#1
I can't believe that a reporter from The Globe and Mail would proceed from the assumption that front-line fighting men are sophisticated intellectuals.
Oh yeah, I forgot, reporters are quite parochial and don't meet people outside their own little circles. Now it all makes sense.
#2
In fact, he would have trouble finding Canada on a map.
No insult to the Canadians, but how many Europeans would be able to find Canada on a map? Or South Americans, Asians, whatever-ans? For that matter, how many Canadians would be able to find Afghanistan on a map, or know the name of it's president? I'm a little hazy on the geography bit myself unless I've recently looked it up, and I've had the advantage of a Rantburg education!
The survey did ask better questions, the answers to which will definitely help The Globe & Mail's readers understand how deeply ignorant the Taliban jihadis are -- men who spend the first half of their lives memorizing one book in a language they don't understand, then the rest of it trying to destroy what their betters have built... with the result, according to the imams, that six million Muslims per year are driven out of their religion. I suspect that, were the surveyors to have asked the "sophisticated" city Taliban equally probing questions, their knowledge would have been discovered to be very narrow indeed, their understanding of the world beyond their little war not significantly more extensive than that of the cannon fodder.
#8
"...oft-repeated perception of the Taliban as sophisticated terrorists who pose a direct threat to Western countries."
Just a tad of spin here? Nothing to worry about, no need to look behind the curtain, don't be a big bully and beat up on these innocent, iggerant boys.
Seems to me that we saw exactly what the Taliban will do. They will provide a drug money fuelled safe house for the OBLs of the world. But that's not dangerous is it? Ptui.
#10
Yup, AS. These ignorant savages don't know much, but they do know they've been promised a world wide Umma.
Alan, I don't think the reporter cares if the Taliban shelter OBL. They're arguing there's no immediate danger to Canada -- and the conclusion they expect their readers to draw is that Canada should withdraw its troops from Afghanistan.
#11
Tw. Canada is much too big to be missed on a map. Now don't ask me to point where is Alberta, New Brunswick or even Quebec. But at least I know the
names of the first two. I doubt many europeans can say the same.
#12
I start losing map sense at the Andorras of the world. Far too many of them.. Esp island ones... or African states constantly changing their names. (although most of the latter seem to always have lots of French troops in them.)
#14
Something changed in the article. I tried to Google cache but there is nothing there.
When I read the original article this morning, the reference was to a survey of 42 "ordinary insurgents" LOL. What the hell is that? Apparently the Globe figured it out as well.
So you survey a group of Taliban that have been raised in a madrassas and you expect knowledge? These folks probably can't tell you the days of the week.
Hey, wear this vest, find a crowd, push this button, welcome to paridise!
Posted by: Creling Darling of the Lichtensteiners8341 ||
03/27/2008 13:21 Comments ||
Top||
#15
Canada is much too big to be missed on a map.
JFM dear, you can read a map. Thus you have an unfair advantage over the Taliban. Yes, Canada is awfully big, but one has to know where it is before one can find it there, and how many Europeans do? To be inclusive, I've no doubt there are Americans who cannot find Canada on the map as well.
#20
Hell, tw, there are Americans who can't find America on a map. :-(
I was trying to be polite, Barbara. I can find America and Canada -- after all, I grew up on the south side of the border, closer to Toronto than New York City -- but I've only a vague idea where Utah is.
#24
Our ignorance of Canada is not entirely our fault...all the weather in the US apparently stops at North Dakota and turns white. At least when you're watching the evening news.
Officials in Kabul say the Afghan National Army soon will number 70,000 combat-ready soldiers -- the strongest the force has been since the fall of the Taliban regime in late 2001.
The buildup has come amid urgent calls within NATO for more combat troops to be sent to assist counterterror and stabilization efforts in that country. But the Afghan government says it will be years before Afghan forces are able to provide security throughout the country by themselves -- and the Taliban says it's not worried about the growth of the army.
In early 2002, just weeks after the collapse of the Taliban regime, the transitional government in Kabul announced a bold schedule to build the Afghan National Army from scratch. That schedule called for the recruitment and training of 70,000 Afghan soldiers before the presidential election in the fall of 2004. But that target proved to be overly optimistic. Until this year, desertions were so high among the fully trained Afghan soldiers that Kabul had difficulty maintaining a force of 30,000 troops.
Now, six years after the 70,000-soldier announcement, the goal is finally within reach.
General Mohammad Zahir Azimi, a spokesman for the Afghan Defense Ministry, tells RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan that the recruitment, training, and retention of Afghan soldiers during the winter has been better than ever. "We have succeeded to bring about enormous changes in the quality and quantity of troops in the Afghan National Army compared to previous years. From [about early May], we will be able to have at least 70,000 soldiers deployed to fight against the enemy," Azimi says. "Last year, this number was about 30,000 soldiers. And our army is very well equipped this year. We have obtained new weapons and other military equipment. Our air force has been reestablished. And we have formed new commando and engineering battalions."
This article starring:
Afghan National Army
General Mohammad Zahir Azimi
Posted by: Fred ||
03/27/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11126 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
I think that the impulse will be to shift US forces from Iraq to Afghanistan instead of returning them to the US. Ironically, most not as combat forces, but as development forces.
This is a have your cake and eat it, too, scenario.
Other advantages would be that it opens up a second "front" on Iran, but also keeps up pressure on the Pakistan border, dampens the drug trade, and gives the Afghan government a lot more support to improve itself and get control of the country.
See PAYVAND > FM: IRAN READY TO IMPROVE ECONOMIC, CULTURAL TIES WITH TAIJIKISTAN, KAZAKHISTAN; + REDDIT > ARMENIA MUST ACCEPT KARABAKH INDEPENDENCE; + TOPIX > IRAN TO RECOGNIZE MUSLIM KOSOVO + KOSOVARS TO SEEK RELATIONS WITH NEIGHBORING MUSLIM GOVTS.
WAFF.com/TOPIX > SERBS SEEK/DESIRE PARTITION OF KOSOVO ALONG ETHNIC, RELIGIOUS LINES.
To save their ideo + Regional-Global Jihad, Radical Islam needs the "ISLAMIST BOMB" NOW,NOT LATER, ergo means HELP AND PROTECT IRAN + IRANIAN AMBITIONS > DESTABILIZE EVERYWHERE OR AMAP WHERE USA IS NOT, SAVE IRAN, GET THE BOMB + NUCTECHS.
Radical Islam has choosen NOT to put its Fate, its Jihad + OWG Islamist Agenda in the hands and control of non-Islamists, in the hands and control of "Infidel" and "Barbarian" "Crusader/
Zionist", etc. non-Muslim world powers.
#3
ION, TOPIX > KOREAS:NORTH NUKES ON [South Korea's]ATTACK RADARS + NEW SOUTH KOREAN CHIEF OF STAFF:SOUTH KOREA HAS PLANS TO PREEMPTIVELY ATTACK NORTH'S NUCLEAR SITES IFF UNDER THREAT. In addition, argues that SOUTH KOREA should strongly preserve and mil defend pre-existing defense lines agz NOKORS.
Also on TOPIX > CLINTON [Hillary], OBAMA SHOULD WARN NORTH KOREA ON NUKES.
#4
HMMMMM, so ISRAEL + EURO NAVAL FLEETS on one end, SOKORS + JAPAN [Taiwan?] on other end. RUSSIA-CHINA's BELOVED COMMIE-SOCIALIST/GOVTIST CENTRALISM IS ABOUT TO GO DECENTRALIZED AND FEDERALIZED?
Methinks that is what my former Aghan War comrade + WHITNEY HUSTON FAN OSAMA BIN LADEN sees also.
D *** NG IT, DOES NO ONE IN THE GWOT THINK ABOUT MARIAH? BEYONCE? GWEN? CARRIE UNDERWOOD?
Taliban attacks on telecom towers have prompted cell phone companies to shut down service across southern Afghanistan at night, angering a quarter million customers who have no other telephones. Even some Taliban fighters now regret the disruptions and are demanding that service be restored by the companies.
"Or we'll blow up the towers!"
The communication blackout follows a campaign by the Taliban, which said the U.S. and NATO were using the fighters' cell phone signals to track them at night and launch pinpoint attacks.
Only at night, though. They can't find them during the day.
About 10 towers have been attacked since the warning late last month - seven of them seriously - causing almost $2 million in damage, the telecom ministry said. Afghanistan's four major mobile phone companies began cutting nighttime service across the south soon after. The speed with which the companies acted shows how little influence the government has in remote areas and how just a few attacks can cripple a basic service and a booming, profitable industry. The shutdown could also stifle international investment in the country during a time of rising violence.
The whole idea is to keep the country ignorant and impoverished.
Succeeding admirably, too.
But the cutoff is proving extremely unpopular among Afghan citizens. Even some Taliban fighters are asking that the towers be switched back on, said Afghanistan's telecommunications minister, A. Sangin. That dissenting view shows how decisions made by the top-ranking Taliban leadership can have negative consequences for lower-ranking fighters in the field, the minister said.
They still have their phone service, back in Quetta and Peshawar.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid hinted in a telephone interview that the group could change its tactics. "We see that some people are having problems, so we might change the times that the networks are shut down in the coming days," Mujahid said.
That the Taliban could dictate when the country's mobile phone networks operate shows the weakness of the central government and the international forces that operate here, said Mohammad Qassim Akhgar, a political analyst in Kabul.
Actually it just shows that there are Neanderthals wandering around the countryside with bombs.
"After the Taliban announcement, they were aware of the situation, and still they couldn't provide security for the towers," Akhgar said. "Maybe destroying a few towers will not have any effect on the government, but the news or the message that comes out of this is very big, and all to the benefit of the Taliban." All four of the major phone companies - Roshan, AWCC, Areeba and Etisalat - declined to comment.
Sangin said the government is not overly worried about the Taliban threat because Afghans are becoming increasingly angered by the shutdown. He said seven destroyed towers, and three others with minor damage, out of the 2,000 now in the country was "not a big thing," though he added that the towers cost from $150,000 to $300,000 each. "Our view of the people targeting the telecom infrastructure is that it's not a fight against the foreign troops, it's not a fight against the government, it's actually targeting the people, because the result of such activities is that the people will suffer," Sangin said. "We believe the people will stand up and provide protection for the telecom towers."
The Talibs don't even make any pretense about doing something "for the people," except maybe forcing them to pray and to dress funny. And beat their wimmin.
Haji Jan Ahmed Aqa, a 45-year-old farmer from the remote and dangerous Zhari district of Kandahar province, said the loss of cell phone communication at night is a big problem. "What do we do if someone is sick?" he asked. "How can you agree to this Taliban demand? Maybe next the Taliban will say they have a problem in the daytime, and they'll shut down the network at daytime as well."
Afghanistan's cell phone industry has seen explosive growth since towers first appeared in late 2002, Sangin said. The country now has 5.4 million cell phone users and the industry has invested more than $1 billion. Sangin said he expects another $500 million in investments over the next two years. Attacks on towers have taken place across the south, where the Taliban is most active. Companies have shut down service primarily in Helmand, Kandahar and Zabul provinces.
This article starring:
A. Sangin
Zabiullah Mujahid
Posted by: Fred ||
03/27/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11125 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
The prophet (bpuh) didn't use cell phones. Why should Muslims use cell phones?
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
03/27/2008 0:07 Comments ||
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#2
The big news to me it that the common people are so angry that the Taliban see a need to backtrack. What Taliban action will they object to next, I wonder?
#6
Clever, junkirony! How steady is the wind in that part of the world, does anyone know? Until they get blown up, they could be used to power batteries or pull up water from wells, or something else useful.
#13
"Afghanistan's cell phone industry has seen explosive..."
Wonder how long it took to come up with that clever bit of prose?
and is the talibunnies are pissed at the lack of service, perhaps they should reimburse the phone companies for their damage.......(oh look there is a flying pig...)
KABUL, Afghanistan, (AP) - The Taliban says it will use new techniques and draw on years of fighting experience to again increase attacks in Afghanistan this spring. A statement attributed to Taliban senior commander Mullah Bradar also warns Afghans working with the government to quit their jobs or risk being targeted.
This time it's for real, yewbetcha.
Bradar said the Taliban is aiming to collapse the government of President Hamid Karzai. He said the militants would continue their attacks until the government is ousted and U.S. and NATO forces withdraw.
U.S. and NATO military officials dismiss the idea of a Taliban spring offensive and say the only offensive that will take place this year in Afghanistan is one by Western and Afghan troops. "It's the same old story, it's the same old nonsense," Mark Laity, the NATO spokesman in Kabul, said Wednesday. "What are they saying they will do? More destruction, more unhappiness, more misery. What is there that will present any hope for the Afghan people?"
They see the Germans refusing to support NATO operations in any serious way, they see the US forces overdeployed and they figure that they can do a Tet & get us to withdraw. Let's hope they're wrong.
This article starring:
Mark Laity
MULLAH BRADAR
Taliban
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/27/2008 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[11124 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
I don't imagine there will be a withdrawal so long as President Bush is in office. Do you think President McCain ;-) would withdraw in a Tet situation? Let them come and be killed, hopefully before they annoy the civilians too much.
#3
they are going too die of old age before they put up a real offensive. looks like they would reecalll they would have never defeated the soviets if it wasn't for the CIA
Ever since Darfur hit the media radar in early 2004, Khartoum has been accused of backing Janjaweed militia in raping, looting, torching and mass-murdering in western Sudan. The Sudanese government has always denied it. Khartoum says the militia forces drawn mainly from nomadic Arab tribes are bandits beyond the state's control. Now, for the first time, the commander of one of the biggest and most important Janjaweed groups has gone on the record claiming his men received direct orders and heavy weaponry from the government.
Extraordinary footage to be broadcast on Britain's Channel 4 on March 14 shows an interview with Mohammed Hamdan, leader of 20,000 Janjaweed who control most of southern Darfur. It's the closest thing yet to hard evidence that Khartoum has used Janjaweed as proxy forces to crush rebel groups and sow misery in Darfur.
"The hardware that we have? Where did we get it from? Do you think we just magicked it out of the air? It belongs to the government. Even the weapons, the cars, all that you see, we got it from the government."
Hamdan claims he met Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir twice - once at Bashir's home - to receive orders to carry out campaigns in Um Sidr and Kiryari in northern Darfur after they had been taken by Darfur rebels. The footage shows Hamdan's men displaying what they say are Sudanese Armed Forces identity cards and a big arsenal of rocket launchers, anti-aircraft guns and mortars, alongside a fleet of 126 brand new Toyota Land Cruisers. "The hardware that we have?" Hamdan tells the team from Channel 4's Unreported World series. "Where did we get it from? Do you think we just magicked it out of the air? It belongs to the government. Even the weapons, the cars, all that you see, we got it from the government."
The Associate Parliamentary Group on Sudan, a UK political lobby group, got a sneak preview of the footage on Tuesday at Britain's parliament. The film showed close-ups of Chinese-made heavy artillery at Hamdan's garrison near the government stronghold of Nyala. Hamdan said the Sudanese government had been supplying the arms as late as October 2007.
A U.N. arms embargo forbids the supply of weapons to armed groups in Darfur. Beijing denies breaking the embargo, although Chinese characters on the artillery were plain to see.
This article starring:
MOHAMED HAMDAN
Janjaweed
Omar al-Bashir
Posted by: Fred ||
03/27/2008 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[11125 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan
Colombian authorities said they seized up to 66 pounds of low-grade uranium hidden off the side of a road in southern Bogotá on Wednesday, which the Colombian Defense Ministry said belonged to FARC guerrillas.
The Defense Ministry said the discovery adds weight to the evidence found in a laptop belonging to slain guerrilla leader Raúl Reyes, which showed the rebels were interested in buying and selling the uranium on the international underground market.
But the 30 kilograms of uranium found in plastic bags dug about three feet from a road in southern Bogotá was ''impoverished,'' the ministry said, and in that state could not have been used to make a radioactive bomb. Authorities were waiting for further analysis to determine how dangerous the material found really is, Armed Forces commander Freddy Padilla told a news conference late Wednesday.
It was not clear if Colombian authorities meant that they had found depleted uranium, which is the residue left after the mineral is processed to make nuclear energy or nuclear weapons. In its natural state, uranium has low radioactivity and it has to be enriched through a sophisticated process to generate nuclear energy or to make nuclear weapons.
Oh, no! Depleted Uranium!
Or only partially processed. Or ore.
The uranium per se isn't a crisis. But FARC + Chavez + Iran is a serious danger, one way or the other.
FIBREGLASS is being used to make military-style knives in attempts to thwart checks of incoming international mail, customs authorities say. Australian customs national investigations manager Richard Janeczko said today that customs officers checking international mail had this week intercepted six knives made out of fibreglass resin.
The knives, together with a slingshot and brace, were in an air mail parcel from the US declared as containing clothes and literature and destined for a Sydney address.
Mr Janeczko said the attempt to smuggle the potentially undetectable and prohibited weapons posed "a dangerous new threat''. But despite claims by their American suppliers that the knives were "practically undetectable to modern security devices'', customs officers had been able to find them with specialised equipment, Mr Janeczko said.
They were discovered during x-ray screening at Australia Post's Sydney Gateway Facility at Clyde, in Sydney's west.
Mr Janeczko said no arrests had yet been made in connection with the offence, which carries a maximum penalty of $275,000 and/or 10 years' imprisonment. I wonder why someone would want such knives.
Posted by: Phil_B ||
03/27/2008 06:55 ||
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Link ||
[11125 views]
Top|| File under: Global Jihad
#1
For some years now, there have been advanced ceramic knives that are just amazingly sharp, unfortunately also brittle. However if you put the spine in fiberglass, it would put a stainless scalpel to shame.
#2
I have an Kyocera chef's knife. It is an amazing piece of work. It is the sharpest knife I've ever used and it holds an edge like noting I've seen. But it is brittle and you must treat it gently.
Posted by: Formerly Dan ||
03/27/2008 12:14 Comments ||
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#6
I have one of those "Plastic" knives (Executive letter opener), it's a carbon composite and quite strong, not particularly sharp, but it should do the job, I've not tried to take it anywhere unacceptable, but it would probably go undetected at most of the scanners (Such as the Courthouse) That rely on finding metal.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/27/2008 14:53 Comments ||
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#7
Australia? When knives are outlawed, only outlaws will have knives....
GOP presidential hopeful John McCain on Wednesday cast America's commitment to Iraq as a "moral responsibility" to avert a genocidal civil war that could ensue if U.S. troops are withdrawn too soon. In a major address in California on foreign policy, the presumptive Republican nominee said, "It would be an unconscionable act of betrayal, a stain on our character as a great nation, if we were to walk away from the Iraqi people and consign them to the horrendous violence, ethnic cleansing and possibly genocide that would follow a reckless, irresponsible and premature withdrawal."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/27/2008 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[11126 views]
Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency
#1
Compare wid STRATEGYPAGE > IRAN:LOOKING FOR PLAN B; + COME DIE FOR ME [OBL's New Messages] - OSAMA's BARK MUCH WORSE THAN ACTUAL BITE???
#6
"Withdrawn too soon" > basically, the USA would be repeating its Vietnam mistakes, i.e. TET '68 + + PARIS '73 + SAIGON '75, in one shot. VICTORY IS ONCE AGAIN DEFEAT, ENEMY/OPPOS FORCES LEFT IN PLACE, + ABANDONED/LEFT A MAJOR US ALLY UNSUPPORTED, THUS ALLOWING RADICAL ISLAM TO REASSERT ITSELF AND LIKELY TAKE OVER.
FOX ALL-STAR PANEL > Pro-GOP or pro-DEM, all are in rough agreement THAT THE USA WILL LIKELY END UP HAVING TO GO BACK INTO IRAQ = IRAQ-AFGHANI MILITARILY. This time, however, the Islamists will likely have "Dirty Nukes/WMDS" in their arsenal.
John McCain called for a new ``League of Democracies'' to advance western values and said he'd explore a free-trade agreement with the European Union in a speech outlining his foreign policy positions. ``We have to strengthen our global alliances as the core of a new global compact -- a League of Democracies -- that can harness the vast influence of the more than 100 democratic nations around the world to advance our values and defend our shared interests,'' McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, told the Los Angeles World Affairs Council.
Such democracies include the European Union as well as India, Japan, Australia, Brazil, South Korea, South Africa, Turkey and Israel, McCain said. ``We cannot build an enduring peace based on freedom by ourselves, and we do not want to,'' he said.
The Group of Eight leading industrial nations should be expanded to include Brazil and India, but exclude Russia, he said. ``Rather than tolerate Russia's nuclear blackmail or cyber attacks, western nations should make clear that the solidarity of NATO, from the Baltic to the Black Sea, is indivisible and that the organization's doors remain open to all democracies committed to the defense of freedom,'' McCain said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/27/2008 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[11125 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
(1) Now, where did I see this concept first?
(2) more than 100 democratic nations around the world
?????????
#3
As the UNSC has proven it is the only part of the UN that isn't utterly useless, so too, this 'Justice League' idea means nothing without a military.
Again, I like to point out that modern industrial armies are a recent phenomenon. For the last 1500 years, mercenary armies were much more practical for most small engagements.
They are small and cheap, which is usually what is needed for less important assignments like what we call "peacekeeping" today. It puts less strain on a nation to deploy them somewhere.
Such an organizations would not be an ineffectual conglomeration like the UN "baby blue berets", but would be *operated* by the US and under our direction and led by either current or former military officers, like the French Foreign Legion.
Optimally, they would be kept on a private island in the Caribbean, and not permitted entry to any democratic nation.
There would be no political heartburn for deploying them in nasty places like Lebanon or Darfur. However, they would be uniformed soldiers under the protection of the Geneva Convention and have to obey the rules of war.
Their weapons would be limited to light infantry, and their logistical support would be by the US military, so their maximum size would be a brigade or two. As such, they couldn't either engage or last in a fight with a professional army, but would be perfect to keep a bunch of ignorant savages from slaughtering women and children.
#4
Many of the technical orgs are quite useful. Really its only the UNGA, the Human Rights Council and UNESCO that are useless. Wait, did i say "only"? :)
Actually even UNESCO does some good things, and the UNGA provides a diplomatic meeting place of some use.
And UNSC is not only valuable where it sends troops.
The League of Democracies, even without a military force, would have value in international politics.
Saddam Hussein's intelligence agency secretly financed a trip to Iraq for three U.S. lawmakers during the run-up to the U.S.-led invasion, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
An indictment unsealed in Detroit accuses Muthanna Al-Hanooti, a member of a Michigan nonprofit group, of arranging for three members of Congress to travel to Iraq in October 2002 at the behest of Saddam's regime. Prosecutors say Iraqi intelligence officials paid for the trip through an intermediary. At the time, the Bush administration was trying to persuade Congress to authorize military action against Iraq. The lawmakers are not named in the indictment but the dates correspond to a trip by Democratic Reps. Jim McDermott of Washington, David Bonior of Michigan and Mike Thompson of California.
How, now how did I know that McDermott and Bonior were on the list? And where was Cindy McKinney?
None was charged and Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said investigators "have no information whatsoever" any of them knew the trip was underwritten by Saddam. "Obviously we didn't know it at the time," McDermott spokesman Michael DeCesare said Wednesday. "The trip was to see the plight of the Iraqi children. That's the only reason we went."
Never met a thug he didn't like, however ...
During the trip, the lawmakers expressed skepticism about the Bush administration's claims that Saddam was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction.
"War is not the answer," Bonior, who is no longer in Congress, said at a news conference while on the trip. "There is a way to resolve this."
"War is not the answer," Bonior, who is no longer in Congress, said at a news conference while on the trip. "There is a way to resolve this."
So it was all about the children ...
Though weapons of mass destruction ultimately were never found, the lawmakers drew criticism for their trip at the time. Oklahoma Sen. Don Nickles, the second-ranking Senate Republican at the time, said the Democrats "sound somewhat like spokespersons for the Iraqi government."
Al-Hanooti was arrested Tuesday night while returning to the U.S. from the Middle East, where he was looking for a job, his attorney, James Thomas, said. Al-Hanooti pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of conspiracy to act as an unregistered agent of a foreign government, illegally purchasing Iraqi oil and lying to authorities. He was being held on $100,000 bail. Thomas said Al-Hanooti would "vigorously defend" himself against the charges but he could not discuss the specifics of the case since he had seen none of the evidence.
"I can say no more!"
Al-Hanooti worked on and off from 1999 to 2006 as a public relations coordinator for Life for Relief and Development, a Michigan group formed after the first Gulf War to fund ammunition humanitarian work in Iraq. FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Force agents raided the charity's headquarters in 2006 but charged nobody and allowed the agency to continue operating.
Prosecutors said Al-Hanooti was responsible for monitoring Congress for the Iraqi Intelligence Service. From 1999 to 2002, he allegedly provided Saddam's government with a list of U.S. lawmakers he believed favored lifting economic sanctions against Iraq. In exchange for coordinating the congressional trip, Al-Hanooti allegedly received 2 million barrels of Iraqi oil, prosecutors said. DeCesare said McDermott was invited to go to Iraq by a Seattle church group and was unaware of any other funding for the trip.
And he didn't ask, either. Rather uncurious fellow about some things ...
#2
Methinks the Rantburg Surprise Meter ® would be appropriate for this posting...
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
03/27/2008 3:25 Comments ||
Top||
#3
And again, a long-dormant fantasy stirs back to life...
...a courtyard at Leavenworth Federal Prison...two PFC's tying Jim McDermott to a stake in front of a sandbagged wall as a JAG Captain reads the court's death sentence and the armorer checks the sights on the M-14s...
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
03/27/2008 3:28 Comments ||
Top||
#4
This story was on the front page of the Cincinnati Enquirer this morning, below the fold. I don't know about anyone else, but I'd rather my representatives were venal than fools... although of course I'd much rather they were honest and clever, and agreed with me on the critical particulars, were the world a perfect place.
#6
Well, we know what districts really only want tools and socks puppets rather than representatives. So, can we inquiry when the shills will refile their travel papers to accurately reflect who paid for their trip? Otherwise we can ask our own Congresscritters to file an ethics violation act on their asses.
#8
I distinctly recall a comment on RB around the time these useful idiots went over to Iraq not long before the invasion. The commentator, whose identity escapes me now (which is unfortunate, as I would like to pay my respects) made it a point to highlight how truly careless and oblivious these useful idiots must be to partake in such a spectacle.
James Adelbert "Baghdad Jim" McDermott (born December 28, 1936 in Chicago, Illinois) is the current U.S. Representative for Washington's 7th congressional district and a traitor to the United States. The 7th District includes most of Seattle and Vashon Island and portions of Shoreline, Tukwila, SeaTac, and Burien.
If a terrorist group were to detonate a nuclear weapon on U.S. soil, the FBI, CIA, Department of Homeland Security and the nation's national labs would race to track down those responsible and prevent any further detonations by that group.
After the Sept. 11 attacks, the time between the fall of the twin towers and our response in Afghanistan was less than one month. But current U.S. nuclear forensics capability -- which involves analyzing nuclear radiation and isotopic signatures -- can't guarantee definitive information within a month of an attack.
Radiation and isotopic signatures are the scents that nuclear forensics scientists use to hunt terrorists. Within a few hours, they would know whether the bomb was made of plutonium or uranium, a crucial first step in narrowing the investigation. Within hours to weeks, they would determine key details about the original nuclear material and then estimate the size, weight and complexity of the bomb. Over the next several months, they might be able to identify the source country and the terrorists' pathway into the United States.
With a few changes, the speed and accuracy of nuclear forensics could be significantly improved.
First, we should update our 20th-century program to confront 21st-century enemies. Much of our field and laboratory equipment dates to the Cold War. So do most of our personnel. We need to develop and manufacture advanced, automated radiation analysis equipment that can be deployed to the field and is backed up by improved laboratory measurement. We need enhanced computer simulation and modeling capabilities. And we need to establish a federal initiative to reinvigorate the field of nuclear chemistry.
Second, international collaboration is essential. Nuclear material can have a unique signature depending on its source reactor or fuel facility. A shared and appropriately accessible international database of nuclear samples can help to more quickly match debris from an explosion with its original source.
Third, we must consider what it will take for the world to believe our analysis. The U.S. intelligence community's failures in assessing weapons of mass destruction in Iraq could well result in international skepticism regarding any nuclear forensics investigation we might perform. A group of recognized experts not associated with our federal investigation should be established to provide independent validation of the forensics analysis.
Finally, we need to manage expectations and prepare for the inevitable political pressure to respond quickly after an attack. Through realistic drills, our leaders can become aware of the strengths and limitations of the nation's nuclear forensics capability. Even with these changes, forensics analysis will take time, and results will not be immediately conclusive. Our leaders must recognize that, at times, decisions may need to be deferred or made amid uncertainty.
No, finally we need to publicly, at the UN, tell Iran, North Korea, Pakistan and Syria that if there is such an explosion in the U. S. it will be our default position that they, jointly and severally, are the culpable and it will be their responsibility to demonstrate otherwise to our satisfaction before we, without prior notice, hit the red button or do whatever else we wish to. And if any other nation has a problem with that, they can join the list. People need to understand you can only pull on Superman's cape so many times before he turns around and swats you.
This clown may be named Davis but I am assured he's not Mr. Davis.
#1
Believe it or not, US officials have already stated that even if they could trace PU or U from a terror attack to a state like Pakistan, that would not mean retaliation since non state actors could have gotten hold of material without the complicity of Pak (or NoKo) officials.
Posted by: john frum ||
03/27/2008 15:55 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Some would likely claim credit. Others would dance in the streets. Kill them all.
#4
If a terrorist group were to detonate a nuclear weapon on U.S. soil, the FBI, CIA, Department of Homeland Security and the nation's national labs would race to track down those responsible and prevent any further detonations by that group.
Well THAT'S a relief. I'm sure they will have all the proper warrants and read everyone involved their bloody rights.
What's the prize for the agency winning the "race", I wonder? Shiny new Blackberries all around?
Posted by: Grenter Protector of the Geats4975 ||
03/27/2008 17:17 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Huh. Yet another article that talks about "a" nuclear weapon. If it happens, it's not going to be "a" detonation. If they can smuggle one in, they can smuggle more. They'd be stupid to even bother if they only have one device (it's not as though they'd get a second chance), and if they have more, then they'd be stupid not to try to smuggle in every last one they have and detonate them all simultaneously the day after they're all in place, or the moment one of the bombs or smuggling teams is discovered. The only way it'll be "a" detonation is if it's the second team that is intercepted.
There really seems to be a failure of imagination on this point.
#6
In the absence of major or decisive battlefield victory agz US, + absence/preclusion of placing their orgaz fate and Regional-Global Jihad wholly in the control of "infidel", etc. Anti/Non-Islamist world powers, THAT ONLY LEAVES MASS = HIGH PROFILE NUCLEAR-WMD TERROR ATTACKS + ESCALATORY "MUTUAL DESTRUCTION" OPTIONS.
OSAMA + RADICAL ISLAM NEED THE "ISLAMIST BOMB" [NUKE/POPULATION SWORD?]NOW, NOT LATER - this means traditional "Shia versus Sunni" rivalry is out, HELPING + PROTECTING + EXPANDING NUCLEARIZING IRAN + OTHER ANTI-US MILITANT MUSLIM STATES IS "IN", espec vv RUSSIA + CENASIA. Just in case the US does decide to attack and invade IRAN, Radical Islam can still acquire NUCTECHS + NUCBOMBS vv VARI MAFIAS + UNSECURE COLD WAR SOVIET ARSENALS-CACHES IN FORMER SSR's-RUSSIA, IFF THE ISLAMISTS DON'T HAVE THESE ALREADY AS PER VARI POST-9-11 NET SOURCES INCLUDING OFFICIOS WITHIN THE RUSS GOVT. ITSELF.
#7
If a terrorist group were to detonate a nuclear weapon on U.S. soil, the FBI, CIA, Department of Homeland Security and the nation's national labs would race to track down those responsible and prevent any further detonations donations by that group.
Despite a long history of using Pakistan as a safe haven, Taliban on the front lines of the insurgency say they have no loyalty to their neighbouring country. A survey of 42 insurgents in Kandahar found most were critical about Pakistan, where they are reported to have headquarters and supply lines, and most were critical of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, often using the harshest language to describe him.
Some insurgents claimed they want to fight for the seizure of vast swaths of Pakistan's territory in the name of expanding Afghanistan to include the major cities of Quetta and Peshawar. Every fighter asked said those two cities belong inside Afghanistan, and all of them rejected the existing border as a legitimate boundary between the countries.
The Globe and Mail's modest sample of Taliban opinion may only reflect an effort by the insurgents to hide their sources of support in Pakistan, analysts say, or it may point to something more troubling: the growing indications that parts of the insurgency are no longer controlled by anybody. "If they are supported by ISI [Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency], why are they attacking Pakistan?" said Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, the former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, after reviewing The Globe's raw video footage. "Why would the ISI want these kinds of activities in Pakistan? It's out of control. Nobody is able to control it. This is Afghan government propaganda, about the Pakistan government controlling the Taliban."
Few historians dispute that Pakistan's intelligence services played a decisive role in establishing the Taliban movement in 1994, and Islamabad appeared to retain a strong influence over the regime that seized Kabul two years later. President Musharraf formally cut ties with the Taliban in 2001, but in recent years a growing number of observers have accused Pakistan's agents, or former agents, of continuing their assistance for the radical movement.
This article starring:
MULLAH ABDUL SALAM ZAIF
Taliban
Posted by: Fred ||
03/27/2008 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[11127 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
in the name of expanding Afghanistan to include the major cities of Quetta and Peshawar
Greater Afghanistan? I don't recall calls for this before, is it new?
#3
He, he. One of the keys of Pakistan's support to Taliban is that the Pakis thought that ultraislamists would not question the Durand line (the Durand treaty expired somewhere in the 90s): "We are all muslims. Who cares about a little border between friends?". I am happy this comes now to bite the Pakis.
Also if Taliban start turning to nationalism they
will a) turn against Mullah Omar who allowed Al Quaida (furriners) rule the country b) turn against Al Quaida (Arabs, furriners) c) they become Afghanistan's problem not ours.
#4
Afghanistan voted against the entry of Pakistan into the United Nations in 1947 because it did not accept the legality of the NWFP's incorporation into Pakistan.
The Government of the NWFP, led by an arm of India's Congress Party was dismissed by Sir George Cunningham, governor of the NWFP. Afghanistan argued that the NWFP should have been given the option to join Pakistan or become independent. The option to join India was forbidden by Lord Louis Mountbatten (the last Viceroy of the Indian Empire) because of the lack of territorial contiguity. The NWFP leader Abdul Ghaffar Khan, a follower of the Mahatma and sometimes called the Frontier Gandhi for his leadership of the Pashtuns in non-violent resistance during the struggle against the British was jailed.
The 100 year Durand Line treaty between the British Raj and the Emirate of expired in 1993. Afghans consider the Pashtuns regions annexed by the British into their Indian Empire as legally Afghan territory. With the expiration of the treaty, they want it back.
Posted by: john frum ||
03/27/2008 13:49 Comments ||
Top||
#5
BTW, the ANP party that came to power recently is led by a grandson of Abdul Gaffar Khan (guy on the left)
Posted by: john frum ||
03/27/2008 13:52 Comments ||
Top||
Britain's exit strategy from Iraq is in danger of unravelling amid the fires and destruction in Basra and the bloody internecine Shia strife spreading across the land. The withdrawal of British troops from the country depends on the success of Lieutenant-General Mohan al-Furayji, the Iraqi commander leading the battle against the Mehdi Army of Muqtada al-Sadr. But Lt-Gen Mohan is in a precarious position, with reports suggesting he may be sacked.
At the same time, there are growing calls from Washington for British troops to go back into Basra city to help the Iraqi forces defeat Mr Sadr's Shia militia.
The Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, is said to be under tremendous pressure from some of his advisers to dismiss the charismatic and controversial Lt-Gen Mohan, a key figure in the deal under which British forces withdrew from Basra city, and who is regarded as the UK's main ally in Iraq.
The head of the police force, Major-General Jalil Khalaf, who is strongly backed by the British, is also said to be under a threat of dismissal, adding to the dismay in London. For the time being, Lt-Gen Mohan remains at his post as his troops continue fighting.
Another British soldier was killed yesterday the 176th since the 2003 invasion fighting alongside US forces against Shia militias in Baghdad, in a spiral of violence which began with the assault on the Mehdi Army in Basra early on Tuesday.
According to senior sources, the offensive was launched three months before Lt-Gen Mohan had wanted it to, and despite him warning that going in too early would result in the fighting spreading to other Shia strongholds. It was not the first time the general had been at odds with the Baghdad government. Mr Maliki had considered removing him from his post four weeks ago, but desisted after lobbying by the British.
British commanders were unaware of the operation until just before it began, although the Iraqi government's national security adviser, Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, had spent half an hour discussing the plan with General David Petraeus, the US commander in Iraq, on Saturday evening. This was followed by Mr Maliki ordering two extra Iraqi infantry battalions to Basra that night.
Amid mounting tension over the offensive yesterday, General Jack Keane, a former vice-chief of the US Defence Staff and a leading proponent of American "surge" tactics, urged British troops to go back into Basra, which they left last September. However, the British Government is extremely wary of stepping back into the quagmire of and any large-scale redeployment is highly unlikely.
It is difficult to overstate the faith placed in Lt-Gen Mohan by the British. His name has become almost a mantra among officials, who have been heard to say "General Mohan will sort this out" or "General Mohan has decided this." Lt-Gen Mohan was appointed on a rolling three-month contract last July. According to Iraqi sources, the so-called "Iranian faction" surrounding Prime Minister Maliki would not give an 18-month contract to an avowedly secular commander in Basra. His current tenure runs out on 19 April. Mr Maliki is under pressure from those opposed to Lt-Gen Mohan to recall him to Baghdad at that time.
The British were said to be "comfortable" with Lt-Gen Mohan's plans to combat the militias in Basra some time in the summer after suitable conditions had been established.
Last week, Lt-Gen Mohan was in Baghdad, putting forward his case for establishing security in Basra before taking on the Shia militias. As well as additional resources and securing the Iranian border, it would have involved Mr Maliki announcing a weapons amnesty for the militias in June, possibly lasting as long as six weeks, as opposed to the 72 hours given when the offensive began on Tuesday.
#2
It sure is tough to get any real time information on this fight against the Mahadi. All I'm finding is rehased versions of doom and gloom, so what the Sam Hill is happening?
(KUNA) -- The Multi-National Force (MNF) accused Wednesday Iran of backing up gunmen in the southern city of Basra.
Major-General Kevin Bergner, Multi-National Force-Iraq spokesman, said a press statement that the situation in Baghdad was under control and denied that supporters of the Sadr bloc were targeted in operations conducted in Baghdad and Basra.
"Enforcement of the Rule of Law in Basra is not a battle against Jaysh Al-Mahdi, as some have suggested. Nor is it a proxy war between the U.S. and Iran as others have purported. It is the government of Iraq taking responsible action necessary to deal with criminals on the streets with weapons," said Bergner.
He went on saying that outlaw groups were the main concern for security in Basra, adding that Iran's influence on the agenda of these groups was undeniable.
The continuous operations in Basra city reflected the increasing capabilities and readiness of the Iraqi Security Forces, said the MNF spokesman, adding that operations would not stop until all outlaw groups surrender.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/27/2008 00:00 ||
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[11125 views]
Top|| File under: Mahdi Army
BAGHDAD - Oil production and exports from Iraqs southern oilfields could be disrupted in three days if workers cannot reach their offices due to fighting in Basra, a Southern Oil Company official told Reuters on Wednesday. If the military operations continue for three more days, the oil workers will not be able to continue their work and this is going to definitely affect oil production and exports, said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
The streets of Basra have largely been empty since Tuesday when Iraqi security forces launched a major military operation to clear out gunmen from the oil-rich city.
Oil workers in the Basra province work 24-hour shifts and have not been replaced since Tuesday, the oil company official said. The workers are now going through a very hard time with shortages of food, and are tired from the heat because they are not being replaced, he said.
Oilfields in the Basra province pump around 2 million barrels per day and export some 1.5 million bpd, the company official said. Iraq receives the bulk of its revenues from its southern oilfields.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/27/2008 00:00 ||
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Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday threatened "painful" measures against Hamas and ruled out talks with the Palestinian Islamist group on a possible truce.
"We are not talking to Hamas and we are not going to compromise with someone that is consistently shooting rockets on the heads of Israelis," Olmert told foreign journalists at a news conference, speaking in English. "We will deal with Hamas in other ways and these ways will be very painful."
With U.S. backing, Egypt has been trying to negotiate a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Gaza militants who fire rockets across the border into the Jewish state.
Hamas has suspended rocket fire in recent weeks, following an Israeli offensive in northern Gaza that killed more than 120 Palestinians, many of them civilians.
Israel has also refrained from carrying out attacks in Gaza against members of the group but it continues to target Islamic Jihad, which has kept up sporadic rocket attacks -- strikes that rarely cause death or injury but have traumatised border towns.
The talks could include the possibility of reopening the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, which was blasted open by militants in January in defiance of an Israeli-led siege on the territory. It has since been resealed.
Olmert said on Wednesday Israel was willing to allow humanitarian goods through Rafah. "We will allow the transfer of all the humanitarian needs through all the crossings, including the Rafah crossing, as part of this effort. But this is as far as I'm prepared to go."
Olmert also reiterated that Hamas was an "obstacle" to U.S.-backed efforts to create a Palestinian state. But he added: "It is not an insurmountable obstacle. It can be overcome."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/27/2008 00:00 ||
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[11124 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbass Fatah faction on Wednesday ruled out talks with Hamas unless the Islamist group first cedes control of Gaza, casting doubt on a Yemen-sponsored reconciliation push. Fatah and Hamas, which seized control of the coastal enclave last June, agreed in Yemen this week to revive direct talks after months of hostilities to return the Palestinian situation to what it was before the Gaza incidents.
But an apparent dispute quickly broke out. Hamas has said talks will begin on April 5 while Abbass office insisted the Islamist group must first relinquish control of the Gaza Strip. We are ready to open a new chapter but the Palestinian condition remains unchanged, and that is a complete and a total reversal of the coup, Abbass media adviser Nabil Amr told reporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah. He said, This is the final position of the Palestinian National Authority, the Palestine Liberation Organisation and of Fatah.
This article starring:
NABIL AMR
Fatah
Posted by: Fred ||
03/27/2008 00:00 ||
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[11125 views]
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Emboldened by its alliance with Iran, Syria has put its interests in Lebanon above the prestige of hosting an Arab summit that will open on Saturday with the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Egypt conspicuously absent.
President Bashar al-Assad has dismissed demands to push Syria's Lebanese allies to abandon their quest for a larger share of power in Beirut, prompting the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Egypt, both U.S. allies, to stay away from the summit.
Their absence is intended to embarrass Damascus, the target of revived Western pressure in recent weeks.
Saudi Arabia and the United States accuse Syria of prolonging the crisis between the Western-backed Beirut government and pro-Syrian opposition that has kept Lebanon without a president since November.
Saudi Arabia opted to send only a junior official to the summit after mediation efforts with Syria over Lebanon failed.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal urged tough action against Syria during a tour of the United States and Europe in February, days after he made a secret visit to Damascus that failed to produce an agreement, diplomats said.
Egypt will be represented by a junior minister at the March 29-30 meeting. Lebanon will boycott the summit altogether.
Syria supports demands by the Hezbollah-led opposition for veto power in the cabinet. One Syrian source said Damascus was being asked to sell out Hezbollah by accepting formation of a Lebanese government free to "do Israel's bidding".
Posted by: Fred ||
03/27/2008 00:00 ||
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Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit announced instatements to MENA that Shehab will represent Egypt at the summit slated for March 29-30 in Damascus, capital of Syria. Earlier, Abul Gheit noted that his country believed that the Arab summit needs favorable atmosphere to achieve its goals. The top Egyptian diplomat expressed Egypt's keenness to boost the Arab joint action and play an effective role during the summit, which is expected to discuss the pressing issues in the MiddleEast region.
By sending only its legal affairs minister, Egypt became the latest Arab country to snub the Arab Summit. One day ago, the Lebanese cabinet officially announced to boycott the upcoming 20th Arab summit, urging the Arabs to tackle the political crisis in Lebanon, which the Lebanon majority government blames Damascus for a negative influence. On the sidelines of a preparatory meeting Damascus on Monday, Saudi permanent representative to the Arab League Ahmad Qattan announced that he would attend the upcoming Arab summit on behalf of his country, ruling out the presence of Saudi King Abdullah or Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal.
Saudi's announcement to send a low-level delegation to the summit reflects the strained ties between Damascus and Riyadh overthe political crisis in neighboring Lebanon, where the presidential seat has been vacant since last November when the former President Emile Lahoud stepped down. A long-awaited parliamentary session to elect a new Lebanese president to succeed Lahoud has been postponed for 17 times till April 22.
Saudi Arabia and Syria support different parties in Lebanon, with Riyadh, along with its Western allies, backing the majority led by Saad Hariri in the Lebanese parliament while Damascus and its ally Tehran supporting the opposition. Saudi Arabia, together with Egypt, are blaming Syria for blocking the presidential election in Lebanon, which is denied by Syria.
This article starring:
Ahmad Qattan
Emile Lahoud
Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit
Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal
Minister of Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Moufed Mahmoud Shehab
Saad Hariri
Saudi King Abdullah
Posted by: Fred ||
03/27/2008 00:00 ||
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[11126 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
An Israeli non-commissioned officer is suspected of having passed on information to Hezbollah as part of a drug deal. Two other residents of northern Israel were arrested along with the NCO on suspicion of smuggling heroin into Israel from Lebanon. A gag order on the fact of the arrest was lifted on Monday. Israeli security officials said on Monday after the affair was publicized that "Hezbollah is trying to flood Israel with narcotics."
The indictment against the two men who were known to the police - Abed Zouabi, age 30, of Nazareth, and Shir Hayib, aged 26, from the village Tuba Zangariya in the Upper Galilee - alleges that the two men forged a liaison with an undercover police agent known as Haj. Mr. Zouabi offered the police agent $2,500 in exchange for every pound of heroin that he would smuggle in from Lebanon. Mr. Hayib gave the agent the money in dollars and an SIM card that allowed him to make contact with the Lebanese dealers. The two men met near the border and toured the area, in the course of which he provided information about where drugs could be safely smuggled into Israel. In exchange, the NCO was promised $20,000.
The affair was discovered in the course of routine work along the Lebanese border of the Galilee police. About a month ago the police learned from their undercover agent that there was an NCO who was involved in the drug smuggling operations and had provided Hezbollah with valuable information. The information that the police collected was turned over to the IDF, and the suspect was arrested. Following the arrest the network continued to operate. Two weeks ago the two others were arrested in the middle of a drug deal along the northern border. Two kilograms of heroin was discovered in Mr. Zouabi's Mercedes. The NCO is suspected of having passed on information about the numbers of IDF troops along the northern border, as well as information about the number of vehicles in the sector and specific information about the locations of IDF bases.
Israeli Security officials said that this was just part of Hezbollah's war on Israel, saying that Hezbollah hoped to "poison" Israeli society by a plethora of means in addition to acts of terrorism. The arrest of the NCO on Monday is just the tip of the iceberg, with more developments expected.
Security officials said that in just the past number of months 50 pounds heroin had been seized. For comparison's sake they note that in 2005, only a single pound of heroin was caught. The police have focused most of their intelligence efforts on the divided village Ghajar. The IDF has carried out a number of operations in the area of the village in conjunction with the Israel police. In some cases those operations devolved into exchanges of live fire.
Security officials said that the drug smugglers have been trying to find additional routes along the border fence, which is more than 100 kilometers long. Police said that the drug dealers had become far bolder in their activity along the border fence and were recently equipped with sophisticated night vision equipment, probably by Hezbollah.
In Hezbollah's written combat doctrine, drug smuggling is referred to as the "indirect war."
Hezbollah's strategy has been well known to Israel for the past two decades. In the past the indirect war had another branch: Forgery of foreign currencies, mainly the U.S. dollar, in order to flood Israel and to purchase weaponry in the West. The forgery was relatively low-grade and ultimately died out. The drugs, conversely, are a stable and ancient tradition in the region and has been a source of livelihood for a number of clans in the area for hundreds of years.
This article starring:
ABED ZUABI
Hezbollah
SHIR HAIIB
Hezbollah
Posted by: Fred ||
03/27/2008 00:00 ||
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[11125 views]
Top|| File under:
(Hope it works. If not, try Prof. Volokh's site, where I found it.)
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/27/2008 19:36 ||
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[11128 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Things are downloading slowly on the site. I had to stop 4-5 times for material to buffer. I suspect a fair amount of traffic on the server.
There is nothing in this that is not widely available on the internet; however, in this clip it is all in one place. If Muslims go ballistic it is because there can be no argument to the presentation and it ain't a pretty picture. Everything shown is in their own words and actions.
#2
Thanks Barb.. I'm sure the muslimes will go ape shit over this Video too..
Car-B-Ques, old and new Testaments a'burning, Marchers in Full Screaming-Meemie-Mode while EUROPEAN OFFICIALS race each other to prostrate themselves in full flop before each group of muslims and giving in to each and every demand. JIZA JIZA JIZA!
******************************************
I a'wait for THAT Spechul Day somewhere off in the future when EYUROP goes mid-evil on all of them.[:")
I think he could have gone all the attrocities (murder, robbery, adultery & paedophilia) in the life of Mo' and how his life is the one for muslims to follow.
If you think murder, robbery, adultery & paedophilia are bad then you cannot tolerate islam.
#5
Remember that there is a political purpose for showing this video. By underplaying it, Wilders gives credibility to his criticisms of Islam and Muslims, and he shows up the cowardice of those who tried to ban it in advance as just that, cowardice.
The critical thing is first what the reaction will be, and second, how he plans to follow up on it. And this is where strategy comes into play. If he gets away with Fitna, his people should have a whole slew of similar short movies to show.
In essence, they become campaign movies for his party, and for other, similar political movements all over Europe.
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.
Officials in Kabul say the 
KABUL, Afghanistan, (AP) - The Taliban says it will use new techniques and draw on years of fighting experience to again increase attacks in Afghanistan this spring. A statement attributed to Taliban senior commander 
GOP presidential hopeful John McCain on Wednesday cast America's commitment to Iraq as a "moral responsibility" to avert a genocidal civil war that could ensue if U.S. troops are withdrawn too soon. In a major address in California on foreign policy, the presumptive Republican nominee said, "It would be an unconscionable act of betrayal, a stain on our character as a great nation, if we were to walk away from the Iraqi people and consign them to the horrendous violence, ethnic cleansing and possibly genocide that would follow a reckless, irresponsible and premature withdrawal."
Britain's exit strategy from Iraq is in danger of unravelling amid the fires and destruction in Basra and the bloody internecine Shia strife spreading across the land. The withdrawal of British troops from the country depends on the success of Lieutenant-General Mohan al-Furayji, the Iraqi commander leading the battle against the Mehdi Army of Muqtada al-Sadr. But Lt-Gen Mohan is in a precarious position, with reports suggesting he may be sacked.
BAGHDAD - Oil production and exports from Iraqs southern oilfields could be disrupted in three days if workers cannot reach their offices due to fighting in Basra, a Southern Oil Company official told Reuters on Wednesday. If the military operations continue for three more days, the oil workers will not be able to continue their work and this is going to definitely affect oil production and exports, said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
