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Commander of Salafi Forces in Fallujah Killed
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Tsunami bloggers need tech help
This item appears over at Instapundit:
TSUNAMI HELP REQUEST: Reader Mike Weatherford
[ well known to Rantburgers as "Old Patriot," ]
emails:

I've been working since Saturday with the folks from the Southeast Asia Earthquake and Tsunami blog, trying to do my bit to help reduce the suffering of the people suffering from the tsunami disaster. I don't have any loose cash, so I've been donating the only thing I can give - my time and my knowledge of imagery analysis. We're trying to do two major tasks with the Ground Zero Information page: provide a single reference point for information on the extent of damage - including photographs - of the tsunami impact areas, and to provide information on what's being done, and what still needs to be done, to help those affected. The one thing the group needs desperately is more willing hands, especially people knowledgeable in HTML, XML, and the Internet. We also need more imagery. I know the military is working on the same issues, but their imagery is classified (I know, I've worked enough of it!). Anything that you - or anyone - can do to give us a hand would be appreciated - not only by us, but by the thousands of people that our effort may help, even if it's a small amount.
If you can help 'em out, drop by and let 'em know.
Posted by: Mike || 01/08/2005 8:44:24 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Chechen blast thwarted, terrorist arms cache found
A major terror act was prevented in Chechnya's Shatoi District as a highway inspection revealed a landmine laid on the Borzoi-Vashindaroi stretch. The makeshift explosive device based on an artillery cartridge, 122 mm calibre. The information reached Novosti today from a spokesman of the North Caucasian anti-terror operation HQ. Federal engineers chose to blow up the boobytrap on the spot as it could go off any instant when removed, added our informant.

With local people's help, Chechen Interior Ministry men came today on a major munitions cachet in the Gudermes District. The arsenal was tracked down to prominent rebel chieftain Aslanbek Askhanov, Vice-Emir of the district, who died in battle last November, our interviewee went on. The villagers of Gherzel addressed the district police yesterday to report munitions found on the village outskirts. The cachet was impressive: an anti-tank guided missile with a launching device, six anti-personnel mines, six grenade-thrower rounds, a large stock of hand-grenade fuses, and more than 600 cartridges of various calibre. More information came from a Chechen police officer. In particular, detectives tracked down a bandit involved in a military commandant's vehicle blast in the village Shamil Khutor, Vedeno District, April 15, 2002. Our informant did not specify the culprit's name.

Three soldiers were injured in the armoured personnel carrier blast that fatal day, and six died on the spot-one of them an officer of the Federal Security Service, or FSB. Investigators suspect the detainee was involved in more crimes committed in the North Caucasus. A federal special operation brought the detention of a paramilitary active on Yunadi Turchayev's gang, subordinate to notorious warlord Shamil Basayev, reports the North Caucasian anti-terror operation HQ. In an initial questioning, the detainee confessed he was with the gang that killed several policemen and civilian residents of Grozny, Chechen capital, August 21, 2004, says an official HQ spokesman.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 01/08/2005 12:55:17 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Caucasus Corpse Count
A TOTAL of 14 Russian soldiers, plus at least three local Chechen troops, were killed and 19 injured in a series of incidents over two days in the breakaway southern republic of Chechnya, a spokesman for the local pro-Russian government said today. The spokesman, who asked not to be named, also said that six people had been reported kidnapped in Chechnya in the same period, two of them students. Three Russian soldiers were killed and four injured in an overnight attack early on Monday, and another soldier was killed and five hurt the following night, the spokesman said. Three soldiers were also killed in an attack on their vehicle in the capital Grozny. Another attack on a vehicle left one soldier dead and six injured in the Vedeno region in the southwest. The spokesman also said that three Russian soldiers died and three were hurt when their truck hit a landmine near Novye Atagui, south of the capital.

In other incidents, two mine removal specialists died when a mine they were working on exploded, and a Russian soldier was killed during the arrest of an alleged rebel. In the same period two Chechen police officers were killed when their patrol came under fire in Grozny, and a security guard protecting the local pro-Russian president was shot dead south of the capital, the spokesman said.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 01/08/2005 12:53:32 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Basayev hard boyz hit Vedeno district
Fighters from a unit reporting to prominent Chechen guerilla leader Shamil Basayev attacked several houses in the Vedeno district to rob their residents, the headquarters for the antiterrorist operation in the North Caucasus told Interfax on Thursday. "Local residents said the fighters broke into their houses on the outskirts of the village and extorted food and costly items from them," the headquarters said. Another four guerillas attacked a local man who was driving a car on the outskirts of Vedeno. They beat up the driver and then blew up his car. A search is underway to find the attackers, the headquarters said.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 01/08/2005 12:52:02 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Fierce firefight near Chechnya
AUTOMATIC gunfire and explosions sounded today as troops blocked off part of the Russian city of Nazran, 30 kilometres from the border with Chechnya. Russian news agencies reported three rebel fighters had been killed in a battle with troops, which started at 7am. They did not report any Russian losses. The RIA Novosti agency said five armoured vehicles and more than 100 servicemen were surrounding a house in the city. The streets of Nazran, normally packed with people on a Saturday, were deserted and Russian border troops guarding a base in the city were on full alert.

Nazran, the largest town in the region of Ingushetia, has been rocked by a spill-over of violence from Chechnya and was devastated in June by a rebel raid that killed more than 90 people, mainly police. Ingushetians are closely related to the Chechens, and in recent years a growing part of the mainly Muslim region has joined the fight against Russian rule which has battered Chechnya for a decade.
Posted by: tipper || 01/08/2005 9:09:19 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Europe
Al-Qaeda "finance minister" goes on trial in Germany
Ali Hassan al-Muajjad will get his day in court in New York on Monday. The Yemenite is accused of having raised $20 million for Osama bin Laden. But the case against him hinges on the testimony of a single star witness who is now backing out. What he has to say may not be worth much anyway and could be a major embarrassment for the FBI. Mohammed al-Ansi chose the public stage for his last message to the world. As flames consumed his body, the 52-year-old Yemeni briefly stood upright, a living torch, until the pain forced him to fall to the ground. Directly in front of the entrance to the White House in Washington. His screams could be heard in nearby offices, and secret service agents rushed fire extinguishers to the scene. Bodyguards of United States President George W. Bush had turned Ansi away only moments earlier. The letter he had sought to deliver to Bush was still in the pocket of his trousers when he set his jacket aflame with a lighter.

The aborted self-immolation took place on November 15, 2004. The Yemeni was rushed to a hospital in the US capital, where he is now recovering from the burns he suffered. Yet while his outlook may be good, that for the upcoming terrorist trial which depends on Ansi's testimony suddenly looks bleak. It is one of the biggest terror trials yet, and Ansi has decided not to play along. Ansi has been one of the FBI's key informants in the US war on terrorism. He has provided information that has led to the arrest of 20 suspected terrorists. But his most spectacular case is the current one soon to go on trial involving Yemeni imam Ali Hassan al-Muajjad, arrested in Frankfurt, Germany in January 2003 and subsequently extradited to the United States. Attorney General John Ashcroft claims that al-Muajjad raised $20 million to finance Al-Qaida terrorist activities and the German tabloid Bild has dubbed him "bin Laden's finance minister." His trial begins in New York on Monday. In addition to being a potentially major anti-terrorism coup, his arrest, which involved close cooperation between German and American authorities, is seen by US authorities as evidence that it is possible to cooperate effectively with the otherwise obstinate Germans.

At home, Muajjad, the principal imam at the most important mosque in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, is revered as a popular hero. Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Salih earmarked $50,000 in government funds for the imam's legal defense, and personally asked German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder for Muajjad's release. But Salih's diplomatic offensive fell on deaf ears with a German government that has no interest in undermining the Americans. Just how risky it was for German security agents to help out the Americans became apparent soon after Muajjad's arrest, when angry protestors staged demonstrations in front of the German embassy in Yemen, prompting Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office to issue warnings about possible retaliatory attacks against German interests in the Arab region. And the Yemeni government was furious with Berlin, demanding irrefutable evidence and a fair trial for Muajjad. German security authorities see the Muajjad trial as a test case on just how reliable the information furnished by Germany's powerful ally is. As it turns out, things aren't going quite the way the Germans -- or the Americans -- had expected.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling || 01/08/2005 12:49:51 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: WoT
Court hears praise of bin Laden
A British businessman accused of offering to smuggle 200 shoulder-launched missiles to terrorists in America told an undercover FBI agent that Osama bin Laden had "done a very good thing", a court heard yesterday. Hemant Lakhani shrank into his chair as the court in Newark, New Jersey, heard a tape recording of a conversation he had with a man he allegedly thought represented Muslim terrorists from Somalia. Lakhani, 69, met the man, a Pakistani FBI informant named Muhammad Rehman, at a hotel in Newark only four months after the September 11 terrorist attacks, the court heard. According to the taped conversation, Lakhani, from Hendon, north London, told Mr Rehman that the "white people" had "improved a little", adding: "Bin Laden has straightened them. Now they are scared. Well, we will do something now." He continued: "Our culture is different, our values are different, we can never be partners with them. We people cannot work with the white people." When Mr Rehman agreed with him, Lakhani went on: "He [bin Laden] did a very good thing. He did it a bit violent and a bit too soon, but he did a very good thing."

Lakhani, who earlier rose defiantly from his chair when Mr Rehman was asked to identify him in court, faces various terrorism-related charges including one of attempting to provide material support to terrorists. He is alleged to have told the undercover agent that the Ukrainian-made missiles he could supply should be used to shoot down 10 to 15 passenger planes simultaneously on the second anniversary of the September 11 attacks. He was arrested in August 2003 after an elaborate sting operation involving Russian and British intelligence. Lakhani, a Hindu, claims that he was the victim of entrapment.

The jury was also shown a videotape in which Lakhani could be seen producing brochures from a Ukrainian weapons manufacturer. He told the informant the company could supply anti-aircraft guns and even a submarine. Rehman then asked him if he could get "something sinister, like a Stinger missile, with a range of 15,000 feet?'' Lakhani replied: "Yes, yes, yes. Anything you need, I can get."
Posted by: Dan Darling || 01/08/2005 1:03:24 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Hemant Lakhani shrank into his chair as the court in Newark, New Jersey, heard a tape recording of a conversation he had with a man he allegedly thought represented Muslim terrorists from Somalia.

Talk about an "oh sh**" moment...
Posted by: Pappy || 01/08/2005 19:00 Comments || Top||

#2  Well he certainly believes in the clash of civilizations. But most people will go on thinking that this ideology is something dreamed up by Bush and the neo-cons.
Posted by: Prince Abdullah || 01/08/2005 19:35 Comments || Top||

#3  Bravo. Well done. More, please.
Posted by: lex || 01/08/2005 22:02 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Gunfire reported in Banda Aceh
There are reports of shooting in the major tsunami aid-base of Banda Aceh in the Indonesian province of Aceh. There have been conflicting accounts of the incident, which happened near the main United Nations aid office, but no casualties have been reported. One policeman blamed separatist rebels for the gunfire, another said a disturbed government soldier fired the shots. The area is now quiet.

The incident could raise concern about the safety of hundreds of Western aid personnel pouring into Aceh province, where almost all of Indonesia's more than 104,000 deaths from the Boxing Day tsunami and earthquake occurred. "A police team that was guarding the house of the deputy police chief saw people carrying guns. The police warned these people, then fired a shot and an exchange of fire occurred," Inspector Lazuardi, leading two truckloads of police deployed at the scene after the shooting, said. Three people the police were shooting at fled, he said, adding the firing lasted about 10 minutes. Asked who he thought was responsible, Inspector Lazuardi said: "Who else? GAM (the rebel Free Aceh Movement) is the one who likes to disturb."

GAM rebels have been fighting the Indonesian Government for nearly three decades. Both sides made conciliatory gestures immediately after the tsunami but since then have accused one another of initiating several clashes. A policeman guarding the UN compound said the incident had nothing to do with GAM. "It was a [security forces] member who was traumatised. The police and military have secured this area. It's safe. We are here to protect. It was only an isolated incident," he said. The area was quiet later and the police trucks left.
Posted by: God Save The World || 01/08/2005 8:20:36 PM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This could be incredible good luck -- for the tsunami victims -- since the UN is best known for turning tail and hauling ass at the first sign of trouble.

More. Lots of AK-47 Gun Sex near the UN. Please. And lots of rumors. That will get them out and allow the aid to flow unimpeded.
Posted by: .com || 01/08/2005 20:50 Comments || Top||

#2  Where can we send contributions? Do they need Ammo?
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 01/08/2005 20:54 Comments || Top||

#3  I was goning to say Muslim wedding party? So soon after the tsunami?

The Indonesian government is quite aware the aid will stop and leave if saftey can't be established. They may choose to use this as a tool against Aceh sepratitists.
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 01/08/2005 20:56 Comments || Top||

#4  LOL
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 01/08/2005 20:57 Comments || Top||

#5  Could also have been criminal gang/beached pirates looking for goodies.
Posted by: Stephen || 01/08/2005 21:09 Comments || Top||

#6  Hello Kofi? I believe we have found "all the people" and it is not good.
Posted by: Captain America || 01/08/2005 22:54 Comments || Top||


BREAKING NEWS: Gunfire breaks out in Aceh
Gunfire has broken out near the U.N Headquarters in Banda, Aceh. Military rushes in to seal off area.

[This just popped up on my t.v screen - ill add a link when one appears]
Posted by: God Save The World || 01/08/2005 6:00:06 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Could be anything from a Moose-limb wedding to an all-out assault on the infidel relief workers and their unholy plans to feed the hungry and shelter the homeless.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy || 01/08/2005 20:50 Comments || Top||

#2  Another post of this with more detail (read: speculation) on Page 1.
Posted by: .com || 01/08/2005 20:52 Comments || Top||

#3  I read it as wishful thinking.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 01/08/2005 20:55 Comments || Top||


More on the fighting in Sultan Kudarat
Two more Abu Sayyaf gunmen were killed as clashes between soldiers and the terrorist group entered its second day yesterday in the hinterlands of Palimbang in Sultan Kudarat. At least four terrorists had been killed since clashes erupted on Thursday. Col. Alfredo Cayton, commander of the Army's 601st Infantry Brigade based in Sarangani, said two soldiers were also slightly wounded.

One of those killed was Bedis Binago, one of the founders of the local Abu Sufia gang and a liaison officer for Isnilon Hapilon. Cayton said soldiers from the 27th IB were pursuing Hapilon's group when a clash ensued in Barangay Lomitan on Thursday afternoon. Bodies of the terrorists, two M-16 rifles, a rocket-propelled grenade launcher with three shells, a Thompson assault rifle and a .45 cal. pistol, had been recovered, he said. Cayton said they expect the number of enemy casualty to increase as soldiers continue to scour the area.

Palimbang Mayor Labualas Mamansual said some 2,011 families have left the area, afraid of being caught in the crossfire. The evacuees, he said, are temporarily staying with their relatives in nearby Mindupok and Pi€ol villages in Maitum, Sarangani and in Barangay Malisbong in Palimbang. Mamansual said food is running short because the town's calamity fund has been exhausted.

Meanwhile in Basilan, unidentified gunmen murdered six fishermen, the military said. Col. Raymundo Ferrer, commander of the Army's 103rd Infantry Brigade based on Basilan Island, said a boy, who was with the fishermen, survived the slaughter and is in police custody. Ferrer said the victims from Barangay Rio Hondo were fishing off Pilas Island early Thursday when attacked by armed men based in nearby Baluk Baluk Island. The two islands are part of Lantawan town, one of the lairs of the Abu Sayyaf. The local police said the survivor, who was still in a state of shock, said the attack actually occurred Wednesday afternoon. Chief Insp. Jones Tubig quoted Ulan Sablani, 12, as saying they were aboard two fishing boats near Pilas Island when armed men in another boat fired at them around 5 p.m. Tubig said the boy pretended to be dead as the armed men detached the engines of the fishermen's boats.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 01/08/2005 12:57:27 AM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Abu Sayyaf seems to be taking a hit lately. Perhaps they have less protection than their rebel rivals with the intrigueing Moms
Posted by: Frank G || 01/08/2005 13:22 Comments || Top||


Abu Sofia leader killed
THE military mounted its fiercest operation against the combined Abu Sayyaf-Abu Sofia forces based at Sitio Labak, Barangay Lamitan, Palindong, Sultan Kudarat, last Thursday, resulting to the death of Abu Sofia chieftain identified as Comdr. Bebis Binago and one of their followers.

Southern Command spokesman Col. Domingo Tutaan told Sun.Star Zamboanga that troops from the 27th Infantry Battalion were directed to launch an intensified operation in the area. "We have launched continuous operation in the area, because of the report that some 40 Abu Sofia bandits operating there have established their alliance with the Abu Sayyaf to gain notoriety in their activities," Tutaan revealed. He said the on-going operation so far accounted for the death of the Abu Sofia top leader and one of his armed followers. "The Abu Sofia group is engaged in banditry, including kidnapping for ransom in their area," Tutaan said. He said the troops captured from the group one M-16 rifle, one RPG, one .45 caliber pistol, 100 rounds of ammunition from M-60 Light Machine Gun and one improvised explosive device. The troops continue their massive operation against the terrorists hole-out in their sanctuary in Sultan Kudarat, Central Mindanao.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 01/08/2005 12:56:01 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Philippines arrests militants over plot to bomb Catholic procession
This was a close one. I'm not even sure the danger is over yet. I find myself worrying that Sunday will be a bloody day as the Paleos have their selection.
Philippines police arrested 16 Islamic militants planning to carry out suicide bombings on a Roman Catholic procession in the capital this weekend. The suspects, including three women, were detained after police raided a Muslim library in downtown Manila.
The first clue was when they asked for the Tagalog version of "The Anarchist's Cookbook."
Most appeared to be Filipino, with two of the suspects denying being part of a terrorist plot."The scenario is, these would be the suicide bombers in the Feast of the Black Nazarene," said Senior Superintendent Elmer Jamias, referring to an annual Catholic procession in downtown Manila on Sunday. "They would rig their bodies with bombs, join the procession, and blow themselves up. God made sure this would not happen," Jamias told reporters Friday.
No, the Manila cops did. Give yourselves a pat on the back. And triple quintuple the security at the parade.
"We seized three improvised explosive devices, a caliber .45 and a caliber .38 guns," said Chief Superintendent Pedro Bulaong, Manila's police chief. Journalists on the scene said grenades were also found. "Had we not recovered these bombs and arrested these people, the procession could have turned into a bloodbath," Jamias said. Police later showed reporters an inventory of bomb-making equipment seized in and the guns on the floor of the Islamic Information Center on the upper floor of an office building in central Manila.
"Thank you for calling the Manila Islamic Information Center. Your call is very important to us...also your mad skilz with high explosives."
Jamias said the suspects were members of a movement known as "Return to Islam" movement, made up of former Christians who have converted to Islam.
Apostates 'R' Not Us.
The authorities are checking whether any of the suspects have ties to Islamic militants operating abroad, said Avelino Razon, the director of the Manila region's police forces. The detained suspects later denied plotting a terrorist attack or hoarding explosives. "All of them (evidence) were planted," cried a woman suspect who identified herself as Shaliba Asan. "Do I look like a terrorist?" said an older man, who called himself Arabsi Agwan.
Do we have to answer that?
Posted by: Seafarious || 01/08/2005 7:32:04 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Afghanistan/South Asia
ISO to riot rally against Gilgit violence
The Imamia Students Organisation (ISO) on Saturday, reacting to sectarian violence in Gilgit, announced countrywide protest rallies on Sunday (today). The ISO leaders in a meeting on Saturday termed killings in Gilgit and the attack on Maulana Ziauddin Rizvi, a Shia cleric, a conspiracy to create law and order problems in the area. "The violence is being sparked by the same elements who were behind the Sialkot and Karachi incidents," they said, adding that now they were attempting to sabotage the country's peaceful atmosphere. A protest rally will be held in front of the Lahore Press Club on Sunday.
Posted by: Fred || 01/08/2005 10:11:30 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


3 more die as Sringar tax office siege ends
Seven people died in a two-day battle between militants and security forces at a federal tax office in held Kashmir that ended on Saturday, police officials said. "The operation is over," senior police official Javed Maqdoomi told reporters in Srinagar.
"Duck!"
In all, two militants, four security force personnel and a tax official had died in the fighting, he said. The attack began when two grenade-hurling rebels stormed the high-security federal income tax compound late Friday afternoon. A dozen security force personnel and income tax officials were injured during the clash, police said. Police had originally believed they had killed both militants Friday but one remained alive, Maqdoomi said. The guerrilla began hurling grenades and firing at security forces when they approached the building Saturday. Friday's attack led to a massive blaze in which some 60 people were rescued from the three-storey building after flames believed sparked by the firing engulfed the top floor. Huge numbers of documents were lost. A lesser-known group al Mansoorain claimed responsibility for the attack in telephone calls to local media.
Posted by: Fred || 01/08/2005 9:53:24 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Six burnt alive in mob attack
At least 11 people were killed, six of them burnt alive, in remote northern Pakistan yesterday in violence that erupted after an attack on a minority Shi'ite Muslim leader, official and hospital sources said. The authorities imposed a curfew in Gilgit, the main town in the mountainous region known as Northern Areas, and called out the army to quell the violence after enraged Shi'ites went on the rampage following the attack on Ziauddin Moosavi. A mob set fire to the house of a forest department official, burning alive the official and five others. A local health department official was also attacked and killed. Moosavi was travelling in his car to a mosque in the centre of Gilgit, some 240km north of the capital Islamabad, when unidentified gunmen opened fire at him, critically injuring Moosavi and his three guards. Two of the guards later died.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 01/08/2005 9:18:27 PM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Ahhh.... yes..... the religion of Peace and Tolorence....
Posted by: Sloting Gronter5111 || 01/08/2005 21:45 Comments || Top||

#2  Would that our Outrage Industry (aka the liberal MSM) would pay half as much attention to the honor killings, widow burnings and other routine daily atrocities of the subcontinent that they devote to the Bush admin's memos and utterances.
Posted by: lex || 01/08/2005 21:54 Comments || Top||


Iraq-Jordan
Fort Carson GI acquitted in death of Iraqi
Posted by: GK || 01/08/2005 14:15 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Afghanistan/South Asia
3 Provocative CDs played in Ghatkopar blast trial
Discs contain footage of Babri demolition, Gujarat riots and jehad calls
Express News Service
Mumbai: THREE compact discs (CDs) seized from Aurangaba d-based IT firm, Pragma Soft were played on Thursday in the special court where the Ghatkopar blast trial was being heard. The blast in a bus just outside Ghatkopar station on December 2, 2002 killed two people and injured several others. The discs contained footage of the Babri demolition, the riots that followed and the Gujarat riots. It also contained provocative calls for a jehad against India.

The raid on Pragma Soft-owned by accused Mujameel Zameel Sheikh, -yielded 30 CDs, 20 floppy discs and three hard disks. The prosecution presented its 89th witness, a computer expert who saw the Pragma Soft raid. The first CD depicted the Babri demolition and the riots that foll owed. In the background, a voice recited a poem urging Muslims to revolt against India. The 7-minute poem idolises Maulana Masood Azhar, leader of Pakista n-based Jaish-e-Muhammad. While coming down heavily on India, it calls for a jehad against Hindustan. The second disc contained vivid descriptions of the Gujarat riots and the angst of its victims, who narrate their tragedies and curse Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. The third disc shows a young boy giving discourses on Islam.
Posted by: Manohar Kumar || 01/08/2005 10:36:38 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq-Jordan
Iraqi Jaish Mohammed leader admits ties to Syria, Iran
That'd be Mohammed's Army or Amy of Mohammed for those of you digging through the archives ...
An Iraqi militant suspected of involvement in beheadings and other bloody attacks told Iraqi authorities that his group has links with Iran and Syria, according to a tape aired Friday by an Arabic TV station funded by the U.S. government. Moayad Ahmed Yasseen, leader of Jaish Muhammad, which is Arabic for Muhammad's Army, was captured nearly two months ago in Fallujah, the former guerrilla stronghold west of Baghdad. Alhurra television, which has its headquarters in Washington, said the tape of his purported confession was made Dec. 24 and provided to the station by Iraq's Ministry of Defense.

Iraqi and U.S. officials, including President Bush, have accused Syria and Iran of meddling in Iraq's affairs and aiding insurgents, a charge both nations vehmently deny. Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said last week that Iraq's patience was running out with countries that support the insurgency. On the tape, Yasseen, a colonel in Saddam Hussein's army, said two other former Iraqi military officers belonging to his group were sent "to Iran in April or May, where they met a number of Iranian intelligence officials." He said they also met with Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He said Iranian officials provided money, weapons "and, as far as I know, even car bombs" for Jaish Muhammad.

Yasseen also said he got permission from Saddam - while the former dictator was in hiding after his ouster by the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 - to cross into Syria and meet with a Syrian intelligence officer to ask for money and weapons. He didn't say if the request was met. The U.S. military has said Jaish Muhammad appears to be an umbrella group for former Iraqi intelligence agents, army officers, security officials and members of Saddam's Baath Party. The group is known to have cooperated with Jordanian terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as well as other Saddam loyalists and al-Qaida supporters. Allawi has accused Jaish Muhammad of killing and beheading a number of Iraqis, Arabs and foreigners in Iraq.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 01/08/2005 12:24:56 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Africa: North
More on the GSPC ambush - senior Algerian officer killed
The Algerian "L Expression" daily said yesterday that 18 armed men of the Algerian security forces including a senior officer were killed on Sunday evening in an ambush implanted by an armed Islamic group in Baskara, to the south of Algiers, just one day after the Algerian authorities announced on Tuesday the dismantling of the armed Islamic group. "L Expression" described the ambush which was attributed to the "Salafeyah group for fighting and call" as the bloodiest among the armed attacks since three months. In addition to the killed, other 19 military men were injured.
That'd be the GSPC, of course...
The paper explained that some 50 attackers wearing Afghani costumes implanted one explosive in one of the military vehicles and this was followed by fire on the vehicle that resulted in killing 13 military men in addition to five armed civilians.
Important safety tip: If you see 50 guys in Afghan costume running around your countryside, and you don't live in Afghanistan, you should prob'ly call the cops...
"L expression" indicated that the ambush was carried out by members that came from different parts of the country led by Mukhtar known as "al-Awar" who lives on smuggling in the south.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 01/08/2005 1:01:46 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Afghanistan/South Asia
Al-Qaeda still seeking to kidnap Pakistani big-shots
The Interior Ministry has reissued an advisory to some cabinet members about a possible threat from Al Qaeda-linked militants, a government official said on Friday. The ministry said in a letter that it had information that "terrorist elements" might try to kidnap or attack some ministers, civil servants or army officers. A similar warning was issued last September. The cabinet members on top of the hit list were said to be Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Special Education and Social Development Minister Zobeida Jalal and Kashmir Affairs Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat, he said.

Meanwhile, the US on Friday advertised rewards in a top Pakistani daily for information leading to the capture of 14 Al Qaeda and Taliban leaders including Osama Bin Laden and Mulla Omar. The half-page advert in the Urdu language newspaper Jang, placed by the US Embassy in Islamabad, features mug shots of the wanted men and said anyone giving details to a special email address or hotlines would remain anonymous. The US has offered up to $25 million each for 9/11 mastermind Bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri, while Taliban chief Omar has a $10 million price on his head. The unusual step represents a renewed effort to track down the main Al Qaeda hierarchy, amid fears that Bin Laden's trail has gone cold three years after the Taliban were ousted in neighbouring Afghanistan.

The US Embassy said in a statement that the ad was the first in a series appearing in newspapers and on radio and television, and part of what it called the ongoing war against terrorism. It was designed to promote awareness of the US Rewards for Justice programme and to "urge people to bring some of the most wanted international terrorists to justice". Jang, with a circulation of nearly 3 million, is also widely read in Pakistan's lawless tribal areas along the border, where Pakistani troops have conducted operations since late 2003 to capture or kill Al Qaeda fugitives. The other suspects in the US advertisement each carry a reward of $5 million for 'terrorist' activities such as making explosives, training and methods of using poison for terror attacks. Similar ads have appeared in publications as far ranging as The New York Times, Paris Match, Germany's Die Welt, Pravda in Russia and the Egyptian paper Al Hayat, the embassy statement said.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 01/08/2005 12:42:33 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Someone has found the motherlode of Pulp.
Posted by: Shipman || 01/08/2005 11:22 Comments || Top||

#2  Heh heh heh. He said 'lode'.
Posted by: Butthead (Lake) || 01/08/2005 12:39 Comments || Top||


3 LeJ members busted
A large contingent of law enforcement agencies including intelligence and Elite Force personnel have arrested five alleged activists of the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi from a house in Hameed Park in Harbanspura Police precinct, sources told Daily Times on Friday. The detainees who included a woman were taken to an unidentified location for further investigations, sources said, adding that a large number of weapons including grenades, automatic rifles and bullets were seized. Sources said law enforcement agencies surrounded the entire area during the surprise raid. Even Harbanspura Police Station, in whose jurisdiction the house fell, was not told about the operation, they added.
That's prob'ly how they managed to catch the miscreants...
Law enforcement agencies had detained a man from Gujranwala several days ago and raided the Hameed Park residence on information provided by him, sources said. Harbanspura Police Station expressed ignorance about the raid, saying there was no record of any arrests in their jurisdiction. However, it did agree that 'something' happened at Hameed Park, but did not say more.
"Ummm... We dunno. How 'bout we check it out, an' we'll get back to yez?"
Sensitive agencies arrested three suspected Al Qaeda militants, including a Yemeni national, on Super Highway on Friday night. The sources said they intercepted a Toyota car on Super Highway and arrested three Al Qaeda activists. One of them was identified as a Yemeni national, Shaikh Yousuf, and that the other two as Musa Khan and Fahim. A lap top computer, a satellite phone and a Russian-made weapon were recovered from their possession. An Islamic militant escaped from the custody of an investigative agency in the city on Friday night. Efforts are being made to recapture him and his photographs have been sent to sensitive agencies.
I see Mahmoud the Weasel's still employed...
Posted by: Dan Darling || 01/08/2005 12:43:18 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Nuggets from the Urdu press
Police hunts actors in Multan
According to Jang, Multan DCO ordered the Multan police to attack the theatres in the city to root out fahashi (obscenity). The police raided the theatres and arrested 37 actors and producers. The citizens had to run around saving their lives. When they demanded their money back the theatres were not able to pay, after which the crowds destroyed the theatres. Actresses Sitara and Neha Ali lost their luggage while one actress Hina Shaheen was able to flee Multan and come to Lahore. Multan fell after Gujranwala succumbed to moral policing earlier.

Sexually abused by clerics
Quoted in daily Pakistan, minister of state for religious affairs Dr Amir Liaquat Hussain stated that last year 2,000 cases of sexual abuse of children in schools were reported, many of them from the religious seminaries, but no action was taken. He said in 2004 only 500 cases were being investigated. He said it was time the nation woke up to the bitter truth of child abuse in the seminaries. Meanwhile parliament in Islamabad demanded that he apologise for having accused the clergy of sexual abuse of children and thus spreading AIDS. Daily Pakistan reported that in a rally of the MMA, minister Amir Liaquat was burnt in effigy. According to Nawa-e-Waqt, in Karachi MQM's deputy convenor Dr Farooq Sattar too criticised his minister for maligning the ulema. Minister Amir Liaquat later clarified that he had been misquoted.

Hide sexual abuse by clerics
Quoted by Jang, minister for religious affairs Ijazul Haq stated that it was wrong to say that the clerics in the seminaries sexually abused the children put in their charge. He added that if such incidents were reported they should be concealed to save the repute of the ulema from being blemished.

Cleric ousted for gambling
According to Khabrain, the traders of Shubda Bazar in Peshawar claimed that they had removed Maulana Shuaib from the bazaar mosque because he had arranged gambling in the building of the mosque. They said he was a pretender and that he had taken a delegation of fake mullahs to Afghanistan to meet president Karzai.

Boys and girls can sit together
Quoted in Jang, DG Parks & Horticulture said that if young couples were sitting in the Race Course Park in Lahore there was no law which disallowed them to do so. He said he would not comment on the attack mounted by the Lahore police against the youth, after which they were taken to a police station.

Nasibo Lal beaten up
Quoted in daily Pakistan, singer Nasibo Lal said that she was slapped and beaten with shoes in the film industry if she refused to sing obscene songs. Talking to journalists she started crying while describing how the government too forced her to perform in front of visiting Indian prime minister Vajpayee when she was crying over her mother's dead body. She claimed that death threats were delivered when she refused to sing. She said she was given great respect in India and she was prepared to go to India a hundred times.

'Tiger' Niazi and sexual hunger of troops
Sarerahe wrote in Nawa-e-Waqt that General 'Tiger' Niazi commanding troops in East Pakistan in 1971 used to ask his troops about how many Bengalis they had killed and how many women they had raped. When asked why he did that, he said how could he expect his troops to wait till they reached Jhelum to satisfy their desires.
Posted by: Paul Moloney || 01/08/2005 8:29:54 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Boys and girls can sit together

This is just asking for trouble. They better get to work on a solution before that fahashi stuff starts happening.
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/08/2005 10:08 Comments || Top||

#2  >Quoted in daily Pakistan, singer Nasibo Lal said that she was slapped and beaten with shoes in the film industry <

Did they curse her mustache too?
Posted by: davemac || 01/08/2005 10:43 Comments || Top||

#3  I thought Fridays was nuggets day.

Now my intereal calendar is all messed up!
Posted by: CrazyFool || 01/08/2005 10:54 Comments || Top||

#4  Way good on the illustration! LOL! Is a framable copy for sale?
Posted by: Shipman || 01/08/2005 11:01 Comments || Top||

#5  Hmm. Fred actually had an illustration on hand that matched the subject matter. That's scary.

About the post itself...

Cleric ousted for gambling

According to Khabrain, the traders of Shubda Bazar in Peshawar claimed that they had removed Maulana Shuaib from the bazaar mosque because he had arranged gambling in the building of the mosque. They said he was a pretender and that he had taken a delegation of fake mullahs to Afghanistan to meet president Karzai.


Or is this a case of, he brought some people to meet Pres. Karzai and the authorities in WPL came down on him like a ton of bricks?
Posted by: Phil Fraering || 01/08/2005 11:46 Comments || Top||

#6  it's ok to diddle the madrassah boys, but don't you dare gamble!
Posted by: Frank G || 01/08/2005 13:05 Comments || Top||

#7  Phil, from my inside look, Fred's image library is beginning to look like .com's. I'm a little worried, I don't mind saying ...
Posted by: Steve White || 01/08/2005 13:39 Comments || Top||

#8  I advise keeping CG on retainer.
Posted by: Shipman || 01/08/2005 14:45 Comments || Top||


Curfew in Pakistani town after sectarian unrest
Pakistani authorities imposed a curfew in a remote northern town on Saturday after rioting erupted following an attack on a minority Shi'ite Muslim leader, officials said. Shi'ite leader Ziauddin Moosavi was travelling in his car to a mosque in the centre of Gilgit, a town 240 km (150 miles) north of the capital Islamabad, when unidentified gunmen opened fire at him, critically injuring him and his two guards. The attack enraged Shi'ite Muslims who went on rampage after the attack and set government buildings and cars on fire. A local official said the curfew had been imposed and army had been called out to quell violence. No one claimed responsibility for the attack but police suspected it was a sectarian incident.
Posted by: Paul Moloney || 01/08/2005 8:23:08 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq-Jordan
Top Zarqawi ally nabbed
American forces have announced the arrest of a key member of an al-Qaeda-linked group in Iraq. The man, known as Abu Ahmed, was captured last month. His group is said to be closely allied with that of militant leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The US military says Abu Ahmed had been conducting and co-ordinating terrorist operations in the Iraqi city of Mosul. The US has been focusing on Iraq's third largest city since it completed its offensive in Falluja last November. The US is hailing the capture of Abdul Aziz Saadun Ahmed Hamduni, known as Abu Ahmed, together with that of other members of the same group, as a sign of what it calls significant progress in the inevitable destruction of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's terrorist network in Mosul.
Posted by: Paul Moloney || 01/08/2005 8:20:31 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Rock ON!
Posted by: Elmoling Grinemp3178 || 01/08/2005 10:29 Comments || Top||

#2  Yes, but are they receiving humane treatment?
Posted by: Captain America || 01/08/2005 17:17 Comments || Top||

#3  if they're alive (for a short while longer) or didn't suffer "too long"- they rec'd humane treatment
Posted by: Frank G || 01/08/2005 17:50 Comments || Top||

#4  Yes he *is* receiving humane treatment.

(Don't ask me if he *was* .... )

Per the article quoted, we've admitted to having had them at least a month - all the time-sensitive stuff of any immediate worth has been extracted. The rest we can just grind them down over time for background and fill-in data.
Posted by: OldSpook || 01/08/2005 22:30 Comments || Top||

#5  Y or N, OS: is he being held in a country other than Eye-rack?
Posted by: lex || 01/08/2005 22:31 Comments || Top||

#6  Yes, but has the IRC had an opportunity to see the captive and write a bad report?
Posted by: Captain America || 01/08/2005 22:50 Comments || Top||

#7  Yes he *is* receiving humane treatment.

(Don't ask me if he *was* .... )

Per the article quoted, we've admitted to having had them at least a month - all the time-sensitive stuff of any immediate worth has been extracted. The rest we can just grind them down over time for background and fill-in data.
Posted by: OldSpook || 01/08/2005 22:30 Comments || Top||

#8  Yes he *is* receiving humane treatment.

(Don't ask me if he *was* .... )

Per the article quoted, we've admitted to having had them at least a month - all the time-sensitive stuff of any immediate worth has been extracted. The rest we can just grind them down over time for background and fill-in data.
Posted by: OldSpook || 01/08/2005 22:30 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine
Palestinian Gunmen Kill Israeli Soldier
Palestinian gunmen opened fire on a group of Israelis soldiers in the West Bank on Friday, killing one and wounding three, a day after militant leaders in the area told Palestinian presidential candidate Mahmoud Abbas they were ready to abide by a cease-fire.
That worked well, didn't it?
The attack by militants from the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a violent offshoot of Abbas' own Fatah movement, cast doubt on Abbas ability to prevent militant violence, a key Israeli demand to move forward with the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan.

Also Friday, Israeli forces shot and killed a 23-year-old Palestinian walking near the Gaza settlement of Netzarim, Palestinian security officials said. The Israeli army said the man was armed with an anti-tank missile and was suspected of planning an attack. In the West Bank shooting, off-duty Israeli soldier in civilian clothes and a civilian vehicle were driving near a settlement when a car carrying Palestinians approached from the opposite direction and blocked the road, the military said. At least one militant in the car shot at the soldiers before driving away, the military said. Abbas criticized the attack. "There is no justification for this operation, but there are a lot of reasons behind it," he said at a news conference, his last official event before Sunday's Palestinian presidential election, which he is predicted to win easily. Candidates are prohibited from campaigning the day before the vote. On Thursday, Abbas met with militants in Nablus, including Al Aqsa officials, and said afterward they were ready to support his cease-fire efforts. One Al Aqsa leader at the meeting, Ala Sanakra, said the group halted attacks in the West Bank weeks ago as a gesture to Abbas and would continue to refrain from attacks after the election. However, Al Aqsa claimed responsibility for Friday's attack. Abbas has refused to call for a crack down on the militants, preferring instead to push for a negotiated cease-fire. ...
Well, gosh - you mean Al Aqsa's commitment to Abbas was empty and meaningless? Who'da thunk it?
Posted by: .com || 01/08/2005 1:41:26 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  check their lips - if they're moving, the Paleo's lying
Posted by: Frank G || 01/08/2005 11:58 Comments || Top||

#2  I'm amazed: they actually shot at a legitimate military target.
Posted by: Ptah || 01/08/2005 18:54 Comments || Top||

#3  missed the 4yr old schoolgirl behind him?
Posted by: Frank G || 01/08/2005 18:59 Comments || Top||


Iraq-Jordan
US Forces Withdraw from Falluja in Hard and Bloody Fighting
From Jihad Unspun
Mafkarat al-Islam is reporting that after extremely hard and bloody fighting, US forces had withdrawn from the ash-Shuhada' and al-Jubayl neighborhoods in Fallujah, which they had intensively assaulted since early morning. Fighting raged there from 8am until around sunset at 5pm, and before that, the Americans had overrun Mujahideen positions in an-Nazal neighborhood, from which the Mujahideen withdrew.

The correspondent reported that before they pulled back at sunset, US troops used loudspeakers from a distance of 500 meters to call on the Mujahideen to surrender themselves to the occupation, after claiming that Mujahideen commanders Abdallah al-Jannabi and Umar Hadid had "fled from the battlefield, leaving their fighters to face death," as they put it. Mujahideen responded to the US verbal assault with a barrage of forty 82mm and 120mm mortar rounds. After that the Americans pulled back towards the an-Nazal neighborhood.

The correspondent of Mafkarat al-Islam spoke to the commander of a Mujahideen organization, Shaykh Abu Abdallah Amir who confirmed that the commander Abdallah al-Jannabi was alive and that the commander Umar Hadid was with him, and both of them are leading their fighters at this time. Shaykh Abu 'Abdallah added that the Mujahideen were burying the martyrs in the courtyards of houses and car parks, noting that the losses inflicted on the Americans had been extremely heavy, compared with those suffered by the Mujahideen, despite the disparity in the number of fighters and amount of equipment on both sides. Shaykh Abu Abdallah said that more than 450 US troops had been killed and 200 more wounded according to Mujahideen military estimates. More than 140 US tanks and armored vehicles have been destroyed, in addition 53 Humvees were set ablaze, five US helicopters had been shot down, including three Apaches and one fighter airplane, as well as six unmanned spyplanes. "We also succeeded in capturing 18 US troops, three of them wounded," said Shaykh Abu 'Abdallah. This followed 26 who were reportedly captured early in the day in the an-Nazal neighborhood who were later killed when the Mujahideen were forced to evacuate that area, since it would have been extremely difficult to transport them out of there.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Mike Sylwester || 01/08/2005 12:49:46 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  A correspondent of Mafkarat al-Islam in Fallujah...was caught smoking some of the best ganja ever produced in the region.
Posted by: anymouse || 01/08/2005 0:56 Comments || Top||

#2  Wow, we get our asses kicked every single day on Jizwadi Unstrung! Shit! Good thing that back in reality it's the opposite. I guess we're just about out of fantasy humvees, tanks, aircraft, and Generals, by now. Their fantasy Mujjies have knocked off everything in theater and well beyond.

The Baghdad Bob School of Jihadi Journalism is alive and well - and fantasizing for all it's worth. They're just not quite as entertaining as the Flounder, hisownself.
Posted by: .com || 01/08/2005 1:08 Comments || Top||

#3  ....This followed 26 who were reportedly captured early in the day in the an-Nazal neighborhood who were later killed when the Mujahideen were forced to evacuate that area, since it would have been extremely difficult to transport them out of there....
Assuming anyone believes any of this crap, where is the hue and cry for this obivious war crime?
Posted by: GK || 01/08/2005 1:38 Comments || Top||

#4  But GK, the mujahideen aren't formal, uniformed soldiers under the Geneva Convention, so nothing they do could possible be considered a *real* war crime.

/sarcasm
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/08/2005 9:13 Comments || Top||

#5  Plus the MSM will give them whatever cover they need.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 01/08/2005 10:23 Comments || Top||


Commander of Salafi Forces in Fallujah Killed by US Bomb
From Jihad Unspun
The Consultative Council of the Mujahideen of Fallujah has announced the martyrdom of Shaykh Abd al-Karim Muhammad, the commander of the Salafi Forces of Muhammad the Messenger of God in the battles in ash-Shuhada' neighborhood Thursday morning. He was killed when the US bombed a rocket launcher with which his group was bombarding US forces in the northern part of the city.

The communiqué that announced the commander's martyrdom, a copy of which Mafkarat al-Islam obtained, said "Shaykh 'Abd al-Karim was 60 years old and was one of the 'Ulama' [religious scholars] famous for his uprightness. Townspeople used to call him "the little Ibn Taymiyah." His eldest son was martyred three weeks ago in fighting in the old city of Fallujah." The communiqué said that more than a week ago, the Shaykh had rejected the latest alleged message from Osama bin Laden that called for putting the control of the fighting units in the hands of one man. The Shaykh believed that this would slow down the fighting operations throughout Iraq. The communiqué noted that Shaykh 'Abd al-Karim left behind a number of books that he had written, one being "at-Tariq ila Allah" [The Way to God], and the latest entitled, "al-Jannah fi Zilal as-Suyuf" [Paradise is in the shade of swords] in which he outlined the ethics of the holy warrior and the Islamic rules and ethics of jihad. He commented on the Prophet Muhammad's battle plans, their meaning and implications for contemporary warfare, and how the fighter in the path of God today can learn from them. ....
Posted by: Mike Sylwester || 01/08/2005 12:39:38 AM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Martyr this and martyr that, but the election is still planned to go on as scheduled. Well, keep on trying boys, and we'll keep on killing you.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 01/08/2005 0:46 Comments || Top||

#2  The Consultative Council of the Mujahideen of Fallujah has announced the martyrdom of Shaykh ‘Abd al-Karim Muhammad, the commander of the Salafi Forces of Muhammad the Messenger of God

Sounds like Idid Amin's titles. Seems the less important you are, the more important your titles are. It seems to be a disease that particularly affects Allan-worshipers.
Posted by: anymouse || 01/08/2005 1:00 Comments || Top||

#3  The Ibn Tamiyah noted in this article is the "patron saint" of Osama bin Laden, the Al Qaeda, and all Islamist organizations. The first question that interrogators should use on questionable terrorists is: "Do you agree that Ibn Tamiyah is a spitlicking kufr?" The response should be sufficient to determine whether to send the individual to the salt mines for twenty years.
Posted by: Tancred || 01/08/2005 10:50 Comments || Top||


Five embeds kicked out of Iraq in recent months
Via Captain's Quarters:
As Iraq moves closer to its first democratic elections later this month, the number of news organizations requesting embedded slots with military units there is on the rise, according to officials. But those new embeds better watch their step. E&P has learned that five journalists have been kicked out of embed slots in the past three months for reporting secure information. "They were all for operational security reasons, (revealing) something that would have been of use to the enemy," Maj. Kris Meyle, who runs the embed program, told E&P from Baghdad this morning. "Generally, it gets done very quickly. Usually it was something that was not done intentionally by the reporter." Meyle would not disclose the identities of those who were "disembedded" or the news organizations for which they worked. But she did not recall any from newspapers. "I remember them being broadcast," she said.
Posted by: Seafarious || 01/08/2005 6:48:31 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The embeds are certainly a mixed bag yielding the expected mix of coverage quality and honesty. I would not complain if the military kicked them all out and did their own reporting. It would be far more factual, honest, and spin-free. I don't want a Howard K Smith Commentary anymore. I want Sgt Friday.
Posted by: .com || 01/08/2005 0:10 Comments || Top||

#2  and don't let the screen door hit ya!
Posted by: 2b || 01/08/2005 0:12 Comments || Top||

#3  Don't agree in this case, .com. So long as standards (security and anything else deemed essential) are fanatically enforced (and butts removed promptly when lines are crossed), I think the embed concept is a net positive. Our forces are not just the best, but probably the most ethical and conscientious as well, and this comes through from embed reporting. I think this was the clear lesson of the major combat phase. When warranted, I'd like to see much more vigorous correction and counter-explanation by the military spokesmen to accompany the embed info, however. Who knows, maybe I can suggest it to CENTCOM on the spot -- I should be in Iraq prior to the end of the month.
Posted by: Verlaine || 01/08/2005 0:22 Comments || Top||

#4  Verlaine - Agree with combat phase - some excellent work was done. Since, well, it's always a sore spot around here, no? I agree that Mil should expect problems and have a couple of staff DB-diggers ready to counter stupidity, such as the October Surpise BS on missing explosives. Waaay too slow off the mark, even though the data was in their systems - a full and complete accounting. Mebbe it was keyed wrong - I can help wit dat! I dunno if they waited cuz they wanted to locate and stand up the guy who wrote them, which they did, or if they just didn't get it and realize this was a political bomb that had been tossed out and need immediate defusing.

So what are you going to do there? What can you tell us? I'd love to see the situation up close for myself - color me jealous! Need a web apps developer? Lol! Not bloody likely for a couple or three years, heh, but maybe someday. I've been sitting still for 10 months and I'm starting to get antsy, again.
Posted by: .com || 01/08/2005 1:03 Comments || Top||

#5  The military is screwed either way.
Posted by: Captain America || 01/08/2005 1:14 Comments || Top||

#6  The military is screwed either way.

If that's the case, then get rid of the embedded program and be done with it. No use doing something with no prospect of a future payoff.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 01/08/2005 11:18 Comments || Top||

#7  I'm not sure the embeds have been positive. Most consumers of MSM tripe, regardless of the country where they're based, made up their minds long ago re the virtue of the invasion and are in no mood to let facts disrupt their calm and certain certainties.

I'd say the one thing that can make a difference is first-hand accounts from the Iraqis themselves. We should be helping bloggers and amateur filmmakers in every way possible. Propaganda will come out, of course, but the fact is that most of the fascists in Iraq are more concerned with killing than with documenting what's going on in the streets.
Posted by: lex || 01/08/2005 22:06 Comments || Top||

#8  Lex, I agree with your point that the fewer middlemen (i.e. filters) between me and the news gatherer, the better. But embeds provided that, at least during combat. If all we get is somebody at the Saddam Sheraton regurgitating the daily press conference so that it comes out anti-US, we're not better off.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 01/08/2005 22:12 Comments || Top||

#9  Maybe they were a positive during the first six weeks of the war, but not since. Without question the MSM propaganda mill has worked overtime since last summer. Our only real hope in the PR war is to give voice to the Iraqis themselves.

It f***ing boggles the imagination that the big story now is anything other than the elections, an extraordinary leap forward for not just the Iraqis but for all the non-Israeli peoples of the middle east.

But La historia m'absolvera
Posted by: lex || 01/08/2005 22:17 Comments || Top||



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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.
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Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Sat 2005-01-08
  Commander of Salafi Forces in Fallujah Killed
Fri 2005-01-07
  Abbas Calls for Peace Talks With Israel
Thu 2005-01-06
  Kerry Trashes Bush in Baghdad
Wed 2005-01-05
  Algeria celebrates the end of the GIA
Tue 2005-01-04
  Zarqawi in jug?
Mon 2005-01-03
  19 killed in Iraqi car bombing
Sun 2005-01-02
  Another most wanted found among Riyadh boomer scraps
Sat 2005-01-01
  Algerian deported from San Diego
Fri 2004-12-31
  NKors threaten to cut off contact with Japan
Thu 2004-12-30
  Ugandan officials meet rebel commanders near border with Sudan
Wed 2004-12-29
  43 Iraqis killed in renewed violence
Tue 2004-12-28
  Syria calls on US to produce evidence of involvement in Iraq
Mon 2004-12-27
  Car bomb kills 9, al-Hakim escapes injury
Sun 2004-12-26
  8.5 earthquake rocks Aceh, tsunamis swamp Sri Lanka
Sat 2004-12-25
  Herald Angels Sing

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