Suicide bombings were uncommon in Afghanistan until recently but in the past three months there have been more than a dozen. Two lieutenants of al-Qa'eda's commander in Iraq, Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, are reported to have entered Afghanistan in recent months.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/06/2006 00:59 ||
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#1
Put the girls' schools under close guard. Lions of Islam - faggots one and all. Ptui.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
01/06/2006 4:32 Comments ||
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#2
Come back Half Ass Pete - all is forgiven.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
01/06/2006 7:51 Comments ||
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#3
More evidence that Zarq seems to be in charge of Al Qaeda. These kind of attacks on the civilian populace are straight out of his handbook. And what would that handbook be? A muslim who goes against the Koran is worse than an infidel...
#4
There is just no ryme or reason to it anymore. They don't even know what they are doing. They cant have a strategy, it's too random. Kill someone everyday, I guess that might be their strategy.
#5
Zark's strategy: Read the NYT and WAPO and do more shit which helps the dhimminocrats to attack Bush. The MSM and dhimminocrats are eager to help, so Zark passes the collection basket.
Makes sense 2 me.
#6
Welcome to the true followers of the pagan piggy goddess allah. Terrorism is and was the foundation the Muhamhead taught in the murderous handbook porKoran. From Media back to Mecca Muhamhead had his Muzzie hordes kill anyone that even made fun of the diaper head boy.
Posted by: Muhamhead Screwed My Pig Allah ||
01/06/2006 7:29 Comments ||
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A suicide bomb exploded in a crowded market Thursday in an Afghan town just a few hundred yards from where the U.S. ambassador was meeting with local leaders. Ten Afghans were killed and 50 wounded in the deadliest of a recent series of attacks.
Ambassador Ronald E. Neumann was not hurt in the blast. A purported Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility and said the insurgents hoped to kill "high-ranking Americans."
Recent violence in Afghanistan has reinforced fears voiced by Afghan officials that the Taliban and al-Qaida may have merged some of their forces and are adopting terror tactics used in Iraq. The bombing follows a foiled plot by militants in June to assassinate Neumann's predecessor, Zalmay Khalilzad.
The Taliban was ousted from power in Afghanistan four years ago for hosting Osama bin Laden.
Thursday's attack occurred in Tirin Kot, capital of mountainous Uruzgan province, which has seen some of the fiercest Taliban fighting in the past year.
The bomb detonated in a market where townsfolk were trading sheep, vegetables and other local goods - about 500 yards from the home of the provincial governor, where the ambassador was meeting local officials, deputy provincial governor Abdul Aziz said.
It was unclear if the attacker purposely detonated the bomb or if it blew up prematurely.
"People were lying dead and wounded everywhere. They were screaming and crying. Some had no legs and arms," said Dil Aqa, a 50-year-old farmer. "Who would do such a thing? These were innocent people."
Among the wounded was the provincial deputy police chief, who was manning a checkpoint next to the governor's house. Fifteen of the 50 wounded were in critical condition and had been rushed to hospitals in nearby Kandahar city, a former Taliban stronghold.
Two of the 10 dead were children, said Abdullah Khan, the governor's spokesman.
The ambassador, who always travels with heavy security and whose schedule is rarely made public, was quickly whisked into a small room by his bodyguards when the explosion was heard, Aziz said. They waited there for about 15 minutes before they left the building.
The ambassador then returned safely to the capital, Kabul, U.S. Embassy spokesman Lou Fintor said. "The ambassador and his party are safe and have been accounted for. They were not in any danger," he said.
A purported Taliban spokesman, Qari Mohammed Yousaf, called The Associated Press shortly after the blast to claim responsibility. He said the assailant was an Afghan and had hidden a land mine under his clothes.
Yousaf said the Taliban were aware that some senior American officials planned to visit the town, but did not know who. He said the bomber intended to attack them.
Yousaf has claimed responsibility for previous attacks in Afghanistan, but his exact ties to Taliban leadership are unclear.
Security forces guarding the border with Pakistan found a car Thursday packed with explosives that they suspect may have been intended for use in another suicide attack, said Abdul Razak, a police chief Kandahar province.
The top Taliban commander in southeastern Afghanistan, Mullah Dadullah, told the AP late last month that more than 200 insurgents were willing to kill themselves in assaults on U.S. forces and their allies.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/06/2006 00:32 ||
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Ten people have died in a suicide car bomb attack aimed at the headquarters of a provincial governor in central Afghanistan. Provincial spokesman Abdullah Jan says there are civilians and police in the area of the blast in Tirin Kot, the capital of Uruzgan province. However, it is not known how many of each have been killed.
"Some 500 metres from the provincial headquarters a suicide car bomb explosion killed at least 10 people," Mr Jan said. "We don't have the breakdown of civilian and police casualties at this moment nor do we know of the number of wounded people." The Governor, Jan Mohammad Khan, was not in the building at the time because he has gone to Mecca for the Hajj, the annual Muslim pilgrimage.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2006 00:00 ||
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DEY CHOPAN, Afghanistan â As Operation Pizmah drew to a close Dec. 15, the U.S. soldiers of B Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment could see their efforts reflected in friendly smiles and cooperation from the citizens of Zabul Province.
"This area was pretty much neglected by the government," said U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Julio Nazario, 1st Platoon sergeant, B Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment, and a Miami native. "Most of what the government has seen here is due to my platoon."
The mission of Operation Pizmah was for elements of B Company to reestablish a coalition presence in the districts of Dey Chopan, Argandab and Khaki-Afghan. Nazario's platoon came from Forward Operating Base Baylough to Dey Chopan on Nov. 30 to support Operation
Pizmah and ensure that the villages are prepared for the winter. "The reception of the people was not too soldier-friendly initially," Nazario said. "We started our mission by conducting patrols and encouraging support for the government with the people." Nazario's platoon has patrolled as much as 70 kilometers per week in the Baylough Bowl, a 5 kilometer-wide area.
In the latter half of the operation, coalition forces saw increased hostile resistance in the area. Nazario said most of the anti-coalition opposition came in the form of three-to-five man teams of enemy intent on disrupting and discouraging support for the local government. In June and July, however, coalition forces in the area saw the most anti-coalition activity of the year, Nazario said. Between the months of June and September, Forward Operating Base Baylough took fire from 48-107 mm rockets, 39-60 mm mortars and numerous rocket-propelled grenades. Since the area was made safer for coalition forces, Nazario's soldiers have helped to open two schools and a district headquarters for the Afghan National Police, and worked to train police and Army National Army soldiers.
"For (our platoon of Afghan National Army), we started from basic training, like for any U.S. soldier," Nazario said. Before the Afghan National Army soldiers started to patrol with Nazario's squad, they were taught about weapons systems and movement through the field, Nazario said. From then on, they became a consistent part of the coalition security element, he said. "If the [Afghan National Army] and [Afghan National Police] have the logistical support they need from the government, they'll be good to go," Nazario said.
Nazario said he hopes Zabul Province continues to receive support from the coalition and the local government as he and his soldiers head back to Forward Operating Base Baylough to continue peacekeeping operations. "(The people) can sleep relaxed and not worry about Taliban coming in and harassing them," he said. "The government's here to help them out, and if they ever need us, we're just a few kilometers away." Check pics at link.
#2
Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of equipment was imported into the African country over a three-year period before the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington in 2001 and has since disappeared, according to the Guardian newspaper's sources.
#3
The Chicoms are heavily into the Sudan for the Oilllll, but nobody zez boo about it. Of course the Chicoms tell all the "human rights" orgs to FOAD and the orgas get nowhere, so they FO and leave the Chicoms alone. Maybe we should take lessons from that.
Posted by: Al Aska Paul ||
01/06/2006 11:19 Comments ||
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#4
"Yesterday, the Guardian reported that Iran had been seeking the equipment needed to build a nuclear bomb."
A story like this simply is not complete without a "leaked" report addendum attributed to another publication.
Five Italians kidnapped by Yemeni tribesmen were released and their captors arrested, ending the latest hostage crisis in the impoverished country. "We are happy the nightmare is over," Andrea Polato, 24, son of one of the hostages, Camilla Ramigni, told Italy's Ansa news agency.
"Those people are crazy!"
The three women and two men arrived at Sanaa airport in a military helicopter which had carried them from the lawless region of Marib 170 kilometres (100 miles) east of the capital where they were snatched on Sunday. The official SABA news agency said the five were freed "in a military operation" while a tribal dignitary involved in negotiations said both mediation and military action had secured their release. "A massacre would have taken place had it not been for talks and mediations," Sheikh Jouail Touaiman, who met the kidnappers last on Thursday, told AFP Friday. Italy had demanded that the Yemeni government not use force to free them after the hostage-takers warned they would execute their captives if an assault took place. Freed hostage Patrizia Rossi said the troops got close to the hideout where they were kept but she spoke of brief negotiations between captors and the troops.
"Ummm... Nice guns you guys got... How many of you are there, by the way?"
"780."
"We'll... uhhh... surrender if you don't kill us."
"Not right away."
"Ummm... Okay."
"We heard helicopters hovering over the place. Shortly after, a captor walked out and started negotiating with the security forces in a loud and tense voice," she told AFP. "He returned minutes later and asked the other captor to leave us... They both walked out in the direction of the troops who later moved in," she said. Although Rossi mentioned the arrest of only two captors, a security source told AFP that six kidnappers were arrested and have been taken to Sanaa.
"Into the paddy wagon wit' yez!"
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2006 10:43 ||
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#1
Y'know, there's a silence here that's just deafening, nowhere do they say just WHOSE Troops.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/06/2006 19:29 Comments ||
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A listed criminal was killed in "crossfire" during an encounter between his accomplices and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) on Wednesday at Phultala upazila in Khulna. The dead was identified as Khandaker Selim Ahmed Tutul, 36, of Kharhki Karbala under Jessore Kotwali Police Station.
He was the terror of his upazila...
According to a Rab press release, Tutul was arrested on Tuesday at Jessore.
Step 1:
Following his confession,
Step 2:
Rab members took him to Damodar Morolpara under Phultala upazila at midnight to recover illegal arms.
Step 3:
When they reached the spot, Tutul's accomplices opened fire on Rab team.
Step 4:
Rab retaliated triggering a 15 minute long gunfight.
Step 5:
Tutul died when he got caught in the shootout,
Step 6:
while his accomplices fled, the press release said. Around 34 rounds of bullets were traded during the gunfight.
Step 7:
Two pipe guns, one pistol, four pistol bullets, five rifle bullets and two shotgun bullets were recovered from the spot.
Step 8:
One of the Rab members sustained bullet injuries, the press release added. According to the press release, Tutul was accused in four and two cases filed with the Dhanmondi and Hazaribagh police stations in Dhaka, in addition in two cases filed with the Jessore Kotwali Police Station. He was also a close cohort of the country's top criminal Imon, in hiding since Operation Clean Heart.
Pretty good, but I only give it an 8.5. Where are the shutter guns? Was he pronounced dead by Dr. Quincy or not?
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Only 8.5 for the first RAB Purple Heart? Come on!
Another den of the banned Islamist outfit, Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh, was unearthed at a house in Uttara, a suburb of Dhaka, on Thursday. The Rapid Action Battalion busted the den at Kotbari of Moinartek late in the evening and seized a huge quantity of explosive materials, five firearms with ammunition and dice for making bullets from a room. The battalion said they detained a man, Habib, from Kotbari in the evening. Habib reportedly eagerly admitted that he is an Ehsar member of the Mujahideen.
"Just put those down, ok?"
Based on his statement, the battalion raided the den and seized the explosives, weighing over 10 kilograms. The raid continued till 11:00pm. It was the fourth Mujahideen hideout found in the capital since the countrywide bomb blasts of August 17 that killed three people and injured over 150. Earlier, the law enforcers unearthed a den on the ground floor flat of a six-storey building at Basabo on September 8, 2005. Another Mujahideen den was found at a Dakkhin Goran house the same night. Later, the law enforcers busted another den at Manda suburbs on December 14, 2005. The law enforcers have seized a large quantity of explosives in all three hideouts of the Islamist outfit.
A mother described yesterday hearing her son shot dead after he refused to convert to Islam.
Ruth Marriott told an inquest into her son's death that she heard gunshots on the day Adrian was shot five times in the head a few weeks before his 21st birthday. Mr Marriott, an accountancy student and gang member, was killed in a park near his home in Brixton, south London, in June 2004.
Three members of a rival gang, known as the Muslim Boys, were cleared in September last year of conspiracy to murder Mr Marriott after the prosecution offered no evidence at the Old Bailey.
His mother told the inquest at Southwark Coroners' Court yesterday: "We heard the shooting. We heard gun fire.
"The thought did strike me that Adrian could be involved, but it was a fleeting thought. Then we heard from police the following evening what had happened.
"Adrian was told on the Sunday prior to his death that he would be killed if he did not become a Muslim by the Wednesday, which was the day he died."
Asked by the coroner, John Sampson, whether her son had taken the threat seriously, Mrs Marriott said: "I do not think he did."
She said she had last seen him on the afternoon he was killed.
"He was happy. He was pestering me to order something for him out of my catalogue," she said. "Adrian was very much a family man."
The coroner recorded a verdict of unlawful killing.
Det Sgt John Stafford, who led the murder investigation, told the inquest that he was still searching for evidence to convict Mr Marriott's killers. He said: "It does indeed remain a live matter. We are still keen to talk to witnesses." Another example of senseless gang accountancy.
#1
Special investigation: Are 'Muslim Boys' using profits of crime to fund terrorist attacks?
The Muslim Boys have a fearsome reputation for killing in the name of their own brand of Islam. Last week one of them went to jail for 22 years. But are they criminals or terrorists? Shiv Malik met the gang members themselves to find out
Published: 14 August 2005
On the desolate streets of south London, reputation is all. And among the gangs that roam them, no name has a more fearful resonance than the Muslim Boys.
They are, according to Lee Jasper, the Mayor of London's senior adviser on policing, "the biggest criminal phenomenon" he has ever witnessed. Sworn to bring a criminal jihad to Britain, they don't just do law-breaking, they do it, apparently, with a militant Islamic vengeance. If their advance publicity is to be believed, they make the Yardies look like the Women's Institute.
Posted by: john ||
01/06/2006 19:29 Comments ||
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#2
It is our way. INFIDEL!
Posted by: Abu Art Anderson ||
01/06/2006 20:02 Comments ||
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A British court ruled Thursday that a suspected al-Qaida member can be extradited to the United States to stand trial for allegedly plotting to set up a terrorist training camp in Oregon. The ruling came after the U.S. government reassured the court that the British defendant, Haroon Rashid Aswat, 31, would be tried at a U.S. federal court, not a military tribunal, and that he would not be designated an "enemy combatant." The American government has used that label to detain suspected terrorists at military detention centers such as Guantanamo Bay. "A trial could be properly and fairly conducted without a breach of the defendant's ... rights," Judge Timothy Workman said in his ruling at Bow Street magistrates court in London.
British Home Secretary Charles Clarke now has up to two months to approve the extradition. The defense had argued that Aswat should not be extradited to the United States because he would face an "overwhelming risk" of being held in solitary confinement without trial â cut off from his friends, family and attorneys. Aswat's lawyer, Paul Bowen, immediately appealed. Aswat was arrested in Lusaka, Zambia, on July 20 in connection with the July 7 bombings in London, in which four suicide bombers killed 52 transit passengers.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
He could eat an apple thru a tennis racquet. The hole in the neck is special, too.
January 5 2006
... Aswat
has connections and a past that are almost too neat a fit. Now 31, he was brought up in Dewsbury, near Leeds, where Mohammad Sidique Khan, one of the London bombers, lived. He left the area 10 years ago and is believed to have travelled to training camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He is said to have told investigators in Zambia that he was once a bodyguard for Osama Bin Laden.
When Aswat returned to Britain he attended the Finsbury Park mosque in north London, which was a hotbed of radicalism in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Reda Hassaine, an Algerian journalist who worked as an informant for the British and French security services, witnessed Aswat recruiting young men at the mosque to the cause of Al-Qaeda.
âInside the mosque he would sit with the new recruits telling them about life after death and the obligation of every Muslim to do the jihad against the unbelievers,â said Hassaine last week. âAll the talk was about killing in order to go to paradise and get the 72 virgins.â
Aswat also showed potential recruits videotapes of the mujaheddin in action in Bosnia and Chechnya.
âHe used to tell them look at your brothers, the mujaheddin. All of them are now in paradise living next to the prophet,â said Hassaine.
âHe was always wearing Afghan or combat clothes. In the evening he offered some tea to the people who would sit with him to listen to the heroic action of the mujaheddin before joining the cleric for the finishing touch of brainwashing.
RD - great graphic... his legal defence team and a fair portion of the UK MSM are painting this guy as some kind of Muslim missionary bent on creating a peaceful, utopian religious community in the States. Needless to say that pic hasn't been used anywhere in the British press that I've seen. What a pair - they could be lovers.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
01/06/2006 5:24 Comments ||
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#6
Rory's right. Saw the pic, first word that came to mind..."inbreeding".
Russian security forces have been battling a group of armed militants allegedly linked with the Chechen separatist leadership in the southern republic of Daghestan for the past three days. Security officials claim the operation is nearly over. However, reports from the site of the fighting seem to contradict those claims.
As the sun was setting on Daghestanâs Untsuluk district, Russian media reported the operation was nearing completion.
The ITAR-TASS and RIA-Novosti news agencies quoted security officials as saying federal troops had seized the entrenched positions the armed militants had been defending for the past 60 hours. However, except for a few religious books and scores of tin cans used to make exploding devices, the place was reportedly empty.
Russian officials say the surrounding areas will be thoroughly searched early tomorrow and that they will make no additional comments until the security sweep is over.
The fighting has been taking place in a forest close to the village of Gimry, some 25 kilometers southwest of the town of Buynaksk.
Daghestan's Interior Ministry claims five militants were killed during the fighting.
In comments made to RFE/RLâs North Caucasus Service, Gimry administration head Abdulla Magomedov cast some doubts on the Russian account of events.
"We do not have sufficient information, except from what weâre getting from television. They say the bodies of the fighters have not been found. They also say they may continue and complete the operation tomorrow," Magomedov said. "For the time being, theyâve stopped using helicopters and heavy artillery. They need to comb the place, to search carefully. Today they couldnât capture anyone."
The operation officially started in the early hours of 3 January. Federal troops then reported surrounding a group of eight armed militants living in a makeshift shelter halfway between Gimry -- the birthplace of 19th century anti-Russian resistance leader Imam Shamil -- and the village of Shamilkala.
The difficult terrain may explain why security forces have been experiencing such difficulties in dislodging the fighters. However, pro-independence Chechen media have suggested another explanation, putting the number of militants at 30.
Russian officials say the fighters are the remnants of a larger group known as Cennet and Shari'a (literally, the Garden of Eden and the Islamic Law) that was previously led by local field commander Rasul Makasharipov.
Makasharipov, whom authorities blame for a series of attacks against federal troops and the killing of Daghestani government officials earlier this year, reportedly died in a July firefight with federal forces in the regional capital Makhachkala.
Security officials say they believe Omar Sheikhullayev, the man who took over from Makasharipov and an alleged participant in last year's school hijacking in Beslan, could be among the fighters spotted near Gimry.
Russian and Daghestani authorities say they believe the militants entered Daghestan from neighboring Chechnya. However, Gimry administration head Magomedov says the identify of the fighters is unclear. "The rumor has it that these men came from outside, that they have been fighting in Chechnya. Whether they are local people, or outsiders is not clear," Magomedov said.
The security operation has been involving artillery, armored vehicles, Russian army commandos, Daghestani Interior Ministry troops, and special police forces. RIA-Novosti has put the number of security forces at 300.
Daghestani Interior Minister Adilgerei Magomedtagirov today said Marines and special troops of the Russian Army's Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) had been sent in overnight from Makhachkala.
In comments made to Russian journalists near the site of the fighting, Daghestani Interior Ministry spokesman Abdulmanap Musayev denied pro-independence Chechen media reports that up to 50 troops had been killed.
"Six people have been wounded and one army soldier has been killed. We suffered no other losses so far. We will provide additional information about our losses when the operation is over," Musayev said.
Musayev earlier said two special police officers had been missing and were feared dead. Reports that their bodies have been retrieved could not be immediately verified.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/06/2006 00:41 ||
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One Russian serviceman has been killed and another six have been wounded in a sweep operation targeting a militant group that has been standing up to Russian troops for three days in Dagestan, a Russian internal republic bordering breakaway Chechnya, Interfax reported.
More federal troops have arrived in the area to take part in the operationâs final stage. âAir and artillery strikes have been launched on the gorge. In addition, I have ordered special operations units to comb the area,â the republicâs interior minister, Adilgerei Magomedtagirov, told journalists.
Up to five militants out of a total of eight are believed to have been killed during the sweep. Local police said that the rebels arrived in Dagestan to carry out a series of terrorist acts.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/06/2006 00:39 ||
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The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) warned Turkey that the terrorist network, al-Qaeda plans to attack the country with high rate radiation-nuclear materials.
CIA Director Porter Goss held top-level meetings with the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), and visited the General Security Directorate during his three day-visit to the Turkish capital Ankara recently.
Goss mentioned terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda and the Kurdish Workersâ Party (PKK) could easily be destroyed with the help of shared intelligence, and steps to further share information were undertaken upon his return to the United States.
CIA sent the MIT a secret al-Qaeda cryptic message last week, in which reportedly the terror organization will send nuclear materials including high rate-radiation to selected targets by using international cargo companies such as UPS and FedEx.
Turkeyâs Intelligence Undersecretary warned the Security Directorate about the CIAâs coded message.
MIT and the General Security Directorate investigated the cargo packages sent to Turkey through international transport companies.
Top-level security precautions were taken in the cargo departments of international airports such as Istanbul Ataturk, Sabiha Gokcen, Ankara Esenboga, Izmir Adnan Menderes and Antalya.
Al-Qaeda is claimed to have developed such action plans in order to not lose members.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/06/2006 00:14 ||
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#1
I'm all for bringing Turkey into the inner circle, but lately it sounds like we have been buttering them up an awefull lot. Al qaeda would like to do a lot of things with radioactive materials, but they can't be everywhere at once. Don't get me wrong, I'm as Pax Americana as they get, but this just seems fishy. I read some articles this week about how we want into Turkey to stage operations, now all of a sudden Al-Q wants to nuke em? This is Worldnetdaily quality moon-howling here.
#2
This is a Quid for a Pro: Murat's always howled about US support for PKK because this sort of thing would have jeopardized our links to the Iraqui Kurds. Now that the Kurds feel more secure and need to start establishing a reputation as a responsible proto-nation in the event that Iraq fissions, they'll have to cut ties with disreputable insurgencies like the PKK, who IIRC, don't follow geneva convention insurgency rules.
The quid is US cooperation to snuff PKK. the Pro is turkish support for US action in Syria. the Ro is hanging out there.
IIRC, us mail is radiation monitored, but not UPS or FedEx.
The leader of Ohio's biggest mosque, who was convicted of hiding ties to terrorist groups, has reached a deal with the U.S. government that will allow him to settle in one of four countries or the Palestinian territories, his attorney and the government said Thursday. Lawyers for Imam Fawaz Damra, who was to face deportation hearings in U.S. immigration court, reached an agreement with the government that will see Damra end up in Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Egypt or the Palestinian territories, said Greg Gagne, a spokesman for the Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review. A judge has approved the agreement between Damra's lawyers and the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which will make the final determination on where Damra ends up.
Damra, who is the imam, or spiritual leader, at the Islamic Center of Cleveland, immigrated to the United States in the mid-1980s. Robert Birach, a Detroit lawyer who negotiated for Damra, said his client is still in federal custody and does not want details of his private life made public. "They reached an agreement. He'll be leaving the country. That's all I can say," Birach said.
Damra, 44, was convicted in June 2004 of concealing ties to alleged terrorist groups when he applied for U.S. citizenship in 1994. Damra's conviction for naturalization fraud wasn't enough to warrant deportation because he has legally lived in the United States for five years. Immigration officials have been seeking to remove him on charges that he raised funds for terrorist organizations. In Damra's 2004 trial, prosecutors showed video footage of him and other Islamic leaders raising money for an arm of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which since 1989 has been listed by the State Department as a terrorist group. Jurors were also shown footage in which Damra called Jews "the sons of monkeys and pigs" during a 1991 speech and said "terrorism and terrorism alone is the path to liberation" in a 1989 speech.
#1
I don't like deportation when an asshat is caught and they have the goods on him. If we won't shoot the sumbitch, then we need a facility, of total isolation, where these cretins can be stored until they rot. They must be out of circulation, not put back into it, no matter what country gets the dubious honor. I'm glad he won't be stirring up Cleveland, anymore, but this deal sucks, IMHO. He does not deserve to be walking around - anywhere.
Sept.16, 2001
Cleveland Catholic Bishop Anthony M. Pilla, foreground, embraces Imam Fawaz Damra of Islamic Center of Greater Cleveland after both called for racial, ethnic tolerance at interfaith prayer service Sept. 13 at St. John Cathedral, Cleveland.
**************************************
..But the turnaround in perceptions about Damra began days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, when a local television station ran a 1991 videotape of Damra at a public event soliciting money for the Islamic Jihad. "Directing all rifles at the first and last enemy of the Islamic nation and that is the sons of monkeys and pigs, the Jews," Damra said on the tape.
#3
We shouldn't be sending him off. He should be going to a camp deep in the Mojave desert to live out the rest of his days in total isolation. Guys like this have a diease that can't be cured. Quartine is the only thing that will keep it from spreading.
#4
Can't we give him to the Palestinians? Pretty please? They deserve one another, and neither will enjoy the experience (moving from Cleveland to the PA? The packing alone will be torment enough to make me happy!)
#5
"does not want details of his private life made public" -- The WOIO newsman commented on this by saying, "We just don't want the door to hit him on his way out."
#6
"Damra's conviction for naturalization fraud wasn't enough to warrant deportation because he has legally lived in the United States for five years."
#7
That was my though too, Depot. I've never heard of that "loophole" before.
Posted by: BA ||
01/06/2006 13:09 Comments ||
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#8
Thank you, DepotGuy. Your reaction was identical to mine, right down to the oversized "WTF" response.
Crairong Omomotch6492 caught the other gem buried in this mountain of fecal matter.
Robert Birach, a Detroit lawyer who negotiated for Damra, said his client is still in federal custody and does not want details of his private life made public. "They reached an agreement. He'll be leaving the country. That's all I can say," Birach said.
If we have records of this swine cruising for boy pussy or attending local houses of prostitution, we need to shout this to the rooftops. Letting this slimebag ooze his way out of the country on the quiet only serves the ends of terrorism.
Damra, 44, was convicted in June 2004 of concealing ties to alleged terrorist groups when he applied for U.S. citizenship in 1994. Damra's conviction for naturalization fraud wasn't enough to warrant deportation because he has legally lived in the United States for five years.
Again, a big WTF?
If this turd concealed his terrorist connections, what does it matter that he spent FIVE LONG YEARS plotting against our country? How does that in the least ameliorate the nature of his serious crimes? Someone in INS needs a whole lot of parking lot therapy. Let's get this clear; This rectal cavity HAS NOT "legally lived in the United States for five years".
HE HAS SPENT THE LAST FIVE YEARS IN CONSTANT VIOLATION OF THE TERMS OF AGREEMENT FOR IMMIGRATING TO THE UNITED STATES!
"terrorism and terrorism alone is the path to liberation"
Doesn't a quote like this set off all of the d@mned warning klaxons in the NSA, CIA and FBI? Why in he|| is this maggot doing anything but rotting in solitary confinement in some high security facility.
We are being sold down the river by this sort of soft pedalling by our security agencies. I am pissed off enough to advocate summary execution for this sh!t. Only some sense of due process keeps me from wanting this b@stard drilled with a 30.6 pronto!
#11
I am pissed off enough to advocate summary execution for this sh!t. Only some sense of due process keeps me from wanting this b@stard drilled with a 30.6 pronto!
No 30-06 will be used. It'll be a supressed subsonic .22 rimfire to the back of the head.
MIAMI (AP) - Jose Padilla, the alleged al-Qaida operative held as an "enemy combatant" for more than three years, made his first appearance in court Thursday after he was taken from a Navy brig and flown to Miami.
Padilla appeared before a judge on criminal charges after he was taken from a brig in South Carolina and flown by military aircraft to Miami, said U.S. Marshals Service spokesman Dave Turner. He is to enter a plea Friday. At the brief hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Garber explained Padilla's rights as a criminal defendant and asked whether he understood them.
"Yes, I do," said Padilla, dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit and shackled at the wrists and ankles. He wore glasses and had a short haircut.
Garber set a Friday afternoon hearing for Padilla to enter his plea and to determine whether he will remain in custody or be released on bail. Prosecutors said they would seek for him to be held before his trial.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/06/2006 00:00 ||
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A US federal judge has rejected the US Defence Department's argument for suppressing the names of Guantanamo Bay detainees, but stopped short of ordering that the names be released. Judge Jed S Rakoff's order was a victory for the Associated Press (AP), which sued the Pentagon in April 2005, seeking the names of detainees and transcripts of US military hearings to determine whether they were properly classified as enemy combatants.
The Pentagon tried to block the APs attempt, arguing that publishing detainees names could imperil them or their families, should they be released and return to their home countries. In a six-page order, Judge Rakoff wrote, "The Department of Defence has failed on this motion to establish ... any cognisable privacy interest on the part of the detainees... Accordingly, the defendant's summary judgment motion is denied".
Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Mark Ballesteros said, "We're reviewing the order with the Department of Justice. He declined further comment. A lawyer for AP has welcomed the ruling. "Many of these detainees are begging for the world to know where they are," AP assistant general counsel Dave Tomlin said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
"Many of these detainees are begging for the world to know where they are,"
I'd rather they just quietly dissapeared.
Let their "Friends" wonder.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/06/2006 19:40 Comments ||
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graphic pictures of dead kids at link
On 17th December 2005 Pakistani Army launched an army operation against innocent Marri Baloch people throughout Kohlu District, Parts of Dera Bugti, Noshki, Makran Districts and other parts of Balochistan.
More then thirty thousand army personnel twelve Gunship helicopters, four fighter jets, several spy planes of different sizes, heavy artillery and missiles are being used only in Talli, Bambore, Kahan, Jabbar, Nasau, Quat, Mundai and other parts of Marri Area.
Due to ten days of intensive bombing and shelling by army Jets, Gunship Helicopters and heavy artillery at least 86 confirm deaths and more then 120 serious wounded have been reported. Mostly victims are women and young children.
It is time for the Baloch people to unite and stand up against such atrocities by Punjabi Pakistan. Let me remind the international community that it is not the first time that such severe measures have been taken against the Baloch Nation.
Until and unless the Baloch donât unite and get the help of the international community to put a leash on Pakistani (Punjabi Army) this slaughter of Baloch people will continue.
Pictures of Marri women and children killed in bombing and shelling by Pakistani Army. This shameless Pakistani Army still denies that there is no Army Operation going on in Balochistan.
Take a look at the pictures below they speak for themselves, mutilated bodies of innocent young children who were deprived of all the facilities of modern world and now deprived of their own life, all this destitution to the Baloch is by the tyrant and shameless Punjabi Pakistani Army. By Balochvoice.com 28.12.05
Posted by: john ||
01/06/2006 17:06 ||
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#1
It's propaganda of course but it is interesting how Balochi people are seeing this.
According to the WSJ, the educated Balochis are joining forces with the tribals. This insurgency may last...and bleed Pakistan for years.
From todays WSJ....
QUETTA, Pakistan â Suspected separatists have blown up a natural-gas pipeline in southwestern Pakistan, disrupting supply to a U.S.-Anglo power plant and providing the latest sign that a regional insurgency against President Pervez Musharraf's government is gathering intensity.
Samina Ahmed, director of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, noted that conflicts in the region have continued to simmer long after cease-fires have been announced. "No army action has ever succeeded in Balochistan," she said.
...this time, the uprising appears to have united battle-hardened Balochistan tribesmen with educated Baloch people.
"People feel that they won't get their rights through democratic and legal means," said Abdul Haye, a former member of parliament and a leader of Balochistan National Party.
The fighting has stirred worries outside of Pakistan. The U.S. has conveyed its concern to the Pakistani government, according to a U.S. diplomat in Islamabad. Analysts fear the Pakistani army operation could deepen violence and may affect the campaign against Islamic militants. "The military has overstretched itself," said one Western diplomat in Islamabad.
Posted by: john ||
01/06/2006 19:23 Comments ||
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As heavy fighting continued between nationalist rebels and security forces in Balochistan, Pakistan has accused India of supporting violence in the troubled southwestern province. "India is supporting the miscreants" in Balochistan, Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao, told a press conference here yesterday.
Hmmm. Should we read this as being "the Pak army is taking heavy losses from the trials and it can't possibly be our fault so therefore it must be India?" Or is India really supporting the Baluchs? I don't find that terribly plausible but this *is* Baluchistan we're talking about...
"The reaction of the neighbouring country over the action of Pakistan's law-enforcement agencies against the miscreants is clear evidence that they are being backed by India," he was quoted as saying by the local daily 'Dawn' today. Surprisingly several other papers reported that he accused a "hostile neighbour" while Dawn quoted him as naming India.
India had last month expressed concern over the Pakistani military using helicopter gunships and jet fighters to bombard the rebel positions. Pakistan resented saying that it was interference in its internal affairs. Sherpao made the allegations yesterday after holding talks with pro-government tribal chiefs of the province here.
Separately, Pakistan's former Army Chief Aslam Beg, and ex-Chief of ISI Gen (Retd) Hamid Gul, charged both India and the United States with fomenting trouble in Balochistan. In interviews published in 'The Post', both had accused Indian Consulates located in Afghanistan and Iran. "The terrorists who are fighting in Balochistan are friends of India and foes of Pakistan. That is the only reason the Indian government expressed concern against military operations in the province," Gul was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, heavy fighting was reported in Balochistan between rebels and security forces. Ten people were killed as a result of this on Wednesday night.
Posted by: john ||
01/06/2006 17:04 ||
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I doubt if this is happening. Turn about is fair play after all the WackiPakies are supporting full blown terrorism against India.
JHANG: Law enforcement agencies have arrested six activists of the banned group Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), including its central Vice President and former provincial minister Sheikh Hakeem Ali, in Jhang. According to the Jhang district police officer, the men have been arrested on the orders of the Punjab government.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2006 00:00 ||
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Masked gunmen have killed eight tribesmen, including seven of a family, in two separate incidents in South Waziristan, administration officials and eyewitnesses said on Thursday. Seven men of the Karikhel sub-tribe were shot dead a few metres from a paramilitary force base in Wana, eyewitnesses said. Seventy-year-old Abdullah Jan along with three sons and three grandsons were killed when attackers from another vehicle shot at their car at 7:30am in Wana Bazaar.
Jan's son Musa, who was among the dead, allegedly used to be a bandit. Tribal sources said that Musa was on the Taliban "hit list" and his killing was not a surprise. Local Taliban killed scores of bandits in North Waziristan last month. In Ladah's Karama area, assailants killed a tribesman as he left home Wednesday evening, residents said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2006 00:00 ||
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"The first time, ever I saw your fez..."
Posted by: Roberta Flack ||
01/06/2006 15:25 Comments ||
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#2
I think that's Dan Blocker in the classic, "Pistol Packin Shriners"...
KARACHI - He was once close to Osama bin Laden, has intimate knowledge of al-Qaeda's logistics and financing and its nexus with the military in Pakistan, yet US intelligence has not been able to get its hands on him. Ghulam Mustafa, 38, was picked up about 10 days ago in Lahore, and no charges have been brought against him: he is expected to disappear into a "black hole" and quietly be forgotten. This is because Mustafa, erstwhile head of al-Qaeda's Pakistani operations, has some tales to tell, but the authorities in Pakistan would rather they were not heard, especially by the Americans, even though Islamabad is a signed-up member in the "war on terror".
Mustafa's rise and fall provide a case study of the complexities within Pakistan and of the powerful forces that make the country's intelligence and military such unpredictable allies of the United States.
The making of a jihadi
Mustafa comes from the Punjab, where he was once the leader of the Jamaat-i-Islami (Punjab), Pakistan's most prominent Islamic party. In the 1980s, believing that the party's ideology was being diluted by election politics, he went to Afghanistan to join the mujahideen in the fight against the occupying Soviet forces. His educated background and clarity of thought on ideological matters soon drew him into the camp of the Arab fighters in the country, and it was not long before he entered bin Laden's inner circle.
Continued on Page 49
The residents of Ramadi had had enough. As they frantically searched the city's hospital for relatives killed and wounded in bomb blasts at a police recruiting station Thursday, they did something they had never publicly done: They blamed al-Qaida in Iraq, the insurgent movement led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
"Neither the Americans nor the Shiites have any benefit in doing this. It is Zarqawi," said Khalid Saadi, 42, who came to the hospital looking for his brother, Muhammed. Saadi said he hoped that sympathies in the city, considered a hotbed of support for the Sunni Arab insurgency, would turn against al-Zarqawi's faction.
The surviving police recruits showed where their sympathies lay - after the bombing, they got back in line to continue the screening process, the U.S. military said.
Saadi later learned that his brother was one of at least 130 people killed in attacks Thursday in Iraq, most occurring within an hour's time. The violence, which included a suicide bombing in Karbala, contributed to one of the bloodiest days since the U.S.-led invasion of the country in 2003.
The attacks came a day after insurgents killed 42 people at a funeral in the city of Muqdadiyah. Before Wednesday, the country had enjoyed a measure of calm and even optimism as rival politicians talked of arranging a broad-based coalition government after the Dec. 15 elections.
But the attacks Thursday suggested that the insurgents would remain an important force in the country's future.
At least 56 Sunni Arabs were killed and 60 wounded at the recruiting center in Ramadi, the capital of the Sunni-dominated province of Anbar, when a bomber standing among some 1,000 police recruits struck near the Ramadi Glass and Ceramics Works, said Mohammed al-Ani, a doctor at the city's hospital.
A police official in Karbala said 63 people were killed there.
Also, five American soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in the capital, the U.S. military said. In other violence, a car bomb killed three Iraqi soldiers in Baghdad, and gunmen killed three Iraqis in separate incidents, police said.
In the Ramadi attack, more than 1,000 men had gathered at the center to apply for new jobs with the Iraqi police, Marine Capt. Jeffrey Pool said in the statement. A suicide bomber detonated an explosive vest in the middle of the crowd, witnesses and Iraqi police said.
Wounded and panicked applicants surged forward in hopes of finding a way from the Jersey-walled entrance into the recruiting center, where another bomber was waiting to detonate an explosive belt, said one witness, Amar Oda, who was among those looking for a job.
"I just saw flesh and body parts festooning the cement barriers," Oda, 23, said from his hospital bed, where he was receiving medical treatment for wounds in his head and back.
Some of those killed were tribal leaders who had come to supervise the recruitment of residents into the country's police force, Majeed Tikriti, a doctor in Ramadi's hospital, said. Local leaders have repeatedly demanded that U.S. and Iraqi authorities allow men from Ramadi to serve in Iraq's armed forces. They had argued that only locally recruited soldiers could bring a measure of control to the city of 400,000 on the Euphrates River, which is considered one of the key centers of the Sunni-led insurgency.
Though U.S. and Iraqi authorities have been reluctant to allow this, on the grounds that locally recruited soldiers are vulnerable to coercion by insurgents, they have relented in recent weeks. Pool said in the statement that since recruiting began Monday, recruiters have screened 600 applicants who met basic requirements to join the police.
The Ramadi residents responded to the attack with fury. Nearly everyone at the scene said they believed it had been ordered by al-Zarqawi's al-Qaida in Iraq, considered the most ruthless and best-organized faction in the insurgent movement.
"People in this city helped Zarqawi a lot, and I hope this would make them change their minds," said Saad Abid Ali, a captain in the Iraqi army hit in the legs by shrapnel.
Another group of people beat a doctor in the hospital after he told an Iraqi journalist that U.S. forces were to blame for the attacks.
The scene was equally grim in Karbala, where another bomber wearing a vest packed with ball bearings detonated his explosives on a busy pedestrian path about 100 feet from the Imam Hussein shrine. Many of the victims were Shiite pilgrims who had gathered outside the Zainabiya gate to the shrine, an area flanked by first-floor markets and second- and third-story hotels.
The attack killed 63 and wounded 120, Karbala police spokesman Rahman Meshawi said. Eight of the dead were Shiite pilgrims from Iran.
Mohammed Saheb, who was wounded in the head, said he travels to the shrine every Thursday in advance of Friday prayers - as many pilgrims do.
"I never thought that such a crime could happen near this holy site," Saheb said. "The terrorists spare no place from their ugly deeds. This is a criminal act against faithful pilgrims. The terrorists are targeting the Shiites."
The bombing brought back memories of the deadliest civilian attack in Iraq since the war began. On March 2, 2004, coordinated blasts from suicide bombers, mortars and planted explosives detonated near shrines in Karbala and Baghdad, killing at least 181 people. Since then, however, Karbala had been relatively free of violence.
There apparently had been warnings of another attack.
A would-be suicide car bomber arrested on Tuesday before he could explode his vehicle told Karbala police a number of suicide bombers were in the city, said a police commander who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the media. He refused to say if any others had been arrested.
Karbala's governor, Aqeel al-Khazraji, blamed "takfiris and Saddamists" for the attack. The takfiri ideology is followed by extremist Sunnis bent on killing anyone they consider an infidel, even fellow Muslims.
Footage on Iraqi television showed police in the city center shouting and waving pistols and assault rifles in an effort to control a crowd of onlookers. The ground appeared to be wet, and lumps of clothing and flesh lay scattered across the bloodstained street. Police and emergency workers loaded bodies onto wooden carts and pushed them away.
The al-Iraqiya television network showed a pickup truck pulling away from the scene, black body bags piled in its bed.
At the city's hospital, doctors worked to save the lives of the wounded and make an accounting of the dead. More than 150 people, many crying, jostled for a glance at a list of names of people killed in the attack.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/06/2006 12:38 ||
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#1
Zarq is a demon and so are the psychopathic homicidal terrorists. What the muslim better realize is that the islamo-psychopaths will kill everyone of them, too.
#4
A little less railing and a lot more ratting out of the Al-Qaeda hard boyz would go a long way to help root out the murderous beasts.
Posted by: The Accurate Fliegerabwehrkanonen ||
01/06/2006 14:11 Comments ||
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#5
This is exactley why old Zark is a unfortuante good thing in our WOT. He has once again achieved what we have trouble doing winning US huge numbers of hearts and minds while at the same time making AQ massive numbers of new blood enemies who normally would be allies or at least smypathetic.
#6
note that even Sunnis are calling zarq evil and they are doing it on al J (not to mention the WaPo and AP who also felt they could carry this story)
I find that the elite left does not find the actual bombings, murders, destruction, etc. evil or even annoying - but does find it annoying when W calls evil doers, evil doers.
#7
You are right mhw,
It makes their skin crawl every time they hear it. when you are trying to outlaw christianity, you cant have the prez on tv making biblical references.
#8
..note that even Sunnis are calling zarq evil..
While this is an encouraging development, I tend to be a bit cynical about it, as it's only come about because it's THEIR ox being gored. Otherwise, those whiners would be uttering the Death to America&trade chant we've all come to know so well.
Were Zarqawi and his minions a little brighter, being a little more discriminate in their attacks might have made this scenario a little more likely.
#9
The surviving police recruits showed where their sympathies lay - after the bombing, they got back in line to continue the screening process, the U.S. military said.
It's hard not to admire that level of determination.
Some of those killed were tribal leaders who had come to supervise the recruitment of residents into the country's police force, Majeed Tikriti, a doctor in Ramadi's hospital, said.
This is a little disturbing. It almost seems as if the elders are trying to get certain handpicked moles candidates pushed onto the hiring roster.
Another group of people beat a doctor in the hospital after he told an Iraqi journalist that U.S. forces were to blame for the attacks.
What's not to like?
Zarqawi is definitely digging his own grave. Unfortunately, far too many Muslims regard terrorism as an acceptable problem solving tool. This results in Zarq's brutality being perceived as merely misdirected instead of wholly objectionable, as it should be.
Again, all of this is part of an overarching need for all Iraqis to finally realize how important it is to ultimately reject terrorism across the board. If they could only do so, the moral high ground thereby obtained would enable them to begin questioning Iran's role in the slaughter, not to mention engaging the Sunni terrorists militarily.
More than anything, the Islam's inability to reject and renounce terrorism is what will get them all killed. Either by each other or by a world grown impatient with their atrocities and obsessive brutality.
#10
Except for the Kurds, this whole give 'em a chance
(item 4) thing is wearing thin... All of the Arabs are insane, per any rational analysis. Sans their blame culture, they might eventually make it. But, from the incurable Ba'athist mentality to the Sistani / SCIRI our pathogenic pathetic sect is less pathetic than you pathogenic pathetic sect ancient pissing match, the point seems made that they just don't have the customs, background, or underpinnings to have a civil society worth our efforts. Topple, Rinse, Repeat, call it item 9, seems to be our most rational response to murderous pathogenic ideologies.
#11
.com: All of the Arabs are insane, per any rational analysis. Sans their blame culture, they might eventually make it.
Actually, most non-Western countries have a blame culture. Talk to the Indians or the Chinese, and they will finger their period of "colonial humiliation" as the reason for their backwardness. The difference with some Arab Muslims is that they feel justified in killing foreigners in retaliation.
#12
ZF - what do they use to explain their backwardness before the "colonial humiliation"?
As for the Sunnis in Ramadi - Cause, meet Effect.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/06/2006 17:34 Comments ||
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#13
Excellent observation, ZF - I'll buy some of that. That it is the core "value" of Arab "society" does set it apart, however. Just my opinion. I would wager it is only dragged out for display on special occasions with the rest.
Everyone / every society obviously has convenient boogeymen they employ when attention needs to be diverted from the day-to-day failings of said person / society. Sacred cows. On a personal level we should have BBQ as often as we identify them, heh. On the social level, you have to amass not only a sufficient number of fellows who agree, but those sacred cows which are part of custom, however, are especially hard to lasso.
As Twain said:
"Customs do not concern themselves with right or wrong or reason."
"Laws are sand, customs are rock. Laws can be evaded and punishment escaped, but an openly transgressed custom brings sure punishment."
and
"A crime persevered in a thousand centuries ceases to be a crime, and becomes a virtue. This is the law of custom, and custom supercedes all other forms of law."
---
We have hit the wall with the Arabs. They must overturn custom to become civil.
#14
Actually, most non-Western countries have a blame culture. Talk to the Indians or the Chinese, and they will finger their period of "colonial humiliation" as the reason for their backwardness. The difference with some Arab Muslims is that they feel justified in killing foreigners in retaliation.
Posted by: Zhang Fei 2006-01-06 17:30
If my history serves me correctly, I believe Hitler rode to power on the 'cult of victimization' train as well. The only colonial humiliation I can imagine being suffered would be by those who still refuse to accept proper hygiene and the use of toilet paper. But I guess it's a personal.... "choice."
#18
BS: ZF - what do they use to explain their backwardness before the "colonial humiliation"?
Leaving out the Stone Age natives of the Americas and Oceania, much of the developing world was as advanced or more advanced than the West, in the pre-Industrial Age era. Once the Industrial Age came about, driven as it was by the demise of national monopolies and the advent of large-scale private enterprises, the West left all and sundry behind. The backwardness of many non-Western countries is the result of socialist policies that put a modern face on pre-Industrial Age economic policies that throttle private industry.
However, the folks who play the blame game probably feel that free trade in itself is the reason that they are so poor and the West so rich. It's a combination of the idea that they are being underpaid for their goods and overpaying for Western goods, together with the notion of unfair competition from Western countries.
I think the reality is that a significant chunk of what were once advanced societies never figured out how to find new niches to recreate the prosperity that was once theirs. For millenia, the Middle East got rich off charging tolls to people who wanted to transport goods (spices, silk, tea, porcelain, silver, gold, et al) from the Far East to Europe and vice-versa. The advent of ocean-going ships able to bypass land routes to the Far East and back put Middle Eastern toll-takers out of business. For thousands of years, Indian cotton-makers produced the finest cotton products in the world. Then came the cotton gin, which produced cotton for much less, and of a much more consistent quality than the Indian product, which destroyed the Indian cotton industry. Bottom line is that formerly-advanced civilizations like India, China, et al invented a great deal, but could not find a way to keep up with industrial-era rates of innovation - thanks to the miracle of free enterprise - where perhaps more things have been invented in a shorter period of time than in all of man's pre-industrial era existence.
#19
Bottom line is that formerly-advanced civilizations like India, China, et al invented a great deal, but could not find a way to keep up with industrial-era rates of innovation - thanks to the miracle of free enterprise - where perhaps more things have been invented in a shorter period of time than in all of man's pre-industrial era existence.
Great synopsis, ZF. Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs and Steel" bears out your summary quite well. There is nothing like rollicking free market industrial societies to foster the birth of so many "rare geniuses".
America's industrial might, military superiority and persisting innovative skill are a direct result of capitalism being given its best chance ever to succeed. Free thought has incubated the most astonishing technological advances this world has ever seen. I give you:
THE CHIP-SCALE ATOMIC CLOCK
http://www.darpa.mil/mto/csac/
I'll tell you right now, no jihadi is inventing something this revolutionary that is so capable of profoundly changing the technological landscape.
I'll have to post a separate thread for discussion of this on Monday.
Attacks by suicide bombers killed as many as 130 people in Karbala and Ramadi on Thursday, rekindling fears of a return to mass sectarian killings after a relative lull and prompting Iraq's most powerful Shiite political faction to warn of retribution and indirectly blame the United States for the bloodshed.
In a separate attack, a roadside bomb killed at least five American soldiers near Karbala, Iraqi and American officials said. At least two other Americans were reported killed in one of the suicide attacks.
More than 60 Shiite pilgrims died just steps from the Imam Hussein shrine in Karbala, one of Shiite Islam's holiest sites, when a terrorist detonated an explosive vest just after 10 a.m., the Iraqi authorities said. Pools of blood and body parts were strewn about, and survivors shrieked and cried while people ripped benches from buildings to use as stretchers.
The police chief in Karbala said the suicide vest had contained at least 15 pounds of high explosives and was studded with ball bearings that shot through the crowd to maximize the slaughter. Health officials said the dead included Iranian visitors and a 3-month-old baby, and that at least 63 people had been wounded.
Forty minutes later, a bomber in Ramadi waded into a crowd of about 1,000 men and ignited a suicide vest as the men waited to be interviewed for jobs as policemen. The blast killed more than 50 and wounded at least 60, according to Dr. Amar al-Rawi, who works at the main hospital in Ramadi, a Sunni Arab insurgent hotbed west of Falluja.
A firefighter, Maan Abdul-Jabbar, said that he had helped load at least 40 bodies into trucks and that survivors had recalled hearing two blasts. A Los Angeles Times reporter embedded with the military in Ramadi said two Americans - a marine and a soldier - had also died in the attack, and quoted an American commander who put the death toll at about 70.
Amid the recent surge in violence, Lt. Gen. John R. Vines, the senior American operational commander in Iraq, has expressed concern that growing sectarian rifts in Iraq could compromise the government and security forces.
The brutal assaults of the past two days, including a suicide bombing that killed more than 30 Shiite mourners at a funeral in Miqdadiya on Wednesday, have killed almost 200 people. And they have thrust the country back into an atmosphere of violence not seen since the car-bomb massacre of Shiite day laborers in Baghdad in September.
Unlike that attack and the killings in Miqdadiya, Thursday's bombings successfully struck better-guarded areas. Though no group claimed responsibility for the new attacks, the top American intelligence officer here, Maj. Gen. Richard Zahner, said in an e-mail message that suspicion was focusing on foreign fighters organized by the terrorist groups Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia or Ansar al-Sunna.
In recent days, overtures by the largest Sunni Arab party to join political negotiations with Shiite and Kurdish leaders have brought hope for forming a new coalition government that could help deflate the insurgency. The interlude of relative calm surrounding the elections on Dec. 15 has been at least partly attributed to efforts by some Iraqi insurgents, as opposed to Qaeda fighters, to not attack Sunni voters in hopes of Sunni parties' gaining more power in the soon-to-be-formed government.
But hours after Thursday's bombings, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the head of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, accused both Sunni Arab political parties and the United States of responsibility for the last two days of massacres.
Sunni Arab groups that have warned of potential civil war "bear the responsibility for every drop of blood that was shed," said Mr. Hakim, whose party is allied with Iran and is the most influential group in the governing Shiite coalition. He said "pressure" from American forces had impeded the Interior and Defense Ministries from "doing their job chasing terrorists and maintaining the souls of innocent Iraqi people."
"We're laying the responsibility for the blood of innocents shed in the past few days on the multinational forces and the political powers that declared publicly their support for terrorism," he said. "Our people will not be patient for much longer with these dirty sectarian crimes."
As evidence has mounted that Iraqi security forces under the command of Shiite leaders have carried out a program of torture and assassination of Sunni Arabs, American commanders have sought to rein them in.
For Sunni Arabs, a particular concern has been the Interior Ministry, controlled by Bayan Jabr, a former Shiite militia leader. He has denied accusations of the killing and torture of Sunnis, but American soldiers have raided jails under his control and found Sunni inmates showing clear signs of abuse. On Tuesday, insurgents kidnapped Mr. Jabr's sister in what was widely seen as retaliation for abuses by security forces, prompting a huge search effort throughout Baghdad.
Some Sunni Arab political groups, including the Iraqi Islamic Party, were quick to condemn the Karbala and Ramadi bombings on Thursday. President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, vowed that "these groups of dark terror will not succeed through these cowardly acts in dissuading Iraqis in their bid to form a government of national unity."
In recent weeks, American military officials had noted a decline in mass-casualty bombings. Still, "the enemy retains the ability to be extremely dangerous," General Vines said Thursday, adding that "many attacks are relatively ineffective" efforts by "thugs" linked to the former regime of Saddam Hussein.
On the other hand, Qaeda terrorists "tend to be more focused and lethal to include the use of suicide bombers," he said. "We have seen some of that as recently as today."
General Zahner described the attacks in Karbala, Ramadi, and Miqdadiya as "small numbers but large impact against soft targets designed to generate sectarian violence." Referring to information operations, the military's shorthand jargon for propaganda, he added, "This is their effort to regain the I.O. momentum in the wake of an ineffective effort to derail the elections."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/06/2006 00:17 ||
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#1
I swung by Iraq the Model and he is sereously depressed something I really dont think is a good sign especially with this news too.
I think this is a all out push by AQ after all the other day the Sunni delegation had stated that the violence could be ended and I would imagine the Sunni's know who and were the AQ are and with the Gov would make short order of AQ. If AQ fails in detering a coalition Gov they know thier death is garanteed so this is a Do or Die for them.
The tanker debacle I gota admit really pisses me off. Their is no excuse for that that many tankers in convoy is just to jucy to ignore we should have had a rapid reaction force trailing and some overheads waiting to spring the trap. The not mentioned enemy losses tells me they got the better of the situation which means a repeat is garanteed if we had spung a trap we mave have lost some tankers still but the enemy cost would mean no repeat strike.
#2
I think the brothers at Iraq The Model are Sunnis and they realize the hammer is about to come down on the Sunnis from the newly elected government. Whoever preciently referred to 'Mosul as the largest city in Iraqi Kurdistan' understood it will start at the margins of Sunni dominated areas. Look for the Kurds to take over operations in Mosul with the full backing of the central government.
#3
what goes around, comes around. It's too bad, though, as they would all be better off if they worked together as Iraqis. I claimed from the get-go that it would never work and they should just set up three separate states that could work towards their own benefit - but began to pleasantly believe I was mistaken. Besides, I came to understand that it wasn't possible just to draw up borders on a napkin and have them stick. The Sunni's refusal to cooperate and their willingness to support AQ in the beginning will end up being their own undoing. Shia's now have enough power that they want us out so they can greedily gobble up even more power, but they don't seem to have the tools to handle it without lapsing into your typical Islamic cesspool of backstabbing and self-interest. When we go, and we will, the border lines will start to draw themselves. The Shia are stupid if they don't share power with the Sunnis as the Sunnis will fight to get it back, and I suspect they will be more effective than the Shia, in achieving it. Additionally, the Iraqi Shia - now granted greater powers aren't going to want to share their power with the Iranians who will want to treat them as royal subjects to their crown. Tea anyone?
Sunni's better make short order of AQ faster, or the idea of three separate countries will soon be a reality - with the Sunni's getting the very short end of the stick.
My hope is that cooler heads and mutual interests will prevail. Good luck Iraq - you need it.
Just as a rambling aside, you would think at some point the Muslim countries would get a reality glimpse that working with Americans, instead of against them, tends to provide for a greater good in the long term. But they just seem intent on doing things the good old fashion 7th Century hard way.
#7
What's sad is that just a few complete lunatics can have such an effect at this point. The greater problem is the use of violence within Islam. (the religion of peace)
#8
As I mentioned in a thread the other day, it is time for the Iraqi Shiites to renounce the hyper-violence and terrorism so popular with the Iranian Qom based fanatics.
If they are able to draw a distinction between Iraqi and Iranian conduct, they might finally have a chance to point the finger at Sunni terrorism. So long as all parties involved continue to embrace mass murder and mindless slaughter as diplomatic tools, they should only look forward to rotting in hell nothing more than further bloodshed.
For once, Iraq's Shiites have the upper hand. If they use this new found power merely to entrench age old hatreds and rivalries they will reap as they sow. If they are capable of rising above their historic enmities and rejecting terrorism, it will give them the moral authority to exercise military prosecution of Al Qaeda and other Sunni backed violence.
The prospect of an Arab nation rejecting terrorism is probably too much to hope for. Yet, the alternative is so grindingly savage and downright barbaric that it is hard to imagine how they could welcome the continuation of such insanity. Unfortunately, sanity is not something the region is particularly known for.
In closing, if they are unable to renouce terrorism then they are welcome to continue murdering each other to the last man. Should they choose that course, I will lose any sense of pity and merely look forward to a time when they exhaust the world's patience and are exterminated wholesale.
#9
A question to fellow ranters:
Is there any evidence that the Iranians were involved?
It looks like the killings would not be in the Sunni's interest, and if it was AQ, he's made alot of new Sunni enemies.
It also looks like the bombings and attack on the oil convoy were better thought out and executed than either the Bathists or AQ have shown lately.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
01/06/2006 15:11 Comments ||
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#10
I think AQ. Even these cavemen can learn from their other experiments and improve their product. And, since Zark has displayed an ability to mutate like a chameleon, it follows that AQ would make effective adjustments.
Two suicide bombers killed 120 people and wounded more than 200 in attacks near a Shiite holy shrine and a police recruiting centre on Thursday, the bloodiest day in Iraq for four months. Iraq's prime minister denounced the violence as an attempt to derail the political. But Iraq's largest Shiite party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution (SCIRI) in Iraq, blamed Sunni Arab groups that fared poorly in the elections for inciting the violence. SCIRI warned that Shiite patience was wearing thin and accused the U.S.-led coalition forces of restraining the Iraqi army and its police and security forces.
The suicide bombers struck in Kerbala, one of Shiite Islam's holiest cities, and Ramadi, a Sunni Arab stronghold in western Anbar province and a hotbed of the insurgency. The Kerbala bomber detonated an explosive belt laced with ball bearings and a grenade, killing 50 and wounding 138 at a market within sight of the golden dome of the Imam Hussein shrine, one of the holiest sites in Shiite Islam. Television pictures showed pools of blood in the street, which was littered with debris. Passers-by loaded the wounded into the backs of cars and vans, and one black-clad woman stood crying while clutching her dead or wounded baby to her chest.
About an hour after the Kerbala blast, another bomber blew himself up near police recruits in the western city of Ramadi, killing 70 people and wounding 65, hospital sources said. The U.S. military said the blast ripped through a line of some 1,000 men waiting to be security screened at a glass and ceramics works that was used as a temporary recruiting centre. After the debris and body parts had been cleared away, hundreds of Iraqis returned to the queue, the military said.
Coming a day after 58 people died in a wave of bombings and shootings, the latest bloodshed ratcheted up tension between Iraq's minority Sunni Arabs and majority Shiites. "This is a war against Shiites," said Rida Jawad al-Takia, a senior SCIRI member. "Apparently to the terrorists, no Shiite child or woman should live," he told Reuters. "We are really worried. It seems they want a civil war."
In a separate statement, SCIRI said that U.S.-led coalition forces were preventing Iraq's army and police from stopping insurgents, an apparent reference to increased American oversight of Shiite-dominated security forces following widespread charges of abuse - especially of Sunni Arab detainees. "The multinational forces, and the political entities that declared their support for terrorism, bear the responsibility for the bloodshed that happened in the recent few days. They should know that the patience of our people will not last for a long time," it said.
"It's an odious crime which shows the savagery and sectarianism of these criminals," said Jawad al-Maliki, a top leader from Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari's Daawa party, speaking of the attack in Kerbala. "They are trying to change the results through terror," he said in a veiled reference to complaints by Sunni-based parties of ballot-rigging in the poll.
President Jalal Talabani blamed the attacks on "groups of dark terror" and said they would fail to stop Iraqis forming a national unity government capable of meeting the demands of the country's rival sects and ethnic groups.
A senior official in the Iraqi Accordance Movement, the main minority Sunni coalition, denounced the violence and called for solidarity among Iraqis to defeat it, but he blamed the government for allowing it to happen. "This government has not only failed to end violence, but it has become an accomplice in the cycle of violence by adopting sectarian policies and by weakening the state and strengthening militia groups," Izzat al-Shahbandar said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2006 00:00 ||
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Article: In a separate statement, SCIRI said that U.S.-led coalition forces were preventing Iraq's army and police from stopping insurgents, an apparent reference to increased American oversight of Shiite-dominated security forces following widespread charges of abuse - especially of Sunni Arab detainees. "The multinational forces, and the political entities that declared their support for terrorism, bear the responsibility for the bloodshed that happened in the recent few days. They should know that the patience of our people will not last for a long time," it said.
My prediction is that American forces will be forced out over our touchiness about torture and our rules about releasing terrorists after a certain number of days if there is no evidence. And the fallout? A bloodbath against Sunnis once the Shiites get full control, and pesky American troops are no longer around. And possibly an Iran-aligned Shiite government, since Iranian-sponsored groups will have the biggest guns once we're no longer around. And for what? Some fundamentalist leftist beliefs about torture and habeas corpus? Jesus wept.
#2
SCIRI warned that Shiite patience was wearing thin and accused the U.S.-led coalition forces of restraining the Iraqi army and its police and security forces.
Despite his best intentions, Bush's WoT maybe yield success after all---Muzzies are too busy to be a threat to the rest of the World while they massacre each other.
#3
Who says American troops are going to pull out completely? Troop reductions are taking place in Iraq, and that's good, because our guys need a bit of rest and refurbishment before the next stage. But I don't see how we could in good conscience safely leave the Iraqis to their own devices for at least a generation -- the discussion above demonstrates the need for us to maintain an armed presence until these people give up and become civilized. Otherwise we'll have to reinvade well within a decade, to prevent Iraq from becoming another Al Qaeda playground like Somalia or Sudan.
#7
TW: Who says American troops are going to pull out completely?
Iraq, unlike Afghanistan, has oil. The Taliban lived off table scraps from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Iraq doesn't need Uncle Sam to survive economically. And the Iranian-sponsored elements of Iraq have, well, Iran as their sugar daddy, just as the Taliban had Pakistan. The fact is that the Iraqi government can tell us to get out tomorrow. I am beginning to believe the polls that say that 80% of Iraqis want us out. Not because they don't like GI's, but because unreasonable decisions from Uncle Sam (in regard to torture and habeas corpus) are getting thousands of Iraqis killed every month.*
During the Malayan Emergency, which many Brits like to use as a touchstone, captured communist terrorists - the term in use at the time - were tortured for information and held without charge, some for the rest of their lives.
* If thousands of Americans were getting killed monthly, would we adhere to the same rules? I seriously doubt it. But we are forcing Iraqis to adhere to these rules, and there is nothing they can do about it - unless they tell us to leave. Upon which we probably will, unless we want to jeopardize our base agreements in other countries - since these agreements are based on our willingness to leave when asked to.
#8
Whatever happened to "take a number"? What's so difficult about this? Why keep lining up like lambs to slaughter? When they're ready for #35, hang the number out a window or use a bullhorn. Is there anyone in Iraq reading this who can pass the word?
#10
Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution? Gwad we are freeing the sand people and they want to run right to full conversion of the porKorAnimals.
Posted by: Muhamhead Screwed My Pig Allah ||
01/06/2006 7:33 Comments ||
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Hattip to Drudge Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the most powerful Israeli leader in 50 years, has died, Middle East Newsline reported. He was 77. Sharon was declared dead by physicians at Jerusalem's Hadassah Hospital before 1 p.m. Israeli time [6 a.m. EST]. Authorities have already been notified of the death, and a government announcement was expected to be issued over the next hour.
However wire reports said Sharon underwent emergency surgery to stem fresh bleeding in his brain. Reuters reported that after the nearly five-hour procedure, Sharon was taken for a computerized scan of his brain to determine its success. A spokesman for Jerusalem's Hadassah hospital said an update on his condition would be released after the scan, according to the Reuters report. The prime minister was felled by a massive stroke on late Jan. 4. A nine-hour operation failed to repair what physicians and officials termed was widespread damage to his brain and other vital organs.
JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon showed "significant improvement" after five hours of emergency brain surgery Friday, and his intracranial pressure returned to normal, hospital officials said.
Sharon remains in serious condition, said Hadassah Hospital director Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef. He said Sharon was returned to intensive care after the surgery and a brain scan.
Edited for key facts. Nb: you need to register to access Jerusalem Post articles. Does anyone have the BugMeNot link for those who wish to remain anonymous?
Updated Jan. 6, 2006 13:07
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was rushed back to the operating room after a precautionary CAT scan performed on him late Friday morning showed new bleeding in the same area of the brain and an expansion in the cerebral ventricles in his brain. Director General of Hadassah Hospital, Doctor Shlomo Mor-Yosef told reporters that Sharon was experiencing an escalation in cranial and blood pressure as well. "It was decided to bring the prime minister to the operating room in order to deal with these two issues, to drain the bleeding and to decrease the intracranial pressure," he said.
Following a traumatic day for Israel, in which Sharon nearly lost his life after suffering an initial extensive cranial hemorrhage, the dir.-gen. of the hospital reported Friday morning that Sharon's condition remained serious but stable and that his vital signs remained strong.
In a Thursday evening press conference, Mor-Yosef reasserted that the prime minister's condition was still serious but stable since the afternoon. He noted that all of the parameters that were measured - blood pressure, pulse, urine production, inter-cranial pressure - were all within the standards expected for someone in Sharon's condition.
The prime minister was placed in an induced coma and was artificially respirated since his surgery on Thursday morning. Mor-Yosef explained that the prime minister's medical treatment was meant to reduce his inter-cranial pressure to allow his brain to recover from the trauma of both his hemorrhaging and the surgeries which he underwent.
Mor-Yosef mentioned that the prime minister responded properly to an examination of his pupils. Sharon was expected to be awakened from his coma on Sunday in order to assess his motor and cognitive capabilities. Only then will his condition be more fully assessed.
Due to his severe medical condition, Sharon's duties and authorities were transferred to Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The acting prime minister convened a special cabinet meeting on Thursday morning at 9 a.m. in order to brief the ministers on the temporary transfer of powers.
Following the delicate situation that stirred the whole political system, the Likud froze its decision to resign from the government, originally planned for Sunday, to a later time. Across the whole political spectrum, politicians called for support and unity during this period of uncertainty.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's condition was reported stable, but still serious, Friday evening after doctors evaluated a CAT scan that followed a three-hour operation earlier in the day. Professor Shlomo Mor-Yosef announced at 5:35 p.m. that the cranial pressure had been relieved, and blood clots remaining from the previous operation successfully drained.
Mor-Yosef said that neurologists and neurosurgeons at Hadassah agreed that the most recent CAT scan results showed a 'significant' improvement in Sharon's condition. He added that doctors were working to adjust the placement of the catherer, and that Sharon would be moved to neurological intensive care, where he would be closely monitered.
The latest CAT scan followed a three-hour operation earlier Friday, the third the prime minister had undergone since he arrived at the hospital Wednesday night.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was in stable condition Friday morning in a medically induced coma to prevent further damage from a massive stroke. Doctors said he could be brought out slowly during the weekend, allowing a better assessment of his condition.
Sharon's cranial pressure was steady, meaning there is no need to drain fluid from his brain, Hadassah Hospital Director Shlomo Mor-Yosef said during a Friday morning press briefing.
"The night passed without change," he said. "All the parameters that we check â blood pressure, pulse, urine output and cranial pressure, the most important parameters â all these parameters are stable."
On Thursday, as Sharon's sons began a bedside vigil and state media broadcast mournful songs, the hospital's switchboard was flooded with get-well messages. The nation's top rabbis called on Israelis to rush to synagogues and pray for the 77-year-old ex-general, whom many saw as the best hope for peace with the Palestinians.
Sharon's deputy, Ehud Olmert, tried to convey a sense of stability while serving as acting prime minister, but Sharon's dramatic downturn left Israelis fearful.
The Web site of the respected Haaretz daily quoted hospital officials as saying Sharon suffered vast brain damage.
Deputy hospital director Shmuel Shapira told Army Radio that reports of permanent, significant damage were "irresponsible."
Mor-Yosef on Thursday sought to quash widespread rumors that the prime minister was brain-dead. Sharon's pupils were responding to light, "which means the brain is functioning," he told reporters.
"We are fighting for the life of the prime minister, with no compromise," he said. "The main treatment that the prime minister is receiving is a medically induced coma and breathing assistance. The goal of this treatment is ... to allow the brain to recover from the great trauma it suffered."
Dr. Zeev Feldman, a neurosurgeon at
Israel's Tel Hashomer Hospital who is not involved in Sharon's treatment, said the test results appeared encouraging.
"I think this is good news. This information that the prime minister is reacting and they got reactions from him to stimulation is really a situation that can show that he is waking up after the operation," Feldman told Channel 2. "This is the first time that we have a positive indications regarding his condition."
However, other neurosurgeons not involved in Sharon's treatment said a full recovery was unlikely after such a massive stroke. Sharon aides said they assume he would not return to work."
I'm worried about the future of this country, about everything in this country," said Rafael Levy, a 42-year-old construction engineer from Tel Aviv.
Sharon underwent seven hours of surgery Thursday at Hadassah Hospital after suffering a brain hemorrhage. He will remain sedated and on a respirator for two to three days to give him time to recover, and then he will be gradually awakened, hospital officials said. His sons, Omri and Gilad, were by his side at the neurological intensive care unit.
Sharon's collapse less than three months before March 28 elections left in limbo his moderate Kadima Party, which had appeared headed for an easy victory.
Palestinians reacted with a mixture of glee at seeing the fall of their longtime enemy and apprehension at the instability that could follow. Some Palestinian leaders worried Sharon's illness could derail their Jan. 25 parliamentary elections. "We are watching with great worry at what might happen if he is harmed," Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said.
Foreign leaders, who embraced Sharon after his unilateral pullout from the
Gaza Strip last year, also expressed concern.
Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice praised Sharon as "a man of enormous courage," and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said he was praying for a miraculous recovery. Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi postponed a visit to the region, and two U.S. envoys who were to arrive Thursday delayed their trip.
Two prominent rabbis went to Sharon's room on the heavily guarded seventh floor of the hospital and prayed along with his family, one of them, Rabbi Yitzhak Batzri, told Israel Radio. He added that his father, leading Jewish mystic David Batzri, held Sharon's hand to direct a prayer toward him.
"We saw the greatest doctors standing beside him and watching over him all the time and trying to treat him," Yitzhak Batzri said. "He is unconscious as everyone knows and the small happiness that we have is that we saw the family is strong, the family believes, the family is praying and hoping."
Under Israeli law, vice premier Olmert took office as acting prime minister. He held an emergency Cabinet meeting Thursday â sitting beside Sharon's empty seat â and said the government would continue to function.
"This is a difficult situation," Olmert, a former Jerusalem mayor, told the ministers.
He later spoke with Abbas by telephone. The Palestinian leader expressed concern for Sharon and wished him a speedy recovery, Palestinian officials said.
Attorney General Meni Mazuz announced that the Israeli election would be held as planned. Sharon was to face off against the new head of his former Likud Party,
Benjamin Netanyahu, and Labor Party leader Amir Peretz.
Sharon had been expected to win in a landslide as head of Kadima, which he formed after bolting Likud late last year. Many Likud lawmakers tried to torpedo the Gaza withdrawal and Sharon formed Kadima to free his hands to make further peace moves with the Palestinians.
His stroke clouded his party's prospects.
"I can't see another person who will emerge who is as strong as Sharon," said political analyst Menachem Hofnung. "The party is in trouble."
Haim Ramon, a Kadima lawmaker, said the party needed to rally around Olmert.
"We have to convince the public that the group that came together with Sharon will fill the political, ideological, societal void, which is needed for the country to go on," he told Channel 2.
A snap poll Thursday showed an Olmert-led Kadima would still win 40 of 120 seats, similar to the results under Sharon. Under former Prime Minister Shimon Peres, the party would get 42 seats, according to the Channel 10-Haaretz poll. The number of people polled and the margin of error were not given.
Despite Sharon's age and the minor stroke he suffered two weeks ago, Israelis seemed shocked by the illness of a man viewed as unflappable during his decades in public life, first as a hero in Israel's earliest wars and later as the country's best known political hawk.
Sharon led Israel's fight against the Palestinians during nearly five years of violence and his military background gave him the credibility with the Israeli public to make concessions to the Palestinians.
"He was one of a kind. I don't know any other man like him," said Joseph Lapid, head of the opposition Shinui Party.
Sharon rose to prominence as an army officer, setting up a unit that fought Palestinian infiltrators in the 1950s. He served as a commander of the Gaza region after Israel captured the territory in 1967, before entering politics and forging the Likud Party. Sharon briefly returned to the army to lead the fight against Egypt during the 1973 Mideast war.
As defense minister, Sharon directed Israel's ill-fated invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and was forced to step down by an Israeli commission of inquiry that found him indirectly responsible for a massacre of Palestinians in two refugee camps by Christian Phalangist soldiers.
Sharon re-emerged as prime minister in 2001 soon after the outbreak of new Israeli-Palestinian violence, and two years later he reversed his decades-long support for Jewish settlement and pushed through his Gaza pullout plan.
Despite the pullout, Sharon is widely reviled in the Arab world for his tough actions against Palestinians.
Some Palestinian children handed out sweets in the Gaza Strip at news of Sharon's illness. Other Palestinians worried that it could delay their upcoming elections.
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying that he hoped for Sharon's death. "Hopefully, the news that the criminal of Sabra and Chatilla has joined his ancestors is final," he said, according to the Iranian Students News Agency.
Christian evangelical broadcaster Pat Robertson linked Sharon's stroke to God's "enmity against those who 'divide my land,'" and added on his television program, "I would say woe unto any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course."
Sharon fell ill Wednesday evening while resting at his ranch in southern Israel ahead of a medical procedure scheduled for Thursday to close a small hole in his heart. Doctors rushed him to Jerusalem, and he suffered the stroke during the hourlong drive.
Doctors said they stopped the bleeding during surgery. His condition may have been complicated by blood thinners he took after his mild stroke Dec. 18.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/06/2006 00:53 ||
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Better do a toxicology on him iff the worst happens.
Islamists threatened the Jordanian government Wednesday with an escalation of violence and attempted to rescue suspects accused of murdering an American diplomat in Amman in 2002. More than a hundred armed militants stormed the Swaqa prison, where 37 Islamists charged with belonging to al Qaeda are currently held, and attempted to kidnap Yasser Fathi Frayhat, 31, and the Libyan Salem Saad Salem bin Suwayd, 45, convicted of killing the U.S. diplomat Lawrence Foley, an executive officer of USAid, the American development agency, in 2002. The men were sentenced to death in 2004. Suwaydâs family had criticized the authorities for not allowing his wife and children to visit him in prison.
So what was the corpse count among the hundred or so turbans who tried to rescue the Qaeda thugs?
However, other prisoners, fearing the suspects would be freed, thwarted the daring rescue operation. âOur brothers in prison stood in the way of this evil planâ, their supporters told Asharq al Awsat. âWe urge the authorities not to carry out the death sentences. Blood only generates more blood.â
Having them alive seems to generate swarms of Islamists trying to bust them out, doesn't it?
Also on Wednesday, the state security court decided to hold a witness, for 14 days, because of inaccuracies in his testimony in a case against a militant cell of 15 Jordanians, five of whom remain at large. For his part, the lawyer Shadi Arafat, 30, appeared in the state security court and denied housing two Islamic militants, the brothers Sharif and Mohammed al Samadiya, for a month, despite knowing they were wanted by the security services, and of providing them with valuable information and weapons.
A lawyer named Shady Arafat? What's taken so long to arrest him?
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2006 00:00 ||
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A lot of North Caucasus Muslims resettled in Syria and Jordan to escape persecution in the USSR after WW2, al-Daghestani is probably descended from one of them.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/06/2006 0:12 Comments ||
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#2
One hundred armed Jihadis attempted to storm a prison in Jordan? That kind of thing doesn't happen in Jordan, maybe they are members of his tribe?
A pity the report is so vague, how did prisoners manage to thwart a hundred gunmen, and where did they go afterwards, Alladin's Lamp?
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
01/06/2006 3:06 Comments ||
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#3
They always storm, they always fail. Lots of people wind up dead. It's like Groundhog Day.
A Jordanian held hostage in Iraq for more than two weeks has called on King Abdallah II to save his life by freeing an Iraqi woman held over the hotel bombings in Amman, according to a video broadcast on Arabic television yesterday. âI appeal to God and to the Jordanian government and its head his majesty the King, to take pity on me and exchange me for the prisoner Sajida Al-Rishawi,â said the hostage, identified as Mahmud Salman Saaidiyat.
I think an appropriate response would be "Saaidiyat dies, Rishawi dies the same way." I know that won't happen, of course, but it would be appropriate. It would also negate the value of taking hostages in exchange for jailbirds, wouldn't it?
The man, a driver for the Jordanian ambassador to Iraq who was snatched in south Baghdad on Dec. 20, was speaking in a videotape shown on Dubai-based Al-Arabiya television. In a statement accompanying the video read out by Al-Arabiya, the group said it was again extending its deadline âin response to appeals from the hostageâs wife and from other insurgent groups,â but gave no new expiry date. The kidnappers, known as the âHawks Brigade,â had already twice announced three-day extensions, once on Dec. 26 and again on Tuesday. âI express my thanks to the resistance for extending their deadline,â the hostage said in the video footage.
"It's pretty nice, having my head on my shoulders..."
Rishawi was arrested by the Jordanian authorities after the November triple bombings in Amman and later shown on state television making a confession about her role in the attacks which killed 57 people plus the bombers, one of them her husband, Ali Hussein Al-Shammari.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2006 00:00 ||
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I think an appropriate response would be "Saaidiyat dies, Rishawi dies the same way." I know that won't happen, of course, but it would be appropriate. It would also negate the value of taking hostages in exchange for jailbirds, wouldn't it?
Hmmm... I don't think so. The worst thing that could happen to the terrs would be for Rishawi to be convinced with a rubber hose to tell all. If you kill the prisoner in response to the hostage being killed, you lose your source of info, which is exactly what the terrs want, I should think.
The Palestinian security forces yesterday freed a militant leader whose arrest over the kidnapping of three Britons sparked a series of armed protests in the Gaza Strip, his faction said. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas meanwhile apologized for clashes Wednesday in which two Egyptian border guards were killed after the armed protesters bulldozed a concrete wall along the Gaza-Egypt border.
"Sorry 'bout dat..."
Alaa Al-Hams was released as part of a deal under which his Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades faction also agreed to halt its protests, said a spokesman for his cell of the militant group, which is an offshoot of Abbasâs own Fatah faction. âWe have reached an agreement with the security services to cease all the protests,â the spokesman said.
Al-Aqsa gunmen stormed a string of government offices in the southern Gaza town of Rafah and then smashed down a concrete section of wall on the border with Egypt on Wednesday to protest Hamsâ arrest over the abduction of British rights worker Kate Burton and her parents a week earlier.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/06/2006 00:00 ||
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It looks to me like they've got it all backwards. Al Aqsa M.B. isn't the militant offshoot of Fatah. Fatah is the political faction of Al Aqsa M.B.! Just look at who gives the orders, and who obeys. That says it all. The Al Aqsa gunnies run the show, and Abbas is their toady.
#3
Ah, but Scooter, in the Good Old Days The various armed groups took their orders from Arafat himself, just as did the "politicians". Those that weren't clever enough to obey -- right smartly -- generally didn't get a chance to learn from their mistakes. However, in these degenerate times that sad excuse for a terror monger Abu Abbas pretends to be in charge, but all he is capable of is limply shaking hands and apologizing after the fact.
Ten people were reportedly killed yesterday while scores were wounded in fresh clashes between two warring families in Tubaran, Lanao del Sur. But Col. Luisito Marcelino, deputy brigade commander of the 1st Marine Brigade, said they are yet to confirm whether or not there were casualties in the fierce gun battle between the allied Kibad and Balt families and the allied Papandayan and Dimaporo families.
The firefight reportedly broke out yesterday morning when at least 200 supporters of the Papandayan- Dimaporo families started burning the houses in Barangay Masibay. The ensuing gunfight reportedly resulted in undetermined casualties on the side of the attackers, seven of them were confirmed killed by a local official who asked for anonymity for security reasons. Upon hearing of the incident, fighters from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) immediately proceeded to the area in order to protect the civilians who were caught in the gunfight.
The feud between the Kibad-Balt families and Papandayan-Dimaporo families dated back January last year when at least 12 people from the side of the former were allegedly killed by Marine elements after they were mistook as Abu Sayyaf members. The Kibad-Balt families then accused the Papandayan-Dimaporo families as behind the massacre, prompting them to retaliate the following month wherein they killed 12 from the side of the latter and wounded several others. Sporadic clashes between the supporters of the warring families for the rest of the month. "Along the way and until yesterday's fierce fighting, a dozen more from both clans have died in the attack and counter-attacks. This is already too much. The government must stop this madness here," the local official said in a phone interview. "We are now appealing to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) not to side with any of the warring groups so as not to drag the MILF into the conflict and instead conduct swift actions to prevent further bloodshed," the local leader added. As of press time, the firefight between the two forces is still on-going, prompting the local military officials to deploy troops to prevent further bloodsheds.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/06/2006 00:43 ||
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What's the betting one side is Muslim and the other Christian?
#3
Sounds like both are Muslim, being from Tubaran. The area is split between MILF supporters, NPA supporters and farmers just trying to stay out of it. I would guess it was between MILF and NPA. For 200 to get involved it is much more than a family feud. The MILF have camps there and harbor the ASG when they need sanctuary. Although the NPA have signed a nonagression pact with MILF they occasionally go at it.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
01/06/2006 8:13 Comments ||
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#4
Dire Revenge⢠will require this feud to go on for a couple centuries at least
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/06/2006 10:13 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.
Ten people have died in a suicide car bomb attack aimed at the headquarters of a provincial governor in central Afghanistan. Provincial spokesman Abdullah Jan says there are civilians and police in the area of the blast in Tirin Kot, the capital of Uruzgan province. However, it is not known how many of each have been killed.
Five Italians kidnapped by Yemeni tribesmen were released and their captors arrested, ending the latest hostage crisis in the impoverished country. "We are happy the nightmare is over," Andrea Polato, 24, son of one of the hostages, Camilla Ramigni, told Italy's Ansa news agency.
A listed criminal was killed in "crossfire" during an encounter between his accomplices and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) on Wednesday at Phultala upazila in Khulna. The dead was identified as Khandaker Selim Ahmed Tutul, 36, of Kharhki Karbala under Jessore Kotwali Police Station. 
Another den of the banned Islamist outfit, Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh, was unearthed at a house in Uttara, a suburb of Dhaka, on Thursday. The Rapid Action Battalion busted the den at Kotbari of Moinartek late in the evening and seized a huge quantity of explosive materials, five firearms with ammunition and dice for making bullets from a room. The battalion said they detained a man, Habib, from Kotbari in the evening. Habib reportedly 
A British court ruled Thursday that a suspected al-Qaida member can be extradited to the United States to stand trial for allegedly plotting to set up a terrorist training camp in Oregon. The ruling came after the U.S. government reassured the court that the British defendant, Haroon Rashid Aswat, 31, would be tried at a U.S. federal court, not a military tribunal, and that he would not be designated an "enemy combatant." The American government has used that label to detain suspected terrorists at military detention centers such as Guantanamo Bay. "A trial could be properly and fairly conducted without a breach of the defendant's ... rights," Judge Timothy Workman said in his ruling at Bow Street magistrates court in London.
The leader of Ohio's biggest mosque, who was convicted of hiding ties to terrorist groups, has reached a deal with the U.S. government that will allow him to settle in one of four countries or the Palestinian territories, his attorney and the government said Thursday. Lawyers for 
A US federal judge has rejected the US Defence Department's argument for suppressing the names of Guantanamo Bay detainees, but stopped short of ordering that the names be released. Judge Jed S Rakoff's order was a victory for the Associated Press (AP), which sued the Pentagon in April 2005, seeking the names of detainees and transcripts of US military hearings to determine whether they were properly classified as enemy combatants. 
As heavy fighting continued between nationalist rebels and security forces in Balochistan, Pakistan has accused India of supporting violence in the troubled southwestern province. "India is supporting the miscreants" in Balochistan, Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao, told a press conference here yesterday.
Masked gunmen have killed eight tribesmen, including seven of a family, in two separate incidents in South Waziristan, administration officials and eyewitnesses said on Thursday. Seven men of the Karikhel sub-tribe were shot dead a few metres from a paramilitary force base in Wana, eyewitnesses said. Seventy-year-old Abdullah Jan along with three sons and three grandsons were killed when attackers from another vehicle shot at their car at 7:30am in Wana Bazaar.
KARACHI - He was once close to Osama bin Laden, has intimate knowledge of al-Qaeda's logistics and financing and its nexus with the military in Pakistan, yet US intelligence has not been able to get its hands on him. Ghulam Mustafa, 38, was picked up about 10 days ago in Lahore, and no charges have been brought against him: he is expected to disappear into a "black hole" and quietly be forgotten. This is because Mustafa, erstwhile head of al-Qaeda's Pakistani operations, has some tales to tell, but the authorities in Pakistan would rather they were not heard, especially by the Americans, even though Islamabad is a signed-up member in the "war on terror". 
Two suicide bombers killed 120 people and wounded more than 200 in attacks near a Shiite holy shrine and a police recruiting centre on Thursday, the bloodiest day in Iraq for four months. Iraq's prime minister denounced the violence as an attempt to derail the political. But Iraq's largest Shiite party, the 
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the most powerful Israeli leader in 50 years, has died, Middle East Newsline reported. He was 77. Sharon was declared dead by physicians at Jerusalem's Hadassah Hospital before 1 p.m. Israeli time [6 a.m. EST]. Authorities have already been notified of the death, and a government announcement was expected to be issued over the next hour.
Islamists threatened the Jordanian government Wednesday with an escalation of violence and attempted to rescue suspects accused of murdering an American diplomat in Amman in 2002. More than a hundred armed militants stormed the Swaqa prison, where 37 Islamists charged with belonging to al Qaeda are currently held, and attempted to kidnap 
A Jordanian held hostage in Iraq for more than two weeks has called on King Abdallah II to save his life by freeing an Iraqi woman held over the hotel bombings in Amman, according to a video broadcast on Arabic television yesterday. âI appeal to God and to the Jordanian government and its head his majesty the King, to take pity on me and exchange me for the prisoner Sajida Al-Rishawi,â said the hostage, identified as Mahmud Salman Saaidiyat.
The Palestinian security forces yesterday freed a militant leader whose arrest over the kidnapping of three Britons sparked a series of armed protests in the Gaza Strip, his faction said. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas meanwhile apologized for clashes Wednesday in which two Egyptian border guards were killed after the armed protesters bulldozed a concrete wall along the Gaza-Egypt border.
Ten people were reportedly killed yesterday while scores were wounded in fresh clashes between two warring families in Tubaran, Lanao del Sur. But Col. Luisito Marcelino, deputy brigade commander of the 1st Marine Brigade, said they are yet to confirm whether or not there were casualties in the fierce gun battle between the allied Kibad and Balt families and the allied Papandayan and Dimaporo families. 
