Hi there, !
Today Wed 11/24/2004 Tue 11/23/2004 Mon 11/22/2004 Sun 11/21/2004 Sat 11/20/2004 Fri 11/19/2004 Thu 11/18/2004 Archives
Rantburg
531688 articles and 1855967 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 74 articles and 273 comments as of 10:39.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion           
Azam Tariq murder was plotted at Qazi's house
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
5 00:00 Cornîliës [1] 
3 00:00 Red Lief [3] 
8 00:00 RWV [] 
2 00:00 Mrs. Davis [] 
0 [] 
4 00:00 lex [] 
0 [] 
2 00:00 BillH [1] 
1 00:00 Raj [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
8 00:00 gromky [] 
2 00:00 Raj [] 
0 [] 
3 00:00 Frank G [] 
0 [] 
9 00:00 Anonymoose [] 
0 [] 
3 00:00 Phitle Pherese4694 [] 
Page 2: WoT Background
0 []
0 []
0 []
4 00:00 Frank G []
1 00:00 Mrs. Davis []
17 00:00 OldSpook [2]
37 00:00 OldSpook [2]
7 00:00 trailing wife []
11 00:00 PBMcL []
0 []
0 []
0 []
2 00:00 Alaska Paul []
2 00:00 too true []
0 []
0 []
2 00:00 too true []
7 00:00 rkb []
4 00:00 geo []
10 00:00 OldSpook [2]
17 00:00 Kalle (kafir forever) []
0 []
24 00:00 OldSpook [1]
3 00:00 Don []
0 []
0 []
12 00:00 Barbara Skolaut []
0 []
2 00:00 JosephMendiola []
0 [1]
2 00:00 Mrs. Davis []
8 00:00 OldSpook []
11 00:00 Frank G []
1 00:00 trailing wife []
0 []
3 00:00 SON OF TOLUI []
Page 3: Non-WoT
2 00:00 Frank G []
0 []
1 00:00 Zhang Fei []
3 00:00 Matt []
4 00:00 Raj []
8 00:00 Zenster []
0 []
0 []
3 00:00 Shipman []
7 00:00 Mrs. Davis []
0 []
0 []
12 00:00 Uthar Pendragon [2]
3 00:00 trailing wife []
Page 4: Opinion
7 00:00 RWV [1]
Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Girl, 16, Held in Beslan Investigation
A 16-year-old Ingush girl and 28-year-old Ingush man have been detained on suspicion of assisting the Beslan hostage-takers, and two more terrorists who were killed inside the school have been identified, officials said Thursday. The girl is suspected of having maintained contacts with one of the terrorists who seized the school on Sept. 1, said Nikolai Shepel, the deputy prosecutor responsible for the North Caucasus, Interfax reported. Shepel refused to identify the girl but said she will remain in custody for at least 30 days, the maximum period a terror suspect can be held without charges being filed. The girl's lawyer, Sharip Tepsoyev, identified her as Marina Korigova, a native of the Ingush village of Sagopshi, and said she was arrested on Nov. 3, Gazeta reported. Korigova made and received 16 cellphone calls to and from Musa Tsechoyev, a 35-year-old native of Sagopshi who investigators believe took part in the school attack, Gazeta said. Tepsoyev said his client knows Tsechoyev but denies having called him. He said Korigova was arrested in the Kabardino-Balkaria capital, Nalchik, where she was studying construction.
"Wudn't me. Somebody wuz usin' my phone."
Authorities also recently detained Akhmed Merzhoyev in Sagopshi on suspicion of shipping food and supplies to the terrorists' training camp in Ingushetia's Malgobeksky district and planning to participate in the Beslan attack but changing his mind at the last minute, Vremya Novostei reported. It was unclear whether Merzhoyev is related to Arsen Merzhoyev, a 25-year-old native of the Chechen village of Engenoi who has been identified as one of the terrorists at Beslan. Tsechoyev, whom Korigova is accused of calling, is reportedly well-known among local Wahhabis, followers of a radical strain of Islam who are believed to have carried out a series of raids in Ingushetia this year. However, he had not been named as a suspected hostage-taker until Thursday. Gazeta said he apparently owned the GAZ-66 truck that the terrorists drove to the Beslan school. Tsechoyev's 31-year-old brother Bei-Alla Tsechoyev was one of the 20 hostage-takers identified by the Prosecutor General's Office by early November.
Posted by: Fred || 11/21/2004 11:38:25 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Wahhabis" that sounds familiar--as in our "allies" from Saudi Arabia?
Posted by: Not Mike Moore || 11/21/2004 0:18 Comments || Top||

#2  I note that Miss Korigova was "studying construction". The jihadis had weapons hidden in the school during construction work.
Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) || 11/21/2004 6:31 Comments || Top||

#3  Burn Burn Burn
Posted by: Phitle Pherese4694 || 11/21/2004 13:32 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
54 killed as plane plunges northern China (Sounds like a bomb)
Fifty-four people were killed on Sunday when a plane crashed into a lake shortly after take-off, apparently after a blast, in China's deadliest aviation disaster in two years, witnesses and state media said. China Eastern's flight MU-5210 bound for Shanghai plunged into an icy lake in Nanhai Park just seconds after leaving Baotou city in the northern Inner Mongolia region at 8:20 am (0020 GMT), the Xinhua news agency reported. Earlier reports said there might have been a second victim on the ground. One of the 47 passengers on board the plane was identified as an Indonesian national, Xinhua reported on its website. "Apparently, there was a foreigner on board," a China Eastern staff member told AFP by telephone from Baotou. Some witnesses said an explosion caused a huge fireball on the plane when it reached a height of 100 metres, Xinhua said. Wang Yongqiang, who lives near the lake, told the agency he heard a loud blast before the plane fell to the ground, disintegrating into burning parts. State television showed footage of scorched wreckage sticking out of the surface of the lake and rescue workers pulling what appeared to be a body from the water.
Plane explodes + Moslem onboard = You decide!
Posted by: phil_b || 11/21/2004 5:33:13 PM || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  2 + 2=4
Posted by: Poison Reverse || 11/21/2004 21:25 Comments || Top||

#2  Let's welcome China to the world of terror. :)
Posted by: BillH || 11/21/2004 23:38 Comments || Top||

#3  I thought China was part of the world of terror.
Posted by: Red Lief || 11/21/2004 23:49 Comments || Top||


Europe
Bosnia arrests Pakistani for threatening prosecutors
Musta thought he was back in Peshawar...
SARAJEVO: A Pakistani man has been arrested in Bosnia for allegedly threatening international prosecutors of organised crime and corruption, Srna news agency quoted police as saying on Saturday. Ahmed Istikhar, who lives in the central town of Zenica, is suspected of links to recent security threats targeting prosecutors, said Robert Cvrtak, the Muslim-Croat Federation police spokesman. He said that Istikhar was also allegedly involved in human trafficking and contraband trade. Neither the police nor the international prosecutors were available for further comment.
"We can say no more!"
"We can't, either!"
On Thursday Canadian prosecutor John McNair told AFP that his colleague, US prosecutor Jonathan Schmidt, had not appeared in court on the previous day due to security threats. Mr McNair, head of the state prosecutor's special department for organised crime, economic crime and corruption, did not elaborate further. The special department comprises six international prosecutors. The state court and prosecutor's office was set up in 2002 by the international community's High Representative in Bosnia, Paddy Ashdown. It aims to strengthen the rule of law in the Balkan country, which has been divided into the Serbs' Republika Sprska and the Muslim-Croat Federation following the end of the Bosnian war.
Posted by: Fred || 11/21/2004 8:10:49 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: WoT
Story of FBI Informant Who Set Himself On Fire in Front of White House
From The Washington Post
Mohamed Alanssi slid the photos of his once-happy life across the table of a Union Station restaurant. The portrait of his wife with two of his six children. The picture showing the living room of the $1 million home he built in his native Yemen when he was a prosperous businessman. The 1970s snapshot of him as a low-level employee at the U.S. Embassy in Yemen, shaking hands with the U.S. ambassador. But that happiness ended after he made the mistake of becoming an FBI terrorism informant, Alanssi said tearfully in an interview three weeks ago. His cooperation had been leaked, and his family in Yemen was angry with him. Some of them called him a traitor. His wife was dying of cancer, he was penniless, and the U.S. residency papers the FBI had promised him had not materialized, he said. ....

He said that at the time of the September 2001 terrorist attacks, he was in New York on a visitor's visa exploring business opportunities. He said he decided to approach the FBI because he was upset by the terrorist attacks on Americans, whom he likes. He also saw an opportunity to realize his dream of living and working in the United States. ....

FBI agent Robert Fuller -- to whom Alanssi faxed his suicide note Monday -- wrote in a January 2003 affidavit that he began working in November 2001 with an unnamed confidential informant who was a Yemeni citizen. The informant "provided information that has proven to be reliable and contributed, in part, to the arrests of 20 individuals and the seizure of over $1 million," Fuller wrote. In that and a second affidavit, Fuller outlines Alanssi's role in the FBI sting operation in Frankfurt, Germany, that led to Moayad's arrest, as well as the efforts Alanssi made for more than a year to ingratiate himself with Moayad. Alanssi persuaded the cleric to travel to Germany to meet an FBI undercover agent posing as a wealthy American seeking to donate $2 million to terrorist activities. ....

Although the FBI told Alanssi he could bring members of his family to the United States and sent them about $16,000 to buy plane tickets, they have refused to join him, he said. They are angry with him for subjecting them to public disfavor, Alanssi said. His family also is reluctant to come here, he added, because he has not been given permanent U.S. residency, as promised. According to Alanssi, the FBI also promised him a new identity and "a very big amount [of money] which will make me retired." None of those promises was written down, he said. ....

Finally, he said, the FBI deposited $100,000 in his bank account and asked him to sign a receipt for the money. .... Alanssi, however, said he did not regard the $100,000 as a final payment. "I am not crazy to destroy my life for these tips," he said. On Nov. 9, he faxed a seven-page, handwritten note marked "Top Urgent" to FBI agent Fuller, demanding $5 million and threatening to sue the bureau for $20 million if he did not get it. .....
Posted by: Mike Sylwester || 11/21/2004 2:34:59 PM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Son of Bitch! Where's my baby fiddle?
Posted by: Shipman || 11/21/2004 15:23 Comments || Top||

#2  I think he can consider any money due to him for his information to have been donated to the families of the 9/11 victims. Ship him back to Yeman if he wants to die. I'm sure his friends there would happily help him.
Posted by: BillH || 11/21/2004 18:09 Comments || Top||


Iraq-Jordan
Kidnappers Free Cousin of Iraqi Prime Minister
Kidnappers have freed the cousin of Iraqi Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, a source in the premier's office said on Sunday. "He has been freed and is now with his family in Baghdad," the source said, giving no more details. It was not clear when 75-year-old Ghazi Allawi, the prime minister's first cousin, was freed. A previously unknown Islamist group had seized him along with his wife and their daughter-in-law in Baghdad on Nov. 9. The women were released a week ago, Arab television channels said. The group had threatened to kill all three unless Allawi's government called off a U.S.-led assault on the rebel-held city of Falluja, alleged to have become a haven for foreign Islamist fighters, and freed prisoners.
That worked well.
The government said it would not be influenced by the abductions, which took place a day after the assault began. U.S. forces now control the city, where they say they have killed some 1,200 fighters and detained more than 1,000 suspected insurgents. Scores of Iraqis and foreigners have been seized by Islamic militant groups and criminal gangs. Some have been freed while others have been killed, several by beheading.
I wonder why they were freed, fear after Fallujah?
Posted by: (-Cobra-) || 11/21/2004 3:43:05 PM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Probably no chance of getting some moolah. The political dimension was, likely, a ruse. And fear may be there too. The cousin became a liabitily.
Posted by: Cornîliës || 11/21/2004 19:53 Comments || Top||

#2  I wonder why they were freed, fear after Fallujah?

My money's on something along the lines of ...

"You, your family, every one of your cousins, your in-laws, all of their relatives, all your high school buddies, your favorite soccer team, your dog, the cat, all their fleas and your pet goldfish ... oh, and your mistress too and her family, her in-laws, her cousins, relatives, friends, sorority sisters ..."
Posted by: Zenster || 11/21/2004 20:21 Comments || Top||

#3  Huh. I was expecting to see them holding up his head for the camera. Nice to see I was wrong.
Posted by: Seafarious || 11/21/2004 21:22 Comments || Top||

#4  Zen, something like a russian gambit? (ya know the story about those Russkis kidnapped in Lebanon and their exchange for family mebers' token parts in the mail...something in that line of work?)
Posted by: Cornîliës || 11/21/2004 21:26 Comments || Top||

#5  Seafarious, say you're Iraqi 'millitant'...what is the likelihood that some family member of a westerner would track you down for a wendetta? Now, what is the likelihood that Allawi would track you down because you harmed hair of his family member? Several orders of magnitude in comparison with the first scenario.
Posted by: Cornîliës || 11/21/2004 21:31 Comments || Top||


Victory in Fallujah - Iraq's Iwo Jima Gets Little Media Respect
EFL - by Jack Kelly (a good writer) - HT to Country Store
The rule of thumb for the last century or so has been that for a guerrilla force to remain viable, it must inflict seven casualties on the forces of the government it is fighting for each casualty it sustains, says former Canadian army officer John Thompson, managing director of the Mackenzie Institute, a think tank that studies global conflicts. By that measure, the resistance in Iraq has had a bad week. American and Iraqi government troops have killed at least 1,200 fighters in Fallujah, and captured 1,100 more. Those numbers will grow as mop-up operations continue. These casualties were inflicted at a cost (so far) of 56 Coalition dead (51 Americans), and just over 300 wounded, of whom about a quarter have returned to duty. "That kill ratio would be phenomenal in any [kind of] battle, but in an urban environment, it's revolutionary," said retired Army Lt. Col. Ralph Peters, perhaps America's most respected writer on military strategy. "The rule has been that [in urban combat] the attacking force would suffer between a quarter and a third of its strength in casualties."
As usual, the press is stuck a couple wars back, expecting something comparable to Hue or even Stalingrad. And they talk about the generals...
The victory in Fallujah was also remarkable for its speed, Peters said. Speed was necessary, he said, "because you are fighting not just the terrorists, but a hostile global media." Fallujah ranks up there with Iwo Jima, Inchon and Hue as one of the greatest triumphs of American arms, though you'd have a hard time discerning that from what you read in the newspapers.
I'm not sure I'd put it up there with Iwo Jima. More like the Halls of Montezuma...
The swift capture of Fallujah is taxing the imagination of Arab journalists and -- sadly -- our own. How does one portray a remarkable American victory as if it were of little consequence, or even a defeat? For CNN's Walter Rodgers, camped out in front the main U.S. military hospital in Germany, you do this by emphasizing American casualties.
... which are minuscule, except to the casualties themselves. Fulda Gap exercises routinely expected 10 percent attrition a day...
For The New York Times and The Washington Post, you do this by emphasizing conflict elsewhere in Iraq.
Posted by: Frank G || 11/21/2004 6:04:31 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I'm not so sure about that rule of thumb. We did not suffer 7 times as many causalties than the N. Vietnamese - in fact they took many more. If you add S Vietnamese causalties and Vietcong causalties, I still can't make the math come out anywhere near what it is supposed to.

In fact, I think the terrorists in the Phillipines aren't inflicting anywhere near 7 to 1 either.
Posted by: mhw || 11/21/2004 19:24 Comments || Top||

#2  The North Vietnamese were a regular army, not a guerilla force. I would think you would have to look at at least the pre 1966 and possibly pre 1964 ratios to determine how well the VC guerilla force measured up to this rule. Data for that period are probably pretty unreliable. More meaningful is that the VC failed as a guerilla movement and the NVA had to pick up the slack for them.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 11/21/2004 19:34 Comments || Top||

#3  but they aren't fighting the Lions of The Desert™ surrounding by islamic-loving-civilians willing to die for Allah.....7 to 1 goes the other way, mhw
Posted by: Frank G || 11/21/2004 19:39 Comments || Top||

#4  Thinking about it more, I agree with Frank G that a 1-7 ratio sounds more likely. That is, that if the jihadis were able to kill 1 American for every 7 Jihadis, we would be in trouble. To do this they would have had to have killed about 200 Americans + Iraqi Govt in Fallujah.

Of course in reality, the Jihadis achieved only about 30% of what they needed on this. If you look at the previous large scale action in Najaf, the Jihadis (granted a different species of Jihadis) only achieved about 5% of what they needed.
Posted by: mhw || 11/21/2004 21:48 Comments || Top||

#5  agreed - but I would guess the 30% high (IMHO only). No haven/permanent safe houses should really cramp the IED/car bomb/ etc programs
Posted by: Frank G || 11/21/2004 21:50 Comments || Top||

#6  #4 mhw, I believe you have the ration BACKWARDS. TO be effective they must kill 7 of US for every one of them when fighting as guerillas. That's why they cannot afford to fight pitched battels like Fallujah. A true guerilla fighter needs to account for seven, or so, kills before he is killed, and thus must try to avoid confrontation.

In a pitched urban battle, conventional wisdom HAS always favored the defender. The losses described in the original article sound about right for what normally could be expected. Our training, technology, discipline and spirit are re-writing the rule book...at least for US!
Posted by: Justrand || 11/21/2004 22:47 Comments || Top||

#7  Justrand

The Jihadis lost about 1400 in Fallujah. If the US had lost 1400 taking Fallujah (or even 700), popular opinion would (I'm pretty sure) be running against the war.
Posted by: mhw || 11/21/2004 23:17 Comments || Top||

#8  From AFP in 1995 HANOI (AP) - April 4. Cinq millions de morts: 20 ans apregraves la fin de la guerre du Vietnam, le gouvernement de Hanoi a reacute veacute leacute, lundi, le bilan d'un conflit dent le nombre de victimes avait eacute teacute minore a l'eacutepoque pour ne pas affecter le moral de la population. Selon Hanoi, il y a eu pres de deux millions de morts dans la population civile du Nord et deux autres millions dans celle du Sud. Quant aux combats proprement dits, les chiffres sent d'un million cent mille militaires tueacutes et de 600.000 blesseacutes en 21 ans de guerre. Ce dernier bilan comprend a la fois les victimes de la guerilla vietcong et les soldats nord-vietamiens qui les eacute paulaient. Les preacute ceacute dentes estimations de source occidentale faisaient eacute tat d'un bilan de 666.000 morts parmi Ies combattants Vietnamiens.

We lost 58,202 men in VietNam. Hanoi says that the Vietnamese lost 5,000,000 during the 21 years of hostilities. During the Tet Offensive, the loss ratio for the NVA was 30 to 1, but the US press turned it into a victory, the turning point of the war.
http://www.rjsmith.com/kia_tbl.html
Posted by: RWV || 11/21/2004 23:35 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan/South Asia
Killer of Journalists Sentenced to Death in Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov. 20 - An Afghan man was sentenced to death in a Kabul court on Saturday for his part in the killing of three foreign journalists and an Afghan photographer in November 2001 shortly after the fall of the Taliban.

The four journalists - an Australian television cameraman, Harry Burton, and the Afghan photographer, Azizullah Haidari, both from Reuters; Maria Grazia Cutuli of the Italian daily Corriere della Sera; and Julio Fuentes of El Mundo, a Spanish daily - were traveling here from Jalalabad shortly after Kabul fell to anti-Taliban forces. Their car was stopped on the road by gunmen and the journalists were robbed and shot. Ms. Cutuli was raped.

The man, Reza Khan, 29, a former Taliban fighter, admitted in court that he had been present during the holdup but denied taking part in the killing or the rape. He admitted to separate charges of killing one of his four wives, and to cutting off the noses and ears of four travelers held up later on the same road.

He received the death sentence for the murders and a separate 15-year sentence for rape. "He confessed himself to many things," said Judge Abdul Basit Bakhtiari, who presided over the trial. The case will automatically go to an appeals court and then to the Supreme Court, he said.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 11/21/2004 5:47:30 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  thought we were stretching his neck yesterday?
Posted by: Frank G || 11/21/2004 17:57 Comments || Top||

#2  Correct you are, Frank. Sorry for the duplicate.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 11/21/2004 18:07 Comments || Top||


Terror Networks & Islam
US accuses Briton of being suicide bomber
TONY BLAIR is facing new controversy over his efforts to secure the release of the Britons held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba after America accused one of the detainees of being an Al-Qaeda terrorist who volunteered for a suicide mission.

American court papers revealed for the first time this weekend say that Feroz Abbasi, a college dropout, had received advanced military training at terror camps in Afghanistan and was present on at least two occasions when Osama Bin Laden visited.

Abbasi, 24, from Croydon, south London, is alleged to have met other senior Al-Qaeda figures and fought with a crack unit of Islamic terrorists during the Afghan conflict with America and its allies. The revelations — the most detailed account to date of the US case against any of the four Britons at Guantanamo Bay — are likely to leave Blair with a diplomatic dilemma.

The new documents obtained by The Sunday Times have been filed in a district court in Washington DC where lawyers acting for Abbasi and the three other British prisoners are challenging their detention.

The papers outline the proceedings of a military tribunal which was convened at Guantanamo Bay last month to determine whether Abbasi should continue to be held as an "enemy combatant".

On the basis of the evidence presented to them — only some of which has been unclassified — the three-man tribunal panel unanimously found Abbasi to be "a member of, or affiliated with, Al-Qaeda".
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 11/21/2004 4:52:44 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq-Jordan
In Falluja, Young Marines Saw the Savagery of an Urban War
NYT via Hugh Hewitt.

FALLUJA, Iraq, Nov. 18 - Eight days after the Americans entered the city on foot, a pair of marines wound their way up the darkened innards of a minaret, shot through with holes by an American tank.

As the marines inched upward, a burst of gunfire rang down, fired by an insurgent hiding in the top of the tower. The bullets hit the first marine in the face, his blood spattering the marine behind him. The marine in the rear tumbled backward down the stairwell, while Lance Cpl. William Miller, age 22, lay in silence halfway up, mortally wounded.

"Miller!" the marines called from below. "Miller!"

With that, the marines' near mystical commandment against leaving a comrade behind seized the group. One after another, the young marines dashed into the minaret, into darkness and into gunfire, and wound their way up the stairs.

After four attempts, Corporal Miller's lifeless body emerged from the tower, his comrades choking and covered with dust. With more insurgents closing in, the marines ran through volleys of machine-gun fire back to their base.

"I was trying to be careful, but I was trying to get him out, you know what I'm saying?" Lance Cpl. Michael Gogin, 19, said afterward.

The rest at the link
Like Hugh says, this ought to be required reading in High School
Posted by: JerseyMike || 11/21/2004 3:45:10 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  A heroic story in spite of NYT defeatism.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 11/21/2004 17:15 Comments || Top||

#2  Incredibly humbling. Makes me want to grab human feces like streisand and michael moore-on. and slap them into the next century.

I was in Union Station in DC last weekend and saw a young female with a hand painted shirt that read: "I support the troops that shoot their officers." It pissed me off so badly that it made my wife mad at me becasue I fumed so long.

I just wish I would have read this before I saw her. I am not sure I know what I would do...but I don't think it would be nothing.

Posted by: anymouse || 11/21/2004 17:22 Comments || Top||

#3  There is a kind of critical mass to public opinion, so that on one day, someone can wear a shirt like that out in public, and the next day they won't be able to walk down the street without someone getting angry in their face. The next stage is when someone just punches them in the face, without warning. All it takes is the willingness to do it, and the realization by the public that nobody will be convicted of a crime for doing it--like punching out flag-burners. And really soon, loudmouth lefties like this shut the hell up.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 11/21/2004 19:36 Comments || Top||

#4  Tide's already turned. Not religious here but I can only say, God bless those extraordinarily brave men and women. We are all in their debt, and even the NY Times editors recognize it.
Posted by: lex || 11/21/2004 22:02 Comments || Top||


Al-Qaeda-linked group claims killing of two Iraqi Kurds: website
DUBAI, Nov 20 (AFP) An Islamist group linked to the Al-Qaeda network said it has killed two Iraqi Kurds it accused of being spies, in a website statement Saturday that showed pictures of the pair's identity cards.

"Your mujahedeen brothers of the Ansar Al-Sunna Army captured two members of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (and) having interrogated them continuously for seven days, they confessed to being spies working for a special network whose job it is to monitor mujahedeen movements in Mosul," the statement said.

US-led forces have been chasing down insurgents in the Kurdish city of Mosul since rebels over-ran police stations there more than a week ago.

The statement was accompanied by photos of two blindfolded men holding their identity cards and kneeling in front of a banner of the Army of Ansar al-Sunna. "The two spies supplied the information they obtained to their American masters who then carried out raids on mujahedeen houses to arrest them."

"After interrogation, they were shot," it continued, adding that the group would "work relentlessly toward the physical liquidation of the network's other members".

Ansar Al-Sunna, which presents itself as an alliance of several Islamist groups, has claimed several attacks in Iraq, including an attack on Iraqi Kurdistan that killed over 100 people in February and the killing of 12 Nepalese hostages in August.
Posted by: Mark Espinola || 11/21/2004 3:07:55 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Afghanistan/South Asia
Suspect dies in police custody
KABUL: A man suspected of links to the kidnapping of three United Nations workers died in Afghan police custody after his arrest and there were indications he was tortured, officials said on Saturday. Kachkol, who goes by one name, from Zarshakh village in Paghman northwest of Kabul died of a heart attack, a high-ranking police official told AFP on condition of anonymity. "I'm aware that Kachkol has died in police custody but I don't how — it was said that he was suffering from heart problems," he said. However, a United Nations official who has been closely monitoring the case told AFP there were indications that "the man died of torture besides suffering heart problems." "There are indications that he was tortured before he died on November 12," the official who also asked to not be named told AFP. Afghanistan's Independent Human Right Commission has launched an inquiry into the death of Kachkol and expects to release the results Monday. "We are investigating the case right now," human rights commissioner and spokesman Nader Ahmad Nadery said, declining to give further details. Earlier Saturday a US military spokesman expressed hopes that the three hostages would be released unharmed.
Posted by: Fred || 11/21/2004 8:24:09 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I'm sure the outrage from Amnesia Amnesty International will be deafening...
Posted by: Raj || 11/21/2004 10:16 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine
Palestinian polls — technically possible, politically fraught
By Beatriz Lecumberri
If you're gonna have elections, aren't they supposed to be politically fraught?
THE Palestinian election to select a successor to Yasser Arafat takes a step forward when candidates begin to register Saturday for a vote that analysts say is technically viable but overshadowed by Israel. "Eight weeks are enough. The most difficult thing is the electoral list. Fortunately, we began two months ago for the spring (legislative) election and we've practically finished," said Ihab al-Bakri from the electoral commission. As of mid-October, 67 percent of the Palestinian electorate - around one million people - were registered to vote... Pending the emergence of a meaty political rival, Mahmud Abbas who has already stepped into Arafat's shoes as chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation looks in pole position to win. He is expected to be named formally as the candidate for the mainstream Fatah party. So far, only three wildcard contenders have officially jumped into the race: former Hamas supremo Sheikh Talal Sidr who quit to become a junior minister; lawyer Ghassan Barham; and political science lecturer Abdel Sattar Qassem.
Posted by: Fred || 11/21/2004 8:15:16 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Afghanistan/South Asia
Bomber's family in custody for questioning
The Elite Force, commandoes and the army have arrested Abdul Shakoor, a religious seminary teacher, his wife and two children and taken them to an unknown place for questioning in connection with his brother's involvement in the March 2002 church attack in Islamabad. "We arrested Nazir Usama, who is a brother of Nazir Ahmed alias Usama, on November 14 in Faisalabad where he had come to celebrate Eid with his family. Alias Usama was in-charge of a terrorist cell after the deaths of Riaz Basra and Amjad Farooqui. Now, his family has been into custody because he was not cooperating with intelligence agencies," said a police official who asked not to be named. Ahmed alias Usama was involved in the church attack near the US embassy in Islamabad in March 2002. After it he went under ground the government nailed up a Rs one million reward for his capture. Special security teams also raided the religious seminaries, Ahle-Hadith and Deobandis in Mamun Kanjan in the Toba Tek Singh district, some 160 kilometres northeast of Multan, but made no arrests.
Posted by: Fred || 11/21/2004 7:58:43 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Court rejects Afghan official's bail application
A lower court in Peshawar rejected a bail application of an Afghan government official on Saturday who was caught with 'one kilogramme of heroin' and 'fake Pakistani currency' on November 5. The Crimes Investigation Department (CID) police arrested Syed Abdullah Bacha, a Peshawar-based acting Afghan trade commissioner. Additional District and Sessions Court Judge Mehmoodul Haq rejected the official's bail. A CID police official told Daily Times that Mr Bacha had been 'under observation' for his 'dubious activities' and on November 5 he had been stopped on the main Jamrud Road and drugs and fake Pakistani currency had been confiscated from his possession.
"These bills..."
"Yes?"
"They're drawn in crayon."
Posted by: Fred || 11/21/2004 7:52:06 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Three soldiers killed in Kashmir explosion
Three Indian army soldiers including an officer were killed in a landmine explosion in held Kashmir, only days after India started withdrawing some of its troops from the region, police said Saturday.
That's working well, isn't it?
The explosion that also injured four other soldiers took place in the Bahramgali area of southern Poonch district late Friday evening, a police spokesman said. He said militants triggered a landmine when an army vehicle was passing through a militant-infested area in Poonch, bordering Azad Kashmir. "Three of the soldiers died on the spot," he said, adding two of the injured were in a critical condition. "The reinforcements swiftly sealed off the area and launched a search out operation for the militants," he said. Meanwhile, the Indian army Saturday seized 300 kilograms of deadly RDX explosives from a shop in southern Anantnag town, police said. "The explosives were recovered from a shop," the spokesman said, adding that the shopkeeper had been arrested.
Posted by: Fred || 11/21/2004 7:39:04 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Two militants arrested in Swat
Law enforcement agencies arrested two activists from a banned religious outfit late on Friday in the Hazara area in Kabal in Swat district. Sources told Daily Times that security agencies arrested Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariah Muhammadi activist Abdul Rehman and his son Fazlur Rehman and transferred them to an undisclosed location for questioning.
Posted by: Fred || 11/21/2004 7:22:08 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq-Jordan
Confessions of a Fallujah embed
Interesting read. Not long, but here are a couple of excerpts:
This was the attack on the rebel-held city. It was going to be a big battle and we would be part of it. First, we had to agree to behave. In addition to forswearing all illegal substances, we promised not to print or broadcast details of battle plans, troop numbers or force locations. The names or images of dead American soldiers were not to be published until their next of kin had been informed. In return, we would have a soldier's-eye-view of the conflict.

I was assigned to the US army's Task Force 2-2. On the Thursday, I was told that the battle would start at 7pm on Monday. I knew that 24 hours earlier US Special Forces would seize the hospital on the Fallujah peninsula and secure the bridges on the west of the city. I could not report any of this. I could not even reveal where I was. "Near Fallujah" was as specific as I could get. None of us had much difficulty with any of this. After all, anything that put the lives of soldiers at risk would be potentially just as dangerous for us.

In Fallujah, I was essentially a member of the platoon. When clearing buildings, I was an extra pair of eyes. If a room had been overlooked or there was a possible sniper position nearby, I would tell the sergeant. Before becoming a journalist, I served in the British armed forces. Last week, if the distinction between journalist and soldier was becoming blurred, it was part and parcel of being an "embed". On one occasion, I spotted a copper wire that could have been the trigger for a booby trap. The sergeant thanked me and we all stepped over it.

When we heard the fighting was over, we were in an abandoned house after spending the night sleeping on the floor. Spontaneously and joyfully, the soldiers began to smash up the place. It had been wrecked already but there were a few windows and doors still intact. They jumped, trying unsuccessfully to pull down a cheap fan hanging from a high ceiling. Seeing it was on a hook, I grabbed a piece of wood. As they watched, I gave it a sharp prod and it came crashing to the floor. There was a hearty cheer from the platoon. I had become one of them. But relations did sour towards the end, when a photograph of a dead soldier - whom I had been speaking to minutes before he was killed - appeared in a German newspaper. It was a haunting image of the body lying in a dusty kitchen, blood seeping from a bullet wound to the head. For me it summed up much of what had happened in Fallujah and was also a memorial to a brave American who died for his country. In the pain of the moment, Task Force 2-2 saw it differently. "Grab your stuff, asshole, and come with me," was how a captain addressed Stefan Zaklin, of the European Picture Agency, when news of the picture reached the unit. Zaklin was placed under armed guard and told he had violated the rules of propriety. Nothing in the rules had been broken. The soldiers had seen Zaklin snapping away in the kitchen - but it seemed that this was where the military and the media parted company.
Posted by: Bulldog || 11/21/2004 6:41:49 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  But in fact, something in the rules had indeed been broken. A photo of a dead US soldier was printed before his family was notified. I can't tell if he could have been id'd by the photo, but it was against the rule none the less.
Posted by: rkb || 11/21/2004 7:46 Comments || Top||

#2  Last week, if the distinction between journalist and soldier was becoming blurred, it was part and parcel of being an "embed". On one occasion, I spotted a copper wire that could have been the trigger for a booby trap. The sergeant thanked me and we all stepped over it.

*scoff* I don't even know where to begin scoffing at this insight into this reporters myopic, mini-brain - so I'll just say a big sarcastic, oh thank you!.

I had become one of them.

I have never met this guy or the platoon, but just from reading his own words, it's hard for me to believe that the soldiers would have accepted this condesending, holier-than-thou, I'm-here-to-watch-over-the-the-animals, reporter.

when a photograph of a dead soldier - the body lying in a dusty kitchen, blood seeping from a bullet wound to the head.

You can just picture this guy, with a adolescent, smug. smirk on his face, acting all coy and telling his CO..."I don't understand, it was art".

I guess it made ya famous, so what the F?, ey, Stefan?
Posted by: 2b || 11/21/2004 7:48 Comments || Top||

#3  Do a Google on Zaklin. It seems he belongs to a group that celebrates anti-war photography.
Posted by: surrounded || 11/21/2004 9:57 Comments || Top||

#4  Sounds like the embed writer did a fairly good job, it was the photog who queered it.
Posted by: Shipman || 11/21/2004 10:11 Comments || Top||

#5  But relations did sour towards the end, when a photograph of a dead soldier - whom I had been speaking to minutes before he was killed - appeared in a German newspaper. It was a haunting image of the body lying in a dusty kitchen, blood seeping from a bullet wound to the head.

Oh, maybe the idea that you were exploiting them like a gladhanding lawyer or agent who pockets the money and disappears the next day, sort of ran through their minds. That you exist off their pains and commitments so that you can get that byline, that pulitzer, or that personal rush. You can pack it in, go back to the Baghdad Inn, take a shower, catch a ride out of country and be safe at home in a day at your choosing. They only have each other for months on end, to cover their backs, to be there to console the survivors, or to have someone gently place them into a vehicle to take their last remains to be shipped home. Where are the photos of the good days, when they opened that school they help build with their own hands, or with the children they handed out shoes to after asking folks back home to send because they didn't believe any kid should go without. Oh, but your buyers don't want good news. They only want blood and guts. If it bleeds it leads. It might have just entered their minds, that you are just like the carrion fowl which circle after any battle to pick at the remains for their meal. Of course, they might just have had a bad day at work and didn't have a dog to kick.
Posted by: Don || 11/21/2004 10:36 Comments || Top||

#6  "None of us had much difficulty with any of this. After all, anything that put the lives of soldiers at risk would be potentially just as dangerous for us."

Doesn't it strike anyone as odd that the threat of danger to American troops wasn't enough for this shithead to abide by the rules? But it required his own life to be in the crosshairs in order to follow basic rules of common sense to keep our troops safe!

Strikes me as more than odd - he's no better than the goddamn enemy.
Posted by: Curious1 || 11/21/2004 13:16 Comments || Top||

#7  I just couldn't help myself, the germans were looking for a anti-us photo and would pay! WHat could i do, i'm such an asshole, I forgot about the solidiers family! I'd sell photos of my dead mother for the right price, I don't see the problem here, someone please explain to me!
Posted by: Phitle Pherese4694 || 11/21/2004 13:24 Comments || Top||

#8  "placed under armed guard"

I really like that one. Is there such a thing as an unarmed soldier?
Posted by: gromky || 11/21/2004 14:28 Comments || Top||


Seven killed in bus shooting
SEVEN people have been killed when a bus they were travelling in through the Iraqi city of Ramadi came under fire, police and witnesses said. Ramadi police chief Brigadier Jasim al-Dulaimi said US troops yesterday opened fire on the bus, which was riddled with bullets, as it passed the governorate building in the central Hay al-Andalous area. The US military had no immediate comment.
Obviously more to this story than Rooters is telling at the moment...
Reuters Television footage showed the bus peppered with bullet holes. Some of the windows were shattered and others spattered with blood. Flies buzzed around corpses in the vehicle, as men carried away bodies and loaded them into cars. Ramadi, 110km west of Baghdad, is one of the main strongholds of Sunni Muslim insurgents fighting US-led troops and the interim Iraqi government. Earlier this month, the US military launched a fierce assault on nearby Fallujah to try to wipe out guerrillas in the city. US forces have also sealed off some areas of Ramadi.

More, from al-Jizzles...
US marines have killed several Iraqi civilians when a bus drove through a checkpoint in the city of Ramadi, the US military and Iraqi police said. Police said seven died on Saturday, the military said three. "The driver ignored verbal warning and several warning shots," the military said in a statement. "As US marines in the vicinity of the checkpoint attempted to disable the van, the van accelerated toward the marines. The marines then fired upon the vehicle to protect themselves and the integrity of the checkpoint."
G'bye, folks. Don't forget to thank your driver...
Ramadi police chief Brigadier Jasim al-Dulaimi said seven died in the shooting near the central governorate building where US troops are positioned. Reuters Television footage showed the bus peppered with bullet holes. Some of the windows were shattered and others spattered with blood. Flies buzzed around corpses in the vehicle, as men carried away bodies and loaded them into cars.
Posted by: tipper || 11/21/2004 6:40:33 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Insurgents" watched "The Gauntlet" too many times? Dumbasses
Posted by: Frank G || 11/21/2004 8:59 Comments || Top||

#2  I believe "The Gaunlet" will be on AMC tonight at 11:00 PM. Another late night for me.
Posted by: Raj || 11/21/2004 10:57 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan/South Asia
Nawab Marri, 3 sons sentenced to three-year jail
Anti-Terrorism Court-I on Saturday sentenced Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri, his three sons Nawabzada Balaach Marri, Herbeyar Marri and Changez Marri and another man, Jabir, to three years rigorous imprisonment each. Nawabzada Balaach Marri is a member of the Balochistan Assembly. Judge Shaukat Ali Rakhshani ruled that the five had willfully been absent from court proceedings in a terrorism case.
"We ain't testifyin'! Boyz! Pack our bags! We're goin' to Lahore!"
The court also ordered for the confiscation of all the moveable and immoveable properties of the accused. The accused were charged with being involved in a landmine explosion in Kohlu district a few months ago in which District Naib Nazim Changez Marri and another government official were killed and two others were injured.
Presumably the Changez Marri who was killed is a different Changez Marri from the one who was sentenced to three years breaking rocks and the loss of all his worldly goods, to include his cat...
Posted by: Fred || 11/21/2004 6:26:16 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Plan to kill SSP leader was made at Qazi Husain Ahmed's house
Azam Tariq, who remains in stable condition at the boneyard
Rawalpindi Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Judge Manzoor Ahmed Mirza on Saturday reserved judgment on the Maulana Azam Tariq murder case and the court would announce its decision on November 27. During proceedings in Adiala Jail, the complainant's counsel, Basharatullah, said two witnesses, Sheikh Imran and Muhammad Imtiaz, recorded their statements before the court. Both witnesses said the plan to murder Azam Tariq, a National Assembly member, was made by Allama Sajid Naqvi, president of the Pakistan Islami Tehreek, Amanullah Sial, former National Assembly member, and Sabtain Kazmi (a proclaimed offender) at the residence of Qazi Hussain Ahmed, the president of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA).
[Pandemonium]
"[BANG! BANG!] Order! Order in the court!"
"Yer honor! I object! You shot the witness!"
[More pandemonium]
Qazi Hussein Ahmad, the Man Who Would Be Khalif
The counsel also said the main accused did not surrender to the court after cases were registered against them. He said, "Allama Sajid Naqvi was arrested by Rawalpindi Police 36 days after the case was registered while police arrested Amanullah Sial five months after the FIR was lodged. Their conduct indicates their involvement in the murder." Basharatullah also said Liaqat Baloch, a National Assembly member and MMA deputy secretary general, appeared in court and confirmed that the accused were present at Qazi Hussain Ahmed's residence when Azam Tariq's murder was being discussed, as other witnesses had said.
Liaqat's implicating Qazi? [Cognitive dissonance]
He said evidence indicated that there was a sectarian animosity between Azam Tariq and Allama Sajid Naqvi and Amanullah Sial. He said the accused should be severely punished.
Naqvi's obviously being sold down the river. I wonder if Qazi and his henchmen are turning state's evidence here? They don't seem to be in jug... [Picture begins to come together]
[Insert mental picture of two dead buzzards, one bloodied stone]
Defence counsels Mazahib Naqvi and Zulfiqar Naqvi said the Azam Tariq murder case was registered after a long delay and their clients were implicated in the case with the connivance of area police. They said Alam Tariq, the younger brother of Azam Tariq and the complainant in the case, was not in Islamabad when the incident took place. They said the two witnesses were active members of outlawed religious organisation Sipah-e-Sahaba and lived close to Azam Tariq. They said the prosecution failed to produce any substantive evidence indicating that their clients were involved in the murder. As such, their clients should be exonerated, they concluded.
Posted by: Fred || 11/21/2004 5:56:49 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Very strange that Qazi would be actively involved in the plot, since he hasn't been accused of anything, i'd guess he was off in the kitchen while the plaining took place in his lounge room.

We have to remember that Azam Tariq led an organisation responsible for the slaughter of thousands of Shi'ites, and that he had been released from prison in return for throwing his support behind Musharraf's government (his was the decided vote that allowed Jamali to become Pak PM).

Given that, I can't really blame a bunch of Shi'ite politicians (which is what all the accused are) getting together to wack Tariq. If they weren't members of the MMA I would applaud it.
Posted by: Paul Moloney || 11/21/2004 7:45 Comments || Top||

#2  There's a distinct whiff of antique flounder about this. Qazi's house, Liaqat as a witness...

Only question in my mind is whether it was a setup or a frameup...
Posted by: Fred || 11/21/2004 8:06 Comments || Top||

#3  deeply laid plots and wheels within wheels...
Posted by: Frank G || 11/21/2004 8:33 Comments || Top||


18 Indian policemen killed in mine blast
LUCKNOW: Eighteen Indian policemen were killed yesterday when their truck was blown up by a landmine placed under a culvert by Maoist terrorists rebels in Uttar Pradesh state, police said. The attack took place at Chakia, some 100km east of the holy Hindu town of Varanasi. Police had said initially 15 policemen were killed and five seriously wounded in the blast but a police spokesman said later that seven policemen were critically hurt and three of them died in hospital. "The toll could go up as two of the wounded are in a very critical state," the spokesman said.

The blast took place near the border with the neighbouring state of Bihar where Maoist terrorists guerillas, fighting for themselves the rights of landless labourers and poor peasants, have a strong presence. "This is the first time the police (in Uttar Pradesh) have been attacked in such a gruesome manner and we are not going to spare them (the terrorists rebels)," V K B Nair, director-general of police, said. Police reinforcements had been sent to Chakia, located in a sparsely-inhabited region with a rocky undulating landscape, and they were scouring the area. Maoist terrorists rebels operate in southern and eastern India and often cravenly attack the police through ambushes and landmines. They are also active in Nepal, which borders both Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Posted by: Steve White || 11/21/2004 12:20:13 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Hekmatyar calls on Afghans to wage jihad against US
Warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who is wanted by Washington for terrorism has distributed a video recording in southern Afghanistan urging Afghans to wage jihad against America.
That's basically his profession now: urging Afghans to wage jihad against America. I don't think it pays quite as well as it used to, though.
In the 22-minute speech on a recording filled with graphic images of carnage and violence against Muslims in Indonesia, Palestine, Iraq and elsewhere, Hekmatyar makes a passionate call for holy war. "War in Afghanistan and Iraq is the second crusade war but the only difference is in the first crusade Italy was leading the war and this time it is America," Hekmatyar says on the CD. The video produced by the Abdullah Islamic and Jihadi Films Center starts with the slogan: "Our jihad will continue till the destruction of America, Britain and Israel and till the liberation of Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan."
That long?
Hekmatyar, who heads the fundamentalist Hezb-i-Islami guerrilla faction and lives in Pakistan, has been declared a wanted but ineffective terrorist by the US for his attempts to destabilise Karzai's US-backed government. His foot soldiers are believed to be part of an alliance of Al Qaeda and Taleban militants waging a guerrilla campaign against US and Afghan government troops in south and southeastern Afghanistan. "We have lots of young fighters who can't throw a grenade properly are ready to sacrifice their lives and wealth to make me the head cheese safe the religion," he said. Hekmatyar also called on Afghans to use suicide attacks against the enemy—a recent phenomenon in Afghanistan. "If they cannot fight in an organized front they can risk their lives and carry out suicide guerrilla attacks which have given great defeats to the enemy," Hekmatyar said.
"I will encourage these efforts from my secret lair in Pakistan, as I am too important to the movement to explode myself," he added.
Hekmatyar is a former prime minister and was a leading mujahideen warlord during the war against the Soviet Union.
He's also the guy who rocketed the crap out of Kabul when trying to install himself as dictator after Masood finally got the Soviets to leave...
He took refuge in Iran during the reign of the hardline Taleban regime but was forced into hiding in Afghanistan after he proclaimed a jihad against Karzai's government in Iran. As Hekmatyar spoke, chickens and children voices could be heard in the background laughing at him although it was unclear where he was speaking from.
Is Hek as rotund a fella as Qazi?
Posted by: Steve White || 11/21/2004 12:15:31 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I've always wanted to fill out the "Occupation" blank on my US tax return with "Warlord". Just for the Hek of it.
Posted by: Seafarious || 11/21/2004 1:52 Comments || Top||

#2  I dunno. I've been thinking of becoming an international financier. There's more money in it. I'm thinking of taking a course, in fact.
Posted by: Fred || 11/21/2004 5:48 Comments || Top||

#3  Find and kill Hekmatyar. A good jihadi is a dead jihadi.
Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) || 11/21/2004 6:36 Comments || Top||

#4  It should become standard and public policy that any jihadi leader who call for attacks on the USA thereby consents to be added to our target list.

Israel and the UK need similar policies.

Parallel to the nuke doctrine, on a more personal level. This should help clarify to the Moslems what freedom of speech does not include: death threats.
Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) || 11/21/2004 6:42 Comments || Top||

#5  He took refuge in Iran during the reign of the hardline Taleban regime but was forced into hiding in Afghanistan after he proclaimed a jihad against Karzai’s government in Iran

??
Posted by: 2b || 11/21/2004 8:15 Comments || Top||

#6  As Hekmatyar spoke, chickens and children voices could be heard in the background laughing at him although it was unclear where he was speaking from.

must've been throwing his voice, huh?
Posted by: Frank G || 11/21/2004 8:31 Comments || Top||

#7  Is this the guy they refer to as The Arm?
Posted by: Shipman || 11/21/2004 9:50 Comments || Top||

#8  I've been thinking of becoming an international financier. There's more money in it. I'm thinking of taking a course, in fact.

Fred: talk to George Soros. I hear the franc is still available for manipulation.
Posted by: Steve White || 11/21/2004 12:34 Comments || Top||

#9  I wonder if this guy could be played in the movie by Ben Stein?
Posted by: Anonymoose || 11/21/2004 18:02 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine
SADDAM OPERATIVE SENTENCED BY ISRAEL
A Palestinian operative deemed a leading financier for the former Saddam Hussein regime in the West Bank has been sentenced to eight years. Israeli authorities have identified Rakhed Salem as the liasion of the former Saddam regime in the West Bank. Salem, a regional head of the Arab Liberation Front, was convicted in early November of distributing $15 million in Iraqi funds to families of suicide bombers and other insurgents. Details released by the military outlined the intervention of the Saddam regime in the Palestinian Authority from 2000 until the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq two years later. Israeli officials said Iran has filled the vaccum left by the toppling of the Saddam regime. From his office in Ramallah, Salem, 60, was said to have received millions of dollars from Saddam as part of an effort to fuel the Palestinian insurgency war and bolster the rule of PA Chairman Yasser Arafat. The indictment against Salem, released by the Israeli Army, asserted that he purchased weapons from PA security chief Brig. Gen. Haj Ismail.
Posted by: Fred || 11/21/2004 11:56:35 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:



Who's in the News
74[untagged]

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

The Classics
The O Club
Rantburg Store
The Bloids
The Never-ending Story
Thugburg
Gulf War I
The Way We Were
Bio

Merry-Go-Blog











On Sale now!


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.
Click here for more information

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

Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2004-11-21
  Azam Tariq murder was plotted at Qazi's house
Sat 2004-11-20
  Baath Party sets up in Gay Paree
Fri 2004-11-19
  Commandos set to storm Mosul
Thu 2004-11-18
  Zarqawi's Fallujah Headquarters Found
Wed 2004-11-17
  Abbas fails to win Palestinian militant truce pledge
Tue 2004-11-16
  U.S., Iraqi Troops Launch Mosul Offensive
Mon 2004-11-15
  Colin Powell To Resign
Sun 2004-11-14
  Hit attempt on Mahmoud Abbas thwarted
Sat 2004-11-13
  Fallujah occupied
Fri 2004-11-12
  Zarqawi sez victory in Fallujah is on the horizon
Thu 2004-11-11
  Yasser officially in the box
Wed 2004-11-10
  70% of Fallujah under US control
Tue 2004-11-09
  Paleos: "He's dead, Jim!"
Mon 2004-11-08
  U.S. moves into Fallujah
Sun 2004-11-07
  Dutch MPs taken to safe houses

Better than the average link...



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.
54.147.110.47
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Background (36)    Non-WoT (14)    Opinion (1)    (0)    (0)