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Qaeda in North Africa claims Algiers blasts
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 4: Opinion
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Afghanistan
Army blocks 'narratives' of heroism
On a clear night last spring in Afghanistan's eastern mountains, a U.S. infantry platoon went looking for an al-Qaida operative named Habib Jan, and they found him. Outside an abandoned village clinging to a rocky hillside, the platoon was ambushed in a rain of deadly rifle and machine gun fire. Twenty-seven Americans and five Afghan Army fighters together fought 90 or 100 of Habib Jan's Islamist extremists.

For 17 hours, the American platoon was pinned down. Bullets snapped and hissed as the enemy slowly closed in. Ammunition ran low. Water ran out. Sniper rounds plucked at the soldiers' helmets and sleeves and drilled through boots as they shifted and returned fire. Night stretched into day and on into night again and the fighting intensified.

-- From interviews with soldiers and an official Army account

Three American soldiers were awarded Silver Stars for valor in that battle. Their actions are detailed in official Army accounts drawn from eyewitness reports, radio transmissions and other corroborating evidence used as a basis for awarding the medals. These one- or two-page "narratives," as they are called, are the best accounts of American battlefield heroism. Apart from those who wear the Silver Star - the third-highest decoration for valor - few people even know the accounts exist.

But the Army won't let you read any Silver Star narratives. Though most are not classified, they are kept filed away from public view, a practice being challenged in Congress.

"Military honors, to me, should be public information," said Rep. John T. Salazar, a Colorado Democrat and sponsor of the legislation.

Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Ulavirong Omavirt2060 || 12/12/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  W0w.

I don't think I can form an opinion without more info.

How were heroic acts reported (or not reported) in WWII?
Posted by: Seafarious || 12/12/2007 0:10 Comments || Top||

#2  Maybe it's me, but any time Congress (especially the Democrat portion)advocates something 'positive' like this, I get suspicious.
Posted by: Pappy || 12/12/2007 0:20 Comments || Top||

#3  I share Pappy's suspicions. The Donk's will be looking for something or anything that they can twist into a 'war crime.' They've certainly shown that they're NOT driven by patriotic fervor, or any desire whatsoever to support the mission or the troops. And even if these accounts were available, would we ever see or hear about them anywhere but places like Rantburg? Cue the MSM crickets...
Posted by: PBMcL || 12/12/2007 0:50 Comments || Top||

#4  ...unless there is something that can be twisted or taken a advantage of, exploited by political wafflecrat hacks.

A very sad state of affairs, considering.
Posted by: twobyfour || 12/12/2007 3:39 Comments || Top||

#5  Up until now The Privacy Act has trumped the FOIA when it comes to a serviceman's personnel records. Perhaps this is their first step (camel's nose under the tent) to change that.
Posted by: Kojo Throlump4806 || 12/12/2007 6:03 Comments || Top||

#6  Where do we find these people.

Seems like these are the kind of accounts that should be made public. Think I'm with Pappy.
Posted by: Icerigger || 12/12/2007 6:17 Comments || Top||

#7  The recipient gets a copy. If THEY wish, they can release it to the public. To date they, as a group, have not. I will not second guess such men and women.
Posted by: Kojo Throlump4806 || 12/12/2007 6:55 Comments || Top||

#8  The war has been going on for multiple years now. If you see anything it is that the PAO function in the Army is manned by a lot of people who are operating in an sealed echo chamber that was closed in the 1950. They've operated like a bunch of old WWI French Generals trying to deal with the German's in 1940. They have the same gadgets/tech, but just keep operating in the old mode. As they teach at the War College from Clausewitz, war is an extension of politics. The PAO and too many GOs have been absent from that and this war.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/12/2007 7:28 Comments || Top||

#9  Military honours are public information. The president hands them out at the White House and everything. All the honourable Representative Salazar need do is ask the honorees what happened, and listen to the answer. CNN and the hometown newspaper can do the same. I believe the technical term is interview... or perhaps it's conversation.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/12/2007 7:39 Comments || Top||

#10  Up until now The Privacy Act has trumped the FOIA when it comes to a serviceman's personnel records. Perhaps this is their first step (camel's nose under the tent) to change that

Helllooooooo Senator Kerry!
Posted by: Frank G || 12/12/2007 8:25 Comments || Top||

#11  This is an important issue because we have been soundly drubbed on the infowar front. And this is not just the fault of having an MSM rooting for the enemy. The Army and administration need to do a better job of getting the word out and helping Michael Yon and Bill Roggio to do it. But I am inclined to agree with Kojo when it comes to specific awards.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 12/12/2007 8:41 Comments || Top||

#12  How else does someone like "reporting for duty" Kerry hide his record?
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/12/2007 10:19 Comments || Top||

#13  I would love to read more of these accounts, but I am concerned that it will reveal something that the enemy can use. I am fine with waiting a while if that helps keep our men and women safer or denies the enemy anything useful about our tactics, etc. It is hard to read accounts like this and not feel immensely proud to be a citizen of this great country.
Posted by: Unique Battle || 12/12/2007 13:35 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
"Wudn't me!": American in Ethiopia jail denies al-Q ties
Although he was arrested in Somalia toting an AK-47 and had spent time at a al-Q camp, these things were all plausibly explained away. McClatchy newspapers here are taking issue with the American and prosecutorial timelines.
A U.S. citizen imprisoned in Ethiopia reportedly told investigators that he was briefly in an al-Qaida camp in Somalia and had tried to fire a gun during a clash with foreign troops in the south of the war-torn country, but denied he was a fighter or had undergone military training.

Amir Mohamed Meshal, 24, of Tinton Falls, N.J., made the statements in early January while he was being held in Kenya for illegally entering the country, according to an account provided to McClatchy Newspapers on condition that the source remain anonymous.

Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Seafarious || 12/12/2007 15:35 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic Courts

#1  Apololgies, I just noted this story was published in March 2007. I'll leave it up here, but it's old news.
Posted by: Seafarious || 12/12/2007 15:57 Comments || Top||

#2  He waz researchin Sea,

the poor lad waz just doin a paper for his Intra Terrorist Relationships class, NYU '07-'08. [NYU; Sommali-Æthiopic Intra Relationships & Goats 101. 4.286 credits]

believe it or not.. I once played football wid a Mormon named Amir Mohamed Meshal! We used leather helmets back then.
Posted by: RD || 12/12/2007 17:22 Comments || Top||

#3  I went back to see where the link came from...it's on the sidebar of today's Yahoo news.

Can you say BDS?
Posted by: Seafarious || 12/12/2007 17:45 Comments || Top||


Darfur rebel group claims it attacked Chinese-run oil field
A Darfur rebel group claimed it attacked an Chinese-run oil field in central Sudan on Tuesday forcing more than 1,000 soldiers to flee the area.

Khalil Ibrahim, the powerful leader of the Darfur's rebel group the Justice and Equality Movement, said rebels attacked the oil field early Tuesday and forced three Sudanese army battalions, which were protecting the oil fields, to flee.

Ibrahim declined to say if anyone was killed or injured in the attack, which occurred in the Heglig area located in Sudan's Kordofan region, about 435 miles (700 kilometers) southwest of the capital, Khartoum. He said a large number of vehicles, weapons and ammunition were also seized in the attack.
Posted by: Fred || 12/12/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Biting the hand that...?
Posted by: Seafarious || 12/12/2007 0:57 Comments || Top||

#2  Actually, no, Sea. Chinese-run oil field is done in kahoots with Khartoum government, not with Darfurians.
Posted by: twobyfour || 12/12/2007 3:35 Comments || Top||

#3  Kinda warms the cockles of my cold, black heart.
Posted by: Abu Uluque6305 || 12/12/2007 12:35 Comments || Top||

#4  CHIN MIL FORUM > WEST FINDS PROXY TERROR ARMY IN DARFUR/SUDAN. The JEM > NOT "truly outrageous" one.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/12/2007 23:49 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Algiers blasts kill 10 UN staff
The United Nations has confirmed 10 of its staff died in a double car bombing in the Algerian capital, Algiers, which officially killed at least 26 people. Medics believe as many as 62 people died at UN offices and government buildings when the devices went off on Tuesday morning. As rescuers dug through the rubble, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called them "an abjectly cowardly strike".

A group allied to al-Qaeda claimed the attacks on an Islamist website. Algerian television has reported that six people were pulled alive from the ruins of the UN offices. "We now believe that the UN death toll is at 10," said UN spokeswoman Marie Okabe, adding that "a number of staff" were still missing.

The blasts, which the government said injured at least 177 people, were the latest in a series of attacks in Algeria this year. UN offices in the Hydra district were hit around 0930 (0830 GMT). At around the same time, a blast outside Algeria's Constitutional Council in the Ben Aknoun district hit a bus packed with students. In an unverified online statement, a group calling itself al-Qaeda in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb said two vehicles packed with 800kg (1,700lb) of explosives each were used in the blasts. The group said it had targeted "the headquarters of the international infidels' den" and the supreme court to honour one of its senior militants, who died fighting Algerian troops. It called on Western leaders to heed the demands of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden.

The chief spokesman for the UN refugee agency, Ron Redmond, said it was beyond him why "someone would attack the UN, which is basically a peace-building organisation".
Posted by: lotp || 12/12/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa

#1  Why, Ron? Because

  1. They don't want peace. Not that the UN can bring peace anyway, but the UN claims it wants peace.

  2. The UN will do nothing effective about it. Just as happened in Iraq a few years ago, they will pack up and leave.

  3. No one will blame them for it. They'll blame Israel and the US. Most of the nations in the UN will follow suit.

Posted by: Eric Jablow || 12/12/2007 1:22 Comments || Top||

#2  Algiers blasts kill 10 UN staff

I am torn by mixed feelings.
Posted by: twobyfour || 12/12/2007 3:41 Comments || Top||

#3  There is absolutely nothing mixed about my feelings.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/12/2007 3:46 Comments || Top||

#4  g(r)omgoru, they were human beings. Once.
Booming is evil. No matter what.

Xcept work acidents, of course, as usually no innocents are hurt.
Posted by: twobyfour || 12/12/2007 3:58 Comments || Top||

#5  I've a 2 year old son. Anybody who considers my son to be a legitimate target for Paleosymian "Freedom Fighters" is not a human being---it's a dangerous animal that should be killed as efficiently and expeditiously as possible.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/12/2007 5:42 Comments || Top||

#6  File this under "what goes around comes around". Now I'd like to see AQ bomb it's own staff...
Posted by: Spot || 12/12/2007 7:54 Comments || Top||

#7  I'm seriously conflicted here, on the one hand, bombing is bad whoever, on the other hand, perhaps the "Useless Nothing" will get the hint that their actions are unappreciated, and go home. (Fat chance)
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/12/2007 14:22 Comments || Top||

#8  Late thought, If I were the UN, the nations that haror Al Quada would get a seriously high "Dues" payment due notice, and increase each year that Al Q is still there.

Their choice, get rid of Al Q, drop out of the UN, or go bankrupt.(Or any combination of the above)
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/12/2007 14:28 Comments || Top||

#9  And each time hey complain (With lawyers) add 100 million or so to the yearly bill.(No refunds)
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/12/2007 14:29 Comments || Top||


Al-Qaida wing for N. Africa claims Algiers blasts
The North African branch of al-Qaida said in an Internet posting it was behind the bombings in the Algerian capital on Tuesday, claiming also that 110 people were killed in the attacks carried out by two suicide bombers.

Two "martyrs" of al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa drove cars loaded with 800 kilograms of explosives each "to attack the headquarters of the international infidels' den" and the headquarters of the Algerian constitutional council.
A statement posted on a militant Web site said two "martyrs" of al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa drove cars loaded with 800 kilograms of explosives each "to attack the headquarters of the international infidels' den" and the headquarters of the Algerian constitutional council.

Algerian authorities said that at least 26 people, including as many as five UN employees, were killed in the vehicle blasts, minutes apart, that sheared the facades off UN offices and a government building in Algiers, the Algerian capital. Some 177 people were wounded, officials said. "This is another successful conquest ... carried out by the Knights of the Faith with their blood in defense of the wounded nation of Islam," said the militant statement.

The group said the attack honored one of its key operatives, Sufyan Abu Haidra, who had been killed in fighting Algerian troops. The militant statement also said the attack preceded the holy Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, or the feast of Sacrifice, later this month. "On the eve of Eid we are heralding to the Muslim nation the good news of two operations carried out by two martyrs," it said.

The group identified the suicide bombers as Ibrahim Abu Othman, who attacked the UN building, and Abdel-Rahman Abu Abdel-Nasser al-Assimi, who attacked the constitutional council building.

The al-Qaida statement said 60 people were killed in the first attack and 50 in the second. "The conquest comes to remind the Crusaders who are occupying our land and the plunderers of our wealth that they should listen carefully to the demands and speeches of our sheik ... Osama bin laden, God protect him," it concluded.

Al-Qaida has called for attacks on French and Spanish interests in North Africa. Bin Laden's chief deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, called in September for jihad in North Africa to "cleanse (it) of the children of France and Spain."
This article starring:
ABDEL RAHMAN ABU ABDEL NASER AL ASIMIal-Qaeda in North Africa
AIMAN AL ZAWAHRIal-Qaeda in North Africa
IBRAHIM ABU OTHMANal-Qaeda in North Africa
SUFYAN ABU HAIDRAal-Qaeda in North Africa
Posted by: Fred || 12/12/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa

#1  "We dunnit, and we're stupid enough to be glad about it."
Posted by: Seafarious || 12/12/2007 0:12 Comments || Top||

#2  if the Gov't were smart, it would pull every AQ in No. Africa prisoner from the prisons and execute them on the spot where the explosions took place. Today.
Posted by: Frank G || 12/12/2007 3:50 Comments || Top||

#3  This is what happens if and when you leave Islam alone. We must take it to them in every way possible. We can never let up, and we cannot stop till we get unconditional surrender and complete dismemberment of Islam. Hell, I'm trying to save the 'moderate' muslims here. Save them from the cancer inside their heads which can only destroy each soul and wipe out humanity.
Posted by: wxjames || 12/12/2007 7:31 Comments || Top||

#4  the Crusaders who are occupying our land
(whispers)Psst...Algeria kicked out the French several decades ago.
(response)Uh, so?

AQ is seriously confused if they think that the UN is their enemy - bombing their "useful idiots".
Posted by: Spot || 12/12/2007 8:05 Comments || Top||

#5  I'm seriously conflicted here, on the one hand, bombing is bad whoever, on the other hand, perhaps the "Useless Nothing" will get the hint that their actions are unappreciated, and go home. (Fat chance)
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/12/2007 14:05 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
7 civilians killed in Niger army fire fight with rebels
Seven civilians were killed during a battle between army and rebel forces in northern Niger over the weekend, government officials said Tuesday. In a statement read on state radio, Niger's defense minister said the civilians were in four vehicles that were caught in the middle of a fire fight between army and rebel forces Sunday in the region of Tiguidit - about 80 kilometers (50 miles) southeast of the regional capital of Agadez. The statement said a rebel fighter was also killed, and one army soldier injured.

Sporadic clashes have broken out across Niger's volatile northern desert this year as groups claiming to represent a disenfranchised ethnic Tuareg minority combat a government anxious to hold onto control of the uranium-rich region.
Posted by: Fred || 12/12/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Britain
Two Baloch face terror charges in UK court
Two men wanted in Pakistan for ‘terrorist’ activity were charged in London under the Terrorism Act on Tuesday and have been remanded in custody till December 21, AFP reported. Faiz Baloch and Hyrbyair Marri were charged with inciting another person to commit an act of terrorism “wholly or partly outside the UK” and having links to the Balochistan Liberation Army. Marri is also charged with possessing a weapon, an article in published in the Guardian quoted the police as saying.. The two will appear on December 21 at London’s Central Criminal Court for a preliminary hearing.
Posted by: Fred || 12/12/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Europe
Foreign diplomats' cars firebombed in Athens
Unknown assailants firebombed four cars belonging to foreign diplomats in Athens early yesterday but no one was injured, police said.

Cars belonging to staff of the embassies of Italy, Turkey and the Philippines were set ablaze by home-made gas canister devices shortly after midnight, a police official said.

The cars, two of them owned by Turkish embassy staff, were parked on Athens streets and had diplomatic license plates but no country markings. "We still have no specific suspects, nor can we attribute a motive. We are waiting for someone to claim responsibility and we are investigating the incident," the police official said.

Cars belonging to diplomats, businessmen and politicians have often been attacked by self-styled anarchists in Greece, and more than a dozen have been set on fire in the past year. The Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned the assault in a written statement yesterday and said, “a total of six vehicles belonging to the Turkish embassy have been attacked in the last one-and-half year.”

“Our expectation from the Greek officials is to arrest the assailants, to compensate for the damage and to provide all our personnel with life and property security,” it said.
Posted by: lotp || 12/12/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I thought they shut down the November 17 terrorist group? This sounds exactly like one of their old ops.
Posted by: gromky || 12/12/2007 3:24 Comments || Top||

#2  They are under new management and new brand name.
Posted by: twobyfour || 12/12/2007 3:30 Comments || Top||

#3  Greek boys will be boys.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/12/2007 7:59 Comments || Top||

#4  We still have no specific suspects, nor can we attribute a motive. We are waiting for someone to claim responsibility...

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the Athens Police Department's log of unsolved cases is quite large.
Posted by: Elmusort Forkbeard4582 || 12/12/2007 12:40 Comments || Top||

#5  As long as it isn't Greek property or a Greek fatality, it's a non-issue.
Posted by: Pappy || 12/12/2007 16:28 Comments || Top||

#6  Seeing as how anarchists are for no rule of law and all that, is their any reason we should not just beat the snot out of them if we feel the whim to do so?
Posted by: Whomong Guelph4611 || 12/12/2007 21:16 Comments || Top||


US rendition victim gets suspended sentence
A Lebanese-born German who was held by the CIA in Afghanistan was given a suspended sentence on Tuesday for arson and other crimes committed after his return to Germany.

Khaled el-Masri, whose capture in 2003 by CIA agents upset US- German relations, admitted setting fire to a store, assault and breach of the peace at the start of his trial on Monday. The court in southern city of Memmingen handed down a two-year suspended sentence after el-Masri claimed his actions were in part due to the belated result of his abduction to Afghanistan and mental distress suffered after his return to Germany.

The sentence was the same as that demanded by the prosecution, but four months less than what the defence asked for. The defence argued that he was not fully accountable for his actions. The court also ordered el-Masri, a father of six, to undergo psychiatric counselling.
For his actions or for fathering six kids? This is the EU.
El-Masri, 44, was charged with setting fire to three jerry-cans of petrol and causing 300,000 euros (440,000 dollars) worth of damage to a cash-and-carry store in Neu-Ulm in Bavaria state in May after an argument about a purchase. He is also convicted of insulting staff and assaulting a supervisor who challenged him about his absenteeism at the firm where he was employed in January.

At Monday's hearing el-Masri's lawyer described how his client was picked up by CIA agents in Macedonia on December 31, 2003, apparently because his name was identical to that of a wanted terrorism suspect. He was then taken to Afghanistan in a practice known as "extraordinary rendition" and questioned for six months before being flown back to Europe and dumped in a forest in Albania when the US realized they had the wrong man.

One his return to Germany he was not given any support and denied access to therapy, he said. He still felt persecuted and thought the intelligence services were following him. "I was in a state of stress at the time and did not feel safe," his lawyer quoted him as saying in explanation of his client's violent behaviour.

Passing sentence, the court said it had taken into account el-Masri's admission of guilt, the fact that he had apologized to his victims and the traumatic effects of his abduction to Afghanistan.

Before his abduction he had lived 20 years in Germany and had never been in trouble with the authorities, the court said. But the feeling that he had been wronged did not give him the right to act unjustly himself, the court added.

Washington was upset when German prosecutors posted international arrest warrants for 13 US citizens believed to be agents of the US Central Intelligence Agency on suspicion of involvement in the abduction of el-Masri.
This article starring:
Khaled el-Masri
Posted by: lotp || 12/12/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  He is also convicted of insulting staff and assaulting a supervisor ...

In Germany they can convict you for insulting staff? How do they keep their hospitals open?
Posted by: Excalibur || 12/12/2007 8:44 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
Osama's aide appeals US conviction
Defence lawyers on Monday sought to overturn the conviction of Osama bin Laden’s personal secretary for his role in the 1998 bombings of two US Embassies in Africa. In appeals court arguments, lawyers for Wadih El-Hage argued the government’s evidence and conviction against El-Hage was unfair. El-Hage, who is serving a sentence of life in prison, was convicted with three others in October 2001 of conspiracy to kill Americans, conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to destroy buildings and perjury. Defence lawyers told the US Second Circuit federal appeals court panel that the government’s case had relied on weak “circumstantial evidence” that linked El-Hage to Al Qaeda figures and meetings, but not directly to the bombings.
This article starring:
WADIH EL HAGEal-Qaeda
Posted by: Fred || 12/12/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda

#1  Yeah the conviction/sentence is indeed "Unfair", he's still alive.(Correct this problem immediately, YES SIR)
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/12/2007 14:35 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
20 militants killed in Swat clashes: army
Troops launched artillery barrages on suspected militant hideouts in the northwestern Swat valley, killing 20 rebels and injuring up to 15, AFP quoted the army as saying on Tuesday. “According to our information, 20 militants were killed while 10-15 were injured on Monday night,” chief military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad told AFP. He said the army also used gunship helicopters to purge the areas of militants. “The situation is now well under control and people are returning to their homes in these areas,” Arshad added.

The army said on Tuesday that it killed or wounded a “large number” of militants in an artillery barrage in Swat, AP reported. The attack was part of an operation against die-hard followers of a pro-Taliban cleric who have been battling security forces in the scenic Swat valley since July. The army said in a statement that it fired artillery at militant positions near the towns of Piochar and Loe Namal on Monday night.

It also said security forces detained a man in the town of Khwazakhela for allegedly recruiting, training and harboring suicide bombers. It said the suspect was affiliated with Jaish-e-Mohammed, a banned Islamic extremist group also involved in fighting Indian forces in the disputed Kashmir region. A cache of arms, bombs, fake passports and an FM radio transmitter were seized at his house, it said.

Fazlullah’s arrest soon: Interior Ministry spokesman Brigadier (r) Javed Iqbal Cheema said security forces had cleared Swat region of extremists and militants. “Maulana Fazlullah and his followers will be arrested soon,” a Daily Times staff report quoted him as saying. He said people of Swat had joined hands with the army and security agencies in their fight against Fazlullah and his followers.
This article starring:
Brigadier (r) Javed Iqbal Cheema
Major General Waheed Arshad
MAULANA FAZLULLAHTNSM
Jaish-e-Mohammed
Posted by: Fred || 12/12/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TNSM

#1  “Maulana Fazlullah and his followers will be arrested soon,”

Just like the dhimmicrats, these idiots want to turn a war into a police matter. KILL the SOB, and you won't ever have to muck with him again. Let him live, and he'll find a way to come back and bite you on the a$$.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 12/12/2007 19:28 Comments || Top||


Jirga secures release of 20 people in Kurram Agency
A 16-member tribal jirga has succeeded in securing the release of seven abducted people of the Turi tribe and 13 abducted Mengal tribesmen. Tension mounted in the agency last week when armed men attacked a coach in Sadda Bazaar, killing its driver and taking its passengers away. The Turi tribe, meanwhile, kidnapped 13 people of the Mengal tribe on the same day.

After securing the release of the kidnapped persons from both tribes, the situation in the region has returned to normal and the local political administration relaxed the curfew that had been in place for the past four days for four hours on Tuesday. However, the Thall-Parachinar Road, connecting the region with other parts of the country, is closed and reportedly food and other basic necessities are not reaching the agency. This is causing severe shortages of food, water and medicines.
Posted by: Fred || 12/12/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Iraq
Coalition forces disrupt al-Qaeda operations; 14 terrorists killed, 12 detained
I am not certain but this synopis may contain overlap with other posts. Almost every paragraph could be a news story of its own.
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces killed 14 terrorists and detained 12 suspects during operations Tuesday and Wednesday targeting al-Qaeda networks in central Iraq.

During an operation northwest of Muqdadiyah, Coalition forces targeted associates of an al-Qaeda in Iraq leader allegedly responsible for a large terrorist group operating in the northeast Diyala River Valley region. Intelligence reports indicate the individuals executed a man earlier in the day and were later observed in the target area.

Upon arrival, Coalition forces received enemy fire from the target building. Responding in self-defense, the ground force returned fire, killing two terrorists. Coalition forces then observed several men maneuver away from the target area into nearby palm groves and underneath a foot bridge. The ground force called supporting aircraft to engage the enemy threat, killing another 12 terrorists. The ground force also encountered multiple explosions as they attempted to clear the target buildings. The buildings were assessed to be rigged with explosives and a supporting aircraft was called to destroy them.

Coalition forces captured a wanted individual in Baghdad believed to be involved in the al-Qaeda in Iraq network in the city. The wanted individual is allegedly involved in al-Qaeda in Iraq media and propaganda operations, and is a close associate of suspects recently detained by Coalition forces Dec. 9 and 10.
Rollin', rollin', rollin' (sang Frankie Laine); keep them rolling to the last roundup.
During the operation, another individual was wounded as the ground force entered a building. The man was subsequently detained, treated on site and transported to a military medical facility. Two additional suspects were detained and the ground force discovered various media equipment and a small weapons cache during the course of operations.
Media equipment which might keep the roundup rolling?
In Tikrit, Coalition forces detained four suspected terrorists to include a wanted individual believed to be involved in facilitating funds for al-Qaeda operations. Reports indicate the wanted individual not only operates in Tikrit, but also in western Baghdad, and in and around Fallujah. The suspect is also allegedly associated with foreign terrorist facilitation networks and al-Qaeda leaders operating in the Tigris River Valley.
Sounds like a fairly important guy; I wonder if he's being held for questioning by the American part of Coalition forces, or some Iraqis from Amarah?
Coalition forces captured a wanted individual and three additional suspected terrorists during two operations south of Yusufiyah Tuesday and Wednesday targeting associates of the terrorist network operating in southern Baghdad. The wanted individual is reportedly a leader involved in the Karkh terrorist network, which is operating in a degraded state. Over the last month, Coalition forces have captured five other wanted individuals tied to the network, who were reportedly involved in attacks against Coalition forces and trying to re-establish the car-bombing operations in the city.
Somebody has re-established a car bomb factory somewhere of late.
During the operation, the ground force also discovered a cache of weapons, which was safely destroyed on site.

“We will continue to aggressively locate and dismantle the al-Qaeda networks that threaten the security of Iraq,” said Maj. Winfield Danielson, MNF-I spokesman. “The Iraqi people have chosen a future that does not include al-Qaeda’s brutal ideology.”
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/12/2007 07:18 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Niice ratio of 14:12. Much better than 2:24. Good hunting, boys!
Posted by: Brett || 12/12/2007 17:59 Comments || Top||

#2  26:0 would be better.

But I'll settle for what we got....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 12/12/2007 18:16 Comments || Top||

#3  They'll need to talk to former inmates if they're to have the possibility of madrassah-hunting, later.

/I can dream, can't I? Ghostly skiing Special Forces... U.S. vs. Norwegian teams, perhaps?
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/12/2007 19:56 Comments || Top||


Triple Car Bomb in Shiite Amarah Kills Dozens
BAGHDAD - Three car bombs exploded in quick succession in a southern Iraqi city on Wednesday, killing at least 26 people and wounding 100 in a Shiite region that has largely escaped the country's sectarian bloodshed, authorities said.

Police in Amarah imposed an immediate driving ban and Iraqi soldiers deployed on the streets.

The explosions were about five minutes apart, beginning about 10 a.m., when an explosives-laden car parked in a garage blew up, local police and an intelligence official said. Another car about 50 yards away exploded shortly afterward as people gathered to examine the damage from the first, police said. The third blast occurred across the street from a movie theater, also about 50 yards away, police said.

The explosions could be felt a half-mile away, said Salam Hussein Jabir, who runs a travel agency in the city. He said his office windows shook and two pictures fell off the walls, and he ran outside to see what had happened.

"It was really tremendous," said Hussein, a 44-year old father of three. "This is the first time we've gone through anything like this."

Hussein said people initially thought it was a mortar attack. Then the second car exploded. "Police prevented us from getting near. I saw about 100 people on the ground and police, soldiers and civilians were evacuating them," he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "The smell of gunpowder mixed with the smell of the charred flesh," he continued.

Mohammed Saleh, a provincial council spokesman, said at least 26 people were killed and 100 wounded. An official at Zahra General Hospital in Amarah said new casualties were still coming in.

There were conflicting accounts of the number of bombings, with some officials saying two cars had exploded and others saying there were three bombs.

Saleh said police detained 25 suspects, including some who were using cell phones and cameras nearby, and were questioning witnesses. He said an indefinite driving ban was imposed, and Iraqi soldiers were deployed on the street. "We are focusing on evacuating casualties to the hospital," Saleh said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Amarah, a Shiite militia stronghold about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad, has seen violence among rival groups vying for control in Iraq's oil-rich Shiite southern heartland, which has no significant Sunni population. Al-Qaida is not known to have a significant presence in the region, although the terror group is often blamed for spectacular car bombings elsewhere in Iraq.

The city is the provincial capital of Maysan province, which borders Iran. Iraqi forces took over control of security from British troops there in April. The British are expected to turn over neighboring Basra province, the last area under their control, in mid-December.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who was visiting Basra on Tuesday, said the attack was a "desperate attempt" to undermine efforts to stabilize the country. "Any criminal act they commit would only be a desperate attempt to draw attention away from the clear successes and to break through the siege imposed on the defeated groups," he added.

He also called on residents in Amarah to exercise restraint and avoid revenge attacks against the "terrorists who do not want Iraq to stand up again."
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/12/2007 06:57 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Shiite on Shiite? For the same reasons as the Pet Market bombing?
Posted by: Penguin || 12/12/2007 10:04 Comments || Top||

#2  IRAN
Posted by: mhw || 12/12/2007 10:13 Comments || Top||

#3  For the same reasons as the Pet Market bombing?

Possible.
Posted by: Pappy || 12/12/2007 21:27 Comments || Top||


Coalition forces disrupt al-Qaeda operations; one terrorist killed, 19 detained
Coalition forces killed one terrorist and detained 19 suspects during operations Tuesday targeting al-Qaeda networks in central and northern Iraq.

During two coordinated operations west of al Khalis, Coalition forces killed a wanted individual believed to be a key associate of an al-Qaeda leader involved in the network in northern Baghdad. The network is responsible for the majority of car-bombing and improvised explosive device attacks in the area, and is involved in extortion, intimidation, weapons trafficking and the facilitation of foreign terrorists. In addition, nine suspected terrorists were detained during the operations.

During an operation south of Bayji, Coalition forces captured an alleged member of a foreign terrorist facilitation network operating in the region. Reports indicate the wanted individual is tied to al-Qaeda members operating near the border, who assist in the movement of weapons and funds for senior facilitators and al-Qaeda members operating in and outside of Iraq. In addition to the wanted individual, three other suspects were detained. West of Mosul and west of Maymudiyah, Coalition forces detained six suspected terrorists during operations targeting an al-Qaeda in Iraq senior leader and terrorists reportedly involved in attacks against Coalition forces.
Posted by: Fred || 12/12/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Iraq


Coalition forces capture Special Groups leader, 11 detained
Coalition forces captured a suspected Special Groups criminal element leader and detained ten other suspects during operations early Tuesday in the Baghdad area.

The targeted individual reportedly supervised criminal splinter group trainers throughout Iraq. He allegedly coordinated the explosively formed penetrator, improvised explosive device, operational security and computer security training of numerous criminals, and was personally responsible for paying each trainer every month. He also reportedly directed his cell to attack Coalition forces and assassinate Iraqis who worked with Coalition forces. Intelligence led ground forces to the target area, where the wanted individual was captured and the ten other suspects were detained without incident. Additionally, ground forces discovered body armor, two assault rifles, a bayonet, two pistols, multiple ammunition magazines and a large amount of Iraqi currency.
Posted by: Fred || 12/12/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Mahdi Army

#1  Still using that 'Special Groups' handle, eh ?
I R A N I A N S.......Iranians.....thugs from Iran......
Posted by: wxjames || 12/12/2007 7:23 Comments || Top||

#2  The 'thugs from Iran' is more accurate. The Bassej ("Volunteers") are known to have non-Iranians (Chechens, Paleos, Bosnians, Afghanis, Paks, other 'Stanis', etc.) among their ranks. It isn't much of a stretch to assume that the Special Groups also have non-Iranians in it.
Posted by: Pappy || 12/12/2007 12:20 Comments || Top||


'Gunmen kill head of Baghdad mental hospital'
Gunmen killed the head of a Baghdad psychiatric hospital, while a separate suicide bombing killed two people and wounded 12, police said on Tuesday.

Ibrahim Mohammed Ajil was heading home in the Baladiyat district of eastern Baghdad late on Monday when gunmen on two motorcycles shot him dead. Ajil was the head of the Al-Rashad hospital, Iraq’s largest secure mental institution, which lies on the outskirts of the sprawling Sadr City district of Baghdad. Insurgents and gangs have targeted many of Iraq’s leading medical specialists recently, prompting many to flee the country.

Car bombing: Separately, a suicide car bomb exploded near the homes of former interim premier Iyad Allawi, a secular Shia politician, as well as Saleh Al-Mutlaq, leader of the National Dialogue Front, a small Sunni Arab party. Most of the victims from the blast near the fortified “Green Zone” diplomatic and government compound were police and guards at a checkpoint. Mutlaq was in Jordan at the time of the blast, his wife told Reuters. It was not immediately clear if Allawi was at home. Other officials also live in the area.
Posted by: Fred || 12/12/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency

#1  Didn't like the meds that were attempting to make them sane?
Posted by: 3dc || 12/12/2007 3:12 Comments || Top||

#2  In this case, it may be a trade in narcotic substances going bad.
Posted by: twobyfour || 12/12/2007 4:17 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Debka: Mayor of Sderot resigns after 23 missle barrage with no government response.
Gazan Palestinians shoot 23-missile barrage at Sderot Wednesday. Mayor Ellie Moyal resigns, accusing PM and military of abandoning civilians to peril
Posted by: 3dc || 12/12/2007 21:08 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The mayor should have loudly requested a 105mm Howitzer and 100 rounds of ammunition. If the government would have refused it, then Sderot could afford to in their city budget.

Then for each rocket lobbed at their town, they respond by firing one howitzer round in the general direction of where the rocket originated.

Who is going to stop them? They are not acting on behalf of the government of Israel, but in defense of their town. If the Paleos sue, then they counter-sue.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/12/2007 21:21 Comments || Top||

#2  A government that will not defend it's people is not much of a government. We have the same problem with regards to our border.
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 12/12/2007 21:22 Comments || Top||

#3  A government that will not defend it's people is not much of a government

And should be abolished.
Posted by: Whomong Guelph4611 || 12/12/2007 22:00 Comments || Top||


Al-Aqsa Brigades activist killed in mysterious explosion in Nablus
Ma'an – A mysterious explosion killed one member of Fatah's armed wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, and injured two others just after midnight on Tuesday in the old city of Nablus, in the northern West Bank. Medical sources at Rafidia Hospital in Nablus confirmed the death of of Sulaiman Al-Qassas. They said he had arrived at the hospital in a coma.
[Slap!] "Suleiman! Speak to me!"
"He can't speak, Doctor! He's in a coma!"
"How about that piece of him?"
"That one's in a coma, too!"
"We may have to operate!"
Al-Aqsa Brigades spokesperson Mahdi Abu Ghazala accused "the Israeli occupation and collaborators" in an area known to be a meeting point for Al-Aqsa Brigades activists.
"It wuz them as dunnit!"
Separately, Israeli forces raided Nablus overnight, seizing forty-year-old Ziad Mraish in the southern neighborhood of the city. Palestinian security forces are currently involved in a Western-backed multimillion dollar effort to establish law and order in Nablus.
This article starring:
MAHDI ABU GHAZALAAl-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades
SULAIMAN AL QASASAl-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades
ZIAD MRAISHAl-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades
Posted by: Fred || 12/12/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Aqsa Martyrs

#1  It is a mystery, to be sure.
Posted by: Seafarious || 12/12/2007 0:13 Comments || Top||

#2  The old exploding cellphone trick?
Posted by: phil_b || 12/12/2007 0:26 Comments || Top||

#3  No - he saw Chris Angel Mindfreak on sat tv and his brain just imploded.
Posted by: 3dc || 12/12/2007 1:19 Comments || Top||

#4  The eternal mystery of Paleoland---the mystery of red vs green wire.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/12/2007 4:24 Comments || Top||

#5  About 1.8% of people are colorblind. Usually, that does not have any cosequences, if one remembers the order of street light. Wires are less forgiving. Combined with certifiable idiots that due to inbreeding in Gaza must be a plenty, a frequent consumption of popcorn is guaranteed.
Posted by: twobyfour || 12/12/2007 4:32 Comments || Top||

#6  Doesn't it seem like there have been a bunch of these work accidents recently? Has Israel deployed some remote triggering equipment? (I have several ideas on how such devices could be created.) My dream is to drive around Islamofascist land pointing my induction weapon at various mosques and watching their bomb factories explode.
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/12/2007 7:17 Comments || Top||

#7  Make it so, Glenmore! (/Captain Picard)
Posted by: Spot || 12/12/2007 8:09 Comments || Top||

#8  Dearest Glenmore, Please exercise caution on Fuzzy Bunny and Cute Kitty gathering days.
Posted by: Steven || 12/12/2007 10:11 Comments || Top||

#9  Ah, yes. Ye Olde Mysterious Explosion. Probably caused by the Unknown Gunman Brigade...
Posted by: tu3031 || 12/12/2007 10:38 Comments || Top||

#10  Always with the mysterious explosions! Maybe they need to check for a gas leak.
Posted by: SteveS || 12/12/2007 11:16 Comments || Top||

#11  Either that or their quality control sucks ass.
Posted by: DarthVader || 12/12/2007 11:23 Comments || Top||

#12  Yeah. Real "mysterious"...

PCHR’s preliminary investigation indicates that at approximately 00:15 on Tuesday, 11 December 2007, a strong explosion rocked the Yasmina Quarter in the old city in Nablus. As a result, Nu’man Mohammad Faris El-Qassas (20) was injured by shrapnel in the head and his hands dismembered. He was taken to Rafedia Hospital in Nablus for treatment. At approximately 1:00 he was pronounced dead after physicians failed to save his life. Medical sources at the hospital indicated that El-Qassas was clinically dead upon arrival due to the severity of his injuries. “Faris El-Leil” groups of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades announced that one of their members was killed by a mysterious explosion in the old city in Nablus.

Goodbye...Nu'man!
Posted by: tu3031 || 12/12/2007 11:30 Comments || Top||

#13  Activist deactivated.
Posted by: Phinater Thraviger || 12/12/2007 15:14 Comments || Top||

#14  Always with the mysterious explosions! Maybe they need to check for a gas leak.

No, they don't!

[detracts from a wonderful boom experience]
Posted by: twobyfour || 12/12/2007 16:22 Comments || Top||

#15  Note to paleos: Always check for a gas leak with a lighted match or cigarette lighter. Works well in an area where people are working on explosives, too.
Posted by: Rambler || 12/12/2007 17:39 Comments || Top||

#16  Al-Aqsa Brigades or known locally by The Brigades of Homicidal Dummies...

A mysterious explosion killed one member of Fatah's armed wing, YEAH! wahoooo!


/probally set off by the same mysterious ingrediant in Wed's meatloaf...
Posted by: RD || 12/12/2007 18:19 Comments || Top||

#17  Hands dismembered= hands blown off. He was building a bomb.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 12/12/2007 20:11 Comments || Top||


IDF arrests senior Hamas terrorist in Nablus involved in Ariel shooting
IDF troops arrested a senior Hamas terrorist in Nablus, authorities announced Monday. According to the IDF, Ziad Mraish was part of a cell involved in a shooting attack on a bus station near Ariel two months ago where an IDF soldier and an Israeli civilian were wounded.
This article starring:
ZIAD MRAISHHamas
Posted by: Fred || 12/12/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  is this the same israeli gutter scumbag crying jews that send financial support to Hamas
Nothing worse than reading about the eternal wanderin whingeing crying Jew trawling for worldwide sympathy for over 65 years ,..and then find out hey give cash to their so called "enemy"

fucking dumb ass kikes
Posted by: Tiny Floluse2660 || 12/12/2007 8:50 Comments || Top||

#2  Troll clean up on Aisle 1!
Posted by: Spot || 12/12/2007 10:54 Comments || Top||

#3  Could we delete tiny tim.
Posted by: bman || 12/12/2007 10:56 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
15 Thai soldiers wounded in roadside bomb blast
At least fifteen soldiers were wounded, four seriously, when suspected terrorists insurgents detonated a roadside bomb at a bus ferrying them in Nong Chik district of Pattani Province on Wednesday morning. Police said a 15-kilogramme explosive, detonated by mobile phone, hit the third bus that was taking soldiers to a military base in Muang district.

Pol Col Wisit Aksornkaew said the bomb was hid in a fire extinguisher and buried in the road. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast.

Plus:

Eight suspected insurgents were arrested in (Narathiwat) Tuesday night, police said. Acting on tip-off, some 100 police and soldiers surrounded the house for half an hour before using tear gas to force the people inside the house to come out. The authorities also found 4 pistols and 31 rounds of ammunitions and bomb making equipment hidden inside the house. The suspects were taken to an army base in the province for questioning.
Posted by: ryuge || 12/12/2007 08:57 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  That didn't take nearly as long as I expected.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 12/12/2007 11:08 Comments || Top||


Sri Lanka
20 Tigers killed as Sri Lanka rejects truce
Sri Lanka’s defence ministry has claimed its forces have killed at least 20 Tamil Tiger rebels in renewed clashes in the north as the government rejected to observe a truce ahead of any peace talks with Tamil Tiger rebels.

The ministry said the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels died in three separate clashes on Monday afternoon, bringing to at least 216 the number of guerrillas it has claimed to have killed since the beginning of the month. Only a handful of government soldiers have been reported killed or injured in the same period. No independent confirmation of the defence ministry claims were available, and journalists are barred from frontline areas. There was also no immediate word from the LTTE.

Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said on Tuesday Sri Lanka’s government is unwilling to observe a truce ahead of any peace talks with Tamil Tiger rebels. There would be no point when previous ceasefires had been heavily breached by the rebels, the minister told a Tokyo news conference. “We’re always maintaining our position that we are ready to talk with the LTTE ... if they wish to indulge in a more reasonable approach,” Bogollagama said.

Military solution: The latest government claim of heavy casualties came as the British high commissioner to Colombo, Dominick Chilcott, urged the government to reconsider its view that the long-running civil war can be won. “I cannot tell whether the government armed forces are capable of defeating the LTTE on the battlefield,” Chilcott said at a public lecture here on Monday evening. “But Iraq, Afghanistan, Northern Ireland and plenty of other conflicts tell us that winning the peace is more difficult than winning the war. “Without resolving the underlying issues, even if the LTTE are badly beaten in the Wanni (where the Tigers maintain a mini-state), the conflict will continue in a different guise,” he said.
Posted by: Fred || 12/12/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  it's easier to win the peace if the other guys are dead, Doofus
Posted by: Frank G || 12/12/2007 4:02 Comments || Top||

#2  the British high commissioner to Colombo

I'd be more interesting in hearing what the High Commissioner to The Rockford Files has to say. Putting an end to the Tigers vs the Lankans seems like a job for Jim Rockford.
Posted by: SteveS || 12/12/2007 12:06 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Explosion Kills 4, Including Military General, in Christian Suburb of Beirut
BEIRUT, Lebanon — A large explosion rocked a Christian suburb east of Beirut early Wednesday, killing a top military general and three others and wounding dozens, the state-run news agency said. Brig. Gen. Francois Hajj, head of military operations in the army command, was killed in the explosion along with his bodyguard, the agency said. The army had no immediate comment.

The explosion came as Lebanon is embroiled in its worst political crisis since the end of the 1975-90 civil war and amid heightened tensions between pro-government and opposition groups. The country has been without a president since Nov. 23 when Emile Lahoud left office and a deadlocked parliament failed to elect a successor. Hajj's name had been mentioned among others as a possible successor to army commander Michel Suleiman if he is elected president.

Lebanese security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with standing government regulations, said at least two cars were set afire and several others were damaged in Wednesday's bombing outside the municipality building in the town of Baabda. The wooded, hilly Baabda is the historic capital of Mount Lebanon province, and seat of the presidential palace, which is on a nearby hill. The Defense Ministry and the army command are located in the adjacent town of Yarze.

Lebanon has been rocked by a series of explosion since a massive truck bombing killed former Premier Rafik Hariri in 2005 in central Beirut. The last major explosion on Sept. 19 killed anti-Syrian lawmaker Antoine Ghanem on a Beirut street.
This article starring:
Antoine Ghanem
Brig. Gen. Francois Hajj
Emile Lahoud
Michel Suleiman
Rafik Hariri
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 12/12/2007 04:31 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Gen. Hajj must not have been a supporter of the Syrian candidates for 'leading' Lebanon.
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/12/2007 7:58 Comments || Top||

#2  Guess he's not going to be Suleiman's successor, either.
Posted by: Fred || 12/12/2007 8:21 Comments || Top||

#3  Message to Suleiman?
Posted by: danking70 || 12/12/2007 10:50 Comments || Top||

#4  No good deed goes unpunished.

He was the general who banged up Fatah-al-Islam at the battle for Nahr el-Bared over the summer.

He was also a Christian.
Posted by: Seafarious || 12/12/2007 10:53 Comments || Top||

#5  Debka's spin:
The huge explosion outside the presidential palace in the Christian village of Baabde east of Beirut left at least five dead and dozens injured, and was powerful enough to topple buildings and smash many vehicles. The targeted officer was Lebanese army operations chief Brig Gen. Francois al-Hajj, named to succeed as chief of staff after Gen. Michel Suleiman is elected president. A Mercedes rigged as a car bomb detonated as the Brig al-Hajjs’ vehicle passed by.

The terrorist attack undermines a key corner of Washington’s evolving understanding with Tehran and Damascus. They are demanding payment in Lebanon and in Palestinian-Israeli coin for slowing their support for the Iraqi insurgency. While the US accepted the pro-Syrian Hizballah sympathizer Gen. Suleiman as next Lebanese president, his parliamentary endorsement has been held up by the demand for a pro-Damascus reshuffle of government. They want the pro-Western Fouad Siniora replaced as prime minister and the foreign affairs, justice and internal security portfolios handed to Hizballah.

US ambassador to Beirut Michael Feltman has been recalled for consultations.

Syrian president Bashar Assad is furthermore holding out for the dismantling of the tribunal for trying the perpetrators of the 2005 assassination of ex-PM Rafiq Hariri. A trial would place members of his inner family and political circles in the dock. While the presidential election has been delayed eight times since Emile Lahoud ended his term in November, most recent Lebanese history has been written in seven lethal car bombings attributed to Syrian military intelligence, for which no one was brought to account.

To elect the Lebanese chief of staff as president, parliament must amend the constitution’s requirement of a cooling-off period for military candidates.

The attack in Baabdeh threatens to derail the process of electing a new president, by tradition a member of the Maronite Christian community, until Syrian and Iranian terms are met.
Posted by: 3dc || 12/12/2007 20:59 Comments || Top||


Beirut boom kills senior Lebanon army officer
Lebanon's national news agency says a large explosion rocked a Christian suburb east of Beirut early Wednesday morning, killing four people, including a senior army officer, and injuring dozens.

The agency says Major General Francois Hajj, head of military operations in the army command, was killed in the explosion along with his bodyguard. The army has no immediate comment.
This article starring:
Major General Francois Hajj
Posted by: Seafarious || 12/12/2007 02:38 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Just start killing all the Syrians and when they're gone, the shia, and then the sunni. Let's call it Operation Better Future for Lebanon.
Posted by: wxjames || 12/12/2007 7:18 Comments || Top||

#2  That's "political debate", ME style.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/12/2007 12:39 Comments || Top||

#3  Tell me about it.
Posted by: Yitzhak Rabin || 12/12/2007 21:41 Comments || Top||


Grenade explodes in east Beirut but no casulaties
A hand grenade exploded between Madam Aoun School in Ein al-Remaneh and Mar Jerjus church in Chiah east of Lebanon's capital, Beirut . No casualties or damages were reported according to police report. Police is investigating the incident...it is not known so far who is behind the explosion .
Posted by: Fred || 12/12/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  That's because it wasn't a Holy Hand Grenade.

Posted by: 3dc || 12/12/2007 3:11 Comments || Top||

#2  ...it is not known so far who is behind the explosion .

That would be Mahmoud "Butterfingers' Al-Shaky...
Posted by: tu3031 || 12/12/2007 10:36 Comments || Top||


Good morning....
Posted by: Fred || 12/12/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  AH, lovely!

On another topic, has the 'Burg been slow the last few days, or is my employer's upgraded network degrading my I-arrive-at-six-so-I-can-avoid-traffic-and-Rantburg-a-little-bit-before-starting-at seven link?
Posted by: Bobby || 12/12/2007 6:01 Comments || Top||

#2  MM, what's not to like ?
Posted by: wxjames || 12/12/2007 7:14 Comments || Top||

#3  Oh, yeah!
Posted by: Spot || 12/12/2007 7:48 Comments || Top||

#4  I still think President Clinton would have never been impeached if he had been going at it with, for example, Halle Berry on his desk in the Oval Office instead of "not having sexual relations" with an intern in the closet. He could then have told the press to stick their questions up their nose instead of lying about it. The Kennedy Defense, in other words.
Posted by: Excalibur || 12/12/2007 8:38 Comments || Top||

#5  If Bill had had Halle on his desk the rest of us boys would have been too impressed (and more than a little jealous) to call him on it.
Posted by: Steve White || 12/12/2007 10:30 Comments || Top||

#6  What Excalibur said.

I didn't much give a candy-coated crap WHO he porked in the Oval Office; that was between him, Hillary, and the porkee. What stuck in my craw was him wagging his finger at the TV camera and scolding America for thinking he'd "had sex with That Woman."

Posted by: Dave D. || 12/12/2007 10:41 Comments || Top||

#7  What stuck in my craw was that he lied about it under oath.
BTW, I always thought Monica was hot (different strokes and all that;). Not Halle Berry hot, but still...
Posted by: Spot || 12/12/2007 10:51 Comments || Top||

#8  ...Actually, I never had all that much problem with Bill and Monica having a good time. But first, he lied about it under oath. Second - and to me even more importantly - when she was giving him a hummer, he was on the phone making decisions that were going to send me to Haiti go get shot at by a bunch of ungrateful locals. I'd like it if he kept his mind on business, thank you very much.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 12/12/2007 11:28 Comments || Top||

#9  Hey Mike, Imagine where where you could've been sent if he was frustrated.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/12/2007 12:41 Comments || Top||

#10  Bad Spot. Bad Doggy... no, that's right, Monica was the dog.... sorry
Posted by: Anganter Turkeyneck6590 || 12/12/2007 15:12 Comments || Top||

#11  Bad Spot. Bad Doggy... no, that's right, Monica was the dog.... sorry

'pology 'cepted..

/:)
Posted by: Dawg, Red || 12/12/2007 18:25 Comments || Top||

#12  According to some, Marilyn's big break came in a wartime publicity photo taken at the Radioplane factory where she worked building target drones for the war effort.
Photographer David Conover had been sent by Captain Ronald Reagan, USA.
The company had been founded by none other than character actor Reginald Denny (scroll down on this page). Denny was an early exponent of R/C model planes and turned his expertise into devising the first really useful sub-scale target drones. Thousands were built for the war effort.

Times, and Hollywood, have certainly changed.
Posted by: Dick Arbusto, CEO of Hallibushwater || 12/12/2007 19:43 Comments || Top||

#13  Actually, the whole Monica affair was an massive overreaction. Everybody in DC knew they had iced Vincent Foster and tampered with the evidence. The blue blood republicans were agast at the thought of the scandle, and they had the pain-in-the-ass media to fight. Then along came Monica, a good old fashioned sex scandle. Something for the press to chew on and a great reason to demand the jerk step down. But donkeys being donkeys, they covered his ass and voted to protect him. If I recall, only one democrat voted for impeachment, and he did not run for reelection. The fix was in, and the party of corruption gathered round to support their pig in chief, Slick Willy. To this day, I and others want nothing more from life than to destroy the donks. I thank Hillary for all the help she is giving me in this task.
Posted by: wxjames || 12/12/2007 19:44 Comments || Top||



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