Darfur rebel commanders said on Wednesday they had shot down a government MiG 29 plane they say was bombing civilian villages in their areas in Sudan's Darfur region but the army denied any plane had been shot down.
"We have downed a plane - MiG 29 around 4.5 km south of Adila yesterday around 5 p.m. (1400 GMT)," commander Abdel Aziz el-Nur Ashr from the Darfur rebel Justice and Equality and Movement (JEM) told Reuters by telephone.
Adila is in the far east of South Darfur state. Last week the government accused the rebels of attacking the government-controlled town.
The Justice and Equality Movement said the government attacked their areas around Adila ahead of a U.N.-African Union mediated meeting of rebel factions in Tanzania to renew the peace process. "We are looking for the pilot," said Ashr. "We have the body of the plane."
Neither the United Nations, nor the AU, which is monitoring a shaky ceasefire in Sudan's arid west, could immediately confirm the report.
Sudan's army spokesman denied any plane had been shot down. "This is not true. All our planes are accounted for," the spokesman said.
"Lies! All lies!"
The rebels have brought down government Antonov planes and helicopters over more than four years of conflict in Darfur.
A U.N. report said the government had been bombing in Darfur up to the end of June, which would violate U.N. Security Council resolutions banning offensive flying.
Sudan on Tuesday said it would abide by a ceasefire but would defend itself against any attacks.
Presidential adviser Mustafa Osman Ismail told reporters the government would attend any talks with the rebels "with an open heart and an open mind." Last year Khartoum signed a Darfur peace deal with only one of three rebel negotiating factions. Since the insurgents have split into more than a dozen factions.
Divided rebel factions agreed a broad common platform for peace talks in Tanzania this week, sitting together for the first time in more than a year. They want to discuss power and wealth sharing, and land and humanitarian security at future talks.
Ismail said any negotiations would use last year's deal "as a base." Rebels reject the deal and are demanding it should be renegotiated from scratch.
U.N. Darfur envoy Jan Eliasson travelled to Darfur on Wednesday, but Sudanese security forces refused to allow journalists or African Union personnel to accompany him. U.N. airport officials said the authorities were refusing to let any non-U.N. staff travel on U.N. planes.
One government source, who declined to be named, blamed internal governmental differences for the problem. "Some people think they can do what they like," the source said. "It makes us look bad." The United Nations declined to comment.
Posted by: Gary and the Samoyeds ||
08/09/2007 9:06 Comments ||
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#2
Actually, a CIA MiG leased from Russian arms dealer. Maintained by Pakistanis and flown by expat Cuban contract pilots. Paid for by Halliburton funds channeled through twenty-seven different bank accounts and the entire operation directed by a short, fat balding guy named Murray from an office in Bangkok.
A Moroccan military court has sentenced eight army officers to up to five years in prison for leaking military intelligence information about an Al Qaeda plot, lawyers and court officials said on Wednesday. The weekly Al Watan Alaan quoted a military intelligence document last month as saying that Al Qaeda had decided to send 12 Arab and four Pakistani fighters to carry out attacks in Morocco and other Maghreb states.
The Royal Armed Forces Permanent Court in Rabat found the officers guilty of divulging professional secrets and undermining state security. It sentenced them to prison terms of between six months and five years and fined four of them 10,000 Dirhams ($1,230) at a hearing on Tuesday.
The Maghreb region has been on alert since al Qaeda's North Africa wing, the Algerian-based Al Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb, threatened to step up its war against "corrupt" regional rulers and their Western allies. In June, Morocco raised its security alert level to "maximum", suggesting an al Qaeda attack was imminent.
The Interior Ministry said it had obtained intelligence information on the threat but gave no details. Police arrested Al Watan's managing director Abderrahim Ariri and journalist Mustapha Hourmatallah over the report . The two men were charged with receiving and concealing stolen documents, and face up to two years in jail if convicted by a criminal court in Casablanca next week.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2007 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[4 views]
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#1
Jail for leaking state intelligence info to the press? What a wonderful idea!
Four suspected members of Al Qaeda linked to the July attack in Yemen on Spanish tourists have died in a clash with security forces, said Yemen police, cited by EFE in El Mundo.
Police did not publicly name all the suspects who died, but said it was part of an operation against Al Qaeda which continued in the region. A police officer was killed and two others were injured.
Security forces using army helicopters clashed with the group of Al Qaeda suspects in Magreb in the north-east of the country. Three other suspects were arrested. Security forces have been investigating Al Qaeda for the killing of eight Spanish tourists and two Yemenis since July.
Authorities say 20-year-old Abdu Mohamad Sad Ahmad Reheqa was the suicide bomber who smashed his convoy loaded with explosives into the tourist convoy in front of the citys temple.
#1
You have to wonder about anyone that would think Yemen a place that you have to see before you die. But then Lonely Planet is still pushing backpacking trips to Afghanistan - but watch for all those pesky land mines.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
08/09/2007 7:45 Comments ||
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#2
Yemen could advertise: "A vacation to die for." Not high on my must see places.
A Turkish soldier was killed and two other security personnel were wounded on Tuesday when their vehicle was blown up by a remote controlled mine laid by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Partry (PKK), security forces said. The attack occurred in the mountainous Hakkari province near Turkey's border with Iraq amid escalating attacks by the PKK.
Three soldiers were killed last Saturday in a similar attack on their vehicle. More than 200 soldiers and PKK members have died in violence so far this year, according to a study carried out by a human rights group.
Arizona mosque targeted in "acid bomb" attack Police in Arizona said two unidentified men tossed a bottle filled with acid at a Phoenix area mosque early on Monday, splashing a caustic chemical near a Muslim cleric involved in a high-profile discrimination suit.
Only near the holy man, huh? They didn't manage to hit him? Why is my spider sense tingling? It only does that in the presence of bullshit...
A Glendale Police Department spokesman said two men driving in a red car threw a soda bottle filled with acid and a reactant at the Albanian American Islamic Center of Arizona, in Glendale, west of Phoenix, around 1 a.m. on Monday.
At 1 in the morning? Why, I'll bet there weren't any witnesses on the street at that hour...
The bottle, which contained pool cleaner and strips of tin foil, burst some 20-25 feet away from Imam Didmar Faja and another mosque official, although neither man was injured, sergeant Jim Toomey said.
Right. "We wuz jus' standin' on the corner, discussin' our bidnid, at 1 a.m. when dese here guyz comes by in a red car and stink booms us! It's a hate crime!"
"The bottle ruptured in front of them and they smelled a strong chemical smell when it went off," Toomey said. "We are treating it as a hate crime. We are taking it very seriously," he added.
Right. I'll bet you are. You might want to conduct a thorough investigation: why were they standing on the corner at 1 a.m. instead of safe at home in their trundle bed or beds? How did the perps know they were going to be standing on that particular corner at that particular hour to receive the benefit of that particular acid bomb? Why did the acid bomb land the width of a small house away from them, rather than showering them with pool cleaner and dissolving them like green algae? Who, other than Muslims and especially South Asian Muslims, is in the habit of throwing acid bombs at people?
Faja is one of six Muslim clerics known as the "Flying Imams" who are bringing a suit against US Airways alleging discrimination after they were removed from a Minneapolis to Phoenix flight last November.
My spider sense is cooing "self-inflicted hate crime." What's yours say?
The imams were ordered off the aircraft and were briefly detained by authorities after some passengers and crew became alarmed at what they believed was suspicious behavior.
Yeah. It's prob'ly the flight crew hunting them down for Dire Revenge.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations said on Wednesday that the imams and their attorney had received death threats stemming from the lawsuit, and urged Glendale police to consider that as a possible line of inquiry in their investigation.
See? Death threats! Prob'ly from the flight crew, damn them! I get three or four calls a day from flight crews I've flown with, threatening my life. I have no idea how they get my phone number. Delta should give me lotsa money.
Never got any death threats, but Delta employees did threaten to have me arrested after they lost my luggage. Toomey said that the attack was one of six similar incidents involving the soda-bottle device in the Glendale area over a three-day period, but the other five did not appear to have a religious link. "Until we know (the reason), we are going to assume that (the mosque attack) was religiously motivated," he added.
#2
I rather not go down that road on this soil, but since it is acceptable to soil my country with your hate, gotta hate it, but Americans are smarter than your books.
#3
Faja is one of six Muslim clerics known as the "Flying Imams" who are bringing a suit against US Airways alleging discrimination after they were removed from a Minneapolis to Phoenix flight last November.
Yo, Didmar, mebbe you arent too popular right about nows, eh?
Toomey said that the attack was one of six similar incidents involving the soda-bottle device in the Glendale area over a three-day period, but the other five did not appear to have a religious link.
Naw, its just the Pepsi Generation putting in their CRV two cents.
"Until we know (the reason), we are going to assume that (the mosque attack) was religiously motivated," he added.
Whoa Nellie! Another BGO (Blinding Glimpse of the Obvious)!
In the days after the September 11, 2001, attacks, the Phoenix valley area was the scene of a widely reported hate crime in which a Phoenix man shot dead a Sikh outside his gasoline station.
Ban me if you must but this seems to be more a case of mistaken identity than anything else.
The victim, Balbir Singh Sodhi, was one of several Sikhs attacked in the United States after apparently being mistaken as possible supporters of Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden, believed to be behind the attacks.
Ummm believed to be, even though bin Laden personally took individual credit in an internationally broadcast video? Tell you what, lets just go with verified and retain some sort of a vestige of journalistic integrity. Emkay?
#6
Considering there were five more of these noisemakers thrown BEFORE this, at just random people, odds are it has nothing to do with their religion. But CAIR sure do like playing the victim.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
08/09/2007 8:09 Comments ||
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#7
Also, I read in another posting of this 'incident' (maybe at LGF?) that the 'mosque' is a trailer with no obvious markings that it is a mosque.
#8
And is it possible that the perpetrators were themselves muslims, and this was a staged incident to add to the list of examples of "islamophobia" in America?
#9
Calling this an "acid bomb" is way out of proportion. Pool cleaner and aluminum foil in a 2-liter bottle? That's only going to hurt yourself if you fool around with it, it's no danger to anyone else.
#10
The U.S.A. bends over backwards to insure freedom of religion for all religions. What do you do when that religion contains the seeds of your downfall and destruction and those seeds contain the replacement of your system of laws with sharia law. That religion also states that you will be servile? What happens when that religion-political system is hell-bent on your destruction? What happens when that religion says slavery and lying is O.K. in the name of allah.
You reclassify that religion to a Political ideology then extinguish it. Mohammedans view their death cult as a religion, there's nothing that says we have to.
It would be a simple matter, except for all the Lefty Ankle Biters®, just contrast and compare it with the four or five other religions with the most representation.
No comparison, just because a majority of Mohammedans are illiterate and uneducated enough to believe their murderous death cult is really a religion doesn't mean the rest of the world has to!
Posted by: Natural Law ||
08/09/2007 15:53 Comments ||
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#12
You reclassify that religion to a Political ideology then extinguish it. Mohammedans view their death cult as a religion, there's nothing that says we have to.
End of story, Natural Law. Too bad neither Bush nor the liberal left remotely comprehend this.
#13
You reclassify that religion to a Political ideology then extinguish it. Mohammedans view their death cult as a religion, there's nothing that says we have to.
Not that I'm saying Islam, at least in it's current form, isn't crap or that it can't rightfully be classified as a political ideology, but if we intend to extinguish it, I think it doesn't matter what we classify it as.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
08/09/2007 16:07 Comments ||
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#14
By definition ALL religions are "ideologies". Were Christians to begin promoting the idea that our "holy book" says its okay to slaughter infidels, I would expect a public outcry. But the politicos lack the balls to condemn Islamo-fascists that make the same pronouncements.
Their cowardice is a huge mistake and lots of innocents will die as a result.
#15
I think it doesn't matter what we classify it as.
You're being far too logical, Mike N. Way too much of this world's population is religious and therefore cannot readily make the jump over to understanding how one particular religion might be their avowed enemy. The days of the Thugee cult are long past and no longer reside in current public memory.
To start with, begin with a requirement that all Korans have to be printed in, or at least with, the recognized major European languages beside the Arabic text, in accurate translations. It is a strong fundamental doctrine of Islam that Korans have to be in Arabic text, but only extremists insist that it can *only* be printed in Arabic.
Included in that would be a law making it a crime to "deface" a Koran by marking out the European language text, just leaving the Arabic, which is what they would do. By calling it "defacing", it would make them gnash their teeth, because "defacing" a Koran is a terrible offense in Islam.
Then, instead of banning the Koran proper, ban the *commentaries* on the Koran as hate speech. This is an important point, because of lot of the more graphic elements of Islam, like the hijab, are not based in the Koran itself, but in the commentaries. Then subsequently make it even illegal to possess the commentaries, not just import and sale.
Then insist that all Mosque sermons be given in Dutch or other major European language. This would be tricky in the Netherlands because they are so multi-lingual. But sermons are not Koranic, so there is no requirement that they be given in any particular language. This would break up the power of radical clerics, because they knew they could be monitored.
Then and only then, and probably after some nasty incident, could you ban the Koran outright, as hate speech. But by then, from most radical to less radical, Muslims would be leaving the country.
#16
...but if we intend to extinguish it, I think it doesn't matter what we classify it as.
By "extinguish" I mean ban the practicing of Islam within the U.S., seize and raze all Mosks (intentional misspelling), ban all Islamic groups like CAIR, stop issuing visas to Mohammedans for any and all reasons, begin mass deportations of the Mohammedans that are here, suspend all diplomatic contact with all Islamic States...etc. etc..
I'm sure I could think of some more, but you get the idea. Of course, we won't do any of that, we'll dilly and dally until we're forced to kill a few hundred million or more Mohammedans, or we'll role over and surrender just like the Europeans.
Which it will be is in the balance at this point, but one thing is for sure, if we do not clean house here and soon, it will be surrender.
Posted by: Natural Law ||
08/09/2007 17:52 Comments ||
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#17
role = roll
Posted by: Natural Law ||
08/09/2007 17:55 Comments ||
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#18
By "extinguish" I mean ban the practicing of Islam within the U.S., seize and raze all Mosks (intentional misspelling), ban all Islamic groups like CAIR, stop issuing visas to Mohammedans for any and all reasons, begin mass deportations of the Mohammedans that are here, suspend all diplomatic contact with all Islamic States...etc. etc..
Islam wouldn't have it any other way. At least it's impossible to tell from how they act.
#19
By "extinguish" I mean ban the practicing of Islam within the U.S., seize and raze all Mosks (intentional misspelling), ban all Islamic groups like CAIR, stop issuing visas to Mohammedans for any and all reasons, begin mass deportations of the Mohammedans that are here, suspend all diplomatic contact with all Islamic States...etc. etc..
#21
You reclassify that religion to a Political ideology then extinguish it. Mohammedans view their death cult as a religion, there's nothing that says we have to.
Excellent observaiton, Natural Law.
Regarding Zenster's quote of 'Moose's comment: Moose is correct with regard to the Hadiths. They hold the same place in Muslim thought that the Commentaries of the Holy Father did with the Roman Catholic Church's struggle with Martin Luther. Luther, and the reformers, rejected any divine "commentaries" of the scriptures, holding to the position of Sola Scriptura: "Only By Scripture". It was necessary to do so to ensure the success of the Reformation.
A dual language Koran is not only possible, but they actually exist. I have, in my bookshelf, an official Koran issued under Egyptian authority with dual parallel columns of text, in Arabic and English. It was given in gratitude from a Palestinian familiy whose younger son stayed with me during a summer school program at the University I was attending. Apparently, they appreciated the fact that I exposed the boy to some actual culture, and did not lead him down the sordid path of wine, women, and song...
#23
Wow. New record for number of comments about the Flying Imans. Sounds like we need to get along here. After all this is the religion of peace and someone out there is trying to tarnish their reputation.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
08/09/2007 20:20 Comments ||
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#24
I really don't understand this story. Around here, really unpopular persons tend to have drivers shoot a 30-06 into the house as they drive by at night. It is illegal and dangerous, but it does get the point across.
The FBI tested liquids Tuesday that were found inside a car trunk where authorities say they also discovered multiple pipe bombs.
Agents on Monday also searched the Tampa family home of one of the two University of South Florida students who were arrested Saturday in Goose Creek and later charged with carrying explosive devices. Authorities say they don't suspect terrorism was a motive in the case, but they remain tight-lipped about the contents of the trunk and what they could have been used for.
Yousef Megahed, 21, and Ahmed Mohamed, either 24 or 26 according to arrest records, were charged Monday with possession of an explosive device. They were still in custody Tuesday after a judge set bond at $300,000 for Megahed and $500,000 for Mohamed.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has put a detainer on the men, which allows federal agents to have the final say on whether the men can be released, even if they post bond. Officials said detainers are routine in cases of foreign nationals charged with a felony. "Essentially, it's what we use so we can determine their immigration status," said Richard Rocha, immigration department spokesman.
Someone from ICE did something smart?
The men, who are in the country legally, also are prohibited from leaving the state until their October court date.
The leader of a Muslim advocacy group who has been talking with Megahed's family said they are still trying to find out what evidence the government has. The family has not yet been able to contact Megahed. "The family is anxious to find out what is going on," said Ahmed Bedier, executive director of the Tampa chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Megahed's family allowed the FBI to search their home without a warrant Monday
Bedier said Megahed's family allowed the FBI to search their home without a warrant Monday.
The 2000 Toyota Camry the men were in was stopped Saturday on U.S. 176 in Goose Creek for reportedly going more than 60 mph in a 45 mph zone. A Berkeley County sheriff's deputy became suspicious when Mohamed closed a laptop computer as the deputy approached the car. After the men gave permission to search the car, deputies found what they say are pipe bombs and the unidentified liquid inside the trunk.
The laptop thing is bogus. The officer profiled the two men, that's all, not that I have a problem with that.
Mohamed said during a Monday bond hearing that the contents in the trunk were fireworks he made from materials he bought at Wal-Mart.
Similar charges have been filed in at least one other local case that did not garner nearly as much attention. In January, Charleston County Sheriff's deputies arrested a 21-year-old man in connection with placing three bombs, each a plastic bottle containing hydrochloric acid and foil, near a home on Marshfield Road. The potential penalty for the unsophisticated chemical bomb was the same two-to-15 years in prison that Megahed and Mohamed face if convicted.
#1
What is going on is your stupid son is in jail.Along with his stupid friend. Any other questions?
Posted by: Steven ||
08/09/2007 1:02 Comments ||
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#2
Parents agree to a house search without a warrant & didn't lawyer up - give them credit.
They wouldn't be the first set of parents to not know what their 21 yr old was messing with, assuming he was indeed messing (which seems at least possible).
#3
arrested a 21-year-old man in connection with placing three bombs, each a plastic bottle containing hydrochloric acid and foil, near a home on Marshfield Road. The potential penalty for the unsophisticated chemical bomb was the same two-to-15 years in prison
Good lord, terminal stupidity reigns. The government has lost all perspective when a prank gets as much punishment as real explosives designed to kill and maim real people. How much time will a diet coke and Mentos bomb get someone?
Posted by: ed ||
08/09/2007 7:33 Comments ||
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#4
I noted, ed, though, that the perp's name/nationality were not given for that case either. I'm betting it's not Stanley Hornbuckle, though.
Posted by: BA ||
08/09/2007 10:53 Comments ||
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#5
I really want that cop to put on some rubber gloves. Better yet, use a stick to put those briefs into a plastic bag. Hell, just look at the dog. Even he knows better.
#7
There are a hundred places on the web where you can get recipes for homemade explosives. These range from just barely a pop to "there goes the neighborhood" types. I have no idea what kind of nonsense this is, but it could be probing exercises, an attempt to overload the cops so a real bomb can get through, or just head games. The end result should be the same - jail time, deportation if appropriate, and hefty fines/confiscation until the BS stops.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/09/2007 15:16 Comments ||
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Pro-Taliban militants raided a tribal village on Wednesday to avenge an attack on them by supporters of the slain leader of an alleged criminal network, police said.
"Revenge! We must have Dire Revenge™!"
The militants fired three rockets into the village in the tribal town of Darra Adam Khel near Peshawar, a senior local police officer said, adding that they currently had it surrounded.
"Yer surrounded! Come out withcher hands up!"
Five villagers were injured when one of the rockets destroyed a house, local police officer Iftikhar Khan said. "The situation is very tense and we have called a meeting of local elders to end the siege," Khan said.
That calling-a-meeting-of-the-elders stuff hasn't been working real well lately, has it?... I thought not.
Trouble erupted when pro-Taliban militants killed the leader of an alleged criminal gang hailing from the village on Monday. Ameer Sayed was driving his car when armed men ambushed him on motorcycles.
"The Cycles of Violence™! I am undone! Aaaaaiiiieeee!"
Residents said militants had warned Sayed, 45, that he would be killed if he did not stop activities that allegedly included carjacking, drug smuggling and kidnapping for ransom. On Tuesday Sayed's supporters raided a hotel where pro-Taliban militants were staying, killing three of them, a senior administration official said.
Dozens of militants brandishing AK-47s and rocket launchers then raided Sayed's village and were blocking all entry and exit points, the official added.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Religious crime boss vs. secular crime boss; mmmm, popcorn.
The security forces deployed in District Chaghi arrested 16 Afghan nationals in Balochistan here on Wednesday. According to government sources, Frontier Corps personnel arrested them at a check post while checking their travelling documents. None of the Afghanis had their travel documents and they were arrested according to the foreign act.
Meanwhile, the Iranian border Security forces arrested 10 Pakistanis who were trying to enter Iran illegally. The Iranian border Security forces handed them to the Levis forces on the Taftan border. According to sources, these Pakistanis wanted go to Europe through Iran to earn money.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2007 00:00 ||
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Some low-level Al Qaeda members were identified as having been among the 12 militants killed by an artillery and helicopter attack on two compounds near the Afghan border, officials said on Wednesday, raising the toll of 10 from Tuesday's strike.
"This one's an al-Qaeda."
"How can you tell?"
"See that? It's the secret al-Qaeda turban knot. That's the way they recognize each other!"
"Brilliant, Inspector!"
"The Soddy passport helped, too."
Fresh violence broke out on Wednesday in Balochistan, where suspected tribesmen fired at a paramilitary patrol, triggering a gunfight in which one assailant was killed, police said.
"Captain Mahmoud! They're shootin' at us!"
"Well, shoot back!"
"But... They're fellow Muslims!"
"We're fellow Muslims, too, and they're shooting at us!"
"Well, I guess it's okay, then..."
On Tuesday, helicopter gunships and artillery pounded two hideouts in Daygan, a village about 15 kilometeres west of Miranshah, military officials said. Militants in the area fought to keep ground forces from approaching, but about 12 people were killed in the air attack. Chechens and Arabs were among the militants killed, he said, adding that there were no casualties among government forces. Army spokesman Major Gen Waheed Arshad confirmed the number of militant deaths as 12.
In Derak Saraab, suspected tribesmen attacked paramilitaries traveling in a pickup truck, police officer Imran Mahmood said. One fellow Muslim attacker was killed in the ensuing gunbattle, he said. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. Authorities blame the violence on ethnic-Baloch tribesmen who want the central government to increase royalty payments for resources in their areas.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2007 00:00 ||
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President General Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday cancelled his visit to Kabul to attend the three-day joint Pak-Afghan Jirga, on account of "engagements in Islamabad".
Think another general might be ready to dump him?
Gen Musharraf called up Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday and informed him that he would not be able to attend the jirga, but assured him that Pakistan fully supported the talks and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz would be attending in his place, Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said in a statement. The jirga begins in Kabul today (Thursday).
I don't think Perv's presence lends that cachet he thinks it does. But his failure to attend gives the impression he doesn't want the jirga to succeed -- which nobody really expects it to do anyway.
Mr Karzai emphasised the importance of the Pakistani president's attendance presence during their telephone conversation, the Afghan leader's office told AFP. A government source in Islamabad told AFP that Gen Musharraf's no-show was over security fears.
Notice they didn't say whether they were in Kabul or Islamabad.
The Afghan foreign ministry said Gen Musharraf's absence would not affect the talks, and welcomed the participation of Prime Minister Aziz, AFP reported.
"We don't really care if he shows up or not."
The initiative to hold the jirga was brokered by US President George W Bush in talks with the Pakistani and Afghan presidents in September last year.
Both of whom consider Perv to be a weak reed that's getting closer and closer to snapping. Bush is more polite about it than Karzai.
Talat Masood, a Pakistani political analyst, told AP that Gen Musharraf's pullout was "to convey a strong message to the United States. There have been a lot of statements coming out of Washington about violating Pakistan's sovereignty and so on. That could be one reason."
Nobody here listens to Barak O'Bama, Boy Genius. Why should they there?
"Another is that it shows that the chemistry between Karzai and him is so poor that he wants to back out at the last minute. Why call him just hours before the jirga? I don't see why he could not go to Kabul for a few hours," he said.
Because he's afraid somebody else will take over while he's out of the country? Or somebody will shoot his plane down when he comes back?
Mr Aziz and Mr Karzai will now address the opening session of the jirga, which aims to draw up a joint anti-terror strategy. Mr Aziz told reporters in Kallar Kahar that he was hopeful the jirga would help resolve security issues between the two countries. Tribal elders from North and South Waziristan, as well as invitees from the pro-Taliban Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl), are boycotting the jirga.
... since they're determined it's going to fail.
One Pakistani delegate, who will not be attending, told AP that in all about 100 of Pakistan's 350 delegates are boycotting.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Remember the good old days when the Sovietologist at Yale would make predictions based on what position (who was standing next to whom) the leadership took when standing on the reviewing platform during the May Day parade in Moscow? Well we need some one at Yale or Harvard or for that matter The Fashion Institute of Technology, to make sense of who shows and doesn't show up at thise Jirgas and what they may mean to the stability of Afghanistan and Pakiwakiland.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
08/09/2007 7:53 Comments ||
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Security forces killed three separatist militants on Wednesday after they were fired on while surveying a flood-hit area in Balochistan, officials said.
Sorry. No virgins if you're a separatist militant.
Two paramilitary soldiers, including a senior officer, were also wounded in the gun battle in the Mand area, close to Pakistan's border with Iran. A local official said the attack was allegedly mounted by close relatives of a leader of the Balochistan Liberation Army. "We have identified one of the assailants who was killed in the attack as (the) brother of Wahid Qambar," the official said. Authorities arrested Qambar last year. His family had been pleading with the government for his release, the official added.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2007 00:00 ||
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"This is much less about al-Qaeda overstepping than about them [Sunnis] realizing that they've lost,"
BAQUBAH, Iraq - The Sunni insurgent leader lifted up his T-shirt, revealing a pistol stuck in his belt, and explained to a U.S. sergeant visiting his safe house why he'd stopped attacking Americans.
"Finally, we decided to cooperate with American forces and kick al-Qaeda out and have our own country," said the tough-talking, confident 21-year-old, giving only his nom de guerre, Abu Lwat. Then he offered another motive: "In the future, we want to have someone in the government," he said, holding his cigarette with a hand missing one finger.
Abu Lwat is one of a growing number of Sunni fighters working with U.S. forces in what American officers call a last-ditch effort to gain power and legitimacy under Iraq's Shiite-dominated government. The tentative cooperation between the fighters and American forces is driven as much by political aspirations as by a rejection of the brutal methods of the Sunni insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq, U.S. officers and onetime insurgents said.
"This is much less about al-Qaeda overstepping than about them [Sunnis] realizing that they've lost," said Lt. Col. Douglas Ollivant, a planner for the U.S. military command in Baghdad. As a result, Sunni groups are now "desperately trying to cut deals with us," he said. "This is all about the Sunnis' 'rightful' place to rule" in a future Iraqi government, he said.
Across Iraq, a variety of Sunni insurgent groups, political parties and tribes are coming forward to help provide fighters for local policing efforts, with an estimated 5,000 having been rallied in Baghdad alone in recent months, according to Col. Rick Welch, head of reconciliation for the U.S. military command in the capital.
"Some of the insurgent leaders may have a political agenda and want to run for office at some point," said Welch, who has helped negotiate with Sunni insurgent groups including the 1920 Revolution Brigades, the Army of Truth and the Islamic Army.
The Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is "worried that the Sunni tribes may be using mechanisms to build their strength and power eventually to challenge this government. This is a risk for all of us," Welch said.
The long-term goal of incorporating the local fighters into the security forces is aimed at mitigating the risk of their using arms against the government and promoting their political participation, he said.
The Iraqi government has tried to exclude fighters who have connections to current insurgents from joining the police. "That wasn't good news because that cut right into the heart of the problem of reconciliation," Welch said. But he said a special reconciliation program recently has made headway in vetting such fighters so they can join the police.
Push for influence
Former insurgents like Abu Lwat are making a push for influence in Baqubah, the capital of Diyala province. Sunni insurgent groups and Shiite militias have fought fiercely for territory here against each other and U.S. forces. But earlier this year, leaders of the 1920 Revolution Brigades, with an estimated several thousand fighters, started cooperating with U.S. forces.
Abu Lwat, who fought with the 1920 group, said he had grown disillusioned after seeing his community decimated. "When first al-Qaeda got here, they called themselves the mujaheddin and said they would fight for the country. All the people liked them," Abu Lwat said. But what followed were executions and beheadings of local leaders, bans on smoking and mandatory veils for women that defied true Islamic values and "killed the life here," he said.
"We have no people in government now, so we are trying to do as much as we can to tell people to join the army and police," Abu Lwat said. "That way, they can control the area and government, and American forces can go back to their country."
Sitting cross-legged in the dim abandoned house, Abu Lwat said he seeks a new government in Iraq. "We don't want to be like the people who sit in the Green Zone and take orders from Bush," he said, referring to the American president. "We want to free people and fix their problems."
So, soon after U.S. and Iraqi forces moved into western Baqubah recently to conduct a large-scale offensive designed to flush out insurgents, Abu Lwat came to the area with about 40 fighters.
Within two weeks, 400 to 500 fighters were encamped in groups of about a dozen at about 30 or 40 safe houses in western Baqubah, with several more joining every day. The fighters are loosely organized around leaders such as Abu Lwat, who recruit them, U.S. military officials said.
U.S. troops say the armed locals have moved quickly to help find roadside bombs and prevent insurgents from returning to the neighborhood, especially from al-Qaeda in Iraq and an umbrella group it is said to have founded, the Islamic State of Iraq. The former insurgents "knew where the caches were, they knew all the names of the al-Qaeda leaders," said Capt. Zane Galvach, a platoon leader for the Army's 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division.
#4
What amazes me is that the media thinks that this is something new that the US has just invented in Iraq - don't any reporters know American history at all? This is standard counter-insurgency/counter-tribal warfare, of the kind practiced in this country since BEFORE there was a country. We started doing this iat Plymouth Rock and continued it through the Oregon Trail, and the pacification of the Apaches : play one tribe against another, and when you defeat one, clean it up a bit and then point it at its traditional tribal enemies to do the fighting and dying for you.
Of course there are risks that the Sunnis will try to gangster the areas they are helping us in : half of the Sunni "resistance" is made up of street thugs and gangbangers let out of prison by Saddam just before we invaded. So naturally, the Sunni bangers will try to go back to run the area if they get the chance; our job is to weed out the worst and insure that lots of the remainder dies bravely for their homeland, battling Al-Q and the Maahdi Army.
#5
agree Shieldwolf, it takes time for any insurgency to learn-up and aquire the ability to peer at the light bulb.
A Few shooters, bomb/planters get it right away but most of them die before they get a chance pass it on. LOL.
The insurgent "officers" and insurgent leaders are the ones who need persuading. As soon as they see the light the WAR changes in our favor significantly.
Given the characters embedded around Iraq and the multiple 'family combatants' within, things could still take a little while to settle down yet.
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
08/09/2007 20:51 Comments ||
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Iraqi Special Operations Forces, with U.S. Special Forces as advisers, conducted an early morning intelligence driven raid detaining five alleged rogue Jaysh al-Mahdi insurgents in the Aamel area of Baghdad, Aug. 06.
Iraqi SOF detained their primary targets without incident, along with three other suspicious individuals who were present during the raid.
The primary individuals detained are alleged to be part of a Special Groups unit with the rogue JAM insurgents. They are believed to be responsible for conducting attacks on Iraqi and Coalition Forces as well as Iraqi citizens in the Aamel area of southwest Baghdad.
Upon leaving the objective, Iraqi and U.S. Forces received enemy-fire from insurgents. The insurgents fled the area after ineffective fire, while the Iraqi and U.S. Forces continued the mission.
A surveillance air-craft found one of the insurgents from the earlier attack and carried out a precise air-strike killing the individual.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2007 00:00 ||
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Link ||
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#1
A surveillance air-craft found one of the insurgents from the earlier attack and carried out a precise air-strike killing the individual.
Air powers a bitch, especially when you have none.
/My staple comment - C. LeMay
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
08/09/2007 7:55 Comments ||
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Iraqi and Coalition Forces killed 30 Special Groups Cell terrorists and detained 12 suspected terrorists during operations Wednesday in Sadr City.
The individuals detained and the terrorists killed during the raid are believed to be members of a cell of a Special Groups terrorist network known for facilitating the transport of weapons and explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, from Iran to Iraq, as well as bringing militants from Iraq into Iran for terrorist training.
As Iraqi and Coalition Forces approached the objective location, they observed two armed men in tactical fighting positions assessed to be early warning operatives for the individual targeted in the operation. Responding appropriately to the immediate threat, ground forces engaged the two armed men, killing them. While in the objective area, ground forces raided a concentration of buildings and detained 12 suspected Special Groups Cell terrorists. Ground forces received sporadic small arms fire throughout the course of the operation.
During the course of the operation, the assault force and the overhead aerial support observed a vehicle and large group of armed men on foot attempting an assault on the ground forces. Responding appropriately to the threat of the organized terrorist force, close air support was called and engaged the terrorist vehicle and organized terrorist force, killing an estimated 30 terrorists.
Building upon a series of coordinated operations efforts that began with the raid in al Amarah in June, Coalition Forces continue to attack the supply chain of illicit materials being shipped from Iran. Intelligence reports indicate that the targeted individual in last night's raid acts as a proxy between the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force and the Iraqi EFP network. Reports also indicate that he assists with the facilitation of weapons and EFP shipments into Iraq as well as the transfer of militant extremists to Iran for training. "Coalition Forces continue to gain momentum against the illicit movement of lethal materials from Iran. Iranian-supported militia extremists and terrorists are seeking to destroy the future of Iraq and we'll continue to capture or kill them and dismantle their organizations," aid Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesman.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
I find it interesting that I can tell the source of the story from just the syntax and vocabulary - in this case very precise, with few 'value' terms. I didn't even have to look to know this was a military press release or equivalent. AP & NYT are just as distinctive, with all their 'allegeds' and eupehmisms and negativity.
It's curious that the mnf articles pretty closely follow the classic journalism template (who, what when, where etc.) while the so-called mainstream media is overwhelmingly editorial in its news reporting. For instance, the phrase 'Responding appropriately' is the only thing in this article that contains any editorial slant. Compare that with this morning's AP summary.
Coalition Forces detained six suspected terrorists and killed one terrorist during operations Tuesday and Wednesday targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq and its associates in central Baghdad and Kirkuk.
Northeast of Samarra, Coalition Forces detained three suspected terrorists during a precision raid Tuesday. The targeted individual of the raid was the al-Qaeda in Iraq military emir of Samarra. The three individuals were detained for their association with the targeted al-Qaeda in Iraq emir.
During an early morning raid north of Tikrit Wednesday, Coalition Forces detained two suspected terrorists for their ties to an al-Qaeda in Iraq key leader. Intelligence reports indicate that the targeted individual of the Wednesday raid is a key al-Qaeda in Iraq leader in Bayji who oversees a cell of approximately 400 terrorists and is linked to numerous attacks on Coalition Forces.
Iraqi and Coalition Forces targeted an al-Qaeda in Iraq Mosul-based emir who assists with terrorist operations in Kirkuk Wednesday morning. While Coalition Forces were on the targeted location two individuals were observed rapidly maneuvering towards the assault force providing perimeter security on the target. Responding appropriately to the immediate threat, Coalition Forces engaged the two men, wounding both. Both individuals were taken to a military medical facility for treatment where one later died. The terrorist who later died at the military medical facility was positively identified as the targeted individual. "Our operations targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq are progressively dismantling and destroying the terrorist network," said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesperson. "We will continue to attack al-Qaeda at the current fast and steady pace."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
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#1
While Coalition Forces were on the targeted location two individuals were observed rapidly maneuvering towards the assault force.
I've noticed that we get most of our kills against those who close on the scene looking for a shot at our forces. They must be training them to react that way rather than run like hell. A great bonus for those involved in the constant search for weapons and bomb factories, and an excellent use of our eyes in the sky. Bravo !
Iraqi Army Scouts and U.S. Special Operations Forces conducted a series of targeted raids in Western Iraq Aug. 5, resulting in the detainment of an individual allegedly responsible for running an extortion network.
With U.S. Special Operation Forces present as advisers, Iraqi Soldiers raided a residence and office in the vicinity of Rawah and detained their primary suspect without incident. Several bags and boxes of paper documents, computer equipment and compact discs were also seized during the operation. The detained individual was allegedly engaged in extorting money from local contractors and using those funds to finance al Qaeda in Iraq activities. He is also accused of paying insurgents significant sums of money from construction project contracts he has been awarded in the Rawah area.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2007 00:00 ||
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[3 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Iraq
#1
Might this be related to that piece-o-$hit police station we funded for them about a year or so ago that was condemned before it was finished?
#2
I think it is significant to note we are presenting a 'connection' between al Qaeda and corrupt/criminal officials. Now that AQ is becoming rather unpopular it can be very beneficial to smear criminals and corrupt officials with that same brush. In the long run it will be just as important to 'clean up' the government as to crush AQ, so it could be quite helpful to get the average Mo to think of the two as 'one' and provide 'tips' on corruption and criminality in the same way they have been doing re. AQ recently. Furthermore, by tagging the crooks in govt as AQ we lend a bit more 'legitimacy' to the rest of the govt (even though they mostly don't deserve it).
Bear in mind this is a propaganda assessment, of value for that reason, whether it is factual or not.
A joint cordon and search operation conducted by Iraq Police and Army units with Coalition advisers netted seven detainees wanted by Iraqi Security Forces and seized more than a dozen weapons northwest of the provincial capital, Aug. 7.
Iraqi Army Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division combined with IPs, from the northern city of Dibbis, conducted the early morning mission into the town of Kif, a small village that sits between Kirkuk and Dibbis.
The IA battalion staff conducted planning based on information gathered from previous operations and brought in the local Iraqi police to assist with the mission. "This is another notable example of the Iraqi Army performing the mission planning on their own," said Capt. Ryan Nacin, fire support officer for the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. Soldiers of the 2-35th Infantry Battalion served as Coalition advisers during the operation. "The Iraqi Army identified the additional man-power and resources provided by the police and invited them to conduct this operation with tangible results."
All the men detained were wanted by ISF for suspected crimes or insurgent activity. The men were detained in different areas of the village. Weapons seized by the local security forces included 14 AK-47 machine guns, one pistol and one bolt action rifle. A four-door sedan was also impounded for improper vehicle registration.
The 2-35th Infantry Battalion is part of the 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, based out of Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, and has been serving in Iraq for nearly a year.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2007 00:00 ||
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A US-led raid and air strike targeting networks allegedly smuggling weapons and fighters from Iran killed 32 suspected militants on Wednesday in Baghdad's Sadr City, the military said. The military also said 12 suspects were detained. "The individuals detained and the terrorists killed during the raid are believed to be members of a cell of a Special Groups terrorist network known for facilitating the transport of weapons and explosively formed penetrators (EFP), from Iran to Iraq, as well as bringing militants from Iraq into Iran for terrorist training," the military said.
Sadr City? That suggests the deaders are Iranian-backed Shi'a thugs. This is double-plus good; rattles the Iranians and shows the Sunni tribal chiefs that we can be even-handed in whom we whack.
The statement came after Iraqi police in Sadr City said a bombardment by US helicopters and armoured vehicles killed nine civilians, including two women, and wounded six others. The police confirmed that 12 people were detained.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
If we were serious we would have leveled Cock Sadr city 4 years ago. We need to grab them by their short black curly's and not let go till they scream UNCLE.
At least 10 suspected terrorists insurgents killed and beheaded two elderly men and torched the victims' homes in this southern border province Wednesday night. Police inspected the remains of the two houses, both completely burned to the ground, in Yaring district Thursday morning. The remains of Noei Sang-ampai, 84 and Jitr Techawanto, 73 were also recovered. They had been killed in their homes and beheaded, before the structures were set on fire.
Meanwhile, two schools in the district were torched and a electric pole was felled, temporarily obstructing traffic on a local road.
The police believed that the attacks were retaliation for recent security operations, in which many suspects have been detained for questioning.
In Narathiwat, soldiers, patrolling a railway track in Cho Ai Rong district found 20 bolts removed from a section of railway track near a bridge. Police investigators believed that the attackers hoped to derail a passing train as it crossed a nearby bridge.
Besides, old people don't fight back much, and Allan's will can be accomplished with greater ease... They might even get bonus virgins for this accomplishment.
Six people died in clashes across Sri Lanka's embattled northern and eastern districts as a top UN relief envoy visited, officials and rebels said Wednesday.
Soldiers on foot patrol fired at a group of Tamil Tiger rebels in the eastern district of Trincomalee on Tuesday, killing two guerrillas, defence officials said. Another suspected rebel blew himself up to avoid being captured in the northern district of Vavuniya on Tuesday, officials said, adding that troops also found a dead body of an unidentified person in the same district.
A pro-rebel website said two civilians had been shot dead in Vavuniya on Tuesday. The killings came as John Holmes, UN undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, toured the troubled regions to inspect relief work. Holmes was due to meet President Mahinda Rajapakse on Thursday at the end of his four-day visit, officials said.
Renegades to disarm:
A breakaway faction of Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers seen allied to the state said on Wednesday it would dissolve its military wing once its security was ensured, the first such offer since it was set up three years ago. Aid workers say members of the Karuna group, which split from the mainstream Tigers in 2004 and who analysts say are helping the military to fight the Tigers, are roaming armed in the eastern district of Batticaloa, unimpeded by the state.
The group, accused of rights abuses such as abductions and forced recruitment, had earlier refused to lay down arms until their Tamil Tiger foes do so.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/09/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
The killings came as John Holmes, UN undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, toured the troubled regions to inspect relief work.
I thought he was dead?
Sorry to see he's sunk to this level though...
Available on Amazon. $11.16
Review:
"At last Guantanamo has found its voice."--Gore Vidal And thank God for that, Gore. Why not have one released to your custody. Kinda do the Jack Henry Abbot thing. One up that drunken showboat Mailer...
"Poetry, art of the human voice, helps turn us toward what we should or must not ignore. Speaking as they can across barriers actual and figurative, translated into our American tongue, these voices in confinement implicitly call us to our principles and to our humanity. They deserve, above all, not admiration or belief or sympathy-but attention. Attention to them is urgent for us."-Robert Pinsky Thanks, Bob. Who are you, by the way?
"Poems from Guantanamo brings to light figures of concrete, individual humanity,against the fabric of cruelty woven by the 'war on terror.' The poems and poets' biographies reveal one dimension of this officially obscured narrative, from the perspective of the sufferers; the legal and literary essays provide the context which has produced--under atrocious circumstances--a poetics of human dignity."--Adrienne Rich The biggest thing since "Images" by Tyrone Green...
Book Description:
Since 2002, at least 775 men have been held in the U.S. detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. According to Department of Defense data, fewer than half of them are accused of committing any hostile act against the United States or its allies. In hundreds of cases, even the circumstances of their initial detainment are questionable. Wow. Sounds just like what they did to "The A-Team"...
This collection gives voice to the men held at Guantánamo. Available only because of the tireless efforts of pro bono attorneys who submitted each line to Pentagon scrutiny, Poems from Guantánamo brings together twenty-two poems by seventeen detainees, most still at Guantánamo, in legal limbo. Got a job for you, Johnson.
Aw, shit, sarge. Ain't this cruel and unusual punishment?
If, in the words of Audre Lorde, poetry forms the quality of light within which we predicate our hopes and dreams toward survival and change, these versessome originally written in toothpaste, others scratched onto foam drinking cups with pebbles and furtively handed to attorneysare the most basic form of the art. Written in toothpaste? Scratched on styrofoam cups with a pebble? Any chance this could be, y'know, bullshit? Death Poem by Jumah al Dossari
Take my blood.
Take my death shroud and
The remnants of my body.
Take photographs of my corpse at the grave, lonely.
Send them to the world,
To the judges and
To the people of conscience,
Send them to the principled men and the fair-minded.
And let them bear the guilty burden before the world,
Of this innocent soul.
Let them bear the burden before their children and before history,
Of this wasted, sinless soul,
Of this soul which has suffered at the hands of the "protectors or peace." BANG...
Jumah al Dossari is a thirty-three-year old Bahraini who has been held at Guantanamo Bay for more than five years. He has been in solitary confinement since the end of 2003 and, according to the U.S. military, has tried to kill himself twelve times while in custody. Keep tryin, kid. Nobody likes a quitter...
#3
From an old Pashtun poem Zakmi Dil (Wounded Heart) by Khushal Khan Khattak:
There is a boy
across the river
with a bottom like a peach
alas I cannot swim...
Posted by: john frum ||
08/09/2007 12:31 Comments ||
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#4
There once was a boy from Riyadh
Who embarked on the path of jihad
But they put him away
At Guantanamo Bay
"Curse Allah, it seems I've been had!"
Posted by: Mike ||
08/09/2007 13:34 Comments ||
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#5
Lets see, wasn't it Oscar Wilde who said something about "The unspeakable in pursuit of the inedible?" (He was talking about upper crust types hunting foxes in England
This is the bloodless (lawyers and academics) trying to humanize the inhuman (jihadists)
Pah!
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/09/2007 14:34 Comments ||
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#6
LOL. You guys write your own book and we'll see who sells more copies.
Marc Falkoff is an assistant professor at the Northern Illinois University College of Law and attorney for seventeen Guantánamo prisoners.
Wow. Nuthin but the best for the Gitmo boys. An assistant professor. No wonder they're still inside
Flagg Miller is a linguistic and cultural anthropologist at the University of WisconsinMadison.
Whatever that is...
Ariel Dorfman is a Chilean American poet, novelist, playwright, and human rights activist who holds the Walter Hines Page Chair of Literature and Latin American Studies at Duke University.
I wonder if he/she was a member of the Group of 88?
#11
As Galway Kinnell once observed (when I was a student) about e.e. cumming's poem "Private Olaf" when the protaginist swore: "this is some shit I will not eat", that it mean't there was some shit he would eat. We just have to eat this shit from the left or we can avoid it. I prefer that we don't even publish it.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
08/09/2007 20:25 Comments ||
Top||
#12
I wish, I wish in vain,
I wish I were a jihadi again,
But a jihadi I ner will be,
till my pro bono lawyer gets my sorry ass out of Camp Dee.
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.
Darfur rebel commanders said on Wednesday they had shot down a government MiG 29 plane they say was bombing civilian villages in their areas in Sudan's Darfur region but the army denied any plane had been shot down.
A Moroccan military court has sentenced eight army officers to up to five years in prison for leaking military intelligence information about an Al Qaeda plot, lawyers and court officials said on Wednesday. The weekly Al Watan Alaan quoted a military intelligence document last month as saying that Al Qaeda had decided to send 12 Arab and four Pakistani fighters to carry out attacks in Morocco and other Maghreb states. 
Four suspected members of Al Qaeda linked to the July attack in Yemen on Spanish tourists have died in a clash with security forces, said Yemen police, cited by EFE in El Mundo.
A Turkish soldier was killed and two other security personnel were wounded on Tuesday when their vehicle was blown up by a remote controlled mine laid by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Partry (PKK), security forces said. The attack occurred in the mountainous Hakkari province near Turkey's border with Iraq amid escalating attacks by the PKK.
Police in Arizona said two unidentified men tossed a bottle filled with acid at a Phoenix area mosque early on Monday, splashing a caustic chemical near a Muslim cleric involved in a high-profile discrimination suit.
Right. I'll bet you are. You might want to conduct a thorough investigation: why were they standing on the corner at 1 a.m. instead of safe at home in their trundle bed or beds? How did the perps know they were going to be standing on that particular corner at that particular hour to receive the benefit of that particular acid bomb? Why did the acid bomb land the width of a small house away from them, rather than showering them with pool cleaner and dissolving them like green algae? Who, other than Muslims and especially South Asian Muslims, is in the habit of throwing acid bombs at people? 
The FBI tested liquids Tuesday that were found inside a car trunk where authorities say they also discovered multiple pipe bombs.
Pro-Taliban militants raided a tribal village on Wednesday to avenge an attack on them by supporters of the slain leader of an alleged criminal network, police said. 
The security forces deployed in District Chaghi arrested 16 Afghan nationals in Balochistan here on Wednesday. According to government sources, Frontier Corps personnel arrested them at a check post while checking their travelling documents. None of the Afghanis had their travel documents and they were arrested according to the foreign act.
Some low-level Al Qaeda members were identified as having been among the 12 militants killed by an artillery and helicopter attack on two compounds near the Afghan border, officials said on Wednesday, raising the toll of 10 from Tuesday's strike.
President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday and informed him that he would not be able to attend the jirga, but assured him that Pakistan fully supported the talks and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz would be attending in his place, Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said in a statement. The jirga begins in Kabul today (Thursday).
Security forces killed three separatist militants on Wednesday after they were fired on while surveying a flood-hit area in Balochistan, officials said. 
"This is much less about al-Qaeda overstepping than about them [Sunnis] realizing that they've lost," 
A US-led raid and air strike targeting networks allegedly smuggling weapons and fighters from Iran killed 32 suspected militants on Wednesday in Baghdad's Sadr City, the military said. The military also said 12 suspects were detained. "The individuals detained and the terrorists killed during the raid are believed to be members of a cell of a Special Groups terrorist network known for facilitating the transport of weapons and explosively formed penetrators (EFP), from Iran to Iraq, as well as bringing militants from Iraq into Iran for terrorist training," the military said. 
