KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Afghanistans extremist Taleban on Tuesday vowed a wave of attacks on restaurants and guest houses frequented by Western nationals, warning they are not safe anymore. The threat was made by a rebel spokesman in a telephone call to AFP a day after Taleban suicide attackers killed seven peopleat least three of them foreign nationalsin an assault on Kabuls only five-star and most secure hotel.
Those who are here supporting the invading forces should know they are not safe anymore, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed told an AFP reporter in southern Afghanistan by telephone from a secret location.
Secret from whom? The AFP reporter?
We will carry out attacks on restaurants, guest houses and any other places frequented by foreigners, those who are here to help the invading forces, Mujahed added. We will launch a wave of attacks.
The Taleban frequently issues statements threatening new violence but they are often laughingly dismissed by the international forces as bluff.
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01/16/2008 00:00 ||
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Afghanistan sealed its border with Pakistan on Tuesday to protest against measures taken to stop flour from being smuggled into the war-torn country.
Authorities recently seized over 100 trucks loaded with flour at the Chaman border and handed them over to the district administration, said Pakistani border commander Major General Saleem Nawaz. The government enforced the measures to prevent flour smuggling in order to overcome the flour crisis facing the country, he added.
Afghan border commander Abdul Razzaq said Pakistan had not enforced the ban in other areas but had clamped down near the Chaman border. He said areas near the Pak-Afghan border were facing an immense flour shortage after the ban. The Afghan government will now discuss the matter with the Pakistan government, he added.
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#1
Hey, we should go after Saudis and others for 911. It is shameful that Citigroup and Merrill Lynch are getting bailed out financially by Japan, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait for the subprime interest debacle. Moreover, I read in the local rag that GWB asked the Saudis and OPEC nations to boost their output but that the Saudi synpathy was lacking. WTF? We saved Kuwait's arse. The Saudi fatcats would not exist if it were not for the USA.
#1
Most of the audience came away with the impression that neither had won the
debate.
Some people who were there (160 euros of admittance) and commented on blogs thought Marine Le Pen was the clear winner of this debate, and that she put ramadan on the ropes; apparently, there is a pirate recording, to which the owner of the rightwing blog Françoisdesouche has listened to, but its owner is reticent to let it be put online.
#2
Why don't we have shows like that here. That's real reality TV. By the way, most RTV shows are somewhat fixed. Contestants are asked, "You know what would work for us?" They tell them what they would like (read: expect), and - with inducement of further lucrative participation - the "real" person acts out the "suggestion" as if it is a script. The only reality is that Producers are rating-whores. Money talks.
#3
you're right. With the WGA strike, I want a show where they compete, with the knowledge that the winners get to kill and eat the hearts of losers. We'll call it: "Aztecs". Ain't civilization betterment grand?
Hey! if it get ratings, WTF?
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01/16/2008 19:27 Comments ||
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A former congressman and delegate to the United Nations was indicted Wednesday as part of a terrorist fundraising ring that allegedly sent more than $130,000 to an al-Qaida and Taliban supporter who has threatened U.S. and international troops in Afghanistan.
The former Republican congressman from Michigan, Mark Deli Siljander, was charged with money laundering, conspiracy and obstructing justice for allegedly lying about lobbying senators on behalf of an Islamic charity that authorities said was secretly sending funds to terrorists. Note which comes first, the name or the party affiliation.
A 42-count indictment, unsealed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., accuses the Islamic American Relief Agency of paying Siljander $50,000 for the lobbyingmoney that turned out to be stolen from the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Siljander, who served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, was appointed by President Reagan to serve as a U.S. delegate to the United Nations for one year in 1987.
The indictment charges IARA with sending approximately $130,000 to help Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, whom the United States has designated as a global terrorist. The money, sent to bank accounts in Peshawar, Pakistan in 2003 and 2004, was masked as donations to an orphanage located in buildings that Hekmatyar owned.
Authorities described Hekmatyar as an Afghan mujahedeen leader who has participated in and supported terrorist acts by al-Qaida and the Taliban. The Justice Department said Hekmatyar "has vowed to engage in a holy war against the United States and international troops in Afghanistan."
The charges "paints a troubling picture of an American charity organization that engaged in transactions for the benefit of terrorists and conspired with a former United States congressman to convert stolen federal funds into payments for his advocacy," said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Wainstein. It paints a troubling picture of second generation American Muslims. I'll definitely remember that when I see the name Mubarrak Hussein Obama on a ballot.
Authorities described Hekmatyar as an Afghan mujahedeen leader who has participated in and supported terrorist acts by al-Qaida and the Taliban. The Justice Department said Hekmatyar "has vowed to engage in a holy war against the United States and international troops in Afghanistan."
#1
I checked to see why Nimble said "second generation." From Wikipedia:
Siljander takes an interest in conflict resolution, particularly in the Islamic world, and in recent years has tried to publicize the common ground between Christianity and Islam, particularly in the portrayal of Jesus in the Qur'an. This is a turnaround from a previous position in which he objected to the Qur'an being read at a prayer breakfast, asking the emcee: "How can you read the book of the devil at a prayer breakfast?"[3] He described himself as "trained as an evangelical Christian; I was a poster boy for Jerry Falwell."
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01/16/2008 18:29 Comments ||
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A computer nerd from Shepherd's Bush, West London, became al Qaeda's top internet agent, it can be revealed today. Younes Tsouli, 23, an IT student at a London college, used his top-floor flat in W12 to help Islamist extremists wage a propaganda war against the West.
Under the name Irhabi 007 combining the James Bond reference with the Arabic for terrorist he worked with al Qaeda leaders in Iraq and came up with a way to convert often gruesome videos into a form that could be put onto the Web. Videos he posted included messages from Osama bin Laden and images of the kidnapping and murder of hostages in Iraq such as American Nick Berg.
Associates linked to Tsouli in the UK have also now been detained. His 10-year jail sentence was increased to 16 years last month.
At first intelligence operatives who came across his activities dismissed him as a joke. It was only when anti-terrorist detectives began trawling through files on his computer after his arrest that they realised his true significance.
When he was seized, forensic science officers found that Tsouli had been creating a website called YOUBOMBIT. At his trial at Woolwich crown court a jury heard how the Met trawled through a hugely gigantic'' amount of material computers, CDs and memory sticks to bring Tsouli and two other men to justice. Detectives found literature urging Muslims to take up the fight against other religions. It was the first time anyone in Britain had been prosecuted for inciting terrorist murder purely based on the internet, the court heard.
Tsouli, who set up and ran several sites over the summer of 2005, was described as the most prominent of the three on trial. The other two were also jailed. One intelligence source said: In a network structure, if you get the right guy the whole thing goes down.
Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, the head of the Met's counterterrorism operations, said: It was the first virtual conspiracy to murder that we have seen.
Tsouli arrived in London in 2001 with his father, a Moroccan diplomat. He studied IT at a college in central London and was quickly radicalised by images of the war in Iraq posted on the internet. By 2003 he had already begun posting his own material including a manual on computer hacking and a year later had moved on to publishing extremist images and al Qaeda propaganda on the web.
It is claimed al Qaeda leaders in Iraq spotted Tsouli's work and took the decision to recruit him, using his expertise to post their own extremist videos to a wider audience.
In 2005, Tsouli became administrator for the web forum al-Ansat, used by 4,500 extremists to communicate with each other, sharing such practical information as how to make explosives and how to get to Iraq to become a suicide bomber. But the enterprise had become so huge, it began to attract the attention of cyber-trackers who monitor the internet for extremists, leading to Tsouli's arrest.
#3
How could he have been quickly radicalised by images of the war in Iraq posted on the internet when he arrived in 2001 when Operation Iraqi Freedom didn't start until 2003?
#5
Welcome to Multi-Culturalism, liberal dhimwits in the West. Yesssss. Lets let in allllll the flying insects including mesquitos, wasps, hornets, etc into the room. Ain't it beautiful?
Michigan huh...who would've thunk it?
WASHINGTON A former congressman and delegate to the United Nations was indicted Wednesday as part of a terrorist fund-raising ring that allegedly sent more than $130,000 to an al Qaeda and Taliban supporter who has threatened U.S. and international troops in Afghanistan.
The former Republican congressman from Michigan, Mark Deli Siljander, was charged with money laundering, conspiracy and obstructing justice for allegedly lying about lobbying senators on behalf of an Islamic charity that authorities said was secretly sending funds to terrorists. 42-count indictment, unsealed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., accuses the Islamic American Relief Agency of paying Siljander $50,000 for the lobbying money that turned out to be stolen from the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Siljander, who served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to serve as a U.S. delegate to the United Nations for one year in 1987.
#1
According to Wikipedia, he represented the middle of the state, think Grand Rapids, Zeeland, Mount Pleasant. He graduated from Kalamazoo College and that was my stompin' grounds, back in 'the day,' so i was a bit concerned about where he hung his turban.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has said that he has answered questions and provided evidence to the Scotland Yards investigating team. He said that the PPP would give more evidence and, as of yet, the team had not indicated any conclusion to their findings. I, along with other party leaders, met the Scotland Yard team in Karachi and I gave them some evidence, Zardari told reporters at the Bhutto family home in Karachi, AFP adds.
He said that the British teams mandate was limited and the demand for an inquiry into Benazir Bhuttos assassination through a United Nations tribunal had not been withdrawn. Zardari also said he would now directly approach the UN for a probe into her killing after the government rejected his request to get the world body involved. The government rejected our appeal for a UN probe, so the PPP will directly approach the UN, he said. He added that he had spoken to former UN secretary general Kofi Annan on the matter.
Four names: Zardari said that the four people identified by Benazir in her October 16, 2007 letter to President Pervez Musharraf would be disclosed to the United Nations inquiry tribunal that had been formally requested by the party. They were not three, but four [names], Zardari said. The regime says that Al Qaeda is involved in the assassination and Al Qaeda is a transnational outfit, hence the United Nations may constitute an inquiry tribunal, Zardari said when a reporter mentioned that such an United Nations inquiry is sought when a foreign country is involved.
Not unpopular: Zardari brushed aside rumours that Benazir was assassinated because of her support for US policies. He also rebuffed a statement made by the president that Benazir was unpopular with the army. The son of martial law dictator Ziaul Haq didnt win from Rawalpindi, which is the heart of martial law, but Zamarrud Khan of the Peoples Party, he said. I appeal to the workers and supporters of the PPP and Benazir to go to polling stations defying the threats of the enemies of Pakistan and vote for the PPP to take revenge for her, he urged.
Zardari said international organisations had findings that acknowledged pre-poll rigging. Bilawal House was the property of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and he and his sisters would decide if it would be turned into a Benazir Bhutto Memorial Museum or not, he added. He said he had earlier planned to set up Bilawal House as the provincial headquarters of the Punjab, NWFP and Balochistan. A widow of a slain comrade had phoned him and said the people of the Punjab wanted him (Zardari) to stay in Lahore.
He said that Musharraf must prove his vow that Pakistan came first, by holding elections on February 18, as the PPP would counter its rivals by adopting democratic norms. He reiterated that he had reached Pakistan six hours after Benazirs death.
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Nawaz Sharif and Fazlur Rehman are among the prime targets of terrorists ahead of the February 18 elections, caretaker federal Interior minister Lt Gen (r) Hamid Nawaz Khan told Dawn News television channel on Tuesday. Khan said Ejazul Haq, Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao and Amir Muqam could also be hit. A report by SANA news agency said the minister told reporters after the inauguration of a police station in Tarnol that terrorists involved in the Karsaz incident had been identified. He declined to name the suspects saying it might jeopardise efforts for their arrest.
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01/16/2008 00:00 ||
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IT IS the most expensive - and talked about - property development in Pakistan, but few can get near it. Hidden behind barbed wire, the new state-of-the-art army headquarter to replace a garrison in Rawalpindi is costing a reputed £1 billion and will cover 2,400 acres of prime land in Islamabad, including lakes, a residential complex, schools and clinics.
Originally intended to represent the best of Pakistan, the new army HQ is now being seen as a symbol of all that is wrong with the country.
Amid nationwide anger over the killing of the opposition leader Benazir Bhutto and a widespread belief that the countrys military or intelligence may have been involved, the population is turning against the army for the first time.
Continued on Page 49
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#2
More than 700 Pakistani soldiers have been killed in the fight in the tribal areas against militants said to be linked to Al-Qaeda, and officers admit that morale has not been so low since they lost Bangladesh in 1971.
Were being asked to bomb our own people and shrug it off as collateral damage, said a Mirage pilot. I call it killing women and children.
Excellent - fighting the Taliban = killing women and children. And presumably, 9/11 = a Jew and Crusader plot. You gotta love the Pakistani population talking out of both sides of its mouth. Statements like this are why I'm glad Musharraf is in power, and not the alternatives.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan Pakistans premier military intelligence agency has lost control of some of the networks of Pakistani militants it has nurtured since the 1980s, and is now suffering the violent blowback of that policy, two former senior intelligence officials and other officials close to the agency say.
As the military has moved against them, the militants have turned on their former handlers, the officials said. Joining with other extremist groups, they have battled Pakistani security forces and helped militants carry out a record number of suicide attacks last year, including some aimed directly at army and intelligence units as well as prominent political figures, possibly even Benazir Bhutto.
The growing strength of the militants, many of whom now express support for Al Qaedas global jihad, presents a grave threat to Pakistans security, as well as NATO efforts to push back the Taliban in Afghanistan. American officials have begun to weigh more robust covert operations to go after Al Qaeda in the lawless border areas because they are so concerned that the Pakistani government is unable to do so.
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#1
The question is, how do you change that? asked one Western diplomat. Their tentacles are everywhere.
Perv could always allow the US to do cross-border operations. In layman's terms it's called a freebie. And if the terrorists are firmly against you, what more could they do in any case?
#2
Another former senior intelligence official said dozens of ISI officers who trained militants had come to sympathize with their cause and had had to be expelled from the agency.
Yeah, we kicked 'em out. No, really!
RAMADI, Iraq - The US military will hand over to Iraqi control the huge province of Anbar within three months, a senior officer said, reflecting a sharp turnaround for a region once a hotbed of insurgency. Colonel John Charlton, the senior US officer in the provincial capital Ramadi, told AFP that Anbar would be officially returned to Iraqi authorities in March or April. The plan would mean local rule for both Ramadi and Fallujah, Anbars major cities.
Security has been transformed in the western province over the past year after Sunni tribal leaders turned against Al Qaeda and switched loyalty to the US military, their former enemy. The tribal Awakening groups also backed the rapidly-expanding Iraqi police, which now monitors movement into and within the province through a dense web of checkpoints. In Ramadi alone there are now 5,100 Iraqi soldiers, 8,100 district police and 1,700 other official security personnel, according to the US military.
There is going to be a big level of handover, Charlton said at the US base west of the city on Sunday. Provincial Iraqi control means just that: Iraqis will be in charge of all aspects of the province from security to governance, and our role becomes purely advisory at that point, he said.
We are not going to do the handover all at once. This has been a process that has started months ago and each day we take a step closer towards that, and then it becomes official in March or April.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/16/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Libs compare timetable for handover of Anbar to timetable for handover of Iraq in 10 ... 9 ...
JERUSALEM (Rooters) - A right-wing party quit Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government on Wednesday, condemning his peace talks with the Palestinians and leaving him even more politically vulnerable.
Olmert, who could face new calls to resign later this month when an inquiry into the 2006 Lebanon war issues a final report, had his majority in the 120-member parliament cut from 78 seats to 67 after Yisrael Beiteinu's defection. But he said the loss of the coalition partner would not deter him from continuing to pursue a peace agreement with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
A statement issued by Olmert's office said he believed the negotiations held "the only real chance of ensuring the peace and security of Israeli citizens".
Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman made good on his threat to pull Yisrael Beiteinu out of the coalition once talks with the Palestinians moved to "core issues" including borders and the fate of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees.
"A few minutes ago, I spoke to the prime minister and I also gave him a written announcement of our departure from the coalition and my resignation from the government," said Lieberman, whose party appeals to Russian-speaking immigrants.
"Negotiations on the basis of land for pieces peace are a critical mistake ... and will destroy us," Lieberman told a news conference. "It is clear to everyone that these talks will lead to nothing."
Israel and the Palestinians opened their most serious peace talks in seven years on Monday, urged by U.S. President George W. Bush to reach a deal within a year. But domestic troubles have weakened Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in their home constituencies, and with a narrower majority in the legislature, the Israeli leader could be more vulnerable to coalition partners' demands.
Lieberman said that instead of making concessions to the Palestinians, Israeli leaders should seek a deal to swap territory and people with a future Palestinian state -- an allusion to Israel's Arab minority that makes up some 20 percent of its population. "Our problem is not with the Palestinians but with the Israeli Arabs," Lieberman said, comparing two Arab legislators in Israel's parliament to leaders of the Islamist Hamas group.
Israeli officials said Olmert was seeking a deal that would outline a "framework" for a Palestinian state with implementation delayed until the Palestinians can ensure Israel's security.
Abbas wants a final peace treaty enabling him to declare a state by the end of the year. However, his loss of control in the Gaza Strip to Hamas in June could leave that goal in grave jeopardy.
Israeli forces evacuated two makeshift settlement outposts in the West Bank on Wednesday, a step to remove a major obstacle to peace talks with Palestinians.
Police and army forces arrived at the first outpost, Harchivi, near the Palestinian town of Nablus, and the five Israelis there fled at the sight of the forces, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. No arrests were made.
At the second outpost also near Nablus, Shvut Ami, Israeli forces wrecked one of two concrete incomplete structures with a backhoe. Before the forces arrived, around 20 teenage protesters gathered at the scene, laying down barbed wire and rocks on the road and posting signs that read: "The land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel."
Some protesters lay down on the floor of one of the structures and were carried out by police. "We want the nation to get behind us," said 17-year-old protester Yedidya Slonin. "We don't feel they're behind us right now but we hope they'll follow."
Both outposts have been dismantled in the past, said Hagit Ofran, who tracks settlement growth for the dovish Israeli group Peace Now.
Israel promised under a 2003 peace plan to evacuate about two dozen outposts. As part of the renewal of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, President Bush pressed Israel last week to fulfill its commitment.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said earlier this week that the continued presence of the outposts was a "disgrace," but it was not clear if the government actually planned to make any significant move against them soon. Little action has been taken since he took power two years ago.
Both of the outposts slated for evacuation on Wednesday were thrown up by teenage settlers since the summer, Ofran said. Both were lightly populated, and evacuating them was not a serious move against the more than 100 unauthorized outposts that settlers have erected, she said. "This is a children's game. They're playing tag with the army and the police," Ofran said.
Outposts range from a single trailer on a hill to thriving settlements with red-roofed homes and hundreds of people. Settlers put them up to prevent the transfer of the disputed land to the Palestinians in any future peace deal.
In February 2006, just weeks after taking office, Olmert sent police to tear down nine unauthorized homes in the Amona outpost, sparking violent clashes with settlers. He has taken no real action in the two years since.
Settlers started putting up outposts across the West Bank after Israel committed to a settlement freeze in its initial peace accords with the Palestinians in the early 1990s. The outposts lack official authorization, but were built with the cooperation of Israeli authorities.
Some 3,000 Israelis live in outposts, according to Peace Now, in addition to about 270,000 who live in more than 120 authorized settlements in the West Bank and 180,000 who live in Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem, which Israel annexed after the 1967 Mideast war.
Couldn't possibly have anything to do with any actions on the part of Hamas, naturally.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
JIHADWATCH.org > US INTEL WARNED FOR "FOREST FIRE JIHAD" + JIHADIST WEBSITE THREATENS WMD ATTACK ON PRESIDENT BUSH. Dubya should not leave the ME alive.
Syria and Iran have stepped up their efforts to overthrow Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his ruling Fatah party, PA officials in Ramallah told The Jerusalem Post Monday. The officials accused the Syrians and Iranians of "encouraging" Hamas and other radical Palestinian groups to establish a new organization that would replace the PLO. They also accused the two countries of continuing to provide Hamas and its allies in the Gaza Strip with millions of dollars and weapons.
The officials pointed out that in the context of their efforts to overthrow Abbas's regime in the West Bank, Damascus and Teheran have encouraged Hamas and 10 other radical groups to meet in the Syrian capital on January 23 to discuss forming a new PLO and increasing their terror attacks on Israel. "Syria and Iran are working toward undermining the PLO and President Abbas," a senior Palestinian official in Ramallah told the Post. "They want to help Hamas extend its control to the West Bank. They are pouring millions of dollars into Hamas and its friends."
Another official told the Post that Abbas has appealed to some Arab countries to use their good offices with Syrian President Bashar Assad to ban the conference.
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#2
I don't understand why aren't the Jordanians and Egyptians doing more to stop this. I can't believe they want more Iranian/Shiite activity on their borders.
#4
I don't understand why aren't the Jordanians and Egyptians doing more to stop this
That's because you think of Jordan and Egypt as being real countries instead of tribal agglomerates given a superficial national identity by European imperialists.
Judges at an Indonesian court yesterday ruled to continue with the terrorism trial of the self-confessed leader of Islamic militant network Jemaah Islamiyah. Zarkasi, who is said to have become the acting head of JI in 2004 after his predecessor was arrested, was captured in Central Java in June last year in what was seen as a major blow to the organisation blamed for the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people.
Prosecutors have charged the 45-year-old, who is known under several aliases, with plotting, attempting or assisting in acts of terrorism, smuggling weapons and other dangerous materials, and moving and using them for terror purposes. The South Jakarta court, based on a decree of the Supreme Court, has the authority to hear this case... The prosecutors indictment is already clear and complete, said Eddy Refdianto, head of the panel of judges hearing the case. The decision overruled the arguments of Zarkasis defence team, which had said the court had no authority to hear the case as the crimes he was accused of committing did not occur in Jakarta. They also said the case should be dropped because the indictment was vague and incomplete.
The judge ordered prosecutors to summons witnesses who will be heard when the trial resumes in a week. Under Indonesias tough anti-terror laws, Zarkasi could face the death penalty for his crimes, which are allegedly related to sectarian violence in the restive district of Poso in Central Sulawesi. He is said to have known of various attacks on non-Muslims in the region, including the 2005 beheading of three schoolgirls, a crime that grabbed world headlines. He is also accused of ordering explosives to be sent to Poso in mid-2006 and overseeing the purchase, storing and movement of explosives and firearms.
In three separate cases yesterday judges at the same court ruled that the trials of five other alleged JI militants will also continue next week.
This article starring:
Jemaah Islamiyah
Zarkasi
Jemaah Islamiyah
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01/16/2008 00:00 ||
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BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) - Lebanese police said Wednesday that a car bomb packed with 44 pounds of TNT caused the explosion that hit a U.S. Embassy vehicle, killing three passersby and once again putting Americans in the country on alert for attacks.
The bombing was the first in more than two decades targeting American diplomats in Lebanon, and the U.S. Embassy restricted the movement of its staff in response.
The bombing, which took place as President Bush was touring the Mideast, highlighted growing chaos in Lebanon. The country has descended into violence over the last three years after almost a decade of calm following its long civil war.
U.S. diplomats are deeply involved in the country's fractured politics, supporting the government against the Syrian-backed opposition. The sides have been deadlocked over choosing a new president.
The armor-plated Embassy SUV was damaged in the bombing Tuesday on a Beirut highway, and its Lebanese driver and an American theology teacher at a nearby church were among 26 people injured. Two Lebanese and a Syrian bystander were killed.
Police had initially said the bomb was placed between two garbage containers on the side of a narrow road adjacent to the main highway. After inspecting the site of the attack Wednesday, the office of national police chief Brig. Gen. Ashraf Rifi said the explosives were hidden in a 1980 Honda sedan that was parked next to the garbage containers. The car was reported stolen five years ago.
Lebanese troops set up checkpoints and diverted traffic near the seaside highway where the bomb explodedone of the roads that embassy staff would have had to take to attend a farewell reception for the departing U.S. ambassador scheduled later Tuesday. The reception was canceled.
The targeted vehicle was apparently one of the embassy vehicles that routinely scout roads before U.S. diplomats travel, Lebanese security officials said.
The bomb killed two Lebanese who were in a vehicle that was traveling behind the U.S. one and took the brunt of the blast, Lebanese security officials said.
The explosion sent a pall of gray smoke over the highway, damaged several other cars, blew out nearby windows and knocked down facades of adjacent buildings in a largely industrial zone. The Syrian man who died had been riding a scooter on the road.
It was the first such attack against a U.S. target in 23 years in Lebanon. In the 1980s, at the tail end of the country's 15-year civil war, Americans were so frequently targeted that the United States imposed a blanket ban keeping Americans from traveling there. That ban was lifted in 1997.
The Embassy advisory did not say how many of its personnel were under the new restrictions on movement. The embassy, about 8 miles from the explosion site in the suburban hills northeast of Beirut, already is heavily fortified, protected by American and Lebanese security with a strong Lebanese army presence in the area.
"The Embassy ... reminds all Americans in Lebanon to maintain a high level of vigilance, especially when planning travel," the advisory said. "Americans are also advised to avoid popular gathering spots."
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed outrage over the attack on Tuesday.
"The United States will, of course, not be deterred in its efforts to help the Lebanese people, to help the democratic forces in Lebanon," she said in Saudi Arabia, where Bush was touring.
Political tensions are high in Lebanon, more than a year into the crisis marked by a series of bombings and political assassinations that began in 2005. Most attacks have targeted anti-Syrian politicians and journalists.
But the latest harkened back more to the bloody 1980swhen Lebanon was the site of some of the deadliest terror attacks against Americans ever, including the 1983 Marine barracks suicide truck bombing that killed 241 U.S. service members.
That same year, the U.S. Embassy was also hit by another suicide car bomb, killing 63 people including 17 Americans. In 1984, the embassy's new compound at Aukar was also targeted by a suicide bombing, killing 12.
The United States had deployed military units in Beirut at the time, in the aftermath of Israel's invasion of the country, but then- President Ronald Reagan withdrew them after the Marine barracks attack.
The U.S. withdrew all diplomats from Beirut in September 1989 and did not reopen its embassy until 1991.
Even before Tuesday's attack, U.S. diplomats in Lebanon were subject to strict security rules that prohibit them from bringing their children to live with them, and require them to travel with armed guards.
Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday that Germany's stance toward Iran remains unchanged by a US intelligence assessment that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program five years ago. It is too early to say there is no threat, Merkel argued.
She said last month's report, which concluded that Iran halted its nuclear weapons development program in 2003 and has not resumed it since, did not provide a signal to "give the all-clear and to say that Iran is only engaged in activities that we can all find right." She acknowledged that, as a result of the report, "the negotiations about the next (UN) resolution on sanctions weren't accelerated but slowed down a little bit."
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Hizbullah's leader said Tuesday that any US attack on his patron Iran would be "the biggest folly" in American history.
Gonna blow up another building full of sleeping Marines? Or kidnap a few Americans and hold them in a cage for a few years? Oh, wait! I've got it! They're going to rocket American cities.
Briefly.
Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah's comments came as US President George W. Bush toured the Middle East on a trip used in part to drum up Arab opposition against Iran, which Bush called "the world's leading state sponsor of terror."
Responding to Bush, Nasrallah said Iran would defend itself against any US attack. "If America launches a war against Iran, it will be the biggest folly committed by America in its history," the black-turbaned cleric said in a speech broadcast on a giant screen in front of thousands of supporters in downtown Beirut.
Nasrallah suggested that if the US attacked Iran, there would be such a backlash that American interests in the region would be destroyed. "Who said that a war on Iran will achieve America's expectations?" Nasrallah asked.
Nasrallah also warned against a worsening humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, saying Bush's visit to Israel had empowered the Jewish state to wreak havoc in Palestinian areas.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11129 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
#1
I would surmise by now, that Nasrallah's hands should be well scorched from the hot bobbed keys he's had to use opening up all those 'Gates Of Hell'; these last couple of years! And he does so, so far underground, he could just jump the fence himself!
#3
Bush's visit to Israel had empowered the Jewish state to wreak havoc in Palestinian areas.
The Paleos don't need any help in that department. They be experts in havoc.
#4
JPOST > USAF Gen. Obering > IRAN HAS ACCELERATED MISSLE DEVELOPMENT, beyond what it needs for a regional-only fight i.e. agz ISRAEL. Obering implies Euros do need USGMD as Euros face a de facto LT missle threat from Iran.
Posted by: anonymous5089 ||
01/16/2008 10:32 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11130 views]
Top|| File under: Global Jihad
#1
Which would not be a problem if it was Britons doing the traveling. But instead we have been forced to pretend enemy foreigners are British. We have brought this on ourselves.
#2
TOPIX > MALAYA REJECTS IRAN TERROR LABEL. Malaya, Indonesia, Sumatra, and that entire region of the SOUTH PACIFIC-SE ASIA doing their all to become the NEXT WOT BATTLEGROUND AGZ RADICAL ISLAMISM [post-ME/Dubya]??? I still hold that iff IRAN = MOUD contin to escalate in ME, Amers will very likely see the USA engaging in a MULTI-FRONT CONFLICT ala IRAN, NORTH KOREA, + TAIWAN - I see very little to indic that IRAN = NORTH KOREA are delinking from each other vv a potens mil conflict agz the USA.
Again from TOPIX > REPORT: CHINA PLANS VARIOUS CONTINGENCIES TO INTERVENE IN NORTH KOREA.
About a dozen uniformed police in riot gear, and a handful of detectives, gathered outside the four-storey terraced house on a quiet street just off Shepherds Bush roundabout in West London.
After a tip-off from overseas colleagues, they knew that inside was a man in contact with a group planning a bombing in Central Europe. His name was Younes Tsouli, but the detectives knew little more about him.
As they tried to shove their way in, the young man in the top-floor flat forced his door shut. It didnt hold for long. Once the police flooded in, there was a struggle. A mirror smashed and one officer emerged bloodied from a shard of glass. Tsouli was overpowered. He was thoroughly detained, one detective recalls. At first, officers were not sure that they had the right person: the long-haired young man in jogging shorts bore little resemblance to the short-haired man in the photo they had been given. But when he confirmed his name, they knew they had their man. Two detectives led him away.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11133 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
Younes Tsouli arrived in London in 2001 with his father, a diplomat from Morocco. He studied IT at a small college in Central London. With few friends, he soon immersed himself in the world of the internet. Online images of the war in Iraq radicalised him...
From 2003 he joined web forums and built a reputation for publishing material such as manuals on hacking.
Anyone else see a problem with this timeline?
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
01/16/2008 5:46 Comments ||
Top||
#4
You mean like, he was radicalized before he joined the web forums in 2003, when the war started?
Probably just the journalist trying to lay it all on George Bush.
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/16/2008 6:53 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Seems to me it shouldn't be too tough to put these kinds of folks in jail until the end of time. Why not make him accomplice to every individual act of aiding and abetting terrorism individually and then having him serve the sentences serially, instead of lumping them all together? To me it's the same as him going on a killing spree, in which case he should be given time or death for each individual murder/attempted murder/assault/battery/kidnapping/whatever, rather than just a single charge of "mass murder".
#6
He was thoroughly detained, one detective recalls.
As opposed to what, partially detained? "We've got one of arms and his nose..."
This whole article is way overblown, IMHO. He was a jihadi web site operator (roaches of the net) and he's now in jug. End of story. 007 my ass.
#9
At first, officers were not sure that they had the right person: the long-haired young man in jogging shorts bore little resemblance to the short-haired man in the photo they had been given.
Stereotyping Muslims when the terrorist playbooks say lie,cheat, deceive anyway you can to fit in when in the land of Crusaders and infidels is what they want us to believe. They can shave their beards, smoke, drink, gamble, and call in the hookers before a suicide mission as many of the 9/11 hijackers did. The same lame reasoning is what they are using to say white AQ is a myth, as they will not get westerners to give up their sinful habits to convert to Islam. Regardless, the extensive unraveling of jihadi networks with just one good catch is great news!
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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Afghanistans extremist Taleban on Tuesday vowed a wave of attacks on restaurants and guest houses frequented by Western nationals, warning they are not safe anymore. The threat was made by a rebel spokesman in a telephone call to AFP a day after Taleban suicide attackers killed seven peopleat least three of them foreign nationalsin an assault on Kabuls only five-star and most secure hotel.
Afghanistan sealed its border with Pakistan on Tuesday to protest against measures taken to stop flour from being smuggled into the war-torn country.
A computer nerd from Shepherd's Bush, West London, became al Qaeda's top internet agent, it can be revealed today. 
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has said that he has answered questions and provided evidence to the Scotland Yards investigating team. He said that the PPP would give more evidence and, as of yet, the team had not indicated any conclusion to their findings. I, along with other party leaders, met the Scotland Yard team in Karachi and I gave them some evidence, Zardari told reporters at the Bhutto family home in Karachi, AFP adds.
JERUSALEM (Rooters) - A right-wing party quit Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government on Wednesday, condemning his peace talks with the Palestinians and leaving him even more politically vulnerable.
Syria and Iran have stepped up their efforts to overthrow Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his ruling Fatah party, PA officials in Ramallah told The Jerusalem Post Monday. The officials accused the Syrians and Iranians of "encouraging" Hamas and other radical Palestinian groups to establish a new organization that would replace the PLO. They also accused the two countries of continuing to provide Hamas and its allies in the Gaza Strip with millions of dollars and weapons. 
Judges at an Indonesian court yesterday ruled to continue with the terrorism trial of the self-confessed leader of Islamic militant network 
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) - Lebanese police said Wednesday that a car bomb packed with 44 pounds of TNT caused the explosion that hit a U.S. Embassy vehicle, killing three passersby and once again putting Americans in the country on alert for attacks. 
Hizbullah's leader said Tuesday that any US attack on his patron Iran would be "the biggest folly" in American history. 
About a dozen uniformed police in riot gear, and a handful of detectives, gathered outside the four-storey terraced house on a quiet street just off Shepherds Bush roundabout in West London. 
