GAZA -- Furious over the second liquidation of their top leader in as many months, Hamas has promoted an animated robot to provide oversight and leadership.
"Weâve had enough of these incredibly expensive back-to-back elections and huge state funerals" said Mahmoud al-Zahar. "Costs for ammunition fired into the air alone runs into the thousands of dollars" he exclaimed. Asked about numerous hospital admissions for random bullet wounds subsequent to each funeral, he would only provide a terse, "No comment." Widely hailed as the man who would step into Rantisiâs still-warm shoes, al-Zahar surprised everyone with this latest announcement.
Recently, many Arab organizations have been seen to shy away from such advanced technology as satellite telephones and all terrain vehicles. Instead, they have shown renewed interest in hand written messages or cash financial transfers, many of them carried on foot. Renunciation of modern conveniences is widely regarded as part of a larger pattern consistent with the more common Middle East practice of living in mud houses where running water, electricity and sewage connections are usually reviled as "Satanic western luxuries."
In light of this, Hamasâ rush to embrace sophisticated technology was all the more puzzling to many observers. Earlier Palestinian engineering programs had not been seen to progress much farther than peculiar if mildly innovative combinations of undergarments with loose hardware, nails and plastic explosives. Seasoned Mid East analysts have likewise expressed their own astonishment at this quantum leap forward in sophistication. "Weâve long been expecting a trend towards more heavily armored vehicles and a renewed emphasis on reinforced bunker designs. However, this interest in robotics was a completely unanticipated shift in strategy" said one resident expert.
While it is certainly an unexpected development, some senior intelligence officials are less than amazed. "Certain common mode text repetitions and duplicate policy announcements have led us to believe that this was a long time coming" said an NSA analyst who declined to be identified. Renowned for an obdurate determination that Israel be obliterated along with the use of less than savory approaches to diplomatic persuasion, Hamas is rapidly approaching a crossroads in their political future.
Strict adherence to entrenched theistic dogma has long provided a stern counterweight against any headlong rush towards futuristic solutions. This is mirrored in Hamasâ well established practice of utilizing human assets to accomplish spectacular if dubiously wasteful mission objectives. The only significant alteration of this policy has been brought about by opposition-based attrition of mature resources within their own organization.
This has been reflected by their more frequent utilization of less skilled and relative unseasoned recruits in recent operations. While such underdeveloped trainees have long represented an ideal source of easily persuaded participants, a dramatic drop in relative duration of service within ranks has led to some rather well publicized setbacks. These have manifested in repeated unsuccessful mission outcomes due to preventive measures, interception and occasional last minute recision by involved candidates.
A combination of these issues has placed increasing pressure on Hamas to seek more reliable membership. Many experts see this as an attempt to maintain reciprocity with current Israeli advances in autonomous aerial drones and other computerized military applications. Along with such modernization, Hamas finally seems to have applied a more up to date topdown approach in this matter.
Consistent with other recent statements, Hamas refused to identify their newly activated leader by name. "We continue to stress an important air of mystique as indicated by the continuing popularity of face masks within our rank and file" reflected Mahmoud.
In a moment of rare candor, al-Zahar confessed that Hamas leaders rarely use more than a few lines of vocabulary anyway. He likewise noted that their executive actions are usually limited to embezzlement of international aid or merely consigning more gullible young recruits to their combustive fates. "Such tasks as rote memorization of the Qurâan and parroting quotations of past leaders are ideally suited to codification and algorithmic processing" he said.
Al-Zahar went on to say that, "Because these objectives are so compatible with modern automation our choice was literally made for us. There is no requirement for novel thought or critical analysis, so artificial intelligence was not even a limiting factor. Cloning of the speech synthesis and gesticulation control circuitry will allow for rapid and seamless replacement of leadership as it is concurrently removed. This represents huge strides towards maintaining a smooth and uninterrupted appearance of competent control in Gaza and the West Bank." Barely able to suppress a grin, al-Zahar added that, "As with much of Arab culture it is appearances which are of the greatest significance. And Iâd much rather have that animatronic robot making those appearances than me."
3-fer...
The authorities seized two sport utility vehicles packed with explosives Monday on a highway outside Riyadh, a security official said. It was the third straight day the Saudis have announced the discovery of vehicles loaded with explosives.
Pretty soon one of them will be delivered.
Last year, Riyadh, the Saudi capital, suffered two major attacks by suicide bombers driving vehicles filled with explosives. A total of 51 people were killed in the bombings, including the assailants. The security official said that in Mondayâs seizure, police found the SUVs parked near a gas station on the Ramah highway, northeast of Riyadh. The explosives were hidden under fruit and vegetables. The official declined to elaborate on the case. On Sunday, the Interior Ministry said police had found two booby-trapped SUVs in Riyadh. They were loaded with a total of more than four tons of explosives and had apparently been abandoned by militants who had been involved in a shootout with the security forces.
SUVs, why do they hate the Saudis?
On Saturday, the ministry also said police had found a vehicle containing explosives. The authorities had been looking for it since February.
As I was driving to Walter Reed this afternoon, I had the misfortune to hear The Osgood File on the radio, with Dave Ross filling in for Charles Osgood, who's a twit. Ross was even more of a twit. His premise was that since Condoleeza Rice had announced yesterday that the Bad Guys were likely to stage an attack within the U.S. in an attempt to influence the November elections, the Bush administration wouldn't be able to say they "didn't know" this time. (I'm going to post the transcript, so you can follow the reasoning, if any...)
That argument's stoopid enough, but it shows that people like him aren't taking this seriously: they're seeing it reflexively through partisan glasses, some of them at a level that makes sophomoric look sophisticated. When the attacks come — be they al-Qaeda or Hamas — there are going to be a lot of people killed, and the perps aren't going to care whether they intended to vote for Bush or Kerry or, as the speaker did, Nader. All they're going to care about is the fact that large numbers of people are dead or maimed.
There are an awful lot of SUVs in the U.S.A. There are an awful lot of roads, and an awful lot of gas stations. Most towns have multiple malls and shopping centers. And many, if not most, fair-sized towns have Middle Eastern communities now. It's probably mean-spirited of me, but I hope Dave Ross is gassing up his car when it blows.
police had found a vehicle containing explosives. The authorities had been looking for it since February
Since February? Where the hell did they find it?
Make you wonder why nobody used it, if the Saudis are this inept. Maybe because ai-Qeada couldn't get a Pali into the country to die for them.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/19/2004 20:53 Comments ||
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I guess Al Qaeda delivered a message in Spain that a right wing gov't can be taken out overnight by a terrorist attack and the Bushies are scared and sent out Leni Condi to argue the point
Posted by: Not Mike Moore ||
04/19/2004 23:10 Comments ||
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NMM - nice try - the lesson is that a cowardly leftist populace like one led by Mike Moorecan be cowed.
The conversation over tea in the lobby of a downtown hotel was clipped and direct and chilling. The heavyset Saudi with the thick black beard wore the short robe of a religious puritan, but spoke of war - war between al-Qaida and the United States.
"It will end by the end of America, and it's going to be soon," said the man calling himself Abu Muhammad Saleh, a nom de guerre for a spokesman for the Saudi wing of al-Qaida.
The 40-year-old former cleric and religious policeman said he was prepared to participate in an al-Qaida attack in the United States. He said all 30,000 Americans living in Saudi Arabia are targets for the organization, and that those who died on Sept. 11, 2001, were legitimate targets.
"Let us assume that those killed on Sept. 11 were not just 3,000 but 30,000," he said. "More than 1 million Iraqi children were killed because of unjust American policies, making the land available to them (the United States) to occupy. The land of these Iraqi children is sacred. It is an eye for an eye."
Twelve years of sanctions choked off Iraq's ability to nourish and care for its children, he said.
The Saudi government, with U.S. intelligence and law enforcement assistance, says the organization is nearly finished in this kingdom. Al-Qaida's leaders are dead, on the run or hiding abroad, several of them in Iran.
"If these people were tried, they would be executed according to Shariah," or Islamic law, said Sheikh Saleh bin Soud Al Ali, deputy chairman of the government's Consultative Council. "This phenomenon was not for us a source of danger, because they only represent a very small group."
It is a line repeated by other members of the Consultative Council, Saudi Arabia's royally appointed parliament, and by officials at the royal court. U.S. officials also say the government's crackdown has been effective, though the threat remains.
Abu Muhammad scoffed at such assessments. Half the population of Saudi Arabia is with al-Qaida, he claimed, because half the Saudis live in the correct path of Islam.
The man calling himself Abu Muhammad has served eight years in Saudi prisons for his political beliefs and firebrand sermonizing. He was reluctant to sit down for this interview, calling Western journalists "intelligence agents."
The late-night meeting was arranged through introductions by Islamic opposition figures in London and Riyadh. Sa'ad al Faqih, a surgeon who left Saudi Arabia in 1994 and heads the Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia from his north London home, offered a Riyadh cell phone number.
Mohsen al-Alwajy, an Islamist and former geography professor jailed in 1994 for his political beliefs, answered that number. Al-Awajy, barred from Saudi universities after his parole in 1998, is a legal aide who for the last several months has tried to mediate between the Saudi government and al-Qaida.
After a lengthy interview, al-Awajy offered an introduction to "someone hard" who could describe the views of the militants - someone who was a veteran of the Afghanistan war, a man well known in the kingdom for his radical religious politics.
A date was agreed upon, and, after several last-minute phone calls, the time and place for the interview was set for 10 p.m. in a downtown hotel.
"It is very rare for one like him to appear before a journalist," al-Awajy said.
The man calling himself Abu Muhammad was a heavyset Saudi with a thick black beard. He chuckled that the bellhops looked at him with alarm, "like I have explosives strapped to me."
He was in an expansive mood, after watching television images of American corpses strung up on a bridge in Iraq.
"I was so happy today to see those scenes from Fallujah. I am so angry at Americans. ... It is why I am ready to serve for operations inside America," he said.
Here in Saudi Arabia, he said, all 30,000 resident Americans are targets for al-Qaida killers.
"Because they are 30,000 votes to support George Bush. If one individual pays just $1 to the American government, that is $30,000 to the American budget from which these unjust operations (e.g., the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, aid to Israel) are financed."
Abu Muhammad suggested it would be a shame if the downtown hotel where this interview took place were destroyed in a bombing for the sake of killing an American target.
"I cannot show you signs of friendship, only curses," he told a visiting journalist. "Because of the unjust practices of the cowboys, a building like this could be demolished. Do your best to correct these unjust policies."
Abu Muhammad said al-Qaida's goal in Saudi Arabia is to attack Americans and anyone else who stands in al-Qaida's way. He was non-committal about whether the militants are trying to overthrow the Saudi regime.
Why would al-Qaida continue attacking Americans in Saudi Arabia when the U.S. forces are withdrawing?
"Al-Qaida is an organization of surprise," Abu Muhammad said. "Nobody knows when or how it will strike. When they decided to attack Madrid, they surprised everybody. It is not limited to Saudi lands."
Prodded again, Abu Muhammad hesitated. Then he admitted that U.S. interrogations of the prisoners held in Guantanamo, Cuba, had yielded information uncovering the al-Qaida network in Saudi Arabia, forcing the militants to act before they were arrested.
"They are found everywhere, but they are more active here in Saudi Arabia because most of the POWs in Guantanamo gave some information about their friends here in Saudi Arabia, and the Saudi government was informed. So they acted rather than waiting."
Sa'ad al Faqih, the Saudi surgeon living in exile in London, said that al-Qaida aims to overthrow the Saudi royal family with an assassination campaign.
Faqih's Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia broadcasts radio programs into the kingdom over a television satellite. The Saudi government tries to jam the signals.
"People now think al-Qaida has shifted from bombing housing complexes to targeting the royal family itself," he said, and hastened to add, "It doesn't mean we endorse this sort of thing."
"One of the attackers said, `Unless my brothers had promised me to deal with (Interior Minister) Prince Nayef, I would have insisted to survive to bring him this gift,' and he waved a grenade at the camera," Faqih said.
The number still at large is guesswork. One government source said more than 2,000 Saudis might be involved. Abu Muhammad said the militants themselves aren't sure. They are organized into small cells of about five men each, and cell members are unaware of militants outside their cells, he said.
"The Saudi government has succeeded to arrest and kill some al-Qaida supporters, but they are not able to affect the real members," Abu Muhammad said. "Those arrested so far are the weakest members. Those who carried out blasts in the past were not known to official sources.
"When the government announces the name of any al-Qaida member, al-Qaida leaders stop giving him any secret information, from that moment," he said, "because they have a lot of spare members."
Al-Awajy, a legal adviser and friend of Abu Muhammad who translated the interview, offered a different assessment.
"He made some exaggerations there," al-Awajy said. "It will not last forever. We have a real, complicated problem. It doesn't mean it will last forever."
While Abu Muhammad said the Saudi crackdown hasn't hurt al-Qaida, al-Awajy argued the organization has been cut down.
Earlier in the week, al-Awajy said, Assistant Interior Minister Prince Muhammad bin Nayef met with some young al-Qaida sympathizers. The meeting ended amicably, with the sympathizers agreeing to press militants to give themselves up, al-Awajy said.
"Day by day, they are shrinking, decreasing. The vast majority of Saudis renounce violence," he said.
Still, al-Awajy warned that men like Abu Muhammad "are quite dangerous."
"Just a few of them could change the face of society, just like 19 of them changed the face of the world" on Sept. 11, 2001.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
04/19/2004 8:34:50 AM ||
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"Just a few of them could change the face of society, just like 19 of them changed the face of the world" on Sept. 11, 2001.
Sometime during the next 20 years, when we finally get tired of messing around with militant Islam and totally stomp it out, down to the roots, and occupy all of the Middle East in a vise that would make China's occupation of Tibet look like a love match, I hope this POS remembers his words.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/19/2004 12:05 Comments ||
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#2
More than 1 million Iraqi children were killed because of unjust American policies
The USA has to do more to refute this lie.
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
04/19/2004 13:42 Comments ||
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#3
I agree with Mike Sylwester 100%. I thought we were getting a marketing team together to get our side out to the world. Instead we've got idiots in the US that believe the crap, how can we not expect Arabs to believe it.
#5
What irks me is that the one guy lives in North London! I live in the Midwest in the U.S., but if I lived in London or anywhere in England I would hunt that guy down and give him a present. Wake up English Rantburg readers!
#6
Probably not a good thing to do. Remember, England is the place that will put a burglary victim in jail if he/she has injured the burglar in defense of their property.
A former airport security worker has been jailed for carrying bullets on a plane which landed at Heathrow Airport. Wassila Alwasiwa, 45, of Sudanese origin, had denied the charges, saying he did not know the five bullets were in his jacket pocket.
"They ain't mine! I was framed!"
He was jailed for nine months for holding prohibited ammunition, not having a firearms certificate and having bullets without lawful authority. The bullets were discovered during a routine check at Heathrow airport. He was convicted of holding prohibited ammunition, not having a firearms certificate and having bullets without lawful authority or reasonable excuse.
Threaten to burn England down and kill anyone who ain't muslim, nothing. Get caught with five rounds in your pocket, get nine months.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/19/2004 9:10:30 AM ||
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Threaten to burn England down and kill anyone who ain't muslim, nothing. Get caught with five rounds in your pocket, get nine months.
Well, what would you expect from a place that would prosecute someone for shooting a burglar? :)
#2
Ok, he had the bullets. Who on the plane had the barrel, who had the trigger mechanism, who had the clip, and how did all that get past security?
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/19/2004 14:32 Comments ||
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#3
I don't care Steve. The idea is that it doesn't matter because every bread and butter American aught to have his own gun, legally, on the plane. Think 911 wouldv'e went down if the average Joe could pack heat?
EFL:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is reported to have met Chinese President Hu Jintao for talks in Beijing. South Korean media reports said a special train took the reclusive Mr Kim and his entourage to the Chinese capital for a summit on Monday.
I guess a train wreck is a little too much to hope for.
Where's my signal switch key?
China is a key mediator in the row over North Korea's nuclear programme. Talks have made little progress on how the programme could be dismantled, or how North Korea's energy and security concerns would be addressed. If confirmed, the North Korean leader's four-day visit to Pyongyang's old communist ally would be his first since May 2001. No mention of the visit was made on North Korea's official KCNA news agency or on China's official Xinhua news agency, but it was reported extensively in the South Korean media. Witnesses reported seeing a motorcade leaving the train station in Beijing.
Don't want to give anyone ideas about taking over while Kimmy's gone.
Be a real shame if some NKor general got ideas.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency said talks between Mr Kim and Mr Hu focused on North Korea's nuclear ambitions and Beijing's economic assistance to the North.
Mr Kim was also expected to meet other Chinese leaders, including former President Jiang Zemin and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, Yonhap said. Mr Kim's special train crossed into China late on Sunday and travelled overnight to Beijing, South Korea's YTN cable television news said. The North Korean leader is scared of flying.
More like scared of crashing.
"At the moment all parties are working together to find a way to set up a working group to address issues," Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing told a news conference without confirming Mr Kim's visit.
Yeah, a working group, that'll do it.
China has 6,000 years experience with beaurocracy.
"China's objective is clear. The legitimate security concerns of [North Korea] should be properly addressed and the whole peninsula should be free of nuclear arms," he said. Mr Kim's two previous known trips to China since 2000 were confirmed by the two governments only after he returned home. Analysts say Pyongyang may be seeking economic and energy aid from its old communist ally.
But Beijing is under pressure from Washington to step up the pace of diplomacy over North Korea's nuclear weapons programme.
And now they are applying pressure on Kimmy.
China, curb your dog!
During his visit to Asia last week, US Vice-President Dick Cheney told Chinese leaders that time was running out to resolve this issue. He reportedly presented Beijing with new evidence regarding North Korea's nuclear capability.
"He's doing what? Jiang, get Kim on the phone, tell him to get his ass up here!"
Posted by: Steve ||
04/19/2004 8:53:46 AM ||
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At the moment all parties are working together to find a way to set up a working group to address issues
Just what the world needs - another 9/11 commission. At least this one won't have Gorelick
Witnesses reported seeing a motorcade leaving the train station in Beijing.
How do they know that it wasn't Jackie Chan in town to promote his newest movie?
The North Korean leader is scared of flying.
What? Does that mean Air North Korea has a maintenance problem, and he isn't telling anyone?
Mr Kim's special train crossed into China late on Sunday and travelled overnight to Beijing
A special train? Do they have special accomodations because Kim is a "little person"?
In all seriousness the Chinese know that Kim is playing with 47 cards. Papa took the other five as a "right-of-passage" ritual when Kim turned 18.
The Chinese are snakes, but they want to live. They probably told Kim if he did something unilaterally, he was on his own.
#2
Likely as not Ming the Merciless has cash flow or related problems, otherwise he wouldn't be leaving his lair now.
The PRC doesn't want to deal with a massive flow of refugees, doesn't want NK to have nukes, doesn't want to keep throwing money at NK, but also doesn't want to let the US look like it is winning.
Tough situation. As instapundit would say, "heh-heh"
#3
mhw - I think you accurately assess the $$$ problem for "DPRK", and PRC's desires. But I think pragmatically they are suggesting that Kim not drink so much of the French Cognac that he forgets himself and does something rash (Like do a test over the Sea of Japan). They would probably look the other way (he was on his own) if we destroyed the Nuke facilities aerially, "Yasin" Kim him himself, and didn't invade. Of course they would fill the air publically with "righteous indignation".
Personal wild speculation
They they would probably prop some general they felt is malleable to be their stooge, and to keep the "country" in existance for as long as they wanted. Perhaps this general would eventually "beg" the PRC to be annexed.
EFL
North Korea described US Vice President Dick Cheney as "mentally deranged" yesterday after he reiterated the United Statesâ position on how to resolve a nuclear standoff with Pyongyang during his recent visit to South Korea.
North Korea "is seriously contemplating a measure to counter the US oft-repeated demand that it scrap its nuclear program first," a Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
Posted by: Dragon Fly ||
04/19/2004 7:43:37 AM ||
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"...North Korea "is seriously contemplating a measure to counter the US oft-repeated demand that it scrap its nuclear program first," a Foreign Ministry spokesman said..."
First, we must bring them....a SHRUBBERY!!
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
04/19/2004 9:39 Comments ||
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Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/19/2004 10:58 Comments ||
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#6
The idea of Dick Cheney arguing with Kim Jong Il over which one is crazy reminds me of the old joke you used to see on a T-shirt:
"God is dead."
--Nietzche
"Nietzche is dead."
--God
. . . with Kimmie in the role of Nietzche.
Posted by: Mike ||
04/19/2004 14:07 Comments ||
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#7
Mike Kozlowski --
Yes. But what kind do NorKs prefer for lunch? :)
I kinda miss the old "sea of fire"--songun--juche--army-based bulldada they used to spew. Are they getting kinder and gentler, or is that grass-based diet giving them carb overload?
#10
Yup the right wing scared him--big time--now he goes to China to talk to the puppetmasters that are our biggest trading partners thanks to GOP "free trade ideas"
Posted by: Not Mike Moore ||
04/19/2004 22:54 Comments ||
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#11
Wrong again, NMM!
Millions of Chinese owe their job security to Prez Billy Jeff Blythe Crinton.
Posted by: Jen ||
04/19/2004 22:56 Comments ||
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#12
Dick Cheney "deranged"?? that's an understatement Condi makes him look perfectly sane
Posted by: Not Mike Moore ||
04/19/2004 22:56 Comments ||
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#13
OK Jen--the Democrats are for exporting jobs like these asses have done?
Posted by: Not Mike Moore ||
04/19/2004 22:58 Comments ||
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#14
Let's not forget the GOP control of Congress that could have stopped people like Tyco from going to incorporate in Bermuda and not pay US taxes
Posted by: Not Mike Moore ||
04/19/2004 23:00 Comments ||
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#15
But they spent too much money with the Re-pooplicans to be called on their nefarious behavior
Posted by: Not Mike Moore ||
04/19/2004 23:01 Comments ||
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#16
NMM, who was president, lets see.. Bill Clinton.
Robert Reich was treasury, right?
Seems all your heroes were asleep on watch while the guys cheated the USA blind. And it happens that they are all fairly large contributors to the Democrat party. Especially the biggest bankruptcy in the history of the USA that got swept under the rug: Global Crossings. Pure Democrat backers whom the press ignored.
What a surprise. No surprise that youa re astrotufing here just before they day ends so as to try to have the last word.
#17
NMM, you betcha the Dims are for exporting jobs:
--Clintoon made a deal for zillions of Chinese jobs along with selling missile technology.
Hey! Who's the biggest seller of Chinese-made stuff? Walmart.
And who owns Walmart? The Waltons of Arkansas, huge Clintoon supporters.
--J. F'in Kerry's wife's company Heinz has outsourced jobs to 57 foreign factories.
--Who pushed NAFTA? Dims, especially Gore and Crinton.
Posted by: Jen ||
04/19/2004 23:25 Comments ||
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#18
"...Condi makes him look perfectly sane."
I'm sick of the racist, sexist slander of Dr. Rice from the Left--you Dims are just sick that she isn't on your plantation!
Dr. Condi Rice is professional, brilliant, sharp as a tack and she doesn't take crap from anybody, especially that partisan witch hunt called the 9/11 Commission (Their motto: "Blame Bush, exonerate Clinton!")!
Posted by: Jen ||
04/19/2004 23:35 Comments ||
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These shocking pictures reveal the squalor and hate inside the lair of hook-handed extremist Abu Hamza. ... The Sun gained secret access to the building in North London, which was closed down in 2003 after a police raid. Amid the mess, walls were scrawled with Arabic graffiti, doors ripped off their hinges and sinks and lavatories smashed. ... the Egyptian-born cleric âsystematicallyâ destroyed the once beautiful mosque and created a âregime of fearâ to brainwash those who attended.
On one occasion, Hamza could not be bothered to open a window when he felt hot â so he smashed it to get some air. Another time he kicked a door in, breaking the lock, âbecause it had not been opened in timeâ. Hamza also wallowed in personal squalor. His inner sanctum and his bedroom were constantly filthy .... Both these rooms were some of the dirtiest in the mosque. Hamza had some truly strange ideas for a man who considered himself a devout Muslim. Washing and cleanliness is key to our religion. But his levels of personal hygiene left a lot to be desired.
Hamza deluded himself that he was a god-like figure who could do whatever he wanted. No one was allowed in his bedroom and only a handful of the hardcore followers could go into his office.
Hundreds of empty plastic bank cash bags were strewn over the building â to deal with money from tins used to raise funds for militant groups in Afghanistan. Hamza and his cronies collected a fortune. None of the money went back into the mosque.
The sermons scattered around revealed the one-eyed fanaticâs hatred for the country that has given him sanctuary. In one, called "Massacres Until We Change," he calls for more terrorist atrocities like September 11. Other titles include "Blessed Hijacking," "Hijacking Indian Planes" and "America Begs For Condemnation: World Trade Series." ....
Work has begun on renovating the mosque in a bid to re-open it â and estimates are as high as £200,000. Hamza â whose family receives £1,000 a week in state handouts â now preaches his hate in the street outside. He split from mosque trustees following the police raid, which unearthed a stun gun and a blank-firing replica. But he faces deportation to the Yemen, where he is wanted on terrorist charges.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
04/19/2004 11:47:02 PM ||
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It's estimate thet it willtake seven years to get rid of him via due legal process. No-one touches this guy for incitement to racial hatred either. Where's Mossad when you need 'em?
Posted by: Howard UK ||
04/20/2004 4:24 Comments ||
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Italian investigators have found a link between Islamic militant groups and the Camorra, one of Italyâs main organised crime groups, a top anti-Mafia investigator said on Monday. "We have evidence that groups of the Camorra are implicated in an exchange of weapons for drugs with terrorist groups," Pierluigi Vigna, Italyâs national anti-mafia prosecutor, told reporters at the foreign press club. Asked what kind of groups, he said: "Islamic terrorist groups." Vigna, whose Rome-based office coordinates the work of magistrates investigating organised crime in Italy, said he could not give more details. Pressed further, he suggested the cooperation came about after a member of the Camorra, the Naples-area version of the Sicilian Mafia, converted to Islam and met in prison with Muslims who had been arrested in Italy.
A Camorra isn't the same thing as the Sicilian Mafia...
#2
Um, I have never expressed any hatred towards Jews, and in fact have been accused of being Jewish for defending their right to defend themselves against terrorism.
And, ya know, criminals might be more interested in, oh, cash than anything else.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
04/19/2004 19:53 Comments ||
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#3
RCs don't hate Jews.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/19/2004 20:25 Comments ||
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#4
Let me qualify that. Some RCs hate Jews, be the impetus cultural or familial or just the fact that other people in the neighborhood do. A sampling of RCs is not all RCs.
We're back to Logic 101. (Do they still teach that?)
Posted by: Fred ||
04/19/2004 20:28 Comments ||
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#5
I'm RC - the way I defend the Joooos over Israel, and their methods of defense, I've been "accused" of being a Joooo (LOL). I take that as a compliment "anonymousPOS". Idiot
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/19/2004 21:52 Comments ||
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Camorro is very sucessful--having a US/NATO base nearby--but linking then with Islamic terrorism HELL NO It's a RC org
Posted by: Not Mike Moore ||
04/19/2004 23:22 Comments ||
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#7
Again NMM, whats with the lies and the Catholic Bashing?
THe conversion to Muslim in prison are a fact. The gang is a fact. ITs dealings with Islamic terror groups are alledged and supposedly evidenced in what the police have found.
In other words, NMM you bigoted piece of simian filth, you're lying again and I busted you again.
#8
Old Spook--your name sez it all--outta the loop--the Camorro is Neapolitan organized crime--and they are Italian and RC--that's a fact--you can lie/spin like Condi, Rummi et al but them's the facts
Posted by: Not Mike Moore ||
04/21/2004 1:28 Comments ||
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Four U.N. police officers from Jordan were stripped of their diplomatic immunity Monday to be questioned in a fellow Jordanian's killing of two American guards in Kosovo. It wasn't clear why Sgt. Maj. Ahmed Mustafa Ibrahim Ali opened fire on a convoy of corrections officers on Saturday. He and the two female American guards were killed in the shootout that followed, and 11 people were wounded. Ali was a member of a highly trained unit in Jordan and had been decorated for warding off an attack on the Israeli Embassy in Amman, a Jordanian official said. The four other Jordanian police officers at the prison in the town of Kosovska Mitrovica were detained. Authorities lifted their diplomatic immunity, opening the way for them to be interrogated, officials said. A delegation of Jordanian police officials arrived Monday in Kosovo to assist with the investigation, which is led by an international prosecutor, officials said.
Eight of the 10 Americans were moved to a U.S. military base in Kosovo for treatment, a U.S. military spokesman said Monday. The other two were treated and released, and an Austrian also wounded was flown home Sunday for treatment. One American officer remained in critical condition following brain surgery in neighboring Macedonia, U.S. peacekeeping spokesman Staff Sgt. Michael Houk said. The attack shook the United Nations mission in Kosovo, already in turmoil following violent ethnic clashes last month between ethnic Albanians and Serbs that killed 19 and wounded more than 900 in Kosovska Mitrovica. "The shooting struck a huge blow at the very idea of peacekeeping," said Alex Anderson, the Kosovo project director of the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based organization that monitors the Balkans.
That's today's statement of the obvious...
An American police officer serving with the U.N. mission in Kosovo told The Associated Press that the shooting was "clearly an attack against Americans." Officials denied rumors that a quarrel about the war in Iraq had sparked the gunbattle. "As far as we know, there was no communication between the officer who fired and the group of victims," said Neeraj Singh, a U.N. spokesman.
So it was an ambush...
The officers were part of the U.N. mission that has administered Kosovo and provided security since June 1999, when Belgrade's authority over the province was removed following a NATO air war that stopped a Serb crackdown on independence-seeking ethnic Albanians. "This is a sad day for United Nations peacekeeping," said Stefan Feller, the head of the U.N. police in Kosovo. "At this stage there can be no conclusions on the reason for the shooting." The gunbattle began as three U.N. vehicles carrying 21 U.S. correctional officers, two Turkish officers and the Austrian were leaving the prison, which was guarded by five Jordanian special police unit officers, officials said. The correctional officers, who arrived in Kosovo just 10 days ago, had been training at the prison. Ali, 30, started firing at the convoy, Feller said, and the officers returned fire. The names of the dead have not been released pending family notification. Jordan's government expressed regret for the shootings, a statement carried by the official Jordanian Petra agency said.
#1
Yep guyz the Bush Administration has made us hated around the world
Posted by: Not Mike Moore ||
04/19/2004 23:25 Comments ||
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#2
NMM as usual you mess up the facts.
The CLINTON administration got us involved in Kosov and Bosnia. And their handing it over to the UN is why so many years later the place is STILL a festering pesthole.
#3
'...the Bush Administration has made us hated around the world."
NMM, no it hasn't.
We are loved around the world and besides, the whole concept of whether one country can feel "love" or any other emotion for another country is strange.
Is America dating? Looking for a bride?
I think not.
I've travelled around the world and we are loved, respected and admired everywhere.
The world expects us to be the Designated Driver of the planet and if we weren't they would have no hope for peace and justice.
President Bush has only heightened that good feeling by showing that once again, the USA will take an aggressive approach to evil and oppression!
Posted by: Jen ||
04/19/2004 23:30 Comments ||
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#4
Yep guyz the Bush Administration has made us hated around the world
Ooooh, not Mikey Moore is all up in arms over the possibility of not being "liked". So what?
Whether we're liked or not doesn't mean diddly squat. As long as they're afraid of us, then that's what really matters.
Not many details yet.
Vandals have desecrated the grave of a Spanish policeman who was killed when a group of Madrid bomb suspects blew themselves up. A Spanish radio station said his coffin was dragged from its tomb, doused with fuel and set on fire.
Sounds like Fallujah, without the minimal bravery required...
Special agent Francisco Javier Torronteras died when seven suspected Islamic militants set off explosives as police moved in on their apartment. Cadena SER radio station said the coffin was pulled from the tomb late on Sunday night, and dragged about 500 metres before being burned. Police said no motive for the desecration was immediately apparent. Damn Baptists.
The body of a Spanish police officer who was killed in a raid on suspected Islamic terrorists was removed from its tomb Sunday night, dragged across a cemetery, doused with gasoline and burned, a Spanish police official told CNN. Police do not know who committed the crime, and an investigation is under way.
I'd say ghouls committed the crime. The question is whether they had turbans. My guess is that they did.
Francisco Javier Torronteras, a special operations police officer, died April 3 during a police raid in a Madrid suburb where police believed suspects behind the March 11 Madrid train bombings were hiding. Torronteras was not buried underground, but in an above-ground tomb at Madrid's Southern Cemetery. Assailants Sunday night used a long pole to pry the tomb open, dragged the body about 200 meters, covered it with gasoline and set it on fire. The cemetery's night watchman spotted the fire and alerted authorities, a police official said.
And by then the perps had bravely run away...
Spain's new interior minister Jose Antonio Alonso, at a previously scheduled event Monday, did not discuss what had happened to Torronteras' body. But he called the slain officer an example of the bravery exhibited by all the Spanish officers who have died in the line of duty. But he said: "I want to express my heartfelt recognition for the police special operations officer who died in the line of duty in the well-known operation on Saturday the 3rd in Leganes. ... In a way, he is the symbol of so many police officers and civil guards who have died earlier in the line of duty."
#1
Sounds about right. Remember the plot to attack a WWII cemetery in Italy?
Damn Islamoids are too cowardly to go after living people without a woman or a kid held in front of them.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
04/19/2004 13:00 Comments ||
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#2
Sorry to burst your bubble Robert, but Muslims wouldn't do this.
Because their religion forbids mutilating bodies, or harming them in any way.
Don't "Damn" people you don't know, maybe if you met a real Muslim you'd curse your politicians to hell for all the lies they've spread about them.
#9
Actually, there is an existing fatwa that tells Moslems they can mutilate bodies, etc. if it is required to protect the Umma. The fatwa was specifically issued for the Fallujah atrocity but might cover the Spain situation since Andalucia was once part of the Caliphate.
Always comes back to those eeeeeeevil zionists, right?
I guess us infidel bodies can be desecrasted in Fallujah because somebody like Sadr considers us not to be full humans, because of friendship with Israel?
#11
I can't figure out what the cause would be to pull the mans body out of a tomb, drag it away and burn it. Sounds like a real nut case to me. A completely screwed up thing to do. Anybody have a clue as to why somebody would do this?
#12
Anybody have a clue as to why somebody would do this?
They got a fatwa saying they could?
They envied the press coverage of the mujis in Fallujah?
And whoever created the "Gentle" sockpuppet -- please, drop it. Mucky was bad enough, but the new one's just plain stupid.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
04/19/2004 13:56 Comments ||
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#13
Look for the cause, why don't you?
Islam?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
04/19/2004 13:57 Comments ||
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#14
O.K.
Matt: NO, I'm not saying that Muslims never violate the rules of their religion.
They are people, and human nature is always the same. We have the good and the bad.
Frank: Yes, I do get out.
I watch Al-Jazeera, Al-Arabia, BBC, and CNN.
Does that answer your question?
Lucky: No, they especially love lying about Islam.
mhw: Wrong, there is no such "fatwa".
Anonymous4052: you're not an infidel, you believe in God, don't you?
Lucky: I agree with you. It is a sick thing to do.
#16
I'm constantly amazed how many "lies" about Islam are directly supported by the Koran, the hadiths, the judgements of imams and the acts of Muslims.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
04/19/2004 14:14 Comments ||
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#17
Oh Gentle one pray tell me, as I'm easily led, and often very wordy, the lie?
Yo Bob. If this was done as a result of a fatwa by a cleric of the religion of fake. Then this is without a doubt a war by islam. I think even a peaceful, loving, Gentle would agree. Should we target islam?
#18
Do you guys know how to have a civilized conversation? You're using slang words that are lost on me.
Like I said:
we, Muslims, value manners, not violence.
#20
The facts point out that he is at least a liar...whether he is a troll or not is not important right now....in this case, Actions speak louder than words....compare his words with the Islam actions....hmmmmm
Posted by: Live to Ride ||
04/19/2004 14:24 Comments ||
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#21
Yep Gentle, I've seen the big toothy smiles and batted eyelashes of fake. Pure fake. There is only one god and mohamed profaned him and made up a fake religion that will kill you if you wake up and say so. So what is the lie?
Somewhere, somehow, the message was lost on 98% of Muslims.
Perhaps it was a case of "Cause & affect"?
So you found an excuse for it. Is it that hard to just say they were wrong, without adding any qualifiers or disclaimers?
maybe if you met a real Muslim you'd curse your politicians to hell
I work with several Muslims. I'm not cursing any politicians yet (not for the reason you mention, anyway). Amazingly, they all share your disbelief that OBL was responsible for 9-11. What gives?
Posted by: Rafael ||
04/19/2004 14:32 Comments ||
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#23
Gentle...ah yes, the poor muslims are always the victim. All those horrible lies. I suppose you would include 9/11? Islam's inability to view itself in a critical manner prevents it from entering the modern era, and unless things change will result in it either being crushed, or left to rot in a pit of its own filth.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
04/19/2004 14:33 Comments ||
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#24
O.K.
Thanks for proving my point!
I tell you Islam is a religion of peace, of prosperity and toleration- you disbelieve and mock me.
I tell you that I am a girl- you do the same.
Both facts are true, yet you refuse to believe.
Its your choice, but it won't change the truth.
#26
I tell you Islam is a religion of peace, of prosperity and toleration
That's 3 strikes, you're out! LOL!! Ok, now I know this is BS. .com is that you???
Posted by: Rafael ||
04/19/2004 14:46 Comments ||
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#27
Both facts are true, yet you refuse to believe.
Gentle, it may surprise you to learn that your word does not carry the weight of authority for us. That is demonstrably true, from our demonstrated preference for factual evidence over authoritarian pronouncements, and thus it is quite unlike your absurd denials of Islamic barbarism.
Terror apologists, like conspiracy theorists, rely heavily on their own presumed authority to define what is or is not true. This is why the tin-foilers like Alex Jones and Carol Valentine find a natural audience in the Ummah, and a monumentally flattering mob of imitators in the Arab media.
#28
Like, pray tell me Gentle one, where islam (fake) is at peace. Seems like that wherever there is the religion of peace (fake) there is turmoil, death, piles of rocks.
The lie Gentle one? I need to know, I'm easil;y led. Take me!
If it is PD, It's been great fun trashing the religion of race (fake).
#31
It would be nice if Gentle could back up his/her/its statements with a bit of evidence. As Lucky pointed out, every nation where Islam is prime is a shithole of poverty, injustice and backwardness. Need a list, oh Gentle one? Should we start in the Middle East, Asia or Africa? Plenty of muslim run shitholes in each. Islam is not a religion of peace. It is a religion of intolerance and hate. All you have to do is read the Koran, the hadiths or any number of fatwas. And yes, the Bible has many passages that can be interpreted as violent or intolerant. Ya know the difference? In most forms of Christian people are encouraged to read the bible, not to memorize, but to understand and interpret (that's why we have so many denominations). To do so in the religion of bloody pieces is to blaspheme. Critical thought is not encouraged, it is crushed. The angel that spoke to mohommed the pedophile (may bees pee upon him) was none other than the angel Lucifer. Bring some facts to the table Gentle or go the hell away.
#32
NO, they wouldn't do it.
Perhaps it was a case of
"Cause & affect"?
Look for the cause, why don't you?
Gentle, I'm curious as to what sort of "cause" could have such an "effect" on adherents that its fanatics would slam airliners full of people into occupied skyscrapers.
-------------- ARTICLE --------------
Moreover, Dr. Ahmad Abu-Al-Wafa, Professor of International Law, Faculty of Law at Cairo University, adds:
âMutilating the corpses of the dead is prohibited in man-made international law. It considers it a war crime for which severe penalty is due."
As far as Islamic Shari`ah is concerned, two main points should be stressed:
1. Mutilating corpses is prohibited in the same way torturing the living is forbidden.
2. It is better not to reply to the evil acts of the enemy in the same manner, except if responding in the same way will deter the enemy from exceeding their limits by mutilating corpses. Almighty Allah says: "If ye punish, then punish with the like of that wherewith ye were afflicted. But if ye endure patiently, verily it is better for the patient" (An-Nahl: 126) and âThe guerdon of an ill-deed is an ill the like thereof. But whosoever pardoneth and amendeth, his wage is the affair of Allah. Lo! He loveth not wrong-doers" (Ash-Shura: 40).
Finally, Sheikh `Ikrimah Sabri, the Mufti of Al-Quds (Jerusalem) and Khateeb of Al-Aqsa Mosque, concludes:
In fact, the principle of reciprocity has well-established rules in Shari`ah, whereby Muslims are warned against embarking on such inhumane attitudes. For instance, if the enemy mutilates the dead bodies of Muslims, the Muslim army is not permitted to act in the same manner.
In all cases, Muslims should not initiate the aggression, for Islam is the religion of mercy. War is not the first option in the life of Muslims; rather, it comes after da`wah (inviting to Islam) and kind advice.â
-------------- END ARTICLE --------------
EMPHASIS ADDED
To quote the famous Cuban human rights specialist, R. Ricardo, "You got some 'splaining to do."
#33
Enough of this bull crap...Gentle list or show me ONE damned nation that has Islam as its majority religion or only recognized state religion that is living peacefully and happily. JUST SHOW ME ONE DAMMIT.
Islam is nothing more than a violent, misogynous, schizophrenic cult, aimed at the gullible, masquerading as truth. It is a conglomeration of inconsistent, dangerous, enslaving, high-verbage nonsense.
If any good ever comes out of an individual person's response to "Islam," it's because the person self-selected something out of context to follow on their own--something that is just common sense, or common decency, anyway--something which did not originate with Islam. Get it?
i do not think the spanish did this - little fucking goat abusing muslims did this... they want spain back and are to coward to fight like a man....
Thanks for proving my point! I tell you Islam is a religion of peace, of prosperity and toleration
hogwash!
they will beat thier wifes, put thier children in harms way,stone woman..ect.. but will not fight like a man. so much for toleration - muslims can barely tolerate themselves let alone infidels!
as for prosperity..now that is funny...only prosperity there is either through american aid or oil..but only for the ruling shieks...
Posted by: Dan ||
04/19/2004 15:54 Comments ||
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#38
Gentle - Yes I do believe in God.
But, although I know several Moslems like you who lead their personal lives within the spirit of peace, they fail to be able to condemn act on a global scale. If these evil-doers have you scared into silence within your community, that is unfortunate. But, this is the reason for much of the anger you see expressed here. Some of which I agree is cruel and over the top.
BUT, the people who butchered 3000+ people on 9/11 weren't a buch of Swedish Lutherans on a pilgramage to Martin Luther's hut in Eastern Germany. They were foaming-at-the-mouth Islamofacist fanatics duped by bin-Laden and his ilk to kill themselves for carnal bliss.
This idea of carnal bliss (teh 72 virgin thing) is revulsive to my Christian upbringing.
The silence of the Moslem community was defening after 9/11 here, and what condemnation there was had the cavaet that it was Israel that made them do it. Israel didn't make them do it.
It was an evil megalomaniac named bin-Laden, from one of the wealthiest families in the world, keeping his dupes in poverty while he and his ilk lived the good life.
#39
Gentle you are an idiot or don't have read your haddiths. One of them says Muhammad told to not mutilate corpses of ennemies. But like everytime there is another haddith allowing it: Muhammad is supposed to have allowed it after enemies mutilated the corpses of fallen Muslims. In theory it can only be done if ennemy has done the same thing first but read any book about Europeans fighting Muslims and you will find Muslims desecrating corpses of fallen ennemies. Or still better, remember Fallujah.
One of the nice things about Islam is that this kind of contradictory statements (one allowing and one forbidding the mutilation of corpses) allows muslims to play good cop, bad cop. More exactly, an Imam tells (in Arabic) that it is allowed to do every kind of bad things, while another one tells (in the language of Kaffirs) that the authors could not be Muslims since Islam forbids those actions. This prevents Kaffirs from retaliating.
#42
Dear Gentle (assuming you are who you say you are)
I too believe in a text based religion (Judaism in my case) and i know that such a religion relies on interpretation, and evolves over time. I also know that those hostile too it can seize on something out of context and use it to slam the religion. So in that sense, you have my sympathy. I am sure you yourself believe in peace, and that you see pursuit of peace as part of Islam - if so, may peace be upon you, and may you prosper.
BUT - I dont see how you can say that because Islam forbids mutilating corpses (I will take your word for it and not attempt to argue Hadiths here - i simply dont know enough to do so) that means muslims couldnt have done it. Both your faith and mine ban eating pork - yet I know Jews who eat Pork, and I presume there are muslims who do as well. Certainly there are muslims who drink alcohol. Humans are weak.
And that has nothing to do with cause and effect - the policeman in this instance was one who was killed fighting terrorists who wanted to commit a terrorist attack against Spain - IE he was fighting folks who VIOLATED the tenets of Islam. Any true Muslim beleiver in peace should have HONORED his grave.
BTW - our politicians in the US have generally defened Islam - George Bush has called Islam a Religion of Peace - our governement has affirmed that Al Qaeeda and other terrorists do not represent Islam, they are trying to HIJACK Islam. So i dont know what you mean by lies from our pols about Islam. I think you will find that the Islam haters here are NOT happy with what our govt has said about Islam.
"gentle" doesnt sound like a troll, but like a truely naive and perhaps misguided person, who genuinely beleives in her faith (which is probably deep in her heart) and who came here to defend it. Why do you think that insulting her personally, and insulting her religion, will win her over???
If she is real you have just confirmed for her that supporters of the Bush admin ARE haters of Islam, and fairly vulgar ones at that. Another recruit for the Clash of Civilizations. OTOH, if she IS a troll, youve just fed the troll magnificently - remember folks, IGNORE trolls and theyll go away.
#45
Liberalhawk - You again made good points, but there are two points that can't get enough emphasis, and perhaps I was a bit ineloquent in what I said in #10.
It seems when she said Perhaps it was a case of "Cause & effect"?
This is code for, "Well, if the US hadn't been so supportive of Israel 9/11 wouldn't have happened."
I don't think there is anything you can really say to a person like that. They repeat the kind of bias they have heard since birth. Look, I am a Protestant married to an Orthodox Christian, so I look at the situation from the side, and see who seems to be the one upholing the values of civilization more.
Bottom line - I don't see any Jewish suicide bombers. I don't see any IDF guys intentionally aiming for little kids. Yeah, tell me about collateral damage, but primary targets are the formentors, not the fomentees. I know that may sound simplistic, but it doesn't take any deep thought, just open eyes to see what goes on. Hamas Sheiks dont get decapitated in a vacuum.
The second point is if she is a trollabout, she's got the gig down awful good, so I at this point assume reality. If we explain our problems with the hyprocreicy of stratements such as Perhaps it was a case of "Cause & effect"?
in a dignified matter we may be able to broader her horizion.
#46
If she is real you have just confirmed for her that supporters of the Bush admin ARE haters of Islam, and fairly vulgar ones at that.
May be true, but implicit in this statement is the belief that her people and ours can still somehow work out our differences and live in peace. Don't assume we all share that belief.
I want them all to know what they've started, and I want them all to know how deep the feelings go. They certainly haven't held back with us.
Posted by: Cthulhu Akbar ||
04/19/2004 18:13 Comments ||
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#47
Surprise, guys: emirates.net.ae. She appears to be genuine. So welcome, Gentle, assuming you haven't been chased away by now.
However, also please read the articles and the commentary. I, personally, don't subscribe to the notion that all Arab countries are hopeless. I think Dubhai, Bahrain, Kuwait, and others are making an effort to enter the modern world as civilized nations, despite the efforts of sizable minorities within them to prevent that from happening.
Nobody here buys the idea of Islam being a religion of peace. We're locked too tightly in war with Islamism -- a distinct strain within Islam, but driven by Islamic tenets -- to look upon it fondly. With the exception of the LRA in Uganda and -- possibly -- the IRA in Ireland, there simply aren't Christian analogs to Islamist terrorism. We would like to see movements within Islam that are similar to the Protestant reformation in Europe 500 years ago. It was good for both Protestantism and for Catholicism, and it laid the foundation for the concept of individual liberty that's the basis of American political life. With individual liberty came widespread prosperity, political freedom, and a host of other things. But you'll never get them without freedom of religion, and no Arab state wants to allow that, not even the most modern Arab states.
But feel free to argue points. We're actually open-minded here, and when we're wrong we admit it. But in the case of clashing civilizations, we're not wrong. Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Iran are all religiously driven states that hate us and want to see individual liberty crushed. Al-Qaeda as a movement claims to speak for all Muslims, even when desecrating Sufi graves or assassinating large numbers of Shia. So if you truly do believe in a peaceful Islam that can live in harmony with the rest of the world, we're on your side.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/19/2004 18:14 Comments ||
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#48
Gentle says: "maybe if you met a real Muslim you'd curse your politicians to hell for all the lies they've spread about them"
Interesting choice of words, those. Not very "gentle," ya' know?
Liberalhawk, can't you read between the lines on this? Why do you say "I am sure you yourself believe in peace, and that you see pursuit of peace as part of Islam - if so, may peace be upon you, and may you prosper. " For crying out loud! You don't know anything about this person. How are you so "sure" about all these things?
You are also automatically assuming that such uninformed idiocy is spewing from a "female" poster. Gosh, golly but that's offensive.
Next, true Islamic "believers" the world over desecrate graves. I can hardly believe you're a jew and don't know that.
You said "any true Muslim believer in peace should have honored his grave." Are you without understanding? Where are the "true Muslim believers in peace?" I don't recall that any "true Moslem believers in peace" were out there honoring the grave of that policeman--that fighter against (Islamic--sorry) terrorism. Where were the demonstrations?
Then you say "you will find that the Islam haters here are NOT happy with what our govt has said about Islam." Well, we're sure happy about what they're doing about it. Besides that, we know what the administration is trying to accomplish by labeling Islam the "Religion of Peace"--dividing the moderate Moslems from the radicals, and enlisting the support of Moslems that decide to interpret a violent, misogynous, schizophrenic cult, aimed at the gullible, masquerading as truth--that conglomeration of inconsistent, dangerous, enslaving, high-verbage nonsense known as Islam--in a way that is more condusive to REAL civilization.
Finally, you say "the Islam haters" like it was a bad thing. But seriously--the way you say that tends to lump those of us pulling the mask off a dangerous population in with the KKK or something. THEN YOU SAY everyone's responses have made "another recruit for the Clash of Civilizations." Like Gentle wasn't already there? (read Gentle's posts)
I'm having more than my usual amount of trouble with you today, Liberalhawk.
#49
If she is real you have just confirmed for her that supporters of the Bush admin ARE haters of Islam, and fairly vulgar ones at that.
Not of any consequence, really. What with the daily spew of Islamic clerics all over the Middle East splashed all over papers from Cairo to Tehran, and all-too-visible displays of hatred (U.S. flag and effigy-burnings and the like), what's a little vulgarity originating from a blog's comments? This person's efforts are best expended on those who need changing, and that isn't US.
#50
See Freepers? This Gentle walks and talks like the real deal. Different culture. Do you understand me now?
Think about the effect of Darwin on breeders.... I'm gone. I wish you all well.
#52
Hmmph. I was wrong about Gentle. No 18-year old is going to last very long on this board anyway. Especially no well-bred Muslim woman with perfect boarding school English.
#53
Gentle, I have to wonder just how much you really know about American society and attitudes.
For example, can you provide a concrete example of an American politician lying about Islam?
How is it that you presume to have a better balanced view of these issues than we do?
Are you perhaps under the impression that the press and media in this country are subject to censorship?
I know that this impression is very common in Europe and the Middle East.
Are you not aware that copies of the Quran are sold in virtually every bookstore in the United States?
Are you aware that an actual majority of American college students are required to study the works of Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky? These two, among many others, share the radical Islamic view that the US is the aggressor in the current conflict, that US policies are wholly to blame for causing the violence, that US forces are guilty of heinous war crimes on an unprecented scale, and that Islamic terrorism is an entirely justified response to this aggression.
Did you know that David Duke, who likewise supports the Islamic position and who has been an honored speaker at events in your country, was almost elected Governor of Louisiana a few years ago?
#54
War is not outside the "norms" of civilization; wars for the sake of nationalism/liberty/booty are not outside the "norms" of civilization.
Using women and children as screens in combat (or sending children strapped with bombs to civilian enemy targets) have yet to gain the universal approval of civilization. Desecrating the graves of those whose religions have properly honored and buried them doesn't exactly have a huge following, either.
I guess standing up as a man (or woman) and fighting one's enemy toe-to-toe has its perils; if your cause is just, then that shouldn't matter.
I just know I'd hate to be an Iraqi "insurgent" or Pali "freedom fighter" some 30 years from now, knowing I sent little kids to do the fighting I should have done.
#55
Think about the effect of Darwin on breeders.... I'm gone.
Darwin, indeed. In a struggle for survival, an unwillingness to fight back ensures that you and those like you won't survive. Now whether that is a good or bad thing can certainly be debated....
#57
"Antiwar" is a Jew-hating, Hamas-loving piece of shit who is still in mourning for Yassin. Perhaps "Gentle" should take her in and show her a wonderful Islamonazi shithole, because "Antiwar" has obviously never been in one--has never been outside her white middle class life. But you can rest assured she'll show up to--at least by implication--defend the desecration of the victims of Islamofascism. Keep whining, little girl. Maybe they'll rape you last.
Liberalhawk. I just want you and anybody else who hangs out here to know that I have NO RESPECT for islam. Zip, Zero, nothing. I don't care a twit about it. fake fu#king bull. I don't care about golden domes built over holy sites. I don't care about Abu watching Mo slay the dragon. Nope nothing. This is a hot war and the enemy is very clear to me.
So many well educated Germans, good folk, played stupid and went along with hitler. So many good people like Gentle Butterfly play stupid and can't see the toilet there're swimming in. Nope, no more. There was a time when I could wax stupidly about the general merits of east vs west and likewise. Nope, no more. Islam, and I capitalise that only because it's the beginning of a sentence is a load of crap.
Madame Butterfly may have been insulted at my hatred of the fakeness of islam. I didn't try to insult her personally. I actually found her very polite (toothy grin and all) But I did try to get her to confront my point of view.
#60
Well!
Some one is angry.
I was asleep, it was past midnight and I was tired of your language.
Liberalhawk: I agree with most of what you said.
Antiwar: Good luck with this lot, I can see that you'll need it.
everyone else: I HAVE lived in the U.K. & U.S.
surprise, surprise!
But that was as a child.
You will get no where with insults, so don't try to. Or better yet, go on, if it is all you have.
Truth will win in the end.
We may have diffrent ideas about what the "truth" is, but let us stop at that.
In other words:
Let us agree to disagree.
#61
Well!
Some one is angry.
I was asleep, it was past midnight and I was tired of your language.
Liberalhawk: I agree with most of what you said.
Antiwar: Good luck with this lot, I can see that you'll need it.
everyone else: I HAVE been to the U.K. & U.S.
surprise, surprise!
You will get no where with insults, so don't try to. Or better yet, go on, if it is all you have.
Truth will win in the end.
We may have diffrent ideas about what the "truth" is, but let us stop at that.
In other words:
Let us agree to disagree.
#63
Why do you say "I am sure you yourself believe in peace, and that you see pursuit of peace as part of Islam - if so, may peace be upon you, and may you prosper. " For crying out loud! You don't know anything about this person. How are you so "sure" about all these things?
Weel obviously one cant be "sure" about ANYTHING about someone posting on the net. I was making suppositions based on the posters words and tone. And trying to give her the benefit of any doubt, which is what polite people do. And people who actually care about persuading others, rather than alienating them.
You are also automatically assuming that such uninformed idiocy is spewing from a "female" poster. Gosh, golly but that's offensive.
She said she was female, and i saw no particular reason to doubt that.
Next, true Islamic "believers" the world over desecrate graves. I can hardly believe you're a jew and don't know that.
I also know that "christians" desecrate graves.
You said "any true Muslim believer in peace should have honored his grave." Are you without understanding? Where are the "true Muslim believers in peace?" I don't recall that any "true Moslem believers in peace" were out there honoring the grave of that policeman--that fighter against (Islamic--sorry) terrorism. Where were the demonstrations?
I said they SHOULD be honoring his grave - of course most are not, as it might expose to them danger, and would do them as individuals no material benefit. True Christians and Jews should give 10% of their income to charity, yet most dont - does that invalidate what they SHOULD do?
Then you say "you will find that the Islam haters here are NOT happy with what our govt has said about Islam." Well, we're sure happy about what they're doing about it. Besides that, we know what the administration is trying to accomplish by labeling Islam the "Religion of Peace"--dividing the moderate Moslems from the radicals, and enlisting the support of Moslems that decide to interpret a violent, misogynous, schizophrenic cult, aimed at the gullible, masquerading as truth--that conglomeration of inconsistent, dangerous, enslaving, high-verbage nonsense known as Islam--in a way that is more condusive to REAL civilization.
Violent - indeed Islam has been violent, as Christianity has been, and as pre-exile Israel was.
Misogynistic - Christianity with its Marian cult was tad better than Islam in this regard, but not all that much before the Enlightenment. The question is how to get islam moving toward the enlightenment - on gender issues major progress has happened in Turkey, Indonesia (which was never as bad the mideast, part of the misogyny is regional culture) Algeria, etc.
Schizo - IE divided? I should hope so.
WRT Bush - I see no evidence that their view of Islam is a sham, as you imply. Wolfowitz was US ambassador to Indonesia, and he seems quite sincere in his belief that muslims are capable of democracy, and that the notion that they are not is bigoted.
Finally, you say "the Islam haters" like it was a bad thing. But seriously--the way you say that tends to lump those of us pulling the mask off a dangerous population in with the KKK or something.
Anyone who labels an entire POPULATION dangerous based on race or religion, rather than judging people as INDIVIDUALS, based on their actions, is off in the KKK direction. I wont stand it from lefties attacking Christian fundamentalists, and i wont stand it about muslims either.
THEN YOU SAY everyone's responses have made "another recruit for the Clash of Civilizations." Like Gentle wasn't already there? (read Gentle's posts)
I did. It seemed to me that while she has been exposed to lies about US policy, she is still reachable.
I'm having more than my usual amount of trouble with you today, Liberalhawk.
If youre still reading this, i suggest you check out a website called Winds of Change. You will find there a spirited defense of the WOT, but the principle blogger there is an admirer of Sufi wisdom.
#67
Gentle nearly everyone here(expect me for example) is a Bush loving Sharon supporting Zionazi. They all support the war on Iraq, a war based on lies.
According to the (right wing) Spanish newpapers: "El Mundo" and "Libertad Digital" there is a major scandal cooking about the chain of events who led to Socialistâs victory in the Spanish elections. It looks like the Spanish government was deliberately fed wrong information during the investigation. That false information made it appear as lying to the electorate. It also looks like a possible framing of a group of islamists.
1) For instance the governement was told the explosives were Titadyne (pointing to ETA) instead of Goma 2 (ETA hasnât used for years). According to the article no explosives expert can make the mistake since they smell completely different.
2) Bags who failed to explode were destroyed (and the proofs with them ) by the police alleging they had no disarming experts in place. However the Guardia Civil (a part of the Spanish Armed Forces acting as police for rural zones) had experts at hand but its offers of collaboration were dismissed
3) There was one bag who was not distroyed and in that bag they found the mobile phone who led to first arrests.
4) Someone phoned to the police about a suspicious white van near the Alcala de Henares railway station. It was searched and arabic tapes and explosives were found under one of the seats. Funny thing is that the tapes contained material for elementary learning of Koran, when your average islamist has memorized it. Second funny thing is that van had already been searched by a sniffing dog who found nothing. Third funny thing: the van was supposed to have travelled to Asturias to pick the explosives. But the mileage doesnât add: it has run for 200 km since it was stolen while the round trip is over 700 km.
5) Once the rest of the ring was located and the GEOS (equivalent of Swat people) were sent to arrest them there was no attempt to negotiate, soften them, deprive them from sleep, before trying to capture them and later make them speak. Instead an immediate assault was ordered on the unsoftened islamists, result was they blew themselves, killing one of the Geos and destroying any hope of getting more info from them. Note: This night the corpse of the GEO has been profaned and then burnt with gasoline.
6) The composition of the terrorist ring is unusual for Al Quaida who never uses criminals with a police record and never uses non-muslims. The modus operandi of the ring is also unusual for half competent terrorists: NO compartimentalization and they kept in contact after the attacks.
If you read Spanish you can look here for the reaction of Aznarâs successor.
Posted by: JFM ||
04/19/2004 10:56:02 AM ||
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For those of you who can read Spanish there are more juicy details at:
Diclaimer: I am not familiar with "El Mundo" so I don't know if how serious it is. Style is quite sensationalistic like in the tabloid press.
About Libertad Digital incites me to think it is a serious site but their articles are based on the allegations of "El Mundo" and they are very right wing (ie likely to believe the worst about the socialists).
Rajoy (Aznar's succesor) has reacted about the allegations of "El Mundo" and this makes me think El Mundo has some credibility in the Spanish public (ie not a paper known for telling bin Laden is an lien of another planet).
#2
Paging Mr. Stone, Mr. Oliver Stone! Your script is ready.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/19/2004 12:39 Comments ||
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The two theses seem to be mutually exclusive. I.e., if they deliberately falsified evidence that suggested it was ETA, how is it that they, at the same time, framed Islamist groups. Did the police frame both groups? I think thesis A is more plausible than thesis B.
#4
Perhaps I wasn't clear: on one side the government was being fed information suggesting it was ETA (the Titadyne explosive). On another side there was a series of "miracles" who led the police to arrest some Muslims involved in petty crime but presented as belonging to Al Quaida. This was aired by radios linked to the socialists making the government appear as if was hiding about the Islamist track and as if bombings were due to Spain's presence in Iraq.
Then another series of "miracles" leading to another group of Muslims but then the police commits a series of blunders (like setting a HIGHLY visible watch by plain clothes agents who kept weapons in hand leading to the alleged islamists discovering them) ending in the suicide of the muslims who now cannot talk. BTW none of the Moroccans arrested in the first batch has confessed.
PRISTINA -- Monday -- Eight US corrections officers wounded in a shootout with a Jordanian UN policeman have been moved to a US military base in Kosovo for treatment, a US military spokesman said today. One officer remained in critical condition following brain surgery in neighbouring Macedonia, said KFOR spokesman Michael Houk. The wounded officers were moved to the military hospital of Camp Bondsteel, the main US base in Kosovo.
Top UN officials visited the wounded as investigators searched for evidence and interviewed witnesses in an attempt to understand why the Jordanian, a UN police officer, fatally shot two US correctional officers in Kosovo and wounded several others. The Jordanian officer died in the shootout Saturday at the prison compound in the northern town of Kosovska Mitrovica. During the 10-minute gunfight, 10 Americans and one Austrian were wounded. The Austrian officer was flown home last night for treatment.
The attack shook the UN mission, which already was in turmoil following violent ethnic clashes last month between ethnic Albanians and Serbs that killed 19 and injured more than 900. "The shooting struck a huge blow at the very idea of peacekeeping," said Alex Anderson, the Kosovo project director of the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based organization that monitors the Balkans. The officers were part of the UN mission which has administered Kosovo and provided security since June 1999.
"This is a sad day for United Nations peacekeeping," said Stefan Feller, the head of the UN police in Kosovo. "At this stage there can be no conclusions on the reason for the shooting." However, a US police officer serving with the UN mission in Kosovo told The Associated Press that the shooting was "clearly an attack against Americans." The officer spoke on condition of anonymity.
UN peacekeepers, bringing a little of the Congo to Europe.
The gun battle began as three UN vehicles carrying 21 US correctional officers, two Turkish officers and one Austrian were leaving the prison, which was guarded by five Jordanian special police unit officers, officials said. The correctional officers, who arrived in Kosovo just 10 days ago, had been training at the prison. At least one Jordanian officer, identified by Jordan's government only as Ahmed Mustafa Ibrahim Ali, started firing at the convoy, Feller said.
The attacked officers returned fire, and a 10-minute gunfight ensued. The two dead US officers were women, he added. Their names weren't released pending notification of their families. The four other Jordanian police officers at the prison were detained, officials said. Authorities have requested that the diplomatic immunity of the Jordanian officers be lifted so that they can be interrogated. Officials denied rumours that a quarrel about the war in Iraq had sparked the gun battle. "As far as we know, there was no communication between the officer who fired and the group of victims," said Neeraj Singh, a UN spokesman.
Just saw Americans and opened fire.
Jordan's government expressed regret for the shootings and said it was following up on the investigation to uncover details of what had taken place, a statement carried by the official Jordanian Petra agency said. The 3,500-strong UN police force includes 450 US officers, most of whom work for DynCorp, a private company that trains police, corrections and judicial officers who work in places such as Kosovo and Iraq. The UN police force works alongside 6,000 local police officers.
Remember, this is how John Kerry would handle Iraq.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/19/2004 9:51:04 AM ||
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I thought when this story first came out that all the wounded were also women. Now this has disappeared. Can anyone confirm this?
Posted by: ed ||
04/19/2004 10:19 Comments ||
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I'm relatively new here, so forgive me if this question has already been beaten into the ground, but is it time to seriously consider exiting the UN? I have heard lots of arguments against it alont the lines of "it's better to be on the inside trying to change it than to be on the outside looking in", but in reality wouldn't the UN minus the US just become League of Nations Part II? (If it hasn't already become that.)
#3
docob, as the resident UN basher here, I would say that the UN was never a viable organization in the sense of being able to achieve its stated objectives or for that matter any objectives.
Given a free vote a number of countries including the USA would likely withdraw from the UN, but no one has ever voted for the UN so it exists in this 'legitimacy' of its own and the left's invention.
Posted by: Phil B ||
04/19/2004 10:59 Comments ||
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#4
Thanks for the response, Phil B -- so if that is the case, couldn't we opt out by ceasing to participate? This would probably mean that the UN headquarters would have to relocate, but that would be their problem at that point.
Things are getting much more fluid lately, which can mean opportunity as well as danger (witness Sharon's proposal to withdraw unilaterally from Gaza, GWB's support for this, the open rejection of right of return, etc.) What I'm trying to say is big steps are now more possible, rather than tiny, incremental ones.
#6
There is no sound reason as to why details are not being released, concerning this incident. Most Jordanian citizens are nominal "Palestinians," which makes them an inherent danger to Americans, etc.
After all the events since 9-11, my compassion meter, for Bosnian and Kosovo Muslims, is off the bottom of the chart. Let them eat jihad.
Posted by: Man Bites Dog ||
04/19/2004 13:56 Comments ||
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LOL tu3031. Need to put it in crest or something.
Top French counterterrorism Judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere had been tracking ["millenium bomber"] Ahmad Ressam since 1996, and by early 1999 had his "hair on fire" because he knew Ressam was plotting an attack against America. Judge Bruguiere didnât have details of the actual attack, but he knew how Ressam fit into the al Qaeda "spiderâs web," and knew he was sent from Europe to Canada to prepare his attack. By March 1999, Judge Bruguiere had gathered enough information from terrorist cells he had broken up in France, Jordan and Australia, to send a thick file to the Canadian authorities, asking that they arrest Ressam and hold him for interrogation. Months went by, and nothing happened.
Finally, Judge Bruguiere traveled personally to Montreal in October to force the issue. By then, Ressam had vanished. At one apartment Judge Bruguiere searched that Ressam had occupied, he seized a pocket datebook that detailed purchases of bomb-making chemicals. The millennium bomber had slipped through the cracks. He had gone operational. Judge Bruguiere returned to France with a sense of dread. "We came back to France," Judge Bruguiere told me, "and on Dec. 14, 1999, the news came of Ressamâs arrest. As you know, it was completely by chance. Just plain luck." ....
Ultimately, Judge Bruguiere sent the complete file on Ressam ... to U.S. prosecutors, and spent seven hours testifying in a Seattle, Wash., court as a witness in the case. Without his help, the U.S. case against Ressam would have been much weaker. Thanks to Judge Bruguiere, Ressam agreed to become a government witness against Osama bin Laden and to help expose elements of the al Qaeda network....
One final irony involves another al Qaeda terrorist whose file Judge Bruguiere knew intimately: Zacarias Moussaoui, the alleged 20th hijacker, who was arrested on Aug. 17, 2001, by Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) agents because of suspicious activity while attending the Pan Am International Flight Academy in Minneapolis, Minn. When I went to see him in Paris shortly after September 11, 2001, Judge Bruguiere was grinning from ear to ear. "Youâve heard about Moussaoui?" he said, meaning Moussaouiâs arrest. Judge Bruguiere had a file on him that he couldnât wait to transmit to the U.S. prosecutors. One hint: He wasnât the 20th hijacker but was preparing a follow-on wave of attacks.
In the end, Judge Bruguiere was never able to transmit his file to the U.S. prosecutors in a form they could use to prosecute Moussaoui. The Moussaoui case â lacking that hard information â remains blocked to this day. The French government of President Jacques Chirac, stepped in and ordered Judge Bruguiere to break off formal cooperation with the United States. Our one-time ally in the war on terror was about to demonstrate it had new priorities that would play themselves out dramatically during the Iraq crisis a year later.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
04/19/2004 8:53:55 AM ||
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#1
why do some continue to pretend Chirac is our ally? Chriac is not our ally. He is an ally of the Arab WOT.
#3
The French, always vigilant to prevent foreign words from threatening the purity of la langue francaise have now expanded to purging such alien (anglophone) concepts as courage, honor, trust, honesty, truthfulness and alliance from French culture. At some point even the Quebecois will become embarrassed.
#4
One wonders why is was the TWO FILES described were not transmitted to American authorities BEFORE the bomb plot originating in Canada was discovered by a US border guard and before 11 September 2001. As for sharing FILES for criminal prosecution with foreign governments, AMERICA has a cooperation problem too. Recall the two terrorshits in Germany -- one acquited one released from prison -- due to failure of the US to share....
#6
And some of the French Muslims are running disinfo websites too.
Damn, I wish I didn't have any
French blood the bloody traitors.
Muslims are taking over Europe and if the Saudis, Paks, and other Islamofascists have their way, the same will happen in the good ole USA.
I wonder if the story about the Grandman burning down a mosque and kidnapping 2 Imams was true or just more disinfo. An attack on this nation and the Mudlims betta go inta hidin'.
#4
When will the victimisation of British Muslims end? - This is an outrage!
/irony
Posted by: Howard UK ||
04/19/2004 9:16 Comments ||
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From the Glasgow Evening Times: One of the Manchester raids involved a swoop on a flat above a kebab shop in Upper Brook Street. Police moved in and sealed the road, which is close to the city centre. Officers kept the immediate area secure while a detailed search of the premises was carried out. Two police vans were parked outside a restaurant close by, and more officers were on patrol at the back of the property at the centre of the raid. It houses Dolphins takeaway and what appeared to be a residential flat. Imad Alsabbagh, 46, owner of the Petra Syrian Restaurant next door, said he had known the person who lived in the flat for about a year. He said he was a man in his mid 20s.
He added: "I came here at 9am today to see the police cordon. "I asked the police what had happened but they gave me no information. The people that run the takeaway are neighbours. They said 'hello', they are nice people and hard workers. They are Iraqi Kurds."
Humm, Ansar?
Posted by: Steve ||
04/19/2004 10:12 Comments ||
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Dolphin kebabs - not tried those. Anyway this is just blatant discrimination against kebab vendors who would never harm anyone (apart from spitting in you doner at 2 a.m.)
Posted by: Howard UK ||
04/19/2004 11:04 Comments ||
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I listened to this on the radio this afternoon and was struck by the pre-sophomoric stupidity of it...
The Osgood File. Sponsored by ________. This is Dave Ross. On the CBS Radio Network.
Hi, there, Dave...
Condoleezza Rice calls it an opportunity too good for them to pass up. She's talking about terrorists trying to influence the election here they way they presumably did in Spain.
I'd call it a certainty that they're going to try, going for the highest corpse count they can get. What do you think?
I'm not so sure America would react as Spain did - but I know this much. The fact that Dr. Rice is SAYING this means if something DOES happen ⊠this time the Administration can't claim it didn't know.
That's pretty much beside the point when the streets are littered with American body parts, isn't it? Unless you consider other things more important...
More after this from Charlie:
Oh, Charlie wrote it, did he? And you're just today's parrot?
In a news interview, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice says there is a serious possibility that terrorists will try to disrupt the Presidential election, by taking the "wrong lesson from Spain" as she put it.
She's making the assumption that a sufficiently large majority of Americans aren't as cowardly as a sufficiently large majority of Spaniards are. She could be wrong, of course...
What happened in Spain, you'll recall, is that right after 191 people died in those terrorist train explosions, the voters kicked out the incumbent, in favor of a candidate who promised to take Spanish troops out of Iraq.
It's called "caving." The word "cojones" fell right out of the Spanish language. Now they have to refer to them as "los marshmallows."
So when Dr. Rice talks about terrorists disrupting the US election, she appears to be defining "disruption" as anything that would lead to people NOT voting for President Bush.
I think she's referring to body parts in the streets and a citizenry that whimpers and sez "Oh, who shall make peace with these people so they stop killing us?" That'd be a vote for Kerry, of course, 'cuz he was in Vietnam for four months and he's so European in his outlook and he has that expensive hair...
Presumably if terrorists were to strike, and President Bush WAS re-elected anyway, then the election would NOT have been disrupted.
Presumably, that statement makes sense. I just can't find it...
UNLESS⊠unless the terrorists WANTED us to vote for Bush. See, that's the difficulty you have with terrorists. Basically, being Americans and being brave, we want to do whatever it is the terrorists DON'T want us to do. But before we can DEFY the terrorists, we have to know WHAT is it they DIDN'T want us to do. Now suppose the terrorists strike because they want us TO vote for Bush. Perhaps because they appreciate that he's kept so many Americans within mortar range in Iraq But in THAT case, the way to defy them would be to vote for Kerry.
1. Regard any hostile power that attempts to acquire or develop weapons of mass destruction, or refuses to sign and abide by a non-proliferation agreement, as a belligerent state. Such countries must be exposed to the traditional consequences of belligerency, from blockades to possible invasion.
2. Acknowledge that, while Islam is a great religion, it contains a strain hostile to Western civilization, and recognize that a state of war exists between that particular strain of Islam and the West. This includes all Arab and/or Muslim countries whose governments nurture or tolerate such a hostile strain.
3. Face the fact that terrorism is the chosen tactic of Islamist militants who can't penetrate the defensive perimeters of Western powers from the outside. Face the fact that terrorism depends for its success on fifth columnists; face the fact that Western residents of Arab/Muslim background, along with Arab/Muslim visitors or students, are susceptible to Islamist recruitment as fifth columnists; and face the fact that the loyalty of such residents and visitors cannot be taken for granted...
4. Remember that up to, and including, the Second World War, military operations weren't conducted with the view that the enemy was merely "the regime" and not the population... During the Cold War, even though it was evident that most people inside the Soviet camp hated the regime -- they brought it down in the end -- the West prepared and relied on a nuclear deterrent that by its nature couldn't distinguish between the supporters and opponents of communism.
5. Americans will have to consider that making the avoidance of civilian casualities a rigid priority in war has two predictable consequences. First, there's reduced military effectiveness and increased exposure of one's own troops to danger. Second, a campaign may not be evaluated primarily in terms of its military/strategic achievement, but in how successful it was in avoiding collateral damage... Arab/Islamist military efforts specifically express themselves in the bombings (or suicide bombings) of civilian buses, planes, discos, or office buildings, along with ruses de guerre such as using civilian shields, dressing military units in civilian clothes, placing military targets in civilian quarters, etc. The indignation of Arab and Islamist belligerents -- who, after deliberately targeting civilians, protest when Western or Israeli action results in some collateral civilian damage -- ought not to persuade Americans that they have some moral duty to impose extra conditions on themselves in addition to standard conventions of war.
6. A year ago, I wrote that asking whether Iraqis will look at the coalition as liberators is asking the wrong question. It assumes a unanimity in Iraq we would never expect to find in our own countries. In America, most people share the same liberal-democratic heritage, yet even Americans are divided on the question of whether they're liberators or occupiers. In Iraq, there's at least a six-way division...
7. Relying on the possibility, or even probability, that most people within Islam -- or specifically within Iraq -- would prefer to live in a democracy, and that only a minority support despotism and enmity with the West, is a grievous error. It's not an error because it may not be true, but because it's immaterial. Majorities do not necessarily carry the day even in free countries, let alone in theocracies or tyrannies. Militant minorities are far more likely to set the tone in a given country, period, or civilization...
8. Terrorist despotism, theocratic or secular, must be confronted; it cannot be accommodated or appeased. Defeating the enemy is the best way to change his mind. Anti-civilizational ruthlessness, Marxist or Muslim, is to Western democracy what Hannibal's Carthage was to Rome. Some 2,000 years ago, Marcus Porcius Cato ended his speeches in the Senate with the words Carthaginem esse delendam -- Carthage must be destroyed. At his press conference this week, even if somewhat more diffidently, President Bush conveyed the same message.
EFL
THE American intelligence community is quickly becoming a dinosaur. It has to stop fighting the Cold War and transform itself to combat new security challenges, such as terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and rogue states - now. Read the entire article here.
Posted by: Dragon Fly ||
04/19/2004 8:06:28 AM ||
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Maybe I'm just out of the loop too long. So, with a grain of salt, etc.
CIA absorbing the NSA? Not going to happen. They have different areas of responsibility and collection methods and are goeverned by different laws - and require different strategies to protect their sources and methods.
There are fundamental differences that cannot be ignored, nor can they be lumped together under a single agency. It would be the equivalent to combining the Navy and Army without paying attention to the differences in how and where each operates, and the missions given to each. You dont want a tank battalion commander given an assignment to command a nuclear attack submarine, nor have a satellite scientist trying to order field operatives around (or vice versa).
Also there are legal problems: You cannot just wave a wand - laws need to be passed, and that means Congress gets involved. And Congress would make a hash of this in an election year.
Secondly, many of the "15" agencies he mentions are not independant, especially the ones that fall under the individual military services. They exist to manage service personnnel for each service, not the missions they work on. At least they did that back in my day. So the numbers of agencies is a bit of an illusion, they are all on the same team and work for the same boss in the end.
And thirdly, the agencies already interworked a great deal back in my day. I can bet that the central theme of all agencies has been reduced to "Misson First" - and that means misson over rivalry and politics. Its not a bunch of different "stovepipes" the way that writer would have you believe. I believe that the war on terror has changed a lot of things, and I imagine that it would include a lot better inter-agency cooperation.
FYI, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is a new one. Maybe its the old Defense Mapping Agency since I dont see that one around. Thats according to my google search. Its website is www.nga.mil and looking around it looks like they mainly do maps, not "spy satellites".
#3
Old Spook, NGA is the reformed National Imagery and Mapping Agency and is a conglomerate of several of the different imagery components from the defense and intel communities. From their FAQs:
"NGA was formed through the consolidation of the following: the Defense Mapping Agency (DMA), the Central Imagery Office (CIO), the Defense Dissemination Program Office (DDPO) and the National Photographic Interpretation Center (NPIC) as well as the imagery exploitation and dissemination elements of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO),the Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office (DARO) and the Central Intelligence Agency."
They do include a distinct intel component of Geospatial intel analysts (formerly Imagery intel analysts) who use imagery and intel to develop a geospatial package of intelligence. The map-making (evasion charts, etc.) component is separate, I believe.
#4
From his comments, this guy doesn't know his ass from second base. He has no clue how the current intelligence community is organized, how it functions, or who owns/controls what assets and has what responsibilities. I haven't been out of the loop long enough for my information to be that worthless! Salt with vigor.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/19/2004 10:07 Comments ||
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well, ok. But he does make a couple of good points - even if it the conclusions are not supported and a generous dose of salt is required to make this palatable.
I think this is just a fact that most would agree with? Don't you?
The intelligence community needs to work together more effectively and efficiently. The military term for such interservice teamwork is "jointness." It means that the services work together as a team, not as separate fighting forces.
Rice bowl bickering continues to be a serious problem. Anything that can be done to improve that will be a good thing, not a bad thing.
Posted by: B ||
04/19/2004 10:46 Comments ||
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#6
This never would have happened if Ludlum were still alive.
#7
Ok, I'll try to say this without spilling any secrets, and still try to make sense. Old Spook, Fred, others, feel free to add to or modify anything I might screw up.
There are about eleven different 'flavors' of intelligence: signals intelligence (who's using what frequency for what purpose), communications intelligence (who's saying what on what frequency, using what encryption), imagery intelligence (my specialty, using photography and other imaging processes to extract information about people, places, and things), human intelligence (spying), data management and collation (surprised? We read what the other guy's saying OPENLY, correlate it with what we know or think, and see how they match up), cyberintelligence (computer spying), and more. All intelligence is driven by a COLLECTION PLAN, which identifies things we want to learn, places we want to check on, people we want to keep track of, etc. That leads to targeting, which leads to data collection, which leads to analysis, which leads to reporting. Usually, there are more requirements than resources, so somebody has to make a decision as to what's the most important data to collect. That's done by committee in Washington. I don't know who's on the current committee, and it's probably classified, anyway. The committee not only decides what requirements are to be collected against, but who's to do the collecting, and what will constitute satisfactory coverage. The requirements are parcelled out according to what's the best way to answer the questions being asked. Some requirements are collected against by several different methods, others by only one. In the end, the final reports get shared at ALL LEVELS.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/19/2004 12:47 Comments ||
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Thats fairly accurate. From what I remember, its national command authorities that do the tasking in line with national security directives from the President, and the agencies that provide the resources.
CIA director is supposed to be a first among equals, king of human intelligence, as always. Big Daddy does hold a bit of power over signals and communications, and from what you've said about "NGA", they have a lot of imagery power. Those are the 3 biggest pieces of the puzzle. State Dept probably has some stuff (diplomatic leanings and relationships, etc) as would Treasury (financial data).
There is a ton of openly avaialable data that you only need to search, index and collate - there is stuff out there now that it would take you forever to get in previous decades, and it would probably be classified too.
I'd bet the best intelligence tool anymore is Google!
WASHINGTON â The Supreme Court on Tuesday will begin to consider whether the Bush administration, in its drive to prevent more terrorist attacks after Sept. 11, devised a wartime legal strategy that went too far in restricting civil liberties. The cases coming before the court involve two types of captives in the war on terrorism: foreigners who were caught on a battlefield abroad and who have been held for more than two years at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba without being charged; and two U.S. citizens who are being confined indefinitely in a military brig in Charleston, S.C.
The Bush administration has labeled all of them "enemy combatants," and says the detentions are necessary to stop future terrorist plots. The cases test whether the Guantanamo detainees should have access to U.S. courts to challenge their detentions, and whether the president, on his own, can order U.S. citizens locked up without charges and access to a lawyer or a hearing. Together, the cases raise fundamental questions about judges' ability to check presidential power, and about basic legal protections for captured foreigners and for U.S. citizens accused of betraying this country.
Rulings in the cases could go a long way toward shaping the legal contours for what could be a lengthy war on terrorism. They also will help define the legacy of the court led by conservative Chief Justice William Rehnquist.
The hearings at the court will feature the drama of a Sept. 11 widower, U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olson, arguing for broad presidential authority to lock up people to protect national security. Before Olson will be nine justices who shared in the panic that swept Washington on 9/11. Several justices have poignant, personal memories of wartime experiences. All but one â Clarence Thomas, at 55 the youngest justice â came of age during World War II or the Korean War.
Categories of reaction:
* The Gospels were Falsified
* The Film: âA Courageous Challenge to the Jewsâ Power
* If the Jews had Ultimate Control Over Hollywood, this Film would Not have been Produced
* The Film â âThe Truth as It Isâ
* Sharon, not Mel Gibson, Should be Condemned
* The Palestinian Intifada is Nothing but a Return to the Intifada of Christ By His Sons
* Antisemitism Actually Helps the Zionist Project
* Qatar is an Oasis of Freedom of Expression â However, the Ministry of Islamic Affairâs Silence Might Be Interpreted as Acceptance of the Erroneous Version of The Crucifixion
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
04/19/2004 11:12:07 PM ||
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alleged events in the life of Jesus? The concept of his crucifixion is totally false. It never occurred?
Now how exactly is Islam supposed to get along with Christianity when it denies the central tenet of all Christianity: the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ Jesus?
Answer: IT isnt. Its an attempt to wipe it out by invalidating its core belief so that Islam can replace it. And the intolerance shown by Islam is very evident in their views.
#2
"Now how exactly is Islam supposed to get along with Christianity when it denies the central tenet of all Christianity: the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ Jesus? "
The same way that Judaism is supposed to get along with Christianity, when it denies the same things?
Categories of Reactions:
* Condemning the Attack
* The Explosions Cannot Be Seen as an Islamic Act
* Terror Attacks are Muslimsâ Enemy No. 1
* The Fall of Aznarâs Government Is a Victory for Terror
* We Thank Allah There Is a Superpower Like America
* The Attack Proves U.S. Policy is Wrong
* The War On Terror, On which the U.S. has Spent Nearly $100 Billion, has Not Achieved the Desired Objective
* Many Terror Operations in the U.S. & Europe Have Been Falsely Attributed to Al-Qaâida, or to Arab Immigrants
* The Jews and Zionists were Behind the Attack
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
04/19/2004 11:06:49 PM ||
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An American former correctional officer serving with the U.N. mission in Kosovo was in critical condition Sunday, a day after an attack on a group of prison guards, most of them Americans, by a Jordanian policeman also serving with the U.N. mission in Mitrovica. Two American women died in the shooting and another nine American officers were wounded at a jail in the city of Mitrovica in the northern part of the province on Saturday. An Austrian prison guard was also wounded. The Jordanian officer was killed when the guards returned fire.
Among those injured was Janice Biggs, who has worked in corrections for the St. Louis (Missouri, United States) County government since 1984. Biggs was shot in the buttocks during the battle on her first day at work at the prison, said the husband of Biggsâ roommate in Kosovo. Biggs, 43, was working with Beth Mechler, 44, of Topeka, Kan. Mechlerâs husband, Topeka police Lt. Randall Listrom, said that his wife, who was also injured, told him that she, Biggs and the others were leaving from their first shift at the prison when they were attacked. "They had been in Kosovo 10 days, and this was their first day on the job," Listrom said. "I have talked with Beth on the telephone," Listrom said. "She seems fine, although she has been through an emotional time." Friends who were riding in the same car as Beth Mechler were killed. "She watched as friends died needlessly, and that may be an image not forgotten," Listrom said in prepared statement. "The future of the mission is unclear." Listron said his wife told him Biggs had survived.
U.N. peacekeepers and police officers have been working in Kosovo since 1999, after NATOs 78-day bombing campaign to stop forces backed by the former Serbian president, Slobodan Milosevic, from driving ethnic Albanians from the province. Jordan has about 120 anti-riot officers in the region. A spokeswoman for the U.N. force in Mitrovica, Tracy Becker, said the guard in critical condition had suffered gunshot wounds to the head and had been returned from a hospital in Macedonia to Camp Bondsteel, the main American army camp in Kosovo. Besides Biggs, Mechler and the unidentified former American correctional officer, five other American prison guards wounded in the attack were also being treated at the camp, she said, and two others had been released. None was identified by authorities. The shooting took place just after 3 p.m. as the guards were leaving the jail in three cars. Officers close to the investigation said that five Jordanian officers were at the gate when the shooting started but that only one opened fire. The gunfire lasted about 10 minutes, said Joe Napolitano, the commander of a nearby U.N. police station, and local people who witnessed the attack. Becker said the prison officers had no contact with the Jordanians before the shooting took place. "It was their first day at the detention center," she said. "They had just completed their induction course and were being shown around the prison for the first time." Police investigators said they could not comment as to whether the Jordanian officer had deliberately chosen Americans as his target.
Trains in Thailandâs violence-wracked Muslim south resumed services Monday with armed soldiers on board, following a one-day suspension because of the fatal shooting of a railway official, an army commander said.
Posted by: TS ||
04/19/2004 1:42:45 AM ||
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Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi announced after a 14 April cabinet meeting that the United States had requested Iranian assistance in calming the current unrest in Iraq, AFP and Al-Jazeera television reported. Kharrazi said Tehran would help and added that the United States is complicating the situation there. The Foreign Ministryâs director-general for Persian Gulf affairs, Hussein Sadeqi, arrived in Baghdad on 14 April, the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) reported.
An anonymous "senior State Department official" said on 14 April that the United Kingdom invited the delegation of Iranian officials to visit Iraq in an effort to reduce tensions there, AFP reported. "Obviously, we did not object," the source added, going on to say that Washington did not ask London to invite the Iranians. "Since Iran does have some influence with the Shiâa community, we hope they would make clear that they are not in any way supporting violence or confrontation and that, in fact, they are supporting the authority of the central government," the source said.
U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher also denied that Washington asked for Iranian mediation, but he did acknowledge the recent dispatch of messages to Tehran, AFP reported.
"Our intervention is not based on the U.S. request," Iranian presidential adviser Mohammad Shariati said in a 14 April interview with Al-Jazeera. He went on to explain Tehranâs reasons for acting at this time and in such a public fashion. "We wanted the world to know our role in solving the problems," Shariati said. "America had prevented us from doing so. Britain was more understanding of the peaceful Iranian role in solving the problems. Now it [the United States] has dropped its objection." Shariati said Iran does not want to interfere in Iraqi affairs, but it "must not leave Iraq and its people alone in their ordeal.... Iran believes the U.S. behavior is wrong."
While in Baghdad, Sadeqi held talks with a number of Iraqi political figures, state radio reported on 15 April. Among the officials that Sadeqi met were Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraqâs (SCIRI) Abd-al-Aziz al-Hakim, Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) President Masâud Barzani, Oil Minister Ibrahim Bahr-al-Ulum, IGC member Jalal Talabani, and Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari. The Iranian delegation also met with Ahmad Chalabi, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported on 17 April.
Nevertheless, the exact role played by Sadeqi and his colleagues remains somewhat unclear. Adnan Ali, a member of the Al-Daâwah al-Islamiya party, said in a 15 April interview with Egyptian radio, "The Iranian delegation led by Mr. Sadeqi had a significant effect during talks with Shiâa clerics and personalities as well as with the office of Seyyed Muqtada [al-Sadr]. I have recently met Mr. Sadeqi, and he assured me that the Islamic Republic seeks to calm the situation to avoid any dissension [among Iraqi factions] under occupation."
But neither the American nor the Iranian side was so forthcoming. CPA spokesman Dan Senor said on 16 March, "It is our position that there is no role for the Iranians to play middleman here in discussions between us and Sadr," RFE/RL reported. "There is no role for the Iranians, from our perspective, in the Sadr situation. And, in fact, we believe that the issue with Sadr and his militia should be resolved by Iraqis, not Iranians."
Iranian Foreign Minister Kharrazi sounded a similar note on 16 April. He asked in a statement faxed to IRNA, "How can one mediate between the Iraqi people and the occupiers?"
The Iranian diplomats ended their visit on 17 April without visiting Al-Najaf or Muqtada al-Sadr, IRNA reported. This is reportedly because the Iraqi cleric refused to meet with the Iranians, the Shiâa news agency reported.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
04/19/2004 11:35:29 PM ||
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The Iranian diplomats ended their visit on 17 April without visiting Al-Najaf or Muqtada al-Sadr, IRNA reported.
Good reading at Belmont Club
The assassins inevitably are from the middle class, with their commanders among the more wealthy members of the country. The middle and wealthy classes have great power in their own societies at the local level, and more real influence with the masses than their usually despotic governments. If the majority of the middle and wealthy classes determined to no longer directly or indirectly support the Arab style of conflict, this would have a significant impact. Without an active support base, and with the possibility of their activities being compromised at any time, assassinsâ freedom of action would be curtailed severely.
An intense, relentless psychological campaign could be undertaken targeting the middle and wealthy classes of the Middle Eastern nations involved. Mass-marketing methods may offer insight into how to apply long-term, focused psychological pressure. The aim of such a campaign would be to make each individual perceive being held personally responsible and targeted for his or her support of the Arab way of war. The proud, strongly religious societies of the Middle East may be vulnerable to considerable self-doubt about the moral bankruptcy of their actions and their pronounced ethical decline compared to the remainder of the world. This effort would complement the other measures of defense and containment already being undertaken. Consideration also could be given to applying economic pressure, restrictions, and constraints, such as those used against South Africa during the apartheid years. The targeted approach. Destroy the money guys. Do it soon!
#1
An intense, relentless psychological campaign could be undertaken targeting the middle and wealthy classes of the Middle Eastern nations involved. Mass-marketing methods may offer insight into how to apply long-term, focused psychological pressure.
I liked this article until I got to this point. We'll just insert plenty of PSA's into the commercial breaks for Baywatch. We'll shame them into behaving. Folderol! And sanctions are always so effective. I mean they worked so well against Saddam. Of course the Gulf Arabs have their own sanctions, like shutting off the oil. Does the good Captain remember 1973?
There are two strategies that work. PD's "go in and seize the 40 km strip" or "energy independence and active containment." Either way, you need to shut off immigration and Europe is a mess that's going to take years to clean up. Anything else is a half measure that in the end kills more people on both sides.
Izhar ul-Haque, the medical student arrested in Sydney last week, may have been studying to become part of a medical unit to support terrorist fighters in the field, according to a terrorism expert in Pakistan. Amir Rana, an author and journalist, told the Herald that al-Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET) had long held ambitions to establish their own medical field units to care for injured fighters and had been sending students abroad. Ul-Haque allegedly underwent a training course in Pakistan last year but decided to return to Sydney to continue his medical studies after being told he would better serve his cause as a doctor, not a martyr, Central Local Court was told last week.
LET began with the goal of liberating Kashmir but it has strong links with al-Qaeda and many of its followers fought in Afghanistan. According to a Western intelligence source in Islamabad, LET-trained fighters are now turning up in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Philippines and Chechnya. A number of individuals and small groups have also been arrested in western countries, including Australia. The source said highly trained LET terrorists had now turned their attention to Islamic causes around the world. The Aqsa camp, where police allege ul-Haque trained, was used to introduce young men to the world of terrorism. Students attended three-week courses where they would be drilled on their faith, their knowledge of the Koran and their commitment to the holy war. The training was conducted in modern buildings, with an Islamic library and computers, and the students would study from early in the morning and relax by playing sport in the afternoon. They also received some light weapons training. Those deemed suitable would graduate to another camp, where they would be given advanced military and explosives training. Others would be singled out to work in specialist fields, such as medicine.
The journalist Mr Rana said the leaders of al-Qaeda and LET had sought out bright students to run their medical units because their fighters often died from relatively minor injuries due to do a lack of basic care. "I have been told by LET sources that some students were sent to London and Europe, and even Australia, to get the best education in medicine," he said.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
04/19/2004 12:15:31 AM ||
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Note to security---
Do detailed background checks on ME medical students before letting them in to study.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/19/2004 1:07 Comments ||
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"some students were sent to London and Europe, and even Australia, to get the best education in medicine,"
And some in Dominica with links to US medical collages.
#4
Again Western Civilization subsidizes our destroyers. Fifteen Sauds (and accomplices) murdered 3,000 Americans on 9-11, yet the Saud tyranny has been allowed to cover up royal family financing of al-Qaeda. Check out this white dude named, Jamil Abdul Karim.
Posted by: Man Bites Dog ||
04/19/2004 3:43 Comments ||
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I doubt these students went to study medicine just for caring about wounded jihadists. I, think it is a step for developping biological weapons
#7
JFM has a point -- field medics aren't full doctors.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
04/19/2004 8:22 Comments ||
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"the leaders of al-Qaeda and LET had sought out bright students to run their medical units because their fighters often died from relatively minor injuries due to do a lack of basic care"
Stupid Islamoturds sponsor other stupid Islamoturds' medical education to help fighters--not the average Arab citizen, not their societies in general. A little medicine for the jihadis, a little bio weaponry manufacturing capability . . . How typical. Islamic pseudo-men need to die.
From Jihad Unspun
In a strategic move, the Taliban have left the district of Barmal because it was feared that now that it is widely known that the district is under their control, the US military would send in bombers and indiscriminately bomb villages and kill innocent civilians as they have in other areas in the past. The decision to leave the district was handed down by the Taliban high command however they continue to control up to 5 districts in the southern areas of Afghanistan.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
04/19/2004 11:52:39 PM ||
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Suspected Taliban neo-Taliban militants kidnapped five schoolteachers in southeastern Afghanistan, AFP reported 18 April. According to AFP, Zabul provincial spokesman Alhaj Ghulam Rabani said kidnappers abducted the five on 16 April in the provinceâs Shajoy District, where insurgents are known to operate. "The government has no control over the districts of Zabul Province. [The] Taliban rule and threaten villagers not to register for elections," Rabani said at a disarmament seminar in Kabul, calling on the Afghan government to send forces to the area. Taliban Neo-Taliban insurgents are suspected of burning nonreligious schools in southern and eastern Afghanistan. Rabani said few schools are operating in Zabul. ....
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
04/19/2004 11:28:10 PM ||
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Hmph.
StrategyPage said that they do worse and worse by the day, but I hope the kill ratios are as lopsidedly high as in Iraq ...
Posted by: Edward Yee ||
04/19/2004 23:48 Comments ||
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An Afghan province has banned women from performing on television and radio, declaring female entertainers un-Islamic. The ban in Nangahar, a southeastern province heavily patrolled by U.S.-led troops hunting for Islamic militants, took effect from Friday and also covers women presenters of news and other information, an official said on Saturday. ....
Nangahar, which borders Pakistan, is one of several regions where the United States has stepped up a hunt for Osama bin Ladenâs al Qaeda network and remnants of the Taliban militia that U.S.-led forces drove from power in late 2001....
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
04/19/2004 10:59:36 PM ||
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no wonder they are so violent - all that repressed sexuality just has to maifest itself somehow. You almost think they might die of a heart attack if they accidently saw a strange woman's breasts...much less her hair or Allah forbid - her legs. Turn them right into a pillar of salt, it might.
Posted by: B ||
04/19/2004 23:02 Comments ||
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But according to Rice et. al.--we're winning
Posted by: Not Mike Moore ||
04/19/2004 23:05 Comments ||
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run along NMM...Mucky's got to be around here somewhere.
Posted by: B ||
04/19/2004 23:11 Comments ||
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Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal on Monday called for an Arab and Muslim alliance to defeat the United States and Israel. "Our battle is with two sides, one of them is the strongest power in the world, the United States, and the second is the strongest power in the region (Israel)," he told hundreds of people at the al-Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp near Damascus.
Good idea. Find the toughest guys around, then pick a fight with them...
"That is the caliber of the battle. We will not be victorious unless the other side of the battle is Arab and Muslim. All of the Arabs and Muslims," he said at a memorial ceremony for the lateAbdel-Aziz al-Rantissi, the groupâs Gaza leader assassinated by Israel on Saturday. Meshaal, who survived a 1997 Israeli assassination attempt in Jordan, vowed Hamas would avenge the killing of Rantissi and the groupâs spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin on March 22. The Hamas politburo chief vowed Palestinians would "turn Earth on their heads, God willing."
"And if he's not, we're going to get our collective buttocks kicked!"
The Israelis live "in horror...ahead of our response, during it and after it," he said. "Do not worry, there will be a response and resistance will continue, God willing."
Yet another good idea: replace terrorism with "horrorism."
He urged the leaders of 22 Arab states and more than 30 non-Arab Muslim countries to "make an alliance, even a temporary one... to combine capabilities against the enemy."
"They're gonna beat the crap out of us. Youse guys should really help us avoid that!"
"The problem is in us and not in the balance of power...if the (Islamic) nation would fight the same way (Palestinians and Iraqis) are fighting in Rafah, Jenin and Falluja then by God we will defeat both the United States and Israel," he said. Arab and Muslim people "have a great duty and I do not want to tell them what to do... God will ask Arabs and Muslims what are they doing while the sons of Palestine are doing their duties," he said. Hamas, which has vowed to destroy the Jewish state, envisages having Israel and the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip as part of a Palestinian state. It rejects the U.S.-sponsored roadkill "road map" peace plan which calls for establishing a Palestinian state next to Israel by 2005.
"Nope. We want it all, buddy!"
Meshaal told Reuters last Wednesday President Bush "fired a fatal bullet at the road map and at any other settlement plan" when he approved Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharonâs plan for unilateral moves.
Nah. The "fatal bullet" came when Hamas blew the bus.
While endorsing Sharonâs unilateral Gaza pullout plan, Bush also offered backing for Israel to retain parts of the occupied West Bank and a negation of any right of return of Palestinian refugees displaced in 1948 to their homes in what is now Israel. Meshaal urged Arab leaders, who are expected to hold a summit meeting in Tunisia in May, "to declare the death of the so-called peace process." Good, make it official that all Arab nations are enemies of the West. This will simplify things immensely. Our bombing runs will require much less accurate targeting. NOTE TO EDITOR: Reutersâ links frequently mutilate the word "section" in the URL (it becomes "§ion"). Please check for this. Thank you.
#4
Red Rover, Red Rover, bring your fodder on over!
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/19/2004 21:21 Comments ||
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I sent George a short list - 289 targets that should have a surprise sunrise, should muslim terrorists manage to hit the United States with nuclear or chemical weapons. THIS IS THE ONLY MESSAGE THE WHITE HOUSE HAS EVER ACKNOWLEDGED GETTING FROM ME, and I've sent over 200. It was a polite "thank you, your idea is being considered" note, but I'm sure someone had a smile on their face when they sent it. I even took the time to put it in priority order... 8^) According to the copy I kept, Aswan was #14, and Damascus was #28. Riyadh was #7.
I wonder if there aren't more than a few Muslims out there that KNOW we can play a lot more nastily than we have so far, and might not wish that HAMAS would just STFU!
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/19/2004 21:27 Comments ||
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The only question now is...how long will it take before we see whose next in the batting cage.
Posted by: B ||
04/19/2004 21:36 Comments ||
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#7
I think it's more like dodgeball now
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/19/2004 21:57 Comments ||
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#8
Will someone smart please explain to me why this is not a declaration of war against the U.S.? Or do things like that just not matter any more?
#9
I believe Meshaal is the overall head of Hamas, now that Sheikh Yassin is titzup, but he remains in Damascus, which is where the head of Islamic Jihad hangs out. They're less likely to be bumped off there, and it's closer to the money. Meshaal's been the head of the politburo for awhile now.
IDF said Rantissi's successor is Zahar, who lives in Gaza, and that tracks with what I expected, most of the rest of the politburo being worm food now. Sheikh Yassin, Rantissi and Shanab are all among the dearly departed, so the job went to Zahar by default. Haniyeh's probably a member now, replacing Shanab. I suppose we'll find out who replaces Yassin and Rantissi.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/19/2004 22:16 Comments ||
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So...this is Arisia vs. Eddore? QX! Does that make Al Qaeda Boskone?
#11
The Hamas politburo chief vowed Palestinians would "turn Earth on their heads, God willing."
The Israelis live "in horror...ahead of our response, during it and after it," he said. "Do not worry, there will be a response and resistance will continue, God willing."
What's with the "inshallah" (God willing)? These clowns use it as a built in excuse for failure -- "Alas, God didn't will it!" "How come we haven't moved forward as a society in 1000 years?" "God doesn't will it." @sshats!
Posted by: Tibor ||
04/19/2004 22:22 Comments ||
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It's amazing how thick-headed these guys are. They jerk everybody around, and when they get called on it, they whine and threaten more of what hasn't worked.
That little saying about insanity being the act of doing the same thing over and over and each time expecting a different result? It applies to the Palestinians perfectly.
#2
Thanks so much for posting this, Harris's articles are the most informative I've found. The implications I drew from the article title "Marines return to more dangerous mission" were chilling to me. Iraq is far worse than Viet Nam, its population seems to be either totally terrorized, or are actually working as terrorists. The stakes back here in the U.S. are high.
EFL - hattip drudge
The United States has been fighting what officials term a silent war with Syria which killed at least five soldiers over the weekend. U.S. officials said U.S. Marines have deployed along the Syrian border to stop the flow of insurgents and equipment to Iraq. They said marines have engaged with both Sunni insurgents as well as some Syrian security personnel along the border in clashes that have intensified over the last few weeks.The U.S. military presence â increased by more than a third over the last two months â was said to be focused on the western Iraqi towns of Al Qaim and Qusaybah, regarded as key points in the smuggling of insurgents and weapons from Syria to Iraq...
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
04/19/2004 3:42:15 PM ||
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Syria just keeps popping up. Insurgents. Hamas. Chem Weapons to Al-Q for use in Jordan. Sheltering Saddam's Relatives. The only Ba'ath party left in the Middle East. Banrkolling terrorist in Iraq.
You do the math. Bashar Assad's days are numbered unless he miraculously comes to his senses.
The Spanish troops will start withdrawing next week, according to Polish defense Minister Ezhi Shmaidzinski. After a phone talk to his newly appointed Spanish counterpart Jose Bono, Shmaidzinski said that Spainâs decision to leave Iraq is a surprising move that poses many threats to the Poland-led multinational contingent. Earlier today Gen. Mieczyslaw Bieniek, Chief of the Multinational Division in Iraq gave high appraisal for the performance of 1,300-strong Spanish forces. However he did not announce what measures would be adopted for filling in the coalition troops.
#6
As everyone at Rantburg knows, Spain will be bombed again. The recording claiming responsibiltiy for 3/11 specifically mentioned Spain's involvement in Iraq AND Afghanistan.
Posted by: Daniel King ||
04/19/2004 15:20 Comments ||
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You've almost got to wish that those Spanish troops would mutiny and go drill Sadr themselves. It's difficult to imagine the shame these soldiers must feel at being ordered off the field of combat without completing their mission. I truly feel sorry for them.
#8
Hey man, don't taunt the Spanish soldiers, it's the civilians that voted to pull them out.
Thanks for the help, guys. *sigh*
Posted by: Cthulhu Akbar ||
04/19/2004 16:34 Comments ||
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#9
Thanks for the help, guys.
I don't see anything in the comments here that could be construed as "taunting" of Spanish soldiers. As you've already said, it's their political leaders that made the decision.
#10
Too bad their pullout won't stop this kind of thing:
MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- The body of a Spanish police officer who was killed in a raid on suspected Islamic terrorists was removed from its tomb Sunday night, dragged across a cemetery, doused with gasoline and burned, a Spanish police official told CNN. Police do not know who committed the crime, and an investigation is under way.
#12
Compare and contrast Spain's reaction to the murder of 200 people to Italy's reaction to the murder on ONE contractor. I bet the Spanish troops are embarrassed, especially since they are, by all accounts, top notch soldiers.
Posted by: Tibor ||
04/19/2004 22:25 Comments ||
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Its a shame - the Spanish troops, by all accounts, performed bravely during the runup, and have done a fantastic job militarily and civilly in their region of Iraq.
EFL
A robotic plane deliberately dropped a bomb near a truck at Edwards Air Force Base on Sunday, marking another step forward for technology the U.S. military hopes will one day replace human pilots on dangerous combat missions. Under human supervision but without human piloting, a prototype of the Boeing Co.âs X-45 took off from the desert base, opened its bomb bay doors, dropped a 250-pound Small Smart Bomb and then landed. The inert bomb struck within inches of the truck it was supposed to hit, Boeing said, adding that had the bomb contained explosives, the target would have been destroyed.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
04/19/2004 1:19:49 PM ||
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I'm not surprised--this is no great stretch for existing technology.
Posted by: Mike ||
04/19/2004 13:29 Comments ||
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In other news, HAMAS has begun recruiting at d-lands animatronic studios to find machines willing to become jihadist animatronic target figures.
an anonymous HAMAS spokesman said "if we had our own engineers, they would quickly leave for the hated America, where they would immediately enjoy a better standard of life under the control of the infidels than they do under us. Its all a part of their fiendish plan to undermine Islam"
Posted by: Frank Martin ||
04/19/2004 14:38 Comments ||
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"if we had our own engineers, they would quickly leave for the hated America, where they would immediately enjoy a better standard of life under the control of the infidels than they do under us. Its all a part of their fiendish plan to undermine Islam"
That made me laugh. I often marvel at paleo comments to the effect of "if we had tanks and f-16s we'd use them instead of suicide bombers."
But they don't. And so, they should conclude that their best recourse is to negotiate. But they don't.
Why don't they ever say stuff like "if we had real leaders instead of the greedy, selfish, corrupt ones we have now, we'd have a state by now!"
(well, that's what they should be saying, anyway!)
GAZA -- Furious over the second liquidation of their top leader in as many months, Hamas has promoted an animated robot to provide oversight and leadership.
"We've had enough of these incredibly expensive back-to-back elections and huge state funerals" fumed Mahmoud al-Zahar. "Costs for ammunition fired into the air alone runs into the thousands of dollars" he exclaimed. Asked about numerous hospital admissions for random bullet wounds subsequent to each funeral, he would only provide a terse, "No comment." Widely hailed as the man who would step into Rantisi's still-warm shoes, al-Zahar surprised everyone with this latest announcement.
Recently, many Arab organizations have been seen to shy away from such advanced technology as satellite telephones and all terrain vehicles. Instead, they have shown renewed interest in hand written messages or cash financial transfers, many of them carried on foot. Renunciation of modern conveniences is widely regarded as part of a larger pattern consistent with the more common Middle East practice of living in mud houses where running water, electricity and sewage connections are usually reviled as "Satanic western luxuries."
In light of this, Hamas' rush to embrace sophisticated technology was all the more puzzling to many observers. Earlier Palestinian engineering programs had not been seen to progress much farther than peculiar if mildly innovative combinations of undergarments with loose hardware, nails and plastic explosives. Seasoned Mid East analysts have likewise expressed their own astonishment at this quantum leap forward in sophistication. "We've long been expecting a trend towards more heavily armored vehicles and a renewed emphasis on reinforced bunker designs. However, this interest in robotics was a completely unanticipated shift in strategy" said one resident expert.
While it is certainly an unexpected development, some senior intelligence officials are less than amazed. "Certain common mode text repetitions and duplicate policy announcements have led us to believe that this was a long time coming" said an NSA analyst who declined to be identified. Renowned for an obdurate determination that Israel be obliterated along with the use of less than savory approaches to diplomatic persuasion, Hamas is rapidly approaching a crossroads in their political future.
Strict adherence to entrenched theistic dogma has long provided a stern counterweight against any headlong rush towards futuristic solutions. This is mirrored in Hamas' well established practice of utilizing human assets to accomplish spectacular if dubiously wasteful mission objectives. The only significant alteration of this policy has been brought about by opposition-based attrition of mature resources within their own organization.
This has been reflected by their more frequent utilization of less skilled and relative unseasoned recruits in recent operations. While such underdeveloped trainees have long represented an ideal source of easily persuaded participants, a dramatic drop in relative duration of service within ranks has led to some rather well publicized setbacks. These have manifested in repeated unsuccessful mission outcomes due to preventive measures, interception and occasional last minute recision by involved candidates.
A combination of these issues has placed increasing pressure on Hamas to seek more reliable membership. Many experts see this as an attempt to maintain reciprocity with current Israeli advances in autonomous aerial drones and other computerized military applications. Along with such modernization, Hamas finally seems to have applied a more up to date topdown approach in this matter.
Consistent with other recent statements, Hamas refused to identify their newly activated leader by name. "We continue to stress an important air of mystique as indicated by the continuing popularity of face masks within our rank and file" reflected Mahmoud.
In a moment of rare candor, al-Zahar confessed that Hamas leaders rarely use more than a few lines of vocabulary anyway. He likewise noted that their executive actions are usually limited to embezzlement of international aid or merely consigning more gullible young recruits to their combustive fates. "Such tasks as rote memorization of the Qur'an and parroting quotations of past leaders are ideally suited to codification and algorithmic processing" he said.
Al-Zahar went on to say that, "Because these objectives are so compatible with modern automation our choice was literally made for us. There is no requirement for novel thought or critical analysis, so artificial intelligence was not even a limiting factor. Cloning of the speech synthesis and gesticulation control circuitry will allow for rapid and seamless replacement of leadership as it is concurrently removed. This represents huge strides towards maintaining a smooth and uninterrupted appearance of competent control in Gaza and the West Bank." Barely able to suppress a grin, al-Zahar added that, "As with much of Arab culture it is appearances which are of the greatest significance. And I'd much rather have that animatronic robot making those appearances than me."
#10
So, that makes:
Chairman Arafat - Dr.Zacary Smith?
Separated at Birth?
Posted by: Frank Martin ||
04/19/2004 19:35 Comments ||
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#11
Mike, the plane acted autonomously. Autonomous behaviour (in a robot) is a much harder problem than most people realize.
Posted by: Phil B ||
04/19/2004 19:48 Comments ||
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#12
A4334:
Some web searchin' will bring up the new bozos name
Mahmoud Zahar and Ismail Haniyeh
are listed in AP's article as having gone into hiding after the vaporizing by the IDF of Yasin. They, like Rantizi, were Yasin's deputies. Masaad is biding their time and sooner or later hiding places will become like some of those craters that the Mars rovers are examining.
The U.S.-led occupation authority reached a cease-fire agreement to help end tensions in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, Dan Senor, spokesman for the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority, said.
Oboy. We're gonna have a hudna.
The accord has been signed by the U.S. military and Iraqi civilian leaders that will allow U.S. soldiers to resume patrols in Fallujah alongside newly trained Iraqi security forces, Senor said in a televised briefing from Baghdad, the Iraqi capital. More than 90 coalition soldiers have died this month in some of the deadliest fighting in Iraq since U.S.-led forces ousted Saddam Hussein a year ago. ``All parties, according to the communique, welcomed the improved situation in the city of Fallujah and committed themselves to take all possible measures to implement a full and unbroken cease-fire,'' said Senor. ``They recognize that in the absence of a true cease-fire, major hostilities could resume on short notice.''
Did they include shooting at us as breaking a cease-fire?
The agreement sets a curfew starting at 9 p.m., two hours later than at present, to permit residents to carry out religious observances, Senor said. Ambulances will be allowed to pass through checkpoints and will have access to Fallujah's hospital, while residents may conduct burials, Senor said.
Can we check ambulances for "safety violations"?
``In due course, consideration will be given to allowing additional citizens into the city,'' Senor said.
"How long? I just can't say."
Senor said no offensive U.S. military operations will be carried out if residents of Fallujah, a city of about 250,000 people that is 35 miles (56 kilometers) from Baghdad, turn in banned weapons and ``move to eliminate remaining foreign fighters, criminals and drug users from the city.''
If the city fathers signed off on this, the "militants" just lost their cover.
It won't last long, and they'll blame us for breaking it. And there's the matter of the corpse mutilators. What happens to them? Or are they among the 600 dead?
Posted by: Steve ||
04/19/2004 12:08:39 PM ||
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#1
As President Reagan said, "Trust, but verify." The interesting part of this article is patrolling "alongside newly trained Iraqi security forces." How many were they able to find who are willing to shoot the bad guys (some of whom might even be Iraqi)? Hopefully none of our marines will be led into ambushes.
It would also be interesting to know what the consensus interpretation of "move to eliminate remaining foreign fighters, criminals, and drug users from the city" is.
#5
There are two bttlns of Iraqis working with the Marines right now. As I've said before, far more Iraqis remained at their duty posts than not during this crisis.
#6
Speaking of verifying, now we get to verify the Al-Jazeera reports about the hundreds of women and children targeted by Marine snipers. A regular Jenin it was, to hear them tell it.
Posted by: Matt ||
04/19/2004 13:44 Comments ||
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#7
Matt, That is if we have the guts to exhume the graves which Al-jitzz and the others claim contain all the bodies. Its easy to make a field of just headstones.
#8
The real interesting question is where is Zarqawi? There have been reports hes in Fallujah, ISTR. Watch for some kind of cordon to remain, even IF the ceasefire works.
Beyond the billions in graft, smuggling, and lavish living for Saddam Hussein that were the hallmarks of the United Nations Oil-for-Food program in Iraq, there is one more penny yet to drop. Itâs time to talk about Oil-for-Terror. Especially with the U.N.âs own investigation into Oil-for-Food now taking shape, and more congressional hearings in the works, it is high time to focus on the likelihood that Saddam may have fiddled Oil-for-Food contracts not only to pad his own pockets, buy pals, and acquire clandestine arms â but also to fund terrorist groups, quite possibly including al Qaeda.
HUGE SNIP...... This appears to be part news article, part opinion, but clearly provides at least strong indication of Saddam indirectly funding al Qaida. Just one more reason the United Nations needs to be given all the power and authority it deserves - none. It is, and should be considered, nothing more than an international debating society that constantly gets in the way more than does anything constructive. It certainly should have no further role in Iraq.
Read it all, if you have the stomach for it.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/19/2004 11:57:45 AM ||
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#1
ok kerry - you still want to have the UN take the lead??
Posted by: Dan ||
04/19/2004 15:44 Comments ||
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The Iraqi Air Force not only represents a real military capability and the foundation of a modern air force, but also indicates the re-emergence of Iraq as an air-capable power with an ability to take its share of security responsibilities under a democratic leadership. The Iraqi Air Force will be an integral part of Coalition efforts, with its activities built into Coalition air plans and working closely with ground, maritime and air units to accomplish its mission. The Iraqi Air Forceâs roles will include the policing of international borders and surveillance of national assets. Air capability will allow Iraq to rapidly deploy its developing Army, and with over 3,500 miles of border, aviation is the only practical method of surveillance.
Airplanes: The Iraqi Air Forceâs long-range tactical airlift capability will be initially supported by two C-130B Hercules transport aircraft, which will be operational in October and based at Baghdad Air Station. The fleet will eventually grow to six aircraft by April of 2005. Each Hercules is capable of transporting 92-troops or 42,000-pounds of freight over a distance of 2,000-miles. Each is manned by a crew of two pilots, a navigator, an air engineer and a loadmaster.
Helicopters: A squadron of six UH-1H Iroquois helicopters will be operational in July and stationed at Tadji Air Base. This fleet will increase to sixteen Iroquois by April of 2005. Each is manned by two pilots and capable of carrying 13-troops at 120-knots over a 180-mile range. Its main tasks are border and coastal patrol, troop transport and search and rescue duties.
Reconnaissance Aircraft: A squadron of light reconnaissance aircraft will be operational later this summer, with four aircraft at Basrah and expanding later, possibly to Kirkuk. This fleet will be tasked with infrastructure and border security duties - reporting problems directly to the appropriate repair and intervention units. The reconnaissance aircraft has yet to be decided upon, but will be a new aircraft and will be operated by two pilots, with Army observers on appropriate missions, able to stay airborne on extended patrol and communicate directly with ground forces. EFL
#1
..Let me make a suggestion: As the old IqAF was one of several cudgels that Saddam used to threaten his neighbors, call it the Iraqi Army Air Corps for the time being. It won't have quite the same offensive connotations, and it will still get the point across.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
04/19/2004 14:34 Comments ||
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#2
threaten his neighbors
Ya mean Syria, Iran and Saud-owned Arabia? As we say, that's not a bug, it's a feature.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/19/2004 14:54 Comments ||
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Maritime security is crucial to Iraqâs future stability and prosperity. With only 58-kilometers of coastline, the nation is reliant on the ports of Umm Qasr and Basrah and its two off-shore oil terminals. At present, Umm Qasr is the only operational port and is strategically important since the closure of Basrah during the Iran-Iraq war. The two off-shore oil terminals at Kohr al Amaya and Mina al Bakr are critical to income generation.
Iraq will have a 407-strong Coastal Defense Force which should become operational by mid-summer. The ICDF will be equipped with five 27-meter long patrol boats armed with heavy machine guns and 10 rigid inflatable boats that will be used by its Coastal Defense Regiment, which is akin to the Marines. They will be stationed at the Umm Qasr Naval Base.
The ICDF will conduct policing operations on the Iraqi coastline and territorial waters up to 12-nautical miles in order to counter terrorism, smuggling, piracy and other unlawful activities and provide a limited Search and Rescue capability.
The force will be expected to be an integral part of Coalition efforts, working closely with security forces in Basrah province and naval forces in the northern Arabian Gulf. Its roles will be defense and security and the policing of international regulations governing the environment and safety at sea. This is a new departure for Iraq, and a sign that the country is preparing to take its peaceful place in the global arena. EFL
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq - Five Marines serving with the I Marine Expeditionary Force were killed as Marines battled enemy forces near Husaybah April 17. A day-long series of firefights began around 8 a.m. when a Marine patrol reported they were under fire by enemy forces wielding machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. Additional Marines, backed by helicopter close-air support, were dispatched to the city and soon came under fire by enemy equipped with rifles and RPGs. The enemy forces were operating from positions in the vicinity of the former Baâath Party headquarters in Husaybah.
Marines continued to bring coordinated fire against an enemy force of about 120-150 fighters throughout the day and into the night. Enemy casualties are estimated to be 25-30 dead and an unknown number of wounded. Enemy forces were observed setting up mortar positions. Women and children surrounded those positions, but it is unknown whether or not they were in those positions on their own free will. Shots were also fired at medical helicopters carrying wounded Marines from the battlefield.
By Saturday evening, contact with the enemy dropped off significantly, however, fighting at the squad level was sporadic in the city. Marines in Husaybah established blocking positions on routes in and out of the city and have cordoned off the area. Marines are maintaining those and other positions as operations against enemy forces continue.
The heightened presence of I MEF forces and the persistent presence of Marines in areas where Coalition forces have rarely operated in the past 12 months severely threaten the very existence of the anti-Iraq forces that have chosen to fight. The enemy has been increasingly drawn to the presence of Marines from the Syrian border to the Baghdad suburbs, and has been heavily engaged throughout the Al Anbar Province.
An Ingush Wahhabi Jamaat emir close to Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev was among the rebels killed in the village of Sleptsovskaya in Ingushetia on Saturday, a military spokesman told Interfax.
Magomed Khashiyev, the Wahhabi emir of Ingushetia's Sunzha district, and three other rebels were killed in an operation carried out by Russian security forces, spokesman Col. Ilya Shabalkin said.
All of them were close to Basayev, and recruited and trained female suicide bombers in different parts of the North Caucasus.
Khashiyev underwent training at a military camp led by Jordanian- born field commander Hattab and was among the organizers of the car blast near the Ingush Security Service's headquarters in Magas in September, 2003, and of the Nazran-Moscow train bombing in October, 2003, Shabalkin said.
Khashiyev permanently wore a suicide bomb belt. He was known for mishandling funds received from extremist organizations and was not respected by rank-and-file rebels.
The evidence provided by rebels suggests that Khashiyev maintained partnership relations with Arab mercenary Abu Zeid, the leader of Ingushetia's rebel underground movement.
Shabalkin denied reports that Ingush policemen were taken hostage by rebels.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
04/19/2004 8:44:45 AM ||
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Four people have been killed in the capital of Chechnya, Grozny, Interfax news agency reported Monday.
A 28-year-old citizen of the Chechen town of Argun and his mother were found dead with bullet wounds to the head and body. Near them the body of a patrol policemen was found. According to the documents found on him, his name was Artur Murzayev, the commander of a military unit within Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrovâs security service, the agency reported.
A soldier of the interior troops was shot dead in an attack by rebels in Grozny. Two other soldiers were injured, two rebels were killed. Five other soldiers were wounded during the attacks in different regions of Chechnya.
A cargo train with oil was also fired by upon by rebels in the Naur region of Chechnya, RIA Novosti reported. No one was injured. Two tanker-carriages caught fire but were soon extinguished. An investigation has been launched.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
04/19/2004 8:41:47 AM ||
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Roadside bombs planted by Islamic extremists in northeastern Algeria killed two soldiers and wounded seven who were patrolling the region, the daily Le Matin reported on Monday. The soldiers were carrying out a sweep in an area that had previously been heavily bombarded by artillery fire when the two bombs exploded as their convoy passed over them near Baghlia, near Kabylie's main city of Tizi Ouzou, 110km east of Algiers, on Saturday. Hardline extremist fighters of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), which has links with al-Qaeda, are thought to operate in Kabylie, the homeland of Algeria's minority Berbers. Since the start of the month, at least 12 people including five members of the security forces have been killed in fighting with rebels in the north African country, according to official sources and press reports.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
04/19/2004 8:31:08 AM ||
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Afghan police and international peacekeepers raided a compound Monday in Kabul and arrested eight men with suspected links to al-Qaeda and a group loyal to a banned Afghan warlord, a spokesman said.
Among those detained was one man believed to be a senior member of renegade warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-e-Islami group, said Cmdr. Chris Henderson. Henderson would not reveal the names or nationalities of any suspects but said authorities had seized weapons, explosives and documents that showed the suspects had links to both groups.
This operation "has successfully removed from the streets of Kabul a number of people were deemed to pose an imminent threat to security here in Afghanistan," Henderson said.
No injuries were reported during the four-hour operation, which began at 2 a.m.
The raid, in a compound near Kabul's main stadium, was the second in the capital in as many weeks targeting suspects linked to Hekmatyar, whose Hezb-e-Islami group has teamed with al-Qaeda and Taliban holdouts in frequent attacks on the U.S.-led coalition.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
04/19/2004 8:29:38 AM ||
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Give 'em the Frank G test - If they throw grenades like little girls, they're Hek's boyz.
The Chechen Interior Ministry has been verifying media reports to the effect that Abu al-Valid, a successor to notorious terrorist Khattab, has been liquidated in the south of Chechnya. Chief of the Chechen Interior Ministry Alu Alkhanov said that they did not have exact information yet, but a special group was created for verification of this information.
Chechen President Akhmat Kadyrov told Itar- Tass that if Abu al Valid were really killed, " it would be good news". The liquidation of Abu Al-Valid would have a positive effect on the situation in Chechnya, Kadyrov said.
The Russian secret services have declined to comment on the media reports. The regional headquarters in charge of the anti-terrorist operation based in Khankala and the FSB pubic relations department in Moscow have made no comment.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
04/19/2004 8:28:03 AM ||
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DEBKAfile reveals all: Assassination of Abu al-Walid al Ghamdi, Saudi al Qaeda commander in Chechnya, was carried out by Russian intelligence agent planted in al-Ghamdiâs HQ. This report from Russian sources is denied by circle close to Chechen rebel leader Maskhadov. Putin informed Bush of death of "Emir al-Walid" who dispatched a Chechen contingent to fight alongside insurgents in Iraqâs Sunni Triangle, especially Fallujah, and selected al Qaeda Saudi and Gulf units to fight Americans in Iraq. Al-Ghamdiâs disappearance is dual blow to al Qaedaâs Iraq operation lraq and dominant role in Chechen revolt
Gee, Russians assassinating Chechen terrorist leaders, now where have I heard that before?
Posted by: Steve ||
04/19/2004 11:48 Comments ||
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#2
The Russian secret services have declined to comment on the media reports
Bragging isn't polite.
Putin informed Bush of death of "Emir al-Walid" who dispatched a Chechen contingent to fight alongside insurgents in Iraqâs Sunni Triangle, especially Fallujah
#3
Remind me again? What was Moscow's take on Yassin and Rantissi getting their "hellfire hello"?
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/19/2004 12:28 Comments ||
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#4
... dispatched a Chechen contingent to fight alongside insurgents in Iraqâs Sunni Triangle, especially Fallujah
After the Soviet Union fell apart, the Chechens wasted their nation's great opportunity to obtain independence through peaceful political action. They allowed their nation's gangsters and Islamic fanatics to determine their fate.
The Chechens could have made the USA a great and powerful supporter of their independence movement. Instead, many of them have actively joined our own country's worst enemies to fight against us.
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
04/19/2004 13:51 Comments ||
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#1
You've almost got to wish that the Spanish troops would mutiny and go drill Sadr themselves. It is difficult to imagine the shame these soldiers must feel to be ordered off the field of combat without completing their mission. I truly feel sorry for them.
#4
yes i feel the same for these soldeirs....but in the long run the spanish people will come to understand that the WOT is about jihadis wish to kill the infidels and not about iraq....there will be more attacks against spain since they are leaving iraq they are not leaving spain - which these jihadis condsider muslim territory!
Posted by: Dan ||
04/19/2004 10:37 Comments ||
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The Islamic Republic continues with its winning formulae of 1979 tactics, the Mullahs can smell victory and are pulling the rope tighter and tighter, the Free World on the other hand seems to be infected with the Shahâs indecisiveness in the last days of the Peacock Throne. They talk of assurances from Khatami's close allies that the Islamic Republic is not behind the uprisings! (See the Time Magazine this month).
I see many parallels between now and 1979, but victory for the Mullahs this time will not just mean pain and misery for the people of Iran , Iraq and Afghanistan . It will be the beginning of the end for the Western civilization that did not act decisively when its own survival was at stake, instead the dithering European politicians who continued with a losing formulae of what they preferred to call âcritical dialogueâ with Islamic Republic! A farce which was neither âcriticalâ enough nor a âdialogueâ with the paymasters of terror.---
#6
"It will be the beginning of the end for the Western civilization that did not act decisively when its own survival was at stake."
I worry about that because I donât think Western civilization even knows it's own survival is at stake. When it's clear that we have a serious situation on our hands, everyone prefers their happy "pretends" (especially in the media and among the liberal politicians and their followers--i.e., you can talk to the enemy, reason with the enemy, make concessions with the enemy, and make peace with the enemy.) Donât they know what the definition of "ENEMY"is? This isn't a talk show. It's not polite society, we're dealing with. It's so much easier to think it's "bad us and the United States government" that's the problem, so that we can maintain a (false) sense of control in an out of control situation. Comfort zones are so much more easy to maintain than truth and responsibility. Doesnât two towers full of innocent civilians at least equal Pearl Harbor? Whatâs it going to take this time?
Hopefully enough people in the West will catch up with the idea that throughout history, certain civilizations have risen up against other civilizations with the aim to conquer. It's a constant. The West has just had a break for some years, is all. This Islamic problem has been brewing for decades, and now, regardless of wishful thinking, it's "show time" once again.
If the ignorance that fuels the Islamotwerps' agendas cannot be eradicated in time from the larger population groups in the Arab lands (and I don't think it can), we will have no choice except to âfight to win,â no matter what-- like it or not. The most dangerous thing I see about this, is that the conflict centers around a prosperous, educated, stable, developed civilization, which is being duped by it's corrupt leaders (in the media, etc.), coming under fire from poor, uneducated, underdeveloped barbarian civilazation. If memory serves me correctly, that's a very dangerous combination, and barbarians have some definite advantages in such a construct--the main ones being that they are willing to fight to win, and that they make fighting, per se, their way of life. It's the only thing they do.
So how do we fight to win, without compromising the good things that actually make us great? How do we fight a moral war against the Islamo-sneaks who claim no country, no allegiance, no territory, and who claim to represent their "people" but really donât--or, do they (don't they, do they, don't they, do they)? Should all die for the crimes of the sneaks? How do we single the bad guys out? This war could go on for decades. (I know Iâm whining just a little, okay, maybe a lot, but Iâm somewhat overwhelmed by the magnitude of the WOT and all of the implications. I will allow myself to be encouraged, if any true Rantburgian would be so kind . . .)
Finally, the fact that these wicked, idiot non-men are killing OUR guys, just totally pisses me off. 40,000 of these psychos is not worth even ONE of our guys. I wish people could see what the Islamocreeps are really like--that most of them are fighting, not for political reasons, or for religious reasons, but just so they can personally prove their (nonexistent) âmanhood.â They sit around wearing turbans (the psychological symbol of constricted, obstructed manhood), holding their little guns, pretending to be men (and if they don't actually wear a turban, they still have turbans on inside their brains).
I'll bet hardly anyone on Rantburg (since most are not female) has any idea how completely frightening the Islamic bad guys are to female-kind. The idea of them gaining any ascendancy, whatsoever, in Western society, is unthinkable. We gotta win.
#7
Uh, ex-lib - why on earth do you think most Rantburgers are men?
The Islamizoids not so much frightening as disgusting - they totally piss me off. And if it comes down to a fight, I have my two friends to back me up: Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson.
Bring. it. on.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/19/2004 16:38 Comments ||
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#8
Barbara, you GO, girlfriend!
Speaking as a woman, these IslamoNazis scare me bad.
I ain't wearing no burka!
(Although as I get older, it begins to have appeal...lol)
They treat women like dirt and for that, in my book, they deserve to die.
Posted by: Jen ||
04/19/2004 16:45 Comments ||
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#9
Barbara: Hi. I always enjoy your comments on Rantburg, and I think I really need a formal introduction to your two friends, Smith and Wesson! Definitely would do me a world of good. I think the Islamoturds are disgusting, too. They only become frightening in the event that they gain power. Nobody could imagine the unimaginable regarding Hitler or Stalin either, and sometimes I get freaked out that there isn't a huge wave of public sentiment traveling through the West that "just says no" to terrorists. "- why on earth do you think most Rantburgers are men?" Well, you and Jen are the only ones I actually know about for sure, besides me, that is. Unless you're going to count Antibrainwar as another. I can tell by the way they write, that most (not all) posters on Rantburg are men. I don't have a problem with that, natch, but it'd be encouraging in a certain sense, to know who's who.
Jen: Bad men such as the the Islamoturds, always give me bad, bad, vibes. They are so amazingly lawless. Death to them all. No regrets! I know--how about an army of highly trained sniper-babes in burkas, dispatched all over the Islamic "world of sh-t" to take these SOB terrorist wannabe-men down in a synchronized, coordinated effort? Since they think women are so worthless and stupid, they'd never even see it coming! Might be fun. Correction. Would be fun.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Iraqi security forces will not be ready to protect the country against insurgents by the June 30 handover of power, the top U.S. administrator said Sunday - an assessment aimed at defending the continued heavy presence of U.S. troops here even after an Iraqi government takes over.
That was obvious.
The unusually blunt comments from L. Paul Bremer came amid a weekend of new fighting that pushed the death toll for U.S. troops in April to 99, already the record for a single-month in Iraq and approaching the number killed during the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein last year.
The military had always planned to remain after June 30, when the U.S. is to handover sovereignty to Iraq. In recent months coalition officials acknowledged the transfer of security will be significantly slower than hoped because Iraqi forces were not prepared. But Bremer said the fighting across the country this month exposed the depth of the problems inside the security forces. "Events of the past two weeks show that Iraq still faces security threats and needs outside help to deal with them. Early this month, the foes of democracy overran Iraqi police stations and seized public buildings in several parts of the country," he said. "Iraqi forces were unable to stop them."
Several months of training aren't sufficient. And they were being asked to fire on their own. Ain't going to happen.
"It is clear that Iraqi forces will not be able, on their own, to deal with these threats by June 30 when an Iraqi government assumes sovereignty," Bremer said in a statement issued by the U.S. coalition.
U.S. officials have been rebuilding the military from scratch, arranging the training of recruits and naming Allawi as its civilian head. But the recent violence has shown the weaknesses and conflicted feelings of the armed forces. An army battalion refused to join the Marines in the siege of Fallujah, saying they did not intend to fight fellow Iraqis. During the Shiite militia uprising in the south, many police abandoned their stations, realizing they were badly outgunned or sympathizing with the militia's cause.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/19/2004 12:28:15 AM ||
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#1
You know, I'm not buying some of this "We're not going to fire on our own people." stuff: they were able to fire on them just fine when Saddam was in power.
He didn't kill most of those 800,000-2 million folks in the mass graves personally, now, did he?
Something else is the problem.
Posted by: Jen ||
04/19/2004 5:58 Comments ||
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#2
They still haven't figured out who the strong horse is going to be. Having the June 30 figureheads will help.
#3
someone, I think you've nailed it--that's probably it.
After living under Saddam's quirks for 30 years, they probably don't find it pays to back the "loser," so they take a wait and see position to make sure who that will be before they commit themselves.
Posted by: Jen ||
04/19/2004 6:34 Comments ||
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#4
Jen: After living under Saddam's quirks for 30 years, they probably don't find it pays to back the "loser," so they take a wait and see position to make sure who that will be before they commit themselves.
I think it's more complicated than that - Arabs and Muslims are used to a winner-take-all world where the sect, tribe or family on top gets the lion's share of the spoils and dictates to everyone else how they will live their lives. I don't think they see any value in fighting for ideals - fighting for personal gain is fine, but fighting for democratic ideals is a leap of faith they haven't yet come to terms with. The enemies of democracy in Iraq are fighting for either Shiite or Baathist supremacy - in either case, the winners would get the lion's share of the loot. Interposed against them, we have the US encouraging Iraqis to fight their enemy in the name of ... freedom. If the other side wins, the terrorists get to monopolize the resources of the state, whereas if our guys win, they get ... freedom. It's not difficult to see why our Iraqis are less motivated than their Iraqis.
#5
Iraqis are also worried about American betrayal. Prominent ex-Baathists are being appointed to senior security positions, some with the active intervention of American generals. Note that some of the Coalition-employed Iraqi units that went to pieces during the recent troubles were headed up by these very same generals. Michael Rubin at the National Review Online comments:
Glossed over by Foggy Bottom, but seized upon by many Iraqis was Brahimi's statement, "The issue of former military personnel also needs attention." Alarm bells in Iraq are also ringing over the redeployment of Major-General David Petraeus, a critic of de-Baathification, to train and screen the new Iraqi military and security forces. Speaking at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy on April 7, 2004, Petraeus argued that the Coalition should encourage reconciliation and reintegrate former Baathist officials into leadership positions. While Petraeus, who seldom misses an opportunity for a media interview, says that his reconciliation policy in Mosul proved successful, facts on the ground fail to support his assertion. Mosul today contains the most organized anti-democratic resistance. Petraeus's empowerment of radical Islamists may very well have cost American lives. On several occasions, Iraqis handed me lists of dozens of top-tier Baathists protected by Petraeus. "How can I go to the police, when the police chief tortured my brother in [Saddam's] prison," one Kurd asked me.
#6
What failures there have been in security were either due to a) the police being asked to face much better arms militia fighters, or b) failures of leadership. We've run some NCO courses, and a few company level courses, but that's it. Americans ran as Kasserine Pass and in Korea; it happens.
We should be able to find more than enough upper ranks that are fairly "pure" to provide some trained and experienced leadership to the existing troops. We didn't dump every postmaster in post-war Germany; some of the same logic should apply here.
Two of Fox News Channelâs most ubiquitous military analysts, retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas G. McInerney and retired Army Maj. Gen. Paul E. Vallely, are out with a new book on how to win the global war against al Qaeda and other terror groups. In "Endgame: The Blueprint for Victory in the War on Terror," the two Vietnam combat veterans call for ratcheting up the global conflict by taking on Iran, North Korea and Syria â now...
...Gens. McInerney and Vallely then disclose that the United States, Israel and other countries are working on a "mega secret project" to deploy a weapon that "can neutralize nuclear weapons."
Posted by: Anonymous13 ||
04/19/2004 12:27:45 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
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#1
Way cool.
Let's roll!
Posted by: Jen ||
04/19/2004 0:34 Comments ||
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WTF? Ain't secret any more, now Iran will build one to neutralize Israel's non declared weapons. Pretty soon Kimmie will want one and it will be neutrino hell around here!
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/19/2004 1:04 Comments ||
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#6
Actually in a neutrino beam (like the link by A4298) the bomb still explodes, over a longer period of time and at about 3% of its max yield.
Full text here.
#7
amusing as this article is, the war against the rise of Fascist Islamist Terrorism cannot be won by technological advance.
The underlying problem isn't that we aren't technologically superior: we are.
It isn't that our military isn't more capable: it is.
They would lose a standing war.
The problem is our democracy and free society. They are using the inherent weakenesses of open borders, freedom of speech and immigration against us. (see essay "the new Arab way of war" by Capt Peter Layton, Royal Australian Air Force - link to the site off LGF)
even if we have a neutrino beam we will never be able to use it. We can't use the nukes we DO have because we are Western Democracies: our culture prevents us from seeing the mass slaughter of innocents as an option to defeat an enemy. The enemy is careful to fade away leaving no state "entity" to blame.
We cannot nuke those responsible, nor will our culture allow us to nuke their support base.
In essence either their culture has to change to stop them from sending terrorist Jihadis out - or our culture has to change in ways we will find morally repugnant to fight them, or they will win.
I think there are too many Michael Moore's running around to halt immigration from cultures likely to give support/aid to Islamic fascism, or to support ID'ing and watching them more closely than other cultures. We can't even report the news in an accurate manner any more or even name the enemy - PC is strangling our ability to respond to a threat to our safety.
In short, I hate to say it but for all our brilliance and advance, we are destined to lose this battle.
It will end in us giving up and letting them have their way because we are not capable of doing the unthinkable to win.
#8
Just wait 'til a nuke erases some city and everything will change. Or maybe not.
Posted by: Rafael ||
04/19/2004 5:13 Comments ||
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#9
...a city in the US, I mean.
Posted by: Rafael ||
04/19/2004 5:14 Comments ||
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#10
Why do you think the Islamists will nuke only one city vs. 1000 or 2000 cities at the same time?
Posted by: ed ||
04/19/2004 6:36 Comments ||
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#11
"Why do you think the Islamists will nuke only one city vs. 1000 or 2000 cities at the same time?"
Because the Islamists can never resist popping their corks too early and no-one is going to turn over the U.S. Arsenal to them. 2000 bombs, FFS Israel only has about 80 or so warheads apparently. The level of coordination you suggest is just ridiculous. 5 cities in coordinated attacks would be a major disaster and would put some of the U.S. Nuclear Arsenal into immediate use and change the rules instantly. The final Phase in the WOT would be over 5 minutes later and no-one in the U.S. would give a fuck about smoldering Arabs.
We can't lose this war......and if we did, China or even Russia could finish the job in a few minutes in a non PC world.
The world will tire of Islam if it does not pull it's head out of it's ass.
#12
Anon1:Ask the residents of Berlin, Dresden, Tokyo,and Hiroshima if the U.S. has the will to destroy and entire city.
Ed:Where would they get 1000-2000 nukes?It would take a hell of a lot of money,technological skill,and infrastructure to build/maintain that many nukes.
Haggis is right.If by the slimist chance they managed to destroy America with nukes,Russia and China would detroy Islam,they would have no choice.Who do you think would be next after the destruction of the U.S.?
#13
The problem is our democracy and free society. They are using the inherent weaknesses of open borders, freedom of speech and immigration against us
whoa..slow down there cowboy. You are correct, these are our greatest strengths and thus our greatest weakness. But what do you propose -that we let them win by turning us into a police state? No way Jose. The fact they have caused us to put up a castle wall around our Pentagon and increase security here at home is a victory for them, not us.
You don't win a war by throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Instead, we should look for their greatest strengths and make them their greatest weakness, as well. I'd say that falls into the category of neutering their madrassas - and being more cautious as to who we let into our free society - and more judicious about kicking the bad boys out.
And yes, the WOT CAN be won on technological advance alone - of course it can. Not to say that some of your other points aren't valid.
I don't make a distinction between AQ. Let, Hezbolla etc. and Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Iran. They are wholly owned and funded by the governments and elites. It's the difference between Chevy and Pontiac. When the hammer comes down on the west, all the resourses of the Muslim governments will be used, including nukes.
How large do you think is the current Pak arsenal? 100? 200? Including the Hydrogen enhanced bombs? What is their annual production rate? Does anyone in the west know? What will be their annual production rate if they get serious about enrichment?
Why many bombs do you think Iran's centrifuges can make in one year? In 2002, research, development, and assembly operations were moved to Natanz. This facility is now the primary site of the Iranian gas centrifuge program. It consists of centrifuge assembly areas and a pilot fuel-enrichment plant slated to hold 1,000 centrifuges. A production-scale fuel-enrichment plant is under construction at Natanz, and is scheduled to hold about 50,000 centrifuges.
...
Alternatively, the same capacity could be used to produce roughly 500 kilograms of weapon-grade uranium annually. At 15-20 kilograms per weapon, that would be enough for 25-30 nuclear weapons per year. (That's with 1000 centrifuges. They are also several undeclared enrichment sites with an unknown capacity.)
How much plutonium do you think a 1000MW (to start) reactor can make in one year? (Hint: Yongbyon Reactor II - A 50 MW MAGNOX-type reactor was started in 1984. N Korea built a military nuclear complex next to this reactor. This complex was completed in 1989 and the reactor was tentatively activated in 1992. This reactor alone is capable of producing enough plutonium for 10-12 nukes a year.)
When the reactors are operational, they can tell Russia to slag off on shipping the irradiated fuel back to Russia. Iran has plenty of Uranium. In was reported on by IRNA on August 26, 2003, that Iran had received from Russia feasibility studies for a second reactor at Bushehr. In was reported on by IRNA on August 26, 2003, that Iran had received from Russia feasibility studies for a second reactor at Bushehr. In was reported on by IRNA on August 26, 2003, that Iran had received from Russia feasibility studies for a second reactor at Bushehr. Normally for electrical power production the uranium fuel remains in the reactor for three to four years, which produces a plutonium of 60 percent or less Pu-239, 25 percent or more Pu-240, 10 percent or more Pu-241, and a few percent Pu-242. The Pu-240 has a high spontaneous rate of fission, and the amount of Pu-240 in weapons-grade plutonium generally does not exceed 6 percent, with the remaining 93 percent Pu-239. Higher concentrations of Pu-240 can result in pre-detonation of the weapon, significantly reducing yield and reliability. For the production of weapons-grade plutonium with lower Pu-240 concentrations, the fuel rods in a reactor have to be changed frequently, about every four months or less.
In was reported on by IRNA on August 26, 2003, that Iran had received from Russia feasibility studies for a second reactor at Bushehr.
So I ask you, how may Islamic nukes do you think will be available in 10, 20 and 30 years? I don't believe Russia or China will do anything when the Muslims inform them they have plenty of bombs and missiles left over. From past record, China supplied the bomb designs and missiles for the Pak bomb. Russia supplied NKor and Iran's nuclear reactors. And the Euro's inadvertantly supplied the centrifuge design that is as widespread in the Muslim world as Toyotas.
Posted by: ed ||
04/19/2004 9:34 Comments ||
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#15
...It should be pointed out that this weekend on FNC, Dr. Rice stated on the record that the dministration is preparing for the possibility of attacks here just before the elections.
Friends, if you want to see what an enraged, nuclear-armed superpower democracy is capable of, watch and see what happens in the days after such an attack.
The Romans, from wherever they look down upon Mankind, shall smile.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
04/19/2004 9:48 Comments ||
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#16
As an old Cold Warrior, let me suggest, only slightly tongue in cheek, an updated version of Mutually Assured Destruction. Let the Islamic world know that the moment a WMD (nuke, chemical, biological, or aircraft, truck, LNG tanker, etc.) is used on the US, we will vaporize Mecca and Medina and will support the Israelis in building the Third Temple after they dismantle the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsar Mosque. That should significantly reduce the cleric spittle factor.
#17
I don't have any doubt at all that when the time comes, the shades of Curtis Lemay, "Bomber" Harris, U.S. Grant, and William Tecumseh Sherman will rise up and and point Western civilization in the right direction.
#18
Well RWV, as an old "steely-eyed missle man" m'self, I'd like to say I'd have no problems whatsoever in responding to an Islamist NBC attack by turning Mekkah into a green glassy crater.
Followed by as many "arab" capitols as deemed necessary by National Command Authority.
#19
Hi every one.
Do you guys just talk stating the same opinion over and over again?
No Muslims here, huh?
I see. You think that if you talk this way and find people to support you, but no one to oppose you, it will make your ideas the right ones, because everyone else agrees, right?
Well, news flash:
I don't!
Goodness, the way you go on and on blaming Islam for all your wrongs is pathetic!
I mean, come on!
Youâre grown men, and women, all of you.
Why would the Muslims want to blow you up?
They value âlifeâ. They never hurt women, even in war. It is even against their beliefs to burn trees while at war! They do not kill those who surrender, which is more than you can say for yourselves.
So convenient isnât it?
The existence of those Muslims. They are here to make you feel superior, right?
So you could flaunt your so called âcivilizationâ in their faces, not knowing that they have had it long before you.
Not knowing that they have practiced democracy for over 14 centuries.
Not knowing that you owe it, and all of your development, to them.
Any of you hear of Andalusia ?
#20
Gentle, are you being sarcastic or are you just an idiot?
Posted by: remote man ||
04/19/2004 13:22 Comments ||
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#21
Neither!
Iâm being honest, remote man.
Unless an "idiot" can be defined as a straight A student, who is also an 18 year old Muslim girl, with a broader mind than you could think possible.
#22
Gens. McInerney and Vallely then disclose that the United States, Israel and other countries are working on a "mega secret project" . . .
Do we think that W. and Sharon were only talking about the best place to get bagels and lox after the creative liquidation of the Hamas animals?
And, of course, stalwart Mr Blair follows closely behind in a couple of days. . .
Gee I wonder what they are up to Hmmmm....
I have wondered about the particle weapons and whether they, in another form, might be used against certain leaders. Sorta like when an ant accidentally gets into a microwave? POP!
Of course W. may not want to show our hand until we can really co-ordinate something. Sorta like a simultaneous attack. (See above Isr & UK)
Look out for something the week before the Dem convention. POP! Iranian Mullahs become Iranian Muck - or at least the Nuke Reactor Power Station sitting in a country that has enough oil for its own electricity without nuclear power. POP!
#24
The Romans, from wherever they look down upon Mankind, shall smile. eeek...that's a scary thought.
Speaking of prior civilizations - the Romans were once the most "civilized" folks around, and anyone who knows anything about them will be glad we've advanced beyond their ideals.
Posted by: B ||
04/19/2004 13:47 Comments ||
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#25
#21, I don't see any trees in "Islam". You don't have a stick of furniture because your sheep ate every living plant including trees, down to the roots. There are no trees to burn! Those sheep the the reason your lands went from semi arid to desert over the course of a few centuries. Its called the en-vir-on-men-tal factor. Ask the West for help, which your getting
#26
The five pillars of Islam are:
1) To believe that there is no god but Allah, and that Mohammed is his messenger.
2) To pray five times a day.
3) To pay zakah (money to the poor).
(2.5% of your money once a year)
4) To fast Ramadan (a certain month in the year where Muslims fast each day from dawn, till sunset).
5) To perform Hajj, if a person finds that he is able to do so.
(Go to Mecca)
#29
I think that Gentle is Antiwar. Same diction and syntax. Same time frame for posting. Same basic schtick (posing as a woman), breathless self-righteousness.
#30
Antiwar er Gentle, I suggest that you go live in Iran or Saudi Arabia or even Pakistan for a few years. They will beat some sense into you open your eyes.... But be warned that you may not be permitted to return.
And before you ask, no I haven't lived there. I dont have to put my hand into the flame to know that it will burn and hurt a lot.
No, I'm not anti-war.
The reason It took me 11 min. is that I was answering some other Question.
I'm not posing as a woman, I told you:
I'm an 18 year old Muslim girl.
I'm not stupid, nor naive, What hatred your hearts hold!
No, trolls are extinct, along with your finer feelings of fairness, I suppose.
#32
I've already been to saudi arabia. I live in the U.A.E. and like I said before, we don't get beaten up.
look at your courts, all those divorce cases, and abuse, and rape.
I'm not saying we don't have that here, but thank god it is lless and less than what you have.
Stop calling me Antiwar.
By the way: No man has ever hit me, ever!
Once again: It is against the rules of Islam.
#33
By the way: No man has ever hit me, ever!
Once again: It is against the rules of Islam.
There are hundreds of imams who would beat you for saying that.
look at your courts, all those divorce cases, and abuse, and rape.
Yeah; all that stuff's illegal in the civilized world. And we don't murder the victim for "dishonoring" the family.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
04/19/2004 14:16 Comments ||
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#34
Gentle
I've already been to saudi arabia. I live in the U.A.E. and like I said before, we don't get beaten up. look at your courts, all those divorce cases, and abuse, and rape
I don't believe you are an "18 year old Muslim girl". You are a liar.
No Arab woman (Muslim or not) would point to the "divorce, abuse and rape"... and claim that it's MORE prevalent in the United States.
#35
look at your courts, all those divorce cases, and abuse, and rape
Explain honour killings then Anti...ahmm Gentle.
Give me 1 thing the 'arab' world has given us in the last 100 years on their own besides bomb makers and cab drivers.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
04/19/2004 14:22 Comments ||
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#36
Gentle: Next time you are praying at a mosque, try stand up, announce to the assembly that you've decided to leave Islam and become a Presbyterian, and attempt to leave. Report back with the results of the experiment. (Bonus points if you do it in Mecca...)
The first one is an apostate or renegade, i.e. a Muslim person who has turned away from Islam and the second are those who are non-Muslims originally. The law for the first group of people, i.e. renegade is that firstly Islam will be presented once again to him and if he has any doubts or queries then these should be cleared out and he will be given a respite of 3 days. If he accepts Islam again, then fine otherwise he will be killed. This is substantiated by the noble Hadith of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) wherein he explicitly mentions, âWhosoever changes his Deen, then kill himâ. This only apply to the males. A female renegade will not be killed, rather kept imprisoned until she accepts Islam.link
#37
I'm still going on the idiot angle. Gentle, or whoever you are, it is time to get back on the meds. Drink some soothing tea. Take another hit off your bong and relax back into the comforting folds of your hemp couch. All of the "anger" in the world will just melt away.
Posted by: remote man ||
04/19/2004 14:26 Comments ||
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#38
Is this how you treat ladies?
I've never had such words said to me.
Why are you so... angry?
I am a girl, and of course I'll speak about divorce cases and abuse and rape, we have them here, but WE are always on the side of the woman.
Not a : sorry, no semen, no indication of rape, the abuser goes free!
WE DON'T HAVE THAT HERE!
NO, No Imam will ever hit me for saying the truth, nor for lying for that matter.
Murdering the victim for dishonoring the family is a practice untolerated by Islam.
It is WRONG.
Please don't call me a liar. i am a girl, not a man.
You guys should come here, really, I'll give you a tour.
Oh, how about I tell you about my university. It is for girls only. THAT will convince you that I'm a girl.
Based on the following excerpt, I think trees (and rocks for that matter) are allies to the Mujahideen, and that is why they can't burn trees in warfare. They need them to tell them when a Jew is hiding behind them, so they can then kill them. You're right...such tolerance and gentleness!
'The Day of Judgment will not come about until Moslems fight Jews and kill them. Then, the Jews will hide behind rocks and trees, and the rocks and trees will cry out: 'O Moslem, there is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him.' (Article 7)
#41
Is this how you treat ladies?
Why should we treat you any different? Everyone is equal here - its called womens lib. We don't make our women hide under sheets and lock them up in the house. You should know that if your are in the UAE after seeing naval vessels come into port.
So - tell us about your school, studies, and how you will beable to apply them in such a wonderful arab society.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
04/19/2004 14:33 Comments ||
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#42
Probably not any courses in drivers education at ol All Girl Islam U. huh? Why are we angry? Ask the 3,000 families that don't have a father, mother, brother, daughter or son anymore. If you are who you claim, you are just naive.
Posted by: remote man ||
04/19/2004 14:35 Comments ||
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#43
Gentle, if you are a woman, may I ask your feelings on the Hijab? Also, why are women not allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia?
The UAE is a fairly liberal Islamic country, is it not? I have spoken to many US military men who have visited Dubai, I doubt they are lying when they speak of the bars and strip clubs there.
Posted by: Rafael ||
04/19/2004 14:42 Comments ||
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#45
Gentle could perhaps be a muslim girl, but to say what she says, she must live in a English speaking country with a legal and cultural tradition that values and protects women. She does not live in Africa, Asia, or the midEast. Unfortunately, it's also unlikely, given the examples of France and Germany, that she lives in Europe.
A student in the sheltered cocoon of an American, British, Canadian, or Australian university could truly believe what Gentle says. I hope that her life never gives her cause to believe otherwise.
#46
"Not knowing that they have practiced democracy for over 14 centuries" Gentle. This is the biggest load of crap. Perhaps they had a democracy in Andalusia, I seriously doubt it, but I'm not as well informed on Andalusia and the fantasies that have built up over the region so I'll decline that point. I could be wrong but I think the Israelites can go back futher still.
Even if Andalusia did have democracy, Andalusia stopped being moslem (or even Andalusia) in 1491 or so. How can Islam even pretend to claim that they have practiced democracy since then. I think you need to get a dictionary and look up democracy. If you are going to take credit for democracy in Andalusia then its fair game for the west to claim democracy in Athens a 24 centuries ago.
I'll accept that you say you are what you say. With that in mind, please explain a couple things to me, a Catholic American --
1) was the mutiliation and burning of American bodies in Fallujah justified?
2) do you think Saddam Hussein was an evil man? What should someone do when confronted with evil? What if the evil person is a fellow Muslim?
3) do you think Muslims are capable of living in a tolerant, democratic society in which Muslim law would NOT be the law of the land?
4) tell us in what country you live (you don't need to be more specific than that). In your country, how do your rights compare to the rights of a man?
5) you mention that you are at a university. Excellent. Tell us what your course of study is (you don't need to be more specific than that). After you graduate, what will your options be?
Thanks in advance,
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/19/2004 14:47 Comments ||
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#48
Gentle, So how do you feel about your fellow gentle peace-loving muslims deliberately targetting and murdering 3,000 innocent civilians (some of whom were muslims themselves) on September 11th?
How do you feel when your peace-loving life-loving fellows commit sucide and murder hundreds of innocent victims (some of which are fellow muslims as I mentioned)? I, for one, would really like to know.
I think you might want to expand the 'sources' of your information beyond Al-Jitzz, CNN, and the BBC. You might try here (we really dont bite all that often), or 'Healing Iraq' or just about any of the other Blogs listed.
#50
I wear the Hijab, by my own choice- no veil though.
Saudis should change their laws about driving- I agree.
No, I don't have a driving license, but I will, I only just turned 18 and my parents have been telling me to get it as soon as I can, though I'm just waiting for the summer.
By the way, we have MEN teaching us, and I am not locked up!
Oh, and the majority of our professors are American, the rest are Canadian, Australian, and British.
#53
The university at that site looks like an actual place of education.
Gentle, that's great that you are enrolled and able to educate yourself. Will you pursue a career eventually? What field, if any, have you
chosen?
Also, is it your opinion that the UAE is not as conservative as other Islamic countries?
Is ZU all women by choice, or because the genders are segregated? I guess what I'm asking is are there other universities in the UAE that have both men and women attending the same classes? Also, are there ANY women professors?
The reason I ask is because what you are touting as examples of an advanced liberal society, may simply be a softer side of conservative Islam with which some people in the West disagree.
#56
Ruprecht: check out what (Shoura) means. I was not speaking only of Andalusia when I spoke of democracy. Go back to how the Caliph was chosen after the prophetâs death.
Steve White:
1) No, it was not.
2) I donât know- let them have my opinion, but not force it on them- do the same.
3) Yes.
4) U.A.E. - almost the same.
5) Iâm a business student, my choices are:
a) settle down, get married, and have kids.
b) Get married, work, have kids. (if I want to)
c) Stay at home!
d) get my masters and Ph.D.
or anything else I want-Why?
Unmutual: Go to the website- click the top grey button that says(About Zu)
Scroll don to the bottom of the page- read the admission rules-
â¦.So?!
#57
the majority of our professors are American, the rest are Canadian, Australian, and British
Gentle -Why do you think the professors are 'Westerners' at you school and not arabs?
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
04/19/2004 15:28 Comments ||
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#58
Yes, there are other Universities with both genders.
Yes, there are female teachers, but I think males are the majority.
Yes, I intend to pursue a career, God willing.
The U.A.E. is considered a very conservative country by all, except Saudi, Islamic countries.
#59
Gentle, honey, if you came here to convert us to how wonderful Islamic society is, save yourself the trouble.
(Gentle told me on another thread that "No Jews died in the 9/11 attacks.")
I'm sure you're a nice person and that there many nice people in the Arab world, but that's not what we're concerned with right now.
We're concerned with the few radical jihadis who have heeded Osama Bin Laden's fatwa (and other radical imams and clerics) to kill Americans, Jews and Christians.
I know who the Enemy is and nothing you say about "Islam is about mercy," is going to change my mind.
No one showed mercy to those innocent Americans on 9/11 and that's just one attack.
No Muslims showed mercy to the victims in Bali or in Madrid.
The "Palestinian" terrorists never showed mercy to the Israelis in the "Intifada," slaughtering innocent women, children and the elderly just because they were Jews.
We know what we know.
If you'd like to stay around and learn something--maybe about your own part of the world--do so, but stop yelling at us because based on what you know, you believe us to be wrong and your mind is closed to the truth about your religion which keeps women in black bags and kills people who don't believe as they believe.
No matter how much education you get, you'll end up staying at home, having sex with your husband and then having his children.
Islam keeps societies backward--check out the number of books written in the Arab world, the number of inventions, the rates of economic growth, the job markets, the non-proliferation of ideas (because of the heavy government censorship), the lack of music, films and books also due to censorship, and so forth.
This is not a vital way to live.
And we don't want it--at least not imposed on us by force.
We like our Freedom, especially our freedom to choose.
This site belongs to a guy named Fred who knows plenty about Islam, just like most of his posters.
It doesn't belong to you--a missionary for Islam.
Don't abuse his bandwidth by your lengthy defenses of the "Religion of Peace."
Posted by: Jen ||
04/19/2004 15:32 Comments ||
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#60
Yosemite:
The professors are westerners because we study in English.
There are other Universities with all-Arab staff, and an Arabic curriculum.
#61
Well, guys, I doubt that I'll be back, so Good bye.
I just wanted to let you know my opinion.
You see, we are used to being heard.
Good luck everyone, and try to keep an open mind.
#63
Even if the prophet and a few follow on Caliphs were chosen democratically that ended with the Ottoman Empire. That still leaves a very long gap filled with Islamic autocrats and dictators. You are fooling yourself Gentle.
#64
I never read any opinion by the gentle one, what opinion, never read anything about anything. Kept waiting for any answer about anything that mattered. Just fluff. To bad but she did seem to nice. But the fake stuff is just to painful for the ummah to bear witness to.
#65
Yes, I intend to pursue a career, God willing.
Ummm - I think God has more important things on his mind then if somebody has a job. This is a big example of why the arab culture will always be dominated by western culture. In the west we don't handicap ourselves - we say "Yes, I will have a career" and then make it happen. Arabs seem to try just enough to barely have a chance and if they don't get a handout, they say it was Allan's will.
Yoda had it right - "Do or do not, there is no try."
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
04/19/2004 16:06 Comments ||
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#66
Question for ya Gentle, if Islam is the relgion of the peace and preaches gentleness towards women, why then do we see a program on Saudi TV showing how to beat wives with rods? Or hear about slavery still in the mideast and africa via islamic nations? Or why female circumcision such a major deal in Islamic countries? Or perhaps you can explain why we can read articles like this about someone who lives in the UAE? I've got family living in Abu Dhabi myself, as well as being born there, I can tell you for a FACT Catholics and Christians are NOT treated the same as Muslims. You can never get a top management job since thats already reserved for the "locals" and you know as well as I do that christian churches are never allowed to be built taller than than islamic building there or perhaps you remember a couple years back when a British woman was raped in Dubai and the general population said unreservedly that she probably deserved it because of how she was dressed or when the judges let her rapists go without even a slap on the wrist but instead imprisoned HER. Toleration my butt. Or perhaps you remember that center for love and wisdom known as the Zayed Centre? No gentle you may truly believe that your religion is one of peace and toleration, but the truth is it isn't. Islam has become perverted, no correction it always was, but sometimes those tendencies were suppressed now they aren't. The Wahhabists, Shias, and Sunnis who now dominate the religion pervert whatever good may have come from Islam even further by promoting the acts of martyrdom, slavery, intolerance of other religions and very dehumanization of others and even women. Try another line gentle you're gonna lose this argument by a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG shot
#67
There are other Universities with all-Arab staff, and an Arabic curriculum.
Exactly! And how does an "Arabic Curriculum" differ from a Western Curriculum? The Arabic doesn't teach math, science, literature, philosophy, history, and critical thinking. It only teaches the Koran by wrote memorization.
Without the Western school of thought you would not be able to have this cyber conversation, listen to your CDs, drink you Coca-Cola, and âgod willingâ have a career that involved anything that uses electricity.
The arab culture is a parasitic culture. It takes everything it can get and gives nothing back in return.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
04/19/2004 16:14 Comments ||
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#68
actualy the bisquit muslim from egipt are the meanest.
#69
In all fairness to Gentle, if all Muslim countries were a bit like the UAE or Kuwait, then that would be an improvement. Not perfect, mind you, but an improvement nonetheless.
Posted by: Rafael ||
04/19/2004 16:23 Comments ||
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#70
Mucky, please don't ever leave us...you are a laugh RIOT! ROFL...!
Posted by: Jen ||
04/19/2004 16:28 Comments ||
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#71
Yosemite - Isn't it a tragedy that 1000 years ago the Arab's ancestors were doing things like the development of math (algebra, eg) and science (astronomy, eg), while our middle-age ancestors were busy worried about just trying to stay alive? Now the roles are reversed! What happened to their culture?
Now it seems ignorance is prized, which may not be as parasitic as you suggest. They deep down want better, and watch us from afar and, in a crude way, imitate us. They are mostly just a group of backwards people who are led by endemic despots.
#72
Indeed they were, 1000 years ago -- built on the foundations of classical thought (primarily Greek, some Roman) and in astronomy, on the ancient Mesopotamians.
Many of the math and science advances attributed to "Arab" civilization were in fact created by others under Arab rule - for instance, at the ancient school in Alexandria, whose fame and scholarship predated Mohammed by nearly a millenium.
#73
Yes, I know they came up with algebra, astronomy and even the numbers that I used everyday at work but what have they done with it in the last 1000 years? Nothing. When was the last time anything new and useful to mankind came out of their culture? (No- you can't use oil because western culture found it and drilled it until they nationalized everything.)
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
04/19/2004 16:50 Comments ||
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#74
Yosemite Sam: Mulims ain't going to be drinking any Coke due to the secondary boycott of Israel. Coke's got a bottling plant in Israel. Therefore, only Pepsi is consumed in much of the Islamic world.
#75
I actually was in Egypt during one of their boycotts of Coke in the late '70's and had to drink "Sport Cola," the Arabic version and predecessor to "Mecca Cola."
Dreadful stuff--Aerated cough syrup would have been tastier.
Posted by: Jen ||
04/19/2004 17:07 Comments ||
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#76
Hmm - 11A5s - I'll have to take your word on that.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
04/19/2004 17:09 Comments ||
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#77
I for one cannot imagine going through life with Roman Numerals everywhere. The romans were very wise in many ways but that's a pathetic numbering system for day to day usage.
#78
"Well, guys, I doubt that I'll be back, so Good bye. I just wanted to let you know my opinion. You see, we are used to being heard. Good luck everyone, and try to keep an open mind."
Posted by: GentleÂ
"Well, guys, I doubt that I'll be back, so Good bye." Pack my bags, Martha, we're goin' on a guilt trip!
"I just wanted to let you know my opinion." Actually, you wanted to convince us that all Moslems are superior and to "spin" Islam in a favorable light by avoiding the truth.
"You see, we are used to being heard" (by each other) Big, big, big bad us here at Rantburg! We closed down her discussion. Not.
"Good luck everyone, and try to keep an open mind." You too now! (Don't you just love her? What a little sweetheart!)
#79
I think we should build a weapon to vaporize ALL the Mudlims, then we take what we want.
After Sept. 11th, I was all 4 this and still am.
"Innocents"? How many good Americans have we lost in Iraq? I don't know why we don't just drop a big one on Sadr and his friends NOW!
I thought we weren't "negotiating" with terrorists.
#81
I wear the Hijab, by my own choice- no veil though.
Saudis should change their laws about driving- I agree.
No, I don't have a driving license, but I will, I only just turned 18 and my parents have been telling me to get it as soon as I can, though I'm just waiting for the summer.
By the way, we have MEN teaching us, and I am not locked up!
Oh, and the majority of our professors are American, the rest are Canadian, Australian, and British.
#82
I wear the Hijab, by my own choice- no veil though.
Saudis should change their laws about driving- I agree.
No, I don't have a driving license, but I will, I only just turned 18 and my parents have been telling me to get it as soon as I can, though I'm just waiting for the summer.
By the way, we have MEN teaching us, and I am not locked up!
Oh, and the majority of our professors are American, the rest are Canadian, Australian, and British.
#83
I wear the Hijab, by my own choice- no veil though.
Saudis should change their laws about driving- I agree.
No, I don't have a driving license, but I will, I only just turned 18 and my parents have been telling me to get it as soon as I can, though I'm just waiting for the summer.
By the way, we have MEN teaching us, and I am not locked up!
Oh, and the majority of our professors are American, the rest are Canadian, Australian, and British.
#84
I wear the Hijab, by my own choice- no veil though.
Saudis should change their laws about driving- I agree.
No, I don't have a driving license, but I will, I only just turned 18 and my parents have been telling me to get it as soon as I can, though I'm just waiting for the summer.
By the way, we have MEN teaching us, and I am not locked up!
Oh, and the majority of our professors are American, the rest are Canadian, Australian, and British.
#85
I wear the Hijab, by my own choice- no veil though.
Saudis should change their laws about driving- I agree.
No, I don't have a driving license, but I will, I only just turned 18 and my parents have been telling me to get it as soon as I can, though I'm just waiting for the summer.
By the way, we have MEN teaching us, and I am not locked up!
Oh, and the majority of our professors are American, the rest are Canadian, Australian, and British.
#86
I wear the Hijab, by my own choice- no veil though.
Saudis should change their laws about driving- I agree.
No, I don't have a driving license, but I will, I only just turned 18 and my parents have been telling me to get it as soon as I can, though I'm just waiting for the summer.
By the way, we have MEN teaching us, and I am not locked up!
Oh, and the majority of our professors are American, the rest are Canadian, Australian, and British.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
