Alicia had a question or two about this AP lede...
October 17, 2002
Yemen Acknowledges Terror Attack  9:29 a.m. ET
SAN'A, Yemen (AP) -- Confirming French and U.S. findings, Yemen has announced that an Oct. 6 blast on a frenchy oil tanker was caused by an explosives-laden boat that rammed the vessel near a Yemeni port.
I wish to assure all Rantburg readers that I do not now, nor have I ever, worked for the Associated Press...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
10/17/2002 10:24 am ||
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They are simply trying to differentiate themselves from Rooters, successfully if they keep this up.
Posted by: A. Pulitzer ||
10/17/2002 11:36 Comments ||
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#2
Their loss!
Posted by: Kathy K ||
10/17/2002 18:48 Comments ||
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#3
It could have reported it as a froggy tanker.
Posted by: Jack ||
10/18/2002 5:00 Comments ||
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Fighting erupted Wednesday in the troubled eastern province of Khost when militiamen backing renegade warlord Bacha Khan Zadran attacked several checkpoints manned by men loyal to Gov. Hakim Taniwal, according to Taniwal's spokesman, Mohammad Khan Gorbuz. The fighting at Nadir Shahkot district, about 10 miles west of Khost town, was continuing Thursday. Taniwal's forces, numbering 800, had surrounded Zadran's positions in Nadir Shahkot. Advancing Thursday, they found three bodies of Zadran's fighters. Damn. Only three? Guess every little bit helps. I'll sure be glad when Zadran and his immediate family are decomposing. So will Karzai. He'll probably be gladder than I am, for that matter...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
10/17/2002 10:24 am ||
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Kuwaiti authorities arrested a teenager Thursday who had explosives in his car near a shopping center and residential high-rise where some U.S. military personnel live just outside Kuwait City. A 17-year-old male was arrested near the Alia and Ghalia towers in Fintas, about 15 miles south of Kuwait City, an Interior Ministry official said. Several U.S. military personnel live in the building. "When I grow up, I wanna be just like Osama bin Laden and go to Afghanistan and wage war against the infidels and beat women. Do ya think they'll let me beat women? Can I beat Fatimah?"
"Mahmoud, leave your sister alone. She didn't do anything to you."
"C'n I have some virgins? Can I? Can I? Huh? Ple-e-e-e-ase, c'n I have some virgins?"
The youth had 10 bottles filled with gasoline, each with a cloth fuse, in his car, and told police he had received orders from Pakistan over the Internet to place the explosives in the towers. However, the youth apparently reported the suspicious vehicle himself, waited in the area and, when approached by police, admitted to driving the car containing the explosives. So the kid's not actually a jihadi, he's a dimbulb, who wanted to get caught doing jihadi stuff. "Hmmph! They didn't pick me for the lacrosse team at school. I'll show them...!"
The teen was arrested, he said. The car belonged to the teen's father, according to the Kuwait News Agency. "Dad, c'n I use the car to bomb infidels?"
"You'd better have it back here by 9. And if there's one bullet hole in it, you're gonna get it!"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
10/17/2002 11:51 am ||
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Dad: "Okay, son, but make sure you put some gas in it!"
North Korea has told the United States it has a secret nuclear weapons program in violation of an agreement signed with the Clinton administration. North Korea also told U.S. diplomats it no longer beholden to the anti-nuclear agreement. The disclosure, which stunned senior administration officials, is certain to chill U.S.-North Korean relations. You might say that...
President Bush had labeled the country part of the "axis of evil" â along with Iraq and Iran â but hopes were raised that the reclusive nation wanted to build international ties when Bush sent Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly to Pyongyang for security talks. Kelly visited North Korea on Oct. 3-5 and demanded that the communist state address global concerns about its nuclear and other weapons programs. In response, the Pyongyang government accused Bush's special envoy of making "threatening remarks." North Korea's a lot like Iran, in that there appear to be two factions, both acting independently of each other. One tries to build some sort of normal relations with the rest of the world, and the other commutes from Lalaland in a lunar lander. Guess which faction Kelly was talking to?
Under a 1994 agreement with the United States, North Korea promised to give up its nuclear weapons program, and it promised to allow inspections to verify that it did not have the material needed to construct such weapons. But it has yet to allow the inspections, drawing criticism from the Bush administration. So seal them off and let them eat nukes. It sure as hell doesn't make any sense to feed them. And somebody should make a note to pee on Clinton's leg.
Thanks to Brian for the reminder on this one. I was going to blog it last night, from FoxNews. This piece has a little more detail...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
10/17/2002 10:24 am ||
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the amazing thing is how the Clinton apologists/Bush haters are spinning this already...the UPI Lede from Wash Times said: "Bush Tough Talk Backires" (!) this began in the 80's and it's W's fault? right....
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/17/2002 15:16 Comments ||
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What will happen to Kim Dae Jung's "Sunshine" policy? Appeasement was a disease that spread widely through out the world during the '90's. Thanks Jimmy Carter.
Posted by: Tokyo Taro ||
10/18/2002 2:04 Comments ||
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I love it. What does this say about the credibility of the Nobel peace prize committee? Carter mediated this arrangement. But even scarier, what does this say about the credibility of the other Nobel awards? Like in Medicince and Physics?
Posted by: Jack ||
10/18/2002 5:07 Comments ||
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I think the list of Nobel peace laureates speaks for itself (nobel.se/peace/laureates/index.html).No prize for Churchill, FDR or Reagan, but they did give one to Gorby just before he sent tanks to run over peaceful demonstrators in Estonia.
Posted by: El Id ||
10/18/2002 9:49 Comments ||
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Police on Thursday released a teenager who had been held for questioning about whether he helped a 19-year-old college student bomb a crowded mall, killing seven. Investigators said they believe Petri Gerdt, a chemical engineering student, acted alone in the Oct. 11 explosion that also injured 80, but a motive remains a mystery. Gerdt died in the blast. The "motive," I'd guess, was pursuit of his hobby, coupled with clumsiness. But since all the pieces of him they've found are dead, I guess we'll never know for sure...
The 17-year-old, whose identity wasn't released, was arrested by police Tuesday on preliminary charges of assisting in a grievous act of destruction. Prosecutors released him as the deadline for the filing of formal charges passed. Perhaps he'll now move on to another, less socially harmful hobby...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
10/17/2002 11:56 am ||
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They either have no idea what to do next or they're trying to convince Mr Shooter that they're totally befuddled. I hope it's the latter, suspect that it's the former. This is the equivalent of helpfully suggesting you bend over real far and kiss your ass g'bye...
#8
Don't they already? Let's face it flying bullets in parts of DC is not odd. Last time I was there, there was a gun battle two streets from my hotel.
What next, everyone should get hammered before venturing out?
Posted by: Andrew Ian Dodge ||
10/18/2002 8:20 Comments ||
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The FBI plans to question al Qaeda prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere to find out if they know anything that could link the Psycho Sniper to Islamic terrorists. The officials don't expect to get any answers - but believe the prisoners will talk to fellow inmates about the attacks later. And the interrogators at the base will be listening in on their conversations. "Bob, I'm stymied in this psycho killer case."
"Me, too, Albert."
"Let's go question some jihadis."
"Sounds good."
Thanks to Steve for this one... Wish I hadn't seen it, though.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
10/17/2002 01:14 pm ||
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Israeli tanks fired artillery shells and machine guns after coming under attack by anti-tank missiles, killing five Palestinians and wounding more than 40 in the southern Gaza Strip. The dead Palestinians included two men, two women and a girl, said Dr. Ali Musa, head of Rafah Hospital. Many of the Palestinians were hit by tank fire while inside their homes. The clash erupted as Israeli troops were working on a new lookout tower at a military base in the Gaza town of Rafah, on the border with Egypt. Palestinian militants fired anti-tank missiles at the Israeli forces, who then returned fire, said Lt. Col. Olivier Rafowicz, an Israeli military spokesman. "Terrorists in the Rafah area operate amid the civilians," he said. Palestinians accuse Israeli soldiers of firing indiscriminately and frequently hitting civilians. "Come with Daddy, honey. You can help set up the antitank missile..."
Bastards.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
10/17/2002 10:24 am ||
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Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo, one of the most visible Palestinian leaders, said Thursday he would not be part of a new government currently being formed by Palestinian President-for-life leader Yasser Arafat (1929-2002?). "For personal reasons, I don't wish to be part of the upcoming Palestinian government. I have informed President Arafat of my decision this morning," Abed Rabbo told The Associated Press. Arafat has come under intense pressure from his Fatah movement to completely overhaul his Cabinet, which includes members who have been his close associates for decades. The new Cabinet is expected to be announced Saturday or Sunday, said another Palestinian spokesman, Nabil Abu Rdeneh. "Yes, thank you. I deeply appreciate this opportunity to step down from my position with the gummint before gunnies come by and shoot up my house or Hamas kills me in the streets."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
10/17/2002 10:24 am ||
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Indonesian intelligence officials believe a group of seven foreigners, led by a Yemeni and Malaysian, masterminded and carried out the Bali bombings which killed at least 188 people. The group, which entered the country through Semarang, the main city in Central Java, on Oct 10, also included a European and two with links to a series of bombings in the Philippines. The paper said the foreign group is believed to have prepared the explosives in Semarang. The Jakarta Post added that among the clues obtained by the intelligence services were telephone calls made to the Middle East from a house in Surakarta and another Central Java city some. Wonder where in the Middle East that might be? Probably not Soddy Arabia, since that would leave to clear a trail. Probably the UAE. An outgoing call goes to a number. Unless it was a pay phone, the number resides at an address, and it's owned (actually leased) by someone. The someone is probably back in Riyadh or Khobar by now, so he won't really have any 'splainin' to do, but it'll be nice for the Feds and the Aussies to know who he is, in case he ever ventures out of his mosque again... Surakarta is one of the main bases of hardline Muslim groups which had in the past threatened to go after US tourists in local hotels following US strikes on Afghanistan last year. The city is also near the Ngruki Muslim boarding school led by Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, believed to be the spiritual leader of the Jemaah Islamiah in Malaysia and Singapore which has been accused by both countries of planning violence in the region. But Abu sez it wudn't him, it was them damned infidels, who dunnit themselves. Not that he would have any reason to lie, mind you...
Thanks to Steve for the link...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
10/17/2002 10:24 am ||
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"Asked if there was anything he wanted to say to families who lost relatives in the bomb blast, [Abu Bakar Bashir] said: "My message to the families is please convert to Islam as soon as possible."
The spiritual leader of an Islamic militant group that reports have linked to the Bali nightclub bombings has been named a suspect in a series of deadly church bombings across Indonesia in 2000. Deputy National Police Spokesman Brig Gen. Edward Aritonang told The Associated Press that Abu Bakar Bashir, the spiritual head of the Jemaah Islamiyah group, would be summoned to appear for questioning Saturday. "Abu, was that you?"
"Nope. Wudn't me."
"Hokay. See ya."
Although Jemaah Islamiyah has been linked in speculation to the bombings last weekend on Bali island that left nearly 200 dead, Bashir has denied any connection to the attacks. The United States and other countries have called on Indonesian authorities to arrest Bashir. Aritonang said Bashir had not been named a suspect in the Bali bombings but instead in a series of attacks on churches on Christmas eve 2000. The church bombings in Jakarta and nine other cities and towns killed 19 people and injured dozens. "Hey, I've got a great idea. Let's kill infidels in church, on their holiest day!"
"Gosh, Abu! What a great idea! That way, we can get lotsa women and children!"
"Yeah. We're in the worlds largest Muslim country. Nobody's gonna care a rat's patootie about them."
"Gosh. You sure are holy, Abu. Can I touch your turban?"
Aritonang said police decided to declare Bashir a suspect in the church bombings after Indonesian investigators returned from the United States, where they had questioned Omar Al-Faruq, a suspected al-Qaida Southeast Asian operative. Al-Faruq was arrested in Indonesia in June and handed over to U.S. authorities. For some reason, he didn't say an awful lot when he was in Indonesian custody...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
10/17/2002 11:37 am ||
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Two bombs exploded at midday Thursday in downtown Zamboanga in the southern Philippines, killing six people and injuring at least 144 others. Police also blew up five suspicious packages and were checking whether they contained bombs that failed to detonate. If they'd gone off, that would have been a fairly worthwhile contribution to the current Terror Machine counteroffensive...
There was no claim of responsibility for the attacks, but a military spokesman said the initial suspect in the bombings was the Muslim guerrilla group Abu Sayyaf. The group has previously threatened attacks in retaliation for an ongoing military offensive against it. Lt. Col. Danilo Servando also said there were similarities between Thursday's bombings and an Oct. 2 explosion in Zamboanga which killed four people, including an American Green Beret. Officials blamed the earlier blast on Abu Sayyaf. TNT apparently was used in both attacks. Guess C4's too expensive for them...
Ten people, including two foreigners, were brought in for questioning after Thursday's explosions, police said. I love how these "foreigners" keep popping up in these incidents. For some reasons they're never Samoans, Greenlanders, or Argentines. Somebody used the phrase "terror tourists" the other day â I think I'll appropriate that term, since it's so exquisitely descriptive.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
10/17/2002 12:07 pm ||
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Well, Samoans, Greenlanders, and a host of other nationalities... but don't forget about the Argentinian bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires in 1994, which killed 86 people and injured 300. Wonder if Binny had his fingerprints on that one... early in his career, so to speak!
#2
I thought that it was Iranians in the B.A. attack
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/17/2002 15:23 Comments ||
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"Middle Eastern guerrillas backed by Iran" were blamed but Iran denied involvement. So who's to know? With the benefit of hindsite it's hard to deny that it matches the Al Qaeda modus operandi!
#4
It was widely regarded as a Hezbollah operation, which is strengthend by the large Lebanese population in northern Argentina and neighbouring countries. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/americas/285786.stm
Posted by: Paul ||
10/17/2002 18:28 Comments ||
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I was there in BA in 1994 driving in to city center from Ezeiza airport when I looked out the window of the taxi and saw the smoke rising. Ironically, Menem was President and he is from immigrant Syrians. But this was the second bombing in the last few years. The first was the Israeli embassy, only 1 block from where I lived. All of this was a precursor to what we are seeing now - no one is immune - even Saudi (Khobar Towers).
Posted by: Jack ||
10/18/2002 5:20 Comments ||
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Like he needs flak now... But wait! What flak might that be? How about...
He admitted to parliament on Wednesday that the government had received an intelligence report in September of a rising terrorist threat in Indonesia, and that the report mentioned Bali. But the report was not specific to Bali, he said. 'Nothing was received that could be interpreted as a warning of the bombing that took place,' Mr Howard told Sydney radio 2GB earlier on Thursday morning.
Damn those Merkins! They didn't warn him! They just... just... they just don't care!
Make up your daggone mind â if Washington ignored it, what was it they told Jakarta? And why didn't Jakarta tell Howard, so he could rush to Bali and personally escort all the Aussies there back home?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
10/17/2002 02:15 pm ||
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Malaysia yesterday detained five members of Jemaah Islamiah (JI). Police say that there was no evidence linking the five with the attack in Indonesia but one of them has ties with the Al-Qaeda network. Tan Sri Norian Mai, the country's top police officer, made it clear the arrests were the result of investigations under way before the Bali attack. Meaning the Malays lost patience with this nonsense a while ago...
Of particular interest to security officials here is self-employed Nik Abdul Rahman Mustapha. While studying in a religious school in Pakistan, he travelled to Afghanistan, where he received military training and met Osama bin Laden on several occasions. The Straits Times understands that he also took a pledge of loyalty, promising to do everything possible for the terrorist leader, failing which his family would have to bear the consequences. "If I don't do every thing you tell me, boss, go ahead and kill my Mom." That's a religion of peace!
Another frequent visitor to Afghanistan was Shaari Mustapha, a Karachi University graduate who worked in a madrasah in Kelantan as a religious teacher. He recruited students there to study in Pakistan and urged them to visit camps in Afghanistan. Get 'em while they're young and impressionable, and you keep them until they explode...
Police believe two other detainees - Abdul Murad Sudin and Azahar Abdul Samad - headed terror cells in Perak and Pahang. The fifth member detained is Bakkre Mahmud, a civil engineer who recently returned from Mindanao in the Philippines. He's just getting started, I guess. I have a hard time understanding how engineers â theoretically familiar with cause and effect â can become involved with Islamist mumbo-jumbo.
The arrests mean Malaysia is now holding nearly 70 suspected militants under its Internal Security Act. Tan Sri Norian said that operations to track down other JI members would continue, with emphasis being placed on eight senior leaders of the group who are believed to have skipped escaped to either Indonesia or southern Thailand. Among them is Dr Azahari Husin, an explosives expert. 'The ones with rewards on their heads are the leaders and we have not managed to track them down yet. We will continue until we are satisfied that this group no longer poses a threat to our country,' Tan Sri Norian said, referring to the RM50,000 (S$24,000) reward for any information leading to their capture. With something like half the effort, Indonesia could have three times that many in half the time. They're just afraid they're going to get all the Bad Boys in town swarming the streets, rolling their eyes and shaking guns. That's a tough situation â one can almost sympathize. But it's a "pay me now, pay me later" situation. They can't wish their way out of it.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
10/17/2002 08:37 pm ||
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I suspect many Indonesians remember the wave of killings of "communists" in 1965 which convulsed their country. Even the usually-gentle Balinese pitched in with notable enthusiasm. Perhaps they're a bit hesitant about stirring up this level of animosity within the country.
#2
It's weird just how many engineers seem atracted to radical Islam, in Egypt the Muslim Brotherhood is sometimes referred to as the Engineers Brotherhood (Engineer rhymes with Muslim in Arabic).
Posted by: Paul ||
10/18/2002 4:06 Comments ||
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Engineers do not equal poverty do they? Seems to shoot that bon mot of the left down. Also, I think bin Laden subscribes to the Charlie Colson school of winning friends and influencing people: "If you have them by the balls their hearts and minds will follow".
Posted by: Jack ||
10/18/2002 5:15 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.
