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Ug troops arrive in Mog
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Page 1: WoT Operations
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-Short Attention Span Theater-
Featured Embedded Report: Chris Muir from Iraq
...

In the brief time I was there, I attended meetings where everyone was working with each other, I mean sheiks, the Police Chief of the city, US Army, Kurds, Sunnis, Shia, cats and dogs, everyone- together. There are real divisions here, but also a real determination to weld the place into a more stable society.

It was good to see the US State Department building infrastructure like schools, roads, water & sewage, to witness them helping integrate the various tribes here, setting up workable trade and political organizations, even living within the populace to get a feel for what is needed culturally. It was very impressive and more importantly, working.

Well, actually, it's the US Army that does all of the above with their MITT teams (Military Transition Teams). The State Department? A complete no-show, for all I could tell. Maybe they're double-parked in Washington or something.

People here will tell you they are mostly afraid of one thing-that we will leave soon, like we have since Vietnam, Somalia, etc., and that they will then be at the mercy of the terrorists who seep in from Iran, Syria, Egypt, and Saudia Arabia. A self-fulfilling circle, helped out vastly by our 'anti-war' citizens back home, who ironically enable wars as this by forcing constant US retreats through our political process. People here - real people, not 'Jamil Husseins' - want us here to give them time to reform their society.

I speculate this is one of the reasons I observed such high morale in our soldiers here. They are wanted here, unlike, say, in San Francisco.
Posted by: SwissTex || 03/09/2007 14:32 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Afghanistan
Bill Roggio on 'Invasion' of Pakiwakiland
Deputy Taliban commander in Waziristan captured by Task Force 145; Taliban commander arrested in Kandahar; Tora Bora Front cell broken up; Achilles update

As NATO and Afghan forces are on the offensive in northern Helmand province, U.S. special forces have conducted a cross border raid in Pakistan and nabbed the deputy Taliban commander in Waziristan, according to a report by Al Jazeera Television. The Taliban leader is identified as Mullah Hakimallah Mansub, however the likelihood is the Romanization of the name is mistake. 'Mansub' may well be of the Mehsud tribe, of which Baitullah and Abdullah Mehsud are the two leading Taliban commanders in South Waziristan.

This raid would have been conducted by Task Force 145, the specialized hunter-killer team designed to detain or kill senior al-Qaeda leaders in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. Task Force 145 was behind the strike in Danda Saidgai against Osama bin Laden's praetorian Black Guard in the spring of 2006, among other operations in western Pakistan.

Today's raid in South Waziristan follows the capture of Mullah Mahmood, a Taliban commander running away like a girlie fleeing the fighting in southern Afghanistan. Mahmood was captured by Afghan soldiers after he tried to pass through a checkpoint while wearing a burka and a totally HOT pair of Manolos.

In Nangarhar province in northen Afghanistan NATO forces captured the leader of an IED cell of the newly formed Tora Bora Front. The Tora Bora Front is an al-Qaeda linked organization and offshoot of Hizb-i-Islami Khalis fighters led by Anwarul Haq Mujahid. Mujahid is the spawn son of Maulvi Yunis Khalis, who hosted Osama bin Laden after he entered Afghanistan in 1996.

Meanwhile, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of the Taliban and al-Qaeda allied Hizb-i-Islami Gulbuddin (HIG), has claimed he has broken with the Taliban and is willing to negotiate with the Afghan government. "Look at Me! ME! MEEE!!! The jihad went into high gear but later it gradually went down as certain elements among the Taliban rejected the idea of a joint struggle against the aggressor," Hekmatyar told AFP "He said his forces were now mounting only restricted operations, partly because of a lack of young boys for the jihadis resources." Hekmatyer has always been an opportunist in Afghan affairs, but this might be a sign that the Taliban and al-Qaeda no longer see any use in Hekmatyer's services as they are now secure in Western Pakistan.
I don't think either the Talibs or Qaeda were particularly fond of Hek from the start. He's out for himself and nobody else. When he could pretend to command the entire Hezb he was of some value, though never as much as he thought. But his end of the Hezb has been tossed by the rest of the party and there's not much room for the politicking he's so much better at than he is at military operations. It's doubtful he's actually got a big-time sponsor like he did way back when. In short, he's an idea whose time has gone.
The raids against Taliban leaders occur as NATO and Afghan forces enter the third day of Operation Achilles in Northern Helmand province. Over 4,500 NATO and 1,000 Afghan troops are battling Taliban forces in the Taliban infested districts. Mullah Abdul Qassim, a "topman Taliban commander in Helmand province," according to The Associated with Terrorists Press, claims to have 4,000 fighters in northern Helmand and up to 9,000 fighters in the entire province.
Oooooo, scary. Better hide the boys, but the men of the Angloshere (and a some Dutch) will be ready to turn these 'fighters' into corpses. Many corpses.
"All of them are well-equipped with turbans and pointy-toed slippers and we have the magic rocks you insert in your anus weapons to target helicopters," Qassim told The Associated Press. "The Taliban are able to fight for 15 or 20 years against NATO and the Americans."
Yeah, right. Unlike Iraq, there aren't 1M tons of munitions scattered about the country. Every round must be hauled from Pakiwakistan via Donkey, Toyota truck or whatever. Typical muzzie wild threats without any ability to back it up.
The fighting over the past 24 hours has focused around the Garmsir district. "[The NATO led International Security Assistance Forces] consisting of the British 45 Commando Royal Marines, supported by Afghan National Army troops, have successfully engaged Taliban extremist strongholds as well as compounds being used by the enemy as arms and ammunition storage facilities in the general area of Garmsir," according to the ISAF press release. Afghan artillery has been firing in support of the operation, and U.S., British and Dutch close air support has been called in as well.
The ANA has arty? And the Dutch F-16s fight? Who knew?
Elements from the Royal Canadian Regiment and the U.S. 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division appear to be conducting blocking operations at the Kandahar and Helmand provincial boundaries.
1000 or so first-class infantry with a wide-range of supporting arms is an excellent block. And with the hammer on it's way, that means a whole lotta dead talibunnies.
The Taliban control the districts of Muckistan, Shitholistan, Musa Qala and Washir, and claimed to have captured Nawzad.
"Today Nawzad, tomorrow the caliphate".
The Sangin, Kajaki and Grishk districts have also been been the scene of heavy Taliban activity this winter. ISAF is attempting to secure the region around the Kajaki Dam in northren Helmand province to push forward with reconstruction projects in the region.
This article starring:
45 Commando Royal Marines
82nd Airborne Division
ABDULLAH MEHSUDTaliban
ANWARUL HAQ MUJAHIDHizb-i-Islami Khalis
BAITULLAH MEHSUDTaliban
GULBUDIN HEKMATYARHizb-i-Islami Gulbuddin
Kajaki Dam
Maulvi Yunis Khalis
Mehsud tribe
MULLAH ABDUL QASIMTaliban
MULLAH HAKIMALLAH MANSUBTaliban
MULLAH MAHMUDTaliban
Task Force 145
Hizb-i-Islami Gulbuddin
Hizb-i-Islami Khalis
Tora Bora Front
Posted by: Brett || 03/09/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  LOL Brett. Manolos? Ima excited!
Posted by: Frank G || 03/09/2007 0:35 Comments || Top||

#2  Brett "... magic [Space] rocks you insert in your anus"

Damn Secrete Talibs, they're using the Pashtun Cloaking Device too.
Posted by: RD || 03/09/2007 1:40 Comments || Top||

#3  The Talibs are being hit day and night. There is growing Balochi contempt for jihad recruiters, so terrorist ranks are harder to replenish.
Posted by: Sneaze || 03/09/2007 4:35 Comments || Top||

#4  Balochs are not Pashtoon.

Now in pre 9-11 times the Northern Alliance reported to have captured a number of Taliban who didn't speak a word of Pashto, only Urdhu ie they were not Afghans and not even from the NWFP or from Waziristan but from Pakistan "mainland".
Posted by: JFM || 03/09/2007 7:00 Comments || Top||

#5  The ANA has arty? ... Who knew?

One of the quiet victories happening in Afghan is the slow creation of a truly professional and national (not tribal) military under the mentorship of the US Army.
Posted by: occasional observer || 03/09/2007 8:25 Comments || Top||

#6  Yep, a recent British operation was supported by ANA artillery. (Kajaki Dam op - I think)
Posted by: Howard UK || 03/09/2007 9:18 Comments || Top||

#7  One of the quiet victories happening in Afghan is the slow creation of a truly professional and national (not tribal) military under the mentorship of the US Army

Then too, there was the opening of the Afghan campus of West Point, to develop a cadre of officers steeped in the history and theory of war making, as well as the practice of it. Good news on a warm and sunny day. :-)
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/09/2007 12:19 Comments || Top||

#8  Two people I wouldn't try to out-fly are the Dutch and the Danes. I was present at a NATO exercise when the Danes bombed an "enemy" camp with F-16s - from 50 feet! The Dutch pilots are first-rate in every respect - the equal of US pilots in most respects. The only problem thay have are they're a bit TOO gung-ho.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 03/09/2007 13:23 Comments || Top||

#9  Not to mention what the Dutch air force does to mice.
Posted by: Chuck Simmins || 03/09/2007 17:07 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Ugandan troops continue to arrive in Mogadishu
(SomaliNet) The second part of the Ugandan peacekeeping forces complete with their military equipment arrived in the Somalia capital Mogadishu Wednesday. Five military Algerian cargo aircrafts carrying the troops landed at the main Mogadishu airport. Two planes were carrying around 400 Ugandan soldiers, sources close to the government told Somalinet, despite government's refusal to let journalists into the airport.

The troops are part of 1,700 peacekeeping forces the Ugandan government promised to send into Somalia. The arrival of today’s troops brings 800 soldiers the total number of Ugandan forces currently in Mogadishu. Officials of Somalia government hailed the arrival of the Ugandan troops in Mogadishu as encouraging step for the deployment of the rest of African Union peacekeepers. On Tuesday, the first AU peacekeepers from Uganda arrived in the Somalia capital Mogadishu receiving a warm welcome from the government officials at the airport.
Posted by: Fred || 03/09/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


2 Ugandan soldiers wounded in Mogadishu
(SomaliNet) The spokesman for the African Union peacekeeping mission Captain Pady Ankunda said Thursday that two Uganda soldiers have been wounded in yesterday’s gun battle with unknown militiamen who attacked a Ugandan convoy as they were passing Km4 roundabout in south of the Somalia capital Mogadishu.

At least 4 civilians were killed by the cross-fire as the insurgents and the Ugandans exchanged heavy gunfire that lasted in 30 minutes.
In an interview with the local radio Shabelle in Mogadishu, Ankunda confirmed that injury of Ugandan soldiers in hostile action happened in the capital. “Two African Union UPDF peacekeepers were slightly wounded in the legs. They are fine now and they will recover soon,” he said. He said the AU mission in Somalia is to help the Somali people resolve their own differences. “The Ugandan troops are not here to impose themselves on the Somali people; they are here to reach the different parties in the country. What we want is peace. No more fighting,” he said. At least 14 civilians were killed and nearly 20 were seriously wounded last night after unknown gunmen and Ugandan troops clashed at KM4 Junction near Mogadishu international airport.

Witnesses told Somalinet that a rocket propel grenade fired by the insurgents missed the convoy and hit a nearby restaurant killing at least 10 people, while at least 4 other civilians were killed by the cross-fire as the insurgents and the Ugandans exchanged heavy gunfire that lasted in 30 minutes.

Two Ugandan soldiers were wounded last night after unknown gunmen attacked the African Union convoy passing by KM4 Street, one of Mogadishu’s most hostile roads for the foreign troops. The Ugandans were on their way to Global hotel in north of Mogadishu where some government officials are based when the incident occurred. Paddy Ankunda, the spokesman for the African Union mission in Somalia, has told Shabelle in an interview by phone in Mogadishu that two Ugandan soldiers were injured during the gun battle. “Two African Union UPDF peacekeepers were slightly wounded in the legs. They are fine now and they will recover soon,” he said.

Attacks on the UPDF convoy in the capital came as Somalia’s unknown insurgents vowed they will launch suicide bombings on the Ugandan troops. Asked whether the Ugandan peacekeepers would be operational militarily in the volatile capital or if they would be remain in barracks like the Ethiopian troops, Ankunda pointed out that he hopes the different groups in the country would collaborate with them, clarifying, “The military operations will be there only and only if they can secure the Somali people and the civilians and only if they can bring peace,” he said.

He said over 1,000 Ugandan troops were already in Mogadishu, adding that larger numbers were still arriving in. Ankunda said it is vital for us to meet with Mogadishu clan elders to discuss over the escalating situation and seek ways to find sustainable solution for the conflict. “We can not do anything without them and we call up on them to come to us. They will know us and we will know them, so that we will have dialog over stable Somalia. We don’t want any more fighting here,” he said. It was for the first time that Ugandan troops were attacked in Mogadishu since they reached the capital two days ago.
Posted by: Fred || 03/09/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


12 civilians killed in ambush on Mogadishu peacekeepers
An ambush on African Union peacekeeping troops in the Somali capital left 12 civilians dead, according to a new toll given on Thursday by witnesses and victims’ families. The toll was revealed as more Ugandan troops arrived at the heavily-fortified Mogadishu airport, part of the AU contingent which is to eventually reach around 8,000. Deputy Defence Minister Salad Ali Jelle confirmed that no AU peacekeepers had been wounded or killed in the gunfight on Wednesday sparked by an ambush at a notorious junction near the airport. Initial reports said two civilians had died in the crossfire. However, residents on Thursday discovered the charred bodies of four people who were killed in a nearby hotel restaurant. “One of them was eating, two were employees, and one was a man who has taken shelter in the hotel” said Amina Mohamen, one of the owners. Three more bodies lay on the roundabout of the junction, known as the K4. Two others died as they waited for a bus nearby.
Posted by: Fred || 03/09/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  A slight miscalculation Jihadis. You aren't dealing with either the crazy Jews, or the stupid Americans now.
Posted by: gromgoru || 03/09/2007 5:13 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Alleged Mastermind Of Casablanca Attacks Arrested
Casablanca, 9 March (AKI) - Moroccan police have arrested Saad Hussaini, the alleged mastermind of the May 2003 Casablanca terror attacks, the official MAP news agency reported on Friday. "Saad Hussaini was arrested for his involvement in the Casablanca attacks," in which 45 people died, a high level Moroccan security official was quoted as saying by MAP. Hussaini was identified by the news agency as the military leader of the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (Groupe Islamique Combattant Marocain, or GICM), an Islamic fundamentalist group operating in North Africa.

Also known as Mustafa or Nabil, Hussaini, 38, had been a fugitive since 2002. Some reports suggest he could also be one of the masterminds of the 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings in which 191 people died.

This article starring:
SAAD HUSEINIMoroccan Islamic Combatant Group
Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group
Posted by: Steve || 03/09/2007 07:49 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  bet the Moroccan interrogation is less than fun
Posted by: Frank G || 03/09/2007 9:30 Comments || Top||

#2  I bet Signor Ferrari's behind it all. Nothing crooked happens in Casablanca without his help.
Posted by: Angie Schultz || 03/09/2007 12:02 Comments || Top||

#3  So now I suppose he'll have to wait...and wait...and wait...
Posted by: tu3031 || 03/09/2007 12:26 Comments || Top||

#4  We'll always have Paris.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 03/09/2007 14:47 Comments || Top||

#5  Round up the usual suspects.
Posted by: Eric Jablow || 03/09/2007 19:21 Comments || Top||

#6  Can US movie icons be turned into national monuments?
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/09/2007 22:43 Comments || Top||

#7  Ronald Reagan sure could, hard as granite; and smoother than titanium.

but I guess your ? was rhetorical lol
Posted by: SCpatriot || 03/09/2007 22:51 Comments || Top||


Down Under
Chemicals stockpiled for 'jihad on Sydney'
NINE suspected terrorists allegedly stockpiled a cache of deadly chemicals as they plotted a "violent jihad" on Sydney. In what is being described as the biggest terror trial in Australia's history, Penrith Local Court yesterday heard for the first time detailed allegations against the nine alleged Muslim extremists. The men stand accused of plotting a massive terrorist attack on Sydney - with Lucas Heights nuclear plant the possible target.

In her opening address, prosecutor Wendy Abraham QC claimed preparations for an attack involved chemical stockpiling, the collation of "extremist" documents and specialised terrorist training. The court heard documents written in Arabic showed step-by-step instructions on how to make deadly explosives such as TATP and HMTD. The materials were allegedly found during searches of their homes and vehicles, with one found hidden in a children's book called Choice Islamic Stories.

Bradley Umar Sariff Baladjam, Khaled Cheikho, Moustafa Cheikho, Mohamed Ali Elomar, Abdul Rakib Hasan, Mohammed Omar Jamal, Mirsad Mulahalilovic, Khaled Sharrouf and Mazen Touma faced court together for the first time since their arrest during ASIO raids in November 2005. The court heard Touma had told his mother he was about to enter paradise and that "Allah's satisfaction is more important than yours".

"He (Touma) spoke of Allah giving him a paradise for martyrdom," Ms Abraham said. "It is alleged he said his mother should be patient because tomorrow her children would be in paradise."

The Crown alleges the defendants each played a role in conspiring to prepare for a terrorist attack by equipping themselves with the "knowledge, ability and means to prepare and plan for a terrorist attack".

"They believed Islam was under attack and and in defence of Islam and other Muslims ... the primary tool was violent jihad," Ms Abraham said. The defendants allegedly obtained or attempted to obtain chemicals and necessary items that could be used in the construction of explosives. These include 50 litres of hydrochloric acid, 200 litres of sulphuric acid and more than 60 litres of hydroperoxide. It is also alleged the group had large amounts of "extremist" and instructional material as well as firearms and ammunition used in SKS and AK47 semi-automatic weapons.

The court heard how the men shopped at chemists, hardware stores and discount shops in Sydney and Melbourne for chemicals and items such as PVC piping. The committal hearing, expected to run for at least two months, continues today.
Posted by: Fred || 03/09/2007 09:27 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The materials were allegedly found during searches of their homes and vehicles, with one found hidden in a children's book called Choice Islamic Stories.

For values of "hidden in" that include "printed inside by the original publisher".
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 03/09/2007 11:01 Comments || Top||

#2  They believed Islam was under attack and and in defence of Islam and other Muslims ... the primary tool was violent jihad," Ms Abraham said.

Oh my goodness, why didn't the poor lads say so in the first instance. Bailiff release these poor misunderstood boys into the custody of that nice Imam over there.
Posted by: Da Judge || 03/09/2007 11:21 Comments || Top||

#3  Lies all lies! They are a kind and gentle people who follow a religion of peace.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/09/2007 11:26 Comments || Top||

#4  The article doesn't say the lads were members of one of the standard jihadi terror organizations, which leads me to think they're suffering from Not-So-Sudden Jihad Syndrome.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/09/2007 12:01 Comments || Top||

#5  Maybe they were gonna open an "Acid R' Us" store. I'm sure there's a big need for that in the local community, especially if their women get those uppity western ways...
Posted by: tu3031 || 03/09/2007 12:54 Comments || Top||

#6  I think these poor lads need to be extradited to Indonesia - aboard a Garuda Airlines 737-200, during a monsoon. Preferably chained to their seats.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 03/09/2007 13:34 Comments || Top||


Europe
Cyprus to deport Pakistanis held in terror probe
NICOSIA: Two Pakistani men held in Cyprus on suspicion of planning a car bomb attack on a Western embassy in Nicosia will be deported as illegal immigrants, police said on Thursday. “We have found no evidence or eye witness testimony to link these two people to terrorist activity, but they were found to be in Cyprus illegally and will be deported,” a police spokesman told AFP. The official said one of the men had admitted to ‘sympathising’ with a group linked to terror activity but denied any involvement in terror-related acts. Police confirmed that a third person, a Pakistani student, was also arrested but nothing incriminating was found against him. He will remain on the island.
Posted by: Fred || 03/09/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: WoT
Light sentence for medic who refused Iraq tour
They kinda snuck this one in under the radar. I had to go looking for it.
A US Army medic who had refused to serve a second tour in Iraq citing moral objections to war was found guilty of desertion on Tuesday and handed an eight-month prison term by a US military court in Germany, well short of the maximum seven-year sentence.
Nice...
Anti-war activists, who had followed the case closely, said the mild sentence was a positive signal to the rapidly increasing number of Germany-based US military personnel who are seeking to avoid serving in Iraq.
Sure. Don't wanna go? Desert. Nothing will happen to you. You'll probably become a big lefty superstar.
“This is good news for Augustin, his wife and his children,” said Michael Sharp, head of the Military Counselling Network, a non-governmental organisation based in Heidelberg.
Don't worry, Mike. The Democrats are in charge now so you'll be an official government organization as soon as Nancy can draw up the resolution.
Augustin Aguayo, a US citizen born in Mexico who enlisted in 2002, had twice failed to obtain an honourable discharge as a conscientious objector and refused to load his weapon while on his first tour to Iraq. In order to avoid a second tour, he jumped out of a window and fled from Germany to the US, where he surrendered to the military. His unauthorised absence was considered particularly serious since he had already received his deployment order.
Not that serious, evidently, seeing how he only got eight months.
Detained at a US military prison in Mannheim for 161 days, Mr Agauyo, who was also demoted from the rank of specialist to private and given a dishonourable discharge, was not expected to spend more than another six weeks in prison, his lawyer said.
Six whole weeks! Wow. Any way you can get him out sooner so he can be a big star at the big protest in DC?
Germany is home to 65,000 US troops, making it the largest US permanent presence overseas, and serves as the main logistical base for the war in Iraq. Mr Sharp said there had been a fourfold increase in calls to his organisation by recruits seeking advice on leaving the military last month alone.
I'd say Mr. Sharp's a lyin bag of shit, but that's just me..
Posted by: tu3031 || 03/09/2007 13:43 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Aguayo's doesn't morally object to war, just war with him in it. And it's not (necessarily) about being morally opposed to shooting people, but mainly about being shot at. And while I can't argue with not wanting to get shot at, don't call it a moral issue, call it cowardice.
Posted by: Glenmore || 03/09/2007 16:45 Comments || Top||

#2  It's a federal felony conviction as well.
And...
Augustin Aguayo, a US citizen born in Mexico
..if he's naturalized, I suspect that can get his citizenship revoked.

No VA benefits for you who hold a dishonorable discharge.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 03/09/2007 17:30 Comments || Top||

#3  If it's a felony, does he lose his right to vote?

Except for the Dems, of course....
Posted by: Bobby || 03/09/2007 18:44 Comments || Top||

#4  If it's a felony, does he lose his right to vote?

exJAG is probably the expert on it, but my take is that the issue is up to the states to decide to allow felons to vote.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 03/09/2007 21:12 Comments || Top||

#5  The Stars & Stripes article makes no mention of a plea agreement, which I find odd, and also clarifies: "eight months’ confinement, ordered to forfeit all pay and allowances, reduced in rank to private and given a bad-conduct discharge . . . Aguayo was credited with 161 days of pre-trial confinement and will serve 79 more days."

A BCD is not the same as a DD, and is not as severe. But he was convicted of a felony, which means he can't ever own guns (not that it means anything to him, presumably). Dunno about voting or citizenship, but I'm not aware of anything that would make me optimistic.

I once went against his attorney, David Court, who seems to represent 90% of accuseds who opt for civilian counsel over here. A douche, as you might expect, and a high-priced one: an E-4 did not pay for that all by himself. It would be interesting to know who financed his defense.

The Military Counselling Network is about 15 minutes up the road from me. Perhaps I'll go visit them sometime.
Posted by: exJAG || 03/09/2007 23:25 Comments || Top||


US mosque leaders convicted in terror probe to be sentenced
Two leaders of a city mosque snared in an FBI sting involving a fictional terror strike could face decades in prison when they are sentenced Thursday in federal court. Yassin Aref, the former imam at an Albany mosque, and pizzeria owner Mohammed Hossain were convicted in October for their role in a money laundering scheme involving an FBI informant who pretended to be an illegal arms dealer.

The informant asked Hossain to launder money from the sale of a shoulder-fired missile that would be used to kill a Pakistani diplomat in New York City. Aref, spiritual leader of Hossain's mosque, acted as a witness to the transactions. Though the assassination plot was fictional, prosecutors in 2004 accused the pair of supporting terrorism.

Hossain, 52, a naturalized US citizen from Bangladesh, was convicted on all 27 charges against him, including three counts of conspiracy. Aref was found guilty of 10 of the 30 charges against him. In addition to counts related to the money laundering scheme, the 36-year-old Kurdish refugee was found guilty of lying to FBI agents about having known a terrorist leader, Mullah Krekar, when he worked for a Kurdish political organization in Syria.

Assistant US Attorney William Pericak has said both men face 30 years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines. Defense attorneys Terence Kindlon and Kevin Luibrand have sought more lenient sentences for the two men, who are both raising families.

Pericak had argued during trial that Hossain wanted money, while Aref was drawn into the plot by ideology. Defense attorneys claimed the transactions were innocent, noting that Muslims often lend money to each other with clerics serving as witnesses. Aref and Hossain said they didn't believe any talk about a missile in New York. U.S. District Judge Thomas McAvoy last month rejected defense arguments in a decision denying a request for a new trial.
Posted by: Fred || 03/09/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Job well done FBI brothers.
Posted by: Broadhead6 in Iraq || 03/09/2007 1:17 Comments || Top||

#2  Just wait. These Saudi funded Mosque Muslim terrorist will get 2 years. The Mosques are still open and no one has been deported.
Posted by: Icerigger || 03/09/2007 6:18 Comments || Top||

#3  They each got 15 years.
Posted by: Free Radical || 03/09/2007 12:15 Comments || Top||

#4  Cool!

Debbie S. was noting that CAIR was protesting. Expect Keith Ellison to call the Capital police.
Posted by: Icerigger || 03/09/2007 17:40 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Military base attacked in Pakistan, no casualties
(KUNA) -- Suspected Taliban militants Thursday fired rockets at a paramilitary base in North Waziristan tribal agency, causing material damage but no life loss was reported, said officials. Militants fired two rockets at the headquarters of Tochi Scouts in Miramshah, the main town of North Waziristan agency, security officials told KUNA. They said one rocket landed inside the headquarter complex, knocking down its wall, while, another rocket fell in an abandoned field. Immediately after the attack, said officials, forces launched an operation to apprehend the militants but they succeeded in escaping.
Posted by: Fred || 03/09/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Militants fire rockets at paramilitary base
MIRANSHAH: Suspected militants fired rockets at a paramilitary base here at around 9:30am on Thursday, slightly damaging a barrack, but there were no casualties, said security officials. The officials told Daily Times that two rockets were fired at the base inside the heavily fortified Tochi Fort in Miranshah: one hit the barrack that was damaged and the other landed in an open area near a preaching centre. “We are investigating who carried out the attack,” they said.” A spokesman for pro-Taliban militants denied involvement in the attack. “The enemies of the peace accord are behind the attack,” Abdullah Farhad, a purported spokesman for militants in North Waziristan, told Daily Times.
Posted by: Fred || 03/09/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


SSP activist killed and 'suicide bomber' arrested
DERA ISMAIL KHAN: A suspected member of a banned Sunni militant organisation was shot dead by gunmen here on Thursday as police arrested a close relative of wanted tribal militant Abdullah Mehsud in nearby Tank city, seizing explosives and suicide jackets.

Sarwar Alam alias ‘Alami’ of the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan was on his way to his shop when two motorcyclists shot him and fled, police told local reporters. Reuters quoted police as saying that Alami had been accused of killing Shia Muslims in the past, but was released because of lack of evidence. Witnesses said one of the motorcyclists was wearing a helmet and the other a burqa.
And a Wonder Bra®. Don't forget the Wonder Bra®!
Police said a case had been registered against the unidentified assailants. Meanwhile, police claimed they had arrested a close relative of Abdullah Mehsud, who is wanted by the government for his involvement in the kidnapping of two Chinese engineers in October 2004. Waheedullah had been assigned to carry out a suicide attack, reported Reuters, but his target was not known. Police were investigating whether the attack was in retaliation over the killing of a Shia Muslim leader in DI Khan last month. “Police arrested Waheedullah (28) from a street in Tank city after being tipped off about his location,” police Inspector Amir Abdullah told reporters.

The suspected terrorist is a resident of Nanoo village, also Abdullah Mehsud’s hometown. Waheedullah is said to be Meshud’s cousin. “Two suicide jackets, 30 kilogrammes of explosives, a detonator and some wires were seized during a body search,” said the police officer. Police said Waheedullah could provide law-enforcement agencies vital clues about Meshud’s terror network.
Two suicide jackets, 30 kg of explosives, a detonator and some wires... Betcha he gets off for lack of sufficient evidence.
He was carrying them for a friend, see, and....

This article starring:
ABDULLAH MEHSUDWazir Taliban
SARWAR ALAM ALIAS 'ALAMI'Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan
WAHIDULLAHWazir Taliban
Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan
Posted by: Fred || 03/09/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Six terrorists killed in two different encounters
In a major success against terrorists, army has gunned down six terrorists in two different encounters in the Kupwara district of north Kashmir. Four terrorists belonging to Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist outfit, were killed in a three hours long gun battle in the Wadarbal forests near Rajwar in Kupwara late last night. According to the Defense PRO, Lt Col AK Mathur a team of 21 Rashtriya Rifles on specific information that four militants were hiding in the forests of Waderbal, launched a combing operation in the forests. "Our men first zeroed in to the location of the hiding terrorists and then asked them to surrender, but they started firing indiscriminately towards our men. We retaliated the fire and in the gun battle that lasted for more than three hours all of the four hiding terrorists were killed." Said Lt Col AK Mathur

Army has also recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition from the possession of the slain militants. "A war like store of arms and ammunition was recovered from their possession which included four AK 47 assault rifles, large number of explosives, food material and other such stuff used for carrying out militancy related activities." Said the PRO Adding he said, "However the identity of the killed terrorists could not be established as yet, but from the documents recovered from them it has been confirmed that all of the four belonged to Lashkar- e- Taiba terrorist outfit."

In another operation two unidentified terrorists were killed by the jawans of 2 Para Battalion of the army in the Devnar.-Margitop in Sogam village of Kupwara district in north Kashmir.
Posted by: Fred || 03/09/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq
Abu Omar al-Baghdadi Nabbed in Iraq Raid
We're trotting out the accordion lady to keep y'all entertained until this is rock-solid confirmed. AoS.
The leader of the al-Qaida-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq has been captured in a raid west of Baghdad, an Iraqi military spokesman said Friday. Abu Omar al-Baghdadi was captured Friday in a raid in Abu Ghraib on the western outskirts of Baghdad, said Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, spokesman of the Baghdad security operation.
U.S. officials had no confirmation of the capture.
U.S. officials had no confirmation of the capture. "One of the terrorists who was arrested with him confessed that the one in our hands is al-Baghdadi," al-Moussawi said.

Al-Baghdadi has been identified in statements posted on Islamic extremist Web sites as the head of the Islamic State, which was proclaimed last year after the death of the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Al-Baghdadi was said to have headed the Mujahedeen Shura Council, an alliance of al-Qaida and other jihadist organizations, which was set up last year to downplay the role of foreigners in the Iraqi insurgency. The name first surfaced after al-Zarqawi's death, when the Mujahedeen Shura Council posted a condolence message on a militant Web site. "As for you the slaves of the cross (U.S.-led coalition forces), the grandsons of Ibn al-Alqami (Shiites), and every infidel of the Sunnis, we can't wait to sever your necks with our swords," the message read. It was signed by Abdullah bin Rashid al-Baghdadi, who was identified as the council leader.

In a tape released last November, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq called on Sunni Muslims to pledge their allegiance to a new state that militants have said they created in Iraq, and said al-Baghdadi was its ruler. "I vow allegiance to you," Abu Hamza al-Muhajir said in the tape. He addressed al-Baghdadi as the "ruler of believers" and placed al-Qaida in Iraq fighters under his command.

On Friday, the Islamic State of Iraq announced it would soon release a video on the death of a U.S. Air Force pilot whose F-16 jet crashed Nov. 27 north of Baghdad, according to IntelCenter, which monitors insurgent Web sites. The pilot, Maj. Troy L. Gilbert, was listed officially as "whereabouts unknown" but then reported by the U.S. military as dead following DNA tests from remains at the scene. IntelCenter said it was unclear what the video would show.
Posted by: Fred || 03/09/2007 16:59 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Is it fat lady time, yet?
Posted by: Anonymoose || 03/09/2007 17:03 Comments || Top||

#2  It seems like this is a back and forth report. We have him, we don't, we do, we don't. My only question is, if we didn't have him, why hasn't the Islamic State in Iraq proved it with a tape release? Usually they're quick to disprove their top leaders getting nabbed.
Posted by: Gromogum Elmereter5708 || 03/09/2007 17:03 Comments || Top||

#3  Salt until confirmation by US officials.
Posted by: remoteman || 03/09/2007 17:11 Comments || Top||

#4  Mandatory 48 - 72 Hour Rule imposed. Fingers crossed.
Posted by: Mark Z || 03/09/2007 18:27 Comments || Top||

#5  If we do have him they will soon broadcast another tape introducing their new fearless leader. There will always be an Emir.
Posted by: wxjames || 03/09/2007 18:55 Comments || Top||

#6  but will he be a Media Emir™?
Posted by: Frank G || 03/09/2007 19:01 Comments || Top||

#7  "Abu Omar al-Baghdadi Nabbed in Iraq Raid"

Again?
Posted by: Flairong Jones3551 || 03/09/2007 19:03 Comments || Top||

#8  Is Abu the arab equivalent of Joe?
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/09/2007 19:50 Comments || Top||

#9  As in Abu Jihad = Joe Holywar...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/09/2007 19:51 Comments || Top||

#10  Somebody's got to say it, so I'll take one for the team:

Who's your BaghDaddy? :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 03/09/2007 19:54 Comments || Top||

#11  No, it means father, M.Murcek, to prove that they can become one.

Go, Barbara, go! I think that counts as a touchdown, or a 3-point shot... or something really good. ;-)
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/09/2007 20:06 Comments || Top||

#12  Six days and three reports hold margin in the Stratosphere.
Posted by: newc || 03/09/2007 20:10 Comments || Top||

#13  AP: A prominent Iraqi Shiite close to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki also said al-Baghdadi had been captured. But he spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not supposed to release the information.

Fingers crossed
Posted by: Steve || 03/09/2007 20:55 Comments || Top||

#14  if he's really captured, here's hoping fingers are broken, not crossed
Posted by: Frank G || 03/09/2007 21:18 Comments || Top||

#15  In how many pieces, Frank?
Posted by: Seafarious || 03/09/2007 21:23 Comments || Top||

#16  In how many pieces

All of them. :)
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats || 03/09/2007 21:27 Comments || Top||

#17  as many as it takes, Sea :-)

I'm not a stickler for a specific number....just so long as he doesn't pass out and miss the fun
Posted by: Frank G || 03/09/2007 21:39 Comments || Top||

#18  If I remember right its abu = son of, you are always son of fathers name.
Posted by: SCpatriot || 03/09/2007 22:31 Comments || Top||

#19  Being #1 in Iraq is more dangerous than being #3 Pakistan.
Posted by: ed || 03/09/2007 22:38 Comments || Top||

#20  abu, ab = father
ibn = son
om, um = mother
Posted by: ed || 03/09/2007 22:41 Comments || Top||

#21  lol, thanks Ed, figures that the one jordanian palesinian I have met doesn't tell me the correct translation:(
Posted by: SCpatriot || 03/09/2007 22:46 Comments || Top||

#22  Abu Omar al-Baghdadi was captured Friday in a raid in Abu Ghraib on the western outskirts of Baghdad,....

Okay, captured on the outskirts, but umm... was he wearing um... women's clothing? Ya' know like the more recently captured Lion's of Islam
Posted by: WTF || 03/09/2007 23:43 Comments || Top||


AQ Emir & 'The Butcher' of Mosul Captured
Dead would be better (escapes scheduled for Monday), but some of these may have significant intel value.
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Coalition Forces killed one terrorist and captured 16 suspected terrorists including an alleged al-Qaeda media emir during raids Friday morning throughout Iraq.

In Mosul, Coalition Forces captured an al-Qaeda related suspect known as "The Butcher" who is allegedly responsible for numerous kidnappings, beheadings, and suicide operations in the Ramadi and Mosul areas. Coalition Forces captured five additional suspects and killed one terrorist during the raid.

During operations in Fallujah, Coalition Forces captured two suspected terrorists with alleged ties to foreign fighter facilitation.

Northeast of Karmah, a suspected al-Qaeda media emir was captured along with seven others. The suspects are also believed to be part of an al-Qaeda courier network. "Coalition Forces will continue to target al-Qaeda in Iraq and foreign terrorist facilitators regardless of where they may hide," said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesperson.
Posted by: Glenmore || 03/09/2007 07:16 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I want "Media Emir" on my business card.
Posted by: Seafarious || 03/09/2007 7:34 Comments || Top||

#2  That would be "Actor/Director/Media Emir", when he was in the Damascus Dinner Theater production of Death of a Salesman.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 03/09/2007 8:48 Comments || Top||

#3  Let's see what the Kurds can get out him. Kidneys,lungs, testicles.
Posted by: ed || 03/09/2007 8:54 Comments || Top||

#4  Hang "The Butcher" on a meathook.
Would that be considered ironic?
Posted by: tu3031 || 03/09/2007 9:33 Comments || Top||

#5  'Moose, it's important to be well-liked.
Posted by: Seafarious || 03/09/2007 9:57 Comments || Top||

#6  for so many of them wanting too be martyrs we sure do caprture alot of them
Posted by: sinse || 03/09/2007 10:10 Comments || Top||

#7 
Don't forget, some of them are tasked with going to jail where they can bitch about Koran desecration, spy on enemy security measures, and fling feces at infidels.

The big cheeses, as long as they avoid the giggle juice and the waterboard, can establish secure communications networks via Ramsay Clark and the fleets of lefty lawyers and enjoy three squares a day, a personal imam, and the thanks of a grateful Ummah.
Posted by: Seafarious || 03/09/2007 10:22 Comments || Top||

#8  That's why it's best we don't "capture" them.

;)
Posted by: Bright Pebbles in Blairistan || 03/09/2007 10:24 Comments || Top||

#9  Coalition Forces killed one terrorist and captured 16 suspected terrorists including an alleged al-Qaeda media emir during raids Friday morning throughout Iraq.

God (of Abraham and Jesus), I hope it was during morning prayers. Never a better time to raid a moskkk than then, in my book. It'd also show (on the ground) that the RoEs have truly been changed. Good huntin' boyz!
Posted by: BA || 03/09/2007 13:34 Comments || Top||

#10  Capture them, wring 'em dry, and kill them "trying to escape". Hey, it works for the RAB...
Posted by: Old Patriot || 03/09/2007 13:41 Comments || Top||


Iraq recaptures 42 escapees
Iraqi forces have recaptured 42 of the 140 prisoners who escaped when al-Qaeda militants stormed a jail outside the northern city of Mosul, said security officials on Thursday. Brigadier-General Mohammed al-Wagaa, who runs the Mosul police operations room, said the fugitives had been rounded up in various regions of the city since Tuesday's brazen attack by heavily-armed insurgents.

Hasham al-Hamadani, the chairperson of Nineveh province's security committee, confirmed the figure and denied reports that two of executed dictator Saddam Hussein's nephews were among those who had escaped. "They have never been in Badush Prison," he said.

A large force of militants from the "Islamic State of Iraq" - an al-Qaeda led umbrella group for Sunni insurgent factions - assaulted Badush jail and busted out between 140 and 150 detainees. Iraqi guards called in support from US forces, who helped regain control of the prison, but not before the escapees had managed to scatter. At the start of the year, Badush Prison was holding 1 200 of the most-dangerous prisoners in Iraq, including 100 foreign extremist fighters, some of whom were known to be among the fugitives.
Posted by: Fred || 03/09/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  when the hell they gonna learn too kill instead of capture?
Posted by: sinse || 03/09/2007 13:48 Comments || Top||


Four Iraqi soldiers, policemen killed in N. Iraq
(KUNA) -- Two Iraqi army soldiers and two policemen were killed in two separate attacks in the Iraqi northern city of Kirkuk on Thursday, according to the Iraqi police. A source at the police told KUNA that two army soldiers from the First Brigade, riding a civilian car, were killed by unknown gunmen in Huwaija district in Kirkuk. No one claimed responsibility for the attack.

Meanwhile, a source at the police department in Mosul, northern Iraq, said armed men shot dead two policemen at a checkpoint in southern Mosul. Despite the security plan enforced by the government in Baghdad, the attacks against civilians and military personnel continued in northern Iraq.
Posted by: Fred || 03/09/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Iraqi forces arrest nine people involved in attack against Shiites
(KUNA) -- Iraqi security forces arrested Thursday nine people involved in an attack against Shiite pilgrims in south of Baghdad yesterday, an official said.

The security forces captured "nine terrorists accused of involvement in the attack against the Shiite pilgrims in the areas of Mahdiya and Dora," Brigadier Qassem Ata, spokesman of the Law Enforcement Plan, said in a statement. Thirteen people were killed when they came under fire in Dora. The shooting followed a car bomb attack. Meanwhile, the Iraqi police said Baghdad International Airport was hit by two mortar shells but no human casualties were reported.
Posted by: Fred || 03/09/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Nine volunteers for the reenactment of the martyrdom of imam Hussein.
Posted by: ed || 03/09/2007 8:57 Comments || Top||

#2  no human casualties were reported.

i wonder what the non-human casualties might have been.
Posted by: abu do you love || 03/09/2007 22:26 Comments || Top||


US, Iraqi forces seize suspects north of Baghdad
US and Iraqi troops captured eight suspected insurgents Thursday in raids north of Baghdad as part of a campaign to prevent insurgents from regrouping outside the city during the ongoing security crackdown. The operation took place in Duluiyah and the Jabouri peninsula - a bend in the Tigris River about 90 kilometers north of Baghdad - part of the Sunni areas around Baghdad where insurgents have fled since the crackdown in the capital began last month.

The top US commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, said the Baghdad security operation would be extended beyond the city limits to target which areas, which he referred to as "the Baghdad belt." "The priority clearly is Baghdad, (but) anyone who knows about security in Baghdad knows you must also secure the `Baghdad belts' - in other words the areas that surround Baghdad," Petraeus told reporters at his first press conference since taking command last month.
Posted by: Fred || 03/09/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I think one of the reasons Gen. Petraeus asked for more MPs is because he doesn't really trust the Iraqis to hold those that are being captured. He also wants as much intel as possible from these pieces of filth before they can be released or sent to jail permanently. Personally, I'd wring them dry and dump them on the Iranian border, with a map to Tehran. I'd also tattoo a dragon on their foreheads. Anyone caught twice is summarily executed.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 03/09/2007 13:46 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
On the record with IDF Intelligence: Michael Totten
Posted by: Grunter || 03/09/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Good read!
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 03/09/2007 7:37 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Muslims threaten death to Christian who said that Muslims are violent
Irony meter is in the shop. The patience meter, however, is available. And please check for duplicates before posting, 'specially if you know it's going to be a hot story. AoS.
Filipino Muslims display a banner, which reads 'Behead Those Who Insult Islam,' and t-shirts with a wanted sign during a rally Wednesday March 7, 2007, at a downtown Manila square , to protest recent televised preaching by a Christian sect leader Eli Soriano, who alleges that Muslims are killers. More than 1,000 Muslims took part in the rally

Can we get the irony meter on this?
Posted by: mhw || 03/09/2007 13:04 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Deja vu. See irony meter on same article in WOT background.
Posted by: Thinemp Whimble2412 || 03/09/2007 13:13 Comments || Top||

#2  It's the ouroboros...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 03/09/2007 13:21 Comments || Top||

#3  okkkkk
!
Posted by: sinse || 03/09/2007 13:34 Comments || Top||

#4  This is like one of those embedded "zoom in" animations of someone holding a picture of themselves holding a picture.

Except they are holding up signs that say they want to behead somebody for saying that they wanted to behead somebody for saying that they wanted to behead somebody.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 03/09/2007 17:08 Comments || Top||

#5  When all else fails, call for a guillotine... Works every time....
Posted by: BigEd || 03/09/2007 17:40 Comments || Top||

#6  OK...Islam is violent.
Posted by: anymouse || 03/09/2007 17:55 Comments || Top||

#7  Islamockracy creates itself.
Posted by: WTF || 03/09/2007 23:52 Comments || Top||


Thai jihadis slaughter grocer and blow stuff up
Southern extremists shot and killed the owner of a Narathiwat grocery store on Friday, then planted a bomb at the shop to try to kill police responding to the shooting.

Four gunmen pretending to be customers entered the grocer's shop in Sungaipadi district and shot Mr Preecha, the owner, who died at the scene. When police and soldiers were inspecting the site, a bomb exploded. While no one was wounded, police found another bomb hidden on the premises. They used high pressure water guns to defuse the second bomb.

The killing and the bombings at the grocery occurred following bombs being set off at two electric utility poles in Narathiwat's Waeng district on Friday morning. No one was wounded but electricity in Waeng and Sukirin districts was disrupted.
Posted by: ryuge || 03/09/2007 07:03 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Death to durian vendors!
Posted by: ed || 03/09/2007 8:52 Comments || Top||


Sri Lanka
Tamil Tiger bases 'are captured'
Sri Lanka's military says it has overrun four Tamil Tiger rebel bases in the north-east of the country after three days of fighting. Military spokesman Brig Prasad Samarasinghe said the surviving rebels had run away.

Meanwhile, 18,000 people have fled more fighting further south near the town of Batticaloa. Some 4,000 people have died in growing violence since December 2005 despite a ceasefire still officially holding.
How would you notice if it wasn't?

Ground troops backed by artillery captured the Tamil Tiger bases before dawn on Friday. Brig Samarasinghe said the presence of the Tamil Tiger camps to the north of Trincomalee had threatened army bases and nearby main roads.

Further south, in the district of Batticaloa, more than 18,000 people have now fled Tiger-held territory as the rebels and government forces exchange artillery fire. The military is expected to try to drive the Tigers from the area, known as Thoppigala. The rebels said they had repulsed an offensive by troops, leaving one soldier dead.

Government forces have captured large areas of the east that were controlled by the Tigers under the terms of the 2002 ceasefire, now ignored by both sides. The Tigers have warned of a bloodbath in Sri Lanka unless the international community acts to stop the government's offensive.
Posted by: Steve || 03/09/2007 09:41 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  yeah 3 days of fighting and 1 dead. now thats what i call a blood bath
Posted by: sinse || 03/09/2007 10:02 Comments || Top||

#2  I can't stand it, so here goes:

All Your Base Are Belong To Us

There! Got it out of my system.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 03/09/2007 10:08 Comments || Top||

#3  ;-) thanks Mr Mullah
Posted by: RD || 03/09/2007 11:13 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran-Russia talks on Busher nuke generator end in confusion
Russian point of view:
Work on Iran's Bushehr atomic energy plant will be delayed further unless Tehran resolves a dispute over payment to the Russian contractors building the plant, a Russian official said on Friday.....
Iranian point of view:
"...Right now [Russian state-owned] Atomstroiexport had a little bit of financial problems and Iran is ready to remove and eliminate all the problems for the Russian side," said Mohammad Saeedi, deputy head of Iran's nuclear energy organization. "We are ready to charge additional money to Atomstroiexport to build the nuclear power plant according to the schedule," said Saeedi, speaking on Russia's Vesti-24 news channel.
Perhaps: December check was undated, Jan check was unsigned, Feb check had the digital amount mismatch the alphanumeric amount.
Posted by: mhw || 03/09/2007 09:09 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ..And all of a sudden, the Iranians can't pay for their work. Curiouser and curiouser...

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 03/09/2007 10:20 Comments || Top||

#2  One thing good about being the richest country in the world. You can outlast poor ones who try and act rich. Maybe we are making progress against Iran after all.
Posted by: plainslow || 03/09/2007 10:55 Comments || Top||

#3  Iran's struggle to emulate North Korea has been quite successful in ways the Mullah's hadn't anticipated.
Posted by: doc || 03/09/2007 11:19 Comments || Top||

#4  Will you accept this post dated, three party, out of state check, drawn on my ex-mullahs account? I'll make it out to "Cash" Just don't try to cash it until payday.

They may have to swing by the "Persian Payday" store on the way to mosque.
Posted by: Capsu78 || 03/09/2007 11:20 Comments || Top||

#5  Let me guess they had their assets in an "Islamic Bank" that doesn't have interest bearing accounts and somebody drained it?
Posted by: 3dc || 03/09/2007 11:38 Comments || Top||

#6  "And all of a sudden, the Iranians can't pay for their work. Curiouser and curiouser..."

Or maybe their payment history has always been spotty, but suddenly the Russians are being more hardassed about it.

Wonder what we've given Putin in exchange.

Posted by: liberalhawk || 03/09/2007 12:23 Comments || Top||

#7  Ah, renegotiate and cut a few corners. Like at Chernnobyl...
Posted by: tu3031 || 03/09/2007 12:51 Comments || Top||

#8  And, that Russian diplomat at the UN is going on trial for aiding and abetting bribery and malfeasance (or something like that) as part of the Oil for Food thingy... he took a portion of the bribes he'd organized in the amount of US$300,000 or so, if I heard the report correctly. This comes out of Mr. Volker's investigation. But $300,000 is pocket change compared to the numbers that floated through the place, so perhaps the quid pro quo is that we publicly embarrass the big Russian players. Curious indeed.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/09/2007 13:33 Comments || Top||

#9  TU - Chernobyl was the result of people in the control center disregarding safety precautions, not shoddy construction. There are plenty of places where shoddy construction is the norm, but usually not in their nuclear power industry. Part of Chernobyl is still operating.

That doesn't mean that Russia wouldn't use shoddy construction methods outside of their territory. I wouldn't put that past them for a minute.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 03/09/2007 13:54 Comments || Top||

#10  #9 OP: "That doesn't mean that Russia wouldn't use shoddy construction methods outside of their territory. I wouldn't put that past them for a minute."

Inshallah. :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 03/09/2007 13:57 Comments || Top||

#11  Yhe Iranians are slowly being marinalized. Tater and his "Senior People" left Iraq. One of their biggest Intelligence men has defected. They are bringing home their agents in their Embasys. Baby Assad threw a hissy fit. There have been more "Insurgent" attacks inside Iran. Whatever the Bush Administration is doing, it seems to be working so far without war.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 03/09/2007 14:44 Comments || Top||

#12  OP,

It wasn't just the intertia test they were doing (seeing if inertia could run the cool systems after power loss)

The reactor itself used horizontal graphite cooling tubes. Once the coolant was below threshold, it flashed, cracking and igniting the tubes.

Also, the coolant was not the doping method for neutrons, so as it 'boiled' off, the reaction went faster and faster.

Other designs often have the coolant as a doping source as well, so that as it boils off the reaction has a small feeback loop to slow up. Not enough to really prevent a crisis, but enough to slow a major crises.

And yeah, they should not have disengaged the safties to do the test.
Posted by: bombay || 03/09/2007 14:44 Comments || Top||

#13  IIRC, the Bushehr reactor job was always a pay-as-you-go cash program with the Russians, having got burned by ME characters many times as the former USSR. There should be plenty of money for the final touches, but not paying after all these years seems to be some kind of a clue.

And having a few carrier battle groups in the theater is putting the heat on, also.

The trick is to see if we can help bring down the MMs of Iran before the Dems make too big of a mes domestically. This IS a two front war.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 03/09/2007 18:40 Comments || Top||


3 Iranian businessmen disappear in Turkey
Three Iranians disappeared in Turkey, following allegations that they attempted to smuggle missiles into Iran, it was reported on Friday. Turkish newspapers reported Friday morning that the three Iranians, who owned Turkish companies operating, disappeared late last year following their attempts to smuggle spare used missile parts to Iran. Reportedly, the attempt to export American-made rocket pieces to Iran, was foiled when Turkish customs informed the US authorities of the sale.
Huummmm, old HAWK parts maybe?
Turkish newspapers reported that the three Iranians disappeared shortly after the incident, last December.
Cover was blown and they skipped town.

Posted by: Steve || 03/09/2007 07:35 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Turkish jail??????
Posted by: ARMYGUY || 03/09/2007 7:58 Comments || Top||

#2  I'm not so sure. I doubt the Turks have much of a penalty, and they would be giving up their businesses in Turkey. That is, I wonder if they actually *did* "disappear", like that diplomat.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 03/09/2007 8:45 Comments || Top||

#3  The Iranian missile caper happened two months before the defection of Asghari.

Hmmm.
Posted by: mhw || 03/09/2007 9:02 Comments || Top||

#4  "Mahmoud, are you telling me you've lost another businessman?"
Posted by: Seafarious || 03/09/2007 10:52 Comments || Top||

#5  Sounds like the US has finanlly started fighting this dam war like a war. Bodes well for the future.

Two can play the proxy war we just have better trained SOF, CIA, money tech. USE IT.
Posted by: C-Low || 03/09/2007 11:48 Comments || Top||

#6  Link thingy broken.
Posted by: Mike N. || 03/09/2007 19:37 Comments || Top||


‘Iranian general defected with classified documents’
Former Iranian Deputy Defense Minister Ali Rez Asgari left Turkey for an undisclosed location in Europe with a false passport with the help of Western officials, the London-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reported Friday. A former colleague told the newspaper that Asgari took with him documents and maps that shed light on Iran’s military and the Revolutionary Guards' links to Hizbullah, Islamic Jihad, the “Mahadi Army” and the “Badr Corps” (military forces of The Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq).
For this, he gets the really good guest house....
The Iranian source said Asgari was also in possession of documents related to Iran’s ballistic missiles project and was privy to confidential information regarding the Islamic Republic’s plan in case of a conflict with the US.
....with 24 hour room service.
A senior American official said on Thursday that Asgari is providing Western intelligence agencies with information on Hizbullah and Iran's ties to the organization.

Saudi newspaper Al-Watan recently reported the Iranian Revolutionary Guards are instilling changes in the defense systems protecting the country’s nuclear reactors for fear that Israeli and US intelligence agencies are now in possession of specific information that may threaten the facilities.

According to Asharq al-Awsat, Asgari informed an American official of his desire to defect a few weeks in advance, after which he was quickly transferred to a safe house in Turkey and given a false passport.
Posted by: Steve || 03/09/2007 07:30 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Oh, the state of the poor ayatollas' nerves! Regardless whether Asharq al-Aswat is reporting truth or rumor...
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/09/2007 7:44 Comments || Top||

#2  It sounds too good to be true.

I hope it is true.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles in Blairistan || 03/09/2007 7:52 Comments || Top||

#3  If Asgari didn't defect, and is just shacking up with a lady friend in Istanbul, this story would still result in some seriously important intel. One hopes and assumes the traffic patterns (physical and electronic) resulting as the Iranians react are being thoroughly monitored and analyzed.
Posted by: Glenmore || 03/09/2007 7:56 Comments || Top||

#4  Defected? Pish. He's down in the well communing with the 12 Imam.

/Mullah Loadabullah
Posted by: ed || 03/09/2007 8:49 Comments || Top||

#5  Some tidbits on NewsMax that provide a motive:
Gen. Asghari left Iran on an officially-sanctioned trip to Damascus, Syria, then went missing during a stop-over in Istanbul, Turkey on February 7, according to statements by Iranian government officials in Tehran. Nourizadeh believes he had been sent to Damascus to supervise an arms deal between Iran and Syria that was signed last June during a trip to Tehran by Syria's defense minister.

But Newsmax has learned from Iranian sources that Gen. Asghari's family also managed to leave Iran just before he went missing, and that he sold his house in the Narmak area of Tehran in December. Both are considered clear indications that he defected and had been planning his departure for some time.

The Iranian regime requires top official such as Gen. Asghari to obtain an authorization before they can travel abroad. Gen. Asghari's 10-day trip to Syria was approved by the military judicial authorities, sources inside Iran told Newsmax. Two days after he arrived in Damascus, his family managed to leave Iran, the sources said.

The main impediment to defections by high-ranking Iranian officials is fear that any family members left behind will be arrested, tortured, and possibly killed.

The Persian-language website Baztab.com claims that Gen. Asghari's name was on a CIA "hit list" of twenty former Revolutionary Guards officers. Baztab is owned by former Revolutionary Guards commander Gen. Mohsen Rezai, now a top aide to former president Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani.

Alireza Nourizadeh, the Iranian journalist based in London, tells Newsmax that Gen. Asghari planned his defection carefully. "While he was in Damascus, he sent a fax or an email to Tehran saying that one of his contacts, who was an arms dealer, was in Turkey and wanted to meet him," he told Newsmax. "So they gave him permission to go to Turkey, where he defected."

The Iranian military attaché in Istanbul had reserved a room for Gen. Asghari at the Continental hotel, Nourizadeh said, but Asghari complained that it was not safe. Instead, he booked three rooms at the Gilan Hotel, in the Tacsim district which is popular among Iranians. "After calling a relative in Tehran, he left the hotel at 6:30 PM and disappeared," he said.

During the 1990s, Gen. Asghari was in charge of short and medium-range missile projects at the Defense Industries Organization. "He ran the Nazeat, Fajr, and Zelzal missile programs," Nourizadeh said. From 1996-1997, he worked on secret nuclear procurement projects, and traveled frequently to Russia, China, North Korea, and Southeast Asia buying equipment and parts.

Nourizadeh believes Gen. Asghari defected because he had incurred the wrath of his superiors in the Defense ministry during a stint as the Defense Ministry's Inspector General. "He discovered two gangs of corrupt officials who had embezzled the government for $90 million and $150 million," Nourizadeh said. "After he exposed them, he was arrested. He was Mr. Clean."

Eventually, Gen. Asghari was rehabilitated and put to work on the Iran-Syria arms deals signed last year, but he never forgave his superiors for orchestrating his fall from power.
Posted by: Steve || 03/09/2007 9:34 Comments || Top||

#6 
My sources tell me that we had to offer 73 virgins to up the bid.
Posted by: Master of Obvious || 03/09/2007 9:41 Comments || Top||

#7  After he exposed them, he was arrested.

Interesting. Lost faith in the revolution and suddenly the opportunity to get revenge presented itself.
Posted by: ed || 03/09/2007 9:45 Comments || Top||

#8  Could the recall of all the NorK diplokiddies be related to the Asgari situation? Are the NorK nukes related to the Iranian nukes by people, materiel, etc?
Posted by: Seafarious || 03/09/2007 10:01 Comments || Top||

#9  Interesting thought, Sea.
Posted by: Glenmore || 03/09/2007 10:29 Comments || Top||

#10  For this, he gets the really good guest house....

Screw that. For this, he gets to stay in the Castle at Disney World.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 03/09/2007 11:03 Comments || Top||

#11  Former Iranian Deputy Defense Minister Ali Rez Asgari left Turkey for an undisclosed location in Europe on a plane owned by Franklin Graham's Samaritan's Purse organization.

The Mullahs ain't gonna like this one.... oh no.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/09/2007 11:23 Comments || Top||

#12  No, if the reports are accurate, he's the guy who blew up our Marines back in the day, and he's prolly been directing much of the "Iraqi" insurgency. No castle for him and the kiddies. At least not until Iran's agents have been rolled up from Basra to Buenos Aires, and Caracas to Karachi.
Posted by: Seafarious || 03/09/2007 11:24 Comments || Top||

#13  I'm tellin ya, he's got that second mega millions ticket sold at that liquor store in south Jersey.
It's part of the new "self funded defection" program Valerie was working on before she got outed.
Posted by: Capsu78 || 03/09/2007 11:29 Comments || Top||

#14  Lots of really detailed targeting info, I'm thinking. The "hidden" sites are not so hidden anymore...
Posted by: mojo || 03/09/2007 11:31 Comments || Top||

#15  I wonder if he took the swiss bank account numbers that the Russians were to be paid for that reactor from?

ooh....ooh oooh...
Posted by: 3dc || 03/09/2007 11:47 Comments || Top||

#16  Are the NorK nukes related to the Iranian nukes by people, materiel, etc?

yup.
I suspect this is why Bush cut a deal with Pyongyang. Peels them away from Teheran.
Posted by: Wheating Angereper3174 || 03/09/2007 11:47 Comments || Top||

#17  Ah, renegotiate and cut a few corners. Like at Chernnobyl...
Posted by: tu3031 || 03/09/2007 11:48 Comments || Top||

#18  Maybe Jack Bauer got him...
Posted by: domingo || 03/09/2007 12:49 Comments || Top||

#19  "He discovered two gangs of corrupt officials who had embezzled the government for $90 million and $150 million,"

So that's where the last payment to the Russians for Bushehr went.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 03/09/2007 21:24 Comments || Top||


Jundallah shows footage of kidnapped Iranian cops
DUBAI: An Iranian Sunni militant group has released a videotape purportedly showing four kidnapped members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, according to Al-Arabiya television which aired the video on Thursday.

The videotape attributed to the Jundallah (Soldiers of God) militant group said the four men were nabbed following a clash with security forces in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan, the Dubai-based news channel said. The four men appeared on their knees, while two masked gunmen stood behind them. One of the hostages seemed to be speaking but his voice was muted. Al-Arabiya said the group claimed in the tape that the four hostages were an officer and three soldiers in the Revolutionary Guards. Authorities in mainly Shia Iran said last week that militants killed two policemen and kidnapped four others in a late-night ambush in the sensitive border province before fleeing to neighbouring Pakistan. The clash followed an upsurge of violence in the border area. A spokesman for the militant group said it had no connection to Al Qaeda, to the Taliban or US intelligence, in a separate statement in poor Arabic.
Posted by: Fred || 03/09/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Good morning
After Las Vegas wedding, groom hits bride with car Iraqi forces arrest nine people involved in attack against ShiitesSSP activist killed and 'suicide bomber' arrestedIraq recaptures 42 escapeesIAEA okays Iran aid cutUgandan troops continue to arrive in MogadishuWhite House Hangs Veto Over Pullout PlanBangladesh former PM's son arrested in graft drive
Posted by: Fred || 03/09/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  You sure that's not Marilyn Monroe?
Posted by: mac || 03/09/2007 1:09 Comments || Top||

#2  I would like to have a time machine and investigate personally who is on the picture.
Posted by: JFM || 03/09/2007 2:00 Comments || Top||

#3 
SIZZLE CRACKLE POP HOT


Yummy!


Posted by: RD || 03/09/2007 2:19 Comments || Top||

#4  Gurg....le....
Posted by: Punky Angaque1952 || 03/09/2007 4:10 Comments || Top||

#5  You have to love an age before cosmetic surgery existed.
Posted by: gromky || 03/09/2007 4:38 Comments || Top||

#6  Anyone like to wager she never once thought about getting a tattoo, piercing, or shaving off all of her hair?
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/09/2007 5:37 Comments || Top||

#7  Yes, but Gromky (#5) is that a funny shadow, or airbrushing around the edges of the garment?

I say cosmetic surgery with an airbrush was painless!
Posted by: Bobby || 03/09/2007 5:53 Comments || Top||

#8  I don't know when that photo was taken, but i can remember DD playing an ugly witch in her later years.
Posted by: Ebbavimble Glineger1405 || 03/09/2007 5:58 Comments || Top||

#9  You sure that's not Marilyn Monroe?

Definitely. Look here

Also even in the photo you will notice that the face is less rounded than Marylin's. On closer pictures she doesn't look at all like Marylin.
Posted by: JFM || 03/09/2007 7:39 Comments || Top||

#10  Black things.....WHY DO THEY HATE US????????!!!!!!
Posted by: ARMYGUY || 03/09/2007 7:51 Comments || Top||

#11  Black things.....WHY DO THEY HATE US????????!!!!!!

Google the name on IMAGES. You'll see lots more
Posted by: Angaitch Cruling1154 || 03/09/2007 7:54 Comments || Top||

#12  from a fan site re the war years when she was a soon to be rising star: "...There was only one problem, her name. Mr L'Epine Smith tactfully suggested that Diana loose her original surname, Fluck, 'in case some people put vulgar connotations on it'."
Posted by: mhw || 03/09/2007 9:26 Comments || Top||

#13  the fan site in #12 was

http://www.dianadors.co.uk/diana2.html
Posted by: mhw || 03/09/2007 9:29 Comments || Top||

#14  Come on baby light my fire.
Posted by: Tibor || 03/09/2007 11:23 Comments || Top||



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