"You! Wit the turban! Git!"
"Hey, we're all wearing turbans!"
"So, all of youse scram!"
A key border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan has been closed after a confrontation between soldiers from both countries.
"Yer mudder wears combat boots!"
"A curse on yer moustache!"
"A curse on yer MUDDER's moustache!"
Efforts are now on to reopen the border crossing linking the Pakistani town of Chaman with Spin Boldak in Afghanistan. Both sides have accused each other of beating up their soldiers and the atmosphere remains tense, reports say.
"You dunnit! I seen it!"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
An Afghan police official, Haji Abdul Wasai, told the Associated Press news agency that about a dozen Afghan soldiers fought with some 15 to 20 Pakistani troops at the border on Thursday. Three of the Afghans were hurt he said.
[Thump!]
"Oooow!"
But a Pakistani official accused the Afghan soldiers of detaining one of their soldiers and beating him.
An Afghan group opposed to the presence of US troops in Afghanistan Thursday announced it would continue jihad against the incumbent government and the US military. Led by former Afghan premier and veteran of the Afghan jihad (holy war) Gulbadin Hekmatyar, the group rejected the reconciliation offer of President Hamid Karzai and vowed their struggle would continue till the last foreign soldier quit their land.
Been a while since we've heard from the Hexter. Just like the good ol' days, when Rantburg was brand new. (snif) How's that small arms training and random grenade-lobbing academy thingy working for you, Hek?
Poor Hek. His party threw him out and he's been feeding on scraps from the Taliban table, being kept as a pet by Arabs. The Secret Army of Doom⢠was a bust. Charles Taylor took over his title as the most evil man in the world, and now it's held by Zark. It's tough, being a has-been.
Hekmatyar, who led the Hezbi Islami party during the anti-Soviet struggle in the eighties and nineties, in his statement urged the Afghans to wage jihad against the infidels on their land.
We knew that. He never says anything else. The only thing unusual is that he said anything at all.
He said reconciliation was impossible as long as foreign forces stay in Afghanistan . Gulbadin Hekmatyar, who was once a close ally of the US in the eighties, had gone in hiding after the American invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
He was a close ally of Qazi, which is why he was always first at the trough. The name I always heard when I worked the problem was Masood. Hek didn't leave Iran, he was tossed, and was met with sneers when he tried to reestablish his network. His drawers were scorched by a Predator and since then he's been hiding out, probably in a government villa in Peshawar.
He was prime minister of the first mujahidin government formed after the pullout of Russian troops from Afghanistan in 1990.
In that capacity he rocketed Kabul, trying to get rid of Rabbani and setting off the Dog-Eat_Dog that allowed the Talibs to waltz in and take over.
Like several other warlords who fled the country after the coming into power of the hardliner student militia in 1996, Hekmatyar took refuge in neighbouring Iran. He later joined hands with the Taliban after the latter were overthrown as a result of US invasion in 2001.
He couldn't very well join hands with the Northern Alliance, and nobody in his right mind, even in Pashtunistan, would actually vote for him...
... most everyone wants him dead; I wonder why he still consumes oxygen ...
Since then, he is believed to be hiding somewhere in the 2300 kilometres porous border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Yeah. Somewhere in the porous border on the Pak side.
His latest statement was bravely released from an undisclosed location in Peshawar and faxed to wire services and newspapers. He said he would not bow before the US forces and the incumbent Afghan government.
#2
Just the fact that Hekmatyar is still breathing speaks to his resilience. He has always made his intentions clear through both words and deeds. His connections alone should lend concern to his stated adversaries. And can anyone other then Hek himself know with certainty the size and capacity of his arsenal that reamins in mothballs?
It would be foolish to underestimate the threat this man poses.
#3
The fact that he's done absolutely NOTHING militarily in more than two years speaks volumes for his impotence. If he had thirty people, he'd have done SOMETHING. Hek is kept around as a boogey man to scare children and rattle cages, nothing more. The sooner he gets his raisins, the better.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/02/2005 16:13 Comments ||
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Police on Friday questioned 58 suspected Islamic militants in bombing attacks outside government buildings this week that killed at least nine people and wounded scores of others, authorities said. Police said they also discovered and defused nine bombs that were left in plastic bags Friday near government buildings in the city of Khulna in southwestern Bangladesh and the central town of Sirajganj.
The suspects were detained as part of a nationwide hunt for members of a banned Islamic group, Jumatul Mujahideen Bangladesh, which has been blamed for bombings across Bangladesh this year, an Interior Ministry official said on condition of anonymity because of official policy. None has been charged with any offense, the official said.
A bomber disguised as a tea vendor exploded a bomb Thursday outside a complex housing the chief government administrator's office and a courthouse in Gazipur, north of the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka. The blast killed one and wounded at least 29 others, authorities said.
On Tuesday, three bombs exploded outside a Chittagong courthouse, killing the alleged suicide bomber and two police officers. The same day, a bomb killed five people, including the suspected suicide bomber, inside a library near a courthouse in Gazipur. More than 60 people were wounded in those attacks. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blasts, but police said they discovered leaflets for Jumatul Mujahideen Bangladesh on the suspected bomber in Thursday's attack. He was wounded and captured.
Islamic militants have repeatedly targeted lawyers and judges in Bangladesh, accusing them of promoting secular laws instead of Islamic Sharia rule. The blasts caused panic and triggered protests in courthouses across Bangladesh this week. In some cities and towns, judges refused to attend court for fear of more attacks, private ATN Bangla television reported. Two weeks ago, two judges were killed in the southern town of Jhalakathi by a suspected suicide attacker also allegedly linked to the banned group. Four people were killed and dozens injured in bomb attacks in August and October.
Prime Minister Khaleda Zia canceled a visit to the United Arab Emirates that was to start Saturday because of the attacks, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zahirul Haque said.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/02/2005 13:29 ||
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#1
Everybody from here to China, in both directions, knows where the problems stem from. Until local governments get over their fear of "interfering" with Islam and start cracking some preachers' heads, the problem will persist. I'd also do a thorough search of a few mosques for bomb-making equipment, pamphlets, and lists of names of known troublemakers. I'm sure there are some "good" mosques where none of that would be found, but there are also many more where there would be plenty to find. Never had that problem with Baptist or Presbyterian churches. Lutherans, on the other hand... 8^)
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/02/2005 16:18 Comments ||
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Documents describing technologies of 'dirty' radioactive, chemical and biological weapons have been found in Chechnya, Chief of the Russian General Staff Yury Baluyevsky said Thursday.
He said Russia should upgrade its system of protection against such weapons.
"Terrorism is seeking ways of creating weapons of mass destruction, which forces us to take preventive steps," General Baluyevsky said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/02/2005 00:45 ||
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#1
"Terrorism is seeking ways of creating weapons of mass destruction, which forces us to take preventivePre-emptive steps," General Baluyevsky said.
PARIS, Nov 29 (Reuters) - French Prime Minister Dominique a man we are told de Villepin, one of the sharpest critics of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, warned Washington on Tuesday against pulling out troops without regard to regional security. Guess he didn't get the memo from Murtha
Villepin, interviewed in Paris by CNN, said a badly planned withdrawal could cause chaos in Iraq, "which of course would be disastrous for the whole region." Mais oui.
U.S. officials said last week the Pentagon planned to reduce its troop presence in Iraq from 155,000 to 138,000 after Dec. 15 parliamentary elections there, and could cut numbers back to 100,000 by next summer if conditions allowed.
Asked whether Washington should set a timetable for bringing home troops, Villepin said any withdrawal "should be coordinated with the local situation in Iraq and the regional situation." We don't want any of the terroristscoming home coming here after the Americans leave, Dominique said.
"I think that the timetable should be a global timetable," he said. "The real timetable is the Iraqi situation." A global time table? Is that like global warming or is he calling for a time table for the US to withdraw all troops from everywhere?
Villepin identified two main risks in Iraq: "the division of Iraq, which is of course a nightmare for the region, and ... a growing role of terrorism."
The international community should support an Arab League effort to hold a national reconciliation conference in Iraq, a regrouping of political forces in the country and further cooperation among all countries in the region, he said. Yeah, Bush is going to sign on for that. Riiight
Villepin, who as fashion model foreign minister gave a dramatic speech at the United Nations in early 2003 opposing U.S. plans for war in Iraq, said: "We knew since the beginning that it was very easy to go to war but very difficult to get out of Iraq. We are French. We know everything. Just ask us."
But he said France wanted to work with its allies in Iraq. Zark or the Baathists? "We have to face the situation as it is, and it is the responsibility of all the international community to help the process, to make sure that we go forward all together."
#1
Let me get this straight. We should never have gone in and don't we dare pull out now. Sounds like the old "Stop", "Don't" ... "Don't stop" routine to me. This sort of criticism, coming from the land of Car-B-Quesâ¢, is simply hilarious.
#4
de Villepin's remarks are quite logical . With hindsight, one could say that France was right not to get involved in the Irak war, considering the risk involved for the European countries.. At the moment, the recruitement of salafi-jihadists in European countries is getting frigtening.
#5
lyot - you are one logic challenged individual. Run along to your short bus.
You can't have it both ways. If as you say, "At the moment, the recruitment of salafi-jihadists in European countries is getting frightening" and France was wise, as you imply, not get involved due to that cowardly cry that it might make the jihadi's mad, then shouldn't Villipinhead be advocating that we get out immediately to help decrease the recruitment of salafi-jihadists?
#6
Or maybe Europe should take care of itself for a change, and deal with its homegrown jihadis without crying to America about it?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
12/02/2005 13:31 Comments ||
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#7
Considering the events of the last month the Prime Minister has come to realize if we leave Iraq then France will most likely be the next target and will fall to the Muzzies. This is the classic when the heats on you, the US, it wont be on me, France. The problem with France, unlike other third rate nations, is because of the EU and UN we cant just ignore them, well maybe just a little.
Posted by: 49 pan ||
12/02/2005 13:44 Comments ||
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#8
I'm still trying to decide if Dominique will die of old age before the muslim conquest of France shows his head being removed on video. I am currently leaning towards the video.
Posted by: ed ||
12/02/2005 13:46 Comments ||
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#9
2b,
France getting involved in Irak from the start might have led to an even more direct terroristic threat, all the time keeping in mind the situation is already pretty bad at the moment.
It's not illogical France demands the US to clean up the mess to such an extent the Iraqi army & police forces are ready to take over themselves. A hasty departure would be the Jihadi's dream come true. Iraq becoming a fully fledge training base, it's clear Europe would become the first victim , as these Jihadi's will take a change at the easiest victim first
#11
49,
If you keep in mind the long history France has with regaderd to terrorist attacks, it was a very sain guess that a war in Iraq would bring more heat to Europe. In fact, it's European countries who are now in the first place faced to deal with the collateral damage caused by the US in Irak .
#12
The Europeans are ostrich who can do nothing to protect themselves except put their heads in the sand.
They could do nothing to prevent the violent disintegration of Yugoslavia. In fact the Germans abetted it with every one else, including
Bush I, winking. Then when it turned to genocide the Euros were helpless until the Americans came in to wage war on Serbia from 10,000 feet.
The Car-B-Ques are the result of Irak? I think not. Look at three generations of mohammedans brought in to do the grunge work and never assimilated.
And the entire French foreign ministry seems to have been on Saddam's payroll as well. Nice friends the French make.
So trace as much of the collateral damage to France's own actions as to the American presence in Irak. At least we're killing the scum. The French just take bribes from them.
#13
This from the man who said the riots in France were nor riots but "civil unrest". Dickweed.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
12/02/2005 15:28 Comments ||
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#14
VillePinhead must be confusin' the Iraq war with intercourse (early pullout or premature ejectulation?). In VillePinhead's case, wooo to know.
Posted by: Captain America ||
12/02/2005 16:56 Comments ||
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#15
Divide France between the Dutch, who are finally getting a clue, the Germans, who will simply go barbarian on the islamonazis, the Spanish, who are willing to at least lock people up (more than the French will do), and the British (Normandy and Brittany, which were part of Britain until given back to France as a gesture of good will). France's reason to exist no longer holds water.
Oh, and divide Belgium between the Dutch and the Germans. They never DID have a reason to exist.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/02/2005 17:10 Comments ||
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#16
old patriot, your ignorant statement only shows how little you know about French anti terrorism policy.. Suggesting that the Dutch & the British are more efficient in their way of 'dealing' with the problem is simply making a caricature of the situation. Sad, actually
#17
lyot,
A third of the young children in France are already muslim. With a muslim fertility rate 3 times the native French, in 10 years the majority of babies will be born muslim. The muslims win in democratic France very soon by doing nothing. It is the native French, if they want to keep France, who must become barbaric. The game is over. The fans are only waiting for the clock to run out.
Posted by: ed ||
12/02/2005 17:51 Comments ||
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#18
France is missing an opportunity to remain silent.
#19
old patriot, your ignorant statement only shows how little you know about French anti terrorism policy.
lyot, I'd wager Old Patriot's statements reflect more anger than ignorance. France's near continuous interference in America's foreign policy, not to mention conducting naval maneuvers with communist China along with its pro-Palestinian stance and sheltering of Islamist hardliners have essentially rendered your country a pariah amongst nations fighting the global war on terrorism.
As to your anti-terrorism policies, the recent spate of Islamist violence in France has put paid to just how ineffectual they are. You are well on your way to becoming the first Islamic nation in Europe. Congratulations. I dread to think that America may have to intervene to save Europe a third time.
#20
France has the toughest anti-terrorism laws in Europe. They have a fellow running around acting as both prosecutor and judge. Cuts down the time required to get warrants. The problems of dealing with terrorists exist on the political side rather than the judiciary.
Posted by: Rafael ||
12/02/2005 18:45 Comments ||
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#21
France has the toughest anti-terrorism laws in Europe.
Pretty difficult to tell from what's been going on over there of late. It's also rather difficult to reconcile France's putative anti-terrorist stance with how they have sheltered rat b@stard maggots like Khomeini and Suha Arafat.
#22
I get annoyed with these statements in isolation. First, I hear if we pursue and fight the jihadis, we increase recruitment and they will come after us. Then I hear, âif we donât fight the jihadis and leave Iraq immediately, âA hasty departure would be the Jihadi's dream come trueââ. Uh-doesnât this indicate that jihadis will just be jihadis no matter what we do?
Maybe France needs to wake up to realize â...these Jihadi's will take a change [sic] at the easiest victim first...â lyot, you are right to identify France as the easiest victim. And why is that?
Because her only survival tactic is a trade.
âFrance getting involved in Irak from the start might have led to an even more direct terroristic threat...â That is a perfect encapsulation of French foreign policy: âHow do we change so that jihadis will leave us aloneâ?
#23
lyot - I spent 26 years keeping track of what was going on in the world, especially Europe. I have a Master's in European Geopolitics. I lived and worked in the heart of Europe for ten years, working in the main intelligence center for European Command in Wiesbaden, Germany. I know more about European politics than I care to. You think I'm ignorant? You think I don't know just what the hell is going on? You are wrong. In ten years, France will be unable to recover, and will surrender to Islam. The rest of Europe will rip it apart in self-defense, or go down, too. Ninety percent of the French know there's a problem, but refuse to deal with it. I think you're part of that problem.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/02/2005 23:16 Comments ||
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Anti-terrorist police have uncovered evidence of Islamic extremist "sleeper cells" in northern Spain.
During investigations in La Rioja, Navarre and the Basque Country, police say they believe they have discovered sleeper cells in Logroño and Vitoria.
A report in the Spanish daily El Mundo said anti-terrorist police and security services were on a state of "maximum alert".
In northern Spain, security services believe Islamic extremists have been active in recent months, according to anonymous sources quoted by the paper.
These sleeper cells appear ready to launch attacks when the order is given by commanders either in the country or outside.
All those under suspicion are working in regular jobs and are not illegal immigrants, the source added.
Spanish security services are not sure if they can be directly linked to Al-Qaeda or Osama bin Laden or if they are involved with other groups, like the Algerian Salafist terrorist organisation.
Security sources said though their intelligence was reliable they did not want the public to be alarmed.
Before the Madrid bombings last year, there were thought to be about 400 Islamic radicals active in Spain.
Now that number is thought to be much less.
Logroño is a city with a large Muslim population which security sources believe could be the centre for radical cells not just from Spain, but south-west France.
#1
Before the Madrid bombings last year, there were thought to be about 400 Islamic radicals active in Spain. Now that number is thought to be much less.
Of course it's MUCH more ethical and safe to train them in Germany than in Iraq or somewhere close by ... keeps all those nasty AmeriKKKan cooties off of German sensibilities.
An Iraqi police officer attending a hush-hush training course with 39 other officers in suburban Berlin has gone absent without leave, raising fears in Germany Friday that he might be a terrorist mole. However federal police dismissed the fears, saying it was more likely he was enjoying the attractions of the big city until it was time for the party of police, prosecution and prison officers to fly home. An Interior Ministry spokesman in Berlin said the man, born in 1973, had gone missing on November 28. He had been vetted for any security risk before he came to Germany. Since the course participants were guests, they were not confined to barracks.
Federal police had taken pains not to draw attention to the training course, part of a European Union plan approved by foreign ministers in February to train 770 senior officials in modern skills and democratic values. The Iraqis were at a federal police training site in Blumberg, northeast of Berlin. The spokesman said there was "no evidence whatsoever" that the man could be linked to Iraqi terrorists. A Berlin newspaper, Tagesspiegel, had reported Friday this "could not be ruled out".
"All police means" were being used to discover his whereabouts. Police do not believe he has fallen victim to a crime or accident. "He knows people who live in Berlin," the spokesman. "He probably went to see them and did not return to Blumberg in time for classes."
Check the cabs, he's likely driving one.
Officials said that going by similar cases in the past, he would have known he would be punished with immediate suspension, so would have decided to enjoy the city lights till the party set off for home in mid December. The Justice Ministry said a second course would start after March next year.
Konrad Freiberg, chairman of the German police officers' union GdP, said it made sense to quietly bring the Iraqi trainees to Germany rather than "training them somewhere in the desert". As a strict opponent of the U.S. and British invasion of Iraq, Germany has not sent any forces personnel into Iraq and instead has conducted many courses in the United Arab Emirates.
Posted by: too true ||
12/02/2005 12:08 ||
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Prostitution is LEGAL here???!?
Just a minute, Herr Heinz, I must have left my prayer rug running back at the apartment...
An appeal began Friday in a Greek court for members of the November 17 terrorist group, who were convicted for their roles in a terror spree -- including murders and bombings -- spanning more than a quarter of a century. Fourteen of the 15 members convicted in December 2003 were at the hearing Friday as the proceedings got underway amid tight security at a prison outside Athens. Of those 15, six received life sentences. The remaining nine received jail terms of 18 years or less.
Legal sources said it was highly unlikely that sentences would be reduced for the key members, although some of the lesser sentences may be reduced. The hearing was held two years to the day after the convictions. Nearly two dozen prominent Greeks as well as Turkish, British and U.S. diplomats were among the group's victims. British attache Stephen Saunders, 53, was shot four times by two assailants riding a motorcycle while traveling to work in June 2000, during the morning rush hour on the busy Kiffisias avenue in Athens. He died three-and-a-half hours later. The brigadier was the last victim in November 17's 28-year campaign of terror. A proclamation from the group at the time claimed Saunders was gunned down because of Britain's role in the NATO attacks on Yugoslavia in 1999.
The group is blamed for dozens of armed robberies, hundreds of bombings and 23 killings since 1975, including the death of Richard Welch, who was the CIA station chief in Athens. Police have long said that the November 17 terrorist group was believed to be a small, close-knit group. The group is named after the date of a student uprising in 1973 against the military junta then ruling Greece. Greek police have been anxious to break the group ahead of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/02/2005 10:13 ||
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The raid netted explosives, rifles, other arms and a videotape pledging vengeance for the "brothers" killed fighting Americans in Afghanistan and Iraq. Police found the cache in an apartment occupied by an underground group that was aiming to blow up the British Embassy in Sarajevo, Western intelligence officials said.
The Oct. 19 bust in Sarajevo confirmed a suspicion among several intelligence agents that Bosnia and other parts of the Balkans are becoming a launching pad for terrorist attacks in Europe.
In particular, Islamic radicals are looking to create cells of so-called white al Qaeda, non-Arab members who can evade racial profiling used by police forces to watch for potential terrorists. "They want to look European to carry out operations in Europe," said a Western intelligence agent in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia and Montenegro, adjacent to Bosnia. "It's yet another evolution in the tools used by terrorists."
Parts of the Balkans, stuck in lawless limbo after years of war in the 1990s, are ripe recruitment territory for Middle East radicals, intelligence officials say. Bosnia is still divided among Muslim, Croat and Serb population areas, even if nominally united under the 10-year-old Dayton peace agreement that ended ethnic warfare.
Muslim enclaves in Serbia are restive, and Muslim-majority Kosovo remains an estranged province campaigning for independence six years after NATO bombing forced out Serb-dominated Yugoslav troops.
The Balkans have long been a freeway for smugglers of cigarettes, drugs, weapons and prostitutes. "All the conditions are present. Embittered Muslims, arms, corruption -- everything underground operators need to get established," said the Western intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The raid on the Sarajevo group, which was said to have had contacts with cells in Denmark and Britain, was not the only event that raised concern. During the summer, Italian and Croatian police arrested five people who allegedly plotted to bomb the funeral of Pope John Paul II in Vatican City in April.
In addition, Serbian police accidentally came across a key suspect in the March 2004 bombings of Madrid commuter trains while he was traveling through the country by train. He arrived in the Balkans in July, and Serbian police investigators conjecture that he was seeking haven either in Bosnia or Kosovo and perhaps safe passage to the Middle East. They quickly extradited the man, Abdelmajid Bouchar, a Moroccan citizen, to Spain.
U.S. and allied intelligence officers have long worked together in Sarajevo to keep an eye on Islamic radicals in Bosnia. After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, the CIA and other foreign agencies set up a joint, fortified headquarters to keep tabs on terrorism suspects in Bosnia, a Western intelligence source in Sarajevo said.
The spy teams operate separately from the chief international overseers of Bosnia, the Office of the High Representative, according to the official.
During the three-sided war in Bosnia, hundreds of fighters from Arab and other Middle Eastern countries flocked to Bosnia to fight on behalf of the Muslim faction against Croats and Serbs. Many of the foreign mujaheddin , or holy warriors, were expelled after the war, according to the Bosnian government, but others remained and received passports.
Today, parts of Bosnia framed by the cities of Zenica, Tuzla, Sarajevo and Travnik are home to these immigrants and compose the core regions for Islamic militancy, Bosnian police and Western intelligence officials say.
Until recently, the immigrants tried to keep a low profile. Western intelligence officials here and in Belgrade surmised that they wanted to exploit Bosnia as a logistics and transit point and not invite a crackdown from local police or European Union peacekeepers.
The Sarajevo arrests changed that perception. A Bosnian Interior Ministry official, Robert Cvrtak, released the names of four detainees from the raid: Cesur Abdulkadir, who is of Turkish heritage; Mirsad Bektasevic, a Swedish citizen of Bosnian origin; and Bajro Ikanovic and Almir Bajric, both Bosnian citizens. Among their activities, Bosnian police said, were hiding explosives inside lemons and tennis balls and trying to set up training camps in the hills near Sarajevo.
Last Thursday night, Bosnian police arrested a fifth suspect in the town of Hadzici, near Sarajevo. The police found about 20 pounds of explosives hidden in woods near his home. The man, whose name has not been made public, is suspected of being in charge of providing explosives to the rest of group.
Police officials here say Bektasevic, 19, also ran a Web site on behalf of Abu Musab Zarqawi, the Jordanian who heads the insurgent group al Qaeda in Iraq. He had pictures of the White House in his computer, they added.
Bektasevic operated under the code name Maximus and kept in touch with a group of at least three men in Britain. British police arrested them in early November, according to press reports.
A week after the original Sarajevo arrests, police in Copenhagen detained four men ages 16 to 20 and said they had planned suicide bombings somewhere in Europe. "We had a very short period to investigate, but our information indicated that their action was imminent," said a police spokesman, Joern Bro. The Danes believed that the Copenhagen suspects had been in contact by phone and e-mail with Bektasevic.
In August, police in Croatia arrested five Bosnians whom Italian military intelligence had fingered for involvement in a plot to bomb the papal funeral. The group originated in Gornja Maoca, a town in northeastern Bosnia, and had planned to smuggle rocket launchers, explosives and detonators into Italy. The plot fell apart, Western intelligence officials said, when a suspect was arrested in Rome in April. The Croatian police, acting on a tip from the Italians, found the others in Croatia.
The capture of Bouchar, suspected in the Madrid train bombings, in Serbia in July surprised police there. They had thought he was just another Middle Easterner traveling illegally through the country until an Interpol fingerprint check revealed his identity.
Authorities say Bouchar had narrowly escaped death or capture shortly after the Madrid attacks, when police there sealed off an apartment where suspects were hiding. Seven men died in the residence by detonating explosives. Bouchar, however, was taking out garbage at the time and fled, Serbian and Spanish officials say.
He traveled to Brussels, where he expected to obtain forged documents, authorities said. However, his contacts there were either under arrest or fleeing police. He moved on and spent time in Austrian and Hungarian jails, but was freed. No one in either country checked his fingerprints.
When picked up heading toward Belgrade, he was wearing a new business suit. Western intelligence officials in Belgrade note that Serbia, although predominantly non-Muslim, has pockets of Muslims in the Sanjak region near Montenegro as well as Kosovo and other areas along the province's border.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/02/2005 00:55 ||
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#1
The capture of Bouchar...surprised police there. They had thought he was just another Middle Easterner traveling illegally through the country until an Interpol fingerprint check revealed his identity... He...spent time in Austrian and Hungarian jails, but was freed. No one in either country checked his fingerprints.
Thus demonstrating the importance of basic police procedure, and of controlling the borders against illegal immigrants.
#2
Ten years of the usual ineffectual UN administration in the Balkans shows why the US isn't allowing the kiddies to rebuild Iraq. The UN leadership is completely blind to the pace of development occuring in Iraq being contrasted to their quagmire in the Balkans. The terrorists are moving to more friendly areas generally associated with failed governments. That certainly is the case with the UN handling of the Balkans.
#3
The EU will handles this with its multi-national Rapid Action Batallions. There is no need for the unilateralists from the U. S. to be involved. Why doesn't Murtha want to withdraw immediately from this quagmire?
#8
Why doesn't Murtha want to withdraw immediately from this quagmire?
Americans killed in Bosnia: 0
Americans killed in Iraq: 2000+
I'm taking a wild guess and saying it's because American lives matter to Murtha.
The UN leadership is completely blind to the pace of development occuring in Iraq being contrasted to their quagmire in the Balkans
Yes, certainly people in Iraq are being slaughtered and the whole Iraqi nation is headed towards Islamofascist control at a much much faster pace than is happening with the Balkans. Where "pace" is concerned, Iraq has Bosnia beat.
#10
Murtha isn't European AFAIK, Choluth. Please focus.
And up to now I think I was being accused of following idealistic principles without regards as to the waste of lives my principles (principles such as opposing the torture of innocents) would supposedly cause. Am not dumb enough to expect consistency in your personal attacks ofcourse.
But one thing is indeed true, Choluth. I value human lives more than one such as you could imagine.
#12
It's not about me being better than anyone else, it's that you are so much worse -- as shown by the immediate mocking contempt you showed towards the idea of saving lives, without even bothering to elevate a different principle in its place.
#14
Why doesn't Murtha want to withdraw immediately from this quagmire?
Americans killed in Bosnia: 0
Americans killed in Iraq: 2000+
I'm taking a wild guess and saying it's because American lives matter to Murtha.
BZZZZT - You don't know dick about American politics, Aris, you just assume you do, because you wikipedia'd Murtha. He's a hawk ONLY when compared to Cynthia McKinney. He's playing retreat politics and the American people don't buy it. His Donk cohorts wouldn't even show the spine to vote what they's been mouthing off for weeks. You'd learn more if you used your receptive senses instead of delivering pap from an ingorant
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/02/2005 19:09 Comments ||
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#15
I didn't wikipedia Murtha, am not sure where you get that idea.
"He's a hawk ONLY when compared to Cynthia McKinney."
I didn't claim that he was a hawk. Where did you get that idea either?
He's playing retreat politics and the American people don't buy it. His Donk cohorts wouldn't even show the spine to vote what they'd been mouthing off for weeks.
Actually Murtha himself didn't vote on the bill that the Republicans brought forth -- and which wasn't Murtha's own. What the Republicans did was the definition of "constucting a strawman", creating their own false version of the opponent's argument just in order to tear it down and pretend they won.
Actually it seems to be what you are now doing also, when you claimed that *I* claimed Murtha to be a hawk.
You'd learn more if you used your receptive senses instead of delivering pap from an ingorant
I have no idea what "delivering pap from an ingorant" means.
Anyway, even if Murtha is "playing retreat politics", my point remains: I'm taking a wild guess that the reason he picked to play such politics over Iraq vs over Bosnia, it's that it's in Iraq and NOT in Bosnia that American soldiers are getting killed.
#16
ingorant? LOL, PIMF. Wiki is your acknowledged source of Americana. Murtha cares about lives - apparently not Iraqi lives or the lives of Americans who will be viewed as weak (as they were under Carter and Clinton) and ineffectual. A hawk is the standard reference to buttress "Murtha's a patriot" defense of his dirtpoor judgement and proposals
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/02/2005 19:45 Comments ||
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Actually Aris the US military has drawdown plans that start in 2006. The only way it could have been done quicker as Murtha demanded would be immediate withdrawal. The Republicans used almost the identical terminology that Murtha did and he still voted against it because when he made his comments he didn't expect to be held to them.
Either he is woefully unaware of what is going on in Iraq in which case he should not be commenting or making demands but should be doing basic research or we was playing partisan games and had his bluff called.
#18
BTW - Bosnia is OK in the Donk pantheon for us to fight and die for - we have no interests there. It was also started by a Donk president and Gen Weasely Clark got his merit badge there.
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/02/2005 19:55 Comments ||
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"ingorant?"
Yes, I don't know what that word means. Actually I don't know what "pap" means either. In fact I also don't know what "PIMF" means. And I'm too tired of your games to look them up.
Wiki is your acknowledged source of Americana
Not acknowledged as such by me, Frankie -- you've become so devoted to your lies and slanders that you can't even tell them yourself from truth anymore.
A hawk is the standard reference to buttress "Murtha's a patriot" defense of his dirtpoor judgement and proposals
Well, I for once certainly don't believe that only hawks can be patriots; the qualities are about as orthogonal as religion and morality. There are quite a few unpatriotic warmongers -- and quite a few patriotic pacifists.
#20
Bosnia is OK in the Donk pantheon for us to fight and die for
Did you actually have *any* American casualties in Bosnia? Or are you just speaking in the Deceptive Hypothetical, namely that you might have had casualties?
#21
PIMF - "Preview is my friend" - meaning, yup, I f*&ked up, and didn't preview to catch it.
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/02/2005 20:15 Comments ||
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#22
aris...the US goal is to elevate the Iraqis to be a free and independant people/country. Zark and the boomers have no such goals. Their goal and 'values' are death to themselves and all strange infidels, like you...they really think killing is fun...so why aren't you trying to Murtha-ise them out of Iraq?
"the U.S. armed forces are broken, worn out, and living hand to mouth."
Huh, worn out?? Murtha must have amnesia or Alzheimers.
Guess he forgot about Battan, Corregidor, Guadalcanal, Tulagi, Bougainville, Midway, The Slot, Sulu Sea, Coral Sea, Java, Leyte, Truk, Philipines, Saipan, Iwo, Okinawa, D Day, hedgerows, The Ardennes, Sicily, Anzio, frozen Chosin, etc.
Posted by: Red Dog ||
12/02/2005 21:02 Comments ||
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A Belgian national arrested by anti-terrorist police in Morocco in November claims he offered Samir A. the services of female suicide bombers to attack the headquarters of the Dutch security service AIVD.
Mohamed Reha, a Belgian of Moroccan ancestry, said A. was prepared to co-operate in a suicide attack on the AIVD but only wanted male bombers.
A, a 19-year-old Dutch-Moroccan, was cleared for the third time of terrorist charges by a Dutch court in November. He has a further case pending against him.
Reha was among several people arrested in Morocco earlier this month. News agency AFP has obtained a copy of the statement.
He told police partners of several suspected terrorists being detained in Belgium were ready to carry out suicide attacks in Morocco, it was reported on Thursday.
Reha studied at a Koran school in Syria, but was deported at the age of 18 in June 2005 and returned to Belgium, Flemish newspaper 'De Standaard' reported.
In Belgium, he allegedly received a telephone call from the wife of a man identified as Rachid Iba. "She asked me to come to Brussels. We agreed to meet in a [train] station," Reha told Moroccan police.
"She told me that many Muslim women whose husbands were arrested in Belgium would like to become involved in Jihad, the holy war. She asked me to help them by finding someone to train them and supply them with explosives."
Reha emphasised that the conversation was conducted via small notes. He confessed to promising the woman he would do everything possible to help them succeed.
Later, Reha informed the Algerian Khalid Abou Bassir â who he claims is the co-ordinator of terror network al-Qaeda in Europe â about the plans. Reha also told Rachid Iba that Abou Bassir would become the leader of the female suicide bombers.
Reha then left for the Netherlands where he allegedly met Samir A., who was recently acquitted by the appeals court in The Hague of terrorist activities.
A. allegedly said he was prepared to co-operate in a suicide attack against the Dutch intelligence services. Reha then offered the services of the female suicide bombers, but A. is said to have refused the offer because he only wanted men to carry out the attack.
On 28 September, Reha left for Morocco where he was arrested in November with 16 other suspects. They are accused of planning attacks against US and Israeli targets in Morocco.
Meanwhile, the federal public prosecution office in Belgium said on Thursday morning, five of the 14 suspects arrested in the anti-terror sweeps in various Belgian cities on Tuesday night have been remanded in custody.
They are accused of breaching terrorism laws, forgery and using forged documents.
The raids in Brussels, Antwerp, Riemst and Charleroi were carried out after reports emerged on Tuesday that a Belgian woman had carried out a suicide attack in the vicinity of the Iraqi capital Baghdad on 9 November.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/02/2005 00:50 ||
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Some recent news facts. Samir A was cleared of terror charges. Some Dutch schools want him back as a student in chemistry if he stays cleared of terror charges. Dutch court ordered yesterday that a female extremist linked to Samir A may not be followed by the police as this is imapcting her daily live. A lot of Dutch people start to question the way Dutch courts are ruled and by whom. It is known that a lot of judges are known to be socialists.
#3
Samir's education won't be complete until he can manufacture RDX while blindfolded.
Posted by: ed ||
12/02/2005 10:58 Comments ||
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#4
actually, Samir A isn't going to be released 'off the hook' any time soon. New charges have been brought against him as we speak, and this time, they have been based on new legislation. THe problem was that in the first case against him, the prosecutor wasn't able to base his case on the new legislation, since that the alledged facts had happened before the approval of the new legislation. Recently, a new case with new elements has been built against Samir, and this time, rest assured he's gonna get convicted
The partners of several suspected terrorists being detained in Belgium are ready to carry out suicide attacks in Morocco, it was reported on Thursday.
The claim was made in a police statement by Mohamed Reha, a Belgian of Moroccan ancestry who was arrested in Morocco earlier this month. News agency AFP has obtained a copy of the statement. Reha studied at a Koran school in Syria but was deported at the age of 18 in June 2005 and returned to Belgium, Flemish newspaper 'De Standaard' reported.
In Belgium, he allegedly received a telephone call from the wife of a man identified as Rachid Iba. "She asked me to come to Brussels. We agreed to meet in a [train] station," Reha told Moroccan police. "She told me that many Muslim women whose husbands were arrested in Belgium would like to become involved in Jihad, the holy war. She asked me to help them by finding someone to train them and supply them with explosives."
Reha emphasised that the conversation was conducted via small notes. He confessed to promising the woman he would do everything possible to help the women succeed.
Later, Reha informed the Algerian Khalid Abou Bassir â who he claims is the co-ordinator of terror network al-Qaeda in Europe â about the plans. Reha also told Rachid Iba that Abou Bassir would become the leader of the female suicide bombers. Reha then departed for the Netherlands where he met Samir Azzouz, who was recently acquitted by the appeals court in The Hague for terrorist activities.
Azzouz allegedly said he was prepared to co-operate in a suicide attack against the Dutch intelligence services. Reha then offered the services of the female suicide bombers, but Azzouz is said to have refused the offer because he only wanted men to carry out the attack.
On 28 September, Reha departed for Morocco where he was arrested in November with 16 other suspects. They are accused of planning attacks against US and Israeli targets in Morocco.
Meanwhile, the federal public prosecution office in Belgium said on Thursday morning, five of the 14 suspects arrested in the anti-terror sweeps in various Belgian cities on Tuesday night have been remanded in custody. They are accused of breaching terrorism laws, forgery and using forged documents.
The raids in Brussels, Antwerp, Riemst and Charleroi were carried out after reports emerged on Tuesday that a Belgian woman had carried out a suicide attack in the vicinity of the Iraqi capital Baghdad on 9 November.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/02/2005 00:49 ||
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What a scourge is this thing we call Islam.
-Voltaire-
o.k., it's not really Voltaire, but it ought to be.
Belgian police charged five people Thursday with involvement in a network that recruited and sent volunteers to Iraq, including a Belgian woman who blew herself up in a failed attack on U.S. troops near Baghdad last month. Belgian police charged five people Thursday with involvement in a network that recruited and sent volunteers to Iraq, including a Belgian woman who blew herself up in a failed attack on U.S. troops near Baghdad last month.
On Wednesday, Belgian police confirmed that Muriel Degauque, 38, was the suicide bomber involved in that attack. "It is the first time that we see that a Western woman, a Belgian, marrying a radical Muslim, and is converted up to the point of becoming a jihad fighter," said Glenn Audenaert, federal police director.
The woman's mother, Liliane Degauque, told local TV networks that her daughter was "so nice," but changed when she married an Algerian man and turned to Islamic fundamentalism. "When I saw the first pictures, I said to myself, 'It is my girl.' For three weeks already I tried to contact her by telephone, but I got the answering machine," she told the RTBF network on Thursday.
The European Union justice and interior ministers Thursday approved a strategy to fight the recruitment of Europeans into terrorist groups. "We face a threat from people who come to Europe from the outside, and we face a threat from people who live in Europe," said Gijs de Vries, the EU's top anti-terrorism official. The strategy includes monitoring the Internet and travel to conflict zones. It is one of 12 priority measures being fast-tracked by the 25-country EU alliance after July attacks on public transportation in London by British bombers, who also died in the attacks. Most contentious are proposals to retain data such as e-mails and telephone call records.
In Belgium, police charged five of 14 suspects with involvement in a terror network that sent volunteers such as Degauque to Iraq. A 15th suspect was picked up in France. "This action shows how international terrorism tries to set up networks in western European nations," Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt said.
Before she finished high school, Degauque lived in Charleroi in southern Belgium. Authorities say Degauque went on to become a member of a terror cell that embraced al-Qaeda's ideology. It included her second husband, a man of Moroccan origin who died in a separate terrorist attack in Iraq. "This is the Belgian kamikaze killed in Iraq," read the headline of Thursday's La Derniere Heure newspaper, over a picture of a smiling young woman looking into the camera.
Magnus Ranstorp, director of the center for the study of terrorism and violence at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, said fundamentalist women are a growing threat because they don't conform to terrorist profiles. Converts such as Degauque "are much more radical because they have to prove themselves," he said. The ability of radical Islamic groups to recruit is "indicative of the failure of social integration policies," Ranstorp said. "It's a huge problem in Europe. A small group can unleash large social forces that may be difficult to contain."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/02/2005 00:26 ||
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Never mind this. Whatever happened to Sharon's trial?
#4
I think this is an ominous sign that, in an ideological and moral vaccuum, the most aggressive ideology will win converts...Is she a metaphor for the evolution of Eurabia?
#5
I think this is an ominous sign that, in an ideological and moral vaccuum, the most aggressive ideology will win converts...Is she a metaphor for the evolution of Eurabia?
I don't think it's that the most aggressive ideology will win converts so much as that the only aggressive ideology is succeeding against nothing. The "old order" was torn down, but nothing was put in its place. There is no anchor for the majority of the people of Europe to cling to in changing times - nationalism is being destroyed in order to build the new "european union"; religion has already been mostly destroyed to make room for "secular humanism", even though that has failed everywhere it's been tried. Political parties are so corrupt they can't be salvaged. School ties no longer mean anything, because school no longer means anything.
Either the people of Europe learn to believe in something larger than themselves, or they will fall for whatever brand of inclusivism they're exposed to. We saw this once before, following World War I. It gave rise to Lenin, Musollini, and Hitler. It's strange that we in the US can see this, but the people of Europe can't, or won't admit it if they do.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/02/2005 17:51 Comments ||
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PARIS (AP) - An Algerian man suspected of involvement in a bomb attack on the Paris subway a decade ago was extradited from Britain to France on Thursday, British and French officials said. Rachid Ramda, who spent 10 years in jail in Britain, allegedly provided funds for the bombers of the July 1995 attack, which killed eight people and injured 87 on the Paris Metro system.
"Justice is finally going to be done," Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin who is a man said in an interview with France-3 television, adding that he hoped a trial would take place "very quickly."
Ramda arrived in Paris on Thursday evening and was to be presented before Paris prosecutors office in connection with an international arrest warrant, the French Justice Ministry said.
The conclusion to Britain's longest-running extradition case follows a ruling last month. Two High Court judges rejected Ramda's appeal against extradition, ruling that Home Secretary Charles Clarke had acted legally earlier this year in ordering his extradition. Ramda was arrested in Britain in 1995 as a suspect in the bombing, which was widely attributed to Algeria's militant Armed Islamic Group.
Supporters of a campaign to block extradition alleged that he could eventually be deported from France to Algeria, and claimed he could face execution there. The High Court judges said there was "no real risk" Ramda would be ill-treated in French custody or deported to Algeria.
That's a shame; might have been a useful lever.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/02/2005 00:00 ||
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The High Court judges said there was "no real risk" Ramda would be ill-treated in French custody
Let us not forget that there are those who argue that being forced to abide in a French prison itself constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. Mr. Ramda will no doubt soon look back with longing to his days in British legal limbo.
Survey of 1,000 Adults
December 2, 2005--Confidence in the War on Terror is up sharply compared to a month ago. Forty-eight percent (48%) Americans now believe the U.S. and its Allies are winning. That's up nine points from 39% a month ago and represents the highest level of confidence measured in 2005. Just 28% now believe the terrorists are winning, down six points from 34% a month ago. The survey was conducted on Wednesday and Thursday night following the President's speech outlining his strategy in Iraq.
Huge partisan divisions on questions dealing with Iraq remain. Seventy-four percent (74%) of Republicans believe the U.S. and its allies are winning. That's up from 64% a month ago. Just 28% of Democrats believe the U.S. is winning while 45% of Nancy Pelosi's party believe the terrorists are winning. Even that is a more optimistic assessment than last month when just 19% of Democrats said the U.S. was winning. Among those those not affiliated with either major party, 40% now say the U.S. and its allies are winning. Thirty percent (30%) take the opposite view. A month ago, unaffiliateds were evenly divided.
Forty percent (40%) now believe that the U.S. is safer than it was before 9/11. That's up from 34% a month ago and 37% the month before.
Forty-three percent (43%) take the opposite view and say the U.S. is not safer that it was before the 9/11 terrorist attacks. That figure is down from 50% a month ago.
Thirty-eight percent (38%) give the President good or excellent ratings for handling the situation in Iraq. While still a low rating, it's up from 33% a month ago.
Thirty-eight percent (38%) now say things will get better in Iraq over the next six months. That's up from 32% a month ago and 30% the month before.29%. Forty-one percent (41%) expect things to get worse, down from 45% the month before.
At the beginning of 2005, just 28% of Americans thought the situation in Iraq would get better over the next six month. A Rasmussen Reports survey at the time found that 50% of Americans expected things to get worse. Forty percent (40%) of Americans believe that, in the long run, the U.S. mission in Iraq will be viewed as a success. Forty-five percent (45%) believe it will be viewed as a failure. Those figures also show increased optimism compared to last month.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/02/2005 13:12 ||
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And in other news: Democrats have given Saddam Hussein a shocking vote of confidence in the latest Fox News Opinion Dynamics survey, with a solid plurality saying the world would be better off if the Butcher of Baghdad was still in power. Forty-one percent of Democrats gave Saddam a thumbs up, while just 34 percent said Iraq is better served with the murderous dictator gone, reports the New York Post.
In stark contrast, 78 percent of Republicans said toppling the mass-murdering leader left everyone better off. Just 10 percent said they wished Saddam still ruled Iraq.
On the question of whether President Bush lied to the American people about Saddam's weapons of mass destruction, 72 percent of Democrats say he did. Seventy-nine percent of Republicans disagreed, however -- saying that Bush gave the American people the best intelligence he had at the time.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/02/2005 13:29 Comments ||
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#2
Well, I could certainly believe the terrorists are winning. I mean, listen to their stated goals: "I am prepared to die for Allah!" "We love death as you love life." "I will martyr myself for jihad!" And they have given 110% in achieving these goals. In fact, I would call the War on Terror a win-win situation. Keep up the good work, guys!
#3
Winning? BS! Bush chose to make alliances with Islamic tyrannies and pseudo democracies, and the result: the tyrannies hardened their positions while Islamofascist movements are poised to turf out the last remnants of Secularism in the Muslim gutter. Iraq? Shiite Iraq is effectively an Iranian colony. Iraqi Sunnis are at war with everybody. A recent Telegraph opinion poll reported 65% Iraqi support (more if Kurds are discounted) for attacks on US troops. Oil production is below 2003 levels. US troops now conduct few patrols, which explains the low number of IED deaths, while leaving huge areas of Iraq to genocidal militias. Where major attacks are made against terrorist strongholds, the enemy quickly fades into the harboring populace thereby squelching effective counter-terror. Culturally, the Shiites and Sunnis ape the same conspiracy garbage that comes out of the rest of those savage territories. When Bush first chose limited war measures against the only Secular government in Islamania,I wrote here that the US will face a hostile, burgeoning Islamofascist populace without effective means to neutralize the enemy. I also wrote that unless Bush resolves to liquidate Islamofascists on a mass scale the US will leave Iraq to the Iranian Mullatocracy, and will vacate same like the beaten dog simpering with its tail between its legs.
Screw US party politics! If someone in office has to balls to properly define the mortal Islamofascist menace, then the necessary annihilation can begin. Characterizing redundant Bush folly as victory is pure denial. The best case scenario that I can see is: massive public support for Israel when that sole bright light in the stangnant Middle East swamp, starts nuking Iran by February. Americans will come to realize that Kandahar whould have been turned to charcoal within a week of 9-11. Bush blew counter-terror. Only the American people can save that war. Islamofascist hearts and minds are for bullets.
#5
No, but it's Friday and the bars are open and football season doesn't have all that long to go. Not sure about the phase of the moon but no doubt it's at work in bringing out the moonbats on both extremes too LOL.
FBI agents and Homeland Security officials spent the weekend investigating the report of a possible missile fired at an American Airlines plane taking off from Los Angeles International Airport.
Sources tell ABC News the pilot of American Airlines Flight 621, en route to Chicago, radioed air traffic controllers after takeoff from LAX. He told them a missile had been fired at the aircraft and missed. The plane was over water when the pilot said he saw a smoke trail pass by the cockpit. FBI agents believe it was a flare or a bottle rocket, but say they may never know if that's what it actually was.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/02/2005 12:58 ||
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That's a hell of a bottle rocket. What was the plane's altitude?
Posted by: ed ||
12/02/2005 13:10 Comments ||
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#2
It's just a bottle rocket, keep them calm for the holidays, thats our story. The aircraft are well over the max range of a bottle rocket, most flares, and fireworks. Lets hope the FBI put a little more effort into this than they normally do.
Posted by: 49 pan ||
12/02/2005 13:15 Comments ||
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#3
Let's hear from any resident experts on this simple question.
Wouldn't a guided missile or other sort of SAM have sufficient radar cross-section to have triggered the aircraft's collision avoidance warning system, or at least show up on its navigational radar screen?
Also, wouldn't local ground-based radar have recorded the track of a SAM launch as well?
#4
Zenster,
No. An IR SAM would be fired from behind the plane and the plane's radar would never pick it up. Sensors are available to detect a missiles ultraviolet plume, but I know of no US commercial jetliner that has it. I would not even be optimistic the airports ground radar would pick it up, and with a radar's slow mechanical scan rate would not track it.
Posted by: ed ||
12/02/2005 13:24 Comments ||
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#7
Thank you, ed. I had thought our airport radars were more up to date. Perhaps it's time to consider installing phased array radar at major air traffic hubs.
I would also think that an airliner's collision avoidance sensing and navigational radar would not just be forward looking.
#10
gb506, I'd say LOL if the situation weren't so unfunny. If you haven't read Downfall run out and get it.
Posted by: Matt ||
12/02/2005 14:19 Comments ||
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Zen, just did a quick google search. Did not find any references to LAX having a phased array radar. But I did find an interesting site showing live LAX radar tracks. If your believe the tracking updates, it looks like the radar makes a complete sweep every 5 seconds. LAX Internet Flight Tracks The JAVA LAX flight tracks app screen
Posted by: ed ||
12/02/2005 14:30 Comments ||
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#12
the problem with this is that Flight 621 goes between Dallas/Ft. Worth and Santa Ana John Wayne
#13
the problem with this is that Flight 621 goes between Dallas/Ft. Worth and Santa Ana John Wayne
AFAICR, John Wayne is close to the sea, and it's likely they were routed out there to come into the correct runway. For example, coming into Cincinnati, you can either make the approach over southeast Indiana, or through the east side of Cincinnati, depending on the winds.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
12/02/2005 15:49 Comments ||
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#14
ed, I was merely speculating that it might be prudent to install phased array radar systems at major air transportation hubs. And you're right, a 5 second sweep time would barely catch a handful of data points in the brief time-of-flight for a SAM.
#15
Radar resolution is a factor of pulse length and beam width. Beam width is a factor of the antenna size (lamda). Most commercial radars have a resolution of about 5m - that's big enough to catch anything from a hang glider to a 747. Most shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles are about 1.2m in length, and about 0.2m in diameter. You'd never see it on commercial radar. To get the resolution higher, you have to do one of three things: alter the size of the antenna (which is one thing phased array antennas do), shorten the pulse length (usually 1.2-2.5 microseconds), or a combination of the two. The larger the antenna, the more power required, also the shorter the pulse length, the greater the power required. There are some tricks that can be done to make an antenna look bigger than it is, and other ways to create split-pulses, but it still takes huge amounts of power.
One of the problems with using shoulder-fired SAMs to take down commercial aircraft is the IR signature of a commercial jet is HUGE - three to ten times that of a military aircraft - and more diffuse. The missile has a harder time locking on and homing into a single source (one of several jet engines a commercial jet has). This is why missiles designed to take down bomber aircraft are not IR seekers, but active or passive radar beam riders.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/02/2005 18:20 Comments ||
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#16
Wouldn't a guided missile or other sort of SAM have sufficient radar cross-section to have triggered the aircraft's collision avoidance warning system
The collision avoidance system (TCAS) works by picking up signals from beacons on other aircraft. A SAM would not trigger TCAS, since it doesn't have the beacon.
Posted by: Rafael ||
12/02/2005 18:21 Comments ||
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#18
Thank you, Rafael, I learned that about aircraft interrogation methods while reading up on collision avoidance doing research for this article. I doubt SAMs are going to come with transponders any time soon. Wucka wucka.
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/02/2005 19:59 Comments ||
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#21
Ref Post #13 from Mr. Crawford - planes landing at SNA aka JW always come in from the northeast and take-off to the southwest over water. The sw departure is initially over a residential area and has much higher angle (noise control) than the depature at LAX. The LAX departure puts the plane over water almost immediately and at a lower altitude. Plus SNA is resticted to smaller a/c due to shorter runways and again noise. IMHO shooter chioce would be LAX due to lower altitude and larger targets ie 47's. Don't know nothin' about AA621's route but don't doubt the post about the SNA-ORD route easy enough to verify.
#22
It appears that AA621's route is MSP --> DFW --> SNA. Unless I'm mistaken (quite possible) there wouldn't be a AA flight 621 departing from either Santa Ana or LAX.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An America West Airlines flight was diverted to Kansas City on Thursday after a threatening message was found in the lavatory, airline and Homeland Security officials said. America West Flight 820 from Phoenix to Boston landed without incident and all passengers were taken off and re-screened by security with "negative results."
The airplane was diverted for security reasons after threatening graffiti was found in its bathroom. Airline spokesman Phil Gee said the airplane was carrying 99 passengers and five crew. Federal and local officials were inspecting the airplane, a Homeland Security official said. The flight had been due to land in Boston at 5 p.m. but had been delayed by at least three hours.
#1
An America West Airlines flight was diverted to Kansas City on Thursday after a threatening message was found in the lavatory, airline and Homeland Security officials said
message: Imgonna kill the bastard who forgot the TP supply.
Posted by: Red Dog ||
12/02/2005 8:57 Comments ||
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#2
Testing the system, causing panic and economic impact without being arrest-able ...
#3
Issuing baseless threats that cause a flight to be diverted, delaying arrival at its proper destination isn't illegal? Surely at least the culprit can be sued for the costs he caused to be incurred?
#4
You can rest assured all passengers aboard that flight will be included in a computerized aviation serious incident report. The next incident that takes place will result in the names of previous incident(s) passengers being bounced against the current problem flight manifest. I would NOT want to be a match.
#6
tw, they have to be able to pin it on someone specific before they can think about any charges.
pappy, good point. also, Delta just announced they lost $1.14 billion in six weeks since they declared bankruptcy. XMAS air travel is going to be pretty bad.
India claimed on Thursday that militant training camps still exist in Pakistan and Kashmir, as well as in Bangladesh along its eastern border.
âPakistan has so far not taken any significant action to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism, such as launching pads, training camps, communications and fundingâ, which the Indian government has âcontinuously stressed in its interaction with Pakistan at all levelsâ, Minister of State for External Affairs Minister Rao Inderjit Singh told the Rajya Sabha (Upper House).
âThe government has always clearly stated that the India-Pakistan dialogue process can only be conducted in a terrorism-free atmosphere, and is critically dependent on the fulfilment of the January 6, 2004 commitment by President Musharraf (on the sidelines of the SAARC summit) not to allow territory under Paksitanâs control to be used for terrorism,â Singh said.
He said that the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) director general had handed over a list of 172 camps of Indian insurgent groups on Bangladeshi soil to the director general of the Bangladesh Rifles two months ago.
The issue has frequently been taken up with the Bangladesh government at all levels, and âwe have been assured by the Bangladeshi government that it will not allow the use of its territory for activities inimical to Indiaâ, the minister told the Upper House.
However, the minister denied any knowledge about the existence of terrorist training camps in Nepalese territory.
The house was assured that India has not lowered its guard after the earthquake.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee told the Lok Sabha (Lower House) that 10 infiltration attempts were foiled by the Indian Army along the Line of Control (LoC) since the October 8 quake. He said that 25 terrorists had been killed in these attempts.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/02/2005 00:53 ||
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Mushie keeps the terror camps open - as long as they're directed at India or Afghanistan. They give his terrorism-minded young folks a place to direct their energy in a way that most likely does not get Mushie killed. 'Pressure-release valve.'
#3
Long range Indian artillery on the border making Pakistan's best land uninhabitiable from the border to 30 miles inland might pound home the cost of terrorist sponsorship.
Posted by: ed ||
12/02/2005 9:11 Comments ||
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#5
Long range Indian artillery on the border making Pakistan's best land uninhabitiable from the border to 30 miles inland might pound home the cost of terrorist sponsorship.
The Indian army wants to increase its gun ranges to 65 km. (new swedish and South African projectiles).
Indian Army also has a new gun tender - for SP wheeled, towed and SP tracked tube artillery (forgot how many hundred of each). They've developed some new computer systems (command and control) over the massed guns for "hundred gun" salvos that will obliterate areas. The russian MRLS systems should be arriving soon so add that to the mix.
Posted by: john ||
12/02/2005 15:11 Comments ||
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Security agencies have picked up a Karachi-based businessman on the suspicion of having links to Al Qaeda and Taliban two days back when he was travelling from Karachi to Lahore for a business meeting, family members fear.
Arif Qasmani, a leading businessman had participated in a meeting held between the US State Department officials and former MNA, Haji Javed Ibrahim Piracha two weeks ago in Peshawar for initiation of dialogue with Taliban and Al Qaeda leadership. The US State Department denies holding any meeting with Mr Piracha.
According to Qasmaniâs family members, he had gone to Lahore for a business meeting by PIA flight PK-302 on Tuesday morning, but he did not reach there as his business partner informed the Qasmani family about that on the same day.
Family members say they have checked the final boarding list of the said flight, which carries Qasmaniâs name that means he was picked up from Lahore.
They say Arif Qasmani had also been arrested on August 14, 2005 by the security agencies, however, he was released after a two-day long interrogation about his alleged links to Al Qaeda and Taliban.
Qasmani is an active member of Defence of Human Rights Committee, an NGO which provides legal assistance to the suspects picked up by the security agencies on the charge of having links to Al Qaeda and Taliban. The committee also comprises Haji Javed Ibrahim Piracha, a former MNA from Kohat and leader of PML(N), a former Air Force officer, Khalid Khuwaja and others.
The family member say they believe that Qasmani has been picked by the security agencies at the behest of those US officials who had held the meeting with Haji Javed Ibrahim Piracha and Arif Qasmani.
Security agencies had also picked up a Karachi-based businessman, Saifullah Piracha in the same fashion when he was on his way to Bangkok for a business meeting on the same charge. Saifullah Piracha is currently languishing in Guantanamo Bay camp while his son Uzair Piracha has recently been convicted by a US court for helping Al Qaeda militants.
Talking to Online, Khalid Khuwaja, a spokesman for the Defence of Human Rights Committee demanded of the government to take notice of the "disappearance" of Arif Qasmani, and if he was required in any case or investigations, his arrest be made public.
He said confirmed that Mr Qasmani had attended the respective meeting between US officials and Javed Ibrahim Piracha.
He said Mr Qasmani might have been abducted by criminals, but the government should investigate into matter.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/02/2005 00:09 ||
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Three foreigners with suspected links to Al-Qaeda were arrested in an Afghan refugee camp in northwestern Pakistan, intelligence officials said.
The men were arrested on Wednesday from a mud-walled compound in Jalozai, a sprawling refugee settlement about 25 kilometres east of Peshawar, capital of the North West Frontier province, one intelligence official said on condition of anonymity.
The second intelligence official, who also could not be named, said a large number of police and intelligence agents arrested the suspects from a bus they were travelling in following an intelligence tip off.
Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, who has officially announced arrests of Al-Qaeda suspects in Pakistan in the past, could not immediately confirm the reported arrests near Peshawar.
The intelligence officials did not give nationalities or identities of the three men but said that they did not appear to be senior terrorist figures.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/02/2005 00:08 ||
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For the first time in the history of the conflict in Kashmir , an Omani national was killed by Indian security forces on Tuesday. Sheikh Fahd from Oman and Sikandar Khan were killed in clashes around Bihbehara, in south Kahmir, according to Col. Vijay Batra, an Indian army spokesman. Both men are said to have belonged to the al Badr militant group.
A number of foreign militants from Lebanon, Sudan, Chechnya and Bangladesh, as well as Afghanistan and Pakistan have been killed in the disputer territory of Kashmir in the past 15 years. The latest deaths come as the number of foreign fighters has dramatically increased in recent years. Police Inspector K. Rajenderan in Srinagar, the capital of Indian-administered Kashmir indicated that almost 80% of recent militants active in the region were foreigners.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/02/2005 00:00 ||
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ten U.S. Marines conducting a foot patrol outside Falluja were killed by an insurgent bomb on Thursday in one of the deadliest attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq this year, the U.S. military announced on Friday.
The deaths came as President George W. Bush struggles to boost waning U.S. public support for the war, and as a growing U.S. troop-casualty toll has fueled calls by critics for a timetable to withdraw troops.
In a statement released in Falluja, the military said another 11 Marines were wounded in the blast, which was caused by an "improvised explosive device" fashioned from several large artillery shells. Seven of those wounded have been able to return to duty, the military said.
The attack was one of the worst single incidents to hit U.S. Marines in the war.
The Marines who were killed were part of Regimental Combat Team 8 of the 2nd Marine Division, part of the II Marine Expeditionary Force, the military said.
Posted by: Grans Theting3646 ||
12/02/2005 12:27 ||
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#1
This sucks. What a lousy way to start a weekend. God bless them and their families.
Semper Fi.
Posted by: Tibor ||
12/02/2005 13:12 Comments ||
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#2
Damn. Too bad the US is too afraid to interrogate captives with more than Korans and teddy bears to give up their fellow bombers. So the cell survives to plant more bombs and the press has a field day gloating about dead Marines.
Posted by: ed ||
12/02/2005 13:34 Comments ||
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#3
It's time to get medieval again.
Posted by: Rafael ||
12/02/2005 17:13 Comments ||
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#7
Look closer. Those are marmots or other rodents most likely being shot with a .270 or .30 caliber hunting rifle. I bet the video was shot in the Califoria Sierra Mountains.
Posted by: ed ||
12/02/2005 13:06 Comments ||
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#8
This isn't in Iraq. This was on the internet a few months ago saying it was Afghanistan. It turned it it was varmit hunters trying to be attention whores.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
12/02/2005 13:10 Comments ||
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#9
ahhh. Poor little varmits. I don't like the video anymore.
#10
50 cals have been banned in California. There are still a few around but there's nowhere to fire them legally. Unless this film is many years old it probably wasn't shot in CA.
Also, look closely at the third segment and tell me that's not a human body flying through the air.
Finally, the ranges and impact damage don't look to me like anything a .270 or .30 caliber is capable of.
#13
Iblis,
The first target is the most easily recognizable as a marmot sunning itself. Think of the powder charge of an .50 cal round. There is not enough energy to cause a 150 pound man to fly 10 feet in the air. Now think of the powder charge in a .270 cal x 63mm or even .243 round and it is more than enough to toss large chunks of a 10 pound marmot 3 feet.
Posted by: ed ||
12/02/2005 14:44 Comments ||
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#14
ed, I beg to differ. Have you seen up close and personal what a 50 cal round does to a human? I've seen a 50 cal round blow a horse 10 feet in the air. A human body EXPLODES!! It is NOT pretty. I'm not saying the video is not a hoax but a moder 50cal round does tremendous damage to whatever it hits.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
12/02/2005 15:43 Comments ||
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#15
Ed:
The first sequence clearly shows something running away on 4 legs. Let that pass. The others looks real to me.
#16
Deacon,
Yes meat does explode when hit by a high velocity bullet. But I disagree that it could blow a man as far as that video asserts if the target was a man. I admit I have not shot anyone with a .50 cal, but let's do some basic physics.
1. First conservation of momentum: P=M1*V1=M2*V2
If all the momentum of a 700 grain (.045kg) .50 cal ball fired at 850m/sec muzzle velocity were transferred to a 70kg target, the target would have a velocity of 0.55m/sec. Now this unrealistic since the barrel barrel would have to be shoved against his butt and the have to stop the bullet, but it gives the max theoretically possible.
2. Given an initial velocity of Vo=0.55m/sec, how high would an object rise against gravity? That's given by Hmax = 0.5 * Vo**2 / g or .5*(.55m/sec)**2/(9.8m/sec**2) = 0.015 m = 1.5cm
Now do the same for a 5kg object and you get Hmax = 3.0 meters.
As you can see, esp from the first shot of the video, that is no man shot by a .50 cal, but a small animal.
Posted by: ed ||
12/02/2005 17:22 Comments ||
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#17
#14 ed, I beg to differ. Have you seen up close and personal what a 50 cal round does to a human?"
#18
Cyber-sarge can verify this, I'm sure. The reason the Ma-deuce is so popular everywhere is that even a "minor flesh wound" does incomperable damage to the human system. I haven't watched the video, and don't care to, but the .50cal is a weapon of wonder for grunts on the ground. I wish we still had a thousand of the old "Vulcan" air-defense systems we could convert to ground use. Ten of those against any army would be systems well worth having. We might also consider using them the next time ANSWER decides to "march" in Washington, DC., and eliminate a domestic threat.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/02/2005 18:50 Comments ||
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#19
Happy, I think a .308 did that. A .308 entering dead center into a rigid skull will generate enough hydrodynamic shock to explode the back. A .50 BMG would most like have ripped the head clean off.
Did a little googling and found this:
1. Sniper Video NOT!
We have had several readers tell us that this is not sniper video, but varmint hunting video. After we took a second look we tend to agree with the varmint hunting theory. What do you think?
2. .50 Cal. Sniper Shots (in comments)
I hate to burst your bubble. No, not really. Those aren't human targets, and that's not a .50 cal doing the shooting. Follows the email I sent the first time this was forwarded to me:
"All,
Please update your distribution list(s) for this video clip with factual info:
1. Those are prairie dogs being killed, not Taliban or other evildoers.
2. The rifle is not a .50 BMG, but some substantially smaller caliber.
3. The clip originated as promotional material for a guided prairie dog hunt.
There are legitimate images of .50 BMG wounds to humans in circulation on the net, taken at distances that only a forensic pathologist would appreciate. (Well, maybe a few of you, also?) These long-range images are examples of good marksmanship, but not of the lethality of a .50 BMG round.
It isn't that I object to shooting terrorists or other combatant enemies, with a .50 BMG rifle or anything else that promptly ends their capability to do harm. I object to the fact that ignorant people seeing this clip will be influenced to support bans on the .50 caliber rifle due to the "who needs a gun that is designed to do that to people" notion.
Not that the .50 BMG doesn't do horrific damage to human targets - as does any high-powered round. It just doesn't blast bodies apart as depicted here. Even with the best high explosive (HE) ammunition available (RAUFOSS, a product of NAMMO). A human is simply too soft to initiate the detonation of the HE round. The .50 BMG round has been in civilian hands for over 60 years, and hasn't been used in any crime to date.
Regards
Mike "
Posted by: BMG Mike at Jul 13, 2005 7:00:22 PM
If the targets are prarie dogs (less than a kilogram), then would have been sent flying by any high speed bullet like a .223 or .22-50. Again, the physical calculations place a limit on high high or far a target can be blown.
Posted by: ed ||
12/02/2005 19:31 Comments ||
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A DRUG which makes users feel superhuman is being taken by rebel fanatics before they launch attacks against UK troops in Iraq. The pill - filled with addictive stimulant methamphetamine - is given to insurgents so they have no fear of taking on heavily-armed Coalition forces.
Now senior British officers fear the courage drug, which is known as a "pinky", is flooding Basra where it could help fuel a second armed uprising.
We're supposed to 'fear' hopped up jihadis who stand out in the open?
Last night a senior Army source, who returned from Iraq two months ago, said there was a " big drugs trade" in Basra and feared leaders of different terrorists groups would hand out the pills to their followers. The insider added: "Members of Muqtadr el-Sadr's fanatical Mehdi Army who've taken it have been known to stand in front of US armoured vehicles and open fire almost oblivious to the tank's guns.
"American officers think that suicide bombers may also be given pinkies to psyche them up before carrying out an attack."
Methamphetamine - one of the chemicals in the courage drug - is related to amphetamine but the effects on the central nervous system are greater. Users feel a huge surge of energy and confidence 10 to 15 minutes after they have taken a dose. The precise contents of the pills is classified information. Oh no! We now will have to contend with them standing in the middle of the street, firing their AK at our tanks.
#2
It's been reported for over a year that Sadr's group were selling drugs to finance their militia. Troops fighting in Najaf were finding quite a lot of drug paraphenalia Sadr's gunnies were using to calm their fear during the battle of Najaf. This was doubly so when when troops overran Fallujah. The major who wrote The GreenSide reported thet found huge amounts of spent needles, heroin and a synthetic heroin-amphetimine that made the terrorists extremely aggressive (and stupid) and life hell for Fallujans.
Posted by: ed ||
12/02/2005 9:47 Comments ||
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#3
The trouble with pharma is that we, the good guyz, know a heck of a lot more about it than do they, the bad guyz.
(Rod Serling voice) "Picture if you will an insurgent army whose drugs have been contaminated, without their knowledge, by their enemy. Soon they will begin to become randomly paranoid, hallucinate, and be dangerously insane to everyone around them. And entire army that has entered into THE TWILIGHT ZONE." (cue music)
#4
A DRUG which makes users feel superhuman is being taken by rebel fanatics before they launch attacks against UK troops in Iraq.
Just because they feel superhuman doesn't mean they are. Tactics and ROE need not change.
"Members of Muqtadr el-Sadr's fanatical Mehdi Army who've taken it have been known to stand in front of US armoured vehicles and open fire almost oblivious to the tank's guns."
Excellent! Makes the job of killing them a LOT easier.
#6
This should go nicely with psyops personnel with loudspeakers questioning their manhood. It'll be like shooting fish in a barrel.
Until the LA Times hears about it, and starts a frenzy of stories about how horrible it is for us to insult people before we shoot them.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
12/02/2005 10:40 Comments ||
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#7
So they are not sleeping to well and gradually becoming perm. paranoids?
So its only one little step to crystal and crank. If that cycle is sped up then you can spot the jihadists by the white power under the nose and frequent nose bleeds from a diviating septum.
#15
Lets just give them all the Meth mixed with some LSD love drugs that their little brains could handle. We will just go from crack house to crack house cleaning up the insurgency with drugs.
Posted by: 49 pan ||
12/02/2005 12:24 Comments ||
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#16
I remember when some creative individual in Washington, DC, decided to mix together PCP and crack cocaine. It was called "superman", because when you smoked it, you felt that you were a god.
Unfortunately, the #1 side-effect was that you were so hyper-addicted to this feeling that you would invariably smoke it until you o.d.'ed.
It only lasted a week, but in that week they had 60 or 70 o.d. fatalities.
The American military said on Thursday that four American servicemen Wednesday, including two marines who were killed during sweeps aimed at disrupting insurgent networks in Anbar Province prior to the Dec. 15 elections.
The two marines, both members of Regimental Combat Team 8, Second Marine Division, were killed by small-arms fire in separate incidents in Falluja, 30 miles west of Baghdad, the military said.
In addition, an Army soldier died on Wednesday from a gunshot wound north of Baghdad, but the military gave no further details and did not specify how the soldier received the wound. The fourth death on Wednesday was that of a marine assigned to the Second Marine Aircraft Wing of II Marine Expeditionary Force, who died in a noncombat-related vehicle accident near Taqaddum, outside of Falluja, the military said.
About 2,000 American troops and 500 Iraqi Army soldiers continued their push on Thursday to root out rebels in the rural region east of Hit, 100 miles west of Baghdad, officials said. According to the American command, the area houses shops for the manufacture of car bombs and the kind of homemade explosives that have caused thousands of casualties since the 2003 invasion. There have been no casualties since that operation began on Wednesday, a Marine spokesman said.
Beginning last spring, American and Iraqi commanders in Anbar have conducted many large-scale assaults on towns along the Euphrates in an effort to destroy the insurgency's system of smuggling routes, supply lines and safe houses for its fighters, both foreign and Iraqi.
On Thursday, Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, a senior military spokesman in Baghdad, credited the sweeps with sharply reducing the number of insurgent attacks around the country, including suicide bombings and incidents involving homemade bombs.
There were 50 suicide bombings in Iraq in October and 19 in November, he said. Over the same period, the number of concealed bombs that either exploded or were discovered and cleared fell to 1,329, from 1,869, he said.
The drop in the number of attacks is "a direct result of the effectiveness of our operations against the Zarqawi network," General Lynch said at a news conference here, referring to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born terrorist whom American commanders have declared their No. 1 enemy in Iraq.
But insurgents also carried out some of their deadliest suicide attacks of the year in November, including a suicide car bomb that exploded outside the main hospital in the town of Mahmudiya, killing at least 30, and suicide bomb attacks on two Shiite mosques in the Kurdish town of Khanaqin, which together killed at least 70.
Several months ago, American officials pointed to another drop in suicide attacks - from 70 in May to 40 in August - to indicate the success of their strategy in western Iraq. But then the number of suicide bombings began to climb again - to 46 in September and 50 in October.
Similarly, while the number of incidents involving hidden bombs has dropped in the past two months, there has been an overall increase since June, when 1,170 were found.
In Ramadi, the capital of Anbar Province, 20 to 30 insurgents gathered in a marketplace in the northern part of the city on Thursday morning and fired mortar rounds at the provincial government building before disappearing in the crowd, Ahmed Faisal, a traffic policeman in Ramadi, said in a telephone interview. At the time of the incident, tribal sheiks were scheduled to gather for a meeting at the building. There were no reported casualties.
Lt. Muhammad al-Obaidi of the local police was quoted by The Associated Press as saying that at least four mortar rounds had fallen near the American base on the eastern edge of the city, causing no casualties.
In an Internet posting, the group led by Mr. Zarqawi, Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, claimed responsibility for what it called "the new blessed attack" against "the Americans and their midget followers," a term the group uses to describe what it regards as Iraqi collaborators, including the country's security forces.
But American officials and an official from Iraq's Interior Ministry denied that there was a coordinated guerrilla attack on Thursday and said only one rocket-propelled grenade was fired at a joint American-Iraqi observation post.
"There were no signs of any significant insurgent activity anywhere in the city," an American statement said. "That is all. No other attacks."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/02/2005 00:25 ||
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#1
Meanwhile Iran's Ayatoilets are licking their chops, waiting for Uncle Sam to leave the Iraq prize to them. And why not? The US-Shiite Iraq alliance has put Bush into a rhetorical prison. Up to 20,000 Iranian koranimals visit Iraq daily. Many of these pigs either finance or arm or join Iraq's Shiite militias. Bush loves Iraq Shiites; Iraq Shiites love Iran; Iran hates the US; Bush cannot do anything that might make Iraq Shiites hate him. Ergo: Mullah genocide preparation continues without any prospect of external containment.
http://www.iranfocus.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4617
#2
CaziFarkus, try rewriting your first sentence as follows:
Meanwhile Iran's Ayatoilets are licking their chops, waiting for Uncle Sam to leave the Iraq prize to them... before their own people revolt.
And remember, after the December election the Iraqi government can choose to close their border to Iranian pilgrims, alleviating the problem somewhat, and closer inspect those they do allow in. My understanding is that the Iraqi Shiites hold a grudge against Iran for the million young men killed in the Iran-Iraq war. I just don't see the Iraqi Arab Shiite politicians choosing to unite with, and submit themselves to, their non-Arab co-religionists -- Arabs of all stripes still hold themselves superior to any and all non-Arabs, no matter how much older the Persian civilization may be.
Iraq has barred non-Iraqi Arabs from entering the country as it beefs up security ahead of parliamentary elections in two weeks, a government official has said. No date for lifting the restrictions has been set, an official at Iraq's Interior Ministry said. ''This is part of security procedures for the elections and applies to all non-Iraqi Arabs,'' the official said.
Iraq typically imposes strict security measures during major political events to thwart attacks from Sunni insurgents waging a bloody campaign to topple the Shi'ite and Kurdish-led government. For October's constitutional referendum, these included the closure of Iraq's international borders and overnight curfews.
The latest decision, issued three days ago, appeared to apply to even those with valid visas to enter Iraq.
In Amman, a hub for civilian flights into Iraq, several non- Iraqis were prevented from boarding a Royal Jordanian flight to Baghdad on Thursday, according to a Reuters correspondent at the scene. Royal Jordanian officials in Amman later said they were unaware of any instructions to deny boarding to non-Iraqi Arabs.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/02/2005 00:24 ||
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Makes sense to me. The Israelis have fought umpty wars with the Arabs and have won them all. The biggest threat to Kurdistan is from Arabs. Might as well learn from the guys who've proven they can beat them.
Dozens of former Israeli commandos have been training Kurdish security forces in northern Iraq, supplying them with equipment worth millions of dollars, an Israeli newspaper reported yesterday. Over the past 18 months, these ex-commandos, who were sent to Iraq by several Israeli corporations including Motorola Israel, have been training special security units as part of a program organized by the Kurdish authorities, the top-selling Yediot Ahronot daily said. They have also been involved in the secret construction of a major airport near the northern town of Arbil, known as âHawler International.â
Operating from a secret desert stronghold dubbed Code Z, these former Israeli soldiers, all of whom have elite-unit experience, have been training the Kurds in weapons, self-defense and anti-terror techniques, the paper said. As part of the program, the Israeli firms have supplied the Kurds with tons of Israeli-manufactured equipment, including dozens of motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles (AVTs), sniffer dogs, devices for upgrading Kalashnikov rifles, flack jackets, uniforms and helmets.
The Israelis entered Iraq through its northern border with Turkey posing as construction engineers and agricultural experts, the paper said. A shroud of secrecy has been imposed on the project for fear the Israelis could be targeted by Iraqi militant groups and either kidnapped or killed.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/02/2005 00:00 ||
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I am continually impressed with the Kurds. I shall scream bloody murder if our nation turns our back on them.
Several Palestinian militants who either fled or were expelled by Israel have returned to Gaza via the recently re-opened Rafah border crossing. The entry of as many as 15 members of Hamas, including one of its founders, has angered Israel. Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz has warned his government will close two crossings it controls if militants continue to enter via Rafah. The crossings into Israel are vital for trade between Gaza and the West Bank.
The Hamas members allowed to return via Rafah include one of the group's founders, Ahmed al-Malah, and Fadel Zahhar, a brother of Hamas leader in Gaza, Mahmoud Zahhar. Fadel Zahhar returned to Gaza after 14 years in exile, having been expelled to Lebanon by Israel in 1991. Palestinian officials insist that anyone with a Palestinian identity card can enter Gaza from Rafah.
Israel closed the crossing in September shortly after withdrawing from Gaza, citing concerns that it would be used to smuggle weapons and militants from Egypt into the Palestinian Territories. On Thursday, Mr Mofaz threatened to expel Gaza from a vital customs agreement that allows it to trade with the Palestinians in the West Bank. "If it doesn't improve and the Palestinians don't co-operate we will close the Erez and Karni crossings," he said. "They will become international crossings in all senses, and I really hope that the Palestinians understand the significance of this step."
Israel has also complained that the Palestinian Authority is not letting it monitor the Rafah crossing as agreed. Israel allowed the border to re-open only if they could watch real-time footage on television screens from a base a few kilometres away.
The US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, has responded to the developments by sending a senior envoy to monitor the agreement she brokered last month. State Department Counsellor Philip Zelikow will examine the operation of the crossing. He will also discuss upgrading the Erez and Karni crossings and running bus and lorry convoys between Gaza and the West Bank.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/02/2005 09:29 ||
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#1
Why sweat it? Just address a rocket for each individual, and deliver the package at a not-too-convenient time.
#2
The people coming back are relatively old by Hamas standards and not on good terms with the current Hamas org. In fact, I'm willing to bet a few of them have actually given intel to Israel. Hamas knows this and will likely keep these returnees out of the loop.
A journalist working for Aljazeera.net has been arrested by Israeli forces from the occupied West Bank. Awad Rajub, 29, was whisked away from his home in Dura, near the West Bank city of Hebron, on Tuesday. An Israeli army spokesman said Rajub was still in detention. Sources told Aljazeera that Rajub, a Palestinian, was beaten up in the presence of his wife by the Israeli soldiers.
His computer and mobile phone were also confiscated. Rajub was later taken to an undisclosed location.
"Where you takin' me?"
"We ain't disclosing!"
Walid al-Amari, Aljazeera's bureau chief for Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories, said: "The army simply said that he had been arrested for security reasons, and we do not know any more than that." Israeli public radio said Rajub was arrested after the army received information about him from the domestic Israeli security service, Shin Beth.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/02/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
perhaps his opportune writing about attacks before they occur has something to do with it
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/02/2005 8:46 Comments ||
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It's about time!! Now the information arm of AQ might get hammered by Isreal.
Posted by: 49 pan ||
12/02/2005 9:32 Comments ||
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Indonesian police said on Thursday a man held for allegedly harbouring terrorists linked to the Bali suicide bombings was now suspected of involvement in the plot and may face the death penalty.
Dwi Widyanto alias Wiwid, 33, was arrested on November 23 and questioned about helping hide wanted terrorists, including fugitive Malaysian Noordin Mohammad Top, and withholding information from police about them.
"After further investigation (the charges) were changed to Chapter 6 of law number 15 of 2003... It means he took part and the offence carries up to the death sentence," Bali police spokesperson Antonius Reniban told reporters.
"He knew of the plan and he was part of the plan," Reniban said, without detailing the role he was alleged to have played.
The law concerns the use or threat of violence to create an atmosphere of terror or claim mass victims, or cause the destruction of strategic or public structures.
Reniban said Wiwid was initially held under the country's 2002 anti-terror law on providing assistance to suspected terrorists, an offence that carries a 15-year penalty.
Twenty people and the three suicide bombers were killed when the explosions they detonated tore through three popular eateries in two separate resort areas in southern Bali on October 1.
Wiwid, who was arrested in Semarang, Central Java, is currently being questioned at Bali police headquarters.
Three other suspected militants arrested in Central Java - Cholily alias Yahya alias Hasan, Anif alias Pendek and Abdul Aziz - are also under interrogation in Bali over the attacks.
Cholily was arrested in Semarang on November 9 and is alleged to have been a disciple of slain Malaysian bomb expert Azahari Husin, who told him to deliver explosives to his still on-the-run accomplice, Top.
The arrest of Cholily led to the police raid later the same day on the East Java hideout of Azahari, who was shot dead along with another accomplice.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/02/2005 00:47 ||
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Russia has signed a deal with Iran to sell 29 of its Tor M-1 anti-missile systems, a development that will complicate any planned pre-emptive attack on the rogue nation's nuclear facilities, reports Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.
The system would theoretically permit Iran to intercept some cruise missiles as well as airborne missiles that U.S., Israeli or other western countries might use in an effort to keep the terrorist-supporting nation from developing nuclear weapons or using them.
The sale was confirmed by a source at the Koupol military factory in Russia who claimed the deal would not violate any international agreement. That's because Moscow made a secret 1995 agreement with Washington known as the Gore-Chernomyrdin protocol, which Russian officials believes permits continued military sales to Iran.
Russian sources say the Tor system is "a weapon of defense" and does not represent a danger to the U.S. as long as Washington does not attack Iran.
Another Russian source says Iran only seeks "to defend its nuclear thermal power station" that Moscow is building in Bushehr â set for completion in 2007.
Washington, meanwhile, along with European nations, claims Iran is attempting to develop offensive nuclear weapons under the pretense of civilian activities.
The purchase of the systems Tor M-1 would cost Iran more than $700 million, according to experts on the subject. They say the surface-to-air missiles are capable of knocking down cruise missiles and aircraft bombs launched against a target.
The Gore-Chernomyrdin protocol was first disclosed publicly in 2000. It was the result of secret talks between then Vice President Al Gore and Russia's then-Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin. After the revelations in 2000, the State Department acknowledged Gore assured Russia that, under the provisions of the agreement, the U.S. would not sanction the Kremlin for Russian arm sales to Iran â through 1999.
Critics of the agreement pointed out it was in violation of the spirit, if not the letter, of the Iran-Iraq Non-proliferation Act, sponsored by then Sen. Gore, that required the imposition of sanctions against countries that made destabilizing arms sales to either Iran or Iraq.
#2
Not to worry, the crap they are selling them is probably full of sand, just like the tanks sold to Iraq. Bet they don't work, and if they did our systems have all thats needed to defeat them.
Posted by: 49 pan ||
12/02/2005 20:20 Comments ||
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#3
And to think it took only ten years for the Russians to carry out the deal!? So the blame will fall on Hillary's and Chelsea's "Good Amerikans demand to be gulagged", "Alternatists-for-Stalinism" Studmuffin and "Co-POTUS" President Gore!? This is AMERIKA after all, NOT America - we blew up our own USS ARIZONA for pete's sakes.
Lebanon says it plans to ask the UN Security Council to extend the mandate of an inquiry into the killing of former prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri by six months.
Gonna make it harder for Baby Assad to run out the clock...
But UN diplomats in New York said on Thursday the UN's chief investigator into al-Hariri's killing, Detlev Mehlis, planned to leave the job by the end of the year.
Either he doesn't want to be bumped off himself â and he doesn't strike me that way â or his got his case put together already and he's just filling in the blanks.
He had been appointed in May to lead the inquiry into the 14 February truck bombing which killed the former prime minister in Beirut. Mehlis intends to submit a report to the Security Council on 12 December, after which he will speak to the 15-nation body as his last official UN task, Council diplomats said. Ibrahim Gambari, the UN undersecretary-general for political affairs, had said he expected the investigation to continue but that Mehlis may hand over the work to someone else.
"Legume, you may complete the paperwork. Call me if you need anything."
"Where will you be, chief?"
"Tahiti, I think..."
Certainly somewhere with a really good shower.
And no freshly-repaired potholes in the road ...
"The government agreed to ask the United Nations to extend the mandate of the inquiry for six months," Lebanese Defence Minister Elias Murr said after a weekly cabinet session. But the government failed to agree on calling for an international trial for any suspects, with pro-Syrian Shia Muslim ministers firmly opposing any such move.
Comes as a surprise, huh? I know. Floored me, too.
Mehlis' interim report in October cast suspicion on senior Syrian officials and suggested the assassination was planned by top security officials in Damascus and their Lebanese allies.
Say! How's that independent investigation in Damascus going?
Posted by: Fred ||
12/02/2005 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
A key border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan has been closed after a confrontation between soldiers from both countries. 
An Afghan group opposed to the presence of US troops in Afghanistan Thursday announced it would continue jihad against the incumbent government and the US military. Led by former Afghan premier and veteran of the Afghan jihad (holy war) 
Hekmatyar, who led the 
PARIS, Nov 29 (Reuters) - French Prime Minister Dominique 
An appeal began Friday in a Greek court for members of the November 17 terrorist group, who were convicted for their roles in a terror spree -- including murders and bombings -- spanning more than a quarter of a century. Fourteen of the 15 members convicted in December 2003 were at the hearing Friday as the proceedings got underway amid tight security at a prison outside Athens. Of those 15, six received life sentences. The remaining nine received jail terms of 18 years or less. 
PARIS (AP) - An Algerian man suspected of involvement in a bomb attack on the Paris subway a decade ago was extradited from Britain to France on Thursday, British and French officials said. Rachid Ramda, who spent 10 years in jail in Britain, allegedly provided funds for the bombers of the July 1995 attack, which killed eight people and injured 87 on the Paris Metro system.
For the first time in the history of the conflict in Kashmir , an Omani national was killed by Indian security forces on Tuesday. 
Dozens of former Israeli commandos have been training Kurdish security forces in northern Iraq, supplying them with equipment worth millions of dollars, an Israeli newspaper reported yesterday. Over the past 18 months, these ex-commandos, who were sent to Iraq by several Israeli corporations including Motorola Israel, have been training special security units as part of a program organized by the Kurdish authorities, the top-selling Yediot Ahronot daily said. They have also been involved in the secret construction of a major airport near the northern town of Arbil, known as âHawler International.â
A journalist working for Aljazeera.net has been arrested by Israeli forces from the occupied West Bank. 
Lebanon says it plans to ask the UN Security Council to extend the mandate of an inquiry into the killing of former prime minister 
