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Today: 81 articles and 436 comments as of 16:20.
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Perv Sworn In as Civilian President
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Page 1: WoT Operations
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Afghanistan
30 Talibs titzup in Kandahar
Police in southern Kandahar province said Afghan and international forces killed about 30 Taliban insurgents and captured 12 others overnight. In neighboring Helmand province, two Danish soldiers were killed in a gunbattle with Taliban insurgents. Denmark has more than 500 troops in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred || 11/30/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  that makes two prone Danish.
Posted by: Tholush Squank4616 || 11/30/2007 13:27 Comments || Top||

#2  God bless and keep the families of these loyal troops. Thank you, Denmark, for knowing that this is a war against all of us that are not muslim, not just the US. Thank you for standing beside us. It WILL be remembered.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 11/30/2007 13:46 Comments || Top||

#3  I would like to think that—unlike so much of political Europe—Denmark has retained a solid sense of gratitude for being liberated from the Nazi occupation.
Posted by: Zenster || 11/30/2007 17:16 Comments || Top||


NATO sez airstrike in Nuristan did not kill Afghan workers
NATO says evidence collected at the site of an airstrike against a Taliban leader in northeastern Afghanistan shows the attack was successful and did not result in the deaths of 14 construction workers. Brigadier General Carlos Branco said Thursday Afghan and NATO forces tracked the movements of the key Taliban leader in Nuristan province, Abdullah Jam Jan, and five of his followers Monday night - and that they were eliminated by a precision airstrike. Branco added there was no construction equipment or materials at the site, indicating there was no presence of civilians.
This article starring:
Abdullah JanTaliban
Brigadier General Carlos Branco
Posted by: Fred || 11/30/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  Allahu akbar!
Posted by: gorb || 11/30/2007 2:38 Comments || Top||

#2  The presense of weapons at the residence was purely a misunderstanding. The foreman of the kitchen project sent a subcontractor to purchase mortar at the local bazaar. In the future I recommend they use Grainger.com to avoid misunderstandings.
Posted by: Super Hose || 11/30/2007 7:34 Comments || Top||

#3  :-) SH....
Posted by: Frank G || 11/30/2007 9:58 Comments || Top||

#4  ....For the ones who get it done™.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 11/30/2007 15:30 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Friday prayers: Shoot UK teacher, say protesters
Thousands of people have marched in the Sudanese capital Khartoum to call for UK teacher Gillian Gibbons to be shot. The marchers took to the streets after Friday prayers to denounce the sentence as too lenient. The protesters gathered in Martyrs Square, outside the presidential palace in the capital, many of them carrying knives and sticks. Marchers chanted "Shame, shame on the UK", "No tolerance - execution" and "Kill her, kill her by firing squad". Hundreds of riot police were deployed but they did not break up the demonstration.
Posted by: Seafarious || 11/30/2007 09:09 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  No tolerance - execution

Well that pretty much sums up my view of Islam.
Posted by: DarthVader || 11/30/2007 9:49 Comments || Top||

#2  Time to wipe out sharia worldwide. Period...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 11/30/2007 9:50 Comments || Top||

#3  roaches come out?
Posted by: 3dc || 11/30/2007 10:07 Comments || Top||

#4  rioting over cartoons, making death threats over teddy bears, throwing acid on the victims of rape.....by any human standard these people are quite insane...and those in the west who apologize for this behavior are just as mad.

What was it that a Spaniard said upon first seeing the Aztecs perform human sacrifice...
Posted by: Broadhead6 || 11/30/2007 10:13 Comments || Top||

#5  Because WE'RE the Religion of Peace! And if you disagree WE KEEEELLLL YOU!
Posted by: eLarson || 11/30/2007 10:22 Comments || Top||

#6  well since the muslims pretty much sided with hitler in WW2 then i would say yes they are insane. And akin too being losers
Posted by: sinse || 11/30/2007 10:27 Comments || Top||

#7  Time to wipe out sharia worldwide. Period...

Bottom line. This filth has spread quite enough. Clean up on aisles 12-25.
Posted by: Zenster || 11/30/2007 10:31 Comments || Top||

#8  Between this case and the one with the woman who was assaulted getting 200 lashes, I would say the Islamic countries are stone-age people who really don't deserve the same rights in normal society as everyone else.

They need to either be brought up to at least 19th century cultural standards or we should be building some rather large zoos to keep them in.
Posted by: crosspatch || 11/30/2007 10:31 Comments || Top||

#9  The Islam apologists in CAIR and their equivalents in Ireland, Britain, etc. are going to be issuing press releases (some already have) on this. But what should be noted is that there is no organized support for Ms. Gibbons in the Sudan (or elsewhere in majority Muslim countries) and not a single fatwa siding on the lenient side from any of the 5-star Islamic academies in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, etc. Not even a peep from Sistani.
Posted by: mhw || 11/30/2007 10:33 Comments || Top||

#10  I'm not convinced she'll be safe when she returns to the UK. The Finsbury folk may decide she's not atoned properly.
Posted by: Seafarious || 11/30/2007 10:43 Comments || Top||

#11  I was going to make a comment about Mrs. Gibbons' safety upon returning to the UK, then I saw that Seafarious beat me to it.

I read on some blog this morning that Mrs. Gibbons' son has been quoted in the Brit paper saying that he hoped his mom's blight wouldn't be cause for any anti-muslim feelings.

Maybe, just maybe, sonny boy is making nice in the press in the hope of getting mom out of the Sudan in one piece. My gut tells me sonny boy is a wuss whose threshold for tolerance, anger and rage is a tad bit too high to suit me. If sonny boy was p*ssed off by mom's blight, then he could have said "we look forward to Mom's safe return...beyond that I have no comment." Instead he calls for tolernce of the barbarians.
Posted by: Mark Z || 11/30/2007 11:26 Comments || Top||

#12  I pray that in the event she does escape out of Sudan and back into Britain, she doesn't wind up like Salman Rushdie needing lifetime security.

It may be time to get out of Dodge City with her family and find a nice quiet place like in the U.S. or some where she can fall off of the Islamist radar; if that is possible. Does Britan have a witness protection program?

Sadly, these Islamists will probably be gunning for her upon her return in Britain or anywhere in Europe.
Posted by: Delphi || 11/30/2007 11:40 Comments || Top||

#13  What does this mean for Muhammad Ali?
Posted by: plainslow || 11/30/2007 11:54 Comments || Top||

#14  It may be time to get out of Dodge City with her family and find a nice quiet place like in the U.S....

Why in Gods name would we want her or her defective spawn coming here? We need people with a spine and a willingness to stand hard against Islam! Not these limp wrist, weak sisters.

A massive battle is brewing, and the death toll will be beyond anything we could ever imagine. I expect it will be so bad, that the dead may actually be the lucky ones.
Posted by: Zorba Gleresh5208 || 11/30/2007 12:05 Comments || Top||

#15  I expect it will be so bad, that the dead may actually be the lucky ones.

The longer we wait before dropping the hammer on Islam, the more likely such a result becomes.
Posted by: Zenster || 11/30/2007 12:35 Comments || Top||

#16  I hate to say it but why was she in the Sudan in the first place. The only folks in Muslim lands at this point should be Muslims, statemen or soldiers.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 11/30/2007 12:41 Comments || Top||

#17  Home come the child's mother didn't insult Islam when she named her son Muhammad?
Posted by: crosspatch || 11/30/2007 13:18 Comments || Top||

#18  "The only folks in Muslim lands at this point should be Muslims, statemen or soldiers."

Seems like you and Osama bin Laden want the same thing.
Posted by: crosspatch || 11/30/2007 13:18 Comments || Top||

#19  The death of this woman, should it come to that, will ignite no reaction against the religion of blood. One death here, one there, this attrition has been going on for years and still there is no debate on why Islam is not a religion and why the practice of Islam should be outlawed. There are more today, and still more tomorrow who know the real truth about Islam, but PC will forbid any official to take any action, except the dreaded arrest of the protesting public.
Remember Brussles on 9/11/07 when the anti-marchers were beaten and arrested. The march was an anti-American '911 never happened' pro-muzzie march. No problem there, but those pesky anti-marchers are trying to stir things up, so bust their heads. (and they did)
Posted by: wxjames || 11/30/2007 13:30 Comments || Top||

#20  #17: How come the child's mother didn't insult Islam when she named her son Muhammad?
Posted by: crosspatch|| 2007-11-30 13:18 ||Comments Top||


Because Teddy Bears can't don suicide vests, silly!
Posted by: Clith || 11/30/2007 13:32 Comments || Top||

#21  "The marchers took to the streets after Friday prayers to denounce the sentence as too lenient."
The marchers did not hear the testimony, nor did the sermon speaker at Friday prayers. The former are probably mostly illiterate and the latter is at best a two-bit Islamic nut inciting a xenophobic ("Shame, shame on the UK") lynching. This has all the hallmarks of a cross between the Salem witch trials and a reconstruction-era lynching. It's not about the teddy bear's name, it's about a bunch of third-world Neanderthals working themselves up into a frenzy. But then, how many of us had Khartoum at the top of our vacation list -- it was only about one notch above Mogadishu even before this.
Posted by: Darrell || 11/30/2007 13:52 Comments || Top||

#22  Sooner or later, we're going to have to do some serious a$$-kicking in the muslim world - something they won't recover from. The sooner we do it, the fewer people in the West will die. It's a good thing I'm not president, or the arab world would be one sheet of radioactive glass already.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 11/30/2007 13:57 Comments || Top||

#23  Seems to me that the only difference between Ms. Gibbons and another well0intentioned, but misguided individual is that all the bulldozers must be in the shop......
Posted by: USN,Ret. || 11/30/2007 14:00 Comments || Top||

#24  Crosspath, I disagree because he doesn't want soldiers in Muslim lands and launched the 9/11 attacks because of it.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 11/30/2007 14:03 Comments || Top||

#25  Some news agencies reported thousands of people took part in the protest, but a BBC reporter at the scene said up to a thousand marchers turned out.
Serfs up!

According to some agencies, some of the protesters chanted: "Shame, shame on the UK", "No tolerance - execution" and "Kill her, kill her by firing squad".
Are they suggesting that ol' mumu used a rifle? Can we get a ruling on that...yup, insulting to ol' mo.

One demonstrator told reporters that it was unacceptable to take a toy and call it Muhammad.
But it is perfectly acceptable to call on someone else to shoot this woman.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, said he could not "see any justification" for the sentence, calling it an "absurdly disproportionate response" to a "minor cultural faux pas".
Rowan on the right side of an issue? I do think it is a little bit more than a minor faux pas even though it does seem as innocent as using the wrong fork. Quick poll everyone - 15 days in Guantanamo or Khartoum?

At the sister post I keep waiting for 'This Article Starring' to include: targeting coordinator for Martyrs Square, British SAS
Posted by: swksvolFF || 11/30/2007 14:49 Comments || Top||

#26  #23. My sentiment exactly---just better stated.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/30/2007 14:56 Comments || Top||

#27  If a classroom of kids in America decided to name their Teddy Bear Jesus, the Christians of this nation would be tickled pink and think that was the cutest thing they ever heard.
Posted by: Gabby Cussworth || 11/30/2007 17:20 Comments || Top||

#28  Why are you blaming the victim? Are you joking? There is a huge difference between Rachel Corrie and Gillian Gibbons. Rachel Corrie was rallying for mean spirited, psycho adults who wanted to wash the Jews into the sea. Gibbons is going into the darkest corners of the earth to help educate children and improve their miserable lot.

I hope to God if the Muslims ever get a foothold in our country that a million Gillian Gibbons descend from outerspace to save us all.
Posted by: Whomong Guelph4611 || 11/30/2007 17:21 Comments || Top||

#29  ok - before I get smacked down on my last comment I will admit I'd prefer an army descend. But were I stuck in the hell-holes that these children are stuck in, I'd welcome Gillian Gibbons anyday.!
Posted by: Whomong Guelph4611 || 11/30/2007 17:26 Comments || Top||

#30  Keith Ellison's press conference in 3, 2, 1, never mind.

You know something I'm going to call that bastard's office Monday and ask where his condemnation over this is.

PorKoranimals at their best.
Posted by: Icerigger || 11/30/2007 17:28 Comments || Top||

#31  “How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries!"
Winston Churchill, The River War
Posted by: doc || 11/30/2007 18:53 Comments || Top||

#32  Think the government stirred things up a bit so they could position themselves as moderate? Its easy to do, helps justify the sentence, which justifies taking action against the school. I'll bet having rich Mohammadans go to a private Christian school has put high-ranking underwear in a knot for a long time.
Posted by: James || 11/30/2007 20:13 Comments || Top||

#33  Pretty close to it, James. Sudan's been doing a bang-up job of inciting anti-Western, pro-muslim sentiment for a long time.

Now it's trying to do a balancing act, not so Sudan looks good, but so as not to royally p*ss off the West and undo everything it's tried to accomplish (like keeping non-African peacekeepers out of Darfur).
Posted by: Pappy || 11/30/2007 21:06 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
Japan builds second missile defence shield
Japan set up its second ballistic missile interceptors at an air base east of Tokyo on Thursday, the Defence Ministry said, as part of its efforts to strengthen defences against neighbour North Korea. Two Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) launchers, capable of shooting down incoming missiles in the final stage of flight, were deployed at the Narashino base in Chiba, about 25 km from central Tokyo.

Japan first deployed interceptors at a base north of Tokyo in March, after North Korea fired a ballistic missile in 1998 that flew over Japan. Last year, Pyongyang fired more missiles and tested a nuclear device. Japan is scheduled to deploy interceptors at two more locations near Tokyo by the end of March next year. With a relatively short range of 20 km, the interceptors are likely to be deployed to protect political and financial hubs. A newspaper reported on Sunday that Japan would conduct drills next month to move the missile interceptor equipment into central Tokyo in times of emergency, although a Defence Ministry spokeswoman said nothing had been decided.
Posted by: Fred || 11/30/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It will be interesting to see how this plays out if NorK folds - assuming it folds into somthing more neighborly.
Posted by: gorb || 11/30/2007 2:40 Comments || Top||

#2  Don't the Japanese know that defending yourself against attack only makes misunderstood progressive neighbors justifiably angry!

/the left
Posted by: Excalibur || 11/30/2007 9:28 Comments || Top||

#3  Japan should simply call these anti-Kaiju missiles. They've tried fighting Godzilla and others with the best masers money could buy and no success. Something else is called for.

Such a proclaimation would (a) make the west laugh (b) make the North Koreans worry someone is as unstable as their Dear Leader.

Of course nobody can bluff in the West, or joke for that matter without the opposition party (who rarely has a sense of humor) saying there are no giant monsters so it probably wouldn't work.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 11/30/2007 11:22 Comments || Top||

#4  Lest we fergit, JAPAN is one of several pro-democratic/Western or "moderate"Asian nations that has asked to be part of US GMD in Asia-Pacific - TMK, my reading of Japn medias is that Japan for now is engaging in Govt = "National" evaluation of local/Japan-only DEFENSIVE BMD-GMD. FULL INTEGRATION with US GMD is under high debate at present.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/30/2007 17:27 Comments || Top||

#5  WMF > CPC/CCCC = CHINA planning to deploy missle, new air defenses around Beijing and key cities.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/30/2007 20:01 Comments || Top||

#6  TOPIX > USA > NORTH KOREA MUST END N-PROGRAMME BY 2008. ENvoy says US has said NK must hand over any and all Plutonium and give true/proper accounting of Uranium-based or other nucmats.

ION, also from TOPIX > SOUTH KOREA > has transferred naval opers HQ to BUSAN [US-SK wartime fallback base]; + WAFF.com > SOUTH KOREA HAS SUCCESSFULLY TESTED TILT-ROTOR UNMANNED AIR VEHICLE.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/30/2007 21:30 Comments || Top||

#7  TOPIX > US-CHINA RELATIONS SOUR. IMO, the USDOD should plan for a NORTH KOREA = NK-TAIWAN conflict at roughly the same time as a "decisive battle" by Islamists for Iraq + US-Iran conflict, espec wid Dubya reportedly planning a new tour of Asia soon.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/30/2007 21:50 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Breaking news: Man takes hostages in NH Clinton office
A man claiming to have a bomb walked into a Hillary Rodham Clinton campaign office Friday and took at least two hostages, police and witnesses said. Clinton was not in the state at the time.

"We are in close contact with state and local authorities and are acting at their direction," Clinton said in a statement. "We will release additional details as appropriate."

The man ordered the hostages onto the floor and then released a mother and her baby, said State Police Maj. Michael Hambrook. Two campaign volunteers were still being held, said Bill Shaheen, a top state campaign official.

Witness Lettie Tzizik told television station WMUR of Manchester that she spoke to the woman shortly after she was released and that she was crying, holding the infant.

"She said, 'You need to call 911. A man has just walked into the Clinton office, opened his coat and showed us a bomb strapped to his chest with duct tape," Tzizik said.

Clinton was scheduled to give an address at the Democratic National Committee meeting in Vienna, Va., Friday afternoon, but DNC Chairman Howard Dean announced from the podium that Clinton would not speak.

Authorities were sending a tactical bomb unit to assist local police, and the area was evacuated, Hambrook said. Authorities were trying to negotiate with the suspect, he said. A nearby school was in lockdown.

The small Clinton office is located in the New England community's downtown area in a strip of several storefronts, and has large glass windows with a campaign sign out front. Police with guns drawn crouched behind cruisers across the street from the office.

Workers for Sen. Barack Obama's campaign office also evacuated, a campaign spokesman said. The office is four doors away from Clinton's. Staffers in John Edwards' office, a few buildings away, evacuated as well.
Posted by: Seafarious || 11/30/2007 15:27 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Send Pelosi in to negotiate.
Posted by: KBK || 11/30/2007 15:39 Comments || Top||

#2  Obama and Edwards close NH offices.

Clinton closes Iowa offices.

What a bunch of wusses.
Posted by: KBK || 11/30/2007 15:40 Comments || Top||

#3  Update...

A woman was released around 3 p.m. It's believed there is now just one hostage left inside. There are reports from the scene that the hostage taker is demanding to speak with Senator Clinton.
Posted by: tu3031 || 11/30/2007 15:44 Comments || Top||

#4  Incredible comments here (found via HA).

Hard to tell who is joking and who is for real. Makes a person appreciate the relative sanity of Rantburg.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 11/30/2007 15:55 Comments || Top||

#5  Update. Not a real shocker...

The suspect was a well-known local man with a history of emotional issues who allegedly told his son to watch the news, a well-placed law enforcement source told ABC News' Pierre Thomas.

Also saying two hostages instead of one.
Posted by: tu3031 || 11/30/2007 15:57 Comments || Top||

#6  I think it was correct to close all the offices. The offices could easily have been targeted for multiple simultaneous attacks. This time it was a lone nutter, but it might not be the next.

Back in October 2002, my office manager suddenly came in, locked all the doors and closed all the blinds. It took a bit to find out why - John Muhammad and Lee Malvo had killed 4 people that day. All within a five mile radius of our building.

I'm still grateful that my employer took such good care of the staff.
Posted by: Seafarious || 11/30/2007 16:07 Comments || Top||

#7  The offices could easily have been targeted for multiple simultaneous attacks.

If they were, they would have been. If it hadn't happened by the time they heard of it, they weren't.

In your case, once it was obvious it wasn't a single incident, locking down was the correct response!

But in general, you don't shut the world down everytime something happens. I hope.
Posted by: KBK || 11/30/2007 16:50 Comments || Top||

#8  Last I heard, all the hostages are out but he's still in there.
Posted by: tu3031 || 11/30/2007 16:53 Comments || Top||

#9  Have to agree that evacuating the area is a good idea. No idea what kind/how big a bomb might be on the person. Flying glass from a concussion is a serious hazard.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 11/30/2007 16:56 Comments || Top||

#10  So everybody except Kucinich shut their offices.

And the guy with the bomb is a certified nutter.

Do I need to spell it out for ya?
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 11/30/2007 17:08 Comments || Top||

#11  You just can't have enough popcorn on hand! :)
Posted by: Icerigger || 11/30/2007 17:32 Comments || Top||

#12  A salt and pepper haired man in his forties from NH? Sounds like Mark Steyn finally snapped...
Posted by: Daffy Glaing1756 || 11/30/2007 17:36 Comments || Top||

#13  From the earlier RB story: "...Rochester Police Capt. Callahan told WBZ's Joe Shortsleeve."

At least Callahan is the right man to smoke out this nut job punk, but I'm a bit concerned about the WBZ 'reporter' speaking English... :)
Posted by: Phinater Thraviger || 11/30/2007 17:49 Comments || Top||

#14  Wonder if she focus grouped the decision to close the offices, or if she actually made a decision on her own.
Posted by: Capsu78 || 11/30/2007 18:26 Comments || Top||

#15  Hostage Drama Over.
Posted by: doc || 11/30/2007 18:51 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
5 soldiers killed, 4 injured in N Waziristan bomb attack
A roadside bomb killed five soldiers on Thursday in a tribal region on the Afghan border where the army has been battling to subdue militants, a military spokesman said.

The latest attack on the military came a day after President Pervez Musharraf handed over command of the army to General Ashfaq Kayani, the former head of the main military intelligence agency. Musharraf was sworn in as a civilian president on Thursday. Government and military officials have said Musharraf’s resignation would have no impact on efforts to combat militancy.

The blast on Thursday targeted a military convoy as it was travelling through the North Waziristan region, about 20 km east of the region’s main town of Miranshah, said military spokesman Major-General Waheed Arshad. “It was an IED (improvised explosive device) that killed five troops and wounded four on a road between Miranshah and Mir Ali,” Arshad said.

Many militants took refuge in remote North Waziristan and other areas on the border after US-backed troops ousted the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001. The militants have been allegedly launching raids back into Afghanistan from their mountain strongholds.
This article starring:
Ashfaq Kayani
Waheed Arshad
Posted by: Fred || 11/30/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Mullah Fazlullah's brother held: Stray shell kills 11 civilians, 40 militants arrested
Around 11 civilians were killed and 9 wounded when a stray army shell hit a residential area in Swat District, officials said on Thursday. Meanwhile, around 40 suspected militants, including a brother of the pro-Taliban militant leader, Maulana Fazlullah, were arrested, officials told AFP.

The shell destroyed a house in Allahabad, a village in the Swat valley, as security forces continued an offensive against the followers of Fazlullah late on Wednesday, a police official said. Eleven members of the family died, while nine more were wounded, said the official, Mohibullah Khan. However, military spokesman Major Amjad Iqbal told Reuters that he had no information about civilian casualties in the village but confirmed that a clash had taken place there on Thursday after militants fired rockets at troops. “We responded and fired into the area from where the fire came. People should not shelter any militants in their residences,” Iqbal said in Mingora.
Cheeze. The voice of sweet reason in Pakistain. Who'da thunkit?
Police and residents said a two-year-old boy and his mother were among the dead, who otherwise were mostly males aged 16 to 22, AFP reported. The shredded bodies of two victims were covered in white sheets, witnesses said, adding that residents were protesting against the deaths.
Protest and be damned.
Hospital official Jamil Khan said 12 injured people, including three women, had been brought to the hospital and around six were in a serious condition.

Top Military Spokesman Maj Gen Waheed Arshad said security forces had arrested Maulana Fazal Ahmed along with other militants at a checkpost located between Chakdara and Mingora, Online reported.
Were they disguised as girls? They usually are.
They included a nephew of Maulana Sirajuddin, the militants’ main spokesman, and a 20-year-old student carrying a suicide vest, both of whom were traveling in the same car when they were detained, Amjad said.
"You there, in the suicide vest! Stickem up!"
"Hokay."
The bodies of six militants, including two Uzbeks, were found on Wednesday, Arshad said. Up to 220 militants and 15 soldiers have been killed in the last 10 days.
This article starring:
Hospital official Jamil Khan
Maj Gen Waheed Arshad
Major Amjad Iqbal
Maulana Fazal AhmedTNSM
Maulana FazlullahTNSM
Maulana SirajuddinTNSM
Mohibullah Khan
Posted by: Fred || 11/30/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TNSM


Iraq
Lowest 2-month OIF fatality total since early 2004
The numbers are available at the site.

However the Nov 07 fatalities were marginally higher than Oct 07 (this may be hyped by al-Reuters).

Also, as pointed out by many Rantburgians, the fatality rate isn't the only metric worth looking at.

However, it will take a few weeks before reliable figures come in on Iraqi civilian fatalies, etc.
Posted by: mhw || 11/30/2007 12:10 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1 

They're counting non-hostile causes of death as well.
Posted by: Chuck Simmins || 11/30/2007 15:06 Comments || Top||

#2  "However the Nov 07 fatalities were marginally higher than Oct 07 "

Means nothing because the Nov 07 numbers are projected.

Al
Posted by: Frozen Al || 11/30/2007 16:18 Comments || Top||

#3  STARS-N-STRIPES > US ARMY TO PRIORITIZE 37,000 TROOPS FOR FIRST COMBAT TOURS. Army discovers that four out of every ten newbies/other have never been deployed to Irag andor Agfhanistan.
Reminds me of the turn-of-the-20th century + pre/post WW1 US Army - while its total size was severely limited by Congressional budgets-legislation, the service made sure its cadres were absolut professional and mostly combat/war experienced.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/30/2007 17:18 Comments || Top||


Crackdown on Iraq Sunni leader after bombs found
Iraqi security forces arrested dozens of people, including the son of a leading Sunni Arab politician, in a pre-dawn raid on Friday after a car rigged with explosives was found near the lawmaker's office.

The incident threatened to increase political tension across Iraq's sectarian divide at a time when violence has been falling dramatically.
I'll go out on a limb and say that it won't increase political tensions all that much. Most Iraqis will be pleased that the bomb was found in time and that the bombers were arrested.
The Shi'ite-led government said Adnan al-Dulaimi, leader of the Accordance Front, the main Sunni Arab bloc, could be stripped of the immunity from prosecution he holds as a member of parliament if he was found to have links to car bombs. "No one is above the law. Dr Adnan al-Dulaimi has immunity, but this does not exempt him from questioning and accountability," government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said.
That's exactly the line to take. Then you have to mean it. That means Shi'a lawmakers who get caught doing things that aid the insurgency have to be handled the same way. Then the average Iraqi will get it, and then they'll support it.
"The case is very serious and the accusations against him are very serious. He has to prove his innocence. He will be called for questioning. If the charges against him are proven, his immunity will definitely be lifted."
Um, no, you got that part wrong. He doesn't have to prove his innocence. You have to prove his guilt. 'Innocent until proven guilty' is a new idea for the Arab world, but once you try it you'll see it works much better, since it prevents thugs from jugging people without evidence.
Dulaimi rejected the accusations. "This is all not true. These are false accusations," Dulaimi told Reuters. "We are the ones who are subject to terrorism."

Seven people were arrested on Thursday at Dulaimi's office and 29, including Dulaimi's son Mekki, were seized in a raid early on Friday at Dulaimi's house, said Brigadier General Qassim Moussawi, security spokesman for Baghdad.
Posted by: Seafarious || 11/30/2007 09:07 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency

#1  Put colorblindness simulating glasses on him, give him a pair of diagonal cutters and tell him to cut the green wire.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 11/30/2007 9:52 Comments || Top||

#2  More peace, love and good will from our Sunni allies in Iraq.
Posted by: Zenster || 11/30/2007 11:31 Comments || Top||

#3  This seems like a good bust, but never discount the possibility of a set-up. Trust no one. Or trust, but verify.
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/30/2007 11:54 Comments || Top||

#4  I believe this is the same guy who was part of the funniest PR public debacle I've ever witnessed. Amb. Zal did a stand-up with him at the Conv. Center to talk about Sunni contributions to the new constitution (this was prior to the referendum). Dulaimi proceeded to utter warm words for Zal personally, while denouncing the constitution draft and whining and seething about Iranian influence and terrorism and the poor, widdle, oppressed Sunnis. Zal handled it OK, but it was hilariously bad.

I recall thinking at the time that this guy (Dulaimi) was the living embodiment of the challenge and dilemma posed by the way the old Iraq lost the war: the Sunnis were never crushed, their arrogance and racism and thuggishness were never beaten out of them by total defeat. Our failure to address that was the most important mistake since '03 - and will haunt us and Iraq from here on out.
Posted by: Verlaine || 11/30/2007 19:12 Comments || Top||


EOD team identifies house-borne IED, F-16 destroys it
I know Fred will probably catch this same story and bump my redundancy, but just in case .... I couldn't resist this headline, which is copied directly from the military press release.

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq – A house-borne improvised explosive device was destroyed near Maderiyah on the afternoon of Nov. 25.

Soldiers from Battery B, 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division were conducting a foot patrol in the area when they found an abandoned house with copper wires extending out of a window. This led them to believe the house was rigged with explosives.

Local Iraqi citizens confirmed the house was abandoned. An explosive ordnance disposal team was called, and the EOD team saw the copper wires were attached to blasting caps on jugs filled with homemade explosives.

It was determined that approaching the house to destroy the bombs would be too much of a risk so the area was cleared, and an Air Force F-16 destroyed the house.
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/30/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency

#1  Cannon cockers on foot patrol?
Posted by: gromky || 11/30/2007 4:09 Comments || Top||

#2  House go BOOM!
Posted by: DarthVader || 11/30/2007 8:59 Comments || Top||

#3  I have this image of a house lumbering down the road after our guys.

Lots of red legs on foot patrol. Nothing left to shoot at. Enemy losses in October were 198, per MNF-I, and they look to be even lower this month. Almost everyone we were shooting at has "turned coat".
Posted by: Chuck Simmins || 11/30/2007 12:15 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Al-Aqsa Martyrs, PLFP bomb Zionist bulldozer in central Gaza Strip
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Fatah Movement and the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility for a joint bombing operation on an Israeli bulldozer east of Deir Al-Balah in the center of Gaza Strip on Thursday.

"A joint group of fighters was able of blowing up a large Israeli bulldozer in the east of Deir Al-Balah in the center of Gaza Strip," the two factions said in a joint statement circulated in Gaza city today. The explosion caused severe damage to the machinery used to bulldoze Palestinian agricultural lands, the statement noted. "The process is a continuation of the military action and common response to the crimes of the Israeli occupation continued against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank", said the statement.
Posted by: Seafarious || 11/30/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Aqsa Martyrs

#1  D9?
Posted by: 3dc || 11/30/2007 0:05 Comments || Top||

#2  Sumthin's fishy. There are no Israeli ops in that area. Perhaps a leftover dozer after the pullout, perhaps too old so it may not have been worth to drag it out.
Posted by: Spike Uniter || 11/30/2007 0:40 Comments || Top||

#3  I hope it was carried out by suicide bombers...
Posted by: Pliny Pheath1680 || 11/30/2007 0:42 Comments || Top||

#4  Funny thing though - it wouldn't occur to them that a bulldozer is a piece of construction equipment and could be used for, you know building stuff.
Posted by: WTF || 11/30/2007 8:40 Comments || Top||

#5  It has been many months since Israel had any ops requiring bulldozers in this portion of Gaza.

It may have been a dozer donated by one of the many charity orgs that send stuff to Gaza (and where the dozer stopped working because a part wore out and didn't get replaced) but, since it is made by Cat, looks like an IDF vehicle.

Posted by: mhw || 11/30/2007 9:06 Comments || Top||

#6  no funny thing is that someone would claim credit for blowing up a dozer. if that is their vitory then i would say they have lost this entirely
Posted by: sinse || 11/30/2007 9:06 Comments || Top||

#7  They blowed up the Rachel Corrie Memorial!
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/30/2007 9:25 Comments || Top||


Palestinian security arrest 29 Hamas members in the West Bank
Ma'an – Hamas said on Thursday that Palestinian security had arrested 29 Hamas of its members across the West Bank. They said in a statement that the arrestees were from Hebron and Bethlehem in the southern West Bank, Ramallah and Jericho in the centre and Qalqilia, Nablus and Tulkarem in the north. The statement added that Palestinian security services also arrested a number of Hizb Ut-Tahrir members in Hebron.
Posted by: Fred || 11/30/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Explosion in Khan Younis photo studio
Ma'an – Unidentified assailants detonated an explosive device in front of a photography studio in the centre of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday evening. The explosion resulted in material damage to the front of the shop, but no casualties were reported.
Posted by: Fred || 11/30/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Situation is still developing.
Posted by: WTF || 11/30/2007 4:16 Comments || Top||

#2  Slowly I turned....
Posted by: Thomas Woof || 11/30/2007 5:01 Comments || Top||

#3  It was all caught on camera.
Posted by: ed || 11/30/2007 8:12 Comments || Top||


Al-Quds Brigades clash with Israeli soldiers
Ma'an – The Islamic Jihad's military wing, the Al-Quds Brigades claimed responsibility on Thursday for launching a rocket propelled grenade at an Israeli watch tower, east of Khaza'a city in the southern Gaza Strip, before clashing with Israeli soldiers in the area. They said in a statement that the operation was in response for the ongoing Israeli atrocities against the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Posted by: Fred || 11/30/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic Jihad

#1  besides they all saved their lunch money for a month and finally put away enough to buy that RPG shell.

It was a fine time to use it.
Posted by: 3dc || 11/30/2007 0:47 Comments || Top||


Israeli fighter jets launch raid on Khan Younis
Ma'an – Israeli fighter jets launched two missiles at a Qassam brigades training ground in Khan Younis district in the southern Gaza Strip, on Thursday evening. Muawiya Hassanain, the director of ambulance and emergency services in the Palestinian health ministry said that no reports of casualties have been received because the training ground was empty at the time of the attack. Eyewitnesses said that at least two missiles landed in northern Khan Younis on the coastal road between the cities of Deir Al-Balah and Khan Younis.
Posted by: Fred || 11/30/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Southeast Asia
Arrests and one death in southern Thailand
Police raided the residence of Isman Isma-aeh, the director of Yala Technical College,
Yala Tech? Home of the Fightin' Jihadis??
and took six suspects into custody. The director was later granted bail while the remaining five were detained for further questioning, according to Pol Colonel Phumphet Piphatphetphum, police chief of Yala's Muang district.

The five are Muhamad Issa Bueto, Husen Hohsoh, Abdultolip Tosun, Bukri Meehi and Sithichok Mudwan. They are alleged to have connections to bomb-maker Sukree Jehae, who was arrested earlier, said Phumphet. Security officials believe the five were involved in bombings in downtown Yala which caused damage at properties including car showrooms and the car park of the Southern Border Province Administrative Centre. No one was hurt in the blasts.

In neighbouring Pattani province, a farmer was shot dead yesterday while riding his motorbike home from work. Wut Hengjia, 60, was shot in the back by an unknown gunman.

Plus:

A local man confessed on Friday he was involved in the execution of two Royal Thai Navy Marines being held hostage in Narathiwat two years ago and implicated more than 30 others in the execution-style murders. Police are gathering evidence to arrest the implicated suspects who fled to Malaysia after reading this.

About 100 police officers took Madao Gade to reenact what happened at the crime scenes, beginning with bringing tires to block the road, tying the wrists and ankles of the two Marines, holding them in a room in the village, and being part of the torture and execution of the two.

Capt. Winai Nakabutr and Lt-Cdr. Kamtorn Thong-iad were stabbed to death by a group of men on September 2005, while they were detained by angry villagers overnight in Tanyonglimo village in Rangae district. Local villagers had taken the two Marines hostage as they believed they were connected to a shooting at a tea shop.The dead men were posthumously promoted and their families received special death benefits.
God bless these two men and their families, and may God grant a bit of karma to the depraved animals involved in their deaths.
Posted by: ryuge || 11/30/2007 07:22 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Thai Insurgency


Good morning...
Posted by: Fred || 11/30/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It may be fun to pluck Louise.
Posted by: gorb || 11/30/2007 2:31 Comments || Top||

#2  when she strips, is that considered molting?
Posted by: Frank G || 11/30/2007 5:48 Comments || Top||

#3  There's a feather in your . . . er, cap.
Posted by: Mike || 11/30/2007 6:20 Comments || Top||

#4  Feathers, why do they hate us?
Posted by: Steve || 11/30/2007 7:23 Comments || Top||

#5  Mel's Mother?
Posted by: Shutle Tojo9724 || 11/30/2007 11:26 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Fri 2007-11-30
  Perv Sworn In as Civilian President
Thu 2007-11-29
  Perv finally quits army
Wed 2007-11-28
  Sistani tells Shiites to protect Sunni brothers
Tue 2007-11-27
  Perv to bid farewell to troops
Mon 2007-11-26
  Nawaz returns, vows to contest elections
Sun 2007-11-25
  Sharifs reach deal with Perv
Sat 2007-11-24
  Tanks deployed in Beirut to prevent possible violence
Fri 2007-11-23
  Lahoud stepping down at midnight
Thu 2007-11-22
  Iraqi Security Forces detain 81 suspected extremists
Wed 2007-11-21
  Berri postpones Lebanon presidential vote for fourth time
Tue 2007-11-20
  Israel to free 441 Palestinian prisoners
Mon 2007-11-19
  Israel agrees to return 20,000 Palestinian refugees
Sun 2007-11-18
  Negroponte meets with Perv
Sat 2007-11-17
  40 militants killed as gunships pound Swat and Shangla
Fri 2007-11-16
  Philippines reaches deal with MILF


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