With his neat moustache and casual clothing, Hafiz Ihsanullah is the new face of the Taliban. The 28-year-old former fighter has eschewed the trademark turban and prayer beads of the ultra-conservative Islamic group since he took on a new and powerful role.
He has switched from being a frontline warrior to front man for Mullah Dadullah Akhund - the one-legged Taliban commander in Afghanistan, renowned for his viciousness and cruelty.
Dadullah is believed to be spearheading the Taliban's biggest offensive since they lost Kabul in 2001, killing at least 100 Afghan civilians and 40 coalition soldiers this year, including two SAS troops during a fierce firefight in southern Afghanistan last week. After the leaders of al-Qaeda itself, Dadullah is at the top of the coalition's wanted list.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: john ||
07/02/2006 17:37 ||
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#1
ok - so we'll kill them too. With the current kill ratio odds aren't in your favor, if you get my drift
#2
His point is not the kill ratio, but the dollar cost per kill. He claims, perhaps rightly, that we are having to spend too much per Talibaner we wack to sustain indefinitely while he can sustain the death rate we are inflicting. The upshot is that we have to be more efficient at killing - is it possible with the politically necessary (Afghan and Western politics) rules of engagement?
#4
I expect our cost per kill would go down dramatically should we disregard the border. F*ck Perv's and the ISI's lies. Take the battle to the enemy and that means bombing in Balochistan
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/02/2006 18:14 Comments ||
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#5
Just exactly what side is Pakistan on again? Someone in Washington D.C. needs to get a clue. It's pretty evident they are aiding and arming the Talibs. I suggest we ignore there "sovereignty" and bomb the hell out of these scum. Regular old iron bombs not is this jdam stuff. Shoot anythiong or anyone trying to cross the border. See if they can sustain those losses.
#6
One point about the madrassas - before partition in 1947, there were just 2500 registered madrassas in the entire Indian subcontinent. Today there are 10 000 in Pak Punjab province alone, and 25 000 in all of Pakistan. There are an additional 25000 - 40000 unregistered koranic schools.
This growth was a policy of the Pakistani state. The first growth spurt followed the defeat in the 1965 war. The second followed the 1971 war defeat.
There was a belief that a vast army of irregulars could defend Pakistan and defeat India in Kashmir.
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and US funding provided another huge boost - foot soldiers for the jihad, first in Afghanistan and then in Kashmir. Now the jihadi army is being redirected from Kashmir to Afghanistan, with additional recruitment.
The Taliban were a creation of the Pakistani ISI and this offensive is a policy of the Pakistani state.
To pretend otherwise, as many in the DoD and State do, is to delude oneself.
Posted by: john ||
07/02/2006 18:25 Comments ||
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#7
John, I'm with ya on that. In fact, I've learned to not question your info on Paki/India stories...what's your background? If I may be so impertinent to ask? Just wondering..you have a wealth of knowledge in the area. I can be reached via email by dropping the NoSpam from the addy :-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/02/2006 18:29 Comments ||
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#8
One problem is that the officer cadre of the Pakistan army, educated in British type "public schools" and a staff college created to develop soldiers for the Raj, is quite personable.
They drink whiskey, play polo and cards, and get along quite well with foreign officers and officials. Some, like Jinnah, may even eat bacon.
The typical officer may appear to be "one of the boys". Many have formed lasting friendships with many senior American Generals and SD officials.
However a scorpion, no matter how friendly it is, remains a scorpion. Its nature is to sting and it has its own agenda.
Posted by: john ||
07/02/2006 18:32 Comments ||
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#9
IIRC the periodic Baloch rebellions were the actual trigger for the first madrassa expansions.
The ideology of Pakistan was islam and it was felt that while Punjabis would be loyal, other regions needed the inculcation of islamic identity to hold the pakistani state together.
Posted by: john ||
07/02/2006 18:37 Comments ||
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#10
Take the battle to the enemy and that means bombing in Balochistan
Last time I checked, the Pakistani Army was busy pacifying Balochistan. While the Balochis aren't saints, it's Waziristan that seems to provide most of the basing for cross-border operations.
Posted by: Phil ||
07/02/2006 18:39 Comments ||
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#11
pacifying? You mean the PR releases.. I agree, Wazoo is equally bad, but you have to actually put forth a REAL effort, not PR, to make it work. AND(!) don't quit at the first ceasefire offer. Crush your enemies
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/02/2006 18:43 Comments ||
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Posted by: Captain America ||
07/02/2006 19:19 Comments ||
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#14
I been slapped down hard here at the 'Burg for expressing the sentiment that this will not end until we kill massive numbers of these people. Wars do not end until one side recognizes that the losses are too great. The asshats have not experienced this yet.
I still believe that the WOT is on course to get a lot of Americans killed. This will result in a truely brutal retaliation. It won't matter who is president - Repub. or Dhimmiecrat. The public in America will demand it. There will be only limited tolerance for moonbats here. It will be an awful time.
GWB has not come to grips with this. I suspect that he is obeying the First Law of Leadership - do not give an order that you believe will not be obeyed. The MSM are non-combatant enemies. Our intelligence agencies are penetrated. The supremes extend Geneva Convention protections to non-state actors. The list goes on.
It is ironic that the antics of the Left bring the next holocaust closer.
#15
Our cost per kill is unstustainable for most countries. We are looking at thousands per death. However, America is a very rich country and we can afford it. This is something that most third world fighters do not and can not understand.
#19
It is actually much cheaper for us to kill large groups, than small 4-man fire teams. A 20-30 man unit in a single location can be eliminated by a JDAM or 155mm cluster munition. The smaller fire teams have to be killed individually, using direct fire like rifle shots or M203 gernade rounds. And if they are saying that they can run gunnies from Pakistan indefinitely, they need to review their border situation with Afghanistan. If the Afghanis get the bit in their mouth, there isn't much on the border to stop Afghani hunter/killer teams from crossing over into the richer hunting grounds of Pakistan. And if the Indians are smart, they will spend the money to encourage such raiding.
#21
I still think a dozen Buffs fully loaded down through the middle of the NWFP would reduce the Taliban numbers by about 70%. Do it once a week for a month or two, and we won't have any more taliwhackers - and not much problem from pakiwakiland - especially after we say "Rawalpindi's next" a couple of times, then follow through.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/02/2006 20:44 Comments ||
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#22
OP...I do agree. Given the quality of ordnance we have now vice circa 1972...A couple of arclight runs in the right spots would eliminate a lot of islamo-cockroaches and their minions...especially those that feel safe in concrete re-emforced bunkers. Just read the accounts of the NVA.
#24
Just came back for spening time with someone who worked and liked in SA for years. He says all the money is comming from the Magic Kingdom. Beans and bullets stillcost money and SA is happy to provide it.
His recomendations. First one is 20X50 approx in demensions. Second is item #10 and he never even heard of Dave D's list.
#25
The cost of a kill in Afghanistan is over $1 million. That's a figure even the US won't sustain. The cost of operations (minus weapons) is $800 million a month. There were an estimated 1500+ kills last year for $640,00 each. Add to that weapons expended and coalition nations operations costs and it comes to more than $1 million. Of that figure, a lot of goes to Pakistan to supply US and coaltion forces. Let's face it, just a 10% Pakistani skim will raise at lot of little jihadis to adulthood. It's very lucrative for Pakistan and in their financial interest (not even including their strategic interests) to keep the pot boiling.
Posted by: ed ||
07/02/2006 23:12 Comments ||
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HAVE you ever used a pistol? yelled Sergeant-Major Mick Bolton amid the Kalashnikov fire and bursts from a machinegun as we ran across a baked-mud field and dived for cover. If it comes down to it, everyones going to have to fight.
Round after round fizzed past our ears, sending up clouds of dust. My heart was thudding crazily against my flak jacket, my breath coming in short, rasping pants.
The whoosh of a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) close enough to lift the hairs on the back of my neck was followed by an orange blaze of flame as it landed nearby.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: john ||
07/02/2006 09:58 ||
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#1
We are British not Americans, explained the major through an interpreter. We come at the invitation of your government as friends and brothers to help you and find out what you need.
Is the good major really so foolish as to believe that the enemy cares or distinguishes between British and Americans?
Good on the reporter though. Need a few more willing to do what our soldiers do daily.
#2
nice narrative - well spun quagmire(!) and handwringing, I guess it's a macro by now...."hearts and minds" is used a little too much. This "reporter" seemed to think she was going for a picnic - I doubt the troops really did. Idjit
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/02/2006 10:13 Comments ||
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#3
The Taliban have reorganised, possibly with the help of both the Pakistani military intelligence and Al-Qaeda, to use the sophisticated tactics I experienced first hand in Zumbelay.
Not "possibly".
There is no doubt that the Pakistani ISI have trained and armed these new fighters
This is what retired General Barry McCaffrey said a few days ago:
Taliban now have "excellent weapons" and "new field equipment" -- prized by the equipment-poor ANA -- and "new IED technology and commercial communications," McCaffrey said. "They appear to have received excellent tactical, camouflage and marksmanship training," and "they are very aggressive and smart in their tactics."
McCaffrey didn't mince words about Pakistan's links with Taliban: "Their base areas in Pakistan are secure." Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf hotly denies what is undeniable.
Posted by: john ||
07/02/2006 10:23 Comments ||
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#4
Key bits:
Im going to have to review our approach to villages, said Major Blair. Were going to have to go in with far more security. Its very annoying to think we were sitting there offering things and having a laugh and a joke with villagers who knew that five minutes later wed be attacked.
What some have described as military and developmental anarchy may change when Lieutenant-General David Richards, Nato commander in Afghanistan, takes control of the Helmand operation on July 31. On the military front, the general wants more fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, and the British government is seeking more military support from its European allies. But General Richards has also been bashing heads together on the need to make some improvements in the lives of the Afghans.
The Taliban have reorganised, possibly with the help of both the Pakistani military intelligence and Al-Qaeda, to use the sophisticated tactics I experienced first hand in Zumbelay. No longer are they just a few dozen ragtag fighters here and there. Now groups often include hundreds of heavily armed men equipped with motorbikes, cars, horses and radios.
Within a few hours of our returning to Camp Price, the Afghan Islamic Press in Peshawar had put out a statement claiming the Taliban had killed seven British soldiers in Zumbelay. Far from losing any men, the brave paras from C company had killed about 20 Taliban. Yet the Ministry of Defence put out nothing.
"In my view," McCaffrey continued, "the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan requires a continuing division-sized U.S. military force with at least six ground combat battalions supported by significant U.S. Army aviation (gunships and transport helicopters), engineers, USAF CAS and C-130/AC-130, civil affairs, military police, reconnaissance, intelligence, logistics, and 155mm and MLRS artillery support."
Also needed, he wrote, is "a continued robust presence of Special Operations Forces for counter-terrorist unilateral action. (These SOCOM Forces are inspiring for their incredible professionalism in stealthy air-ground actions supported by superb intelligence. They are very judicious in their employment of force. They are, in my judgment, the most dangerous people on the face of the earth.)
"We will encounter some very unpleasant surprises in the coming 24 months that will require U.S. fighting forces which can respond rapidly throughout this huge and chaotic country to preserve and nurture the enormous successes of the past five years.
Posted by: john ||
07/02/2006 10:27 Comments ||
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#6
And Pakistan needs to be punished, quite severely, for this activity.
Posted by: john ||
07/02/2006 10:29 Comments ||
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#7
after 911 Pakiwakiland should have been GLASSED!
No if ands or buts.
The Paras are Brilliant and Super and Brave.
Justin and I are Very Brave.
I used to run with the mujis against the Russians.
I have been in the Hairy Places Before.
I'm almost an Afghani Muj, In Fact.
I am Way Very Brave.
Selfless, too.
The Taliban are Winning Cuz I Saw Them Lose 20 Men.
The Americans are Shit.
It's all Bush's Fault.
If not for America, Afghanistan would be da bomb.
My son has Blue Eyes.
Did I mention how Brave I am?
Two British soldiers have been killed in southern Afghanistan during operations in Helmand province.
They were killed on Saturday when a rocket-propelled grenade struck one of the defensive posts at the regional headquarters in the town of Sangin.
Both soldiers were serving with the 3rd Para Battlegroup.
Five British soldiers have now been killed in the country in the last three weeks. Most of the 3,300 British troops in Afghanistan are in Helmand.
BBC correspondent in Kabul, Alastair Leithead, said the latest deaths were a "severe blow" to the British military commanders in Afghanistan, who were now considering their options.
He said: "There are lots of heavy discussions gong on at the moment to decide exactly what to do.
"To have such heavy losses in such a short period of time has obviously shaken the military command in southern Afghanistan.
"They knew it would be a very dangerous mission but they never wanted to be quite so exposed in such remote parts of Helmand province so early in their deployment.
Posted by: john ||
07/02/2006 10:51 Comments ||
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#10
GG9149, I didn't read her article that way. She was scared shitless, and I would have been too. Her article is a major credit to the Brit soldiers and officers who kept their heads, worked their way through the problem, and got back safe.
Ms. Lamb has a weblog: it's not the usual Leftist idiocy, though she points out all the stoopid mistakes being made in Afghanistan.
Someone has to have a critical eye on the place, and Ms. Lamb seems like a decent one to be there.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/02/2006 10:55 Comments ||
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#11
Fine. I'm tempted to duplicate the entire article, plus my comments, to point out where every item came from, but that's a lot of work I'm not much interested in doing. No big deal, actually, but if you don't hear the quagmire and bad Americans (where's that air cover!!!!!) bass-line, I'm not sure what your POV is. I thought her statement that she was an Afghan pro, yet surprised at the poppy industry in Helmand, was rather stupid and telling, but hey, there it is. Anyway, I stand by my selections and we disagree.
#14
Instead, they are being rewarded .. with 5 billion dollars worth of arms.. stuff like JDAMs and BLU-109s . Christ, that was developed to take out hardened buried targets like enemy command and strategic weapon bunkers.
Here is a partial list from the DOD request to the Congress
36 F-16C/D Block 50/52 aircraft with either the F100-PW-229 or F110-GE-129 Increased Performance Engines (IPEs) and APG-68(V)9 radars;
7 spare F100-PW-229 IPE or F110-GE-129 IPE engines;
7 spare APG-68(V)9 radar sets;
36 Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems;
36 AN/ARC-238 SINCGARS radios with HAVE QUICK I/II;
36 Conformal Fuel Tanks (pairs);
36 Link-16 Multifunctional Information Distribution System-Low Volume Terminals;
36 Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Embedded GPS/Inertial Navigation Systems;
36 APX-113 Advanced Identification Friend or Foe Systems;
36 Advanced Integrated Defensive Electronic Warfare Suites without Digital Radio
Frequency Memory (DRFM) or AN/ALQ-184 Electronic Counter Measures pod without DRFM or AN/ALQ-131 Electronic Counter Measures pod without DRFM or AN/ALQ-187 Advanced Self-Protection Integrated Suites without DRFM
AN/ALQ-178 Self-Protection Electronic Warfare Suites without DRFM and
1 Unit Level Trainer
APG-68(V)9 with Synthetic Aperture Radar or APG-66(V)2 radar;
Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems;
AN/APX-113 Advanced Identification Friend or Foe Systems;
AN/ALE-47 Advanced Countermeasures Dispenser Systems;
Have Quick I/II Radios;
Link-16 Multifunctional Information Distribution System-Low Volume Terminals;
SNIPER (formerly known as AN/AAQ-33 PANTERA) targeting pod capability;
Reconnaissance pod capability;
Advanced Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation Units;
MDE included in the MLU modification and structural upgrade kits
21 ALQ-131 Block II Electronic Countermeasures Pods without the Digital Radio Frequency Memory (DRFM) or ALQ-184 Electronic Countermeasures Pods without DRFM;
60 ALQ-213 Electronic Warfare Management Systems;
1 Unit Level Trainer; and
10 APG-68(V)9 spare radar sets.
500 AIM-120C5 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM);
12 AMRAAM training missiles;
240 LAU-129/A Launchers;
200 AIM-9M-8/9 SIDEWINDER missiles;
500 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) Guidance Kits: GBU-31/38 Guided Bomb Unit (GBU) kits; 1,600 Enhanced-GBU-12/24 GBUs;
800 MK-82 500 pound General Purpose (GP) and MK-84 2,000 pound GP bombs; and
700 BLU-109 2,000 pound with FMU-143 Fuze.
Posted by: john ||
07/02/2006 11:22 Comments ||
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#16
Whoever decided that Pakistan should be rewarded with this sort of advanced weaponry, whether in State or DoD, needs a swift kick in the backside
Posted by: john ||
07/02/2006 11:25 Comments ||
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#17
or worse
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/02/2006 11:26 Comments ||
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#18
And the icing on the cake is that Pakistan will promptly transfer a "sample" of each to China for their militray scientists to study
Posted by: john ||
07/02/2006 11:28 Comments ||
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#19
GG9149, from what I've read, every infantryman is always screaming about where the damned air cover is.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/02/2006 11:54 Comments ||
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#20
Got that right, Steve! The only time they weren't welcome is when there was a hung rack - and a late drop. Schwarzkopf talked about being on the receiving end of one in Vietnam.
#23
India actually has most of the nuke technology it needs. It even has some rather unique thorium cycle technology.
What India wants from the deal is fuel. It is prevented from buying Uranium by NSG cartel rules.
Some claim that the Pak whining is not really about obtaining nuke tech.. they don't really need all that electrical power and their civilian program is quite small.. the purpose may be to convince the US to placate them... like a crying child.. with some treats ... advanced weaponry .. missiles, F-16s etc
Posted by: john ||
07/02/2006 13:06 Comments ||
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#24
Wait a moment -- are we giving all those shiny toys to Pakistan, or is the DoD putting in a request to Congress, which in its own sweet time may or may not approve it, and once approved, may get doled out or not... depending on Pakistans' behaviour?
#25
They will be eventually be paid for, one way or the other, by the US taxpayer.
Either as direct US military aid, by funds freed up by US forgiving of Pakistani debt, by funds diverted from earhquake relief, by funds freed up from the Pak treasury by US civilian aid etc.
Posted by: john ||
07/02/2006 13:25 Comments ||
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#26
I don't care so much how the things are paid for -- the US budget hides many, many sins -- so much as whether Pakistan will ever actually get the things, and under what circumstances. It seems to me we sold them major weaponry before, then held up delivery for a decade or more, for whatever reason. I have the impression that we even had taken their money, then locked it in escrow. Do I remember correctly, or is senility creeping up on little pink mousey feet? ;-)
#27
A lot of the foreign military sales are actually paid for under a seperate program. So country X buys the hardware while at the same time, Uncle Sam gives country X a big chunk of aid with the understanding that it will be used to buy US hardware only.
The deal should be structured so that there are no rake offs, but there are many creative ways to get around that.
#28
Part of the F-16 order was stopped because of their nuclear program.
The money was held for several years, then refunded in the form of soyabeans, minus storage fees.
Posted by: john ||
07/02/2006 21:44 Comments ||
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#29
The Taliban have reorganised, possibly with the help of both the Pakistani military intelligence and Al-Qaeda, to use the sophisticated tactics I experienced first hand in Zumbelay.
First - I'm glad the "Good Guys" lost no one. And - I give this journalist credit for getting out into the field, and reporting from actual personal observations.
But - lady, I gotta' tell you - having been THAT kind of Ranger - when your element walks into a prepared and coordinated ambush, on the enemy's selected terrain, and they are shooting at you from four directions, with an observer positioned on high ground, and they have mortars, RPG's heavy machine guns, and light weapons - and they throw everything they have at an unarmored force caught in the kill zone - and they do thsi for several hours - and the ambushed force takes ZERO casualties....... well, lady, I have to tell you - the ambushing force absolutely SUCKS. This has got to be a description of one of the worst military performances ever recorded. The Taliban couldn't hit the broad side of a barn at arm's length.
Taliban are good as bullet-stoppers - may they be so until the last one drops.
Two rockets have hit the main international military base in southern Afghanistan, wounding 10 people, including two Canadian soldiers. Two rockets hit base at the airport in the town of Kandahar on Friday evening. The Taliban occasionally fires rockets into the sprawling base, home to 7,000 soldiers and civilian workers, but they usually explode harmlessly on open ground. Friday's attack was the first time anyone had been hurt.
In five years? Damn, they're bad!
Major Marc Theriault, the Canadian military spokesman, said one of the two explosions "occurred in a common area and several people from various nations were wounded, among them two Canadian soldiers". The US military said 10 people were hurt. Three people had been treated for injuries and released from hospital, six were in stable condition and one was in serious condition, it said.
The Taliban commander for southern Afghanistan, Mullah Dadullah, claimed responsibility. "We fired several rockets at the air base and they hit their target," said Dadullah, speaking by telephone from an undisclosed location in Pakistan, adding: "We will carry out more such attacks."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2006 00:00 ||
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MOGADISHU - A powerful warlord has surrendered his weapons to Mogadishus Islamists rulers as the group continues to assert its authority across the Horn of Africa country, officials said on Saturday. The warlord and former minister for religious affairs Omar Finnish handed over more than 200 weapons, including machine guns and mortars, as well as members of his militia to the Islamist leadership. We accepted what our traditional and religious elders requested us to do, which is to surrender all our weapons to the Council of Islamic Courts, Ahmed Aden Dacwo, an aide to Omar told reporters on Saturday.
The Islamic movement ejected U.S.-backed secular warlords from Mogadishu on June 5 and this week announced they were expanding their control across the country.
Residents of Mogadishus Madina district had lived in fear of renewed fighting, worried that Omar would attempt to recapture his lost territory. This is a good thing, it is a good culture where we are seeing those defeated now surrendering, said Halimo Jeyte, a mother-of-two.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/02/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Omar's Finnish? Who knew?
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/02/2006 0:27 Comments ||
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#2
Haven't heard of the Peace with the Quaraish, eh?
#3
I think what we see here is the birth of the new Afghanistan. Watch for them to do it a bit different. They will build up their military focusing on the Hezbullah or Hamas models. Bet the money pipes are flowing from Sods and Iran.
We need to be preemptive here or we will eventually have to take them down as well.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/02/2006 9:15 Comments ||
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#8
First off, the weapondry in the rump failed state of Somalia is all Soviet/Combloc stuff, most leftover from the wars Somalia and Ethiopia fought in the 1980s. Second, all that the Islamists control is a chunk of southern Somalia that includes Mogadishu. They have NOT taken on either Puntland or Somaliland, and you know when they do by the huge number of Islamist causulties. Both Puntland and Somalialand have a basic army that has a much higher level of training than the khat-chewer gunnies that the Islamists use. Also, Somaliland at least is getting covert Ethiopian military training, by some of the best that the Ethiopians and Israelis can provide. Israeli mercs have been operating in that general area for the past several years, with unofficial consent of the two governments. They gather intel, track problems, and provide training for the correct sides in this multi-faceted war.
Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden said his group reserved the right to fight the United States on its land and warned Washington and the world community against sending forces to Somalia, according to an Internet audio tape. "We will fight its (U.S.) soldiers on the land of Somalia ... and we reserve the right to punish it on its land and anywhere possible," said the speaker, who sounded like the Saudi-born militant. "We warn all of the countries in the world not to respond to America by sending international troops to Somalia," he said of the African nation where Islamists' power is rising.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
"Bin Laden says will take fight to America"
Sure ya' wannt try that, Binny?
Didn't work out so well for ya' last time, did it?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/02/2006 0:03 Comments ||
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#2
Well, the "Report Suspicious Activity" signs are on along the highways in DC, like they are every time the terror level is raised. Perhaps it's just related to July 4.
#3
how's that cave or ISI safehouse ya craven Piece Of Shit? Instead of audiotapes, why don't you come out of hiding and do a satphone call or interview? coward
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/02/2006 0:07 Comments ||
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#4
Musta hear Howie Dean's speech.
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/02/2006 0:28 Comments ||
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There was a rumour going around a few years ago that someone with authority had privately spoken to the Soddies about further attacks on America leading to the release of bottled sunshine on some sites of religious import in the Western part of The Magic Kingdom. I wonder if it was true...
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
07/02/2006 7:10 Comments ||
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#7
Sounds like a fund-raiser to me. Osama's only real hope is a Democratic Congress next year.
#8
Tony-
I remember that story as well, and it would be nice were it true. The problem is that given Muzzy thinking, some as*hole would issue a fatwa that Mecca wasn't really a place so much as an idea, and as long you dropped on your face several times a day in the right direction, it would be okay to keep killing infidels.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
07/02/2006 7:57 Comments ||
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#9
Now is the time to do it, since his allies the NYT have shut down the effective anti-terrorist programs.
#10
There was a rumour going around a few years ago that someone with authority had privately spoken to the Soddies about further attacks on America leading to the release of bottled sunshine on some sites of religious import in the Western part of The Magic Kingdom. I wonder if it was true...
The western part of the Kingdom is also thought to be the true site where Moses received the 10 Commandments, making it a site that is sacred to Christians and Jews....show mutual respect at the very least, don't you think?
#15
Those were awfully big rock tablets Moses used to carve the Commandments on, Tony. And remember, he had to go back up and do it a second time after he smashed the first set. Unbelievable deltoids he had, after. ;-)
#16
I didn't know about the possible true site where Moses received the 10 commandments. However, I was thinking the initial story related to, ie Mecca and Medina, but Mike has made a good point as to why that particular initiative might have been taken off the table.
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
07/02/2006 13:51 Comments ||
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#17
I've read about the supposed crossing into the eastern Saudi desert about 50 miles north of Sharm al-Shaik, but I haven't seen anything actually acknowledging PROOF of it. There IS a "Mount Sinai" about 170 miles north of Jenna, but that's not in the Sinai Peninsula, which the Bible insinuates is where Moses received the 10 Commandments. Mecca and Medina are a long way SOUTH of Jenna. The first nuke, however, should be a 10MT on Riyadh, hopefully when the entire house of saud is at home. THEN we can nuke mecca, medina, Tehran, Qom, and most of pakiwakiland, and be done with this sh$$. I want our "art of diplomacy" to return to saying "nice doggie" while reaching for a humongous rock. We've been too da$$$$ nice in our waging war. Forget hearts and minds, instill stark, naked fear in the turbanheads and this sh$$ will stop. They don't understand nice. "Nice" to them equals "weak". We need to show just how strong we are. Leveling a few cities would do the trick. We also need to level a few "national" newspapers at the same time for being on the losing side. Sulzburger should hang, along with his senior editors, on Times Square.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/02/2006 14:41 Comments ||
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#18
You forgot Somolia in your target list, OP. And OBL has double-dared you.
#21
Forget hearts and minds, instill stark, naked fear in the turbanheads and this sh$$ will stop.
I doubt it will stop. It will exponentially increase the fervor to buy some ready made nukes and respond in kind. And as long as there are folks willing to sell and benefit from a troubled America, America will have a problem.
LAHORE: A man was arrested from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement's (MQM) international secretariat in London on Saturday for allegedly planning to assassinate MQM chief Altaf Hussain, Geo Television reported. MQM leader Dr Imran Farooq told the channel that a man entered the secretariat at 6pm and reached the main office. Farooq said that the secretariat had been closed at 5pm and the building doors were electronically locked, "But surprisingly the man managed to enter the building."
He said that people at the secretariat questioned the man, who said that he had entered the building to assassinate MQM leaders. "At this, we called the police and handed him over," Farooq said. Farooq said that the secretariat had recently received information that some people had arrived in London to assassinate Hussain. "In that context the incident is very disturbing for us. We have informed the police and the Scotland Yard about the incident," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2006 00:00 ||
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TURKISH officials have been accused of covering up a terrorist bombing campaign in an attempt to safeguard the countrys lucrative tourist industry.
An explosion that killed four people and injured 28 last Sunday in a popular restaurant at a waterfall at Manavgat, about 60 miles east of the Mediterranean resort of Antalya, was blamed by Fikret Dayioglu, the local governor, on a faulty gas cylinder. But he produced no evidence and could not explain why most of the casualties occurred away from the kitchen area.
Vatan, a leading Turkish daily, later reported that security cameras had captured footage of a three-strong terrorist cell placing a bomb in a bin 20 minutes before the blast. The report was denied by local officials but responsibility for the explosion was admitted by the Kurdistan Liberation Hawks (TAK), a group controlled by the separatist Kurdistan Workers party (PKK).
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Actually there's a fairly large tourist industry that caters to Christians - IIRC the Apostle Paul travled through Anatolia, I know more than a few people who have taken tours that retrace his steps.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
07/02/2006 9:05 Comments ||
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#4
Was considering Turkey for my next break, but had some misgivings due the security factor (OK, I know, what's someone in Baghdad worrying about in Turkey! But of course here I'm pretty safe, not out in Shi'a markets very often ....). The female friend who's traveling to meet me was also a bit wary - she pays attention, though I don't think she's YET reading R'burg regularly - so we said the hell with it and we're going to enjoy a luxury resort in hot-as-hell Dubai. So wrack up one small victory for the Hawks ....
#5
go ahead and enjoy. Your chances of getting hit by a truck or crashing in a plane are probably greater than being at the right time and place for a terrorist attack. Besides, if others are staying away - that might mean good deals :-)
#7
Avoid Turkey if you can, go to Greece instead the people there are just as arrogant but not so aggressive. In turkey its considered polite to swear and curse your parentage whilst bartering in the market.
Oh! if anyone out there is turkish
Ananin amina cam dikerim, golgesinde seni sikerim trans.
And I hope you and your mothercountry remain the EU's whore for another 50 years.
(KUNA) -- A Turkish soldier was killed Saturday during an ongoing clash with Kurdish gunmen in the South-Eastern Turkish governorate of Tunceli. Turkish Ihlas News Agency quoted a statement issued by the office of Tunceli Governor as saying that Kurdish gunmen attacked a Turkish military patrol in Dinar area. Consequently, the two sides engaged in a still ongoing clash. At least two Kurdish Worker Union (PKK) members were killed yesterday in clashes that took place in the South-Eastern Turkish Governorate of Bingol.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2006 00:00 ||
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#2
I would not be surprised to see them beat most of the charges on grounds of 'entrapment.' If stopped before a successful attack, then they didn't do/cound not have done anything wrong, so you just have to wait for a successful attack and then arrest them afterwards - that's how police work works.
#3
I'm sure it's against the health codes to live in a Florida warehouse. Especially if, as I assume given the stories of the inhabitants begging drinking water from the nearby church, it doesn't have proper sanitary facilities. They'll be convicted of something.
Four Pakistani terrorists intruders affiliated to Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit were killed near Line of Control today as army foiled third infiltration attempt in over a week in Jammu and Kashmir, where a gunbattle was going on in Baramulla district.
One terrorist militant was killed in Pulwama and a fierce gunbattle was going on in Bandipora area of Baramulla district, while terrorists ultras blasted a house and set ablaze another.
A gunbattle broke out between terrorists militants and security forces at village Gamru in Bandipora area of Baramulla around 3.30 p.m., police said. Deafening sounds of explosions and intense gunshots were being heard as security forces are trying to neutralize the terrorists ultras, police said, adding the whole village was under tight cordon and further details are awaited.
Troops guarding the LoC in Gulmarg sector spotted a group of terrorists militants trying to sneak into this side at Budpathri in the wee hours and challenged them. In the ensuing gunbattle four JeM terrorists militants were gunned down, a defence spokesman said. Four AK assault rifles, 20 magazines, 300 rounds, a wireless set and 16 hand grenades were recovered from them, he said.
This was third major infiltration bid by terrorists militants from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) since June 25. Eight terrorists militants were killed while trying to cross the LoC in Keran sector of Kupwara district on June 30, four terrorists ultras were killed on June 25 in nearby Machil sector.
Security forces have intensified vigil all along the LoC following rise in infiltration bids by terrorists militants last month. As many as 25 terrorists militants were killed in various attempts in Kupwara in the past two months, officials said.
A terrorist militant Mudasir Mehboob, a resident of Achan village, was killed in an operation by Rashtriya Rifles and police at village Sadhev in Pulwama district, a police spokesman said. The encounter took place during a search operation in the village following a tip off about presence of terrorists militants, he said, adding an AK rifle, three magazines, 56 rounds and two grenades were recovered from slain terrorist militant, whose group affiliation was not known immediately.
However, residents of the village alleged that Mehboob was a 12 th class student and had gone missing on June 27 along with another youth, who returned last evening and claimed that they were taken away by terrorists militants to join them but he was released after he fell sick, the sources said.
A large number of people offered 'nimaz-e-jinazah' (prayer before burial) of the deceased and demanded an inquiry into the circumstances leading to his killing.
"He wuz just mindin' his own bidness, he was, and then them Hindooo soldiers just blew him away! Ain't right, I tells you, just ain't right."
Terrorists Militants detonated some explosive in a house at village Kanipora in Kupwara district last night, the spokesman said. The house caught fire in the explosion and was gutted completely. However, there was no casualty as all the inmates came out minutes before the terrorists ultras set off the blast, he said, adding terrorists militants also set ablaze another house at Thathraka in Mahore area of Doda district last night.
Posted by: john ||
07/02/2006 12:43 ||
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KATHMANDU: Nepal will ask the United Nations to monitor Maoist rebels and the army ahead of elections for an assembly to map out the country's political future, the home minister said on Saturday. "Without the United Nations involved, the Nepali people will have no confidence in the arms monitoring process," Krishna Prasad Sitaula told Reuters. Sitaula's comments came a day after Maoist leaders including rebel chief Prachanda said, in an apparent turnaround, that there was no need for arms monitors from outside.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Additionally, the US warns Nepal it could cut off millions of dollars in annual aid to Nepal if communist rebels join the proposed interim government without disarming. "If the Maoists continue to use violence after they enter the government our law says that we can't supply assistance to those who support a terrorist group. We have to consider them a consider a terrorist group until they give up arms," U.S. Ambassador to Nepal James F. Moriarty said.
The U.S. gives Nepal $45 million in annual aid for development, education and health services. It had provided the government with millions more in military aid to help it fight the Maoists, but suspended it after Gyanendra seized power last year. The rebels took up arms in 1996 demanding a "people's republic" to replace the monarchy and championing Nepal's poor. They plunged the Himalayan kingdom into a conflict that killed 13,000 people and devastated the tourism-based economy.
An Indian court has sentenced three men to death for masterminding an attack on the Akshardham Hindu temple that killed 35 people, including the attackers, in 2002. "Six accused persons have been found guilty, three have been ordered death sentences and two will serve life imprisonment," judge Sonia Gokani told the court in Ahmedabad, the main city of Gujarat state. The sixth man was jailed for five years.
On September 24, 2002, two guerrillas later accused of belonging to the Jaish-e-Mohammad Kashmiri separatist group stormed the Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar, the state capital. Dressed in army uniforms, they killed 33 people and wounded 81 in a 14-hour siege that ended when security forces killed the attackers.
"We got justice today," said 54-year-old Raman Patel who lost three family members in the attack. The court awarded the death penalty to the main accused, Chand Khan, Abdul Qayoom and Azam Ajmeri. Mufti Abdul Miyaan and Mohammed Aalim were jailed for life and Altaf Mallik for five years for their roles in planning the attack. All had pleaded not guilty.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2006 00:00 ||
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Until they get the kidnapped lady legislator back.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2006 13:17 ||
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#1
Sunnis better realize and quick that they are the minority, and as such are borderline to being forced to emigrate. Sure it would be unpleasant, but it would have been because they refused to cooperate.
#2
Just doing what every muslim group does when in the monority. Insist that their rights are greater than anyone elses and demand that one lives by their rule alone. 'Cause they are the "holy ones" and Allan demands jihad.
#3
The Sunnis realize that it's over and are trying to get the best deal they can. That's why all the antics. Horse trading. They are good at it.
Also, we really need to Sunnis in Iraq. Together the Sunni and Kurds can keep the place in line. If the Shias take over the country will gravitate toward Iran's orbit. Already over a million Sunnis have left Iraq. That's a bad thing.
Even the Sunnis with blood on their hands are necessary. Think of the huge role former Nazis played in the rebuilding of Germany. Not pretty, but it's how things work. We'll get the worst of them and then hold our nose and let the healing process begin with the rest.
I don't know of course, but I'm not so convinced that the Iraqi Shia would gravitate to Iran - though that seems to be the conventional wisdom - Christian countries have been warring against each others for centuries. While Catholics v/s Protestants (etc) came into play that's not always the case.
Aren't Iraqis and Persians long separated by culture etc? They just fought a brutal war in this lifetime.
I know everyone keeps saying that they will gravitate towards Iran but I don't think that now that they have their very own goverment and power structure and they have tasted being in charge that they will want to give that up to Iran. How similar are these cultures really - as similar as the north v/s the south? North had to take it by brute force.
(KUNA) -- Three Iraqi policemen were killed on Saturday in a bomb explosion in the southern suburb of Baghdad, police said Saturday. The bomb was planted on the side of the road and blew up near the Sour mosque in New Baghdad area south east of the Iraqi capital, a police source told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA). One of the tires of the police car caught fire due to the explosion.
In the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, unknown militants assassinated a colonel in the Iraqi army. The colonel, Mohammad Saleh Khraibet, and his wife were in the car when the militants opened fire at them. Khraibet died immediately and his wife was slightly injured. She was moved to the hospital.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2006 00:00 ||
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(KUNA) -- Members of the Iraqi Police force on Saturday dismantled a booby-trapped car in southern Baghdad, announced the Ministry of Interior. The ministry said in a press release that bomb squads dismantled the bomb in the area of Amel. Neither damages nor injuries were recorded. The press release added that a gunman was arrested while trying to plant explosives in the area of Hamiyah in Babylon province, south of Baghdad.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Well done, and I hope that 'gunman' is having a stern talking to...
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
07/02/2006 3:55 Comments ||
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(KUNA) -- An Iraqi Traffic police officer was shot dead Saturday by a group of unidentified gunmen in Kirkuk city northern Iraq, Said a security source. The source told KUNA the Policeman was on duty in midtown Kirkuk where he was shot dead by the gunmen.
Meanwhile, a bomb exploded near the traffic police department in the middle of the city without causing any serious damage. A statement by the police said that radical religious group have planted the bomb in step to get rid of police forces. A statement was distributed by the radicals threatened to eliminate anyone who cooperates with the police. The traffic department in Kirkuk played a huge part in keeping peace and security in northern Iraqi region.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2006 00:00 ||
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Gunmen in Baghdad kidnapped a Sunni female legislator Saturday along with seven of her bodyguards, the parliament speaker's office said. Tayseer Mashhadani, an engineer, was seized in the predominantly Shiite neighborhood of Shaab, the officials said. Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani described the kidnapping as "a major development and a violation against the will of the Iraqi people."
You might say that. It's a pretty rare ocurrence in civilized parts...
He called the kidnappers to release her immediately and urged security authorities to open an investigation into the case and work for her release saying they are responsible for her safety.
A Sunni legislator told The Associated Press that Mashhadani was coming from the eastern province of Diyala in a three-car convoy that was stopped by heavily armed gunmen in at least seven cars. They were taken to an unknown location, said Sunni legislator Mohammed al-Daeni. Mashhadani was coming to Baghdad to attend a parliament meeting on Sunday, he said. The Iraqi Islamic Party, the largest Sunni political group, condemned the kidnapping and said it holds the defense and interior ministers responsible for the ongoing violence. The statement said Mashhadani and seven of her eight guards were kidnapped by some 30 gunmen in civilian uniforms. The statement added that some of the gunmen were carrying pistols used by authorities, an apparent reference to Shiite militias believed to be working under the Interior Ministry.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
May God have mercy on her soul - cause those bastards sure won't.
Israeli missiles targeted two buildings in Gaza early Monday, hours after Israel said it would step up its military operations until a young captured soldier is released.
CNN correspondent John Vause watched as a single missile flew over the roof on which he and his crew were standing in Gaza City; it slammed into a building a few blocks to the north, causing a powerful explosion.
The Israel Defense Forces and Palestinian sources said that al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades -- a military offshoot of Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement -- had offices in that building.
The IDF also said it launched a missile attack on "a weapons production and storage warehouse in Beit Hanoun."
Monday's strikes came a day after an attack on the empty offices of Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya and a week after militants affiliated with Hamas captured 19-year-old Israeli Cpl. Gilad Shalit during a raid inside Israel.
At the start of his weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israeli security forces are under orders to do "all that is necessary" to bring about Shalit's return.
Olmert told his cabinet he had instructed the military "to intensify the force and activity of the IDF and the security elements in order to pursue these terrorists, those who send them, their ideologues and those who harbor them."
"No one will go unpunished," he said.
Saeb Erakat, an adviser to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, told CNN "more bombs are not going to bring the soldier back alive, nor will they resolve this complex situation. It will only add to the complexities."
Erakat and Abbas belong to the Fatah Party, which lost power to Hamas earlier this year. The Israeli offensive launched Wednesday includes the arrests of several members of the Palestinian government.
An Israeli helicopter gunship fired missiles on the building housing Haniya's offices in Gaza City early Sunday, and Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres told CNN the operation was carried out "to warn" Haniya.
"Either/or he is a government with all the responsibilities of a government, or it's a terroristic organization with all the consequences that stem from it," Peres said of Haniya on "Late Edition."
Israeli sources said Haniya's offices were being used by terrorists to plan attacks.
At the offices, Haniya said the attack was the product of "barbaric politics."
Abu Ubaida, spokesman for Hamas' militant wing, told the Reuters news agency, "If they continue with these attacks we will strike similar targets in the Zionist occupation which we have not targeted until now."
Ubaida later confirmed to CNN that he had issued the threat.
Two gunmen killed
Israeli Interior Minister Roni Bar-On told Israel Army Radio that Jerusalem was "tightening the pressure on Hamas."
"We want to ensure the fact that the kidnapped soldier would not be moved from the place we think he is in," Bar-On said.
"We wish to bring the soldier back home with minimum casualties, on our side and on the Palestinian side."
Israel launched two more airstrikes within an hour of the attack on Haniya's offices, both in or near the Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza, Palestinian sources said.
On Sunday evening, Israeli troops killed two Palestinian gunmen in clashes near the Gaza airport, the Israel Defense Forces and Palestinian sources said.
A day earlier, Israel Defense Forces clashed with Palestinian gunmen east of Khan Yunis, where Israeli intelligence officials say they suspect Shalit is being held.
Humanitarian aid allowed into Gaza
Israel opened two routes into Gaza on Sunday to allow for humanitarian aid to flow into the Palestinian territory, an Israeli army official said.
#1
It troubles me that Israel is targeting single floors and such. Taking down the whole building would send a clearer message. The Palestinian PM should not be touring his damaged offices -- there should be nothing left to tour.
#2
Man .. Isreal's restraint really impresses/confuses me. The Paleos really have invited a gunfighter to their stick fight and seem to have no clue what is just one order away. I'm impressed by their recessive genes - I had no idea the shallow end of the pool could get this shallow - its above land even - the only thing that makes sense to me is that they already killed the guy and are now trying to buy some time. Is it possible for them to be so absolutely stupid as to hold one soldier hostage, at the risk of having Isreal pull the trigger and level them? Oops, rhetorical question, sorry, wrong audience for that. Hey, who snagged my popcorn ?!
#3
nice to see CNN's embedded with their usuals: Saddam, Hamas, ......
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/02/2006 21:17 Comments ||
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It troubles me that Israel is targeting single floors and such.
Curious. Maybe the message the Israelis are trying to send is not only do we know who you are and where you work, but we also know which desk is yours. At a time of our choosing....
The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has warned that the worst is yet to come, in the current upsurge of violence in the Gaza Strip. Israel sent troops and tanks into southern Gaza on Wednesday in a clampdown after Palestinian gunmen, some from the armed wing of Hamas, seized Corporal Gilad Shalit in a cross-border raid a week ago. In the latest attack, Israeli helicopter gunships struck the office of the Palestinian Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyeh. Mr Haniyeh has accused Israel of trying to destroy his elected Government and has called for foreign intervention to halt the Israeli intervention into Gaza.
President Abbas is preparing for talks with the UN Middle East envoy, Alvero de Soto, as part of diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict. But he has warned of worse times ahead. "I am afraid that what is to come is going to be dangerous because we can't bear another serious aggression and another occupation," he said. "What is to come may be more difficult. Our people are living in harsh ways under the shelling and the air strike and the bombs. But what is to come may be more difficult."
The military offensive in the Gaza Strip has been coupled with statements from Israeli leaders that no members of the Hamas-led government should believe they are immune from attack. "We are tightening the pressure and we will continue to do what is necessary to ensure Hamas is made to pay the price," Israeli Interior Minister Roni Bar-On told Army Radio after the night-time helicopter assault. The air strike on Mr Haniyeh's office, he said, was part of an effort aimed at "threatening Hamas's ability to rule".
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#4
Abbas knows that Fatah will be finished if Israel caves in to the demands made by Hamas. He is hoping that Israel will re-occupy Gaza and crush the militants there, in the hope that this will convince the Paleo public that attacking Israel doesn't achieve anything. Unfortunately the Paleo public are slow learners.
#5
For a Palestinian, this is like predicting the sun will rise in the East. The level of self-destructive ignorance of these people never ceases to amaze. Palestinians remind me of children who have over-indulgent but mostly absent parents - emotional, petulant, viciously self-absorbed, and for the most part totally useless.
#7
Is there something in the water over there that affects their ability to even grasp a ghost of a clue? Something genetic? Or is it a classic case of nature and nurture working together to create a group of people literally completely incapable of logical thinking?
It's fascinating and frightening at the same time.
#9
They've been killing off those who exibit the trait of moderate thinking since the 1920s (that would have been the doing of Yasser Arafat's favorite uncle, the Mufti of Jerusalem's doing). Those clever enough to conceal the trait long enough to realize the risk generally emigrated. There are those who've remained, and they are quiet the source of much of Israel's intelligence about the various terrorist groups in the Territories.
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/02/2006 11:23 Comments ||
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#12
TW, The same is true of Europe, in my opinion. The people with brains, sense and gumption came to the US. I think the way history will play out is the US gets all the good people and the rest of the world gets the rejects. The end game becomes clear.
#13
Australia, too, Nimble Spemble. Some of the South American countries seem to have gotten enough pragmatic immigrants in the last century to change direction completely -- Chile comes to mind as a prime example. And the Iron Curtain countries are in a race to see whether they will go American or EU style...
One Hamas militant was killed and three others wounded when a Hamas security force post in the northern Gaza Strip was hit by an Israeli airstrike on early Sunday, Palestinian witnesses said.
An Israeli army helicopter fired two missiles at a post of the Auxiliary Force led by the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry in the northern Gaza town of Jabaliya, said the witnesses.
The attack came as Israeli military planes pounded Gaza City and the office of Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haneya was hit by an Israeli missile and was set on fire.
Another missile hit a Hamas lawmaker's office in Gaza City.
GAZA CITY: A second Israeli soldier has been kidnapped and will be killed unless Israel ends its military offensive in the Palestinian territories, the radical Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades declared overnight Friday. Israeli police denied claims on Saturday. The armed group, loosely affiliated to Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party, called for "the end of the Israeli offensive," "the lifting of the blockade" in the territories, and the "withdrawal (of Israeli troops) from the occupied zones in the West Bank and Gaza", in a statement received by AFP in Gaza City. "If our demands are not met, the Al-Aqsa Brigades will kill the kidnapped soldier," the statement said, without giving any details of the kidnapping. The soldier was seized in the West Bank, the group said. They named him as Hoffmann Kfeir Samuel, aged 24, a resident of Hulul, south of Tel Aviv.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
guess that means 2000 Paleos must die if their current negotiation ratio still stands
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/02/2006 0:02 Comments ||
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#2
Good news, I hope. Israeli press reports that this kidnap is false:
Israel on Saturday rejected Palestinian demands to free 1,000 prisoners as its warplanes pounded the Gaza Strip for a fourth straight night in a deepening crisis over a captured soldier. The regional fallout from the standoff also widened with Washington backing its key ally in holding arch-foe Syria at least partially responsible for the escalation in the Middle East.
The three Palestinian militant groups which seized 19-year-old Corporal Gilad Shalit six days ago issued a new demand that Israel free 1,000 prisoners. The Popular Resistance Committees, the armed wing of the governing Hamas movement and the previously unknown Army of Islam, said they were seeking the release of 1,000 Palestinian, Arab, Muslim and other prisoners. It said all detained Palestinian militant leaders as well as elderly and sick detainees should be freed, and reiterated an earlier demand for the release of women and juvenile prisoners. The statement also urged Israel to end its military reprisals in the Palestinian territories.
But Israel rejected the demands for release of Palestinian prisoners. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has been clear on this point. There will be no negotiations with the kidnappers. If Gilad Shalit is not freed, Israel will do what it necessary, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2006 00:00 ||
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Two Muslims have been shot dead by suspected Islamic militants in separate attacks in Thailand's south. Police say a 48-year-old man was killed in a drive-by shooting late Saturday as he rode a motorcycle in Yala, one of three restive southern provinces on the border of Malaysia.
In neighbouring Narathiwat province, a 22-year-old Muslim man was shot dead by militants while he was sleeping in his pick-up truck.
Separately, some 10 suspected Islamic militants opened fire on a police camp in Yala late Saturday. Police exchanged fire with the militants for about 10 minutes but no one was injured in the attack.
The Sri Lankan navy has sunk a Tamil Tiger vessel approaching a military base at the island's northern tip overnight, naval officials say. There was no immediate word of casualties from Saturday's incident, the latest in a series of clashes stoking fears of a return to civil war. Commander DKP Dassanayake, a navy spokesman, said early on Saturday: "The navy fired and destroyed one Tamil Tiger boat approaching Kankesanturai in Jaffna. The boat ignored our warnings to stop, so we fired. Generally such boats have two or three people aboard."
"You may fire when ready, Parameshvaravarman!"
In a separate incident, Nordic truce monitors reported heavy artillery fire in the eastern district of Trincomalee. The army had no details. LTTE had no immediate comment on either incident.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2006 00:00 ||
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A FRENCH Catholic priest survived a knife attack in Turkey overnight, the state Anatolian news agency said, in an incident that recalled the fatal shooting of another priest five months ago that shocked this Muslim nation.
Pierre Brunissen was stabbed in the hip by a 47-year-old man in the Black Sea port of Samsun. His attacker, known locally to be mentally unbalanced, had recently accused Brunissen of spreading "Christian propaganda", Anatolian said.
The priest's attacker has been arrested.
Father Brunissen, who has lived in Turkey for many years, is making a good recovery in hospital, Anatolian said. The regional governor and police chief have visited the hospital.
In February, a teenage boy shot dead an Italian priest in his church in the Black Sea city of Trabzon, drawing condemnation from the prime minister and other officials in a nation that takes pride in a tradition of religious tolerance.
Pope Benedict, who plans to visit Turkey in November, and the European Union also expressed shock at the shooting.
The incident is cited as one reason for a decrease in the number of foreign tourists visiting Turkey this year amid increased tensions between the West and the Islamic world.
Turkish media say the teenage boy, whose trial is still continuing, may have acted under the influence of militant Islamists taking revenge for cartoons published in some Western media lampooning the Prophet Mohammad.
The Catholic Church condemned the cartoons.
Turkey, an EU candidate country, has a secular political system but is overwhelmingly Muslim.
Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden urged Iraqi militants in an Internet message Saturday to continue fighting the U.S.-led coalition in Baghdad, or else "all the capitals in the region will fall to the crusaders." The message from bin Laden also endorsed Abu Hamza al-Muhajer as the new leader for his terror network al-Qaida in Iraq, succeeding Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed last month in a U.S. airstrike. It urged al-Muhajer to step up "the struggle" to transform Iraq into the center of an Islamic Caliphate. "I pray to God to make him the best successor to the best predecessor."
On Friday, bin Laden paid tribute to al-Zarqawi, and he denied that the terror organization was involved in sectarian strife in Iraq. Saturday's 19-minute audio recording his fifth statement this year and his second in two days was accompanied by a photo of bin Laden above the logo and name Al-Sahab, al-Qaida's media production wing. The authenticity could not be immediately authenticated. The U.S. government was working to determine if the voice heard is actually bin Laden's.
The message urged militants in Iraq to continue their fight. "Stay steadfast and don't leave Baghdad, otherwise all the capitals in the region will fall to the crusaders," said the message. "Your Muslim nation is looking for you and praying for your victory. You are their hope after God. You are God's trusted soldiers who will liberate the ummah (the nation) from the serfdom of the crusaders in our countries," bin Laden said in the posting.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2006 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.
Two rockets have hit the main international military base in southern Afghanistan, wounding 10 people, including two Canadian soldiers. Two rockets hit base at the airport in the town of Kandahar on Friday evening. The Taliban occasionally fires rockets into the sprawling base, home to 7,000 soldiers and civilian workers, but they usually explode harmlessly on open ground. Friday's attack was the first time anyone had been hurt.
MOGADISHU - A powerful warlord has surrendered his weapons to Mogadishus Islamists rulers as the group continues to assert its authority across the Horn of Africa country, officials said on Saturday. The warlord and former minister for religious affairs 
Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden said his group reserved the right to fight the United States on its land and warned Washington and the world community against sending forces to Somalia, according to an Internet audio tape. "We will fight its (U.S.) soldiers on the land of Somalia ... and we reserve the right to punish it on its land and anywhere possible," said the speaker, who sounded like the Saudi-born militant. "We warn all of the countries in the world not to respond to America by sending international troops to Somalia," he said of the African nation where Islamists' power is rising.
TURKISH officials have been accused of covering up a terrorist bombing campaign in an attempt to safeguard the countrys lucrative tourist industry. 
(KUNA) -- A Turkish soldier was killed Saturday during an ongoing clash with Kurdish gunmen in the South-Eastern Turkish governorate of Tunceli. Turkish Ihlas News Agency quoted a statement issued by the office of Tunceli Governor as saying that Kurdish gunmen attacked a Turkish military patrol in Dinar area. Consequently, the two sides engaged in a still ongoing clash. At least two Kurdish Worker Union (PKK) members were killed yesterday in clashes that took place in the South-Eastern Turkish Governorate of Bingol.
Four Pakistani 
An Indian court has sentenced three men to death for masterminding an attack on the Akshardham Hindu temple that killed 35 people, including the attackers, in 2002. "Six accused persons have been found guilty, three have been ordered death sentences and two will serve life imprisonment," judge Sonia Gokani told the court in Ahmedabad, the main city of Gujarat state. The sixth man was jailed for five years.
(KUNA) -- Three Iraqi policemen were killed on Saturday in a bomb explosion in the southern suburb of Baghdad, police said Saturday. The bomb was planted on the side of the road and blew up near the Sour mosque in New Baghdad area south east of the Iraqi capital, a police source told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA). One of the tires of the police car caught fire due to the explosion. 
(KUNA) -- Members of the Iraqi Police force on Saturday dismantled a booby-trapped car in southern Baghdad, announced the Ministry of Interior. The ministry said in a press release that bomb squads dismantled the bomb in the area of Amel. Neither damages nor injuries were recorded. The press release added that a gunman was arrested while trying to plant explosives in the area of Hamiyah in Babylon province, south of Baghdad.
(KUNA) -- An Iraqi Traffic police officer was shot dead Saturday by a group of unidentified gunmen in Kirkuk city northern Iraq, Said a security source. The source told KUNA the Policeman was on duty in midtown Kirkuk where he was shot dead by the gunmen.
Gunmen in Baghdad kidnapped a Sunni female legislator Saturday along with seven of her bodyguards, the parliament speaker's office said. 
The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has warned that the worst is yet to come, in the current upsurge of violence in the Gaza Strip. Israel sent troops and tanks into southern Gaza on Wednesday in a clampdown after Palestinian gunmen, some from the armed wing of Hamas, seized Corporal Gilad Shalit in a cross-border raid a week ago. In the latest attack, Israeli helicopter gunships struck the office of the Palestinian Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyeh. Mr Haniyeh has accused Israel of trying to destroy his elected Government and has called for foreign intervention to halt the Israeli intervention into Gaza.
GAZA CITY: A second Israeli soldier has been kidnapped and will be killed unless Israel ends its military offensive in the Palestinian territories, the radical Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades declared overnight Friday. Israeli police denied claims on Saturday. The armed group, loosely affiliated to Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party, called for "the end of the Israeli offensive," "the lifting of the blockade" in the territories, and the "withdrawal (of Israeli troops) from the occupied zones in the West Bank and Gaza", in a statement received by AFP in Gaza City. "If our demands are not met, the Al-Aqsa Brigades will kill the kidnapped soldier," the statement said, without giving any details of the kidnapping. The soldier was seized in the West Bank, the group said. They named him as Hoffmann Kfeir Samuel, aged 24, a resident of Hulul, south of Tel Aviv.
Israel on Saturday rejected Palestinian demands to free 1,000 prisoners as its warplanes pounded the Gaza Strip for a fourth straight night in a deepening crisis over a captured soldier. The regional fallout from the standoff also widened with Washington backing its key ally in holding arch-foe Syria at least partially responsible for the escalation in the Middle East. 
Two Muslims have been shot dead by suspected Islamic militants in separate attacks in Thailand's south. Police say a 48-year-old man was killed in a drive-by shooting late Saturday as he rode a motorcycle in Yala, one of three restive southern provinces on the border of Malaysia.
The Sri Lankan navy has sunk a Tamil Tiger vessel approaching a military base at the island's northern tip overnight, naval officials say. There was no immediate word of casualties from Saturday's incident, the latest in a series of clashes stoking fears of a return to civil war. Commander DKP Dassanayake, a navy spokesman, said early on Saturday: "The navy fired and destroyed one Tamil Tiger boat approaching Kankesanturai in Jaffna. The boat ignored our warnings to stop, so we fired. Generally such boats have two or three people aboard."
Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden urged Iraqi militants in an Internet message Saturday to continue fighting the U.S.-led coalition in Baghdad, or else "all the capitals in the region will fall to the crusaders." The message from bin Laden also endorsed Abu Hamza al-Muhajer as the new leader for his terror network al-Qaida in Iraq, succeeding Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed last month in a U.S. airstrike. It urged al-Muhajer to step up "the struggle" to transform Iraq into the center of an Islamic Caliphate. "I pray to God to make him the best successor to the best predecessor."
