A Saudi national has been killed in a gunbattle with Kuwaiti security forces.
"A wanted man was killed. He was a Saudi," Kuwait's interior minister, Shaikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah, told reporters outside a house stormed by security forces in Umm Al-Haiman, south of Kuwait City. It was the first time a Saudi was identified as having been involved in such an incident in Kuwait.
Which is not to say it's the first time a Soddy's been involved, of course...
"We arrested another (wanted militant)... and the rest fled," the minister said after the clashes, which erupted when security forces hunted down suspected fighters. "The man killed carried a Saudi passport, while the one arrested is a Kuwaiti citizen," Shaikh Nawaf said. "Those who fled do not number more than six," the minister said. The incident follows a clash last Monday in a Kuwait city suburb between Islamists and state security forces in which two members of state security and one gunman were killed.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/15/2005 1:26:06 PM ||
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The British and Thai embassies in Indonesia have been closed after bomb threats sparked a security alert, the government has said. The British embassy shuttered its building in Jakarta's central business district on Friday and closed a consular facility in a neighbouring office block that is home to several foreign media organisations and near hotels frequented by Westerners. Police deployed bomb squads and anti-terror teams in force to the area and said they were taking the threat seriously against it and the nearby Thai embassy. Dozens of extra police, some carrying rifles, were on guard outside the two embassies on Friday. Several armoured vehicles were also stationed outside.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/15/2005 00:00:00 ||
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DAVAO CITY -- A government prosecutor justified Friday the release from prison of two suspects in the twin bombings that rocked Davao City in 2003, saying there was no miscarriage of justice in such a move.
OK, we're listening...
Prosecutor Augusto Gonzales of the City Prosecutor's Office (CPO) said the court ruling ordering the release of suspects Abdul Manap Mentang and Abdul Rahman Camile will remain and will not be reversed. "We have given the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) in Metro Manila 40 days to present the authentication of the evidence against the new four suspects, but they failed to do so," Gonzales said. The pieces of evidence to be authenticated include the alleged recorded admission of Mentang to a GMA-7 reporter and cameraman that he masterminded the powerful explosions that rocked Davao City International Airport and the Sasa Wharf on March 4 and April 2, 2003 and which killed 40 people and injured 170 others.
"I dunnit, and I'm glad!"
In an earlier interview, City Prosecutor Raul Bendigo said based on Section 1, Rule 13 of the Rules of Court, pieces of evidence like photographs, taped or videotaped interviews are not admissible in court unless authenticated by the one who took the record or the photographs. "We have requested the ISAFP to authenticate the evidence but they failed to do so," Bendigo said.
"C'mon, it was lunchtime and we had to pick up our drycleaning!"
He said there is no case filed against the new set of suspects identified as Mentang, Camile, Daud Guinaid and Rio Dimson Managat before the prosecutor's office while there is a complaint against the original five suspects. The first batch of suspects facing two criminal cases for multiple murder with frustrated multiple murder charges are against Esmael Mamalangkas, Esmael Akmad, Ting Idar, Tohame Bagundang, and Jimmy Balulao. All five denied the allegations during their separate arraignments.
"Nope, not us. You had us mistook for troublemakers. Musta been some other guyz..."
The two sets of suspects baffled the RTC as to who will face court trial, but RTC Branch 12 Judge Paul T. Arcangel on Friday ordered the release of Mentang and Camile for insufficient evidence. Only Guinaid and Managat are still detained. The five original suspects were arrested in Cotabato City in April 2003. Mentang and Guinaid were arrested in separate raids by the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) in Metro Manila in October 6 and 7 last year. Camile was arrested in Panabo City on November 13 last year. Managat was arrested on November 15, 2004 in Asuncion, Davao del Norte. The remaining seven suspects are still detained at the Maa City jail.
US soldier Charles Graner was sentenced today to 10 years' jail and a dishonorable discharge from the army for beating and sexually abusing prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
A 10-man military jury delivered the sentence one day after convicting Graner over the abuse scandal that caused worldwide outrage and tarnished the reputation of US troops in Iraq.
The 36-year-old military policeman was seen as the ringleader of the abuses that involved beating prisoners, piling them up naked on top of each other and forcing them to masturbate.
In his court martial at the Fort Hood army base in Texas, Graner argued he was following orders to "soften up" prisoners for interrogation, but the prosecution portrayed him as a "depraved" thug who beat and humiliated detainees for sport.
#1
Oooppssss -- when it appears, please ignore my post of this on Page 2. I posted it about 15 minutes ago, but it hasn't appeared yet. So ignore when it does. Thanks
#2
I'll probably get some flak for this here but IMHO Bush should pardon every single US military person convicted of any wrongdoing in Iraq or Afghanistan.
#3
Consider yourself shot at, Az. I'd be happy if they drew and quartered him alive and stuck his head on a pole outside the Capitol for a month.I don't like my tax money paying this perv to throw porno parties and take pictures of it to humiliate the Army. F$*k him and the slut he rode in on.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
01/15/2005 19:57 Comments ||
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#4
surely, you don't believe that Traner and England should be pardoned?
#6
What kind of idiots were defending Graner? Did they actually think that the "following orders" defense, made infamous at Nuremberg, would work with a panel of American servicemen? It would have been a travesty and a national disgrace if it had, and the global outcry would have been deafening. On second thought, I think the lefty fifth column might be inclined to defend Graner on these grounds, since they would implicate the political figures who are the real targets of the Abu Ghraib uproar. This may have been where the defense was going, hoping to mobilize the doper-media conformist masses in a "free Graner" movement.
Over thirty years ago, the leftist traitors of the time (many of whom are still at it) did in fact defend the mass-murdering swine William Calley, arguing that he was simply a scapegoat and patsy for a widespread policy of massacring whole villages at a time.
By all rights, Calley should have been put against a wall and shot, along with all others who participated in the atrocity.
It is still taken for granted in Euro academic/media circles that My Lai represented standard US policy. The lefties have trouble accounting for the failure of this policy to depopulate the country in short order, but facts have never been their strong suit.
I have actually done the numbers on this. At My Lai, each shooter murdered about 12 Vietnamese civilians, on average, in an easy day's work. If this had been extended to all the shooters in our nine divisions and various smaller units (about 75,000) every day, the whole South Vietnamese population of 20 million or so would have been wiped out in about a month, two if they took every other day off. This is not even allowing for airstrikes and artillery which, as every good left-dhimmi Euro-bigot knows, were designed exclusively to kill and maim children and baby ducks.
#7
Perhaps the "following orders" defense sounds reasonable to a lawyer schooled by left-wing professors and living in a segment of society that espouses moral relativism.
Posted by: Tom ||
01/15/2005 21:21 Comments ||
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#8
He needs to be jailed for the crime of being stupid enough to allow pictures to be taken of the whole mess, if nothing else.
If you want pictures of a bunch of guys being hazed, join a frat house. If you want to haze a bunch of guys, join a frat house and make it through the first year.
If nothing else, you'd have better-looking women than what's-her-face....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/15/2005 23:19 Comments ||
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The bodies of 18 Iraqis, shot dead, have been found dumped on roadsides in central Iraq. Thirteen corpses, including that of a young woman, were discovered near Latifiyah, 40km south of Baghdad, witnesses said. The bodies displayed bullet holes that gave the impression their killers had shot them at close range, said resident Abd al-Rahman al-Janabi. Most of the bodies were men aged between 20 and 40, along with a woman who appeared to be in her mid-twenties.
Meet the "insurgency." It's the same as your old government...
Residents were afraid to alert police for fear of reprisal by fighters in the stretch of lush farmland south of Baghdad. Also south of Baghdad, the bullet-riddled corpses of four Iraqis working with a foreign company were discovered near Kut. The dead were identified as an Iraqi businessman and three of his workers who had been threatened for working with a foreign company, police said. The bodies were dumped near the town of Al-Suwaira where fighters have set up checkpoints and carried out attacks, drawing attention once more to the high level of power exercised by rebels across central Iraq. North of Baghdad, US soldiers recovered the body of a man from a river near Duluiyah, the US military said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/15/2005 1:28:02 PM ||
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#1
Meet the "insurgency." Itâs the same as your old government...
All the more reason to kill every last one of them. Amnesty is a nonstarter here.
Six Palestinians have been shot dead by Israeli occupation soldiers during an incursion in a neighbourhood on the eastern outskirts of Gaza City, Aljazeera has learned. Medical sources said on Saturday that a Palestinian policeman and a civilian were among the dead. Twelve people were also reported injured in the attack. Earlier that day, Israeli occupation troops moved into the outskirts of Gaza City after resistance fighters fired mortar shells at a nearby Jewish settlement. About 10 armoured vehicles and two bulldozers were seen staging an incursion into the Zaitun neighbourhood of east Gaza City, commandeering two houses, witnesses and security sources said. The operation came after the armed wing of the resistance movement Hamas claimed it carried out a series of mortar attacks on settlements which damaged buildings but caused no casualties.
"Yeah! So what'd they have to go and do that for? We din't hurt nobody!"
Posted by: Fred ||
01/15/2005 1:24:13 PM ||
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#1
My first response upon seeing this headline, it should be preceded by "not enough".
#2
Some day the gloves will come off, and the Paleos will wistfully remember the good old dayz⢠of Israeli restraint. Iron fist approach will be welcome in my book
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/15/2005 17:05 Comments ||
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#3
"Israeli occupation soldiers"
Since this article is from theenglishaljazeera and since A-rabic is read from right to left, I think they meant to say that being a Israeli soldier is one of many occupations available in Israel.
Islamic Jihad has rejected Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas' call for a mutual ceasefire with Israel, saying that armed resistance was the best form of self-defence against the Israeli army. "We confirm the importance of Palestinian dialogue and we are ready to have this dialogue with Mr Abbas, but we reiterate that the armed resistance is connected to the existence of the occupation," Muhammad al-Hindi, leader of Islamic Jihad in its Gaza Strip stronghold, said. "This armed resistance is in defence of the Palestinian people and in our dialogue we will confirm the importance of maintaining the resistance. "It is the main method to prevent the incursions as happened today in Zaitun," he added in reference to the killing of four Palestinians in an eastern neighbhourhood of Gaza City on Saturday morning.
"Okay, here's what we're gonna do: Hamas, it's your turn to accept the ceasefire, and our turn to reject it. Al Aqsa Martyrs, you can ignore it, and PFLP can keep mum. That about cover it?"
Posted by: Fred ||
01/15/2005 1:20:33 PM ||
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#1
Actually, yes Fred, lol! Summed and squared away!
#2
Instead of displaying a machine gun, are there any clear photos available of a terrorist being struck by bullets? Put I *heart* Jihad at the bottom and it would be perfect.
The US soldier who led a band of sadistic guards in abusing prisoners at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib has been found guilty by a military court. Army Reservist Charles Graner stood at attention and looked straight ahead without any visible reaction as the 10-member jury read its verdict on Friday. He held his hands tightly clenched.
Because the jury altered one count to a lesser charge of assault, rather than use of force likely to produce death or grievous bodily harm, his maximum sentence was lessened to 15 years from a possible seventeen-and-a-half-years, a prosecution spokesman said. The jury took less than five hours to reach the verdict. The verdict came after a five-day trial in which prosecutors depicted Graner as a sadistic soldier who took great pleasure in seeing detainees suffer. He was accused of stacking naked prisoners in a human pyramid and later ordering them to masturbate while other soldiers took photographs.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/15/2005 00:00:00 ||
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#2
I'll suspend judgement till an officer is convicted of something.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
01/15/2005 8:47 Comments ||
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#3
The US soldier who led a band of sadistic guards in abusing prisoners...
Mrs. D, looking for a scapegoat or trying to determine if there was an OIC on duty at the time? The non-attendent chain of command already has been relieved of authority. I'm sure an Article 32 investigation is done. However, unless someone can come up with concrete evidence that can stand up in court that orders were issued, there is unlikely to be a courts martial. Courts martials are courts of law and subject to the standard Federal rules of evidence. Though, I suspect, the officers in the chain are, for all intents and purposes, career terminated as a minimum. Somewhere in the Army reforms of the 80's a lot of authority and responsibility was placed back into the NCO corps. That ment getting the officers out of the day to day management of the troops. For the vast majority, the trust is well placed, but in this case it failed.
Posted by: Don ||
01/15/2005 10:39 Comments ||
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#4
This guys had no business being in the military - his performance in the civlian world pointed to the problems he caused in the military.
The Guard was too often a "club" type atmosphere (before now), and allowed incompetents like Graner to exist.
#7
I believe I have. Graner's an asshole and got what he deserved, and would have without the MSM bandwagon. Buh-bye
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/15/2005 12:49 Comments ||
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#8
On the other hand Frank claims that *nobody* in Rantburg supports torture.
I think each can judge by himself who has the firmest grip on reality, and who's in deep ignorance (or atleast building a home on the shores of the Nile).
#13
you wouldn't have noticed Doc before, Aris - he addresses the topics
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/15/2005 13:14 Comments ||
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#14
"...*many* Rantburgers support torture. Which is a plain fact..."
Citation, please? Another sorry twisting by Aris to inflame (Arisify) yet another thread.
Posted by: Tom ||
01/15/2005 13:25 Comments ||
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#15
WTF? Who the fuck are you to question someone else's right to post?
Actually I meant to question his identity, not his "right to post".
Tom> Citation, please?
As I offered yesterday:
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.asp?HC=Main&D=2005-01-12&ID=53504
I count atleast five regular posters (in that thread alone) which are willing to give torture a good try.
Posted by: Tom ||
01/15/2005 13:41 Comments ||
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#17
Who cares about what *you* would do?
It's like Frank to think that when I say "many Rantburgers" you two believe I refer to the two of you, and respond about your own personal beliefs on torture. Who gives a damn?
#18
Actually, Aris, I was not concerned what you thought about me -- I just thought you were painting Rantburgers other than yourself with a pretty broad brush. And I still believe it to be so.
Posted by: Tom ||
01/15/2005 14:26 Comments ||
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#19
Aris, I think you're out of line.
"Many Rantburgers" in fact do NOT support torture. As a moderator I keep a close eye on the comments, and it's my informed opinion that Rantburg as a community, and the very large majority of Rantburgers, does not support torture. That should be distinguished from the use of some pressure techniques in interrogation, which some find distasteful, and some feel are necessary (I think they're both).
As to your other complaints about being 'stalked', it's been our policy (to this point) to let regulars post as they wish with very wide latitude. Fred, Emily, Steve and I are too busy for any other policy. We ban the trolls but we're rarely going to police spats.
That said, you have a choice: you can stay (and you're welcome to) or you can go. If you post, you might expect that a few of your friends here will respond to you on a regular basis. That's the way the ball bounces.
For everyone else: save the venom for the true enemies of civilization. We know who they are; that's a primary purpose of Rantburg. It's fine to state opinions strongly; we all benefit from that. But let's maintain a standard of civility in addressing each other. Thanks,
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/15/2005 14:39 Comments ||
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#20
For some time I have read RB and enjoyed immensely the banter and commentary. I do however, lack a perspective on several personalities. Aris, could you explain a little of the background to give me a perspective to your point of view. Especially interested in palce and education?
Posted by: Schmoe,LTC Ret ||
01/15/2005 14:44 Comments ||
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#21
I count atleast five regular posters (in that thread alone) which are willing to give torture a good try.
I didn't post, but make that six, Aris. And that isn't the whole of Rantburgers, as you have consistently (and incorrectly ) stated.
And Aris, so you can solidly lump me in with those folks, let me state that even if turture doesn't 'work' it's not about gaining information. It is about and always will be about power. The power of the interrogator over the prisoner.
So if the question is to torture to gain information, I'd say, yes, you are wasting your time, but if the purpose is what the purpose of torture always has been, for the holding authority to impress its power over the detainee, then torture truley does 'work.'
Graner is a buffoon, Ears deep in soemthing he knew nothing about and stupid enough to let it be photographed.
And one last thought: The prisoners who were 'tortured?' It suck to be them.
I do not support torture as a routine policy, but I want torture to be an option. Call it another tool in the fight against terrorists.
#22
I'll suspend judgement till an officer is convicted of something.
The most any officer has been accused of is failure to supervise those under their command. That has ended a lot of careers, of course, but it doesn't rise to the level of criminal activity.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
01/15/2005 14:47 Comments ||
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#23
I'll be a contrarian and note that robust discussion of whether and what types of pressure or torture are legitimate is a very good and necessary thing. It's pretty clear that the Bush admin is, understandably, still trying to figure this out. Much better in the long run for a democracy to have an open discussion, as messy, embarrassing and unpleasant as it is, about what's required and appropriate and acceptable, than for any administration to grope along with no public or democratic scrutiny.
Which is to say as f*****g annoying as Aris's gainsaying is at times, he has nonetheless done Rantburg a service by asking the very hard question of all of us, Do you support torture, and if so, then which types and under which circumstances? That said, Aris can sit down now.
/soapbox
Myself, I think it's absolutely necessary to leave such techniques to a tiny handful of professional interrogators who specialize in such methods and who apply them in rare cases and only under explicit authorization by the President.
Cumbersome? Not really. True "ticking bomb" cases are quite rare. As are Khalid Muhammed characters. In any event, the President should be intimately involved in such cases.
That is, screw the notion of an abstract policy, which can and will be abused by sadists and people under pressure to produce results, and put the onus on the individual who, of all of us, is the one most accountable to both our safety and our democratic and moral principles, among which the promotion of Iraqi democracy is cetainly critical.
If Bush makes the wrong call consistently-- sacrificing either our security or our princples and Iraq's democratic progression-- then he and his party will certainly pay for it.
#24
In other words, pragmatism, not a priori abstract policies, and democratic accountability. Aren't pragmatism and accountability the distinguishing features of American democracy? There's something very, well, European about the notion of a few government officials trying to devise a legalistic code to cover such an extremely complex, amorphous issue like this one and then apply it to all kinds of circumstances.
Which is one reason we have seen such 20-century Europe-style abuses of power as what happened at Abu G. Let's get back to American accountability, pragmatism, and common sense.
#25
Don, Sorry to be so long in replying. Lots of errands.
If I read you correctly you are saying that since the chain of command was relieved of command, you assume an Art. 32 has been done and the folks in the chain of command will not be promoted and are thus effectively terminated the matter is fully investigated and the system worked.
At the risk of being tarred as in league with he-who-shall-not-be-named, it seems to me some officer was responsible for knowing what was going on in his or her command. Remember when the photos came out they had a show and tell for Congress critters and it came out that there were thousands of photos and videos. It seems that this was not a single occasion or something nipped in the bud. Some officer was directly responsible for those people.
The reforms of the 80's did not absolve officers from responsibility for what happens under their command. Some officer was either a) not performing the necessary oversight or b) was involved. That officer and all above should be prosecuted until we get to the officer above the one not performing the necessary oversight.
The system worked until the photos were leaked. Then the system broke thanks to some rat in the military and the MSM scum who thought it would be a career maker...Mary Mapes, if I recall correctly. The domestic reaction was so out of proportion that the military, very possibly pursuant to civilian orders, may have capped prosecutions at the lowest level possible, the incredibly unattractive Sgt. Graner. And I'm not sure that would bave been a bad decision given the domestic and internation brouhaha it became.
But, I'm just very leery of only enlisted personnel getting prosecuted.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
01/15/2005 15:42 Comments ||
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#26
Robert, I certainly don't know the UCMJ, but some officer was derelict in his/her duty and brought dishonor to the service. I always thought those were court martial offences.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
01/15/2005 15:46 Comments ||
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#27
Lex, I agree with everything you have written but I am torn by this:
and only under explicit authorization by the President.
I don't think the president's authority ought to be that finely grained in such an instance. Dubya's style has been to set the goals, set the policies, hire the best people, and then keep the troops rallied. It is a tried and proven management style that has been shown to work everytime it has been tried.
I think it is bad policy to have a president so closely involved in such cases inasmuch as he may be responsible for what happens, ultimately.
OTOH, it makes sense for Dubya to approve any and all cases of torture to extract inforamation.
#28
I certainly don't know the UCMJ, but some officer was derelict in his/her duty and brought dishonor to the service. I always thought those were court martial offences.
Any violation of the UCMJ can be a court martial offense. The crux is whether a court martial is warranted or the use of non-judicial punishment (NJP) is warranted instead.
That's going to depend on what the investigation comes up with and what is recommended based on that investigation. One may come up with enough material to indicate some officer was lax and ineffective, but not enough to get a court martial conviction. Hence it may be referred to NJP. It may be a career-ender, it may not. The accused could always certainly demand a court martial.
He is a proven liar and bigot, as evidenced by his posts elswhere here on Rantburg. He even equivocated and dissembled aobu the definition of a lie in order to avoide apologizing for his bigoted lie.
#30
Mrs. Davis. You are corredt. The commandant of the prison was derelict in her duty to surpervise the prison. It was her job to know everthing that went on in those cell blocks. She chose to delegate to others her responsibilities. This DOES NOT absolve her. She should have never delegated her responsibilities to anyone. I have a hard time comprehending how she got as far up as she did.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
01/15/2005 17:50 Comments ||
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#31
Well , cos im drunk , I will say it ...
Which between Frank and Aris is gonna apply the lube . You both have taken debate to a whole new level , are you secret lovers , cos both of ya sound like the arguementative ex wife of a jilted generation , one im only too glad to just watch from afar , and throw handouts to , as and when needed . Sheesh both of ya need to take up fly-fishing or something ..
Sorry if you feel I insulted you both but ffs , sort ya selves out ..
Posted by: Tom ||
01/15/2005 17:59 Comments ||
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#34
MacNails - ya get a mulligan for being drunk. Otherwise I'd kick your ass
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/15/2005 18:01 Comments ||
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#35
Deacon, Ã don't see her as innocent, by any stretch, but she is a General. Aren't there a few folks between the sergeants and the General? What about them?
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
01/15/2005 18:02 Comments ||
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#36
hehe Frank , ya know i lub ya really , just *cough* baiting .. not wanna bite ? :)))
#37
Ten out of a possible seventeen? He could be out before the last troop leaves Iraq.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
01/15/2005 18:05 Comments ||
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#38
think the staff filling that gap won't get punished, Mrs D? I would certainly hope ALL knowing persons do....
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/15/2005 18:13 Comments ||
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#39
Frank, I suspect they will. I just think, going back to my original comment, the system did not get a chance to work. Had it been left to work I think the punishments would have been more up front and set a better example. As it is now, it will be done quietly out of sight. That's not the way the system should work.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
01/15/2005 18:37 Comments ||
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#40
true - but wasn't that due to the MSM feeding frenzy to damage Bush as well as Gen. Janice's extended media appearances/offensive to slough off blame?
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/15/2005 18:48 Comments ||
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#41
I can't believe this asshole got away with what he did. He was screwing at least two other soldiers while pulling his shit with the inmates.
And the guy has a family. I feel for the kids.
Posted by: Captain America ||
01/15/2005 19:42 Comments ||
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#42
Frank, As I said in #25, The system worked until the photos were leaked. Then the system broke thanks to some rat in the military and the MSM scum who thought it would be a career maker...Mary Mapes, if I recall correctly.
btw, how did we dearisify this thread? We need a lessons learned analysis of this thread.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
01/15/2005 19:47 Comments ||
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#43
easy - he left?
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/15/2005 20:07 Comments ||
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#44
See #19, Mrs. D. I think Steve White gets the credit.
Posted by: Tom ||
01/15/2005 20:14 Comments ||
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#45
Mrs. D, me thinks this quote from #19, dearisfied the thread. Someone named Steve White.
"That said, you have a choice: you can stay (and you're welcome to) or you can go. If you post, you might expect that a few of your friends here will respond to you on a regular basis."
He is a proven liar and bigot, as evidenced by his posts elswhere here on Rantburg. He even equivocated and dissembled aobu the definition of a lie in order to avoide apologizing for his bigoted lie.
He is a proven liar and bigot, as evidenced by his posts elswhere here on Rantburg. He even equivocated and dissembled aobu the definition of a lie in order to avoide apologizing for his bigoted lie.
Twenty-eight Iraqis held by Iraqi authorities for common crimes escaped as they were being transported by bus from the Abu Ghraib prison to another facility, a U.S. official said Friday. Lt. Col. Barry Johnson said 38 prisoners initially got away Thursday evening but 10 were quickly recaptured. He gave no further details but said none of the prisoners were believed to be insurgents and no U.S. forces were guarding them during the transfer. Efforts to contact Iraqi officials were unsuccessful because government offices are closed on Fridays.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/15/2005 00:00:00 ||
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#1
Er, did they weld bars across the windows of the bus? That might help.
Paramilitary troops on Friday launched a house-to-house search for weapons in Sui, as the Balochistan cabinet meeting in Quetta asked the federal government not to send in the military against the tribesmen, a majority of whom are Bugtis, AFP reported.
They're the ones shooting people up, aren't they?
Hundreds of troops were involved in the operation focussed on villages in the vicinity of the Sui gas fields to flush out weapons and secure the facility, official Abdul Samad said. "So far there has been no arrest, but the search is progressing well," Mr Samad said. Meanwhile, Balochistan Home Minister Shoaib Nausherwani said on Friday that the provincial cabinet was of the view that there was no need for a military operation and the dispute with the Bugti tribe should be solved through political dialogue.
"Everything's fine here! How are you?"
The cabinet had asked the federal government to take "direct control" of the entire Sui town and assume responsibility for its security, Mr Nausherwani added. The Interior Ministry has marked five cities in Balochistan including Quetta as dangerous zones with reference to law and order, Online reported.
Quetta? Dangerous? When did that start?
This was stated in a report presented by the Interior Ministry to the Standing Committee on Interior on Friday. The marked cities include Dera Bugti, Sui, Khuzdar, Sibi, Gwadar and Quetta, with the Interior Ministry calling them "difficult areas". The report also stated that Sui was close to the Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan borders and several installations of national importance including two major gas compression plants and wells of the Oil and Gas Development Corporation (OGDC) were in the area and a 367-kilometre-long Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) pipeline originated from Sui. The OGDC and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) installations were under threat due to the volatile security situation in the area, it added.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/15/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) expressed deep concern on the deteriorating law and order situation in Balochistan and said that the government had failed in its duty to maintain law, order and peace in the country. Addressing a press conference on Friday, Naveed Chaudhry, the PPPP information secretary, said that a grim law and order situation had been created after the South Waziristan turmoil in Gilgit, Baltistan and Sui in Balochistan. The situation had deteriorated to the extent that the government had to impose a curfew. Government functionaries, members of law enforcing agencies and government installations were being targeted which reflected a civil war scenario, he added.
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Politics is a funny thing. In time, even in a most contrived set-up, those that become allies start behaving alike. Even the strangest of bedfellows if forced to cohabit do in time learn to accept each other if they wish to use the same bed. After the elections in 2002, the government that came into place was cobbled together by pulling disparate groups under the same umbrella. The ultimate symbol of that government was the vote case by the late Maulana Azam Tariq — the leader of arguably the most sectarian of organisations — that put it in place. The alliance thus created survives to this day. However, some of the dysfunctional aspects of such a diverse grouping are slowly becoming apparent.
I'm actually surprised it's lasted as long as it has. Anna Comnena is impressed.
On account of persistent external pressure, this government would now very much like to present a moderate and if possible a secular face to the rest of the world. The unfortunate fact is that in spite of some cosmetic changes the alliance that runs Pakistan today is still very much the alliance that came into being more than two years ago. Its main component is a centre-right group that believes neither in secularism nor in religious moderation, enlightened or not. Moreover, the only political party that was relatively secular and moderate has been systematically dismantled during the last five years.
There were a number of reasons for that, starting with the fact that the PPP is (usually) opposed to the oligarchy, but also including the fact that they were just as corrupt and ineffective as any other Pak political party...
Recent political missteps might suggest that the existing alliance is undergoing some internal readjustment.
That's what it looks like from here. There have been the tentative approaches to Bhutto, and a large amount of behind the scenes work to set the various components of the MMA against each other. I'd guess a lot of money's been spent on Fazl, since you never know which side he's going to be on from one day to the next, and a lot of oil's been spent greasing Sami's ego. And I'd hate to think what the machinations have been within the military oligarchy itself...
Ten people, including an elderly Muslim woman and her son, were killed in fresh violence in held Kashmir, police said on Friday. Three soldiers and two militants died during two days of fighting in the central Kashmir district of Budgam in which the two sides exchanged automatic weapons fire. "The fighting erupted Thursday evening when troops ringed a residential house on a tip-off that militants were hiding there," a police spokesman said. Troops shot dead three other militants in Rajouri, a police spokesman said. Meanwhile, militants killed overnight a member of Ikhwan — a pro-India militant group formed by former separatist rebels — and his 60-year-old mother in southern Anantnag district, police said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/15/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Members of the defunct Imamia Students Organisation (ISO) attacked the Lahore Press Club (LPC) on Friday and injured nine journalists.
Doesn't sound that defunct, does it?
A large number of ISO students on Thursday protested against the assassination of Shia leader Agha Ziauddin Rizvi in front of LPC and started beating up man and a woman who were passing by. Local journalist Amir Sohail tried to stop the students, but was instead attacked and beaten up. Journalists Abid Nawaz, Shahnawaz Khan and Umar Sharif were also attacked when they tried to stop the students from beating up Amir. Police took the journalists inside the press club, where they (reporters) refused to publish the ISO's protest. Later, the students dispersed. On Friday evening, about 250 ISO students with weapons, stones, Molotov cocktails and lathis came to LPC and again protested against the Shia leader's assassination. They threw stones and shot at the press club, injuring nine journalists and damaging LPC's reception area and several vehicles belonging to journalists. At least 200 policemen said they had orders not to take action against the ISO students in case they started damaging government property. Meanwhile, senior journalist Asghar Butt tried to enter LPC, but the ISO students beat him up. Former LPC secretary Rai Hasnain Tahir tried to save Asghar, but he too was beaten with lathis. He received head injuries and several journalists took him inside the press club.
All reporters again decided not to publish the ISO's protest and returned to LPC's premises. The ISO protested inside and outside the press club for about 35 minutes and left the scene. Journalists including LPC Vice President Shadab Riaz Khan, Shoaib Ahmad, Amir Mughal, Asghar Butt, Rai Hasnain Tahir, Haji Abdul Ghafoor, Moazzam Bhatti, Ijaz Mirza and Amir Sohail were injured by the stoning and were taken to hospital. Later, several journalists demonstrated against the ISO's attack and police's attitude. ISO Secretary General Syed Faisal Abbas Naqvi, however, issued a statement saying the ISO had not attacked the journalists whereas it was activists of the Jamiat Muntazar who took part in the assault. Lahore Police spokesman Athar Ali Khan said police arrested more than 160 rioters after the incident. More than 15 people including seven police officials were injured on Friday when activists of the Pakistan Islami Tehreek threw stones at policemen who tried to stop them from going to Parliament House. Police used tear gas and later baton charged the demonstrators at China Chowk. They were protesting the assassination of Agha Ziauddin. More than eight people received multiple injuries. Police arrested 40 people involved in the scuffle. Meanwhile, in Gilgit, Agha Ziauddin was laid to rest on the premises of the main Shia mosque at about 8:30pm.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/15/2005 00:00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
A Saudi national has been killed in a gunbattle with Kuwaiti security forces.
The British and Thai embassies in Indonesia have been closed after bomb threats sparked a security alert, the government has said. The British embassy shuttered its building in Jakarta's central business district on Friday and closed a consular facility in a neighbouring office block that is home to several foreign media organisations and near hotels frequented by Westerners. Police deployed bomb squads and anti-terror teams in force to the area and said they were taking the threat seriously against it and the nearby Thai embassy. Dozens of extra police, some carrying rifles, were on guard outside the two embassies on Friday. Several armoured vehicles were also stationed outside.
DAVAO CITY -- A government prosecutor justified Friday the release from prison of two suspects in the twin bombings that rocked 
The bodies of 18 Iraqis, shot dead, have been found dumped on roadsides in central Iraq. Thirteen corpses, including that of a young woman, were discovered near Latifiyah, 40km south of Baghdad, witnesses said. The bodies displayed bullet holes that gave the impression their killers had shot them at close range, said resident Abd al-Rahman al-Janabi. Most of the bodies were men aged between 20 and 40, along with a woman who appeared to be in her mid-twenties. 
The US soldier who led a band of sadistic guards in abusing prisoners at Baghdad's 
Twenty-eight Iraqis held by Iraqi authorities for common crimes escaped as they were being transported by bus from the Abu Ghraib prison to another facility, a U.S. official said Friday. Lt. Col. Barry Johnson said 38 prisoners initially got away Thursday evening but 10 were quickly recaptured. He gave no further details but said none of the prisoners were believed to be insurgents and no U.S. forces were guarding them during the transfer. Efforts to contact Iraqi officials were unsuccessful because government offices are closed on Fridays.
Paramilitary troops on Friday launched a house-to-house search for weapons in Sui, as the Balochistan cabinet meeting in Quetta asked the federal government not to send in the military against the tribesmen, a majority of whom are 
Politics is a funny thing. In time, even in a most contrived set-up, those that become allies start behaving alike. Even the strangest of bedfellows if forced to cohabit do in time learn to accept each other if they wish to use the same bed. After the elections in 2002, the government that came into place was cobbled together by pulling disparate groups under the same umbrella. The ultimate symbol of that government was the vote case by the late Maulana 
Ten people, including an elderly Muslim woman and her son, were killed in fresh violence in held Kashmir, police said on Friday. Three soldiers and two militants died during two days of fighting in the central Kashmir district of Budgam in which the two sides exchanged automatic weapons fire. "The fighting erupted Thursday evening when troops ringed a residential house on a tip-off that militants were hiding there," a police spokesman said. Troops shot dead three other militants in Rajouri, a police spokesman said. Meanwhile, militants killed overnight a member of Ikhwan — a pro-India militant group formed by former separatist rebels — and his 60-year-old mother in southern Anantnag district, police said.
Members of the defunct 
