Natoâs military chief said on Friday that the Taliban and Al-Qaeda were not regrouping in Afghanistan despite more than a dozen suicide attacks there in the last three months.
âThereâs a knee-jerk reaction that wants to say: âOh, the Taliban is coming backâ or âAl-Qaedaâs coming backâ. I donât know of any commander or any estimate that can say that with certainty,â US General James Jones said.
Jones acknowledged that some members of the former Taliban regime, which was ousted by a US-led coalition in 2001, and Al-Qaeda were operating in Afghanistan but that there was also plenty of criminal activity.
âThe violence that weâre seeing is disparate and I donât think it is focused. In other words, I donât see an allegiance between, say, criminal gangs and the Taliban, or narco-traffickers and Al-Qaeda,â he said.
âThese are different groups that have their own agenda,â he told reporters at Natoâs military headquarters in Mons, southern Belgium.
Jones said he had studied data about attacks in Afghanistan since the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force began operating there in late 2001 and that no new spike or trend was evident. âHistorically there is no rise, no significant change from one year to the other in terms of incidents,â he said.
But he added that attacks sometimes rose short-term in response to events, like the two new stages of ISAFâs expansion into volatile southern Afghanistan which are due to start in the next six months.
âWith Nato coming into stage three and stage four, obviously people are trying to send a message to try to discourage or intimidate,â he said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/07/2006 00:58 ||
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Al-Qaeda is re-grouping in the US protected terror entity of Pigistan, and fighting in the Afghan dog's breakfast.
2006: Year of Non-Respect For Freedom of Religion. You need religion like China needs a bowl of rice.
Any organisation having mission of waging an arms-struggle with its countrywide grassroots level network and thousands of workers needs huge funding, reports BDNews.
Apart from spreading their organisational network, the Jama'atul Mujahedin Bangladesh, also amassed huge fund during their clandestine activities since its inception.
Although JMB kingpin Shaekh Abdur Rahman comes from a upper middle class family but did not have any known source of huge income needed for operating a militant organisation like JMB, while the members of Majlish-e-Shura also the members of lower middle class families.
Besides, the activists and supporters recruited mainly from Madrasa students are from poor families.
They have no ability to provide huge funds required for meeting the costs of the activists in the payroll, procurement of arms and ammunition and their travel costs.
According to sources, thousands of full-time JMB members (Ehsar) are in the pay roll and used to get Tk 2000-5000 per month.
The JMB was learnt to have recruited about 2000 members in their suicide squad who were promised to be given Tk 50 thousand per family.
Maulana Abdul Latif, publicity secretary of grilled Dr Asadullah Al Galib-led Ahle Hadith Andolan, said some Islamic NGOs and financial institutions provided money to the militant organisation.
There are some 200 Islamic NGOs registered with the Social Welfare Affairs Department. Of them, about 34 Islamic NGOs are registered under the NGO Affairs Bureau who got fund from abroad.
According to sources, after getting the Social Welfare Ministry, Jamaat gave registration to huge Islamic NGOs operating in remote areas.
Abu Taher, MP, former president of Islami Chhatra Shibir, was the first general secretary of the World Young Muslim Association (WYMA). The organisation was black listed by the USA for providing money to the militants in Bangladesh.
The WYMA is also blamed for supplying funds to different madrasas reportedly the breeding grounds of militants.
Besides these, the Rabeta al Islami is also accused and Revival of Islamic Heritage Society (RIHS) were also blamed for providing money to militants. The Kuwait-based Al Haramain had to wrap up its activities for their alleged link with the militancy.
On September 12, the law enforcers detained RIHS's director Akramuzzaman and interrogated him but later released him a day after.
According to sources, after the nationwide August 17 bomb blasts the intelligence agencies beefed up vigilance on the movement and activities of the RIHS, a non-government organisation funded by Kuwait and other Middle East countries.
Sources said, police and different other agencies also were looking for the activities, funding, the sources of funds and the way of distribution of funds of RIHS located at House 40, section â7 of Lake drive road In Uttara.
Police also detained Ikra Bangladesh chief Moulana Masud for receiving fund from abroad for funding the militants.
On December 1 last year, Communications Minister Nazmul Huda at a seminar said that the Islamic NGOs are battling suspicion over their links with terrorism.
"Some NGOs' involvement in terrorist financing has led to the such thinking," he said while speaking at a seminar on building partnership between Muslim NGOs and the international community.
He also said that little control over the organisations, lack of transparency in their financial statements and weak governance had resulted in creating bad impression.
Addressing the seminar, State Minister for Religious Affairs Mosharraf Hossain Shahjahan expressed dissatisfaction over the activities of some Islamic NGOs working in Bangladesh, as they are interested to build mosques rather to work for reducing poverty.
"I was an activist of Chhatra Shibir from where I joined the HuJI-B and went to Kashmir at the invitation of Lasker-e-Taiyeba," said Saif (a pseudonym), who is now in prison.
"Like Saif, hundreds of activists of Shibir, who used to cut tendons of opponents, joined the JMB and HuJI-B," said Maulana Abdul Latif, publicity secretary of Ahle Hadith Andolan.
Saif along with 25 other Bangladeshi youths, went to Indian Kashmir when he was an activist of HuJI-B. He gave interview to BDNews at Baipail in Savar on October 10 and 13 on condition that his real name will not be disclosed.
According to police sources, JMB suicide squad member Mamun, who conducted attack on judges in Jhalakathi, was also the activist of Islami Chhatra Shibir.
Arrested Shamim, chief of IT wing of JMB, is a son of a Jamaat leader in Sylhet. Regional JMB Commander of Khulna division Sabbir Ahmed is also a Shibir leader.
Besides, many other suspected JMB activists now in detention are also the members of the student wing of Jammat.
Besides Jamaat, the Islami Oikya Jote also made tie with the HuJI since 1992. The then IOJ leaders Maulana Ahmad ullah Ashraf, principal of Kamrangirchhar madrasa and Maulana Habibur Rahman of Sylhet, in separate interviews with BDNEWS admitted that they went to Afghanistan and fought against Soviet invasion in late 80s at the invitation of Talibans.
"I went to Karachi in 1989 when I was the chief of Khelafat Andolan. There, I was introduced with the then Mujahid Commandar Abdur Rasul Syed. Following his (Rasul) invitation I joined the Afghan war," said Maulana Ashraf.
Maulana Ashraf also said that like his son Rahmatullah, who was killed in Afghan War in 1988, hundreds of youths from Bangladesh had joined the Afghan war.
According to police sources, the militants made the plan of nationwide bombings on mid April last year. Grilled JMB militants disclosed this to the law enforcers.
The sources also said that some Islamic NGOs and an Imam of a UK mosque provided the money to the militants. Before the bombings, the militants held separate preparatory meetings at Naogaon, Joypurhat, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Chittagong, Barisal, Satkhira and Dhaka.
The date of nationwide bombings was finalised after the visit of Ataur Rahman, imam of a mosque in UK and also the director of Ahle Hadith Library and Information Centre in Nageswari in Kurigram. He held meeting with Shaekh Abdur Rahman and Bangla Bhai several times, sources said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/07/2006 01:11 ||
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Nice to know what the NGOs are actually good for.
A 20-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of having items likely to be of use to a terrorist. The man was held in Sheffield by officers from Scotland Yard's Anti-Terrorist Branch and officers from South Yorkshire police.
Scotland Yard said the arrest was in connection with an investigation into suspected terrorist activity overseas.
The arrest was made at around 7am at a house in Sheffield. Police are still searching the address. The man was taken to a police station in the South Yorkshire area, where he will be interviewed by senior anti-terror detectives.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said the arrest was part of an investigation into alleged activities in south-east Asia. It is not connected to the ongoing inquiry into the London bombings.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/07/2006 01:13 ||
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A 20-year-old man was Friday arrested on suspicion of having items likely to be of use to a terrorist, Scotland Yard said. The man was held in Sheffield, northern England, this morning, by officers from Scotland Yard's Anti-Terrorist Branch and officers from South Yorkshire police. A Scotland Yard spokesman said the arrest was in connection with an investigation into suspected terrorist activity overseas. Police are still searching the house in Sheffield where the man was arrested. He was taken to a police station in South Yorkshire, northern England, where he was being interviewed by senior anti-terror detectives. The Scotland Yard spokesman added that the arrest was part of an investigation into alleged activities in south-east Asia. "It is not connected to the ongoing inquiry into the suicide bombings on the London transport system on July 7 last year," the spokesman concluded. No further details were available.
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - Two Colombian soldiers have been arrested for giving weapons to leftist rebels - their main battlefield enemy - in exchange for cocaine, the Attorney General's Office said Friday.
The soldiers belonged to a criminal ring that included fighters with the country's main rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, the prosecutors' office said. The two face charges of conspiracy to commit crimes including the trafficking of arms and drugs, the statement said. At least six other people linked to the gang have also been arrested since early September, some of whom may be FARC members.
Army troops have on various occasions been accused of providing weapons and operational equipment to right-wing paramilitary groups that also fight against the rebels. It is less common for the military to be implicated in trafficking weapons to the FARC, which frequently attacks the army and other government troops.
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01/07/2006 00:00 ||
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Three participants in the October 13 attack on Nalchik have been destroyed in the village of Anzorei of Kabardino-Balkaria during a special operation of the Interior Ministry and the Federal Security Service of the republic.
One of the killed gunmen, who was on the federal wanted list, was a local resident and two others - - foreigners. According to the available information, the gunmen were the organizers of the attack on Nalchik and accomplices of Shamil Basayev. All of them carried suicide belts. Two sub-machine-guns, four pistols, 15 grenades and over 1,000 cartridges were seized, head of the press service of the Interior Ministry of Kabardino-Balkaria Marina Kyasova told Itar-Tass on Friday.
âThe gunmen were blocked in the morning in a private house where they were hiding. After the gunmen were offered to surrender they opened fierce fire and were killed in return fire, the owner of the house who was taken hostage was freed,â Kyasova said.
The Russian Prosecutor Generalâs Office is investigating the terrorist attack. Some 60 participants in the armed attack on 18 power-wielding agenciesâ facilities in Nalchik have been detained, some 20 have been placed on the wanted list and 93 gunmen destroyed.
According to information provided by the Prosecutor Generalâs Office, some 200 people participated in the attack on Nalchik. A total of 35 officers of power-wielding agencies and 12 civilians were killed during the attack.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/07/2006 01:06 ||
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EFL.
ydney supporters of the terror groups' leader in Iraq have reportedly approached Australian Muslims, encouraging them to join the insurgency and donate money to the cause.
Two separate approaches have been made on behalf of the insurgency, led in Iraq by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and at least one is under ASIO investigation.
One instance reportedly involved a man directly approaching Muslims in Auburn, in Sydney's west, about 12 months ago.
Labor's foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd said the reports were worrying.
"These reports about al-Zarqawi supporters in Sydney are profoundly disturbing in terms of Australia's national security," Mr Rudd said.
"It is an extraordinary new development that we have now, based on these reports, caused Australia to become some sort of recruiting ground for the Iraq insurgency."
However, a spokesman for Sydney's Muslim community dismissed the reports as incredible.
The president of the Islamic Friendship Association of Australia, Keysar Trad, said similar allegations were raised a year ago, but were found to have no substance.
"If you speak to any Muslim they will tell you that they disown Zarqawi, that Zarqawi is really a dirty word to most Muslims in Australia," Mr Trad said.
"It's strange that there would be an allegation like this floating around, it's really incredible that there is such an allegation."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/07/2006 00:50 ||
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AUSTRALIAN supporters of al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, have tried to encourage Muslims here to join the insurgency and donate money to the cause.
ASIO is investigating a group in Sydney and the Iraqi ambassador in Canberra, Ghanim Taha al-Shibli, has warned the spy agency needs to get a "grip" on the problem. "It looks like there is a group in Australia who are supportive, at least vocally, of the Zarqawi people," he said.
"You can see them in different places expressing themselves very clearly about what they think."
Two separate approaches are believed to have taken place on behalf of the insurgency, including at least one that is under ASIO investigation.
It involved a man who directly approached several Muslims in Sydney about 12 months ago.
"They said come and fight with the mujahideen," said someone present at the incident.
The witness asked to remain anonymous, adding that "ASIO have said not to speak to the media". A senior security source confirmed that ASIO had made inquiries and was building a brief of evidence. ASIO declined to comment.
Another man of Iraqi descent said he had been asked to give money to the insurgents. "I know for a fact that they are raising money. I was sitting in a group when someone approached me and said they were raising money for the freedom fighters in Iraq," he said.
He said the money was distributed to supporters of Zarqawi through a circulatory route, often disguised as payments to family members back in Iraq. He also said the fundraiser was a Sunni Muslim and adherent of the strict Wahabi or Salafist form of Islam. "They believe that Shiites are not Muslims. They believe they are apostates, that they are damaging Islam," he said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/07/2006 00:49 ||
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Iraq's ambassador to Australia says he saw followers of Iraq's Al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi trying to enlist supporters in Sydney during Iraqi elections early last year. Ghanim Al-Shibli says Australian authorities are aware of the group and are doing what they can to stop it. He says he is satisfied with the handling of an investigation into the claims. "Those people are recruiting young people, and soliciting money and sending those people to Iraq, and it's not a secret," he said. "We have them on a daily basis blowing up Iraqi people."
Mr Al Shibli says the problem is not confined to Australia and says as Iraq continues to move toward democracy, support for Zarqawi will deteriorate. "He is a murderer, he has no relation to the Sunnis, or any other sect," he said.
Keysar Trad from the Islamic Friendship Association of Australia says allegations of fundraising in Australia to support the insurgency were raised 12 months ago and were found to have no substance. Mr Trad says anyone in Australia who knows of active support for Iraq's Al Qaeda leader should immediately take such information to police. "If you speak to any Muslim, they will tell you that they disown Zarqawi, that Zarqawi is really a dirty word to most Muslims in Australia," he said. "It's strange that there would be an allegation like this floating around. It's really incredible that there is such an allegation."
Mr Trad says further allegations on fundraising will cause unnecessary alarm. "These are allegations that came up as a result of a dispute between protesters and people who were voting in last year's election for the Iraqi parliament," he said. "I move very broadly and extensively within the community and to this point in time I haven't seen or heard of anyone raising funds for the insurgency."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/07/2006 00:00 ||
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That's some fork silver-tongued taqqiya there, Mr. Trad. Oh, but I see he's from the Islamic Friendship Association. It must be all teddy bears and rainbows.
Posted by: ST ||
01/07/2006 20:19 Comments ||
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Americans support Musharraf
Writing in the Jang, Hamid Mir said that Musharraf was supported not only because he was fighting terrorism, but also because he had held the 2002 elections and allowed the opening of new free media channels along with a policy of press freedom. This was what an American delegation said recently in defence of their policy. It should be recalled that when Pakistanis were clapping Musharrafâs takeover, the Americans had placed Pakistan under observation and the Commonwealth had kicked Pakistan out.
Qazi Hussain Ahmad and Imran Khan
Columnist Haroonur Rasheed wrote in the Jang that he knew Imran Khan and Qazi Hussain; and Imran Khan from very close. In the case of Imran Khan, his intimacy with him could be compared only to two or three of Imranâs family members. Yet both Imran and Qazi, as Pakhtuns, were identical in their characters. If they like someone, they will open their hearts; but if they reject someone then all the doors are closed. Qazi Hussain Ahmad was a Seljuq and the Seljuq Turks were known to be unforgiving in their anger. Both have been forgiving recently, Qazi in the case of MMA chief minister Akram Durrani attending the National Security Council and Imran Khan in the case of the earthquake. Imran Khan flared up after Australian Pakistanis sent him 4,500 tents and the government wouldnât give him transport for them. He has built a hundred houses in the earthquake stricken area and will build 6,000 in all, and Qazi has spent Rs 2.5 billion on the stricken areas. But they must be less negative in their approach to President Musharraf for the sake of the nation.
Pakistanâs dubious export
Writing in the Nawa-e-Waqt, Sarmad Bashir stated that in the last two years, 139,000 Pakistanis were expelled from 47 countries. On November 25, about 22 Pakistanis drowned when their boat capsized near the Italian coast. Iran expelled 85 Pakistanis trying to enter without proper documents. In the last two years, nearly a thousand cases of document fraud cases were registered in Pakistan.
Exorcist kills girl instead of jinn
The daily Khabrain reported that in Agoki near Lahore, a little girl Iram was suspected by her parents of being possessed by a jinn. They called in a religious man, expert in exorcism, who began to apply red hot rods to her body. She was severely burnt, after which she lost her speech, followed by coma. She finally died, after which a case was registered against the fake pir.
Qadiani in National Security Council!
The daily Pakistan quoted Maulana Abdul Hafeez Makki of International Khatm-e-Nabuwwat Movement in Dera Ismail Khan as saying that Qadianis were the enemies of Islam and Pakistan and that there was Qadiani hidden inside the National Security Council. He said the teachings of Ghulam Ahmad Parwez were also a fitna (mischief) against Islam and the Aga Khan Board was a plot by the powers of kufr.
Jinns occupy tree
According to the daily Pakistan, a tree in Iqbal Pura in Rahimyar Khan has started giving off water. In the house of one Heera a beri tree had been acting strange for the past one month. It was giving one pail of water during the day. The miracle has attracted lot of local people who bring food for the jinns, which Heera said were occupying the tree. Heera thereafter became mujawir of the tree and has set up a big flag on top of the tree.
Donât spare the Qadianis!
Writing in Khabrain, Yasir Mehmood Khan complained that columnist Amar Jaleel in his column had condemned Bhutto for apostatising the Qadianis while in fact it was his greatest act. In 1974 at Rabwa, students of Nishtar Medical College Multan were beaten up and Bhutto acted after that. But Qadianis were created by the British to weaken Islam. In fact, their faith was against the central belief of Islam. Bhutto was called Quaid-e-Awam because of this great feat.
Itâs no use talking to India
Quoted in the Nawa-e-Waqt, ex-foreign minister Agha Shahi said that India had not budged an inch from its position on Kashmir while Pakistan was living in a world of dreams. He said talks on Kashmir should be open because secret talks and track-two discussions meant that nothing concrete had taken place. He said that the current process of negotiations was a waste of time. If Pakistan had to play the farce of talks, why should it retreat from its old stance?
Pay maintenance for 10,000 years!
According to the daily Pakistan, a court in Iran ordered a man to pay his divorced wife one gold coin every month for 10,000 years. The man had promised in the nikah document to pay her $15 million dollars on divorce as maintenance.
Insulter of Quran embraces Islam
According to the Nawa-e-Waqt, one Hindu woman Krishna Wati was in prison in Mardan for desecrating the Quran. Chief Justice High Court Peshawar Tariq Pervez was inspecting the prison when Krishna Wati approached him and said that she was greatly attracted to Islam and wanted to embrace it. The chief justice got her to recite the kalima after which she became Fatima Bibi.
Chief minister preserves his brotherâs smelly shalwar
According to Khabrain, Chief Minister Sindh Abdullah Shah did a most extraordinary thing during his rule. His brother Ihsanullah Shah, deputy director food, was murdered in 1993 in front of his house in Karachi. Abdullah Shah ordered the archives department of Sindh to preserve the blood-stained clothes of his brother. The department spent Rs 48,000 treating his brotherâs shalwar, shirt and vest, which Abdullah Shah did not reimburse. The clothes were given to the department after eight days, therefore they gave off a stench as a result of which two employees of the department fainted during treatment. Abdullah Shah of the PPP is an absconder from the law.
Donât be impartial!
Writing in the Nawa-e-Waqt about the conference he attended in Dubai, organised by Dr Shahid Masood titled âDialogue,â columnist Irfan Siddiqi advised that Dr Shahid Masood should not be impartial in his comments because he was entrenched (morcha zan) behind a barricade and the Muslims thought of him as a strong advocate of their cause. The leader of âDialogueâ was the strong man (mard-e-maidan) of the ideological army (nazriati sipah). Now that he had started his dialogue, the West-worshipping monopolists and sellers (khwancha firosh) of the West in Pakistan should start despairing. âDialogueâ would be a think tank headed by Dr Masood. Mr Mujibur Rehman Shami told him not to be influenced by the thinking of his thank tank. Irfan Siddiqi said that he had been invited by the President of the United States to visit America in 2002 and that engaging in dialogue with the Americans was still his best memory.
Irfan Siddiqi important man
Writing in the Nawa-e-Waqt, Irfan Siddiqi stated that State Department official Robin Raphel was once told that she readily accepted the writings of certain journalists but she did not read Irfan Siddiqi on Afghanistan. On this, Ms Raphel said that she read Irfan Siddiqi and considered him a very important man of opinion. The columnist stated that he was taken aback at this.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/07/2006 00:00 ||
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Re "Qadianis" in government: the Pakistan terrorist entity changed its constitution in order to establish non-Muslim status for the minority group. Qadian is a place name. The cult is also referred to as: "Ahmadiyas." They deny the finality of prophethood, and believe that the cult founder received prophecy. Which makes the founder's prophet credentials about as good as those of Muhammed, and David Koresh. Hell, I include Jesus, Moses and Abraham with the rest of the fable spinners. Religion is bunk.
A Central Executive Committee member of banned militant outfit Jamiatul Ansar has been released after a six-month detention. Qari Abid, the second-in-command of the group formerly known as Harkatul Mujahideen, was arrested for his suspected involvement in two assassination attempts on President Pervez Musharraf in December 2003. The Harkatul Mujahideen was banned in August 2002.
His second wife, an Egyptian national, has close relations with women who were arrested in May 2005 along with Abu Al Firaj Libbi, the mastermind behind the assassination attempts on Musharraf. âQari Abid was arrested by security agencies in the first week of June 2005 and later released in the last week of December 2005,â sources said.
They said that Abid, who was also the prayer leader at a mosque in Chaklala Scheme-III in Rawalpindi, spent the detention period in interrogation cells across the country. They said regular visits from militants belonging to banned group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi was another reason for his arrest.
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01/07/2006 00:00 ||
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DERA GHAZI KHAN: A powerful explosion damaged a three-foot long track in Gadai near the Dera Ghazi Khan Railway Station on Friday night. The explosion was caused by a device planted on the track by unidentified men, sources said. The Chiltan Express was stopped by railway authorities close to the site of the explosion, some 10 kilometres from Dera Ghazi Khan. This is the second explosion on a railway track in Dera Ghazi Khan within 48 hours.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/07/2006 00:00 ||
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QUETTA: Situation remained alarming in Dera Bugti Friday. All the offices of civil administration in Dera Bugti are closed and most of the officers and officials have left the town.
Due to situation prevailing in Dera Bugti, most of the shops are closed. one or shops are opened which immediately close with start of firing and shelling. People told that they are faced with acute shortage of essential commodities and water in the harsh weather condition.
There existed calm till 5 pm. After 5 pm shells were fired in various localities of Dera Bugti town including main Bazar, Kali Shahar and other areas. Town sounded with big voices of these shells. No details were available due to advent of night. It was also not ascertained if forces had taken any action or any resistance has been made.
People said that Eidul Azha was few days away. If the same situation prevailed, they would be deprived of offering "Sunnat Ibrahimi" and their children would not celebrate eid.
Firing of shelling from Pesh Bogi, Neelagh and other areas were received till late. Security forces have conducted raids in several areas of Sui and arrested six persons. Sui-Dera Bugti traffic was also stopped at Peda Nulla since afternoon and it was not allowed to move forward.
MUMBAI - Indian police arrested three suspected members of a Kashmiri militant group and seized bomb-making material in the financial capital of Mumbai on Friday.
Counter terrorism officers, acting on a tip-off, ...
... that would be Mahmoud the Weasel ...
... detained the men in a crowded central neighbourhood just days after police in the southern city of Hyderabad arrested two men they say were plotting to attack leading IT companies and police buildings.
âWe arrested three Lashkar-e-Taiba militants today and recovered bomb-making materials and a pistol from them,â Mumbaiâs police chief, A.N. Roy, told reporters, referring to the outlawed Pakistan-based militant group. âThese three men were in Mumbai to expand their network. They havenât carried out any activity, but could have later done some operation,â Roy said.
The three are wanted for crimes committed in Kashmir, including looting a bank and bomb blasts, police said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/07/2006 00:00 ||
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PESHAWAR--A ceremony to celebrate the 77th birthday of the founder of Pakistan Peopleâs Party Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was disrupted when two rival groups PSF scuffled, pointing pistols at each other. One of the groups is not ready to accept Rahimdad Khan as party provincial president. According to details, a ceremony was arranged at Nishtar Hall here on Thursday to celebrate PPPâs founder birthday. When the party provincial president Rahimdad Khan came to stage to deliver speech, a group headed by Ejaz Ahmad Khan Semab tried to stop him from delivering speech, while the other group headed by Ejaz Yousafzai was supporting provincial chief. The two groups scuffle and pointed pistols at each other. The scuffle spread fear among the participants, who run away from the hall. In the meantime police entered the hall and the dissidents were ousted from the hall. Interestingly the police neither recovered any pistol nor arrested any student. Referring to the incident Rahimdad Khan termed it a routine matter and said that being the leader of political party he had to listen to appreciation and criticism against him. He said that matter would be resolved soon.
Gunmen kidnapped a female American journalist and killed her Iraqi translator Saturday... the translator told police before he died that the abduction took place when he and the journalist were heading to meet Adnan al-Dulaimi, head of the Sunni Arab Iraqi Accordance Front, in the Adel section of the city.
According to a guard at al-Dulaimi's office, three armed men in a red Opel sedan intercepted the journalist's car and shot the translator before taking her in their car and driving away. The kidnapping took place about 100 yards from al-Dulaimi's office.
THE FORMER IRAQI REGIME OF Saddam Hussein trained thousands of radical Islamic terrorists from the region at camps in Iraq over the four years immediately preceding the U.S. invasion, according to documents and photographs recovered by the U.S. military in postwar Iraq. The existence and character of these documents has been confirmed to THE WEEKLY STANDARD by eleven U.S. government officials.
The secret training took place primarily at three camps--in Samarra, Ramadi, and Salman Pak--and was directed by elite Iraqi military units. Interviews by U.S. government interrogators with Iraqi regime officials and military leaders corroborate the documentary evidence. Many of the fighters were drawn from terrorist groups in northern Africa with close ties to al Qaeda, chief among them Algeria's GSPC and the Sudanese Islamic Army. Some 2,000 terrorists were trained at these Iraqi camps each year from 1999 to 2002, putting the total number at or above 8,000. Intelligence officials believe that some of these terrorists returned to Iraq and are responsible for attacks against Americans and Iraqis. According to three officials with knowledge of the intelligence on Iraqi training camps, White House and National Security Council officials were briefed on these findings in May 2005; senior Defense Department officials subsequently received the same briefing.
The photographs and documents on Iraqi training camps come from a collection of some 2 million "exploitable items" captured in postwar Iraq and Afghanistan. They include handwritten notes, typed documents, audiotapes, videotapes, compact discs, floppy discs, and computer hard drives. Taken together, this collection could give U.S. intelligence officials and policymakers an inside look at the activities of the former Iraqi regime in the months and years before the Iraq war.
The discovery of the information on jihadist training camps in Iraq would seem to have two major consequences: It exposes the flawed assumptions of the experts and U.S. intelligence officials who told us for years that a secularist like Saddam Hussein would never work with Islamic radicals, any more than such jihadists would work with an infidel like the Iraqi dictator. It also reminds us that valuable information remains buried in the mountain of documents recovered in Afghanistan and Iraq over the past four years.
Nearly three years after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, only 50,000 of these 2 million "exploitable items" have been thoroughly examined. That's 2.5 percent. Despite the hard work of the individuals assigned to the "DOCEX" project, the process is not moving quickly enough, says Michael Tanji, a former Defense Intelligence Agency official who helped lead the document exploitation effort for 18 months. "At this rate," he says, "if we continue to approach DOCEX in a linear fashion, our great-grandchildren will still be sorting through this stuff."
Most of the 50,000 translated documents relate directly to weapons of mass destruction programs and scientists, since David Kay and his Iraq Survey Group--who were among the first to analyze the finds--considered those items top priority. "At first, if it wasn't WMD, it wasn't translated. It wasn't exploited," says a former military intelligence officer who worked on the documents in Iraq.
"We had boxloads of Iraqi Intelligence records--their names, their jobs, all sorts of detailed information," says the former military intelligence officer. "In an insurgency, wouldn't that have been helpful?"
How many of those unexploited documents might help us better understand the role of Iraq in supporting transregional terrorists? How many of those documents might provide important intelligence on the very people--Baathists, former regime officials, Saddam Fedayeen, foreign fighters trained in Iraq--that U.S. soldiers are fighting in Iraq today? Is what we don't know literally killing us?
ON NOVEMBER 17, 2005, Michigan representative Pete Hoekstra wrote to John Negroponte, the director of national intelligence. Hoekstra is chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. He provided Negroponte a list of 40 documents recovered in postwar Iraq and Afghanistan and asked to see them. The documents were translated or summarized, given titles by intelligence analysts in the field, and entered into a government database known as HARMONY. Most of them are unclassified.
For several weeks, Hoekstra was promised a response. He finally got one on December 28, 2005, in a meeting with General Michael Hayden, principal deputy director of national intelligence. Hayden handed Hoekstra a letter from Negroponte that promised a response after January 1, 2006. Hoekstra took the letter, read it, and scribbled his terse response. "John--Unacceptable." Hoekstra told Hayden that he would expect to hear something before the end of the year. He didn't.
"I can tell you that I'm reaching the point of extreme frustration," said Hoekstra, in a phone interview last Thursday. His exasperated tone made the claim unnecessary. "It's just an indication that rather than having a nimble, quick intelligence community that can respond quickly, it's still a lumbering bureaucracy that can't give the chairman of the intelligence committee answers relatively quickly. Forget quickly, they can't even give me answers slowly."
On January 6, however, Hoekstra finally heard from Negroponte. The director of national intelligence told Hoekstra that he is committed to expediting the exploitation and release of the Iraqi documents. According to Hoekstra, Negroponte said: "I'm giving this as much attention as anything else on my plate to make this work."
Other members of Congress--including Rep. Dana Rohrabacher and Senators Rick Santorum and Pat Roberts--also demanded more information from the Bush administration on the status of the vast document collection. Santorum and Hoekstra have raised the issue personally with President Bush. This external pressure triggered an internal debate at the highest levels of the administration. Following several weeks of debate, a consensus has emerged: The vast majority of the 2 million captured documents should be released publicly as soon as possible.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has convened several meetings in recent weeks to discuss the Pentagon's role in expediting the release of this information. According to several sources familiar with his thinking, Rumsfeld is pushing aggressively for a massive dump of the captured documents. "He has a sense that public vetting of this information is likely to be as good an astringent as any other process we could develop," says Pentagon spokesman Larry DiRita.
The main worry, says DiRita, is that the mainstream press might cherry-pick documents and mischaracterize their meaning. "There is always the concern that people would be chasing a lot of information good or bad, and when the Times or the Post splashes a headline about some sensational-sounding document that would seem to 'prove' that sanctions were working, or that Saddam was just a misunderstood patriot, or some other nonsense, we'd spend a lot of time chasing around after it."
This is a view many officials attributed to Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Steve Cambone. (Cambone, through a spokesman, declined to be interviewed.) For months, Cambone has argued internally against expediting the release of the documents. "Cambone is the problem," says one former Bush administration official who wants the documents released. "He has blocked this every step of the way." In what is perhaps a sign of a changing dynamic within the administration, Cambone is now saying that he, like his boss, favors a broad document release.
Although Hoekstra, too, has been pushing hard for the quick release of all of the documents, he is currently focusing his efforts simply on obtaining the 40 documents he asked for in November. "There comes a time when the talking has to stop and I get the documents. I requested these documents six weeks ago and I have not seen a single piece of paper yet."
Is Hoekstra being unreasonable? I asked Michael Tanji, the former DOCEX official with the Defense Intelligence Agency, how long such a search might take. His answer: Not long. "The retrieval of a HARMONY document is a trivial thing assuming one has a serial number or enough keyword terms to narrow down a search [Hoekstra did]. If given the task when they walked in the door, one person should be able to retrieve 40 documents before lunch."
Tanji should know. He left DIA last year as the chief of the media exploitation division in the office of document exploitation. Before that, he started and managed a digital forensics and intelligence fusion program that used the data obtained from DOCEX operations. He began his career as an Army signals intelligence [SIGINT] analyst. In all, Tanji has worked for 18 years in intelligence and dealt with various aspects of the media exploitation problem for about four years.
We discussed the successes and failures of the DOCEX program, the relative lack of public attention to the project, and what steps might be taken to expedite the exploitation of the documents in the event the push to release all of the documents loses momentum.
TWS: In what areas is the project succeeding? In what areas is the project failing?
Tanji: The level of effort applied to the DOCEX problems in Iraq and Afghanistan to date is a testament to the will and work ethic of people in the intelligence community. They've managed to find a number of golden nuggets amongst a vast field of rock in what I would consider a respectable amount of time through sheer brute force. The flip side is that it is a brute-force effort. For a number of reasons--primarily time and resources--there has not been much opportunity to step back, think about a smarter way to solve the problem, and then apply various solutions. Inasmuch as we've won in Iraq and Saddam and his cronies are in the dock, now would be a good time to put some fresh minds on the problem of how you turn DOCEX into a meaningful and effective information-age intelligence tool.
TWS: Why haven't we heard more about this project? Aren't most of the Iraqi documents unclassified?
Tanji: Until a flood of captured material came rushing in after the start of Operation Enduring Freedom [in October 2001], DOCEX was a backwater: unglamorous, not terribly career enhancing, and from what I had heard always one step away from being mothballed.
The classification of documents obtained for exploitation varies based on the nature of the way they were obtained and by whom. There are some agencies that tend to classify everything regardless of how it was acquired. I could not give you a ratio of unclassified to classified documents.
In my opinion the silence associated with exploitation work is rooted in the nature of the work. In addition to being tedious and time-consuming, it is usually done after the shooting is over. We place a higher value on intelligence information that comes to us before a conflict begins. Confirmation that we were right (or proof that we were wrong) after the fact is usually considered history. That some of this information may be dated doesn't mean it isn't still valuable.
TWS: The project seems overwhelmed at the moment, with a mere 50,000 documents translated completely out of a total of 2 million. What steps, in your view, should be taken to expedite the process?
Tanji: I couldn't say what the total take of documents or other forms of media is, though numbers in the millions are probably not far off.
In a sense the exploitation process is what it is; you have to put eyes on paper (or a computer screen) to see what might be worth further translation or deeper analysis. It is a time-consuming process that has no adequate mechanical solution. Machine translation software is getting better, but it cannot best a qualified human linguist, of which we have very few.
Tackling the computer media problem is a lot simpler in that computer language (binary) is universal, so searching for key words, phrases, and the names of significant personalities is fairly simple. Built to deal with large-scale data sets, a forensic computer system can rapidly separate wheat from chaff. The current drawback is that the computer forensics field is dominated by a law-enforcement mindset, which means the approach to the digital media problem is still very linear. As most of this material has come to us without any context ("hard drives found in Iraq" was a common label attached to captured media) that approach means our great-grandchildren will still be dealing with this problem.
TWS: To read some of the reporting on Iraq, one might come away with the impression that Saddam Hussein was something of a benign (if not exactly benevolent) dictator who had no weapons of mass destruction and no connections to terrorism. Does the material you've seen support this conventional wisdom?
Tanji: I am subject to a nondisclosure agreement, so I would rather not get into details. I will say that the intelligence community has scraped the surface of much of what has been captured in Iraq and in my view a great deal more deep digging is required. Critics of the war often complain about the lack of "proof"--a term that I had never heard used in the intelligence lexicon until we ousted Saddam--for going to war. There is really only one way to obtain "proof" and that is to carry out a thorough and detailed examination of what we've captured.
TWS: I've spoken with several officials who have seen unclassified materials indicating the former Iraqi regime provided significant support--including funding and training--to transregional terrorists, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Ansar al Islam, Algeria's GSPC, and the Sudanese Islamic Army. Did you see any of this?
Tanji: My obligations under a nondisclosure agreement prevent me from getting into this kind of detail.
Other officials familiar with the captured documents were less cautious. "As much as we overestimated WMD, it appears we underestimated [Saddam Hussein's] support for transregional terrorists," says one intelligence official.
Speaking of Ansar al Islam, the al Qaeda-linked terrorist group that operated in northern Iraq, the former high-ranking military intelligence officer says: "There is no question about the fact that AI had reach into Baghdad. There was an intelligence connection between that group and the regime, a financial connection between that group and the regime, and there was an equipment connection. It may have been the case that the IIS [Iraqi Intelligence Service] support for AI was meant to operate against the [anti-Saddam] Kurds. But there is no question IIS was supporting AI."
The official continued: "[Saddam] used these groups because he was interested in extending his influence and extending the influence of Iraq. There are definite and absolute ties to terrorism. The evidence is there, especially at the network level. How high up in the government was it sanctioned? I can't tell you. I don't know whether it was run by Qusay [Hussein] or [Izzat Ibrahim] al-Duri or someone else. I'm just not sure. But to say Iraq wasn't involved in terrorism is flat wrong."
STILL, some insist on saying it. Since early November, Senator Carl Levin has been spotted around Washington waving a brief excerpt from a February 2002 Defense Intelligence Agency assessment of Iraq. The relevant passage reads: "Saddam's regime is intensely secular and is wary of Islamic revolutionary movements. Moreover, Baghdad is unlikely to provide assistance to a group it cannot control."
Levin treats these two sentences as definitive proof that Bush administration officials knew that Saddam's regime was unlikely to work with Islamic fundamentalists and ignored the intelligence community's assessment to that effect. Levin apparently finds the passage so damning that he specifically requested that it be declassified.
I thought of Levin's two sentences last Wednesday and Thursday as I sat in a Dallas courtroom listening to testimony in the deportation hearing of Ahmed Mohamed Barodi, a 42-year-old Syrian-born man who's been living in Texas for the last 15 years. I thought of Levin's sentences, for example, when Barodi proudly proclaimed his membership in the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, and again when Barodi, dressed in loose-fitting blue prison garb, told Judge J. Anthony Rogers about the 21 days he spent in February 1982 training with other members of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood at a camp in Iraq.
The account he gave in the courtroom was slightly less alarming than the description of the camp he had provided in 1989, on his written application for political asylum in the United States. In that document, Barodi described the instruction he received in Iraq as "guerrilla warfare training." And in an interview in February 2005 with Detective Scott Carr and special agent Sam Montana, both from the federal Joint Terrorism Task Force, Barodi said that the Iraqi regime provided training in the use of firearms, rocket-propelled grenades, and document forgery.
Barodi comes from Hama, the town that was leveled in 1982 by the armed forces of secular Syrian dictator Hafez Assad because it was home to radical Islamic terrorists who had agitated against his regime. The massacre took tens of thousands of lives, but some of the extremists got away.
Many of the most radical Muslim Brotherhood refugees from Hama were welcomed next door--and trained--in Saddam Hussein's Iraq. Spanish investigators believe that Ghasoub Ghalyoun, the man they have accused of conducting surveillance for the 9/11 attacks, who also has roots in the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, was trained in an Iraqi terrorist camp in the early 1980s. Ghalyoun mentions this Iraqi training in a 2001 letter to the head of Syrian intelligence, in which he seeks reentry to Syria despite his long affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood.
Reaching out to Islamic radicals was, in fact, one of the first moves Saddam Hussein made upon taking power in 1979. That he did not do it for ideological reasons is unimportant. As Barodi noted at last week's hearing, "He used us and we used him."
Throughout the 1980s, including the eight years of the Iran-Iraq war, Saddam cast himself as a holy warrior in his public rhetoric to counter the claims from Iran that he was an infidel. This posturing continued during and after the first Gulf war in 1990-91. Saddam famously ordered "Allahu Akbar" (God is Great) added to the Iraqi flag. Internally, he launched "The Faith Campaign," which according to leading Saddam Hussein scholar Amatzia Baram included the imposition of sharia (Islamic law). According to Baram, "The Iraqi president initiated laws forbidding the public consumption of alcohol and introduced enhanced compulsory study of the Koran at all educational levels, including Baath Party branches."
Hussein Kamel, Saddam's son-in-law who defected to Jordan in 1995, explained these changes in an interview with Rolf Ekeus, then head of the U.N. weapons inspection program. "The government of Iraq is instigating fundamentalism in the country," he said, adding, "Every party member has to pass a religious exam. They even stopped party meetings for prayers."
And throughout the decade, the Iraqi regime sponsored "Popular Islamic Conferences" at the al Rashid Hotel that drew the most radical Islamists from throughout the region to Baghdad. Newsweek's Christopher Dickey, who covered one of those meetings in 1993, would later write: "Islamic radicals from all over the Middle East, Africa and Asia converged on Baghdad to show their solidarity with Iraq in the face of American aggression." One speaker praised "the mujahed Saddam Hussein, who is leading this nation against the nonbelievers." Another speaker said, "Everyone has a task to do, which is to go against the American state." Dickey continued:
Every time I hear diplomats and politicians, whether in Washington or the capitals of Europe, declare that Saddam Hussein is a "secular Baathist ideologue" who has nothing do with Islamists or with terrorist calls to jihad, I think of that afternoon and I wonder what they're talking about. If that was not a fledgling Qaeda itself at the Rashid convention, it sure was Saddam's version of it.
In the face of such evidence, Carl Levin and other critics of the Iraq war trumpet deeply flawed four-year-old DIA analyses. Shouldn't the senator instead use his influence to push for the release of Iraqi documents that will help establish what, exactly, the Iraqi regime was doing in the years before the U.S. invasion?
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/07/2006 01:01 ||
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Let the public have them. Those 1-2 million pieces of intelligence will get translated in record time for 1/1,000,000,000 the cost and 3/100 the time it would take letting our Government do it.
Just think about the broad spectrum of intelligence material...
Iraqis buried their dead on Friday from a day of bloodshed, which left some Shias calling for a backlash against the Sunni militants they blame for a suicide bombing in Kerbala.
Senior Shia religious and political leaders urged restraint, telling followers to place their faith in the next government, slowly emerging from the Dec 15 election and set to be dominated by Shia Islamists. But some religious figures condemned the killers from the pulpit.
In Baghdad, one imam held an AK-47 assault rifle aloft in his left hand and punched the air with his right as he addressed around 5,000 worshippers.
âHow long can we remain silent? Terrorists are pampered in Iraq,â cried Imam Hazim Araji, standing in front of an ornately tiled facade of the Khadimiya mosque.
In the western city of Ramadi, Sunnis buried scores of young police recruits who were blown to pieces by another suicide bomber on Thursday, one of the bloodiest days in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein. That attack killed 70.
In Kerbala, where more than 50 were killed, grief was mixed with anger.
âSunnis were behind this criminal act,â said shopkeeper Jabbar Nasr, surveying the debris from the bomb, which exploded yards from the shrine of Hazrat Imam Hussein, spitting ball bearings across a busy shopping street.
âI call on our religious Shia institutions to give us permission to fight back,â he said.
It was also the deadliest day for US forces since Dec 1, taking US fatalities since the start of the invasion to 2,193.
Eleven soldiers died, including two in the Ramadi attack and five when a roadside bomb hit their patrol in Baghdad.
President George Bush faces growing pressure at home over the rising toll, but has said a troop cut depends on the situation on the ground and military decisions, not on him.
However, Al Qaedaâs deputy leader Ayman al Zawahri said in a video Mr Bushâs plans for a possible withdrawal meant Washington had been defeated by the Muslims.
âBush, you must confess that you have been defeated in Iraq and Afghanistan and you will be too in Palestine soon,â he said.
Iraqâs more senior clergy were more restrained than ordinary people like the shopkeeper Nasr, urging worshippers not to rise to the bait of the bombers.
âThe civil war they are looking for will not happen,â said Ali al Fatlawi, a representative of the countryâs most senior cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani.
âIraqi people should be more careful, more vigilant and should shun anything that promotes strife,â he told thousands of worshippers inside the shrine of Hazrat Imam Hussein.
Hadi al Ameri, head of the Badr Brigades, the loosely organised Shia militia allied to one of the countryâs most powerful political parties, urged calm but questioned how long political leaders could keep their angry supporters in check.
âPeople are about to explode,â he said. âWe have warned the British and American ambassadors in Iraq that if the Shias get out of control they should not blame us.â
âShia popular opinion has remained obedient to the clergy and its leaders, but the question is, for how long?â he said. âPeople are not stupid. Theyâre telling us, âIf you canât protect us, then let us protect ourselvesâ.â
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/07/2006 00:56 ||
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#1
âPeople are about to explode,â he said. That would appear to be part of the problem, darlin'.
one imam held an AK-47 assault rifle aloft in his left hand and punched the air with his right... So pious, so holy. Blow up in my ear and I'll follow you anywhere.
âWe have warned the British and American ambassadors in Iraq that if the Shias(Sunni's) (just insert tribe/sect here) get out of control they should not blame us.â. Well, why that would be silly wouldn't it?! We know, W and the jooos made ya do it.
American officials are talking with local Iraqi insurgent leaders to exploit a rift that has opened between homegrown insurgents and radical groups like Al Qaeda, and to draw the local leaders into the political process, according to a Western diplomat, an Iraqi political leader and an Iraqi insurgent leader.
Clashes between Iraqi groups and Al Qaeda have broken out in several cities across the Sunni Triangle, including Taji, Yusefiya, Qaim and Ramadi, and they appear to have intensified in recent months, according to interviews with insurgents and with American and Iraqi officials.
In an interview on Friday, a Western diplomat who supports the talks said that the Americans had opened face-to-face discussions with insurgents in the field, and that they were communicating with senior insurgent leaders through intermediaries.
The diplomat said the goal was to take advantage of rifts in the insurgency, particularly between local groups, whose main goal is to expel American forces, and the more radical groups, like Al Qaeda, which have alienated many Iraqis by the mass killing of Iraqi civilians.
The talks, which the diplomat said were taking place "inside and outside Iraq," began in the fall, around the time of the referendum on the new Iraqi constitution on Oct. 15. American officials had made contact with insurgent groups before, but the diplomat described the new engagement as much more significant.
The effort comes as political leaders await the results of the Dec. 15 election, which will determine the shape of the next government.
The diplomat said the talks were aimed at taking advantage of a new willingness to take part in politics among Sunni Arabs, who went to the polls in large numbers for the first time. Their full participation is seen as an essential step in quelling the insurgency, which is led mostly by radical Sunni Arabs.
The diplomat said he did not harbor any illusions about securing the immediate surrender of the insurgent groups, or even a cease-fire. In the past two days alone, more than 180 Iraqis have been killed in suicide bombings.
Few details of the talks were available.
Tarik al-Hashimy, the leader of the Iraqi Islamic Party, who said he was in periodic contact with insurgent leaders and had asked them to hold their fire during the elections, said he did not think the talks had made much progress. One of the main sticking points, he said, was the demand by the insurgents for a timetable for withdrawal of American forces, which President Bush has repeatedly refused.
But the Western diplomat said he hoped to begin to convince insurgent groups that the new government, which is expected to contain a number of Sunni leaders, was worthy of their support.
"According to Islamic doctrine, as well as democratic principles, there cannot be a legitimate resistance against a legitimate government," the diplomat said. "If we could reach an understanding with each other, meaning the resistance, as they call it, and the coalition, then they will in turn take care of Zarqawi and the terrorists."
The diplomat was referring to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, which is believed to be responsible for most of the car and suicide bombings.
The diplomat did not specify which groups the Americans were speaking to. But it seemed likely that they included groups like the Islamic Army in Iraq and Muhammad's Army, which are believed to comprise mainly Iraqi nationalists and former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party.
Their primary goal is to expel the Americans, a wish that is broadly held among Sunnis. The objectives of Al Qaeda are much broader, including using Iraq as the springboard to re-establishing the Islamic caliphate that once reigned over the Middle East.
In interviews, Iraqi insurgents say there is widespread hatred for Al Qaeda among ordinary Iraqis. The insurgents blame Al Qaeda for the bloody car bombs and suicide attacks that have killed thousands of civilians. While Al Qaeda's rank and file includes mostly Iraqis, the leadership is believed to contain many foreigners.
"We are Iraqis, and Al Qaeda came from outside our borders," said Abu Omar, the nom de guerre of a member of the Islamic Army in Abu Ghraib, west of Baghdad. "They defame the name of the noble resistance inside Iraq."
While there was no way to verify that he was an insurgent, Abu Omar provided details of his role in operations against Americans.
American and Iraqi officials regard the strife among the guerrillas as presenting an especially promising opportunity, in large part because of the large turnout of Sunni voters in the election. In many cities, insurgents cooperated with the election by largely holding their fire, while Al Qaeda warned of reprisals. In at least one city, Ramadi, insurgents provided security at some polling centers.
"We are at the early stages of the process," the diplomat said. "Now, there are discussions with people who know or interact with and have influence over groups. There have been discussions with those who have been field commanders in the past and who consider themselves to still be commanders in the field."
One challenge for the Americans is identifying guerrilla leaders. The Iraqi insurgency is made up of dozens of loosely connected groups.
Abu Amin, an insurgent leader in Yusefiya and a former captain in the Iraqi Army, said the Americans were especially interested in securing the help against Al Qaeda.
"Yes, we know with whom they meet," Abu Amin said of the Americans. He said the Americans asked many questions about Al Qaeda: "Do you have a relationship with Al Qaeda? Can you help us attack Al Qaeda? Can you uproot Al Qaeda from Iraq?"
He said an early result of those talks came in December, when the Americans released Satam Quaood, a former associate of Mr. Hussein, as a "good-will gesture" to persuade the insurgents to cooperate. Mr. Quaood was released by the Americans, along with more than 20 other detainees, over the objections of the Shiite-led government.
Mr. Amin said the release was warmly welcomed by some insurgent groups.
But in an interview on Friday, the American ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad, said the release of Mr. Quaood had nothing to do with insurgent claims.
"We didn't have that in mind," he said. "But I've noticed in discussions we have had since, with some Baathist types, that they have said they regarded that as a positive gesture."
In an interview in Jordan this week, Mr. Quaood said he was not aware that his release had been part of any deal with insurgents. But he said that on a trip to Anbar Province after his release, he was approached by people who identified themselves as insurgent leaders and who asked him to "please represent them during negotiations with Americans."
He said the insurgent leaders had told him "they had been holding very secret meetings with Americans," he said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/07/2006 00:55 ||
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What is driving this, is that the Kurds and Shiias want to bring it down on the Sunnis and the Americans are holding them back. IMO because of fear of headlines that read Sunni Massacre, ethnic cleansing , etc. These things will happen, its just a matter of how long it takes. I just don't buy (allusion deliberate) that getting the Sunnis to participate the political process will achieve any significant power for the Sunni through the ballot box. The reality is the Shiia and the Kurds have a demographic lock on the political process. And that means the Sunni have to accept their second class status one way or another.
#3
I personally don't believe there will be a viable Shiite/Sunni/Kurd Government in Iraq. Listening to NPR on Thursday a Sunni Leader ( I can't even begin to type his name) said Sunni's will not accept a minorty role in the Government. He said calling the Sunnis a Minority was an insult and would never be accepted. It had to be tried but the Sunnis will not try to make it work.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
01/07/2006 8:30 Comments ||
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The solution is partition: Kurdistan, an independent Shiite nation, and an independent Sunni nation. (Assuming the Turks don't go ballistic over the prospect of a greater Kurdistan.)
Posted by: Jonathan ||
01/07/2006 10:13 Comments ||
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In contrast to Deacon Blues' view, I believe that the Sunnis' intransigence is a negotiating stance only. All groups/individuals act within their best self-interest...in my opinion, the Sunni's know they are at a disadvantage, they know that they would be much worse off on their own (e.g. no oil fields, no skills, no viable institutions of any kind), so they know that eventually will have to accede to their minority status. 1.) I take ANY commentator interviewed on NPR with a salt lick; 2.) the Arab world (particularly Sunni Iraqis) will bluster one thing publicly while planning otherwise; 3.) the Sunnis are starting to grasp the phrase "no better friend, no worse enemy". The insurgent negotiation with the US flies in contrast to the position stated in the NPR interview and appears, to me, the political equivalent of an infant holding on for dear life to his mother's blouse to avoid being put in the playpen with the older children.
#8
Though, in reference to my above, I must caution that rawing my conclusions requires a presumption that the Sunni political representation is able to act according to its self-interest...as has been said here on my beloved RB before, some groups never miss a chance to miss a chance
Unknown militants Friday abducted an official from Kirkuk during his visit to the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. A police source said the militants abducted Kirkuk Governorate Council member Ahmad Akkar Nezar while he was visiting a relative in Al-Shaeb area in Baghdad. According to eyewitnesses, the source said, the kidnappers were in a Japanese-make and another German-make vehicle and had forced Nezar to ride with them and drove off to an unknown destination.
BAGHDAD - Dozens of Iraqi Shias took to the streets of Baghdad on Friday to denounce US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, accusing him of standing in the way of an all-out fight against insurgents. âNo, no to Zalmay Khalilzadâ, shouted the demonstrators as they marched through the district of Sadr City.
The Shi'a, we should remember, are world-class eye-rollers and face-makers.
They were referring to recent criticism by Khalilzad and US commanders of policing, interrogation and detention methods used by Iraqâs fledgling security services, which are controlled by Shia-led ministries.
The march was officially organised by non-governmental organisations, but came just a day after the powerful Supreme Council of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a Shia religious party, lashed out at the US-led coalition. SCIRI charged that security services were being pressed to keep their gloves on in the fight against Sunni insurgents.
"And the drawstrings on dem gloves are too tight!"
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/07/2006 00:00 ||
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The three-year-old grandson of Norman Kember keeps asking when he will return from Iraq, the wife of the kidnapped peace activist has told al-Jazeera. In a new appeal on the Arab TV channel, Pat Kember said she was "very worried" about the 74-year-old Briton's health. Mr Kember, from Pinner, north London, was seized in Baghdad on 26 November, with two Canadians and an American.
Well over a month now. The kidnappers have no idea how to unload the hostages and save face.
Mr Kember, James Loney, 41, Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32, and American Tom Fox, 54, had travelled to Iraq as a gesture of solidarity with Christian Peacemaker team, a Canadian-based international peace organisation. Mr Kember was last seen in a video aired on al-Jazeera on 8 December, blindfolded and with his hands tied, but there has been no news from his captors since then. The four men were seized by a group calling itself the Swords of Truth. It had demanded the release of all Iraqi prisoners detained by British and American forces by 10 December - a call which has not been met.
Mrs Kember's appearance on al-Jazeera was the latest appeal from the hostages' families. She previously appeared on the channel on 4 December, saying that her husband and his friends were allies of Iraq and had gone there to make it "a safer place". A series of radio and newspaper adverts were issued in Iraq over the Christmas period and the Muslim Association of Britain has also been working to secure their release. The Foreign Office said it had no new information about Mr Kember.
#3
"Well over a month now. The kidnappers have no idea how to unload the hostages and save face."
I would guess they never read "The Ransom of Red Chief"...
JERUSALEM (AP) - With Prime Minister Ariel Sharon recovering from emergency brain surgery early Saturday, his doctors said it was still too early to assess how much damage the Israeli leader has suffered from a massive stroke. Independent experts said the prognosis remained grim. An official determination on Sharon's condition will likely take place on Sunday, when doctors plan to wean him off the drugs that are keeping him in what they said is a medically induced coma.
Sharon, 77, underwent five hours of emergency brain surgery Friday that doctors said successfully stopped a hemorrhage and relieved swelling inside his skull. Doctors reported ``significant improvement,'' but said he remained in serious condition.
Sharon, who underwent seven hours of surgery following his stroke, was rushed back into the operating room Friday morning after a brain scan indicated rising cranial pressure and further brain hemorrhaging.
Hospital director Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef said the new surgery helped stabilize Sharon's condition. ``At the end of the operation, there is no active bleeding and the intracranial pressure has returned to normal.'' Mor-Yosef said a comparison of brain scans before and after the surgery showed ``significant improvement,'' but he did not elaborate.
The chief neurosurgeon operating on Sharon, Dr. Felix Umansky, said he came through the surgery well but was likely to have suffered damage. ``There is always some damage when you have cerebral hemorrhage,'' he said in a telephone interview. ``We cannot assess the damage because he is under anesthesia all the time. We need to wait and see what will happen once we reduce the medication which keeps him under sedation.''
Hospital officials said Sharon would remain in the medically induced coma until at least noon Sunday to give him time to heal.
The bleeding and swelling treated Friday, while not unexpected, are life-threatening complications that make the prospect of survival ever slimmer, said Dr. Anthony Rudd, a stroke specialist at St. Thomas' Hospital in London. ``It sounds like a last desperate attempt to salvage something, but the prognosis must now be terrible,'' he said. Noting that a CT scan shows the structure - not the function - of the brain, Rudd said the improvement that Sharon's doctors referred to likely applies to the reduction of swelling seen in the earlier scan.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/07/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
All of which means the Israelis get Netanyahu in March. Then what?
Posted by: Jonathan ||
01/07/2006 10:15 Comments ||
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#2
He'll continue the wall and heavy answers to Paleo transgressions. He also might be more likely to take on Iran to prove his cojones. Sharon didn't need to
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/07/2006 12:09 Comments ||
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Ten people were killed in separate attacks by communist rebels and al-Qaeda-linked Moslem militants in the Philippines, officials said Friday.
Eight of the victims - five policemen and three civilians - were slain in an attack by communist rebels on Friday morning in the province of Masbate, 420 kilometres southeast of Manila.
Chief Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil, national police spokesman, said one civilian was also injured in the attack in the village of Poblacion, Claveria town.
Bataoil said additional policemen and soldiers have been dispatched to hunt down the guerrillas.
No other details about the attack were immediately available.
In the southern province of Basilan, two pro-government militiamen were killed by members of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf rebel group in Tuburan town on Wednesday.
Brigadier General Raymundo Ferrer, an army brigade chief, said the victims were on their way to a market when they were attacked by the militants.
'The victims died on the spot from multiple gunshot wounds sustained from assault rifles fired by the terrorists,' he said in a belated report of the incident.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/07/2006 01:07 ||
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At least five Sri Lankan sailors have been killed and 10 are missing after a navy boat was ambushed by suspected Tamil Tiger rebels, officials say. A loud explosion rocked the port of Trincomalee, in the north-east of Sri Lanka, shortly after two patrol boats left the harbour on Friday night. The incident would be the latest in a series of attacks by the separatist Tigers against military targets. A navy spokesman told the Reuters news agency they suspected a suicide attack. The recent attacks by Tamil Tiger rebels have raised fears that Sri Lanka may be sliding back into civil war after four years of an officials ceasefire.
The head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, who is also the man behind Iran's foreign policy, has warned Europeans "not to force the Islamic Republic to cut short the dialogue process and to opt for another scenario". Speaking on Tuesday night on state television he said: "We are for a strategy based on dialogue, but if the counterparty Europe plays dirty, then we will pass onto another plan that we have worked out and then there will be problems for the Europeans."
Without specifying the nature of the other plan and the other scenario, Larijani has compared the talks on Iran's nuclear programme to a chess game.
"In this game, we are for a result that will be satisfactory to both Iran and Europe," said Larijani adding that "if we lose, the same will also happen to the other party (Europe) and they will have to prepare themselves to live in a hell."
But Larijani used even stronger words for the United States. "A small error on the part of USA or the Zionists will be enough to induce us to unleash hell," said Larijani. "They know this very well and for this they haven't gone further than a verbal or psychological war," he said.
Larijani also reiterated how Tehran "does not have any intension of renouncing its cycle of producing nuclear fuel."
"For our requirements we do not intend to trust even our friends," he said, stressing Iran's right to "advance the research in all the areas of the nuclear sector."
"To start the research and study, does not always signify establishing an atomic programme," said Larijani.
Referring to the Russian proposal to conduct the necessary uranium enrichment in Russian nuclear plants for the purposes of Iranian use, Larijani called the proposal "unsatisfactory".
"We are not disposed to imposing someone else's [proposal], but to find a neutral and constructive proposal," he said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/07/2006 01:14 ||
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#1
ROFL!
"Shape up, Dhimmis, or you'll force us to do what we've already been doing!"
#2
Larijani has compared the talks on Iran's nuclear programme to a chess game. "In this game, we are for a result that will be satisfactory to both Iran and Europe," said Larijani adding that "if we lose, the same will also happen to the other party (Europe) and they will have to prepare themselves to live in a hell."
Which is different from the old threat how, exactly?
No matter. Europe rolled over and went back to sleep anyway.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/07/2006 1:43 Comments ||
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#6
I wonder if we're going to wait until these nutballs actually nuke someone before we take them out. I certainly hope not but I'm afraid that will be the way it plays out. We should be giving them a 48 hour ultimatum starting tomorrow telling them that if they don't depose Ahmedinejad and destroy their nuke installations immediately their whole country will shortly thereafter become a radioactive wasteland.
Posted by: mac ||
01/07/2006 2:05 Comments ||
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#7
Which is different from the old threat how, exactly? lol!
#8
oh for fcks sake lets just Atomize these fck wits!!! i'm getting sick of their gobbing off.
Posted by: Shep UK ||
01/07/2006 5:48 Comments ||
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#9
You must understand the "soft power" of Germany and France is achieving results! They are not the desired results but they are results. I wonder when the UK is going to wake up?
#10
"stronger words for the United States. "A small error on the part of USA or the Zionists will be enough to induce us to unleash hell," said Larijani. "They know this very well and for this they haven't gone further than a verbal or psychological war," he said."
Did he just say "your mama"? This group needs to decapped.
#11
We are going to sit here and watch them build the bombs, debate if they will use them, until they do, and then spend the rest of our kids lives trying to clean it up. I am not a preacher of doom, this is real, they have issued their intent, and will follow through with it. Our options are limited, one we complain to the UN and watch the inevidable attack happen. Or we can build the plan and execute it before they destroy a few good cities in this world. We are not debating their intent anymore, we are debating on if we should wait for them to strike or to preempt it.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
01/07/2006 9:06 Comments ||
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#12
.........and when Israel steps up and at least takes out their nuke facilities the gentle west will condem the Zionist aggressors.
Jeebus Batman.
Posted by: RJB in JC MO ||
01/07/2006 9:26 Comments ||
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#13
A strategy based on dialogue? They don't even show up for the meetings anymore. And when they do they just say they will never give one inch on enriching uranium. All they are doing now is jerking off the EUnicks to buy a little more time to build a crude bomb. They see NKOR getting away with it and think they'll give it a try. They are an insignificant little stain on the world. And what is this "Hell" they speak of? $5 gas? Thats about the only thing they can fuck up worse than it is now.
#14
This is freekin great, the EU panzies are being punked out like the panzies they are. I think the European people are a stong people who just need to see thier leaders for what they are peace-love-&-happiness mentality panzies.
Sometime in the near future:::::
Following this press conference the UN made a responce were the EU negotiator was speaking to reporters then all the sudden the Iranian delegate walked up behind straight smacked the EU guy in the back of the head in mid talk then the Iranian guy proceededs to step forward make a quick "dont mind my b*tch she talks out of turn sometimes" then deliver a scathing verbal attack on the Big Satan and Little Satan, all the while the EU delegate shrinks into the background head down.
#15
LMAO, indeed, .com! Listen to our monologues and threats or we will continue our nuclear weapons program unabated, anyway. The EUniks are negotiating from a position of strong weakness. Appeasement and dhimmitude is just around the corner. I swear, this is a mad hatters' tea party---appeasing EUniks on one side and Mad Mullahs on the other. And the EUniks are college educated. They must have got a special dispensation to not have to take logic class. You just cannot make this sh**te up.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/07/2006 11:20 Comments ||
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#16
Either we're incredibly stupid to let the Black Hats and the Europeans continue this senseless charade, or we must be very, very certain Iran isn't going to finish its nuke anytime soon.
Islamism should have been crushed back in 1979.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
01/07/2006 11:54 Comments ||
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#17
Up to now America hasn't done anything more concerning Iran's threat than Europe has. So why can't you keep your mockery about Europe's weakness for a time when you indeed prove more efficient? If ever?
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/07/2006 12:46 Comments ||
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#19
Europe told us to STFU after ahrd power screwed up so much in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Euros were going to show us how it is done with soft power. So we didn't do anything while the EU3 carried the ball. Well, they've shown us and it looks like hard power will be requiried again. We're 2-0. The Euros are 0-1, 0-2 if you count the brilliant successes of soft power in the Balkans. The Euros needed Clinton's insertion of international hard power to deal with that one. We look pretty damn efficient to me.
#21
And what is this "Hell" they speak of? $5 gas? Thats about the only thing they can fuck up worse than it is now.
How about this:
Iran has successfully tested its Shahab-3 missiles...firing them off of freighters and detonating them at high elevations.
According to President Reagan's chief scientific advisor, William E. Graham, the sole purpose of a test like that would be to detonate nukes at high elevations...creating EMP nukes (electro-magnetic pulse nukes.)
EMP nukes fired from the Atlantic and detonated over the east coast would shut down all the electricity as far as Chicago and St. Louis and cover the entire east coast.
There would be no refrigeration, tap water, working toilets, trucks, cars, etc.
It would result in chaos and pestilence for half the country.
(From a comment on "Adventures of Chester" by the owner to one of his posts .)
If this is credible (comments?), one each launched from the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Mediterranean would provide a pretty good facsimile of Hell for the West.
*Takes bite out of Frank*
*Chews carefully*
*Spits out as rotten*
Your beloved Europe will decry the efforts when the adults actually do something about it as well
Will it? You prophet you. Ofcourse *much of it* will indeed decry it, same as much of the United States will decry it. That comes from living in a pluralist society.
But didn't more than half of "my beloved Europe"'s nations support the American invasion of Iraq, a fact which Rantburgers remember when it suits them, and forget whenever it's time for their true feelings to come forth?
Didn't I keep on hearing "Thank you Poland", "Thank you Bulgaria", "Thank you Italy", "Thank you United Kingdom", etc, etc, etc and all the pretense gratitude feelings -- until ofcourse it was again time for Rantburgers' true everlasting contempt for everything-not-American to spew forth like vomit?
Same old, same old. Pretense gratitude, pretense thanks, pretense feelings of camaraderie, followed like clockwork by real contempt.
The Euros were going to show us how it is done with soft power. So we didn't do anything while the EU3 carried the ball.
*Really*? That's why you didn't do anything?
So, when e.g. you didn't do anything against even Sadr, that was also Europe's fault? Wow, we must be *really* powerful if we can restrain such a superpower as yours.
Probably not. It seems to me more likely that it's your own weakness that causes you to not act against Iran, just as you failed to take out Sadr -- not some sort of mystical power that Europe possesses over you.
Because, Aris, at this point - their bombs can only reach you and not us
Do you *really* think that Europe's concerned about Iranian missiles reaching it? We are not.
#25
Say what you want, the US and Israel are probably the only ones doing the recon and intel AND planning for taking out the menace of the MM nukes and accessories. The EUniks can play dumb and be negotiators and lift the light loads because they know that the Big Bad US⢠will do the heavy lifting. Nuances, my a$$.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/07/2006 13:53 Comments ||
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#26
tastes like ass, huh, Aris? LOL
nevermind - that thread was going nowhere. We disagree and the facts will bear out in the future
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/07/2006 13:54 Comments ||
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#27
AlaskaPaul - and it makes Aris very comfortable knowing that his government can continue to play a whining 1950's mommy while the US is left with the role of Dad.
#28
2b, the issues I have with my government go much deeper than the issues I have with yours. Unlike you, I don't need to play the stupid game of "my nation's better than yours".
What does the gender stereotyping reveal about you, btw?
#29
since when have I ever made references to Greece? I was referring to YOUR comment Aris and to Europe in general. You're free to complain secure in the knowlege that the US or Israel won't allow it to move forward. You are closer and that's the technology they have right now. They might get us with a dirty bomb - but they don't need any new technology for that.
Why shouldn't they set their sights on Europe? It's a toothless tiger that doesn't even bother to roar.
#30
Aris wrote, Up to now America hasn't done anything more concerning Iran's threat than Europe has.
Damn. That's twice in a week that I have to agree with Aris.
C'mon people: we have NOT done very much to this point, at least that has been publicly disclosed, to stop Iran. We've had a lot of tough-sounding press releases, we're trying to stiffen the spines of the EU-3 (like shooting pool with a rope), and we'd like to get this to the UNSC, for all the good that would do.
And maybe, maybe, we're doing a whole bunch of stuff behind the scenes to work on the problem. Maybe the CIA is pulling all sorts of hi-jinx that we'll never read about. Maybe the NSA has all the intercepts, and those are in the hands of Special Ops people who are doing nefarious things. Maybe our diplomats are quietly building support for a strike. Maybe our military people have Plans Red, Orange and Black readied, just wating for a go-code.
Maybe. I hope so. But in the light of public evidence to date, Aris isn't wrong to say what he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/07/2006 14:11 Comments ||
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#31
since when have I ever made references to Greece?
I thought that "your government" had meant the Greek government.
You're free to complain secure in the knowlege that the US or Israel won't allow it to move forward.
I wish I had that knowledge, 2b. I'm afraid I don't, not in the slightest. I don't know if Israel has the capacity to stop it, and I don't know if America has the will to do so, since it may mean that the Iranian Shiite stooges in Iraq (SCIRI, Sadr, etc) will also revolt, bringing to nil all supposed progress that has been made there.
#32
#4: If it weren't for the fact that these guys will eventually nuke NY or DC I'd actually be enjoying this show.
You can cross the New York Nuke off their target list, the UN building is there.
While the World Trade Center was also in New York, that was a controlled attack, a Nuke would affect the whole city, and they don't want to piss off the whole world, just the United States.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/07/2006 14:44 Comments ||
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#33
Aris isn't wrong to say what he said
But the way he says it does leave something to be desired. I knew it was too good to last.
#34
But the way he says it does leave something to be desired.
Certainly, Americans have the right to mock and insult as much as they want, but Europeans must always come forth possessing stances of humble petitioning.
I'm not *anyone's* dhimmi, not the Islamofascists', not the socialfascists', and not yours either. I am already treating you with more respect than you treat me, and am definitely treating America with more respect than you treat either the EU or Europe as a whole.
#36
Aris, some bitches don't even know they are 'kept'. They are happy with the trapping and fed a continuous dose to keep their nerves from fraying. That would be you.
#40
Respect is earned, not derived just by continually breathing.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/07/2006 16:32 Comments ||
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#41
you ever notice JFM, A8089, (especially) TGA have no problem with respect....? I didn't think so. They've earned it, in my book
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/07/2006 16:35 Comments ||
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#42
I have to admit, that before I posted, the point that Steve made occurred to me. However, at least in the United States, as in Israel, we have the EXPECTATION that our government will do something - though we may be, as Steve says, wrong.
I will admit I was wrong about Europe being a "toothless" tiger. It has both claws and teeth. But I'm not far from wrong when I say it doesn't bother to roar. Schroeder and Chirac are corrupt - both cooperating with Putin and Saddam and selling the George Galloway line of BS that we can just bribe and nuance our way out of it as they line their pockets in ways that would make Arafat proud.
And talk about claiming "my country is better than yours" The only thing that ever comes out of Europe is how we knuckle dragging Americans don't understand nuance. And right they are. We don't understand how Chirac, Schroeder and Galloway will ever do much of anything except in their own personal interest. You are nothing but a peasant to be taxed for their own personal gain and if they have to wear turbins to stay in power - so be it. The Iraq war and the UN scandal has already proved that.
#43
Aris wrote, Up to now America hasn't done anything more concerning Iran's threat than Europe has.
Steve White: Damn. That's twice in a week that I have to agree with Aris.
Steve, the US Navy and other assets have kept the Gulf [oil supply]open for the world and provided a deterrent force to keep Iran in check for decades.
The Euros could have done alot more in the way of embargoing trade with Iran instead it has weakened pressure working around those embargos.
#44
Sorry Steve, I'm with RD et al on this: we have actively tried to stifle teh Iranianinfluence in shiite areas of Iraq, costing American and British lives. JacK Straw seems to be working at cross-purposes to the Brit mission in Iraq, and the rest of Europe, if not actively selling materials to Iran, has tut-tutted any measures to constrain and punish the Iranians for their adventures. Not to mention how long it took to get the EU to recognize the Iranian tool terrorists of hezbollah as anything other than a Muslim United Way
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/07/2006 16:59 Comments ||
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#45
Frank G.> Respect is earned, not derived just by continually breathing.
Well for starters, our attitudes are just slightly different. I feel that people first earn the right to respect simply by the mere fact of being fellow human beings. They can then proceed by words and actions to *lose* the respect they were first entitled to. E.g. as you long ago lost mine.
Secondly, people earn *your* respect Frank, only if they happen to agree with you.
you ever notice JFM, A8089, (especially) TGA have no problem with respect....? I didn't think so. They've earned it, in my book
Have you ever noticed how I never treat TGA, JFM, liberalhawk, Fred, and many other people, with disrespect or rudeness either?
It partly derives from the fact that these people don't tend to bash whole continents and then pretend that it's *other* people's attitudes that is the problems. The fact that their posts generally tend to contain sentient content, unlike yours, also contributes to my continuing respect for them.
#46
2b> I also feel that Shroeder was corrupt -- I was for a long time a fence-sitter on this one, but the fact he immediately received a cozy job in Russia's state-owned corporation finally convinced me of the fact.
Not yet sure about Chirac. He's an ass in many ways, and his contributions in the last years atleast have largely been greatly negative to both European and Transatlantic unity, but I've not studied his actions enough to tell whether that's the result of corruption or mere arrogant nationalism (taking care of France's interests in all the worse ways).
#47
LOL - sentient's a big word for you....good syllabus work - my respect for you notches up a tick :-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/07/2006 17:12 Comments ||
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#48
BTW Chirac's avoided prosecution for corruption as mayor only so long as he remains in public office - that's 2 for 2
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/07/2006 17:15 Comments ||
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#49
Have you ever noticed how I never treat TGA, JFM, liberalhawk, Fred, and many other people, with disrespect or rudeness either?
No, I've noticed that you are more than willing to get into the gutter at the slightest provocation, even when it was clear to others one wasn't intended. If you could go to Vegas and cash in the chip on your shoulder, you'd be rich for life.
#50
Frank, "Sentient" is a very useful word, which is why you see me use it all the time. Certainly many of the comments in any given thread could have been written by a computer. Just have a program sprinkle "Dhimmi-donks", "EUnics" and "traitors" through randomly constructed sentences, and few people would be able to tell the difference between it and many Rantburgers' typical commentary.
You can also have a male-chauvinism variable that indicates the likelihood of any given person using "pussies" as a reference to cowardice and "balls" as a reference to bravery. Extra points go to those who don't hesitate to award honorary balls to brave women.
#52
Nimble> "The great virtue IS the tragic flaw." to quote from a friend's commentary on some book or other. See my attitude flaws as a result of my overeagerness to confront both stupidity and fascism.
I wish I could find a corresponding virtue to fit the sins of Frank. A person that e.g. uses "greek boy" as an attempted insult, how can I restore my respect for him? I'd appreciate some help here, Nimble.
#55
back on topic, somehow. You (and I don't doubrt the rest of Europe) aren't really askeered of an enhanced range Iranian missile actually putting a Nuke in Rome or Paris or Berlin or Athens. I have no doubt you're probably correct. The Iranians will use the existence and POSSIBLE use as leverage in all future talks/power discussions. They will actually send it to Israel, and sneak one against a US base, if possible, but they know Europe will roll over and play dead if threatened only...
Good news, you'll be a dhimmi bitch for Shias instead of wahhabis...
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/07/2006 18:17 Comments ||
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#56
a result of my overeagerness to confront both stupidity and fascism.
Translation. I will always live in my mother's cellar.
#57
Glemp, I was the only one in my highschool class to confront antisemetic statements made by others in class. More than once.
I was the only one (possibly in the whole highschool, judged from the signature-gatherers' surprise) who around the same time refused to sign a protest petition demanding the withdrawal of American troops from Bosnia.
I was the only one in my university who in debate opposed the students joining in protests against Clinton when he came to visit, knowing that the supposed "anti-imperialists" we'd be marching alongside with would be merely anti-American fascists instead.
I am proud of all of the above, even as I'm proud of e.g. my current opposition of the usage of torture against innocents. Your mockery about my willingness to confront fascism, just like Frank's mockery of the same, is a stain on the mockers, not on me.
Now, I have to sleep soon, so this was my last post in this thread. Nimble, my petition in #52 for aid in restoring my respect for Frank is sincere. If you have any ideas let me know.
#60
I've no great love (or respect) for the Euros (excepting TGA, JFM, and other R'burgers), but to paraphrase Churchill, if Iran attacked Hell, I'd at least write My Congressman to make a speech in favor of the Devil.
#61
While the specifics of diplomacy usually elude me (I am, by nature, a confrontational creature), it would seem that the Euro's are employing/carrying "a lazy man's load," one that is purposefully too big to actually be carried-- thus, he hopes someone else will bear the burden: and the new contract goes to...The Evil Zionist Moooooving Company!!! Congratulations, Guys (don't scratch the furniture).
Glemp, I was the only one in my highschool class to confront antisemetic statements made by others in class. More than once.
I was the only one (possibly in the whole highschool, judged from the signature-gatherers' surprise) who around the same time refused to sign a protest petition demanding the withdrawal of American troops from Bosnia.
I was the only one in my university who in debate opposed the students joining in protests against Clinton when he came to visit, knowing that the supposed "anti-imperialists" we'd be marching alongside with would be merely anti-American fascists instead.
I am proud of all of the above, even as I'm proud of e.g. my current opposition of the usage of torture against innocents. Your mockery about my willingness to confront fascism, just like Frank's mockery of the same, is a stain on the mockers, not on me.
Now, I have to sleep soon, so this was my last post in this thread. Nimble, my petition in #52 for aid in restoring my respect for Frank is sincere. If you have any ideas let me know.
#64
well, well! I'm actually going to defend Aris on this one. What is the world coming to?
Aris: while I will admire your willingness to break from the herd - the fact that YOU were THE ONLY ONE who did those things says volumes about the reasons Americans lack respect for, dare I say it, "European values" - a loose term which beg you, in the spirit of the fact that I am agreeing with you - to use your intelligence to understand what I mean by that term, so that I can spare Fred's bandwidth of 5,000,000 words explaining exactly what I mean by "European values" - solely for the purpose that you don't come back arguing semantics over the term.
I stand by prediction (similar to others) that the US and Israel will do th enasty work suffer biching and sniping from Euro-pussies, and ultimately endure. I hope the majority population of Iran is able to pick up the pieces, hang the turbans, and make a prosperous nation. Iran has the assets, opportunity and educated populace to make the first world....
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/07/2006 20:54 Comments ||
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#66
What Darrell said, that's the way I see it, too. Pretty depressing.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
01/07/2006 20:55 Comments ||
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let me know when you leave hiding under your mutha's bed get closer :-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/07/2006 21:35 Comments ||
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#69
I'd be happy to allow you the chance, punk.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/07/2006 21:38 Comments ||
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#70
Vince, dear, Frank G. is going on 2 meters tall, with body mass to match, and a countryboy engineer to boot. I don't know if you've run across many engineers in your life, but they tend to be blunt-spoken, simple souls. All they really require from those around them is the same competence they demand from themselves, and are therefore often disappointed. I honestly don't think you would enjoy your encounter, no matter how much you've grown to dislike him. Such men tend to have acquired competency in the kind of male-male interaction you desire, and like a bigger hammer, do not hesitate to apply as they perceive to be the appropriate tool for the situation.
Not to warn you off, or to protect Mr. G, but to give you the information you need to properly assess the most appropriate course.
Oh, and next time, could you post such comments to Frank G's email? I find physical threats to be singularly uniformative and uninteresting. Of course, I'm not male, which may have something to do with it. Thanks ever so.
#72
Make it an even 70 comments.
I didn't respond earlier as it is too predictable.
Look the Mad Mullah's have at least 3 tactical nukes they bought from the ex-soviet republic's criminals in the 90s. They likely don't work anymore but they can sure model new ones after them.
Only thing is you would want to test before using and if you test you want a lot on missiles ready to fire - so they need to have a full wave ready before they test. Also, no reason to test until they are ready to use. That means ready to do major damage.
So they buy time futzing with the Eu-Niks until they first all out attack wave is completed.
Then a quick test followed by Allah's mandated launch against Jews, Christians, Pagans and all ...
It will be a impressive first wave for a 2-bit shithole followed by H-Bombs turning Iran into Glass. Hopefully the H-Bombs will be followed by planes with hydrofluoric acid to dope the amorphous glass that was Iran and make it a giant solar cell.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/07/2006 22:06 Comments ||
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#82
You can put your boots in the oven, but that don't make em biscuits :-)
Posted by: Rafael ||
01/07/2006 22:09 Comments ||
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#83
Never kick a cow chip on a hot day.
Posted by: Rafael ||
01/07/2006 22:19 Comments ||
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#84
3dc hit on something I have been pondering as well. The Mad Mullahs need a test. Once they test they know a count down clock to their anhillation will start.
Will there be enough time for Ahmadinejad to claim that he is the Mahdi?
#87
ok...right after this I'm going to hit the tip jar - just as soon as I find my cc - for wasting so much bandwidth. If not tonight - tomorrow I promise! But I have to say it...I just can't help myself.
Isn't it strange - how Frank and I tick off Aris and then as soon as he goes to bed, this new poster Vince, suddenly comes to town, guns blazing, with all the arrogance of Aris to talk about how we are not worthy to be on rantburg?
It's like a wierd parallel universe of Aris. neeneeneenee - neeneeneenee
#89
What's weird, from what I can tell - this is one massive pile of, uh, um, thread - is Vince got a burr under his saddle and I don't really see why. If he's lurked and such as claimed, then he'd know this is a normal Arisified thread, which is why I left RB, today.
As for his locale, I used to live in Euless Useless. H-E-B, the mid-cities betwixt Dallas and Foat Wurth. Hell, to establish my bona-fides, I held the record for the number of licks (that's whacks on the ass with a paddle - invariably named the Board of Education - for you New Age lillies) in a year at South Euless Elementary - I broke 100 in the 3rd grade. I was the regional Spelling Bee champ in the 4th, though you wouldn't know it from my RB posts. And Vince, I lived just off Pipeline Rd when it was in the stix and found a silver fox pup, which I turned over to the Forrest Part Zoo in Ft Wurth, lol. Good enough for ya? Last time I was there was about 25 yrs ago.
But we said "git" all the time. And ponds were called tanks. And sheee-it was our favorite word - before we learned some of that truly nuclear stuff.
What got you so bent out of shape? I can't see it.
Frank loves Aris and Aris loves Frank - in that bloggy adversarial in-your-face sorta way. They are therapeutic for each other, lol.
I've retired, more or less. Aris can come back and make the usual hash of threads if he wants to. Obviously The Mods have forgotten why they banned his ass once upon a time.
I haven't. I don't much care to waste my time with him, anymore.
You need a longneck Shiner, Jax or a Pearl or something. Chill, dude.
#90
Just remembered something else - the Principal at SE Elem was AJ Sales. Soupy, to us, of course. And he had this huge college ring he used to nervously twist all the time. We figured it was because he couldn't wait to git to work whacking us.
#92
Frankie G=GIT I have lurked here for 3.5 years or longer, under many different nyms.
Now I have to say, Frank G is one of the most predictable IDIOTS I have ever encountered. I usually just bypass his posts. But lately I have noticed that he pops up like a social disease whenever he doesn't agree with what is said.
Why he has such cachet here is inexplicable, .com,
I can understand; as he at least has SOME credibility.
Frankie Gis for GIT is another matter.
Sir I would like to meet you...so I could smack you a couple of times. You are in dire need of a wake-up call.
#93
2b: YOU, are also one of the wannabe's. you spew, but your talk is hollow.
I am NOT Aris. While I do not agree with most of AK's dribble, he does adhere to the precepts of this site.
You on the other hand are as predictable as Frank Gis for git! I have watched and traded barbs with you in the past. You fold like a cheap wallet whenever someone calls you. In short, you are a pussy.
I'm in Euless, TX. Look me up, I'll beat you like you cheap whore.
Too many of you FUCK WADS, talk like you got a pair, when most of you are just washed up keyboard commandos.
I have posted now with my true name, it should be easy for you to find me. If you got it, BRING it!
I'll spank you and send you home to pull your tiny dick!
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 20-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of having items likely to be of use to a terrorist. The man was held in Sheffield by officers from Scotland Yard's Anti-Terrorist Branch and officers from South Yorkshire police.
A 20-year-old man was Friday arrested on suspicion of having items likely to be of use to a terrorist, Scotland Yard said. The man was held in Sheffield, northern England, this morning, by officers from Scotland Yard's Anti-Terrorist Branch and officers from South Yorkshire police. A Scotland Yard spokesman said the arrest was in connection with an investigation into suspected terrorist activity overseas. Police are still searching the house in Sheffield where the man was arrested. He was taken to a police station in South Yorkshire, northern England, where he was being interviewed by senior anti-terror detectives. The Scotland Yard spokesman added that the arrest was part of an investigation into alleged activities in south-east Asia. "It is not connected to the ongoing inquiry into the suicide bombings on the London transport system on July 7 last year," the spokesman concluded. No further details were available.
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - Two Colombian soldiers have been arrested for giving weapons to leftist rebels - their main battlefield enemy - in exchange for cocaine, the Attorney General's Office said Friday.
Iraq's ambassador to Australia says he saw followers of Iraq's Al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi trying to enlist supporters in Sydney during Iraqi elections early last year. Ghanim Al-Shibli says Australian authorities are aware of the group and are doing what they can to stop it. He says he is satisfied with the handling of an investigation into the claims. "Those people are recruiting young people, and soliciting money and sending those people to Iraq, and it's not a secret," he said. "We have them on a daily basis blowing up Iraqi people." 
Americans support Musharraf
A Central Executive Committee member of banned militant outfit Jamiatul Ansar has been released after a six-month detention. Qari Abid, the second-in-command of the group formerly known as Harkatul Mujahideen, was arrested for his suspected involvement in two assassination attempts on President Pervez Musharraf in December 2003. The Harkatul Mujahideen was banned in August 2002.
QUETTA: Situation remained alarming in Dera Bugti Friday. All the offices of civil administration in Dera Bugti are closed and most of the officers and officials have left the town.
MUMBAI - Indian police arrested three suspected members of a Kashmiri militant group and seized bomb-making material in the financial capital of Mumbai on Friday.
PESHAWAR--A ceremony to celebrate the 77th birthday of the founder of Pakistan Peopleâs Party Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was disrupted when two rival groups PSF scuffled, pointing pistols at each other. One of the groups is not ready to accept Rahimdad Khan as party provincial president. According to details, a ceremony was arranged at Nishtar Hall here on Thursday to celebrate PPPâs founder birthday. When the party provincial president Rahimdad Khan came to stage to deliver speech, a group headed by Ejaz Ahmad Khan Semab tried to stop him from delivering speech, while the other group headed by Ejaz Yousafzai was supporting provincial chief. The two groups scuffle and pointed pistols at each other. The scuffle spread fear among the participants, who run away from the hall. In the meantime police entered the hall and the dissidents were ousted from the hall. Interestingly the police neither recovered any pistol nor arrested any student. Referring to the incident Rahimdad Khan termed it a routine matter and said that being the leader of political party he had to listen to appreciation and criticism against him. He said that matter would be resolved soon.
Unknown militants Friday abducted an official from Kirkuk during his visit to the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. A police source said the militants abducted Kirkuk Governorate Council member Ahmad Akkar Nezar while he was visiting a relative in Al-Shaeb area in Baghdad. According to eyewitnesses, the source said, the kidnappers were in a Japanese-make and another German-make vehicle and had forced Nezar to ride with them and drove off to an unknown destination.
BAGHDAD - Dozens of Iraqi Shias took to the streets of Baghdad on Friday to denounce US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, accusing him of standing in the way of an all-out fight against insurgents. âNo, no to Zalmay Khalilzadâ, shouted the demonstrators as they marched through the district of Sadr City.
The three-year-old grandson of Norman Kember keeps asking when he will return from Iraq, the wife of the kidnapped peace activist has told al-Jazeera. In a new appeal on the Arab TV channel, Pat Kember said she was "very worried" about the 74-year-old Briton's health. Mr Kember, from Pinner, north London, was seized in Baghdad on 26 November, with two Canadians and an American. 
JERUSALEM (AP) - With Prime Minister Ariel Sharon recovering from emergency brain surgery early Saturday, his doctors said it was still too early to assess how much damage the Israeli leader has suffered from a massive stroke. Independent experts said the prognosis remained grim. An official determination on Sharon's condition will likely take place on Sunday, when doctors plan to wean him off the drugs that are keeping him in what they said is a medically induced coma.
At least five Sri Lankan sailors have been killed and 10 are missing after a navy boat was ambushed by suspected Tamil Tiger rebels, officials say. A loud explosion rocked the port of Trincomalee, in the north-east of Sri Lanka, shortly after two patrol boats left the harbour on Friday night. The incident would be the latest in a series of attacks by the separatist Tigers against military targets. A navy spokesman told the Reuters news agency they suspected a suicide attack. The recent attacks by Tamil Tiger rebels have raised fears that Sri Lanka may be sliding back into civil war after four years of an officials ceasefire. 
