Insurgents in Afghanistan have changed tactics in how they place deadly improvised explosive devices (IEDs),
Because we'd figured out how to spot the vehicle-killer IEDS being planted, and kill the planters.
prompting a war-veteran congressman to propose a relatively simple technique to find and detonate them.
Rep. Duncan Hunter, a Marine Corps reserve officer who saw combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, noted that Marines and soldiers are being maimed and killed by foot-deep pressure-activated mines.
The Taliban is creating belts of such IEDs around villages that U.S. troops approach by foot. Mr. Hunter said the IED ring is a relatively new implement in the 10-year-old war.
IEDs are the biggest killers of U.S. and allied troops in Afghanistan, accounting for at least 57 percent of battlefield fatalities each year since 2007. This year, of 93 allied fatalities, of which 79 were U.S., 57 came from IEDs, according to the website iCasualties.org.
Several weeks ago, Mr. Hunter and a private contractor discussed a simple solution: Provide each Marine approaching a village on foot with a heavy robot affixed with a 3-foot-wide conveyor belt. The Marine could remotely control the vehicle so it travels far enough ahead of him that a triggered blast would not injure any troops.
Mr. HunterÂ’s idea was buttressed over the weekend when he went bird hunting with Marines wounded by IEDs. They told him some Marines have requested that their families send them toy trucks that they could weigh down and use like bomb-detonating robots.
No need to wait for official procurement when the folks back home can send toys. But it is nice that a Congressman has their backs....
#1
March the villagers through the IED fields, I'm sure they know where they're buried. Or march captured Taliban through them.
Either way, works for me. Time to adopt our enemies culture and ways. Good enough for them, good enough for us.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man ||
04/10/2011 14:10 Comments ||
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#2
he's my congress-critter and we like him. He did Artillery in Iraq. He'll be in office til he decides to quit or move up (or....screws up), he's that well-liked - like his Dad
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/10/2011 15:39 Comments ||
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#3
SAM, if you're going to go this far---it's simpler to just arc light the village.
Bing West embeds with his old friends of the Third Platoon of Kilo Company, Fifth Marine Regiment. Lots of detail, but a good overview as well. A free article at the Wall Street Journal, but you'll have to register.
March 17, Afghanistan - The fighting season in Afghanistan had begun, too, but in the U.S., the decade-old war is now largely ignored.
It can't be ignored here in the farm fields of Sangin district, where the Taliban have buried thousands of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). One wire is attached to a flashlight battery and another to a plastic jug of explosives, and each is glued to a thin board. When one board is pressed against the other, the wires make contact, sparking an explosion.
Since September, the Third Platoon has shot somewhere between 125 and 208 Taliban—as many as one enemy killed per patrol. That rate may not seem high, but the cumulative effect has been crushing. Marine tactics, like Ohio State football, have the subtle inevitability of a steamroller.
"We got a radio intercept yesterday," Lt. Garcia said. "Some Talib leaders in Pakistan were chewing out the local fighters for quitting. The locals yelled back, 'Marines run toward our bullets.'"
The members of the platoon do not care about bringing freedom and development to Afghanistan. They are here because they believe they're defending America.
Thank you, Marines. And thanks to the rest who've gone over there to keep the war away from home.
[Tolo News] Afghan Finance Minister Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal on Saturday rejected reports claiming he was likely to be dismissed. The Wall Street Journal has earlier published a report saying that the Afghan Defence and Finance Ministers were likely to lose their jobs as part of a cabinet shake-up.
"I have a good relation with the Afghanistan's Caped President and other government officials as before. If I know that the President does not have the necessary confidence in his Finance Minister, I will no longer be willing to continue," Mr Zakhilwal said.
The Journal has also written that the Afghan Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak is expected to be dismissed.
"Mr Wardak, who has served as defense minister since 2004, has been instrumental to U.S. plans to build up the Afghan military, a key priority for the B.O. regime and a precondition for beginning to withdraw the 100,000 American troops here. U.S. taxpayers are paying $11.6 billion this year to train and fund Afghan cops," The Wall Street Journal has written.
Some Afghan experts believe that the US officials should let President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... to decide about his ministers.
"If the Wall Street Journal accuses some Afghan ministers of having good relations with the United States, it will only increase sensitivities here," S. M. Rahman Ogholi, a former Afghan MP, told TOLOnews.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2011 00:00 ||
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[Al Jazeera] Djibouti's incumbent president Ismail Omar Guelleh has secured a third term in office after garnering 76 per cent of votes cast in the country's elections, according to provisional results.
Officials said that with almost all ballots counted, Guelleh's only challenger, former constitutional council head Mohamed Warsama Ragueh, had about 23 per cent of the vote.
"Tonight the people of Djibouti have chosen, showing their great maturity," Guelleh said on television just after the results were announced on Saturday.
"They have decided to hand me again the reins of our dear country for the next five years."
The constitutional council will proclaim the official results in the coming days.
Last year, Guelleh had parliament amend the constitution to allow him to seek another term, sparking an opposition outcry and fuelling unprecedented demonstrations in February.
Thousands of youths erupted into the streets in the Horn of Africa nation demanding Guelleh, "the dictator", quit. The rallies led to festivities with the security forces that left two people dead.
US-based Human Rights Watch said earlier this month that Djibouti's government has "trampled" on the rights that make a vote free and fair, after authorities cracked down on opposition politicians and rallies in the weeks before the election.
Opposition boycott
Ismael Gedi Hared, a top opposition leader whose party boycotted the poll, argued that the conditions for a free and fair election were not met.
"We had taken part in the 1999 presidential election, and victory was stolen from us. Same for the 2003 parliamentary elections. We have since decided that we will not take part in polls so long as the right conditions are not satisfied," he told AFP news agency.
Guelleh, 63, has been in power since 1999 and a change in the constitution in 2010 allowed him to run for a third term. He promised on Thursday that he will not seek a fourth term in office if he was elected for another five years.
Djibouti serves as a port for its landlocked neighbour Ethiopia, which accounts for about 70 per cent of traffic. Its economy is chiefly based on the port, strategically located on the busiest shipping routes where the Red Sea joins the Gulf of Aden.
More than half of the 860,000 inhabitants live in the capital.
The ex-French colony hosts the only US military base in Africa and the largest overseas French army base.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Shake, shake, shake,
Shake, shake, shake,
Your Djibouti.
All the tribes who backed the rebels have now withdrawn their support, now that the rebels have invited in the Kuffr of NATO into what is essentially a civil war.The only way for NATO to make a difference is to put boots on the ground on behalf of the rebels, basically hold the the whole country hostage on behalf of the rebels. This appears to be what passes for planning by NATO. God help us all.
A HIGH-ranking African Union delegation has arrived in Libya to try to negotiate a truce between Muammar Gaddafi's forces and rebels seeking to oust him.
The peace mission came as NATO warplanes were in action against Gaddafi loyalists in the stricken port city of Misrata after regime forces killed at least 11 people there over the weekend, rebels said.
The African mediators were welcomed by Gaddafi supporters holding the veteran Libyan leader's picture and waving the green flags of his regime.
Presidents Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz of Mauritania, Mali's Amadou Toumani Toure, Denis Sassou Nguesso of Congo, Jacob Zuma of South Africa, and Ugandan Foreign Minister Henry Oryem Okello, representing Yoweri Museveni, flew in to Mitiga airport near Tripoli.
They joined the embattled Gaddafi for a photocall outside his Bedouin tent in his Bab al-Aziziya compound before being driven by minibus to greet a crowd of his supporters some 200 metres away and then leaving for an undisclosed destination.
[Tolo News] An African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... team is to visit Tripoli and Benghazi to push for a truce, reports say.
The team, led by South African President Jacob Zuma, includes leaders from DR Congo, Mali, Mauritania and Uganda.
The leaders are to visit both the Libyan leader Col Qadaffy and rebels in Banghazi to secure a truce between the two sides.
The visit is underway as festivities between Libyan government forces and rebels continue.
There are also reports of festivities near Ajdabiya.
Mistrata still remain under siege by Qadaffy forces, as the EU is struggling to deliver humanitarian aid into the city.
The main issue to be discussed by the African Union team will be truce and opening of political dialogue between the two sides.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Esquimeau village our hero was receiving a quick lesson in aeronautics:... 13 rebels were reportedly killed in a nato air strike, which sparked anger among the rebels who blamed the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the style of the American pants... saying it should have recognised the rebels moving in a westerly direction.
The rebels were targeted while transporting tanks to the frontline.
NATO earlier rejected a call for apology, argumenting it did not know rebels had tanks. But after UK Foreign Secretary William Hague urged NATO to apologise saying that if there was a mistake it did not cost anything to apologise, NATO expressed regret over the loss of life resulting from the air strike.
The rebels were angry at the air strike, but their leaders said it will not damage rebels' relations with the allies.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2011 00:00 ||
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The Army will return one Europe-based combat brigade to the United States in the coming years, not two as previously announced, the Pentagon said Friday.
Since 2004, the Defense Department has been planning to transfer two of its four combat brigades in Europe to the States as part of a larger post-Cold War drawdown. But based on a White House review, NATO’s plans for the future and the “broad range of 21st century challenges,” officials decided that three brigades would stay put, according to a DOD release.
#1
Why? POMCUS the materials with caretakers and return the lot. If the Euros are not up to protecting their own interests, why should we? This is just another version of PBS and NPR, it has a life of its own, its tradition, its precedent. It's expensive.
#3
The Germans calculated out that having the US forces there stimulates their economy by billions of dollars every year, at minimal social cost, that is, welfare.
Figure the average base pay for all personnel in a brigade of 5,000 is about E4, or $25,000, that's $125,000,000. Now add off post housing for a quarter of them, which probably bumps it up to $200m. And lots more on top of that.
And that "windfall" money has a pebble in a pond effect.
#4
The Germans calculated out that having the US forces there stimulates their economy
They could look back on their experience in the mid-'90s, when President Clinton closed so many bases. When we moved out shortly thereafter, the new tenants paid about 1/3rd less rent.
[Maghrebia] Some 23,000 undocumented Democrats who arrived in Italy after the Tunisian revolution were granted temporary humanitarian visas on Thursday (April 8th), TAP reported. Under the decree signed Thursday by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, the Tunisian colonists may travel within the Schengen zone for six months. The measure applies only to African colonists who arrived before the Tunisia-Italy immigration accord of April 5th. Italy also agreed to support SMEs and other income-generating activities in areas where African colonists originate.
Any chance even most of them will go home when the emergency is over?
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2011 00:00 ||
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Amid escalation in violence along border Moussa says proposal to be presented to UNSC; Gazoo ceasefire brokered by UN official Robert Serry who acts as intermediary between Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, and J'lem, Ma'an reports.
Thing is, the Israelis don't need the F15s to clobber Gazoo; their artillery reaches far enough as it is.
The Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... on Sunday announced during a special meeting in Cairo that it plans to press the UN to impose a no-fly zone over Gazoo amid an escalation in violence in the area, AFP reported.
Arab League Secretary General Jerry Lewis doppelgänger Amr Moussa ... who has been head of the Arab League since about the time Jerry and Dean split up ... said he plans to present the proposal to the UN Security Council, the report said.
Thus providing an opportunity for President Obama to achieve Samantha Power's long-term dream of using American troops to protect the Palestinians from Israel.
The announcement came as Paleostinian news agency Ma'an reported on Sunday that UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Roberty Serry successfully brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Paleostinian factions in the Gazoo Strip including Hamas. The deal, reportedly reached Saturday night stipulated that the IDF stop its air and artillery strikes against Paleostinian terrorist groups, who also reportedly have agreed to halt their rocket and mortar fire. Neither Jerusalem nor Paleostinian factions in the Gazoo Strip have announced a ceasefire, but bigwigs made statements Sunday hinting to their openness towards such a deal.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said early Sunday that Jerusalem was willing to accept a mutual ceasefire with Hamas in Gazoo after several days of projectile fire and IDF strikes, adding that "If necessary, we will act, but," he said, "restraint is also a form of strength."
"If they stop firing on our communities, we will stop firing. If they stop firing in general, it will be quiet, it will be good," Barak told Israel Radio.
On the Gazook the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, Al-Quds, said that it was committed to a ceasefire with Israel, saying it was in the "interests of our people not to give Israel an excuse to launch a major military operation in Gazoo." The announcement came only hours after the group grabbed credit for firing three mortars and a rocket into Israeli territory Sunday morning.
Abu Ahmed, Islamic Jihad's spokesperson, said that his group would cease violence "so long as Israel fulfills it's responsibility and stops attacks against the Paleostinian people in Gazoo."
Hamas also softened its language on Sunday. The group's front man in the Gazoo Strip, Sami Abu Zuhri ...a senior front man for Hamas. Zuhri gained notoriety in 2006 when he dropped his money belt containing somewhere between 640,000 and 900,000 euros, which was confiscated by Paleostinian security and customs officials at a routine border crossing from Egypt to Gazoo. The news brought competing Hamas and Fatah forces to the crossing checkpoint for an epic face-making and hollering contest... , on said that "The Paleostinian factions are not interested in escalation." He added, "if the Israeli aggression stopped, it would be natural for calm to be restored."
#3
Better than our US Airways Flight 1549 Sully? If so then maybe second to none, but I'd need evidence.
Posted by: Fi ||
04/10/2011 14:01 Comments ||
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#4
That would be a sight, an Arab League MIG trying to mix it up with an IAF F-16.
Posted by: retired LEO ||
04/10/2011 15:52 Comments ||
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#5
#4 That would be a sight, an Arab League MIG trying to mix it up with an IAF F-16.
Posted by: retired LEO
Don't blink, you might miss the MIG going down
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/10/2011 16:43 Comments ||
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#6
Retired LEO - it's been done before - in '73, and '67 (with earlier model aircraft), usually to the detriment of the Arabs. One story I heard was that in the '73 war, as soon as a Syrian pilot could tell that an Israeli had locked on to him with the fire control radar, he would bail out.
Fi, one story I saw on the internet was about an Israeli pilot who landed an F15 with one wing ripped off in a collision. Nothing against Capt Sully, but in talking to US pilots they generally agree that the IAF is the best.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
04/10/2011 16:48 Comments ||
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#9
Fi, one story I saw on the internet was about an Israeli pilot who landed an F15 with one wing ripped off in a collision. Nothing against Capt Sully, but in talking to US pilots they generally agree that the IAF is the best.
It is said that "with enough thrust, even a brick can fly" - something that applied to the F-4 Phantom II that Sullenberger flew back in the Air Force. Since both engines were silent, the 747 was landed with zero thrust. I'd say Sully had the more difficult job.
#11
Yep. "It has been described as 'the most successful ditching in aviation history.' "
One for the textbooks, for sure. But Im certain while the IAF is may be on balance as good, one lingering question, where is a wikipedia page dedication to a this one winged IAF flight that is being spoken of? Im all ears. LOL.
Posted by: Fi ||
04/10/2011 18:23 Comments ||
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#12
I don't know if it was Israeli but I have seen the series of pictures of an F15 landing with one wing torn off.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
04/10/2011 18:56 Comments ||
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#13
I did some Binging and found the story to be true. Happened in 1983 to an Israeli AF pilot who collided with a skyhawk. Videos available.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
04/10/2011 19:03 Comments ||
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#14
Sure thing Mr. Lewis. Israelis can enforce it.
[The Nation (Nairobi)] Shiite radical leader Moqtada Tater al-Sadr ... the Iranian catspaw holy man who was 22 years old in 2003 and was nearing 40 in 2010. He spends most of his time in Iran, safely out of the line of fire, where he's learning to be an ayatollah... warned today his supporters will resume armed opposition if US forces stay in Iraq beyond their scheduled departure later this year.
Surely the Shiite-led Iraqi government might have something to say about such things... this time round they control the police and the army.
"If the Americans don't leave Iraq on time, we will increase the resistance and restart the activities of the Mahdi Army," Sadr said in a fiery statement read by a front man to tens of thousands of followers in Mustansariyah Square of northeast Storied Baghdad.
He was referring to his militia which mounted repeated uprisings against US-led forces in Iraq before he stood it down in August 2008.
"Out, out America," front man Salah al-Obeidi repeatedly warned, speaking on the eighth anniversary of the day when Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was ousted and Storied Baghdad fell to US-led forces.
The Americans must leave, "now, now, now", he warned, reading the statement from Sadr, who divides his time between the central Shiite shrine city of Najaf and neighbouring Iran.
"Out, out America," he repeated, at a rally where supporters -- nearly all men -- chanted "Yes, Yes, Moqtada", and set ablaze the US flag and an effigy of former president George W. Bush, who ordered the US-led invasion in 2003.
The message from Sadr came a day after US Defence Secretary Robert Gates ended a two-day visit to Iraq, during which he said American forces could stay on beyond 2011 in some numbers, if asked.
Gates asked Iraqi politicians to make that request quickly if they want some American troops to remain.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Tater is such an utter fool that the US probably invests a lot of money in keeping him alive. He is a black hole for Iranian money, and though they probably have handlers pulling his strings, he is such a defective unit that they have to micromanage him to keep him from fouling up even simple directions.
#4
The Kurds don't like him and considering how poorly his "Maahdi Army" did against troops, his boys will be dead quickly if they try anything. His boys were effective as revenge terrorists against lightly armed Sunni civilians, but not much else.
* TEHRAN TIMES > {Egyptian Shia Scholar]"EGYPT MUST BOLSTER TIES WID IRAN TO REGAIN ITS PAST GLORY", premising that Any + All Shia Muslims have a stake in the success of Egypt's + Region's mass protests = "pro-Democracy" movements + uprisings.
* CNN + FOX NEWS SUNDAY ROUNDTABLE = mostly agree that the LIBYUH CRISIS is diverting Amer mianstream attention from the LARGER, HIDDEN = BACKGROUND COMPETITION + POWER STRUGGLE FOR REGIONAL MILPOL, ISLAMIC IDEO DOMINANCE GOING ON BETWEEN SHIA IRAN VERSUS SUNNI SAUDI ARABIA, as symbolized by the on-going Bahrain + Yemeni + Oman Crises.
Once again, its no longer USA-vs-Rising-China, but now USA-VS-RISING-CHINA-VS-NUCLEAR?-ISLAM.
THE OWG CALIPHATE IS PROTO = WORK-IN-PROGRESS , + GOING NUKULAAR.
#6
The Mahdi Army turned out to be our greatest ally in Iraq. It was their mass killing and ethnic cleansing of the Sunnis that turned the Sunnis around. The mistake was not killing off the Mahdi army to the last after the the Sunnis turned. In a few years Iraq will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Iran.
[Ma'an] Member of the PLO Executive Committee and caretaker negotiations chief Saeb Erekat ...negotiated the Oslo Accords with Israel. He has been chief Paleostinian negotiator since 1995. He is currently negotiating with Israel to establish a de jure Paleostinian state... issued a statement Friday, saying he "emphatically condemns the systematic Israeli escalation and brutal military attacks against the civilian Paleostinian population in the besieged Gazoo Strip."
Getting cause and effect backwards again.
In the statement, Erekat called on Paleostinian factions to "deny the occupying Power any pretext for launching more attacks," and announced his support for the earlier agreed on ceasefire in an effort to maintain calm in the border region.
Hope this one goes better than that little six-hour hudna of last Thursday night.
"It is now time for the international community to intervene and prevent another round of merciless and illegitimate military escalation against Paleostinian civilians," Erekat said, as the corpse count reached 17 since Thursday afternoon, and Friday was declared the most violent day since Israel launched its Operation Cast Lead in the winter of 2008-9.
Hamas hit a school bus with a guided anti-tank missile. One can understand why the Israelis might consider that crossing the line.
"The Gazoo Strip is an integral part of the occupied Paleostinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.
Israel left Gaza in 2005, so once can't exactly call it occupied. And Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1967.
Israel, as an occupying Power, remains obliged by the responsibilities outlined in international law to safeguard the lives and safety of the Paleostinian population.
We call on the international community to assume its responsibilities in ensuring that Israel respects those responsibilities by ending the illegal siege and ceasing all military attacks."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
I criticize the escalation too. Better to jump straight to "Massive Smackdown" mode right off the bat
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/10/2011 10:29 Comments ||
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[Ma'an] The Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... will hold an emergency meeting on Sunday to discuss a serious escalation of hostilities by Israel, at the request of President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas. ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial...
Member of the PLO executive committee Saeb Erekat told the official Paleostinian Authority news agency that Abbas asked the league Saturday morning to hold an emergency meeting.
Arab League chief Jerry Lewis doppelgänger Amr Moussa ... who has been head of the Arab League since about the time Jerry and Dean split up ... replied to the request within hours, saying the meeting would be held at noon.
Abbas is in Cairo, meeting representatives of Paleostinian factions in a low-level bid for unity with Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,, and to brief new Egyptian leaders and media professionals on the current situation in Paleostine.
Erekat said Abbas was seeking a unified Arab voice to come out against the what has been called the deadliest escalation in the region since Israel launched its winter offensive on Gazoo in 2008-9.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
They're just a little bit busy right now, Mahmoud. In fact, did you notice that even your friend Obama and his, baby Bolshevik, friends are keeping mum?
#2
The Arabs really don't seem to get the whole cause-effect thing. As in, somebody in Gaza shoots a bunch of missiles and mortar rounds at Israel. Israel responds by firing at the missile and mortar crews when they can, and at known leaders.
To the Arabs, Israel for no reason at all, started shooting at them. They grimace and whine, and ask the Arab League to ask the UN to tell Israel to stop being so mean to them.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
04/10/2011 17:06 Comments ||
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[Asharq al-Aswat] Hezbullies parliamentary sources have called on "all those cited by the WikiLeaks documents...whether they are members of the March 14 Those are the good guys, insofar as Leb has good guys... Alliance or March 8 Alliance, to resign from politics."
In a telephone interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, sources revealed that "those mentioned in the WikiLeaks documents have become a burden on the internal [political] scene." The source also stressed that "all of the campaigns against Hezbullies -- whether these were initiated by some of our political allies or opponents -- are part of the campaign to impose a blockade against Hezbullies, domestically, regionally, and internationally."
The source added that "some of the statements issued by some of [Hezbullies's] allies can be explained and understood in a different manner than that in which it was leaked; however it can only be viewed in one way by the general public, and particularly the Shiite community."
The latest WikiLeaks documents dealt with the relationship between the two Shiite allies, Hezbullies and the Amal movement. A number of MPs and government ministers belonging to the Liberation and Development bloc -- led by Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, a member of AMAL, a not very subtle Hizbullah sock puppet... -- directly criticized Hezbullies, its strategy, and its possession of arms.
A leaked US embassy cable published by WikiLeaks also revealed that in 2006 Lebanese Health Minister Mohammed Jawad Khalifa had informed then US Ambassador to Leb Jeffrey Feltman that Hezbullies could find itself in a position to exert control over a large portion of the Sunni population, adding that this would be a "nightmare scenario." He also stressed that should Syria fail to reach an agreement with the international commission of inquiry, with regards to the Hariri tribunal, then "Hezbullies will make our lives hell." He said that should this happen, this will see the country returning to car booms and terrorist attacks, whilst it would allow Syria to utilize its Paleostinian agents and its sleeper agents in Leb. Khalifa also criticized Hezbullies Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, telling Feltman that he believes himself to be "greater than Salaheddine and all of us."
In a separate meeting with then US Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman, WikiLeaks revealed that Development and Liberation bloc MP Ali Osseiran also criticized Hezbullies and its leader. Osseiran described Hezbullies as an Iranian agent, and said that Hezbullies chief Hassan Nasrallah had efficiently got rid of all Shiite opposition, placing Hezbullies in a position of regional importance.
Immediately following the publication of the leaked US diplomatic cables, the Amal movement issued a statement saying that what was published "was part of an exposed political conspiracy that previously failed, and which will fail to achieve its objectives today." The Amal movement statement added that "this campaign relies upon security cables and statements,
The Amal movement statement also said that this campaign has so far avoided directly targeting Hezbullies except by addressing its possession of arms, and has therefore shifted its attack to the Amal movement and its leadership. The Amal movement said that it will remain at the helm of the resistance and will continue to demand Lebanese stability and security.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2011 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Hamid 
Jerry Lewis doppelgänger Amr Moussa
Moqtada 
