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Today: 64 articles and 249 comments as of 10:26.
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Area: WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Houthis stop Saudi offensive. Saudis stop Houthis offensive
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
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26 00:00 Fred [1] 
14 00:00 Barbara Skolaut [5] 
22 00:00 JosephMendiola [5] 
14 00:00 Redneck Jim [1] 
5 00:00 abu do you love [2] 
4 00:00 Jusoth Untervehr1069 [2] 
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
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5 00:00 Barbara Skolaut [2]
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Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 12/11/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Jeanette Helen Morrison aka Janet Leigh



My sweater seems to be stuck

Chrome bumper guards

CT Scan

Daily Gam Shot

A real stretch of the imagination

Nightie Night



P.S. from Janet
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 12/11/2009 3:30 Comments || Top||

#2  You've outdone yourself today, GolfBravo, thank you.
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/11/2009 8:50 Comments || Top||

#3  I just want to wish a Happy Hanukkah to our Jewish Rantburgers!
Posted by: Frank G || 12/11/2009 11:43 Comments || Top||

#4  Wow, Golf. You found the legendary spiked falsies!
Posted by: Jusoth Untervehr1069 || 12/11/2009 3:24 Comments || Top||


--Tech & Moderator Notes
Changes to the comments module
I've rewritten the comments module to get rid of the redirects. You should now get the page, looking just as it always has, make you comment, and it should return you to the article you were reading.

Since the comment is inserted as the page is being changed occasionally you might get to the page before the comment gets to the database -- this should happen very seldom, if ever, but I have seen it happen. If it does, just hit your refresh button and it should appear.

I've tested it on IE, Firefox, and Safari, but only on Windows XE.
Posted by: Fred || 12/11/2009 12:24 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  If you don't mind, Fred, I can test it on Opera 10, Firefox, and Flock (used to be Navigator) using Windows XP. This comment is posted using Opera 10. I've gotten the same error message I sent you earlier a couple of times today, but that may have been before you made the change.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 12/11/2009 3:16 Comments || Top||

#2  This one is posted with IE 8, Windows xp
Posted by: Old Patriot || 12/11/2009 3:26 Comments || Top||

#3  Fred, I continue to get the "please take this test" page. I do like the though of Santa groping a young maiden though...
Posted by: 49 Pan || 12/11/2009 3:36 Comments || Top||

#4  You should get the picture five times when you change your nick, or your browser. Then all should return to normal. I need that to keep bots from inviting all to their casinos and porn sites.
Posted by: Fred || 12/11/2009 3:49 Comments || Top||

#5  Preview on a link post didn't work
Posted by: 3dc || 12/11/2009 3:52 Comments || Top||

#6  Well let's just take this puppy for a test drive ...
Posted by: Steve White || 12/11/2009 15:53 Comments || Top||

#7  ... this is from the Editor.
Posted by: Steve White || 12/11/2009 15:54 Comments || Top||

#8  But a similar comment from the Main Page (i.e., as if I were a regular user and not a mod) did NOT come through.

All comments Mac, Mac OS X 10.6.x, Safari 4.x
Posted by: Steve White || 12/11/2009 15:56 Comments || Top||

#9  Odd -- comments from us non-admin types are showing our email fields instead of our name fields.
Posted by: Dar || 12/11/2009 4:34 Comments || Top||

#10  Looks like it still needs some fine tuning. I guess it'll give me something to do this evening...
Posted by: Fred || 12/11/2009 6:09 Comments || Top||

#11  OK - I'll come in late to the party and chime in. Windows XP, IE.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 12/11/2009 7:35 Comments || Top||

#12  Hmmm. Looks exactly the same as yesterday. Does that help, Fred?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 12/11/2009 7:36 Comments || Top||

#13  Ummmm - Fred? My e-mail address is showing up at the bottom of the comment (beside "Posted by:") in place of my name. (and yes, the name and e-mail are in the right place on the comment form.)

BUT, I just noticed while typing this that my name is there in the right place on previous comments while I'm on this page, but I'm betting the e-mail will show up when I post this.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 12/11/2009 7:54 Comments || Top||

#14  Yep, I was right. I starts with comment #9 (but your name shows up in your comment #10.)

Have fun - I know less than nothing about this stuff.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 12/11/2009 7:55 Comments || Top||

#15  Brand new Win 7 looks normal.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/11/2009 8:28 Comments || Top||

#16  Yup, waited until I refreshed before showing.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/11/2009 8:30 Comments || Top||

#17  Comment from the editors' page using Safari on the Mac...
Posted by: Fred || 12/11/2009 9:00 Comments || Top||

#18  That worked a lot better...
Posted by: Fred || 12/11/2009 9:01 Comments || Top||

#19  Hokay. I think comments should be fixed now, except for a webpage showing up as an email or some such thing. Let me know when that happens.

I'm getting old. Once I found it, the solution was pretty simple. Finding it wasn't.
Posted by: Fred || 12/11/2009 9:07 Comments || Top||

#20  Firefox 3.55 w/ Fedora
Posted by: badanov || 12/11/2009 9:21 Comments || Top||

#21  possibly related possibly not.

i could not post until i had a 'valid' email addy. i had the word 'at' in place of the '@' and it failed to post. changed it to vlaid, and violla!. possibly coincidence.

also comment time is showing up as "09:07" instead of "17:07"

still see e-mail addy in comment instead of name.

not bitching and moaning.. just posting possibly relevant information.

oh, Windows 7 and firefox 3.5.5
Posted by: abu do you love || 12/11/2009 9:40 Comments || Top||

#22  Testing - 1, 2, 3
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 12/11/2009 10:02 Comments || Top||

#23  testing with firefox 3.0.15, 2100 and all is well
Posted by: rammer || 12/11/2009 10:03 Comments || Top||

#24  Nope - e-mail address is still showing up in place of my name after the comment is posted.

But while I'm typing in the comments box I can see my name in the right place on my previous post.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 12/11/2009 10:04 Comments || Top||

#25  I checked the database and all the data's in the right fields. The problem lies with the page presentation -- I'll have to chase it down tomorrow. I'm off to nitey-bye now.
Posted by: Fred || 12/11/2009 10:58 Comments || Top||

#26  Actually, I think it's fixed now... Can't understand why it didn't do the same thing before, in fact.
Posted by: Fred || 12/11/2009 11:16 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Xe Tied to Secret Raids by the C.I.A. - New York Times
WASHINGTON -- Private security guards from Blackwater Worldwide participated in some of the C.I.A.'s most sensitive activities -- clandestine raids with agency officers against people suspected of being insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan and the transporting of detainees, according to former company employees and intelligence officials.

The raids against suspects occurred on an almost nightly basis during the height of the Iraqi insurgency from 2004 to 2006, with Blackwater personnel playing central roles in what company insiders called "snatch and grab" operations, the former employees and current and former intelligence officers said.

Several former Blackwater guards said that their involvement in the operations became so routine that the lines supposedly dividing the Central Intelligence Agency, the military and Blackwater became blurred. Instead of simply providing security for C.I.A. officers, they say, Blackwater personnel at times became partners in missions to capture or kill militants in Iraq and Afghanistan, a practice that raises questions about the use of guns for hire on the battlefield.

Separately, former Blackwater employees said they helped provide security on some C.I.A. flights transporting detainees in the years after the 2001 terror attacks in the United States.

The secret missions illuminate a far deeper relationship between the spy agency and the private security company than government officials had acknowledged. Blackwater's partnership with the C.I.A. has been enormously profitable for the North Carolina-based company, and became even closer after several top agency officials joined Blackwater.

"It became a very brotherly relationship," said one former top C.I.A. officer. "There was a feeling that Blackwater eventually became an extension of the agency."
Of course the Times paints this with the 'bad brush' when actually it continues to be one of the few success stories of our involvement in the region. More at the link.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/11/2009 01:10 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  When you want to flush the toilet its nice to have plumbing and knowing WHERE to push the handle.

AND A corpse NEVER asks how it got so cold.

Do you LIKE that al-Qaeda is DEAD in Iraq and we can sit around the barracks and shine our boots and eat ice cream? Zarquawi IS DEAD, and isnt that nice?

How do you suppose people GET to be dead? You arent dead are you.? Good. Good.

Thank the nice men and quit complaining that the nice men got a little blood in your sink.

It had to be done. You want to do it yourself ?? Here, let me hold the baby and YOU go do it next time.
Posted by: Angleton9 || 12/11/2009 7:36 Comments || Top||

#2  I keep saying, Xe needs to go offshore, and they should have done so years ago. In the US, they are as big a target for the Democrats as they were a target for al-Qaeda and the Mehdis in Iraq.

They can still keep administrative offices in the US, but their operations should be on their own Caribbean island. The advantages are numerous.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/11/2009 8:14 Comments || Top||

#3  All of those guys are former SF anyway. There's talent there, so why not tap it? I didn't see anyone complaining when some of these folks were killing bad guys by the dozens to protect some US civilian personnel over there.
Posted by: gorb || 12/11/2009 8:44 Comments || Top||

#4  It's the NYT's--mouthpiece of the anti-military, anti-sense Progressives and do not reflect most of the country between the leftist coasts. I know kids lining up to join Special Forces with the hope of long-term employment with Xe and their parents are as proud as can be. Most of them assumed this was being done wherever bad guys could be found and are dismayed they didn't get UBL.
Posted by: Lumpy Elmoluck5091 || 12/11/2009 9:35 Comments || Top||

#5  Hope they didn't get this information from an email leak. They wouldn't want to show how hypocritical they are so soon, would they?
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 12/11/2009 10:39 Comments || Top||

#6  The very few times I have really slapped down someone for their ignorance re Iraq etc have involved Blackwater. Having had my rear protected for 2 years in Iraq by their excellent services, I figured I couldn't stay silent, as I generally do when the jaw-dropping ignorance and moral imbecility that are standard among "educated" coastal types is barfed up by those around me.

A bit annoying though, in that I have had to correct several of the better informed people that the security agencies were not "mercenaries", and had the mission of avoiding action or shooting, not engaging in it - which of course is and was correct for most of them. This "blurs the lines" on my distinction, even though I remain correct about the majority of Blackwater teams, I'm sure.

And gorb, I know you are right-minded and making a good point here, but it's important to note that there was not a lot of killing involved in Blackwater's protective operations - a slander typically tossed around by the usual suspects (and Iraqis, of course). Sure, there were problems, and incidents, and failures, and problem personnel - but as a percentage of missions run, in the outlandishly difficult circumstances, I think any fair-minded observer would rate the whole thing a great success.

Remember, the only "profits" that aren't inherently evil are for making empty-calorie Hollywood entertainment, or make-believe "green" jobs, or participating in the liability shakedown ripoff industry, or selling carbon-credits. Those are fine. But ewwwwww, don't even think of defending a dime made helping achieve national security objectives while defeating loathsome, barbaric, lunatic fascist killers.
Posted by: Verlaine || 12/11/2009 11:48 Comments || Top||

#7  I don't know if it was Blackwater or not, but there is a video out there that has been posted here before of a bunch of Mahdi Militia folks trying to take over an American facility with some civilians inside. Are you familiar with this? In any case, just a few of these private security guys held off the entire assault through good marksmanship, and I assume the deaths of quite a few bad guys. I am aware that this is highly unusual, if not the only case of something like this happening. But my point was that I didn't hear any whining from anybody or any political party in this case. Now all of a sudden it's boo-hoo-hoo now that the heat is off. How quickly and thoroughly they forget.
Posted by: gorb || 12/11/2009 12:10 Comments || Top||

#8  By George, I found it!

Posted by: gorb || 12/11/2009 12:14 Comments || Top||

#9  The problem with posting videos like this is that every kid on the planet sees these cool-looking armed professionals wearing cool-looking shades shooting cool-looking guns at bad guys, it winds up being more a recruitment tool for special forces than an indictment of Blackwater.
Posted by: badanov || 12/11/2009 12:41 Comments || Top||

#10  Wouldn't it be useful to show which way the other sniper teams are pointing at?

A modern digital compass and tilt sensor (found in new mobiles) could be read and projected over the other sight.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 12/11/2009 12:44 Comments || Top||

#11  So that sniper A could back up sniper B? Wouldn't have to be terribly accurate, just enough to get sniper A's scope on target. All you would need would be something like a Bluetooth connection and something to do a little math in between to account for the differences in position. Wouldn't want the information to be picked up by the bad guys, though, so maybe a cable would be better in some cases.
Posted by: gorb || 12/11/2009 5:58 Comments || Top||

#12  And the ANTHRAX WEST NILE SWINE FLU PRE-TEST at PENN STATE? the slaughter of US Students at VIRGINIA TECH? MUMBAI? TOKYO?............@etc.

*** cough *** But I digress *** cough ***...
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/11/2009 7:03 Comments || Top||

#13  And the ANTHRAX WEST NILE SWINE FLU PRE-TEST at PENN STATE? the slaughter of US Students at VIRGINIA TECH? MUMBAI? TOKYO?............@etc.

*** cough *** But I digress *** cough ***...
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/11/2009 7:03 Comments || Top||

#14  Seems they want "Illegal Combatants" out, (If they're American)
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/11/2009 8:46 Comments || Top||


Afghans protest civilian killings by US forces
Hundreds of Afghans have taken to the streets of the capital Kabul to protest a recent NATO airstrike which killed a number of civilians in the war-ravaged country. About 300 people marched towards the UN office in Kabul to express their anger. Similar demonstrations have been held in the cities of Nangarhar and Mehtar Lam.

The air raid which was coordinated between Afghan and foreign forces was carried out over the eastern province of Kunar on Monday.
Posted by: Fred || 12/11/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Africa Horn
Eu flotilla's antipiracy patrols may extend range
The British admiral in charge of the EU flotilla carrying out anti-piracy patrols off Somalia is considering extending the area which they patrol.Rear Adm Peter Hudson said this was because some attacks had been closer to India than the coast of Africa.

Rear Adm Hudson says he is in discussions with his political and military bosses to extend his patrol area because the pirates have been launching attacks at ever great range - up to 1,000 nautical miles from the Somali coast.

"I have to keep the balance between area, where my aircraft can go, what advice we give to ships, where the pirates operate," he said. "And because we've seen some of these attacks now right nearer to India than Africa, we just have to review where our operating area is and we'll make recommendations to Brussels and see what they think."

Rear Adm Hudson says support from EU countries has been good, including the provision of vital maritime patrol aircraft for surveillance. But he has, on average, six to seven warships under his command, to cover a sea area already 10 times the size of Germany.
Posted by: Pappy || 12/11/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I wholeheartedly approve. There have been far too many pirate incidents in which a multimillion dollar naval vessel wasn't there to watch and fail to intervene. Now they can stand by and do nothing all the way to India.
Posted by: Gerthudion Sleresh1214 || 12/11/2009 5:29 Comments || Top||

#2  Early contender for Snark o' the Day.
Posted by: lotp || 12/11/2009 6:41 Comments || Top||

#3  It is going to be hard to top that one ...
Posted by: Steve White || 12/11/2009 7:44 Comments || Top||

#4  I still think the ultimate anti-piracy weapon is a carrier-launched A-10.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 12/11/2009 14:27 Comments || Top||

#5  nah...

the ultimate anti-piracy weapon is the will to use the other anti-piracy weapons.

we need to get that one. maybe it can come online in late Jan of 2013.
Posted by: abu do you love || 12/11/2009 11:45 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Saudi warplanes keep pounding Sa'ada
Saudi jet fighters continue bombarding northern Yemeni province of Saada where Houthi forces are fighting off a joint Saudi-Yemeni military offensive, the Shia fighters say.

Yemen's Houthi fighters on Thursday said Saudi warplanes fired nearly 400 missiles into the beleaguered region of Saada, adding that the Saudi army also pounded several other Yemeni regions with artillery fire.

On Thursday, the Shia forces said they repelled a Saudi ground incursion into northern Yemen.
Posted by: Fred || 12/11/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:


Saudis stop Yemen rebel offensive at border
[Al Arabiya Latest] Saudi forces have repulsed Yemeni rebels trying to infiltrate into the kingdom, Saudi state media said on Thursday, while fighting continued on both sides of the border.
Why are the Yemeni rebels attacking Saoodi-controlled Arabia? Since they're rebels shouldn't they be marching on, you know, their own country?
Marching orders from Teheran?
Saudi troops pushed back the rebels, referred to as "infiltrators" by state television, from the Jaberi village and killed an unspecified number of the insurgents. The report gave no further details.

In southern Yemen, where separatist sentiment has been on the rise, demonstrators marched in several towns to demand the release of those arrested in earlier protests, residents said.
Posted by: Fred || 12/11/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Translation: Soody forces invading Yemen been pushed back to Soody border.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/11/2009 5:23 Comments || Top||

#2  Are these the same Yemeni rebels complaining of being "besieged" in the nearby city of Sa'ada? How can they be under siege in the provincial seat and invading a foreign country in the same province at the same time?
Posted by: Mitch H. || 12/11/2009 8:49 Comments || Top||

#3  Since they're rebels shouldn't they be marching on, you know, their own country?

yeah, like tell me about it
Posted by: ehud olmert || 12/11/2009 9:02 Comments || Top||


Britain
British Pakistanis sentenced for role in airline bomb plot
[The News (Pak) Top Stories] A 23-year-old man who conspired with the airline bomb plotters to murder people was on Thursday jailed for life.
Hurrah for the British judicial system -- this time.
Adam Khatib plotted with Abdullah Ahmed Ali, Asad Sarwar and Tanvir Hussain to murder persons unknown between January and August 2006, according to details provided by the metropolitan police.

He was found guilty of conspiring together with the three, and with Umar Islam, who was found guilty of conspiracy to murder in an earlier trial at Woolwich Crown Court. He must serve a minimum of 18 years.

Another man, Nabeel Hussain, who met Ahmed Ali Khan, just weeks before officers from the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command made arrests in August 2006, was found guilty of a terrorist offence and jailed for eight years. All the men are said to be of Pakistani origin with British nationalities.
At the end of their sentences strip them of their citizenship and send them home.

This article starring:
ABDULLAH AHMED ALIal-Qaeda in Britain
ADAM KHATIBal-Qaeda in Britain
AHMED ALI KHANal-Qaeda in Britain
ASAD SARWARal-Qaeda in Britain
NABIL HUSEINal-Qaeda in Britain
OMAR ISLAMal-Qaeda in Britain
TANVIR HUSEINal-Qaeda in Britain
Posted by: Fred || 12/11/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Britain


India-Pakistan
Senior al-Qaeda leader killed in US Predator drone strike in Pakistan
A senior al-Qaeda leader has been killed in a Predator drone missile strike in north-west Pakistan, US officials said. The officials told NBC News that the attack using Hellfire missiles had taken place in the last few days.
"Merry Christmas.....KABOOM!"
They said the target was not the network's Saudi leader Osama bin Laden or his Egyptian deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri.
So, a Number 3 or lower.
Always the Number 3 ...
The officials told the US network that the killing followed an acceleration of operations targeting al-Qaeda leaders over the past weeks.

North-west Pakistan has seen a surge in US strikes, which fan anti-Americanism in the nuclear-armed Muslim country, since President Barack Obama took office.
Warmonger that he is...
They have contributed to putting the country on the front line of the war on al-Qaeda. The government in Islamabad is under increasing Western pressure to not only target Taliban groups attacking Pakistan, but also al-Qaeda-linked fighters and the militants who cross over the border and target foreign troops in Afghanistan.

Since August 2008, at least 65 such strikes have killed around 625 people, although it is difficult to confirm the precise identity of many of the victims given that the remote region is largely closed to outsiders.
and given that what is left is hard to identify without a microscope
Posted by: Steve || 12/11/2009 12:36 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ...no CSI:Pakistan yet? Darn.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/11/2009 13:30 Comments || Top||

#2  Within 24 hours of his Nobel Prize Speech.
Posted by: Penguin || 12/11/2009 13:37 Comments || Top||

#3  CBS: Abu Yahya al-Libi is was the spiritual successor to Palestinian philosopher Abu Azzam - and the inspiration for much of Bin Laden's beliefs, according to CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent Lara Logan. He is very powerful and believed by some to be the natural successor to Bin Laden.
Posted by: Frank G || 12/11/2009 13:45 Comments || Top||

#4  Fox showed a picture of Gadahn but said they were awaiting DNA on this one. hopefully they got more than one!!!
Posted by: Lumpy Elmoluck5091 || 12/11/2009 14:05 Comments || Top||

#5  from: Geo News another attack:
Drone attack kills 6 in South Waziristan
WANA: Six militants including four foreigners have been killed in US drone attack in South Waziristan.

According to sources, drone fired two missiles at militants’ hideouts in Tanga area of tehsil Lada in South Waziristan. Six militants including four foreigners have been killed in the attack. Eyewitnesses said the toll could be mount.

Two foreign militants were killed in drone attack in North Waiziristan two days ago.
Posted by: 3dc || 12/11/2009 3:07 Comments || Top||

#6  Looks like the 2 seniors are from Saudi.

(long war journal)

2 Arab al Qaeda members killed in North Waziristan strike
By Bill RoggioDecember 9, 2009 9:08 AM
Two Arab members of al Qaeda are reported to have been killed in yesterday's airstrike in North Waziristan.

The airstrike, which was carried out by unmanned US attack aircraft, targeted a vehicle moving in the town of Aspangla near the main town of Miramshah. Three people were initially reported killed in the attack.

The region is a stronghold of the Haqqani Network and Taliban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadar; both shelter al Qaeda and other jihadi terror groups. Several months ago, the Pakistani military signed a peace agreement with Bahadar to clear the path to conduct the military operation against the Movement of the Taliban in South Waziristan

Taliban fighters confirmed the death of the two Arabs and said the men were from Saudi Arabia, The News reported. The identity of the Saudi al Qaeda members could not be determined as "the car was torn into pieces."

It is unclear if the Saudi al Qaeda members were senior leaders in the terror group. Saudi and Egyptian members of al Qaeda often serve as senior leaders for al Qaeda.

US intelligence officials contacted by The Long War Journal would not disclose the identity of the targets of the latest strike, but stated that the effort to "degrade al Qaeda's networks in Pakistan's tribal areas" continues.

The US air campaign has failed to kill a senior al Qaeda or Taliban leader since September, when a series of attacks killed Najmuddin Jalolov, the leader of the Islamic Jihad Group; Mustafa al Jaziri, a member of al Qaeda's military council; and Maulvi Ismail Khan, a military commander in the Haqqani Network. Ilyas Kashmiri, the operations commander of the Harakat-ul-Jihad-Islami and the operations chief of Brigade 313, was also thought to have been killed but he later resurfaced.

The number of US airstrikes in Pakistan's tribal areas has decreased since September. There were only two airstrikes in October, two in November, and one this month. Prior to October, the number of strikes had averaged between six and seven per month.

The scaleback in attacks in Pakistan is attributed to the fact al Qaeda and the Taliban have adapted to the US' tactics, improved their operational security, and have ruthlessly killed anyone suspected of providing intelligence, US intelligence officials told The Long War Journal.



Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/12/2_arab_al_qaeda_memb.php#ixzz0ZPfWEE9Q
Posted by: 3dc || 12/11/2009 3:13 Comments || Top||

#7  have ruthlessly killed anyone suspected of providing intelligence

Which no doubt includes quite a few innocents and some on their own team. While that will discourage betrayers it won't encourage recruits or build any loyalty. It's a move of desperation, not strength, and their people know it.
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/11/2009 5:09 Comments || Top||

#8  #1 I was thinking CSI:MUMBAI myself, albeit I'm not sure why. It just popped into my head.

OTOH E.G. ZARQHAWI > 'TIS THE SEASON FOR ZOMBIES.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/11/2009 6:43 Comments || Top||

#9  #1 I was thinking CSI:MUMBAI myself, albeit I'm not sure why. It just popped into my head.

OTOH E.G. ZARQHAWI > 'TIS THE SEASON FOR ZOMBIES.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/11/2009 6:43 Comments || Top||

#10  Hi, Joe - why the new 'nym? ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 12/11/2009 7:40 Comments || Top||

#11  Paging Saleh al-Somali: your coffin is calling.
Posted by: Odysseus || 12/11/2009 8:53 Comments || Top||

#12  Paging Saleh al-Somali: your coffin is calling.
Posted by: Odysseus || 12/11/2009 8:55 Comments || Top||

#13  #10 I'm doing what my usual posting routine, Barb, but its just coming out that way.

Personally I blame the SKYNET + DA ARNUUULD ["Terminator" movies on TV recently].
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/11/2009 9:16 Comments || Top||

#14  #13 Joe - I'm guessing "www.gpls.guam.gov" is your website & it's showing up as your name just like my e-mail address is. I can see your name on the previous post while I'm typing in the comments box, but not when I'm just looking at the comments.

Poor Fred. He's such a wonderful man to do so much work for us; I feel for him and admire his skills.

Payday's coming, people - let's remember Fred during this season of giving.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 12/11/2009 10:12 Comments || Top||


D.C. Muslims rejected by al-Qaida due to lack of references.
Five young American Muslims arrested in Pakistan met with representatives of an al-Qaida-linked group and asked for training but were turned down because they lacked references from trusted militants, a Pakistani law enforcement official said Thursday.
You're from Washington D.C. and you're here to help? Stand over there please.
Another senior officer said the men wanted to fight jihad, or holy war, in northwestern Pakistan and against American troops in Afghanistan.
A common theme, always ask for references. They could be CIA or Xe.
The young men apparently first tried to contact jihadist groups through Facebook and YouTube, then traveled to Pakistan to attempt personal meetings, a Pakistani diplomat in Washington said.

The case is another worrisome sign that Americans may be susceptible to recruitment to terrorist networks from within the United States. It comes on the heels of charges against a Chicago man accused of plotting international terrorism.

Yet in contrast to the Chicago case, police say the five Americans captured in Pakistan failed to catch on with any terror network, and succeeded only in raising suspicions among locals, who reported them to Pakistani police.

U.S. officials in Pakistan have now visited the men in custody. Their disappearance from the Washington, D.C, area late last month -- with one of them leaving behind a militaristic farewell video saying Muslims must be defended -- prompted a frantic search by friends and family and an investigation by worried counterterrorism officials.
More at the link.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/11/2009 01:50 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ...And they failed to bring a shrubbery.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 12/11/2009 8:07 Comments || Top||

#2  Damn, the recession is hitting harder than I thought if even Al-Q is tightening up their hiring requirements!
Posted by: Cornsilk Blondie || 12/11/2009 8:40 Comments || Top||

#3  They are probably not the first to have this happen. It would explain why we have intercepted a number of amateurish, independent plots (Ft. Dix, for example) - the wannabes try to prove themselves and establish credentials to get into the gang. Would not be a surprise if some succeeded and we just didn't realize it was more than an ordinary crime - what did Adam Gadahn do to get his resume approved? And if we know of some who DID get in, we need to follow their back trail to identify the source of THEIR references - and maybe infiltrate.
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/11/2009 8:48 Comments || Top||

#4  The men's families had expected them at home on Sunday, Nov. 29 , said Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, the outreach director at the Dar al Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Va. , outside Washington . The next day, one of them called his parents and said he was leaving the country, without specifying his destination, Abdul-Malik said.

Now where have we heard of this Saudi Wahhabi funded, Muslim Brotherhood (Islamic Society of North America, Muslim American Society) abomination before?

1. Two 9/11 hijackers worshipped there. Links with two other hijackers. 3000 Americans murdered and premier city center gutted.

2. Imam Anwar al-Awlaki, high ranking Al Qaeda member, preaching the murder of Americans under the protection of the First Amendment. The Constitution is not a suicide pact and islam is going to be the mechanism to expose that fact.

3. Imam Mohammed al-Hanooti, unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Links w/ African embassy bombings.

4. Current imam Shaker El Sayed comapres terrorist gr


5. Assassination attempt on President Bush. Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, the attempted assassin, also taught Islamic studies at the mosque's madrassa to the children of the mosque.

6. Ali Al-Tamimi. Islamic teacher guilty of inciting terrorism. Virginia Jihad Network.

7. Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan. 13 murdered, 1 unborn baby murdered, 29 wounded.

8. Just scratching the surface, but some other members convicted of terrorism or known for support of: Mousa Abu Marzook, AbdulRahman Alamoudi, Esam Omeish, Johari Abdul Malik, Mohammed El Sheikh, Jamal Barzinji, current imam Shaker El Sayed.

9. Need I mention the casual racism of those who think of us as lower than cattle. At least goats have value to them.

What we have is the chief base in the country for the islamic jihad war against Americans, protected by an unsuspecting public and corrupt government. It should be razed, the members at a minimum be deported, and the ashes dumped into a volcano.

Freedim House Report: SAUDI PUBLICATIONS ON HATE IDEOLOGY INVADE AMERICAN MOSQUES (PDF file)
Posted by: ed || 12/11/2009 9:07 Comments || Top||

#5  its also possible we HAVE infiltrated them.

Though you would think our guys would be able to you know, forge references, or something. Not just walk in and say "I'm from Langley, er DC"
Posted by: liberalhawk || 12/11/2009 9:07 Comments || Top||

#6  ed. but that raises the question, why isnt that a good enough reference? Something unexplained here?
Posted by: liberalhawk || 12/11/2009 9:08 Comments || Top||

#7  "It should be razed, the members at a minimum be deported, and the ashes dumped into a volcano."

You really dont read as many spy novels as I do. Razing a place like that is the last thing you do.
Posted by: liberalhawk || 12/11/2009 9:09 Comments || Top||

#8  which I suspect is the answer to why that place is NOT a good enough reference for AQ, as they are thinking along the same lines as my post above.
Posted by: liberalhawk || 12/11/2009 9:10 Comments || Top||

#9  In which case maybe you can go ahead and raze it, since the other side already considers it compromised anyway. But razing it isnt a huge gain, and would need to be balanced against the propaganda cost.
Posted by: liberalhawk || 12/11/2009 9:12 Comments || Top||

#10  Heck of a series of posts there, just to get to the Emily Litella punchline.
Posted by: ed || 12/11/2009 9:47 Comments || Top||

#11  I was thinking aloud
Posted by: liberalhawk || 12/11/2009 10:02 Comments || Top||

#12  Al Qaida wants Westerners because they can carry out missions while coming under less suspicion (David Coleman Headley/Daoud Gilani with his American mother and passport), but have trouble getting new ones because of the need to protect against infiltration. Gilani had trusted roots, but the randomly convinced, like these DC 5, lack them. Adam Gadahn and John Walker Lindh got accepted while American was still completely asleep, so it was easier for them to get accepted. I doubt that identical profiles would be able to make it in now.
Posted by: Odysseus || 12/11/2009 10:48 Comments || Top||

#13  "We're from Washington and we are here to help."

I just could not pass on that one...
Posted by: Karl Rove || 12/11/2009 10:58 Comments || Top||

#14  Obama was asked in a news conference yesterday and proceeded to speak of how well Muslims have woven themselves into the fabric of America and "joked" at how loyal these 5 Muslims are...
Posted by: Chunky Phaving7818 || 12/11/2009 11:17 Comments || Top||

#15  The case is another worrisome sign that Americans may be susceptible to recruitment to terrorist networks from within the United States.

More like they're susceptible to 'volunteerism'

(of course that's "volunteering to read to little kids and work in soup kitchens", but I digress...)
Posted by: Pappy || 12/11/2009 11:21 Comments || Top||

#16  Beavis and Butthead converted to Islam?
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 12/11/2009 11:50 Comments || Top||

#17  Beavis and Butthead converted to Islam

No, but certainly B&B born Muslim, Ebbang Uluque6305. May there be many more of them than the smart, successful ones.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/11/2009 12:41 Comments || Top||

#18  Interesting thing is demonstrated by this incident, or lack thereof....
We have bagged enough senior jihadi leaders and interdicted enough ongoing activities that the jihadi groups are increasingly paranoid about infiltration. The vetting process for foreign recruits is more cumbersome and lengthy, and infighting is on the rise. Couple this with a divide and conquer strategy between competing groups and sub-groupings, and you heighten the distrust. After all, these mopes come from a tribal culture, and non-blood relations are always suspect.
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 12/11/2009 13:43 Comments || Top||

#19  As our pols say in Chicago, "we don't want nobody whom nobody sent!"
Posted by: Steve White || 12/11/2009 13:55 Comments || Top||

#20  DC Muslims are a busy bunch. A DC Muslim shot up 50 troops down in Texas a few weeks ago.
Posted by: Boss Snomotle8280 || 12/11/2009 14:08 Comments || Top||

#21  s/whom/what/
Posted by: KBK || 12/11/2009 3:48 Comments || Top||

#22  WAFF > TIMES OF INDIA > RADICAL ISLAMISM GAINING GROUND IN THE US. Growing MUSLIM RADIC MOMENTUM in domestic US vee intensive recruiting in US Muslim communities, espec PAK???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/11/2009 8:26 Comments || Top||


Bomb kills four in Assam
[Dawn] A bomb at a crowded marketplace killed four people on Thursday in India's insurgency-racked northeastern state of Assam, police said.

The blast ripped through the market near a police station and army base camp in the town of Missamari, around 220 kilometres (140 miles) north of Assam's main city Guwahati.

Witnesses and police officials said four people died on the spot and 17 others were injured, six critically.

Police blamed the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) - a rebel group fighting for an independent homeland for Assam's Bodo tribe - for the attack.

'We strongly suspect the hand of the NDFB in the blast as the area is a stronghold of the outfit,' an intelligence official told AFP.

The NDFB was blamed for a series of explosions in 2008 which killed about 100 people and injured hundreds more.

Posted by: Fred || 12/11/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  We really need to get the Muslims and Maoists fighting against each other - sort of like Sunni & Shia did so well in the Iran-Iraq war.
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/11/2009 8:59 Comments || Top||


Eight militants arrested in Hangu district
[Dawn] Security forces on Thursday arrested eight militants from Shahokhel area of district Hangu and seized weapons and explosives.

According to DSP Hangu Farid Khan Khatak, the militants belonged to Orakzai Agency.

Security forces have shifted militants to an unknown area and started investigation.

Security forces have already taken over the Shahokhel area and arrested dozens of militants and destroyed their hideouts a few weeks ago.

Shahokhel is near Orakzai agency, which is a militant stronghold.

Posted by: Fred || 12/11/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Five more militants killed in South Waziristan: ISPR
[Dawn] Five more militants were killed and another was apprehended while a soldier pass away and another was injured in the on-going operation Rah-i-Nijat in South Waziristan.

According to the details of last 24 hours released by ISPR on Thursday, security forces carried out sanitization at Partigai near Ahmadwam and Kazha Kats, in Jandola sector.

Security forces cleared 30 compounds in area around Abdullah Nur Kaskai, Bangiwala and Aka Khel Pungai.

In Shakai Sector, area notables and local administration assured complete cooperation and support to security forces for ongoing operation against the militants.

Security forces cleared Nanu and destroyed militants houses at Barwand including the house of militants commander Wali ur Rehman. During an encounter, a soldier was killed and another was injured at Khassadar Ridge, while five militants were killed near Kaniguram.

On expiry of deadline given to militants, a Jirga destroyed the house of local militants commander Shabeeb Khan in Shakkai.

In Razmak Sector, security forces carried out search operation at village Marobi Raghozai near Makeen, Tara Tiza and recovered one ammunition factory along with huge cache of arms ammunition.

Security forces conducted clearance operation near Pash Ziarat and found a militants tunnel (50 feet long) and 10 bunkers besides apprehending a suspect near Mana.

As far as Operation Rah-i-Rast is concerned, the security forces conducted search operation at Azad Banda near Sakhra and recovered 10 liters of poisonous chemical along with six kgs explosives.

Security forces apprehended three suspects at Pabbi, Dandai Sar near Fatehpur and Tilligram while a terrorist voluntarily surrendered himself to security forces at Roria near Gulibagh.

So far 20,976 Cash Cards have been issued to displaced families of Wazirsitan.
Posted by: Fred || 12/11/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Pakistan questions detained Americans
Five US nationals have been interrogated by Pakistani intelligence agents after they were arrested in the eastern Pakistani city of Sargodha. "These young Americans are in our custody," Sargodha police Chief Javed Islam said on Thursday. "They are telling us that they came to Pakistan for jihad."

Three of the arrested Americans are of Pakistani descent, one is of Egyptian descent and the other has Yemeni heritage, according to police officer Tahir Gujjar. The US officials say the men are those who were reported missing more than a week ago by their families in Washington DC.

Their families asked the US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) for help after finding a farewell video left by the men showing scenes of war and casualties and saying Muslims must be defended.
Said, one, "Of course we wanted them taught the proper attitude in religious school, but we never thought they'd be stupid enough to act on it!"
Their families asked the US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) for help after finding a farewell video left by the men showing scenes of war and casualties and saying Muslims must be defended.
The National Executive Director of the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Nihad Awad also confirmed their arrest. The FBI said it was working with families and local law enforcement to investigate the "missing students".

"We are working with Pakistani authorities to determine their identities and the nature of their business there, if indeed these are the students who had gone missing," said Lindsey Godwin, an FBI spokeswoman.

A top government official who spoke on condition of anonymity said some Pakistanis alleged to have helped the US nationals were also detained in Sargodha.
Posted by: Fred || 12/11/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda

#1  keep em or kill em. We don't care, we just don't want em back
Posted by: Frank G || 12/11/2009 12:06 Comments || Top||

#2  See also TOPIX > AMERICAN JIHADISTS: WHAT NEXT?
ONLINE RECRUITING EFFORTS by AL-QAEDA and other Islamist-Jihadist Groups part of a CALCULATED STRATEGY to empower US-specific national destabiliz domestic operations by frustrating and throwing US LAW ENFORCEMENT, etc. off-guard ala MYRIAD OF SEEMINGLY DIFFERENTIATED OR DISPARATE TERROR STRIKES [multi-dimens deniability].

IOW, CONFUSE YOUR ENEMY + NEVER STOP CONFUSIN' 'EM.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/11/2009 9:42 Comments || Top||

#3  OOOPSIES, forgot THE SEQUENTIAL DESTRUCTION OF MUSLIM NATIONS [Wilful Conpiracy or Unintended Consequence]???

Lest we fergit, 1990's NET > SDI = STRATEGIC DESTRUCTION OF ISLAM, mostly by internal Radicalist or Hardline Islamists whom refuse to engage in dedic non-Violent, non-Jihad/Warfare-based reform of Islam [Protestant Reformation = Islamic Reformation]...

Now 1990's NOT-REAGAN'S-STRATEGIC-DEFENSE-INITIATIVE ["Star Wars"] "SDI" in 2009 becomes WSD = WSDI or WAR for SEQUENTIAL DESTRUCTION OF ISLAM???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/11/2009 9:53 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Iraqi troops capture Mahdi Army military leader
Iraqi troops, backed by US advisers, captured a senior leader in a Mahdi Army offshoot group with links to Iran during a raid in Baghdad.

The senior leader of the Promised Day Brigade was detained in northern Baghdad, with the help of intelligence gathered from both US and Iraq security forces.

The Promised Day Brigade commander, who was not identified, was "believed to be facilitating the distribution of weapons and funding to PDB [Promised Day Brigade] attack groups throughout Baghdad," the US military said in a press release. "Attack groups then use the weapons and funding to conduct deadly acts of violence against civilians and security forces in Iraq."

The US military said the commander "is allegedly tied to PDB [Promised Day Brigade] leaders operating from safe havens in Iran."

The Promised Day Brigade was formed by anti-American Shia leader Muqtada al Sadr during the summer of 2008 after he announced he would disband the Mahdi Army and formed a small, secretive military arm to fight Coalition forces in June. The group has not been linked to any major attacks since its formation last summer.


Read more: www.longwarjournal.org
Posted by: 3dc || 12/11/2009 15:09 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
PA forces detonate explosive charge in Tubas
[Ma'an] Palestinian Authority security forces in the West Bank city of Nablus dismantled and destroyed an explosive that was left behind by the Israeli army in Tubas.

No injuries were reported.

In a statement, the PA's media office said "security forces rushed to the scene after receiving information on explosive charges in one of the neighborhoods, after which it was found out that is was left behind by the Israeli army."
Posted by: Fred || 12/11/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority

#1  I thought music was forbidden in Islam.

You'd think they'd have put the bomb in a viola anyway.
Posted by: Eric Jablow || 12/11/2009 0:01 Comments || Top||

#2  Tuba bells channel the blast better.
Posted by: lotp || 12/11/2009 6:46 Comments || Top||

#3  "That's a curious explosion, Mahmoud. It sounded like... boom-pa-pa."
Posted by: Grunter || 12/11/2009 6:59 Comments || Top||

#4  Tuba bells channel the blast better.

So... you're a Mythbusters fan as well?
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 12/11/2009 7:49 Comments || Top||

#5  Explosives help to hit the high notes.
Posted by: ed || 12/11/2009 7:52 Comments || Top||

#6  It sounded like... boom-pa-pa."LMAOROTF!!
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 12/11/2009 10:09 Comments || Top||

#7  What's the internet abbreviation for laughing until tears ran down my face?

"Boom pa pa" IN DEED!!!

Gad, you guys need to cut down on the coffee.

Someone should check the Violas anyway...

How about a harp? Anyone want to booby trap a harp?
Posted by: Karl Rove || 12/11/2009 11:05 Comments || Top||

#8  The person who successfully manages to booby trap a harp deserves a commendation just for the skill involved, Karl.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/11/2009 12:45 Comments || Top||

#9  What do you have against harps, Karl? Would you rather have a tuba in the afterlife? Or a bassoon?
Posted by: Old Patriot || 12/11/2009 15:07 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Tribal banditti abduct school kiddies in south Philippines
[Dawn] Armed mountain tribesmen abducted about 75 people, most of them schoolchildren, after a raid on a remote elementary school in the southern Philippines on Thursday, a senior army general said.

Police later said 18 were freed, including 17 children.

Last month, 57 people, including 30 journalists, were killed after they were stopped at a checkpoint in Maguindanao province, also in the southern Philippines. The mass killings has led to a crackdown on warlords in the south and the imposition of martial law in Maguindanao last week, Reuters reported.

On Thursday, a group of teachers and students was preparing for the start of their classes in Prosperidad town when armed Manobo tribesmen took them away to a forested area in Agusan del Sur province, Lieutenant-General Raymundo Ferrer said.

'We've sent troops to help rescue the hostages,' Ferrer told Reuters, describing the armed men as a group of 'bandits' blamed for several robberies and killings in the area.

'We are not aware of any political demands but negotiations are now ongoing to free the hostages that include two forest rangers and some of the parents who were in the school at that time. We're only playing a support role there.'
Posted by: Fred || 12/11/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Since Al Qaeda and their brethren seem to like to blow up schools and kidnap kiddies, do you suppose there is some tendencies toward pedophilia amoung the faithful?

I mean when your founder marries a 13 year old, does that mean that little kids are as much at risk as the neighbor's goat?
Posted by: Karl Rove || 12/11/2009 11:07 Comments || Top||

#2  Aisha was six years old when the prophet married her, Karl, nine when he consummated the marriage. Thirteen is when Jewish children have their bar mitzvahs and become responsible for their own sins.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/11/2009 12:47 Comments || Top||

#3  I'm not sure this has anything to do with Islam. The Manobo have been a thorn in the side of the people of the lower Mindanao Island forever. They have a legitimate gripe - much of their hunting lands have been taken over by either the Filipinos or the Moros, and they've been driven into more and more isolated pockets. IIRC, the muslims hate them as much as they hate Christians.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 12/11/2009 15:12 Comments || Top||

#4  WORLD NEWS/TOPIX > PHILIPPINE KIDNAPPERS THREATEN TO KILL [remaining]HOSTAGES, MORE MASSACRES [iff armed attempts made to recue same].
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/11/2009 9:13 Comments || Top||



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Fri 2009-12-11
  Houthis stop Saudi offensive. Saudis stop Houthis offensive
Thu 2009-12-10
  Clashes on the Streets of Khartoum
Wed 2009-12-09
  Baghdad bomb attacks kill 127, wound 450
Tue 2009-12-08
  Peshawar blast kills 10, injures 45
Mon 2009-12-07
  Explosions rock market in Lahore
Sun 2009-12-06
  Little resistance on day 2 of US-Afghan offensive
Sat 2009-12-05
  Attack temporarily shuts Herat airport
Fri 2009-12-04
  Russian Police find car packed with explosives near train station
Thu 2009-12-03
  14 dead in suicide bomber attack in Somalia
Wed 2009-12-02
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Tue 2009-12-01
  At least 61 militants killed in Khyber tribal region
Mon 2009-11-30
  Air strike kills 30 Taliban in Khost
Sun 2009-11-29
  Russia train disaster was terrorist attack
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Fri 2009-11-27
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