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Local Qaeda big turban titzup in Yemen strike
Today's Headlines
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Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 03/16/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Happy Birthday


Caution –Before opening links in this section or passing through the checkout line at the Supermarket, please have your children avert their eyes.

If the sight of scantily clad women accenting their God given and/or surgically enhanced assets offends you, proceed to the next section.

If you choose to review Rantburg on company time, it is suggested you have your resume up to date.


Gone to the Big Gam Locker in the Sky

Mercedes McCambridge aka Sadie Burke in "All the King's Men"

Cornell Borchers aka Stephanie Bauer/Karen Fielding in "Istanbul"

Miriam Bilenkin aka Buster Keaton's leading lady in the film "Steamboat Bill Jr"

Shirley Deane aka Princess Aura in "Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe"

Olga San Juan aka "Puerto Rican Pepperpot" aka Conchita in "The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend"

Dorothy Seastrom aka "Candy Kid", died of tuberculosis at 26


Living Gams


Kate Nelligan aka Olive Worthington in "The Cider House Rules" (59)





Nancy Wilson singer, songwriter and guitarist (56)




Isabelle Huppert aka Isabelle "Passion" (55)



María Belén Rueda García-Porrero aka Belén Rueda (Spanish Actress) (45)





Lauren Graham aka Lorelai Gilmore "Gilmore Girls" (43)




Contessa Brewer, Morning Meeting with Dylan Ratigan on MSLSD MSNBC (36)




Sienna Guillory aka Arya Dröttningu in "Eragon" (35)




Brooke Burns aka Jessie Owens in "Baywatch" (32)

Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 03/16/2010 0:40 Comments || Top||

#2 
Posted by: gorb || 03/16/2010 1:37 Comments || Top||

#3 
Oh my goodness! I better heed GB's disclaimer section next time I pass through here on my bicycle.

Gotta love Contessa. I watch her from time to time. Of course, I have the sound turned off . . . .

How 'bout a newsbabes news-anchor edition, GB? :-P
Posted by: gorb || 03/16/2010 1:46 Comments || Top||

#4  Thank you, GolfBravo. You are a thoughtful and considerate gentleman with an artistic eye and a incisive use of language. :-)
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/16/2010 7:40 Comments || Top||

#5  Thanks, GB. My resume is up to date.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 03/16/2010 11:05 Comments || Top||

#6  IMHO Nancy Wilson is still one of the hottest, and best, singer, songwriter, guitarists around.
Posted by: WolfDog || 03/16/2010 11:34 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
British Road Warriors
>
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 03/16/2010 12:17 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I would not like the idea of traveling 100 miles with a big ass target painted on me. Good story and I like soldiers who aren't shy about throwing some expletives out there when required.
Posted by: Cyber Sarge || 03/16/2010 16:36 Comments || Top||


RAT Tornado GR4s patrol the skies over Afghanistan
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 03/16/2010 11:46 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Rat patrol? I thought they had jeeps with .50 cals...
Posted by: gromky || 03/16/2010 13:03 Comments || Top||

#2  Fantastic kit, we just need more of it.
Posted by: Dave UK || 03/16/2010 17:22 Comments || Top||


Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 363 Arrives in Afghanistan
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 03/16/2010 11:42 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


McChrystal bringing most American Special Ops forces under his direct control
Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top American commander in Afghanistan, has brought most American Special Operations forces under his direct control for the first time, out of concern over continued civilian casualties and disorganization among units in the field.

"What happens is, sometimes at cross-purposes, you got one hand doing one thing and one hand doing the other, both trying to do the right thing but working without a good outcome," General McChrystal said in an interview.

Critics, including Afghan officials, human rights workers and some field commanders of conventional American forces, say that Special Operations forces have been responsible for a large number of the civilian casualties in Afghanistan and operate by their own rules.

Maj. Gen. Zahir Azimi, the chief spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defense, said that General McChrystal had told Afghan officials he was taking the action because of concern that some American units were not following his orders to make limiting civilian casualties a paramount objective.

"These special forces were not accountable to anyone in the country, but General McChrystal and we carried the burden of the guilt for the mistakes they committed," he said. "Whenever there was some problem with the special forces we didn't know who to go to, it was muddled and unclear who was in charge."

General McChrystal has made reducing civilian casualties a cornerstone of his new counterinsurgency strategy, and his campaign has had some success: last year, civilian deaths attributed to the United States military were cut by 28 percent, although there were 596 civilian deaths attributed to coalition forces, according to United Nations figures. Afghan and United Nations officials blame Special Operations troops for most of those deaths.

"In most of the cases of civilian casualties, special forces are involved," said Mohammed Iqbal Safi, head of the defense committee in the Afghan Parliament, who participated in joint United States-Afghan investigations of civilian casualties last year. "We're always finding out they are not obeying the rules that other forces have to in Afghanistan."

"These forces often operate with little or no accountability and exacerbate the anger and resentment felt by communities," the Human Rights Office of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan wrote in its report on protection of civilians for 2009.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 03/16/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This implies they were not under his control? Who controlled them? Why were they allowed to under the control of anyone except the Theater commander?

This all sounds like political hogwash aimed at bluffing the Afghans into relaxing. McCrystal had control of SOF, he was the commander of all forces after all.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 03/16/2010 0:25 Comments || Top||

#2  Bingo. What Pan said.
Posted by: lex || 03/16/2010 0:27 Comments || Top||

#3  BLUF - Rubbish!

New York Times article...closes with:

"These forces often operate with little or no accountability and exacerbate the anger and resentment felt by communities," the Human Rights Office of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan wrote in its report on protection of civilians for 2009.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/16/2010 8:24 Comments || Top||

#4  49 Pan, lex: I'm not so sure his control was direct, because of SOCOM rules. As commander, USFOR-A, he would have been in overall command, by operationally, he would have likely needed to go through Admiral Eric T. Olson, at their headquarters at MacDill AFB, near Tampa.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 03/16/2010 10:50 Comments || Top||

#5  A, Your right to an extent. SOF units are operationally controlled by the geographic commander, McChrystal while ADM Olsen still owns them. The SOCOM, USASOC mission is to suppot the geographic commander not operate around him.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 03/16/2010 11:31 Comments || Top||

#6  “(4) Except as otherwise directed by the Secretary of Defense, all forces operating within the geographic area assigned to a unified combatant command shall be assigned to, and under the command of, the commander of that command. The preceding sentence applies to forces assigned to a specified combatant command only as prescribed by the Secretary of Defense.
“(b) CHAIN OF COMMAND.-unless otherwise directed by the President, the chain of command to a unified or specified combatant command runs-
“(1) from the President to the Secretary of Defense; and
“(2) from the Secretary of Defense to the commander of the combatant command.
- Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986
Posted by: Procopius2k || 03/16/2010 12:37 Comments || Top||

#7  The NY times is quite lazy. I believe to what they allude to was reported by the washington compost the day before:
"The Marine approach - creative, aggressive and, at times, unorthodox - has won many admirers within the military. The Marine emphasis on patrolling by foot and interacting with the population, which has helped to turn former insurgent strongholds along the Helmand River valley into reasonably stable communities with thriving bazaars and functioning schools, is hailed as a model of how U.S. forces should implement counterinsurgency strategy. But the Marines' methods, and their insistence that they be given a degree of autonomy not afforded to U.S. Army units, also have riled many up the chain of command in Kabul and Washington, prompting some to refer to their area of operations in the south as "Marineistan." They regard the expansion in Delaram and beyond as contrary to the population-centric approach embraced by Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, and they are seeking to impose more control over the Marines."

The first thing that went through my mind was McCrystal is wrong as is the UN.

See what Freerange has to say about it from the 13th.

Looks like it is working rather well to me as it is now.
This is a big deal here.
Posted by: newc || 03/16/2010 12:42 Comments || Top||

#8  "These forces often operate with little or no accountability and exacerbate the anger and resentment felt by communities,"
"We're always finding out they are not obeying the rules that other forces have to in Afghanistan."

Angers me to see the spin that our special forces kill a higher number of civilians, and are portrayed as out of control, or loose cannons.

Our special forces are the best of the best and I am sick and tired of seeing our guys bashed constantly including our three SEAL's accused recently.

And really, how many are insurgents and retreat and come back presenting themselves as civilians anyway.

How about standing up for our guys putting their life on the line every time they go out there to protect our freedoms. This PC crap is just that, crap.

end rant, this time. (I find myself ranting more and more every day).
Posted by: Jan at work || 03/16/2010 16:51 Comments || Top||

#9  TOPIX/WORLD NEWS > US SPECIAL FORCES IN AFGHANISTAN NOW [mostly] UNDER NATO.

and

SAME > US SETS UP PRIVATE MILITARY FORCE TO HUNT DOWN MILITANTS.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 03/16/2010 20:58 Comments || Top||


One dead in rocket attack on Bagram airbase
[Iran Press TV Latest] One person has been killed in an early morning rocket attack on the largest US military hub north of the Afghan capital of Kabul, NATO says.

The US military did not give details of the Monday attack on Bagram Air Field. It also did not say whether the victim was from the military personnel or a civilian at the base.

A local police chief in the Bagram district of Parwan province said one rocket was fired about 4 am on the base, but a Taliban spokesman told the Associated Press that two rockets targeted the base.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 03/16/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Africa North
Algerian father, son face terrorism charges
[Maghrebia] Algerian security forces on Sunday (March 14th) arrested a father and son for allegedly supporting terrorists in the Tizi-Ouzou region, Tout sur l'Algerie reported Monday. The employee of the Technology and Agronomy Institute and his son are charged with supplying logistical support to armed terrorist groups. Gendarmes reportedly recovered a "significant" sum of money during the search of the suspects' home in Boukhalfa and have not ruled out possible charges for money laundering, sources said.
Posted by: Fred || 03/16/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa

#1  ION TOPIX > NORTH AFRICAN STATES TO MEET ON RISING AL QAEDA THREAT [Sahara-Sahel regions].
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 03/16/2010 20:33 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
Explosions rock site of amnesty talks in Nigeria
Two bomb explosions rock Nigeria's southern oil-rich city of Warri just outside the site of talks over granting amnesty to militants in the area.

The blasts took place minutes after a bomb threat issued by the region's main militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).

According to eye witnesses, two car bombs went off minutes apart from each other outside the state governor's office, prompting the delegates to run for their lives. One person was killed, police said.

MEND said the explosions were meant to "announce our continued presence" and warned of renewed attacks against the oil industry in the coming days, threatening firms such as French energy giant Total that have so far avoided significant strikes on their infrastructure.

Government officials had gathered at the place to discuss the implementation of an amnesty program brokered last year. Several armed groups recently agreed to the terms of the amnesty program, but some MEND leaders rejected the government's offer.

The blasts were a major setback for Nigeria's acting President Goodluck Jonathan as his government is trying to calm ethnic tensions in the center of the country.

Armed groups have for years caused havoc in the oil-rich Niger Delta by carrying out a wave of assaults on oil installations. They complain that despite vast oil output in the area, the region has remained poor and undeveloped.
Posted by: Fred || 03/16/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Arabia
Al-Qaeda local chief killed in Yemen strike
[Dawn] A suspected Al-Qaeda chief was killed in a new wave of Yemeni air raids against the branch of the global terror network thought to be behind a botched US airliner bombing, an official said.

Jamil Nasser Abdullah al-Ambari, 25, believed to be the leader of Al-Qaeda in southern Abyan province, was one of two militants killed in the overnight raid, the security official told AFP, requesting anonymity. Ambari had figured on a list of wanted militants, but the official did not disclose the name of the other dead person.

The defence ministry had said earlier that an air strike killed two senior Al-Qaeda members on Sunday night in Abyan's Moudia district. "Our air force carried out a raid on terrorist elements who were planning attacks on vital installations (and) two Al-Qaeda leaders were killed," said a report on the ministry's 26sep.net news website.

Yemen's air force launched a second successive day of air strikes on Monday, targeting a suspected Al-Qaeda training camp in the same area, the defence ministry said. A brief ministry statement said the raids were carried out in Moudia, but did not confirm whether anyone was killed or wounded in the latest strike.

A security official, who asked not to be named, said the disfigured remains of those killed in the strikes had been transported to the capital for DNA testing, and suggested the death toll could be as high as nine people.
Yemen has sophisticated medical labs capable of doing sophisticated DNA testing? Wonders never cease.
Moudia residents reached by telephone alleged the raids caused civilian casualties, but fell short of giving figures. Some said they fled their homes in fear of being targeted by the strikes.

Jet fighters swooped at a low altitude over the town, part of a province that is dominated by southern separatists who are demanding the secession of the regions of former South Yemen. The air raids were the first since January 20, when Yemeni warplanes pounded the house of Ayed al-Shabwani, a local Al-Qaeda chief in the province of Maarib, east of Sanaa. Shabwani himself was believed to have been killed a week earlier along with five other suspects in an air raid in the north of the country.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Yemen's local branch of Al-Qaeda, had denied then that any of the six militants were killed in the attack on three 4x4 vehicles in a remote desert area.

Yemen has intensified operations against AQAP, which claimed responsibility for the failed Christmas Day attempt to blow up a US airliner. Some 34 suspected AQAP militants were thought to have been killed in an air strike which targeted a suspected training camp in Abyan on December 17. Many civilians were claimed to have been killed in that attack. On December 24, security officials claimed 34 more AQAP militants were killed in a strike that targeted a meeting of Al-Qaeda members in Shabwa province, 650 kilometres east of Sanaa.

Earlier this month, a security official said 11 men were arrested in the capital Sanaa on suspicion of plotting attacks for Al-Qaeda. In February, security forces arrested three suspected Al-Qaeda members and killed seven of its leaders, including the group's top commander in Yemen, Qassem al-Rimi, and Abdullah Mehdar, an Al-Qaeda chief in Shabwa province, officials said.

The United States has reportedly supplied Yemen with intelligence and other support in its operations against Al-Qaeda. But US President Barack Obama has said he has "no intention" of sending in troops.
Posted by: Fred || 03/16/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia


Yemen detains Iranian ship over suspicious cargo
[Al Arabiya Latest] Yemen's security forces have detained an Iranian ship in Yemeni coastal waters off the island of Socotra over suspicions about its cargo, and the crew members are under investigation, state media said on Monday.

The ship, which state media said had entered Yemeni waters illegally, was held after fishermen reported its presence to authorities. The crew, 15 Pakistani sailors and an Iranian captain, are being investigated and the ship searched. "The security apparatus in the Socotra archipelago does not rule out that the Iranian ship may have been involved in smuggling drugs to Yemen," the Defense Ministry's online newspaper said. It did not say when the ship was detained.
Posted by: Fred || 03/16/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


China-Japan-Koreas
UN: N. Koreans Live in Pervasive 'State of Fear'
At least the special wrapper for human rights is noticing ...
The United Nations special investigator for human rights in North Korea says the country's government has created a pervasive "State of Fear," which strips the population of all rights and freedoms. The investigator, whose mandate ends in June, has just submitted a report to the UN Human Rights Council, which takes stock of the situation in North Korea during the past six years.

The UN Investigator, Vitit Muntarbhorn, presents a bleak assessment of the human-rights situation in North Korea. During the past six years, he says he has witnessed numerous harrowing and horrific abuses perpetrated against the population.

"Such as public executions, such as all kinds of malpractices in prison against women, asylum seekers, collective punishment, torture, etc. of which there are many, many reports," said Vitit Muntarbhorn.

Muntarbhorn says government policies are distorted in favor of militarization and the ruling elite. He says the government uses food to keep control over the people and to make them dependent on the state. He says there has been a general decline in health care and education. He says children are forced to plow fields, cultivate poppy and engage in other slave-like work.

The UN investigator says he has interviewed scores of women, children and men who have sought refuge in South Korea. He says the stories he has heard are terrible, particularly those related by women.

"The majority of the interviewees, scores and scores that I had access to, have been women who have been through various, multiple traumas along the way," he said. "Trafficked, smuggled, having to pay US$3,000, promised to pay upon arrival in the final destination country. Sometimes they are tortured, punished if sent back to the country of origin, then they leave again. Sometimes they end up in forced marriage and they are trafficked again, smuggled again before they arrive in a destination country."

The UN investigator says he has reports from different sources that indicate North Korea operates many huge camps for political prisoners and their families. He says they often are held there in perpetuity.

He says many people die through hunger and slave labor, through brutality and atrocity.
What he doesn't say is what the UN should do about all this ...
A North Korean representative accuses the United States, Japan and the European Union of being behind this hostile report. He says these countries are resorting to this despicable and sinister back-door approach to cover their own gross violations of human rights, such as the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
Posted by: Steve White || 03/16/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I feel a strongly worded letter coming on!
Posted by: Spot || 03/16/2010 8:07 Comments || Top||

#2  How much did this study cost?
Posted by: DarthVader || 03/16/2010 8:34 Comments || Top||

#3  #2

Probably twice as much as the food aid being sent
when fringe benefits taken in to account.

That being said, are there any 5 star hotels in NK , im pretty sure Ryugyong Hotel doesnt fit the bill for our lavish taste Human Rights Council

Posted by: Oscar || 03/16/2010 11:37 Comments || Top||

#4  Why the surprise, UN? This crap has been going on in North Korea since shortly after the 1953 armistice. There isn't an African or South American dictatorship as total or as ruthless as North Korea - not even Zim-b0b-way. If the UN is just now noticing, who woke up their Rip Van Winkle?
Posted by: Old Patriot || 03/16/2010 14:10 Comments || Top||

#5  But how can they be a bad country, Bush is no longer President? Madeline halfbright said they were big fat happy fun time.
Posted by: Cyber Sarge || 03/16/2010 16:40 Comments || Top||


Europe
Spanish judiciary orders detention of ETA-FARC members
The Spanish judiciary has issued international bench warrants against several members of Basque terrorist group ETA and the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC), for alleged assassination plot against high-ranking Colombian government officers.
Excellent! Do some more digging because I'll bet the ETA and FARC have even deeper connections with Oogo ...
As reported by court sources, Judge Eloy Velasco, of the Spanish National Court issued last week bench warrants against six presumed ETA members, including Arturo Cubillas Fontan, who held an incumbency at the Venezuelan government, and five FARC members, Efe quoted.

Judge Velasco indicted last March 1, indicted six ETA members and seven FARC members, and gave an indication of their alleged links with the Venezuelan government.

According to the sources, the judge did not order the detention of the two FARC members because one of them is dead, and because the only woman facing trial, Remedios García Albert, is in Spain.
Posted by: Steve White || 03/16/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I'd like to see a meeting with the FARC trying to pronounce ETA names
Posted by: Frank G || 03/16/2010 19:08 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Shootout at ISRO space centre near Bangalore
Two people were early Tuesday morning involved in a shootout with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) security personnel around its high-security facility at Byalalu near Bangalore.

The two men, who were roaming around the area, fired at the security personnel on being questioned forcing the security forces to return fire, but the duo escaped.

"Two people were seen moving in a suspicious manner outside our centre," ISRO spokesman S Satish told reporters. "The police immediately challenged them, and they opened fire in retaliation. The shootout continued for some time before the two men fled." "The police are investigating. It is up to them to see whether it was a terror attack," he added.

The duo fired at them with a small pistol, after which the security guards retaliated. The incident occurred between 3.30am and 4.00am, sources said.

The home ministry sees ISRO buildings as a high priority target for terrorists, and has beefed up security around them after warnings of possible attacks.

A top CISF official said an ISRO security man spotted the two keeping a close watch on the installation and challenged them but the duo fired two rounds at him. He retaliated and fired two rounds, he said.

"The security man then changed position and fired some more rounds. Even before reinforcements could arrive, the two fled," the official said.

The Inspector General of Police (central range) and DIG of CISF, which is in charge of security at airports and vital installations, visited the area.

The Indian Deep Space Network, commissioned in 2008 at Byalalu village near Bangalore, is the ground segment for providing deep space support for India's first Lunar mission, Chandrayaan-1.

The technical facilities in IDSN include a 32-metre Deep Space Antenna, an 18-metre Antenna Terminal, an 11-metre Antenna Terminal, Indian Space Science Data Centre (ISSDC) and a Technical Services complex.

The IDSN is the first of its kind project in India that provides ISRO the capability to handle deep space missions and also provides cross support to other deep space missions of external space agencies because of its inter-operable features and sophisticated capabilities.
Posted by: john frum || 03/16/2010 17:52 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The hatred of the Amish for high tech has to stop.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 03/16/2010 17:57 Comments || Top||

#2  I'm sick and tired of the anti-Amish bias. They could just as easily have been Mennonites or Quakers.
Posted by: Halliburton - Mysterious Conspiracy Division || 03/16/2010 18:32 Comments || Top||

#3  Could have been Amish but no doubt the Chicoms are interested in the Indian space program as well.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 03/16/2010 19:07 Comments || Top||

#4  TOPIX > INDIA SETS TARGET OF THREE YEARS TO [completely] ELIMINATE THREAT FROM MAOISTS.
Circa Year 2012, but IMO make it 2012-2015 for good measure???

versus

SAME > SEIZED MAOIST DOC REVEALS PLAN FOR NEW ATTACKS THROUGHOUT INDIA;

and

NEWS KERALA/OTHER > REPORT: TERROR SUSPECTS CLAIM DAWOOD IBRAHIM WAS PLANNING TO BLOW UP NEW TARGETS IN MUMBAI; + INDIA TELLS PAKISTAN: STOP TERROR THREATS OR WE WILL DEAL WITH YOU.

IMO Read, INDJUH will use unilater MILITARY FORCE, ETC. AGZ PAKISTAN + PAK-BASED TERROR GROUPS.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 03/16/2010 20:54 Comments || Top||


Police find cache of explosives in Lahore
[Dawn] Police said that they have uncovered a cache of bomb-making equipment and more than 3,300 pounds (1,500 kilograms) of explosives in an empty shop in the blast-battered city of Lahore on Monday.

Police Superintendent Ali Nasir says two suicide jackets, 16 hand grenades and hundreds of bullets were also found.

Police raided the shop Monday after a tip from the owner, who told authorities he'd become suspicious because his new tenants had never opened for business.

Police Chief Parvaiz Rathore said that while the investigation was not yet complete, ''we believe the recent terrorist attacks in the city have been originating from this place.''

Lahore has been battered by a string of explosions in recent days. The discovery was made near where five small bombs exploded Friday evening - hours after two suicide bombers killed 55 people in Lahore in coordinated explosions that also wounded about 100 people.
Posted by: Fred || 03/16/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP

#1  NEWS KERALA > US OFFICIAL: LeT HAS 20 TARGETS IN INDIA, out of possible 320 potens WORLDWIDE targets discovered in a list by POST-MUMBAI/26-11 nvestigative authorities.

* SAME > LAHORE BLASTS: TERROR RETURNING TO DEVOUR ITS OWN CREATORS. PAK Govt-Army forced to turn agz many of the same Terror Groups it had supported andor helped create???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 03/16/2010 2:25 Comments || Top||

#2  Police said that they have uncovered a cache of bomb-making equipment and more than 3,300 pounds (1,500 kilograms) of explosives in an empty shop in the blast-battered city of Lahore

one wonders why they took them out of the mosque in the first place. seems to really up the risk of discovery
Posted by: abu do you love || 03/16/2010 17:22 Comments || Top||


Senior Pakistani Taliban Leader Detained
Pakistani forces have arrested a top Pakistani Taliban leader, Qari Shabbir, in Faisalabad on Sunday.

Qari Shabbir is said to be a close associate of recently killed extremist Dr Moaz Elias Umar Kundi. Shabbir has been shifted to an unknown place for investigation.

Sources told Geo TV that he provided logistic support to the militants in the Punjab. However, police has denied his arrest.

The arrest comes in a series of detention of both Taliban and Al Qaeda leaders in Pakistan over the past one month. Pakistani forces nabbed Afghan Taliban No 2, Mullah Baradar, who was on the day-to-day command of militant operations in Afghanistan.
This article starring:
Mullah Baradar
Qari Shabbir
Posted by: Fred || 03/16/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Hamas: Palestinians must launch intifada
Hamas on Tuesday called on Palestinians to launch an intifada to prevent the "Zionist plot" to take over Jerusalem.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Musa Abu Marzouk, deputy chairman of the Hamas political bureau, urged the Palestinians to join forces against Israel's "intentions" to drive out Muslims and Christians from Jerusalem.

"What happens in Jerusalem will lead to an explosion in the region, and we are studying the response that will bring vitory for Al-Aksa Mosque," Channel 10 quoted a spokesman for the group's military wing as saying.

In a Gaza rally, senior Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum called on the Fatah leadership in Ramallah to assist the "resistance movements" in their struggle against "Israeli war crimes in Jerusalem."

Israeli Arab MKS also harshly criticized the government over clashes that broke out between Palestinian rioters and security forces in the capital, blaming Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's policies for the unrest.

MK Taleb A-Sanaa (UAL-Ta'al), who visited the Aksa Mosque compound on Tuesday morning, said that "the Netanyahu government is dangerous and irresponsible, leading the area to a third intifada."

Sanaa called on the Arab League to put the issue of Jerusalem at the top of its priorities. "Jerusalem is the key to peace and the key to war," he said.

MK Haneen Zuabi (Balad) also criticized the government, calling its policy in Jerusalem "no less than ethnic cleansing."

This policy "is a strong motive for launching a third intifada, even more than [former prime minister Ariel] Sharon's Temple Mount visit [after which the 2001 intifada broke out]," Zuabi said.

"I warn the government of an escalation that will ignite the field and will lead the region to a violent conflict. We will not stand by as the Palestinians' rights, and specifically the rights of Jerusalem's residents, are trampled upon," Zuabi said.

The IDF issued a response condemning remarks by Hamas officials.


"Israel with disgust the recent contemptuous, anti-Semitic remarks of senior Hamas officials, aimed at inflaming emotions in the region," the statement read. "These tenebrous, ignorant and venomous remarks disseminated by the Hamas terror organization against Jews and Judaism, once again emphasize that Hamas is not only a violent, murderous terror organization, which has caused grief and sorrow to all nations in the region, but is also an active anti-Semitic organization whose foundation documents refer to Jews as animals and advocate the murder of Jews.

"Israel calls on intellectuals of all religions and beliefs to resolutely condemn these declarations of incitement and animosity made by the senior officials of this anti-Semitic terrorist organization against Jews and non-Jews alike," the statement concluded.
Posted by: Beavis || 03/16/2010 16:18 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I guess some ppl just like getting their ass kicked
Posted by: chris || 03/16/2010 17:57 Comments || Top||

#2  because Palestinians are all for Christians in Nazareth, Bethlehem, ...
Posted by: Frank G || 03/16/2010 19:12 Comments || Top||

#3  Israel calls on intellectuals of all religions and beliefs to resolutely condemn these declarations of incitement and animosity made by the senior officials of this anti-Semitic terrorist organization against Jews and non-Jews alike.

Well, that leaves out most Islamic "scholars", leftist priests, new age dumbasses, etc.
Posted by: DarthVader || 03/16/2010 20:34 Comments || Top||

#4  SPERO NEWS OP-ED > FAYYAD'S PLAN SHOW PALESTINIANS ARE SERIOUS [about PALS STATEHOOD ee various PA Entities joining, working together on common Statehood + central PA Govt agendums].
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 03/16/2010 20:37 Comments || Top||

#5  aimed at inflaming emotions in the region

Yeah. Inflaming emotions would be bad, wouldn't it.
Posted by: gorb || 03/16/2010 22:52 Comments || Top||

#6  I suspect the Palestinian people are losing their lust for these tantrums.

Posted by: crosspatch || 03/16/2010 22:53 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Police hunt two suspects who killed hero officer in southern Thailand
Police are hunting for two men suspected of killing Bannang Sata police chief Colonel Sompian Eksomya, fatally wounding a senior sergeant major, and injuring two other officers at Yala in the deep South last Friday. The suspects were identified as Matorhae Silae, 31, and Yukeebeulee Jehdeemae, 31. Both are also wanted for a number of other security-related crimes.

Police believe the suspects went into hiding along the borders shared by Bannang Sata and Krong Pinang districts after they staged the bomb attack and opened fire on Somphian's pickup last Friday.

Sompian was killed in the attack along with Pol Sen Sgt Major Sophon Intaraboworn. Two other police on patrol in the same pickup were also hurt.

Sompian worked hard for the safety of locals in his area throughout his career. The 59-year-old had been based in the deep South for four decades and his dedication had won him love and respect from local people.

Sophon's widow Somjit said her husband had intended to serve until he retired or received a posting elsewhere.
Funeral rites will be held at Wat Phutthaphum, a royal monastery, in Yala.

"I don't want to see such tragedy strike any other family. I hope people in the deep South will have love for one another and stay united. Please look at the policemen who are ready to sacrifice their lives for the nation," Somjit said.

The National Police Bureau has offered Bt440,000 in compensation to Somjit's family in addition to financial assistance for his funeral. Sophon will also be awarded the rank of police colonel with a posthumous salary rise (for his pension).

Somjit will be recruited to the police force and assigned to clerical duty. Her 14-year-old son, Natthanon, will get scholarships until he earns a bachelor's degree. He will have the right to join the police force if he wishes. "I want to be a policeman like my dad. I want to serve the country," Natthanon said.

Sophon was clearly not the last victim in the ongoing wave of violence in the deep South. Late on Sunday night, Pol Sen Sgt Major Jehsoh Hayeesamoh was shot dead just as he was preparing to leave a teashop close to his home in Pattani's Mayo district. Jehsoh, 54, was shot twice.

Witnesses said his attackers rushed at him on two motorcycles and shot him in the head. "After he fell down, they fired another shot to make sure he was really dead," a witness said. "They also took away his gun". At the time of the shooting, there were more than 20 customers in the teashop.
Posted by: ryuge || 03/16/2010 03:09 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran hardliners protest outside Karroubis house
[Al Arabiya Latest] A group of hardliners besieged the Tehran home of opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi, shouting death slogans and calling for him to be put on trial, reports said on Monday.

The Fars news agency identified the small but vocal crowd which gathered on Sunday outside the building where Karroubi lives as "students and families of martyrs" of the Iran-Iraq war.

Pictures carried by the pro-government Borna news agency showed the building had been defaced with red coloring and slogans pronouncing "Death to Karroubi" had been scribbled on the walls.

The walls had also been plastered with death slogans against main opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi and former president Mohammed Khatami.

"We want the judiciary to put the leaders of sedition on trial as soon as possible," Fars quoted the protesters as saying. They also denounced Karroubi as a "hypocrite" -- the term used by Iranian officials for the enemies of state.

Some brandished placards that read "Karroubi is a Mossad agent" -- linking the two-time former parliament speaker to the intelligence service of Iran's arch foe Israel.

A relative of Karroubi confirmed the incident to AFP and said the cleric would soon make a statement.

Karroubi and Mousavi have led a protest movement against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad after his June re-election, which they reject as massively rigged.

Karroubi was attacked by hardliners during Iran's annual revolution day rally on Feb. 11 and his car was shot at earlier in January in the city of Qazvin west of Tehran.
Posted by: Fred || 03/16/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran



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