Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/17/2008 13:02 Comments ||
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#6
I'm definitely liking Our Miss Brooks.
Posted by: Mike ||
12/17/2008 14:43 Comments ||
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#7
Having one half nude girl in the Good Morning article is OK for me but since a few weeks Rantburg is starting to look like a "not for family" site and NSFW site.
Would it be possible to stop this trend?
PS: I love the two additional photos but I would prefer they were on a link we would have to click in order to dsiplay the photo.
Sudan: Some 250 people killed in tribal festivities
Taliban issue video of beheaded 'spies'
7 Pak Talibs banged in Mohmand
Iraq: Bomb attack targets minister in Baghdad
Iranian artillery shells border regions in Sulaimaniya
Middle East: Rockets strike Israel from Gaza after West Bank killing
Three gunned down in southern Thailand
Iran police officer killed in border clash
Or, as Barbarella once said: "I find your love-making a bit too mechanical"
In an interview with Pakistan's Dawn newspaper, General David McKiernan, the Commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan said, "these drones do not come under my command."
It's part of a delicate diplomatic dance surrounding the stepped-up unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) strikes against the Pakistani-based militants who have become one of the leading dangers for coalition forces in Afghanistan. The Washington Post calls it "a don't-ask-don't-tell policy" for the robotic assaults. "The U.S. government refuses to publicly acknowledge the attacks while Pakistan's government continues to complain noisily about the politically sensitive strikes."
This wink-wink-nudge-nudge approach is made easier because the drones hitting Pakistan aren't being operated by the U.S. military, it seems. The Central Intelligence Agency is remotely-flying the UAVs.
UPDATE: "The overwhelming bulk of all activity in Afghanistan since the first U.S. forces went in have been basically under the control of the Central Command," Donald Rumsfeld told Sharon, back in 2002. "An exception has been the armed Predators, which are CIA-operated."
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
12/17/2008 00:00 ||
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#4
It's that old Jedi mind trick again: "These aren't the drones you're looking for . . . ."
Posted by: Mike ||
12/17/2008 8:03 Comments ||
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#5
Eeeeeck! GB, that was a mistake. I'll get Fred to fix it. Clicked the wrong one!
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/17/2008 8:06 Comments ||
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#6
[GolfBravoUSMC has been pooplisted.]
Uh, front frontal robot nudity, GB?
Posted by: ed ||
12/17/2008 9:11 Comments ||
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#7
[GolfBravoUSMC has been pooplisted.]
I was wondering about that. I don't think that GB has done anything wrong. But I'm not a mod. And the mods words are law.
Just a snip with much more to read...
PARIS - Afghan governor Mohammad Halim Fidai of the central Wardack province said Dec. 17 that security conditions were better in his region, and blamed misreporting of common acts of criminality for exaggerating the Taliban's importance as an insurgent force.
The media were at fault for a misperception of growing instability, Fidai said in an interview in Paris. NO WAY! The Media couldn't be the problem...
AoS note: lftbhndagn, the Burg does not exist to popularize your blog. Future sources must be from news sources, not your blog. In visiting your blog and this piece, I note that you don't have any links to the original sources for all the quotes you have. That's a blogging no-no.
Again: posts must have, as their source, a news source, not a blog, or they will be deleted.
#2
AoS note: lftbhndagn, the Burg does not exist to popularize your blog. Future sources must be from news sources, not your blog. In visiting your blog and this piece, I note that you don't have any links to the original sources for all the quotes you have. That's a blogging no-no.
Again: posts must have, as their source, a news source, not a blog, or they will be deleted.
AoS, moderator
Im so sorry! I have nothing but respect for the mods here and the site and its rules and I will never do that again.
This is from Fred Fry International blog. Check out the pics. Luckily, nobody got injured. Don't worry! RoEs are being worked out for your safety and that of your shipmates and cargo. Have a nice day.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/17/2008 15:24 ||
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#1
Saw a lot of this during the Tanker War. Somewhere I have photos of ships sailing or being towed into Bahrain for repairs, sometimes with the superstructures still smoking.
In one instance two tankers were being attacked about 25nm away. The captain of one, a Greek, was on the marine-band radio, screaming and pleading for the Iranians to stop shooting. The other, a Brit, calmly described the attack as it went on, down to the small craft and their crews.
The Sauds(!) sent a helo and managed to drive off the Iranians.
#2
What do you expect? Merchant ships aren't armored at all. For that matter, a lot of modern naval vessels aren't really armored the way they were in WW II. (Visit one of the museum battleships to see what I mean.)
What most naval vessels (especially Americans) do have is compartmentalization and damage control training.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
12/17/2008 18:49 Comments ||
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#4
I have no doubts some of these vessels have COVERT PRO-PIRATE OPERATIVES working aboard, as mixed with trusted crew.
* ION DRUDGEREPORT > ISRAEL is warning that iff IRAN goes nukular, it may use any primitive indigens nuclear bomb device(s) in SEABORNE NUCLEAR TERROR STRIKE(S) AGZ THE USA USING MERCHANT VESSELS [read, NYC, California Ports, etc BUT ESPEC NEW YORK CITY-HARBOR].
True enuff, but the USA taint exactly free from AIRBORNE or INDUSTRIAL VEHICLE-BASED TERROR EITHER, NOR COMMANDO TEAMS.
(SomaliNet) Peacekeepers said on Monday that some 250 people have died in separate tribal clashes in remote parts of Sudan's south Darfur region during the last week.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Doesn't Bonny have it ass backwards about what predicated the party? Skunt.
The Nigerian Police Force arrested six men believed to be Taliban fundamentalists from Afghanistan, reported the Nation newspaper Wednesday. Their mission in Nigeria is unknown, the newspaper said.
The six men were arrested in Abuja last week, nearly two weeks after they entered Nigeria, but the news of the arrest was broken on Tuesday. Mike Okiro, Inspector General of Police (IGP), is said to have notified President Umaru Yar'Adua and the National Security Adviser A. S. Mukhtar of the suspects arrest.
A police source said the development necessitated the IGP putting the 37 police commands nationwide on the alert. "These Talibans were arrested in Abuja last week by the FCT Police Command. From our preliminary interaction with them, they claimed to be members of the Islamic Brotherhood," he said.
The source said what drew the suspicion of the interrogation team is that they came into the country with fake passports. "Four of them entered the country with Zambian passports; two others had Indian passports. We have been asking them to explain why they disguised to enter Nigeria, they could not give a cogent reason why they refused to use their country's passport," he added.
According to the source, a trail of the suspects' movements since they entered the country revealed that they had visited four mosques under the guise of preaching Islam. "They could not explain their mission but we have launched a comprehensive probe into their activities," he said.
The source added that investigations were on other security agencies might team up with the Police to unravel the mission of these Talibans. The manner in which they disguised to secure entry into the country spoke volumes of a plot to breach the nation's security for selfish motive.
The Police and other security agencies may deport the suspects after the conclusion of investigations.
(SomaliNet) The United Nations special envoy to Niger, former Canadian diplomat Robert Fowler and his local driver, have been abducted by dissident Tuareg rebels.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Does that mean they're dissenting from the rebellion?
Alerted by Saudi and other intelligence agencies that Al Qaeda planned to launch a bloody assault on Muslim pilgrims taking part in the haj, the Saudi government last week launched a huge counter-terrorism operation, one of the largest in recent memory, according to US intelligence officials, a Middle East Times report said on Tuesday.
Over 3 million Muslims flocked to Makkah this year for haj that began on December 6 "under the nervous eye of Saudi security forces that included 20,000 ground forces, flights of combat helicopters and a large number of armoured vehicles deployed at key locations", the report quoted US officials as saying.
US sources said technical and other surveillance was increased in and around Makkah and the site was monitored by 10,000 security cameras and Saudi agents mixed in with the pilgrims. "Communications between Saudi fast reaction and special security units was improved and capability augmented." No four-wheel vehicles were allowed because of fears of car bombings. The pilgrims who did not have current permits were deported.
"The Saudi operation began three months ago with pre-emptive raids by Saudi security forces on suspected Al Qaeda cells, according to a former senior CIA official. Several hundred suspects were taken into custody, he said.
The report quoted US officials as saying intelligence co-operation between the US and Saudi Arabia had grown by leaps and bounds from the Saudi stonewalling days of the 1996 terror attacks on Saudi Arabia's Khobar Towers. "Currently teams of US Treasury Department agents along with FBI and CIA operatives and analysts are based in Riyadh and working together," the report said.
"Co-ordination couldn't be better," a former senior CIA official was quoted as saying.
The report noted Saudi efforts to disperse and disrupt Al Qaeda had known no rest for the last few years. In 2007, 172 suspected terrorists were captured in an operation in April, and another 139 suspects were arrested that year including a would-be suicide bomber. In March 2008, the leader of Al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia, Fahd Feraj al-Juwair, was among five terrorists killed by eastern Riyadh security forces, and by June, the government had arrested 701 Al Qaeda suspects accused of plotting attacks against the kingdom's economic and oil installations and preparing to free jailed members.
Thanks to the intensity of current Saudi efforts, "the place today is a lot more relaxed", the report said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2008 09:34 ||
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#1
Any relation to Rep. Ellison's making his pilgrimage this year?
#3
If you bother to do a bit of research my anonymous commenter, you'd find that Al Qaeda is no friend of the House of Saud. Something about them not regarding the Sauds as the proper Guardians of Mecca. Be quite a loss of honor if something violent happened to the pilgrims.
It's also why some of the princes pay off the group, in a machevellian attempt to keep them from practicing their fanatacism inside the Magic Kingdom
#4
It also means that any al-Qaeda the Saudis capture get shortened by a head, literally. The Iranians created havoc during a Haj some years ago, to the same end.
(AKI) - Yemeni police have arrested at least 100 tribesmen believed to be linked to the abduction of three Germans in a remote area 130 km south of the capital, Sanaa, according to unnamed tribal sources.
All those arrested reportedly belong to the powerful Banu Dhabian tribe of the kidnappers and the move is intended to pressure them to release the German hostages who were abducted on Sunday.
Earlier on Tuesday security forces surrounded the mountain hideout east of Sanaa where the kidnappers are believed to be holding a female employee of the German Technical Cooperation agency GTZ and her parents.
The captives are in good health, according to the German embassy in Sanaa. It said the Yemeni government has assured it no force will be used to free the hostages.
The kidnappers have demanded the release of two close male relatives who have been jailed for abducting five Yemeni engineers and holding them captive for six months last year, Yemeni Interior Ministry officials said.
The kidnappers have also asked for 200,000 dollars, according to the ministry.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2008 00:00 ||
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(AKI) - Yemeni officials said on Tuesday police have located and surrounded the hideout where Yemeni tribesmen are holding three Germans hostage, Germany's DPA news agency reported. Yemeni police earlier arrested several tribesmen suspected of having abducted the Germans on Monday, Yemen's official news agency Saba cited the Yemeni capital, Sanaa's police chief Muhammad Turaiq as saying.
An unnamed source at the German embassy in Sanaa said the Yemeni government had assured the embassy no force would be used to free the three Germans, DPA said.
The hostages are a female employee of the German Technical Cooperation agency GTZ and her parents, according to embassy officials quoted by DPA.
All three hostages are in good health, Sanaa cited the Khowaln district police director, Saleh Dahmash, as saying on Tuesday. Armed tribesmen snatched the family from their car outside the historic city of Radaa, located in a remote area about 130 kilometres south of Sanaa, DPA reported.
Five tribesmen led by Abdu-Rabu Saleh al-Tam were holding the hostages in a house in the mountain village of Nabaah, 60 kilometres east of Sanaa, an unnamed interior ministry official told DPA.
The kidnappers have demanded the release of al-Tam's son and brother. Both men have been jailed at the central prison in Sanaa for abducting five Yemeni engineers and holding them captive for six months last year, the official said.
Al-Tam has also demanded the Yemeni authorities pay him 200,000 dollars in compensation for a property in Sanaa, the ownership of which he disputed with an influential local businessman, according to the official.
The kidnappers belong to the powerful Banu Dhabian tribe, which is better known for kidnapping foreigners to press the government to improve living conditions, schools and services in impoverished Yemen.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2008 00:00 ||
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FORT BRAGG, N.C. (USASOC News Service, Dec. 12, 2008) -- In one of the largest awards ceremonies since the Vietnam-era, the 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) awarded 19 Silver Star Medals, two Bronze Star Medals for Valor, two Army Commendation Medals for Valor and four Purple Hearts here at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, Dec. 12.
Col. Gus Benton II, the commander of the 3rd SFG(A), said the men of the 3rd SFG(A) have distinguished themselves by taking the fight to the enemy and simply "doing what had to be done."
"It is my distinct honor and privilege to celebrate the awarding of these medals to our intrepid warriors," Benton said. "History will record and we will long remember their sacrifices."
Addressing the standing-room-only crowd, Benton said that earlier this week the group had the honor of awarding 43 Bronze Stars for Valor and 39 Army Commendation Medals for Valor.
Prior to the awarding of the medals, vignettes narrated by members of the group explained the daring feats of the SF Soldiers. Each vignette told the story of the battles that occurred and the actions performed by each man receiving a medal. As each group of Soldiers received their medals, they were treated to a thunderous and ongoing standing ovation from the audience.
"As we have listened to these incredible tales, I am truly at a loss for words to do justice to what we have heard here," said Lt. Gen. John F. Mulholland, commander of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, who presented the awards to the Soldiers. "Where do we get such men? There is no finer fighting man on the face of the earth than the American Soldier. And there is no finer American Soldier than our Green Berets."
Mulholland said that many people wouldn't believe the courage displayed by these men. "If you saw what you heard today in a movie, you would shake your head and say, 'that didn't happen,'" Mulholland said. "But it does, every day."
He explained that the majority of the firefights highlighted in the vignettes took place within ranges that would fit inside the auditorium. "You can't imagine the intensity and the stress these men endured for hours and days on end," he said.
Prior to taking command of USASOC, Mulholland was the commander of Special Operations Command Central, the command which has control over the forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"As the commander responsible for the area, as the reports rolled in, I would shake my head in disbelief," he said, speaking of the courage and persistence of the SF Soldiers. "Alone and unafraid, working with their counterparts, they took on a tenacious and dedicated enemy in his homeland, in his own backyard. Imagine the Taliban commander thinking, 'What the hell do I have to do to defeat these guys?'"
Mulholland said that he was "incredibly humbled" to stand and address the actions of his men, because their actions "speak volumes beyond what I can say."
"Day-in and day-out, they are the unsung heroes, seeking no recognition," he continued. "If you asked them, I'm sure they would say the other guy did it." Job WELL DONE!
#1
Each of us could do worse than to do whatever we can, however small a part of the puzzle, to make this country and ourselves worthy of the sacrifices of these men.
#2
Obama, Rahm, Axelrod, and all your Amish Goldman-Sachs theiving communist cadre take note. Real men, men you'll never be, true American patriots bringing CHANGE you can believe in! SINE PARI!
#3
I left a comment the other day about my son's hockey coach having a brother who rec'd the Silver Star for actions in Afghan.
Speaking to coach's wife the next day, she described meeting most of the ten and how, despite horrific wounds, they are to a man upbeat, positive, patriotic acheivers. She said she is in awe as I'm sure we all are.
Pakistani Taliban have issued a video of five slain people, accused of spying on key Al Qaeda leader Abu Laith Al-Libi, BBC Urdu reported on its website on Tuesday.
Al-Libi, a senior Al Qaeda leader, was killed in a United States missile strike in North Waziristan Agency on January 29. The slain people said in their 'confession statements' they had 'provided secret information' and helped in attacks at the behest of Pakistani officials, BBC reported. However, Pakistan Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said the government of Pakistan was not providing any intelligence assistance to the US to identify the targets.
Help: The five people shown in the video introduce themselves as Feroz Khan, Pir Mal, Mohibullah, Jan Awal and an Afghan national Younus Gul, the report said. Talking about the US missile strike, Mal said all colleagues threw a 'chip' or 'sim' inside a house where Al-Libi was staying for a night, which was identified and targeted by US drones. He said he had received Rs 1.5 million for the job and his colleagues received Rs 1 million each.
The local authorities say they had found the beheaded bodies in different parts of North Waziristan Agency at different times, the report said. The army spokesman said he had not seen the video.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2008 09:48 ||
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#1
Why would a "chip" need to be thrown inside a house? All you need is a guy with a gps to stand near it and that should be about good enough.
And given the frequency with which these places get bombed, I would think that by now the Taliban would have found one of them.
Seven Taliban, including a local commander, were killed in a gunbattle with Frontier Corps (FC) troops in Darwazgai area of Mohmand Agency, the FC said on Tuesday, APP reported. An FC official was also killed in the clash that continued for three hours early in the morning.
Local security officials told AFP the gunfight started around 3am after the Taliban attacked an FC checkpost. "According to our reports, militant commander Zar Mohammad, alias 606, was killed in the clash," one official told AFP.
Kurram: Rival tribes in Kurram Agency abducted over 30 tribesmen after some unidentified armed men opened fire at a jeep going to Peshawar, the Online news agency reported. The firing on the vehicle killed one person and injured another, while the assailants also took three other persons travelling in the vehicle hostage.
According to the details, five family members of the Toori tribe were going to Peshawar from Kurram for the medical treatment of Riaz Ali, when the attackers fired at their jeep near Hangu. Riaz was killed while Mukhtar Ali, a schoolteacher, sustained injuries.
The Toori, and its rival tribe Bangash, have abducted more than 30 people of each other so far. Police cordoned off the area and started investigation into the killing and abductions.
Bajaur: Unidentified men torched the houses of eight tribal elders in Bajaur Agency on Tuesday, locals told Daily Times. The houses were burnt in Wara Kharkai area of Mamoond tehsil. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Meanwhile, security forces are gaining control over various areas of agency headquarters Nawagai, which were earlier under the Taliban control.
WANA: United States spy planes and fighter jets on Tuesday violated Pakistani airspace, flying over several villages in South Waziristan Agency, Online reported. Two US jets entered Pakistani airspace and returned to Afghanistan after hovering over Angoor Adda, security sources in Wana said.
The intrusions by US pilotless aircraft have increased in recent months and at least five drones were seen flying simultaneously over Wana and adjoining areas. The planes returned to Afghanistan after tribesmen opened fire at them. A jirga of tribal leaders was later held in Wana Bazaar, which strongly condemned the airspace violation.
This article starring:
Zar Mohammad
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2008 09:48 ||
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India has directed its Border Security Force (BSF) to use night vision devices and intensify its vigil on the border with Pakistan. A senior BSF official said that the force had deployed about 45,000 personnel along the Pakistani border from Gujarat to Kashmir. He said the BSF was also keeping its eyes and ears open. "We are in full vigil," he said. However, he said as the winter has set in, it has become difficult to make foolproof arrangement in some parts of Jammu and Kashmir. But the BSF has taken all measures to guard the border, the official maintained.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2008 09:48 ||
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#1
heavily mine the border, wouldn't need those pesky night vision goggles in those cold regions freezing too your face then
The United States on Tuesday said it wanted continued dialogue between India and Pakistan to promote regional stability and urged the nuclear-armed neighbours to ease tensions following the Mumbai attacks through co-operative efforts. "That is a decision for the two governments to deal with. But obviously, we would promote continued dialogue between India and Pakistan. I think that is important for regional stability," State Department spokesman Robert Wood said. "These are two important players in the region. Dialogue is important. We want to see tensions reduced," he added when asked about reports that India had put on hold the bilateral peace dialogue. Acknowledging Pakistan's co-operative stance since the Mumbai attacks, Wood said Pakistan should continue to "provide all the co-operation necessary with regards to Mumbai investigation".
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2008 09:48 ||
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#2
Of course you want to continue talks... you're the STATE DEPARTMENT and talking is what you do. You would continue talks between Polish Jews and the Nazis if it were up to you.
A spokesman for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) repeated the group's denial that it was behind the Mumbai carnage, as Indian officials allege. 'Our fight for Kashmir's freedom will continue. It is our only agenda,' LeT spokesman Abdullah Ghaznavi said in a telephone call to AFP's correspondent in Srinagar, the main city in Indian-administered Kashmir.
He accused the Indian government of linking the 'Kashmir freedom struggle with terrorism, to give legitimacy to its occupation of our land'. 'We want to reassure the international community that we are not in any way involved in the Mumbai attacks. We strongly condemn such attacks,' he said, calling on the United Nations to conduct an 'impartial investigation into the evidence that India claims to have.
'Lashkar has no links with al Qaeda and Taliban. Our group is active in Kashmir to end India's illegal occupation of Kashmir,' he said.
Posted by: Jans Elmons7563 ||
12/17/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Coalition Provisional Authority Order #1 abolished Baathism, and killed secularism with it. Islamofascist animals of the 9-11 terror variety stepped into the vacuum. While Iraqis turned against al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia, they offer overwhelming support to either Sunni or Shiite Islamofascists. When the US leaves like the beaten dog with its tail between its legs, Iran will move in. Point the blame at Bush Junior.
(AKI) - Three civilians were wounded on Tuesday in a car bomb attack that targeted the motorcade of Iraq's Science and Technology Minister Raed Fahmy in southern Baghdad, a police source said.
"A car crammed with explosives went off near the Babel Hotel in southern Baghdad, targeting the motorcade of the Science and Technology Minister Raed Fahmy, injuring three persons, including one of the minister's bodyguards," a source told Iraqi news agency, Voices of Iraq.
"The blast caused material damage to a number of nearby buildings," he noted.
In a separate attack on Tuesday, six people were wounded in an explosion that ripped through Baghdad's al-Andalus square, according to a security source. The attack appeared to target an Iraqi military patrol. Security forces sealed off the area immediately after the blast and took the wounded to nearby hospitals.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2008 00:00 ||
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Aswat al-Iraq: The Iranian artillery is shelling the mountain regions in Sulaimaniya since Tuesday afternoon without leaving casualties, the director of Zarawa district said.
"The Iranian artillery started shelling the villages of Rizka, Mardo, Shinawa in Zarawa district, north of Qalaat Daza district, since this afternoon," Azad Wasso told Aswat al-Iraq. "The shelling caused panic among residents, but left no casualties," he noted.
The Iranian army is shelling these areas under the pretext they harbor the PJAK fighters. The PJAK, or the Partiya Jiyana Azad a Kurdistanê (Party of Free Life of Kurdistan), is a militant Kurdish nationalist group based in northern Iraq that has been carrying out attacks in the Kurdistan Province of Iran and other Kurdish-inhabited areas.
PJAK is a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Confederation (Koma Civakên Kurdistan or KCK), which is an alliance of outlawed Kurdish groups and divisions led by an elected Executive Council. The Kurdistan Workers Party (KK) is listed as a terrorist organization internationally by a number of states and organizations, including the United States, NATO and the EU, and is also a member of KCK.
Led by Haji Ahmadi, the PJAK's objective is to establish a semi-autonomous regional entities or Kurdish federal states in Iran, Turkey and Syria similar to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq. The PJAK, an Iranian Kurdish party that broke away from the PKK, or Partiya Karekeren Kurdistan in Kurdish, in 2004 after the imprisonment of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, started its armed struggle against the regime in Iran with the aim of building a federacy for Iran's Kurdistan. The PJAK has about 3,000 armed militiamen.
Sulaimaniya, one of the KRG's three cities, lies 364 km north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2008 00:00 ||
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Aswat al-Iraq: The Multi-National Forces on Tuesday said that they arrested 16 suspected gunmen during operations in northern and central Iraq. "Forces continued targeting AQI leadership early Tuesday near Hadithah, 211 km northwest of Baghdad. Forces detained eight suspects during an operation targeting terrorist leaders in Anbar province," said the MNF statement received by Aswat al-Iraq.
"Two additional suspects believed to be associated with Anbar province AQI leaders were detained by Coalition forces early Tuesday in Baghdad," it added. "During a separate operation in Baghdad Tuesday, forces detained four suspects believed to be associated with a man reportedly planning a suicide bombing."
"Coalition forces partnered with Iraqi forces to target a northern Diala AQI suicide bomber and IED facilitator near Hafriyah, 90 km southeast of Kirkuk. Two suspects were detained during the joint operation," the statement also said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2008 00:00 ||
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Israeli authorities detained a U.N. human rights envoy for more than 20 hours at the Tel Aviv airport before expelling him, putting him on a plane bound for Los Angeles, U.N. officials said Monday.
The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed "regret" over the action and said the United Nations had notified Israel in advance of American Richard Falk's plans to visit. "One doesn't expect a U.N. special rapporteur to find himself in that position," said UNHCR spokesman Rupert Colville.
The Israeli mission to the United Nations defended the decision, saying that Falk had been repeatedly warned that a visit would not be welcome.
Falk, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories, has a long history of criticizing Israel, and Israel contended that his mandate, which provides him with the authority to examine only Israeli abuses against Palestinians, is fundamentally unfair.
The expulsion came to light hours before Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in New York to attend a high-level meeting of the Middle East Quartet, the group orchestrating Middle East peace efforts. Rice used the meeting of representatives of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations as a platform from which to defend U.S. diplomacy in the Middle East.
The gathering was further overshadowed by the United Nations' General Assembly President, Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann, who decried Israel's treatment of Falk and blamed the country's diplomats for inciting death threats against him.
D'Escoto, of Nicaragua, said the death threats followed "malicious" media reports alleging that he sought to bar Israel's U.N. ambassador, Gabriela Shalev, from commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights before the General Assembly.
Israeli and European diplomats said Shalev was scheduled to address the General Assembly as one of five representatives of the United Nations' five regional groups, but D'Escoto abruptly canceled the representatives' speeches. He reversed himself, but only after allowing a much broader slate of speakers, including some of Israel's sharpest critics, to speak to the General Assembly.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Pity they didn't beat his ass bloody before they threw him on the plane out. He richly deserves it.
#2
Seems simple enough to fix. All the UN has to do is send someone to check out the Palestinians in parallel with their "investigation" of Israeli human rights abuses.
Apparently our Mr. Falk is a rather well known Holocaust denier. So who better to put on a UNHCR mission to Irael. Typical, totally f*cking typical is all I can say of the UN and the MSM. We should be doing everything in our power to shitcan both of them.
(AKI) - Palestinian militants belonging to the al-Quds Brigades in Gaza launched four Qassam rockets and a mortar shell against Israel on Tuesday in response to a targeted assassination of one of their leaders in the West Bank by Israeli forces on Monday.
The rocket attacks, which take place only two days before the end of an Egyptian-mediated six-month truce between Israel and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, landed in an open field in the Eshkol area in the Western Negev desert, causing no casualties.
Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has ordered Gaza's border crossings closed on Tuesday, citing security concerns.
The rocket attack against Israel takes place after the Israeli army allegedly assassinated 23 year-old Ameen Jihad Nawahda, a leader of the al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the northern West Bank village of al-Yamoon, near Jenin late on Monday.
Palestinian media say Nawahda was a 'wanted' militant.
Palestinian news agency Maan says that witnesses saw Nawahda walking near a municipal building when he was approached by undercover Israeli officers travelling in a white car.
Six men then jumped from the car and opened fire, injuring Nawahda, who collapsed but was still alive. The undercover Israeli troops then pulled Nawahda inside the car, killed him, and threw him from the vehicle.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
Woulda loved to have seen that asphalt bounce. heh
#3
As the whistle blows to end the ceasefire, the Perfidious Jews take an early 1-0 lead.
Hey, if the rocketry is not working for ya, try throwing some shoes. Better to display some pointless symbolism than demonstrate your lack of martial skillz.
Terrorists Seperatist militants have killed two soldiers and a teenager in Thailand's restive south, police said on Wednesday. A 16-year-old boy was shot dead overnight outside a convenience store in Yala, capital of the province of the same name.
In nearby Pattani province, two 22-year-old soldiers escorting a teacher were killed in a drive-by shooting Tuesday by terrorists suspected militants riding on a pick-up truck. The military often provides security to teachers, who are frequent targets of attacks, because militants see the education system as an effort by Bangkok to impose Buddhist Thai culture on a region that is largely Muslim and ethnic Malay. Two other soldiers were injured and are in serious condition.
Intense fighting in northern Sri Lanka yesterday left at least 25 government troops and 120 Tamil Tigers dead in the ongoing battle for the rebels' political capital, a military spokesman said.
Security forces carried out simultaneous attacks against Tamil Tiger strong points near the town of Kilinochchi and also on the Jaffna peninsula, military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said. In a rare statement announcing casualty figures, he said that another 160 government soldiers and an estimated 250 rebels were wounded.
Nanayakkara said troops were consolidating positions they had captured from the Tigers, who have offered stiff resistance to government forces advancing on Kilinochchi, 330 kilometres (210 miles) north of Colombo.
There was no immediate comment from the Tamil Tigers, but the pro-rebel Tamilnet website said at least 40 government soldiers were killed and another 120 wounded on the Jaffna peninsula alone. The website said fighting went on for nine hours. It said the Tigers had beaten back the military's advance in the peninsula, without making no reference to the fighting in the Kilinochchi area.
Security forces this week escalated their ground attacks against Tamil Tiger guerrillas after heavy aerial attacks using jets and helicopter gunships. Soldiers captured the village of Ampakamam, southeast of Kilinochchi, from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on Monday and a road leading to the rebel military base of Mullaittivu on Tuesday, the ministry said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
I though Lankan gov announced a complete victory a few days ago?
An Argentine judge on Tuesday seized a property belonging to a former Iranian diplomat who is sought on charges related to the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center.
The judicial order stems from a million-dollar lawsuit for damages by a survivor of the bombing, which killed 85 people and wounded more than 200 others, Prosecutor Alberto Nisman told Reuters.
Argentina has formally accused Iran of masterminding the attack and is seeking the arrest of high-ranking Iranian government officials. Interpol, the international police agency, has issued arrest orders for six of the suspects.
Tehran has repeatedly denied involvement in the blast on July 18, 1994, when a truck laden with explosives leveled the seven-story Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) building, a symbol of the country's Jewish community -- Latin America's largest.
No one has been convicted of carrying out the bombing despite a lengthy and botched probe, but Argentine, Israeli and U.S. officials have long blamed it on Hezbollah guerrillas backed by Iran.
A federal judge ordered the seizure after authorities discovered a Buenos Aires property in the name of a former Iranian cultural attaché in Argentina who is among the officials being sought by the South American country. "We found something that we didn't expect -- that this person has property in his name in Argentina," Nisman said.
The building, which houses commercial space, is expected to be auctioned off and the proceeds given to the victim, if there is a definitive court ruling in the lawsuit.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
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.
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (USASOC News Service, Dec. 12, 2008) -- In one of the largest awards ceremonies since the Vietnam-era, the 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) awarded 19 Silver Star Medals, two Bronze Star Medals for Valor, two Army Commendation Medals for Valor and four Purple Hearts here at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, Dec. 12.
