Great picture at the link. Hope she changes her route home from work from time to time.
Kuwait's first female Cabinet member took the oath of office in parliament Monday over the shouts of Muslim fundamentalist and tribal lawmakers opposed to women in politics.The parliament floor was in uproar as conservatives stood and cried out that Massouma al-Mubarak's appointment was unconstitutional because she was not a registered voter. Liberal lawmakers then stood as well, shouting back, "Congratulations." Congratulations, indeed. George Bush who?
Amid the din, al-Mubarak — dressed in a pinstriped dark blue pantsuit, and an Islamic veil that covered her hair — rose from her seat in the front row and read the oath from a paper seemingly unaffected by the screaming match. The U.S.-educated political science teacher was named as minister of planning and administrative development June 12, a month after Kuwait's parliament gave women the right to vote and participate in politics for the first time. Al-Mubarak described the event as a "great day for all Kuwaiti women." She said she was willing to "cooperate with all lawmakers" in the interest of her country.
Wankers Tribal representatives and fundamentalists, who believe women should not mix freely with men and should stay at home to take care of their families, repeatedly blocked the legislation giving women voting rights until it was finally passed. And they've made it clear they oppose al-Mubarak's appointment, saying it was unconstitutional because she does not satisfy one of the conditions for becoming a minister: being an "eligible voter." She was unable to register in the annual registration period in February because the suffrage bill had not yet been passed. "If she is not registered, she is not a voter," lawmaker Deiffallah Bou Ramia shouted during the oath-taking. Bou Ramia earlier collected 10 signatures of fellow lawmakers to discuss the minister's appointment in the house, a step that could lead to raising the matter to the Constitutional Court.
The Cabinet and pro-women's rights members of the house counter that registration is not a requirement for being an eligible voter."Tell me, is Sheik Nawwaf (Al Sabah, the interior minister) registered?" roared liberal legislator Mohammed al-Saqer. "You just want to wage war!"
The prime minister, Sheik Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah, who walked into the chamber in the middle of the heated exchange, said: "I would like to tell you that I am not registered, if there is a law against this, then we (unregistered Cabinet members) will all have to walk out of this parliament."
Conservative members of the house accused the speaker, Jassem al-Kharafi, of siding with the pro-women's rights lawmakers by trying to prevent them from speaking out. They all managed to speak, however, mostly out of turn. Al-Kharafi said the request from the 10 lawmakers to deliberate al-Mubarak's appointment will be on parliament's agenda June 27. Sheik Sabah told reporters the legislators have the right to try to take their case to the Constitutional Court, but what is done is done. "She took the oath and she is staying," he said.
#1
Just a second. Does giving a "thumbs up" gesture in Kuwait mean what it means in the US, or what it means in Greece? It's hard to tell from her grin.
By Abu Haitham Al-Hijazee If you think that Saudi security forces have quashed the Mujahideen in the land of the Two Holy Mosques, as claimed by Prince Nayef, think again. Less than a month ago, three military choppers were set ablaze inside Al-Qaseem airport. The incident was reported as an accident by Saudi officials.
I think we had our suspicions about that at the time...
Two days ago, Al-Qaida organization in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility and provided details on the operation, thereby, dealing the Saudi government another major blow of embarrassment.
I think that was pretty much ignored by the press. Might as well have saved the effort. No corpses, y'know...
Now, Lieutenant Col. Mubarak Al-Sawwat Al-Autaibi, the most notorious interrogations officer and jailer at Ruwaise prison in Jeddah was gunned down by Al-Qaida Mujahideen as he left his house in Mecca for work early Saturday morning. Sawwat was responsible for torturing many Mujahideen prisoners, their friends, and their families. The accompanying Arabic video, which was taped sometime ago, gives a glimpse of what this heartless, and faithless man has done to Muslims and their families. Many of those that have died from torture had been killed in interrogations personally overseen by Sawwat. In many cases, he forced prisoners to confess to violations they have never committed by bringing the wives, mothers or daughters of the accused into their interrogations, ordering the accused to confess to certain violations, otherwise his wife, mother, sister, or daughter will be raped there and then, right in front of the prisoner.
Saddam Hussein reference. Just as bad. No different. Got it.
In a letter smuggled out, one prisoner (who later died from torture) described his first encounter with Sawwat: Sawwat asked him about the thick, long bush of hair on his face, referring to the man's beard (without calling it such). The prisoner replied with pride that it is his beard and it is Sunnah. Sawwat then told him that it is a broom and will be used as broom to sweep the floors of the prison.
Awwww! Diddums offend his Islamic sensibilities?
Sawwat was warned by Al-Qaida in writing and by telephone. He was giving an opportunity to stop his acts against the Mujahideen and repent to Allah, and repeatedly warned that if he did not stop he would be eliminated. He did not heed Al-Qaida's advice and ended up paying for his arrogance with his life. Only Allah knows what further penalties he has yet to pay for his heinous acts.
Soddy copper dead. My sympathy meter doesn't stir. In Dire Revenge™ for mistreating Qaeda thugs. Sympathy meter's trying to nudge into the negative range. The apathy meter, however, seems to be reading pretty high.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2005 07:19 ||
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#1
I explored the Jihad Unspun site for a minute and was surprised, but not shocked, to see an Al Gore speech reprinted as evidence of the widening gulf dividing the American people.
If you have an infinite number of monkeys, typing on an infinite number of typewriters.....
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/20/2005 9:13 Comments ||
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#2
Saudi terrorists seem to be getting a clue. Random violence doesn't work, but targeted violence does.
THE "stupid action" of military forces who raided the Iraq house where Douglas Wood was found had risked the lives of two Iraqi hostages, Australia's Islamic spiritual leader said today. Australian Mufti Sheik Taj al-Din al-Hilaly returned to Sydney today from his Middle East mission to try to secure the 63-year-old engineer's release. Sheik al-Hilaly's arrival in Sydney this morning coincided with Mr Wood touching down in Melbourne.
Mr Wood was released last week when Iraqi and American troops on a general sweep-and-cordon operation in Baghdad were tipped off to a house of interest where the Australian was found, Prime Minister John Howard said today. They weren't tipped off it was a random, accidental find. Howard is still trying to diplomatically brownose the sheik. Why? And why the backflip on illegal immigrants?
At a Sydney mosque today, Sheikh al-Hilali told of his concern for two Iraqi hostages – one of whom was Mr Wood's driver. He said both men, known only as Farris and Adel, had families and were still in grave danger.
Reports last week said the troops who freed Mr Wood had also found another hostage, a 19-year-old Iraqi identified as Rasool.
Sheikh al-Hilaly was critical of the military operation in Baghdad and said Mr Wood had been close to being released anyway. He said the raid had endangered the lives of the other two hostages. "The stupid action that was taken last week has exposed the fathers of these families to death," he said in Arabic, translated by his spokesman Keysar Trad.
"And besides, I got no credit!"
"There's a 90 per cent chance they will not be released." For behold I am the master expert of percentages
If military forces had only delayed their actions, the two Iraqi nationals might also have been freed, he said. "If they waited 12 hours everything would have worked out all right," he said. Just like last time i told you Wood would be freed... weeks ago, you remember?
The sheik said he could have secured Mr Wood's release within the first week of his arrival in Iraq but had held off to try to also secure the release of the other two Iraqis. "It was within my reach, it was almost possible to free him (Douglas Wood) in the first week ...," he said. "You need me no really you do! It is better to have my help than the military.. no really believe me!"
"I coulda been a contenda!"
Sheik al-Hilaly said he had co-ordinated his actions with those of the head of Australia's emergency response team, Nick Warner, whom he said had been advised "step by step" and knew of Mr Wood's imminent release. "We had reached an agreement that somebody would contact Mr Warner and tell him that Mr Wood would be taken to the Babel Hotel and from there he could be taken to the Australian embassy," he said.
But military forces had wrongly used the information that had been supplied, he said. "As I see it, the Iraqi forces were going for one thing and they discovered something else and they handed Mr Wood over to the Americans," he said. "Like someone who goes fishing, he puts his fish in a bucket – next thing someone comes and takes it from behind his back." That's my fish give it back baggins... Baggins.. we hates it ! my precious... my victory... i'm important... allah allah
The sheik said he had wanted to avoid the raid and secure Mr Wood's release in a more "civilised and peaceful" way than had occurred. For behold i am the master of CIVilisation... Fatima be silent or I'll beat you with this stick ... it is the will of allah.
#2
Forgot to tell you, earlier our great big Muff said Wood had a 20% chance of survival when he was kidnapped followed by a 70% chance as soon as the Great One Sheik Hilaly set foot in Iraq followed by a 100% chance of release... if only those pesky infidels didn't foil it by rescuing him.. allah allah...
never trust an infidel.. allah ...oooo we hates it .. allah allah ... percentages ... allah
#3
Hilaly did nothing to free to Mr. Wood. Hilaly should be put down like the rabid dog he is.
Posted by: Mark Z. ||
06/20/2005 12:37 Comments ||
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#4
Sounds like a snake oil salesman to me.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
06/20/2005 13:01 Comments ||
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#5
The sheik said he had wanted to avoid the raid and secure Mr Wood's release in a more "civilised and peaceful" way than had occurred. As opposed as to how he was caputured and kept. Bet he had a bible given to him. And Australian food.
#8
When is someone in authority going to call open season on Muslim "clerics" who interfere in international diplomacy? I'd appreciate an open season, limited to 430 years, bag limit per person per day at 3, possession limit 0, $5 license fee refunded upon delivery of the first body. Allow any means at all to bag a "cleric", as long as no one else is hurt (unless it's another "cleric"). Large-caliber weapons, bombs above 500 pounds of semtex, and unconventional weapons require prior approval. Hunter is allowed to keep any turbans captured, as long as there is less than 2 pounds of organic material attached.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/20/2005 20:37 Comments ||
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#9
Wow, OP -- I see they've pushed you too far. How about a $100 per cleric tax rebate too?
Posted by: Tom ||
06/20/2005 20:45 Comments ||
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#10
I'm starting to feel a little sorry for our Muff.
He has in the past tried to clamp down on the really extreme Wahhabist saudi-faction, even taking jihadi literature dumped on his mosque to the tip.
I think he really DID try to free Douglas Wood and this humiliation is extremely damaging to him given the whole honour-shame thing.
Perhaps when he first heard Wood was free he really believed he was released (after all the Jihadis repeatedly told him they would release him).
And also, perhaps, Douglas Wood was kept alive due to the Mufti - after all, they could have killed him easily enough.
So really, we should thank the Mufti for doing something, even if he didn't free Wood.
I feel really bad now that I ripped into the Mufti so much.
MADRID - Spain extended the detention on Monday of five alleged militants suspected of abetting the March 2004 train bombings in Madrid, which killed 191 people, court sources said. The five men face charges ranging from recruiting jihadists to helping the bombers escape after the attacks. If convicted of forming part of a terrorist group, one of the charges against them, they would face up to 14 years in prison.
They were arrested last week along with 11 others who are suspected of being followers of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Al Qaeda's leader in Iraq and the head of the anti-American insurgency. A judge's decision on whether to hold these men is expected on Tuesday, the sources said.
Judicial investigations in Spain, Italy, Germany and Sweden suggest Ansar al-Islam -- a group with which Washington linked Zarqawi before the Iraq war -- has emerged as the most prominent militant group engaged in fundraising and recruitment in Europe.
Spanish authorities have arrested some 200 suspected Muslim extremists in recent years. Twenty-four alleged members of Al Qaeda are on trial in a specially built court house in Madrid charged with belonging to a terrorist group. Interior Minister Jose Antonio Alonso said on Monday there remained a considerable threat from terrorism in Spain.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/20/2005 14:49 ||
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Is Europe losing ground in its fight against radical Islam? Recent events and trends have investigators worried that it is.
Last week Spanish police broke up a network that allegedly sent radical Islamic volunteers to fight in Iraq and brought veterans of that war back to Europe to create new terror cells. 3 guesses which country they're moving through - see the 2nd last para Meanwhile, Spanish prison officials are worried that their jails have become breeding grounds for terrorists. And in coming months, dozens of terror suspects will be released from European jails because formal charges have yet to be filed.
Despite a massive police crackdown in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the U.S. and improved police and judicial cooperation across Europe, investigators say the terror threat isn't diminishing. European Union counterterrorism boss Gijs de Vries says Islamist terrorism could challenge European governments for decades. Former Central Intelligence Agency counterterrorism chief Cofer Black says the endless stream of new recruits to radical Islam in Europe's target-rich environment presents a "clear risk and danger" that has grown more acute, not less.
Spanish investigating magistrate Baltasar Garzón says terrorist groups exploit Europe's freedom to prepare short-term and long-term attacks. "Islamist terrorists recruit a new generation ... to continue the fight before they execute their own attack," Mr. Garzón says.
Paradoxically, Europe's quick jailing of terror suspects soon after the U.S. hijackings may have aggravated the problem. In Spain, for instance, police nabbed 15 Algerian suspects with paramilitary equipment two weeks after the attacks on New York and Washington. They haven't been formally indicted, and will go free in September; Spanish law caps pretrial detention at four years.
To an extent, the U.S. reliance on extralegal detention centers such as Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan obviates part of the problem facing Europe. By keeping terror suspects away from other inmates vulnerable to recruitment, these facilities minimize jailhouse indoctrination. They also avoid the early release of potentially dangerous inmates. gee, ya think????
But a growing contingent of U.S. lawmakers now are convinced that facilities like Guantanamo Bay fuel resentment and help drive recruitment to jihad across the Arab world, hurt! our feelings are hurt and we demand that some people get blown up to make it better! and some have called on the Bush administration to shut it down. Spanish investigators have identified a similar phenomenon: Suspects nabbed in recent years say they joined jihad out of anger at long-term detentions and sweeping police crackdowns. uh huh. and cause Fatima won't give me the time of day in this infidel country. an' I can't even get a high paying job without learning math an stuff I'd rather major in seething.
In Europe, merely calling for jihad isn't a criminal offense; prosecutors often need evidence of intent to commit a violent crime to obtain conviction. In the Netherlands, a person linked to a militant Islamist network that has ties to the man who allegedly killed Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh -- Samir Azzouz -- was released in April. He was sentenced to three months for a firearms violation after prosecutors failed to make terror-related charges stick. In Germany, a veteran of Afghan training camps, Ishan Garnaoui, will be released next year.
Civil-liberty advocates say the men should be set free, because prosecutors have been unable to build convincing cases despite years of investigation. Rolf Gössner, president of the German section of the International League for Human Rights, says presumption of innocence requires that suspects be charged or released in a reasonable amount of time.
In fact, some European officials say throwing suspects in pretrial detention may worsen the matter. Spanish investigators say hundreds of common criminals are being indoctrinated by suspected Islamists. Prisons traditionally haven't installed their own Muslim religious leaders, so radical emirs have taken charge of informal prayer services in Spanish, French and German jails. Prison officials say radicals promise salvation through jihad, and can indoctrinate drug dealers and pickpockets to fundamentalist beliefs in a matter of weeks, preparing them to form sleeper cells when their short sentences finish.
What's more, while police normally get permission to track terror suspects upon release, judges are reluctant to authorize wiretaps or other surveillance of common criminals, on the theory that they have paid their debt to society. The men often can disappear into urban immigrant communities. Spanish police broke up one cell in November, created among prison inmates, that allegedly was plotting to blow up the nation's High Court, seat of the antiterror fight.
To prevent recruitment behind prison walls, officials in Spain wrote an 18-page manual last month detailing how to spot changes in prisoner behavior. Potential recruits who notably change their attire, grow beards or pray more than usual can be moved to other areas of the prison. But prison officials are skeptical they can get a grip on the situation.
Investigators say the problem is compounded by a wave of holy warriors returning from fighting in Iraq. Though many recruits sent from Europe to Iraq are believed to be suicide-bomb volunteers, police and terrorism officials say there are dozens more who return to act as ringleaders.
Spanish police say the 13 men they arrested on June 15 formed part of a network that recruited volunteers for Abu Musab al Zarqawi's al Qaeda-affiliated group in Iraq. Police believe Mustafa Setmarian Nasar, a Syrian with Spanish papers, may have helped create the network, which shuttles recruits out of Europe and coordinates their return via Syria. Mr. Setmarian Nasar, subject of a $5 million bounty offered by the U.S. government, called on radical Islamic Web sites in early June for European volunteers to wage jihad in Iraq.
"The key gauge of the terror threat is the survival rate of Iraqi-trained holy warriors returning to Europe," says Mr. Black, the former CIA official. Even if they are imprisoned, he says, many are experts in explosives, bomb-making and document forgery, and can pass on their skills in prison.
Posted by: too true ||
06/20/2005 10:03 ||
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#1
Note that in the past few weeks, there's been a dispute between various factions of the CFCM (official muslim representatives council set up by french gvt) about who was going to lead prison service prayers and select chaplains.
Finally, french authorities wielded, and the UOIF, France's muslim brotherhood, was to be chosen!
This then stalled due to more power-struggles, and is on the backburner until further notice (the CFCM has just had a new "election" of very dubious democratical value, rigged to lower the UOIF's influence vs algerian and moroccan-backed orgs).
#2
presumption of innocence is still important. corby case reminded aussies of that, but maybe there should be much more stringent laws about the preaching of jihad. Ie: ban it.
#3
At least in Germany "calling for jihad" would qualify as "incitement of violence" and is very well punishable, and if a direct influence to a killing can be proven this can get you life.
Canada has vowed tough counterintelligence measures to stay on top of an alleged Chinese espionage ring. The Canadian government is taking seriously a Chinese defector's allegations Beijing has more than 1,000 spies in Canada and has pledged to take whatever security actions are necessary to protect its sovereignty, the Globe and Mail reported.
That's funny. I thought all the Chinese spies were trying to take over Australia
Under pressure from Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper to crack down on Chinese spying, Prime Minister Paul Martin told the House of Commons: "Canadians can rest assured that we maintain a very strong law enforcement and security system that will enable Canadians to be assured of their own protection and their own security."
Then his lips fell off
Martin was responding to questions about the assertion of former Chinese police officer Hao Fengjun that Beijing maintained more than 1,000 spies in Canada to inform on members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement. The Chinese embassy in Ottawa flatly denies the allegations. But both the Australian and Canadian governments have indicated they are taking Mr. Hao's allegations seriously enough to investigate. "We always take all of these allegations very seriously," Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew said.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/20/2005 14:37 ||
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The Chicoms do not need too many spies, as their front compaines are buying up critical industries in Canada. Cat's oot of the bag, Mr. Martin.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/20/2005 15:35 Comments ||
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... pledged to take whatever security actions are necessary to protect its sovereignty...
MIAMI - Two men accused of supporting terrorism by recruiting Muslim extremists are seeking dismissal of the charges, alleging that jailers mishandled a Quran and conducted inappropriate searches of their cells. Attorneys for Adhan Amin Hassoun and Kifah Wael Jayyousi said in court motions that jailers disrespectfully tossed Hassoun's Quran on his bunk and left 8,000 pages of trial papers in disarray.
Boo freaking hoo.
The incidents occurred in May and June at a federal detention center in downtown Miami and amount to government misconduct and unconstitutional intrusion on trial preparation, according to the motions filed Friday.
"By depriving the defendants of the confidentiality of their own case-related notes, the government has destroyed any possible confidence that their case can be prepared with privacy," the attorneys wrote.
I'm not a lawyer, but I don't think anything a prisoner has in his cell is not subject to a search.
Jayyousi, a U.S. citizen and former assistant superintendent of Detroit public schools, has been in isolation since he was arrested in March and transferred to Miami. Hassoun, a Lebanese-born Palestinian, has been held in solitary confinement for nearly a year following two years in an immigration jail.
They are accused of conspiring in the 1990s to raise money and recruit Muslim extremists to fight in Bosnia, Kosovo, Chechnya and Somalia. They allegedly recruited Jose Padilla, a former Chicago gang member and Muslim convert who is held by the United States as an enemy combatant.
Arrested in May 2002, Padilla allegedly planned attacks on the United States, including use of a radioactive "dirty bomb."
The trial for Jayyousi and Hassoun is set for September 2006, which would leave them in solitary for another year. Their attorneys are seeking an end to their solitary confinement through release or house arrest. The two face life terms if convicted. Alicia Valle, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office, said Monday that prosecutors would respond in writing. Messages left at the jail were not immediately returned.
This article starring:
ADHAN AMIN HASUN
al-Qaeda
JOSE PADILLA
al-Qaeda
KIFAH WAEL JAIYUSI
al-Qaeda
Posted by: Steve ||
06/20/2005 14:12 ||
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#1
These terrorist rights advocates can go on beating their chests about the stupidity of their support for the terrorist's legal processes but it will most definitely back fire on them.
As far as the Quran is concerned, burn the thing in front of them. To terrorists it is just another Al Qaeda manual.
#2
It appears that the inmates are starting to believe that they run the asylum. I might suggest that we disavow them of that notion, and fast.
For a start, no more friggin Korans!
#4
One more idiotic complaint about "abusing" the Koran and it'll be time to set up a website dedicated to pictures and video of Korans being desecrated.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
06/20/2005 15:44 Comments ||
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#5
Give them a Bible. See if they desecrate it? If they do, let's watch the left squirm, and tell us the difference. After all, is'nt a prison to reform people?
No kidding! Why are we giving our enemies the ammunition to use against us?!? As far as I know, if you are in the klink, you have absolutely no rights to own anything.
#7
I think each of the Holey 'Q'u'ra'ms' issued to the prisoners should have a little flip cartoon on each corner, maybe stickmen having sex with stick sheeps, MAD like steam powered blimps puffing along, the idea being to entertain and instruct.
#8
A great new product idea: disposable Karens. Yes, your flushable, mishandle-able Karens that can take a descretation lickin' and keep on tickin. Impress our muslim friends.
Posted by: Captain America ||
06/20/2005 17:57 Comments ||
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#9
Koranic Phrase of the day toilet paper - just like Word of the day. "Clean both ends at once" could be the motto.
#10
Just shoot them. That way, we don't have to provide anything to them. If they're American citizens, they lied to get their citizenship. If they're not, they're foreign combatants waging war against the US, and not due prisoner of war status. You also save a huge chunk of change by not having to feed, clothe, bathe, or cater to their whims. It also sends a POWERFUL message to their 'friends'. Just line 'em up against the back of the jail, and start shooting. no shot more than chest high. Leave them out overnight for the buzzards and 'possums to chow down on.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/20/2005 20:52 Comments ||
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#11
I am considering takign up a collection to buy several dozen Qurans. Then take my digital video cam, and a buddy's woodchipper...
And for added effect, show the shreds being used as pig-pen bedding, to absorb all the pig piss & manure it can get.
Congress is likely to step into the operation of the Guantanamo Bay detention center with legislation on how the U.S. should legally categorize an unorthodox enemy.
Congress does have a role, and legislation is proper. The whole issue of 'illegal combatants' has vexed the world for a century. The Prussians just shot them, as did we in WWII. But that was different than today, and having some sort of plan is a good idea. And let's get it done now while the Repubs are in charge of both houses.
Fitting the enemy in the war on terror into the proper niche is challenging. Al Qaeda terrorists do not wear a uniform. They target civilians and never signed the Geneva Convention governing the treatment of wartime detainees.
The Bush administration set what it thought would be a unilateral and a long-lasting policy after the September 11 attacks. It deemed terrorists caught in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region as enemy combatants entitled to trial only by military commissions. But those plans began unraveling after accusations of mild detainee mistreatment and a Supreme Court ruling that detainees had a right to court hearings. The lower federal courts are wrestling with the ruling's ramifications, and the commission-style trials have been put on hold.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Republican, convened the first hearing last week on legal issues at the Guantanamo prison. The witnesses provided the first in-depth public discussion of how the Bush administration views al Qaeda detention in the long term. In the process, officials offered a vigorous defense of holding al Qaeda members rather than giving them another chance to kill Americans.
Any elected official who advocates letting go the people who have avowed to kill Americans should be reminded of this, often, on the campaign trail.
"The detention of enemy combatants serves the vital military objective of preventing captured combatants from rejoining the conflict and gathering intelligence to further the overall war effort and to prevent additional attacks against our country," said J. Michael Wiggins, deputy associate U.S. attorney general. "Some of those individuals are being held at Guantanamo Bay."
Air Force Brig. Gen. Thomas L. Hemingway, who is chief legal adviser to the appointing authority for the military commissions, added, "I think that we can hold them as long as the conflict endures. But we have ... a very detailed process for releasing them if they no longer present a threat."
Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, Vermont Democrat and a strong advocate for detainee rights, asked, "Well, we now have a government in Afghanistan, yet the conflict continues. Is that what you're saying?" Gen. Hemingway replied, "The conflict is not with the government of Afghanistan. The conflict is with a nonstate organization."
What a great thing to be labeled a 'strong advocate for detainee rights'. Sorta like being labeled a 'strong advocate for al-Qaeda' or a 'strong advocate for the KKK'. Hemingway zings it back just right.
Another Democrat, Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, worried about how the Muslim world viewed Guantanamo, noting, "We have to deal with the 1.2 billion Muslims in the world. And guess what, General? We're doing real badly. We're doing real badly on that part of the war. Matter of fact, it's a disaster." thanks to you and your buddies, yes it is
So says the man who's thinking about running for President. The 24 million people in Iraq have a different opinon -- many different opinions -- but to hell with them, eh?
Part of the screening process involved conducting hearings for each inmate to determine whether he was an enemy combatant. The panels last spring confirmed that all but 38 fall into that category. The Pentagon is releasing the 38, but has had trouble finding countries to take 15 of them.
Sorta says something, doesn't it.
So far, the Pentagon has released more than 200 detainees. About 10 have resurfaced on the battlefield in Afghanistan and been killed or captured, administration officials said.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, endorsed the idea of using some type of stress to induce captured terrorists to talk. "We need to look at a way to standardize that because I worry about some of our own troops getting prosecuted under our own laws if we don't have standardization," he said. Oh shit, why not just publish all the rules up front so the prisoners know what to expect. Hell, we could even publish a schedule - you know, touching Korans at 0830, strippers at 0845 etc.
At the same time, we have to defend our troops against the malicious attacks from the Looney Left, and having some rules helps to do that.
Posted by: too true ||
06/20/2005 12:20 ||
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That's great. I'll remember this the next time I see them running from the Capitol and screaming like little girls when some flight instructor gets lost in his piper cub...
Posted by: Mountain Man ||
06/20/2005 12:49 Comments ||
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#4
I have an idea, why don't we allow those who want them released to become their sponsors. Anyone American national, who wants to sponsor a terrorist in their household can do so.
If these people believe that these prisoners are safe enough to be released to live somewhere, why not with them. That way, they can show the world that they truly believe what they say, that these poor little jihadi's can be reformed with a little love and tlc.
#5
"The 24 million people in Iraq have a different opinon -- many different opinions -- but to hell with them, eh?"
Joe Biden has been Iraq five times I think, and has reported back recently on progress on training Iraqi forces. He is NOT one of those who ignore the people of Iraq, as the loony left does. He was clearly referring here to the broader picture.
#13
Lets start by establishing a comparison with a tour first of Attica, Pelican Bay....
Let's add that other garden spot, Angola State Prison in Louisiana. It's 40 miles from anywhere, surrounded on three sides by swamps filled with 'gators, copperheads, and water moccisains, the temperature ranges from 0F to 112F, humidity is ALWAYS 100%, and the walls are always wet and slimy. Just to make sure Congress knows what they're doing, let's let ALL of them spend a month there, longer if necessary.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/20/2005 23:25 Comments ||
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FBI Failed to Hire, Promote Terror Experts (WAPO/AP)
In hundreds of pages of sworn testimony obtained by The Associated Press, senior FBI managers argued repeatedly that Middle East and anti-terrorism experience aren't required for promotion and that they see little difference between solving a traditional crime and a terror attack. THAT is why we will have another 9/11 type attack: The FBI refuses to treat terrorism like it should.
Internal counter-intel and security should be taken away formt he FBI, given to the DHS - and a new organization formed with powers and accountability for Counter-Intelligence, Coutnerterrorism, and security of the US. IT falls under DHS, and would report to the Director of National Intelligence, liek the CIA, DIA, and NSA, whith whom it would work. Strip the FBI of all this and turn it into what it wants to be: federal police.
#1
Eds: My comments above lost thier "hilite" please delete them other then whats hilited now. I repeat there here.
Internal counter-intel and security should be taken away from the FBI, given to the DHS - and a new agency formed with powers and accountability for Counter-Intelligence, Counter-terrorism, and security of the US. THis agency would belong to DHS, and would also report to the Director of National Intelligence, like the CIA, DIA, and NSA, with whom it would work.
Strip the FBI of all this and turn it into what it wants to be: federal police.
Dale Watson, the FBI's terrorism chief in the two years after Sept. 11, 2001 couldn't describe the difference between Shiites and Sunnis, the two major groups of Muslims. "Not technically, no," Watson answered when asked the question."
The FBI's current anti-terrorism chief ... when asked about his grasp of Middle Eastern culture and history, he replied: "I wish that I had it. It would be nice."
OUTRAGEOUS!! The FBI, as ignroant as they are, (and as I suspected) are STILL concentrating on law enforcement techniques - which mainly amounts to examining things AFTER THE FACT and then going after bad-guys based on what they find at the smoking crater or antrhax envelope. Thats what they knwo how to do and they apparently will not budge off their butts to change.
The FBI, in general, did and continues to do, precisely dick when it comes to prevention and preemption of terrorism inside the US. Its not as active as it shoudl be and furthermore itsis taking the wrong approach - and has little to no expertise. ITs starting to show itself as a rotten agency, like the CIA has been, rife with "old-boys networks" and "do it the way we always did it"
The rot of the FBI started under Louis Freeh & Janet Reno (Worst director & worst Attny General ever), and continues today. Director Mueller is NOT getting the job done and should be sacked. Just like Porter Goss was needed at CIA, we need someone to go through the FBI with a flamethrower and burn out the dead wood and complacent mind-sets that are screwing over subject matter expertise and CT/CI people in favor of thier police attitude "leaders".
Will it take another 9/11 to restructure domestic intel and take it out of the hands of the plodding ignoramuses who continue lead the FBI with "its just a crime" way of thinking?
President Bush - get off your ass and fire this guy - and push Congress for the reorganization that is truly needed, a new internal intel agency tasked with protecting the nation inside out borders.
#3
Hear hear. Bring in some Brits to advise DHS about how to make an American MI5 and let FBI handle the mob and whatever. They're only in the counterintel business because J. Edgar Hoover won a turf war a long time ago and they've never been good at it.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
06/20/2005 11:25 Comments ||
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I'm all for stripping the FBI of all counter-terrorism. There still needs to be inter-agency communication though. I can see terrorists linking up with drug trafficers for money, smuggling, etc. But with no need to go after terrorists, the FBI can work on fugitives and child porn cases. Maybe actually do something worthwile for a change.
#5
the FBI can work on fugitives and child porn cases.
yeah, as if they have been successful even at that.
There is a reason the mob thrives, the drug war is lost and women disappear everyday never to be found. It's cause the FBI is a failed institution. My apologies to the good FBI agents out there who work hard and do a good job - but I think we all agree the FBI is a horrid mess mired in bureaucracy, political correctness. The mob is comfortably rooted in our cities, the child porn trade thrives, drugs are openly traded on the street corners, women and children disappear daily never to be seen again.
Just go back to perusing the press and network news of what Muller was doing after 9/11.
Being PC in today's world is crazy and cozying up to organizations since shown to have terrorist links shows just how inept the FBI has been, not to mention the behaviour in response to those in the field reporting on the would be airline pilots.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/20/2005 12:27 Comments ||
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I'll say it again, in the hopes that somebody will hear me. What's wrong with the FBI is that all they do is collect information while the bad guys root and multiply. Oh sure every so often, they take down a Escobar or a mob boss, but usually, by the time they do, the distribution networks have been firmly established, and a new market created.
The FBI is good at collecting information and doing very little of substance with it. They pride themselves on this. I'd prefer they took pride in walking downtown DC without a drug dealer to be seen - or to go downtown NY and not see everyone cow-towing to the mob bosses.
#9
One of the ironies with the FBI and intel applicants is that their Human Resources is the biggest obstacle to bringing on experienced and willing intel folks. I refer to the failed attempt by the FBI to hire on hundreds of new intel folks last summer. Overall, it was a failure. The announcements and criteria were well done, but the process was a failure. Many folks with an intel background, languages, and expensive security backgrounds were stunned to find that their application efforts were pointless and suspiciously handled. I encourage no one but the traditional law enforcement disciplines pursue a career with the FBI. They do great work in most areas, but intel is not one of them. Its a management problem since the leadership is lacking. The Dept of Agriculture runs a better information collection, analysis and dissemination system than the FBI. Thats one reason we lead the world in agro-superiority. Shhh! Don't tell nobody!
#11
Well, this was telling enough: I know personally of a young man in his late 20's. Fluent in Arabic, Saudi dialect. Former US Army Intel Analyst (thats how I know him), solid clearances, a pile of accesses, SSBI, CI & Lifestyle polygraph, etc. Been working as a computer programmer with a defense contractor since he got out of the Army in 1999 (disability). Tried to get hired by the FBI in 2001, right after 9/11. Turned down, no reason given.
Tried again in 2003. Turned him down as not having enough "law enforcement background".
I got him on elsewhere. But the FBI really passed up a good chance to hire in an intel pro, because his background was military (not law enforcement), his degree was engineering (not social science or criminal justice), and I think there may have been a bit of prejudice in that he is of Iranian descent (3rd generation American) and is very "Arab" looking (instead of Persian) when he has gotten a lot of sun.
The FBI is broekn when it comes to CI and CT, especially preventative or preemtpive cross-agency CT. Most FBI people I have worked with have ben competent, but snobs when it comes to intel on US soil, thinking they know it all and that other agencies dont have anything of value to contribute. Thats just opinion. Others experiences may differ.
The beheaded bodies of a Laotian couple were found in southern Thailand over the weekend and were believed to be the latest victims of Muslim separatist violence, police said Sunday. The bodies of Amkha Duangmala, 26, and his wife, Konmanee Duangmala, 25, were found late Saturday in a hut on a chicken farm in Pattani province, said police commander Col. Suchon Ditbuth. Their heads were found early Sunday about 4 miles away. Police believe Muslim separatists were responsible for the killings but gave no evidence to back up the claim.
Except that nobody else in Thailand chops off people's heads.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2005 00:00 ||
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But wait, didn't some international Islamic group just report last week that there is no evidence that these sorts of activities are in any way related to Muslims. Let’s not jump to conclusions. It could be a CIA plot to make Muslims look bad or alien abduction or something else, anything else, besides the fruits of the religion of peace.
DUBAI (Reuters) - A little-known group said it had abducted an Iranian security agent and would behead him unless Iran freed jailed members of the group, Al Arabiya television reported Monday. A video tape aired by the satellite channel showed four gunmen standing near the hostage, who was identified as Shahab Mansouri. A fifth man appeared to be questioning him, but there was no soundtrack.
"A group calling itself the Organization of God's Soldiers ... said it would send the hostage's head as a gift to the elected president if its demands are not met," Al Arabiya said. The group gave Iranian authorities three weeks to free its imprisoned members, the channel said. Iranian officials were not immediately available for comment.
The gunmen shown in the video, whose authenticity could not be verified immediately, were dressed in tribal robes. Their faces were covered in black cloth. Al Arabiya said it did no broadcast the full tape because some segments promoted "hatred and sectarian violence."
Yeah, we can't have any of that on Iranian TV.
Kidnappings are rare in Iran. The Islamic Republic will hold its second round of presidential elections Friday.
The polls were preceded by a rare string of bomb attacks that killed nine people, including in southwestern Iran, home to the country's Arab ethnic minority. At least six people were reported arrested after the bombings. Iran says it is holding an unspecified number of al Qaeda members whom it plans to try for crimes against the Islamic state.
Boy, this is tough. I can't decide between popcorn or the sympathy meter.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/20/2005 14:43 ||
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The bad news is that terrorism is spreading; the good news is where.
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/20/2005 15:29 Comments ||
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Sounds like Sunni Arabs taking on the Shiite, Persian mullahs. Should be interesting .....
Posted by: too true ||
06/20/2005 15:49 Comments ||
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Iran has been dealing with violence in the ethnic Arab region of Khuzestan (where a lot of the oil is) ever since their plans to ethnically cleanse the area were leaked to the locals.
The proles weren't happy ...
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/20/2005 16:35 Comments ||
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A lot of nes out today that Iran may be where Osama Bin Laden is. If so, I would hate to be Osama when his own are beheading his hosts.
A 17-year-old accused of ties to a banned Islamist group in Syria was sentenced to six years in prison by a state security court yesterday, a human rights lawyer said. Massaab Hariri was initially sentenced to death for allegedly belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood, "but the court commuted the death sentence to a prison term instead", said Anwar Bunni.
Hariri was arrested on his arrival in Syria from Saudi Arabia and has been in prison for the past three years. His mother was also arrested but released some months later. Her son's case was transferred to the security court, which operates under emergency laws in place since the ruling Baath party took power in 1963. In addition, Hariri's father is wanted by police for belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood, Bunni said.
Okay, I've got no sympathy for the Mooselimb Brotherhood. The state, even a state like Syria, has the right to protect itself from Islamist subversion. The kid was arrested on his way home from Wahhabiland, which is another point against him. But if he's been in prison for the past three years, and he's 17 now, that means he was 14 when he was jugged. Go ahead and stretch Pop's neck when you catch him, and Mom, too, if she's involved in that crap. But give the kid enough time to get old enough to make his own mistakes in life.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2005 00:02 ||
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Heavily edited for facts regarding THIS incident only. See link for hand-wringing, finger-pointing, and more evidence of the peace processor at work.
Palestinian gunmen ambushed an Israeli minivan driving through the northern West Bank early Monday, riddling the vehicle with bullets, killing one passenger and wounding a second. Early Monday, Palestinian gunmen hiding in an alley shot at the minivan as it drove near the West Bank town of Jenin, the army said. One Israeli was shot in the forehead and killed, and the other occupant was slightly wounded, it said. The gunmen escaped. The minivan, which burst into flames when its fuel tank was hit, continued traveling toward a nearby army roadblock, Maj. Sharon Asman said. Soldiers ran over to the vehicle and helped the occupants out before it exploded, Asman said. Islamic Jihad militants claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was retaliation for the alleged desecration of the Islamic holy book at a prison in Israel, and Israel's continued pursuit of the group's members. Israel rejects the desecration charges as fabrication.
3 lynched in Khulna
Two extortionists were lynched by an angry mob yesterday in front of Baitun Noor mosque under Sonadanga thana of Khulna city, while an extremist was also lynched in a separate incident at Sonakhali under Fakirhat upazila of Bagerhat. None of the dead could be identified by police at the time this report was filed.
Sounds...messy
According to police, the extortionists, calling over a cell phone, demanded taka one lakh in tolls on Saturday night from Jatiya party leader and former MP Abdul Gaffar Biswas. Biswas agreed to pay Tk 50,000 at noon yesterday.
"Sure, I'll pay. What time did you say you'll be over, 3pm? No problem, yes, I'll be alone. (heh)"
Police said an angry mob caught the extortionists red handed when they came to Baitun Noor mosque at 3pm to collect the toll. They were beaten to death then and there.
"Ouch..ouch..rosebud!"
Eyewitnesses said the extortionists were killed by a group of plainclothes policemen. A senior officer of Khulna Metropolitan Police denied the allegation.
"No, no, certainly not!"
The dead bodies are now lying in the morgue of Khulna Medical College Hospital. A general diary was filed with Sonadanga thana this evening in this connection.
In another incident, an extremist was lynched by an angry mob at Sonakhali under Fakirchat upazila of Bagerchat early yesterday morning.
According to police, a group of extremists assembled at Sonakhali village to prepare for a criminal mission. One of them was caught by an angry mob and beaten to death, while the others managed to escape, police said.
"Run away!"
Earlier on Saturday night, two snatchers were severely injured when they came under attack by an angry mob at the Picture Palace Cinema Hall Square under Khulna thana. The injured were identified as Masum, 30 and Babu, 32. They are undergoing treatment in the Khulna general Hospital. According to eyewitnesses, the snatchers were attacked when running away after snatching money from a woman. Eyewitnesses added that Masum and Babu identify themselves as police informers and realise tolls from unauthorised roadside stops.
Transport leader held with huge arms, ammo by RAB
FENI, June 19: The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) detained a local transport leader from near Zia Women College and later on his confession recovered grenades, firearms and ammunitions from a hideout, reports UNB.
Normally, the words "confession", "firearms", "recovered" and "RAB" lead to "crossfire". Must be the new kinder, gentler RAB.
RAB-7 sources said they caught Abul Kashem Milon, secretary of inter-district bus workers association and a transport extortionist on Saturday night. On his statement, RAB members recovered two grenades, a cut rifle, a homemade gun, 22 rounds of bullets from near his home in Charipur same night.
That's it? I've got more guns under my sofa.
RAB filed a case with the Sadar Thana under Arms Act against Milon.
UNB correspondent reports from Narayanganj: RAB arrested 10 associates of a listed criminal Darjee Selim from Siddhirganj upazila Saturday night along with arms and ammunitions. Official sources in Narayanganj said members of the elite force picked up Jakaria, Halim, Shahidul Islam Sumon, Kazi Hassan Ali Murad, Kadir, Kamruzzaman, Asaduzzaman Hridoy, Khalilur Rahman, Bachhu and Abdul Huq while they were preparing to commit dacoity at Char Shimulpara. Most of the accused were wanted in dacoity, killing, extortion and arms cases.
Other than that, they're good boys
A number of firearms including a revolver, two shotguns and a pipegun were recovered from their possessions.
UNB Shariatpur correspondent adds: RAB members, acting on a tip off, arrested four suspects -- Dalim, Mahbub, Nurul Islam and Dixon -- from Jovapatra, Rokondapur and Mashura villages of Naria upazila Saturday night. Two one-shooters were seized from the house of Dalim, a bus helper, following his confessional statement.
Alleged extremist killed in mass beating
June 19: A suspected extremist was killed in a lynch-mob attack in Mulghar union of Fakirhat upazila early today. Police said night guards chased a group of extremists when they were moving at Sonakhali suspiciously. Local people rushed in, caught one of them and beat him black and blue. The unidentified man died on the spot. His associates managed to flee the scene, the sources said. Police recovered the body from Sonakhali beel and found some leaflets of Purba Banglar Communist Party (ML) with the deceased.
Another dead commie, sympathy meter didn't budge
Posted by: Steve ||
06/20/2005 10:55 ||
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That's it? I've got more guns under my sofa. Must make for knobbly sitting. I'll take that chair over there, if you don't mind. ;-)
Bit by bit ....
The rebuilding of Iraq's naval capability is proceeding so successfully that the service might be ready to take over responsibility for many maritime security operations from coalition forces by the end of 2005, the senior US Navy officer in the region said.
According to Commander of US Naval Forces Central Command and the Fifth Fleet Vice Admiral David Nichols, training and equipping the Iraqi Coastal Defence Force (ICDF) "is an easier challenge than standing up an army". "They are off to a very good start," Adm Nichols said.
The 800-strong force has stood up five trained patrol boat crews, whose operations have been integrated into coalition operations in the northern part of the Persian Gulf, Adm Nichols said.
Iraq has five Chinese-built 27 m patrol craft armed with heavy machine guns, as well as smaller craft for use on the country's inland waterways. Iraq is building additional patrol vessels, Adm Nichols said, noting these could include logistic support ships for smaller boats to use as staging bases at sea for tasks such as refuelling and maintenance.
I like the fact that they're building the new boats rather than buying them. Let's get some indigenous industry moving.
UK Royal Fleet Auxiliary Stena-type forward repair ship RFA Diligence is already working with the Iraqi forces in an experimental support role.
The Iraqi Coastal Defence Regiment - roughly equivalent to marines - is also performing security duties on oil platforms. A signal to Iran ....
"At some point - I believe later this year - the Iraqis will assume full responsibility for security aboard their two oil platforms and will be further integrated into the coalition maritime force," Adm Nichols said.
Security on the country's oil platforms, Al Basrah and Khawr Al Amaya, became a high priority following attempted suicide attacks by insurgents on 24 April 2004. Following the incident, coalition maritime security operations in the northern Gulf were strengthened, included putting Iraqi and coalition security personnel on the platforms and adding additional patrol boats to the region, Adm Nichols said. Since then, there have been no further attempts to attack the oil platforms, he said, adding "but we know through intelligence that the terrorists have notional plans and desire to attack targets in the maritime environment, including key oil infrastructure".
Posted by: too true ||
06/20/2005 11:03 ||
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June 20, 2005: It's difficult to keep track of who's winning the war on terror when so many other issues are getting mixed up with an already complicated situation. "Winning the war" takes on new meanings when it comes to the war on terror. A more conventional war also presents rather murky scorecards at times. While looking at a map, and noting whose forces are advancing, gives you an idea of how the war is going, it's not over until it's over. And as we discovered in Korea, where the front line didn't move for over two years, everyone eventually declared it a draw. In Vietnam, the U.S. declared victory and went home. That "victory" lasted for several years until the other side decided that guerilla war wasn't working, and just came across the border with tanks and divisions of infantry. They did that twice. First time (1972), it didn't work. Second time (1975), it did. People kept saying the U.S. lost that war, but American troops were long gone by 1975. Even during World War II, when it was obvious that Japan was defeated, they still would not surrender. Their fleet was sunk, their cities were bombed to rubble, but they would not surrender. Two atomic bombs, and Russians charging into Japanese occupied China finally changed their minds. But by then, it was still something of a surprise. It seemed that the Japanese would require a massive invasion of their home islands, and would keep fighting to the end, as they had done on the smaller Japanese island of Okinawa. It's not over until it's over, but you can often see how it's going to end, when it eventually does.
Now we have the war on terror, where there aren't even any front lines. How do you measure progress? The problem is more complex than that, as there is much dispute over exactly who the enemy is. If you examine all the people involved in Islamic terrorism, you will see some pretty strange patterns. Basically, Islamic terrorism is an effort by Sunni Moslem purists to impose their version of Islam on everyone. Starting with fellow Moslems, this has created a lot of violence against non-Sunni sects. While Sunnis make up over 90 percent of all Moslems, Islamic radicals are only a small percentage of Sunnis. But these radicals are violent and determined to get their way. Islamic radicals have been persecuting other Moslems for centuries, and their radical ideas do not represent the feelings of most Moslems. This can be seen in the opinion surveys conducted in Moslem countries. The complaints of most Moslems have to do with bread & butter issues, especially the shabby performance of their own leaders, and the violence of Islamic radicals. But when these Islamic radicals are around, you speak ill of them at great personal peril.
Islamic radicals have also been at war with the West for centuries, and the current spasm of terrorism has been going on since the early 1990s. But it was a police matter for the West, until September 11, 2001, when it became war. The police approach wasn't working, because many wealthy Moslems in Saudi Arabia were providing lots of cash for the spread of Islamic radicalism, which led to more Islamic terrorism. These wealthy Saudis could believe, if they wished, that they were not supporting violence, only the spread of conservative, and rigorous, Islam. But young men indoctrinated with these militant, and intolerant, ideas, often turned to violence. They were on a mission from God, a God that demanded martyrdom and blood.
Fortunately, militant Islam doesn't demand a lot of deep thought or attention to discipline and detail. Most Islamic terrorism is inept, and doesn't come off. You hear a lot about the successful attacks, but not the much larger number of ill-conceived and bungled efforts. While many educated (in the Western sense) Moslems are attracted to Islamic radicalism, most of the manpower has the typical low levels education so common in Moslem countries. But these guys make for great street theater, as it is easy for religious leaders to gather an angry crowd, and shout about how all the local problems are the fault of distant infidels.
Poor leadership, poor planning, poor training and poor material to work with means that the Islamic terrorists have not done so well since September 11, 2001. A few hundred American troops invading Afghanistan, and defeating the local Islamic dictatorship in two months, was quite a shock to Islamic radicals the world over. But the invasion of Iraq in 2003 was a chilling reminder of what supporters of Islamic terrorism were up against. The Sunni Arab governments in the region were all against the Iraq operation. While none of these governments openly supported Islamic terrorism, the majority of the people in Arabia cheered the ability of "their boys" to carry out such a daring terror attacks against the West. It's become popular in the Moslem world to blame the West, or infidels (non Moslems) in general, for all that's wrong with Islamic countries. Changing this attitude is a crucial battle in the war on terror.
After two years in Iraq, Moslems now admit that Islamic terrorism is evil, mainly because of the ruthless terrorist attacks on Moslems, as terrorists brought the war "home" in an attempt to get American soldiers out of the Middle East. Moreover, the enthusiastic support of democracy, and self-rule by Iraqis, made it obvious who the enemy was, and where the solutions are to be found.
Islamic terrorists do back some popular ideas, namely the poor governments found in nearly all Moslem nations. Al Qaeda preached against Moslem government before it turned its full attention to infidels. Al Qaeda found itself unable to overthrow the existing governments in Islamic countries, and noted how popular terrorist attacks against infidel (Western) targets was.
It was long a popular myth in Moslem countries that the backwardness and poor government they suffered was somehow caused by the West. Much to the dismay of Islamic terrorists, coalition operations in Iraq show how false this is. While people are reluctant to admit they have been duped, many Moslems are now admitting that the problems in Moslem countries are internal, not some infidel conspiracy to "keep the Moslems down." Changing attitudes like this cuts off the flow of recruits for Islamic terrorist groups. This is a war that is not followed via troops dispositions and casualty counts, but by opinion polls and election results.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/20/2005 10:49 ||
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Indeed Wahabbis are f@#king everyone in their wake, destroy them and end the problem.
MM
Posted by: Mountain Man ||
06/20/2005 12:33 Comments ||
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Three members of Algerian security forces and an Islamic gunman were killed and two civilians were kidnapped by armed groups, officials said Monday. A security source said Monday that a land mine planted by Islamic armed groups blew up under a police vehicle in the province of Galfa, 187 miles south of Algiers, killing two policemen and injuring three others. In another incident, army troops clashed with Islamist gunmen as they were patrolling an area in the same province Saturday. A soldier and a gunman were killed. The source said an armed group kidnapped two civilians at a roadblock in the province of Boumedras in eastern Algeria. The gunmen posing as security forces snatched the men from their car and took them to an unknown destination.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/20/2005 09:00 ||
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Sheesh! Did we invade this country and cause all this violence?
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/20/2005 13:08 Comments ||
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Afghan intelligence officials have thwarted a plot to assassinate U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and arrested three Pakistanis, two senior government officials said Monday.
Not "rebels", "insurgents" or "Taliban", but "Pakistanis".
The men, who were armed with rocket propelled grenades and assault rifles, were arrested in the Qarghayi district of Laghman province on Sunday, just 150 feet from where Khalilzad had planned to inaugurate a road with Afghanistan's interior minister. One of the officials said Afghan television would broadcast a video of the men in custody later Monday. He said the suspects had confessed to the crime and told authorities they were in Afghanistan "to fight jihad," or holy war.
Of course they were
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity, due to the extreme sensitivity of the intelligence and their positions within the government Khalilzad canceled his appearance at the road opening at the last minute and was never in danger, the official said. The interior minister, Ali Ahmad Jalali, also canceled his appearance. The U.S. Embassy in Kabul had no immediate comment on the arrests, saying it would release a statement later. Pakistan also had no comment. The men were arrested by members of the National Security Directorate, Afghanistan's version of the CIA, after a tip that the assassination plot was in the works.
Nice work, guys.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/20/2005 08:52 ||
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Come in to my parlor, said the spider to the fly?
Since this is a blog, only link is provided; very interesting analysis on the escalation in Iraq and what it may lead to. Perhaps a bit too positive, as it use negative data numbers to predict success? Still, quite enlightening. Read it all.
#1
Summary: They can't beat us militarily. Escalation always happens in war, but we do not need to escalate - they do. When escalation stops, the war is over. (That's the most telling bit .... Think 1945 in the Pacific - Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Hiroshima, Nagsaki, game over.) Blowing up civilians will not win their hearts and minds, and even if they do drag the country into civil war, they still don't win, 'cuz no one will be able to govern it. But read the whole thing.
As he says at the end, the big variable remains how long the bad guys think it'll be until we back out.
So thank you, Senators, AI, and MSM for encouraging them.
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/20/2005 9:50 Comments ||
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A5089: Perhaps a bit too positive, as it use negative data numbers to predict success?
Actually, he doesn't use those numbers to predict success - he states that they don't mean that the enemy is winning, merely that he is escalating. Roggio's point is that every war involves escalating combat until one side can no longer sustain it. Until then, casualties on both sides will continue to accumulate. Another point worth noting is that in war, conventional or guerrilla, casualties tend to ratchet up until one force is effectively destroyed. In Vietnam, US casualties ratcheted up until the destruction of the Vietcong the Tet Offensive, after which Vietcong attacks, and US casualties, dropped off precipitously.
The other point Roggio makes is that the enemy isn't having much success trying to export his war to the US. Our adversaries have their hands full trying to expel the American infidels from Arabia. And that was the whole point of the Iraq invasion - partly to warn Muslim leaders of the consequences of funding plausibly-deniable terrorist attacks against Uncle Sam and partly to provide a location in the heart of Arabia to slaughter the Muslim holy warriors who want to kill Americans. The rest of it (WMD's, freedom, etc) was the kind of diplomatic hypocrisy we wage to counter the diplomatic hypocrisy that our foreign adversaries wage against us.
#3
Bobby: Think 1945 in the Pacific - Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Hiroshima, Nagsaki, game over.
That's right. Okinawa, the final battle fought against the Japanese, involved the highest US KIA sustained during the Pacific War. Several months before that, Iwo Jima held that honor. Wars generally die out with a bang, not a whimper.
#4
The only three assets the *worldwide* enemy has is some money, hot bodies, and diffusion. Since their money supply is fairly fixed, their only escalation option is to commit more and more personnel in more and more concentrated efforts. Eventually they will run out of willing dummies.
#5
72 virgins in paradise do not procreate new replacements here on earth and I do not think the Jihadist are leaving samples at a sperm back in Mecca.
Posted by: Jong Cravirong9792 ||
06/20/2005 12:05 Comments ||
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That was an interesting read: thankyou!
I think it overlooks one thing: the honour-shame and religious fanatacism cult though.
With honour-shame, residents may not make a logical choice. Logically stability under the new government is preferrable to chaos under militants, but a sense of pride in the 'independence' of militants may make them choose the illogically.
second, the forces of religious fundamentalism are holding sway over large numbers of people.
While Saddam was a hated strongman who frequently purged his forces and governed by terror, he kept the Islamofascists in check.
It is possible that by giving the people democracy the islamofascists may simply win a huge victory and thus we lose even as we have won by making Iraq a stable democracy.
#7
Unfortunately, I don't think we are killing them fast enough. We seem to be killing them at a rate of several hundred a month. They can keep this up indeffinately.
On the other hand the American public may be losing heart. One of the problems with allowing the Jihadis sanctuary in other countries is that they get to dictate the tempo. They can pull back whenever they've lost too many folks.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
06/20/2005 13:19 Comments ||
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What kills a would-be martyr's chance at his 72 virgins?
At least 18 suspected militants have been reported killed in clashes with Afghan forces in southern Afghanistan. Officials said that 11 Taleban rebels were killed in a clash after they attacked a government office in Washer district of Helmand province. They say seven more rebels were killed following an attack on policemen on a highway in Zabul province. The fresh wave of clashes came a day after US warplanes killed up to 20 suspected rebels in an air strike following a rebel attack in Helmand.
The rebels killed the chief of the Washer district and a policeman after attacking a government office on Monday morning, provincial spokesman Haji Mohammed Wali said. The ensuing hour-long clash left 11 rebels dead, he added.
11 to 2, check
In a separate incident, seven rebels were killed after they attacked a police checkpoint on the Kabul-Kandahar highway that runs through southern Zabul province. Zabul's deputy police chief Bari Gul told the Associated Press that a policeman was also killed in the attack.
7 to 1, check. Add 11, plus 20 from yesterday, that's 38 - 3. Not bad, course it sucks if you are one of the 3.
Three American soldiers troops were also injured when a bomb exploded near their vehicle in Paktia province, the US military said. The US has about 18,000 troops in Afghanistan tackling remnants of the Taleban that was ousted in late 2001.
Violence has increased, particularly in the south and east, following a lull over winter, raising fears for security in September's planned parliamentary elections. Nearly 400 people have been killed in Taleban-linked violence this year, most of them suspected militants but also around 30 US troops.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/20/2005 08:15 ||
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Nearly 400 people have been killed in Taleban-linked violence this year, most of them suspected militants but also around 30 US troops.
That is misleading. Most of the Americans have been killed in helicopter crashes, not in "Taleban-linked violence". 18 were killed in an April crash (15 military + 3 KBR). 4 in a January crash. There are other accidents not listed (e.g. road accidents).
Of those 400, how many were PakistaniArab Taliban?
Posted by: ed ||
06/20/2005 11:25 Comments ||
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According to a news report from Urdu's Jassarat, a big public rally was held in Wana over the weekend, exactly one year after famous tribal commander Nek Muhammad was martyred by Pakistani army during a hunt for al-Qaida operatives.
Wana. That's in South Waziristan, right? In Pakistan...
Thousands of people including mujahideen and Islamic scholars took part in the rally and public gathering. Local scholars Maulvi Noor Mahmood Mahsood, Abdul Aziz Wazir and other speakers atteneded the meeting and expressed their thoughts. They said jihad is Farz-e-ain and it will continue inshaAllah until Qayamah. During the course of the meeting, they declare jihad against America and swore the kuffar and the munafiqeen (hypocrites) will not be forgiven. Tight security for the gathering was provided by Wana Mujahideen entrenched on nearby mountains.
Hokay. Got it. A large crowd of beturbanned yokels gathered in Wana to declare war on us. Killing us is a religious obligation and will continue until we submit and the caliph rules again. Declaration of war received. We ignored it when Binny and his butt buddies declared war on us and we got 9-11 as a reward. We're now justified in leveling Wana and its surrounding environs and killing them all, to include their wives and children and their dogs, right? If you're gonna declare war, you'd better have something to back it up, because the other side just might take your declaration seriously and kick your tail.
This article starring:
ABDUL AZIZ WAZIR
Wazir Taliban
MAULVI NUR MAHMUD MAHSUD
Wazir Taliban
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2005 07:28 ||
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farz is one of the 8 commands of Islam
a 'farz-e-ain' is required of everyone (sometimes the young, the sick, pregnant females, etc. don't have to do certain things)
#4
They know we could Dasiy Cutter them all, right? They assume we will not, I guess.
Watch out, boyz, qayamah is closer than you think!
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/20/2005 9:53 Comments ||
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#5
Problem is guys, we respect the sovereignty of Pakland and will never do anything about these loonies. They can declare war all day and we sit back and put "diplomatic" pressure on Pakland to do something. This same loonies spend their entire days trying to find ways to kill us and foment trouble in Afghanistan and Kashmir. India hasn't been able to stop the flow of moonbats into Kashmir even though they kill and average of 4 a day. More keep coming. It's time to take off the goloves screw Perv, get it done.
#6
Hmmmmm - isn't it about time Allan displayed his displeasure with these backasswrads rubes? I'm thinking a massive flu or other epidemic?
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/20/2005 11:20 Comments ||
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If I had a dollar for every mujahideen organization that declared war on Uncle Sam, I'd be a rich man. Declarations like this are a fund raising gimmick designed to raise money from the credulous faithful. When they back up their words with actions, I'll believe them.
Posted by: Mountain Man ||
06/20/2005 11:58 Comments ||
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As Fred says. Of course, if they'd just stay in Wana we could sit back and laugh at their eye-rolling, face-making and gun sex. Problem is, they won't stay put.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/20/2005 12:00 Comments ||
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#11
The crowd just calls out for ...
MOAB
I'd prefer the use of napalm myself. Giving 'em a taste of where they're headed would be a nice gesture....
#12
The big problem is that we've been TOO "Kind and gentle" in waging this war, and the enemy has no respect for our type of war. It's time to "go barbarian". We need to napalm and ARCLIGHT one of these villages out of existence, and see how much they want to wage "jihad" against a nuclear-armed, meaner-than-Satan bunch of killers in camouflage fatigues and flight suits. I think it will take twice, possibly three times to send the right message. I propose the first strike be in Wana, the second in Riyadh, and the third in Mecca, to be followed by a VERY LARGE nuke. If the problem persists, rinse and rearm.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/20/2005 20:17 Comments ||
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#13
"Problem is guys, we respect the sovereignty of Pakland..."
Yeah, and we respected the sovereignty of Afghanistan and Iraq too -- until they pushed us too far. Pak's day is coming.
Posted by: Tom ||
06/20/2005 20:40 Comments ||
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A suicide car bomber struck an Iraqi military checkpoint north of Baghdad on Sunday, killing two soldiers and one civilian, officials said. Thirteen others were wounded. The suicide attack occurred at 9:45 a.m. in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown 80 miles north of Baghdad, Army Capt. Muhanad Ahmed said. The civilian killed was an employee who manned the security checkpoint. The wounded included eight soldiers and five civilians, Ahmed said. Civilians were near the checkpoint because construction workers were fixing the gate. Elsewhere, gunmen killed two Iraqi police officers in western Baghdad as they headed to work Sunday morning, while a second band of gunmen killed an electrical engineer who was on his way to work at an oil refinery in the Iraqi capital.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2005 00:00 ||
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A suicide bomber walked into a popular Baghdad kebab restaurant at lunchtime Sunday and killed at least 23 people eating plates of lamb and rice — the deadliest attack in the capital in just over six weeks. The bomber detonated his explosives-laden vest at the Ibn Zanbour restaurant, 400 yards from the main gate of the heavily fortified Green Zone — U.S. and Iraqi government headquarters. The cafe was popular with Iraqi police and soldiers. The dead included seven police officers. The bodyguards of Iraqi Finance minister Ali Abdel-Amir Allawi and 16 other police were injured, police and hospital officials said. The minister was not in the restaurant. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's Al-Qaida in Iraq claimed responsibility "for the Baghdad bombing" and said the attacker was from Qaim, near the westernmost of the two joint U.S.-Iraqi offensives. The statement appeared on an Islamic Web site, and its authenticity couldn't be verified.
Another tiresome boomer, accomplishing nothing but to kill a few people and cheese off more Iraqis. They don't know anything else to do.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2005 00:00 ||
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one big change from early on is that, in late 2003 and early 2004, when this kind of thing happened, a lot of Iraqis would say, "this can't be the work of a moslem" or even "this is the fault of America" or even "this was done by America"
now, everybody knows that these suicide bombers are moslems and most, in fact, are Arabs from outside Iraq
this fact gets little play partly because it has happened incrementally but I think it is very important
The next important step is for the Iraqi parliment or the prime minister to start delivering passionate speeches denouncing their brother arabs and brother moslems. I've been waiting for this for sometime but the current Prime Minister seems very weak. The person who takes a leadership role in this could gain loads and loads of popularity.
#2
It seems that at last all the toing and froing of Hizbollah and others through the tunnels, along with the weapons, into and out of Gaza under the watchful eye of the Egyptians is being using fruitfully in Iraq G2Bulletin
(subscription reqd.) BREAKING NEWS
Palestinians aid Iraqi terrorists
Rockets, explosives improvements shared with U.S. enemy
In three separate incidents in Fallujah, insurgents trying to place a roadside bomb opened fire with small arms and rocket propelled grenades on a group of Marines. Other insurgents attacked Marines in the same area with machine gun fire. "Fifteen gunmen were killed during the course of the day's operations. No Marines were injured in the attacks," Pool said.
G'bye, boyz! Give our — heh heh! — warmest regards to Himmler!
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2005 00:00 ||
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Abullah....I thought it was 72 virgins...but they say it is 72 Virginians.
The Iraqi government announced Sunday it had arrested a suspected member of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's al-Qaida in Iraq, a man it claimed was responsible for building car bombs and carrying out more than 60 bombings around the capital. Musaab Kasser Abdul Rahman Hassan, known as Abu Younis, was arrested on May 26 during an operation in Baghdad, the government said in a statement. "The terrorist Abu Younis is one of the extremists who has close ties to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and is the mastermind of more than 60 terrorist attacks in Baghdad, targeting governmental officials and Iraqi army and police" it said. The announcement added that the "terrorist confessed to making more than 20 car bombs ... in addition to recruiting foreign suicide attackers."
We'll be looking forward to seeing him on the teevee, courtesy of the Wolf Brigade, hopefully with two or three black eyes and a fat lip.
This article starring:
ABU YUNIS
al-Qaeda in Iraq
MUSAAB KASER ABDUL RAHMAN HASAN
al-Qaeda in Iraq
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2005 00:00 ||
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black eyes???? I wuz thinking more of the baseball bat inserted in places that would really hurt.
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
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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.
If you think that Saudi security forces have quashed the Mujahideen in the land of the Two Holy Mosques, as claimed by Prince Nayef, think again. Less than a month ago, three military choppers were set ablaze inside Al-Qaseem airport. The incident was reported as an accident by Saudi officials. 
Martin was responding to questions about the assertion of former Chinese police officer Hao Fengjun that Beijing maintained more than 1,000 spies in Canada to inform on members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement. The Chinese embassy in Ottawa flatly denies the allegations. But both the Australian and Canadian governments have indicated they are taking Mr. Hao's allegations seriously enough to investigate. "We always take all of these allegations very seriously," Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew said.
The beheaded bodies of a Laotian couple were found in southern Thailand over the weekend and were believed to be the latest victims of Muslim separatist violence, police said Sunday. The bodies of Amkha Duangmala, 26, and his wife, Konmanee Duangmala, 25, were found late Saturday in a hut on a chicken farm in Pattani province, said police commander Col. Suchon Ditbuth. Their heads were found early Sunday about 4 miles away. Police believe Muslim separatists were responsible for the killings but gave no evidence to back up the claim.
A 17-year-old accused of ties to a banned Islamist group in Syria was sentenced to six years in prison by a state security court yesterday, a human rights lawyer said. Massaab Hariri was initially sentenced to death for allegedly belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood, "but the court commuted the death sentence to a prison term instead", said Anwar Bunni.
3 lynched in Khulna
Three members of Algerian security forces and an Islamic gunman were killed and two civilians were kidnapped by armed groups, officials said Monday. A security source said Monday that a land mine planted by Islamic armed groups blew up under a police vehicle in the province of Galfa, 187 miles south of Algiers, killing two policemen and injuring three others. In another incident, army troops clashed with Islamist gunmen as they were patrolling an area in the same province Saturday. A soldier and a gunman were killed. The source said an armed group kidnapped two civilians at a roadblock in the province of Boumedras in eastern Algeria. The gunmen posing as security forces snatched the men from their car and took them to an unknown destination.
Afghan intelligence officials have thwarted a plot to assassinate U.S. Ambassador 
According to a news report from Urdu's Jassarat, a big public rally was held in Wana over the weekend, exactly one year after famous tribal commander Nek Muhammad was martyred by Pakistani army during a hunt for al-Qaida operatives. 
A suicide car bomber struck an Iraqi military checkpoint north of Baghdad on Sunday, killing two soldiers and one civilian, officials said. Thirteen others were wounded. The suicide attack occurred at 9:45 a.m. in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown 80 miles north of Baghdad, Army Capt. Muhanad Ahmed said. The civilian killed was an employee who manned the security checkpoint. The wounded included eight soldiers and five civilians, Ahmed said. Civilians were near the checkpoint because construction workers were fixing the gate. Elsewhere, gunmen killed two Iraqi police officers in western Baghdad as they headed to work Sunday morning, while a second band of gunmen killed an electrical engineer who was on his way to work at an oil refinery in the Iraqi capital.
In three separate incidents in Fallujah, insurgents trying to place a roadside bomb opened fire with small arms and rocket propelled grenades on a group of Marines. Other insurgents attacked Marines in the same area with machine gun fire. "Fifteen gunmen were killed during the course of the day's operations. No Marines were injured in the attacks," Pool said.
The Iraqi government announced Sunday it had arrested a suspected member of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's al-Qaida in Iraq, a man it claimed was responsible for building car bombs and carrying out more than 60 bombings around the capital. 
