I would note that we had a story some days ago that noted that some of Abdul Rasul Sayyaf's pet imams were calling for jihad in Kabul. While some of the protesters no doubt showed up for other reasons, I'd wager that if you look at the overlap between who attends those mosques and who showed up to shout "Death to the Great Satan" you'd see a fair correlation between the two.
Violent anti-foreigner protests raged across the capital yesterday after a U.S. military truck crashed into traffic, touching off the worst rioting since the Taliban's ouster in 2001. At least eight persons died and 107 were injured before Kabul's streets calmed.
Chanting "Death to America," rioters stoned the U.S. convoy involved in the accident, then headed to the center of town, ransacking offices of international aid groups and searching for foreigners in a display of rising resentment over civilian deaths in the war against insurgents.
Gunfire, at times intense, rang out across Kabul as hundreds of young men looted shops and set fire to police cars and station houses. Some people said U.S. and Afghan troops fired on the crowds.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/30/2006 01:59 ||
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#1
Prolly time for some remediation of some "imams" This is a tragic traffic accident for the persons in hosptial and the families those killed in the actual traffic accident. I hope we do right by the victims,
I am glad the cops were none to gentle when they arrived. Attempting to pacify a rent a mob in an islamic dominated setting is futile. They just don't "get it"
#2
One year ago this month there were riots in Jalalabad and other Afghan cities, led by "students", protesting about alleged koran desecration in Gitmo.
At the time, Karzai pointed to "outsiders". This was ISI sponsored.
Notice all the young men involved in these new protests, the reports of imams preaching jihad.
I fear we are seeing the Pakistani (Taliban) hand again, with agent-provocateurs waiting to stir up trouble.
Pakistan cannot reassert its control over Afghanistan unless the coalition troops are forced out.
This is all about "strategic depth"
Posted by: john ||
05/30/2006 8:04 Comments ||
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#3
The Paks are rapidly becoming a major hindrance, not a partner, in the WoT. I don't give Perv long and this may be a good thing...
Posted by: Howard UK ||
05/30/2006 8:43 Comments ||
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#4
The accident has been attributed to brake failure on the US truck.
1) Was it really an accident, or were the brakes sabotaged?
2) Even if it was really an accident, what steps are we taking to prevent it from being sabotage the next time, given how 'succesful' the rent-a-riot was?
#5
Bill Roggio reports directly from the scene (via Instapundit):
The consensus among the folks I spoke to is the protests after the accident were staged by groups waiting for such an event to happen. I made the comparison to the reaction by some Islamist groups in Afghanistan (and elsewhere) after the Muhammad Cartoon riots, where the "spontaneous protests" were anything but. there was agreement on this point. I will likely post about this tonight or tomorrow.
Posted by: Mike ||
05/30/2006 10:36 Comments ||
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#6
The same people would have demonstrated if an Amercian had run a stop light. They offer nothing to the betterment of Afghanistan and maybe this infection should be removed.
The Transitional Government reported on Monday the presence of Al-Qaeda network in Somalia as a threat to the country. The Foreign Affairs Minister Abdullahi Sheikh Ismail called for International help saying that the current situation will prove grave danger for world stability and security.
The Minister said that Somalia had been breeding terrorists for 15 years and is still doing so. Mr.Ismail criticised the United States for not assisting and cooperating with his country. He claimed the US was only helping a few people mainly the Anti-terrorism squad.
Mr.Ismail reported that those groups associated with terrorism got arms by looting,smuggling through the sea ports and the air-strips that they controlled and money to buy arms from funds given to them by the Arab Gulf States and ransom taken from the civilians and the business community.
Mr.Ismail said the Somalian government needed the assistance of the International community for purposes of security and stability in the country. He also said that Somalia needed peace stabilisation forces from the African Union and any such help from the United Nations will be welcomed.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/30/2006 01:49 ||
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#1
The cognitive dissonance factor is off the scale. Don't we have a CD meter? Hey, I'll understand if it's still in the shop. The HTML graphic might work in its place. In the meantime I figure 2 or 3 beers will help me put this in proper perspective. Perhaps Beck's Dark.
The provisional Somali cabinet confirmed on Monday a report that terror network al-Qaida has recruitment centres in the capital Mogadishu, Kuwaiti news agency KUNA reported on Monday. Palestinian magazine al-Manar claimed, citing anonymous sources, that Islamic militants arrive in the capital from all over the country to join al-Qaeda. The militants are reportedly first recruited by a local network linked to Osama bin Laden's organisation before training in Mogadishu. US secret service agents are in Somalia to monitor the recruitment centres, the Palestinian magazine also said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/30/2006 01:48 ||
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ALEXANDRIA, Egypt - EgyptÂ’s Muslim Brotherhood said on Monday police had detained 28 of its members in Alexandria during chamber of commerce elections. The detainees were merchants affiliated with the officially banned opposition group, said Hamdi Hassan, official spokesman for the BrotherhoodÂ’s parliamentary bloc. They were arrested on Sunday. The Brotherhood said security forces had stopped its supporters from voting in the elections in Alexandria to guarantee victory for government-backed candidates, who won the ballot with a large majority.
Hassan said the merchants face charges of obstructing the elections. “What obstructed the elections were the government and the security forces since they stopped merchants and candidates from entering the chamber,” he told Reuters.
The police also arrested the Brotherhood’s four-man media team for the elections on Saturday. “Security means are the only means to deal with the Muslim Brotherhood because they (the state) consider the group banned and so they can’t deal with us politically,” said Ali Abdel-Fattah, a senior Brotherhood figure in Alexandria.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/30/2006 00:00 ||
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The Interior Ministry announced yesterday that it has released on bail three Saudi Gitmo returnees who arrived in the Kingdom on July 20, 2005 after the court sentenced them to different jail terms. "The three were transferred to court after they acknowledged that they were present in troubled areas without the permission of their parents or rulers. They had also forged documents and exposed the lives of their family members to danger," a ministry official said. The court sentenced two of them to one-year jail term while it decided that the period spent by the third in detention was adequate, the official said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2006 00:00 ||
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2 killed in 'crossfire' with Rab
Two persons including an outlawed cadre were killed in separate incidents of 'crossfire' with the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in Barisal and Kushtia yesterday.
In Barisal, Panirul Islam Talukdar, 29, was killed in Rab 'crossfire' while there are allegations that the victim was tortured to death before the body was brush-fired, reports our Barisal correspondent.
"brush-fired"? They burned the dearly departed?
Major Zamil of Rab-8 in Barisal said they arrested Panirul Islam following information from the house of Rafiqul Islam at Rupatali in the city early Sunday. The house was used as a mini brothel and a shelter of the criminals, the Rab official said, adding that Panir was an illegal arms dealer and accused in a dacoity case in Nalchhity Police Station under Jhalakathi district and several cases in Barisal Kotwali Police Station.
"Ok, Panirul, drop the hooker and git yur hands up!"
On Sunday night, Rab went to recover arms at Rupatali Battala Gurgobari Pole area of Barisal city following Panir's statement, Rab said, adding that Panir tried to flee away after his associates engaged in a gunfight with the Rab team.
When local people recovered Panir's brush-fired body in the presence of Rab from a water-filled ditch in the area on Monday morning, there were injury marks on different parts of the body and a hand was broken.
I'm guessing that's from his 'confession'.
A revolver, a pipe-gun, and nine live and used bullets were found on the spot, sources said.
Kotwali police sent the body to Barisal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital morgue for an autopsy.
"Got another one for you, Qincey."
Locals said they did not witness any incident of crossfire. Officer-in-Charge of Barisal Kotwali Police Station Zillur Rahman also failed to substantiate the Rab allegations against the victim.
Journalists were not allowed to visit Panir in Rab camp during the press briefing before his death on Sunday night and Rab personnel were seen busy in medical treatment of an unknown prisoner at that camp.
"Just keep him breathing a little while longer"
Panir was tortured to death in Barisal Rab camp and to cover the marks on the body, it was brush-fired and thrown into a ditch, the victim's family said.
Panir had extramarital affairs with Anima, wife of Rafiqul Islam, sources said.
Would that be the same guy who owned the mini-brothel?
The victim's brother Manirul Islam said Panir was never accused in any criminal case and he would go to court for justice for the killing of his brother.
A cadre of outlawed Biplobi Communist Party (BCP) was killed in 'crossfire' with Rab at village Bangshitala in Sadar upazila in the district early yesterday, our Kushtia correspondent reports. The dead was identified as Mahidul Islam alias Milon, 36, of Dhalnagar in Kumarkhali upazila in the district.
CTL-ALT-F9 (dead commie macro)
After Milon's arrest at Bangshitala on Saturday night, (1) he was brought to Kushtia Rab office and interrogated, (2) Rab said, adding that Milon gave information about his accomplices and hidden firearms. (3)
When a Rab team took Milon to Bangshitala village to nab his accomplices and seize his hidden firearms (4) at about 4:30am yesterday, (5) the BCP operatives opened fire on the Rab men (6) who retaliated. (7)
During the gunfight that followed, Milon tried to escape (8) and died in crossfire, (9) police said, adding that Milon was accused in seven cases including four for murder. (10)
Police seized a shutter gun and 10 bullets from the scene. (11)
Posted by: Steve ||
05/30/2006 08:46 ||
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#1
The house was used as a mini brothel...
And you thought mini-bars were expensive.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
05/30/2006 9:32 Comments ||
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A revolver, a pipe-gun, and nine live and used bullets were found on the spot, sources said. We must have a new (and a good 'un too) writer. We got brush-fired and mini-brothels with the above. Pretty impressive for a newbie.
#4
Actually, if Panirul Islam Talukdar, 29, was involved in affairs with someone else's wife (I can only do one of those names per sentence), it's quite possible that said husbands, comrades and relatives took care of the torture with their own dear little hands, leaving only the crossfire for the RAB to handle.
DHAKA - A Bangladesh court on Monday sentenced seven top Islamist militants to death for killing two judges in a bomb attack in southern Jhalakati town in November last year. “They will be hanged until death,” Judge Reza Tarik Ahmed said in his verdict.
And then leave them out for a while to deliver the message ...
The seven included chiefs of two outlawed groups -- Shayek Abdur Rahman of Jamaat-ul Mujahideen and Siddikul Islam Bangla Bhai of Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh.
“I pronounce this highest penalty as involvement of the accused has been proved beyond doubt,” the judge said in a courtroom packed with lawyers and security officers. All but one of the convicts are in custody, police said. The other one is on the run and was tried in his absence.
Two judges were killed when a bomb was thrown at a vehicle carrying them to a court in Jhalakati, 300 km (187 miles) south of the capital Dhaka, on November 14, 2005.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/30/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
So Bangla Bhai and Abdur Rehman may actually swing for their crimes. I suppose there's still time for them to 'escape' or be released in a Ramadan amnesty, but for once, justice will prevail and a clutch of stone cold killbots will actually get their necks stretched. In public.
I just wish this guy could give them their valedictory.
The special forces have prevented a major terrorist act in the Chechen highlands, a source at the Chechen department of the Federal Security Service told Interfax.
"Information about a planned terrorist act against villagers in Dargo, Vedeno district, was received the day before. The act of terrorism was aimed at destabilizing Chechnya," the source said.
A joint operation of the special forces and combined federal forces caught nine militants planting a bomb on a railroad track near Dargo.
The bomb went off during an exchange of fire and killed two militants. The other militants were wounded and tried to escape in the forest. A one-meter deep crater with a diameter of up to three meters and human remains, which cannot be identified, were found on the explosion scene. Firearms and ammunition were found, as well.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/30/2006 02:34 ||
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Around 100 youths armed with sticks and baseball bats clashed with police in a Paris suburb early Tuesday, in the worst such violence since the riots of last November, police said.
Youths attacked the mayor's home in Montfermeil, east of Paris, at around 10:30pm Monday, shaking its gates and hurling stones at the windows before facing off with police who responded with rubber bullets.
Youths also attacked the town hall, shattering its glass facade with stones and throwing Molotov cocktails which failed to ignite, and set fire to four cars and a large number of garbage bins.
Some 250 police officers were deployed to tackle the violence as it spread to the nearby Bosquets housing estate, where gangs of masked youths clashed with police for more than four hours.
Seven police officers were slightly injured by projectiles and three youths arrested in the violence, with calm returning at around 2:30 am Tuesday. At daybreak Tuesday, the streets of the Bosquets estate were strewn with stones, broken glass and the smouldering remains of burnt garbage.
Trouble was also reported in the neighbouring suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois — where last autumn's riots started following the electrocution of two teenagers who believed they were being chased by police.
Around 60 youths were involved in clashes with police in the Chene estate in the town.
The Montfermeil area has been tense since the centre-right mayor Xavier Lemoine in April adopted tough anti-delinquency measures, which notably ban gatherings of more than three youths in the town centre.
The mayor and his family have been targeted by local youths before over the measures and Lemoine was given police protection after his residence was stoned in late April.
"Tonight's violence showed that the lives of my family and my seven children are in danger," he said Tuesday.
A member of Lemoine's office said however that Monday's trouble was sparked by the arrest of a youth accused of assaulting a bus driver and was not directly linked to the mayor's anti-riot measures.
He said the mayor witnessed the assault and helped identified the suspect, who was arrested on Monday, sparking a stand-off between youths and the police.
Run-down estates in Clichy-sous-Bois and Montfermeil were the epicentre of the three weeks of rioting that broke out last autumn, spreading at one point to 300 low-income areas across the country.
Some 10,000 cars and 200 public buildings were torched in the frenzy of violence, leading to more than 5,000 arrests and 400 jail convictions.
The riots, which mainly involved French youths of Arab and African origin, laid bare the problems of poverty and ethnic discrimination faced by many in France's ghetto-like suburban estates.
Following the unrest, the centre-right government promised a string of measures to fight discrimination and improve access to education, jobs and housing for residents of the riot-hit areas.
Despite the government's action, however, more than four in five French people said in January they feared the riots could flare up again.
#2
Following the unrest, the centre-right government promised a string of measures to fight discrimination and improve access to education, jobs and housing for residents of the riot-hit areas.
#4
"The riots, which mainly involved French youths of Arab and African origin, laid bare the problems of poverty and ethnic discrimination faced by many in France's ghetto-like suburban estates."
Poverty kills - these poor youths are so disenfranchised that they feel compelled to kidnap Jewish shop workers and torture them to death. We must give them more money. Now.
Posted by: No Blood For Cheese ||
05/30/2006 14:46 Comments ||
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#5
No, no, no! We must ban sticks! Stick ownership is a plague on society.
Posted by: Mike ||
05/30/2006 15:08 Comments ||
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#7
Proving once again that France is right and the US is wrong when it comes to dealing with "Arab & African youths", read muslims. I wish we had such a peacfull policy when it comes to our disenfranchised.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
05/30/2006 15:50 Comments ||
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#8
They have sticks. Why aren't the police responding with bullets?
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
05/30/2006 15:53 Comments ||
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#9
Plumbum lots of Plumbum will solve this "problem."
#10
...throwing Molotov cocktails which failed to ignite...
I thought the point of a Molotov cocktail was to ignite it before you threw it. Are these mopes really so incompetent they can't get gasoline to catch fire?
Posted by: Baba Tutu ||
05/30/2006 16:20 Comments ||
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#11
The next time the "youths" reappear and torch & burn and threaten with baseball bats, I suggest the bird -brained gendarmes use shotguns loaded with birdshot. A few facefuls from 10 feet is quite bracing and will cause these shitheads to refocus their attention quickly.
#12
This crap isn't going to stop until the French gun several hundred of them down in the streets and actually deport several tens of thousands more. When the canaille finally get the message that the government isn't playing around, they'll crawl back in their holes. The real question is when, or if, any French government will find balls sufficient to say "Enough!"
Posted by: mac ||
05/30/2006 18:47 Comments ||
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#13
They do not want education, education is haram. They want maddrassas. Education is available if they'd partake.
They do not want jobs. Jobs are haram. It is the duty of the dhimmi to do the work. Work with infidels? I think not! The problem is not enough muslim "jobs". See first point.
They do want housing and welfare and power and bow down before them.
But pay attention in class? Start at the bottom job and work your way up - serving even infidels? Molotov not.
The European Court of Justice has blocked an EU-US agreement that requires airlines to transfer passenger data to the US authorities. The court said the decision to hand over the data was not founded on an "appropriate legal basis".
European airlines have given US authorities passengers' names, addresses and credit card details. The US said the data would help fight terrorism, but the European Parliament said the data could be misused.
The agreement demands that within 15 minutes of take-off for the United States, a European airline must send the US authorities 34 items of personal information about the passengers on board. Washington had warned that it would impose heavy fines and deny landing rights for any airline failing to comply with the agreement. The US authorities also said passengers would be subject to long security checks on arrival, if the data was not sent in advance.
The US demanded tighter airline security worldwide after the 11 September 2001 attacks on New York and Washington by suicide hijackers. But the European Parliament consistently opposed handing over the passenger details to the US, arguing that the US did not guarantee adequate levels of data protection. It asked the European Court of Justice to annul the deal.
In its ruling on Tuesday, the court found that the EU Council of Ministers' decision to sign the agreement on "Passenger Name Records" lacked an adequate legal basis. The Council and the European Commission based their actions on the EU Data Protection Directive, but the court said the directive did not apply to data collected for security purposes. It gave the EU until 30 September 2006 to find a new legal solution. "The court's judgement is about the legal basis, and about the legal basis only. It did not concern the content of the agreement," said the European Commission's chief spokesman Johannes Laitenberger.
The US Mission to the EU said it had already agreed with the Commission to look for "an agreed interim approach to data transfers that fully respects the court's ruling." But executive officer of the British Air Transport Association Bob Preston told the BBC European airlines could potentially be left in a "difficult position, between a rock and a hard place". "If we don't supply the information to the United States authorities then we're liable to fines of up to $6,000 per passenger and the loss of landing rights," he said. "And if we do supply the data, potentially we're breaking the law [on data protection]."
#2
This is just crap, EU law does not apply to the Unites States. We fought for and gained our freedom from europe over 200 years ago. We do not have to comply to any EU court, period!!! The simple truth is when the plane enters US airspace it falls under US law, plain and simple. US law requires it, they must comply or not be allowed to enter the US and or pay the fines. There is no rock and a hard place hear, if the airlines want to do business in the United States they will comply.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
05/30/2006 11:27 Comments ||
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#3
Fine. We are already bitchslapping France over the biometric passport thing, we can just make it so that in order to travel to the States you have to have either a visa or a US passport.
If an airline transports someone without the visa or US passport, they bring them back to Europe on their own dime. Trying to find open seats to bring their butts back to the Old Country is more efficient than fining the airlines months later. Trust me, with that policy, they will be vigilant about letting anyone through without the visa.
Doing that will inconvenience a lot of people. That can't be denied. But apparently the EU thinks it's just our problem and not theirs at all.
#8
It is a rock and a hard place for all airlines. US airlines would also have to abide by European laws.
Europe tends to go overboard on matters of protecting personal information. So much so, that I've seen prospective employees explicitly grant permission (in legal language) on their resumes and CVs, for potential employers to use the personal data contained therein for hiring purposes.
In Poland, there was even some question whether a phonebook is legal under the law. Not sure if that was resolved, but for a while you couldn't find a phonebook anywhere for fear of prosecution.
You'd be amazed how much airlines are protected under the law. They basically own you once you strap in. I imagine the law will be adjusted to make it easier for the airlines and to not disrupt passenger traffic.
Posted by: Rafael ||
05/30/2006 11:49 Comments ||
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#9
ltop,
Yes, BUT they can't extend their laws into our legal sphere.
#11
If an airline transports someone without the visa or US passport, they bring them back to Europe on their own dime.
That's already the rule. That's why airlines check immigration papers prior to boarding, in Europe. They specifically scrutinize the entry visas.
Posted by: Rafael ||
05/30/2006 11:54 Comments ||
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#12
I think Desert Blondie's got it. Refuse US entry. Detain and hold them at airport until a return seat is provided by the air carrier. They will soon reach a resolution. Info will be provided as requested, or that individual won't board in Europe. They can't stand that kind of pain long.
#13
Nor can we. Refusing landing rights would help in bringing this to an impasse, forcing both the EU and the US to come up with a resolution. Neither can afford the economic impact.
#14
There's a simple fix. Instead of the airline providing the information, the passenger does it, signing a waiver indemnifying the airlines involved.
Posted by: Rafael ||
05/30/2006 12:01 Comments ||
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#15
Yes, BUT they can't extend their laws into our legal sphere.
BUT that's not what they're doing. They are determining how data gathered in Europe may be used. It's their right to do so. It's our right to dish out the consequences.
If they want to do this we should recall our ambassador from each country that refuses to comply, and of course refuse entry to any such aircraft. We should turn the embassy into a consulate and have diplomatic dealings only with Le Grande Europe. I'm fed up with them and paying for their defence also. Renegotiate NATO with Le Grande Europe, maybe, maybe not.
#16
Refuse US entry. Detain and hold them at airport
That's too late. The idea is to get them off the airplane before they blow it up or hijack the plane and ram it into something. No info, no permission to enter airspace.
Posted by: ed ||
05/30/2006 12:12 Comments ||
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#17
For an airliner to enter the US is must leave from an FAA now TCA certified airport. If the EU wants to protect their data it is really their call, I respect that. They can fly all they want, just not to the US. Take the airport cert away. This will crush the international business that deals with the US. The big Euro airlines and businesses will realize the almighty buck will stop with this law and they will find a way to support sharing the data.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
05/30/2006 12:32 Comments ||
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#18
What it will do is make Gander the busiest airport in the world.
Change it to the same situation faced by the overwhelming majority of the rest of the world, if the EU thinks they don't have to provide us with that information. Trust me, I know several Russians of my acquaintance who wish they could just take off on a whim to visit America like other Europeans can.
If anything, it will increase the airlines' workload a bit, and you know damn well they'll be squawking about that to their respective governments. Throw in all the people who are used to just rounding up their passports before boarding a plane who now have to deal with our ultra-efficient bureaucrats in the embassies and consulates for a visa, and I'm sure the EU will come up with some compromise solution that saves face while allowing them to stand up to the belligerent, imperialist Yankee pigs.
#20
If push comes to shove, and we deny landing rights, they'll just have to find some other revenue source to service the debt on those shiny new A380s.
Posted by: Mike ||
05/30/2006 13:09 Comments ||
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#21
Gwad - An A-380 disgorging a load into customs and immigration. Will they have port-a-potties in long rows for them?
#23
well, the article only says we expect them to deliver names, addresses, and credit card numbers. Isn't this the same information required from American air travelers? What's good for us will have to be good for Europeans.
#25
Look on the positive side.
A passenger will have two options:
1) Use a EU airline and have major delays when they reach the US
2) Use a US airline ( which doesn't have to comply with the directive) and be fast tracked through customs.
I know which one I would use.
Expect the squeals from EU airlines in 3.......2...
#26
Visas are fine, except their only effect would be to shut out the regular folk. Business execs and those with loads of cash would still get in.
That's how it already works. To get a visa, all you have to do is present your bank book. If the balance is above a certain amount, and you don't have any other red flags, you get the visa.
Posted by: Rafael ||
05/30/2006 18:50 Comments ||
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#27
Business executives tend not to blow up airplanes, or crash them into iconic buildings, Rafael. But business execs will also likely choose to fly American airlines under the circumstances, if that will get them through Customs more quickly. Win, win, I think. ;-)
#28
Really, Rafael? Just flashing the bankbook doesn't cut it anymore.
Most visitors (tourist, business or medical) have to go to a personal interview, provide proof that they have will leave (return ticket, family ties back home), and proof they won't be a drain on the US guvmint financially, that's true.
If you are a guy between the ages of 16 and 45, or anyone over the age of 16 from six countries designated as state sponsors of terror, you have to fill out a Supplemental Nonimmigrant Visa Application, Form DS-157 to tell us more about your travel plans.
That's in addition to a $100 processing fee, a possible visa issuance fee, and of course, the two photographs that look like you just got out of jail.
Somehow, I don't think the good citizens of Europe will be so happy when they have to go through all that crap. But it's their choice.
#30
Well, that's true. You were always checked for red flags. But absent any abnormalities, your financial status (and employment as well), is usually the deciding factor.* And in most cases, let's face it, rich people will get the visa.
* along with a well-put-together application, which should always include travel plans and a letter of invitation from a relative or company.
I'm also ignoring the quota rules, and the "I simply don't like the looks of you" factor.
Bear in mind, Europeans are used to bureaucracy and waiting in lines so they will do it if required. Not a big deal. After all, this is the land of national id booklets*, and 500-page constitutions.
*or at least that's what I remember
Posted by: Rafael ||
05/30/2006 21:28 Comments ||
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Posted by: Frank G ||
05/30/2006 22:12 Comments ||
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#33
Frank, I don't doubt she knows her stuff, I can tell by her comments. Immigration's been my thing for 20 years, too though, and I've seen much. Probably too much in some cases. I'm not up to speed on the latest changes however (I'm no longer involved), so I yield to her on the matter.
The system is not ironclad as people would like to think, but overall, I think it works and is fair (to those that play by the rules).
Posted by: Rafael ||
05/30/2006 22:31 Comments ||
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#34
welcome back if you didn't get my first shot :-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/30/2006 23:04 Comments ||
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Posted by: DanNY ||
05/30/2006 07:43 ||
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#1
No kidding. NATO has been one big military economic welfare program paid for by the US for the economically gifted for nearly 40 years. Wonder if Europe would have had the cash to pay for all those cradle to grave welfare programs if we had pulled out of that place after only 10 or 15 years instead of still being stationed there.
#4
RBers have noted many times before the lack of airlift capability on the part of most NATO countries. That hasn't changed and won't. Why should they buy transports when Uncle Sam will provide 'em free?
#7
The fundamental problem with NATO is that it gave (gives) the Europeans the ability to cut their own defense expenditures while under the U.S. umbrella.
Kosovo was the classic result of this. A European problem that they were incapable of solving because a third world country, Serbia, had zero respect for European military capabilities (correctly, I might add). The U.S. military solved the problem under a NATO banner.
NATO should be dissolved. The U.S. will have less European support in the short run, but Europe will be forced to address its weakness (or fold). In the current scenario the U.S. can not expect any long-term support from Europe because they have no incentive to invest in their military.
#11
NATO lacks the will or the interest to help the US.
Like everything else in their lives, it's all about them. :-(
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
05/30/2006 15:22 Comments ||
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#12
"Toy armies". A description of NATO used by an officer here and seconded by several others. There are of course good folks in their ranks - think of the independence and intelligence it might take to make the military a career in a place as comfortable in its delusions and moral narcissism as Europe - but the absence of national will renders most of these forces of limited value. There are exceptions - NATO surface units add numbers to maritime operations and help stretch US resources - but generally it's pretty sad. Here in Iraq they're helping with the Iraqi army staff college, which is useful.
NATO was a spectacular success in its core misssion. This is central. Thing is, once its core mission was accomplished, NATO was a distraction or an excuse for failing to rapidly adapt to a very changed world.
#13
Nato should have declared victory after the fall of the Soviet Union and self-terminated rather than attempt to find another mission to justify their existence.
Ummmmmmm ... no. I's more of a testosterone supply thingy (literally) than locomotion. Barring that, there is still the niggling issue of moral and ethical administration of justice. All of which NATO has had in short supply for some time now.
Around a hundred youths clashed with French police overnight after setting fire to cars and rubbish bins in a Paris suburb that was the scene of violent riots last November, a local official said on Tuesday.
Seven police officers were slightly injured and six youths were arrested in a neighbourhood of Seine-Saint-Denis in confrontations that started around 20:30 on Monday evening, according to a security official from the suburb to the north of the French capital. The youths began burning cars in reaction to a police operation in which a young man was arrested several hours earlier. Officials said they did not yet know how many cars had been burnt.
There were also incidents in the neighbouring area of Clichy-Sous-Bois, where last year's riots began after two youngsters died while they were apparently fleeing police. In the three weeks of rioting that followed around France, youths clashed with police in poor suburbs which are home to large immigrant populations.
#1
Apperently French Prisons are below the standards of even Central America's hell holes. Make lots of arrests and fill them up. After this mooks have served their time transport them to an island off French Guiana and drop them off.
#4
Btw, the police had to protect the home of the mayor, with his wife and daughters holed up inside, which was besieged and stoned by a mob of about 100 Youths(Tm), some of them hooded; the mayor office was also stoned, and received molotov cocktails throws.
The fixation on the mayor is due to the fact he physically intervened to bail out a bus driver who was being swarmed and beaten a couple of week ago (the arrest was related to that assault, and the social workers say the police voluntary Humiliated the Youth by pulling his pants down), and also due to the fact he passed a municipal edict to ban gatherings of more than 3 Youths(Tm) (this was repelled by the justice system), in reaction to the november ramadan riots.
His two daughters were harassed at school, and he had to put them under police protection.
It replaced the items with the following:
'radical muslim mob', 'muslim extremists', 'muslim terrorists', 'muslim rioters', muslim rioters', islamic neighborhoods', 'muslim extremist'.
#10
Btw, the said mayor passed this municipal edict because there had been a 400% increase (IIRC) in street criminality since the november ramadan riots, and he attributed that jump to the (well-deserved) feeling of impunity of the Youths(Tm), who could rampage and torch whatever they wished to, without having to pay for that, since the official reaction was to cave and to appease.
#11
a5089, hope all is safe at your local. Last go round you were close to the riots. Looks like the young hate cars, keep yours safe!
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
05/30/2006 12:36 Comments ||
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#12
Nope, I live in a very nice rural place, no trouble at all; closest the riots got was about 30km, again a small town, but with a large muslim population (say 30-40%) as it is an industrial town, with some of my family living there, and this was limited to a few torched cars & trash bins. My brother-in-law family were right in the fire zone, though, in Paris ' "9-3" suburb.
Thanks for the thought, still.
JFM is probably parisian, or perhaps from another big city, he's the real deal, I'm just a poser.
#13
Europe used to have balls. Wouldn't it be a breath of fresh air for Europe to wake up and say to themselves, "you know, we've just had too many problems with these Islamic immigrants" and begin massive deportation. This is not impossible. Or at least, wouldn't it be nice if it wasn't?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
05/30/2006 15:25 Comments ||
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Pre 60's? I seriously doubt anyone could reasonably argue that Europe "lacked balls" before that, if one judge the numbers and ruthlessness of the conflicts it waged both on its soil and elsewhere. Even France handling of the algeria war was not exactly characterized by its "lack of balls".
ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) - Washington-area sniper John Allen Muhammad was convicted of six more of the killings Tuesday after a trial in which he acted as his own attorney and the prosecution's star witness was his young protege and partner in crime, Lee Boyd Malvo.
Muhammad, 45, is already under a death sentence in Virginia for a killing there. The most he can get for the six Maryland slayings is life in prison without parole. The jury took slightly more than four hours to convict him after a four-week trial.
The trial marked the first time Malvo testified against the man prosecutors say was his mentor and manipulator. During two days of testimony last week, Malvo, 21, gave the first inside account of the shootings and described Muhammad's elaborate plans for a reign of terror.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/30/2006 14:31 ||
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#1
Take him back to Virginia NOW, before some bleeding heart Dem court or Judge in MD decides to lock him up there. John, they have a needle in the old commonwealth with yer' name on it.
#4
Muhammad could still face prosecution for earlier shootings in Alabama and Louisiana. He and Malvo are linked to other shootings in Maryland, Arizona, Georgia and Washington state.
Muhammad Death Row Tour 2006 - 2010
Posted by: Steve ||
05/30/2006 15:47 Comments ||
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#5
Save the tax dollars and send him as quickly as possible to VA.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
05/30/2006 15:52 Comments ||
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#6
Snuff his worthless @ss right now and let an urn of ashes stand trial in VA.
A massive hunger strike is in progress at the Guantanamo Bay prison with 75 of the inmates refusing to eat or drink in protest at their indefinite confinement. The strike that began in August 2005 petered out earlier this year with just three of the inmates refusing to eat food, but it has now jumped dramatically to 75.
If a striking prisoner's health is seen to be in jeopardy, he is force-fed, a practice that has been criticised by human rights groups.
They prefer to let the mooks starve themselves to death?
No prisoner has so far died because of starvation at the US naval facility on this bit of Cuban land. The Associated Press quoted Navy Commander Robert Durand on Monday as saying that the rising number of hunger strikers was an "attention-getting" move that may be related to a melee at the detention centre earlier this month when prisoners attacked guards. The US govt says the inmates are held as enemy combatants and so are not protected by the Geneva Convention and can be held indefinitely.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
No prisoner has so far died because of starvation
One policeman was killed and three people were seriously injured when terrorists hurled a grenade at a police vehicle in the heart of Srinagar, summer capital of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir Tuesday afternoon.
News agency Indo-Asian News Service quoting police officials said, the militants' target was a Jammu and Kashmir Police vehicle. Two civilians were seriously wounded in the explosion that created tension and panic in Srinagar. The blast also disrupted traffic movement in parts of the city. Police and paramilitary troops have launched searches for the terrorists, the agency said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2006 21:26 ||
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SRINAGAR, India - Two suspected Islamic militants were killed in a gunbattle with soldiers on the outskirts of Indian-controlled KashmirÂ’s main city on Monday, police said. Security forces raided a truck lot early Monday after receiving a tip that suspected militants were hiding there, triggering the gunbattle that killed the suspected rebels, said police officer Dalip Singh.
The fight took place in Bemina, a suburb of Srinagar, the summer capital of IndiaÂ’s Jammu-Kashmir state. Singh said the slain militants belonged to the outlawed Lashkar-e-Tayyaba rebel group.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/30/2006 00:00 ||
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QUETTA: Quetta police on Monday arrested two key members of the banned Balochistan Liberation Army and also registered a case against Dera Bugti Nazim Kazim Bugti and Jamhoori Watan Party General Secretary Agha Shahid Bugti. "BLA activists Amir Hamza and Bakhtiar Bugti are being interrogated and we hope to extract important information from them," a police source told Daily Times. The detainees were involved in rocket attacks, bomb blasts and other violent acts, said the source. The police also registered a case against Kazmi Bugti and Shahid Bugti in Bijili Road police station for a rocket attack that killed a woman and injured seven men.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2006 00:00 ||
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Unidentified people detonated a time device near an army convoy near Mirali in North Waziristan on Monday. The army convoy was enroute to Miranshah from Bannu. The convoy retaliated killing "an innocent tribesman" working in nearby fields.
AP adds: A land mine exploded Monday in a village in northwestern Pakistan, killing three young girls who were playing in a field, an official said. One of the girls apparently stepped on the land mine triggering it to explode in Inayat Qala, local official Amir Zaman Khan said. The girls, whose bodies were badly mutilated in the explosion, were cousins and between 7 and 10 years old, Khan said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2006 00:00 ||
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Three suspected Islamic militants, including an alleged top commander, were killed in gunbattles with Indian troops in Kashmir Monday, police said. Two of the rebels were killed in the Parimpora area of Srinagar early Monday, a police spokesman said. Both were members of the radical Lashkar-e-Taiba group, the spokesman said. In another incident, security forces killed a suspected militant after a gunbattle at Wuranhal in the Anantnag district of southern Kashmir, the spokesman said. "The deceased was a district commander" of a rebel group, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2006 00:00 ||
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Local militants in North Waziristan threatened to step up suicide attacks if tribal people were searched at security checkposts. Abdullah Farhad, the spokesman for the local Taliban, called reporters from an undisclosed location saying tribal people were ready to lay down their lives against the strict and cruel government policies. Abdullah said that security forces not only searched women but also insulted them at the checkposts, which was unacceptable.
He also claimed responsibility for an attack on a security checkpost in the Dattakhel area on Sunday in which the assailant, a Khasadar force man and a paramilitary force personnel were killed. However, government officials said that the vehicle exploded when the security forces fired at it when it ignored signals to halt. This is the first time that local Taliban had launched a suicide raid using a vehicle loaded with explosives. Baitullah Mehsood, chief of local militants in South Waziristan Agency, had severely criticised security checkposts last year demanding that they should be removed because they were creating problems for tribesmen.
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SUKKUR: Unidentified gunmen attacked a convoy of Hindu pilgrims in a remote area of Sindh, killing two and wounding seven, police said on Monday. "They were returning from a holy place when three armed men opened fire and killed two men and wounded seven," said police official Rana Sanaullah, who, along with hospital officials, confirmed that all the dead and wounded were Pakistani citizens.
The convoy of about 20 vehicles carrying both Pakistani and Indian Hindus was attacked late on Sunday, police said. One pilgrim from India, Ramesh Lal, described the attack as an act of "terrorism", saying "they're trying to discourage us from coming here". Pakistan recently relaxed entry restrictions for Hindus and Sikhs from India wishing to visit holy sites in its territory, as part of gradually improving relations between Islamabad and New Delhi.
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Three car bombs targeting civilians detonated in Iraq Tuesday, killing 46 people and wounding over 120, as 54 people were killed in violence around the country.
The violence came as officials announced the capture of a key terror suspect who allegedly confessed to hundreds of beheadings and said three members of Al Qaeda in Iraq had been killed last week during clashes south of Baghdad.
The latest explosion occurred outside a bakery in east Baghdad, killing at least nine people and injuring 10, police said.
The explosion occurred at 9:15 p.m. local time in New Baghdad, a mixed neighborhood located in the eastern part of the capital, Police Lt. Col. Falah al-Mohammedawi said.
Earlier a car packed with explosives hit a popular Shiite outdoor market in Husseiyniyah, 20 miles north of Baghdad, Col. Mohamedawi said. At least 25 people were killed and 65 wounded, he said.
And in Hillah, about 60 miles south of the capital, a bomb placed in a vehicle exploded at a car dealership, Capt. Muthana Khalid said. A doctor at the Hillah public hospital said the blast killed at least 12 people and wounded 32.
In Baghdad, mortar rounds hit the heavily guarded Interior Ministry and a nearby park, killing two government employees. Police also said The military said another U.S. soldier died Monday during combat in northern Iraq, and the bodies of two Marines missing after a helicopter crash in western Iraq over the weekend were recovered.
The AH-1 Cobra helicopter from 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing was on a maintenance test flight when it went down Saturday in the volatile Anbar region. The military said hostile fire was not suspected as the cause, but the crash was under investigation.
Amid the deteriorating security, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki held meetings aimed at finding new defense and interior ministers more than a week after his national unity government took office. Iraq's ethnic, sectarian and secular parties are struggling to agree on who should run the two crucial ministries, which oversee the army and the police.
Top Shiite officials said the U.S. Embassy had invited government representatives and the leaders of all the political blocs to a meeting, and they expected the names of new candidates to be discussed.
In the meantime, U.S. military commanders have moved about 1,500 combat troops from a reserve force in Kuwait into Anbar province to help local authorities establish order there. The province is an insurgent hotbed stretching from west of Baghdad to the Syrian border.
The military command in Iraq described the new deployment as short-term. The plan is to keep the latest troops in Anbar no longer than four months, said one military official, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the details of the move.
The government identified the suspected terrorist captured Monday as Ahmed Hussein Dabash Samir al-Batawi and said he had confessed to hundreds of beheadings. He was arrested by a terrorist combat unit, which also seized documents, cell phones and computers that contained information on other wanted terrorists and Islamic extremist groups, the prime minister's office said.
The government released a mug shot of the suspect, who is balding, has a mustache and was wearing a white T-shirt with an identifying placard dangling from his neck.
In the mortar attack, rounds were fired by remote control from a car near the Interior Ministry compound in central Baghdad, police Capt. Mohammed Abdul-Ghani said.
One hit the ministry's third floor, killing two female employees and wounding a policeman and two janitors. The other landed in a park, wounding two city workers, Abdul-Ghani said. The Shiite-dominated Interior Ministry also was attacked in April.
Also in the capital, a roadside bomb killed one police officer and wounded four others, and police found the bodies of three blindfolded and handcuffed men who apparently had been tortured and shot in the head. A decapitated body was discovered floating in the river about 35 miles south of the capital.
CBS reporter Kimberly Dozier, a 39-year-old American, was listed in critical but stable condition at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in southern Germany following Monday's car bomb attack that killed her cameraman, Paul Douglas, 48, and soundman James Brolan, 42, both Britons, as well as a U.S. soldier and an Iraqi contractor.
Dozens of journalists have been injured, killed or kidnapped in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
Parliament on Monday debated the violence in the capital and outlying provinces but failed to set up a commission to deal with the problem because of al-Maliki's inability to appoint ministers of defense and interior.
The Interior Ministry, which controls the police, has been promised to the Shiites. Sunni Arabs are to get the Defense Ministry, overseeing the army.
It is hoped the balance will enable al-Maliki to move ahead with a plan for Iraqis to take over all security duties in the next 18 months. He wants to attract army recruits from the Sunni Arab minority, which provides the core of the insurgency.
The U.S. Embassy said al-Maliki, Cabinet members and political leaders were to meet at a social gathering organized by U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad. Some legislators said the matter of the unfilled Cabinet positions would be discussed.
The remote possibility of a female candidate for interior minister was raised. Former Shiite Deputy Mariam al-Rays said she had been approached by the nomination committee of al-Maliki's Shiite party.
"There is no problem if an Iraqi woman runs this ministry according to a national program to combat terrorism and corruption and to restore security. Women from inside Iraq are well informed about the situation inside Iraq and know how to deal with it," she said.
The insurgents slain last week were well-known aides of the group's leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, in an area south of Baghdad, police Maj. Gen. Hussein Abdul-Hadi said.
They were killed in clashes Friday in the nearby city of Latifiyah, he said, adding that police had been following the suspects for two months.
Police declined to release the names of the insurgents or give more information, pending an announcement by the Interior Ministry.
Separately, 249 prisoners who had been suspected of ties to the insurgency were released from three U.S. detention centers Tuesday, deputy Justice Minister Busho Ibrahim Ali said.
Many of the detainees, who had been held at the Abu Ghraib, Camp Bucca and Fort Suse prisons, kissed the ground and touched their foreheads to express thanks to God.
The freed prisoners were part of a group of 2,000 cleared for release by a joint committee from the Justice, Interior and Human Rights ministries, as well as Americans, Ali said.
There are still 14,000 detainees, including five women, in prisons nationwide, Busho said.
To date, the board has reviewed the cases of more than 39,000 detainees, recommending more than 19,600 individuals for release, the military said.
In other violence, according to police and hospital officials:
• Three people were killed and 10 others were wounded in Ramadi, although the circumstances were unclear.
• A suicide car bomber tried to ram into an Iraqi army checkpoint in a village west of Mosul, but Iraqi soldiers opened fire, killing the driver.
• Masked gunmen killed a real estate broker, a baker and the owner of a convenience store in separate attacks in Baghdad.
#1
Hundreds of beheadings? With only his own little rusty sword? He must have been at it day and night -- surely his back muscles rival Arnold Schwarzenegger at his competitive peak!
#2
Once they wring this maggot dry, I wouldn't bet a plug nickel on his life expectancy. I foresee a Russian style "heart-attack-while-in-custody" in his very near future and you surely know that's going to keep me awake during the long winter nights...
Waset, May 30, (VOI) – Three top aides of ultra-militant Abu Musaab al-Zarqawi were killed in Sowera town (150 km north west of Kut) in clashes with local police forces, an Iraqi police source in Waset province said on Tuesday.
“Three of the most wanted (militants) who belong to Zarqawi’s al-Qaeda group, were killed in clashes with the emergency regiment in Sowera,” the source told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). “They are among the top aids of Zarqawi in West of Sowera, Waset province, and the adjacent areas,” added the source who declined to be named. No details were available about the clashes or whether there were casualties among the police forces.
West of Sowera is a hotbed of violence in Waset with frequent clashes with armed groups.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - The Iraqi government said Tuesday it has captured a key terror suspect who confessed to hundreds of beheadings. Ahmed Hussein Dabash Samir al-Batawi was arrested by a terrorist combat unit on Monday in Baghdad. it's a culture thingy
The unit also seized documents, cell phones and computers that contained the names and addresses of other wanted terrorists and information on Islamic extremist groups, the government said in a statement. smooth move assbite, thank you very much.
This undated photo released by the Iraq Government on Tuesday, May 30, 2006 is said to show Ahmed Hussein Dabash Samir al-Batawi, who was arrested by a terrorist combat unit on Monday in Baghdad, according to the Iraqi Prime Minister's office. The Iraqi Government alleged in a statement that terror suspect al-Batawi confessed under questioning that he beheaded hundreds of Iraqis in Baghdad and other Iraqi provinces.
"Al-Batawi is considered at the top of the terrorist list," the statement said, adding he had "committed the ugliest crimes against innocent civilians especially in Hurriyah neighborhood that witnessed many massacres."
Probably the same number. It's great for the junior guys, who get promoted really, really fast. The reason they lose so many top guys, and we lose so few, is because they can't touch our top guys, even though they know where they're located, but we can get their guys as soon as we find out where they are. So this stuff about no-go zones is so much BS - our guys can go anywhere they want - they just have to work at finding the opposition such that the encounter isn't initiated by an enemy ambush.
In the most violent day in weeks, some 60 people were killed in a bloody explosion of violence across Iraq on Monday, including a suicide car bomb attack that killed two British journalists.
The attacks underlined the parlous security situation in Iraq as agreement on the key defense and interior ministries remained elusive despite the formation of a new government on May 20, five months after national elections.
Despite repeated assertions that a final decision on the security ministers was imminent, the positions remain unfilled because of bickering among the major political parties.
In the deadliest attack on Monday, 14 people were killed and 17 wounded when a bomb tore through a bus carrying Iraqis work from Khalis to Camp Ashraf. “The workers were ordinary Iraqi citizens who had ordinary jobs since a long time ago in the city of Ashraf,” said Shahriar Kia.
Another 12 people were killed, including a child, and 24 wounded when a massive car bomb exploded in BaghdadÂ’s predominantly Sunni Arab neighbourhood of Adhamiyah.
Only a minute later, a second car bomb exploded in the same district, killing five and wounding seven. Just across the Tigris, a bus in the Shia neighbourhood of Kadhimiya was blown up, killing seven people and wounding nine.
The British journalists killed, cameraman Paul Douglas (48) and soundman James Brolan (42) worked for the New York-based CBS News and were embedded with the US 4th Infantry division. They were outside their armored Humvee in the Karrada neighbourhood in Baghdad when their convoy was rammed by a suicide car bomb, the US military said.
A US army captain and an Iraqi interpreter working for the military were also killed in the attack, which seriously injured CBS correspondent Kimberly Dozier, a dual US-British national, and six other US soldiers.
At least another 18 people were killed in other violence in Baghdad and around the country. The breakdown in security was the main topic of MondayÂ’s parliamentary session as MPs took a break from debating internal rules to discuss the deteriorating situation in Diyala and the southern Basra province.
Britain announced that two of its soldiers were killed and two injured in a roadside bomb attack Sunday in the main southern city of Basra, where British forces are based.
Iraqi security forces have captured a senior aide of Al Qaeda leader in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Baghdad, a Defence Ministry spokesman said later. Defence Ministry spokesman Kassim al-Mosawi said that Kassim al-Ani, one of the most wanted people in Iraq, was arrested on Sunday evening. “The Iraqi army forces arrested three terrorists who belong to Al Qaeda, one of them is a senior aide of Zarqawi in Baghdad,” Mosawi said. “He was one of the most wanted ones,” he said, adding that Ani was suspected of being behind many attacks in the Iraqi capital.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/30/2006 02:16 ||
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Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/30/2006 01:58 ||
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#1
The brigade comes from the Army's First Armored Division, which has been deployed in Kuwait for months as a reserve
Was the whole Division in Kuwait or just this Brigade?
#3
We were joking today that we hoped the brigade got their special Chiarelli briefing - don't hurt anybody or offend anyone while you're here.
As I like to remind everyone, starting with myself, this stuff "isn't as easy as it looks" to an outsider, and there's generally no doubting the ability or commitment of the brass being criticized, but it's fair to say that many many mid-level military and even a larger % of civilians here are unhappy (ranging from uncomfortable to near exasperation or despair) with US military strategy here. That is, the lack of one - or more precisely, the substitution of sloppy thinking (we'll hand over to the Iraqis real soon) with nutty theories of conflict (unemployment is the problem, not violent behavior based on criminal, clan, and ideological motivations; and AQIZ is the main threat to our objectives here, not the Sunni rejectionist sea in which they swim, and without which they wouldn't last a month).
I'm hearing of more and more meetings in which senior military are being challenged, without effective reply, on their clearly disastrous policies (in general, a lack of offense, and a corresponding lack of results). Junior officers are chomping at the bit to put war back in warfare. Everyone hears about the violence here and out west, but down south Jaish al-Mahdi has been stockpiling weapons and inserting itself into local security structures non-stop for months. Not apparent that we're doing anything about it, other than watching, and it's hard to imagine what our plan might be to deal with it when we can't even bring ourselves to target known sources of trouble in the city in a serious manner.
Don't know if the situation's retrievable. No real defeat will result - but a greatly diluted payoff, marred by far higher costs, seems likely now. Too late to turn back the clock effectively, even if the sense/will suddenly appeared, given the new need to defer to a permanent govt. that is likely to prove d**kless in terms of decisive action on the security front ("national unity" is real neat, except when you have internal conflict requiring, like all conflicts, total victory and total defeat for any resolution and progress).
Absolutely baffled that the civilians higher up have chosen/acquiesced in this. Can't imagine how anyone could be satisfied, even with the political successes proceeding apace.
Attacks in B'dad are up so much that US civilian movement has been radically reduced (oddly, indirect fire into the IZ has dropped from very little to almost nothing). Aside from the EFP threat created by Iran - for which they have paid zero price and against which no truly effective action seems to have taken place - we still face the weakest, least impressive enemy we've faced in modern times.
Great quote today from an Anbar sheikh explaining that cooperation with the US was out for now, as AQIZ was more powerful in his world. Gee, now how does that compute, using Gen. Chiarelli's concepts of war as social work and the imperative need to appear less rude while conducting convoy security?
Not much war left in the American way of war in Iraq. And no game in the administration's communications. Dubya publicly regrets "bring it on"? WTF? As if clans fighting for smuggling/racket revenue and to fend off "Persian" revenge attacks, and nutcase jihadis care what the POTUS says. And Abu G. was a "mistake"? Felonies taking place over a few hours one day in 2004, discovered and prosecuted, are a "mistake"?
The bad guys have it much worse, but the good guys sure aren't looking too clever right now.
The bodies of two Pakistanis killed in Iraq will be flown from Kuwait to Pakistan today (Tuesday) and will then be sent to their native villages for burial. Nasir Iqbal, a Gujarat resident, and Muhammad Muneer, a Wazirabad resident, were sleeping in an American base when insurgents attacked the area with rockets. Both men died on the spot. "Iqbal and Muneer were employed at the camp as labourer and electrician," said a Foreign Office spokesman. "Both succumbed to multiple injuries sustained by them in the attack. We offer our deep condolences to the bereaved families," he said.
The Pakistan Embassy in Kuwait handed the bodies to their heirs after preparing the documents required. The bodies will be flown to Pakistan through Kuwait Airways.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2006 00:00 ||
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Jerusalem, 30 May (AKI) - Al-Aqsa Brigades gunmen on Tuesday executed a Palestinian couple - a man and woman reportedly having an affair - suspected of spying for Israel. The masked militants dragged the man, Jafal Abu Tzrur, 24, onto the main street of the West Bank refugee camp of Balata where they shot him in front of a crowd of people. According to the al-Aqsa brigades, an ofshoot of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement, Abu Tzrur had confessed he had informed on three of their members who were killed in an Israeli raid on Balata, near Nablus, earlier this year. The movement said it also killed Tzrur's reported lover, Odad Abu Mustafa, 27, a mother of four who was married to one of the al-Aqsa men killed in the Israeli raid.
"Here's the plan, my love. We'll tip the zionists to where they can find your husband and then we can be together!"
"Oh, hold me Abu!"
According to local news reports, Mustafa was was shot by gunmen and male relatives who participated in the killing on the grounds that she had shamed her family. More than 15 people took part in the execution, which took place in the courtyard of Raffidiyeh Hospital, the West Bank's largest.
Nothing sez quality medical care like executions
Posted by: Steve ||
05/30/2006 15:19 ||
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#12
Must be great to have that catch-all law: “Collaborating with the Zionists.” Don’t like someone? “He/She’s a collaborator!” And after a quick investigation (not) you are summarily executed. Allan must be proud.
Haniyeh vows to pay 40,000 salaries, doesn't elaborate on how
By The Associated Press
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Tuesday that the Hamas-led government will pay the salaries of tens of thousands of public workers, but did not say where the money would come from.
The salaries of 165,000 government workers are three months overdue...
this is about the 12th time, in the past month that some PA guy has promised to pay salaries...its probably an F5 macro by now
Calling the Hamas-Fatah rivalry "a pity," Malaysia's foreign minister urged the Palestinians on Tuesday to unite if they want the respect of supporters worldwide.
Host Malaysia dispensed the advice a day after Mahmoud al-Zahar, the foreign minister of the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority government, boycotted a ministerial conference of the Nonaligned Movement to protest the participation of his Fatah rival, Farouk Kaddoumi...
Syed Hamid denied that Malaysia committed a diplomatic gaffe by allowing both to come. "There is no such thing as a diplomatic mistake. [yes and there is no such thing as an error in baseball]
The mistake is not on the part of Malaysia. If one of the parties feels uncomfortable or doesn't want to attend, there is nothing much we can do," he said.
#2
Actually should be "Fatah-Hamas Sideshow provides convenient excuse for OIC to continue to fail to do anything concrete to assist their Noble Palestinian Brethren and to continue to hold Israel and America responsible for their own damn problems"
#5
You boys stop fighting amongst yourselves and get back to jew-killing or no more cash from us.
Sincerly, The OIC
If this keeps up, the Paleos will find that the sole reason any of their arab brothers give a rat's ass about them is their annoyance factor to Israel. Someone pass the popcorn, please.
GAZA - Israeli special forces backed by helicopters clashed with Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, killing at least three in IsraelÂ’s first incursion into the zone since handing it over to the Palestinian Authority, reports from both sides said.
Israeli forces entered Palestinian territory in the north of the strip and exchanged fire with Islamic Jihad militants preparing to fire Qassam rockets across the border into Israel, said Abu Ahmed, a spokesman for the group.
Meanwhile, an Israeli helicopter fired a missile at gunmen in the area and witnesses said three Palestinians were killed, the Israeli news website Ynetnews.com reported. SaÂ’eed Jouda, chief of emergency at Kamal Odwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, said a total of four people were killed. His hospital received the body of one Palestinian and three others were taken to another hospital, he said. Thirteen Palestinians were wounded, among them a paramedic, a reporter for Gaza radio station and a cameraman, Jouda said.
Witnesses said area residents who rushed to rescue the injured came under fire from Israeli soldiers, who were backed by helicopters and armoured vehicles.
Additional: Jihad vows “terrible response" to Gaza ambush
GAZA CITY - The militant Palestinian movement Islamic Jihad promised a “terrible and violent” response to an Israeli raid in the Gaza Strip in which three of its followers were killed on Tuesday. “This new crime of the occupation... will not pass without a terrible and violent response in the heart of the Zionist entity,” the group said in a statement.
Jihad said its militants had been killed in an ambush carried out by members of an elite Israeli army unit who were dressed in Palestinian clothing. The militants were preparig to fire rockets from northern Gaza towards the city of Ashkelon in southern Israel. “A group of Israeli agents disguised as Palestinians ambushed a group from the Al-Quds Brigades (Jihad’s armed wing),” the statement said. “The group, which was made up of four fighters, was on its way to fire rockets on occupied Majdal (Ashkelon) when they were surprised by a special force which opened fire.”
Three of the Jihad followers were killed in the attack while a fourth was wounded but managed to escape, the statement said. Medics said a total of four people were killed in the operation but the identity of the remaining victim was not immediately known.
Other members of the Al-Quds Brigades were called to the scene and then became embroiled in a gunbattle with Israeli troops for more than an hour, the statement added. The army confirmed that an infantry unit had exchanged fire with Jihad militants in what was their first ground operation since soldiers pulled out of the territory in September last year. The Israeli air force also carried out strikes during the operation.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/30/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
nice. It'll make em even more rushed and nervous in trying to set up, shoot and scoot.
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/30/2006 10:01 Comments ||
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#2
There are nothing but terrorists and sympathizers anywhere in the Gaza Strip, so anything the Israelis do will be against terrorists and sympathizers. Personally, I think shipping all the inhabitants to Zimbabwe would be the best thing to happen - for Israel AND Zimbabwe.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/30/2006 15:49 Comments ||
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#3
Brace for the blowing up of more innocent Israeli women and children. IJ always retaliates in the lowest, most cowardly scumbag way possible. Take your rags off your faces you sorry pieces of shit!
EAST Timorese Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri was last night stripped of all power to deal with the crisis afflicting his country.
President Xanana Gusmao declared a state of siege, assuming sole responsibility for defence and national security from Dr Alkatiri.
The move came only hours after first lady Kirsty Sword-Gusmao said Dr Alkatiri should "step down" to avoid being sacked by her husband as a catalyst for peace.
Ms Sword-Gusmao said the strife-torn nation's Government needed to show "it is prepared to put the interests of ordinary citizens above the needs of the (ruling Fretilin) party, and I think that is part of the problem".
"We support calls for his resignation. There's certainly a push in that direction," she said.
Mr Gusmao's declaration last night removes any meaningful power from Dr Alkatiri and his Fretilin party cabinet.
Speaking at the end of a marathon two-day meeting of the Council of State, Mr Gusmao said last night the emergency measures were needed to quickly re-establish public authority and create the conditions for a return to law and order in the fledgling nation.
He singled out the need to urgently provide humanitarian assistance to an estimated 50,000 people displaced by ethnic violence that exploded in deadly riots on April 28.
Interior Minister Rodrigo Lobato and Defence Minister Roque Rodrigues, seen as instrumental in provoking the desertion of a third of the country's army (F-FDTL), are expected to resign today after being stripped of all powers.
Dr Alkatiri's position was not mentioned in last night's statement from Mr Gusmao, apart from to say the declaration of the state of siege had been made with the Prime Minister's "close collaboration and permanent interaction".
This was most certainly a fig leaf to cover the wounded pride of Dr Alkatiri, who opposed Mr Gusmao's decision two weeks ago to request Australian intervention.
Mr Gusmao said last night he was assuming the special powers under Sections 90 and 91 of the constitution in accordance with the provisions of Law No2.
It means the President, who supports the opposition Democrat Party, shall have full responsibility for the ministries of defence and interior, placing the 1500-member army and 3400- strong police force under his sole command.
Mr Gusmao said he expected to convene the national parliament soon to discuss the proclamation of emergency which he said would last for 30 days, but could be extended if required.
And he appealed to all East Timorese armed with weapons, explosives, ammunition or military equipment to hand them over to the Australian-led intervention force.
He will also oversee the operations of the 2200-strong force, which includes troops from Malaysia and New Zealand.
With her husband "laid low" with three herniated discs in his back since the violence erupted last week, Ms Sword-Gusmao has been more outspoken than the President, who until last night limited his comments to calls for calm in his first public appearance on Monday.
But would Mr Gusmao move to sack Dr Alkatiri and remove what they saw as the obstacle to peace in Timor?
"I would hope that it does not come to that, but I don't think anything is impossible at the present time," she said.
Last Tuesday, Ms Sword-Gusmao personally told 40 families who had taken shelter in her son's preschool that it was safe to go back to their homes.
"We were strongly of the view the violence had abated," she said yesterday.
"They were saying there's more ahead, and within the next 24 hours all hell broke loose.
"Neither Xanana nor myself could have predicted that, but when you have lived with political violence for most of your life you can smell it coming a mile away."
Ms Sword-Gusmao, an aid worker who moved from Melbourne to Dili in 1999, denied her husband was suffering from a debilitating illness, saying he was sufficiently mobile to chair the national crisis talks.
"It's been two years now without any problem ... He's fine actually, apart from his back."
The couple's three children Alex, 6, Kay-Olok, 4, and Daniel, 18 months, have been house-bound since the violence erupted two weeks ago.
#1
East Timor Army (F-FDTL) = former guerrillas, mostly from the eastern part of the country. Not as respected, some say deservedly, as the police.
East Timor Police (PNTL) = former Indonesian functionaries, ex-police, and pro-autonomy groups, mostly from the western part. Better educated, UN-trained.
I think the Malaysian Militant Group is the translated form of the KMM.
Malaysian police have detained 12 suspected terrorists of an Indonesian Muslim militant group believed to have been planning attacks on several South-East Asian countries, according to sources and a news report released Tuesday.
Security and police forces had been monitoring the activities of the Indonesian-based Darul Islam group for the past six months, resulting in the recent arrests of 10 Indonesian and two local men at the eastern Sabah state on Borneo island, the Star daily reported. The group is believed to have links with Abu Sayyaf militants from the southern Philippines, as well as international terror network al-Qaeda.
The suspects were believed to have been temporarily staying in Malaysia en route to neighbouring South-East Asian countries to carry out terror attacks, police sources told the Star. It was not immediately known the targets of the attacks, or when they had planned to execute their plans.
"It was hard work. The Malaysian police had been tracking their movements," an officer was quoted as saying. "They moved in to smash the militant group before it could carry out its plans. Its certainly one of the biggest anti-terrorist successes," he said.
The two local suspects were believed to be in charge of organising lodgings, transportation and other logistical arrangements for other members of the group, the report said.
Police sources confirmed the report, which also said that authorities seized several firearms and documents, including bomb-making instructions downloaded from the internet. At least 11 of the suspects have been sent to the northern Kamunting detention camp in the Perak state, and have been issued two-year holding orders, it added.
Five years ago, Malaysian police busted a local radical Islamic group and arrested members of the Malaysian Militant Group, after its members were believed to be plotting to overthrow the mainly Muslim, but moderate, government through violence. Malaysia is already holding more than 90 alleged Muslim militants under a tough security law.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/30/2006 02:04 ||
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The Lebanese Army said Israeli warplanes violated Lebanon's airspace yesterday, one day after rockets fired from south Lebanon sparked tit-for-tat clashes in which two militants were killed. "Ten enemy fighter-bombers violated Lebanese airspace twice in the middle of the day," the army said. The warplanes overflew the entire country and broke the sound barrier over the southern port city of Tyre.
Israel said it wanted to avoid an escalation of fighting with militants in Lebanon after the worst flare-up of violence this year on the volatile border, but insisted the country would defend itself against attack. "Israel has no interest in an escalation on the northern border, but will know how to hurt those who try to hurt its citizens even more," Defense Minister Amir Peretz told Israeli radio earlier.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
All that expense, to kill just 2 "militants"... There has to be a better way.
#4
I'd suggest a full afterburner low altitude pass over Beirut, followed by Damascus.
Simultaneous is better. Scare the sh$$ out of both capitals at once, and don't give either time to prepare.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/30/2006 15:53 Comments ||
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Part II - click here
Hardly a day goes by that retired Marine Colonel John Garrett doesn't wonder if this is the day that Imad Mughniyah steps out of the shadows to take credit for latest deadly strike against the United States. For the past twenty-plus years, Mughniyah has plotted and then acted to murder Garrett's fellow Americans.
Garrett is certain of two things. Unless the US takes Mughniyah out, this cold, calculating killer will continue to murder Americans. And, if history is any guide, his successes will on occasion be spectacular.
Former Navy SEAL Platoon Commander, Tom Short goes through his day with similar concerns. Ditto for former Marine sniper platoon commander Bill McSwain.
And these concerns are echoed and amplified by former member of the CIA's clandestine services, and best-selling author, Bob Baer. Baer spent much of his career in the bazaars and back alleys of the Mid-east and made a specialty of studying Imad Mughniyah. "He is the most dangerous terrorist we've ever faced. He's a pathological murderer," says Baer. "Mughniyah is probably the most intelligent, most capable operative we've ever run across, including the KGB or anybody else. He enters by one door; exits by another. Changes his cars daily. Never makes appointments on a telephone; never is predictable. He only uses people that are related to him that he can trust. He doesn't just recruit people. He is the master terrorist, the grail that we have been after since 1983."
That year Mughniyah is credited with using a car bomb to destroy the US Embassy in April, killing several key members of the CIA's Near-east Division who were attending a regional meeting at the embassy. Mughniyah killed 63 in this attack.
Just six months later, Mughniyah made it personal for Colonel John Garrett when a suicide driver detonated a truck bomb inside the building serving as the barracks for Marines at the Beirut airport. Mughniyah's operation murdered 241 American servicemen, mostly Marines and Navy corpsmen. One of the murdered Marines was Capt. Mike Haskell who had been Garrett's first platoon sergeant in Viet Nam in 1969.
Garrett had stayed in contact with Haskell who rose through the ranks, making the rank of Captain by 1983. Haskell mailed Garrett from Beirut shortly before Mughniyah's attack on the Marine barracks. So for Colonel John Garrett, Imad Mughniyah was not just some abstract figure seen on slides in intelligence briefings.
Mughniyah had also kidnapped and murdered U.S. Marine Lt.Col. Rich Higgins, a Garrett contemporary, and William Buckley, the CIA station chief in Beirut, and according to several informed authorities, personally tortured Buckley until he died.
#1
My utter contempt for "Slick Wille" Clinton is so complete, that nothing can further diminish my respect for this disgraceful fop. But - this particular story is new to me - and further confirms my views of Clinton.
#2
This is one guy I'd love to have some time alone in a room with. Just him cuffed to a chair, and me with bolt cutters, vice grips, a 3 foot long 1 inch thick stainless steel rod, a straight razor, nitric acid and a hypodermic needle.
Plus some injectable stimulants for him to perk him up and keep him properly able to feel each and every thing happening to him with utter clarity.
The shame of it is my humanity would likely prevent me from doing things to him that he easily did to others. I'd just put a pistol to his head and kill him the way one disposes of rabid animals.
The latest intel from a very credible source is that Mughniyah has also had his fingerprints altered. According to this same source, Mughniyah was recently identified as being in the entourage of the President of Iran during a visit to Syria.
#11
The wiki bit about his missed capture in 1986 because french authorities refused to act is very interesting, because a) prime minister was you-guessed-it Shiraq, and b) this is the year Iran bombed Paris into submission through a terror wave, about debt and support for Iraq.
#12
I remember that year, a5089. It didn't make the American news in a noticeable way, but Mr. Wife spent some time there that summer, and he didn't tell me about the troubles until it was much later. I think it was the following summer he just missed taking the Greek island ferry that was attacked by machine gunning terrorists in speed boats, and had only stepped around the corner from the Athens post office when it was blown up. I stopped worrying about what could happen to him at that point, because it was so obviously pointless.
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.
ALEXANDRIA, Egypt - EgyptÂ’s Muslim Brotherhood said on Monday police had detained 28 of its members in Alexandria during chamber of commerce elections. The detainees were merchants affiliated with the officially banned opposition group, said Hamdi Hassan, official spokesman for the BrotherhoodÂ’s parliamentary bloc. They were arrested on Sunday. The Brotherhood said security forces had stopped its supporters from voting in the elections in Alexandria to guarantee victory for government-backed candidates, who won the ballot with a large majority.
The Interior Ministry announced yesterday that it has released on bail three Saudi Gitmo returnees who arrived in the Kingdom on July 20, 2005 after the court sentenced them to different jail terms. "The three were transferred to court after they acknowledged that they were present in troubled areas without the permission of their parents or rulers. They had also forged documents and exposed the lives of their family members to danger," a ministry official said. The court sentenced two of them to one-year jail term while it decided that the period spent by the third in detention was adequate, the official said.
2 killed in 'crossfire' with Rab
DHAKA - A Bangladesh court on Monday sentenced seven top Islamist militants to death for killing two judges in a bomb attack in southern Jhalakati town in November last year. “They will be hanged until death,” Judge Reza Tarik Ahmed said in his verdict.
round 100 youths armed with sticks and baseball bats clashed with police in a Paris suburb early Tuesday, in the worst such violence since the riots of last November, police said.
Around a hundred youths clashed with French police overnight after setting fire to cars and rubbish bins in a Paris suburb that was the scene of violent riots last November, a local official said on Tuesday.
A massive hunger strike is in progress at the Guantanamo Bay prison with 75 of the inmates refusing to eat or drink in protest at their indefinite confinement. The strike that began in August 2005 petered out earlier this year with just three of the inmates refusing to eat food, but it has now jumped dramatically to 75. 
One policeman was killed and three people were seriously injured when terrorists hurled a grenade at a police vehicle in the heart of Srinagar, summer capital of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir Tuesday afternoon.
QUETTA: Quetta police on Monday arrested two key members of the banned Balochistan Liberation Army and also registered a case against Dera Bugti Nazim Kazim Bugti and Jamhoori Watan Party General Secretary Agha Shahid Bugti. "BLA activists Amir Hamza and Bakhtiar Bugti are being interrogated and we hope to extract important information from them," a police source told Daily Times. The detainees were involved in rocket attacks, bomb blasts and other violent acts, said the source. The police also registered a case against Kazmi Bugti and Shahid Bugti in Bijili Road police station for a rocket attack that killed a woman and injured seven men.
Unidentified people detonated a time device near an army convoy near Mirali in North Waziristan on Monday. The army convoy was enroute to Miranshah from Bannu. The convoy retaliated killing "an innocent tribesman" working in nearby fields. 
Local militants in North Waziristan threatened to step up suicide attacks if tribal people were searched at security checkposts. 
SUKKUR: Unidentified gunmen attacked a convoy of Hindu pilgrims in a remote area of Sindh, killing two and wounding seven, police said on Monday. "They were returning from a holy place when three armed men opened fire and killed two men and wounded seven," said police official Rana Sanaullah, who, along with hospital officials, confirmed that all the dead and wounded were Pakistani citizens. 
The bodies of two Pakistanis killed in Iraq will be flown from Kuwait to Pakistan today (Tuesday) and will then be sent to their native villages for burial. Nasir Iqbal, a Gujarat resident, and Muhammad Muneer, a Wazirabad resident, were sleeping in an American base when insurgents attacked the area with rockets. Both men died on the spot. "Iqbal and Muneer were employed at the camp as labourer and electrician," said a Foreign Office spokesman. "Both succumbed to multiple injuries sustained by them in the attack. We offer our deep condolences to the bereaved families," he said.
Jerusalem, 30 May (AKI) - Al-Aqsa Brigades gunmen on Tuesday executed a Palestinian couple - a man and woman reportedly having an affair - suspected of spying for Israel. The masked militants dragged the man, Jafal Abu Tzrur, 24, onto the main street of the West Bank refugee camp of Balata where they shot him in front of a crowd of people. According to the al-Aqsa brigades, an ofshoot of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement, Abu Tzrur had confessed he had informed on three of their members who were killed in an Israeli raid on Balata, near Nablus, earlier this year. The movement said it also killed Tzrur's reported lover, Odad Abu Mustafa, 27, a mother of four who was married to one of the al-Aqsa men killed in the Israeli raid. 
The Lebanese Army said Israeli warplanes violated Lebanon's airspace yesterday, one day after rockets fired from south Lebanon sparked tit-for-tat clashes in which two militants were killed. "Ten enemy fighter-bombers violated Lebanese airspace twice in the middle of the day," the army said. The warplanes overflew the entire country and broke the sound barrier over the southern port city of Tyre.
