Slightly EFR
A suspected car bomb has killed at least three international peacekeepers and injured another eight in an attack on a bus in the Afghan capital, Kabul. The force of the explosion threw the vehicle off the road, about five kilometres (three miles) east of the city centre near a base used by German and Dutch troops of the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf). A German Defence Ministry spokesman in Berlin confirmed the deaths and said a total of about 30 people had been wounded, including some pedestrians, Reuters reported. US military sources said the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber, who drove a taxi filled with explosives towards the bus then blew it up.
That's 'cause one thing they don't want kept in Kabul is peace...
The peacekeepers, all of whom are believed to have been German, were being driven from the airport to their main camp. Isaf is currently led by Germany and the Netherlands. The BBC's Kylie Morris in Kabul says the road where the explosion occurred is busy and lined with stalls. Some of the casualties are thought to have been seriously wounded and there is a possibility that the number of dead may rise further. Kabul police said up to six people had been killed but Major Sarah Wood, spokeswoman for Isaf, said she could not confirm the death toll. She said an investigation was under way to establish the cause of the explosion.
Hek's boyz finally pulled one off.
British and French Isaf forces blocked the main road to Jalalabad and a German helicopter flew to the scene to deliver medical assistance and to evacuate casualties. Witnesses said they saw bloodstains and shards from windows of the bus on the highway. Our correspondent says it is too early to say who was responsible for the blast, but a local Afghan official has blamed the attack on remnants of al-Qaeda or Taleban. Anti-government forces have been issuing pamphlets calling on Afghans to rid their country of the peacekeeping forces. And suspected Taleban fighters have been stepping up attacks in recent weeks, particularly in the south and east of Afghanistan. Saturday's explosion was the second violent incident involving German peacekeepers in Kabul in recent weeks. On 29 May, a German soldier was killed and another wounded when their vehicle hit a landmine near Kabul. Saturday's attack against the peacekeepers is the deadliest assault on the Isaf force since it arrived in Afghanistan to support the government of Hamid Karzai after the removal of the Taleban.
That's only because most of the other attempts have failed. The Bad Guys actually have a spectacular failure rate...
Despite growing evidence of the regrouping of Taleban fighters near the Pakistani border, there has until now been little disruption to the daily life of Kabul.
Posted by: Bulldog ||
06/07/2003 06:43 am ||
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Three Germans confirmed killed. Reminds us that Afghanistan might fall back into chaos if we don't take stronger steps to prevent it.
#2
Sad. Sincere condoleances to the families of theses brave men; let's hope this will incite stronger reactions against subversive elements on either side of Afghanistan's border, or such attacks will only step up.
#3
Clearly we have more than one true German ally. Let's not let their sacrifice be in vain.
Posted by: Matt ||
06/07/2003 10:35 Comments ||
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Agreed - time for major sweeps and heavy pressure on Pakland. Hot pursuit anyone?
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/07/2003 11:06 Comments ||
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Hot pursuit is a great idea; we'll know how successful it is by how loud the MMA, JI and Qazi complain.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/07/2003 13:44 Comments ||
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4 Germans confirmed dead now. "President Bush called German Chancellor Schroeder to express his condolences for the death of German soldiers in the attack in Afghanistan", said White House spokeswoman Jeanie Mamo. "The president and Chancellor Schroeder reinforced their determination to continue to combat terrorism." Mamo said the call lasted about eight minutes. (SFGate)
Remember that at the G8 meeting Schroeder offered Bush to expand Germany's role in Afghanistan.
#8
Hot pursuit means chaseing the bad guys after an attack.
I say it's time to tell Prev"Shit or get off the pot",give him a week or two to get rolling.If he does not then go into the HWFP"Hell bent for leather"and clean out the roches.
#9
Hot pursuit means chaseing the bad guys after an attack. I say it's time to tell Prev"Shit or get off the pot",give him a week or two to get rolling.If he does not then go into the HWFP"Hell bent for leather"and clean out the roches.
Posted by: Anonymous 6/8/03 8:44:33 AM
Riyadh SPA - An official source at the Ministry of Interior disclosed today that twelve persons have been identified among those people who had committed the three blasts at the residential compounds in Riyadh. This came through intensive investigations and examination of 'DNA' samples which had been extracted from the burnt corpses of the perpetrators found on these sites and after comparing them with the relatives of the suspected perpetrators. The identities of these 12 perpetrators are as follows:
The source noted that investigations are still in progress to identify the others. According to the findings, the authorities discovered, on Saturday two bags that included high intensity explosive materials of R.D.X. These materials were in the form of rectangular molds (132 molds ) that weighed 128.4 kilograms. Investigations and data collection are still in progress.
I'm surprised. There's only one al-Ghamdi on the list. I wonder if they're running out?
Al-Mutairis seem awfully fond of shooting up infidels in Kuwait.
I don't know if he's the same guy or not, but if Khaled Mohammad bin Muslim Al-Arawi Al-Juhani is really and truly Khalid Ibn Muhammad al-Juhani, I think he was the one on videotape giggling and kissing his gun January a year ago. His family said he was nuts. Now they can describe him as hamburger.
I dunno if the fact that we have a Baghdadi and a Kashmiri in the bunch indicates that one's an Iraqi and the other's a Pak or not. I'd make a tentative guess that it does.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 08:17 pm ||
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Khalid Jehani is supposed to Abd Rahim al-Nashiri's successor as al-Qaeda's ops chief in the Gulf. He and another guy were last reported as having left Saudi Arabia (headed back to Iran?) after the Riyadh bombings. Being that high up in the group, I would've figured that he would've been too holy to die on his own ...
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/07/2003 22:24 Comments ||
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Three people died early Friday when an explosion rocked a Yemeni district close to a military base, according to witnesses and security officials. The witnesses, speaking on condition of anonymity, claimed the explosion was caused by a missile that exploded in the Beir Ahmed district of the southern port city of Aden at about 1.00 am local time. Witnesses told The Associated Press that three people walking in the street at the time were killed by the blast. The blast shattered windows in nearby houses and left a deep crater. It was heard across the city, the witnesses said.
Since it's on a military base, there's no telling if it was terrorism or clumsiness. The fact that it happened at 1 in the morning suggests it was Bad Guys.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 12:58 pm ||
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Four Yemenis and a Saudi have been arrested in connection with a foiled terrorist attack against an unidentified foreign target, a Yemeni security official said Thursday. The security official would give no details on the planned terrorist attack or its intended target, except to say that it was foreign. The arrests came as Yemen and Saudi Arabia stepped up cooperation to stem the flow of illegal weapons across their porous desert border. The two countries, assisted by the United States, have stepped up surveillance of the frontier following the deadly May 12 suicide attacks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
And here it is, paying off already. Amazing, how that works.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 12:57 pm ||
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Arab News reported that police arrested a man Wednesday for trying to get through a checkpoint in the holy city of Madinah disguised as a woman. The paper said it was unclear if the man, who was not identified, had anything to do with 19 people wanted in connection with a weapons cache found in Riyadh a week before the deadly bombings on May 12. He and another man, who was driving, were arrested as they tried to enter a public housing area where three terror suspects, all clerics, were arrested last week.
I suppose it was his moustache that gave him away. The location says he's probably a Bad Guy, not just somebody who likes wearing women's underwear...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 12:55 pm ||
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So does the chief Saudi executioneer get a whack at this guy?
Posted by: Douglas De Bono ||
06/07/2003 15:15 Comments ||
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Hmmm, wearing women's clothing? Just where is the chief Saudi executioneer going to whack him? You know, Akbar, you have to be careful what you wish for....
KUWAIT CITY: Kuwaiti authorities recently arrested a group of Kuwaitis for allegedly spying for the ousted Iraqi regime over 13 years after Kuwait's liberation in 1991. Al-Rai Al-Aam quoted security sources as saying the suspects provided the ousted Iraqi regime with information on the country's national security. A team of security officials currently in Iraq revealed the names of the suspects. "The State Security Department had probed the information provided by the team, which revealed the names of Kuwaitis involved in spying for the ousted Iraqi regime," said the sources. "Iraqi documents found by the team mention contacts and meetings between Kuwaiti agents and Iraqi intelligence officers in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon to deliver information on Kuwait's national security."
Dontcha hate it when they find those incriminating documents? They're so hard to refute...
The sources said the information conveyed by the suspects also included classified reports on the Kuwaiti Army, vital installations and the movements of allied forces, HH the Amir, HH the Crown Prince and First Deputy Premier. They added Iraqi intelligence documents found in the southern Iraqi city of Safwan also mentioned the Kuwaiti security fence erected on the country's northern border with Iraq and highlighted the difficulty to penetrate the fence.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 12:50 pm ||
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IRNA - The cousin of Saddam Hussein arrived in Britain Thursday fuelling speculation that he was organising asylum applications for the deposed Iraqi president's two daughters and possibly his wife. Officials at Leeds-Bradford airport in northern England confirmed that Izzidin Mohammad Hassan al-Majid was on board KLM flight from Amsterdam that landed on Thursday morning. His arrival came amid reports that Saddam's two daughters, Raghad and Rana, along with their 10 children, were planning to seek asylum in the UK.
It's only the po' folks who have to seek assylum in Jordan or Turkey or Syria.
"Both women would like to live next to each other in Leeds. That's where I live and they would like to live near me," the Sun newspaper quoted al-Majid saying. He said he believed that the UK government will take them in "because they have always been known to protect people and give them asylum". Al-Majid, who fled Iraq in 1995, claimed that the two daughters would also "definitely need financial help," saying as far as money was concerned "they are in a really bad way."
Guess their truckload of cash didn't make out out, huh?
Earlier this week, Saddam's cousin was reported by the London- based Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat to be making asylum applications and that Britain was the top of their list of possible destination. In response, the British government has appeared to leave the door open for the applications to be granted, saying only the UK is not required to offer asylum to known war criminals or those who have breached the human rights.
I can't recall ever hearing of them being war criminals. I've always thought of them as dynastic breeding stock.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 12:33 pm ||
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Well.....if they are not political asylum seekers they shouldn't need to enter the UK. I don't think that trying to avoid prosecution for crimes or to avoid economic hardship in the homeland is sufficient reason to get at the head of the line for entry into most western countries. Besides, why would they want to live in what the saddamites call "the little satan?" (as opposed to the US - "the great satan.") And the Muslim immigrants I know in the US work pretty hard; but the rulers and the families of rulers seem to be different. What did F.Scott Fitzgerald write, "the very rich are different from the rest of us."
PARIS - A Moroccan detained in France on suspicion of having links to the group that carried out the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States was planning a new attack on a tourism complex in the French Indian Ocean territory of Reunion, a judicial source said Thursday. Karim Mehdi, 34, was arrested by the DST intelligence services at Paris's Charles de Gaulle Airport on Sunday while he in transit on a flight from Germany to Reunion. The following day, Christian Ganczarski, a 36-year-old German who was close to Mehdi, was arrested at the same airport. Mehdi admitted to investigators that he was going to Reunion to plan an attack on a resort on the island, a popular tourist destination.
After being held for the maximum four days without charge permitted under French law, he was taken before a top anti-terrorist prosecutor late on Thursday. The judge, Jean-Louis Bruguiere, charged him with being part of a "criminal conspiracy in relation to terrorist activities." Sources close to the investigation said earlier that Mehdi had admitted to having links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, in particular to a group of Islamic extremists in the German city of Hamburg. The so-called Hamburg cell included several of the people who hijacked four US passenger planes on September 11. Mehdi is the first person to be arrested in France in connection with the September 11 attacks. The sources said he had had training in Afghanistan and Bosnia. He was said to be close to Ziad Jarrah, a member of the Hamburg cell who died on board the aircraft that crashed in Pennsylvania. Mehdi's arrest could enable investigators to make a formal link between the Hamburg cell and an attack on a synagogue on Jerba in Tunisia on April 11 last year which killed 21 people including 14 German tourists.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 11:07 pm ||
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But I thought if you were nice to terrorists they wouldn't attack your holiday spots?
Posted by: R. McLeod ||
06/08/2003 2:56 Comments ||
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Moscow city policemen have retrieved a large quantity of weapons at the Iraqi Embassy in keeping with the former ambassador's instructions. The embassy staff called the police on Friday. "The ambassador's driver complied with the instructions the ambassador left before departing for his homeland. He voluntarily handed over five Kalashnikov assault rifles, three Makarov guns and three foreign-made guns, 28 cartridges for a Kalashnikov and a large number of ammunition. The voluntary hand-over included 121 9-millimetre bullets for a Makarov and 32 shells for the foreign guns," the source noted. Iraqi Ambassador Abbas Khalaf flew from the Sheremetyevo airport to Amman on June 6, he said.
Well, yes. Those are essential diplomatic tools...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 09:57 pm ||
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Kike Russia needs more Ak rifles and Makarov pistols. This isn't exactly the mother of all arms caches.
Posted by: Douglas De Bono ||
06/07/2003 23:32 Comments ||
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Twenty eight cartridges for a Kalashnikov? They use more than that at an Iraqi birthday party.
Pristina - Seven people were injured, two seriously, when a booby trap exploded Saturday in the centre of Pristina, United Nations police said. None of the injuries was considered life threatening. Doctors said one victim's eyesight was seriously threatened. The explosion happened at the offices of a local business, Viola Travel Agency, close to the German Micro Enterprise Bank, at 9.20 when an employee entering the premises activated a booby-trap. "A female employee was in the process of opening the business for the day when the explosion took place" said Jack Krauss, spokespersonfor UN Police in Pristina. Andrea Angeli, a spokesperson for the U.N. Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) said the device "was a booby trap, a Yugoslav-made hand grenade".
But courtesy of whom?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 06:58 pm ||
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STOCKHOLM - Sweden's Foreign Minister Anna Lindh said yesterday that US President George W. Bush had acted like a "lone ranger" on Iraq and warned that other countries could be tempted to follow America's example.
Like Sweden. Long have they been casting covetous eyes on Samoa...
Sweden has harshly criticised the United States-led war on Iraq, saying it did not have United Nations' approval. Ms Lindh reiterated that position ahead of her visit to Washington next week for talks with United States Secretary of State Colin Powell. "Today's broad security agenda demands new thinking and multilateral solutions," she told a Stockholm conference on Women and Security.
"Just look at all the good we've done in Africa with our multilateral solutions..."
"We can also see, I'm afraid, lone rangers in other countries, countries thinking that they can deal with all these very difficult issues by themselves and not having to work with others," she said, declining to give any names. "Nobody should try to be the lone ranger... That is a threat today that you can see in several countries, and the fear is that the United States action (in Iraq) will increase the idea that other countries can act militarily without involving the United Nations."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 01:08 pm ||
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"Invisible airplanes and GPS-guided munitions, a cloud of dust from the advancing armor, and a hearty 'Hi Yo Silver!'--it's the Lone Ranger. With his faithful companions Rummy, Condi, and Tony, the daring and resourceful masked rider of the plains led the fight for law and order in the Middle East. Return with us now to those thrilling days of 2003. The Lone Ranger rides again!"
Posted by: Mike ||
06/07/2003 13:43 Comments ||
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Sweden's Foreign Minister? Is she the one granting asylum to the leaders of Aceh's rebels? Clean your own house ma'am then STFU
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/07/2003 15:10 Comments ||
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Somebody really needs to tell the Europeans that (most) Americans aren't insulted by cries of "cowboy!" and certainly not "lone ranger!" Has no one informed the Swedes that the Lone Ranger acted to bring justice to places where the law did not reach, or where it was corrupt? That he was, in short, a Good Guy? (Oh, how simplisme! The very concept of "good" guys and "bad"!)
#4
Lest we forget the Lone Ranger was a good guy, knocking down bad guys and make the frontier safe for everyone else.
Now where did I put my Winchester silver tips...
Posted by: Douglas De Bono ||
06/07/2003 15:18 Comments ||
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Sweden: country of honor. Where were they again in World War II? That's right, they were "neutral" towards the Nazis. NEUTRAL. Can any decent country have been neutral in WWII? Absolutely not and the Swedes have done nothing to redeem themselves since. They're cowards, plain and simple. Someone offer me proof that I'm wrong, and don't give me that bit about how "some" Swedes helped the Jews...where was their GOVERNMENT?
Posted by: R. McLeod ||
06/07/2003 15:28 Comments ||
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And they were such stalwart warriors as recently as the time of Peter the Great. Let's find out what turns fighters into salmon-eating busy bodies, cheese-eating surrender monkeys, and aquavit-swilling hand-wringers and then absolutely make sure that we never do it here.
#7
the fear is that the United States action (in Iraq) will increase the idea that other countries can act militarily without involving the United Nations
Yeah, so? What's the UN going to do? Nothing as usual.
Posted by: g wiz ||
06/07/2003 19:49 Comments ||
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What an idea! Maybe the saddamites of the world wouldn't be in a position to kill, maim, torture, and terrorize if there were a few more "lone rangers" around to keep them in check. Like the UN pretends it is doing.
Croatia's state-run news agency HINA reported Friday that it and a Croatian Catholic news agency had received e-mails threatening to kill Pope John Paul II "in the name of Allah." The e-mails, signed by the "Islamic Front of el-Mujahadeen" and addressed to "the infidels," appeared to have originated in neighboring Bosnia, said Interior Ministry spokeswoman Zinka Bardic. She said Croatian and international police agencies were investigating, but that there was no danger to the pontiff because of the heavy security around him. Papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls told reporters aboard the pope's plane Saturday that the Vatican receives such threats "from time to time" and turns them over to local authorities. He indicated there would be no changes in the pope's schedule in Croatia. John Paul was holding a Mass on Saturday in Osijek, just over the border from predominantly Orthodox Serbia. Organizers were preparing for up to 200,000 pilgrims from Croatia and Serbia as well as neighboring Bosnia and Hungary.
Another tiresome "front" making tiresome threats against the usual symbols. With regard to the Pope, they'd better hurry before he kicks it from natural causes. But I'd guess they've got more imagination than they have capability, and they're not very imaginative.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 11:33 am ||
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The old boy is in such bad shape that they might almost be doing John Paul a favor.
#2
The Pope is a plausible target for terrorists. Insane, but plausible. But if they ever did it, and I think they might try, they would find that the world would become a very tiny place for them.
Posted by: R. McLeod ||
06/07/2003 15:30 Comments ||
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One of those dumbass things that seems like a great idea, until you actually do it...
Posted by: Fred ||
06/07/2003 16:11 Comments ||
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R. McLeod---You have the right idea. The jihadis carefully plan, but they do not noodle through the entire BIG PICTURE. Knocking off someone like the Pope would galvanize alot of Europe and then even the EU-nicks would get their RRF and try to kick some ass.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/07/2003 18:57 Comments ||
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Forget the EU-nicks: Christianity is growing by leaps and bounds in South America and Africa, and some have worried about a "South-east" conflict pitting South Americans/Africans against the muslims. Assassinating the pope would enflame the South American street.
This just in from our ace correspondent, D.J. Wu...
PARIS: France has arrested a German man suspected of links to the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States and a suicide attack at a Tunisian synagogue last year. Christian Ganczarski, 36, was arrested on Monday, one day after French police detained a Moroccan man also wanted in connection with September 11 attacks. A French police spokesman said Ganczarski was suspected of links to the synagogue bombing in Djerba in April 2002 and the September 11 attacks, but it was not clear what role he may have played in either.
Ask the Soddies. They picked him up for the same things two months ago...
And some more, from Jerusalem Post...
Ganczarksi, arrested Monday, was expected to be placed under investigation in connection with the French investigation into the Djerba attack, officials said. Ganczarski had been arrested twice before, last year in Germany and in April in Saudi Arabia. He was freed each time, with German officials saying last year they did not have enough evidence to hold him. French authorities said they believe he was a top recruiter for al-Qaida in Germany.
A German Justice Ministry spokeswoman, Christiane Wirtz, said Friday that Germany has issued no arrest warrant for Ganczarski. But the Federal Criminal Office - Germany's equivalent of the FBI - said it was in touch with French authorities over their investigation. Judicial officials have linked Ganczarski to the attack on the Tunisian synagogue killed 21 people - 14 German and two French tourists and five Moroccans. The investigation shows that the suspected synagogue attacker, Nizar Naouar, called Ganczarski before driving a truck loaded with natural gas into the historic Djerba synagogue. Naouar, a Tunisian, asked for the "benediction" of Ganczarski, also known as Abu Ibrahim, according to German wire taps cited by sources here.
You get your Arabic name when they issue you your turban...
Naouar also allegedly contacted Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. During a raid of Ganczarski's home in Duisburg, Germany, in April 2002, German investigators found documents with the telephone number of Moroccan Mounir el Motassadeq, convicted in Germany in February for providing support for the Hamburg cell and of Ziad Jarrah, one of the Sept. 11 hijackers on the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania.
All coincidental, no doubt...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 11:10 am ||
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I can sort of understand (well not really) that German courts released G. for lack of evidence. But that the Saudis didn't spend more time with him is rather telling.
He'd be a perfect candidate for Guantanamo. Too bad the French picked him up...
A Dutch court on Thursday acquitted 12 men accused of plotting a "holy war" against the West and helping to recruit al Qaeda and Taliban fighters in the Netherlands. The Rotterdam district court said there was no evidence to convict the men on charges of membership of an unspecified criminal organization that provided support to al Qaeda and the Taliban in their fight against U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan. Prosecutors scaled down some of the charges against the group â four Algerians, a Frenchman, a Moroccan, a Libyan, an Iraqi, an Egyptian, a Turk, a Mauritanian and a Dutch citizen â during the course of the three-and-a-half week trial.
This will come back to bite the Dutchies. My guess would be within a year...
The men were arrested last year in raids across the Netherlands. Four of the men were released during the proceedings because the sentences they would have received if convicted would have been lower than the time they had already spent in custody. The Dutch are on quite a roll..
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
06/07/2003 05:35 am ||
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LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Ameer Qazi Hussain Ahmad had to offer Friday prayers at Doctorsâ Hospital, as his doctors did not allow him to go Mansoora (JI headquarters), Daily Times learnt here on Friday. A doctor at the hospital said doctors were not operating upon Qazi because his doctor, Fiaz Hashmi, who operated on him last year, was now in the US. According to the doctor, Qaziâs family had contacted Dr Fiaz in the US so as to call him to Pakistan to operate upon Qazi, but they had yet to receive a satisfactory answer. He said if Dr Fiaz did not come to Pakistan, Qazi might go to the US for his operation. He said although Qazi was out of danger, doctors had not allowed him go anywhere. He said Qazi was not listening to the doctors and was busy with his political engagements in the hospital.
Good. Maybe he'll strain his poor, fat-encrusted ticker and kick it...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 11:15 am ||
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Please bring him to the US, please ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/07/2003 13:57 Comments ||
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Don't they have medical facilities in Gitmo?
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/07/2003 15:28 Comments ||
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ISLAMABAD: A contempt of court petition has been filed against Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) President Senator Maulana Shah Ahmed Noorani in the Supreme Court (SC) for making derogatory remarks against the SCâs judges. Dr Aslam Khaki, who had already challenged the degrees of 65 MMA parliamentarians in the SC, filed the petition under Article 3 of the Contempt of Court Act.
One of the MMA's bitches against Perv is his rule that you need a degree to run for parliament, the assumption being that the candidate will thereby know how to read and write. Given Pakland's literacy rate, that puts MMA at a disadvantage. Seems like Noorani's degree isn't quite kosher, er... halal.
Mr Khaki cited the remarks of Senator Noorani, which were published in an Urdu daily on June 6 wherein Senator Noorani had called the SC âunconstitutionalâ and the three-year extension in the service of the judges âan official bribeâ. Mr Khaki said Senator Noorani was among those respondents whose educational degrees had been challenged and the cases were sub judice in the court. âHis remarks are derogatory, offensive and are intended to malign the image of the judiciary and by this way he has tried to shield his expected disqualification on merit. His statement comes within the ambit of contempt of the court,â Mr Khaki said.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 11:08 am ||
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KARACHI: Police arrested a suspected militant on Friday on suspicion of links to recent terrorist attacks in the country. The man, Abdul Rahman, is allegedly part of the small militant group Harkat-ul-Jehad-e-Islami (HUJI), said Kamal Shah, police chief in Sindh province. Rahman was arrested in Terror Central Karachi. Shah said there was a US$8,500 reward for Rahmanâs arrest, and he is being interrogated. The police official declined to say what specific attacks Rahman was alleged to have taken part in.
"Pick one. He was probably in it."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 11:03 am ||
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PESHAWAR: In what is seen as a positive response to Islamabadâs concern over the May 23 damage done to the billboards by Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) activists, the MMA government on Friday suspended three top police officers, allegedly for negligence of duty.
So now are they gonna do the same in Multan, too?
A senior police officer told Daily Times on Friday the Services and Establishment Department had suspended Zafarullah Khan, Abdul Kalam and Abdul Samad for failing to stop the JI activists from damaging the billboards and for not arresting the culprits. The MMA government also transferred Sajjad Afridi directing him to report to the Central Police Office, Peshawar, immediately. âThey have been suspended till further orders,â he said.
Yeah. Right. That'll take care of the problem, won't it?
One of the suspended police officers called the action unjustified. âNeither the provincial government nor the district government had issued a directive on how to deal with the situation,â he said requesting anonymity. The suspensions were followed by Chief Minister Akram Durrani's dash to Islamabad for a meeting with Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 10:59 am ||
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MULTAN: Islamic yokels activists vandalised billboards featuring women in Multan on Friday, in the latest assertion by hardline Islamic groups. About 200 members of Shabab-e-Milli, the youth faction of the right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami party, smeared billboards featuring women with black paint, as police watched without interfering in Multan.
"Interfere? We can't interfere. They got turbans."
Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Azhar Hussain Iqbal said the smearing of billboards was part of the weekly campaign started in Punjab against vulgarity and obscenity. Witnesses in Multan said Shabab-e-Milli youth used tall ladders to reach the billboards advertising consumer products and smear the women featured on them with black paint. âThese multinational companies want to promote obscenity, lewdness and vulgarity by showing women in different poses,â Shahzada Babur, chief of Shabab-e-Milli, told Reuters by telephone from Multan. âWe would not let them do so.â
"In fact, we ain't lettin' anybody do anything we don't approve of. And we don't approve of nothin'."
Babur denied they were vandalizing private property. âIt is they who are acting contrary to Islamic law by promoting vulgarity,â he said. The latest action follows similar acts against posters and signboards in Lahore and Peshawar.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 10:54 am ||
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Just keep telling us how hijab and burqua PROTECT women, not imprison them.
Keep telling us how "Islam" is the most progressive religion toward women.
However, I'm sure there are some 13-18 year-old women in Australia, Denmark, and France who were gang raped by roving bands of Muslim youths who would disagree...
âIt is they who are acting contrary to Islamic law by promoting vulgarity,â
Your "Islamic" law is an abomination to all freedom loving people.
Especially women.
Eight suspected Muslim militants were killed in a clash with Indian troops in Pulwama district on Friday. Other incidents include the death of three members of a wedding party who had been kidnapped by gunmen. The violence comes as Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has made a fresh plea for peace talks with Pakistan.
"Holmes! Could the two be connected?"
The clash in Pulwama district occurred on Friday evening in the village of Haskur. Beside the eight suspects killed, six Indians were wounded in the clash, the spokesman said. Earlier, three suspected members of the militant Lashkar e-Taiba group were shot dead in Rajouri district. One civilian was also killed in that clash.
"Oops. Our bad."
Police say militants abducted eight members of a wedding party in the village of Samoot at about midday on Friday. Three of those captured were shot dead in the evening but five managed to escape — one of them with gunshot wounds. The victims were members of the Muslim community. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the incident.
Apparently they weren't members of the right Muslim community.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
06/07/2003 04:12 am ||
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Around 100 members of a powerful tribe based in southern Iraq Friday threatened retribution against US forces unless they immediately freed their chief, who was accused of harboring officials of Saddam Hussein's deposed regime. "Unless Sheikh Mahdi Raham Sagban is released within two days, there will be retribution against the Americans, who should be aware that we have weapons and that we are one of Iraq's most powerful tribes," Mokhless Hamza Abdul Sattar al-Badri said during a demonstration in Baghdad.
Jug the sonofabitch...
The demonstrators said their Badr tribe counts 1.2 million members, chiefly in its stronghold of al-Badr in al-Qadisiya province, 180 kilometers south of Baghdad. Sheikh Mahdi "was arrested by US soldiers 15 days ago at the tribe's guesthouse and he has since been languishing in a Baghdad jail," said his son, Imad Mahdi. Clad in traditional long robes and donning the Arab chequered headdress known as keffiyeh, the tribesmen raised banners threatening to exact "revenge from the Americans, regardless of the consequences, if Sheikh Mahdi Raham Sagban is not freed."
Good thing you're not worried about consequences, guys. Just out of curiosity, how many times did you pull that crap on Sammy?
Accounts differed of the reasons behind the tribal chief's arrest. Some protesters said he sheltered fellow tribesmen who had been senior officials of Saddam's Baath Party. Others said Sheikh Mahdi himself had been a Baathist "like all Iraqis under Saddam," while some claimed that his tribe had "suffered under the old regime."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 10:45 pm ||
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Maybe the Coalition Forces should treat the Badr Basthists like the Sadamites used to treat dissent. A few more mass gravesites wouldn't even be noticed.
An armed Iraqi was shot and killed when he tried to escape from a Danish road block in the north of Basra province, the Danish defense command said on Saturday. Danish soldiers patrolling an area near the town of Al Qurnah on Friday intercepted two cars with three armed Iraqis. Two of the men surrendered quickly, and the third tried to flee with the firearms. After failing to heed several warning shots, the man was shot and later died at a nearby medical facility. The two other Iraqis are currently in the custody of Danish forces.
Armed, dangerous, and not very bright...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 10:29 pm ||
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The former deputy commander of the Iraqi police has been arrested by US troops. He is being held on suspicion of corruption, intimidation, and attempting to reorganize Saddam Hussein's Baath party. General Mohammad Habib al-Mashadani had been a senior Baath party official under the old regime and was repeatedly told by coalition troops to keep away from the police stations being reopened.
But did he listen?
A spokesman said: "He was arrested last night and will be detained for further questioning.
No, he didn't listen.
"He was trying to undermine coalition efforts to reform the police."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 03:08 pm ||
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An Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim group said Saturday it would not join an interim political council envisaged by Iraq's U.S.-British occupying powers unless it was elected, not appointed by American administrator Paul Bremer. Bremer met representatives from seven political groups and at least 10 prominent Iraqis Friday to present his latest ideas on Iraq's political future after Saddam Hussein. "We said at the meeting that we want an elected political council and an elected constitutional council," Hamed Bayati of the Iranian-backed Shi'ite Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution (SCIRI) told Reuters. "We will not participate in an administration that would be appointed by ambassador Bremer. This is also a decision taken by all the seven political parties."
"And we know he ain't gonna appoint us..."
None of the other six groups, composed mainly of former exiled foes of Saddam, has openly rejected Bremer's plan to name an interim council to help run Iraq, rather than have it elected by a national conference as previously proposed. A senior official of Masoud Barzani'sKurdistan Democratic Party, another of the seven factions, said the KDP was not "100 percent satisfied" with Bremer's plan. He would not elaborate.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 12:45 pm ||
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IRNA - The head of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), Ayatollah Baqer Hakim, has refused to totally disarm Shiite militias, arguing that America's aim is trying to weaken Shiites in Iraq. "Of course we will keep our light weapons," Hakim was quoted as saying Friday on the website of the weekly Spiegel magazine. "Washington's decision is clearly an aggressive act against the Shiite majority in the country," the 64-year-old Iraqi leader added. Hakim accused America of being "biased" since Kurdish parties have been exempted from the decommissioning orders.
If I recall correctly, the order allowed light weapons and applied to things like antiaircraft guns and grenades, which usually aren't used for self-defense against looters. Being a politician, he's found something safe to be brave against...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 12:24 pm ||
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BAGHDAD - A Sunni prayer leader urged Muslims to wage jihad, or holy war, to recover their usurped rights and called on US forces to speed up their withdrawal from Iraq. "Muslims are entitled to raise the banner of jihad to restore usurped rights or repel an evil threatening them," Sheikh Muayyed al-Aazami said Friday in his weekly sermon at the Abu Hanifa mosque in Baghdad.
They're always raising the banner of jihad. They've raised it so many times, so predictably, even they must be getting bored with it now.
Iraqis "reject any form of occupation, oppression or hegemony," he said, adding that US forces should go home since they had "finished their job of eliminating the former regime which threatened America's security" by allegedly pursuing weapons of mass destruction. US troops "should leave our country and take the weapons of mass destruction if they find any because the people don't need them," the imam added. "Our people want to breathe. Don't weigh on them any longer because they suffered enough from occupation, tyranny, injustice and wars during the last century," Aazami said.
"Let us Iraqis get on with telling our fellow Iraqis what to do, and killing them of they don't."
The US-led occupation administration said on Thursday it would outlaw incitement to violence and was ready to enforce the ban even in mosques. The policy notice, which is to "go out fairly shortly," will prohibit incitement to "armed insurrection," including attacks on coalition troops, as well "racial and religious violence," an administration spokesman said. The ban is "targeted largely" at the burgeoning free press which has grown up here since the ouster of Saddam Hussein's regime on April 9. But the spokesman said the coalition would consider "taking action" even in mosques if preachers abused the sermons given each Friday at the main weekly Muslim prayers.
Until they publicly kick bastards like this one out of their mosques and then kill the people who bitch about it, the habit of trying to beard the Americans will keep spreading. If there's no penalty for thinking like a thug, there's no incentive not to.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 10:49 am ||
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Time to provide an example of the extent of US tolerance, and what happens when we're no longer willing to put up with the stupidity of others. The town of Fallujah is a major sore point, and a center of Ba'athist resistance. Crush it. Grind it into dust, and seed the dust with salt. Tell the IMAMS that if they don't learn to mind their own business, we'll do the same to any city that harbors them. I don't think the people of Iraq would put up with their idiocy too much longer...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/07/2003 11:26 Comments ||
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An area near Saddam Hussein's hometown has been the scene of another deadly attack on U.S. troops. The military says an American soldier was killed and four others wounded when gunmen opened fire on them today near Tikrit. Central Command says the attackers used small arms and rocket-propelled grenade. In a separate incident, unidentified assailants fired rocket-propelled grenades and small arms at a U.S. patrol near an air base west of Baghdad on Friday. Soldiers returned fire, but there were no reports of casualties on either side. The attackers fired on an M1A1 Abrams tank and a military police Humvee. The tank wasn't damaged, but the Humvee had numerous bullet holes in it. The firefight in the town of Khaldiya, 45 miles west of Baghdad, is the latest in a series of hit-and-run attacks by gunmen on U.S. forces in central Iraq. Several dozen soldiers have been killed or injured. On Thursday, gunmen shot dead an American soldier and wounded five in the nearby city of Fallujah, where there has been strong resistance to the U.S. occupation. Meanwhile, U.S. military sources said that two soldiers guarding a bank in downtown Baghdad were wounded Thursday when two men with pistols opened fire at them. The sentries returned fire and killed one of the attackers, while the other managed to flee.
This sort of thing is going to go on for quite awhile. If there isn't outside support, it'll dwindle away slowly. If there is, it'll be time to beat somebody else up.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 10:34 am ||
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Looks like the dudes from the 4th ID will get their CIBs after all.
#4
Stevey you are clearly ignorant thinking the war was about oil at all: go to the nearest library and look up US oil imports in an Almanack and you will read how wrong you are.
they r hero, aint they? yes, they are.
You might go and live in Pakistan/France/Cuba/Yemen if you don't like it. They'd be glad to have you, we'd be glad to be rid of you. Off you go!
#5
Anon1...you need to read alittle more about why Bush is in Iraq. IT IS ABOUT THE OIL. Bush had the perfect opportunity to take over Iraq. The Bush Dynasty has always had an interest in their oil. You need to hit the books again. Haliburton was no mistake nor was it the lowest bidder. Bush took on a nobody in politics and made him the vice. Open your eyes before more innocent lives are lost. OIL IS MONEY and Iraqi oil in our posession is politically powerful weapon. If you believe in the cause...help the soldiers.
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - A special U.N. envoy failed Saturday to meet or secure the release of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, despite international criticism of her detention and U.S. threats of tighter economic sanctions against Myanmar's ruling junta. Envoy Razali Ismail, on the second day of his five-day mission, said he was still pressing generals who secreted Suu Kyi to an unknown location following a bloody clash in northern Myanmar nine days ago. ``I am still in the process of making my case,'' Razali told reporters when asked after the meeting whether he would be allowed to see Suu Kyi. Still in the process of making my case??? It's simple, Razali. Shouldn't take more than a minute or so -- five tops if you're a UN envoy.
Razali met for more than an hour with Gen. Khin Nyunt, Myanmar's intelligence chief and third-ranking leader, as well as foreign ministry officials. Khin Nyunt had earlier lashed out at the Nobel Peace Prize winner and her National League for Democracy. In a speech on the eve of Razali's visit, Khin Nyunt accused the NLD of corruption and of triggering the violence by seeking a confrontation with the government. "They kept demanding freedom and democracy. What did you expect us generals to do?"
Myanmar has not allowed access to Suu Kyi since a May 30 clash involving pro-junta supporters and her followers in which at least four people died, saying only she is unhurt and in custody at ``a safe place.'' Offices of her NLD party have been shut and other opposition members detained. Exiled opposition figures in Thailand say Suu Kyi may have received head injuries in the violence, which they say left up to 70 people dead.
Adding to criticism from around the world, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan issued a statement saying he is ``gravely concerned about the continued incommunicado detention of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other leaders of the NLD, and is particularly troubled by reports of injuries suffered by them.'' Daw is an honorific title. ``He fully expects that his special envoy will be allowed to meet all his interlocutors'' and that Suu Kyi and other NLD members ``will be released without further delay,'' it said. That's not a firm statement, so Kofi has room to escalate.
The United States also is demanding Razali access to Suu Kyi and her release. The Bush administration also said it wants Congress to impose more economic sanctions against Myanmar and was reviewing legislation to prohibit imports from the impoverished country. The United States already has some economic and diplomatic restrictions against Myanmar, including a ban on new investments.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the Bush administration believes the May 30 violence was a premeditated ambush of Suu Kyi's motorcade, which suggests the military government has decided to end efforts at national reconciliation.
Tight media controls and the remote location of the clash have made it difficult to confirm independently what happened. The junta says the violence was sparked when Suu Kyi's motorcade drove through a crowd of thousands of government supporters and denies the government was behind the unrest. A U.S. Embassy official said American diplomats who visited the site reported seeing homemade weapons that appeared to have been made in advance, suggesting a planned ambush by ``government-affiliated thugs.''
Accounts from exiled opposition groups say government agitators descended on the unarmed members of Suu Kyi's motorcade, beating many to death and killing others with knives and spears.
British Foreign Office minister Mike O'Brien said Friday he had telephoned Myanmar Deputy Foreign Minister Maung Win to press for access to Suu Kyi, and was told she was unhurt. So show us.
International human rights group Amnesty International said Friday it has received reports that other NLD members have been detained in central and northern Myanmar, and said it is gravely concerned about more than 100 people missing since the violence. Suggestion: why don't we move a carrier task force and marine expeditionary unit off the coast of Burma? Then we could make a few threatening growls and see how the UN and Europe react.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/07/2003 02:01 pm ||
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Man, is the gov't of Myanmar in trouble now. No doubt, as we type, some intrepid under-under-secretary of something at the UN is putting together a list of candidates (like, Libya, Cuba and the Sudan) for a group to study the feasibility of threatening Myanmar with the possibility of sanctions!
#4
Mojo, I'm not saying the Marines should land (though I'm not opposed to it in principle, since I think the Burmese would rise up to support us). Just park the carrier group off the coast and see how fast the Euro-elites would change their tune. They'd end up supporting the junta faster than you could say "Wolfowitz."
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/07/2003 18:17 Comments ||
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Search teams with sniffer dogs were closely tracking three U.N. observers abducted in a remote gorge while monitoring a truce between Georgia and separatist Abkhazia, a senior Georgian official said on Friday.
Wonder who stole them away?
The observers, two Germans and a Dane, were part of a 100-strong U.N. team monitoring the border with Abkhazia, which broke away from Georgia in 1993 in a bloody conflict following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Unknown gunmen abducted them with their Georgian interpreter on Thursday while the team was on a routine patrol in the remote Kodori Gorge, site of several previous kidnappings of U.N. observers, who were all quickly released. The kidnappers had not yet contacted authorities or made any demands. "We are very close to finding their whereabouts," Emzar Kvitsiani, Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze's envoy in the Kodori Gorge, told Reuters by telephone. "I can say that we are following their footsteps." The U.N. office in Tbilisi has identified the observers as Klaus Ott and Herbert Bauer of Germany and Henrik Soerensen of Denmark, and their Georgian interpreter as Lasha Chikashua. Kvitsiani said there was a 2,000 lari ($1,000) reward for information about their whereabouts, but there had been no contact so far with the kidnappers. "We still don't know their demands," he said.
Probably money. That's bandido country...
In the last such incident, two U.N. observers from Poland and Greece were held for a few days in December 2000. According to official accounts, they were released without conditions, like other U.N. observers abducted in the region. The United Nations began its mission in 1993 after separatists drove Georgian government troops out of Abkhazia in a war that killed about 10,000 people. Abkhazia is not recognised by any country or international body.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 10:11 pm ||
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VLADIKAVKAZ - A fierce battle between Chechen rebels and Russian troops raged into its second day Saturday — leaving six servicemen dead. A convoy of Russian troops accompanied by pro-Moscow Chechen police was ambushed in the town of Argun at about 4 p.m. Friday, Russian military headquarters in Chechnya said. The headquarters said the attack was repulsed, but an official in Chechnya's Justice Ministry said that the battle continued Saturday. The official saidthe Russian military sent reinforcements from the military base of Khankala.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 09:07 pm ||
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Be on the lookout for Chuck's near-daily police blotter from Iraq. While you're there, check out the picture of possibly Helen Thomas riding in, uhhh... something. I think it might be a tumbrel... That is all.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 06:29 pm ||
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Now that's something to drink to...nice cabbages Helen
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/07/2003 19:27 Comments ||
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hahahhaahhaa hahhahaha ahhahaha
Mallory Moser has to pay Lockheed Martin $25 a month for infinity for protesting against them , obstructing them and costing them money!
hahahha ahahaha ahahhahaahha
If only we could do the same to the two nits who painted 'no war' on the Sydney Opera House sails.
Bring Judge Infantino to the Australian Judiciary!
I've moved Thugburg and the Organizations list back to Rantburg, where they mostly belong. They're also on a spiffy mySQL database, which should make them more responsive. In the conversion process, I screwed up my interface to update them, but I'd been meaning to rewrite it anyway — it looks like something invented by Rube Goldberg. Let me know if there are any problems. I'll be leaving the old site up for awhile, because there are links in articles to it.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 04:16 pm ||
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BUNIA, Congo (AP) - Tribal fighters attacked this northeastern Congolese town in an apparent grab for more land Saturday, days before international peacekeepers arrive seeking to restore calm in the ravaged region. Hundreds of people fled their homes after Lendu fighters launched dawn raids on positions held by the Union of Congolese Patriots, or UPC, a group from the Hema rival ethnic group that controls the town.
The Lendu militia was after positions it lost to the UPC about 10 days ago and apparently wanted a foothold before the mostly French force - which could reach 1,700 troops - deploys in Bunia, capital of the unstable Ituri province. "Tit for tat, we'll get you back."
A U.N. military observer in the town, who did not want to be named, said the Lendu fighters had been expected to try to beef up their presence before troops are in place.
On Friday, several dozen French troops flew in to prepare for the peacekeepers, who are supposed to reinforce some 750 U.N. troops deployed in the town. The troops - whose mandate is to protect U.N. installations and personnel - can only fire in self-defense and have been unable to stem the violence. The international force, which is to be deployed for three months under both U.N. and European Union mandates, will be authorized to shoot to kill if necessary. What role it will play, however, was unclear. Don't expect clarification, either.
On Saturday, French soldiers focused on securing their base at the airport, four miles west of Bunia. Tribal fighters were less than 500 yards away, said a French officer who did not want to be identified. Col. Denis Koehl, in charge of logistics for the French troops at Entebbe airport in neighboring Uganda said another 600 French army and air force troops would arrive in Entebbe on Sunday and Monday and will begin deploying in Bunia later next week.
The fighting was the first serious clash between the Hema and Lendu militia inside Bunia since the groups signed a cease-fire May 16. That agreement ended more than a week of fighting in which 500 people were believed killed. Col. Daniel Vollot, the commander of U.N. forces in Bunia, said Lendu fighters had recaptured some areas outside town. When I see the EU force sweep a town, gather the weapons and herd up the teen boys with rifles, then I'll believe they're serious about peace-keeping.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/07/2003 02:10 pm ||
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Did anyone expect anything else?
JERUSALEM - Deadly violence again shook Israel and the Palestinian territories late Thursday, only a day after hopes for peace got a boost at a summit in Jordan. The killing of two Israelis and two Palestinians came as Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat cast doubts on the US-led summit from which he was excluded, saying Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had offered Palestinians nothing âon the ground.â The deaths, punctuated by a call from Egyptâs foreign minister for an end to the armed Palestinian struggle, gave the international peace roadmap its first real test and were followed by Palestinian mortar fire and fighting in the Gaza Strip.
Back to business as usual...
Arafatâs criticism came as hardliners on both sides indicated they could fiercely oppose the pledges made at Wednesdayâs Aqaba summit by the right-wing Sharon and his moderate Palestinian counterpart and Arafat rival, Mahmud Abbas.
Like I say, they have peace, the bad guys have to get jobs, or go back to holding up liquor stores...
On the ground, two militants of the radical Islamic group Hamas preparing a suicide attack were shot dead by Israeli troops in the northern West Bank Thursday night. They were killed in a firefight with troops who ambushed them in a house near the town of Tulkarm, and a third Palestinian was wounded. However, a spokesman for the Islamic Jihad group said the slain militants were members of his group. A senior Arafat aide, Nabil Abu Rudeina, reacted to the killings by saying Israel had already returned to âits assassination policy after the two summits,â referring to Aqaba and another US-led peace meeting in Egypt.
Just think of it as assisting them in their suicide attempts...
Earlier, Israeli police said they discovered the bodies of a young Israel man and a teenage girl whom they suspect were murdered by Palestinian militants in a farming village just west of Jerusalem.
They were stabbed to death, according to Jerusalem Post...
Early Friday, three mortar rounds were fired at a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip and a fourth at an Israeli army position, but caused no casualties. And soldiers came under heavy attack after moving in to destroy two tunnels under the Egyptian border in the Gaza town of Rafah. None of them was hurt, but a Palestinian was thought to have been wounded.
Painfully, we hope...
Commenting on the Aqaba meeting, Arafat said: âUntil now, Sharon has done nothing on the ground. What does it mean if Sharon removes one caravan and after that tells us he has removed a settlement?â
I dunno, Yasser. What's it all mean?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 01:16 pm ||
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I guess the White House sees this as another bump in road. Personally, I can't separate Arafat's Fatah/PLO from Hamas or Hezbollah, and those are basiically kissing cousins to al Qaeda and Abu Sayyaf. Until these actors are eliminated, how can anyone reasonably expect Israel to relax.
Posted by: Douglas De Bono ||
06/07/2003 15:13 Comments ||
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#2
This Roadmap to Peace is a promise Bush made to some of the other Arab leaders re: post Iraq war. If Hamas, Hez and Co derail this plan, then they will be responsible for the failure, and then we and/or Israel can squash them like bugs and be done with them, including ole Babywipes. At least this is what I hope that the plan is. Hey, we can wish, can't we?
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/07/2003 16:10 Comments ||
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#3
That's what I'm hoping too, Alaska: that the whole purpose of this "roadmap" business is to be able to focus the Arabs' attention on the Islamicists as clearly being the source of the problem- and then demand that it be solved and back up that demand with force.
Otherwise, it's just going to be a pointless waste of time and blood.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
06/07/2003 16:45 Comments ||
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Paul - exactly my thinking. The Paleos need a shaking out of the "inflexible" - I'm thinking a short brutal civil war, but then, as you noted, we can wish, non?
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/07/2003 21:15 Comments ||
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ALGIERS: Islamic insurgents killed up to nine police officers in an ambush Wednesday in the Berber region east of the capital, just a kilometer from police headquarters. It was the second major attack by insurgents in two days. A loud explosion surprised police returning from a routine mission in two vans, then insurgents opened fire, killing nine officers and injuring two others, the daily Liberte reported. The official APS news agency said eight police officers were killed and two injured in the attack in Beni Douala, a village in the mountainous Berber region some 120 kilometers east of Algiers. Insurgents and police exchanged gunfire for about 45 minutes, according to Liberte, which said the attack occurred a kilometer from police headquarters.
Algeria's not a country, it's a bloodbath...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 12:59 pm ||
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When are people going to get tired of making excuses for "Islam", and cry, "ENOUGH!"?
Substitute Leader of Tehran Friday Prayers Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani here said the United States was after fully demolishing the Islamic values in the Muslim world. Addressing thousands of worshipers at Tehran University Campus Emam Kashani referred to the elapse of 14 years from the sad demise of the late Imam Khomeini and said, "Yet, this sorrow is still as heartbreaking for the world Muslims." Elaborating on some points highlighted by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei at the mausoleum of the late Imam Khomeini on his 14th demise anniversary, he said, "His Eminence posed the question, 'What objectives is the United States pursuing in the region, and how should Iran react to them?'"
Umm... I dunno. What?
Emami Kashani said "The objectives of the United States were crystal-clear from the very eginning, but those who are in charge today (at the US administration) claim elsewise."
"Liars and thieves, the lot of 'em!"
He added, "The US Secretary of State (Colin Powell) recently emphasized at the G8 ministerial conference that the United States would do its best to pave the way for the rule of the American and Western norms in Iran." Emami Kashani said, "That means demolishing Islam; not the secular version of Islam of course, but the version brought for the mankind bythe Prophet of Islam (PBUH), the one that was promoted by Imam Ali (PBUH), and the same one whose banner was hoisted by the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran (PBUH).
He means the virulent, intelerant, "I'll kill you for that" version of Islam...
The prominent ayatollah further emphasized, "Had the other prophets of God, like Jesus Christ, and Moses who talked to God directly, peace be upon them all, lived in this era, they would have asked their followers to condemn the deeds of those who commit crimes and act brutally against the mankind, inviting them to upraise against them. ... The reason why the United States wishes to confront Islam is that the Islamic faith is fully integrated with politics, but the American policy makers should bear in mind that Islam has revived today, and the Islamic societies are fully conscious and alert."
Why should we do that? Islamic policy-makers don't bear in mind that the Islamic world is a cultural and economic backwater with very few exceptions — not through anything we've done, but through its own policies, one of them being the incessant rolling of eyes and shouts of "jihad!"
Pointing out the fact that the Americans resort to cultural means wherever they wish to strengthen their foot-hold, Ayatollah Kashani said, "In order to penetrate in the hearts and minds of the Iraqi nation, the Americans promised them democracy, liberty, the salvation of the people, and support for the poor and the miserable, but it was all for Iraqi oil... And then the Americans keep interpreting the humanitarian aid forwarded from Iran to the oppressed Iraqi nation as 'interference in the internal affairsof the Iraqi nation!"
"Yeah! If arms and ammunition ain't humanitarian, I don't know what is!"
Emami Kashani said, "The US administration is after fully demolishing the Islamic values throughout the Islamic world and replacing them with the Western, and particularly the American values."
Those would be the values that include freedom of religion. Can't have that, y'know...
"The United States is now standing upright against Islam," said the ayatollah, stressing, "It is therefore of extreme importance to observe unity and solidarity, to refrain from highlighting the differences, and to heed the problems with which the people are entangled." He asked the Iranian nation too, to take lessons from the history of the days of the advent of Islam, and to respect the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, particularly the parts of it related to the right of the Supreme Leader. Ayatollah Kashani at the end emphasized once again that, since the United States would not stop its adventurism so long as it has not fully established the American culture, and secured the illegitimate rights of the occupier Israelis, it was of extreme importance to observe full unity and solidarity among the world Muslims, and inside each Islamic country, including Iran.
Every time we're pitted in opposition to a country with a Supreme Leader, I feel proud. Maybe it's a cultural thing.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 12:21 pm ||
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Of course, putting words in the mouths of Jesus and Moses isn't blasphemy if it's done by an o-ficcial Imam, don't ya know...
#2
"The United States is now standing upright against Islam,"
Beats hell out of kneeling for a butt-boffing.
"Had the other prophets of God, like Jesus Christ, and Moses who talked to God directly, peace be upon them all, lived in this era, they would have asked their followers to condemn the deeds of those who commit crimes and act brutally against the mankind, inviting them to upraise against them."
The"Prince of Peace" calling for an uprising,guess this guy never picked-up a Bible.
Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Al-Aqsa Brigades have expressed outrage at the sentiments expressed at the summit at Aqaba, Ynet reports.
"Oh, we hate it! We just hate it!"
Dr. Abdel Aziz Rantissi, a senior Hamas official, said that "the Aqaba summit was a plot against the Palestinian people." He condemned the fact that nobody at the summit addressed "Palestinian suffering and the terror directed against the Palestinian nation".
Dr. Mahmoud al-Zahar, another Hamas leader, said the "the things spoken at Abaqa are a declaration of war against the Palestinian people." Rather than renouncing terror, he said that "all options should remain open to the Palestinian people while the occupation still exists."
Muhammad al-Hindi, a senior Islamic Jihad official, said that he is convinced that Abu Mazen "gave away for free" Palestinian obligations towards Israel. While Abu Mazen condemned Palestinian resistance, al-Hindi complained, Sharon spoke hazily about security, saying that a Palestinian state would contribute to the security and strength of the Jewish state.
Jamil Majdalawi, a senior leader of the Syrian-based Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said that "the Aqaba summit is the continuation of a plot launched at Sharm a-Sheikh, the basis of which is the American request to continue its activities that began with the conquering of Iraq and arrives today in Palestine." He also added that the Americans' aim is "that the Zionist entity continue to be the strongest nation in the region." He expressed disappointment that the summit conveyed the Intifadah as the main problem, rather than the occupation.
A senior member of the Al-Aqsa Brigades told Ynet that "If the current policy continues, the Al-Aqsa Brigade will be forced to return to active and even stronger resistance. The organization will never give up its right of response, and will not support any agreement that will give up the right of return."
However, both the Islamic Jihad and the Al-Aqsa Brigades officials said they would consider a ceasefire.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 11:49 am ||
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GAZA CITY â Thousands of Hamas supporters demonstrated against Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas' peace efforts as leaders of the militant group said they were pulling out of talks with Palestinian officials aimed at ending attacks on Israelis.
"Peace efforts? We don' wan' no steenkin' peace efforts!"
A Hamas refusal to negotiate could force Abbas to either crack down on the group and risk a civil war, or allow it to continue bombing and shooting attacks that would derail U.S.-backed peace efforts. Palestinian security officials were pursuing other means to disarm gunmen, finalizing a plan to buy their illegal weapons, according to several Palestinian officials and militia members.
Yep. That always works...
As part of the U.S.-backed "road map" to Palestinian statehood, the Palestinians have to disarm and dismantle militant groups that have killed hundreds of Israelis in shootings and bombings in 32 months of fighting. Abbas has been trying to negotiate with the militias rather than use force, and said earlier this week he was optimistic he could broker a truce within a week.
But we know he was over-optimistic, and that Hamas and IJ are never going to go out of the terrorism business. Without it, there's no reason for them to exist. They'd have to get jobs.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 10:38 am ||
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#1
Damn. Lost the bet and now it's looking even better for Mo's housewarming gift: "I've got a gun. where's my $5000?"
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/07/2003 11:17 Comments ||
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#2
That's OK, Frank. We will find another issue to game on. Mo's got 2 more hours of peaceful quality time before I ahem Fred wins. 2221 GMT.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/07/2003 13:04 Comments ||
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#3
It's just timing. Abbas is still a dead man walking. The best insurance he has is to have Arafat taken out and then deny it, lightly.
Posted by: Scott ||
06/07/2003 23:48 Comments ||
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CAIRO -- Rebels from the Sudan Liberation Movement claimed Friday to have killed a large number of soldiers and captured military equipment in an attack on an army position in the western Darfur region. SLM Secretary General Mani Arkoi Minawi told AFP in a telephone call his forces "annihiliated" an unspecified number of soldiers" Thursday and had captured 25 vehicles, as well as arms, including rocket launchers and heavy machine guns. The attack was in the Adar area of North Darfur state. Minawi said Sunday the SLM wanted to join the southern Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) rebels in peace talks with the government. He reported that his movement had decided to "begin a dialogue with the Sudan People's Liberation Army in order to reach a comprehensive solution on the entire Sudanese territory." The SLM has claimed a number of attacks in the Darfur region since it surfaced for the first time in February. The government has refused to acknowledge any political motivation for unrest in the states of North, South and West Darfur, blaming it instead on "armed criminal gangs and outlaws," who it says are aided by tribes from neighboring Chad.
This is an interesting phenomenon. SLM didn't exist before February, and then they claim last week to have bumped off 500 troops and taken another 300 prisoner. This week they slaughter more, and grab 25 trucks (or whatever). And now they want to sit down next to SPLA and carve off their own chunk of autonomous Sudan. It raises my suspicions, but...
Darfur's a pretty nasty area. Khartoum is accused of carrying out a program of ethnic cleansing there, verging on genocide and the best they can do is make a claim of "neutrality" between the Arab slavers and the indigenes. Last year 88 people in the area were sentenced to death by hanging or crucifixion. Off the top of my head, I can't think of anywhere else in the world that carries out crucifixions. So the more I think about it, the more I hope the claims of 500 gummint dead aren't inflated. Darfur had it's own king for 2000 years or so, and if it drops off from Sudan it will probably be the better for it.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 10:16 am ||
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Anecdotal evidence suggests the chain of command is fraying. This week Zanu PF militants invaded a privately run school outside Harare, forced staff to sing and dance in praise of the regime and slaughtered one of their goats. Two of the pupils are children of the president's sister, Sabina Mugabe, and when told she "hit the roof", said one teacher, but the militants continued harrassing. Police told Duke De Coudray, the owner of a hardware store, that he would be charged with treason for not opening his store in support of the general strike, but Zanu PF members said they would attack if he did open.
The thugs don't really care. The important thing isn't so much what people do, but that they do it because you told 'em to do it...
Yesterday's show of force ensured that D-Day passed without deliverance for the opposition but analysts said the level of repression was unsustainable. Most of the time the helicopters cannot fly for want of fuel and salaries are running out for the men with guns and clubs. A police unit which raided the University of Zimbabwe stole not only the students' mobile phones and jackets, but biscuits and bread, which they devoured on the spot. "They seemed starving. It was amazing," said one student.
I'm starting to come to the conclusion that Bob's not going to be overthrown, that Zim will just start decomposing. What do you do with a dead country? Where do you bury it?
Three years after government-sponsored farm seizures started devastating the agriculture-led economy, rock bottom seems in sight. To add to the mile-long queues for scarce petrol now there are queues outside banks for scarce cash - the central bank cannot afford ink for banknotes, among other things. Annual inflation is 269%. After a series of one-day stoppages the main opposition group, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), had called for a "final push" this week, with five days of strikes and demonstrations to force Mr Mugabe's resignation. The security forces crushed the protests by detaining MDC leaders and beating hundreds of activists. At least one, Tichona Kaguru, 33, died from his injuries, and dozens more were beaten again while being treated at Harare's Avenues clinic. The more traditional tactic of beating people at home under cover of night continued, said the MDC, which published graphic pictures of bruised and broken limbs. About 3,000 students who tried to march from Harare's university were dispersed by teargas and live rounds fired over their heads.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/07/2003 09:55 am ||
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#1
Why would anyone be surprised by the descent into the maelstrom? Mugabe is an anachronism, a relic whose desperate bid to cling to power is more pitiful than anything. To think this man has always claimed the moral high ground ... tisk tisk
The ugly part is yet to come as the endgame is played out ... anybody remember Amin ??
#2
South Africa has to be held morally responsible for not taking this seriously enough. Forget intervention, they aren't even condemning Bob strongly enough and have prevented actions by others that would possible help topple these thugs
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/07/2003 11:10 Comments ||
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#3
For a long time I've believed that the true post-colonial period in Africa will begin when the state structures left behind by the imperial powers collapse. Looks like we're real close now.
Perhaps those good Lefties should go back and carefully read their Marx and Engles on how liberal capitalism was a necessary step on the road to the socialist utopia.
#4
Mad Bob used to be he darling of he Left. Why are they so silent now? As for Mbeki he is going to burn his fingers being buddies with his "brother". Like all dictators Mugabe will only understand force.
Have you seen him on TV? Sounds mad as a hatter.Time for a regime change.
#5
Why would anyone be surprised by the descent into the maelstrom? Mugabe is an anachronism, a relic whose desperate bid to cling to power is more pitiful than anything. To think this man has always claimed the moral high ground ... tisk tisk
The ugly part is yet to come as the endgame is played out ... anybody remember Amin ??
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