A confession: I love planning, posting, and hosting Paloozas, but I get tongue-tied when trying to write about them afterwards.
Having said that, this party was a total blast.
Rantapalooza IV was hatched a couple months ago, when trailing wife wrote to me with her family's travel plans that included a stop in DC the first weekend of August. Would we consider having a RB get-together? [You're kidding, right?]
So first to check with Fred. Are Hizzoner and Ethel up for it? [Yes! Yay!]
Can we have it in DC? [No, too far]
How 'bout somewhere roughly halfway between DC and Bawlmer [Sure]
Good. Howzabout Rams Head in Savage? A fine watering hole in a historic setting [Yup]
Awesome! Parameters worked out, now time to publicize. First post up, I flush out one surprising lurker and get the usual chorus of "My cousin's nephew's best friend is getting married in Auckland that day", "The contractor's coming to grout the rabbit hutch", "I'm gonna be playing nickel slots and hitting on showgirls in Tahoe", and other less than compelling explanations. There was also some muttering about packing to move, but I found that highly implausible.
The emails roll in, replies roll out, post a few more reminders, rsvp everyone, and finally it's P-Day.
I stop downtown to pick up the impossibly radiant trailing wife. Mr. wife and their lovely daughters, er, trail behind us in their rental car as we make our way up the ever-scenic US 1 all the way to Savage.
Then on to Rams Head, arrange the tables, inform the restaurant staff to send anyone babbling about "Fred" to our private back room. The guests arrive: Fred and Ethel, Rambler, Bobby, Mrs. Bobby, Nimble Spemble, Eric Jablow, Barbara Skolaut, mhw, and one lurker who later told me he was quite apprehensive about attending, but reported he had a very good time indeed and that the Rantburg community (and perhaps the bottomless gin and tonics) made him feel right at home.
And then ... and then I was too busy hostessing to actually remember what happened. Surely any or all of the luminaries listed above would like to jog my memory and fill us all in...
#4
A confession: I love planning, posting, and hosting Paloozas, but I get tongue-tied when trying to write about them love telling a very titilating romp about them afterwards, Yes Sir Indeedy I doooo.
;-)
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
08/06/2007 2:23 Comments ||
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#5
The hotel in Virginia Beach has a computer!! (We needed something restful after the excitements of Washington.) It was beyond words amazing to meet a few of my favourite Rantburgers and a Rantburg lurker, too. (If he's any example, more lurkers need to start posting -- he was fascinating! Although I've noticed all sorts of new nyms and names lately, so as usual nobody needs good advice from me. Welcome to the conversation, y'all!) I felt like a kid in a candy store, not knowing who to talk to first. I met the adorable Ethel Pruitt, and the sweet Mrs. Bobby, and I can assure you their husbands are very lucky men. And I got to show off Mr. Wife and the trailing daughters, which I don't get to do nearly enough for my taste. :-D Oh, and Nimble Spemble forgot to mention he was partnering me in the tarantella on the table... there is no truth to the rumour that the table collapsed at his end first, dumping us ignomineously on the floor, legs akimbo, nor that he got a mild concussion, nor that mhw paid for the damage with one of the million dollar bills he prints up on his computer. (Don't worry about any of our lurkers in dark suits -- it seems our mhw has Friends In Government.)
More later. We're supposed to be polite and limit computer usage to 20 minutes, according to the little red notice I just noticed. But it was wonderful, and I'm so grateful to dear Seafarious for organizing the whole event. Oh, and as far as I can tell at least a third of Americans have lived in Cincinnati at some point in their childhoods. It's a funny old world, isn't it? :-D
#9
#5 tw: "there is no truth to the rumour that the table collapsed at his end first"
Nope, none at all. Not a bit.
Nope.
Hee hee.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/06/2007 20:36 Comments ||
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#10
No, no! Certainly not!
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2007 20:41 Comments ||
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#11
Speaking of the "surprising lurker," I was thrilled to meet h** too. I though my eyes were deceiving me at first. Too cool. Really nice, down-to-earth person, engaging to talk to.
Better than meeting a rock star. (But then again, what isn't? ;-p)
It was great to see old friends and put faces to names I'd read and "spoken" with but never met before.
I swear I've seen Mr. Wife's face somewhere before; he swears there's no truth to the rumor it was on the Post Office wall. :-D
Start planning next year's, Sea!
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/06/2007 20:43 Comments ||
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#12
"though" = "thought"
Wratts. Looooong day. :-(
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/06/2007 20:44 Comments ||
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Two Australian soldiers were wounded during a "contact" with the Taliban in southern Afghanistan in the past few days this month, the Defence Department says. Defence spokesman Andrew Nikolic said one of the two Special Operations Task Group (SOTG) soldiers wounded during a patrol in Oruzgan Province had been evacuated to a medical facility in Europe for treatment. "He is in a stable condition and responding very well to treatment - we expect him to return to Australia in the near future," Brigadier Nikolic said.
The other soldier received superficial wounds. No further information would be provided on the soldiers' injuries, treatment or SOTG operations, Brigadier Nikolic said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2007 14:56 ||
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Top|| File under: Taliban
(AKI) - (Syed Saleem Shahzad) - Korean hostages held by the Taliban in Afghanistan are being moved to different parts of the country, and maybe on to Pakistan, ahead of what their captors believe is a NATO rescue operation, sources have told Adnkronos International (AKI). "They (the 21 hostages) are being shifted from Ghazni to various safe locations as there is no signal that the Afghan government will succumb to Taliban demands.
"A few of them were shifted to Birmal (Afghanistan) from where it is likely that they would be shifted to Shawal (in Pakistan's North Waziristan)."
A few of them were shifted to Birmal (Afghanistan) from where it is likely that they would be shifted to Shawal (in Pakistan's North Waziristan)," a source speaking on condition of anonymity told AKI.
Birmal, a traditional Taliban stronghold, is part of Paktia province and situated on Afghanistan's border withPakistan. The Taliban presence is also strong in Shawal but part of that territory is under the control of tribes loyal to the Pakistani government. Both areas comprise high mountaints, gorges and the thick DareNishtar forest making military operations difficult. Sightings of Osama bin Laden were reported in the area as recently as September 2004.
The Korean Christian aid workers - two of whom have been killed since their capture - are being held by Taliban fighters under the command of Maulana Jalaluddin Haqqani, believed to be the second highest ranking member of the Islamist movement led by Mullah Omar.
This article starring:
JALALUDIN HAQQANI
Taliban
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
So - if they are in Pakiwakiland - the dictator has to admit to a little border control problem. Maybe if honest an ISS problem...
At least 20 people, including six civilians and 10 police officers, were killed in a weekend of violence across insurgency-hit Afghanistan, police said on Sunday.
Taliban insurgents killed two policemen and wounded three in an attack on a police post in the Chapa Dara district in Kunar, provincial spokesman Shah Wasi Mangal said.
In an attack blamed on Taliban insurgents, three policemen were killed when a remotely detonated mine tore through their vehicle in the eastern province of Kunar on Sunday, provincial police commander Abdul Jalal Jalal said.
They had been travelling to a Taliban-dominated district to reinforce police who had been under attack there since late Saturday, he said.
Separately, a roadside bomb typical of those deployed by the Taliban killed two Afghan civilians in the southern province of Kandahar on Sunday, provincial police chief Sayed Agha Saqeb said.
Also in Zhari, which has seen some of the worst of the insurgent violence this year, several Taliban rebels killed a policeman in an overnight attack on his post, he said.
Four police officers were killed in the southern province of Logar just south of the capital Kabul when they were ambushed on patrol overnight, the interior ministry said.
Five Taliban insurgents were also believed to have been killed in the ensuing gunfight, but this was not confirmed, he said.
Taliban militants fighting the Afghan government and foreign forces claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Separately, four Afghan policemen were killed and three wounded when a rocket-propelled grenade hit their vehicle in the southern province of Logar late on Saturday, said provincial governor Abdullah Wardak.
Afghan forces captured two Taliban leaders in the Bermel district of the eastern province of Paktika in an early morning operation, the US military said in a statement.
It said the captured leaders were responsible for planting and transporting roadside bombs. The statement said the pair also had connections with other senior Taliban and Al Qaeda leaders in Paktika and neighbouring Pakistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Taliban
KABUL - Taleban insurgents killed nine Afghan police and wounded nine more in separate attacks in the south and southeast of the country in the space of 24 hours, provincial officials said on Sunday.
Three policemen were killed and three wounded when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in the eastern province of Kunar on Sunday, said provincial governor Shalizi Deedar. Taleban insurgents killed two policemen and wounded three in an attack on a police post in the Chapa Dara district in another part of Kunar, provincial spokesman Shah Wasi Mangal said. Taleban militants fighting the Afghan government and foreign forces claimed responsibility for both attacks. We killed seven Afghan police and overran three police check points in the Chapa Dara district of Kunar province on Sunday morning, said Taleban spokesman Zabuillah Mujaheed.
Separately, four Afghan policemen were killed and three wounded when a rocket-propelled grenade hit their vehicle in the southern province of Logar late on Saturday, said provincial governor Abdullah Wardak.
Afghan forces captured two Taleban leaders in the Bermel district of the eastern province of Paktika in an early morning operation, the US military said in a statement. It said the captured leaders were responsible for planting and transporting roadside bombs. The statement said the pair also had connections with other senior Taleban and al Qaeda leaders in Paktika and neighbouring Pakistan.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/06/2007 00:00 ||
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(SomaliNet)Five people were killed and three others were wounded in tribal clashes which erupted in Jilib town 400km south of the Somalia capital Mogadishu on Sunday. The fighting raged between militias loyal to the clans of Marehan and Shekhal.
It is not yet clear what caused the latest gun battle but the reports say the fighting ended.
Yup, could be any of a thousand reasons why a bunch of gun-bunnies from rival clans started a fight in a desolate wasteland. Was it a woman or a goat?
The Marehan militiamen who were reportedly belonging to the government troops in Kismayu, the southern port city, took control over the town after hours of fighting. All the dead and the wounded were from the rival militias.
The commander spearheading the militia that captured the town of Jilib, Colonel Abdulahi Hirey said the defense minister had ordered them to crack down the militias that risking the peace in the region. We have a mandate to fight the gangs that are accustomed to rob bing and killing travelers on the road, said Hirey.
"We didn't start it, they started it!"
But the chairman of Jilib town Dahir Doro condemned the move in which the town was captured as illegal and occupation on the people in Jilib. Militiamen from Kismayu have invaded the town and engaged war with the locals, they looted the properties of the people, added Doro.
"We didn't start it, they started it!"
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under:
(SomaliNet) Local Islamic militants have launched ambush rocket attack on the Ethiopian forces stationing in the former pasta factory in north of the capital Mogadishu late on Sunday, residents said.
The attack began 6:40 pm local time after the maqrib prayer and ended around 7:20pm as a group of armed militants fired rocket propelled grenades at the Ethiopian base. No casualty was reported from the latest night time attack. Both sides exchanged heavy weaponry as the sound of explosions could be heard around the surrounding villages.
Residents told Somalinet that masked men carried out the attack and the Ethiopians responded with heavy artillery weapons.
Heh, Aethiops don't screw around, do they.
The insurgents continue carrying out night time hit and run attacks on the positions of the government and its allied Ethiopian forces.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under:
#1
"...forces stationing in the former pasta factory.." Translation: Aethiops defend Godfather's Pizza!
#2
The Ethiopians don't seem to have any night vision equipment. Maybe we need to send them some hand-me-downs. I'm sure the death toll for the Islamic Courts would go up dramatically if we provide the Ethiopians such equipment and train them in using it. It's proven VERY successful in Iraq.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/06/2007 13:02 Comments ||
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Security services in the south western region of the country in Bechar stopped the activity of a terrorist group whos been getting prepared for terrorist operations against several targets in the region. The group is made up of 7 elements whose age range between 19 to 45 years.
The same sources mentioned that the group was to target security organs namely some barracks in the region. They possessed letters they were to send to their relatives. The same sources unveiled that the search carried out in their houses allowed confiscating arms and CDs in addition to fatwa recordings of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, GSPC. Three people of the arrested recognized that they were plotting for attacks on military sites. Noteworthy, Bechar province security services eliminated a very dangerous terrorist in the region who was attempting to get infiltrated in the Moroccan territories.
This article starring:
Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa
Security services identified 14 terrorists who compose a supply cell for what is called Mars squad which belongs to Al Ansar Group this latter operates under the command of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. Security sources mentioned that the majority of the cell elements are originated from villages surrounding Cap Djenat municipality in Boumerdés wilaya. Security services arrested 7 terrorists belonging to a group of 14 who were all identified. Security sources said that the group used to operate around Bordj Menaiel circumscription and Cap Djenat municipality in Boumerdés since the beginning of 2006.
The so called Abu Salah, the leader of Mars Squad, charged the 14 terrorists to support and attribute his Squad that operate under the banner of A-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb Organization. The same sources revealed, further, that the two parties operated directly until security services discovered the group threads.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa
Egyptian police have found 500 kilograms of explosives buried near a central desert village in the Sinai Peninsula, a police officer said Sunday.
Capt. Mohammed Badr of the northern Sinai police force said a tip from local Bedouins regarding alleged drug smuggling instead led officials to discover the explosives packed in 10 plastic sacks near the Gifgafa village located about 80 kilometers south of El-Arish.
Wide parts of the Sinai desert are used for drug and weapons smuggling into the Gaza Strip. Last month, police found more than 1,200 kilograms of TNT explosives buried in the northern desert.
Islamic terrorists have carried out three major bomb attacks in Sinai since October 2004. The blasts in the resorts of Sharm el-Sheik, Taba and Dahab killed 125 people. The government blamed the attacks on a local Islamic insurgent group, which appears to have been inspired by al-Qaida ideology.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Tawhid
#1
I would be much happier if it wasn't the same cache every time.
SEOUL, South Korea North and South Korean soldiers briefly exchanged gunfire along their border Monday, the office of South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
North Korean soldiers fired several shots toward a South Korean guard post in the eastern part of the Demilitarized Zone that divides the Korean Peninsula. South Korean soldiers immediately returned fire, a statement said.
No South Korean soldiers were hurt. It was unclear if anyone was hurt on the northern side and comment there was not immediately available.
The U.N. Military Armistice Commission, which supervises the agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, said in a statement it would investigate.
The conflict ended in a cease-fire, not a peace treaty, meaning that the two Koreas are still technically at war. North Korea's testing of a nuclear weapon last year raised tension in the region, but six-party disarmament talks that include the United States, Russia, China, Japan and the two Koreas are ongoing
The shooting comes a day ahead of working-level talks to agree on the details of an aid-for-disarmanent deal with Pyongyang in the truce village of Panmunjom that separates the two Koreas.
Such incidents occur every few years. In July 2006 soldiers from the two Koreas exchanged fire along the heavily fortified border. Their Navies fought deadly skirmishes off their west coast in 1999 and 2002.
Milan, 6 August (AKI) - An Islamic centre near Milan in northern Italy has condemned what it says was a fire bomb attack near its premises in the early hours of Monday morning. "Hey, knock it off! Who do you think we are, infidels?"
"Just after midnight an unidentified group carried out a clear terrorist attack in which a molotov cocktail was hurled at a car parked near the entrance of the Islamic Centre of Milan and Lombardy", the center said in a statement. "When the imam emerged from the centre following the explosion, the group launched a second molotov cocktail towards the burning vehicle, in an apparent attempt to committ grievous bodily harm against the imam, who thank God, was not hurt", it added. Maybe the car was the target and not your mosque?
The imam allegedly targeted in the attack was a replacement for Ali Abu Shweima, the imam who runs the centre situated in Segrate, on the outskirts of Milan. Shweima is on vacation, the centre said.
According to the centre which also runs a mosque, the incident is the latest in a series on Muslim targets, including an arson attack against the offices of a charity, Islamic Relief; death threats against a charity worker, Abdullah Gonzaga; anti-Muslim graffiti on walls and the verbal abuse of a woman wearing a Muslim headscarf. The centre said the media should also be held responsible for the attacks because "what has happened can be linked to a demonisation campaign against Islam and Muslims carried out by certain information outlets at national level".
Posted by: ||
08/06/2007 13:14 ||
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Top|| File under: Global Jihad
#1
I trust that they've been equally vociferous in denouncing 9-11, Bali, Madrid, Bali, London and all those other deplorable atrocities as well. What? No?
#3
They are only outraged when someone pitches a fire bomb on a car "near" an islamic cultural center. Time to parade out "rage boy." I recall dancing in the streets when the Towers fell--not an iota of concern or outrage when that happened. My sympathy meter just went off the bottom of the scale.
Two men pulled over Saturday in Goose Creek and detained for carrying explosives in the trunk of a car have been charged with possession of an incendiary device, Berkeley County Sheriff Wayne DeWitt announced today.
If convicted of the charges, Youseff Megahed, 21, and Ahmed Mohamed, 24, could face between 2 to 15 years in prison.
DeWitt said the men were pulled over Saturday night on U.S. Highway 176 while driving more than 60 mph in a 45-mph zone. When an officer approached the car, he saw one of them men fold a laptop computer, which the officer believed was suspicious, DeWitt said.
The officer asked them if he could search the car, which the men agreed to. When he asked if there was anything in the car he should know about, the men said there were fireworks in the trunk.
DeWitt declined to say this morning exactly what was found in the trunk. However, the FBI has already said the men are not suspected of orchestrating a terrorist plot.
And an Islamic community leader from Tampa, Fla., whos been in touch with the families of the two detained college students, told The Post and Courier that Megahed and Mohamed are not troublemakers and that they a were simply on a weekend trip to North Carolina.
Ahmed Bedier, executive director of the Tampa chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights organization for Muslims, said family members have told him they think the materials were leftover fireworks Megahed kept in his trunk since July 4.
A terrorism task force, meanwhile is reviewing the evidence, said FBI spokesman Richard Kolko.
At this point, it is too early in the investigation to say there is any link to terrorism, Kolko said.
News that explosives were found Saturday shocked residents in Goose Creek, home to the Naval Weapons Station, which houses the U.S. Naval Consolidated Brig, a military prison where enemy combatants have been held.
#2
Myself had nothing to do with this. Maybe Yourself did but not me. Sorry, low on coffee.
Posted by: Steven ||
08/06/2007 15:37 Comments ||
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#3
...with a trunkload of explosives.
Well, it all depends on what kind of explosives and how many. If they're a dozen 1 inchers, this becomes a laugher. If you saw the mug shots of these guys, they were snickering.
I'm betting this is only another test and another "driving while arab" instance for CAIR. Y & A get released OR or with a plea bargain in a day or two. If this had been a real alert, the Naval Base would have a big hole in it.
#4
I would like to thank SC Law Enforcement for doing their job -- then following their instinct (...which the officer believed was suspicious)
Posted by: Captain Lewis ||
08/06/2007 15:57 Comments ||
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#5
Have a look at this. They look like pipe bombs but are homebrew rocket motors. Look at the propellant too. Same thing these guys were caught with, sugar based propellants. Common for home brew rocket motors. And they had other model rocketry paraphernalia with them.
I say they are rockets. Pretty typical homebrew model rockets.
#6
Maximum sentence. Serve notice to all American Muslims that possession of any sort of explosives, homebrew or otherwise, will get them legally deep fried.
#1
This was reported on the Burg yesterday. What's new on Spencer's site is that the two are now charged with felonies, although the feds are being very tightlipped about what was in the car.
And while the local paper said However, the FBI has already said the men are not suspected of orchestrating a terrorist plot, other reports give a much more careful statement:
At this point, it is too early in the investigation to say there is any link to terrorism
#4
No names were given in the article but it said they were being held "pending charges". If charges are filed the authorities will have to give their names, won't they? Won't they?
#6
This is beginning to smell a lot like the Flying Imams -- a combination probe for security vulnerabilities with a setup designed to allow them to scream 'Islamophobia' if challenged.
#7
I think the 800000 bond means someone is taking this seriously:
"Pipe bombs were found Saturday in the trunk of a car being driven by two Florida college students, according to court documents.
Now the men will have to post a combined $800,000 in bond to get out of jail, a circuit judge decided this afternoon.
Youseff Megahed, 21, and Ahmed Mohamed, 24, have been charged with possession of an incendiary device, Berkeley County Sheriff Wayne DeWitt announced today. If convicted of the charges, the men could face between 2 to 15 years in prison.
Mohameds bond was set at $500,000 while Megaheds was set at $300,000. "
Posted by: Robi Sen ||
08/06/2007 20:03 Comments ||
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#8
A large number of the Netters over at FREEREPUBLIC and other blogs are convinced AQ = Terror cells are already operating inside the USA, and that its only a matter of time before a Nuclear-WMD Terror device(s) goes off in Amer cities.
As an American-born spokesman for Al Qaeda threatens to blow up American embassies abroad, intelligence gleaned from last month's British "doctors plot" of car bombers suggests that an al Qaeda cell is on the loose in the American homeland.
The "doctors' plot" has been a puzzle to me, since it lacks so many of the characteristics of an al-Qaeda plot, starting with the lack of Pak controllers.
E-mail addresses for American individuals were found on the same password-protected e-mail chains used by the United Kingdom plotters to communicate with Qaeda handlers in Europe, a counterterrorism official told The New York Sun yesterday.
The fact that we didn't see even the shadow of the controller is worrying. Whoever he is, he's more subtil the previous beasts.
The American and German intelligence community now believe the secure e-mail chains used in the United Kingdom plot have provided a window into an operational Qaeda network in several countries. "Because of the London and Glasgow plot, we now know communications have been made from Al Qaeda to operatives in the United States," the counterterrorism official said on condition of anonymity. "This plot helps to connect a lot of stuff. We have seen money moving a lot through hawala networks and other illicit finance as well."
I've been carrying the participants as al-Tawhid, rather than as al-Qaeda. If there's solid evidence of al-Qaeda involvement, which the communications nodes would provide, that would mean that Tawhid's been folded into al-Qaeda rather than continuing on as a subelement like GSPC did.
But this source was careful to say that at this point no specific information, such as names, targets or a timeline, was known about any particular plot on American soil. The e-mail addresses that are linked to Americans were pseudonyms
Spammers do it regularly. It's no surprise that Qaeda does it.
Since the thwarted plot in London and Glasgow over the weekend of July 1, American intelligence officials have gone public with their concerns about a Qaeda presence in America. The secretary of homeland security, Michael Chertoff, said he had a "gut feeling" on an increased risk of attack.
"Gut feelings" are much more valid when they're based on intel.
More recently, the commander for Northern Command, the American military operational region that includes North America, Air Force General Victor Renuart told the Associated Press in an interview on July 25, "I believe there are cells in the United States, or at least people who aspire to create cells in the United States." He added, "To assume that there are not those cells is naive and so we have to take that threat seriously."
"I question the timing" in 5-5-3-2...
The heightened threat environment also played a role in the passage of a law Saturday evening to give the National Security Agency temporary authority for the next six months to conduct warrantless wiretaps against suspected al Qaeda contacts on American soil. On Friday, as Congress was still wrangling over the specifics of the changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the director of national intelligence, Admiral Michael McConnell, was unusually blunt about the threat. Commenting on the Democratic proposal that the White House rejected, Admiral McConnell said, "I must have certainty in order to protect the nation from attacks that are being planned today to inflict mass casualties on the United States."
He's probably never going to have 100 percent certainty, but not having his foot in a Congressionally-imposed bucket might seem like it.
While al Qaeda in the past has threatened attacks on American soil, the latest public threat from the terror organization vowed specifically to attack American embassies and interests overseas, such as its 1998 attacks on the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. In an Internet video released over the weekend, a bomber known as Abu Othman pledged to attack embassies, which he said are used to spread moral degradation and encourage women to display themselves and wear make up. In the same video, a Qaeda member and adviser on American culture, Adam Gadahn, also known as Azzam the American, said, "We shall continue to target you, at home and abroad, just as you target us, at home and abroad, and these spy dens and military command and control centers from which you plotted your aggression against Afghanistan and Iraq."
Adam's bought into the "us and them" thing. If he's not vaporized at next time he visits Amadola with Ayman, his lawyer will someday try to have those remarks withheld from the jury.
Mr. Gadahn, who has been on the FBI's most wanted list since 2004, was born and raised in rural California and was a devotee of death-metal music before joining Al Qaeda, according to a profile of him earlier this year in the New Yorker.
I think it's more significant that he decided to become a Muslim after tending goats.
Al Qaeda in June released a video from a training camp in Pakistan featuring graduating terrorists who pledged to conduct attacks on British soil and in other Western countries. In light of the concern over possible sleepers in America, the counterterrorism official yesterday said he thought the video may be a feint. "We are more concerned about sleepers here than we are about hardening any more our embassy targets," the official said.
I'm not a real strong believer in Qaeda releasing its plans for kabooms. I've still got my seatbelt buckled from Sully's bloodthirsty promise in 2002.
The British press has detailed Qaeda connections to the London and Glasgow plots. One of the ringleaders, an Iraqi doctor named Bilal Abdulla, was reported to have been recruited by Abu Musab Zarqawi in 2005 for attacks abroad. The declassified version of the National Intelligence Estimate says that Al Qaeda in Iraq has developed an operational capability to hit targets outside of Iraq.
They had that capability when they changed their name to AQI. Al-Tawhid had already tried to hit targets in Europe.
The British press and the New York Times reported that two of the British plotters tried at one point to enter America using visas for medical workers.
This article starring:
ABU MUSAB ZARQAWI
ABU OTHMAN
al-Qaeda
ADAM GADAHN
al-Qaeda
Air Force General Victor Renuart
BILAL ABDULLA
director of national intelligence, Admiral Michael McConnell
#3
... a bomber known as Abu Othman pledged to attack embassies, which he said are used to spread moral degradation and encourage women to display themselves and wear make up.
Our embassies don't do that. We have the web, movies, and TV to do that - far more effectively than any embassy ever could. Hell, half the time I wonder if our embassies are even on our side.
Since the start of fresh operations in Waziristan and other tribal areas by Pakistans security forces on July 19, over 200 Pakistani soldiers have been killed, according to a report published in the Washington Post on Sunday. In just more than one week of conflict, more than 200 Pakistani troops have been killed, US officials said, says the report.
The report, based on interviews with a half-dozen senior administration and intelligence officials, none of whom was willing to be named, says that Pakistan was forced to abandon its strategy of negotiating with local elements to keep the peace since US intelligence reports clearly showed that Al Qaeda had regrouped in the area and found it to be a safe haven. Pakistan launched a fresh military offensive on 19 July, having deployed two additional brigades in the area, bringing the total number of Pakistani security forces there to 100,000.
The report quoted Ambassador Mahmud Ali Durrani as saying, We are as committed to defeating terrorism as the US is, because the threat to us is far greater. Durrani said Pakistani intelligence officials are not convinced that Al Qaedas Pakistan operations are as elaborate as US experts believe. We say there are no safe havens, he said. Maybe there are Al Qaeda people hiding in caves or running for their lives, but they arent operating in the open because they cant. Durrani contends that any Al Qaeda elements actually in Pakistan will soon be driven out or rendered ineffective.
Earlier, intelligence gleaned from captured Taliban fighters, communications intercepts and overhead surveillance showed that the terrorists had exploited the vacuum created by departing Pakistani troops. Using a combination of bribes and intimidation, foreign fighters had secured the protection of tribal leaders and had begun boldly rebuilding a network largely dismantled during the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, the Post report said. The intelligence was an eye-opener for President Musharraf, though he already sensed the deal was in trouble. Xenia Dormandy, who recently left a senior position at the National Security Council, told the newspaper, To say weve been supporting Musharraf is simplistic. Musharraf has spent six years walking a fine line between a rock and a hard place. Could we push him more? You wont know the answer until youve pushed him too hard and he collapses.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
"The intelligence was an eye-opener for President Musharraf, though he already sensed the deal was in trouble."
It must be difficult for Musharraf to move around carrying all that naivete. Or was it willful delusion?
#2
The report quoted Ambassador Mahmud Ali Durrani as saying, We are as committed to defeating terrorism as the US is, because the threat to us is far greater.
QUETTA: Unprecedented security measures have been put in place in the provincial capital following the killing of provincial government spokesman Raziq Bugti, and with the 60th anniversary of Pakistans independence looming.
All commuters are being checked to ensure the prevention of terrorism and pillion riding has been banned in the city. The security measures in Quetta, according to the government, are preparations for the approaching Independence Day. The law enforcement agencies also did not rule out possible violence on the first death anniversary of nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Bugti, who was killed in a military operation on August 26, 2006. Balochistan CM Jam Yousaf, however, said the province was not under threat, and the security measures were there only to prevent assassinations similar to Raziq Bugtis. Raziq was assassinated, and terrorists are targeting innocent people. The government has taken these security measures only to ensure the safety of the citizens of Balochsitan, he told reporters.
Online adds: FC, Anti-Terrorism Force, Balochistan Constabulary and police contingents have been deployed in the city, and armoured cars were seen patrolling the roads. Bunkers have been set up at all important routes. Roads leading to Governors House and CMs House were closed every evening.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2007 00:00 ||
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NEW DELHI - At least 17 people were injured when suspected separatist militants set off two blasts in Indias north-eastern state of Assam on Sunday, news reports said. Police said militants from the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) carried out the bombings in and around Sibasagar town, 370 kilometres east of state capital Guwahati, the PTI news agency reported.
The first blast occurred in front of a police station in Sonari town, 40 kilometres from Sibasagar, and injured 10 people. A bomber who was trying to enter the police complex posing as a vegetable vendor was arrested, the IANS news agency said in its report.
A second blast at a bus terminal in the heart of Sibasagar came within 10 minutes of the first and injured seven bystanders.
That one was aimed at the rescue workers.
The injured were taken to local hospitals where at least five people were listed in critical condition. Police suspect the bombs used in the blasts were planted on bicycles.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/06/2007 00:00 ||
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MMAs secret deal with Musharraf In daily Nawa-e-Waqt, lyrical columnist Irfan Siddique wrote that, according to reliable sources, Chief Minister of NWFP Akram Durrani gave a detailed briefing to the National Security Council on crushing extremists. Is there any agreement between the MMA and the army to crush extremism? During the last few years, many Al Qaeda and Taliban operatives were captured in NWFP by the provincial police. Army operations are going on in Balochistan, where the MMA is part of the government.
Nazir Najis trip to a London flat
Columnist Nazir Naji wrote in daily Jang, that if he dodged the bullet of the person appointed to kill him, if there was no suicide attack on the airport, if the plane was not hijacked, if no bomb exploded in Heathrow airport, and if the underground train took him to his destination, then he would reach the flat of Aneeq Naji in London this evening.
Eve teaser jinn in Jalo Pind
As reported in daily Khabrain, jinns have occupied Jalo Pind and started playing with the honour of women. 50 percent of the population has sent their womenfolk to other areas to save their honour. For the last month a ten foot tall, black and bald jinn has entered homes and fondled women. He attacked an old woman and tried to strangle her. Police arrested a Christian Baba Bashir masih because he had statues in his house and was believed to be a master of black magic.
Musk smell from the grave of Ghazi Abdul Rashid
As reported in daily Khabrain, thousands of aqeedatmand (devotees) of Ghazi Abdul Rashid are thronging to his grave in Rojhan, Taunsa Sharrif, and are taking samples of mud from his grave as tabarrak (blessed gifts). Gul Khan from Waziristan said that the grave of Ghazi Abdul Rashid smells of kasturi (musk) and roses. The sheet that covered the body of Ghazi Abdul Rashid was divided by hundreds of devotees.
Karzai pardons Pakistani suicide bomber
As reported in daily Khabrain, Afghan President Hamid Karzai pardoned a 14 year old Pakistani boy. The boy, Rafiqullah, illegally crossed the border wearing a suicide belt to kill the governor of Khost Arsalla Jamal. Rafiqullah said that he met a person in Afghanistan who gave him the jacket. He said he was threatened when he refused to attack the governor. His father, Matiullah, said he didnt know about the activities of his son.
Extremists critical of political ulema
In daily Nawa-e-Waqt, lyrical columnist Irfan Siddique wrote that many people believe that the target of the army in Swat is Maulvi Fazalullah (Maulvi Radio). Maulvi Fazalullah is running a seminary in Imam Dheri that has become famous for its dars Quran course. A large section of the public have become his devotees because of his emotional, fiery speeches and his hostility to the political ulema. Ghazi Abdul Rashid also criticised the political ulema, and therefore the security of Maulana Fazl ur Rehman was also beefed up.
Dont let Imran and Qazi influence Nawaz Sharif
As reported in Daily Pakistan, the leader of the opposition, Maulana Fazl ur Rehman, has sent a message to Benazir Bhutto, saying she should revise her political policies and should not distance herself from Nawaz Sharif, else he will be influenced by Qazi Hussain Ahmad and Imran Khan. If the situation remains the same, then they will make emotional rather than political decisions. He said that such a situation would be dangerous for both of us.
Pakistan army equipped only to fight India
Daily Express, quoting from The New York Times, reported that when Al Qaeda was organising in Afghanistan, the Clinton administration was in the dark about their activities. Now that American intelligence agencies are convinced of Al Qaedas presence in the tribal areas of Pakistan, they are in the same situation as the Clinton administration was. According to CIA officials, the Pakistan army is incapable of fighting Al Qaeda in the tribal areas, as the army is equipped with traditional weapons and is only trained to fight India.
17th amendment was a mistake
As reported in Daily Pakistan, Naib Amir of Jamaat Islami Pir Ghafoor Ahmad and ex-mayor of Karachi, Maulvi Naymat Ullah, went to the High Court to congratulate lawyers on their successful campaign for the restoration of the Chief Justice. The secretary of the High Court Bar welcomed them and said that if the MMA had not supported the 17th amendment, Pervez Musharraf wouldnt have been in office today. Professor Ghafoor said that they would make up for the mistake of the 17th amendment.
Saudi Grand Mufti condemns fictitious jihad
According to Daily Pakistan, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdul Aziz, said that Muslim youth should be aware of those who are instigating them to carry out a fictitious jihad. He said that these elements keep their own children away from these hardships, which show their wicked intentions. He said one group is spreading a fitna (mischief) among ummah, and it should be avoided.
Sir, we are with you!
In daily Express, famous columnist Javed Chaudhry wrote that the government killed innocent citizens in Karachi on May 12. On July 10, it attacked Jamia Hafsa and killed more than 2,000 innocent girls and boys. The greatest hero of Pakistan, Dr Abdul Qadeer, has been under house arrest for 1,236 days. Sir, now the people of Pakistan have woken up and will make sure that your decisions are acted upon. Start with small cases, and we are all with you.
Pakistan made for turban not cap
Columnist Saadullah Jan Barq wrote in daily Express, that after every washing (changing of government), the cap of foreign policy shrinks while the head keeps growing. Shaheed Awal (first martyr) tried to insert the head of socialism into it while Shaheed doam (second martyr) tried to force the head of Afghanistan into it. Now, another steel cap is being forced on this head and it has injured the head at several places. We saw surgery on an injury recently. Actually, this head was not made for the cap but for the turban.
Suicide bombing is haram in Islam
As reported in daily Khabrain, the principal of Jamia Ashraful Madaris Okara, Sahibzada Faiz ur Rehman Okarvi, said that suicide bombers are committing suicide, which is haram in Islam, and those responsible have no relation with Muslims. He said the only solution for extremism and terrorism in Islam is that those responsible shall be declared traitors of Islam and put to the sword.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Gul Khan from Waziristan said that the grave of Ghazi Abdul Rashid smells of kasturi (musk) and roses
Pakistani protestors chant anti American slogans after setting on fire the effigies of U.S. President George W. Bush, center, Republican Tom Tancredo, left, and U.S. Presidential hopeful Barack Obama, right, at a protest rally in Lahore, Pakistan on Sunday, August 5, 2007. Protesters criticized to Tancredo and Obama for allegedly making irresponsible statements on military strikes against Muslims and bombing on the Islamic holiest sites, Mecca and Medina.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/06/2007 13:20 Comments ||
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#3
Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden T-shirts are displayed outside a garments shop in Islamabad, April 2007.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/06/2007 13:22 Comments ||
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#4
I think they are trying to prop up Hillary. She voted to confirm Petreaus, she voted for the funding, she hasn't been outspokenly critical of this move. This strengthens her with the Looney Left.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/06/2007 21:48 Comments ||
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#5
OTOH, RAW STORY.com > MSNBC HARDBALL > US general claims to had received plans for a complete withdrawal from Iraq. Thru Kuwait back to the USA, circa two years time to complete.
A truck bomb in northern Iraq flattened homes and killed 27 people today, police said, while Washington expressed growing impatience with a stalled political process that has failed to reconcile sectarian groups. Rescue workers were sifting through rubble in an attempt to find survivors from the attack in the town of Tal Afar, near the Syrian border. About 30 people were injured, police said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2007 12:53 ||
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Fed-up with violent and indiscriminate terror tactics, a group of more than 80 residents of the Adhamiyah District on the east side of the Iraqi capital banded together to oust suspected terrorists from a local mosque Aug. 5. This is outstanding!
The uprising led to a string of events over the next 12 hours that ultimately resulted in the arrest of 44 suspected terrorists and the capture of three weapons caches.
The initial take-over of the Abu Hanifa Mosque occurred at approximately 2 p.m., apparently triggered by news that terrorists had murdered two relatives of a prominent local sheik. As the news spread, angry residents joined the sheik to storm the mosque, long-believed to be a sanctuary for terrorists operating in the area, and ousted the suspected terrorists inside from the building.
Iraqi Army troops from the 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade, 11th Infantry Division responded quickly to control the situation and secure the area around the mosque. Residents led them to several individuals among those ousted from the mosque, who were suspected of being involved in terrorist activities. Thirteen suspects were eventually detained.
After order was restored, the Iraqi Army received a tip about a weapons cache hidden in the vicinity of the mosque. At approximately 7 p.m., Iraqi forces returned to the Abu Hanifa Mosque and uncovered a massive illegal weapons cache in an outside courtyard. The cache contained several already-assembled improvised explosive devices, dynamite, mortars, rockets, landmines, bomb-making materials and various weapons.
Shortly after midnight, acting on information volunteered by Adhamiyah residents, Iraqi forces and Coalition Forces from the 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, attached to the 82nd Airborne Divisions 2nd Brigade Combat Team, mounted a combined cordon and search operation of the Al Assaf Mosque in the nearby Maghrib neighborhood. The mosque was entered and cleared by the Iraqi Soldiers, who took three suspects into custody.
Immediately afterwards, Iraqi and U.S. forces returned to the Abu Hanifa Mosque area to investigate reports of additional weapons caches. Iraqi soldiers again entered the building to search the mosque compound and the cemetery behind it.
They discovered two more weapons caches, which contained two IEDs, 16 mortars, two hand grenades, a sniper rifle, remote detonation devices, radios and more than a dozen weapons. Twenty-eight suspects were taken into custody.
#1
When we hear about this sort of thing happening in KSA, pakiwakiland and Oakland, CA mosques, it might be time for 1 bottle of cheap champagne in celebration...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/06/2007 9:47 Comments ||
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#2
Almost six years too late but still a refreshing and welcome change. Please let me know when this happens in every major city around the world. Then I might have some hope for a reformed Islam's survival. Three cheers for the good and worthy citizens of the Adhamiyah District. They have my deep respect.
#7
"terrorists had murdered two relatives of a prominent local sheik"
This is what's really turning the tide. These shitbags are like having a pet rattlesnake. Sooner or later the snake thinks, what the hell, there's no one else around to bite. After offing too many relatives of those very Sunni sheiks who were providing the protection, these idjits piss them off and get terminated or turned over. Just Muzz on Muzz action. We shouldn't take any credit in the results. When they're done whacking each other, they'll be back to whacking our people.
#10
Rodger on that rattlesnake. Throw in a coupla skorpeens an' a black widow spider too...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/06/2007 12:18 Comments ||
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#11
Iraq has pretty conclusively proven the high value of "every man being a lawman" in making a strong and safe society. This is not vigilantism, but the radical notion that real security is in the hands of the people, with policemen as just their proxies.
In the civilized West, this concept has been strongly discouraged, the insistence that people rely totally on the police to enforce the law--even forbidding people to protect themselves--but it is a false security.
Iraq will truly find peace only when every person who sees a crime or criminal takes it upon themselves to do something, anything, about it, not just ignore it and walk away.
And that is a lesson the civilized West needs to relearn.
#14
Perhaps some friendlies can be issued M202A1 FLASH kits for their cleanup crews.
Posted by: Steven ||
08/06/2007 15:43 Comments ||
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#15
It takes good people doing the right things to keep this world right. If you keep your mouth shut and sit on your hands you are not assisting society or humanity. There is a time and place for all things - and sometimes it is necessary to take a hard choice action. Even if you put yourself in personal danger or break a man made law. There are three types of laws. Only one need be obeyed.
#16
It takes good people doing the right things to keep this world right. If you keep your mouth shut and sit on your hands you are not assisting society or humanity. There is a time and place for all things - and sometimes it is necessary to take a hard choice action. Even if you put yourself in personal danger or break a man made law. There are three types of laws. Only one need be obeyed.
#17
It takes good people doing the right things to keep this world right.
Judging by how mankind has managed to survive and progress over hundreds of millenia, it appears as though the vast majority of humans tend to do the right thing. That much cannot be said for Islam. It brings about so much death, abuse, cruelty and stagnation that there is littleif anythingthat redeems it. Sadly, it took the murder of a popular neighborhood leader to motivate some cleanup at the mosque, even though it was "long-believed to be a sanctuary for terrorists operating in the area". These people needlessly countenanced terrorists in their presence for quite a while before acting. While their actions are laudable, their timing still raises other questions.
Coalition Forces conducted a raid to capture or kill suspected Special Groups Cell operatives in Qasirin before dawn on Saturday. The Special Groups operatives are suspected of coordinating logistical support from Iran for rogue Jaysh al Mahdi elements and Special Groups operating in Iraq. The captured Special Groups operatives are also believed to have been involved in improvised explosive device attacks and explosively formed penetrator attacks against Coalition Forces.
Coalition Forces conducted a complex, multi-faceted operation, killing four armed terrorists when they began to maneuver against ground troops. During the engagement, Coalition Forces employed a fixed-wing close air support aircraft to destroy a weapons cache. Coalition Forces also destroyed six cars that were being used by the suspected terrorists. There were no Coalition Forces casualties during the operation. We continue to target Special Groups terrorists who are responsible for directing attacks against the Coalition and the Iraqi Security Force as they protect the Iraqi people, said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesperson. We will continue to interdict unhelpful external influences supporting terrorist groups operating in Iraq.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Members of the Iraqi Army, with U.S. Special Operations Forces as advisors, detained three individuals in Diwaniya during an operation intended to disrupt a rogue Jaysh al-Mahdi insurgent group, August 3.
After the three individuals were detained, Iraqi and U.S. forces encountered enemy small arms fire and rocket propelled grenades at the target location. Due to the location of the insurgents, air support was called in and delivered proportionate fire that killed the three insurgents. No Iraqi civilians were present during the air-strike. The three individuals detained are allegedly responsible for attacks on Iraqi and Coalition Forces in the Diwaniya area.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Coalition Forces detained 33 suspected terrorists during operations Saturday targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq and its associates in Kirkuk and the Tigris River Valley.
In Mosul, Coalition Forces captured the alleged leader of a terrorist group responsible for placing improvised explosive devices. The ground forces detained a second individual for his ties to the group, which is linked to al-Qaeda in Iraq.
During a raid on several buildings west of Tarmiyah, Coalition Forces detained 20 suspected terrorists for their association with the alleged al-Qaeda in Iraq emir of the northern belts around Baghdad. Intelligence reports indicate the terrorist leaders network is responsible for extortion, kidnappings, training female suicide bombers and vehicle-borne IED attacks using chlorine. One of the detainees led Coalition Forces to a nearby cache of IED and bomb-making materials, which an explosives team safely destroyed.
Coalition Forces conducted coordinated raids in Baghdad and Tarmiyah targeting an al-Qaeda in Iraq emir believed to administer Sharia law in the northern belts around Baghdad. The ground forces detained two suspected terrorists during the operation.
In Bayji, Coalition Forces conducted a precision raid targeting a sniper cell leader associated with an al-Qaeda in Iraq emir in the area. The ground forces detained four suspected terrorists associated with the alleged leader, who reportedly oversees 35 snipers.
Iraqi and Coalition Forces targeted an al-Qaeda in Iraq media emir believed to operate a media cell in Kirkuk. Three individuals were detained for their alleged association with the media cell. Iraqi and Coalition Forces detained two people during a nearby operation targeting an IED cell member believed to be part of the terrorist group responsible for the Jul. 16 vehicle-borne IED attacks in Kirkuk. Al-Qaedas leadership is on the run, just like they fled during the opening phase of Operation Arrowhead Ripper in Baquba, said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesperson. We will continue our operations to hunt them down wherever they hide.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Coalition Forces killed four terrorists and detained seven suspected terrorists during operations targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq Sunday.
As Coalition Forces targeted an al-Qaeda in Iraq leader believed to be the terrorist emir of a small town east of Balad, surveillance teams observed a group of men enter a nearby mosque. Coalition Forces began their operation, and the surveillance teams saw two enemy elements of two armed men exit the mosque and maneuver into tactical positions against the assault force. Coalition Forces, responding appropriately to the hostile threat, engaged each of the enemy elements, killing one armed man from each. The ground forces continued their operation, which was not associated with the mosque, and detained two suspected terrorists.
East of Samarra, Coalition Forces observed five armed men emplacing improvised explosive devices on the road. Coalition Forces followed the men to a nearby building associated with a Moroccan extremist believed to facilitate the movement of foreign terrorists in Iraq. Coalition Forces observed three armed men outside the building after the IED emplacers entered. Responding appropriately to a group of armed enemy fighters, Coalition Forces called in close air support, which engaged the armed men in the yard of the building, killing two of them. A boy was also injured when a ricochet struck his foot. Coalition Forces medics treated the boy on site and transported him to a military medical facility for further treatment.
Coalition Forces on the ground approached the targeted building and secured the area before detaining four suspected terrorists for participating in the placement of IEDs and their ties to the foreign terrorist facilitator.
North of Fallujah, Coalition Forces targeted and captured an individual with alleged ties to the al-Qaeda in Iraq emir of Diyala Province. Intelligence reports indicate the suspect is also connected to other high-level al-Qaeda in Iraq leaders.
Were continuing to target all levels of terrorist activity, from the planners to the underlings who carry out attacks, said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesperson. The people of Iraq deserve to be free of the influence of terrorists, who dont respect Muslim holy sites or even human life.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Iraqi Army Forces and U.S. Special Forces conducted a series of raids Aug. 3, detaining three suspected members of an al Qaeda in Iraq cell believed responsible for facilitating Iraqi insurgents and foreign fighters with weapons in the Al Qaim area.
With U.S. Special Forces present as advisers, Iraqi soldiers detained the three suspects without incident in the vicinity of Karabilah, located on the Euphrates River east of Al Qaim. Various documents, identification cards and passports were also seized during the operation.
No Iraqi Army or U.S. Special Forces members were injured during this operation.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Iraqi Army Forces and U.S. Special Operations Forces conducted a series of raids Aug. 3, detaining two suspected insurgents believed to be members of an al Qaeda in Iraq cell operating in and around the Taji area.
With U.S. Special Operations Forces present as advisers, Iraqi Soldiers detained the two suspects without incident at a targeted residence northwest of Taji. Four assault rifles, numerous rounds of ammunition and multiple identification cards were also seized during the operation.
The detained individuals are suspected members of an al Qaeda in Iraq cell believed to be responsible for planning improvised explosive device attacks, smuggling weapons and facilitating foreign fighters in and around the Taji, Karma, Nasser Wa Salaam and Dra Dijla areas.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Multi-National Division-Baghdad Apache helicopter crews destroyed three enemy rockets and damaged five more at approximately 1 a.m. Aug. 4 southeast of Baghdad. The aircrews from the 4th Guns Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, responded to a request for support from 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division.
The ground unit had positively identified eight enemy rocket systems, set to launch by a timing mechanism.
The cowardly insurgents abandoned their eight rockets, but Coalition Forces wanted to destroy them as soon as possible to prevent them from launching, said Tampa, Fla., native Maj. Justin Hall, operations officer for 4th Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st ACB. The Coalition Forces chose AH-64Ds and called the Big Guns, and within minutes, Big Guns (fired on) the eight rockets and launchers.
'cowardly insurgents' -- I like that in a MNF news release. We should see more of that.
Cleared by ground forces to engage the target, the air crews fired on the rockets, destroying three and damaging the other five. The ground units EOD team later conducted a controlled detonation of the damaged rockets.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldiers uncovered five weapons caches as clearing operations in Rashid District continued Aug. 3-4.
While searching an area with metal detectors, at approximately 10 a.m. Aug. 4, troops of Company A, 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, attached to Task Force Black Lion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, found four rockets, two rocket-propelled grenade launchers, two RPG rounds and a 60mm mortar tube. The cache was destroyed by an explosive ordnance disposal unit.
Elsewhere, Black Lions from Company B, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment found three 10mm rockets with wires attached, three cases of American-made .50-caliber rounds and a large quantity of mortar rounds of various sizes.
Earlier that morning, Soldiers from Company C, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, searched a house believed to be connected to an explosively-formed penetrator cell and found two sets of body armor and a ballistic helmet, as well as 19 cans of large caliber ammunition.
Also that day, Company A, 1st Battalion, 77th Armor Regiment, found five 120mm mortar rounds still in their original packaging.
Two more caches were uncovered on Aug. 3. The first munitions cache was found by Company B, 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, as they searched an abandoned farm in east Rashid. An EOD team was called in to destroy the 50 .50-cal. rounds, three RPGs, a machine gun barrel, 100 7.62mm rounds, one high-explosive anti-tank grenade and 15 mortar fuse caps.
Later that day, Soldiers of Company C, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, found seven sticks of explosives, seven blasting caps, an assault rifle and 13 full AK-47 magazines. The explosives were taken to a Coalition Forces base for disposal.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
found three 10mm rockets
BT-10s rare bird. Usually fabricated from twisted mylar.
Iraqi Security Forces conducted an early-morning raid Aug. 3 detaining two people believed to be responsible for improvised explosive device attacks in the Samarra area. With U.S. Special Forces as advisers, the primary target was detained without incident. He is believed to be the al Qaeda in Iraq Emir in Samarra, One other individual present during the raid was also detained.
Iraqi Security Forces raided multiple targets in the surprise attack against the suspected al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorist cell. Iraqi Security Forces also recovered five anti-armor IED Canisters, five remote firing devices, batteries, metal machining bits, various IED manufacturing materials; two cell phones, five AK-47 assault rifle magazines, fake identification cards and pictures were also confiscated.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2007 00:00 ||
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PHILIPPINE police arrested a suspected Muslim militant plotting to bomb a crowded shopping mall in Manila's southern suburbs, a police general said today.
Roberto Rosales, police chief in Manila's southern district, said the suspected bomber was arrested after a brief chase outside a popular shopping mall in the Bicutan district this afternoon.
"We recovered an improvised bomb made from a 60mm mortar shell and some plastic explosives," Chief Rosales said, adding the man was suspected to be part of a four-member terrorist cell sent by a Malaysian militant to exploded crude bombs in the capital.
"His superiors even sent him a text message on Friday night, six hours after his arrest, ordering him to explode the bombs on Saturday."
Police intelligence officials said the bomb plot was directed by Zulkipli bin Hir, a Malaysian Islamic militant, wanted by the US state department for attacks in the southern Philippines.
The Philippines is fighting a long-running Muslim insurgency in the south of the mainly Roman Catholic country.
The conflict has killed more than 120,000 people and displaced 2 million.
Chief Rosales said the man was noticed acting suspiciously outside the Manila mall. When challenged, he ran and was chased by security guards and some police officers.
"He led us to his hideout at a nearby Muslim village where the bombs were found," Chief Rosales said.
On Friday, a man was killed and about a dozen were wounded when two powerful crude bombs exploded at a bus terminal on the southern island of Mindanao
A total of 193 persons were killed and 1,056 wounded by militants in five southern provinces between January and May this year, said Public Health Minister Mongkol Na Songkhla today. Dr. Mongkol said the number of casualties was obtained from 47 hospitals under the supervision of the ministry in the five provinces of Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat, Songkhla and Satun.
He said information obtained from the hospitals showed that about 80 per cent of the wounded recovered from their wounds, 19 per cent traveled to hospital by themselves, and seven per cent were sent for emergency treatment.
The aim of compiling the statistical report on the number of victims in the insurgency-affected region is to improve medical services as well as upgrading the communications system between emergency services and medical staff at hospitals so as to allow more wounded victims to survive, he said. The Public Health Ministry had spent more than Bt3.7 million in treating the wounded and boosting the morale of families who had lost their loved ones during the period.
Police conducted a raid on a home in Yalas Krongpenang district and arrested two men on charges of providing militant training to the RKK insurgent group. The pair, identified as Same Arwae and Roya Arwae, had both been in hiding prior to their arrest. Inside their home, police found metal spikes used against police vehicles as well as other bomb-making equipment. Samae later confessed that he had been brainwashed into turning against the government and started to join a movement in favour of autocracy.
The recent arrest of an 18-year-old suspected separatist had led authorities to the latest suspects. They have initially admitted to some but not all of the charges leveled against them. Investigations to determine who the suspects are linked to continue.
#1
Now we will find out how quickly all out torture can break down an 'insurgency'. I'm thinkin that just about every muzzie in southern Thailand will have body parts missing or be completely dead within 4 months. I am assuming that the Thai gubmint has had it with the separtists and will let the dawgs out. In any rate, the loss of muzzies there makes no change in the world oil usage or any other measurement for that matter.
#2
One campaign of many for the Battle for the Pacific in the 21st Century, aka the "Pacific/Asia Century", and the WOT. CHINA isn't the only one that desires overseas, anti-US-Western "String(s) of Pearls" islands [Radical Islamism].
Terrorists Militants killed a man and wounded a soldier in a series of attacks in Narathiwat's four districts on Monday while 13 schools in Pattani remain closed following disturbances last Thursday.
In Narathiwat's Srisakorn district, a householder identified as Awae Maruesa was shot dead by a suspected insurgent in his home and died at the scene.
An unknown number of terrorists insurgents attacked a Royal Thai Army outpost in Narathiwat early Monday, wounding one soldier during the 30-minute clash. Insurgents armed with assault rifles and grenade launchers opened fire on an outpost at the Ban Aisatia railway station in Cho Ai Rong district. Pvt. Weerachai Paka was wounded and rushed to hospital and the outpost was seriously damaged. Responding security forces found over 1,000 spent bullet casings and were pursuing the attackers.
During the attack the defending soldiers were unable to return gunfire freely at the assault force because the terrorists insurgents fired from positions within the community. Return fire would have endangered innocent residents. Spikes were strewn on the main and secondary roads leading to the train station to prevent reinforcement, and dummy bombs were found on the roads as well. Security personnel shortly afterward cleared the Narathiwat-Sungai Kolok Road, the main thoroughfare for motorists.
Suspected terrorists insurgents also opened fire at a military guard post and soldiers guarding two schools in Cho Ai Rong district. An unknown number of gunmen attacked two police check points in Bajor district and a paramilitary ranger base in Rueso district. However, no one was wounded during the attacks.
Meanwhile, ten schools in Pattani's Nongchik district and three schools in Yaring district remain closed after last Thursday's incident when some 70 teachers and students in six schools in Nongchik district were temporarily unable to return home because roads were blocked by felled trees, spikes, and unidentified objects which might have contained bombs. Because of the road blockages, the teachers, staff and students at the schools could not travel home on Thursday. About 100 security personnel spent three hours to clear the roads and teachers left school safely.
Ban Thakamsome School director Nantana Kaewchan said the situation is unstable due to continuing insurgent attacks in the area, and teachers fear for their safety. The school is one of nine educational centres which have remained closed since Thursday.
Government troops clashed with separatist Tamil Tigers in Sri Lankas volatile north, killing three rebels, the military said Sunday.
The clash took place late Saturday in the northern district of Vavuniya, which borders rebel-controlled territory, an official at the Defense Ministry information centre said on condition of anonymity in line with policy. He said army troops confirmed that three insurgents were killed in the fighting while the army suffered no casualties. Rebel military spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan was not available for comment on the incident.
The latest violence comes as a top UN official is scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka this week to discuss the islands deepening Tamil separatist conflict and the plight of civilians caught in the crossfire, officials said Sunday. John Holmes, the under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, will hold talks with Sri Lankan leaders and also travel to the embattled northern and eastern regions, officials said.
Sri Lankan foreign ministry officials said that he will travel to the Jaffna peninsula in the north and the district of Batticaloa where security forces last month wrested control over the final bastion of the Tiger rebels. The visit is aimed at getting a first hand assessment of the situation, and improving humanitarian access to the affected areas, an aid official said, adding that Holmes, however, will not travel to the rebel-held Wanni region.
Holmes, who arrives Monday for four days, is also scheduled to attend a remembrance ceremony for 17 aid workers of the French charity, ACF or Action Against Hunger, killed a year ago by unidentified gunmen in the restive north-east of the island. Nordic truce monitors have blamed government forces for the killing, a charge denied by the Sri Lankan authorities. Police investigations remain inconclusive.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2007 00:00 ||
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Two Lebanese soldiers have been killed in continued fighting between the army and al-Qaida-inspired militants entrenched in a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon, a senior military official reported Saturday.
The army has been advancing slowly into Nahr el-Bared camp, targeting the fortifications and tunnels used by Fatah Islam fighters, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
One soldier died Saturday and another a day earlier, the official reported, raising to 133 the number of troops killed since fighting erupted May 20. "Every day there is progress," said the official, adding that troops were being cautious because of the presence of civilians in the area controlled by Fatah Islam. Most civilians left the camp shortly after the fighting began, but some family members of the gunmen have remained.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2007 00:00 ||
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A wanted American member of Al Qaeda warned in a video on Sunday that US interests and diplomatic missions were legitimate targets, according to a US website that monitors terrorist groups. We shall continue to target you at home and abroad just as you target us at home and abroad, Adam Gadahn, a convert to Islam who has been indicted for treason in the US, said in the video posted on the LauraMansfield.com website. These spy dens and military command and control centres from which you plotted your aggression against Afghanistan and Iraq, and which still provide vital moral, military, material, and logistical support to the Crusade, shall continue to be legitimate targets for brave Muslims...unless you heed our demands, he was quoted as saying. Stop the Crusade and leave the Muslims alone, he added.
In a message to the Americans and their Crusader allies, Gadahn said, The amount of respect we have for your international law is even less than the respect you hold for defined sharia and our observance of it is comparable to your observance of sharia. How can we comply with a law which contradicts divine law in whole and in part?
Posted by: Fred ||
08/06/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Gonna be a real pleasure seeing this pig laid out on a slab someday.
King Edward admired Nazis. Prince Charles admires Islamonazis. We don't have the American-Jihadi Bund yet but by name... we have CAIR and other trojan horse orgs, (or orcs). Anti-semitism in Europe is on the rise. And Islamonazis are dreamin day and night about "final solution".
#7
This guy is such a super-dork. I'm sure he's useful to AQ, but how useful can he really be? Getting information about America from him would be great if they just wanted info about heavy metal, but other than that, he's probably most useful in giving instructions on how not to get a date - a talent I'm sure AQ covets.
Posted by: AT ||
08/06/2007 5:03 Comments ||
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#8
Adam, Adam... buddy. Are you out there? If you want to be somebody - become a double agent. Then you'll be cool. You can come back a hero, visit your aunt, listen to metal and be that cool dude who had the guts to spy on AQ.
The chicks will be all over you.
Posted by: AT ||
08/06/2007 5:22 Comments ||
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#9
Yeah, yeah, targets, we know. They have been for years. This is not news, you have a fat, unwashed pig of an angry youth Kos kid spewing your diatribe on the news. That's a far cry from taking on the Marines with any measure of success.
And you should, twobyfour. Nowhere enough people have gotten the message. This is a World War whether we admit it or not. The rest of this world needs to purchase a clue in a major hurry.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
A confession: I love planning, posting, and hosting Paloozas, but I get tongue-tied when trying to write about them afterwards.
At least 20 people, including six civilians and 10 police officers, were killed in a weekend of violence across insurgency-hit Afghanistan, police said on Sunday.
KABUL - Taleban insurgents killed nine Afghan police and wounded nine more in separate attacks in the south and southeast of the country in the space of 24 hours, provincial officials said on Sunday.
(SomaliNet)Five people were killed and three others were wounded in tribal clashes which erupted in Jilib town 400km south of the Somalia capital Mogadishu on Sunday. The fighting raged between militias loyal to the clans of Marehan and Shekhal. 
Since the start of fresh operations in Waziristan and other tribal areas by Pakistans security forces on July 19, over 200 Pakistani soldiers have been killed, according to a report published in the Washington Post on Sunday. In just more than one week of conflict, more than 200 Pakistani troops have been killed, US officials said, says the report.
NEW DELHI - At least 17 people were injured when suspected separatist militants set off two blasts in Indias north-eastern state of Assam on Sunday, news reports said. Police said militants from the outlawed 
In daily Nawa-e-Waqt, lyrical columnist Irfan Siddique wrote that, according to reliable sources, Chief Minister of NWFP Akram Durrani gave a detailed briefing to the National Security Council on crushing extremists. Is there any agreement between the MMA and the army to crush extremism? During the last few years, many Al Qaeda and Taliban operatives were captured in NWFP by the provincial police. Army operations are going on in Balochistan, where the MMA is part of the government. 
A truck bomb in northern Iraq flattened homes and killed 27 people today, police said, while Washington expressed growing impatience with a stalled political process that has failed to reconcile sectarian groups. Rescue workers were sifting through rubble in an attempt to find survivors from the attack in the town of Tal Afar, near the Syrian border. About 30 people were injured, police said.
Coalition Forces killed four terrorists and detained seven suspected terrorists during operations targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq Sunday.
Iraqi Army Forces and U.S. Special Operations Forces conducted a series of raids Aug. 3, detaining two suspected insurgents believed to be members of an al Qaeda in Iraq cell operating in and around the Taji area. 
Multi-National Division-Baghdad Apache helicopter crews destroyed three enemy rockets and damaged five more at approximately 1 a.m. Aug. 4 southeast of Baghdad. The aircrews from the 4th Guns Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, responded to a request for support from 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division.
Iraqi Security Forces conducted an early-morning raid Aug. 3 detaining two people believed to be responsible for improvised explosive device attacks in the Samarra area. With U.S. Special Forces as advisers, the primary target was detained without incident. He is believed to be the al Qaeda in Iraq Emir in Samarra, One other individual present during the raid was also detained. 
Government troops clashed with separatist Tamil Tigers in Sri Lankas volatile north, killing three rebels, the military said Sunday. 
A wanted American member of Al Qaeda warned in a video on Sunday that US interests and diplomatic missions were legitimate targets, according to a US website that monitors terrorist groups. We shall continue to target you at home and abroad just as you target us at home and abroad, Adam Gadahn, a convert to Islam who has been indicted for treason in the US, said in the video posted on the LauraMansfield.com website. These spy dens and military command and control centres from which you plotted your aggression against Afghanistan and Iraq, and which still provide vital moral, military, material, and logistical support to the Crusade, shall continue to be legitimate targets for brave Muslims...unless you heed our demands, he was quoted as saying. Stop the Crusade and leave the Muslims alone, he added.
