The Yemeni Army has killed about 90 armed supporters of a preacher holding out in a remote mountainous area of the country, military sources said yesterday. The latest violence brings to about 300 the number of people killed in a month of fighting between government forces and supporters of an uprising led by preacher and former MP Hussein Badr Eddin Al-Houthi. "Almost 90 supporters of Al-Houthi have been killed in violent battles with army forces over the past three days," said a military source in the mountainous area of Maran near the border with Saudi Arabia. "Dozens were killed and wounded among the armed forces, who since Thursday have launched an offensive to take control of the last hide-outs of Al-Houthi, whose supporters continue to put up tough resistance," the source said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2004 9:11:15 PM ||
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Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz has warned imams they are being closely monitored and reminded the Muslim preachers they had to battle extremists. "Tell your colleagues, the mosque imams, that we are keeping an eye on them and we know them," he was quoted as telling a delegation of imams by Al-Eqtissadiyah daily on Sunday.
The de facto ruler of the conservative oil-rich kingdom said the preachers had a responsibility to fight Islamic militants. "I would like to make it clear to you that you have a special responsibility, because you influence young people," he said. "Some of you have been utterly unsuccessful and we know them. Allah's wrath will fall upon them," he said. "[Allah] will order one of his servants [to punish them], and we are among his servants, to judge them according to Allah's law, because they have articulated words unsuitable to a Muslim." A study by the ministry of Islamic affairs published Saturday criticized the performance of many imams in fighting extremism. Imams "are not well qualified and not aware of the dimensions of the terrorism problem," the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper quoted the study as saying.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
07/18/2004 1:25:44 PM ||
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Sheik Khaled al-Harbi got his first few minutes of fame in an hourlong video that aired around the world in December 2001. In it, the radical Saudi imam praised Osama bin Laden for the spectacular success of the Sept. 11 attacks. "Hundreds of people used to doubt you," he burbled, "... until this huge event." The imam was on camera again last week, but he was singing a remarkably different tune. In a video released by Saudi authorities, al-Harbi announced from his wheelchair that he was taking an offer of leniency issued in June by Saudi King Fahd to his nation's many Islamic militants. "I came in obedience to God and the ruler," the imam explained. "There is no doubt that this is a gracious initiative by King Fahd and his crown prince."
That "gracious initiative" assures militants that they will be given due process and provided the families of their victims consent spared execution in exchange for their surrender and cooperation. The deal was devised to reel in lower-level militants in hopes of isolating their hard-core leaders. It was also a canny political move. It enables King Fahd to point to the grace period he offered Saudi militants before his security forces begin a promised crackdown.
Al-Harbi was only the third man to take the King's offer, which expires this week. A Saudi official tells TIME that al-Harbi contacted the Saudi embassy in Tehran two weeks ago from a hideout along the Afghan-Iranian border and negotiated his surrender over three days. U.S. officials doubt al-Harbi has a great deal of useful information. "He was a confidant and spiritual sounding board for bin Laden," says one, but no al-Qaeda operative. The Saudis are more optimistic. Saudi security analyst Nawaf Obaid tells TIME that al-Harbi, who is cooperating, was a "very successful recruiter" for al-Qaeda and could have the goods on as many as 100 Saudis he is thought to have enticed into bin Laden's service.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
07/18/2004 4:07:58 PM ||
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Saudi Arabia, battling a wave of militant violence, said on Sunday foreign countries had handed over 27 wanted Saudis to its security forces. A statement carried on the official Saudi Press Agency said authorities had "received 27 Saudi nationals wanted on security grounds from brotherly countries" -- an expression which usually refers to other Arab or Muslim states. It did not say when they were handed over and said because of investigations under way it could give no immediate details. Security sources said they believed most of the suspects had come from Yemen and Syria in recent days.
One security source said most of the suspects delivered to Saudi authorities had come from neighboring Yemen and from Syria, adding there had been a "dramatic improvement" in security cooperation between Riyadh and Damascus. He said some may also have come from Iraq, but he did not say how many surrendered voluntarily or were handed over against their will. Another Saudi security source said many relatives of suspects had been in touch with authorities in recent days. "There is likely to be a lot of action in the last days of the amnesty," he said. "Most of these guys involved had been in Afghanistan, they were not guys who were inside (Saudi Arabia)," he added.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
07/18/2004 1:27:30 PM ||
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#1
The "dramatic improvement" in security cooperation between Riyadh and Damascus comment is very interesting. Now that U. S. troops are no longer in the Magic Kingdom to provide on site muscle, are they looking for a new tough guy to help keep the lid on?
Posted by: Mr. Davis ||
07/18/2004 20:22 Comments ||
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#2
The "dramatic improvement" in security cooperation between Riyadh and Damascus comment is very interesting.
They who provide the money can make rather convincing arguments...
#3
Mr. D,
Since I don't believe the American people will support any effort ever again to defend the Saudis, it will probably end up being China. China needs an increasing supply of oil and is a fast rising power w/ little restraint to pass nuclear, chem or bio weapons and with plenty of manpower. The Saudis see China as the logical choice. Islamists in bed with atheist Communists. I wonder who will stab the other in the back first?
Posted by: ed ||
07/18/2004 22:02 Comments ||
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Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said yesterday that "foreign forces" were behind the armed rebellion led by the radical cleric Hussein Badruddin Al-Houthi in the north of the Arab country. "I point my finger directly to foreign forces. He (Al-Houthi) is but a tool at the hands the foreign forces," Saleh said in a speech to a meeting of veteran MPs marking his 26 years in power.
And which foreign forces might they be?
Most likely Icelandic, they're after the Yemeni fishing grounds.
Government forces have been battling armed followers of the Shiite cleric in the rugged district of Maran in the northern Saada province since June 21. Authorities accuse Al-Houthi, a former MP and ideologue of the Zaidi school of thought, of leading an armed rebellion and agitating violence through organizing protests against the United States and Israel. "It is the work of foreign intelligence. It is not a sectarian strife nor a rivalry for power," Saleh said, adding that "the fingerprints of foreign intelligence are clear in this." Fierce clashes between the government forces and Al-Houthi's armed men, estimated to number over 1,000, are still going on as army troops backed by tanks, artillery and helicopters surround the rebels' mountainous strongholds in Maran.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2004 11:32:31 PM ||
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A Yemeni court yesterday ordered a probe into claims by 14 terrorist suspects that they were tortured during their detention at an intelligence prison. Chief judge Ahmad Al-Jurmozi said he would lead a team to check out conditions of the accused in detention. The move was in response to repeated appeals by the defendants to be transferred from the prison of the Political Security Organization (intelligence) to a public prison. Some of the defendants said they were subjected to psychological pressure. Others said they were severely beaten by intelligence officers. Fawaz Yahya Al-Rabyee, 27, a main suspect wanted by US authorities over suspected links to the terror Al-Qaeda network, told the court he was interrogated by US officers in the intelligence prison. "We were investigated by Americans in our country. How could that be accepted," Al-Rabyee said.
We're everywhere! We're all-powerful! Gawd, I love being sinister!
During the 30-minute hearing, the suspects made faces, rolled their eyes, jumped up and down, shouted anti-US slogans and praised Al-Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden. The defendants continued their refusal to enter pleas during the hearing, the seventh since the trial began on May 29.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2004 11:35:41 PM ||
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Anybody want some of these ribs? I can't eat 'em all...
Six terror suspects being investigated for allegedly planning to bomb government and foreign interests have begun a hunger strike to protest their detention, a defense attorney said yesterday. Abdullah Hashim, an attorney for four of the six men, said he hoped they would end the strike, which they began Friday. "This hunger strike is useless because there is a legal order to keep them in custody and nobody can terminate this order," Hashim said. The six men, most of whom are believed to be part of Bahrain's Salafi movement, were initially detained June 22 but released after one day. They were re-arrested Wednesday after investigators searched their computers and discovered documents on how to make and use bombs and poisons, according to the Interior Ministry. A seventh man, who holds a British passport, was also being sought after his release last month. He was apparently in Britain. On Thursday, the prosecutor's office said the men would be held for 45 days — the maximum time they can be detained during an investigation without being charged.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2004 11:39:34 PM ||
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#1
So starve, already!
Saves the cost of a rope.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/18/2004 16:39 Comments ||
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NOTES from a terrorist weapons training course were found in the Sydney home of Guantanamo Bay detainee Mamdouh Habib, who has also allegedly met Osama bin Laden. Mr Habib allegedly told a Sydney friend before his arrest that he was a big fan of bin Laden and wanted to live in one of the terrorist mastermind's training camps. Consequently, the father of four travelled overseas in March 2000, allegedly to train with Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, or LET, which has since been listed as a banned terrorist group in Australia. "I met him (Mr Habib) in a cafe in Lakemba and he discussed with me that he had plans to go to Afghanistan to live an Islamic life in the bin Laden camp," friend and taxi driver Ibrahim Fraser has told the ABC's Four Corners. Mr Fraser said he thought Mr Habib had told him, after returning from Afghanistan, that he had met bin Laden there. Mr Fraser said Mr Habib revealed little else about his trip. Mr Habib is detained by the US at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, along with fellow Australian terror suspect David Hicks.
Leaving Sydney for a second trip in July 2001, Mr Habib told friends and family he was going to search for a suitable religious school for his children in Pakistan. But the Australian Government says Mr Habib went to Afghanistan to train with al-Qaeda. In tonight's program, Four Corners says Mr Habib underwent an advanced training course there in surveillance and photographing facilities, the establishment and use of safehouses, covert travel and writing secret reports.
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Posted by: Dan Darling ||
07/18/2004 1:29:14 PM ||
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Source is pro-Milosevic, so salt required.
Darko Trifunovic, an expert on international law and terrorism, said that he supported the US plan to retain the Orao military base in Tuzla after the Sfor NATO-led Stabilization Force in Bosnia mission ended because Al-Qa'idah network and terrorist training camps were still present in Bosnia-Hercegovina. Trifunovic told SRNA that he had reliable information that there were "dangerous terrorists of the Iranian origin, who have Bosnia-Hercegovina citizenship and passports, most notably Mustafa Kamal, Shah Mohammad Ali Talati, Talati Ali Sahmedi as received , and Javad Hesarbani" in Bosnia-Hercegovina.
He went on to say that Hasan Ali Fateh, one of Usamah Bin Ladin's closest associates, was in Bosnia-Hercegovina. Fateh, according to Trifunovic, was granted the Bosnia-Hercegovina citizenship and passport in the Bosnia-Hercegovina General Consulate in Istanbul under the number U-06-616-4/95 on 25 December 1995. Trifunovic said that Fateh was put in the Bosnia-Hercegovina Registration of Births in 1999 under the number 10-782 and that the number of his Bosnia-Hercegovina passport was 084779, which was issued to him on 24 April 1999. Trifunovic went on to say that this terrorist was registered at Hasan Kikic Street 14 in Sarajevo, but that he has never lived at this address.
"There are also terrorists of the Palestinian origin in Bosnia-Hercegovina such as Abu Jajalah Nasez as received and Alkhgasan Savarahat Mahabuhagag as received ," Trifunovic said, adding that there were also less known terrorists from Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon and Syria.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
07/18/2004 3:51:36 PM ||
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A statement posted on an Islamist website purported to be from the Al-Qaeda terror network demands Italy withdraw its troops from Iraq, under threat of a series of car bomb attacks. "O Italian people, your government has participated in the war on Iraq and sent troops and arsenal to our country. We urge you for the last time to demand that it withdraw peacefully from Iraq," said the statement.
Dated July 17, it was signed "Khalid Ibn al-Walid Brigade, Al-Qaeda". Its authenticity could not be verified. "If your government does not obey, the solution lies in successive car bomb" attacks, the statement said. A group calling itself the Islamic Army in Iraq - Khalid Ibn al-Walid Brigade, is holding a Filipino hostage and has threatened to behead him if Manila does not push forward by a month the withdrawal of its contingent in Iraq. It was not immediately clear if the same group issued Saturdayâs statement, posted on the website http://www.ansarnet.ws/vb.
"We have sent messages in the past but the Italian government did not understand because it only understands the language of blood and jihad (holy war)," said the statement. The group also sent "a second message to the Italian people and government" telling them to "bear the consequences" of rejecting a peace offer from Osama bin Laden. An audiotaped statement issued April 15 by the terror chief gave European governments until July 15 to pull their troops out of Muslim countries. The ultimatum was later authenticated by the US Central Intelligence Agency.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
07/18/2004 2:40:14 PM ||
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#1
They're getting very, very bold. Interesting, though, that they seem to be targeting the political structure of Italy in their messages, and not the Vatican. Do they realize what a mistake that would be if they attacked Vatican City, I wonder. Regardless, I hope the Italians ignore this.
Posted by: The Doctor ||
07/18/2004 12:13 Comments ||
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#3
Al Q is getting smart. They are eliminating the middleman in their transactions and going for the top leadership in Italy.
Right now it appears that they will give a pass to the Vatican because the Vatican does not actively oppose al Qaeda. That is, of course, subject to change at any time. And you never know with al Q.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/18/2004 12:53 Comments ||
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I'm shocked, shocked, I tell you, that they would try this. After all, it's never worked before.
Oh, wait....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/18/2004 14:26 Comments ||
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AQ is going to keep pounding on the Euro's they think are vunerable to withdraw. Interesting that all of the mass demonstrations against the war in certain countries may be actually causing the Islamists' to now think threatening them might work.
It worked on the Spanish, it won't work on the Brits. But the Italians don't exactly have a stellar history when it comes to warfare unless you're willing to head back aways. Was it Hitler or Napoleon that noted Italy doesn't end a war on the same side she started unless she changes sides twice?
#6
The Doctor wrote: They're getting very, very bold. Interesting, though, that they seem to be targeting the political structure of Italy in their messages, and not the Vatican. Do they realize what a mistake that would be if they attacked Vatican City, I wonder. Regardless, I hope the Italians ignore this.
Their "holy war" isn't against the Catholic church. It is against the United States and its allies as they claim that this is a modern crusade: the United States versus Islam. The thought of attacking the Vatican is irrelevant.
#7
RelevantTopic: You are right that it is not against the Catholic Church, but why limit it to US and Jews? Itâs against all infidels.
They donât care what kind of infidel you are. Did the KKK care what kind of person a black person was? Did Hitler care about nationality or accomplishments of individual Jews? An infidel is an infidel. All are fair game.
Posted by: B ||
08/30/2004 11:28 Comments ||
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A Jordanian man living in the United States illegally has been charged with lying about his immigration status to obtain a pilot's license. Sami Abuhamatto, 24, was arrested Friday and was being held pending a hearing on Monday. There are no allegations that the case is terrorism-related. The flight industry has seen increased security since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks prompted concerns that flight schools could again become training grounds for terrorists. Abuhamatto's six-month visitors visa expired in 1996, according to court documents. He applied for the pilot's license in May 2002, claiming he was a U.S. citizen born in Brookfield, the Chicago suburb where he lives, the documents show. The Federal Aviation Administration approved the application less than a week later. Authorities said they learned of the incident after Abuhamatto arranged a bogus marriage late last year in an effort to gain resident alien status.
Posted by: The Doctor ||
07/18/2004 12:08 Comments ||
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#3
Intel Dear Leader?
More seriously...
Is changing the command structure going to do any good at all as long as the sorts of activities really required to win the war are seen as either illegal or immoral?
AFAICT the agency whose mission most closely matches that of the WW2 OSS or SOE isn't the CIA, or the FBI, or the NRO or NSA, but the Army's Special Forces. But politically, they're seen as just another batch of commandoes, while other agencies (like the CIA, and perhaps the State Department) are seen as the real intelligence groups, and further, are actually seen by many as having the right/responsibility to _set_ policy as much as carry it out. Or so I gather from the Wilson/Plame Affair.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
07/18/2004 12:19 Comments ||
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Phil, the prohibition against wet work went out with 9/11. It does take time to change the institutional attitude, which has favored tech acquisition of intel vs. collecting and acting (competently) on it. The melding of CIA paras and Special Ops worked well in Afghanistan though, didn't it?
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/18/2004 12:36 Comments ||
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What Congress needs to realize that you need to set the ground rules for good intel and covert ops that will meet the requirements for getting the job done in these dangerous times. We need to realize that we will have to get our hands dirty in this war.
What we do not need are freelancers. We need highly motivated, highly disciplined people right on down the chain. We will need a kick-ass no BS type leader like Rummy with enough authority to clean house to get rid of the State-type obstructionists.
We don't need no stinkin' Czar, we need a leader with a mandate and the authority to get the mission done.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/18/2004 13:30 Comments ||
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Frank: I don't necessarily mean the prohibition against wetwork.
I mean the idea of working with a "resistance" against an enemy government.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
07/18/2004 14:38 Comments ||
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#7
gotcha - Iran may topple on its' own, and we could taint that resistance with overt support. Then again, they've conducted actions which constitute acts of war against us for 20 years +, so we can rightly lead the regime change if W chooses. As President Frank (scary thought, huh?) I'd take out that north base where Bin Laden's hiding out at the same time I take out their nuke facilities. Do it and deny with a smile :-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/18/2004 14:50 Comments ||
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#8
Or a big ol' shit eat'n grin Mr G.
The rote I still keep hearing, even by mike morph, is how we should have put all our resources into the dust bowl that is Afganistan and gotten the criminal bin hoser. Top priority ys say!
I've always have had the feeling that he was out of there by 911.
So will these chirping birds support putting all our resources into going wherever we need to kill the hoser.
On topic, yes, whatever works to un-PC our national defense. A political position though?
Maybe better a military position while the WoT is going on. UMCJ. An expanded role for the Coast Guard of some sort.
I hate that czar crap too. Pure journalistic emptyness.
#9
I can see two or more weeks of unconstrained Gorelick, Ben Veniste, and company on all the news programs. Unconstrained by any supposed "consensus" amongst the 9/11 clowns. The BS is only just beginning.
Posted by: Capt America ||
07/18/2004 16:40 Comments ||
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#10
mojo - That was me playing with the title - and it was intended to be snarky. ;-)
#11
We don't need another useless bureaucrat being added to the taxpayer supported payroll, thank you very much, Mr. and Ms. 9/11 Commissioners, who themselves are/were imprinted to the public teat.
We have enough experience with the less than stellar results derived from Czar appointees. Examples: Drug Czar and Homeland Security Czar. Big zeros warming chairs and collecting fat checks.
Just implement profiling of incoming and outgoing passengers at airports and tell the ACLU that it will get its non-profit status made nul and void as of uesterday if it protests. Also put a 5 year moratorium on immigration. Recruit and pay a bunch of Arabic translators double the salaries of JAG lawyers[the former are more useful]. Recruit and pay a bunch of ME Arabs 3x the salaries of JAG lawyers to be CIA informant-prisoners in Camp Bucca, Abu, Gitmo and we can get the ball rolling.
It does not take rocket science or a CIA Czar appointee to get proper intelligence from abroad as well as to protect our nation from within. Sheesh.
Posted by: rex ||
07/18/2004 19:51 Comments ||
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The Los Alamos National Laboratory director, tired of security lapses at the northern New Mexico lab, has brought nearly all work there to a standstill and is calling scofflaw "cowboys" out for a final showdown. Pete Nanos took the unprecedented step Friday of broadening a stand-down of classified work to include all lab activities. "We are doing this as part of an effort to ensure this laboratory operates safely and meets our national security obligations," Nanos said in a memo to all employees. He said there will be exceptions to his order, so that critical missions and essential national security functions continue unabated.
Nanos made the announcement a day after the University of California, which manages the lab for the Department of Energy, ordered him to halt classified work at the lab. The action followed a security lapse last week in which two electronic data storage devices turned up missing. Nanos blamed "cowboys" who are disobeying rules on the handling of sensitive material. "I don't care how many people I have to fire to make it stop," he said. "If you think the rules are silly, if you think compliance is a joke, please resign now and save me the trouble," he said. The lab's most recent embarrassment occurred Wednesday, when an intern at the lab suffered a serious eye injury while working on an experiment involving a laser. Researchers thought the laser wasn't producing a light when it entered the 20-year-old intern's eye, causing a retinal lesion, said lab spokesman Jim Fallin.
"Hey Glenda, that thing putting out any light?"
"I dunno, Ralph, let me take a look."
The intern was to be flown to Baltimore to see a specialist. "She's in good spirits," Fallin said of the intern. "I'm told that while this injury is considered serious, it's not expected that she'll lose vision in her eye."
"Hmmm... Fried that sucker, didn't you? Nurse! The butter, please!"
Indonesian police were on alert after a small bomb exploded outside a sports stadium in a central province and a soldier's wife was stabbed to death. The bomb exploded late Saturday in the town of Poso. No one was injured in the blast, which police said came from a rudimentary low-explosive device. Earlier the same evening, unidentified assailants stabbed to death the wife of a local soldier in the town. Police declined to speculate on possible motives for the attacks, or on whether they were linked.
At least 1,000 have been killed in sporadic violence between Muslims and Christians since 2001 in the region. Both of the latest incidents heightened tensions in the town, which was a major battleground in fighting between Christians and Muslims three years ago. Large-scale clashes between the two sides have now subsided, but occasional shootings and bomb blasts still take place in the region, 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) northeast of the capital, Jakarta. A spate of deadly attacks on Christians late last year was blamed by intelligence officials on Jemaah Islamiyah, the al-Qaida linked terror group accused in the 2002 Bali bombings. Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation, but Central Sulawesi has roughly equal Muslim and Christian populations.
Iran's intelligence minister said that his services had dismantled al-Qaeda operations in the country, amid fresh accusations from the U.S. the clerical regime has been cooperating with Osama bin Laden's network. "The intelligence ministry has identified and dismantled all the Iranian branches of the al-Qaeda movement," Ali Yunessi was quoted as saying. "We have stopped the terrorist acts of al-Qaeda. If we had not done so, we would have had security problems," he added. Yunessi gave no further details about the operation or say how many people had been detained. But his statement gives a blow to U.S. media reports that the September 11 commission in Washington has concluded Iran may have facilitated the 2001 attacks on the United States by providing eight to 10 al-Qaeda hijackers with safe passage to and from training camps in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
07/18/2004 1:16:24 PM ||
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#1
Uh huh. Boy, do I feel secure now, knowing those truth-loving mullahs are on top of things ...
Not.
Posted by: too true ||
07/18/2004 13:41 Comments ||
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#2
I think they're starting to feel that warm feeling on the forehead from a laser sight.
#3
If we had not done so, we would have had security problems
I'll say. Having the U.S. Marine Corps coming in and dismantling your country is bound to cause some security problems . . .
Posted by: The Doctor ||
07/18/2004 15:14 Comments ||
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#4
But his statement gives a blow to U.S. media reports...
#5
It's pretty obvious that Iran has been providing a base for AQ and doing a little "maskirova" by feeding the occasional moke to the fire.
I'm actually kind of amused by the whole thing... consider how much the Shi'ites hate the Sunni and consider how reactionary the Sunni/Wahabi AQ is against Shi'ites. I'd love to be a fly on the wall when the mullahs have to swap spit with the AQ boys.......
Via Ace of Spades HQ. EFL; use bugmenot.com to log in.
THE US will mount a concerted attempt to overturn the regime in Iran if President Bush is elected for a second term. Well, those leaks sure are timely.
It would work strenuously to foment a revolt against the ruling theocracy by Iran's "hugely dissatisfied" population, a senior official has told The Times. The United States would not use military force, as in Iraq, but "if Bush is re-elected there will be much more intervention in the internal affairs of Iran", declared the official, who is determined that there should be no let-up in the Administration's War on Terror. Long overdue, friends.
To what extent the official, known to be hawkish, was speaking for the White House was unclear, but his remarks are nevertheless likely to cause alarm in Europe. Aaaw...
He hinted at a possible military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities, saying that there was a window of opportunity for destroying Iran's main nuclear complex at Bushehr next year that would close if Russia delivered crucial fuel rods. "Not us[ing] military force" just means no full invasion, it seems... Oh btw, thanks Vlad.
To destroy Bushehr after the delivery would cause huge environmental damage. The rods would allow the Iranians to obtain enough plutonium for many dozens of nuclear weapons, he said. Meanwhile, due to the endless Euro-flailing on Iran...
some members of the Administration have begun referring in private to Britain, France and Germany as "the Tehran three", and to Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, as "Jack of Tehran". Heh, heh, heh.
Russia is due to deliver the first shipment of nuclear fuel to Iran early next year for insertion into the reactor at Bushehr before the end of the year. So, after the election but possibly before inauguration 2.0. Actually, with that timing the responsible thing to do might be to blow the facilities even if he loses.
Despite that, the official believes that "it is not impossible to get Russia to see it our way" and back a UN resolution that would "raise the international saliency" of Iran's nuclear ambitions. He is convinced that Iran is afraid of a "conveyor belt" that would lead inexorably to sanctions and even military action. Could happen. Not with Flipper in charge though.
I'm quite heartened to get confirmation that Bush et al. haven't been snoozing on this stuff.
Posted by: someone ||
07/18/2004 7:12:54 AM ||
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#1
"I say we take off and nuke 'em from orbit. It's the only way to be sure..."
Fox News is reporting Binny's on his death bed. He had an operation on his kidneys in April, in Quetta. Sounds like organ rejection. Zawahiri's said to be in charge. More as it comes...
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2004 12:12:38 AM ||
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#1
Would Zawahiri or Zarqawi be the next leader?
Zarqawi seems to have gained enough notoriety points in Iraq to be atleast as *famous* as Zawahiri and probably more so. The best possible outcome would probably be an Al Qaeda "civil war" (so to speak) if the two of them are roughly equal in influence and ambition.
Though I suppose Zarqawi may possibly be too tied up in Iraq to be a leader for the entire global loose network.
#5
What an evil thought, AzCat, cheez ... hmmmm ... what kind of yield do we need to be sure?
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/18/2004 1:01 Comments ||
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#6
If Binny dies before Novemberâs election, Bush will win a new term. If Binny dies after Novemberâs election, Kerry will win. Can someone tell me who really controls the US?
#11
Maybe.......Binny has been dead a long time. Since Tora Bora. But the 'Slims don't want to give the West credit for sending Osalami to his raisins. We also have no interest in revealing that the terrorist follower of the child molester/prophet is a Krispy Korpse. That is until the offensive against Iran and Syria begins. Then it won't matter who knows.
#12
I'm one of the few people who thinks it might be good if Osama lives. That way he ties a lot of potential terrorist resources tending to his bedpan.
#15
hmmmm Iran doesn't have adequate healthcare for him?
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/18/2004 12:32 Comments ||
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#16
#3 DPA - Not painful enough.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/18/2004 14:24 Comments ||
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#17
Would Zawahiri or Zarqawi be the next leader?
According to Some Guy on Fox Last Night, Bin Laden's just the "spiritual leader", and if he dies, a new one must be chosen. This would make Bin Laden similar to the Governor General of Canada or Australia, while Zawahiri is the PM. I have never understood the purpose of the GG.
Zawahiri would remain operational commander. Since Zarqawi is more of a hands-on guy, I suspect his status would not change. He might have other ideas though.
I hope VNP (#11) is right. I'd hate to think Bin Laden managed to be hospitalized in Quetta without us knowing it. If Bin Laden has been decomposing all this long while, why is now the time to announce it?
#18
Follow the money. OBL (UBL) was just the paymaster for this freakshow. I guess for most jihadis the paymaster is the spiritual leader. I think if we didn't put UBL into the food chain at Tora Bora, we at least significantly shortened his life span. Look for the announcement of his demise in August between the conventions.
#22
There have been reports that Binny's kidney have been failing for at least two years now, some from pretty reliable sources.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2004 21:07 Comments ||
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#23
Any word on what might have ruined the old kidneys?
According to Dr. Zebra[pen name of a real doctor], OBL suffered from diabetes which is often associated with a subsequent onset of kidney disease. Patients on dialysis sometimes have a "frosting over" of their appearance. http://www.doctorzebra.com/prez/a_binladen.htm#1 A slim biography, published in Egypt in 1991 reported that about 1987 bin Laden had health problems that: He suffered from low blood pressure, which was treated by an Egyptian doctor from Peshawar, and diabetes, for which he received insulin shots. http://www.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/01/21/gupta.otsc/?related Dr.Gupta in a CNN interview: You can look [at pictures from a December 2001 video] and notice that he has what some doctors refer to as sort of a frosting over of his features -- his sort of grayness of beard, his paleness of skin, very gaunt sort of features. A lot of times people associate this with chronic illness. Doctors can certainly look at that and determine some clinical features. But even more than that, it's sometimes possible to differentiate the specific type of disease or illness that he may be suffering from. The sort of frosting of the appearance is something that people a lot of times associate with chronic kidney failure, renal failure, certainly someone who is requiring dialysis would have that.
A dialysis machine needs electricity and a patient needs to have dialysis at minimum once every 3 days, which made me doubt the story that we killed OBL in a cave in Afghanistan. More likely he was living in Pakistan or perhaps Iran in close proximity to doctors and a dialysis machine.
Dialysis means end stage kidney disease so the rumor that OBL had to have a kidney transplant operation recently rings true. That OBL likely suffered from diabetes too,would put him at a very great risk for not surviving the transplant intervention.
Posted by: rex ||
07/18/2004 21:29 Comments ||
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#24
i am look all day for something and not see it. this in just full of shit news report again.
From Arab News, of all places...
No matter which way Arafat turns, a crisis awaits. Arafat's security shake-up, which included a series of steps meant to combine eight disparate security services in three more unified commands, but all under Arafat, has not appeared to mollify demonstrators in Gaza. Indeed, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades have threatened to take the law into their own hands. The realignment has certainly yet to change the mind of Qorei who wants to leave because Arafat had failed to grant him more powers to deal with the worsening security situation.
If Qorei leaves, Arafat will be forced to set up an entirely new Cabinet; if he manages to persuade Qorei to stay on, it will be only on condition that the premier is given more authority. Losing Qorei would also be a blow to the peace process. Both he and his predecessor Mahmoud Abbas were major negotiators of the 1993 Oslo Accords, though in the 10 months Qorei held the job not a single Palestinian-Israeli summit was held. This was not in any way a reflection on Qorei but on Ariel Sharon who sees the breakdown in Gaza as evidence that he has no partner to talk to within the Palestinian camp and must move ahead with his plans to withdraw from Gaza by next year. The chaotic turn of events will likely encourage Sharon's opponents not to leave a vacuum in Gaza.
There are a few ironies appearing as this crisis unfolds. Arafat's overhaul has been a key demand of the United States and Israel to restart peace negotiations, moribund ever since the road map was introduced over a year ago. Yet it could also begin a process which might lead not to peace but to an all-out Palestinian civil war. There is another iron too: Having sought for over half-a-century Israel's withdrawal from occupied Palestinian lands, an obstacle has arisen which might prevent precisely such a handover. As the lawlessness increases, as splinter groups and rival factions jockey for power before Israeli troops and settlers withdraw from Gaza, the breakdown in law and order in Gaza could be but a taste of what will happen if Israel leaves altogether, an unexpected topsy-turvy situation.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2004 9:09:54 PM ||
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the breakdown in law and order in Gaza could be but a taste of what will happen if Israel leaves altogether, an unexpected topsy-turvy situation.
Unexpected by whom? Without Jews to kill, the Palis will turn on each other.
Posted by: A Jackson ||
07/18/2004 21:16 Comments ||
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#2
A Jackson: Can't happen soon enough for me.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/18/2004 23:59 Comments ||
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Jerusalem's Caffit restaurant was again the target of a failed attack last week when a would-be Palestinian suicide bomber decided against carrying out his plan at the last minute. It is the second time that the trendy eatery in the German Colony neighborhood narrowly missed being attacked by Palestinian terrorists. Security officials announced yesterday that a bombing was avoided last Sunday by pure chance, when a Palestinian man wearing an explosives belt who was dropped off at the site by his Jerusalem Arab accomplices, quickly walked away from the cafe after having second thoughts. Four days later, the would-be bomber was killed in a shoot-out with Israeli security forces.
Maybe because in a shootout you have a chance?
In March 2002, Caffit waiter Shlomi Harel noticed wires protruding from a man's backpack, cut the cable, then tackled the would-be suicide bomber to the ground. He was quickly taken into police custody.
Shlomi's got some guts...
A visibly-irritated management at Caffit would not permit journalists to enter the premises Sunday, with the cafe less crowded than usual, after news of the latest incident was made public. A security guard stationed at the entrance to the caf adhered to strict orders not to talk to the press.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2004 8:40:17 PM ||
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#1
Israelis go through this shit every day. An ICJ judge suffers when their limo driver is late. Build the wall, faster, fuck Euro-opinion!
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/18/2004 20:50 Comments ||
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The Palestinian press has interpreted the latest outburst of anarchy in the Gaza Strip as an expression of pent-up, popular dissatisfaction with a corrupt and dysfunctional Palestinian Authority. The headline of Sunday's editorial in the Jerusalem-based Al-Quds read "It's not a transient crisis."
"What occurred over the last three days in the Gaza Strip, from kidnapping security officials and French aid workers, may not be considered a transient crisis. It is a dangerous manifestation of a volatile internal Palestinian situation, which is the accumulation of unsolved quandaries that were never dealt with but left to deteriorate and intensify," the editor wrote.
In an unusual proclamation for the newspaper, the PA, not "the [Israeli] occupation," was blamed for the latest quagmire: "An epidemic unemployment spreads through Gaza and the West Bank, leading to unbearable economic difficulties amongst various strata of our citizens, who feel that no sufficient efforts have been undertaken to improve their conditions and salvage them from the vicious cycle of poverty and despair," continued the editorial. "No measures are taken to put an end to mismanagement, selfishness, and favoring of individual interests over the sacred national interest."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2004 8:33:38 PM ||
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Palestenians finally getting a clue about Yasser basically milking them dry? And now all the other mob bosses are trying to position themselves for a cut of the action.
No need to fire that AGM-65 at Yasser, seems the people he is trying to govern are already sharpening their knives.
Militants sacked and burned Palestinian government offices Sunday, the latest sign of growing anger over Yasser Arafat's decision to reach into his old guard and choose a loyalist relative as his new security chief. A confrontation was brewing between Arafat — reluctant to yield significant power — and Palestinian militants, including some of Arafat's own officers. They are demanding deep reforms and new faces, Palestinian analysts said. The divide between the two sides centered on the appointment of Moussa Arafat, Arafat's cousin, as the new head of Palestinian security. Many Palestinians rejected him as a symbol of corruption and cronyism, propelling long-held dissatisfaction into the open.
Waiter! More pie for the Fat Lady! And bring her some Hershey bars, too, with my compliments!
Dozens of masked gunmen marched through the Nusseirat refugee camp in central Gaza after sundown Sunday, chanting, "No to Moussa Arafat, yes to reform."
"Yar! Allahu Akbar!"
In the Rafah refugee camp, gunmen exchanged fire with guards at preventive security headquarters and attempted to break into the complex with a bulldozer. The guards wounded three attackers, but there were no casualties to the security forces, personnel at the building said.
"But they ran right over that gal from Seattle..."
WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Poland will keep troops in Iraq at least through the end of 2005, but firmly intends to reduce its presence at the start of next year, the nation's prime minister said Sunday. Poland, which commands a 17-nation force in south-central Iraq, is required by a U.N. resolution to remain in Iraq until the end of 2005. But Polish leaders haven't determined what role their country will play after that, Prime Minister Marek Belka said during a visit to Camp Babylon, the force's headquarters in Iraq.
"The next shift will be much smaller," Belka said in comments broadcast on Polish television. "We are counting on Iraqi security forces getting stronger and stronger and taking more of our duties from us." He said Poland will start "thinking about changing the nature of our military presence" after 2005. "Maybe the international forces will be organized in a different way and maybe the international forces won't be needed anymore." The Defense Ministry said last week that Poland would cut its troop levels from about 2,400 to between 1,000 and 1,500 next January.
Belka was at Camp Babylon to mark a change of command of the multinational force as part of a scheduled troop rotation. Polish Gen. Andrzej Ekiert, a 57-year-old with peacekeeping experience in Kosovo and South Korea, took over from Gen. Mieczyslaw Bieniek. Belka said that it would be up to the Iraqi leadership to determine how long Poland will remain and what role it will play.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/18/2004 4:57:48 PM ||
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Well, Poland is hoping the same thing we are. That the Iraqis will get their act together. If/when they do, we will likely reduce our presence as well.
Posted by: Kathy K ||
07/18/2004 18:40 Comments ||
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#2
except at the western air bases? H3, et al? I think those are the stick we'll beat Iran with...or maybe refuel the Israelis on their return home :-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/18/2004 18:42 Comments ||
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#3
I love the Polish! Helping to save the free world again. I'm sure they will be very useful in Operation Demullahficationâ¢.
Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, the fugitive Jordanian Islamist who has a 25-million-dollar US bounty on his head, offered a reward of his own for anyone who kills Iraq's pro-US prime minister, in a statement posted on an Islamist website Sunday. "The Khalid ibn Al-Walid Brigade announces to the Iraqi people a reward of 200,000 Jordanian dinars (285,000 dollars) for the one who cuts the head of (Iyad) Allawi," said the statement. It was signed in the name of the "military wing" of Zarqawi's Tawhid wa al-Jihad (Unification and Holy War) group.
"In the unit of candidates for martyrs, we promise before God to kill you ... and those of your clique wanted by Sheikh Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi," said the statement. Its authenticity could not be verified. Several previous threats to kill Allawi have been issued in Zarqawi's name. The premier's Iraqi National Accord (INA) party had close connections with the US Central Intelligence Agency before Saddam Hussein's ouster. A July 14 statement said: "Allawi, if you escaped the missiles of death that destroyed your house, there are other missiles ready." That was presumably a reference to a July 7 mortar attack on the INA's offices and his residence close to Baghdad's heavily fortified city-centre administrative compound.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
07/18/2004 3:08:24 PM ||
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Given the amount of money involved, it is hard to decide whether this is an insult or a compliment. Maybe it is time for an end of year close out discount on Zarqawi as retaliation.
Posted by: Mr. Davis ||
07/18/2004 20:41 Comments ||
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#2
Maybe after all the recent expenses, Zarqawi is getting a little bit light in the wallet?
American troops have detained a senior commander of the former Republican Guard (search), U.S. forces said Sunday. Sufyan Maher Hassan is suspected of planning and financing attacks on Iraqis, Iraqi security forces and multinational forces, said Maj. Neal O'Brien of the 1st Infantry Division. Hassan is being detained at a local multinational force detention facility, O'Brien said. Hassan was the Republican Guard commander responsible for units defending Baghdad during the war. A relative of former leader Saddam Hussein, Hassan was blamed for the quick fall of Baghdad.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
07/18/2004 3:09:28 PM ||
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Russian troops killed 19 separatists in a major operation in the southeast of Chechnya, Interfax news agency quoted a chief military spokesman in the troubled region as saying. Thirteen rebels died in a shootout in Nozhai-Yurt district some 50 km southeast of the regional capital Grozny today, the spokesman, Ilya Shabalkin, told the agency. Six rebels were killed in the same area yesterday in a Russian commando raid on guerrilla hideouts, he said. Small units of specially trained commandos have become one of the most effective instruments in Russia's war against separatist insurgency in Chechnya.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
07/18/2004 1:30:11 PM ||
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Pakistan security forces hunting fighters linked to Al-Qaeda and the Taliban on the rugged border with Afghanistan traded fire with suspected militants but there were no casualties, military said Saturday. "A few rockets and mortars were fired by militants in the Tiarza area on Friday after which the security forces responded appropriately," military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan told AFP. There were no casualties in the exchange of fire near tribal South Waziristan's main town Wana, Sultan said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
07/18/2004 1:31:20 PM ||
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Dozens of Palestinian gunmen shot their way into the office of the Palestinian intelligence service early Sunday and burned down the one-story building, witnesses said. An extreme offshoot of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement carried out the attack to protest Arafat's appointment of his intelligence chief, Moussa Arafat, to chief of the Palestinian security forces. The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades says Moussa Arafat, also Yasser Arafat's cousin, is corrupt and is demanding "real" reforms. The Palestinian leader has overhauled security forces recently -- a key U.S. and Israeli demand for restarting the deadlocked peace process. The changes follow a sudden wave of kidnappings in the Gaza Strip that signaled a breakdown of authority. The destruction of the intelligence office on the outskirts of the Khan Younis refugee camp was the latest violence. Gunmen fired on a group of between seven to nine security guards inside the office. A gunbattle erupted culminating in the destruction of the building when gunmen burned it down.
In the sixth U.S. airstrike since last month, American jets Sunday hit a position in Fallujah purportedly used by foreign militants, demolishing a house and killing 14 people, hospital and local officials said. Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi gave the go-ahead for the attack, according to his office and the U.S. military. In previous strikes, the United States said it was targeting safehouses used by the network of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian militant blamed for masterminding car bombings and other attacks in Iraq. The latest attack targeted foreign militants' "fighting positions and trench lines near the remains of a house," according to a statement by U.S. Brig. Gen. Erv Lessel. About 25 fighters were there just before the attack, he said, citing Iraqi and coalition intelligence sources. Local residents said the attack destroyed a house filled with civilians.
Women, children, puppies, kittens, baby ducks and fluffy bunnies. You know the routine. And they were having a wedding celebration. In an ambulance.
Allawi has promised strong cooperation with the Americans in rooting out terrorism and said after a July 5 airstrike in Fallujah that his government had provided the intelligence for the strike. Allawi consulted with U.S. forces Saturday about the strike, his office said. "The multinational force asked Prime Minister Allawi for permission to launch strikes on some specific places where some terrorists were hiding," an official in Allawi's office said on condition of anonymity. "Allawi gave his permission,"
"Yeah, sure. Go ahead. No skin off my fore. But don't kill any baby ducks!"
#4
Do I read this correctly to say that our Baathist buddy running the Fallujah force wasn't consulted before the strike?
Not a bad tactic, I suspect, if that's what happened. Let him and his buddies keep the town under control vs. the jihadists, but don't trust him to really be on the side of the new Iraqi government.
Keep this sort of thing in mind when you hear that the Marines "failed" and that our strategy in Iraq lacked the subtlety to deal with the situation ....
#5
JDAM akbar! Precision GPS and JDAMs change the paradigm. All you need are the right coordinates and retribution rains from the sky. I'm thinking of a lighter-than-air RPV with a belly full of JDAMs on permanent station over Fallujah. Land it once a week to reload. In the words of Louis Armstrong, "What a wonderful world."
#6
My understanding is that there were 200 or so foreign terrorists. Quick math suggests 10 or so more JDAMs, unless we can get a two for one special somewhere.
I can just see those terrorists praying to Allah while glancing up to see if there will be more "hard rain" falling.
Posted by: Capt America ||
07/18/2004 16:37 Comments ||
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#7
send the jihadists to the hottest...most painful part of Hell, and give 'em their 72 raisenettes, too. I hope they all look like Helen Thomas and Madelyn Albright.
From Jihad Unspun, reposted from The Sydney Morning Herald
Iyad Allawi, the new Prime Minister of Iraq, pulled a pistol and executed as many as six suspected insurgents at a Baghdad police station, just days before Washington handed control of the country to his interim government, according to two people who allege they witnessed the killings. They say the prisoners - handcuffed and blindfolded - were lined up against a wall in a courtyard adjacent to the maximum-security cell block in which they were held at the Al-Amariyah security center, in the city's south-western suburbs. They say Dr Allawi told onlookers the victims had each killed as many as 50 Iraqis and they "deserved worse than death".
The Prime Minister's office has denied the entirety of the witness accounts in a written statement to the Herald, saying Dr Allawi had never visited the center and he did not carry a gun. But the informants told the Herald that Dr Allawi shot each young man in the head as about a dozen Iraqi policemen and four Americans from the Prime Minister's personal security team watched in stunned silence. Iraq's Interior Minister, Falah al-Naqib, is said to have looked on and congratulated him when the job was done. Mr al-Naqib's office has issued a verbal denial. ....
One of the witnesses claimed that before killing the prisoners Dr Allawi had told those around him that he wanted to send a clear message to the police on how to deal with insurgents. The prisoners were against the wall and we were standing in the courtyard when the Interior Minister said that he would like to kill them all on the spot. Allawi said that they deserved worse than death - but then he pulled the pistol from his belt and started shooting them." ....
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Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
07/18/2004 12:16:17 PM ||
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Mike, this has been posted and discussed multiple times recently.
Just mentioning it because the volume of repeat articles seems to be really high lately.
#5
And this is a problem why? Allawi knows the stakes for his country. If it makes some of the 'insurgents' think twice before entering Iraq, then I say 'good!'.
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
07/18/2004 14:40 Comments ||
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#6
rkb (or anyone eles), could you please provide a link to the previous posting. I can't find it.
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
07/18/2004 15:46 Comments ||
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#7
This article was posted "multiple times"? I can't find it posted even once.
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
07/18/2004 15:47 Comments ||
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#8
No mention of whether the bodies were lashed to the bumper of a Toyota pickup and paraded around the town. Makes me suspiciuos, but then again seems this Allawi guy is doing his best.
Pretty sure this was on yesterdays roster but not everyone can visit everyday and read everything, not me anyway.
Posted by: Ol_Dirty_American ||
07/18/2004 10:57:27 AM ||
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In the West Bank city of Ramallah, Arafat met with his prime minister, Ahmed Qureia, to discuss the political crisis that erupted over continuing violence in Gaza and Qureia's attempt to resign as head of the Palestinian government.
"I totally reject your resignation and consider it nonexistent," Arafat told Qureia at a meeting Sunday, according to Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat. Qureia told his Cabinet on Saturday he was firm in his decision to quit.
Holy political standoff, batman! The Paleo Un-Civil War has begun. I recommend a final trip to France for retirement, Yasser, before Suha finds a way to squander all of your hard-earned off the backs of the people cash.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/18/2004 13:07 Comments ||
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#2
"You can't quit! You're fired!...er ....wait, that's not right"
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/18/2004 13:14 Comments ||
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#3
okay - why is it every time Qureia or AbuBooboo or whatever the hell he calls himself tries to quit, Arafat refuses? it would seem that this is exactly what Arafish wants.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
07/18/2004 14:22 Comments ||
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#4
At the risk of stating the completely obvious, I think it's finally started.
Posted by: The Doctor ||
07/18/2004 15:20 Comments ||
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#5
Doctor - from your lips to Yahweh's ears.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/18/2004 23:53 Comments ||
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From The Washington Post
.... Musa Hilal is accused of being a commander of the Janjaweed militia. According to human rights groups, aid workers and U.S. officials, the militia, supported by Sudan's government, has displaced 1.2 million people in Darfur through violence and pillage. .... U.S. officials have pressed the Sudanese government to end its support for the Janjaweed and hold Hilal and six other commanders accountable for the crisis. .... But ... Hilal sat in plain sight here in the capital [Khartoum], sipping mango juice and joking about his three wives and 13 children as he wound and unwound a lilac scarf around his back and shoulders. ... Hilal portrayed himself as a defender of Arab tribes against African groups, dismissing claims that the Janjaweed have engaged in ethnic cleansing. ....
Darfur has long been home to Arab herders and African farmers, two Sudanese groups that were both Muslim, shared resources and sometimes intermarried. Clashes occurred sporadically, but tensions grew more serious 25 years ago as drought spread over the continent and the Arabs began to search for better grazing land. Hilal's family was among those Arabs looking for more fertile areas. In 1976, Hilal's father moved his tribe to Amo, an area in northern Darfur where African tribes already lived, according to an investigation by the Congressional Research Service this year. The inquiry found that Hilal's father obtained the land through a corrupt official. In 1997, Hilal was jailed for killing 17 Africans in Darfur, according to the inquiry. Years earlier, he had also been imprisoned for killing a security guard and robbing a bank in Nyala, a city in southern Darfur.
The tensions in Darfur exploded in early 2003. African rebels, saying that the Arab-led government in Khartoum had discriminated against them, attacked a military garrison. They destroyed four helicopter gunships, two Antonov aircraft and, according to government officials, killed about 75 soldiers. So the government decided to use the Janjaweed militia to help put down the Darfur rebellion. Hilal was in prison again, for crimes allegedly committed in 2002, but the government chose him to help organize the militia .... Hilal was released from prison after personal intervention by Sudan's first vice president, Ali Uthman Muhammad Taha. ...
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Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
07/18/2004 12:08:47 PM ||
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At least 25 Indian separatists were killed in an attack by gunmen at a hotel in Dhaka, capital of neighboring Bangladesh, police in India said. Dhaka's Police Commissioner Ashraful Huda said, however, he had no report of the incident. "A group of Indian insurgents were apparently holding a meeting at a hotel in Dhaka's Segun Bagicha area when gunmen attacked and killed up to 25 of them," said G.M. Srivastava, police chief of the northeastern Indian state of Tripura. Tripura shares a 530-mile porous border with Bangladesh. Indian security forces say several separatist rebel groups in the country's northeast have bases inside Bangladesh, from which they stage hit-and-run attacks on Indian targets. Bangladesh has denied such claims.
Srivastava claimed most of those killed were members of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom, or ULFA, which has been fighting for an independent homeland for the indigenous population of Assam, the largest of India's seven northeastern states. Rebels from four other Indian insurgent groups were present at the meeting in Dhaka, the police chief said.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
07/18/2004 1:58:52 AM ||
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Many Palestinians are convinced that former Palestinian Authority Security Minister Muhammad Dahlan is responsible for the growing pressure on Yasser Arafat to implement security and financial reforms. Dahlan, who represents the "young guard" in Arafat's mainstream Fatah faction, has in the past few months been spearheading calls for reforms and an end to corruption. On a number of occasions, he has openly criticized Arafat and the "old guard" for failing to replace the corrupt officials around him. In an interview last week, the 43-year-old Dahlan once again lashed out at the PA leadership, pointing out that many officials had sent their families to live abroad while the majority of Palestinians are living in harsh conditions. Dahlan has also been traveling around the Gaza Strip, talking before various forums about the need to implement genuine reforms and end corruption. His demands for reforms, together with his strong criticism of the top brass in the PA, have not fallen on deaf ears in the Gaza Strip.
Many disgruntled Fatah activists and gunmen have also been listening to Dahlan very carefully. Dahlan — who recently raised eyebrows in Gaza when he purchased one of the city's most expensive villas — has been telling them that the time has come to get rid of all the corrupt leaders, including the commanders of the PA security forces and senior officials in Arafat's entourage.
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Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2004 1:10:33 AM ||
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Dahlan â who recently raised eyebrows in Gaza when he purchased one of the city's most expensive villas â has been telling them that the time has come to get rid of all the corrupt leaders.....
Fred, ---THAT--- is the quote of the day! Do you notice that the Paleo festivities are starting to kick in at Rantburg again, like the good olde days?
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/18/2004 13:35 Comments ||
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#2
Mo Dahlan's been watching Edwards and Kerry's stage act as "friend of the common man"
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/18/2004 14:55 Comments ||
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Frank G
Actually, the current revolt against Arafat is a reaction to the fact that there really are two Palestines. One for the Fatah plutocrats and one for everyone else. John Edwards's speech seems to me to work much better in the PA than in the US.
Indian troops killed 10 suspected militants in Kashmir, including six cross-border fighters, police said on Saturday. The six were gunned down after they sneaked into Indian-held Kashmir's northern Kupwara and southern Poonch districts on Friday night, a police spokesman said. "Five of the infiltrators were shot dead early Saturday in the Shahpur area of Poonch district," said a police spokesman. "The militants were killed during a fierce encounter that erupted as soon as they infiltrated our territory," he said. A soldier was seriously wounded in the gunbattle, he added. Another infiltrator was shot dead by soldiers in northern Kupwara district on Friday night, the spokesman said. Meanwhile, four militants were killed by Indian troops in three separate gunbattles in southern Poonch, Anantnag and northern Baramulla districts. Suspected militants also on Saturday hurled a grenade at pro-India politician Ghulam Mohammed Sheikh's house in Srinagar, injuring two women, including his wife, police said. Sheikh is a senior leader of India's ruling Congress party, which is also a part of Kashmir's ruling alliance.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2004 12:48:44 AM ||
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The Jamaatud Dawa (JD), believed to be Pakistan's largest pro-jihad party, has split, with violent clashes likely over party assets.
Naturally. Is there any of the popcorn left from the Gaza festivities?
We can always make more ...
The breakaway faction, which has taken the name Khairun Naas (KN), consists largely of members of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LT). Some of them have taken an oath to kill Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the head of the JD, sources told Daily Times.
Be still, my beating heart...
Both sides are now plotting how to take control of party assets, such as the Markaz-e-Taiba in Muridke, Markaz Qadsia in Lahore and other valuable properties.
But natch...
The leaders of the breakaway faction have accused Hafiz Saeed of nepotism, diverting the party from its original objective and the unfair distribution of funds. The Khairun Naas was also unhappy at Saeed's second marriage to a fallen comrade's widow.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2004 12:16:42 AM ||
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I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later, the Jaish-e-Mohammad split up for the same reasons. Some Jihadi got sick of Don Azhar and wanted to be in charge themselves.
I wonder if anything truly seperates the factions, and who the ISI is supporting? I'd guess that whichever faction is out of favour with the Pak Army will get the blame for the Lashkar's global activites and especially its presence in Iraq.
Thus there will be a crackdown on the 'radicals', while the 'moderates' will get to stay in business.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
07/18/2004 2:06 Comments ||
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GAZA: Thousands of demonstrators marched in Gaza City on Saturday to protest against the new security chief appointed for the area by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, saying he would bring no change, witnesses said. The crowd shouted slogans against Mussa Arafat, the president's cousin, who was appointed on Saturday following a series of kidnappings by gunmen demanding an end to corruption in the security forces.
Now, what could people have against Cousin Moussa?
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2004 12:15:07 AM ||
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#1
Typically paleostinian.
Arafat: "I'll solve this corruption problem by putting close family members in charge of things."
The latest question being put to Muslims picked up at random by the FBI and other security agencies and outfits here is: "Have you been to Waziristan?"
Sounds like a reasonable question to me...
Yaser Alamoudi, a Muslim student at Arizona State University, who was paid a surprise home visit by a campus police officer with members of the local Joint Terrorism Task Force, was asked, among other things, if he knew anyone who had recently returned from Pakistan, anyone who had shown interest in a government building or agency or anyone who had shown extreme hostility toward Americans. Later, the 27-year old Yemeni told Washington Post, "The questions were just ridiculous." He told his interrogators, "You guys really think you're going to get anywhere with these kind of questions?" He was also asked if he went to the mosque. His reply was that he did not go to the mosque with any regularity, "unless they have free food".
All visa applications made by Muslims, no matter from where in the world, are now sent to Washington for security clearance. Almost all Muslim visitors who arrive at American ports of entry, be they airports, seaports or land crossings, are asked a variety of questions, even if they are American citizens. There are two folders with all immigration officers, one blue, one red. It is not clear what the colours signify. However, quite a few Muslims have found their passport placed in one of these two folders and escorted to a special room where they and their documents are subjected to further scrutiny. They are also asked a few or several questions and then either let go or detained for more "thorough going". This correspondent has had his passport placed in a red folder and he was escorted to that special room on two recent occasions when he returned from abroad. In both cases, he was let go but the wait after a long, tiring flight and the humiliation resulting from the awareness that one has been singled out because of one's name, "Middle Eastern looks" and religion do not enhance a person's sense of well-being.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2004 12:09:36 AM ||
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#4
Well, it is good that we are looking at people who statistically have caused us harm the most. I would assume that Norweigan grandmothers are being hassled less. If you want to come into this country for a while and you are from the ME, better be willing to put up with some hassles. Remember that things get pretty bad for Europeans and Americans in the Saudi paradise.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/18/2004 12:42 Comments ||
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#5
"Do you have any food with you?"
"Where do you normally keep your gun?"
"Why didn't you just take the bridge?" (Upon coming off the ferry from Victoria to Vancouver).
I dunno, these are just a few of the questions I've had waiting for me at entry points. Pretty ridiculous.
#7
making a list, checking it twice, gonna find out who's naughty and nice, the FBI's looking at you...
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/18/2004 14:53 Comments ||
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#8
#5, the question about food might also have to do with import restrictions. Fresh fruits and vegs can't come into California (a major agricultural state) because they often carry pests. And friends of mine who go to Canada to show dogs don't take a whole lot of dog food along, because they can't bring it back (mad cow disease).
Bureaucracies are inherently stupid and clumsy, though, and no doubt these screenings won't acomplish a whole lot ... other than perhaps to let people know they're being watched.
#10
Does the U.S./I.N.S. actually ask for anyones religion when they apply for a visa? I got one a year ago, have been in and out of the U.S. a bit since and have not been asked.
#11
Some of these ragheads better look at what happened to Martha Stewart when she lied to the FBI. They've got a long institutional memory and I'll bet Larry Ellison is finding lots of ways for them to discover the dots they need to connect from these ridiculous questions.
Posted by: Mr. Davis ||
07/18/2004 18:48 Comments ||
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#12
Maybe next visit to Mecca,he can be lucky enough to get a visit from a middle eastern welcoming committe.See what questions they will have for him.
A German-Moroccan fugitive allegedly involved in the September 11 attacks has been sending email messages from Pakistan to his wife in Germany, according to a report to be published on Monday. The German news magazine Focus says in its latest edition German police have traced Internet messages from Said Bhaiji from Islamabad and Lahore in Pakistan. The report, which does not quote sources, says investigators have intercepted 14 email messages between March and the beginning of July.
Go ahead. Compromise your sources. There's lots more where that one came from...
Maybe he'll use his sat phone next.
An international arrest warrant has been issued for Bhaiji, who fled Germany shortly before September 11 and is suspected of having belonged to a so-called "Hamburg cell", believed to be a rear base for the September 11 suicide squads. Bhaiji was born in Germany of a German mother and a Moroccan father. He is alleged to have been in charge of the logistics of the Hamburg cell. He is said to have lived in a Hamburg apartment belonging to Muhammad Atta, one of the suicide squads who died in the anti-American attacks, and founder of the Hamburg group. Focus quotes Bhaiji in the emails as refusing to turn himself in to the authorities as his wife requests him to do. "No! I do not want to end up in a position of weakness towards an infidel," he is quoted as saying in one of the messages.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2004 12:06:55 AM ||
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Debka always sees Arafat as the terrorist mastermind; add in their alarmist view, and you have an interesting take on the Gaza mess Yasser Arafat waited until the Gaza Strip was relegated to the status of a write-off to be dumped by Israel, with the Egyptians and Britain maintaining an interim security presence until the Palestinians were deemed fit to rule a reformed, terror-free administration. Arafat himself was seen as a spent force. However, 48 hours before Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon launched coalition negotiations for a government lineup committed to evacuating the Gaza Strip, Arafat pounced. One, two, three abductions were staged in the Gaza Strip in a 10-hour period on Friday, July 16 — first the venal and hated Gaza police chief Ghazi Jebali, followed by the southern military coordinator, Khaled Abu Aloul, and lastly, four of five French aid workers, who were hauled out of a Khan Younes restaurant by masked, armed and locked in the town's Red Crescent center. They were all freed within hours and none hurt.
The next day, as Sharon's office crowed that these events proved how necessary it was to speed up his unilateral evacuation, Arafat struck with lightning speed: he rid himself of Palestinian prime minister, Ahmed Qureia, who had been forced on him in the first place, purged the top ranks of Gaza Strip national security and installed his own men. By nightfall Saturday, Arafat was in absolute command of the territory... It took Arafat 48 hours to rob Sharon of his fundamental political and security rationale for broadening his government, i.e. a timetable for the orderly withdrawal of settlements and troops from a leaderless Gaza Strip and willing outside hands to take over and install a democratic administration purged of terror. Therefore, the Likud-Labor negotiations due to begin Sunday, July 17, will be a futile exercise. Without a clear vista towards disengagement, Labor will not join the Sharon government; without a parliamentary boost, the government cannot survive much longer. Arafat will thus have forced another Israeli prime minister to foreshorten his term and call an early general election, a repeat of his successes against his predecessors, Shimon Peres, Binyamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak. There is nothing personal about this tactic for Arafat; he has made it a strategic habit to topple Israeli prime ministers while subjecting Israelis to a campaign of murderous terror, thereby sowing anarchy in the Jewish state and weakening it internally and externally. EFL, rest at link
Iraq's justice minister has escaped unscathed but five bodyguards have been killed after a suicide car bomber drove into his convoy in an attack claimed by a group led by al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Statements posted on an Islamist Web site said the attack was one of two carried out on Saturday by the military wing of Zarqawi's Tawhid and Jihad group, blamed by Washington for a series of deadly suicide bombings in Iraq and for executing at least three hostages.
Witnesses said the attacker drove towards the convoy close to the home of Justice Minister Malik al-Hassan and detonated his car bomb in a ball of flame. "There was a blast alongside the convoy. A booby-trapped car came alongside and blew up," said traffic policeman Hussein Abed. The Health Ministry said five bodyguards were killed. Five gutted cars were littered across the road, and Iraqis collected human remains scattered among the wreckage. "What I want to highlight is that this is clearly a terrorist attack by people who do not want to see this country move forward," U.S. Colonel Michael Formica of the 1st Cavalry Division said at the scene.
Abdul Nasser Mohammed, one of the surviving bodyguards, pointed at one of the cars destroyed in the blast and said: "Two people were killed in this car and all we found was body parts." Hospital officials said at least eight people were wounded. "We were working as painters near the ministry house when suddenly there was an explosion," one of the injured, Khalid Waleed, said from his hospital bed. "The glass shattered everywhere, hitting us."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
07/18/2004 2:45:01 PM ||
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Abdul Jalil Mustafa, Arab News
A group of prominent Arab lawyers seeking to defend former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein said yesterday they had ensured "private protection" inside Iraq, but the "ball was in the court" of the International Committee of the Red Thingy Cross (ICRTC) to arrange for a meeting between the panel and the detained Iraqi leader. "We have arranged for private protection, whereby some companies will ensure security for the team's members during their stay inside Iraq," the panel's chief Mohammad Rashdan told Arab News. "But, isn't shameful for the United States and the Iraqi government to force us to resort to private protection while they fail to do so," he said.
The clowns are just doing their warmup right now. Next come the jugglers, trapeze artists, and the elephants...
Rashdan and other team members said earlier that guaranteeing physical protection in Iraq was a key issue after they had received threats of killing by Iraqi officials, including Justice Minister Malek Dohan Al-Hassan, who yesterday escaped an assassination attempt in Baghdad.
Wonder who whacks who first?
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2004 11:54:47 PM ||
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Police in an operation against defunct Harkatul Mujahideen (HM) killed some seven workers of the militant organization including its chief Osama Nazir, whose head carried Rs 0.1 million.
How much for just the ears?
Osama Nazir spawned hailed from Bahawalpur and he was thought to be responsible for suicide attacks committed in Murree, Taxila and other cities.
It's not defunct if it's still in operation, is it? Or am I missing something?
Earlier, Osama Nazir would work for Jaish-e-Muhammad, a militant organization. However Osama Nazir and his accomplices set up Harkatul Mujahideen after developing differences with Jaish leadership. Harkatul Mujahideen continued its activities without any let up. The dead bodies of the victims were kept in Nishtar hospital Multan.
Are those the victims Osama bumped off? Or the seven dead hard boyz?
Meanwhile, Police have arrested a terrorist, Sardar Ibrahim of defunct Lashkar-e-Jhagivi after raiding a hotel room in Abbottabad. Police had fixed Rs 0.1m head money against his arrest.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/18/2004 11:57:53 PM ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
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.
