A nuclear power plant in Arizona was locked down Friday morning after security guards discovered a pipe bomb in a contract worker's truck, authorities said. Is there a name on this worker's contract?
Plant operator Arizona Public Service called the discovery an "unusual event" and sealed off the site, with no traffic entering or leaving the grounds. "unusual event? Nah, happpens all the time
A bomb squad from the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department declared the pipe bomb a "credible explosive device." Sounds like some pink panties and rancid balogna coming up for our unnamed worker down at Sheriff Joe's Abu Ghraib
The contract worker was entering Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station at a checkpoint for a standard security inspection at the beginning of the day shift. Guards armed with automatic rifles check identification and search under the hoods of all vehicles entering the plant.
There was no danger to the plant, officials said. Nope. All our buildings are covered with Kevlar.
"This is not a threat to the public," said Jim McDonald, a spokesman for Arizona Public Service Co. "If it had the potential to be, the security guards stopped it."
The worker, who has not been identified by authorities, has been arrested. Several hundred contract employees are working on improvements to the plant, which is the largest power plant in the United States. Several hundred? How many are legal?
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and sheriff's department are investigating the incident, officials said.
#2
Let's please hope that there is some way of getting this maroon permanently blacklisted from all nuclear facilities. Even if there was no malign intent, the sheer stupidity of bringing explosives into a nuclear facility casts fatal doubt upon that person's overall competence.
#4
One article I saw on this yesterday said the gentleman was a long term contractor, aged sixty, who normally rode his motorcycle to work. I don't recall if the truck was even his, or if he'd borrowed it. But at any rate, he immediately gave the authorities permission to search his home and belongings without demanding a search warrant or a lawyer. I haven't looked since, but the man may be both innocent and unaware of the thing.
#7
I don't recall if the truck was even his, or if he'd borrowed it. But at any rate, he immediately gave the authorities permission to search his home and belongings without demanding a search warrant or a lawyer.
That certainly casts things in a different light. The poor sucker is probably still toast unless a search of whoever owns the truck turns up connecting evidence.
#11
More here. Names are named. Sheriff Joe is quoted. It does sound, as tw says, as if there's less than meets the eye. Maybe someone intended to kill the guy. Maybe it was a prank by a friend or enemy.
Breaking news - we'll update this entry as the day goes on.
President Gen. Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan on Saturday, state TV said, ahead of a crucial Supreme Court decision on whether to overturn his recent election win. The report gave no reason for the emergency but it follows weeks of speculation that the president who is also chief of the army could take the step, amid rising political turmoil and Islamic militant violence.
"The chief of army staff has proclaimed a state of emergency and issued a provisional constitutional order," a newscaster on Pakistan TV said. During previous emergencies in Pakistan, a provisional constitutional order has led to the suspension of some basic rights of citizens and for judges to take a fresh oath of office.
The U.S. and other Western allies this week urged him not to take steps that would jeopardize the country's transition to democracy. Musharraf took power in a 1999 coup. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, speaking to reporters Thursday en route to diplomatic meetings in Turkey and the Middle East, said the U.S. would not support any move by Musharraf to declare martial law.
#1
The "emergency" has been going on for some time. There has been a red hemmoraging originating and spreading from this area for some time. There will be more much more bloodletting before the patient gets better. (John QC's comment from dumped duplicate thread)
#2
Condoleezza Rice, speaking to reporters Thursday en route to diplomatic meetings in Turkey and the Middle East, said the U.S. would not support any move by Musharraf to declare martial law
Forgeting the rise of the Ayatullahs, are we Dr. Rice?
#4
CNN sez Martial Law declared - troops in the state-run TV and radio stations, phone lines down. Mr. Chaudry should avoid "resisting arrest", I'd say
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/03/2007 10:22 Comments ||
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#5
Troops have entered the Supreme Court building
Posted by: john frum ||
11/03/2007 10:30 Comments ||
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In Islamabad, troops entered the Supreme Court and were surrounding the judges' homes, according to CNN's Syed Mohsin Naqvi.
The Supreme Court has declared the state of emergency illegal, Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry told CNN. He said he and an eight-member panel of judges decided the declaration was unconstitutional, and that Musharraf has no power to make it.
Musharraf garnered a vast majority of votes in presidential elections last month; however, those results have not been certified by the nation's high court.
For weeks the country has been coasting in a state of political limbo while the Supreme Court works to tackle legal challenges filed by the opposition that calls into question Musharraf's eligibility to hold office. Some have speculated that a declaration of emergency is tied to rumors the court is planning to rule against Musharraf.
#9
I gotta say that we'll all know this is serious once Perv begins some really heavy atritting over at the ISI's headquarters. Until then, it's just business as usual.
#10
So. Not a state of emergency so the gov't can go in and whack the turbans-n-automatic weapons set, but a state of emergency so's Mushy can keep his job and his sprockets.
#11
The Chief Justice has been removed from the building.
All Judges will now swear oath of loyalty under the PCO.
Justice Dogar is the new Chief Justice
Posted by: john frum ||
11/03/2007 10:38 Comments ||
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#12
It's clear who Perv considers his true enemy. I guess the pen really is mightier than the sword.
#13
Perv begins some really heavy atritting over at the ISI's headquarters
The ISI doesn't have permanent staff. The personnel comes from the Army, Navy and Air Force and they rotate back to their units.
The ISI chief is appointed by and reports to Perv.
Perv can easily dictate which officers get assigned to ISI duty.
Posted by: john frum ||
11/03/2007 10:42 Comments ||
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#14
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Friday that the United States opposed any move by President General Pervez Musharraf to impose martial law and Pakistan must proceed with elections next year.
Posted by: john frum ||
11/03/2007 10:43 Comments ||
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#15
Perv can easily dictate which officers get assigned to ISI duty.
Thank you, john frum. This is exactly why I gauge Perv's sincerity against the ISI being dismantled. I realize how such an act goes entirely against Perv's general strategy but it would be one of the only moves that could persuade me as to his sincerity in truly turning things around in Pakistan. From all indications so far, this is merely another interation of the usual Pak power grab a process of "validating" the recent elections.
A Pakistani intelligence official said that a list had been prepared of prominent Pakistani journalists and opposition politicians who would be detained.
The US message was delivered in person by Admiral Fallon:
A senior American commander, Adm. William J. Fallon, warned Pakistans president on Friday not to impose emergency rule, saying that doing so would jeopardize American financial support for the military here.
#20
A senior American commander, Adm. William J. Fallon, warned Pakistans president on Friday not to impose emergency rule, saying that doing so would jeopardize American financial support for the military here.
That's the important bit, I think. President General Dr. Musharref has finally openly chosen sides, and hopefully so have we. Let him intrigue for control of Islamabad; we won't give him any more support, and we won't ask permission to go a-hunting in the frontier and tribal provinces. Only the State Department can screw this up now, and they're busy fighting a rear guard action to avoid being sent to Iraq.
#21
I'm sure Dr. Rice knows a lot of things that I don't. But from where I sit it looks like PakiWakiland is headed for a full on civil war. I should think that now more than ever Perv would need her support. Maybe she's having a problem with his perceived lack of legitimacy. But she's gonna end up looking worse than jimmuh carter if one of the mullahs seizes power and I wouldn't trust that Pak army to fend them off.
Posted by: Abu Uluque6305 ||
11/03/2007 12:09 Comments ||
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#22
Only the State Department can screw this up now, and they're busy fighting a rear guard action to avoid being sent to Iraq.
Heh. It couldn't happen to a more deserving bunch of screwups.
#23
Let's pray they fight to the death like good muzzies.
Let's see, one billion less about 4 percent,,,,carry the seven,,,oh, crap, I need a bigger bag of beans.
#24
Rice and Fallon. And look at the disaster we have with them setting policy and tone.
We need to ge them both fired before Iran gets serious. They'd be a disaster.
As far as Perv goes, if he is using this to liquidate the Islamists in his government (including those on the courts) then thats good for us. If all he is doing is busting political opponents, then its bad. He needs to shoot judges - but the right ones.
How he handles the ISI will be the real measure of his intentions. I'm hoping for a "Night of the Long Knives" in the ISI - it would go a long way toward ridding that entire region of one of tis worst islamist backing influences.
#28
From that Informed Comment blog I linked to (via Instapundit), I regretfully note that the lead blogger there is (ptui) Juan Cole. Anyway here's some info from another post there:
Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) who has called for "Direct, Unconditional, Comprehensive Talks with Iran." Also US Central Command Commander William Fallon, who confirmed to some mutual acquaintances that he had indeed responded positively to Sen. Hagel's recommendation
#29
NS, Fallon took a placating stance towards China when he commanded in the PacRim. And he has made it pretty clear he will not support an attack on Iran.
#30
Here's an ugly scenario:
1) Perv goes down.
2) US hangs on to him too long or adamantly.
3) Perv's successors boost their own standing by flushing the US out along with Perv.
4) Putin comes to the 'aid' of the new regime.
5) US has to abandon Afghanistan because it cannot adequately support it logistically without the trans-Pakistan supply line (Uzbek line is a lot longer and already damaged.)
6) Taliban returns, stronger than ever, and with its enemy, the US, alone and weaker.
7) Taliban, and thus Al Quaeda end up with some or all of Pakistan's nukes.
The joker in the deck - India: how do they respond? Semi-dhimmitude or aggressive counterattack?
#32
How he handles the ISI will be the real measure of his intentions.
Too right, 'Spook! Why am I not getting a warm fuzzy about this? Are you able to illuminate about America's contingency planning with respect to securing Pakistani nuclear weapons in the event of a hostile takeover? If we don't already have the precise locations of all their warheads, then any further aid to Perv et al should depend upon them cooperating in that regard.
Because he's an idiot! Need proof? Just look at some of his choices: Meyers, Gonzales, Rice, Fallon, Gates...etc. etc. Oh, I forgot...Amnesty for Illegals. Bush has been an unmitigated disaster for the Conservative Movement in this country.
#34
Perv is going to have to be ye olde dictator to stay in power. We have been "coping" w/r/t Pakistan, hoping for the best and counting on that iffy outcome. I am worried about Pak nukes and hope that we have contingency plans. But the frontier areas have now become virtual Afghanistan, where Al Q and the Taliban have set up shop.
We have a serious monster in Pakistan trying to get loose. And I do not see a Plan formulated for this monster. We are again behind events. Bad place to be. Sun Tzu is wagging his finger at us from somewhere.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/03/2007 14:34 Comments ||
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#35
Not much we coulda done in a "democratic" sovereign state that is an "ally", if they don't overtly attack us
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/03/2007 14:55 Comments ||
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Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was sitting on a plane at Karachi airport Saturday following a decision by the government to impose a state of emergency, her spokesman said, as paramilitary troops started deploying in front of her house.
"She is waiting to see if she is going to be arrested or deported," Wajid Hasan said after speaking to the former Pakistani prime minister by telephone from London.
SARGODHA: Police continued its massive crackdown against banned jihadi organisations here on Friday following a suicide attack on a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) bus that killed around nine people, including five PAF officers. Sources in the police said that numerous activists of the defunct organisations were arrested and shifted to an unknown place for interrogations. Inspector Hassan Aziz said that a case had been lodged against the unknown suicide attacker.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/03/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
They are not defunct but banned? But not really--just on paper.
A bomb blast at the Karkhano Market of the city on Friday destroyed at least 14 shops and cabins selling CDs, TV sets and music albums, but no casualties were reported, police said. Police sources told Daily Times that bomb went off at around 7:00 pm at the junction of SS and Shinwari Markets and also damaged two electricity transformers. Shopkeepers told Daily Times that they had suffered around Rs six million losses due to the blast. Operations Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Mohammad Tahir Khan told Daily Times that it seemed the bomb was aimed at the shops and cabins dealing in CDs.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/03/2007 00:00 ||
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Militants and security forces on Thursday night exchanged fire in various parts of Bajaur Agency, wounding four Levies personnel, sources said on Friday. Militants blew up a Levies Aurang checkpost in Utman Khel tehsil and Qamarsar and Sahui checkposts in Mamoond tehsil. Levies at the checkposts opened fire on the attacking militants. Havaldar Bacha and soldiers Ali Rehman, Jehangir and Farooq were injured in the crossfire and were shifted to a hospital. The assailants also snatched four Kalashinkovs from the security forces and fled. Meanwhile, armed men kidnapped an Afghan shopkeeper from his shop in Nawagai market for allegedly spying on militants. Also on Friday, officials arrested several suspects thought to have robbed Education Department officials of teachers salaries amounting to Rs 15,000,000.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/03/2007 00:00 ||
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A missile strike destroyed an insurgent hideout in North Waziristan at a house once owned by the late military chief of the Taliban, killing nine people, witnesses and sources said. Residents and local sources said drones flew over the site in the village of Danday Darpakhel before two missiles hit the site, one of which exploded and destroyed the house formerly owned by Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah, who was killed last May in southern Afghanistan.
US-led forces in Afghanistan usually operate drones. There was a roar in the sky, we feared it was an air raid but we saw no jets. Then there was a huge blast, said Noor Mohammad, a student at a madrassa in Miranshah. Local sources said at least 12 militants were also injured in the blast. Two foreign militants were among the dead, they said, quoting injured rebels.
They said the house was used as a training camp and explosives store by insurgents loyal to Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of local Taliban who have been blamed for a string of attacks in the country. The blast was so big that pieces of flesh were stuck to the walls of surrounding houses, said local resident Faqir Mohammad.
The cockles of my heart are warm, by Gum!
It was next to a defunct madrassa formerly run by Jalaluddin Haqqani, a Taliban commander with a $5 million bounty on his head who is said to be close to Mullah Omar.
He's also been reported dead from typhoid, if I recall. I notice the story's neither confirming nor denying that he's still breathing in an out.
US denies involvement: Military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad said his forces were not involved but added that local officials were checking the cause of the blast. (The) army has not fired any weapon in the area, he told AFP. Sergeant 1st Class Dean Welch, a spokesman for the US-led coalition in Afghanistan, told AP that no strikes near or across the border had been reported on Friday.
"Wudn't us."
He said the closest strike was about 16 kilometres inside the Afghan border. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman also denied that any US military asset had been involved in the attack, reported Reuters. The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) also said they had no information.
In that case, "klaatu merada nikto!"
This article starring:
Baitullah Mehsud
Taliban
Jalaluddin Haqqani
Taliban
local resident Faqir Mohammad
Major General Waheed Arshad
Mullah Dadullah
Taliban
Noor Mohammad
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman
Sergeant 1st Class Dean Welch
Posted by: Fred ||
11/03/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
"denied that any US military asset had been involved in the attack"
Note the careful use of the words "military asset".
Posted by: Steve ||
11/03/2007 10:25 Comments ||
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#2
CIA Predator?
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
11/03/2007 11:27 Comments ||
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MINGORA: Maulana Fazlullah on Friday met with a delegation of clerics and local politicians and called for the withdrawal of troops from Swat to open the way for negotiations to end days of fighting. Fazlullah has said he is ready to hold talks with the government, said Mohammad Amin, a local tribal politician. He said Fazlullah set three conditions for the talks, including withdrawal of security forces from Swat, enforcement of Sharia and that all cases against his followers be dropped.
This article starring:
Maulana Fazlullah
TNSM
Mohammad Amin, a local tribal politician
Posted by: Fred ||
11/03/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Fazlullah set three conditions for the talks, including withdrawal of security forces from Swat, enforcement of Sharia and that all cases against his followers be dropped.
#3
Gimme everything I want, and we'll talk about it!
Posted by: Bobby ||
11/03/2007 9:29 Comments ||
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#4
The government counter-proposal should be that Swat will now be perpetually occupied by government forces, all Fazlullah followers will be hung, and Fazlullah himself will be buried in a pit full of dead pigs.
Militants loyal to pro-Taliban cleric Maulana Fazlullah paraded on Friday 48 men said to be paramilitary troops who surrendered during a week of fierce clashes.
These were the guys the Mighty Pak Army said hadn't surrendered and in fact had wiped out 70 TNSM hard boyz.
Masked followers of Fazlullah brandished assault rifles, rocket launchers and Swati swords as they displayed the men to the media in Swat.
Let's point out here that these aren't the Talibs belonging to Haqqani or even Hek's Hizbies. These are the dolts who jumped into pickup trucks at the call of Sufi Mohammad when the Talibs were being tossed out of Kabul, rushing to the aid of the turbans. They were mowed down in droves and those who weren't were held for ransom. Sufi Mo was jugged, as much to keep the bereaved locals from tearing him limb from limb as any other reason. Attention spans in that part of the world being short, TNSM is resurgent. Rather than pick on the Haqqani-led hard boyz the Afghans don't always manage to slaughter on the first try, the Mighty Pak Army decided to start their cleanup of the area with the yokels of the TNSM. They are now in the process of having their butts handed to them, though they'll never admit that they're a poorly trained, incompetently led force. Senior officers will no doubt get more medals out of this fiasco, some even getting sprockets and sashes.
Military and government spokesmen had earlier denied that any troops were captured.
"No, no! Certainly not!"
They were not immediately available to comment on Fridays display.
Were they in the parade?
Freed richer: They (militants) told us that we would not be harmed if we surrender.
"That was all it took. Boy, I sure didn't join the army to be harmed!"
If not, then the entire population from the village below will climb up the hill and may kill you, a soldier told reporters.
"Really. They do that all the time, y'know."
The men were given cab fare Rs 500 each and freed later on Friday, reported AFP.
"Ummm... We back from durance vile, sir!... Say! Is that a new sprocket?"
The kidnapped officials told BBC that they do not want to fight with their Muslim brothers who are fighting for the implementation of Sharia, reported Online.
Their Moose limb brothers don't seem to feel any compunction about fighting with them, but I guess that's logic, which never has been my strong point.
Police evacuate: Officials vacated the Khawazakhela police station and shifted to the Madian police station, while the Taliban set fire to the Charbagh police station, Saleem Athar added. The police also vacated the Matta police station and shifted to another location. Meanwhile, local Taliban have captured three vehicles of the Malakand Area Development Project from the Chukrial and Biha areas in Matta tehsil of Swat.
This is what serious historians describe as a "fiasco."
This article starring:
Maulana Fazlullah
TNSM
Posted by: Fred ||
11/03/2007 00:00 ||
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#13
just couldn't remember which branch of batshiat crazy they belonged to.
It's not as if 99% of their lunatic raving isn't interchangable. You could lard a random string of vowels and consonants with a bare minimum of "jihads", "shari'as", "insh'allahs" and "martyrs" and still come up with the same crap they spew 24/7.
The police found a box containing Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and detonators near a garbage bin at Chandanagar here on Friday. In the backdrop of serial blasts that shook the city on August 25, the police recovered a carton containing eight sticks of ammonium nitrate-based explosive material connected to a motor-cycle battery.
The box, abandoned near a garbage dump, was first noticed by the municipal staff who alerted the police. The dog and bomb squads were immediately rushed to the place, the police said. A manhunt has been launched for those suspected to have brought the explosives. Frisking and search operations have been stepped up in the state capital, police added.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/03/2007 00:00 ||
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MIDNAPORE: A suspected Maoist leader was detained by the police from Kharagpur railway station in the district, police said on Friday. Police suspect that the person is 'Mama', a top leader of the outlawed CPI (Maoist). The man was being interrogated, the sources said.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/03/2007 00:00 ||
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A powerful bomb was found in the heavily-guarded complex of Border Security Force (BSF) at Nongpok Sekmai area in Manipur's Thoubal district on Friday. Personnel of 88th BSF battalion found the 'lethod' bomb and called bomb experts, who later defused it, official sources said. The bomb might have been fired by militants using a rocket launcher in an attempt to attack the BSF camp, they said.
In another incident three army personnel were injured when armed insurgents attacked a security patrol in Manipur's Churachandpur district, official sources said. The insurgents, hiding by the roadside, fired at an Army patrol belonging to Gorkha Rifles at Phutum Khongkhai village on Wednesday night, they said. The security personnel retaliated and the fighting continued for nearly an hour, sources said adding casualty, if any, on the side of the insurgents was not known. Though the identity of the insurgents was not know, police said it suspected that they belonged to the People's Liberation Army (PLA).
Posted by: Fred ||
11/03/2007 00:00 ||
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In the first major sign of a breakthrough in the Samjhauta Express blasts, Delhi Police and intelligence agencies have identified a man named Iqbal as one of the culprits who executed the operation. Sources told TOI that police have been looking for Iqbal, who is said to be a member of Lashkar-e-Taiba, for the past several weeks. Iqbal, sources said, is a resident of Shamli near Muzaffarnagar and has been missing from home since the incident on the night of February 19, 2007. The special cell of Delhi Police has visited his home several times and questioned relatives, without much success.
This article starring:
Lashkar-e-Taiba
Posted by: Fred ||
11/03/2007 00:00 ||
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By Bill Roggio
The situation in Pakistans Northwest Frontier Province has grown markedly worse over the past 24 hours. One day after the military claimed to have killed 70 Taliban in Swat and denied its soldiers were captured, the Taliban paraded 48 captured paramilitary soldiers from the Frontier Corps.
The captured soldiers surrendered after being surrounded by a large formation of Taliban troops. Upwards of 700 troops surrounded a hilltop in Swat, Dawn reported. The soldiers were airdropped on the hilltop days ago and have been besieged since then. The BBC stated an additional 100 Pakistani troops have deserted in Swat.
Last week, Indian intelligence reported the Pakistani military is widely demoralized by the fighting, as well as the abductions and beheadings at the hands of the Taliban and al Qaeda in the Northwest Frontier Province. Taliban attacks against government troops outside the Northwest Frontier Province have also eroded the morale of the Pakistani soldier. Just yesterday, a Taliban suicide bomber struck bus carrying air force personnel in Punjab province, killing at least eight. The fighting in Swat began after a suicide bomber attacked a convoy in the district, killing 30.
The BBC also reported the Taliban is openly in control of strategic regions of Swat. A major business centre on the road that connects Mingora with the tourist resorts of Madyan, Miandam and Kalam, Charbagh is in Taleban control, the BBC noted. Taleban militants were seen directing the traffic on the road. There was an air of jubilation among them after the news that Khwazakhela, another important town 27km north of Mingora, had fallen to the militants. One of them was distributing sweets to commuters on the road.
Pakistani military statements concerning the events in the Northwest Frontier Province have not been reliable. Yesterday the Pakistani military denied the soldiers were captured. But the forces were well-entrenched and well-positioned and they responded with full force, inflicting massive casualties on the militants, said provincial Home Secretary Badshah Gul Wazir. Our reports are that they suffered between 60 and 70 casualties. They were literally running down the hill. The Taliban claimed it lost seven fighters.
When over 300 Pakistani soldiers were captured in South Waziristan, the Pakistani military denied they were captured for several days until the fact could no longer be hidden. The military has also deflated the number of casualties taken in the Northwest Frontier Province.
U.S. airstrikes killed 10 insurgents, two of them wearing explosive vests, in a raid southeast of Baghdad on Friday targeting a suspected militant leader with ties to al Qaeda, the U.S. military said.
American ground troops hunting the militant, described as a "foreign terrorist facilitator", were fired at as they approached a building in Salman Pak, 45 km (25 miles) southeast of Baghdad, a U.S. military statement said.
"Coalition forces engaged the terrorists and called for supporting aircraft to help suppress the enemy fire," the statement said. "When the enemy fire ceased, coalition forces found that 10 terrorists had been killed. Two of the terrorists were armed with suicide vests."
The U.S. military said an arms cache was found nearby with more suicide vests, heavy machineguns and anti-aircraft weapons.
There was no independent confirmation of the report. Iraqis have complained that several airstrikes aimed at insurgents have instead killed and wounded civilians.
In a separate operation, a suspected al Qaeda cell leader was captured in Sharqat, west of Iraq's northern oil city of Kirkuk, the military said. It said he was responsible for facilitating communications between militants and the head of al Qaeda in Iraq.
The al Qaeda network in Iraq is believed to be behind most large-scale suicide attacks in the country, but has faced growing animosity this year even in its former strongholds from Iraqis angered by its indiscriminate killing of civilians and attempts to impose strict Islamic laws.
Several groups formerly hostile to the U.S. military have allied with the Americans and turned on al Qaeda.
In an audiotape released last week, Osama bin Laden conceded that the organization had made mistakes in Iraq because of fanaticism, but urged Iraqi insurgents to unite to fight the Americans.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/03/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Iraqis have complained that several airstrikes aimed at insurgents have instead killed and wounded civilians.
Out of the damn literary blue. LOL. F6 on your AP (Green Keyboard Initiative) keyboard.
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
11/03/2007 2:25 Comments ||
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#2
Two of the terrorists were armed with suicide vests.
No secondary explosions? Too bad. Better to enter paradise with in 72 pieces.
The United States has given a "green light" to an IDF operation in the Gaza Strip, the Lebanese newspaper, Al-Akhbar reported Saturday morning. The report cites "credible diplomatic sources" as saying that American approval came after Israeli intelligence impressed on US officials the importance of a wide-scale operation as an answer to the unprecedented arms smuggling within Gaza.
According to the newspaper report, the intelligence was shared during Defense Minister Ehud Barak's last visit to Washington. Sources told Al-Akhbar that the intelligence depicted a worrying picture of an "arms race" between Hamas and the Islamic Jihad. In addition, Israel presented details of money transfers between the Islamic Jihad and the Al-Aksa's Martyrs Brigades.
In the past few days, Barak met a number of times with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to decide definitively on the timing of a wide-scale operation, Al-Akhbar cited the sources as saying. Further, the sources stated that despite the "green light," Israel was hesitating to launch an operation out of concerns that it would complicate preparations for the upcoming US-sponsored Mideast peace summit in Annapolis. Until the timing of the operation is decided, IDF forces stationed on the Gaza border will continue training for a massive military operation in the Strip, the report said.
#2
I dunno, Zen. The problem with that is then you have to provide for the Gazooks. Smarter policy I think is to whack Hamas as hard as possible, making the survivors scurry off to Syria and Mauritania. Then you let Fatah back in only on the condition that they behave themselves. If not, they get whacked.
You've got a million Gazooks in Gazoo. Destroy every habitat and then you have to do something about them, and there's certainly going to be no 'final solution' in any way shape or form.
Whack Hamas. Kill their leadership and every hard boy who sticks his head up. But don't level the place.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/03/2007 14:37 Comments ||
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#3
This war won't be won by leveling Gaza, Zenster. It will be won by leveling Mecca, and Cairo, and Bagdad.
#5
I think we all know well enough that Israel isn't going to level the place. I am also sure the lot of us know that not one thing will change until the Palestinians, both Hamas and Fatah are ushered off of Israeli soil. Shooting the Big Turbans Keffiyas is a good startas I have always advocatedbut all of the Palestinians are so completely disinterested in real peace that even targeted killings will not succeed. My post was merely wishful thinking. G(r)omgoru is far closer to the real answer.
#6
Why bother shooting? Shut off fuel, water, electricity and all commerce and/or contact between Israel and Gaza. Tell Egypt that Gaza is their problem and that if the rockets don't stop, they should expect IDF rockets on Cairo.
Scores of Fatah policemen who used to serve in the Palestinian Authority security forces in the Gaza Strip have now joined the al-Qaida-affiliated group calling itself the Army of Islam, sources in the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry told The Jerusalem Post Thursday.
Meanwhile, Fatah's armed wing, the Aksa Martyrs Brigades, claimed responsibility for firing 20 rockets from the Gaza Strip recently. The group said the attacks signaled the beginning of a military campaign dubbed "Operation Gaza Autumn," in the course of which it would fire hundreds of rockets at Israeli communities. It said residents of Sderot had two choices: leave or die. Fatah officials in Ramallah said they did not know if the threat by the Aksa Martyrs Brigades was genuine. "We don't know what's happening in the Gaza Strip," a senior Fatah official said. "Ever since the Hamas coup last June, we have no idea what's happening on the ground."
The official, however, did not rule out the possibility that disgruntled Fatah activists were behind the recent spate of rocket attacks, or that some former Fatah-affiliated policemen had joined the Army of Islam. According to the sources Hamas's Interior Ministry, dozens of Fatah-affiliated policemen who recently lost their jobs have joined the al-Qaida-linked group. The Army of Islam is headed by Abu Muhammad al-Ansari, who is also known as Mumtaz Dughmush.
Ansari is a former PA Preventive Security Service officer in the
Gaza Strip. He belongs to the Dughmush clan, whose members have kidnapped several foreign nationals, including BBC reporter Alan Johnston, and bombed Internet cafes, hair salons and restaurants.
The Army of Islam, which is described by some Palestinian security officials as al-Qaida's branch in Palestine, was one of three groups that participated in the kidnapping of IDF soldier Gilad Schalit in June 2006. The other two groups were Hamas and the Popular Resistance Committees. But Hamas has since distanced itself from the Army of Islam, whose members have been kept away from Schalit. It did so after suspicions were aroused in Hamas that Ansari had received money from Fatah security officials to reveal the whereabouts of the soldier.
Tensions between Hamas and the Army of Islam reached a boiling point immediately after Hamas took over the Gaza Strip. The Army of Islam initially refused to release Johnston, but later did so after its leaders struck a deal with Hamas.
According to the agreement, the group was permitted to retain its weapons on condition they only be used to attack Israel. Over the past few months, the Army of Islam has been involved in the smuggling of large amounts of weapons and explosives into the Gaza Strip from Sinai, according to PA security officials.
They told the Post members of the group had established close ties with al-Qaida operatives in Egypt and other Arab and Islamic countries. Last week, Egyptian security forces captured two members of the Army of Islam as they were trying to smuggle weapons into the Gaza Strip.
A top Hamas official in Gaza City described Ansari as a "deranged and illiterate" man who was obsessed with [Jordanian arch-terrorist] Abu Musab Zarqawi, the slain leader of al-Qaida in Iraq. "This man can't even read or write," he said. "But he's dangerous."
The official confirmed that the Army of Islam had recruited scores of Fatah policemen. He said documents seized by Hamas showed that Ansari and his men were on the payroll of one of the PA security forces and that they had been receiving monthly payments of $27,000. "They will take money from anyone, even from people they consider infidels and apostates," the Hamas official said.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/03/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Imagine a large number of LAPD joining the Crips...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
11/03/2007 8:59 Comments ||
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A Hamas operative was killed and two others wounded when an IAF helicopter attacked a Hamas outpost in the southern Gaza Strip overnight Friday. In an official statement, Hamas reported that the IAF strike had targeted a car outside the outpost near Khan Yunis in which the three were riding.
The IDF said that the attack was a response to the continued mortar attacks launched at southern Israel by cells operating from the Gaza Strip. Earlier Friday evening, four mortar shells were fired at an Israeli community north of Gaza. All landed in open territory, and no wounded or damage were reported.
The IDF also carried out an attack against a mortar launching cell in the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday evening, wounding one of the cell members. The attack came after eight mortar rounds had been fired at southern Israel.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/03/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Ring me up when then appears in the MSM:
MNC-I spokesman TheIDF said that the attack was a response to the continued mortar attacks launched at COB Anaconda southern Israel by cells operating from the suburbs and city of Balad Gaza Strip
Ma'an - The Jaysh Al-Baraq, part of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades affiliated to Fatah, claimed responsibility for setting off an explosive device near an Israeli patrol and clashing with Israeli forces in the city of Nablus on Friday morning. The Jaysh Al-Baraq said in a statement that the operation was in response to crimes committed by the Israeli forces and their continued incursions into the cities of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/03/2007 00:00 ||
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Ma'an Two people were injured, including a French journalist, in Friday's demonstration against the separation wall in Bil'in, near Ramallah in the central West Bank. Local residents and foreign activists from France, Belgium and Ireland participated in the demonstration against the wall and the continued building of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
When the demonstrators reached the wall Israeli soldiers attacked them with tear gas and rubber-coated metal bullets. Many of the demonstrators suffered from the effects of tear gas and two demonstrators were injured by rubber bullets. A French journalist who works for a Saudi television channel was hit in the leg. He was treated at the scene. The Bil'in committee, who organize non-violent resistance action, called on people to take part in a march to be held on Sunday against Israeli discriminatory policies against Palestinians.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/03/2007 00:00 ||
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Ma'an Palestinian security services shot and wounded a twenty-seven-year-old man in Qalqilya on Friday evening. Security services said that Mahmoud Ja'idi refused to stop at a checkpoint set up by the security services at the eastern entrance to the city. Members of the security services then opened fire on his car wounding him. Medical sources said that he had been hit in the back and his condition was stable.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/03/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
That's gotta hurt. I had a splinter in my qalqilya once.
Ma'an More than 300 members of the Palestinian security services were deployed to Nablus on Friday morning in an attempt to ease tensions in the volatile city. On a brief visit to the city Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said in a speech that the deployment would bring about greater security in Nablus. General Intelligence Chief Major General Tawfiq Tirawi told Ma'an that the Palestinian security services were ready and prepared to implement complete security in Nablus and other cities under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority (PA). However statements have been made by some Israeli army generals that Israel will continue to control the city between the hours of 12 midnight until 6am.
Tirawi told Ma'an that if Israel does not allow the Palestinian security forces full control of the area they are deliberately undermining the PA. He added that this was an excuse for the continued Israeli refusal to fully withdraw from the whole of the West Bank on the pretext that the PA was not able to maintain security.
Nablus Governor Jamal Muhaysin said that the Israelis had refused a request not to enter Nablus during the night. Head of the Palestinian Intelligence Services in Nablus, Abu Jihad, said he doubted whether the Israelis would be satisfied with the new Palestinian security services implemented in Nablus.
The Palestinian security services are facing a complex situation in Nablus. There are still 37 members of the Palestinian resistance being hunted by Israeli forces within the city. Israeli media described the deployment of the Palestinian security services in Nablus as a "gesture of good faith" on the part of Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak to Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. But Israeli army generals were quick to add that the responsibility for the security of the city was still in the hands of the Israeli army and Palestinian security officers were only responsible for public order.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/03/2007 00:00 ||
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Al-Qaida's No. 2 figure harshly criticized Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in a new audio tape Saturday, accusing him of being an enemy of Islam and threatening a wave of attacks against the North African country because it improved relations with the U.S.
In the 28-minute audio tape called "Unity of the Ranks,"
Heh
Ayman al-Zawahri also announced that the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group was joining ranks with al-Qaida. "The Islamic nation is witnessing a blessed step ... The brothers are escalating the confrontation against the enemies of Islam: Gadhafi and his masters, the Washington crusaders," al-Zawahri said in the audio tape. The recording could not be independently verified, but it appeared on a Web site commonly used by insurgents and carried the logo of al-Qaida's media production house, as-Sahab.
The recording also carried a message from Abu Laith al-Libi, a Libyan al-Qaida commander in Afghanistan who accused Gadhafi of decades of tyranny. "He is the tyranny of Libya and is dragging the country to the swamp," al-Libi said in the recording that also featured old video footage of him walking with other masked gunmen. "After long years, he (Gadhafi) discovered suddenly that America is not an enemy ... and is turning Libya into another crusader base," said al-Libi, who has appeared in several recent al-Qaida videos.
#7
Perhaps he can send an emmissary to Libya and serve a notice of complaint to Khadaffi duc. Perhaps Amen al-Zawawaheree can go personally and offer his medical services to the Liyans as a gesture of unified mooslim solidarity.
#10
I've always thought we should do psyops on AQ, acting as if Gadahn was feeding us intel. He should feel the blade of his "comrades" on his neck. POS
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/03/2007 16:48 Comments ||
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#11
If there is one thing that will purify our world of Islam it is Muslims quarreling over not being pure enough.
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.
Militants and security forces on Thursday night exchanged fire in various parts of Bajaur Agency, wounding four Levies personnel, sources said on Friday. Militants blew up a Levies Aurang checkpost in Utman Khel tehsil and Qamarsar and Sahui checkposts in Mamoond tehsil. Levies at the checkposts opened fire on the attacking militants. Havaldar Bacha and soldiers Ali Rehman, Jehangir and Farooq were injured in the crossfire and were shifted to a hospital. The assailants also snatched four Kalashinkovs from the security forces and fled. Meanwhile, armed men kidnapped an Afghan shopkeeper from his shop in Nawagai market for allegedly spying on militants. Also on Friday, officials arrested several suspects thought to have robbed Education Department officials of teachers salaries amounting to Rs 15,000,000.
A missile strike destroyed an insurgent hideout in North Waziristan at a house once owned by the late military chief of the Taliban, killing nine people, witnesses and sources said. Residents and local sources said drones flew over the site in the village of Danday Darpakhel before two missiles hit the site, one of which exploded and destroyed the house formerly owned by Taliban commander 
A powerful bomb was found in the heavily-guarded complex of Border Security Force (BSF) at Nongpok Sekmai area in Manipur's Thoubal district on Friday. Personnel of 88th BSF battalion found the 'lethod' bomb and called bomb experts, who later defused it, official sources said. The bomb might have been fired by militants using a rocket launcher in an attempt to attack the BSF camp, they said. 
By Bill Roggio
U.S. airstrikes killed 10 insurgents, two of them wearing explosive vests, in a raid southeast of Baghdad on Friday targeting a suspected militant leader with ties to al Qaeda, the U.S. military said.
Scores of Fatah policemen who used to serve in the Palestinian Authority security forces in the Gaza Strip have now joined the al-Qaida-affiliated group calling itself the Army of Islam, sources in the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry told The Jerusalem Post Thursday. 
A Hamas operative was killed and two others wounded when an IAF helicopter attacked a Hamas outpost in the southern Gaza Strip overnight Friday. In an official statement, Hamas reported that the IAF strike had targeted a car outside the outpost near Khan Yunis in which the three were riding. 
Ma'an More than 300 members of the Palestinian security services were deployed to Nablus on Friday morning in an attempt to ease tensions in the volatile city. On a brief visit to the city Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said in a speech that the deployment would bring about greater security in Nablus. General Intelligence Chief Major General Tawfiq Tirawi told Ma'an that the Palestinian security services were ready and prepared to implement complete security in Nablus and other cities under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority (PA). However statements have been made by some Israeli army generals that Israel will continue to control the city between the hours of 12 midnight until 6am.
