Could be terrorism, could be bad driving. I suppose it could even be terrorists who're bad drivers...
Two U.S. soldiers were killed and another two were injured in what was suspected to have been an attack in Kuwait. The U.S. military said the soldiers were killed in a "hit-and-run" accident on Sunday near their base. The military said another vehicle rammed into a jeep driven by the soldiers. The military statement said the first soldier died on the spot. The second died of injuries in a hospital in Kuwait City. "A second U.S. soldier died as a result of injuries he suffered in a hit and run traffic accident shortly after arriving at a civilian hospital in Kuwait," the statement said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2004 8:34:39 PM ||
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#1
Boy they're really turning it on for Christmas. Have we done the same for Ramadan?
Posted by: Rafael ||
12/22/2004 0:39 Comments ||
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Rafael,
Good point. If killing Americans is ok on Christmas, then killing Mooselimbs on Ramadamadingdong is fair game. Although, hunting and killing Islamic terrs should be done year around.
Saudi Aramco said it has been on alert for an Al Qaida attack on oil fields in the kingdom. The state-owned Aramco issued a statement in wake of a threat by a man purporting to be Osama Bin Laden who urged his supporters to attack Iraqi and Gulf oil facilities. The United States regarded the threat as coming from Bin Laden. "As the company responsible for the world's largest proven reserves of oil, Saudi Aramco is keenly aware of its responsibility [to protect workers and oilfields]," Aramco said in a statement. "For this reason, Saudi Aramco trains and equips a security force that is professional and responsive. The company's security is, in effect, 'on alert' at all times." Aramco statement said "multiple levels of armed Saudi Aramco security personnel were working in close coordination with Saudi government security forces."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2004 00:00:00 ||
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"Saudi Aramco trains and equips a security force that is professional and responsive."
Um, not exactly. Internally, there is Industrial Security - and they are empowered to do damned-near anything they want to do within Aramco facilities and properties. And I mean anything. An absolute rule is that you do not fuck around with IS.
Externally there are the Emergency Forces - and there is a small barracks and training center right outside the front gate of Aramco in Dhahran. I'm not sure how much presence they have at other Aramco facilities - it has probably varied according to perceived threats over time.
As for professionalism, IS used to be - that's a certainty. All leadership positions were held by UK and US ex-Mil guys who knew their shit. The training was by people they selected. They were ship-shape and tight. Since Saudiazation began, say 15 yrs ago, this has been changing just like everything else at Aramco - Saudis taking the spots from expats. Sometimes natural attrition, sometimes a little bit of a push. Have they kept a core of competent people, either in staff or on retainer / contract? Good question. Are the rank and file any good - that I doubt because it has certainly been Saudi-ized at all the lower ranks.
As for the Emergency Forces (which are under CP Abdullah, I believe, as part of SANG - the Nat'l Guard) - well, try Global Security's take - they know more about those guys than I do. The last paragraph is key for the Aramco facilities.
Can people successfully attack and hurt Aramco facilities if they are willing to take the risks and smart enough to select the right points? Yewbetcha. Pipelines, junctions, pumping stations - those are vulnerable just like in Iraq. The pipelines run for hundreds of miles and there's no way to protect it all - especially since the Saudis have been building much of their downstream facilities on the other coast around Jeddah. All the raw comes from the East coast. The main facilities, such as refineries and terminals are probably decently defended - you'd get the first shot in by surprise, but you might not get out alive.
#4
And inhabited primarily by Arab Shia, much like those gaining control of Iraq, who have been persecuted by the Wahabbi much as the Sunni in Iraq treated the Shia there.
Free the Republic of Eastern Arabia now!
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
12/22/2004 14:35 Comments ||
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Sing it sistah! Lol!
Y'know, the Sunni domination of, and brutality to, the Shi'a is consistent... Perhaps it's similar to the ebonics-inspired view floated around Hahvahd a few years back... Sunni... sunny. Shi'a... shiver. Yes, I think there's a connection. The Sunni are the sun people, warm and happy - while the Shi'a must be the ice cave people, cold and nasty. Sounds like all is right with the world viewed through that lens...
The main facilities, such as refineries and terminals are probably decently defended - you'd get the first shot in by surprise, but you might not get out alive.
I would think that refineries and terminals would be prime targets for mortar/rocket attacks.
Radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri, who is in a British jail on incitement to murder charges, is to sue welfare officials for thousands of pounds (dollars) in extra state benefits, a newspaper said. Hamza, who is due in court next month on incitement to murder charges, claims he has been denied benefits worth 200 pounds (290 euros, 389 dollars) a week for nearly three years, The Sun newspaper said. His family are already taking in benefits worth over 1,000 pounds a week, it said. Meanwhile, he is kept at the taxpayers' expense in jail, has his own personal nurse and even received a new hook worth 5,000 pounds, which is in place of his missing hand, it said. A jail source was quoted as saying: "He has a cheek."
Doesn't mean he gets to keep it.
Hamza, 47, an Egyptian-born British national, a distinctive figure with one eye and a hooked hand, was charged in October with 10 counts of soliciting murder. The little-used charge, covered by an 1861 criminal law, relates to inciting others to murder unspecified people and carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. In Hamza's case it is connected to alleged incitement by the cleric at public gatherings to kill non-Muslims, specifically Jews, according to four of the charges. He was also charged with four counts of using threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour with intent to stir up racial hatred; one count of possessing threatening, abusive or insulting sound recordings; and one count of possessing a terrorist document. The United States is seeking to extradite him on separate charges. The US extradition case has been suspended until the British charges are dealt with.
We'll wait patiently. If he does get life, send him to us when his sentence is up. I'm sure we have a federal prison plot in the Leavenworth cemetery for him.
Posted by: tipper ||
12/22/2004 2:30:50 AM ||
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when will they get medieval on this asshole?
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/22/2004 8:21 Comments ||
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Medieval? When will they bring him to trial so we can get a crack at him?
Posted by: Tom ||
12/22/2004 8:28 Comments ||
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Not bad. Over £1,000 a week is more than $100,000 a year. Want to bet he doesn't pay taxes on that, so the pretax money is probably over $200,000 a year. How many Britiains live that well? No wonder all the muzzies and their 8th cousins want to move Europe and get their share of the jizya.
Hate to say this Britiain, but, Chumps!
Posted by: ed ||
12/22/2004 8:46 Comments ||
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Before we go off on UK law, there are lots of prisoners that receive state and federal benifits while they are in the slammer. Granted it's not 1000 quid-a-week, but they still get the dough. I bet Mr. Hamza'a gravy train will come to a halt once he is convicted. This is not true in the U.S.
Two French journalists headed home to a heroes' welcome on Wednesday after a 4-month hostage ordeal in Iraq which Paris said ended without a ransom being paid. President Jacques Chirac interrupted a Christmas holiday in Morocco to return to Paris to address the nation and planned to be at a military airfield outside Paris later on Wednesday to greet the two journalists on their return home. "We owe their release to the mobilization and unity of all the French people, to whom I want to pay homage," President Jacques Chirac said in the television address. Details of their release were sketchy but, briefing party leaders, Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said the conservative government had not bought the men's freedom. "The prime minister said a number of things, notably that no ransom had been demanded and none was paid, and that the negotiations had always been conducted with intermediaries," said Francois Bayrou, leader of the center-right UDF party. Opposition groups hailed the release but said the government must eventually explain its handling of the crisis.
France's close ties with the Arab world and its opposition to President Bush over the war in Iraq may have helped secure the journalists' release, but Chirac is sure to face questions about why it took so long. "We must ask for explanations about all stages of their detention," said Francois Hollande, leader of the opposition Socialist Party. "Now their freedom has been secured, informing parliament about all the conditions of how the discussions have unfolded since August is the least thing that can be done."
French newspapers celebrated the reporters' release but some also reflected on the government's handling of the crisis in which it initially raised expectations of a quick release and then became increasingly cautious. A freelance mediation effort by a member of Chirac's ruling conservative party failed to free the men in October. The fiasco led to angry exchanges in parliament although political leaders quickly closed ranks again. "French diplomacy comes out of it damaged," said Liberation newspaper. "Its traditional Arab policy and non-alignment in the Bush crusade in Iraq did not protect it against the worst or impose it (France's view) on the international scene. It must draw the conclusions." The group which kidnapped the two men, the Islamic Army in Iraq, initially demanded France dump a law banning the traditional Muslim headscarf in French state schools but made no new demands after the law went into force in September.
Posted by: Mark Z. ||
12/22/2004 12:52 Comments ||
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"...no ransom had been demanded and none was paid."Wonder if that would include non-monetary concessions. It'd fun to revisit that point when all this Israeli-Paleo stuff gets stirred up again next spring. See how compromised France is in its negotiating agility.
#3
No ransom -- the jihadis just get a cut of the book and movie revenues: "With the Resistance in Iraq", the story of how two modest, mild-mannered French journalists were kidnapped (cough) by the resistance but soon came to realize how right the resistance was and saw first hand numerous American killings of baby ducks, in flagrant violation of the Kyoto Treaty.
Posted by: Matt ||
12/22/2004 13:18 Comments ||
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we didn't pay a ransom ... just a finders fee ... and that came out of our blood for oil money so really it cost us nothing!
Three Moroccans suspected of links with international Islamic terrorism have been arrested in Spain for allegedly trying to obtain explosives. The interior ministry said the cell had started negotiations to get explosives from a central European country. The arrests in Sant Andreu de la Barca and Mollet del Valles, Catalonia, were the result of collaboration with foreign security services. Spain has stepped up security measures over the Christmas holiday period.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/22/2004 8:49:12 AM ||
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A Spanish judge has charged a Moroccan man suspected of planning the Madrid bombings with 191 counts of murder. Hasan al Haski, 41, was also accused of 1,000 counts of attempted murder and membership of an armed group. Judge Juan del Olmo said he was a suspected member of the Moroccan Islamic Combat Group - also blamed for the May 2003 Casablanca bombings. Three more men were arrested with Mr Haski in the Canary Islands last week, one of whom remains in custody. Mr Haski, who denies the charges against him, was remanded without bail after the hearing at Spain's National Court. The four arrested, all Moroccan citizens, are all believed to be members of the MICG, which is alleged to have links with al-Qaeda. The men were allegedly setting up a logistical base on Spain's Canary Islands, off the coast of northern Africa.
Judge del Olmo's 29-page warrant said that another member of the same group recently arrested in France had quoted Mr Haski as saying that "his group in Spain had carried out" the 11 March attacks in Madrid. Reports say investigators also believe Mr Haski is the leader of a militant Islamic group which carried out the Casablanca bombings in 2003. He has faced further questioning by Spain's top anti-terror judge, Baltasar Garzon, as part of a separate inquiry into the Casablanca attack. Seventeen more suspects have been imprisoned on provisional charges in connection with the investigation into the Madrid bombing. The Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, on Tuesday announced that a special security plan will be enforced in Spain over Christmas against possible terror attacks over Christmas.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/22/2004 8:43:23 AM ||
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Zappy must be getting ready to pardon these guys.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
12/22/2004 9:42 Comments ||
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WASHINGTON (AP) The Bush administration moved Tuesday to block the assets of two Saudi men accused of providing support to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network, Adel Batterjee and Saad al-Faqih.
No Christmas bonus for you two!
Batterjee was instrumental in founding the Benevolence International Foundation, an Islamic charity that the United States has previously deemed a a global terrorist group. Al-Faqih has maintained associations with the al-Qaeda network since the mid-1990s, the Treasury Department alleged. The agency submitted the two names to the United Nations for possible inclusion in its list of terrorist financiers. If the names are included, member countries would also have to block financial assets belonging to the two men.
The department said that Batterjee once served as executive director and a member of the board of directors of Benevolence International, which has been accused by the United States of providing financial support to members of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, the Sudan, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Chechnya, the department said. "Adel Batterjee has ranked as one of the world's foremost terrorist financiers, who employed his private wealth and a network of charitable fronts to bankroll the murderous agenda of al-Qaeda," said Stuart Levey, Treasury's under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.
Al-Faqih once shared an office in the late 1990s with Khaled al Fawwaz, who served as an operative for bin Laden in the United Kingdom, the department said. "Al-Faqih worked with and provided assistance to al Fawwaz, who served as the intermediary between bin Laden and al-Faqih," the department said. Al-Faqih, an exiled Saudi physician also leads the London based Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia, or MIRA.
They're the ones who think life isn't severe enough in the Magic Kingdom.
"While MIRA has issued disclaimers warning users to not attribute postings on MIRA message boards to al-Qaeda, information available to the U.S. and U.K., governments shows that the messages are intended to provide ideological and financial support to al-Qaeda affiliated networks and potential recruits," the department said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/22/2004 12:37:02 AM ||
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this should send a chill or two down the spine of everyone who works for one of the Saudi funded non-profits or charities. Better make sure that you aren't working for a front - or you may just show up one day and find yourself out of a paycheck.
Of course, they said Khattab was alive, too, until he started to stink...
MILF spokesperson Eid "Lipless Eddie" Kabalu yesterday disputed military reports that the emir of the al-Qaeda-linked terror group might have been killed in an aerial bombardment in Datu Piang, Maguindanao, on Nov. 19. Kabalu said that, based on the result of a "joint investigation" conducted by the government and the MILF ceasefire committee, there was no indication that Janjalani had died in the attack.
"Coulda been he wuz dead before the attack!"
There were "no fatalities, except for one MILF fighter wounded," in that incident, Kabalu said.
... except for the puppies, kittens, fluffy bunies, and baby ducks...
In Zamboanga City, Southern Command chief Lt. Gen. Alberto Braganza said that aside from "intelligence reports," a civilian informant and an MILF surrenderee had corroborated other reports about the "death" of the elusive bandit leader. "And now we are challenging the ASG to prove that Janjalani is alive and produce him in whatever manner, proving he is really alive and active," Braganza said. The Inquirer story "is very revealing, [and is] based on our intelligence source," Braganza said. He said that "we have an ongoing effort to locate the burial site or the remains of Janjalani in the general area of Datu Piang, Maguindanao."
The National Bureau of Investigation's director for Central Mindanao, Silvino Cinches, also disputed reports about Janjalani's supposed death, saying he had received information the rebel chief had been sighted in Malaysia and in Indonesia. In Camp Aguinaldo, Armed Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Efren Abu said he had received a report that Janjalani was killed in the Nov. 19 air attack but that another military report had stated Janjalani had also been sighted in South Cotabato. "We have been receiving reports that Janjalani is dead but we cannot confirm this report," Abu said. "Since then, we have been receiving reports that Janjalani is somewhere in South Cotabato. That is one thing that has been giving us an idea that he is still alive."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/22/2004 2:37:26 AM ||
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The terrorism trial of Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir was halted abruptly Tuesday as his supporters tried to attack a witness testifying against the alleged leader of the Jemaah Islamiyah extremist group.
"Guilty. String 'im up. Next case."
The row erupted as Bashir's lawyers scolded Mohammad Nasir Abbas, a former key member of Jemaah Islamiyah, for repeatedly replying "no comment" as they cross-examined his claims the cleric was now the group's leader. Police came to the rescue of Abbas, a Malaysian who served 10 months in prison in Indonesia for immigration offences, as Bashir's supporters tried to grab him from the witness stand, prompting judges hearing the case to flee the court. Tempers flared after Abbas earlier accused Bashir of leading Jemaah Islamiyah -- a valuable testimony for prosecutors struggling to link him to the Southeast Asian extremist group believed to have ties to al-Qaeda.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/22/2004 2:18:09 AM ||
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He violated the speak no evil rule agaisnt a fellow terrorist moose limb.
The Thai government said Tuesday it had photographic evidence of Thai Islamic militant training grounds in Malaysia, days after Malaysia's prime minister strongly denied the claims. "Our intelligence reports said they were conducting arms training and there are more than 10 key members in Kelantan state," Deputy Interior Minister Sutham Sangprathum told reporters. "We have several photographs of training areas in Kelantan," he said. "We are ready to hand these photos over to Malaysia if they wish." Sutham said the pictures had been in the hands of Thai security forces for some time but had only recently come to his attention. He did not indicate how many militants, who had allegedly trained in Malaysia, were currently hiding across the border, but said "we want Malaysia to arrest these people and hand them to us".
Kelantan borders southern Thailand, where an Islamic separatist insurgency has killed more than 560 people this year. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Friday that "absolutely one group of them (insurgents) has been trained in Malaysia", particularly in the jungles of Kelantan, but said it was being done without the knowledge or support of the Malaysian government.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2004 9:15:56 PM ||
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Oops! Did Malaysia step in something? Toxin's trying to let you save face, but you have to, at least, make a good show of it, heh.
It looks like Toxin is ready to get nasty and call a spade a spade - this little news story is extremely forward and frank for the Thais, trust me. Confrontation is something they avoid until it can no longer be avoided.
#2
Actually, dot com, you could say it's likely to be an open tiff between Toxin and BadAreWe ;).
Posted by: Wo ||
12/22/2004 5:27 Comments ||
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Well, if I could muster any sympathy for jihadis, the Malay Muslims will deserve it, once the Thais drop the Buddhist routine and get dirty. They sure know how to make you regret mixing it up, heh. More rack 'em and stack 'em coming.
#4
The Malay reply is typical. It can't be true because we/they are muslims. This will get old. I don't fret about my Karma over protecting my mortality. I don't think most Buddhist Thai will.
#5
#3 & #4, I have come across the Mossie side who calls it hypocrisy for a Buddhist to fight and defend himself. Such is their state of ignorance and supremistic arrogance. Like as if such people expect the victims to be made of stones as in Bamiyah. Even then, it was very quickly that the Talibans lost their pants through the agency of the Coalition just a blink later. Try this :
http://www.chronwatch.com/content/contentDisplay.asp?aid=11886
Credible enough is her prophecy and totally in line with the Law of Returns aka Karma(reaping what you sow).
Posted by: Wo ||
12/22/2004 9:45 Comments ||
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Mossie Side = Aris yesterday
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/22/2004 9:48 Comments ||
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Warning! Inbound trolls. Thread TBD, ETA 18:48 Z +/- 48 minutes
The key witness in the terrorism trial of Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir has told a Jakarta court that Bashir once inspected graduating troops at a terrorist training camp. Nasir Abbas also told the court that he was told by Jemaah Islamiah (JI) leader Hambali, that Bashir had taken over as the supreme leader of the extremist organisation.
Abbas, a 35-year-old Malaysian, fought in Afghanistan in his teens. He then went on to become one of JIs most senior figures and the head of its Mantiki 3. In the 1990s he set up JI's military training camp in the Philippines. Today he told the court that Hambali informed him that Abu Bakar Bashir had taken over as the emir, or leader, of JI. He went on to describe how in that role Bashir visited the Philippines terror training camp to inspect the first group of JI graduates in April 2002. "We wanted this achievement, the first graduates to be seen by Jemaah Islamiah's emir (spiritual leader)...Bashir stayed for two or three days," Abbas said. "He reminded us that it was all for jihad and what we do on earth will be rewarded."
Prosecutors have accused Bashir, 66, of using his "religious charisma" to incite the bomb attacks in Bali in 2002 and a suicide blast outside the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta last year. Bashir is also charged with leading JI. Bashir, who has been a silent presence in the court, has consistently denied any wrongdoing and has said he does not know the witnesses. Dozens of supporters attending the session jeered at Abbas, yelling that he was lying. In addition to Abbas, two other key witnesses had been due to testify today but did not turn up. Ali Imron and Mubarok, two of the convicted Bali bombers now in jail, snubbed a summons to appear. They said in letters read before the court that they had testified in previous trails and had nothing more to say. Bashir's trial began in October and is expected to drag on into next year.
Posted by: God Save The World ||
12/22/2004 4:44:08 PM ||
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Iranian National Security Minister Ali Younisi said Wednesday authorities arrested 10 spies relaying nuclear information to U.S. and Israeli intelligence. He said the suspected Mossad and CIA agents were rounded up earlier this year and three of them worked for the International Atomic Energy Agency the Iranian News Agency, IRNA, reported.
Yeah, everyone knows the IAEA ia a CIA front.
"The agents were spying for the Mossad and the Central Intelligence Agency and were arrested in Tehran and Harmazakan," Younisi said. He said the suspects were referred to a revolutionary tribunal and will not be identified until after their trial.
Additional: TEHERAN - Iran has arrested several "nuclear spies" since last year, including some of the country's atomic energy organisation personnel, the head of the country's intelligence service said Wednesday. "More than ten were arrested since last year while trying to smuggle information about Iran's nuclear activities abroad," the news network Khabar quoted Ali Yunessi as saying. Yunessi further continued that three of those arrested in Tehran and in the southern province of Hormuzgan were employed by Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation and the rest worked in the private sector. He did not disclose further details about the arrested persons or from which nuclear sites the sensitive information was obtained. Yunessi also said the intelligence service would not disclose the names of the suspects but noted that there were no renowned persons among them.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/22/2004 9:15:35 AM ||
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#2
The IAEA is Tehran's best friend outside of Old Europe, so why would the black hats pull this stunt? As to reacting to this, my guess is that the IAEA will just take it in the poop chute turn the other cheek on this issue, so to speak. Can't upset the turbans, can we?
#3
I think the writer of the first story got his facts wrong. If you look at the second story, it says they were working for Iranâs Atomic Energy Organisation, not the International Atomic Energy Agency. I missed it the first time as well. Bet these guys are part of the Iranian opposition movement that has been spilling the beans on Iran's nuke programs. These guys were their moles, now soon to be dead moles.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/22/2004 14:01 Comments ||
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#4
Steve,
Wont this make a great Casus Beli ??
Should we prepare the JDAMs ?
Edited for brevity. Hat tip: Michelle Malkin
Sgt. Evan Byler, of the 276th [Engineer Battalion of the Virginia National Guard], steadied himself on one of the concrete bomb shelters. He was eating chicken tenders and macaroni when the bomb hit. The blast knocked him out of his chair. When the smoke cleared, Byler took off his shirt and wrapped it around a seriously wounded soldier. Byler held the bloody shirt in his hand, not quite sure what to do with it. "It's not the first close call I have had here," said Byler, a Fauquier County, Va., resident who survived a blast from an improvised explosive device while riding in a vehicle earlier this year. Byler started walking back to his base when he saw a soldier collapse from shock on the side of the road. Byler and 1st Lt. Shawn Otto of Williamsburg, Va., also of the 276th, put the grieving soldier on a passing pickup truck. The 276th, with about 500 troops, had made it a year without losing a soldier and is preparing to return home in about a month.
Posted by: Dar ||
12/22/2004 4:30:34 PM ||
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Article: The 276th, with about 500 troops, had made it a year without losing a soldier and is preparing to return home in about a month.
It is possible to sustain no casualties if you leave the terrorists alone. But the bill eventually comes due.
#4
AHM: I don't understand your implication here ZF. Are you saying that the 276th is somehow not doing it's job? Not in the fight? You need to clarify.
That is what I am suggesting. Area commanders decide how aggressive they're going to be. If they decide not to risk casualties, they can hunker down in their base camps. Mosul should have been pacified a long time ago, given its large Kurdish and Shiite contingent. The large scale attacks in Mosul of the past several months should not have occurred. It sounds like the area's commander tried the softly-softly approach so lauded by the Brits.
Would it have made any difference in US casualties if the terrorists had been aggressively pursued earlier? Maybe not. Politically, it has become an issue, because observers think in terms of news cycles rather than the years or decades that guerrilla wars typically take. Guerrilla wars take awhile, unless you're willing to undertake the kind of scorched earth approaches used by the Vietnamese, the Soviets and the Chinese to suppress various subjugated nationalities.
#5
Agree that Mosul should have been pacified by now. Then again, a lone suicide bomber who infiltrated the camp seems more like a security lapse than a full-scale insurgency.
#6
TGA: The Australians haven't had casualties in Iraq either. Are you saying the Aussies are not doing their job?
The Australians, Koreans and Japanese aren't doing the same job that American troops are, which is going after the guerrillas day in and day out. They are helpful for preserving American public support for existing international alliances, but have little to do with defeating the enemy in Iraq.* (Perhaps if the Waffen SS were deployed in Iraq, things would be different...)
* This is why they're there, in spite of political majorities opposed to their deployment - to preserve their alliance relationship with Uncle Sam. We will remember.
#7
lex: Then again, a lone suicide bomber who infiltrated the camp seems more like a security lapse than a full-scale insurgency.
The overrunning of the police stations was a throwback to the situation from a year ago. It's not that it was a major setback - just that it revealed less than good intelligence in Mosul about the enemy's strength and dispositions.
#8
ZF, with all respect, but you make the Australian contribution (and of other participating nations) sound like a nice Christmas decoration. I don't think that the Australians would appreciate, nor would the troops of other countries which HAVE suffered casualties.
#9
TGA: ZF, with all respect, but you make the Australian contribution (and of other participating nations) sound like a nice Christmas decoration. I don't think that the Australians would appreciate, nor would the troops of other countries which HAVE suffered casualties.
They are nice to have around, but not vital for the war effort. They are there to show solidarity, and many Americans appreciate that. Like I said, we will remember their contributions - token as they are. We will equally remember the Germans, the French, the Belgians and all the other countries that were asked, but did not contribute.
Take it from me - what they contributed is just a downpayment on an American guarantee of their sovereignty. In return for their token help, American troops might one day have to die in the tens of thousands to keep them free. Whether they appreciate my comments or not is irrelevant. If they want to pull their troops out, it will save us from having to deal with yet another major obligation in return for what is in reality token assistance.
#12
BTQ: ZF this is a reserve engineer unit, not infantry.
Dismounted tankers and artillerymen are serving as combat infantry. There's not a lot of need for setting up new airfields or bridges while under fire in Iraq.
Posted by: Radio Guy ||
12/22/2004 19:27 Comments ||
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I am surprised that it took so long for such an attack to happen. Whenever one deal with Muslims, betrayal and treachery are to be expected. Unfortunately, there is no way around it. But, if I were a soldier, I would never, ever trust a Muslim, even if the latter were an infant!
Position Title: Chief of Super-Secret Government Agency
Location: Washington, D.C. vicinity
Responsibilities:
The selectee will be responsible for management of a sprawling, super-secret government agency in pursuit of the War on Terror. The ideal candidate will have a dueling scar running through one or both eyes; have a liking for capes with high, stand-up collars; and cause underlings to quake in his presence. He or she will manage a diverse organization of thieves, cut-throats, assassins, women of shady virtue, con men, goldbrick salesmen, and soldiers of fortune. Responsibilities will include recruitment, training, promotion, and ruthless elimination of minions and henchmen; the design and procurement of secret weapons and formulae; and the production and execution of plots, counterplots, subplots and schemes. A knowledge of the working of wheels within wheels is desirable.
Duties will include, but not be limited to, undermining the culture and economies of small to medium-sized nations; conducting shadow wars against both nameless and named forces of evil; and overall subversion of large portions of the world.
A generous compensation package is offered.
To be considered, fax your resume to 212-555-1212, attention Mr. Rumsfeld, or mail it to
Unnamed Super-Secret Agency
Box X
Washington, D.C. 20001
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2004 2:58:47 PM ||
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Sorry, no capes for me. Not since I saw "The Incredibles".
Although I will compromise that for the "women of shady virtue" perks!
Posted by: Dar ||
12/22/2004 15:43 Comments ||
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#2
ROTFLMAO
Fits Old Spook to a T, I would think.
Posted by: Matt ||
12/22/2004 15:54 Comments ||
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"A thorough working knowlege of the term 'plausible deniability' is a must for this position."
#8
I won't even consider the job unless my headquarters are on a secret island with a volcano or a orbiting space station. I do have standards to keep up.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/22/2004 16:21 Comments ||
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#9
Steve - with an unlimited budget you can shop online at VillainSupply for those neat secret lairs, weapons, and henchman
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/22/2004 16:30 Comments ||
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#10
Not sure if henchmen are listed on the GSA purchasing schedule...
#14
This is why super villians always fail -- Frank keeps pushing GS-5HM's on them, and a GS-5HM can't even mop a floor without slipping on the soapy water. You need quality help these days, and a GS-14HM is absolutely essential.
No, you can't use a GS-5HM + a GS-9HM.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/22/2004 17:30 Comments ||
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#15
No, you can't use a GS-5HM + a GS-9HM.
Sniff, I remember when I was on the cutting edge of shark jumping.
#18
..What impressed me was that whoever wrote the ad knew the difference between minions and henchmen, and that's the kind of outfit I want to work for.
The only question I have is what kind of company car do you get?
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
12/22/2004 19:07 Comments ||
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Undermining the culture of other countries...where do I sign up?
The UK's most senior military officer has blamed media coverage on the Black Watch redeployment for attacks which claimed several soldiers' lives.
Chief of Defence Staff General Sir Michael Walker said the media's coverage may have prompted Iraqi insurgents to attack the soldiers.
He told BBC Two's Newsnight programme attacks were "enhanced" by reports.
Five members of the 850-strong battlegroup died during attacks when they moved closer to Baghdad.
"The contribution towards the initial attacks against the Black Watch was certainly enhanced by, if you like, a media picture that was being laid across a number of channels in all sorts of places," he said.
The reports meant "there could well have been a response by those who wished us ill to go and meet us with something like a bomb", he said.
Most of the attacks on the Black Watch happened during the early stages of their redeployment from Basra to near the Iraqi capital, where they relieved US forces preparing for an attack on the city of Falluja.
Black Watch troops have now returned to Basra
They included roadside bombs as well as mortar and small arms attacks on their base at Camp Dogwood.
Gen Walker said: "Certainly the attacks against the Black Watch happened at that stage.
"I'm certain, too, that the media coverage would have made it easier for anybody who wanted to conduct those attacks to do so."
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
12/22/2004 3:08:55 PM ||
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Article: Five members of the 850-strong battlegroup died during attacks when they moved closer to Baghdad.
So much for the allegedly superior British softly-softly approach, as compared to the so-called cowboy approach of American units. I understand British forces get into the PR game as much as anyone else, but it would be nice to not insult one's allies while going about it. (Although I have to say that as long as they're in Iraq, I won't begrudge them their griping. We will remember who showed up - and who did not).
#2
ZF, There's a BIG difference between Softly,Softly, and Quietly, Quietly. If I was going to the Eastern Highlands of Rhumbabwe, I sure would not want it broadcast before the event.
A High Court judge on Wednesday found a Tanzanian businessman innocent of conspiracy to commit murder in the 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in the East African nation.
Just a simple businessman, trying to make a living in a down market...
Judge Emilian Mushi ordered the immediate release of Rashid Saleh Hemed, 34, who was charged in connection with the terror attack that killed 12 people and was blamed on Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network. A nearly simultaneous blast at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, the capital of neighboring Kenya, killed 219 people, including 12 Americans. "You cannot convict someone with doubtful evidence," Mushi told the court, after declaring that prosecutors failed to prove beyond doubt that Hemed was involved in the plot to bomb the embassy. Prosecutors said that they would not appeal the ruling.
"I am not surprised with the judgment because I knew I was not guilty right from the beginning," Hemed told The Associated Press while walking out of the court. Hemed, a car parts dealer, was the first person charged in connection with the Aug. 7, 1998 attacks in Tanzania and Kenya. His trial began in 2000. In 2001, four men were convicted in New York of conspiracy to carry out the bombings and sentenced to life in prison. In Kenya, three men are on trial for allegedly taking part in a series of al-Qaida attacks, including the U.S. Embassy bombing. Hemed was initially charged with 11 counts of murder in September 1998, but the charges were later reduced to conspiracy to commit murder. One person died from injuries after the charges were brought.
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Posted by: Seafarious ||
12/22/2004 10:31:08 AM ||
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fine. He needs to have an "accident"
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/22/2004 13:51 Comments ||
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Another fine example of the "law enforcement" approach to terrorism at work.
Posted by: Matt ||
12/22/2004 13:54 Comments ||
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But FBI agents conceded that the traces of chemicals found in Hemed's clothing were not in sufficient quantities to prove that he was involved in bomb-making, and prosecutors did not prove Hemed was aware of the detonator's presence, Mushi said.
Geez, if something can't be proven, then why bother? Next time, either covertly bump the guy off, or plant a mole.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., is calling for clemency for six Ohio National Guard troops court-martialed for taking vehicles and parts for their unit in Iraq. Durbin, who becomes assistant Democratic Senate leader in January, sent a letter to the White House Tuesday calling on President Bush to pardon the reservists, including two decorated officers. The members of the 656th Transportation Company based in Springfield, Ohio, were court-martialed for taking two tractors and two trailers left in Kuwait by other U.S. military units that had moved into Iraq and stripping an abandoned 5-ton truck for parts to repair their vehicles. They pleaded guilty and were fined, dishonorably discharged and stripped of military benefits. Durbin said while scavenging unused vehicles technically violated military law and showed poor judgment "the punishment is completely out of step with the violation."
For once, I agree with Durbin.
Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, has asked the U.S. Army to grant clemency to a major sentenced to six months in prison and a chief warrant officer court-martialed in May.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/22/2004 11:47:00 AM ||
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#1
Isn't scrounging for parts a time-honored military tradition? What is it with the persecution?
#2
ZF, true, scrounging usually involves petty plunder. Stealing two tractors & two trailers that some other unit was prolly going to use when they came back from the front is a tad beyond the time honored tradition. One would have to get the "rest of the story" on this to make a better decision. Jail time seems extreme to me though.
#3
Indeed Zhang it is. In the Air Force they alwyas have a 'Hanger Queen' that is used for spare parts. And I used to do my own fair amount of scrounging (aka Stealing) to make our unit more confortable. I agree with Durbin that the punishment does not fit the crime.
#4
IANAMP (I am not a military person), but from my military friends and blog reading, it seems to me that the Army National Guardsmen get the short end of the stick in just about everything, from training to equipment to the way they integrate in with the regular Army. I'm not surprised that their recruiting numbers are down.
#5
As I understand it, not only did they "scrounge" equipment belonging to another unit, they then made every attempt to remove all identifying marks and lied several times about the situation.
One of the people was a major and another was a CWO. Hardly wet behind the ears. I think they got what they had coming.
#6
CS: As I understand it, not only did they "scrounge" equipment belonging to another unit, they then made every attempt to remove all identifying marks and lied several times about the situation.
Isn't erasing all evidence is the first rule of scrounging? It's not exactly a good idea to flaunt one's liberation of other units' property in their faces.
#7
The first ever SAS raid? On a New Zealand camp whose occupants were off elsewhere, in Egypt in 1941. They stole the whole thing, including the tents...
This is a snippet--make sure you have Kleenex handy as you read it all. Hat tip: Smash.
I found "Betty" on a stretcher being tended by nurses. I introduced myself and held her hand. She looked up at me and said, "Chaplain, am I going to be alright?" I said that she was despite the fact that I could see she had a long road to recovery ahead of her. Most of her hair had been singed off. Her face was burnt fairly badly, although it didn't look like the kind of burns that will scar. What I do know is that it was painful enough to hurt just by being in the sun. I prayed with Betty and moved on.
Posted by: Dar ||
12/22/2004 10:37:23 AM ||
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I heard a bit of this on the Laura Ingraham show. Complete melt down.
Posted by: Capt America ||
12/22/2004 11:19 Comments ||
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Grace under pressure. Thank god we have such men serving us there.
Finish the job. Destroy the fascists in Iraq and destroy fascism there. Whatever it takes.
Hat tip: Drudge
New evidence shows the bombing of a U.S. military mess tent in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Tuesday — which killed 22 people and wounded 70 others — was a suicide attack, ABC News has learned. Investigators at the base have found remnants of a torso and a suicide vest that was probably a backpack, sources told ABC News, indicating that the attack was a suicide bombing. The bombing at the mess tent at Forward Operating Base Marez in Mosul was one of the deadliest attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq since the start of the war. Early reports indicated that the massive explosion might have been the result of a rocket attack. But a radical Sunni Muslim group, the Ansar al-Sunnah Army, later claimed responsibility for the attack and said it was a "martyrdom operation," a reference to a suicide bomber. A day after the devastating attack, another message allegedly posted on a Web site by Ansar al-Sunnah provided details of the daring attack. According to the online message, the suicide bomber was a 24-year-old man from Mosul who worked at the base in Mosul for two months and had provided information about the base to the group. The base, also known as the al-Ghizlani military camp, is about three miles south of Mosul and is used by both U.S. troops and the interim Iraqi government's security forces. It once was Mosul's civilian airport but is now a heavily fortified area.
Posted by: Dar ||
12/22/2004 10:23:04 AM ||
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Oops--should go Page 1.
Posted by: Dar ||
12/22/2004 10:30 Comments ||
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Makes sense. The notion of a 122 scoring a direct hit on the first shot seems more than improbable.
Now, class, where do we find suicide bombers? Not among the insurgents don't you know. And how do they get to Mosul? Let's all say, "through Syria" together.
Syria target bombing at 0300 hours.
Posted by: Capt America ||
12/22/2004 11:16 Comments ||
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As the true experts on suicide bombings are our "mutual friends" the Pali's, I suggest the CIA
should try to track where that fuckwit boomer got his training.
#5
Legolas: "bomb Syria up into the stone age ...
"
Uh, you need to pick something OLDER...they're already IN the fucking stone-age.
We need to start by leveling whole sections of Mosul where we have good intelligence that the bad guys are holed up. Not attack, not surround...just level.
However, I think we found that in Fallujah the foreign component of the terrorism campaign was not as large as expected. Indeed if this suicide bomber was working at the base he was almost certainly an Iraqi, not a Syrian.
What we maybe need is to set up a prison camp in Kurdistan and have the Kurds query the Sunni prisoners.
#7
justrand I agree with you ...that's why I said bomb them "Up Into" the stone age, they are behind the stone age ... and mhw ... the terrorists are being commanded and supplied by former baathists in Syria ... and Syria knows this ... they either kick em out or face the consequences .. it is time to take the gloves off
#8
< suicide vest > Now THIS I can believe (followup from yesterday's post)
Was there an attitude shift when the 101st left this area?
Posted by: Dave ||
12/22/2004 11:54 Comments ||
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mhw, theres still uncertainty about the number of foreigners in Fallujah, esp. among the dead. Apparently we only IDed them as foreign if they actually had passports or other ID on them indicating so, otherwise they were assumed, provisionally to be Iraqi. I really doubt EVERY foreign jihadi in Fallujah carried ID.
In any case, those were the "infantry" - ive heard it widely that the suicide bombers tend to be foreigners.
OTOH that by itself doesnt PROVE a Syrian connection. But I sure hope we're looking real hard for it.
#11
Correct LH. Hard to understand why there was not hot pursuit from Fallujah into Ramadi, Latifiyah and Mosul.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
12/22/2004 12:06 Comments ||
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There WAS Mrs. D. USMC went into Ramadi, major assault on Latifiyah and rest of triangle of death. Troops were still needed to finish clearing Fallujah, and Baghdad takes alot of troops. Not much left for Mosul, I guess.
#13
In an earlier post (yesterday) I refered to the bastard as a suicide bomber ... change that to homicide bomber. Forget Syria, hell, he was probably trained in Ramallah or Gaza. On second thought forget Syria lets just bomb hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
It is truly time for a demonstration of power! Right now the average Iraqi is more afraid of the terrorists than of us. We need to reverse that equation.
If your town is peaceful we re-build it, and life is good. If your town harbors terrorists then we level your town...and life is MUCH worse! Choose!
#16
Right, suicide boomlets likely derived from Gaza and Ramadi. Last I checked, however, the gateway is called Syria.
The Fallujah matter: one of the discoveries found in Fallujah was a passport forgery capability, where foreigners (read Jeehodies) could be documented as Iraqi insurgents and such. Now, why (you may ask) would Jeehodies want to be documented as Iraqis? Answer: to conceal Syria's role as the Jeehody gateway.
Syria target bombing commences at 0300 hours.
--Roger that
Posted by: Capt America ||
12/22/2004 13:35 Comments ||
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Going all Waffen SS on an entire town is going to do nothing but cause more sympathy and support for the terrorists. I have no problem with leveling a house if our troops are receiving fire from inside, but flattening an entire neighborhood will only mean we're the murderous barbarians the LLL is portraying us to be.
I'm angry and want payback too, but I want it targeted right at the a**holes who are causing this. Treating an entire population as hostile is the way to ensure they are hostile.
Posted by: Dar ||
12/22/2004 14:39 Comments ||
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#18
An independent Kurdistan comprised of eastern Turkey, northern Syria, and western Iran looks better and better. The Peshmerga would know how to respond to this. The Kurds are the only folks in the sandbox with their acts together, and loyalty should have its reward.
In an ideal world I would support your proposition and you know what, in the sucky world we live in your proposal is probably pretty damn good also. However, the kurds themselves are probably still hoping for a federal democratic and law abiding Iraq. In my darkminded and sob er hours I can't see how this happens, but maybe, if I have enough alcohol, the federal scenario will seem right.
US forces sealed off entire districts of the Iraqi city of Mosul today and raided homes in a hunt for suspects following a guerrilla attack that killed 18 Americans and four Iraqis. Mosul's governor issued an order banning the use of the five bridges that span the River Tigris in the city, and said anyone breaking the order would be shot. Residents said Iraq's third city was a virtual ghost town, with no one in the streets. The order from Governor Duraid Kashmoula was broadcast on local television and came into effect at 4am (Noon AEDT). Military investigators are still probing whether yesterday's attack on a mess tent at the Marez US base in Mosul was a mortar strike or possibly even a suicide bomber. It was the deadliest attack on Americans since they invaded last year.
In Mosul, people were afraid. "Students went to school but were told to go home. People went to the shops, saw American troops in the streets, and went home," said Ahmad, 25, a car dealer who declined to give his surname. "The place is shut down," said another resident, adding that mosques and markets were also virtually empty. The US military said a 9pm to 5am curfew, imposed several weeks ago, remained in place and confirmed it had stepped up operations in the search for suspects. "We are conducting offensive operations to target specific objectives," Lieutenant Colonel Paul Hastings, a spokesman for US forces in the area, said. Witnesses said US forces, backed by Iraqi National Guards, sealed off parts of western and south-eastern Mosul and raided homes. "They're looking in the areas that are known hotspots," one resident in the west of the city said.
Hastings said the cause of the explosion was still unknown. US officials initially said a number of rocket and mortar rounds were fired at a mess tent in south-west Mosul, but a militant group claimed a suicide bomber was behind the attack. A further 72 people were wounded. "A suicide bomber has not been ruled out," a US Army official in Washington said late yesterday.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: tipper ||
12/22/2004 10:22:12 AM ||
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Mosul NEEDS to be afraid...and the rest of Iraq NEEDS to see that Fallujah was no fluke. Residents of Mosul have been harboring and aiding these morons for quite some time, and feelnig relatively immune to our wrath. If the U.S. military doesn't make them pay then we will be sending exactly the WRONG message to the rest of Iraq.
It needs to be PAYDAY, and it should include LOTS of "incidental damage"!
#3
I think it's important for our guys to be visible out on the streets, so the residents will know that they aren't cowering in their bunkers. It would also be very useful if some known "militants" turned up dead on the street, with no announcement or show of force to accompany it.
On February 1, Iraqi Kurdish political leaders marked the Eid al-Adha holiday much as they have for the past ten years. In each provincial capital, the Kurdistan Democratic Party [KDP] and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan [PUK] hosted receptions where local constituents could meet with party leaders and communicate their concerns. However, the festivities were brutally interrupted when suicide bombers entered the PUK and KDP headquarters in Erbil, detonating themselves almost simultaneously, killing 109 people, including KDP Deputy Prime Minister Sami Abdul Rahman and KDP Minister of Agriculture Saad Abdullah. Adnan Mufti, a head of the PUK office in Erbil and a former deputy prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, survived the attack in his headquarters only because suspicious bodyguards rushed the bomber, shielding him from the full force of the blast (he was nonetheless badly wounded).
Responsibility for the blasts was claimed by a hitherto obscure group calling itself Ansar al-Sunna (Defenders of the Tradition), which trumpeted the attack as a blow against "two dens of the devils . . . inflicting harm on the collaborators with the Jews and Christians."[1] The simultaneous suicide bombings - the first to cause mass civilian casualties in the once-peaceful Kurdish enclave  heralded the rise of a dangerous new amalgam of Kurdish Islamist militants who have returned to Iraq from Iran and foreign al-Qaeda operatives who have infiltrated the country from Syria.
Ansar al-Sunna is an outgrowth of Ansar al-Islam [Defenders of Islam], a group with ties to Iran and which administration officials have linked to al-Qaeda.[2] Initially operating under the moniker Jund al-Islam (Soldiers of Islam), Ansar al-Islam grew out of the September 2001 unification of several militant Islamist groups which had taken root in the mountains of northern Iraq along the Iranian border.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/22/2004 2:30:20 AM ||
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"Ansar al-Sunna is not purely a homegrown terrorist operation. Many of its recruits appear to be infiltrators from beyond the borders of Iraq. It has taken root in Iraq, and especially the area around Mosul, both because of Coalition failure to secure the Syrian and Iranian borders with Iraq and because of a reconciliation policy which mitigates pressure upon planning and organization. Iranian and Syrian officials are likely involved in facilitating the group memberâs infiltration to Iraq given the evidence of visas and safe houses. The wide variety of weapons the group appears to have at its disposal, as well as the level of its media sophistication, suggests that the group may have access to outside financial resources."
Clearly, the Mosul DFAC attack adds credance to the involvement of Syria and Iran. I guess we will need to wait for final confirmation, but that was one highly accurate missle that hit that place and clearly not something that Saddam had buried out in the desert.
#2
Article: Iraqis say that Mosul was also an effective nexus for coordination between Ansar militants and newly-arrived foreign terrorists because of the reconciliation policy implemented by Major-General David Petraeus, commander of the 101st Airborne, during his year of residence in the city.[6] Petraeus entrust Syrian border security to General Mahmoud Muhammad al-Maris, a former Baathist who may have facilitated infiltration of insurgents from Syria.[7] Maris is also a member of the al-Shammari tribe, which spans the Iraqi-Syrian frontier and is perceived by Iraqis to be sympathetic to Saddam Hussein.[8]
It looks like disbanding the Iraqi Army was one of the smartest things done by the coalition. Every single time Coalition forces have trusted former Iraqi military figures, they have been stabbed in the back. It's not true that most Baathists were innocent - it appears that many of them were just Saddams-in-waiting.
#3
It has taken root in Iraq, and especially the area around Mosul, both because of Coalition failure to secure the Syrian and Iranian borders with Iraq
#4
It also reinforces Jerry Bremer's decision to disband and deny a Baatish role, the liberal condemnations to the contrary.
Posted by: Capt America ||
12/22/2004 14:13 Comments ||
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CA - the problem seems to be the general - i think the best would have been to have kept the troops, or at least the NCO's and junior officers (since the troops were all basically heading home anyway), and to replace the senior officers. Instead we lost the troops and the NCO's but called back the old general. Looks like we got the worst of both worlds.
#6
LH: CA - the problem seems to be the general - i think the best would have been to have kept the troops, or at least the NCO's and junior officers (since the troops were all basically heading home anyway), and to replace the senior officers.
LH has this bee in his bonnet about the junior people. The problem with this thesis is that most of the good junior guys are Sunnis. The US invasion of Iraq meant a sectarian transfer of power from Arab Sunnis to Shias and Kurds. For this reason, the Iraq situation is far different from what happened in post-war Germany and Japan. Arab Sunnis could not have been trusted in most military positions, just as Israeli Arabs can't be trusted in most IDF roles. It's just a fact of life - unpleasant, but true, until Iraqis settle their sectarian differences.
One of the most feared and shadowy terrorist groups in Iraq, which has been involved in beheadings, assassinations, kidnappings and suicide bombings, claimed responsibility Tuesday for the deadly attack on a U.S. base in Mosul. In a posting on the Internet, the Ansar al-Sunnah Army called the attack on a mess hall at Forward Operating Base Marez a "martyrdom operation." The camp is used by Task Force Olympia, a Stryker Brigade from Fort Lewis, Wash., along with other U.S. Army units, civilian contractors and Iraqi government security forces.
Analysts say the Ansar al-Sunnah Army is just one of several insurgent groups operating in the Mosul area, Iraq's third-largest city about 240 miles north of Baghdad. Though violence in the city has been increasing since U.S. forces drove insurgents out of Fallujah several weeks ago, some experts have long expected Mosul to become a hot spot. "We have always thought it was a ticking time bomb," said Bathsheba Crocker, an Iraq analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Crocker said Mosul was a Sunni stronghold much favored under Saddam Hussein's regime.
Saddam loyalists remain in the city. Last July, two of Saddam's sons were discovered hiding in Mosul. They were surrounded and killed by U.S. troops. Since the U.S. occupation, many Mosul residents feel they are getting the "raw end of the deal," and insurgents are able to easily blend in to the population, Crocker said. "They are entrenched."
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Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/22/2004 2:25:55 AM ||
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The Al-Qaeda linked Army of Ansar al-Sunna claimed responsibility for an attack on a US military base Tuesday in the Iraqi city of Mosul that reportedly killed about 22 people, in a statement attributed to the group on an Islamist website. "One of the mujahedeen of the Army of Ansar al-Sunna carried out a martyrdom-seeking (suicide) operation in a restaurant of the infidel occupation forces at the Ghazlani camp in Mosul at 12:00 pm (0900 GMT) Tuesday," said the statement, whose authenticity could not be independently confirmed.
"Two air ambulances were seen moving bodies and wounded people. This heroic operation was filmed and (the video) will be released at a later date," it said. "We will let you know the losses of the infidel enemy," the statement added, blasting the "American crusaders."
US media, citing Pentagon officials, said at least 22 people were killed and more than 50 injured in a lunchtime blast at the base in Mosul, the largest city in northern Iraq. Fox News reported that three rockets slammed into a dining hall on the base during lunch, causing multiple casualties. Those killed included US troops, Iraqi forces and other employees working at the base, said CNN. "At 12:00 pm today an explosion occurred at a US military installation in Mosul causing multiple casualties. The cause of the explosion is under investigation," the military in Baghdad said in a statement.
Ansar al-Sunna has splintered away from another radical group, called Ansar al-Islam, both of which are believed to have links with suspected Al-Qaeda operative Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Iraq's most-wanted man.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/22/2004 2:17:04 AM ||
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Gunfire erupted early Wednesday as Israeli tanks and bulldozers moved into a refugee camp in southern Gaza as a response to continued mortar and rocket fire by Palestinian militants, the military and residents said.
Yet another case of cause -> effect. Hamas was just crowing about "raining" mortars and rockets on them a day or two ago...
The military said that during the operation, set to last about two days, some uninhabited structures used as cover by Palestinian gunmen would be torn down. Residents of the Khan Younis camp said there were exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Palestinian gunmen. There were no reports of casualties. The military said more than 15 mortars and rockets have been fired from the camp at nearby Israeli settlements in the past few days. One hit a synagogue and another exploded next to a kindergarten. Both caused considerable damage but no casualties. Israeli soldiers ordered Palestinians to leave the neighborhood of the Khan Younis camp called the "Austrian Project" as the operation began. The military said the residents were being asked to leave for their own safety, and their houses would not be damaged.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2004 00:00:00 ||
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FOUR employees and three subcontractors of KBR were among those killed in an attack on US forces in the northern Iraqi town of Mosul, parent company Halliburton said today. "We regret to confirm the death of four KBR employees and three subcontractors who were killed by multiple explosions in Mosul," said Halliburton spokeswoman Wendy Hall. "This is a gruelling and difficult development."
The Halliburton figures did not appear to tally with the most recent US Army estimate from Baghdad that 19 military personnel were among the 22 killed during the attack. Halliburton and its subcontractors have lost 62 personnel so far in the Kuwait-Iraq region, she said. "These brutal attacks are unsettling, appalling and very sad for everyone. We are doing everything we can to assist the people on the ground," Ms Hall said in a statement. "Civilian contractors work side-by-side with the military and Iraqi people. Our work is difficult and in a dangerous environment and we are deeply saddened by this situation." Halliburton, an oil services, engineering and army contractor, said it would not release extra information for now so as to protect the privacy of family members who had not yet been notified. "There is no road map for coping with events like this and we are doing everything we can to support our KBR personnel in Mosul," Ms Hall said. KBR is a division of Halliburton carrying out a large contract to support the US Army in Iraq.
Posted by: God Save The World ||
12/22/2004 4:42:46 PM ||
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Unable to grab them by the testicles, they go for the wallet...
Watch the French and Chinese move now ...
Rebels have succeeded in attacking a Sudanese oil facility in the war-torn province of Darfur. A rebel group has taken responsibility for an attack on Dec. 18 on an oil pumping station in southern Darfour. The facility was located in Sharif and was the first by Darfur rebels against Sudan's energy sector. The Sudanese National Movement for the Eradication of Marginalization said it chose the facility because of the revenues produced by the oil sector. Rebel groups have asserted that Sudan's oil sector -- which produces 320,000 barrels of oil per day -- has financed the military campaign in Darfur. Sudanese officials have confirmed the attack, in which 15 people were said to have been killed. The officials said the strike did not shut down the facility.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2004 00:00:00 ||
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The " Sudanese National Movement for the Eradication of Marginalization"? Oh, brother....
No sign of the UN's crack Bizarre Group Names Enforcement squad, huh? Probably still busy cleaning up that awful "International Movement for Blowin' Shit Up" affair, ne?
Despite India's claim that Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) agency has maintained a presence in Jammu and Kashmir to provide support to militant groups, Kashmir accounts for the least number of ISI agents arrested. Statistics showed that no ISI agents had been arrested in Kashmir in 2001 and 2003, with one arrest each in 2002 and 2004. However Sriprakash Jaiswal, Minister of State for Home Affairs, presented statistics to the Lok Sabha (India's lower house of parliament) on Tuesday, claiming that 19 ISI agents had been arrested in 2003, down from 91 in 2002. Jaiswal said that 27 ISI agents had been arrested up to December 15 of the current year. Jaiswal said that West Bengal topped this year's list of ISI arrests, with seven agents being apprehended. He said that five Pakistani intelligence agents had been arrested in Rajasthan, four each in New Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, two each in Andhra Pradesh and Uttaranchal and one each in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/22/2004 00:00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
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.
Radical Muslim cleric 
Three Moroccans suspected of links with international Islamic terrorism have been arrested in Spain for allegedly trying to obtain explosives. The interior ministry said the cell had started negotiations to get explosives from a central European country. The arrests in Sant Andreu de la Barca and Mollet del Valles, Catalonia, were the result of collaboration with foreign security services. Spain has stepped up security measures over the Christmas holiday period. 
A High Court judge on Wednesday found a Tanzanian businessman innocent of conspiracy to commit murder in the 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in the East African nation. 
