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Soddy forces, gunnies shoot it out
Today's Headlines
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Page 1: WoT Operations
19 00:00 Zenster [10] 
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 3: Non-WoT
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Page 4: Opinion
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Afghanistan
Headlines from Afghan Islamic Press
Another official held on graft charges

Police arrests two on terror charges

Coalition, Afghan forces capture three suspected terrorists

Three more held on corruption charges

Two foreigners among seven killed in suicide attack
Posted by: Fred || 12/07/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Interesting what they do, and don't, notice. Nothing at all about recent big NATO victories against Talban mass attacks, the ones where the casualty ratios are 80:1 or 200:1, the ones where an air attack is called in. I wonder how they missed those?
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/07/2006 5:46 Comments || Top||

#2  Taking their cue from the AP?
Posted by: Bobby || 12/07/2006 6:44 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
Nigerian gunmen raid oil terminal, kidnap 4 foreigners
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 12/07/2006 10:15 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Do they need to cover the payroll again?
Posted by: Old Patriot || 12/07/2006 14:39 Comments || Top||

#2  I'll bet if a hundred Muslims are killed for this, these kidnappings will end.
Posted by: wxjames || 12/07/2006 16:29 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Saudi forces, gunmen clash
SAUDI forces clashed with gunmen in the Red Sea port of Jeddah and surrounded a building after two security personnel were wounded in an attack on a checkpoint.

Security forces brought in helicopters against the gunmen and ambulances ferried the wounded away from the scene of the fighting in the city's Ruwais district, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television said.

“There was a firearms attack on a security checkpoint in Ruwais district. Two members of the security forces were wounded in the attack,” an official said. He said it was not clear if the gunmen were Islamic militants.

He said the building was under construction.

A Jeddah resident said the building under siege was near a prison where Islamist militants are believed to be held.

The Jeddah correspondent of state-owned al-Ikhbariya television said in a telephone interview with the station that one or more of the gunmen opened fire at the guards of the Ruwais prison.

A witness said scores of security personnel were deployed around the Ruwais area in al-Sharafiya district and around the Ruwais prison after the shootout.

Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, has been fighting a violent campaign by al-Qaeda supporters to topple the US-backed monarchy since May 2003, when they launched suicide bombings against Western housing compounds in Riyadh.

The kingdom said last week it had detained 136 suspected militants, including a would-be suicide bomber.

Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz said on Monday the militants, who included foreigners, were planning a series of suicide bombings and assassinations.
Posted by: tipper || 12/07/2006 17:15 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Things like this will stop happening once the Zionist Entity is gone.
Posted by: Jim Baker || 12/07/2006 21:33 Comments || Top||

#2  Who wants Saudi-on-Saudi violence to stop?
Posted by: .com || 12/07/2006 21:36 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Grenade attack wounds 13 in IHK
Thirteen people, including three federal police officers, were wounded on Wednesday in a grenade attack by suspected Islamist militants in Indian-held Kashmir (IHK), police said. “A grenade was hurled at a bunker of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Srinagar,” a police spokesman said, adding that three policemen and 10 civilians were hurt in the attack.
Posted by: Fred || 12/07/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq
Gunfight in Ramadi
FOURTEEN INSURGENTS KILLED, BUILDINGS DESTROYED IN RAMADI

CAMP FALLUJAH, IRAQ - Coalition Forces used tank main gun rounds and precision guided ordnance to destroy buildings from which insurgents were attacking in Ramadi Wednesday.

Iraqi Soldiers and Coalition Forces were attacked with a heavy volume of small arms fire from numerous insurgent positions including the Al Haqq Mosque. Iraqi Soldiers and Coalition Forces returned fire with a combination of small arms fire, machine gun fire and tank main gun rounds.
Don't bring an AK-47 to a tank fight.
When the enemy's attack did not cease, Coalition Forces used precision guided ordnance on the buildings being used as insurgent fighting positions, and the buildings were destroyed.

Iraqi Soldiers and Coalition Forces did not use precision guided ordnance or fire their tank main guns at the mosque.
Aw, shucks.

Iraqi Soldiers entered the mosque to conduct a search, and Coalition Forces remained outside the mosque. Nothing significant was found in the mosque.

One Coalition member was killed and three were wounded during the operations. Fourteen insurgents were killed. There were no reports of civilian casualties.

"When insurgents create situations such as occurred Wednesday, Coalition Forces must defend themselves," said Coalition spokesman Marine Lt. Col. Bryan Salas. "While we are mindful to limit damage, we must respond with necessary and proportional force to protect our forces and Iraq from the insurgents."
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/07/2006 13:26 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "tank main gun rounds"

That always makes me feel all warm 'n fuzzy.
Posted by: .com || 12/07/2006 13:55 Comments || Top||

#2  Well, we need to go all Falujah on Ramadi.
Posted by: danking_70 || 12/07/2006 14:27 Comments || Top||

#3  Well, we need to go all Falujah on Ramadi.
Posted by: danking_70 || 12/07/2006 14:28 Comments || Top||

#4  I'd much rather go all Dresden on Ramada - and a few other places. I still say the US needs to demonstrate what can happen if we decide to quit playing "nice guy" and go totally mongol on the Middle East. Break 30 or 40 of the old B-52D models out of the boneyard, refurbish them, and send them over some town that's been a problem since day one - like Riyadh. Send them in 3-ship cells, with the last bomb from the first cell dropping at the same time the first bomb from the next cell begins falling. Call in all the sides and say, "We can do this somewhere in the Middle East once a day, every day, for the next ten years, or we can have peace. The choice is yours."
Posted by: Old Patriot || 12/07/2006 14:48 Comments || Top||

#5  OP like Riyadh
Snark!!!
Posted by: 3dc || 12/07/2006 16:01 Comments || Top||

#6  Iraqi Soldiers entered the mosque to conduct a search, and Coalition Forces remained outside the mosque. Nothing significant was found in the mosque.

I don't believe ya. Since we are changing the way things are done now, I'm gonna take a squad thru da moskkk, ya know, just to be sure.
Posted by: wxjames || 12/07/2006 16:23 Comments || Top||

#7  Moskks used as armories or firing positions need to be leveled. Backing down on this is nothing but foolish. Let them pay a price. This shithole should have evaporated before their eyes with the little bunnies inside.
Posted by: SpecOp35 || 12/07/2006 16:52 Comments || Top||

#8  Nothing spiritually significant was found in the mosque.
Posted by: Shipman || 12/07/2006 17:07 Comments || Top||

#9  Old Patriot, there are plenty of BUFFs in the arsenal: http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/systems/b-52.htm

Rolling Thunder Redux, please!
Posted by: Parabellum || 12/07/2006 17:37 Comments || Top||

#10  Send them in 3-ship cells, with the last bomb from the first cell dropping at the same time the first bomb from the next cell begins falling. Call in all the sides and say, "We can do this somewhere in the Middle East once a day, every day, for the next ten years, or we can have peace. The choice is yours."


wake up and die

I never count sheep
Posted by: RD || 12/07/2006 19:29 Comments || Top||

#11  Iraqi Soldiers and Coalition Forces did not use precision guided ordnance or fire their tank main guns at the mosque.
.
.
.

One Coalition member was killed and three were wounded during the operations.


Posted by: Jim Baker || 12/07/2006 21:38 Comments || Top||

#12  Ooops, forgot to change the handle back from Jim Baker.
Posted by: gromgoru || 12/07/2006 21:39 Comments || Top||


More on the Captured Emirs of Ansar al Sunna
Two points that make me curious:
1) How did we manage to roll up such a large group of similarly placed people?
2) How do we know that these people are what we say?
The answer to both questions is in who 'ratted them out' - is he reliable or not? And if he is, I can't imagine he's not suspected by whatever forces are remaining in that organization, so either we've taken him into protection or he's taking over that organization.


BAGHDAD, Iraq – On Wednesday, the Government of Iraq released the names and photos of several suspected senior-level Ansar al Sunna emirs who were captured by Coalition Forces during a series of raids in mid-November.

The AAS network is responsible for improvised explosive device attacks and suicide attacks on Iraqi government, Coalition Forces and Iraqi civilians. The AAS network is also responsible for multiple kidnappings, small arms attacks and other crimes in the central and northern part of Iraq.

One terrorist emir, Abu Mohammed aka Ismail, AAS Emir of Yusifiyah was killed during a raid late November.

The suspected Ansar al Sunna emirs who were captured are:

National level
- Ramadan Muhammad Salih Ahmad (Bilbas) aka Abu Mustafa, AAS Emir of Iraq. Abu Mustafa is a founding member of AAS.
- Taha Ahmad Pir-Dawud Ahmad (Surchi) , aka Hajji Said, Senior AAS representative and al-Qaida facilitator.
- Adnan Abdallah Alaywi Muhammad (al-Ithawi) &ID=174278" target=_blank>‘Adnan ‘Abdallah ‘Alaywi Muhammad (al-‘Ithawi) , aka Abu Jaffar, AAS Secretary. He was Abu Mustafa’s personal assistant and he was responsible for arranging AAS senior-level meetings.

Regional level
- Hatim Abd-al-Ghafar Muslim Muhammad (al Shimar) , aka Abu Taha, AAS Emir of Al Qa’im and Western al Anbar. He allegedly was a Colonel in the Iraqi Army before the war.
- Abd-al-Basit Abd-al-Razzaq Hasan Ali (al-Abbasi) , aka Abu Asim, AAS Emir of Tikrit.
- Ali Hasayn Ali Abdallah (Zandi) , aka Abu Bandar, AAS Emir of Baqubah.
- Amjad Abd-al-Sattar Muhammad Ali (al-Tai) , aka Abu Najila, AAS Emir of Ramadi and Eastern al Anbar.
- Said Jasim Muhammad Khudayyir al-Jadid (al-Juwaynat) , aka Abu Sayf, AAS Emir of Bayji.
- Husayn Khudayyir Abbas Majid (al-Zubaydi) , aka Abu Husayn, AAS Emir of Bazayiz.
- Salih Khudayyir Salman Jadi (al-Juburi) , aka Sajad, AAS Emir of Fallujah.

This is another step closer to defeating al-Qaida in Iraq and helping establish a safe and peaceful Iraq. Coalition Forces will continue to target not only senior al-Qaida in Iraq leaders, but all associated terrorist movements like Ansar Al Sunna. They will be identified, captured and prosecuted for their crimes.

So who's left to ordain their new priests, or however they work it?
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/07/2006 13:17 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Booyah! Go troops!
Posted by: Zenster || 12/07/2006 14:31 Comments || Top||

#2  Its a regular who's who of AAS....wow.
Posted by: Chenter Unimp7361 || 12/07/2006 16:16 Comments || Top||

#3  So, why the trials ? Why the PC ? Aren't we changing the way we do things in Iraq ?
Torture them and kill them, WTF ?
Posted by: wxjames || 12/07/2006 16:27 Comments || Top||

#4  Injun Scouts on the move?
Posted by: Shipman || 12/07/2006 17:09 Comments || Top||

#5  Who made all these linky things for me? Looks like a lot of work. Thanks.
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/07/2006 17:26 Comments || Top||


11 U.S. Troops Killed in Iraq

By KIM GAMEL
Associated Imaginary Friend Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The toll in one of the U.S. military's deadliest days in Iraq rose to 11 when the military said Thursday that another soldier had died in fighting west of Baghdad.
At least seven Iraqis _ six policemen and a 7-year-old girl _ were killed in a series of bombings and shootings.

The U.S. soldier was shot Wednesday while manning a machine gun nest on the roof of an outpost in Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, the capital of the volatile Anbar province, according to an Associated Press reporter on the scene.

The death came on the same day that 10 other U.S. troops were killed in four separate incidents in Iraq, and a blue-ribbon panel in Washington recommended gradually shifting U.S. forces from a combat to a training role.

The military released details about five of the other troops killed on Wednesday, saying they were Task Force Lightning soldiers who were struck by a roadside bomb while conducting combat operations in the vicinity of the northern city of Kirkuk. The soldiers were assigned to 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.

The U.S. military gave no further details about identities or the other deaths, pending notification of relatives.

The attacks followed a particularly bloody weekend and raised to at least 31 the number of U.S. troops who have died in the first week of this month. At least 69 troops were killed in November and 105 soldiers were killed in October _ the highest monthly toll since January 2005.

"Our thoughts are with all 11 families who lost family members yesterday. Taking care of them right now is the military's highest priority," U.S. spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Garver said. The last time 11 Americans were killed in one day was Oct. 17.

At least 2,919 service members have been killed since the war started in 2003, according to an AP count.

At least 75 people were killed or found dead across Iraq on Wednesday, including 48 whose bullet-riddled bodies were found in different parts of the capital.

Gunmen also broke into a school in western Baghdad, killing its Sunni headmaster in his office, then instructing teachers not to return, an Iraqi army officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to security concerns.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Tuesday urged university professors and students to ignore a Sunni Arab insurgent group's warnings to avoid class, calling them "desperate attempts."

The group had sent e-mails to students and posted signs at schools and mosques saying students should stay away while it cleanses the campuses of Shiite death squads, according to a statement from al- Maliki's office late Tuesday.

The Iraqi government said the U.S. Iraq Study Group's report recommending a change of course in Iraq did "not come as a surprise," and it agreed that Iraq must take the lead in its own security.

"The situation is grave, very grave in fact, and cannot be tolerated," Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh said on the pan-Arab satellite TV channel Al-Arabiya. "Absolute dependence on foreign troops is not possible. The focus must be on boosting the Iraqi security forces."

Regular Iraqis on the streets of Baghdad greeted the Iraq Study Group report with widespread skepticism.

"This report is no different than others we have received from national unity conferences or regional conferences in the last three years, ones that came up with nice words that had no effect," said Khalid Abdel-Rahim, 42, a Sunni Arab employee of Iraq's Industry Ministry.

The U.S. report warned "the situation in Iraq is grave and deteriorating."
See Verlaine's take on that point.

It recommended the U.S. reduce political, military or economic support for Iraq if the government in Baghdad cannot make substantial progress toward providing for its own security.

On the highly emotional issue of troop withdrawals, the commission warned against either a precipitous pullback or an open-ended commitment to a large deployment.

"Military priorities must change," the report said, toward a goal of training, equipping and advising Iraqi forces. "We should seek to complete the training and equipping mission by the end of the first quarter of 2008."

Saleh said the government agreed with the broad recommendations of the panel but acknowledged "there may be some details on which we differ." He did not elaborate.

Associated Press writer Will Weissert in Ramadi contributed to this report, even though he doesn't really exist.
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 12/07/2006 11:59 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The death came on the same day that 10 other U.S. troops were killed in four separate incidents in Iraq,

Either a statistical blip or it means we're out there kicking some butt.

Regardless, my undying gratitude for their sacrifice and deepest, thankful condolences to their families.
Posted by: xbalanke || 12/07/2006 12:18 Comments || Top||

#2  Either a statistical blip or it means we're out there kicking some butt.

No real way to know, unless by reading Centcom's releases (which I'm not, at least on a regular basis), because the msm certainly *won't* report the deathtoll of the other side...
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 12/07/2006 12:41 Comments || Top||

#3  Al Qaida's attempt to reinforce the ISG report. We don't think these political games cost lives?
Posted by: john || 12/07/2006 13:01 Comments || Top||

#4  There is a possible solution to much of the street-level violence. That is, since each household is permitted to possess an AK-47 for their families' protection, start a program to arm respectable people in positions of authority who are at risk with personal handguns.

That is, college professors and school teachers are much more likely to be victims than insurgents. But when some nutcase busts into their school waving his AK around, hoping to kill both teachers and students, a round through his forehead can put an end to his nonsense, even when fired by a literature teacher.

Since the vast majority of the problems happen in mixed neighborhoods, it should be easy to identify both the Sunni and the Shiite upstanding citizens.

And even if they are bad guys in disguise, just having a pistol won't do them any good. But defensively, especially when the bad guys don't know who is packing, a single pistol can be very effective.

While not a perfect solution, this would make the efforts of the bad guys much, much harder.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/07/2006 13:36 Comments || Top||

#5  Last night I attended the Injured Marines Semper Fi Fund dinner at the Marine Memorial Hotel in San Francisco. It was one of the most moving experiences of my life. There were many wounded Marines in attendance, most of them severely wounded.

To describe these men as heroes just doesn't carry enough weight. The courage and determination I saw on display was simply incredible. I was in awe. We owe them so very very much.

The Semper Fi Fund is a superb organization and I urge you to give them your support in any way possible. They really make a difference in the life of wounded Marines and their families. You can learn more about this wonderful organization at www.semperfifund.org
Posted by: remoteman || 12/07/2006 15:39 Comments || Top||

#6  I'm there with tiny dough RemoteMan.
Posted by: Shipman || 12/07/2006 17:11 Comments || Top||

#7  Good on you Shipman. Every bit helps.
Posted by: remoteman || 12/07/2006 19:16 Comments || Top||


Another Iraqi Division "Stands Up"
AL KISIK, Iraq – The 3rd Iraqi Army Division ceremoniously took the lead here Monday in providing security for Iraq’s people, becoming the seventh Iraqi Army division to assume control from coalition forces and the third division to now fall under the command and control of the Iraqi Ground Forces Command.

“This is a proud day for us and for Iraq,” said Maj. Gen. Khorsheed Saleem Hassan Muhammad al-Doskekey, the commander of the 3rd Iraqi Army Division. In front of hundreds of attendees who traveled from as far as Baghdad and Dahuk to attend the ceremony, the posting of the 3rd IA flag represented its full assumption as the lead for military forces in the region.

“The Iraqi army and its brave soldiers have sacrificed immensely”, said Maj. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon, Commander of Multi-National Division-North and 25th Infantry Division (Light). “I am honored to have served with you over the last several months and I look forward to serving along side you in the future,” said Mixon.
Posted by: Bobby || 12/07/2006 06:40 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It is essential that we break them of the bad habit of AWOL departures from their unit. The only way to do this is to set up a prison garrison, a military prison where soldiers who misbehave are sent for what amounts to re-education.

As harsh and anti-military a movie as it is, Sean Connery's "The Hill" is an excellent example of persuading wicked troops to behave themselves.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/07/2006 9:32 Comments || Top||

#2  Moose,
The reason they go awol is they don't get paid for months on end, plus Arab armies depend on the soldier's families for alot of the "logistical tail".

When you hear of US Training Teams spending much of their time getting the troops paid, clothed etc. it is to make sure they don't go AWOL.

Al
Posted by: frozen al || 12/07/2006 10:03 Comments || Top||

#3  Then arrest the Iraqis who keep the troops from being paid & send them to Abu Ghraib. Is it really that hard to fight corruption in Iraq?
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 12/07/2006 16:56 Comments || Top||

#4  Anguper Hupomosing9418

Yes, they're Arabs, it's an egg-sucking dawg problem.
Posted by: Shipman || 12/07/2006 17:13 Comments || Top||


Iraqi Police Rescue Kidnap Victims
SABA AL BOR, Iraq - Iraqi Police raided a home here Dec. 3 rescuing a woman and young child who were captured earlier in the week by alleged terrorists.
Maybe they were just kidnappers?
Sure could be.
The police received a tip from local citizens that led them to the kidnapped woman and child. The incident is still under investigation.
Posted by: Bobby || 12/07/2006 06:38 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
IDF wounds 2 Palestinians near Gaza
The IDF wounded two Palestinians on Wednesday as the men approached the Gaza border, the army said, raising concerns about the future of the shaky truce between the two sides that went into effect last week.

In one incident in northern Gaza, two men approached the border fence, the IDF said. One of them stood on a post and surveyed the area, while another appeared to be laying a mine near the border, it said. Nearby troops called on them to leave and fired warning shots in the air, driving the men off.
They aimed too high!
A few minutes later, the men returned with others, and the soldiers again fired in the air. However, when one of the men continued working on the ground, the troops shot him, the army said.
That's better!
In a separate incident, a Palestinian man approached the Erez crossing into Israel and ignored soldiers' warnings. The troops shot him in the lower body, the army said.
Posted by: Fred || 12/07/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  So the second man was knee-capped?
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/07/2006 5:47 Comments || Top||

#2  says a lot about how the "dreaded" IDF is viewed in reality. These a-holes weren't even phased by a warning shot -- prolly figured it would take a lot to be in real danger.
Posted by: PlanetDan || 12/07/2006 10:31 Comments || Top||


Kassam rocket lands in western Negev; none wounded
A Kassam rocket, fired from the Gaza Strip, landed in open territory in the western Negev on Wednesday afternoon. No one was wounded and No damage was reported.
Posted by: Fred || 12/07/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I'm sure an ARCLIGHT strike down through the heart of the Gaza Strip would do wonders to improve the likelihood that the arabs would observe a cease-fire the next time they declared one. Of course, it would be difficult to NOT tip our hand, as we'd have to pull the Israelis back at least five miles from the border. Otherwise, we'd have lots of Israeli casualties, too. I'm also sure it would bring Hezbollah to the fear of God if we ran a few strikes down between the Israeli border and both sides of the Litani. Of course, that's just old ignorant me, who believes that superior firepower is a waste of time unless you use it to persuade the enemy to adopt your point of view.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 12/07/2006 15:30 Comments || Top||

#2  Old Pat. The only way to make peace with Arabs is to make a solitude and call it peace.
Posted by: gromgoru || 12/07/2006 21:41 Comments || Top||


Palestinians: IDF nabbed 40 with ties to Aksa head
Palestinian sources said Wednesday that the IDF had arrested over 40 Palestinians overnight Tuesday in a village near the West Bank's Jenin refugee camp, Israel Radio reported.

The Palestinians claimed the army was trying to put pressure on Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades leader Ibrahim Ahbed and his brother Ram Vil, who live in the village, to turn themselves in. According to report, most of those arrested were relatives and friends of the two. The army said it had arrested some 20 Palestinians in the West Bank, but denied that the arrests were meant to pressure the wanted Aksa commanders. Most of those detained were expected to be released at end of their investigation.
Posted by: Fred || 12/07/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Well we shall need 1000 - 2000 to trade for Shalit.
Posted by: gromgoru || 12/07/2006 21:42 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Six more dead in south Thailand
There have been scattered shootings and bombings in southern Thailand, which officials say are the work of suspected Muslim armed groups. Six people died in four attacks in the provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, on Wednesday. In the Bannang Satar district of Yala, two Buddhist men on a rubber plantation were also shot and killed.

Thailand is predominantly Buddhist, but most people in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat are Muslim, with some armed groups waging a separatist campaign. Sirichai Suksaaran, police lieutenant of Bannang Satar, said: "The insurgents target Buddhists in an attempt to scare them away from their villages." More than 200 Buddhists from two villages in Yala evacuated their villages last month.

Suspected fighters ambushed and killed two policemen who were patrolling Yarang district and Pattani province. In Narathiwat province, two men entered a shop and shot the owner at close range. They were believed to be separatists, police said, because they did not take any money from the victim.

Also in Yala, in the Krong Pinang district, a bomb concealed in a fire extinguisher and buried by the roadside killed a soldier as his patrol drove by in a Humvee. Two other soldiers in the vehicle were injured in the incident.
Posted by: Fred || 12/07/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Love the graphic.
Posted by: Sharon in NYC || 12/07/2006 16:16 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Ahmadinejad - Convert Or Die, Infidel
Declaration of war? Close enough for me
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has warned Western leaders to follow the path of God or "vanish from the face of the earth".

"These oppressive countries are angry with us ... a nation that on the other side of the globe has risen up and proved the shallowness of their power," Ahmadinejad said in a speech in the northern town of Ramsar, the semi-official news agency Mehr reported Wednesday.
Yes, pulling out of Iraq looks like a real smart move, doesn't it, Mr. Baker?
"They are angry with our nation. But we tell them 'so be it and die from this anger'. Rest assured that if you do not respond to the divine call, you will die soon and vanish from the face of the earth," he said.

The outspoken president also maintained Iran's defiance over its controversial nuclear programme, saying it was on course to fully master nuclear technology.

"Thank to God's help, we have gone all the way and are only one step away from the zenith.

"We hope to have the big nuclear celebration by the end of the year (March 2007)," Ahmadinejad said, echoing comments he has made on numerous occasions in recent months.

A defiant Iran has refused to suspend its uranium enrichment work, a process that the West fears could be extended to make nuclear weapons.

Iran however insists its nuclear programme is solely aimed at generating energy.
Yes. Of the kiliton variety.
France's Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said Wednesday after a Paris meeting on Tehran's nuclear programme that we have plenty of white flags in stock the UN Security Council is agreed "there will be sanctions" on Iran, though their extent is yet to be decided.

Posted by: Raj || 12/07/2006 17:24 || Comments || Link || [10 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Sorry, repeat from yesterday - please scratch.
Posted by: Raj || 12/07/2006 17:30 Comments || Top||

#2  Thank to God's help, we have gone all the way and are only one step away from the zenith

And after that zenith it's all downhill.
Posted by: gorb || 12/07/2006 17:52 Comments || Top||

#3  into the well
Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) || 12/07/2006 17:56 Comments || Top||

#4  Take the man at his word. This nutjob is declaring war upon America and we should respond accordingly. Anything less is sheer folly. Were the positions reversed America would have been a smoking hole in the ground decades ago.
Posted by: Zenster || 12/07/2006 18:12 Comments || Top||

#5  OK, Amadnutjob, how's this - we don't convert, you die.
Posted by: DMFD || 12/07/2006 20:13 Comments || Top||

#6  Let us be "realistic" the American people voted to Puss. Baker is antisemitic. The Donks will do anything for pork. And our leadership is boxed and having to go on the defensive.

"Realism" is the watchword for bug out. Like Diomedes in the Trojan War we have to plan to keep the enemy off us in the morning. What did he do...he went out that night with Ulysses and they caught a weasel spy alive named Dolon who was himself reconning their camp . They "interrogated" him in the dark and then slit his throat.

Then as due the dead spys intell they penetrated the Trojan camp and killed a dozen men while they slept and stole a horse and a golden inlaid chariot and came back to the Greek camp. In the morning they knew where to hit the Trojans and the Greeks held for one more year and took Troy.

Iran is full of people who dont like the war or the mullahs. What are we doing about that? Lets go in and deny we are doing it. Its not glorious, but it works. Lets get inside Iran and spread discord and attack their economy and production. Lets do false flags and create dissension. The American people are wussy at present. But let the Donks try to do better than we have done. Their leadership is ludicrous, no one of any stature. No staying power either. But do Black Ops and dont tell them. Set it up, deny it, use Gates as cover and lay out the poison.

How nasty can you be.? Think twisted and then do it. The Poppy Crop in Afghanistan can be facilitated to Teheran and we can get everybody to do a little. Think infected needles and exposed veins. Now put a Moslem face on it.
Posted by: Angleton 9 || 12/07/2006 21:10 Comments || Top||

#7  Heh. Put it in the well, too.
Posted by: .com || 12/07/2006 21:14 Comments || Top||

#8  Does gasoline burn nicely? There are about five gasoline refineries in Iran. What is THEIR security like at those refineries? WE cant sabotage and reduce their capacity? We cant get in and get out and use a mask and a false flag?

Is Zahedan free of drugs and is all the Heroin in Afghanistan going through that town? Are the police there paid well and zealous or are they about like Gringo Pass and Cuiadad Juarez? Can AIDS be introduced into the population in the major Iranian cities? Cant we package death in a thousand small ways that are practically invisible?

If you cant CONFRONT them then bite them and bleed them. There are hatreds between ethnic groups in Iran. Get one to attack the other. Create incidents and atrocities. Write things on the walls of Mosques. Blame that guy.

Spit in the milk and praise Allah.
Posted by: Angleton 9 || 12/07/2006 21:22 Comments || Top||

#9  You should be in a planning group, A9, lol. I think the Seals should consider those nibble at the edges targets, such as the gasoline storage depots, as "training" exercises. Keep the edge.
Posted by: .com || 12/07/2006 21:26 Comments || Top||

#10  Agleton, some pieces of fiction are eternal.
Posted by: gromgoru || 12/07/2006 21:31 Comments || Top||

#11  A9 - that's my kind of scoundrel. Though I must quibble over one thing: "Its not glorious, but it works" - I would say it is glorious because it works.

Anyway, I think a case study on one Vlade Dracula is in order for our sr leadership.

I've been advocating wetworks for a long time on the MM jokers. Except the AIDS thing, then the Donks would want us to send a billion dollars worth of aid to Iran like what we're wasting on Africa.
Posted by: Broadhead6 || 12/07/2006 21:37 Comments || Top||

#12  Ignore grom - he's got a permanent excess bile condition, lol.
Posted by: .com || 12/07/2006 21:39 Comments || Top||

#13  Check this out, BH6.
Posted by: .com || 12/07/2006 21:41 Comments || Top||

#14  .com - thanks.

The cynic in me should've figured that. Coincidentally, I got a yellow fever shot yesterday at our group aid station - even though the ME is not known for that. I bring it up because a YF shot is damn expensive. You have to have 4 other Gyrines w/you before a doc will even bust one of those vaccines out. Once it's open they got like an hour to use it before it goes bad. I can only imagine how much more $$$ we'll waste on africa. Obviously I feel bad about little kids anywhere in pain, and some women in bad circumstances, but any of these dudes over 18 who keep passing this sh*t around gets no sympathy from me - pls f*cking die already.

So $1.2 Billion for anti-malaria? Sounds about right. Bottom line, our tax money goes to keeping idiots alive who won't wear condoms and want to f*ck little girls who don't already have 'the hiv' - makes sense in a capital hill kinda way.
Posted by: Broadhead6 || 12/07/2006 21:53 Comments || Top||

#15  I'd bet that $50K of DDT would change the picture dramatically... but that would be "bad".
Posted by: .com || 12/07/2006 22:01 Comments || Top||

#16  You want that eagles in Africa have thin shells com? Fie on you... heh hehh
Posted by: 3dc || 12/07/2006 22:24 Comments || Top||

#17  Wait... eagles. in Africa. I'm trying to put the two together and it just looks all wrong, lol.

Rachel Carson, you fraud, you've killed millions - may you burn, bitch.
Posted by: .com || 12/07/2006 22:31 Comments || Top||

#18  Ahmadinejad - remember most of the days of the week are named after the Aesir!

Bow down to the true masters of your fate Ahmadinejad and kiss up to the norns.

If you can't do that why you just need to chill out for awhile on tree in an Odin acceptable manner - thrall!

Posted by: 3dc || 12/07/2006 23:11 Comments || Top||

#19  Lets go in and deny we are doing it. Its not glorious, but it works. Lets get inside Iran and spread discord and attack their economy and production. Lets do false flags and create dissension. The American people are wussy at present. But let the Donks try to do better than we have done. Their leadership is ludicrous, no one of any stature. No staying power either. But do Black Ops and dont tell them. Set it up, deny it, use Gates as cover and lay out the poison.

Angleton 9, all great ideas and I wish even a fraction of them were being put to use. All we lack is leadership with the spine to realize that our enemies cannot be left to plot unaddressed.

My preference is to catch a full session of the majlis, or Khameini's funeral (whichever comes first), their gasoline refineries along with the input conduits to Kharg Island and the majority of their nuclear weapons R&D sites.

Let the dust settle after the decap, see who takes the reins, then rinse and repeat as necessary. I'd like to see the Persians have one last chance at self government before we take the place apart at the seams.

I've not seen your 'nym around here before so, just in case, I'll say welcome to Rantburg and please keep up the interesting posts.
Posted by: Zenster || 12/07/2006 23:53 Comments || Top||


Terror Networks
Big Doins at the Gitmo Biograph & Burger Emporium
Gitmo Detainees Plied With Movies, Fast Food by Interrogators
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba — Interrogators can still collect useful information from Guantanamo Bay detainees, sometimes enticing them with fast food, movies and other privileges denied to the general prison population, the camp's top intelligence official said.

Interrogators seek to develop a rapport with detainees, most held at the prison for nearly five years without charges, as they try to uncover information about international terrorism, Paul Rester, director of the Joint Intelligence Group at Guantanamo Bay, said Tuesday.

Rester, who led interrogations at the prison in 2002 and returned last year to the base in southeast Cuba, said abusive techniques were not common practice. "We know what the exceptions were, they're out there in the public domain, but as a rule there was never a whole lot of aggressive interrogation," he said in an interview at the base.

The U.S. says it now holds about 430 men on suspicion of links to Al Qaeda or the Taliban at Guantanamo Bay. Many prisoners have alleged through lawyers or to military review panels that they have been abused in American custody. In the most recent allegation made public, a Marine paralegal said in October that she heard several guards at the base say they routinely hit detainees. The U.S. Southern Command, which oversees Guantanamo, is investigating the report.

Last year, military investigators, responding to complaints made by FBI agents assigned to Guantanamo, found that a detainee had been threatened with dogs, kept in solitary confinement for 160 days, and interrogated for 18 to 20 hours a day for 48 out of 54 days. The detainee, suspected of involvement in the Sept. 11 attacks, was forced to wear a bra, ordered to dance with an interrogator and subjected to other forms of humiliation, investigators found. Rester told The Associated Press that the treatment of the detainee was an "anomaly."

Lawyers for detainees who have occasional access to their clients to discuss legal strategy have also disputed whether prisoners can still provide valuable intelligence, saying it is simply a justification to continue holding them. "It is not true that the government is getting useful information from the detainees in Guantanamo," said Mark Denbeaux, a law professor at Seton Hall University in New Jersey who represents two Tunisians at Guantanamo.

Rester said the military allows detainees to skip scheduled interrogation sessions — and as many as five opt out on a typical day. Those who participate have the incentive of getting to leave their cells, where most detainees held at Guantanamo are confined for up to 22 hours a day, he said.

Those who cooperate have been allowed to eat sandwiches from a Subway restaurant on the base and watch movies and soccer games in the interrogation rooms. While detainees are typically allowed to keep only one book a week from the prison library, a letter from their interrogator can qualify them for a second, he said.

About one-third of the detainees are still interrogated, he said, and still offer details about the structure of terror networks and the terrain of countries where they operate. "What we confront is human and it's dynamic, and knowledge does not in fact perish with time," he said. "The immediate knowledge begins to fade over time but associations and geography do not."

Rester, who began a career in military intelligence as an Army interrogator in Vietnam in 1971, said his experience has demonstrated that conversational questioning is the most effective method. "There has been an effort from the very beginning to develop respect because your enemy's truth is not your truth, so you have to find a middle ground if you're going to have a long-term verbal relationship," he said.
Posted by: .com || 12/07/2006 03:11 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  .com, just knew that was your headline.
Posted by: phil_b || 12/07/2006 7:57 Comments || Top||

#2  Fast foods? Dou you know how much trans-fats they contain?
Posted by: Mayor Bloomberg || 12/07/2006 9:09 Comments || Top||

#3  It is well known that the two most effective methods of obtaining information, by a very wide margin, are coffee and cigarettes.

Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/07/2006 9:28 Comments || Top||

#4  Last year, military investigators, responding to complaints made by FBI agents assigned to Guantanamo, found that a detainee had been threatened with dogs, kept in solitary confinement for 160 days...

The FBI had no problem holding Wen Ho Lee in solitary for nine months. Guess its ok when they do it and Billy Boy was the CinC.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/07/2006 9:48 Comments || Top||

#5  most held at the prison for nearly five years without charges

Technically, being an unlawful enemy combatant is a species of charge against them. It's not a criminal charge, but then they're not mere criminals.
Posted by: Baba Tutu || 12/07/2006 13:04 Comments || Top||

#6  It's been found that certain viruses can cause profound obesity in humans, even if the victims have a low-calorie diet. If they have a high calorie diet already, well, they just balloon up.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/07/2006 13:40 Comments || Top||

#7  Those who cooperate have been allowed to eat sandwiches from a Subway restaurant on the base and watch movies and soccer games in the interrogation rooms. While detainees are typically allowed to keep only one book a week from the prison library, a letter from their interrogator can qualify them for a second, he said.

Nothing described here is any worse than a bad night of fraternity hazing at your local college campus. But, I noted the quote above, and wondered....maybe these guys aren't hardcore really. How many can read, much less need a 2nd book. I mean, what other book do you need besides the KO-ran, right? /sarc
Posted by: BA || 12/07/2006 15:00 Comments || Top||

#8  phil_b - :-) I wuz channeling Fred, lol.
Posted by: .com || 12/07/2006 15:04 Comments || Top||

#9  most held at the prison for nearly five years without charges

A number of German, Italiand and Japanese were detained without charges for years. They were called prisonners of war.
Posted by: JFM || 12/07/2006 15:50 Comments || Top||

#10  I don't see any illegal activity anywhere in this article. I've suffered worse "abuses" in training, and on more than one occasion. Wonder what these guys would say to marching in 20-degree weather for three or four hours, back and forth on a windswept parade ground. Sounds like we're holding a bunch of wimps to me.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 12/07/2006 16:20 Comments || Top||

#11  most held at the prison for nearly five years without charges

Moroccan draftees captured by algeria were held in dire secret underground or desert prison camps, without any kind of communication with the outside world, for more than 25 years (the last ones were released between 2002-2004 IIRC). They were mistreated, undernurished, were used as forced blood donors, chained day and night,...

There was NO international, and even less muslim, outcry about this. Compare to gitmo-the-gulag-of-our-times thingie.

And I won't even mention the french civilians made prisoner made AFTER the "independence" war has ended, with the women sent to brothels, and the men literally enslaved to work in mines.

There literally are two kinds of humans beings : the Good ones, as decreted by the Forces of Progress™, and the others, who just don't matter. Not a new feature, that was already the case with the Ukrainian famine, and hasn't changed a bit since.
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 12/07/2006 16:26 Comments || Top||


G'morning
Police: Russian spy was murderedUN votes for Somalia forceAoun threatens 'escalation of popular pressure'Hamas smuggled $66 million in 8 months'This is unfair' say Iraqis on US panel threatUS Senate confirms Gates as defense secretaryFiji's Great Council of Chiefs maintains Ratu Iloilo is still legal president
Posted by: Fred || 12/07/2006 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Any relation to Courtney Love?
Posted by: Thoth || 12/07/2006 1:27 Comments || Top||

#2  Well, perhaps in that I Love them both! :-)
Posted by: gorb || 12/07/2006 1:29 Comments || Top||

#3  I'm feelin' the Love, here (metaphorically, of course).
Posted by: Mike || 12/07/2006 6:00 Comments || Top||

#4  She still has that secret, lol. Loose lips, uh, um, nevermind...
Posted by: .com || 12/07/2006 15:07 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Thu 2006-12-07
  Soddy forces, gunnies shoot it out
Wed 2006-12-06
  Sudan rejects U.N. compromise deal on Darfur
Tue 2006-12-05
  Talibs "repel" Brit assault
Mon 2006-12-04
  Bolton to resign
Sun 2006-12-03
  First blood drawn in Beirut
Sat 2006-12-02
  Hezbers begin campaign to force Siniora out
Fri 2006-12-01
  Hundreds killed, wounded in south Sudan clashes
Thu 2006-11-30
  'Israel losing patience over truce violations'
Wed 2006-11-29
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Tue 2006-11-28
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Mon 2006-11-27
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Sun 2006-11-26
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Sat 2006-11-25
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Thu 2006-11-23
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