Four Saudi teenagers have been arrested after attacking two Westerners working as aircraft maintenance technicians in two separate incidents in the summer resort city of Taif, to the east of Jeddah. The four were in police custody yesterday and being questioned on the motives behind the attacks. In one incident a Westerner was verbally abused by three teenagers at a local restaurant âserving traditional dishes,â according to the paper. One of them tried to stab the man with a knife but he escaped unhurt. In the other incident, a 17-year old rammed the second victim in his car, according to Al-Watan daily. Police received two separate complaints on the incidents and moved quickly to arrest the four youth.
Posted by: TS(vice girl) ||
06/11/2004 9:22:35 AM ||
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#1
"They insulted my beard! They tried to sell me alcohol! They tried to convert me to Christianity! ...Anything else?"
Posted by: Charles ||
06/11/2004 10:07 Comments ||
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#3
"They said my momma shows her ankles in public!"
Posted by: Chris W. ||
06/11/2004 10:14 Comments ||
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#4
There is a lot of intimidation, by saudis, going on right now. Yesterday, a group of "military" people drove up to a rig and demanded that the Foreman tell them the nationalities of the people working there. The foreman asked to see any form of authorization and they said they would get it from the car. They walked back to "get" it, got in their car and sped away. The same happened at Al-Saad Hospital the same day. A group described as wearing military clothing, walked into the hospital and requested to see where the Americans working there were. When the Hospital called Security, they left in a hurry.
Tomorrow is Saturday and we are bracing ourselves for another attack. Today, is their big inspiration day where they reflect on how best to conduct the slaughter of infidels! I swear, sometimes I think I am living back in the Middle Ages.
#6
Yep - target locations being identified. Consider that this HAS to be only the tip of the iceberg as it only covers what you heard about.
And being Friday, well you're absolutely right, they've gotten their inspiration dosage, prolly set on high, and tomorrow will probably hold a new wave of attacks.
What's really bad is that they were so successful and the Saudis so inept in handling the last Khobar attacks. That's where the infidels are concentrated. Sounds like they are willing try an Aramco site soon, maybe the next time - so far no actual Aramco sites have been hit - all residential and foreign company stuff so far.
A4617 - stay under cover, tomorrow. Keep everyone home, if you can. Pack.
#7
.com,
Several of our neighbours and we have, for the longest time, asked ourselves why this camp has not being attacked? It seems like the logical choice for terrorists who are trying to bring down the Royals and get rid of all infidels. Some of us have speculated that somebody among the Royals is paying them off. Today, I read the following:
"Will the current rulers be replaced by something worse? That is, al-Qaida and bin Laden? I believe not, because bin Laden is a creation of the Saudi state, in exactly the way the terrorist Black Hundreds in czarist Russia were a creation of the regime. Terrorism exists inside Saudi Arabia to dissuade the local population from pressuring the rulers for reform. That is why the terrorists never attack members of the royal family or state institutions, nearly always appear to be police or military personnel, and have a strange ability to repeatedly escape after committing their crimes."
#8
A4617, stay safe, stay low, and remember, if the SOBs do come for you, take out at least one of them before you go.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/11/2004 12:18 Comments ||
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#9
I'd reiterate that "lead pipe in hand while hiding behind the door" trick, too
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/11/2004 12:21 Comments ||
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#10
A4617 - interesting article, but I'm not sure I'm as optimistic as the author. There are at least 3 issues at work here:
1) Royals survival or replacement
2) Wahhabi influence thus Funding of terrorism
3) Oil Supply undisrupted
I think this "split" in the Royals which give the external appearance of schizophrenia has to be solved, unambiguously, if the Royals are to survive. In other words, if there isn't a bloody Palace coup against (or flight by) the Wahhabi-supporters in the top 2-3 layers, then the Royals will fall - the oil supply is the world's business, the terrorism hasn't reached the same level of importance, yet, but it's climbing. These old pricks, the Sudairi Seven, should FOAD soonest, IMO, but no one wants to give up such absolute power and wealth - as if they don't have enough of the latter to ensure the former in another location. Without a coup or flight, I see no fix - leaving #2 or #3 up in the air until the fall and we see who survives or who ends up in power, Royal or not. Decapitation is touchy only because of what might replace them - no one except the Wahhabis will miss 'em. That's where I'm not as confident as the author: what would replace the Royals. If he's wrong and extremists control the oil, then the solution set is composed of only radical options, such as seizing the oil fields and fending off the zoomies.
Regards Saudi - it is all about the oil, so far. The negative of terrorism attached to the oil will never exceed it in world importance, but it may reach the stage where many (not just the Neanderthals such as yours truly) say the situation is unacceptable as is and it's time to "un-fuck" the oil by removing the Royals AND the Wahhabists from the equation by extreme action. I am a strong advocate of just seizing it and telling the entire jealous world to kiss my ass. They will have to deal with it because they cannot live without the Saudi oil - Saudi production is over 10% of current world supply - and that is actually a single source monopoly... a 5% loss in supply would send the world economies into a tail spin. So they will line up, no matter what they say publicly. And once done, the funding of the idiots stops. I suggest that 90 days later the funding pipeline for terror is reduced by 90% - the Black Hats have always been too greedy to fund their minions nearly was well as the Wahhabis have done. I won't mention that we would then be sitting on the other pivot point of power in the world. Sure would put a major kink in the Chinese rise to power, no? Heady stuff.
The funniest aspect, IMO, is that I can't think of a single country, other than the US, that wouldn't do this if they were in our shoes. Nor can I identify a single country that wouldn't then use the resulting power in blatant self-interest to a degree that would make Americans blush or gag in embarrassment. Jealous critics and envious jerkoffs notwithstanding, only America would actually try to find a solution acceptable to most, such as holding the oil proceeds in trust or other such egalitarian idealism. Personally, I think it's probably a good thing I'm not CinC, lol!
I'm glad you're staying under cover - though we both know that's not really a solution - soon it won't just be Saturday - and you can't stay home forever. But you have the pulse so I'm sure you're reading things much more accurately than we can outside The Magic Kingdom.
If you have never seen this on-line book, Looking Back Over My Shoulder by Larry Barnes, I think you will find some of the anecdotes informative and hysterical. Please give it a look - and I hope you enjoy it!
#12
The funniest aspect, IMO, is that I can't think of a single country, other than the US, that wouldn't do this if they were in our shoes. Nor can I identify a single country that wouldn't then use the resulting power in blatant self-interest to a degree that would make Americans blush or gag in embarrassment.
pd can I call you pd? You are one mean spirted son of a bitch.... I like that. :)
#13
Re: PD -- But of course, Ship Captain! We're well past that, aren't we? Lol!
Re: Mean Spirited - Why, thank you, Suh!
Now following the tangent -- I've wanted (and asked) some of youse smart guyz to take the next step, past the Republic of Eastern Arabia and have fun (or not, up to yooo guyz!) speculating on the fallout and ramifications. No one has ever done so. None. I be all amazed by that fact. Stupified by it. Someday, perhaps, someone will strap it on, heh... After all, the reality may not be all that far away, eh?
#14
I wish I was a fly in the President's office right now to hear what contingency plans we have set up to protect the Oil. Bush has the will and guts to do it. I've been reading these posts here for some time and frankly it is a great concern. Of course the major news oultets are still preoccupied with Abu Grab. Where is the news? Only at Rantburg.
Posted by: Bill Nelson ||
06/11/2004 21:20 Comments ||
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#15
The jihadis can squeeze the goose of golden eggs, but they do not know how to take care of the goose so she keeps laying the golden eggs.
These guy's brains are reptilian, no that is an insult to reptiles. They are pre-cambrian. If they mess with the West too much, they will lose it all. That's right, the .com province. They can have Mecca, Medina, and the moonrocks.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/11/2004 21:25 Comments ||
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From Compass Direct
An Indian national abducted and tortured 10 weeks ago by Saudi Arabiaâs religious police for âspreading Christianityâ remains jailed in Riyadhâs Al-Hair Prison without trial or even formal charges against him. Brian Savio OâConnor, 36, was accosted on Al Massif street just outside his living quarters in the Mursalat district of Riyadh early on the evening of March 25. As he started down the street, a muttawa (member of the religious police) stopped him, asking harshly, âWhy did you not attend âSalahâ [evening prayers]?â Surprised, since shops along the street were already re-opening as their owners returned from Muslim prayers, OâConnor took out his Saudi identity card, proving that he was a Christian. When another three men came up and tried to grab his I.D. card, OâConnor ran back to a shop where he had seen a work acquaintance. But the group of men chased him into the shop, grabbing and beating him right there.
His ID card proved he was an untermensch, of course...
OâConnor was then dragged to a mosque with an adjacent muttawa office just behind his home. There, OâConnor later told friends who visited him in prison, his legs were chained and he was hung upside down. For the next seven hours, his muttawa captors alternately kicked and beat him in the chest and ribs. According to International Christian Concern, a U.S.-based advocacy group who first broke the news of OâConnorâs arrest on March 31, OâConnor was âwhipped on his back and soles of his feet by electrical wires,â causing intense pain.
Yes, the religion of peace.
After some time, one of his tormentors told him that he would not be harmed any further if he just âtold the truth.â When questioned, OâConnor declared that he did preach the Bible, but he denied converting Muslims to Christianity. A few minutes later, the beatings resumed, along with painful squeezing of his face. OâConnor said that at one point, when he was gasping for breath and moaning from the blows, a muttawa placed a call on his mobile telephone to a Saudi coordinator at his place of work. Laughing loudly, the muttawa held the phone to OâConnorâs mouth so the man on the line could hear the Indianâs groans.
Who was on the other end? The Maquis al-Sade?
Finally at 2 oâclock the next morning, the muttawa took OâConnor to the Olaya police station, ordering him put under arrest on three charges: preaching Christianity, selling liquor and peddling drugs. Ten days later, the Indian Christian was transferred to Riyadhâs Al-Hair Prison. While held at Olaya, OâConnor was allowed visits by several friends, who then notified the Indian Embassy of his arrest. Although two embassy representatives visited him on April 3, the day before he was sent to prison, they have not since been allowed access to him by Saudi authorities. âThe charges against him are spreading Christianity, plus liquor,â an Indian Embassy official confirmed yesterday to Compass from Riyadh. âWe requested to visit him in prison about two weeks ago,â he specified, âso we will go as soon as we get permission.â
Maybe you shouldn't be so polite and humble about asking.
In April, an embassy representative told one of the prisonerâs friends that OâConnor had âbroken Saudi lawâ by having five Bibles, one of them Arabic and another Urdu, and that he had even admitted that he was teaching the Bible in his home. .... OâConnor himself has apparently been told that his embassy has secretly âagreedâ with Saudi officials that he will serve a three-month sentence at Al-Hair Prison, and then be deported without any court proceedings. The Indian Embassy has denied any such arrangement. .... A cargo agent for Saudia Airlines, OâConnor left his hometown of Hubli in Indiaâs Karnataka State six years ago to work in Saudi Arabia. The Indian Christian currently shares a windowless cell with 16 other inmates at Al-Hair Prison.
Hopefully, he's busy converting them all...
Located on the southern edge of Riyadh, the facility is Saudi Arabiaâs largest prison, housing an estimated 3,500 prisoners. âI am in here for a purpose,â OâConnor told a visitor last month, âand unless and until that assignment is complete, I cannot be released.â At least two of his cellmates have come to faith in Christ during his confinement, and others have asked him to pray for them.
Yessss!
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
06/11/2004 12:00:00 AM ||
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#1
What? not real abuse like putting women panties over his head or dressing him up in halloween customes? I guess, the saudis are going to have to take lessons on how to reeeaaally torture those murderous bible-carriers from US soldiers.
#2
If he was "teaching the Bible in his home", then that means someone was "learning". I wonder if his classes were attended by Muslims eager to become apostates, or just other fellow Christians.
OâConnor took out his Saudi identity card, proving that he was a Christian.
Identity cards with your religious denomination on it. Hmmm, the Nazis gave that one a try some time ago (the Saudis being less showy about it I guess).
.com, did you have one of these cards as well?
Posted by: Rafael ||
06/11/2004 0:33 Comments ||
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#3
"At least two of his cellmates have come to faith in Christ during his confinement"
And to think he did it with mere words and living by example. Didnt need religious police to beat people into conversion under the trheat of death.
Thats what really scares the crap out of the Wahabbis - their brand of Islam loses every time when confronted with true Christian faith if ther are not guns and thugs to enforce Islam submission.
#7
This headline is misleading. It's not "torture" unless pictures are taken while pointing at genitals.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
06/11/2004 10:16 Comments ||
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#8
Rafael - The ID issued is actually a little brown "book" like a passport of about 8 pages called the Iqama (e'gahmah)... and, since everything is backasswards there and they read right to left, the Iqama reads back to front. No surprise, eh?
#9
Where's the link? I will assume this is true, even though an "Indian" named O'Connor seems a bit, umm, suspicious.
Still, kudos to O'Connor for heeding the Call on his life. He merely becomes one of a very long line of Christians stretching back 19 centuries who resolved to witness harder when they were in prison.
Christianity is a religion that calls expressly on a man's capacity to freely believe. A forced conversion is no conversion at all, and it is a perversion of Christianity, if not a heresy, to hold and teach otherwise.
I may have been a teen when I read "Merchant of Venice", and knew less than I know now, but even then I winced and wondered what good it would have done when I read Antonio's demand that Shylock be baptized as a Christian to atone for the latter's attempt on the former's life.
#11
The House of Saud proves once again they are the enemy behind the mask.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
06/11/2004 19:09 Comments ||
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#12
screw muslims and every leftie, commie big bag of wind who cries about panties on a head or a naked pryimad.....true or not (o'connor does strike me as odd since the guy is supposed to be indian) it does touch on a subject not even mentioned in the western press..that is the outright hatred mulsims have for non-believers...
no matter what we do diplomatically/militarly does not matter - we are non-believers..
religion of peace....screw them
Posted by: Dan ||
06/11/2004 20:27 Comments ||
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From Al-Muhajiroun, an interview with Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad
I studied Islam from the age of 5 in the Al-Kutaab Islamic Boarding School. In the following 10 years I came across many Islamic teachers, ranging from Sufis, Usuliâs, Ahl-ul-Hadith and Muslim Brotherhood (MB). But my relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood really took off from the age of 15 ... around 1972-3. I pursued my Islamic studies alongside my association with the Muslim Brotherhood until the age of 17, and then I joined Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HT). ....
I joined MB in Syria, whereas I joined Hizb ut-Tahrir in Lebanon. ... At that time the MB was an underground movement. .... I was a seeker of Islamic knowledge in that sense, but was never involved in any type of military struggle. You should also note, that the main driving force behind the Syrian Jihad was al-Talaaiâ Al-Islamiyah, a group that was in alliance with the MB, but in later years distanced itself from the Brotherhood. ... Al-Talaaiâ promoted a Jihadi method, whereas the Muslim Brotherhood was largely inactive and underground. ... I was proud of my affiliation to the old Muslim Brotherhood, but the Muslim Brotherhood today really disgusts me. They are becoming co-opted into the political systems of the countries in which they operate. In Egypt, the Brotherhood even wants to change its name to receive greater recognition. .... The Jihadists in Syria have now become proper Salafis and are basically linked to al-Qaeda. ...
I left [Syria] in 1977. .... I was wanted in Syria as a member of the MB. I left [Lebanon] in 1979. I made my way to Egypt and went to Al-Azhar to complete my Islamic education in Cairo. .... I spent 6 months studying in Al-Azhar, but I was not able to complete my studies since conflicts arose between the tutors and me.
My guess is that he thought he knew more than they did...
Therefore I went to Saudi Arabia in December 1979. I re-started my education in Mecca in an establishment called The Islamic School of al-Saltiyah. .... Al-Muhajiroun ... was established in Mecca, but we launched it in Jeddah. .... On March 3, 1983 â the 59th anniversary of the destruction of the Ottoman Caliphate â I launched a separate organization with the help of these 38 brothers and called it Al-Muhajiroun. .... I came here to Britain on January 14, 1986.
Q: Were you expelled from Saudi Arabia? A: Yes. ... We started a stickers and leaflets campaign in the major cities, attacking all Kufr systems (i.e. man-made regimes), including the al-Saud Regime. ... The regime was not able to trace the massive sticker campaign to Al-Muhajiroun as we worked furtively and were skilled in these activities. We built up dedicated cells. Our people studied Islam during the day and engaged in distributions and other activities during the night.
Why waste any time working for a living?
... I always believed the Saudi regime was Kufr. ... I was first arrested in Jedda in 1984 and we were subsequently released on bail. They found nothing on us apart from some glue and leaflets, which were going to be distributed around Mecca. They were not able to link us to any recognizable organization like HT. We simply presented ourselves as Muhajiroun (emigrants) who had left their countries in the hope of securing sanctuary in Saudi Arabia. The next time they arrested me was in December in 1985 in Riyadh. They raided one of our houses at a time when I was teaching from the subversive book, The Money Circulation under the Khilafa System .... We spent seven days in hell in the Al-Malaz detention center. There were tough interrogations and some beatings. .... They tried to elicit information through beatings and torture. ... The reason I came to Britain was because I had a multiple-visa. I had visited Britain briefly in 1984 for few weeks. I never planned to stay in Britain. I had wanted to go to Pakistan or Malaysia. I was wanted in Syria, and the Syrian security services in Lebanon had raided my house and killed one of my brothers. ... My activities in the UK (from 1987-1996) awakened all the sleeping cells of HT around the world. .... Muhajiroun and HT disagreed on three points.
1- Muhajiroun engage in the divine method to establish the Khilafah wherever they have members, whereas HT works to establish the Khilafah only in a specific Muslim country (they called it Majalâi.e. geographical area in any part of the Muslim world) and restricted their membersâ activities outside the Majal.
2- Muhajiroun follow the Aqeedah of Ahlus-Sunnah ... whereas HT subscribe to a different Aqeedah. [elaborated in interview]
3- Muhajiroun believe in twinning Daâwa (the call to Islam) and Jihad, whereas HT does not believe that Jihad can be waged by agents not affiliated to the Islamic state. ....
The real dispute was over the methodology to establish the Khilafah, they did not like me attacking man-made laws here in the UK, and they did not like the fact that I was condemning the policy of John Major and the British government. ... I never recruited people to go abroad and fight against anyone. However, people used to come to us if they wanted to join Jihads abroad but soon discovered that we are merely Jihad sympathisers.
... though good for a bus ticket to Chechnya or someplace.
Anyway, legally speaking, all our activities were permissible during that period. We did not breach any laws as we were helping suffering people overseas. .... I used to encourage people to go to Bosnia to help their Muslim brothers and sisters, when the law in the UK permitted that type of intervention. But when the law forbade it, we stopped these activities altogether. ...
... in public, anyway.
Certain people ... tried to portray us [as] the political wing of Bin Ladenâs military structure and this used to make me laugh. I wish we had a connection, as there is no shame in being linked to Sheikh Osama Bin Laden. .... I have never met Sheikh Osama Bin Laden in my life. .... In 1996, a letter from Bin Laden was published in The Independent and the Quds al-Arabi, and we simply made a copy of it and said we were going to read it in public. The media simply sensationalized this. In the same vein there was to be no tape from Sheikh Omar Abd al-Rahman. ... I will let you [in] on an open secret. I never published any leaflet in the UK without sending a fax to all media organizations, including the Police press officer. This foiled the machinations of anyone who might have been tempted to distort what I was saying.
Ahah! Machinations! Deep-laid plots against the Faithful! I suspected as much...
I was advised to do this by my students who are solicitors by default as the Muhajiroun legal team. The Society of Muslim Lawyers are my students. I teach them Islamic law, and they help me to make sense of English law. These lawyers advised me to adopt this method, as it would stop my detractors right in their tracks. The media always present some quotes out of context, but now there would no longer be any scope to link me with distorted and sensational statements. I was advised a long time ago by my legal team that owing to the jury-based system of libel adjudication in this country, I would not stand a chance of winning as I have to present my case in a public arena, and of course I have been consistently demonized in this public arena. .... I study English law. Therefore I can tell you when I am right on the edge of the law. I believe Islam is superior.
"Under a proper caliphate they would have cut my head off years ago..."
The law here does not protect the average person â it only protects the one who understands it. This is very unfair from an Islamic perspective as the law is designed to be an intrinsic part of social welfare. ...
... and all countries that are based on Shariah are notably law-abiding and peaceful...
The fact that Americans [on 9/11] were attacked was no surprise, what was surprising is that they came under such a devastating attack in their own country. The attacks were really a magnificent operation in every way. They were magnificent terrorists. What they did was an act of terrorism no different from what the US forces have been doing in Iraq, Sudan and Afghanistan both before and after 9/11. ... The Prophet Muhammad once said to the enemy: I have come to terrorize you; he said: âO, people of Qureish I have come to slaughter youâ; in another quote he said: âI am the Prophet who kills while laughingâ. .... For me âterrorismâ is not necessarily a bad word; it depends on the context and whether it is based on the commands of Allah.
It's been rooted in the religion for 1400 years. It's not going to stop any time soon. Probably it's not going to stop while the religion exists...
I believe this phenomenon of al-Qaeda is not going to stop. The phenomenon of martyrdom operations is contagious as the Prophet Muhammad correctly said. Al-Qaeda for me, are people who revived the memory and traditions of the Messenger Muhammad (saw) and his companions, and follow the path of the late Salaf ... . But of course we do not encourage Muslims in Britain or in any other Western country to copy al-Qaeda as we are all bound by the âCovenant of Securitiesâ.
"No, no! Certainly not!"
I came to this country with a visa and hence cannot fight anybody. In return I reserve the right to speak my mind and be left alone to pursue my peaceful activities. .... Al-Qaeda is not interested in small attacks. Of course al-Qaeda freelance supporters carry out such attacks in places like Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, but the real al-Qaeda is not interested in these minor attacks, they go for massive operations. When they want to strike they will strike. Also bear in mind that the Americans are not holding any al-Qaeda people in Guantanamo Bay. ... The CIA knows exactly what they are up against; they are up against the most determined Salafi-Wahhabis who have come together in al-Qaeda. That is why the Americans are trying to stop the dissemination of works by Sheikh ibn Abdul Wahab. .... Nobody wants to establish an Islamic state here in the UK, but we will continue to work for Islam. I believe Britain is harbouring most of the Islamic opposition leaders of the Muslim world, because the British elites are very clever, they are not stupid like the Americans. Remember these people used to rule half of the world. I believe the British recognize that the Khilafah will rise again one day, and they are anxious to influence this process. The British are not like the French and the Germans, they donât slap you in the face, they stab you in the back. They want to buy some of these Islamic groups.
I believe all the people referred to as âmoderateâ Muslims have at one time or another struck deals with the British government. ... the Muslim Brotherhood in the UK, UK Islamic Mission, Gammaa Islamiyah, Iranian opposition groups, the so-called Ahlul Bait groups. .... All the Shia groups enjoy excellent relations with the British government ....
Q: Have you ever had any reason to suspect that your organization has been penetrated? A: I believe they have tried to do this, as the British are desperate to buy intelligence.
Q: Do you have security procedures in place to prevent this? A: Yes. I teach intensive theology to all new recruits. If they find it boring they will run away after six months.
Q: But competent spies can be very persevering. A: Okay, if they persevere then they will become Muslims.
Q: I see. Would you then consider using this new convert as a double agent? A: No. Why would I want to penetrate them? It is forbidden in Islam to have contacts with non-Islamic authority. Anyway, I believe their intelligence is not efficient, as they have arrested people on several occasions and subsequently let them go. I have heard some of them were important figures. ...
Q: Okay, Sheikh Omar Bakri, let us bring this to a close. Where is all this heading, is it a fight to the finish between the United States and the Salafis? A: Allah knows best, however, our main concern is to please Allah, and to die in the cause of Allah and go to Jannah (Paradise). If the U.S. continues with her policy against Islam and the Muslim world, Muslims will be more inclined to strike blows against America.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
06/11/2004 8:42:58 AM ||
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#1
âI am the Prophet who kills while laughingâ - is there another source for this quote?
EFL - as every culture seems to have these types of guys, is it possible for us to collude is replacing their passports with those of an African nation that we can payoff to approve their extradition. Then they can all protest the actions of each other.
A Japanese activist who was briefly held captive in Iraq has sued his own government, saying its decision to send troops to the region angered his kidnappers and was to blame for his ordeal. Nobutaka Watanabe, 35, is seeking the equivalent of $46,000 for mental and physical hardship he suffered during his four days as a hostage, his lawyer Masatoshi Uchida told The Associated Press Wednesday. I think his mental state was damaged long before his captivity.
``Mr. Watanabe believes his kidnapping was the result of Japanâs military presence,ââ said Uchida. ``His captors told him that he had been taken because he was from a country that had sent troops to Iraq.ââ Outrageous, I call for his captors to come forward and corroborate his story.
Watanabe, who filed the suit Tuesday, had earlier written dispatches for his activist group from the southern city of Samawah, protesting Japanâs deployment of some 550 troops there on a humanitarian mission to rebuild infrastructure. "I protest this blatant and irresponsible humanitarian action."
He was taken hostage along with freelance journalist Jumpei Yasuda while traveling near the besieged city of Fallujah on April 14. The dispatch is Japanâs first to a combat zone since World War II. Echoing many critics here, Watanabe claims that the decision to send troops was illegal because it violates Japanâs pacifist constitution. "Our troops donât belong in combat zones. I declare that for the Japanese, combat zones shall be the exclusive purview of correspondents and free lance photographers." -snip- idiocy continues. Luckily he has returned to Japan so that his village will no longer be deprived of its idiot.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/11/2004 2:58:55 AM ||
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Weren't these people treated like scumbags when they got back to Japan?
Gee, I wonder why.
#3
Officials publicly reproached the hostages for ignoring government warnings to stay out of Iraq. All were billed by the government for part of the costs of their travel home.
Dumbass... I guess America doesn't have a monopoly on LLL moonbats after all.
Posted by: Dar ||
06/11/2004 11:34 Comments ||
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#4
In contrast to our media, their media trashed the three for hurting Japan's "prestige" (more like practicable leverage, due to having captives in enemy hands) ...
Posted by: Edward Yee ||
06/11/2004 13:03 Comments ||
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#5
Wasn't there a lot of speculation about the three 'victims' having been in on their 'kidnapping' and it all being an attempt to force the Japanese to withdrawl their troops?
If so then perhaps they should face treason charges.
THE case against Adelaide terror suspect David Hicks paints the former stockman as a renegade warrior. It says he bounced from terrorist groups in Albania and Pakistan, fighting in Kashmir, and then into the hands of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida. According to case files, the convert to Islam was sounded out by a bin Laden associate on his willingness to carry out a suicide "martyr mission". A Pakistani doctor in Adelaide, who is still practising there, I believe.
He also allegedly met bin Laden and then translated al-Qaida training materials from Arabic to English after discussing the language issue with the terror chief. He is said to have answered al-Qaida questions about the travel habits of Australians. The full details of the US Governmentâs case against Hicks were revealed yesterday, when he was formally charged on three counts â conspiracy, attempted murder and aiding the enemy. The files reveal that, despite being thousands of kilometres from home, Hicksâ nationality followed him. One of his alleged aliases was Abu Muslim al Austraili. According to the US Defence Departmentâs case against him, this is the route taken by the Australian:
On or about May, 1999, Hicks travelled to Tirana, Albania, where he joined the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), a paramilitary organisation fighting on behalf of Albanian Muslims. "Hicks completed basic military training at a KLA camp and engaged in hostile action before returning to Australia," the US case states. Bit more to it than that. He claimed that he was an ex Australian soldier. So they put him into a training position. It didnât take them long to realise that he was bullshit*ing. So the paid his fare back to Australia, to get rid of him.
While back in Australia, Hicks converted from Christianity to Islam and on or about November, 1999, he travelled to Pakistan where,
( send to a madrass by the above doctor)
in early 2000, he joined the "terrorist organisation" known as Lashkar e Tayyiba (LET), also known as Army of the Righteous. He was recruited from the madrassa
LET is accused of setting up camps, guest houses and schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan for "training and supporting violent attacks against property" and Indian military personnel and civilians and other countries. Hicks allegedly trained for two months at LETâs Mosqua Aqsa camp in Pakistan. His training allegedly included "weapons familiarisation and firing, map reading, land navigation and troop movements". Then he and LET associates went to a region between Pakistan-controlled Kashmir and Indian-controlled Kashmir where he "engaged in hostile action against Indian forces". His performance led to a trip to Afghanistan and al-Qaida training camps, the US alleges. Showed himself to be dead keen on homicide, so he was marked out for bigger things by the Religion of Peace
On or about January, 2001, Hicks, "with funding and a letter of introduction provided by LET, travelled to Afghanistan to al-Qaida terrorist training camps". "Upon arriving in Afghanistan, Hicks went to an al-Qaida guest house where he met Ibn Sheikh al Libi, a top-ranking al-Qaida member, and others," the US alleges. "Hicks turned in his passport and indicated that he would use the kunya, or alias, Muhammed Dawood." He was already using that name before he left Australia. He adopted it as soon as he became a muslim.
Hicks is then said to have travelled to and trained at al-Qaidaâs al Farouq camp, located outside Kandahar, Afghanistan. "In al-Qaidaâs eight-week basic training course, Hicks trained in weapons familiarisation and firing, land mines, tactics, topography, field movements and basic explosives," the US alleges. He also trained in al-Qaidaâs guerilla warfare and mountain tactics training course. "This seven-week course included marksmanship, small teams tactics, ambush, camouflage, rendezvous techniques and techniques to pass intelligence to al-Qaida operatives," the US says. It was while training at al Farouq Hicks allegedly spoke to bin Laden. During one visit, Hicks is said to have questioned bin Laden regarding the lack of English in al-Qaida training materials. "Accepting bin Ladenâs advice, Hicks began to translate the training camp materials from Arabic to English," the US alleges.
On another occasion, then al-Qaida military commander Muhammad Atef">Muhammad Atef, also known as Abu Hafs al Masri, allegedly "summoned and interviewed Hicks about the travel habits of Australians". After the meeting, Atef recommended Hicks attend al-Qaidaâs urban tactics training course at Tarnak Farm, which included a mock city, where trainees were taught to fight in an urban setting. He trained in "marksmanship, use of assault and sniper rifles, rappelling, kidnapping techniques and assassination methods". On or about August, 2001, Hicks took part in an information collection and surveillance course in an apartment in Kabul, Afghanistan. "The course included `practical applicationâ with Hicks and others conducting surveillance of targets in Kabul, including the US and British embassies," the US says. They are supposed to have been closed down, many years earlier. He may not have known this
After the course Atef interviewed Hicks again and "asked if he would be willing to undertake a `martyr missionâ, meaning an attack wherein Hicks would kill himself as well as the targets of the attack". He arrived in Kandahar and chose to join an al-Qaida group near the Kandahar Airport. After some time, he travelled with a LET fighter to Kunduz, Afghanistan, arriving around November 9, 2001. "There he joined others, including (American) John Walker Lindh, who were engaged in combat against coalition forces," the US alleges. Hicks was captured in December 2001 near Baghlan in Afghanistan. Claimed he was a mute Malaysian, but his blue eyes gave him away, according to the Northern Alliance soldiers who captured him
Anger over the war in Iraq got the blame on Friday as Prime Minister Tony Blairâs Labour Party suffered big losses in local council elections. With two-thirds of the 166 local councils declared, Labour was on its way to a third-place finish. The BBC projected that the main opposition Conservative Party would finish with 38 per cent of the total vote, followed by Britainâs third party, the Liberal Democrats, with 29 per cent. The Labour Party was projected to finish with 26 per cent of the total vote....Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott told BBC Radio that the war in Iraq was a major factor, but he predicted that public services, not war, would be the deciding factor in next yearâs general election. "Iraq was a cloud, or indeed a shadow, over these elections," he said. "I am not saying we havenât had a kicking. Itâs not a great day for Labour." The council elections arenât the only test for Blairâs party. Britons were also voting for representatives to the European Parliament. Results for most of the 25 European Union member countries wonât be known until Sunday, but unofficial results show opposition parties that opposed the war in Iraq were scoring significant gains.
Posted by: Rafael ||
06/11/2004 4:11:00 PM ||
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I hope Blair will receive a bounce off of the Reagan-fest. I guess it would depend on Sky News coverage - I can't think that the BBC was too in to Ronnie's agenda.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/11/2004 22:27 Comments ||
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#2
There's a lot of hyping going on about Iraq costing Labour votes. It's a factor for some voters, but there's little to suggest it's a majority. It seems domestic issues are a bigger factor, primarily the ever-rising taxes with nothing to show for in the way of improvements to public services; also Blair's Eurounion-enthusiasm, and immigration and assylum. The Tories wouldn't be doing so well, after all, if voters were simply transferring to an anti-war party (the Lib Dems)...
#3
Totally agree with Bulldog here, there is some anti-war sentiment. But that's going to go to Galloway (spit) and the 'Respect' coalition, and as BD says the Lib Dems (also known as the "what's our policy today then?" party).
If the Tories were to go for the jugular (renegotiate our membership of the EU to reduce all the cack regulations, address the immigration and asylum issue and reduce taxes) they would wipe the floor with Labour.
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
06/12/2004 8:14 Comments ||
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AS a plan to bomb the Paris Metro before Sundayâs European elections was uncovered yesterday by Italian police, a senior French judicial official warned that the nation was a constant target of the al-Qaeda movement. He said this was due to the terrorist movement having deemed the French Government an "accomplice" in the perpetration of alleged crimes by certain Arab governments friendly with France. The official said France had made itself a target for terrorist activities by maintaining a strong stand against movements like al-Qaeda. Franceâs support for the Algerian Government had also made it a target for acts of terrorism by the Algerian Armed Islamic Group, he added.
One of Franceâs best anti-terrorist initiatives has been the establishment of the five-member anti-terrorism court to actively investigate and prosecute terrorists. The judgesâ powers include, among others, authorising police to probe the activities of specific individuals and instal eavesdropping devices in premises occupied by suspected terrorists. "France is a leading target for terrorists today and always targeted by the Al Qaedah movement. The fight against terrorism is a priority for us," he told a group of journalists from 12 Asian nations here to study the dynamics of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). The official, who requested anonymity, said the differences between the French and American positions on the Iraq war had not made any difference to the terrorists. "The French position on the Iraq war only had a short term political effect," he said. According to the official, French anti-terrorism authorities were well-prepared to face the terrorist threat because of the sharing of intelligence with similar authorities around the world. He said France had advanced tremendously in the fight against terrorism since the early 1990s, when it failed to take adequate measures to prepare for threats posed by terrorists.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/11/2004 12:50:19 PM ||
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#1
As a plan to bomb the Paris Metro before Sundayâs European elections was uncovered yesterday by Italian police, a senior French judicial official warned that the nation was a constant target of the al-Qaeda movement.
Discovered by the ITALIANS!
Saving a bunch of Frog butts. How funny.
#2
Kind of makes me misty eyed just thinking of the brave French standing up to al Qaeda. Remember, they stood up to the Germans too. Especially from Sept 1939 when they declared war on Germany to June 1940 - the French were fierce.
Al-Qaeda terrorist cells appear to be infiltrating Eastern Europe following the European Unionâs eastward expansion, according to a German expert on terrorism in remarks published Friday. Islamic radicals are believed to be setting up bases in Poland, Bulgaria and Romania, said Rolf Tophoven, director of the Institute for Terrorism Research and Security Policy in Berlin. "The combination of Islamic terrorist cells and powerful organized crime structures in these countries could create an explosive mixture," he was quoted as saying in Der Tagesspiegel newspaper. He based his findings on reports by British MI5 intelligence agents. One MI5 agent quoted an Islamic militant as saying, "In Poland and Bulgaria everything is so easy because thereâs so much corruption. You can buy anything with US dollars, law enforcement is lax and you can get away with almost anything."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/11/2004 12:53:12 PM ||
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#1
Ditto on the corruption in Poland. Grease a palm at the border and nobody notices anything, knows anything. Scary, once you add a growing anti-Americanism in the Baltics.
#2
However, it's easier for European Intelligence agencies to infiltrate organized local crime structures than it is to infiltrate Islamic terrorist cells.
Posted by: Daniel King ||
06/11/2004 20:32 Comments ||
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A bomb attack in Cologne that wounded 22 people probably was the work of criminals and not a terrorist group, Germanyâs interior minister said Thursday.
I guess there's a difference, technically...
The blast spewed broken glass and debris Wednesday along a street in a Turkish immigrant neighborhood of family shops and residential buildings. "Indications are that it was not terrorists, but the criminal underworld," the interior minister, Otto Schily, said after meeting with his French counterpart, Dominique de Villepin, to discuss security. "Through the design one can conclude that the perpetrator counted on killing many people," a police detective, Dieter Klinger, said at a press conference. He said investigators were still awaiting results of lab tests to determine what explosive was used. The police said that could help determine whether the attack was linked to any others.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
06/11/2004 12:57:59 AM ||
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Federal agents desecrated a mosque when they detained an imam during a raid two weeks ago, leaders of local mosques said Friday.
Oh, horrors!
The 150 federal agents defiled the Ansaar Allah Islamic Society when they entered the mosque with weapons drawn and dogs, said Isa Abdulmateen of the Majlis Ash-Shura of Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley, an umbrella group of local mosques. "They defiled our house of worship on this bogus pretense of terrorism," Abdulmateen said. About 100 people protested the raid outside the Philadelphia federal building, many shouting "Allahu Akbar!" meaning "Holy shit!" "God is great" in Arabic. Protesters waved signs reading "Stop state terrorism of Muslims" and "Mosques are the house of Allah, not dogs."
Y'see, explosives don't defile mosques, but dogs do...
Local imams said the raid was meant to intimidate and antagonize Muslims, and federal officials should have handled the situation more sensitively. "It is a disrespect to Muslims all over America that you (federal agents) would bring your dogs into our house of worship - and without taking your shoes off," Imam Shahdeed Baiian said. Internal Revenue Service agents searched the mosque and an adjacent home in the city's Bridesburg section, plus a third home in Northeast Philadelphia on May 27. No one was arrested on criminal charges, but immigration authorities detained Egyptian cleric Mohamed Ghorab, the imam of the small mosque.
#1
Feds aren't required to genuflect before the cross in a Catholic church, why should they pay any attention to the practices of Muslims? If a cop executing a legal warrant walks into a mosque with his shoes covered with blood and shit, well, tough titties.
And, seriously, I'm getting damned sick of the seething.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
06/11/2004 20:36 Comments ||
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Tough shit. Behave yourselves and you won't have any problems.
As for the dogs and the shoes - assimilate already. The feds ain't picking on you because you're moslems; if the catholic church were pulling the shit you do, they'd get searched too.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/11/2004 20:51 Comments ||
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#3
These guys need a Civics lesson in what constitutes the Supreme Law of the Lanjd in this country. And it ain't Sharia.
Posted by: Mr. Davis ||
06/11/2004 21:19 Comments ||
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the "mosque" was described at the time (and posted on RB) as a simple block masonry bldg - IIRC it was originally a workshop
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/11/2004 21:24 Comments ||
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Posted by: Infidel Bob ||
06/11/2004 23:32 Comments ||
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#7
And what if someone actually really DID something to desecrate their mosques? These folks need a care package filled with personal copies of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" to bring alongside their Qurans to mosque. And Osama thought Americans were weak...what a bunch of snivelers.
EFL - hattip to WND
The "dirty bomb" allegedly planned by terror suspect Jose Padilla would have been a dud, not the radiological threat portrayed last week by federal authorities, scientists say. At a June 1 news conference, the Justice Department said the alleged al-Qaida associate hoped to attack Americans by detonating "uranium wrapped with explosives" in order to spread radioactivity. But uraniumâs extremely low radioactivity is harmless compared with high-radiation materials - such as cesium and cobalt isotopes used in medicine and industry that experts see as potential dirty bomb fuels. "I used a 20-pound brick of uranium as a doorstop in my office," American nuclear physicist Peter D. Zimmerman, of Kingâs College in London, said to illustrate the point. Zimmerman, co-author of an expert analysis of dirty bombs for the U.S. National Defense University, said last weekâs government announcement was "extremely disturbing - because you cannot make a radiological dispersal device with uranium. There is just no significant radiation hazard"...
Which doesn't lessen the offense of Joe thought there was. And there remains the matter of the boom itself...
Padilla has been held by the U.S. military since 2002 as an enemy combatant, without charge and with little access to lawyers. The Bush administration has been criticized for denying a U.S. citizen normal access to the courts. The Supreme Court is considering whether the government, in defending against terrorism, has such power. Padillaâs lawyer, Donna Newman, said Wednesday of the dirty-bomb allegation that U.S. authorities "should have known that this was nonsense."
But did Joey? That's the question...
"When they frightened everybody, what were they trying to do, if they knew better? To show the administration is on top of things?" she asked. She wants the government to attempt to indict and try her client. "Maybe the problem is the evidence is so weak, itâs laughable," she said. Hah, hah, hah. An AQ warrior trained in Afghanistan. I canât beleive the authorities told us he was dangerous.
Comey said the news conference was called "to help people understand the nature of the threat" Padilla posed. "Heâs harmless and he wants to be your child's bus driver. Watch how I pat him on the head. See, he didnât even growl."
Spokesman Corallo reaffirmed this week that it was Padilla who said uranium would be used. "If thatâs what he planned," physicist Oelrich said of Padilla, "it shows he doesnât know what heâs talking about and hasnât done even rudimentary homework." Let him loose. Our bad. From now on we must check a suspectâs SAT scores and college coursework before detaining him.
He wasnât the only one, according to a Justice Department summary of interrogations. It said Abu Zubaydah, a top al-Qaida lieutenant now in U.S. custody, also envisioned a uranium device when urging Padilla to mount a U.S. attack. At another point, however, the summary said Zubaydah told Padilla the dirty bomb was "not as easy to do as they thought." We collected all this dirt for nuthin.
Padilla claims "he was never really planning to go through with" any of the terrorist assignment, Comey told reporters. Itâs all a misunderstanding.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/11/2004 3:18:02 AM ||
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Agreed. But that in no way, shape or form would have mitigated the mass panic and economic disruption on the part of an ingnorant public caused by the release of radioactive material.
Posted by: Michael ||
06/11/2004 10:45 Comments ||
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A weapon doesn't have to be effective to induce terror in the population. To most people, "uranium" = "nuke", and if somebody said that a bomb laced with uranium has just been exploded, the panic would be horrific. Padilla's lawyer knows this and is just blowing smoke.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
06/11/2004 10:47 Comments ||
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Whoops! Michael beat me by 2 minutes. Still, it's a point that bears repeating.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
06/11/2004 10:49 Comments ||
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Now a little plutonium would be an entirely different matter.
#5
But uraniumâs extremely low radioactivity is harmless compared with high-radiation materials - such as cesium and cobalt isotopes used in medicine and industry that experts see as potential dirty bomb fuels
Thanks for straightening out Al-Qaeda's tactics, Mr. Journalist. Its bad enough we are paying for their bombs, do we have to design them as well? If they send some plans, I'm sure I can round up a couple of engineers to critique them. I will, however, need a return address to send the plans back, preferably with GPS coordinates for accuracy. :) I understand the Arab world is not too big on naming their streets.
#6
Note to Zimmerdick & Editorial Staff of Seattle PI:
Our legal system is based upon intent. Look it up, twits. If Padilla is a fucking moron I'd suggest that's a good thing - which assuages his intent not one bit. One must also ask why publicizing ineffective threats is a good idea. I am glad that they have demonstrated a decidedly low IQ. Plz resist helping them to get a clue, thank you. Now shoot yourselves.
"I used a 20-pound brick of uranium as a doorstop in my office.", said Zimmerman, who has a very distinct lisp, leans noticibly to his left when upright, and has the odd habit of keeping a banger or two in his pocket for those odd moments of hunger. "I intend to eat Drano, soon." Most would agree that Dr Zimmerman should attend to that sooner, rather than later.
#11
you cannot make a radiological dispersal device with uranium. There is just no significant radiation hazard."
Don't expect the anti-depleted uranium crowd to believe that.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/11/2004 12:26 Comments ||
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Anon1
you dumbass. You do realize your computer monitor emits radiation?
you do realize your BODY emits radiation ?
if all radiation was dangerous you would be dead.
#13
For Anon1... in the nicest & most constructive way I can put it:
"We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it - and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove-lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove-lid again - and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold one anymore."
Bingo, .com. In many respects, terrorism is all about intent. Whether successful or not, terror attacks seek to disrupt daily life and cause mass panic.
Operable or not, Padilla's plans intended to cause great and greivous harm to Americans and the nation's economy. That he has the IQ of a celery stalk in no way mitigates the heinous aspect of his conspiracy. The simple fact that his plot was in alliance with al Qaeda should be ample reason to baseline his sentence at a ten-year minimum (with no time off for good behavior).
I still maintain that, even if it is unsuccessful, were a dirty bomb to be detonated on American soil, Medina, or even Mecca, should be dusted with a similar isotope (immediately prior to the Haj) as a demonstration to the Islamic world of what is to be gained by such attacks. Repayment in kind ... it seems to be working rather well for the Israelis.
#15
And you do not want to inhale this stuff. The article didn't mention anything about what happens to the uranium when it's exploded. It seems to me that lots of dust would be produced. But we don't have to ask scientists about that. Let's just quote the ones that agree with us that Padilla isn't a big threat.
Here's the comeback: there are hundreds of tons of DU laying around in Iraq and this type of Dirty Bomb would only spread a few pounds. And to that you say:
100s of tons over a very big, sparsely populated area. 10 lbs over a city block- very small densely populated area. Hmm, which is worse, Mr. Scientist?
#18
Let's not forget that Padilla's OTHER plan was to blow up apartment buildings.
Zenster: I still maintain that, even if it is unsuccessful, were a dirty bomb to be detonated on American soil, Medina, or even Mecca, should be dusted with a similar isotope (immediately prior to the Haj) as a demonstration to the Islamic world of what is to be gained by such attacks.
Anyone remember the title of Heinlein's pre-WWII short story about nuclear war? The war was fought by dusting with radioactives...
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
06/11/2004 20:41 Comments ||
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I hope some of you Wingnuts understood that Padilla is a stupid bad guy, but that does not excuse the present Wingnut AG when he says an idiocy such as that Jose's 'dirty bomb' would have killed thousands. he just frightened people. Blow up apartment buildings? Made a little sense.
Yeah, I remember the RAH story, Solution Unsatisfactory. Good idea; bad calculation. You can't make dirty bombs that dirty.
I stand by my comments.
Posted by: Peter D. Zimmerman ||
07/04/2004 21:32 Comments ||
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Handing the government a stinging defeat, a jury acquitted a Saudi graduate student on Thursday of charges that he had used his computer expertise to help Muslim terrorists raise money and recruit followers. .... The case against Mr. Al-Hussayen, 34, a Ph.D. candidate in computer science at the University of Idaho, was seen as an important test of a provision of a new antiterrorism law that makes it a crime to provide expert advice or assistance to terrorists. Mr. Al-Hussayen set up and ran Web sites that prosecutors said were used to recruit terrorists, raise money and disseminate inflammatory rhetoric. They said the sites included religious edicts justifying suicide bombings and an invitation to contribute money to the militant Palestinian organization Hamas.
Mr. Nevin said Mr. Al-Hussayen had little to do with creating the material posted, which he argued was protected by the First Amendment right to freedom of expression and was not intended to raise money or recruit extremists. "There was a lack of hard evidence," said one juror, John Steger. "There was no clear-cut evidence that said he was a terrorist, so it was all on inference."
Mr. Al-Hussayen was acquitted on all three terrorism charges, as well as one count of making a false statement and two counts of visa fraud. Jurors could not reach verdicts on three false-statement counts and five visa-fraud counts, and a mistrial was declared on those charges. United States Attorney Tom Moss said it would be a week before a decision was made on whether to retry Mr. Al-Hussayen on those eight counts. .... He still faces deportation. .... His wife and their children returned to Saudi Arabia this year rather than fight deportation. In retrospect, we should have simply deported him instead of trying him. We ought to deport people much more often. We ought to deport this guy now and forever.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
06/11/2004 7:28:50 AM ||
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I am afraid that Political Correctness and the First Amendment is going to kill us all!!
#2
I agree that more of us will die. I think we'll "get it" eventually, but humans can be pretty damned stupid. For example, if they only succeed in "dribbles" of 5 or 10 at a time, it will take much longer for us to wake up. If they kill 100 - that will do more than 10 small attacks. If they kill 1000 that will likely do the trick and trip the internal threshold we all seem to innately carry before we get serious.
The numbers game is insane, of course, but it seems to fit reality. Remember the sniping by Serbs on Muslims in Sarayevo? In Feb '94 a mortar hit the crowded Markela Market killing 68 - the next day Peter Jennings and the other dipshits did the evening news from that market. Unfortunately the shelling was not repeated so they're still "with" us. The point is, however, that 5-10 people had died every damned day for months before that day -- but the dribble didn't get the news. It took a big splash.
Dumbass humans. 1 innocent killed is too many, of course.
Security forces at a Manila port seized 10 crates of bomb-making material bound for the southern Philippines on Friday and said militants linked to the al Qaeda network were likely behind the shipment. One dock worker who was caught trying to bring the shipment onto a passenger ferry had been arrested, but denied knowing what was in the boxes, said Lieutenant-General Alberto Braganza, Manilaâs military commander. The crates contained plastic explosives, blasting caps, rolls of detonating cords and time fuses, officials said. The man was trying to load them onto a ferry leaving on Saturday for Zamboanga, a port city in the southern island of Mindanao, home to several Muslim insurgent groups.
"If these exploded, either intentionally or accidentally while the ship is under way, one cannot imagine the loss of lives and limbs as a result," Braganza told reporters. The arrested man said a Muslim trader had asked him to ship the boxes declared as general merchandise valued at 20,000 pesos ($358), Braganza said. The military suspected the shipment was connected to the al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf Group, he said.
An Abu Sayyaf leader has said his group was responsible for planting a bomb on a Mindanao-bound ferry in February before it sank near Manila, killing more than 100 people. The government says it is still investigating the cause of the disaster. Two weeks ago, security forces seized crude bombs in the southern island of Jolo, saying they had prevented an attack on a ferry bound for Zamboanga. The military said in late April they had uncovered a plot to bomb ferries in Mindanao after arresting four Muslim separatist rebels, prompting President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to cancel the last leg of her campaign for May 10 elections.
Hooded assailants with assault rifles slashed the throat of a night guard outside a government school in Thailandâs Muslim south and seized weapons from other security personnel who were inside, police said Friday. The guard, Abdulnasae Katoolae, 42, was in serious condition after the attack Thursday night at the school in a rural part of Pattani province, police Lt. Col. Sophon Phansomtrong said. The assailants were believed to be Muslim separatists who have been blamed for attacks in Pattani and two other southern provinces, Narathiwat and Yala. The provinces are the only Muslim-majority areas in predominantly Buddhist Thailand.
The volunteer guards, drawn from local villages, were supposed to be protecting the school from arson attacks, he said. Dozens of state schools have been set on fire in recent months by the insurgents, and the government has been arming volunteers to help provide security in remote villages. Sophon said five or six men dressed in military fatigues, their faces covered with hoods, first cut the throat of the guard, a Muslim, outside the school, then barged into a room where five civil defense volunteers were watching television. The attackers tied them up and took away their three shotguns and a pistol, he said.
In the town of Pattani, gunmen in a pickup truck fired an assault rifle at police Sgt. Issamahae Lateh, 42, who was driving a car, causing him to lose control and hit an electrical pole. He suffered serious injuries, a police official said on condition of anonymity. The official also said two teenagers on a motorcycle drove through a police checkpoint at high speed. While they were being chased by security forces, they dropped a bag that was found to contain two grenades and bomb-making material, he said. In other attacks Wednesday night, three bombs exploded in Yala province but caused no damage or casualties, police said.
Posted by: TS(vice girl) ||
06/11/2004 10:10:33 AM ||
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Teachers living in fear is threatening to undermine a key government undertaking to fight the lure of Islamic militants in Thailandâs troubled South: the provision of good schools. With several teachers killed in seemingly random violence since January, schools have been periodically closed and teachers have often stayed at home or even quit. In their most unified mass protest since January, around 4,000 teachers from Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat gathered in Pattani on Wednesday. Hundreds of them met Education Minister Adisai Bodharamik in a local school. The minister had flown to the south specifically to study their concerns, following the murder earlier this week of one of their colleagues. Mr Jai Inkapho, 49, a Buddhist teacher at a private Islamic school, was shot thrice by a man on a motorcycle in the parking lot of the school, which unlike government schools had no security detail. âWe donât want to be the second, third and fourth corpses,â local school administrator Boonsom Thongsriprai told journalists. The teachers demanded more security; an extra 2,500 baht (S$106) for working in schools in the south; more teachers to fill vacancies; and better career opportunities. Mr Pairat Wihakarat, chairman of the Southern Teachers Federation and director of Wat Phamorn-khatiwan primary school in Pattani, told The Straits Times that he and his colleagues often gave money to local students and the community to assist them. They had to do so because the community would otherwise not shield them, he said, but it placed a financial strain on the teachers. Is he saying they paid dhimmi protection money?
The low calibre of schools in the south has long been an issue. Locals see the mediocre schooling opportunities as an early roadblock to opportunities for further education and career options. The frustration this spawns is directly related to the syndrome of rebellious youth, analysts and academics say. The unsatisfactory public school system creates a demand for free Islamic ponoh schools, which in turn have felt the heat from security agencies suspicious of teachersâ hidden agendas. Mr Adisai on Wednesday promised the teachers he would press the Defence and Interior ministries to find ways to enhance security. But Mr Pairat said yesterday: âAdisai only came to cheer us up, but he cannot guarantee security. I cannot say whether I myself will be shot next week... We cannot hope to improve the education system like this.â
Posted by: TS(vice girl) ||
06/11/2004 9:31:12 AM ||
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AN assassination squad of Jemaah Islamiah terrorists is believed to have slipped into Indonesia to target Australian diplomats, businesspeople and other Westerners. The move by JI, the group responsible for the Bali bombings, may signal a dramatic shift from general bombings to assassinations. A group of operatives, trained to carry out assassinations, has arrived in Indonesian in recent weeks through East Kalimantan province from Mindanao in the southern Philippines, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. At the top of their target list are the Australian, American and British ambassadors, as well as other senior officials from those embassies. Australian and other Western businesspeople are also believed to be targets, especially in the mining and energy industries. The Australian, US and British embassies are reportedly now insisting that embassy staff vary their travel routes to and from work, and also their arrival and departure times.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
06/11/2004 1:03:38 AM ||
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A purported audiotape from al Qaida No 2 Ayman al-Zawahri, to be aired later today on an Arab satellite station, says regional reforms will come through âthe determination to resist." In a brief preview the voice on the tape says: âThe real reform project starts within us. It starts by implanting the will to resist, in our souls and the souls of our children and the next generations.â The preview was screened on Al-Arabiya television monitored in Egypt. The stationâs editor-in-chief, Salah Negm, refused to say how Al-Arabiya received the 10-minute audiotape.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/11/2004 5:12:34 PM ||
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#1
Hey, what's with this? They gave OBL the day off? Or maybe they've moved him to the sports desk? Or maybe his contract has, in a manner of speaking, expired.
Posted by: Matt ||
06/11/2004 21:08 Comments ||
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#2
sounds like the Chief in Outlaw Josey Wales : "Endeavor to persevere"
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/11/2004 21:31 Comments ||
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#3
Determination to resist---committing generations of future souls to the effort. Now, folk, THAT is a real plan for the future!!!
So I guess discussions and compromise are off the table?
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/11/2004 21:48 Comments ||
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#4
How about somebody "implants" a couple of rounds in this guy's skull?
IJAZUL HAQ, Pakistan s minister of Religious Affairs, said that every single incident of terrorist activity in Karachi and other areas of the country had its origin in Wana.
I don't know about every single incident...
Wana in South Waziristan Agency of Pakistan is a tribal belt adjoining Afghanistan. Haq said it is an abode of foreign terrorist elements out to challenge Pakistan and Pakistanis waging the war on terror. He said that investigations have revealed that the two attacks on the life of President General Pervez Musharraf and about a dozen others were linked to Wana. The third attack on President Musharraf in Karachi was foiled leaving clues about the culprits, he said. These Wana based terrorists are backed by agencies that are against Pakistan playing its role in the war on terror, Haq said. He said Wana and its adjacent areas have become a sanctuary for a number of runaways and retired army personnel from some of the Central Asian states who have been flushed out of Afghanistan. These people had tried to establish their writ in Afghanistan but were thrown out by Kabul and they are equipped with the latest arms that should be the exclusive possession of only a regular army, he said. About one million refugees from Afghanistan are still living in Pakistan. Wana alone has some 300,000 of them. No one can ever know how many of them are terrorists, Haq said.
My guess is most of them...
These fully trained terrorists and their mentors seek to disturb the peace and tranquility of the country to benefit from the turmoil and tension, he said. They also have been trying to give a new dimension to their attacks by rallying one sect and ethnic group against the other. But thank God they have failed to do so, Haq said. Haq said they even exploit religious sentiments of the people by raising baseless and illogical curriculum issues. But they have failed to disturb the educational peace of the country, he said.
Such as it is...
Posted by: Fred ||
06/11/2004 9:23:28 PM ||
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Friday launched a new offensive against Al-Qaeda-linked fighters on its northwest border, pounding an Al-Qaeda training camp and hideouts used by fugitive foreign fighters in a major air and ground campaign. Thousands of Pakistani troops backed by Cobra helicopter gunships targeted the camp and two hideouts near Shakai village in South Waziristan, military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan said, killing at least five more militants and raising the death toll from three days of clashes to 58.
Hey! Not bad! I'm assuming that's the Bad Guy corpse count, rather than Bad Guys, army, and civilians, of course...
We have retrieved five bodies of militants. Others are lying on the ground, Sultan told a news conference at army headquarters in Rawalpindi. A statement issued by the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the operation had been launched after the political process failed to produce results.
Well after, in fact...
The government was left with no choice but to respond in order to establish its writ and eliminate these foreign elements that, along with their accomplices, had not only taken the local population hostage but were also a nuisance for the entire area, the ISPR said. Pakistan s Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat told the federal parliament that a new operation had been launched and would last until objectives are met, state television reported. A senior security official called the strike a major offensive. Army helicopters have pounded the hideouts of foreign militants after which troops landed from helicopters and launched ground operations to capture militants, the official told AFP.
That's a little more professional than the last attempt. And a lot more productive than sending tribal lashkars to drive around the countryside, beating drums and making faces...
Major General Sultan said the security forces had targeted three sites including a training center, two Al-Qaeda safe houses and a compound which Al-Qaeda financer Abd Al-Hadi Al-Iraqi had been visiting.
He was gone long before they got close, of course...
At this moment we have this information that there were about eight to 10 fighters in the compound.... visited by Al-Iraqi. The house is on a mountain top with a Nullah (drain) from where they can have a covered passage to come and get out, he said. Sultan said the second target was a set of houses, compounds which Al-Qaeda foreign fighters used as a transit point. Another house is a training area, there is a firing range and other training facilities where they (Al-Qaeda) were training militants for terrorist activities. At this moment there were about 20 to 30 foreign fighters present in the area.
That's all? The rest are busy across the border, I guess...
The training camp lay on the outskirts of Shakai, near district capital Wana less than 30 kilometers from the border, where seven weeks ago army commanders and tribal elders hugged each other as they announced a truce and amnesty deal. The amnesty was offered after the army wound down its largest ever offensive against the militants late March and resorted to political negotiations to convince the fighters to lay down arms and register with authorities. The military said that its offer of amnesty, made in the April 24 Shakai Agreement, had been abused by foreign elements who fired on army positions Wednesday, triggering three days of clashes. Following the provocation and terrorist activities of foreign elements in violation of the Shakai agreement, Pakistan security forces are appropriately responding against the unknown and confirmed hideouts of miscreants, it said in a formal statement early Friday. The military accused local facilitators of abusing efforts to reach a non-military solution through the amnesty deal and said Wednesday attacks on army posts were an abuse of the government's sincere offer of amnesty.
Yeah, y'might call it that...
Some 300 to 400 mainly Chechen and Uzbek Al-Qaeda-linked fighters are believed to be hiding in the region. Some Arabs and Chinese Uighurs are said to be among them. The ground and air offensive came a day after a top military commander survived an assassination attempt in southern port city of Karachi when his convoy was ambushed by unidentified gunmen. Seven soldiers and three policemen were killed in the attack. The interior minister told Reuters the government suspected a link between the fighting and an attempt to kill the military commander in Karachi on Thursday. Yes there is a link between the two and we have some found clues, he said, but declined to give details.
Y'mean, like, Nek Muhammad called it before it happened?
Posted by: Fred ||
06/11/2004 9:11:23 PM ||
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The United Nations has determined that Saddam Hussein shipped weapons of mass destruction components as well as medium-range ballistic missiles before, during and after the U.S.-led war against Iraq in 2003. The UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission briefed the Security Council on new findings that could help trace the whereabouts of Saddamâs missile and WMD program. The briefing contained satellite photographs that demonstrated the speed with which Saddam dismantled his missile and WMD sites before and during the war. Council members were shown photographs of a ballistic missile site outside Baghdad in May 2003, and then saw a satellite image of the same location in February 2004, in which facilities had disappeared. From the UN no less. Where is Dan Rather on this?
UN inspectors: Saddam shipped out WMD before war and after
and the first paragraph says:
The United Nations has determined that Saddam Hussein
shipped weapons of mass destruction components as well
as medium-range ballistic missiles before, during and
after the U.S.-led war against Iraq in 2003.
But there isn't anything in the article to support the notion that
Saddam Hussein exported anything prior, during, or after the
2003 invasion of Iraq.
Even more damning, there isn't anything to support that paragraph
in the UNMOVIC report cited by the Tribune as the source for that
information.
For instance, according to the very article:
Council members were shown photographs of a ballistic
missile site outside Baghdad in May 2003, and then saw
a satellite image of the same location in February 2004,
in which facilities had disappeared.
By May, 2003 Saddam Hussein had been deposed. Note the missile site
was still intact at that time. It was dismantled some time between
then and February, 2004. Saddam Hussein was not in control of Iraq
during that period of time. The United States and UK were.
Please note also that UNMOVIC must rely on satellite data because
the United States will not allow inspectors back in on the ground.
Here's another gem:
"The removal of these materials from Iraq raises concerns
with regard to proliferation risks," Perricos told the council.
Perricos also reported that inspectors found Iraqi WMD and
missile components shipped abroad that still contained UN
inspection tags.
Note _still contained UN inspection tags_. This refers to material
that had been declared to UNMOVIC and which UNMOVIC had inventoried
and tagged. The proliferation in question has taken place since (and
one might argue BECAUSE) we threw UNMOVIC out of Iraq and have not
let them back in.
Also, the UNMOVIC report does NOT refer to 'WMD and missile' components.
Continuing:
UNMOVIC acting executive chairman Demetrius Perricos
told the council on June 9 that "the only controls at
the borders are for the weight of the scrap metal, and
to check whether there are any explosive or radioactive
materials within the scrap," Middle East Newsline reported.
Note that the 'proliferation' in question consists of scrap sales
to junkyards. These materials are being sold for scrap. I hope
you remember that UNMOVIC supervised the dismantling and destruction
of the Al Sammouds. No one is claiming that any of these material
are useable. But they were inventoried as part of the UNMOVIC
program and the United States is allowing that material to be
exported. Perhaps by Haliburton and Bechtel?
In April, [2004, FF] International Atomic Energy Agency
director-general Mohammed El Baradei said material from
Iraqi nuclear facilities were being smuggled out of the country.
Again, WE were in charge in Iraq in 2004 and El Baradei was referring
to the removal by the United States of material that the IAEA had
secured and inventoried. People who were reading newspapers back in
April are already aware that the IAEA lodged a protest against the
United States for smuggling the material out of Iraq.
There are a few comments in the Tribune article about fermenters.
The word 'fermenter' does not appear in the report the Tribune
cites as its source. There are lots of comments in the UNMOVIC
report about 'dual use items and materials'. These might include
fermenters.
I have no doubt that there were fermenters in Iraq, and that there
still are fermenters in Iraq. *I* have fermenters in my basement.
Zymurgists use fermenters all the time. All fermenters are 'dual
use', in fact 'multi use' as you can ferment lots of different
things in them. A hundred years ago Poncho Villa used fermenters
(canteens) to produce botulinum toxin.
We threw UNMOVIC out of Iraq and have not allowed them back
in. The ability fo UNMOVIC to continue its work is being compromised
by the United States. WE are allowing the materials UNMOVIC has
inventoried to be sold for scrap. UNMOVIC is a bit more diplomatic
as to how they are going about saying it but that is the clear
implication of the report.
Posted by: Fred Fighter ||
09/28/2004 19:47 Comments ||
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#3
troll with spelling issues - Aisle 2
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/28/2004 20:02 Comments ||
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#4
Not to mention being a slacker who's 3.5 months late to the thread, lol!
Pakistani forces battling local and foreign al-Qaeda militants near the Afghan border are also looking for Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi whom they say helped finance Osama bin Ladenâs terror network, an official said today. ââIntelligence reports suggest that al-Iraqi used to visit the house of local tribesman Eda Khan but right now we can,t say anything about his whereabouts,ââ Pakistanâs military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan told reporters. With the help of satellite images probably provided by the United States, Sultan said at least three targets have been identified in a location where about 50 local and foreign ââmiscreantsââ have been putting up fierce resistance to security forces. ââBesides two hideouts, there is a training area for local and foreign militants," he said.
There goes the "simple but well-armed shepherds" story...
General Shaukat Sultan said fighting still raged in the Shakai area of South Waziristan and would continue till the miscreants are eliminatedâ." Every terrorist act makes the government more determined and undeterred to pursue its agenda that runs against the agenda of terrorists,ââ he said, adding that ââwe will pay any price to bring our fight (against terrorism) to its logical end.ââ The spokesman said the military could not use its full might as it was difficult to clearly separate civilian population from foreign fighters. Local residents in Wana, the embattled regionâs administrative headquarters, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa they saw air force fighter jets flying over the Shakai hills followed by huge explosions. ââWe also saw smoke bellowing from the targeted areas,ââ local resident Ahmed Wazir said. Wazir also said that the Pakistani army sent in fresh reinforcements to help the paramilitary South Waziristan Scouts (SWS) who have been busy hunting the wanted tribesmen harbouring al-Qaeda and Taliban fugitives.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/11/2004 5:09:42 PM ||
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#1
think Perv's lost his sense of humor? And what's an Al-Q big doing with a name like Al-Iraqi? Doesn't he know they were never associated?
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/11/2004 21:22 Comments ||
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The Dutch government of Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende decided on Friday to extend the countryâs military mission to Iraq for another eight months. Foreign Minister Ben Bot and Defence Minister Henk Kamp had made it clear on numerous occasions over recent months that they strongly supported a continuation of the countryâs military presence in the southern Iraqi province of al-Muthanna. The decision by the cabinet can already count on a clear majority in the countryâs lower house, which will debate the plan in coming week. The main opposition Labour Party wants to see more guarantees for the troopsÂŽsafety before it gives full backing to the plan. Within the cabinet â a three-party coalition of Christian Democrats, conservative VVD and the D66 democrats â only the D66 ministers still had doubts about the planned extension as the week began, but the new UN resolution on Iraq finally removed their concerns. Murat: :-)
Posted by: Evert V. in NL ||
06/11/2004 5:13:18 PM ||
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#1
. The main opposition Labour Party wants to see more guarantees for the troops´safety ...
I understand their concern. The Labour Party could best ensure the safety of the troops by making sure the troops have all the equipment, weapons, ammo, supplies and manpower required for the job.
Oh right, they were speaking in code again ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/11/2004 21:43 Comments ||
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Another hudna, perhaps?
Radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr has reportedly backed for the first time US moves to gradually hand powers over to an interim Iraqi government. The change of heart came in a sermon at Friday prayers in the town of Kufa, two weeks after the government was formed. Mr Sadr, a loudmouth firebrand whose militia has fought US forces since March, called for a new start and an end to conflict, according to witnesses. But his supporters clashed with members of a pro-US faction in nearby Najaf.
That worked well, didn't it?
Stones and shoes were thrown in the clash at the shrine of Imam Ali leaving several people injured and forcing the cancellation of Friday prayers.
"Call a doctor! Mahmoud's been hit by a shoe!"
Mr Sadr called upon the interim government to work to end the occupation according to a timetable set by Iraqi officials, reported a correspondent for Voice of Mujahidin radio present at the sermon. Mr Sadr added that the formation of the government was a good opportunity to bury past differences and "forge ahead toward the building of a unified Iraq". There has not been any official reaction to Mr Sadr's conciliatory speech in Kufa, where he delivers eye-rolling, spittle-spewing fiery Friday sermons at the main mosque every week.
On Wednesday night and Thursday Mr Sadr's followers had clashed with Iraqi police in Najaf - less than a week after police began patrols under a truce between the militia and US troops. At least six people were killed in the fighting, including police officers, militants and two civilians. Another 29 people were injured, including children.
And a wonderful time was had by all, except for the dead guys...
On Friday morning hundreds of supporters of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (Sciri) marched towards the Imam Ali Shrine to express support for the truce. Sadr supporters blocked their way, and fistfights broke out and missiles were thrown.
"Look out! They got shoes!"
One top Sciri official was reportedly wounded in the head during the confrontation.
"Yup. Conked right on the turban by a size 14..."
It wasn't the shoe, it was the Marine's foot inside it ...
The area surrounding the sacred compound is still controlled by Sadr militiamen despite the week-old truce under which they have withdrawn from the rest of the city.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/11/2004 1:31:57 PM ||
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#1
Next time he breaks a cease fire they should just let our boys free to shoot at Sadr militiamen for a weekend (Ralph Peters, let them feel the pain style). I bet he respects cease fires with the infidels after that, if he has any militiamen left.
#6
The change of heart came in a sermon at Friday prayers in the town of Kufa, two weeks after the government was formed.
It's not a "change of heart". This is a page out of the old Commie playbook, where after having been handed a huge setback the effort is simply scaled back as necessary and time allowed to pass until the next opportunity to bump up hostilities a couple of notches or more presents itself.
The United Nations has determined that Saddam Hussein shipped weapons of mass destruction components as well as medium-range ballistic missiles before, during and after the U.S.-led war against Iraq in 2003. The UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission briefed the Security Council on new findings that could help trace the whereabouts of Saddamâs missile and WMD program. It canât be. How could they destroy such a beautiful campaign as this - John Kerry
The briefing contained satellite photographs that demonstrated the speed with which Saddam dismantled his missile and WMD sites before and during the war. Council members were shown photographs of a ballistic missile site outside Baghdad in May 2003, and then saw a satellite image of the same location in February 2004, in which facilities had disappeared. Speed at which they were dismantled. . .Hmmm you think families held hostage helped move things along.
"Itâs being exported," (UNMOVIC acting executive chairman) Perricos said after the briefing. "Itâs being traded out. And there is a large variety of scrap metal from very new to very old, and slowly, it seems the country is depleted of metal." No metal in the country? You mean Saddam sent his goon around to even extract teeth? Much more : see link!
No matter. The charges that we "failed to find the WMD" will continue to flow like water...
#2
i would be suprised if the liar muRAT posts on this one
Posted by: Dan ||
06/11/2004 16:09 Comments ||
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#3
i would be suprised if the liar muRAT posts on this one
Posted by: Dan ||
06/11/2004 16:10 Comments ||
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#4
This must be lies. Remember - Bush lied. Kerry's position will be - "I would not have handled it this way. It was sheer incompetence for Bush to lead people to believe there were no WMDs after leading them to believe there were WMDs. And now he has the audacity to say there really were WMDs, but amazingly he doesn't know where they are. This kind of incompetence is distressing. Certainly when I was in Vietnam, we knew this kind of incompetence was - well, not competent."
Posted by: Sam ||
06/11/2004 16:11 Comments ||
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#5
I agree Sam. And Bush is in favor of torture too, and for not complying with the Geneva Contravention.
Posted by: Jennifer ||
06/11/2004 16:13 Comments ||
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#6
Yes Jennifer, the Geneva Contravention explicitly dictates how prisoners are to be treated, yet Bush can't read so he doesn't know about it...and...and...oh why bother you're just too funny!!
Posted by: Rafael ||
06/11/2004 16:18 Comments ||
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#7
Rafael...
The Geneva convention also has specific provisions on WHO can be considered a POW...
These provisions are there FOR A REASON...
Some find it silly, but not having people disguised as civilians, among civilians, fighting, using said civilians as human shielding is important to some of us...
And according to the Geneva Conventions doing so makes you not qualify for POW status...
Read it sometime..
And the recent articles about the "memo" are just about that... Al Qeada fighting in violations of the Geneva Conventions...
Posted by: sonic ||
06/11/2004 16:26 Comments ||
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#8
Well, well, well, democrats--what have we to say now? Sadly I know your answer...first we'd have to find 1 weapon of mass destruction, then we'd have to find 2, then a dozen, then only ones that kill thousands, then someone would actually have to use them first before you would take a stand...on whatever free ground remained...
#9
Sonic, I was referring to the Geneva Contravention. It supercedes the Geneva Convention.
Posted by: Rafael ||
06/11/2004 16:44 Comments ||
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#10
About a month ago Kerry(I served in Viet Nam)spelled out first Demo line-while some WMDs may be found,they weren't a threat to US that justified unilateral attack agaist wishes of our allies.The Demo talking heads turned that into STOCKPILES have to be found!If Un report gets any traction(doubtful-no pictures of rows of weapons that might convince honest doubters),expect expansion of Kerry(I served in Viet Nam)theme.The weapons weren't a threat,Saddam would never have used against US,bungling Bush Administration angered our "allies",mishandled war,isn't capable of transition,etc.,besides that's all in past,can't we just move on and talk about how bad economy is.
Posted by: Stephen ||
06/11/2004 16:53 Comments ||
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#11
Yes, Bush is in favor of torture. No more pictures. But since the Italians thwarted a ciqada plot to blow up a PARIS subway this weekend, I guess Chirac has had an epiphany?
We need to do what we need to do with terrorists who are not part of the former Iraqi army, which is who the Geneva Convention applies to in Abu Gherib - Not Sadrite or Fedayen troublemakers who take orders from God-knows-where.
Bravo Italy for pulling the frog nougahs out of the fire, before one happened onb a Paris subway this weekend.
Bravo Bush for all the "squeezed" info that prevented attacks on us!
#14
You either treat prisoners according to international treaties and convention or you treat them according to basic principles of fairness.
Take your pick becuase you can't do both. If you choose international treaties then if torture is not explictly prohibited in defined circumstances then you are free to torture.
This rather obvious piece of logic is of course beyond the understanding of the Left/Media.
Posted by: Phil B ||
06/11/2004 20:46 Comments ||
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#15
I think we should introduce Jennifer to Charlie Johnson sometime. Politely, of course.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/11/2004 22:00 Comments ||
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#16
Jules:
It's very simple. [Crinkle][Crinkle][Crinkle]
OK, now that I have a tinfoil hat on...
Since Saddam shipped them out, then they were not actually present when we attacked, so Bush lied, so...
"The region that rose to the top was northern Africa because of the large Islamic populations, because of the large areas of uncontrolled territory where the nation have a difficult time controlling their sovereign areas and because of what one would call a sympathetic or apathetic population and a number of other reasons. Thatâs what drove us to north Africa and areas of the Sahel."
Citing some of the major "Jihadist" groups operating in the region, the official said their "primary motivation" is to "undermine and overthrow." Furthermore, according to this official, there are splinter groups "that have aligned themselves with a broader global jihadist movement." These splinter organizations "are less concerned with overthrowing a specific government and more concerned with waging a war or jihad with the west," the official said. Noting that several Moroccans were involved in the recent bombings in Spain, the official said "Madrid points out that this is not a local problem."
At this point, said the official, American âboots on the groundâ are not what Eucom envisions. "Our main goal is to give the nations of northern Africa the resources and capability to take care of their own problems. We donât want them to become like Afghanistan." He denied that a late March military campaign in Niger and Chad against the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, known as the GSPC, involved U.S. troops. "There was intelligence sharing. That was our major contribution." Other sources say that P-3 Orion aircraft guided the anti-GSPC operation and a Voice of America report said that ground troops led the Algerian army to a large weapons cache that was believed to be headed for terrorist groups.
Terrorist organizations "use the political borders between these nations, and the uncontrolled spaces to move about freely and to limit the stateâs ability to do anything about them." Eucom intends to "give them equipment thatâs right for what they need, whether it is vehicles, or communications equipment or body armor or training on how to maintain their vehicles or training on how to maintain communications systems. Maybe encryption gear so they can encrypt and talk securely."
The State Department has funded a Pan Sahel Initiative (PSI) under which Eucom is assisting Mali, Niger, Chad, and Mauritania in detecting and responding to suspicious movement of people and goods across and within their borders through training, equipment and cooperation is one model. "We may have a better lock on a group because of our superior intelligence gathering capabilities" the official insisted. "We do not see establishing U.S. bases."
In March, Natoâs Joint Command Southwest (JCSW) and the Spanish Instituto Universitario announced plans for a seminar on security and cooperation with the Maghreb and Sahara as part of Natoâs "Mediterranean Dialogue". And later this month a conference will be held in Europe to initiate an "African Clearing House" program aimed at avoiding duplication of efforts.
"The idea is to bring together military folks from about a dozen European nations who have engagement with African nations to compare what they are doing with what we are doing. everybody sits down and sees what everybody else is doing," the official said during the interview.
Three weeks ago, "the first meeting ever" between the chiefs of defense of North African states and Sahel states took place at the Stuttgart, Germany headquarters of the United States European Command (Eucom). Although they are next door neighbors it was "the first time that the chief of defense of Chad and the chief of defense of Niger talked to each other in their life," Eucom Deputy Commander, Charles F. Wald told an audience at the American Enterprise Institute on Tuesday.
The defense chiefs participating in the meeting came from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, Chad and Niger. "When we talked to them about regional security challenges," Eucomâs chief of counter terrorism in the Plans Division, Lt. Colonel Powell Smith, told allAfrica.com, "to a man they identified the greatest security challenge facing their nations as âreligious extremismâ -- thatâs how they termed it not how we termed it and they want to combat it."
After successful government crackdowns on the group in southern Algeria and Mali, members fled through Niger to Chad. In Niger, according to Defence Minister Hassane Bonto, the GSPC was working hand-in-hand with armed bandits and was using hideouts and arms caches left over from a rebellion in the 1990s by Tuareg nomads.
"This was a real terrorist threat," said Wald. "Part of this group were Nigerians, Nigeroise, Chadians, Malians and some Algerians," he told the AEI meeting: "Libya is terrified of them. This is a bad group of people...They have declared allegiance to al-Qaeda. And Iâll tell you one thing. I think the United States learned a lesson in Afghanistan. You donât let things go."
Much of Sahelian Africa is "a belt of instability," said Wald. Islamists use vast empty or sparsely-populated spaces for transit into Europe and sometimes for terrorist training. Alienation because of failed government policies in many nations makes fertile recruiting ground as well. "Terrorists training in the Sahel can be in the United States or Europe in a matter of hours," retired General Carlton W.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/11/2004 1:22:29 PM ||
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As President General Pervez Musharraf attempts to reform Pakistan to bring it more in line with its status as a key United States ally and a bulwark against Muslim extremism and militancy, Thursdayâs assassination attempt on Lieutenant-General Ahsan Saleem Hayat, commander V Corps (Karachi), serves as a sharp reminder that there are those who resist such change. The attack on Hayatâs convoy in Karachi, which left at least 10 people dead, is widely seen as an internal backlash to a new military operation in the South Waziristan tribal area to root out insurgents, and moves to clamp down on those with "Islamic tendencies" in the armed forces. Hayat is also one of Musharrafâs most trusted aides, and is tipped to be promoted to full general before the year is out. "The immediate response from Musharraf to Thursdayâs events will be to roll back the reform program, whether it is in the ISI [Inter-Services Intelligence], foreign policies, in the army or in society," a retired army officer who is close to Musharraf commented to Asia Times Online.
That may make sense in the Byzantine politix of Pakland. To the rational world it doesn't.
One of the first rethinks could be on the Afghan resistance, which has been left in the lurch by the Pakistani army establishment. In April last year, at a convention in Peshawar of the Hizb-i-Islami Afghanistan (HIA), led by veteran mujahideen Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a plan was thrashed out - with key Pakistani support pledged - to intensify the jihad movement in Afghanistan by revamping training camps for the Taliban. Subsequently, major attacks were to be launched in urban Afghan centers. However, under US pressure, Pakistan was forced to withdraw all support, and it shut down all HIA offices and militant training camps. Then in April, it launched a major military operation against the Taliban and al-Qaeda suspects believed to be sheltering in Pakistanâs tribal areas. This proved unsuccessful, with few people rounded up and the army sustaining high casualties at the hands of tribals. A second operation is now under way.
We'll see what the results are. They were pretty thoroughly laughed at after the first one...
With Thursdayâs attack in Karachi, a clear message has been sent to all units in the Pakistani armed forces that in future Musharrafâs decisions will not go unchallenged. This is not the news that high command wants communicated, though, and all local electronic channels as well as the print media have been sent advice not to highlight the attack as one on the corps commander, but rather to portray it as a simple act of terror that his motorcade chanced upon. The highly professional manner in which the attack was undertaken, in a what should have been a secure area, knowledge of the convoyâs movements and the ease with which the attackers escaped strongly suggest, however, some form of complicity in the army.
I'd say so. So would the two attacks on Perv last year. How's this different?
By the mid-1980s, President Zia ul-Haqâs "Islamization" of the country was under way. This spilled over into the military. Musharraf was well aware of this and banned such functions as millad (a program in which the qualities of the Prophet Mohammed are explained) in the cantonments. The purpose was to curtail unnecessary interaction among the ranks, which he believed undermined the general professional behavior of officers. However, many religious groups are now well established in the armed forces, for instance the al-Iqwan organization headed by Maulana Akram Awan from Chakwal. Chakwal is near Rawalpindi, the twin capital with Islamabad, and about 70% of the armed forces have hailed from the Chakwal area since British India days. Awan preaches radical Islam, and he has thousands of followers among non-commissioned officers, while dozens of commissioned officers are known to have become his disciples. Similar other "circles" exist in the army. All disciples of a pir (spiritual master) become pir bhai or brother to the master. In connection with this, in 2003 several officers simply disappeared. Their families have filed a petition for information on their whereabouts, but the government has yet to respond. As a result, underground pamphlets have started circulating, questioning these matters. Aprilâs operation in South Waziristan raised further questions about discipline in the army when several officers and soldiers refused to attack on their own people (tribal residents). Several officers were arrested and moved to Rawalpindi and Islamabad to be taken to the task. A major army reshuffle is expected soon, and with Musharraf expected to favor his relatives and friends over those next in line, further dissatisfaction is assured.
That's traditional subcontinental politix, isn't it?
The selection of Hayat as a target in Karachiâs attack on Thursday has raised several questions. He comes from a middle-class Karachi family, like Musharraf. He is known to be a down-to-earth but absolutely professional officer and he has never indulged in activity other than his military duties, and he has not dabbled in politics. There was absolutely no ground to target Hayat on personal grounds. He was simply chosen as a potential sacrificial offering by the perpetrators to get their message across to Musharraf that not everyone is marching in time with him.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/11/2004 1:08:41 PM ||
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Pakistan forces hunting al Qaeda-linked militants rained bombs and shells on a remote tribal region near the Afghan border on Friday where the army said more than 53 people had been killed in three days of fighting. Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat told Pakistanâs parliament the military would continue its assault in the Shakai area of South Waziristan until it had been cleared of militants. At least two aircraft bombed two houses where militants were thought to be holed up in the Shakai area, about 400 km (250 miles) southwest of Islamabad and 17 km (11 miles) west of the regional capital, Wana, witnesses told Reuters by telephone. Many people, including women and children, walked for miles to safety after authorities ordered residents of Shakai to evacuate the battle zone.
Military spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan told a news conference that the army had killed 35 militants but lost 15 of its men in fighting on Wednesday and Thursday. Three civilians have also been reported killed but Sultan said he did not have casualty figures from Fridayâs fighting. He said militants attacked a post of Pakistani paramilitary force on Wednesday, killing nine troops. "They overpowered the Frontier Constabulary men and killed them in cold blood. They shot them in the forehead. They mutilated their dead bodies. They also cut away certain parts of their bodies," he said.
We can guess which ones...
Sultan said Pakistani forces had destroyed a house of a tribesman where an al Qaeda member used to stay. They had also targeted a militant training camp and an al Qaeda safe house. "The fighting is going on all the three targets. The situation is fluid and it is difficult to tell the number of fresh casualties," he added. The interior minister told Reuters the government suspected a link between the fighting and an attempt to kill the military commander in the southern port city of Karachi on Thursday.
Holmes! How do you do it?
"Yes there is a link between the two and we have some found some clues," Hayat said, but declined to give details. The Karachi corps commander, Lieutenant-General Ahsan Saleem Hayat, survived but 10 people were killed in the ambush. "The terrorists feel that it is basically the army that is cutting across their agenda," Sultan said. "They want to destablise the country."
In Pakistan? Coal to Newcastle...
A Pashtun tribesman who has rallied support among his clan for foreign militants in South Waziristan told the British Broadcasting Corpâs Pashto-language service on Thursday that the attack in Karachi was a response to the militaryâs operation on tribal territory. Tribesman Nek Mohammed said more militant attacks were planned in Pakistani cities, including Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Sultan said on Thursday that the government was determined to root-out foreign militants. But he added: "We cannot use overwhelming force. We cannot use indiscriminate fire power."
Why not? The Bad Guys do. And they cut your guys' nuts off...
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/11/2004 1:00:20 PM ||
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The State Duma turned down a draft law on the ban of Wahhabism and any other extremist activities and tightening control for the activities of religious groups in Russia on Friday. The Dagestani Peopleâs Assembly submitted in the Duma the draft law on the amendments in the law âOn freedom of conscience and religious associationsâ that stipulates the ban on âsetting up and activities of Wahhabism and other extremist associations, religious groups which activities are aimed at the forcible change of constitutional order.â
âThe events in Dagestan and Chechnya showed that if decisive measures are not taken the activities of religious extremists may pose a real threat not only for Dagestan and Russia but also the whole world,â the authors of the draft law emphasised. The Russian government and the Duma Committee for Public Associations and Religious Organisations drew negative conclusions on the draft law. âThe draft law actually regulates the activities not of religious associations but of anti-state and anti-public extremist organisations that should be regulated by the Criminal Code,â the Duma committee pointed out. Meanwhile, the Duma committee believes that the draft law introduces such new terms as Wahhabist activities and Wahhabist associations, the legal meaning of which is not explained.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/11/2004 1:12:17 PM ||
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Former Afghan rulers, Taliban, denied Friday, June 11, involvement in the killing of 11 Chinese workers slain in their sleep in northeast Afghanistan, the bloodiest attack on foreigners since the U.S.-led military attack almost three years ago. The denial came as the bodies of the 11 reconstruction workers killed were transferred to Kabul ahead of repatriation to China and at least one man was arrested in relation to the savage attack, according to Agence France-Presse. Abdul Latif Hakimi, claiming to represent remnants of the ousted Islamic regime, said the horrific killings "should not have happened."
"We really hosed that one..."
"We deny the accusation of killing the Chinese workers in Kunduz province of Afghanistan," he told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location. Kunduz province, some 250 kilometers north of Kabul, has been â until the Thursday attack â considered one of the few safest areas in Afghanistan. President Hamid Karzai, in the United States to attend the G8 summit, blamed the killings on Afghanistanâs "enemies" while Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah said the cold-blooded murders were carried out by "terrorist elements." Acting President Mohammed Qasim Fahim, the Defense Minister standing in for Karzai, said Thursday he considered "the network of Taliban, Al-Qaeda and their allies behind the incident." According to local Afghan police, one man has been arrested in relation to the attack, however, Chinaâs official news agency Xinhua said two people had been detained. "Based on the information we received, we arrested one suspect called Mullah Tor," near the site of the killings, Kunduz provincial police chief Mutalib Bek told AFP. "He was on his way towards Kunduz," when he was picked up, he said, adding the investigation was continuing.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/11/2004 1:02:14 PM ||
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Al Qaedaâs âkingpinâ in Pakistan, who is suspected of plotting two assassination attempts on President Pervez Musharraf, may have directed the bid to kill a senior army commander in Karachi. Karachi corps army commander Lieutenant General Ahsan Saleem Hayat, one of Pakistanâs top generals, narrowly escaped a gun attack on his convoy yesterday morning. Seven soldiers, three policemen and a pedestrian were killed. "We strongly suspect Amjad Farooqiâs hand in the attack on the generalâs convoy," a senior investigator said.
Hmmm... You should probably take stern measures against him, like arresting him, holding him for a month or two, and then letting him go...
Investigators are also probing the possibility that Farooqi ordered the double car bomb blast near the US consul generalâs residence on May 26 in which a policeman was killed and several other policemen and journalists were injured. "Farooqi has been seen in Karachi recently but managed to escape to Quetta before we could got hold of him," the investigator said. He says the militant has been seen with gun smugglers in Quetta. Dawood Ibrahimâs hard boyz?
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/11/2004 12:54:22 PM ||
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Thousands of Pakistani troops backed by gunship helicopters have attacked hideouts of Al Qaeda-linked foreign militants in a tribal region near the Afghan border. Security officials say the aircraft pounded hideouts in the Shakai area near South Waziristan tribal district capital Wana, where clashes left 35 militants and 15 troops dead on Wednesday. "Army helicopters have pounded the hideouts of foreign militants after which troops landed from helicopters and launched ground operations to capture militants," a senior security official said.
No details of casualties from the aerial bombardment and intense artillery barrages are immediately available. It is not clear whether the assaulting troops faced any resistance. The military says its offer of amnesty and trust, made in the April 24 Shakai agreement, has been abused by "foreign elements" who fired on army positions Wednesday, triggering three days of clashes. "Following the provocation and terrorist activities of foreign elements in violation of the Shakai agreement, Pakistan security forces are appropriately responding against the unknown and confirmed hideouts of miscreants," the statement said. Some 300 to 400 mainly Chechen and Uzbek Al Qaeda-linked fighters are believed to be hiding in the region. Some Arabs and Chinese Uighurs are said to be among them.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/11/2004 12:57:39 PM ||
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TWO Iraqi children were killed and 23 people injured in overnight clashes between US soldiers and militiamen in the Baghdad Shi'ite neighbourhood of Sadr City, medics and the US military said today. "We received the bodies of two young children and admitted 23 wounded people over the course of Thursday evening, including two women," said doctor Hasan Najim of the Sadr City general hospital. A US military spokesman said assailants, believed to be militiamen loyal to Shi'ite radical leader Moqtada Sadr, targeted US troops with rocket-propelled grenades as they conducted regular patrols in the battlezone neighbourhood last night. "Yes, we did have clashes ... we returned fire," said the spokesman, Captain Brian O'Malley. Asked about the two children caught up in the clashes, O'Malley said two young boys were injured, one critically, when insurgents launched eight mortar rounds on the US base outside Sadr City yesterday afternoon. "The mortars missed (the base) completely but hit two boys on bicycles," he said.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/11/2004 03:25 ||
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#1
I agree. If they accept what has been given to them, they will be second class citizens.
There were some good arguments the other day for the Kurds joining the Republic - but if I were a Kurd - I'd still bow out. They actually have what it takes to form a democracy. I hope the rest of Iraq can someday find democracy, but I don't see it with the leaders they have now. Maybe it's the State Dept's influence, maybe it's fate, but IMHO, the Kurds and the Afghan's allowed true leaders to emerge, but the Iraqi's got stuck with the political weenies that like to discuss problems over expensive lunches and solve them with self-serving bribes.
Posted by: B ||
06/11/2004 15:47 Comments ||
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Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/11/2004 02:44 ||
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"If light-weights have hostages, they know they can sell them on to Al-Qaeda-type groups," he said. "This will really complicate things for us because these groups have little respect even for the Islamic authorities." A regular visitor to Iraq for seven years, and an experienced troubleshooter in the Middle East, White is using his long-standing ties with key Sunni and Shiite clerics in the hope that their combined moral authority can persuade kidnappers to free their hostages.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/11/2004 22:51 Comments ||
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Two weeks after the announcement by the IDF Chief of Staff that Israel will consider compensation claims by Rafiach Arabs arising from the militaryâs operations in the city, some residents are damaging their own homes. The fraudulent claimants are hoping to take advantage of the Israeli generosity by claiming the damage was a result of IDF activities. During Operation Rainbow in Rafiach, IDF troops had the mission of searching out and destroying tunnels used for smuggling weapons and the like from Egypt into Rafiach.
Posted by: TS(vice girl) ||
06/11/2004 9:34:45 AM ||
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Rachel would be so disappointed...
These are the folks you died for, flat girl.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
06/11/2004 10:30 Comments ||
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#3-At first I was inclined to agree with you. Anger, violence, destruction-these are the same. But with the LA riots, weren't people sabotaging and attacking OTHERS' property? It's weird when you turn it on yourself...but accepting the martyr role is so widespread in the psyche of Gaza. Now add to being a martyr being a thief.
#5
When the houses were GIVEN to you by the UN and other sundry donors, you have no sweat equity involved. These people produce nothing but trouble and children so how can they be expected to value anything.
You're right of course about LA riots burning other people's property, but it was in their own neighborhoods to their own "oppressed" people. The martyr angle is unique to the Arab mindset; the LA rioters were simply too lazy to drive out of their own neighborhood to stage their riots.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
06/11/2004 10:58 Comments ||
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Well for one thing the LA riots were isolated in so called 'oppressed' niegborhoods...they destroyed what tax base they had.. which they are still trying to reclaim
#6 it wast't so much they were too lazy to drive to other places but the fact of the police response... if this same bullshit happend..in say Bel Air...the police response would of been huge.
personally it was not that wide spread..yes over many areas but not widespread.. i should know.. i lived through it and i did not see one instance of looting..though i could see smoke over yonder but nothing close...but i do not live in compton or anything like that
Posted by: Dan ||
06/11/2004 11:24 Comments ||
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#8
let me guess: since the Joooos could, just possibly, pay for damages, it's all their fault, right? Once again, the Paleos are victims of their own stupidity, duplicity, and greed
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/11/2004 11:38 Comments ||
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Paleos lied, St. Pancake died.
Paleos--atta bunch of losers. All the normal Palis left the area, what is left is trash.
EFL - life immitates Scrappleface
A Jordanian lawyer who claims he represents Saddam Hussein said he believes the ousted Iraqi leader was subjected to torture, although a copy of a letter reportedly sent to his daughters seems to show the ex-president in good spirits. Mohammed Rashdan said he had a copy of a January 21 report by the International Committee of the Red Cross that said the detaineeâs health was good but that he was "slightly wounded." It gave no details on the injury. "This is blatant proof that the Iraqi president was subjected to physical and moral torture and violence," said Rashdan, who says Saddamâs wife appointed him as lawyer shortly after the ex-leaderâs December 13 capture.
Sammy... Ladies' underwear on his head... A banana up his butt... One can only hope.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
06/11/2004 3:01:54 AM ||
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How do you say "bullshit" in Arabic?
Posted by: Chris W. ||
06/11/2004 10:02 Comments ||
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I believe it's "Allahu akbar".
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
06/11/2004 10:15 Comments ||
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I got my hopes up that Saddam was tortured, and shoot, this sentence pops out and dashes my hopes: although a copy of a letter reportedly sent to his daughters seems to show the ex-president in good spirits.
Posted by: rex ||
06/11/2004 10:45 Comments ||
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Good one Robert!
This is blatant proof that the Iraqi president was subjected to physical and moral torture and violence
So what, he's an animal devoid morality. What are you going to say after that fair trial and quick hangin' he can expect?
#6
Pleasepleaseplease, send us the pics of Lynndie England leading him around naked at the end of a leash!
We're the public, and we have a Right To Know!
Heavy gunfire has been heard in the Democratic Republic of Congo capital, Kinshasa following a reported coup attempt overnight. Artillery and heavy weapons have been heard near state television offices, and in several other districts. Government officials said the "coup attempt" had been neutralised and that President Joseph Kabila was in control. It comes days after government troops recaptured the eastern town of Bukavu from dissident soldiers. Witnesses in Kinshasa have seen several trucks full of soldiers loyal to President Kabila moving around the city. At 0230 local time (0130 GMT), some renegade soldiers took over state television and announced that the army was in control. But the BBCâs Arnaud Zajtman in DR Congo says that television is normally off air at that time and so the announcement went largely unheard. Troops loyal to the government retook the station soon after, Foreign Minister Antoine Ghonda told the BBC. The mutineers also cut off electricity to Kinshasa for some three hours.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
06/11/2004 5:02:10 AM ||
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"Attempted Coup In Africa".
Another "stop the presses" moment.
That's a standing headline on par with 'Arson suspected in Lynn / Lawrence / Brockton fire" or "Kennedy involved in affair / car accident / drunken brawl / skiing mishap'.
President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo has appeared on national television, saying that a coup attempt has been thwarted. There was heavy gunfire in the capital, Kinshasa, after rebel soldiers seized the national TV station overnight. Artillery and heavy weapons were heard near Mr Kabilaâs residence and in several other districts. This is the latest challenge to a power-sharing government set up last year to end five years of war. "Stay calm, prepare yourself to resist - because I will allow nobody to try a coup dâetat or to throw off course our peace process," Mr Kabila said, wearing military fatigues. "As for me, Iâm fine."
He said that 12 people had been arrested. Other mutineers, including the alleged leader, Major Eric Lenge, were seen trying to flee the city. The gunfire is now reported to have ended and the United Nations Mission in DR Congo (Monuc) said there were no reports of unrest outside the capital. At 0230 local time, some renegade soldiers from the presidential guard took over state television and announced that the army was in control. But the BBCâs Arnaud Zajtman in DR Congo says that television is normally off air at that time and so the announcement went largely unheard.
"It's 2.30 in the morning. Everybody's in bed and the transmitter's not plugged in. What in the world are you guys smoking?"
Troops loyal to the government retook the station soon after, Foreign Minister Antoine Ghonda told the BBC. The mutineers also cut off electricity to Kinshasa for some three hours.
"Honey! The power's off!"
"Don't worry about it, dear. It's 2.30 in the morning. There's nothing on the teevee anyway. Come back to bed."
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
06/11/2004 8:07:42 AM ||
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ISRAEL has developed its first surface-to-surface cruise missile with a range of at least 300 kilometres, according to a report to be published in Janeâs Defence Weekly next Wednesday. Called the Delilah-GL (ground launch), the missile could reach into the territory of all of Israelâs neighbours. It answers Israelâs 10-year quest for a such a missile, experts told the London-based publication. The Delilah-GL (ground launch) is an adaptation of the Delilah, its air-launched predecessor, Janeâs said, quoting officials at Israel Military Industries, where the missile is made.
The missile powered by a turbojet engine has a range of 250 kilometres, IMI said, but defence officials told Janeâs that the missile could reach "well beyond 300 kilometres." The advanced missile includes a high explosive 30-kilogram warhead and is guided by a global positioning system. The missile can also hover over an area before confirming its target through real-time visual intelligence transmitted back to the operator, Janeâs reported. The missile can be fitted with various payloads. One is an infrared device with electro-optical seekers for target acquisition and guidance. It can identify a target from a range of 16 kilometres, Janeâs said. Israel developed the new technology after a decade of trying to obtain surface-to-surface cruise missiles. The United States has twice denied Israeli requests to purchase the Tomahawk land-attack cruise missile, Janeâs reported. In the 1980s, Israel deployed its own long-range surface-to-surface missile, called Jericho II. Foreign reports say it has a range of at least 1500 kilometres, can carry a payload of 1000 kilograms and is suitable for nuclear weapons.
Posted by: tipper ||
06/11/2004 1:45:42 AM ||
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#1
30 kilos isn't much of bang. Looks like Israel want to do some long distance helizapping.
Posted by: Phil B ||
06/11/2004 3:05 Comments ||
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#2
How was Israel able to acheive this milestone?! Did they buy a "dud" from a previous attack of ours on some anti US country(ie Sudan, Afghan, Libya etc) and reversed engineered it: or am I suppose to believe someone sat down with pencil and paper and just "figured it out"!! Just what is it, about the Israelis, that makes things come true?
#4
smn, cruise missile technology is at least 25 years old. It so secret that a man in New Zealand. will sell plans to build your own for $10. Half a dozen competent engineers could build one in no time.
Just what is it, about the Israelis, that makes things come true? Really good scientists and engineers helps a lot.
I'd worry more about the technologies that Israel seems to be ahead of everyone else like remote imaging. Ever wonder how Israel finds those people to helizap?
Posted by: Phil B ||
06/11/2004 3:55 Comments ||
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#5
There are certain cultural factors at work in Israel that would affect the rapid development of any kind of technology, weapons related or not. But weapons technology becomes of critical importance when you are surrounded by folks who want to kill you and your children.
#7
"Just what is it, about the Israelis, that makes things come true?"
They aren't Arabs.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
06/11/2004 7:03 Comments ||
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#8
Shipman, funniest comment for days!
Posted by: Phil B ||
06/11/2004 7:06 Comments ||
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#9
smn - the Israelis are in the tech forefront on many systems, and jointly develop systems with the US. They aren't intellectual backwaters like most of their neighbors, and as Anon said - they have a desire not to get killed. This article is a nice head's up to Lebanon and Syria and Saudi. I'd test it on Nasrallah first
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/11/2004 8:27 Comments ||
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#10
Don't forget, the Israelis are one of the most innovative people in the western world. Most of the tech giants such as Intel, Microsoft, etc. have a number of facilities in Israel.
I work for Intel, and know for a fact our Israeli folks are doing some very cool technology development.
Did I mention also that my financial advisor just bought me into an Israeli technology based mutual fund, as they are poised to grow given the global economy, their very attractive P/E ratio, and the collapse of Intifada II...
No wonder the Arabs seethe so much, a tiny country of 6 million jews has accomplished more intellectually than 600 million arabs in the last 100, 200, or 500 year time span... Take your pick.
Posted by: Francis ||
06/11/2004 8:39 Comments ||
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#11
A cruise missile is a small airplane with a warhead and a really good autopilot. While it's not quite something you could build with stone knives and bearskins, it's not out of reach for most countries.
Posted by: Mike ||
06/11/2004 9:14 Comments ||
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#13
I think what SMN doesn't realize is that it's easy for a government to build a cruise missle, but it's an entirely different matter aiming it. It's the fact that we can fly a Cruise missle through a doorway with GPS that makes it so deadly, not the missle itself.
Posted by: Charles ||
06/11/2004 10:06 Comments ||
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#14
smn - they can do it because they spend their time studying science, math and looking forward toward success - unlike you who spends your time trying to cook up crackpot conspiracy theories of why someone is more successful than you and stewing over all your failures.
You sound like a whitetrash looser. Don't you have to get going to your friends trailer to shave you head? Get a life you turd.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
06/11/2004 10:07 Comments ||
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#15
Ever wonder how Israel finds those people to helizap?
They have a really good humint spy network - something that our own U.S. intelligence outfits are lacking. U.S. forces are quite capable of zapping their enemies in the ME; problem is, there's precious few on the ground out there that can point our armament in the proper direction at the proper time.
#16
I think smn is trying to (poorly) infer that Israel was given the technology by the US.
If so, I hope it's true. There's only one Democratic nation in the ME and there's only one ally we have there who supports the freedom of the individual, and that's Israel. They deserve all the support we can possibly give them and that includes weapons technology.
So kindly shove it where the sun doesn't shine, smn.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
06/11/2004 10:29 Comments ||
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#17
Chris W, it sounds more like the moron smn is trying to imply that Israel stole the technology from the US. But I agree with you, I hope we gave it to them.
B-A-R is absolutely right, the Israeli's have an incredible hum-int capability.
#18
This feels like piling on, but I'll do it anyway:
Quick history lesson: the first cruise missiles were the British "A.T." and the American "Kettering Bug"--both developed during World War One. (There's a Bug on display in the USAF Museum in Dayton.) They didn't work because the available guidance technology wasn't quite up to the concept, but it still proves my point.
Posted by: Mike ||
06/11/2004 11:51 Comments ||
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#19
Who the hell wrote this?
Delilah is old from begin of 90's. It was born as is a decoy drone but also as long range anti radar missile.
What about the so caled 1000km cruise missile launched from Israeli Submarines?
#20
Any thoughts on when a long range version of this missile would be available? Say, maybe when it is clear that Iran is nuclear weapons program is a sufficient threat...
#22
I'm surprised we haven't sold them any Tomahawks. Anyone have a reason why not?
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
06/11/2004 15:06 Comments ||
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#23
One reason might be that Isreal might modify them so that they are better and not tell the Americans how they did it. I believe they did some mods to fighter jets a while back and didn't tell them what they did. Might be like Ford selling their best selling car to GM....
#24
Eh...um just to point out.. Israel does have the Popeye cruise missile system.
While the initial Popeye variant has a range of about 75-80km, the turbo variant is sub launched it appears capable of a larger range plus a larger warhead.
#26
Tomahawks (in their many variants) are too expensive, too long range, AND can carry nuclear warheads. Probably a little too explosive to put into the mix in the mideast. As for "cruise missiles" Titan Corp got a contract a year or two ago to produce their Affordable Weapon System, a $50,000 cruise missile made from commercially available components. The performance was a little better than the Israeli missile, but close. The advantage here over a Tomahawk is that these things are relatively cheap and can loiter in an area waiting for a target. They are also recoverable, sort of a hybrid between an RPV and a cruise missile.
#27
RWV - Is anyone "watching" the shipments from Titan Corp - making certain of the actual final destinations, I wonder? Sometimes Bad Guys actually do wear Black Hats.
... The interview is an exceptional report, offering a perfect portrait of a frontier-land bishop who knows âhisâ Islam very well, sees it in practice and describes it without reticence as an Islam made also of crucifixions, slavery, forced conversions and trickery. According to bishop Mazzolari there is a world of difference between Islam and Christianity: Allah is not the same God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
However the bishop does not idealize Christian warriors who have taken up arms against Muslims from Khartoum. Even they have committed their share of wrongdoings. The bishop reported such instances, and has subsequently endured problems on account of this Even less so does the bishop praise the West and Western Christianity while lashing out vicious accusations against the United States. Following the attacks of September 11, the bishop views Americans as waging a furious hunt based on vengeance, which he says leads only to hatred. The bishop explains how his extremely poor African faithful âexperience September 11 everydayâ in their lives. Yet they take no revenge. âThey suffer injustice and disease without any bitterness. You can only learn from them,â he said.
If they retaliated more often on their tormentors their lot in life might not be quite so bad. My advice: turn the other cheek. But as soon as you run out of cheeks, slap the bastard back...
When asked about Christian-Muslim dialog, the bishop responded: âOne day they came and asked me to speak with Muslims, that is, to do the impossible.â And when commenting on the question about a âclash of civilizationsâ, Mazzolari remarks: âThis is just the beginningâ...
#2
The Sudanese experience September 11 every day, when there is no trace of their martyrdom in your newspapers. Why? They suffer injustice and disease without any bitterness.
Clash of civilizations? You betcha. I am not willing to join the "I love suffering" crowd- Muslim, Christian, or anything else.
#3
Indeed, if there had been no resistance in the South, there would have been no peace treaty. Even then, such talk merely displays a self-pious attitude, attempting to cast weakness into virtue. One could imagine a Canadian talking like this.
It is well and good to believe that you are to suffer martyrdom, but one has to ask whether sitting on ones hands and letting your fellow brothers and sisters get killed is REALLY the best way to love them. For every command to love your enemy, there are three or four to love the bretheren. The New Testament is SILENT on military service. Personal Vengeance is categorically forbidden, but one looks in vain for a prohibition to act as an agent of duly constituted authority to enforce justice and peace. The bishop totally ignores Aquinas' work in this area.
The lack of real biblical knowledge all sorts of abuses like this. The Bishop should know better, but chooses not to know.
A look at why Karachi has become the war zone it is and an epicenter of global terrorism. Not suprisingly it involves lots of Generals, doing everything they can to keep Benazir Bhuttoâs PPP out of power, not matter how much it screws the country up.
A brief history of the politics of Sindh province sheds light on who is responsible for its plight and why. It also suggests an improbable way out of the quagmire. Before Gen Ziaul Haq usurped power, Sindh was generally free of religious, ethnic or foreign-inspired terrorist strife. Then Gen Zia hanged Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and created the MQM to counter the PPP in Sindh so that he could divide and rule. In 1983, the MQM rescued him from the Movement to Restore Democracy by stopping Karachi and Hyderabad from lining up behind the rural protest. This fertilised the seeds of ethnic conflict between Sindhis and Mohajirs and nurtured the urban-rural divide.
Generals Aslam Beg and Hamid Gul followed the same strategy after 1988. In pursuit of personal ambitions, they nudged the MQM to stab the PPP government in the back during the 1989 Midnight Jackals no-confidence operation. When that failed, the MQM went on the warpath against the PPP, tearing asunder Karachi and Hyderabad, and paved the way for Ms Bhuttoâs sacking in 1990. Gen Beg took money from Habib Bank and Mehran Bank to rig the 1990 elections and keep the PPP out of power in Sindh and Islamabad. He fished Jam Sadiq Ali out of exile and helped him cobble a government in Sindh with the MQM. But in just two years the Jam Sadiq-Altaf Hussain alliance plunged Karachi and rural Sindh into violent anarchy. After Ms Bhutto returned to power in 1993, she was faced with a resurgence of MQM inspired terrorism and re-launched the clean-up operation with the help of the politically neutral army chief, Gen Abdul Waheed. Later, Gen Naseerullah Babar used the Rangers and police to much the same effect. By the time she left, Sindh was at peace again. Incidently, the police officers who were responsible for cleaning up Karachi are currently being hunted down by MQM hitmen, since the latter is now back in favor and can take dire revenge™.
However, a destabilising new element was again injected into the Sindh equation by General Pervez Musharraf. Having determined to keep the PPP out, and distrusting the MQM, he wittingly opened up political space for the MMA to capture Karachi after a boycott by the MQM. But by the time the general elections had rolled up, the MQM and General Musharraf had clinched a mutually opportunistic deal. In exchange for supporting the government in Islamabad, the same MQM against whom three army chiefs before General Musharraf had railed was handed over the governorship of Sindh and made a critical partner in the Sindh government. But this has provoked acute tensions between the MQM and MMA in urban Karachi and between the MQM and PPP in rural Sindh. The situation is untenable because the PPP is the largest party in Sindh and the MMA is the ruling party in Karachi but both are out of the provincial and administrative loop of rural Sindh and urban Karachi respectively. So chaos and bloodshed will continue
General Musharraf has tied himself up in knots. Now he cannot antagonise the MQM in Sindh because that would spell the end of his government in Islamabad. So he has sacked the non-MQM chief minister and is hoping another one will âmanageâ the situation better. At the same time he is hoping to consolidate his alliance with the MQM when the local elections roll around next year. But a victory of the MQM in Karachi will be at the cost of the MMA, in particular the Jamaat-e Islami, which is bound to fiercely resist relinquishing power, as demonstrated by the violence in the recent by-elections in Karachi. Therefore, General Musharraf may eventually have to nominate a military governor to try and undo the disastrous effects of his political handiwork. But that will only bring him full circle to the beginning. This is what happens when a fractured polity, as in Sindh, is exacerbated by the politics of exclusion at the altar of personal ambition instead of being nudged into peaceful competition by the politics of inclusion at the altar of the national interest.
Conclusion: Gen Zia ul Haq and Gen Aslam Beg screwed up Sindh and Karachi for personal political reasons by excluding the PPP from its rightful stake in the province. But Generals Asif Nawaz, Abdul Waheed and Jehangir Karamat tried to undo their predecessorsâ disastrous legacies because they were politically neutral and had no personal political ambitions. Gen Musharrafâs position is untenable: he is compelled by circumstances to keep the PML-N at arms length but his hostility towards the PPP defies political explanation. For a host of domestic and international reasons, the PPP is ideally placed to be his natural political ally. Yet a personal pique against Ms Bhutto has rendered General Musharrafâs political somersaults ineffective in the national interest. The PPP and the MQM will have to learn to share power in Sindh effectively, and General Pervez Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto will have to work together in Islamabad before Karachi can be reprieved and Pakistan can breathe freely again. Since that is unfortunately not yet on the cards, both the city and the country will continue to suffer the adverse consequences of a well-meaning but hopelessly misguided man on horseback.
After reading that, I think I'll go take a shower...
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
06/11/2004 12:51:59 AM ||
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Leaders of rich nations made little progress this week towards a final deal on whether to forgive much of Iraq's foreign debt. The United States is pushing for a significant reduction in Iraq's $120 billion debt to give its war-shattered economy a chance to rebound. World Bank President James Wolfensohn said last year that the United States and other rich nations would need to forgive at least two-thirds of the debt burden for the country to have a chance at economic recovery. But the U.S. drive to get agreement on a specific amount of debt relief for Iraq faltered, in large part because of resistance from countries who think relief for Iraq should be accompanied with more generous debt relief for the world's poorest countries, many of them in Africa.
Y'all want to forgive your debts, go right ahead.
French President Jacques Chirac said Iraq's potential oil wealth would make debt forgiveness hard to explain to other poor debtor countries. "How would you explain to these people that in three months we are going to do more for Iraq than we have done in 10 years for the 37 poorest and most indebted countries in the world," Chirac said.
You're the Frenchman, this should be easy.
"That is why France - and we are not alone - has taken a clear position: cancellation, yes, substantial, yes," Chirac said. "What does substantial mean? For us it is around 50 percent. We do not want to go higher than that."
Hokay, we'll take the 50. Memo to James Baker: visit Paris tomorrow, with briefcase, see how much more we can get.
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder simply repeated earlier agreements to work on the issue through the Paris Club of wealthy creditor nations. "There really was no figure mentioned" at the summit, he said. Germany has agreed to substantial debt forgiveness for Iraq, on the condition that the U.S.-led coalition turn over control to an Iraqi interim government as scheduled on June 30.
Looks like the Germans will ante up then.
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said he was prepared to "eliminate the vast majority" of the Iraq debt that Japan holds if other members of the Paris Club also do so, said Japanese delegation spokesman Jiro Okuyama. Iraq owes about $42 billion to the rich nations represented by the Paris Club. An additional $80 billion is owed to several Arab governments.
CancellingNegotiating the Saoodi debt ought to be easy.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/11/2004 12:28:30 AM ||
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#1
For me this is simple...take over Switzerland. This is where the money is. This little piece of dung country has been given way to much rope. Have the Swiss cough up the 120 billion or pay in other ways...This so called neutral country that plays both sides of the fence needs to play on one side or be eliminated.
#2
Good point, #1. Switzerland should be compelled to open the books on Uncle Saddam and company. It's nonsensical that in this day and age of terrorism that Switzerland should be allowed to keep in good faith the privacy rights of terrorist regimes like Saddam and his Baathist thugs. If Switzerland wants to play with the bad boys of the world, they should lose their seat in the UN[big loss, I know, don't laugh,Switzerland probably would see membership in the UN as valuable, argh]
2. the other point that's been mentioned before is why should ANY country have its chits from Saddam honored, when they took a risk giving money to a lunatic despot? In the real world, if you choose to be a loan shark, you'll not get the Attorney General to validate your losses, right? Iraq should start off with a clean slate. Fools who dealt with Saddam should take the loss for their own stupidity. Why is Bush bothering to negotiate with these clowns? Who is going to uphold the legitimacy of the debtor nations? Kofi Annan?? He's up to his ears in scandal himself, he won't take on the USA for fear of more info. tidbits about the oil for food embezzlement getting out to the MSM.
Posted by: rex ||
06/11/2004 2:21 Comments ||
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#3
"Jacques Chirac said Iraq's potential oil wealth would make debt forgiveness hard to explain"
Bingo. We have a winner. "Why should we forgive a perfectly good debt? Iraq is good for it I tell ya!"
"Germany has agreed...on the condition that the U.S.-led coalition turn over control to an Iraqi interim government as scheduled on June 30"
Translation: "We can get far better deals (bribing the Iraqis) without the Yankees getting in the way."
Posted by: Rafael ||
06/11/2004 2:25 Comments ||
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#4
Why is Bush bothering to negotiate with these clowns? Who is going to uphold the legitimacy of the debtor nations?
That's what I was thinking. Another thing to consider: how about if Iraq just threatens to default on their debt. Then see the Euros squirm and quickly change tune. Given Iraq's oil reserves (potential wealth) the consequences of defaulting wouldn't be a problem, as opposed to other countries.
Posted by: Rafael ||
06/11/2004 2:33 Comments ||
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#5
Don't mess with the swiss!
i got money there.....
#7
Iraq just threatens to default on their debt It would also dictators credit ratings to ratshit. "Sorry sir but your credit line has been withdrawn. Would you like to pay cash for that?"
Posted by: Phil B ||
06/11/2004 3:58 Comments ||
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#8
Bush goal is to make support of dictators a losing proposition. If he makes the cost of business with Saddam high enough, countries lke France and Germany may look at the potential losses of dealing with other dictator regimes (China?) in the future.
Posted by: john ||
06/11/2004 7:32 Comments ||
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#9
We shouldnt encourage debt forgiveness. Saddam, although a dictator, was the legitimate ruler of Iraq. He is no longer, due to the US. I don't accept legality/illegality of war, because I dont accept extra-national court systems.
Now as the new leadership comes in, they must repudiate the debt (and risk loosing a trading partner) or talk someone into covering the debt/debt forgiveness.
IF that debt isnt paid, who will be Iraq's main trading partner? Could it be the US? Why yes, we are willing to buy your oil and supply nice things which will boost the US economy.
And that outcome sounds better than debt forgiveness to me :)
#10
Awright! I agree with flash91 on every point. Iraq has what everyone needs and will need for decades to come. It IS debatable whether or not those who do business with a Dictator should expect any legal "protection" when the asshat is retired. They can tell anyone who does not forgive the debt to go piss up a rope. Someone will pay market price for their oil. Period. And the US could certainly kick off the festivities by signing a contract for whatever they have for export. I don't wear hats, but black would be fine by me, heh.
#11
If he makes the cost of business with Saddam high enough, countries lke France and Germany may look at the potential losses of dealing with other dictator regimes (China?) in the future.
Precisely what Reagan did during the Cold War; he made the Soviets pay a price (in increasing military expenditures) they couldn't afford.
#12
rex> If Switzerland wants to play with the bad boys of the world, they should lose their seat in the UN [big loss, I know, don't laugh,Switzerland probably would see membership in the UN as valuable, argh]
LOL!! Do you know that Switzerland wasn't even a UN member until a couple years ago? It clearly saw UN as far less valuable than the US sees it.
Threaten it to take it back to 2002 when it didn't have UN membership? How will it *ever* manage.
#13
Thanks, aris, for a good history lesson! Funny, I assumed that the Swiss would not have missed a golden opportunity to wheel and deal with world leaders ie. be ready and waiting to open new bank accounts as one Third World thug is replaced by another despot/thief. But the Swiss are also frugal. I did further research and evidently previous referenda to join the UN were defeated because the Swiss thought membership would be a poor investment[no kidding] as well the Swiss worried about losing their neutrality and be forced to follow UN sanctions against dictators[clients] like Uncle Saddam.
So withdrawing UN membership would probably please the Swiss voters, since they narrowly approved joining the UN in 2002...what threat, what threat would strike fear in the hearts of the Swiss???...perhaps, threatening to move the UN headquarters from Manhattan to Geneva? Yes, that might tick the Swiss off, the prospect of having valuable real estate wasted on a meeting place for UN thugs, thieves, and dictators. LOL.
Posted by: rex ||
06/11/2004 18:29 Comments ||
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#14
Well, I can see their point. We should forgive debts to many of the African countries...
...as soon as we invade, smash their governments, and put their dictators on trial.
The U.S. military will consult Iraq's interim leaders before engaging in future offensives and is shifting its priorities from fighting guerrillas to training Iraqi troops and protecting Iraq's fragile new government. "Combat becomes a lower priority than it has been for much of the insurgent fight to date," said Lt. Gen. Thomas F. Metz, who took command of the new Multinational Corps Iraq headquarters last month. Metz said American forces "certainly have the right" under a U.N. Security Council resolution approved Tuesday "to conduct operations as we would like to." But decisions on U.S. operations will be made in concert with Iraq's incoming leaders, through liaisons sprinkled through coalition and Iraqi military units, Metz added.
One of the first tasks Metz identified was to declare which militias and rebel forces are "the enemy." "I don't think we're going to conduct a lot of operations where we disagree with the Iraqi government on who is hostile or not," Metz told The Associated Press in an interview on the sprawling coalition base on the edge of Baghdad International Airport. "It's only to our benefit ... to get the support of the interim Iraqi government." Now, the U.S.-led command is focusing intensely on rebuilding the Iraqi military and police, appointing a three-star U.S. general to oversee the task and giving it a higher priority than defeating anti-American guerrillas. "Combat becomes a lower priority than it has been for much of the insurgent fight to date," Metz said. Metz said another top job is guarding Iraq's economic infrastructure - pipelines, electric pylons, roads - needed to resuscitate the economy, while protecting the fragile, fledgling government selected to run the country until January's elections. "There are very professional terrorists that would like to kill any number of those people," he said.
Of course, as U.S. officers like to say, the enemy gets a vote. If rebels launch an offensive, perhaps timed to coincide with the June 30 transfer of some sovereignty to an Iraqi regime, Metz said the Army will shift back into counterinsurgency mode. Many have predicted a guerrilla attempt to disrupt the handover. But Metz said recent events have undercut the importance of June 30 as an insurgent target. The naming of an interim government headed by Allawi was one. And the resignation of the widely mistrusted Governing Council, hand-picked by the United States, was another. "It's turned out to be a pretty smart strategic move," Metz said. "It has given us time to educate those new leaders to the threat that we have and that the Iraqis have." Insurgent attacks in June have dropped to levels not seen since the relative calm of March.
In another deviation from plans, Iraqi forces will not be brought into the 35-nation coalition. National troops will fall under their own command, which will operate separately while reporting to the U.S.-led coalition. Military officials have said the April uprising - and the collapse of U.S.-led Iraqi security forces, half of whom refused to fight - persuaded them to place Iraqi forces under an indigenous command. The move gives the Iraqi military more freedom of action than other coalition partners. "If their government wants to do an operation, they're a sovereign nation and they can go do that operation," Metz said. "We will certainly offer all the advice we can if we think it's not a smart operation or they don't have the right intelligence brief."
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/11/2004 12:22:57 AM ||
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#1
State Department has taken over. Get ready for more casualties as the Diplomats tie our troops hands.
#2
You've got that right, #1. Liason, in concert, sprinkled...State's words coming out of a Lt.Gen.'s mouth...scary for our GI's. But decisions on U.S. operations will be made in concert with Iraq's incoming leaders, through liaisons sprinkled through coalition and Iraqi military units, Metz added.
Posted by: rex ||
06/11/2004 10:39 Comments ||
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#3
This bodes so ill I can barely type. I trust our military to learn lessons... but not Foggy Bottom.
How involved was State with the Viet Nam War? I see "military advisors" in Metz's statement. It strikes me that we are not nearing the end but just beginning.
Karachiâs ruling party and the grouping most symapthetic to America
The MQM was the dream of a few Marxist scholars such as Rais Amrohvi, Mohammed Taqi, John Ailia and Shahanshah Hussain to establish an organization that could protect the rights of immigrants who chose Pakistan over remaining in India when the sub-continent was partitioned from British India in 1947. The All Pakistan Mohajir Student Organization (APMSO) was the initial reality of the dream. It became established on campuses in Karachi, and allied itself with the left-wing Progressive Student Alliance. However, the Islami Jamiat-i-Talaba, which was ideologically allied with the Jamaat-i-Islami and which had been the main force on Karachi campuses, expelled the APMSO. As a result, its founder Altaf Hussain left his studies and went to the US, where he drove a taxi to earn a living.
At this time in the 1980s, the honeymoon between the Jamaat-i-Islami and military ruler General Zia ul-Haq was over, and they developed differences on several national political issues. The sector commander of the ISI persuaded Altaf Hussain to return to Karachi and take on the Jamaat-i-Islami. Altaf held big rallies and spoke against Punjabis and Pashtuns living in Karachi. In 1986, a bus driver who happened to be a Pashtun killed a college girl who was a member of a family that had migrated from India. The incident was immediately turned into a riot. The MQM was by now close to many bigwigs in the underworld - it still is - and they had several Pashtuns killed. Pashtuns retaliated in kind, and more. Altaf then initiated a drive to sell televisions and video recorders, the proceeds from which he used to purchase arms and ammunition. MQM activists now numbered thousands, and they roamed all over Karachi with AK-47 assault rifles and other sophisticated arms. Later years saw the MQM turn against Sindhis as well as Pashtuns and Punjabis. Killings and strikes were the order of the day for Karachi. In 1988, the MQM won national and provincial assembly elections, marking the all-out defeat to the Jamaat-i-Islami, knocking it from its only stronghold in the country.
In the early 1990s the MQM was a part of Nawaz Sharifâs coalition government when its vice president, Saleem Shehzad, now in exile in London, kidnapped an army major, stripped him and beat him like a dog. As a result, the first army operation was conducted against the MQM. However, Altaf fled to the United Kingdom before it began, and he now holds a British passport. A second operation was subsequently launched against the MQM, commanded by a former interior minister in the PPP government, retired Major-General Naseerullah Baber. This exposed extensive MQM torture cells and "no-go areas" in Karachi. Scores of MQM activists were killed in extrajudicial killings by the police.
After Musharraf took over in 1999 in a coup, he helped resolve differences with the MQM, and now it is a partner in the Sindh provincial government, as well as in the federal government. Yet it often remains critical of the establishment, and has the ability to raise rabble on the streets or call for citywide strikes at the drop of a hat. Because of its declared secular nature, the US has traditionally been closer to the MQM than any other party in Pakistan. Over the years, thousands of its activists have been given asylum in the US, where the MQM has a powerful bureau. After September 11, the United States identified even more with the MQM as it was the only party in Pakistan that widely mourned the attacks on the US, openly condemned the Taliban and al-Qaeda, and launched a powerful campaign in support of the US attack on Afghanistan. Latterly, the MQM has been the only party to support the militaryâs intervention in the tribal areas. Visits by US diplomats to MQM offices in Karachi have - and continue to be - commonplace. Asia Times Online sources say that only US diplomatic intervention stopped Musharraf from taking strong action against the MQM after he received the report on the recent unrest in which the MQM was implicated. Washington indeed has a powerful southern ally in Pakistan.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
06/11/2004 12:24:04 AM ||
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The battle between Pakistani security forces and the dreaded Al Qaeda seems to be moving to Peshawar.
Oh, no! Not the Pearl of the NWFP?
Following âcredibleâ reports of attacks on targets in Peshawar, the military has stepped up security in the cantonment to a point where the area looks like it is under occupation. The targets include 11 Corps Headquarters, the Governorâs House, the Frontier House and other sensitive military installations in the cantonment area. Every movement on the roads leading to the target areas is closely monitored and army patrols have been stepped up after dark. The army is already locked in combat with Al Qaeda elements, both domestic and foreign, in the South Waziristan area. The first threats came during the March army operation against these elements. At the time, according to some reports, families of military personnel were threatened. The threat of any possible attacks on the families of military officers forced the 11 Corps Headquarters to set up pickets on several entry and exit points in cantonment. All these points are guarded by army and paramilitary troops. Now it seems security has been beefed up as the army has again moved into the area and is awaiting orders for a âsurgical operationâ.
Would that be described as a Talibanectomy? Or an Uzbektomy?
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
06/11/2004 12:16:58 AM ||
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#1
Here and here are pictures of the Pearl of the NWFP for your viewing pleasure.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/11/2004 18:36 Comments ||
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One of President General Pervez Musharrafâs most trusted soldiers, Lieutenant-General Ahsan Saleem Hayat, commander V Corps (Karachi), survived an assassination attempt on Thursday morning when gunmen opened fire on his motorcade in the troubled port city of Karachi. At least six people were killed and 10 injured. About seven minutes after the attack, a bomb exploded near where the corps commanderâs convoy had been attacked. Judging from this, it appears that the plan had been to first bomb the motorcade, and when it came to a halt, rake it with gunfire. Seemingly, the bomb went off late.
Providence sometimes take the form of a $2 watch...
Hayat is the top military official in Pakistanâs largest city of 14 million people, which over the past month has been rocked by terrorist attacks and unrest that has killed dozens of people. Initial indications are that the attack could be an inside army job.
In Pakland? Gee. Golly. Shucks. That's never happened before, has it?
The gunmen took positions on both sides of the road and managed to plant the bomb in one of the most secure zones in Karachi, only a kilometer from the US consulate and a few meters away from the heavily guarded Iranian Cultural Center. The area itself, Bath Island, is home to many high profile officials, including the inspector general of police and the corps commanders. A spokesperson of the Inter-Services Public Relations, who was at the site soon after the blast, commented that it was "a pure act of terror" and the army was not exactly the target. "Had the army been the target, why were civilians and policemen hit?" he asked.
Because they were there?
However, it is no major secret that all is not well in the army. The federal budget is due to be announced by June 12, after which Musharraf is expected to begin a process of consolidating his power as president before he relinquishes his uniform before December 31, as per a constitutional requirement. This will also involve several important changes in the army, with two new generals to be appointed following retirements. These posts are expected to go to Musharrafâs close associates, rather than those in line for promotion. Hayat, survivor of Thursdayâs attack, is tipped to be one of the new generals. Among the middle and junior ranks, meanwhile, many in the armed forces bitterly oppose Musharrafâs pro-US stance, and they are ideologically still in the time zone when Pakistan supported the Taliban in Afghanistan.
That would be Mecca Standard Time...
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
06/11/2004 12:12:25 AM ||
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Eleven people including a family were killed on Thursday in violence in Kashmir, where a 27-hour siege near a mosque ended violently.
"Mosque"... "Violently"... The two words kinda go together, don't they?
Two militants had fled into a mosque on Wednesday after troops ringed Bogund, a village 70 kilometers south of Srinagar, in fighting that initially left dead a militant and a soldier. Sharpshooters killed one rebel Thursday but the second militant hurled grenades and escaped into the adjoining shrine of a Muslim Sufi saint Syed Najbudin Bukhari where he survived for several more hours.
No doubt everyone was appropriately saddened by their demise...
In Udhampur district, suspected militants burst into the house of a man identified only as Jamaluddin and shot dead him, his wife, their six-year-old daughter and his mother, district police chief Satvir Gupta said. He suspected the killings were carried out in retaliation after one of Jamaluddinâs sons, who was a rebel, surrendered. Suspected militants also killed a government employee in Budgam distict, while two more civilians died in the cross-fire of rebels and troops elsewhere, a police statement said Thursday.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
06/11/2004 12:09:36 AM ||
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From Compass Direct
Six months after his arrest on charges of alleged blasphemy, Pakistani Christian Anwer Masih has been ordered released on bail by the Lahore High Court. Masih, 30, was granted bail on the morning of June 4 by Justice Tassadaq Hussain Jilani. Overriding protests from the advocate general, the high court judge declared that no direct evidence had been produced against the defendant in the case. Accordingly, Justice Jilani ordered Masih to pay a bond of 20,000 rupees ($345) for his bail surety and be set free for the duration of his trial. .... Masih was arrested in a Lahore suburb on November 30 last year for allegedly mocking the beard of a former Christian who had converted to Islam. Naseer Ahmad, a neighbor who had embraced Islam, accused Masih of slandering Muslim prophets and beliefs. ....
"Hey, ex-Brother Mahmoud! Where'dja get that beard? Kinda scraggly, ain't it?"
Only a handful of the Pakistani Christians jailed on charges of blasphemy have ever been granted bail during the long years of their trial proceedings. Even so, the bailed defendants have been forced to remain in hiding, with one such Christian shot and killed minutes after he had appeared at a court hearing. .... Currently seven Pakistani Christians are jailed without bail on similar cases of alleged blasphemy, three of them under trial in the lower courts with four others appealing death or life-in-prison sentences.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
06/11/2004 12:00:00 AM ||
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#1
Islamic thing to remember #10003456897.
Cursing the moustache: Okay.
Cursing the beard: NOT Okay.
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.
