The motorbikes surge across the border in waves, hundreds of riders in turbans jostling for space in a cloud of milky fumes and a feverish revving of engines. Overwhelmed border guards try to search for explosives or weapons, a fruitless task.
After a cursory pat-down of every 10th man the bikes roar through, barrelling down a barbed wire chicane and into Afghanistan. Border officer Khushnay Kaka watches bitterly. "The Pakistanis are trying to send suicide bombers across," he says. "They make a queue of 300 motorbikes and release them all at once. It is impossible for us to check everyone."
Tensions are high at Spin Boldak, a crossing point along the 940-mile border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Long a crossroads for smugglers, traders and tribesmen, it may now be a gateway for Taliban fighters on terrorist missions.
Continued on Page 49
#1
a piano wire strung at 4' off the ground will stop this surge of bikers....excuses suck. Just say you're assisting the Talibs. We know it, you know it, they know it
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/22/2006 11:53 Comments ||
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#2
Based on the title, I thought they were cracking down on mosques.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
06/22/2006 12:29 Comments ||
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"Overwhelmed border guards try to search for explosives or weapons, a fruitless task."
LOL! Oh yes! They try, really, really, really hard, but its such an overwhelming task. How about completely shutting down the crossing? Nope. Can't do so without receiving permission from the ISI ... and the pro-Deobandi, pro-Wahhabi, pro-Taliban Paki Intels ain't gonna do that.
#5
Can't shut the border. You saw the trade figures? That is probably quintupling the Afghan GDP. They desperately need that money to rebuild their country.
Kabul, 22 June (AKI) - The latest video by al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri, which was posted to an Islamist website on Thursday, is the latest proof of how the global terror network is actively fueling conflict in Afghanistan. Entitled "American crimes at Kabul" the video is peculiar in its length - a mere 3 minutes and 44 seconds - and addresses residents of Kabul. It calls on them to exploit the 29 May events, when the death of Afghan civilians in a car accident with a US military vehicle led to deadly riots in which 20 civilians were killed.
"I am addressing my Muslim brothers, first hand witnesses of the new crimes perpetrated by the US forces against the Afghan people," the Egyptian doctor said. Al-Zawahiri also calls on "the young men of Islam, in the universities and schools of Kabul, to carry out their duties in defense of their religion, honor, land and country."
While previous messages were transcribed in Arab and translated into English, this time the text of the appeal is available only in Arabic, Farsi and Pashtu.
In contrast with his last video message, excerpts of which were broadcast by pan Arab satellite channel Al Jazeera on 9 June, which featured international issues such as the Palestinian issue, Sudan and Iraq, this time it is tightly focused on Afghanistan. Al-Zawahiri is shown wearing a turban and with a rifle at his side, against a black background.
Analysing the text it emerges that the insistence in urging the Afghans to rise up and support the Taliban or their al-Qaeda allies against the Afghan authorities and coalition troops show the need to launch a new offensive during the summer, already announced by the Taliban leaders, but also the difficulty of Jihadi groups who despite their apparent gains in Afghanistan are suffering from the isolation of their leaders.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/22/2006 08:41 ||
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#1
Too bad we can't encounter each of these dirtball vids with our own vids featuring "The Duke" (John Wayne)
Posted by: Captain America ||
06/22/2006 17:37 Comments ||
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P.S. Al-Zawacky was wearing tights.
Posted by: Captain America ||
06/22/2006 17:38 Comments ||
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(KUNA) -- At least 32 people were killed in a spate of violence in Afghanistan as British forces indicated they had regained control of a district from Taliban insurgents in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday. Separately four Canadian soldiers were injured in a mine blast while a suicide bomber and one civilian were killed in a bungled attack on a Canadian convoy Wednesday evening in the volatile Kandahar province.
A spokesman for the UK military said paratroopers were dropped in the Sangin district of Helmand province early Wednesday morning. The district was occupied by Taliban fighters and the Afghan police requested the UK troops to assist them. The spokesman said the British and Afghan forces were backed by apache helicopters but the insurgents vacated the area before their arrival and not a single shot was fired.
"Take that, infidels! We bravely flee at your approach! We fearlessly vacate the premises! So there!"
"Curly-toed slippers not failing! Working just fine!"
In the eastern province of Kunar, the US forces opened fire at a private vehicle carrying the personnel of government-backed tribal militia killing three of them and injuring two others. Interior Ministry's spokesman Yousuf Stanizai said the five people were traveling in a private car and were mistaken by the US soldiers for Taliban or other terrorists. Regretting the incident, the coalition forces said their soldiers inadvertently killed three un-uniformed members of the regional "Auxiliary Police" in Pech district of Kunar. Coalition's spokesman Lt Col Paul Fitzpatrick said: "We deeply regret this case of mistaken identity. Unfortunately, the police didn't properly communicate their intent or heed the signs placed before the checkpoint to proceed slowly."
Thereby exhibiting a fatal inability to follow instructions.
In southern parts, where the US-led coalition forces are carrying out the massive "Operation Mountain Thrust", Afghan and coalition forces said they had killed 26 insurgents in late night and pre-dawn attacks in the southern areas. General Rahmatullah Raufi, commander of Afghan forces in the southern region, while briefing journalists, said Afghan and coalition forces attacked a Taliban hideout in the Musa Qala district of Helmand province last night. He said 20 militants were killed in the operation while the military also recovered huge quantity of weapons. He said the ground forces were supported by coalition's helicopters, which bombed hideouts of the militants.
"Ha ha! Take that, infidels! We bravely flee at your Ā Aaaaaiiiieeee!"
In Zabul province, the commander said six militants were killed and their five colleagues were captured alive.
"Don't kill me! Please don't kill me!"
Meanwhile, four Canadian soldiers were injured when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Shah Walikot district of the Afghanistan's volatile Kandahar province on Wednesday. Coalition's spokesman Major Innis said the wounded soldiers were shifted to the coalition medical facility at Kandahar airport, where condition of one of them was serious. In the same province, a suicide bomber and one civilian were killed and seven others wounded in a botched up attack on a Canadian military convoy Wednesday evening. Provincial government's spokesman Daud Ahmadi said the Canadian soldiers remained unhurt.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/22/2006 00:00 ||
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The United States has asked the Islamic group that controls the Afghan Somali capital to hand over three men accused of links to the 2001 WTC attack 1998 US embassy bombings. Senior US diplomat Jendayi Frazer said the alleged "terrorists" were from Saudi Arabia the Comoros Islands, Kenya and Sudan. Afghanistan's Taleban Somalia's Union of Islamic Courts has repeatedly denied accusations that it is harbouring foreign Islamic fighters.
History repeating itself?
The call comes as the Islamic courts are holding indirect talks with Somalia's interim government in Sudan. Correspondents say the request is a u-turn for the United States, which is widely believed to have backed an alliance of warlords, which was defeated by the Islamic courts in Mogadishu earlier this month.
Ms Frazer, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, said there were many "foreign terrorists" in Somalia but the three most wanted by the US were:
Comoran Fazul Abdullah Mohammed
Kenyan Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan
Sudanese Abu Taha al-Sudani
She said they had been involved in the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed more than 200 people, and the 2002 attacks on Israeli targets in Kenya. The US has offered a reward of $5m for information leading to the capture of Mr Mohammed.
"The best way to get America's support to the Somali people in a way that doesn't undermine our interests and their interests is for them to give up these foreign terrorists," Ms Frazer said, after meeting Somalia's President Abdullahi Yusuf in Kenya. Mr Yusuf then left for the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, for talks with a delegation from the Union of Islamic Courts. But he said he would not hold direct talks with the 10-member delegation from the courts, led by deputy chairman Sheikh Husein Mohamud Jumaale.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has been having preliminary talks with Mr Yusuf, while Arab League secretary-general Amr Moussa, has been seeing the Islamic courts delegation. BBC East Africa correspondent Karen Allen says accusations by the government that the Islamists are backed by foreign fundamentalists, and counter-claims that the fragile government is getting the support of Ethiopian troops, will make it difficult to find common ground. But the fact that the talks are happening at all signals progress, our correspondent says.
There are fears of conflict between the Islamic courts, which controls much of southern Somalia, and the interim government, based in Baidoa, 200km north of the capital, Mogadishu. International pressure is mounting for both sides to negotiate a peaceful settlement and to establish Somalia's first effective national government for 15 years. The issue of power-sharing and a ceasefire are bound to be on the table, our correspondent says. The Islamic courts have organised protests in Mogadishu against Mr Yusuf's call for foreign peacekeepers in Somalia. Both the United Nations and the African Union are sending teams to Somalia to meet the Islamic courts' leaders and assess the possibility of sending peacekeepers, respectively. Uganda has said it is ready to send troops but only when the security situation improves.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/22/2006 09:01 ||
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There was this guy who bought an elderly circus elephant; I don't know why. Alas, he couldn't afford to feed it. He'd never seen an elephant jump with all 4 feet off the ground. So he started a contest: entry was $10, and the first person to get the elephant to jump with all 4 feet off the ground would get $50,000.
All sorts of people tried, but nobody could get the elephant to jump. Finally, this little guy arrives in a limousine. He's carrying a baseball bat. He walks up to the elephant, swings the bat, and crunches the elephants balls pretty badly. Needless to say, the elephant jumps, and the owner pays out the $50,000.
Unfortunately, the owner had barely collected enough to cover the prize, so he ran another contest. He'd never seen an elephant swing its head back and forth as if to say, "no." Same deal as before: $10 per entry, $50,000 prize. Lots of people try and fail.
Then the little guy shows up in his limousine again, pulls out his bat, and walks up to the elephant. He says, "Remember me?"
The elephant nods yes.
The man says holds up his bat and says, "Want me to use this again?"
The elephant nods his head rather emphatically no....
AL-QAEDA terrorists considered using bombs and stun guns disguised as cameras and flash attachments to hijack an aircraft from Heathrow and crash it into the Canada Tower at Canary Wharf in East London, according to a report from the US Department of Homeland Security.
The plot to strike London, and other world targets, is said to have been thwarted in the summer of 2003. This was shortly after Tony Blair was widely ridiculed for ordering extra security, including armoured cars, to Heathrow.
The plan to fly into the Canary Wharf Tower was uncovered in 2004, when computer files belonging to a key lieutenant of Osama bin Laden were seized in Lahore, Pakistan. Among the encrypted messages Ā all written in perfect English Ā were layouts of Heathrow and details of Canary Wharf, including the heights of tower blocks in the Docklands financial district.
The American report, obtained by ABC News yesterday, provides a further glimpse into what it describes as the ĀingenuityĀ of al-Qaeda in attempting to convert camera equipment and other non-threatening items into deadly weapons that could be smuggled on to an aircraft. Such items could be used to Āgain access to an airliner flight deckĀ.
Homeland Security officials were quoted yesterday as saying that the terrorist network was adapting to Āincreased aviation security by shifting planned suicide hijackings from domestic carriers to international flights . . . to take advantage of perceived less effective screening at some foreign airportsĀ.
In total, intelligence chiefs had learnt of nine schemes to hijack aircraft since the September 11, 2001, attacks on America. This, says the US Homeland Security Department, demonstrates Āa continued commitment to attack aviation-related targetsĀ.
British security chiefs said that the Canary Wharf plan used Āreal sophisticationĀ in designing equipment such as cameras that could pass security checks easily at vulnerable airports, then be assembled on board by the hijackers.
One official said: ĀOnce on the plane the hijackers would convert the camera attachments into a stun gun so they could gain access to the cockpit, then the main body of the camera was a bomb with apparently enough explosive to rupture the cabin of the aircraft if the hijackers wanted to blow up the plane in mid-air rather than steer it into their targets.Ā
#1
Would that be a plane crashing in East London - very close to Forest Gate? If this HAD happened there would have been nil response from the Muslim community (who live in the East-End in an self-imposed unintegrated ghetto) apart from the veiled threats and the large dose of 'serve you right' we received on 7/7.
A police raid to prevent such carnage, however, well that's another story...
Posted by: Howard UK ||
06/22/2006 7:01 Comments ||
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As long as the police didn't hurt anyone during the raid, it's okay.
Four more terror suspects have been arrested in England, reportedly with ties the 17 suspects arrested in southern Ontario earlier this month. West Yorkshire Police said Tuesday they had arrested three men in East and South-East London and another in Northern England with connections to two other terror suspects detained earlier this month in that country. Abed Khan, a 21-year-old resident of the northern English city of Bradford, was arrested at Manchester airport on June 6 upon his return from Pakistan.
What else would he be doing?
The following day, a 16-year-old was arrested in Dewsbury, outside of Leeds. Mr. Khan faces charges under the British Terrrorism Act of plotting terrorism-related murders and conspiring to use poisons or explosives in attacks. The 16-year-old, whose name was not released, faces charges conspiracy to commit murder and to conspire to cause public nuisance by use of poisons or explosives.
Mother must be so proud.
At the time of Mr. Khan's arrest, the Times of London reported that he had ties to the 17 terror suspects arrested in southern Ontario, who allegedly plotted to buy three tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertilizer to bomb several locations in the province. That connection has yet to be confirmed or denied by either British or Canadian authorities. The nature of that relationship has yet to be confirmed either, but the Times reported that Mr. Khan had travelled to Canada recently, something his family has denied.
"No, no! He went... ummm... somewhere else."
The men arrested in England Tuesday ranged in age from 21 to 28 and had ties to both Mr. Khan and the 16-year-old, the West Yorkshire police said. One of the men was from Bradford, the other three were Londoners. "This is a serious and complex investigation. Enquiries are expected to continue into various aspects of the investigation for some time," the West Yorkshire police said in a statement Tuesday.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/22/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
All innocent in the eyes of Allan.
Posted by: Captain America ||
06/22/2006 0:31 Comments ||
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Mr. Khan faces charges under the British Terrrorism Act of plotting terrorism-related murders and conspiring to use poisons or explosives in attacks.
Ah, reminds me of the ol' days of cherry bombs and mailboxes! Boys will be boys.
TOKYO (AP) -- Japan has dispatched ships and planes to monitor North Korea amid regional jitters about a possible long-range missile launch, but it played down the communist nation's capacity to load a nuclear warhead atop its rockets.
Fukushiro Nukaga, the head of Japan's Defense Agency, told a parliamentary committee that Japan had deployed naval ships and patrol planes to monitor developments in North Korea as the country apparently prepares to test a long-range missile believed capable of reaching the United States.
Senior Vice Foreign Minister Yasuhisa Shiozaki said, however, that Japan had "encountered no information" indicating North Korea had the technology to put a nuclear warhead on a missile. "It requires tremendous technology to miniaturize an atomic weapon in order to load into a missile warhead," he said.
That's why all the leading dictators shop at Krazy Khan's Nukes R'us.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/22/2006 09:19 ||
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#3
Senior Vice Foreign Minister Yasuhisa Shiozaki said, "It requires tremendous technology to miniaturize an atomic weapon in order to load into a missile warhead," he said.
Notice he said that like they have it down...just a hint to the NK's and Chinese?
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/22/2006 13:01 Comments ||
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#4
Notice he said that like they have it down...
"You want the 10KT Nano-Nuke, or upgrade to the 25KT Mini-Nuke with iTunes?"
Posted by: Steve ||
06/22/2006 14:35 Comments ||
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#5
Japan has AEGIS-capable destroyers in the Kongo class. If they're packing SM-3 missiles, they could splash the Taepodong all by themselves.
(The Global Security article at the link says that the SM-3 is operational with the USN, and that Japan is supposed to start getting operational SM-3s in fall 2007. We could probably speed that up a bit if we have to.)
Posted by: Mike ||
06/22/2006 14:38 Comments ||
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#6
I am going there in less than a month, should be interesting to see Japanese reaction and sentiment to this firsthand. Last time I was there the NK 'liberating' Japanese citizens was huge news.
OSLO - The founder of a radical Islamist group living in Norway since 1991 hailed Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden on Thursday, and praised the good work of bid LadenĀs recently slain lieutenant Abu Musab Al Zarqawi. ĀOsama bin Laden is a good man. I wish him a long life. He is a good Muslim and he is against the Bush administration,Ā Mullah Krekar, head of the radical Ansar Al Islam organization, told AFP in Oslo. Krekar, whose real name is Fateh Najmeddin Faraj, is considered a national security risk in the Scandinavian country and is to be expelled, though his deportation has been suspended until the security situation in Iraq improves.
ĀAbu Musab Al Zarqawi became a martyr. His death is bad news but I am not sad because he went to paradise,Ā Krekar said. Zarqawi was killed on June 7 in a US air strike on his hideout in farmland north of Baghdad. ĀOf course everything heĀs done was not good. When he was fighting against the American troops in Iraq, it was good but when he carried out crimes against civilians, Shiite Muslims and some Sunni Muslims, it was not good,Ā he said.
Krekar denied however reports that he had claimed to be Āready to sacrifice himselfĀ for Osama bin Laden. The reports were carried Thursday by the Norwegian media, citing Kurdish weekly Awene. ĀThe translation of my words is perhaps not exactly right,Ā he said, refusing to comment further on his remarks.
Translation: "I'm too holy to sacrifice myself"
Posted by: Steve ||
06/22/2006 09:10 ||
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#1
"Krekar, whose real name is Fateh Najmeddin Faraj, is considered a national security risk in the Scandinavian country and is to be expelled, though his deportation has been suspended until the security situation in Iraq improves."
Why wait until Iraq improves? There's a nearby vast body of nasty, frigid water called the North Sea. A little dunking and Krekar is history.
#3
Mullah Krekar. . . filthy AnsarĆ® trash and he looks like Rasputin to boot.
I don't see any problem with repatriating him to South Kurdistan. There is no "security" situation there. Besides, I'm certain both KDP and PUK would be happy to make some temporary room for him in one of their prisons.
Especially PUK. They still remember how AnsarĆ® filth beheaded a number of their pĆŖşmerge in a mosque in the HelebƧe area several years ago.
Time for payback.
Posted by: Azad ||
06/22/2006 13:19 Comments ||
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#4
I'm with Azad. Let the locals handle him
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/22/2006 14:21 Comments ||
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#5
Get rid of these menaces as fast and quietly as possible.
Not-so-quietly, as in "squeal like a pig" works just as well for me, so long as the end result is dead Islamist. The "fast" part is a gimmie.
(CNN) -- FBI agents were raiding sites in Miami, Florida, on Thursday in connection with a domestic terrorism investigation, law enforcement sources said. Officials said no weapons or bomb-making materials had been found in the searches so far. The FBI told CNN that seven arrests were made in connection with "suspected domestic terrorist activity," and that documents related to the investigation have been sealed.
The FBI said one search warrant was being executed in a warehouse near a housing project in Liberty City, a predominantly black and low-income area of Miami. "We are conducting a number of arrests and searches, and we'll have more about that when the operation is completed, probably tomorrow morning," FBI Director Robert Mueller told CNN's Larry King in an interview to be broadcast Thursday night. "Because it's an ongoing operation, we really can't get into details," Mueller said. "But whenever we undertake an operation like this, we would not do it without the approval of a judge. We've got search warrants and arrest warrants and the like. ...."
In a statement, the U.S. attorney's office in Miami said federal, state and local agencies had made several arrests Thursday in connection with a domestic "terrorist-related matter." Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will hold a news conference Friday regarding the raids.
#2
The door is left open for terrorists. They come in or they are already here or they are already here and get their heads filled with garbage in jihadist's mosques by radical imans in this country. Why should it be a surprise that the enemy is within the country already plotting evil things to do to us. This is a big Duh!
#3
As I mentioned over at proteinwisdom: One of those arrested from GA Tech. One of those arrested a couple of weeks ago, from GA Tech.
Anyone want to take a look at GA Tech's Muslim community?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
06/22/2006 21:15 Comments ||
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#4
There were explosive devices found outside the GT dorm in October 2005. The 9/11 pilots spent time in Coral Gables and some East Atlanta suburbs. Took a training flight there actually. There's a mosque just off the Tech Campus (northside) if memory serves me.
Posted by: Wm T ||
06/22/2006 21:38 Comments ||
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#5
heeh here just showed a CSI episode with Horatio and the FEDS fighting over a guy that was dissaembling X-ray machines.Implying a dirty bomb...
Those who formed al-Farooq were Muslims who lived in the area around Georgia Tech for whom travel to other Masjids was a burden. Many participants at al-Farooq continue to come from Georgia Tech.
...
Imam Abdullah has been at al-Farooq for about ten years. He has an extensive Islamic education and is the director of the Dar-ul-Uloom school that trains people in basic levels of Islamic law. He is also a native of Pakistan. The Imam is very well thought of by Atlanta area Muslims, particularly for his excellent Arabic pronunciation. His sermons (Khutba) are very methodical and well planned, although less exciting that some Imams. His recitation of Qu'ran and Hadith however is sometimes quite moving, which is very important for the aesthetics of the Khubta. His ability as a reciter is cited as being responsible for the growth in attendance to the Juma'a, especially for transient congregants. One mane remarked that the Imam has "become an Arab," a great complement coming from an Arab immigrant.
...
Several years ago there was a break between several regular members of the Masjid and Imam Abdullah. The break resulted in the formation of the new Masjid and Islamic school in East Metropolitan Atlanta (Lawrenceville Hwy and 285 Hwy). The break came about due to a disagreement over the concent of the Islamic education, with the break away group claiming that Imam Abdullah was too liberal (modernist) in orientation.
Hmmmm.... wonder if Abdullah's still there...
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
06/22/2006 22:19 Comments ||
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#10
Curiously, the Masjid's site appears to be horrible misconfigured. Google's cache gives no clues as to who's running the show now.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
06/22/2006 22:23 Comments ||
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#11
Lets be PC about this - check the Episcopalians while you're at it.
According to DU, this is all part of a plot to keep the black man down. (Hat tip: Instapundit.)
Man, you can't put anything over on that "Reality-Based Community," can you? Sharp as, I say, sharp as a marble they is.
Posted by: Mike ||
06/22/2006 22:50 Comments ||
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#13
Scratch the GA Tech connection. I misread the reporting.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
06/22/2006 22:55 Comments ||
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#14
Now isn't this special. Damn and just when the libs keep telling us it's safe to go into the water.
Posted by: Mary Lu ||
06/22/2006 23:14 Comments ||
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#15
AP says the 7 were arrested planning to attack the Sears Tower and more. Arrested in Miami Liberty city warehouse that was their "Base". Most like black muslims. Most may have been born in the USA. Again, being muslim trumps all. Islam is not compatible with any civilization. Deport them all.
Posted by: ed ||
06/22/2006 23:27 Comments ||
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Tank, 22 June (AKI/DAWN) - A Taliban commander Maulvi Jalal Al Din Haqani has asked his supporters not to wage war against Pakistan, while renewing his pledge to continue the jihad against the United States and the government of Afghan president Hamid Karzai. The message was in a pamphlet purportedly issued by Maulvi HaqaniĀs son, Khalifa Alhaj Sirajuddin, in Angoor Adda, about 65 kilometers from Wana, the district headquarters of the tribal area of South Waziristan which lies on the Pakistan-Afghan border.
The pamphlet, which was issued on Wednesday, said that those fighters who had declared jihad on Pakistan did not have any place in Taliban ranks, as it was not their policy to launch a war against the country. However, the pamphlet renewed the call for continuing jihad against American forces and the Karzai government in Afghanistan.
"Why attack Pakistan? We own most of it already."
Posted by: Steve ||
06/22/2006 08:58 ||
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We're not at war with Pakistan - we are Pakistan!
#2
Why should they be at war with Pakwackland? After all, the ISI is their best friend outside of "private" wealthy Saudi donors sending millions to "Muslim charities."
#3
It's also a good reason because without Pakistan, they have no place to go, and if they irritate the Pakis like they irritate everyone else, they will be SOL.
QUETTA: The Frontier Constabulary (FC) arrested five alleged terrorists and seized arms during a raid on a house in Sagar village in the Loralai region on Wednesday. The Loralai Scouts commandant had received a tip that terrorists hiding in a house were planning a major attack in the area. An FC team raided the house and arrested Abdul Hadi, Abdul Baqi, Mehmood Khan, Humayun Khan and Khalid, with two Russian rifles, 29 magazines, a shotgun with seven rounds, a telescope and two drums of LMG magazines.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/22/2006 00:00 ||
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MIR ALI/BANNU: Three Frontier Constabulary (FC) troops were killed and three injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast on the Bannu-Mir Ali road on Wednesday, while four soldiers were killed when their army helicopter crashed into Barani Dam in Bannu. Two of the paramilitary troops died at the scene while a third later died of his injuries at Mir Ali district hospital. The team of six FC personnel was patrolling the road as an army convoy was to head for Miranshah from Bannu on the route. Sources said one of the jawans might have stepped onto the IED meant for the convoy. Three army soldiers escaped the helicopter crash unhurt.
"Apparently the crash was causes by some technical fault, but the exact cause will be known after an inquiry into the incident," Shaukat Sultan, director general of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), told Daily Times. Bannu DPO Mohammad Iqbal told Daily Times that there were seven soldiers on board the chopper when it left Bannu for Miranshah, the agency headquarters of North Waziristan.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/22/2006 00:00 ||
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An Al Qaeda mission tasked with conducting suicide attacks targeting army installations and VVIPs has arrived in Pakistan from Afghanistan, according to intelligence reports submitted to the Interior Ministry. According to the reports, members of Al Qaeda and other banned terrorist groups met in Kabul some time ago and drew up the plan to target army installations in Islamabad and Rawalpindi and VVIPs associated with the government in a campaign to bring down the regime of General Pervez Musharraf.
An Arab by the name of Sheikh is said to have chaired the meeting, sources said. Salam Rehmani, a resident of Helmand and former deputy vice-chancellor of Kabul University under the Taliban, was appointed chief of the mission, the sources said. According to the intelligence reports, Rehmani has hired a man named Ajmal alias Riaz, a resident of Bahawalpur, to carry out the operation and Ajmal has been paid one million Afghanis for the purpose. Ajmal is from the same town as Amjad Farooqi, a militant leader killed in a shootout with security forces in 2005. According to the reports, Mohammad Qasim, a resident of Islamabad and a member of the banned Harkatul Mujahideen organisation, has been trained to conduct suicide bombings.
The CID police and intelligence agency have arrested banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi's Quetta Ameer Usman Kurd alias Saifullah in a joint raid from Karachi's Mauripur area. Superintendent of Police (SP) Fayyaz Khan led the CID team. The CID SP said that the LJ leader came to Karachi to build a network of the banned organization with the help of the team involved in a bomb blast at the Jhal Magsi shrine. The Balochistan government had announced two million rupees as head money on his arrest.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/22/2006 00:00 ||
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CAMP TAJI, Iraq, June 21, 2006 Ā In a show of continued confidence in the skills of its Iraqi counterparts, Multinational DivisionĀBaghdad transferred authority for a major portion of the northern Baghdad region to the 9th Iraqi Army Division during an ĀIraqis in the LeadĀ ceremony here June 19.
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. J.D. Thurman, the commanding general of Multinational DivisionĀBaghdad, spoke about the preparedness and skills of the 9th Iraqi Army Division before transferring responsibility for an area consisting of more than 615 square kilometers to Iraqi Maj. Gen. Mahmoud Bashar, the commander of the 9th Iraqi Army Division.
ĀIĀve seen the 9th Iraqi Army (Division) grow in skill, capabilities and confidence into a highly proficient, effective fighting force,Ā said Thurman. ĀThey have never failed nor wavered in any mission. They have earned the confidence of the Iraqi people. The people of Iraq can be very proud of them.Ā Through real-world missions and a validation exercises, the 9th Iraqi Army Division has demonstrated it is fully capable of taking over complete control of battlespace from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. As Iraqi Security Forces take the lead in battling the terrorist forces, they pave the way in making sure the national government comes together.
ĀWe are taking control as a division,Ā said Bashar, Ābut we are not working alone. We will be working with (Maj.) Gen. Thurman and have support with the brigade as we take more and more control of the area.Ā An armor company from 9th Iraqi Army Division currently provides protection to civilians in Baghdad. The division is the second Iraqi division to take the lead in the Multinational DivisionĀBaghdad area of responsibility.
Bashar said he sees all of his soldiers working together as ĀoneĀ to provide for the security of Iraq. ĀMy soldiers come from all over Iraq and know how to deal with different situations,Ā he said. ĀThey can all do the same tasks and have the same feelings towards the Iraqi people. Iraq is first, everything else is second. This is a great day for me and my soldiers Ā and I think itĀs a great day for the new Iraqi army.Ā
Currently, eight Iraqi army brigades and 23 Iraqi army battalions have assumed the lead throughout Multinational DivisionĀBaghdadĀs area of operations.
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/22/2006 12:25 ||
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#1
That's the north and south of the country under local control now. Feels good, doesn't it? Screwing the Dims and getting the job done at the same time.
#3
lets not get carried away bigjim. Its one province in the south, and a region within a province in the north (IIUC 3 kurdish provs in the north have been under Iraqi control for some time) Its progress for sure, but we've got a long way to go.
#4
Yes, we have a long way to go. This is still progress. It comes in dribs and drabs right now -- a dead terr, a transfer of control, a graduation of new police officers, etc.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/22/2006 13:16 Comments ||
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#5
ive seen several other hopeful things Steve. Relative quiet in Baghdad, even the AP noted it today, resulting apparently from Op Forward Together, a principly Iraqi run op. The rescue of hostages by the much maligned Iraqi Police. The arrest of a fundie Shiite official in Karbala with terr ties - a sign that Maliki is ready to begin dealing with the Shiite problem.
And yes, the Muthana transfer, and this one as well.
And no, Im not in the Belgravia Dispath - Andrew Sullivan school that thinks the best way to get support for staying the course is to go around talking about how the sky is falling. But I also think we endanger our position by overstating progress, in ways that lead inevitably to disappointment.
#6
Here's some more progress from a former soldier, now on his own, embedded and reports from
http://www.vetsforfreedom.org/blog/
Ramadi... with the Iraqi Army
This is amazing. I have not spoken to wade in three days. And I have to return this laptop to its owner in two mintues... the Iraqi army is taking real estate from the enemy. Seeing these men in action is amazing. The people of Ramadi trust them. THey give them bread and tea. Kids are playing soccer and riding donkeys in the street. THe unit I am with (1st Iraqi division) is the oldest of the Iraqi army units. They have literally fought in every named and unnamed operation in Iraq. From Sadri City, Najaf, Fallujah, Haditha, Baghdad.. you name it. It is unbelievable. This unit has been bloddied... but more impressively they have bloodied the enemy 10 to 1. They drive their own Humvees, conduct their own patrols and plan their invidual movements.
I am warmed to see that the future of Iraq is not only in trusted hands, but their lethality and their relationships with the locals proves to me that there is a bright future for a competant hand over of all military combat operations in the future.
There is loss being taken in Ramadi. THe enemy's days of confidence in this city are over. I can't tell you what seeing this mission first hand has meant to me. What a great experience. What a great Army.
Wade, if you are reading this... send money. No seriously, Wade stay safe and keep your head down. I have little internet access so I will do my best to update when possible. Thanks for the radio... obviously you are montioring it 24/7. An Iraqi soldier made fun of me today and picked up a rock and screamed, "WADE... CAN YOU HEAR ME". We could've saved money and made paper cups and string... take care bro. be safe. This really is amazing to see.
#7
Once again, I suggest that the US is training the Iraqis not just for internal security, but to be able to defend their country. That is, once they get heavy weapons and an air force, practically speaking they should be able to take on Iran and win.
The difference between the US fighting Iran and Iraq fighting Iran would of course be friendly casualties. But we are training the Iraq army to whup Iran in a good-old-fashioned conventional war of toe-to-toe killing, WWII-style.
Such training is missed in the internal security debate, but really matters.
#10
Plus, Iraq is a functioning democracy, warts and all. While some people may not think that that is such a big deal, for that part of the world, it is miraculous. Add in the functioning military that is being brought up to Western standards {even if it is using Soviet equipment}, and you have a serious threat to the established order in the ME.
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. Ā The wife of one of seven Marines charged along with a sailor with premeditated murder in the shooting death of an Iraqi man said Thursday that her husband was shocked by the allegations. "He's just a great person, a great father, a great husband and a great Marine. His being in prison doesn't make any sense," Erica Thomas told CBS's "The Early Show."
She said her husband, Marine Cpl.Trent D. Thomas, sounded scared at first and had been going through a roller coaster of emotions Ā he never had a chance to cope with his best friend's death while fighting in Iraq, he was just now getting to know his daughter, born shortly after he started his second tour, and now the charges. "It's been a rough two or three years for him, but he's a tough guy and I know we'll get through this," she said.
Thomas and the other servicemen were charged Wednesday in the death of Hashim Ibrahim Awad, who was pulled from his home and shot while U.S. troops hunted for insurgents. They could face the death penalty if convicted. All eight also were charged with kidnapping. Other charges include conspiracy, larceny and providing false official statements.
Col. Stewart Navarre, chief of staff for Marine Corps Installations West, announced the charges at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base, where the eight are being held. The troops are members of the Pendleton-based 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines Regiment. The case is separate from the alleged killing by other Marines of 24 Iraqi civilians in the western Iraqi city of Haditha last November. A pair of investigations related to that case are still under way, and no criminal charges have been filed. In another case, the U.S. military in Iraq announced that murder charges were filed against a fourth Army soldier in the shooting deaths May 9 of three civilians who had been detained by U.S. troops. Some or all of the troops being held at Camp Pendleton could face the death penalty, though Navarre said "it's far too early to speculate on that right now."
Lt. Gen. John Sattler, the senior commander at Pendleton, will decide whether and how to proceed with preliminary hearings known in the military justice system as Article 32 proceedings. That in turn could lead to courts-martial for some or all of the men. All eight have hired private attorneys and also have been given military defense lawyers.
The Pentagon began investigating shortly after Awad was killed April 26 in Hamdania, west of Baghdad. A charging document provided to The Associated Press by Jane Siegel, an attorney for Marine Pfc. John J. Jodka, alleges that the Iraqi was shot by five of the Marines and that an AK-47 assault rifle was placed in the victim's hands, apparently to make it appear he was an insurgent.
A senior Pentagon official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, has said a shovel was also planted at the scene to make it appear the man was trying to plant an explosive device.
Besides White and Jodka, charged were Marine Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III, Marine Lance Cpl. Tyler A. Jackson, Marine Lance Cpl. Jerry E. Shumate Jr., Marine Lance Cpl. Robert B. Pennington, Marine Cpl. Marshall L. Magincalda and Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Melson J. Bacos. "Believe me, there are two sides to this story," said Jeremiah Sullivan III, who represents Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Melson J. Bacos.
According to the charging document, the troops were staking out an intersection to see whether anyone appeared to place explosives in holes along the road.
When no one came, Magincalda, Thomas, Pennington and Bacos went into a nearby home, stole a shovel and an AK-47, and went looking for an insurgent named Saleh Gowad. When they couldn't find Gowad, they went into a house belonging to Awad and kidnapped him, prosecutors assert.
Magincalda, Thomas, Pennington and Bacos forced Awad to the ground and bound his feet, then took him to their hideout and placed him in a hole, according to the document. Hutchins, Thomas and Shumate fired M-16 rifles at Awad while Jackson and Jodka fired M-249 automatic weapons, killing him, the document said.
Bacos then fired the AK-47 into the air to expend some shell casings, and Magincalda collected the casings and put them by the body, the paper said. Pennington cleaned prints off the AK-47 and put it in Awad's hands, it said.
Hutchins, the top-ranking Marine, told his men to make false statements and on April 28 submitted "a false written report regarding the factors and circumstances related to Awad's death," according to the document. The larceny charge relates to the theft of the AK-47 and the shovel. WTF?
Military law expert at Franklin Pierce Law Center said it is likely that deals would be reached and some charges reduced. "The chances are they will go after who they think is the least culpable, give him a deal and then have him testify against his comrades," said John Hutson, president and dean of center and former adjutant general of the U.S. Navy. "It's a whole lot easier with that kind of direct testimony."
OK, this whole story is a little too elaborate for me to swallow. Why'd they want to kill this guy? Because nobody showed up and they were bored? Why bother with the larceny charge when you got a murder? This smells of fine ripe fish.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/22/2006 09:35 ||
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#1
Our Marines are being sacrificed to appease the international community's sensibilities.
"Charging men with murder here is like handing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500."--Captain Willard, Apocalypse Now
#2
Paths Of Glory. It looks like the verdict is already in on this one. The trial will just be for show.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
06/22/2006 11:01 Comments ||
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#3
Compare the bullshit in the Corps now to the no quarter fight in the South Pacific 60 years ago.
Unless there is an obvious instance of overt wanton thrill killing discovered in that hell hole called Iraq I would be loathe to accuse any soldier or Marine [youngsters btw] of murder.
These guys could be entirely innocent but their case will be added to the litany of agitprop lies used by our enemies, Lefties in Eurabia, Muslimes throughout the world and demoCraps here at home.
remember that CO [Army if memory serves] who slapped a jehadi and fired his .45 [or 9mm] into the air to get timely intel so he could save his men about 2 years ago?
well He was court marshaled and so decided to quit the service!
#4
Oh yeah, this should do wonders for their recruiting drive. They send you half way around the world to some sandy shithole to kill bad guys, then when you do they charge you with murder.
#6
I agree with Steve. Hard to believe they got so bored that seven guys got together and decided to wack an innocent bystander.
The New York Times would buy that, however...
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/22/2006 12:15 Comments ||
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#7
yes...there is some doubt they will get a fair trial. With the World watching this unfold under a microscope...With the MSM hovering...With the Administration worried about fallout with the "muslim street" and the undecided voters in November...and with senior officers' careers committed to "guilty as charged"...the likelyhood of a fair court martial trial are not good.
#9
All eight have hired private attorneys and also have been given military defense lawyers.
Military defenders will brief the private attorneys on how military courts work, if they need to. The private lawyers will make sure there is no railroad job.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/22/2006 14:46 Comments ||
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#10
This doesn't make any sense. They took out a random Iraqi to make it look like they stake-out was worthwhile for what? Better yet, exactly who made these allegations to begin with? This story is completely full of holes. It makes absouletly no sense.
Posted by: Charles ||
06/22/2006 14:47 Comments ||
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#11
I agree, this doesn't make any bleedin sense. But, with or without civilian counsel, they'll get a fair trial. For one thing, it's important to keep in mind that military defense attorneys report through an entirely separate chain of command. It's deliberately structured that way so defense attorneys feel free to advocate zealously for their clients. I'm confident in their military representation.
I actually think civilian defense attorneys often hurt the accused's case, because the theatrics that play in civilian courts go over like a fart in a spacesuit in a court-martial. Military judges, usually O6s, are the most humorless, fastidious, impatient, and unforgiving legal machines on the face of the planet. And it's all directed at the prosecution, because th MJ knows the government has vast investigative powers compared to the defense. So it's best for the defense to just quietly let the MJ do his job, and not irritate him with some Johnnie Cochran swaggering around like an asshole. Panels, usually composed of field-grade officers and senior NCOs, are not impressed with civilian drama queens either. There's no room for bullshit in a military courtroom, so civilian attorneys usually come off like amateurs. So, I hope their appointed military defense attorneys are taking the lead.
For another thing, pressure from seniors on the 32 officer or the panel is called unlawful command influence and is grounds for appeal. We legal pukes chew out commanders all the time to be sure they never do it. But if it were to happen, overt influence would actually be a good thing, because it increases the chance of getting any convictions overturned.
A panel of Marines is going to look on these guys very sympathetically. Exactly, you don't send guys halfway across the world to kill people, then charge them with murder. Unless something truly criminal happened, I'm dubious that there will be any pleas or convictions. If the charges are politically motivated, we'll see some dismissed after the 32. Been there myself.
Finally, consider the source. Schoolgirl's gossip is more accurate than most press coverage of military trials. When I was a prosecutor, I recall reading news accounts of my own cases -- and not recognizing them till I saw the accused's name. Reporters are fuckin clueless, don't know the difference between a corporal and a colonel. So reserve judgment, and pray for these guys.
#12
Checking on the background of some these "civilian" lawyers, several of them have JAG and judge history, and I think a couple of them did their court time with the Marines. So, at least some of them are not "just civilian" lawyers, they are retired JAG's. This is happening, 'cause lots of folks are anteing up for defense fees. Think there is even a retired Marine JAG general serving for defense, being vocal about witnessing some procedures he's never seen before in his history with the Marines.
Iraqi police stormed a farm north of Baghdad early Thursday and freed at least 17 people who were snatched a day earlier in a mass kidnapping of about 85 workers and family members at the end of a factory shift.
The freed kidnap victims brought to nearly 50 the number of captives who have been either released by their captors or extricated by police. About 30 of the hostages, mainly women and children, were released shortly after they were taken captive Wednesday. It is routine in Iraq for women to take their children to work.
One kidnap victim, a Shiite Muslim, said he was set free Wednesday night after showing the kidnappers a forged ID card listing him as a Sunni. He said two hostages had been killed trying to escape. The man refused to give his name fearing retribution.
"As we were leaving the factory we were stopped by gunmen. They got on our buses and told us to put our heads down. Then they took us to a poultry farm," the man said.
"One of the gunmen told us to stand in one line and then asked the Sunnis to get out of the line. That's what I did. They asked me to prove that I am a Sunni, so I showed the forged ID and three others did the same. They released us," the man said.
A National Security Ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters, told The Associated Press that several insurgents holding the kidnap victims were captured during the Thursday morning raid on the farm in the Mishada area, about 20 miles north of the capital.
Police operations were continuing in the area, the official said, in a bid to locate the rest of the victims who were taken at the end of the day shift at al-Nasr General Complex, a former military plant that now makes metal doors, windows and pipes.
Sectarian violence has raged in the region and tit-for-tat kidnappings and revenge killings are common, but nothing had been reported on the scale of Wednesday's mass abduction. The al-Nasr plant is between Baghdad and Taji, a predominantly Sunni Arab area.
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/22/2006 07:53 ||
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An Al Qaeda-led insurgent group said it would kill four kidnapped Russian Embassy workers after a deadline for meeting its demands passed yesterday , prompting one hostage's sister to make an impassioned plea for the men to be freed.
The Internet statement purportedly from the Mujahedeen Shura Council did not say whether the decision had been carried out.
Hours after the statement was posted, a sister of one of the hostages, a Muslim, pleaded on Arab television for the men to be spared.
``I beg you to pardon them and release them. You are Muslims, and Islam, before anything else, is a religion of peace and justice," Aliya Agliulin, wearing an Islamic headscarf, said on Al-Jazeera television, according to an Arabic voiceover of her statement.
``I, as a Muslim like all other Muslims in Russia, feel pain for what is happening in Iraq," said Agliulin, the sister of hostage Rinat Agliulin.
The Shura Council is a grouping of seven Iraqi insurgent groups, Al Qaeda being the most prominent, which on Tuesday claimed responsibility for killing two kidnapped US soldiers whose bodies were found south of Baghdad.
The Shura Council said that Moscow failed to meet its demands for a full withdrawal of troops from the war-ravaged region of Chechnya and that a 48-hour deadline set in a statement issued Monday had run out.
``Therefore, the Islamic court of the Mujahedeen Shura Council decided to implement God's law sentencing [ the four Russians ] to death," the group said in its statement on an Islamic militant website where it often posts its messages.
The statement's authenticity could not be confirmed. The group produced no photos or videos of the men to prove it was holding them.
In Moscow, the Foreign Ministry called on the kidnappers to spare the four Russians.
``We once again strongly urge [ them ] not to take an irreparable step and preserve the lives of our people," spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said. He said Russia ``has never and nowhere waged a war against Islam."
The four embassy workers were abducted on June 3 during an attack on their car in which a fifth Russian was killed. The captives include the embassy's third secretary, Fyodor Zaitsev, and three other staffers -- Agliulin, Anatoly Smirnov, and Oleg Fedoseyev.
#1
don't bother appealing to these guys as religious. they are in it for the cold hard cash. that 10 billion saddam trucked out of the bank in those 18 wheelers went somewhere... it's got to be financing these guys.
Posted by: ordu ||
06/22/2006 8:09 Comments ||
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#2
OK ... so what's going on here? Last week, they were freed within 24 hrs. Disinformation? Smoke screen to cover complicity with terrorists? Enquiring minds want to know.
#4
Between pissing off our guys with the torture, mutilation,etc. of two of ours,now they are pissing off the Russians. The Russians have no sense of humor what so ever when it comes to this kind of crap.
Me thinks the Al Qaeda replacement leaders are not the sharpest knives in the drawers for fanning up the wrath of a couple of heavyweights.
I bet the Tigris is full of floaters before too long over this one. Our SOF and the Speznaz will not be interested in press conferences but body count.
Pass the popcorn,this is going to get interesting and very lethal for the AQ's.
(KUNA) -- Iraqi Army said it arrested 24 militants in different areas of the country. In a statement issued Wednesday, it said that two militants had been arrested in Baghdad by the 6th and 9th army contingencies, adding that 289 patrols were operating at present in the city. It added that nine other militants had been arrested in the village of Telafar, northern Iraq, and a further 12 were arrested in Ramadi, western Iraq. Moreover, one militant was arrested in the central and southern Euphrates districts.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/22/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
They're not killing too many, they must be getting good intel through torture questioning. There comes a time when it's better PR to kill a lot of them and capture a few.
Abdul, how are our friends doing in Iraq ?
They're all dead.
Oh, I'm not going.
Me neither.
Anwar, you still got that donkey ?
(KUNA) -- Two Iraqis were killed on Wednesday and a third was wounded in different attacks in Diyala, northeast of Baghdad, Iraqi police said. A police statement said unknown militants had shot a student at Al-Yarmouk College in southwest Baqouba in Diyala. It also said that militants killed a photography shop-keeper in Baqouba, while a policeman was wounded in armed confrontations in the village of Miqdadiya, north of Baqouba.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/22/2006 00:00 ||
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(KUNA) -- A car bomb killed two Iraqis and wounded six others in the eastern district of the Iraqi capital, police said Wednesday. Police sources told KUNA that the car blew up in Al-Hay market in Al-Sadr City in eastern Baghdad killing six Iraqis and wounding six others.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/22/2006 00:00 ||
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(KUNA) -- An Iraqi civilian was killed Wednesday and another two got injured when a left-over-bomb exploded in Batofa area near the Iraqi-Turkey borders. An Iraq police source told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the bomb belonged to the dissolved army of the ousted Saddam Hussein regime. He said that the lives of Batofa residents have been at risk by piles of weapons and mines left by the ousted regime, which have already killed or injured several civilians.
Meanwhile, Iraqi police source told KUNA that Iraqi security forces mistakenly killed a government official in Baghdad. The source said the police opened fire at the official when they suspected that the official, who was speeding in his car, was attacking an Australian convoy. As a result, the official was killed and two other passengers in his car were injured.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/22/2006 00:00 ||
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(KUNA) -- An Iraqi soldier was killed in fierce clashes in the western district of Baghdad on Wednesday, police said. A source at the police told KUNA the fierce clashes occurred between the Iraqi army forces and unknown gunmen in Al-Mansour area. The US army-backed Iraqi forces surrounded the area and started exchanging fires with the gunmen killing one soldier, said the source. The size of damage caused by the clashes is still unknown.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/22/2006 00:00 ||
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(KUNA) -- The Iraqi police have captured a leader of a terrorist cell active in the assassination of people, the US army said Wednesday. It said in a statement a force of the Iraqi police arrested Nouri Abu Haidar Al-Oqabi, a leader of a cell that assassinate people. The apprehension operation took place in Al-Shu'la area in northern Baghdad, it added.
Al-Oqabi is accused of kidnapping, torturing and killing Iraqi citizens in Baghdad and four other areas, said the US army. It added that the terrorist was responsible for the murder of 14 Iraqi soldiers last month.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/22/2006 00:00 ||
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At least one and possibly both of the soldiers who were mutilated and killed in Iraq last weekend was beheaded, a U.S. military official said Wednesday. The description by the official, who was in Washington, confirmed fears raised by other U.S. and Iraqi officials who have said the men's bodies showed signs of brutal treatment. The official requested anonymity because the final report on the bodies' conditions has not been formally released.
On Tuesday, after Iraqi officials disclosed that the bodies were found, the Shura Council posted a web statement saying that the successor to slain Iraqi al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi had ĀslaughteredĀ the soldiers. The language in the statement, which could not be authenticated, suggested the group was saying the men were beheaded.
The remains of the two soldiers were expected to arrive Wednesday at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for DNA testing to positively identify them. The bodies are believed to be of Private 1st Class Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston, and Private 1st Class Thomas Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore. The two soldiers disappeared after an insurgent attack at a checkpoint by a Euphrates River canal, 20 kilometres south of Baghdad, that killed another U.S. soldier. The U.S. military recovered the bodies Tuesday in an area it said was rigged with explosives. It took troops roughly 12 hours to get to the bodies, said a second U.S. military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the details have yet to be released. An Iraqi official said the Americans were tortured and killed in a ĀbarbaricĀ way.
That's because the men who killed them are barbarians.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/22/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
FREEREPUBLIC.com reports that kidnapped Russian diplos may had been [deliberately]killed.
#2
Fabrizio Quattrocchi, one of the first western hostages to be executed in Iraq, was not shown in a propaganda snuff movies because he died valliantly, defying his captors while about to be shot in the head ("I'll show you how an italian dies!").
Not to belittle the pain and horror theses two poor men endured, and to make "bigger-than-life" assumptions about them, but I can't help thinking the reason they were not shown in such a snuffie themselves may be similar, IE they didn't die like good dhimmis. That would be somehow comforting, I'd say.
#4
A succinct statement on what the terrorists did, should be sufficient. Leave the morbid speculators to their morbidity, and retaliate hundred fold.
I don't know, in a sound mediatic and political environment, that barbaric aspect should be played to the max in a non-partisan way (they were foremost american soldiers) to illustrate what kind of ennemy is being fought there, and to generate genuine sympathy for theses men; instead, their deaths will be used a a tool by the liberals.
Otherwise, I fully agree with the hundredfold, but alas, I don't see the USA going mongol on them.
#8
These are the "Noble Freedom Fighters" that BBC and MSN are so enamored with. Animals that capture and torture to death two wounded privates. I think we should visit it back on them a thousand fold. Let them live in their hovels, let them eat their own sh*t for all I care. They are sub-human and therefore have no claim to human rights.
#10
Not just captured terrorists. Entire communities there who enable and protect. These people are members of these communities. They should be extinguished. Completely. No press coverage. if an Al-Jiz news crew comes in, drop a JDAM directly on top of them.
#11
Just because they had a few freaks doesn't mean you can start doing entire villages! The idea is to win the war and I don't think a series of massacres will in anyway help.
#13
I agree with OS and others. I have watched as my own view of islamo-fascism, and islam in general evolve during the past 41/2 years. I am very cynical about dealing with islamists who claim to be, or are sympathetic to those that are anti-west.
We talk about building a building a wall along the US-Mexico border. I think we should also declare a 5 mile buffer along the Iran-Iraq, and the Syria-Iraq border. In that zone we should build a "wall" of landmines...and declare it a free fire zone from sunset til sunrise.
I think we should also do the same thing along the ratline-passes along the Afghan-Pakistan border. Litter the major ratlines with 1000s of real and fake landmines.
A million taliban are not worth even a single soldier, sailor, or marine's life. These cockroaches are subhuman and will never, ever change.
#14
I'm going to tend to agree w/Rat. If any of you have been there, the villagers know what goes on w/in their particular city limits. Not too much happens w/out at least the tacit approval of the local sheik (pronounced "shake") or strongman. If an IED is set near a neighborhood - most of the folks in that neighborhood damn well know about it. It could be time for some very selective Genghis Khanisms along w/the applicable media blackouts - led by Iraqi Army. Parts of Ramadi comes immediately to mind. Especially by that shithole hotel off MSR Michigan.
I would go on to say that we need to approach them much the same as Winfield Scott did w/the local Mexican strongmen in 1847 on his march to the Mexican citadel. He held the strongmen fiscaly responsible for every attack by the local guerillas on his supply lines and pickets. Scott told them that he would not hold the poor Mexican peasants responsible for their "Jeffes" inability to keep his own banditos in line.
#15
I'm with selective elimination. Let the Iraqi army tell the sheihks they are personally responsible for any harm that comes to our forces or the Iraqi army. Follow up with some selective disappearances when IEDs occur. Word will get out
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/22/2006 22:12 Comments ||
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#16
BH6 - Bingo. There aint jack squat that happens in Hadji-town withou the local sheik having a finger in it someplace. Its his uncle's cousin's friend Habib, or his brother's grandson's cousin form the same village that gets the contracts - and peels some of it back to the local Honcho. You can;t friken sneeze in any neighborhood without the locals knowing about it and the Shiek approving it - the only exception is some of the more ghetto places where the Warlords/Mullahs run things like Al Sadr's gang. And even then they tend to do so thru a cutout Sheik.
Been there, seen how it works.
Sniper Hotel still there? Should have flattened everything in a 500m radius on that sumbitch.
How about the place that you can see into Balad from - they ever get that a*hole Colonel off his duff and replace him with someone that knew base security? Hell, the goats and farmers would go thru the wire there since he was only using 3 strand. And they built the fence downslope for the natural berm instead of on top it, fergawdsake.
I still say what we need to do is:
Build a series of functional modern small towns that can support residences for about 20,000. with real sewers, underground utilities (phone, power - no more wires and shit hanging over every alleyway), wide streets, etc. Police stations fortified and in controlling positions. Design these cities and apartments to be patrollable, and have a connected business area for the local souk and other hadji-mart shit. And a couple of mosques just to be nice - ones with THIN walls, and NO windows or on-site storage.
Then find the palces you want in indian country, put out notices that they have 48 hours to get their shit ready to leave, block by block. Cordon at 24 hours, nobody gets in or out. We roll up 5tons, load their stuff on, and transport each family in a different direction to a different relocation town.
Then you level all the buildings you just evac'd, doze them with a D9, and cover with packed gravel. Repeat until the city ceases to exist - and the tribes have been torn and relocated into several places VERY far apart - and each of those places has a mix of different tribes.
This smashes the tribalism, forces them to cooerperate,a nd puts themin a securable and sustainable place. And it completey destroys the social fabric these leeches live off of, the Shieks and their fithy Arab ways.
(KUNA) -- Several Palestinian factions claimed responsibility for launching rocket attacks on a number of Israeli targets late Tuesday and early Wednesday. A joint statement by Al-Aqsa Martyrs brigades, the military wing of Fatah and the national resistance brigades, the military wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine said members of both brigades launched two rockets at Kfar Aza Jewish settlement, is eastern Gaza. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades said in a separate statement that they launched nine rockets after midnight towards Sderot southern Israel in retaliations of the assassination of three Palestinian children in Sheikh Radwan area last night.
Israeli army raised the alert level in Sderot after receiving many threats from Palestinian factions of escalating attacks after Israeli war planes launched raids and killed three Palestinian children and injured 14 more.
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades also claimed responsibility for blowing up an Israeli military jeep in the old town of Nablus where militants planted a bomb on the side of the road. Separately, a 22 year old activist in Al-Aqsa Martyr Brigades was shot dead and two others were injured in armed engagements with the Israeli army in Nablus city. This happened when a special Israeli force, disguised in Arab refugee clothes broke into Ain Al-Ain refugee camp eastern Ramallah. As for the military wing of Jihad Islamic Movement, Al-Quds Brigades, they said one of their cells launched three Quds 2 missiles on Sderot and Nahl Ownz settlement eastern Gaza last night. In the West Bank, 12 Palestinians were arrested by the Israelis in different parts of the city.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/22/2006 00:00 ||
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#3
I think the IDF should sponsor a "bowling ball loft", you could really get some altitude without the weight penalty of a parachute. see: http://www.ahpra.org/sug.htm
Posted by: bruce ||
06/22/2006 9:18 Comments ||
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(KUNA) -- Three Palestinians were injured late Wednesday evening in a car explosion in Gaza, among them an assistant to Palestinian Parliament member Mohammad Dahlan. Palestinian sources said the explosion occurred to the car driven by Mohammad Dahlan's assistant, Yassir Dahlan, 32 years old. The sources added the mysterious explosion caused small injuries to Yassir Dahlan.
Two other people among them a woman were injured as result of the explosion, which occurred close to the Palestinian National Security office south of Gaza, sources said. All injured were transferred to Al-Quds hospital for treatment, source added. Speculations among Palestinians security personnel say unknown groups were able to plant a bomb beneath the car.
Gee. Golly. Shucks. Y'think?
Posted by: Fred ||
06/22/2006 00:00 ||
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The Philippines raised security in the capital Manila on Thursday after intelligence that Muslim rebels with suspected ties to foreign militants planned to attack shopping malls and transport systems, a top police officer said.
Vidal Querol, Metropolitan Manila's police chief, said about 15 check points were set up around the capital to guard critical public and private installations such as petrol depots, power, water and communications stations and bus and train stations.
"We have been getting intelligence reports on an alleged plot by terrorist groups to plant bombs in Manila and other key urban centres in the south," Querol told journalists, adding he had met with mall owners to seek their help in tightening security.
"They promised to help us ensure the safety of shoppers by beefing up mall guards and installing extra security cameras."
Querol said the nearly 20,000 police officers in Metropolitan Manila, the sprawling capital of the poor Southeast Asian state, were placed on heightened alert at dawn on Thursday.
"In the last few weeks, we're getting consistent reports from various sources about a plot by Muslim rebels to simultaneously bomb three or four targets in the capital," a senior police intelligence official told Reuters.
The official said authorities were worried because the reports filtering in contained "very specific" details about the bomb plot, such as date, time and place of targets.
Brigadier-General Delfin Bangit, commander of the elite Presidential Security Group, said they were concerned about the increasing threats from local militant groups with suspected ties to Indonesian jihadist groups.
"There were consistent reports of bombings," said Bangit. "We are very concerned because the president has been moving around."
Intelligence officials blame a small group of radical Muslim converts, Rajah Solaiman Revolutionary Movement, for the series of bombings in the capital since 2004, including the worst attack that killed over 100 people in a ferry explosion.
Two of the group's top leaders -- Ahmad Islam Santos and Pio de Vera -- were arrested last year in the southern port city of Zamboanga, disrupting an alleged plot to detonate a truck bomb in Manila.
"Our latest information suggested a fresh plot to be carried out by new recruits," the intelligence official said, adding the regional militant network Jemaah Islamiah and its local partner Abu Sayyaf may have provided funds for the planned attack.
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.
In southern parts, where the US-led coalition forces are carrying out the massive "
Four more terror suspects have been arrested in England, reportedly with ties the 17 suspects arrested in southern Ontario earlier this month. West Yorkshire Police said Tuesday they had arrested three men in East and South-East London and another in Northern England with connections to two other terror suspects detained earlier this month in that country. 
OSLO - The founder of a radical Islamist group living in Norway since 1991 hailed Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden on Thursday, and praised the good work of bid LadenĀs recently slain lieutenant Abu Musab Al Zarqawi. ĀOsama bin Laden is a good man. I wish him a long life. He is a good Muslim and he is against the Bush administration,Ā Mullah Krekar, head of the radical Ansar Al Islam organization, told AFP in Oslo. Krekar, whose real name is Fateh Najmeddin Faraj, is considered a national security risk in the Scandinavian country and is to be expelled, though his deportation has been suspended until the security situation in Iraq improves.
(CNN) -- FBI agents were raiding sites in Miami, Florida, on Thursday in connection with a domestic terrorism investigation, law enforcement sources said. Officials said no weapons or bomb-making materials had been found in the searches so far. The FBI told CNN that seven arrests were made in connection with "suspected domestic terrorist activity," and that documents related to the investigation have been sealed. 
QUETTA: The Frontier Constabulary (FC) arrested five alleged terrorists and seized arms during a raid on a house in Sagar village in the Loralai region on Wednesday. The Loralai Scouts commandant had received a tip that terrorists hiding in a house were planning a major attack in the area. An FC team raided the house and arrested Abdul Hadi, Abdul Baqi, Mehmood Khan, Humayun Khan and Khalid, with two Russian rifles, 29 magazines, a shotgun with seven rounds, a telescope and two drums of LMG magazines.
MIR ALI/BANNU: Three Frontier Constabulary (FC) troops were killed and three injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast on the Bannu-Mir Ali road on Wednesday, while four soldiers were killed when their army helicopter crashed into Barani Dam in Bannu. Two of the paramilitary troops died at the scene while a third later died of his injuries at Mir Ali district hospital. The team of six FC personnel was patrolling the road as an army convoy was to head for Miranshah from Bannu on the route. Sources said one of the jawans might have stepped onto the IED meant for the convoy. Three army soldiers escaped the helicopter crash unhurt. 
An Al Qaeda mission tasked with conducting suicide attacks targeting army installations and VVIPs has arrived in Pakistan from Afghanistan, according to intelligence reports submitted to the Interior Ministry. According to the reports, members of Al Qaeda and other banned terrorist groups met in Kabul some time ago and drew up the plan to target army installations in Islamabad and Rawalpindi and VVIPs associated with the government in a campaign to bring down the regime of General Pervez Musharraf. 
The CID police and intelligence agency have arrested banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi's Quetta Ameer Usman Kurd alias Saifullah in a joint raid from Karachi's Mauripur area. Superintendent of Police (SP) Fayyaz Khan led the CID team. The CID SP said that the LJ leader came to Karachi to build a network of the banned organization with the help of the team involved in a bomb blast at the Jhal Magsi shrine. The Balochistan government had announced two million rupees as head money on his arrest.
(KUNA) -- Iraqi Army said it arrested 24 militants in different areas of the country. In a statement issued Wednesday, it said that two militants had been arrested in Baghdad by the 6th and 9th army contingencies, adding that 289 patrols were operating at present in the city. It added that nine other militants had been arrested in the village of Telafar, northern Iraq, and a further 12 were arrested in Ramadi, western Iraq. Moreover, one militant was arrested in the central and southern Euphrates districts.
(KUNA) -- Two Iraqis were killed on Wednesday and a third was wounded in different attacks in Diyala, northeast of Baghdad, Iraqi police said. A police statement said unknown militants had shot a student at Al-Yarmouk College in southwest Baqouba in Diyala. It also said that militants killed a photography shop-keeper in Baqouba, while a policeman was wounded in armed confrontations in the village of Miqdadiya, north of Baqouba.
(KUNA) -- An Iraqi civilian was killed Wednesday and another two got injured when a left-over-bomb exploded in Batofa area near the Iraqi-Turkey borders. An Iraq police source told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the bomb belonged to the dissolved army of the ousted Saddam Hussein regime. He said that the lives of Batofa residents have been at risk by piles of weapons and mines left by the ousted regime, which have already killed or injured several civilians.
(KUNA) -- An Iraqi soldier was killed in fierce clashes in the western district of Baghdad on Wednesday, police said. A source at the police told KUNA the fierce clashes occurred between the Iraqi army forces and unknown gunmen in Al-Mansour area. The US army-backed Iraqi forces surrounded the area and started exchanging fires with the gunmen killing one soldier, said the source. The size of damage caused by the clashes is still unknown.
(KUNA) -- The Iraqi police have captured a leader of a terrorist cell active in the assassination of people, the US army said Wednesday. It said in a statement a force of the Iraqi police arrested Nouri Abu Haidar Al-Oqabi, a leader of a cell that assassinate people. The apprehension operation took place in Al-Shu'la area in northern Baghdad, it added.
At least one and possibly both of the soldiers who were mutilated and killed in Iraq last weekend was beheaded, a U.S. military official said Wednesday. The description by the official, who was in Washington, confirmed fears raised by other U.S. and Iraqi officials who have said the men's bodies showed signs of brutal treatment. The official requested anonymity because the final report on the bodies' conditions has not been formally released.
(KUNA) -- Several Palestinian factions claimed responsibility for launching rocket attacks on a number of Israeli targets late Tuesday and early Wednesday. A joint statement by Al-Aqsa Martyrs brigades, the military wing of Fatah and the national resistance brigades, the military wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine said members of both brigades launched two rockets at Kfar Aza Jewish settlement, is eastern Gaza. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades said in a separate statement that they launched nine rockets after midnight towards Sderot southern Israel in retaliations of the assassination of three Palestinian children in Sheikh Radwan area last night.
(KUNA) -- Three Palestinians were injured late Wednesday evening in a car explosion in Gaza, among them an assistant to Palestinian Parliament member Mohammad Dahlan. Palestinian sources said the explosion occurred to the car driven by Mohammad Dahlan's assistant, Yassir Dahlan, 32 years old. The sources added the mysterious explosion caused small injuries to Yassir Dahlan.
