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Filipinos out of Iraq; Hostage freed
Today's Headlines
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Europe
Europe's Islamist Alliance
By Amir Taheri
Jerusalem Post | July 12, 2004

Not EFL... how do you do that "page 71" voodoo???
When the US-led coalition invaded Iraq in March 2003, few would have imagined that the move might lead to the formation of an alliance between the radical Left and hard-line Islamists in Western Europe. But this is precisely what happened. In this month's election for a new European Parliament, voters in several European Union countries, notably France and Britain, are offered common lists of Islamist and leftist candidates, often hidden under bland labels. Europe's moribund extreme Left has found a new lease on life thanks to hundreds of young Muslim militants recruited from the poor suburbs of Paris and the Islamic ghettos of northern England. The Islamist groups, for their part, are learning many tricks from the Left about how to exploit the inevitable weaknesses of an open society.

In Britain, the new Marxist-Islamist alliance is the offspring of the so-called anti-war coalition set up two years ago to prevent the liberation of Iraq. The coalition has a steering committee of 33 members. Of these, 18 come from various hard Left groups: communists, Trotskyites, Maoists, and Castroists. Three others belong to the radical wing of the Labor party. There are also eight radical Islamists. The remaining four are leftist ecologists known as Watermelons (Green outside, red inside). The chairman of the coalition is one Andrew Murray, a former employee of the Soviet Novosty Agency and leader of the British Communist Party. Co-chair is Muhammad Asalm Ijaz of the London Council of Mosques. A prominent member is George Galloway, recently excluded from the Labor party, who is under investigation for the illegal receipt of funds from Saddam Hussein. Galloway heads a list of candidates backed by several radical leftist groups, notably The British Socialist Workers Party (SWP), as well as the Muslim Association of Britain, the British branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, and a dozen Palestinian groups financed by Yasser Arafat. The Palestinian checkered headgear, worn by the leftists as a cache-col, has become the symbol of this left-Islamist alliance.
Replacing Che's beret.
The New Statesman, the organ of the British moderate Left, calls the new Islamist-Marxist alliance "Saddam's Own Party." The label is not fanciful. Many of the groups involved in the alliance had been financed for years by Saddam through his so-called Cultural Relations Office in London.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Anonymous5089 || 07/20/2004 8:20:31 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Commies are so stupid. They always hope to lead (and manage) the "revolution". Of course, Marxist didn't exist in the 7th century, so no place in the Caliphate for you!
Posted by: Spot || 07/20/2004 8:56 Comments || Top||

#2  How fun. Two parties casting the other in the "Useful Idiot" role. Of course, the latte-sipping, beret-wearing, non-bathing Marxist ingenue is only "playing" revolutionary. The Islamists are stone-cold killers.

Carlos says Islam is the only force capable of persuading large numbers of people to become "volunteers" for suicide attacks against the US. I love this. Guess they haven't figured out that suicide attacks follow the laws of diminishing returns. The target figures out the tactic and is only too happy to oblige the kamikaze's desire for a noble death. The kamikaze is unable to return to base to pass along his experience. Target's death rate goes down; attacker's death rate soars. Just like we saw at Okinawa. Just like we're seeing in Israel.
Posted by: dreadnought || 07/20/2004 11:27 Comments || Top||

#3  The European Marxist-Islamist coalition does not offer a coherent political platform.

Today's statement of the bloody obvious...
Posted by: Raj || 07/20/2004 12:20 Comments || Top||

#4  So...where would their common ground be?

* Ban guns, save for the chosen ones. check.

* Mess up the economy, save for the chosen. check.

* Slaughter the unbelievers. check.

* Wait for power to be siezed, then purge those who put you there. check.

* Whine a lot about religion being the opiate of the masses. oops. Off with his head!!!
Posted by: Brutus || 07/20/2004 21:18 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
The Faisal Gill Affair
Posted by: tipper || 07/20/2004 00:25 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Heads (at least one) need to roll.
Posted by: Steve White || 07/20/2004 0:36 Comments || Top||

#2  Curious.
Posted by: Lucky || 07/20/2004 11:57 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Sumatra bombing kills 1
A bomb exploded in a village close to Indonesia's third largest city, killing one person and injuring several others, media reports said. The explosion occurred in the village of Sei Bingei, just east of the industrial city of Medan on Sumatra island, state news agency Antara reported. The reports gave no details on the circumstances behind the blast, the latest in a series of small explosions in towns across Indonesia in recent days. The explosions come amid police warnings that terrorists in the world's most populous Muslim nation might attempt to disrupt its ongoing election process. Next week, the country will announce the results of July 5 presidential elections.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 07/20/2004 8:56:10 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran's hand in Afghanistan
Another Al Qaeda leader in Iran is Sulaiman Jasim Abu Ghaith. He was Al Qaeda's spokesman until the summer of 2002. According to US sources, this former Kuwaiti citizen is in the custody of the Iranian authorities, but the Iranians have never confirmed his detention. I heard in Baghdad that one son of Osama bin Laden, Saad, is also being allowed to operate from Iran. He is in contact with Al Qaeda fighters hiding in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries.

Al Qaeda told its fighters in September 2003 to enter Iraq. I visited Kunar province of Afghanistan that month to meet Al Qaeda operatives. I met a man named Abu Basir near the mountains of Asadabad. He told me that several Arab fighters of Al Qaeda had been asked by their leaders to reach Iraq. These fighters have been slipping into Pakistan from different points in eastern Afghanistan and Al Qaeda's network in Pakistan is arranging their safe onward journey to Iraq through Iran on fake passports. The Pakistani authorities have arrested two officials of the country's passport agency in Peshawar for allegedly providing fake passports to these Al Qaeda operators.

Further investigations revealed that Al Qaeda leader Saif al-Adil and Yazz bin Sifat had slipped into Iran from the Afghan town of Taftan. Both are wanted in connection with the September 11 attacks. Taftan is in the southwestern part of Afghanistan. The Herat province in western Afghanistan is governed by the pro-Iran warlord Haji Ismail Khan. The US ambassador to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, confirmed to some journalists in Kabul recently that he had evidence of Iranian interference in western Afghanistan. Yusuf Pashtun, spokesman for a pro-Karzai warlord in southern Afghanistan, has claimed many times that Iranian agents have been smuggling arms into the southern Helmand province and that Iranians are providing training to the troops of Haji Ismail Khan. Haji Ismail received thousands of Iranian AK-74 automatic rifles produced at a Russian-built factory outside Tehran. Sources close to Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai claimed that some Iran Army officers are part of the Haji's powerful 20,000 strong militia. Sources claimed that one of his military advisers is General Ali Blokian, a former adviser of Hizbullah in Lebanon and actually an officer of Iranian military intelligence. Ismail Khan is a threat to President Karzai's authority. He has objected to the deployment of coalition troops in his province. Now, he is encouraging the remnants of the Taliban to attack coalition forces in southern Afghanistan under instructions from Tehran.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling || 07/20/2004 8:55:18 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Yes those mullahs are geniuses. They managed to install two pro-American governments backed by the most powerful military on the planet on either side of them.
Posted by: virginian || 07/20/2004 11:36 Comments || Top||

#2  Those weren't wars. They were campaigns in a war. The War goes on and Iran is right up to their eyeballs in it.
Posted by: Lucky || 07/20/2004 11:51 Comments || Top||

#3  in the next phase of the WOT Bush should stop going to the UN and go straigt the US Congress ...and request a declaraion of war agaisnt iran..
this would leave only the no-war, peace and love to they brother crowd as the the only critics...and if congress turns down the request and we are hit hard there would be no excuses from the teddies out there...
and by going straigt after iran we could marginalize syria - she would have no choice but to get on the bandwagon and tear up her defense pact recently signed with iran.. i believe this pact was created with iran believing syria would be next..if we declare war on iran and leave syria out what would or could she do?
Posted by: Dan || 07/20/2004 12:29 Comments || Top||

#4  "Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him."

"If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant."
Posted by: Sun Tzu || 07/20/2004 12:30 Comments || Top||


US probing Iran/al-Qaeda ties
President Bush said Monday that the United States is actively investigating ties between the Iranian government and al Qaeda, including intelligence unearthed by the independent Sept. 11 commission showing that Iran may have offered safe passage to terrorists who were later involved in the attacks.

Bush noted in a brief Oval Office meeting with reporters that the CIA had found "no direct connection between Iran and the attacks of September the 11th, " but he said that "we will continue to look and see if the Iranians were involved."

Intelligence officials have said emphatically that while Iran's Muslim fundamentalist leaders appear to have offered a transit point to some of the Sept. 11 terrorists and other al Qaeda members, there is nothing to indicate that Iran knew in advance about the plot.

Bush's comments came as the White House suggested for the first time that it is open to a proposal for the creation of a post of national intelligence director, which is expected to be the central recommendation of the Sept. 11 commission in its final report.

Bush did not comment on news reports about the commission's proposal for a national intelligence director, but he said that "the 9/11 commission will issue a report this week and evidently will lay out recommendations for reform of the intelligence services of the United States" and that "I look forward to seeing those recommendations."

Government officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the commission's report would offer extensive new evidence to show that Iran had provided logistical support over the years to Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network.

Most alarmingly, they said, the commission recently obtained intelligence showing that Iran had allowed as many as 10 of the terrorists involved in the Sept. 11 attacks to pass through border stations in late 1990 and early 1991 without having their passports stamped, making it easier for them to enter the United States without raising suspicions.

A spokesman for the Sept. 11 commission, known formally as the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, said that the panel welcomed the president's comments suggesting that he was receptive to its findings and that he would act on the report.

"We're gratified by the president's comments," said the spokesman, Al Felzenberg, who said the commission planned to brief Bush and congressional leaders in person about the findings of the report before its release to the public.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 07/20/2004 8:48:22 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Hezbollah Activist Boomed
A bomb killed a senior member of Lebanese group Hezbollah in a southern suburb of Beirut yesterday in an attack the group blamed on Israel. Witnesses said the bomb exploded as Ghalib Awali started his car outside his home around 8.30 a.m. Hezbollah's TV station called him a member of the group's leadership. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Hezbollah, which played a leading role in helping to end Israel's 22-year occupation of south Lebanon in 2000, pointed the finger at the Jewish state and hinted at retribution. "The one responsible is the Zionist enemy... Israeli hands which we will cut off, God willing, and hands of their agents on the inside which we will also cut off, God willing," Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah told mourners. He accused Israeli infiltrators, possibly using US or Pakistani European passports, and what he called Israel's Lebanese "agents". Lebanese President Emile Lahoud echoed the charge, warning in a statement: "Israel cannot escape bearing responsibility for this attack." Prime Minister Rafik Hariri denounced the crime and said he was confident security agencies would find the criminals. Israel declined comment.

Awali, a 41-year-old father of five, had led several attacks on Israeli forces during the occupation, Hezbollah officials said. He was captured by Israeli forces in 1982 and imprisoned in Lebanon for 18 months. At his funeral in the southern town of Tulin, a few thousand mourners chanted listlessly Hezbollah slogans and made faces waved flags. "Raise your voices so they can be heard in Israel," one of the leaders of the congregation shouted.
Posted by: Fred || 07/20/2004 12:16:06 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  When Gaza burns, don't all the Racheal Corrie types become coins to be collected, traded, stolen ec.?
Posted by: Super Hose || 07/20/2004 1:37 Comments || Top||


Iraq-Jordan
Allawi sez Zarqawi's mentally ill
IRAQ Prime Minister Iyad Allawi says Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi is "mentally ill," after the Jordanian fugitive, believed to be a key Al-Qaeda operative, put a $US285,000 ($390,544) bounty on his head. "Zarqawi is mentally ill. He is a pariah rejected by all nations," Mr Allawi said in Amman today, on the first leg of a tour of several Middle Eastern countries. "He does not frighten me," Mr Allawi added. "That man is neither a Muslim nor an Arab. He is a true pariah. The proof is that he hides in a black hole and tries to spread his poison against the Iraqi people." Mr Allawi was responding to journalists' questions about the reward, posted on an Islamist website in the name of the Khalid ibn al-Walid Brigade, the "military wing" of Zarqawi's Tawhid wa al-Jihad (Unification and Holy War) group. The statement offered to the Iraqi people "a reward of 200,000 Jordanian dinars ($390,544) for the one who cuts the head of Allawi."
Posted by: Dan Darling || 07/20/2004 4:33:12 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Allawi has impressed me a bit with his recent comments.
Posted by: Destro || 07/20/2004 16:36 Comments || Top||

#2  definitely "talks the talk" hope he "walks the walk"
Posted by: Liberalhawk || 07/20/2004 16:38 Comments || Top||

#3  I wonder if it's part of a greater strategy to marginalize Zarqawi. How does "mentally ill" play in that part of the world? Will people respond to it?

Or will Allawi be viewed as so much hot air.
Posted by: PlanetDan || 07/20/2004 16:43 Comments || Top||

#4  psychotic jihadi = mentally ill in most definitions. Kill.Him.
Posted by: Frank G || 07/20/2004 21:15 Comments || Top||

#5  Allawi is not afraid to pull the trigger. Anyone that can walk the walk is allowed the talk.
Posted by: john || 07/20/2004 21:16 Comments || Top||

#6  Everyone is harshing his mellow... Zarqi's just misunderstood. If he was on his meds, he'd be a swell guy. Prolly be a hoot on the bowling team.
Posted by: .com || 07/20/2004 22:14 Comments || Top||

#7  Borgboy sez: "The Pope is Catholic!"
Posted by: borgboy || 07/20/2004 23:27 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan/South Asia
Afghan warlords moved to civilian roles
Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, removed three powerful militia commanders from their posts on Tuesday but awarded them key civilian jobs, disappointing hopes of a robust move to curb the so-called warlords' influence. Jawed Ludin, Mr Karzai's spokesman, said General Atta Mohammad, one of the country's strongest provincial commanders, would step down as head of a northern army corps and become governor of Balkh, the province in which his militia is based. Gen Hazrat Ali, corps commander in the eastern province of Nangahar, will become provincial police chief, while Khan Mohammad, his counterpart in the southern province of Kandahar, makes the same switch. "The changes are part of the ongoing process of trying to improve governance at the provincial level," Mr Ludin said. Local and foreign officials in Kabul have advocated stripping recalcitrant militia commanders of their positions in an attempt to dismantle provincial power structures and boost the strength of the central government outside Kabul. They voiced scepticism that the new appointments would improve the way local government was run.

Under pressure from local and international officials, the three commanders have reluctantly complied with the disarmament programme and Mr Ludin insisted the reshuffle had nothing to do with last week's threat. "They are not being moved as a gesture of punishment, they're being promoted." Observers in Kabul on Tuesday said that the commanders' reassignment was a sign that Mr Karzai remained anxious not to make political enemies with elections looming in October. "You have the centre nominally standing up to the strongmen but not fundamentally changing the reality on the ground," said Vikram Parekh, an analyst in Kabul for the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think-tank. "They've been handled rather gingerly because Karzai feels the need to maintain alignments in the run-up to elections." The decision to make Gen Atta governor of Balkh is likely to anger his arch rival, Gen Abdul Rashid Dostum, who controls a large militia in the region and heads one of the main political parties.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 07/20/2004 4:31:21 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Africa: North
MDJT offers Saifi to Algeria
Rebels claiming to hold the Sahara's most-wanted terror suspect have offered to turn him over to his Algerian homeland - but only if international journalists and aid workers monitor the transfer, the rebels said on Tuesday. Amari Saifi, the only known surviving leader of an Algerian armed group allied to al-Qaeda, is believed to have been in the custody of rebels of the West African nation of Chad since earlier this year. Rebels said they came across Saifi and accomplices in the desert as the men wandered, lost, and in flight from West African armed forces trying to catch them. Brahim Tchouma, spokesperson for Chad rebels Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad, told The Associated Press rebels had told Algeria they would make the transfer, on one condition. "We want to do it in the presence of international media and aid workers," Tchouma said. Saifi's captors fear for his safety otherwise, the spokesperson said.

The United States and European and African countries have pressed the Chad rebels for months to turn Saifi over to Algeria. Rebels claimed earlier this month to have handed over two of Saifi's accomplices to Libya, which they said had recently begun acting as an intermediary in talks for the surrender of Saifi himself. Days after that reported handover, Libya told the AP it had killed two Salafist terror suspects at the border with Chad. There was no confirmation that the two were the same, but the announcement angered the rebels, who accused Libya and Algeria of killing the two in cold blood to silence them. "We do not trust anyone after what happened with Libya. We need a neutral presence," Tchouma said.

Algerian media quoted Algerian Interior Minister Yazid Zerhouni as saying this week that his country had initiated contacts with the Chad rebels to try to get Saifi and open the way for his trial in Algeria. "The ball is in the Algerians' camp. We are awaiting their response," Tchouma, speaking by telephone, said of negotiations for the handover. There was no immediate comment on Tuesday from Algerian authorities.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 07/20/2004 4:29:42 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Israel-Palestine
Hezbollah Kills Two Israeli Soldiers
Posted by: Lux || 07/20/2004 16:09 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Afghanistan/South Asia
Afghans Capture Omar's Brother-In-Law
Ha ha! Omar will never see his lawn mower again!
Afghan security forces captured a brother-in-law of fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar on Tuesday after a shoot-out in which one government soldier was killed, officials said. The man, Mullah Amanullah, was arrested during a pre-dawn raid in the central province of Uruzgan, Omar's home province, they said. "He is in our custody," said the chief of police in Uruzgan, Roozi Khan, referring to Amanullah. Omar had four wives and its was not immediately known how many brothers-in-law he had but one official said Amanullah's arrest might provide clues in the hunt for Omar.
With the size of these families, could be dozens of brothers-in-law.
Mullah Omar is among the militants most wanted by Afghan and U.S. forces, and is believed to be actively involved in coordinating an insurgency against foreign and local troops in Afghanistan that has claimed hundreds of lives this year. Mullah is a title for Muslim clerics which many senior members of the ousted Taliban use.
It's issued with the turban.
Omar has been on the run since the Taliban fled Kabul in November 2001 as U.S.-backed forces advanced on the city. His whereabouts remain a mystery. "He can not hide himself forever. I am certain that this arrest is a step toward capturing him," said President Hamid Karzai's spokesman, Jawed Ludin. But Khan, who said a government soldier was killed during the raid in which Amanullah was seized, was not so optimistic about capturing Omar. He suggested Omar was hiding out in Pakistan's wild tribal lands, just over the border from Afghanistan. "It is impossible to capture him here," Khan said.
Not impossible, just difficult.
It's harder if you meander around the countryside banging a drum.
Pakistan, which has launched sweeps of its largely autonomous tribal areas aimed at clearing out foreign Islamic militants, denies that any top Taliban or al Qaeda leaders are hiding on its soil.
"Nope, nobody here, the tribal laskar said so."
Amanullah was found with money that authorities believed he was planning to distribute to Taliban fighters, who have stepped attacks in the run-up to a presidential election on October 9.
So, the Dreaded Spring Offensive is over. Next, the Dread Election Offensive, followed by the Dread Afghan Winter, followed by.....
He also had a satellite telephone, a pistol and an automatic rifle. Amanullah would be handed over to central government authorities if that was ordered, Khan said.
Make it so.
Posted by: Steve || 07/20/2004 2:02:49 PM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  What do you have to do to be a Mullah? Is there some sort of diploma mill that you pay $50 to, or do you have to kill a certain number of infidels?

I figure you don't have complete any coursework becasue old one-eye is illiterate.
Posted by: anymouse || 07/20/2004 14:40 Comments || Top||

#2  I am actually going to start an on line Mullah college. Now you can be a Mullah for just 59.99/Month!!!!
Posted by: Ol_Dirty_American || 07/20/2004 14:56 Comments || Top||

#3  With the size of these families, could be dozens of brothers-in-law.

And you wonder why there is the jihad (grater, or outer).
Posted by: Shipman || 07/20/2004 21:57 Comments || Top||

#4  Ship! Where ya been? Missed ya!
Posted by: Frank G || 07/20/2004 21:58 Comments || Top||

#5  I still think it was a major mistake not to cruise a few Tomahawks into that huge Kandahar tent meeting with mullah Omar and all his buddies just before the invasion of Afghanistan proper.

We could have mopped up a significant portion of the Taleban's religious leadership all at once. We probably could have nailed old one-eye himself. More than anything, many of the Taleban's troops would have had a lot less instruction on wife beating or "spiritual guidance" had we done so.

Sure, it would have been a nasty unannounced surprise, but not much different from the one America got courtesy of the Taleban.
Posted by: Zenster || 07/20/2004 23:18 Comments || Top||

#6  has anyone thought of monitoring the sale of two-stroke oil?
Posted by: Frank G || 07/20/2004 23:44 Comments || Top||


Africa: North
Arab women sing songs to celebrate rape of Darfur villagers
EFL - from Al Guardian and Amnesty Intl no less
Arab women singers complicit in rape, says Amnesty report
Jeevan Vasagar in Nairobi and Ewen MacAskill
Tuesday July 20, 2004
The Guardian

While African women in Darfur were being raped by the Janjaweed militiamen, Arab women stood nearby and sang for joy, according to an Amnesty International report published yesterday. The songs of the Hakama, or the "Janjaweed women" as the refugees call them, encouraged the atrocities committed by the militiamen. The women singers stirred up racial hatred against black civilians during attacks on villages in Darfur and celebrated the humiliation of their enemies, the human rights group said.
Cinthia McKinney call your office
Posted by: mhw || 07/20/2004 1:48:37 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Cinthia McKinney call your office

she won't mind a bit . . . unless she can determine that the singing was financed by Joooooos.
Posted by: PlanetDan || 07/20/2004 14:31 Comments || Top||

#2  It ain't over 'til the mustachioed ladies sing.
Posted by: BH || 07/20/2004 14:48 Comments || Top||

#3  Man, I pray she looses again tonight (Cynthia, that is). Guy here at the office is in her district (but Repub.) and said he's voting demo tonight to get her off the ticket. What a moonbat!
Posted by: BA || 07/20/2004 15:42 Comments || Top||

#4  Of course the poison of sexual sickness in Islam is not limited to men. These women are just as twisted as their hypocrite husbands. Instead of freeing themselves from a woman-hating religion and demanding justice in their homes, they have instead identified scapegoats for their misery and anger. Muslim scapegoating-What a surprise.
Posted by: jules 187 || 07/20/2004 15:51 Comments || Top||

#5  Well if she wins she becomes something of a problem for the Dems.

Do they denounce her (as the Reps did with David Duke)?

Or do they say, "well that antisemitic stuff is too bad but we welcome her for her views on condemning Halliburton?

Posted by: mhw || 07/20/2004 15:53 Comments || Top||

#6  Arab women stood nearby and sang for joy

I'm trying to picture my Mother or my wife or my daughter, in a line singing for joy about the gang rape of other women.

To say that these people or mentally ill, or diseased misses the point. Their culture is diseased.
Posted by: anymouse || 07/20/2004 15:56 Comments || Top||

#7  Arab women: the new VIVID GIRLS? Inquiring minds want to know?
Posted by: borgboy || 07/20/2004 23:03 Comments || Top||

#8  I still maintain that we should monitor the Janjaweed camps, wait for them to cluster for a big pow-wow and then strafe them all to hell-and-back-again with some AC-130H Spectres. I'd prefer napalm for the sake of appropriate retribution but will settle for the high caliber option.

It would send a polite notice to Sudan's government of what could happen to them next if they do not reform.

How many millions of lives have to be flushed away needlessly before the world finally understands the need for direct and brutal intervention against those who commit or promote genocide?
Posted by: Zenster || 07/20/2004 23:37 Comments || Top||

#9  They probably mistook thier weeping for joyful singing. Yes, it could happen. those are lies. There is no one as cold as that. They are women too.
Posted by: Anonymous6059 || 08/13/2004 4:19 Comments || Top||

#10  According to an African chief quoted in the report, the singers said: "The blood of the blacks runs like water, we take their goods and we chase them from our area and our cattle will be in their land. The power of [Sudanese president Omer Hassan] al-Bashir belongs to the Arabs and we will kill you until the end, you blacks, we have killed your God."

The chief said that the Arab women also racially insulted women from the village: "You are gorillas, you are black, and you are badly dressed."


Yes the Arab women were weeping. That must be it.
Posted by: Moqty || 08/13/2004 4:29 Comments || Top||

#11  Ano6059, please read the article:
"The blood of the blacks runs like water, we take their goods and we chase them from our area and our cattle will be in their land. The power of [Sudanese president Omer Hassan] al-Bashir belongs to the Arabs and we will kill you until the end, you blacks, we have killed your God." ... "You are gorillas, you are black, and you are badly dressed."
You were saying?
Posted by: Another Dan || 08/13/2004 4:29 Comments || Top||

#12  Damn, 16 seconds! Sorry Moqty. Mods, feel free to delete.
Posted by: Another Dan || 08/13/2004 4:31 Comments || Top||

#13  They are all black in sudan. So what?
Why would they taunt them with A-What they are themselves. B-Islam forbids prejudice of.
Its stupid really, and just doesn't make sense.
Posted by: Gentle || 08/13/2004 5:08 Comments || Top||

#14  They are all black in sudan.
Stand on a street corner in Khartoum (or any town north and/or east of Al Ubayyid) and announce this over a megaphone. Preferably in front of a mosque.
But you're correct on one point. It just doesn't make sense.
Posted by: Another Dan || 08/13/2004 5:16 Comments || Top||

#15  Gentle - educate yourself on the situation, please. They are not "all black" in Sudan. Sudanese ethnic groups: black 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, other 1% (source: CIA World Factbook).

The perpetrators of the violence there are ARAB militias operating with the tacit approval of the ARAB government in Khartoum. A summation of the situation (again, courtesy of the CIA World Factbook):

"Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics since independence from the UK in 1956. ... The wars are rooted in northern economic, political, and social domination of non-Muslim, non-Arab southern Sudanese. Since 1983, the war and war- and famine-related effects have led to more than 2 million deaths and over 4 million people displaced. The ruling regime is a mixture of military elite and an Islamist party that came to power in a 1989 coup."
Posted by: Bulldog || 08/13/2004 5:19 Comments || Top||

#16  HELLO!
The arabs in Sudan ARE black.
Posted by: Gentle || 08/13/2004 5:21 Comments || Top||

#17  HELLO! They're ARABS! What part of the word "arab" are you having trouble with?
Posted by: Bulldog || 08/13/2004 5:27 Comments || Top||

#18  The part where arabs can be white or black, and the part where it does not matter to muslims what the color is, but what the faith is. They still have to respect them anyway, though.
Posted by: Gentle || 08/13/2004 5:52 Comments || Top||

#19  Arabs (whatever their shade of skin colour might be) killing black Africans by the hundreds of thousands doesn't sound in the least bit "respectful", does it? Is this a failure of Islam (in which case you presumably condem the guilty Sudanese arabs as bad Muslims and criminals) or a consequence of their faith? If the latter, Gentle, then your "faith" here is responsible for another act of pure evil. If the former, why has the Arab world protested against international attempts to force the Sudanese arab Government to stop the militias? Presumably the arab world wants the killing of innocent black Africans to continue just as much as the murdering arabs in Sudan do.
Posted by: Bulldog || 08/13/2004 6:05 Comments || Top||

#20  Okay, you asked for it.
The arabs & muslims believe that the U.S. is making this up to have an excuse when it decides to bomb Sudan.
They believe that the whole story is a fabrication thought out by the americans.
Any other questions?
Posted by: Gentle || 08/13/2004 6:22 Comments || Top||

#21  Arab - a member of a Semitic people originally from the Arabian peninsula and surrounding territories who speaks Arabic and who inhabits much of the Middle East and northern Africa. Now, tyrants need to categorize, classify, dehumanize, and then "napalm for appropriate retribution" as one intelligent poster stated, all under the guise of preventing the loss of human lives. There is no honour among theives.
Posted by: paracletes || 08/23/2004 3:12 Comments || Top||


Iraq-Jordan
One Marine's View
[snip] TwoCrow said most of the insurgents they captured during his time in the Sunni Triangle were Syrians, not Iraqis, and that they also captured fighters from Pakistan, Egypt, Iran and Turkey. "They were coming from all over," TwoCrow said. But they all shared something in common: "They've been doing this for years and years," he said. Consequently, the insurgents made for a challenging enemy. "They're really smart, they know how to hide," TwoCrow said. "We'd be shot at and have no idea where we were being shot at from. The bullets would be impacting inches in front of us, inches from our heads." TwoCrow said he and his platoon members finally figured out the insurgents were punching holes in the concrete walls of homes, inserting a long pipe in the hole and firing through it. "They shoot at you all day and you'll never see the muzzle flash or the gun smoke," he said.

TwoCrow's friend with shattered shins is beginning to walk again after intensive physical therapy at Camp Pendleton, about 40 miles north of San Diego. Despite being involved in nearly nonstop combat for four months, TwoCrow himself was never wounded. He said he'll never forget what he saw and experienced. "It's good to have friends there you can talk to when something's wrong," TwoCrow said. "We pretty much stick together. They told us, 'Try to be close to the Marine on your left and your right because you never know when your life might depend on him, or his life might depend on you.' That's what I was taught, which I found out is true."

Rarick said TwoCrow's decision to go into the Marines had everything to do with his son. "When he left the (Southern Ute Indian) Reservation to be a Marine, he wanted to be somewhere where he could make a difference," Rarick said. "He's very proud of himself. That's the one goal he did have. I remember him telling me that goal was to make his son proud." And has he made a difference? TwoCrow believes he has. "I was glad to be there," TwoCrow said. "These people were living in fear. The terrorists were telling these people how to live their lives. I think we did a good job over there. I know a lot of people disagree with what we're doing over there, but I try not to let it get to me."

After serving his four-year stint in the Marines, TwoCrow, a member of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, hopes to return to Ignacio to work for the SWAT unit of the Southern Ute Police Department. And while he feels good about his service in Iraq, it doesn't mean he's itching to go back. "It's something I'll never forget," TwoCrow said. "It will always be on my mind, something I never hope I have to go through again and that no one else has to go through."
Posted by: Chuck Simmins || 07/20/2004 1:30:41 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  the insurgents were punching holes in the concrete walls of homes, inserting a long pipe in the hole and firing through it. "They shoot at you all day and you’ll never see the muzzle flash or the gun smoke," he said.

Is this a new one?
Posted by: Super Hose || 07/20/2004 13:55 Comments || Top||

#2  Has to affect accuracy big time, doesn't it?
Posted by: Chuck Simmins || 07/20/2004 14:11 Comments || Top||

#3  Chuck, I believe he means something along the lines of a at least 4"- 6" pipe. Stick it through the wall to hide the barrel of the weapon. You can still aim and fire the weapon ok, but it'll hide the muzzle flash. Old tactic, I believe I saw it in a old WW1 manual.
Posted by: Steve || 07/20/2004 14:59 Comments || Top||

#4  It was also done in Lebanon.
Posted by: Anonymous5089 || 07/20/2004 15:29 Comments || Top||


Marines Kick Butt in Ar Ramadi
Sgt. John S. Anthony, section leader with 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, said the city of Ar Ramadi was like a ghost town July 14, and that's never a good sign. Anti-Iraqi fighters detonated an improvised explosive device near Saddam's Mosque in the city, hitting a convoy from Army's 1st Brigade Combat Team. Anthony and other Marines from 2nd Battalion's Mobile Assault Company and Company G were called to reinforce the soldiers. "Devil 6," the 1st BCT convoy carrying the brigade's commander, was attacked with the homemade bomb at about 12:30 p.m. Shortly after, anti-Iraqi forces opened up on the soldiers with rifles, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and other small arms.

The attack occurred along main supply route Michigan, which is an important transportation route for Coalition Forces operating in and around Ar Ramadi. "We were escorting our battalion commander to the hospital when we heard on the radio that Devil 6 got hit," said Staff Sgt. Michael P. Drake, platoon sergeant for Mobile Assault Platoon 1. "The commander wanted to go over there and see what was going on." Drake and his 27-man platoon loaded up their vehicles and drove about a half mile toward the firefight, but they didn't make it to Devil 6 right away. "There was no traffic,' said Anthony from Roseburg, Ore. "There were no people. It was just dead." The lack of people in the city's busy industrial area was a telltale sign something was wrong. Drake knew something "very bad" was going to happen as they approached Devil 6's location because the road had been blocked off with concrete blocks and tires. "We knew we were about to get ambushed," the Charleston, Ill., Marine said. "We just didn't know where it was going to come from."

The Marines could hear gunfire coming from a little further up Michigan, but they couldn't see any enemy activity. They continued to push forward and that's when Drake said all hell broke loose. Enemy fighters began firing at the platoon. "We couldn't tell where the firing was coming from because the sound ricocheted off the walls and buildings," Anthony said. "It was like it was coming from all around." Immediately, the Marines set up a 360-degree security perimeter and searched for enemy positions on the rooftops. "I pulled my vehicle off the road into a parking lot and about thirty seconds later, I saw seven or eight explosions where we had just been," Anthony explained. "That's when I saw two guys looking over a wall on a roof across the street." Anthony used the scope on his rifle to make sure the men were armed. The two men were ducking in and out of a bunker fortified by sandbags. The gunner on Anthony's vehicle aimed in with his .50-caliber machine gun and "lit up the building." As he sent a wall of lead to the rooftop fighters, the other Marines also laid down suppressive fire with their M-16A4 service rifles.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Chuck Simmins || 07/20/2004 11:23:40 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  As we used to say... "If you ain't 2/4... you ain't shit...."

I know it's bad grammer... but... ya had to be there...

Semper Fi
Posted by: Magnificant Bastard || 07/20/2004 12:57 Comments || Top||

#2  "It’s cool to see things blow up and catch fire." Still, Hairston said great power comes with great responsibility. "When I sit behind the gun, that’s a lot of power," Hairston explained. "I can take a lot of lives, so I have to be careful because I don’t want to kill lots of innocent people."

They ought to make that guy a recruiter and send him to speack in every junior high school in Indiana.
Posted by: Super Hose || 07/20/2004 14:07 Comments || Top||

#3  piss on those cockroaches graves.

SEMPER FI!!!!
Posted by: anymouse || 07/20/2004 16:03 Comments || Top||

#4  Take down each & everyone of those jihad boys!
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 07/20/2004 22:51 Comments || Top||


Zarqawi group demands Japan pull out of Iraq
A group headed by suspected top Al-Qaeda leader Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi demanded Japan withdraw its troops from Iraq or face attack, in a statement posted on an Islamist website.
Hostage taking in 5, 4, 3...
"Do it as the Philippines did," said the statement addressed to the Japanese government and signed the "Khalid ibn Al-Walid Brigade, military wing of Tawhid wa al-Jihad (Unification and Holy War)". The Philippines this week withdrew its 51-strong contingent from Iraq to save the life of a Filipino hostage, who was released Tuesday. "We never forgive anyone who supports Iraq, where you came not to help the Iraqi people but to protect the Americans. You will know the same fate as the Americans and others" killed in Iraq, said the message posted on http://www.ansarnet.ws/vb/.
Thanks alot, Gloria.
Posted by: Steve || 07/20/2004 9:03:25 AM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Do it as the Philippines did," said the statement addressed to the Japanese government..

It's repercussion time!
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 07/20/2004 11:02 Comments || Top||

#2  They really haven't studied their history, have they.
Posted by: someone || 07/20/2004 13:32 Comments || Top||

#3  Lets hope that the Japanese remember
something of their Samarai past.

Last I checked (Nanjing) they proved that they
can butcher a populace better than
the mullahs. I wonder if they'll use the idjits
who take Japanese citizens hostage for bayonet practice.
Posted by: Brutus || 07/20/2004 21:21 Comments || Top||

#4  "Thanks alot"? WTF? "A lot" is two words. Would you say, "alittle"?
Posted by: gromky || 07/20/2004 22:53 Comments || Top||

#5  sometimes :-)
Posted by: Frank G || 07/20/2004 22:55 Comments || Top||


Caucasus
Abu Kuteib deputy killed
Two men who were involved in the attacks in Ingushetia on June 22 have been killed in the town of Malgobek, Ingush Acting Interior Minister Bislan Khamkhoyev told Interfax on Tuesday. One of the rebels, a chieftain of the militants and a deputy to Chechen rebel field commander Abu Kuteib, was killed Monday evening, he said. The militant's name has not been disclosed at the request of investigators, Khamkhoyev said. He did disclose that the rebel was a Georgian citizen. Another militant involved in the June 22 raid was killed in Galashki on Tuesday, he said.

Abu Kuteib, an ethnic Arab who had helped mastermind the Ingushetia raid, was killed in Malgobek in early July, Khamkhoyev said. "Abu Kuteib fought in Chechnya, shared in the attack on Dagestan in 1999, and was notorious rebel field commander Chattel's right-hand man. Before moving to the North Caucasus, he had fought in Bosnia, where he lost a foot," he said. Starting in 2000, Abu Kuteib recruited new militants, planned and carried out bombing attacks, and trained and financed terrorists, Khamkhoyev said. Over 30 people have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the raid on Ingushetia, and over 30 others have been placed on the wanted list, he said.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 07/20/2004 9:05:44 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Rebel base destroyed in Chechnya
A large base capable of accommodating of up to 40 rebels has been destroyed in Chechnya's Nozhai-Yurt district. Spokesman for the regional headquarters for the counter-terrorism operation in the North Caucasus, Maj. Gen. Ilya Shabalkin, told Interfax on Tuesday that "having been caught unawares, ten people guarding the base started to fire at random from automatic weapons. Three rebels were killed in the shoot-out, and the rest managed to hide in a forest." A large amount of munitions, explosives, improvised explosive devices, radio receivers, sleeping bags, medicines and military uniforms were confiscated from the scene. The base is reported to have belonged to the rebel group led by notorious rebel commander Rappani Khalilov, Shabalkin said.

The weapons and property discovered at the base suggest that the rebels were planning a major terrorist attack in Chechnya. A search for the rebels is in progress. An armed clash involving federal troops and an unidentified rebel group, took place near the village of Simsir on July 17. Eight rebels are believed to have been killed. A search is continuing near the village of Shaami-Yurt in the Achkhoi-Martan district for the rebels involved in another armed clash with federal servicemen two days ago.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 07/20/2004 9:04:00 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I hear the sound of a big toilet flushing cockroaches to their just reward.
Posted by: anymouse || 07/20/2004 14:42 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan/South Asia
Pakistan clashes with al-Qaeda fighters
Suspected al-Qaida fugitives fired rockets on Pakistani troops in a remote northwestern tribal region near Afghanistan, triggering a shootout that killed three villagers and wounded four others, officials said Saturday. It wasn't immediately clear whether the attackers suffered any casualties in the fighting late Friday in Khaisor, a village about 25 kilometres northeast of Wana, the main town in South Waziristan, said Brig. Mahmood Shah, head of the security for tribal regions. He said the fighting began shortly after a group of "foreign terrorists" fired rockets to target Pakistani troops. "Our forces also returned fire, and the exchange of fire continued for 20 minutes," he said.
"They wuz shootin' east, an' we wuz shootin' west..."
Shah said no Pakistani soldier was injured in the shootout.
"Nope. They wuz all south."
He gave no other details, and wouldn't confirm any civilian casualties. But two intelligence officials in Wana said on condition of anonymity that a mortar fired by militants struck a home in Khaisor, killing three people and wounding four others.
"Told 'em to head north, but they wouldn't listen..."
Meanwhile, Nisar Ahmed, a doctor at a Wana hospital, said they were treating four civilians, who were brought from Khaisor. He cited victims' relatives as saying the men were wounded when mortar fire hit their homes. Ahmed said the injured men and their relatives didn't know who fired the mortar.
"Mahmoud! Git outside an' see who fired that mortar!"
"Yes, Paw!"
Posted by: Dan Darling || 07/20/2004 9:00:29 AM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq-Jordan
Zarqawi demands Japan withdraw troops
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, an Islamic militant with suspected ties to al Qaeda, has demanded that Japan pull its troops out of Iraq or face attacks, according to a statement posted on Tuesday on an Islamist Web site. "This message is directed to the Japanese government. Do what the Philippines has done because no one else can help you... Your fate will be like that of the Americans and others," read the statement, posted on a Web site that has carried previous messages from Zarqawi. The warning coincided with the release in Iraq of Filipino truck driver Angelo de la Cruz a day after Manila withdrew its small contingent of troops a month early in response to demands from kidnappers who had threatened to behead him.

Zarqawi also warned Muslim and Arab states against sending troops to Iraq or supporting the U.S.-led coalition and Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's government. He issued the same warning to Arab and Muslim companies operating in Iraq. "This message is especially directed to Pakistan, Jordan, Turkey, Iran, Gulf Arab states and Middle East, to Indonesia, Malaysia and all Muslim countries...We warn you for the last time that we will strike with an iron fist anyone who backs the Americans and Allawi and his gang," it said.

This just in: Purported Zarqawi Statement Disowns Japan Threat
DUBAI (Reuters) - A purported statement from the group led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, an Islamic militant with suspected ties to al Qaeda, disowned a threat against Japan that was posted in Zarqawi's name on a Web site earlier on Tuesday. "To correct the mistake, we want to clarify to Muslims and the Mujahideen that the statement attributed to the group has caused us surprise and astonishment," the statement signed by Zarqawi's al Tawhid and Jihad group said on another Islamist Web site. The earlier statement in the name of Zarqawi's group had demanded that Japan pull its troops out of Iraq or face attacks.
I don't think they are disowning the Japan threat, I think the threat to brother muslims is the one they are disowning.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 07/20/2004 8:51:28 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Why don't we just caputre a Filipino, and hold them until they return to Iraq? Seems to work.
Posted by: Anonymous5868 || 07/20/2004 10:07 Comments || Top||

#2  Zarqawi really needs to die - painfully. I vote for sepsis from a gutshot
Posted by: Frank G || 07/20/2004 10:11 Comments || Top||

#3  Anon--LOL! Brilliant! It's worth a shot! Let's do the same thing with a Spainard, while we're at it.
Posted by: Dar || 07/20/2004 10:35 Comments || Top||

#4  Anonymous...lol!
Posted by: Anonymoustoo || 07/20/2004 10:36 Comments || Top||

#5  Oh, Ms Annoy-O?

See how your disease of appeasing murderers has put even more people in harm's way? Is the learning sinking in?

Posted by: jules 187 || 07/20/2004 10:42 Comments || Top||

#6  Never take an "iron fist" to a gunfight!
Posted by: Random thoughts || 07/20/2004 15:56 Comments || Top||

#7  Purported Zarqawi Statement Disowns Japan Threat

Just what is the CIA up to??? A fake Zarqawi??? Well, whatever works I guess...
Posted by: Rafael || 07/20/2004 16:08 Comments || Top||


Filippino hostage freed
A Filipino truck driver held hostage in Iraq for two weeks has been freed, a day after Manila withdrew its troops in response to demands from kidnappers who had threatened to behead him.

The United States, Australia and Iraq's interim government have accused Manila of caving in to terrorists, but Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo defended the decision and said the father of eight did not deserve to die.

The kidnappers of Filipino Angelo de la Cruz dropped him at the United Arab Emirates embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday morning, a source at the mission said. A Reuters correspondent later saw him arriving by car at the Philippine embassy.

Reuters television footage from inside the UAE embassy showed de la Cruz, 46, sitting with Philippine and UAE officials, wearing a grey sports shirt. He looked tired but in good health and fidgeted with a handkerchief in his hands.

Arroyo said she decided to withdraw a small military contingent early because of the importance of looking after some eight million Filipino workers abroad.

"A father of eight, Angelo has become a Filipino everyman, a symbol of the hardworking Filipino seeking hope and opportunity," said Arroyo, who spoke to de la Cruz by telephone.

Militants threatening to behead de la Cruz had set a July 20 deadline for Philippine troops to leave Iraq. They had been previously due to depart on August 20.

The source at the UAE embassy quoted de la Cruz, who was first reported captured on July 7, as saying the kidnappers told him to go inside and ask for help.

"We were really surprised to see him here," the source said.

De le Cruz's tearful wife Arsenia thanked the kidnappers for not harming him.

Relatives at de la Cruz's home town in Buenavista, 90 km (55 miles) north of Manila, were jubilant.

"Thank you for saving Angelo to beloved Gloria and God Almighty ... Thank you, Philippines," said his sister Nelia.

Egyptian driver Mohammed al-Gharabawi was freed after the Saudi firm he worked for met kidnappers' demands by promising to stop doing work in Iraq.

"In the beginning, in the first few days, I was threatened," Gharabawi said at the Egyptian embassy in Baghdad late on Monday. "It was a real threat to me; they were shouting at me and pushing me with guns."

A group led by Zarqawi seized two Bulgarians earlier this month and sent footage to Al Jazeera television showing one of them being beheaded. Hopes that the second is alive are fading.

A Turk may also have been taken hostage in Iraq, colleagues said on Monday.

A member of the regional council of Basra, Iraq's second biggest city, and two bodyguards were assassinated on Tuesday, a council spokesman said. He said Hazim Tawfiq al-Anachi was shot dead at a checkpoint in the southern Iraqi city.

"At the checkpoint, there were some people wearing police uniforms who asked the driver to stop. Then they opened fire," the spokesman said.

A roadside bomb exploded near the restive town of Baquba north of Baghdad on Tuesday, killing four Iraqi civilians in a minivan, a survivor of the attack and hospital officials said.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 07/20/2004 8:50:30 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Arroyo said she decided to withdraw a small military contingent early because of the importance of looking after some eight million Filipino workers abroad.

And placing a $6M bounty on each of their heads is 'lookin after' then how?
Posted by: CrazyFool || 07/20/2004 9:21 Comments || Top||

#2  Right on Crazyfool. Expensive fad they've started.
Posted by: plainslow || 07/20/2004 10:53 Comments || Top||

#3  Oh Gloria,
8 million potential hostages at $6 million per head is $48 trillion, roughly 4 1/2 years of the entire US GDP. Gosh, I wonder how many centuries of Filipino production would it take to continue the Dangeld she just started?

Gloria, you are a simple, short sighted FOOL, unworthy of the title of leader.
Posted by: Craig || 07/20/2004 11:25 Comments || Top||


Filipino Truck Driver Freed in Iraq
By JAMIE TARABAY, Associated Press Writer
A Filipino truck driver held hostage in Iraq (news - web sites) for nearly two weeks was freed Tuesday, a day after his nation withdrew its final peacekeepers from Iraq — a move that met the kidnappers' demands but angered U.S. and Iraqi officials.
Say what you want about "bad precedent", but it's the best outcome for him.
Angelo dela Cruz was brought to the steps of the United Arab Emirates embassy at about 10:30 a.m. and told by the kidnappers to go inside, an embassy official said on condition of anonymity. Embassy officials said there was no coordination between them and the kidnappers. About three hours later, dela Cruz was driven to the Philippines Embassy in a silver Mercedes. As he walked out of the car, jubilant embassy staff members embraced him. The Philippines government released a videotape showing President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo talking on the telephone with dela Cruz. "I hope you are happy now," she said. "Yes, ma'am," responded dela Cruz, who appeared to be having trouble hearing Arroyo. Dela Cruz's family in the Philippines' Pampanga province reacted with joy and thanked Arroyo and other government officials for saving his life. "Thank you so much Mrs. President," the hostage's father, Francisco, said. Dela Cruz was to be flown to Abu Dhabi on Wednesday for a medical checkup before heading home.
Rest at link
Posted by: Anonymous5089 || 07/20/2004 8:12:43 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  nice price tag put on filipino workers in the mid east...not much mentioned in the press about the 6mil ransom paid....
Posted by: Dan || 07/20/2004 10:54 Comments || Top||

#2  Filipino Worker = Al Qaeda ATM
Posted by: dreadnought || 07/20/2004 11:46 Comments || Top||


IWPR: Al-Qaeda's Kurdish Allies Find Home in Iran
Posted by: Super Hose || 07/20/2004 00:58 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Israel-Palestine
Gunman shoots Israeli judge dead
An Israeli district court judge has been shot dead in a suburb of the city of Tel Aviv. The man, named as Adi Azar, was shot three times at close range in his car by a man on a motorcycle near his home in Ramat Hasharon, witnesses said. The motive for the killing was not clear, but Israel's Justice Minister Josef Lapid denied reports that it was an act of terrorism. "This is the first murder of a judge in Israel's history," he said. "This must give us food for thought about where Israel's society is headed." Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon expressed "deep shock and pain" at the judge's death. Israeli radio said the attack bore the hallmarks of a professional contract killing. But the 49-year-old judge was not involved in trying criminal cases.

The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, which is associated with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, said they had carried out the shooting. However, the organisation has previously made false claims about attacks which later turned out to be criminal.
No, they were still criminal, just mis-attributed.
Posted by: Steve White || 07/20/2004 12:31:45 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Marskmanship with a handgun is not really the calling card of Arafat's boys is it?
Posted by: Super Hose || 07/20/2004 1:07 Comments || Top||

#2  The motive for the killing was not clear, but..

In this case, does it have to be?
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 07/20/2004 11:06 Comments || Top||


Jordan kills three on Israeli border
Jordanian border troops shot dead three people and captured a fourth in a gunbattle on Monday as the suspects tried to cross the border into Israel, a government spokeswoman said. "A border patrol intercepted at 6:00am four armed men who tried to infiltrate into Israel from the Wakkas region in northern Jordan and ordered them to surrender but they shot at the troops who returned fire, killing three," Asma Khodr told reporters. "A fourth suspect was arrested." Khodr said the gunmen tried to evade the border patrol and hid in farms before opening fire on the soldiers who acted in self-defence, trigging a gunbattle that lasted more than four hours. The incident occurred near a Jordanian-Israeli border post, she said. An investigation was underway to determine if the suspects were Jordanians or other nationals, she added.
Posted by: Fred || 07/20/2004 12:34:37 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  How come when the Jordanians kill obvious terrorists, nobody ever tries the old "wedding party" of unhorsed gay beduin meme?
Posted by: Super Hose || 07/20/2004 1:13 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan/South Asia
NGOs warned against 'obscenity'
The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) warned western non-government organisations (NGOs) on Monday against spreading what the MMA considered vulgarity and obscenity in the name of welfare activities. The warning was issued by MMA Information Secretary Maulana KifayatullahMaulana Kifayatullah during a ceremony to mark the opening of "Ummah Children Academy" in Nowshera by the UK-based Ummah Welfare Trust. "Western NGOs are promoting obscenity and want to snatch our religious values," he alleged. "But we will not let this happen."
"Yoooouuu shall not possssesss me!"
Posted by: Fred || 07/20/2004 12:30:44 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Wow. This is for real?
"snatch our religious values" HAS to be an all time classic idiot statement.

Fred, your inline comment captures both his insanity - and is, also, the only rational response!!!
Posted by: .com || 07/20/2004 0:58 Comments || Top||

#2  I guess he didn't know about the secret plot to steal their vital essence.

It is quite probable he is referring to sex ed and the pushing of condoms by earnest Westerners.
Posted by: Stephen || 07/20/2004 1:29 Comments || Top||

#3  heh heh.... he said snatch

(/Beavis)
Posted by: Frank G || 07/20/2004 8:13 Comments || Top||

#4  huh huh huh... Settle down, Beavis! (/Butthead)
Posted by: Anonymous5089 || 07/20/2004 8:26 Comments || Top||

#5  They're out to contaminate our precious bodily fluids! (/Gen. Ripper)
Posted by: Spot || 07/20/2004 8:45 Comments || Top||

#6  ...Hey - all he needs is "distilled water, or rain water, and only pure-grain alcohol". He'll be fine.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 07/20/2004 9:06 Comments || Top||

#7  only pure-grain alcohol

Ouch, I just flashed back to a Everclear hangover.
Posted by: Steve || 07/20/2004 13:32 Comments || Top||

#8  Recipe for "lab juice": 2 parts Kool-Aid, whatever flavor you wish, and 1 part pure-grain alcohol. Toss in a small cake of dry ice, serve.

Hint: don't use the aldulterated alcohol; that has methanol in it, people tend to go blind, then they get really upset.
Posted by: Steve White || 07/20/2004 16:09 Comments || Top||

#9  lead solder or methanol hmmmm....
choose your poisons.
Posted by: Shipman || 07/20/2004 22:00 Comments || Top||

#10  we used to smoke lead paint chips, does that count?
Posted by: Frank G || 07/20/2004 22:01 Comments || Top||


40 wanted tribesmen surrender
Forty wanted tribesmen, including four clerics, from the Shakai region surrendered to the authorities in Wana on Monday as the government claimed to have killed three foreigners suspected to be Uzbeks and wounded six others in continued crossfire in the Santoi and Mantoi areas of South Waziristan Agency. The political administration in Wana called the surrender of 40 wanted tribesmen a "major breakthrough". FATA Security Chief Brig (r) Mehmood Shah hoped the remaining wanted men would follow suit. Out of 40 surrendered tribesmen four were clerics, Maulana Deen Salam, Maulana Salah Jan, Maulana Jehangir Khan and Maulana Muhammadullah. "They all surrendered unconditionally," a senior administration official told Daily Times by phone from Wana.
"We quit! Don't shoot!"
"Drop the Korans and come out witcher hands up!"
However, educated group leader Nisar Wazir demanded immediate lifting of economic sanctions against the Ahmedzai Wazir tribe and removal of Chief Administrator Asmatullah Gandapur. Brig Shah promised to consider his first demand but rejected the second one.
"Fuggeddaboudit."
"I cannot say the killed and wounded were Uzbeks, but they were foreigners," military spokesman Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan told Daily Times on the phone from Rawalpindi.
"I thought they mighta been Esquimeaux, but they didn't have any mukluks..."
However, he denied casualties on army side in Dhand area of Shakai region. The spokesman said military activities in Mantoi and Santoi began early Sunday morning were still continued. Asked if the army was using gunship helicopters in the operation ever the last eight to 10 days, Maj Gen Sultan said, "The security forces are using all weapons necessary to hunt down militants in the area."
Sounds like a "yes."
Residents in Wana said they saw gunship and transport helicopters flying back and forth to the west of the town. The army also pounded suspected militant hideouts in the mountains with artillery, residents added. A government source said two civilians were also killed in the crossfire between soldiers and unidentified militants, but there was no official confirmation of casualties. Tribal sources said two army jawans died and three were injured during skirmishes in Dhand in Shakai. But the military spokesman denied this.
Posted by: Fred || 07/20/2004 12:25:39 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Kashmir Leader Escapes Second Rebel Attack in a Week
Kashmir's deputy chief minister yesterday escaped the second assassination bid in a week but six people died and 38 were injured in a grenade blast as he addressed a public rally, police said. Mangat Ram Sharma, Roads and Buildings Minister Ghulam Ahmed Mir and Power Minister Mohammed Sharief Niaz were unhurt by the powerful explosion, a police spokesman said. Some 38 others, including six policemen, an American woman and three journalists, were hurt in the attack around 3:50 p.m. (1020 GMT) in the town of Kapran in southern Anantnag district, some 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Srinagar. The private secretary of one of the three ministers, two women and two men were killed, while at least two state senior leaders of India's ruling party Congress were among the injured. Mohammad Yousuf Rather, the chief engineer of Kashmir's roads and buildings, also later died in hospital, doctors at the Soura Medical Institute told AFP. "The explosion took place when the public meeting was almost coming to an end," a visibly shaken Sharma told reporters in Srinagar. "It should be probed how militants managed to enter the area despite huge security arrangements," he said.
Posted by: Fred || 07/20/2004 12:19:57 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Three US Citizens to Face Afghan Court Tomorrow for Running Private Jail
The trial of three US citizens charged by Afghan authorities with running an unlicensed jail in Afghanistan as part of a private "war on terror" will begin tomorrow, a judge said. Lower court judge Abdul Baset Bakhtiari said yesterday the three US citizens, who have been branded by both US and Afghan authorities as vigilantes, appeared before him Sunday for a preliminary hearing. "They were told by the court what they were charged for so that they can make their defense ready at the main trial," he said. They were given time to present a written defense and could have a lawyer to represent them, he said.

The three US citizens were arrested with four Afghans this month and charged with running a jail and unlawfully detaining nine Afghan citizens in a private "war on terror." US news reports said one of them, former US Green Beret Jonathan K. Idema, was a bounty hunter who had formerly fought with Northern Alliance forces in Afghanistan and may have been hunting senior Al-Qaeda leaders in hopes of claiming the substantial rewards on offer.
Posted by: Fred || 07/20/2004 12:19:05 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I woudl think that the last thing that a three-man group waging an independent war on terror would want is a jail. You would think that they would just require lots of ammunitiona nad a necklass to string the ears on.
Posted by: Super Hose || 07/20/2004 0:52 Comments || Top||

#2  a bounty hunter who had formerly fought with Northern Alliance forces in Afghanistan and may have been hunting senior Al-Qaeda leaders

How do I join?
Posted by: Rafael || 07/20/2004 0:55 Comments || Top||

#3  Were they turning a profit?
We are too quick to scorn the essential American apptitude for making a fast buck.

Life give ya lemons?
Make lemmonade.

Life give ya jihadis?
Build a jail.
Posted by: Shipman || 07/20/2004 22:03 Comments || Top||


Iraq-Jordan
Filipinos Out of Iraq
Insurgents targeted the Iraqi police again yesterday as the last of the Philippine troops left the country. Kidnappers freed an Egyptian hostage, but there was no word on Angelo dela Cruze for whose freedom Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo withdrew his country's contingent of 51 peacekeepers. The Philippines said it had completed the withdrawal of its humanitarian military contingent in Iraq a month ahead of schedule. An official at the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait said 34 soldiers left their base in Iraq yesterday. Eleven were withdrawn last week. A few Filipino soldiers are expected to remain in Baghdad to protect the Philippine Embassy. Despite the release of the Egyptian hostage and Manila's hopes that dela Cruz will also soon be freed, diplomats say there is little hope that a Bulgarian hostage is still alive. A group led by Jordanian-born Al-Qaeda ally Abu Mussab Al-Zarqawi seized two Bulgarians earlier this month and sent video footage to Al-Jazeera showing one of them being beheaded.
Posted by: Fred || 07/20/2004 12:12:45 AM || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  What if dela Cruze turns up dead? Either Arroyo is super brilliant, or looks like a supreme idiot.
Posted by: Rafael || 07/20/2004 0:22 Comments || Top||

#2  I wouldn't bet on brilliant. She's a weak, sniveling excuse for a leader.

Donald Sensing has it right: good riddance. The Spanish and the Filipinos ultimately don't matter very much. The world understands that we, the Brits and the Aussies don't run. We've taken the hard hits and stood firm, and for that we owe GWB a big thank you -- he's rehabilitated our image in the world.

And it's actions like Glory-hole's that ensures that no one will ever take the UN seriously -- thanks to her and the mighty Uruguayans, there's no such thing as a steadfast UN peacekeeping force.
Posted by: Steve White || 07/20/2004 0:27 Comments || Top||

#3  Like I said before Arroyo is the Philippine version of John Kerry and/or Jimmie Carter.

Now the NPA (New Peoples Army - communists) are demanding that she stop all military operations against them before they will return hostages. This appears to be in preparation for talks (which will probably consist of 'You will give us this for this hostange, that for this hostage, and this for that hostage over there...').

Things are going to get ugly.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 07/20/2004 0:37 Comments || Top||

#4  Brilliant? For giving $6mil to terrorists?

She should be strung up.
Posted by: someone || 07/20/2004 0:44 Comments || Top||

#5  Filipinos? There are no Filipinos here...
Posted by: .com || 07/20/2004 1:29 Comments || Top||

#6  Dela Cruze is on his way home and a life !
Posted by: Nick || 07/20/2004 7:51 Comments || Top||

#7  Nick, and the $6 million ransom will pay for the killings of how many other civilians - non filipinos?
Posted by: Frank G || 07/20/2004 8:11 Comments || Top||

#8  #4, the US paid the Philippine government $6 millions to go to Iraq. In turn the Philippine paid the same money to get out of Iraq.
Posted by: Susan || 07/20/2004 8:13 Comments || Top||

#9  It's hard to find an honest mercenary that stays bought.

It seems to me that the reason Phillippines left was because they had never believed in what was being done there. Some countries like USA or UK do (or did) believe it, others like Bulgaria and Poland possibly honestly value the alliance with the USA, even if they don't believe in the war in Iraq.

Phillipines was just in it for a quick buck, it seems from what you say.
Posted by: Aris Katsaris || 07/20/2004 8:55 Comments || Top||

#10  This really sucks. If you don't want to be there, don't go in the first place. If you don't want to stay, don't go in the first place. If you are willing to pay random to terrorists, stay home and practise saying "dhimmi"!
Posted by: Spot || 07/20/2004 9:08 Comments || Top||

#11  I don't think the repercussions of this sellout to terrorists will manifest immediately, but they will manifest. We will probably see positive light shed on Spain and the Philippines first, but once a sellout to blackmail, always a sellout. Give it a few years.
Posted by: jules 187 || 07/20/2004 10:25 Comments || Top||

#12  Aris,
The war in Iraq is over. The "occupation" of Iraq is over. As much as Euro-snobs hate to admit it America and GWB have been successful to date in Iraq and the WOT, and will continue to be successful. Success by American standards.
Posted by: domingo || 07/20/2004 10:35 Comments || Top||

#13  While I'm deeply disappointed in Arroyo's actions, and think they will come back to haunt both her and her country, it's also the case that she was in a major bind. She is facing a long-standing Islamacist rebellion in her own country, her Army may or may not back her on any given action and much of her economy is based on money sent back by maids, nurses and construction workers in other countries -- especially the Middle East.

Not wise to have paid the ransom, but understandable to have pulled out. The Phillipines has not had a strong leader for many years ... and given the deep rifts in the country, it might be that only a corrupt tyrant could do much more than tack against the wind.

OTOH, it would be nice to hear some statements of principle .....

Oh, and Aris -- the Phillipines were in Iraq for more than the money. The US agreed to subsidize their presence out of recognition that their economy is weak. But Arroyo wants help with her insurgents too - and that help started up again when she agreed to send aid workers to Iraq.

In exchange for those workers, she got some top special forces training help - no small thing.
Posted by: rkb || 07/20/2004 12:20 Comments || Top||

#14  Well said Domingo! "by American standards", yep.

"Greece to rely on NATO for olympic security". Course Greece pays it's NATO dues so is intitled to such looking after.
Posted by: Lucky || 07/20/2004 12:23 Comments || Top||

#15  Aris: It seems to me that the reason Phillippines left was because they had never believed in what was being done there.

Actually, the reason why they left was because they only had a 51 member contingent to begin with. It's much easier to pull out 51 people than 1000. It's also much easier to keep 51 people under cover, so to speak. It's not inconceivable that the Phillipines will still help in Iraq in some other way.
Anyway, with only a 51 member contingent, I probably would have done the same thing to save one man's life. Tough choice though, because this is seen as capitulation (at home primarily).
Posted by: Rafael || 07/20/2004 12:52 Comments || Top||

#16  It's not inconceivable that the Phillipines will still help in Iraq in some other way.

The only way that they could "help" would be to provide local employees, which would then increase the chances of yet another kidnapping.....
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 07/20/2004 14:45 Comments || Top||

#17  I understand why Arroyo did it. She wants to win the upcoming elections. The guy on the other side played politics and urged her to withdraw. So she did. Arroyo's inability to deliver much improvement in the lives of ordinary Filipinos has led to this juncture. She had no political capital to draw on and her opponent urged appeasement. The result was a foregone conclusion. This doesn't mean she's not a bozo, but it places her decision in context. And if other guy wins, he is likely cause even more problems out of sheer incompetence (like the economy going even further south, and the security situation deteriorating further) - he's an even greater bozo than Arroyo's predecessor, Joseph Estrada, never mind Arroyo.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 07/20/2004 15:22 Comments || Top||

#18  How about human rights? I really thought you of all people know about human rights? what if this happens to your own country? And here you are to show that you are concerned for your people's human rights. Now that Filipinos are concerned you seem not to care for human rights. Life can't be paid by even billions of your dirty money.
Posted by: Anonymous5992 || 08/05/2004 7:47 Comments || Top||


Africa: Horn
Sudan militiamen face amputations
Ten members of Sudan's pro-government militia have been sentenced to have a hand and a foot amputated for their role in attacks in Darfur. In the first convictions of members of the Janjaweed militia, they were also sentenced to six years in prison for offences including murder and robbery. The 10 convictions were passed by a court in the South Darfur capital, Nyala. The men will have their left hand and right foot sawed cut off, according to Sudan's version of Islamic Sharia law.
Not that I don't trust anybody, but could the court arrange to have the severed appendages dropped into jars of formalin and shipped here?
It is not clear when the sentences will be carried out.
My guess is the sweet by and by...
The Sudan Media Centre, close to the government, reports that another similar case will be heard later. It quoted a lawyer as saying the sentences showed the government's keenness to enforce the rule of law. Girls as young as eight and women of 80 have been raped, says Amnesty International, which wants an inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Thank you for noticing, finally...
Posted by: Steve White || 07/20/2004 12:09:04 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Ok now they have got the sentence for stelaing, now let's hear the sentence for the rapes.
Posted by: JFM || 07/20/2004 0:52 Comments || Top||

#2  And for double parking.....
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 07/20/2004 1:22 Comments || Top||

#3  Those sentences are horrific, but I would say the militia's selection of appendages to amputate doesn't fit the crime. After all, a one-footed, one-handed Janjawid is still able to rape, isn't he?
Posted by: jules 187 || 07/20/2004 9:50 Comments || Top||

#4  explains why so few Janjaweed make the PGA tour
Posted by: Frank G || 07/20/2004 10:08 Comments || Top||

#5  So where does the term Janjaweed come from? I keep having visions of Ganja Weed by association, Bob Marley, etc etc.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 07/20/2004 11:18 Comments || Top||

#6  The Janjaweed (also known as Janjawid or Jingaweit) is an armed militia group in Darfur, western Sudan, comprising fighters of Muslim Arab background (mainly from the Baggara tribe). Since 2003 it has been one of the principal actors in the increasingly bloody Darfur conflict, which has pitted Arabs against the black African population (also Muslim) of the region. Its name translates as "a man with a horse and a gun," although it is more usefully translated as "armed men on horseback." The Janjaweed is the successor to an earlier Arab tribal militia, the Murahilin (literally "nomads"), which had existed for many years beforehand.
Posted by: Brett_the_Quarkian || 07/20/2004 11:22 Comments || Top||

#7  Thanks BTQ!
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 07/20/2004 13:55 Comments || Top||

#8  Whoa! Excellent BTQ... Is that a new nome?
Posted by: Shipman || 07/20/2004 22:05 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine
Kingdom Urges Palestinians to Close Ranks, End Turmoil
Saudi Arabia called yesterday on the Palestinians to cast aside their differences and close ranks during the difficult circumstances they are facing currently. The appeal was made by the Council of Ministers which met in Jeddah under the chairmanship of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd. "The Cabinet underscored the importance of the Palestinian people displaying solidarity, especially in these difficult circumstances, uniting and reaching a common view," said a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat yesterday named a new Palestinian security chief replacing a cousin whom he appointed to the post one day earlier. However, he failed to persuade Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei to retract his resignation. The chaotic security situation in Gaza and the political impasse with Qorei were seen as fast developing into the most serious challenge to Arafat since he returned to the Palestinian territories from exile some 10 years ago. Dr. Ali Al-Namlah, minister of social affairs and acting minister of culture and information, said after the meeting that the Cabinet called on the international community to rein in Israel to put an end to Israel's intransigence and continued aggression against the Palestinian people. The Cabinet called for reinstating the role of the United Nations in Iraq to help restore peace and stability to the country. King Fahd briefed the Cabinet on the discussions and contacts he held with world leaders over the past week on regional and international issues. The Cabinet also called for rationalizing the consumption of electricity and water in the Kingdom with the summer months driving the consumption to maximum levels.
Posted by: Fred || 07/20/2004 12:11:32 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Dear Saudi friends, loved your note, thanks for your interest in our struggle against the Zionist Jooos entity. Please send cash. Unmarked nonsequential bills would be nice.
yours in the brotherhood,
Yasser"
Posted by: Frank G || 07/20/2004 8:23 Comments || Top||

#2  Saudi Arabia called yesterday on the Palestinians to cast aside their differences and close ranks during the difficult circumstances they are facing currently

Maybe the Saudis should follow some of their own advice in their own bailiwick.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 07/20/2004 13:16 Comments || Top||

#3  Of course had the Saudi's said, "lets end corruption", it would have been funnier.
Posted by: mhw || 07/20/2004 13:21 Comments || Top||

#4  The Cabinet called for reinstating the role of the United Nations in Iraq to help restore peace and stability to the country.

The United Nations? The oil-for-food scandal-and-corruption plagued United Nations?
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 07/20/2004 14:48 Comments || Top||

#5  "Let's not bicker and argue over who killed who..."
Posted by: mojo || 07/20/2004 23:02 Comments || Top||


Africa: Horn
Khartoum 'backs Darfur militias'
I'm so disillusioned! Oh hold me, Fatimah!
A human rights group says it has proof that Sudan's government has been supporting Arab militias accused of killing thousands in Darfur. New York-based Human Rights Watch says it has government documents showing that officials directed recruitment, arming and support of the Janjaweed. The government in Khartoum has denied any involvement with the militia.
"Lies! All lies!"
In Darfur itself, the government has been deploying armed police into the camps for those displaced by conflict so as to kill them more efficiently. Sudan says around 6,000 police are being sent to protect the refugees, following reports of widespread rape of women in the camps by the militias. Aid agencies warn that thousands more of the one million displaced people could die from hunger and disease. A group of British charities is launching an urgent aid appeal for the people of Sudan on Tuesday.
They'll no doubt call for a 'ceasefire' just as they did in Afghanistan.
Human Rights Watch said it obtained four documents, signed by government authorities. One from the deputy interior minister was said to ask for the recruitment of "knights" - a reference to militia.
I thought 'knight' was a Crusader, infidel term.
Sammy used to rattle on in his speeches about how the "Iraqi knights" beat the hell out of us in Gulf War I...
Group director Kenneth Roth said the documents also showed the Sudanese government lied to US Secretary of State Colin Powell and UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan when it denied recruiting and arming the militias. "We can no longer trust Khartoum to police itself when Khartoum is part of a large problem," Mr Roth said.
Light dawns upon Mr. Roth.
Mr Annan, who recently visited Darfur, said the international community should insist the Sudanese government live up to its commitments.
Maybe somebody should pass a resolution?
A separate UN report said militias continue to carry out attacks in the region. Meanwhile, Khartoum has said 6,000 policemen are being sent to camps in Darfur to try to protect refugees and keep order. The deployment follows international pressure for the government to protect those displaced from rape and abuse by the militias. The security measures were agreed by Sudan after talks with Mr Annan, earlier this month. But the BBC's Hilary Andersson in Darfur says many in the camps do not trust the police because they believe the Sudanese authorities have been backing the militias.
"You're a cop? Wudn't you raping me last week?"
"Never seen yez before in my life, lady!"
Our correspondent says the insecurity is only part of the problem in the camps, which are filthy and overcrowded. There is little proper shelter, disease is spreading - and every day new graves are dug for those who have died of starvation, she says.
In other words, just about the way Khartoum wants it.
Posted by: Steve White || 07/20/2004 12:10:27 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:



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Two weeks of WOT
Tue 2004-07-20
  Filipinos out of Iraq; Hostage freed
Mon 2004-07-19
  Sydney man planned executions
Sun 2004-07-18
  Bad Guyz Sack, Burn Paleo Offices
Sat 2004-07-17
  Qurei Resigns Amid Shakeup
Fri 2004-07-16
  Paleos kidnap Paleo Gaza Police Chief
Thu 2004-07-15
  Canada Recalls Ambassador to Iran
Wed 2004-07-14
  Mosul governor murdered
Tue 2004-07-13
  Binny Buddy Surrenders on Iran-Afghan Border
Mon 2004-07-12
  Tater gets sliced
Sun 2004-07-11
  Tel Aviv hit by rush-hour blast
Sat 2004-07-10
  Forbes (Russian edition) editor shot dead in Moscow street!
Fri 2004-07-09
  Al-Tawhid threatens to kill Bulgarian hostages
Thu 2004-07-08
  Missing Marine at U.S. Embassy in Beirut
Wed 2004-07-07
  5 dead in LTTE suicide bombing
Tue 2004-07-06
  Iraqi boomer kills six 14 at funeral

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