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Berlusconi Reports Vatican Terror Threat
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-Short Attention Span Theater-
Naked Man Not Santa Claus
I think CNN’s straight-faced version of this story is funnier than the yuk-yuk reports in other venues. Lightly edited for maximum comedy.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota -- A naked man got stuck in the chimney of a bookstore early Christmas morning. The 34-year-old man was treated Thursday for bruises and abrasions at Hennepin County Medical Center after being found naked and lodged in the furnace flue at Uncle Hugo’s Bookstore.
It was a science fiction (and mystery) bookstore.
"He was lucky," said police Lt. Mike Sauro. "He was only stuck in that chimney for a few hours. It’s kind of a happy ending, because if he had been in there until that store opened Friday morning, it’s my judgment he would have died. He doesn’t appear to be a hard-core criminal, just stupid."
That'll look good on his resume...
Police suspect that the man was drunk when he climbed atop the one-story building and removed all his clothes to help squeeze into the chimney. The man told police that he entered the chimney about 1 a.m. Thursday to retrieve keys he accidentally dropped down the shaft.
Nothing spells "loser" like being drunk and naked at one a.m. Christmas morning, and stuck in the chimney of a science fiction bookstore in Minneapolis.
Posted by: Angie Schultz || 12/27/2003 8:41:44 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I dunno, Santa needs to unwind after all that work in 1 day. Are we sure he didn't go on a bender at Mall of America?
Posted by: 4thInfVet || 12/27/2003 21:21 Comments || Top||

#2  Uh, you need to take out a copyright on that final summation, Angie; that's precious.
Posted by: Dave D. || 12/27/2003 21:43 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
CSM takes a look at the hunt for Hek
For three days, US soldiers trekked along goat trails, forded waist-deep rivers, and scrambled up steep, rocky ridges of the Hindu Kush to reach a suspected mountain hideout of the group led by renegade Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. There, near the remote hamlet of Tazagul Kala in Nuristan Province, they came upon devastation left by multiple precision-guided bombs - at least two cottages in rubble and another partially destroyed by a US air strike targeting Mr. Hekmatyar and his radical Hizb-i Islami, or Party of Islam. The shepherds’ dwellings perched on high terraces had been stocked for the winter with bags of corn and wheat, as well as machine-gun ammunition, bombmaking components, and antigovernment propaganda, say 10th Mountain Division soldiers who searched the site Nov. 9. But who, if anyone, died in the late October strike remains a matter of controversy - with some local Afghans charging that six civilians lost their lives and US officers saying that anyone killed was probably an enemy. What is clear, however, is that Hekmatyar and his close associates evaded the attack.
What were the six civilians doing with the machinegun ammunition and the bombmaking components, one might ask?
Derided as a "warlord without a portfolio" by some Bush administration officials, Hekmatyar has emerged as a primary target since he declared a "holy war" against US-led forces in Afghanistan and denounced President Hamid Karzai as a puppet. The State Department this year labeled Hekmatyar a terrorist with ties to Al Qaeda and the Taliban, and he is believed to be responsible for deadly attacks on both foreigners and Afghans. Kabul and its coalition allies are seeking to win over commanders linked to Hekmatyar. "Of course we are willing to talk with them [former Hekmatyar commanders]," says Arzo Mansury, spokeswoman for the Afghan Embassy in Washington. She ruled out talks with commanders actively fighting. Intelligence reports indicate Hekmatyar, a former anti-Soviet mujahideen leader, is working to regroup and regain a stronghold in the northeastern border provinces of Kunar and Nuristan. A distinctive land of animists forcibly converted to Islam in 1895, Nuristan saw some of the heaviest guerrilla fighting during Soviet occupation in the 1980s. But Hekmatyar’s war-honed survival skills and tiny circle of trusted associates make him hard to track, US officials say, adding that he travels with a small entourage of 20 to 30 bodyguards and communicators.
I'd also wager he spends a lot of time in Pakistan, communing with Qazi, while his immediate subs do the humping...
In the October strike on Nuristan, the unusual number of aircraft in the vicinity probably tipped off those targeted, Western military sources say. In a videotape circulated among the media, Hekmatyar brags of skirting US forces four times in the past two years, asserting, "American forces cannot catch you."
They only have to catch you once, though, if they do...
Still, US military commanders say they succeeded in flushing out Hekmatyar fighters in a sweep by ground troops through Nuristan and Konar soon after the bombing strike. "We drove them out," says Col. Burke Garrett, commander of the 10th Mountain Division’s 1st Brigade and task force warrior. "Mid- to low-level [Hekmatyar] operatives and some of their sympathizers fled." The month-long Operation Mountain Resolve began Nov. 6 with a series of air and ground assaults involving several hundred troops who combed through villages dotting a rugged, 12-mile stretch of the Waygal Valley, 100 miles northeast of Kabul. Cells of up to 10 men of Hekmatyar’s group were hiding and planning operations in the valley, the military says. Capt. Toby Moore led Bravo Company of the 10th Mountain’s 2-22 Infantry Battalion on a 22-mile trek north from Nangalam village through what he calls the valley’s "unforgiving" terrain. Along the way, the soldiers found recent "night letters" posted on mosques and schools warning villagers not to cooperate with US forces - a sign anticoalition groups knew Americans were coming. Other propaganda included leaflets bearing photographs of US forces with a twisted message, US officers say. One leaflet shows a US female soldier frisking a robed woman, but implies the soldier is male and accuses US troops of violating Afghans’ dignity. "Why do the chests of these barbaric, beast-like American invaders lack the wounds of the Afghan sword?" one asks.
Is that what Afghans usually do to bosoms?
Captain Moore’s company reached the bombed hamlet near Tazagul Kala after a grueling, 1,400-foot ascent. Villagers told soldiers that outside fighters had moved into the dwellings and taken their food. They said six to eight people were killed in the strike, but the bodies had been removed at night and the fighters had left, military officials say. "The locals stated that HIG [Hizb-i Islami] and Al Qaeda forces had departed the area days before we arrived," says Lt. Col. Joe Dichairo, commander of the 2-22 Infantry Battalion. "They won’t be sitting snug for the winter," adds Bravo Company 1st Sgt. Carl Ashmead.
They probably will, as soon as they get another set of dupes lined up...
According to press reports, however, a local Afghan religious leader allied with the government, Maulavi Ghulam Rabbani, said the October air strike killed six civilians including two of his children and other relatives.
Were they polishing the machinegun bullets at the time?
US officials dispute this charge, but say that because they found no bodies they were unable to confirm any casualties. "We found no evidence [of the deaths]," says Maj. Jim Bradford, operations officer of 2-22. "So this allows bad guys in the area to claim we killed women and children, and it allows them to keep us guessing who they are."
That'd be the idea...
Foot trails and reports of fighters fleeing from Tazagul Kala to the town of Aranus three miles northeast, led US forces to stage a second air assault later in the month. The mission hit a snag, however, when Chinook helicopters dropped troops onto a snow-covered slope at an altitude of about 10,000 feet. "Our biggest enemy is the terrain," says Alpha Company commander Capt. George Cordeiro. His forces slogged and slid through the thigh-deep snow, huddling for warmth as zero-degree weather froze the water in their canteens. Repositioned closer to the town, the troops searched Aranus and found what they were looking for: the home of a mid-level Hizb-i Islami operative that held documents, military equipment, flares, and ammunition.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 12/27/2003 12:51:37 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Hekmatyar and his close associates

Last years varsity! Still trying to be a BMOC.
Posted by: Lucky || 12/27/2003 0:58 Comments || Top||

#2  Basically, if you ain't going to set up in the villages way up in BFE, you aren't going to catch the cockroaches as they'll see you coming. I hope the 10th, not to mention some Christians In Action and some Dark Side nasty boys, are taking over the passes that lead back to 'civilization'. Bottle up the mutts and let them sit up there with the yetis, they can't do any harm. And it forces them to take the long way around to get anywhere, which exposes them to our patrols. If we let them move freely around, they'll never be smeared into the rocks.

I would say take their sat phones offline, but there's probably a good reason we don't do that.
Posted by: 4thInfVet || 12/27/2003 1:43 Comments || Top||

#3  During the Taliban period, Hek was harbored by the terrorist government of Iran. I believe that he is conducting his latest terror by remote control, and on behalf of the mad Mullahs.
Posted by: Vlad the Muslim Impaler || 12/27/2003 5:20 Comments || Top||


48 Taliban released in exchange for Indians
This will come back and bite them down the line.
The Afghan transitional government has released 48 prisoners of the Taliban, it was reported by the Pakistani daily Dawn on Friday.
Dumbasses...
According to the paper, the Afghan transitional government has given 50 million Afghanis besides releasing 48 Taliban in exchange of the two Indian engineers, who were released a couple of days back. The Taliban had kidnapped the two Indian engineers in Shah Joy district of Zabul province on December 6. Earlier, the Afghan Interior Minister, Ali Ahmed Jalali had rejected bargain over the release of the two Indian engineers.
Posted by: Paul Moloney || 12/27/2003 12:13:31 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Can't some one insert GPS transmitters into their rectal cavities before "releasing" them?
Posted by: ed || 12/27/2003 1:35 Comments || Top||

#2  What's Dawn like for accuracy? I'd like to see some other confirmation of this, as if it's true, it's a very stupid thing to do (again, hard lines for the Indian engineers).
Posted by: Tony (UK) || 12/27/2003 4:37 Comments || Top||

#3  Other than whacking the Taliban (and ending the most insane "state" of the last 50 yrs), Afghanistan sucks the big one. Karzai & Co + tribal warlords + Islamic "Constitution" + AlQ haven + Pakiwaki connections + Black Hat connections... Pfeh. A perfect preview of the Caliphate. Lump with Paki. Smokin' hole redux.
Posted by: .com || 12/27/2003 4:38 Comments || Top||

#4  Dawn, like most Muslim media, has problems with the truth. Exaggeration is its forte.
Another report that surfaced two days ago claimed the engineers were released without payment or exchange of any sort.
Posted by: Tancred || 12/27/2003 12:09 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Saudi Paradox
Summary: Saudi Arabia is in the throes of a crisis, but its elite is bitterly divided on how to escape it. Crown Prince Abdullah leads a camp of liberal reformers seeking rapprochement with the West, while Prince Nayef, the interior minister, sides with an anti-American Wahhabi religious establishment that has much in common with al Qaeda. Abdullah cuts a higher profile abroad -- but at home Nayef casts a longer and darker shadow.
Seven Pages of good analysis, so grab a coffee, before you read.
Posted by: tipper || 12/27/2003 5:08:43 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I've had a feeling for while that SA is ripe for collapse into some kind of civil war, that may have already started. Yesterday's report of 4,000 terrorists arrested makes me think something big may be going on.

If/when it does the West can not standby and watch cos without that Saudi oil, our economies will grind to a halt. Oil will hit $100/barrel and keep climbing. Europe (excluding the UK which is self sufficient in oil) and China would be badly hit. Russia would be a big winner of course. The USA would fare somewhat better as it imports relatively little SA oil, but $100+ oil would not be fun.

It will be interesting to watch Paris leading the calls for military intervention to keep the oil flowing and even more interesting to see how the USA/UK reacts.
Posted by: phil_b || 12/27/2003 18:27 Comments || Top||

#2  RTWT (did go a whole cup.) Wahhabists sort people into two groups (themselves and infidels) and include Shi'ites with us infidels. A canape, with clarification:

[cleric and anti-Shi`ite firebrand, Nasir] al-Umar has also insisted that the government must find "a Final quick solution" to the Shi`ites' demographic domination of the eastern province where .com's 40km strip is, a proposal that can only be described as an incitement to genocide ethnic cleansing.
Posted by: Glenn (not Reynolds) || 12/27/2003 19:49 Comments || Top||

#3  Anybody know the stats on how much Saudi oil gets pumped per day and where does it go? In million bbl/day
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 12/27/2003 21:49 Comments || Top||

#4  SA pumpts around 8 million barells per day. You will find some detailed breakdowns on this page - http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/international/petroleu.html#IntlTrade
Posted by: phil_b || 12/28/2003 1:01 Comments || Top||


Soddies arrest 4,047 hard boyz along Yemeni border?
This is AFP via the Hindustan Times, but this strikes me as rather implausible.
Saudi authorities, who are engaged in a massive crackdown on Islamic extremists, have arrested more than 4,000 "infiltrators" in the south of the kingdom along the border with Yemen, state media said on Saturday.
Most folks I know would call that an army ...
The official SPA news agency said 4,047 "infiltrators" were arrested and a large quantity of weapons and ammunition were seized in Najran province. However, it did not say when the arrests and seizures were made.
So if they’re hard boyz and armed to the teeth, how the hell did the Soddy coppers nab ’em without getting overwhelmed, at the very least from sheer numbers?
Also seized were a large quantity of dynamite sticks and detonators, as well as "a quantity of alcohol (which is banned in Saudi Arabia), hashish and qat (a narcotic shrub widely used in Yemen)," according to SPA.
So that’s where all of the damned alk runners went after the Riyadh bombings! That must be one hell of a keg they’re bringing in too, if they need 4,000 guys to haul it ...
Saudi authorities, who in the past reported arrests and arms seizures along the border with Yemen, have stepped up the hunt for Islamist militants blamed for a series of suicide bombings in Riyadh in May and November that left more than 50 people dead. Hundreds of terror suspects have been rounded up.
Of which at least 300 have now been released ...
Posted by: Dan Darling || 12/27/2003 2:46:07 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  4,047? Isn't that the number of "princes" in the Saudi Royal family? Coincidence? I think not.
Posted by: Tibor || 12/27/2003 15:16 Comments || Top||

#2  Sounds like the Saudis ran into a kegger, not an army.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 12/27/2003 15:21 Comments || Top||

#3  That must be one hell of a kegger if they need dynamite, guns, and detonators to hold it ...
Posted by: Dan Darling || 12/27/2003 15:25 Comments || Top||

#4  must be one hell of a kegger if they need dynamite

You don't use dynamite? It's much safer at a kegger than nitro.
Posted by: Shipman || 12/27/2003 16:20 Comments || Top||

#5  Dnamite and detonators? Come on! Whover wrote that article obviously has been watching too many Squint Eastwood garlic westerns. That type of explosive hasn't been used for warfare in that region since Lawrence of Arabia was blowing up trains.
Posted by: Rivrdog || 12/27/2003 18:17 Comments || Top||


Systematic Extermination of Foreigners in Yemen
Yemen Times
25 December 2003

The US embassy in Sana’a cautioned December 20 all American citizens and its personnel to be on alert following the stabbing of three Westerners in Sana’a last week. In a press statement, the US embassy requested the American citizens to “be particularly alert and to avoid travel on foot around Bab al Yemen, Tahrir Square, the Bounia neighborhood and the areas surrounding the Taj Sheba Hotel, Jamal Street and Suq al Qa’h.”
I once visited the Middle East, including the Arabian Peninsula, and did so without the slightest security concern. It now appears impossible to travel there in safety.

This warning comes after the three stabbing incidents of Westerners were reported on the 15th, 16th and 17th of December. Following these incidents which were condemned nationwide, security alert was raised around the diplomatic areas, embassies and hotels.

“The American Embassy has advised its personnel to travel in groups with security accompaniment if they want to visit these areas. We also recommend that the use of public transportation be limited to known, reliable operators and conveyances,” the warning statement added.

Yemeni government announced Monday that the assailant was arrested red-handed, attempting to stab another foreigner. Yemen Times learnt from security source that investigation with the attacker revealed that the assailant was annoyed by the arrest of the ousted Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and the way that was exposed in the media.

He attacked a Dutch tourist, German businessman and an Austrian student. A diplomat at the Dutch embassy denied while talking to Yemen Times news reports that the Dutch tourist was stabbed by his Dutch friend. He said that he was attacked by an unidentified person. He also denied that the injured tourist was taken by a special plane to be hospitalized in Oman. He pointed out that “the stabbed tourist is now in good condition and has resumed his tourist tip with the other Dutch group.”
But, the German businessman has been reported to be still in the Yemen-German hospital for medical care as his injury was serious.
Why is this happening? If you consult www.memri.org you are aware that Wahabi clerics incite murder of non-Muslims, at every opportunity. The government of Yemen and Saudi Arabia are obviously willing to let this incitement and killing go on, unimpeded.
Posted by: Vlad the Muslim Impaler || 12/27/2003 5:17:35 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "investigation with the attacker" mistranslation, or second-language writing, nonetheless inspires a plethora of primeval images.

NGM had an article on Yemen in which a prominent local prided himself on his people's hospitality. Admitted real Yemenis kidnapped tourists, but claimed worst they could expect would be really bad food until their captors got bored after a few days and let them go. He blamed all the trouble on foreign terrorists. Small world.
Posted by: Glenn (not Reynolds) || 12/27/2003 6:28 Comments || Top||


Europe
EU’s top official escapes injury in letter bomb attack
Hat tip to Drudge
ROME (AP) — European Union Commission President Romano Prodi opened a letter bomb at his home in Bologna on Saturday but was not hurt when the package burst into flames, his spokesman said.
It was the third attack on the EU’s top official in a week.
That last check to Arafat must not’ve cleared

Last week, two small bombs exploded near Prodi’s home, also without harming anyone. A previously unknown anarchist group claimed responsibility for those attacks.
anarchists can’t organize an attack - by definition

Spokesman Marco Vignudelli said Saturday it was unclear who sent the latest bomb.

"Prodi himself managed to open the parcel. The pack exploded with a big fire," he said. "There were no injuries whatsoever. It was a small bomb." Ummm since when does a bigwig open his own mail/parcels? Jeeeesh

On Dec. 21, two small bombs hidden in trash bins exploded outside Prodi’s house. The devices — consisting of a cooking pot, a gas cylinder and a timer — went off within an hour of each other when no one was home.
amateurs
Later, a group calling itself the Informal Anarchic Federation, using the acronym FAI in Italian, claimed responsibility in a letter sent from Bologna to a newspaper. Investigators said they believed the letter was probably sent by the culprits.

Prodi lives in Brussels, where the EU executive body is based, but he has been spending the Christmas holidays in his hometown in Italy.

Posted by: Frank G || 12/27/2003 5:50:54 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  a group calling itself the Informal Anarchic Federation...

As opposed to the Formal Anarchic Federation, I suppose.
Posted by: Parabellum || 12/27/2003 18:54 Comments || Top||

#2  Yeah the Waaaay Organized Anarchic Association of Federations ain't gonna play to da chic.
Posted by: Shipman || 12/27/2003 19:58 Comments || Top||


Berlusconi Reports Vatican Terror Threat
By Associated Press
December 27, 2003, 11:49 AM EST
ROME -- Terrorists planned to attack the Vatican with a hijacked plane on Christmas Day, Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi was quoted as saying in a newspaper article published Saturday.
Berlusconi told Milan’s Libero newspaper of a "precise and verified news of an attack on Rome on Christmas Day."
"A hijacked plane into the Vatican," Berlusconi was quoted as saying. "An attack from the sky, is that clear? The threat of terrorism is very high in this instant. I passed Christmas Eve in Rome to deal with the situation. Now I feel calm. It will pass."
He added, "It isn’t fatalism, but the knowledge of having our guard up. If they organized this, they will not pull it off."
Berlusconi gave no further details in the interview about who the intended hijackers were, where the information came from and how the attack was thwarted.
Security has been tightened around the Vatican in recent weeks amid reports that churches could become terrorist targets. During Christmas celebrations, Italian police guarded the perimeter of the vast St. Peter’s Square and pilgrims entering the basilica passed through metal detectors.
The Vatican refused Saturday to respond to questions about a possible Christmas threat.
Papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said in a statement, "As in every case of suspected or valid information regarding security themes, I have no comment to make." Berlusconi’s office issued its own statement Saturday, saying the premier’s remarks did not amount to official declarations.
"Premier Silvio Berlusconi gave no interview. One cannot confuse a quick exchange of Christmas greetings with political declarations," it said.
The premier later criticized the article and distanced himself from the quotes. The newspaper said it stood by the story, which also quoted him as saying he received information in November of a planned attack on the subways of Milan and Rome.
"There were those who insisted that the stations be closed," Berlusconi is quoted as saying. "I took on myself the responsibility for avoiding certain measures. They would had the same effect on the minds of people as an attack, they would have killed us inside, with dramatic social and economic consequences.
"Terrorism wants to make us close up. I preferred to double up the safety checks."
Posted by: Anonymous || 12/27/2003 12:43:52 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  the usual stuff and blabla of the italian dawrf!
Posted by: JoeDoe || 12/27/2003 12:59 Comments || Top||

#2  take out the Vatican and we want Mecca leveled....oh, and the 2nd, 3rd...up to 19th holiest sites in Islam....there's that number again dammit!
Posted by: Frank G || 12/27/2003 13:29 Comments || Top||

#3  Ya know...one of the puzzling things about this Paris-LA hijacking threat was the distances involved. They might hit something in LA, or switch to Vegas (by which time the plane has burned a lot of fuel), or they might deviate to NY (and be met by fighters over the Atlantic).

But a plane fueled for a Paris-LA run would make a nice big fireball in Rome. Wonder what are the odds of its getting all the way to Rome? Not high, I wager, though Al Qaeda might not know that.
Posted by: Angie Schultz || 12/27/2003 13:42 Comments || Top||

#4  A jet fueled for Paris to LA would have plenty left when it hit New York.
Posted by: 4thInfVet || 12/27/2003 13:52 Comments || Top||

#5  Careful with the holy site leveling, Frank.
Muslims consider Jerusalem to be the third most holy site in Islam.
Might also anger a few Christians and Jews if Jerusalem gets razed.
Posted by: Gasse Katze || 12/27/2003 14:37 Comments || Top||

#6  A jet fueled for Paris to LA would have plenty left when it hit New York.

It would never make it to New York. That great a deviation from flight plan would lead to its being intercepted and if necessary shot down over the Atlantic. And there'd be hours to discover the deviation and make the necessary decisions. That's why I rejected that scenario.

There would be much less time for a deviation to Rome, and failure would depend on the willingness of the French and Italians to see clearly and act quickly. And I don't know how likely that is.
Posted by: Angie Schultz || 12/27/2003 15:15 Comments || Top||

#7  Maybe this deal with Air Phrog was possibly a destructo incident in LA or Vegas. Or maybe a deviation would force us to shoot down an airliner. After all, Al Q wants to destroy the economies of the western nations, esp. the US. What better way then to attack with the results of destroying an industry vital to the economic health and communication of the west. At least that is my 2 ryals worth....
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 12/27/2003 15:26 Comments || Top||

#8  GK - I'd settle for leveling Al-Aqsa back to the Temple Mount elevation LOL

Call me a crusader!
Posted by: Frank G || 12/27/2003 15:50 Comments || Top||

#9  A Paris-LAX flight would not have to deviate much if at all to dive into a building at Lost Wages. Its doubtful the Top Guns at Nellis would have had enough warning about a 747 on a terminal dive into the city to shoot it down. They played a football bowl game there Xmas Eve also, so there were targets available other than the gambling palaces.
Posted by: Rivrdog || 12/27/2003 18:14 Comments || Top||

#10  football bowl game

That's the part we need to be concerned about. 60-100k people sitting in a stadium or thinly-roofed dome on New Years, that's a target the mutts have to dream about. I hate to give them too much credit, but could the 'air stinky' thing have been a feint? Is it possible to be too paranoid about this kind of thing?
Posted by: 4thInfVet || 12/27/2003 19:27 Comments || Top||

#11  4thInfVet---the ultimate terrorist success is to let the potential victims become paralyzed by their own imagination, thinking up terrorist schemes for themselves. That is why it is so important to continually take the war to the terrorist and let him be on the defensive. I sure hope we keep up the momentum. Frawnce's level of cooperation and big mouth have not been really helpful, but at least we know that they are not a friend, but an enemy.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 12/27/2003 21:56 Comments || Top||

#12  the ultimate terrorist success is to let the potential victims become paralyzed by their own imagination, thinking up terrorist schemes for themselves

Point taken. I'm not saying we should cower in a cave or a hole in the ground. I'd be hitting Tempe or LA (even better N.O. but that's a pipe dream) if things had worked out right. I just think we shouldn't close our minds to what kinds of nefarious plans the mutts can think up. Being alert and vigilant is entirely different than being paralyzed by imagination.
Posted by: 4thInfVet || 12/27/2003 22:51 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Rashid says Muslims can’t deny jihadi culture
LAHORE: Federal Information Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad told a Pakistani television channel on Friday that one of the attackers of Thursday’s suicide bomb attack on President Musharraf seemed to be a foreigner. He also said the jihadi culture in Pakistan could not be changed and he who denied jihad had no place in Islam, adding “But whether or not it is jihad can only be decided by the State.”

He said the police was not trained enough to counter terrorism and terrorist networks cannot be breached. He said, “Security arrangements need to be scientific, but we are not well equipped.”
Well that settles it, then. Can’t do nothing, what with cultural sensivities about jihad, and all.
Might as well blame the scientists, they are as good scapegoats as anyone else, and less likely to get offended


Sheikh Rasheed suggested that the president should shift to Islamabad for security reasons.
Posted by: tipper || 12/27/2003 6:44:26 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  “But whether or not it is jihad can only be decided by the State.”

Wrong answer. The one who issues fatwas decides. And that means pretty much just about anyone.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 12/27/2003 19:16 Comments || Top||

#2  I can think of a solution here: every imam or mullah that issues a fatwa calling for jihad against the West or Westerners or Jews or Zionists gets a price on his head, payable on proof of his demise to whoever can make the best claim IN PUBLIC, that they killed him. After a while, a mullah bounty hunter culture will spring up over there, and that will put a severe damper on the fatwas that incite the jihadis. It's a tough culture, but we had one once, remember? How did we tame the Wild West? Long guns and short ropes, and no questions asked when you claimed a bounty.
Posted by: Rivrdog || 12/27/2003 19:38 Comments || Top||

#3  Rivrdog---after reading postings of sermon highlights in the venue of the Palestinian Authority on Jihad Online, your suggestion of a bounty is an excellent one. People who publically advocate for the violent destruction of our nation and her people need to learn actions/consequences lesson. Those guys are all mouth. They prep the lemmings and fodder to do the dirty work. Money, Maddrasses, and Mullahs. Go after the 3M's and we will win the
WoT.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 12/27/2003 22:10 Comments || Top||


India behind attempt on Musharraf’s life: MMA leader
A senior leader of Pakistan’s opposition Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) Friday blamed India for the assassination bid on President Pervez Musharraf, saying it was aimed at destabilising Pakistan. Online news agency quoted Qazi Hussain Ahmed, MMA’s acting president, as saying: "I don’t think that religious extremists are behind this assassination move. It was an attempt to destabilise Pakistan’s economy. Only India could carry out such attempts to mar Pakistan’s economic and political development," he told Online on his return from Iran.
Apparently 4000 Hindus didn’t go to work at the gas station from whence the car boomers drove from that day.
Qazi repeatedly makes himself look foolish with statements like these. His followers somehow remain even more foolish.
Posted by: Paul Moloney || 12/27/2003 12:12:26 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It makes so much sense! How cold I have not seen it sooner. Idiot!
Posted by: Lucky || 12/27/2003 0:38 Comments || Top||

#2  I'll bet they're HinJoos.
Posted by: .com || 12/27/2003 3:28 Comments || Top||

#3  "I don’t think that religious extremists are behind this assassination move"
It's all perspectives and viewpoints. To him they're not "®extremists."®
Posted by: Glenn (not Reynolds) || 12/27/2003 5:32 Comments || Top||

#4  Hinjooos, huh? lol
Posted by: Frank G || 12/27/2003 13:57 Comments || Top||

#5  Man. Qazi is a great hypocrite. So much for his whining. Guess Qazi should be treated in the same way as Al-Qaeda
Posted by: Faisal || 12/27/2003 14:47 Comments || Top||


Top Indian rebel reported dead in custody
A top Indian rebel leader has surrendered after being reported killed in recent fighting. Bhimkanta Buragohain, the founder of the United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa), was said to have died in a clash with the Bhutanese army last week. Buragohain was shown by the Indian army in the north-eastern state of Assam, where he urged his supporters to lay down their arms and begin talks with the Indian Government. "I think from my side, the path which we led is wrong. Armed rebellion cannot bring independence," the 78-year-old rebel leader said. The Indian army says Buragohain was handed over to them by the Bhutanese Army on Thursday.
The ULFA initially claimed that he was killed while waving a white flag to protect a group of women and children. The Bhutanese and Indians probably kept quiet until now to make ULFA look like idiots.

"I am the leader of ULFA. I'm ready to negotiate..."
Posted by: Paul Moloney || 12/27/2003 12:10:56 AM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "I am the leader of ULFA. I'm ready to negotiate..."

Brilliant! Bravo!
Posted by: Lucky || 12/27/2003 0:42 Comments || Top||

#2  Paul, I know the real story is confusing but your title reminds me of a sentence culled from newspaper writeup of a car wreck
Two cycles belonging to girls left leaning against lamp posts were badly damaged.
(:-)>
Posted by: Glenn (not Reynolds) || 12/27/2003 5:38 Comments || Top||

#3  Yeah, I changed the title from the uninformative one used by the Beeb, but I meant to type
"Top Indian rebel reported dead is in custody", although even that isn't grammatically proper, I guess.
Posted by: Paul Moloney || 12/27/2003 6:58 Comments || Top||

#4  Headline writing is tough. Many years back I clipped (and lost, dammit) from the local rag, item about a position taken by a group of editors/publishers supporting a literacy campaign, they, no shit, having a vested interest in folks being able to read and write. And thus titled: "Newspapers Headline Fight Against Literacy". sigh.
Posted by: Glenn (not Reynolds) || 12/27/2003 8:25 Comments || Top||

#5  Paul - Glenn (NR) - are you sure you two don't have some Pennsylvania Dutch blood in your past? Gramma Fenstermacher never was able to rearrange the PA Dutch into decent English. It always came out something like "Throw your father over the fence the hammer."
Posted by: doc8404 || 12/27/2003 22:53 Comments || Top||


One of the would-be Musharraf assassins was a foreigner
Government officials said Friday that they had found part of the remains of one of the two suicide bombers who on Thursday attacked the convoy of the Pakistani president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf. The officials said they were in the process of identifying the remains. They also vowed that a meeting of South Asian leaders, scheduled here for early January, would take place as planned. State-run news media quoted Sheik Rashid Ahmed, the Pakistani information minister, as saying that the facial remains of one of the attackers were recovered near the site of the bomb blasts. He said the remains appeared to be those of a foreigner. He did not elaborate.
Probably not European. Southeast Asian? Maybe Indonesian or Filipino?
Two suicide bombers driving vans, each thought to contain about 50 to 60 pounds of explosives, rammed into General Musharraf’s motorcade in Rawalpindi. According to government officials, 15 people, including the bombers, were killed in the attack, which came close enough to the president to damage the windshield of his limousine. It was the second attempt in 11 days to kill General Musharraf, who escaped unhurt both times. The attack on Thursday was the deadliest attempt on his life since he reversed Pakistan’s support for the Taliban in Afghanistan and sided with the United States in September 2001. The assassination attempts have raised security concerns for the annual meeting of South Asian leaders from Jan. 4 to 6. Both attempts to kill General Musharraf took place in Rawalpindi, the heavily guarded city that serves as headquarters of the Pakistani Army and is near Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan.
Kind of screams "inside job," doesn't it?
"We are pressing ahead with our preparations, and there is no question of delay or postponement," said Masood Khan, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry. The leaders of Nepal and Sri Lanka reiterated their plans to attend the meeting. Pakistani authorities disclosed few details about their investigation into the attack on Thursday. "Which group carried out the attack — Al Qaeda, local militants or sectarian organizations — it would be guesswork to say right now," said Abdur Rauf Chaudhry, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry. Suspicions centered on Pakistani militants, members of Al Qaeda or a combination of both.
I expect we'll know who dunnit within a few days...
The attacks came two months after the release of an audiotape purportedly from Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden’s top deputy, urging Pakistanis to overthrow General Musharraf. There was little official comment on the identities of the two suicide attackers who struck Thursday. Sketches of the bombers were being prepared, said Mr. Ahmed, the information minister. "It seems that one of the suicide bombers was not a Pakistani," he said.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 12/27/2003 12:06:09 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Two attacks on his motorcade within a couple of weeks of one another. Can anyone say inside job?

So who's your friend General? Are you ready to really get down to business and clean house?
Posted by: Daniel King || 12/27/2003 13:28 Comments || Top||


Iraq
The Leader of the Army of Steve -- Aug through Christmas happenings
This is a lengthy read. Almost all the daily happenings, including the capture of Suddam. Really lets us know, what these guys are up against over there.

1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry, Tikrit Iraq – December 25th 2003
‘Regulars, By God!’ ‘Deeds, not Words.’
LTC Steven D. Russell

Merry Christmas.

A chill is in the air now—mixed with the pall of wood smoke hanging over the city. Occasional rains attempt to cleanse the dusty, filthy environment without success. We were once bathed from head to toe with sweat, but now cover ourselves with items to keep warm or dry. The temperatures here have cooled, but the situation seems to change as often as the weather. The environment in Tikrit at this writing is simmering—not a boil, but simmering.

How do we sum the events of the last several months since I last wrote? How do we convey the elation of success and the grief of loss? We may never be able to do so for those that are not here. I will try to capture in a small sense our operations since August 24th, so forgive me for the very long letter. I write a little each day from notes but have not been able to catch up as we have necessarily been very busy. Since today is Christmas, I wanted to take advantage of the break.

Take the time to read it! (After the football games, of course)

Posted by: Sherry || 12/27/2003 3:21:58 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Great Post! Thanks very much. Where do we get such men and women of dedication? Hats off to the Army of Steves™.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 12/27/2003 15:38 Comments || Top||

#2  I'm about halfway through it right now. It's rocky going, especially reading about the attacks and roadside bombings, because I said goodbye to my son just an hour ago: he's on his way to Fort Dix, NJ, then Kuwait, then on to Iraq.

I have a hunch I'm gonna be doing a LOT of praying over the next year or two.
Posted by: Dave D. || 12/27/2003 16:21 Comments || Top||

#3  Good luck, Dave, and all the Irish blessings I know.
Posted by: Matt || 12/27/2003 17:21 Comments || Top||

#4  Great Post. I expect Col. Steve has a few books in him.

Men spat and narrowed their eyes in sideward glances. Uppity. They were getting uppity. Fine. I would solve this right now. I already had three casualties this day. I did not want anymore

I got a few extra candles Dave.
Posted by: Shipman || 12/27/2003 17:29 Comments || Top||

#5  This is just an incredibly great post. AP, you're right, where do we find people like this?
Posted by: Matt || 12/27/2003 17:38 Comments || Top||

#6  Fascinating stuff! Highly recommended! I hope Captn Steve puts together a book. It would sell very well.
Posted by: phil_b || 12/27/2003 17:48 Comments || Top||

#7  Sherry? First post? Good work!
Posted by: Frank G || 12/27/2003 17:53 Comments || Top||

#8  I have a little info group that I e mail the interesting stuff to several times a week. LTC Steve's letter just left. His writing is matter-of-fact but riveting. There is just so much packed into his paragraphs. His descriptions of the intel, the background scenes, the actions take life in his writing. Phil_b, you are right. I see a book in his future. He has the prose and he has the content and depth.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 12/27/2003 18:16 Comments || Top||

#9  The more I read, the more I think the solution is to cordon Tikrit and Qwya, foce an evacuation, relocating them to disparate areas. Then pull a C-130 over and drop a MOAB on each. Obliterate the places. Flat. Then drop ICM and mine the area. Cordoned off for at least a year.

Put the evacuees up in several palces well away from their tribes, powerbase and weapons. Send them to the salt marshes and the Sunnis in the south.



Posted by: OldSpook || 12/27/2003 18:39 Comments || Top||

#10  Finished it. Great post, Sherry, thanks for sending it our way.

Matt, Shipman... thanks.
Posted by: Dave D. || 12/27/2003 18:41 Comments || Top||

#11  Great quote in case some of you didnt read the whole thing:

We had oft been criticized in our efforts to win hearts and minds. But how can you win a black heart and a closed mind? The people we were dealing with could not be swayed. Handing out lollipops meant nothing to them. They understood power and respected that. Anything else would be a chance to strike back at us.
Posted by: OldSpook || 12/27/2003 18:53 Comments || Top||

#12  Frank G -- thanks for the compliment -- I don't post often... just when I find something about the Army of Steve. He's become such a hero around here!

I live just south of Ft Hood -- and sat at a railroad track one day - watching a looonnng train loaded with tanks, trucks, trailers, you name it, it was on that train, headed south to the coast -- Yea, the stuff the 4ID are currently using. With tears, I vowed to follow their fight, as lots of these folks have been customers of mine... and found Rantburg in the process.
Posted by: Sherry || 12/27/2003 19:18 Comments || Top||

#13  They had an entire operation going with 57mm anti-aircraft shells. First, they removed the rounds from the boxes. Next they took a hammer and cracked the rounds’ seal with the brass case—an indicator of their intelligence. Of course all of this works best while smoking.

JESUS QUACK!

And these idiots think they can win against an ANGRY America? They're killing THEMSELVES, no need for US to fire on them!

The only way we're gonna lose this war is if we lose heart. If we CHOOSE to give up, of our own free will. Other than that, these Gomers make Jim Nabors' character look like a friggin' genius! I've seen six-year-olds with more common sense.

Ed Becerra
Posted by: Ed Becerra || 12/27/2003 19:21 Comments || Top||

#14  RTWT everyone!
We have learned a tremendous amount about how the press operates since we have been here. [Our normal embedded press] are largely very professional, are not afraid of risks, and they file accurate stories for the most part. ... We have also learned that the editors of their news organizations may never pick up the many good things that they file. A sense of frustration develops even among them when a story they worked gets bumped for the splash headline of ‘Another Soldier killed in Iraq Today.’
something alert RB'ers have suspected all along.
Posted by: Glenn (not Reynolds) || 12/27/2003 22:44 Comments || Top||


Sammy sez he’ll expose the US
This looks like pure unfiltered BS, but why not?
Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, now being grilled by American investigators, has reportedly warned US authorities that he will expose Washington’s “political games” and its behind-the-scene role in the occupation of Kuwait. “Saddam threatened that if they continue to pressure him he will reveal startling facts — about America’s political games with his country — that would shock the whole world,” Al-Watan Arabic daily quoted a high-level European source as saying.
Shock and be damned.
The source said Saddam had stopped answering the investigators’ questions and asked them to “give him enough time to clear his mind.” He did not elaborate further, the source added.
Ran out of lies, I guess. He has to straighten out his stories...
The source confirmed that the investigators approached Saddam with a list of Iraqi scientists involved in the development of weapons of mass destruction but Saddam told them that they were developing nuclear and chemical technology for civilian purposes, the paper said. According to the European source close to US investigators, Saddam also said that he would ask the International Court of Justice in The Hague to try the United States for its crimes against the Iraqi people for allegedly using internationally prohibited weapons against the Iraqis during the last two wars against his country. “If the Americans want to try me in a court of law, they should also try high-ranking international officials,” the source quoted the former Iraqi dictator as saying. Saddam has insisted that his statements are recorded verbatim, the paper said. The source said Saddam neither prayed not read the Quran, it added.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 12/27/2003 12:23:55 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Sounds like howie dean might have just found his VP.
Posted by: 4thInfVet || 12/27/2003 0:45 Comments || Top||

#2  I think this guy means business. Everybody in the know should start shredding all documents that might be usefull.

I really mean it!

No really!

You don't believe me do you?



Posted by: Lucky || 12/27/2003 0:52 Comments || Top||

#3  The source said Saddam neither prayed not read the Qur’an so the Arab press can now spin Sammy isn't a real Muslim. Maybe true. After all, RoP.
Posted by: Glenn (not Reynolds) || 12/27/2003 1:18 Comments || Top||

#4  This doesn't sound like anything more than the usual Arab inability to distinguish fantasy from reality, or truth from falsehood- like that story about how the Kurds really were the ones to capture Saddam, and they drugged him and left him in a hole for U.S. troops to stumble upon.

"Saddam has insisted that his statements are recorded verbatim, the paper said."

I don't think Saddam is in any position to be "insisting" on anything.
Posted by: Dave D. || 12/27/2003 8:19 Comments || Top||

#5  Go ahead,spill your guts.I would dearly love to know wich Americans aided and abetted your crimes.Don't forget to include a listing of the names of your French,German,Russian butt-buddies.
Posted by: raptor || 12/27/2003 11:05 Comments || Top||

#6  Of course Sammy's a real muslim - he had the usual battlefield victories for Arab/muslim armies.... Hoo Ahh!
Posted by: Frank G || 12/27/2003 13:54 Comments || Top||

#7  Al-Watan Arabic daily quoted a high-level European source as saying.

So, an Arab paper quoted a European official. Neither of those sources are what I would call "reliable enough to report if the sun came up".
Posted by: Robert Crawford || 12/27/2003 14:24 Comments || Top||

#8  RC#7: Arab paper citing another Arab paper quoting some Euro pretending to pass on something he heard 3rd or 4th hand passing through however many languages. This could have started with Saddam trying to rattle interrogators with a chicken-cross-road joke.
Posted by: Glenn (not Reynolds) || 12/27/2003 15:11 Comments || Top||

#9  This sounds like the Firesign Theater's "Howl of the Wolf News"

.....Those were the headlines, now the rumours behind the news....
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 12/27/2003 17:08 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Filippino soldier killed while disarming a bomb near Jolo
One Philippine soldier was killed and another wounded when a crude bomb exploded near an airport in the troubled south of the country, a military official said on Saturday. Philippine Muslim rebels linked to Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda network were suspected of planting two bombs, including the one that went off outside a government building near the runway of Jolo airport on Friday. "We are looking at the possibility that the bombs were placed to avenge the arrest of Ghalib Andang," southern command armed forces chief Lieutenant General Roy Kyamko said, referring to a leader of the Abu Sayyaf militant group.
Yes. It's Dire Revenge™...
Andang, widely known as Commander Robot, was captured by soldiers on December 7. He was believed responsible for kidnapping 21 people from a Malaysian tourist resort in 2000. The two soldiers were trying to defuse the bomb, which had been left in a cardboard box, when it went off. The other bomb was defused.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 12/27/2003 12:30:26 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Should have paid more attention to the MTT when they were going over disarming IEDs. Live and learn.

Or not.
Posted by: 4thInfVet || 12/27/2003 0:46 Comments || Top||

#2  Anyone who tries to disarm a bomb is a very brave man. My condolences to the soldiers family.
Posted by: phil_b || 12/27/2003 5:47 Comments || Top||

#3  Condolences to the familes of the soldiers. These
men were certainly brave to attempt to defuse a bomb.

Why does the media insist that Abu Sayyaf is a 'militant group'? It is more of a bandit group which happens to use terrorist tactics.

As for Ghalib Andaug and Commander Robot, after being drained of all useful information they should be tried and executed - piblically.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 12/27/2003 9:34 Comments || Top||


Terror Networks
Al-Ablaj sez he’s gonna break America’s back
Update on yesterday’s piece ...
A London-based Arab magazine said yesterday that Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has vowed to launch a "back-breaking attack" on the United States by February, confirming an earlier message by the militant network. The weekly Al-Majalla said it received an e-mail from Abu Mohammed Al Ablaj, a little known Al Qaeda member, saying Bin Laden would release a video tape in which he affirms his group’s determination to fight the US. "A messenger of Bin Laden informed him (Ablaj) that the Al Qaeda leader will appear on a televised tape after the execution of an operation which Bin Laden described as back-breaking and which would change the order of things," Al Majalla said. "They (Americans) should prepare ... their coffins, hospitals and graves. The coming days will be full of surprises and great events which will make them a historic example." In the e-mail, which could not be immediately authenticated, Ablaj echoed his previous statement carried by Al-Majalla in November saying the attack would take place before a Muslim feast early next year.
Most al-Qaeda threats are a fair deal of bluster, but al-Ablaj’s have this nasty way of coming true in the case of both Riyadh bombing and then the Istanbooms. He’s definitely worth keeping an eye on even after he’s toes up given the jihadi penchant for having multiple lives.

I know, and most readers here know, that you can't protect against everything, and that a small group of people can wreak major havoc, cause major casualties. If their luck is really, really, really bad they'll manage to score a major attack within the U.S. in an election year.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 12/27/2003 12:04:12 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  If their luck is really, really, really bad they'll manage to score a major attack within the U.S. in an election year.

A rogue sleeper cell of Luckies. No longer trusted! Call you local FBI if you have any suspicions.
Posted by: Lucky || 12/27/2003 1:15 Comments || Top||

#2  I really, really don't want the current conflict to turn into a true war of cultures.

On the other hand, it's not like I'd miss conservative Islam all that much.
Posted by: Hiryu || 12/27/2003 9:53 Comments || Top||

#3  In related news the NSA is having great difficulty intercepting communications between Al Qaeda operatives and Bin Laden - they've yet to figure out how to put a tap on a ouija board.
Posted by: A Jackson || 12/27/2003 11:28 Comments || Top||

#4  LOL!

Course an Arabic ouija board goes cross-wind so the energy level required is extra-big(n+3/U), my understanding is that a good slate base does help, but I don't know quantum arabic, so it's hard to say.

Posted by: Shipman || 12/27/2003 12:00 Comments || Top||

#5  Just a thought : remember quite some time ago, the declaration that OBL wanted to "martyr himself in the belly of the eagle" (or something like that, funny how I can't keep a straight view of the WOT, but remember crap like this)?
If a large attack on US soil in is the pipe, and unfortunately it may quite be, OBL followers might capitalize on its propaganda value by insisting that he's been part of it, especially if he's actually been rotting since Tora Bora. No recoverable body, a glorious death, and an enhanced stature for the organization.
Posted by: Anonymous || 12/27/2003 12:58 Comments || Top||

#6  Well, perhaps we've reached the point where we'll have to have a war of cultures; or one side will have to join the other. Maybe it's time we got this over with.
OTOH, it's not like I'd miss conservative Islam all that much. -- Well put.
Posted by: Les Nessman || 12/27/2003 14:26 Comments || Top||

#7  i won't hold my breath: Binny is dead somewhere in Tora Bora.

They threaten repeatedly now but can't operationally hit the west on home soil.

Yawn . Thankyou, come again.
Posted by: Anon1 || 12/27/2003 23:37 Comments || Top||


Home Front
Lockheed F/A 22 Raptor scheduled for Rose Bowl flyover
Look up and hope the show’s broadcast in SA, France, NK, Syria, Pakland, Iran, etc....
Lockheed-Martins F/A-22 Raptor fighter will fly over the Rose Bowl on New Years Day in Pasadena, Calif., the largest public display yet for the Georgia-built warplanes.

A single Raptor fighter will join a B-2 Spirit bomber and an F-117 Nighthawk fighter in the flight over the 100,000-seat stadium. A television audience of about 18 million people are expected to watch top-ranked USC and No. 4 Michigan compete in the Rose Bowl.

The $200 million F/A-22 is the most costly fighter in history.

About 20 of the radar-evading, supersonic jets have been built and flown in Marietta and sent to Air Force bases in California and Nevada. The planes will undergo a series of war games against other U.S. fighters to determine how well the planes will perform in combat.

The Air Force expects to purchase 381 Raptors, which are scheduled to go to front-line U.S. fighter squadrons in 2005.

Posted by: Frank G || 12/27/2003 7:43:26 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  A single Raptor fighter will join a B-2 Spirit bomber and an F-117 Nighthawk fighter in the flight over the 100,000-seat stadium

Dammit I want F-14s, F-16s, AC-130s, A-10s, not some of this expensive shit that I can't see or hear! The best (unplanned) flyover is still the B-25 Mitchell that flew under the press box at Florida Field.
Posted by: Shipman || 12/27/2003 20:04 Comments || Top||

#2  wish I'd seen it lol
Posted by: Frank G || 12/27/2003 20:16 Comments || Top||

#3  Frank... at the time I was stunned by the audacity and skill of the pilot... 9/11 images were still far in the future.
Posted by: Shipman || 12/27/2003 20:24 Comments || Top||

#4  Picture this for an aviation orgasmic air show:

Century of flight extraviganza!

Curtiss Jenny, followed by
various WWI planes, then a series of between war planes, followed by B-17, B-25, B-29, then little friends: Hellcat, P-38, F4U coursair, P-51, maybe a Sandy, then bring on the newer iron that Shipman mentions in his comments.

Now THAT would be one halftime show. Sorry cheerleaders, give us a few minutes to get over the roar.

Sorry, just got carried away..........
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 12/27/2003 22:04 Comments || Top||

#5  Lieutenant? Salt Peter for Alaska Paul, please?
Posted by: Frank G || 12/27/2003 22:19 Comments || Top||

#6  I look forwaed to seeing the Raptor. It's suppossed to be a Stealth air/ground fighter. It also has a system that can use radar without giving away it's location, unlike our other stealth air-craft.
Posted by: Charles || 12/27/2003 23:41 Comments || Top||


Iran
Ideals worth dying for
The recent earthquake in Iran was truly horrible. It is estimated that as many as 40,000 people died in the disaster. Naturally, help is being offered from all over the world.

What is the response of the Iranian government to these generous offers? Akbar Alavi, the governor of the province in which the quake occured, said, "We greatly welcome any assistance from the United States. We welcome assistance from all countries except Israel". Let’s clarify. Iranian government, in sponsoring Hezbollah and others, murders Israeli citizens indiscriminantly. In spite of this, as a gesture of good will, Israel is offering a helping hand. Iran refuses.

When there is a great humanitarian need, political differences are often put aside. Today, Iran is even willing to accept help from the United States, or, as it is often called in Iran, the Great Satan. But to accept help from a country full of former dhimmis who are now free? To accept help from former subjects of the Khilafah who dare to defy the empire?

These must be difficult questions for Iranians to answer. Certainly, by refusing Israel’s help, Iranian government is condemning some victims of the quake to death. But really, some things might be worth dying for. Americans often think that freedom is worth dying for. Hence the quintessentially American expression "Live free or die". But we must accept that different cultures have different ideals. Apparently, for the Iranian government, the ideal worth dying for is that one should not accept help from former subjects. What can I say? If Khilafis wish to suffer, good riddance.
Posted by: Alex || 12/27/2003 6:56:21 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Except it's not the people who are dying that don't want the help. It's the ass-hats who are denying the help from Isreal. The actual people would be more than grateful to be saved from the rubble, no matter who pulled them out.
Posted by: Charles || 12/27/2003 19:07 Comments || Top||

#2  Good point. In the post, I tried to distinguish between "Iranian government" and the people. Should have made that clearer.
Posted by: Alex || 12/27/2003 19:34 Comments || Top||

#3  So the title of the artice should be 'Ideals worth murdering [your own people] for' right?
Posted by: CrazyFool || 12/27/2003 20:02 Comments || Top||


Middle East
Egyptian editor assails Arafat over Maher attack
JPost Reg req’d - Cause/Effect strikes again
In a rare attack for an Egyptian newspaper, the editor of an influential weekly assailed Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat for the assault on Egypt’s foreign minister in Jerusalem last week. Wow, that’ll raise Yasser’s drool level

"It is now time to adopt a new attitude toward the Palestinian Authority, to tell them ’No’ a thousand times, as we are not so naive as they think," Ibrahim Saada wrote in an editorial of Akhbar Elyom on Saturday. "Did you mistake us for the EU!"

Maher was attacked by Palestinian radicals when he visited Al Aqsa Mosque on Monday. Policemen grappled with the assailants and escorted Maher from the scene.

Maher was visiting Israel for the first time in more than two years to try to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

PLO "Foreign Minister" Farouk Kaddoumi, arrived in Cairo the next day to apologize for the attack, saying the assailants were "a rogue group that has no connection to the Palestinian people."

Saada wrote that he rejected Maher’s attempt "to deflate this ugly incident, trying to convince the public opinion that those who carried out this aggression were a small, trivial, and banned group."

In words addressed to Arafat, Saada said: "Your excellency, the sole spokesman of the Palestinian people, we are fed up with your repetition that any Palestinian act against Egypt, or any Palestinian act – verbal or physical – against an Egyptian official, should be blamed on a trivial, small, and banned group."

The editorial went on to recall several occasions when Arafat’s policies have been directly opposed to those of Egypt, such as after the country signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979.

Saada said that after Egyptian president Anwar Sadat was assassinated in 1981, "his excellency the Palestinian president was the first among those who rejoiced, clapped, and danced."

Later Saturday, Maher met with a Palestinian delegation that included Kaddoumi and Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath, who again apologized for the incident.

Asked if the Palestinian Authority would prosecute the assailants, Shaath said Palestinian police detained four of the attackers but the Israeli police took them into custody.
to prevent the revolving door of Paleo justice™ from operating The speaker of Egypt’s parliament, Fathi Sorour, denounced Israel for the attack, Egypt’s Middle East News Agency reported. Asshole....
"We also condemn Israel’s position because it did not protect the minister," Sorour told parliament Saturday. enough? Should they have opened up on the Paleo worshippers with Uzis? Pro forma "balance"
Posted by: Frank G || 12/27/2003 6:23:38 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  We also condemn Israel’s position because it did not protect the minister

Ahh yes. The 'through-the-looking-glass' logic from the left that we have all come to know and loathe. I'm just surprised he didn't get America in there, too. Or is it a blanket indictment of all Zionists that the paleos can't quit acting like a-holes?
Posted by: 4thInfVet || 12/27/2003 18:38 Comments || Top||

#2  The Egyptians may be thinking as much about Wheelus as us Ranburgers is. 2 billion American goes a lot further in a Libiyan sized population. How important is Cairo N. these days?
Posted by: Shipman || 12/27/2003 20:21 Comments || Top||


Korea
That Old Time BS
Pyongyang, December 26 (KCNA) -- Meetings were held in London and Bagnue City, France and by the Pitesti Committee of the Socialist Party of Romania, in Sofia, and by the Swiss Committee for Supporting Korea’s Reunification and the Karachi Branch of the Pakistan-Korea Friendship Association in celebration of the 12th anniversary of leader Kim Jong Il’s assumption of the supreme commandership of the Korean People’s Army and the 86th birth anniversary of Kim Jong Suk, an anti-Japanese war hero. Christopher Coleman, spokesman (Leader) of the Central Committee of the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist), in his speech said it is entirely thanks to Kim Jong Il who set forth the Songun revolutionary line and has wisely led its implementation that now the Korean people are winning victory after victory in the confrontation with the U.S. imperialists.
Vasile Orleanu, chairman of the Supreme Council of the Socialist Party of Romania, in a speech praised Kim Jong Il for having strengthened the KPA into an army strong in ideology and faith with powerful offensive and defensive means.
Lyudmil Kostantinov, chief of the Bulgarian Group for the Study of the Juche Idea, in his speech stressed that the Songun politics of the DPRK is an invincible all-powerful treasured sword to defend the world peace from the imperialists’ invasion.
Martin Lotscher, chairman of the Swiss Committee for Supporting Korea’s Reunification, in a speech noted that the Bush administration singled out the DPRK as part of an "axis of evil" and has left no means untried to isolate and stifle it but the former can never bring the Korean people to their knees as they are firmly united around their leader.
Zabed Ansari, secretary general of the Karachi Branch of the Pakistan-Korea Friendship Association, in a speech said Kim Jong Suk’s immortal life and feats she performed by devotedly defending President Kim Il Sung and bringing up Kim Jong Il as a shining lodestar would always be remembered not only by the Korean people but by humankind.
Congratulatory messages and letters to Kim Jong Il were adopted at meetings held in Britain, France and Pakistan.
Meanwhile lectures, photo exhibitions and film shows were held by Moscow State University of Russia and the Communist Party of Tajikistan and in two cities of Libya including Murzuk.
Posted by: Spot || 12/27/2003 2:28:59 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  *Tears up card* Someone get this pretender off the ice.

Where oh where is Army First man? That dude could write a sizzling press release.
Posted by: Ptah || 12/27/2003 14:36 Comments || Top||

#2  Ptah, I agree someone get this clown off the ice. What the hell happened to the real KCNA? Did Kimmie-boy fire him or something?

The spittle-sport has really taken a nosedive lately....
Posted by: CrazyFool || 12/27/2003 15:03 Comments || Top||

#3  We reduced the food aid and extra rations were cut off in the propaganda dept as the army felt the pinch. Gotta have protein for print. Carbo-cals don't make good press releases.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 12/27/2003 17:14 Comments || Top||

#4  Lyudmil Kostantinov, chief of the Bulgarian Group for the Study of the Juche Idea

In a quieter more peaceful time I'd apply to the NORKS to set up a Tallahassee Study Group for the Juche Idea. It'd look great on my resume and the ID card might prove useful.
Posted by: Shipman || 12/27/2003 17:34 Comments || Top||

#5  I remember when men were men and Rants were Rants, I used to listen to the first team! You're weak! I walked through snow to listen to well fed North Koreans scream till they were blue in the face. They had stamina then, they had rhythm, they had a thesaurs, this was when Juche was a little baby and Songun Way was life's little reality show. Hmmm.... pablum. Nitey nite.
Posted by: Ned Almond || 12/27/2003 20:38 Comments || Top||

#6  Someone go through and copy down all the names dropped, so the responsible whacko ward can reclaim their patients after the parties.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 12/27/2003 23:15 Comments || Top||


Home Front
Dean: oops, that’s not what I meant...
From yesterday...
New Hampshire’s Concord Monitor reported that Dean said he would not state his preference on a punishment for bin Laden before the al Qaeda leader was captured and put before a jury...Dean added he is certain most Americans agree with that sentiment. Later, Dean released a statement clarifying, "I share the outrage of all Americans. Osama bin Laden has admitted that he is responsible for killing 3,000 Americans as well as scores of men, women and children around the world. This is the exactly the kind of case that the death penalty is meant for. "When we capture Osama bin Laden, he will be brought to justice and treated in the same manner that President Bush is recommending for Saddam Hussein."
...and the clarification.
Posted by: RW2004 || 12/27/2003 8:19:33 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  But Powerline notes that Dean got another endorsement...from Pravda LOL

"Howard Dean Gets It Right Again"
Posted by: Frank G || 12/27/2003 8:39 Comments || Top||

#2  This jerk is looking worse and worse all the time. I keep wondering, what is Dean going to shoot his mouth off about next?

"Dean said he would not state his preference on a punishment for bin Laden before the al Qaeda leader was captured and put before a jury...Dean added he is certain most Americans agree with that sentiment."

Oh, really???? Not this American, I can tell you; and no other American I've talked to in the last two years, either.

Dean's entire candidacy is nothing more than a gigantic Jackass stunt.
Posted by: Dave D. || 12/27/2003 8:51 Comments || Top||

#3  Dean's entire candidacy is nothing more than a gigantic Jackass stunt.

Dave D. Now that's cold
Posted by: Shipman || 12/27/2003 10:33 Comments || Top||

#4  I think Sergeant Davis could settle this whole issue, if we could get him close enough.
Posted by: badanov || 12/27/2003 10:39 Comments || Top||

#5  Shipman- yeah, but I think the description is apt: Dean's campaign is stupid; it's reckless; it's juvenile; it's likely to have horrible consequences for the Democratic Party; and its main character is clearly a few pom-poms short of a full pep squad, if you know what I mean.
Posted by: Dave D. || 12/27/2003 11:05 Comments || Top||

#6  Wait a minute, I thought the plan from yesterday was that we were going to be vewwy vewwy quiet about Dr. Dean's "iridescent idiocy" (great phrase) so he would get the nomination.
Posted by: Matt || 12/27/2003 11:10 Comments || Top||

#7  Oh, I don't think our talking about it quietly here in the private, dimly-lit confines of Rantburg will have much effect on the Democratic Party's decision making; what I'm concerned about is if the mainstream media comes to its senses and takes a few months off from Bush-bashing to torpedoe Dean's candidacy and save "their" party, they could have a big impact and we could get [spit] Hillary instead of Dean.

So much to worry about... so little time.
Posted by: Dave D. || 12/27/2003 11:40 Comments || Top||

#8  Unless Dr. Gov. Dean does a Muskie it's too late for the press to change their mind. The important thing for the Donks now is damage limitation.. tryin to save a senate seat or two. Watch for the Southron Dems. office holders to run like a bunny from Dean.
Posted by: Shipman || 12/27/2003 11:48 Comments || Top||

#9  run like a bunny is so drab.... make that..

Run like a deranged Carter canoe killer from Dean.
Posted by: Shipman || 12/27/2003 11:50 Comments || Top||

#10  I'm sorry... but it brings to mind Pink Floyds next mainstream hit...


Careful with that paddle Jimmuuuhh.
Posted by: Shipman || 12/27/2003 11:52 Comments || Top||

#11  He's going to burn out the ol' tranny trying to back up that fast. And these nuts call Dubya a 'cowboy'? Sounds like howie drinks his lunch sometimes with these bizarre assertions.
Posted by: 4thInfVet || 12/27/2003 12:26 Comments || Top||

#12  the best part is he's such an arogant ass that he'll never let media handlers get in the way of his "message". Keep talking Howie, it's too late, IMHO, for the other dwarves to stop him - Iowa's next month, and he's wayyyy leading in NH too.
Posted by: Frank G || 12/27/2003 13:07 Comments || Top||

#13  "He can roll up his sleeves all he wants at public events, but as long as we see that heart tattoo with Neville Chamberlain's name on his right forearm, he's never going anywhere." -- Dennis Miller on Howard Dean

In the collection of 2003 quotes over at the Tim Blair site.
Posted by: Matt || 12/27/2003 13:18 Comments || Top||

#14  I agree with the recent National Review cover: "Please Nominate This Man" with a particularly angry photo of Dean. As someone said on Fox News yesterday "This guy makes Michael Dukakis look tough on crime by comparison." Somewhere, Karl Rove is smiling.
Posted by: Tibor || 12/27/2003 15:15 Comments || Top||

#15  Dave D.,

Johnny Knoxville poops out more brain cells on an average day than "Dr." Dean the Snow Bunny has ever possessed.

Tibor,

I like Carville's take on Dean's run, "I told Steve McMahon, the media guy for Dean, who was on 'Crossfire': You have one of the three most influential presidential campaigns of my lifetime. That's the good news. The bad news is the other two are McGovern and Goldwater."
Posted by: Ernest Brown || 12/28/2003 0:08 Comments || Top||


Update: Real American Sports Hero (Pat Tillman)
Tillman Drops By To Stay In Touch
Kent Somers
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 22, 2003 12:00 AM

SEATTLE - As a U.S. Army Ranger, Pat Tillman probably is accustomed to stealth missions.

He made another one this weekend, visiting his old team, the Cardinals, on their trip to Seattle. Tillman, a former Cardinals safety, is stationed at Ft. Lewis, about a 50-minute drive south of Seattle.

So he, along with wife Marie, his brother Kevin, and a couple of friends visited the Cardinals on Saturday and Sunday. Kevin is also a Ranger.

They stayed at the team hotel, watched the game from owner Bill Bidwill’s suite and met with players Sunday morning and after the game.

Tillman left the locker room through a side door before reporters were admitted. He has declined all interviews since joining the Army in the summer of 2002.

"The first thing he wanted to talk about was, ’Coach, how about this, how about that. I’ve been following you,’ " coach Dave McGinnis said. "I even asked him if he could play a little ’H’ linebacker for me. He said he brought his playbook, but he didn’t think his hamstrings would hold up."

Tillman met with McGinnis and other Cardinals coaches Saturday night and had breakfast with Bidwill.

McGinnis called the conversation "mesmerizing."

The Tillman brothers have served in the Middle East in Operation Iraqi Freedom and recently completed advanced Ranger training in Georgia. They could return to the Middle East soon.

It was the first time some of Tillman’s former teammates had seen him since he joined, because Tillman enlisted in the off-season.

"He did a great thing for our country," safety Adrian Wilson said. "I was real surprised to see him. I didn’t know he was back (in the United States) until I saw him (Sunday) morning. It was nice talking to him."

’Good to hear that the Tillmans are still in one piece.
Posted by: Lone Ranger || 12/27/2003 5:48:06 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I salute this man's patriotism, considering what he gave up to defend our country.
Posted by: Ptah || 12/27/2003 6:28 Comments || Top||

#2  All that he gave up at the top of his game, in a career that normally spans only a couple money-making years, takes big stones....I don't think I would've been able to make that hard choice - I salute them
Posted by: Frank G || 12/27/2003 8:46 Comments || Top||


International
The academic left at work
I found this article eriely similar to reports on Leftist academics at UCAL. EFL
"How could you report the war in Iraq if you sided with the Americans?"

"How can you say that George Bush is better than Saddam Hussein?"

These are some of the milder questions I received from an audience of some 150 undergraduate students from Tel Aviv University’s Political Science Department. The occasion was a guest lecture I gave last month on my experiences as an embedded reporter with the US Army’s 3rd Infantry Division during the Iraq war.

Many of the students were visibly jolted by my assertion that the patriotism of American soldiers was inspirational. The vocal ones among them were appalled when I argued that journalists must be able to make moral distinctions between good and evil, when such distinctions exist, if they wish to provide their readership with an accurate picture of the events they describe in their reports.

"Who are you to make moral judgments? What you say is good may well be bad for someone else."

"I am a sane human being capable of distinguishing good from evil, just like every other sane human being," I answered. "As criminal law states, you are criminally insane if you can’t distinguish between good and evil. Unless you are crazy, you should be able to tell the difference."

When the show was over, and the students began shuffling out of the lecture hall, a young woman approached me.

"Excuse me," she said with a heavy Russian accent.
"How can you say that democracy is better than dictatorial rule?"

"Because it is better to be free than to be a slave," I answered.

Undeterred, she pressed on, "How can you support America when the US is a totalitarian state?"
"Did you learn that in Russia?" I asked.
"No, here," she said.

"Here at Tel Aviv University?"
"Yes, that is what my professors say," she said.
In the weeks that have passed since I gave that lecture, I have not been able to get those students out of my mind.

The student discovered that not only were the professors overwhelmingly self-identified with far left and Arab political parties, most also expressed absolute intolerance for the notion that professors with right-wing or even centrist views should be allowed to teach in their departments. "Over my dead body," said one.

Students speak of a regime of fear and intimidation in the classroom. Ofra Gracier, a doctoral student in Tel-Aviv University’s humanities faculty explains the process as follows:

"It starts with the course syllabus. In a class on introduction to political theory for instance, you will never see the likes of Leo Strauss or Friedrich Hayek or Milton Friedman. You will only get Marx and Rousseau and people like that. So, if you want to argue with Marx, you are on your own. You don’t know anything else.

"But say you want to dispute your professor. I was taught this class by Yoav Peled, an avowed communist. He was explaining why capitalism is evil. I mentioned the Asian economic miracle – South Korea, Japan, Singapore.

He went nuts and spent the rest of the class screaming at me.

"there is a dire lack of scholarship in certain areas. For instance, if you want to research the issue of Palestinian policies of land discrimination against Jews, you have to go to primary sources.

No one has written a book about it even though it is a huge issue. But if you want to research the question of alleged Jewish land discrimination against Arabs, you have a bookshelf full of books at your disposal."

Indeed, Dr. Martin Sherman of Tel-Aviv University’s Political Science Department was unable to get the university’s Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies to publish his original work on the hydro-strategic impact of a Palestinian state on Israel. Sherman, with degrees in physics and geology and practical experience as a water adviser in the Ministry of Agriculture, is a recognized expert in the field.

"My paper showed conclusively that the establishment of such a state would involve the transfer of control over 60 percent–70 percent of Israel’s water sources to the Palestinians. They wouldn’t have it. I was strung along by Shai Feldman [the head of the Jaffee Center] for months and months, until it was finally made clear that it wouldn’t be published."
Time for clean out these morons, whether its in Israel, Berkely, or Oxford. Get rid of them all. They are poisonous scum. My brother spent years getting his doctorate at Berkely and I have been there many times. The detachment from the real world of these people is shocking. I’m hoping Arnie does the business in Cal and shows the way for everyone else.
Posted by: phil_b || 12/27/2003 4:04:29 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Phil, the real problem here is not the left-wing, no nothing, pussilaminous academics but the family, the peers, the friends, the teachers in grade and high school and others that have left that student without any other perspective to measure all this BS against.
Posted by: Jack is Back! || 12/27/2003 5:25 Comments || Top||

#2  OMIGAWD, PEOPLE! READ!! This isn't Berkeley or Columbia, frcrissake, it's Tel-Aviv f***ing University! Aren't any of the professors Israelis? If 5th-columnists with phony Jewish names are entrenched there it's time to raze the whole educational system starting with Berkeley, etc.
Posted by: Glenn (not Reynolds) || 12/27/2003 5:58 Comments || Top||

#3  Hopefully the IDF takes most of these Yuts in hand after graduation and gives them a good education.
Posted by: Shipman || 12/27/2003 7:41 Comments || Top||

#4  Sorry jack, but this sounds like the standard Lefist mantra that no one is responsible for any thing. And if no one is reponsible for anything who takes responsibility for the world we live in? Well I for one am extremely glad people are trying to take responsibility.
Posted by: phil_b || 12/27/2003 8:28 Comments || Top||

#5  This is a tough call. With high school students, those of minority age, have no de facto responsibility, but when they enter college, they are adults, and they must know there are consequences for what they believe, inasmuch as they believe there are none.

While personal behavior can be traced to parents, political beliefs are shaped by those you are closest to (that can includes parents and family); those who say the things that seems to matter to you.

College teachers seem to have developed this little Marxist world and no one gains entrance unless you hold valid beliefs, just like every communist political organization the world over. I think cleaning out these folks would be a good direction to go. And by cleaning out I don't mean firing squads. I mean reassignment; to janitorial services where they can be closer to the 'people' they profess to love so much.

Oh, and by the way: Were the situation reversed and Berkeley was inundated with rightwingers and anti-idiotarians, the left would be calling for firing squads.
Posted by: badanov || 12/27/2003 10:30 Comments || Top||

#6  See like "maD cOw DisEase" it is spreading after breaking out on US campuses. Now you guys know what to believe when suddenly ex security guys come out backing Yossi Beilin or reservists refuse to serve.
They are from the Political Science faculty. Remember too, some months back students started boycotting the classes of lecturers who supported the "reservists" who refused to fly. There are more solid thinking kids on campus than these idiotarians. The unfortunate thing is that they have been brainwashed by the copying of curriculums from Berkely and such places. Don't forget most get their doctorates from the US Ivy League places if not the LSE or Sorbonne. What can one expect?
Just pray for enough blogs to expose this.
Posted by: Barry || 12/27/2003 12:09 Comments || Top||

#7  Shit, you can get a better real world Geo-politico education here at Rantburg than any of those high dollar class rooms. Your right Barry regarding the blogosphere. It's the open mic.

I read more intelligent posts and remarks here than you could get at any top U.

Rantburg U!
Posted by: Lucky || 12/27/2003 12:18 Comments || Top||

#8  For information on staff at the Jaffee Center see: www.tau.ac.il/humanities/faculty/ins/cen_jaf.html
Posted by: Tancred || 12/27/2003 12:23 Comments || Top||

#9  Here's a fairly clear example of the leftism on campus. My youngest daughter entered the University of Oregon and studied Biology, as part of a Pre-Med curriculum. She is a good student, always put her studies first ever since Middle School. She worked her way up to a 3.8 GPA in a difficult subject area at U of Oregon.

In her Junior year, when it became clear that she would have the grades to get into medical school, we started looking around at how the $150K-250K cost would be met. I found that the US military gives scholarships, full rides, to medical school in return for about 5 years of the young doctor's time when they graduate. They offer up to $50K/yr and a cash stipend of $1200/mo, and a commission as a 2Lt when you enter the program. The Navy, Army and Air Force have the same deal, there are a few differences about residencies, etc but the programs are essentially the same.

Daughter was initially enthused. Even thought she would look good in Navy Whites. She had plenty of family tradition, as my Dad, one uncle and a first cousin were all military doctors. She had a year to wait to sign up for the program, and after our viisit to the Navy recruiter, she couldn't wait to get back to school and tell everyone how Uncle Sammy was going to pay for her expensive medical education.

Well, she told everyone back at school. Her laboratory professors, all a bunch of lefty weasels started to work on her, unbeknownst to me. When it became time to sign up for the program, the Navy sent materials to me and I called her to say I was forwarding them down to the U of O for her.

I was stunned when she told me not to bother, she had decided not to take the scholarship. I asked her what had changed her mind, and she said that she couldn't be part of the illegal Bush war (plans). I told her that as a new doc, she wouldn't be going into combat, but she gave me more of the same lefty antiwar malarkey.

End of the story is, she's going to be $200K in debt when she graduates, and will be broke for the first 6-10 years after she adds MD to her name. She won't be able to live like the well-off doctors she learns from, and she knows it. She has doomed herself to poverty for the first half of her life while she pays off those loans, all because her professors filled her head full of antiwar mush.

If I had names, I would be spending my retirement in prison for felony assault or worse...
Posted by: Rivrdog || 12/27/2003 18:05 Comments || Top||

#10  dog, condolences. My own seems determined to go without "higher education" and may end up not amounting to much, but at least she hasn't done anything like that to get herself written out of my will disappoint me.
Posted by: Glenn (not Reynolds) || 12/27/2003 20:22 Comments || Top||

#11  Don't sweat it too much Rivrdog it's still way early in the game for both of ya.
Posted by: Shipman || 12/27/2003 20:29 Comments || Top||


Iran
More on Binny and Ayman being in Iran
Edited from a longer Financial Times story.
In one recent account, a man with links to Iran’s intelligence services and hard-line Revolutionary Guard Corps (RGC) has told the Financial Times that he saw the al-Qaeda leader in Iran two months ago. He saw him arrive at an RGC guest house close to the small town of Najmabad, west of Tehran, on 23 October.
That fits with where Saif al-Adel and Junior are said to be hiding out. Maybe Binny’s "in custody" too ...
The al-Qaeda leader, accompanied by Ayman al-Zawahiri, his deputy, was being driven by RGC officers when they arrived at the guest house, a 90-minute drive from Tehran.
Wonder if they were disguised as ayatollahs, as Mansoor Ijaz said?
A meeting taking place in the building was suddenly halted to allow the two men to use it. The witness said both men had subtly changed their appearances, with trimmed beards and short hair. Neither wore traditional turbans, he said, and both were dressed in Pakistani-style clothes and carrying long shawls across their shoulders. Senior Iranian security officials strenuously deny the claims. The country is holding an unknown number of al-Qaeda activists, and has provided a list of names to the United Nations.
Unfortunately, they were all just cannon fodder with nary a trace of Binny and Ayman.
Or Sully. Wonder what's happened to Sully? We haven't heard from him in a long time. I've still got my seatbelt fastened from his last remarks...
But it has denied that any senior al-Qaeda figures are among those being detained, and says those in the country are under house arrest.
The latter of which seems to have a different translation in Farsi than it does to the rest of us.
It's probably closely akin to the Urdu usage of the word, though...
Hamid Reza Asefi, a spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry, said: "It is a baseless allegation and is not true at all. It is a fictitious interview with an unknown eyewitness. It is like a fantasy. Any group with any sort of interest does not back bin Laden in Iran, and he has no room in Iran."
Lies! All lies!
The vehemence of the Iranian denial is a reflection of how seriously the country - which George W. Bush, US president, defined as a part of an "axis of evil" - views any accusation that could make it a target of US action. Officials within the reformist government of President Mohamed Khatami also deny that Mr bin Laden has ever been in Iran.
Would they know if he had?
Mr Khatami’s strong suspicion of al-Qaeda’s Sunni fundamentalism has fed fears that Iran could itself become a target for the Saudi terrorist leader’s organisation.
Unless of course he or his boss Khamenei is working with Binny, in which case it’s a great false trail, a la Sammy’s insistence that he would never team up with al-Qaeda or al-Jubeir’s insistence that Binny just hates the royals and would never cash checks from them.
The man who reported the Najmabad sighting said he did not think the government knew about the alleged visit, and added that rogue hardliners in the Revolutionary Guard may have organised it independently.
Always nice to have plausible deniability, those rogues ...
But a senior Iranian security official said: "There have been so many similarly false stories that said bin Laden has been in Tabriz or Qazvin, but they were rumours. People tantalised by the $25m [offered by the US as a reward] have created these myths."
Lies! All lies!
But western intelligence officials are not so sure. One said the main focus of the search remained the Pakistani-Afghan border region but "it is not out of the question that he is in Iran, as we know he has been able to move around".
That fits with Mansoor Ijaz’s account of the situation. If he is still alive and has been in Iran this whole time, it’s certainly in his interest to keep the hunt going along the Afghan-Pakistan border. The description of the clothes he was wearing here suggests at the very least that he was in Pakland at one point, which jives with stories of him going to have tea with Fazlur Rehman in Peshawar after Tora Bora.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 12/27/2003 12:43:12 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Who the hell do the iranians think they are, the french? This has some very, very bad implications in regards to Special Weapons. I hope our J-3 is working with the Israelis on taking their enrichment plants out. Some of their scientists might need to develop lead poisoning, too.

And this pipe dream about sunnis not conspiring with shiites not conspiring with wahhabists should finally be put to rest.
Posted by: 4thInfVet || 12/27/2003 1:03 Comments || Top||

#2  I buried Pauul!
Posted by: Lucky || 12/27/2003 1:06 Comments || Top||

#3  But it has denied that any senior al-Qaeda figures are among those being detained meaning, of course, they're free to move about and do their business?
Posted by: Glenn (not Reynolds) || 12/27/2003 1:24 Comments || Top||


Africa: West
Ivory Coast rebels to rejoin government
Ivory Coast’s former rebels have decided to resume their role in government but concerns remained over disarmament, a possible leadership dispute and a planned trip to rebel zones by President Laurent Gbagbo. After meeting Monday in their central stronghold Bouake, the former rebels announced they would end a three-month boycott of cabinet meetings of the unity government created in January. "Wishing to give our country the chance for peace to which we all aspire, the New Forces invite their ministers to return, from (Monday) to the government of national reconciliation," the former rebels, using the name they took in January, said in a statement Tuesday. "The New Forces reaffirm our willingness to work serenely towards a durable peace in Ivory Coast."
"Meet the New Forces, same as the Old Forces, which were same as the Olde Forces..."
The unity government was installed in April to help bring an end to 15 months of civil war that have split the west African country in two and crippled the world’s top cocoa producer. It stumbled in September with the New Forces’ withdrawal from cabinet meetings, accusing President Laurent Gbagbo of hoarding power and refusing to implement January peace accords to end the war. Monday’s decision was widely hailed both within the volatile west African state and by the international community, which hopes to return Ivory Coast to its position as a regional powerhouse both for its international seaports and cocoa-based economy that had been the second largest in west Africa.
It didn't used to be "volatile." In fact, it was kind of boring — mostly peaceful, moderately prosperous, at least as far as West Africa goes...
"We welcome with satisfaction the decision by the New Forces to reintegrate in government so as to fulfill their role in the national reconciliation process in Ivory Coast," said French foreign affairs spokesman Cecile Pozzo di Borgo on Tuesday. But lingering rifts remain, among them the question of disarmament. Since their failed attempt to oust Gbagbo in September 2002, the rebels have held the country’s north and western zones, while the government controls the south. Both sides have begun to pull back heavy armaments from a 640-kilometer (400-mile) ceasefire zone patrolled by French and west African troops but the storing of weaponry and the cantonment of fighters have resulted in little progress.
"Well, I don't know if we're ready to go as far as actually giving up our weaponry..."
Another source of concern is an apparent split between the political and military sides of the New Forces. Ibrahim Coulibaly, who spearheaded the first-ever coup in December 1999, continues to wield enormous influence in northern Ivory Coast. His supporters, mostly among the military cadre, have in the past week caused tension over the leadership of the rebel movement, taking to the airwaves to anoint him as the "president of the New Forces," although he holds no official leadership title. Backers of New Forces secretary general Guillaume Soro, who serves as communications minister in the unity government, insist that it is he who holds the reins.
Assuming anybody does, of course...
As the daily Le Front noted Tuesday, "the strife between Soro and IB (as Coulibaly is colloquially known) could be fatal for the unity of the New Forces."
No room for more than one ego, they mean...
"We cannot exclude the possibility that it could implode," said the newspaper, which is nominally aligned with the former rebels. An imminent planned visit to rebel territory by President Gbagbo also remains contentious as the New Forces say they have yet to be officially informed of his itinerary. They have, however, not opposed that he travel to the second city Bouake, which Gbagbo last week dubbed a "symbol of the divided country."
Posted by: Dan Darling || 12/27/2003 12:28:47 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Caucasus
Russia captures the brains behind the train boomers
A Chechen rebel commander was arrested with explosives near the southern Russian city where a suicide bomber earlier this month killed 46 people on a commuter train, the Federal Security Service said Friday. Authorities captured Ibrahim Israpilov Tuesday near Yessentuki with 44 pounds of explosives, radio-controlled detonators, grenades and firearms, the intelligence service, known as the FSB, told Russian news agencies.
Betcha Ibrahim is feeling mighty unhappy at this very moment...
The head of the security service, Nikolai Patrushev, said on Russian TV that Israpilov is a suspect in attacks on the rail line, but he did not say whether authorities believe the Chechen commander is suspected in the Dec. 5 suicide bombing of the train. In September, six people were killed in two blasts on the same railway line in southern Russia, near the separatist region of Chechnya. In the latest fighting inside Chechnya, five Russian soldiers died and 13 were injured in rebel attacks and mine explosions over the previous day, an official in the Moscow-backed Chechen administration said Friday.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 12/27/2003 12:26:19 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Latin America
Chile in a communist crisis
Chile’s extreme militant left is reorganizing around the Patriotic Front Manuel Rodriguez -- or FPMR -- but only the Communist Party seems to be noticing. Most politicians, concerned with their own pre-election internal squabbles, have ignored the process. But the communists, the only remaining legal institution of the Marxist left, paid considerable attention. The government, kept informed by the Defense Ministry, apparently preferred to turn a blind eye to the rebuilding of the FPMR. Rocking the boat would have overshadowed the tributes that it lavished on former president Salvador Allende in September as part of its of national and international image campaign, which it tried to counterbalance by underwriting the Free Trade Agreement with the United States.

The FPMR was formed in 1983 from the CP’s illegal armed forces in Chile. Created, trained and financed by Cuba two years before, the FPMR’s "commanders" had their baptism of fire among the insurgent groups of Central America and soon they were deployed in Chile to challenge by force the military regime headed by general Augusto Pinochet. An effort that ended in defeat and flight. The return to democracy in 1990 threw the "commanders" into the ranks of the unemployed. The murder in April 1991 of the right-wing senator of the Independent Democtratic Union, or UDI, Jaime Guzman and the kidnapping of the son of newspaper tycoon Agustin Edwards, rescued after the payment of more than $2 million, were the last two acts in which "frentistas" were involved. The capture, trial, detention and conviction of the movement’s leaders together with the internal control exerted by government intelligence services and the communist leadership greatly inhibited any further activities.

The FPMR is now nothing more than an illegal movement prone to sudden bursts of banner-waving street demonstrations. It began in September to organize its Congress, which in Marxist jargon must be understood as a series of meetings and exchanges of opinions that can go on for months or even a whole year. The Congress has two key stages: the first, just started, corresponding to the work by groups at national and international level; and the decisive one, from which will emanate the main policies and the new direction of the organization. In the Congress three elementary issues will be analyzed to give life to the project:
Organic: the type of conceptual and material foundation on which the support structures will be built.

Social: dealing with the task of mass manipulation, the demands and the building of popular forces.

Military: principles and the organization of armed and unarmed confrontation.
With its emblematic leader, Gladys Marin, hospitalized in Havana after an operation for a malignant brain tumor; without slogans to attract the working "masses" and with few economic resources for survival, the Communist Party is currently faces a critical moment. The Communist Party, representing less than 5 percent of the national electorate of 8 million people is the only -- and perhaps final -- bastion where the ideas of the legally recognized extreme Marxist-Leninist left are maintained. An elections law grants representation only to those who get more than 33 percent of the electoral votes. The success of the neoliberal national economic model, or social market economy, are without doubt, the two main factors which marginalized the two trends historically associated with extremism: the CP and the Movement of the Revolutionary Left - MIR. Many of their followers are subsequently reorganizing around the FPMR.

The sudden onset of Gladys Marin’s illness iinfluenced Chilean politics. In two months she was disabled, with little hope of living to the end of the year. A hardened fighter in her 60s, Marin is a unique case in Latin America. She assumed control of the newly legally registered CP as soon as democracy was restored in 1990. Her party did not join in with the elected government of Christian Democrat President Patricio Aylwin. One reason was that they were not invited to join, but another more important reason was that the party’s Central Committee thought that it would improve its chances by remaining independent and bettering its position at the expense of the neocapitalist government’s mistakes. It was a fatal error of tactical strategy. However, the CP’s former partner in Allende’s government, the Socialist Party fared very differently. Also openly Marxist-Leninist and an overt supporter of armed struggle prior to the takeover of the military regime, it succeded in staying in power without renouncing its doctrine. The Socialist Party understood the historical moment and adopted democracy and the globalization of the economy as concrete facts, the binomial electoral system as a challenge to its competence and the government as the best instrument to effect changes on behalf of the poor. Today that party is respected, has significant parliamentary representation and has shared power with two previous Christian Democratic Party presidents. The current President, Ricardo Lagos is a Socialist Party member.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 12/27/2003 12:21:21 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It's a shame people don't learn from history.

It seems after a bit of a break, the Communists are once again on the rise across South America, South Asia, and the West - to various degrees and in various incarnations. I wonder how much coordination (if any) there is between the Maoists of Nepal, Naxalites of India, NPA, FARC, Shining Path etc.
Posted by: Paul Moloney || 12/27/2003 0:31 Comments || Top||

#2  The Nepalese Maoists say they're "inspired" by the Shining Path, which could indicate fraternal relations of some kind. The Filippino NPA gets guns from North Korea and has some kind of alliance in play with Europe, too.

And of course, we already know about the ties between FARC and the ELN with Castro and Chavez.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 12/27/2003 0:46 Comments || Top||

#3  Guys and gals this reuters, which hencefore I will refer to as rooters, because it has as much intellectual coherence as hooter's statements that they do not indulge in sexual exploitation and the name is just the noise an owl makes.

And no, communists are not on the rise in S. America or anywhere else. Communism is in the final stages of its death spiral but the true believers have to go through this kind of intellectual gymnastics as only the Left can, to make sense of the fact they are consigned to the garbage can of history.

All that is left is to clean out these people from positions of influence and ship them off somewhere. Last I heard Tristan Da Cuhna was free, and would make an ideal location. Hey, I would even volunteer to be the superintendant.

Maybe I should work on my resume!
Posted by: phil_b || 12/27/2003 4:35 Comments || Top||

#4  "hospitalized in Havana after an operation for a malignant brain tumor" joggled a detail out. The autobiographical essay Commies! [must-read for RBers, btw. Try 973.088 in your local library.] has a chapter on Ronald Radosh's visit to Cuba titled, "Socialist Lobotomies." The title fits aptly, but differently, in and out of context.
Posted by: Glenn (not Reynolds) || 12/27/2003 6:13 Comments || Top||

#5  Communist Crisis

You know things are getting better when a Communist Crisis is about a dwindling Commie supply.
Posted by: Shipman || 12/27/2003 17:37 Comments || Top||


Caucasus
2 hard boyz surrender Basayev’s banners to the Russians
Two rebel units have surrendered the banners under which they fought in Abkhazia and Chechnya. Two rebels surrendered to the Chechen Department of the Federal Security Service with their banners on Thursday, the regional headquarters for the anti-terrorist campaign in the North Caucasus told Interfax. One of the banners belonged to the so-called Abkhaz battalion of Shamil Basayev, who took part in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict. The other banner belonged to the so-called Central Front of the Armed Forces of Ichkeria. Both banners are real and actually belonged to Shamil Basayev, the headquarters said. The rebels used to be members of Shamil Basayev’s units and committed numerous crimes. They are currently under investigation.
"Ooch! Ouch! Hey! Stop that!"
The rebels may be exempt from prosecution because of their sincere repentance and the valuable information they gave police. But they will be released only if it becomes clear that they did not kill any servicemen, officials or civilians and did not take hostages, the source said.
"That's okay! Just don't use the pliers!"
Posted by: Dan Darling || 12/27/2003 12:18:59 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Africa: Central
40,000 rebels, 22 groups in Uganda
About 40,000 rebels are fighting President Museveni’s government, a new report says.
Cheeze. That's a lot of bad boyz...
The report, released by the Amnesty Commission on Friday, estimates that there are more than 40,000 rebels belonging to 22 rebel groups fighting the government. "At the time of establishing the Amnesty Commission, The Ministry of Internal Affairs put the number of potential reporters [rebels who were likely to surrender] at 50,000," the report says. "To date about 10,000 of them have reported to the commission. The total number of [those remaining] can therefore be put at about 40,000," the report says. The Commissioner for West Nile region, Hajji Ganyana Miiro, unveiled the report at the Commission’s headquarters on Buganda Road. He said that since 1986 when the National Resistance Movement took power, "a number of groups have taken up arms to fight it and a number of regions in the country have been affected." The report lists 22 groups, including the Allied Democratic Forces, which pitched camp in western Uganda between 1996 and 2001. Remnants of the ADF are still reported in some parts of eastern Congo.
ADF is an al-Qaeda affiliate that was formed by Sheikh Jamil Tabliq in the 1990s out of a merger of the Ugandan Islamic Jihad with several smaller groups. They set up training camps at Buseruka and Hoima near Lake Albert until they were driven out of the country in 2001 by the Ugandan military. They received support from Sudan and until recently Iraq.
Other rebel groups listed include the Uganda National rescue Front II, the West Nile Bank Front, Action Restore Peace [ARP], Citizen Army for Multi Party Politics [CAMP], Force Obote Back [FOBA], Former Uganda National Army [FUNA], Holy Spirit Movement [HSM] of Alice Lakwena - which was replaced by the Lord’s Resistance Army [LRA] of Joseph Kony. The National Union for the Liberation of Uganda [NALU], National Federal Army [NFA] and the Ninth October Movement [NOM] are also listed together with the People’s Redemption Army [PRA] linked to renegade army officers Anthony Kyakabale, Samson Mande and Edson Muzoora. Others are the Uganda Democratic Army/Alliance [UDA/F], Uganda Federal Democratic Front [UFDF] and Uganda Freedom Movement [UFM]. The 34-page report says that the majority of the rebels are based in southern Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and some are living in Kenya and Europe.
Sudan sponsors most of these rebel groups to counter Uganda’s sponsorship of the SPLA in the African tradition of the Great Game and their political wings are hosted in Kenya and Europe.
The report says that between 2000 and 2003, 10,000 rebels surrendered and applied for amnesty. Out of the 10,000, 3,848 belonged to the LRA, 2,902 to UNRF II, 1,990 from WNBF and 659 from the ADF.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 12/27/2003 12:16:32 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  In reality most of these groups are nothing but mafias, gangs and cults that have fancy names. And not just in Uganda, it's the same all over the Third World.
Posted by: Paul Moloney || 12/27/2003 0:25 Comments || Top||

#2  This is killing me. Can they be any more like Life Of Brian?

Splitters!
Posted by: 4thInfVet || 12/27/2003 1:29 Comments || Top||

#3  4thIV - LOL! Re: LoB, I particularly enjoyed the "vendors" working the colosseum crowd with wren's spleens and other delicacies. Played off well against the scattered factions containing one member.

***

As with the story above this one Re: the Taliban & Indians, the number of True Believers is dwarfed by the mercs. Cut off the cash - then deal with the dribble that's left.

Regards cutting off the money flow - that's rather obvious, if troublesome to those who can't wrap their minds around it. Time to "get over it" voluntarily -- in advance of being forced by some nasty event that kills many Americans in one shot plus the slow-burn toll it's taking on our kickass military. If we think it through without the PC blinders, this shit does not need to be happening. 'Nuff said.
Posted by: Anonymous || 12/27/2003 3:24 Comments || Top||

#4  Oops - above post is mine, not Anonymous.
Posted by: .com || 12/27/2003 3:29 Comments || Top||

#5  Hey 4th, if you want to see the alphabet soup of rebel/terrorist groups taken to a new level of ridiculousness, here is a list of (most of) the insurgent groups operating in India
Posted by: Paul Moloney || 12/27/2003 3:34 Comments || Top||

#6  PM, that's unreal - excellent link, lots of information there.

I particularly liked these combinations;

United Liberation Front of Barak Valley (this group is for the dads)
Barak Valley Youth Liberation Front (this ones for their yoots)
Jammu & Kashmir Students Liberation Front (students need to be involved too)
There's a lot of competition for snazzy names in Kuki - this has lead to some groups having unfortunate acronyms, eg KIA - one can but hope
Kuki National Army (KNA)
Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA)
Kuki National Organisation (KNO)
Kuki Independent Army (KIA)
Kuki Defence Force (KDF)
Kuki International Force (KIF)
Kuki National Volunteers (KNV)
Kuki Liberation Front (KLF)
Kuki Security Force (KSF)
Kuki Liberation Army (KLA)
Kuki Revolutionary Front (KRF)
United Kuki Liberation Front (UKLF)

and on...and on...
Posted by: Tony (UK) || 12/27/2003 4:59 Comments || Top||

#7  Tony: that's 'cause they're like the Edd Byrnes character in 77 Sunset Strip -- kuki -- sorry
Posted by: Glenn (not Reynolds) || 12/27/2003 5:18 Comments || Top||

#8  Sounds like combinations of N taken K at a time...
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 12/27/2003 15:40 Comments || Top||

#9  Kuki, Kuki Liberate Your Comb (KKLYB)
Posted by: RMcLeod || 12/27/2003 16:44 Comments || Top||


Africa: East
Arab militia leader decapitated in Darfur, Bashir to remain Maximum Leader
Rebels battling government forces in western Sudan said Wednesday they had decapitated the leader of a government-armed militia and showed civilians his head as proof of his death.
We ran this day before yesterday. A bit more detail here...
Rebels in the arid Darfur region say Arab tribesmen in the west of Africa’s largest country are armed by the government to fight them, but also turn against civilian farming communities. The Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), one of two main rebel groups that launched a revolt in the remote Darfur area in February, said they killed an Arab militia leader known as Shukrsalah after capturing him in battle. "We laid an ambush when his forces were in retreat. We captured him, took his car and then cut off his head," one SLA fighter told Reuters. Government armed forces spokesman Mohammed Bashir Suleiman denied Shukrsalah had been killed and added his forces were not connected to what he called "revenge killings." Rights group Amnesty International says the Darfur conflict had displaced more than 600,000 people and a major cause of the troubles was injustice and marginalization, reasons both rebel groups cite for their revolt. A merchant living in rebel-held Tina on the Chadian border said SLA forces drove into town last week in the distinctive black jeep known to belong to Shukrsalah. "Rebel forces were driving through town in Shukrsalah’s car and were shouting he was dead ... then they hung his head from a tree," he said.
Were they sure it was dead? Mohammed Bashir Suleiman said it wasn't...
"We need people to know we are protecting them and that this man who cursed their lives was actually dead," the SLA fighter said.
Unless his head sprouts feet and runs away, I'd say he was dead...
Analysts say the Darfur conflict threatens a peace deal being negotiated in Kenya between the government and a separate rebel group to end two decades of civil war in the south. The SLA signed a truce with Khartoum in September, but talks in Chad failed last week with both sides blaming each other. The other main rebel group in Darfur, the Justice and Equality Movement, has not entered talks with Khartoum.
That's because they know what that agreement's worth...
A Sudanese legislator told Reuters Wednesday that President Omar Hassan al-Bashir had sent a letter to parliament requesting an extension to Sudan’s four-year-old state of emergency for another year. Bashir cited unspecified threats to "national security" to extend the law which gives the president sweeping powers, such as an ability to order indefinite detentions and appoint officials who should otherwise be elected.
"It ain't like I like being dictator, y'understand?"
Posted by: Dan Darling || 12/27/2003 12:10:04 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  DanD: I'm disturbed and confused. When I put this up (and it was the same original CNN text) I used you as my model for style. Did I do it bad? :-(

otoh, seeing Fred's marvelous "sprouts feet and runs away," eases the angst.
Posted by: Glenn (not Reynolds) || 12/27/2003 6:40 Comments || Top||

#2  "We need people to know we are protecting them and that this man who cursed their lives was actually dead,"

Now there's an idea that could come in handy.
Posted by: Matt || 12/27/2003 11:16 Comments || Top||


Caucasus
Russians display dead jihadi trophy case
In a bid to prove Chechen rebels’ links to international terrorism, the Kremlin yesterday displayed the passports of an Algerian, three Turks and a German who were among 17 militants killed by Russian special forces. A spokesman for President Vladimir Putin said the militants were killed Nov. 23 near the Chechen village of Serzhen-Yurt. They included Algerian Mohamed Kadour; Turkish citizens Halim Oz, Mustafa Salli and Naim Dag; and German citizen Thomas Carl Fischer.
Goodbye to all of you. Give our regards to Himmler. Mind the heat.
The Kremlin has repeatedly said rebels in Chechnya have close links with al-Qaida and other international terrorist groups.
So do we...
Putin rejected Western pressure to launch peace talks with rebel leaders, calling them international terrorists who must be eliminated.
Thereby showing that Putin isn't an idiot, like the Washington Post...
Putin spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky accused the ex- Soviet republic of Georgia, which borders Chechnya to the south, of serving as a "passageway" for the rebels. Copies of the foreigners’ passports distributed by Yastrzhembsky had a 2001 Georgian visa for the Algerian and 2002 visas for the Turks and the German. He said the third Turkish citizen had crossed the Georgian border in August. Georgia’s acting President Nino Burdzhanadze, who arrived yesterday on a visit to Russia, said Georgian authorities had tightened border controls since the time the visas were issued.
I doubt if they could have gotten any looser...
Posted by: Dan Darling || 12/27/2003 12:07:46 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Problem is, the russ don't really seem to want to do anything about it. The crooked ones can make rubles (rubbles?) off chechnya, and the crooked ones with 'ideals' see AQ as being a 'balance of power' thing against the U.S.

Same old euro pissing contests they've had for thousands of years. If left to themselves, they'd hand over the weapons to the terrorists that would send us back into the Dark Ages, if they could f*ck over someone else (or make a buck) to do it.

Stupid euros.
Posted by: 4thInfVet || 12/27/2003 1:34 Comments || Top||

#2  Chechnyan terror is a Wahabi/al-Qaeda operation. The only good terrorist is a dead one.

GO VLAD!
Posted by: Vlad the Muslim Impaler || 12/27/2003 5:22 Comments || Top||



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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
Click here for more information

Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
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Two weeks of WOT
Sat 2003-12-27
  Berlusconi Reports Vatican Terror Threat
Fri 2003-12-26
  Up to 20,000 dead in Iran quake
Thu 2003-12-25
  Another boom attack on Perv
Wed 2003-12-24
  Air France cancels U.S. bound flights
Tue 2003-12-23
  Libya invites US oil companies back
Mon 2003-12-22
  Egyptian FM attacked by Paleos in Jerusalem
Sun 2003-12-21
  Syria seizes six AQ couriers, $23 million
Sat 2003-12-20
  Train boom masterminds identified
Fri 2003-12-19
  Libya to dump WMDs
Thu 2003-12-18
  Malvo guilty!
Wed 2003-12-17
  Big-time raids in Samarra
Tue 2003-12-16
  Izzat Ibrahim hangs it up?
Mon 2003-12-15
  Sammy sings
Sun 2003-12-14
  Saddam captured
Sat 2003-12-13
  Swiss uncover al-Qaeda cells in the Magic Kingdom

Better than the average link...



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