Major Mohammad Farid Ahamdi will become the first officer from the nascent Afghan National Army (ANA) to attend the top US military college at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. "An Afghan National Army major will be the first ANA officer to attend at the United States Army Command and General Staff college at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in the near future," Colonel Rodney Davis told reporters at Bagram Air Base. Ahmadi, 30, is an instructor at Kabul Military Training Centre where ANA officers, non-commissioned officers and enlisted soldiers are trained. "The US army college prepares captains and majors as future senior leaders in their respective militaries," Davis said. "The future success of the ANA and subsequently the stability of Afghanistan depends on people like Major Ahmadi who play a key role in the future of Afghanistan." The course lasts about one year and attracts top officers from some 110 countries. Afghanistan aims by next summer to have a "central corps" of 9,000 to 12,000 soldiers, a fraction of the goal of a 70,000-strong army to replace the current armies of militiamen in the provinces. The United Nations has called for urgent implementation of reforms to make the army and defence ministry more representative of the country's ethnic and regional mix. Ethnic Tajik Defence Minister Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim has been accused of trying to pack the army with Tajik recruits. The Japanese-funded process of disarming, demobilising and reintegrating some 100,000 militiamen is due to start in coming weeks.
Posted by: Domingo ||
06/26/2003 11:27:21 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
Bingo! Hat tip to Liberalhawk
An al-Qaida mastermind of the May 12 terrorist bombing in Riyadh has been arrested in Saudi Arabia. Ali Abd al-Rahman al-Faqasi al-Ghamdi surrendered to police. He was one of the top al-Qaida operatives in the kingdom, officials said. The Saudi, around 30 years old, fought with al-Qaida in the U.S.-war in Afghanistan. Also known as Abu Bakr al-Azdi, he was at Tora Bora in late 2001. He left before the U.S. bombing began. Officials say he has been linked to Saif al-Adil and Abu Mohamed al-Masri, two of the most senior al-Qaida operatives who remain at large. U.S. officials have said both are thought to be hiding in Iran. Al-Ghamdi was also an associate of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. Al-Ghamdi was also among the 19 alleged militants wanted since Saudi police discovered a weapons cache in Riyadh early last month. "Justice will take its course within the framework of the laws," Saudi radio quoted the Interior Ministry official as saying.
Does that mean we're going to see his head lying in the dirt?
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/26/2003 5:37:11 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
Saudi Arabia announced yesterday it had stopped more than 1000 preachers of mosques until they undergo rehabilitation courses to promote moderate attitude and reject extremism represented by al-Qaida organization. A matter which seemed as a campaign of reform ( Islah ) in the very influencial religious institute in the Kingdom. Despite the fact that the Saudi governmental official who announced this step stressed it was not linked to the American pressures on the Kingdom, nor the explosions which targeted houses complexes in Riyadh, nor clashes in Mecca, however, stopping those preachers and advocates from work can be listed in the context of several stances announced towards controlling extremism and monitoring the flow of assets and talks on amending certain educational curricula.
"No, no! Really! We were just getting around to doing it..."
The deputy minister at the Islamic affairs ministry in Saudi Arabia, Abdul Rahman al-Matroudi said that the preachers who were stopped will be rehabilitated in order to tell the worshippers that the September 11 attacks are a violation to the teaching of Islam. Al-Matroudi said that the preachers were informed that what happened on September 11 and the attacks which took place in other areas are all against Islam and that people should be notified that this is the position that Muslims should take. He indicated that "if one is not qualified to perform this mission, he will be asked to quit or he will be retrained and qualified."
"Perhaps you turbans should consider a rewarding career in the food service industry, if you can't quite grasp the official line?"
Al-Matroudi said that certain Americans, regrettably do not know what is taking place in the kingdom, noting that as a result of that they make their assessment having no information on the culture and tradition of the kingdom. He added that all Mosques' Imams and preachers criticized al-Qaida attitude.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/26/2003 00:33 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
Amid American calls to cut the Arab support to Palestinian organizations, a remarkable position was taken by an official at the Saudi foreign ministry as he was quoted that the aid given by Saudi Arabia to Palestine goes to the Palestinian authority and not the Hamas movement, noting that the Kingdom has actually frozen last week the work of the donation raising commissions, waiting for restructuring standards of its work in order to make sure that the money does not go to the hands of "terrorists."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/26/2003 00:28 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
A crack Australian-led anti-terrorist force will try to quickly kill or capture Solomon Islands warlord Harold Keke. SAS - When you care enough to send the very best.
Keke, who is reported to have killed at least 50 people, is believed to be funding his reign of terror using gold bars stolen from a local goldmine and from a crashed aircraft. Sources in the capital Honiara said Keke was being supplied with guns and ammunition by relatives in Bougainville using motorised dinghies. The Australian-led regional force of up to 2000 military personnel and police will be sent to the Solomons Islands in about six weeks to secure the strife-torn nation. More than half the force will be from the Australian army, navy and air force, plus up to 200 federal police or protective services officers. The amphibious command ship HMAS Kanimbla will be the centrepiece of the deployment and will be moored off Honiara. The warship, which is steaming home to Sydney from the Middle East, will carry supplies and provide accommodation for troops.
Soldiers and supplies will be flown in using RAAF C-130 Hercules aircraft. Army and navy helicopters will ferry troops and gear to outlying parts of the island nation. The army will provide infantry soldiers, probably from the Townsville-based No. 3 brigade, plus field engineers to establish small base facilities on the ground. New Zealand, Fiji and PNG are expected to send company-sized contributions of about 100 troops each to make up a battalion group under the command of an Australian colonel. New Zealand would also provide naval and air force support. Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer yesterday said the total force would be in the vicinity of a couple of thousand military personnel. Not screwing around, good
A senior police source in Honiara said: "They'll really need to nail Keke kwiktaim (quick time) and not let this action become another Afghanistan or Iraq where they missed their key targets like bin Laden and Saddam." Had to get that jab in, didn't you?
Mr Downer confirmed that the co-operative intervention force would go after rebel leaders such as Keke. Villagers fleeing the Weathercoast on Guadalcanal told of Keke's brutality when they arrived in Honiara aboard the Solomon's patrol boat Auki on Sunday. One frightened village mother, clutching her children and a few possessions, said Keke had kidnapped dozens of people, including priests from the Melanesian Brothers order. "We were threatened by Keke and his followers who demanded pigs, chickens and other items from us," she said. "We are helpless and vulnerable to aggression because there are no armed police in the area to protect us." Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Laurie Chan confirmed reports that Keke was funding his rebel campaign with stolen gold bars. Mr Chan is in Australia for Monday's crisis meeting of Pacific Island Forum ministers to finalise details of the anti-terrorist force.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/26/2003 12:24:13 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
More merde from France
One of the world's best-known terrorists of the 1970s and 1980s has written a book lauding the man suspected of masterminding the 11 September 2001 attacks on the United States. Carlos the Jackal, whose real name is Illich Ramirez Sanchez, praises Osama Bin Laden's "shining" example in a selection of writings from his prison cell in France which went on sale on Thursday. Buy with de Villepin's poetry and get the 'cheaper' free!
A convert to Islam since his imprisonment for three murders, Sanchez preaches "revolutionary Islam" — which is the title of his book — as the new, post-Communist answer to what he calls US "totalitarianism". If ever you needed reminding why you think the way you do, this murder pretty much sums it up. Anti-American Communist Islamofascist Murderer: French publisher's wet dream?
The book, excerpts of which have been published by Le Monde, has also raised questions over how it could have seen the light of day as the French prison system is supposed to strictly control all correspondence between inmates and the outside world. Its contents were compiled and edited by a French journalist, Jean-Michel Vernochet, on the basis of letters, interviews and texts by the Jackal, according to Le Monde. Mr Vernochet told the French news agency AFP that he had never actually met Sanchez but had received the materials from the publishing house releasing the book. The book is a "defence and illustration of terrorism," Mr Vernochet said. In the words of Sanchez himself: "From now on terrorism is going to be more or less a daily part of the landscape of your rotting democracies." Is this quote on the inside cover, or a as a glitzy peel-off sticker on the front?
Sanchez, 55, and serving a life sentence since 1997 for killing two Paris police officers and their informant in 1975, appears to have either rejected his past Communist revolutionary beliefs in favour of Islamic militancy or merged them. Not much merging required, bozo.
He suggests that the 11 September attacks — a "lofty feat of arms" — were part of an "armed struggle" to liberate the holy places of Islam and win justice for the Palestinians. You know, the Arab population of France's prisons is 50%. Who'da thunk a Communist would be so gullible?!
Revolutionary Islam, he argues, "attacks the ruling classes in order to achieve a more equitable redistribution of wealth" and Islam is the only "transnational force capable of standing up the enslavement of nations". That'll be why the 'Palestinians' are rolling in Saudi gold and standing tall with their Islamic brethren, not destitute pawns and pathetic scapegoats.
The Venezuelan-born killer also talks about his religious conversion which began under an Iranian mullah, he says. No comment.
In 2001 he married his own lawyer, Isabelle Coutant-Peyre, with an Islamic rite. How will you ensure she's shuffling about in her Yashmak like a good Islamowifey?
The new book does not refer to Sanchez's own crimes but he says that he completed his "memoirs" in 1992 whilst in Jordan, to be published after his death. Then that's one book we can eagerly look forward to seeing on Amazon.
EFL
Greek authorities have ordered the crew of a seized ship loaded with nearly 700 tonnes of explosives to remain in custody pending further investigation. The decision was taken after the crew of the Baltic Sky - five Ukrainians and two Azeris - appeared for the first time in front of the investigative magistrate in the western town of Messolongi. The crew had already been charged with possession and transport of explosives and also with failing to notify Greece 24 hours in advance that they were transporting explosives into Greek waters. The ship set sail from Tunisia carrying 680 tonnes of explosives, mainly TNT, and 8,000 detonators, when it was stormed by special forces off Greece's western coast on Sunday. On Tuesday, Sudan criticised Greece for impounding the ship, saying the explosives — ammonium nitrates — were ordered by a Sudanese company and were for civilian use. OK, once again I ask the question, is it TNT, ANFO or both?
On Wednesday, the captain of the ship, Anatoly Baltak, was reported as telling the Greek court that he had acted on orders of the ship's owners and thought he was acting legally. Mr Baltak also later told reporters that he took command of the ship in Istanbul on 3 June, and had documents for the explosives loaded in Tunisia's port of Gabes on 13 May. He said he left Istanbul for Greece after receiving orders from his owners. On Tuesday, a Tunisian company filed a complaint against the owners of the Baltic Sky saying they had a contract with them to deliver the explosives to Khartoum. The Societe Tunisienne d'Explosifs et Munitions — who said the transaction was approved by Sudanese authorities — also accused the Baltic Sky of diverting the cargo from its original route. Also on Tuesday, Tunisian Interior Minister Hedi M'Henni said later that the ship owners demanded an additional payment of $10,000 and threatened to confiscate the ship. Is Tunisia threatening to confiscate the ship or did the owners? It's beginning to sound like this may be just a business dispute. Ship owners got the cargo loaded and then wanted more money, had the ship steam around until they got paid.
Shipping documents show that the Baltic Sky was sailing under the Comoros flag, but several maritime sources — including authoritative Lloyd's list — have linked the ship with an Ireland-based company. The ship's location when it was stopped suggested it was not heading towards Khartoum. It had apparently been sailing around the Mediterranean for six weeks before being impounded. If it is ANFO and not TNT, I think this will turn out to be just a shady shipping deal, not terrorism.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/26/2003 9:16:20 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
It's summer time and that means it's time to send the kiddies off to camp.
Join the INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT for Freedom Summer Palestine 2003 Oz Fest has nothing on this.
From July 1 â August 15, 2003 the International Solidarity Movement invites you to join the Palestinian people for Freedom Summer Palestine 2003 â a campaign designed to directly challenge the Israeli occupation policy of caging Palestinians in their cities, towns and villages, denying 3 million people their basic right to freedom of movement. The Palestinian people are living under a brutal military occupation that is a source of a terrible cycle of violence in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. But while the world focuses on the âWar on Terrorâ a blind-eye is turned to the terror practiced by the State of Israel against a largely unarmed population struggling for their freedom. While the mainstream media focuses on the âroad mapâ to peace, roads for colonizing settlers continue to be paved over Palestinian olive trees and Israeli soldiers and roadblocks prevent Palestinians from traveling freely to home, work and school. Or to blow up buses
The Israeli government continues to build a massive wall to surround Palestinian areas and turn their ghettos into large prisons. Twice as high and planned-to-be three times as long as the Berlin Wall, Israelâs new project has already uprooted tens of thousands of Palestinian fruit and olive trees and has destroyed or isolated from Palestinian farmers tens of thousands of dunams of farmland, de facto confiscating the Palestinian peopleâs most fertile land and most important water wells. Entire farming communities are losing all of their agricultural. Entire farming communities are losing all of their agricultural land. Yada, yada, yada. Snipped:
The ISM invites you to join the Palestinian people in coordinated direct-action, nonviolent resistance to this strangulation, oppression and affront to peace initiatives. While leaders talk about peace and the âroad mapâ, take part in working for justice on the ground and paving the road to freedom. Or being paved over. Mind the Zionist bulldozers, kids.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/26/2003 11:20:13 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
President General Pervez Musharraf declared on Wednesday that he would not allow the establishment of a vice and virtue department in the NWFP as mentioned by the MMA government in the province.
Of course, he's speaking in Washington...
Talking to Washington Post editors, the president said, âCertainly, we would not like to allow this to come out as a body, judicial body, which is there to address all issues and declare whether something is Islamic or un-Islamic. We have our own courts, the Constitution contains issues which disallow any Article repugnant to Islam to be introduced in Pakistan. So all these checks and balances are there and we think that there is no need for an additional check of this nature that you are saying. And we need to see when they (the MMA) bring it up, they are talking of it, but I am very clear that we cannot allow this thing to happen in our country.â
Knowing Perv as well as we do by now, that means it'll probably happen, but he'll say it's not...
Asked about domestic Pakistani politics, the president said, referring to Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, that his government had only moved against âtwo individualsâ who had run Pakistan twice before and brought the country to the brink of being declared a âfailed stateâ.
Only to the brink?
Gen Musharraf said what he had done by way of the LFO was to bar those who had twice been chief ministers and prime ministers from holding the slots a third time, but their parties were still a part of Pakistani politics.
Yep. Standing on principle — with the MMA when they think it suits them, with Perv when they think it suits them...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/26/2003 23:31 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
The U.N. terrorism committee has found no evidence to support the Bush administration's claims of a link between Iraq and Al Qaeda, and the United States has provided the committee with no proof, officials said Thursday. The committee, charged with investigating Al Qaeda and the former Taliban rulers of Afghanistan, circulated a draft report on progress made to shut down Osama bin Laden's network worldwide. "Nothing has come to our notice that would indicate links between Iraq and Al Qaeda," said Michael Chandler, the committee's chief investigator. Hear no evil, see no evil, you fill in the rest.
He and others revealed that the first they had heard of any links was during Secretary of State Colin Powell's February presentation to the Security Council ahead of the Iraq war. "It had never come to our knowledge before the Powell's speech, and we never received any information from the United States for us to even follow-up on," said Abaza Hassan, a committee investigator. Wouldn't have believed it even if we had, would you, Abaza?
Calls to U.S. diplomats at the United Nations were not immediately returned. Powell insisted in his presentation that Saddam Hussein's regime was allowing a senior Al Qaeda member named Abu Musab Zarqawi to operate from Baghdad. Zarqawi has been indicted for the murder of a U.S. diplomat in Jordan on Oct. 28, 2002. The alleged connections were cited by the administration as one of the key reasons for going after Saddam. But the committee saw no need to even investigate Zarqawi's movements. Speaks for itself, doesn't it?
The Jordanian indictment does not refer to Zarqawi as having been a member of Al Qaeda. The committee is investigating Al Qaeda activity in Iran, however, and for the first time, has added a Chechen to its list of Al Qaeda members. Russia has long insisted on a relationship between the Chechens and bin Laden's group. Of course they believe the Russians.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/26/2003 2:48:47 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
The former Iraqi information minister, who gained notoriety during the war for wildly implausible claims of victory, showed up on Arab television Thursday his first appearance since the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime. In an interview with Al-Arabiya satellite network, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf claimed he had surrendered to American forces, was questioned and let go. ''Through some friends, I went to the Americans,'' he said. ''I was interrogated about a number of subjects related to my job. After that, I was released.'' But do we believe him?
The network aired only a few remarks from the 30-minute interview it said it conducted with al-Sahhaf on Thursday in a Baghdad suburb. The full interview was to air on Friday. It was not clear from the promo when al-Sahhaf claims the alleged interrogation and release took place. London's Daily Mirror said in its Wednesday edition that al-Sahhaf had been arrested in Baghdad on Monday night. However, U.S. Defense Department spokesman Col. Jay DeFrank said Wednesday that Central Command had no information on his being in U.S. custody. "Who?"
In Thursday's clip, al-Sahhaf appeared fit and wore civilian clothes. But he was thinner and his hair was white a sharp change from his previous look of military fatigues and black hair tucked under a beret. Must be a shortage of "Just For Mouthpieces" hair color, I blame the UN sanctions.
He referred to the dying days of Saddam's regime. ''It was a difficult situation, not for one individual, but for everybody,'' he said. The interview will include ''important information about the last war and the fall of the Iraqi regime,'' al-Arabiya said in a statement sent to The Associated Press. Including a promo for his upcoming book, I'm sure.
He ''was exclusively interviewed in his hide-out in Baghdad,'' it said, but did not say where. Third cardboard box on the left, just past the Saddam Memorial Crater.
Al-Sahhaf disappeared April 9, the day Baghdad fell to coalition forces. He is not on the list of the 55 most wanted Iraqi officials. Al-Arabiya has been linked to the ex-minister before: A month ago, it announced that it would offer him a job as a commentator on Iraqi affairs if it located him. He might not be credible, the station's officials said then, but he is popular and was in the Iraqi regime. Sounds like a job description for CNN. Ali al-Hadithi, the station's general supervisor, said Thursday that the issue was still being discussed. ''We managed to get the interview today. The other issue will be discussed once he leaves Iraq,'' al-Hadithi said.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/26/2003 2:13:50 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
After action report:
Many U.S. soldiers serving in Iraq are newly battle tested, but so too are many of the weapons and much of the equipment they took to the fight. A team of evaluators from Program Executive Office Soldier, the Army unit that oversees everything soldiers wear or carry into combat, visited the troops in the combat zone to gauge the performance of their gear. They spoke with dozens of soldiers from May 5-10 and recorded their findings in a draft document obtained by Army Times. The soldiers whose opinions are included in âOperation Iraqi Freedom: PEO Soldier Lessons Learnedâ were in Iraq with elements of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), the 82nd Airborne Division and 3rd Infantry Division. Where appropriate, some of the key findings will be used to guide weapons, uniform and equipment modifications and replacements. They include:
9mm pistol: Soldiers generally disliked it, saying it lacked significant stopping power. The 9mmâs magazines also performed poorly, with soldiers stretching the spring to get sufficient force to feed rounds into the chamber. Bring back the .45ACP!
XM107 .50-caliber sniper rifle. Maybe the most useful weapon for urban combat, soldiers said. Soldiers liked the range, accuracy and stopping power. Some, however, thought the Leopold Sight was not ballistically matched to the weapon. Sigh, I want one. Not that I need it, but just because.
M4 assault rifle. Soldiers said it performed well in the demanding environment, but the weaponâs range was inadequate for targets in excess of 500 meters, even with the flip-up sight. Gee, wasn't it just a few years ago when all the experts were saying nobody needed to shoot at anyone over 300 meters away with a rifle?
Interceptor Body Armor: The troops in Iraq expressed confidence in it when âtrolling for contactâ with the enemy, but said it interfered with a prone firing position. Just thinking about what the phrase âtrolling for contactâ means makes my skin crawl.
ICOM radio. With poor range ability, it was evaluated as the worst example of squad communications, which were poor overall. âEveryone had a Motorola-type hand-held radio that had vastly better range and power performance,â the document stated.
Desert combat boots. They were a problem in Afghanistan and theyâre a problem for soldiers in Iraq. Soldiers said the soles were too soft and too easily damaged by the terrain. PEO Soldier has been experimenting with alternatives to this boot. Reading a little history has shown me that soliders have complained about their footgear every war since they invented sandals.
MOLLE rucksack system. The Modular Lightweight Load-bearing Equipment was well-received as an improvement over its predecessors, though soldiers offered several areas that need attention. They disliked the snaps and would prefer Velcro in combination with fast tech-type connectors, for example.
Assault ruck. Soldiers had many favorable things to say about this item, although some found it too small and not durable.
Individual gear. Soldiers, as they have done for decades, spend their own money to purchase the quality packs, pouches, belts, underwear, socks and gloves they believe they need for mission success, according to the document. Soldiers are buying their own Coolmax-type T-shirts because of their wicking properties. Under Armour is another popular brand. Socks were an item that generated âa good deal of discussion,â according to the document. Many received black wool/poly pro blend that were too hot for comfort in the Iraqi desert. Some received the tan and white Wright sock, which shrank too much after washing. Soldiers in the 3rd Infantry Division received the dark green sock, and they continued to judge it as superior. âSoldiers felt if they could just keep their socks clean, they could better protect their feet,â the document stated.
The Camelbak-style hydration system was deemed the way to go in the parched desert of Iraq. Soldiers stopped using their one-quart canteens once the threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction subsided. However, the Camelbak variant distributed to the 82nd Airborne Division was not rugged enough. Troops said bladders ruptured easily and they had no way to replace them.
PEO Soldierâs Rapid Fielding Initiative has been addressing many of these individual-gear needs. Interesting.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/26/2003 1:45:43 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
EFL
One US solider was killed and another injured today, when their vehicle was ambushed on a road leading to Baghdad airport. An Iraqi passer-by also died in the attack. Two Iraqis working for the national electricity authority were also killed today in separate incident, when their US-led convoy came under a grenade attack in west Baghdad. The latest deaths were a further sign that hit-and-run attacks against US forces are becoming more frequent and more sophisticated, to the point where they could pose a serious challenge to the forces trying to rebuild Iraq. The local Fedayeen and hard boys need a thumping from the 4ID.
Witnesses to the first incident said a Humvee military vehicle was attacked at 9am in the Amiriyah neighbourhood, not far from the airport. The ambush apparently involved an explosive device placed on the road, which was detonated either by remote control or a trip wire. A civilian vehicle was also hit by the explosion, killing one occupant and seriously injuring another. Three pedestrians were also hurt. "It was some explosive device. We don't know what type. We have no reports of bullets, just shrapnel," captain Sean McWilliams of a tank company attached to the 82nd Airborne Division told reporters at the scene. "The point we want to drive home to everybody is that attacks like this won't deter us from our mission. All the people wanted to do here was stop the transition to a new democratic Iraq, and they're not going to succeed in that," he said. The airport road, which is used extensively by US forces, has been the scene of a series of ambushes using trip wires dangling from overpasses, or grenades tossed from bridges. Time to clear the road, bridges, etc. and make it real clear that someone loitering around these spots is going to get whacked.
Similar guerrilla tactics have been employed elsewhere too. The Qatar-based al-Jazeera television said yesterday it had received a statement from a group calling itself Mujahidoo al-Taifa al-Mansoura, or Muslim Fighters of the Barking Mad Losers Victorious Sect, which claimed responsibility for several recent attacks. The statement "urged Iraqis to stay away from US forces for their own safety, because the group planned further attacks in the near future", the television station said. Good thinking, 'cause the innnocents civilians shouldn't have to die when we smack the Fedayeen.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/26/2003 12:55:07 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
The Pentagon has awarded a 48-million-dollar contract to train the nucleus of a new Iraqi army to Vinnell Corporation, a US firm which also trains members of the Saudi National Guard. Work on the contract announced Wednesday was to begin July 1. The Fairfax, Virginia-based company, a subsidiary of the US aerospace firm Northrup Grumman, said on its website it was hiring former US army and marine officers to train light infantry battalions and combat service support units for the new Iraqi army. The new army is expected to reach 12,000 troops within a year and swell to 40,000 within two years.
Iraq's former standing army of some 400,000 soldiers was disbanded after US-led forces ousted the ruling Baath party regime in April. Creation of a new force became a priority for occupation officials amid continuing unrest and protests by cashiered former soldiers demanding to be paid. Vinnell has for the past 20 years trained members of Saudi Arabia's National Guard and those of other Middle Eastern military forces. Ten of the company's employees -- two Filipinos and eight US nationals -- were among those killed in May 12 suicide attacks on compounds for foreign workers in Riyadh.
Posted by: Domingo ||
06/26/2003 11:24:31 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
More details from yesterday's story.
U.S. intelligence officials have confirmed a former Iraqi scientist's claims that he buried nuclear weapons components in his rose garden in Baghdad. Hamdi Shukuir Ubaydi told CIA officials that he was ordered to bury a gas centrifuge used to enrich uranium â a necessary piece of equipment for developing a nuclear weapon â in order to be ready to rebuild Iraq's bomb program. Ubaydi, who was head of Iraq's pre-1991 centrifuge enrichment program, told U.S. intelligence officials he was acting on orders from Saddam Hussein's government. As teams of U.S. officials scour the country for evidence of Saddam's weapons of mass destruction, U.S. officials uncovered critical parts of Iraqi nuclear technology buried under a rose bush in Ubaydi's garden. Other items of interest found buried in his garden included:
A two-foot-tall stack of related documents.
A number of the most-difficult-to-make parts.
Examples and templates which would be used to make a large number of centrifuges. A large number of centrifuges are needed to make nuclear weapons.
Ubaydi said the elements represent a complete set of what would be needed to rebuild a centrifuge uranium enrichment program. He said he was told to bury it in his back yard until inspectors from the U.N.'s IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) in Iraq before the Gulf War left. The former Iraqi scientist, who is believed to have left Iraq, told reporters he has been talking to CIA officials since May and U.S. sources said they believe his statements were credible. However, a CIA official refused to call the discovery the "smoking gun" that would validate the Bush administration's claims that Iraq had an active program to develop a nuclear weapon. The agency said it was "a moderate deal." Intelligence officials are less than enthusiastic because all the evidence dated from 1991 or earlier. Most or all of that nuclear program was dismantled after U.N. inspections following the first Persian Gulf War. It's still a violation
An IAEA official told ABCNEWS that the centrifuge component dug up in Ubaydi's backyard was a "bottom bearing housing" of a centrifuge, or the sensitive part on which the centrifuge rests as it spins at high speed, separating heavy and light molecules in order to get weapons-grade enriched uranium. It was not known whether the component was produced in Iraq or imported from abroad. Does it have a "Made in France" label?
A CIA official said the items buried in Ubaydi's garden illustrate the size of the problem. The official said the find signaled Iraq was prepared to start up a centrifuge program when no one was looking. An intelligence official told The Associated Press the scientist and his family has been taken out of Iraq with the help of the U.S. government. Ubaydi has garnered some interest because he not only said he had something buried in his back yard â there was actually something there. Since the end of the war, teams of U.S. U.S. officials in Iraq have been frantically searching for evidence of Iraq's suspected chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs amid growing international pressure on the United States and Britain to produce evidence of the coalition's justification for going to war. Iraqis, motivated by reward money for evidence of the programs, have offered innumerable leads and tips â but they have all been fruitless. So far no weapons have been found. Before the recent invasion of Iraq, U.S. and allied intelligence agencies insisted they had evidence that Iraq was seeking to restart its nuclear weapons program, despite contrary statements from the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency. Some of the American evidence has since been debunked, and other evidence, such as reports that Iraq tried to import precision-made tubes for centrifuges, remains hotly debated. Can't deny this, but I'm sure they'll try.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/26/2003 10:02:56 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
British forces gave civilian leaders in the southern Iraq town of Majar al-Kabir 48 hours to hand over gunmen who killed six British military police officers. British military officials met seven members of the city's administrative council in the nearby town of Amarah, seeking the killers' surrender, said Qassem Nimeh, an official in the mayor's office in Majar al-Kabir. There were contradictory versions of what sparked the shooting. Local police said today that residents of the small township, furious over the deaths of civilians during a demonstration, had shot and killed the military policemen.
Just Dire Revengeâ¢. Nothing out of the ordinary...
Armed Iraqis killed two of the British soldiers at the scene of the demonstration â in front of the mayor's office â and then stormed a police station and killed four other British soldiers after a twoâhour gunbattle, a pair of Iraqi policemen said.
The day's violence began when British soldiers fired rubber bullets â and then live ammunition â at rioters demonstrators in Majar alâKabir who were protesting against the presence of British forces in the city, said Abu Zahraa, a 30âyearâold local vendor. He said the British had formally agreed a day earlier to let local police patrol the city. Accounts differed on where the four Iraqi civilians were killed. Some said British soldiers killed all four during the demonstration; another account said two unarmed protesters were killed during the demonstration and two other civilians were killed in the gun battle at the police station.
I'd suspect they were all killed in the gun battle...
After the deaths at the scene of the demonstration, angry townspeople fetched weapons from their homes, converged on the police station and attacked British soldiers, said Abbas Faddhel, an Iraqi policeman in the town. One British soldier was shot and killed at the station's doorway; the other three died after Iraqi gunmen stormed the station and cornered them in a single room, said Salam Mohammed, aged 30, member of a municipal security force. A British military spokesman, Captain Adam MarchantâWincott, said he could not confirm the Iraqi witness accounts. He said, however, that it was possible that there had been an agreement between British forces and local police allowing the locals to take over security for the city. Capt. MarchantâWincott said he could not say whether the British forces had fired at demonstrators but added that they would do so only if their lives were threatened.
Like in a gun battle...
Mr Faddhel said that there were about two dozen Iraqi policemen at the station who fled through a window during the gunbattle. Two were wounded. He said the Iraqi police had asked the British troops to leave with them but the British insisted on staying.
Make a desolation and call it peace. That way it won't happen again. Don't do it, and it will...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/26/2003 00:24 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
A suspected Islamic militant has told an Indonesian court that Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir is the leader of the extremist group blamed for last year's Bali bombings. Giving evidence via a television link from Singapore, Faiz bin Abu Bakar Bafana said that Mr Ba'asyir had become the head of Jemaah Islamiah (JI) in 2000, following the death of the previous leader, Abdullah Sugkar. Mr Bafana said the cleric had also approved a series of church bomb attacks in 2000, and plotted the assassination of Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri. Prosecutors say Mr Ba'asyir, who denies that JI even exists, authorised the church bombings. He also stands accused of planning to overthrow the Jakarta Government to establish an Islamic state. While he has not been named as a suspect in the Bali bombings, many Indonesian officials suspect him of involvement, and several key Bali suspects have been called to testify at his trial.
Mr Bafana, a Malaysian who is in detention in Singapore, is the first foreigner to give evidence. His testimony is likely to come as a welcome relief to prosecutors, correspondents say. So far, most of the witnesses called to testify against the cleric have failed to link Abu Bakar Ba'asyir with JI, and to implicate him in any bomb attacks. Mr Bafana told the court he had joined JI in 1986, and that Mr Ba'asyir was at his swearing-in ceremony. He said he had visited the cleric in his hometown of Solo in central Java, and was accompanied by Riduan Isamuddin, also known as Hambali, who is thought to be a senior JI figure and is still at large. Mr Bafana said that Mr Ba'asyir had been like a father to him, and that he was upset to see the elderly preacher on trial. Guess they're not that close if he's testifying
He admitted that Mr Ba'asyir had approved the church attacks, but said the cleric "did not ask us to do it, he only suggested targets were in line with the objectives." Mr Bafana was arrested in 2001 and is being held indefinitely in Singapore under the country's Internal Security Act. Two other suspected Islamic militants held in Singapore are expected to testify in Mr Ba'asyir's trial later today. The cleric's lawyer, Mohammad Assegaf, has objected to the televised testimony of foreign witnesses such as Mr Bafana. "This witness statement is clearly given under duress," Mr Assegaf said of Mr Bafana's comments. "Lies, all lies!"
The defence team eventually walked out of the court in protest, accompanied by cheers from Mr Ba'asyir's supporters.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/26/2003 9:02:52 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
Indonesiaâs military said on Wednesday it has found mass graves believed to contain the bodies of civilians killed by separatist rebels in Aceh province. The excavation on one of the four mass graves, in the grounds of an abandoned Islamic boarding school in the village of Alue Pisang in West Aceh, started on Sunday and had so far unearthed two corpses, said Colonel Geerhan Lantara, a district military commander.
Two corpses isn't a very "mass" grave. On the other hand, since it's at an Islamic boarding school, no doubt there'll be more...
The head of the Raudatul Ulum boarding school, a man called Tengku Taharuddin or Abu Taha, was arrested by the military early last month on suspicion of being a GAM âpolice chiefâ in the area, Lantara told AFP. âGAM has used the school as an operational base. The two corpses are beyond recognition but we know that they were civilians killed by the rebels,â he said without giving details of how many corpses are believed buried in the area. A GAM spokesman, Sofyan Daud, denied that Taha was a member of GAM and said the civilians had been killed by the military instead.
"Yeah! They bumped 'em off six months ago and planted 'em there!"
A member of the National Commission on Human Rights special team on Aceh, Zumrotin Susilo, said her team had not received reports of mass graves in West Aceh.
"We're waiting for the paperwork..."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/26/2003 00:09 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
TEHRAN: An Iranian student leader Abdollah Momeni was seized in Tehran on Wednesday by unidentified men in plainclothes, a student told AFP Thursday. Momeni is secretary of the Office to Consolidate Unity (OCU), the main reformist student group, which has been involved in recent protests against the Islamic regime. âAbdollah Momeni was arrested by men in plainclothes while he was with other students at the entrance to the teacher training college,â the student, who declined to be identified, said. âHe was handcuffed and taken away in a white car,â adding that other students were threatened when they tried to intervene.
The OCU says scores of students were arrested in the wake of the recent demonstrations, and ahead of the July 9 anniversary of student protests which shook the country in 1999. The latest June 10-20 unrest saw a small protest at Tehran University over government education policy snowball into 10 days of countrywide anti-regime demonstrations and clashes. Iranâs judiciary, a bastion of hardliners, has asserted that only a tiny proportion of those arrested were students and that the majority of detainees were âhooligansâ. Deputy Higher Education Minister Gholam Reza Zarifian put the total number of students in the hands of Iranian intelligence at 80, including 32 arrested in Tehran, adding that the government was working to secure the release of those who had committed no offences.
"And how many's that?"
"Approximately, uhhhh... none."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/26/2003 23:42 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
JPost - Reg Req'd
Disappointed Iranian students issued a "final warning" Thursday to the ruling Islamic establishment, saying their wrath was about to explode as security agents continued arresting classmates in a bid to undermine plans to mark the fourth anniversary of a fatal raid by hard-liners on a university dormitory. Trying to rally before all the student leaders disappear?
"We openly declare that these words are the final words of dialogue between the student movement and the ruling establishment," students said in a strongly worded letter addressed to President Mohammad Khatami. Signed Thursday by 106 prominent students, the letter protested the trampling of legitimate freedoms and a government ban on street rallies to mark the July 9, 1999, raid on a Tehran University dormitory that killed one person and injured at least 20 others. The 1999 attacks, led by police and hard-line vigilantes who support Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, triggered six days of nationwide protests, the worst since the 1979 Islamic revolution that toppled the pro-U.S. Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
One of the letter's signatories, Saeed Razavi Faqih, said if Khatami failed to heed the students' warning, the students would even stop recognizing the legitimacy of elected reformists within Iran's ruling establishment. "The rulers should know that confronting the student movement will have a bitter ending for this establishment, which has lost almost all its legitimacy," he said. Khatami, who was elected on a platform of delivering wide social and political reforms, has been criticized by fellow reformers for only deploring — not condemning — attacks two weeks ago by hard-line vigilantes against two Tehran student dormitories. Students criticized Khatami's silence as "painful and disappointing." "We call on you (Khatami) ... to react before it's too late and adopt a reasonable solution, or otherwise have the courage to resign so that you don't justify oppressive policies (of hard-liners) and allow students to settle their accounts with the establishment," the letter said.
The protests earlier this month began with students demonstrating against plans to privatize universities and snowballed into broader displays of opposition to Khamenei's clerical establishment. Government authorities have said they arrested about 520 protesters, mostly "hooligans." But students say most of those detained are students. Razavi Faqih said security agents this week detained several more student leaders, including Mahdi Aminizadeh and Abdollah Momeni. The students' letter also accused the Interior Ministry of refusing to permit July 9 street rallies, while university officials have been opposed to holding ceremonies on university grounds. While protesters have regularly condemned unelected hard-line clerics and supported Khatami, the recent student-led protests had for the first time called for the establishment's ouster and denounced Khatami for failing to fulfill promises. Taking Bets: rally crushed by regime or violent uprising?
I go for violent uprising, with street killings of the imported Paleo/Soddy thugs
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/26/2003 3:54:13 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
JPost - Reg Req'd
and no, this isn't a repeat of yesterday's post
Border Police on Thursday killed two Palestinians who had infiltrated into Israel's north from the West Bank and were planning a bomb attack. It was the third incident in the area of the Israel-West Bank line in the last 36 hours, and it came as Palestinians spoke of a cease-fire agreement to halt attacks against Israel for three months. Formal announcement of the truce was expected over the weekend. Trying to get that last minute shopping killing in before the ceasefire, huh?
The police said paramilitary Border Police caught up with the Palestinians and killed them near the Arab Israeli town of Baka al-Garbiyeh, which is next to the West Bank. They were carrying two bags thought to contain bombs. Two other Palestinians were arrested, and police said they were suspected of providing transport to the would-be bombers. Police demolition experts were planning to blow up the bombs. Nearby, a few hours earlier, a Palestinian teenager shot and killed an Israeli telephone company technician. The gunman was shot by a security guard and captured. A breakaway faction of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, linked to the mainstream Fatah group, claimed responsibility. It's always a "breakaway faction", isn't it?
On Wednesday, police arrested two West Bank Palestinians who were planning a bombing in central Israel. Police exploded the bomb they were carrying.
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/26/2003 3:45:29 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
Palestinian insurgents have found a new route for importing explosives to the Gaza Strip. Israeli intelligence sources said Sudan has become a major source for Palestinian weapons, explosives and detonators. They said several Palestinian insurgency groups based in Sudan arrange for shipments of material from Khartoum through Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula. Our friends the Egyptians....
From Sinai, the sources said, the weapons and explosives are smuggled through tunnels into the Gaza Strip. The Israeli assertion came as Greece seized a ship with a cargo of 680 tons of explosives and 8,000 detonators in the Ionian Sea. The Comoros-flagged Baltic Sky, monitored by an NATO task force, obtained the explosives and detonators from Tunisia and refueled in Istanbul. The explosives were said to have consisted of industrial-grade ammonium nitrate, which a Khartoum-based company said it ordered for road construction. Nice cover story, but probably getting old now.
Greek officials said ammonium nitrate has been used in several major attacks on civilian targets, including the 2002 bombing of a nightclub in Bali. Egypt has long known of the weapons route, the sources said. But they said that despite appeals by Israel and the United States, the regime of President Hosni Mubarak has failed to stop the weapons flow. Canât support the boomers and get $billions from the US, Hosni. Push will sometime come to shove.
The intelligence sources did not detail Palestinian means to fund the weapons procurement. But on Tuesday, Israeli authorities handed down indictments against Islamic leaders that charged that they funneled at least $6.8 million to Hamas members in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The indictment said at least two of the Israeli Muslims were in contact with an Iranian liasion with Palestinian insurgency groups. The liasion was identified as Nabil Mahzoumeh, deported by Israel in 1985. Greek intelligence chief Pavlos Apostolidis has not ruled out that Al Qaida might have ordered the explosives. But he said the Tunisian shipment appeared too large for any one insurgency group. Iâm shocked that I have been uuused by terrrorrrists in this way! I knew notting!
"I cannot imagine how Al Qaida could take 680 tons of TNT, but on the other hand we cannot find out what it was intended for," Apostolidis said in a television interview. "So I cannot exclude that Al Qaida or another group close to it was the final destination of the shipment." Contractor in the SudanâŠthatâs rich!
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/26/2003 1:35:02 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
The House on Wednesday said Israel was justified in its forceful response to Palestinian attacks and concluded that Middle East violence will stop only when Palestinian strikes cease. A House resolution, passed 399-5, condemned attacks on Israel since President George W. Bush, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas met in Jordan three weeks ago to pledge for the U.S.-backed peace plan. But a few lawmakers warned that the measure, coming on the same day that Islamic militants agreed to halt attacks on Israel for three months, was one-sided. What agreement was that, humm?
They said it says nothing about Israel's attempts to assassinate Islamic militants and undermines the U.S. role as a fair mediator in the peacemaking effort. The resolution "expresses solidarity with the Israeli people as they respond to ongoing terrorist attacks" and "acknowledges Israel's fight against terrorism as part of the global war against terrorism." About damm time.
It expresses sympathy to the families of innocent Israelis and Palestinians killed in the latest violence, and urged worldwide support for the Palestinian Authority in its attempt to confront the attacks. "Israel has as much right to fight against suicide bombers and ruthless terrorists as any other free and democratic nation," said Rep. Tom Lantos, a Democrat and sponsor of the resolution with House Majority Leader Tom Delay and International Relations Committee Chairman Henry Hyde, both Republicans, and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. DeLay said the only question was whether Palestinian leaders "will stand with the civilized world in defiance of evil or whether they will fail like their predecessors." He
brushed off Wednesday's cease-fire announcement. "Murderers who take three-month vacations are still murderers," he said. Amen
But Rep. Nick Rahall, a Democrat and one of only four House members of Arab-American descent, said the resolution was the wrong message to send at "this precarious time in the Middle East when we are so close to reaching an agreement." It "unfortunately points only to the obligations of the Palestinians and insinuates they are not fulfilling those obligations. They aren't
There are obligations by the Israelis as well," he said. "This resolution takes sides," said Rep. John Dingell, a Democrat, whose Detroit-area district has one of the largest Arab-American communities in America. It does not help the United States gain standing as an honest, impartial broker, he said. Joining Rahall and Dingell in voting against the resolution were Democrat Reps. Jerry Kleczka and Lynn Woolsey, and Republican Ron Paul. Remember those names.
Seven others voted present. Gutless
The House on Wednesday also passed, by 412-0, a resolution expressing concern about the rise of anti-Semitism around the world. Oh sure, everyone express concern.
It urges the 55 nations of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, including the United States, to aggressively prosecute anti-Semitic actions and increase education to eradicate anti-Semitic attitudes. Education, that's the ticket.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/26/2003 11:00:07 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
Syria says it has protested to the US Government over an American military strike thought to have been aimed at Saddam Hussein. The comment, made in the official Syrian Arab News Agency on Wednesday - nearly a week after the event occurred - was the first from Damascus. Took them long enough
The Foreign Ministry said it had summoned the US ambassador to Damascus, Theodore Kattouf, to protest and demand the return of five Syrian soldiers wounded in the incident. US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld confirmed on Tuesday that the US was treating five Syrian border guards. But he declined to say whether US forces had entered Syria during the strike which was carried out by special forces backed by aircraft. Syria said it had demanded the US hand over "the wounded soldiers to continue their treatment at a Syrian hospital to avoid any misunderstanding that might lead to an escalation that both sides do not desire". "Don't make me angry. You won't like..... Ouch, stop that!"
It added that it was still waiting for the "clarification" — diplomatic parlance for an explanation — it had requested of Ambassador Kattouf. Sana said it took place at a border post near the town of Abu Kamal, on the border with Iraq. The target was reportedly a convoy thought to have been carrying deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and one of his sons. Mr Rumsfeld did not explain how the Syrians came to be injured in the US attack, or whether a cross-border attack had been authorised by Washington. "I'm not going to get into what the Syrians have done and what they haven't done," Mr Rumsfeld told a Pentagon briefing.
"We don't discuss the rules of engagement... Borders are, you know, not always distinct in life." I'd say that was clear..as mud. Wonder what happened?
Posted by: Steve ||
06/26/2003 9:43:03 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
update only
An Israeli was killed in a shooting attack Thursday morning in a village that straddles the so-called Green Line separating the West Bank and Israel. The shooting comes as Palestinian militant groups deny reports they have reached an agreement to temporarily halt attacks on Israelis. Deny? I guess the dead Israeli agrees - they aren't abiding by any ceasefire. Time for a cause/effect lesson with hellfires. Try not to kill too many bunnys, baby ducks
Israel's Army Radio said the gunman walked up to the vehicle and opened fire, killing one of the occupants, an employee of Bezeq the Israeli telephone company. One of the bodyguards traveling in the vehicle returned fire, wounding the gunman who was later captured by Israeli police. The shooting took place in Baka al-Garbiyeh, a small village that sits astride the boundary separating the West Bank and Israel. Sounds like the fence needs to cut these bastards off
Earlier, two rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into the Israeli town of Sderot but did not explode. Five mortar rounds were also fired overnight into the Gush Katif settlement in the Gaza Strip but caused no injuries. The Palestinian militant group Hamas has vowed to avenge an Israel helicopter attack Wednesday in the Gaza city of Khan Yunis which killed two people. Israel says the strike was aimed at militants on their way to attack an Israeli settlement. Palestinians said the dead were innocent bystanders walking past the two vehicles that were struck by missiles fired from the helicopter.
Meanwhile, Palestinian militant groups are denying reports they have reached a deal with the Palestinian Authority on halting attacks against Israel. Hamas officials say their organization, along with Islamic Jihad and Fatah, are discussing the ceasefire with Palestinian officials but have not yet reached an agreement. Palestinian sources were quoted Wednesday as saying the three organizations had signed a ceasefire document in Damascus, Syria. Hamas is learning the Arafat method of stringing things out, accepting/rejecting offers, lying, using political vs military wing definitions when they're one and the same, fronts for new attacks while claiming they weren't involved..yadda yadda...
Kill them, now
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/26/2003 9:34:38 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
EFL
Fighters loyal to President Charles Taylor have pushed rebels back to the outskirts of the Liberian capital, Monrovia, the defence minister says. Fighting is now taking place around St Paul's bridge, some 10 kilometres from the city centre, Daniel Chea told the French news agency, AFP. Damm
Mr Chea said that 37 civilians had been killed during the fighting. "These guys mounted 81 mm mortar guns in Bushrod Island and started firing at random. Shells landed in the city centre and near the American embassy. At least 37 civilians died in downtown areas. I have seen the bodies," he said. Bushrod Island is separated from the city centre by a narrow strip of water. As the violence raged, a top United Nations diplomat proposed that the United States lead a peacekeeping force. Sir Jeremy Greenstock, the British Ambassador to the UN, said it "would be broadly welcomed internationally" if the US were to lead an intervention. He described the US as "the natural candidate" for the mission. Liberia was founded by freed American slaves.
Going on 200 years ago, that was. I remember it well...
Ah, thanks, but no.
However, the American Ambassador in Monrovia, John William Blaney, told the BBC that the parties had to stop fighting first. Mr Blaney condemned the attack on the US embassy compound as "an outrageous and inhumane act". The Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (Lurd) rebels, which control some two-thirds of the country, have said they will not stop until they take full control of Monrovia. "If Mr Taylor wants peace, we will give him peace. But the only sound Mr Taylor understands is the sound of AK-47 and that is what we are playing for him," Lurd spokesman Mohammed Kamara told the BBC. Nice phrase, guess that's why they made him spokesman.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/26/2003 8:54:28 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
The first instance court of Tangiers on Monday fined 22 people 3,000 dirhams, nearly US$ 300, on charges of illegally forming a religious group. Other charges retained against the group included unauthorized meeting. The court relieved the group from other charges and declined to pronounce jail terms against them. The group was arrested last week by the Tangiers police.
"We're lettin' you guys off easy. But get rid of those turbans!"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/26/2003 00:35 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
Never happen. He's a politician...
TEHRAN - Reformist Iranian lawmakers on Wednesday urged President Mohammad Khatami to take a firm stand over an apparent mass round-up of students following this monthâs protests against clerical rule in the Islamic Republic. Student leaders and legislators have said hundreds of students have been arrested in cities across the country in recent days by plainclothes security officials. The whereabouts of many of those detained is still unknown, they say. While defending peopleâs right to protest, pro-reform Khatami â whom protesters called on to resign during the recent demonstrations in Tehran and other cities â has said little about the recent arrests.
He's counting himself lucky â they were hollering "Death to Khamenei!" â and trying to keep his head down...
When asked to comment on Wednesday, he told reporters: âIn this country criticism should be free, the right of protest should be free. But everything should be in the framework of the law.â He not make clear whether his reference to the law applied to the actions of the protesters or the security forces.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/26/2003 00:09 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
Syria detained eight members of its Kurdish minority on Wednesday after breaking up a children's protest in Damascus demanding the Kurdish language be taught in schools. The Kurdish parties said about 200 Kurdish children marched to the headquarters of the United Nations children's agency, where scuffles broke out with security forces. "They broke up the protest violently and arrested a number of the children's parents. The number that we have arrived at up to now is eight who are with the security apparatus," Abdel-Baqi Youssef, Secretary of the Yakiti Kurdish party, told Reuters. "Their fate is not currently known, nor do we know what charges they will face or if they will be set free soon," he added. The protesters also demanded full citizenship rights for Kurds, who say they make up over two million of Syria's population of roughly 17 million.
Got a little success going for them in Iraq, so now they want to see if they can improve their position in Syria. Heh heh...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/26/2003 00:09 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
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.
