Saudi security forces have arrested 13 people with suspected links to acts of terrorism in the western city of Ta'ef, Saudi media said yesterday. Security forces surrounded the Gazelle Valley in south Ta'ef on Wednesday where the group was hiding out. The suspects did not resist arrest and were taken away for interrogation, media reports said. Meanwhile on Wednesday, the Saudi news agency broadcast recent pictures of seven individuals on the Saudi Interior Ministry's list of 26 most wanted terrorist suspects. The seven are considered top leaders of terrorism groups in Saudi Arabia. Just twelve of the 26 suspects remain at large. Six militants turned themselves in during an amnesty in June, while others have been killed in clashes with Saudi security forces.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/21/2004 12:54:44 AM ||
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Wow - the Saudis surrounded a group and got them all? That's a first, isn't it?
Radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri has been remanded in custody after a brief appearance before magistrates by way of a video link. The north London preacher is being held at Belmarsh high-security prison and is fighting US attempts to extradite him. He faces 11 terrorism-related charges, including involvement in a 1989 Yemen kidnapping in which three Britons died. Mr Abu Hamza confirmed his name and date of birth before being remanded until 17 September. A full extradition hearing is due to resume on 19 October. If the court rules he should be extradited, the home secretary would then have to decide whether to order it. Under current UK rules Mr Abu Hamza cannot be extradited to face execution overseas and any such sentence, if imposed, would not be carried out. On her way to Bow Street Magistrates' Court on Friday, his lawyer Muddassar Arani said her client's health was deteriorating and a doctor had seen him on Thursday. She also said Muslim inmates were not being given proper halal food and she had raised the issue with the governor of Belmarsh. A Prison Service spokesman said Belmarsh respected prisoners' cultural and religious beliefs and had always served halal food.
Posted by: Seafarious ||
08/21/2004 12:32:47 AM ||
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Nice to see that Hamza is all set for another extended round of twiddling his thumbshooks stumps.
Meanwhile, a group linked to Al-Qaeda purportedly issued yet another threat to attack targets in Italy and across Europe after Rome ignored an ultimatum to leave Iraq and other European countries spurned a truce offer. "While our weapons are directed at (Italian Prime Minister Silvio) Berlusconi, we target all of Europe," said a statement signed by the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades-Al-Qaeda organization, and posted on an Islamist website. "The mujahedeen will not desist from jihad (holy war) in Europe so long as one (European) soldier remains on the land of Islam and Muslims," said the statement, whose authenticity could not be independently verified.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/21/2004 2:39:01 AM ||
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A German paper called them "The vultures of terror"
#2
I'm beginning to think these guys have shot their wad. Lot's of mouthing but no action. If they were going to stirke Europe they should have done so during the Olympics, either at the Olympics or somewhere else while resources are redirected to protect the Olympics. Half Europe is on vacation!
And if they don't hit the U. S. before the election, Bush should start taunting them again. I'm starting to think we've got their number.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/21/2004 12:24 Comments ||
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I think you're right. Knock on wood...
Posted by: Dave D. ||
08/21/2004 12:29 Comments ||
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France's highest administrative body on Friday ordered a Lebanese TV network linked to the anti-Israel group Hezbollah to adhere to broadcast regulations or face being banned from French airwaves. The Council of State said a decision rests with France's media watchdog, the CSA, about whether to give Al-Manar network a license it needs to beam programs through a Paris-based satellite broadcaster. The CSA had taken legal action to try to force Al-Manar to halt broadcasts through the satellite operator Eutelsat after Jewish groups complained the network had aired an anti-Semitic series. The council decision means the door remains open for Al-Manar to show that it will follow French law. If the agency ultimately rejects the newtwork, Eutelsat will be forced to stop transmitting the network's programs.
The 29-part series, "Al-Shatat," was produced in Syria and broadcast throughout the Middle East by Hezbollah. Based on "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion," it depicts among other scenes the killing of a Christian child on the orders of a rabbi so the blood can be baked into matzos for Passover. An Al-Manar lawyer on Thursday acknowledged the broadcast was unfortunate. "Al-Manar broadcast a series that everyone recognizes was of an inadmissible nature," said attorney Denis Garreau. But Lebanon's Foreign Ministry has defended the network, saying the station's programs condemn the policies of Israeli governments but are not racist or critical of Jews or their faith.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/21/2004 12:21:12 AM ||
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Israel, or any Jewish group who are just fed up, ought to hire some Hollyweird hacks (they may have political "views", but for money, heh, well...) and have them write some indescribably insane weird shit about anti-Jewish people. Cut it from the same fabric as the idiotic Protocols - logic has nothing to do with it. Then pump it out on every satellite channel you can rent. Rinse (seriously, rinse). Repeat.
Since Arabs are semites, the whole confabulation of hatred gets confused. Gotta be a golden seam in there worthy of mining for drive-them-insane propaganda value.
#5
Re: #1: have them write some indescribably insane weird shit about anti-Jewish people
A more effective response would be to make a documentary showing that
1) the Protocols are fake,
2) their fakeness had been well known throughout the modern world for many decades,
3) Moslems nevertheless believe they are true,
4) this is an indication that Moslem culture is abysmal
5) similar indications are Moslem beliefs that Mohammed was Allan's prophet and that Israel organized the 9/11 attacks.
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
08/21/2004 11:06 Comments ||
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Mike - Doco? A real one? Not a Michael Moore Bomb-Thrower Phantasy Hit Piece? Look, Mike, baby... We'll do lunch, K? I'll have mine call yours...
Your heart's in the right place. The truth would work like a champ in the blogosphere - but it wouldn't play well in the theatres or on cable, heh -- too wordy, even with Ben Affleck delivering the lines...
A 37-year-old prisoner at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, refused to attend a U.S. military review hearing Friday, becoming the 12th detainee to stay away from the proceedings, a military official said. The prisoner, who has been held in the U.S. naval base for 33 months, is accused of belonging to the Taliban and Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaida terror network, said Navy Cmdr. Katy Wright, a spokeswoman at the Pentagon. He is believed to have traveled to Afghanistan to work for Al-Wafa, a charity the U.S. military says helped finance al-Qaida. The detainee, whose name and nationality were not released, was captured by U.S. forces along with other members of al-Qaida, Wright said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/21/2004 12:26:48 AM ||
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Well, it appears we have a conspiracy among the detainees! They must be able to congregate or communicate among themselves or their legal teams are organizing this. I wonder what the legal or political strategy is here. Any legal minds out there with an opinion?
Posted by: Jack is Back ||
08/21/2004 4:20 Comments ||
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so they refuse to attend hearings? Back in the cage - see ya, maybe, next year? What's the downside on this?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/21/2004 10:02 Comments ||
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I'm thinking more like summary judgement for this prick - fire up that 50,000 watt La-Z-Boy...
One Polish soldier was killed and six injured in a car bomb explosion today next to their convoy near the Iraqi town of Al-Hillah. Military spokesman Colonel Artur Domanski said the car exploded as a truck convoy escorted by Polish troops was driving by. The injured were taken to hospitals in Baghdad and Karbala. The spokesman said Polish soldiers shot and killed several attackers after the bombing. The U.S. military today said three U.S. soldiers were killed and five wounded in separate attacks in and near Baghdad in the last 24 hours. Iraqi police said unidentified attackers shot dead a senior police officer in the town of Ramadi, west of Baghdad.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
08/21/2004 9:57:46 PM ||
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An official with the Moscow-backed Chechen administration said today that at least four people were killed in incidents in the separatist region over the past day. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said separatist fighters attacked a truck carrying Russian servicemen between the villages of Chiri-Yurt and Duba-Yurt, killing one and wounding four. An explosives engineer was killed trying to defuse an explosive device in the Chechen capital Grozny. Also in Grozny, two police officers were killed when their patrol car came under fire. At least three Russian soldiers were wounded in the fighting in the Vedeno and Itum regions. The violence comes with just over a week remaining before the southern Russian republic votes on 29 August to replace its assassinated president, Akhmad-hadji Kadyrov.
I've noticed that Islamic violence is commonly a feature of elections in places that have an abundance of turbans. No sooner does somebody suggest "Let's have an election" than some cleric hollers "Bring forth the Holy Hand Grenade™!" It must have something to do with the fact that Islam is the most democratic of systems because a caliph was elected by holy men a thousand years or so ago.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
08/21/2004 9:56:36 PM ||
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Pakistani troops backed by artillery and aircraft attacked two suspected terrorist hideouts near the rugged Afghan border on Saturday, killing and wounding a number of militants, Pakistan army and security officials said. The attack was launched near Shakai in the South Waziristan tribal region, scene of several military counterterrorism operations against al-Qaida fugitives and renegade tribesmen in the recent months. Pakistan army spokesman Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan told state-run television that its troops had "killed and wounded some foreign miscreants" on Saturday in an exchange of fire near Shakai, but gave no further details. He denied a major new military operation was under way.
An intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity in the capital Islamabad, said the troops had surrounded two hideouts of foreign terrorists and their local supporters who had reportedly used light weapons to attack the army. In Wana, the main town in South Waziristan, local journalist Allah Noor Wazir cited local residents as saying that three Pakistani fighter planes had launched an attack on Saturday in a forested area near Shakai where militants were believed to be hiding. Although the last major military operation in South Waziristan ended in June - leaving more than 100 people dead - sporadic clashes have continued, with militants frequently launching rockets against security forces. Officials say the military operations have forced some al-Qaida operatives to flee the area and move elsewhere in Pakistan. In the past month, authorities say they have captured more than 60 terror suspects around the country. Among them was FoopieAhmad Khalfan Ghailani, a Tanzanian wanted in the 1998 bombings of American embassies in east Africa that killed more than 200 people. He was captured in eastern Punjab province last month.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/21/2004 1:28:37 PM ||
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I read that as "Pakistani Forces Attack Terrorist Liars." and thought we were getting somewhere.
...Bring those Americans here to fight hand to hand," said one militant, biting his finger for emphasis.
"Nyyyyyeh!"
"They are cowards. They stay thousands of feet away in their airplanes. They are scared, they know we will slaughter them." Funny saying that hiding in a place we are not allowed to make more Holey. Personally, I would be most afraid of his breath as he probably hasn't seen a toothbrush in a month.
...We would like to hand over the shrine to the religious establishment which has the right to control it," Sheikh Ahmad al-Sheibani told reporters, adding that talks on the mosque's future had begun. But Sheibani later added that Sadr's militia would continue to guard the mosque after any handover, precisely the outcome that the two-month-old government has vowed to prevent. "The Mehdi Army will continue to defend the shrine and Najaf, all of Najaf because it is a holy city," Sheibani said. I have an idea, maybe we can convince them to guard the nearby cemetery underground. That way they can protect it forever.
Posted by: Ol_Dirty_American ||
08/21/2004 11:56:46 AM ||
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Well it appears that we have the SOS, different day paradigm working here. Bring the Specteres back in tonight and evict these ass hats.
#4
I think we just found an excellent use for that Israeli mfg'd 7.62 ammo - Spooky Over Najaf - a nice movie title. I'd love to have a 30 second clip.
Indian troops shot dead two suspected militants who the officials claimed had infiltrated into held Kashmir from the Pakistan-controlled zone on Friday. Meanwhile, police arrested 14 Kashmiri separatists, including two key leaders, to prevent them from attending a memorial service for a 'rebel commander' who was killed by the Indian forces a day earlier. "The two militants were killed in the Nowgam sector of (northern) Kupwara district in a gunbattle," an army spokesman said. He said the fighting erupted the moment the two were spotted near the line of control.
Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who heads the Tehrik-e-Hurriyat-Jammu Kashmir party, was leaving his home in Srinagar to attend the service when he was stopped by the police, party member Shabir Ahmed told the Associated Press. Geelani and six of his party workers were placed under house arrest in Srinagar, he added. Another separatist leader, Javed Ahmed Mir, and six of his supporters were also arrested after they arrived in Anantnag, 60 kilometers south of Srinagar, to attend the service for commander Manzoor-ul-Islam, Mir's colleague Mohammed Tahir said. Mir is a leader with the Jammu-Kashmir Liberation Front. India's Border Security Force said it had killed Manzoor, who belonged to the Jamiat-ul Mujahedeen, on Thursday.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/21/2004 11:41:10 AM ||
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Elsewhere in Iraq, four Iraqis were killed and four wounded in the southern city of Nasiriyah when a fuel tanker exploded next to a communication building, said Police Lieutenant Radhi Mohammed. The cause of the explosion was under investigation, he said. The uncertainty in Iraq did nothing to help nervous world oil markets. The US-led coalition announced that Iraq's fledgling air force had begun patrolling key oil infrastructure with two Australian-built reconnaissance aircraft after training by Britain's Royal Air Force. In the capital's main Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City, the US military said a three-day offensive against Sadr's militiamen was continuing in conjunction with Iraqi security personnel. The health ministry said 10 people had been killed and 79 wounded in the 24 hours to Friday morning. The US military said two marines had been killed and two wounded since the operation began Wednesday. North of Baghdad, in the Sunni insurgent bastion of Samarra, two US soldiers were killed when a makeshift bomb hit their patrol on Friday evening. In Fallujah, another Sunni stronghold west of the capital, two Iraqis were killed and 11 wounded, including three women and a child, in twin US air strikes, a doctor said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/21/2004 11:31:55 AM ||
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Thirty-two Pakistanis employed with the Al Tamimi group in Iraq have fled to Kuwait, a news channel reported on Friday. One of them has lost the use of his legs because of lack of medical care while others are seriously ill, the TV channel reported. Ikramullah is among those who crossed into Kuwait. He told the channel that the company's administration had threatened to turn them over to Iraqi kidnappers if they left the job. "We were denied proper food and medical facilities and locked up in small rooms," the TV channel quoted him as saying. "We kept our intended escape a secret from our employers but faced a lot of difficulties on our way to Kuwait. We feared death at every step." He said there were 200 Pakistanis employed with the Al Tamimi group and were living in appalling conditions. "They want to return to Pakistan as soon as possible," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/21/2004 11:13:20 AM ||
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WANA: Militants were still targeting military positions in Wana as an Uzbek and a tribal militant were killed in an exchange of fire with the army in the Santoi and Mantoi mountains on Friday. A military source said an Uzbek was killed while a senior government official said a Zalikhel sub-tribe member was also killed in the fighting. Tribesman Abdul Manan's body was handed over to his family.
Anybody think it's odd that it looks like the Bad Guys are on the offensive?
Military spokesman Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan told Daily Times on the phone from Rawalpindi that the military operation, launched in June this year, would continue and the army would return fire whenever attacked. He denied that the army had suffered any casualties. Sources, however, said both sides suffered 'losses' in the fighting in the Santoi and Mantoi mountains. Sources said gunship helicopters hovered over as the army targeted militants' hideouts in the area. They said heavy fighting was in progress as the army was using artillery from Tiarzah Fort and the Zarinoor base near Wana to pound enemy targets. Sources said that the army was closing in on the militants. Gen Sultan said peace had been restored in the Shakai valley and the army was meeting with pockets of resistance in the Santoi and Mantoi mountains. "Dense forests help militants to hit and run," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/21/2004 11:10:37 AM ||
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They will not make progress until the Bad Guys are taken out. And tht will take a major commitment by the army. Weeee're waiiiting.....
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/21/2004 13:14 Comments ||
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NAJAF: Militiamen loyal to Shia radical leader Moqtada Sadr handed the keys of Najaf's Imam Ali shrine to representatives of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani on Friday, a spokesman for the top Shia cleric said. "The keys were handed to the office (in Najaf)," Sistani spokesman Sayed Murtadha al-Kashmiri said in London. In Najaf, Sadr's spokesman Sheikh Ahmed al-Shabani confirmed the handover. "The process of handing over the shrine has been completed," Shaibani said. "But there is some technical process that is going on, like estimating the value of assets of the shrine, which includes gold, money and furniture."
In other words, they're not handing over the shrine, they're selling it...
Asked whether the militiamen would now leave the mosque compound, Shaibani said: "We are staying in the shrine as pilgrims, but if we were asked to lock the shrine, we would vacate it."
"Yasss... We are but simple pilgrims..."
A top US military officer in Iraq said he could not confirm the country's police had taken control of a shrine in Najaf on Friday, and added the whereabouts of Sadr were unknown.
"He's done a flit! Put on a burka and skeedaddled!"
"Right now, we cannot confirm that," Rear Admiral Greg Slavonic said when asked about Iraqi government statements that police had seized the Imam Ali Mosque and arrested hundreds of Sadr's Shia fighters. In Baghdad, a spokesman for the interim government said earlier Iraqi police had arrested some 400 militiamen at the Imam Ali shrine.
Then, later, they said they didn't...
He added there were rumours Sadr had fled, but said the US military had no intelligence on where he was. Shia Muslim militiamen were still holed up in Najaf's revered shrine late on Friday, with no Iraqi police in sight despite government reports to the contrary, said a correspondent at the mosque.
More, from Khaleej Times...
The symbolic handover came after a day of confusion in which Iraqi government officials insisted against all evidence on the ground that police had entered the mosque compound and detained several hundred militiamen. An AFP correspondent in the shrine said he had not seen a single policeman.
Prob'ly came in the back door...
On the contrary, he said fighting continued sporadically on the south side of the Old City between the militiamen and US-backed forces that have surrounded the shrine compound. In Washington, a US defense official strongly rejected the claims of Iraqi spokesmen. "Not a lick of truth to it," he said. "We are still outside of the shrine, and so are the Iraqi police." It was unclear why government officials in Baghdad had so overstated the situation on the ground.
My guess would be beause the coppers on site simply made up something heroic. It's not like it hasn't happened before...
"The Iraqi police entered the mosque to discover 500 men with light arms who were prepared to surrender," interior ministry spokesman Sabah Kadhim had told CNN. "We, in cooperation with the appropriate religious authorities, were able to restore control without any fight and help the people inside."
"Or at least that's what they tell me..."
The spokesman suggested Sadr might have slipped away during the night, but the claim was vigorously rejected by a spokesman for the cleric who insisted he "will not leave Najaf except (through) martyrdom."
"Of course I know where he is! He's at... Saaaaay! Youse guys are tryin' to get me to tell!"
Posted by: Fred & Dan Darling ||
08/21/2004 10:49:36 AM ||
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Crap.
Don't get me wrong, I'm elated that this is over, but I kinda wish we'd have either take-out Tater or fried Tater McPieces . . . I wonder if we can catch him before he returns with another army determined to fight to the last drop of bloodhides under whatever rock he crawled out of makes it to the Iran/Iraq border?
Posted by: The Doctor ||
08/21/2004 11:11 Comments ||
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I have mixed feelings about tater getting away. Think of it this way. We were killing them at a ratio of 100 to 1. Tater will rally up more Shia, more Iranians, and more Hezzbula and rise again, and we will kill them at a ratio of 100 to 1 again, and again. Eventually bleeding them white of all of the idiots and fools.
This is like a roach motel because they are drawn to Najaf rather than striking throughout the country. We know where they are, and we don't have to go into Iran or Syria to get them.
There really is some advantage to letting Tater escape.
#3
Tater has r-u-n-n-o-f-t to fight blather another day. I'm with Yank. Tater brings a new crop of moron gunnies and we mow them down, so we attrit them. He then decides to negotiate. Clerics like angioplasty al Sistani do not use their moral authority to shut down the Tater. Rinse, lather repeat. I guess that is what has to be done now.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/21/2004 13:49 Comments ||
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It's natural selection. Unfortunately, weeding out the weak leaves you with a tougher enemy that is unencumbered by fools. Meanwhile, back here, we still have all our fools to contend with, at least until Election Day.
Posted by: Tom ||
08/21/2004 16:22 Comments ||
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Al Sistani to Tater: "Hand over the keys and no, you're not getting the security deposit back either".
An Iranian diplomat and a journalist missing in Iraq are safe and sound, Iran's Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi was quoted as saying by state television. Iranian diplomat Fereydun Jahani and a reporter of the state news agency IRNA named Mostafa Darban "are in a healthy state", the report quoted the Foreign Minister as saying, without explaining how he knew. Mr Jahani went missing on August 4 on the road leading from Baghdad to Karbala, in central Iraq, where Tehran was set to open a consulate. His kidnapping was claimed by the Islamic Army of Iraq, which was reported last week to have issued threats against him but is not known to have carried them out. Mr Darban was reportedly arrested by Iraqi police on August 9 together with two Iraqi colleagues, but there has been no official confirmation of his detention from Baghdad.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/21/2004 2:39:21 AM ||
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Several grenades exploded near former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina as she concluded a speech at an opposition party rally Saturday, killing at least four people and wounding hundreds, police and eye witnesses said. An official with the Awami League party, led by Hasina, said the former prime minister was the target of the attack. Hasina was slightly injured, witnesses said. Video showed Hasina standing on the low stage, closely surrounded by party officials and journalists on the stage with hundreds of supporters crowded nearby.
The first grenade exploded just in front of the stage near where TV cameras were set up to record the rally. As the crowd stampeded down streets away from the initial blast, other explosions were heard. Police said at least six grenades detonated and one was found unexploded. The rally was being held on a street near the Awami League's Dhaka headquarters. Witnesses reported seeing many people being taken to hospitals. "People were covered with blood, many injured were crying for help," Mohamamd Yasin, a rickshaw driver near the scene of the blasts, told The Associated Press.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: ed ||
08/21/2004 10:48 ||
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Update:
At least 10 people were killed and more than 300 were injured, including senior opposition members, private TV station ATN Bangla reported.
The death toll could increase as some of the injured were in critical condition, hospital doctors said.
Posted by: ed ||
08/21/2004 12:50 Comments ||
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Police forces in the south Russian region of Kabardino-Balkaria battled unsuccessfully against a group of local Islamist militants Thursday led by a Wahhabite who is on the wanted list for armed attacks in Chechnya. Over 400 police forces were involved in the operation Thursday afternoon when the militant group was surrounded by federal forces, the Kommersant newspaper reported. Two militants were killed, and at least one policeman on the federal side. The militant group was led by Muslim Atayev, a wanted criminal from the North Caucasus republic of Kabardino Balkaria, which borders Chechnya.
Quite by coincidence, of course...
Atayev, who heads a local Wahhabite community, fought in Chechnya under separatist field commander Ruslan Gelayev, and took part in attacks on neighboring Ingushetia in the fall of 2002. Armed vehicles, helicopters, and heavy artillery were all unsuccessful in capturing Atayev, however. Special police had closed off a forest area where shooting was taking place for hours, but by dusk the rebels had managed to break through and escape. There were no reports of exactly how many rebel fighters were in the group. Meanwhile, federal police forces were engaged elsewhere in the region in a skirmish with another local group supporting Chechen separatists in the Nalchik area.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/21/2004 2:51:46 AM ||
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Two members of Algeria's security forces were killed on Tuesday in separate bomb attacks blamed on suspected Islamic rebels, newspaper El Youm said on Wednesday. One soldier died when a home-made bomb exploded during a search for militants in the region of Bouira, 120 km (75 miles) southeast of the capital Algiers. A guard died in a separate blast in the mountains of the eastern province of Tebassa. The Interior Ministry was not immediately available for comment. The slayings bore the hallmarks of the al Qaeda-aligned Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) and came only days after the killing of a soldier and a policeman in the restive province of Boumerdes, 50 km (30 miles) east of Algiers.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/21/2004 2:55:22 AM ||
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EFL I decided to leave a title unaltered. The kid's actions shouldn't be cheapened by my desire for a cheapshot at Kerry.
... In all the chaos, Pfc. Christopher Fernandez saw the stricken vehicle's M-240B machine gun was unused. Acting on instinct, Fernandez knew that another weapon would suppress the enemy's fire long enough to evacuate the wounded and leave the area. He left his vehicle, ran to the disabled humvee and recovered the weapon and its ammunition. Fernandez then opened fire on the enemy. What made all of that spectacular was the recovered weapon's condition, said Pugsley. The hand guards covering the machine-gun's barrel, so the gunner's hands won't burn, were blown off in the explosion. That didn't matter to Fernandez though; he kept firing even though his hands were burning. Almost 10 minutes later, the wounded were loaded onto the Fernandez's vehicle and the ambush site abandoned. Pugsley said two other Soldiers were recommended for Bronze Stars with Valor devices for their actions that night. One received it; the other received an Army Commendation with V device, he said. But to 1st Lt. Ryan Swindell, Fernandez's platoon leader, and Pugsley, Fernandez's actions during those hectic minutes warranted a Silver Star. "He bought those Soldiers time," Pugsley said
Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/21/2004 3:05:07 AM ||
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OK - I'll take the cheap shot - the difference was this guy was getting shot at - by enemy. Sounds like he deserves that medal, big time.
Release the records, Senator! Oh, and your wife's tax records too
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/21/2004 10:48 Comments ||
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OldSpook, how hot would the barrel have gotten? I'm not familiar with the M-240B.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/21/2004 17:25 Comments ||
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The barrel of a rifle heats up due to the burned gases behind the projetile, Super Hose.
As the projectile leaves the barrel. Some of the gas stays behind and the gases' energy transfer into heat.
The M-240 is a souped-up, heavier M-60 machine gun. With a high rate of fire that translates into the barrel getting hot in a hurry and staying hot.
The M-240's predecessor, the M-60 had a removable barrel. Though Asbestos or thick leather gloves were used to twist the old barrel out and lock in the new one.
The M-60's predecessor, the German MG-42 from WWII had a barrel that could be flipped out to the side. Away from the weapon's action. Which allowed rapid barrel changes.
Posted by: Jack Deth ||
08/21/2004 20:29 Comments ||
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I wonder if one day we'll have a derivative of the MG-42 as good as the MG-42.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
08/21/2004 21:30 Comments ||
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#7
The M240B has a removable barrel as well. Great weapon. The barrel does get very hot and fast. This took serious G. Liddy guts.
Posted by: Remote Man ||
08/21/2004 22:15 Comments ||
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Having just recently ecperienced how hot a mere m16 barrel gets after only 40 rounds in 3-4 minutes, I have not doubt that this hero is convalescing with a large sized bandage on one or both hands. The barrel of a weapon which is firing 100-200 rounds per minute is going to be extremely hot. Also, he went to grab the weapon in the middle of the fight. He could have stayed where he was, firing his SAW, but he got the weapon which fired heavier and more damaging rounds (one of my beefs with the SAW).
Posted by: Jame Retief ||
08/21/2004 22:35 Comments ||
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First Chechnya, then Dagesten, then Ingushetia, and now Kabardino-Balkaria. They just don't know when to quit, do they?
Two policemen were killed and four wounded in clashes with members of the Wahhabi underground in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Kabardino-Balkaria in clashes on Wednesday and Thursday, Russian media reported. Some 400 Russian servicemen were deployed to track down the rebels, but as of Friday morning, no rebels had been found. Early on Wednesday, the republic's Interior Ministry was tipped off that a group of armed men were hiding in a forest some 10 kilometers from the regional capital of Nalchik. Local police combing the forest on Wednesday surrounded a group of eight armed men, according to the Interior Ministry. Two police officers were killed and four wounded in the ensuing shootout. Two gunmen were also killed. The Interior Ministry said that it had identified the two slain gunmen, but refused to disclose their names. The remaining gunmen managed to escape. The killed gunmen were ethnic Balkars and Wahhabis, followers of the austere brand of Islam, which ideologically unites the extremist anti-Russian underground networks in the Northern Caucasus, the regional news agency Kavkazsky Uzel reported on Thursday, citing unnamed officials in Kabardino-Balkaria's Interior Ministry.
Also on Thursday morning, police attempting to search a suspicious car in the Nalchik suburb of Khasania - a predominately Balkar area - were fired on by the vehicle's passengers. Police later found the car abandoned and riddled with bullets on a Nalchik street. According to the Interior Ministry, 10 kilograms of explosives were found in the car. The ministry stepped up security at all border checkpoints across the republic to search all vehicles. Some 400 Interior Ministry and Federal Security Service (FSB) troops continued to comb the forest around Nalchik on Friday in search of the remaining rebels. A year ago, a similar operation was conducted when security officials launched a crackdown on the leaders of the local Wahhabi cell, who had reportedly participated in the dispatching of Chechen female suicide bombers to Moscow. Two Wahhabi activists were killed and several others arrested during that operation. Wahhabism in the republic has spread predominantly among the Balkars, who constitute about 10 per cent of the population. Unlike their neighbors, the Kabardins, who control most of key government positions in the republic, the Balkars had been deported, along with the Chechens, from their native home to Kazakhstan by Joseph Stalin in 1943. They were allowed to return in 1957, but their integration into the social and political processes in the republic has consistently been obstructed by the Kabardin elite.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/21/2004 2:23:28 AM ||
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Police in the northern Pakistani city of Peshawar say they have arrested a foreign al-Qaeda suspect. The man, who they believe is Iraqi, was held a day after evading arrest during a shoot-out in the west of the city. Another man, identified as Algerian, also escaped but was captured in a raid on a mosque later on Thursday. Pakistan's interior ministry confirmed the arrests but refused to give any details. "I confirm that our security officials have arrested two foreigners in Peshawar, and they are being interrogated," ministry spokesman, Abdur Rauf, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. Thursday's raid took place in a residential area in the western part of Peshawar. Eye-witnesses say the intelligence agents were chasing a vehicle being driven by one of the suspects. When the two men were asked to stop, they opened fire and also threw a grenade at the security officials. One of the men managed to escape while the other, who was wounded, was captured. He has been identified as Abu Fouzi, an Algerian. Abu Fuzzy?
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/21/2004 2:35:43 AM ||
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The other day he wanted the Pope to pop on by and negotiate peace. Just think of the hostage potential: "One wrong move and the Pope gets it!" Sistani's a second-best...
"We would like to hand over the shrine to the religious establishment which has the right to control it," Sheikh Ahmad al-Sheibani told reporters. "It is only natural that Ayatollah Sistani should accept it." Sheibani said no time had been set for a handover of the mosque, Iraq's holiest Shi'ite Muslim shrine.
"The Sweet By and By will do. Meanwhile, target practice at 08:00 hours tomorrow!"
He called on Iraq's interim government to pursue a peaceful solution to the crisis. "(Prime Minister Iyad) Allawi's government should give us what we want without a fight pursue a peaceful solution, not a military one for the benefit of the Americans," Sheibani said.
Posted by: tipper ||
08/21/2004 5:21:59 AM ||
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#1
Allawiâs government should pursue a peaceful solution, not a military one for the benefit of the Americans," Sheibani [a Sadar aide] said.
It used to be only that we couldn't believe what Reuters was saying - with this piece, it looks as if their new policy is to assure that we can't understand what they are saying.
It's a good spin policy. Just print jibberish and then it can mean whatever your readers want it to.
#2
Typical Reuters: always quote the underdog
(no matter how deranged they are) as if the words coming out of their mouths are gospel.
If I were editing this piece (what a fate) I would add a comma after 'one'. That would throw their spin right back at them by giving the sentence an unambiguous, pro-American meaning.
#5
As OldSpook has mentioned here before, much of controlling the shrine pivots upon material gain and not religious piety. Here is a little gem I stumbled across today that sheds new light upon the matter.
He said Mr Sadr wanted to make sure his men could not be accused of taking anything.
It is extremely difficult to imagine Sadr resisting temptation when it comes to jewelled or gilt offerings left at the shrine by pilgrims. Knowing the regional distaste for accurate paperwork and transparent accounting, one must speculate as to the phenomenal wealth contained in the shrine.
However obvious it is that they want to get Sistani inside their fire perimeter, this represents another significant high level issue that will need to be resolved. Let us all hope Sadr has succumbed to temptation so that his credibility will null out for once and all.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/21/2004 00:49 ||
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#1
And this is a surprise because...?
IIRC, several days ago Charles over at LGF posted a story about a British journalist kidnapped in Basra and quickly released once his status as a journalist had been confirmed and vetted by Tater's boyz. One of the Spudly One's spokestoads said flat out that the jihadis know Western journalists are on their side.
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
08/21/2004 1:13 Comments ||
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Radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has emerged from a bloody, two-week showdown with U.S. forces with his militia intact but his heroic image in question.
Not for long, I'm sure. The Arab attention span is even shorter than the American...
Now that the fighting is over, some Shiites are criticizing al-Sadr as a dangerous maverick who threatened one of their faith's most-cherished shrines.
They didn't notice that while the festivities were going on, huh?
Battles between al-Sadr supporters and American troops erupted in Najaf on Aug. 5 but eased substantially Friday as al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia withdrew its weapons from the holy city's Imam Ali Shrine, which they used as a refuge for launching attacks on U.S. and Iraqi forces. Al-Sadr — young pudgy and street-smart — was never popular in Najaf, where older clerics including Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric, holds sway. Now, after devastating violence that killed scores of civilians and chipped a wall surrounding the beloved, gold-domed shrine, the firebrand cleric is liked even less. "Najaf ... now serves as an example of war and destruction. This is all because of Muqtada and his followers," said 37-year-old Najaf resident Mohammed Saad. "They have brought us destruction. We hope they'll leave the city as soon as possible."
Let's have a few more choruses of "Tater, we will defend you with our blood!"
During the standoff, Iraq's interim government threatened to raid the shrine compound and destroy al-Sadr's militia as an example to other insurgents throughout the country. But such a raid would have been risky; any serious damage would infuriate the world's 120 million Shiite Muslims and could turn even moderate, middle-class Shiites who shun the radical cleric against the government. But al-Sadr is a legend among impoverished Shiites who see him as a champion of the underdog. His star shines brightest in the slums of Baghdad's Sadr City — named for his late father — and in poor areas of the Shiite south. His survival after a second bout with U.S. forces — he led a two-month uprising in the spring — could only increase his following.
Fox News says he's "disappeared." Gone to recuperate in Teheran?
Posted by: Fred ||
08/21/2004 12:33:54 AM ||
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#1
John Loftus on ABC radio sez Tater's back home, living in his Mom's basement. Heh.
#2
"They didn't notice that while the festivities were going on, huh?"
As long as there was a chance of small "victories" to shame the Great Satan, he was a hero. Now that he's skedaddled, I think the shine might just wear off. Of course, the tales they'll tell their grandchildren about the Brave Tater who stood up to the Great Satan - and wasn't fired on the spot, well now, those will be something to hear, I'm sure.
Holding out, by hiding out, seems to be good enough for Arabs. That and killing the lone unarmed civilian.
#3
Al-Sadr â young pudgy and street-smart â was never popular in Najaf, where older clerics including Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric, holds sway.
snicker! Yesterday, he was the most popular holy guy in the most popular holy city...now they never really liked him much to begin with.
If this tells us anything..it tells us that Tater is, complete and 100%, toast!
#6
Now that the fighting is over
I doubt seriously that the fighting is over. It may be "over" for the moment, or in this place, but it will continue until there's no "Mahdi's Army" left to fight. Whoever wrote this has about as much intelligence as Michael Moore, and even less understanding of what's going on inside Iraq.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/21/2004 16:19 Comments ||
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Suspected communist guerrillas shot a policeman and set off two bombs in Katmandu on Friday while keeping up a blockade that has isolated the capital since midweek to press demands for the release of rebels held by Nepal's government. A few hours later, the Cabinet promised to meet one rebel demand _ that the government account for suspected rebels missing since apparent arrests. But it was not clear if officials also would agree to demands for immediately freeing known rebel prisoners and removing their "terrorist" label. There was no immediate reaction from the rebels, who have been fighting since 1996 to replace the monarchy in this Himalayan nation with a communist state.
Looks like the commies are going to take control of Nepal. It says much for the determination of the commies, though not for their good sense.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/21/2004 12:14:45 AM ||
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#2
This is a bit off subject, but I recall Cat Stevens singing about it decades ago:
Katmandu
I'll soon be seeing you
And your strange, bewildering time
Will keep me ....
(or something like that)
Then he converted to Islam, had a dozen or so children and I last heard of him being denied entry into Israel - he was trying to bring in funds for the Palestinians.
Can't think of a sadder thing happening to a musician. Beats drug overdoses by a long shot.
#5
Bryan - Barking Moonbat: Definition, heh and website, lol! In general usage it has now been shortened to moonbat. First time I ever heard the term was on LGF - can't remember when. Much blogosphere terminology seems to have originated there - e.g. Islamofascists, Izzoids, Arafish, etc. We all play our part, heh, RB has coined a few too, methinks... I dunno if Fred ever did start that list or not, but I did ask him to - so blame him if he can't cough one up, lol!
#6
Thanks .com. I had a look at the site and will peruse it at my leisure. Now there's a word flying around my monitor which reminds me of a word we used when we used to speak English back in the old days, and which means to move in a lazy way. The word is 'loll'. I don't think it's even a distance cousin of 'lol', but now I'll be able to find out.
#7
Bryan - Lol = Laugh Out Loud. Hang on and I'll locate a good glossary page for the standard (sorta) acronyms... Okay - this one looks pretty decent. Have fun!
#9
Rantburg is the home of the term "Paleostinians".
It's also the first site to offer secure connections for your sympathy and surprise meters.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/21/2004 9:18 Comments ||
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#10
I would give props to Fred for the "flying meat" reference too - splodeydopes may also have originated here....
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/21/2004 9:47 Comments ||
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#11
'Paleostinians' is great.
With apologies to Webster's Third New International Dictionary:
Paleolithic: of or relating to the second period of the Stone Age .... characterized by rough or chipped stone implements.
Paleolithic man: a man of or peculiar to the Paleolithic period (as in the Heidelberg, Neanderthal or Cro-Magnon).
I only have one problem with calling them Paleostinians: it's a bit insulting to the group defined above.
#12
Splodeydopes is LGF. "Boomers" is more common here, along with gunnies, snuffies, and the generic "turbans," which covers all three plus the eye-rolling, spittle-spewing holy men.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/21/2004 11:08 Comments ||
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#13
One of my favorites(although not an acronym)"Curly toed shoes don't fail me now"
Not sure about car swarm.
#18
I recall that Beauzeau was originated in the 'Burg? I remember it was considered RBurg property at LGF and a link on the word was the first time I visited.
I still have my lizard suit, but the Zionist Entity has put me on half pay.
#20
I'd like to throw my own hat into the ring with the substitution of Red Croissant for the International Red Crescent, which everyone here calls the "Red Thingie." Strictly my own work and I'll happily assign the rights to Fred.
I will never forget the 'Motorcycles of Doom" concerning the Taliban.
Bryan, there are many intelligent, sharp-witted people who comment here and that is why RB is a constant stop for me as well as the FIRST and LAST sites I check every day.
I will visit the site frequently - as long as I can get this old laptop to stop freezing on me every time I do something it doesn't like. It's like an old motorbike in serious need of an overhaul- hard to start and stalls often.
A rebel cleric's militiamen kept their guns outside a holy site Friday after issuing a surprise offer to give up control of the Imam Ali Shrine to Shiite Muslim religious leaders, but negotiators wrangled into the night over getting the militants out of the compound. The removal of weapons and pledge to hand over keys to religious authorities was seen as a big step toward a resolution of the two-week faceoff in Najaf that has killed dozens of people and wounded hundreds in fighting between Muqtada al-Sadr's militia and a joint U.S.-Iraq force. Offering a face-saving way out of the crisis, a peaceful pullout mediated by religious authorities would allow Iraq's interim government to keep its pledge not to negotiate and let the militants say they had not capitulated to U.S.-led troops.
The development came just a day after al-Sadr's militants rejected a government ultimatum to withdraw from the shrine or face an assault on the walled compound. Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi backed off the threat after the new offer from al-Sadr, and his national security adviser reiterated that the government wanted al-Sadr to join the political process. Al-Sadr has said previously he would not give in to the government demand to disband his militia and take up politics. It remained unclear how the government would react if that demand went unmet.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/21/2004 12:12:21 AM ||
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#1
Lol! Arabs. Sigh.
I saw this title over at BBC:
"Tension reigns in Iraqi holy city"
My first thought was cue the skeery music... lol!
Fred - could you do a big favor? In the comments.asp script, could you make the title still hot to the story and display the poster's name? So many stories, so little time.
#2
Are AC-130 flights continuing during negotiation?
Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/21/2004 0:53 Comments ||
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#3
SH - I'm getting the All Quiet on the Najaf Front from most storylines (via google news / world). I guess they're all at the O-Club in the Green Zone - sneering at the dry-throated reporters, heh.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/21/2004 23:07 Comments ||
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#5
Cool - and Thanx!!! This will save having to copy what I've written, pop back out, and re-click the story link when I realize I should've grabbed a quote from the story. Too quick to close the windows, heh. It's save beaucoup trips to the RB server!
#6
.com, I imagine that we could move again at a time of our choosing. It would be interesting to see what kind of enviroment we have given them: whether they are ringed by tanks, left in the dark or lit by spotlights, probed periodically or left in silence.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/21/2004 23:59 Comments ||
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#7
SH - Well, I have to say that this operation in Najaf is the most muddled thing I've seen in some time. Apparently there never was any double cordon, that they boogied on back to their base every night, and that Tater and The Tots were free to come & go as they pleased except for the few hours each day when the Jarines & Cav decided to sweep out of the barracks and advance. The place never was sealed up and Tater is free to fuck Allawi again if he get the funding to pay his "loyalists" as the press morons call them.
Almost everything I saw in my mental picture - which was shared by most here based upon their comments - was completely irrelevant.
Y'know, I thought we had gotten away from that idiotic Vietnam Era idea of paying for the same real estate multiple times, but I guess not. In this case, it seems our dependence upon Allawi for a go-ahead at each phase made this op not much different than the old Johnson-McNamara crap... you can bomb these trees (suspected truck park - right) over here and take that hill (suspected tunnel entrances) over there, but don't go thru this area - those rubber plants cost the US Govt $90 a pop. And at night - the no-fire zone has a hundred campfires. Fuckin lunacy - and it seems we're doing it again.
#8
in world war one it was common to fight over the same terrain multiple times, and ditto in the American Revolution. Sometimes its not politics that causes that, but the tactical situation on the ground. Theres still too much fog of war to judge the military tactics. Again I think we underestimate the difficulty of establishing a cordon in a dense urban area, and I think it turns out that siege in the sense of cutting off food and water was never the military strat anyway. So far the JArs and cav in the old city have been attriting the thugs away, while the politics marches on. And i read somewhere that the thugs are getting lower on ammo.
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.
