KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Only hours before Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld hopped a helicopter to the coalition base in Kandahar, an Army Chinook took small-arms fire and crash-landed. No one was hurt. But it was further proof that Southern Afghanistan is a very dangerous place where U.S. and NATO forces are engaged in an all-out war with the Taliban.
They do not want a country like Afghanistan to become a successful democracy, Rumsfeld said during his visit here. They would like to do everything they can to stop it. They're not going to succeed.
But Lt. Gen. Carl Eikenberry, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, says that for now, the Taliban is back, and in some respects, bigger than ever. The Taliban is more organized than they were last year, Eikenberry says. And they have more fighters in certain areas."
Pentagon and military officials say they are taking the Taliban head-on as a result of an aggressive new offensive by U.S. and coalition forces called Mountain Thrust. designed to flush the Taliban out of its strongholds in four southern provinces.
But there's increasing evidence the Taliban is cashing in on Afghanistan's $2 billion-per-year heroin trade. Retired U.S. Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey, an NBC military analyst, thinks a lot of drug money is flowing into the Taliban. We're seeing among the Taliban now shiny new weapons, McCaffrey says. Commercial camping gear, civilian-purchased communications equipment.
Rumsfeld, however, sees bright spots, like the town of Qalat in the southern province of Zabul, where coalition reconstruction is taking hold and Taliban influence is waning. Also, the number of NATO forces in Afghanistan will soon double to 16,000.
But what does that mean for U.S. troops? Some 23,000 American forces are in Afghanistan today. As much as Rumsfeld may want to start bringing them home, U.S. military officials say with the recent surge in violence and a determined Taliban, it's not likely anytime soon.
But Rumsfeld remains optimistic the Taliban will be defeated. There isn't any reason in the world why this country cant succeed, he says.
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/12/2006 10:47 Comments ||
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#3
BTW: Eikenberry is great, saw him recently.
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/12/2006 10:48 Comments ||
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#4
Eikenberry was my boss before he left for Afghanistan. Agreed, I really respected him.
But since the FU**ing NYT outed the money programs we will never know where the funding for all this really cool, read threat to Americans, gear came from.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/12/2006 15:17 Comments ||
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The Taliban's spring offensive in Afghanistan is now three months old. It is the biggest ever mounted against foreign forces in the country since the Taliban's ouster in 2001, and it has taken a heavy toll on insurgency as well as coalition forces. And, according to one of the Taliban's top 10 commanders who spoke to Asia Times Online, the rising spiral of death is just the tip of the iceberg and the coalition's "Operation Mountain Thrust" in the southwest of the country will be severely challenged.
Mullah Gul Mohammed Jangvi (the last name means warrior) said by telephone from Afghanistan the Taliban would once again alter their tactics. Jangvi is one of the 10 members of the command council of the Taliban. "We have had some initial successes, which boosted our morale. Tarood, Sangeen and Musa Qila districts in Helmand province are our recent victories," Jangvi said. "We have set a few priorities, top-most of which is to fight only with foreign forces and avoid fighting Afghans. However, there are Afghans who are top of our [hit] list, like Gul Afghan Sherzai [governor of Nangarhar province], [President] Hamid Karzai and the members of parliament."
Jangvi dismissed a question that perhaps the Taliban were on the back foot as they were frequently changing tactics. "In the past few weeks we narrowed down our targets and we are aiming to hit those targets which give us optimum results. In the recent past we tried to attack Kandahar airport and US military bases. This is aimed at rooting out American air power in these stations so that they would not be able to shield their ground troops in a short span of time. In the coming days you will see more and more attacks on airfields, and once air cover vanishes from over the heads of coalition troops, they will be trapped everywhere like sitting ducks."
Continued on Page 49
#4
This would be the time for the world Muslim community to understand that jihad in Afghanistan has reached a significant level and it is time again to help the resistance with manpower and money.
Another damned fundraising appeal. Sheesh.
Posted by: Mike ||
07/12/2006 7:06 Comments ||
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#5
Sounds like the opium crop is good this year and this guy is the product tester.
#6
as taken a heavy toll on insurgency as well as coalition forces.
What a piece of tripe. Ok, give us the raw numbers of Taliban killed and Coalition killed to include separation of international and domestic Afghan forces. Betcha when you do, you find the big numbers in the Taliban column and the next biggest in the Afghan column. However, in the usual MSM slight of hand, we see the implication that international forces are suffering 'heavily'. Wonder what they'd do if they had to earn a honest living.
#10
I don't want to dis Michael Yon but my Landlord, who has been in Afghanistan since last November) tells a slightly different story than Yon. He says the Taliban are really taking a beating and things are going pretty well. Note: He's in Civil Affairs.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
07/12/2006 11:51 Comments ||
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Britain's lower house of parliament will hold an emergency debate on Wednesday on the case of three former bankers, just hours before they are due to be extradited to face trial in the United States.
MPs will focus attention on an extradition treaty which critics say is unfair because America does not have to provide evidence to support a request for extradition of suspects from Britain.
The three men -- David Bermingham, Gary Mulgrew and Giles Darby -- worked for NatWest bank, now part of Royal Bank of Scotland, and have been dubbed the "NatWest Three" by British media. They face fraud charges related to the collapsed energy company Enron.
Theirs is the first high-profile case under a new extradition treaty with the U.S. in force since January 2004, designed to speed up extradition of terrorism suspects.
Critics say the law lacks balance because while the U.S. can seek extradition without having to present evidence to a British court, Britain has to provide more evidence to the U.S. before being allowed to extradite suspects from there.
Alun Jones, a lawyer for the three, described the treaty as "draconian" and "deliberately designed to be lopsided".
"The real question ... here is what business is it of the United States to be prosecuting three UK citizens accused of defrauding their own bank in London when that bank has never alleged it's been defrauded and never commenced criminal proceedings," he said on BBC radio.
Wednesday's parliamentary debate comes too late to have any effect on the case of the NatWest Three, who are due to be handed over to U.S. marshals at London's Gatwick Airport on Thursday and put on a flight to Houston, Texas.
Washington's ambassador to London, Robert Tuttle, defended the extradition arrangements, insisting they were broadly equal. "The evidentiary standards are roughly the same ... and that is how it should be," he told BBC radio.
Tuttle also said he was "optimistic" that the treaty, which has yet to be approved by the U.S. legislators, would be ratified sometime this year.
Pressure groups, business leaders and Britain's opposition Conservative Party have sought to intervene and have the NatWest Three prosecuted in Britain, but the government has said there is no basis to stop the extradition.
#1
Yet they've gotten the sign off from every level of the British judiciary, which I presume is no more conservative than our own. I must admit to being somewhat confused about this. Some great handwaving going on.
Chechen fighters will continue their "jihad" against Russian forces following the death of rebel warlord Shamil Basayev in an explosion, a spokesman for the separatist movement said Tuesday. "A new generation of Muslims who will never give up on their jihad and who know their enemy will replace those who leave. The jihad continues," Movladi Udugov said in a written statement published on the Kavkazcenter.com website used by separatists.
"The OSCE, Council of Europe, the US president, Moscow Helsinki Group, Russia's chief rabbi, the Russian Orthodox church and other infidels have expressed their joy," said Udugov, a former deputy prime minister of Chechnya's separatist government believed to be living in hiding outside Russia. "So it must be because we are enemies," continued Udugov, calling Basayev "a hero" and "a martyr." For more than a decade, Basayev helped mastermind Chechnya's independence struggle, routing Russian troops in numerous battles, and also claiming responsibility for a series of bloody terrorist attacks.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/12/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
gettin blown up purdy fun ifn ya gotter rite kwipment...
#2
Remember Beslan - the Chechen cause lost any credibility it possessed when that school was attacked. We should provide the Russians with any help they need in exterminating these dicks. Accept nothing but total submission from the Chechen population.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
07/12/2006 7:00 Comments ||
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#3
Chechni sounds like a wonderfull place to raise a family. Jihad until the end of time, destruction, unemployment, poverty, death, desease.
Yeah, sounds like paradise, actually, it sounds like every other place in the world where you find "devout" muslims.
It's a SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM so I'm not sure whether to take with a grain or a shovel full of salt, but y'all judge for yourselves.
Iranian military representatives attended North Korea's Taepodong-2 missile launch, according to Japanese news reports.
At least 10 members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attended the Taepodong-2 intermediate missile launch. Japan's Sankei Shimbun and South Korea's official Yonhap news agency reported the IRGC personnel were senior engineers who sought to learn from Pyongyang's missile program.
Yonhap reported on July 1 that the IRGC engineers participated in the preparation for the Taepodong launch. The news agency said the IRGC has been examining Chinese-origin missile technology for Iranian procurement.
South Korean sources said Iran and North Korea could be planning a project for the joint development of new liquid missile propellant. Yonhap quoted the sources as saying that the propellant could be used for both Iranian and North Korean missiles.
Teheran and Pyongyang were said to be major partners in missile and nuclear weapons development. Western intelligence sources said Iran has been financing North Korea's intermediate-range ballistic missile program.
In December 2005, a North Korean ship docked in Bandar Abbas and was said to have unloaded about a dozen intermediate-range missiles. The missiles were identified as a variant of the Russian-origin SS-N-4, which could be fitted with a nuclear warhead.
China condemned a Japan-sponsored U.N. resolution to slap sanctions on North Korea over its missile tests on Tuesday, calling it an over-reaction that would split the Security Council. The statement came as a top U.S. envoy flew into Beijing, seeking a briefing on China's urgent efforts to resolve the crisis by diplomatic means. The U.N. Security Council delayed a vote overnight on the resolution to impose sanctions on the isolated state to allow time for a high-level Chinese delegation to talk to Pyongyang. "The Chinese side thinks the concerned draft resolution is an over-reaction. If approved, it will aggravate contradictions and increase tension," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a news conference. "It will hurt efforts to resume six-party talks as well as lead to the U.N. Security Council splitting."
Chinese President Hu Jintao told visiting North Korean parliamentarian Yang Hyong Sop that China opposed any action that would stoke tension on the Korean peninsula. State media said he urged all parties to take steps conducive to peace and stability.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/12/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Personally I can't wait to see the Chinese overreaction to the coming development of a robust offensive capability by the JDA.
#2
This coming from the same ChiComs which held our flyboys over a so-called intrusion on their border.
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/12/2006 11:04 Comments ||
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#3
Watch your ass Hu. You ain't seen nothin' yet. How old are you ? Apparently you weren't around in 1933-34, and maybe don't recall your history so well.
North Korea accused the United States of running a "massive" military exercise off the Korean Peninsula, which Pyongyang's vice foreign minister said was a "serious violation of the principles of sovereignty".
But Kim Hyong Jun repeated in Pretoria, where he is on an official visit to South Africa, that North Korea would return to six-party disarmament talks if Washington agreed to drop economic sanctions against the secretive state. "At the moment the US is conducting massive military excercises in the waters off the Korean peninsula... with South Korea and Japan," Kim said after talks with his South African counterpart, Aziz Pahad. "These exercises are a serious violation of the principles of sovereignty, equality, reciprocity and non-interference," Kim said.
His comments came amid another flurry Tuesday of shuttle diplomacy to address the crisis in the wake of last week's seven missile launches. Separate talks between North and South Korea, and China and the United States were held, a day after a vote on a United Nations Security Council resolution on possible sanctions against Pyongyang was postponed. The North Korean official defended the missile launches, saying his country "has to defend its rights".
"The latest missile launches are part of routine military exercises to increase our capability for self-defence," Kim said. "Our military is involved in these missile launches as part of an exercise to contain aggressive threats from the outside and increase the nation's military capability."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/12/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Our glorious leftwing thinks like this:
You are violating someone else's rights if you defend yourself...
however,
If they conduct offensive military action with possible nukes, well they are merely defending themselves.
A) You are NOT the moral, economic, military, or territorial equal of the United States of America.
B) You are not the diplomatic equal of the United States of America.
C) You are not the reciprocal, parochial, or scientific/technological equal of the United States of America.
D) You are not the social equal of the United States of America.
What your failed state and your vaunted dictator truly are is a flyspeck feasting upon the vulgar leavings of the citizens of the United States of America through the auspices of your Chinese masters whom with we trade to the tune of billions of dollars, some of which inevitably and regrettably flows to your sorry 20-lbs of sh*t in a 10-lb bag country.
You are a fly feasting upon our droppings.
You are nothing.
We can erase your entire country without hardly blinking an eye and do it in under thirty minutes, tops. Your "sea of fire" rants to the contrary there's not a damned thing you could do to stop us from doing it either.
You guys better get a grip and rein in your out of control dictator or one of these days you're going to cross a line you (and everyone else in the world) should be afraid of crossing - because then you're going to see us when we're seriously pissed off.
Oh, and,
E) You're pushing that line really, really hard.
Don't make us angry. You wouldn't even friggin' recognize us when we're angry.
#4
"sovereignty, equality, reciprocity, and non-interference" - you know, Commie unilateralism and West-only concession, unconditional submission, and appeasement, etc.
#5
FNC the other day had pundits analyzing reports that NK may indeed have 4-13 nuke devices - the Norks + China have gotta know any nuclear detonation agz Japan invites immediate unilater Japanese rearmament, so these alleged 4-13 NK nukes, or most of them, in all probability may end up being detonated on Norkie soil proper, which suits the Chicoms just fine.
#6
Of course it violates their God given sovereign rights. Is there any other option when you are looking to prop up your lame negotiating hand? Yada yada yada. But the US and the world isn't going to fall for it again, right?
#8
Back in the day when the Boers ran South Africa, the Israelis tested their nuke in the Kalahari. Do you suppose that the Norks are discussing testing one of theirs with the current management? Perhaps trying to set up a marketing conduit to sell nukes to anyone with the necessary cash? If so, they should remember that President Bush is in office until January 2009.
#11
"These exercises are a serious violation of the principles of sovereignty, equality, reciprocity and non-interference," Kim said.
FOTSG's rant sums it up nicely. However, I find it a SUPREME example of projection for a "secretive" State like NKor to "demand" equality and reciprocity. Do they REALLY want reciprocity? If so, let's "test" some missiles their way, eh?
Posted by: BA ||
07/12/2006 15:37 Comments ||
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#1
Eastern Europe seems like it has an affinity for the U.S. They seem to be eager allies. Quite a difference from western Europe.
Western Europe can get their own goddamned interceptors for all I care.
Of course they are so much more intelligent than us, they can probably bring down ICBM's with a focused beam of hauteur.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
07/12/2006 20:02 Comments ||
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#3
Eastern Europe all has the same theme: for all those years we were under the thumb of Russia, and only America said anything in our behalf. We knew there wasn't much they could do, but they were always hoping that we could become free again.
We also remember how contented western Europe was for us to live under Russia's boot.
Here is a picture by a Hungarian artist depicting President Nixon as a Moses-like figure, leading the Hungarian people out of bondage.
PARIS - A French public prosecutor called on Tuesday for five former Guantanamo Bay inmates to be jailed for a year for their links to Al Qaeda and said there was not enough evidence to convict a sixth defendant.
Sonya Djemni-Wagner condemned the mens detention at the U.S. military camp on the Caribbean island of Cuba but told a terrorism trial at the main Criminal Court in Paris that the men had to pay for their actions. I do not approve of Guantanamo and I cannot but take into account the detention they endured there. But that detention does not wipe out the wrong they did, Djemni-Wagner told the court. Whatever they did, these men did not deserve the fate that was reserved for them, which is unworthy of a democracy, she said.
Ah, shuddup and jug 'em. Save the politicizing for your next campaign.
Should presiding judge Jean-Claude Kross and his two assessors follow her recommendation, the accused will be freed even if convicted because they have spent between 12 and 18 months in French prisons on their return from Guantanamo.
And 12 months equals five years in Y'urp detention time.
The prosecutor said five defendants had gone to Afghanistan via London, had been taken in hand by aides to Osama bin Laden and underwent military training in Al Qaeda camps.
Sounds like five years in American jug time to me ...
Djemni-Wagner said investigators had failed to prove the guilt of the sixth defendant, Imad Achab-Kanouni, 29. He denied going to Afghanistan to join Al Qaeda training camps, saying he went there only to receive fundamentalist Islamic instruction.
Which is one and the time, but the French court can't bear to admit that ...
Djemni-Wagner requested terms of four years in prison, three of them suspended, for Khaled ben Mustapha, Mourad Benchellali, Nizar Sassi and Redouane Khalid. She further sought five years in jail, with four suspended, against Brahim Yadel, the only one of the six men held in custody throughout the trial.
I mean, why make an example?
Lawyers for all six men say their clients should be freed as the case against them was based on secret interviews conducted by French intelligence agents while the men were held at Guantanamo Bay.
Make sure their friends all know they sang like canaries ...
French courts have already ruled detention in the U.S. military facility illegal in their effete opinion, and a report that French intelligence agents had interviewed the men at Guantanamo disrupted the trial on its second day.
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement last week it had made no secret of three administrative visits to the camp.
"We done it in the open!"
Presiding judge Kross refused to suspend hearings and said he would take the matter into account at the end of the trial.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/12/2006 00:00 ||
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Sounds like Gitmo was on trial and found guilty.
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/12/2006 0:35 Comments ||
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#2
French courts have already ruled detention in the U.S. military facility illegal
SCOTUS says the detention is legal, just the court proceedings now need new Congressional paperwork to cover their ass.
#3
French courts have already ruled detention in the U.S. military facility illegal
Well, the Gendarmes will have to go to Gitmo with Belgian warrant in hand and take possession of the terrorists.
Posted by: ed ||
07/12/2006 10:44 Comments ||
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HT to Michelle, who links to others...
I find traveling out of the country very challenging being on a fast. When I was on a layover in Madrid on my way to Venice, Italy yesterday, the closest thing I could find to a smoothie to get a little protein was a coffee with vanilla ice cream in it.
The extra-large coffee with a pint of vanilla ice cream ...
Traveling for 22 hours is very taxing under normal circumstances--but then again, when have we had normal circumstances since the 2000 and 2004 successful coup attempts that have brought BushCo into power?
I deeply sympathize. I'm fasting, too. Work is very taxing, of course, but luckily I was able to pick up an Eskimo pie and some Tastykakes on my way home.
I traveled from Venice to the frontier of Italy to the province of Udine which is right at the foot of the pre-Alps. I am here for a huge youth festival which includes many elements of social justice and peace work. It is beautiful and the air feels different from other places that I have travelled. It is strangely soft and gentle as is the natural light. However, there is not a Jamba Juice on every corner, so blended juice drinks with protein powder are impossible to find.
To quote Michelle Malkin, "How much weight does she plan on gaining during this deprivation campaign?"
We don't have Jamba Juice stands on every corner around here, either, so I stopped at Captain K's and had a rack of ribs. This fasting thing is hard on a man!
I have also received so many emails from worried, wonderful, and well-meaning friends and supporters in the US who are concerned about me and all of the others who are fasting. I don't like being on this fast, trust me, but 3 Marines were killed in Iraq today---3 unsuspecting families are about to head into a tailspin of senseless grief and we won't ever get an accurate count of the Iraqis who were killed today. It is going to be 112 degrees in Baghdad tomorrow. The occupiers and the occupied are suffering terribly.
Yes. I had a little problem at work today. My soul was very tried. Fast Eddy's does make a good pit beef sammitch, though, so that helped me withstand the rigors and the unrelenting pressure. A half box of Whitman's chocolates helped, too, just for a little quick energy...
It is important to keep our focus on saving the people of Iraq and our soldiers. It is important to keep our focus on ending the war crime in Iraq.
A slice of coconut cream pie helps now and then, too...
The Troops Home Fast is a moral response to an immoral act. We can, and must be, morally strong so we can feast on the day that the last troop is brought home from the war crime in Iraq.
I agree. I'm planning a magnificent feast for that great day. Until then, I'll scrape by with just a quarter watermelon and maybe a nice dish of plain vanilla ice cream. And maybe some snickerdoodles.
Then our focus can change to holding BushCo responsible for the war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes against peace and focus on never allowing this to happen again. Come to Camp Casey. August 16 to September 2nd.
Cindy Sheehan began her hunger strike against the war in Iraq on July 4th. I don't think a hunger strike means what she thinks it means
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/12/2006 00:00 ||
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I don't like being on this fast
Keep up the good work Cindy. Remember food and nutrition are NOT your friends. Eat the yellow snow only.
#2
You'd lose more weight eating 3 times a day at Subway. Call me Cindy and we'll do lunch.
Posted by: Jared ||
07/12/2006 0:35 Comments ||
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#3
Time for Cindy to be put to rest on the RB. Only post her obit
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/12/2006 0:37 Comments ||
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#4
When the just retired elementry school teacher next door hear of this "fast" She said "What is this CRAP?" She then went after all the Hollweird stars and Al Sharpton who are joining "Cindy". She could easily tear Cindy a new one.
#5
Wouldn't it be interesting if her close relatives decided to have her committed? I have seen people less emotionally disturbed and deranged put away for 3-6 months...
BTW, I wonder if we should tell her what the "protein powder" is made of, LOL.
#9
"Coup attempts" - yep, the arty says "coup"!? Saint Bill admits to being POTUS by elex fraud, ergo name a CVN21 US Navy carrier after him. No 9-11's for five years under Dubya ergo good Fascists-Nazi Americans = Half-A-Commie/Stalinist i.e. Good Nazis-Hitlerists, Amerikans demand to be attacked, D *** it, since yesterday.
#10
Ummm, isn't the point of a hunger strike to put time pressure on the gov't -- to force them to respond to your grievances before you croak? She may as well point a child's plastic toy gun at her temple. Well, a fake protest for a fake grievance. I wonder if Ghandi is laughing hysterically or shaking his head in pity.
Posted by: ST ||
07/12/2006 4:39 Comments ||
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#11
//#10 Ummm, isn't the point of a hunger strike to put time pressure on the gov't -- to force them to respond to your grievances before you croak? //\
#12
#3 Time for Cindy to be put to rest on the RB. Only post her obit. Yeah, and I would certainly never read anything about her anyplace else. But here, with the in-line perspective, it's interesting!
Snickerdoodles? The secret's out!
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/12/2006 6:45 Comments ||
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#13
The "Skating on Casey's Bones Tour" rolls on.
Venice is beautiful.
Thanks, Casey
#14
Always bringing it into perspective TU3031! As I laughed at Cindy and her antics and the rest of the RB'r jokes you brought the reality of her actions back in focus. God rest his soul.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/12/2006 7:56 Comments ||
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#15
I keep wondering when some vet puts a bullet in her to get her to finally shut up and go away.
#25
To quote Michelle Malkin, "How much weight does she plan on gaining during this deprivation campaign?"
Too funny. Yeah, blame her crap on the protein powder...
Tu, how true that she is 'vacationing' on her son's memory. This is so wrong.
Posted by: Jan ||
07/12/2006 11:37 Comments ||
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#26
Another instance of the news resembling Scrappleface parody.
#28
In the future, when we're all wearing identical fashionable metallic unitards and eating pills for our meals will that be considered fasting as well?
And Cindy, a coup that succeeds is not an attempt. You got things backwards, the coup attempt failed and Gore/Kerry were sent packing.
#30
Coffee and vanilla ice cream on a fast? That's not a fast.
If she were serious, like hunger strikers in Turkey, and not simply trying to pull a media stunt, she wouldn't be complaining about how challenging travel is while on a fast because she really wouldn't be worried about eating.
What a fraud.
Call me when she's on Day 180 of a water fast.
Posted by: Azad ||
07/12/2006 16:21 Comments ||
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#31
LOD that picture was taken right after someone force-fed her 1/8th teaspoon of my Satan's Toe Jam hot sauce. (Thanks to Shipman) :~)
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
07/12/2006 21:23 Comments ||
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The Bush administration is preparing a crackdown on intelligence leaks to the media and will try to pursue prosecutions in some recent cases, the chairman of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee on Tuesday. Michigan Republican Rep. Peter Hoekstra also suggested some unauthorized leaks could have been deliberate attempts to help al Qaeda.
"More frequently than what we would like, we find out that the intelligence community has been penetrated, not necessarily by al Qaeda, but by other nations or organizations," he said. "I don't have any evidence. But from my perspective, when you have information that is leaked that is clearly helpful to our enemy, you cannot discount that possibility," he added.
If you don't have evidence then keep quiet. This just raises the temperature without providing added illumination. Ranting is our job.
In recent months, two major intelligence operations were leaked to the media: the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program and the Treasury Department's tracking of international banking transactions. "There will be a renewed effort by the Justice Department in a couple of these cases to go through the entire process ... so they can prosecute," Hoekstra said in a speech to the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.
Justice Department officials were not immediately available for comment.
Hoekstra also said the newly-installed CIA director Michael Hayden was conducting aggressive internal investigations against leakers.
#2
No evidence, yet he's bleating aloud? Has Hoestra been talking to that Yuropean clown Marty?
I'm for closing the leaks by closed court prosecutions - of all involved, but this looks like pure grandstanding - and Hoekstra has proven himself less than reliable recently.
#4
Bush has no stomach for the fight. He fears the NYT and LAT more than the muzzie terrorists. He at least brings fire down on them. He just talks mean about treason during time of war.
#3
Come, come. Aren't you Bushies just the teensiest but disillusioned about your boy by now? Aren't you the slightest bit angry about the enormous waste of life and money in Iraq? Don't any of you ever look at a relative dying of cancer and think "What if the money had gone there?" Or at a child that you can't afford to send to college... (Coincidentally the funds for student loans shrink JUST shen they need more soldiers). Aren't you angry about this deficit? Doesn't it ever BOTHER you that the man sounds like a simpleton every time he opens his mouth?
#4
Grinetle Jesh2417:
Yes, I am a little bit angry about the enormous waste of life and dollars, but I don't blame Bush!!! He's a casualty of subversion, too, and the anti-American trans-nationalists are trying to make him (+ Cheney & Rumsfeld) the fall guy(s). If you have spent any time at all on the Burg, you'd know what you read in the MSM just isn't so, and would cry out for the real traitors to be prosecuted, preferably by a Sharia court.
#5
I think "What if Bill wasn't getting the million dollar blow job and did his presidential job instead, would the World Trade Centers still be standing and bin Laden be just a red stain on some Sudanese sand?". So many regrets GJ.
Posted by: ed ||
07/12/2006 10:57 Comments ||
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#6
Grinetle Jesh2417
If wishes and wants were candy and nuts, we'd all have a merry Christmas.
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/12/2006 11:09 Comments ||
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#7
Well, at least Clinton was getting a blow job by a real human being instead of oil corporations! Bush still has not taken down Bin Laden after five years, (a little distracted by that imminent threat, Saddam). If the leadership of the country, Dem or Republican, had spent the billions on alternative forms of energy instead or Iraq, we wouldn't need to BE in the Middle East at all, and we wouldn't be shipping all our oil money there either--one of the ways the terrorists are funded. Without our money they would be the poor nomadic tribes they were before. If we didn't need their oil we wouldn't be interested in being there on their lands--the thing that seems to piss them off, despite the Republican rhetoric that "They hate us for our freedoms".
#10
US missed three chances to seize Bin Laden
PRESIDENT Bill Clinton turned down at least three offers involving foreign governments to help to seize Osama Bin Laden after he was identified as a terrorist who was threatening America, according to sources in Washington and the Middle East. Clinton himself, according to one Washington source, has described the refusal to accept the first of the offers as "the biggest mistake" of his presidency.
The main reasons were legal: there was no evidence that could be brought against Bin Laden in an American court. Claiming credit for 2 embassy bombings not enough evidence or just not enough to tear Bill's brain away from Monica's face? But former senior intelligence sources accuse the administration of a lack of commitment to the fight against terrorism.
When Sudanese officials claimed late last year that Washington had spurned Bin Laden's secret extradition from Khartoum in 1996, former White House officials said they had no recollection of the offer. Clinton lied, thousands died. Senior sources in the former administration now confirm that it was true.
An Insight investigation has revealed that far from being an isolated incident this was the first in a series of missed opportunities right up to Clinton's last year in office. One of these involved a Gulf state; another would have relied on the assistance of Saudi Arabia.
Posted by: ed ||
07/12/2006 11:46 Comments ||
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#11
Did Clinton Ignore Khartoum Offer to Help Stop Bin Laden?
Posted by: Oracle Jones ||
07/12/2006 12:20 Comments ||
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#13
When Sudanese officials claimed late last year that Washington had spurned Bin Laden's secret extradition from Khartoum in 1996, former White House officials said they had no recollection of the offer. Senior sources in the former administration now confirm that it was true.
Posted by: ed ||
07/12/2006 12:22 Comments ||
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#14
If only we had the Allah Fish Carburetor, but nooooooooooo! Big oil knocked over the Allah Fish Inventor and destroyed the electric railways while giving us sorry F.I.A.T. money! Death to Abarth!
Posted by: Oracle Jones ||
07/12/2006 12:22 Comments ||
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#15
Link for The Sunday Times of London article referenced in #10 & 13: US missed three chances to seize Bin Laden
Notice the date is Jan 6, 2002 while the date of the article referenced by GJ in #11 is Dec 7, 2001. After a few months of lies by former Clinton officials, the they were forced to admit the truth. But for Clinton officals, a few months of stonewalling, while the WTC wreckage still smoldering, was a new record for truthiness. When Sudanese officials claimed late last year that Washington had spurned Bin Laden's secret extradition from Khartoum in 1996, former White House officials said they had no recollection of the offer. Senior sources in the former administration now confirm that it was true.
Posted by: ed ||
07/12/2006 12:35 Comments ||
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#16
To #11 Grintle Jesh -- Strange, the link you provided doesn't support your contention. While there's a lot of he said/ she said confusion about what Sudan offered, the link does seem clear that the US failed to request extradition of Bin Ladin so that when he was booted out of the Sudan he was free to set up shop in even more inaccessible Afghanistan. This was malfeasance and the buck stops at the top on an issue of this magnitude.
#17
So, I assume GJ's open to us drilling in ANWR and pursuing our (domestic offshore) own petroleum resources? Or, heck, I'm even to the point of accepting wind power off Nantucket.
/crickets chirping/
Posted by: BA ||
07/12/2006 15:46 Comments ||
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#18
Oh yeah, meant to add...I bet GJ wants a pony too! Now, be nice to him boyz. Makes me long for the days of .com, lol!
Now, I'll quit feeding the troll.
Posted by: BA ||
07/12/2006 15:49 Comments ||
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#19
How was it that Joe Wilson got to go on a fact finding trip to Niger?
And who is committing this Fraud? Could it be Muslims? Wasn't each and every act of terrorism, including the tunnel-conspirators, mosque basd? Radical alien Muslims + impressionable minds = terrorism
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has found a special visa program for religious workers is riddled with fraud, the Boston Globe reported Tuesday. The newspaper obtained a redacted version of the department's report on an internal investigation. Investigators who audited 220 applications for religious visas found that more than a third included fraudulent information.
The program allows religious organizations, including churches, mosques and synagogues, to bring in foreigners to fill specific positions. Religious worker visas can be temporary ones for three years or green cards allowing immigrants to remain in the United States permanently. The audit found an especially high rate of fraud in applications from heavily Muslim countries. In one case, an Egyptian national living in the United States filed applications for 82 visas for religious workers.
While critics say the program could allow terrorists easy entry, many religious groups find it vital. Margaret Perron, director of religious immigration services for the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, told the Globe the U.S. church has an acute shortage of priests and nuns.
#1
I guess they are just going to keep pushing until we push back. What's amazing to me is their inability to grasp the eventual consequences of their actions.
But I don't know why I'm amazed. I mean - it's not like we don't have whole volumes of history too see exactly where this is headed. I guess I just thought they would have gotten a clue - what with all this modern technology and all. It's not like they don't have access to the same information.
#8
Send all the fraudsters home with a permanent bar to ever come back to the US. Summarily expel all those connected to the fraud, like that Egyptian idiot mentioned in the article. Clear the deck of all who came illegally, then we can get to work on those of the enemy who came legally.
One thousand people are currently being held in detention by the United States as part of its "war on terror," a legal adviser with the Department of Defense said on Tuesday. "I would say it's probably in the order of about 1,000," said Daniel Dell'Orto, principal deputy general counsel at the Department of Defense, in testimony before a congressional committee. Dell' Orto said the US base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba held some 450 prisoners, implying that 550 others were being held in other centers around the world run by the Central Intelligence Agency. He did not disclose where these prisoners were being held, or procedural details about their detention. A Council of Europe report published last month said that Romania and Poland probably sheltered clandestine detention centers run by the United States, although it acknowledged that it lacked formal proof for this. Both countries have denied running such centers on US behalf.
I've had the suspicion for some time now that Guantanamo is a lightning rod. Not being the New York Times, I haven't said anything. But I do know how to add and subtract, assuming my shoes are off for the bigger numbers.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/12/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Prepare for the next volley of indignation.
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/12/2006 0:49 Comments ||
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#2
Fooey. There are military detention centers in Iraq and Afghanistan. We know, because there was a group escape from one of them a bit ago.
#3
TW is right. I presume the 1000 doesnt include prisoners in Iraq, but it could include the prisoners at Bagram - isnt that a DoD facility? (the detention center i mean, not the airbase)
#4
It would make me happy to think that Gitmo is a lightning rod. It would mean that our war planners are using the NYT (etc) as predictable dupes.
It's a clever idea. Put a bunch of nobodies at gitmo, treat them well and let the press have a hissy fit over the fact that they don't have ac and prime rib every monday. They press looks foolish but is happy. The BDS sufferers get to shake their heads, moan and wail over it. Average Americans get annoyed and begin to wave off any talk of "torture". And the military gets to do what it needs to do without interferrence.
Let's hope they are doing the same with the leaks.
#5
The US needs to transfer prisoners of intelligence value from Gitmo to detention centers in terra incognita while the rest can fester at Gitmo until the LLL win their release.
PS Each attorney fighting for their release should be required to house these wacky/terrs for 30 days as part of their rehab.
#6
I'll bet there aren't any prisoners of intelligence value at Gitmo. I wouldn't be surprised to find that Gitmo was designed from day 3 to be a PR sink for the LLLs. Better to give them a bone to chew on than have them running all over the neighborhood looking for one.
#7
The problem is you are being rationale, using facts and logic.
Since when has the propagandists used either?
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/12/2006 11:11 Comments ||
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#8
I'll bet there aren't any prisoners of intelligence value at Gitmo
And you'd win. If you look at all the guys they've identified as being there, they're all low-level cannon fodder for the most part. Biggist guy ID'd was Binny's ex-driver.
The really big fish kind of disappear into a black hole. A few may be in Bagram in Afghanistan, but that appears to be only for those captured locally. Rumor has it there's a big holding tank on an "Indian ocean island that must not be named", but that's never mentioned officially. The press doesn't even seem to talk about it, they're too busy looking in Europe for secret camps. Guess the lunches are better there.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/12/2006 15:02 Comments ||
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#9
What's the price of a .308 cartridge these days? A buck? Fiddy cents? C'mon, DOD, I'm in for a few dollars.
Can we get a check-off box on next year's 1040 to help fund this project?
#10
"although it acknowledged that it lacked formal proof for this."
Erm! we made it all up to encourage controversy. look it was good for our domestica chances of being reelected, just chill you don't take this shit seriously do you?
New Delhi, July 12 (PTI): In the midst of controversy on the OBC quota in elite educational instituions, HRD Minister Arjun Singh today said that Muslims could be given reservation under the Constitutional norms of backwardness.
At the same time, he made it clear that there was no plan to give reservation to any community on religious basis.
Talking to reporters at the conclusion of a two-day meeting of National Monitoring Committee of Minority Education here, the HRD Minister said "under the Constitutional norms, Muslims can get reservation".
He gave this reply when asked whether Muslims can get reservation under the proposed OBC quota as also whether reservation to minorities was possible in the wake of the Andhra Pradesh High Court judgement striking down such a move.
Singh sidestepped the demand of the Kerala Government for inclusion of the controversial Self Financing Colleges Bill, passed recently by the State Assembly, in the ninth schedule of the Constitution.
"There are Constitutional matters and should be taken up in a Constitutional manner. There is a procedure and the Home Ministry handles the whole thing. Centre-States matters should not be discussed and decided like this. It needs careful examination", he said.
The Kerala Bill had come under attack from section of Muslim and Christian communities which are running such institutions in the State.
Posted by: john ||
07/12/2006 18:32 ||
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#1
Do they mean land grant reservations, such as the Native Americans have by treaty in the US, or quotas for jobs, university places and business contracts for government work to make up for communal disabilities?
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has vowed that "no-one can make India kneel", a day after a series of train bombings in Mumbai killed 200 people. In a TV address, Mr Singh said those affected by the rush hour attacks had responded with "courage and humanism". "I urge each one of you to remain calm," the prime minister said. "Do not be provoked by rumours. Do not let anyone divide us. Our strength lies in our unity."
Mr Singh commended the work of police, firefighters and medics and said his country would not be cowed. "No-one can come in the path of our progress," he said. "The wheels of our economy will move on.
"India will continue to walk tall, and with confidence."
Maharashtra deputy chief minister RR Patil told the state assembly the death toll had risen overnight, with 200 bodies now pulled from the wreckage. But on Wednesday morning, the commuter trains, which carry six million people to work every day, were up and running again and crowded as usual with passengers. "I will go on the train today again. I am not afraid of death," said Prashant Singh, a software engineer who was on the train that was bombed at Bandra station.
While the front pages of local newspapers carried stories detailing the terrible carnage, inside the headlines emphasised Mumbai's "invincible" spirit. Correspondents also report long lines of Mumbai's minority Muslims queuing to donate blood to some of the 714 wounded in the blasts.
Meanwhile India's stock market confounded predictions, rising three percentage points on the morning after the bombings.
But tensions became apparent on Wednesday, when a spokesman for the Indian foreign ministry accused Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri of an "appalling" attempt to link the bombings to the failure to resolve the dispute over Kashmir. Spokesman Navtej Sarna also urged Pakistan to "dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism" on territory under its control.
Pakistan's foreign ministry later rejected the accusations in a statement, saying Mr Kasuri's remarks had been misreported and denying he had drawn a link between the bombings and the Kashmir dispute. It insisted Pakistan was "in the forefront of international efforts to fight [the] menace" of terrorism.
Posted by: john ||
07/12/2006 16:13 ||
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Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has vowed that "no-one can make India kneel", a day after a series of train bombings in Mumbai killed 200 people.
Okay. That's a good start. Now what is to be done?
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan on Tuesday strongly condemned a series of bomb blasts on commuter trains in the Indian city of Mumbai, describing the attacks as a despicable act of terrorism.
Pakistan strongly condemns the series of bomb blasts on commuter trains in Mumbai, India, a foreign ministry statement said. This despicable act of terrorism has resulted in the loss of a large number of precious lives, it said.
Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz also strongly condemned the attacks and offered condolences over the loss of life, the ministry said. Terrorism is a bane of our times and it must be condemned, rejected and countered effectively and comprehensively, it said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/12/2006 00:10 ||
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Posted by: Howard UK ||
07/12/2006 7:47 Comments ||
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#7
That's exactly what I would say if people that I trained and funded commited an act like this. Pakiland openly funds the militants in Kashmir, now they want them to believe that they are in no way connected with this.
Nepal's Maoists have revealed for the first time number of soldiers they have - 36,000 - in remarks published on Tuesday, a week after Kathmandu invited the United Nations to monitor arms of insurgents and the state army. "We are about 36,000 (fighters) in the People's Liberation Army now," Bibidh, a Maoist commander was quoted by the Nepali daily, Kantipur, as saying. "This keeps on changing at the time of fighting." Nepali security officials have estimated rebel strength at around 15,000 combatants versus a government army of 100,000 besides thousands of police.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/12/2006 00:00 ||
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#3
gotta sign in to read the arty; but then again, any landing you can walk away from is a good one, but one where you can re-use the airplane is a great one.
PESHAWAR: Governor Ali Muhammad Jan Orakzai said on Tuesday the government was close to achieving durable peace in North Waziristan. "The government is close to a final settlement of the Waziristan issue," Orakzai told a tribal jirga from Khyber Agency.
And I'm pretty near skinny as a rail. Really. And I could touch my toes if I wanted to. I just don't want to.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/12/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
They kill all the tribes and hang the Mullahs - followed by carpet bombing and dusting the whole place with radioactive material?
The Indian government is considering using the air force to launch a counter-insurgency offensive in held Kashmir following increased militant activity and a series of blasts in Srinagar. Following the example of the Israeli offensive against Palestine, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has submitted a doctrine suggesting ways to force militants out of the dense forest cover and engage with the Indian Army on the ground. The doctrine called low-intensity conflict operations (LICO) shows how the air force can help in combat operations against militants with tactical air support including electronic jamming of the communication links used by militants.
According to the doctrine, the air support can provide interceptive dominance through electronic warfare and its airborne command posts can keep tabs on militant movement. The air force can cut down communication delays during ambushes and their electronic jamming would block communication between militants, the doctrine said. Intelligence gathering by the air force will reinforce army surveillance and provide real-time photography, terrain mapping and intelligence on militant movement and hideouts, the doctrine said. The air force has also proposed tactical support for army troop movement.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/12/2006 00:00 ||
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The Ministry of Defence informed a Sindh High Court (SHC) bench on Tuesday that it had no operational control over the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Military Intelligence (MI) and therefore could not enforce the courts direction on both agencies in detention matters.
Hokay. My mind just boggled at such an admission. They're officially rogue agencies?
In his comments in six detention petitions, ministry representative Lt Col Mohammad Iqbal Sahboo said that the ministry could only pass on to these agencies every direction received from the court for strict compliance, and replies on receipt were submitted in court. The SHC bench comprising Justice Anwer Zaheer Jamali and Justice Mohammad Afzal Soomro heard on Tuesday petitions challenging the detention of Saleem Baloch, Saeed Brohi, Rauf Sasoli, Afan Leghari, Munir Mengal and Tariq Alam, and deferred the matter until July 19.
In its comments, the Defence Ministry said that the ISI and MI, which are only under its administrative control, had been tasked to present the detainees in court, but had denied detaining the people in question. They had said that the men were not wanted in any case, the Defence Ministry representative told the court. He said that the agencies had said that the task of locating or recovering missing people did not fall under their purview.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/12/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Dear Ministry of Defence,
Stop signing the damn checks! If they still don't cooperate, place them under arrest.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Regards,
The Civilized World
Posted by: Baba Tutu ||
07/12/2006 1:50 Comments ||
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#2
Stop signing the damn checks! If they still don't cooperate, place them under arrest.
#3
Oh come on - we've known for a long time that it's the ISI that has operational control of the Ministry of Defense, not vice-versa. Administrative control just means the MoD provides clerk-typists.
(KUNA) -- Pakistan Tuesday ruling out the possibility of sabotage in Mondays plane crash that had no survivor, said a Dutch team of experts will help it investigate the "accident."
"I can not say at this time what caused the plane crash but it was an accident, believe me", Federal Defence minister Rao Sikandar Iqbal told newsmen after inspecting the site of the plane crash in central city of Multan, about 450 kilometers from here. He said a joint team of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Civil Aviation Authorities (CAA) was conducting inquiry, adding that a Dutch team of experts would also reach Pakistan to investigate the incident. Some members of the team have arrived and remaining would reach soon, he said. The minister said that the inquiry would hopefully be completed within two and a half month time and its report would be made public. "We will investigate it thoroughly."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/12/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
"I can not say at this time what caused the plane crash but it was an accident, believe me"
Man, this guy's sharp...what's his name again? I want him running the Big Dig.
Singh Vows Terror Fight as Governments Condemn Mumbai Attacks India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pledged to tackle terrorism with ``all possible measures'' as governments across the world condemned the worst attack in Mumbai in 13 years. At least 163 people were killed.
I'd suggest killing large numbers of turbans, but that doesn't seem to be politically possible for anybody...
``We will work to defeat the evil designs of terrorists and will not allow them to succeed,'' Singh said yesterday after seven blasts on the suburban rail network in the country's commercial hub.
Britain will ``stand united with India'' in a ``shared determination to defeat terrorism,'' Prime Minister Tony Blair said in a statement. ``The terrorists to blame for carrying out this evil act must receive the harshest punishment,'' Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
07/12/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
//I'd suggest killing large numbers of turbans, but that doesn't seem to be politically possible for anybody... //
doent say that. sadlee reminz me of em jakass hoo killt that sikh in AZ shortlee after 911.
#3
I believe he may be a Sikh. Sikhs wear turbans as a matter of religious observance, but they're not generally "turbans" in the "turbans and automatic weapons" sense.
Posted by: Mike ||
07/12/2006 10:59 Comments ||
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#5
Singh = Sikh. Also that turban is a Sikh dastar.
Posted by: ed ||
07/12/2006 12:56 Comments ||
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#6
Found out that Singh has a PhD in Economics, and the Indian president (Kalam) has a PhD in Nuclear Physics. Talk about qualifications to run a country...
The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (head of government) is a Sikh - PhD in economics
(note the turban - Sikhs must not cut their hair, hence the need to wrap it).
The Army chief - General JJ Singh is also a Sikh
The Indian President Abdul Kalam (the head of state) is a muslim
He is NOT a nuclear scientist, as is sometimes written in the press. He is a rocket scientist - the designer of India's first satellite launch vehicles and ballistic missiles. He is good at project management and was in overall charge of the 1998 nuclear tests at Pokran.
The real power in Delhi is actually a woman - the head of the congress party - Sonia Gandhi - a christian
Posted by: john ||
07/12/2006 15:32 Comments ||
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#8
Though Kalam is referred to as "Dr", these are honorary doctorates (he was chancellor of a university).
He has just a first degree in aeronautical engineering.
He never bothered to obtain a PhD - too busy building rockets and overseeing military projects.
Werner Von Braun visited him in India, complimenting him on the SLV rocket. That speaks for itself.
Posted by: john ||
07/12/2006 15:44 Comments ||
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#9
thanks for setting me straight john... i was misinformed on Kalam's education.
Kabir Bedi is an Indian international film actor, most famous for his roles of Sandokan in the TV series Sandokan, Prince Omar Rashid in the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful and Gobinda in the James Bond film Octopussy.
Posted by: john ||
07/12/2006 18:14 Comments ||
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#14
On the topic of turbans: in India turban wearers are actually less likely to be muzzies. The muzzies usually wear caps like this:
In the village where I lived in India, almost all of the local Hindu farmers wore turbans - none of the local muzzies did.
#15
That BTW (for those who may not know) is Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan.
Here is a fascinating article from a 1947 interview of Jinnah by Margaret Bourke-White, correspondent and photographer for LIFE magazine during the WW II years...
Posted by: john ||
07/12/2006 19:44 Comments ||
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#16
The Army chief - General JJ Singh, is one cool looking, spiffy dude. At least from his looks, he looks like an a$$-kicking guy. Only thing that worries me is those rose-colored shades he's wearing. Anyway, that's my take on the pic. My photo interpretation, heh.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/12/2006 21:32 Comments ||
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#17
Hey john you'r overinformed, if you ever want to join a pub quiz team just let us know.
July 09 2006 at 0750 UTC in position: 12:28N - 045:10E, Gulf of Aden. Two speedboats, turquoise hull, length 10 metres and each manned by three persons followed a container ship underway. Ship increased speed, raised alarm; crew mustered and informed ships in vicinity via VHF. After 10 minutes boats moved away.
Recently reported incidents
July 04 2006 at 1450 UTC at Texaco berth, Guyana. One robber boarded an LPG tanker preparing to depart from berth. He stole ship's equipment and escaped in a motorboat waiting with four accomplices.
July 04 2006 at 0430 UTC at Santos anchorage no. 3, Brazil. Two robbers attempted to board a container ship via anchor chain. Alert crew raised alarm and boarding was aborted. Port control informed.
July 01 2006 at 0330 LT at Bonaberi berth no.52, cement berth, Douala port, Cameroon. Three armed robbers boarded a bulk carrier and threatened duty A/B with knives. They stole ship's stores and escaped. Port control and harbour police informed.
The Army is discontinuing a controversial but highly successful multibillion-dollar deal with oil services giant Halliburton Co. to provide logistical support to U.S. troops worldwide, a decision that could cut deeply into the firm's dominance of government contracting in Iraq. The choice comes after several years of attacks from critics who saw the contract as a symbol of politically connected corporations profiteering on the war.
Under the deal, Halliburton had exclusive rights to provide the military with a wide range of work that included keeping soldiers around the world fed, sheltered and in communication with friends and family back home. Government audits turned up more than $1 billion in questionable costs. Whistle-blowers told how the company charged $45 per case of soda, double-billed on meals and allowed troops to bathe in contaminated water. I think it's called non-potable water.Not a lot of prestine water in Iraq. Non-potable is a third the cost, and better than NO water. Ever try a waterless shower? Or waterless toilet flush?>
The Army official, agreed yesterday. "Halliburton has done an outstanding job, and reimbursed contested charges, under the circumstances," he said. But what do they know, they're just doing the bleeding and dying.
Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), an avowed communist andfrequent Halliburton critic, said he would like to see even more companies included as winners in order to increase competition as work arises. But he welcomed the move away from the exclusive contract with Halliburton as a good first step. "When you have a single contractor, that company has the government over a barrel," Waxman said. "One needs multiple contractors in order to have real price competition. Real competition saves the taxpayer money.".... and that's what warfare is all about eh Henry, saving the taxpayer dough?
#1
I think the light dawned that while Halliburton is good, what is not good is that there are only two companies in the world that do what Halliburton does, and the other is French.
In other words, we have what amounts to a monopoly in a business that is far too simple to support a monopoly. We need other corporations getting into the act, and yesterday.
Using civilian contractors is obviously the wave of the future.
#2
Bechtel? Fluor? Morrison Knudsen? These seem like the kind of folks big enough to play in this area and with plenty of government expertise. Why don't they bid? Or give them a capped cost plus to enter the business so it isn't all sole source.
#3
Dyncorp is another. But I bet they give it to some French or Dutch company. Tha Army just awarded a 300+ helicopter contract, LUH, to a French company! Worse yet there were American companies with lower bids and better performing aircraft.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/12/2006 10:19 Comments ||
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#4
The Army is discontinuing a controversial but highly successful multibillion-dollar deal with oil services giant Halliburton Co. to provide logistical support to U.S. troops worldwide, a decision that could cut deeply into the firm's dominance of government contracting in Iraq.
You mean the one first set up by VP Al Gore to support operations in the Balkans. [Where's the Dem's pull out plan for the one year er two year deployment initiated by Clinton?]
Other companies with both the manpower and experience to effectively support the troops without any irregularities? I smell pork, big pork.
Anyone run Army contracts before? It's not going to be pretty, efficient, or on time. But hey, that's not the objective is it?
#5
Trying to get contractors to work together is a costly event in time, dollars, and frustration. I would say the USG should compete this as an IDIQ type contract with a dollar cap and/or a five year term.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/12/2006 11:23 Comments ||
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#6
Dyncorp is another. But I bet they give it to some French or Dutch company. Tha Army just awarded a 300+ helicopter contract, LUH, to a French company! Worse yet there were American companies with lower bids and better performing aircraft.
I'm beginning to think that contract and the other two helicopter contracts they got are meant to be bribes re: bringing Iran to the security council.
#7
It sniff of that to me also. As far as I'm concerned I will never fly a French helicopter with US Army on the side of it. This is just wrong.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/12/2006 12:52 Comments ||
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#8
It just seems a bit of a coincidence that EADS won three of them in a row... there seems to be no concern whatsoever to even keeping the locals in business.
(And then there's the matter... if you're dead set on buying European, there's a European-owned company in Arizona that arguably has superior technology).
#9
Government audits turned up more than $1 billion in questionable costs.
So, does this mean that New Orleans residents will be required to return their big screens & reimburse Uncle Sam for their vacations? Ooops, wrong MSM article.
Posted by: BA ||
07/12/2006 16:02 Comments ||
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#10
AS, who would that be? The only ones I know of is Boeing and MD helicopters and both are now US owned.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/12/2006 20:39 Comments ||
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#11
I would say the USG should compete this as an IDIQ type contract with a dollar cap and/or a five year term.
#12
Right but the contract was sole source awarded. Meaning no other company got to compete for it. I probably should have added that in my comment lotp. Thanks.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/12/2006 21:03 Comments ||
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The largest Sunni bloc in parliament said on Tuesday that it will lift a legislative boycott after a call for unity by a radical Shia cleric and promises that a kidnapped legislator will be released. Moqtada al-Sadr has called for unity and a leading Sunni politician said the bloc was responding, in the first sign of accommodation by both sides amid a sharp rise in sectarian tensions. We have decided to attend the meetings as of tomorrow in response to the call by Moqtada al-Sadr, Adnan al-Dulaimi said. Two of al-Mashhadanis guards were released last week.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/12/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Well this should clarify things regards Tater.
He's the power behind the throne. The Mullahs' enforcer inside the Shia "government". And the Sunnis get it, since he's playing the age-old power game they understand. Why, he's a friggin hero. Total impunity.
And, although he can arrange the release of the kidnapped MP, that doesn't mean he's involved. Nope. 'Course not. That's silly.
#3
Just my take, but I suggest you reread the story, GG. Sounds to me like Moqtada's in the driver's seat and playing statesman because it suits him, not because of any pressure. Fact is, the Sunnis could boycott from now until the end of time - and affect absolutely nothing, as they max out at about 20%-22% of the Parliament.
(KUNA) -- Iraqi forces will take formal control of a British-controlled area of the country this week, Britains Defence Secretary Des Browne indicated Tuesday. Browne told MPs he expected Iraq's new government to announce the handover of the relatively-peaceful al Muthanna province this Thursday. And he said he would be disappointed if announcements on two further areas did not follow "relatively soon." "As far as I understand it, the Iraqi government intends to formally take over responsibility for al Muthanna province on the 13th," Browne said.
The widely-expected takeover of the first province is the first step in moves to transfer control of all 18 over the next year to 18 months. Giving evidence to the parliamentary Defence Committee, Browne said "significant progress'' had also been made in relation to Maysan and Dhi Qar provinces. The Iraqi foreign minister has confirmed Maysan would be next in line for transfer, allowing UK troops to be redeployed elsewhere in the southern region.
Browne said he recognised there were still challenges in terms of the support needed by the Iraqi forces. "I recognise there are still challenges in relation to logistics but I am satisfied that we are making progress with regard to them," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/12/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
The al Muthanna province turnover was greeted with bitter howls of derision from the left. They are very predictable in squealing like stuck pigs when they suffer a bad loss--in this case, an obvious example of winning in Iraq.
When those two other provinces are turned over, hopefully soon, it will be time to start rubbing it in. The left should be made to feel some real pain over their bad decisions.
From that point, the new media should do everything it can to let the public know that we and the Iraqis are winning. To seize the debate with "winning" as the axiom, not letting the left keep hammering away with "losing" as the axiom.
Instead of us having to "prove" that we are winning, they should have to "prove" that we aren't winning--something they can't do.
July 12, 2006: After over a year of testing and further development, the U.S. Marine Corps are sending the seven ounce Wasp Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) to Iraq and Afghanistan. The Wasp is a flat, rectangular "flying wing" (13 inch wingspan, about seven inches long), that can stay in the air for about 90 minutes. Once the battery powered propeller is spinning, the operator throws Wasp into the air, and off it goes, usually at a 100 foot altitude. You land it by pressing the autoland button, after you have entered GPS coordinates of where you want it to return to. The propeller often breaks off when it lands, but the Wasp was designed for that, and you just snap on another propeller. The $5-10,000 MAV can survive about twenty such landings.
The MAV is controlled via a hand held ($30,000) device that looks like a Gameboy, but has a seven inch color screen and controls laid out for easy use. Operators do require more training than most other UAVs, because the Wasp travels closer to the ground, and the system is designed to let one operator control several Wasps at once. The Wasp carries a GPS, and microprocessor that keeps it stable in flight. It can also hover like a helicopter, a very useful capability for urban combat. The operator can also select a route via GPS coordinates, and order it to circle an area at any time. Two color video cameras are carried (one looking forward, and one looking to the rear), and then the Wasp is a hundred feet up, you can make out people below, and whether they are armed. The Wasp moves at a speed of 35-75 kilometers an hour (or about 9-19 meters a second). The controller can remain in touch with a Wasp that is up to ten kilometers away, after which the operator losses control, and the video feed. The controller, which is the same one used for larger micro-UAVs like the Raven and Pointer, which makes training easier. The version going into action is waterproof and has a night (infrared) camera.
The major shortcoming of the Wasp is the difficulty of using it in windy or stormy conditions. This is a problem with all lightweight UAVs, and is particularly bad with the tiny Wasp. The troops, however, are happy to have it. The system is rugged, lightweight and simple to use. When the air is fairly still, the Wasp can go up and provide the troops with a major battlefield advantage. The army Special Forces have had success in the field with a 12 ounce micro-UAV, so the marines are confident they will be able to get some use out of the Wasp. The U.S. Navy is also testing the Wasp on ships, where it can be used for ship security while in port, or for checking out suspect ships and boats during interdiction operations.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/12/2006 09:33 ||
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#1
I...consider...this...a...war crime!
And a personal insult!
#11
wxjames: you know that years ago, they tried making a frisbee-like explosive throwing weapon? That didn't work out, so they went down the list from lacrosse sticks to jai alai scoops to baseball grenades. They never did come up with anything very satisfactory.
#14
why not get reg hand controlled airplanes and put a small cameram on them? wouldn't it be alot cheaper
That's what this thing is, basicaly. Only it is the Millspec version.
Without going into a long, complicated discussion of why millspec is a good and necessary thing, you may rest assured that these drones are as cheap as we can make them. The hand controller and related bits, OTOH, are veddy 'spensive.
Having used the raven (army) version myself, these small drones will wind up being one of the most useful bits of gear to come out of this war. I just hope they don't get too gold plated to use.
Posted by: N guard ||
07/12/2006 16:10 Comments ||
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#15
why not get reg hand controlled airplanes and put a small cameram on them? wouldn't it be alot cheaper
Let's say you get 20 flights from a Wasp. That's probably a safe average -- some will be lost earlier, some will break earlier, and some will fly as long as a B-52. That comes out to $500 a flight.
A small RC helicopter is about $200 -- no camera, no controller with integrated screen. Decent cameras are expensive; small decent cameras are even more expensive.
Doesn't seem too expensive, considering the improvement in capabilities it gives.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
07/12/2006 17:37 Comments ||
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#16
"A small RC helicopter is about $200..."
Have YOU, ever flown a R/C Hellicopter? There is a really, really steep learning curve, and even decent pilots crack them up from time to time.
PUTRAJAYA: Islam is not about turban and beard, said the Federal Court in dismissing the appeal of three pupils who were expelled from school for refusing to take off their "serban" nine years ago.
The three-member panel (Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Abdul Malek Ahmad, Justice Datuk Abdul Hamid Mohamed and Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Steve Shim) was unanimous in their decision that not everything that the Prophet Muhammad did or the way he did it is legally or religiously binding on Muslims, or even preferable and should be followed.
Infidels! They must be killed!
Abdul Hamid, in his written judgment, said the practice of wearing a turban was of little significance from Islam's point of view, what more in relation to under-age boys.
"As far as I can ascertain, the Al Quran makes no mention about the wearing of turban. "I accept that the Prophet wore a turban. But he also rode a camel, built his house and mosque with clay walls and roof of leaves of date palms and brushed his teeth with the twig of a plant.
"Does that make riding a camel a more pious deed than travelling in an aeroplane? Is it preferable to build houses and mosques using the same materials used by the Prophet and the same architecture adopted by himduring his time?"asked Abdul Hamid in the judgment which was delivered by Federal Court deputy registrar.
"The question is whether the wearing of turban by boys of the age of the appellants is a practice of the religion of Islam. Islam is not about turban and beard. The pagan Arabs, including Abu Jahl, wore turbans and kept beards. It was quite natural for the Prophet, born into the community and grew up in it, to do the same"...
#1
"As far as I can ascertain, the Al Quran makes no mention about the wearing of turban. "I accept that the Prophet wore a turban. But he also rode a camel, built his house and mosque with clay walls and roof of leaves of date palms and brushed his teeth with the twig of a plant.
"Does that make riding a camel a more pious deed than travelling in an aeroplane?
#3
"Is it preferable to build houses and mosques using the same materials used by the Prophet and the same architecture adopted by himduring his time?"
Sounds like a plan to me.
Start in Arabia. ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/12/2006 18:46 Comments ||
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#4
I know its a boring post, but it is worth downloading for use when Muslimaniacs try to enforce Sharia in your neighborhood.
Irans national security adviser Ali Larijani flies to Damascus aboad special military plane Wednesday night as war tension builds up around Hizballah kidnap of 2 Israeli soldiers
Larijani is also Irans senior nuclear negotiator. He will remain in Damascus for the duration of the crisis in line with the recently Iranian-Syrian mutual defense pact. His presence affirms that an Israeli attack on Syria will be deemed an assault on Iran. It also links the Israeli hostage crisis to Irans nuclear standoff with the West.
The White House released a statement holding Syria and Iran responsible for Hizballah abduction and demanding their immediate and unconditional release.
Continued on Page 49
Larijani is also Irans senior nuclear negotiator. He will remain in Damascus for the duration of the crisis in line with the recently Iranian-Syrian mutual defense pact. His presence affirms that an Israeli attack on Syria will be deemed an assault on Iran. It also links the Israeli hostage crisis to Irans nuclear standoff with the West.
The White House released a statement holding Syria and Iran responsible for Hizballah abduction and demanding their immediate and unconditional release.
The Syrian army has been put on a state of preparedness.
DEBKAfiles military sources add that the Iranian air force, missile units and navy are also on high alert.
DEBKAfiles counter-terror sources report Hizballah acted on orders from Tehran to open a second front against Israel, partly to ease IDF military pressure on the Hamas in the Gaza Strip. This was in response to an appeal Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal made to the Iranian ambassador to Damascus Mohammad Hassan Akhtari Sunday, July 9.
DEBKAfiles Iranian sources report Tehrans rationale as composed of three parts:
1. Iran shows the flag as a champion and defender of its ally, Hamas.
2. Sending Hizballah to open a warfront against Israel is the logical tactical complement to its latest order to go into action against American and British forces in southern Iraq.
3. Tehran hopes to hijack the agenda before the G-8 summit opening in St. Petersberg, Russia on July 15. Instead of discussing Irans nuclear case and the situation in Iraq along the lines set by President George W. Bush, the leaders of the industrial nations will be forced to address the Middle East flare-up
Any Israeli decision taken at prime minister Ehud Olmerts high level consultation in Jerusalem Wednesday night must take this turn of events into account before deciding on limited air strikes against Hizballah and Lebanese civil targets without delay.
Our sources also report that immediately after Nasrallahs statement to the media, Hizballahs leaders went into hiding, their bases were evacuated and their fighting strength transferred to pre-planned places of concealment. Ahead of the abduction, Hizballah ordnance and missile stocks were transferred to the Palestinian Ahmed Jibrils tunnel system at Naama, 30 km south of Beirut, which was built in the 1980s by East German engineers.
The Israel navy has long tried to smash this coastal underground fortress from the sea without success.
Israel began calling up an armored division, air crews and technicians from the reserves Wednesday night. DEBKAfiles military experts: If Israels leaders opt for an anti-Hizballah operation on the lines of Operation Summer Rain against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the IDF can expect the same measure of success as it has had in recovering Gilead Shalit and ending the Qassam missiles barrage
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
07/12/2006 15:27 ||
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#1
They've started hitting Naameh by air and by sea.
#5
Thanks, you're right ,CF. Five hundred BLU-109 'smart' bombs, caplable of penetrating seven feet of reinforced concrete, sold to Israel in Sept. 2004. Telegraph article here.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has denied that Chris Charlier, the Belgian chief inspector for the Iranian nuclear programme, has been pushed to one side.
The denial came after a German newspaper reported on Sunday that Charlier had been removed from his post at the insistence of Iran. Belgian media then ran with the story also.
Charlier was quoted as saying that Iran had pressured the IAEA into sidelining him, claiming also that agency chief Mohammed ElBaradei personally intervened in the matter. The Belgian is the head of a team of 17 inspectors that has been examining Iran's nuclear activities since 2003.
But an IAEA spokesman has denied he has been pushed aside. The agency stressed that Charlier still has the same function and leads the inspection mission.
However, it has been confirmed that Charlier has been barred entry to Iran since April and that the Iranian government is displeased with his activities.
The IAEA denied that it had yielded to Iranian pressure and said it regrets inaccurate media reports, news service VRT reported.
Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana will meet with Iran's top negotiator on Tuesday. He is expected to press Tehran to accept a package of incentives aimed at halting its uranium enrichment programme.
Iran insists it will make no final decision before August, but the EU has said it expects a "substantial response" from the Brussels meeting. The US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, has also urged Tehran to respond to the offer.
A series of technical problems at the central Iranian nuclear facility at Natanz appear to have slowed down its nuclear fuel-enrichment program and put on hold plans to expand it, it was reported on Tuesday.
In April, Iran succeeded in operating a cascade of 164 centrifuges, an amount sufficient to fuel nuclear power plants, but far short of the threshold of several thousand needed to build a nuclear bomb. A second round of feeding uranium into centrifuge enrichment machines began on June 6.
According to one diplomat, several unconfirmed reports state that the first cascade, basis for Iranian plans to install 3,000 centrifuges by 2007, had a failure rate of up to 50 percent, Channel 2 reported. He said the centrifuges seemed to be showing fragility after being spun at supersonic speeds, and the nature of materials injected into them - which could involve impurities in the uranium - could be damaging too.
Posted by: ed ||
07/12/2006 07:59 ||
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...Well, IIRC the raw nuclear material is corrosive to an unbelievable degree - this was a problem during the Manhattan Project that nobody foresaw. Now, add to that the fact that most - if not all - of the centrifuges may have come from other countries (indicating that the MMs either can't make their own or are unable to make/maintain many) and that gives Amidinnerjacket a real problem. He's been making promises with his alligator mouth that his canary ass won't be able to keep.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
07/12/2006 8:43 Comments ||
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#2
Interesting. I was not aware thet 164 centrifuges are "far short of the threshold of several thousand needed to build a nuclear bomb". I thought it would just take more time that way. Experts?
Also interesting to consider this as disinformation and contemplate the source, timing, and the potential reason for it.
#3
I wonder how much these problems are due to "foreign powers" using front companies to provide substandard materials, etc? Remember the doctored nuke designs that the CIA was peddling? Now about those "fragile" centrifuge tubes...
#6
164 centrifuges are "far short of the threshold" for single pass bomb enrichment. But the output can be fed back multiple times to get high enrichment. But it can be impractical due to time requirements.
Previous articles have said the Iranians used Russian supplied UF6 in the centrifuges for their show and tell earlier this year due to contamination in domestic production. But it's a temporary problem. Gas purification has well known solutions. What's new is the high stated failure rate of the centrifuges. Still with 50% failure, they will have to test each centrifuge individually and build twice as many. So build 6,000 to get a 3,000 cascade. The Iranians are planning to intall 50,000 in Natanz alone.
Posted by: ed ||
07/12/2006 10:37 Comments ||
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#7
how can this be? the Iranians do not have a nuke enrichment program, only peaceful research. the press clippings are right...around.....here.. somewhere........I think I left them in my pants and they went thru the laundry, nothing left but worthess pulp.
#8
I still think the easiest bet would be to smuggle a very toxic, but otherwise odorless and tasteless chemical into those facilities with a battery powered vaporizer.
Something that will slowly contaminate the entire place so that in a week or two, everybody will die, and the facility will be so contaminated that it can't ever be used again. There are many industrial chemicals that would work, and would irrevocably destroy the liver of every person in there.
This would wipe out most of their nuclear scientists and it would close their facilities.
actually, if the technos aren't careful and/or the cetrifuges have leaks there may already be some nasty levels of rad and toxic stuff in the room and as Mike K says, the technos probably are under considerable pressure to keep the machines spinning
Note: Irna is the official Ayatollah tyranny media organ. And genocide incitement is issuing from it. I support Zionism, as a nationa movement of a people who needed emancipation once, and now need only security. It's: SHOWTIME!
Ahmadinejad: Wrap up Zionism before it is too late Tehran, July 12,
IRNA
President Ahmadinejad, on a visit to the northwestern city of Maragheh, said that supporters of Zionism should now wrap it up before it is too late.
Speaking before a huge crowd of local residents, the president said that the problems of of the world can be traced to people's obsession for the mundane things of life, adding that the Zionist regime is the perfect example of a world government with an extreme love for materialism.
#3
"the pent-up anger of inhabitants of the the region could erupt anytime"
And that would differ from the rocket attacks, suicide bombers, and perpetual seething in what manner???
#4
End Ahmadinejad before it is too late. We have been fiddly farting around with this barbaric regime since Khomeni took hostages from our embassy for 400 + days. Doing nothing just emboldens these boneheads.
#6
Agreed, we only need two or three nights of specific targeting to end this 27 year bull with Iran.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/12/2006 15:11 Comments ||
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#7
I just have to keep wondering, and I know Navy and Air Force folks are doing great work in the wars already. But, when people say we are so already strained, we can't fight anywhere else. Seems to me, we got a lot of folks, with a lot of power that could make a difference. But then, I only watch war movies and the Military Channel, so what do I know?
Are we really stretched? Knowing that Iran would first go after us and the British folks setting on the border with Iraq, I just feel like there are lots of Navy and Air Force folks just itching to get into some trouble. But then again, I have and can be wrong. I know football (real US football) tactics, but not much about military tactics, except to admire you all from a distance!
#8
Howzabout we end this nut job before it's too late?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/12/2006 18:47 Comments ||
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#9
Sherry - bombing capability isn't stretched - Diego Garcia to Iran requires refueling and no overflights - things we are perfectly capable of doing.
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/12/2006 19:41 Comments ||
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#10
Thanks Frank. I needed to hear that -- I just can't believe these guys have anyway of doing anything. But hey, they are good at kidnapping! But then, I hear, got to have boots on the ground and we don't have them. Hum.... Shock and awe seemed to work in Germany and Japan... and we got even more stuff now.
And I just know, deep down in my heart, that just has to be about million of our "retired warriors" still in good enough shape, with the will, to be ready to add their experience in about a month. Question might be, do we have enough guns, bullets and beans for them?
But it's still, as Rove said in a speech in New Hampshire, speaking of the Democrats and war, "They may be with you for the first shots," Rove said of such opponents. "But they're not going . . . to be with you for the tough battles."
#4
--"Americans have a severe disease worse than AIDS. It's called the winner's complex," he said. "You want an American style-democracy here. That will not work."--
Why not and what kind of "democracy" does he envision?
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.
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Only hours before Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld hopped a helicopter to the coalition base in Kandahar, an Army Chinook took small-arms fire and crash-landed. No one was hurt. But it was further proof that Southern Afghanistan is a very dangerous place where U.S. and NATO forces are engaged in an all-out war with the Taliban.
The Taliban's spring offensive in Afghanistan is now three months old. It is the biggest ever mounted against foreign forces in the country since the Taliban's ouster in 2001, and it has taken a heavy toll on insurgency as well as coalition forces. And, according to one of the Taliban's top 10 commanders who spoke to Asia Times Online, the rising spiral of death is just the tip of the iceberg and the coalition's "Operation Mountain Thrust" in the southwest of the country will be severely challenged.
Chechen fighters will continue their "jihad" against Russian forces following the death of rebel warlord Shamil Basayev in an explosion, a spokesman for the separatist movement said Tuesday. "A new generation of Muslims who will never give up on their jihad and who know their enemy will replace those who leave. The jihad continues," Movladi Udugov said in a written statement published on the Kavkazcenter.com website used by separatists. 
China condemned a Japan-sponsored U.N. resolution to slap sanctions on North Korea over its missile tests on Tuesday, calling it an over-reaction that would split the Security Council. The statement came as a top U.S. envoy flew into Beijing, seeking a briefing on China's urgent efforts to resolve the crisis by diplomatic means. The U.N. Security Council delayed a vote overnight on the resolution to impose sanctions on the isolated state to allow time for a high-level Chinese delegation to talk to Pyongyang. "The Chinese side thinks the concerned draft resolution is an over-reaction. If approved, it will aggravate contradictions and increase tension," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a news conference. "It will hurt efforts to resume six-party talks as well as lead to the U.N. Security Council splitting." 
North Korea accused the United States of running a "massive" military exercise off the Korean Peninsula, which Pyongyang's vice foreign minister said was a "serious violation of the principles of sovereignty". 
The Bush administration is preparing a crackdown on intelligence leaks to the media and will try to pursue prosecutions in some recent cases, the chairman of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee on Tuesday. Michigan Republican Rep. 
One thousand people are currently being held in detention by the United States as part of its "war on terror," a legal adviser with the Department of Defense said on Tuesday. "I would say it's probably in the order of about 1,000," said Daniel Dell'Orto, principal deputy general counsel at the Department of Defense, in testimony before a congressional committee. Dell' Orto said the US base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba held some 450 prisoners, implying that 550 others were being held in other centers around the world run by the Central Intelligence Agency. He did not disclose where these prisoners were being held, or procedural details about their detention. A Council of Europe report published last month said that Romania and Poland probably sheltered clandestine detention centers run by the United States, although it acknowledged that it lacked formal proof for this. Both countries have denied running such centers on US behalf. 
Nepal's Maoists have revealed for the first time number of soldiers they have - 36,000 - in remarks published on Tuesday, a week after Kathmandu invited the United Nations to monitor arms of insurgents and the state army. "We are about 36,000 (fighters) in the People's Liberation Army now," Bibidh, a Maoist commander was quoted by the Nepali daily, Kantipur, as saying. "This keeps on changing at the time of fighting." Nepali security officials have estimated rebel strength at around 15,000 combatants versus a government army of 100,000 besides thousands of police.
(KUNA) -- Pakistan Tuesday ruling out the possibility of sabotage in Mondays plane crash that had no survivor, said a Dutch team of experts will help it investigate the "accident." 
India's Prime Minister 
Suspicious crafts
The largest Sunni bloc in parliament said on Tuesday that it will lift a legislative boycott after a call for unity by a radical Shia cleric and promises that a kidnapped legislator will be released. 
(KUNA) -- Iraqi forces will take formal control of a British-controlled area of the country this week, Britains Defence Secretary Des Browne indicated Tuesday. Browne told MPs he expected Iraq's new government to announce the handover of the relatively-peaceful al Muthanna province this Thursday. And he said he would be disappointed if announcements on two further areas did not follow "relatively soon." "As far as I understand it, the Iraqi government intends to formally take over responsibility for al Muthanna province on the 13th," Browne said.
