#4
I suspect that we intentionally moved targets out of harm's way, so they aborted. For example, we have only two smaller ships even in the Red Sea--that's the closest. We also probably had our airbases in Iraq and Afghanistan noticeably set to scramble at a hair's warning.
Then again, they might have asked the Syrians to get themselves killed, and they said 'non'. Same with al-Qaeda.
The big aircraft attack might have been it.
Those rocket scientists had better start to realize that they are losing major assets with zero gains. Hezbollah cost them between $4-6b shot to hell, and they didn't get diddly squat out of the deal.
They're playing tiddly-winks on the basketball court.
#14
I'm really disappointed. I just can't put it into words. I'll bet his followers are disappointed, too. *sniff* All he needed to do was claim the 12th Imam had dropped by for a game of Parcheesi or something. Tea-time. The minions would've gone wild. Instead, nada. Not even a peep.
LONDON (IRNA) -- Former director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Hans Blix says that he is certain Iran is not making a nuclear weapon and believes that the West should restart talks to resolve its desire to enrich uranium.
Now, that makes me feel all warm inside
Iran is "certainly not now" developing any bomb and even the CIA believe that it might take up to 2010 or 2112 to have any capacity, Blix said Tuesday.
"So there is time to talk and that is an important point," he said in an interview with Today, BBC Radio Four's flagship current affairs program. "I think the west should continue talking with Iran," he said.
Blix, who now chairs the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission, made his call ahead of Iran's expected formal response to a package of incentives being offered by the permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany.
"There is something curious about the offer they made in the spring to come to talks, including with the US which was seen as a big concession, but only if Iran first suspends enrichment," he said.
Hey - just because they were breaking the Non-proliferation Treaty doesn't mean you should be, like, SUSPICIOUS or anything. Shame on you!
The former IAEA director general, who was also the UN's chief arms inspector ahead of the Iraq war, further criticized the Security Council for making the same demand to first suspend in its resolution on July 31.
"They are asking the Iranians really to give up their chief leverage and what should be the chief subject of the negotiations" about resolving the dispute, he said.
During his interview, Blix also believed that it was "not very wise" of both the U.S. and Britain not to rule out military adventurism against Iran.
"There has been too much whipping or threats of whipping all the times," he said, adding that the issue should be about Iran being taken "seriously."
And ponies. Don't forget the ponies. Oh -- and the worldwide Caliphate. Can't forget that one either.
The former chief arms inspector said that he was "doubtful" if Iran felt threatened by its neighbors for any need to develop a nuclear deterrent.
Of course they're not threatened by their neighbors - they plan to dominate and in some cases annex them. And in any case, you've got to keep priorities straight. First, the worldwide conquest by Islam. THEN we talk about who runs things in the Ummah.
"But Iran may be worried about the U.S.," he said. Washington should not up its threats against the Iranians as he believed it may have the opposite effect and "incite them." Asked whether he thought other countries, including Brazil and Japan, who already have uranium enrichment facilities, posed any threat to develop a nuclear weapons, Blix suggested that it depended on "political will."
"Any country with a big industrial capacity in technology could perhaps, but depends if they have the political will," he said, but he added that he did not think either Brazil or Japan had any intentions at the moment.
"What we do not know is if the US continues to develop capacity and there is no disbarment then the atmosphere may change," the former IAEA chief warned as a possibility.
So what Blix really wants is to disarm the US. Interesting he is that open about it -- but then, Ahmadinajad has made it acceptable to say all sorts of things that people once hid.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/22/2006 19:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Captain, I looked but couldn't find the link for this version of the story. Post here please and I'll attach it to the article.
#2
Blinky Hans Blix: Iran is "certainly not now" developing any bomb
Oh, Finished already?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/22/2006 19:14 Comments ||
Top||
#3
What, of any substance, can be said in the face of such stupidity except: Why is he still breathing?
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
08/22/2006 19:17 Comments ||
Top||
#4
I realize the odds are probably far below Zero, but wouldn't it be nice if the UN was the intended target?
By the same token NY is surely safe, the UN would go apeshit.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/22/2006 19:29 Comments ||
Top||
#5
"What we do not know is if the US continues to develop capacity and there is no disbarment then the atmosphere may change,"
I'm no Albert freakin' Einstein, but it seems that we still retain the capacity to do damage to Iran many, many times over without having to add capacity. Nice try at turning the tables, though.
During his interview, Blix also believed that it was "not very wise" of both the U.S. and Britain not to rule out military adventurism against Iran.
Removing the double negative (classic disinformation technique), it's then wise of us and Britain to rule out military adventurism (wtf ?) against Iran?
Blixie, ol' boy - how many diplomatic efforts have ever succeeded without a credible threat of the use of force (diplomacy by other means)? One example will suffice.
#7
Is ol' Hans suggesting that we show submissive behavior to the alpha dog Iran?
If so then he should just fuck off and die. They are a speck of fly shit compared to the US and EU together. They don't warrant an equal share in world politics, they don't have the population, economy, hell, they don't even have a bomb yet. It hasn't exactly put ol Kimmie over the top has it?
So screw Iran, our way or the highway, because we say so, that's why.
#11
And I think we should forcefully state that we will not abide a bunch of religous maniacs with demonstrated proclivities of slaughtering the infidel neighbors posessing nuclear weapons.
So look at it this way: you can get reasonable, or you can get dead.
#16
It's been simply ages since poor Mr. Blix was active in the inspecting game. He is no longer qualified to have an opinion. (Not that he actually ever was, since he never really inspected properly, but that's a subject we no longer need worry about, thank goodness!)
August 21, 2006: The weekend saw another major Taliban defeat. It began when a force of about a hundred Taliban attacked a town 35 kilometers west of Kandahar. Police held off the attackers as reinforcing soldiers and police moved to hit the Taliban from the rear. NATO warplanes arrived as well, and by the end of the weekend, at least 71 dead Taliban were found in three locations. key points: This battle was part of operations to stop Taliban attacks along the newly rebuilt Kandahar-Kabul highway. The Taliban losses are believed to account for about ten percent of the Taliban combat strength in the area, which is not good for morale. The Taliban have suffered one defeat, like this one, after another all Summer. Moreover, the Taliban have been trying to intimidate the NATO combat troops, without much success. Canadian NATO troops, which the Taliban have been clashing with regularly in the past month, were the ones who hit back at the Taliban this past weekend.
Elsewhere along the Pakistan border, another 21 died, including four U.S. troops in the northeast. American forces continue to move along the Pakistan border in the northeast, trying to close border crossings long unguarded, and freely used by smugglers, bandits and Taliban.
While the Taliban continue to take a beating when they attempt to take over towns and villages, ... key, part 1: ... they have been successful in their terror campaign. Hundreds of villages and towns have been forced to close their schools, and thousands of government officials have either quit their jobs, fled or agreed to do what the Taliban tell them to do. Some of the tribal elders in the Pushtun tribes have gone along with the Taliban, and those that haven't must watch out for assassins and ambushes. key, part 2: But what success the Taliban have had, have come at a cost. The Taliban violence has turned a lot of conservative Afghans against the Taliban once more. The government, for all its faults, does not terrorize and kill as the Taliban are doing. Moreover, the Taliban alliance with the drug gangs has not been popular with everyone. The drug gangs may bring more money, but the drug gangs tend to be ruthless. They kill those who screw up, and are generally a pretty rough bunch, even by Afghan standards. The money seems to go to their heads. The drug trade brings more money into the south, but it also brings more violence and fear.
AN advance party of Australian engineers will begin work in Afghanistan tomorrow in helping rebuild the war-torn country. The defence department tonight said the first members of the 400-strong Reconstruction Task Force (RTF) will join a small team already on the ground preparing for the arrival of the main force. "The advance party will focus on preparation of base facilities and logistic support infrastructure for the main force," Defence said in a statement. "The RTF will begin planning reconstruction activities immediately, however works are not expected to commence until late November." Most of the task force would begin work in Afghanistan in late September with the final elements expected to deploy in November, Defence said.
Hundreds of Australian soldiers were farewelled in Darwin on Sunday as they embarked for Afghanistan, where they will be based in Oruzgan Province. The 240-strong engineering contingent will be protected by about 150 infantrymen equipped with armoured vehicles.
Their deployment comes at a time of escalating Taliban activity in Afghanistan during what is known in the country as the campaign season when the snows melt from mountain passes and allow militants to resume activities.
(looks at calendar) Funny, I could have sworn that snow started melting in the spring. When the final elements arrive in November, they should be getting ready for the Dread Afghan Winter.
Six Australian special forces soldiers were wounded during heavy fighting in the country's south last month, with one sent home for further treatment. The new contingent of Australians will be located with the 1600-member Dutch task group at a base outside the Oruzgan capital, Tarin Kowt, and are expected to rely on them for primary protection.
NATO security force in Afghanistan killed nine rebels, including a man believed to be a prominent commander, in a "precision" air strike in the insurgency-hit south, the force said on Monday. The raid was launched shortly before midnight Sunday in Nowzad in Helmand. The ISAF said it believed that among those killed in the operation in Nowzad district was a "prominent insurgent" thought to have planned rebel activities "as well as managing insurgent re-supply in the area".
#4
Fourteen, but not the usual 19? I'm disappointed. Must be that school is back, and therefore, Talibunnies and Saudis are busy brushing up on the Koran before the next Spring Offensive occurs sometime circa April '07.
ROME, Italy (Reuters) -- Twenty-one Italian tourists believed to have been kidnapped on the border between Niger and Chad were found on Tuesday, the Italian foreign ministry said. "They have been found," said a ministry official, without giving any more details. The ministry had earlier said that one German who was among the group of tourists -- comprised of 21 Italians, one German and one Brazilian woman -- managed to escape and report the abduction to German authorities. The ministry said the group was attacked by bandits on Monday afternoon in the desert area of south-east Niger, near the border with Chad.
The lawless border area is notorious for banditry and smuggling. Until a peace deal last year, northern Chad was the scene of a rebel uprising which spilled over into Niger. The Italian government advises tourists against visiting the area, which it describes as "particularly dangerous."
And tourists who go anyway as "particularly stupid".
Posted by: Steve ||
08/22/2006 11:20 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Man, you shouldn't even bother searching for people this stupid...
#2
On the Google maps satellite view, the south east corner of Niger, near the border with Chad, actually looks like a lush lakeland area. I looked because I couldn't figure out why a bunch of tourists would be wandering around in the desert.
#4
Glenmore, I agree with you. And any ransom only encourages more kidnappings.
The obvious needs to be clarified that folks going into these dangerous areas won't be protected. This level of stupidity is more than frustrating.
Posted by: Jan ||
08/22/2006 13:48 Comments ||
Top||
(IsraelNN.com) Saudi Arabia security personnel killed two terrorists Monday in the Red Sea city of Jeddah after a day-long stand-off. Two other terrorists also were in the building which Saudi state television said is under siege by police and soldiers.
Gunmen surrender after shootout
RIYADH: Four suspected militants surrendered to Saudi security forces in Jeddah on Monday after police laid siege to a building in which they were hiding, the Interior Ministry said. Security forces traded fire with the gunmen during the siege, which lasted several hours, but there were no casualties, said ministry spokesman General Mansur al-Turki.
Four Militants Surrender Four militants surrendered to security forces in Jeddah yesterday after a 17-hour gunbattle. They included two men who had escaped from a prison near Riyadh in July. Authorities came under fire as they attempted to enter and arrest the suspects in a residential building in Jeddahs Al-Jamia district, according to Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour Al-Turki. The arrested militants had light injuries.
One eyewitness said he saw hundreds of bullet holes in surrounding buildings...
The security operation began at around 3 a.m. and ended at eight in the evening. During the operation, police were seen using rocket-propelled grenades. At times, the shootout between the suspects and authorities was intense. One eyewitness said he saw hundreds of bullet holes in surrounding buildings. Three families were evacuated from the rooftop of the four-story building by a crane. Nearby hospitals were told by the Ministry of Health to be on Code Yellow preparedness, which is typically reserved for natural disasters. Witnesses reported hearing sounds of gunfire early in the morning. Helicopters were seen hovering over this middle class neighborhood.
Authorities did not want to say whether the operation was linked to Sundays detention of seven suspected militants...
Authorities did not want to say whether the operation was linked to Sundays detention of seven suspected militants in the Al-Ajwad district, a middle class neighborhood in Jeddahs far eastern suburbs. On Sunday, Saudi security forces arrested the seven, including one believed to be a Yemeni national. No casualties were reported in that operation. Security forces had blocked out the area for more than eight hours and arrested the suspects in a villa. Al-Turki said that the seven arrested are not on the Kingdoms most-wanted list but are being interrogated. In July, authorities said six Saudis and a Yemeni escaped from Riyadhs Malaz Prison. The Interior Ministry did not say how the prisoners escaped.
A majority of residents in the area are foreign nationals, mostly Africans...
A month earlier security forces had arrested 43 suspected militants in raids over the previous few months throughout the Kingdom. Al-Jamia neighborhood is located in the southeast of Jeddah near the old airport. A majority of residents in the area are foreign nationals, mostly Africans. The area has witnessed many security raids and several arrests of criminals and wanted people were made there recently. Yesterdays gunbattle is the second witnessed in the neighborhood. The first happened during Ramadan last year when police engaged in a gunfight with terrorists hiding inside a house in the neighborhood near King Abdul Aziz University.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/22/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
It works like this: If hundreds of Saudi security rounds are fired and no dead terr bodies are found, it's assumed that they were vaporized by an angry Allan.
Of course ... they could've escaped, wherein, it's assumed Allan willed it.
#2
Some years back, when I lived in Montgomery, the police there had a shootout with a man sitting in his pickup in one of the burger joints drive-through, he couldn't go back or forward, there was a high concrete wall beside him amd the building wall on the other side.(You'd have to see it, it's a narrow strip with high walls on either side)
107 rounds were fired, both by cops and by the perp, nobody was hit, the cops finaly got him after everybody had run out of ammo, then they rushed the truck.
Local newspaper said the cops needed to go back to the range and re-qualify.
Saw the walls, looked like the backstop at a firing range, don't think the cars or truck were hit either.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/22/2006 19:26 Comments ||
Top||
British Police have charged 11 people in connection with an alleged plot to blow up United States-bound planes. Counter-terrorism prosecutor Susan Hemming says eight were charged with conspiracy to murder and preparing acts of terrorism;
...eight were charged with conspiracy to murder and preparing acts of terrorism...
a 17-year-old was charged with possessing articles useful for acts of terrorism; and two were charged with failing to disclose material assistance in preventing an act of terrorism. Nine of the 11 people charged are from London.
Eleven other suspects remain in custody but have not been charged. Investigators say they have found bomb-making equipment and martyrdom videos. Authorities believe the suspects planned to detonate liquid explosives aboard commercial jets bound for the US.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/22/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
The outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) has claimed its responsibility for Saturday's gas pipeline explosion in the eastern Turkish province of Agri, local Cihan News Agency reported on Monday. The PKK was quoted as saying the attack was a "warning" to both Turkey and Iran as they were carrying out joint military operations against the PKK in northern Iraq.
The PKK was quoted as saying the attack was a "warning" to both Turkey and Iran as they were carrying out joint military operations against the PKK in northern Iraq...
Late on Saturday, a major explosion hit a natural gas transfer unit of the Turkish Natural Gas Pipeline Company (BOTAS) near the village of Gecitalan, which carries natural gas from Iran to Turkey. Firefighters fought for four hours to bring under control the fire that broke out following the blast. Agri Governor Halil Ibrahim Akpinar, who arrived at the scene after the blast, said that they suspected a PKK terrorist sabotage because the militant group has carried out similar attacks in the region in the past.
The blast was so strong that it was heard nearly 40 kilometers away and the flames reached heights of up to 80 meters. Nearly 200 meters of the pipeline were blown up and almost eight million cubic meters of gas, worth an estimated 2.5 million US dollars, was burnt.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/22/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Actually, Murat Karayilan said a while back that aggression not only against PKK, but against any Kurdish faction, would receive a proper response.
This attack was very will timed. Just last week, Turkey and Iran agreed to expand their joint venture to supply Europe with natural gas.
I suspect this will be the shape of things to come, and it couldn't happen to a nicer pair of regimes.
Posted by: Azad ||
08/22/2006 14:17 Comments ||
Top||
(IsraelNN.com) Germany is in shock following the arrest of a Muslim who planned to bomb commuter trains, and Chancellor Angela Markel stated Monday that the country must begin using video cameras and other means to track down terrorists. Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in an interview on German public television that he fears attacks by Muslims who were raised in the country. "We don't know anymore who is living among us."
Most European countries, including Germany, have become a breeding ground for Muslim terrorists born and raised in the countries, which gives them the right to citizenship. One of the hijackers involved in the 2001 attacks on the United States is Saudi national Mohamed Atta who studied in Germany and belonged to an Al Qaeda cell in Hamburg.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/22/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
But, but, they're not in Iraq
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/22/2006 0:33 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Germany *could* reverse their policy of admitting every Palestinian "refugee," no questions asked, who happens to make it to German soil. They could also try putting *fences* around the apartment complexes where asylum claimants are "detained," or -- gasp -- even repatriate them to their respective Muslim crapholes. Getting eyeballed and chased while driving through an asylum complex feels a lot like "Escape from New York" minus the mined 69th St. bridge. Nothing to see here, folks, move along.
Posted by: ST ||
08/22/2006 0:59 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Someone needs to remind them what that al Qaeda cell from Hamburg plotted.
#10
Gorb, stop the countdown unless you're prepared to wait for a launch hold. France wouldn't join the club if terrorists blew up the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower and every building on the Champs-Elysees simultaneously.
#11
Isn't it obvious. Bush's Stormtroopers are an absolute affront to muslims living in Novo Andalusia and causes them to mass murder the locals. Or it's the export of luxury automobiles to infidels. Either way, bring US troops home from Germany.
Posted by: ed ||
08/22/2006 10:15 Comments ||
Top||
#12
The Germans need to get serious. They need to cut a deal with Turkey to build some factories and dorms and what-not in Turkey so that the Turkish and Islamic workers in Germany can move to Turkey where they will find mosques a-plenty. Germany will write Turkey a check every so often to continue the juicy welfare checks that brought the Islamic horde to Germany in the first place. Germany can promise the Turks good love when talks of joining the EU come up again.
Hopefully the bulk of the Moslems can be convinced to go to Turkey before the Turks really understand they will never join the EU. Then the border is sealed and the checks stopped and they are Turkeys problem.
#13
rj, I submit that it's not the Turks that are the problem. They came in the 50s and 60s not for the welfare, but to rebuild after WWII, as not enough German men were left alive to do it all. Now, they're basically Germany's Mexicans. They run doener kebap stands on every corner ("Turkish Tacos") and work for private security firms guarding US installations. Yes, the younger ones are being radicalized, but the newer muzzie migrants are the ones to worry about -- Algerians, Moroccans, Tunisians, and Palestinians. You'll notice that these train plotters are not Turkish. I'm just sayin, of all the muzzies in Germany, they're the least explosive variety.
Posted by: ST ||
08/22/2006 17:48 Comments ||
Top||
Lebanon's military intelligence agency gave German authorities information that led to the arrest of a Lebanese man the Germans suspect planted suitcase bombs at two train stations, German prosecutors said on Monday. "The decisive tipoff about the arrested suspect came on Friday evening from the military intelligence agency in Lebanon," said Frauke-Katrin Scheuten, spokeswoman for the German Federal Prosecutors office.
On Saturday, German police detained one of two men they suspect came close to exploding makeshift bombs on two trains in the cities of Dortmund and Koblenz last month. Police are still searching for the other man. They were caught on video cameras in Cologne train station, dragging the suitcases which contained the explosive devices onto the trains.
Monika Harms, the federal prosecutor, told reporters over the weekend that the man who police nabbed in the northern city of Kiel was a 21-year-old Lebanese student who had been living in Germany for two years. German ARD public television reported that the information came from a tapped telephone conversation. Without naming its sources, ARD said the student had seen his picture on German television and called his family in Lebanon for advice. This conversation was recorded by the Lebanese and its contents were passed on to German authorities who then arrested the man, ARD said.
The U.S. Marine Corps said Tuesday it has been authorized to recall thousands of Marines to active duty, primarily because of a shortage of volunteers for duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Up to 2,500 Marines will be brought back at any one time, but there is no cap on the total number of Marines who may be forced back into service in the coming years as the military battles the war on terror. The call-ups will begin in the next several months. This is the first time the Marines have had to use the involuntary recall since the early days of the Iraq combat. The Army has ordered back about 14,000 soldiers since the start of the war. Marine Col. Guy A. Stratton, head of the manpower mobilization section, estimated that there is a current shortfall of about 1,200 Marines needed to fill positions in upcoming unit deployments.
The call-up affects Marines in the Individual Ready Reserve, a segment of the reserves that consists mainly of those who left active duty but still have time remaining on their eight-year military obligation.
Generally, Marines enlist for four years, then serve the other four years either in the regular Reserves, where they are paid and train periodically, or they may elect to go into the IRR. Marines in the IRR are only obligated to report one day a year but can be involuntarily recalled to active duty.
I wonder about reservists, at the end of their six-year hitch, who have already gone once. My kid's trying to finish college. Anyone know?
#2
As far as I understand it, everyone owes 8 years from their date of entry. If you leave AD or active reserves before 8 years, you're kept on IRR till the 8 years is up. It came as kind of a surprise after I served 4 years on AD, got my 214, and was told I'd be transferred to the IRR for another 4. That was in 02.
Whether you're recalled, however, I think is highly contingent on your branch/MOS. IIUC, MPs & civil affairs are recalled most these days.
Posted by: ST ||
08/22/2006 17:28 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Marine Col. Guy A. Stratton, head of the manpower mobilization section, estimated that there is a current shortfall of about 1,200 Marines needed to fill positions in upcoming deployments.
Some of the military needs, he said, include engineers, intelligence, military police and communications.
The call-up will affect Marines in the Individual Ready Reserve, a segment of the reserves that consists mainly of those who have left active duty but still have time remaining on their eight-year military obligations.
According to Stratton, there are about 59,000 Marines in the IRR, but the Corps has decided to exempt from the call-up those who are either in their first year or last year of the reserve status. As a result, the pool of available Marines is about 35,000.
#4
I served with a guy that this happened too after GWI. He had just gotten home after his ETS and was just finishing his second beer. The phone rang and it was the Army telling him he was going to Saudi. He was in for two more years after.
If you enlist for the first time, you owe the military 8 years. It doesn't matter what you serve (2 years, 6 IR; 4 years, 4 reserve; etc) and you can be called back. I'm not too sure about re-enlistment past 8 years.
#5
Thanks, guys. I only had Besoeker's reply when Mother called the Kid. He had not heard, but his Major told them months ago they'd try to avoid folks that's already been once - and the Kid got a Commendation for volunteering for gunner for some night ops looking for HVT's.
And I told him what Nimble said, without knowing the numbers - that 1,200 wasn't a lot... He registered for college today. And BTW, I was somehow Poster Clagum Gromock4028. Sorta catchy, isn't it?
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/22/2006 17:55 Comments ||
Top||
#6
OK, some technicalities here. No matter what the active time says on your contract, it is an 8 year obligation for service. That can be a combination of active, reserve, inactive time, but it is eight years. However, individuals can be discharged for various reasons - medical, disciplinary, compassionate, etc. before that eight years and if separated from service they would have a DD Form 214 which in effect terminates all further obligation of duty. A good conduct and general discharge will preserve all veteran benefits.
Now having said that, there is also something else under the law. IAW Title 10 U.S.C. which governs military law, Paragraph 671a. Members: service extension during war:
Unless terminated at an earlier date by the Secretary concerned, the period of active service of any member of an armed force is extended for the duration of any war in which the United States may be engaged and for six months thereafter
Since Senate Joint Resolution 23 was passed by Congress shortly after 9/11 and invokes War Powers [note - not Emergency, not Security], the Service Secretary [Army, Navy, Air Force], has the authority to extend on active duty [not reserve] individuals for the duration. So anyone on active duty can be kept beyond the 8 year obligation. You can probably count on your hand the number in this case extended much beyond a normal tour rotation for the unit the service member had been assigned to. Once the service member is released from active duty and in receipt of his/her DD 214, he/she has no further obligation, unless [once again the exception] they received a regular officer commission. Some of the contracts for commissioned officers had a line which basically read may be recalled to active duty at anytime by the Secretary of [insert service branch here]. So technically, some people have a lifelong obligation. Thats one of the meanings behind the oath that is sworn about take this obligation freely without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion. You understand the commitment you make when you sign.
#7
#6: OK, some technicalities here. No matter what the active time says on your contract, it is an 8 year obligation for service. That can be a combination of active, reserve, inactive time, but it is eight years.
They must have changed the rules with this new "Volunteer" Service.
When I was in, (Early "66 Late "69) it was six years, 4 active, 2 inactive, and none of this "Must either be in the active or inactive reserves" Bullshit, they could call you back, but it never happened.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/22/2006 19:39 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Need to check on the son's roommate. He was in the intial Baghdad assult then had a second tour in Abu Grab and Fallujha. Been in IRR since getting out and just starting his second year of college.
#9
Enlistment is for 8 years, more or less. (Full Disclosure - I was an Army IRR call-up for OIF3, in a unit full of IRR call-ups). I had guys in my unit who got called-up out of the IRR, and then stop-lossed past thier 8 year term - talk about dirty pool.
The key on this will be MOS - they are looking for engineers, MPs, CAs, etc.
If you get called-up and show up, you're hosed. You're on active duty. The key is to fight this before you are due to report.
Posted by: Been There, Done That ||
08/22/2006 22:06 Comments ||
Top||
#10
When I signed up in '89, it was explained to me that every Marine serves at least 8 years, the remainder of which is in the IRR. So whether your active duty tour was 3, 4, or 6, you finished in IRR. I think there was an option to go 8 years active, but don't recall if that was for a special program or not. Those hardchargers did not move into IRR. This was all explained at the recruiting station prior to signing.
#11
Actually, the US Government can recall ANYONE who is under 60 years of age and has had a valid enlisted contract in the past. It's NEVER been done, but the law's on the books. Also, retired military are "transferred to the Retired Reserve". Most people believe that only applies for the first five years after you retire, but in reality, it's for life. Again, it's not something that has been used much in the past, but the law exists.
You can also volunteer to return to active duty from the Retired Reserve, but not many people who do get selected. I volunteered and got back a brief note, "We'll keep your request in mind"...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/22/2006 23:36 Comments ||
Top||
The net is woven finely enough to catch other fish than the jihadis. Good.
Eight persons were charged in federal court in New York yesterday with conspiracy to provide material support and resources to a designated terrorist organization, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the FBI said. Two complaints unsealed in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn said four men were arrested on Long Island on Saturday after three of them traveled to New York from Canada to attempt to purchase from an undercover FBI agent Russian-made SA-18 surface-to-air missiles, missile launchers, AK-47s and other weapons. The suspects were identified as being "high-level Tamil Tiger financiers and operatives, closely connected" with LTTE leadership in Sri Lanka, and many of them have met with LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and other senior leaders of the terrorist group. Named in the complaint were Murugesu Vinayagamoorthy, a senior LTTE supporter, and Nachimuthu Socrates, a LTTE supporter in North America. They are accused, with others, of conspiring to bribe State Department officials to remove the LTTE from the Foreign Terrorist Organization list.
The complaint said that the weapons were to be used by the LTTE in a "rapidly escalating conflict against the Sri Lankan military" and that the men were acting at the direction of senior LTTE leadership in Sri Lanka. A separate complaint said they sought to obtain classified information, conspired to bribe U.S. public officials to remove the LTTE from the State Department's list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations and dealt in illegal financial transactions with LTTE.
The complaints said the suspects agreed to an initial shipment of 10 SA-18 surface-to-air missiles and 500 AK-47s, and discussed a total price of between $900,000 and $937,500 for the equipment and training.
FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said efforts also were made to acquire heavy military artillery and missiles. On Friday, Mr. Kolko said, Sahilal Sabaratnam, identified in the complaint as the "financial guy," must be a technical term and Thiruthanikan Thanigasalam traveled to the United States by car from Canada and met with two undercover agents. Asked what they needed, the complaint said, the suspects sought missiles to shoot down Israeli-made fighter jets and weaponry "to destroy boats." At that meeting, which was recorded, the suspects discussed using bank accounts in Switzerland, St. Croix or other offshore locations to finance the purchase. The complaint said that they wanted the delivery to be made ship-to-ship in the Indian Ocean.
Historical background, for those of us not closely following events in Sri Lanka: LTTE was founded in 1976 and raises money, acquires weapons and technology, publicizes its cause of establishing an independent Tamil state in northern Sri Lanka and utilizes a guerrilla strategy that often includes acts of terrorism. With an army of several thousand combatants, the LTTE controls most of the northern and eastern coastal areas of Sri Lanka. The complaints said that in the past 15 years, the LTTE has killed hundreds and carried out numerous political assassinations. Since April, more than 1,700 people have been killed in the escalating conflict. In 1997, the LTTE was designated by the State Department as a foreign terrorist organization.
When an aghast world was told about a diabolical plan to blow up 10 planes simultaneously over the Atlantic, the Pakistan government was showered with praise for its role in averting what could have been an unprecedented disaster. Islamabad preened in what it thought was its moment of gloryit breathlessly provided sketchy details about the arrest of a mastermind in Pakistan, the vital call it had intercepted asking the conspirators to bring forward the bombing date, and how its tip-off prompted an arrest spree in Britain last week. From warding off barbs about fomenting terrorism, Pakistan could now, justifiably, claim to be a terror-buster.
Yet, this symphony of triumph made at least a few in Pakistan shudder.For, after all, once again an international terrorist plan had brought to the fore the Pakistani hand. Not only were 19 of the 24 arrested in Britain of Pakistani origin, there were clues linking some of them to the terrorist apparatus existing here.
Before this, there had already been London's 7/7 of last yearthen too, three of the four suicide bombers had been of Pakistani origin. Last week, the New York Times asked the big question: why does only Pakistan provide "such fertile soil for the cultivation of terrorist activity? This week's London case is the sixth major terrorist attack, either consummated or attempted over the last three years, to be linked to Pakistan in some fashion. It has again raised the question of whether Pakistan is doing enough to rein in terrorist groups operating on its soil".
A feisty Tasnim Aslam, spokesperson at the foreign office, bristled at the questionwhy Pakistan? She answered, "People making such remarks about Pakistan suffer from short memory. The seeds of terrorism in this region were sown when thousands of foreigners were brought here to fight the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan. These commentators on Pakistan should remember that it was certainly not Pakistan which created Al Qaeda and also that Pakistan was not in any manner responsible for the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan which changed the region. We are still facing the consequences." In other words, Pakistan is entangled in the web of terrorism today because of the violent legacy it has inherited.
Others, however, have begun to ponder over the phenomenon of expatriate Pakistanis masterminding international terror plots. Why do they turn to their country of origin to implement their dark dreams? Can Pakistan be blamed for the acts of those who are no longer its citizens? It's, to begin with, an issue of nomenclatures and categories the mass media employs. As Dr Shireen Mazari, who heads the Institute of Strategic Studies, says, "Of course, it doesn't come as a surprise for most of us in Pakistan to hear British Muslims suddenly referred to as Britons of Pakistani origin. That the British press fails to make similar reference to British Muslims who bring sporting honours to their countryand who also have similar 'Pakistani' connectionsis now taken as a given. Frankly, one just shrugs it off with a bitter sense of hopelessness at the way references to Pakistan are made in the US and Europe."
Security analyst Lt Gen (retd) Talat Masood says the issue should be viewed against the backdrop of global politics. "There is a huge community in Britain with links to Pakistan. Most of the youth of this community are unemployed and not integrated into the British society. They feel completely alienated. They also see the UK linking up with the US, whether in Afghanistan, Iraq or Lebanon."
Alienation from society, it is perceived, breeds a sense of victimisation in the youth, fuelling anger against the system.
This anger needs an identifiable target, an enemy to blame his woes on. The British government's foreign policy allows this alienated youth to ascribe his individual misery to the global plight of Muslimsin itself an outcome of the actions of Big Powers. He feels the cause of the discrimination he experiences is a consequence of the state pursuing a blatant anti-Muslim agenda. For him, redemption lies in challenging and fighting the stateand a people who support it. Fantasies of vengeance overtake him.
And in Pakistan, far away from London, he finds the conducive environment to convert the angry expatriate's fantasy of vengeance into reality. "They come to Pakistan and exploit their linkages here," says Masood. "After all, there are people here who are still operating militant camps. There are safe sanctuaries as well as great sympathy for those indulging in jehadi activities."
No wonder, the bristling British citizen of Pakistani origin wings his way home, to prepare for the battle against his adopted country. Unlike any other place, he can justify his travel to Pakistan. "They keep coming to Pakistan to visit friends and family, and this is not something that we can stop. But they are now kept under surveillance...this is one way out," says General Shaukat Sultan, spokesperson for the President's office. It was in fact the surveillance by Pakistani intelligence which enabled them to track down Rashid Rauf, a British citizen, who subsequently spilled the beans about the terrorist plot in custody. Again, it's claimed here that it was Pakistani intelligence which intercepted the call to London asking the plotters to go ahead with the bombing.
In a way, British citizens of Pakistani origin have been coming here for jehadi training for many years now. But what has changed is the new target of their ire. As former ambassador Hussain Haqqani, who's worked closely with both Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, points out, "What has changed now is that British jehadi recruits are not content with fighting in localised conflicts like Chechnya, Palestine, Bosnia or Kashmir. They are thinking of ways to bring the jehad to Britain and the United States, who they consider as major powers responsible for the misery of the world's Muslims."
Indeed, the Pakistani hand in future international terror plots will continue to surface as long as a terror infrastructure exists here. Says Haqqani, "Al Qaeda and its ilk still seem to think of Pakistan as a possible safe haven, notwithstanding the arrest of many individual terrorists here."
This impression about Pakistan as a safe haven persists because President Pervez Musharraf refuses to unequivocally eschew the terrorist option as far as Kashmir and Afghanistan are concerned. The current issue of English monthly Herald has the cover story, 'Waiting Game', based on its reporter's visit to Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) camps at Garhi Habibullah in the Frontier province. The reporter says the state has cut off funds to these camps; that inmates have little hope of crossing the LoC as handlers have asked them to cool their heels. The militants, however, have still not been dispersed.
The question now is: why hasn't the state dismantled these camps altogether? Former ISI chief, Gen Hamid Gul, says this is because the government's decision to cap terrorism is merely a short-term strategy. He argues, "When a soldier joins the Pakistan army, he is taught that India is the enemy and Kashmir is to be liberated.If you have abandoned Kashmir, you might as well abandon the army." Surely, Musharraf can't abandon the army, and logically therefore he can't abandon either the Kashmir issue or the militants.
The Herald also notes, "Apparently, more than a thousand trained militants from Indian-administered Kashmir are currently stranded in three HM camps in the Hazara region of the Frontier province alone.... Thousands of other militants find themselves similarly confined to camps run by half-a-dozen smaller Kashmiri groups or predominantly Pakistani outfits such as the LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Harkat-ul Mujahideen and Al-Badr Mujahideen in the Frontier and Azad Kashmir. "
Even as these militants play the waiting game, many fear they will gradually integrate with Al Qaeda. It's only a matter of time and perhaps the right price before the 'gatekeepers' of global terrorism reach out to these idle militants and incorporate them into their international activities.
Posted by: john ||
08/22/2006 19:05 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
The current issue of English monthly Herald has the cover story, 'Waiting Game', based on its reporter's visit to Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) camps at Garhi Habibullah in the Frontier province.
Posted by: john ||
08/22/2006 19:11 Comments ||
Top||
#2
so why are Pakis so unemployed and seething? Perhaps because madrassahs SCREWED them out of an education instead forcing indoctrination into their head bonking brains? Kill a few Imams, close the madrassahs, and educate your people. At least then they'll understand why the nuclear glow came over their scarred wasteland
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/22/2006 19:46 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Perv is the key player. His sole claim to power is that his is the biggest faction in a fractured country. His motivation is to rule over the whole enchilada.
But to get to where he wants to be, he has to build up his power at the expense of his enemies, not an easy thing to do. If he screws up even once, he loses his head.
The US has seriously imbalanced things in his favor, and in very subtle ways. Already his army and ISI have been partially purged, and much of Baluchistan has been cooled. The army keeps getting better and better weapons and support, and the rising tide lifts his ship.
Next, he either confronts the radicals in his government, and their political parties; or he subdues the Wazoos. Either path is fraught with danger. But gradualism wins out.
A time or two he has overextended, such as demanding registration of foreigners in Madrassas. Losing these battles cost his some face, and his program some time to recover.
NEW DELHI - Indian police were on Tuesday conducting a major search for two armed men seen near an atomic power plant, two television stations reported. NDTV said police had sealed off the Kakrapar plant near Surat in the western state of Gujarat. It said the pair had entered the plant. CNN-IBN said a special paramilitary force was brought in after the armed pair were spotted near the plant.
Security agencies had received warnings earlier this month about possible militant attacks on power plants, and stepped up security ahead of independence day celebrations on August 15. The plant has two units, each with a capacity of 220 megawatts, which went into operation between 1993 and 1995.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/22/2006 10:54 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
SURAT/NEW DELHI: A massive search operation was launched on Tuesday at Kakrapar Atomic Power Station near Surat after villagers reported seeing two armed men in its vicinity, but security forces found no intruders. The CISF, which is responsible for guarding all nuclear facilities, informed the home ministry that no persons were found in or around the Kakrapar station following an intensive search by its personnel and the Gujarat Police.
CISF chief S I S Ahmed, in his message to the home ministry, said "everything is clear and no one was found in the premises, which were completely safe", according to the ministry's spokesman.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/22/2006 13:37 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Immediately after villagers reported the presence of the two men to the authorities, state police and CISF troops launched a combing operation while commandos took position in the control room of the nuclear reactors.
S K Jain, chairman of Nuclear Power Corporation of India, who was in New Delhi, said the multi-layered security at the station was capable of dealing with any intrusion. The station, which has two 220MW plants, has protection systems to shut down the reactors in any eventuality, he said.
Posted by: john ||
08/22/2006 16:45 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Interestingly, an earlier report, now pulled, said that 2 armed men had been arrested in a restricted area.
Either it was an error, or these two fellows, presumably pakistani, have "disappeared" into the custody of Indian intelligence and are now undergoing some rather "rigorous" interrogation..
I expect that in a few weeks, the bodies of two "homeless" men will turn up at the cremation ghats on the banks of the yamuna
Posted by: john ||
08/22/2006 17:56 Comments ||
Top||
Islamabad, Aug. 22 (PTI): Pakistan's disgraced nuclear scientist A Q Khan has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, an official spokesman said here today.
Gee, and here I thought he'd die of a heart attack. Or a plane crash. Or a flight of stairs
The routine medical examination of Khan, currently under house detention here, was conducted early this month and revealed slightly raised level of serum Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA), the spokesman said in a statement. In order to ensure an accurate diagnosis, a detailed examination was immediately conducted, including ultrasound- guided biopsy, at the KRL Hospital, he said. The results of the tests, analysed by at least two leading histopathologists, have unfortunately indicated Adino Carcinoma (cancer) of prostate, he said, adding further investigations are being carried out by a board of doctors.
Very carefully selected doctors
Since the state of health of Khan is of public interest, the Government of Pakistan would like to hold out an assurance that the best specialist medical care is being provided to the scientist in consultation with his family and personal doctors, the statement said.
The plans for the state funeral are being finalized
The public will be kept informed from time to time whenever necessary, it said.
They'll let us know when he's "stable".
Khan had admitted transferring sensitive nuclear technology to countries like Iran and North Korea and was subsequently pardoned by President Pervez Musharraf.
"He's almost dead, Jim"
Posted by: Steve ||
08/22/2006 10:01 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
His affinity for radioactivity made manifest poetically. Radio isotope treatment indicated for his balls area.
#4
All you need to make a nuke is: fissionable core material; plastic explosive, covering the core; ignition coil array (similar to that on your car engine); battery-detonator manifold; dhimmi morons who let Muslims treat our universities and nuclear facilities, as terror candy-stores.
#10
Frank G - I think I see the problem... Next door to Mistress Nastywhip's House of Pain is Dr Well B Good's Quick Care Clinic. You were given the wrong address or transposed the last 2 digits. :)
It takes a BIT more than that, SS. If someone were to build a "nuke" as you describe, what they would get would be a very hot neutron-emitter. It also depends on what nuclear "fuel" you're using. A plutonium weapon is much easier to build than a uranium weapon. Still, designing a nuke explosive isn't rocket science. Getting it to work so you get a BIG boom IS.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/22/2006 14:35 Comments ||
Top||
#12
Old Patriot, you left out the requirement for safe fusing. Having a powerful weapon without absolute control over its time and place of use is more commonly refered to as a "work accident".
I firmly believe this is likely how we will find out about terrorists finally assembling their own nuclear weapon. Somewhere there will be the mother of all work accidents.
#17
I was reading somewhere not too long ago that a simple low-yield nuclear/atomic bomb is not that hard to make. The trick is to force two different masses of the right radioactive materials together with high enough force to make the combined mass go critical.
The article seemed to indicate that a vertical arrangement where one mass is at ground level and the other is a floor or two above, dropped or driven by an explosive charge, might actually do the trick.
I'm not sure what the setup was using as baseline material, but I have to assume it was at least enriched uranium (weapons grade).
Anyone know anything about this article or where it might be found?
#18
Two aircraft with just the right amount of fissile material might work. Maybe even 2 ships, difficult to tell. A cheap method might be dropping 1/2 the fissile material from a tall building onto a hotdawg cart containing the rest of the necessary.
Buy a two story house with a basement. Put in a two story, high strength tube. Put a subcritical mass of bomb grade uranium at the bottom. Put another subcritical mass at the top and put a propellant charge on top of that. Weld the tube shut and evacuate it. I'm assuming that if you could get a hold of bomb-grade uranium, you could get a neutron source, too.
The first gun-type uranium bomb was so simple that we didn't bother to test it before we dropped it on Japan. The Pakis made it work on their first try, so that says a lot.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/22/2006 19:43 Comments ||
Top||
#21
Place two hemi-spheres in a heavy walled steel pipe with one closed end, polish the hemi-sphere's flat faces to a mirror gloss and make them absolutely flat (This is where the "Homemade part fails, not possible without high precision machine tools)
Place one hemisphere at the closed end, with the polished surface facing the other end, Align the mirror surface absolutely flat with the bore (Again where the "Homemade" part fails)
place the other hemisphere at the other end, again align it absolutely parallel with the bore (Homemade flops again)
Put a good bit of high explosive behind the open end, figure out some way to have the two hemispheres slide without ANY deflection or warpage/breakage, (again the Homies, flop)
Devise some form of detonator, close the end, pump out ALL the air (Again, el floppo) and set it off.
Odds of a BOOM about one in a Billion, odds of a rupture and a fizzle, about one in a Million, odds it will just burst and shit up the area with radioactive junk, almost certain.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/22/2006 19:59 Comments ||
Top||
#22
Anyone know anything about this article or where it might be found?
According to my older brother, this was covered in an issue of Analog science Fiction magazine way back in the early 1970s.
The article concluded that actually obtaining the fissile material was the gating factor. They examined the most likely source, theft from a nuclear reactor, and determined that disassembling and recombining the fuel rods was far too intensive of an operation. Ditto with hijacking a truckload of unrefined uranium and purifying it.
One interesting observation of note was that it was far easier to simply take over a nuclear power generating facility (something our special forces do with exceeding regularity) and then forcibly cause a meltdown. This alternative was dismissed due to how the majority of reactors are situated far from metropolitan centers for safety's sake.
They concluded that such a scenario was non-optimal for a terror attack because there would be minimal loss of life, a factor that is always of paramount concern for terrorists.
Finally, this is why it is of such importance to dismantle Iran's, North Korea's (and Pakistan's, for that matter), nuclear technology. Neither has demonstrated the least intention of good stewardship, a key factor in managing nuclear material. The few nations who currently possess nuclear weapons have, so far, demonstrated a fair degree of responsibility in their management. Rogue regimes need not apply.
Frank, you'd love a rare copy I found of a book called "Applied Atomic Power." Its various chapters covered such wonders as nuclear powered airplanes (the Air Force tried this only to abandon the project due to excessive weight issues). One section covered nuclear powered locomotives ...
Mumbai, 22 August (AKI) - Police in the Indian financial capital of Mumbai (formerly Bombay) have killed a suspected Pakistani terrorist and arrested another on Tuesday after raiding a hideout. According to the Indian television channel NDTV, Mumbai's Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) described it as a breakthrough in its fight against terror, however the authorities have not confirmed whether the encounter was linked to the serial blasts on Mumbai's rail network last month which killed over 180 people.
"There were just two people today, but there may be more involved. It's too early to speculate how many people were involved but we can consider it as a success for the ATS. We were working on specific intelligence inputs over the past few days," KPS Raghuvanshi, Chief, Anti-Terror Squad was quoted as saying on the NDTV network. The Mumbai police commissioner, AN Roy, was also reported as saying that the two men were Pakistani nationals who were planning an attack in Mumbai. NDTV also reported that the police found one AK 47, some cartridges and a white powdery substance, which could be RDX at the location.
In its investigations into the 11 July blasts in Mumbai, the police have arrested several people. Reports say they suspect the banned Students' Islamic Movement of India (Simi) of involvement in attacks, claiming that the organisation takes its orders from the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT). The LeT however has denied any involvement in the blasts.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/22/2006 09:25 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
QUETTA: Security forces have detained 10 Afghan nationals in the border areas of Chaman and Dalbundian for trying to illegally cross the border into Pakistan, while two others were arrested for suspected involvement in terrorist activities. "These Afghans have been held under the Foreigners' Act," an official source told Daily Times. "They are being investigated by the Federal Investigation Agency. Once the investigation is completed, they would be handed back to Afghan authorities."
150 kilogrammes of explosive material was seized from the two...
Meanwhile, in Dalbundian, two other Afghan nationals suspected of having terrorist links were arrested. Sources said that 150 kilogrammes of explosive material was seized from the two. A government official, requesting anonymity, told Daily Times that the two had planned to go abroad from Pakistan, apparently with some terrorist motives. "But timely official action has foiled their designs." The authorities said the two Afghans have been shifted to a safe location for further investigation.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/22/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Air Pakistan: You are 125 kg over the explosives limit. There will be an extra charge. Do you wish to check those bags?
No, they're carry on.
Posted by: ed ||
08/22/2006 10:03 Comments ||
Top||
Intelligence agencies have captured two suspected members of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi group in Bahawalpur, an intelligence official said. One of the arrested men was allegedly involved in a plot to assassinate President General Pervez Musharraf. Zaki Allah, alias Zakaullah, had escaped from a prison in Dera Ghazi Khan where he was being held for his alleged involvement in an assassination attempt on Musharraf. The agencies also captured Imran Amir, who is also reportedly a member of the banned group.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/22/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
Four suspected militants were arrested on Monday for alleged involvement in terror plots in the country. Two suspected militants, Anwarul Haq and Usman Ghani, were arrested for their alleged involvement in a suicide attack on the US consulate on March 2 that killed US diplomat David Foy, his driver Iftikhar Ahmed, Rangers official Zafar and security guard Hasan Shehzad. Forty-nine other people were injured in the attack.
The car used in the bomb attack was packed with explosives and transported from Waziristan to Karachi...
The car used in the bomb attack was packed with explosives and transported from Waziristan to Karachi, sources told Daily Times after the police held a press conference to announce the identity of the suicide attacker and the arrests of the two accomplices. Addressing a press conference, Sindh Inspector General of Police Jehangir Mirza said the suicide bomber had been identified earlier as Raja Mohammed Tahir. Mirza said that the mastermind of the plot, Qari Zafar, was still at large.
Police sources said that Anwarul Haq and Usman Ghani told the police during interrogations that all of them had fought against the coalition forces in Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, the men developed links with Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Qari Zafar of Waziristan led the group and planned the attack. Mirza said the attackers had monitored the movements of all diplomats stationed at the consulate for quite some time. He said the accused had filled 200 kg of C-4 and TNT explosives in the CNG cylinder and inside seats and mudguards. He said the accused reached the scene a little before 9:00 am and Tahir parked his car in the parking area while Anwarul Haq kept watch for Foys arrival. As soon as the diplomats car came into sight, Haq made a gesture to Tahir who reversed and rammed his car into Foys.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/22/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
(KUNA) -- Iraqi Health Ministry said on Sunday that the final death toll in armed attacks which targeted thousands of Shiite Muslim pilgrims in the Iraqi capital has risen to 322 killed and injured. A source from the Iraqi Health Ministry said the final victims' death toll is 20 people were killed and 302 injured, with varying degrees of injuries.
Meanwhile, Iraqi police said today that four police officers among them two brothers were killed by unknown gunmen in the Diyali province north east of Baghdad. A police statement from the Diyali office said unknown gunmen killed two brothers from the same police security force and injured their father in the Tahrir area in Baqouba city.
Police also said two civilians were killed and an arrest of two armed men was made today in different parts of Diyali province. A statement issued by police public relations and media office said two civilians were killed by unknown gunmen in two separate attacks in Dour Al-Jahiza and Al-Tahrir in Baqouba town in Diyali province. The statement added, police captured two armed men in the Sowamer area in Baqouba town, along with confiscation of weapon's caches, explosive materials.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/22/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Last year, over 100 pilgrims were trampled, IIRC.
Not really much of a showing for the bad guz, is it? Yet the press is maddly spinning about defeat and retreat.
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/22/2006 6:35 Comments ||
Top||
(KUNA) -- Unknown gunmen killed one Iraqi civilian and injured six others on Monday in al-Kazimeya north of the capital while court was in session for former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and six of his accomplices. Iraqi security sources said gunmen opened fire in the afternoon on a crowd gathered in the Adan area which resulted in killing and injuring seven people.
Meanwhile, Multi-National Forces (MNF) said in a statement today that its forces jointly with the Iraqi forces discovered large weapons and explosives caches in Mosul north of Iraq. The statement added the discovery operation came about when an Iraqi police patrolling in one of the districts in Mosul found the weapons cashes. In addition, the operation also resulted in the discovery of 3000 tons of explosive materials, along with mortar shells and anti-armor mines.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/22/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Three thousand TONS of explosives? I know Iraq had a lot of munitions lying around in 2003, but that's a hell of a lot of unsecured boom-boom for the summer of 2006. Is it a typo, or did they find a truly monumental arms cache?
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
08/22/2006 9:42 Comments ||
Top||
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was forced earlier this week to call off plans to deploy PA security personnel in the northern Gaza Strip when several armed groups, including militias from his own Fatah movement, threatened to attack these forces, PA officials here told The Jerusalem Post on Monday. Abbas had planned to deploy several hundred PA policemen and security officers in an attempt to stop the armed organizations from firing rockets at Israel, the officials said, noting that the proposed move had won the backing of the US and Israel.
"Those who are firing Kassam rockets at Israel from the northern Gaza Strip are acting against the interests of the Palestinian people and are providing Israel with an excuse to continue its aggression in the Gaza Strip," said one official. "President Abbas has a serious plan aimed at stopping the rocket attacks, but the armed groups are refusing to cooperate."
Last week, Abbas announced that the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip had accepted his call for a unilateral cease-fire with Israel. The announcement came after a series of meetings Abbas held in Gaza City with PA Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and a number of Hamas officials. Another PA official told the Post that Hamas was the only group that had accepted Abbas's proposal to halt rocket attacks. "The main problem we have is with Fatah's armed wing, the Aksa Martyrs Brigades, and with Islamic Jihad, which have rejected the cease-fire proposal," he said. According to the official, Abbas and the rest of the Fatah leadership have almost no control over the various Fatah militias operating in the Gaza Strip. "Fatah has at least seven or eight armed groups in the Gaza Strip and some of them are receiving financial aid from Hizbullah, Syria and Iran," he said. "The situation in the Gaza Strip is very problematic."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve ||
08/22/2006 13:46 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Which all goes to show that Abbas' commitment to true and lasting peace with Isreal is a total farce. If the man had any dignity, he would disband the government right now and force re-elections while Hamas' elected status has caused so much grief for the Palestinian people.
"The security chaos crisis is a general problem and is the result of a lack of respect for the rule of law," he said.
Let me know when you all get that "rule of law" thingie ironed out. Maybe I'll stop giving a rat's @ss about your hell-hole life.
#3
anything intended to stop killing Joooos will "spark a civil war" and can't be implemented. Enuf! Get on with the friggin Paleo civil war and STFU
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/22/2006 15:57 Comments ||
Top||
#4
A government that cannot control thier own country is not a government. They are merely a organized group OF MANY that co-exist in a certian territory.
"Occupied territories" West bank & especially Gaza have no single leadership no one controls that territory not Israel not the "palestinian government" not Hamas not Fatah.
I think Israel should start forcibly removing and relocating the Paleo's from the border disputed areas first and make it clear that the process with continue until they realize its time to cut losses accept thier current situation werever they are at that time or they are pushed to the fringes and then over the borders into the neighboring nations. If those nations dont control them well then invade and restart process at some point reality will sink in.
#6
Yeh, c'mon C-low, we're talking Paleos here, they never pick the winning move.
Ooo, money-making idea. Buy some Paleos a couple dozen goes on the lottery (any lottery). Observe carefully which numbers they choose, then select your own 5,6 or 7 numbers from the ones they haven't chosen. By my calculations, you are guaranteed a winning ticket!
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
08/22/2006 17:45 Comments ||
Top||
Israeli soldiers shot dead three Palestinian militants near the Gaza Strip's central border with Israel early Tuesday, Palestinian medics and security officials said. Security officials said they were members of the radical Islamic Jihad faction.
An Israeli army spokesman said Israeli troops spotted them approaching the border fence in a suspicious manner overnight, carrying big bags and at one point lying flat on the ground. The troops opened fire and shot them. A Palestinian ambulance picked up the bodies of the three near the Kissufim border crossing after being informed by the Israeli army that they were lying there on the ground.
GAZA - Israeli tanks entered the eastern area of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday and troops clashed with Palestinian fighters there, wounding at least three militants, witnesses and Palestinian sources said. The Israeli army said it was checking the report.
Witnesses said several Israeli tanks, supported by unmanned drones in the sky, entered Gaza near the Karni crossing, the main terminal for goods entering and leaving the densely populated strip, but it was not clear what their objective was. Clashes ensued and three militants were wounded, Palestinian sources said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/22/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
(KUNA) -- Unidentified gunmen opened fire Monday on a security officer in Gaza but he was not harmed, eyewitnesses said. The witnesses added the gunmen opened fire on a senior Palestinian national security officer while he was in a military vehicle and that two of his bodyguards were wounded. Police and Palestinian security forces rushed to the scene to investigate the incident, according to the witnesses.
Meanwhile, four Palestinians were wounded last night during an Israeli raid that targeted east Deir Al-Balah and Al-Breij camps in Gaza. Palestinian security sources said that Israeli tanks stationed along the border line fired missiles on a Palestinian house in the eastern part of Deir Al-Balah. One of the missiles fell in the house wounding two children and damaging the house and a private vehicle. Israeli tanks also opened fire on several civilians wounding two people, one of them seriously.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/22/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Someone wants a promotion and they're not willing to wait around for the executive approval process.
(KUNA) -- The Palestinian Fatah movement declared on Monday responsibility for a rocket attack on the town of Askalan, South of Israel. In a statement circulated here today, the Ahmad Abulrish Martyr Brigades, an armed wing of the Palestinian Fatah movement, said that one of its groups have been able to launch four Amro-3 rockets on the town of Askalan in southern Israel.
According to the statement, "the missiles hit its target accurately and the group returned to their bases safely". The statement emphasized that "this bombing came in response to the crimes of the Israeli occupation". It confirmed "to continue resistance and rejection of all upcoming calming bids".
Posted by: Fred ||
08/22/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
One-sixth of Israel's electrical power is produced in Askalan (also spelled as "Ashkelon"). That is one reason why I never supported the Gaza pullout.
(IsraelNN.com) Clashes between rival clans have left one person dead and four others injured in shootouts in Rafiah, located on the Israeli-Egyptian border, and Khan Yunis, adjacent to destroyed Jewish communities. Gunmen opened fired on a house in Rafiah and killed a friend who was visiting one of the rival clans. The incident in Khan Yunis occurred on the Mediterranean beach.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/22/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
What would arab "festivities" be without the death of somebody.
#2
Hey, in Israel's absence someone's got to make up for the missing mayhem. I swear, even if you gave all of these morons $1,000,000 apiece plus property and a nice home they'd still find a reason to be at each others' throats.
(IsraelNN.com) During a tour of the north Prime Minister Ehud Olmert responded to Minister Avi Dichter's statements regarding negotiations with Syria. "All of the terror organizations are sitting in Damascus and are benefiting from Syrian backing," Olmert said. "Gilad Shalit's abductors receive orders from Damascus, as do the other terrorists." He added that, "when Syria stops supplying arms and missiles to those who want to use them against Israeli citizens, we will be very pleased to negotiate with them, but we will not get dragged into any venture with terror alongside."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/22/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#4
Would you guys get off Olmert's case? He's waiting for the committee report asnd he can't do anything until he's had a chance to read it and discuss with his cabinet.
(IsraelNN.com) IDF special forces arrested a Tanzim terrorist Monday afternoon in the village of Azun, on the road from Kfar Saba to the Samarian communities of Karnei and Ginot Shomron, Kedumim and Emanuel. An M-16 semi-automatic rifle was found in the house where the terrorist was hiding out. The village of Azun has been the source of frequent firebombing, stoning and shooting attacks on Jewish motorists.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/22/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
(IsraelNN.com) The Israeli Air Force targeted the home of an Islamic Jihad terrorist last Monday night. The army warned the residents of the impending strike and no one was injured in the missile strike. The home was used to store weapons, the army reported. The strike occurred in the village of Jabalya in the northern part of the Gaza region.
Still making war against
[empty]
buildings. Now Mr. Islamic Jihad terrorist will have to rent an apartment, but he'll continue with his bloodthirsty ways.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/22/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Hey, life is cheap in Dir el Islam, but houses cost money!
COLOMBO - Sri Lankan warplanes bombed a suspected Tamil Tiger munitions dump on Tuesday as a ship prepared to sail with food for tens of thousands cut off by fighting in the besieged Jaffna peninsula. Israeli-built Kfir jets attacked a Tiger position close to the frontline of fighting in the northern district where rebels 11 days ago launched a push to retake their former stronghold, the military said.
In Colombo police said they had foiled a rebel attack after defusing a 15-kilogram (33 pound) mine rigged to a vegetable sellers bike in a busy market area. Officials said they believed the fragmentation device may have been aimed at a Sri Lankan legislator. It followed an attack last week on Pakistans top envoy who escaped without injury while seven other people were killed.
The military reported sporadic rebel mortar and grenade attacks in the northeast overnight before they launched air strikes against the Tamil Tiger position in the Jaffna peninsula. Just after the air attack, we could hear secondary explosions, a military official in the peninsula said. It is most likely that their ammunition dump was hit.
The peninsula, home to some 350,000 civilians, has been cut off from the rest of the island by fighting that killed 159 troops and 487 rebels during the rebel offensive, according to the military. A partially-loaded ship carrying more than 1,000 tonnes of food and medicines was to leave Colombo for a two-day voyage Tuesday and the government said a second larger boat would follow in days. The ship should go today as it is urgently needed,said Peter Krakolinig, deputy head of the International Committee of the Red Cross team in Sri Lanka.
The ICRC said a ferry was also planned for later this week to bring out some of the 400 to 500 foreigners believed trapped on the peninsula. They included aid workers and foreign passport holders of Sri Lankan origin visiting relatives.
A convoy of 243 people including 61 foreigners was allowed to leave rebel-held territory in Kilinochchi, just south of Jaffna, after being trapped for more than a week, the ICRC said Tuesday. Fighting has cut off all road access to Jaffna and the UN said more than 41,000 people were believed to have fled their homes there.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/22/2006 11:08 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
(KUNA) -- Sri Lankan Navy seized on Sunday an Indian trawler attempting to smuggle 85 Tamils from Sri Lanka's Northwestern Mannar region to Southern India, said media outlets on Monday. According to the Press Trust of India in Sri Lanka, the trawler and its three-man Indian crew and the 85 Tamils, who tried to flee the country, were detained for questioning. Some 7,000 Sri Lankan Tamils have fled to India this year as fighting between government troops and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) escalated since last December, claiming at least 1,500 lives.
Meanwhile, one of the casualties was a former Tamil politician and a newspaper director was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in northern Sri Lanka late Sunday night. The 68-year-old Sinnathamby Sivamaharajah was the Managing Director of the Jaffna Tamil daily "Namathu Eelanadu." He was a member of the Tamil National Alliance, a political party opposed to LTTE. So far nobody has claimed responsibility for his death.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/22/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
UN peacekeepers in Lebanon will likely have the right to open fire to defend themselves and to protect civilians, but will be barred from actively searching for Hizbullah weapons, a French report said Tuesday.
Let's see, now who is likely to be accused of attacking civilians in Lebanon? Oh, right....
Le Monde newspaper said it had obtained a copy of a 21-page document laying out the provisional rules of engagement for the force, newly strengthened under a UN Security Council resolution. The document, not yet approved, was stamped "UN Restricted," the newspaper said. The Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to calls seeking confirmation.
While the United Nations is trying to secure more troops to boost the force from 2,000 troops to up to 15,000, many European countries have been unwilling to commit peacekeepers without establishing more explicit rules of engagement. EU officials in Brussels were to meet Wednesday to discuss troop contributions.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/22/2006 13:37 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
"civilians"
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/22/2006 13:50 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Why do I get the image of a Bull taking on a lame rabbit in a fight when I read this?
August 22, 2006: The U.S. government has forced Iran to change the way it loads weapons in aircraft that are headed for Syria. American intelligence officials revealed how satellite reconnaissance had spotted Iranians loading eight C-802 anti-ship missiles, and three launchers into a Russian made Il-76 transport. This happened a day after a C-802 fired from the Lebanese coast had damaged an Israeli warship. Iraq refused to let the Iranian aircraft enter its air space. When the Iranian Il-76 headed for Turkey instead, the Turks said the Iranian aircraft could only transit Turkey if it first landed to see if it was carrying weapons in its cargo. The Il-76 declined and returned to an Iranian air base.
The Iranians know they are being watched by American spy satellites, and high flying recon aircraft (Global Hawk and U-2) as well. But they thought these spy-in-the-sky efforts would not get down the level of checking the loading of cargo aircraft. As a result of this particular incident, which was probably made public mainly to aggravate and annoy the Iranians, loading cargo will be a lot more complicated in the future. Weapons to be shipped by air will have to be loaded on trucks while under cover, and the truck itself will have to be covered in such a way that the identity of the weapon is not disclosed. Then the aircraft will also have to be loaded in such a way that overhead reconnaissance cannot observe what it going onto the aircraft.
Even that may not be enough, as nations, which Iranian transports normally fly over, may demand the right to inspect all cargo aircraft headed for Syria. The Israelis may even get involved, by announcing they will shoot down any Iranian heavy transports, suspected of carrying weapons for Hizbollah, that enter Syria. Israel is not happy with how so many countries just stood idly by while so many weapons were sent to Hizbollah. This time around, those shipments, or attempted shipments, won't be risk free.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/22/2006 11:37 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Head-on collision with a drone, you say? How sad...
#2
Somehow I think that shooting down a few of these flights would send a stronger message than merely making the Iranians ship their weapons through a mildly less-convenient process. But what do I know?
#3
Anti-Israel UN tool Terje Roed-Larsen ( says that if Israel discovers Hizballah smuggling arms into Lebanon, they should file a complaint through diplomatic channels:
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/753234.html
Snake oil cure-all UN Diplomatic Channel = Jacob's ladder to Heaven, no doubt.
#4
Israel is not happy with how so many countries just stood idly by while so many weapons were sent to Hizbollah.
That "not happy" phrase rates right up there with our own use of "unhelpful." The "so many countries" part constitutes a global disgrace. In light of Iran's declaration of and renewed efforts at anti-Semitic genocide, Japan's refusal to consider Iranian sanctions, especially as an American ally, is particularly repugnant.
As I am currently in the middle of reading William Burrows' "Deep Black", this particular item is quite amusing. I'll add that the book's style is quite different from that of another author whose name sounds just like his.
Off Topic Request: I made (and lost) a note about a book title mentioned here recently regarding the actual use of nuclear weapons in war-fighting mode. If someone remembers posting about it, would they please mention it in this thread. I'd be much obliged.
#5
In light of Iran's declaration of and renewed efforts at anti-Semitic genocide, Japan's refusal to consider Iranian sanctions, especially as an American ally, is particularly repugnant.
Japan's economy is dependent on Iranian oil to a very large degree. It would do them and us no good to see their economy collapse and their pro-military government lose office.
They're doing pretty well WRT China and NORK, which frees us more to deal with Iran et al.
#6
Japan's economy is dependent on Iranian oil to a very large degree. It would do them and us no good to see their economy collapse and their pro-military government lose office.
So, this makes it worthwhile for us to sit back and watch the torrent of inflated petrodollars flooding into Iran be used to kill our own troops in Iraq and propel genocide against Israel? Japan and other civilized countries need to take the bit between their teeth and threaten Iran with sanctions, if only to show a united front in dealing with the mullahs' nuclear ambitions.
If Japan is so entirely dependent upon Iranian oil, then they have made some extreme errors in judgement. Iran is palpably unstable and long overdue for regime change. If Japan is adamantly opposed to this notion, then they are part of the problem. For them to be wholly subserviant to the whims of a violent thugocracy is simply idiotic.
I will certainly give credit to India for having placed its relationship with Iran at risk during their recent pipeline negotiations.
#7
14% of Japan's oil imports are from Iran. They are in the process of moving away from Iranian oil.
Posted by: ed ||
08/22/2006 14:44 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Japan will propose that the international community refrain from imposing a ban on Iranian oil exports in the first stage of any sanctions that might be imposed should Tehran not halt its uranium enrichment, government sources said.
Japan will call on the international community to impose the sanctions in stages, and to lift the measures as soon as Iran suspends its uranium enrichment, the sources said Sunday.
Doesn't sound like a Japanese refusal to consider Iranian sanctions to me. Especially as the sanctions I expect are a cut off of imports into Iran, especially gasoline, not a cutoff of exports. The sanctions will be designed to foment an internal overthrow of the government.
#10
Japan will call on the international community to impose the sanctions in stages ...
Good input, NS. Hookay, so why is it that, in the face of how dire the threat of Iran's nuclear aspirations are, Japans wants such gradual punative measures put into place? One would think that Japan's collective phobia vis nuclear weapons would vigorously spur them towards much more harsh and swift measures.
[Apologies to the moderators for derailing this thread. Sinktrap as needed.]
#11
Your're correct, Zen that the Japanese have a thing about oil embargoes. Goes back to 1941 at least. All Japan is doing is pointing out that they really get screwed worst by an oil crisis and if there's any way to avoid one, they'd like to. Doesn't seem unreasonable, especially as there are more effective measures that can be taken. I'm hoping we can also get some Kurds lost to blow up a refinery or two.
#12
Oil demand is not very elastic, especially for the Japanese who are already the world leaders in sqeezing value form each barrel. Take out 14% (3M barrels/day) from US supply and imagine the difficulty. It would be even worse in Japan.
Posted by: ed ||
08/22/2006 15:13 Comments ||
Top||
#13
Zenster, I think the book you're thinking of is 'On Thermonuclear War' by Herman Kahn.
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
08/22/2006 15:31 Comments ||
Top||
#14
Economics aside, it sure would be nice to see some unanimity from our allies. I'll be following closely the Air Force's recent foray into synthetic fuel acquisition.
Tony, that's the one. Thank you so much. I really look forward to reading it.
Aug. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Iran attacked and seized control of a Romanian oil rig working in its Persian Gulf waters this morning one week after the Iranian government accused the European drilling company of ``hijacking'' another rig.
An Iranian naval vessel fired on the rig owned by Romania's Grup Servicii Petroliere (GSP) in the Salman field and took control of its radio room at about 7:00 a.m. local time, Lulu Tabanesku, Grup's representative in the United Arab Emirates said in a phone interview from Dubai today. ``The Iranians fired at the rig's crane with machine guns,'' Tabanesku said. ``They are in control now and we can't contact the rig.'' The Romanian company has 26 workers on the platform, he said.
Iran, which holds the world's second-largest oil and gas reserves, is due to respond today to a European Union-led offer of incentives aimed at persuading it to halt uranium enrichment activities that are crucial to its nuclear program. Neither the press office of Iran's oil ministry nor the one of Iran's revolutionary guards could be reached for comment when called. Today is a national holiday in Iran.
Iran urged the United Arab Emirates last week to help it return another oil rig owned and operated by the Romanian company in the same waters close to the Straits of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of the world's daily oil supply moves on tankers. Grup said it recovered its rig last week because of a contractual dispute with its Iranian client, Oriental Oil Kish.
Just how do you repo an oil rig? Wait till they're on a tea break and hotwire the ignition?
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad suspended Oriental Oil's activities in 2005 on alleged corruption activity and ties to Halliburton Co. of the U.S. The U.A.E.-registered drilling company had signed a preliminary contract with Halliburton after winning an estimated $310 million contract to develop phases 9 and 10 of Iran's offshore South Pars gas reservoir.
You just knew Halliburton was involved
Mircea Geoana, the head of the Social Democratic Party, the main opposition party in Romania, called on the government to ``undertake all diplomatic measures necessary'' to persuade the Iranians to release the rig. He also called on President Traian Basescu in a news conference broadcast on Realitatea television to invite all political party heads to the presidential palace to ``discuss what Romania's reaction will be to this provocation.''.
Once upon a time, they'd exchange increasingly hostile notes while the fleet sailed. Sadly, those times seem to have passed.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/22/2006 09:32 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Now I am confused. Is this the 1939 invasion of Poland or 1938 Czechlosovokia invasion parallel?
#6
The rig's owners are locked in a commercial dispute with Iran. Look at this as the equivalent of sending the U.S. Marshals to seize corporate assets.
#7
There appear to be several rigs owned by a Romanian company drilling in Iranian waters under a contract with the Iranian government. There has obviously been a dispute and the Romanian company removed one of the rigs. The Iranians decided to use its military to ensure that the other rig was not removed.
Placing your assets where Ahmanutjob can get his hands on them is pretty stupid.
#8
Next time try going into business with the Nrth Koreans.
Posted by: ed ||
08/22/2006 11:50 Comments ||
Top||
#9
According to Grup Servicii Petroliere, their contract with the Iranian company ended in April. So, after securing permission from the Iranian authorities, they towed their rig 'Fortuna' to the UAE for servicing.
The oil rig in the above article is the 'Orizont', a different rig owned by the same Romanian country.
This site gives a date of August 18 for the seizure of the 'Orizont', despite the Bloomberg article's claim that the whole thing happened "this morning".
The earliest article I could find about the towing of the 'Fortuna' is Aug. 15 (indeed one week ago), although none of the articles specified when that happened.
#11
Between Hezbollah's premature escalation and the British foiling of the massive aerial fireworks display, I think the Iranians were left with no arrows in the quiver for 22 Aug.
The 12th Imam will appear in Bucharest 'cuz he has the hots for Nadja Comaneci, but Imam forgets she lives in the land of Great Satan married to Bart Conner.
An Iran-based website run by the Hezbollah terrorist group - is running this picture (above) of what it claims is the Israeli ship it hit with a missile last month.
Now look at the Royal Australian Navys picture below - as published by Defence Industry Daily - of its sinking of the decommissioned Australian destroyer-escort HMAS Torrens off the coast of Western Australia in 1998 . We were told at the time the Torrens was deliberately sunk by a torpedo fired by one of our own submarines, the HMAS Farncomb.
Should we now think that we were in fact attacked by Hezbollah - or is this just the latest proof that Hezbollah will lie and lie again for propaganda gain?
#1
Joseph Goebbels would be so proud. However, turn around is fair play. Time to photoshop Nasrallah and Abbas in poses with underage boys or farm animals. Hezbollah's febrile propaganda should incense all honorable journalists. Hark! Is that the dull roar of mainstream media outrage I hear in the background?
Posted by: Mike ||
08/22/2006 7:31 Comments ||
Top||
#4
It is the same pic, Bobby - just touched up a bit and cropped. I'd love to see Hezbo explain how it got such a birds-eye view of their "hit". Maybe one of their Hezbo Air Force jets took it. Yeah, that's the ticket!
#7
Any air launched weapon apart from a torpedo will throw up that amount of sea water? Hisbollocks are that waterlogged and their intended readers gotta be that poorly literate.
#8
Spot! My thoughts exactley. Can't imagine the JOOOOOO's would allow anything in the air long enough to take that picture, even if it was a Syrian jet.
#9
Duh!. And it's thier counterparts in Iran making a Nuclear weapon. Where is a Chernoboyl when we need one? Well maybe after they finally enrich the stuff.
#11
Think of it as an education lesson. Sgould be shown on Iranan TV every night. See what will happen when an Iranian corvette is hit by an American Mk-48 torpedo.
Posted by: ed ||
08/22/2006 9:36 Comments ||
Top||
#12
Notice that the ship's back is broken. Those Mk 48s are not to be messed with.
Posted by: Mike ||
08/22/2006 10:05 Comments ||
Top||
#13
It doesn't matter if it was a lie or not. It achieved the propaganda effect to the audience it was intended for.
#15
Same pic (perhaps easier for some to see if you focus on the explosion). Yes on the propaganda--that's why I said Ahminahajib is diabolical. He's good at messing with people's minds. (Of course, he may be Sith, but there's a lot of good Jedi on our side.) Anyway, it's true enough that he can get most of the stupid Moslem world siding with him through stunts like this. (Guess keeping them all uneducated and backwards is going to have quite a payoff for the little man.)
Posted by: ed ||
08/22/2006 11:33 Comments ||
Top||
#20
None of this would explain why the Israel Navy would be blockading Beruit with a ship where all gun turrets have been removed.
Posted by: john ||
08/22/2006 12:07 Comments ||
Top||
#21
Turretless destroyer furthermore! Israel don't possess destroyers esp. of the old genre (easily recogniseable as one). Even their current corvettes have a 75 mm gun turret easily visible.
#24
For the Hezbo's (actually I prefer this nickname of sorts, not wanting to give creadence to a 'party of God' that they like to refer to themselves as, I can think of a variety of other labels here);
On the one hand to learn that this crap is being claimed by these idiots, and actually being taken seriously by the Lebanese, and on the other that aren't the Lebanese people supposidly educated beyond believing this crap, or are they?
Can the Hezbo's really buy love and commitment with their helping rebuild, with the locals not seeing the larger picture here?
I'll have to get my blood pressure meds re upped.
Maybe we can photoshop a shark into the shot getting the suicide bomber jumping off the ship while exploding as well.
Posted by: Jan ||
08/22/2006 13:16 Comments ||
Top||
#25
Zenster, posing them w/young boys or livestock will have absolutely no effect on the arab street as most of the brave warriors of islam are into that anyways. Now, if you had them posing w/some fine lebanese women (aka chattel) that would prolly be more scandolous.
#27
Jan, if you're looking for an alternative term when referring to the murdering, lying abusers of dead children who currently steal oxygen in Southern Lebanon, may I suggest 'Hizbollocks'.
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
08/22/2006 17:18 Comments ||
Top||
#28
For those of you not familiar with the term.
Bollocks: Nonsense, rubbish, especially transparently invented nonsense
#31
Tony,
yeah, I already have a few choice names for them, I was just omitting them here being nice. I do however like the bit about stealing oxygen heh
Posted by: Jan ||
08/22/2006 23:11 Comments ||
Top||
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- U.S. Central Command Air Forces officials have released the airpower summary for Aug. 20 and 21.
Aug. 21
In Afghanistan Aug. 20, Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt IIs provided close-air support for coalition troops in contact with Taliban extremists near Asadabad. The A-10s conducted passes, expending cannon rounds and a general purpose 500-pound bomb, ending the engagement.
A-10s and Royal Air Force Harrier GR-7s provided close-air support for coalition troops in contact with Taliban extremists near Musah Qal'eh. The A-10s conducted passes, expending cannon rounds, general-purpose 500-pound bombs and Guided Bomb Unit-12s on enemy positions ending the engagement.
Additionally, five U.S. Air Force intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, or ISR, aircraft flew missions in support of operations in Afghanistan.
In total, coalition aircraft flew 28 close-air-support missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. These missions included support to coalition and Afghan troops, reconstruction activities and route patrols.
In Iraq, Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons provided close-air support to troops in contact with anti-Iraqi forces near Balad, Kirkuk and Mosul.
Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles provided close-air support to troops in contact with anti-Iraqi forces near Al Iskandariyah.
Additionally, 15 Air Force, Navy and Royal Air Force ISR aircraft flew missions in support of operations in Iraq.
In total, coalition aircraft flew 44 close-air-support missions for Operation Iraqi Freedom. These missions included support to coalition troops, infrastructure protection, reconstruction activities and operations to deter and disrupt terrorist activities.
On Aug. 19, an Air Force rescue and medical crew on a HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter flew one medical evacuation mission in support of OEF. Two U.S. servicemembers and one Afghan National Army patient with injuries requiring urgent care were evacuated as a result of this mission.
Air Force C-130 Hercules and C-17 Globemaster IIIs provided intra-theater heavy airlift support, helping sustain operations throughout Afghanistan, Iraq and the Horn of Africa. They flew 160 airlift sorties, delivered 550 tons of cargo and transported 2,880 passengers. This included more than 10,760 pounds of troop resupply and 8,220 pounds of humanitarian civil assistance airdropped in eastern Afghanistan.
Coalition C-130 crews from Canada and Korea flew in support of either OIF or OEF.
On Aug. 19, U.S., French and Royal Air Force tankers flew 40 sorties and off-loaded almost 2.4 million pounds of fuel.
Aug. 20
In Afghanistan Aug. 19, an Air Force MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle conducted precision strikes on groups of Taliban extremists engaging coalition forces near Kandahar.
A-10s and French Air Force M-2000s provided close-air support for coalition troops in contact with Taliban extremists near Tarin Kowt. The A-10s conducted passes, expending cannon rounds and a general-purpose 500-pound bomb on the extremists' location, ending the engagement.
A B-1 Lancer provided close-air support for coalition troops taking small-arms and mortar fire from Taliban extremists near Khowst. The B-1 expended a GBU-31 and a GBU-38 on the mortar positions, ending the engagement.
A-10s provided close-air support to coalition troops in contact with Taliban extremists near Asadabad. The A-10s conducted passes, expending cannon rounds, GBU-12s and general-purpose 500-pound bombs on the extremists' positions, ending the engagement.
A-10s provided close-air support to coalition troops in contact with Taliban extremists near Bagram. An A-10 expended a GBU-12 on an enemy cave complex, destroying the target and ending the engagement.
A-10s, a B-1 and Royal Air Force GR-7s provided close-air support to coalition troops in contact with Taliban extremists near Musah Qal'eh. The A-10s conducted passes, expending cannon rounds and a general-purpose 500-pound bomb, and the B-1 expended GBU-38s. All munitions were deployed against enemy mortar positions, destroying the targets and ending the engagement.
In a separate engagement near Musah Qal'eh, a B-1 expended GBU-31s and a GBU-38 on an enemy location while providing close-air support to coalition troops in contact with Taliban extremists. The B-1 destroyed the target and ended the engagement.
In another engagement near Musah Qal'eh, A-10s provided close-air support to coalition troops in contact with Taliban extremists. The A-10s conducted passes, expending cannon rounds and a GBU-12 on an extremist location, ending the engagement.
A Predator UAV also provided close-air support to coalition troops in contact with Taliban extremists near Orgun-E.
Additionally, seven Air Force ISR aircraft flew missions in support of operations in Afghanistan.
In total, coalition aircraft flew 29 close-air-support missions in support of OEF. These missions included support to coalition and Afghan troops, reconstruction activities and route patrols.
In Iraq, F-16s provided close-air support to troops in contact with anti-Iraqi forces near Mosul.
Additionally, 13 U.S., RAF and Royal Australian Air Force ISR aircraft flew missions in support of operations in Iraq.
In total, coalition aircraft flew 44 close-air-support missions for OIF. These missions included support to coalition troops, infrastructure protection, reconstruction activities and operations to deter and disrupt terrorist activities.
C-130s and C-17s provided intra-theater heavy airlift support, helping sustain operations throughout Afghanistan, Iraq and the Horn of Africa. They flew 170 airlift sorties, delivered 370 tons of cargo and transported 3,500 passengers. This included more than 6,980 pounds of troop resupply airdropped in eastern Afghanistan.
Coalition C-130 crews from Canada and Japan flew in support of either OIF or OEF.
On Aug. 18, U.S., French and Royal Air Force tankers flew 37 sorties and off-loaded almost 2.4 million pounds of fuel.
#4
There's only one way to make the A-10 asthetically acceptable to pilots: add a SECOND cannon to make it look like a warthog that didn't lose a fight.
#5
When you think about it, it's not really a great number of sorties. However, the training value is priceless. And back home, the asshats, jerks, and complete idiots want to withdraw.
Just the training value of these conflicts is worth extending the status quo for decades. The left is just too blinded by their pussy fear to realize that we have the ME by the nuts.
In WW2, the Japanese lost their experienced pilots in the battle of Midway. The result was the Marianas turkey shoot. Experienced warplane pilots are hard and timely to replace.
#6
And if memory serves, there was a time, in the not too distant past, the USAF wanted out of the A-10 busines. When you cut through all the crap, it boiled down to the fact that the Warthog wasn't sexy enough for the ascot boys.
My my, how times have changed.....
#7
Don't kid yourself, they still want out of the A-10 business, but they know Congress would give them to the Army if they did and the worst thing that could happen to the AF is for the Army to have a fixed wing combat craft. That's why they're having fits over Army UAVs.
#4
Mr. Pruitt, are you home rearly because you had a run-in with the ATF regarding your dynamite fishing? Gee, if you had to pay a fine, I guess the readers here could tip the tip jar.
#20
AH, yes, the Rantburg skool of wit and wisdom.
No matter the subject someone knows the answer. Any other questions, class?
LOLClearly I am a child playing with pebbles on the shore...
#22
per Legoal' link: US defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld was leery about any Israeli military offensive against Hizballah, fearing complications for the US army in Iraq at the peak of a surging sectarian civil war.
But Olmert talked Rice into asking President George W. Bush to back the air offensive. The US president acceded only laying down two basic conditions: Israel must confine itself to an air campaign; before embarking on a ground offensive, a further American go-ahead would be required. The second was a promise to spare Lebanons civilian infrastructure and only go for Hizballahs positions and installations.
#24
TW, a huge grain of salt is in order when you read Debka explaining how all the problems are due to people outside of the sometimes corrupt Israeli leadership.
#25
(1)I think there was plenty of blame on israeli leadership if you read the entire article, (2)I do take debka with a grain of salt, however (3)after having read them for several years I find then right more often than not )4) after watching this whole thing play out, it is a definite possiblity
#27
OK! I'll give it a try. "A shuttlecock is a high-drag projectile used in the sport of badminton. It has an open conical shape, with a rounded head at the apex......"
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.
AN advance party of Australian engineers will begin work in Afghanistan tomorrow in helping rebuild the war-torn country. The defence department tonight said the first members of the 400-strong Reconstruction Task Force (RTF) will join a small team already on the ground preparing for the arrival of the main force. "The advance party will focus on preparation of base facilities and logistic support infrastructure for the main force," Defence said in a statement. "The RTF will begin planning reconstruction activities immediately, however works are not expected to commence until late November." Most of the task force would begin work in Afghanistan in late September with the final elements expected to deploy in November, Defence said.
NATO security force in Afghanistan killed nine rebels, including a man believed to be a prominent commander, in a "precision" air strike in the insurgency-hit south, the force said on Monday. The raid was launched shortly before midnight Sunday in Nowzad in Helmand. The ISAF said it believed that among those killed in the operation in Nowzad district was a "prominent insurgent" thought to have planned rebel activities "as well as managing insurgent re-supply in the area". 
(IsraelNN.com) Saudi Arabia security personnel killed two terrorists Monday in the Red Sea city of Jeddah after a day-long stand-off. Two other terrorists also were in the building which Saudi state television said is under siege by police and soldiers.
Four militants surrendered to security forces in Jeddah yesterday after a 17-hour gunbattle. They included two men who had escaped from a prison near Riyadh in July. Authorities came under fire as they attempted to enter and arrest the suspects in a residential building in Jeddahs Al-Jamia district, according to Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour Al-Turki. The arrested militants had light injuries.
British Police have charged 11 people in connection with an alleged plot to blow up United States-bound planes. Counter-terrorism prosecutor Susan Hemming says eight were charged with conspiracy to murder and preparing acts of terrorism; 
The outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) has claimed its responsibility for Saturday's gas pipeline explosion in the eastern Turkish province of Agri, local Cihan News Agency reported on Monday. The PKK was quoted as saying the attack was a "warning" to both Turkey and Iran as they were carrying out joint military operations against the PKK in northern Iraq. 
(IsraelNN.com) Germany is in shock following the arrest of a Muslim who planned to bomb commuter trains, and Chancellor Angela Markel stated Monday that the country must begin using video cameras and other means to track down terrorists. Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in an interview on German public television that he fears attacks by Muslims who were raised in the country. "We don't know anymore who is living among us."
Lebanon's military intelligence agency gave German authorities information that led to the arrest of a Lebanese man the Germans suspect planted suitcase bombs at two train stations, German prosecutors said on Monday. "The decisive tipoff about the arrested suspect came on Friday evening from the military intelligence agency in Lebanon," said Frauke-Katrin Scheuten, spokeswoman for the German Federal Prosecutors office.
NEW DELHI - Indian police were on Tuesday conducting a major search for two armed men seen near an atomic power plant, two television stations reported. NDTV said police had sealed off the Kakrapar plant near Surat in the western state of Gujarat. It said the pair had entered the plant. CNN-IBN said a special paramilitary force was brought in after the armed pair were spotted near the plant.
Islamabad, Aug. 22 (PTI): Pakistan's disgraced nuclear scientist A Q Khan has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, an official spokesman said here today. 
QUETTA: Security forces have detained 10 Afghan nationals in the border areas of Chaman and Dalbundian for trying to illegally cross the border into Pakistan, while two others were arrested for suspected involvement in terrorist activities. "These Afghans have been held under the Foreigners' Act," an official source told Daily Times. "They are being investigated by the Federal Investigation Agency. Once the investigation is completed, they would be handed back to Afghan authorities."
Intelligence agencies have captured two suspected members of 
Four suspected militants were arrested on Monday for alleged involvement in terror plots in the country. Two suspected militants, Anwarul Haq and Usman Ghani, were arrested for their alleged involvement in a suicide attack on the US consulate on March 2 that killed US diplomat 
(KUNA) -- Iraqi Health Ministry said on Sunday that the final death toll in armed attacks which targeted thousands of Shiite Muslim pilgrims in the Iraqi capital has risen to 322 killed and injured. A source from the Iraqi Health Ministry said the final victims' death toll is 20 people were killed and 302 injured, with varying degrees of injuries.
(KUNA) -- Unknown gunmen killed one Iraqi civilian and injured six others on Monday in al-Kazimeya north of the capital while court was in session for former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and six of his accomplices. Iraqi security sources said gunmen opened fire in the afternoon on a crowd gathered in the Adan area which resulted in killing and injuring seven people.
GAZA - Israeli tanks entered the eastern area of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday and troops clashed with Palestinian fighters there, wounding at least three militants, witnesses and Palestinian sources said. The Israeli army said it was checking the report.
(KUNA) -- Unidentified gunmen opened fire Monday on a security officer in Gaza but he was not harmed, eyewitnesses said. The witnesses added the gunmen opened fire on a senior Palestinian national security officer while he was in a military vehicle and that two of his bodyguards were wounded. Police and Palestinian security forces rushed to the scene to investigate the incident, according to the witnesses.
(KUNA) -- The Palestinian Fatah movement declared on Monday responsibility for a rocket attack on the town of Askalan, South of Israel. In a statement circulated here today, the Ahmad Abulrish Martyr Brigades, an armed wing of the Palestinian Fatah movement, said that one of its groups have been able to launch four Amro-3 rockets on the town of Askalan in southern Israel.
(IsraelNN.com) Clashes between rival clans have left one person dead and four others injured in shootouts in Rafiah, located on the Israeli-Egyptian border, and Khan Yunis, adjacent to destroyed Jewish communities. Gunmen opened fired on a house in Rafiah and killed a friend who was visiting one of the rival clans. The incident in Khan Yunis occurred on the Mediterranean beach.
(IsraelNN.com) IDF special forces arrested a Tanzim terrorist Monday afternoon in the village of Azun, on the road from Kfar Saba to the Samarian communities of Karnei and Ginot Shomron, Kedumim and Emanuel. An M-16 semi-automatic rifle was found in the house where the terrorist was hiding out. The village of Azun has been the source of frequent firebombing, stoning and shooting attacks on Jewish motorists.
(IsraelNN.com) The Israeli Air Force targeted the home of an Islamic Jihad terrorist last Monday night. The army warned the residents of the impending strike and no one was injured in the missile strike. The home was used to store weapons, the army reported. The strike occurred in the village of Jabalya in the northern part of the Gaza region.
