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Zarqawi in jug?
Today's Headlines
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Arabia
Prince Nayef and son were Riyadh boom targets
DEBKA would seem to come through again...
The Saudi branch of the Al-Qaeda terror network said on Tuesday that a car bomb attack targeting the interior ministry in Riyadh last week had aimed to kill the Saudi interior minister and his son, according to a statement posted on the Internet. "The Al-Muqrin squad (of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula) prepared a difficult operation to kill the chief apostate in the Arabian peninsula, Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, and his son," said the statement, whose authenticity could not be confirmed.
Guess they hosed it, since neither seems to be noticeably dead...
Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz is Saudi Arabia's interior minister, while his son, Mohammad bin Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, is assistant interior minister for security affairs. Prince Nayef was outside Saudi Arabia when suspected Al-Qaeda militants carried out twin suicide bombings in the Saudi capital last Wednesday targeting the interior ministry and a special forces base.
"Mahmoud! Did you kill the Chief Apostate™?"
"No, effendi! He's in Luxembourg!"
"Well, who'd you bump off?"
"The gardner, I think..."
Authorities said the blasts killed only the five suicide bombers although an unspecified number of people were injured. The "Al-Muqrin squad" refers to Al-Qaeda's former local chief in Saudi Arabia, Abdul Aziz al-Muqrin, who was killed by security forces in Riyadh last June.
Now but a fond memory and a lingering odor...
The statement said the same squad "then went on to hit the training center of the 'special forces'. This major operation left a number of the crusader trainers dead or wounded."
"How many'd you kill, Mahmoud?"
"Well, effendi, we haven't counted them all up yet..."
"How many?"
"Ummm... One."
"One of the crusader trainers?"
"Yes, effendi! He was driving a taxi."
It said the attack against the interior ministry left a number of people slightly wounded in "this center of apostasy." The statement announced "the martyrdom of five heroes: Abdullah al-Subaiei, Mohammad al-Osaimi, (Nasser Ali Saad) al-Motairi, Abdullah al-Baqmi, Sultan al-Otaibi and other free souls."
... now freely cavorting with 72 virgins in a warm climate.
Subaiei and Otaibi both figured on a list of most wanted militants. The former was one of the suicide bombers who targeted the interior ministry while the latter was killed in clashes with security forces, according to official Saudi accounts. "We are determined to reorganize and prepare new qualitative operations to expel the infidel Christians and Jews from the Prophet Mohammad's peninsula," the statement added, suggesting the killing of the militants had dealt a blow to the group.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 01/04/2005 12:37:49 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This, if true, is very, very interesting. Nayef has protected the terrs right along. You ever notice how raids always uncover weapons but the people got away? Nayef is NO friend to the West, and sees himself on the throne rather than the current vegetating occupant.
Posted by: Chuck Simmins || 01/04/2005 16:02 Comments || Top||

#2  Nayef has protected the terrs right along.

You know what's been said about feeding crocodiles...
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 01/04/2005 16:06 Comments || Top||

#3  You know what's been said about feeding crocodiles...


You wake up with fleas!
Posted by: Seafarious || 01/04/2005 16:16 Comments || Top||

#4  Trying to sift out the bullshit to figure out who is who inside the Magic Kingdom is a trip and a trial. There is no such thing as loyalty outside of the ancient traditional model: family / clan / tribe...

Nayef is as much AlQ's friend as enemy. It's the real Magical Myster Tour. If this is Tuesday, it must be Riyadh.
Posted by: .com || 01/04/2005 16:34 Comments || Top||

#5  You know what's been said about feeding crocodiles...
You wake up with fleas!


Flee in your vehicle of Wheels Within Wheels.
Posted by: Shipman || 01/04/2005 17:11 Comments || Top||

#6  Scratch a Saudi Wahabbi, find a Terrorist Killer, so who cares if they kill each other? Just keep them inside their own country.
Posted by: leaddog2 || 01/04/2005 18:01 Comments || Top||

#7  Sheesh. Bold is just as distracting as Caps. Your message, no matter how relevant, wise, or wily gets lost when the "look at meeee!" stuff is overused. Sigh. Okay now, where are my sunglasses... now what did you say?
Posted by: .com || 01/04/2005 18:07 Comments || Top||

#8  LOL Seafarious.

Figuring out who is on who's side in the Magic Kingdom reminds me of an anecdote I read in the book "Chickenhawk", written by a Huey pilot about his experiences in Vietnam (it's a great read).

I paraphrase:

A bunch of newbies were being given a briefing about Vietnam's fauna, and were told that out of 100 snake species, 95 were poisonous.

One of the newbies raises his hand and asks, "Sir, how can we tell them apart?"

The lecturer growls, "Son, with odds like that, you can afford to come to a sweeping conclusion: kill them all."
Posted by: Carl in N.H. || 01/04/2005 18:08 Comments || Top||

#9  Recently Saudis had announced they had killed another Al-Q operations chief. Think the bombing was Al-Q's response?
Posted by: Stephen || 01/04/2005 21:34 Comments || Top||


Kuwaiti detainees are linked to al-Qaeda
A number of Kuwaiti soldiers detained here on charges of planning attacks on "friendly forces" in the emirate have "ideological links" to Al Qaeda, a newspaper reported on Tuesday. "The arrested soldiers include a number of officers ... and they belong ideologically to the Al Qaeda organisation," said Al-Siyassah, quoting sources. Maps of US army locations in Kuwait were seized from the suspects, it said. "The military intelligence service is questioning some soldiers, following information concerning their intention to carry out an attack on friendly forces," Kuwaiti army spokesman Brigadier Yussef al-Mulla announced late Monday.
Can we believe anything someone named Joe the Mullah says?
Some of the soldiers were released while a few others were still under interrogation, Mulla said.
That makes sense. Arab sense, mind you, but sense.
A Kuwaiti security source told AFP that at least 15 men, including four officers, had been questioned while four were still being detained. The arrests followed the extradition from Syria of a Kuwaiti who was heading for Iraq to fight American forces there, the source said. Al-Rai Al-Aam meanwhile said the group was planning to attack US forces during the Muslim Eid Al-Adha feast around January 21. Quoting security sources, it said members of the group had links with former servicemen who fought in Afghanistan and Chechnya and were dismissed from the Kuwaiti army.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 01/04/2005 12:33:21 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Mosul bomber was a Saudi related to 9-11 hijackers
Picked right up on that, didn't they? Wonder if they read yesterday's story?
Posted by: Nick || 01/04/2005 08:42 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  the Al-Ghamdi family tree needs pruning - to the ground
Posted by: Frank G || 01/04/2005 9:03 Comments || Top||

#2  20-year old medical student--I don't think so. 20-year old terrorists-yes.
Posted by: John Q. Citizen || 01/04/2005 11:04 Comments || Top||

#3  Sorry, guess I didn't catch yesterday's story either, but I agree that tree needs to go. Seems quite a few families keep the terror trade going.
Posted by: Nick || 01/04/2005 21:35 Comments || Top||


Tons of Explosives Used in Riyadh Bombings
Tons of explosive materials were used in last week's twin suicide bombings in Riyadh, the Ministry of Interior said yesterday.
... and nobody even noticed as they were being collected...
The vehicle used in the Dec. 29 attack near the Interior Ministry building was a car "laden with around 1.5 tons of explosive mixes, including ammonal and other commercial explosives," said a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency. Another car carrying 1.3 tons of "the same explosive mixes" detonated 380 meters away from the base of the special security forces in eastern Riyadh "after coming under fire from guards at the base," it said. The ministry has said that five terrorists carried out the two attacks in which it said no civilians or security men were killed. Yesterday's statement also identified the third bomber in the attack targeting the ministry as Ismael Ali Mohammad Al-Khuzaim, a Saudi. "He collected information about foreign residents and participated in murdering one of them after kidnapping him," the statement said, in an apparent reference to American aeronautics engineer Paul Johnson, who was abducted and beheaded last June by the so-called "Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula".
Posted by: Fred || 01/04/2005 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  At the rate Al Qaeda is using up explosives, coupled with the rate at which Coalition forces are destroying Saddam's inventory and terrorist stashes in Iraq and Afghanistan, it seems as if soon there will be no explosives left in that part of the world. I exaggerate of course, but it does seem as if the terrorists are using up their inventory at a very quick pace.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/04/2005 6:58 Comments || Top||

#2  Isn't it amazing how "alk runners" with a only 6-pack can be caught, but boomers with tons of explosives go unnoticed? [/sarcasm]
Posted by: Spot || 01/04/2005 8:33 Comments || Top||


Caribbean-Latin America
Hondurans Arrest Bus Massacre Suspect
President Ricardo Maduro said Monday that police have arrested the alleged mastermind of an attack on a public bus that left 28 passengers dead two weeks ago. The suspect was identified as Juan Carlos Miralda, 24, one of the leaders of the violent Mara Salvatrucha criminal gang, which police have blamed from the beginning for the slayings on Dec. 23 outside the northern city of San Pedro Sula, about 125 miles north of the capital, Tegucigalpa. "He is in the authorities' hands and will be put at the mercy of the courts so that he rots in jail," Maduro said in interviews with radio stations HRN and Radio America. Ten other gang members have been arrested in connection with the bus killings. All have been charged with homicide. The massacre took place on a bus filled with workers returning home and shoppers buying gifts for Christmas. A car carrying two armed men cut off the bus, after which one of the men got of the car and started shooting. He then climbed aboard the bus where he continued to fire, while two other men fired from behind the bus. The majority of the 56 passengers aboard the bus were women and children.
That's him? That's the best they can come up with for a mastermind?
Posted by: Fred || 01/04/2005 11:10:04 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Abs of Steel?
Posted by: Captain America || 01/04/2005 12:00 Comments || Top||

#2  Need to import some rebar.
Posted by: Shipman || 01/04/2005 13:03 Comments || Top||


Peruvian nationalist, most followers surrender
Andahuaylas, Peru — The leader of an armed nationalist group that seized a remote Peruvian police station, took 10 officers hostage and allegedly killed four others was detained and most of his 125 followers were rounded up early Tuesday, officials said. Former army major Antauro Humala is in custody after turning himself in to National Police chief Felix Murazzo at this town's municipal building, a government spokeswoman told Associated Press. She said about 90 of his followers also laid down their arms and were turning themselves in. "He came with the idea of surrendering himself but a group of his followers weren't in agreement," the Interior Ministry spokeswoman said on condition of anonymity.

A rebel reached by the Peruvian radio station Radioprogramas said Humala "was betrayed" by the government negotiators who arrested him. The man, who said he was the group's new commander, told Radioprogramas that the remaining rebels wanted to negotiate a surrender but did not trust the government. "We simply want to discuss the terms of laying down our arms, nothing more," he said. "Yesterday, two of our reservists were killed by army sharpshooters," four of whom he said were captured by the rebels. He said the International Red Cross was the only mediator the group could trust "to provide sufficient guarantees for us to leave here on our feet." About 35 gunmen remained barricaded in the station as police surrounded the building late Monday, the ministry spokeswoman said. "It appears they are angry, and some of them have been drinking." Police ordered reporters into a nearby hotel and soon after the crackle of automatic gunfire could be heard outside.

The standoff began Saturday when the gunmen took over the police station in this Andean town, about 445 kilometres southeast of Lima. Five police officers were wounded and 10 others were taken hostage. A day later, authorities said, the group ambushed a police vehicle, killing four officers and wounding several others. A gunman was fatally wounded in the attack, local media reported. The group, which wants to establish a nationalist indigenous movement modelled on the ancient Incan Empire, has demanded the resignation of President Alejandro Toledo, accusing him of selling out Peru to business interests in Chile, a historic rival.
Posted by: Steve || 01/04/2005 8:37:39 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Ah no big deal, they were Neo-Incans, not Youthful Marxist Rebels.
Posted by: Shipman || 01/04/2005 15:46 Comments || Top||


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Basayev minion jugged
A guerrilla who was on the wanted list for his involvement in a terrorist attack in Chechnya's Vedeno district has been detained, sources in the federal forces in the North Caucasus told Interfax on Tuesday. The militant, who is a resident of the Vedeno district's village of Dyshne-Vedeno, was identified as a member of separatist leader Shamil Basayev's group. The guerrilla is reported to have been involved in planting a landmine on Lenin Street in Dyshne-Vedeno. Several federal servicemen were injured when the bomb exploded. A search for the group's other members is underway.

In a separate development, six people went missing in Chechnya over the past 24 hours, sources in the republican Interior Ministry told Interfax on Tuesday. Five of them were abducted by unidentified gunmen, law enforcement sources said. A group of gunmen entered the apartments of Oil Institute student Said-Akhmed Makayev and teacher training school student Timur Tsakayev in Grozny's Leninsky district, kidnapping the two men and seizing a VAZ- 2106 car, the Interior Ministry sources said. Daud Magomadov was abducted in Grozny's Oktyabrsky district, while locomotive engineer Adam Magomedov was kidnapped in the town of Argun. Shamsudin Vitigov, a United Russia party member, went missing at Grozny's central market under unclear circumstances. A search operation is in progress.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 01/04/2005 12:47:44 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Terrorist Eliminated In Chechnya
A terrorist was eliminated at the side of a road in the Shalinski district of Chechnya while setting up an explosive device, reported officials from the Regional Operational Headquarters (ROSh) of the counter-terrorist operation in the northern Caucasus on Tuesday. According to the data provided by the ROSh, a terrorist was spotted setting up a self-made explosive device near the village of Avtura. When operatives attempted to apprehend the terrorist, he started shooting and was killed by the return fire. Operatives discovered and seized 14 kilograms of TNT, fuses and a Kalashnikov assault rifle at the site. "The terrorist did not carry any ID papers with him," the ROSh statement says. "The operative group continues attempts to identify the eliminated terrorist," the document indicates.
Posted by: Fred || 01/04/2005 10:49:57 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  bury him with some pork rinds and move on, I say
Posted by: Frank G || 01/04/2005 15:42 Comments || Top||


Europe
Six Terror Suspects Go on Trial in France
The trial of six men accused of plotting to bomb the U.S. Embassy in Paris opened with testimony from the suspected ringleader. Voluble French-Algerian Djamel Beghal, 39, told the Paris court on Monday that he had been kept in solitary confinement awaiting trial since his arrest in 2001. Terrorism suspects are sometimes detained alone for security reasons. "I've not spoken for three years, so now I'm going to catch up," he said. He explained how he moved to France in his 20s, married, did odd jobs and found his Islamic faith, which became "one of my reasons for living." Asked if he considers himself a radical, he replied: "I am a Muslim and Muslim to the hilt."
"Yeah! I dunnit and I'm glad!"
"Yer honor, my client was tortured into making that statement!"
Moving to Britain in the 1990s enabled him to practice Islam "in a complete manner," Beghal added. But, following problems with British authorities, he moved in 2000 with his family to Afghanistan — then under Taliban control.
Practicing Islam "in a complete manner" got him invited to move on, did it?
He called it "an Islamic country where I found the most answers to my questions." Beghal, carrying an illegally obtained French passport,
That was one of the answers to his many questions...
was arrested in July 2001 in the United Arab Emirates after leaving Afghanistan, where he allegedly lived in terror training camps. He was extradited to France in late September 2001. During two months of detention in Dubai, he told local authorities of a plot to target U.S. interests in France, notably the American Embassy, and said the scheme was ordered by Osama bin Laden's terror network, officials have said.
"Hey, Beghal, whyn't you go to Frawnce and blow up the Merkin embassy?"
"Hokay."
The investigation into the alleged plot was opened on Sept. 10, 2001 — a day before the U.S. terror attacks. The suspects are charged with criminal association with a terrorist enterprise, and risk up to 10 years in prison if convicted. The trial is to last until Feb. 16. All six suspects attended the opening day Monday, but only Beghal testified. Beghal has previously allegedly identified a Tunisian accomplice — former professional soccer player Nizar Trabelsi — who was to enter the U.S. Embassy wearing a bomb belt. However, Beghal later recanted that testimony during questioning in France and suggested he had been tortured in Dubai and forced to make up the story, officials have said.
"Yeah! I mean, I never heard of Nizar Trabelsi! It's just coincidence I picked his name."
One of his lawyers, Claire Doubliez, said he would describe the circumstances of his Dubai interrogation, including the alleged mistreatment, during the trial. Trabelsi is serving a 10-year sentence in Belgium for plotting bomb attacks on U.S. military personnel and involvement in an al-Qaida-linked ring in Europe. Beghal provided information to investigators that led to the arrest of several other suspects, including Kamel Daoudi, 30, a quiet computer expert arrested in Britain in 2002 with fake identity documents after fleeing his home in a southern Paris suburb. According to the prosecution, Daoudi was to send information about the preparation for the attack to Afghanistan via the Internet — and receive the green light for the attack in the same way. The French investigation uncovered links between the suspects on trial here and others in Belgium, like Trabelsi, and in the Netherlands where Jerome Courtailler, a French convert to Islam, was tried in the U.S. Embassy plot. He was acquitted in 2002 in the case, but that was overturned by an appeals court that sentenced him to six years in prison.
Posted by: Fred || 01/04/2005 11:15:02 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: WoT
'Anthrax' alert at The Economist offices
NEW YORK: Firefighters were called to investigate a suspicious white powder at a building housing the offices of The Economist magazine in New York on Tuesday, a Fire Department spokesman said. The spokesman said there were no reports of injuries and it was too early to say what the powder might be, though it was being treated as a potentially hazardous material. A Web log, or blog, written by a staff member of The Economist said her office had been evacuated and staff moved to another part of the building. "We're having an anthrax scare here," said the blog (www.janegalt.net), which is written by a journalist.
Another entry in the Annals of Cornstarch.
Posted by: Fred || 01/04/2005 10:36:01 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Man Charged Under Patriot Act for Laser
Hey, kids! Let's go shine that new laser you got for Christmas at police helicopters!
Federal authorities Tuesday used the Patriot Act to charge a man with pointing a laser beam at an airplane overhead and temporarily blinding the pilot and co-pilot. The FBI acknowledged the incident had no connection to terrorism but called David Banach's actions "foolhardy and negligent."
Ya think?
Banach, 38, of Parsippany admitted to federal agents that he pointed the light beam at a jet and a helicopter over his home near Teterboro Airport last week, authorities said. Initially, he claimed his daughter aimed the device at the helicopter, they said.
Real good. Blame the daughter. What a stand up guy.
He is the first person arrested after a recent rash of reports around the nation of laser beams hitting airplanes. Banach was charged only in connection with the jet. He was accused of interfering with the operator of a mass transportation vehicle and making false statements to the FBI, and was released on $100,000 bail. He could get up to 25 years in prison and fines of up to $500,000. Banach's lawyer, Gina Mendola-Longarzo, said her client was simply using the hand-held device to look at stars with his daughter on the family's deck. She said Banach bought the device on the Internet for $100 for his job testing fiber-optic cable. "He wasn't trying to harm any person, any aircraft or anything like that," she said.
When you come right down to it, my client is an idiot.
The jet, a chartered Cessna Citation, was coming in for a landing last Wednesday with six people aboard when a green light beam struck the windshield three times at about 3,000 feet, according to court documents. The flash temporarily blinded both the pilot and co-pilot, but they were later able to land the plane safely, authorities said. "Not only was the safety of the pilot and passengers placed in jeopardy by Banach's actions, so were countless innocent civilians on the ground in this densely populated area," said Joseph Billy, agent in charge of the FBI's Newark bureau. Then, on Friday, a helicopter carrying Port Authority detectives was hit by a laser beam as its crew surveyed the area to try to pinpoint the origin of the original beam. According to the FBI, the Patriot Act does not describe helicopters as "mass transportation vehicles." As for why Banach was not charged with some other offense over the helicopter incident, Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office, did not immediately return calls for comment. A few hours after the helicopter was hit by the laser, FBI agents canvassed Banach's neighborhood, trying to find the source of the beams. Banach told the agents it was his daughter who shined the laser at the helicopter, according to court papers.
I told her not to do it, but I couldn't stop her!
Similar incidents have been reported in Colorado Springs, Colo., Cleveland, Washington, Houston and Medford, Ore., raising fears that the light beams could temporarily blind cockpit crews and lead to accidents. Last month, the FBI and the Homeland Security Department sent a memo to law enforcement agencies saying there is evidence that terrorists have explored using lasers as weapons. But federal officials have said there is no evidence any the current incidents represent a terrorist plot.
Nope, we got plenty of our own homegrown dickheads...
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/04/2005 8:00:21 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Official: No laser, terrorism link
Posted by: Fred || 01/04/2005 11:48:56 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Pshaw!"
Posted by: mojo || 01/04/2005 17:01 Comments || Top||

#2  Arrest the perpetrators for endangering interstate transport (or something along that line), give them a warning and a heavy fine for a first time offence, and publicize heavily. That will take care of the idiots, and put the whole set into a keep an eye on data base in case they are bad guys instead of mere fools.

Much like driving drunk, it doesn't matter why, the mere doing is an offence.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/04/2005 17:03 Comments || Top||


Iraq-Jordan
Communiqué From Consultative Council of Mujahideen Of Fallujah
From Jihad Unspun
The Consultative Council of Mujahideen of Fallujah has issued a communiqué concerning the nature and results of the fighting that took place between the occupation and the Mujahideen in the city between 6 November 2004 and 2 January 2005. .... The withdrawal of the Mujahideen from parts of the city ... was part of a governing military plan that aimed at drawing occupation troops into narrow alleys and streets in the city, where tanks and armored vehicles could be surrounded. The aim was to avert heavy US aerial bombing of Fallujah. Such bombing had made it impossible for Mujahideen to remain on open ground on the edges of the city. On the other hand, it was also easier to attack US tanks and armored vehicles when they were inside the city, where it was also possible for Iraqi sharp shooters to pick off US troops. .... No Mujahideen had retreated or had run from battle. Rather, the Mujahideen adopted a kind of hit and run tactic wherein the "run" was designed to draw US troops after the fighters, where they could be "hit".

The communiqué gave a final count of occupation forces' losses up to 2 January 2005 as follows:

• More than 6,500 US troops killed and 700 more wounded

• More than 425 British troops killed and about 325 wounded

• A large number of Americans and Britons captured, some of whom were killed during escape attempts

• More than 1,350 tanks and armored vehicles destroyed

• About 800 Humvees and personnel carriers destroyed

• 41 aircraft, including three fighter planes, shot down

• 200 US light and medium weapons seized, as well as hundreds of scopes, bayonets, compasses, bullet-proof vests, and classified maps of occupation positions in al-Anbar Province.

As to Mujahideen losses, the communiqué stated that 721 Resistance fighters had been killed, including fraternal Arab fighters from Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Qatar, Kuwait, Algeria, and the Sudan. In addition, 215 others had been wounded, but most of them were now in good health and were once again carrying arms. .....
Posted by: Mike Sylwester || 01/04/2005 8:59:51 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  now in good health and were once again carrying arms. ..... not their own arms, of course, since they lost those to USMC combat. Thx for the "intel on enemy propaganda" MS. Would be nice if you labelled it as such
Posted by: Frank G || 01/04/2005 21:08 Comments || Top||

#2  Three fighter planes shot down, uh huh.

You know, it's awfully hard to keep that sort of thing a secret. Maintenance crews, refueling, lots of people know about the planes besides the guys flying them.

And that's just the fighters. 38 other aircraft shot down too????

Give me a break, Mike. This is BS and you're a fool to consider it worth posting.
Posted by: true nuff || 01/04/2005 21:15 Comments || Top||

#3  LMAO. Anyone who would consume this crap and believe it deserves all the bruises and wounds life will give them from being stupid as a rock.

This has all the signs of being p the propaganda of those who knows they're getting their asses handed to them.
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 01/04/2005 21:25 Comments || Top||

#4  ROFLMAO!!!

This is just precious, lol! Only the Muzzies could believe this - and only the Muzzies will.

Waaay funny - my face hurts.
Posted by: .com || 01/04/2005 21:37 Comments || Top||

#5  Mike, each time I read something like this that you post, something deep, down inside of me rumbles, really, really wanting to know an answer to a question....

Now, I'm asking it -- to get rid of this rumble. I just watched the opening of one of our biggest sporting events, in one of our biggest arenas, and all the flags were flying at half staff.... out of respect for those countries that are actually refusing American help. And we willing do this.

I just have to know... do you really, really, deep down inside of you, believe this kind of c#*#* (my Southern American upbringing renders it hard for me to use harsh, critical language)... but I really do want to know... do you believe this? Seriously, do you really believe these numbers?

Thanks... your answer will tell much about your world.
Posted by: Sherry || 01/04/2005 21:51 Comments || Top||

#6  Sherry...please be considerate. Mr. Sylwester won't be able to answer your questions until he's finished spanking his wanker. Meanwhile...yes...he does actually believe in Jihad Unspun. Sad, but true.
Posted by: Mark Z. || 01/04/2005 22:06 Comments || Top||

#7  No generals captured? No CIA operatives killed? Must've been a slow month.
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/04/2005 23:09 Comments || Top||


More on the Baghdad governor's assassination
Insurgents assassinated the highest-ranking Iraqi official in eight months Tuesday, gunning down the governor of Baghdad province and six of his bodyguards, and a suicide truck bomber killed 10 people at an Interior Ministry commando headquarters, the latest in a string of violence ahead of Jan. 30 elections. The militant group of Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Al-Qaida in Iraq, claimed responsibility for killing Gov. Ali al-Haidari and his bodyguards, according to a statement posted on a Web site known for carrying such claims. "We tell every traitor and supporter of the Jews and Christians that this is your fate," the statement said. Its authenticity could not immediately be verified.

Al-Haidari's three-vehicle convoy was passing through Baghdad's northern neighborhood of Hurriyah when unidentified gunmen opened fire, said the chief of his security detail, who asked to be identified only as Maj. Mazen. "They came from different directions and opened fire at us," Mazen said, reached on al-Haidari's cell phone. Al-Haidari was the target of another assassination attempt last year that killed two of his bodyguards. He is the highest-ranking Iraqi official killed since the former president of the now defunct Governing Council Abdel-Zahraa Othman, better known as Izzadine Saleem was assassinated in May.

Speaking in Thailand, Secretary of State Colin Powell said he was saddened by al-Haidari's death. "It once again shows that there are these murderers and terrorists, former regime elements in Iraq, who don't want to see elections. They don't want the people of Iraq to chose new leaders. They want to go back to the past. They want to go back to the tyranny of Saddam Hussein's regime and that's not going to happen," Powell said.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling || 01/04/2005 12:32:03 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Afghanistan/South Asia
U.S. UAV Crashes in Pakistan
A U.S. military unmanned aerial vehicle crashed in Pakistan over the weekend leading to speculation about why the plane was there. The speculation points squarely to a U.S.-al Qaida showdown. The plane crashed in the tribal region of northwestern Pakistan which is where Osama bin Laden is thought to be hiding. Experts say this is the prelude to a U.S. military operation in the spring designed to capture or kill bin Laden. An operation, says CBS terrorism analyst Milt Beardon, that won't be easy: "This is going to be one of the more tricky things we've ever done with our troops." Beardon was CIA station chief in Pakistan in the 1980s. Beardon says although any U.S. Military action in the area would be sanctioned, the operation will most likely take place outside Pakistani government control. Beardon says acting without the tribes permission or cooperation could create a new problem for the U.S.. As he puts it, consequences include creating "a whole new group of enemies if you do that."
If they already hate us, what's the problem? I happen to know they do. Concentrate on killing Binny, and let the locals concentrate on killing each other over points of "honor" and for fun.
Posted by: Fred || 01/04/2005 3:42:30 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  As he puts it, consequences include creating "a whole new group of enemies if you do that."

I wasn't aware that those tribes in border areas not under Paki government control were actually "friends"...?
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 01/04/2005 16:09 Comments || Top||

#2  That drone was 'a loyal soldier' showing us the way! The more they get shot at, the closer our intel must be to the 'central core' of the al Qaida group shielding Bin Laden! This indicates to me that they are 'pinned down' or 'hemmed in' and they want to move desperately. If they are not successful in blinding the 'eyes' of the US, watch for the next trick; diversionary tactics!
Posted by: smn || 01/04/2005 17:19 Comments || Top||

#3  Gunga Drone?
Posted by: Shipman || 01/04/2005 17:32 Comments || Top||

#4  Well, this sounds like double-hate material. May warrant the bottom of the shoe treatment -- ouch, that really hurts.
Posted by: Captain America || 01/04/2005 18:08 Comments || Top||


Africa: North
GIA broken up in Algeria
The government of Algeria has announced the capture of the leader of the Islamic Armed Group (GIA), which happened two months ago, and the subsequent dismantling of several "terrorist" cells of the GIA. The Islamist group has spread terror in Algeria for more than ten years. Nourredine Boudiafi, known as the national emir of the GIA, had been arrested in the outskirts of Algiers in a police action in the beginning of November, according to a press statement released by the Ministry of the Interior today. No details were given to where Mr Boudiafi has been held detained since that.
The Fat Lady sang for him yesterday. This adds detail...
The arrest of the GIA leader has been kept secret for almost two months.
Held him and milked him until there was nothing left but a bit of cottage cheese...
Meanwhile, the Algerian army has carried out an operation aiming at dismantling remaining cells of the "terrorist group".
"Mahmoud! Y'gotta hide me! The cops are... Oh. Hello, officer!"
According to the Interior Ministry, "almost all the GIA network" is now "broken up," following the successful army operation that had gone over "several months."
GIA hasn't been real active for a few months. When last heard from, they were down to about 30 guys and a dog...
Also the death of Rachid Abou Tourab, the former GIA leader, was confirmed by the Ministry. Mr Abou Tourab, according to the statement, had been killed by his own close aides in July 2004. No further details were given on the Islamist leader's death.
Damn! I wanted the details! But I guess this way I can fantasize. My favorite would be slow strangulation, or maybe the Fish Hooks of Pain...
I'm partial to the Pig Trotters of Tension Headaches myself...
The government statement was read on national radio and television. Officials from the Algerian police and the Interior Ministry however have not wanted to comment on the statement or to give further details. Algerian police and military forces are still targeted by several armed Islamist groups such as the GIA and authorities are known to give out very closely filtered information regarding its efforts to fight these groups. Even before the alleged killing of Mr Abou Tourab and arrest of Mr Boudiafi, the GIA had lost its operational strength in Algeria. The Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) - a group breaking away from the GIA some years ago - has meanwhile become the most active terrorist group in Algeria and the region. The GSPC is said to maintain contact with al Qaeda.
That's not to say that the GIA is gone forever. No doubt there are a few guys hiding out who consider themselves the new core of future greatness. We'll probably hear from the likes of the Real GIA and the Provisional GIA for the next few years.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 01/04/2005 12:53:10 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  small curd cottage cheese
Posted by: Frank G || 01/04/2005 15:19 Comments || Top||

#2  Pig Trotters of Tension Headaches? LOL
Are you talking about the danger of over indulging in pickled pigs' feet? If so go for the low-sodium variety. Tho I don't think AB has any of those yet.
Posted by: Shipman || 01/04/2005 15:41 Comments || Top||

#3  "...capture of the leader of the Islamic Armed Group (GIA), which happened two months ago, and the subsequent dismantling ..."

Was he read his rights and politely questioned in the presence of his lawyer? I'm sure he must have been, unless the evil US was involved and took him to Guantanemo or Abu Graib.
Posted by: Glenmore || 01/04/2005 22:17 Comments || Top||


Iraq-Jordan
"Y'missed me!"
Posted by: Fred || 01/04/2005 12:35:55 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Have some water.
Posted by: Shipman || 01/04/2005 12:57 Comments || Top||

#2  Looks like my place. Needs a bit of paint.
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 01/04/2005 16:22 Comments || Top||

#3  Ooooooh... termites!
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/04/2005 16:27 Comments || Top||

#4  Yeah, the nasty stucco termites... found, mostly, in Islamozoid regions...
Posted by: .com || 01/04/2005 16:30 Comments || Top||

#5  Reminds me of the Ministry of Defense building in Buenos Aires where there are still .50 cal round craters decorating the exterior walls like a badge of honor. And this from back in the 70's I believe.
Posted by: Jack is Back! || 01/04/2005 17:05 Comments || Top||

#6  Shipman, body armor renders the old Looney Tunes water fountain obsolete, but still a good line.
Posted by: RWV || 01/04/2005 18:44 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan/South Asia
Afghan commander sends reinforcements to Pakistan border
Afghanistan ordered extra troops to its border with Pakistan after an exchange of artillery and mortar fire with Pakistani troops on the other side, an Afghan general said Monday.
Are you quite sure those were Pak mortars?
Could have been Presbyterians.
Gen. Khial Baz, commander of a militia division in the eastern province of Khost, said he had reports of Pakistani troops moving toward the mountainous frontier, and that he had ordered his men to also reinforce Afghan border posts. "I ordered all my troops to prepare their equipment and go toward the border," Baz told The Associated Press by telephone.
Abdullah Mehsud, where aaaaaaare you?
He wouldn't say how many Afghan troops were being mobilized or when they would leave their barracks. An Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman said he was unaware of any cross-border skirmish or troop mobilization. Baz said several artillery rounds whistled over the border into Khost's Gurbuz district on Monday morning. No casualties were reported.
Hek's boyz hanging in Waziristan these days?
"We gave the same answer by mortar," he said. Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan, chief army spokesman for Pakistan, said there was no firing by Pakistani soldiers on Monday.
"We're not nuts. Well, most of us, anyway."
He also said the Pakistani military had lodged a protest with the U.S. military in Afghanistan about an exchange of mortar fire on Sunday which killed a Pakistani soldier and seriously wounded two others, and asked them to investigate. Baz said he knew nothing of any mortar fire across the border on Sunday. Maj. Mark McCann, a spokesman for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, said it had received the complaint and was "working with all sides to try to resolve any misunderstanding that has taken place." He said there were no American forces in that area and had no information on any troop build-up.
"Nope. Those aren't US troops there, those are um...delivery men. Waziristan dialled out for...flowers and pizza. And General Tso's Chicken."
A Pakistani intelligence official in North Waziristan, opposite Khost province, also reported no unusual troop movements on the Pakistan side of the border. He spoke on condition of anonymity.
Regardless of the reason or lack thereof for an exchange of mortar fire, I'm pleased to see the Afghan army working to secure its borders (especially in Wazibilly land). Good work!
There's a certain aura of competence in the Afghan army that you ordinarily don't see in that part of the world ...
Posted by: Seafarious || 01/04/2005 11:52:30 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I wonder if the involved Pak units frequently report "no enemy" in their sector.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 01/04/2005 12:23 Comments || Top||

#2  What's the point of having artillary and mortars if you can't occasionally fire them off? I wonder if the real problem is that people on the Afghan side are now paying attention. And even *gasp* responding!
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/04/2005 16:16 Comments || Top||

#3  What's the point of having artillary and mortars if you can't occasionally fire them off?

That's why they can't have nukes.
Posted by: Seafarious || 01/04/2005 16:19 Comments || Top||


Government charges two with killing Aga Khan staff
Two alleged members of a banned militant group have been arrested and charged with an attack which killed two employees of a charity run by the billionaire Aga Khan, police said today. The men were seized in Chitral and were members of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi organistaion, district superintendent Muhammad Saeed Khan told AFP.
Posted by: Fred || 01/04/2005 12:05:07 PM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq-Jordan
Innovative Ground Support in Iraq
January 4, 2005: American air force and navy pilots have found new ways to provide air support, besides just circling high above and releasing smart bombs on command from guys on the ground. The 20mm automatic cannon carried on F-16s, F-18s and F-15s, using new, longer range ammo and improved computer gun sights, enable pilots to come in and spray a room, or other small area, with 80-100 rounds. There is also a new, "frangible" 20mm round that, after penetrating a wall or thin armor, flies apart into dozens of lethal fragments. In Iraq, enemy snipers have learned that being in a building that a pilot can get a shot at is not a good idea. Pilots have also used Maverick missiles to take out snipers, or rooms where enemy troops are located. The 500-600 pound Mavericks comes with many different guidance systems, and a 125 pound or 300 pound warhead. This allows the Maverick to be used when friendly troops are nearby, the only alternative being the 500 pound smart bomb.

Most of these aircraft can carry eight Mavericks, and enough 20mm ammo for 5-6 attacks. The Predator UAV is also a favorite for city fighting, because of the very accurate Hellfire missiles it carries. Weighing only 100 pounds, with a 20 pound warhead, the Hellfire can be put through a window. The Predator also has a laser designator which can be used to identify a target for a Maverick missile fired by a warplane higher up. The ground troops depend on the warplanes and Predators for instant reinforcements when they find themselves facing too many enemy gunmen.
Posted by: Steve || 01/04/2005 10:34:43 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This is great, keeping the fly-boys in the fight. I am a big Maverick fan. Hellfires on Predators are way cool also.
Posted by: Captain America || 01/04/2005 11:48 Comments || Top||

#2  80-100 rounds of 20mm into a room. Ye Gods, talk about rearranging the furniture!
Posted by: Mike || 01/04/2005 18:13 Comments || Top||

#3  The Lefties, Socies, Proggers, and Commies - ooops, sorry , like Britney Spears I mean REGULATORS or pro-Regulation, anti-Right = pro-Right = ??? Betty Crocker-crats, have gotta know US Tacair will soon dev the ability to deploy armed "parasite" UAVS as part of their NORMAL/
ROUTINE air-superiority/dominance mission,
ags enemy OPFORS, making 1 hi-tekky US Fighter = 2-3 plus-minus units in terms of firepower and qty. As UAVS advance in tech and capability, the only manned armed craft one will see in the sky will be those armored armed hovercraft in integrated, extra-ground close support of the infantry grunts and rear echelon CENTCOM C4IM!? And where GMD is concerned, LASERS that can shoot down missles and warheads as soon as they leave the launchpads can easily also shoot down aircraft or UAVS. Iff one accepts that the Global WOT = in reality Global War by and for Leftism-Socialism-Communism = WAR AND FORCED REVOLUTION [PC INVASION]AGAINST AMERICA AND THE WEST, then NOW is the time, before GMD becomes fully operational, for the Failed Left and Commie Clintons to make happen whatever PC destabilizing act or acts must occur to defeat and suborn America.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 01/04/2005 22:07 Comments || Top||

#4  Thanks for clearing that up, Joe. I'd been wondering the same thing.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 01/04/2005 22:10 Comments || Top||

#5  Somehow Joseph's comments would be so much easier to read without the CAPS and the =
Posted by: True German Ally || 01/04/2005 22:14 Comments || Top||

#6  I'm not sure that would be to Joe's advantage.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 01/04/2005 22:27 Comments || Top||

#7  I was so worried about the influence of Betty Crocker™ ( a hot, yet fictional MILF©) and Britney Spears (I guess I'm one of the few who hasn't...damn) on our foreign policy, that I made my drinks doubles, rather than singles, sorry, AB, thx JM!!!
Posted by: Frank G || 01/04/2005 22:37 Comments || Top||

#8  Britney Spears, Joe? No! Not Britney Spears! Say it ain't so!
But Betty Crocker doesn't surprise me. That bitch!
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/04/2005 22:52 Comments || Top||


Insurgents Fire Katyushas At Iraqi Refinery
Insurgents have stepped up their threat to Iraq's oil sector. For the first time, Iraqi insurgents have sought to fire Soviet-origin Katyusha rockets toward Iraqi oil facilities. On Jan. 1, the insurgents tried and failed to fire Katyushas toward an oil refinery near the southern city of Basra. The Oil Ministry said Iraqi security forces arrested two gunners preparing to fire the rockets from a truck. A spokesman said the arrests were carried out by the ministry's protection unit. Until now, most of the attacks by insurgents comprised of sabotage or bombings of pipelines. Iraqi insurgents have hardly launched Katyusha rocket attacks or mortar against the oil sector.
Posted by: Fred || 01/04/2005 9:52:40 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq Plans To Merge Security Forces
Iraq plans to merge its major security forces. Officials said Iran plans to merge its National Guard with the Iraqi Army. They said the merger would take place on Jan. 6 in an effort to improve coordination and cooperation. Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan said the merger would improve the performance of both the army and National Guard. The National Guard has about 40,000 troops and plans to expand to 45 battalions. The army has about 5,000 troops. On Sunday, 29 people, including at least 18 National Guard soldiers, were killed in a suicide car bombing against a bus near a U.S. military base north of Baghdad. Six other soldiers were injured in the attack.
Posted by: Fred || 01/04/2005 9:51:14 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Afghanistan/South Asia
Soldier killed in clash near Afghan border
More than two dozen mortar rounds were fired into Pakistan from neighbouring Afghanistan, killing one Pakistani soldier and seriously wounding two others, officials said yesterday. Pakistani troops retaliated and fired mortars into Afghanistan after the attack by unknown forces on Sunday in North Waziristan, a rugged Pakistani tribal region, said Major General Shaukat Sultan, chief army spokesman. Pakistan also protested to US-led forces in Afghanistan, Major General Sultan said. "Pakistan has lodged a protest with coalition authorities in Afghanistan," he said.

The clash was reported a day after an unmanned spy drone crashed in North Waziristan near the Afghan border. Another army official in Miran Shah, who asked that he not be identified, said the skirmish occurred in Saidqi, an area about 15 kms west of Miran Shah, near the Afghan border. It was not clear who was behind the shooting of about 25 mortars into Pakistani territory, Sultan said. "We don't know whether the fire came from terrorists or the Afghan national army," he said in the capital Islamabad.
Posted by: Fred || 01/04/2005 9:31:38 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Additional troops sent to border
Afghanistan ordered extra troops to its border with Pakistan after an exchange of artillery and mortar fire with Pakistani troops on the other side, an Afghan general said yesterday. General Khial Baz, commander of a militia division in the eastern province of Khost, said he had reports of Pakistani troops moving toward the mountainous frontier, and that he had ordered his men to also reinforce Afghan border posts. "I ordered all my troops to prepare their equipment and go toward the border," Baz said by telephone. He wouldn't say how many Afghan troops were being mobilised or when they would leave their barracks. An Afghan Defence Ministry spokesman said he was unaware of any cross-border skirmish or troop mobilisation.
Posted by: Fred || 01/04/2005 9:25:40 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Africa: North
Algeria reveals rebel crackdown
The leader of a radical Islamic rebel group in Algeria has been arrested and his deputy has been killed, the Interior Ministry has said. Security services detained Nourredine Boudiafi, head of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), in the eastern Algiers suburb of Bab Ezzouar in November. His deputy, Chaabane Younes, was killed in Chlef, 210km (160 miles) west of Algiers, the ministry added. The GIA has already been weakened by internal rivalries, the statement said. The ministry statement did not give precise details of Mr Boudiafi's arrest or of the killing of Mr Younes. But it said his arrest followed the killing of Mr Boudiafi's predecessor, Rachid Ouakali, alias Abu Tourab, in July by his own men so that Mr Boudiafi could take over.
Posted by: Steve || 01/04/2005 8:43:36 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq-Jordan
Al-zarqawi Has Been Arrested ?
Not the most reliable of sources. The Accordion Lady will be sleeping in until we get more...

Same story, more details:
Dubai, January 4. KAZINFORM. - Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi, whom the US occupation authorities declared to be the "target number one" in Iraq, has been arrested in the city of Baakuba, the Emirate newspaper al-Bayane reported on Tuesday referring to Kurdish sources. Al-Zarqawi, leader of the terrorist group Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad, was recently appointed the director of the Al-Qaeda organisation in Iraq, Kazinform refers to Itar-Tass. The newspaper's correspondent in Baghdad points out that a report on the seizure of the terrorist, on whom the US put a bounty of 10 million dollars, was also reported by Iraqi Kurdistan radio, which at one time had been the first to announce the arrest of Saddam Hussein. There have been no official reports about the arrest of the terrorist.

Al-Zarqawi, 38, a Jordanian, whose real name is Ahmad al-Khalayleh, aims to turn Iraq into a "new Afghanistan". According to Arab press data, Al-Tawhid Wa'al-Jihad group has divided Iraq into several emirates. The group's independent subdivisions at a strength of 50 to 500 militants operate in the cities of Al-Falluja, Al-Qaim, Diala, and Samarra. The personnel of the group is on the whole 1,500-strong and includes Iraqis and citizens of Arab and Islamic countries. There are demolition experts and missilemen among them.
That's a reasonable estimate of their groups numbers, about what I'd expect.
The group has depots of weapons and explosives in various parts of the country. It intends to frustrate the upcoming parliamentary elections that are scheduled for the end of this month. Al-Tawhid Wa'al-Jihad threatens to do away with Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi and members of the interim government.

Still holding...
Local Kurdish media: Al-Zarqawi was arrested
04/01/2005 KurdishMedia.com
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, whom the US occupation authorities declared to be the "target number one" in Iraq, has been arrested in the city of Baakuba, reported local Kurdish media. Al-Zarqawi, leader of the radical Islamic group Al-Tawhid Wa'al-Jihad, whom the US put a bounty of US$10 million, was recently appointed the director of the Al-Qaeda organisation in Iraq. KurdishMedia.com could not verify the report.
From Drudge...
UPDATE //
Tue Jan 04 2005 11:18:47 ET

U.S. military and intelligence sources are denying print and broadcast reports that terrorist Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi has been arrested in Iraq, MSNBC reported Tuesday.

MSNBC said senior U.S. military and intelligence sources told it the reports are not true. A newspaper in the United Arab Emirates, al-Bayane, reported in its Tuesday edition that the Jordanian-born terrorist had been arrested in Baqouba, Iraq. Iraqi Kurdistan radio also reported the arrest of al-Zarqawi.

The U.S. military in December said al-Zarqawi likely is in the Baghdad area.
Posted by: BrerRabbit || 01/04/2005 06:53 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  We've heard this before. Hope it true this time, though. Meanwhile, the fat lady slumbers on.
(BTW, the link doesn't work.)
Posted by: Spot || 01/04/2005 8:37 Comments || Top||

#2  Is this the same Chinese paper that fell for the Onion's story of Congress wanting the capital's dome to be retractable?
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats || 01/04/2005 8:44 Comments || Top||

#3  Not that it really means anything in the end, but I find it hopeful that the reporter has more background info on al-Zarqawi and his Al Towelheads. Doing some preliminary research for the big story?
Posted by: 2b || 01/04/2005 9:10 Comments || Top||

#4  I invoke the 48-hour rule. When The Washington Post reports it on 6 January, I'll break out the bubbly -- and not before then.
Posted by: Jonathan || 01/04/2005 9:47 Comments || Top||

#5  Drudge is linking with an Itar-Tass story on same....
Posted by: Frank G || 01/04/2005 9:47 Comments || Top||

#6  Hmm, is Tass much more reliable than China Daily?
Posted by: Jonathan || 01/04/2005 9:51 Comments || Top||

#7  I'll start celebrating when the WAPO and the NYT first break stories about how Zarqawi wasn't really all that important anyway.
Posted by: 2b || 01/04/2005 9:55 Comments || Top||

#8  Jonathan - about the same - 48 hr rule is in effect
Posted by: Frank G || 01/04/2005 10:03 Comments || Top||

#9  Ha'aretz also posts this in their news ticker:
13:39 Emirate newspaper al-Bayane: Wanted Al-Qaida leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, arrested in Baakuba

If they're citing someone else as a source, I guess they haven't confirmed it themselves.
Posted by: Dar || 01/04/2005 10:04 Comments || Top||

#10  very good, 2b :)
Posted by: Liberalhawk || 01/04/2005 10:13 Comments || Top||

#11  Kurd sources in play.We shall see.
Posted by: crazyhorse || 01/04/2005 10:54 Comments || Top||

#12  It's all coming from the same source, al-Bayane, reporting second-hand from Kurdish sources. I think they've reported Izzat Ibrahim nabbed twice, and I think they reported Sammy captured a time or two before we actually got him.
Posted by: Fred || 01/04/2005 10:55 Comments || Top||

#13  I'm holding off on celebrating unit the BLOGS can confirm it. Screw the old media. I have more faith in Blogs.

Plug - just read Hugh Hewitt's new book - "Blogs". I'm a beliver now!
Posted by: Yosemite Sam || 01/04/2005 10:58 Comments || Top||

#14  Oh, please, please let it be true. It would be good timing just before the election and all. Of course, if it wasn't true, it would still be possibly a good PR stunt to get the Iraqis to get out and vote, before word spread that it wasn't true.

Still, Please G-d, it should be true.
Posted by: A ray of light? || 01/04/2005 11:00 Comments || Top||

#15  And let the families of beheading victims be his judge and jury. No painless departure for this evil god pretender.
Posted by: Jules 187 || 01/04/2005 11:03 Comments || Top||

#16  So hoping it's true. I've still got an unopened bottle of bubbles left over from New Year's Eve.

If true I've got to say I'm surprised he'd be taken alive and in...umm...one piece.
Posted by: Mark Z. || 01/04/2005 11:23 Comments || Top||

#17  US is denying it.
Posted by: Ol_Dirty_American || 01/04/2005 11:24 Comments || Top||

#18  In unrelated news a soldier reported that the battery was missing from his humvee. Also missing were his jumper cables, two pair of vise-grip pliers, and (oddly) a pair of panties his wife sent him as a reminder of home! hmmm....

p.s.
if al-Zarqawi IS in custody I suggest pay-per-view for his interogation, to benefit the tsunami victims.
Posted by: Justrand || 01/04/2005 11:30 Comments || Top||

#19  Mark, I wouldn't be suprised that catch him without a fight at all. People like Zac are, deep down, cowards to the core. Beheading hogtied, terrified, civilian hostages and sending others out to die from the comfort of your home is one thing. Having the balls to go toe-to-toe with a a trained and fully armed opponent is another.

On the other hand I'd pay for PPV of his interrogation. But only if they use the black panties.....
Posted by: CrazyFool || 01/04/2005 11:37 Comments || Top||

#20  if al-Zarqawi IS in custody I suggest pay-per-view for his interogation,..

I'd pay for the privilege of throwing the switch two or three times.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 01/04/2005 11:39 Comments || Top||

#21  As we wait for the circus that will be Sammy's trial, I'm hoping that Zarq will resist arrest by falling down a steep staircase six or seven times.
Posted by: Seafarious || 01/04/2005 11:41 Comments || Top||

#22  The US being secretive about the Zarqawi apprehension follows a common pattern. We are interested in beating the tar out of him acquiring his intelligence.

That the Iraqi press is prematurely touting this capture is also typical.

Let's hope it is true.

Posted by: Captain America || 01/04/2005 11:43 Comments || Top||

#23  "Local Kurdish media: Al-Zarqawi was arrested
04/01/2005 KurdishMedia.com"

Unfortunately, 04/01/2005 can be viewed as April Fools' Day, as well as January 4.
Posted by: Dr. August Balls of Nice || 01/04/2005 12:02 Comments || Top||

#24  THE KURDS HAVE THEIR ACT TOGETHER. WE SHOULD GIVE THEM MORE AUTONOMY POSSIBLY EVEN INDEPENDENCE TO HELL WITH THE HELPFUL TURKEYS.
Posted by: Rightwing || 01/04/2005 12:04 Comments || Top||

#25  I checked with my Iraqi source (who also called the Saddam capture and the Iranian uprising last summer).
He cannot verify and says only that the rumor mill is on fire, including the detail that Kurdish SF made the grab and Z is still in their custody.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy || 01/04/2005 12:19 Comments || Top||

#26  Be still, my beating heart...
Posted by: Fred || 01/04/2005 12:22 Comments || Top||

#27  GET LYNNDIE OUT OF LEAVENWORTH FOR ONE LAST NAKED FLOOR CRAWL. PS BLACK PANTIES ARE OPTIONAL. PS PRESIDENTIAL PARDON FOR MS. ENGLAND ANYONE?
Posted by: Rightwing || 01/04/2005 12:24 Comments || Top||

#28  Ooooooo...Kurdish Kustody. I bet that's gonna leave a mark.
Posted by: Seafarious || 01/04/2005 12:25 Comments || Top||

#29  Hey Rightwing.

<<<----------<<<

Caps Lock key is over there, on the left side of your keyboard. Please disengage it.
Posted by: Seafarious || 01/04/2005 12:26 Comments || Top||

#30  Hey Seafarious, why so sensitive about letter casing? Remember I'm on your side.
Posted by: Rightwing || 01/04/2005 12:30 Comments || Top||

#31  Sometimes the scariest commenters are those people allegedly on your side.

What's the description from "Yes, Minister?" Something like You must be 100% behind someone if you're going to stab them in the back.
Posted by: Phil Fraering || 01/04/2005 12:36 Comments || Top||

#32  including the detail that Kurdish SF made the grab
Nice if it's true. Didn't the Kurds also lead the way to the Saddam grab? Hmmm...I wonder if this Z capture will enhance Kurdish bargaining power for a fine print qualifier in the new Iraqi constitution that if the federal model[as devised by the pointy headed ones in DC who have never stepped foot in Iraq]doesn't fly too well after 12 months, the Kurds reserve the right to declare independence with the US's blessing?
Posted by: joeblow || 01/04/2005 13:12 Comments || Top||

#33  "GET LYNNDIE OUT OF LEAVENWORTH FOR ONE LAST NAKED FLOOR CRAWL. PS BLACK PANTIES ARE OPTIONAL. PS PRESIDENTIAL PARDON FOR MS. ENGLAND ANYONE?"

YIKES! Black you say? That's the foulest, most depraved, most inhuman suggestion I have ever run across. Good work. The only improvement would be the incorporation of tabasco sauce.

We can salve our conciences by giving Z a choice: Lynndie in black unspeakables, the plastic shredder, or a media event involving an orange jumpsuit and a masked man wielding a rusty saw.
I rate it a toss-up.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy || 01/04/2005 13:28 Comments || Top||

#34  For the Z-man...I say cut both sphincter muscles regardless. Let him live like that the rest of his life.
Posted by: anymouse || 01/04/2005 13:56 Comments || Top||

#35  He cannot verify and says only that the rumor mill is on fire, including the detail that Kurdish SF made the grab and Z is still in their custody.

Ooooh, the mind boggles at the possibilities of proper torture interrogation at their hands before we get him and have to play by the "rules".

betruebetruebetruebetruebetruebetruebetruebetrue
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats || 01/04/2005 14:25 Comments || Top||

#36  I still don't get why Lynndie is so hated.
Posted by: Jules 187 || 01/04/2005 14:46 Comments || Top||

#37  Hehehehe.... if this is true we are probably delaying taking custody until the Kurds can 'interrogate' him -- all in order to be able to extract the maximum amount of Intel without the MSM being involved and complaining because the interrogation room is 'too warm'....
Posted by: CrazyFool || 01/04/2005 14:55 Comments || Top||

#38  I still don't get why Lynndie is so hated.


I can only speak for myself, and it's disgust and derision more than hate. She and that asshole Graner (who really should've known better) and their other buddies did a huge stooopid mistake, which the enemies of America's WOT , and the Democrats (or is that repetitive?) used to distract and deter our success for any number of months. NEVER film, photo, or tape your misdeeds!

Idiots!
Posted by: Frank G || 01/04/2005 15:03 Comments || Top||

#39  Kurd Custody...oooh...ouch. Hurts just thinking about it!
Posted by: 2b || 01/04/2005 15:23 Comments || Top||

#40  You know if you look at that pic closely it looks like he already has a pair of black panties on his head.......
Posted by: CrazyFool || 01/04/2005 15:37 Comments || Top||

#41  Kurdish custody??

Why do I keep seeing visions of cheese graters and lemon juice?
Posted by: AlanC || 01/04/2005 15:45 Comments || Top||

#42  CF..LOL...that Lynndie is fast.
Posted by: 2b || 01/04/2005 15:45 Comments || Top||

#43  Just do not see "Z" being taken alive. We got to wait here for confirmation........
Posted by: TomAnon || 01/04/2005 15:55 Comments || Top||

#44  NEVER film, photo, or tape your misdeeds!

Well, that's true.
Posted by: Jules 187 || 01/04/2005 16:06 Comments || Top||

#45  UPDATE!!
Just heard from my Iraqi source. Don't pawn the bubbly just yet, you might want to pop some corks within, say, 48 hours.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy || 01/04/2005 17:43 Comments || Top||

#46  Can we shout a little bitty woohoo, AC? :)
Posted by: Jules 187 || 01/04/2005 17:45 Comments || Top||

#47  Fred, does the Accordion Lady have a warm-up act?
Posted by: Seafarious || 01/04/2005 17:52 Comments || Top||

#48  how about this one? warm up act link
Posted by: 2b || 01/04/2005 18:08 Comments || Top||

#49  Is this better, Jules?
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy || 01/04/2005 18:09 Comments || Top||

#50  Is this like being vewy vewy quiet when hunting wabbits, AC?
Posted by: .com || 01/04/2005 18:12 Comments || Top||

#51  Preliminary woo hoo.
Posted by: Seafarious || 01/04/2005 18:13 Comments || Top||

#52  OK,
No capture, as per announcement earlier today. Unconfirmed but word from Iraq is that body parts are being tested against Zarq's DNA. Kurds brought in the scraps after making the kill with a direct hit from either an RPG or a 40mm grenade.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy || 01/04/2005 18:25 Comments || Top||

#53  dang...i wuz a hoping that that they would torture him for a few months, first.
Posted by: anymouse || 01/04/2005 18:32 Comments || Top||

#54  I suppose it's possible that the Kurds got him alive then did the damage with their bare hands.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy || 01/04/2005 18:36 Comments || Top||

#55  Still, just seeing "Zarqawi" and "body parts" in the same sentence is kinda heartwarming!
Posted by: Justrand || 01/04/2005 18:58 Comments || Top||

#56  Only when we hear the phrase "We should have captured him sooner" will we know for sure that we got him.
Posted by: Slitle Flaique4733 || 01/04/2005 19:02 Comments || Top||

#57  goddamit. ima didnt wanna hear peeces. was hoper theren a litle sufferin go with that.

>:(
Posted by: muck4doo || 01/04/2005 19:22 Comments || Top||

#58  Tell the Kurds if they deliver him they can keep his balls.
Posted by: True German Ally || 01/04/2005 19:31 Comments || Top||

#59  Gosh,can we get some pictures? Of the raspberry jam that was this nut job.

I prefer the Kurds take him alive. The middle eastern guys still seem to like to bugger information out of people.but i am afraid this one would like it too much.

Actually we will know it is true when Dan Rather snivels about how the Kurds got him and we couldn't adn how it was Rummies fault the Kurds beat us to him.

what do the blogs say about this?
Posted by: SOG475 || 01/04/2005 19:38 Comments || Top||

#60  Any word on whether the Ghost Jet is warming up?
"Meow meow meow meow... meow meow meow meow..."
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/04/2005 19:42 Comments || Top||

#61  LOL Tu! Ima hopin they gotn parts n peeces too Mucky
Posted by: Frank G || 01/04/2005 19:46 Comments || Top||

#62  I suspect we'd let the Kurds take him as part of our proper prisoner treatment and reduction program referred to in another post. After they complete their home style interrogation, they can find him mortally wounded in combat.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 01/04/2005 19:55 Comments || Top||

#63  No anal seditives for him.
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 01/04/2005 20:15 Comments || Top||

#64  If he is caught, I will gladly pay $10,000 for his balls (to hang over my fire place), after the US gets through with him!!
Posted by: smn || 01/04/2005 20:57 Comments || Top||

#65  You know, black panties are too good for him. I *like* black, hate to see it misused.

I say, put him in pink and lavender.
Posted by: true nuff || 01/04/2005 21:12 Comments || Top||

#66  #58 Tell the Kurds if they deliver him they can keep his balls.

Yum! Deep-fried Rocky Mountain Euphrates River Oysters!
Posted by: SC88 || 01/04/2005 21:17 Comments || Top||

#67  Interesting that it's the Kurds who are supposedly his captors.

Am I alone in wondering whether Allawi is working for the ba'athists?
Posted by: lex || 01/04/2005 21:53 Comments || Top||

#68  Relax, once Zarqawi is under US custody for three weeks, the freaky liberals will send him a cute teddy bear and furnish him with a lawyer (i.e., if the head doesn't fit, you must acquit)
Posted by: Captain America || 01/04/2005 22:21 Comments || Top||

#69  Ohhh your name is Zar-alqawi our mistake you're free to go. Sorry about that whole anal sedative and black panty thing.
Posted by: JP || 01/04/2005 22:23 Comments || Top||


Baghdad Governor assassinated
Baghdad governor Ali al-Haidri was assassinated by gunmen in the capital on Tuesday, police and hospital sources said. Haidri is the most senior Iraqi official to be assassinated in Baghdad since the head of the Governing Council was killed by a suicide bomb in May last year. Haidri had survived a previous assassination attempt in Baghdad in September that killed two of his bodyguards.
Posted by: Paul Moloney || 01/04/2005 2:54:20 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  If killing the voters won't stop the elections....just kill the candidates.

I can hear'em now:

"I'm Allan Mugrump, and I'm outta here!"
Posted by: Flans Glong2778 || 01/04/2005 6:14 Comments || Top||

#2  The soil of Iraqi liberty is being watered by the blood of her patriots. While tragic, the Iraqis will protect their freedom better if it comes at a cost to them, not just as a gift from the Coalition.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/04/2005 7:01 Comments || Top||

#3  This is very discouraging. I'm trying very hard to be optimistic about the future course of our Iraqi adventure, and every time I think we've turned a corner, something like this happens. I hope God gives the Iraqis the strength to carry on despite all these setbacks. Can we just get this election over with already?
Posted by: Captain Pedantic || 01/04/2005 8:00 Comments || Top||

#4  Damn.
Posted by: Seafarious || 01/04/2005 9:13 Comments || Top||

#5  What choice do the Iraqi's have but to move forward?
Posted by: 2b || 01/04/2005 10:14 Comments || Top||

#6  #1 Outlaw all guns except handguns. Allow some to carry with a permit for protection. Anyone caught with a rifle/rpg/ak47 goes to jail.
#2 If someone is caught working for the terrorists, arrest all males in the household above 15 and the neighbors to the right and left for not reporting it.
#3 All terrorists in jail get put on THE LIST. Any coalition soldier gets wounded, we kill the one at the top of the list with a ballpeen hammer. For every soldier killed we off 10. The only way off the list is to provide info.
#4 Any town, neighborhood that gets out of control will get the MOAB (which should be renamed the FATWA).
#5 All terrorist killed should be shown on National TV.
#6 Make it clear to IRAN and SYRIA that failure in IRAQ will mean a bombardment of all military bases and presidential residences.
#7 The CIA should start offing Al Jazeera workers.
Thats what I'd for starters.
Posted by: JackassFestival || 01/04/2005 10:22 Comments || Top||

#7  incoming gun control debate....
Posted by: 2b || 01/04/2005 10:40 Comments || Top||

#8  2b, Just in Iraq for the immediate short term future. For the record I have several.
Posted by: JackassFestival || 01/04/2005 11:40 Comments || Top||

#9  It is obvious that the Jihadis have excellent "actionable" intelligence and have had it for a while. I am surprised the Iraqis aren't getting really nasty.

It is also obvious that the motivation is coming from the turbanistas and as soon as they are killed, things will get better.
Posted by: Brett_the_Quarkian || 01/04/2005 11:48 Comments || Top||

#10  In 1951, three years into the Malayan (now Malaysia and Singapore) Emergency, General Gerald Templar, the British equivalent of Paul Bremer, was assassinated. British forces fought tens of thousands of ethnic Chinese communist guerrillas, finally breaking the movement's back in 1960, twelve years after the conflict began. Sporadic guerrilla warfare occurred until the late 1970's, when the Chinese government formally ended aid to various communist movements in Southeast Asia.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 01/04/2005 15:58 Comments || Top||

#11  ZF's excellent reference points to the root: funding. Follow the money is as close to universal truth as human behavior allows. The vast majority of the bad guyz, jihadis included, are mercs. Period. Take away the financial support, and the shit stops. If it's support from a government - disincent the hell out of that policy / stance, including direct confrontation, if necessary. If it's beneath state level, then disincent the states that harbor them - see above - and put them on the defensive.

We've been here before, but ZF's post serves as a real world reminder: either you believe in your cause or not. If you do, you don't quail and cower when missteps occur or the enemy gets in a good shot - you persevere. You grind them to dust.

Taking it to the next level - short-circuiting the process: You seek out the fundamental sources of funding for your adversaries and attack them. Cut them off by whatever means available - or kill them. The golden geese of every adversary are few in number, fixed - not mobile, and usually hiding behind a state. Make it so painful that it stops - or take out the state.
Posted by: .com || 01/04/2005 16:13 Comments || Top||

#12  Hear, Hear .com. Exactly. Tho I'm not certain about how few in number they are. Still taking their money is a good idea. There's a better one tho, this strategy is based on the liberation of a small strip of land in SA which is mainly Shia weirdly enough, 15 km deep and 50 or 60 kn in width.
Posted by: Shipman || 01/04/2005 17:26 Comments || Top||

#13  finally breaking the movement's back in 1960, twelve years after the conflict began

are we ready for another 10 years of this?
Posted by: Liberalhawk || 01/04/2005 17:29 Comments || Top||

#14  "The British also brought in soldiers from units like the Worcester regiment and Highlander Marines. One side effect was a re-creation of Special Air Service as a jungle commando unit in 1950. The Permanent Secretary of Defence for Malaya was Sir Robert Thompson who had served as an officer in the Chindits during World War II. This meant he had a lot of experience in jungle warfare and was sympathetic to the development of jungle commando units.

In 1951 some British army units begun a "hearts and minds campaign" by giving medical and food aid to Malays and indigenous Sakai tribes. At the same time, they put pressure on MRLA by patrolling the jungle. Units like the SAS, Royal Marines and Gurkha Brigade drove MRLA guerillas deeper into the jungle and denied them resources. MRLA had to extort food from Sakai and earned their enmity. Many of the captured guerillas changed sides. In turn, MRLA never released any Britons alive.

In the end there was about 35,000 British and 100,000 Malay troops against maybe up to 80,000 communist guerillas."

Posted by: Liberalhawk || 01/04/2005 17:32 Comments || Top||

#15  Many of the captured guerillas changed sides.

In the latter stages of the conflict it's said there were more turned Communists working for the British than there were guerillas. The last loyal few were bought off by one such agent in a single afternoon's work.
Posted by: Bulldog || 01/04/2005 17:38 Comments || Top||

#16  LH: are we ready for another 10 years of this?

Uncle Sam soldiered through Korea and Vietnam - with far higher casualties and far lower stakes. The press isn't ready for more of this, but the American people probably are. And if the press isn't careful, it will destroy its reputation for a generation - its monopoly on news analysis is in tatters.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 01/04/2005 17:59 Comments || Top||

#17  "are we ready for another 10 years of this?"

Hence the short-circuiting approach makes sense... I look at the shift in public perceptions - in only the last year - and it warms my dark heart that the unthinkable, regime change in Iran (which will have a very salutory effect in SyrLeb) is almost a given - the US Congress certainly "gets it". And The House of Saud isn't far behind with increasingly strident calls for accountability and recognition of their bribery and unrelenting covert opposition. The UN's fall from grace is a bonus - solely due to their own ineptitude and avarice.
Posted by: .com || 01/04/2005 18:03 Comments || Top||

#18  From Ralph Peters' new book, "When Devils Walk the Earth" Chapter III, Fighting Terror: Do's and Don'ts for a Superpower:

"http://heardman.blogspot.com/2004/12/from-when-devils-walk-earth.html>
Posted by: SC88 || 01/04/2005 21:29 Comments || Top||

#19  I do not believe a majority of the American people will support a ten-year counter-insurgency in Iraq. This goes beyond the MSM. I don't believe that a majority of Republican congressmen would support a ten-year counter-insurgency there. Isolationism runs deep in American veins. I think we've got another three years max in the eyes of the public. Not my preference, but I'm a realist looking with a cold eye upon my countrymen's native character.
Posted by: lex || 01/04/2005 23:43 Comments || Top||

#20  I agree with you lex, maybe 3 years of patience from Americans left. When pople try to compare post-war Germany to Iraq, I think they forget that Americans felt a connection to Germany, to Europe generally. The vast majority of Americans had immigrated from Europe so it was like they were re-building a former home.

Most Americans feel zero connection to either Iraq or Afghanistan. There's no sense of rebuilding something that's familiar to them. So for them to be sinking in all this $ and American lives to a country that is unfamiliar whose people are ungrateful will be a stretch for most Americans in a couple of years. Actually I'd say Americans have been far more committed to helping Iraqis than the Muslim-Americans, who don't want us in the ME at all, rebuilding or not.

Also the connection of a War on Terror to rebuilding Iraq is getting old and I don't think GWB has ever explained it that well quite frankly.
Posted by: joeblow || 01/05/2005 0:02 Comments || Top||

#21  JB: Also the connection of a War on Terror to rebuilding Iraq is getting old and I don't think GWB has ever explained it that well quite frankly.

I think most Americans can read between the lines. No one's going to join Uncle Sam in a punitive expedition. Burden-sharing is politically-palatable to those of our allies currently in Iraq only if it is portrayed as the liberation of Iraq. We are no more liberating Iraq than we were liberating Germany and Japan - but given the nature of plausibly deniable war that is terrorism, we are unlikely to ever get the kind of clear-cut casus belli that was Pearl Harbor from terrorist attacks.

The whole point of terrorism is to disperse responsibility so the Muslim world can effectively say: "You can't take all of us on at the same time". Iraq and Afghanistan were our way of saying that it would behoove each Muslim ruler to ensure that he stays low on Uncle Sam's list of priorities.

Does this mean that our position is that "might is right"? Not so. In a world of sovereign countries, our people do not have the authorization to personally go into foreign countries to conduct extensive anti-terrorist investigations and arrest those responsible. Lacking this authority, we must therefore act robustly to impress upon the local rulers that their failure to crack down on anti-American terrorists could lead to their defenestration if another major terror attack occurs on US soil.

A punitive expedition into the heart of Islam is merely our way of saying to Muslim countries that the Vietnam syndrome is at an end. Any conservative who thinks that we went into Iraq to liberate them needs to look at the geopolitical situation and try to figure out why we haven't invaded a laundry list of other countries that are similarly oppressed, such as North Korea, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Iran. Some things just can't be said out loud. You don't tell something you're about to fire that he's a bum and a loser, and that he's fired. You tell him that times are tough and that you're going to have to let him go.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 01/05/2005 9:55 Comments || Top||

#22  ZF, you might think about applying your cool realist analysis to the domestic US political scene as well. Americans by and large remain an idealistic and generous people. Counter-insurgency's not our thing. There's little appetite in this country, regardless of left-right divides, for massive and protracted foreign ground engagements.

The only way to sustain broad popular support in this country for the "long twilight struggle" is to link that protracted, wearying struggle to progressive aims, namely the success and the survival of liberty. Otherwise you're likely to see Hagelism and Buchananism spread rapidly in the red states as regards the Iraq engagement. Isolationism's as Americanism as apple pie.

Posted by: lex || 01/05/2005 10:06 Comments || Top||

#23  not to nit pick, but I take some issue with the idea of "red states" v/s "blue states". Not everyone who is conservative likes NASCAR or muses over the Buchanan's jew bashing blame/hate speech. I see the divisions as being more along the line of individual responsibility v/s government as a mommy to care for us and especially for the little brown "special" people. I think it's because in less concentrated areas, it's easier to see "the government" or "the poor" as individuals who can impact their own lives, and in places like New York, "the government" and "the poor" are easier to classify as one big anonymous "they".
Posted by: 2b || 01/05/2005 10:42 Comments || Top||

#24  It is a myth that counter insurgency is not our thing. The Indian Wars, the Philippines, and Latin America demonstrate to the contrary. Viet Nam only proved that we don't like to force our children as draftees to fight such wars. But we're more than ready and patient enough to pay other Americans' children to fight them.

The problem we now have is that the military learned the wrong lesson from Viet Nam. As a result, it developed a force structure that would compel a call up of reserves to fight a war. This was an error. The military should be structured so that it can conduct combat and occupation activities entirely with an all-volunteer force. Were this the case, the Hagels and Buchannans would not have an audience.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 01/05/2005 10:43 Comments || Top||

#25  good point - Mrs. D.
Posted by: 2b || 01/05/2005 10:48 Comments || Top||

#26  MD: The problem we now have is that the military learned the wrong lesson from Viet Nam. As a result, it developed a force structure that would compel a call up of reserves to fight a war. This was an error. The military should be structured so that it can conduct combat and occupation activities entirely with an all-volunteer force. Were this the case, the Hagels and Buchannans would not have an audience.

I don't think the size of the current military has much to do with Vietnam. It has to do with the cost of fielding a large army and the associated logistical overhead (i.e. it does no good to have a big army for overseas engagements if you can't move it where it needs to go). Throughout the 90's, we spent about 3% of GDP on defense. Because of the efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, we are now spending about 4%. This tells me that we might have to spend 5% to get a large enough army. That's over $100b per year in excess of current expenditures. Money is always an issue, because it contends with social spending and tax cuts. (Social spending is the third rail - touch it and you die - politically).
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 01/05/2005 10:59 Comments || Top||

#27  Mrs D

It is a myth that counter insurgency is not our thing. The Indian Wars, the Philippines, and Latin America demonstrate to the contrary

Good point. Let me clarify: our military and foreign policy establishment can of course prosecute counter-insurgencies successfully, provided they are either close to (or within) our borders and/or require limited deployments of US manpower. Deploying 150,000 troops over ten years in a region that we poorly understand and where we have few intelligence assets is another matter. I support it without reservation, but my point is that in our day and age, the US public will support overseas engagements only so long as victory seems to be in sight. This applies to Iraq today no less than Bosnia or Somalia or Lebanon ca 1983.

Which is why support needs to be rallied through appeals to American idealism. Counter-insurgencies are long, nasty and with plenty of reverses. Despite the successful examples you mention, Mrs D, counter-insurgency campaigns don't generally lend themselves to the American-Spielbergian-Band o Brothers narrative.

The other problem is that the reserves are bearing far more than their usual share of the fight and the bloodletting in Iraq. I have no doubts about our professional military caste's stomach for the fight, but I fear that the families of reservists and those close to them will turn against this war and go fully or largely isolationist.

2b,

agree totally re the red-blue divide-- it's really more a matter of suburbs/exurbs/rural vs urban core/college towns-with-a-foreign-policy. Dallas has more strip clubs than Manhattan, and has just elected a lesbian mexican-american as sheriff. Merck's lawyers are desperate to get the Vioxx class-action venue moved from Houston, which is far more plaintiff-friendly, to that bastion of corporate capitalism, Maryland. So much for the hypercapitalist Bible Belt.
Posted by: lex || 01/05/2005 11:02 Comments || Top||

#28  lex..true. It's interesting about Houston. I have family that lives there, and I noticed they were all over the WallMart issue - which was a big liberal PR push at the time. I found it interesting because they are super conservative. I can't help wonder how much of it is just the media coverage they are being bombarded with.
Posted by: 2b || 01/05/2005 11:09 Comments || Top||

#29  I'd bet that New Jersey exurbs have more in common politically and socially with Plano, Texas, than Plano has with Dallas or the NJ exurbs have with New York City.
Posted by: lex || 01/05/2005 11:13 Comments || Top||

#30  America supported the Cold War for over 45 years with over 250,000 troops in Germany with no prospect of victory. There is no reason why we cannot do the same in the Middle East. And it is easy to contend that victory is far more in sight in the ME than it ever was in the Cold War. Further the ME has attacked Conus, something the Soviets never did. You underestimate the willingness of the American people to support war. Bush was re-elected in the face of a horribly inaccurate and scurrilous anti-war propaganda effort by the M$M.

Your point about the reserves echos mine. The American-Spielbergian-Capra narrative is only necessary when civilian involvement is compelled, either by draft or reserves. It is clear that neither is necessary to achieve victory in the ME, if we properly structure and expand the AVF which we can easily do.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 01/05/2005 11:39 Comments || Top||

#31  America supported the Cold War for over 45 years with over 250,000 troops in Germany with no prospect of victory

My point exactly. The "long twilight struggle" was done in the name of our ideals, namely "the survival and success of liberty." Which is why the Iraq engagement, if it's to retain more than 51% (if that) popular support over the years, will have to be justified as more than merely a "punitive expedition" as ZF would have it, or a counter-insurgency.

Ideals matter. And in this case they matter at least as much as realpolitik goals. The realpolitikers wanted to do business with Saddam.

Agree totally re expanding the AVF. What's happening on that front?
Posted by: lex || 01/05/2005 11:47 Comments || Top||

#32  Bush was re-elected in the face of a horribly inaccurate and scurrilous anti-war propaganda effort by the M$M.
Bush was re-elected because of a very poor Democrat candidate. Also, Bush won some of the states - specifically Ohio- because the gay marriage initiative were on the ballots and that brought out the religious GOP voters and family oriented Democrats who might have sat this election out(former) or voted for Kerry(latter).

I don't think anyone can realistically claim Bush won because the electorate supported what's happening in Iraq. The situation in Iraq was his Achilles heel throughout the election, even with Republicans. The majority of Americans gave the Bush administration 4 more years to settle matters in Iraq because even if they did not agree with the invasion, they wanted the US to get the Iraqi elections done with and a new Iraqi gov't in place and the political situation somewhat settled.

The "long twilight struggle" in post war II was supported by Americans because they had a connection to the EU countries. Some American immigrants actually fled communism in the 1930's, so also there was a personal stake in maintaining an American presence in post war Europe. As I said earlier, there is no personal connection to the ME countries. Even the majority of Muslim Americans and Jewish Americans want us out of Iraq. You'd think there's be committment from those 2 groupos who actually have a stake in the ME. While the invasion of Iraq got support from Americans of both political stripes due to the threat of Saddam having WMD, after the WMD were not found, I think there was a collective sigh of relief in the US, so now it's just get Iraq stabilized enough to run their own country and let's move on. RB is a highly selective blog re: support of the Iraq occupation. I don't think you can say it's a reflection of Americans' sentiments at large.

Seeing our nation as standing for freedom and liberty is an image that has been watered down considerably not only by the educators and the media but also by our elite politicians' and behind the scenes political movers and shakers' drive to have "diversity and multi-culturalism" prevail in the country as opposed to "melting pot and nationalism." Therefore, today a growing population segment in this country are hyphenated Americans who could care less about the founders' values. They want cheap mortgages and cheap gasoline and cheap education blah, blah.

That's why I agree with lex - 3 years is about it for Americans' committment to sinking in $ and troops' lives into the ME. I don't think it's a matter of conservatives vs democrats on this lack of patience issue - a good number of Democrats voted for Bush in 2004. I think it's lack of personal connection to the region and to the WOT dogma, which was weirdly explained to our people -a war on communism, a war on facism yes,that worked with the populis, where nation states are clearly defined as the enemy. But a WOT? Huh? what's that??? JQCitizen needs things simplified but some pointy head wonk in the WH went overboard with that simplification so in a short period of time it means nothing.

By 2008 if Iraq is not stabilized to where JQCitizen sees cheaper gas prices( that's what's important after all)and deficit reduction, the GOP may pay a price at the polls.
Posted by: joeblow || 01/05/2005 12:28 Comments || Top||

#33  The Cold War had nothing to do with ideals or immigrants, it had everything to do with national survival. Having fought WWII, we were not about to leave it to the next generation of wacko euro dictators to threaten us and have to rescue the Euros a third time in one century. So we sat down to outwait them.

The Soviets never attacked us, they never killed thousands of innocent civilians. The Islamofascists have. The Americans won't quit till they're beat.

JB, by your slander of the hyphenated Americans I presume you mean the German-Americans and the Irish-Americans. I never understood why our ancestors let them in either. Just caused dilution of our precious bodily fluids.

If this war isn't over in four years, and it won't be, the Americans will not elect they candidate who offers a strategy of cut and run. They will elect the candidate they believe most likely to advance the cause. They will continue to do so until the Islamofascists are defeated.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 01/05/2005 12:55 Comments || Top||

#34  don't think anyone can realistically claim Bush won because the electorate supported what's happening in Iraq.

That's funny, cause Kerry himself said, "The war vote beat me".
Posted by: 2b || 01/05/2005 13:00 Comments || Top||

#35  The Soviets never attacked us, they never killed thousands of innocent civilians. The Islamofascists have
Roosevelt and Churchill mistrusted Stalin from the get go. It was an alliance of convenience not trust. Patton wanted to take out the Russians after the war, but the best we could do at that time was Cold War detente to stop the spread of Russia's imperialistic dreams beyond the Eastern bloc nations.

Are you serious? Islamofascists attacked us? No dear, there is no nation called Islmofacism, sorry to report this to you. And we're not in Iraq because Iraq attacked us. We're in Iraq for more complicated reasons and Islamofacism is not one of them.

JB, by your slander of the hyphenated Americans I presume you mean the German-Americans and the Irish-Americans. I never understood why our ancestors let them in either.
Oh poor Mrs. Davis. I guess I hit a nerve - you know darn well I don't mean the Irish or German immigrants. But you have revealed yourself as a liberal who supports the liberals panacea to the ills of this nation and the world- why it's "multiculturalism and diversity." Ha, ha, ha.

the Americans will not elect they candidate who offers a strategy of cut and run. They will elect the candidate they believe most likely to advance the cause
Americans will support whichever candidate offers them cheap gas, no gay marriage, low tax rates, and no more body bags coming home from a country they can't find on a world map if you offered them $1000 to do so. Sorry, but that's mainstream America.
Posted by: joeblow || 01/05/2005 13:30 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan/South Asia
US taking 'fewer' Afghan prisoners
Now there's a headline that warms the heart.
KABUL: The US military is taking as few prisoners as possible in its campaign against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, an American commander said yesterday, partly to forestall more complaints about its conduct after the deaths in custody of at least eight prisoners. Colonel Gary Cheek, the US commander for eastern Afghanistan, said the troops under his command would be "relentless" in their pursuit of insurgents, including some 20 unidentified top leaders, through the bitter Afghan winter. But he said the soldiers were taking as few prisoners as possible as they try to win stronger support from the local population, and following a review of the military's policy on detentions last year. "We are always adapting to the changes in the environment and our commanders, our soldiers, are also trying to be more sensitive to the Afghan culture," Cheek said at a news conference. "I've told our commanders, for example, to minimise the number of Afghan nationals or others that they detain."
Dang. I thought that they would just ...
The US military, which still commands 18,000 troops here, has taken thousands of prisoners in Afghanistan since Operation Enduring Freedom, Washington's anti-terrorism drive, began after the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. Those not quickly released are transferred to larger jails at US bases in Bagram and Kandahar, from where many have in the past been sent to the American prison for terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. However, allegations of mistreatment - dating back to before the prisoner abuse scandal in Iraq - have hurt efforts to win over ordinary Afghans. When asked about the death in September of a prisoner at his own headquarters in the city of Khost, Cheek said the man had complained to a guard that he was bitten by a snake. Sher Mohammad Khan complained to his jailers that he was bitten by a snake hours before his death, a high-ranking US military official said. Doctors could not find evidence of a bite when he was first detained but when medics checked on him later in the evening he had stopped breathing, said Colonel Gary Cheek, the US military commander in eastern Afghanistan. "Because we could find nothing wrong with him the doctor left... the second time that the medic went back to check on him... they found that he was no longer breathing," he added.
"Gee Sarge, musta been some snake."
Spokesman Maj Mark McCann said fewer prisoners were now being sent to Guantanamo, reflecting a decline in militant activity in Afghanistan. He also said detainees could be freed this year under a planned amnesty. The officials gave no figures to show whether detention rates had indeed declined, although Cheek said the three holding facilities under his control at bases in eastern Afghanistan were currently empty.
Posted by: Steve White || 01/04/2005 12:43:02 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Fewer prisoners because they no longer survive the engagement would suit me. Bigger calibres, more hits, less talk.
Posted by: .com || 01/04/2005 1:22 Comments || Top||

#2  I've been saying this all along. No prisoners means no accusations of "torture", no upkeep, and no expending of resources for such.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 01/04/2005 1:24 Comments || Top||

#3  Whay kind of posinious snakes would there be in Afganistan,anybody know?
Posted by: Raptor || 01/04/2005 6:00 Comments || Top||

#4  The US military is taking as few prisoners as possible in its campaign against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, an American commander said yesterday, partly to forestall more complaints about its conduct after the deaths in custody of at least eight prisoners.

The American military, teaching LLL and M$M the law of unintended consequences worldwide. The only problem I see here is that failure to take prisoners alive reduces the incentive to surrender. Perhaps the military should consider that consequence. But the ultimate judgement should lie with the commander on the scene who has the most information with which to make the decision.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 01/04/2005 7:11 Comments || Top||

#5  From Army Health Care:

And there were other hazards. Rodents were a problem at camp, not so much for disease but for the predators they attracted - snakes. Afghanistan has 270 varieties of snakes and 52 are poisonous, including the aggressive Saw-Scaled Viper. A bite from this snake could prove fatal. Soldiers received strong and consistent guidance regarding the storage of food in their tent that could attract rodents and, subsequently snakes.
Posted by: Steve || 01/04/2005 8:16 Comments || Top||

#6  Dead men tell no tales.
Posted by: 2b || 01/04/2005 9:23 Comments || Top||

#7  The bottom line is good news, basically. "Take fewer prisoners because so few of them are actually bad guys that it's no longer productive to arrest everybody to find out." What with the border outposts and large-scale offensives, the bad guys have pretty well been eliminated, especially in winter.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 01/04/2005 9:51 Comments || Top||

#8  From Stratagy Page: December 31, 2004: Without providing any numbers, American commanders have admitted that they are now able to be a lot more selective in who they arrest. Early on, American troops would round up nearly every adult male in villages or compounds they raided. But three years of compiling information, and gaining experience, have enabled U.S. troops to be a lot more selective.

Making a list and checking it twice, we know who's been naughty and nice...
Posted by: Steve || 01/04/2005 10:17 Comments || Top||

#9  "Soldiers received strong and consistent guidance regarding the storage of food in their tent that could attract rodents and, subsequently snakes."

the manual goes on to say that food should be stored next to terrorist detention facilities...
Posted by: Carl in N.H. || 01/04/2005 12:28 Comments || Top||

#10  Dead men also need no lawyers.
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/04/2005 18:45 Comments || Top||


Iraq-Jordan
Car bomb targeting Allawi kills three
A car bomb went off near Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's party headquarters in Baghdad on Monday, killing three people and injuring 25 others, police said. The blast took place at 9:45 am (0645 GMT) in Baghdad's western district of Harithiya that leads to the offices of Allawi's Iraqi National Accord party. The street also leads to the heavily guarded Green Zone area, which houses the offices of the Iraqi government as well as the U.S. and the British embassies.

Police said that a yellow car tried to hit a checkpoint that secures the area but rammed into a police truck and exploded. Iraqi policemen fired shots in the air to clear the scene after the explosion and the U.S. army sealed off the area. Medics reported that three people were killed, including two police officers, and 25 injured, including 18 policemen. A top government official said that Allawi was safe and that he wasn't near the scene of the blast. "Most of the casualties have been among the security forces manning the checkpoint. No one senior from the Iraqi National Accord was hurt," the official, who demanded anonymity, said.
Posted by: Fred || 01/04/2005 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  a yellow car tried to hit a checkpoint
New Year's Ordinance #107: All vehicular boomers shall use clearly marked yellow cars...
Posted by: Spot || 01/04/2005 8:39 Comments || Top||

#2  Wotta dumbass. It's "The man in the yellow hat got in the little blue car and drove away," not "The man in the blue hat got in the little yellow car and blew up."

Curious George is pissed.
Posted by: Fred || 01/04/2005 14:23 Comments || Top||

#3  LOL Fred!
Posted by: Shipman || 01/04/2005 16:01 Comments || Top||

#4  I cherish my Curious George gets into the Ether and smiles magnet.
Posted by: Shipman || 01/04/2005 16:02 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Tue 2005-01-04
  Zarqawi in jug?
Mon 2005-01-03
  19 killed in Iraqi car bombing
Sun 2005-01-02
  Another most wanted found among Riyadh boomer scraps
Sat 2005-01-01
  Algerian deported from San Diego
Fri 2004-12-31
  NKors threaten to cut off contact with Japan
Thu 2004-12-30
  Ugandan officials meet rebel commanders near border with Sudan
Wed 2004-12-29
  43 Iraqis killed in renewed violence
Tue 2004-12-28
  Syria calls on US to produce evidence of involvement in Iraq
Mon 2004-12-27
  Car bomb kills 9, al-Hakim escapes injury
Sun 2004-12-26
  8.5 earthquake rocks Aceh, tsunamis swamp Sri Lanka
Sat 2004-12-25
  Herald Angels Sing
Fri 2004-12-24
  Heavy fighting in Fallujah
Thu 2004-12-23
  Palestinians head to polls in landmark local elections
Wed 2004-12-22
  Pak army purge under way?
Tue 2004-12-21
  Allawi Warns Iraqis of Civil War

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