The Supreme Court ruled against The New York Times on Monday, refusing to block the government from reviewing telephone records of two Times reporters in a leak investigation concerning a terrorism-funding probe. Sit down and shaddup!
The one-sentence order came in a First Amendment battle that involves stories written in 2001 by Times reporters Judith Miller and Philip Shenon. The stories revealed the government's plans to freeze the assets of two Islamic charities, the Holy Land Foundation and the Global Relief Foundation.
U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald is trying to track down the reporters' confidential sources for the stories. Fitzgerald's spokesman, Randall Samborn, declined to comment on the Supreme Court's order.
The case marks the second refusal by the court in as many years to sort out a clash between the federal government and the Times over press freedom. heh heh - Whassamatter Pinch? Press Freedom doesn't extend to treason? f*cker
In June 2005, the Supreme Court refused to take up the Times' request to hear an appeal in the CIA leak investigation involving the outing of Valerie Plame. In that case, Miller, who retired from the Times a year ago, spent 85 days in jail before agreeing to testify to a federal grand jury. Fitzgerald, in a role as a special counsel, conducted that leak investigation as well. do your job, Fitz
Monday's rejection "is just further indication that we're getting absolutely nowhere with the court when it comes to protecting confidential sources," said Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
The case points out a growing problem of reporters trying to protect their sources in the information age, press advocates say. Rather than threatening reporters with jail if they don't testify, the government can go through the back door to hunt down confidential sources by amassing phone records and credit card receipts. classified info leaked? F*ck their confidential sources. Send for an extended stay in the graybar hotel with Bubba the homosexual patriot
"It's impossible to operate on cash only and face-to-face and do your job as journalists," said University of Minnesota media ethics and law professor Jane E. Kirtley.
Dalglish said that protection of phone record confidentiality is among the issues that should be addressed in federal shield law legislation she and other press advocates are urging Congress to consider.
Floyd Abrams, a lawyer for the Times, said the current case is part of a larger dispute over the public's right to information. "classified information, especially if it damages the safety of Americans. We're entitled to it and to publish it"
"We remain hopeful that in the end, whether in the courts or in Congress, that right will be vindicated," Abrams said.
The current dispute stems from Shenon and Miller calling the two charities for comment after learning of the planned freeze on their assets from confidential sources.
The Justice Department says the reporters' calls tipped off the charities of upcoming government raids. A federal judge who ruled in the Times' favor said there is no evidence in the case even suggesting that the reporters tipped off the charities about the raids or that the reporters even knew the government would raid either charity.
In August, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that federal prosecutors could see the two reporters' phone records.
The government says the fact that the reporters relayed disclosures from a government source to "targets of an imminent law enforcement action substantially weakens any claim of freedom of the press."
At issue are 11 days of phone records the government plans to review from 2001 _ for the dates Sept. 27-30, Dec. 1-3 and Dec. 10-13. In a declaration this month, Fitzgerald said the statute of limitations "on certain substantive offenses that the grand jury is investigating" will expire on Dec. 3 and Dec. 13 of this year.
The current leak probe is in Fitzgerald's capacity as U.S. attorney in Chicago. The Libby prosecution is in Fitzgerald's role as a special counsel who was selected by a Justice Department superior to conduct that investigation
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/27/2006 20:09 ||
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#1
To quote the inimitable Wilford Brimley: "The Constitution don't say that, and the right don't exist."
If someone speaks of something that they know will be marked "classified", than they have spoken wrong. The press does owe a responsibility in the interest of preservation of credential to maintain a certain level confidence. I do not need a big news organitaion to know what is going on - that, most people can find on their own. But I do want them to focus on their jobs more than trying to be the big breakers of "enticing" news "Scandals". Afterall, we all know how scandalous Nationial Security is. They oversell their worth to the public and would sell all of their children down the river for a headline. Why not just report the news? If I had money, I would not pay the New York Tmes a dime, but I would give Rantburg a Dollar - or a million.
Two Canadian soldiers are dead following a suicide bomber's attack on a military convoy in southern Afghanistan, officials confirmed Monday. "I have to announce that two Canadian soldiers were killed just outside Kandahar City," said Brig.-GenTim Grant, the Commander of Canadian Forces in Southern Afghanistan.
"At about 8:30 this morning a suicide bomber attacked a Canadian convoy, detonating his vehicle and killing two Canadian soldiers."
Grant said the attack took place about one kilometre outside Kandahar City. "The two soldiers that were killed were the only ones that were injured and there were no civilian casualties," said Grant, disputing reports that an Afghan civilian had died.
The two Canadians killed are reported to be the crew commander and driver of a Bison armoured personnel carrier, said The Canadian Press. The names of the soldiers have not been released. "The next of kin have been notified but they have asked for additional time to notify family," said Grant.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families back home and with the members of the battlegroup who have lost some very close friends." And our prayers as well.
The soldiers had been helping with reconstruction projects outside Kandahar where heavy clashes had taken place over the past several months. Kandahar province has been relatively calm recently aside from some sporadic fighting. "There has not been a death of a Canadian soldier here for six weeks," reported CTV's Steve Chao in Kandahar. "There has been talk for a while of a relative peace, and a hope that peace would last through the winter. This obviously has not happened."
The suicide bomber was reported to have been driving a small minivan. "I heard a powerful bomb explosion," Haji Abdullah, a mechanic in Kandahar City told The Canadian Press. "The atmosphere was very tense. Everybody was running here and there and screaming," he said.
An ISAF soldier died almost three weeks ago when his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device (IED) in the Panjwai district west of Kandahar City. Two other soldiers were injured in that incident.
For Canada, there have been no fatalities since Sgt. Darcy Tedford and Pte. Blake Williamson died in an ambush west of Kandahar City on Oct. 14. There are about 2,500 Canadian troops serving in Afghanistan. Including Monday's deaths, 44 have died since 2002, plus one diplomat.
Posted by: john ||
11/27/2006 08:49 ||
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A very good friend of mine has a son in the Royal Canadian Military. He's done one tour in Afghanistan, and is scheduled to go back in January. This stuff is beginning to get personal on several different levels.
God bless these Canadians and their families, and the citizens who support them and their effort.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/27/2006 12:36 Comments ||
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Bless his Family and you Canada, my northern Friend.
The Taliban have released two Pakistani journalists who were detained for several days in southern Afghanistan after entering Taliban-controlled territory without permission, a purported spokesman for the hard-line Islamic militia said on Sunday. Syed Saleem Shahzad, from The Star newspaper in Karachi, and Qamar Yousafzai, a reporter with various newspapers in Quetta, were last heard from in Afghanistans southern Kandahar province on November 19.
They were released on Sunday morning after being held for entering Taliban controlled territory without permission, Mohammed Hanif, a purported Taliban spokesman, said in a Pashto language e-mail sent to The Associated Press. The men were released on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Helmand, Hanif later told the AP by phone. They had been kept for two or three days as guests, Hanif said. Journalists must contact mujahedeen before entering their areas so their safety is ensured. They would not face any problem if they informed mujahideen.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/27/2006 00:00 ||
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KHOST, Afghanistan - A suicide bomber blew himself up in a restaurant in eastern Afghanistan Sunday, killing 15 Afghans. The suicide attacker walked into a hotel restaurant in the remote town of Urgun in the eastern province of Paktika and blew himself up, a witness said.
Fifteen people have been martyred and 25 others have been wounded, Paktika provincial governor Mohammad Akram Kheplwak told AFP. He and other officials said it was a suicide attack, similar to scores carried out by the Taleban this year, but the interior ministry indicated the blast was caused by a mine planted in the building.
Kheplwak said most of the casualties were soldiers with a militia hired by US forces, who have a base in the area, to assist with patrols and searches. The commander of the militia and the governor of an adjoining district were among the wounded, he said.
Interior ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary, who put the death toll at 12, blamed the attack on the enemies of Afghanistan and of the government.
The small hotel and some shops around it were badly damaged, said witness Mohammad Shah Faizi. NATOs International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said the blast caused buildings to collapse and civilians were among the dead.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/27/2006 00:00 ||
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Whatever you do, DON'T order the chef's surprise!
"Unshod feet, don't fail us now!" Rebels who overran the largest city in eastern Chad on Saturday disappeared almost as quickly as they had arrived, melting away Sunday as government soldiers re-established control of the looted city center. But even as the government forces retook the city, Abéché, apparently without bloodshed, a rebel column headed toward the capital, Ndjamena. The French Embassy in Ndjamena said a column of rebel troops was headed toward Ndjamena, but it was impossible to say if it had left Abéché or was another group of rebels. This would be a good time to try out the Mirage jets the French had based at Abeche, yes?
Not enough Israelis in Chad to bother.
Later in the day, news agencies gave conflicting reports about the location of the rebel column. Reuters reported that France had said the column was no longer advancing but was in Batha Province, which would put the rebels 150 to 375 miles from the capital. It also said Chads government had denied reports of rebels moving on Ndjamena. But The Associated Press reported that Chadian soldiers had been massing along a strategic road as a rebel convoy had been spotted advancing toward the city.
For more than a year, several rebel groups have been seeking to overthrow Idriss Déby, who has been president of Chad since he seized power in a coup in 1990. Chad, one of the poorest and least stable countries in Africa, has been further destabilized by the chaos in Darfur, the region of western Sudan just across the border. At least 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been pushed from their homes in Darfur in a battle over land, ethnicity and self-determination that the Bush administration has called genocide.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/27/2006 00:00 ||
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Russian special forces killed five gunmen on Sunday, including an Arab rebel leader, in the southern republic of Dagestan which borders Chechnya, a Russian intelligence agent said. Special forces surrounded a house in Khasavyurt in the west of Dagestan in an early morning raid and killed three gunmen in an initial exchange of shooting. "The others were offered a chance to surrender," said Mikhail Merkulov the deputy head of Dagestan's FSB, Russia's intelligence service. "After receiving a negative reply the FSB soldiers broke into the house and shot two more gunmen. One of them was foreign terrorist-mercenary Abu Havs".
Chechnya's Prime Minister and leader of its most powerful pro-Kremlin militia group, Ramzan Kadyrov, said Abu Havs's death would help bring stability to the region. "I believe that the liquidation of Abu Havs will be a positive influence on the situation not only in Chechnya but also in the whole region. In the last year he has been spending a lot of money on funding terrorist acts," Kadyrov told Interfax news agency.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/27/2006 00:00 ||
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Sometimes the ruthlessness of Putin's boys is a good thing. But it really would have been nice to have captured Abu Havs alive for questioning. Then again, maybe they did.
Without Shamil, Chechnya continues winding down. I think there might be a lesson here that applies to other "intractible" situations.
Mihail Merkulov, assistant head of Russian intelligence service FSB, reported Jordanian Abu Hafs, al-Qaedas chief representative in the Caucasus, and four of his aides were killed in a raid on Khasavyurt region on Sunday morning. Merkulov said he initially intended to search the raided house. Russian NTV released footage of the bodies of the militants killed during the raid, but their faces were not shown. Chechen website Kavkazcenter.com has yet to confirm the report.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/27/2006 00:00 ||
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An Australian soldier who served in Afghanistan has become the nation's most decorated soldier since the Vietnam War.
The soldier, known as Commando Sergeant A, was awarded the Star of Gallantry at a ceremony in Sydney today to welcome home 200 troops after 12 months in Afghanistan. The solider fought off a series of ambushes as he led his unit on a mission to secure an airfield in southern Afghanistan earlier this year.
Another soldier, known as Commando Corporal B, received a Medal of Gallantry for his role during a different operation.
The Governor-General, Major General Michael Jeffery, has praised the men's bravery. "Both men displayed outstanding leadership skill and, above all, gallantry under fire and extremely hazardous circumstances," he said.
"Their bravery contributed to the overall success of their missions and to the safety of their comrades."
(PTI): Two Lashkar-e-Taiba militants were killed and a policeman were injured in a gunbattle with security forces that erupted at Pampore on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway today, officials said. They said personnel of the Special Operations Group and 50 Rashtriya Rifles had on the basis of specific information, launched a joint operation at the Neij village in Pampore, 15 km. from here, this afternoon. As security forces zeroed in on a particular house in the village, they came under heavy fire from militants holed up inside which was retaliated.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/27/2006 00:00 ||
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Kurds are seen as the "nice guys" of iraq, but they do have a very bloody history of persecution against christians (they were instrumental in the armenian genocide), and they still have some nasty habits (like the casual desacration of remaining churches in kurdish territories by kids, even decades after they've been emptied).
(AINA) -- Attacks against Assyrian Christian civilians (also known as Syriacs and Chaldeans) residing in the Nineveh Plain, north Iraq, have recently escalated at the hands of local Iraqi police as well as Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) paramilitary security squads. On June 30, 2006 three Iraqi Police loyal to the KDP Police Chief in the Hamdaniya District of the Nineveh governorate began assaulting civilian passers by with anti-Christian and racist slurs. The policemen had just come off duty but were still carrying their automatic weapons. As the Iraqi police continued their tirade against Christians in the overwhelmingly Assyrian Christian town, Steven Basim, a young man, left his car to plead with the police to refrain from their insults and threats.
The police officers approached the man and one immediately started to strike him squarely on the side of his head with his weapon. As the young man fell to the ground bleeding, the other two policemen then also joined in the beating. Two other Assyrian men attempted to intervene and were also beaten.
As a group of onlookers began to approach and question the police regarding the slurs and beating, the police began firing into the crowd. Fearing they could not control the angry crowd, the police called for reinforcements.
At 6:30 pm, the police dragged their bleeding, half conscious victim to the police station. Fearing for his life, a group of young Assyrian Christian locals decided to rescue the man from his kidnappers. The local priest, Fr. Loius Kassab, who has enjoyed considerable financial support and favor from the KDP occupying forces asked the group of Assyrians to allow him to intervene to secure the release. As time dragged on, the group of Assyrians became increasingly concerned that the badly beaten man may die in custody. Finally, the group stormed the holding station and rescued the man and immediately transported him to obtain medical care
Increasingly, especially over the past week, Kurdish forces as well as Iraqi police have begun a policy of harassment and intimidation of local civilians. Referring to the Arab and KDP police, one local Assyrian noted "they share one thing in common: they don't live here. They don't belong here." Another bitterly complained that "they don't come to provide security; they come to terrorize Christians and extract profits from the area for their personal gains."
The issue of local residents policing in the towns and villages of the Nineveh Plain has become a thorny issue. Local Assyrians, Shabaks, and Yezidis have formally submitted the names of 800 local police to join the Iraqi Police force in order to provide local police and security for the Nineveh Plain. The request has been formally granted and approved by the Iraqi government in Baghdad. However, the KDP Lieutenant Governor, Mr. Khisro Goran, has repeatedly blocked implementation of the proposal. (AINA 6-24-2006)
The role of non-local police in aggravating sectarian tensions rather than providing security played out on July 1 when KDP paramilitaries attempted to wrest control of the Central fuel distribution center for the Hamdaniya District of Nineveh. The armed KDP group was met by resistance from the Iraqi Police whom themselves had monopolized control of the distribution center and were, likewise, nonresidents of the Nineveh Plain. A fight ensued and, after additional KDP militants were called in, two police were wounded.
The conflict has left the Gasoline distribution center closed, thereby depriving tens of thousands of locals of badly needed fuel for transportation and electricity generation. Local Assyrians have bitterly complained that both the Police as well as the KDP were simply opportunists attempting to control the lucrative fuel black market. Gas stations have come under the control of armed groups tied to the police or KDP who regularly siphon off a portion of gasoline. The conflict over which non local group controls the gasoline black market has left local residents particularly vulnerable at a time when electricity has dropped from an average 12 hours per day to 2 hours per day during one of the hottest months of the year. Gasoline is critical for the running of generators.
Residents have also complained about the lack of real security provided by the KDP occupying forces. On June 25, a suicide bomber detonated a truck packed with explosives in front of the minority Shabak headquarters of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) killing two people and injuring thirteen.
Assyrian Christians and other minorities from the Nineveh Plain such as Shabak and Yezidis point to recent violence as further evidence of the deliberate suffocation of their area by the KDP and the police force it increasingly controls. Assyrian Christians further believe that local administration and policing by residents of the Nineveh Plain is the only way to reverse an increasingly tense and intolerable security situation. From the KDP perspective, though, total control of security is essential to continued Assyrian Christian subjugation as well as the furthering of the KDP dream to annex the Nineveh Plain into a greater KDP occupied region.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
11/27/2006 9:17 Comments ||
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#2
Keep in mind that these folks were one of the groups that Saddam used to play power politics with. For much of his reign, they were favored. Christians served in several major roles in the Saddam thuggocracy. So, the whining is somewhat self-serving.
#5
Yes, sammy was rather christian friendly, just think of tarik aziz. One more reason why french nationalists really resent the iraq war, because iraqi christians are taking hits from all sides, and are basically being ousted. This is quite true, but I still think this was brewing even when sammy was in power (cf his re-islamization, and the forced conversion law, if a christian converted to the Master Religion, all his relatives had to convert by law of face consequences, which led to a soody-funded campaign of bribery to get paid christians to convert).
In that regard, the US intervention just accelerated the process, and blew the lid off.
#6
Hum: I am not sure Assyrians (who define themselves as NON arabs) were liked by the panarabist Saddam.
BTW: When a pro-nazi coup toppled pro-British Nuri Said it was two meager battalkions of assyrians who defended the British air base of Habaniyah and routed a five times larger Arab force both tribesmen and regular army. Saddam's sympathies were on the Arab/Nazi side (the complete name of his party was National Socialist Party for Arab Renew) not on the British/Assyrian side.
"I get upset that some people don't know what it means to be a citizen of this country," she said. "There is no other country in this world like the United States. I tell people, 'Get down on your knees and thank God a million times for being in this country.'"
#9
JFM: Have a link to an article about that battle. I'm a youngster compared to most everyone here and would love to read more and some of the battles you talk about. Military History has always fascinated me.
Posted by: Charles ||
11/27/2006 13:32 Comments ||
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Unfortunately I have no special links my info comes from 1) a very, very detailed book about WWII I read when in my teens and from Churchill's "History of WWII"
Otherwise search google with Habbaniyah WWII, Habbaniyah Wavell, Habbaniyah Churchill, Habbaniyah Habforce and Habbaniyah Assyrian.
But there is not the welath of materials on teh subject on the internat is not that great.
#12
THis http://www.mideastweb.org/iraqaxiscoup.htm is not that bad but it greatly overassess the strength of the British: at the beginning of the siege against the Irqki artillery the British could only oppose the two mortars who had been decoratuing the gates of the base since end of WWI. Alos if memory doesn't failm me there were Wellington heavy bombers on the base only traing planes and Gloster Gladiator (biplanes) fighters all of them biplanes. In fact I think the Irakis were flying more modern planes than the British but to no avail since the Gladiators cleared them of the sky. After that in conjunction with an action of the meager ground forces defending the base they silenced the Iraki artillery. Only then were Wellingtons able to land on Habbaniyah.
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A U.S. Air Force jet carrying one pilot crashed in Iraq on Monday, the military said. The F-16CG was supporting coalition ground forces when it went down at about 1:35 p.m., about 20 miles northwest of Baghdad in Anbar province, the military said in a brief statement that contained no information about the cause of the crash or the fate of the pilot.
Mohammed Al-Obeidi, an Iraqi who lives in the nearby town of Karmah, said he saw the jet flying up and down erratically before it nose-dived and exploded in a farm field. He said other U.S. warplanes rushed to the crash site and were circling around it.
#2
In peacetime, ejecting from a plane is regarded as so traumatic that it could easily ruin a pilot's career. I once rode on an explosive charge ejection simulator, and it gave me a horrific twisted neck.
#3
...Trying to find out if this is a bird from my old outfit at Shaw AFB. I'd hate to think that some jihadi got a golden BB in.
And Moose is right, even under the most ideal conditions an ejection is so hazardous that Chuck Yeager (who only did it ONCE) referred to it as 'commiting suicide to avoid being killed." A Class A flight physical is mandatory fora pilot who has ejected (pilots can lose up to 4" of height from spinal compression, not to mention everything else that can get whacked/broken/amputated on egress)and regs only allow a pilot to eject twice in their careers - after the second one, it is a mandatory lifetime grounding.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
11/27/2006 13:20 Comments ||
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pilots can lose up to 4" of height from spinal compression
wTF, 10 cm!!! I had no idea it is so traumatic.
Anyway, I sure hope the pilot managed to eject, regardless.
#5
Good thing I'm not a pilot, then. My family delights to mention that anything below 5'0" is considered a midget in California -- handicapped status and everything -- but a further 4" would place me on the list throughout the country. ;-)
#6
We were given orientation rides in T-33 trainers when I was a cadet at the AF Academy in 1964. We had to go through an ejection seat simulator that was spring-loaded. That was easy. Later, in Vietnam, I flew a couple of times in the back seat of RF-4s. Before that, I had to go through the explosive ejection simulator. That was ROUGH! Bailing out is the next-to-last thing a pilot wants to do. The last thing is riding one of those steel lawn darts into the ground. In this case, it sounds like the fly-by-wire system was damaged, and the plane became difficult to control (flying up and down erratically). I hope he bailed out...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/27/2006 15:58 Comments ||
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I hope he bailed out...
Just outa curiosity, is a manual bailout ever still possible?
#8
OP,
'Lawn Dart' is grimly accurate in this case; that's a nickname for the F-16. The -16 had a bad rep early in its career for a series of accidents that involved a main electrical system failure followed by an immediate crash, all of which were fatal. It took a very brave test pilot at Edwards to recreate the system failure (at high altitude, all of the accidents were at low) and figure out the remedy. IIRC, the original programming for the FBW had the control surfaces automatically lock in place when they lost power - the on-board APU was supposed to start up fast enough on detecting a power failure that it shouldn't have been a problem, but they discovered that the APU was taking up to 3-5 seconds to fully spool up and reactivate the FBW system - and when you're zipping along at 500 KIAS only a couple hundred feet above the ground, having your control surfaces lock solid is a guarantee that you're going to hit the ground. Having said that, it's unlikely the FBW system is at fault here, though it can never be ruled out.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
11/27/2006 16:55 Comments ||
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Ship-
It's theoretically possible, but the last JET manual bailout I know of took place in the early 60s with an F-8 Crusader. I'd think that given the design of modern jets, it would be just about impossible.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
11/27/2006 16:58 Comments ||
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FREEREPUBLIC/WN.com/FOX [Guam time] are reporting that Islamist groups claim it was shot down but their claims have NOT yet been offio verified. No final status either on the pilot.
Shiite, Sunni, Kurd Leaders Appeal for Calm in Joint Plea
BAGHDAD, Nov. 26 -- Gunfights broke out and mortars came crashing down on parts of the capital Sunday despite a three-day-old curfew and appeals for calm from Iraq's top Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish political leaders.
"Don't give those who are depriving you of security a chance to impinge on your unity," the leaders said in a joint statement broadcast on national television, vowing to find out who was responsible for car bombings Thursday that killed more than 200 residents in Sadr City, a Shiite Muslim stronghold in Baghdad. "They want to drag you to angry reactions."
Tit-for-tat violence continued Sunday, as a gun battle erupted following afternoon prayers in the Sunni Arab neighborhood of Ghazaliya in west Baghdad. Shiite militiamen have attacked Sunni mosques in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq since the Sadr City bombings.
Residents in Ghazaliya described a harrowing scene in which Shiite militiamen opened fire with machine guns and lobbed mortars and grenades at the al-Hadithi and al-Muhajirin Sunni mosques and at a nearby market. They said the militiamen were aided in the attack by Iraqi security forces. As many as 45 people were killed and several houses destroyed, residents said.
In Baqubah, north of Baghdad, Iraqi security forces battled Sunni insurgents for a second day. Southwest of Baqubah, armed men took over a police station and burned six vehicles as police fled. They then replaced the Iraqi flag with that of a Sunni Arab insurgent group.
In Baghdad, two mortar shells hit a U.S. military post in the mostly Shiite neighborhood of Baladiyat. Two shells fell on a house across the street from a Shiite mosque in the central Baghdad neighborhood of Karrada, not far from the Green Zone, where the U.S. Embassy and the Iraqi government are located. Abdul Kareem al-Kinani, an Interior Ministry spokesman, said four people were injured in the attack.
The government planned to lift the curfew Monday. But fear ran high that the fighting would not end, as clashes in Ghazaliya and elsewhere illustrated the inability of Iraqi security forces to rein in the violence that has propelled the country closer to full-blown civil war. U.S. leaders are hoping that the Iraqi government can soon take over responsibility for securing its own land, considered a key to any U.S. troop withdrawal.
The problem with security forces goes beyond ineffectiveness, as many are widely believed to be operating in collusion with the militias and death squads.
The battle in Ghazaliya illustrated the challenges U.S. and Iraqi leaders face. Residents, speaking by telephone with the sound of gunfire audible in the background, said that hundreds of militiamen arrived in Toyotas at about 4 p.m., then marched through the streets accompanied by Iraqi policemen and National Guardsmen. The residents fought to keep them out of their mosques, witnesses said.
Abu Ahmed al-Duleimi, 55, a former Iraqi army officer, said he was helping a 16-year-old boy with cuts on his thighs, abdomen and face after a mortar fell near the boy's house. Unable to get him to a hospital, Duleimi took him to his home and called a neighbor who is a doctor. "The government should be neutral and should eliminate these militias, and not give them the opportunity to inflame the situation," he said as he waited for the doctor to arrive.
Abu Ghazwan, 63, said ambulances were unable to get into the neighborhood because they, too, were being attacked. Many of the injured were taken to a
nearby mosque, he said. Ghazwan had armed himself with an AK-47 and an ammunition belt, but Iraqi forces confiscated weapons from residents, he said. "We do not know how we will defend our area if they keep doing this," he said.
Residents said they took back the mosque after a few hours, after U.S. forces arrived.
A U.S. military spokesman said he could not confirm U.S. involvement in the battle. An Iraqi government spokesman denied that any such fight took place.
As fighting on the ground continued, so did a flurry of diplomatic activity that started even before last week's attacks. On Monday, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani is scheduled to leave for Tehran to discuss with Iranian leaders a regional solution to his country's problems. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, meanwhile, reiterated his plans to meet Wednesday with President Bush in Amman, Jordan, despite threats from powerful politicians linked to radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to pull out of Iraq's coalition government if he goes through with it.
Maliki, a Shiite, called on his government to stop the infighting that has paralyzed it. "The whole crisis is political, and it is the politicians who must stop the cycle of violence and bloodletting," he said at a press conference. "The terrorist acts are a reflection of the lack of political consensus."
U.S. forces also suffered casualties this weekend. Two Marines were killed and one was wounded in action in Anbar province Saturday, the U.S. military said. One soldier was killed and two were wounded in Diyala province when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle.
Al-Qaeda linked insurgents attacked a tribe allied to the Iraqi government and US forces in the restive western province of al-Anbar, prompting US air and artillery support, the military reported on Sunday. The insurgents attacked the Abu Soda tribe in Sofiya, near the provincial capital of Ramadi, with mortars and small arms, burning homes, in apparent revenge for their support of the Iraqi government.
Some 25 tribes in al-Anbar formed an alliance, the "Anbar awakening", in September and pledged to fight al-Qaeda militants in the insurgency-plagued province by forming their own paramilitary units and sending recruits to the local police force. "Al-Qaeda has decided to attack the tribes due to their support," said Sheikh Abdel Sittar Baziya, head of the Abu Risha tribe and a founder of the movement. "The terrorists have gone to a neighbouring tribe and have brought fighters to attack the Abu Soda," he said in the military's statement.
Following up reports of the attack, US forces hit the al-Qaeda attackers with artillery fire and air strikes. According to Sheikh Jassim of the Abu Soda tribe, 15 members of his tribe and 45 insurgents were killed in figures that were briefly flashed on state television last night. The US military could not confirm the figures.
Al-Anbar has long seen the fiercest resistance to the US occupation of Iraq and the insurgency there has claimed a lion's share of US casualties in the past three-and-a-half years.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/27/2006 00:00 ||
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From CentCom this morning (keep in mind when reading MSM accounts of atrocities against civilians, which will undoubtedly morph this into wanton murder of dozens of women and children):
AR RAMADI, Iraq Four civilians were evacuated to Camp Taqqadum for medical treatment of injuries sustained from mortar fire in northern Sofia directed against insurgent forces Nov. 26.
After establishing positive identification, Coalition Forces engaged insurgents who were gathering in preparation to attack an Albu Soda tribal check point.
One of the injured, a 64-year-old man, stated that several boys ran toward the area of impacts and he then chased them in an effort to move them to safety. The gentlemen and three boys ages 16, 13 and 6 were injured.
All the injured civilians went to a check point and were taken to Camp Taqqadum by Coalition Forces for treatment. None of the injuries is life threatening.
Leaders of major terrorist groups in Gaza said Sunday they either do not recognize the ceasefire agreement or plan to use it to re-arm and improve terrorist training. Two Kassams were fired Monday.
Abu Abir, spokesman for the Hamas-linked Popular Resistance Committees terrorist organization in Gaza, said Sunday, The ceasefire offers a period of calm for our fighters to recover and prepare for our final goal of evacuating Palestine.
Israel and the Palestinian Authority agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza on Sunday morning, calling for an end to all Palestinian terrorist activities and Israeli counter-terrorist activities. Israel has pulled most of its ground troops out of Gaza.
Two Kassam rockets were fired from Gaza at western Negev areas this afternoon (Monday). No one was physically hurt in this latest ceasefire violation.
In a series of exclusive interviews with Aaron Klein of WorldNetDaily, terrorist leaders said the ceasefire which was broken within two hours after it officially went into effect at 6:00 Sunday morning will be used to smuggle weapons into Gaza, reinforce and train fighter units, and produce rockets for a future confrontation with the Jewish State.
Abu Abdullah, a senior leader of Hamas' "military wing," told WorldNetDaily that Hamas agreed to the ceasefire "because we need a period of calm to recuperate. This lull in fighting will not bring us to speak about peace."
Abu Abdullah is consider one of the most important operational members of Hamas' Iz-Addin al-Kassam Martyrs Brigades, the declared military wing of Hamas.
Abu Luay, a leader of Islamic Jihad in Gaza, said Israel's weak stance "proves that our rocket attacks work. The Zionists know there is no remedy for our rockets."
The Islamic Jihad leader said rocket attacks against Israel would resume "at a time of our choosing."
IDF military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin and General Security Service (Shin Bet) director Yuval Diskin both recently warned the Knesset that PA terrorists will soon achieve military capability similar to that of the Hizbullah guerilla terrorist organization in Lebanon.
Both security chiefs urged Knesset Members to allow the IDF to launch a major offensive into Gaza to prevent PA terrorists from upgrading their military preparedness, in order to avoid a scenario similar to the debacle that took place during the Lebanon war this summer.
After that war, numerous IDF reservists and other groups charged that Israel badly underestimated the military capability of Hizbullah. They said Hizbullah had used the time following Israels pullout from southern Lebanon in 2000 in order to re-arm and upgrade its military skills.
Security officials are now saying that a similar situation is on the horizon in Gaza if the government does not heed its warnings.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, however, told reporters on Sunday he had faith that the ceasefire could lead to a comprehensive peace deal with the PA. Olmert said Israel would show patience and restraint despite the violations.
Several terror organizations said they did not recognize and would not be bound by the ceasefire agreement. Six Kassam rockets were fired at Israel within the four hours following the onset of the truce, though the skies have been empty of rockets since then.
Hamas-led PA officials announced that some 13,000 PA troops have been deployed in northern Gaza along the border with Israel as a deterrent force to prevent Kassam rockets being fired at Israel from the area of Beit Hanoun, a favorite terrorist launching site.
The PA forces are spread out along the entire northern Gaza border, said officials, in an effort to ensure that the rocket attacks are halted completely .
#1
Leaders of major terrorist groups in Gaza said Sunday they either do not recognize the ceasefire agreement or plan to use it to re-arm and improve terrorist training.
SDE BOKER, Israel (Reuters) -
Israel is prepared to release many jailed Palestinians, including long-serving prisoners, in return for a soldier militants seized in June, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Monday. Appeasement works sooooo well too, doesn't it/
In a major policy speech, Olmert said he was reaching out to the Palestinians for peace "Sucker!", Paleos. -- offering a series of humanitarian and economic incentives if violence against Israel ceased.
Within hours of Olmert's address, Palestinian militants in Gaza fired rockets into the Israeli border town of Sderot, despite a ceasefire declared on Sunday. There were no reports of casualties. See? Appeasement keeps them in check? Right? Rest of stupidity at link.
#1
Must be the celebratory barrage of rockets fired at the news of the upcoming prisoner release. The Olmert govt must be on a suicide bent. Un-freaking believable.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/27/2006 11:41 Comments ||
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IF he actually ends up releasing prisoners in the end and the paleos don't release the soldier alive, which he isn't I'm sure, Olmerts popularity will be around 2% if he's super lucky. Then they can get rid of him through no confidence vote.
Posted by: Charles ||
11/27/2006 13:30 Comments ||
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This guy may be worse than Shimon Peres. What are Israelis doing ? Can't they call for an election ASAP ? They've got to dump or throttle this dimwit before he sends them under.
The desire of Istiada Oemar Sovie, alias Amenah Toha, the captured wife of Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist, to be deported to Indonesia, together with all of her children, will not be realized after all. Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. said the Philippine government will have to deport Toha on or before the end of this month even without all of her six children. Toha has earlier requested Philippine and Indonesian authorities to deport her back to Indonesia together with her six children.
Philippine military operatives arrested Toha, together with her two children, aged six and eight, last month in the town of Patikul in Sulu. When Toha made her request, she revealed that her four other children with Aman Bin Usman alias Dulmatin were left in the care of a Filipino family in Patikul after her arrest.
Toha has violated immigration laws as she and her six children entered the country via the southern backdoor in 2003, three months after Dulmatin fled to Mindanao in April of the same year from Indonesia. Philippine military troops were sent out to locate the other four children of Toha but could not find them in the town of Patikul. "It looks like our efforts to locate the other children of Istiada Sovie with Dulmatin have proved to be futile," Esperon revealed.
He said the search for the other four children would however continue so that they could be sent back to Indonesia. He said Indonesian embassy officials are coming this week to fetch Toha and her two children from this city. Toha and her two children are in the custody of the Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) in Camp Don Basilio Navarro. Esperon visited the troops on Friday and Saturday in this city and in Sulu.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/27/2006 00:00 ||
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The Bitch did not want to leave!!!!!If only we could waste the bye products, 49 Pan wish you were here
Posted by: Joe of the Jungle ||
11/27/2006 6:14 Comments ||
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Sounds like its getting interesting again. If Wahab somehow got caught in crossfire, it would end the ASG sooner down there bro. I can wish cant I????
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
11/27/2006 6:52 Comments ||
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#3
It's all Good!!!! Joe W. was asking about you :-)
Posted by: Joe of the Jungle ||
11/27/2006 6:56 Comments ||
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#4
Go to oclub.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
11/27/2006 6:59 Comments ||
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#5
Club level....
Posted by: Joe of the Jungle ||
11/27/2006 7:03 Comments ||
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#6
got to go - out
Posted by: Joe of the Jungle ||
11/27/2006 7:04 Comments ||
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A suspected Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) commander was captured by government intelligence operatives in Colonia Village, Lamitan town, Nasilan province, sketchy reports reaching the area command and operation center of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Western Mindanao Command (WestMincom) on Sunday said.
A flash report received by Lt. Gen. Eugenio Cedo, area command chief of the WestMincom from 103rd Infantry Brigade, said Annik Abbas, alias Abu Anek, one of the ASG commanders, was captured by the intelligence operatives while on his way to Sinangkalaan in Tuburan town Friday evening. The report said the unarmed ASG commander did not resist arrest when nabbed.
He joined the ASG and was named one of the field commanders of Khaddafy Janjalani in 2003, the military said. The arrested suspect allegedly figured in the beheading of American hostage Guillermo Sobero in June 2001. Sobero was among the 21 persons allegedly victimized by Abbas, including American couple Martin and Gracia Burnham, who were abducted from the Dos Palmas resort in Palawan in May 2001. Martin was killed while in captivity and his wife Gracia was rescued the following year in Zamboanga Peninsula.
Abbas, was initially arrested but managed to escape from his prison cell in 2004 jailbreak in Basilan, military record disclosed. Basilan Gov. Wahab Akbar offered a P1 million bounty for the capture of Abbas, it was learned. On Saturday, AFP Chief of Staff General Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. ordered field unit commanders in Southern Philippines to capture ASG chieftain Khaddafy Janjalani and his other field unit commanders and two Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) bomb specialists Dulmaten and Omar Patek, who are suspects in the 2002 Bali bombings in Indonesia that killed more than 200 people and wounded several others.
Meanwhile, an ASG member was killed while two others were captured during a brief gunbattle with police intelligence operatives in Ayala Village, in Basilan, a police report also said.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/27/2006 00:00 ||
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He did not escape. Wahab opened the prisons after the AFP killed The local ASG commander. He released all prisoners in retaliation.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
11/27/2006 6:07 Comments ||
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#2
Now he is claiming he was an AFP inside informer .. The payroll will be tracked.
Posted by: Joe of the Jungle ||
11/27/2006 6:19 Comments ||
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#3
Haha. Ya right, he was probably on Wahabs payroll. It was Sali who got killed by the AFP and Wahab released the jails. Or should we say he left them unattended. Sali was one of Wahabs boys.
Hay joe, hope you survived C1/1.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
11/27/2006 6:48 Comments ||
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#4
Make it soon bro heading down south for awhile...
Posted by: Joe of the Jungle ||
11/27/2006 6:53 Comments ||
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#5
I think this spring, Life will be good. Tell the other joe I said hi. Stay safe down there, and keep them flying.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
11/27/2006 6:58 Comments ||
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#6
Bro you know how we like targets.......I hate when it rains hot lead!
Posted by: Joe of the Jungle ||
11/27/2006 7:00 Comments ||
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#7
Sorry Bro, I meant not the lead you supply, it was the other something than the precious metals we are not made of
Posted by: Joe of the Jungle ||
11/27/2006 10:26 Comments ||
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November 27, 2006: The sale of Russian Tor-M1 missile system to Iran have generated a fair bit of hype, but a closer look reveals that the sale is not as big a deal as some try to make it out to be. While the Russians are selling 29 missile systems, it is not nearly enough to reliably defend all of the key sites in Iran's nuclear program.
The Iranian nuclear program is scattered throughout the country some around Tehran, some around Bushehr, some in other locations. In other words, these launchers will not be bunched up, they will be scattered across Iran. Can the Tor-M1 cover all of it? Not quite. The reasons are easily discovered when one looks closely at the system involved.
The Tor-M1 known to NATO as the SA-15 Gauntlet, has a maximum range of 12 kilometers. It is only effective up to 6000 meters altitude. The system was designed as a successor to the SA-N-8 Gecko. Each launcher carries eight missiles, and it is claimed to be capable of engaging two targets simultaneously. The system was designed to be a tactical battlefield air-defense system, designed to take out close-air-support planes like the A-10 or tactical fighter-bombers like the F-4, F-16, and F-18.
Against a Tomahawk cruise missile, which goes as fast as 880 kilometers per hour, and comes in at very low altitudes, the Tor-M1 is a very marginal system. A single Tor would have 49 seconds at most to engage a Tomahawk if it detects the missile at its maximum range. That is a pretty big if, as radar performance declines against low-altitude targets. This assumes the missile will hit. If the missile misses (not an unthinkable occurrence in some circumstances), then more have to be fired.
If Tomahawks are not an option, then attacking from above the Tor's reach is. Most American combat planes can easily fly at altitudes above 6000 meters. These aircraft would have the option of either attacking the Tor systems themselves (and clearing the road for Tomahawks or combat aircraft to attack the main target), or going for the main target itself.
Tor could also be neutralized by sending in UAVs or target drones on a flight profile similar to that flown by combat aircraft or Tomahawk cruise missiles. This was the technique used in the 1991 Gulf War against the Iraqi air defense system. The Iraqis fired at the drones, revealing the location of the missile batteries and drawing very prompt attention from American Wild Weasels. The Iraqi system was neutralized very quickly.
When it comes right down to it, the Iranians have spent some of their petrodollars to get a missile system that looks good on paper, and which generate media attention, but ultimately is a false sense of security. The Russians have managed to make some money, get an export customer, yet these systems will not be able to deflect a determined attack against the nuclear weapons program
#2
So maybe Putie is the winner. He sells them ground-to-air systems to defend the reactors he previously sold them. No wonder Russkies always take their part in UN. Big bucks being transferred to Russian treasury.
Posted by: Mark Z ||
11/27/2006 19:15 Comments ||
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I wonder if they'll work as well as those vaunted GPS jammers Saddam bought?
Posted by: Dar ||
11/27/2006 19:41 Comments ||
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#6
I wonder if they'll work as well as those vaunted GPS jammers Saddam bought?
Heh(tm). The more I read 'bout this deal, the more amused I am. For all their bluster, the mullahs are mortaly terrified. At this point, they are grasping at any magic charm that promises to keep the evil amriki djinns from dragging them off into the night. Thats what the nukes are for. The missiles are just to protect the nukes.
Like the nukes themselves, these missles are not going to actualy accomplish the Iranins' intended purpose-- regime preservation.
What I see is a bunch of cargo-cult type actions by terrified savages (the mullahs), and some impressively unscrupulous exploitation of fundamental ignorance by a european merchant (Tsar Putin).
My only real worry is that the Mullahs might accidentaly cobble up a working nuke--and try to use it on someone. Mainly I worry about the relatively innocent bystanders that will get irradiated/killed.
At this point in the game, I almost wish the mullahs would pop a small (0.5-2kT) nuke over D.C., if only to see how certain talking heads handle a dose of reality. Almost. But not quite yet.
Posted by: N guard ||
11/27/2006 21:04 Comments ||
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#7
As Russian officios claimed in the late 1990's, any and all future Russian air-defense systems will possess both conventional- and NUCLEAR QUALITIES/CAPABILITIES. Pro-Chicom bloggers claim that China has reduced its acquisition of Russian-manufac systems becuz China's MIC now possesses enuff industrial know-how to begin producing her own indigenous copies/variants. LIKELY PRESUME SAME FOR RADICAL IRAN - reduced purchases, however, doesn't mean Russia-China won't stop selling or transferring.
Posted on the wire at 12:44 AM EDT.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iranian state television reported Monday that a plane crashed in Tehran, killing 28 members of the elite Revolutionary Guard, including high-ranking officers.
The plane crashed shortly after taking off from an airport in Tehran, the report said. It did not specify when the crash occurred or give further information about those killed.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/27/2006 00:55 ||
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damn shame - hope there were some bigwigs cremated
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/27/2006 1:07 Comments ||
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Hmmm, wasn't there another plane crash a couple months ago that took out some biggies in the IRG?
As they say, once is an accident, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action. Or maybe just will-of-allan style maintenance.
#4
Steve, yes, remembering meter got pegged. The last plane crash was filled with "journalists", whatever that is supposed to mean, but before that, it was some RG bigwigs, as far as I recall. Anyway, seems planes are crashing there almost with a regularity. Wonder why... Old decrepit has been parts? Maintenance ineptitude? I would presume these or similar causes, before turning to some form of enemy influence.
#8
Strikes me that they might want to outsource their aircraft maintenance. This is getting to be embarrassing. Their planes are crashing at this rate under peacetime conditions. Imagine how bad things will get when they're under air attack by Uncle Sam, and parts and supply depots are getting blown up.
#9
I remember when the last plane crashed that the TV channel Euronews blamed the accident on the US because it had an embargo on its airplane parts to Iran. I guess some embargos do work after all!
#10
Problem is all there planes mostly are Russian no embargo on those parts. Just hope their nuclear program is as well run as there avation sector is.
#11
Well, SPoD, sort of - Chernobyl.
There were a couple of Russian based reactors in Czech before Velvet Revolution. They sort of ran, leaking here and there, and always a step from an accident. I am not sure about their fate, but either they were closed down or re-fitted with some more reliable gear, possibly Candu or such, 's been a while so I am fuzzy on that.
#12
The Beeb forgot to blame this on the American parts embargo thingy... incredible.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
11/27/2006 4:29 Comments ||
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#13
Wasnt there had nothing to do with it. Hehehe
Posted by: Joe of the Jungle ||
11/27/2006 6:04 Comments ||
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#14
It's not poor maintainance, and it's not enemy action. I think they need to start strict drug and alcohol testing of their mechanics and pilots. Think about it - if you were subject to all the public restrictions on normal behavior, wouldn't you want to toke up and forget about it?
Off topic, in response to your question about my father and explosions yesterday: yes, he was Haganah, the pet chemist because he was a bit younger than Moshe Dayan and all. His mother used to kaffeeklatsch with Golda Meir at the moshav, when they'd plan out the primary and secondary education program (my grandmother had been superintendent of the Jewish school system in Riga, Latvia before emigrating in 1934, and before that had been part of the group of intellectuals that had regularized Latvian in the early part of the century, creating a proper language from what had been a peasant dialect). Daddy was a lab technician at the Technion, working on fertilizers and pesticides during the day... at least until he blew up the lab after hours. Then he got to be the guinia pig for the surgeons -- as my mother tells the tale, they'd been thrilled at the opportunity to practice skin grafting, not to mention making a new thumb from a bit of thigh bone (Mr. Wife found that first handshake memorable!), and the insurance money paid for his PhD (all agreed that promoting Daddy away from the bench was a good idea.) ;-)
In January 2006 the head of the Pasdaran [Revol. Guard] ground forces and several other high ranking officers were killed in another plane crash. In December 2005 yet another transport went down, the passengers mainly journalists traveling to cover naval maneuvers. In 2004 a planeload of Iranian aerospace scientists were killed in a plane crash. In 2003 a troop carrier crashed killing 276 Pasdaran
#28
Didn't someone (Oldspook?) mention that traditionally, coup attempts come from the Airforce?
That last lawndart bus had several high-ranking officers on it and I think it happened under similar conditions.
In one way it may be good news, but it might also have been the crash victims were Iranians opposed to Ahmadinjabob or the Mullahs and were thus liquidated.
#29
Hmmmmmm. Maybe this happens a lot over there because they've got lousy airplanes, flown by lousy pilots and maintained by lousy mechanics? Maybe their Air Force, like, sucks?
And if Allah had wanted man to fly, wouldn't he have given him wings? I'll bet Mo didn't fly, right?
Run that one by the 12th Imam.
#30
TW, that is soooo cool. What proud traditions in your family.
I was going to ask if NS would still be thrilled if I told him I was missing a couple fingers, but I haven't been adventurous enough to lose any. Yet. :)
#32
Of course Mohammed flew. But he was riding that special horse of his, which he refuses to share with his spiritual decendents, even if they do mean to reestablish the Caliphate.
Lots of interesting stories here at Rantburg, exJAG dear. Ask .com about his adventures in Saudi Arabia, or 3dc about his father's as a missionary in Asia (or his own as the child who went with them). Or about the lovely Mrs. 3dc, who had adventures of her own, or .... Truly an amazing depth of life experience to be found here at Rantburg. You'll need all your fingers, though, to hold your teacup while you sip and listen, so Nimble Spemble will just have to be satisfied with unscarred digits.
#33
Just the latest in the Mad Mullah's 'Right-sizing' effort. Couple that with the recent replacement of some of DInnerjacket's top dudes and pretty soon only the (rest of) the idiots will be running the palace.
Maybe for their next trip, they should use the short bus......
#35
"Thank you for flying Air America. My name is Al Franken and I'll be your Captain." "Just sit tight folks and relax for a moment, we'll be in the air ahead of schedule and this afternoons' flight will be a short one." "Allan Ackbar"
Posted by: Mike N. ||
11/27/2006 15:38 Comments ||
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#36
Actually, this is probably a continuation of a long series of problems that Iran has with maintenance and equipment. The mechanics who work on the aircraft have to be loyal, but not necessarily technically proficient. Only a couple of the C-130s that Iran has (out of about 70) are still flyable (Brunei is still flying all of their initial deliver of two, received about the same time as the Shah took possession of his). Pilots get about 20 hours a QUARTER of non-mission practice time, and only about a third of their aircraft of any type are considered flyable. Memorizing the Quran isn't quite the same as understanding tech manuals and NOTAMS.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/27/2006 16:16 Comments ||
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#37
Update:
TEHRAN (AFP) - An Iranian military plane has crashed on takeoff at Tehran's Mehrabad airport killing all 39 people on board, including 30 members of the Revolutionary Guards, police said.
High ranking Iranian police commander, Eskandar Moemeni, told the Fars news agency Monday that three people who initially survived the crash of the Antonov 74 died on their way to hospital.
"An engine failure and veering from the runway resulted in the crash," he said, adding that the others killed were crew members.
#40
Planes are devices that defy Nature by their very design, and Nature will get hers back when she can. Add in the "Insallah" attitude to maintenance, the American embargo, the perfidy of Russian and Ukrainian parts suppliers, and the general lack of technical competence on the part of the ground crews, and it is not surprising that Iranian aircraft crash on a regular basis.
Hell, the Indians have problems with their Russian aircraft {look at all the crashed MiGs}, and they are better at maintenance than the Iranians.
By the way, I mentioned a few weeks back that air forces are a known source of coups in Third World countries.
Paging Chuck Simmins, please pick up the white courtesy phone...
Thanksgiving was especially fruitful for those terroists insisting on death. The four day holiday resulted in the deaths of at least 26 terrorists in Iraq and at least 55 terroris in Afghanistan.
In addition, the New York Times reported a 40 hour battle during the period Nov 13-16 in eastern Iraq that killed 40 to 70 terrorists at the loss of two American soldiers. A Central Command briefier mentioned it in passing but there is no other reproting on the fight. Link Those figures have not yet been added to the Death Watch count, which currently stands at 1,212 terrorists killed in 2006.
#1
Hokay, this was me and it read me in all the nice boxes before I posted it.
I seem to lose my identitiy in Opinion posts, but no where else????
CentCom just e-mailed me that they have no further info on the battle of Turki, so I'm going to post the smaller total to the Death Watch. Additional 40 terrs killed for November.
#3
American soldiers fought such units in a pitched battle last week in the village of Turki, 25 miles south of this Iraqi Army base in volatile Diyala Province, near the Iranian border. At least 72 insurgents and two American officers were killed in more than 40 hours of fighting. American commanders said they called in 12 hours of airstrikes while soldiers shot their way through a reed-strewn network of canals in extremely close combat.
So will this come to be referred to as The Great Holiday Turki Shoot?
Posted by: Bobby ||
11/27/2006 17:16 Comments ||
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#4
Whoa -- you are in an email relationship with CentCom, Chuck? I am impressed!
in my house we have 4 people each has a different view but we have a common place to talk on common sence in the first pages of the koran@bible everything is from cosmic knowlewdge some use the plain folk to do their bidding on corruption
This message brought to Rantburg courtesy of Sydney, Australia. Apparently the Ashes tournament has gone into extra innings, allowing for a few more festive adult beverages.
#1
I probably shouldn't deign this with a comment, but there is no such thing as extra innings in cricket. Both teams bat untill all their players are out (twice) or until they run out of time (5 days in a Test Match) or overs (in a limited overs game).
Cricket is a big deal over here and Australia/England is the traditional grudge match. I think someone had a few too many adult beverages celebrating Australia's win in the first Test, which was before lunch.
I'm reminded of one of my favourite bumper stickers -
#5
This guy(?) was on something a lot stronger than mushrooms, TU. I'd estimate LSD, or maybe too much crystal meth. I understand that crap can turn your mind to jelly.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/27/2006 12:33 Comments ||
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#8
The TSIP provides excellent opportunities for teens to develop extensive peer support and information skills and enhance their knowledge of sexual and reproductive health. For more information, visit Volunteer Opportunities.
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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.
Two Canadian soldiers are dead following a suicide bomber's attack on a military convoy in southern Afghanistan, officials confirmed Monday. "I have to announce that two Canadian soldiers were killed just outside Kandahar City," said Brig.-GenTim Grant, the Commander of Canadian Forces in Southern Afghanistan.
The Taliban have released two Pakistani journalists who were detained for several days in southern Afghanistan after entering Taliban-controlled territory without permission, a purported spokesman for the hard-line Islamic militia said on Sunday. Syed Saleem Shahzad, from The Star newspaper in Karachi, and Qamar Yousafzai, a reporter with various newspapers in Quetta, were last heard from in Afghanistans southern Kandahar province on November 19. 
KHOST, Afghanistan - A suicide bomber blew himself up in a restaurant in eastern Afghanistan Sunday, killing 15 Afghans. The suicide attacker walked into a hotel restaurant in the remote town of Urgun in the eastern province of Paktika and blew himself up, a witness said.
Rebels who overran the largest city in eastern Chad on Saturday disappeared almost as quickly as they had arrived, melting away Sunday as government soldiers re-established control of the looted city center. But even as the government forces retook the city, Abéché, apparently without bloodshed, a rebel column headed toward the capital, Ndjamena. The French Embassy in Ndjamena said a column of rebel troops was headed toward Ndjamena, but it was impossible to say if it had left Abéché or was another group of rebels.
Russian special forces killed five gunmen on Sunday, including an Arab rebel leader, in the southern republic of Dagestan which borders Chechnya, a Russian intelligence agent said. Special forces surrounded a house in Khasavyurt in the west of Dagestan in an early morning raid and killed three gunmen in an initial exchange of shooting. "The others were offered a chance to surrender," said Mikhail Merkulov the deputy head of Dagestan's FSB, Russia's intelligence service. "After receiving a negative reply the FSB soldiers broke into the house and shot two more gunmen. One of them was foreign terrorist-mercenary Abu Havs".
Mihail Merkulov, assistant head of Russian intelligence service FSB, reported Jordanian 
An Australian soldier who served in Afghanistan has become the nation's most decorated soldier since the Vietnam War.
(PTI): Two Lashkar-e-Taiba militants were killed and a policeman were injured in a gunbattle with security forces that erupted at Pampore on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway today, officials said. They said personnel of the Special Operations Group and 50 Rashtriya Rifles had on the basis of specific information, launched a joint operation at the Neij village in Pampore, 15 km. from here, this afternoon. As security forces zeroed in on a particular house in the village, they came under heavy fire from militants holed up inside which was retaliated.
Al-Qaeda linked insurgents attacked a tribe allied to the Iraqi government and US forces in the restive western province of al-Anbar, prompting US air and artillery support, the military reported on Sunday. The insurgents attacked the Abu Soda tribe in Sofiya, near the provincial capital of Ramadi, with mortars and small arms, burning homes, in apparent revenge for their support of the Iraqi government. 
by Hana Levi Julian
SDE BOKER, Israel (Reuters) -
The desire of Istiada Oemar Sovie, alias Amenah Toha, the captured wife of Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist, to be deported to Indonesia, together with all of her children, will not be realized after all. Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. said the Philippine government will have to deport Toha on or before the end of this month even without all of her six children. Toha has earlier requested Philippine and Indonesian authorities to deport her back to Indonesia together with her six children.
A suspected Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) commander was captured by government intelligence operatives in Colonia Village, Lamitan town, Nasilan province, sketchy reports reaching the area command and operation center of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Western Mindanao Command (WestMincom) on Sunday said.
in my house we have 4 people each has a different view but we have a common place to talk on common sence in the first pages of the koran@bible everything is from cosmic knowlewdge some use the plain folk to do their bidding on corruption
