatants in Afghanistan were under 13 years of age, he says, and many were in the 9-15 range. "This was truly a different kind of war." Many of those boys were abducted and forced to fight, and a large number were sexually abused by the commanders at terrorist camps.
The abduction part skews the figures, but he's making the same point: the cannon-fodder's to be found in the post-puberty to young-married age range.
"When we look at a lot of these terrorist organizations, these boys meet the criteria of all the things I just laid out. Things are not going well in their family, theyâre typically not doing well in school, theyâre kind of social outcasts, theyâre looking for a place to belong, theyâre 13, 14, 15, so they donât have a way of supporting themselves."
... and the average IQ is somewhere between 85 and 95...
Some researchers have documented how terrorists gradually become divorced from reality as they live underground to evade capture, making it possible for them to kill masses of people in the name of the cause of their leader or organization. ....
That's the cult-sect part of it, with continuous reinforcement of the groupthink. Reality's replaced by the construct, and as time goes on the construct becomes more disconnected from reality. I might add that this is all subject to the bubble-burst principle: when it finally occurs, the end of the war on terror may actually come quickly, as the masses of the easily led are subjected to sudden disillusionment. Islamism will evaporate in the same manner as Communism (capital C) and Fascism (capital F).
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
03/28/2004 10:36:46 AM ||
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Wow! Where to start with this. Mental illness may well be a factor creating a terrorist but being an Arab seems a more reliable factor. Otherwise, all statements in these kinds of studies have to be in relation to a control group. If you are comparing them to Missouri Baptists then I have not doubt that these people are completely wacked out, but if you compare them to the population of Gaza city or Jedda, then I am quite sure they are completely normal.
#4
What's really insane is that there are Americans and Europeans who think the way to solve the problem is to negotiate with these guys, or worse yet, with the people who manipulate these guys. "Rational actor" calculations just don't apply here.
Posted by: Matt ||
03/28/2004 12:26 Comments ||
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..You know, for fifteen years now I've been saying we'd miss the cool, logical and hyper-rational thinking of the Soviets. Looks like this proves it.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
03/28/2004 13:39 Comments ||
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There are three separate but interlocking problems:
1. The Middle Eastern society itself is insane, locked as it is to an insane religion that prevents maturity and growth.
2. There are no cultural or religious "safety nets" for this particular segment of society, EITHER IN ARAB SOCIETY OR IN WESTERN SOCIETY, which leaves them not only susceptible to being manipulated, but actually seeking such manipulation (pop culture does it in our society, which is, in itself, frightening - look at Columbine).
3. The previous methods used by most "black sheep" for finding their own way in the world - emigration, education, military service, religion, etc., are now mostly closed to those of less than average intelligence. The industries that employed those of marginal to below-average intelligence (agriculture, fishing, etc.) now either require higher education, or offer a marginal existence, or simply don't exist at all.
You end up with a lot of dissatisfied, unhappy people, hopped to the gills on raging hormones, with no hope and little ambition, ripe for manipulation - and it's a worldwide problem that everybody's ignoring.
Mike, I'm with you, brother!
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/28/2004 14:20 Comments ||
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OP, you're right, and I wish you weren't. The fourth interlocking problem you might throw in is age: even a very stable society would have trouble dealing with a situation in which 50% of the population is under 15.
People keep talking about addressing "root causes." That's a great idea if you happen to have a way of creating 3 or 4 hundred million decent jobs over the next few years, in totalitarian societies that objectively are doing their dead-level best to prevent economic growth.
Posted by: Matt ||
03/28/2004 15:32 Comments ||
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Great analysis, OP. I would add to that that every time we do try to set up manufacturing jobs in Pakistan or Indonesia, some sob sister starts carping about "sweat shops" and slave labor.
The trends that OP and Matt identified are accelerating. I brought up the example of third world manufacturing because the left just doesn't get it (when technology and capital intersect their beliefs, they rarely do). As technology advances, it is becoming a relatively trivial matter to automate the making of shoes and clothes to the same extent that we automate the making of cars. Bottom line: No more need for unskilled labor -- just a few technicians are required to keep the machines humming. The designers are all in the developed countries already. The result: Almost the entire third world population is on the dole, even more restless and pissed off than they are now. Plants can be located closer to markets or kept where they are if you can find the techs. It's going to be interesting!
#9
So too sum all this up: Being a Muslim can cause mental defects?
Posted by: Charles ||
03/28/2004 18:49 Comments ||
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Didn't one of the older terrorist controllers recently tell a potential teenage suicide bomber in Israel that he'd never have sex unless he detonated himself, precisely because he was such a LOSER--that this was his ONLY chance to have sex with a woman, or 72 women, in "paradise." What a sick, mean story to tell some mixed up, messed up, outcast teenager. When the Israelis caught up with the boy, he didn't want to kill himself anymore. Even the psycho Muslim teenagers figure it out sooner or later.
#11
I have three adolescents in the house and I can assure you that the adolescent brain is difficult enough to deal with even in Judeo-Christian culture. That aside, I can't imagine how the Middle Eastern poverty problem is going to go away given the billion or so Indians and billion or so Chinese that will do the world's work without being a pain in the rear to hire. The Muslim Middle East is so bleak that the limited middle class tends to move away, even to the United States and Britain of all places. Surely you can stand in the desert and hear the sucking sound as all of the oil and reasonable Muslim people of affluence flow out of the area.
Posted by: Tom ||
03/28/2004 20:49 Comments ||
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Mental illness is not just for the slodydopes, it is also a prerequsite to becoming a recruiter (Imam). Albeit they're a bit saner because they never consider stapping an explosive vest on themselves.
#13
Psychologists have long argued that some high-ranking terrorists may be psychopaths or have personality disorders, while those in lower-level positions such as suicide bombers are more likely to have mental deficiencies or depression, making them easier to manipulate. ....
IDF troops shot dead a Tanzim fugitive Sunday in the West Bank village of Dahariyeh near Hebron, Israel Radio reported. According to the report, troops surrounded the home of Jamil al-Tal Sunday morning. Al-Tal was reportedly spotted on the roof of his home holding a stick, which the soldiers mistook for a gun. The troops later found weapons in the Tanzim man's home. Security officials said that they believe that the fugitive planned to carry out a terror attack in the near future.
"Drop the stick and come out with your hands up, Jamil!"
"Take that, coppers! And that! And... Ow!"
Meanwhile Sunday, IDF troops demolished the home of Abed al-Rahim Ibrahim in the West Bank town of Biddya. Ibrahim last week attacked several civilians in Ramat Gan with an axe.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/28/2004 10:37:00 PM ||
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Posted by: John Doe TROLL ||
03/28/2004 22:50 Comments ||
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Lesson: point a stick at armed Jooooos and you get the consequences (you may not have thought hard about) you get...dumbf&*ks
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/04/2004 22:22 Comments ||
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IDF troops on Sunday arrested an Islamic Jihad terrorist in Rafadia near Nablus on the West Bank. The terrorist, Tamr Hawira, 16, is suspected of planning to carry out a suicide bombing in Israel in the near future. Hawira was handed over to the General Security Service for questioning, where he told the Shin Bet of his plans to carry out an attack.
Another one with more pimples and self-doubts than sense...
Posted by: Fred ||
03/28/2004 10:33:18 PM ||
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Posted by: John Doe TROLL ||
03/28/2004 22:53 Comments ||
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damn - almost to make me cynical....again
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/04/2004 22:26 Comments ||
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A confession by a member of Fatah's armed branch in Nablus has shed new light on the extent of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's involvement in terror. The terror suspect told Shin Bet security service interrogators that money he received from Arafat was used to purchase weapons and to carry out shooting attacks in the West Bank. Raaf Mansur was detained by Israel Defense Forces soldiers last February. Mansur headed a wing of Fatah's military branch, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. His cell was responsible for attacks in the Nablus and Jenin areas. Letters confiscated by Israeli security forces from Mansur's home included pleas sent to Arafat for money to fund armed activities. Mansur told interrogators that his appeals to Arafat resulted in a monthly NIS 7,500 payment to him. The allocations continued up to the time of Mansur's arrest.
Mansur explained that the money was delivered via Abed al-Fatah Hameil, who serves as a financial adviser to the PA chairman. Mansur and Hameil met several times in Nablus. Mansur presented a list of his cell members and, after reviewing the names, Arafat's assistant delivered the funds. Hameil would confirm the militants belonged to Fatah and that they were dealing with "military activity." In a few instances, Hameil helped find work for Mansur's men in the PA apparatus. Mansur confessed to involvement in shooting attacks in the West Bank (he claimed nobody was injured in them) and to sending his men to throw Molotov cocktails at IDF vehicles and settlers on roads east of Nablus. Arafat's money, he explained, was used to finance the purchase of firearms for terror cells and to cover expenses incurred in the armed activity. An indictment against Mansur is soon to be filed in a military court.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/28/2004 9:35:47 PM ||
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any doubts?
(crickets chirping)
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/28/2004 22:26 Comments ||
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Surprise meter's dropping into negative numbers now.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/28/2004 22:28 Comments ||
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[Off-topic or abusive comments deleted]
Posted by: John Doe TROLL ||
03/28/2004 22:46 Comments ||
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Americans are herded to Iraq like cattle to slaughter -- visit http://AD LUSA.com#cattle but first delete space which was added due to censorship.
PLEASE NOTE: Rantburg is a Zionist propaganda BBS spewing hate against Moslems in order to incite wars and sacrifice American lives and resources for the state of Israel.
Posted by: John Doe ||
03/28/2004 22:40 Comments ||
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#5
Americans are herded to Iraq like cattle to slaughter -- visit http://AD LUSA.com#cattle but first delete space which was added due to censorship.
PLEASE NOTE: Rantburg is a Zionist propaganda BBS spewing hate against Moslems in order to incite wars and sacrifice American lives and resources for the state of Israel.
Posted by: John Doe ||
03/28/2004 22:40 Comments ||
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KUNA
The new Hamas leader in Gaza Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Rantissi highlighted on Sunday Hamas' obligation to liberate the whole of Palestine, the right of refugees to return home and the release of POWs from Israeli jails.
"Dat's right! We want it all! The whole thing! Them Jews can just beat it!"
Driven underground by Israel's vow to wipe out the remaining Hamas leadership by air strike, Al-Rantisi emerged briefly for a fiery open-air speech before 5,000 people in the main courtyard of Gaza City's Islamic University. Israeli warplanes roared overhead at one point during his address and the crowd gazed skyward nervously. But Rantisi seemed unmoved and kept speaking.
"Hah! They ain't gonna touch me with all these women and kiddies around!"
He assailed US President George W Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, saying, "The war of God goes on against them and I can see victory arising from the land of Palestine by the hand of Hamas," Rantisi said.
"We're numbah one! We're numbah one!"
Rantisi again vowed Hamas would hit Israel hard over Sheikh Ahmad Yassin'sdeparture from this vale of tears slaying. "I remind you that we do not forget the blood of our martyrs," he told the crowd.
"With so much of it, we could. We're kinda hazy on the details of all the cannon fodder who's blown. But we never forget it when one of the head cheeses gets it. Just think of... of... ummm... I forget his name right now, tip o' my tongue, y'know? But he was one of the great ones! Never to be forgotten!"
Rantisi called on Arab states to sever any relations with Israel but said they only looked weak following the weekend postponement of an Arab League summit in a dispute over democratic reform proposals. "The blood of Yassin is urging you to shut down the Israeli embassies and representative offices. Stop meeting the killers. Stop meeting Sharon. Boycott them, commercially, diplomatically and culturally and in security contacts."
"No compromise! No negotiations! No sense!"
Of course, we all know that after Rantissi's been zapped that al-Guardian and al-NYT will discover he was a voice of moderation within Hamas and that whoever's next in line could be a hardliner.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/28/2004 8:12:11 PM ||
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Israel needs to implement the following retaliatory actions against the Palestinians whenever there's a terrorist attack: For every Israeli killed, Palestine looses one hectare of land Israel plans to currently allow them to keep. Israel gets to choose which hectare the Paleos lose. Nobody else has a say in the matter. If there's a boom, and 25 Israelis die, 25 hectares of land get marked off behind the "green line", and the wall or whatever gets moved. Another attack, another 20 dead, another 20 hectares. Also, no Arabs are allowed to remain on any of that forfeited land. After awhile, Jordan, Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon are gonna start losing land, or the booming is gonna stop.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/28/2004 22:35 Comments ||
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Deadly violence persisted on Sunday in Chechnya, where an official said nine Russian servicemen or Chechen police were killed and 15 others wounded in the previous 24 hours.
Four of the deaths came in rebel attacks on Russian position, which came under fire 19 times, the official said on condition of anonymity. Seven servicemen were wounded in those attacks, he said.
Two servicemen were killed and four wounded in a clash in the southern Vedeno district that also left two rebels dead, and two elite police troops were shot dead with automatic riles in the capital, Grozny, the official said.
A police officer was killed and three wounded when their patrol came under fire near Samashki, in western Chechnya, and a serviceman was wounded when the diesel locomotive of a freight train hit a mine, the official said. The locomotive was badly damaged.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/28/2004 4:46:00 PM ||
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Looks to me like they caved. How about the rest of you guys?
Pakistani troops began withdrawing from some parts of western Pakistan on Sunday after militants agreed to release captured soldiers and politicians, but officials said soldiers will remain in the area while tribal leaders negotiate the handing over of foreign militants.
Troops also began withdrawing from some parts of Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal areas on Sunday after what officials called a successful operation, Shah said.
"The main objectives of the operation have been achieved. They included destroying dens, searching of homes, taking people into custody and the recovery of gadgets and equipment," Shah said. He said the troops would regroup in South Waziristan's main town of Wana and would remain in the area.
But he said between 500-600 suspected militants may still be hiding along the border with Afghanistan and he did not rule out military force against them. Shah said the army would continue to use a combination of military operations and talks with tribal leaders to rid the region of suspected al-Qaeda forces and allies.
"The army will stay in South Waziristan until the foreigners are flushed out of the area and tribesmen harbouring them are captured. In the meantime, military operations and dialogue through the (tribal leaders) will continue," he said.
About 10,000 Mahsud tribesmen met on Sunday near Wana, to help authorities track the perpetrators of an attack on an army convoy last week.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/28/2004 4:40:42 PM ||
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This sounds like another Afghanistan Guns for Money deal. Nobody in the Pak army has the real motivitation and enthusiasm to clean out the trash in Waziristan. They fight, kill some people, have a cease fire, horse trade bodies and hostages, maybe fight a little more and then disengage. Like the Afghani warlords armies, there is too much corruption. To properly clean up things, heavy assaults are needed with no cease fires. Unconditional surrender. But do not expect it in Pak Land. S.O.S.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/28/2004 17:18 Comments ||
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To properly clean up things, heavy assaults are needed with no cease fires. Unconditional surrender. But do not expect it in Pak Land. S.O.S.
Agreed. But part of me thinks we just need more money. Buy both sides off and then ditch 'em like a cheap softballglove.
#3
The IDF makes incursions into Indian country every so often. Think of this as a thunder run. I hope the operation is repeated randomly. I don't think the Pakistani Government can permanently occupy that region successfully, but they need to prevent the hornets from nesting successfully.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/28/2004 21:21 Comments ||
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Super Hose,
By IDF do you mean Israeli Defence Force or Indian Defence Force? Perhaps this is another job that can be outsourced to our friends on the sub-continent. I'll bet they could take care of the ISI while they're at it.
Posted by: Mr. Davis ||
03/28/2004 21:32 Comments ||
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Mr. D, I meant the Israeli Defense Force. Do the Indians contract out?
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/28/2004 22:03 Comments ||
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A spokesman for the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) has said that intelligence sources have confirmed that one of the top Al Qaeda leader, Tahir Yoldeshev, has been injured in the military operation in the tribal area, and is hiding somewhere in Wana.
That means he got through the cordon.
In a statement issued here on Saturday, the spokesman said: "Some facilitators of Tahir Yoldeshev have also been injured during the ongoing operation during which over 160 miscreants had been arrested."
Would that be al-Qaeda or just IMU flunkies?
He said intelligence sources and other information gathered from those apprehended during the operation indicated that over 60 "miscreants" had been killed and several injured during the operation since March 16.
Dilating upon the situation in Wana area, the spokesman said the operation was in its final stages and its objectives had been largely achieved. "A hardened den of miscreants has been completely dismantled, those locals giving refuge to foreign elements have been uncovered and earlier reports of the presence of foreign elements in that particular area are confirmed."
He said arms and equipment recovered from the area indicated the involvement of these elements in terrorist activities in the country. "A variety of explosives, time bomb devices, communication equipment and a wide range of weaponry retrieved from the stronghold, the type of fighting, trenches and tunnel in the area are indications of their involvement in terrorist activities."
Those arrested were being treated with dignity, he added.
The spokesman said locals from Zamchana village, about 40 kilometres northwest of Wana, came out to confront the miscreants who were preparing to fire mortars on one of the posts of the security forces on Friday night.
In retaliation, he added, the miscreants brought fire onto the village, and as a result one civilian, son of Malik Hakim Khan Gangi Khel, met martyrdom. "The authorities highly appreciate this patriotic act of Gangi Khel tribe and pay rich tributes to the Shaheed," he said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/28/2004 4:37:56 PM ||
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There's also supposedly a Somali government in Mogadishu as well ...
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/28/2004 16:46 Comments ||
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#3
There was a cordon around the Alamo also, but message riders left the mission frequently. I think that a cordon can carefully be avoided by small forces. Jarhead would know better.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/28/2004 21:25 Comments ||
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#4
Force size is irrelevant. The only size that counts there is wallet.
Posted by: Mr. Davis ||
03/28/2004 21:34 Comments ||
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Our recently enshrined neutral authority, WaPo, provides a platform for a Terrorism Apologist, clearly demonstrating their moral superiority - and neutrality, of course. Not EFL cuz Reg Reqâd. Sharon Has a Plan, But It Doesnât Involve Peace or Palestinian Hopes
By Ghada Ageel
Sunday, March 28, 2004
ZAHRA, Gaza Strip
The assassination of Sheik Ahmed Yassin last Monday is an attempt by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to kill any move for peace in the Middle East. Things were going so well prior to the hit.
For the past decade, Yassin had been making proposals which marked big shifts toward a pragmatic solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Since the second intifada erupted in September 2000, Yassin had proposed several cease-fires in return for Israel withdrawing from the territories it occupied in 1967 and ending military action against Palestinians. Yassin declared that Hamas accepted a two-state solution, Palestinian and Israeli states existing side by side. A true man of peace piece...
Three weeks before his death, Yassin had announced a plan for Hamas, Yasser Arafatâs Fatah and other factions to unite in administering Gaza in the event of a unilateral Israeli withdrawal as proposed by Sharon. This was not in Sharonâs interest at all. The late Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin once said he wished to see Gaza drown in the sea; Sharon wants Gaza to drown in the blood of a civil war between Hamas and Fatah. And this would be Sharonâs fault, of course. Right.
Yassin had offered a strong base for making peace. The Israeli governmentâs decision to kill Yassin at this moment strengthens the belief among many Palestinians, including me, that Israel simply does not want peace. Every step forward by the Palestinian Authority or political factions such as Hamas is met with a step backward by Sharon. This latest assassination proves that the Israeli government is not ready to talk the language of peace. Under Sharon, Israel talks only the language of power and blood. And this base was bus, restaurant, and port suicide boomers? Yep, itâs ISRAEL who doesnât want peace. Right. What was I thinking?
Many Palestinians were already convinced of this because of the assassination by Israel of Ismail Abu Shanab, a moderate Hamas leader, last August. Shanab openly accepted a two-state solution. If Israel had wanted to listen to the language of peace, strengthen the moderate camp in Hamas and save the blood of two peoples, it would have kept Abu Shanab alive. It did not. Selective memory is an indicator of a higher morality. This is proof. Thanks, WaPo, for sponsoring this genius to set us straight.
The bloodshed continues because Sharonâs government believes that it can bring Israelis security and peace with a policy of assassination and occupation. It cannot. It believes that these crimes will persuade the resistance groups to abandon their goal of ending the occupation. They will not. On the contrary, Sharon knows that blood demands blood and actions create reactions. He knows that the only likely outcome of Yassinâs murder will be to pour fuel on the fire that is already burning and motivate Palestinians further to fight the illegal Israeli occupation of their land. This resistance will in turn produce an Israeli military response, and so the cycle of violence, including the inevitable suicide bombings, will continue without end. But it is important to keep in mind that the occupation causes the suicide bombings, not the other way around. Again, itâs Sharonâs fault. Everything. Suicide bombings arenât depraved acts by deranged tools, no, theyâre inevitable - everyone knows this.
Sharon wants to distance himself as far as possible from any peace solution that might put pressure on him to make concessions. If he had been interested in peace, he would have followed up on the "road map" for a two-state solution to the conflict, which was accepted by the Palestinians and the international "quartet" (the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia) but has never been implemented. Does distance = recognition of futility?
Yassin was killed when Israel targeted him with three rockets that mutilated his paralyzed body and the wheelchair in which he was sitting. Later, tens of thousands of ordinary Palestinians filled the streets to express their shock and anger. Even though Israel had targeted him before, no one could quite believe that this had happened -- and in this way. F**kin Duh. Symp play. Outrageous disingenuous willfully blind PR bullshit.
Yassin was a spiritual leader, not a military target. At 67, he was an old man, paralyzed from the neck down. He was nearly blind and deaf. He was being wheeled home from the mosque after saying the morning prayer. He was an easy target, powerless to run and escape death. How could Sharon consider this crime a victory? The location of Yassinâs house was well-known to Israeli forces, and it was no secret that he went every day to the mosque to pray. There was no ingenuity in this operation except that it crossed all the boundaries of humanity and made the tunnel to peace look darker than ever. More symp. Drama queen is pouring it on, now. Iâm losing it...
Israel has the power in this standoff. If it wanted peace, it could implement it. It is in a position to offer a solution. The Palestinians are only in a position to negotiate in response. The Israelis are proactive. We are reactive because of the imbalance of power. I donât find it so complicated. For the first time, the two camps of Palestinian society, the Islamists (in the form of Hamas) and the nationalists (all the factions of the PLO), have agreed to a two-state solution. The next move is Sharonâs. And the international community must offer support for implementing a peace agreement. Itâs not a standoff - itâs restraint you jackoff. There is no "road map" left. There are no more "moves" - you had your 1000th chance and you stuffed it - just like the 999 that went before.
Itâs clear to me that, by killing Yassin, Sharonâs government wanted to send a message and to show its maximum power before it withdraws from Gaza. Sharonâs message is that if Israel has to withdraw from Gaza, then it leaves as the victor, not as a refugee. Israel lost enough of its reputation withdrawing from south Lebanon. Because Sharon has no strategy for peace, he can only offer this policy of blood. Caution: Historical and Pre-Historical Cleaning in Progress.
Like many Palestinians in Gaza, I wonder how the Yassin assassination can be swallowed whole by the international community, particularly the Bush administration, which has refused to criticize the operation. In the eyes of the Palestinians, Arabs and many others in the world, the killing breaks every norm and law, and contravenes every human right we have ever known. I love finger-wagging from a cretin.
Israel could have arrested Yassin and tried him in court had it wanted to. After all, it invades Gaza almost daily and arrests or kills whomever it wants. Instead it sends Palestinians the message that nothing can stop Israel from doing anything to anyone at any time. No one is immune. And yet, youâre still breathing. See Restraint.
When I saw people of all ages running to join the demonstration last Monday, I realized that, like me, they were weeping for something more than the physical death of Yassin. They were mourning their own victims -- family members, friends and neighbors -- weeping at the brutality of an occupation that has systematically destroyed their livelihoods, weeping over the silence of the international community. I was crying for my cousin, who was paralyzed last October by an Israeli attack, and for the hundreds like him. Big Symp Finish.
The assassination of Yassin was a way to ensure that the violence continues, which will enable Sharonâs extremist government to stay in power and continue to avoid any concessions for peace. And if Yassin had not been waxed, it would be precisely the same, except one more terrorist leader and symp figure would be in on the planning of the next boomer attack.
Sharon triggered the latest intifada with his visit to the al-Aqsa mosque in 2000. Many Palestinians fear that his governmentâs assassination of Yassin will provoke a new and terrible phase of the intifada, a phase that has no rules except those of revenge. It is usually the Palestinians who are accused of missing the opportunities for peace. This time it is Sharon, and we will all pay the price. The Blame Game. We had nothing to do with the intifada. Israel made us do it.
Authorâs e-mail: g_ageel@yahoo.com
Ghada Ageel, a lifelong resident of Gaza, is a doctoral candidate in Middle East politics through Exeter University in England. So send this man of peace an email and let him know he da man. And put WaPo back on the apologist list - they earned it with this pile of shit.
#3
What is it with these people that they can't separate fact from rhetoric. Prior to the recent Israeli port bombing there hadn't a suicide bomber who made it out of Gaza for 2 years. Its the fence stupid! The effect so far of increased terrorism (dire revenge) towards Israel is more dead paleos.
Israel offered everything they want over 3 years ago and it was rejected in wave of suicide bombings. The world has changed (a lot) over the last 3 years) and now these idiots want to roll back the clock. Sorry too late!
#4
Many Palestinians were already convinced of this because of the assassination by Israel of Ismail Abu Shanab, a moderate Hamas leader, last August. Shanab openly accepted a two-state solution. If Israel had wanted to listen to the language of peace, strengthen the moderate camp in Hamas and save the blood of two peoples, it would have kept Abu Shanab alive. It did not.
If you hang with terrorists, you are a terrorist. There's no way to distinguish whether someone is a disinterested party, as if that could even exist. Anybody of intelligence recognizes that joining Hamas often results in heavy exposure to high concentrations of lead, it's an occupational hazard that comes with the territory.
But it is important to keep in mind that the occupation causes the suicide bombings, not the other way around.
What is this ration of horsesh!t? "Occupation" does not cause people to abandon all trace of civilized behavior and go around indiscriminately slaughtering innocent women and children. It's a complete void of any compassion or religious tolerance that is the source.
"Suicide bomber" is a complete misnomer, such people are mass murderers and nothing else. That they die achieving their nefarious ends is only of significance in how it limns a culture willing to sacrifice the flower of their youth for the paltry task of completing a single mission.
Any general who made a habit of consistently wasting soldiers in such a way would face immediate mutiny. Instead, this horrific and ignominious squandering of life is glorified and thrust upon this world as some pretense of a strategy. The Arab people will long carry a deep and abiding cultural stigma for engendering this travesty of life. The eleventh of September atrocity alone has earned them an onus on par with that of WWII Germany and with good reason.
Arab culture will carry a well deserved collective burden of guilt for many years to come. So many Arabs vigorously embrace the demonic terrorist mindset with such cheerful abandon that they have rightfully become alien to all civilized people. Should a renouncement of terrorism finally be made, any such retraction must be greeted with a skepticism so healthy that it survives for several decades.
The grim spectacle of sending children to do a man's work while dying a needless and horrifically murderous death will not fade from the world's memory any time soon.
"Jen, only when and if he is ever properly elected will I then be grudgingly obliged to address him as you wish I would. His intentional blurring of the separation between church and state while simultaneously attempting to constitutionalize discrimination gets nothing but scorn from me.
Thank goodness we live in a country where we can disagree on this matter. Please know that you indeed have the privilege to dislike me for what I say, that is entirely your right. Understand one thing though, I don't do this to intentionally anger or offend you or anybody else.
As a proud American I cannot abide the White House's ham-fisted tampering with both the duties of executive office or our beloved constitution. Whatever proper intransigence might be shown for terrorism (as is demanded of all worthy commander in chiefs) still in no way confers any right to enshrine religious commandment as constitutional law, especially not in a nation wholly founded upon secular ideals. This is what he's attempting and my own ethicality demands that I consider it to be nothing less than malfeasance of office. Hence my scorn."
Oh, Dumpster, you're a treasure.
What a load of juicy bullshit.
He IS the duly elected President of the United States, fucktard. Proof that all else you may say is at the very least suspect, if not outright total fucking bullshit. You're full of shit.
Your notion that he is "constitutionalizing discrimination" is truly insane. Proof? You're full of shit.
You provide no proof of any "ham-fisted" actions - or anything even remotely associated. You're full of shit.
As an atheist, I know he has not done anything that hasn't been done before for the last 30 years to "enshrine religious commandment as constitutional law". I most certainly would've noticed. You're full of shit.
The phrase "my own ethicality demands that I consider it to be nothing less than malfeasance of office" is so utterly asinine and disingenuous as to be breathtaking. You couldn't prove any aspect of that charge if your worthless life depended upon it. You're full of shit.
It is clear that you're one thoroughly conflicted and fucked up induhvidual - and given your comments, so anti-Bush that you'd remove him from office if you could. You obviously think President Gore is being denied his constitutional rights. You're fucking insane. It is not unreasonable to presume you will vote against Bush, therefore, so you are in league with the enemy - there is no sane RBer who could possibly
believe Skeery would be worth warm spit in the Wot - your pathetic little aside about Commanders in Chief notwithstanding. You are unbelievably amazingly self-defeatingly massively full of shit.
Militants in western Pakistan released 11 soldiers Sunday, as troops began withdrawing from the region after a massive operation to capture or kill suspected terrorists.
Toldja so. They saved face, now they'll get the hell out, and things'll go back to the way they were before.
Two government officials were set to be released later in the day, regional security official Brig. Mahmood Shah said. One soldier escaped before the release. The soldiers and government officials were taken hostage during Pakistan's largest sweep yet through the western areas, where some tribes are suspected to have sheltered al-Qaida forces. The government pronounced the operation a success. "The main objectives of the operation have been achieved. They included destroying dens, searching of homes, taking people into custody and the recovery of gadgets and equipment," Shah said. He said the troops would regroup in South Waziristan's main town of Wana and remain in the area.
But they won't do anything...
Shah said the larger mission to drive al-Qaida forces out of Pakistan would continue and called on tribal leaders to hand over any foreigners living in the area. About 10,000 Mahsud tribesmen met Sunday near Wana to help authorities track the perpetrators of an attack on an army convoy last week. Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, said Sunday that there were more al-Qaida in the region than Pakistan had initially thought.
Previously they'd said there weren't any. But nobody believed them.
"As far as al-Qaida is concerned, yes, indeed, they are in bigger numbers than we thought in that region. And we need to eliminate them. It's very clear that we will eliminate them," Musharraf said in an interview on ABC's "This Week."
"But not right now."
"There's more than we thought, so it will take a while to eliminate them all."
"How long?"
"Um, a while. We'll let you know when we're done."
He said tribal elders from six of the seven tribal groups in western Pakistan were cooperating with the government's efforts to capture, kill or drive out foreign extremists. "They are cooperating with us, cooperating with the army. And I'm very sure we'll take a very hard stand, and the writ of the government will be established, and these people have to be eliminated," Musharraf said.
Oh, no doubt. No doubt at all.
On Saturday, military spokesman Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan said intelligence and eyewitness accounts indicated that al-Qaida commander Tahir Yuldash had been badly wounded and is in hiding. He admitted, however, that Pakistani forces are not close to capturing Yuldash.
Somehow I didn't expect they would.
"He might have slipped away, he's on the run," Sultan said.
"We'd have dogs tracking the scent of his colostomy bag, but we're Muslims, so we don't use dogs. We're waiting for the yaks to be brought in..."
Yuldash, also known as Tohir Yuldashev, is the leader of an Uzbek terror group allied with al-Qaida called the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. He was previously mentioned as one of two possible "high-value targets" cornered when Pakistan's military began the sweep of South Waziristan on March 16. Yuldash and his group were responsible for repeated car bombings and kidnappings in Uzbekistan before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a U.S. State Department report said. Pakistani officials said Yuldash and his group have effectively become part of al-Qaida's forces. Despite the apparent escape, Sultan said the operation had been successful since the military had killed 60 suspected militants and captured 163 more.
The rest of them changed their turbans got away. They'll be back to operating openly in a week.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/28/2004 12:37:08 PM ||
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#1
$20 on Door #2 huh, Fred? Prescient or realist? The dreaded Paki juggernaut hits a speedbump and goes in reverse. Music to Indian ears
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/28/2004 13:11 Comments ||
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#3
I'd be more critical of the Pakistani effort myself, but I'm not sure they've ever done anything like this before; I doubt any of their experience in Kashmir has prepared them for being on the receiving end, in an area where they don't have the logistical support to back them up. I would expect that if they performed a similar operation in a week or two in Baluchistan, they'll probably wind up with US planes dropping supplies to their troops.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
03/28/2004 16:06 Comments ||
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The new leader of the militant group Hamas on Sunday called President Bush the enemy of Islam and said that "God declared war" against Bush, the United States and Israel.
Sounds like a threat to me...
In a speech at Gaza's Islamic University, Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantissi said he was not surprised that the United States vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Israel's assassination on Monday of Hamas spiritual leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin. "We knew that Bush is the enemy of God, the enemy of Islam and Muslims. America declared war against God. Sharon declared war against God and God declared war against America, Bush and Sharon," Rantisi said. "The war of God continues against them and I can see the victory coming up from the land of Palestine by the hand of Hamas."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/28/2004 12:35:32 PM ||
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#1
Ahhhhh the brave Rantissi, who moves in crowds of human shields....bet he can't get life insurance
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/28/2004 12:43 Comments ||
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#10
Allah v. Jesus, with special guest referee Budha!
Posted by: Charles ||
03/28/2004 18:41 Comments ||
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#11
Bush and god have their disagreements, sure, like the Ed. Bill, the Perscrip drug bill, Fedral Airline screeners bill, McCain-Feingold- god was against allovum, but to say that makes them enemies of each other is streching it just a wee bit way too far. The implication being that god is some sort of unforgiving god, like that allah imposter; what with his revenge cycle, what you call it- that Geeehod sh!#. Now that just shows how mixed up this charlatan Pankeasi is. I think if god can forgive George W his "moderate" conservatism, then so can we, and vote for him come November just the same. Whaddaya say?
#12
If "God declared war" against Bush, the United States and Israel, God sure isn't attacking very much. The extremist Muslims are hiding in caves, blowing themselves up, taking direct hits in the leadership, and mouthing off in the cross hairs. Meanwhile, Syria and Iran have an American occupation next door, and almost any fanatic or nutcase could cause an incident that would propel Bush higher in the polls and give the Middle East four more years of the house cleaning it so richly deserves.
Posted by: Tom ||
03/28/2004 20:28 Comments ||
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#13
Bush is the enemy of God
Now the Islamonazis think they're God. I always knew they were delusional, but this is ridiculous.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/28/2004 21:00 Comments ||
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#14
With Rant-isi yelping his blowhard rhetoric, deep down he has to hope none of his morons takes him serious and initiates any sort of attack on the U.S. in the name of Hamas - they would be signing their own death warrant.
#15
Anyone else notice how quick Hamas was to clarify that they did not intend to launch attacks against the United States? If Hamas or Hizbollah were to so much as turn a single American hair on US soil, they'd be the sorriest lot of bastards you've ever seen. With his attempts to legislate discrimination into the constitution, Shrub may well be an enemy of God, but Rantissi might as well be the Devil himself.
I wouldn't bet a plugged nickel on Rantissi making it through this year alive. Funny how Hamas leadership is keeping such a low profile these days. At this point, I'd have to say that the Israelis are making significant progress against the Palestinian mass murder attacks. Aside from the one beach assault, there has been little in the way of prompt retaliation over Yassin's elimination.
There is another more significant undercurrent to all of this. Many analysts consider the liquidation of Yassin as an attempt to cripple Hamas' potential role in Gaza once Israel withdraws their soldiers from the Strip. While I'm sure that many Palestinians might not agree, it certainly seems to be in their own best interest that Hamas not obtain the usual death grip upon political processes amongst the refugees.
So long as Hamas has the ability to dictate the Palestinian mindset, more refugees will suffer or die. I think that they are beginning to realize this. Prime Minister Qorie is one of the few who is trying to make substantial progress in this situation. If Qorie's plea to end the violence is successful, the burden of responsible conduct will shift to the Israelis' side. This change of tempo would force Israel to undergo greater scrutiny and possibly represent a realistic starting point for renewed peace talks. Yassin's nonstop torrent of murderous rhetoric would never have permitted this to happen. Just maybe it will now that the Sheik has been vaporized so handily.
#16
"With his attempts to legislate discrimination into the constitution, Shrub may well be an enemy of God, but Rantissi might as well be the Devil himself."
WTF???
And don't call our president "Shrub," you Molly Evil wannabe!
That's President Bush to you.
And he's no "enemy of God."
Leave it to a Lib to agree with the murderous death cult they've got going on in Paleostine!
Posted by: Jen ||
04/02/2004 4:36 Comments ||
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#17
Oh, and Zenster, do you make this stuff up yourself or do you just cut and paste over at MoveOn?
What moronic blather!
AS IF there were really a difference between Hamas, Hezbollah, Arafat's Fatah and Al Aqsa, Islamic Brotherhood, Islamic Jihad, etc., etc, yada yada yada...
They're all killers and they're all Islamist terror masters who just wanna kill Jews (and Americans and Christians and even Shi'ite Muslims)!
Israel is going to do what she must do to defend herself and we're going to be there for her, as we have been since 1947.
Also since the founding of Israel, the Muslims want to wipe Israel off the map along with her people.
It's still war and there will be no "peace talks," unless it's the "Palestinians" begging for mercy!
Israel's won against these dirtbags 3 or more times and this time will be no exception!
Go IDF--Am Yisrael Chai!
Posted by: Jen ||
04/02/2004 4:42 Comments ||
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#18
"AS IF there were really a difference between Hamas, Hezbollah, Arafat's Fatah and Al Aqsa, Islamic Brotherhood, Islamic Jihad, etc., etc, yada yada yada... They're all killers and they're all Islamist terror masters who just wanna kill Jews (and Americans and Christians and even Shi'ite Muslims)! Israel is going to do what she must do to defend herself and we're going to be there for her, as we have been since 1947. Also since the founding of Israel, the Muslims want to wipe Israel off the map along with her people. It's still war and there will be no "peace talks," unless it's the "Palestinians" begging for mercy! Israel's won against these dirtbags 3 or more times and this time will be no exception!"
-------------------
And your point is? You are obviously not reading many of my posts. Why don't you toddle off and take a gander at my post in the "Arafat Targeted by Israel" thread before you blather on anymore.
PLEASE NOTE: Rantburg is a Zionist propaganda BBS spewing hate against Moslems in order to incite wars and sacrifice American lives and resources for the state of Israel.
PLEASE NOTE: Rantburg is a Zionist propaganda BBS spewing hate against Moslems in order to incite wars and sacrifice American lives and resources for the state of Israel.
#22
PLEASE NOTE: Rantburg is a Zionist propaganda BBS spewing hate against Moslems in order to incite wars and sacrifice American lives and resources for the state of Israel.
#23
PLEASE NOTE: Rantburg is a Zionist propaganda BBS spewing hate against Moslems in order to incite wars and sacrifice American lives and resources for the state of Israel.
Government forces battled attackers at military installations and television headquarters in the Congolese capital Sunday in what diplomats called a coup attempt against President Joseph Kabila. Fighters loyal to the late Congo dictator Mobutu Sese Seko were among those behind the attempt, British Ambassador Jim Atkinson told The Associated Press.
Miss being in charge, plus their unemployment ran out.
The coup attempt began before dawn and lasted through four hours of gunfire. Shooting eased by late morning, with the coup attempt apparently contained by loyalist troops. Kabila was believed in the country on Sunday, but where was unclear. "I have it on good authority that he's safe," Atkinson said.
Hiding out, waiting to make sure the coup is over before he makes his heroic return.
Fighting subsided by late morning, but some gunfire still could be heard, Atkinson said. Government spokesman Vital Kamerhe said the gunmen attacked simultaneously at several military posts and the private television station, killing one loyalist soldier and injuring two others.
Going for the tv station to announce they'd seized power, page 152 of "Coups For Dummies".
"We have the situation under control," Kamerhe told The Associated Press. "There have been arrests in the assailants' ranks and we've taken some arms and ammunitions." Diplomats believed the attempt was the work of soldiers loyal to Mobutu, Congo's Cold War ruler. Thousands of Mobutu soldiers fled across the Congo River to Brazzaville, capital of neighboring Republic of Congo, after Mobutu was ousted in 1997.
The Congo, not to be confused with the Republic of Congo.
"They've infiltrated into Kinshasa with weapons, presumably over the past days and weeks," Atkinson, the British diplomat said. "This morning they began attacking at various places." Shooting was heard around Kinshasa's Congo River port, directly across from Brazzaville. A Congo army officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said some of the attackers had come from Brazzaville overnight, passing a security post where soldiers were asleep on duty.
"zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...., hey, you hear something?"
"Nah, it's nothing, just gunfire. Go back to sleep."
The officer spoke at an office building downtown that was surrounded by about 100 soldiers. Security forces believed some of the attackers were inside, the officer said. The building was near the U.S. Embassy and the headquarters of the U.N. mission in Congo. Residents said shooting had been heavy in the area during the fighting.
Did the U.N. leave yet?
Posted by: Steve ||
03/28/2004 11:46:53 AM ||
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#1
Please be keeping the greeen to your own capitqlist selves. Bad for i
Posted by: Mufti Uno ||
03/28/2004 19:34 Comments ||
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Thought you would like to read the actual text of the news release from the 1 MEF. You can tell itâs written by a Marine.
I Marine Expeditionary Force Marines are currently conducting offensive operations in Al Fallujah in order to foster a secure and stable environment for the people of Al Anbar. Those who seek to impede the freedom, prosperity and progress of the Al Anbar residents are being physically challenged. Among those, some have chosen to fight. Having elected their fate, they are being engaged and destroyed. Since these operations are ongoing, it is not appropriate to comment at this time. Once operations have been completed, and reports have been verified, additional information will be released.
#1
What? After the big firefight we didn't run away? Didn't duck and elect Skeery on a national voice vote? Didn't flip-flop and say Iraq is a mistake? Didn't tuck tail and start demonstrating in favor of universal group hugs? Didn't we even acknowledge we are a decadent and depraved bully and beg forgiveness from our Islamist betters? No?
Heh. Not exactly...
Jarheads:
We'll let you know when we reach our bag limit.
1 MEF rocks - I 'm gonna order some more Head Slick gear for these guys!
#3
I like those terse right-to-the-point statements. It reminds me of a filmed statement by the AAF wing commander in WW2 arriving in Tinian from the States.
*takes mike, cameras rolling*
The first elements of the 321st bomber group have now arrived in Tinian. When we do some fightin' we'll do some more talkin'. Thank you.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/28/2004 11:57 Comments ||
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#4
hehe. .com, I don't remember them ever telling us there was a bag limit. ;)
#8
hehe. .com, I don't remember them ever telling us there was a bag limit. ;)
Hmmm, I think I remember reading somewhere that it's twice the total number of Muslims in the world, but don't quote me on that...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/28/2004 13:17 Comments ||
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#9
Shipman---I do not remember the exact number of the bomber group. I was just illustrating a point. Marine historical monograph of the Tinian operation considered it the best amphibious op in the war. The demonstration landing (feint) on Tinian Town had the Japanese completely fooled. Saipan, on the other hand went pretty well, but was a meat grinder.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/28/2004 14:04 Comments ||
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#10
Yes, it was a deft landing by a Marine Division which was probably at (IMO) it's peak of efficiency.
BTW. Every Holy Roller in the NW Provinces needs to remember the caves of Saipan.
#11
"Those who seek to impede the freedom, prosperity and progress of the Al Anbar residents are being physically challenged."
-i.e.- and those we do not destroy will be left physically challenged.
-You will note in contrast to Army doctrine the Marines will patrol on foot in Fallujah; sounds crazy but the locals will begin to figure out the deal. We won't scurry through their streets in armored vehicles, they'll see us up close and personal. Take a page right outta the small wars manual or what the Brits did in N.Ireland. It will either work to pacify them or a lot of them are going to die.
"Jen, only when and if he is ever properly elected will I then be grudgingly obliged to address him as you wish I would. His intentional blurring of the separation between church and state while simultaneously attempting to constitutionalize discrimination gets nothing but scorn from me.
Thank goodness we live in a country where we can disagree on this matter. Please know that you indeed have the privilege to dislike me for what I say, that is entirely your right. Understand one thing though, I don't do this to intentionally anger or offend you or anybody else.
As a proud American I cannot abide the White House's ham-fisted tampering with both the duties of executive office or our beloved constitution. Whatever proper intransigence might be shown for terrorism (as is demanded of all worthy commander in chiefs) still in no way confers any right to enshrine religious commandment as constitutional law, especially not in a nation wholly founded upon secular ideals. This is what he's attempting and my own ethicality demands that I consider it to be nothing less than malfeasance of office. Hence my scorn."
Oh, Dumpster, you're a treasure.
What a load of juicy bullshit.
He IS the duly elected President of the United States, fucktard. Proof that all else you may say is at the very least suspect, if not outright total fucking bullshit. You're full of shit.
Your notion that he is "constitutionalizing discrimination" is truly insane. Proof? You're full of shit.
You provide no proof of any "ham-fisted" actions - or anything even remotely associated. You're full of shit.
As an atheist, I know he has not done anything that hasn't been done before for the last 30 years to "enshrine religious commandment as constitutional law". I most certainly would've noticed. You're full of shit.
The phrase "my own ethicality demands that I consider it to be nothing less than malfeasance of office" is so utterly asinine and disingenuous as to be breathtaking. You couldn't prove any aspect of that charge if your worthless life depended upon it. You're full of shit.
It is clear that you're one thoroughly conflicted and fucked up induhvidual - and given your comments, so anti-Bush that you'd remove him from office if you could. You obviously think President Gore is being denied his constitutional rights. You're fucking insane. It is not unreasonable to presume you will vote against Bush, therefore, so you are in league with the enemy - there is no sane RBer who could possibly
believe Skeery would be worth warm spit in the Wot - your pathetic little aside about Commanders in Chief notwithstanding. You are unbelievably amazingly self-defeatingly massively full of shit.
Israeli intelligence claims it has detailed evidence proving that Yasser Arafatâs West Bank compound is a refuge for some of the most wanted Palestinian terrorist suspects and a nerve centre for "martyr" attacks.
According to senior officials, a growing band of men wanted on suspicion of planning suicide bombings and murdering settlers is being sheltered in the compound, known as the Muqata. The evidence that Mr Arafat, 74, is at the apex of a terrorist infrastructure is being used by some Israeli ministers to argue that he should be killed in an air strike, as Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the spiritual leader of the Hamas terror group, was last week. With Yassin removed, the Shin Bet - Israelâs domestic intelligence agency - and military intelligence units in the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) are shifting their crosshairs to the other ailing old man who, they insist, inspires and directs terrorism. One senior Israeli intelligence official said Mr Arafat did not give specific orders but - "Yes, yes, yes, for sure" - directed and financed terrorism. He said: "Arafat does not tell them what to do every morning but the terrorists understand his direction. They understand the message behind the words, the goal, and they act accordingly. does this sentence remind anyone else of acounts of Hitlers last year in power?
Mr Arafat, the Palestinian Authority chairman, has been confined to his West Bank compound for more than two years. His personal quarters have been rebuilt after shelling but outside piles of rubble and cars crushed by tanks bear witness to Israeli operations. An IDF document headed "confidential" and obtained by the Telegraph lists 17 wanted members of the al-Aqsa Martyrsâ Brigades and Tanzim militia, both part of Mr Arafatâs Fatah movement, who are said to be sheltering in the Mukata. Top of the list is Kamel Ghanem, 27, Ramallah commander of the al-Aqsa group and alleged co-ordinator of terrorist cells. He is accused of planning several suicide bombings and of having taken part in gun attacks. Number two is Khaled Shawish, a senior Tanzim fugitive with alleged links to Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Shawish is wheelchair-bound, like Yassin,
after a failed Israeli assassination attempt. expect him to excelerate from 0 to 250 after a Hellfire makes contact with the back of his chair pretty soon
Significantly, a senior defence official noted, "Number two goes for medical treatment in Ramallah", suggesting that Shawish was also vulnerable to Israelâs Apache attack helicopters because of his predictable movements. Nice Sadah Abdullah, a nurse who worked for the Palestinian Red Crescent, confessed last month to interrogators that Shawish had given her messages for Hezbollah when she visited the Mukata. "He sits in the Mukata in a safe haven and he recruited the nurse who treated him," one of Israelâs most senior security officials revealed. "She was arrested when she was on her way to lead a suicide bomber into Jerusalem." and this b**** is still breathing?
Another on the wanted list is Mohammed Damra, known as Abu Awad, the commander of Force 17, Mr Arafatâs presidential guard, and a close confidant of the PA leader. "He is a commander of terrorist actions, even suicide actions," said the official. Force 17, meet force 21, we will give you a headstart of 5 seconds, start running
Under pressure from the Israelis, Mr Arafat forced Ghanem and Shawish to leave the Mukata last August but they have since returned. IDF commanders are exasperated that they have so far been refused permission to target the men. "It would take me half an hour to kill or capture all of them but there is an Israeli political directive not to do so," said one officer. Israelâs official policy is that Mr Arafat should be "removed" from Ramallah at an opportune moment. Last week Israeli ministers were at pains to stress that no Palestinian leader involved in terrorism was immune from military action. Israeli policy of targeted assassination was taken to a new level with the death of Yassin, a revered Palestinian figure. Mr Arafat, also a symbol of Palestinian resistance, has appealed to the United Nations for protection. Until now, the PA leader has benefited from American opposition to his assassination. Mr Bush has declined to condemn the Yassin strike, however, and has now rewarded Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister, with a White House meeting in April. IIRC a recent poll stated that 74% of Americans would not that upset if Israel deceided to kill Ole Yeller Yasser
The issue of Mr Arafatâs future will be high on the agenda. Al-Aqsa Martyrsâ Brigades have been behind several recent suicide attacks, including the last two bus bombings in Jerusalem that killed 19 people and wounded more than 160. One more atrocity could signal the end for Mr Arafat. "A lot of suicide attacks were prepared and carried out by Fatah, and Fatah is controlled from the Mukata," said another senior intelligence official. Asked whether wanted men were being given refuge in the Mukata, Jibril Rajoub, the PAâs senior adviser, said: "I think that this is not more than an excuse from the Israelis. Itâs not true." After that he said, quoting from one of the greatest comments on Rantburg thus far: "Ca you haâd e y ips? thaâks"
When the Telegraph put the accusation to Mr Arafat, he waved the inquiry away, saying: "Later, later."
"Go away, boy! Y'bother me!"
Israeli officials said that Abu Firas, the governor of Ramallah and an influential Arafat adviser, had been handed the list of the wanted men but the PA had repeatedly failed to act on it. Mr Firas denied the charge. Shown the confidential document, he said that he had seen it only "on the internet" and that none of the men was in the Mukata. Insert the sound of thousands of surprise meters baing tapped here
"There is no wanted person there," he said. "This is not the main issue. We are all wanted and we are all chased."
Posted by: Evert Visser in NL ||
03/28/2004 4:51:01 AM ||
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#6
Screw world opinion. It's Napalm time. Up through the sewers, down from the heavens, and out of the nozzles of flamethrowers, until Ramalla is just a pile of melted stones. In the memory of St. Pancake, seal the area with Israeli bulldozers to make sure none leaks out to 'contaminate' the local "civilial" population.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/28/2004 13:23 Comments ||
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#8
I'm with Old Patriot on this one (and many others). Don't waste any more time playing with the snakes: torch the whole snake pit.
Posted by: Tom ||
03/28/2004 19:56 Comments ||
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#9
"According to senior officials, a growing band of men wanted on suspicion of planning suicide bombings and murdering settlers is being sheltered in the compound, known as the Muqata."
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Nothing that a few 1,000 pounders can't cure.
Arafat's clock ran out decades ago. This parasite has bled his own people for millions and contributed to more misery for the Palestinians than the Israelis ever have. These guys have long claimed that they are not afraid of becoming martyrs. So be it, martyr every one of these corrupt and murderous shitstained maggots before they can order up even so much as another falafel.
It has long been apparent that there is no negotiating with terrorists. You almost have to think it's just plain better that way. With no room left for compunctions, the decision-making tree has far fewer branches, most of them dealing with caliber and payload. If the annihilation of Israel remains a central nonnegotiable feature of their dogma, run it over with a Merkava tank and be done with it.
The sort of mass murder these terrorist thugs delight in goes against the very root and branch of civilization. Until they have the wisdom to realize this, not a one of them must be spared in the effort to wipe them off this planet's face. Arafat almost single-handedly helped to spawn modern International terrorism. Why he has been permitted to remain alive for so long is an enduring mystery of the Middle East crisis.
If Israel is able to take out a few dozen other terrorist scum bags along with Arafat, I'll just have that many more toasts to drink as I wish them a merry trip into eternal damnation. There is no longer any room for this type of vile and duplicitous conduct. It is an enduring disgrace and near-ultimate irony that Arafat was ever awarded a Nobel Peace prize. I hope that medal is slagged beyond recognition or salvage along with his worthless hide in the firestorm that consumes the Muqata.
A first contingent of the Pakistan troops will leave for Iraq next week from the Karachi port, sources disclosed to The News here on Saturday. "The first contingent of the Pakistan Navy consisting of 500 troops will leave for Iraq in the last week of March," said the source requesting anonymity. "Most of the troops will be taken from navy," he added. According to the source, the Pakistani contingent would not take part in the combat missions and would take part only in relief activities and patrolling within the Iraqi sea limits. He said some doctors might also be included in the contingent for medical relief operations.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
03/28/2004 2:07:59 AM ||
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#1
Thats Naval Infantry (not to be confused with our Marines) deploying for the Paks.
The Iraqi Navy has a battalion of Naval Infantry that needs training in patrolling the coast and in boarding. This would free up US and Brit forces in the area, allowing the troops to be deployed inland. Nice coincidence.
Somebody has to man all those dhows that are smuggling Al-Q back and forth to Arabia...
Posted by: Carl in NH ||
03/28/2004 8:43 Comments ||
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#5
They have a navy because they have a large warm-water port, and next door neighbor India has a good sized regionally-capable Navy. The Pak Navy is aimed at India (and slightly at Iran as well).
#6
OS: With all due respect I believe the Pak Navy is mainly aimed at surviving a minor encounter with the the Indian Fleet. I'd give the Pak Navy about 96 hours of life in a serious renewal of the border war.
Long article, edited for evidence of looking over oneâs shoulder. Calibrate your sympathy meters... Two years ago, when I wanted to interview Abdel Aziz Rantissi, I would go to his house in Gaza City. But when I was assigned to find him or Mahmoud Al Zahar on Tuesday, the day after Sheikh Yassin was killed in an Israeli air strike, I did not go to his house. I knew he would not be there. In the two years since I had interviewed Rantissi, his lifestyle has changed dramatically.
Now, Rantissi lives on the move, in secret. He doesnât answer a phone for fear the Israeli Air Force can use the telephone signal to track and kill him. Rantissi still appear[s] in public, but only where there is a thick crowd, as he knows that while Israel is after him, the country does not want to be held accountable for firing into a crowd. So, when he stands in a sea of Palestinians, the people Rantissi claims to represent become his human shields.
Rantissi travels on foot these days because, as he knows better than most, cars make good targets for missile strikes. There was a brief moment of tension at the mourning tent when a couple of fixed-wing aircraft were spotted flying overhead. Everyone knew they were Israeli; the only aircraft that fly over the Gaza Strip are Israeli. My best guess was that they were drone aircraft keeping an eye on the Hamas leadership. Apparently, Israel was not backing off its promise to assassinate the leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad and tracked them down here.
When Rantissi and his security detail arrived [at the authorâs office, for this interview], they skipped the elevator and walked up fourteen floors to the office. For some reason, Rantissi doesnât like elevators. Rantissiâs security aide vetoed that location because it was next to a window. He was afraid Israeli aircraft could target his employer and new leader through a window. In fact, at one point he made Abed close a door two rooms away, because he spotted a window. The next night, Rantissi was back in a crowd of militants who had put down their differences to support their new leader. This article also has intersting commentary on Rantissiâs state of mind and thought on the future of Palestine.
Posted by: Seafarious ||
03/28/2004 1:58:20 AM ||
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#1
Anyone noticed? A crowd is an adequate shield against Israeli attacks while the Palestinans would not hesitate one second in putting a bomb in an Isreali crowd.
May Rachel Corrie, may all the chic left burn in hell for their moral depravation.
#3
Hamas would consider Sharon in a big crowd of Israeli civilians to be a very very good bombing target. A big crowd of Israeli citizens is just a very good bombing target.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
03/28/2004 9:13 Comments ||
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I know the Joooos are famous for their rubber bullets.... I wonder if they could whip up a rubber HellFire or 2.5 FFR and commence to scare the sh*t out of everybody.
#8
Col. Mustard from a rooftop at 1000 meters with the sniper rifle.
You DO mean Gunny Yigal from a rooftop at 1000 meters with the sniper rifle, don't you, steve? 8^)
My personal preference would be Captain Hugh Black with a JDAM from a B2 at 25,000 feet, but that's another story (If you want to know who Hugh Black is, email me - it's funny!).
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/28/2004 13:46 Comments ||
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If they keep him walking up 14 stories all the time maybe the fucker will die of a heart attack.
Hey, dead is dead.
"Jen, only when and if he is ever properly elected will I then be grudgingly obliged to address him as you wish I would. His intentional blurring of the separation between church and state while simultaneously attempting to constitutionalize discrimination gets nothing but scorn from me.
Thank goodness we live in a country where we can disagree on this matter. Please know that you indeed have the privilege to dislike me for what I say, that is entirely your right. Understand one thing though, I don't do this to intentionally anger or offend you or anybody else.
As a proud American I cannot abide the White House's ham-fisted tampering with both the duties of executive office or our beloved constitution. Whatever proper intransigence might be shown for terrorism (as is demanded of all worthy commander in chiefs) still in no way confers any right to enshrine religious commandment as constitutional law, especially not in a nation wholly founded upon secular ideals. This is what he's attempting and my own ethicality demands that I consider it to be nothing less than malfeasance of office. Hence my scorn."
Oh, Dumpster, you're a treasure.
What a load of juicy bullshit.
He IS the duly elected President of the United States, fucktard. Proof that all else you may say is at the very least suspect, if not outright total fucking bullshit. You're full of shit.
Your notion that he is "constitutionalizing discrimination" is truly insane. Proof? You're full of shit.
You provide no proof of any "ham-fisted" actions - or anything even remotely associated. You're full of shit.
As an atheist, I know he has not done anything that hasn't been done before for the last 30 years to "enshrine religious commandment as constitutional law". I most certainly would've noticed. You're full of shit.
The phrase "my own ethicality demands that I consider it to be nothing less than malfeasance of office" is so utterly asinine and disingenuous as to be breathtaking. You couldn't prove any aspect of that charge if your worthless life depended upon it. You're full of shit.
It is clear that you're one thoroughly conflicted and fucked up induhvidual - and given your comments, so anti-Bush that you'd remove him from office if you could. You obviously think President Gore is being denied his constitutional rights. You're fucking insane. It is not unreasonable to presume you will vote against Bush, therefore, so you are in league with the enemy - there is no sane RBer who could possibly
believe Skeery would be worth warm spit in the Wot - your pathetic little aside about Commanders in Chief notwithstanding. You are unbelievably amazingly self-defeatingly massively full of shit.
Afghanistan's landmark national elections, which were scheduled for June, will be delayed until September, President Hamid Karzai said Sunday. Karzai said the delay was needed to allow the United Nations to hold both presidential and parliamentary elections at the same time. "We are ready to manage both elections, for the parliament and presidency, in September," Karzai said at a news conference at his palace in the Afghan capital. Officials had warned repeatedly that the country's first post-Taliban elections might be delayed because of logistical problems and security fears. So far, only 1.5 million of an estimated 10.5 million eligible voters have been registered for the elections, and it remains unclear how the United Nations intends to carry out a plan to register most of the others in May.
Especially if someone blows up a paper bag and pops it behind the U.N. staff. They'll all die of acute coronary events.
The Afghan government said on Saturday it will disarm 40,000 irregular Afghan militia soldiers in time for the elections to reduce the risk of voter intimidation. But the world body, the U.S.-led military coalition and the Afghan government are still working on plans to protect election workers from militants of the former Taliban regime.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/28/2004 12:36:26 AM ||
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I edited this some, it's a follow-up from yesterday.
DEBKAfile Special Report
No sooner had the tens of thousands of mourners dispersed after the ceremonies and demonstrations of strength marking the death of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin last Tuesday, March 22, in an Israeli missile attack, when a thousand Hamas top and middle-ranking activists dived underground. This is reported by DEBKAfileâs counter-terror sources. Since then, known Hamas operatives have maintained perfect telephone silence, their relatives are in the dark about their whereabouts and contacts are maintained only through trusted couriers.
This situation presented the Hamas command center in Damascus with the problem of communicating urgent instructions to the men on the ground in the Gaza Strip â urgent for two reasons:
1. Although Adel Aziz Rantisi made a show of bending the knee to Khaled Mashaal, head of the Hamas Damascus command center, Mashaal knows he must assert his authority without delay and set the pace of coming in events in the Gaza Strip before the local leadership grabs the initiative.
2. Hamas, Hizballah and al Qaeda agents maintain day-to-day exchanges based on a delicately balanced intelligence and logistical give and take. Mashaal and company will not allow anyone in the Hamas Gaza command to upset the balance of this relationship.
A way therefore had to be found for Hamas, Damascus, to impose its will on Hamas, Gaza. The method finally hit on was to take to the airwaves.
Friday, March 26, therefore, the Hamas liaison man in Lebanon, Osama Hamdan, who managed the Mishaal-Rantisi compromise, was interviewed on Hizballah Radio Nur. On the assumption that the Gaza contingent in hiding were listening in case of coded messages, Hamdan addressed the Hamas âmilitaryâ wing, the Izz el-Deen al-Qasseem Brigades, directly â not in code but in plain language.
DEBKAfile monitored his statement, as follows:
âThe lone suicide martyr method has scored great achievements, but now, as we stand at the threshold of a decisive stage, we must resort to a tactic that brings us the desired results. Ideally, we would round up 70,000 to 80,000 martyrs and have them blow themselves up simultaneously in the enemyâs urban centers and so finally vanquish him. But that is not realistic. One tenth or even one hundredth part of that number should suffice to inflict a shock on a strategic scale. I therefore tell you not to hurry to exact revenge. We have to be sure our assault is concerted and perfectly orchestrated. Donât waste resources and manpower on small operations. No one is pushing you. Take all the time you need and then pick a date and hour that are most advantageous to our project.â
Hamdanâs words freely translated are a directive from Damascus HQ to Muhammed Deif, commander of the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam, to muster an army of several hundred suicide killers to reach the hubs of Israeli cities and blow themselves up at the same moment. The Damascus Hamas command reckons that, even if not all the massacres come off, Israel will not be able to withstand a shock and casualties of the magnitude projected
This escalation fits in well with the intelligence gathered by Americans and Israelis on the spreading base of anti-Israeli terror from the double suicide attack carried out in Ashdod shortly before the assassination of Sheikh Yassin which caused the deaths of 10 Israeli port workers. Their experts conclude the attack was the work of Hizballah aided and abetted by al Qaeda.
A senior US intelligence official is quoted as saying: âThe soldiers were members of Hamas. But the overall planning, the way the shipâs container was prepared, the weapons used and the level of advance intelligence invested in the attack all bear the marks of the two Islamic terrorist groups. We can expect many more combined terrorist assaults of this kind in the future.â
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
03/28/2004 00:25 ||
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Hamas Plots Knockout Blow with 800 Suicide Bombers
It'll never happen. They can't count that high.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/28/2004 0:35 Comments ||
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I'll see your 800 suicide bombers, and raise you 10 B-1 bombers...
#6
Hamas alone in Gaza might only support 7 or eight splody dopes. But what would the impact (sic) of coordinating several dozen to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Rome, London, New York, Sydney, Washington.....
How would we respond?
Posted by: john ||
03/28/2004 6:52 Comments ||
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#7
hmmmm... I notice Paris and Madrid aren't on your list, John.....
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/28/2004 7:26 Comments ||
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several dozen to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Rome, London, New York, Sydney, Washington.....
Excepting Rome and possibly London, they would be very unlikely to get through. Terrorists gravitate to soft targets. The soft targets are in continental Europe as Madrid found out. So your list should be Paris, Brussels, Rome, a Scandinavian city and Madrid again just to make sure the message comes through loud and clear.
#9
If they do try 800 suicide bombers it would weed out Hamas livestock. They would run out of suicidal members to work with.
Posted by: Charles ||
03/28/2004 8:44 Comments ||
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Frank G.
I'll bet it's Barcelona..... It would reenforce the A/Q hold over the Socialist Gov. The Stockholm effect needs more than one demonstration of it's power over the victim to be efficient. After the attack beseech the Spanish gov. to break off contact with Israel.
#11
My point was not to suggest specific city targets. I agree with the comments that Hamas alone does not have sufficient resources to field 8 or 80 bombers much less 800 at this time.
But in coordination with other Al Qaida cells, they could stage a worldwide bombfest at specific targets in America, Europe and Asia to push public opinion with a message: punish Israel and Bush and we'll go away. Message worked in Spain already. (For that very reason they would avoid Spain.)
We do have a 6-11 coming up....
Posted by: john ||
03/28/2004 11:12 Comments ||
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#12
Al Qaeda has been knocked back on its heels over the passed several years. The Madrid bombing was spectacular but not as spectacular as it could have been prior to 911. It is altogether possible that Hamas may well start sending some of their folks to Eurostan, and could well send 800 of them, but I would think mounting a bombing campaign of any size or corrdination is going to get tougher and tougher, epscially since 311; even in Europe.
I think that Al Qaeda is running out of tricks, resources, and willing volunteers and they are going to increasingly start shitting in their own pool as they have in Iraq, Turkey and Spain.
#13
This is Hamas propaganda. But if they do a poor man's Cecil B DeMille boomer production, they will have lost the restraint of Israel and any country may have left in limiting collateral damage in precision strikes on Hamas leadership. They do not realize that they will be squashed like bugs. It is only the humanity of Israelis that keeps them alive now. Bloody morons.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/28/2004 12:14 Comments ||
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Typical Hamas-pussy rhetoric...call on 15 or 11 year old boys to commit homicide.
EFL
The Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S. were "a miracle from God," and Israelâs assassination of Hamasâ terrorist leader was a "dirty crime against Islam," says a prominent Shiite cleric in Iraq. During Friday prayers at a mosque near the holy city of Najaf, Moqtada al-Sadr praised the attacks that killed some 3,000 Americans, reported CNN. "As we say, âThe rain starts with a drop,â" al-Sadr said. So does urination and carpet bombing.
Okay, he's hit the limit. Time for al-Sadr to be educated about actions --> consequences.
The cleric called Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon the "biggest terrorist of all" for killing Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin, whose terrorist group killed hundreds of Israeli citizens. Sharon "has committed this dirty crime and killed one of the greatest of Islamic mujahedeen," al-Sadr told hundreds of worshippers at the Kufa mosque, according to CNN. "This was once again a dirty crime against Islam." He accused the United States of complicity in the killing and led worshippers in chants: "No, no Israel! No, no to the Jews! No, no America! No, no to terrorism!" Al-Sadr, who has a powerful base of support in Baghdad, railed against the U.S. presence in Iraq, urging the worshippers to "seek the spread of freedom and democracy in the way that satisfies God. They have planned and paved the ways for a long time, but it is God who is the real planner â and the proof of this is the fall of the American Twin Towers." One would think that career bombers might be unpopular in Iraq currently, but go figure.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/28/2004 12:23:02 AM ||
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I've floated this idea before...and there were some really fascinating reasons given for not pulling the trigger...but they seemed to be specifically & distinctly American reasons for not assassinating al-Sdar. I hate to say this but Yassin was left on the stage for about 10 years too long to preach and propagate his version of hate.
I hope that the same mistake isn't made about al-Sdar. There is always the concern over who comes next, but no one could be worse. Mr. Sdar is our responsibility as Yassin was for Israel.
#3
Probably a line of US Snipers waiting to be called for shooting Al-Sadr.
Posted by: Charles ||
03/28/2004 8:51 Comments ||
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God who is the real planner â and the proof of this is the fall of the ...
...Taliban and Saddam regimes.
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
03/28/2004 9:15 Comments ||
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These guys need to start seeing cause/effect principle. He need one of our "miracles from God" to launder his turban. They do respect power when it slaps them in the face. Esp kinetic metallic shapes travelling at Mach 3.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/28/2004 12:02 Comments ||
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If he who hates and calls 3000 slaughtered a miracle, and who no longer hates on this earth, but, instead hates in hell, having consigned himself there by that unrepentant hate; I say lets help him make his appointment with judgement
Posted by: Comment Top ||
03/28/2004 13:19 Comments ||
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#9
You know that Moqtada al-Sadr, well, you can't Torqemada his hatred for slaughter. He ain't nothin' but some old Bani Sadr. Du-datta, du-dattat. Du datta, du dattat. I'm votin fer Nadr
#10
We could turn that around, it was a Miracle from God, because God's hand is going to bring democracy to your world. It just took God's hand a little while to get going.
#13
To me killing al-Sdar is a practical question. But, I am willing to argue it on moral, effects, historical or Psycho/Sociological grounds.
It is just an interesting Q.
As I wrote somewhere, hopefully not here, Kill McKinley and you get a vastly more powerful American through Teddy Roosevelt, kill Kennedy and you get a full blown Viet Nam War, kill Lincoln and you get a failed reconstruction... assassination works.
Also, as someone noted, kill Martin Luther King and you get both black power and the failure of Jesse Jackson.
But it is the linkage of God and bringing down the Twin Towers that I want to kill...it is not Sdar that is the problem...it is the idea and the birth of a mythic narrative in Muslim lands that I want to strangle in the cradle.
I don't care a wit about al-Sdar himself...it is the ideas in his head that I wish dead.
I know, I know, ideas are hard to kill. Well certainly, that's what wars are really all about...the predominance of one historical mythos, direction/thread/switch/fork-in-the-road over another.
I am just trying to find a way to short-circuit the looming next war before it happens.
#14
This from a cleric whose faith has just been freed from how many decades of vicious repression by those who endured the attacks he now extolls. Freedom of speech it might be, but a more profound ingratitude is impossible to imagine. Hundreds of our brave soldiers are dying in their forsaken cesspit of a country so that this bilious fuckwit can enjoy the liberty of condeming us and cheering about the 9-11 atrocity.
This maggot has the nerve to lead a crowd's chant of "No, no Israel! No, no to the Jews! No, no America! No, no to terrorism!" So, it's "No, no to terrorism" when it comes to offing a malignant murdering pig like Yassin, but slaughtering thousands of innocent people is just fine. This turd needs a few months in solitary confinement with hard labour and short rations for inciting violence against American soldiers.
I hope the next Kurdish car bomb is disguised as this rotting slime bag's fucking taxi, with the dynamite charge directly under al-Sadr's shriveled microscopic scrote. I want this shithead's putrescent vapours wafting into paradise on the next khamsin.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
03/28/2004 00:21 ||
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I don't think they will. Nobody lives forever, and the stress can't be good for Yasshole...heh heh
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/28/2004 7:19 Comments ||
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#2
Isreal will end up killing Yasser. Most likely through a "Laser Beam" attached to "Pigs".
Posted by: Charles ||
03/28/2004 8:56 Comments ||
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I think we should use a B2 and drop about 20 tons of Mackrel on the Maquata (On Good Friday of Course). Claim the end times are near, and yank out the Arafish's filter.
#5
Elarson, a more likely reason would be that he stopped paying them money.
Posted by: Charles ||
03/28/2004 18:45 Comments ||
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#6
PLEASE NOTE: Rantburg is a Zionist propaganda BBS spewing hate against Moslems in order to incite wars and sacrifice American lives and resources for the state of Israel.
See who rules America -- due to censorship we inserted "#", delete it. http://AD#LUSA.com
#7
PLEASE NOTE: Rantburg is a Zionist propaganda BBS spewing hate against Moslems in order to incite wars and sacrifice American lives and resources for the state of Israel.
See who rules America -- due to censorship we inserted "#", delete it. http://AD#LUSA.com
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.
