The medics were British, German and American. Two Afghans were also found dead with the three women and five men, the local police chief said.
The Taliban took credit for the killing of "nine Christian missionaries" in northern Afghanistan after the bodies were found in dense forest.
"Yesterday (Friday) at around 8am, one of our patrols confronted a group of foreigners. They were Christian missionaries and we killed them all," said Zabihullah Mujahed, a front man for the Taliban.
The group have a record for claiming responsibility for attacks in which they were not involved.
Mujahed said the group were lost and killed as they tried to escape.
"They were carrying Persian language bibles, a satellite-tracking device and maps," he said.
Gen Agha Noor Kemtuz, provincial police chief, said it was unclear what the group had been doing in Kuran Wa Munjan district of Badakhshan.
He said villagers had reported finding the abandoned vehicles in Afghanistan several days ago and an investigation team was sent to the densely-forested scene on the border with Nuristan province, one day's drive from the provincial capital Faizabad.
He said: "We couldn't find any passports or anything," he said.
"Nothing was left behind."
German and American diplomats confirmed they were urgently investigating the reports, but said the remote location was hampering investigations.
Gen Agha Noor Kemtuz told The Sunday Telegraph the doctors had passed through the province two weeks ago en route to neighbouring Nuristan.
They were attacked as they returned from Nuristan and had stopped for several days in a forested region called Sharone.
He said: "The local people told them not to stay there because it wasn't safe."
An Afghan man called Saifullah survived the attack after persuading the attackers not to execute him by reciting verses of the Koran.
Gen Kemtuz said Saifullah had testified that the doctors had been lined up, searched and robbed before being bumped off with AK-47s.
Saifullah was driven away as a captive before being released.
The dead were believed to be medical workers on an eye care mission from International Assistance Mission (IAM), a Christian charity specialising in health and economic development.
A statement from IAM said: "We have been informed that 10 people, both foreign and Afghan, were murdered in Badakhshan.
"It is likely that they are members of the International Assistance Mission (IAM) eye camp team.
"The team had been in Nuristan at the invitation of communities there. After having completed their medical work the team was returning to Kabul.
"At this stage we do not have many details but our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those who are presumed killed.
"If these reports are confirmed we object to this senseless killing of people who have done nothing but serve the poor.
"Some of the foreigners have worked alongside the Afghan people for decades."
Sources close to the organisation said they had not been involved in proselytising.
Ten members of medical team, including six Americans, were shot and killed by militants as they were returning from providing eye treatment and other health care in remote villages of northern Afghanistan, a spokesman for the team said Saturday.
Dirk Frans, director of the International Assistance Mission, said one German, one Briton and two Afghans also were a part of the team that made the two-week trip to Nuristan province. They drove to the province, left their vehicles and hiked for hours over mountainous terrain to reach the Parun valley in the province's northwest.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said that they killed the foreigners because they were "spying for the Americans" and "preaching Christianity."
Frans said the International Assistance Mission is registered as a nonprofit Christian organization but it does not proselytize.
"This tragedy negatively impacts our ability to continue serving the Afghan people as IAM has been doing since 1966," according to a statement released by the charity. "We hope it will not stop our work that benefits over a quarter of a million Afghans each year."
The team, made up of doctors, nurses and logistics personnel, was attacked as it was returning to Kabul following a two-week mission in Nuristan, Frans said. They had decided to travel through Badakhshan province to return to the capital because they thought that would be the safest route, Frans said.
Among the dead was team leader Tom Little, an optometrist from Delmar, New York who has been working in Afghanistan for more than 30 years, Frans said.
Little was expelled by the Taliban government in August 2001 after the arrest of eight Christian aid workers -- two Americans and six Germans -- for allegedly trying to convert Afghans to Christianity. He returned to Afghanistan after the Taliban government was toppled in November 2001 by U.S.-backed forces.
Frans said he lost contact with Little on Wednesday. On Friday, a third Afghan member of the team, who survived the attack, called to report the killings. A fourth Afghan member of the team was not killed because he took a different route home because he had family in Jalalabad, Frans said.
According to Frans, two members of team worked for International Assistance Mission, two were former IAM workers and four others were affiliated with other organizations, which he did not disclose. He said five of the Americans were men and one was a woman. The Briton and German also were women.
Gen. Agha Noor Kemtuz, police chief in Badakhshan province, said the victims, who had been shot, were found Friday next to three bullet-riddled four-wheel drive vehicles in Kuran Wa Munjan district. He said villagers had warned the team that the area was dangerous, but the foreigners said they were doctors and weren't afraid. He said local police said about 10 gunmen robbed them and killed them one by one.
He said the two Afghans were interpreters were from Bamiyan and Panjshir provinces. A third Afghan man, who had been traveling with the group, survived.
"He told me he was shouting and reciting the holy Quran and saying 'I am Muslim. Don't kill me,'" Kemtuz said.
[Iran Press TV Latest] At least nine members of a private security firm have been killed in a roadside bombing in eastern Afghanistan, local Afghan officials say.
The bomb blast damaged a car carrying security firm workers in the village of Asmar in Kunar province late on Thursday, a Press TV correspondent reported.
Local officials said the nine people killed were working for a road construction company.
No further details on the nationality of the security guards who were killed have been disclosed.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, a spokesman for the militant group said in a statement.
Mercenaries of the infamous private security firm Xe, formerly known as Blackwater, have contracts to provide security in Afghanistan, but the private security firm that the nine men worked for has not been identified.
In the June 4 edition of The Wall Street Journal, it was reported that Xe's most recent government contract tasked the group with protecting CIA bases in Afghanistan.
The report was confirmed at the end of June by Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta during a TV interview, the newspaper wrote.
Blackwater/Xe mercs were hated by the Iraqis during their time in that country because they were able to kill many civilians with impunity.
Over the past few months, public opinion has been turning against the war in the United States and other countries, and thus US President Barack Obama's upbeat assessments about progress in the Afghan war will probably not go down well at home or abroad.
The death toll for US service members stationed in Afghanistan reached 66 for the month of July 2010, making it the deadliest month for US troops deployed in the Central Asian nation since the conflict began in October 2001.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
In other news R-Burgers, it seems a few Pseudo-Médecins Sans Frontières got did up north. Talk about biting the hand that heals you!
#7
I've been in some pretty crappy situations both in Iraq and Afghanistan, but for all-around shittyness I think Somalia takes the cake. I can empathize with you OS, those Wadi's can make for a pretty big pickle if you in em, as opposed to overwatching em! Shittyness? Whoa! I think I just invented a new word to add to the Bodyguard Dictionary! Woo-Hoo! All is well, living the dream.
#8
if you in em This is why you shouldn't try to type with your laptop propped up on your belly. Shoulda been an "are" somwehere in there. Hooked on Ebonics worked for my dumb ass! Lotp, we're bellying up to the lounge for some of your Famous BBQ, I can smell the smoke all the way over here!
#10
Bodyguard---at that temperature, you are going to need a lot larger radiator!!!!! Drink plenty of wawa and stay safe. Hell, the Nevada Test Site was cakewalk compared to where you are.
You have my total respect!
Posted by: Alaska Paul at ANC ||
08/07/2010 17:26 Comments ||
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During the afternoon of 5 Aug 2010, the MV SYRIA STAR reported that she was under attack from pirates who had climbed onboard and fired shots at the crew. Helicopters were immediately dispatched to the vessel and tried to establish communications with the SYRIA STAR, which had stopped in the water. They found an abandoned skiff nearby, containing fuel and ammunition. When warships arrived on the scene shortly after, the SYRIA STAR had reversed course and was heading South East back towards the Horn of Africa under the control of the pirates, who refused to respond to radio contact.
The SYRIA STAR was sailing west in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor through the Gulf of Aden with a cargo of sugar. The SYRIA STAR, deadweight 18, 838 tonnes, is flagged to St Vincent and the Grenadines and has a predominantly Syrian crew, with 22 Syrians and 2 Egyptians.
#1
My paranoia side says it's a ploy to make Syria look like another victim of terrorists. Every body knows they are a nice, kind, and gentler terrorist supporters. So, is this a way to smuggle goods for these, "pirates," or is it really a problem of pirates?
ADEN - Gunmen riding motorcycles attacked a checkpoint in southern Yemen on Thursday, killing three soldiers before fleeing, a security official said.
They were able to get away after opening fire, the official told Reuters from the southern city of Zinjibar. We are not ruling out that the attackers may have been from al Qaeda.
On Tuesday, a suspected al Qaeda suicide bomber sped on a motorcycle to an office of the security forces in the southern city of Dalea and blew himself up, injuring eight soldiers.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/07/2010 00:00 ||
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Google Translate
At least 400 armed Mexican Federal agents staged a demonstration at their Juarez headquarters Saturday morning demanding the resignation of three top commanders.
The demonstration took place at the Hotel La Playa on Avenida Lopez Mateos as federal agents closed off several streets and demanded the resignation of three top commanders saying they abused their authority.
Inspector Alarcon Salomon Olvera, AKA "The Shaman", Joel Ortega and Ricardo Duque barricaded themselves in rooms 105, 106 and 107 respectively as demonstrators ransacked rooms and removed drug and weapons they say were used against innocents.
The demonstrators demanded the release of Mexican Federal police commander Jose D'Cid who it is said was framed by one of the top commander in Juarez for federal crimes.
Mexican Federal agents have undergone numerous attacks in the past week which wounded at least five and killed one, and they have been under threat by organized crime which threatened to escalate attacks against Federal police if certain officers were not forced to resign.
The July 16th car bomb in Juarez which killed four is thought to be the opening attack in this campaign.
Numerous graffiti warnings painted in various locations in Juarez have repeatedly warned about ongoing attacks as a response to abusive federal police commanders.
Google Translate. For a map, click here
Road blocks entered their second consecutive day as criminal gangs blocked several key intersections in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, according to Mexican press reports.
Saturday morning several roads around the Monterrey airport were blocked by hijacked cars and trucks. Blocks were started near the intersection of calles Sendero and Manuel L Barragan, and at Calle Universidad and the road to Laredo at about 0400 hrs. Witnesses reported being ordered from their cars at gunpoint and being forced to walk away from the area in the dark.
These first blocks were quickly dismantled using cranes placed nearby by authorities.
The reasons for the blocks are unclear at the moment. Usually blocks take place because gangs want to impede movement of police and military forces, gangs have suffered some sort of reverse, or they are attempting to prevent armed forces from closing and engaging.
However, Monterrey city authorities announcesd only a few days ago new counter block tactics to include the use of prepositioned cranes, and placing some police forces on motorcycles.
Blocks have been used for sometime in Monterrey and their use has been extensive in the recent and ongoing fighting in Reynosa, Tamaupilas between criminal gangs, and Mexican police and military forces.
Google Translate. For a map, click here
Four members of the criminal gang Los Zetas were killed Thursday in a confrontation with Mexican Marines, say Mexican press reports. The encounter took place in the San Fernando municipality (county) about 80 kilometers south of Reynosa, Tamaulipas at about 1800 hrs.
SecretarÃa de Marina-Armada de Mexico (SEMAR) said a patrol in the area was fired upon by gang members with small arms. When the Marines returned fire, four members of Los Zetas were dead. SEMAR reported no casualties.
Following the firefight, Mexican Marines reporting seizing a number of munitions, including six AR-15 assault rifles, an AK-47 assault rifle, two handguns, two .22 repeating rifles, three fragmentary hand grenades, more than 2,600 cartridges, and an RPG-7 rocket launcher.
Related materiel seized included ten bulletproof vests, 500 grams of cocaine, communications equipment, three trucks and more than $1,223.00 pesos ($95.16 USD) in cash.
A suspected Al Qaida operative who lived for more than 15 years in the United States has become chief of the terror network's global operations, the FBI says, marking the first time a leader so intimately familiar with American society has been placed in charge of planning attacks.
Adnan Shukrijumah, 35, has taken over a position once held by September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was captured in 2003, Miami-based FBI counterterrorism agent Brian LeBlanc told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named in an exclusive interview. That puts him in regular contact with al-Qaida's senior leadership, including Osama bin Laden, LeBlanc said.
Shukrijumah and two other leaders were part of an "external operations council" that designed and approved terrorism plots and recruits, but his two counterparts were killed in US dronezaps, leaving Shukrijumah as the de facto chief and successor to Mohammed, his former boss.
"He's making operational decisions is the best way to put it," said LeBlanc, the FBI's lead Shukrijumah investigator. "He's looking at attacking the US and other Western countries. Basically through attrition, he has become his old boss."
The FBI has been searching for Shukrijumah since 2003. He is thought to be the only Al Qaida leader to have once held permanent US resident status, or a green card.
Shukrijumah was named earlier this year in a federal indictment as a conspirator in the case against three men accused of plotting suicide bomb attacks on New York's subway system in 2009. The indictment marked the first criminal charges against Shukrijumah, who previously had been sought only as a witness.
Shukrijumah is also suspected of playing a role in plotting of potential Al Qaida bomb attacks in Norway and a never-executed attack on subways in the United Kingdom, but LeBlanc said no direct link has yet emerged. Travel records and other evidence also indicate Shukrijumah did research and surveillance in spring 2001 for a never-attempted plot to disrupt commerce in the Panama Canal by sinking a freighter there, LeBlanc explained.
Shukrijumah was labeled a "clear and present danger" to the US in 2004 by then-Attorney General John Ashcroft. The US is offering a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture and the FBI also is releasing an age-enhanced photo of what he may look like today.
It's natural he would focus on attacking on the US LeBlanc said.
"He knows how the system works. He knows how to get a driver's license. He knows how to get a passport," LeBlanc said.
'Came to the US after father took post at Flordia mosque'
LeBlanc said the new charges were brought after the New York subway bomb suspects identified him to investigators as their Al Qaida superior. The New York suspects provided other key information about his Al Qaida status.
"It was basically Adnan who convinced them to come back to the United States and do this attack," LeBlanc said. "His ability to manipulate someone like that and direct that, I think it speaks volumes."
Before turning to radical strains of Islam, Shukrijumah lived in Miramar with his mother and five siblings, excelling at computer science and chemistry courses while studying at community college. He had come to South Florida in 1995 when his father, a Mohammedan cleric and missionary trained in Saudi Arabia, decided to take a post at a Florida mosque after several years at a mosque in Brooklyn, New York.
At some point in the late 1990s, according to the FBI, Shukrijumah became convinced that he must participate in "jihad," or holy war, to fight perceived persecution against Mohammedans in places like Chechnya and Bosnia.
That led to training camps in Afghanistan in the late 1990s, where he underwent basic and advanced training in the use of automatic weapons, explosives, battle tactics, surveillance and camouflage.
Shukrijumah was born in Saudi Arabia. He is a citizen of Guyana, a small South American country where his father was born. His father died in 2004.
The FBI is still hoping to bring charges in South Florida against Shukrijumah, but key information about him was provided by Guantanamo Bay detainees such as Mohammed, whose use as a witness would be difficult.
"For us, it's never been a dry hole. It's always been an active investigation and it's global in nature," LeBlanc said. "We have never stopped working it."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2010 00:00 ||
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One person was killed and another injured on Thursday, when unidentified assailants opened fire on a NATO oil tanker at Airport Road in the suburbs of Quetta. According to official sources, the tanker was on its way to Afghanistan, when unidentified armed persons, riding a motorcycle, opened fire at the tanker near the Baleli check post. As a result, driver Dilawar Shahwani died on the spot.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2010 00:00 ||
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The Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Police took a U-turn on Thursday regarding the killing of an alleged terrorist Zahirud Din in G-8 on Wednesday and claimed that his own fellow shot him dead.
Daily Times has learnt that Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police (operations) Binyamin was also seen at the time of operation against the alleged terrorists.
The police in a press release issued on Wednesday claimed that Constable Muhammad Anwar opened fire on the fleeing terrorists. One fire hit on the head of one of the terrorists while the police team overpowered the other, while the third one managed to escape under the cover of fire. After that Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Tahir Alam announced in a press conference that Zahir was a terrorist and he had links with robber Nanu Guraya. He also said Zahir wanted to murder Interior Minister Rehman Malik.
Later on, a First Information Report (FIR) No 450 was registered with Margalla Police Station under sections 324/353, 186, 13/20/65 and 7ATA in which police claimed that Zahirud Din died in firing by his companions. The crime diary issued by Inspector Muhammad Ashraf, reader of SSP Islamabad clearly mentions it, which contradicts earlier press release of police and the SSP's claim in his press conference.
On Thursday police again issued a press release claiming that they have arrested several people after the surprising revelations by the person arrested during encounter on Wednesday.
According to the press release, the DIG (Operations) said police had obtained seven days physical remand of nabbed person Rana Zafar Iqbal from the court concerned and several arrests have been made after the information provided by him during the preliminary investigation.
The persons who witnessed the Wednesday operation told Daily Times that the DIG operation was already present at the place of incident. They said Zaheerud Din came there alone and after seeing the police he tried to escape. They said on this the DIG ordered police to shoot him on the legs but the police official shot him on the head. Only one bullet was fired at the place of incident so police claim that they exchanged fires with terrorists was totally wrong, they said on condition of anonymity.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2010 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] The United States and the United Nations on Friday designated Pakistan's Harakat-ul Jihad al-Islami as a "Foreign Terrorist Organization" and targeted its commander for supporting acts of terrorism, the US Treasury Department said.
They're just now getting around to what we've known for a while ...
Mohammad Ilyas Kashmiri, who the United States labeled a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist," will have any of his assets frozen in US jurisdiction, and the move will also "prohibit US persons from engaging in any transactions with him."The United Nations, according to the Treasury Department, has taken similar action against HUJI and Kashmiri.
As the militant group's leader, US officials said 46-year-old Kashmiri "provides support to Al-Qaeda operations, including logistical support for Al-Qaeda's terrorist attacks," the Treasury Department said in detailing deadly assaults on Pakistani government personnel and facilities.
"In acting together, the United States and United Nations are today taking another important step in combating the threat that Al-Qaeda and its affiliated organizations pose to innocent people around the world," said Stuart Levey, the US under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.
HUJI's area of operation, said the Treasury Department, extends "throughout South Asia," but the arena for its terrorist activity remains mainly in India and Pakistan.
It also provided fighters to the Taliban fighting international forces in Afghanistan, and members of HUJI have trained in Al-Qaeda camps, said officials.
Among the attacks listed by the Treasury was a March 2006 suicide bombing on the US consulate in Karachi that killed four people, and injured 48 others.
Kashmiri was also accused of involvement in an attack on the Jyllands-Posten newspaper in Denmark, following uproar over cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed.
David Coleman Headley, the Chicago man accused of scouting for the deadly 2008 Mumbai siege and a plot to kill a Danish cartoonist, worked with HUJI on the Danish plot, according to charges unveiled in March.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
NEWS KERALA > US REPORT: INDIA FACES NUMEROUS SIGNIFICANT INTERNAL, EXTERNAL TERROR THREATS.
[Dawn] Al-Qaida in Iraq has begun offering cash to lure back former Sunni allies angry over the government's failure to give them jobs and pay their salaries on time, according to Sunni tribesmen and Iraqi officials.
The recruitment drive adds to worries that the terror network is attempting a comeback after the deaths of its two top leaders in April and is taking advantage of a summer of uncertainty. The political stalemate in Baghdad is entering its sixth month after inconclusive elections, just as the U.S. military is rapidly drawing down its forces.
Al-Qaida's strategy is to provoke the Shiite majority into launching revenge attacks a development that could re-ignite open warfare, split the Iraqi security forces along sectarian lines and cement al-Qaida's leadership role among Sunnis.
But if the extremists are unable to win back their former Sunni allies, it would be difficult for them to rebound as a significant threat though al-Qaida could continue to be a deadly nuisance for years to come.
Al-Qaida's overtures in recent weeks are notable because its militants have killed hundreds of former allies over the past two years, setting off blood vendettas between the Sunni extremist group and others in the Iraqi Sunni community. Many former insurgents also disliked al-Qaida's imposition of a strict interpretation of Islam in areas under its control.
But tribesmen said the need for cash to feed their families is pushing some lower-ranking former al-Qaida in Iraq members to rejoin the terror group and that al-Qaida's presence is growing in Anbar province west of the capital.
''The government must help us counter the resurrection of al-Qaida in Anbar,'' warned Mahmoud Shaker, an influential tribesman from the province's Habbaniyah district.
Others warned that the recruitment could help al-Qaida gain ground elsewhere in Iraq.
''I expect that if salaries continue to be paid late, Sahwa members will themselves seek to rejoin al-Qaida,'' said Rafia Adel, referring to the Sunni tribesmen who turned against al-Qaida and sided with the US military and the government. Adel is a senior Sahwa leader from the city of Beiji in Salaheddin province.
Al-Qaida is also exploiting continuing resentment by the Sunnis over their second-class status in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein particularly in Baghdad, which had been a Sunni-dominated city for 1,000 years.
The 2006 and 2007 revolt by Sunni tribesmen against al-Qaida dramatically changed the course of the war. Former insurgents were organized into Awakening Councils, or Sahwa, to help US and Iraqi troops fight al-Qaida.
The US military initially supervised and paid the salaries of the Sahwa fighters, whose numbers peaked to about 100,000 in 2008. The Iraqi government took over the Sahwa from the Americans last year, agreeing to give at least 20 per cent of the fighter's police and government jobs and to pay the rest to maintain security in Sunni areas. Other fighters simply returned to their old jobs.
Nowadays, the government pays the salaries of its estimated 650,000-strong police and army on time, including the estimated 20,000 Sahwa fighters who have been assimilated into the security forces.
But the remaining fighters on the government payroll go without their checks, in some cases for as long as three months. The government cites lack of funds or bureaucratic snags for the delays.
Another Sahwa complaint is that the government detained scores of its leaders on terrorism charges last year. Although most detainees were released often because of US pressure the arrests were seen as a humiliation.
Exploiting these grievances, al-Qaida operatives are approaching disgruntled Sahwa members with cash offers and telling them the government's repeated failure to pay their wages on time is helping al-Qaida's recruitment drive, according to four senior Sahwa leaders two in the Baghdad area and two in the mainly Sunni provinces of Anbar and Salaheddin.
They said al-Qaida was in most cases offering to top by $100 or more the average monthly salary of a Sahwa member, which ranges between $250 and $300.
''Al-Qaida is spending a great deal of money to win back members of the Sahwa,'' Adel said.
Al-Qaida in Iraq is thought to fund itself through private donations from sympathetic businessmen and charities in the Arab world and, increasingly, the robbery of banks, money changers and jewelry stores in Iraq. It is also rumored to be involved in kidnap-for-ransom operations.
US officials believe al-Qaida in Iraq no longer has ties to the overall al-Qaida leadership, believed to be in Pakistan.
A senior Iraqi security official said he was aware of al-Qaida's overtures to Sahwa members, adding that cash offers came in letters and messages sent through intermediaries to tribal chiefs in charge of Sahwa groups across Iraq. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2010 00:00 ||
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NINEWA / Aswat al-Iraq: Iraqi army forces defused improvised explosive devices planted under power pylons south of Mosul city on Friday, according to a source in the Ninewa Operations Command (NOC).
The Iraqi armys 2nd Division personnel stationed in Mosul removed five IEDs from under power pylons on the outside road south of Mosul, the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
The charges were defused without incident or damage to the facilities, the source added.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/07/2010 00:00 ||
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GAZA CITY (Ma'an) — Gaza police said a home-made projectile exploded before it was launched from west of Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday. ...6...5...4...BOOM!
Mahmoud, I must leave now to change my shorts.
Witnesses told Ma'an that they heard an explosion in the Al-Waha area of the town, near the border with Israel, but said it was unclear what took place. Must be like a car alarm going off over here.
Palestinian medical sources said no injuries were reported in the area, while Gaza police Operations Room officials in the northern Strip confirmed that a home-made projectile misfired and exploded as militant groups attempted to launch the explosive toward targets in Israel. Another setback for the Gaza space program...
According to data published in Arab and global media outlets in the aftermath of Tuesday's deadly border skirmish between Israeli and Lebanese soldiers, the US has invested some $720 million in an aid package to the Lebanese army since 2006.
In light of the border skirmish, some Israeli officials have called on Washington to stop funneling money to the Lebanese army.
The American aid includes training, equipment, humanitarian assistance and special gear used to clear bombs that failed to detonate.
In this framework, the US has equipped the Lebanese army with new Engagement Skills Trainer (or EST 2000) marksmanship simulators especially designed for shooting jews
which provide soldiers with realistic firearms training on pistols, rifles, and machine guns, offering them unlimited rounds of training on their weapons without the cost of training ammunition.
According to reports, the US spends $11 million a year on the training of elite Lebanese army units and $56 million on equipment designated for the Lebanese army.
As part of the Comprehensive Training Program (CTP), over the next five years the US will invest over $20 million into developing the training institutions and human resources of the Lebanese army.
A few months ago a shipment of US equipment provided to the LAF included 1,000 M16A4 rifles, 10 missile launchers, 1,583 grenade launchers, and 538 sets of day/night binoculars and night-vision devices which were immediately transferred to hezbulla
the embassy said.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/07/2010 12:51 Comments ||
Top||
#2
It's an investment because it has a dividend. You know, like a "peace dividend"... er, um, yeah.
Posted by: American Delight ||
08/07/2010 13:53 Comments ||
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#3
I just love how all administrations keep funding the enemies of democracy and freedom. It works so well. Kinda like Rome giving the German tribes "aid".
#4
In 2006, which wasn't that long after the Hariri assassination, things looked different. It wasn't yet obvious that Hezbollah was the real government in Leb -- in fact it seemed at the time as though the Lebs might actually throw off the Persian yoke.
That didn't happen. It could have, but they couldn't take the thought of a new civil war, which Hezbollah would have brought them. Instead the Hezbullies brought them the Green Helmet Man War, in which lots of downtown Beirut was bounced. Sometime in the not very far future there will be another roung and this time the Israelis won't hold back because they'll be fighting the entire country and not just Hezbollah.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/07/2010 19:47 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Well, at least we can look at the hopeful sign that we're not really getting our money worth out of the money we've sent them for training; they had the advantage of being the ambushing party and still lost 3:1.
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.
During the afternoon of 5 Aug 2010, the MV SYRIA STAR reported that she was under attack from pirates who had climbed onboard and fired shots at the crew. Helicopters were immediately dispatched to the vessel and tried to establish communications with the SYRIA STAR, which had stopped in the water. They found an abandoned skiff nearby, containing fuel and ammunition. When warships arrived on the scene shortly after, the SYRIA STAR had reversed course and was heading South East back towards the Horn of Africa under the control of the pirates, who refused to respond to radio contact.
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) — Gaza police said a home-made projectile exploded before it was launched from west of Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday. 
