An air strike by NATO-led forces killed five insurgents in southern Afghanistan while two other rebels were blown up when their bomb exploded prematurely, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday.
The five, two of which were Pakistani nationals, were killed on Saturday as planes from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) bombed a rebel stronghold in the Garmsir district of southern Helmand province, it said. Those killed included a mid-level Taliban commander, the Afghan Intelligence Department said.
Also on Saturday, two militants were killed when a bomb they were planting on a road used by Afghan and foreign troops exploded prematurely near the provincial capital Lashkargah, the ministry added. In another operation, security forces in the area also captured several militants who were carrying bombs, the ministry said, without giving details.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2006 00:00 ||
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Ethiopia's prime minister announced Sunday that his country was forced to enter a war with Somalia's Council of Islamic Courts after group declared holy war on Ethiopia; two people reportedly killed in first direct attack on groups headquarters
Ethiopian fighter jets bombed Mogadishu International Airport in the middle of Somalia's capital on Monday, witnesses said, in the first direct attack on the headquarters of an Islamic movement attempting to wrest power from the internationally recognized government.
An Associated Press reporter who pretented he arrived shortly after the strike saw one wounded woman taken away. There were reports of two people killed. The runway and one building used by the Islamic forces were damaged. Islamic officials were not immediately available for comment.
Ethiopia's prime minister announced Sunday night that his country was "forced to enter a war" with Somalia's Council of Islamic Courts after the group declared holy war on Ethiopia.
The Russian-made jets swept low over the capital at midmorning, dropping two bombs on Somalia's main airport, which just recently reopened after the Islamic takeover of Mogadishu.
Somali troops, backed by Ethiopian soldiers, captured a key border town early Monday and residents celebrated as government soldiers moved through the town and headed south in pursuit of fleeing Islamic militiamen, a Somali officer said.
Yay! Go get 'em boys!
Islamic fighters left the town of Belet Weyne, on the Somali-Ethiopian border along the Shabelle River, overnight after Ethiopian fighter jets bombed Islamic positions Sunday, residents said.
Col. Abdi Yusuf Ahmed, a Somali government army commander, told The Associated Press that his forces entered Belet Weyne early Monday without a shot fired. He held up his telephone and a reporter could hear street celebrations.
Heavy artillery and mortar fire continued to echo through the main government town of Baidoa on Monday, said Mohammed Sheik Ali, a resident reached by telephone. Government and Ethiopian troops were attempting to push back Islamic forces just 12 miles south of Baidoa.
Sunday marked the first time Ethiopia has acknowledged that its troops are fighting in Somalia, though witnesses had been reporting their presence for weeks. Ethiopia supports Somalia's UN-backed government, which has been losing ground to the Islamists since June.
Severe interpretation of Islam
"Our defense force has been forced to enter a war to defend against the attacks from extremists and anti-Ethiopian forces and to protect the sovereignty of the land," Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said in a television address Sunday night. "Our intention is to win this war as soon as possible."
Ethiopia, a largely Christian nation that fears the emergence of a neighboring Islamic state, dropped bombs on several towns held by the Council of Islamic Courts and its soldiers used artillery and tanks elsewhere. No reliable casualty reports were immediately available.
Experts fear the conflict in Somalia could engulf the already volatile Horn of Africa. A recent UN report said 10 countries have been illegally supplying arms and equipment to both sides of the conflict and using Somalia as a proxy battlefield.
Residents living along Somalia's coast have seen hundreds of foreign Islamic fighters entering the country to answer calls by religious leaders to wage a holy war against Ethiopia.
Jihad - the peaceful inner struggle... or something like that. Right CAIR?
The Islamic group's strict and often severe interpretation of Islam raises memories of Afghanistan's Taliban regime, which was ousted by a US-led campaign for harboring Osama bin Laden. The US government says four al-Qaeda leaders, believed to be behind the 1998 bombing of the US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, have become leaders in Somalia's Islamic militia.
Major fighting broke out Tuesday night. On Sunday, Ethiopian forces fought alongside secular Somali soldiers in Dinsoor, Belet Weyne, Bandiradley and Bur Haqaba, officials said.
Ethiopia and Somalia have fought two wars over their disputed border in the past 45 years, and Islamic court leaders have repeatedly said they want to incorporate ethnic Somalis living in eastern Ethiopia, northeastern Kenya and Djibouti into a Greater Somalia.
Thousands of Somalis have fled their homes as troops loyal to the two-year-old interim administration fought Islamic fighters who had advanced on Baidoa, about 140 miles northwest of Mogadishu.
Government officials and Islamic militiamen have said hundreds of people have been killed in clashes since Tuesday, but the claims could not be independently confirmed. Aid groups put the death toll in the dozens.
Somalia has not had an effective government since warlords overthrew longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, plunging the country into chaos. The government was formed two years ago with the help of the United Nations, but has failed to assert any real control.
#2
Personally, I'd rather see all these so-called journalists get up close and personal with the Islamic Courts' fighters. That way they could see first hand how these people act, and report on it later - assuming they survived contact. Win win either way.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
12/25/2006 8:22 Comments ||
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#3
#2
It didn't work in West Bank/Gaza, or Lebanon, or Iraq. Why'd you expect this to work in Somalia?
#4
Somebody is advising the Ethiopians that certain other countries would no doubt try to flood Somalia with weapons in support of the Islamists if they looked like they were losing, so it would be a real good idea to disable the airport, and soon.
#6
Note to the Ethiopes: ignore any and all statements, suggestions, condemnations, advice, etc. from the EU, UN, US State Dept., etc. and just kick islamofascist butt until there ain't no more butts to kick!
#7
Message to the World: United StatesEthiopians Declares War on Muslim Extremists!!!!!
Posted by: Joe of the Jungle ||
12/25/2006 10:29 Comments ||
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#8
It's bad when Ethiopia can fight a smarter war than us. Scare away all reporters, fight with the same devious, brutal methods as your enemy. Brilliant, why cant we catch on to this in the US?
#9
well now...with the airport continually shut down, Jihadis will be piling up in Saudi and Paki airports like a buncha Denver Blizzrd Victims...can you imagine the smell? I'd say a blockade at sea would just about put a crimp in the "powerful islamic courts" plans.... except for the martyrdom part
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/25/2006 11:06 Comments ||
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#10
It's time to give the Islamic Courts some Real Frontier Justice.
#12
Whodah thunk it, that a country that was the butt of so many jokes in the not-so-distant past regarding the welfare of its own citizens, has come back to not only take care of its own, but is most definitely not in the appeasement mode when it comes to the muzzienuts. But will the superpowers take any notice? Didn't think so either.
#15
Spreading the battlefield around the globe??? Can Iran support conflict around the globe? Nobody ever comments about the Iranian military being spread too thin. It does seem like a great CIA strategy to light little fires around the Islamic World(tm thingie here) to make Iran/Al Queda/etc fight a multi-front war.
Ethiopia launched an attack on Sunday on Somalia's powerful Islamic movement. In a sharp escalation of the violence that threatens to engulf the volatile Horn of Africa, Ethiopian fighter jets bombarded several towns across its border. "After too much patience, the Ethiopian government has taken a self-defensive measure and has begun counterattacking the aggressive extremist forces of the (Islamic council) and foreign terrorist groups," said Ethiopia's foreign affairs spokesman, Solomon Abebe.
It was the first time Ethiopia had acknowledged that its troops were fighting in Somalia, although witnesses had reported their presence for weeks. The Council of Islamic Courts has vowed to drive out troops from neighbouring Ethiopia, a largely Christian nation that is providing military support to Somalia's UN-backed government.
The Islamic courts have been steadily gaining power since June, raising concerns about an emerging Taliban-style regime. The United States accuses the group of having ties to al-Qaida, which it denies. Several days of fighting broke out Tuesday night, but had tapered off before Sunday's air strikes by Ethiopia. Somalia's government spokesman, Abdirahman Dinari, said on Sunday that troops loyal to the government have "inflicted massive casualties," although the claim could not be independently confirmed.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2006 00:00 ||
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(SomaliNet) Thousands of angry people have on Sunday rallied in Somalia capital Mogadishu in protest of the Ethiopian air strikes in parts of Somalia killing civilians. The people took the streets of Mogadishu forcing all business centers to close down and go for the front against the Ethiopian troops who are fighting with the Islamists in number of fronts in Bay, Hiran and Mudug regions.
Here in Mogadishu, people were very tense and angered by the Ethiopian air strikes on Somalia as most of the local FM radios were airing patriotic songs stirring up the people to die for the defense of the territory against what they called the Ethiopian occupiers.
The anti Ethiopian rallies have also taken place in Lower Juba and Hiran region in Somalia where the Somalis vowed to go against the Ethiopian invaders. In Kismayo, the southern port city of Somalia and capital of Lower Juba region, hundreds of pro-Islamist demonstrators gathered at the main public square in the town chanting ant Ethiopia slogans. In Beledwein, the provincial capital of Hiran in central of Somalia, hundreds of protestors demonstrated their anger over the Ethiopian air strikes on the town vowing to join the war with Ethiopian troops. Hundreds of volunteers are now registering to join the Islamist declared Jihad on Ethiopia as fighting intensifies more heavily.
The rallies came hours after around eight war planes belonged to Ethiopian air forces raided inside Beleweine and its residential areas targeting Islamist positions to weaken their power and people began fleeing to escape the shelling. Heavy armed Ethiopian troops backed by war planes and tanks cut off the main Kala-Bayrka road linking Beledwein to central region of Mudug which is a key to Islamic Courts Union fighters. This aimed to damage the Islamists power and not gain reinforcement.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Sounds like the next round of targets for the Ethiopians should be the radio stations. Either take them down or take them over, workd for me.
Note to the rest of the civilized world: See civvies get killed if they don't get out of the way. Stuff happens.
(SomaliNet) Somalias powerful Islamic Courts Union has claimed that its fighters have burnt four tanks from the Ethiopian forces on Sunday in heavy clashes today at Daynunay front near Baidoa city, the seat of the Transitional Federal Government. In urgent news conference held in Somalia capital Mogadishu, Sheik Mohamud Ibrahim Suley, the ICU spokesman for the war affairs said they could afford to resist against the air and ground attacks by the Ethiopian troops.
He accused the Ethiopian troops of opening new fronts in central regions of Somalia using excessive power like war planes which air raids on civilian targets around Beledwein city of Hiran region. Sheik Suley said the Ethiopian invaders were defeated in the battle fields. In Bandiredley and Saddeh-Higlo environs of Mudug region he said the Islamists succeeded to consolidate their positions and subjected huge casualties on the Ethiopians.
He said when the Ethiopian troops were defeated on the ground they have began using war planes against the Islamic Courts. Since the fighting seems to intensify, all the Islamist reserve troops are being informed to join the Jihad on Ethiopia and I am telling all the Somali people not to worry about the current war but trust their almighty Allah, said Suley.
Meanwhile, the Ethiopian government has for the first time confirmed the presence of its troops in Somalia and at war with what it called the Islamist terrorists in horn of African country (Somalia).
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
He accused the Ethiopian troops of opening new fronts in central regions of Somalia
#2
Where are the pictures with time/date stamps on them, showing the burning tanks? Burning tanks are pretty obvious and relatively photogenic, so until there are clear tracable pictures, I am calling BS on the tank kills.
(SomaliNet) Bandiredly, Mudug region - Heavy clashes have erupted in Bandiredley town just several kilometers to northern Somalia city Galkaayo on Sunday between Islamic Courts Union fighters and pro-government militia backed by Ethiopian troops exchanging heavy artillery fires and anti aircraft machineguns mounted with the pick-up trucks.
Local residents confirmed SomaliNet that the fighting has started early this morning and could be hear the sounds of heavy weapons. Military officials in Puntland, the semi-autonomous region in northeast Somalia, accused the Islamic Courts of starting the war launching attack on the positions of their troops at the frontline around Bandiredley. The army commander of Puntland, Abdulahi Mire Areys, told the local media that ICU militia began the fighting and fired mortar shells to Puntland troops.
Mohamud Mohamed Jimale known as Aga-Weyne means big feet, the Islamic Courts Union spokesman for middle regions in Somalia said that the Ethiopian troops had attacked Bandiredley and Saddeh-Higlo environs of Mudug province. He confirmed that the fighting was very heavy and intensifying hour by hour with both sides using all sorts of weapons.
Aga-Weyne pointed out that large number of Ethiopian troops was pouring to Mudug region confiscating entirely the airport of Galkaayo, where they are using as base for their planes. Elsewhere, Ethiopian war planes are reportedly shelling Jawil and Kala-Bayrka areas just 30km to Beledweine city, the provincial capital of Hiran region in northwest Somalia.
The Ethiopian air strike came after Islamic fighters clashed with the Ethiopian troops that had already massed the area. Heavy gun battle is continuing on the ground between ICU fighters with the help of residents and Ethiopian troops that are using war planes and tanks. Abu-Salman, the Islamist army commander for Hiran region, confirmed that the fighting erupted between his fighters and Ethiopian troops those he accused of launching the attack.
The sounds of the artillery fires and the bombardments could be heard inside Beledweine, where people took the streets vowing to hold up the guns for defending the land against what they called The Ethiopian invaders. There is no immediate casualty from the latest clashes close to Beledwein.
It is the first time Ethiopian forces use war planes since the clashes with the Islamists began five days ago in some parts of Bay region in southwest Somalia. Villagers began to flee as helicopters dropping bombs on the ground.
Fierce gun battle has again erupted Sunday in Daynunay area near to Baidoa city, the seat the transitional federal government in southwest Somalia as the telecommunication lines in Baidoa was cut off. Reports say that the interim government officials in Biadoa ordered all the telecommunication companies to switch off their lines for the war grounds. Daynunay is 25km to Baidoa city where the Ethiopian backed government troops are fighting with Islamic Courts forces. Residents in Baidoa said they were awakened by the sounds of the artillery fires from Daynunay direction where the fighting has restarted around 5:00 am before dawn.
Salad Ali Jele, the deputy minister of defense in the transitional federal government, told the media that their forces are making progress in the fighting with the Islamic Courts saying the government troops were in three kilometers to capture Bur-Hakaba town which is now in control of Islamic Courts. But there is independent sources confirming the governments claim over its victory.
In Idale town, the fighting seems to be dying down thought it could be heard sporadic gun fire, journalists near the area of the battle zone reporting. In Somalia, the battle fronts are increasing with extra Ethiopian troops with tanks and helicopters moved inside Somalia fighting with the Islamists despite the ICU vowed to die for the defense of their country.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
It would be a nice Christmas gesture by the US if the Ethiopians would get some battlefield sized UAVs and some GPS units in their Christmas Stockings.
A leader of a criminal gang allegedly committed suicide while in police custody at Harinakunda Police Station in Jhenidah yesterday.
RAB must be off for the holiday.
The dead, Mihir, 35, is the son of Khorshed Ali of Laxmipur in Alamdanga upazila.
Where?
Police claimed Mihir, accused in a double murder case, committed suicide by hanging himself with his own shirt inside the police station's toilet.
Mighty strong shirt. Must have been sewn in Malaysia.
They said locals of Sreerampur village of Harinakunda upazila chased Mihir and his cohorts on Friday night. Mihir jumped into a pond to avert capture but failed. The locals handed him over to Harinakunda police.
During interrogation ...
... "oooch! oouch! that hurts!" ...
... he confessed to having firearms hidden in a pond. Police recovered a sawed-off shotgun and four bullets following his information.
Mihir's not the smartest, not understanding what water does to firearms and rounds of bullet ...
On contact, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Harinakunda Police Station Golam Sarwar said Mihir went to the toilet around 6:00am yesterday. As he did not respond to the knockings on the door, the on-duty police officer informed him about the matter, the OC said. Sarwar then informed the upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) of Harinakunda upazila about the matter. The OC and the UNO knocked down the toilet door and found Mihir hanging from the ceiling.
Must have taken oh, an hour or two, with all the informing going on ...
The OC said Mihir was also accused in two arms cases filed with Harinakunda Police Station.
Not quite wanted on twelve systems ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/25/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Mihir is so brave; he would, and did do whatever it took to avoid the dreaded 0300 drive to the hidden arms cache and thus expose his unnamed accomplices to the deadly RAB cross-fire (not that there is much danger in said accomplices being hit; it is almost as if they were a mist in the night as it were).
(RIA Novosti) - A special operation to apprehend suspected militants in Russia's republic of Karachayevo-Circassia in North Caucasus has ended, a police spokesman Monday. "Come out witcher hands up!"
An armed gang, surrounded in an apartment building at around at 5:30 a.m. local time in the center of the capital, Cherkessk, offered stiff resistance, opening fire and throwing grenades at police and Federal Security Service's (FSB) officers. "Youse'll never take us alive, coppers! [BANG! BANG! BAGETY BANG! KABOOM!]"
The apartment was stormed and taken, the spokesman said, adding that two gunmen, believed to be accomplices of Chechen warlords, have been killed and one, a brother of the apartment's owner, detained, according to preliminary reports. "Lt. Slutkin! Bring up the Shmel!"
"Sir! Not... Not the Shmel!"
"And don't forget to notify the fire department!"
The militants were suspected members of a group led by Achemez Gochiyayev, wanted for 1999 destruction of apartment blocks in Moscow, and late warlord Timur Gloov, killed in Circassia this year. The group was involved in killing local police and FSB officers, the local FSB department said in a news release. The besieged apartment belongs to Temerlan Bostanov, one of the main suspects in the case of Ali Kaitov and his 15 accomplices charged with killing seven young people in October 2004. A verdict in the case is set to be announced by a local court later in the day.
The corpses of the seven residents of Karachayevo-Circassia - regional lawmaker Rasul Bogatyryov and six of his friends, - who had vanished in the early hours of October 11, 2004 - were found in an abandoned mine near the village of Kumysh, Karachaevsk district. Their relatives said they had headed for the out-of-town house of Ali Kaitov, chairman of Kavkaz-Tsement company and former son-in-law of the president of Karachayevo-Circassia. Witnesses spoke of rifle bursts heard near the house later for about half an hour.
Kaitov was arrested on October 25, 2004 under a ruling of the Board of the High Court of Karachayevo-Circassia. Other suspects were also detained. The militants are not the first to be eliminated in Karachayevo-Circassia. A group, which reported to Chechnya's No. 1 terrorist Shamil Basayev, killed in a special operation this summer, was destroyed in May 2005, uptown Cherkessk.
In April 2006 local law enforcers eliminated another group, which included Timur Gloov, whose elder brother IblisIdris, believed to be a leader of a Wahhabite cell in Circassia and charged with a fatal bombing of a Moscow subway station in 2004, was killed last year.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2006 09:39 ||
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#1
All named linky things withdrawn "due to abuse" is what I get.
(RIA Novosti) - Two members of illegal armed formations have surrendered in the Republic of Chechnya in Russia's North Caucasus, the local law-enforcement bodies said Sunday. Following the killing of Chechnya's number one terrorist, Shamil Basayev, Russian authorities announced a partial amnesty July 15 for militants who were not involved in major atrocities.
Two residents of the village of Samashki in the Achkhoi-Martan district in western Chechnya turned themselves in to police and surrendered two RPG-26 grenade launchers. According to available information, from May 1995 to August 2001 they served under warlord Ruslan Gelayev who was killed in 2004, the law-enforcement agencies said.
A law granting amnesty to militants and servicemen guilty of offenses during the North Caucasus antiterrorism campaign came into force in late September. More than 300 militants have accepted the surrender offer since its announcement, mainly in Chechnya, according to Nikolai Patrushev, head of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) and the National Antiterrorism Committee.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2006 00:00 ||
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Suspected Baloch militants on Sunday blew up a pipeline supplying gas to Dera Bugti from Loti Gas Field, Aaj television reported. Gas supply to Dera Bugti and adjoining areas was suspended after the explosion. Officials said the gas pipeline would be repaired today (Monday), the channel reported. Earlier, militants blew up two electricity towers in Dera Bugti, suspending electricity supply to the area.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2006 00:00 ||
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Gunmen opened fire on a funeral in Dera Ismail Khan on Sunday, killing four people and injuring four in what appeared to be a sectarian revenge attack. Police said that four people opened fire at the funeral and that two of them had been arrested, while the search for the others was in progress.
The attack at the Sunni funeral of the son of Union Council Dera Dihat No 2 Councilor Muhammad Qasim came a day after the murder of a Shia Gomal University professor. The Shia professors murder and funeral attack have prompted riots, with protesters throwing rocks at shops and vehicles and blocking roads with burning tyres. Eyewitnesses said the situation was tense and the army had been called in to patrol sensitive areas. The administration of Dera has also imposed Section 144.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2006 00:00 ||
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The gunfight between militants and security forces in the Kreeri area of Baramulla district continued for the second day on Sunday. Two militants were killed, and four houses were destroyed in the encounter, which went on throughout the night. The firefight began on Saturday when troops of the 29 Rashtriya Rifles cordoned off Behrampura village in the search of militants. The 29 RR Commanding Officer, Colonel G.S. Sarna, who was leading a raiding party, was killed by militants and four soldiers were injured.
The security forces destroyed four houses in their bid to flush out the militants. The whole area continued to rattle with gunfire till reports last came in. The exchange of fire was so intense that a bullet hit Aaqib (6) in Kreeri town, 4 km away from the site of the encounter. Reports said that the boy had been admitted to hospital.
While the Army spokesman, Colonel Hemant Juneja, confirmed that two militants had been killed, the Senior Superintendent of Police, Baramulla, Viplav Kumar, said only one body had been found. "Maybe the other body is under the debris. The operation is still on, and nothing can be said," he told The Hindu . All villagers had been evacuated, Mr. Kumar said.
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In Angerpora, near Sopore, two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants were killed in an encounter with the security forces. Army and police sources said the LeT had suffered a major loss due to the killing of its chief of operations Osama Pahalwan and district commander Abu Usman alias Saad.
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British forces killed seven gunmen and blew up the headquarters of the police serious crimes unit in southern Basra on Monday in a raid to rescue prisoners who were about to be executed, the British military said. Calling the police station a centre of "criminal enterprise" and a symbol of oppression for the city's residents, the military said the building was demolished with explosives after a pre-dawn assault by around 1,000 troops backed by tanks.
Many of its 127 prisoners, all suspected criminals, were found crowded into a small cell, living in "appalling conditions", the military said. A number had crushed feet or hands and gunshot wounds to the knee, apparent signs of torture. British military spokesman Captain Tane Dunlop said the unit had been taking the law into its own hands. "Crimes unit? That's pretty much what it does, rather than prevent," he told Reuters.
Pictures released by the British Ministry of Defence after the Basra raid showed the police unit's two-storey headquarters erupting in a cloud of debris and dust in an explosion that reduced it to rubble. An armoured British force of Challenger tanks and Warrior fighting vehicles came under rocket-propelled grenade and machinegun fire from alleyways as it approached the station, said Major Charlie Burbridge, another British spokesman. The force returned fire with heavy machineguns, killing seven gunmen, Burbridge said.
British forces seized senior members of the rogue unit last week. It has long been accused of involvement in murders, attacks on U.S.-led forces and kidnappings in the city. "The unit, some 400-strong, was known to have been heavily infiltrated by anti-coalition elements," the British military said in a statement.
The military had planned to disband the unit but decided to act on Monday after learning that some of the prisoners in the police station were about to be killed, Burbridge said. British officials said Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and Basra governor Mohammed Waili had approved the dissolution of the unit, but it was unclear whether they had endorsed Monday's operation.
Basra's police chief, Brigadier Mohammed al-Musawi, accused the British of trying to "stir up trouble" and said he had not been told of the raid beforehand. The Iraqi Defence Ministry, however, said in Baghdad it had consented to the operation.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2006 09:49 ||
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#1
"Basra's police chief ... said he had not been told of the raid beforehand."
Ever think there might have been a reason for that, bucky? Like maybe you were in on the "criminal enterprise"?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/25/2006 10:27 Comments ||
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Basra council described the raid as illegal and has suspended co-operation with the military.
Mohammed al Abadi, head of the city's council, also said the move was provocative.
He said the council had withdrawn co-operation with the military, saying they had not been informed of the operation and that it violated earlier agreements.
We'll know if the Iraqi central government really means business if the entire Basra council is now taken into custody for obstructing justice, or some such cause, since the council (I think) was in charge of the serious crimes unit. I doubt anything like this will happen, the rule of law in Iraq takes one step forward and two back.
Some pics of the op:
The building being demolished An Iraqi holds a copy of a Koran taken hostage and martyred by the serious crimes unit to prevent it from falling into infidel hands during the storming of the police station, expect riots shortly.
#5
Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and Basra governor Mohammed Waili had approved the dissolution of the unit, but it was unclear whether they had endorsed Monday's operation.
Perish the thought that these government asshole bigshots might actually have enough backbone to roundly condemn their fellow death squad leaders.
More than 1,000 UK troops have stormed the headquarters of an Iraqi police unit, fearing 178 prisoners would be killed, a military spokesman has said. Hundreds of forces stormed and have demolished the Jamiat which was the Serious Crimes Unit's HQ in the city.
A military spokesman said the intention was to disrupt and dismantle the unit, blamed for committing serious crimes. Seven Iraqi officers were arrested on Friday suspected of corruption and leading a death squad at the unit. The spokesman said the latest raid was a continuation of an operation begun earlier this month against the unit.
The British forces' Cpt Tane Dunlop said the troops carried out medical assessments of detainees at the building before transferring them to another police station.
BBC correspondent Huw Williams in Basra said more than 1,000 troops with full support from helicopters and heavy armour moved in early on Monday morning.
NYT
BAGHDAD, Dec. 24 The American military is holding at least four Iranians in Iraq, including men the Bush administration called senior military officials, who were seized in a pair of raids late last week aimed at people suspected of conducting attacks on Iraqi security forces, according to senior Iraqi and American officials in Baghdad and Washington.
The Bush administration made no public announcement of the politically delicate seizure of the Iranians, though in response to specific questions the White House confirmed Sunday that the Iranians were in custody.
Gordon D. Johndroe, the spokesman for the National Security Council, said two Iranian diplomats were among those initially detained in the raids. The two had papers showing that they were accredited to work in Iraq, and he said they were turned over to the Iraqi authorities and released. He confirmed that a group of other Iranians, including the military officials, remained in custody while an investigation continued, and he said, We continue to work with the government of Iraq on the status of the detainees.
RD more at link
#4
Subject them to the harshest interrogation possible then kill them and throw the bodies out of a helo into the Gulf. The sharks will take care of the evidence.
Posted by: mac ||
12/25/2006 2:35 Comments ||
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#5
This article was very poorly written. The first few paragraphs indicate a fervent IRG operation. The final few paragraphs would lead you to believe that the US military is at fault...boogles.
Posted by: Captain America ||
12/25/2006 7:51 Comments ||
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#6
Dood, like we were catching "guys with Iranian accents" back in 2005. Every time we reported one, somebody from MNF-I would show up and the Iranian would dissappear from the detention facility, along with any record of him.
Interesting, but not realy news to me at least.
Wonder if we are spinning up for something?
Posted by: N guard ||
12/25/2006 8:11 Comments ||
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#10
The Bush administration made no public announcement of the politically delicate seizure of the Iranians
"[P]olitically delicate"? WTF? Why are we walking on eggshells around the Iranians? What exactly is it about this that requires any delicacy? Unless it is a Herculean effort to avoid having the American people finally get riled up about lack of substantive action against Iran.
Iran has been begging on hands and knees the past few decades for the major ass-kicking it so richly deserves. Watching this perfect excuse to open a can of whoop-ass on the mullahs getting swept under the carpet is more than a little disappointing.
Iraqi police have arrested two of their own officers who confessed to killing 14 Pakistani pilgrims earlier this year, a force spokesman said here on Sunday. The Pakistanis, Shia Muslims travelling across the Iraqi desert to the shrine city of Karbala, were dragged off their bus on September 2 and shot dead. A civilian spokesman for the Iraqi police in Karbala, Rahman Mushawi, said that two officers posted in a small town west of the city, Shalal Mukhimit and Sami Abu Al-Hil, had been arrested. They confessed their responsibility in this killing, he said. The Pakistanis appear to have been victims in the sectarian war which has divided Iraqs Shia and Sunni communities. The Sunni insurgent group Ansar al-Sunna claimed responsibility for the murders three weeks after they took place, in an Internet statement.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Wonder what they'll get: reduction in rank & fine?
Prime Minister Jimmy Carter Ehud Olmert yesterday rejected a plan by military leaders here to allow the Israeli Defense Forces to take out Palestinian militants it catches in the process of launching rockets from the Gaza Strip into nearby Jewish cities, WND has learned. IDF leaders charged Olmert was "damaging" Israeli security.
Following a hudna cease-fire imposed in Gaza Nov. 26, Olmert has restrained the IDF from taking any defensive measures to stop the regular firing of Palestinian Qassam rockets into Israeli communities. Since the one-sided truce went into effect, nearly 50 rockets were fired from Gaza.
Yesterday, the IDF spotted terrorists militants in the northern Gaza Strip setting up rocket launchers, military sources told WND. Two rockets then were fired into Israel. One landed near Sderot, a large city about 3 miles from Gaza; the second landed in an open field near Gaza.
As WND reported, the IDF several times last week spotted terrorists militants in the process of launching rockets but the military was unable to take any action. Olmert's government changed the rules of engagement following the cease-fire. Now, if Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are caught launching rockets at Jewish cities, the Israeli military is forbidden to respond.
Previously, the IDF used artillery units and aerial strikes against terrorists militants discovered in the process of launching rockets. "We are frustrated just watching the rocket launchers being set up. There is nothing we are allowed to do," said a military source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to media. "So far we've been lucky, but soon one of the rockets will kill someone and then questions should be asked about why we weren't allowed to do anything," the source said.
Military leaders told WND defense officials, backed by Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz, yesterday petitioned Olmert at a security cabinet meeting to ease some of the limitations on the army and to allow the military to take out Palestinian rocket crews in Gaza it catches setting up for attacks. The military leaders said Olmert rejected the plan, stating he had confidence Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas would act against the Gaza rocket crews. Olmert said his policy of restraint in the face of Palestinian cease fire violations would continue to "give peace a chance," according to the military leaders, who were present at the meeting.
Olmert said he discussed the issue of Palestinian rockets at a meeting Saturday with Abbas. Olmert and Abbas met in Jerusalem to discuss Israeli-Palestinian cooperation and Palestinian infighting that has been waging since Abbas last weekend called for new elections in a move widely seen as an attempt to dismantle the Hamas-led government.
Olmert reportedly agreed to a series of concessions to help bolster Abbas, including the transfer of $100 million in frozen taxes collected on behalf of the Palestinian government and the removal of some security checkpoints in the northern West Bank. The checkpoints are regularly credited by the IDF with helping to stop Palestinian terrorists attempting to infiltrate Jewish cities.
Israeli political sources told WND Olmert also agreed to freeze Jewish construction in the West Bank and to bulldoze Jewish communities in the territory reportedly built without government authorization. Where's Rachel Corrie when we need her?
Olmert said he plans to hold several future meetings with Abbas in light of what he said was progress made Saturday.
Vice Premier Shimon Peres told Israeli radio yesterday Olmert's meeting with Abbas could provide an opportunity to carry out the prime minister's plan to withdraw from most of the West Bank. "An opportunity has been created [for West Bank withdrawal], certainly. I don't want to say that it's a done deal. But this is an important opening, one that should not be dismissed," Peres said.
Meanwhile, defense officials here are charging the cease-fire in Gaza is damaging Israel's security.
The truce called for a halt of smuggling activity by Palestinian groups in Gaza. It also called for a cessation of rocket attacks launched by Palestinian militants in Gaza aiming at nearby Jewish communities in exchange for Israel withdrawing its ground troops from the Strip and halting military activity in the territory.
Earlier this month, IDF chief of staff Dan Halutz told Israel's Knesset that Olmert did not fully consult with the Israeli army before agreeing to the cease-fire with Palestinian militants.
IDF sources and several prominent Knesset members said the cease-fire is allowing Palestinian groups to continue smuggling weapons into Gaza. They said the truce would provide downtime for militants to train for attacks against Israel.
The IDF has been petitioning for a large-scale assault in Gaza. The officials said that according to IDF assessments, the best options to stop the daily rocket fire from Gaza into nearby Jewish communities and to halt the regular smuggling of weapons from neighboring Egypt include drafted plans to retake parts of Gaza. They said other options presented to the Israeli government for a large-scale Gaza assault focusing on dismantling the terror infrastructure inside the Gaza Strip have also been rejected by Olmert.
In a series of WND exclusive interviews conducted immediately after last month's cease-fire was finalized, leaders of the four largest Palestinian terror groups in Gaza said the new truce will be used to smuggle weapons into Gaza; reinforce and train "fighter units"; and produce rockets for a future confrontation with the Jewish state. "The cease-fire offers a period of calm for our fighters to recover and prepare for our final goal of evacuating Palestine," said Abu Abir, spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees, a Hamas-allied terror organization in the Gaza Strip responsible for many of the recent rocket attacks against Israeli communities. "We will keep fighting [Israel], but for the moment we will postpone certain parts of the military struggle," said Abu Abir. "We will reinforce very quickly and rush what we are doing to prepare [for attacks against Israel] in Gaza and in the West Bank."
Abu Abdullah, a senior leader of Hamas' so-called "military wing," told WND Hamas agreed to the cease-fire "because we need a period of calm to recuperate. This lull in fighting will not bring us to speak about peace." Abu Abdullah is considered one of the most important operational members of Hamas' Izzedine al-Qassam Martyrs Brigades, Hamas' declared military wing. He pointed to Hamas' doctrine, which calls for the destruction of Israel and which refuses to recognize the Jewish state. "The political leadership (of Hamas) will never compromise on these values," the terror leader said.
Abu Abdullah said Hamas has its own political reasons to respect the truce. "We wish to show Islam as a ruling party is capable of leading the Palestinian people," he said. "Since Hamas was elected, we have been through only chaotic periods. We want a period of calm to prove we are not only a revolutionary movement but to show the Palestinian people our rule is without the corruption of (the rival) Fatah (party)."
But Abu Abdullah said the cease-fire would ultimately end in violence. "All the Palestinian people and all the Muslims will launch a direct confrontation with Israel. This may come soon or it may take some time," Abu Abdullah said.
Abu Luay, a leader of Islamic Jihad in Gaza, told WND Israel's call for a cease-fire "proves our rocket attacks work. The Zionists know there is no remedy for our rockets." The Islamic Jihad leader said Palestinian rocket attacks against Israel would resume "at a time of our choosing."
Abu Ahmed, the leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in the northern Gaza Strip, in a moment of taqqiya told WND his terror group would respect the cease-fire. The Brigades, responsible for scores of suicide bombings, shootings and rocket attacks, is the declared military wing of Abbas' Fatah party. "We will respect the cease-fire as the president (Abbas) has ordered us to do," said Abu Ahmed. "We keep our right to respond to any Israeli aggression. Our group does not give up any of its ideals, which is a withdrawal of the Israelis." Lots of people, including Me, criticize the President for being too tentative in the war. But compared to Olmert, he's Andrew Jackson reborn.
#2
If someone is killed, could PM Olmert be sued in Israeli court for complicity in murder? The rabbis said waaaaay back at the time of the Maccabees (~125 BCE) that God did not intend Judaism to be a suicide pact. At the time they were ruling on whether or not pius rebels against the Greeks might take up arms to defend themselves if attacked on the Sabbath, but it seems to me equally applicable to present circumstances.* Not that modern Israel is governed by Jewish Law as such, but even so.
*At the time the Jews were winning against the superior arms (but empty coffers) of the Syrio-Greeks Sunday-Friday, then the most pius were wiped out in their camps on Saturday, because fighting is work, thus forbidden on the Sabbath. No, I don't get it, either.
#3
I've been bashing Olmert with the best of them here lately. I'll just post what Fred said yesterday. It certainly gave me pause to consider.
"At the moment Olmert's probably doing the right thing. Decisive action on Israel's part would push the Paleo factions back together."
I'll certainly concede that this is one of the few explanations that clarifies anything. There is no sense in giving fractious Hamas and Fatah elements a common enemy to unite against. Little else besides fighting the ever-nefarious Jew could reunite these bloodthirsty maggots right now and that represents a least desireable outcome.
Let the Palestinians continue to stay at each others throats without any outside interference. As Napoleon said:
"Never interrupt your enemy while he is making a mistake."
While there is plenty to argue concerning how both sides are making mistakes, more Palestinians are dying at each others' hands right now and their rockets continue to do little if any damage. Until that changes, this deceiving status quo may well be the best, if minimally satisfying, option.
#4
The solution is obvious: attack, but indirectly.
When a rocket is launched, have a hit squad kill a bunch on the other side. Say Hamas fires a rocket, then kill eight or ten Fatah.
And made it look like Hamas did it.
That way, Fatah will do your revenge against Hamas for you, it will increase the hatred between the two devils, you will get your cake and get to eat it, too.
Of course, it helps to be selective, picking on those who prefer to attack Israel, and leaving alone those who prefer to kill each other. In a manner of speaking, natural selection.
#5
Chasing every militant that has a rocket is like chasing street drug dealers. It is a bad idea and in the end, bad form and a waste of resourses. They need to go after the leadership, funding, and other state sponsors. A hunter killer team would certainly do more damage by killing a local leader and his banker than he would by killing the mortar team.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
12/25/2006 13:33 Comments ||
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#6
I'm hoping against hope that Olmert is banking western good will for the inevitable assault on Hez and Ham.
Western good will is all important ya see. It's like a cool clothing label.
#7
I agree, Ship. Bush had better be unspooling a helluva long leash for the IDF's next forays. If the White House urges continued restraint after this ceasefire hudna, it will have to be ignored.
I agree, tw. Even under Abbas' supposedly moderate [spit] leadership, the Palestinian Authority has flouted every agreement, violated every ceasefire and done everything within its power to demolish the roadmap. Yet somehow Israel is required to maintain a sense of credibility about these treacherous bastards for the sake of outside opinion. This has happened so many times before with the exact same results. It's like Einstein said;
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Agreed upon Hudna truce breached once again as Palestinians in northern Gaza fire three rockets toward Negev area; one strikes strategic facility in Ashkelon, damage done to structures
Palestinian gunmen launched Monday a Qassam from northern Gaza, which landed in the industrial area in Ashkelon, hitting a strategic facility. No injuries were reported, but a number of structures at the site were damaged.
Workers at the facility said the security officer at the site was alerted of the incoming rocket by beeper, as the Color Red alert system in Ashkelon is not operational. We were told on the speaker system to enter protected areas, one employee said. We heard a blast it was relatively short. We returned fairly quickly to our work stations.
Last week a rocket landed near the facility, and it was reported that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert visited the area Sunday evening. A total of fifty-six rockets were fired toward Israeli territory since the agreed upon Hudna truce went into effect last month.
The situation is not good, Council Head Uri Naamati said. While it is better than it was before the Hudna ceasefire, Qassams are still falling in the area. Fortunately, I am not the one who has to make the difficult decision on how to act; holding back is hard, but so is escalating the situation.
The Color Red alert system, which was put into place in the Eshkol Council just a number of weeks ago, was activated a few minutes too late.
Sunday four rockets were fired toward Sderot and the western Negev area; no injuries were reported. One Qassam landed in a Sderot neighborhood, near a nursery school. Several children were inside the kindergarten at the time of the attack. The building and an electric pole were damaged, as well as some of the street lighting in the area.
Olmert said during a Kadima party convention in Ashkelon Sunday that he would see to it that no Qassam rockets are fired at Sderot, Ashkelon and the communities surrounding Gaza.
Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin voiced his concern on Sunday during the cabinet meeting over the policy of restraint currently being employed by Israel in the face of the continuous rocket attacks emanating from Gaza. "We're trapped. If we don't respond the Qassams will continue to fall and if we do respond against the rocket cells the Hudna calm will collapse," said Diskin.
Palestinian gunmen fired at the house of the Palestinian foreign minister late Sunday, threatening to re-ignite a recent wave of factional fighting between the Hamas and Fatah movements, witnesses said.
Officials said the gunmen were relatives of three Fatah men killed in the recent infighting against Hamas militiamen. Hamas officials said Zahar was not at home.
There were no reports of injuries from the gunfire, which was directed toward the home of Mahmoud Zahar, a top Hamas official. Officials said the gunmen were relatives of three Fatah men killed in the recent infighting against Hamas militiamen. Hamas officials said Zahar was not at home.
Local leaders have been trying to resolve the dispute in recent days. A total of 17 people were killed in the factional fighting, which broke out nearly two weeks ago, before the sides declared a truce last week. There have been sporadic incidents of violence since the truce went into effect.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2006 00:00 ||
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A soldier and a Buddhist villager have been shot dead by suspected Islamic militants in separate drive-by shootings in the South, according to the police.
A 32-year-old Muslim army sergeant was gunned down by two militants while driving a motorcycle in Pattani, one of three violence-torn southern provinces bordering Malaysia, they said. Also in Pattani, a 34-year-old Buddhist worker was shot dead by insurgents when he was driving a motorcycle.
Suspected insurgents torched Banphabon School in Khok Pho district on Sunday night. Two buildings were damaged and the arson led to the school closure. Banphabon School became the 16th school burned by suspected insurgents in the deep south during December.
Meanwhile, Ban Takae school in Yaring district closed for the third consecutive day Monday after insurgents opened fire at a group of teachers, killing one educator and wounding another on Thursday. Teachers at the school remain worried about their safety. School director Anurak Waeni said the school will reopen after the New Year holidays.
#2
Must have had some really bad early childhood educational experiences.
We all know what imams are fond of. As to this Thai crapulence; 1 School = 1 Mosque. Rinse and repeat as needed. Up the ratio if this shit continues and start lighting off the mosques at prayer time. Hard to jihad from the inside of an ICU burn ward.
Iran's top nuclear negotiator said the country will push forward immediately with efforts to enrich uranium after the U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions designed to stop the nuclear efforts, a newspaper reported Sunday.
"From Sunday morning, we will begin activities at Natanz - site of 3,000-centrifuge machines - and we will drive it with full speed. It will be our immediate response to the resolution."
"From Sunday morning, we will begin activities at Natanz - site of 3,000-centrifuge machines - and we will drive it with full speed. It will be our immediate response to the resolution," Ali Larijani told the Kayhan newspaper.
On Saturday, the Security Council voted unanimously to impose sanctions on Iran for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment, increasing international pressure on the government to prove that it is not trying to make nuclear weapons.
Iran immediately rejected the resolution. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said in response to the resolution that Iran was more determined to continue its nuclear activities. "Our response to the resolution is continuation of peaceful nuclear activities in a more concrete, more decisive and more organized manner than before," Hosseini told reporters.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
12/25/2006 00:00 ||
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#10
Merry Christmas, Rantburgers! The turkey's in the oven, gifts have been exchanged, the family's drawn together, and now I'm here among good friends. What could be better?
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/25/2006 13:59 Comments ||
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#11
Merry Cristmas everyone! Hope your having a nice one!
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
12/25/2006 14:03 Comments ||
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#5
Merry Christmas and Happy Channukah to all Rantburgers and to all those protecting us!
Posted by: Jonathan ||
12/25/2006 0:25 Comments ||
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#6
Merry Christmas to all you Rantburgers!
And a special thanks to Fred and the mods for providing this forum for us (without which I for one would probably go nuts).
And a Merry Christmas or (fill in your holiday here) and THANK YOU to all our wonderful military. We and many others in the world are free solely because of YOU.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/25/2006 0:29 Comments ||
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#7
May all the joy this holiday season has in store be granted to you and your loved ones. Bless our nation and those who defend it.
Behind him the troops only awaited his report that the enemy had been sighted, for General Butler sent word that as soon as the Mexicans approached, Wool's little army was to fall back. "The Mexicans, however, did not make their appearance," Lee wrote his wife that night. "Many regrets were expressed at Santa Anna's having spoiled our Christmas dinner for which ample preparations had been made. The little roasters remained tied to the tent pins wondering at their deferred fate, and the headless turkeys retained their plumage unscathed. Finding the enemy did not come, preparations were again made for dinner." The feast did not awaken enthusiasm in Lee's heart. He found, instead, what comfort he could in writing Mrs. Lee. "We have had many happy, happy Christmasses together," he said. "It is the first time we have been entirely separated at this holy time since our marriage. I hope it does not interfere with your happiness, surrounded as you are by father, mother, children, and dear friends. I therefore trust you are well and happy, and that this is the last time I shall be absent from you during my life. May God preserve and bless you till then and forever is my constant prayer.
#9
Merry Christmas, and Happy Hanukkah to all.
For those in harms's way, may God look after you all extra special and also over yours guarding your home fires.
#11
Happy Chanukah and Merry Christmas!
Thank you Fred and to all the mods for your hard work running Rantburg. I really appreciate all of the insight and info that this site has provided.
I second that of M of O, in blessing all who serve and protect, and those that appreciate the American way. Vey well said.
Posted by: Jan ||
12/25/2006 3:22 Comments ||
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#12
I too thank the members of our armed forces here and abroad, who sacrifice their Christmas and time with their families to protect ours. God bless them all!
#13
Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah! Peace, love and cookies to all RB'ers (especially Fred), and those who defend our country both here and abroad so my family rests soundly.
#14
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to all the wonderful RBers around the world. For Fred and the mods who put in so much time and effort, please know you have my deepest thanks for trying your best to make the truth about the WOT available. Because of you, all the pertinent information is available in one place. Thanks again!
Posted by: mac ||
12/25/2006 6:57 Comments ||
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#15
Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah to all defending us overseas. And thanks to all the Rantburgers who offer presents to me every day. Have a happy, healthy and prolific New Year.
#29
Merry Christmas to everyone here at the Burg. And a special thanks to Fred and the mods for doing all the work. And of course, our fine men and women who serve us in the military - a HUGE Thank you!
#31
Merry Christmas, all! (I'll be putting the herbed roast beef in the oven in a couple of hours and prepping the brussel sprouts...it's not to late to set another place at the table!)
#33
Angie dear, by definition all Rantburgers in good standing (including all you lurkers out there!) are good people. And since you are one of the earliest, you must be very good indeed. ;-)
I hope y'all are having a wonderful Christmas Day, surrounded by love and making memories to keep you warm... so that all will be as it should when those standing guard (and breaking things and bad guys as necessary) come home to us. And add my thanks to Fred and his rainbow of moderators for giving us this wonderful place to meet some of the most interesting and knowledgeable people I know (and clearly quite a few excellent cooks, too).
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/25/2006 11:03 Comments ||
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#13
Twas The Night Before Xmas
Twas the night before Xmas, eminent domain took my house
To convert it to habitat, for an endangered species of mouse.
My town was once decorated, with bright Christmas flair,
'Til someone dropped a dime and the ACLU got there.
My children were restless with mush in their heads,
From public schools run, by some union's dregs.
My wife in a poncho with Che on the back.
Dreamt that the Soviets would make a big come back.
When out on the lawn there arose such a blather,
I thought it was Sheehan, or maybe Dan Rather.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters to see the Bush-bash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my worried eyes should appear,
But a VW bus, filled with folks in the rear.
With a horny old driver, so loquacious and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Slick.
More vapid than beagles the Senators they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!
"Now Dorgan! now, Durbin! now, Nelson and Kerry!
On, Baucus! On, Biden!, on Levin and Leahy!
Nationalize healthcare! Put back Gorelich's wall!
Now tax away! Tax away! Tax away, all!"
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the Congress the devils they flew,
With the promise of foodstamps, re-deployment, and Slick Willy 2.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of evil little hooves.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Slick came with a bound.
He looked to be moderate, from his head to his foot,
Until he looked round, for something to loot.
A bundle of earmarks he had hung on his back,
He looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.
His eyes how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
He spanked my wife's butt cheeks, 'til red as a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
The powder in his nose, looked to be primo blow.
The stump of a cigar sat tight in his teeth,
He glowered at my wife, while I watched in disbelief.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of my self!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
He made for my wife, now in our bed.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And fondled my beloved, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
He did another quick toot, than up the chimney he rose!
He sprang to his feet, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew after confiscating my pistol.
'ere he drove out of sight, I heard him exclaim,
"Don't worry schmuck, because I feel your pain!"
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.
An air strike by NATO-led forces killed five insurgents in southern Afghanistan while two other rebels were blown up when their bomb exploded prematurely, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday. 
Ethiopia's prime minister announced Sunday that his country was forced to enter a war with Somalia's Council of Islamic Courts after group declared holy war on Ethiopia; two people reportedly killed in first direct attack on groups headquarters 
Ethiopia's prime minister announced Sunday night that his country was "forced to enter a war" with Somalia's Council of Islamic Courts after the group declared holy war on Ethiopia. 
Ethiopia launched an attack on Sunday on Somalia's powerful Islamic movement. In a sharp escalation of the violence that threatens to engulf the volatile Horn of Africa, Ethiopian fighter jets bombarded several towns across its border. "After too much patience, the Ethiopian government has taken a self-defensive measure and has begun counterattacking the aggressive extremist forces of the (Islamic council) and foreign terrorist groups," said Ethiopia's foreign affairs spokesman, Solomon Abebe.
(SomaliNet) Thousands of angry people have on Sunday rallied in Somalia capital Mogadishu in protest of the Ethiopian air strikes in parts of Somalia killing civilians. The people took the streets of Mogadishu forcing all business centers to close down and go for the front against the Ethiopian troops who are fighting with the Islamists in number of fronts in Bay, Hiran and Mudug regions. 
(SomaliNet) Somalias powerful Islamic Courts Union has claimed that its fighters have burnt four tanks from the Ethiopian forces on Sunday in heavy clashes today at Daynunay front near Baidoa city, the seat of the Transitional Federal Government. In urgent news conference held in Somalia capital Mogadishu, Sheik Mohamud Ibrahim Suley, the ICU spokesman for the war affairs said they could afford to resist against the air and ground attacks by the Ethiopian troops. 
(SomaliNet) Bandiredly, Mudug region - Heavy clashes have erupted in Bandiredley town just several kilometers to northern Somalia city Galkaayo on Sunday between Islamic Courts Union fighters and pro-government militia backed by Ethiopian troops exchanging heavy artillery fires and anti aircraft machineguns mounted with the pick-up trucks. 
A leader of a criminal gang allegedly committed suicide while in police custody at Harinakunda Police Station in Jhenidah yesterday.
(RIA Novosti) - A special operation to apprehend suspected militants in Russia's republic of Karachayevo-Circassia in North Caucasus has ended, a police spokesman Monday. 
(RIA Novosti) - Two members of illegal armed formations have surrendered in the Republic of Chechnya in Russia's North Caucasus, the local law-enforcement bodies said Sunday. Following the killing of Chechnya's number one terrorist, Shamil Basayev, Russian authorities announced a partial amnesty July 15 for militants who were not involved in major atrocities. 
Suspected Baloch militants on Sunday blew up a pipeline supplying gas to Dera Bugti from Loti Gas Field, Aaj television reported. Gas supply to Dera Bugti and adjoining areas was suspended after the explosion. Officials said the gas pipeline would be repaired today (Monday), the channel reported. Earlier, militants blew up two electricity towers in Dera Bugti, suspending electricity supply to the area.
Gunmen opened fire on a funeral in Dera Ismail Khan on Sunday, killing four people and injuring four in what appeared to be a sectarian revenge attack. Police said that four people opened fire at the funeral and that two of them had been arrested, while the search for the others was in progress.
The gunfight between militants and security forces in the Kreeri area of Baramulla district continued for the second day on Sunday. Two militants were killed, and four houses were destroyed in the encounter, which went on throughout the night. The firefight began on Saturday when troops of the 29 Rashtriya Rifles cordoned off Behrampura village in the search of militants. The 29 RR Commanding Officer, Colonel G.S. Sarna, who was leading a raiding party, was killed by militants and four soldiers were injured. 
An Iraqi holds a copy of a Koran taken hostage and martyred by the serious crimes unit to prevent it from falling into infidel hands during the storming of the police station, expect riots shortly. 
Iraqi police have arrested two of their own officers who confessed to killing 14 Pakistani pilgrims earlier this year, a force spokesman said here on Sunday. The Pakistanis, Shia Muslims travelling across the Iraqi desert to the shrine city of Karbala, were dragged off their bus on September 2 and shot dead. A civilian spokesman for the Iraqi police in Karbala, Rahman Mushawi, said that two officers posted in a small town west of the city, Shalal Mukhimit and Sami Abu Al-Hil, had been arrested. They confessed their responsibility in this killing, he said. The Pakistanis appear to have been victims in the sectarian war which has divided Iraqs Shia and Sunni communities. The Sunni insurgent group Ansar al-Sunna claimed responsibility for the murders three weeks after they took place, in an Internet statement.
Agreed upon 
Palestinian gunmen fired at the house of the Palestinian foreign minister late Sunday, threatening to re-ignite a recent wave of factional fighting between the Hamas and Fatah movements, witnesses said. 
Iran's top nuclear negotiator said the country will push forward immediately with efforts to enrich uranium after the U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions designed to stop the nuclear efforts, a newspaper reported Sunday. 
Have a jolly Rantburg Christmas
