#1
About the time you think the bad guys are smart, they turn the spotlight on their new playground in Yemen. Yemen is a whole lot easier place to hunt and kill than Afghanistan.
Two of the four leaders allegedly behind the al Qaeda plot to blow up a Northwest Airlines passenger jet over Detroit were released by the US from the Guantanamo prison in November, 2007, according to American officials and Department of Defense documents. Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the Northwest bombing in a Monday statement that vowed more attacks on Americans.
Interesting.
American officials agreed to send the two terrorists from Guantanamo to Saudi Arabia where they entered into an "art therapy rehabilitation program" and were set free, according to US and Saudi officials.
Note for future reference: art therapy is not effective against entrenched jihadi drives. Perhaps an intense course of waterboarding before finger painting would be more effective.
Guantanamo prisoner #333, Muhamad Attik al-Harbi, and prisoner #372, Said Ali Shari, were sent to Saudi Arabia on Nov. 9, 2007, according to the Defense Department log of detainees who were released from American custody. Al-Harbi has since changed his name to Muhamad al-Awfi.
Both Saudi nationals have since emerged in leadership roles in Yemen, according to US officials and the men's own statements on al Qaeda propaganda tapes.
Both of the former Guantanamo detainees are described as military commanders and appear on a January, 2009 video along with the man described as the top leader of al Qaeda in Yemen, Abu Basir Naser al-Wahishi, formerly Osama bin Laden's personal secretary.
In its Monday statement claiming responsibility for the Northwest bombing, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula called bombing suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab a "hero" and a "martyr" and lauded him for beating US intelligence.
Hero he may be, but the only bit of him martyred is that which leads to sons.
The two-page written claim included a photo of Abdulmutallab and boasted of Al Qaeda's success in designing "advanced explosive packages" that can pass through airport screening undetected.
In other words, Al Qaeda's explosives are effective in the same way that Secretary Napolitano's system worked. It's nice to see that the competency levels are evenly matched.
The statement also asks for attacks upon Americans in the Arabian peninsula, and promises further attacks on the American people.
According to press reports, 'Umar Faruq 'Abd Al-Muttalib, the Nigerian man who attempted to blow up Northwest Airlines flight 253 on Christmas Day, received the explosives from a bomb expert affiliated with Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
At this early stage in the investigation the suspect's ties to AQAP have yet to be corroborated. It is noteworthy, however, that the Emir of AQAP, Nasir Al-Wahishi, wrote about bombing U.S. airplanes in a recent issue of the organization's magazine, Sada Al-Malahim. The issue was dated Shawwal 1430, corresponding to September-October 2009, and was posted on jihadist websites on October 28, 2009.
As reported by JTTM on November 5, Al-Wahishi wrote an article titled "War Is Deception" in which he urged others to emulate Abu Al-Khayr ('Abdallah Hasan Tali' 'Asiri), an AQAP suicide bomber who attempted to assassinate Saudi Deputy Interior Minister Muhammad bin Naif. One of the passages in the article read:
"Make the explosives into a bomb that you can throw, set off with a timer, explode by remote, or make them into an explosives belt; or you can put them in any electronic device, like a digital recorder in which you hear the tunes of explosions, or in a photo album, a folder, or an envelope. Explode them on any taghut, spy nest, Emir, minister, or Crusader, wherever you find them.
Brilliant idea: let's look at the results of the latest example of Al Qaeda bomb-making expertise -- that poor Nigerian lad. This new suggestion will likely leave the jihadi missing half his brain, but with his manhood still in working order. After all, what they have in Paradise depends on what they had when they died, if I recall correctly. Perhaps a reassuring fatwa ought to be issued on the subject.
"Likewise, [you should explode them] in the airports of the Western Crusader countries that have taken part in the war against the Muslims, or in their planes, on their residential blocks, or in their metros, and so on.
Prime jihadi age is 15-45 among Muslim males, whether Sunni or Shia. One possible response is to banish all such persons to the Dar al Islam, the Muslim lands, allowing them back when they have outgrown such stupidity. Not likely, I realize, but tempting.
+"There is always a stratagem [to be found] if you think and rely on Allah, and have no fear of it being discovered after you have hidden it well. By the power of Allah, it can not be discovered..."
While Al-Wahishi appeared to be mainly encouraging independent actions on the part of "lone wolf" bombers, the article did include an offer to help with these initiatives: "For our part, we will make contact with anyone who wants to wage jihad with us, and we will guide him to a suitable means to kill the collaborators and the archons of unbelief..."
According to media reports, 'Abd Al-Muttalib, the would-be bomber of NWA flight 253, had 80 grams of the explosive PETN sewn into his underwear. This method of hiding the explosives in or near one's private parts may also be suggestive of an Al-Qaeda connection. In recent propaganda, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has taken great pride in the fact that the suicide bomber Abu Al-Khayr had managed to sneak his explosives through multiple levels of security and into the presence of the Saudi Deputy Interior Minister. The communiqué taking responsibility for the assassination attempt said that "nobody knows or will ever know the nature [of this explosives charge] and how it was detonated." In fact, the bomber is believed to have hidden the explosives in his rectum. An AQAP video celebrating the assassination attempt later bragged that the explosives were not discovered "even though [Abu Al-Khayr] was searched more than once in the airports of Najran and Jeddah, and again at the Prince's palace."
True, the explosives were not discovered. Nonetheless, poor Mr. Abu al-Khayr ended up a double smear on floor and ceiling, harming no one but himself... and his manhood was not the bit of him left intact for identification purposes. The only thing the Al Qaeda bomb experts can point to as a success was that the explosives were not discovered before detonation.
AQAP has also focused in its recent propaganda on the use of small amounts of powerful explosives. (According to some reports, Abu Al-Khayr's explosives were also in PETN.) Al-Wahishi wrote: "It requires no great effort on your part, nor large sums, to manufacture 10 grams, more or less, of explosives. Do not search long for the materials, since they are in your mother's kitchen and are ready at hand, in whatever city you are in. Then you will accomplish what Abu Al-Khayr accomplished, may Allah have mercy on him."
Nothing like aiming for the stars! Or the ceiling, at any rate. Look for lots of inexplicable work accidents and gene pool cleansing in the next 6-12 months.
Likewise, in the video released by AQAP in celebration of the assassination attempt, the suicide bomber himself said in a recording made before the bombing: "The tyrants of the House of Saud claimed that they had already shut down [the operations of] the jihad fighters, and banned the selling of explosives of any kind... Bur from now on, we will come to you with [only] 50 grams, 100 grams, or 200 grams [of explosives], and with Allah's help, our brothers in the manufacturing department will produce videos explaining how anyone, using simple materials available to him, can [manufacture explosives] and blow up the enemies of Allah... You will be surprised to learn that explosives can be manufactured [even] from foodstuffs..."
Try mixing vinegar and baking soda, guys. Or ammonia and bleach.
In conclusion, it is not yet known for certain if or when 'Abd Al-Muttalib was in Yemen, but the circumstantial evidence drawn from AQAP's own publications and videos indicates that such a connection is plausible, and that the organization was actively seeking to assist in bombing plots like the attempt to blow up NWA 253.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/29/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
AQAP repor is vowing more attacks will be a'comin.
#1
This is no surprise. By constantly supporting and defending indefensible extremist Muslims and Muslim practices the 'leaders' were forcing the rest of Britain towards a polarized state. That validates extremist groups as a necessary counter to the defended extreme Muslims. It will probably get a lot worse.
#5
Looks like the original Daily Mail article wasn't accepting comments. Don't blame them - that's a comment thread which would have gone nuclear very shortly.
#7
The police are here in force, too. 'Take that mask off,' barks a sergeant to one young man. He does so immediately but protests: 'Why are they allowed to wear burkas in public but we're not allowed to cover our faces?' 'Just do what you're told,' the policeman snaps
Coming soon to a country near you, unless something is done to end this nonsense.
#8
Love how they try to paint the EDL as "neo-Nazis" but the Nazis won't march with them because some of the EDL are black *and* one of their causes is the Islamic oppression of women.
The press loves to cast the violent into two sets: leftists, who are noble of intention and only doing what they must against an oppressive state; and fascists who are just interested in oppressing everyone. That there might be people willing to be violent in defense of liberty simply doesn't register in their minds.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
12/29/2009 10:47 Comments ||
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#9
Let's follow the line of argument in a Euro fashion.
(1) Per the head of German protestant churches, there is no such thing as a just war.
(2) Per the British government, the state should have an exclusive monopoly on force.
(3) Therefore the only just use of force is by the state against its citizens.
#10
I agree with the guy asked why he couldn't cover his face but the muslim women can. Also the caption under the pic about the woman being intimidated. You wouldn't be able too blow air up my ass every time one of them stepped onto the bus either
Posted by: chris ||
12/29/2009 11:57 Comments ||
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#11
'Our leaders in this country no longer represent us,' he says.
This response is to be expected. As a society we had given the monopoly of force and retribution to the police and the courts. This used to work reasonably well. However, when the people feel they are no longer being protected then they will protect themselves. What did the left think would happen?
#13
Love how they try to paint the EDL as "neo-Nazis"
I don't know squat about the EDL. But just look at how the MSM treated the Minutemen along the borders. You would think they were shooting men, women, and children on sight.
To the left (and the MSM) anything which they don't approve of is Facist and Nazi (that would be Nazi as in National socialist).
#15
The author is a fearmonger and nothing more. Where was he when the muslim protester held up the "Behead those who insult Islam" sign???
Case in point. He attempts to use the following excerpt to demonstrate that the EDL is not a peaceful organization as it purports to be: "He sticks to the 'peaceful movement' mantra but a text I later receive from him ahead of an EDL demo in London reveals his involvement with the hooligans. It reads: 'Right lads, the "unofficial" meet for the 31st (London) is going to be 12 o'clock at The Hole In The Wall pub just outside Waterloo Station. I will be there just before that. Remember lads were (sic) going as Casuals Utd and if you could obtain a poppy to wear it would make us look good even if we are kicking off. lol. Cheers lads. Joel "Arsenal" Titus.'
The above excerpt in no way suggests violence. This article is shi*.
#16
ION PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > GLOBAL TINDERBOX: "THE ECONOMIST" SAYS 2010 COULD BE THE YEAR WHICH SPARKS WORLDWIDE SOCIAL UNREST.
ARTIC > Countries deemed at "LOW RISK" of SOCIAL UNREST in 2010 are, to wit:
* NORAM = CANADA-USA
* GREENLAND
* ICELAND
* BRAZIL
* SCANDINAVIAN COUNTRIES
* GERMANY [ + Most of CENTRAL, EASTERN EUROPE]
* AUSTRALIA [OZ Land]
* NEW ZEALAND
AND - drum roll, iff you please, Moriarity - LIBYA [aka DA KOLONEL = UNCLE QADDAFI]???
NAXAL, MAOIST TRUBLED INDIA > ranked "HIGH RISK" ON PAR WID BRITAIN + FRANCE???
REST OF THE WORLD MAY GO "BOOM" IN 2010 [1980's MTV Video > "Things that May You Go UMMMM"].
-------------------------------
GLOBAL TIMES.CN > CHINA'S GDP PER CAPITA FOR END-OF-YEAR 2010 IS USD 4000, CHINA STILL RANKS IN THE CATEGORY OF "MIDDLE-LOW" INCOME COUNTRY.
ARTIC > back in the 1960's, the UNO set USD 3000 as being a "MODERNIZED COUNTRY", the equivalent of US$8000-10,000 today.
THE CIA was tracking a person of interest known as "The Nigerian" - who was in fact airline bomb suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab - as early as August, CBS News reports.
The connection between "The Nigerian" and Mr Abdulmutallab was not made when the 23-year-old's father contacted the US embassy in Nigeria in November to warn them of his son's radicalisation.
CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano said the intelligence agency did not have Mr Abdulmutallab's name until November.
And they did not know he was "The Nigerian" until after his attempt to blow up Northwest Airlines Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day.
"In November, we worked with the embassy to ensure he was in the Government's terrorist database-including mention of his possible extremist connections in Yemen," Mr Gimigliano said.
"We also forwarded key biographical information about him to the National Counter-terrorism Center.
"This agency, like others in our Government, is reviewing all data to which it had access - not just what we ourselves may have collected - to determine if more could have been done to stop Abdulmutallab."
Of course more could have been done. More always could have been done. The question is whether it is realistic to expect that more would be done. If yes, practices need to change. If no, then let's just be grateful we got lucky this time.
US authorities yesterday displayed the underwear Mr Abdulmutallab was wearing on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on Christmas Day.
Explosives had been sewn into them.
As the plane approached Detroit the material ignited, shooting 1.8m flames up the cabin wall.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which has claimed the attack, said the device failed because of a "faulty detonator".
Question: was the faulty detonator the fault of poor bomb making by the Al Qaeda bomb-making expert, or was young Mr. Abdulmutallab a poor choice to detonate the bomb?
#1
A shining example of the seam in our society these scumbags operate in. The CIA can't go after every nutjob in the world. They can't go after him until they get him acting or planning, not shooting his mouth. Nigeria's population is half full of people that hate America. Every 20something kid there wants to cap an american or be one. There are 500,000 people on that watch list they put him on.
The police can't do anything until there is a crime. They have no jurisdiction in Nigeria. I guess we could deny all visa's from Nigeria, guess we should have done that 40 years ago!
The issue is how do we find track, decide relevance, and then act? When our nation is prepared to do this correctly we can get to most of these. Until then we will continue to swat flies.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
12/29/2009 21:49 Comments ||
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#2
"...our Government, is reviewing all data to which it had access - not just what we ourselves may have collected - to determine if more could have been done to stop Abdulmutallab."
What else could they possibly do? Maybe not give a visa to someone who is suspected to be a terrorist by the CIA if the person has been reported by his father to western authorities as having radical Islamist beliefs. No that is not sufficient, they have not been convicted of any crime. Who are we to be the determiner of who is or is not a terrorist?
[Dawn] President Asif Ali Zardari has condemned the Karachi terrorist attack and has appealed for calm and restraint and urging the people of Karachi not to be provoked.
President said that the fanatics wanted to rip up frenzy to achieve their ulterior designs and said that a deliberate attempt seems to be afoot to turn the fight against militants into a sectarian clash and make the people fight one another.
He said these are challenging times and we have to guard against such attempts by using force against extremists on the one hand and exhibiting wisdom and patience on the other.--
Posted by: Fred ||
12/29/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
DAILY TIMES.PK > [Estimated] RS$30-35.0BILYUHN GOES UP IN SMOKE AS RIOTS ERUPT AFTER BLAST [80% = roughly 3000 Shops set on fire]. PAK GOVT-POLITICOS criticized for not having enuff Firefighters + general Govt. negligence.
* SAME > POST-ATTACK VIOLENCE WAS PRE-PLANNED, SAYS MALIK | KARACHI BLAST AN ATTACK ON COUNTRY'S ECONOMY; + ZARDARI, GILANI CALL FOR RESTRAINT AND CALM.
[Dawn] North Korea may have constructed a plant to manufacture a gas needed for uranium enrichment in a development that would indicate that Pyongyang had opened a second way to build nuclear weapons as early as the 1990s, The Washington Post reported late Sunday.
Citing a previously unpublicized account by Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan's atomic bomb program, the newspaper said North Korea may have been enriching uranium on a small scale by 2002, with maybe 3,000 or even more centrifuges.
Pakistan helped North Korea with vital machinery, drawings and technical advice for at least six years, the report said.
The Post said Khan's account could not be independently corroborated. But one US intelligence official and a US diplomat said his information adds to their suspicions that North Korea has long pursued the enrichment of uranium in addition to making plutonium for bombs.
It also may help explain Pyongyang's assertion in September that it is in the final stages of such enrichment, the paper noted.
Khan described his dealings with the country in official documents and in correspondence with a former British journalist, Simon Henderson, who said he thinks an accurate understanding of Pakistan's nuclear history is relevant for US policymaking, the report pointed out.
The Post independently verified that the documents were produced by Khan.
Khan's account of the pilot plant depicts relations between the two countries' scientists as exceptionally close for nearly a decade, the paper said.
Khan says, for example, that during a visit to North Korea in 1999, he toured a mountain tunnel, according to the report. There his hosts showed him boxes containing components of three finished nuclear warheads, which he was told could be assembled for use atop missiles within an hour.
His visit occurred seven years before the country's first detonation, prompting some current and former US officials to say that Khan's account, if correct, suggests North Korea's achievements were more advanced than previously known, and that the country may have more sophisticated weapons, or a larger number, than earlier estimated, The Post said.
But Siegfried Hecker, a former Los Alamos National Laboratory director who was allowed to see some North Korean plutonium during a visit to its nuclear facilities in January 2004, said after hearing Khan's description of the trip he remains unconvinced that the country in 1999 had enough fissile material on hand to make such weapons.
The Post quotes Hecker as saying that Khan may have tried to get himself "off the hook" by implying that his own illicit technical assistance to Pyongyang was irrelevant because "these guys already had nuclear weapons."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/29/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > PAKISTANI SCIENTIST [Dr. Qadeer Khan]DEPICTED MORE ADVANCED NUCLEAR PROGRAM FOR NORTH KOREA.
IMO read, NOKOR = 2012 IRAN = "NUC ENERGY" is just a PCorrect-Deniable "Gateway" for NEAR-TERM OR EVENTUAL DEV OF NUCWEAPONS???
From AP via Haaretz
More than 400 members of an international aid convoy to Gaza declared a hunger strike on Sunday to protest Egypt's refusal to allow them entry into the Hamas-ruled territory via the Red Sea.
Alice Howard, a spokeswoman for British-based Viva Palestina, said the group was consuming only liquids, as it remained stranded in the Red Sea port of Aqaba.
Led by British MP George Galloway, they had hoped to enter Gaza on Sunday, the first anniversary of Israel's offensive against Hamas in the coastal strip, Operation Cast lead.
Egypt refused to let the group enter through the Red Sea. It says they should use a Mediterranean route closer to the Gaza border. where they could use a tunnel
Posted by: lord garth ||
12/29/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Alice Howard, a spokeswoman for British-based Viva Palestina, said the group was consuming only liquids, as it remained stranded in the Red Sea port of Aqaba.
In the Red Sea port of Eilat, bar owners were reporting a brisk sale of ice, blenders, techno cd's, Georgian red wines, Long Island Ice Tea ingredients, protein Power Shake ingredients, soy milk and fresh fruit.
Meanwhile, Aqaba authorities are pressuring the Viva Palestina to lower the noise level after 3 a.m., as it's keeping their goats from producing milk.
#2
Give it a few more days. The Egyptians arent going to let them in. And they are just cooking out there in the lack of breeze and its getting late. Its only a matter of time and the pharmaceuticals are baking in the truck.
Give 'em enough cheap beer to hang themselves.
Enjoy it while it lasts. It cant get any better than the Global thingy Farce in Copenhagen.That was hard to top. Pink spandex and kumbaya, y'all.
Go Galloway. And when you wake up in the morning it will all be just like it was a little ways down the road from Crawford, Texas.
#4
Galloway could go on Biggest Loser with Al Sharpton.
Unfair to Rev. Sharpton who, for all his myriad faults, actually has one or two scruples left (like NOT pretending to be a cat or wearing a red leotard on national TV).
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
12/29/2009 9:08 Comments ||
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#5
George Galloway -- Britian's Benny Hill for the new millenia.
Posted by: regular joe ||
12/29/2009 12:53 Comments ||
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#6
what is this,the bastard pro iszrahell squaters association? fuck you scum that convoy is carring medical aid you bastards scum
#7
*kiss* hello, ignorant scum. Medical aid, as in.... ammo for the widows and deformed inbred infants fund?
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/29/2009 20:15 Comments ||
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#8
Clearly poor Mr. CraiheRa45's school in Los Angeles neglected to teach him the basics of writing, like the first word of a sentence begins with a capital letter, and the sentence ends with either a period, a question mark or an exclamation point. On the rhetoric side, each repetition of a one-word insult reduces its impact by suggesting the writer has an exceedingly limited vocabulary, and an intelligence level to match. This was, of course, confirmed by the vicious inanity of the gentleman's post. I suggest he be sent back to repeat second grade, after which we can address his remaining learning deficiencies.
[Ma'an] Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, head of the Supreme Islamic Committee in Jerusalem, called on Monday for the allocation of 500 million US dollars to support health, education, and housing projects in the city.
Speaking at the Arab Parliament Union in Cairo, Sabri suggested establishing a housing fund for newlyweds in Jerusalem.
In an interview with Ma'an, Ekrima said the meeting tackled a number of issues, including violence at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, over which he urged the international community to do a better job protecting holy sites from Israeli extremists.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/29/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
He must be feeling left out. All of the other sheikhs have bigger Swiss bank accounts...
A representative of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday opposition leaders were "enemies of God" who should be executed under the country's sharia law.
The statement by cleric Abbas Vaez-Tabasi coincided with rallies by tens of thousands of government supporters calling for opposition leaders to be punished for fomenting unrest after June's disputed presidential election, state media said.
"Those who are behind the current sedition in the country ... are mohareb (enemies of God) and the law is very clear about punishment of a mohareb," the representative of Khamenei, who possesses ultimate authority in Iran, said on state television.
Under Iran's Islamic sharia law the sentence for "mohareb" is execution.
Posted by: ed ||
12/29/2009 17:50 ||
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#1
and, of course, the UN, EU, etc. have invoked No-Fly rules against the Iranian regime? No? Make them stay home and decorate the streetlights of Tehran and Qom
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/29/2009 19:00 Comments ||
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#2
Looks like they've chosen the Ceausescu exit strategy when the time comes.
Iranian authorities continued arresting hundreds of opposition members and accused the United States and Britain on Tuesday of orchestrating the violent demonstrations that rocked the capital and other cities on Sunday. The sister of Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi was detained on Monday night...Iranian authorities arrested at least a dozen opposition figures on Monday, including former Foreign Minister Ibrahim Yazdi, the human rights activist Emad Baghi and three top aides to the former presidential candidate Mir Hussein Moussavi, Iranian news sites reported.
All told, more than 1,500 people have been arrested nationwide since Sunday, including 1,110 in Tehran and 400 in the central Iranian city of Isfahan, the pro-opposition Jaras Web site reported.A 27-year-old journalist who was reporting on the street clashes on Sunday was reported missing. The reporter, Redha al-Basha, who was working for Dubai TV, has not been heard from, according to a statement issued by Dubai TV. Mr. Basha was last seen surrounded by security forces in Tehran, witnesses said.
The group Human Rights Activists in Iran said that the 1,100 people arrested in Tehran were being held in Evin Prison, the Gooya Web site reported.
Among those arrested in Isfahan was the son of a senior cleric, Ayatollah Jalaleddin Taheri. Ayatollah Taheri is the former Isfahan representative of Irans supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and his son Muhammad is married to the granddaughter of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the father of Irans 1979 revolution.
Ayatollah Taheri tried last week to lead a memorial service for the dissident cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, who died Dec. 20. The arrest of his son was viewed as an effort by the authorities to pressure the ayatollah.
Posted by: lord garth ||
12/29/2009 15:10 ||
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#1
Expect a spiral.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
12/29/2009 19:26 Comments ||
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Iran Ayatollah: 'I Am Convinced that the Regime Will Collapse'
Iranian Regime Critic Ayatollah Kadivar he is a visiting professor at Duke U. - a 'Islam is against Terrorism and for women's rights' kind of guy
on the Future of the Opposition Movement
SPIEGEL: Do you expect a further escalation of state repression? Will the government dare to arrest the opposition politicians Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi?
Kadivar: You cannot rule out the possibility; at the same time, the rulers also fear any kind of escalation -- and rightly so. The next level could be open rebellion. But things have not gotten that far yet. There is still a chance for a peaceful reform of the state.
SPIEGEL: Really? You don't think that Iran has already long been on the path to becoming a religiously tinged military dictatorship?
Kadivar: You are right that the Shiite theocracy in its present form has failed -- a fact that few have expressed as clearly as my teacher in the last few months. Incidentally, when Grand Ayatollah Montazeri had his falling out with Khomeini, three months before the supreme religious leader's death in 1989, he said: This state is so different from the one we dreamed of and worked to create. Still, it is not Islam which has failed, but rather a particular interpretation of Islam. I also want to express that there hasn't been a revolution in Iran yet. The opposition is becoming increasingly clear in the formulation of its objectives and more daring. Still, we need to remain patient. I do not know when, exactly, but I am convinced that the regime will collapse.
SPIEGEL: Can the West do anything to support a democratic reform process?
Kadivar: The tightening of sanctions is not the right path ahead. They affect the people more than the government. A military attack is something I categorically reject. Perhaps Western countries should stop treating Ahmadinejad's government as the legitimate government of Iran. Otherwise, I think the reforms must be pushed forward from inside the country.
Posted by: lord garth ||
12/29/2009 10:05 ||
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A senior Iranian commander has condemned sporadic anti-government protests in the Iranian capital of Tehran as "disgraceful" and "reproachable."
Protestors on Tuesday took to some central and downtown streets during ceremonies commemorating the 7th century martyrdom of Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) grandson, Imam Hussein (PBUH), known as Ashura.
Brigadier-General Masoud Jazayeri, the deputy commander of Iran's armed forces, on Monday defined the "actions of a group of hooligans on such days of mourning" as another "low act" incomparable to anything seen before.
He described the "small group of vandals" as marginal compared to "millions of real Ashura mourners."
Jazayeri also called on the judiciary to effectively deal with "the unbelievers and apostates" who had staged the riots in the capital.
At least eight people lost their lives during the Sunday riots which saw protesters chanting slogans against top Iranian government officials.
Confirming four of the deaths, Iran's deputy police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan said one of the deceased fell from a bridge, two others were hit by cars while one other victim was shot dead by an unknown assailant.
Police identified the person who was shot dead by unknown assailants as Seyyed Ali Mousavi.
Police say the force was not involved in the killings, adding that the incidents are under investigation.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/29/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
ION WORLD NEWS > KHALEEJ TIMES OP-ED > BIGGEST THREAT TO TEHRAN IS NOT FROM THE OPPOSITION. Its Kurdish, Baloch, Azeri, + Arab etc. separatists aggressively, curr comprising approxi 44% of Iran's population, colluding and working together.
How COULD this have happened? We were just minding our own business and playing like quiet Church-mice and then all these "low" demonstrations ( for some reason).
[Iran Press TV Latest] The Iranian Foreign Ministry says it will summon the British ambassador to Tehran over London's reaction to the unrest in the capital on Sunday.
Tehran will summon British Ambassador Simon Lawrence Gass to formally protest the "meddling" remarks made by British officials, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast told Press TV on Monday.
Mehman-Parast said British Foreign Secretary David Miliband's comments were hasty and undiplomatic.
On Monday, Miliband hailed the "great courage" of opposition supporters who took part in illegal protests in Tehran one day earlier, during which several people were killed and public property was damaged.
In a statement issued in London, Miliband condemned the crackdown on the protesters, saying it was "particularly disturbing" since it happened during the holiest event for Shia Muslims, Ashura, which is the anniversary of the martyrdom of the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), Imam Hussein (PBUH).
At least eight people were killed in clashes between security forces and demonstrators that broke out during the protests, according to the Tehran police headquarters.
The police also said that the police forces neither used violence nor fired a single bullet on Sunday.
However, Miliband blamed the Islamic Republic for the deaths, saying they were "yet another reminder of how the Iranian regime deals with protest."
Mehman-Parast said that the British have proven that they believe they will benefit from sowing discord among Iranians.
The Foreign Ministry spokesman also advised British officials to rethink their policy toward Iran.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/29/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
I don't know if I'd accept the invite- they might try to make him a guest of the Ayatollah for a year or two.
#3
ION HOTAIR > ISRAEL: IRAN WILL HAVE NUCLEAR WEAPONS BY 2011 [methods, produc techs down-pat in 2010, first Nucbomb in 2011].
* 2012 > IRAN declares itself a NUCWEAPS STATE.
* 2013 > RADICAL ISLAM DECLARES US = US-ALLIES HAVE LOST THE WOT, vee future NUKULAAR MILITANCY-TERROR [incl. other strategic WMDS = Terror Techs]. SURRENDER, OR ELSE???
#4
You know, Joseph, when someone is actually stupid enough to openly threaten a man who does do terminal things to flesh and bones by his very nature...its a VERY bad idea to threaten a man like that. Threatening people in general is a bad idea. Its better to not give any tip-offs, no warnings. Its better just to do it and then lean on it.
Iran will never live to threaten anyone with the bomb. The instant they say they have it, they wont get any warning from the bad boys who actually have used the damn things in the past.
It isnt a game. And the men who do nukes for a living are not nice people under specific circumstances. They are a mean priesthood of people who shave their heads and carry keys around their necks. You have to understand they will do their job. And your little dog, too, as they say.
You want to play nukes? Its a game that some people have played before....and they will do you to a turn if they get the order. Its almost genetic with some people, trust me.
#6
If the man who holds the football doesn't have the balls then there will be no order.
Posted by: Jame Retief ||
12/29/2009 9:25 Comments ||
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#7
Dunno for sure but my guess is Netanyahu has balls. From what I've seen of him in a very few TV interviews, he gives the impression of being a very serious man. He seems to understand that his life and the lives of people he loves are at stake. I wouldn't mess with him.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
12/29/2009 11:58 Comments ||
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#8
I'm with Abu. Bibi has the spine of previous wartime (not Olmert!) leaders to realize they aren't allowed mistakes of "generosity of intent". I suspect the Ambassador retreat was a "here's what we say when the shit goes down", with the fatalistic realization Obama, the EU, et al, won't do JACK until the Israelis have to do it themselves. Go bless the Israelis!
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/29/2009 18:59 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
According to press reports, 'Umar Faruq 'Abd Al-Muttalib, the Nigerian man who attempted to blow up Northwest Airlines flight 253 on Christmas Day, received the explosives from a bomb expert affiliated with Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
[Dawn] President Asif Ali Zardari has condemned the Karachi terrorist attack and has appealed for calm and restraint and urging the people of Karachi not to be provoked. 
[Dawn] North Korea may have constructed a plant to manufacture a gas needed for uranium enrichment in a development that would indicate that Pyongyang had opened a second way to build nuclear weapons as early as the 1990s, The Washington Post reported late Sunday.
[Ma'an] Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, head of the Supreme Islamic Committee in Jerusalem, called on Monday for the allocation of 500 million US dollars to support health, education, and housing projects in the city. 
A senior Iranian commander has condemned sporadic anti-government protests in the Iranian capital of Tehran as "disgraceful" and "reproachable." 
[Iran Press TV Latest] The Iranian Foreign Ministry says it will summon the British ambassador to Tehran over London's reaction to the unrest in the capital on Sunday. 
