LGF 2003 Fiskie Award Poll
Vote for the person, country, and/or organization you think most deserves the coveted Robert Fisk Award for Idiotarian of 2003. This is the first round; the top 10 entries will be the finalists. You are allowed 5 votes, one at a time.
Itâs almost as good as being dead in Chicago, since you get FIVE votes. The award is named for Die Independentâs Uber-Idiotarian, Robert "hit me again" Fisk.
Jimmy Carter was last yearâs winner and is therefore not eligible this year. Michael Moore is leading just now, with France, the UN, Paul Krugman and Rachel Corrie rounding out the top five.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy ||
01/02/2004 3:48:40 AM ||
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#2
I'm not exactly sure about the correct definition of "idiotarian" but for me the "Human Shields" charge ahead.
Fisk is a traitor (appearence on Saddam's tv)
Moore is a fat opportunist
France is.... France
The UN just can't help it.
Paul Krugman just hates Bush
Rachel Corrie is... a fruitpancake
WE WILL NOT LET THIS COUNTRY BECOME A NAZI IMPERIALIST DICTATORSHIP.
Hmmmph.
Letâs see how the respective sides stack up.
The Loyalists, those who support the Constitutionally selected government will include:
1. The entire US military, active and reserve, including all veterans except those who were court-martialed for chemical-abuse offenses.
2. The entire law enforcement profession, possibly excepting those who owe their jobs to rampant Political Correctness, or who are susceptible to blackmail.
3. The overwhelming majority of law-abiding gun owners.
Now, what forces can the Insurgents muster?
1. A few ALF activists with experience in free-lance arson.
2. Left-over 60s radicals whose efforts to revive their bomb-making skills may be hampered by advanced age and intervening bouts of heavy chemical ingestion.
3. A few grad students with Hezbollah or Hamas cannon fodder training.
4. A swarm of black-clad Mumia-cong whose combat experience is limited to vandalizing McDonaldâs and beating up old ladies who object to their flag-burning.
5. Paroled gang members, as long as the supply of easy hippy chicks and free hooch holds up.
6. Major propaganda resources courtesy of Fifth Column celebrities like Al Qatie Couric and the Ham-ass terrorist himself, Michael Moore.
Will Lloyds give odds on the outcome?
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy ||
01/02/2004 3:21:15 AM ||
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Good sign - the LLL is starting to realize what most of us already know. GOP landslide in November.
Posted by: A Jackson ||
01/02/2004 3:35 Comments ||
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"What are you going to do,bleed on me?"
- Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Posted by: El Id ||
01/02/2004 5:01 Comments ||
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the dems will have a difficult time keeping these nuts away from the national convention- they will have to rely on big media to censure the images to show the warm cuddly stuff - will it work?
#5
It's just one helluva stretch between saying you'll go to war if you don't like an election result, and actually going to war. For one thing these folk are in love with a great and benevolent government trying against the evil republicans to take care of the 'people' from cradle to grave. Kinda hard to declare war and then realize the government they are so in love with is mustering its resources to defeat them and their friends.
I think a lot of these folk who are telling us what they will do when Bush wins in 2004, wouldn't know a miltary operation until it actually bit them in the ass. Might be entertaining, but it is far more likely to be pathetic.
Hopefully, someday, sociologists/psychologists will study this Hate Bush phenomenom and let the rest of of know the big answer to the big question: Was it really crack that brought them to this insanity or did they really think it all by themselves.
#6
I can see the PBS special now. Ken Burns, the violin music, Howard Dean's war letters home to his wife, Gen. Clark loses at the Battle of San Francisco, Gen. Kerry loses the battle of Boston... the possibilities are endless.
#7
That f*ck*n does it! I'm way in the hole from Christmas, but I figure I can dig myself out by March. #2 son's birthday is shortly after that, so he'll be 12 and old enough to have enough sense not to play with the couple of guns and ton of ammo therefor that I'm going to get after his birthday. That'll be well enough in advance of the Election for me to practice enough to have as good a chance as any of plugging Michael Moore's big fat ass...
#8
This is gonna happen about the same time Streisand and Baldwin move to France. The LLL - all blather, all the time. No action ever, just a lot of bad bowel gas...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
01/02/2004 9:48 Comments ||
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Can we put these people on trial for treason? Or is claiming you're going to start another Civil War not enough evidence?
Posted by: Charles ||
01/02/2004 10:34 Comments ||
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Can we put these people on trial for treason?
Talk is cheap, and the First Amendment allows any talk except that which causes other problems, such as inciting to riot or yelling "FIRE" in a crowded theater (when there's no fire - otherwise, it's ok), or intentionally defaming someone by using speech which results in loss of income or position. Only ACTION is punishable in most other cases.
That said, I'm beginning to believe a good old-fashioned Revolution of conservative, law-abiding men might just be what the doctor ordered. We're degenerating into a welfare-state, judicial oligarchy, with "elected officials" that have no reason for existence except getting re-elected, and an out-of-control bureaucracy that's actually trying to run the country to suit themselves (this includes the judicial bureaucracy, as well as the pure breed, both of which we would be better off without). A little blood-letting in Washington may help restore the freedoms we were born with. The major difference between the two major parties has degenerated into how fast they rush toward damnation, rather than the rush itself.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/02/2004 11:08 Comments ||
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Seriously, the radical left should just move to France where they will be happy. I'd suggest Canada but I think Canada is salvagable and I wouldn't do that to them.
FrontPage Magazineâs Man of the Year has shown true courage, compassion and heroism in the face of battle â and unlike the worthies named above, he has suffered for his good deeds rather than received commendation. He has been on the frontlines of the War on Terror in the heart of the Iraqi resistance. He undertook extraordinary measures to safeguard the lives of his men, to protect Americans under attack by bloodthirsty Islamist gangleaders. Yet instead of reward he has been tested by fire, having been dishonored by the very military he served so effectively for the last 20 years of his life. This irresponsible punishing of someone who should be awarded for his bravery and patriotism endangers the American people. For that reason, we seek to honor Col. Allen B. West.
Posted by: OldSpook ||
01/02/2004 12:01:01 AM ||
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Headline should read COL West but his official rank is LTC until Congress fixes the Article 15 travesty by the deskbound PC REMFs whom Clinton inflicted on the Army. Those bastards havent commanded anything harder than a large steel desk in an air conditioned building. They arent combat troops. They're politicians in uniform, like Wesley "The Sock Puppet" Clark.
#2
Well said, OldSpook. It's not enough to make up for a career ended far too soon, but still sweet. Some leaders, such as Col West, naturally command respect - while others, such as Weasely, must demand it. Thank you for your service, Colonel.
The top deputy of al-Qaedaâs No. 2 man, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, has been arrested, according to "Islamist sources in London" cited by the Middle Eastern Media Research Institute on Thursday.
"Abdallah Muhammed Rajab Abd al-Rahman, aka Ahmad Hassan Abu Al-Khir, who is in charge of al Qaeda finances and the right hand man of Ayman Al Zawahiri, has been arrested," MEMRI said.
"Abu Al-Khir was previously sentenced to death in absentia in Egypt," the news service said, based on translations of a report earlier this week in the London-based newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/02/2004 12:29:41 AM ||
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Good news if true, I wonder where he was picked up?
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
01/02/2004 0:44 Comments ||
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The thing is, I'm uncertain (damned the non-standardized spellings of Arab names) as to whether this is al-Khadr or al-Khayr. Al-Khadr slipped out of a Pakistani military ambush back in October, whereas al-Khayr is said to be in Iran unless he's taken to slumming again.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/02/2004 0:46 Comments ||
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Heh, they all begin to look alike after awhile, too. From your descriptions, guys, it sounds like you figure either one would be a good find. I just hope it's true and what's-his-name gets to Abu the Afterlife very very soon.
OSLO, Norway (AP) - Mullah Krekar, the spiritual leader of the Iraq-based Islamic militant group Ansar al-Islam, was arrested Friday, his brother told The Associated Press. Excellent news.
Police went to Krekarâs house in the morning and took him to a police station in Oslo, said Khalid Faraj Ahmad. ``They wonât allow me to go in. They want to take him,ââ he said. ``I donât know what they will do with him.ââ That generally happens when you âarrestâ someone.
Krekarâs lawyer, Brynjar Meling, told the Norwegian news agency NTB that new charges were filed against Krekar, but he wasnât told what they were. A phone call to Meling by the AP went unanswered.
Ansar al-Islam, a group of as many as 600 Islamic militants in the mountains of northern Iraq, is regarded as a terrorist organization by anyone with common sense the United States and the United Nations. During a visit to Oslo in September, Attorney General John Ashcroft called it a "pack of rabid dogs" ``very dangerous groupââ and said the organization maintained a network for terrorist training camps in northern Iraq.
Krekar, born Najm al-Din Faraj Ahmad, has repeatedly denied links with al-Qaida, although he has called Osama bin Laden ``a good Muslim.ââ He has also denied any connection with recent bombings and terror attacks in Iraq, or any role in smuggling drugs in Jordan. He also denied his own name which tells you something.
He was arrested at the airport outside Amsterdam on Sept. 12, 2002, after Iran had denied him entry and sent him back to Europe, tipping off Western governments that he was on his way. He was interrogated twice by the FBI while in Dutch custody, and then deported in January to Norway, where he was arrested again. He was released from a Norwegian jail in April after a court found insufficient grounds to hold him on terrorism charges. Police dropped the charges in July, but are investigating him on other charges that they refuse to reveal. If at first you donât succeed, ...
Krekar has had refugee status in Norway for more than a decade, something Norwegian authorities are challenging because he regularly returned to Iraq, the country he had fled during the reign of Saddam Hussein. No need for the Norweigans to keep him then. Send him packing, and let us know what flight heâs on.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/02/2004 10:05:26 AM ||
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PARIS (AP) - France said it has asked German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to attend June commemorations of the D-Day invasion, a historic invitation that shows the two former enemies are healing old wounds. Schroeder was very pleased and has accepted, a spokesman from his office said Thursday.
For the 60th anniversary commemoration, France also invited leaders of World War IIâs Allied nations, including President Bush. Schroeder is to be the first German leader to mark an anniversary of the Normandy landings. Ten years ago, Chancellor Helmut Kohl was not invited to the 50th anniversary ceremony - a decision that caused sore feelings in Germany and soured relations with France.
French-German ties got a boost in January 2003, when the neighbors marked 40 years of reconciliation, turning a page on their warring past and pledging to work together at the heart of the European Union.
``Operation Overlord,ââ the code name for the landings, will be marked with a ceremony at Arromanches, a Normandy town between two of the beaches where soldiers came ashore. I donât have any problems with this -- hell, invite him, why not? Iâm certainly going to enjoy Bushâs speech on that day, Iâm sure heâll rise to the occasion.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/02/2004 12:51:24 AM ||
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That Mitterand didn't invite Kohl didn't really cause bad feelings in Germany, just in Kohl. Most Germans thought that this was not their party anyway.
With U.S. election campaign running full steam this could get interesting. I bet Bush is going to repeat that phrase about that the U.S. never claimed more land than needed to bury her dead.
And I wouldn't be surprised if Schroeder made more reconciliation efforts with Bush than Chirac may like. At this time it should be very clear who is going to be in the White House for the next four years. Maybe Schroeder knows better than Chirac.
#3
Since Chirac and Shroeder are as cozy as thieves, and have been for a couple of years, now, the first sentence is grossly misleading. It's goofy that anyone is trying to make something of this ceremony as if they aren't already big political pals. Weird! Misleading. Suspicious.
I agree that Shroeder attending the ceremony is fine - hell, it was 60 yrs ago. Defeating Nazism was a great and noble effort... one of the truly great feats of the 20th century, in fact. And, in those intervening years, the reforms of the German govt have been great, but even greater are the changes instituted and embraced by the German people. I truly admire and respect what they have done. The current distance between Berlin and Washington exists mainly because of a mere politician playing off of these societal reforms - twisted for his political ends. So, though he is a cretin, he is their elected cretin and should attend on behalf of the German people.
On the other hand, perhaps George should give it a pass - the fact that France was freed has begun to seem incidental, and almost embarrassing. Attending this ceremony is a gesture lost on these later generations of French who have no appreciation for the sacrifice - of the war treasure of lives expended or the peace treasure expended rebuilding their infrastructure or the costly Cold War defense blanket which kept the Communists at bay. France was a lousy Post WW-I ally at best. Now they are ex-whatevers who have chosen to hate us for our successes, blame us for their failures, and made dragging us down to their level a basic national policy. Why give the French leadership responsible a photo-op and lend them the pretense of being relevant? If we wish to memorialize the heroic dead of WW-II, we can do it with greater dignity somewhere else and with true allies - sans the political gamesmanship. Why dignify the French sham? It strikes me as disingenuous and almost, just almost, a lie of omission not to make a clean break and make our reasoning clear.
ChIRAQ is beginning to realize that france is all alone in the world and he knows damn well that the Germans aren't as stupid as he is, so he's trying to cement the relationship before he's left holding the baby all by his lonesome.
Damn, but I love the smell of fear from weasels in the morning. Smells like... Victory.
#7
And BTW despite being French I fele that given the limited role of French forces on D-DAY: Kieffer commando, some air and naval units Chirak (eternal piss be upon him) has no right to extend invitations without an agreement from the main actors: Canada, the UK and the US.
#8
An alternative: have a separate ceremony in England at the location from which the invasion was launched with the support of our long time and best ally Great Briton.
Posted by: Dan Canaveral ||
01/02/2004 8:18 Comments ||
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I told that it was to the Allies to admit nations at D-Day since it was them who bled at it. I forgot about the resistance people, many of them having been sacrified to keep the Boches in the belief the blow would fall in Pas de Calais. However it would not be to Chirak (eternal camel piss be upon him) to represent them but to a person named by the living holders of the Ordre de la Liberation. And I have little doubt what would be their answer to a proposal of inviting Scroeder.
#11
ANSWER will of course be holding a counter-demonstration blaming the US and Britain for the destruction of world peace and the League of Nations. Sanctions would have worked. Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo obviously would have buckled under the weight of international sanctions.
#12
My dad landed on June 12th, and fought in the hedgerows and Saint Lo breakout, then across France and Germany into Czechoslovakia. The only military organization he ever joined was the 4th Armored Division Association. The only other time he ever supported anything related to the military, World War II, or anything else, was a financial contribution to the Normandy Landing monument. He considered that one of the major military miracles of all time.
A total of 46 countries sent troops to fight in Europe, including the Brazilian 5th Brigade, the largest non-US, non-Commonwealth unit (fought in Italy). French contributions were mixed: some Free French forces fought, many did not. Some French fought the NAZIs, some collaborated with them. Let the 46 nations that actually sent troops (which includes France), together, invite Schroder, or anyone else, as they choose. Unilateral French action on this matter is just another sign of French arrogance, and an affront to those who actually fought and died to free France from NAZI imperialism.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/02/2004 11:44 Comments ||
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Suspected Muslim rebels attacked a crowded railway station in Indian Kashmir Friday, killing two security men and wounding at least six people, police said.
The attack came on the eve of a rare trip to Pakistan by Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who is due to attend a January 4-6 South Asian summit there. The nuclear-armed rivals have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir.
"So far, two security personnel have been killed and six others injured. The injured have been shifted to a hospital and the encounter is still going on," a senior police official in Jammu city, Indian Kashmirâs winter capital, told Reuters.
Hundreds of passengers were in the Jammu station at the time of the evening attack.
Police said their main priority was to evacuate the station, as they surrounded it.
It was the latest of almost daily attacks by separatist rebels who have been fighting Indian rule in the Muslim-majority state since 1989 in a rebellion that has killed more than 40,000 people.
Posted by: TS ||
01/02/2004 11:22:16 AM ||
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Update--
"Suspected Islamic militants in Indian army uniform attacked a railroad station in Indian-controlled Kashmir Friday, wounding two soldiers and two civilians, police said.
The attackers lobbed a hand grenade and opened fire from a pedestrian bridge at the railroad station in Jammu, the winter capital of India's Jammu-Kashmir state, a police officer said on condition of anonymity."
http://framehosting.dowjonesnews.com/sample/samplestory.asp?StoryID=2004010214380008&Take=1
Also AP says "More than 65,000 people, mostly civilians, have died in the insurgency." as opposed to the 40,000 quoted in the above article.
Two assassination attempts last month against Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf have the Bush administration beginning to ponder the unthinkable â a leadership vacuum in a nuclear nation in one of the worldâs most dangerous regions.
We sometimes forget that Perv really is a lesser evil...
Although State Department officials continue to praise Musharraf as an important ally in the war against terrorism, they acknowledge that the attempts on his life may make him more cautious about cracking down on â and further antagonizing â Islamic militants, possibly including reconstituted al-Qaeda forces in western Pakistan. Pakistan-based Islamic extremists are said to be responsible for the two attacks, the latest of which came on Dec. 25. Fifteen people died when two suicide bombers attacked Musharrafâs convoy.
Pakistan-based Islamic extremists are responsible for a considerable portion of the carnage in the world...
Asked about the attacks, President Bush said Thursday that he had spoken to Musharraf. He said the Pakistani leader "sounded confident, and therefore, I feel confident about his security situation.
Posted by: OMER ISHMAIL ||
01/02/2004 12:58:12 AM ||
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You think we're worried... consider Perv's POV.
From South Asia Intelligence Review
The Bangladesh Government recently and sharply rejected a Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) report that had alleged that Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Ziaâs Government was "not doing enough" to prevent the country from becoming a "haven for Islamic terrorists" in South Asia. The report, obtained by the Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act, says the Bangladesh Government was unwilling to crack down on Islamic terrorism. Similar ârejectionsâ had also been articulated by the Bangladesh Foreign Office, and by powerful ministers of the alliance Government, when the Far Eastern Economic Review, the Time magazine, and subsequently other prominent foreign media, published reports about growing jehadi activities following the change of regime in Dhaka after the elections of 2001. While the ruling Alliance has consistently denied the presence of Islamic militants in the country, the nationâs vibrant Press, political Opposition and leaders of civil society have repeatedly projected a different picture. The lively press etc. is probably an after effect of British rule, and much like Pakistan.
There are now increasing reports of the operation of several jehadi groups in the country, particularly in its northern and western regions, with coherent linkages and political networks, as well as access to arms and military training. Whatever their actual numbers or present capabilities, as well as the limited influence they have on the general population, these jehadis have started causing alarm in democratic circles, and unless they are effectively contained, may become a real and extraordinary danger in the imminent future. Police and intelligence agencies first suspected the involvement of these underground outfits in a series of bomb blasts at secular cultural functions and political meetings, which killed nearly a hundred people between 1997 and 2001. The fanatics also planted powerful bombs at one of then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinaâs political meetings. The left wing Awami League of Sheikh Hasina is generally secular and pro-India. The right wing Bangladesh National Party is pro-Pakistan and sympathetic to Islamism. But due to Bangladeshâs poverty, neither party can afford to take an outwardly anti-American line.
Understandably, with the change of regime in mid-2001, the genuine national concern was perhaps neglected since the new Government had been formed with the support of two of the countryâs organized fundamentalist parties, the Jamaat-e-Islami and the Islami Oikya Jote (IOJ). The installation of the alliance Government gave a boost to the radical Islamistsâs morale, after they had virtually been on the run during the previous Awami League (AL) rule. With the change of guard, most of the arrested militants, including those charge-sheeted, were released on bail and eventually the charges against them were dropped.
Although these clandestine armed outfits first came to be focused on in the late Nineties, they have had their roots in the country since 1971, when Bengalis of the former East Pakistan were fighting their war of liberation against then-West Pakistan. The Jamaat-e-Islami, with its militant studentsâ group, Islami Chhatra Sangha, had floated their first armed cadres, âAl-Badarâ and â Al -Shamsâ to âdefend Islamâ and Pakistanâs unity while the Pakistan Central Government had formed the âRazakar Bahiniâ to counter the Bengali freedom fighters. Two senior ministers of the present cabinet - Matiur Rahman Nizami and Ali Ahsan Mujahid - were directly involved in the floating of these infamous groups, which were responsible for killing of hundreds of secular Bengali intellectuals after branding them âanti-Islamicâ. These groups were the first militant religious organizations in this country, formed in close co-operation with the Pakistani Army. It was probably the inspiration for the subsequent recruiting of Jihadi armies to fight in Kashmir and Afghanistan too. The Bangladeshi Islamist saw themselves as Muslims first, and fought against their own people because they saw pan-Islamic unity as preferrable to splitting up Pakistan to create a new country. They were also responsible for the massacre of thousands of Hindus, but after laying low for a while after independance, they were able to reemerge in Bangladeshi society.
Over the years, thousands of madrassas, known as âKoumi Madrassasâ, entirely outside governmental control and nor accountable to anyone except their sponsors, were built. The main objective of the sponsors of a large proportion of these madrassas was allegedly to train and develop the âsoldiers of Allahâ: the jehadis. And I wonder who their sponsors could possibly be?
Testimonies of arrested militants suggest that they are well funded and well equipped to carry out an âIslamic revolutionâ in the country. They are staunch admirers of the Taliban, and many of their cadres reportedly fought in Afghanistan and also in Kashmir. Media reports suggest that a section of the Jamaat-e-Islami, IOJ and the Islami Shasantantra Andolon may be in league with some of these extremist groups, though these political fronts have all denied the charge. The Government has not banned any of the militant groups so far, with the exception of Al-Hikma. The Bangladeshi Jamaat is subservient to itâs Pakistani counterpart, so while they accept Qazi as the overall Emir, they aim to create a âgreater Islamic Bangladeshâ consisting of neighbouring regions of India and Burma.
Bangladesh is an over-populated country with high levels of illiteracy and unemployment, and has been targeted by vested interests for a kind of political adventurism. Nevertheless, despite being deeply religious, the common people of the country have no special love for the jehadis, though a section of the extremely poverty stricken may be vulnerable to their blandishments if their activities and agenda are not effectively challenged. If the Government is not sympathetic and their funding and communication linkages are shut down, these groups would not be able to operate, and would certainly not be growing in strength.
Media investigations suggest that the Islamic militants in Bangladesh are presently split into more than a dozen groups, with each commanding astrength of a few hundred or thousand. While there is still not authoritative assessment of the strength and firepower of these groups, and weapons seizures have been negligible, while storming some âtraining campsâ in the jungles in southern Coxâs Bazaar, security forces found advanced weapons, as also evidence of the involvement of the Rohingya Muslim rebels from Myanmarâs Arakan province. Various investigations over the past few years, moreover, demonstrate that the bombs used by these extremists were highly sophisticated. So far, security agencies have reportedly identified 48 âtraining centresâ across the country. The names of an estimated 13 militant organisations are known, but only a few of them have created news. The known groups include Shahadat-e-al-Hikma, Jamaat-ul-Mujahid-ul-Bangladesh, Jaamat-e-Yahia Trust, Hizbut Tawhid, Al Harakat-ul-Islamia, Al Markaj-ul-Islami, Jamaatul Falaiya, Tawhidi Janata, World Islamic Front, Jumaat-as-Sadat, Shahadat-e-Nabuat, Harkat-ul-Jehad Islami and Al Khidmat. Many of them are grouped together in an umbrella organisation called the Bangladesh Islamic Manch, which also includes groups active in Myanmar and those districts in India where illegal Bangladeshi immigrantion have lead to Muslim majorities.
To resolve the problem, secular thinkers suggest that the administration must first shed its âostrich syndromeâ, take serious note of such clandestine groups and work out strategies to neutralise them, since they reject both democracy and the idea of the sovereignty of the people. The so-called Islamists do not conceal their intention to set up a theocratic state, and hold the existing democracy responsible for âanti-Islamisationâ. Their ideological roots lie in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and several arrested militants have confessed that they received arms training in Pakistan, and fought in Afghanistan and Kashmir. Reports have it that Prime Minister Khaleda Zia has now asked the Home Ministry and concerned agencies to launch a âmassive manhuntâ for these clandestine extremist groups. But how can the Government act effectively against these militants with the Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Oikya Jote, two self-professed Islamic fundamentalist parties, as its coalition partners?
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
01/02/2004 12:43:12 AM ||
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Isn't one of the Bangladeshi Islamist outfits a signatory of bin Laden's declaration of war?
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/02/2004 1:36 Comments ||
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Yeah, the 'Jihad Movement' of Fazlul Rahman, which presumably is the same org as the Harkat ul Jihad Islami, a group that Bin Ladin helped pay to set up back in 1992. It is also the biggest Jihadi outfit in the country.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
01/02/2004 3:31 Comments ||
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President Bush said Thursday that he believes Pakistanâs nuclear arsenal remains secure despite two assassination attempts last month on President Pervez Musharraf. But Bush repeated his call for Musharraf to hunt terrorists more aggressively along Pakistanâs borders.
Bush, speaking to reporters after a New Yearâs Day quail hunt in Falfurrias, Tex., said he had been reassured by a telephone conversation with Musharraf, a crucial U.S. ally in the war on terrorism. On Thursday, Musharraf won a vote by the Pakistani legislature that is supposed to keep him in power through 2007.
"Obviously terrorists are after him, and he sounded very confident that his security forces would be able to deal with the threat," Bush said at the Brooks County Airport before returning to his ranch here, where he is spending the week. "He sounded confident, and therefore I feel confident about his security situation."
Administration officials have privately expressed fears that Pakistanâs instability could allow terrorists or radicals in the countryâs military or intelligence services to seize uranium or nuclear weapons technology. But Bush said he believes the weapons "are secure."
"Thatâs important," he said. "Itâs also important that India, as well, have a secure nuclear weapons program."
Bush praised the peace efforts by Pakistan and India, which appeared close to nuclear war between 1999 and 2002 over Kashmir but agreed in November to a cease-fire in the disputed Himalayan territory. In a sign of improving relations, a Pakistani airliner made the first commercial round-trip flight between the nations in two years.
"Weâre hopeful that the Indians and the Pakistanis in upcoming meetings will be able to begin a dialogue on a variety of issues," he said. "It looks like theyâre making progress toward reconciling differences."
Bush said Musharraf "has been a friend of the United States" and has "been a stand-up guy when it comes to dealing with the terrorists."
"We are making progress against the al Qaeda because of his cooperation," he said. "We need to do more, particularly on the Pakistan-Afghan border."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/02/2004 12:35:37 AM ||
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after a New Yearâs Day quail hunt
What we'd all be doing if the South had won.
Bangladeshi Houdini walks on air
According to daily Pakistan a Bangladeshi magician shocked his countrymen when he began walking on air. He then cut his wifeâs throat but when the crowd started crying he put it right back. He was called Houdini of Bangladesh.
Wasim Akram in âtrubbelâ
According to Jang, one Najm Abbas had gone to court against Pakistanâs retired (cricketing) fast bowler Wasim Akram. He has filed a petition of defamation saying he had felt dishonoured at Wasimâs statement that he was willing to coach Indian cricketers. He pleaded that it was like a Pakistani general saying that he would train Indian troops to attack Pakistan. The petitioner asked for monetary compensation. The court sent out summons.
People flee Gujranwala
Daily Jang editorialised that the latest installment of 608 Pakistanis sent back from Oman was quite shocking. It said that in one year Oman had expelled 12,000 illegal Pakistanis who were treated most savagely while in Omani prisons. This was the result of human smuggling carried out by fake travel agents who extorted money, took the Pakistanis through illegal sea routes, then abandoned them on the Gulf islands. It said that on some of these islands birds were eating the corpses of these Pakistanis. The government had moved against the fake travel agents and had arrested 121 of them from all over Pakistan. The city that topped as a source of fleeing Pakistan was Gujranwala where the government was now planning to have a better arrangement for catching them. Gujranwala is a pious city that punishes film actresses for appearing on stage.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
01/02/2004 12:17:59 AM ||
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He was called Houdini of Bangladesh.
Looks like the Mirage has got it's replacement act for Siegfried and Roy.
EFL, interesting piece, iâm not how representative the people quoted are, since tribal leaders and government officials are likely to tow the government line. But itâs hopeful at least.
Worshippers including local elders still flood the famous madrassah Jamia Nizamia. The seminary continues to be a stronghold for the once pro-Taliban Jamiat Ulama-i Islam (JUI) and the black-and-white strapped flag fluttering near the dome of the mosque still reminds visitors of its origin. But the zeal that had come with Mulla Omarâs Taliban seems to have evaporated, a stark contrast to the situation in 1999. Mehfoozuallah, a local tribesman recalls what he still describes as the âcrazy daysâ. In 1999, the Taliban passion was sweeping the whole border region; they would come from across the border unhindered to do things that even locals would not dare, Mefoozullah reminisces. One October evening that year, residents of the Mir Ali village, some 35 kilometres short of Miranshah, the administrative headquarter of North Waziristan, heard some noises in the market followed by a few shops set alight. To their utter shock and surprise, the tribesmen encountered over two-dozen Afghan Taliban, who had set about to destroy video and audio shops as well as TV sets placed at some places. âThey simply went on the rampage with the help of local Taliban and no one could dare challenge them,â recalls Mefoozullah. The presumption that these mercenaries enjoyed the patronage of the local JUI-F Taliban and the sanction by the authorities forced the local tribesmen into silence.
But how could all this happen on the Pakistani side, was there no official check on such intrusions? The question agitates the mind while listening to the literalist excesses of the Taliban and their Pakistani counterparts. Mailk Mamoor Khan Torikhel, a tribal chieftain, probably gave the clearest and the most candid answer: âPeople thought the army and the intelligence agencies were at their back and therefore had little resistance to offer,â Khan told TFT at Miranshah. âBut what about the support for the Taliban in general, then and now?â, TFT asked. âThen the agencies had wanted and supported the movement, so everybody went along. Now under the American diktat the army and the intelligence donât want it, so not many people parrot loudly what Mulla Omar and his Pakistani cohorts used to say,â Khan said in his crisp tone.
Ethnic affinity provided the glue that bound the religiously-driven Afghan zealots with ultra-conservative Pashtun tribes here. These people, even after the ouster of the Taliban, are in a way still beholden to the village mullah as far as their social congregations â weddings and funerals â is concerned.
âIf the mulla finds out that we have a TV at home, he would not lead the funeral prayers for any of our family members,â said Yaseen Torikhel, a student from a government college in the area. For the mullah here, watching TV is still taboo. But practically, majority of homes enjoy the idiot box discretely. Everybody has a decoy antenna for the reception. This also underlines a new trend; people are ready to circumvent religious taboos in pursuit of knowledge. Nabi Mohammad, a Mir Ali resident explains: âI donât think there is any way around radio and TV. Our children need education and TV is part of the process of education,â he argued emphatically. The village comprises some 60,000 people and the literacy rate here runs as high as 60 percent, almost like an oasis in the desert. The areas around Mir Ali â Khajuri and Miranshah , for instance, are still predominantly illiterate with most elders scoffing at the thought of sending their girls to school.
âThey belong at home and must learn the Quran only, that is enough,â said a Torikhel elder. But Zaheerul Islam, the assistant political officer (APO) for North Waziristan, believes the new generation in the tribal areas is more receptive to education and information.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
01/02/2004 12:16:28 AM ||
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Thx for the article, good catch.
This is an area of great interest in regards to what is going on in Pakistan these days.
The paper put the whole title in scare quotes, not me.
Rome - A politically united Europe could have prevented the war on Iraq, according to European Union Commission President Romano Prodi, quoted in an interview published on Friday in the Italian daily La Repubblica. Under the leadership of France, of course.
"If Europe had been present and united, I believe, we would not have seen the war on Iraq," Prodi said, adding "Then we would have managed to find a solution to preserve the peace." You and what army?
Prodi also strongly criticized Italyâs handling of the rotating EU presidency in the second half of 2003. The government of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlsuconi failed in matters such as the debate on the new European constitution and the row over the stability pact, he said. How can Italians fail at debating?
Prodi, who was Italian Prime Minister between 1996 and 1998, is politically opposed to Berlusconi, and recently suggested a list of centre-left parties to candidate in the upcoming European Parliament elections in June. Just more of the usual sniping,then.
Prodi, regarded by observers as the only hopeful candidate against Berlusconi in Italy, did not comment on recent media speculations whether he would run against Berlusconi in the next Italian elections. I hope so, I have some lira in a desk drawer left over from a trip that Iâd send to Silvioâs campaign.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/02/2004 7:28:06 PM ||
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Lt. Col. Sherman R. McGrew, writing from Iraq at Military.com. EFL.
The only way the US army can operate here in Iraq is with the help of our Iraqi interpreters. This is the story of one of them. For security purposes, I cannot tell you even his first name or show you his picture. He is incredibly brave. He literally risks his life every single day that he works for us. I may not agree with everything he says, but this is his story, not mine. These are his own words...
Under the old regime, I was a teacher of English and English Literature for three to four dollars a month. Now I earn $15.00 a day as an interpreter. I was also a conscription soldier. There was one small loaf of bread for two soldiers for breakfast, if you were lucky. There was no lunch or dinner provided. You had to bring food from home or buy it from shops. It was a miserable life. The army did not take care of its soldiers. . . .
I have seen recordings of how the Fedayeen were trained. Small children would be executed in front of them to harden their hearts. Dogs would be set on old people and criminals with the same purpose. Saddam paid them good money, which is why they served Saddam.
Are you listening, Democratic Underground? ISM? International ANSWER? Those are the people youâre rooting for.
If they took money from Saddam Hussein, believe me, they are your enemy now. An entire generation has been raised under Saddam. He washed the peoplesâ minds. Just like Osama Bin Laden, he had his special group. People are still worried about Saddam and that he will come back. He is considered a nightmare. People are afraid that there will be civil war in Iraq if Saddam comes back. . . .
If Saddam comes back or USA leaves too soon, I will be killed, without any doubt.
Three interpreters were recently killed. More have been wounded. I cannot walk in the market free. I have to be very careful.
Something always to keep in mind here: there are a lot of "friendlies" in the Middle East, and many of them are putting their lives on the line to help us.
The only people who are against the Americans now are those who were rich before. Now they know that they canât sit at home and get wealthy. They will have to work and they donât like it. They lost the power and authority. It is very dangerous.
How are the Americans doing? Good, but it could be better. In Iraq we say, "One hand cannot clap." You need to work with the Iraqis more. . . .
I am sad for us because a coward ruled our country for 35 years. He did not even have enough courage to kill himself. Now he will face the justice he prevented us from getting all these years.
My people want Saddam Hussein to be tried here by our people with an Iraqi judge. All the people want to see his defense and what he will say about all the claims, the crimes against humanity, the use of chemical weapons in the north and the south of Iraq. . . .
What would I say to the families of those US soldiers who have died? I am embarrassed because they are killed by my people. God bless them. My family prays to God to protect USA soldiers.
(He paused then, obviously emotional). We write down on a piece of paper the names of the US soldiers that we want God to protect. We place them in the Koran and ask God to help and protect them.
What would I say to the American people? You have to be proud of your sons. You have to be proud of your army. They are fighters for freedom.
Posted by: Mike ||
01/02/2004 11:36:47 AM ||
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Turkish liaison officers also participated in the party of American Colonel William Mayville, who had detained Turkish soldiers in Suleymaniyah. Colonel Mayville, who spoke at the party, said, ââour Turkish brothers are visitors here. We wish happy new year to Turkey. We are far away from our families this year. I wish all the soldiers to return their home and live happily there.ââ There was warm conversation between the Turkish liaison officers and Mayville who was kept responsible for the arrest of 11 Turkish soldiers by putting sacks on their head. The politicians got all bent out of shape over this, but to the military on both sides itâs no big deal. I fully expect if the Turkish military caught some US Special Forces doing things they werenât suposed to in Turkey, theyâd have blindfolded them as well. Itâs standard procedure.
Posted by: Steve ||
01/02/2004 11:15:51 AM ||
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This morning in 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Divisionâs area, soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment conducted a joint cordon and search mission with the Al Haswah police. The operationâs objective was to capture personnel responsible for the recent attack on the Al Haswah Police Station. The operation was based on information provided by the local police and resulted in the capture of six enemy personnel and the confiscation of various small arms.
In 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Divisionâs area, an Iraqi train en route to Habbaniyah was attacked with an RPG. The round impacted the locomotive and disabled the train. Soldiers from 1st Brigade responded to the attack and secured the site. When they arrived, the train was not on fire, but had been abandoned. The train was carrying concrete force protection barriers, which prevented looters from taking anything more than the engineâs batteries. The local police took control of the site yesterday evening.
Soldiers from 1st Brigade discovered a cache east of Ar Ramadi. The site contained 24 RPG rounds, an RPG launcher, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and a box of explosives.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A U.S. military helicopter crashed west of Baghdad on Friday, killing one soldier and wounding another, the U.S. military said. The cause was not immediately known. The OH-58 Kiowa Warrior crashed near the town of Fallujah, a flashpoint in the so-called Sunni Triangle, where U.S.-led troops have seen the fiercest resistance since the ouster of Saddam Hussein. Rebels in the area have previously shot at and brought down U.S. helicopters.
After the crash, U.S. soldiers swept through Fallujah, blocking off streets and searching shops and homes as helicopters circled above. Soldiers sealed off the crash scene and would not allow reporters to approach the downed helicopter. A witness told Associated Press Television News that he had seen the helicopter crash and burst into flames, though he could not say what the cause was. Deep condolences to the family of this soldier.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/02/2004 10:00:32 AM ||
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During the last 24 hours, the 82nd Airborne Division and subordinate elements conducted 204 patrols, 15 of which were joint patrols with Iraqis, and carried out two cordon and searches. One enemy was wounded and 13 were captured during these operations. Also, TF âAll Americanâ soldiers denied entry to 182 personnel at the border crossing at Trebil â all due to insufficient documentation. No one was turned away at Tanif, Husaybah, or Ar.
This afternoon in 3rd Brigadeâs area, paratroopers conducting a route reconnaissance identified three personnel carrying illegal weapons. The paratroopers detained the Iraqis for possession of the weapons. One of the detainees attempted to escape at which point he was wounded with small arms fire. The wounded individual was evacuated to the 28th CSH in Baghdad.
This morning in 1st Brigadeâs area, soldiers conducted a cordon and search of three target locations in Ar Ramadi. The operation resulted in the capture of ten enemy personnel including the primary target â an IED cell leader. Additionally, eight hand grenades, seven RPG sights, small arms ammunition, and three hand grenade fuses were confiscated.
An Iraqi Civil Defense Corps class of 165 recruits graduated at FOB Junction City and another class of 254 recruits graduated at the Navea Training Center.
AR RUTBAH, Iraq â Elements of 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment captured Abu Mohammed on Jan. 01. Abu Mohammed was a Coalition Joint Task Force 7 high value target and a key facilitator operating in the Al Anbar Province. He is believed to be responsible for moving foreign fighters and large sums of cash throughout the area of operations.
Third ACR elements found Abu Mohammed in a cab approximately 200 meters from the international border. Mohammed and the driver were taken into custody.
In response to information surrounding the capture of Abu Mohammed, elements of 3rd ACR conducted an immediate cordon and search of a suspected foreign fighter transit point in Ar Rutbah this afternoon. The operation was conducted successfully and resulted in the capture of three additional personnel, small arms weapons, and a large amount of documents potentially linked to Abu Mohammedâs actions. This last is interesting. Nice followup.
Suspected New Peopleâs Army (NPA) rebels shot dead a soldier and wounded two of his children in Samar despite a Christmas season cease-fire called by both sides, a military spokesman said.
Six gunmen burst into the home of intelligence officer Corporal Alfredo Monacho in Samar Wednesday and opened fire on him, killing him and wounding two of his children who tried to shield their father, Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero said.
The incident came despite unilateral cease-fires called by both the government and the communist insurgent New Peopleâs Army (NPA) over the Christmas season.
"This is treachery and the NPA took advantage of the government Christmas cease-fire," Lucero said.
The 9,000-member NPA called a unilateral Christmas truce lasting from December 20 to January 4. The governmentâs cease-fire lasts until January 6.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/02/2004 12:44:51 AM ||
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A bomb tore through a crowded New Yearâs concert in Indonesiaâs Aceh province, killing 10 people -- including three children -- and challenging government claims that security in the restive region is improving.
Wednesdayâs blast, which also wounded 45 people, was the bloodiest bombing in Aceh since the government on May 19 abandoned a six-month truce and launched a military offensive against the rebels.
Authorities accused separatist guerrillas of the bombing -- a claim denied by the insurgents, who have been fighting since 1976 for independence for their oil-and gas-rich province on the northern tip of Sumatra island.
The bombing came as Jakarta undertakes a massive military offensive to crush the insurgency, one of several in remote regions of Indonesia that threaten to break up the sprawling archipelago in the Indian Ocean.
Shortly after Wednesdayâs blast, President Megawati Sukarnoputri declared that the offensive -- launched May 19 after a six-month truce broke down -- was bringing peace to Aceh.
"We have succeeded in calming down many upheavals and conflicts among ethnic groups ... in several regions, which have almost torn apart our nation," she said in the prerecorded message shown on state television.
In apparent reference to the rebel Free Aceh Movement, Megawati said, "Even if it is painful, we had to take harsh measures and we have successfully curtailed the movement, which is trying to separate from Indonesia."
Wednesdayâs bomb detonated at about 9 p.m. as a pop band played to hundreds of revelers on a soccer field in the eastern town of Peureulak, authorities and witnesses said.
The device apparently was hidden under the stage and triggered by a timer.
"Three girls were singing up there when there was a huge blast. I saw six people die in front of me. Blood was trickling down my legs," said one victim, Zulkifli, who, like many Indonesians, uses a single name. "Dozens of people were running in panic."
Many of those killed were teenagers and children, including a 7-year-old boy, a 4-year-old girl and a 1-year-old girl, hospital workers said.
Military spokesman Lt. Col. Ahmad Yani Basuki blamed rebels for the attack.
"It was a powerful bomb," he said. "The rebels always do such (terror). There is no one else who can do that. Peureulak is a rebel stronghold."
The insurgents have no history of targeting civilians or leaving bombs in public places. The poorly armed fighters, believed to number about 5,000 before the current offensive began, are known for launching hit-and-run attacks on security posts.
"We have never staged an attack to kill our own people," insurgent spokesman Sofyan Dawood said, adding: "The party was organized by the military. They lured people to go there."
The bombing capped a bloody year for Acehâs 4.3 million people.
The military has killed more than 1,300 alleged rebels since the latest crackdown began.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/02/2004 12:27:25 AM ||
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Factions within the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front continue to receive funds from the al-Qaeda terrorist organization despite ongoing preparations for the resumption of peace talks with the government, the military said on Thursday.
My surprise meter didn't budge...
The report was bolstered by the recent arrest of two suspected al-Qaeda membersâJames Carl Stubbs Jr., also known as Jamil Daud Mujahid, and his brother, Michael Rayâin Cavite province last month. International intelligence reports tagged the two as the financial channels of the al-Qaeda to the Muslim extremist groups in the Philippines. The brothers had been deported to the United States and are at present being interrogated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
"Hello, Mr. Mujahid. I'm Agent Starchedshirt, with the F.B.I..."
Mujahid, a Muslim convert, had reportedly met with several leaders of nongovernment organizations suspected as fronts of the al-Qaeda terrorist network. âMujahid and Stubbs were suspected of involvement in the elaborate financial network of al-Qaeda and its counterparts in the country, notably the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group and the MILF,â said the Philippine Navy flag officer in command, Vice Adm. Ernesto de Leon. The Armed Forces vice chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Rodolfo Garcia, said it is possible that some factions within the MILF who are not in favor of the peace talks are maintaining links with al-Qaeda. âThis [report] does not speak of the MILF as a whole,â Garcia said.
Kind of hard to make peace with only part of them, though, isn't it?
A recent meeting in Davao City by the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities, of which Garcia is cochair, showed that a faction of the MILF is against the peace negotiations. âThese are the people that are supporting the cause of other terrorist organizations, local or foreign,â he said. âI sincerely believe that the MILF leadership has nothing to do with terrorism.â
I sincerely believe you're so full of it that's why your eyes are brown...
MILF Chair Hashim Salamat, shortly before his death in July, vowed that his organization would reject any means of terrorism to achieve their goal. But Mujahid and Stubbs reportedly were not only in touch with some factions of the MILF. They were also in contact with the couriers of the Abu Sayyaf faction in Basilan province as evidenced by Mujahidâs phone call early this year to the detained Abu Sayyaf leader Ibrahim Sali, which was intercepted by the military.
"Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers!... Except that."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
01/02/2004 00:00 ||
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Not sure whether this should go in Terror Networks or Home Front, given the nature of the topic.
The top senators on the powerful Senate Finance Committee are openly questioning a key federal agencyâs ability to block terrorist money, citing examples in which U.S. officials failed to freeze the money of people identified as terrorist financiers by American allies.
"Other nations rightly look to the United States for leadership and information in the war on terrorism. We should not be playing catch-up," Sens. Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican, and Max Baucus, Montana Democrat, wrote the Treasury Departmentâs Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in a letter just before Christmas.
Mr. Grassley, the committee chairman, and Mr. Baucus, its senior Democrat, cited numerous concerns about OFACâs performance, including evidence of sloppy record keeping, failure to provide required information to Congress and reliance on voluntary compliance by banks to impose sanctions against suspected terrorists.
Though an internal investigation in 2002 recommended OFAC make changes to ensure it has the legal authority to test banksâ compliance with sanctions, the agency hasnât taken steps to do so, according to the letter obtained by the Associated Press.
"This leaves OFAC in a position of not knowing what it does not know," the two senators wrote. "While many financial institutions report their own violations when they are detected, we do not have the luxury of assuming that all financial institutions do this.
"The dangers of terrorism financing operating unhindered are too great to take a passive approach," the letter said.
Treasury Department spokeswoman Tara Bradshaw said Wednesday she was not familiar with the lawmakersâ complaint, and OFAC Director Richard Newcomb was out of town and unavailable for comment.
OFAC is an obscure office that plays a key role in the war on terrorism. It is charged with freezing the bank accounts and other financial assets of countries, companies and individuals who are deemed enemies of the United States â everyone from Saddam Hussein to Osama bin Laden.
Based on orders from Congress and the president or just raw intelligence, OFAC names people to a "specially designated nationals" list that requires all financial institutions to block their money. It is one of the most powerful tools for choking off terrorist finances.
Earlier this month, a U.N. monitoring committee complained that 108 nations have failed to file required reports on their actions in the war against terrorism, such as freezing assets and reporting the names of suspected terrorists.
Frustrated committee members said they are considering asking for a stronger Security Council resolution with "more teeth" to force compliance from member states.
The United States, which has met most of its reporting requirements, has questioned the need for a stronger counterterrorism resolution.
The reports are required under Security Council resolutions passed since 2001, which imposed sanctions first on the Taliban and later on al Qaeda and the 30 to 40 terrorist groups thought to be affiliated with them.
Among the countries that have not complied are several where al Qaeda is thought to be active, including Afghanistan, Egypt, Indonesia, Kenya and Sudan. Freezing bank accounts in Afghanistan is likely to be a fairly likely to be a pointless endeavor given how little authority Karzai has. I dunno why Egyptâs not doing anything and in Indonesia JI has the VP to give them cover. The Kenyan authorities seem to have had a case of pure incompetence and Sudan may or may not be providing al-Qaeda with a safe harbor depending on how Islamist the NIF plans on being at any given time of day ...
The OFAC has been run for years by Mr. Newcomb, a career official who has served both Republican and Democratic presidents. The agency, however, has had its share of controversy.
Mr. Newcomb was the focus of a Treasury inspector generalâs investigation in the mid-1990s after a series of Associated Press stories. The internal probe confirmed several instances in which Mr. Newcomb met outside the office with representatives of companies under investigation by his agency and took uncoordinated enforcement actions that potentially compromised criminal investigations.
Investigators cited two possible violations of federal ethics regulations, but Treasury officials rejected those conclusions and instead sent Mr. Newcomb a letter scolding him for creating the appearance of impropriety.
In 2002, the Treasury inspector general issued a report questioning OFACâs effectiveness in the war on terror.
Some concerns cited by Mr. Grassley and Mr. Baucus stem from that report, but the two lawmakers also questioned why OFAC had failed to block the assets of several people designated by allies as terrorist financiers and publicly reported by the media.
In one case, AP reported that the United Nations and European Union in 2001, before the September 11 suicide hijackings, had ordered their members to freeze the assets of several high-ranking al Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin Ladenâs brother-in-law and a security coordinator. OFAC did not.
More recently, a money laundering newsletter divulged that three persons listed in a December 2002 U.N. report as terrorist financiers werenât blacklisted by OFAC, even though some of the financiersâ groups were blocked â leaving a potential loophole for terror financing.
"While the U.N. report identified these persons as being involved in terrorist financing, OFAC apparently had not," Mr. Grassley and Mr. Baucus complained to Mr. Newcomb.
"Moreover, OFAC had enough information to accuse the organizations of aiding terrorist financing but somehow failed to also identify these persons as aiding terrorist financing, despite their clear links to the groups," they added.
The lawmakers also raised concerns about sloppy OFAC record keeping about people and financial transactions that have been blocked, and with special licenses for people who are given exemptions from certain financial sanctions.
"Inaccurate information is not only inefficient, but impairs OFACâs ability to aid other agencies," the lawmakers said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/02/2004 1:20:11 AM ||
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I always questioned the effectiveness of this effort. I'm sure that the Feds have made it very difficult to move large sums of cash into and out of the US through the legitimate banking system. It may be equally difficult to move cash into the EU. But my understanding was that most of the money transfers in Dar al Islam were through the hawala banking system or courier. The real center of gravity lies elsewhere.
EFL:
Uranium enrichment components found on a German ship headed for Libya but seized in a US-led operation had been loaded in Dubai for an Asian company, Germanyâs Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily reported Friday.
US officials, while confirming a freighter was diverted after intelligence reports that it was shipping centrifuge parts, have so far refused to specify the equipmentâs country of origin or the Gulf port where it was loaded. However, the Sueddeutsche daily identified the port as Dubai and also said British businessmen were involved. It did not name its sources. The unidentified Asian company declared a false cargo, it added. Dubai, huh? This would be a trans-shipping point, not the place of origin. And the un-named Asian company put a false lable on the cargo. If you where shipping these parts from the middle east to Asia, how come the cargo was on a ship heading the opposite direction into the Med?
Neither the crew nor the shippers - the Germany-based firm, BBC Chartering and Logistic GmbH - knew that the real cargo was components for a centrifuge capable of enriching uranium.
They have been cooperating well with authorities, the paper added, quoting German government sources. The seizure was made in October, US authorities announced Wednesday, after the ship was diverted to an Italian port for searching.
Posted by: Steve ||
01/02/2004 11:40:49 AM ||
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Huh. Well, that twitched the surprise meter.
BTW -- "Asian" could refer to Pakistan as much as China or North Korea.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
01/02/2004 11:52 Comments ||
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Libyaâs prime minister said his country wants to be rewarded for opening up its nuclear sites for inspections, and noted that the United States must lift sanctions by May 12 or his government wonât have to pay $6 million to each family of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing victims. In an interview published Friday, Prime Minister Shukri Ghanim told The New York Times that Tripoli wants to be paid for turning over nuclear materials. How about we pay you in lead?
Ghanim told the Times that his nation wants to "accelerate to the maximum" the dismantling of its unconventional weapons programs so that Libya could be declared free of the weapons in the next few months. Weâll see.
Posted by: Steve ||
01/02/2004 10:50:32 AM ||
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Hmmm... Perhaps we used a little too much carrot, and not enough stick.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
01/02/2004 11:54 Comments ||
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Reagan's maxim applies to the Libyans - trust, but verify.
South African President Thabo Mbekiâs official helicopter has been shot at during independence celebrations in Haiti, his spokesman says. Mr Mbeki was not present at the time, his spokesman Bheki Khumalo said. So they shot at a empty chopper? Must be a slow news day.
Opponents of Haitiâs President Jean-Bertrand Aristide had warned they might attack dignitaries who attend its 200th anniversary celebrations. Mr Mbeki has been criticised for travelling to Haiti, where Mr Aristide is accused of being undemocratic. And this would bother Mbeki how?
South African Police spokesman Selby Bokaba said the presidentâs security detail did not retaliate and a separate ground team was withdrawn from the area around the north-western port of Gonaives. "Run away!"
South Africa has donated $1.5 million towards Haitiâs independence celebrations. Itâs not like they were going to use it for food or anything.
President Mbeki, has said his trip to Haiti was an important sign of solidarity with the worldâs first black-led republic and a step towards cementing ties between Africa and communities of the African diaspora. But South Africaâs opposition Democratic Alliance has called Mr Mbekiâs trip an expensive fiasco, noting that along with the cash contribution, South Africa had also sent a naval vessel to help safeguard the president. In case he was attacked by pirates?
Posted by: Steve ||
01/02/2004 10:42:19 AM ||
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South Africa has donated $1.5 million towards Haitiâs independence celebrations.
Aha! So that's where all the food money has been going. Party decorations.
Posted by: Charles ||
01/02/2004 10:47 Comments ||
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Edited for new stuff and stateside investigation:
Eighteen days after two American brothers were arrested in the Philippines on suspicion of links to terrorists, United States authorities remain in search of clues that the brothers were in fact providing support to Islamic militants, law enforcement officials said on Wednesday. A senior official said the brothers, Michael Ray Stubbs and Jamil Daoud Mujahid, had been unknown to American law enforcement until they were arrested near Manila this month. The official described that lack of information as potentially worrying and said the F.B.I. was trying to determine whether the men were "true believers" in the mode of John Walker Lindh, the American Muslim who fought alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan. The FBI is real good at digging up facts, after things go wrong.
Mr. Mujahid, 56, is a convert to Islam who lives in a working-class neighborhood in Newark, Calif., some 40 miles southeast of San Francisco. Two of his neighbors there described him as a Vietnam veteran who wore military fatigues, trained German shepherds, traveled frequently and was last seen in early December. They said his female relatives had worn black veils since a family conversion to Islam several years ago. So the whole family converted? That fits with the "family affair" networks weâve seen.
Mr. Mujahidâs son Jamil Jr. said in an interview in Newark on Wednesday that the brothers had arrived in the Philippines only days before their arrest on Dec. 13. The younger Mr. Mujahid and his sister, Rashida, who was interviewed on CNN, said they believed that the Philippine authorities had unjustly detained the men, either as a way of extorting money from them or to demonstrate resolve against terrorism. "Lies, all lies!"
Mr. Stubbs, 55, of Antioch, Calif., east of Oakland, worked from 1990 to 2000 as a heating and air-conditioning technician at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he held a high-level security clearance. Since his arrest, the F.B.I. has been working with counterintelligence officials from the laboratory to try to determine whether he gained access to classified information. Lawrence Livermore, near San Francisco, is one of the countryâs leading nuclear weapons laboratories and has also done research on technologies aimed at detecting biological weapons. Susan Houghton, a Livermore spokeswoman, said Wednesday that Mr. Stubbs had been given a Q-level security clearance, the highest level granted to employees. That clearance would have allowed him access to classified buildings, she said, but he would not necessarily have been able to obtain classified information. Back in the day, I was a cable tv technician in a NATO war HQ. Because of where my cables ran, and what was there, I had to have the highest level clearance as well, Cosmic Top Secret - Atomal. Because you would have air conditioning in all the labs, thatâs why Michael had that clearance level.
In any case, Ms. Houghton said, nothing in Mr. Stubbsâs background or conduct while he was an employee had been seen as troubling. If heâs a recent "convert", this may not be a worry, he left in 2000.
In announcing on Tuesday that the brothers would be deported, Philippine immigration officials said they knew of nothing to connect them to past or planned terrorist attacks. But the two men made contact with people linked to terrorist groups, the Filipinos said, and Mr. Mujahid, formerly known as James Stubbs, maintained bank accounts that held "substantial deposits" from "contacts of suspicious and dubious background." Oh goody, a paper trail.
Officials of the F.B.I. and the United States Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement have said that no charges are pending against the men but that investigations are being conducted. It is not clear when they will be deported by the Philippines. Just hang on to them, please.
Mr. Mujahidâs children said he had gone to the Philippines to visit his wife, a Filipino. The younger Mr. Mujahid, 31, said his father had traveled earlier to Sudan to study Islam. He said his uncle, Mr. Stubbs, was a Christian who had not converted to Islam.
The Mercury News report quoted some of Mr. Mujahidâs neighbors in Newark as saying he was a strict Muslim who refused to give Halloween candy to neighborhood children because of the holidayâs pagan roots. "Begone, infidel demon children!"
The neighbors, who were not otherwise identified, told the newspaper that Mr. Mujahid had returned from Sudan in early December wearing a long gray beard and had told them he would soon be traveling again, to the Middle East. Bingo! We have us a winner!
Posted by: Steve ||
01/02/2004 10:24:51 AM ||
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Eritrea has rejected the appointment of a new United Nations envoy, tasked with breaking the deadlock in its border dispute with Ethiopia.
Tensions have been rising since Ethiopia rejected a world court ruling, giving Eritrea the village of Badme, where a two-year border war began. Eritrea sees the UN envoy as an alternative to the border ruling.
Ethiopia had earlier said it was keen to work closely with former Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy. But Eritrean presidential spokesman Yemane Gebremeskel said there was no point in the special envoy going to Asmara. "We have conveyed to the Secretary General that the concept of a special envoy is not acceptable to us as it would constitute an alternative mechanism to demarcate the border," he said. "We will only accept a solution that gives us what we want!"
The BBCâs Jonah Fisher in Eritrea says that Ethiopia has been looking for an "alternative mechanism" since it rejected the Boundary Commissionâs ruling. "What he said!"
Some say that Mr Axworthy, who was closely involved in the campaign to ban landmines, has been given an impossible job, with the two sidesâ positions so far apart. Sounds like an easier job than banning landmines.
But western powers are expected to step up their mediation efforts this month, to try to end the present stalemate.
Eritrea sees the solution to the dispute as already existing in the form of the Boundary Commissionâs ruling. It says that resolving the problem is simply a question of forcing Ethiopia to comply. Since they canât do it themselves.
Since leaving public office, Mr Axworthy has been a director on the board of Human Rights Watch - a campaigning organisation which last year called Eritrea "a country under siege from its own government". More UN diplomtaic brilliance: appoint an envoy whoâs been critical of one side to serve as a mediator.
Establishing a constructive relationship with that government will be critical to any chance Mr Axworthy has of breaking the deadlock in this increasingly troubled process. More BBC insight!
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/02/2004 10:20:57 AM ||
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Seeing as theyâre still alive, seems like they already got their reward. But some folks are never satisfied.
Libyaâs prime minister said his country wants to be rewarded for opening up to nuclear inspections, and stressed that the United States must lift sanctions by May 12 or his government wonât have to pay $6 million to each family of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing victims, according to an interview published Friday.
Yes you will.
Prime Minister Shukri Ghanim told The New York Times that Libya wants to be paid for turning over nuclear materials. Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi pledged in mid-December to give up his unconventional weapons programs and to open weapons sites to inspectors. Ghanim told the Times that the North African country wants to ``accelerate to the maximumââ the dismantling of its unconventional weapons programs so that Libya could be declared free of the weapons in the next few months. Why do I smell a con here? We should take our time and do a thorough job.
At the same time, Ghanim reiterated that his country wonât have to pay the remaining $6 million to each family of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing victims unless Washington lifts the sanctions that it imposed in 1986 by May 12. In August, Libya agreed to accept responsibility for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing and has paid the families of the 270 victims $4 million each so far. That led the United Nations to lift sanctions on Sept. 12. Libya promised to pay another $4 million if the United States lifts its own sanctions against Libya and another $2 million if Libya is removed from the State Departmentâs list of countries sponsoring terrorism within eight months. ``The agreement says that eight months after the signing, if American sanctions are not removed, then the additional $6 million for each family of victims will not be paid,ââ Ghanim said. ``This would be for the good of the families of the victims, but we will leave this to the decision of the Americans.ââ Comes rather close to extortion, doesnât it?
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/02/2004 10:10:03 AM ||
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They better watch it or those WMD sites are going to be excavations.
Posted by: Charles ||
01/02/2004 10:45 Comments ||
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Oh well, at least I was beaten by another member of the Army of Steve.
Posted by: Steve ||
01/02/2004 10:52 Comments ||
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sowing rivalry and dissension among the Army? Bwahahahaha....We Shall Overcome!
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/02/2004 11:19 Comments ||
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We'll be down for an hour or so around noon today. I have to change the oil in the server and install a new boiler. Let me know if anything's not right when we come back up.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
01/02/2004 10:06 ||
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thanks for the notice, Fred... BTW, I like the new look I'm seeing (in mozilla) -- the text is much clearer to my weary eyes. Incidentally, what time zone do you claim? guessing EST, but not entirely sure...
The Energy Department is conducting a widespread review of security at Americaâs nuclear weapons laboratories after reports of hundreds of missing keys, some of which could allow access to sensitive areas. Sources tell CBS News that lock and key experts will begin visiting all U.S. nuclear labs next month to assess the problem of missing keys and apparent security lapses, reports CBS News Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson.
The review follows reports last summer that Oak Ridge National Laboratory had reported "a number" of keys missing. In fact, 200 keys were missing. Oak Ridge, located in Tennessee, was part of the Manhattan Project where uranium was processed for the first atomic bomb. Also known by its World War II code name "Y-12", itâs considered the Fort Knox of highly enriched uranium â the kind terrorists could use for a devastating bomb.
Some of the missing keys, according to one source, "provide possible access to sensitive areas" at Oak Ridge. How nice.
At Sandia National Labs in New Mexico, a set of master keys went missing for more than a week, including keys that could get someone as far as the glass doors leading to the nuclear reactors. At the time, nobody bothered to change the locks or report the security breach as required. And why do they still have their jobs?
Someone also lost track of master keys at Lawrence Livermore Lab. Thatâs where Michael Ray Stubbs worked.
The Energy Departmentâs Inspector General investigated Livermore and recently determined the lab "did not immediately recognize the significant security implications ⊠did not report the security incidents within the required timeframes," and "did not immediately assess the potential security risks."
During the Inspector Generalâs review, Livermore officials admitted five more master keys were missing, some for years. Since before 2000, perhaps? Bet someone in the HVAC shop would have access to one.
The Inspector General says it will cost $1.7 million dollars to replace 100,000 locks at Livermore alone. The lab claims it wonât cost nearly that much. $1.7 million divided by 100K locks = $17.00 each. Thatâs cheap for high security locks, not even figuring in labor costs.
In response to the reports, the Energy Department is launching a "lock and key inventory" to try to pinpoint the extent of the security breach. Sources say it will be a "top to bottom review" at all the nationâs nuclear weapons labs. Which will take years and in the end no one in charge will be fired. Fred, past me that razor blade when you finish slitting your wrists.
Posted by: Steve ||
01/02/2004 9:58:50 AM ||
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CBS News
Anyone else besides them reporting this? CBS is more liberial than CNN in some areas.
Posted by: Charles ||
01/02/2004 10:31 Comments ||
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Surprises me that anyone's using keys. Where I work the government requires anything sensitive to be protected by S&G combo locks (or better). And combinations are changed frequently.
#3
How long does it take to have some keys made at the local keyshop? Who the hell is running security at these labs the keystone cops?
So when are we going to hear about the heads rolling? Oh! Thats right -- these are civil service jobs. Of course the Energy department couldn't find its own ass in a well-lit room with both hands, a map, a mirror, and a GPS....
LONDON (AP) - British Airways canceled a flight from Heathrow Airport to Washington on Friday, the third time in three days that the flight was disrupted on security advice from the British government, an airline spokesman said. This is getting to be a habit.
Fridayâs cancellation came amid a tightening of the security net over U.S. airspace around the New Yearâs holiday, a week and a half after the Bush administration raised the national terrorism alert to orange, its second-highest level. The airline would not comment on the nature of the security advice that prompted Fridayâs cancellation of BA Flight 223. The flight was canceled less than two hours before takeoff and some of the 300 passengers had already begun to check in. "Oh, Nigel, not again! Theyâve cancelled our flight!"
"Well Ducks, thereâs nothing to be done. Re-inflate the air mattress, will you love, and weâll just settle back into the check-in lounge for the night."
Flight 223, one of three daily flights to the U.S. capital, was also canceled Thursday on government advice. Another British Airways flight from Washington to London was delayed Thursday night as U.S. authorities re-screened passengers. The flight took off more than three hours late. On Wednesday, Flight 223 was kept on the taxiway at Washington Dulles International Airport for several hours shortly after landing, while U.S. authorities questioned passengers and crew on board.
``We had concerns with individuals on the flight,ââ a U.S. national security official said, speaking only on condition of anonymity. The official said the questioning was prompted by intelligence information and not just suspicious passenger names. Persistent buggers, whoever they are.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/02/2004 9:58:26 AM ||
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Still trying to a terrorist attack in shortly after New Years, huh? Someone should really just shoot them in the knee-caps so they can't walk to the cockpit.
Posted by: Charles ||
01/02/2004 10:49 Comments ||
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He was wrong:
A Florida man who brought a box cutter aboard a plane leaving Sky Harbor International Airport on Sunday said he used the tool to cut out magazine articles and thought it was permissible to have it on board. Peter Joseph Martin, 57, was escorted off the plane Sunday after a passenger saw him pull the box cutter from his carry-on luggage and place it in the seat pocket in front of him, according to an affidavit filed at the U.S. District Court in Phoenix. He was charged Monday with carrying a dangerous weapon on an aircraft. Officials with the Transportation Security Administration said they still are trying to determine why the 5-inch-long box cutter with a 3-inch blade wasnât detected by airport screening equipment. Please do.
In an interview with police, Martin admitted packing the box cutter in his carry-on luggage but said he was not aware it was prohibited on an aircraft, the affidavit said. Martin also said he did not see the signs at Sky Harbor that said the item was prohibited. Did your seeing eye dog miss them too? In other stupid passenger news:
First-class passenger tries to enter cockpit:
A 31-year-old Tennessee man is in federal custody after trying to enter the cockpit during a Northwest Airlines flight from Detroit yesterday afternoon. According to Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Ishikawa, the incident occurred about two hours before Flight 923 arrived in Honolulu. Ishikawa said a first-class passenger tried to enter the pilotâs area. The passenger was subdued by a female flight attendant, who was assisted by two off-duty Northwest employees. No weapons were used and no one was injured. Lucky the passengers didnât get to him first.
State sheriffs arrested Brandon Gabriel Rines when the flight landed in Honolulu around 2:30 p.m. He was taken to the federal detention center near the airport and charged with interfering with a flight crew. The FBI is investigating the case.
Air marshals halt passenger on Seattle flight
An ex-convict on a Honolulu-to-Seattle flight charged toward the cockpit, shouting that he wanted to see the pilot, and was subdued by undercover air marshals who were on board to monitor him, officials said. The man was identified as Reno Maiava, 33, of Seattle. He was released from prison two years ago after serving 10 years for his role in a much publicized spree of beatings of gay men in Seattle in 1990. The incident involving Maiava occurred about two hours into Thursdayâs Northwest Airlines Flight 924, according to Dave Adams, spokesman for the federal air-marshal service. Adams described Maiava as having a history of violence and mental problems. A Department of Corrections spokesman in Olympia said Maiava had spent much of his prison term in a "special-needs" unit for people with mental-health problems. Maiava was held pending arraignment on a charge of interfering with a flight crew.
When Maiava told his probation officer he was taking a trip to Hawaii, the officer contacted air marshals and encouraged them to place agents aboard a Seattle-to-Honolulu flight that the man took Nov. 19, Adams said. Because of concerns he could endanger people on his return flight, three marshals were assigned to it, he said. If you were that worried, why did you let him on the flight?
Posted by: Steve ||
01/02/2004 9:03:56 AM ||
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The one thing that we can never cure people of is stupidity. You have to wonder where some of these people have been for the past 2-1/2 years. Reminds me of one time we were talking about something and the person did not believe me and I mada an off hand comment "well the Popes Polish Ain't he?". And they replied "is he?". They were dead serious in their question and this was in 1990.
#2
The passenger was subdued by a female flight attendant . . .
Either he was a wimp, or Eowyn took a job with Northwest after the war.
Posted by: Mike ||
01/02/2004 10:26 Comments ||
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A Florida man who brought a box cutter aboard a plane leaving Sky Harbor International Airport on Sunday said he used the tool to cut out magazine articles and thought it was permissible to have it on board.
His air rates are about to go through the roof.
Posted by: Charles ||
01/02/2004 10:39 Comments ||
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SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea has agreed to allow a U.S. delegation to visit its main nuclear complex next week, a South Korean official said Friday. "Oh, brother. Uncle Sam might deal with us next if we donât cooperate."
The trip, first reported Friday by USA Today, would mark the first time outsiders have been allowed to inspect North Koreaâs main nuclear facilities at Yongbyon, north of Pyongyang, since the communist country expelled U.N. nuclear monitors in late 2002.
USA Today reported that Washington approved the trip and it was scheduled for Jan. 6-10. The newspaper said the U.S. delegation would include Sig Hecker, director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory from 1985 to 1997. The laboratory produced the first U.S. nuclear bomb.
"The report is true," an official at the South Korean Foreign Ministry said. "The U.S. side has informed us of the trip."
Jason Rebholz, a spokesman of the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, said he had no information on the trip and could not comment on the news report.
It was unclear how much access to key facilities the North would give to the U.S. experts. U.N. monitors had never had full access to the Yongbyon facilities before they were expelled.
An agreement by Washington to send nuclear experts to Yongbyon appears to reflect the Bush administrationâs willingness to tackle the North Korean crisis now that Iran and Libya have agreed to intrusive inspections of their nuclear facilities, said Ko Yoo-hwan, a North Korea expert at Seoulâs Dongkuk University.
"The trip would give it at least an indirect on-site review of the status of the North Korean nuclear program," Ko said.
For weeks, North Korea has said it was boosting its nuclear weapons program, and that it was willing to demonstrate its nuclear capabilities in a "physical" manner.
In its New Yearâs Day message, however, it reconfirmed that it wants to resolve the dispute peacefully, through six-nation talks with the United States, China, Russia, Japan and South Korea.
North Koreaâs invitation of U.S. experts could mean that the communist regime wants to prove that it is using plutonium to build bombs, and to increase its leverage at upcoming six-nation talks, Ko said.
The South Korean official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the visiting delegation also would include U.S. Senate policy aides. He refused to reveal further details, saying more details will be announced officially in a couple of days.
USA Today said the delegation also included a China expert from Stanford University, two Senate foreign policy aides who have previously visited Pyongyang and a former State Department official who has negotiated with North Korea.
North Korea is believed to be running a nuclear weapons program at Yongbyon, in the most guarded part of the isolated country.
The North says it has completed reprocessing 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods at Yongbyon in a process that can yield enough plutonium for half a dozen atomic bombs. North Korea is believed to already have one or two nuclear bombs.
In October, the White House blocked a trip to Yongbyon by a U.S. congressional delegation led by Curt Weldon, vice chairman of the Armed Services Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives.
North Korea alleged the White House blocked the visit because it was "nervous" about the ramifications of the congressmen confirming "the state of our nuclear activity."
The United States is trying to persuade the North to give up its nuclear program in return for aid and better ties with the outside world.
North Korea demands that the United States provide it with economic aid and security assurances in return for dismantling its nuclear weapons program. Washington wants Pyongyang to abandon its program first.
The nuclear standoff flared in October 2002 when U.S. officials said Pyongyang admitted having a secret nuclear program in violation of a 1994 pact.
North Korea has said it is willing to hold a second round of six-nation talks early this year on ending the crisis. The first round ended in August without agreement or a date for a new meeting. Russia, China, South Korea and Japan also are taking part.
The first round of talks held in Beijing in August ended without agreement, or a date for new talks.
Posted by: Korora ||
01/02/2004 7:51:54 AM ||
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This isn't necessarily all good. This might be the Norks demonstrating that they have already made X number of bombs and so pay attention to them, or else.
Posted by: John Bragg ||
01/02/2004 8:11 Comments ||
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In October, the White House blocked a trip to Yongbyon by a U.S. congressional delegation led by Curt Weldon, vice chairman of the Armed Services Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives.
North Korea alleged the White House blocked the visit because it was "nervous" about the ramifications of the congressmen confirming "the state of our nuclear activity."
Actually, we were more concerned about the patent incompetence of a bunch of Congressmen pretending to be nuclear scientists and yelping "WE didn't see anything!"
Sh*t, they promise to take MY money away from ME, give it to those who vote for them, and when elected, think that they're bloody rocket scientists...
#3
Well I doubt NKor is going to show nuclear bombs to the delegation. You can't tell if a bomb-like piece of metal is a real nuke just by looking at it or even by taking rad measurements.
Pirates shot two crew members in the legs after boarding a bulk carrier off the West African state of Benin, the International Maritime Bureauâs (IMB) Piracy Reporting Centre said.
Five armed robbers held two people hostage, including the shipâs watchman, as they attacked the vessel, used to haul grain and coal, on Dec 24 near Contonou, in the Bight of Benin.
Pirates shot the crew members before fleeing with stolen cash and the masterâs personal belongings, the Kuala Lumpur-based centre said on its Web site.
The shipâs master reported that almost every day pirates attempt to board the vessel, said the IMB, which is part of the International Chamber of Commerceâs Commercial Crime Services unit. The incident was one of three during the week ended Dec 29.
About five small boats were reported following a bulk carrier in the Gulf of Aden, between Yemen and Somalia, on Dec 28. Crew members fired signal rockets after two of the boats closed in on both sides of the ship.
Four days earlier, pirates failed to board a vehicle-carrier in the South China Sea when the vesselâs crew switched on the shipâs floodlights, the centre said.
Pirates hijacked a tugboat and barge off Indonesia and ordered its 14-member crew to jump overboard in the last week of November. Fifteen armed robbers attacked the vessels that were bound for Singapore, the IMB said.
The barge was found the next day, though the tugboat is still missing. The Singapore-registered vessel may have changed its name, colour and flag, the IMB said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/02/2004 1:23:26 AM ||
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Yar! We be pirates!
Posted by: Steve ||
01/02/2004 8:38 Comments ||
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Pirates shot the crew members before fleeing with stolen cash and the masterâs personal belongings
Yar, mateys! Ye be going for a clock radio and the captain's change bucket on this raid! Yar!
#3
Sounds like most ships need an extra pair of hands - holding an automatic weapon and several hundred rounds of ammo.
Seriously, I think the first thing these ships should do as soon as they clear port is to drop razor-wire around the ship, about eight feet above the waterline. It might not stop a truly DETERMINED pirate, but it might give the crew enough warning to fight them off. Of course, some of the rust-buckets running cheap stuff around the world are probably not worth the cost of the razor-wire to protect them.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/02/2004 11:27 Comments ||
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Ugandaâs President Yoweri Museveni claimed on Thursday that government troops had "decisively defeated" rebels of the Lordâs Resistance Army (LRA) and vowed the groupâs leader, Joseph Kony, would soon be killed. "The Kony terror in the northeast has been defeated decisively," said Museveni in his New Year address to the nation. "Given the improved equipment of the UPDF (Ugandan army), it is only a matter of time before the UPDF kills (rebel leaders) Vincent Otti and Kony just as we killed many of the bandit leaders," said Museveni.
Yeah. And my hair's growing back. And my waistline's getting smaller...
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/02/2004 1:13:10 AM ||
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From what I have read, the LRA is personality driven, more a cult than anything else. It'll keep going as long as Joe is breathing, but not much longer.
Posted by: Steve ||
01/02/2004 8:25 Comments ||
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Nope. If Kony gets killed, Ottii will just take over.
But anyway, it's academic because the Ugandan govt. need the LRA so they can keep oppressing the north of the country - the last thing they're going to do is kill its leader (which explains why in 17 years they've not killed any of the top 6 LRA commanders)
Posted by: Mark ||
01/12/2004 7:27 Comments ||
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The Ugandan army claimed Wednesday that it had killed a total of 86 rebels of the Lordâs Resistance Army (LRA) during encounters in northern and northwestern districts in the month of December. Army spokesperson also said government troops rescued a total of 692 civilians, most of them children, abducted by the rebels during that period. "We killed 46 rebels and rescued 374 captives in the areas of the fourth division (districts of Gulu and Apac) and lost one soldier," army spokesperson Lieutenant Paddy Ankunda told AFP by telephone from the northern town of Gulu. Lieutenant Chris Magezi said 40 rebels were gunned down and 318 civilians freed from rebel captivity in Lira, Pader and Kitgum districts. Eleven government soldiers died and nine were wounded during the operations.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/02/2004 1:11:55 AM ||
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This is from Kenya, but you can probably guess by the tone which side their bread is buttered on ...
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has retired from the army to concentrate on politics. President Museveni 59, has been in active military service for the better part of his life. He said yesterday in Kabale, 300 kilometres west of Kampala that the Army High Command, which he chairs as Lieutenant General, had granted him retirement. President Museveni said he was retiring from the army in order to participate in party politics.
President Museveni has been accused by his erstwhile close associates including Mr Eriya Kategaya, former first deputy Prime Minister and longest serving minister, that he wants to change the Constitution in order to have another term in office. Mr Kategaya wants President Museveni to respect the constitution and retire in 2006 as dictated by the Constitution. "I now feel the new struggle is to participate in party politics," he said. He said the law on political parties and other organisations law does not allow him to actively participate in politics while remaining in the army. President Museveni has not been able to take up a position in his newly registered National Resistance Movement Organisation party because he is still a serving military officer.
He's the "president" and he's a member of the National Resistance Movement Organisation... What the hell is the Movement Organisation resisting?
He did not say when he was allowed to retire. Early last year, due to lack of funds for retirement packages, the army had stopped senior officers from retiring. In the early 1970s, Mr Museveni participated in the Mozambique liberation struggles and later in the Uganda liberation war of 1979. Between 1981-86 President Museveni led a rebellion in central Uganda that toppled Dr Milton Oboteâs government and brought him to power. President Museveni until his retirement has been the commander of the armed forces and once in a while would go to the front line in northern Uganda to direct the battle against the Lordâs Resistance Army of Joseph Kony. Army spokesman, Major Shaban Mbatariza said that there was no reason to stop the President from retiring from the army. He said Mr Museveni would remain the commander in chief of the armed forces. Mr Museveni has been President since 1986, but the first ten years were transitional.
Oh, well. That's different.
He founded the National Resistance Army (NRA) in 1980, which changed to the Uganda Peopleâs Defence Force in line with the 1995 Constitution. The UPDF Bill 2003, now before Parliament, seeks among other things to bar serving officers and men from participating in politics. The Political Parties and Organisations Act also bars serving officers from participating in politics. Parliament is expected to vote on the UPDF Bill 2003 this month. When the Bill is passed then all soldiers serving in Parliament and local councils will have to resign their army posts or give up politics.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/02/2004 1:10:33 AM ||
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What the hell is the Movement Organisation resisting?
That's easy, they're resisting President Museveni (Lt. Gen - ret) having to give up power. It's a African Committee to Re-elect the President for Life.
Posted by: Steve ||
01/02/2004 14:55 Comments ||
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Sudanese politics in a nutshell, right down to the sinister plots and Machiavellian designs of Bashir and Co ... Iâm beginning to see why they always accuse the West of this stuff, theyâre assuming that our leaders behave just like theirs do.
The puppet of the Sudanese Arab-Islamist military dictatorship, General Omar Bashir has threatened to wage war against western groups after a large-scale attack earlier this week, a dramatic shift in the governmentâs earlier policy of dialogue and negotiation to resolve the conflict.
Bashir, who is front man for the Islamist power behind the throne, Ali Taha, spoke in Khartoum on Tuesday to thousands of citizens from Kulbus, a city in Darfur province that was attacked Sunday by rebels from the Sudan Liberation Army. The army said it repulsed the attack, inflicting heavy but unspecified losses on the assailants.
"Our priority from now on is to eliminate the rebellion, and any outlaw element is our target,ââ el-Bashir said in a speech broadcast Wednesday on state-run television. "We will use the army, the police, the mujahedeen [Islamic fighters], the horsemen to get rid of the rebellion.ââ
The SLA rebels have been battling dicatorship troops and militias since February, demanding a greater share in power and better services for the region, as well as military control.
"What good are they seeking for region when they displace the citizens and destroy property and establishment?ââ Bashir asked in his speech.
According to the government and United Nations, more than 600,000 people have been displaced due to the violence in the area. The U.N. said some 70,000 more have crossed the border into neighboring Chad, and around 3,000 civilians have been killed.
A Sept. 3 cease-fire brokered by Chad was to have been formalized earlier this month in Ndjamena, Chad, but talks broke down over intransigence of the Khartoum-based dictatorship.
Until Tuesday, the regime had said it remained committed to dialogue. But the scale of Sundayâs attack seemed to have forced the change in policy.
"It was a historic battle in which even women took part, going into the trenches carrying ammunition for the troops,ââ said Sulieman Abdallah, governor for the regime in Western Darfur state, in a speech at the same event Tuesday. "We in the state of Western Darfur are determined to eradicate the rebellion in the area.ââ
Earlier this week, the government accused neighboring Eritrea (on the opposite side to the east of Africaâs largest country) and one of the many opposition parties, the Popular National Congress (PNC) party of providing assistance and backing the rebellion in Darfur.
The PNC leader was the previous power behind the dictatorship, with its Islamist leader Dr Turabi having been overthrown by Ali Taha in an internal coup in the Sudan, retaining the puppet military dictator Omar Bashir as front man for the regime.
The PNC has not condemned the SLA, but has said it has nothing to do with events there.
Analysts believe that the dictatorship is using the cease fire brought about in the South of Sudan due to the American-sponsored peace negotiations which are meeting with success in Kenya, to divert its resources to fighting the rebellion in the west.
The accusation against Eritrea is absurd, given Eritrea is one of Africaâs smallest states, is located on the opposite side of Sudan, is surrounded by two large neighbours Sudan and Ethiopia and the army of Eritrea is dug in the east of that country in defense against belligerant threats from her former occupier, Ethiopia.
Recently Sudan and Ethiopia have used the excuse of "fighting terrorism" to not only curry favour with the United States which has pushed Sudan to negotiate peace with the southern rebels, in order to strengthen cooperation between Sudan and Ethiopia against Eritrea.
The reality is that Eritrea has in the past been a refuge for many Sudanese from the east of Sudan where a rebellion against the Khatroum dictatorship has also flared up on several occasions in recent years.
The Sudan dictatorship appears to be using its relations with Libya, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and now the United States, to move its efforts to fighting rebels in the east and west of the country, perhaps in an alliance with the former southern rebel movement SPLA, who has no particular love for the African Muslims of Darfur, the west of Sudan, according to Sudanese analysts.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/02/2004 1:01:05 AM ||
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Five Russians studying in Egypt have been arrested, officials in Moscow have confirmed.
The five, studying at Cairoâs al-Azhar Islamic university, were detained on Sunday.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said the five were suspected of breaking Egyptian laws, but did not give further details.
Russian television said the five, all from the Russian republic of Dagestan, were suspected of extremist links.
The Egyptian authorities would provide Russia with full information once their inquiry was complete, Mr Yakovenko said.
Dagestan, which has a majority Muslim population, borders Chechnya, where Russian forces have been engaged in a long and bloody campaign to defeat separatists.
Moscow says Chechen militants have links to the al-Qaeda terror network, and receive other international help.
The Russian embassy in Cairo named the five detained men as Amir-Khamzat Batsilov, Pakhrodin Gazimagomedov, Ahmed Gamzatov, Magomed Nabiyev and Magomed Magomedov. Iâm not sure if this is the same guy or not, but Khamzat is reputed to be the new leader of the Special Purpose Islamic Regiment now that Barayev is toe tag. If this is him, then this could be a major bust but I donât see him as a student at al-Azhar for some reason.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/02/2004 12:53:38 AM ||
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North Korea has agreed to allow a U.S. delegation that includes a top nuclear scientist to visit its nuclear complex at Yongbyon next week ahead of likely negotiations with its neighbors and the United States. The delegation would be the first to see the site since North Korea expelled foreign weapons inspectors a year ago. Members of the U.S. delegation say it includes Sig Hecker, director from 1985 to 1997 of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, which produced the first U.S. nuclear bomb and still constructs weapons. Hecker has been told he can visit Yongbyon, where the North Koreans restarted a reactor last year and may have reprocessed used fuel to make plutonium for a half dozen bombs. By inviting Hecker to Yongbyon, the regime of Kim Jong Il may want to prove that it has nuclear weapons as a way of bolstering a tough negotiating stance. It may also want to try to defuse tensions by showing that its nuclear sites will be open to inspection if a deal is reached.
Posted by: OMER ISHMAIL ||
01/02/2004 12:53:10 AM ||
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Appealing directly to pro-democracy forces in Iran, President Bush on Thursday said that U.S. humanitarian aid to earthquake victims there should prove that America is compassionate even though it lists Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism.
Speaking to reporters in southern Texas where he and his father went quail hunting on New Yearâs Day, Bush didnât change the U.S. public stance toward Iran - a nation he has labeled, along with Iraq and North Korea, as an ``axis of evil.ââ The president continued to call on Iran to give up its nuclear weapons and do more to fight terrorism, but his words lacked the harsh, warring tones of earlier statements heâs made about the nation.
``What weâre doing in Iran is weâre showing the Iranian people the American people care, that weâve got great compassion for human suffering,ââ Bush said.
The Washington Post reported Thursday night on its Web site that the United States has approached Iran about sending a high-level humanitarian delegation to Tehran. It would be the first public U.S. official visit since 52 Americans were held hostage in Iran for 444 days from 1979 to 1981.
The newspaper said the delegation, headed by Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., also would include an unspecified member of the Bush family. Iranâs President Mohammad Khatami has not yet responded to the overture, the newspaper quoted U.S. officials as saying.
Bush administration officials have raised the possibility that Iranâs acceptance of American aid following a massive earthquake that killed nearly 30,000 may be a sign of slow movement toward better relations between the longtime enemies. Secretary of State Colin Powell has said recently that there were encouraging developments in Iran and that Tehran was demonstrating a ``new attitudeââ on some issues.
Bush said the United States is glad the Iranian government has allowed U.S. humanitarian aid flights into the country. ``Itâs right to take care of people when they hurt, and weâre doing that,ââ Bush said.
But he added: ``The Iranian government must listen to the voices of those who long for freedom, must turn over al-Qaeda that are in their custody and must abandon their nuclear weapons program.ââ
He said he hopes Iran will hand over members of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization to their countries of origin, scrap its nuclear weapons in a verifiable way and abide by an accord it signed on Dec. 18 to open its nuclear facilities to international inspectors.
``And, as well, itâs very important for them to listen to those voices in their country who are demanding freedom,ââ Bush said, repeating his support for pro-democracy forces. ``We stand strongly with those who demand freedom.ââ
While thanking the U.S. government for its humanitarian relief work, Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said earlier this week that there could be no thaw in a 25-year diplomatic freeze unless Washington changed its tone and behavior.
On Thursday, however, Iranian foreign minister Kamal Kharrazi said the Bush administrationâs decision to lift sanctions on Iran for 90 days to allow aid to enter was a ``positive step.ââ Former president Hashemi Rafsanjani also welcomed the U.S. move. Asked if these signals could mean improved Iran-U.S. relations, he said: ``I am not sure but the signals point in that direction.ââ
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/02/2004 12:37:56 AM ||
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Iranian authorities have arrested the kidnappers of an Irish and two German tourists, who were released on Sunday after a three-week ordeal, the foreign ministry said Thursday.
"These people are in the hands of the intelligence ministry, and it is up to that ministry to provide the necessary information," foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Assefi said, without giving further details.
The trio was kidnapped around December 2 by bandits while cycling near Nosrat Abad, on the road between the ancient city of Bam, which was devastated by a killer earthquake Friday, and Zahedan near the border with Pakistan.
Their kidnappers, originally believed to be drug smugglers disgruntled by the police seizure of a consignment, had demanded a five-million-euro (six-million-dollar) ransom.
But Intelligence Minister Ali Yunessi said the kidnappers were linked to the Islamic militant network al-Qaeda. "The hostage-takers claimed to be linked to al-Qaeda," Yunessi said in a statement on Sunday, when the hostages were released. Oh goody, more to add to the "in custody" list ...
And at a press conference after their release, the tourists said their abductors had claimed to be "Taleban linked to al-Qaeda," but added that they had not been mistreated. Iran is likely to treat any Taliban it runs across a lot different than the local crop of al-Qaeda. Binnyâs boyz can help out the Black Hats, whereas any Talibs are likely to be seen as chopped liver.
One said their captors spoke Farsi, so he assumed they were Iranians. Iran had said it would not pay the ransom, and asked Germany and Ireland also to not give in to blackmail.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/02/2004 12:33:15 AM ||
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Leading newspapers of the DPRK Rodong Sinmun, Josoninmingun and Chongnyonjonwi carried a joint editorial titled "Let's glorify this year as a year of proud victory through revolutionary offensive on all fronts of building a great prosperous powerful nation!" on the occasion of the New Year Juche 93 (2004).
That's the title? It looks like the first paragraph!
The joint editorial has been issued on every New Year's Day since Juche 84 (1995) as a substitute for the New Year's address of President Kim Il Sung after his demise. It reviews proud successes of the year and sets forth militant tasks to be fulfilled by all Party members, servicepersons and people in the new year. Pointing to the successes achieved last year, the joint editorial says that Juche 92 (2003) was a year of heroic struggle in which the dignity and might of the DPRK were demonstrated to the world and a year of proud victory in which the sovereignty of the nation and socialism were defended despite the tense situation.
The editorial says:
Last year the single-hearted unity with the headquarters of the revolution as a centre and our own style state political system were consolidated more steel-strong and the self-supporting national economic potential grew stronger while the socialist cultural life was brought into fuller bloom. Last year our army and people fully demonstrated heroic stamina by waging a life and death struggle for independence and justice.
Recalling that a decade has passed since the army and people of the DPRK started a death-defying struggle to accomplish the cause of the President, the joint editorial says that in this period the absolute authority of the headquarters of the Korean revolution led by Kim Jong Il, steadfastness of its leadership system and its invincible political caliber have been displayed before the world. Calling for paving a wide avenue for a fresh victory in the building of a great prosperous powerful nation to make this year a significant year to bring about a turn in accomplishing the revolutionary cause of the Party, the joint editorial says:
"Let us reach a high stage of the country's prosperity, true to the great Comrade Kim Il Sung's idea and cause!"
This is the slogan we should put up in our advance this year. The general task for the Party, the army and youth this year is to conduct a revolutionary offensive to attain a higher goal in building a great prosperous powerful nation on the three fronts of politics and ideology, anti-imperialism and military affairs and economy and science.
Underscoring the need to exert utmost efforts for strengthening the front of anti-imperialism and military affairs, the editorial calls for giving top priority to increasing the military muscle. The enemies will suffer inescapable blows if they impose a war of any form upon the DPRK anytime, it warns. The editorial calls for a vigorous struggle this year under the slogan "Let us make rapid progress in the economy and science and technology and thus increase the national power in every way!"
Turning to the issue of national reunification, the editorial notes: "Let us pave a wide avenue for independent reunification through national cooperation under the banner of our nation-first spirit!" This is the slogan all Koreans in the north and the south and overseas should put up in the movement for reunification this year. It is our invariable principled stand to seek a negotiated peaceful solution to the nuclear issue between the DPRK and the U.S. We will always react with the toughest stand to the U.S. hard-line policy of completely denying and threatening the dignified idea and system of our style. We will in the future, too, develop our relations with various countries of the world in the idea of independence, peace and friendship and make positive efforts to build a new peaceful and independent world.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
01/02/2004 00:00 ||
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My head is spinning. Is it the wierdness of the translation that makes this so difficult to comprehend? Anyone speak Korean at a native level?
Points deducted for not explicily mentioning Songun/Juche/Army First, but not severely, since these concepts were present in the performance.
The medium score reflects the boldness of the presentation, in that this judge has not seen bullshit like this flung about with such fervor and self righteousness in a long time. (In other words, they get an "E" for effort.)
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has said his son Gamal will not take over the presidency after him, the official MENA news agency reported yesterday. âThis is nonsense... the regime in Egypt is republican, there is no hereditary transfer of power. This happened in a certain country, it will not happen in Egypt,â Mubarak said in a television interview, the transcript of which was carried by MENA.
He's talking about Syria, of course. Egypt's press periodically mocks the Boy President. Has Hosni developed a sense of shame, not wanting to be lumped with low-lifes like the Assads and Alievs? Or did Sonny cheese him off?
Mubarak was referring to fellow Arab state Syria, where Bashar Assad took over power from his father Hafez after his death in 2000.
I said that.
Gamal Mubarak, 40, was named in 2002 to head the ruling National Democratic Partyâs powerful political committee, fueling rumors that he was being prepared to succeed his father, although he has not made a career in the armed forces.
Whoa! How can you be president-for-life without a tin hat?
But the 75 year-old president, who has been in power since 1981, said he was initially reluctant to let his son join the ruling party. âThe talk of a hereditary transfer of power started after my son joined the party. But he joined with great difficulty, after several requests were conveyed to me,â he said, without naming those who had asked him to accept.
Syncophants don't have names...
The issue of the succession came under renewed attention in November when the president interrupted a keynote speech to Parliament because of what officials said was a bout of severe flu. Mubarak has never named a vice president, the route he and his predecessor Anwar Sadat took to become head of state, both after a career in the army. The constitution says if the president dies or is unable to exercise his functions, the speaker of Parliament becomes acting president for 60 days, during which Parliament must designate a presidential candidate by two-thirds majority. The candidate must then be endorsed by referendum.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
01/02/2004 00:00 ||
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It offends me to refer to a dictator as "president." So Mubarak is not going to hand off power to his ass-kissing son, he'll engineer it for one of his ass-kissing Generals. Tough luck, kid, daddy apparently thinks you'll get your ass handed to you. He's either shuffling off soon or sees the writing on the ME wall. Mebbe Dubya sent him a pink slip on the $2bn annual aid pkg. Poor as a church mouse without tourism, which offends the Islamists, Egypt looks like another Pakiwaki nightmare with no real hope.
#3
From HiPakistan: CAIRO: The armed forces will all but certainly provide once again Egypt's next president, after Hosni Mubarak has said he will not bequeath power to his younger son Gamal, analysts said today. "The next president will most likely come from the military institution," said Dia Rashwan, an expert at the Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies.
Posted by: Steve ||
01/02/2004 11:01 Comments ||
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Somali faction leaders have again threatened to quit the present peace talks in Kenya if mediators invited rival leaders, press reports said yesterday. Last week, Kenya announced that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni will open new talks for all Somali faction leaders on Jan. 9 to try to recuperate the countryâs peace process. An East African body, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), has been sponsoring the current Somali talks since October last year. âIGAD and the international community donât have the right to overrule the process. They donât have the right to decide for Somalis. It is Somalis who will decide this process,â said Mowlid Maane Mahmoud, a faction leader and spokesman for a group of leaders currently at the talks. Mahmoud has threatened to quit the whole peace process if IGAD invited more faction leaders to attend the upcoming reconciliation talks, adding that they wanted only the 24 faction leaders that had signed a cease-fire accord on Oct. 27, 2002 and president of Transitional National Government Abdi Qassim Salad to attend the gathering.
"We don't want them! We don't associate with their like!"
IGAD wants about 42 leaders including more warlords, university professors and professionals to attend the discussions. The âretreatâ, as it is billed, has been delayed on numerous occasions in recent weeks due to disagreements among Somali warlords about who should attend. At the same time, an official of the regional administration of the northeastern region of Puntland, Awad Ahmad Ashara, said that there was no need for a retreat. âThe retreat would not promote the peace process but would lead to its collapse. I believe it is a ploy to destroy the peace process and then blame the Somalis for the failure,â he said.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
01/02/2004 00:00 ||
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Having peace talks in Somalia is like opening up a Weight Watchers chapter in Bangladesh.
Tension has erupted in the northern regions of Puntland and breakaway Somaliland over the disputed areas of Sool and Sanaag, media reports said.
Wasn't Sool big among the Hittites? He had something to do with Gozer, I think...
Last week, Puntland militia took total control of the Sool regional capital, Las Anod. A Puntland official told reporters that his militia went to Las Anod to stop fighting between two feuding clans in the area.
"Knock it off, or we're occupying you!"
Somaliland regional House of Representatives called on the government to secure Somalilandâs borders. Media reports from Somaliland said that it had also dispatched forces to Sool. Sool and Sanaag fall geographically within the borders of pre-independence British Somaliland. When Somaliland seceded from the rest of Somalia in 1991, it claimed that Sanaag and Sool were part of its territory. When Puntland established its autonomous regional administration, it counterclaimed that most of the clans in the disputed regions were associated with clans from its territory. According a local newspaper report on Wednesday, people were fleeing Las Anod in fear of possible fighting between the advancing Somaliland forces and those of Puntland. Humanitarian agencies recently delivered food to thousands of drought-affected nomads in the Sool Plateau. A humanitarian official said that any conflict in that area would complicate an already precarious humanitarian situation. âWe urge the authorities on both sides to resolve any differences peacefully and continue to enable humanitarian agencies to deliver assistance to the drought-affected communitiesâ, Calum McLean, head of UNOCHA-Somalia, was quoted by UN news agency.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
01/02/2004 00:00 ||
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Wasn't Sool big among the Hittites?
You're thinking of Zull, and it was the Samarians.
Posted by: Dr. Egon Spengler ||
01/02/2004 8:35 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
