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Syria ending cooperation with the US
Today's Headlines
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Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 4: Opinion
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Europe
Three held in Madrid bomb probe
Spanish police have arrested three Moroccans alleged to be part of the logistical wing behind the devastating Madrid train bombings. Two of the men were detained in Madrid and the third in the southern city of Granada, police said. They are suspected of selling drugs and guns to help the bombers who killed 191 people on 11 March 2004. Nearly 30 people have been detained in connection with the attacks, although the main suspects blew themselves up.
Reports in the Spanish press say the weapons given to the bombers appeared in a video discovered shortly after the attacks that showed armed suspects claiming responsibility for the blasts. A parliamentary inquiry into the attacks - which injured more than 1,500 people - is still struggling to conclude its investigation.
Posted by: Steve || 05/24/2005 08:34 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Bosnian Muslims Anti American - Support Terrorists In Iraq
Those Ungrateful Bosnians
We liberated them. Why are they still against us?
By Yaroslav Trofimov
Posted Monday, May 23, 2005, at 10:00 AM PT

...Bosnia is often held up as proof that the United States—despite a deepening belief to the contrary among many Muslims—hasn't embarked on an evil crusade against Islam. After all, here is one place where Americans actually fought to help Muslims, against Christian Serbs.... after several months of training, a multiethnic Bosnian mine-clearing unit numbering about 30 soldiers is slated to begin its Mesopotamian stint next month....In a Friday sermon at Sarajevo's Begova Mosque, the second most senior cleric in the country, Ismet Spahic, decried American actions in Iraq as "genocide."... Kemal Bakovic [editor of a Bosnian paper], met me over a fruit juice in a grim neighborhood of Soviet-style housing blocks, still pockmarked by shrapnel. An Arabic-speaker, he had studied in Zarqa, in Jordan—the hometown, he was pleased to remind me, of the man described by the United States as al-Qaida's chieftain in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.... Some other Bosnian Muslims, he added, had already joined the war...I met Mustafa Ceric, the reis ul-ulema, or chief religious leader, of Bosnia's Muslims. A former ambassador with a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, he is known as a rare voice of sober, European Islam. But, as our conversation drifted to Iraq, he abandoned the detached professorial tone with which he had greeted me.

Muslims everywhere, Ceric said, are losing the ability to think rationally. "You see every day the scenes of your relatives being killed, and no one is doing anything about it. ... Muslims feel that they are threatened, that the West is trying to enslave them, literally."

I asked Ceric whether he shared his deputy's description of American actions in Iraq as genocide—a loaded word for Bosnia, which itself experienced the real thing so recently. Ceric wouldn't endorse or disavow the imam. Nor would he condemn those Bosnians who head off to join the Iraqi insurgents.




Posted by: mhw || 05/24/2005 08:23 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Heh. No good deed goes unpunished.
Posted by: Ptah || 05/24/2005 8:55 Comments || Top||

#2  Same in Kuwait. There are radical thug elements in all Islamic societys and countrys. But most Bosnians (and I know a bunch from Sarajevo)are very strong America supporters.
Posted by: Jack is Back! || 05/24/2005 9:09 Comments || Top||

#3  SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina ­– As a platoon of Soldiers from the Bosnian Armed Forces prepared for their first major mission outside of Bosnia in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers supported them with some medical training that could eventually save their lives.
more
Posted by: Theaper Angaimble1231 || 05/24/2005 9:09 Comments || Top||

#4  the Bosnian govt supports us.

this disgruntled Serb(?) has found ONE senior cleric who says anti-American things about Iraq. The other senior cleric, who does NOT support those statements, nonetheless refuses to disavow the Imam (i presume he has more pressing issues with his hierarchy than statements about Iraq) And somehow this shows Bosnian Muslims are anti-American. Feh!
Posted by: Liberalhawk || 05/24/2005 9:36 Comments || Top||

#5  Gratitude is unIslamic
Posted by: gromgorru || 05/24/2005 10:57 Comments || Top||

#6  Seems to me if a biggie cleric (not just any cleric) accuses the US of Genocide in Iraq (not just says I don't like Bush) and the biggest guy in the clerical education system refuses to condemn it (even in a non official capacity) and goes on to provide more islamonuthouse comments, that this is pretty significant.

At the very least, it shows that over the past decade or so that extensive and Wahabi influence extends to the very top of the Bosnian religious community.

I don't think the high level clerics, etc. in Kuwait are saying anything like this.
Posted by: mhw || 05/24/2005 11:03 Comments || Top||

#7  Remember Izbekovitch, the president of Bosnia during the war? Rumor was that he was a member of the Hanschar division (a non-Aryan SS formation famous for its atrocities against Serbs and Jews). That is the rumors but what is not a rumor ois that the Hanschar name was resurrected in the Bosnian army or that in Izbekovitch pre-war meetings there were paints showing Muslim horsemen trampling serbs.

You thought people like Itzbekivitch would show you gratitude? Perhaps, foot citizen Bosnians but not the activists from Itzbekovitch's party.
Posted by: JFM || 05/24/2005 11:08 Comments || Top||

#8  Two further observations:

1) the planning for 911 began a couple of moths after we saved some 50,000+ muslim lives in Kosovo

2) our idealistic intervention in Kosovo incurred the wrath of the entire Orthodox Christian world, from Athens to Moscow
Posted by: thibaud (aka lex) || 05/24/2005 11:12 Comments || Top||

#9  Two further observations:

1) the planning for 911 began a couple of moths after we saved some 50,000+ muslim lives in Kosovo

2) our idealistic intervention in Kosovo incurred the wrath of the entire Orthodox Christian world, from Athens to Moscow
Posted by: thibaud (aka lex) || 05/24/2005 11:12 Comments || Top||

#10  One more thought: the cause of our difficulties with muslims' opinion of us isn't American "sadism". It's our own masochism. Zarqawi must be laughing at us.
Posted by: thibaud (aka lex) || 05/24/2005 11:15 Comments || Top||

#11  ya know, people dont like to disavow people who are politically important to them over words. Jesse Jackson didnt want to disavow Farrakhan. Republicans dont want to disavow Pat Robertson. Lots of Orthodox Jews dont run around disavowing Meir Kahane. Judging people by who they fail to disavow is a fools game.

Second, my impression is that what makes Bosniacs different is NOT so much that they follow more moderate Imams, but that they arent all that interested in Imams - that they are a relatively secular people.

I think we were right to go into Iraq. But i doubt that every Sunni Muslim who opposes us on it, and is even willing to toss around the word genocide, is a Wahabi.

I must note that we didnt quite lose the entire Orthodox world over Kosovo. In particular Romania, Bulgaria, and Macedonia have been supportive of us, more so than many non-Orthodox countries in Europe, I might add. One might counter that Romania, Bulgaria, and Macedonia have realpolitik reasons to support us. I would respond that Russia has plenty of realpolitik reasons to oppose us, and I rather suspect they have been much more important than Kosovo. That leaves Greece, which was already at odds with US policy in the mideast long before Kosovo.
Posted by: Liberalhawk || 05/24/2005 11:26 Comments || Top||

#12  Sadism vs Masochism (er, em)

We should our interests with force, as need be. We shouldnt harm ourselves. But we also need to live up to our own standards. I dont know if anyone up the ranks was responsible - but I am quite sure that what happened at Abu Graib did NOT help us one bit.
Posted by: Liberalhawk || 05/24/2005 11:28 Comments || Top||

#13  Whether Russia's hostility comes from "realpolitik" or from injured feelings of brataslavanstvo ("brother-slav" solidarity) is mainly a semantic issue. My lesser point is that our intervention in Kosovo demolishes at one stroke all the idiotic lefty and muslim conspiracy explanations for US foreign policy, as that intervention was entirely, 100% altruistic and devoted to saving muslim lives. My larger point is that our national obsession with understanding whether the muslim "street", ie some mystically uniform muslim world populace, is completely counterproductive.

There is no worldwide muslim moderate movement. There are a few prominent muslims in a few critical nations who happen to have significant influence. Karzai, Talabani, Sistani come to mind. We should work closely with them and help them materially and politically to the extent prudence allows. But the notion of a PR campaign to win the "hearts and minds" of the vast majority of the world's muslims is a loser's game. The sad fact is that most of the world's muslims are not only immoderate; they're not even rational. There is no good deed we can do them that will not be punished severalfold.
Posted by: thibaud (aka lex) || 05/24/2005 11:38 Comments || Top||

#14  Kosovo should have taught us the above lesson, in spades. It seems that Americans who are taught from the cradle to be nice, to care intensely what others think of them and to seek popularity as the greatest of all compliments, cannot grasp the logic of a punitive war aimed above all at crushing a fascist kamikaze movement.
Posted by: thibaud (aka lex) || 05/24/2005 11:41 Comments || Top||

#15  ya know, people dont like to disavow people who are politically important to them over words.

Spoken like a true modern Democrat.

Robertson was one of the first candidates for the term "idiotarian"; when he says something boneheaded, he's called on it. By Republicans. By conservative Republicans. By conservative Christian Republicans.

Trent Lott had to step down from being Speaker because of stupid comments he made. He was pressured out by Republicans.

Oddly, I still can't think of an equivalent on the Democrat side. The closest I can come is Barney Frank's rebuke towards Dean a week or two ago... not the same league.

It's nice to hear that the Bosnians are sending troops to help. It'd be a lot nicer if their so-called religious leaders would stop fomenting hatred.
Posted by: Robert Crawford || 05/24/2005 12:05 Comments || Top||

#16  lex - you've been on a roll lately, but I disagree with you on this one. The strength of America is the willingness to be charitable and for each and every one of us to attempt to take the log out of our own eyes before they complain of the speck in anothers.

For some it may be popularity or wanting to be liked, but for most it is the desire to do good and to help others to help themselves. That's what our country is based on and that's what makes it strong. Muslims are weak cause they spend their time blaming and shaming and refuse to look inward or to extend the hand of charity just because it might get bit.

To many people confuse forgiveness with weakness. Forgiveness implies the letting go and extending charity to those willing to move beyond. Don't lose sight of that just cause so many liberals are saps.
Posted by: 2b || 05/24/2005 12:36 Comments || Top||

#17  Sung to "Mother"

I is for idiots that you played us for
N is because we were just too nice
G is for the ground troops that we sent there
R is for the ruse that we fell for
A is for the assholes we know you are now
T is for the trust that was misplaced
Put an E on the end and you have INGRATE.
And we hope that you all rot in HELL...
Posted by: Ogeretla 2005 || 05/24/2005 12:51 Comments || Top||

#18  I hear you, 2b. I'm not arguing that we should not have intervened in Kosovo, only that what Hitchens rightly calls our "masochism" in wanting to be liked is distracting us from the main task at hand.

Put it another way: there's a good reason that the history books pay far more attention to the Red Army's crushing of the Wehrmacht than to its soldiers' rapes of nearly 2m German women in 1944-45 (cf Robert Conquest's study). Only if we are winning on the battlefield will the vast majority of muslims pay any attention to our fine words.
Posted by: thibaud (aka lex) || 05/24/2005 12:55 Comments || Top||

#19  sadly...you have a valid point.
Posted by: 2b || 05/24/2005 12:58 Comments || Top||

#20  Niall Ferguson also notes the weird asymmetry between OTOH our ruthlessness in overthrowing Saddam and ruthless treatment of certain detainees, and OTOH our refusal to intervene massively to crush Zarqawi. As a strategist, he's a pretty good armchair bullshitter, but the point is that we Americans need to be utterly uncompromising when it comes to military victory.

These are not Iraqi "insurgents." They are slaughterers, period. As a nation we need to urge our leaders to spare nothing in finding and killing every last one of them. I believe that, to the extent we wail over slights to muslim sensibilities, we distract our leaders from job 1. The historians will not care about PissKoran and will give only glancing mention to Abu G. What matters to history is whether we destroy Zarqawi and the ba'athist deadenders - period.
Posted by: thibaud (aka lex) || 05/24/2005 13:01 Comments || Top||

#21  they are rabid dogs who need to be put down. Most people are sheep. Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind.
Posted by: 2b || 05/24/2005 13:42 Comments || Top||

#22  oh ...and a stitch in time saves nine. :-)

Seriously..I've often wondered if we someone had just put a bullet in Castro's head early on..or even tomorrow - would the people of Cuba soon live in a free and prosperous economy? Would Che even be on the tee-shirts of liberals had Castro not been around to fund his memory?

The same for Osama and Zarqawi. Is it just the sooner the better? Or are we better off letting the Iraqi people get sick and tired of them and look elsewhere on their own.
Posted by: 2b || 05/24/2005 13:47 Comments || Top||

#23  ps..re: my cryptic post above. I had a long winding thoguth that seemed to rambling so I shortened it to that. Consider it a good thing.
Posted by: 2b || 05/24/2005 13:51 Comments || Top||

#24  lex, you will note, that whatever the history books said, the Soviets atrocities in 1945 were remembered in east central Europe, where they were chased out in 1989 and 1991. And where they still hated to this day. They managed to hang on in those places, which had a total population of under 100 million, with occupation armies in the hundreds of thousands.

The muslim world is over 1.2 billlion people. Are we prepared to occupy them with an army of millions? Tens of millions? If not, we had better pay attention to how we treat them.
Posted by: Liberalhawk || 05/24/2005 13:52 Comments || Top||

#25  read the whole Hitch article. He also says

"For whatever it's worth, I know and admire both John Barry and Michael Isikoff, and I can quite imagine that—based on what they had already learned about the gruesome and illegal goings-on at Guantanamo, Bagram, and Abu Ghraib—they found it more than plausible that the toilet incident, or something like it, had actually occurred. "


Gruesome and illegal. Doing things that are gruesome and illegal does NOT help us in this war. I fully think we should keep our eyes on the prize, and I agree that bloggers like Sullivan have over focused on this. But lets not be confused. These abuses hurt us.
Posted by: Liberalhawk || 05/24/2005 13:56 Comments || Top||

#26  Robertson was one of the first candidates for the term "idiotarian"; when he says something boneheaded, he's called on it.

By bloggers, who have nothing to lose. Not by pols.
Posted by: Liberalhawk || 05/24/2005 13:57 Comments || Top||

#27  GREAT comments, all! In the midst of all this though, I've gotta wonder, like LH in #11, if this is just another puffed up, MSM story? How many moose limbs are there in Bosnia (vs. Christians), and of that number, how many are actually following this imam? I've gotta say there's a fairly large (and growing) population of Bosnians here in my neck of the woods (majority of which are Christian, from what I can tell) and they seem to be pro-US. Just wondering if this is truly a non-story (puffed up) or is there more of a following to this guy than I believe? It is surprising to hear (no good deed goes unpunished), but if it's just 1 raving loonatic, I feel more comfortable. I'd be more worried about this going on (in droves) in the ME around Iraq than just a few Bosnian hard boyz looking to be target practice for our guys.
Posted by: BA || 05/24/2005 14:04 Comments || Top||

#28  oh..well.. I guess if Hitchens says that, then it's ok then. You don't need to show me any proof before you print.

Hitch says Isadumkof is a good guy - so it's ok that people die.
Posted by: 2b || 05/24/2005 14:06 Comments || Top||

#29  LH, you're missing the point. Of course I don't justify atrocities. I'm not even excusing them. I'm speaking to the issue of how much attention and media exposure we should give to them when they occur. IMO the coverage of Abu G has been excessive and fully merits Hitch's description of it as "masochistic." nb in my analogy I could also have chosen any of dozens of other atrocities committed by the Allies, including executing hundreds of German captives pointblank in North Africa. Would it ahve made sense for the NY Times in 1945 to have been banging constantly on these atrocities, the state of internal investigations of them, other acts of official coverup or malfeasance? If not in 1945, why now?

Let me be clear. I'm not arguing for a coverup concerning Abu G, or for letting Bush off the hook. I condemn it and share Hitch's view on it. Punish the perps, change the procedures, apologize and pay restitution where necessary.

The point is that these screwups cannot and must not be put on the same plane as the overriding military objective. The 24x7 internet age fishbowl is not helping, but neither does it help to apply some kind of foolish evenhandedness to Abu G and battles like Fallujah. The latter have far more impact than the former for anyone except western intellectuals and simpletons who, like Andrew S, conceive of this struggle as some kind of grand morality play. It's not. It's a war.

In this war, it makes no sense to counterbalance every utterance of support for Bush with a perfunctory criticism of Abu G. Criticize it, sure, but then get back to the job at hand.
Posted by: thibaud (aka lex) || 05/24/2005 14:12 Comments || Top||

#30  you know why I like Bush and you know why he is great? Cause he tries to do what is right. He doesn't go in an conquer - not caring about the innocent who die. He's the president of the free world and he is willing to use his power to protect us but he tries his best not to abuse it.

He's just a person like you and me. But he's a good person.

Is this article puff? Who cares if you have a bigger plan that tries to do what is right - regardless what the shrill little harpies and paid propagandists say.

Bush is great because he rises about the meaningless epileptic attacks over the handling of a book and keeps the bigger goals in mind - freedom, democracy and what's right in the long run - as best as is humanly possible for him to do.

The little bitch fest by some anit-american muslim puffed up in the AP and Reuters press is meaningless. who care when you keep your eyes on a bigger and brighter goal.
Posted by: 2b || 05/24/2005 14:18 Comments || Top||

#31  Muslims everywhere, Ceric said, are losing the ability to think rationally.

One cannot lose what one never had.
Posted by: BH || 05/24/2005 14:51 Comments || Top||

#32  By bloggers, who have nothing to lose. Not by pols.

Wrong. Politicians criticized him, too.

And you conveniently ignored the Trent Lott example. Wasn't bloggers that made him give up the Speaker's chair.
Posted by: Robert Crawford || 05/24/2005 16:05 Comments || Top||

#33  has Pat Robertson been disavowed?
Posted by: Liberalhawk || 05/24/2005 16:57 Comments || Top||

#34  Lott didnt represent a big constituency like Pat Robertson did.

Jim Moran, a Democrat, also lost a leadership position for his borderline antisemitic statements. Yet Al Sharpton doesnt get disavowed. Lott vs Robertson. Moran vs Sharpton. You see the pattern?
Posted by: Liberalhawk || 05/24/2005 16:59 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
Men With Ties to Hate Groups Tried to Have Bomb Built
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - Two ex-convicts with ties to neo-Nazi groups were arrested after giving a police informant 60 pounds of fertilizer and asking him to build a bomb, authorities said. The fertilizer was the same type used by Timothy McVeigh in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, according to court records, although the bomb would have been far smaller than McVeigh's. Authorities said they were uncertain where the bomb would have been used.
Gabriel Carafa, 24, and Craig Orler, 28, were arrested Friday on federal weapons charges following a six-month investigation. The two also sold 10 stolen rifles and shotguns and one handgun to undercover officers, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said Carafa is a leader in the Church of the Creator, whose head, Matthew Hale, was sentenced in April to 40 years in prison for plotting to kill a federal judge. Both men are also members of a skinhead group, officials said. Carafa was previously convicted of beating a Hindu store owner in 2002. Orler has been convicted at least three times of aggravated assault and burglary, prosecutors said. They each face 15 years to life in prison if convicted on the new charges.
Posted by: Steve || 05/24/2005 15:54 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  General prison population.
Posted by: Shipman || 05/24/2005 16:28 Comments || Top||

#2 
They each face 15 years to life in prison if convicted on the new charges.
Given their histories, might I suggest LIFE?

Of course, there's another choice.... (but the Euros wouldn't approve)
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 05/24/2005 16:42 Comments || Top||

#3  A short but long drop is call for with these trpes. They can't be allowed to pass on their genes either.
Posted by: Sock Puppet 0’ Doom || 05/24/2005 17:06 Comments || Top||


Man tried to sell bombs to al-Qaeda
A US man who told undercover agents he has "no loyalty for America" has been charged with trying to build a bomb and sell it to an affiliate of al-Qaeda, officials in Texas have said.

Ronald A Grecula, 68, of Bangor, Pennsylvania, was arrested on Friday in Houston during a meeting with undercover FBI agents, US Lawyer Michael Shelby said.

At the meeting, Grecula indicated willingness to build and sell an explosive device which would be used against Americans, officials alleged in court documents.

Grecula was angry with the government because he lost custody of his children, with whom he fled to Malta.

He met a confidential source in prison there while awaiting extradition to the United States for the alleged kidnapping of the children, then aged 10 and three, in a custody dispute in 2002.

Grecula appeared in court but did not enter a plea. A detention hearing was set for Thursday.

He has been charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organisation. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years and a fine of up to $US250,000 ($A330,000).

"The very first priority of this administration and this Department of Justice is to stop another 9/11 attack and this is a success story in that effort," Shelby told a news conference.

Grecula's lawyer had no comment.

According to a complaint, Grecula asked the confidential source to find a client for a large bomb he was willing to build and sell.

He specifically mentioned al-Qaeda, but indicated he would sell it to any such group. Negotiations continued between April and Friday, the complaint stated.

Grecula told the source he could buy all the bomb components - including hydrogen chlorine - at a welding store, and that he was educated as a mechanical engineer and experimented with alternative fuels and energy.

"If we had one of those in this room right now filled with hydrogen chlorine, this hotel wouldn't be here.

It would be a crater in the ground," Grecula said during a meeting on Friday with the confidential source and an undercover officer who presented himself as an al-Qaeda agent.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 05/24/2005 08:42 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  hydrogen chlorine

Is this like red mercury?
Posted by: Shipman || 05/24/2005 8:47 Comments || Top||

#2  Hydrogen Chlorine? Just another compound word in the bag of tricks of an ignorant journalist. I take liberties with the word journalist.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 05/24/2005 8:53 Comments || Top||

#3  Maybe he does know his chemistry:
Reaction of Chlorine with Hydrogen
A mixture of Chlorine and Hydrogen explodes when exposed to sunlight to give Hydrogen Chloride. In the dark, no reaction occurs, so activation of the reaction by light energy is required.

Hydrogen + Chlorine Cannon
Hydrogen and chlorine gases can be mixed together without reacting. They have been placed into a test tube with a cork in it. The test tube is placed into a small cannon with a hole in the side that will allow light to pass through. A magnesium ribbon is ignited and brought close to the hole and when the light from the burning magnesium ribbon strikes the mixture, the hydrogen and chlorine react explosively, propelling the cork out of the test tube.
(The test tube is placed within the brass cannon for safety; should the explosion shatter the test tube, the metal would prevent flying glass. The hydrogen and chlorine do not react when they are just mixed together, but the reaction can be initiated by a bright light.)

HID - Safety Report Assessment Guide: Chlorine
The primary accident that chlorine facilities can suffer is the loss of containment leading to a major toxic release of a dense gas, which disperses over a wide area. Additional accident scenarios include:-

Fire - from the exothermic reaction of chlorine with metals and certain organic materials.
Explosion - from accumulated nitrogen trichloride or chlorine/hydrogen mixtures.
Within chlorine manufacturing facilities, explosions can occur if flammable mixtures of hydrogen/chlorine meet an ignition source. Such a situation can occur if hydrogen concentrations are allowed to rise to high levels within liquifier and absorption facilities. UV Light, electrical equipment or hot surfaces can initiate ignition. Explosions can occur if the system has the potential to accumulate quantities of nitrogen trichloride, which is a shock sensitive material.
Posted by: Steve || 05/24/2005 9:33 Comments || Top||

#4  More on the nut here:
Grecula bragged about the bomb's destructive capabilities, saying it would be more powerful than the bomb that destroyed the federal building in Oklahoma City and would level the hotel, according to court records.
"In fact, I could tell you one thing about this technology, it is the most powerful energy known to man except for nuclear," Grecula said, according to court records. "It approaches nuclear in its capabilities, say nuclear bombs."

Grecula compared himself to Spartacus, according to the criminal complaint.

"He formed an army and he fought against Rome. He was tortured in prison, he was beat up, took his family, killed his friends, etc.," Grecula said during Friday's meeting. "So, you could say in a way I am like a Spartacus. ... So, that's it, I have no loyalty to America."

Posted by: Steve || 05/24/2005 12:52 Comments || Top||

#5  Isn't that lovely: being convicted and jailed for life fits so perfectly into his life's ambition.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/24/2005 13:10 Comments || Top||

#6  Steve,
Hydrogen and chorine are both gasses and would make for a poor bomb (low mass). I would be more worried about the hydrocloric acid product if it formed in an enclosed space full of people. However, oxy-acetelyne from welder's supply would be quite poweful.
Posted by: ed || 05/24/2005 14:05 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Thais arrest Muslim school owner, 3 students, on possible al-Qaeda links
The owner of a Muslim religious school and three of his students were being held for questioning about possible links with al-Qaeda after soldiers seized military training videos from the terrorist organization at their school, an army spokesman said yesterday.

The school in the southern Pattani Province was raided last Thursday after the military learned that it had been used for military training, said Colonel Arkhom Pongprom.

Adinan Jehazae, 33, the owner of the Jihad Witthaya school, and the students were being detained in an army camp in the province and undergoing interrogation, the spokesman told reporters.

"They are being questioned about how they acquired the al-Qaeda videos and we believe whoever has such videos must have bad intentions ... and is a threat to national security," Arkhom said.

Soldiers raided the school after two persons arrested on charges of setting fire to Buddhist schools reportedly confessed that they had received military training at Jihad Witthaya.

"During the raid we found that the school has been used as a training ground because it had a firing range and several bullet holes were found in trees. We seized two pistols," Arkhom said.

The four were being detained for seven days of questioning and would be charged if they were found to have any links with foreign terrorist groups or the violence in the south, Arkhom said.
This article starring:
ADINAN JEHAZAEJihad Witthaya school
Jihad Witthaya school
Posted by: Dan Darling || 05/24/2005 08:45 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I think the name of the school should have been a clue.
Posted by: Robert Crawford || 05/24/2005 10:53 Comments || Top||

#2  This must have been a graduate school...get your advanced TNT degree.
Posted by: Seafarious || 05/24/2005 11:26 Comments || Top||

#3  Saooodi money involved?
Posted by: Frank G || 05/24/2005 11:29 Comments || Top||

#4  Saooodi money involved?

Where isn't it?
Posted by: Robert Crawford || 05/24/2005 11:55 Comments || Top||

#5  Saudi money runs the jihad show in Indonesia, or any place Moose Limbs are seething. Saudis are the machine that transforms the money into destructive activities. Break the Saudi machine and the terror machine dies for a while.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 05/24/2005 12:00 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syria in new clampdown on dissidents
Syrian security forces arrested all eight members of the country's only active political forum Tuesday in the latest crackdown against dissident activists, a prominent human rights lawyer said. The participants in the Al-Atassi Forum for National Dialogue were taken from their home in dawn raids, said Anwar al-Bunni. France swiftly called for the detainees' release. "We have learnt of a number of arrests in Syria... We hope that those who were arrested will be freed," said foreign ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei.

Atassi Forum was one of a number of political forums set up in a brief political honeymoon after President Bashar al-Assad succeeded his father Hafez in 2000 but was the only one still operating amid an intensifying crackdown by the authorities. Forum founder Suhair al-Atassi and writer Hussein al-Awadat, who previously headed the official SANA news agency and served as an advisor in the prime minister's office, were among the detainees. Also arrested were activists Nahed Badawiyah, Hazem al-Nahar, Jihad Massouti, Mohammad Mahfouz, Abdulnasser Kalhous and Youssef al-Jihmani.

The non-governmental National Centre for Defending the Freedom of Press and Journalists condemned the arrests and called for the detainees' immediate release. The arrests also drew condemnation from the Syrian Organisation for Human Rights, which voiced concerns over the increase in "political arrests." On Sunday, Syrian intelligence officers detained the head of the unofficial Arab Human Rights Organization, Mohammed Raadun, after his group took up the cause of jailed Islamist dissidents. The Cairo-based Arab Centre for Judicial Independence said Tuesday that Raadun's arrest showed the "extent of the deterioration of justice and human rights in Syria." Dissident writer and rights activist Ali Abdullah was also picked up last week in his home in Qatana just outside the capital.
Posted by: Steve || 05/24/2005 12:22 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "We have found the terrorists - they are pro-reform dissidents and have been arrested"
Posted by: Frank G || 05/24/2005 14:07 Comments || Top||


UN verifies Syrian troop pullout
Posted by: Fred || 05/24/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The UN verifies it?

Must mean it isn't true.

If the UN told me the sun rises in the East, I'd check two other sources before believing them.

If the 1st ID verifies it, on the other hand.... ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 05/24/2005 10:33 Comments || Top||

#2  Well the UN was right about Saddam's WMD status. They must know something. Duh!
Posted by: Reason || 05/24/2005 12:20 Comments || Top||

#3 

Hans Blix figured that in trying to blend in he would get a better fix on whether the Syrians had left Lebanon...



However, while driving around Beiruit, he ran over a local's favorite goat, and created an international incident...



In order to qwell the furor, he decided it was best to provide a favorable report on Syrian status...
Posted by: BigEd || 05/24/2005 14:12 Comments || Top||


Iraq-Jordan
Zarquawi Hurt(?)
IRAQ'S MOST WANTED 'HURT'
Iraq's most wanted man, insurgent leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi, has been wounded, according to an al Qaeda website. Al Zarqawi is suspected of being behind the beheading of British hostage Ken Bigley and the death of aid worker Margaret Hassan. "O nation of Islam... Pray for the healing of our Sheikh Abu Musab al-Zarqawi from an injury he suffered in the path of God," said a statement from the al Qaeda Organisation for Holy War in Iraq.
They wouldn't comment on it if it wasn't serious. One thing they are reliable about is lamenting the fallen "warriors".
Pray for sepsis...
The statement, posted by the group's media coordinator, Abu Maysarah al Iraqi, did not say how or when al Zarqawi was injured. Al Iraqi is known to be the group's media coordinator, but there was no way to confirm if he had posted the statement himself. Al Zarqawi has claimed responsibility for scores of attacks against Iraqi civilians and security forces, as well as kidnappings. There is a $25m bounty on his head. "Let the near and far know that the injury of our leader is an honour, and a cause to close in on the enemies of God, and a reason to increase the attacks against them," the statement said.
"Win one for the Zaripper!"
In Baghdad, Lieutenant Colonel Steve Boylan, spokesman for US forces in Iraq, said: "We have no information on whether he's wounded or what the state of his health is." He also said that such reports had been heard frequently before and were almost impossible to verify. "This could be another one of their ploys, you never know," he added. The Pentagon in Washington said it had no basis to confirm or deny the story.
Get in There!
This article starring:
ABU MAISARAH AL IRAQIal-Qaeda in Iraq
ABU MUSAB AL ZARQAWIal-Qaeda in Iraq
Posted by: Shistos Shistadogloo || 05/24/2005 11:43 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  wen isnt he injured?
Posted by: muck4doo || 05/24/2005 12:06 Comments || Top||

#2  What mucky said. I'm getting tire of hearing that Zarkawi "may" have been injured. I wanna see his damn head on a pike, planted in Baghdad's central square.
Posted by: Dave D. || 05/24/2005 12:08 Comments || Top||

#3  Oh, no! I just hope it's not his purty mouth!
Posted by: Mahmoud Al-Jailbirdi || 05/24/2005 12:10 Comments || Top||

#4  Does he have any legs left?
Posted by: thibaud (aka lex) || 05/24/2005 12:16 Comments || Top||

#5  Aparently now his other leg has fallen off.
Posted by: Mcpherson Mctavish || 05/24/2005 12:21 Comments || Top||

#6  Oh, brother. Is this another one of those "Send me one million dollars or Allah calls me home" scams?
Posted by: BH || 05/24/2005 12:21 Comments || Top||

#7  head on a pike?

not me. I want to see him in his underwear with Lynnie as his cell mate.

heheh
Posted by: 2b || 05/24/2005 12:23 Comments || Top||

#8  He should be easier to identify & catch in a wheelchair.
Posted by: Kent Mccord || 05/24/2005 12:24 Comments || Top||

#9  Can I vote for a bad case of gas gangrene? They'd be able to smell it a mile away.
Posted by: Sgt. Mom || 05/24/2005 12:36 Comments || Top||

#10  lex...

Don't get me started...

Posted by: BigEd || 05/24/2005 12:43 Comments || Top||

#11  I bet it is Syphillus!
Posted by: JackAssFestival || 05/24/2005 12:49 Comments || Top||

#12  Lupus! Is it Lupus!!
Posted by: George Costanza || 05/24/2005 12:50 Comments || Top||

#13  Is the malady physical or mental?
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 05/24/2005 13:02 Comments || Top||

#14  Demental.
Posted by: twobyfour || 05/24/2005 13:14 Comments || Top||

#15  Leprosy?
Posted by: BigEd || 05/24/2005 13:14 Comments || Top||

#16  I would think they would want him to die so he could be a martar and get all the bennies and all the other good things that you get from the allah when you die for him, not pray for his recovery.

I thought these guys love death.

Or is that stuff only for the low level personnel?
Posted by: Michael || 05/24/2005 13:14 Comments || Top||

#17  I wouldn't count on infection doing him in. There are a lot of antibiotics in that part of the world and men with money and guns get first choice. Better if he were hit in the vitals and necrosis set in.
Posted by: ed || 05/24/2005 13:15 Comments || Top||

#18  what Michael said. He's far more useful to us alive and either in pain or doped up beyond functioning.
Posted by: thibaud (aka lex) || 05/24/2005 13:22 Comments || Top||

#19  Sgt. Mom: you and the Instapundit both! (great minds, same channels, you know?)
Posted by: Mike || 05/24/2005 13:31 Comments || Top||

#20  Top item on the ITN evening news in the UK.
Posted by: Howard UK || 05/24/2005 13:32 Comments || Top||

#21  IIRC he and his posse stopped into a hospital a week ago and asked the doc for anitbiotics only, then skedaddled. Shouldn't be too hard to find him now. Full court press on every hosp and clinic in the province should do it.
Posted by: thibaud (aka lex) || 05/24/2005 13:37 Comments || Top||

#22  Top item on Channel 4 too.
Posted by: Howard UK || 05/24/2005 13:55 Comments || Top||

#23  For some reason I get the feeling I should be taking this with a large grain of salt.
Posted by: Sock Puppet 0’ Doom || 05/24/2005 14:04 Comments || Top||

#24  The military is/has debriefed the doc and I'm sure knows the extent of injuries. The doc told the news the Z man was bleeding heavily and wanted to keep him in the hospital for observation. This doesn't sound all that serious. Probably more shrapnel wounds than gunshots to the torso (else he would have been immediately operated on). This happened in the time frame of Operation Matador, in the al-Qaim area, about 10 days ago.
Posted by: ed || 05/24/2005 14:12 Comments || Top||

#25  Maybe memory fails me but I thought the injuries were indeed to his torso. Somehow I doubt that a handful of antibiotics are sufficient to stabilize and cure the guy.
Posted by: thibaud (aka lex) || 05/24/2005 14:15 Comments || Top||

#26  "Ahh, a little Motrin'll knock that right out." - Corpman motto
Posted by: BH || 05/24/2005 14:21 Comments || Top||

#27  "Almost" only counts in hang grenades and horseshoes. Call me when he's D-E-DDD-Dead!

(Yeah, that's un-Christian. Luckily I ain't Christian. ;-p)

Die, you worthless murdering bastard. There's a special place in Hell waiting just for you.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 05/24/2005 14:54 Comments || Top||

#28  Forgot one, Barbara.

Close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, and hydrogen bombs.©
Posted by: Bobby || 05/24/2005 15:34 Comments || Top||

#29  :)
1 for B man.
Posted by: Shipman || 05/24/2005 16:31 Comments || Top||

#30  Perhaps he caught AIDS from Arafat.
Posted by: DMFD || 05/24/2005 23:03 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan/South Asia
Tales from the Crossfire Gazette
Robber leader killed in 'crossfire'
An alleged leader of a gang of robbers was killed in a 'shootout' between his accomplices and police at Balurghat village in Trishal upazila of the district on Saturday night. Police identified the gang leader as Harun-or-Rashid, 30, of village Char Bhelamari in Nandail upazila. They said Harun was wanted in at least six criminal cases. Police arrested Harun in Hotapara area of Gazipur district in the morning.
"Morning, Harun. Stickem up!"
On his confessional statement
..."Ouch, I'll talk! Just tell him to stop doing that!"
, they took him to Balurghat village to recover illegal firearms at about 11:30pm.
Hummm, making a early night of it. Must have a date later.
When police reached the village, Harun's accomplices opened fire on the law enforcers, forcing them to retaliate. Police said Harun was caught in the 'crossfire' while trying to flee and died instantly.
"Tell ya what, Harun. If you make it over that fence, we'll let you get away." "Really?" BANG! "Ha, hah, nope. Just kidding"

Two muggers lynched in Ctg
Two unidentified muggers were lynched by a mob in Hathazari upazila of the district on Sunday night. According to police and witnesses, four muggers in the guise of passengers hired a CNG-run autorikshaw to travel to Hathazari from the city's GEC intersection at around 8:30pm. When the auto-rikshaw reached Shikerpur under the upazila, the muggers dragged the driver, leaving him in a paddy field with his hands and legs tied, and tried to flee with the vehicle.
Auto-Rickshaw Jacking
As the driver cried for help, locals and traders of a nearby market intercepted the muggers and caught two of them, while the remaining two managed to flee.
"Feet, don't fail us now!"
They beat up the muggers, resulting in their death on the spot.
"Ouchouchouchouchouch....rosebud"

Prisoner of Sylhet dies
SYLHET, May 23:—An inmate of Sylhet Central Jail was rushed to Osmani Medical College Hospital with chest pain and was later pronounced dead yesterday (Sunday), says UNB.
"He's dead, Jim"
Official sources said prison authorities took inmate Abdul Jalil, son of late Sekendar Ali at Amalsid village in Jokiganj to Osmani Hospital where he died Sunday afternoon.
"What's wrong with him?" "Don't know, he keeps grabbing at his chest. I nearly broke my best truncheon on his arm."
It was not clear if Jalil was a convict or under-trial prisoner, but the sources said the body was handed over to family members after post-mortem.
"Here ya go. Have a nice day"

One shot at in Rajshahi
May 23: Abu Shayem (18), son of a renowned businessman Omar Ali was shot at and was seriously injured by a gang of unidentified miscreants at 11 pm in front of his Talaimary house on Sunday. Sayem was admitted to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital in a critical condition. According to eyewitness source, while Abu Shayem was returning home after completing his regular work, from the Unilever office of Shaheb Bazaar with cash money on a pickup van, he was shot by unidentified gunmen near his house.
BANG! "Stick um up!"
Abu Shayem also an HSC examinee from Rajshahi University School.
He'll be missing classes for a while
As reportedly the driver of the pickup, when Shayem got down from the pickup in front of his home, fired and fell down on the ground, as one bullet hit him on his head and another on the belly.
That'll leave a mark
Receiving the information, members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) rushed to the spot and recovered two blank pistol bullets from there.
I think they mean expended cartriges, but, this is Bangaladesh.

Woman UP member to sell kidneys to repay loans
Tahmina Sultana, a member of the Ekdanta union council at Atgharia in Pabna on Monday announced that she would sell her kidneys to repay her loans as she has no other option. Talking with newsmen at the Crime Reporters' Association office in Dhaka, Tahmina said she decided to sell her kidneys after she had failed to repay her loans.
Wow, talk about your tough campain finance laws!
She earlier borrowed the money at the time of elections in 2003 and to pay the wages of labourers for a project in her locality. 'I had to borrow Tk 1.5 lakh from moneylenders; but the amount now increased to Tk 4 lakh on interest,' she said.
It's the vig, that'll get ya every time
'I have failed to repay the money. The moneylenders have hired people to collect the money and they have been threatening me and my family members,' she said.
Bruno and Fat Louis Collection Agency, leg-breaking a specialty.
She has now been staying off her family in the face of threats, she said. She blamed the local chairman, Ataur Rahman Rana, for 'hatching a conspiracy' against her.
A Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy?
'As my uncles are associated with the Awami League, Rana, who is also general secretary of the BNP's Atgharia unit, has been holding me back from development works for the people of my area', she alleged. 'The chairman did not pass a single project although I had submitted at least 10 from the time I was elected member on the reserved women's seat in the union council in 2003,' she said.
"da man is holding me down"
Posted by: Steve || 05/24/2005 09:36 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Selling her kidneys? What she got, like four of them?
Someone might want to explain basic biology to Tahmina...
Posted by: tu3031 || 05/24/2005 11:54 Comments || Top||

#2  If humans were built by Grumman we'd have four and they'd be surrounded by bone.
Posted by: Shipman || 05/24/2005 12:46 Comments || Top||

#3  I want an auto-rickshaw now.
Posted by: Sock Puppet 0’ Doom || 05/24/2005 14:16 Comments || Top||

#4  SPoD wait for the Triple-Hybrid Auto-Rickshaw, man, 2 cycle 500 cc petrol, battery. The man engine is for top-end and low end torque.
Posted by: Shipman || 05/24/2005 16:25 Comments || Top||

#5  Something like this, SPo'D?
Posted by: .com || 05/24/2005 19:23 Comments || Top||

#6  exactly!
Posted by: Sock Puppet 0’ Doom || 05/24/2005 21:33 Comments || Top||


At Least Two Insurgents Terrorists Killed in Fighting in Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Afghan and coalition forces killed two insurgents in a firefight in central Afghanistan, while U.S. aircraft bombed and destroyed a cave where about six other rebels were believed hiding, the U.S. military said Tuesday. Ten rebels were also captured during the fighting in Uruzgan province on Monday, the military said in a statement. A subsequent search of the area led to the capture of eight other suspected rebels.

The military said the insurgents fired on Afghan and coalition forces as they left a Chinook helicopter. Coalition forces returned fire, killing the two rebels. Six others then fled into a nearby cave. Attack aircraft were called in and the cave was bombed. The statement did not say whether the six were killed. After a winter lull, loyalists of Afghanistan's ousted Taliban regime and other militants opposed to the U.S.-backed government of President Hamid Karzai have ramped up their insurgency with a series of bombings and other attacks.
Posted by: Steve || 05/24/2005 09:14 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Pakistan arrests Egyptian al-Qaeda
Pakistani authorities have arrested an Egyptian suspected of having links with Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda terror network, a security official said on Tuesday. The suspect was arrested late Monday night in a raid on a house in Charsadda district, 50 kilometers northeast of Peshawar, close to the Afghan border, the official told AFP. "Two female undercover agents posing as village women visited the home and then intelligence agents conducted the raid," the security official said, requesting anonymity. "He is an old Arab claiming to be Egyptian and married to a nubile 6 year-old local ethnic Pashtun girl." During the raid, security officials also picked up a local resident, he added.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 05/24/2005 08:44 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  muslim copper watch.
Posted by: Liberalhawk || 05/24/2005 9:30 Comments || Top||

#2  Wait a minute: there are female undercover agents in Pakistan?!? How on earth did they get away with that!
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/24/2005 12:12 Comments || Top||

#3  Burkas, Burkas, Burkas.
Posted by: Dave || 05/24/2005 13:23 Comments || Top||

#4  "Undercover" takes on a more literal meaning in Pakiwaki-land.
Posted by: Jackal || 05/24/2005 16:34 Comments || Top||


Taleban Kill 3 in Southeastern Afghanistan
In two separate incidents, Taleban rebels claimed yesterday to have beheaded two people and killed another in Afghanistan's southeastern province of Paktika. Rebel spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi said the insurgents beheaded two people who were "spying" for US military in the area. "All three people were spying for US military in Paktika province," he said, adding that one of the decapitated person was the brother of a district governor of the province. Hakimi said insurgents killed the other "spy" yesterday morning. On Saturday, 12 insurgents were killed in a US airstrike in the same province after a US patrol was ambushed by suspected Taleban, US-led coalition forces said Sunday.

Afghan authorities also have retrieved the bodies of two men, thought to be Uzbeks, who were kidnapped as they drove down a major highway in a southern province last week, an official said yesterday. Meanwhile, Afghan and US-led coalition forces arrested 15 suspected drug traffickers and seized a large quantity of opium in a major counter-narcotics swoop in a southern province, local officials said. The operation began Sunday in Helmand province and continued yesterday.
This article starring:
ABDUL LATIF HAKIMITaliban
Posted by: Fred || 05/24/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I'm half way through reading Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner. It's interesting to hear Afghanis' own views of the Taliban - i.e. that they're murdering racist scum who should be wiped off the face of the Earth. If it takes more British troops to polish this lot off then that's fine by me.
Posted by: Howard UK || 05/24/2005 4:16 Comments || Top||

#2  All three people were spying for US military in Paktika province


If they WERE spying, then they were brave Afghans working for their nations freedom - true moderate muslim martyrs.

If they WERE NOT, then they were innocents murdered by the Taliban.
Posted by: Liberalhawk || 05/24/2005 9:38 Comments || Top||


Iraq-Jordan
Iraq car bombs kill dozens
Car bombers have killed at least 30 people and injured 50 others in Iraq. Two car bombs exploded outside the home of a community leader near the northern city of Mosul on Monday, killing at least 20 people and injuring another 20, hospital and police officials said. The explosions took place in the town of Tal Afar, 80km west of Mosul, said Khesro Goran, Mosul's deputy governor. Brigadier General Wathiq Mohammed, Mosul's deputy police chief, and Tal Afar General Hospital director Saleh Qaddo Haider, both said at least 20 people were killed. Mohammed said at least 20 were injured. According to Goran and Mohammed, the attack reportedly targeted Hassan Baktash, a Shia with close ties to Massoud Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party, of which Goran was also a member.

"Two car bombs went off this evening targeting one of Tal Afar's dignitaries, the first car hit Hassan Baktash's house from the front side, killing and injuring some people near the house, and a few minutes later, the second bomber detonated his car when more people gathered to help the wounded. "At least 20 civilians were killed and another 20 were wounded," Mohammed said. "I don't have a final death toll because the hospital is still receiving casualties, but so far we have received more than 20 killed," Haider said. Goran said he thought Baktash was targeted because of his family's prominence and political connections. "I don't know if he was killed. I believe that this family was attacked because they are loyal to the Kurds and because they are Shias. Many members of this family are KDP officials."

Also on Monday, a car bomber blew himself up outside a Shia mosque shortly before evening prayers in a town south of Baghdad, killing at least 10 people and injuring another 30. The explosion occurred at 1600 GMT in front of the Abul-Fadl Abbas mosque in Mahmudiya, about 30km south of Baghdad, Lieutenant Odai al-Zayadi said. Dawoud al-Tai, director of the Mahmudiya General Hospital, said 10 dead people and 30 injured were brought to his facility. "We have transferred some of the critically wounded people to the Yarmuk hospital in Baghdad," al-Tai said.

The bomb exploded at about the time worshippers would go to a mosque for sunset prayers. Shia mosques often have been targeted by bombers. Iraqi soldier Alaa Abdul-Mohsen said the attack was carried out by a bomber who attempted to drive his explosives-packed car into the mosque. But a sand barrier protecting the mosque prevented him from reaching the building, and he instead rammed his car into an adjacent house and detonated it.
Posted by: Fred || 05/24/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  they are just serial killers with a fascination in explosives. The whole religion thing just provides their justification to see things explode and to enjoy the resulting car swarms, lamentations and media coverage.
Posted by: 2b || 05/24/2005 7:11 Comments || Top||

#2  We have problems with Syria being a base of ops for terrorists and their resources. We have lots of Saudis showing up at festivities. We sent Condi over for a clear message. Syria needs to feel some pain.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 05/24/2005 8:56 Comments || Top||

#3  Foxnews reports this AM that Rooters is reporting from an A-Q website that Abu-pegleg has been wounded. Jeebus! Didn't we have that here a week or more ago?
Posted by: Frank G || 05/24/2005 11:52 Comments || Top||

#4  The Beeb is having an institutional orgasm over our losses today.
Posted by: Matt || 05/24/2005 12:41 Comments || Top||

#5  Wouldn't a carbomb near a mosque pretty much guarantee that a few Korans will be desecrated?
Posted by: mhw || 05/24/2005 13:36 Comments || Top||

#6  To add, Matt's post:

http://michaelyon.blogspot.com/


"This Czech journalist told me the BBC did not believe it when he reported that American troop morale was high. They were concerned he was making friends with soldiers."

pic and much more at blog..great read!
Posted by: F*ck the BBC || 05/24/2005 16:35 Comments || Top||

#7  "making friends with soldiers"

Surely everyone must know that one can only be objective and comply with the editorial agenda report properly if one allies oneself with the jihadis maintains a certain distance.
Posted by: .Snotty Patronizing Beeb Hypocrite || 05/24/2005 19:33 Comments || Top||

#8  [TROLL DROPPINGS DELETED]
Posted by: Spains Unolusing1681 || 05/24/2005 19:49 Comments || Top||

#9  SU


Do you sharpen the point on you head?
Posted by: Mini Mullah || 05/24/2005 20:11 Comments || Top||

#10  [TROLL DROPPINGS DELETED]
Posted by: Mini Unolusing1681 || 05/24/2005 20:12 Comments || Top||

#11  ..Maybe SU is a pin head.
Posted by: Spinemble Wherenter9506 || 05/24/2005 20:16 Comments || Top||

#12  [TROLL DROPPINGS DELETED]
Posted by: Spinemble Unolusing1681 || 05/24/2005 20:18 Comments || Top||

#13  Maybe? Heh.

Though trying ever so hard to be droll, 'tis but a troll.
Posted by: .com || 05/24/2005 20:19 Comments || Top||

#14  He sounds like the same wog who was masturbating all over the Galloway thread the other day.
Posted by: Dave D. || 05/24/2005 20:28 Comments || Top||

#15  the humpback gives them away, along with the unwashed hair and warts
Posted by: Frank G || 05/24/2005 20:28 Comments || Top||

#16  SU just needs a beer, a BLT, and some porn and he'll chill out.
Posted by: Tom || 05/24/2005 20:32 Comments || Top||

#17  [TROLL DROPPINGS DELETED]
Posted by: G Unolusing1681 || 05/24/2005 20:32 Comments || Top||

#18  The explosion occurred at 1600 GMT in front of the Abul-Fadl Abbas mosque in Mahmudiya

Hence the observation that a car bomb outside a mosque might damage Korans.

Spains either needs to learn how to read, or its take is that a non-muslim making a comment about Korans being damaged is wrong, but a muslim actually doing the damage is okay.

Either way, it's a twit.
Posted by: Pappy || 05/24/2005 21:28 Comments || Top||

#19  [TROLL DROPPINGS DELETED]
Posted by: pappy crappy Unolusing1681 || 05/24/2005 21:30 Comments || Top||

#20  ahhh recurrent diarrhea
Posted by: Frank G || 05/24/2005 21:31 Comments || Top||

#21  [TROLL DROPPINGS DELETED]
Posted by: G Unolusing1681 || 05/24/2005 21:33 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan/South Asia
Man held for propagating Talibanism
North Waziristan authorities have arrested a tribesman distributing pamphlets to local shopkeepers telling them keep their shops closed on Fridays. The Taliban enforced the same during their rule in Afghanistan. A source close to the administration in Miranshah, North Waziristan's regional headquarters, told Daily Times on Monday that authorities were interrogating the man. However, the source did not disclose the man's name or which, if any, group, was trying to dictate terms to the residents. "We will not allow the Taliban to terrorise residents," said the source, renewing the government's resolve to bring stability to the tribal zone that had been under considerable influence by the Taliban.

He said the government would not take these activities lightly and was taking extra security measures to win the locals' confidence. The source said the situation would be tackled both militarily (if necessary) and politically, adding, "The government is talking with tribal elders to make sure things are under control."
Posted by: Fred || 05/24/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Five Afghan soldiers killed in landmine blast in Spin Boldak
At least five Afghan soldiers were killed when their vehicle went over a landmine in the Spin Boldak area of southern Afghanistan on Monday evening. Afghan soldiers started firing in the air after the incident. Reports from Chaman city said Afghan forces were on routine patrol in the village of Sultan Zai, about 4 kilometres from the Pakistani border, when their vehicle went over a mine, which exploded and killed five soldiers. Afghan officials were not available for comment.

Separately, US-led troops killed two suspected insurgents in clashes on Monday in southern Afghanistan, as foreign and Afghan forces conducted three new operations to hunt for remnants of the ousted regime, AFP reported. US Lt Col Jerry O'Hara said the two were killed in Dai Chopan, a troubled district in southern Zabul province after attacking US troops. "Two insurgents were killed and the others fled the area," he added.

The operation, dubbed Nam Dong II, was launched last week focusing on south-central Afghanistan, considered a Taliban stronghold, he said. Coalition forces and Afghan troops launched two separate operations aimed at eliminating militants, the military said in a statement. "Operations Celtic and Markham are also intended to root insurgents out of known safe-havens," the statement said, referring to the country's south and southeastern regions, where the militants are most active. O'Hara said that the operations were led by Afghan forces and that the US-led coalition forces were providing assistance. He did not say how many soldiers were involved in the operation, citing security reasons.
Posted by: Fred || 05/24/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Two 'Qaeda' men arrested near Peshawar
PESHAWAR: Intelligence agents raided a house in a village near Peshawer on Monday and arrested two men of Middle Eastern origin suspected of links with terrorists, said an intelligence official on Monday. The arrests were made in Dwa Saro. The raid was carried out following information that some people of Middle Eastern origin were living in the village, he said, adding that the men were suspected of being linked with militant groups. However, their identities or nationalities were not clear and it was not known whether they were senior terror figures. The official said both suspects spoke fluent Pashtu and that two other men escaped arrest in the raid. But, another official said that three men fled the house.
Posted by: Fred || 05/24/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  muslim copper watch.
Posted by: Liberalhawk || 05/24/2005 9:29 Comments || Top||


Kashmir Korpse Kount
Suspected rebels shot dead two people in Indian Held Kashmir, where a civilian died in an explosion and a rebel was shot dead by troops during a clash, police said on Monday. A police spokesman said insurgents had abducted and shot dead two Muslim civilians overnight in the southern district of Doda. "One of the victims was tortured and later shot dead," the spokesman said. No rebel group claimed responsibility for the two killings. Another Muslim civilian died on Sunday when he stepped on a land mine in the Tosha Maidan area of central Budgam district, police said. A police spokesman also said a rebel was shot dead by Indian troops during a clash in the district of Baramulla on Sunday.
Posted by: Fred || 05/24/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq-Jordan
Centcom Updates: Operations
Squeeze Play
Coalition Forces, in conjunction with the Iraqi Army and Ministry of Interior Forces, have detained 285 suspected terrorists in the western Baghdad district of Abu Ghraib in less than 24 hours. The massive joint-combat operation involves two battalions from the 3rd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, two battalions from the 1st Brigade, 1st Iraqi Intervention Force, three battalions from the 2nd Brigade Special Police Commandos, and Soldiers from Task Force 2-14, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division. Task Force Baghdad officials said the purpose of the operation is to hunt down, kill or capture terrorists who have been staging attacks in the Iraqi capital...

Peninsula
Polish and Iraqi Soldiers nabbed 184 terror suspects and seized weapons parts, ammunition, possible bomb-making materials and propaganda in As Suwaryah May 19 and 20. Multi-National Division Central-South's 1st Polish Brigade and the 19th Iraqi Army Brigade conducted Operation Peninsula to round up terrorists and eliminate their base of operations. Among the items confiscated were parts to various weapons and 6,000 AK-47 rounds. Troops also confiscated paramilitary clothing.

Baghdad Ops
Task Force Baghdad units nabbed 15 terror suspects during six early-morning raids conducted throughout Baghdad on May 22. One of the raids, in central Baghdad, netted two suspected terrorists and $6 million dollars in US currency. Later in the day, an Iraqi citizen told Iraqi Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division about two people suspected of planning and carrying out a car-bomb attack near a military base in central Baghdad. An Iraqi patrol went to the site, cordoned off the area and detained two suspects. Both suspects were taken into custody for questioning. Another Iraqi citizen's tip helped Task Force Baghdad Soldiers find 14 mortar rounds in east Baghdad.

In other combat operations May 22, a dismounted Iraqi Army patrol from the 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division found another weapons cache in east Baghdad. The Iraqi Soldiers found three mortar rounds, one rocket, three grenades and AK-47 rifles. The cache also contained one chemical mask, 135 anti-aircraft rounds, machine gun ammunition, a police radio and speaker and six fuses. Iraqi Soldiers from the 3rd Muthana Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division uncovered a third weapons cache containing a number of rockets buried in Abu Ghraib. Explosives experts checked for booby traps, and finding none, removed an undetermined number of rockets from the site.

In north Baghdad, a Task Force Baghdad observation team investigating an earlier mortar attack saw a suspicious vehicle parked in front of a house. When the Soldiers searched the house they found a male disguised as a woman in an apparent effort to avoid detection. The man was arrested and taken into custody for further questioning. Later, a U.S. convoy hit a roadside bomb in western Baghdad. No Soldiers were injured in the attack, but an Iraqi citizen was hurt. While Army medics treated the injured civilian's wounds, they saw a taxi cab start to leave with four occupants trying to hide. The Soldiers stopped the cab and detained all four occupants. The injured citizen was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 05/24/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Afghanistan/South Asia
Theaters Pull Controversial Film After Blasts
A controversial Bollywood film was withdrawn yesterday from cinema halls across the country after twin bomb blasts in New Delhi theaters Sunday. Police said it was not clear whether there was any connection between the film, "Jo Bole So Nihaal", and the blasts that killed one person and injured more than 60 others. The explosions took place at the Satyam and Liberty cinema halls in the heart of New Delhi within 20 minutes of each other at around 8:30 p.m. when the halls were packed with weekend moviegoers.
Posted by: Fred || 05/24/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Perhaps someone thought The movie sucked... (imdb link)
Posted by: CrazyFool || 05/24/2005 5:01 Comments || Top||

#2  OK. Sikhs on the rampage over what semi-blasphemous dialog. Can you imagine Christians or Jews getting this worked up over having their religion insulted? What. A. Bunch. Of. Savages.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 05/24/2005 5:11 Comments || Top||

#3  One of the responders wrote a comment:

Awful movie, retarded plot.

LOL!
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 05/24/2005 8:50 Comments || Top||

#4  It's Bollywood. They don't make any other kind. So long as the actors (M & F) are gorgeous, the sets and costumes are gorgeous, and there is lots of singing and dancing, why bother with a plot?
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/24/2005 14:25 Comments || Top||

#5  i guess you could say it bombed.
Posted by: 2b || 05/24/2005 14:26 Comments || Top||

#6  Can we now expect the head of Pepsico India to give a commencement speech at the Indian Institute of Management on the theme of hindu tolerance and sensitivity?
"You see, boys and girls, each major faith on the subcontinent is like a different body part...
Posted by: thibaud (aka lex) || 05/24/2005 14:41 Comments || Top||

#7  Oh, I can see how that would go over.

"Yasss! The Hindus, who both fathered and gave birth to so many other major religions -- Buddhism, Jainism, part of the Sikh religion, and some nobody's ever heard of -- would be both the doinker (linga) and the Mound of Dizzy Pleasure (yoni) of the body politic..."

The conversation can deteriorate from there.
Posted by: Fred || 05/24/2005 15:37 Comments || Top||

#8  I posed that hypothetical to Indra Nooyi and the Pepsi board in an email. No response yet. Perhaps I should have grabbed their attention with more Fredspeak about Yoni Mitchell.
Posted by: thibaud (aka lex) || 05/24/2005 15:40 Comments || Top||

#9  "They pave Pakistan and put up a parking lot...doo wop wop wop"

Yoni was waaayyy ahead of her time, in retrospect, no?
Posted by: Frank G || 05/24/2005 15:52 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Tue 2005-05-24
  Syria ending cooperation with the US
Mon 2005-05-23
  Mulla Omar aide escapes Multan raid
Sun 2005-05-22
  Cairo Blast Suspect Dies in Custody
Sat 2005-05-21
  DHS Arrests 60 Illegals in Sensitive Jobs
Fri 2005-05-20
  UK Quran protests at U.S. Embassy
Thu 2005-05-19
  Uzbek troops retake Korasuv
Wed 2005-05-18
  Uzbek Rebel Leader Wants Islamic State
Tue 2005-05-17
  Chechen VP killed
Mon 2005-05-16
  Uzbeks expel town leaders from Korasuv
Sun 2005-05-15
  500 reported dead in Uzbek unrest
Sat 2005-05-14
  Qaeda big Predizapped in NWFP
Fri 2005-05-13
  Uprising in Uzbekistan
Thu 2005-05-12
  New al-Qaeda group formed in Algeria
Wed 2005-05-11
  Capitol and White House Evacuated
Tue 2005-05-10
  Attempted Grenade Attack on President Bush?

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