"And stay there, dammit!" Two senior members of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood who have been in prison for six months have had their detentions renewed for more than two weeks, police and group Web site said. Essam el-Erian and Mohammed Morsi, who were jailed for organizing pro-reform protests in May, had their detentions extended for 15 days on Saturday, said police officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. The two are leading members of Egypt's largest Islamic political organization and were among more than 500 members detained by authorities in May when several demonstrations were held in support of two reformist judges facing disciplinary action.
In August, a lower court ordered the release of both men after they spent three months in jail without being charged. However, two days later, a higher court overhauled that verdict, and they remained in prison. El-Erian, a former lawmaker, also was arrested last year for five months during a wave of anti-government protests but was released after Egypt's presidential elections in September. Morsi is a member of the Brotherhood's political bureau and formerly headed its bloc in parliament.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/27/2006 00:00 ||
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A court in Yemen has sentenced a newspaper editor to a year in jail for reprinting Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. The court also ordered the independent weekly newspaper which carried the cartoons to close for six months.
The editor, Kamal al-Aalafi, said he had reprinted the cartoons to raise awareness, not to insult Muslims. The cartoons sparked violent protests around the world after a Danish newspaper published them in 2005.
Mr al-Aalafi has been released on bail and will appeal the sentence. The editors of two other Yemeni publications face similar charges. Islamic tradition explicitly prohibits images of Muhammad and other major religious figures.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/27/2006 00:00 ||
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Tens of thousands of Muslims and nationalists took to the streets of Istanbul yesterday to vent their anger at the imminent arrival in Turkey of Pope Benedict XVI. Amid a sea of red-and-white Turkish flags and green Islamic bandannas, speakers at a rally denounced the Vatican as a centre of a western conspiracy against the country and the Islamic world.
The Pope, who arrives in Ankara tomorrow, sought to mend fences ahead of the four-day trip by offering his "esteem and sincere friendship" to the country. The Vatican said he would visit Istanbul's 17th century Blue Mosque, his first visit to a mosque as Pope. But the gestures cut little ice with a crowd of some 30,000. "You are the representative of evil," the main speaker, Recai Kutan, leader of the radical wing of Islamic politics in Turkey, told the Pope. "We don't want to see you here unless you apologise."
It remained unclear whether he would meet the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Mr Erdogan has come under fire for claiming he is too busy to see the Pope, while the pontiff is said to have declined an offer of a dinner hosted by the foreign minister, Abdullah Gul.
Speakers yesterday repeatedly said that the Pope, who is making his first visit to a Muslim country, held Muslims in contempt and was a cheerleader of the west's "war against Islam" launched after 9/11. He is also strongly identified with opposition to Turkey joining the EU. Filiz Turan, 23, said the Pope was leading a "crusade" against Islam. "He wants to prove that Istanbul is a Christian city. He calls Muslims bloody when Islam is a religion of love."
The focus of the Pope's visit is to lobby for the freedom of Christian minorities in Turkey, which is 95% Muslim but is constitutionally a secular democracy. Roman Catholicism and other variants of western Christianity are not recognised by the government. There have been several incidents of anti-Christian violence this year, including the murder of a Catholic priest in his church on the Black Sea. The Pope is due to have talks with the head of the Eastern Orthodox church, Bartholomew I, who is also viewed with suspicion by Turks.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/27/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
"He calls Muslims bloody when Islam is a religion of love."
Heehee, the whole concept of irony seems to be lost on the Muslim world. Whats the over-under on death and property damage from papal visit rioting?
#2
An interesting dynamic is developing. This report comes from the Guardian, as far as I know not terribly fond of Christians, and yet there isn't a "Yes, but" sentence in the article. Instead, the unthinking anti-Christianity of modern Turkey is in stark relief, going back to the establishment of country. (Roman Catholicism and other variants of western Christianity are not recognised by the government. It isn't clear whether the native Orthodox variant of Christianity is recognized, although the final sentence makes it clear there is a de facto disability whether or not also de jure.) Even more so, considering that modern Turkey is ever presented as the most reasonable, most Western looking of the Muslim countries -- as certainly I've thought and talked about it.
#3
My personal favorite is the protest sign claiming Jesus is not the Son of God but a prophet of the Temple of Elemental Evil Islam. I think I spotted it at LGF. Unsurprisingly, none of the news I have read reproduces that image, preferring instead to run pics of signs protesting the Pope's lack of sensitivity.
#4
I'm with TW. It's almost imperceptible but it's almost like, between the lines you can read, "Hey, maybe these people really are fucking insane..."
Granted, it's in a low voice or small print, but I've noticed it. Or more of it...
Malachi Ritscher envisioned his death as one full of purpose. He carefully planned the details, mailed a copy of his apartment key to a friend, created to-do lists for his family. On his Web site, the 52-year-old experimental musician who'd fought with depression even penned his obituary.
At 6:30 a.m. on Nov. 3 _ four days before an election caused a seismic shift in Washington politics _ Ritscher, a frequent anti-war protester, stood by an off-ramp in downtown Chicago near a statue of a giant flame, set up a video camera, doused himself with gasoline and lit himself on fire.
Aglow for the crush of morning commuters, his flaming body was supposed to be a call to the nation, a symbol of his rage and discontent with the U.S. war in Iraq.
Continued on Page 49
#1
Born in Dickinson, N.D., with the name Mark David, Ritscher dropped out of high school, married at 17 and divorced 10 years later. Eventually, he would change his name to match his son's and, coincidentally, a world-famous prophet.
WTF??? Should've called himself Kingsford
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/27/2006 1:12 Comments ||
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#7
His flame-out didn't cause a stir here in Chicago - this is the first I've heard of him. It's one thing to go out in a blaze of glory, but another to go out in a blaze of apathy. Sheesh.
My Bible knowledge is post-modern european (less than zero), so I apologize if I mix up with a biblical prophet, but if this refers to the papal prophecies of Malachi, then tough luck, because they're most probably apocryphal.
Better luck next time.
Fewer than two months remain before arriving international passengers at U.S. airports will be required to show passports as the only acceptable proof of citizenship. The rule applies to American citizens too, even though only about one in four has a valid passport.
With the holiday shopping season, winter weather, and the $97 fee standing in the way, the betting line on people meeting the deadline is not favorable. Making matters more difficult is that the usual six-week waiting period will coincide with the holiday-card crush for those who prefer to acquire passports by mail.
Even arrivals from Canada, Bermuda, and Mexico will be subject to the new regulations.
According to Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff, strengthening the rules reduces the chances of a terrorist entering the country. "We're always better off when we build higher levels of security," he said. "The ability to misuse travel documents to enter this country opens the door for a terrorist. "None of these steps is foolproof and none of them is perfect. But each of them raises the bar to an attack."
#1
Passport Deadline Nears, Few Americans Prepared
Why do I have the image of a car with the label 'State Department' speeding towards the edge of a cliff? Of course the idea that the wretched masses simply exist for some pin-striped suited bureaucrat to issue edicts and fiats would sell well at State. Forget the little bit about 'consent of the governed' have we. Going to Canada, Mexico, or the Bahamas is an option not a necessity. Watch tourism drop like a lead balloon. Watch Ottawa and Mexico City scream. Watch perplexed Americans watch a million Mexicans without passports crossing the border. Please pass the popcorn.
I wonder if this last election was about government competence. I have a growing sense that nothing works the way it should. My wife's green card story was an INS horror show. FEMA and Katrina, Border (Non)Enforcement, bridges to nowhere, 50,000 Soddy student visas, VISA Express, Iraqi occupation, CIA and DoS follies, and my personal favorite: TSA that strip searches 90 year old grandmothers while letting young Arab men pass. Many more examples...
I wonder how much gov't incompetence and annoyance the people will tolerate?
#4
This will not work for one reason. They let slip that the sole purpose is *not* security, but to "make things easier" for bureaucrats and border guards to check IDs.
Philosophically, making things "easier" for the government is one of the *worst* reasons for passing a new law, and they seldom work.
What will happen is that there will be a sudden and marked drop in tourism and international travel. This will be followed by screaming and intensive lobbying in Washington, D.C., by all of those companies that are losing MILLIONS of dollars because of this asininity.
Even though this will fail, it will do nothing to dissuade those individuals who just *know* if we had a national ID card, that *everything* would be better.
#5
Fact is you shouldn't be travelling international without a passport anyway. The only time that makes sense is in the case of Canada and Mexico and I think it's not such a bad thing to reaffirm citizenship when drivers licences are so easy to fake these days.
Bet the tourism in tijuana plummets because of this law. Such is life.
#6
Travel to work on our offshore oil platforms may also be covered by this requirement. Depending on how things get interpreted, and how many of our crewmen and contractors are carrying passports, the furnaces in DC might start shutting down around mid-winter. Heh, heh, heh.
#7
I've got two or three expired passports around here, and have no plans to renew any of them. The only "passport" I want is to a nice 40-acre lot somewhere near the continental divide, at between 8000-9000 feet above sea level, with Internet access, and within an hour's drive to a lake for fishing. I can handle any other requirements when they come up. My family already considers me a hermit, so a nice dry cave is an option.
Been to Europe, been to Latin America, been to Asia - didn't lose anything in any of those locations I really need to recover. Google Earth is enough excitement for me these days...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/27/2006 16:36 Comments ||
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#8
$97? Sheesh, it was $30 when I got my first six years ago.
Unfortunately, I'm going to have to pony up sooner rather than later. I've already had two annexes added.
And I keep it tucked behind a picture frame, Jason Bourne-like.
"Visitors to the Gallup (NM) area with an interest in boating or lake angling will find excellent opportunity at Bluewater Lake State Park, located about 30 miles to the east of Gallup off I-40 on Rt 412 at the northern terminus of the Zuni Mountains. Sitting at an elevation of 7400 feet, Bluewater Lake is encircled with rolling hills studded with pinon and juniper trees. The lake is well known for its large German Brown Trout fishing during the fall & spring as well as during winter via ice fishing techniques, and is also renowned for its summer lunker catfish populations."
#10
Ah, Gallup, I used to live there. It was the home of Eddy's Club, the watering hole where the bar room fight in "Star Wars" was filmed. What people don't know is that the scene was filmed live using the local patrons as extras, no makeup was needed for 'em.
Amid the pleas for clemency on behalf of Parliament attack accused and death row convict Afzal Guru, his elder brother, Aijaz in a sensational disclosure claimed that Afzal was a terrorist linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed, according to a CNN-IBN special investigative report.
The news channel has claimed that the entire truth in the Parliament attack case never reached the courts or the public, and that both Afzal and the police were 'dishonest'. The police never presented Aijaz as a witness.
Aijaz has also claimed on camera that Afzal never surrendered. "I surrendered his weapon to the STF. Nobody knows this," he stated.
The CNN-IBN investigation revealed that the J&K Special Task Force had intelligence that Afzal Guru was a conduit for Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Ghazi Baba. Despite knowing this, the STF admitted it did not keep track of Afzal after releasing him in 2000.
Admitting this, DSP, Police Control Room, Jammu and Kashmir said: "Once Afzal was released, nobody kept a track of what he's up to. Soon after his release, he was involved in the Parliament attack case."
Aijaz told the channel that, "The decision of the Supreme Court is right. I swear to God the truth is that Afzal was working for Jaish-e Mohammad. He was involved in the attack."
Aijaz's admission is a big blow to the clemency-seekers who have claimed that investigating agencies and police fabricated evidence to prove Afzal's involvement in the Parliament attack.
The news channel's probe also revealed a vital information that had never surfaced in the courts: That Afzal's younger brother, Hilaal was arrested along with Afzal. Hilaal told the channel that contrary to police claims, no recoveries were made from them.
Hilaal, the only eyewitness against the police version, was never produced in Afzal's defense. This supported the claims of those campaigning for Afzal's clemency that he did not have a competent lawyer in the trial court.
While Aijaz has denied that Afzal surrendered before the police, Afzal's wife Tabassum said she did have a surrender certificate but lawyers in the Sessions Court had lost it.
But contradicting Tabassum's claims, SM Sahai, Inspector General, J&K Police says, "We have a record of the surrendered and I've not seen any claim being made that Afzal surrendered."
The Supreme Court accepted that Afzal was a surrendered militant. The J&K Police say no. But the prosecution never used this against Afzal in his trial. Both Afzal and the police concealed this vital fact.
IG SM Sahai says, "As per our investigation, this man was believed to have links with Ghazi Baba but we never got anything concrete against him so he was not detained or prosecuted."
The channel claimed that in June 2000, Afzal was picked up and tortured by then Superintendent of Police, STF, Dravinder Singh. "Yes, I tortured him. We were informed that he could lead us to Ghazi Baba. His brother Aijaz said they'd help us capture Ghazi Baba," Singh said.
The channel claimed that Aijaz promised to tip-off the STF about Ghazi Baba's whereabouts as a trade off for Afzal. Four years later in 2004, Ghazi Baba was killed in an encounter and Aijaz helped the STF identify him.
Ironically, despite knowing that Afzal was in regular touch with Ghazi Baba, the STF did not mount continuous surveillance on him. And a year later, Afzal became an accused in the terrorist strike on Parliament.
Dravinder Singh admitted that had the STF kept him under continuous surveillance - the attack on Parliament could have been prevented!
The channel pointed out that in 2000, J&K STF identified Afzal as a Jaish-e-Mohammad operative, but the STF did not testify the same during Afzal's trial in court.
The Supreme Court had said in its judgement that there was no evidence of Afzal being a member of a terrorist organisation. None of the 80 prosecution witnesses ever alleged that Afzal was in any way associated or belonged to any terrorist organisation.
In his letters, Afzal alleged that the Delhi Police fabricated evidence against him. The contents of the letter, however, never came up in the trial.
It is also clear that the security forces and investigating agencies have concealed information during Afzal's trial. There was mystery surrounding the existence of an alleged Jaish-e-Mohammad operative Tariq, who supposedly introduced Afzal to Mohammad. According to the Delhi Police, the two subsequently planned the attack. But the J&K STF denied there was anybody by the name of Tariq in their records.
Amid all the controversies, one fact has never been disputed either by Afzal in his letters, or by those campaigning for his clemency, or by the police in Delhi and J&K that Afzal did bring Mohammad from Srinagar to Delhi. Mohammad was the terrorist killed in the Parliament attack. Yet, in this statement recorded in the trial court under Section 313 of the Criminal Procedure Code, Afzal claimed he never identified the body of Mohammad.
Posted by: john ||
11/27/2006 16:11 ||
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#1
Remind me not to break any laws anywhere near Superintendent of Police Dravinder Singh.
At least he didn't "encounter" Afzal, RAB or Mumbai squad style...
Posted by: john ||
11/27/2006 16:16 Comments ||
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India's defence scientists on Monday successfully experimented with the coordinated launch of two surface-to-surface Prithvi-2 missiles from two different test ranges on the Orissa coast, defence sources said.
The Prithvi-2, as a target missile, was first launched from the launch complex number 3 of the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, 15 km from Balasore, at around 1015 hours. A second missile was fired from launch complex number 4 located on Wheeler Island off the Bhadrak district coast in the Bay of Bengal about 60 seconds later.
The second missile successfully intercepted the one launched from Chandipur, sources said, adding that all data were being analysed.
The interception occurred over the Bay of Bengal, the source said.
The entire trajectory of both the missiles, carrying dummy warheads, was tracked by the Defence Research and Development Organisation scientists using different telemetry stations, sophisticated radars and electro-optic telescopes.
Confirming the success, a senior scientist at the ITR said: "It is a great success. It is a moment of pride for the people of the entire country". The experiment, which was to be held on Sunday, was deferred till Monday.
The project is termed as Prithvi Air Defence Exercise and more such exercises may be undertaken to make it foolproof for the country's defence preparedness.
Prithvi-2 is a short range liquid propellant ballistic missile with a maximum range of 250 km with a 500 kg payload. Both nuclear and conventional warheads can be fitted with the sophisticated missile and can be launched from a transporter-erector-launcher vehicle designed to transport the missile along roads and railways.
The Chief Controller, Research and Development, DRDO, and programme Director V.Saraswat and Director, Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad, Prahallad were present during the launching of the missiles.
Meanwhile, as a safety measure the Balasore district administration had temporarily evacuated about 600 families (2786 persons) living in a 2 km radius of the launch complex number 3 at ITR, Chandipur, before the launch. They were accomodated in two shelters set up for them. Fishermen and trawlers operating along the coastal belt of Balasore and Bhadrak districts had also been asked not to venture into the sea between 0800 hours and 1600 hours.
Posted by: john ||
11/27/2006 04:45 ||
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#1
That second missile wasn't no Prithvi-2.
There have been many claimed "Prithvi" tests in the last few years, quite peculiar for what is basically a dead end system.
Looks like they were working on an ABM interceptor for the last few years.
Posted by: john ||
11/27/2006 4:53 Comments ||
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#2
The Prithvi-2, as a target missile, was first launched from the launch complex No. 3 of the integrated test range (ITR) at Chandipur at around 1015 hours, sources said. A second missile was fired from launch complex No. 4 located in the Wheeler's Island off the Bhadrak district coast in the Bay of Bengal about 60 seconds later to intercept the first, they added.
The trajectories of both missiles were programmed to intercept each other in mid-air over the sea. The Wheeler's Island is located about 72 km south of Chandipur. According to sources, the target missile interception time was programmed at 170/175 seconds, while the missile from Wheeler's Island blasted off roughly 60 seconds later with interception time of 110/117 seconds.
Posted by: john ||
11/27/2006 4:56 Comments ||
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#3
Though, the Navy has successfully conducted missile interceptions over sea using Israeli Barak missiles, this was for the first time defence scientists have successfully carried out interception of a surface to surface missile missile (SSM), which could bring some relief as India actively faces a threat from the presence of nuclear capabile missile in the neighbourhood.
The interceptor missile, which was in anti-missile mode, was not not indentified by the DRDO officials who said "the interceptor missile had inertial guidance mid-course and active-seeker guidance in its terminal phase".
Posted by: john ||
11/27/2006 6:22 Comments ||
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#4
From Rooters
BHUBANESWAR (Reuters) - Two nuclear-capable ballistic missiles collided in mid-air off India's eastern coast on Monday in a successful test of an interception programme, a top scientist said.
The collision of the two Prithvi-II missiles occurred over the Bay of Bengal.
"The two missiles had a flight duration of six minutes before they blew up into a ball of fire over the sea after hitting each other," the defence scientist, who did not want to be identified, told Reuters by phone. "It was successful."
The test was done to observe the accuracy and operational effectiveness of short-range Prithvi missiles in providing an air-shield to Indian cities from neighbours Pakistan and China, both of which have arsenals of ballistic missiles.
Monday's test was carried out as Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee held informal talks with his Pakistani counterpart, Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri, in New Delhi.
On Nov. 19, India successfully test-fired another Prithvi II into the Bay of Bengal.
Posted by: john ||
11/27/2006 6:40 Comments ||
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#5
A little misinformation to protect national secrets? Oh, the humanity! Bush lied, journalists died! Oh, this is India? Never mind...
#7
Thanks for the reporting and analysis, John. Very helpful!
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/27/2006 12:05 Comments ||
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#8
The nuclear standoff with Pak and India is not MAD (mutually assured destruction), as that is based upon rational participants. With Pak full of nutcases, India needs a missile defense system, just like the US is doing. It will just be a matter of time before Pak implodes or the Jihadis take over. Then the US and / or India will have to secure the Pak nukes, or risk them being lobbed or given to proxies.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/27/2006 14:08 Comments ||
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#9
From PTI (Press Trust of India)
India today unveiled an indigenous supersonic anti-missile system with defence scientists saying it had the capability to intercept incoming ballistic missiles thousands of miles away.
Labelled only as AXO (Atmospheric Intercept System), the supersonic missile underwent its baptism when it successfully intercepted a surface-to-surface Prithvi target missile at an altitude of 40 to 50 km over the seas off the interim test range site in Chandipur in Orissa.
"It is a new missile and not part of country's Integrated Guided Missile programme," top DRDO officials said on the condition of anonymity.
"We have been working on this anti-missile system for years," scientists said and claimed that missile had its own mobile launcher, secure data link for interception, independent tracking and homing capability and its own radar.
"The missile has response time of 30 seconds and once it detects a target it can be launched in 50 seconds," the scientists said.
"The missile has high manoeuvrability, terminal homing with radar seekers and can operate independent of ground radar help," they said adding the missile could be co-related to ground and air based radars.
The missiles which are 10 to 12 metres long have divert thrusters that can generate high lateral acceleration and can undertake critical mission of air defence too(ALONG WITH Missile Defence), officials said.
"the new system has no commonality with the Akash surface-to-air missiles".
Posted by: john ||
11/27/2006 15:37 Comments ||
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#10
K Santhanam, former chief adviser Defence Research and Development Organisation and ex-director general Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, told Hindustan Times: "A great deal of hard work remains to be done before a successful flight trial can be concerted into fieldable system. Many more trials are required and the systems need to be refined before they can be fielded. And all this should happen within a reasonable time frame."
The mid-air interception is a breakthrough in terms of experimental validation of the design, said Santhanam, adding that it was a significant milestone in the technology development chain from design, development, testing, validation and later production. "The country has achieved a significant milestone in missile defence system. We have acquired air defence capability against incoming missiles," a defence ministry official said.
The optimistic note struck by the Ministry of Defence, however, does not resonate with strategic affairs experts like Bharat Karnad, who is a Research Professor at the Centre For Policy Research. Karnad, a well-known critic of the ballistic missile defence programme, told HT: "In the present technological scenario, physics is against any such missile defence system. Even advanced systems like the Arrow 2, Patriot PAC-3 and S-300 missile defence interceptors have a mere 70 per cent hit probability in controlled conditions. It will be even less in real time."
He said missile defence technology would take at least 30 more years to mature and at this stage it would be nonsensical to invest in systems that are not fail-proof.
Posted by: john ||
11/27/2006 18:10 Comments ||
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#11
Mr Karnad has a bright future as an ABM system critic if he ever decides to immigrate to the USA.
Just hours after a successful ABM interception, on its first try, a pretty impressive achievement by any standards...
"In the present technological scenario, physics is against any such missile defence system
it would be nonsensical to invest in systems that are not fail-proof.
Wanna bet he knows nothing about physics or engineering?
Posted by: john ||
11/27/2006 18:16 Comments ||
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#12
I'd imagine the folks in Beijing are watching, too.
The bombing of a Pakistani madrassa last month, in which 82 students were killed, was carried out by the United States, writes Christina Lamb in The Sunday Times. The madrassa in the tribal agency of Bajaur was bombed during a visit to Pakistan by the Prince of Wales amid allegations that it was being used to train suicide bombers. We thought it would be less damaging if we said we did it rather than the US, said a key aide to President Pervez Musharraf. But there was a lot of collateral damage and weve requested the Americans not to do it again.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/27/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
mmmmm sorry, no can do - musta been a "rogue" op
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/27/2006 1:18 Comments ||
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#3
I'm very confused... from what I've read I was persuaded, really persuaded, it was the "Nordics" aliens who did that, using one of their flying saucers from their secret base in the polar hollow-earth opening.
Now, I don't know what to think anymore.
It's really easier if you don't. Better for ev'ryone all 'round. We'll do the thinking around here, it's best left to the trained professionals. Somebody might get hurt.
It's really easier if you don't. Better for ev'ryone all 'round. We'll do the thinking around here, it's best left to the trained professionals. Somebody might get hurt.
This message courteously brought to you by the Halliburton Corporation, Halliburton Mind Control & Halliburton Tinfoil Divisions.
SRINAGAR: Supporters of rival separatist groups on Sunday clashed with chairs and rocks in Indian-held Kashmir, injuring 12 people and four policemen, a police officer said. The scuffle broke out as Yasin Malik, chief of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, opened a new office of his group in downtown Srinagar in the presence of nearly 3,000 supporters, said Farooq Ahmed, the police officer. Police and paramilitary forces chased away nearly two dozen youth protesters who raised pro-Pakistan slogans such as Long Live Pakistan and battled with JKLF supporters. Maliks supporters chanted We want independence from India.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/27/2006 00:00 ||
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Novembers daily casualty count to date averaged significantly below Octobers average and well below the six-month average. ISF casualties alone decreased by 21% over the past four weeks and were at the lowest level in almost 25 weeks. In Baghdad, there was a 22% drop in casualties related to sectarian violence and executions.
The Assyria Womens Center was dedicated this month. The $230,000 Commander's Emergency Response Program (CERP) project is a 400 square-meter facility that includes computers and sewing machines to encourage female business opportunities and benefits 4,600 Assyria Village residents as well as other area women.
The European Commission launched talks with the Iraqi government in Brussels whoo-hooo! on November 20 for a bilateral trade and co-operation agreement. The accord aims to boost the European Unions relations with Iraq and integrate the country into the world economy.
ISF and CF Target AQI:
ISF and CF continue to target al-Qaida in Iraq (AQI) and counter the organizations efforts to foment sectarian violence and discredit the GoI. Over the last three weeks, ISF and CF conducted 92 focused operations against AQI, killing 48 terrorists and detaining 286. Operation Turki Bowl Nets Large Weapon Caches:
Working jointly with CF, the Iraqi Army seized five major weapon caches near Balad Ruz in Diyala province, in the town of Turki, hence, the Turki Bowl! during a series of operations November 13-16.
The caches contained hundreds of explosive rounds capable of being used for car bombs and nearly 300,000 rounds of small arms ammunition, including sniper and armor-piercing rounds. Additionally, ISF and CF killed an estimated 25-40 enemy forces and detained another 23.
The trial court found four Iraqi men guilty of possession of illegal special weapons and for using and forging fake identification. Multi-National Forces-Iraq personnel searched two vehicles after observing the defendants throw a pistol out of one of the vehicles window. A search of both vehicles revealed 35 82mm mortar rounds, eight 122mm artillery rounds and one 12.7mm machine gun. The defendants were found in violation of Section 6, Paragraph 2B as well as Article 298 and Article 292 of the Iraqi Penal Code. On November 7, the trial panel sentenced one man to 42 years imprisonment and sentenced the other three men to 30 years imprisonment.
Syria's foreign minister said November 19 during a visit to Baghdad that his government was prepared to help stabilize Iraq. He also called for a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops, saying that it would help reduce the violence.
During the first trip to Baghdad by a senior Syrian official since the ousting of Saddam Hussein, Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem promised to cooperate with Iraqi officials in an effort to curb violence.
#1
That was supposed to be Bobby, but I have a new computer (actually an old one) since the previous one was stolen out of the office last Wednesday. Between 10 am and 11:30 am. Broad daylight.
Posted by: Bobby ||
11/27/2006 17:18 Comments ||
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Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, raised the prospect today of some British troops staying in Iraq even after the handover of control to Iraqi authorities.
The Defence Secretary reaffirmed hopes voiced last week by Margaret Beckett, the Foreign Secretary, that British forces would pull out of Basra by next Spring.
In a speech at Chatham House in London, Mr Browne also said that the overall number of British troops in Iraq by the end of next year should be significantly lower, by a number of thousands. I want to make sure that we do not allow a single one of the 7,000 total British soldiers, sailors and air personnel to stay in Iraq longer than necessary, he said. But the Defence Secretary warned that transferring control of parts of southern Iraq now patrolled by British troops did not mean all UK forces withdrawing from the country.
When British troops started to draw down, the number of insurgent attacks may rise, he said. As we move towards handover, perversely, the number of attacks on us may increase, he warned. We need to be clear that handover does not mean withdrawal. Mr Browne added: What is changing is not the strategy but the pace at which it is enforced.
He added that Nouri Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, wanted the handover to happen quickly but knew that if troops were withdrawn immediately, the results would be catastrophic.
The Defence Secretary said 14 of Iraqs 18 provinces were relatively peaceful, four of which were under British control. Two were handed over in the summer, leaving Maysan and Basra still British-led. He said he hoped Maysan could be handed over in January and Basra a few months later.
FALLUJAH, Iraq: It's been two years since U.S. forces overran this dangerous western city, triggering the bloodiest urban combat of the war. Now, heavily armed insurgents are returning, but Iaqi soldiers undergoing American training to defend Fallujah still aren't ready to face the front lines on their own.
U.S. teams say training efforts have been severely undermined by corruption and bureaucracy, a dearth of basic equipment and Iraqi soldiers' mistrust of those from different Muslim backgrounds and lack of faith in the fledgling central government.
Iraqi commanders acknowledge they can't handle a city as large and volatile as Fallujah without American support especially with their country teetering on the edge of civil war between its Shiite Arab majority and Sunni minority. "It's something we keep in mind, that one day coalition forces are going to leave. But it can't be now," said 1st Lt. Hamazah Adman, head of intelligence for the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division.
There are more than 400 U.S. adviser teams in Iraq, and Gen. John Abizaid, head of U.S. forces in the Middle East, has said he recommends expanding those teams as America looks for a new direction in the war.
Not waiting for Washington, U.S. Marine Col. Lawrence D. Nicholson, commander of Regimental Combat Team 5 in the overwhelmingly Sunni, insurgent-dominated province of al-Anbar, began moving troops from combat to adviser teams in January. Those efforts have increased the average size of training teams in an area that includes Fallujah from about 10 to between 15 and 20 Marines.
A city of 300,000 which lay in ruins after fierce fighting in November 2004, the lights and water are back on and many residents who fled have returned to Fallujah. The Iraqi army now patrols more than 60 percent of the city, helping to battle insurgents who have killed scores of Marines with roadside bombs, ambushes and snipers.
During a recent late-night operation, Marine helicopters and humvees cordoned off the southern district of Nazaal and two U.S. companies went house-to-house, hunting for guns, explosives and suspected insurgents. An Iraqi company backed by three American advisers conducted its own search of one section of the neighborhood. "They are our people and they are just doing their duty," said Abed El-Rahem, who sat in his socks on a couch while soldiers traipsed through his home, tracking mud on fine embroidered carpets.
Except for one red-faced moment when his soldiers attempted to search the same house twice, the operation went smoothly, though the Iraqi army recovered just one rifle in four hours of searching. "Things are so violent that the people can't come to us for help, so we come to them," said Col. Abd al-Majeed Nasser, who led the raid.
Like many U.S. advisers across Iraq, Marines from the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion's Military Transition team live with the Iraqi army, sharing separate ends of a heavily fortified former health club.
But the Americans complain that much of their time is spent ensuring Iraqi soldiers are paid on time and in-full by the government in Baghdad and that they receive basic equipment such as flashlights and gloves.
Higher-ups pocket supplies meant for the troops beneath them and many soldiers sell their uniforms and boots while home on leave, then return demanding new ones. "Most of the time we can't advise. We are too busy running around protecting ourselves from attack or just making sure the army has the basics," said Sgt. Thomas J. Ciccarelli, 37, from South Lake Tahoe, California.
Part of the problem is the Iraqis don't have enough soldiers to patrol Fallujah. Officially, the 2nd Brigade of the army's 1st Division is more than 700 men from full strength, but problems with understaffing are actually far worse than the statistics indicate because of desertions and "ghost" soldiers who exist on paper and cash pay checks, but have never report for duty.
Ciccarelli's transition team is supposed to be advising 465 soldiers, but actually interacts with only about 300.
Lt. Col. James Teeples, a senior adviser to U.S. military training teams in Fallujah, said many of the problems on the ground stem from corruption at the top levels of the Iraqi Ministry of Defense. While the average soldier makes less than US$700 per month, officials pay bribes of US$15,000 to become brigade commanders, anxious to pocket kickbacks from the lower ranks.
#2
Can't blame them. The whole Middle East relies on posturing and lies to achieve their ultimate goals. Soldiers usually join armies for 3 reasons: 1) to protect their families and homes. 2.) To make more money 3.) Sense of adventure.
Reason # 1, if you are a Shitie IA and they send you to Sunni Fallujah to protect Sunnis, you would ask yourself, why? (In my experience, most IA knew one phrase in English: "*uck Fallujah!"
For reason # 2, you seldon see your money, and then a portion of it is taken by your chain of command before it even gets to you. That raises morale!
3.) Well, that reason is still valid, but you can't also get your kicks on the insurgent side.
Patriotic loyalty to the greater Iraq is found in very few of the IA.
#3
Thanks for the report, 0369_Grunt. It's a great help to hear from someone who knows from personal experience. Welcome to Rantburg! I look forward to reading more of your posts. :-)
#4
The evolution to a professional army is long and frigging painful. Even today, the US military still has to contend with an s-load of corrupt contractors, greedy politicians, and high-ranking screw ups that have a positive gift for wasting resources. It is a struggle that never ends.
However, every time you get an officer who isn't dishonest, and cultivates the same attitude in his subordinates, the body of a military gets some healthy tissue. It is never easy.
Ever read up on the South Korean army being pieced together again after the onslaught of the first North Koran invasion? Not a nice story either. However, just like the Koreans the Iraqis are also now picking up the bulk of the casualties. Someone is doing something cause it doesn't appear the result of being mortared behind lots of protective wire.
Britain said Monday it expects to withdraw thousands of its 7,000 military personnel from Iraq by the end of next year, while Poland and Italy announced the impending withdrawal of their remaining troops.
Polish President Lech Kaczynski said his country, a U.S. ally in Iraq and Afghanistan, would pull its remaining 900 soldiers out of Iraq by the end of 2007. And Italian Premier Romano Prodi said the last of Italy's soldiers in Iraq some 60-70 troops will return home this week, ending the Italian contingent's presence in the south of the country after more than three years.
British Defense Secretary Des Browne was the second senior official in recent days to talk of reducing the number of British troops in Iraq. In a speech to the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Browne also warned Iran that it faces increasing isolation if it does not use its influence in Iraq constructively. That'll shake 'em. Go get lunch, Des, you've done your job.
Last week, Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said Britain may be able to hand over security responsibility in the southern port city of Basra by the spring of 2007. Britain also hopes to hand security control over to the Iraqis in the province of Maysan on the Iranian border in January. Rest at link.
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11/27/2006 10:11 ||
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Angry fellow Shias stoned Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Malikis motorcade in a Shia stronghold of Baghdad on Sunday in a display of fury over a devastating car bomb that tore through their area. Maliki was visiting the Sadr City slum to pay respects to some of the 202 victims of last weeks devastating bombing. The area is a base for the Mehdi Army militia led by Malikis fellow Shia leader Moqtada al-Sadr.
Though the violence was limited, it was a dramatic demonstration of the popular passions Maliki and his national unity government are trying to calm following Thursdays multiple car bombs in Sadr City. On Sunday, a car bomb killed at least 6 people and wounded more than 20 in a market just south of Baghdad, police said. On the third full day of a curfew on the capital, mortar bombs crashed down in various parts of Baghdad and residents reported isolated and mostly unexplained clashes. We are counting on you, a great nation, Shia, Sunni and ethnic Kurdish leaders said in a joint statement. Do not let those who are depriving you of security impinge on your unity.
Maliki accused factions in the government itself of fuelling conflict. He didn't say which ones, but we can pretty well guess.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/27/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Everybody must get stoned
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11/27/2006 0:32 Comments ||
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Iran said it is willing to help Washington calm Iraq's escalating sectarian violence if the US drops its "bullying" policy toward Tehran, but denied organizing a summit with the leaders of Iraq and Syria to discuss the troubles in its neighboring country.
Hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran is "ready to help" the United States, saying the Americans are "trapped in a quagmire" in Iraq. "The Iranian nation is ready to help you to get out of the quagmire - on condition that you resume behaving in a just manner and avoid bullying and invading," he said Sunday while addressing members of the Basij paramilitary group, which is affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
The White House, which is under pressure at home and abroad to approach Iran and Syria for help with Iraq, played down Ahmadinejad's offer. "The Iranians have made comments similar to this in the past. There's nothing new there," State Department spokeswoman Julie Reside said in Washington.
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11/27/2006 00:00 ||
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BAGHDAD - Saddam Husseins trial on genocide charges resumes in Baghdad Monday with more Kurdish witnesses testifying one week after a human rights watchdog highlighted what it called fundamental flaws in the deposed Iraqi presidents first trial.
Lawyers for Saddam and six co-defendants are expected to present their witness list during the 23rd hearing of a trial that began on August 21 and was temporarily adjourned on November 8.
The seven men are accused of responsibility for the deaths of 182,000 Kurds during the so-called Anfal campaign, when government troops swept through Iraqi Kurdistan in 1988, burning and bombing thousands of villages. Saddam and his former aides argue that it was a legitimate counter-insurgency operation against Kurdish separatists at a time when the country was at war with its neighbour Iran.
The accused including Saddams cousin Ali Hassan Al Majid, known as Chemical Ali all face the death penalty if convicted. Saddam and Majid are the only defendants facing a charge of genocide, however.
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11/27/2006 00:00 ||
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#2
I think we can learn a lot from this young person.
The strenght of his spirit is so uplifting.
He is not talking like the previous reader comment like an Arab kid, full of hatred about killing otherS , but like a proud Jew, and the obligation to hold our HOLLY LAND.
#4
"With Gilad Shalit's release ..., the Israeli government will be willing to release many Palestinian prisoners, even those who have been sentenced to lengthy terms," Olmert said.
That should prevent these kidnappings for profit from ever happening again. What a stroke of genius. Sheesh.
Jordan's King Abdullah has warned that three civil wars could break out in the Middle East unless the international community takes urgent action. Speaking on US TV, he said conflicts in Lebanon, Iraq and the Palestinian territories could spin out of control.
King Abdullah is this week hosting both the US president and the Iraqi prime minister for talks against a backdrop of escalating violence in Iraq. The issue will also feature when the Iraqi president visits Iran on Monday.
"We could possibly imagine going into 2007 and having three civil wars on our hands," King Abdullah told ABC television. "It is time that we really take a strong step forward as part of the international community and make sure we avert the Middle East from a tremendous crisis that I fear and I see could possibly happen in 2007." "Because these civil wars could cause me to lose my throne, and we can't let that happen!"
A tentative ceasefire for the Gaza Strip is currently in place, but King Abdullah said the central issue in the region remained the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "Palestine is the core," he said. "It is linked to the extent of what's going on in Iraq."
"It is linked to what's going on in Lebanon. It is linked to the issues that we find ourselves with the Syrians. So, if you want to do comprehensive - comprehensive means bringing all the parties of the region together."
King Abdullah will host US President George W Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki in Amman later this week. He said the US should look at the big picture in seeking a resolution to the problems in Iraq and bring in all of the region, including Syria and Iran. He said if a regional peace process did not develop soon, "there won't be anything to talk about".
#1
My feeling is that red-on-red action in the Arab world is a feature, not a bug. Is there any way we can get Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to join in the festivities?
#2
"Palestine is the core," he said. "It is linked to the extent of what's going on in Iraq."
Suppose the Palestinians were happy starting now. How would that change Iraq? Other than the Palestinians will only be happy if Israel were gone and the US out of the picture.
#3
The stupid rag-heads have been at each others throats non stop for 1000's of years . The only thing that keeps them all together is their delusional logic that joo's and the USA are the great enemy .
I say do a number on em , pull out of everywhere then flatten the shit hole till it glows and put them all out of their never ending self inflicted misery .
#4
It's pretty bold for Jordan to say the Paleo problem is for the "international community" to solve. After all, the Paleos are rightly Jordanians - how about Jordan solving the problem by taking them in? Bwahahahaha!
Sunni Iraq, West Bank, and non-Kurdish Syria join Jordan. Sunni can kill Sunni and nobody cares and this King has some claim to Mecca and all.
Kurdish Syria and Kurdish Iraq go independent. We work as hard as possible to get Kurds from Turkey to migrate to mellow out the idiot Turks and agitate the Kurds in Iran hoping to carve off as section of that troublesome country.
Shia Iraq are on their own. We use them to agitate the Shia Arabs across the border in Saudi Arabia and Iran hoping to carve off sections of those countries or force their leaders into behaving.
And Sadr gets a bullet with his name on it as a warning to Shia Iraqi leaders about becoming Iranian puppets.
Hamas on Sunday dismissed as "unacceptable" Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's threat to arrest any Palestinian who violates the latest cease-fire with Israel.
If there's no penalty for violating it, any punk can do so, and will...
Meanwhile, several Palestinian armed groups warned that they would resume their attacks unless Israel also halted its military operations in the West Bank. At least three groups, including Islamic Jihad, have refused to sign on to the cease-fire agreement.
That's the usual tactic, isn't it?
One of them is the Aksa Martyrs Brigades, which said it would not abide by the cease-fire as long as Israel continued to arrest its members in the West Bank. The group, which belongs to Abbas's Fatah party, was responding to the arrest of Mahmoud Kadoura, a top member of the Aksa Martyrs Brigades, in Ramallah.
Abu Obaidah, a spokesman for Hamas's armed wing, Izaddin Kassam, also warned that the cease-fire would collapse unless Israel stopped its military operations in the West Bank immediately. "The Israeli aggression must stop in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip," he said. "This is a temporary cease-fire and any Israeli assault on our people in the West Bank will be viewed as a violation of the agreement."
Shortly after the cease-fire went into effect at 6 a.m. Sunday, Abbas ordered the deployment of some 13,000 PA policemen in the northern part of the Gaza Strip to stop the firing of rockets at Israel. Abbas also ordered the policemen to arrest anyone who violates the cease-fire. But sources close to Abbas expressed fear that Hamas would try to torpedo the deployment of the security forces. They also worried that some officers would refuse to carry out Abbas's instructions, either for political reasons or to protest unpaid salaries.
Abbas's threat drew sharp criticism from Hamas, which warned against any attempt to arrest its members. "The era of political detentions has gone forever," said Khaled Abu Hilal, spokesman for the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry, which is formally in charge of the PA security forces. Condemning Abbas's threat as "provocative," Abu Hilal said: "Such threats don't help preserve the cease-fire; on the contrary, they jeopardize the cease-fire. We urge those who are issuing threats to backtrack or to deny them."
The Hamas spokesman nonetheless stressed his movement's desire to maintain the cease-fire on condition that Israel also abided by it. Ahmed Bahar, a senior Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, claimed that the initiative for the cease-fire came from Israel, not the Palestinians. "The Israelis started begging for a cease-fire because of their defeat [in the Gaza Strip]," he told reporters. "The Palestinian resistance played an important role in repelling the Israeli army. The Palestinians are always triumphant."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/27/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
And if the IDF does leave the West Bank, the paleos will stop attacks? Sure, just like Gaza.
#4
The IDF doesn't need a wall around Gaza, they need to build a dome over the whole freaking place.
Since the Muslims do not seem to care about civilian casualites Israel should fire booze and pork at the MOsques in Gaza in response to attacks (in addition to anything else they deem appropriate).
While Prime Minister Ehud Olmert made it clear Sunday that he would give the Palestinians a grace period to implement the cease-fire agreement, high-ranking defense officials expressed skepticism that the truce would last, saying it was just a matter of time before the IDF returned to combat terrorism in the Gaza Strip. "It is fragile and unstable," a senior defense official involved in the talks with the Palestinians told The Jerusalem Post when describing the truce. "It is more problematic than reliable."
At 6 a.m. Sunday, a cease-fire obtained Saturday night in a phone call between Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas went into effect with the complete withdrawal of IDF forces from the Gaza Strip. Palestinian armed organization did not immediately hold up their end of the bargain and 11 Kassam rockets struck the western Negev throughout the morning.
By 10 a.m., however, the Gaza front was quiet. "I took into account the fact that a cease-fire is not something that is fully implemented immediately, without any violations," Olmert said at a ceremony inaugurating a new high school in Rahat, a few hours after the first post-cease-fire Kassam rockets slammed into Sderot.
Despite a realization that there would be violations, Olmert said he asked Defense Minister Amir Peretz to withdraw the IDF units from the Gaza Strip, something that was done early Sunday morning. "While there are still Palestinian violations of the cease-fire, I have instructed our security forces to refrain from responding, to show restraint and to give this cease-fire a chance to go into full, practical and comprehensive effect, in accordance with the commitment made yesterday by PA Chairman Abu-Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas]," Olmert said. Israel, he said, "will not miss this opportunity, but rather contribute to and strengthen this opportunity, in order to be able to move forward."
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11/27/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
further information showed that 11 rockets were fired toward Israel; 2 reached outside the Gaza border
France's foreign minister called an unexpected truce Sunday in the Gaza Strip a major event and urged the international community to seize the opportunity to revive peace efforts. Philippe Douste-Blazy expressed hope that the truce, which took effect Sunday morning, will hold. If it does, "France can only welcome it," he said on Radio-J.
The truce was announced late Saturday after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas telephoned Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert with an agreement from Palestinian militant groups to halt rocket fire and other violence from Gaza. Douste-Blazy called the quick decision a "major" development for the region. "The international community should not remain silent and inactive," but should take part in reviving the peace process, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/27/2006 00:00 ||
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#4
Great. Now all they gotta do is find somebody with the balls to go into the banalieus and maybe they can get a truce with them.
Maybe they could send in that pretty sash man...
GAZA CITY - A ceasefire in the Gaza Strip was holding early Monday after Israel ordered restraint following a shaky start when Palestinian militants fired a salvo of rockets at the Jewish state.
The rocket strike early Sunday threatened the ceasefire agreement that came into effect at dawn and in which militants promised to halt rocket attacks in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal from the impoverished coastal territory. The attack on the Israeli town of Sderot caused no casualties and was condemned by both the Hamas-led government and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas but marked an inauspicious start to the ceasefire.
You might say that if you actually thought it was a ceasefire.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, vowing restraint and patience in the coming days, said he had ordered the army not to respond. We will show restraint and patience in order to give the ceasefire a chance, said Olmert, speaking at the inauguration of a school in the Bedouin town of Rahat in southern Israel. I took into account the possibility that ceasefires do not materialize immediately to their fullest extent without any violations, he added. There are violations of the ceasefire on the Palestinian side, but I instructed the security establishment not to respond.
Olmert said he was optimistic the ceasefire would soon be extended to include the West Bank, with Palestinian factions announcing that they were now looking into a lasting calm with Israel after meeting in Gaza City. We agreed to stay in contact and put in place plans and programmes which guarantee a general, mutual and lasting period of calm (with Israel), said Ibrahim Abu Al Naja, who heads the High Committee of National and Islamic Movements umbrella group.
A committee has been set up in this direction, he told journalists following a meeting of militant factions at the office of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya.
And now, the rocket attack:
The attack on the Israeli town of Sderot caused no casualties. Islamic Jihad said the morning rocket attack was because of fresh Israel operations in the West Bank overnight, while Haniya said the circumstances surrounding the strike were being reviewed.
The relatively unknown Army of Islam, one of three factions to have claimed the capture of an Israeli soldier near Gaza in June that sparked Israels five-month assault, said it rejected the deal. The Army of Islam does not recognise the truce. We issue a warning to anyone who stops us fighting the Jews, it said in an Internet statement whose authenticity could not be verified.
One faction calls for hudna, one faction reassures the gullible Westerners, one faction keeps digging tunnels and one faction keeps firing rockets.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/27/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Amazing what can be accomplished by just "declaring" a "ceasefire". Next let's hold hands, close our eyes and visualize world peace.
Philippine troops hunting down the combined Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) terrorists in the hinterlands of Sulu were ordered "to neutralize high-value targets before Christmas." Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. issued the order during his visit to the troops on Friday and Saturday here and in Sulu. Before Christmas? So, um, were they slacking off up til now? He didn't say which Christmas.
Combined Army and Marine forces have been hunting down the terrorists since August in Sulu hinterlands dubbed as Operations Plan Ultimatum. Esperon wants to get first hand updates on the ongoing offensive against the terrorists. High-value targets refer to JI terrorists namely Aman Bin Usman alias Dulmatin, Umar Patek and a certain Manobo and top al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf leaders Khadafy Janjalani, Isnilon Hapilon, Jainal Antel Salih Alias Abu Solaiman and Radulan Sahiron. Dulmatin, Patek and Manobo have fled to the country via the southern backdoor in April 2003 following the arrest of their companions in Indonesia. Dulmatin and Patek were tagged as the masterminds in the bombing of Bali resort in Indonesia in 2002 that killed 202 people mostly tourists.
Esperon issued the order so that the soldiers could spend the Christmas holidays together with their families once the high-value targets are neutralized. The offensive was launched after it was discovered that some 200 Abu Sayyafs together with JI terrorists were seen converging in the hinterlands of Sulu province. Series of skirmishes have taken place since the start of the offensive with the terrorists suffering heavy casualties. The leaders however managed to escape.
Troops were sent to nearby island province of Basilan following reports that Hapilon and his close aides have fled to the island in a bid to escape from pursuing military troops in Sulu. On midnight of Friday, government troops have captured a wanted Abu Sayyaf in Barangay Colonia, Lamitan, Basilan province. Major Eugenio Batara, Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) information officer, said Annik Abbas alias Abu Annik was driving a motorcycle when intercepted by soldiers. Annik, who escaped from Basilan provincial jail in 2004, was arrested with the help of an informant who sighted him in the area.
An alleged leader of the Abu Sayyaf's Urban Terrorist Group (UTG) was killed in a firefight with policemen late Thursday in Barangay Ayala, this city. Two others were captured during the firefight. UTG is Abu Sayyaf's group of hit men tasked to carry out liquidations in urban centers of the region. (PNA)
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11/27/2006 00:00 ||
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Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad predicted the collapse of Israel, the U.S. and Britain, attacking what he called their ``oppressive behavior.''
``The Zionist regime is on a steep downhill towards collapse and disgrace,'' Ahmandinejad told supporters at a rally of Basiji militia forces near Tehran today. In a reference to the U.S. and U.K., he said ``the collapse and crumbling of your devilish rule has started.'' The speech was carried live on state television.
Iran doesn't recognize Israel, and Ahmadinejad drew international condemnation after saying in October 2005 that Israel should be ``wiped off the map.'' The U.S. and Iran have had no diplomatic ties since 1980 following the seizure of diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979.
The Iranian president also called on neighboring countries to drive out ``foreign occupiers,'' in a reference to U.S.-led forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. ``The people of the region are well able to establish regional security,'' the president said in the speech near the shrine of the Islamic Republic founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. ``The presence of foreigners is the source of discord and conflict.''
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, whose visit to Tehran yesterday was postponed because of the curfew imposed on Baghdad since Nov. 23, will fly to the Iranian capital tomorrow, state television reported separately today. The Iraqi president's trip to Iran is aimed at ``expanding bilateral ties in business, trade and transport affairs,'' the report said. Iraq security will not be the main issue discussed in this meeting, the Iranian Foreign Ministry's press office said on Nov. 21.
#5
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad predicted the collapse of Israel, the U.S. and Britain, attacking what he called their ``oppressive behavior.''
When you pry the rifle from my cold dead fingers asswipe.
America is an idea as much as it is a country, but more than that we have more guns in this country than you have martyrs willing to blow themselves up and more ammo than your whole moon cult has in the entire world.
The UN-created international tribunal to prosecute the suspected killers of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri must be legal and constitutional, Russia's deputy foreign minister said Sunday. "Moscow's stand is obvious on the necessity of this court to be clean, legally and constitutionally," Alexander Sultanov told reporters in Damascus, following meetings he held with President Bashar Assad. Of course. We all know the Russians are sticklers for legalities, lol. Wait - whose Constitution? The Leb one, right? It wouldn't happen to be some leftover Syrian Ba'athist Goombah Manifesto, would it? Lol.
Sultanov, whose country is an ally of Syria, did not elaborate. His comments, however, came a day after Lebanon's US-backed government voted to approve the tribunal, overriding the objections of the pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud and the Syria-backed Hizbullah guerrilla group. Lahoud and Hezbollah consider the vote to be illegitimate because it was held in the absence of six pro-Hizbullah ministers - five Shi'ite Muslim and one Christian - which they consider to be a breach of the constitution.
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11/27/2006 00:00 ||
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As the US debates whether to reach out to Syria for help in calming Iraq, some close to the Syrian regime say the country would be willing to help, but only if it got something valuable in return.
Damascus certainly is interested in political dialogue with the West and wants talks with Washington, many say. But the regime of President Bashar Assad will want, in return, help on issues it cares deeply about - such as a return of the Golan Heights, the strategic plateau Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast War. The regime itself has stayed tightlipped, refusing to say what it envisions but expressing willingness to help with Iraq and broader peace deals.
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#1
Some say the moon is made outta green cheese. Don't make it true.
TEHERAN, Iran - Iran promised Sunday to improve its cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog if the agency, instead of the U.N Security Council, takes charge of its nuclear dossier. 'If the case is returned to the agency itself, it would be possible to review current ambiguities better than before, Mohammed Ali Hosseini, spokesman for Irans Foreign Ministry, told journalists. The agency is the best and the most qualified body for the case.
Hosseini sought to show that Iran had cooperated with the International Atomic Energy Agency in the past and was ready for greater cooperation, provided that the nuclear watchdog agreed to its requests. Hosseini mentioned that Iran had granted IAEA inspectors access to the Lavizan site, a former nuclear research facility. 'The request by the agency, for taking sample, has been accepted, he said about a visit the IAEA mentioned in a report in April.
If the IAEA had agreed to Irans request for assistance building a heavy-water nuclear reactor, Iran would already have increased its cooperation, the spokesman said in remarks that showed Teheran was disgruntled with the IAEA decision. 'If they (the agency) had approved the help, then the ground would be ready for the presence of its inspectors, Hosseini said.
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Good dog! Roll over and I'll scratch your belly!
Good dog! Wanna cookie? Wanna cookie?
Good dog!
The Syrian-Iranian backed Shiite Hezbollah movement warned Sunday that Lebanon faced a dark future after the anti-Syrian cabinet approved a UN draft for an international tribunal to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri. "The ruling majority has a chance until the mourning period ends....or else they will get themselves into a dark tunnel," said the head of the Hezbollah parliamentary bloc, Mohammed Raad.
Sounds like a threat to me...
Saturday's meeting of anti-Syrian ministers - without six of their pro-Syrian colleagues who resigned two weeks ago - was described as "unconstitutional" by both pro-Syrian House speaker Nabih Berri and President Emile Lahoud. "The ministers who resigned will not return on their resignation without a guarantee for a full participation in political decision- making," Raad said. "Let the ruling majority bear responsibility for their decision," Raad added.
"You know we're unable to control ourselves... Ooops. I just peed myself again."
Allan helps those who can't help themselves, of course.
The pro-Syrian camp has given the government until the end of the mourning period for Industry minister Pierre Gemayel, next Thursday, before going ahead with their threatened street protests to topple the current government and form a national unity government. The anti-Syrian camp has accused Syria and its allies of killing Gemayel to topple the government of Prime minister Fouad Seniora by force and stop the formation of the tribunal. One of Hezbollah's two resigning ministers, Mohammed Fneish, was quoted Sunday as saying: "Agree to our participation in a national unity government and you will see whether we are ready to discuss the tribunal or not." He added: "We have accepted in principle the tribunal but it's our right to discuss the details."
On Saturday, the government of Seniora approved plans for the setting up an international tribunal to try suspects in the Hariri assassination. In holding Saturday's meeting, the cabinet - in defiance of objections of the pro-Syrian bloc - took the next step towards parliament ratifying the UN-proposed Hariri tribunal.
Because of the absence of five Shiite ministers and one pro-Syrian Christian, the meeting had been dismissed as unconstitutional The cabinet had delayed the meeting by more than an hour on Saturday, while an envoy held last-ditch talks with Berri to gauge the opposition's willingness to discuss the tribunal. "The solution now lies in Berri's hands," Communication Minister Marwan Hamadeh had said as he left the speaker's residence for the meeting.
The cabinet's subsequent decision was expected to increase tension with the Hezbollah-led pro-Syrian camp, which made clear the resigned ministers would only return if all of the country's religious and ethnic groups were represented in government, in accordance with the national pact.
Anti-Syrian ministers have regarded the resignation as a move to avert the formation of an international tribunal, at Syria's request. Syrian intelligence officials, and their Lebanese allies, have been implicated in Hariri's murder by a UN probe. Syrian authorities have repeatedly strongly denied any involvement in the assassination. Syria's ambassador to the UN was quoted as saying Saturday that Damascus wants the UN investigation to finish before the court is set up.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/27/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
If there were just 100 Lebanese men that still had their nut sacks Hezbollah would be a fading memory. But since Arabs are born nutless they have to endure shit like this. Listen BOYS, grow a set or stop complaining about the big bad men. These guys are the modern day Nazis and if nobody steps in to exstinguish them they are going to become a much bigger problem.
#2
Sooner or later, one of the following will happen.
(a) USA will get a POTUS with brains.
(b) Israel will get a PM with balls --- to tell the Great White Father to fuck off.
And then this happens, Lebanon (also Syria, Egypt, & Jordan) are history.
A top Hezbollah official said Sunday that the militant Shiite Muslim group will press ahead with threatened street protests and gun sex other peaceful means seeking to topple Lebanon's Western-backed government and will stage its actions without warning. Sheik Naim Kassem, Hezbollah's deputy secretary-general, said the group would not reveal details of planned activities beforehand.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/27/2006 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Two senior members of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood who have been in prison for six months have had their detentions renewed for more than two weeks, police and group Web site said. Essam el-Erian and Mohammed Morsi, who were jailed for organizing pro-reform protests in May, had their detentions extended for 15 days on Saturday, said police officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. The two are leading members of Egypt's largest Islamic political organization and were among more than 500 members detained by authorities in May when several demonstrations were held in support of two reformist judges facing disciplinary action. 
A court in Yemen has sentenced a newspaper editor to a year in jail for reprinting Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. The court also ordered the independent weekly newspaper which carried the cartoons to close for six months.
Tens of thousands of Muslims and nationalists took to the streets of Istanbul yesterday to vent their anger at the imminent arrival in Turkey of Pope Benedict XVI. Amid a sea of red-and-white Turkish flags and green Islamic bandannas, speakers at a rally denounced the Vatican as a centre of a western conspiracy against the country and the Islamic world.
Fewer than two months remain before arriving international passengers at U.S. airports will be required to show passports as the only acceptable proof of citizenship. The rule applies to American citizens too, even though only about one in four has a valid passport.
SRINAGAR: Supporters of rival separatist groups on Sunday clashed with chairs and rocks in Indian-held Kashmir, injuring 12 people and four policemen, a police officer said. The scuffle broke out as Yasin Malik, chief of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, opened a new office of his group in downtown Srinagar in the presence of nearly 3,000 supporters, said Farooq Ahmed, the police officer. Police and paramilitary forces chased away nearly two dozen youth protesters who raised pro-Pakistan slogans such as Long Live Pakistan and battled with JKLF supporters. Maliks supporters chanted We want independence from India.
Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, raised the prospect today of some British troops staying in Iraq even after the handover of control to Iraqi authorities. 
FALLUJAH, Iraq: It's been two years since U.S. forces overran this dangerous western city, triggering the bloodiest urban combat of the war. Now, heavily armed insurgents are returning, but Iaqi soldiers undergoing American training to defend Fallujah still aren't ready to face the front lines on their own.
Angry fellow Shias stoned Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Malikis motorcade in a Shia stronghold of Baghdad on Sunday in a display of fury over a devastating car bomb that tore through their area. Maliki was visiting the Sadr City slum to pay respects to some of the 202 victims of last weeks devastating bombing. The area is a base for the Mehdi Army militia led by Malikis fellow Shia leader Moqtada al-Sadr. 
BAGHDAD - Saddam Husseins trial on genocide charges resumes in Baghdad Monday with more Kurdish witnesses testifying one week after a human rights watchdog highlighted what it called fundamental flaws in the deposed Iraqi presidents first trial.
Hamas on Sunday dismissed as "unacceptable" Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's threat to arrest any Palestinian who violates the latest cease-fire with Israel. 
France's foreign minister called an unexpected truce Sunday in the Gaza Strip a major event and urged the international community to seize the opportunity to revive peace efforts. Philippe Douste-Blazy expressed hope that the truce, which took effect Sunday morning, will hold. If it does, "France can only welcome it," he said on Radio-J. 
Philippine troops hunting down the combined Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) terrorists in the hinterlands of Sulu were ordered "to neutralize high-value targets before Christmas." Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. issued the order during his visit to the troops on Friday and Saturday here and in Sulu.
Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad predicted the collapse of Israel, the U.S. and Britain, attacking what he called their ``oppressive behavior.'' 
TEHERAN, Iran - Iran promised Sunday to improve its cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog if the agency, instead of the U.N Security Council, takes charge of its nuclear dossier. 'If the case is returned to the agency itself, it would be possible to review current ambiguities better than before, 
The Syrian-Iranian backed Shiite Hezbollah movement warned Sunday that Lebanon faced a dark future after the anti-Syrian cabinet approved a UN draft for an international tribunal to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri. "The ruling majority has a chance until the mourning period ends....or else they will get themselves into a dark tunnel," said the head of the Hezbollah parliamentary bloc, Mohammed Raad. 
