The Taliban was aware that Britain's Prince Harry was on active army duty in Afghanistan and was looking to "take him out," according to a longtime royals watcher.
Yeah, sure. I knew he was there all along, too.
Robert Jobson, author and Royal Correspondent for the London Evening Standard said on The Early Show Monday that the Taliban learned of Harry's presence by late last year, and hoped to "take him out and have all the publicity that would go with that."
Harry, who returned to Britain over the weekend, had his assignment to Afghanistan cut short when word of his secret presence there leaked. The prince, Jobson observed, is "a very young man. He was enjoying the military combat that he was out there doing. He's a bit disappointed (to have it end), but hey, he's in the army, and that's life."
Jobson says it's his "understanding is that (Harry) will not be going (back) on military frontline duties for probably between 12 and 18 months. And that's what he's been told by his commanding officer. I think it would be quite unlikely, it may be too risky to other soldiers if he's sent out again. This has worked -- the arrangement with the British media and other media organizations (to stay mum on Harry being in Afghanistan) -- for ten weeks, and ten weeks only. ... It's probably too risky to send Harry on frontline duty at the moment, and I think his commanding officers in Britain are saying exactly the same thing. But they are giving him hope (of returning to the frontlines), and they will review the situation between 12 and 18 months."
CBS News correspondent Richard Roth says Britain's military chiefs are downplaying expectations the experience will be repeated soon. The head of the army says another royal deployment would be "way off in the future."
Harry "says he wants to be a career soldier," Jobson points out. "I think, as a member of the royal family, he may well have to do other duties, get his head down, use the experience he's gained from being an army officer and get out there and sort of bat for Great Britain, PLC, if you like. That's his job as a member of the royal family, and maybe he'll knuckle down to it, not spend time in nightclubs!"
Queen Elizabeth herself was on board with Harry's deployment, Jobson pointed out, saying, "The queen is a very stoic figure. She's obviously a grandmother, and has emotional feelings for her grandsons like that, but she is the head of state. She's also the commander in chief of the British army. Therefore, she has advised her grandson quite clearly that, if he's in the army, and wants to be a career soldier, not a toy solider, he has to go on frontline duties. It was her who understands that. She's proud, but she'll obviously be aware of the 11,000 other British servicemen in both Iraq and Afghanistan whose families will be going through exactly the same things that she and Prince Charles did."
What about Harry's brother, Prince William? Will he be headed off to war, as well? He's reportedly due to serve soon on a British warship, says Roth.
The British press is humming with speculation on William's military fate, and Jobson notes Harry "is the next in line to the throne after Prince Charles, so there's a different situation here. He, obviously, is an army officer, but at the moment, he's with the Royal Air Force, and then he's going to have an assignment with the Royal Navy. It's inevitable and essential that he does exactly the same as Prince Harry. If he's in the Royal Navy as an officer, he has to go on active duties, but there are different circumstances as a royal naval officer on frontline or combat duties from being a frontline foot soldier, as Harry was, and I believe William will go in active areas for the Royal Navy."
On Sunday, Harry gave his first interview since returning home and, reports Roth, Harry's "come back from the front transformed in the British press from the party prince to the humble hero."
Harry said, "It (being on active duty) was fantastic. It was an opportunity that I was wanting to do the whole time and, to be able to do it, I was hugely grateful for having the opportunity."
The secret tour of combat duty has made Harry eligible for a medal and a $10,000 a year pay hike that kicks in next month, when he'll have finished two years in the army, Roth says. Harry says he now has a distaste for military field rations, but an appetite for battle: "I did enjoy it a little bit, more than, I suppose, I should, not in a sick way, but no, I enjoyed being out there, I suppose."
As for any future frontline service: "Hopefully, for my brother, as well, there' a possibility that it can work. We just have to wait and see for the future."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2008 12:05 ||
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Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
The secret tour of combat duty has made Harry eligible for a medal and a $10,000 a year pay hike that kicks in next month
"Combat Rifleman?" Nice award, very fitting.
I'm sure he doesn't need the money.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/03/2008 14:01 Comments ||
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#2
More important than all that is Harry returned the seriousness that the Royals have appeared to be lacking lately.
#3
In the good old days, the King, or if he was too old, the next in line, would actually lead the troops in to battle. Guess today's royals are too precious to risk. Yes, Charlie, I'm looking at you.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
03/03/2008 15:40 Comments ||
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#4
Oh lord, do you REALLY want the P. of W. at the head of troops?
The Gulf state of Kuwait plans to deport foreigners who took part in a rally last month to mourn slain Hezbollah commander Imad Mughnieh, the interior minister said on Sunday.
"We will deport any foreigner who took part in the mourning rally. This is a decision we will implement and we will not back down," Sheikh Jaber Khaled al-Sabah told Al-Watan newspaper.
He did not say how many people will be deported or if the ministry has begun rounding up suspects.
The rally, in which hundreds of Shiite activists including Kuwaitis, Bahrainis, Lebanese and Iranians took part, caused uproar in the oil-rich emirate because Mughnieh was accused of hijacking a Kuwaiti plane two decades ago.
Reactions to the protest have taken a sectarian turn in Kuwait, where a third of the native population of one million are Shiite Muslims.
Two Kuwaiti lawmakers, Adnan Abdulsamad and Ahmad Lari, and a number of leading Shiite activists are being sued by four lawyers and the interior minister in connection with the protest.
Three leading activists have been remanded in custody and are being questioned on suspicion of belonging to Hezbollah Kuwait, a previously unknown organisation.
The prosecution service aslo plans to interrogate others including former MPs and a member in the municipal council on the same charges.
Abdulsamad and Lari cannot be interrogated unless parliament strips them of their immunity, however.
Mughnieh, who was killed last month by a car bomb in Damascus, was described at the rally as a "martyr hero," but Kuwait says he was responsible for killing two Kuwaiti passengers on a hijacked plane in 1988.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2008 15:18 ||
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Top|| File under: Hezbollah
Facing the heat for being the inspiration for groups such as the Taliban and fundamentalist organisations such as the Jaish-e-Mohammad, HuJI & SIMI; renowned Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband has labelled violence and terrorism as 'anti-Islam and anti-national'.
Not only has the seminary passed strictures against terrorism as anti-Islamic, it has also defined terrorism as any action that hurts innocent individuals- a resolution that was adopted by leading Islamic groups at an anti-terrorism conference in the country.
TOI Online readers welcomed the declaration on terrorism. Jayraj Paleja in Berlin and MK Mohammed from Qatar felt the Deoband's anti-terror call was in response to the democratic values and growing modernisation of majority of Muslims in Indian society.
Ashish Behera in Kharagpur said, "This is a great initiative by the highest school of Islam in India and all people must uphold it."
Justin Samuel from Mumbai agreed. "The view expressed by the Muslim clerics is hugely appreciated!"
It was clearly a strong message by the clergy that had so far fought shy of engaging on the issue. "This is the first time that our leaders and clerics have realised that they should be more open to the public and the media. Though this effort came a little late, I appreciate the noble initiative," wrote Abdullah from Dubai.
Satyajeet in Bangalore had similar views, "The declaration is late but still a welcome step. Hope the religion of peace may eventually propagate peace."
SS Moorthy from Carmel, USA, said the Darul Uloom had done great service by denouncing terrorism, but it was now time to practice what one preached. "The present generation still remembers the creation of Pakistan and problems in Kashmir because of religion. This statement by the Deoband may help reduce fears, but it's time to put it in practice." Kushal Patel and Shekar in Madurai agreed - declaration was easy, it was the implementation that now mattered.
"This is a good development and a positive interpretation of Islam that everyone was waiting for. The message is clear - stop using religion as an excuse to further personal causes," commented Bijay Singh from Hyderabad. He was, however, unsure if the Deoband's message would dissuade young Muslims from joining terrorist groups under the pretext of protecting Islam. "Other fundamentalist Muslim sects will keep influencing young Muslims by telling them about suffering of Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kashmir."
A fact also acknowledged by Islamic scholars and clerics at the meet. They debated the justification of violence by jihadi groups on the grounds of 'divine sanction', but stopped short of saying if they were finally ready to treat jihadi propaganda as deviation from Islam's principle of peace. Reference to the Quran , which said prohibition against violence may not apply when the community was being harmed was also made - exceptions that had been exploited to the hilt by terrorist groups.
"The dividing line between 'rising against injustice' and 'terrorism' is very thin. The same people who deplore terrorism by Islamic organisations openly endorse violent ways used by a number of 'freedom fighters'," wrote Vivek Agarwal from the US. "A message from an esteemed organisation could thus influence how the Muslim world looks at terrorism." "Jihad can be made to suit any situation including the Pakistan sponsored proxy war in Kashmir. Is terrorism in Kashmir and its extension elsewhere in India a jihad to liberate Muslims from oppression by 'kafirs'? The Deoband was resoundingly silent on this critical issue," noted Shankar (Kolkata).
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2008 13:56 ||
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Top|| File under: Global Jihad
#1
"...any action that hurts innocent individuals- ..."
#2
What about inaction that hurts innocent individuals? That's the one that really clinches my attitutes for me, whatever the definition of innocent. I see the taquiyya thing is really starting to pay dividends.
#5
Huh? When did this happen? Oh, this is going to be most interesting. Who made the attempt? His own guys who are pissed off that they're not getting to kill Sunnis? The Russians seem to like poisoning these days. The Americans or Iranians have a motive? He was behaving and doing as the Americans required, so I can't see them doing this, and anyway the Americans would have done it with a Predator.
#18
Hope it hurt really bad before he went into that coma.
If he is in fact in a coma, and not hiding under the bed, wetting his pants and sucking his thumb.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/03/2008 19:19 Comments ||
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#19
Maybe we should all send him a "Get Worse" card. We could also send a "Thank You" card to the CIA, but they probably didn't do it and, if they did do it, they botched the job. My theory is that it's the Brits trying to show Putin that they can play hardball too. I'll bet Muqtada glows in the dark.
#23
Actually, impacted wisdom teeth can get infected and the infection can go up to the brain and kill one. Tater does not look like an advocate of dental hygene, so who knows. My oral surgeon had a case of a patient dying from such an infection, and fast.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/03/2008 21:08 Comments ||
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#24
My oral surgeon had a case of a patient dying from such an infection, and fast.
That happened to me and I had no idea I had a dental problem. One morning I woke up with a knot on my jawline ... no tooth pain or anything. Turns out it was an abscess that had traveled along the nerve and had I not gone in, could have gone to the brain just as you said. And it WAS fast ... as in over night. The previous day I had no idea there was any problem at all, the next day I had this knot on my jaw and the dentist said that had I waited another 24 hours, I could have had a brain infection.
Mookie's problem sounds like botulism, though. Probably real food poisoning.
#25
"The infection can go up to the brain and kill one".
HMMMMMM, INTERESTING > DREAM > VOICE - "The infection will spread to his brain and kill him". We'll see iff the GUAM TAOTAMONAS were referring to SADR decades ago.
The U.N. Security Council has been told there is no evidence that Hezbollah has been rearming in Lebanon south of the Litani River.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon says the organization's Interim Force in Lebanon has found no basis for claims by Israel that Hezbollah is rebuilding its military presence, The Daily Star reported. "To date, UNIFIL has found no evidence of new military infrastructure in the area of operations," Ban said during a visit to Beirut.
A report by UNIFIL to the Security Council warns, however, of "heavily armed military positions" maintained by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Fatah al-Intifada along the Lebanese-Israeli border.
U.N. Resolution 1701 approved last August calls for a cessation of hostilities in southern Lebanon, a pullout of Israeli forces and the disarmament of Hezbollah. It also forbids the presence of paramilitary forces south of the Litani River. "These repeated violations of Resolution1701 undermine the credibility of the Lebanese Armed Forces and UNIFIL," Ban said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2008 15:42 ||
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[7 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
#1
This UN statement and $4.50 will buy you a Starbuck's.
#2
A report by UNIFIL to the Security Council warns, however, of "heavily armed military positions" maintained by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Fatah al-Intifada along the Lebanese-Israeli border.
Ah, so even Hezbollah is outsourcing?
"These repeated violations of Resolution1701 undermine the credibility of the Lebanese Armed Forces and UNIFIL," Ban said.
So...what're ya gonna do about it?
Oh, nevermind...
The U.N. Security Council approved a third round of sanctions against Iran on Monday with near unanimous support, sending a strong signal to Tehran that its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment is unacceptable and becoming increasingly costly.
For the first time, the resolution bans trade with Iran in goods which have both civilian and military uses.
The vote was 14-0 with one abstention from Indonesia.
Iran's U.N. Ambassador Mohammad Khazee told the council just before the vote that the government would not comply with the "unlawful action" against its "peaceful nuclear program." Anticipating this, I wonder if Iran has planned for a Lebanon/Israel attack to show its displeasure?
Thousands of followers of the Islamist movements Hezbollah and Hamas staged a mass rally Monday in Beirut's southern suburbs, vowing "resistance and not surrender" to save the Gaza Strip from "Zionist aggression.""We are not counting on anyone to save us in Gaza. We are counting on our strugglers who will liberate the whole land of Palestine," Hamas spokesman Ousama Hamdan said. "The resistance in Lebanon (Hezbollah) and the resistance in Gaza (Hamas) are united and will break all our borders ... to save Palestine," Hamdan said.
The crowd who were carrying Palestinian, Hezbollah and Lebanese flags were shouting "Israel and the US are the mothers of terrorism."
Hamdan warned that the "day of punishment is approaching."
"Israel is the enemy of Islam," the crowd chanted in return to Hamdan's speech.
The crowd was protesting the attacks by Israel on the Gaza Strip over the weekend during which more than 100 people were killed.
Hezbollah also denounced the deployment of US warships off Lebanon's coast, saying it would not be intimidated. The US military said last Thursday that its navy was sending at least three warships, including an amphibious assault ship, to the eastern Mediterranean Sea. "(US) warships will not help (Israel) and our strugglers will score another divine victory with God's will," Raad said.
Hezbollah is leading the Lebanese opposition in seeking to topple the US-backed government in Beirut. The group fought Israel in the 2006 war and is believed linked to Muslim militants who attacked US forces and diplomats killing about 270 in Lebanon in 1983-84 during the Lebanese civil war.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2008 12:17 ||
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[5 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
#1
"Israel is the enemy of Islam,"
Well Yes, but the main enemy of Islam is Islam.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/03/2008 13:41 Comments ||
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#2
I noticed they're rallying in Beirut for the ham-ass mooks to fight until they all die in Gaza.
No mention of them going to Gaza to die, too. Funny how that works out.
As far as the US warships off the coast, F*ck You, Assholes. Whatcha gonna do about it?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/03/2008 13:48 Comments ||
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#3
I noticed they're rallying in Beirut for the ham-ass mooks to fight until they all die in Gaza.
Iranians are willing to fight Israel to the last Lebanese Shiite. Hizbollah are willing to fight Israel to the last Gazan.
#4
"We are not counting on anyone to save us in Gaza. We are counting on our strugglers who will liberate the whole land of Palestine," Hamas spokesman Ousama Hamdan said.
Better them then you, right, Ousama?
How's the nightlife in Beirut? Better then Damascus?
#7
FOX's MORT KONDRACKE > despite serious probs or doubts, Dubya's strategy is effectively working and the USA is presently winning the war in the ME. MORT > Osama + AQ [Radical Islam] is weak, scattered, and forced to keep moving and hiding in various places.
As argued or inferred a long time ago, to defeat or destroy Radical Islam as an ideological basis/foundation for Terror it may prove necessary for the US-Allies to discredit, NOT only minimize, IMPORTANT QURANIC/SUTRIC TENETS-PRECEPTS, ETC. COMMON TO BOTH HARDLINE MILITANT RADICAL ISLAM, AS WELL AS NON-RADICALIST,
"MODERATE" SECUL-LIBERAL GENER ISLAM, WITH POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS RIPPLE EFFECTS OR CONSEQUENCES FOR ALL CONCERNED, FOR BOTH THE US-ALLIES + NON-RADICAL ISLAM. IMO, the Islamists' priority right now is to stop the US [Coalition] entrenchment in the ME, revitalize Local-Global Islamist movements and orgs, and to salvage its designs for an ANTI-US/WESTERN OWG GLOBAL ISLAMIST-JIHADIST STATE. IN THE ABSENCE OF AN ISLAMIST-ONLY MAJOR DECISIVE BATTLEFIELD VICTORY AGZ THE US ANDOR ISRAEL, THE ONLY REMAINING PRAGMATIC WAY TO ACHIEVE THESE WOULD BE VIA AMER HIROSHIMAS [inside the USA?], GREAT POWER CONFRONTATIONISM = "BRINKMANSHIP",
AND MUTUAL DESTRUCTION SCHEMAS ALA RADICAL MULLAHS [espec after 2010 + foreign collusion/dependencies]. Even Year 2010 may be safely ascribed as "pushing it".
Lastly, the OSAMA, etc. I know from the anti-Soviet AFghan War is IRAN-CENTRIC/FOCUSED in his END-TIMES ISLAMIST APOCALYPSE BELIEFS, i.e. ISLAM/ISLAMISM MUST WIN ALL, OR LOSE ALL, AGZ WORLD NON-ISLAM ON THE BATTLEFIELDS OF IRAN [PERSIA]. Osama > is akin to DIVINE VALIDATION. IMO, NO IRAN-FOUGHT APOCALYPSE WOULD ACTUALLY BE SEEN AS A DISHONOR TO HIM, EVEN IFF THE US-WEST MADE UNILATER APPEASEMENT OR SURRENDERED TO ISLAM TODAY - IOW, OSAMA WILL WANT HIS APOCALYPSE REGARDLESS.
Year 2008 -2010 >"Make or Break" the budding US-led OWG-NWO vv NATIONAL-GLOBAL DEMOCRACY versus SOCIALISM-GOVTISM, FEDERALISM versus CENTRALISM, ETC. Ditto for Radical Islam includ Islamism-based Terror + possib gener Islam.
Al Qaeda released Sunday on militant Web sites a new video eulogy of its top Afghanistan strategist Abu Laith al-Libi, showing his corpse for the first time.
The video, entitled "The Road's Companion," marks the second video eulogy of Abu Laith in less than a week, showing his importance to the movement.
"Nation of Islam, we pay tribute today to a courageous hero of Islam, an unmatched commander, one of Islam's greatest ... losing him was a real loss and his absence is a real lack," eulogized fellow Al Qaeda militant Abu Yahya al-Libi, appearing in front of an image of him leaning over Abu Laith's battered corpse.
Abu Laith was seen as a top al Qaeda strategist in Afghanistan and was killed in late January by a missile from a U.S. Predator drone that struck his safehouse in Pakistan.
Pakistani intelligence considered him the operational commander of al Qaeda in the border region and one of the militant group's most high-profile figures after its leader, Osama bin Laden, and Ayman al-Zawahri, who issued his own video eulogy Wednesday.
The 20-minute video begins with old footage of Abu Laith talking superimposed over the face of his dead body showing extensive bruising.
Abu Yahya, who gained fame for escaping from Afghanistan's notorious Bagram prison and has appeared in several videos of his own, then appeared to deliver his own words of praise for the fallen al Qaeda leader.
"One of the hardest aspects of what we have witnessed in the field of jihad ... is saying goodbye to loved ones and the absence of companions," he said. "We say in our calamity that the eye is bursting with tears and the heart is soaring with grief."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2008 09:32 ||
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#1
I'll be happy like a clam as long as he stays dead.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2008 12:34 Comments ||
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#2
Maybe if you get a chance the dancing virgins would be a nice touch.... :-D
Enjoy eternity in HELL with your buddies, Abu Asshole.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/03/2008 13:42 Comments ||
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#3
"The Road's Companion,"
"The Road's Bitter End" is a much more appropriate title.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/03/2008 13:57 Comments ||
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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.
The Taliban was aware that Britain's Prince Harry was on active army duty in Afghanistan and was looking to "take him out," according to a longtime royals watcher. 
The Gulf state of Kuwait plans to deport foreigners who took part in a rally last month to mourn slain Hezbollah commander Imad Mughnieh, the interior minister said on Sunday.
Facing the heat for being the inspiration for groups such as the Taliban and fundamentalist organisations such as the Jaish-e-Mohammad, HuJI & SIMI; renowned Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband has labelled violence and terrorism as 'anti-Islam and anti-national'. 
The U.N. Security Council has been told there is no evidence that Hezbollah has been rearming in Lebanon south of the Litani River.
Al Qaeda released Sunday on militant Web sites a new video eulogy of its top Afghanistan strategist Abu Laith al-Libi, showing his corpse for the first time. 
