Chatter amongst members of a password-protected al-Qaeda affiliated forum concerning slain al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia leader, Saleh al-Oufi, and Mohamad al-Oweida, followed photographs which were provided of the men who were killed in a shoot-out with Saudi security officials last Thursday, August 18, 2005. Al-Oufi and al-Oweida are both glorified in captions to their respective pictures; one member praying that al-Oufi be accepted as a martyr on the same side as his weapon, and describing al-Oweida as âbeautifulâ and âdignified.â
Couple of pictures of the "martyrs" at the link. I've never seen them looking better.
At the same time, each member expresses their rancor towards the Saudi Royal Family, wishing for their âappointment with hellâ and destruction. Another member, in a series of vituperations against the Saudi Royal Family and the âoccupiers,â prays that the royals be destroyed and removed from the Muslim holy lands, and Allah â[f]ree Iraq and Afghanistan, and make Baghdad and Kabul a burial place for them and their supporters.â
Posted by: Steve ||
08/26/2005 12:00 ||
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Damn. I was hoping for some of those Yassin "brains hanging out" specials. But these will do...
RIYADH (Reuters) - Security forces have arrested 41 suspected militants in a series of raids around Saudi Arabia, since the killing of al Qaeda's top leader in the country less than 10 days ago, a security source said on Friday. The world's top oil producer has been fighting a wave of al Qaeda inspired attacks over the past two years, which have so far killed 91 foreign nationals and Saudi civilians.
The latest clash killed al Qaeda's top leader in Saudi Arabia, Saleh al-Awfi, in the holy city of Medina on August 18. Police arrested 13 suspects in raids the same day. The source said security forces have since arrested an additional 23 militants in Medina, two in the town of Arar, and one in the capital, Riyadh, bringing to 41 the number of arrests made since the clashes with Saudi forces in Medina and Riyadh.
Awfi was one of the few fugitives remaining on a list of 26 most wanted militants. In June, officials listed another 36 most wanted men they were hunting. It was not clear whether any of those among the latest arrested was on that list.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/26/2005 11:43 ||
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Shouldn't be too hard since most of the world's terrorists are in one Saudi barrel.
Look: here's a terrorist, there's a terrorist and everywhere there's a .......
This is the equivalent to bragging about catching large fish from the fish market.
As British police prepare the first deportations of so-called âpreachers of hate and intoleranceâ, which Home Secretary Charles Clarke yesterday confirmed could happen âvery quickly â in the next few daysâ, new evidence has emerged about the direct terror links of the ten men detained on Aug. 12, including radical Jordanian cleric Abu Qatada, pending deportation. Evidence presented to the Home Office by British intelligence agency MI5 and Scotland Yardâs Anti-Terrorist Branch, according to the London Evening Standard yesterday, pointed to direct links between some of the detainees and Al-Qaeda and its financing.
Eight of the ten detainees are Algerians who have been granted asylum in the UK over the last few years. There are believed to belong to a cell operated by Abu Doha, who is in British custody pending extradition proceedings to the US over an alleged plot in 1999 to attack Los Angeles International Airport. The Abu Doha cell is also accused of planning a ricin poison attack on the London tube system and plans to attack popular tourist sites in the West End.
According to the report, the evidence against some of the detainees is clear and overwhelming. One Algerian was an explosives expert who taught at an Al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan. Another sponsored young British Muslims to travel to Afghanistan for training.
Oh, is Hassan Butt getting the boot?... No, it wouldn't be him. He's a Pak...
A third Algerian supplied satellite telephony to militants in Chechnya who are fighting for independence from Russia. Another of the detainees pleaded guilty in 2002 in a fraud conspiracy, which police said funded international terrorism. Police also found a credit card cloning machine and over 300 card numbers in his home.
The ten detainees have already started appeals proceedings against the detention and deportations. Legal sources say that the eventual cost to the taxpayer of expelling then detainees could exceed 5 million pounds. This would depend on how long the appeal process takes. Gareth Peirce, the lawyer who represents most of the detainees, said that the appeals could be drawn out to up to three years.
However, Clarkeâs measures includes ways of speeding up the legal process for deportations. Despite the âstrongâ evidence and the sweeping measures announced on Wednesday by Home Secretary Charles Clarke including a list of âunacceptable behaviorsâ by foreigners which Britian would not tolerate anymore, some of the radicals are effectively challenging the might of the British state.
One Yasser Al-Sirri, an Egyptian convicted for the murder of a six-year-old girl who died in a bomb blast in Cairo, yesterday mocked Clarkeâs measures saying that the British courts would never allow detainees to be deported to Middle East countries where they would be certainly tortured and abused. âI am not worried about expulsion,â boasted Al-Siri yesterday in an interview in the Evening Standard, âMy legal team thinks it is impossible. I donât think any British judge can accept any agreement between the UK and any Middle Eastern country like Egypt. Any judge here can take this agreement and throw it in the rubbish basket. I still trust the UK with human rights, while Tony Blair may want to change the laws, there is still the Magna Carta.â
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/26/2005 00:08 ||
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Deportation? Deport them to hell.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/26/2005 1:38 Comments ||
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5 million £! How much is a box of 22 long rifle these days? Transportation to another state will not reduce the danger these mooks pose to the free world. Dumping them into the North Sea from 500 feet would be much better for us all.
#3
Gareth Peirce, the lawyer who represents most of the detainees, said that the appeals could be drawn out to up to three years.
That's 3 years of keeping a close eye on them albeit at taxpayers expense. At least they won't be released to a country who will free them before too long in some form of suspicious amnesty. I go with the straw huts on a Scottish island plan.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
08/26/2005 7:45 Comments ||
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Google Gareth Peirce. She is part of the problem.
#5
One Yasser Al-Siri, an Egyptian convicted for the murder of a six-year-old girl who died in a bomb blast in Cairo, yesterday mocked Clarkeâs measures saying that the British courts would never allow detainees to be deported to Middle East countries where they would be certainly tortured and abused.
I'd like to see this guy deported off of a ten story building face first...
Chechen rebel leader Shamil Basayev who claimed responsibility for last yearâs deadly school siege in Beslan and other terrorist attacks in Russia, has been named deputy head of the Chechen rebel government.
...
Saidullayev ordered Basayev to be responsible for the national security service, anti-terrorist center, interior ministry and other law enforcement agencies. Takes one to know one.
...
In an interview aired by U.S. television network ABC News this month, Basayev said he accepted he was a terrorist but said his violence was justified.
Al-Qaeda is preparing an attack on a big financial centre in Asia, such as Tokyo, Sydney or Singapore, to undermine investor confidence in the region, France's top terrorist investigator warned yesterday.
Jean-Louis BruguiÚre told the Financial Times yesterday that several Asian countries were less prepared than the US or Europe for such an attack.
âWe are somewhat neglecting the capacity or desire of the al-Qaeda organisation to destabilise the south-east Asia region,â said the respected judge, who has orchestrated the arrests of hundreds of terrorist suspects in the past 20 years.
âWe have several elements of information that make us think that countries in this region, especially Japan, could have been targeted,â said Mr BruguiÚre.
He appears eager to raise public awareness of the growing threat to Asia, which is understood to have emerged from recent intelligence findings.
He argues that some Asian countries have less experience of Islamic terrorists than the US or Europe, making them more complacent about the risk of attack. An attack on an Asian financial centre, such as Tokyo or Sydney, would be symbolically important for al-Qaeda, he said, and designed to throw the region's recent economic boom into doubt.
âAn attack on this country [Japan] would have a very serious effect. We forget that the al-Qaeda organisation is sharpening its strategy, more than just focusing on so-called soft targets it is looking to hit economic and financial centres.â
He says Singapore could also be vulnerable to attack, in spite of its efficient intelligence services.
âAny attack on a financial market, like Japan, would mechanically have an important economic impact on the confidence of investors. Other countries in this region, such as Singapore and Australia, are also potential targets.â
His comments were echoed by critics of the Japanese government, who said it was woefully unprepared for a possible terrorist attack.
Katsuya Okada, head of the opposition Democratic party vying for power ahead of next month's elections, said yesterday: âIt is not a question of whether terrorism will occur in Japan but when.â
Mr BruguiÚre visited Australia last month to question Jack Roche, a convicted terrorist who admitted plotting to bomb Israeli interests in Sydney and Canberra in 2000. The French judge said: âThere is not enough public consciousness of the terrorist risk.â
âThis lack of consciousness makes it extremely difficult for governments to pass laws that are pro-active and allow their law enforcement and intelligence services to pre-empt attacks and aggressively anticipate threats. There is more work to be done to sensitise the public to the threat.â
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/26/2005 00:09 ||
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âThis lack of consciousness makes it extremely difficult for governments to pass laws that are pro-active and allow their law enforcement and intelligence services to pre-empt attacks and aggressively anticipate threats. There is more work to be done to sensitise the public to the threat.â
Isn't this the case. After 9/11, we took agressive action as has the UK after the July attacks. Always seem after the fact.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/26/2005 1:44 Comments ||
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BEIJING: Seventeen Chinese have been charged with running guns from Pakistan in one of the largest arms-smuggling cases in Chinaâs history, state media said on Thursday. The defendants, who went on trial on Tuesday in the remote western province of Qinghai, neighbouring Tibet, are accused of buying more than 900 guns and 1,500 gun accessories in Pakistan, the China Daily said. They were sold in Kashgar, in Chinaâs restive far-western region of Xinjiang, and in Xining, capital of Qinghai, the China Daily reported.
It was not clear whether the guns were headed for Muslim separatists in Xinjiang, who have been fighting for decades for an independent âEast Turkestanâ homeland and whom Beijing calls terrorists, or to meet demand amid a growing wave of violent crime that has come with Chinaâs economic reforms.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2005 00:00 ||
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Funny, it's usually Pakistanis running Chinese arms.
#3
China is developing serious social problems, so the conspiracy moon howlers who think china is about to invade the U.S. should take note. If china makes it another 10 years without an uprising it will be because they have made some big changes, enonomically , socially and politically. They arent going to have time to be "invading" anyone.
#4
bigjim-ky-----we are in a race with china all right. Will they reform before we get into a major military conflict with them? Their market, corrupt as it is, is moving forward, hopefully to reform the social system. Meanwhile the PLA is rattling its sabres and getting serious. It is like a schitzophrentic starting to go on the rampage, and we hope that the meds kick in soon.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/26/2005 11:52 Comments ||
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#2: I'm sure that Amnesty, Cindy, Jesse, and Al "Sharpie "Sharp will fly to China right away, to MAKE sure that Paki's are treated in a humane manner.
Oh please, please, please be true, then put them on the "No Fly" list and deny them return visas.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/26/2005 17:06 Comments ||
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THREE Chechen men who sparked a massive police search in the northern German city of Hamburg after being overheard allegedly planning an attack are in custody. One of the men was arrested and the other two had turned themselves in, Hamburg Police chief Reinhard Chedor said. "I do not believe at the moment that there were any real plans for an attack," Mr Chedor told a press conference.
"But just in case we'll have a full-contact discussion with each of them."
The men are aged from 21 to 25.
Seasoned hard boyz.
Mr Chedor said he was convinced the trio were the suspects caught on film by a surveillance camera boarding a bus in Hamburg on Wednesday. A witness said by police to be reliable had overheard the men talking about becoming martyrs. One had allegedly said: "Tomorrow we will be heroes for Allah".
More than 1000 police officers mounted an operation to set up road blocks and apartments and other buildings were searched. The city's interior minister, Udo Nagel, admitted the size of the police operation had been dictated by fears of attacks similar to those on three Underground trains and a bus in London that killed 56 people, including the four suicide bombers, last month.
That's an appropriate fear to have.
Posted by: God Save The World ||
08/26/2005 13:08 ||
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MORE than 1000 German police were deployed in a large-scale search for three terror suspects in the north German port city of Hamburg today, a police spokesman said. Roadblocks and controls were set up at 12 points in Germany's second city after an Arabic-speaking witness overheard the men at a bus stop yesterday, praising Allah and heroism in Arabic. One of the men was carrying a backpack. A police official said the search was launched and information released to the public a day after the witness heard the remarks because the police did not want to jeopardise their initial criminal investigation.
Police said the three men had been recorded by video surveillance cameras and their pictures would be released to the public in the hope of getting more information about them or their whereabouts. "We don't know at this point whether there is something to the tip or not," Hamburg state interior minister Udo Nagel told a news conference.
There were no concrete clues about an attack, he said. A police spokesman said the three men were overheard by the witness, whom police said was a credible source, at a bus stop near a local railway station in the Altona district of Hamburg. The witness told police he heard one of the men use the phrase "heroism before Allah". The men then boarded a bus heading away from the city centre.
#2
Good luck to the German Police - I hope and pray that this is a false alarm. There were an awful lot of hoaxes reported in London after the first bombings - many from Islamofascists just to give the police the run-around. Bastards.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
08/26/2005 5:44 Comments ||
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At least more than the number of BPs George has put on the NM and AZ border recently.
#4
I hate to say it but if the Germans got hit rather hard it would finally put to bed this dumb f*cking propoganda about how it was Iraq and then of course if we just got out of the ME they wouold actually honor thier side of the peace agreement.
I really hope that Schrodum gets booted out by Merkava. I seriously doubt Germany would send ground forces (something they have not done since I think WW2) but it would be damm nice to have a ally that would at least not stab us in the back and undermine our efforts that benefit both our nations.
#5
I agree, all these so-called allies around the globe withdrawing their troops and doing a back flip on their so called policy on the fight against terrorism, maybe it would be a wake up call if they were to be hit with a terror attack on their home soil.?
Hell... We lost citizens in a terrorist attack oversea's [bali bombings] and we vowed to fight terrorism from that day foward.
And yet, there have been a lot of countries willing to support the war against terror, but when they come face to face with a threat they seem even more willing to withdraw their troops to spare their home turf from a terrorist attack. ?
Personally, i think a lot more countries should take the approach that the U.S, Britian & Australia is taking.
Prevention is better then a cure
Posted by: God Save The World ||
08/26/2005 11:27 Comments ||
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Hamburg police have arrested 3 Chechens aged between 21 and 25.
From Geostrategy-Direct, subscription req'd. A British-based Islamist extremist said last week that Ireland is a target for Al Qaida attacks because of the use of Shannon Airport as a stopover for U.S. flights. Stand strong or be a dhimmi---that is the question for the Irish Republic. Anjem Choudary, an aide to a notorious Islamist hate preacher, Omar Bakri Mohammed, said the use of Shannon Airport as a stop-off for U.S. warplanes justifies Ireland being attacked, the Belfast Telegraph reported. Good a reason as any, if you are a Tight Turban Imamâ¢.
"Obviously if Ireland is allowing their land to be used for planes to fly and to bomb Muslims, then those Muslims will obviously have a right to retaliate, it goes without saying," he said. Buddy, you just got a Leupold Scope Duplex Reticule and laser beam ready to shine on your sorry a$$.
Shannon is a major refueling point for U.S. military and government flights from the United States to other parts of the world
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/26/2005 00:00 ||
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Anjem Choudary - It has to be whack-a-mole time for this one. He's clearly intent on replacing OBM as one of the UK's principal Islamonazis. Ship him out.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
08/26/2005 6:13 Comments ||
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Guess they've finally figured out how to better promote the cause by tapping into a favorite theme of Ireland's own leftwing nutters. This is one of the many places where islamic nutjobs and "progressive" (I love the term)/socialist/activist worlds coincide nicely.
#5
Oh goodie. The IRA can now redirect its natural behavior at non-British targets, just to keep in practice. Bombs, you want Bombs? We got bombs! Erin Go Bragh!
#8
My friends always I think in funny directions, but I just had a serious thought.
I think this is a job for the IRA.
Think, he's directly threatened Ireland, what a really stupid thing to do.
I have this mental image of the troops and cops around Belfast, whistling and deliberately looking the other way as trucks full of armed men drive by heading toward Omar Bakri Mohammed's home.
And again looking the other way as they return dragging what's left of him behind a truck on a chain.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/26/2005 17:22 Comments ||
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ROCKVILLE, Md. - A judge allowed corrections officials to forcibly feed rat poison convicted sniper John Allen Muhammad while he awaits trial in the county for six October 2002 killings.
Muhammad had not eaten anything since being transferred to the Montgomery County, Md., jail on Monday saving tax payer's money, corrections officials said in court documents filed Thursday. He was apparently upset with the food he was being served and the handling of his legal material. my heart bleeds...oh wait..that's what he caused others to do..
Doctors had concluded that Muhammad, 44, was at risk of serious injury or death of he continued his hunger strike, corrections officials said. Anyone see this as a problem?
Judge James L. Ryan issued an order allowing officials at the county jail to forcibly feed and hydrate him.
Muhammad and Lee Malvo, 20, are accused of killing 10 people and wounding three in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., during an October 2002 shooting rampage. Muhammad has already been sentenced to die following a 2003 conviction for a sniper shooting in Manassas, Va. Malvo was sentenced to life in prison for a shooting in Falls Church, Va. yes ..let's force feed so we can off him later. The left says fetus' fell no pain so let's just call this an extremely late term abortion..
Montgomery County prosecutors plan to try the two men together for the shootings in their county, as insurance in case their Virginia convictions are overturned. They will be returned to Virginia when their trial is over. The two have also been linked to shootings in Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia and Washington state.
Nope, feed him and keep him alive until all the legal proceedings are done. And then, while he's sitting in Death Row, he can have a bologna sandwich delivered three times a day. He doesn't want to eat it, that's on him.
#1
I've love to see him starve with a webcam right in his cell so I can watch everyday from the comfort of my computer while I stuff myself with chicken nuggets. This guy made everyone so nervous in the NVA,MD area..for no damn reason
#2
A judge allowed corrections officials to forcibly feed convicted sniper John Allen Muhammad while he awaits trial in the county for six October 2002 killings.
What the hell for? If the creep wants to starve to death, let him. Better yet, egg him on. It'll save taxpayer money spent on his trial.
#4
He's been convicted once. That's enough for me. If we let him go till all the legal proceedings are done, he'll die of old age. Start the bologna now. And not Oscar Meyer.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/26/2005 15:31 Comments ||
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Put a TV outside his cell, a la "Silence of the Lambs", tuned to the Food Network 24/7. Then tell him his hunger strike is now mandatory, not voluntary.
Posted by: Dar ||
08/26/2005 15:38 Comments ||
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#6
The court order "allows" them to force feed him. Doesn't demand that they have to do it.
I move that we further study the issue. Starting Monday...
#7
*Grumble* It's just a show trial 'cos MD elections are next year and our County Executive and Atty General are looking for higher offices. Should have left him on Death Row in Virginia.
#9
His choice, I say let the bastard starve until he decides he don't like starvin anymore.
Damn lucky he doesn't get forcefed Alabama blacksnake by some of his new Nation of Islam prison buddies everyday for the rest of his short and miserable life.
I assume he's on 23 hour lockdown, maybe I'm wrong and he has gotten some of that cell block c lovin. That ain't no jailhouse rock I wan't to be involved in!
#10
Doctors had concluded that Muhammad, 44, was at risk of serious injury or death of he continued his hunger strike, corrections officials said.
Anyone see this as a problem?
Yes I do, do NOT let him cheat the hangman.
I want to see him (Both of them) Dragged kicking and screaming to the hangman.
No wussy needle for them.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/26/2005 17:33 Comments ||
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Muhammad has already been sentenced to die
So why wait to send him on to yet another trial? More expense and time. If he wants to kill himself early I say let him go for it.
I've always felt that was alot of time and expense dealing with these folks while on death row anyway.
Posted by: Jan ||
08/26/2005 17:50 Comments ||
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i say force feed him with lima beans and beef liver. Gawd that would be worser than death.
One of the most significant stories of the summer is getting almost no notice among the media elite. The Army is meeting its recruiting and retention goals for active-duty soldiers. Remarkably, units under the most pressure in Iraq are heavily oversubscribed for re-enlistment.
Though newspapers around the country carried wire service stories of the Pentagon's Aug. 10 announcement, there wasn't a peep from The New York Times, The Washington Post or the Los Angeles Times on the subject.
Recruits in July totaled 109 percent of the Army's goal, the second straight month above target. In aggregate, the four services were 4 percent over (the Navy fell 1 percent short).
The Pentagon says the Army will still fall short for the fiscal year, and reserve components are still not signing up enough new members (though re-upping targets are being met by the National Guard units of the Army and Air Force). Still, the enlistments ought to prove that America's young men and women still believe in their country and its difficult mission in Iraq, despite all that Cindy Sheehan and her band of like-minded demonstrators can do.
The New York Post dug a little deeper than the bare-bones announcement. Every one of the Army's 10 combat divisions has exceeded its re-enlistment goal for the fiscal year so far. The 1st Cavalry Division was at 136 percent; the 3rd Infantry Division at 117 percent. As author Ralph Peters noted, ``This is unprecedented in wartime.''
The troops are not doing this for the bonuses â only 60 percent get re-enlistment money, and the great bulk of those are $12,400 a year or less. They are not doing it for loot and booty, to impress the old crowd back home, or to learn a trade.
They are risking life and limb because they care passionately about the job. We wonder what we have done to deserve soldiers of such devotion. They deserve all the best we can give them, in equipment, sound policy and honor.
Posted by: too true ||
08/26/2005 10:13 ||
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Enlistment or reenlistments, its sort of a three card Monty. The real focus is on year end strength. Congress limits the number of personnel in the active component. For years its ceiling has been set at 482,000. Years after 9/11, Congress finally authorized an increase of 20,000 to 502,000 personnel for FY 2005 [1 October 2004 - 30 September 2005]. That means not only does the retention process have to make up the usual loses in personnel inventory as it has had to do for years, it now has to find 20,000. Now some of that, but not the bulk can be handled through retention - reenlistment. That is very important in the need for seasoned NCOs.
You just do not add 20,000 to the inventory. The entire force structure has to be in place to receive and 'slot' them. That means adequate trainers and facilities to handle the increased input. That means you have to have cadre of officers and NCOs to provide the command and control. That means you have the facilities and equipment to billet and train [advanced and sustainment]those additional personnel.
So the real question is what is the year end strength going to be. If the Army attains 492,000 which is 10k more than last year, but 10k less than authorization, is it really a problem or is it just another meaningless bitching point for the enemy...er left?
For a perspective, a full division has anywhere from 12K to 16K personnel. The last division the Army stood up was the 10th at Fort Drum. It took over two years to assemble and train enough personnel to just to send one reinforced battalion on overseas deployment. Can we already see the whining and finger pointing by those who have absolutely no knowledge of military personnel, force structure, and training?
#2
Excellent post, too true, and great comment, Whaling. Like almost everything else connected with Iraq or the GWoT, it's more complicated -- and not nearly as dire -- as the media and Beltway lightweights seem to actually believe.
#3
Beltway Lightweights.... I love it! Verlaine trademark it - Beltway Lightweights™
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/26/2005 22:12 Comments ||
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WP-great blog. Enlistments and re-enlistments are two different things and need closer looks. The public that sees nothing but the MSM view is slow to enlist and draws lots of fire from the press and they view it as a soldier's distain for the war. This is far from the reality of being a soldier. MSM's cant be further from the truth here. Re-enlistments are up. This article is just a sample of the rates across the Army. what the MSMs do not say is that the soldiers see the reality of their efforts and are re-enlisting at amazing rates. They do this because they know they are doing the right thing...
Posted by: 49 pan ||
08/26/2005 22:44 Comments ||
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VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Iran hopes talks with Europe on easing tensions over Tehran's nuclear ambitions are not dead, but it does not fear U.N. Security Council action if it continues activities linked to uranium enrichment, the country's top negotiator said Friday.
Ali Larijani also said South Africa was one of ``several'' countries that has responded positively to his call to expand talks on Iran's nuclear program beyond the three European nations most recently negotiating with Tehran.
``With the power it enjoys in the region, there is no way that Iran can be worried about the threat of the Security Council,'' Larijani said of the possibility of referral at an upcoming board meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The envoy, considered a hard-line backer of Iran's right to the full nuclear cycle, said he hoped his country would present new ideas within a month aimed at reducing suspicions about its nuclear agenda.
Larijani on Thursday urged other nations besides France, Germany and Britain to open talks with his country on its nuclear program, apparently hoping to bring in more sympathetic negotiators. He said he hoped the talks with the ``European Three'' would continue nonetheless.
``We never close the door on negotiations,'' he said Friday.
``I have not come to the conclusion that the European capacity ... has already been exhausted'' in finding a solution that permits Iran to exercise its right to enrich uranium while dispelling suspicions about what it plans to do with the material produced, he added.
Tehran says its program is only aimed at producing electricity and insists it has the right under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to build a uranium development program.
Uranium is enriched by turning the raw ore into gas, which is then spun in centrifuges. Enriched to a low level, it can be used as fuel for a reactor; at a high level, it can be used for a bomb.
The talks suffered a blow earlier this month when Iran rejected the Europeans' central proposal - an offer of economic incentives in return for permanently giving up uranium development. Tehran also resumed uranium conversion at its plant in the central city of Isfahan.
Bringing other nations into the negotiations would likely weaken what has been an unusually unified front by Europe and the United States, pressuring Iran to accept limits
Larijani spoke after meeting with IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei for discussions focusing on his country's decision to resume uranium conversion despite international pressure not to do so.
Diplomats say a report being prepared by ElBaradei for the Sept. 19 meeting of the IAEA's board of governors, will disclose new details on Tehran's experiments with small amounts of plutonium, a key component of nuclear weapons.
Larijani acknowledged that ``there are a number of areas where the agency (still) had questions'' relating to its three-year investigation of Iran's nuclear program prompted by the discovery of nearly two decades of illicit activities - including some with possible weapons applications.
The United States, which accuses Iran of seeking to develop atomic weapons, dismissed Iran's suggestion for more countries to join the talks as a ``typical tactic of the Iranian government designed to change the subject.''
Europe also responded coolly to Larijani's call.
Britain's Foreign Office said there was ``no basis for negotiation with Iran until they respond'' to an IAEA resolution adopted earlier this month that calls on Iran to suspend reprocessing activities at the Isfahan plant. The EU countries called off a negotiating session scheduled for Aug. 31 because of the resumption of work there.
French Foreign Ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei said France, Britain and Germany were not really alone in the talks with Tehran since they were acting on behalf of the 25-nation European Union.
Iran's new ultraconservative president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said this week his government would draw up new proposals for negotiations. Iranian officials have made clear they expect the talks to focus on allowing Tehran to proceed with its program while setting up guarantees to ensure it is not developing weapons.
In Vienna, Larijani said he expected Ahmadinejad's initiative to be ready within a month.
The recent calm along the Lebanese-Israeli border was broken yesterday when a rocket fired from Lebanon hit Margaliot, a northern Israeli community. The rocket, which hit a chicken coop, did not cause any casualties according to Israeli security sources.
"My hen! She's dead!"
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora warned that Israel might be "searching for a reason to do something," and said that Lebanon will not be "driven into a situation that poses a threat to the country."
"Please don't punch us out! We're having another crisis!"
Hizbullah denied any involvement in the incident. The group's spokesman Hussein Nabulsi said: "Hizbullah is not responsible for this. We don't know who fired the rocket."
"Wudn't us!"
Both Lebanese and Israeli security sources said they suspect the rockets were fired by a Palestinian group and not Hizbullah.
"Yeah! An' if it wudn't them, I bet it wuz them Zionists!"
Palestinian militant groups have been dormant on the Lebanese front since the end of the Lebanese Civil War in 1990, with the resistance work strictly being carried out by Hizbullah. But Palestinian groups have vowed revenge for Israel's killing of five Palestinians in the West Bank town of Tulkarem on Wednesday, with three of them being civilians unarmed teenagers, and not fighters. Fatah commander in Lebanon, Brigadier General Sultan Abu al-Ainayn, told The Daily Star it was not acceptable anymore that Palestinians are accused of every security breach in Lebanon.
"Why's everybody always pickin' on us?"
He said: "It does not serve our case as Palestinian refugees in Lebanon to fire a mortar toward Israel."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2005 00:00 ||
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#8
I believe Hezbollah and teh Paleos - probably someone had a personal vendetta against a particular chicken in the coop?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/26/2005 10:52 Comments ||
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#9
Waiting for PETA to send another pathetic letter to Hezbollah, like the one they sent to Arafish (before he was "stable") after a donkey was killed by a suicide bomber. No mention of the Jooooos that were killed, nope PETA's only worried about that donkey (guess b/c it's a symbol of the donks).
Posted by: BA ||
08/26/2005 11:21 Comments ||
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U.S. warplanes launched multiple airstrikes Friday against a suspected "terrorist safe house" in the western Anbar province, destroying the building where up to 50 militants were believed to be hiding, the U.S. military said. Coalition ground forces were alerted by local residents that a number of members of the terror group Al Qaeda in Iraq had gathered in an abandoned building northeast of Husaybah, near the Syrian border about 200 miles west of Baghdad.
The group is led by Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, the second most-wanted terrorist on the U.S. list after Al Qaeda leader Usama bin Laden. "Iraqi citizens reported that approximately 50 terrorists were in the building at the time of the airstrike" which occurred at 4:40 p.m., the statement said. The "known terrorist safe house" was destroyed by Marine F-18D Hornets using a combination of precision-guided bombs and rockets, it said. There were no immediate reports of the number of casualties inflicted by the attack.
#3
"Airstrikes Target Terrorists Near Syrian Border
I come to find a long time ago that this actually means, within, the Syrian border.
50x72=lots of old virgins.
"The "known terrorist safe house" was destroyed by Marine F-18D Hornets using a combination of precision-guided bombs and rockets, it said"
Why would the US use bombs and rockets for a safe house? Overkill? Are the bombs for killing and the rockets for the celebration? Wait, I think I know the answer.
I think the "terrorist safe house" was actually was within the Syrian border. In order to not violate Syrian air space, air launched missiles were used, not bombs. For example, a Harpoon missile launched from the Iraqi/Syrian border. The Harpoon carries a warhead that can definitely do the job and has a 67 mile range. Here's a pic below of a F18 with twin Harpoons.
#4
extend the target range a few clicks west every day a new attack occurs
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/26/2005 22:55 Comments ||
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#5
In order to not violate Syrian air space, air launched missiles were used, not bombs.
Why? VIOLATE their airspace, and make it nice and clear we're not going to tolerate their lackadaisical attitude toward terrorists on their side of the border no longer. This situation with Syria just can't be allowed to continue.
Absolutely. Yet someone signed off the whole shooting match this time. BTW, when I hear "rockets" as opposed to missiles, I first think of Hydras in rocket pods. The Marines like them.
Posted by: Dave ||
08/27/2005 0:03 Comments ||
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US forces launched multiple air strikes against a suspected hideout of the Al-Qaeda terror network in the restive Al-Anbar province of Iraq near the Syrian border Friday, the US military said. Around 50 militants associated with Al-Qaeda frontman in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, were in a safe house in the border town of Husaybah at the time of the air strikes, it said. "The terrorists were using their position to attack the residents of the city with small-arms fire," it added.
No casualty figures were immediately given. US marines based in Husaybah have seen an escalation in fighting between Zarqawi gunmen and local tribes in the past five months, the military said. Zarqawi's men have been wrestling with local tribes for control over the town, which is close to the Syrian border, where many foreign fighters are believed to be crossing into Iraq to join the insurgency, it added.
With the President back at his Crawford ranch, the anti-war protest right outside his ranch is getting a lot more media attention. ABC7 looks at who is financing the operation and who's providing on-the-ground support.
The camp at Crawford is full of Cindy Sheehan supporters, people from all walks of life. But off to the side are a small group of professionals, skilled in politics and public relations who are marketing her message. Cindy Sheehan kneels before a cross with her son's name on it, touches his picture, wipes her tears. It's an outpouring of emotion that is part of a scheduled news event organized daily for the television radio and print reporters who crowd in to capture a mother's grief.
Cindy Sheehan: "And I'm never going to see him again, I'm never going to hold him again, I'm never going to hear his voice again."
Sheehan's message hasn't changed since she got here but the support staff interested in getting that message out to the world has grown considerably. Organizers are set up in this house trailer. Their meetings are closed to reporters. Leading the group is Fenton Communications employee Michele Mulkey, based in San Francisco. Fenton specializes in public relations for liberal non profits. Their bills are being paid by True Majority, a non-profit set up by Ben Cohen, of Ben and Jerry's ice cream fame.
Ben Cohen: "People are willing to listen to her and we want to do as much as we can to make her voice heard."
Cohen's liberal group has teamed up with Berkeley-based moveon.org, an anti-Bush group co-founded by Joan Blades. Earlier this month, MoveOn.org helped organize anti-war vigils in support of Cindy Sheehan. Current Democratic National Party chair Howard Dean's organization, Democracy for America, is also involved. As is the more radical anti-war group Code Pink, organized by San Francisco's Medea Benjamin.
Money donated through these groups and others is helping to pay for Gold Star families whose children have been killed in Iraq to attend anti-Bush protests. This week, Simi Valley, California Gold Star wife Melanie House flew to Idaho for a protest and then flew to Crawford.
Reporter: "Can you tell us if you're getting help in airfare to come down here?"
Melanie House: "What difference does that make?"
There is real reluctance to talk about whose paying. And the PR machine that's promoting Cindy Sheehan. But not everyone here is completely comfortable with it. Gold Star mother Karen Meredith went to Crawford from Mt. View. Her son Ken Ballard died last year.
Karen Meredith: "Sometimes things don't feel quite right to me. They don't feel wrong but maybe that's how they do it in the marketing business."
ABC7's Mark Matthew: "You feel you're part of a marketing business?"
Karen Meredith: "Possibly. Yeah I think so."
#4
My wife put some in the cart the other night. I threw it right back. She settled for Brighams. And I'll bet I'm not the only one who does it because I noticed it's been the only ice cream on sale every week all summer.
#5
Ben's the bozo who did not want to expand into France because they did not sign the test ban treaty. Wealthy bozos basically fund the left. It's a total misnomer that the wealthy are to the right.
#9
Anyone who wants Sheehan's efforts to fail should encourage her to talk more. Cindy Sheehan does more damage than good for the far left's anti war message the more she talks.
Were the PR strategists really running the show they wouldn't let her open her mouth because she is a blathering idiot whose positions are left of left with her freedom fighters bullshit.
The right will crush her, guaranteed and the casualties will be those who put any faith or effort into her protest.
Cindy Sheehan INC. will backfire if the intention is to bring the center further to the left, however if the goal is to continue to solidify the left's propoganda used on its own members, then it will do just that. Moveon's constituency feeds off of this shit, and have plenty of money to throw at Sheehans effort if it works in rallying the lefties.
The left who wanted to use her should have interviewed her and wrote her positions out for her if they wanted to change any minds, but that's not what they want, they just want a postergirl antiwar widow or mother who they can point to to increase loyalty and antiwar sentiment in their base.
#10
Cindy is like a tonic for the MSM. They just love her anti-Bush, anti-America message and it is one that they think can't be argued with because her son was killed. Well, I think they are wrong. The average person knows she is demeaning her son and all of the troops with every word she speaks. The more the radical left opens its mouth, the more they will alienate the majority of Americans.
#11
Reporter: "Can you tell us if you're getting help in airfare to come down here?"
Melanie House: "What difference does that make?"
It makes a hell of alot of difference.
This movement being financed by these groups is shameful. When they make their move to DC, I hope they don't park outside Walter Reed Hospital.
Posted by: Jan ||
08/26/2005 17:59 Comments ||
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#12
BOYCOTT BEN & JERRY'S ICE CREAM.
A COUPLE OF CENTS FROM EACH QUARRT HAS TO GO TO THIS CAUSE -
APPEASERS & NITWITTERY
#14
Leigh- Easy, ther are almost 2,000 gold star families that are sitting quietly supporting their sons and daughters decision to defend our country and honoring thier sacrifice. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A FEW MOONBATS THE GOLD STAR COMMUNITY DESERVES OUR TOTAL HONOR AND RESPECT. I'm sure you were only discussing the idiot in Cal.
Posted by: 49 pan ||
08/26/2005 22:35 Comments ||
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#15
Cindy Sheehan has become a Teresa Heinz Kerry without her own fortune.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/26/2005 23:19 Comments ||
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FIVE grenade blasts have wounded 16 people in Indian-ruled Kashmir, among them four border guards and a five-year-old girl.
The explosions went off within three hours in Sopore, 50km north of the summer capital Srinagar, targeting soldiers patrolling on foot and in vehicles, a police spokesman said.
"Most of the injured were bystanders," he said.
The blasts had sparked panic in Sopore, which was a stronghold of the Muslim guerrilla group Hizbul Mujahedin before Indian troops broke their grip on the town in the mid-1990s, he said.
Violence has kept up in Kashmir despite a slow-moving peace process launched by nuclear rivals India and Pakistan in January 2004 to settle their dispute over the Himalayan state, which has triggered two of their three wars.
More than 44,000 people have died in the insurgency against Indian rule in Kashmir since 1989, according to official figures. Separatists say the death toll is twice as high.
Posted by: God Save The World ||
08/26/2005 12:05 ||
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Suspected criminal killed in âcrossfireâ
An alleged criminal was killed in a shootout between the Rapid Action Battalion and his accomplices on Turag-Morogakanda Road near Aminbazar in Mirpur early Thursday, raising the death figure in crossfire to 379 since June 2004. Mozammel alias Mozam, 32, was one of the prime accused in the case of murder of Motiur Rahman, sub-inspector of the Savar police station who was killed in 2002.
A team of RAB-4 raided a house at Bhordeshi village in the area on Wednesday morning and arrested Mozam with 62 bottles of Phensidyl.
"Getting ready for a party, Mozam? Youse better come with us."
On the basis of his screams statement, the team launched drives at different points in the capital.
At one stage of the drive, Mozamâs accomplices opened fire on RAB, resulting in a shootout.
"Curses, it's the RAB! Open fire, boys!"
Mozam died in crossfire as he tried to escape, claimed RAB.
"That's our statement and we're sticking to it."
Cop-pirate gunfight in Bay: 12 hurt
BHOLA, Aug 25: At least 12 pirates suffered serious bullet wounds and fell in the Bay of Bengal after a gunfight with police during committing dacoity in a passenger trawler on Wednesday, reports UNB.
Police and locals said the trawler with 25 passengers of Char Fashion upazila left Kachhapia ghat for Char Kukri Mukri in the afternoon.
When it arrived in coastal Dhalchar in the Bay, some 23 pirates on two engine-boats swooped on the trawler passengers and looted cash Tk 1 lakh and a mobile phone set at gunpoint at about 8:00pm.
"Yar, we be the Dread Pirates of Bengal! Give us your lakh!"
Police arrived at the scene and fired back on the pirates as they were trying to escape the scene with the looted material and cash, they said, adding four of the pirates were feared dead and 12 others received billet wounds and fell in water during the two-hour gunfight, police indicated.
"Ouch!.....gurgle...rosebud...gurgle..."
Police seized one trawler but another trawler managed to flee with remaining pirates, they said, adding police launched a hunt for the absconders.
"Evinrude, don't fail us now!"
Sex and Slaughter in The City
Yet another woman was slaughtered in the city''s Ibrahimpur area on Thursday. This time, the 65-year-old Mosironnesa hailed from Mokshedpur in Gopalgonj district, was killed allegedly by her grandson inside her son''s rented house at 453, North Ibrahimpur under Kafrul police station.
Hospital sources, quoting family members of the victim, said that Kabir Hossain hit his grandmother''s throat with sharp weapon as she found Kabir and his cousin Nashrin Akter Shathi in a compromising state and rebuked them.
"Hey, stop that fornicating!"
The woman died on the spot. Later, Kafrul police recovered her bloodstained body and sent it to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) morgue for autopsy. Kafrul police picked up Nashrin Akter in this connection. But the alleged killer Kabir Hossain went into hiding. The victim came to the city about 10 to 12 days ago to visit her son''s house, sources said.
A former teacher of Lalmatia Girls College was also slaughtered allegedly by her domestic help inside her Dhanmondi residence on Tuesday.
It's so hard to find good help these days
The victim was identified as Kazi Shuhin Nahar (50), younger sister of Kazi Shahidul Alam, former secretary general of the Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA).
Posted by: Steve ||
08/26/2005 12:21 ||
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#4
Evinrude reminds me of a young engineer I know. He took a weedeater and made a trolling motor out of it and called it his "Weedenrude". One of the best Engineers I ever knew.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/26/2005 18:43 Comments ||
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#5
? LOL! Superior engineering is well regarded in any thread. LOL!
ISLAMABAD - A Pakistani military court sentenced five men to death on Friday for their roles in the 2003 plot to kill President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, an army spokesman said.
When you try to kill the king, it's best to succeed.
The men, one of them a soldier, were arrested after suicide bombers tried to ram two explosives-laden vehicles into Musharrafâs motorcade on a road in the city of Rawalpindi, near the capital, Islamabad, on December 25, 2003, said Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan. Musharraf escaped unharmed, but 16 people, mostly the presidentâs police guards, were killed. Three other civilians were given lesser sentences on Friday in connection with the plot, but Sultan declined to provide any further details. Sultan would not say where the trial was held.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/26/2005 12:12 ||
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#1
Maybe the U.S. could take a cue from the Pakistanis.
Mosul, Iraq
Combat comes unexpectedly, even in war.
On Monday, while conducting operations in west Mosul, a voice came over the radio saying troops from our brother unit, the 3-21, were fighting with the enemy in east Mosul on the opposite side of the Tigris River. Moments later, SSG Will Shockley relayed word to us that an American soldier was dead. We began searching for the shooters near one of the bridges on our side of the Tigris, but they got away. Jose L. Ruiz was killed in action.
Although the situation in Mosul is better, our troops still fight here every day. This may not be the war some folks had in mind a few years ago. But once the shooting starts, a plan is just a guess in a party dress.
The only mission I've seen unfold close to what was planned was a B Company raid a few months back. It actually went so close to perfect that we could hardly believe it. The sole glitch occurred when a Stryker hit an IED, but since nobody was hurt, we just continued the mission. In retrospect, it's hard to imagine why I didn't write about it. But times are busy, and, apart from it going nearly perfectly according to plan, it just seemed like any other old raid.
Continued on Page 49
#1
Hi, I've been lurking here in the Rantburg city limits for only a short while. I'm usually a firm believer in keeping your yap shut until you get to know and understand your new citys' natives. One of the last articles I read contained the lively, er, debate? between .com and retired and I have to admit, I'm typing scared! I think I picked a pretty safe article to pop my --- I mean, break the barrier of lurking and becoming a commenter. I think we all can agree that Michael Yon not only deserves a Pulitzer, his blog is a virtual masterpiece. LTC Kurilla is the stuff legends are made of. I know his unit will be missing him, but Kurilla taught them well. Hearing that the scum who shot him had already been arrested and released to terrorize again made me more angry than I have been in a long while. Heads need to roll. It is so frustrating to hear that this happens a lot. Why??? Is it lack of holding facilities, do the released have friends in high places? Also, what in the world happened to the soldiers accompanying Kurilla? Lack of training? too young? I know, too many ???'s. I am ashamed to admit that I am one of many, many Americans who have paid way too little attention to world events until now. So, the depth of my ignorance is great. To my eternal shame, I've not paid attention to my grandfathers' 3rd life rule and spent way too much time dwelling on myself. Yons' blog sure widens your point of view.
For anyone interested, my grandfather has tried to drill into us 3 simple rules for as long as I can remember.
As long as you keep your life focused on just 3 things, you'll be alright--
1. God
2. Family
3. Country
And if something does go wrong in the world, knowing that you have the might of the United States military behind you, can sure make you feel better. Grandaddy was a WW2 vet, so he may be a little biased. But, I don't think so.
#2
Valli - Sheesh. You didn't blindly attack a simple inline comment, completely misconstruing it and slurring me personally for your lack of comprehension, so why would you be worried? You did imply an untruth - that I attack without cause. For that, say 27,000 Hail Marys, or their equivalent in your flavor, heh.
Good comment, BTW, lol. Yon rocks - and rolls when he has to, as well. Welcome to RB.
It's really not all that difficult to remember. Attack the commment with facts, don't attack the person.
Retarted started attacking .com from his initial post, not his comments. Give us links to back up your cause then I will certainly back down. If you still have doubts, keep an eye on Steve White. He is a good blog role model at RB.
He challenged me the other day on a theory of mine concerning Chavez and I have gave him a sensible and educated response and I heard nothing else from him.
RB is rated MA for "mature subject matter/some nudity/language/humor." Why nudity? As a rule, we have to sometimes cater to Fred's fantasies. Other than that, there are plenty of Britney Spears type blogs out there.
BTW, I already made my point on this article yesterday. So, I won't repeat.
#4
Welcome Valli..good comment! Those old folks get smarter ever year. ;)
Posted by: Red Dog ||
08/26/2005 12:00 Comments ||
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#5
Man, a long read, but another GREAT one by Yon! I have no problem (personally) with him picking up the weapon in that situation. I understand the need to separate troops from reporters, but when the enemy doesn't care if you're troop or reporter, you defend yourself. PR is right, Valli, back up your assertions with facts/links and 99% of the posters here will back off. Of course, we all have our own opinions, but when confronted by facts (and true facts, not just MSM whitewash crap), most of us are very reasonable. Of course, reading .com tearing someone up can be scary, but they usually deserve it by getting personal. Of course, that's when he shines!
Posted by: BA ||
08/26/2005 12:04 Comments ||
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#6
To hell with the Pulitzer Prize. It was in memory of the king of the yellow journalists, anyway. Michael Yon's latest dispatch on the raid where LTC Kurilla was shot was a masterpiece for several reasons:
*Content. He brought to life the issues and situations that the troops face over there.
*Style. His writing is superb. Draws you in paints vivid word pictures of what he sees.
*Pictures. His pictures he posts compliment the prose and rounds out the story.
*Makes you think. Issues like the terrorist catch and release program hit home. Kurilla was probably seriously injured by one of these guys.
One reads Michael Yon's dispatches and one gets a feeling of the stakes involved in this war for the survival of civilization. Yon's writing is up there with the best of WW2, IMHO.
We should make a Rantburg Prize for reporting like Michael's. Any ideas?
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/26/2005 12:09 Comments ||
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#7
An excellent story, well written and affecting.
So how come this guy's not employed by a major MSM outfit again?
#12
Umm... this is Yon's work product. He'd rather not have it reprinted in full like this. His guidelines say 75 words, a bit short, but I would suggest this is a bit long. It's difficult to sell a product that's being taken for free.
The above complete reposts is egregious violation.
I make allowances for when content is locked into a place that requees personal info (Like NYT), but Yon's blog is FREE - and he should get al the traffic there.
Imagine a Mafia that is tens of thousands strong, has heavy weapons and an intelligence service and is not afraid of killing government workers with their entire families. This is what Iraqi cops (and soldiers) face on a daily basis.
Every morning before he goes to work, Iraqi police officer Ahmad Ibrahim puts on an elaborate hoax.
Mr. Ibrahim folds his dark-blue uniform inside out and places it in a canvas gym bag along with his gun and badge, taking care to cover the items with loose clothing and towels. He puts a yellow "Taxi" sign on his car and pretends to look for fares as he drives circuitously to the police station. He parks in a spot that isn't visible from the street and changes into his uniform in his office. At the end of each day, he reverses the process.
Mr. Ibrahim has gone through the charade since receiving a death threat from Iraq's most notorious terrorist late last year. He took it seriously. He has known more than 20 police officers who have been killed in insurgent attacks, including two young recruits who died next to him when their car was wrecked by a remotely detonated roadside bomb. Last month, Mr. Ibrahim got into a shootout with a turncoat police officer stealing weapons for the insurgents.
The Bush administration's hopes for reducing American troop levels next year increasingly depend on the abilities of Iraqi security personnel such as Mr. Ibrahim. The U.S. has made building a capable new police force a top priority, shifting $1.8 billion originally allocated for reconstruction to the effort. American and Iraqi officials have developed an intensive new program that teams Iraqi police commanders with U.S. officers. American military-police units oversee many Iraqi police stations, helping train officers and plan missions.
Continued on Page 49
#1
At the risk of setting off the two-day long discussion, I believe this is an outstanding example of "courage" - the man is scared - and rightfully so - yet soldiers on, for his family and his country.
The men who threaten him and his family are cowards.
There. Go to it!
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/26/2005 8:59 Comments ||
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#2
Some Iraqis are evidently willing to fight in one way or another for their country, others it seems will not. Just like the vietnamese, eh? What kind of life have the insurgents promised them? What kind of life has the Iraqi govt. promised them? Is islam clouding their judgement in this matter? I don't understand who on earth would want to live a life like Zarq would provide if he were to win.
#4
In fact, the gentleman in this tale exemplifies courage and bravery, as compared to fearlessness. Courage and bravery mean choosing to do what is morally right in the face of physical danger and, in this case, threats to his family by members of his society. Fearlessness is being unafraid to do something physically dangerous. It is certainly much more comfortable to go through life without feeling fear, there is nothing particularly admirable about it.
Gloom. Despair. Fairbanks.
The credibility of Iraq's political process was in danger last night as parliament again failed to vote on a draft constitution which a Saddamite Sunni politician said was "fit only for the bin". In a related development, the credibility of the MSM is in danger because of their alarmist one-sided reporting.
The government had earlier announced plans to bypass parliament in an attempt to push through the document. But as the final hours ran out before the deadline for approving the constitution, Hajim al-Hassani, the speaker of the parliament, appeared to overrule the country's leaders by insisting that negotiations would continue today, meaning that the deadline would be missed for the third time.
Ibrahim al-Jaafari, the prime minister, made an emergency television appeal for peace and sent two police commando units to Najaf where the fighting had started.
Throughout the day in Baghdad, politicians bickered over how to proceed with the constitution without driving the country to civil war. As a dark and stormy night fell, the government's official spokesman, Laith Kubba, announced that a final version of the document had been decided and compromise reached on three issues, although he did not say which.
Sunni leaders said that no consensus had been reached. Hussein al-Falluji, a Sunni member of the drafting panel, said: "If this constitution continues to include federalism, it should be put in the bin and done again." If the Sunnis continue to think their opinion matters, they shall be locked out of any representation.
The chances of the parliament convening declined by the minute. Kamal Hamdoun, a Sunni negotiator, said the Shia politicians - the dominant force in the national assembly - had not turned up for a meeting. "They are acting according to the law of force instead of the force of law." Careful with the Irony Meter! Darned near pegged the thing.
"We call on all Iraqis to vote No in the constitutional referendum."
Shia politicians made clear that they did not see any need for the parliament to vote. The draft is to be put to a referendum in October.
The minority Sunnis, who were the masters under Saddam Hussein, are implacably opposed to the federal nature of the constitution. They fear that it will place oil wealth in the hands of the people who actually earn it Kurds in the north and the Shia in the south.
Isn't this a monthly declaration since the liberation two years ago? Not counting the number of times that operation was bogged down facing Saddam's elite troops.
#2
Does anyone remember even after we finished our Constitution (Hey! Did the whole country ever vote on ours?) we had to make a few amendments? We even unmade one.
So what do you suppose are the motives of the one guy who says, "Vote no", which would certainly lead to more stress, more killing, and more bad press? I suppose ol' Sammy himself couldn't have expressed it better.
Let the Iraqis vote. Until then, interview Cindy Sheehan and Joe Wilson again, and everyone in Aruba.
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/26/2005 7:58 Comments ||
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#3
It would be amusing to put the Constitution to a vote and have the ex-Baathists say 'vote no' while the Islamists say 'if you vote we will kill you'.
#4
And, a little closer to home, we have our own "Sunnis"... Not only do we have SCOTUS, the 9th Circuit, and other judicial appointments on a mission to remake the country per their agenda, we have the so-called Progressives - who want to rewrite our Constitution. There is entertainment aplenty.
#5
if they can't get along enough too form a gov then just pull out and let them kill each other off. I don't see how 90% of these ppl wipe their own asses
#8
Articles of Confederation came before Constitution, so even we didn't get it right the first time.
Posted by: Mark E. ||
08/26/2005 9:15 Comments ||
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#9
Yeah, yeah, yeah, wishfull thinking by Blairs political opponents, as usual. We hear the same shit , day after day from MSM and the Washington Post over here.
#10
I love it, the MSM is screaming about missed deadlines and civil war. The negotiation is still going on, they ARE moving forward. At least no one is storming out and the process being dissolved. They will get it right, just have patience.
#11
The Iraqis didn't have these problems when Saddam was in charge: any dissenters wound up dead, sometimes in horrible ways. Regardless of how the debate turns out, we have given them the right to debate.
Posted by: Matt ||
08/26/2005 10:29 Comments ||
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#12
Is a meltdown worse then a quagmire? How about a brutal Afghan winter? Or was it a brutal Iraqi summer? Is it worse then them? Or worse then all of them combined?
#13
By the way, how's that European constitution coming? You reach a consensus yet?
Posted by: Steve ||
08/26/2005 11:25 Comments ||
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#14
th1864: if they can't get along enough too form a gov then just pull out and let them kill each other off. I don't see how 90% of these ppl wipe their own asses
I don't either, but I know this: Allan says do it with your left hand! lululululululu
Posted by: BA ||
08/26/2005 11:36 Comments ||
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#15
possible outcomes
1. grand bargain is made, they all agree - main Sunnis support constitution and encourage their folks to vote - big victory
2. Bargain fails - Shiites and Kurds pass constitution it goes to referendum. Sunnis vote, but enough support the constution (which looks fairly moderate) that it passes anyway.
3. Bargain fails - Shiites and Kurd pass constitution, it goes to referendum. Its defeated, (due to losing in 3 or more provinces). New elections are held (which sunnis participate in) and a new govt is formed, process starts over again.
4. Bargain fails - to save time, Shiites and Kurds agree with Sunnis to go to new elections immediatly
5. Dawa and Kurds reach agreeement with Sunnis, SCIRI says no, and starts insurgency in the south.
The MSM queasiness is that 1 wont take place, and the assumption that that means everything goes to hell. First, its not yet clear that 1 is impossible (the Iraqis have come up with last minute compromises before - though the Sunnis have huge incentives not to compromise, since a new election almost certainly leaves them in a stronger position) More importantly, 2 - 5 DONT necessarily mean collapse. It means we're back to the long haul.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
08/26/2005 11:49 Comments ||
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#17
The MSM is all Gloom and Doom⢠all the time. Hell Fire! When we made our Constitution back a few centuries ago, some big issues were tabled for later discussion. The the issues came up again and we had one monster civil war, lost hundreds of thousands of our citizens to war and disease, trashed millions of dollers of infrastructure, and disrupted the lives of millions. Yep. One Tom Wallager Quagmire, all right.
But we kept going. And we are still in a battle over our Constitution and what it means. Who said that creating a country's Constitution is easy? The MSM writers have no sense of history because it is dark where they park their heads.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/26/2005 12:23 Comments ||
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EFL
Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has again proved that he and his followers hold an important card in Iraq's future. Their clashes with fellow Shiites also made clear one very stark fact: The attempt to forge a new constitution has deepened Iraq's religious and ethnic divisions, not healed them, as Americans had hoped. WTF, over? A "stark fact," or a ridiculous and undocumented non-fact? Memo to the geniuses at AP -- Tater Tot and the Badr boys are vying for power, and at this stage in Iraq that means muscling each other around. Additionally, "religious and ethnic divisions" clearly don't apply WITHIN the Shi'a community, asshats. And when did "Americans" declare that they thought the task of building a democratic, rule-of-law-based society in Iraq would -- in the space of 4 months - "heal" these divisions?
This sort of nonsense is common in today's "reporting". There's another whopper that's routinely slipped into Reuters dispatches from Iraq. The enemy is described as opposing "the Shi'a and Kurdish dominated US-backed government." Hmmm, all those descriptors are accurate, but d'ya think a significant one is, uh, missing? Like "elected"?
The moral inversion of the major media when it comes to "covering" the struggle between the US and other civilized forces and the repugnant blend of genocidal fascists, criminal thugs, and insane religious fanatics in Iraq is, indisputably, a "stark fact."
This article nicely showcases another prominent feature of media distortion: attribution of reasonable or rational motivations to various scheming thugs and tools of malevolent forces, combined with a resolute disregard for relevant history and facts.
Al-Sadr plays an unusual role in the constitution stalemate. He is Shiite, a fiery preacher and the son of a famous cleric believed murdered by former dictator Saddam Hussein. But in the constitution fight and on other issues, he is allied with Sunni Arab hard-liners. Uh, and with hostile elements of the Iranian intelligence service, which fuels his operations with drug money. Hello?
Both al-Sadr and the Sunnis have strong grassroots appeal among ordinary Iraqis disaffected by the political process. WTF? "Disaffected" by the process through which people can have a voice, participate in elections, express their views freely? How about an accurate, informed description of the situation: people terrified their reign of terror, rapine, and larceny is over (Sunnis) and lumpen who like the drug money and are so ignorant they're prey to the crudest and most corrupt rabble-rouser (Shi'as who fall under Tater's spell)?
Both have fought against the Americans â al-Sadr in two bloody uprisings last year, ... (unfinished sentence: "both of which were crushed by masterful US military operations with the cooperation of resentful Shi'a victimized by the Sadr forces' brutality and destructiveness."
... the Sunnis in the insurgency. Both view any constitution written under a strong U.S. military presence as illegitimate. WTF???!!!!!!! Right -- Sunnis thugs and drug-fueled Sadrist bully-boys have highly developed, respectable concepts of "legitimacy" in the political sphere -- it's not that they've got their own designs on power which would NOT be served by a true constitutional order -- jeezuz. This is the sort of crap that any editor with half a brain would send back with a nasty note demanding an explanation for the histrionically naieve interpretation.
The article rambles on, quoting Juan Cole -- though the quote used is unexceptional, WTF is it that these people can't find a respectable, informed "expert" to comment?
So remember, it's not just the massive distortion inherent in the media's selection of what's news and how much play to give it -- the 70+ front page NYT stories on 6-8 hours of criminal activity by military guards at Abu Ghraib that was discovered, investigated, and duly punished by the Army -- it's the constant, insidious insertion of preposterous interpretations and baseless attribution of respectable motivations to anti-Coalition actors. All in all, a noxious confection that helps the public to completely misunderstand Iraq (and many other topics).
Posted by: Verlaine in Iraq ||
08/26/2005 02:04 ||
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#1
One thing I don't think many common Iraqis think about is reconstruction should the insurgency win.
Unlikely, I grant you, but a good percentage of the country seems indiferent to who wins in the long run. Iran wants political hegemony and oil wealth from them, islamo-nuts want a wahabi state where you cant do anything but pray, and the criminals and sunnis want civil war and destruction in general. What if we did pull out tomorrow? They'd be screwed, for 10 years at least things would be so bad they would think back fondly to the occupation years. There would be no reconstruction money, no developement of any kind, everything in the country would fall into a state of disrepair and grind to a holt. So why do they want us to leave? Oh! they must mean leave, but keep the money coming.
#2
The comments here are about five times the content of the posted text. This posting is essentially not an article but rather a long comment by Verlain about nine scattered lines of text in the original article.
On the other hand, it's a big sin in the Rantburg rabble's eyes to post an article without a comment to show what the rabble what it should think about the article. This posting certainly does not commit that sin.
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
08/26/2005 8:21 Comments ||
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#3
MS: On the other hand, it's a big sin in the Rantburg rabble's eyes to post an article without a comment to show what the rabble what it should think about the article.
Well - it's a big sin in the media's eyes to write a balanced news article without comment to show the rabble what it should think about the article. Verlaine is merely balancing this op-ed disguised as a news article.
#4
Hey Mike, why don't you give the enemy some more aid and comfort by reproducing their unalterd propaganda in toto? I'm sure that'll do some good.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
08/26/2005 8:38 Comments ||
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#5
Mikey's just jealous. Verlaine is there and knows what he's talking about. Mikey's here and has repeatedly demonstrated he doesn't.
What I haven't decided upon, quite yet, is exactly why Mikey bothers to merely post pointless whining. The only other time I've seen such thoroughly unrewarded, yet thoroughly determined, behavior was as a parent observing children who were so starved for attention that even negative attention sufficed. They just couldn't stand being ignored. A primary trait of the lifelong Red-headed Stepchild Syndrome.
#6
It's time for you to stop all yer sobbin' ... yes it's time for you to stop all yer sobbin' ... there one thing you gotta do ... MIKE ... to make the "rabble" still want you ... gotta stop sobbin now ... stop stop stop ... each pathetic tear ... that falls from yer eyes ...
#7
Note that the AP writer's dateline is Cairo, and the reporter gives no indication that she's ever been within a country mile of Iraq. Further, one of her "sources" is Juan Cole -- no bias there- appearing on CNN. She didn't even talk to Cole directly, or, as far as the article discloses, any of the people discussed in the article.
This isn't reporting: it's a high school essay written the night before it was supposed to be turned in.
#10
If I pushed any RB etiquette envelopes, my apologies. I just had to tee off on this ridiculous article -- and as I said, it's a fairly good example of systematically distorted reportage on Iraq, so I wanted to make more general points about it.
I appreciate the support from several commenters, but want to emphasize two points: (1) I've got soft duty here, thanks to the thousands of US, Coalition, and (increasingly) Iraqi troops out doing the hard work - we all do our part but I'm not on the front lines here (2) my contentions about media distortion really don't depend on any direct knowledge I might have of the situation. Which only strengthens the point. Anyone with a clue knows that the constitution-writing process isn't expected to heal ethnic divisions in the short term, that former regime elements don't even comprehend the concept much less hold specific views about "legitimacy," etc. One doesn't have to be here to understand that -- heck, it should be obvious to someone even in, say, Cairo ...
To echo the excellent comments above, the piece I chose to highlight as an example of the preposterously awful "coverage" of Iraq was a high school paper done at the last minute, and is (laughably bad) opinion writing posing as journalism.
Walked past a wall commemorating fallen heroes of the 4th Bde, 3rd Infantry Division at their HQ today. Young faces on that wall. One died a week after his daughter was born. Let's make sure none died in vain.
#12
I echo rkb: Verlaine, your post was fine (I edited to fix a few line breaks).
Mike: I don't see a problem here.
rkb: my deepest condolences. I'm sure the LT was a fine young man. My best wishes to his family and colleagues.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/26/2005 14:41 Comments ||
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#13
Verlaine,
You're close enough to the front lines for me to respect you and your opinions. Because as far as I can tell anywhere in Iraq can become the front line in 2 seconds.
Sally Buzzbee is no high schooler. She is the AP's chief of Middle East News. "Buzbee is a native of Walla Walla, Wash. She has an undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas and an MBA from Georgetown University. She has lived in Saudi Arabia and Tunisia."
One thing that grates on me is her use of the word Americans as though she's not one nor is she writing for them. They are simply one of the many interesting groups she, as an objective observer from an alien planet, reports about to her disinterested readers. The MSM is no longer an Ameican institution in any sense other than financial. That's why the only reporting being done in Iraq is by Michael Yon.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/26/2005 15:25 Comments ||
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The massive hunt for suspected militants linked to several recent Sinai Peninsula resort bombings claimed the lives of two senior Egyptian police officers when concealed land mines possibly planted by terrorists exploded, security officials said. The news came as Egyptian authorities imposed a media blackout on the probe into the July 23 bombings in Sharm al-Sheikh after weeks of confusion and contradictory information on the country's deadliest attack by militants.
Major General Mahmoud Adel and Lieutenant Colonel Omar Abdel-Moneim were the highest-ranked police officers killed in Egypt since a violent Islamist insurgency in the mid-1990s and the first slain since about 4,000 security personnel launched a massive sweep Sunday of the northern Sinai for suspects linked to July's attacks and October's bombings at the Taba and nearby Ras Shitan resorts. Yesterday's blasts occurred after two land mines exploded on the 1,800-meter-high Halal mountain, about 60 kilometers south of the Mediterranean coastal town of Al-Arish, the Interior Ministry said. The statement did not say if the mines had been planted by suspected militants or left over from previous Arab-Israeli wars. But at least two security officials said initial investigations indicated that fugitives hiding out on the mountain had concealed the mines. The first mine exploded as a bulldozer was clearing a path in the mountain for two vehicles carrying Adel, Moneim and several other security personnel, said the officials. The second detonated after the officers got out of their vehicle to inspect the scene of the first blast.
In that case they're not leftovers.
After the explosions, security forces found three pick-up trucks loaded with drugs and weapons in the area and arrested five people taking shelter in the mountain.
Police have been scouring northern Sinai's deserts and jagged mountains and storming suspected militant strongholds for those behind the terrorist attacks. At least 650 people have been detained since Sunday.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Maher Abdel-Wahed issued a decree on Wednesday banning coverage of the investigation into the Sharm al-Sheikh bombings "in order to protect the work of the judiciary," a source in his office said. Accustomed to such measures in a country which has been ruled by emergency laws since 1981, the Egyptian press still carried an Arabic translation of a New York Times interview with Prime Minister Ahmad Nazif. "The reason for this is that the ban was announced after newspapers went to the printers," Hisham Kassem, editor of the independent Al-Masri al-Yom daily said. "But from now on, we cannot publish anything. The rest of the world will be able to talk about this issue except for the people who are the most affected by it," he said.
Nazif said investigators were operating along two hypotheses for the multiple bombings which rocked Egypt's flagship resort at the height of the tourist season, the New York Times reported. One theory assumes that the Sinai Peninsula's bedouin population reacted to the crackdown that followed deadly October 7 attacks in Taba and two other neighboring Red Sea resorts. The other is that locals have developed ties with Al-Qaeda network, but Nazif told the U.S. daily there was little evidence to back up this second theory. His comments were probably the most explicit by a high-ranking official on an investigation which has left the media scrambling for reliable sources of information. Even the death toll is not final more than a month after the bombings. Hospital officials on the scene gave a figure of 88, which the government later lowered to 67, including several foreigners. Foreign countries have announced the deaths of their nationals separately.
"What the authorities have released is only a tiny part of the information they have," said analyst Dhia Rashwan from the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies. "There is no security reason to justify the media blackout. This ban is a political decision. It does not aim to protect the investigation but to control public opinion," he said.
Kassem said authorities were afraid that leaks on the perpetrators of the deadly bombings and the way they were carried out could expose cracks in the state security apparatus. "The authorities want to avoid embarrassing leaks on those involved in the bombings ... But at the same time the media ban is also a way of concealing the state's failure to find the culprits," he said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/26/2005 00:15 ||
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A day after the August 17 serial blasts, Lutfor Rahman was caught by police at Thakurgaon for suspected links to the bombings. Records showed he was arrested twice in 2000 and 2001 for taking military training at an Ahle Hadith mosque in the district. Despite having specific evidence against him of being a militant, police detained him for 'suspicious activities.' He was soon released because of lack of any specific charges against him. Lutfor continued his militant activities. Lutfor is only one case in point. Like him, at least 500 Islamist militants have been released on similar grounds in the past four years. Many of them were arrested several times in the act of terrorist activities, and yet no specific charges were brought against them and they were all left off the hook. In late 1996, some 40 militants were arrested with dummy rifles while taking arms training at a Barguna Qwami madrasa. They were almost immediately released as police said they were engaged in 'preaching Islam'. On June 30, 2004, 33 militants were arrested at a mosque in Barguna, which made international headlines. Police found booklets on jihad in their possession. Charges were brought against six of them while the rest were released immediately. Even those six were later freed on bail.
One thing has become clear from the arrest and release stories: despite having specific evidence, police remain reluctant to bring any specific charges against the militants. In many cases, evidence was deliberately or mysteriously destroyed or witnesses barred from appearing before court to testify.
Jagrata Muslim Janata of Bangladesh (JMJB) chief Siddiqul Islam, nicknamed Bangla Bhai, is a glaring example of how militants have repeatedly escaped police dragnets and subsequently waged a reign of terror with backing from ruling party lawmakers. He was first arrested along with five others for attacking an Awami League leader in Mollarhat in Bagerhat on August 17, 2002. As villagers chased him, he took shelter in a house from where he was later caught with arms and militant documents. But police dropped Bangla Bhai's name from a charge sheet and no specific charges were brought against the rest. Rather, police termed him 'an Islamic scholar'. All the criminals were later freed.
Bangla Bhai was later held at Joypurhat while mobilising militants to attack another house. Again he was freed. Others have similarly flourished while evading arrest. On February 23, 2003 banned Al Hiqma leader Azimuddin and Azhar Ali Bhuian were arrested but against no charges were brought against them. Seven JMB militants were arrested at Kalai of Bogra on April 25, 2003, but police let them go without filing any case against them. Police arrested three leaders of Al Hiqma in Rajshahi for involvement in anti-state activities on February 15, 2003. A case was filed under the arms act but the name of their organisation was not mentioned in the case. They were later freed on bail. In August 2003, five militants of Hizbut Towhid were arrested in Gazipur, but they were sent to jail without any case. Police arrested four other Hizbut Tawhid men in Kushtia for killing a woman in September 2003 but no case was filed against them either. Snipped many more examples
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
08/26/2005 00:04 ||
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From outward appearance they were doing social works as welfare organisations, building mosques and setting up madrasas for the underprivileged children, many of whom are orphans. Then they started investing in businesses in such sectors as transport, pharmaceuticals, financial institutions, real estate, media and education. But behind the humanitarian and business façade, they were organising terrorists imbued with the ideals of armed Islamic revolution. Funding was no problem for them -- shady funders in Kuwait, the UAE, Bahrain, Libya, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia extended their hands, filling the pockets of the militant organisations. Outside the official channel, these organisations also bring in funds through money laundering. There was a time when financial institutions in Lahore and Karachi were the main distributors of terror funding flowing into Bangladesh. But after the Pakistan government clamped down on these institutions, funds are now coming to Bangladesh in the form of Hundi through Jessore, Chittagong and Dhaka, according to a source who has conducted detailed investigations on terrorism in Bangladesh for an international terror watch agency.
Saudi-based NGO Al Haramain Islamic Institute is one such organisation that brought in Tk 20 crore through the NGO Affairs Bureau from 1997 to 2001, its annual report of 2002 said. It was finally banned in September 2002 after the UN listed it as a terror cell. The police arrested seven foreign citizens of Al Haramain in September 2002 and later, under a special arrangement with a Middle Eastern country, they were taken to a five-star hotel right from the Dhaka Judge's Court and then put on a flight under strict secrecy. Militants received funds for madrasas from UAE-based welfare organisations Al Fuzaira and Khairul Ansar Al Khairia, Kuwait-based Doulatul Kuwait and Revival of Islamic Heritage Society and Bahrain-based Doulatul Bahrain, said intelligence sources. (Bin) Laden's close associate Enam Arnot and his organisation Benevolence International Organisation, which was registered with the NGO Bureau, had bank accounts in Bangladesh. Dr Asadullah Al Galib, a militant now under arrest for attacking different NGOs including Brac and Grameen Bank, had confessed to the Joint Interrogation Cell (JIC) that he received around Tk 27 crore every year from the Middle East, especially from an organisation called Revival of Islamic Heritage Society (RIHS) of Kuwait. RIHS was registered with the NGO Affairs Bureau on January 11, 1996. In his version, Galib spent the funds on the JMB, JMJB and Al Hiqma, all banned and the first one is suspected to be involved in the August 17 bombings. Since Galib's arrest, the government stopped disbursement of funds from RIHS. RIHS was blacklisted by the State Department on September 9, 2002 for funding Islamist terrorists.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
08/26/2005 00:03 ||
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Posted by: God Save The World ||
08/26/2005 11:10 Comments ||
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#4
I don't think i have ever recieved help as quickly as what i experienced here on Rantburg earlier today !
It is good to know that there are people out there willing to lend a helping hand. God bless the Infidels...
Keep up the great work Rantburg staff !
Posted by: God Save The World ||
08/26/2005 11:13 Comments ||
Top||
#5
"Rantburg Solutions Technologists® are available nearly 24 hours a day. Your post is very important to us, please hold for the next available moderator..."
Posted by: Rafael ||
08/26/2005 14:44 Comments ||
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#11
I've had my cookie die once of natural causes and via murder most foul another. It's a natural process, just don't get caught up in the negotiating with FredGod stage.
RAMALLAH - The militant Islamic Jihad and Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades vowed on Thursday to extract âearthshakingâ revenge for the killings of five Palestinians terrorists in an Israeli army raid.
"Arrrrgh! We will have Dire Revengeâ¢!"
Israeli soldiers on a search and arrest operation entered the Tulkarm refugee camp and a gun battle broke out in which the five terrorists were killed. Israeli military sources said all five terrorists were armed and had been involved in previous attacks against Israel. One of the terrorists men killed is believed to have had a hand in planning the suicide bombings outside a Tel Aviv nightclub in February, which killed five Israelis.
Palestinian sources confirmed those targeted in the raid were suspected terrorists militants from Islamic Jihad and Al Aqsa, the Fatah partyâs military wing. Hospital and security sources said the dead included a 14-year-old boy, were shot and killed.
Out kinda late for a school night, wasn't he?
Palestinian and Israeli officials said the Israeli army unit entered the camp in the northern West Bank city to arrest Islamic Jihad terrorists militants, and a firefight broke out.
Palestinian officials said three of the terrorists dead had recently given up arms and joined the Palestinian security forces as part of a deal to dismantle Palestinian terrorist armed groups in the West Bank and Gaza.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/26/2005 00:00 ||
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#2
Palestinian officials said three of the dead had recently given up arms and joined the Palestinian security forces as part of a deal to dismantle Palestinian armed groups in the West Bank and Gaza.
Aw, jeez. Guess the Israelis never got the word. Sorry about that, boys...
Terrorists Insurgents torched a primary school for girls and boys in Afghanistan, in the latest attack on educational institutions in the conservative Islamic country, officials said on Thursday. The school in the Alingar district of the eastern province of Laghman, where hundreds of youngsters studied, was set ablaze Wednesday night by unidentified armed men, police spokesman Zalmay Khan told AFP. âThe school was set ablaze and taking advantage of the nightâs darkness the perpetrators managed to run away flee,â Khan said, without pinning the blame on any one group.
What's the supposed translation for 'taliban' again?
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/26/2005 00:00 ||
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#5
Jackal, back then, you would've appeared to have had a future in the MSM!
Posted by: BA ||
08/26/2005 11:17 Comments ||
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#6
Talib is student, and Taliban means students. In name only. More like brainwashees, which is the more rigorous translation. Bloody a$$hats, burning down a primary school. Don't expect reconstruction funds from CAIR.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/26/2005 11:45 Comments ||
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KABUL - US and Afghan troops backed by helicopter gunships and warplanes killed five suspected Taleban terrorists, the military said on Thursday, bringing to 16 the number of terrorists rebels who have reportedly died in the last three days.
The deaths came during a series of joint operations across southern Afghanistan to boost security ahead of the countryâs landmark parliamentary elections on September 18, it said. The statement added that the five terrorists guerillas were killed on Wednesday in the Kandahar area, the birthplace of the Taleban, when US and Afghan troops located an âenemy observation postâ and called in air support. âWith the combination of US A-10 aircraft, attack helicopters and direct fire weapons, five additional terrorists enemy were killed,â it said, adding that there were no US casualties. There was no independent confirmation of the deaths.
Another fine day of flying for the Warthogs.
Earlier, Afghan officials reported the deaths of 11 alleged Taleban terrorists insurgents during two raids in southern Afghanistanâs restive provinces of Zabul and Uruzgan on Tuesday and Wednesday. The US military on Thursday confirmed an identical number of deaths during âOperation Vigilant Sentinelâ on the same days, but it was unclear if all the incidents they referred to corresponded.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/26/2005 00:00 ||
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The relative calm that accompanied the Israeli evacuation of the Gaza Strip outlasted the operation by barely 48 hours, as militants yesterday fired a rocket into southern Israel in retaliation for an overnight army raid in the West Bank in which five Palestinians were killed.
In Gaza, the Popular Resistance Committees claimed responsibility for firing a home-made rocket that fell near the town of Sderot. A statement said the attack was in retaliation for the "Tulkarem massacre", a reference to the West Bank deaths that Palestinians said included those of three teenaged bystanders. Shooting broke out after Israeli commandos surrounded a coffee shop in the Tulkarem refugee camp late on Wednesday to capture wanted Islamic Jihad militants.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
When was there ever any "calm"
I don't forsee any either in the future
Posted by: Jan ||
08/26/2005 20:51 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Evidence presented to the Home Office by British intelligence agency MI5 and Scotland Yardâs Anti-Terrorist Branch, according to the London Evening Standard yesterday, pointed to direct links between some of the detainees and Al-Qaeda and its financing.
BEIJING: Seventeen Chinese have been charged with running guns from Pakistan in one of the largest arms-smuggling cases in Chinaâs history, state media said on Thursday. The defendants, who went on trial on Tuesday in the remote western province of Qinghai, neighbouring Tibet, are accused of buying more than 900 guns and 1,500 gun accessories in Pakistan, the China Daily said. They were sold in Kashgar, in Chinaâs restive far-western region of Xinjiang, and in Xining, capital of Qinghai, the China Daily reported. 
THREE Chechen men who sparked a massive police search in the northern German city of Hamburg after being overheard allegedly planning an attack are in custody. One of the men was arrested and the other two had turned themselves in, Hamburg Police chief Reinhard Chedor said. "I do not believe at the moment that there were any real plans for an attack," Mr Chedor told a press conference.
MORE than 1000 German police were deployed in a large-scale search for three terror suspects in the north German port city of Hamburg today, a police spokesman said. Roadblocks and controls were set up at 12 points in Germany's second city after an Arabic-speaking witness overheard the men at a bus stop yesterday, praising Allah and heroism in Arabic. One of the men was carrying a backpack. A police official said the search was launched and information released to the public a day after the witness heard the remarks because the police did not want to jeopardise their initial criminal investigation.
A British-based Islamist extremist said last week that Ireland is a target for Al Qaida attacks because of the use of Shannon Airport as a stopover for U.S. flights.
The recent calm along the Lebanese-Israeli border was broken yesterday when a rocket fired from Lebanon hit Margaliot, a northern Israeli community. The rocket, which hit a chicken coop, did not cause any casualties according to Israeli security sources.
Suspected criminal killed in âcrossfireâ
ISLAMABAD - A Pakistani military court sentenced five men to death on Friday for their roles in the 2003 plot to kill President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, an army spokesman said. 
The news came as Egyptian authorities imposed a media blackout on the probe into the July 23 bombings in 
Despite having specific evidence against him of being a militant, police detained him for 'suspicious activities.' He was soon released because of lack of any specific charges against him. Lutfor continued his militant activities. Lutfor is only one case in point. Like him, at least 500 Islamist militants have been released on similar grounds in the past four years. Many of them were arrested several times in the act of terrorist activities, and yet no specific charges were brought against them and they were all left off the hook. In late 1996, some 40 militants were arrested with dummy rifles while taking arms training at a 
Then they started investing in businesses in such sectors as transport, pharmaceuticals, financial institutions, real estate, media and education. But behind the humanitarian and business façade, they were organising terrorists imbued with the ideals of armed Islamic revolution. Funding was no problem for them -- shady funders in Kuwait, the UAE, Bahrain, Libya, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia extended their hands, filling the pockets of the militant organisations. Outside the official channel, these organisations also bring in funds through money laundering. There was a time when financial institutions in Lahore and Karachi were the main distributors of terror funding flowing into Bangladesh. But after the Pakistan government clamped down on these institutions, funds are now coming to Bangladesh in the form of Hundi through Jessore, Chittagong and Dhaka, according to a source who has conducted detailed investigations on terrorism in Bangladesh for an international terror watch agency.
KABUL - US and Afghan troops backed by helicopter gunships and warplanes killed five suspected Taleban 
