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Leb: 'Army deploys troops along Syrian border'
Today's Headlines
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Page 4: Opinion
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China-Japan-Koreas
US warns of terror attack in Xinjiang
The United States has warned American travellers to be vigilant against a terrorist attack in China's restive northwestern region of Xinjiang after Beijing told police there to be prepared for danger. The call came ahead of the 50th anniversary on Saturday of the establishment of Xinjiang as an autonomous region. Muslim Uighur militants, whom Beijing calls terrorists or separatists, have been struggling for decades to make the remote region, formally established on Oct 1, 1955, an independent state called East Turkestan. "Americans considering travel to the region and those already there should review their plans carefully, remain vigilant with regard to their personal security and exercise caution," a message e-mailed from the US embassy in China said. "Terrorists do not distinguish between official and civilian targets. Americans in remote areas or border regions where military or police authority is limited or non-existent could also become targets."
Posted by: Fred || 10/01/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  So why the hell is the State Department pressuring China to release terrorists? Give them a free hand with the Uighurs, while Russia crushes the Chechens. If they are Islamofascists then they are the enemy. I don't want to see them voting; I want to see them dying. The concept of freedom is debased where it is invoked on behalf of Muslim animals. I write them all off.
Posted by: Vlad the Muslim Impaler || 10/01/2005 2:28 Comments || Top||

#2  Damn. That's pretty cold.

Posted by: beer_me || 10/01/2005 4:52 Comments || Top||

#3  It's a good thing that pretty much nobody ever goes to Xinjiang.
Posted by: gromky || 10/01/2005 9:31 Comments || Top||

#4  Beer_me, that's why his name is Vlad the Muslim Impaler. I mean, he's got a street rep to protect ....
Posted by: Steve White || 10/01/2005 12:44 Comments || Top||

#5  So why the hell is the State Department pressuring China to release terrorists? Give them a free hand with the Uighurs, while Russia crushes the Chechens....

You do realize, of course, that if you put those same Uighurs you seem so concerned about in a camp in Pakistan China's policy suddenly becomes "sell them ammunition to shoot at Americans at a subsidized discount."

I doubt Pakistan would have the bomb without China, and Iran wouldn't be on the verge of getting the bomb without Russia. I consider complaints on their part, and pleas we support _whatever_ they want to do to control their internal populations, to be rank hypocricy.
Posted by: Phil Fraering || 10/01/2005 13:39 Comments || Top||


Europe
Islamist detainee confirms planned attacks in Paris
Plans for various attacks in Paris, from the French intelligence headquarters to the metro and Orly airport, have been confirmed by one of the suspected Islamist militants detained this week in an anti-terror raid, a source close to the investigation said Thursday.

The proposed attacks first surfaced during the questioning by Algerian authorities of an 34-year-old man, M'Hamed Benyamina, in Algeria earlier this month. The cell could have carried out the attacks "very quickly," the source said.

The information passed on to the French authorities led to the round-up of nine people on Monday in the Paris suburbs and in Normandy, authorized by France's anti-terror judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere.

Six of the suspects remained in detention Thursday and three have been released, including Benyamina's wife, the source said.

At least one of the people detained has confirmed to investigators that the group planned to carry out one or several attacks in Paris.

Orly Airport was a potential target as well as the metro and headquarters of the French intelligence service (DST), where security was beefed up in mid-month based on the information from Algeria.

The six in detention, including the suspected head of the cell, Safe Bourrada, who was convicted of terrorist activity seven years ago, can be held until Friday.

According to French investigators, the group belongs to the the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), the main armed Islamist movement in Algeria with links to al-Qaeda, which has named France as "enemy No.1".

Bourrada was sentenced in 1998 to 10 years in prison for his logistical support for a wave of attacks in France in 1995, including the killing of eight people and injuring of 117 others on the Paris metro. He left prison in 2003.

The president of the French Council for the Muslim Religion (CFCM) Dalil Boubakeur on Thursday expressed concerns, saying he was watching closely "the events cast in the light of a terrorist plan in France," he told AFP during a visit to Cairo.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 10/01/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: WoT
US Muslim suspects face new charges
Hopefully in front of a new judge...
Two Muslim men accused in an FBI sting are facing new charges of helping a terrorist organisation a year after the judge in the case said there was no evidence of their links to extremist groups. A federal grand jury indicted Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain late on Thursday on nine new charges each, including conspiracy to provide material support to Pakistani-based Jaish-e-Mohammed, which the US government brands as a terrorist organisation.

Aref, 35, is an Iraqi-born Kurdish refugee and imam at a mosque in Albany that was raided by the FBI in August 2004. Hossain, 50, of Yemen, owns an Albany pizzeria. They were to be arraigned on Friday before US magistrate David Homer. The indictments were based on new evidence presented by prosecutors who, since being sharply criticised by the judge a year ago, have travelled the globe to strengthen their case. Judge Homer last year said there was no evidence the two men had contact with a terrorist group and released them from jail, saying that the government's case was much weaker than it had first appeared. Those comments came as civil libertarians and anti-war protesters accused the US authorities of jumping to unfounded conclusions against Muslims since the attacks of 11 September 2001.
Posted by: Fred || 10/01/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


FDNY Muslim Chaplain Resigns After 9/11 Remarks
The fire department's new Muslim chaplain abruptly resigned Friday after saying in a published interview that he believes something other than al-Qaida hijackers brought down the World Trade Center. "It became clear to him that he would have difficulty functioning as an FDNY chaplain," Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta told reporters an hour before Imam Intikab Habib was to be officially sworn in. "There has been no prior indication that he held those views."

Habib told Newsday in an interview published Friday that he was skeptical of the official version of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, which killed 343 firefighters. "It's sad," said Kevin James, a spokesman for the Islamic Society of Fire Department Personnel. "We had no idea those were his views. He's entitled to his opinion but he's not the right person for the chaplain."
You'd think they would have figured this out before appointing him.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg welcomed Habib's resignation. "The remarks were offensive and the mayor is satisfied that the chaplain has resigned," mayoral spokesman Ed Skyler said.
Posted by: Steve White || 10/01/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  So how did he get a chance at the job in the first place? I heard on the news that he had studied in Saudi Arabia. Great on one's resume.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 10/01/2005 1:51 Comments || Top||

#2  "Islamic groups" recommended him IIRC.
Posted by: Omerens Omaigum2983 || 10/01/2005 6:19 Comments || Top||

#3  Good Bye and Good Riddance
Posted by: DanNY || 10/01/2005 7:30 Comments || Top||

#4  It's a similar story in the Navy. There are very few Muslim chaplains in the Navy and they usually will only do the bare minium they're obligated to do, then they get out. One I spoke with said he was getting out because he was used as a showpiece instead of focusing on his duties as chaplain. He was constantly negotiating between tribesmen and U.S. authorities and he felt like he was always pointed out as an example to the tribe leaders of how caring the U.S. government is for Muslims because ,"Look right here, see, we've got a Muslim on our side." Like when the racist white guy denies he's racist ,"I have lots of black friends, um...". Muslim chaplains in American institutions are going to be at odds with the very basics of our structure, especially our military, from the very beginning. As well as they should,(I'm in the middle of the Koran right now and it is no religion that should be allowed equal footing with the traditional). Better to have no chaplains than to have to include the Imams in it.
Posted by: shellback || 10/01/2005 11:23 Comments || Top||

#5  OK we have had the WTC Memorial hijacked and then they hire this tin-foil hat immam, sn't it time for someone in NYC to get a clue and stop the liberal policies? Begin with dumping Shrillary next year and wrk up from there.
Posted by: Cyber Sarge || 10/01/2005 16:54 Comments || Top||


Iraq
US launches operation Iron Fist
On Saturday in the western town of Sadah, about 1,000 U.S. Marines, soldiers and sailors from Regimental Combat Team-2 began the U.S. military offensive, which was named "Operation Kabda Bil Hadid," or "Operation Iron Fist" in English. The offensive in western Iraq near the Syrian border on Saturday aimed at terrorists insurgents from Al Qaeda in Iraq, this country's most feared terrorist militant group, the military said.

The operation is against "a known terrorist sanctuary" began in the town of Sadah in the western province of Anbar, about eight miles from the Iraq- Syria border, the U.S. military said in a statement. The offensive also was aimed at stopping foreign terrorists insurgents from entering the country from Syria and at improving security in the area before Iraq's Oct. 15 national referendum on the country's draft constitution, the military said.

In recent months, the terrorists insurgents have established a base in Sadah and used it to launch attacks against Iraqi civilians and U.S. and Iraqi in the area, the statement said. No civilian or military casualties were immediately reported, and the U.S. military declined to say whether Iraqi forces were taking part in the operation.

Give them a good Fisting.
Posted by: Jackal || 10/01/2005 09:54 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Nowhere to run to, baby
Nowhere to hide
Got nowhere to run to, baby
Nowhere to hide...
Posted by: Anonymoose || 10/01/2005 10:19 Comments || Top||

#2  "Operation Kabda Bil Hadid"

The offensive in western Iraq near the Syrian border on Saturday aimed at terrorists insurgents from Al Qaeda in Iraq, this country's most feared terrorist militant group, the military said.



thats nutin, wait till those splodydopes get a taste of "Operation Kabbalah Bil Madonna".

Posted by: Red Dog || 10/01/2005 11:37 Comments || Top||

#3  I like names like Operation Iron Fist.....now get Zarq's balls in that fist and I'll like it better
Posted by: Frank G || 10/01/2005 11:40 Comments || Top||

#4  Remember, fist can be a verb!
Posted by: mmurray821 || 10/01/2005 12:06 Comments || Top||

#5  Hmmm, a big counter-insurgency op in a town about 8 miles from the Syrian border. Gosh, I hope the border is well marked because it would be, like, a real shame and stuff, if someone were to, like, accidentally wander over chasing after bad guys.

Actually, I see this as a likely scenario: Coalition forces acting on intel, either tips or JSTARS, head across the border and engage bad guys. Syrian forces become involved to 'protect the homeland against invading Crusader armies'. Junior Assad wets himself. The Americans do that "kill people and blow up their stuff" thing they do so well and the Iraqi forces get some needed practice.

If there were a Rantburg futures market, I'd be placing bets.
Posted by: SteveS || 10/01/2005 13:01 Comments || Top||

#6  I think he fouls himself - 3:1 odds
Posted by: Frank G || 10/01/2005 13:16 Comments || Top||

#7  Kill people.

Break things.
Posted by: Slogans Are US || 10/01/2005 13:40 Comments || Top||

#8  If there were a Rantburg futures market, I'd be placing bets.

Hmmm.
Posted by: DanNY || 10/01/2005 14:06 Comments || Top||

#9  I know that it would be impolitic and non-PC, but for a real full-court-press operation, I would like to see Operation Kick Ass.
Posted by: Al Aska Paul || 10/01/2005 21:48 Comments || Top||

#10  Operation Flat Iron.
Posted by: Sock Puppet O´ Doom || 10/01/2005 22:16 Comments || Top||

#11  When they start Operation Anbar Glass, let me know.
Posted by: .com || 10/01/2005 22:18 Comments || Top||

#12  perhaps the Sunni Triangle will one day be Iraq's "Empty Quarter" for reasons other than climate
Posted by: Frank G || 10/01/2005 22:27 Comments || Top||


NYT Fixation With Fallen Soldiers v1203.2
The Heavy Burden of Retrieving Fallen Americans in Iraq

Specialist Ryan Firth leaned out the doorway of the idling Black Hawk helicopter, the thump, thump, thump of the blades above him drowning out all sound, and he grabbed the handles of the green stretcher being passed his way.

Atop that stretcher was a black vinyl body bag. Inside it were the remains of an American contractor killed just hours before in a suicide bombing in downtown Baquba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad.

"That's when it hit me," Specialist Firth, 29, said the next day. "To feel the weight of one of your comrades, to lift the dead body of a fellow American, you can never prepare yourself for that."

For a moment, he fell silent. "It wakes you up to reality, you know?" he said as tears welled in his eyes. "There are people dying here."

This was the first time Specialist Firth, a helicopter technician for the Missouri National Guard, was conducting what the military calls a hero mission, which is the process of retrieving the body of an American soldier, or sometimes a dead contractor, from the battlefield. American soldiers in Iraq handle the bodies with ritual and respect, from almost the instant of death to the moment those bodies are loaded onto a cargo plane headed back home. They catalog the names and formally transport the personal belongings, determined to preserve as much dignity as possible for those killed.

Inside the chopper parked in front of Specialist Firth's at Camp Warhorse that day in August was the body of an American soldier who had died in the same attack as the contractor. More than 40 soldiers assembled to pay their last respects before the bodies were flown to a base in Balad, from which they would be shipped back to their families.

MSM focuses on the deaths without crediting our fallen soldiers with their accomplishments. Disgusting.
Posted by: Captain America || 10/01/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Liberals love dead Americans.
Posted by: badanov || 10/01/2005 0:49 Comments || Top||

#2  The NYT (and Mike Al-moore and Mother Cindy...) have never seen...

... a living american oops - baby killer - they didn't hate
... a dead american oops again - baby killer - they didn't love
... a dead terrorist oops - freedom fighter - they didn't hate, or
... a living terrorist oops again - freedom fighter - they didn't love
Posted by: CrazyFool || 10/01/2005 3:32 Comments || Top||

#3  Your true friends and allies know the cost which the Americans have paid and continue to pay, and they/we appreciate it. Text on a computer screen may never bring much comfort, but know that each and every fallen soldier & each and every member still out there in the field is in our thoughts and in our prayers. Their courage & honour and sacrafice can never be taken away, not even by the hatred that spills from the mouth of the enemy.
Posted by: Oztralian [AKA] God Save The World || 10/01/2005 8:49 Comments || Top||

#4  Nicely done, Oz! Thanks!
Posted by: Bobby || 10/01/2005 9:56 Comments || Top||

#5  Amen to that Oz, baby!!
Posted by: badanov || 10/01/2005 11:22 Comments || Top||

#6  So let's see if I have this right:

1) Crosses work against the ACLU
2) Garlic works against the MSM
3) Soap and shampoo work against lefty protesters
Posted by: DMFD || 10/01/2005 11:26 Comments || Top||

#7  Thank you, Oztralian. That's a good thing to read just now.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/01/2005 14:57 Comments || Top||

#8  nice, Oz, thx
Posted by: Frank G || 10/01/2005 16:29 Comments || Top||

#9  Going out on a limb: I thought she tried to do something good with the piece showing the loyalty and compassion our fellow mem/women on the field in life and death have for one another.

She reported the facts and painted/framed the story the "best" she could on the subject at hand. I've read about the "hero" flights on milblogs for a while like we all have but now she put some names on them. And I for one thank that Cpt who has "volunteered" to go out on every hero flight to pick our men/women.

Posted by: Ray || 10/01/2005 17:09 Comments || Top||

#10  Limb Guy: Who likes pics of coffins, Abu Grhaib pics of dead Iraqis and leash lady, who bemoans the fallen without accreditation of their mission and achievements? That's right, the NY Slimes.

It's a pattern, baby, the message being "pull out now so there will not be any more "fallen"".
Posted by: Captain America || 10/01/2005 17:29 Comments || Top||

#11  Limb Guy: Who likes pics of coffins, Abu Grhaib pics of dead Iraqis and leash lady, who bemoans the fallen without accreditation of their mission and achievements? That's right, the NY Slimes.

It's a pattern, baby, the message being "pull out now so there will not be any more "fallen"".
Posted by: Captain America || 10/01/2005 17:29 Comments || Top||

#12  Captain American: I'm with you in the broader picture on the NY Slimes. This reporter did a story where she honeselty showed the effen compassion our men/women have for each other is all I'm saying.

The NON-STOP Abu Grabass stories frome the NY Slimes is another effen issue altogether. Throw in a self-imprisoned reporter Judith Miller who knowingly called and basically "tipped off" Mr Jihadi is another effen story. Yes, the effen list goes on and on.

I'm giving this "one" reporter some credit for telling ourside of the story although a tough one if it didnt' bring effen tear to yours eyes a couple of times your a POS of a human beingj, that our men/women are doing a difficult job and need our effen support.

I hear you on the non-stop, doom and gloom, that's a no-brainer. I've read about the "hero" flights months before this came out, surely as you have also, I still think this one reporter did a good report on the topic at hand and handled it pretty good(I haven't run a check on other stories). I dont' think she took joy out of doing and she we'll may be in bed with ANSWER/CINDY/REV JACKSON but on this on instance I thought it was a fair story/reprot/war cry for a story.

I'd still now would rather have tears of "compassion" like today's story than the TEARS of fkn anger I had on 9/11. Do you get that?

JULIET MACUR, from most of her reporting at the NY Slimes the last year has been sports reporting and a story or two on our wounded and "their" courage.

If you'd done a search on here you would have figured out she has come from Dallas, have covered sports, covered sport for the NY Slimes.

She stayed it appears embedded in Iraq for the whole of August and you go read it here:

http://www.nytimes.com/ref/international/middleeast/macur-iraq-journal.html?8dpc
Posted by: Ray || 10/01/2005 20:39 Comments || Top||


Bombings Kill 110 Shiites Over Two Days
Sunni insurgents hit two Shiite towns in two days with brutal bombings that killed more than 110 people, apparently aiming to scare Shiites away from a crucial vote on Iraq's new constitution. In the latest attack, a car bomb ripped through a fruit and vegetable market crowded with Friday morning shoppers.
But don't go hunting them down and killing them with the same wild abandon. It might piss 'em off and they'll do something violent.
Destroyed stalls lay in pools of blood in the al-Sharia market in the southern city of Hillah, in Iraq's Shiite heartland. The scenes mirrored the devastation in Balad, the Shiite town in the middle of a Sunni region north of Baghdad hit by a triple suicide bombing Thursday, a far more lethal attack. Unidentified bodies in bags or under pieces of cardboard lay on the ground in a Balad hospital courtyard Friday. Weeping women went from body to body searching for loved ones. The blasts reduced nearly an entire block in the market district to a giant mound of twisted metal and bricks strewn with bananas, tomatoes and other produce. "Why does such a thing happen to us? We ask the government and Arab countries to help us," cried Mohammed Mahdi Jassim, a Balad resident.
Trying to accomodate them isn't working, huh? Until the citizenry — not just the cops and the military — starts shooting back this will go on.
Both attacks seemed staged to kill or maim as many civilians as possible, tearing through busy markets and commercial streets. At least 10 people were killed in Hillah and 102 in Balad. At least 22 of those killed both days were women and children. Insurgents have vowed to derail the Oct. 15 referendum, opposed by Iraq's Sunni Arab minority, and the recent surge of violence has killed at least 200 people — including 13 U.S. service members — in the past five days. The Sunni-led al-Qaida in Iraq, the most feared insurgent group, has declared "all-out war" on Shiites, and since a Shiite-majority government took power April 28, suicide bombers have killed at least 1,345 people, according to an Associated Press count.
Posted by: Fred || 10/01/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Again I question why so many are concerned about Shiite militias (non Tater, anyway). If they take the law into their own hands, maybe this barbaric behavior will be discouraged. I do not understand why the Shia seem to submissive.
Posted by: JAB || 10/01/2005 0:52 Comments || Top||

#2  If they (citizens) take law in their own hands, you'll end up very soon with a civil war.. It's clear the Shia will gain more from the political process then from the outbreak of a war.
Posted by: lyot || 10/01/2005 5:11 Comments || Top||

#3  1,345 people dead since April. For the UK that would work out to be about 4,000 dead and for the US, 20,000! - the killings over the last two days alone equate to 350 (UK) and 1800 (US)...

Now, what would *you* do, faced with that level of killing in your country?

Seems to me that a civil war is only being prevented by the presence of the coalition, and that the Sunnis would get totalled were it to happen.
Posted by: Tony (UK) || 10/01/2005 6:51 Comments || Top||

#4  The Shiites are quietly and neatly killing former Baathists and current Al Qaeda. AQ is going after civilian mass casualties. The Sunni Arabs not involved with either of the terror groups see themselves as potentially next. Who do you think will win the hearts & minds battle that leads to quiet phone calls to the authorities, naming names and hiding places?
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/01/2005 15:02 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Explosions reported in Bali
Breaking news

EXPLOSIONS in a popular tourist area of Bali have injured at least three Western tourists and damaged buildings.

The blasts occurred along Jimbaran beach and in Kuta Square.
The area has been cordoned off and staff from nearby businesses told to leave the area, witnesses say.

A restaurant and neighbouring shop were damaged in one blast.

There is no confirmation of what caused the explosions, nor how many people were injured.

At least three Western tourists were injured in the blasts, El Shinta radio reported.

Posted by: Oztralian [AKA] God Save The World || 10/01/2005 08:52 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Nothing like bombing hardened military targets...
Posted by: Raj || 10/01/2005 9:44 Comments || Top||

#2  Bali Bombings Leave 8 Dead, 13 Injured
Bombs exploded almost simultaneously Saturday in two tourist areas of the Indonesian resort island of Bali, killing at least eight people and wounding 13 others, police and hospital officials said. The victims included foreign tourists.

The blasts at Jimbaran beach and a bustling outdoor shopping center in downtown Kuta ...
Posted by: ed || 10/01/2005 10:42 Comments || Top||

#3  I wonder how this will affect Australian opinion if any of their citizens were killed or hurt? I say it will harden their resolve to stick it out in Iraq and become a much bigger player in counter-terrorism in the SE Asis sphere of Islamic influence (probably a pre-emptive leader).
Posted by: Jack is Back! || 10/01/2005 11:00 Comments || Top||

#4  gee....treat boomers and imams with kid gloves and your tourist trade becomes non-existent. Good luck with that Indonesia!
Posted by: Frank G || 10/01/2005 11:57 Comments || Top||

#5  CNA reports 23 dead.
Posted by: phil_b || 10/01/2005 13:17 Comments || Top||

#6  Ya know that main madrass of the Indonesian nutcases should have a midnight explosive accident.
Posted by: 3dc || 10/01/2005 13:22 Comments || Top||

#7  Here's the Fox News Link on the bombing.

gee....treat boomers and imams with kid gloves and your tourist trade becomes non-existent. Good luck with that Indonesia!

I doubt that many Indonesians care, really, about the people in Bali... they probably look at them as either pagans, apostates, or both.
Posted by: Phil Fraering || 10/01/2005 14:08 Comments || Top||

#8  "I doubt that many Indonesians care, really, about the people in Bali... they probably look at them as either pagans, apostates, or both."

Wrong.

Indonesia isn't Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria, etc. They are a fledgling democracy with BIG problems re:Islamofacism. The Bali bombings ruin the economy--that's not lost on the Indonesians. They have a tough balancing act, in that the population is "Moslem" albeit Hinduized, and they don't want to start a civil war. But nobody likes the terrorists, except the minority fanatics.
Posted by: ex-lib || 10/01/2005 19:16 Comments || Top||

#9  I'm sure whicever cell members claim responsibility for this attack we will see the same circus show that the Indonesians displayed during the previous terror trials. Indonesia is a joke, i don't know why we continue to visit such uncivilized places. I work too hard to blow my money on going to some monkey country.
Posted by: Oztralian [AKA] God Save The World || 10/01/2005 19:23 Comments || Top||

#10  Latest death count: 32
Posted by: Oztralian [AKA] God Save The World || 10/01/2005 19:24 Comments || Top||

#11 

O the Great Lions of Islam Strike again
Posted by: Flinelet Sherong3513 || 10/01/2005 21:40 Comments || Top||

#12 
Posted by: Flinelet Sherong3513 || 10/01/2005 21:40 Comments || Top||

#13  It certainly is a dilemma when the laws of war are observed by only one side. Time to "cry havoc..." and turn our own soldiers loose.
Posted by: Oldun || 10/01/2005 23:14 Comments || Top||


Blasts hit Bali cafe's
Explosions rocked two cafes on the Indonesian island of Bali on Saturday, police said.

Witnesses said they saw at least three foreigners being assisted by locals following a blast in the Jimbaran Bay beach area, which houses a number of restaurants.

One blast was at a cafe on Jimbaran beach and the other in Kuta town square, police official Suwita said from the island's headquarters.

Local TV said there had been three blasts.

"I don't know now about the number of victims or casualties. We're still busy collecting data," Suwita said.

Peter Holden of Gosford on the central coast of New South Wales says he received an SMS message from his daughter Donna, who lives in Bali, telling him about the explosions.

Mr Holden says his daughter has reported several fatalities.

"There have been at least two bombs gone off in Jimbaran in restaurants and those kind of restaurants are restaurants populated by tourists in the main," Mr Holden said.

"And then a more recent report just a moment ago that there's also reports of another bomb in Kuta Square. That's a pretty busy tourist area," he said.

In October 2002, 202 people were killed, many of them Australians, and more than 200 injured in a series of terrorist blasts in Bali's tourist areas.
Posted by: Oztralian [AKA] God Save The World || 10/01/2005 09:04 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  truly sickening, I was peacefully enjoying a nice drink at the Raja only on Thursday
Posted by: Igster || 10/01/2005 20:28 Comments || Top||

#2  Stay safe, Igster, and keep us informed.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/01/2005 20:46 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran threatens to hold their breath cut off oil
Iran could use oil as a weapon if the UN Security Council imposes sanctions over suspicions Tehran is seeking weapons of mass destruction, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying.

Iran might also deny access to international nuclear inspectors if the Security Council is pressurized by Washington and its allies to apply sanctions, Ahmadinejad told the English-language daily Khaleej Times.

"If Iran's case is sent to the Security Council, we will respond by many ways, for example by holding back on oil sales or limiting inspections of our nuclear facilities," Ahmadinejad said Saturday.

The newspaper said the Iranian president made his remarks in answer to a question on what his response would be if the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) turned Iran's case over to the Security Council, possibly leading to sanctions.

Ahmadinejad reiterated Iran's position that Tehran has the right to pursue peaceful uses of nuclear energy but there was no question of using that technology to make weapons, as Iran is governed by Islamic principles which prohibit production or use of nuclear weapons.

"Our religion prohibits us from having nuclear arms and our religious leader has prohibited it from the point of view of religious law," he said.

Asked about reported threats by some Iranian officials of triggering a rise in oil prices and pulling out of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Ahmadinejad said that "any smart human being should use every resource in order to achieve his independence."

"I doubt that the leaders of the US and Europe are that far removed from reality. They are smarter than denying us this legal right. It's natural they will use whatever they have, which is the UN Security Council, but our nation has the means to defend its rights," he said.

Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful. But the United States and European Union want Iran to abandon all work related to uranium enrichment, arguing Iran cannot be trusted with such sensitive technology, but also offering incentives in return.

The IAEA last week adopted a resolution that finds Iran in "non-compliance" with nuclear proliferation safeguards -- an automatic trigger for taking the matter to the Security Council.

Iran has already threatened to respond to the resolution by ending compliance with the NPT's additional protocol -- which gives the IAEA more inspection powers -- and resuming enrichment.

format fixed<
Posted by: Frank G || 10/01/2005 13:21 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Our religion prohibits us from having nuclear arms and our religious leader has prohibited it from the point of view of religious law," he said.

Bullshit, those "Religious Leaders" are making it up as they go along. Not to mention that "Religious Leaders" seem to change often

Ask ten Imams, get twenty answers, pick the one(s) you like and issue a Fatwah.

Pay no attention to what the previous Imam said, he's now discredited.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 10/01/2005 13:54 Comments || Top||

#2  Iran could use oil as a weapon if the UN Security Council imposes sanctions over suspicions Tehran is seeking weapons of mass destruction, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying.

Ooooh, big threat. What are they gonna do - fill up a missile with crude and fire it at someone?
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 10/01/2005 13:58 Comments || Top||

#3  Our religion prohibits us from having nuclear arms and our religious leader has prohibited it from the point of view of religious law," he said.

Asked about reported threats by some Iranian officials of triggering a rise in oil prices and pulling out of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Ahmadinejad said that "any smart human being should use every resource in order to achieve his independence."


I believe these two statements seem to contridict
Posted by: Flirt Angeager7348 || 10/01/2005 14:05 Comments || Top||

#4  The MMs only understand force. USE IT.
Posted by: Dave D. || 10/01/2005 14:09 Comments || Top||

#5  Go ahead Iran. Oh, and try to close the persian gulf too. Give us a reason to nuke your ass back into the stone age. We dare ya.
Posted by: mmurray821 || 10/01/2005 14:18 Comments || Top||

#6  Their diplomacy rises all the way up to the fourth-grade level.
Posted by: Bobby || 10/01/2005 14:31 Comments || Top||

#7  apologize for the weird formatting - dunno why that happened...
Posted by: Frank G || 10/01/2005 14:47 Comments || Top||

#8  Typical of the MM's. They of course are lying about their quest for nuclear arms. Their religion allows lying as a tatic against "unbelivers" I don't think China would have any problem taking their oil, The EU wouldn't eitehr if they have any real armies. The the MM's cut of the spigot they will also try and cripple production elsewhere through their terrorist proxies.
Posted by: Sock Puppet O´ Doom || 10/01/2005 15:20 Comments || Top||

#9  Iran exporting less oil means less money for high priority projects like... would they really jam up their nuclear budget for the sake of "holding their breath" as to oil exports?

I've always thought I'd be willing to pay good money in order to delay Iran's nuclear program. What a screwed up world this can be. Jeez!
Posted by: Dave || 10/01/2005 19:15 Comments || Top||

#10  Means they'll close off the spigot to Japan and Europe. China would willingly take the resulting 'surplus' .
Posted by: Pappy || 10/01/2005 21:07 Comments || Top||

#11  Pappy---Bingo! Chicoms do not give a rat's behind about the MMs threats. They can use all the oil Iran can sell them. Iran gets its cash to keep its Nuke program going (hell with the people and infrastructure, like buildings that stand up in an earthquake). They can always buy what they need for nukes and such through the Russians and the Chicoms.

The UNSC is a waste of hot air that still is funded to keep otherwise unemployable bureaucrats from starving.

The MMs are clever and smart, but not wise. They are using Kimmie's tactics, only they do not need a sugar daddie. They are self-financed. And they are crazy MFs, too.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 10/01/2005 21:57 Comments || Top||


Iran Stockpiling Bio- and Chem Weapons
Iran's weapons
Much public attention has been focused in recent weeks on Iran's continuing efforts to hide its covert nuclear weapons program.
The Bush administration recently highlighted another major weapons problem, accusing Tehran of building deadly biological and chemical arms.
The State Department's annual report "Adherence to and Compliance With Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament Agreements and Commitments" said Iran has the capability of weaponizing deadly agents in missile warheads and aerial bombs.
"The Iranian [biological weapons] program has been embedded within Iran's extensive biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries so as to obscure its activities," stated the report, made public last month. "The Iranian military has used medical, education, and scientific research organizations for many aspects of BW-related agent procurement, research, and development. Iran has also failed to submit the data declarations called for in the [Biological Weapons Convention]."
Regarding chemical arms, the report said the U.S. government has evidence that "Iran has manufactured and stockpiled blister, blood, and choking chemical agents, and weaponized some of these agents into artillery shells, mortars, rockets, and aerial bombs."
"We continue to believe that Iran has not acknowledged the full extent of its chemical weapons program, that it has indigenously produced several first-generation [chemical weapons] agents (blood, blister, and choking agents), and that it has the capability to produce traditional nerve agents," the report said, noting that "the size and composition of any Iranian stockpile is not known."
Posted by: lotp || 10/01/2005 08:46 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This is a pro forma announcement. Practically speaking, *any* industrialized nation is normally filled with stuff that could be classified as chemical and biological weapons.

Chemical weapons are simple to make, just pour the nasty stuff in an empty artillery round. That was the technique used in the Iran-Iraq war. Put into Katusha rockets, same difference. Other than the traditional military agents, there are thousands of other chemicals just as nasty.

Any hospitals pathology department has pathogens that can be cultured into militarily significant quantities overnight, again with stupidly simple technology.

The downside to all of this is that Iran doesn't have any effective countermeasures itself against chem and bio weapons. It's not too bright to use a weapon that can turn on you and bite your behind.

Chemical weapons, after the first attack, produce far fewer casualties than high explosive, and bio weapons are next to impossible to deliver in any way guaranteed to produce casualties at all. The most effective use for either are against unprotected civilians.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 10/01/2005 11:30 Comments || Top||

#2  Maybe.

But "weaponized" usually means that the country has, for instance, mastered the fine dispersibility matrix for biological agents. And for chem agents there are techniques to have them persist and disperse much more widely than using the crude approach.
Posted by: lotp || 10/01/2005 11:34 Comments || Top||

#3  Crude chem weapons still managed to produce 100,000 Iranian casualties, including over 20,000 dead, during the Iran-Iraq war. of course, those wepaons never existed.
Posted by: ed || 10/01/2005 11:44 Comments || Top||

#4  where's John Clark with the satellite feed and JDAM?
Posted by: Frank G || 10/01/2005 13:27 Comments || Top||

#5  The high number of casualties were because their troops had no protection available to them, putting them on a par with civilians.

The modern military with protective equipment reality is that after the surprise of the first attack, casualties drop to a fraction of a percent for each subsequent attack. The only value is to degrade enemy forces by making them stay masked for a long period. The disadvantage is that the kid gloves come off and in this case, the US, would be inclined to use nuclear weapons in retaliation.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 10/01/2005 13:37 Comments || Top||

#6  I believe that current US doctrine regarding chemical or biological attacks is a nuclear response.

The Iranians might want to ponder that.
Posted by: Tony (UK) || 10/01/2005 15:25 Comments || Top||


Leb: 'Army deploys troops along Syrian border'
Following increasing allegations that arms are being smuggled into Lebanon by a Palestinian guerrilla group based in Damascus, local news Web site Naharnet announced Friday that the army has deployed large numbers of troops along the border with Syria. According to the Web site, this move follows a recommendation made by the National Security Committee Wednesday.

The deployments stretch from the Hilweh-Yanta-Aita al-Fakhar axis in the North to the hills and valley of Yabseh, east of the townships of Rashaya, Fakhar, and Ein Atta in the South through to Deir al-Ashayer, Kfar Qouq and Aiha, reported Naharnet. It added: "The army has closed down all mountain passes that were carved out by Syrian troops during their presence in Lebanon along with illegal routes that had long been used as lifeline supplies to the Bekaa and south Beirut bases of Ahmad Jibril's Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine- General Command."
Posted by: Fred || 10/01/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Stuck on stupid. You have Israeli troops massed on your southern border. You have provoked the massing of American-Iraqi Coalition troops on your eastern border. Now you manage to get the Lebanese to begin massing their forces on your western border. What's in the master plan now? How to get the Turks to mass on your northern border?
Posted by: Grereng Hupavirt7442 || 10/01/2005 10:30 Comments || Top||

#2  keep squeezing, something is bound to explode.
Posted by: NYer4wot || 10/01/2005 13:36 Comments || Top||

#3  I'm sure we could send a few good men to help, say 30,000 US Marines for starters.
How about it ?
Posted by: wxjames || 10/01/2005 19:51 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan/South Asia
Today in Kashmir: 7 militants terrorists killed
SRINAGAR: Seven militants terrorists and a woman were among nine persons killed and four women injured in separate incidents in Jammu and Kashmir where security forces busted two hideouts and seized a huge cache of arms and explosives since last night.

In a major encounter, three militants terrorists of Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) outfit were killed during search operations at village nowbugh-larnoo in the Kokernag area of south kashmir Anantnag district last night, a police spokesman said.

A civilian Ghulam Ahmad Kumar, an employee in Public Works Department, and a 50-year-old woman identified as Noori were killed and three women - Rehmati, her daughter Raja and Kulsooma - received bullet injuries as they were caught in the crossfire between the militants terrorists and the security forces during the operation, the spokesman said.

While Kumar had died of bullet injuries, Noori had apparently suffered a heart attack as no bullet or splinter injury was visible on her body, official sources said.

The spokesman said three AK rifles, six magazines, 80 rounds, two grenades and a wireless set were recovered from the slain militants terrorists one of whom was identified as Mohammad Ashraf Koka.
Posted by: john || 10/01/2005 14:51 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Africa: Subsaharan
Sudan accused over Darfur attacks
Can we have a 'Master of the Obvious' here?
The African Union has accused Sudanese government forces of supporting Arab militiamen targeting civilians in the troubled region of Darfur.

The head of the AU mission in Sudan said government helicopters gunships had flown overhead during a recent militia attack on a refugee camp.

But he suggested that rebels had also broken a truce signed by both sides.

About 180,000 people have been killed and two million have fled their homes since the conflict began in early 2003.

There has been an upsurge in violence in recent days.

On Wednesday at least 32 people died during a attack by pro-government Janjaweed militias on Aro Sharow refugee camp in western Darfur.

The head of the AU's peacekeeping mission in Sudan, Baba Gana Kingibe, told reporters that army helicopters had been flying overhead in an "apparent air and land assault".

He said this gave "credence to the repeated claim by the rebel movements of collusion between the government of Sudan forces and the Janjaweed".

The head of the AU mission in Sudan said both sides in the conflict had violated the ceasefire.

"There is neither good faith nor commitment on the part of any of the parties," he said.
yeah! What are the rebels doing defending themselves and civilians and all? Thats our job! (when we aren't busy administering the food-for-nookie program that is...)
The Sudanese government denies any links to the Janjaweed and describes them as criminals.
Wasn't Us! Those gunships were -er- very big dragonfies - yeah that's it! We grow them big here!
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan on Friday condemned "attacks of civilians, humanitarian workers and assets and the African Union mission in Sudan".
Hey! Where's my cut?
Mr Anan called for those responsible to be brought to justice.

The conflict began in early 2003, after a rebel group began attacking government targets.

About 5,600 peacekeepers from the African Union are monitoring a ceasefire agreement reached in April 2004.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 10/01/2005 13:05 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:


Afghanistan/South Asia
Suspected Taliban Commander Arrested
U.S. and Afghan forces arrested a Taliban commander suspected in bomb attacks against coalition forces during a raid on central Afghanistan home, where he tried to conceal his identity by dressing as a woman, police said Saturday.
He said, "I was just heading to the local madrassa and looking to get lucky".
The commander, known as Gafar, was arrested Wednesday in Andar district of Ghazni province, southwest of the capital, Kabul. A U.S. military statement said he was a "key enemy commander" behind attacks on Afghan and U.S. forces in the province carried out with homemade bombs, rockets and small-caliber handguns. "He was a threat in Ghazni," provincial police chief Gen. Abdul Rahman Sarjang said. During the raid, the suspect tried to conceal his identity by dressing as a woman with a veil and sitting with other women in the house, Sarjang said. The adam's apple is a dead giveaway.
I think the beard was a hint...
Gafar was handed over to U.S. forces for questioning, he said.
Posted by: ed || 10/01/2005 10:51 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Taliban Commander Arrested
"I was just heading to the local madrassa and looking to get lucky".

he loved to played catcher at the skool bathouse.
Posted by: Red Dog || 10/01/2005 11:19 Comments || Top||

#2  for a group of guys who consider themselves superior to women, they sure spend a lot of time dressin' like 'em.

come to think of it, they consider themselves superior to westerners. think they'll be wearing hawaiian shirts, burmuda shorts and sandals with white sox anytime soon?
Posted by: PlanetDan || 10/01/2005 11:30 Comments || Top||

#3  Let's mot talk about Frank when he's not here PD, it's not perlite.
Posted by: Major Major || 10/01/2005 11:40 Comments || Top||

#4  Gah!! Sandals AND SOX??? Major Faux Pas, even after Labor Day.... I'm strictly bare feet and Tevas
Posted by: Frank G || 10/01/2005 11:47 Comments || Top||

#5  Frank showed up so fast that he must have one of those scanners like Aris did.
Posted by: Darrell || 10/01/2005 11:50 Comments || Top||

#6  Nonsense. Socks with sandals are perfectly fine for formal occasions.
Posted by: Pappy || 10/01/2005 12:19 Comments || Top||

#7  Only white socks...
Posted by: Darrell || 10/01/2005 12:25 Comments || Top||

#8  Youse guys have no fashion sense.

White socks between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Purple socks between Labor Day and Memorial Day.

Black socks during Ramadan.
Posted by: Steve White || 10/01/2005 12:40 Comments || Top||

#9  and Red Sox, NEVER!

(go Yankees!)
Posted by: PlanetDan || 10/01/2005 12:51 Comments || Top||

#10  LOL - woke up just in time to catch you b&stards besmirching casual wear!
Posted by: Frank G || 10/01/2005 12:54 Comments || Top||

#11  Socks with sandals?

What is this, the German fashion corps???

Ugh.
Posted by: lotp || 10/01/2005 12:57 Comments || Top||

#12  btw "Major Major" - Ima thinkr Alabama's gonna beat the Gators today
Posted by: Frank G || 10/01/2005 13:00 Comments || Top||

#13  Nice, PD, yanks take early 3-0 lead.
Posted by: NYer4wot || 10/01/2005 13:29 Comments || Top||

#14  OK, folks, I will do the deed that needs to be done. **ahem**

Cross-dressing Jihadis---Why do they hate us™?
Posted by: Al Aska Paul || 10/01/2005 14:05 Comments || Top||

#15  Fred, is it time for page 5: The Style Page? We could write little articles about the best artificial tan product to blend where the beard covered moments ago, and "Hiding amongst your womenfolk: blend in black, or stand out in blue"

It could be a great resource for those aspiring to the Number 3 spot, and our foreign correspondents (Broadhead6, are you listening?) could contribute to a round robin column "Tested in the field: what absolutely, positively won't fool those damned Western Infidel invaders."

What do you think? ;-)
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/01/2005 14:32 Comments || Top||

#16  "Moustache under a Burka: How much is too much?"
Posted by: Frank G || 10/01/2005 14:49 Comments || Top||


Eleven soldiers killed in Waziristan, says Sherpao
Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao said on Friday that at least 11 Pakistan Army and paramilitary personnel including a major had been killed while 25 to 30 militants had also been killed in two days of fighting in North Waziristan Agency. He told BBC that six soldiers were killed on Thursday and five on Friday and that nine including a major belonged to the Pakistan Army while two personnel belonged to the Frontier Corps. He also said the heaviest fighting took place at Khati Kalla village near Miranshah, Online reported. Pakistani F-7 fighter jets and attack helicopters pounded militant positions in the Khati Kalla area. “The militants are still resisting the army while the operation continues,” Brig Shahjahan Ali Khan told Daily Times. The report also said a military attack helicopter killed a civilian on Friday morning. Brig Shahjahan said “communication intercepts” had suggested “heavy casualties on the militant side”.
Heavy casualties is good...
“We can’t give the exact number of militant casualties at the moment, but a large number of them appear to have been killed,” he added. Intelligence sources said Khati Kalla was the area of Maulana Sadiq Noor whom the Peshawar corps commander said was “wanted for involvement in terrorism”. Sources said the “strong resistance” being put up by the militants could be due to the presence of foreign fighters. “Locals can’t put up such strong resistance. Our South Waziristan experience says that such strong resistance can only be put up by foreigners and the way they have resisted may suggest the presence of a high value target,” they added. However, ISPR spokesman Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan said there were no reports of any high value targets in the area.
Posted by: Fred || 10/01/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Kashmir Korpse Kount
As many as 19 people were killed in the latest violence in Indian Held Kashmir, four of them were soldiers gunned down in a firefight with suspected Islamic militants on the de facto border between India and Pakistan, officials said on Friday. Two suspected militants also died in the early morning gunbattle, in northern Machil sector, army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Vijay Batra said. “Three other soldiers were injured during the fighting,” Batra said. “The operation in the area is continuing,” he said, adding that army reinforcements had been rushed to the area.

Meanwhile, Indian troops shot dead nine militants in four separate encounters in the southern districts of Doda, Poonch, Udhampur and Anantnag late Thursday and early Friday, a police spokesman said. Separately another rebel was killed in northern Kupwara district, of which Machil is an important sector. In other clashes, an Indian soldier was killed in an ambush by militants in Doda district and a Muslim girl and a man were gunned down by suspected militants in Pulwama and Anantnag districts, police said.
Posted by: Fred || 10/01/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


‘Most wanted list’ given to Punjab
LAHORE: The federal government on Friday handed over a list of more than 30 most wanted men, including 18 foreigners, to the Punjab government. Sources said that most of the foreigners on the list were Arab citizens. Intelligence agencies were concerned about these men hiding in Punjab. The federal government also directed all provincial governments to crack down on banned organisations during the month of Ramazan. In this context, the Punjab Police and the law enforcement agencies dispatched a list of four thousands names to the federal government. It is expected that the operation will start within the first 10 days of Ramazan, and action will be taken against those found collecting funds for banned groups, or financially contributing towards them.
Posted by: Fred || 10/01/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Siddiqui says he is innocent, media ruining his case
Zeeshan Siddiqui, a British national detained in Pakistan for suspected involvement in the July 7 London bombings, has said that he had been falsely implicated in the London bombings and that the media was ruining his case with baseless reporting.
"Nope. Nope. Wudn't me."
Siddiqui told Daily Times that the Crime Investigation Department (CID) arrested him on May 15 whereas the London bombings took place on July 7.
In other words, he gave off an odor that was strong enough for olafactorily challenged Pak coppers to notice and got himself snagged for something else entirely.
“I was not allowed to communicate with anyone during the first three months of my captivity,” he said. “How could I have contacted anyone in London during that period?” Siddiqui also denied having any contact with those responsible of the London bombings even before he was arrested. “I told this to the British officials who came to interrogate me in the Peshawar Central Jail and they had also admitted that I had no role in the bombings,” he said, adding that he would have been immediately taken to London to face the charges if he was guilty. “Al Qaeda has taken responsibility for the bombings. I do not have any links with Al Qaeda or any other terrorist organisation,” he said, adding that he had visited Pakistan to learn more about Islam.
[WHEEZE!]
Posted by: Fred || 10/01/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Interrogation of 3 notorious terrorists underway
Interrogation of three notorious terrorists arrested earlier this week is underway and five senior Punjab Police officials have been asked to take part in the questioning along with intelligence officials. Rawalpindi Deputy Inspector General Syed Marwat Ali Shah is heading the five-member police team, which includes Rawalpindi Deputy Superintendent of Police Raja Shahid Mehmood. The latter is also a member of the team that traced the accused involved in the suicide attack on President Pervez Musharraf in December 2003.

Sources told Daily Times on Friday that interrogation had revealed that several foreign terrorists were associated with the three notorious terrorists and had taken refuge in interior Punjab. Sources said the foreigners had managed to flee from the tribal areas during military operations. The terrorists also told police that Uzbek nationals including women had trained them (the three men) for suicide attacks, sources said, adding that the terrorists said the Uzbeks were taking refuge in southern Punjab.

Intelligence agencies had taken Asif Chotto, Shahid Satti and their accomplice to an unidentified location where interrogation was continuing, sources added. Law enforcement officials had also raided the outskirts of Attock city and arrested Samander Khan, the younger brother of Noor Gul. Noor Gul had played an important role in the recent bomb blasts in Karachi. Special police parties were also sent to southern and interior Punjab to arrest other members of banned outfits and foreigners who had taken the refuge in the two areas, sources added.

Talking more about Asif Chotto and Shahid Satti, sources said both men were part of the second-command of the defunct Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and that they had been working with Riaz Basra and Muhammad Ishaq, both founders of the group. Sources said both men including Sufi Muhammad, a religious leader in the tribal areas, had been instigating people to go to Afghanistan and take part in the fighting against US forces.
Sufi Muhammad, recall, was sentenced to seven years in jug a year or two ago. Maybe they weren't very big years. Or maybe he's in a pretty comfortable jug. I suspect the former.
Posted by: Fred || 10/01/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  PunJab, get it
Posted by: Glomoper Slert8352 || 10/01/2005 0:25 Comments || Top||

#2  Glomoper, got it.
Posted by: Red Dog || 10/01/2005 5:14 Comments || Top||

#3  I can't wait until the New York Times publishes stories about the torture of suspected terrorists at Abu Gharib a Pakistan jail.
Posted by: Raj || 10/01/2005 9:28 Comments || Top||


Tales from the Crossfire Gazette (Saturday edition)
Sept 30: A suspected terror was killed in a shootout between RAB and his cohorts at Dharmashur early today. The dead was identified as Bachchu Khan, 28, a newly-deceased son of Quader Khan of Samki village under Dohar thana and also a local Awami League leader.
Our tale begins ...
RAB-2 sources said they arrested Bachchu from Islampur under Dohar thana at 10am on Thursday.
"C'mon Bachchu, youse comin' wit us."
They interrogated him after his arrest.
"Um, um, um, is that a .. a .. fireplace po-o-o-oker?"
"Yep, and it's red-hot!"
"Um, may I confess now?"
During the interrogation, Bachchu told the RAB members that his group would commit a robbery in Keraniganj Friday night.
"Yes, we're going to rob some place in K-town. Now please put that down!"
According to his statement, when RAB took him to Dharmashur at 3am ...
... the true sign of the RAB at work ...
... the cohorts of Bachchu opened fire on them, ...
"Cheez, it's the RAB! Open random, aimless fire!"
... forcing the elite force to fire back.
Which they had to do.
Bachchu was caught in the shootout and died on the spot.
"He's dead, Jim. Tag him and slab him!"
One cut-rifle, one shooter gun and six rounds of bullet were recovered from the spot.
"Hmm, look at that. This rifle has a cut in it."
However, local Awami League leaders alleged that Bachchu Khan was killed in a planned way.
Naah, what would make you think that?
Dohar thana police said Bachchu was wanted in five cases.
Only five? No wonder the Crossfire Gazette has been slim lately.
Posted by: Steve White || 10/01/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Maybe it was a Cute rifle?

I've heard of sawed-off shotguns, of course, but not a sawed-off rifle.

Is a "shooter gun" a shutter gun? I would think that most guns would be "shooter guns."
Posted by: Jackal || 10/01/2005 0:23 Comments || Top||

#2  Well, it looks like the Awami League guys are *very* perceptive.

These stories always crack me up, I wonder what the reporters think when they're writing these stories up...
Posted by: Tony (UK) || 10/01/2005 6:37 Comments || Top||

#3  Sawed off rifle?

Posted by: Shipman || 10/01/2005 8:10 Comments || Top||

#4  excellent reference pic Mr. Ship.
Posted by: Red Dog || 10/01/2005 11:23 Comments || Top||

#5  RDawg, I had a plastic 98 cent copy of that rifle - circa what 1965?
Posted by: Shipman || 10/01/2005 11:42 Comments || Top||


Nuggets from the Urdu Press
Mehdi Bhatti wins ‘mubahila’
Reported by the daily Pakistan, MNA Mehdi Hassan Bhatti went to a mosque in Hafizabad to challenge ex-nazim Col Ali Ahmad Awan, who had accused him of massive corruption, to mubahila (a match of mutual religious abuse in which the false party dies). Mr Bhatti had gone with his son, the Punjab minister for culture Shaukat Ali Bhatti, and had asked Col Ali Ahmad to bring along his son too, so that the sons may die along with their fathers after being proved false. The ex-nazim Col Awan did not turn up. So Mr Bhatti won the mubahila and was proved free of corruption.

Pervaiz Elahi as PM?
Writing in the Jang, Hamid Mir said that in the 2005 local polls, the supporters of prime minister Shaukat Aziz have been defeated: Jehangir Tareen, Owais Leghari and Riaz Pirzada. When the time comes for the 2007 national election, Punjab CM Pervaiz Elahi will be the strongest candidate for the job of prime minister. In the opposition, the MMA and the ARD are already scattering. In the coming days the ANP will join up with Jamaat Islami, Imran Khan’s Tehreek Insaf and Muslim League (N) to challenge the Chaudhrys in power.

Shabana gets out of hand in Norway
According to Khabrain, Pakistani expatriate lady Shabana Rehman got out of hand in Norway and was having her nearly naked photos published local magazines. She was also given to insulting the most respectable clerics who often went from Pakistan to spread Islam among Pakistanis living there. She would come clad in a burqa then suddenly take it off in the meeting and insult the clerics. She was so rude to them that Norway gave her an award for being so outspoken. She thanked the mullahs for abusing her because that made her deserving of the award. Shabana went and embraced the most infamous mullah called Mullah Krekar, the Kurd terrorist now sheltering in Norway. The Pakistanis were most offended by Shabana but could not do much. She was from Karachi where she had relatives. One boy admitted that he had fired his pistol in front of Shabana’s house in Norway.

Deoband abuses the Quaid again!
Quoted in the Nawa-e-Waqt, Dr Justice (Retd) Javid Iqbal stated that he was most offended by the recent statement of the administrative head of a Deoband seminary in India that the Quaid-e-Azam Jinnah was not a Muslim. He said Deoband had in the past also apostatised Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and Allama Iqbal, which was unacceptable to Pakistan. He said that the clerics of Deoband had not accepted Pakistan and had joined the Hindu Congress, so it was not surprising that today Deoband had once again abused the Quaid. He added that it was for nothing that Allama Iqbal had written a poem against the Deobandi leader Hussain Ahmad Madni. Deobandi chief Maulana Marghubur Rehman said in India that far from being a secular person, Jinnah was not even a Muslim because he never said namaz and he drank alcohol. Indian cleric Marghub later wrote in to deny that he had said anything against the Quaid.

Faraz on sex
Sarerahe in the Nawa-e-Waqt said that Ahmad Faraz had said while on a trip abroad that marriage was the most expensive institution for gaining sexual pleasure. Even if sex was not available in a marriage, one had to pay for it. He said that religion and progress were opposed to each other. He also said that all prophets were first-rate politicians. The column added that Ahmad Faraz was the son of Maulana Abdullah Kohati who was in turn the khalifa (pupil) of the famous sufi, Syed Adam Banuri whose tomb was visited by all and sundry even today.

Dawood Ibrahim is not in Pakistan!
According to Khabrain, India had asked Pakistan to surrender two criminals wanted in India. One was Dawood Ibrahim who could not leave Pakistan to attend his son’s wedding in Dubai. The foreign office in Islamabad replied that Dawood Ibrahim was not in Pakistan. The other criminal India wanted was Maulana Masood Azhar, leader of the banned Jaish Muhammad who was sprung from an Indian jail by hijackers in 1999.

Rs 27 billion to madrassas annually
Writing in the Nawa-e-Waqt, Irfan Siddiqi stated that people who wanted to give to charity obeyed the Islamic edict that charity should be given anonymously. The madrassas in Pakistan received Rs 27 billion every year. Can the government now ask the madrassas to give account and will it send the cases against the donors to NAB?

More blasphemy from Salman Rushdie
According to Khabrain, mal’oon Salman Rushdie in his new book Shalimar the Clown was now saying that the Quran should be accepted as a historical document instead of a holy book. Rushdie, 30 years ago, was a poor man who would eat a meal within three rupees, would not take a bath and would drink cheap wine and was known to stink from his body. He also ate pig and thought dirty thoughts.

Multan clamps down on actresses
According to the daily Pakistan, the Multan cultural vigilance committee had served notices to Aliza (Dawn Theatre), to Niha (Khayyam Theatre), to Anita (Starlet Theatre) and to Anila (Sangam Theatre) for violating the ‘charter of decency.’ They were asked to present themselves at the office of DDO Multan city to clarify their position. Another actress, Nida (Khayyam Theatre), was served a last warning after which she would be banned in the whole of the Punjab. She was famous through her CDs too.

How Zubaida Begum was killed
Columnist Hamid Mir wrote in the Jang that Zubaida Begum of Dir Bala in the NWFP stood for her union council election in 2001 and was elected unopposed despite reservations from the elders. She was a teacher and a social worker and was quite popular with the women. She organised the local women and was able to improve the roads and sanitary conditions of her constituency. In 2005, she was popular enough to fight the district nazim election but the elders warned her against taking part. She did not obey them and was gunned down in July 2005 along with her daughter.
Posted by: Fred || 10/01/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  marriage was the most expensive institution for gaining sexual pleasure

...Ya know, when he's right, he's RIGHT....

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 10/01/2005 8:47 Comments || Top||

#2  Even if sex was not available in a marriage, one had to pay for it.

And you have to pay again during a divorce (the phenomenon known as getting fucked, but not kissed). This guy's a freakin' genius, ain't he, .com?
Posted by: Raj || 10/01/2005 9:35 Comments || Top||

#3  Raj-

Paying here now for the divorce. Beginning to think that the Muzzies may have something with that "I divorce thee, I divorce thee, I divorce thee" routine. *G

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 10/01/2005 9:58 Comments || Top||

#4  Says here
Shabana's a stand-up comic.
Posted by: James || 10/01/2005 13:04 Comments || Top||

#5  You have to go carefully with that, Mike. Whenever possible, Muslim women wear their husband's wealth on their arms and legs, around their necks, and in their ears. And they get to leave with whatever they are wearing. How broke did you want to be? ;-)
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/01/2005 14:46 Comments || Top||


Bangladesh links India to serial blasts
A top Bangladeshi security officer has said that criminal gangs in neighbouring India were involved in last month's wave of bombings that killed two people, an allegation New Delhi angrily denied.
Ofergawdsake.
Major-General Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, head of Bangladesh's border guards, on a visit to India for regular border talks, said on Friday the suspected culprits had links with Bangladesh's giant neighbour. He told a news conference in the Indian capital that security forces have traced the route of the attackers and the explosives used to a neighbouring country. Asked which neighbouring country he was referring to, he said: "It is you, it is you I am telling, India." Chowdhury suggested that criminals from both Bangladesh and India may have conspired with the militants to carry out the attacks.

India swiftly denied the charge. "The government of India is deeply shocked and dismayed at the remarks ... alleging that some persons had gone across from India and were involved in the serial bomb blasts," the Indian foreign ministry said in a statement. "This is a baseless and scurrilous allegation and is all the more shocking because it has been made against a friendly country," the statement said.
I suppose there could be some sort of truth to it, since India's crooks seem to be willing to ally themselves with whoever walks in the door. But the headline, and the implication, seems to be that the Indian gummint's involved.
Posted by: Fred || 10/01/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  A section of the Indian underworld is allied with the ISI and would be quite willing to assist the ISI surrogates inside Bangladesh.

The BDR chief, instead of blaming India, should crack down on the islamists and their camps on his side of the border. They cannot have it both ways, breeding vipers for attacks on India while expecting to be safe from attacks.

If you feed snakes, they will bite you.

Posted by: john || 10/01/2005 14:07 Comments || Top||


Tales from the Crossfire Gazette (Saturday edition, part 2)
A terror was killed in a shootout between RAB and his accomplices at Eidgahpara in Gangni upazila early today.
No, I don't know where that is, so don't ask.
The deceased was identified as Md Azizul Huq, 42, an accused of a dozen cases.
Huq lived a full life at 42, read on ...
Police said, acting on a secret information, RAB members arrested Azizul from Bamundi bazar on Thursday evening.
"Howdy Huq. Lovely evening at the bazar, eh? How's about you coming with us!"
Later, on the basis of his painful confession, they took him to the area for recovering hidden arms.
Huq didn't even rate an abandoned warehouse.
But when they reached the spot at about 4 am ...
... 4 am 'cause the RAB was busy with Bachchu at 3 am ...
... his accomplices opened fire on the elite force forcing them to return the fire.
RAB boys didn't even suffer a hernia this time.
Azizul was caught in the crossfire while trying to flee and died on the spot.
Off to the Chittagong University Medical Centre ER with him, where despite their best efforts he was as dead when they finished as he was when he arrived.

But wait, there's more!

In another incident, Anisur Rahman alias Anis, a regional leader of outlawed Ganobahini, was gunned down during a shootout with police at Katdaha Char village in Mirpur upazila early Friday.
I really don't think I'd want to go through life with the name 'Anis', but that's just me.
Police recovered two shutter guns and several rounds of bullet from the spot after the gunbattle on Kushtia-Chuadanga road at about 2:30 am.
Busy night, scheduled calls at 2:30 am, 3 am, 4 am ...
Earlier, acting on a tip-off, ...
... thanks to Mahmoud the Weasel ...
... police nabbed Anis from a house at Khal Magura village in Mirpur upazila on Wednesday night.
Hey, 'Anis'. You want to come quietly or should we toss the place?
Following his statement, ...
... use your imagination here ...
... police on Thursday night along with Anis went out to look for hidden firearms and his associates.
Who are coincidentally with the hidden firearms.
As the police party was passing by Katdaha Char area, miscreants opened fire on them in a bid to take away Anis. A gun battle ensued as police retaliated the fire.
Personally I would have left Anis to his fate, but his friends are more loyal, and somehow more lucky ...
Police said Anis died on the spot while trying to escape during shootout that lasted for about half an hour.
Twenty-nine minutes of which was tidying up ...
They said Anis, son of Mohammed Ali of Amanatpur village in Sadar upazila, was engaged in different criminal activities for long in Sadar and Mirpur upazilas of Kushtia, Alamdanga upazila of Chuadanga, and in Jhenidah district. He was wanted in nine cases, including three killings, in three districts.
Had the death sentence on twelve systems, he did.
He was absconding after a court sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment in an arms case.
'Anis the Absconder'. So much for him.
Posted by: Steve White || 10/01/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It's between Alamdanga and West Bengal (India). It's a sub-district of Chuadanga.

That should help.
Posted by: Jackal || 10/01/2005 0:34 Comments || Top||

#2  Looks like the 'miscreants' forced the issue. Poor Anis, not even an abandoned warehouse and his 'miscreant' chums got him totalled.
Posted by: Tony (UK) || 10/01/2005 6:42 Comments || Top||

#3  A guy named Anis is going to prison? If that's not poetic justice, I don't know what is.
Posted by: Raj || 10/01/2005 9:37 Comments || Top||

#4  Darn. Either my eyes are getting old, or fred's gotta increase the size of the type: I thought this guy was Aris, not Anis.
Posted by: Ptah || 10/01/2005 21:07 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Sat 2005-10-01
  Leb: 'Army deploys troops along Syrian border'
Fri 2005-09-30
  Fatah wins local Paleo elections
Thu 2005-09-29
  Hamas big turbans run for cover
Wed 2005-09-28
  Syria pushing Paleo battalions into Lebanon
Tue 2005-09-27
  Paleo Rocket Fire 'Cause For War'
Mon 2005-09-26
  Aqsa Brigades declare mobilization
Sun 2005-09-25
  Palestinian factions shower Israeli targets with missiles
Sat 2005-09-24
  EU moves to refer Iran to U.N.
Fri 2005-09-23
  Somaliland says Qaeda big arrested in shootout
Thu 2005-09-22
  Banglacops on trail of 7 top JMB leaders
Wed 2005-09-21
  Iran threatens to quit NPT
Tue 2005-09-20
  NKor wants nuke reactor for deal
Mon 2005-09-19
  Afghanistan Holds First Parliamentary Vote in 30 Years
Sun 2005-09-18
  One Dies, 28 Hurt in New Lebanon Bombing
Sat 2005-09-17
  Financial chief of Hizbul Mujahideen killed


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