Just to put the latest reports in persective; the LAT is reprinting raw accusations without reporting how reliable they are. Michelle Malkin links to the raw data, and provides some interesting excerpts:
According to the detaineers, some of the guards are telling the detaineers that while they are sitting in a cell in Cuba, American Soldiers[sic] are having sex with their mothers. According to the detainees, some of the guards are physically cruel to the detaineers. [Name Redacted] has not personally heard these comments from the guards. He has not seen any cruelty by the guards. However, sometimes the guards are a little rough with him even though he is cooperative.
Most of the claims are like this: "guards did X, Y, Z. Terrorist cannot provide any details of guards doing X, Y, or Z." It's just more crap, straight out of the AQ handbook ("lie about abuse if you're captured"), and the people who buy into it are revealing a lot about which side they're on.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
05/26/2005 08:06 ||
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#4
Oh, please. This is grade school level smack-down stuff: "Yo momma does this, yo momma does that. I did yo momma and your old lady last night while you were pulling duty and they thanked me."
And that's between friends.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/26/2005 8:37 Comments ||
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#5
"I heard that so&so said that..."Proof positive that MSM is supported by rumor and inuiendo.
#6
Yeah we fly them in for the weekends to party. We ask them if they want to see the boys, but it's usually something like, "Nah. Let 'em rot in jail. Maybe they'll learn a lesson." "Tough loves" a hard thing...
Posted by: The Guards at Gitmo ||
05/26/2005 9:06 Comments ||
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#7
The National Enquirer does in fact have a MUCH higher standard for publication than the left coast NYT-wannabe.
Posted by: Mike ||
05/26/2005 10:50 Comments ||
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#9
According to the detainees, some of the guards are telling the detainees that while they are sitting in a cell in Cuba, American Soldiers are having sex with the detainee's mothers. XXXXXX has not personally heard these comments from the guards. He has not seen any cruelty by the guards. However, sometimes the guards are rough with him even though he is cooperative.
More of this stuff needs to be put into print. Good for a morning laugh at the very least.
#11
Of course, the obvious gag is that they were referring to the MILF organization. It's awful hard to run an insurgency if everybody giggles everytime they hear the name of your group.
When Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lt. John Stedman was booking a clothing store owner last year on charges of selling counterfeit high-fashion merchandise, his attention was drawn to the large and colorful tattoo on the man's arm. The tattoo included Arabic writing, suggesting it wasn't a gang symbol or the mark of one of the many organized crime syndicates that have helped make dealing in knock-off goods -- like Gucci handbags, Prada shoes and Louis Vuitton watches -- a multibillion-dollar industry in the United States. It turned out to be a symbol of allegiance to Hezbollah, the Islamic militant organization that the U.S. government has designated as a terrorist group.
The case of the tattooed merchant was just one of several in southern California where alleged Hezbollah operatives have been caught trafficking in counterfeit merchandise, Stedman and other experts told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday.
They said that suspected U.S.-based operatives of Hezbollah and other groups accused of terrorist activity are raising as much as $30 million a year through the sale of counterfeit merchandise and other criminal enterprises in the United States, and sending unknown but substantial sums of it back home.
Hezbollah has not commented on its U.S. fund-raising activities, but says it generates money for legitimate charitable activities. U.S. and other law enforcement officials assert that some of the money has been used to fund terrorist attacks in the Middle East and elsewhere.
"There are mounting indicators of the involvement of terrorist groups and their supporters" in counterfeiting, said Stedman, who supervises the criminal investigation section of the L.A. County Sheriff's Department's emergency operations bureau. "We have encountered suspects who have shown great affinity for Hezbollah and its leadership," Stedman told the committee.
He said the evidence of suspected terrorist organizations raising money through counterfeiting is largely anecdotal. It is based on the activity of special squads of investigators who have conducted searches in Los Angeles County that produced 125 arrests, $16 million in seized merchandise and another $3.5 million in cash.
Among those involved, Stedman and other authorities say, are members of Russian, Eurasian, Asian and Lebanese organized crime cells and, more recently, traditional street gang members. "The profits are enormous, with minimal criminal exposure," Stedman said. "In the parlance of one suspect: `It's better than the dope business -- no one's going to prison for DVDs.' "
Stedman and other witnesses at Wednesday's hearing said that they could not identify the tattooed merchant or other suspects because of ongoing investigations.
In another case, Stedman said, he came across small Hezbollah flags displayed in one suspect's bedroom during a search of a residence for counterfeit goods. "Next to the flags was a photograph of Hassan Nasrallah," Stedman said, referring to the Hezbollah leader.
The United States considers Hezbollah -- a powerful Shiite political party and militia based in Lebanon -- to be a terrorist group. But throughout much of the Mideast, it is seen as a reputable organization with a history of fighting against Israeli aggression.
During another search in 2004, Stedman said, detectives found a photo album that pictured dozens of attendees at a fund-raising event for the Holy Land Foundation, which has been shut down by the Treasury Department over its alleged support of Hamas, another political entity that the United States considers to be a terrorist group.
In another case, U.S. Customs officers stopped a Lebanon-bound suspect at Los Angeles International Airport and found she was carrying more than $230,000 in cash, Stedman said. Authorities later learned the woman owned a chain of cigarette shops, and seized more than 1,000 cartons of bootleg cigarettes, another $70,000 in cash and wire transfers to banks throughout the world, Stedman said.
Kris Buckner, president of the southern California-based Investigative Consultants group, told the committee that numerous counterfeiters have sent large amounts of money to places such as Lebanon and Paraguay, which U.S. officials say has been a hub for Hezbollah fund-raising.
The United States has asked for a worldwide freeze of Hezbollah's financial accounts. But several European nations have refused to do so, citing the group's political wing. U.S. officials believe both groups are controlled by the same leadership, and that the money ultimately helps underwrite terrorism no matter which part of Hezbollah receives it.
Involvement by alleged terrorists in the thriving counterfeit goods trade also has caught the attention of the FBI, Treasury Department and Interpol, the global police agency, according to Matthew Levitt, a former FBI counterterrorism analyst.
Levitt told committee members that the best U.S. intelligence estimates now show Hezbollah receives $20 million to $30 million a year from criminal fund-raising activities in the United States. Its members are involved in everything from stealing and reselling baby formula to food stamp fraud, grocery coupon scams, false welfare claims, credit card fraud and a wide array of counterfeiting operations, said Levitt, a frequent expert witness on Hezbollah for the Justice Department.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee chairwoman, called on consumers to avoid buying counterfeit items -- even if there is only indirect evidence that terrorists are benefiting from the illicit trade. But she said an investigation by her committee staff has shown that terrorist groups have become increasingly involved in counterfeiting as authorities have cracked down on charities and wire transfers and dried up other sources of funding.
"Each time one avenue is closed down, another one is exploited by ever-resourceful terrorist groups," Collins said. "And counterfeiting, because it is extremely lucrative and easy to get into, is the mechanism that terrorist groups have discovered and are exploiting."
#2
nice catch TW - the market is a stretch from Tijuana where Ohmega watches and Gucchi shoes are common. If it was too cheap to be true, it really was, and now it may buy a Qassam to kill a Joooo. How those shoes fit, now?
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/26/2005 23:02 Comments ||
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Three gunmen who hijacked a bus in the southern Philippines escaped to freedom yesterday as attempts by police and soldiers to rescue about a dozen hostages went awry after a Catholic bishop intervened. Officials said the bus, owned by Rural Transit, was on its way to Zamboanga City from Cagayan de Oro on Tuesday when the gunmen, wearing ski masks, seized it near Plaridel town in Misamis Occidental province and held 16 passengers hostage. The gunmen freed late in the day a six-year girl and the driver after negotiations with politicians and then forced one of the hostages to drive the bus to the neighboring province of Zamboanga del Sur.
But the driver, apparently afraid that he would be killed by the hostage-takers, rammed a road block in Pulacan town near an army base and jumped out of the bus and was rescued by security forces, said Maj. Gen. Gabriel Habacon, commander of the army's 1st Infantry Division. As the bandits threatened to kill the remaining hostages if security forces try to rescue them, Bishop Emmanuel Cavajar of the Diocese of Pagadian offered himself and a getaway pick-up truck the gang demanded in exchange for the freedom of the hostages. Most of the hostages, including women, were released after more than 24 hours of tense negotiations between the gunmen and politicians. But the gunmen reneged on their promise and held on to four other hostages whom they used as shield during the escape. Along a jungle area in Lakewood town, the gunmen jumped out from the pick-up truck, leaving pursuing police and soldiers clueless.
"The bishop is okay and he is together with the other hostages. They are all fine, God really works in mysterious ways," one of the bishop's workers, Jennelyn Ridoblado, told Arab News by phone from the Bishop's Palace in Pagadian City. Soldiers and police were chasing the gunmen, who fled into a wooded area carrying a bag thought to contain weapons, said police Superintendent Eldorado Gallego. One of the gunmen named Jun, who acted as the group's spokesman, said they only wanted to get away. "We don't want to harm the hostages, all we ask now is for a get-away car and a safe passage," he told the radio network DXRZ Radio Agong by cell phone.
The gunmen said they were carrying "some other stuff" they could not surrender, in addition to three automatic pistols, four grenades, and a machine pistol. "We believe they are plain gunrunners who were just surprised at the checkpoint," Gallego said. Police initially said they thought the hijackers were allied to local communist rebel groups.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/26/2005 00:00 ||
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BEIRUT: A Syrian intelligence officer detained in Baghdad has admitted to launching the missile attack on the late premier Rafik Hariri's Future Television in June 2003, according to Al-Rai al-Aam Kuwaiti newspaper. In an article published on Wednesday, the newspaper said Hussein Ahmad Tah, 32, was arrested by Iraqi police when he was attempting to assassinate employees in an Iraqi public institution. Following his arrest, Tah decided to admit to his previous crimes, among which is the Future TV bombing.
Tah said he worked for Syrian intelligence services, adding that he worked for a long time in Lebanon where he perpetrated several attacks. He then moved to Iraq, where he committed several attacks against mosques and Iraqi civilians. Security sources in Iraq said that Tah recounted the details of the attack on Future TV. The television station, situated near Raouche in Beirut, was attacked on June 15, 2003, resulting in the destruction of one of the newsrooms. No casualties were reported. The attack was considered as a message to then-owner of the station, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Sources said the car used to perpetrate the crime was stolen in 1997 and hidden in a garage until the date of the attack. A previously unknown group called Jamaat Ansar Allah had held itself responsible for the attack in a statement issued the next day. However, Tah told Iraqi police that the group did not exist and that he had written and issued the statement.
Can you say "smoking gun"?
Posted by: Steve ||
05/26/2005 15:15 ||
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#1
color me skeptical.
Youre head of Syrian intell. Youve got a guy who was involved in the murder of Hariri, which is the most sensitive thing you've done, which everyone is after you about, and which you MUST keep deniable as long as possible. So, naturally, you send him to Baghdad, of all places, a city under the control of the US and its Iraqi allies, where you KNOW theres a good chance he'll get caught and interrogated.
#4
So he was involved in a rocket attack on a private TV station 2 years ago in Syria's colony. Big deal. I think blowing up car bombs in Iraqi crowds and Shiite mosques got him promoted to the big leagues. Squeeze him dry. Make him a TV star. Go after his bosses.
Posted by: ed ||
05/26/2005 17:00 Comments ||
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#5
1. This is a report from the mainstream middleeast press!!!!
2. This fellow may well be a relatively low level henchman who was under the handling of a Senior Syrian intel officer who was in turn under the command of a senior flunky of the senior (late) Assad who has maintained his office under junior. Thus it is entirely believable.
#7
Sounds like Syrian intelligence gets a lot of productivity for their money. Why didn't this guy have to attend more meetings, write more reports and spend more time equivocating to cover his backside? It's like they have no bureaucracy at all. Decidedly uncivilized. I bet their operatives don't even reach a concensus of everyone including the janitorial staff before acting. Where's the oversight by the legislature to throw up some road blocks?
Posted by: Super Hose ||
05/26/2005 19:15 Comments ||
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#8
Every story like this makes me regret the fact that we couldnt catch Zarkawi and let the Iraqi's have him. In days he would be ratting everyone out and would be absolutley shamed beyond belief.
Another good prospect would be Saddam. Make his trial go alot faster.
May 26, 2005; Syria says it ordered police to pick up foreigners along the Iraq border and send them home. Some 1,200 people were removed in the past few weeks. Syria insists that this was the latest effort to help the United States fight terrorism. But Syria plays it both ways. There is much evidence, largely from tourists and residents in Syria, that the government tolerated considerable terrorist activity. The United States has continued to pressure Syria to cut support for terrorism, and now Syria says it will stop it's anti-terrorist efforts, the ones that the U.S. calls inadequate and a smokescreen that hides continued support for terrorists.
Syria's problem is that it is a police state run by the Assad family and the Baath Party. Since the 1960s, the Syrian Baath Party feuded with the Iraqi Baath Party (run by the Hussein family). With the fall of the Baath Party in Iraq, the Syrian Baath Party has made up with their fellow party members in Iraq and supported efforts by the Iraqi Baath Party to get back into power. But this had to be done secretly, or at least denied publicly, as the United States was fighting a war on terror, and to publicly admit support for terrorists was to invite attack. But Syria has supported terrorist organizations, often openly, for decades. This was done as a cheap way to attack enemies (mainly Israel and Iraq, but Western nations as well.)
The Syrian Baath Party is holding a major meeting soon, to decide its future. Apparently it comes down to continued support for terrorists, and the possibility of war with America, or some alternative. Democracy is not considered an option, because the Syrian Baath Party is dominated by the Alawite Moslem minority, which fears retribution from the Sunni Moslem majority if the police state were dismantled. Thus, while the Syrian Baath Party fiddles, Syria begins to burn down.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/26/2005 12:56 ||
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#1
Democracy is not considered an option, because the Syrian Baath Party is dominated by the Alawite Moslem minority, which fears retribution from the Sunni Moslem majority if the police state were dismantled.
Aparentley, the Golden Rule is not followed in Islam
#3
The underlying principle is that Syria will feed the US a trough full of BS to appease us. Condi ain't buying, I hope GWB ain't buying. Syria needs some pain right now somewhere to get the message across. We have been onto their game for a long time now. Playing the game means that we are suckers.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/26/2005 16:18 Comments ||
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#4
I'm thinking there is a decent chance that Syria has its hands on Zarqawi.
This would account for:
1. why they cut off routine contact with the CIA a few days ago
2. why they are suddenly arresting people - hoping perhaps to strike a deal with the US (they give us Zarqawi, we agree to let Assad rule for a few decades)
ABC News says so, so it must be true! Edited for the amusing bits. Syria has arrested more than 1,200 people trying to cross the border into Iraq in recent weeks and sent many of them back to their own countries, Syria's U.N. ambassador said Wednesday. Fayssal Mekdad said Syria suspected that the people arrested mostly foreigners intended to carry out illegal activities in Iraq, so they were arrested and sent back to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Libya and other countries. "We gave a lot of information to the United States on these issues, which prevented many attacks, but regrettably, the United States did not recognize such kind of help," he said in an interview.
#1
token arrests mean nothing, putz! Shut down your border, and arrest the Baathists that fled Iraq and are leading the insurgents, or face periodic invasion via "hot pursuit"
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/26/2005 10:10 Comments ||
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#2
A Syrian envoy said this? And a Syrian UN ambassador to boot? All the more reason to put a rather small value on this - like as in $.02.
#3
Is there not a more positive spin to this? At least they acknowledge people are trying to cross from Syria to Iraq. The first step is to admit there is a problem, yes?
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/26/2005 12:24 Comments ||
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#4
Hey, we have a lot of experience with this. We do it on the Mexican border. Catch them, send them back, catch them again later.
Unless they jail these people or give them to the Iraq's, this is a joke.
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Iran said on Thursday a U.N. resolution demanding that militias in Lebanon disarm does not apply to the Hizbollah guerrilla group it supports. Visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said the Lebanese government had denied the Shi'ite Muslim group was a militia subject to last year's Security Council resolution 1559. "What is here is a resistance linked to the Lebanese government and the Lebanese people and no government or people would cut off its own hand," he told reporters on arrival at the airport, speaking through a translator.
Hizbollah, which is facing mounting international pressure to disarm, said on Wednesday it would fight anyone who tried to take away its weapons, which were only for use against Israel. "We do not want to attack anyone and will not allow anyone to attack Lebanon but if anyone, anyone, thinks of disarming the resistance we will fight them like the martyrs of Kerbala," said Hizbollah chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, referring to a battle in Islamic history that is central to Shi'ites.
Iran, along with Syria, has long backed Hizbollah, whose guerrilla attacks were instrumental in prompting Israel to end its 22-year occupation of south Lebanon in May 2000. The U.N. resolution adopted in September demanded that Syrian forces leave Lebanon and all militias in the country disarm. Damascus withdrew its troops in April.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/26/2005 08:54 ||
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#1
Well, they would say that, wouldn't they! I mean, given that Hezbollah is one of the terrorist arms of the Iranian government, and all.
EFZ: BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgents said Wednesday in interviews and Internet statements that the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was struggling with a gunshot wound to the lung, and one of his commanders said al-Zarqawi was receiving oxygen, heightening suspicion that groundwork was being laid for an announcement of al-Zarqawi's replacement or death.
Having trouble breathing, is he? Awwwwwwwwww, too bad.
Insurgents offered no tangible proof for their second day of reports that al-Zarqawi had suffered a potentially fatal wound. The Jordanian-born guerrilla's fighters and one of his top lieutenants have said he was wounded in an ambush by U.S. Marines and Iraqi forces last weekend around the western city of Ramadi. A U.S. military official, Lt. Col. David Lapan, said Wednesday that he had found no record of such an ambush.
The insurgents' accounts suggested at a minimum that steady U.S. and Iraqi military pressure was having an effect on al-Zarqawi's group. In an interview Tuesday, the al-Zarqawi lieutenant, Abu Karrar, described his group as weighing possible foreign or Iraqi successors in case al-Zarqawi died.
One view Wednesday among some Iraqi Sunni Muslim insurgents - sometime rivals and allies of foreign fighters such as al-Zarqawi - was that the attrition among his top supporters may have undercut his support within the insurgency. That view ascribed Tuesday's sudden announcement of his grave injury to a power struggle within his group.
A leader in al-Zarqawi's organization, identifying himself by the battlefield name Abu Jalal Iraqi, said in an interview Wednesday that al-Zarqawi's health "wasn't easy." "He is wounded in his right lung, in which the bullets crossed and remained in his back," Iraqi said.
Slugs stayed in him, along with whatever they carried with them. Excellent chance of infection.
Al-Zarqawi, who is about 39, "is being given respiration," the lieutenant said, without elaborating.
Hard to run dragging an oxygen tank.
Iraqi suggested al-Zarqawi might live to be "a spiritual leader for the group, like Sheikh Ahmed Yassin of Hamas." He referred to the Palestinian cleric who, though partially paralyzed, helped found the Islamic Resistance Movement in the 1980s and remained its spiritual head until his assassination last year.
Death by Hellfire
Later Wednesday, militant Islamic Web sites later gave accounts similar to Iraqi's, down to a description of al-Zarqawi being treated by Sudanese and Saudi doctors. One site posted a denial of the lung injury.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/26/2005 14:07 ||
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Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/26/2005 16:34 Comments ||
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#4
I want him hideously disfigured, blind, multiple amputee, brain damaged (moderately), and left to live a pathetic little life being spit on, kicked and urinated on as he sits begging along a dirt path that passes for a road in some small god forsaken hell hole of a town in iraq where who and what he really was is remembered by normal iraqis.
#5
no. jus ded. ifn hes alive ima thinkerin he in gonna get sumtime. that hapens, im can pichure sumone gettin held hostaje and beheded for his releese.
no jus ded. teh sooner the beter.
tell our troops shoot to kill if spoted. armed or not.
#9
>I want him hideously disfigured, blind, multiple amputee, brain damaged (moderately), and left to live a pathetic little life being spit on, kicked and urinated on as he sits begging along a dirt path that passes for a road in some small god forsaken hell hole of a town in iraq where who and what he really was is remembered by normal iraqis.
As the Princess Bride described: "To the Pain!"
Posted by: Scott ||
05/26/2005 18:49 Comments ||
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#10
so, let me get this straight. they believe allan makes things turn out as they do because people are good muslims or not.
clearly, allan must want zark hurt, mebbe dead. wonder how they reconcile that?
#22
Frank - on the subject of moovies, heh, I forgot the other day to add to that 100 Best thread most anything with Chow Yun Fat, such as The Replacement Killers. Melike.
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/26/2005 22:43 Comments ||
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#24
sent - enjoy, Muck!
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/26/2005 22:48 Comments ||
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#25
I have a fellow Civil Engineer - D. Li who usually gets me the rough stuff from HK on DVD...yee haw! He turned me on to Jet Li before the Merkins found him
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/26/2005 23:06 Comments ||
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#26
Ya lucky stiff, heh. I'm still waiting for Jet Li's latest to hit cable. In Thailand you could get anything, of course, bootleg - but I convinced myself it was wrong, so I didn't play. Now, with the way I've come to view the Hollyweird game, decidedly an unending series of scams and shams, not mention looney as hell, I sorta wish I'd built a library.
A statement posted on 24 May on an Internet website linked in the past to Al-Qaeda, claimed that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Tanzim Qaidat Al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn, was wounded in Iraq. While not yet confirmed, this news is certain to lead to speculation on the future fighting capability of the group. RFE/RL analysts Roman Kupchinsky and Kathleen Ridolfo report on what impact such rumors may have on the insurgency.
The 24 May Internet announcement did not mention the exact date of al-Zarqawi's wounding, but rumors of his injury have been circulating for weeks, along with unconfirmed reports that he had been taken to a hospital in Al-Ramadi. A U.S. military official confirmed that U.S. forces surrounded and searched the hospital in late April, but did not find him. Al-Zarqawi was also allegedly wounded when he jumped from his vehicle on 20 February to evade U.S. capture. In that incident, U.S. forces arrested his driver and seized a laptop computer reportedly belonging to al-Zarqawi that contained his medical records and considerable information on his group's activities in Iraq.
There are two possible schools of thought on the importance al-Zarqawi represents for the Iraqi rebellion.
One is that he is a vital commander and strategist without whom the rebellion would flounder and fall apart. As Robert A. Norton writes in AG-Security.com, "Capturing al-Zarqawi, or more likely killing him, will have a profoundly positive effect on the morale of both U.S. and Iraqi forces and take a great deal of the wind out of the sails of the insurgency. If nothing else, it will prove that al-Zarqawi isn't invincible and therefore must not have been protected by Allah, an important psychological element." The other school of thought is that while al-Zarqawi plays a leading role in his group's ideological and financial structure, the group can, and likely will, continue to function without him.
A recently updated organizational chart of al-Zarqawi's group, posted on the website http://www.globalterroralert.com/pdf/0505/zarqawichart.pdf, provides insight into the operational structure of Tanzim Qaidat Al-Jihad fi Bilad Al-Rafidayn. The commander of the military wing of the organization, Abu Usaid al-Iraqi, is still listed as a fugitive, as is Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Iraqi, the organization's deputy commander. The three main military leaders of fighting brigades are also free. This would suggest that al-Zarqawi leaves the day-to-day planning of terrorist activities to commanders and cell leaders, rather than playing a direct role in insurgent activities.
How his possible permanent or temporary removal from action could impact on the group's fighting ability is therefore problematic and premature to predict, but given the organization's structure, it is likely to function very well, at least in the short term, without him. The group's ability to function in the long-term would depend upon the ability of his successors to carry out recruitment and fundraising activities. Should al-Zarqawi die, Iraqis should expect a wave of terrorist attacks carried out in his honor, with insurgents declaring him a martyr.
While it will be nice to have Zark breathing dirt, the effect will be about the same as the deaths of Khattab and Abu Walid in Chechnya, or al-Muqrin in Soddy Arabia. Somebody else will take over and operations will go on. The only real question is whether they approach or exceed the dear departed in competence.
This article starring:
ABU ABD AL RAHMAN AL IRAQI
al-Qaeda in Iraq
ABU MUSAB AL ZARQAWI
al-Qaeda in Iraq
ABU USAID AL IRAQI
al-Qaeda in Iraq
ABU WALID
Chechnya
KHATTAB
Chechnya
Posted by: Fred ||
05/26/2005 11:53 ||
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#1
However, I think a good photo of a dead zarqawi would do wonders for my mood.
#2
After the web-site plea for prayers to Allah for Zarqawi's health, for him to die demonstrates conclusively Allah's will in the matter.
I would like to see a couple of speeches from, say, John Boulton, Condi Rice, Rumsfeld in which it is mentioned that according to what they've been told by various Muslim authorities, Allah clearly wanted Z. to die a painful death hiding like a rat from his enemies, rather than as a martyr on the field of battle. Regardless of whether they countenance the authority of such speakers -- and of course they won't -- the terrorists are going to have to spend a lot of energy tieing themselves in knots to explain how Allah's will was something else entirely. Put them on the religious defensive as well as the military defensive.... and strike while the iron is hot.
#3
He is a brutal beast and clearly not the brains of the operations. Isn't al Douri loose and probably pulling the strings on Zarqawi from Syria?
Posted by: Super Hose ||
05/26/2005 19:48 Comments ||
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#4
al Douri swore fealty to Zarqi about a year ago. Unless he's bent well beyond devious, he's a minion... of high status, yes, but a minion - and not a True Believer, but a Ba'athist, to boot.
#5
A minion - and a security professional versed in diplomacy (with Syrians and Saudis) capable of coordinating an underground activity. Zarqawi's background certainly makes him well qualified to brutally murder and execute innocents, but the insurgency seems to be harder to break up or squash than I would expect from a leader of his mold.
I guess I would say that I suspect that there are professionals involved at high levels in his organization. The retired spooks at RB would certainly be able to debunk or lend credance to to what I suspect.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
05/26/2005 20:15 Comments ||
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#6
I think the red-headed SOB is crucial too. I think he has the dough.
#7
Ol' Rusty swore bayat, which is apparently more than fealty. He's straight up al-Q now, and the red hair has some speculating he's got a little Crusader blood in there somewhere...
#8
I guess this means no teaching job at Penn State for the summer for either Zarqhi or Marsoud, etal - Zargi Zarqi Zarqi, what will Diane, Shafer and Joe Paterno say???
... For me, after three years in southern Afghanistan, something felt not quite right about the more virulent demonstrations across the country. The instant tip-off was that they were initially led by university students. Afghans and Westerners living in Kandahar have often wondered at the number of Pakistani students in what passes for a university here. The place is pathetically dilapidated, the library a locked storeroom, the medical faculty bereft of the most elementary skeleton or model of the human body. Why would anyone come here to study from Pakistan? Our unshakable conclusion has been that the adroit Pakistani intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence, is planting operatives in the student body. These students can also provoke agitation at Pakistani officials' behest, while affording the government in Islamabad plausible deniability. ...
I'm not too sure how "unshakable" the conclusion is. They can also be agents of the Pak religious parties, who're busy running their own shenanigans in Pakland, Kashmir, India, Nepal and Bangla, sometimes in concert with ISI and sometimes, I strongly suspect, on their own. See today's festivities at good old P.U. The key point is that they and the bulk of the "Taliban" are Paks.
Posted by: john ||
05/26/2005 10:11 ||
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#1
What puzzles me is why some US preacher hasn't tried to whip up a Korn defiling. Are they afraid that some Moslem would track them down? Guaranteed they would get the national, maybe international limelight for a while, and possibly big bucks. So what's holding them back?
#2
Common decency?
An upbringing that teaches one to be tolerant, "love thy neighbor" ?
One cannot equate the islamic fundos with christian ones, or jewish ones, or buddhist ones, or hindu ones.
islam is unique...
Posted by: john ||
05/26/2005 11:15 Comments ||
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#3
The easiest thing to do is lower ourselves to their idiot medieval level, however, whatever satisfaction we gained would be offset by an increase in troop fatalities. I think this is why the Bush administration is bending over backwards to patronize these Muslim morons.
Last December Geissel was invited by Kirsten Anderson, owner the Seattle art gallery Roq la Rue, to mount "Koran with a Buddha Shape Carved Into It" in her exhibition titled "Gods and Monsters", in which work interpreting religious icons in provocative ways are on display through the end of January. The exhibition includes a painting depicting the Virgin of Guadalupe as a "com-hither" nude (Lisa Petrucciâs "Naughty Guadalupe") and a pencil drawing of Frankenstein wearing a crown of thorns (Chuck Demoratâs "Frankenkriest"). Geissel welcomed the "Gods and Monsters" show as a perfect fit for his own work.
Prior to mounting "Koran with a Buddha Shape Carved Into It", Anderson and Geissel did discuss potential risk in showing such a piece. The quality of the work, however, outweighed any reservations either of them might have entertained. For his part, Geissel was impressed with Andersonâs seemingly genuine commitment to edgy, risk-taking artists.
On public display, Geisselâs Koran made it through the few days prior to "Gods and Monsters" December 7th opening night without incident. In fact the piece garnered mostly praise. Geissel was especially happy to receive positive comments from Seattleâs internationally respected art curator Larry Reid. The Friday opening of "Gods and Monsters" was by all accounts a success with Geisselâs carving getting its share of positive notice.
The following Monday Geissel received a phone call from Anderson asking him to come remove his piece from the Roq la Rue Gallery.
What had happened? Had Anderson received threats? No. Anderson simply told Geissel she just didnât feel safe displaying his piece.
*snip*
"Researching a recent article about how art that has shocked the rest of the country hasn't raised an eyebrow in Seattle, Seattle Post-Intelligencer art critic Regina Hackett visited Roq la Rue and was particularly taken with Geissel's piece. ("For all the excesses committed in God's name," she told me, "a little sorrow is welcome.") She decided not to include it in her article, largely because she thought it irresponsible to feature such a work--and she told Roq la Rue owner Kirsten Anderson so. â"I was afraid to publicize it, because Kirsten sits there alone in the gallery,"â Hackett said. â"It's a particular kind of flag to a tiny group of people."â Anderson, after talking to a lot of people and thinking it over, asked Geissel to remove the work--which he did, albeit unhappily."
Evvybody's 'fraid of a fatwa.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
05/26/2005 12:48 Comments ||
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#5
Whether it's the ISI or Pak religious parties (some of which are ISI), the point is that it's Pakiwakis who are behind it. We need a security fence around the whole place. Let 'em kill each other and leave the rest of the world alone.
#6
Theocracy is here. We have de jure punishment for blasphemy in Italy, with the Falacci trial, and de facto prior restraint of blasphemers in Seattle. Funny that none of the Bush-haters anticipated it would be an exclusively muslim theocracy.
BNP leader slaughtered in Pabna
May 25: Assailants slaughtered a local BNP activist at Chokdarpara village in Sadar upazila on Tuesday night. Police said the assailants, numbering 10/12, waylaid Liakat Ali alias Lekan Sarkar,38, son of Kiamuddin Sardar of Daspara village, on his way home at 11pm. They stabbed Liakat indiscriminately, beheaded his body and took away his head.
"Bring me the head of Lekan Sarkar!"
Police recovered the body but the head was yet to be retrieved.
Sitting in someone's refrigerator trophy case.
Police said rival extremist members might have killed Liakat following previous enmity. A case has been filed with police.
One axed to death by outlaws
May 25: A watchman of Gholdary Agriculture Farm of Darsona Sugar Mills was axed to death by members of the outlawed Purba Banglar Communist Party at Hosenpur village under Alamdanga upazila last night. They also injured another watchman Tahazuddin. He was admitted to Chuadanga Hospital. The deceased was identified as Shahidul Islam (45) of village Modhupur in the upazila. According to police, Shahidul Islam, Tahazuddin and Mahatab Uddin were on duty at night, when a group of armed cadres of Purba Banglar Communist Party abducted Shahidul Islam at gun-point. Tahazuddin tried to snatch him from them. So the armed cadres injured him with sharp weapons.
"Ouch, ouch, hey, that's sharp!"
Shahidul Islam was taken to Hosenpur village and axed to death there. Police rushed to the spot and recovered the body. Post-mortem of the body was done in Chuadanga Hospital Morgue.
"He's dead, Jim"
A case was filed with Alamdanga Police Station.
Eight injured-Police-villagers clash in Joypurhat
JOYPURHAT, May 25:—Eight persons including six cops and a BNP leader were seriously injured during an attack on police by the villagers, who tried to snatch two persons from their custody at Manjuhar Bazar under Khetlal upazila of the district last night, reports BSS. Police said two youths-Shaheen (26), son of Abdus Sattar of Mundail village, and Robin (27), son of late Babu Chowdhury of Rampura village, mercilessly beat up one Abdul Mazid at his house last night following a long-term enmity over payment of money.
"Show me the money!"
The neighbours caught the duo and confined them into a house. In the meantime, people from the villages of Shaheen and Robin came with lethal weapons to rescue the duo
."They got Shaheen and Robin! Let's go save them!"
When police rushed there and rescued the youths, the angry mob attacked them with pelts and lathis.
"Look out! He's got a lathi!"
Police on self defense opened 10 rounds fire to disperse the mob.
"Look out men! They've got pelts! Open fire!"
Joint secretary of Joypurhat district unit of BNP Hamidul Haq along with other 7 persons were injured. Local Member of Parliament AUM Khalilur Rahman visited the area. A case was filed with Khetlal thana in this connection and adequate riot police was deployed to calm down the situation.
3 alleged hijackers killed in mass beating in Chittagong
May 25: Three hijackers were killed in mass beating at Patiya last night. According to police and witnesses, five criminals on a CNG taxi were moving suspiciously on the Patiya-Anowara-Banshkhali (PAB) road at about 10 pm last night. Being suspicious of their movement, the local people of Fazilhat at West Patiya chased the taxi.
"Hummm, that taxi looks suspicious. He's driving around without the meter running!"
When the criminals tried to flee the local people chased them by a microbus and over took them on PAB road at about 10.30 pm.
"Follow that car!"
The people caught three of them and beat indiscriminately. The injured criminals Rajib Kumar Acharya (25), Rinku Kumar (26) and Muhammad Arif (24) were first taken to Patiya Health centre then to the Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) where the doctors declared them dead at about 12 mid night.
"They're dead, Jim!"
Another criminal Mizan and the taxi driver Kamrul were handed over to police in injured condition.
"Yeah. They wuz injured when we got 'em!"
"Oooowww! Oooch! Ouch!"
They have confessed to the police that they belong to a gang of hijackers who used to hijack on the highways with the taxi. They also admitted that they had earlier robbed all belongings of a passenger Mustak Ahmed on Kaptai road on that night. The victim was the principal of East Gozra Madrasha of Raozan. A case was filed with Patiy.
"Youse guys get some sleep! In the morning we'll go out and youse can show us where yer weapons cache is!"
"Yeah! The early morning!"
Posted by: Steve ||
05/26/2005 09:41 ||
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Fascinating. It looks like the miscreant's cohorts really do try to rescue him from the police. It only doesn't work when the RAB are on the job. Who woulda thunk all those tales had a solid basis in reality?
Iraq's interior and defense ministers said Thursday they have information that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been wounded, apparent confirmation of recent rumors that the Jordanian-born terrorist leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq was injured. "We have information in the Ministry of Interior that al-Zarqawi was wounded, but we don't know how seriously," Interior Minister Bayan Jabr said during a news conference. "We are not sure whether he is dead or not but we are sure that he is injured."
Well, find out if he's dead, fer Cat's sake!
An Internet statement claimed Tuesday that al-Zarqawi had been wounded in recent fighting. The statement, posted on a Web site known for carrying extremist material, could not be immediately authenticated. "Yes, it is true," said Iraqi Defense Minister Saadoun al-Duleimi when asked if al-Zarqawi had been wounded. Asked how he knew, he said: "It is my job."
"Next stoopid question!"
The speculation over al-Zarqawi's health deepened Wednesday after reports that two Arab doctors in another country were treating Iraq's most wanted militant, who has claimed responsibility for the country's deadliest attacks. Various rumors and claims in recent days have been made that al-Zarqawi is wounded, possibly by a bullet penetrating his lung and may have died or been taken out of Iraq for medical care. Earlier Thursday, another Internet statement signed in the name of Al Qaeda in Iraq said the group has appointed an interim leader for al-Zarqawi in light of his purported injury. But a subsequent posting shortly afterward disputed the claim.
"He ain't no damned emir!"
The authenticity of either statement could not be verified, though the second was posted in the name of the person who usually handles the group's Web site claims and announcements. The back-and-forth on same Web site, known as a clearinghouse of Islamic militant material, could be a sign of confusion or competition within Al Qaeda of Iraq. It follows speculation about the Jordanian-born militant that has been unusual in size and scope.
Do you get the impression that the person writing this simply doesn't know, which puts him in the same category as the rest of us, but doesn't want to admit it, which makes him different from us?
The first statement was signed in the name of Abu Doujanah al-Tunisi of the media committee of Al Qaeda in Iraq an unfamiliar name from past statements. "The leaders met after the injury of our sheik, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi ... and decided to appoint a deputy to take the lead until the return of our sheik," it said in a posting on a militant Web site that two days earlier announced al-Zarqawi had been injured.
"When's the gonna be?"
"Ummm... Doomsday. Approximately."
The statement said the new leader would be Abu Hafs al-Gerni, "deputy of the holy warriors." But a rival denial was posted a short time later, signed off by Abu Maysara al-Iraqi, the name usually associated with Al Qaeda in Iraq postings when a name is indicated. "We deny all that has been said about appointing the so-called Abu Hafs or anyone by any other name," it said, reminding that Al Qaeda in the past has said to believe postings only in his name.
"Yeah! I'm the one as says what goes here!"
A respected pan-Arab newspaper reported Thursday that several candidates were jockeying to succeed al-Zarqawi, none of whom it identified as Abu Hafs al-Gerni, but one being Abu Maysara al-Iraqi the man who issued Wednesday's denial that a deputy had been appointed. Al Hayat quoted multiple unidentified sources of various names, saying that sources in Jordan close to al-Zarqawi, including a former Iraqi officer, told the newspaper Abu Maysara al-Iraqi and Abu al-Dardaa al-Iraqi, an Al Qaeda operative in Baghdad, were two potential successors. Wednesday's first statement said al-Gerni "was known for carrying out the hardest operations, and our sheik would choose him and his group for the tough operations." Middle East experts on Islamic militants told The Associated Press that al-Gerni is a Saudi who has been al-Zarqawi's military adviser and is the emir, or prince as senior commanders are called of the military committee of Al Qaeda in Iraq. The two experts spoke on condition they not be further identified.
Not surprising in the least that the front-runner's a Soddy. We may see a few of his rivals depart this vale of tears in one way or another in the next few days.
An aide to Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim, head of Iraq's largest political party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, said al-Gerni was a non-Iraqi and a key lieutenant to al-Zarqawi. "We are not sure 100 percent that al-Zarqawi is dead, and we can't consider this step as a confirmation for his killing," said Haitham al-Hussaini, director of al-Hakim's office. "According to our intelligence, this al-Gerni is well known to us as one of al-Zarqawi's top aides in Iraq who has an Arab nationality," al-Hussaini said without elaborating on which country al-Gerni came from.
If it's a "country whose name we dare not speak", odds are it's Saudi.
This article starring:
Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim
ABU AL DARDAA AL IRAQI
al-Qaeda in Iraq
ABU DUJANAH AL TUNISI
al-Qaeda in Iraq
ABU HAFS AL GERNI
al-Qaeda in Iraq
ABU MAISARA AL IRAQI
al-Qaeda in Iraq
ABU MUSAB AL ZARQAWI
al-Qaeda in Iraq
Haitham al-Hussaini
Saadoun al-Duleimi
Posted by: Steve ||
05/26/2005 09:03 ||
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#1
Izzit OK to hope for a civil war among the Al-Q factions? Could I get the popcorn concession?
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/26/2005 12:09 Comments ||
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#2
Dibs on the Blue eyed deep fried infidel strips.
Posted by: Minni Mullah ||
05/26/2005 14:12 Comments ||
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#3
My turban feels awfully tight..It must all the deep fatwa I had last night.
Posted by: Minni Mullah ||
05/26/2005 14:35 Comments ||
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More than 40,000 Iraqi soldiers are to be deployed in Baghdad in a massive operation to hunt down insurgents, the Iraqi defence minister has announced. Saadoun al-Dulaimi said the force would include troops from the interior and defence ministries. Correspondents say it would be by far the largest operation against insurgents in Baghdad by Iraqi forces.
Elsewhere in the Iraqi capital, seven people were killed in two attacks - a car bombing and a shooting. Insurgent attacks on US, Iraqi government and civilian targets have killed about 600 people in May.
Mr Dulaimi said the capital would be split into seven areas of operation, and warned that that security measures would be far more strict that had been seen before. "We will also impose a concrete blockade around Baghdad, like a bracelet around an arm, God willing. No-one will be able to penetrate this blockade," Mr Dulaimi said. He said this would be the first phase of a security crackdown that could eventually cover the whole country.
Interior Minister Baqir Solagh said: "These operations will aim to turn the government's role [in dealing with the insurgency] from defensive to offensive."
"No more Mister Nice Guy."
There was no indication of when the operation would start.
The two attacks in Baghdad included a car bomb which targeted a police patrol, killing three Iraqis. At least two others were injured in the blast, which occurred as people were travelling to work. In the second attack, a university lecturer and three passengers in his car were killed in a drive-by shooting in the capital's southern Aalam district.
In a separate incident, a US military convoy was attacked in central Baghdad. One vehicle caught fire but details of casualties are not known.
An Iraqi child was also killed during fighting between US forces and insurgents in the north-western city of Talafar, the US military said.
"When multinational forces engaged the terrorists, the terrorists used Iraqi children as shields. One child was killed as a result of their action," the US military said in a statement, without specifying who killed the child nor how it had died.
And in Qadissiya, in southern Baghdad, police said a member of the Shia Muslim Dawa party was found dead with his throat slit.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/26/2005 08:44 ||
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#2
Fuck the God willing / insh'allah shit son. If you're serious about it, then just friggin' do it. Refer to the first Fallujah fuckup. That's wimping out. Remember Najaf? Yep, wimpsville. And look who's back creating violence whenever it suits his Iranian Masters. Do not repeat your mistakes - you'll just have to do it all over again, sooner or later.
This has been a long time coming. It could be very effective in stopping the terrorist acts, too, if you don't wimp out. And the bonus is that it will likely trigger a real no-shit showdown with Tater, when you get to Sadr City, and finish his career as a terrorist and Iranian agent - if you don't wimp out. Lotsa real wins in here - if you don't wimp out. Tell the Ba'athist and Iranian symps and agents in the parliament to piss off - legislators have no say in security operations. Do it right. Don't wimp out.
#3
At least this appears to be Iraqis demonstraing initiative with respect to combatting the insurgency and ensuring their own security. Unless the sweep devolves into shakedowns and bullying the general populus in Baathist style, Iraq may be taking a step closer allowing us to drop our force levels.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
05/26/2005 20:05 Comments ||
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A Web site statement posted Thursday and signed in the name of al-Qaida in Iraq said the militant group has appointed a deputy to take the lead until Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who's purportedly been wounded, returns.
The statement's authenticity could not be verified.
"Bob, could you verify that statement?"
"Right, chief! I'll hop on the next Airbus out, fly to Soddy Arabia, find the head chopper who wrote it, and ask him if it's true!"
"That sounds pretty expensive. Let's just add a sentence that it can't be verified!"
"The leaders met after the injury of our sheik, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi ... and decided to appoint a deputy to take the lead until the return of our sheik," said the statement, which was posted on a militant Web site that two days earlier announced al-Zarqawi had been injured. It identified Abu Hafs al-Kurani as "deputy of the holy warriors." The new statement said that al-Kurani "was known for carrying out the hardest operations, and our sheik would choose him and his group for the tough operations."
"C'mon, Kurani! Into the barrel!"
"But... But... It's all full of blood!"
"Mahmoud! Hose the barrel out for our new sheikh!"
The statement again urged Muslims to pray for al-Zarqawi, saying: "We will go on in our way of Jihad until victory or martyrdom and we call upon Muslims to pray for the Mujahedeen and for the safety of our sheik." It was signed off in the name of Abu Doujanah al-Tunisi of the media committee of al-Qaida in Iraq. Al-Tunisi was not a familiar name signing off such statements.
This article starring:
ABU DUJANAH AL TUNISI
al-Qaeda in Iraq
ABU HAFS AL KURANI
al-Qaeda in Iraq
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
05/26/2005 04:26 ||
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#1
Note the 'would choose'. I.e. ZMan is in no position to express his choice. Might be time to break out the beverage of your choice.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
05/26/2005 7:59 Comments ||
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#7
I'm a little unsure about ululating protocol.
Fred will issue the "Go Code", then you may proceed. Just listen for the automatic weapons fire.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/26/2005 8:44 Comments ||
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#8
Wondering how long it'll be before al-Kurani's getting the vulture pic? Z-man's either dead/on his way or this is a sign that he's desperate (needs to come back and say he's Superman to get more jihadis cannon fodder for our boyz).
Posted by: BA ||
05/26/2005 8:47 Comments ||
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#9
Ooooooooh. A new boy! Does new Abu have a purty mouth too!
#10
I for one will fire a couple magazines from my carbine into the sky wedding style to celebrate the the passing and welcome the new clown on the ground.
#12
I'm not dead! (Yes, he is.)
I'm not! (He isn't?)
(Well, he will be soon. He's very ill.)
I'm getting better! (No, you're not. You'll be stone dead in a moment.)
I feel fine! . . . I think I'll go for a walk. . . . I feel happy. . . I feel happy.
#15
I would guess that congratulations are in order. Where do I send the gift"?
Posted by: Captain America ||
05/26/2005 11:15 Comments ||
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#16
Where do I send the gift?
Let's get him a JDAM. A nice, big one. Two thousand pounder. He'll have a blast when it's delivered.
Posted by: Mike ||
05/26/2005 12:00 Comments ||
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#17
An alternate view: A couple weeks after the NYT (and others) start complaining that Zarqawi is losing the Iraqi "hearts and minds" battle he's replaced. Withdrawn? Kicked upstairs? Athough it could all be just happy coincidence that he died just as he becoming seen as counterproductive. (HHHmmmmm Was it an inside job? ...you know the penalty for failure # 2...)
Posted by: Dave ||
05/26/2005 12:16 Comments ||
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#18
Die Zarq die.
Here's a Stones tune for ya Zarq, ya nearly dead bastard:
You're obsolete my baby
My poor old-fashioned baby
I said baby, baby, baby you're out of time
Well, baby, baby, baby, you're out of time
I said, baby, baby, baby, you're out of time
Yes, you are left out
Out of there without a doubt
'Cause baby, baby, baby, you're out of time
Reclusive Taleban leader MullahCitizen Omar Wednesday accused Afghan President Hamid Karzai of selling his country out to the United States, according to press reports.
We made a nice profit, too. Thanks for asking.
But I'd recommend counting the change, just to be sure. And ask for a gift receipt, and the extended warranty.
"The pact in Washington between (US President George W.) Bush and Karzai is in fact a deed to sell the motherland of Afghanistan until an indefinite period," Omar said in a statement given by a senior Taleban member to the Pakistan-based private Afghan Islamic Press. "The valiant people of Afghanistan will never accept it. ...
Though they're containing their grief admirably, I must say.
... This is not the Taleban's, but the voice of conscience of independent Afghan people," Omar was quoted as saying. The statement's authenticity could not be immediately verified.
Because the government spokesman was laughing his ass off.
During a visit to Washington, Karzai signed a "strategic partnership" Monday with Bush allowing for long-term US involvement in Afghanistan's security as well as reconstruction. Among the key points of the agreement is a provision giving US military forces operating in Afghanistan continued access to the Bagram Air Base, as well as other military facilities as "may be mutually determined". Omar maintained that the agreement gives US forces free rein during operations in Afghanistan.
He sez that like it's a bad thing.
"It means that American troops can enter the homes of people, can arrest anyone and can kill anyone and can insult Afghans," Omar said, according to AIP.
Nah, not any ol' Afghans, just you, Citizen Omar.
Omar also branded as traitors former Taleban who surrendered to the Afghan government under an amnesty offered by Karzai. "We will never forgive those who are fond of ruling and who worked in Taleban government and are now bowing before the US for a role in government or they are befriending Americans," Omar said.
Where they can learn to govern, not rule, fool.
"Our resistance would strengthen shortly because our motherland has been sold openly ... we will continue our struggle for the independence of our motherland and revival of religion," he said.
Yeah, sure Easy Rider, whatever you say.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/26/2005 00:00 ||
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I say let's sell it back to them.
One large cup of STFU oughta do it and we will transfer the whole thing to you.
#2
bad - You're onto something there, bro. But I bet they'd pay us in poppies. They'll all have these funny little scars on 'em. We'll be polite and pretend not to notice. That is our way.
#3
Can we call the bank and put a stop payment on the check?
Posted by: ed ||
05/26/2005 1:40 Comments ||
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#4
They'll all have these funny little scars on 'em.
Say what? The heroin brought to the USA from Afghanistan gets our kids hooked, not Muslims' kids. It's our kids who bear scars not Karzai's people's kids. We made a pact with the Devil - we "respect" drug lords rights' for poppy agriculture so they would not fight our soldiers' presence in Afghanistan. I'm not sure who got the better part of that bargain.
#5
And #2 was sarcasm, start to finish. I don't favor any notion in any form that we "respect drug lords' rights", Ellie baby.
There is zero doubt on my part that it's gonna have to be TOUGH SHIT regards the difference in income between normal textile or edible crops vs. poppies. Nobody gets a pass, as far as I'm concerned, to grow poppies and produce heroin, no matter whose kids it's to be sold to.
Karzai & the various Afghan lords, (war, dope, whatthefuckever) will just have to adjust to the reality that we can't allow that game to go on. And I have no doubt that he is fully aware of this and your supposition and assertion that the US is in cahoots with him and the drug lords is total fucking bullshit. That's a DUmmy Talking Point of purest insanity.
#6
I have a teenager and I don't take kindly to jokes about drugs. And no, we are not in "cahoots" with drug lords in Afghanistan, but we have certainly needed to turn a blind eye to what our Afghan allies engage in for income in Afghanistan to keep the peace.
#7
The Brits are in charge of the drug problem in Afganistan. LOOK IT UP.
The US disagreed with their methods but we are fighting they are suppose to be cleaning....
#8
ES - Okay, I won't pick nits with you - I totally sympathize regards children. I am so incredibly thankful mine has already transited the minefield of youthful temptation. She's so sane, level-headed, and just downright conservative and boring that I'm the wild-eyed risk-taker of the family. Whew! You have my sincere best wishes - children today do not often have a chance to even be children, to be vulnerable, to grow and learn, without the constant cacaphony of predatory and delusional influences, such as the gay porn manuals being distributed in school - a story from the weekend, IIRC. Sigh. I wish they all had more time before the deluge. Regards.
#9
"...and can insult Afghans,â Omar said
That's what he's worried about, we might insult his beard.
Seriously though, who the f*ck would want to buy Afganistan? No matter how you'd pay, it'd be too much.
#10
âOur resistance would strengthen shortly because our motherland has been sold openly ... we will continue our struggle for the independence of our motherland and revival of religion,â he said.
I thought I saw Karzai's name as a User ID on Ebay the other day. That's what he was selling. Wonder if Uncle Sam is a User ID...I'd like to pick up some real estate in Afghanistan (/sarcasm off/).
Posted by: BA ||
05/26/2005 8:43 Comments ||
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#11
I'd trade the whole da$$$$ country for 40 acres of Colorado mountain property and a mule. I need the mule to remind me I'm dealing with the Federal Government, and how that has to work...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/26/2005 13:42 Comments ||
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#12
BA...We have a developement 10 miles out of Spin Boldak (50 cents a acre 5 cents down) called 'Bouncing Betty Bolders'.
Lovely neighborhood...Please enjoy all of our recreational pleasures. All you have to do is keep your head.
Posted by: Minni Mullah ||
05/26/2005 14:03 Comments ||
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#13
MM, I'll have to consider your offering! lol!
Posted by: BA ||
05/26/2005 15:33 Comments ||
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US and Iraqi troops, about 1,000 in number, raided insurgents' strongholds yesterday, killing 10 suspects including a Muslim cleric, as reports of Iraq's most wanted man, Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, being wounded still circulated around the globe. An Islamic website statement claimed yesterday that Zarqawi, Al-Qaeda's point man in Iraq, has fled to a "neighboring country" with two doctors treating him for gunshot wounds to his lung. The claim's authenticity could not be confirmed.
Clashes erupted in Haditha after 1,000 US and Iraqi troops moved into the Euphrates River city to track down insurgents. As the sweep for militants loyal to Zarqawi continued in the northwest, Iraqi and US forces said they had arrested two of his top aides, the day after an Internet statement said Zarqawi had been wounded. The US military said it had arrested "one of the most wanted people" in northern Iraq, Mullah Kamel Al-Assawadi, and one of the regional secretaries of Al-Qaeda's frontman in Iraq.
Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari meanwhile said he was calling on the United Nations to extend the mandate of the US-led foreign troops stationed in the country, with local forces unable to cope with the onslaught of violence.
This article starring:
Hoshyar Zebari
MULLAH KAMEL AL ASAWADI
al-Qaeda in Iraq
Posted by: Fred ||
05/26/2005 00:00 ||
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US and Iraqi troops, about 1,000 in number, raided insurgents' strongholds yesterday, killing 10 suspects including a Muslim cleric,
#2
Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari meanwhile said he was calling on the United Nations to extend the mandate of the US-led foreign troops stationed in the country
#4
mhw, good idea, but if every single Iraqi living on the planet publicly thanked the coalition for overthrowing Saddam the UN, the academics and the MSM would still say the war was wrong.
"Look, Professor Karlmarx, 20,000,000 Iraqis have arranged themselves into a giant 'Thank You Boosh' formation!"
"Well, son, who are you gonna believe, me or your lying eyes?"
Posted by: Matt ||
05/26/2005 11:46 Comments ||
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#5
Besides, you could prolly only find 18,000,000 who would do it, and the MSM would only quote the Sunnis....
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/26/2005 12:15 Comments ||
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LADAH: Three powerful bomb blasts rocked South and North Waziristan on Tuesday night killing six people, including four children, and injuring another, said security officials and residents on Wednesday. Unidentified people planted a bomb near the house of tribesman Khozi Khan, in Makeen in South Waziristan. The ensuing blast killed two women and four children of the same family. Authorities are investigating the matter. Some residents claimed it was because of a personal enmity while others said the tribesman was attacked because he supported the government against militants. In neighbouring North Waziristan, two bomb blasts damaged three shops and injured a passer-by in Miranshah. Last week, Taliban-linked militants distributed pamphlets warning shopkeepers to close shops on Fridays.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/26/2005 00:00 ||
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A senior Muslim cleric is offering to swap places with an Australian hostage held in Iraq, the sheik's spokesman said Thursday. Douglas Wood, a 63-year-old engineer, was abducted early this month by a militant group calling itself the Shura Council of the Mujahedeen of Iraq. Australia's mufti, Sheik Taj El Din al-Hilaly, flew to Iraq to negotiate his release and last week reported having a telephone conversation with an Australian he believed to be Wood who said he was well.
The sheik has offered to swap places with Wood, a California resident who suffers from a serious heart condition, in a statement expected to be broadcast soon on Middle Eastern television, spokesman Keysar Trad said. "For the mufti of Australia to make that offer _ it's certainly a very attractive offer to any group, to hold a very prominent person and let their captive free so he can seek medical treatment," Trad told Nine Network television. "They promised to set him free before without these conditions but the mufti's now trying to force their hand and trying to get them to make a move and release Mr. Wood," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/26/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Hostage swaps tend to have the same fatal problems as ransom drops.
But wow, the Aussie Mufti. Why, with him, the murderous pigs could issue valid fatwas!
The Internet and Baghdad streets are teeming with statements about terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. One says he's being treated outside Iraq for gunshot wounds to the lung. Another calls on Muslims to pray for him, indicating his condition may be dire. Only one thing is sure: none is confirmed.
The latest furor over al-Zarqawi began Tuesday when an Internet statement called on Muslims to pray for his life, followed by competing statements on his health and whereabouts. The mystery deepened Wednesday after reports that two Arab doctors in another country were treating al-Zarqawi, chief of al-Qaida in Iraq and wanted for some of the deadliest attacks in the country. None of the Internet postings and rumors have been confirmed, but the amount of speculation about the Jordanian-born militant is unusual both in size and scope. "It makes me wonder if al-Zarqawi's injury is severe enough that they are afraid to lie about it, and are instead just trying to minimalize the impact," said Washington-based counterterrorism expert Evan Kohlmann. "In other words, they 'steal the thunder' from the Western media ... a crude form of defusing a potential public relations disaster."
It also could be a ploy to make al-Zarqawi more popular among Islamic zealots who follow him and his mentor, Osama bin Laden. A return to the battlefield after being injured by U.S. forces could make al-Zarqawi look like "superman," Gen. Wafiq al-Samarie, the Iraqi presidential adviser for security affairs, speculated on Al-Jazeera TV.
The attention focused on his reputed injury indicates how crucial al-Zarqawi has become to Iraq's insurgency. He initially was regarded as a bin Laden rival until the al-Qaida leader anointed him his representative in Iraq last year. Al-Zarqawi, who carries a $25 million bounty like bin Laden, is believed to have personally executed foreign hostages and has shown no compunction in killing Muslims who don't adhere to his hard-line interpretation of Islam. He also encourages bloody attacks against anyone deemed a U.S. collaborator. Speculation over his condition heightened when an Internet statement said two Arab doctors in another country were treating him. After being posted on another Web site, it was denounced as being unauthorized and false. The statement from someone identified only as al-Khalidi said the information came from "brothers close to the holy warriors in Iraq."
The spokesman for Iraq's largest Shiite political group said it had unconfirmed information that al-Zarqawi was dead. "He was killed in western Iraq," said Haitham al-Husseini, an aide to Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, head of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq. "But we need more time to be able to confirm."
Hani el-Sibaie, who runs a London-based Islamic affairs research center, said calls to pray for al-Zarqawi meant he was seriously ill. "It is obvious that he is dying and his days are numbered," he said from London. Recent U.S. and Iraqi raids on hospitals in Baghdad and Ramadi, west of the capital, have fueled the rumors. Marine Col. Stephen Davis, who is commanding an anti-insurgent offensive in the western Iraqi city of Haditha, told CNN that if reports al-Zarqawi was wounded or possibly dead were true, "it probably will have some impact, although I suspect that impact may be shorter term."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/26/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Accordion Lady's gotta be tired. Should we bring in the vulture? All they ever do is sit and stare, sit and stare ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/26/2005 0:02 Comments ||
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#2
They peck, too. They need something to peck unto... Are they gliding in circles? That would be a sign that the peckee is available.
#4
The problem for America and Americans, is that the rest of the world is not paranoid, and certainly not afraid of America. Last year when US Authorities insultingly insisted that all 'foreigners' including British and Australians be fingerprinted, photographed and retinally scanned before being issued a tourist visa to visit Disneyworld, the overwhelming response was "Sod you, you paranoid bastards..." There is a alternative Eurodisney near Paris, France, anyway, and besides, who really wants to talk to Mickey Mouse? America, already in free fall on the stock exchange and with its dollar, started to rapidly lose its critical tourist revenues.
The bottom line for ordinary Americans, is that it is way past time to start making friends with the rest of the world again. Where thirty years ago Americans were genuinely hated only in Korea, Vietnam, and sections of Germany, this hatred has now spread to more than one hundred countries across the globe, with everyone hoping [and many praying] for a swift Armageddon in North America.
So wake up people, it is time to go to work. First catch your war criminals, second bring as many live troops back from the Middle East as you can, then finally get on with running America the way it should be run. Stay away from the rest of the world though, or the rest of the world will completely destroy you. This is not a warning, but a promise.
#6
Lol! You can't even spell your own idiot nym correctly, dropped an 'h' lol, but you're certain you speak for the entire world and have everything all figured out. Uh, huh, right.
To suggest you must be as foolish, naive, brainwashed, and clueless as your words is a terrible insult, but there it is.
Right. Okay, you delivered your silly little brain fart bilious screed, such as it is, now fuck off like a good wanker. There you go. Buh bye.
#8
Actually, Idiot, everyone else thinks they, themselves, are #1 and demand deference from America because of that. At the SAME TIME, they DEMAND that Americans DO NOT think of themselves as #1.
Here's what irritates the f*ck out of you, Idiot, as well as everyone else in the world: Americans not only are ENTITLED to the same right EVERYONE ELSE has to think of themselves as #1 in the world, BUT HAVE MORE PROOF TO SUPPORT THAT BELIEF.
#9
Speaking as a non-American my daughter is desperate to go to the REAL Disneyland and were she aware there was an 'ersatz' version in euroland she would reject it out of hand. Why bother with a second rate copy when you can have the real thing (analogy intended).
#11
Sounds like someone's got their turban in a knot this fair morning. If America's so hated I suggest you look at the UN's figures for migration to developed countries. America's always been hard to get into - and after 9/11 I'd expect to be grilled before being let in.
Stay away from the rest of the world though, or the rest of the world will completely destroy you.
I seem to remember during the Bosnia conflict the world was calling for America to take a much more interventionist role in international affairs.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
05/26/2005 6:39 Comments ||
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#12
I had no idea that international tourism was that important to the U.S. economy. I am comforted by the fact that the CIA doesn't either.
As for friends, my youngest's godfather is Bangladeshi, my own goddaughter is German (lives in Frankfurt), and two of my childrens' best friends are English (Surrey) and Indian (Beijing -- don't ask). My husband had to replace his last passport a couple of years early because the extra extension was so overused it kept falling out. And I'm only a little American housewife, nothing special. How international did you say you were, Mr. Idiot?
#13
Oh, and I've been to Eurodisney -- twice. It's cute, but absolutely no comparison to the two American sites. Think one of those little
"tastes" sent round by the chef at the kind of restaurants where Chiraq would take Scroeder. I find them a little overdone, myself, but it is so much better than nibbling on breadsticks.
Phil_B, your daughter is right -- figure two days for Eurodisney, at least a week for either one Stateside. And that assumes that you and your wife don't take any of the classes on offer: Mr. Wife has promised that we'll go back one of these years, and he'll check out the latest engineering wonders while the girls and I take cooking classes, and then he can take them on the roller coasters while I do horticulture. Heaven!
The 'rest of the world' is going to stop coming to Disneyland, a subsidiary of ABC which is an antiwar outfit which typically would love to see more dead Amewricans and less dead terrorists...
And you're going to hurt US by staying away? Where's the downside?
#16
Perhaps Euroweenie could explain it to me,if America is such a horrid country.Why do we have millions sneaking across the Southern border?
I think a graphic of the 2 vultures sitting on a tree limb,one say's"Patience my ass,I'm gonna kill something",would be appropriate.
#17
I wasn't aware that Mickey Mouse was the cornerstone of the economy. That's good to know.
There's nothing I find more amusing then when some foreign loser with no clue tries to lecture us on what's wrong with America and what should be done to fix it. And as far as your wish for that "Armageddon" shit goes, be careful what you wish for. We've had to dish out Armagedon before. God help everybody if we're forced into a situation where we have to do it again.
#18
I think the belief that Mickey Mouse is the cornerstone of our econmy comes fro the Moonbat Lefties and Demodoinks who have been crying about our "Mickey Mouse Economy for the last 4 years. I have been participating in an on-line straw poll for the past 6 months or so and one of the results published shows a majority (I think around 67%) of people who identify themselves as Democrats have a pessemistic view of the future of the US, the world, and our economy while a majority of Republicans and Independants have a positive outlook. No wonder the Demidoinks lost the last election.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
05/26/2005 11:59 Comments ||
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#19
That's ironic, given the importance of the entertainment industry to their political coalition.
#21
idiot doesn't read the Financial Times or he wouldn't bother trying to peddle junk about the US economy. He might want to check out the other stories today, including the gloomy ones about the Eurozone.
Or not -- facts are such inconvenient things to idiots.
Posted by: too true ||
05/26/2005 12:26 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Three gunmen who hijacked a bus in the southern Philippines escaped to freedom yesterday as attempts by police and soldiers to rescue about a dozen hostages went awry after a Catholic bishop intervened. Officials said the bus, owned by Rural Transit, was on its way to Zamboanga City from Cagayan de Oro on Tuesday when the gunmen, wearing ski masks, seized it near Plaridel town in Misamis Occidental province and held 16 passengers hostage. The gunmen freed late in the day a six-year girl and the driver after negotiations with politicians and then forced one of the hostages to drive the bus to the neighboring province of Zamboanga del Sur.
Syria has arrested more than 1,200 people trying to cross the border into Iraq in recent weeks and sent many of them back to their own countries, Syria's U.N. ambassador said Wednesday. Fayssal Mekdad said Syria suspected that the people arrested mostly foreigners intended to carry out illegal activities in Iraq, so they were arrested and sent back to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Libya and other countries. "We gave a lot of information to the United States on these issues, which prevented many attacks, but regrettably, the United States did not recognize such kind of help," he said in an interview.
The 24 May Internet announcement did not mention the exact date of al-Zarqawi's wounding, but rumors of his injury have been circulating for weeks, along with unconfirmed reports that he had been taken to a hospital in Al-Ramadi. A U.S. military official confirmed that U.S. forces surrounded and searched the hospital in late April, but did not find him. Al-Zarqawi was also allegedly wounded when he jumped from his vehicle on 20 February to evade U.S. capture. In that incident, U.S. forces arrested his driver and seized a laptop computer reportedly belonging to al-Zarqawi that contained his medical records and considerable information on his group's activities in Iraq. 
BNP leader slaughtered in Pabna
Reclusive Taleban leader 
LADAH: Three powerful bomb blasts rocked South and North Waziristan on Tuesday night killing six people, including four children, and injuring another, said security officials and residents on Wednesday. Unidentified people planted a bomb near the house of tribesman Khozi Khan, in Makeen in South Waziristan. The ensuing blast killed two women and four children of the same family. Authorities are investigating the matter. Some residents claimed it was because of a personal enmity while others said the tribesman was attacked because he supported the government against militants. In neighbouring North Waziristan, two bomb blasts damaged three shops and injured a passer-by in Miranshah. Last week, Taliban-linked militants distributed pamphlets warning shopkeepers to close shops on Fridays.
A senior Muslim cleric is offering to swap places with an Australian hostage held in Iraq, the sheik's spokesman said Thursday. 
