al-Rooters, of course
British Marines attacked a Taliban-held valley in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday but withdrew after a ferocious counterattack that withstood air strikes and artillery fire, witnesses said. One Royal Marine was killed and a second wounded during the battle, the UK Helmand Task Force (UKTF) said. My sympathies to the families.
Scores of soldiers ran across a bridge over the Helmand River under a full moon shortly before daybreak and began sweeping south through wheatfields in the south of the province, the opium center of the world's major producer.
A Reuters cameraman said the Marines initially faced only sporadic resistance but when they advanced, Taliban fighters launched a ferocious, organized riposte they had a sword?
with heavy weapons like a ... 133mm gun? 120mm mortar? More likely a RPG or 60mm mortar
and tried to outflank the British troops.
The fierce resistance illustrated the challenges facing the NATO troops in Afghanistan where they are trying to subdue well-armed Taliban and other militants bolstered by profits from a record opium crop, according to Afghan and foreign officials.
Major Andy Plewes, who led the Royal Marines of Zulu Company 45 Commando, on the assault, said the soldiers had expected resistance: "What we didn't know was how strong it was. We don't currently have enough forces in the area to hold ground completely and that has to be done by Afghan security forces," he told a Reuters reporter with the Marines.
The 32,000-strong force NATO-led International Security Assistance Force took over command of the war against the Taliban from U.S.-led forces in October and has launched a string of offensives.
British casualties have been mounting since ISAF took over command of operations in southern Afghanistan at the end of July. Britain has lost 41 soldiers since the Taliban government was toppled in 2001, the bulk of them this year. And how many talibunnies are dead? Eh?
The British forces, who make up the bulk of NATO forces in Helmand, opened fire from light armored vehicles and engaged small groups of guerrillas with mortars and machine guns. Ah, so by "heavy weapons" he means crew-served light weapons.
Afghan police and soldiers have so far held just the bridgehead and the short road at the north end of the valley, criss-crossed by networks of ancient canals that make Helmand fertile enough to produce a third of the world's opium crop.
BARRAGES OF AIR STRIKES Ummmm, Barrages come from artillery. Dude.
The Taliban withstood barrages of air strikes from Apache helicopters, 500 pound bombs dropped by B1 bombers and withering cannon fire from A-10 attack jets before the British finally withdrew after a 10-hour battle. 10 hours of combat ya say? Against a company of Royal Marines with supporting arms? And the Brits retreated?? Musta run outta targets to kill.
The fearless, strong, brave and handsome Taliban fighters, who say they have the expertise to defeat the strongest army, had dug sophisticated networks of trenches often leading from compound to compound. Sophisticated trenches? WTF izzat? Cable TV, Wine Cellar, iPod stereo? Prolly not. I think they mean the holes in the ground were almost linear.
This year has seen the worst fighting since U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban's strict Islamist government in 2001. About 4,000 people have died, a quarter of them civilians. And the rest of the dead were...NATO or US troops?
The alliance troops were deployed to aid reconstruction and to help Afghanistan's government by build stability. But they have been increasingly drawn into battles with the Taliban and other militants in the opium poppy-growing south. Heh. Notice the editorial comment about opium.
Tuesday's assault was the latest in a series of battles by British forces around the bridgehead.
Major Plewes said he considered the assault a success as they had cleared out areas near the "D.C.," a tiny strip of road and ruined buildings on the eastern side of the Helmand River.
But without more Afghan troops to hold the ground there was little hope of doing much more.
"In the mean time we have to try to provide as much as security to the D.C. as possible," said Plewes. Any enemy dead from the marine company...or the arty...or the B1...or apache...or A10? Nothing hit and the Brits forced to retreat by the brave lions of islam? Come on, this is actually an AP report, correct?
#1
Again, for the umpteenth time: Why did we invent the MOAB bomb if we didn't intend to use it?
I'll bet that would fuc& up their trench system and whatever else but good!
Like you said, it all centers around the drug trade being their lifeblood. You'd do better with a KC-10 or two full of Roundup(TM). Imagine the headlines: "Taliban Ultimately Defeated by Roundup(TM)". Not so manly, I guess.
#4
For the Umpteeth time + 1, the MOAB requires a certain time warning to use, since it's dropped out of a cargo plane, say 2 weeks. The weapon was a very successful exercise in high speed engineering. Nothing more, nothing less. Less than 5 exist.
#7
the MOAB requires a certain time warning to use, since it's dropped out of a cargo plane, say 2 weeks
They're not using this concept to its full potential by any means. Shame. Could have saved a lot of effort here.
Perhaps the MOAB bomb as it exists today is a bit of an overkill. Maybe a 5000 pounder would be more practical. If they are whining about not using it "because it's too heavy" then just lighten it up.
I don't see why cargo planes need two weeks notice to pick up a 20000# load. It's what they do.
#13
Also, the restraint of these soldiers is almost superhuman. If the a$$hole who wrote this was anywhere near me in a combat zone, I doubt very much that I could resist the impulse to put one behind his ear. He and his ilk are the enemy.
#14
The Rooters byline is Peter Graff. Oddly enough, Peter Graff of Rooters, or another guy with the same name, was reporting from London not two weeks ago on the Litvinenko murder, as shown here. Reggie Bush doesn't get around that fast. Or is the story based mostly on the unnamed, affiliation-unstated, Rooters "cameraman"?
Posted by: Matt ||
12/05/2006 22:02 Comments ||
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#15
That's why it should be SOP when all reporters enter the AOR they are told in no uncertain terms by team members what is expected of them wrt their adjectives in a story.
I like to ask folks their name, share a cup of joe, and then tell them how easy it would be for me to find them via ZABA search when I get back home.
#16
Gentlemen, it is time to kick out the fake "News" fluffers and take care of business. I have not the time, beer, nor the marijuana, to watch this continually for another 5 years. Afghanistan is a PC free zone. See how that works.
#3
Actually, I thought there were some interesting details underneath the propaganda. Of 4000 dead, only 100 foreigners? Jihad tourism isn't as popular as it used to be, at least not in Afghanistan. And it doesn't seem to be as popular in Iraq, either. So where are the maddened masses of wannabe jihadis going to get their fix, one is forced to wonder? Or, perhaps, is it a truly radical fringe, not 10% any longer of Muslims, perhaps well under 1% after four years of excitable lads disappearing into the maw of the Crusader war machine? Of course, I haven't gotten to page 2 of the article yet...
#8
Thank you, MacNails dear. I had some poetry published once, when I was but a slip of a schoolgirl, and clearly never got over it. ;-)
Mike, don't forget:
3. Make video wearing conventional jihadi costume, in which all is concealed but the whites of one's eyes. Don't worry, it should only take 20 or 30 takes to get through the traditional lines without muffing it: "I am ___ ibn _______ al _______ al __________ the Jihadi! (So your parents will be able to recognize you when the cassette appears in their mailbox) I give my blood and my life for Allah and the Caliphate! When I send the Crusaders and the Hinjoos to Hell, Allah will put burning coals in the their bellies, while I cavort with my allotment of 72 cow-eyed young virgins!... or is it raisins? God, I hope it isn't raisins..."
#9
"Excitable lads disappearing into the maw of the Crusader war machine."
Dang. That *is* catchy, almost like an advertising slogan.
"We're the Taliban, and we've been sending gullible young to their horrible deaths for years now. Hate you life? Hate your parents? Want to have sex with 72 scantily-clad virgins? Then join us today!"
Reading the NATO web site, it does appear that some of our allies, though reluctant to engage in combat, have no trouble blowing away any Afghan drivers that get too close. The site reveals about one incident a week where tailgating is a capital offense.
#14
In a war zone, getting too close without a good reason probably is a capital offense, all the more so with the invention of Islamic autos-da-fe (homicide bombing by vehicle as an act of sacrificial martyrdom).
#15
For shame, Anguper Hupomosing9418! I had to read to the end of your post to fully grasp the subtlety of that pun! And technically in two languages, too -- is auto da fe Latin or Spanish?
#16
"Auto de fe" in medieval Spanish means "act of faith"
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
12/05/2006 12:26 Comments ||
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#17
Nothing new, TW. We used to do the same thing in Vietnam, only it was a couple of shots into a 3-inch mat in the tailgate of the truck. The bike-boys would move back 20 or 30 feet after a round was fired. We had one incident where the round passed all the way through the padding, went through both pieces of the tailgate, and hit some Vietnamese motorbike, killing a chicken. The chicken cost 40P (about 35c), but the poor guy that fired the round was charged $123.50 to replace the tailgate.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/05/2006 13:31 Comments ||
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KANDAHAR - First came a deafening crash as the suicide bomber drove his vehicle headlong into a Nato convoy.
It was followed almost instantly by a stomach-churning blast that roared through the crowded streets of Kandahar. Then the flames began to erupt. It was followed immediately by prolonged gunfire, screeching of tyres, and the screams of people as we ran for shelter a hundred yards away.
As the sirens began and helicopter-gunships began to circle overhead, there was nothing much left of the suicide bomber amid the smouldering pile of blackened twisted metal which had been his car.
A British Land Rover with its machine guns jaggedly sticking up in the air had been catapulted on to the central reservation. Two other vehicles had lurched to stops and lay abandoned amid pools of blood, pockmarked with bullet holes.
Sunday's attack was aimed at a British Royal Marines convoy returning to Helmand. Three civilians were killed, 18 others were injured as were three of the marines. It took place on the main route to the airport, nicknamed the Baghdad Highway by the locals, in Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taleban, and where their resurgence has led to months of ferocious fighting.
Continued on Page 49
#1
Splitting Afghanistan makes sense. The main obstacle is the UN and it's territorial integrity tranzi nonsense. If the Uzbeks and Tadjiks and the rest can get along then cut the Pashtuns loose. It will stop the nonsense of the Germans and Italians patrolling the North where is no real problem.
#2
posing pulitzer pud puller: It was followed almost instantly by a stomach-churning blast that roared through the crowded streets of Kandahar. Then the flames began to erupt. It was followed immediately by prolonged gunfire, screeching of tyres, and the screams of people as we ran for shelter a hundred yards away.
stomach-churning, yep decribes my gut reaction to just about all "journalism".
#3
"pools of blood"? Granted, I've never been so much as in a traffic accident with injuries (we just aren't going to discuss fender benders, 'k? I was meant to have a chauffeur, it isn't my fault life has not seen fit to comply!), but pools of blood sounds a bit exaggerated under the circumstances. "Deafening crash" sounds a bit much, as well. I've never heard one of those, although in my experience the moment at which the fender is bent is always heart wrenching.
Perhaps those of you who have actually experienced such things, or police or paramedics, could enlighten me in my ignorance? Just in general terms, if you don't mind -- I'm not at all good with gory details, except in real life emergencies.
#4
Fortune cookie: When you stop identifying the Taliban as your terrorist enemy, don't be surprised when deals you took for granted crumble all around you.
#5
phil_b: Splitting Afghanistan makes sense. The main obstacle is the UN and it's territorial integrity tranzi nonsense.
I am baffled by this weird Westphalian thing where a state's borders are treated as sacrosanct no matter what tinpot dictator is running the place or what European quack drew the line on the map in the first place (regrettably including Churchill as junior quack for his creation of Iraq).
#6
Wife: The adult human has about 5-6 liters of blood in it. As with most liquids, a little looks like a lot. Take a cup of water and spill it onto a mop-friendly surface and look at what you get. Most people will tend to overestimate blood loss because of this.
As for "pools", I guess it's how you define a pool versus a puddle. Puddles of blood do not sound quite so gory.
#7
The "weird Westphalian thing" comes out of the religious wars of the 1500's and 1600's, where about 1/3 of the population of what is now Germany was killed in the fighting and looting. The killing as different factions tried to remake nations along religious lines really made an impression on the European psyche, hence the "sanctity" of national sovereignty, whatever it is, the way it is. The only worse trauma to affect the Euros was the Great War (1914-1945) which seems to have led them to contemplate collective, passive suicide as an alternative to having a future of their active choice.
#8
I'm sure Chuck's experiences are the best to draw on here for "pools of blood". The only combat I saw was mostly at "long range" - I.E., at least 50 feet. Most of the time we didn't even see our enemies fall, and only knew of our "success" after we mopped up the battlefield. Hurricanes and tornados, both of which I've had experience with, tend to leave bodies either broken but unpunctured, or simply not there.
My take of this article is that the Taliban are losing, and it scares the bejesus out of Rooters. Can't have the West win! I think the "winter offensive" will be VERY offensive to the taliban, and a Godsend to the US, Brits and Canadians. We need to begin slapping the Pashtuns in the NWFP around a bit harder, and completely flatten Quetta, where all the taliban wounded go for rest and recovery. Screw pakiwakiland. They've proved to be disingenuous, and supportive of the taliban against us. The friends of my enemies are my enemies. Pakland needs to be crushed and left in total ruin. It couldn't be reborn any worse than it is now. Best bet is to give it to India and Afghanistan, and let it disappear from the earth. Screw "sanctity of nations". They're only sacrosanct if they behave themselves. Pakland has NEVER "behaved" itself, and needs to be wiped away.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/05/2006 13:43 Comments ||
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#9
Pakland needs to be crushed and left in total ruin. It couldn't be reborn any worse than it is now.
While I agree with you, there's this ticklish little problem with Pakistan's nuclear weapons. I'd like to think that we have the capability of confiscating or securing their arsenal, but do we? Pakistan reborn with those nukes in radical Muslim hands would be a lot worse than it currently is.
In the remote desert of southern Afghanistan, a struggle is intensifying between British troops and the forces of the Taleban.
Around 5,800 UK troops are stationed in Afghanistan, following the US-led invasion in October 2001, and so far more than 40 have been killed.
The majority of the deployment is in Helmand which is an area of major Taleban activity and opium production.
Amid battle scenes that have been described by one commander as the most intense "since the Korean War", the BBC's Alastair Leithead, award-winning cameraman Fred Scott and field producer Peter Emmerson spent nine days embedded with UK forces in southern Helmand province, facing the risk of ambush and attack.
During the trip, the BBC team gained unique, prolonged access to the soldiers of the Royal Marines 3 Commando Brigade as they fight a shifting and elusive Taleban threat. Video is on upper right corner of the screen. Disregard message at the bottom of the screen.
(KUNA) -- British forces opened fire amid a stand-off as they tried to get three wounded marines to safety after a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed Monday. Three members of 45 Commando were injured, one seriously, and two Afghan civilians were killed in the blast as a bomber tried to ram the British vehicles in Kandahar yesterday, the MoD said.
But as British forces attempted to transport the casualties to a safe helicopter landing spot they found themselves being pursued by several civilian vehicles, the MoD added. One of the vehicles weaved in front of them in an attempt to block the way, an MoD spokeswoman said.
Despite flares being let off and warning shots fired, some of the pursuers continued to approach the rescuers. "Further shots had to be fired to disable the vehicles," she added. The MoD confirmed that reports that some civilians may have been injured were being investigated.
One of the injured marines was described as "seriously ill", while the others are said to be in a stable condition. "The injured servicemen received first aid at the scene before being evacuated by UK helicopter," the spokeswoman continued. "They are currently receiving medical treatment at an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) medical facility," she said. Next of kin have all been informed and the convoy has returned to Camp Bastion, in Helmand province.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2006 00:00 ||
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Militias fought members of a former rebel group in the main town in the Darfur region of Sudan on Monday in clashes which the rebels said left up to seven people dead. Violence erupted after truckloads of men from the Janjaweed militia, which the Sudan government is accused of backing, entered the town of El Fasher and started looting the market, witnesses and the former rebels said.
The Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), a rebel group that signed a peace deal with the government in May, said five members of its armed wing were killed. The death toll could not be independently confirmed. "We have five martyrs ... two other civilians were also killed," SLM Secretary-General Mustafa Teerab told Reuters. "They (the Janjaweed) looted some shops in the market and then fled," he said.
The African Union, which has a 7,000-strong force in Darfur, said it was investigating the cause of the clashes. "We have unconfirmed reports that five people were seriously wounded and two people were killed from the SLM," an African Union spokesman in Khartoum said.
Rights groups say the Sudanese government adopted the Janjaweed as an auxiliary force when rebellion flared in the remote western region of Darfur in 2003 after rebels took up arms against the government, charging it with neglect. Khartoum denies supporting the Janjaweed.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2006 00:00 ||
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The Algerian military has launched an offensive against Al Qaida-aligned insurgents. The Algerian military has sent ground and air units in the mountains in the southern region in an effort to dislodge forces of the Salafist Brigade for Combat and Call. Security sources said military units have been operating in the regions of Batna and Biskra, about 400 kilometers southeast of Algiers.
The sources said the offensive was launched in wake of a series of Salafist strikes. In the latest attack on Nov. 21, a Salafist unit fired an anti-aircraft missile that downed a military helicopter in Batna. On Nov. 30, the Algerian daily Al Khaber reported that 10 Salafist operatives have been killed so far in the military operation. The newspaper said the military clashed with Salafist fighters twice over the last week.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
An armed man fired on the U.S. embassy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Tuesday, before he was shot and wounded by police, security officials said. The gunman, who was armed with an automatic weapon, is now being grilled by the security authorities over the pre-dawn attack against the well-guarded embassy northeast of Sanaa.
That worked out well for you, didn't it, Mahmoud the Not-Too-Bright Weasel?
No, no, no, no, this can't be ...
Two Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) members were injured at the city's Lalbagh on Sunday when criminals hurled bombs at the law enforcers during a raid that yielded arrest of six. The Rab team also seized two firearms, two bullets and a few homemade bombs from the spot during the raid, said a Rab press release.
Acting on a tip-off, a team of Rab-10 conducted the raid at 8 No Daroga Bari at Shahidnagar in Lalbagh at around 5:30pm where the criminals were planning to commit some crimes. So far so good ...
Sensing the presence of the law enforcers, ... "Hark! Our spider senses are tingling!"
... the criminals threw bomb at them from the second floor of the building, leaving the two Rab members wounded. No fair! Dacoits aren't supposed to have bombs!
The Rab team then encircled the house, broke in and beat the crap out of arrested the criminals with the firearms, ammunition and explosives, the press release said. The arrestees are Liton, 24, Monir, 18, Rubel, 20, Jasim, 20, Kiran Shikdar, 22, and Anwar, 18. All of whom will star in a Crossfire Gazette in the near future ...
Liton sustained injury to his legs during the raid and was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) for treatment.
"Hokay, Liton, we're going to set your leg now."
"Ummm, Doc, ain'tcha going to give me an anesthetic?"
[SNAP] [POP] [CRACKLE] [TWIST]
"OOOOoooooouuccchh!"
"No."
Though Rab branded him as a member of the criminal group, Liton, however, claimed to be innocent and said that a bomb fell near him while he was walking by the road. "I was just walking my unclean dog, see, ..."
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/05/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Jeez, can't they follow the script? You are supposed to open random, ineffective fire, not hurl bombs which might hurt someone.
Of course, they weren't taking someone who had "confessed" to "recover an arms cache," so maybe the script doesn't apply.
#4
Sounds like complacency setting in: last week the RAB Maritime Division suffered a loss and now this. Time for some "Miscreant 101" refresher training.
Islamabad - Pakistani intelligence agencies claimed to have exposed a terrorist plot involving the use of hijacked helicopters by militants, the English-language Daily Times newspaper reported Monday.
Radical groups planned to seize helicopters operated by courier services, welfare organisations and government departments to carry out terrorist acts, intelligence service source told the paper.
It was not clear if the aircraft were to be crashed into targets or used to launch conventional aerial attacks. The Pakistani Interior Ministry reportedly responded by stepping up security around aircraft fleets across the country.
Warnings were also issued against Iraqi-style kidnapping and killing of senior government officials.
Something doesn't track. The terrs got a buncha unemployed chopper pilots laying around? Is this a practice run, by the ISI, for something else, mebbe?
#1
What better platform to carry a nuke over a city?
Who watches the lifeflights over LA? Or a traffic/news copter? They scoot around as unseen as ambulances.
#2
Skid - It would have to be a small nuke (beyond the technical capabilities of most likely suspects) or a big helicopter - I think your standard entry-level nuke would fall right through the floor of a Bell Ranger or such.
Dirty bomb, anthrax, etc. would work, but would work at least as well in a Piper Cub, and they're a lot easier to fly. The most likely helicopter risk I can think of is a kidnapping.
#4
I think this would have to be taken to mean that the chopper pilot was forced to fly the aircraft, as you cannot just jump in one of these things and go avaiting.
And I would stongly suggest the civil aircraft community keep an extra eye out for something like this. You could really foul things up by just crashing a Piper Cub or a JetRanger into any freeway at rush hour. A light plane into the Seattle Convention Center would snarl our local economy for probably 2 weeks minimum.
#5
A friend of mine was a bombardier on B-36s during his Air Force career. He said that the average weapon on a B-36 weighed 17,500 pounds, and took four men to activate. They wore lead aprons to reduce the possibility of excessive radiation exposure. These were late-model fission and early-model fusion weapons. The reason those aircraft (and later B-47 and B-52 aircraft) were so big is that nukes aren't small or light. Yeah, we miniaturized them later, but that took a ton of R&D and decades of research. Even a "suitcase nuke" weighs in the range of 30-40 pounds, and only God knows how long it can sit around and still be effective. Radioactive half-life is the enemy of nuke weapons.
It's more likely that a helicopter plot in pakiwakiland would be aimed at Perv. One helicopter, one car, big explosion, no survivors.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/05/2006 14:19 Comments ||
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#6
But wouldn't it take out a LOT of moonbats? I mean there seems to be such a density thingy going on there... Lol.
A special court Monday ended Indias largest terrorism case by finding 100 people guilty out of 123 accused in the 1993 Mumbai bombings case after a decade of trials, the chief prosecutor said. The court, headed by Judge Pramod Kode, convicted six people Monday, taking the total number of convictions to 100. Another 23 were acquitted of any role in serial blasts across Indias financial hub that killed 257 people.
The six men convicted Monday Bashir Khairulla, Zahir Hussain, Abdul Khan, Firoz Mallik, Moin Qureshi and Salim Shaikh could face the death penalty. They were convicted of participating in weapons and explosives training in Pakistan in January 1993, participating in planning meetings, packing the powerful RDX explosive used in the blast into cars and scooters and lobbing hand grenades in a Mumbai suburb. Public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said prosecution and defence lawyers would begin arguments on sentencing next week, a process that could take up to a month. This is a historic case. Never before in Indian history have 100 people been convicted in a single case, Nikam told reporters.
The trial, described as Indias longest, began on June 6, 1995. Kode began delivering the judgments in September. The court convicted eight people for planting 13 bombs, of which twelve exploded across the city, including landmarks like the stock exchange. At least ten people were found guilty of being trained in terrorist camps across the border in Pakistan, while five policemen and four customs officials were found guilty of abetting in the conspiracy.
Sentencing for those convicted, including Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt for possessing weapons but not for a charge linked to the attacks, will be announced in January, said Nikam.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2006 00:00 ||
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(KUNA) -- US Army announced Monday killing two militants, arresting six suspected terrorists and destroying a car packed with explosives in a raid in northern Iraq earlier today. A US Army release said intelligence reports pin pointed a hideout used by terrorists linked to Al-Qaeda, adding that the location was used as a workshop for rigging vehicles with explosives.
US forces stormed the targeted building and engaged in an armed clash with two militants, who were killed in the firefight. While clearing the building, the forces discovered a vehicle loaded with explosives and set them off safely. They arrested six suspected terrorists at the hideout, seized a cache of weapons including ammunition, 13 artillery shells, several AK-47 assualt rifles and small arms.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2006 00:00 ||
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(KUNA) -- Iraqi police thwarted on Monday a kidnapping attempt of media figure and assistant information dean Abdulsalam Al-Samer in the Iraqi capital. An Interior Ministry told reporters unknown gunmen kidnapped the assistant dean close to the area of his residence in Al-Doura and took him to unknown location. Police then chased the kidnappers and succeeded in freeing Al-Samer, but not after killing four of the kidnappers.
The Interior Ministry said in a statement that Interior Minister Jawad Al-Bolani gave orders to honor policemen involved in the operation for their tremendous efforts. Iraqi police clashed with the kidnappers on Al-Doura highway, killing the accomplices and freeing the hostage within an hour of the kidnapping, the Iraqi source said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Seems like good news. I wonder how long it took for the kidnappers to die - ideally long enough to tell who they were working for and where they were going. If not, then at least say it was.
Posted by: Ranchin B. Hard ||
12/05/2006 14:14 Comments ||
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#2
And to think, the Israelis pleaded with the Arabs to stay in 1948. They need to rethink their position. Arabs and non-arabs can't mix - the Arabs won't allow it. Expel them to Saudi Arabia or Iran - they'll love it there.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/05/2006 14:27 Comments ||
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#3
Historically let us be clear. Muslim murder for land-theft of Jewish lands has been going on since Muhamhead turned on the Jewish tribes in Median.
#4
Does anyone have any info or links on Israeli citizens' CCW rights? If I were this guy, I'd be carrying regardless of the law, but I certainly hope this right is respected there.
BTW, where I grew up (South Dakota) we refer to "cow-farmers" as "ranchers".
Posted by: Dar ||
12/05/2006 14:47 Comments ||
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#5
BTW, where I grew up (South Dakota) we refer to "cow-farmers" as "ranchers".
Where I grew up, a man that had "cows" was most likely a Dairyman and Ranchers ran cattle (steers) mostly, with a certain percentage of cows kept for breeding.
#6
Israelis don't need CCW when they openly carry M16s and Uzis.
Posted by: ed ||
12/05/2006 16:47 Comments ||
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#7
I think if I lived in Israel and saw Arabs on my land I'd be gunning them down and dumping the corpses on the doorstep of the local police department. What the Arabs respect is force and that's all that will bring peace to Israel.
Posted by: mac ||
12/05/2006 17:14 Comments ||
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#8
I'd take them apart in a heartbeat. Chop them up, and turn the hogs loose to lick things up real tidy like.
JERUSALEM Israels military, which has been accused of abuses in its war against Hezbollah this summer, has declassified photographs, video images and prisoner interrogations to buttress its accusation that Hezbollah systematically fired from civilian neighborhoods in southern Lebanon and took cover in those areas to shield itself from attack.
Lebanon and international human rights groups have accused Israel of war crimes in the 34 days of fighting in July and August, saying that Israel fired into populated areas and that civilians accounted for a vast majority of the more than 1,000 Lebanese killed. Israel says that it tried to avoid civilians, but that Hezbollah fired from civilian areas, itself a war crime, which made those areas legitimate targets.
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/05/2006 8:36 Comments ||
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#3
A third Hezbollah man, Maher Kourani, said group members had worn civilian clothes, tried never to show their weapons, and traveled in ordinary civilian cars. We use Volvos, Mercedes, BMW, he said. We use Range Rovers, too.
Nice sets of wheels if you can get them i s'pose . I guess we can hazard a guess as to where international releif funds were spent . Ordinary civilian cars indeed *scoff* . Makes targeting easier aswell .. brand new Range Rover or that burnt out delapidated Skoda for target aquisition please base1 ?
#4
Waste of the Israelis time. Those who hate them will neither care for the truth or change their hateful opinions even in the face of overwhelming evidence.
#5
Describes everything perfectly, 'Moose. Short of using nukes, what could Israel possibly do that would increase the enmity shown them by virtually everyone on the planet?
Nothing, Ehud, nothing.
The US approaches this same status... We may be the Great Satan, but we're still second-fiddle to Israel in the Hate Marathon... by a hair or two, anyway.
#6
Waste of the Israelis time. Those who hate them will neither care for the truth or change their hateful opinions even in the face of overwhelming evidence.
Worse than that, there are many decent people who would care but they will never know about this because the MSM will not tell them.
#7
Phase 2 should begin with nuking Beirut, Damascus, the Bekaa, and everything between the Israeli border and the Latani River. It won't make any difference in world opinion, and it will certainly spare Israeli lives. Just make sure the wind is out of the south.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/05/2006 14:34 Comments ||
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#8
OP--add to that the forcible expulsion of all Muslims from Israel, Gaza and the WB. Send the raghead sons of whores back to their brethren and let's see how their Arab brothers and sisters treat them. Israel needs to realize that it doesn't matter what they do or how justified they are, they will never get any credit for it from the MSM or the UN. So they should tell the MSM and UN to go fuck themselves and take all the actions necessary to defend their land and property. World opinion goes with a winner--period.
Posted by: mac ||
12/05/2006 17:20 Comments ||
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Undercover IDF soldiers stormed a Tulkarm cafe and gunned down a prominent Fatah militant Monday evening, Palestinians witnesses said. Residents of the northern West Bank city said Mahmoud Aved al-Al, 20, an al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades operative from the Gaza Strip, was killed. The witnesses said a 12-year-old boy was critically wounded, and a second Fatah militant was moderately wounded, in the raid.
IDF sources confirmed that units entered Tulkarm and surrounded the establishment after receiving intelligence that the fugitive - who they say was in the midst of planning a suicide attack - was sitting inside. The sources said troops called on the fugitive to surrender several times. When he tried to flee, the soldiers shot him dead. No soldiers were wounded in the action, the IDF said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Good intel. Wonder where they're getting it from?
#2
What is the world coming to when a fugitve terrorist bully-boy can't even sit down in a cafe to plan a suicide attack without being subject to Zionist aggression?
Posted by: Baba Tutu ||
12/05/2006 15:20 Comments ||
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#3
Up close and personal, shot the diapers right off their heads.
The IDF, in conjunction with the Shin Bet, arrested a senior member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in Bethlehem on Monday. Mahmoud Fanoun, 59, the head of the PFLP in Bethlehem, has been wanted by Israeli security services since 2001.
Fanoun, who was deported to Jordan in the late 80s and returned to Israel in 1996, has been responsible for a number of terror attacks, as well as supplying weapons to other terror groups in the West Bank. He also held diplomatic positions in the PFLP movement and most recently ran for the Palestinian parliament in last January's elections, but lost.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2006 00:00 ||
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Mahmoud Fanoun, 59
Wow, that's twice the average age for that position.
BEIRUT (Rooters) - Lebanon's opposition buried on Tuesday an anti-government demonstrator whose death in a street skirmish has raised sectarian tensions and the army's commander warned his forces might not be able to control the streets.
General Michel Suleiman was quoted as saying by a local news agency that daily protests aimed at ousting Western-backed Prime Minister Fouad Siniora risked getting out of hand and the military might be unable to keep the peace.
Hundreds of Shi'ite Muslims marched behind the coffin of 21-year-old Ahmed Mahmoud, who was shot dead on Sunday in a Sunni neighborhood while returning from an opposition rally, in a procession led by the pro-Syrian, pro-Iranian Hezbollah party.
"Death to Siniora," shouted some of the youths. "The blood of Shi'ites is boiling."
Television stations loyal to Hezbollah and to Sunni political leader Saad al-Hariri carried statements blaming each other for fuelling hostility in a country that has been wracked by two civil wars in the past half century.
"Television war threatens to ignite the fire of strife," Al-Balad newspaper said in its front-page headline.
The opposition took to the streets last Friday to demand the resignation of Siniora, calling for a national unity government and accusing the prime minister of failing to stand by Hezbollah during an Israeli offensive in July and August.
The Hezbollah-led opposition, which includes a populist Christian party, has vowed to continue its sit-in in front of government headquarters until the cabinet quits.
Siniora says he will not yield to the non-stop street protests, which have paralyzed the heart of Beirut.
ARMY WARNING
The local al-Markasiyah news agency quoted "informed sources" as saying General Suleiman had warned Siniora that the protests could get out of hand.
"The absence of political solutions along with a recurrence of security incidents, particularly those with sectarian overtones, drains the army's capabilities and weakens its immunity," the agency quoted Suleiman as saying, in a reference to the army's neutrality.
"This weakness will make the army unable to maintain its control of the situation in all areas of Lebanon."
The army, which has deployed heavily around Beirut in recent days, did not comment on the report.
Government allies accuse the opposition of orchestrating the protests to try to derail an international tribunal into the 2005 killing of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, which many Lebanese blame on Syria -- a charge Damascus denies.
Lebanon is one of the most religiously and politically divided countries in the Middle East, and the battle for control of the government will determine whether Lebanon shifts toward Iran and Syria or toward the United States and Europe.
Underlining international concerns, the leaders of France and Germany urged Syria on Tuesday not to interfere in Lebanon.
"(France and Germany) wish that Syria will no longer support forces that want to destabilize Lebanon and the region," German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Jacques Chirac said in a joint statement after a meeting in Germany.
Sunni leaders in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan have also issued statements in support of Siniora in recent days, apparently concerned over the growing influence in the region of Shi'ite Iran, which is funding Hezbollah.
Many politicians and observers have said the political tussle in Lebanon could ignite yet another civil war.
"The worst thing about the current crisis is there is no Arab or international mediator who can intervene ... after the potential mediators abandoned their roles and took sides," wrote commentator Sateh Noureddin in As-Safir newspaper.
#2
I'm really not an expert or anything, but from what I remember of documentaries about the iranian revolution, burials of Martyrs played a large role in the snowballing effect; shiites put a great emphasis on Martyrs, each burial was marked by a bigger demonstration, which led to people being killed, then to more burials, and then bigger demonstrations,...
I don't know if this could be applicable for lebanon, though.
#3
Do we have a carrier battle group in the area? I'm sure a half-dozen raids by F/A-18s with cluster-bombs would disperse the crowd PDQ. Napalm would be better, but that may cause too much damage to surrounding property. (/PC mode).
It's time for the rest of the world to put an end to the arab dream of world power. Crush them totally, and let them live in the ruins. I am quite tired of putting up with their ingrained stupidity and arrogance. I want to live in peace - they want to live in a constant state of war and turmoil. I'll get my wish by crushing them. Nothing else will work. We've been "talking" for 50+ years and it's only made them more bold and arrogant. Time to quit talking and start using the big stick.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/05/2006 14:39 Comments ||
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Lebanons army deployed more soldiers in Beirut on Monday after the killing of a pro-Syrian Shia Muslim demonstrator raised fears anti-government protests could turn into sectarian violence.
Security sources said the military increased its forces in the Sunni districts that Shia protesters drive through to get to central Beirut where the Hezbollah-led opposition is holding a sit-in to topple the Western-backed government.
These districts witnessed several clashes between residents and protesters on Sunday from stone-throwing incidents to fights with sticks and knives.
In the most serious incident, gunmen fired from assault rifles at a group of protesters in the Sunni Qasqas neighbourhood, a stronghold for the anti-Syrian majority coalition, killing one young man and wounding others.
The opposition said the incidents would not drive it to abandon plans for toppling the government.
The Shia group Hezbollah, which is backed by Syria and Iran, and its allies in the opposition had taken to the streets and were holding an indefinite sit-in to force the resignation of Western-backed Sunni Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
Many politicians and observers had said the crisis could spill over into sectarian strife in a country that had gone through two civil wars in the last century.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2006 00:00 ||
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Many politicians and observers had said the crisis could spill over into sectarian strife in a country that had gone through two civil wars in the last century.
A Syrian court has sentenced four Syrians to prison terms ranging from 45 days to five years, for convictions that include having contacts with a secret association, a Syrian human rights group said Monday. Syria's State Security Court sentenced Abdullah Eid and Basel Madrati to five years in prison Sunday for contacts with a secret association that aims to change Syria's economic and political situation, the National Organization for Human Rights said.
The rights organization expressed deep concern for the "unjust" sentences handed down by the security court and called on the Syrian authorities to release all political detainees. The non-governmental rights watchdog said the secret association referred to was the Islamic Liberation Party. The group, previously unheard of in Syria, is not believed to have links with the organization of the same name that has been active in the United Kingdom, Egypt and Jordan, where it was founded in 1953.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2006 00:00 ||
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#8
RJ: You have it. I was keying onn the hub cap and trim ring, but the chrome and the logo in the lower left also work.
Tomorrow's trivia question: Name the model of American warplane last shot down by Japan. Extra points for year of the shoot down.
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.
KANDAHAR - First came a deafening crash as the suicide bomber drove his vehicle headlong into a Nato convoy.
(KUNA) -- British forces opened fire amid a stand-off as they tried to get three wounded marines to safety after a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed Monday. Three members of 45 Commando were injured, one seriously, and two Afghan civilians were killed in the blast as a bomber tried to ram the British vehicles in Kandahar yesterday, the MoD said.
A special court Monday ended Indias largest terrorism case by finding 100 people guilty out of 123 accused in the 1993 Mumbai bombings case after a decade of trials, the chief prosecutor said. The court, headed by Judge Pramod Kode, convicted six people Monday, taking the total number of convictions to 100. Another 23 were acquitted of any role in serial blasts across Indias financial hub that killed 257 people. 
Undercover IDF soldiers stormed a Tulkarm cafe and gunned down a prominent Fatah militant Monday evening, Palestinians witnesses said. Residents of the northern West Bank city said Mahmoud Aved al-Al, 20, an al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades operative from the Gaza Strip, was killed. The witnesses said a 12-year-old boy was critically wounded, and a second Fatah militant was moderately wounded, in the raid. 
The IDF, in conjunction with the Shin Bet, arrested a senior member of the 
By Tom Perry
A Syrian court has sentenced four Syrians to prison terms ranging from 45 days to five years, for convictions that include having contacts with a secret association, a Syrian human rights group said Monday. Syria's State Security Court sentenced Abdullah Eid and Basel Madrati to five years in prison Sunday for contacts with a secret association that aims to change Syria's economic and political situation, the National Organization for Human Rights said. 
