(AKI) - The joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur is stepping up its presence in and around a camp for homeless people, where dozens of people were shot dead last week during clashes with Sudanese security forces.
The mission, known as UNAMID, late on Thursday reported that its police will be present at the Kalma camp in South Darfur until a joint force of mission police and military officers can be permanently deployed.
Daily military patrols by UNAMID have also been reinforced.
The moves came after a UNAMID patrol in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state, observed an increased Sudanese police presence near Kalma, with more tents being erected on Monday at a location about five kilometres from the camp.
A local tribal leader from the camp also told the mission that Sudanese Government forces were planning another attack on the camp in the near future.
Tensions were mounting among Kalma's residents -- estimated at around 80,000 -- as a result, he said.
UNAMID has said it has evidence that at least 31 people were killed at Kalma on 25 August when Sudanese military and police forces raided the camp to execute a search warrant for illegal weapons and drugs.
The Sudanese forces claim they only returned fire after gunshots were directed at them from behind a human shield of women and children.
UNAMID however issued a statement saying excessive and disproportionate force had been used given that the camp residents carried sticks, knives and spears.
"UNAMID strongly condemns the excessive, disproportionate use of lethal force by the Government of Sudan security forces against civilians, which violated their human rights and resulted in unacceptable casualties," the mission said in a statement.
However, the statement also urged inhabitants of the camp and their leaders to ensure no weapons are present.
Meanwhile, the mission reported that its radio unit this week began a one-month journalism training for 10 local radio journalists in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state.
The first in a series of planned courses to be conducted for local journalists in El Fasher and Khartoum through December, the course aims to give the journalists the skills to run a fully-fledged UNAMID radio broadcast operation for Darfur.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan
The two cases filed in connection with the August 21 grenade attack on an Awami League (AL) rally in 2004 were transferred yesterday to a Speedy Trial Tribunal of Dhaka for quick disposal.
The cases were filed for the grenade attacks on an the rally on Bangabandhu Avenue that left 23 people dead and around 200 others injured. The murder case is now pending with the Court of Second Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge and the grenade attack case with the Court of Metropolitan Sessions Judge of Dhaka.
Following an order signed on August 26 by the home ministry, Judge Mohammad Azizul Haque of the Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court transferred the cases to the Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 where Mohammad Masdar Hossain is the conducting judge. Earlier on August 31, the conducting judge fixed September 8 for hearing on charge framing against 22 accused including detained former BNP lawmaker Abdus Salam Pintu and Harkatul Jihad (Huji) chief Mufti Abdul Hannan in the grenade attack case.
Eight of the arrestees -- Hannan, Bipul, Ovi, Abu Sayeed, Bulbul, Arif Hossain, Jahangir and Sabuj -- gave statements under section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code confessing their involvement in the incident.
On June 11 this year, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Assistant Superintendent Fazlul Kabir, also investigation officer (IO) of the cases, submitted the charge sheets to the Court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Dhaka, showing 412 people as prosecution witnesses.
A day after the grenade attack, the police filed two cases -- one for murder and another under the Explosive Substances Act -- with Motijheel Police Station.
This article starring:
Abdus Salam Pintu
ABUL KALAM AZAD ALIAS BULBUL
Harkatul Jihad
ANISUL MURSALIN
Harkatul Jihad
ARIF HASAN SUMON
Harkatul Jihad
Assistant Superintendent Fazlul Kabir
HUSEIN AHMED TAMIM
Harkatul Jihad
JAHANGIR ALAM
Harkatul Jihad
JAHANGIR ALAM BADAR
Harkatul Jihad
Judge Mohammad Azizul Haque
KHALILUR RAHMAN
Harkatul Jihad
MAHIBUL MUTTAKIN
Harkatul Jihad
MAULANA ABU BAKAR ALIAS SELIM HOWLADER
Harkatul Jihad
MAULANA ABU SAIID ALIAS DR ABU ZAFAR
Harkatul Jihad
MAULANA ABU TAHER
Harkatul Jihad
MAULANA LITON
Harkatul Jihad
MAULANA TAJUDIN
Harkatul Jihad
MOHAMAD UJJAL ALIAS RATAN
Harkatul Jihad
Mohammad Masdar Hossain
MOHIBULLAH ALIAS MAFIZUR RAHMAN ALIAS OVI
Harkatul Jihad
MUFTI ABDUL HANNAN
Harkatul Jihad
MUFTI MOINUDIN SHEIKH ALIAS ABU ZANDAL ALIAS MASUM BILLAH
Harkatul Jihad
RAFIQUL ISLAM SABUJ
Harkatul Jihad
SHAHADATULLAH JEWEL
Harkatul Jihad
SHARIF SHAHIDUL ISLAM ALIAS BIPUL
Harkatul Jihad
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2008 00:00 ||
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The jury in Australia's largest terrorist trial says it will be at least a further week before it reaches its verdict. The forewoman told the trial judge, Justice Bernard Bongiorno, today that the jury was working through the 27 counts the 12 accused are facing charge by charge. She said the jury, which has been deliberating for 14 days, was about halfway through the charges. Asked by Justice Bongiorno how much longer jury members expected to take, the forewoman said they hope to be finished by next weekend. The Victorian Supreme Court jury retired to consider its verdict on August 20 and has been deliberating six days a week.
Self-proclaimed sheik Adbul Nacer Benbrika and 11 other Melbourne Muslim men have pleaded not guilty to a range of terrorism charges, including being members of a terrorist organisation. The six-month trial was told the men planned to wage violent jihad in Australia, including mounting a terrorist attack on the 2005 AFL Grand Final at the MCG.
Staring out from a glossy eight-page spread in the latest edition of the magazine Paris Match, several Taleban fighters show off their trophies of war. Guns, walkie-talkies and even a wrist-watch are photographed - all spoils taken from the 10 French soldiers they killed in an ambush last month.
Accompanying the pictures is a long interview with the Taleban leader who calls himself Commander Farouki. He claims they were tipped off about the French mission in their area and were able to prepare an ambush with 140 highly trained insurgents. "If night hadn't fallen we'd have killed every one of the soldiers," he boasts.
He denies reports that other French paratroopers were captured and tortured but warns that every single French soldier found on Afghan soil will be killed.
Propaganda
On French radio today, Defence Minister Herve Morin criticised Paris Match for peddling Taleban propaganda. "Should we really be doing the Taleban's propaganda for them?" he asked. "The Taleban have understood perfectly that Western public opinion is probably the Achilles' heel of the international community present in Afghanistan."
A diplomat from the foreign ministry said it was the responsibility of the media to decide what they covered and how they did it, but added: "The reactions of the families of the servicemen speak for themselves. We can only imagine the pain that they felt when they saw these pictures, as well as that of the comrades of these men who are still in Afghanistan."
I'd say publishing the images and story is far less important than the reaction they cause with the French public. We've heard before that the ordinary French people see the world differently than do the graduates of the École Nationale dAdministration. I have my doubts, but I'd like to be proven wrong. I'd like the French people to recall their pride and the French military to remember the valor it has had so many times in the past. I'd like to see Sarkozy vow that the Taliban who did this will be hunted down and 'dealt with' (however you say that in French), and I'd like to see the French parliament vote the funds and ensure that the Defense Ministry gives the right orders.
Having your dead soldiers paraded by the enemy is a gut-check issue. Do the French people understand that?
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
Being a "Gut Check" or not, the act of parading around dead soldiers personal effects is reprehensible. Some newspapers and magazines take the low road in reporting things we do not wish to see or read. This is the ugly part of the news.
The truth of the battle in Afghanistan is the duplicity involved with working with the Afghan people that do not want foreign soldiers there and the religious ties they have with fellow muslims. When given a public stage, must Afghanis would defer to their local Imam. Thus, the people's loyalties are divided. Each must serve one government publicly to restore electrical power, water, heat, and infrastructure. Then they must adhere to hardline islamist teachings during Ramadan.
When hiring a local guide, you never TRULY know whose side he's on. Once a trusted ally is contacted, you never know if the Taliban came to his house later that night and threatened/kidnapped his wife and children to coerce him into being complicit. Some Afghanistanis are just plain traitorous. Rival drug warlords compete for power in addition to religious fanatics. The dynamics of rebuilding this nation were GROSSLY under-estimated by the Bush regime.
Best of luck to the French people in their efforts to help settle this lawless area. No one likes to be lied to and ambushed. 140 to 10 soldiers is a slaughter. Parading their remains and desecrating their bodies is just plain low. Un-islamic even by their standards.
Paris Match has the right to report on this atrocity, but did a very poor job framing the story. You can report on the Taliban and their viewpoints as a journalist without sounding like a cheerleader.
#2
Media have entirely on their own volition made themselves the object of loathing and well-justified contempt. As with other institutions or groups, the good ones among them have faced a choice (to resist the collapse of standards and self-respect) and done nothing, putting themselves at moral risk like their pitiful peers.
My impression from the start has been, contrary to the comment above, that the Bush administration has always had a steely-eyed view of the challenges of "developing" Afghanistan, and appropriately from the outset set our sights very low there. Denial of a base to the enemy and just barely keeping the lid on at minimal cost would constitute complete strategic success, IMHO.
#3
For some reason this movie quote comes to mind when I consider France and its reaction to this.
Wyatt Earp: You skin that smoke wagon and we'll see what happens!
Johnny Tyler: Listen mister, I'm getting awful tired of your...
[Wyatt slaps him]
Wyatt Earp: Are you gonna do something? Or just stand there and bleed?
#4
Media have entirely on their own volition made themselves allies of the enemy in order to show "both sides" of the story. This crew would have covered up Buchenwald to get an interview on what happened at Wolfsschanze.
LANCASTER, Pa. - Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama said Thursday that the escalation of U.S. troops in Iraq, which he had opposed, has succeeded in reducing violence "beyond our wildest dreams." [this is going to drive Sen. Reid, the Kos crowd, etc. batty since they've been defending the "surge didn't really work" line for months and months].
It's not a drive, it's a short putt ...
However, Obama said, "the argument was and continues to be: When are we going to turn over responsibility to the Iraqis for their own country? When are they going to resolve their political differences?"
That will happen when he is president, Obama said, "because we are going to withdraw our troops" and, while giving Iraqis support, "we are going to bring this war to a close."
#2
[this is going to drive Sen. Reid, the Kos crowd, etc. batty since they've been defending the "surge didn't really work" line for months and months]. Posted by:mhw
No it isn't. You are talking about the party of revision. They revise history as often as needed to further their ends. "We have always been at war with EastAsia." And they will repeat the lie until they believe it and don't even remember the truth.
#4
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Reid a Kos Convention speaker in '06?
"I do believe that each day, they have more impact," said Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the minority leader, who will deliver the keynote speech to the group on Saturday night. "Now how far that will go, I don't think we know that yet."
But, Mr. Reid added: "One of the reasons I so admire them is they have the ability to spread the truth like no entities I've dealt with in recent years. We could never have won the battle to stop privatization of Social Security without them." - NYT
#5
"the argument was and continues to be: When are we going to turn over responsibility to the Iraqis for their own country? When are they going to resolve their political differences?"
-to the first question I say we've already began this and particularly in Al Anbar.
#11
Good lord Jim, that just gave me a headache. Good thing he isn't tasked with anything where he is responsible for his actions. You know, like driving or cooking.
#14
that shows hes a pol, who spoke to them and sucked up. McCain talking to fundies doesnt make him a fundie, and Reid talking to Kossacks doesnt make him a Kossack.
#17
BO just has too much ego to say he was wrong about the surge. Stuck on stupid is a good description. If BO gets elected, I'd bet that Petraeus' career would be in jeopardy.
#19
"'Hydrogen is a limited resource, there aren't that many dams and rivers.'
He probably meant hydroelectric."
He probably doesn't know the difference, Grenter.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
09/05/2008 18:23 Comments ||
Top||
#20
During this part of the interview, in what was probably an intentional dig at McCain, made the point that he knew the distinction between Sunni and Shi'a. He should, all good Muslim students learn that.
#21
#19 "'Hydrogen is a limited resource, there aren't that many dams and rivers.'
He probably meant hydroelectric."
he probably meant electric hydrogen ;-)
/subgenius
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/05/2008 19:06 Comments ||
Top||
#22
sen reid isnt the kos crowd. Different ideologies, different approaches to politics.
McCain talking to fundies doesnt make him a fundie, and Reid talking to Kossacks doesnt make him a Kossack
Make them, no. But their appearance is because each has an affinity for some similar values. That means that on some ideologies they do share common interests.
Yes, there's something that's not appropriate to be shown in this video all right, but it's not the 9-11 footage. Every time I see that jerk, I'm reminded that one can't call for the death or injury of American citizens at Rantburg. No matter how well deserved, no matter how loathsome, despicable and absolutely, horribly evil the person and their ideas and actions are, you can't do it.
#4
Our fire department voted last night to sound the sirens on the 11th 5 times for a minute each - once for each plane into each building, when each building collapsed, and for flight 93.
#5
His comments are nonsense. There have been movies and documentaries and such about the Sept 11 attacks. The 9/11 widows were using the attacks for partisan purposes four years ago and I bet Olbermann didn't think it was such a bad thing.
The News channels refuse to show it because it reminds people of why Bush was so popular at that time.
#8
No matter how well deserved, no matter how loathsome, despicable and absolutely, horribly evil the person and their ideas and actions are, you can't do it.
Sure you can. But you won't last long either as a poster or a commenter. You want to do it, then get your own blog.
#13
To Olbermann, Mathews, and the Big Zero there is no evil everything is equal. Just different degrees of victimhoood to be exploited for their own ends.
#3
Walk in? He'll fly the latest invisible superdupersonic two-man fighter thingy, land on Bin Laden's front lawn, throw him into the back seat, and return to cast him scornfully at the feet of the Senate. Or perhaps he'll send his vice president. I hear she's keen on hunting, and no doubt would like a change from her SUV.
#4
Catchy line. His words carry a lot more credibility than anyone else's in the race. I do think that life will be less secure for a lot of terrorists if he becomes president. Don't forget that blowhard Biden is on the other team.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
09/05/2008 12:05 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Frankly, I don't want bin Laden caught - I want him killed, slowly and painfully, along with most of his minions. I also wouldn't mind if most of Phakestan disappeared with him. I've become totally fed up with the entire bucket of sh$$ that is islam, and most of its followers.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/05/2008 13:27 Comments ||
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#6
OP, may I please add.... "liberation theologists" to your bucket?
#7
John, don't forget to get the prayer bump unicorn SOB, Zawahiri in the process. I would like these terrorists to be looking over their shoulders everytime they take a $hit. We still owe them big time. I want payback to be a bitch.
Asserting the Sixth Amendment guarantees "a fair trial, not a perfect trial," a federal judge yesterday said he wants to hear from an expert defense witness before deciding whether to postpone the Fort Dix terrorist trial. Judge Robert Kugler told defense attorneys during a hearing in U.S. District Court in Camden that he needs more information to determine the importance of the testimony of Gregory Lee. "I am not convinced that he is all that essential," Kugler said of the former Drug Enforcement Administration agent, who is being deployed to Iraq shortly.
Kugler has ordered a hearing next week, possibly on Tuesday, to try to determine what Lee will say and how it will impact the defense in the controversial case. Lee will be questioned and cross-examined during a courtroom deposition that will be videotaped for possible use at the trial, which is set to begin with jury selection on Sept. 29. If Kugler accepts the defense argument that Lee's unavailability would unduly prejudice the five defendants awaiting trial, then he would likely grant the defense motion seeking a trial delay until January. Lee, who has an extensive background in terrorism investigations, is an Army Reservist in the Criminal Investigation Command and has been called up for a special assignment in Iraq beginning on Sept. 14. He is expected to return on Jan. 5.
Kugler, who has granted two other postponements, said that unless he is convinced that Lee's testimony and presence as a consultant are essential, he would prefer to maintain the current schedule. Among other things, the judge said there has been extensive logistical work on security geared toward a September start date. He also said a panel of 1,500 potential jurors has been told the trial would extend through the fall. A change in date would require a new panel, Kugler said, rejecting a prosecution suggestion that the jury be picked this month and told to return in January if the postpone were granted.
In seeking the delay, defense attorneys have argued they were unable to find another witness with the expertise of Lee, who, they said, has already spent about 140 hours analyzing the case and reviewing evidence. They are expected to use Lee to challenge both the credibility of government informants and the techniques by which those informants were recruited and deployed. Kugler said he needs to know what Lee intends to say "so that I can measure the prejudice to the defense" if he is not available. The judge said the information provided to him to date has been general rather than specific. Kugler said another roadblock is a potential Army regulation prohibiting military personnel from testifying against the interests of the government.
The defendants, Mohamad Shnewer, Serdar Tatar and brothers Shain, Eljvir and Dristan Duka, face life in prison if convicted of plotting to kill military personnel. They have been held without bail since their arrests in May 2007.
#1
How about a request for a blindfolds and cigarettes?
Posted by: ed ||
09/05/2008 9:11 Comments ||
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#2
I have long advocated the idea of videotaping the testimony and cross examination of witnesses. That way, all of the delays, objections and hoo hah that goes on in many trials could just be edited out. Having the judge tell the jury that they should disregard what the witness just said is ridiculous - they will just focus on it. And that is the intention of lawyers - they will ask a question which they know the other side will object to, and yet the jury will remember the offending statement.
I suggested my idea to a childhood friend who had become an attorney, and he said it would never happen - lawyers like their little tricks.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
09/05/2008 12:25 Comments ||
Top||
#3
lawyers like their little tricks.
That one sentence explains why lawyers are held in such low esteem. They don't deal in "justice", they deal in "gotchas". The person with the most "gotchas" wins.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/05/2008 13:30 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Give them a fair trial and then hang them high.
NEW YORK (AP) - An American-educated Pakistani woman who's been labeled an al-Qaida supporter refused to appear in federal court Thursday to answer charges that she tried to kill U.S. soldiers and FBI agents after they detained her this summer in Afghanistan. Aafia Siddiqui had been expected to plead not guilty to attempted murder and assault charges contained in an indictment unsealed earlier this week. Prosecutors say that when taken into custody, she was carrying handwritten notes referring to a "mass casualty attack" and listing the Empire State Building and other New York landmarks.
In a truly-just judicial system, that would be regarded as 'intent' and 'mind-set' ...
In court, Siddiqui's lawyers told a judge their client didn't want to go through the humiliation of a strip-search - a precaution taken with all prisoners when moved between from federal lockups and courthouses. The lawyers also claimed Siddiqui, before being arrested and brought to New York, had been kidnapped by U.S. operatives and kept in secret captivity in Pakistan. The ordeal, they said, left her with severe physical and mental problems.
"She's a really smart person, but she's a mess, judge," said defense attorney Elizabeth Fink. "We believe it's because she's been tortured."
Believe all you like, counselor. Any evidence?
U.S. District Judge Richard Berman put off the arraignment to give Siddiqui's lawyers time to either persuade her to come to court or arrange for her to enter a plea from jail using a closed-circuit camera. He also asked the defense to propose a plan to evaluate her competency to stand trial. Another hearing was set for Sept. 22. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison.
Siddiqui, 36, came to the United States in 1990 and studied at the University of Houston and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she got a bachelor's degree in biology in 1995. She later studied neuroscience as a graduate student at Brandeis University.
All the while working as a mole ...
In 2004, then-Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller III identified Siddiqui as one of seven people the FBI wanted to question about suspected ties to al-Qaida. Her family has vehemently denied any link.
Authorities say she vanished in Pakistan in 2003. She mysteriously resurfaced in July outside a government building in central Afghanistan's Ghazni province and was stopped by police. During Siddiqui's interrogation she picked up a soldier's rifle, announced her "desire to kill Americans" and fired the rifle but missed, the indictment says. She was wounded by return fire.
No one on her side has commented on how lucky she is to be alive today, have they ...
Once again, better marksmanship or higher caliber bullets make this broad an obscure memory.
The indictment contains no charges of terrorism. A government official briefed on the case has told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that the New York landmarks were a "wish list" of potential targets but that there was no evidence of a credible plot.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/05/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under:
#1
Show me a living non-mutilated US soldier captured by AlQada... Just one.
Parliamentarians from FATA on Thursday threatened to quit the ruling coalition if the military operation in the Tribal Areas was not stopped.
"We are so disappointed with this government that we will not support Asif Zardari. We might quit the coalition if the government doesn't review its habit of lying," FATA members' parliamentary leader Munir Orakzai said.
He said the government had not kept its word of suspending the military operation during Ramazan.
Despite threatening to withdraw support for the PPP's presidential candidate and to quit the coalition government, the FATA parliamentarians are still ambivalent about the presidential vote.
Talking to Daily Times on Thursday, Jawad Hussain, a member of the National Assembly (MNA) from Lower Orakzai, said that the FATA parliamentarians had not yet taken a final decision on supporting PPP Co-chairman Asif Zardari's candidature for Presidency. He said a meeting of FATA parliamentarians would be held today (Friday) to make a final announcement on the issue. Hussain said that the FATA members would either take a mutual decision to vote for any of the three presidential candidates, or allow the parliamentarians from the Tribal Areas to cast their vote individually. There are 20 FATA seats in parliament - 12 in the National Assembly and eight in the Senate. One FATA member - Syed Akhonzada Chitan from Bajaur - has already joined the PPP, while FATA Senator Hamidullah Jan Afridi is a member of the prime minister's cabinet.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2008 00:00 ||
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[9 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
It must be accomplishing something to upset them that much.
Hundreds of Kashmiri militants and refugees from Indian-held Kashmir rallied in Azad Kashmir on Thursday, vowing a holy war (jihad) to free their homeland from India.
"Our path, our aim is jihad," shouted protesters led by Syed Salahuddin, head of the main Kashmiri guerrilla group,
"Our path, our aim is jihad," shouted protesters led by Syed Salahuddin, head of the main Kashmiri guerrilla group, Hizbul Mujahideen.
Hizbul Mujahideen, as they marched through the streets of Muzaffarabad. Armed guards escorted Salahuddin as he made victory signs and shouted slogans along with the protesters while he was driven through the city in an open-topped jeep. "Until India ends the economic blockade of Kashmir Valley, lifts the curfew, halts atrocities and acknowledges the disputed status of the region, Pakistan should stop all relations with India," he said in his speech. A nine-day curfew that had been imposed to quell widespread anti-India rallies in Indian-held Kashmir was lifted on Tuesday with the beginning of Ramazan. Salahuddin described the peace process launched by India and Pakistan more than four years ago as a 'meaningless exercise'.
Jihad: Leaders from several other militant groups, including the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba, also addressed the rally. Abu Saad Shabbir, a Lashkar leader, also called for jihad in the region to break India's hold. Relations between India and Pakistan had improved after the peace process was launched, but Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said last month it was under threat after attacks in New Delhi. Pakistan has denied involvement. Until a few weeks ago, the two armies had stuck to a ceasefire agreed in late 2003. Lately, there have been several exchanges of fire across the Line of Control.
This article starring:
Muzaffarabad
ABU SAAD SHABIR
Lashkar-e-Taiba
SYED SALAHUDIN
Hizbul Mujahideen
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2008 00:00 ||
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[7 views]
Top|| File under: United Jihad Council
#1
Someone, very soon, is going to have to take it to all these "jihad" groups in such a way that the rest will decide that living at peace with their neighbors is a better option than fighting. It's obvious we're not willing to do that. I hope India is.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/05/2008 13:48 Comments ||
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Unnamed senior United States military officials have acknowledged that American forces conducted a raid inside Pakistan on Wednesday, but military and civilian officials have made no direct comments publicly so far.
An American official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of cross-border operations, told The Associated Press the target of any raid like that reported on Wednesday would have to be extremely important to risk an almost assured "big backlash" from Pakistan. "You have to consider that something like this will be a more-or-less once-off opportunity for which we will have to pay a price in terms of Pakistani co-operation," the official said.
Sorry Butch (or whatever your name is), but that's just plain wrong. Consider that we did this raid and bagged the Talibunnies. What exactly has been the 'big backlash' so far? What, the Paks no longer like us? What, the ISI is going to turn against us now? What, the Pak political elites will plot and scheme against us now? Just exactly how is Pak behavior going to be different?
I'm not suggesting that we can camp within the Pak borders with impunity, but we could stage a dozen more raids like the one we just did and it won't worsen Pak opinions towards us, because those opinions are already bad. They don't like us, they don't really want us around, but they need certain things we have, so they have to tolerate us. And another cross-border raid doesn't change that.
Circumstances surrounding Wednesday's raid were not clear, but US rules of engagement allow American troops to pursue militants across the border into Pakistan when they are attacked. But Pakistan Army spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas said hot pursuit was not an issue, adding that the attack "was completely unprovoked".
Careful, Athar, our boys are very sensitive. You know how it is when they get provoked. Maybe a Talibunnie made a face at them or showed their feet in disrespect ...
Pentagon officials told AFP on condition of anonymity the raid by special operations forces targeted suspected Al Qaeda operatives and signalled a possible intensification of American efforts to disrupt militant havens in Pakistan. They said the presence of US troops in Pakistan marked a return to tactics the American military has not used since soon after the Afghanistan invasion.
The International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan denied on Thursday any involvement in the ground assault, however. "Recent reporting in the media that ISAF conducted operations in Pakistan are completely false. ISAF forces do not operate in Pakistan," it said in a press statement issued in Kabul.
The United Nations-sanctioned ISAF admitted however that near the border they "may return fire but only under approved rules of engagement of self defence. Such incidents are co-ordinated and reported to Pakistan authorities. At no time are ISAF forces authorised to enter or land in Pakistan".
The White House refused on Thursday to comment directly on Pakistani anger at the cross-border raid. Spokeswoman Dana Perino said US authorities were "working to increase co-ordination and co-operation and supporting the Pakistanis, as we work to fight against the Taliban in a co-ordinated way".
About Wednesday's attack, she said: "In regards to the reports about that incident, we have not commented, and I won't today . . . I'm just not going to comment on the incident in any way."
"I will reiterate that we've been working closely with the new civilian government of Pakistan that is feeling its way and working to establish itself," said Perino. She said the two allies faced "a common enemy" in the Taliban militia and the Al Qaeda terrorist network and noted "a very big scare yesterday" with a failed attack on Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.
"So we're going to try to see the Prime Minister and the Pakistani political structure from themselves, even though they don't deserve it," Perino added.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2008 00:00 ||
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[6 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
#1
Just gets curiouser and curiouser as this story slowly unfolds. The Pak government seems to me to be about as stable as a paper Japanese lantern with candles in a breeze. It may not take much for one of the flames to touch the paper and the lantern goes up in flames. About all I can say is that the mission objective was important enough to take the risk of causing the Pak government to flame out.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
09/05/2008 12:22 Comments ||
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#2
The big backlash was the US ambassador getting called to the 'big house' for an ass-chewing. On the punishment scale, I think in this case it would rank somewhere below one of the regulars getting called to NASCAR's red trailer for a 'wing bracket' infraction.
(AKI) - American forces were responsible for Wednesday's deadly raid on a suspected Taliban haven near the Afghan border that has generated widespread condemnation in Pakistan, an unnamed senior official has said. You sure? Rumor I heard wuz, it wuz Samoans.
According to Pakistan's Geo News, a senior US military official conceded US forces were behind the controversial assault on the alleged militant stronghold that took place on Wednesday in the South Waziristan tribal area. Pakistan's government has condemned the action which killed 20 people. Where should we go to register our complaint about the existence of a "militant stronghold" within spitting distance of the Afghan border?
The US official, speaking in Washington on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of cross border operations, said the raid occurred just inside Pakistan.
NATO helicopter gunships attacked the militants' stronghold in the Angoor Adda area, less than two kilometres from the Afghan border. Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Mehmood Qureshi, on Thursday called the incident in Angoor Adda shameful, regrettable and surprising. Kinda like the presence of al-Qaeda in the territory of a "friendly" nation.
According to the state agency, Associated Press of Pakistan, Qureshi said it was an 'unforgivable incident' and that the country's sovereignty had been violated despite its central role in the war against terrorism. "Pakistan is committed to fight against extremism and terrorism and our track record proves that (the) Pakistan Army have laid down their lives to fight this monster," he told the National Assembly. "Just not that particular monster."
He said the Foreign Office had already lodged a strong protest with the US and summoned its ambassador to convey its objections. Qureshi said the attack was also in violation of international principles under the UN charter. "The Hague Conventions say a neutral country can't allow its territory to be used to conduct hostilities. It don't say nothin' about putative allies!"
Advisor to the Prime Minister on Interior, Rehman Malik , said an investigation was underway into the attack in Pakistani territory. "We are investigating how and when the attack was launched. The result would be shared with the nation. We would give our stance only once the investigations are concluded," he told reporters.
Meanwhile Adnkronos International's correspondent, Syed Saleem Shahzad, said that the British High Commission closed its visa application centre in the capital, Islamabad, because of a security threat.
The move came amid reports that 26 police recruits had been kidnapped by gunmen in the town of Hangu in North West Frontier Province. Militants battling security forces have kidnapped numerous government officials, soldiers and policemen over the past year and are still holding many of them. Pakistan's Taliban are also holding two Chinese engineers abducted last week along with a Pakistani driver and guard. Normally we don't go after Taliban, though we'd probably swoop in to try and grab Mullah Blinky or maybe Hekmatyar or Haqqani. It's a lot more likely we were trying for a Qaeda big turban.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2008 00:00 ||
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ISLAMABAD - Police resorted to a whiff of grape light baton charge to disperse a rally of leaders of bar associations and civil society activists converging here from across the country to demand restoration of deposed judges including chief justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry.
President of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, who led the rally outside the Parliament House, rejected governments move to invite judges to take fresh oath after reappointment though with previous seniority. He said the government action is illegal and can be challenged by new judges who claim to be senior to the reappointed judges under the constitution.
He said the lawyers would also not accept reinstatement of judges without Justice Iftikhar.
But the government said it recognised only current chief justice Hameed Dogar as legitimate head of the Supreme Court. Emphasising that there could not be two chief justices of the Supreme Court. Information Minister Sherry Rehman said Justice Dogar is the chief justice of entire Pakistan and not that of Asif Zardari as the lawyers are depicting him.
Attorney-General Latif Khosa said Zardari does not want to restore the chief justice. However, if he is invited to take fresh oath, he can work under Dogar and his seniority cannot be restored. He said it will be up to the government to invite any number of the deposed judges to take oath. Those who are not called or decline to take oath would be regarded as retired, he added.
Naek, talking to reporters outside the Parliament House, urged lawyers to terminate their agitation and let judges to take fresh oath. He said the government has extended old perks and seniority to all those who have agreed to take fresh oath.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/05/2008 00:00 ||
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Used the wrong weapon, though. What they should have used was heavy armor and beehive rounds. Much more effective.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/05/2008 13:57 Comments ||
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Oh, damn. I was hoping they were talking about St Paul....
President Bush will announce his decision on future troops levels in Iraq next week and is expected to largely follow the recommendations of military leaders to reduce the number by up to 8,000 by mid-January.
The closely held plan forwarded by top Pentagon advisers calls for keeping 15 combat brigades in Iraq until the end of the year, according to senior defense officials. It would also send a small Marine contingent to Afghanistan in November to replace one of two units slated to head home then.
Bush is scheduled to make remarks Tuesday at the National Defense University in Washington. White House press secretary Dana Perino says he has been talking with his national security team and will be consulting with members of Congress about Iraq.
Under the Pentagon recommendations, one combat brigade numbering between 3,500 to 4,000 troops will leave Iraq after the first of the year and will not be replaced. In addition, at least one Marine battalion will leave and not be replaced, as well as a few thousand support forces, defense officials said.
Those forces could include military police officers and other support troops that went to Iraq over the past year to support the large military buildup ordered by Bush in early 2007 to quell the growing violence.
The new plan being reviewed by Bush may disappoint some Congress members and others who expected a larger, faster reduction of troops in Iraq, considering the significant downturn in violence. According to defense officials, violence has plunged by about 80 percent since last year's peak.
Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, delivered his recommendations to military leaders about two weeks ago. He had initially argued to maintain the current force levels in Iraq about 146,000 troops, including 15 combat brigades and thousands of support forces through June, according to defense officials.
Officials discussed details of the plan on condition of anonymity because Bush has not yet made a final decision.
...
Posted by: ed ||
09/05/2008 14:05 ||
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He's doing this to appease Obama, no doubt.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
09/05/2008 14:52 Comments ||
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"The types of attacks (by al-Qaida), the methods have remained very specific -- VBIEDs, suicide bomber, some small arm fire -- but their ability to make them effective has really dropped off," said Col Allen Batschelet, the 4th ID's deputy commander. "Where we used to seeing VBIEDS that were extremely technical and with a lot of explosive material. Now they're very amateurish and the explosive material is down to the 10-15 pounds (range), where we used to see some of these VBIEDs or deep-buried IEDs that were in the hundreds of pounds of explosive materials." The rest of the article discusses how the American and Iraqi troops controlling Baghdad have taken away all the cached weapons of the anti-American cleric Moqtada al Sadr's Jaish al-Mahdi (JAM) militia and Iranian-influenced Special Group (SG) cells, as well as remnant cells of al-Qaida.
The U.S. military will next month transfer responsibility for paying 100,000 mostly Sunni fighters battling al-Qaeda to Baghdad's Shiite-led government, the military said on Thursday. The government of Iraq and the coalition forces have agreed in principle to transfer all 100,000 "Sons of Iraq" from October 1, U.S. military spokesman Major John Hall told AFP.
Start spending some of that $79 billion surplus ...
He said Baghdad alone has around 54,000 Sahwa members under contract to the U.S. military, and these are expected to be transferred to the government on October 1. "The first payment by the government of Iraq will be November 1, 2008. The current average monthly cost of these 54,000 SoIs is 15 million dollars," Hall added.
The rest are mainly spread across Sunni regions of Iraq, especially in the provinces of Salaheddin, Diyala, Nineveh and Kirkuk.
Over the past year, the 100,000 Sahwa members have been credited with helping to reduce levels of violence in Iraq to a four-year low. In recognition of their efforts the Sahwa hope eventually to be absorbed into the legitimate security forces, although some Iraqi leaders, mainly Shiites, say the groups are nothing more than dangerous private militias.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
some Iraqi leaders, mainly Shiites, say the groups are nothing more than dangerous private militias.
And these are different from al-Sadr's militia, and what's his face down in Najaf?
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/05/2008 13:57 Comments ||
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(CNA)- Archbishop Jean Benjamin Sleiman of Baghdad has denounced Iraqi media and government officials for ignoring the numerous cases of Christians being kidnapped, which he said are motivated primarily by Islamic extremism.
According to Vatican Radio, Archbishop Sleiman, responding to requests by family members and friends of kidnapped Christians that they be released, urged the government to address the issue and to "stop the wave of kidnappings that are affecting the Christian community."
Likewise, the archbishop said it was disturbing that the government and the media are ignoring this phenomenon, which has become an urgent problem for the Iraqi people.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2008 00:00 ||
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The government has been ordered to release further details relating to its controversial dossier on Saddam Hussein's supposed weapons of mass destruction, following a ruling by the information commissioner. The ruling follows a three-year battle by journalist Chris Ames to obtain drafts of the dossier, as well as comments made about them by officials and spy chiefs in the run-up to its publication in September 2002.
Allegations that the dossier was "sexed up" before publication to make a stronger case for war on Iraq were examined by the Hutton inquiry into the death of government scientist David Kelly in 2003.
Richard Thomas, the information commissioner, has rejected the government's argument that publishing comments made about drafts of the dossier could jeopardise national security. He said there was "a strong public interest in a degree of exposure of the circumstances of the dossier's production" in order to throw light on the question of whether intelligence findings were manipulated to present an exaggerated case for military action.
The Cabinet Office today said it was considering the commissioner's decision. Ministers have 35 days to decide whether to appeal to the information tribunal.
The dossier, which included the claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction which could be launched within 45 minutes, led to a furious row between the BBC and the government.
Kelly committed suicide after being named as the source of a BBC report alleging that the document was "sexed up".
William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary, said: "Rather than have items of evidence dragged into the public domain piece by piece, the government should set up a full-scale inquiry into the origins and conduct of the Iraq war.
"The sooner we can learn the lessons of the war, the sooner we can apply them. It is imperative to begin an inquiry before memories have faded, emails have been deleted and documents have disappeared."
The dossier was released in September 2002, as Tony Blair was starting to make the case for war against Iraq. It was not the same as the so-called "dodgy dossier", a separate report about the activities of the Saddam regime that was criticised because part of it was plagiarised from an academic article available on the internet.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
and why do i expect the MSM to remain silent?
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
09/05/2008 16:06 Comments ||
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So, too, would they vote for Hamas' Haniyeh. In fact, according to the actual data, support versus a year ago for Abbas has dropped amongst Palestinians, while support for Haniyeh has risen. This only shows the Palestinians have learnt nothing useful.
#2
it shows a six point swing to Haniyeh. During a period when Hamas claims to have won by surviving in Gaza, while Abbas hasnt yet delivered a peace deal with Israel. Im not so sure thats so bad for Abbas, I think a case could have been made for expecting worse.
Defense contractor Northrop Grumman is promising the Pentagon that it'll have weapons-grade electric lasers by the end of 2008. Which means honest-to-goodness energy weapons might actually become a military reality, after decades of fruitless searching.
For the longest time, the military concentrated on developing chemical-powered lasers. They produced massively powerful laser blasts. But the noxious stuff needed to produce all that power makes the weapons all-but-impractical in a war zone. So the Defense Department shifted gears, and poured money into solid-state, electric lasers instead. Under its Joint High-Powered Solid State Laser (JHPSSL) project, these beams -- once considered too weak to do soldiers much good -- have made steady progress. Now Northrop is promising to hit what's widely considered to be the threshold for military-strength beams: 100 kilowatts. With that much energy, lasers should be able to knock mortars and rockets out of the sky.
Northrop's system combines a bunch of smaller lasers into a bigger one -- Death Star-style, sorta. In March, the company announced that it had completed the first of these eight "laser chains." Yesterday, the company said it had joined two of the chains together. What's more, the beam combo ran at peak power -- 30 kW -- "for more than five minutes continuously and more than 40 minutes total; and achieved electrical-to-optical efficiency of greater than 19 percent."
"We are completely confident we will meet the 100 kW of power level and associated beam quality and runtime requirements of the JHPSSL Phase 3 program by the end of December, 2008," Bob Bishop, a Northrop Grumman spokesman, tells Defense Daily.
Posted by: Mike ||
09/05/2008 13:59 Comments ||
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Sounds like the ultimate defense weapon to me - force shield turned laser shield. Only, this thing should also work quite well on offense as well. Awesome!
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
09/05/2008 14:51 Comments ||
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I wonder if anyone has come up with a way to address dust, fog, rain, ect.
It's called a cannon. Light and infrared beams will absorb and scatter on any discontinuities (dust, vapor, rain). Even air molecules will absorb light. Even on a clear day, I very much doubt a laser beam will travel more than 10km in the lower atmosphere (ground or air-ground) before losing its destructive power.
Microwaves will travel a lot further, but can't be focused into a small spot like lasers.
Posted by: ed ||
09/05/2008 19:45 Comments ||
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Syria has arrested Lebanon's most-wanted terrorist suspect, Fatah al-Islam leader Shaker al-Abassi. Syrian sources have claimed that Abassi is in Syrian custody and that discussions were under way between security agencies in Damascus and Beirut to determine whether he be extradited to Lebanon or tried in Syria.
The report came hours after the United Arab Emirates daily al-Bayan quoted a senior official of a pro-Syrian Palestinian faction as saying that Abassi was picked up after illegally entering Syria.
Abassi had fled the northern Lebanese refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared during a crackdown by the Lebanese army last September after troops crushed a Fatah al-Islam rebellion. The 15-week battle in and around the camp resulted in the deaths of more than 400 people, including 162 troops.
On June 21, 2007, Abassi and 15 other Fatah al-Islam members were charged by Lebanese state prosecutor Saeed Mirza with carrying out bus bombings on Feb 13 that year in the village of Ain-Alaq. Al-Abassi was also charged with bombing two buses on the eve of a Cedar Revolution rally planned to mark the second anniversary of the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri.
Some Lebanese and Syrian officials have cited links between Fatah al-Islam and Al Qaeda. Lebanese Defence Minister Elias Murr has repeatedly said that he wants al-Abassi 'dead or alive'.
#1
Syrian sources have claimed that Abassi is in Syrian custody and that discussions were under way between security agencies in Damascus and Beirut to determine whether he be extradited to Lebanon or tried in Syria.
Tehran has summoned the French charge d'affaires to voice its concern about an 'anti-Islamic' meeting to be held in Germany. The Iranian Foreign Ministry called on France which holds the presidency of the European Union to "make responsible decisions" to prevent the organizers of the anti-Islamic conference from going on with their plan.
The French diplomat, Jean Grebling, for his part, condemned any kind of Islamophobia and racism and promised to follow up the issue, IRNA reported on Wednesday.
The conference is supported by German right-wing groups, Belgium's Vlaams Belang and Austria's Freedom Party (FPOe). The organizers are planning to protest against building more mosques in European cities as well as what they call "Islamic terror in Europe and Muslim parallel societies in European cities."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2008 00:00 ||
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Anti-islamic meeting defined: Any gathering of two or more people during which the activities and beliefs of Muslotards are subjected to objective analysis. See also, "Reality."
Syria's leader made a move Thursday to shake off the country's pariah image, saying Damascus had put forth a proposal for peace with Israel. But President Bashar Assad also said he would not break off ties with Hizbullah and Palestinian resistance groups - a key Israeli demand for Mideast peace. Then he'll remain a pariah.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2008 00:00 ||
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Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2008 00:00 ||
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"Iran is taking a great risk when it continues to arm itself with nuclear arms of this we are certain because we may wake up one day and find out that Israel, regardless of who its leader will be, launched an attack," he said.
"The question at hand is not whether such a strike would be legitimate or wise, but rather what we would do in such a scenario. It would be a catastrophe and must be prevented."
Well the best way to prevent it is to ensure that Iran does not now, or ever, get the capability to manufacture nuclear weapons.
Short of that, Pres. Sarkosky, you are fresh out of luck.
The Israelis have no choice. They can't afford to wait for the Iranians to strike first and then retaliate. They can't afford to gamble on the Mad Mullahs being deterred by retaliation. If Israelis want to survive they must strike preemptively. The question is: Will the Israelis use nukes or do they have the kind of conventional weapons required to disable the Iranian nuke program? My guess would be the Israelis will have to go nuclear which is why we should do it first with conventional weapons.
BEIRUT - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad vowed Thursday that his country will not abandon Lebanon's Shiite resistance movement Hezbollah. Assad in an exclusive interview with Hezbollah-run al-Manar Television said "we do not see any interest in abandoning the resistance (Hezbollah). Our position toward the resistance against any occupation in Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine is firm and has not changed."
Gee, that's not what we hear on the streets. That's the story I'd be planting if I had a competent CIA ...
"The French did not suggest that we abandon the resistance (Hezbollah), we are not speaking of offering gifts," Assad said adding that "Syria's political discourse did not change and will not change until Israel's occupation changes."
Assad's comments came after a two-day visit by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to Damascus during which a mini-summit was held in the presence of leaders from Turkey and Qatar to discuss the Mideast peace process.
Referring to the indirect Syrian-Israeli talks mediated by Turkey Assad said that "when we move into the direct negotiations stage, we will talk about a sponsor whose role is not merely delivering messages and ideas between the participating sides."
Assad accused the current US leadership of working against peace and wondered how it was possible for an administration "that doesn't believe in peace to sponsor peace talks." However, he added that "whether we like it or not, the US is essential in the peace process," but he said all issues would have to wait till a new presidential administration takes office in the US.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/05/2008 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.
(AKI) - The joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur is stepping up its presence in and around a camp for homeless people, where dozens of people were shot dead last week during clashes with Sudanese security forces.
Asserting the Sixth Amendment guarantees "a fair trial, not a perfect trial," a federal judge yesterday said he wants to hear from an expert defense witness before deciding whether to postpone the Fort Dix terrorist trial. Judge Robert Kugler told defense attorneys during a hearing in U.S. District Court in Camden that he needs more information to determine the importance of the testimony of Gregory Lee. "I am not convinced that he is all that essential," Kugler said of the former Drug Enforcement Administration agent, who is being deployed to Iraq shortly. 
NEW YORK (AP) - An American-educated Pakistani woman who's been labeled an al-Qaida supporter refused to appear in federal court Thursday to answer charges that she tried to kill U.S. soldiers and FBI agents after they detained her this summer in Afghanistan. 
Hundreds of Kashmiri militants and refugees from Indian-held Kashmir rallied in Azad Kashmir on Thursday, vowing a holy war (jihad) to free their homeland from India. 
(AKI) - American forces were responsible for Wednesday's deadly raid on a suspected Taliban haven near the Afghan border that has generated widespread condemnation in Pakistan, an unnamed senior official has said. 
The U.S. military will next month transfer responsibility for paying 100,000 mostly Sunni fighters battling al-Qaeda to Baghdad's Shiite-led government, the military said on Thursday. The government of Iraq and the coalition forces have agreed in principle to transfer all 100,000 "Sons of Iraq" from October 1, U.S. military spokesman Major John Hall told AFP.
(CNA)- Archbishop Jean Benjamin Sleiman of Baghdad has denounced Iraqi media and government officials for ignoring the numerous cases of Christians being kidnapped, which he said are motivated primarily by Islamic extremism.
Defense contractor Northrop Grumman is promising the Pentagon that it'll have weapons-grade electric lasers by the end of 2008. Which means honest-to-goodness energy weapons might actually become a military reality, after decades of fruitless searching.
Syria's leader made a move Thursday to shake off the country's pariah image, saying Damascus had put forth a proposal for peace with Israel. But President Bashar Assad also said he would not break off ties with Hizbullah and Palestinian resistance groups - a key Israeli demand for Mideast peace.
