Hi there, !
Today Sun 01/15/2012 Sat 01/14/2012 Fri 01/13/2012 Thu 01/12/2012 Wed 01/11/2012 Tue 01/10/2012 Mon 01/09/2012 Archives
Rantburg
531712 articles and 1856004 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 54 articles and 150 comments as of 15:26.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Dronezap Recess is Over: 2nd in two days
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
8 00:00 Barbara [1] 
3 00:00 Mullah Richard [] 
1 00:00 Mullah Richard [] 
1 00:00 Glenmore [] 
3 00:00 Frank G [] 
11 00:00 USN, Ret. [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
2 00:00 Mike Ramsey [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
4 00:00 swksvolFF [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
1 00:00 Ebbang Uluque6305 [] 
0 [1] 
3 00:00 Barbara [] 
4 00:00 Frank G [] 
2 00:00 Dar [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
Page 2: WoT Background
0 []
2 00:00 Thusonter Omesing3387 []
0 []
1 00:00 Bright Pebbles []
0 []
2 00:00 Anonymoose []
0 []
0 []
0 []
1 00:00 Slomp Oppressor of the Faeries1490 []
5 00:00 CrazyFool []
7 00:00 gorb []
0 []
0 []
Page 3: Non-WoT
18 00:00 RandomJD []
10 00:00 Mike Ramsey []
1 00:00 tu3031 []
3 00:00 g(r)omgoru []
5 00:00 manversgwtw []
2 00:00 Omose Angeaque7353 []
Page 4: Opinion
10 00:00 Mike Ramsey []
6 00:00 tipover [1]
3 00:00 Dale []
8 00:00 SteveS []
0 []
Page 6: Politix
10 00:00 Rambler in Virginia []
7 00:00 Mike Ramsey []
4 00:00 Bright Pebbles []
Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 01/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Happy Birthday/Daily Gam Shot

Kim Sa-rang (Korea) aka Mari in "Ra-deui-o De-i-jeu (Radio Dayz) (2008)" aka Eom Ji-Young in "Nuga geunyeo-wa jasseulkka? (Hot for Teacher) (2006) " aka Oh Yeong-hie in "Namnam buknyeo (Love Impossible) (2003)" aka Miss Korea - 2000 (age 34)



Shirley Eaton aka Jill Masterson finally removed all the Gold(finger) paint. Happy 75th Birthday.
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 01/12/2012 2:06 Comments || Top||

#2  Looking pretty good at 75
Posted by: tipover || 01/12/2012 2:31 Comments || Top||

#3  Barbara Parkins was Teh Hawt back in the day
Posted by: Frank G || 01/12/2012 12:46 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Hand Grenade Attack at U.N.'s Mogadishu Base
[An Nahar] Unidentified men attacked the main United Nations
...a formerly good idea gone bad...
compound in the Somali capital Mogadishu, hurling two hand grenades that went kaboom! near the wall, U.N. officials and witnesses said Wednesday.

According to witnesses, two grenades struck by the roadside next to the wall of the U.N. compound late Tuesday. Security guards in the compound opened fire in response, but no casualties were reported.

"There was a hand grenade attack at the compound last night, the kabooms hit near the wall and there was no casualty as it did not reach the compound," a local U.N. official said on condition of anonymity.

Mohamed Jama, a neighbor of the U.N. compound, saw two men running after the kabooms as the U.N. security guards opened fire.

"I saw two men running in the street behind my house after throwing the grenades, the U.N. security guards on the watchtowers opened fire but no one was apparently injured," Jama said.

"The grenades went kaboom! near the main airport road, just close to the wall of the U.N. compound," he added.

No group immediately grabbed credit for the attack, the latest in a string of blasts including roadside kabooms and grenade kabooms that have rocked the Somali capital in recent months.

The city has seen an increase in such attacks since the al-Qaeda linked Shebab abandoned fixed positions there in August and switched to guerrilla tactics against the Western-backed government.

"This is not the first attacks of its kind, there had been several grenade attacks targeting the U.N. compound in past years," said Abdirisak Ali, another witness who lives near the U.N. compound.

"The fact is that they could not come close to compound, so they have to hurl the hand grenades from some distances away," he added.

Somalia is one of the most dangerous places in the world for aid workers, where three regions -- including parts of Mogadishu -- have been declared a famine zone.
Posted by: Fred || 01/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab


Africa North
3 Dead as Egypt Troops Clash with Bedouin in Suez
[An Nahar] Clashes between Egyptian troops and Bedouin in the Suez district east of Cairo killed three people on Wednesday as military police tried to evict the Bedouin from state-owned land, security sources said.

An officer, a conscript and a Bedouin died in a shootout which erupted at dawn in the town of Janifah near the southern edge of the Suez Canal, the sources said.

The festivities broke out when a military police patrol went to evict a group of Bedouin who had erected installations on a plot of land under which army communication cables run, the sources said.

The Bedouin refused to leave and opened fire on the patrol, they said.
Posted by: Fred || 01/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Africa Subsaharan
Nigeria sect leader defends killings in video
(Rooters) - The leader of Nigerian Islamist sect Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. Currently wearing a false nose and moustache and answering to Jama'atu Ahlus-Sunnah Lidda'Awati Wal Jihad, or Big Louie...
said recent killings of Christians were justifiable Dire Revenge™ attacks and President Goodluck Jonathan
... 14th President of Nigeria. He was Governor of Bayelsa State from 9 December 2005 to 28 May 2007, and was sworn in as Vice President on 29 May 2007. Jonathan is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). He is a lover of nifty hats, which makes him easily recognizable unless someone else in the room is wearing a neat chapeau...
had no power to stop the group's insurgency, in the first video of him posted online.

The 15 minute video of Abubakar Shekau posted on YouTube is similar in style to messages submitted by other Islamist groups like al Qaeda, a sign of the growing influence other jihadist movements are having on the sect.

Boko Haram, whose name translates from the northern Hausa language as "Western education is sinful", has been behind almost daily killings in its home base in the largely Moslem northeast, most recently targeting Christians.

"Christians, everyone knows what they have done to us and Moslems ... we were attacked and we decided to defend ourselves and, because we were on the right path, Allah has made us stronger," Shekau says in Hausa, sat in front of two Kalashnikov rifles and wearing a camouflage bullet proof jacket.
So when the Christians pull off a series of successful massacres, that will prove that you are on the wrong path and Allah himself weakened you, yes?
"Jonathan, (you) know full well that this thing is beyond your powers," he added, referring to the president.

Shekau is understood to have taken over control of Boko Haram, which wants sharia law more widely applied across Africa's most populous nation, after the sect's founder Mohammed Yusuf was killed in police custody in 2009 following an uprising in which 700 people were killed.

"Everyone knows how our leader was murdered and everyone knows the way the Moslems were killed," Shekau says, remaining stony faced and calm throughout.
Posted by: Fred || 01/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Boko Haram


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Russian policeman killed defusing bomb in Dagestan
A Russian policeman was killed and at least eight of his colleagues were injured when a powerful bomb exploded while they were attempting to defuse it in Dagestan. On Wednesday, Russia's Interior Ministry said the bomb was found near the village of Komsomolskoye, in northern Dagestan. The ministry says the device included several canisters, one of which exploded as police tried to defuse them.
Posted by: ryuge || 01/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Good and brave people die because of some ghoul trying to murder innocents.

May he be remembered for his bravery and his family to be comforted.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 01/12/2012 8:39 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
Alleged Fla. bomb-plotter met radical Islamists: official
via Walid Phares on Facebook...
[CTV.ca] Sami Osmakac, the man accused by U.S. authorities of plotting to bomb Florida nightclubs and a sheriff's office, met with radical Islamists during visits to his native Kosovo, a bigwig in the country said Wednesday.

International agencies had alerted Kosovo authorities that Osmakac could be linked to Islamist krazed killers, the official told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named. He said the 25-year old naturalized U.S. citizen discussed "issues in support of radical elements" with the individuals he met, but declined to disclose further details.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the issue's sensitivity.

U.S. authorities say Osmakac planned to use a car boom and other weapons in an Islamist-inspired attack in the Tampa area of Florida. He was placed in long-term storage Saturday -- the day officials said he was planning his attack -- after he allegedly bought disabled bombs and firearms from an undercover agent.

Osmakac lived with his parents in a tan stucco home in Pinellas Park, Fla., a small city west of Tampa. He worked occasionally at the Balkan Food Store and Bakery in St. Petersburg, a small store owned by his parents.
Posted by: Fred || 01/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda

#1  Apparantly this guy and several other recent jihadis in the US were tipped off to the authorities by their Muslim neighbors. Without such tips it would be almost impossible to stop these lone wackos.
Posted by: Glenmore || 01/12/2012 9:13 Comments || Top||


Gitmo closure hopes fade
Now for today's heart-warming story...
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico: Suleiman Al-Nahdi waits with dozens of other prisoners in a seemingly permanent state of limbo five years after he was cleared for release from Guantanamo Bay.

"I wonder if the US government wants to keep us here forever," the 37-year-old Al-Nahdi wrote in a recent letter to his lawyers.
Only until the war on terrorism is over...
Open for 10 years, the prison seems more established than ever. The deadline set by President Barack Obama to close Guantanamo came and went two years ago. No detainee has left in a year because of restrictions on transfers, and indefinite military detention is now enshrined in US law.

The 10th anniversary will be the subject of demonstrations in London and Washington. Prisoners at the US Navy base in Cuba plan to mark the day with sit-ins, banners and a refusal of meals, said Ramzi Kassem, a lawyer who represents seven inmates. "They would like to send a message that the prisoners of Guantanamo still reject the injustice of their imprisonment," said Kassem, a law professor at the City University of New York.
Thanks for telling us in advance. We'll save the food as leftovers...
Human rights groups and lawyers for prisoners are dismayed that Obama not only failed to overcome resistance in Congress and close the prison, but that his administration has resumed military tribunals at the base and continues to hold men like Al-Nahdi who have been cleared for release. Critics are also angry over the president's Dec. 31 signing of the National Defense Authorization Act, which includes a provision allowing indefinite military detention without trial.
While the authorization act has some concerns, particularly the lack of due process for American citizens who might be caught up in a detention, there are very few Americans who are going to care about a bunch of Saoodi and Yemeni hard-boyz doing time in Gitmo.
"Now, we have Guantanamo forever signed into law," said Andrea Prasow, senior counterterrorism counsel for Human Rights Watch. "Instead of pushing forward with the agenda of closure, he has accepted the idea of indefinite detention for the duration of some undefined hostilities."
On the other side, the terrorists have accepted the idea of indefinite terrorism against the US. Play the game by those rules and we'll play the same way...
White House press secretary Jay Carney said Monday that Obama still wants to close Guantanamo because "it's the right thing to do for our national security interest," a view that he says is shared by senior members of the military. He noted President George W. Bush and Sen. John McCain, while running for president in 2008, also supported closing the prison.
Eventually...
"The commitment that the president has to closing Guantanamo Bay is as firm today as it was during the campaign ... I think this is a process that faces obstacles that we're all aware of and we will continue to work through them," Carney said.

Today, Guantanamo holds 171 prisoners and it's an odd mix. Thirty-six await trial on war crimes charges, including the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks. There are 46 in indefinite detention as men the US considers dangerous but who cannot be charged for lack of evidence or other reasons. The US wants to release 32 but hasn't, largely because of congressional restrictions, and 57 men from Yemen, like Al-Nahdi, aren't being charged but the government won't let them go because their country is unstable.
And would become more unstable if they were released...
"There is not a thing keeping them from going home except that our clever government is waiting for conditions to improve in Yemen, where they have only deteriorated," said John Chandler, a lawyer based in Atlanta, Georgia, who represents Al-Nahdi.

Few expected Guantanamo to reach this milestone. The prison, which occupies a portion of the 45-square-mile (115-square-kilometer) US base at the southeastern corner of Cuba, started as an impromptu place to hold men scooped up at the start of the Afghanistan war, a mix that turned out to range from hard-core Al-Qaeda members to hapless bystanders.

Al-Nahdi seems to be in the middle. He was detained because he attended an Al-Qaeda-linked training camp in Afghanistan but he was not accused of any specific attacks on US forces. The military classified him as a "low level" mujahedeen who could be transferred out of Guantanamo, where he has been held since June 2002.
And we were being generous...
"These are men who were in their early 20s when they were picked up and now they are in their early 30s and a significant amount of their lives has slipped away while this debate has gone on and on and on," said Cori Crider, a lawyer for the British human rights group Reprieve
The George Galloway associated looney tunes collection of West- and American-haters who thought that the end of the Soviet Union was the worst day in history...
who represents several Guantanamo prisoners.

Zachary Katznelson, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, said Congress was more interested in scoring political points, and should listen to security experts.

"We are not talking about releasing anyone who is dangerous. We're talking about releasing people who the intelligence and military communities have unanimously agreed should be released," Katznelson said.
Some of the ones we all agreed were not dangerous went home and returned to their old ways as hard boyz. You mean .. they lied? Yup.
Congress also has prohibited moving any Guantanamo prisoners to the US for detention or trial, which effectively blocked Obama's goal of closing the prison by January 2009 and trying the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11 attack, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and others accused of war crimes in a civilian court.
Because he's not a common criminal and he's not a US citizen. So he doesn't get the protection of a civilian court or the US Constitution.
Congress also stripped the prisoners of the right to challenge their detention in the courts by filing writs of habeas corpus. The Supreme Court returned that right, but the courts have said the US can still detain men even if there is little evidence against them and no intention of charging them. When prisoners have won their cases in a lower court, the government has appealed and won.

With such a bleak legal landscape, Chandler and his co-counsel withdrew Al-Nahdi's appeal rather than face certain defeat. It's made for difficult meetings when the lawyers must explain why so many others, including prisoners who were convicted of war crimes, have been released.

"He says: 'How come I can't go home? I've never been charged and I'm never going to be charged. And of course, I have no answer to those questions," Chandler said.
Sure you do. You just don't want to have to face your client with it. He's a thug and a terrorist.

This article starring:
Suleiman Al-Nahdi
Posted by: Steve White || 01/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I remember so well how Barack Obama on his first day in office with such a flourish and fanfare signed the executive order to close the prison at Guantanamo.

Just watch the video at this link to see how, even though did not have a "process" in place for dealing with the detainees at Gitmo, he couldn't wait to show the world how much better he was than George Bush. The man is a fool.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 01/12/2012 11:46 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Dronezap Recess is Over: 2nd in two days
MIRANSHAH: A second drone strike in two days
Break time is over; back to work!
killed six militants in North Waziristan in northwest Pakistan near the Afghan border on Thursday, intelligence officials said, further marking the resumption of the U.S. campaign paused for almost two months.

The suspected U.S. drone fired two missiles at two cars in the Dogga area of North Waziristan tribal region, killing six.

"The missiles hit two cars that were heading towards the border. Several foreigners
Would be nice if they were the recently featured Amerikans, but probably just Romulans.
were in the cars, but we have no information on their nationalities yet," an intelligence source told Reuters. The source said there might be more casualties.
Have to exhume some women & kiddies from the cemetery first.
The strike comes two days after a similar attack killed four militants in North Waziristan, marking the resumption of the unacknowledged U.S. drone campaign, paused after a Nov. 26 NATO cross-border attack killed 24 Pakistani troops. The last drone strike before Tuesday's was on Nov. 17.
Posted by: Glenmore || 01/12/2012 12:26 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Nah. Back from Christmas leave...
Posted by: Ptah || 01/12/2012 15:06 Comments || Top||

#2  Not a peep out of Pakistan. My bet is that the targets were fingered by the Pak military itself.
Posted by: Mike Ramsey || 01/12/2012 16:01 Comments || Top||

#3  "Foreigners" huh? I guess they mean al Qaeda. I wonder if that rubric would include members of the Haqqani Network?
Posted by: Mike Ramsey || 01/12/2012 17:06 Comments || Top||

#4  Whoops! there goes another Taliban...
Posted by: mojo || 01/12/2012 17:52 Comments || Top||

#5  A resumption of "Operation Angry Black Woman".....
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 01/12/2012 20:47 Comments || Top||

#6  if they're identified as "foreigners", Paks can swallow their outrafe
Posted by: Frank G || 01/12/2012 21:33 Comments || Top||

#7  or outrage.... don't want any Bawney Fwank jokes, dammit
Posted by: Frank G || 01/12/2012 21:34 Comments || Top||

#8  LOL, Frank. ;-p
Posted by: Barbara || 01/12/2012 23:11 Comments || Top||


Attack on FC vehicles kills 14 officials in Turbat
[Dawn] A kaboom on Frontier Corps (FC) vehicles late on Wednesday killed 14 frontier officials in Turbat, DawnNews reported.

The attack in Balida arear of Turbat killed 14 and several officials got injured. Injured were taken to a nearby hospital immediately after the incident.

Two FC vehicles were completely destroyed in the attack.

Security officials and attackers shot fire at each other after the blast.

Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) has accepeted the responsibility of the attack.
Posted by: Fred || 01/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Security forces kill 21 suspected militants in Orakzai, Kurram
[Dawn] Security forces on Wednesday targeted suspected myrmidon hide-outs with heavy shelling in upper Orakzai and central Kurram regions, DawnNews reported.

According to government sources, military jets bombed different areas of Mamuzai in upper Orakzai agency, killing at least 11 suspected myrmidons. Six bully boyz were reported to be maimed, while four suspected hide-outs were also destroyed.

Meanwhile,
...back at the pound, Zebulon finally found just the friend he'd been looking for...
10 suspected bully boyz were killed in another ongoing operation in central Kurram agency. 8 others were maimed, while two myrmidon safehouses were also reported to be destroyed.
Posted by: Fred || 01/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Karachi TTP leader confesses to killing Iftikhar Hussain's son
[Dawn] The Tehrik-i-Taliban's Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
leader Abdul Qayyum Mehsud, who had been locked away by the Crime Investigation Department (CID), admitted during interrogation to his involvement in the liquidation of the son of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
's Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain, DawnNews reported on Wednesday.

The CID has locked away Mehsud last week from Manghopir along with three accomplices.

A suicide jacket, two rockets and other weapons were also recovered from their possession.

SSP CID Fayyaz Khan said a police team had arrived in Bloody Karachi from Khyber Pakhtankhwa to interview Mehsud.

Mehsud had told the police that he along with his accomplices Kalimullah and Naqeebullah had attacked Rashid Hussain, Mian Iftikhar Hussain's son.

Rashid Hussain was killed in the attack while his cousin Amjad had been injured.

Mehsud further claimed he had targeted Rashid on the orders of Baitullah Mehsud and Hakimullah Mehsud.
Posted by: Fred || 01/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Akkakhel peace body chief shot dead in Bara
[Dawn] Two persons were killed and 11 injured in separate incidents in Khyber tribal region on Tuesday.

Officials said that unidentified persons bumped off Haji Kaleem, commander of Akkakhel peace committee for Margatkhel area. Nobody grabbed credit for the killing of peace body leader.

In Spin Qabar area, three children were critically injured when a mortar shell landed in a playground. Local sources said one of the injured children succumbed to his wounds in ICRC hospital in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar.

In Akkakhel area, two women received injuries when two mortar shells fell on the houses of Khyber Khan and Ambel Khan.

Both the women were shifted to ICRC hospital in Peshawar.

Also, unidentified Islamic fascisti blew up a government school in the remote Haji Nadir Shah Kallay in Bazaar-Zakhakhel area. The kaboom, planted by jihad boys, damaged four rooms of the school.

In Landi Kotal, an kaboom at a market injured seven persons and caused damageto as many shops. The blast occurred after evening prayers when all the shops were closed, said an official.

In Mohmand
... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar...
Agency, a primitive was killed in crossfire in Mian Mandi Bazaar on Tuesday.

Eyewitnesses said that people in the bazaar ran in panic for cover when some criminals and personnel of Levies began to exchange fire. The security personnel captured three criminals and seized their car after the shootout.

Officials said that Levies personnel signalled a car at a checkpoint in the area but the driver sped away the vehicle. When coppers started chasing the car, the inmates opened firing on them, they added.

The security personnel returned the fire and captured three of them. During the firing, a passerby, Mohammad Khan, received a bullet and was struck down in his prime.

Political tehsildar of Haleemzai tehsil confirmed the incident and said that the criminals had snatched the car from its driver, Hakeem, in Yousafkhel area. The driver informed Levies personnel, who started checking vehicles to arrest the car thieves.

He said that the tossed in the slammer car-lifters were identified as Sherbaz, Israr and Naseem.
Posted by: Fred || 01/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Lashkar-e-Islami


Iraq
Iraq attacks kill five policemen
[Dawn] Separate gun attacks in Storied Baghdad
...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate...
and western Iraq on Wednesday left five coppers dead, including two working in the anti-terror department, security and medical officials said.

In the deadliest attack, faceless myrmidons attacked a cop shoppe near the Syrian border early Wednesday morning and killed three coppers, including a captain, according to police and a medic.

Police killed one of the gunnies who carried out the attack in the town of Al-Qaim, in the mostly Sunni Anbar province west of Storied Baghdad, and maimed another. A third shooter beat feet.

"Three police, two coppers and a captain, were killed when several gunnies attacked the cop shoppe at about 3:00 am (0000 GMT)," said police Captain Mohanned Mukhlif Hamadi.

"The attack was followed by festivities between coppers at the station and the attackers. One of the gunnies was killed and another maimed, but one beat feet."

A medic at Ramadi hospital confirmed that the facility had received the body of one of the gunnies and had treated the one that was hurt.

Anbar province was home to a violent Sunni Arab insurgency in the aftermath of the 2003 US-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein, one that only abated after Sunni tribes sided with the US military against Al-Qaeda from late 2006 onwards.

In Storied Baghdad, gunnies armed with silenced pistols killed two coppers in the Storied Baghdad Jadidah (new Storied Baghdad) neighbourhood in the capital's east, officials from the ministries of interior and defence said.

The victims were working in the Iraqi police's anti-terror department and were travelling in an unmarked civilian car, the officials said.

Wednesday's violence comes around three weeks after US troops completed their withdrawal from Iraq, leaving security in the country solely in the hands of domestic forces.
Posted by: Fred || 01/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Iraq


Iraqis bravery hailed as blow to sectarianism
BAGHDAD - The bravery of two Sunnis who died trying to stop a suicide bomber killing Shia pilgrims is being praised as a sign that Iraq can overcome sectarian divisions amid its worst political crisis in a year.

Police officer Nizhan al-Jubouri and Ali al-Sabaa, a soldier, died last week when they rushed at a bomber in a crowd at a police checkpoint near the southern city of Nassiriya in a bid to stop his attack, police said.

The bomb killed 44 people and wounded scores as pilgrims flocked to the Shia holy city of Kerbala for the Arbain religious rite, but some people have said the toll could have been worse had it not been for the pairÂ’s actions.

The story of selflessness has been the subject of newspaper editorials and chatter across a country where a political dispute has revived concerns about sectarian conflict. Politicians, government officials and tribal leaders attended their funerals with thousands of Sunnis and Shias.

“What happened assured us that there are no more categories such as Shia or Sunni,” said Mahmoud Abed, a Shia witness who helped evacuate victims from the scene. “Today, I love Sunnis more than ever.”

The two men were charging toward the bomber and were just a couple of metres away when he detonated an explosive vest.

“They gave their souls for the sake of duty and did not treat (the situation) on a sectarian basis,” Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said.

Nassiriya was the bloodiest of a series of bombs targeting Shias that have killed scores of people in recent weeks. Security forces are on high alert this week for more attacks as hundreds of thousands of Shias gather again in Kerbala.

Nizhan al-Jubouri, from Kirkuk, was married with a child; and Ali al-Sabaa, from Diyala province, left a wife and three children. Both were in their late 20s.

“I had two martyred sons and now Ali is the third one,” said his father, Ahmed al-Sabaa. “Myself, Ali and my tribe, we have all sacrificed for this country, just to prove that there is no difference between Shias and Sunnis.”

“They (the terrorists) want to ignite sedition by killing Shias in Shia areas, to accuse the Sunnis of being behind it,” said General Sabah al-Fetlawi, commander of the Dhi Qar province police. “It’s their bad luck that the army and police who were on duty in that area included our Sunni brothers.”

Maliki promoted each of the men by two ranks posthumously and gave their families apartments and about $25,000 in cash.

General Fetlawi said Jubouri and Sabaa’s rush toward the bomber sent a message written in blood: “There is no difference between Shia and Sunni.”

Some Iraqis were hoping their political leaders would take the message to heart.

“This is a message for all the bad politicians that they cannot divide Iraq or take advantage of sectarianism to divide it,” said Abdul Razaq al-Batat, a Shia from Sadr City.
Posted by: Steve White || 01/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Call me a grinch, but it seems to me that common sense dictates that suicide bombers be dealt with using standoff weapons called guns. I suppose these Sunnis do get an A for Effort.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 01/12/2012 18:03 Comments || Top||

#2  ZF--Considering the bomber was in a crowd of people and wearing an explosive vest, I don't think the officers had many alternatives.
Posted by: Dar || 01/12/2012 18:21 Comments || Top||


239 arrested in Kurdistan out of 2,278 wanted
ARBIL / Aswat al-Iraq: Arbil police authorities announced the arrest of 239 wanted individuals from a total of 2,278.

Two months prior, the Kurdistan government announced the formation of a joint operation body to arrest 2,278 wanted persons in the region. The sources that one of the wanted persons resisted arrest and was killed in a battle between the two sides.
Posted by: Steve White || 01/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Terrorist group responsible for Bat-ha explosion arrested
THI QAR / Aswat al-Iraq: The terrorist group responsible for the Bat-ha explosion was arrested, security sources said today. The source told Aswat al-Iraq that the culprits were from Thi Qar province, including a security member.

A suicide terrorist exploded himself, 25 km north west Nassiriya, last Thursday, resulting in 50 killings and more than 80 wounded among religious visitors to the holy city of Karbala.

Nassiriya, center of Thi Qar province, lies 365 km south of the capital, Baghdad.
Posted by: Steve White || 01/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Hamas sentences Palestinian to death
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip: A Hamas official in Gaza says the militant group has sentenced a local Palestinian to death for collaborating with Israel.

The official said the man was sentenced Wednesday to death by firing squad at a military court in Gaza. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to speak with reporters.

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights’ says Hamas has issued 36 death sentences since it seized Gaza from the rival Fatah party in 2007. About 15 executions have actually been carried out. The Palestinian rights group says it is “gravely concerned” over the continued death sentences imposed by both Hamas and the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.
But not concerned enough to do anything about it. After all, a fella could get himself killed out there...
Posted by: Steve White || 01/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Palestinian rights group but not HRW, or Amnesty?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/12/2012 1:44 Comments || Top||

#2  "Cherrypicker". wow. how appropriate, comparing executions for POLITCAL reasons at the end of show trials with those issued by juries in MURDER cases.

And you accuse US of being unsubtle, you mousy little hypocrite hiding behind a deficient morality that you use to delude yourself into thinking you are superior...
Posted by: Ptah || 01/12/2012 8:31 Comments || Top||

#3 
I removed CherryPicker's comment. He's our hateful troll from Israel posting under another name.

AoS
Posted by: Steve White || 01/12/2012 8:56 Comments || Top||

#4  I thought the troll was actually IP'g from Britain?
Posted by: Frank G || 01/12/2012 21:34 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Security guard slain in southern Thailand
A security guard at a train station was killed in a drive-by shooting in Pattani province early Wednesday morning.

Phachara Assawadechakul, 32, was returning home on his motorcycle from work in the evening when a man riding pillion on another motorcycle fired at him with a handgun. The victim was hit twice. He was taken to the hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

Police blame separatist terrorists militants.

Bomb injures two, including 10 year old girl

A car bomb exploded on Tuesday near an ATM of a bank in Narathiwat province, injuring two people, including a 10-year-old girl. The bomb went off inside a Mitsubishi sedan, and also damaged six shops nearby. The two victims were traveling on a motorcycle and had parked not far from the car when the bomb went off around 7 p.m.
Posted by: ryuge || 01/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Lebanon nabs man who spied for Israel for 35 yrs
Retired telecommunications worker accused of supplying Israel with details regarding marine security, Lebanese media reports.
Lebanon has marine security?
Lebanese military intelligence have placed in long-term storage a man accused of spying for Israel in the country over the past 35 years, the Leb Now news portal said Wednesday, citing a report from Hezbullies-affiliated Al-Manar television.

The alleged spy was identified as Elias Younes, a retired employee of the Ogero telecommunications company.
Pray for his soul -- his body isn't likely to enjoy the next bit.
Al-Manar refered to Younes as "the dean of all collaborators" because of his alleged decades-long collaboration with Israel.

"[Younes] supplied the enemy with details regarding marine security and gave them information related to the Telecommunications Ministry," Al-Manar reported, according to Now Leb.
"The Ministry phone list? Sure, no problem! And I'll put you on the distribution list for future updates -- never can tell when that'll come in handy."
Leb has placed in long-term storage several people working in the telecommunications industry in the past for allegedly spying for Israel. They have also accused Israel of planting espionage devices in southern Leb.

On Tuesday, Lebanese news website Naharnet claimed that the Israel Air Force had dropped a suspicious object in southern Leb. The object landed between the towns of Talousa and Houla, according to the report. Lebanese security forces have begun searching for the object but are having difficulty because of cluster bombs in the area left over from Israel's 2006 war with Hezbullies.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I wonder whom he offended.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/12/2012 3:54 Comments || Top||

#2  A while back, Russia provided Lebanon with equipment to monitor a lot of the Israeli intelligence gathering. This resulted in a lot of Lebanese who worked for Israel being arrested and killed. This was Russia's intention.

Israel needs to pay Russia back for that, big time.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 01/12/2012 7:31 Comments || Top||

#3  Stuxnet might be able to speak 'Ivan', too.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 01/12/2012 8:41 Comments || Top||


US Denies Role in Iranian Nuclear Scientist's Death
[VOA News] The United States has denied any role in Wednesday's killing of an Iranian nuclear scientist in Tehran.

After the State Department initially declined to respond to Iranian charges that the U.S. or Israel was responsible for Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan's liquidation, the White House said the United States "had absolutely nothing to do" with the blast that killed Roshan. White House front man Tommy Vietor said the U.S. strongly condemns the attack and all acts of violence.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
... sometimes described as America's Blond Eminence and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another John C. Calhoun ...
repeated the White House denial of any U.S. involvement in the scientist's killing. "I want to categorically deny any United States involvement in any kind of act of violence inside Iran," she said.

Iranian media said Wednesday two unidentified people on a cycle of violence attached a magnetic bomb to Roshan's car, killing him and his driver and wounding a passer-by.

In statements, Iran blamed the attack on Israel and the United States. Iran's vice president, Mohammad Reza Rahimi, told state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
that the incident will not stop the country from advancing its nuclear activities.

Israel too denied responsibility. But on Tuesday, Israeli military chief Lieutenant General Benny Gantaz told politicians that 2012 would be a "critical year" for Iran because things would happen to the country in an unnatural way.
Posted by: Fred || 01/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Mossad says: "No Comment" is a comment.
Posted by: Muggsy Johnson7466 || 01/12/2012 1:13 Comments || Top||

#2  "We don't even have a 'magnetic bomb'. How can you kill somebody with a magnet? All we have are the old fashioned high explosive bombs."
Posted by: Anonymoose || 01/12/2012 7:33 Comments || Top||

#3  All of that radiation, it was spontaneous human combustion I tell tell you.

Honest it was.

He blew up all bu himself, eating a cheese burger.
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 01/12/2012 11:02 Comments || Top||

#4 
"We don't even have a 'magnetic bomb'. How can you kill somebody with a magnet? All we have are the old fashioned high explosive bombs."


Not sure where you are going with this (I assume sarcasm) but look up "Limpet mine" on the internet. SEALs aren't the only ones who use them.
Posted by: Mike Ramsey || 01/12/2012 12:59 Comments || Top||

#5  What are these magnets, how do they work?
Posted by: swksvolFF || 01/12/2012 16:34 Comments || Top||

#6  How does a magnet work?


:-)
Posted by: Mike Ramsey || 01/12/2012 16:55 Comments || Top||

#7  It was the Persian illuminati.
Posted by: DarthVader || 01/12/2012 17:28 Comments || Top||

#8  Djinns.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 01/12/2012 18:55 Comments || Top||

#9  Thanks Mike, for a second there I was afraid I was linking to an insane clown posse deal ;)
Posted by: swksvolFF || 01/12/2012 20:05 Comments || Top||

#10  Eternal warriors from a parallel reality, WWII USN FROGMEN, surface in Iran/Persia/Babylon to raise havoc in Anti-Christ Country using "magnetic devices". ACHTUNG!, Pharaoh-baby.
Posted by: Ebboluling Theamp7972 || 01/12/2012 21:57 Comments || Top||

#11  Seems the RAB have been awful quiet lately; a field trip perhaps?
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 01/12/2012 23:52 Comments || Top||


French Journalist among 7 Dead as Rocket Hits Reporters in Homs
[An Nahar] A French journalist was killed on Wednesday in the flashpoint central Syrian city of Homs, the first Western journalist to be killed since protests erupted in March.

The public La Belle France 2 channel identified the slain journalist as Gilles Jacquier, one of its news hounds. The 43-year-old joined public television in 1991 and was an award-winning veteran who had covered conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo and Israel.

A number of other news hounds were also maimed when a rocket went kaboom! as they were on a government-organized trip, activists said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said "rockets hit between the quarters of Akrama and al-Nuzha where there was a group of journalists. A Western journalist was killed, as well as six Syrians, and there were also maimed."

Militants in Homs blamed the authorities for the incident. The Observatory did not lay any blame.

An AFP photographer said one of those hurt was a Belgian, who was hit in the eye.

Jens Franssen, a news hound with Belgium's VRT television, said around 15 journalists on the visit were in Homs, when "three or four grenades went kaboom! near us. A French colleague probably did not survive."

Meanwhile,
...back at the buffalo wallow, Tex and his new-found Indian friend were preparing a little surprise for the bandidos...
the pro-regime Dunia TV said "eight people, including a Belgian journalist, were killed and 25 other people were hurt in an attack in Homs."

Later on Wednesday, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe demanded a probe into the death of the French television journalist.

"We vigorously condemn this odious act," he said in a statement that also called for the circumstances of the death to be clarified and for Syrian authorities to protect foreign journalists.

He said the French ambassador in Damascus
...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world...
would travel "immediately" to the scene in Homs and asked the Syrian authorities to assist the other people who were accompanying the news hound when he died.

"We demand that an investigation be conducted in order to shed light on the circumstances of this incident," Juppe added.

Global press watchdog Reporters Without Borders also demanded an inquiry, and called on the Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
observers deployed to monitor the Syrian conflict to play a role.

"Gilles Jacquier is the first foreign journalist killed in Syria since the start of the uprising, March 15, 2011. All our thoughts are with his family and colleagues," the group said.

Bertrand Coq, a journalist with whom Jacquier in 2003 jointly won La Belle France's top journalism prize, the Prix Albert Londres, paid tribute to his late colleague.

"Gilles was an excellent war news hound," he said, noting that Jacquier took a bullet in the shoulder while on an assignment in the West Bank in 2003.

The executive editor of Jacquier's television station, Thierry Thuillier, said he was "one of the best news hounds in La Belle France 2, an exceptional man."

"We are all in shock. We are going to miss him a lot," he said.

The station said he had been authorized by the Syrian authorities to work in Homs and had a valid visa that allowed him to report from the country.

"They were not working undercover," it said in a statement.

Homs is one of the major hot spots of the 10-month-old uprising against Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
The Scourge of Hama...
.

The United Nations
...an international organization whose stated aims of facilitating interational security involves making sure that nobody with live ammo is offended unless it's a civilized country...
estimated last month that more than 5,000 people had been killed in the crackdown on anti-regime protests, and many of them have been bumped off during street protests.
Posted by: Fred || 01/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  A number of other news hounds were also maimed when a rocket went kaboom! as they were on a government-organized trip

Wanna bet jurnos are going to avoid Syria henceforth?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/12/2012 1:41 Comments || Top||

#2  Either that, or take out larger life insurance policies.
Posted by: Mike Ramsey || 01/12/2012 17:10 Comments || Top||


Assad Cheered by Thousands, Vows to Defeat 'Conspiracy'
[An Nahar] Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs...
made a rare public appearance on Wednesday, vowing to defeat a "conspiracy" against Syria a day after he blamed foreign interests for stoking months of deadly violence.

"Without a doubt we will defeat the conspiracy, which is nearing its end and will also be the end for (the conspirators) and their plans," Assad told tens of thousands of cheering supporters in the capital's central Omayyad Square.

Casually dressed in a jacket and open-necked shirt, a confident-looking Assad stood at the edge of the throng, security guards in front of him, and said: "I came here to draw from your strength. Thanks to you, I have never felt weak.

"Whoever wants to talk should come down into the street," said Assad, as he thanked his backers, many of whom were holding up his portrait or waving Syrian flags, for "supporting the institutions of the state and the army."

The United Nations
...the Oyster Bay money pit...
estimated last month that more than 5,000 people had been killed in the crackdown on anti-regime protests that erupted in March, and many of them have been bumped off during peaceful street protests.

Damascus
...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world...
accuses "armed terrorist gangs" of fomenting the bloodshed.

In a speech on Tuesday, his first public appearance in months, Assad vowed to crush "terrorism" with an iron fist.

"Regional and international parties who are trying to destabilize Syria can no longer falsify the facts and events," the embattled leader said in the nearly two-hour speech.

That prompted opposition movements to accuse him of pushing the country toward civil war and world powers to accuse him of trying to shift the blame for the 10 months of bloodletting in the protests against his regime.
Posted by: Fred || 01/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Clinton Slams Assad Speech as 'Chillingly Cynical'
[An Nahar] U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another Edward Stettinius, Jr. ...
said Wednesday that Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Leveler of Latakia...
gave a "chillingly, cynical speech" in which he tried to shift the blame for the violence in Syria.

"Instead of taking responsibility, what we hear from President Assad in his chillingly cynical speech yesterday was only making excuses blaming foreign countries," Clinton said.

Clinton said he described "conspiracies so vast that it now includes the Syrian opposition, the international community, all international media outlets, the Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
itself," she said.

Clinton spoke during a presser with Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani whose country is a member of the vaporous Arab League, which sent monitors to Syria in a bid to end the violence against protesters.

In a speech, Assad blamed foreign plotters Tuesday for the deadly 10-month-old protests against his regime and vowed to crush their "terrorism" with an iron fist.

Clinton spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Assad must meet the commitments Syria made to the Arab League to end the violence, withdraw heavy weapons from cities, admit journalists, free political prisoners and allow for a real political dialogue.

The United Nations
...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society...
says more than 5,000 people have been killed in Assad's deadly crackdown on 10 months of pro-democracy protests.
Posted by: Fred || 01/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  When it comes to "cynical", she's an expert.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/12/2012 1:42 Comments || Top||

#2  exactly, grom: liberals are experts at picking out those with faults and sins similar to their own.
Posted by: Ptah || 01/12/2012 8:35 Comments || Top||

#3  I'd call it "laughably transparent", myself
Posted by: mojo || 01/12/2012 13:25 Comments || Top||

#4  Should have used that line in the '12 d primary.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 01/12/2012 16:31 Comments || Top||


Syrian Forces Kill 21 Civilians, 3 Army Deserters
[An Nahar] Syrian security forces killed 21 civilians and were clashing with army deserters in a town near the central city of Hama on Wednesday, activists and a human rights
...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you...
group said.

Twenty-one civilians and three army deserters were killed at the hands of security forces, five of them under torture, the Local Coordination Committees, the main activist group spurring protests on the ground, said.

The LCC said nine people were killed in the central province of Hama, ten in the flashpoint central province of Homs, two in the northern province of Aleppo
...For centuries, Aleppo was Greater Syria's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third, after Constantinople and Cairo. Although relatively close to Damascus in distance, Aleppans regard Damascenes as country cousins...
, two in the northwestern province of Idlib and one in the coastal province of Latakia.

Elsewhere, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said regime forces used live ammunition and tear gas to disperse students demonstrating in Daraya, in Damascus
...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world...
province, and residents of a town in Idlib province were on strike to protest their living conditions.

"Four non-combatants were killed in Kafr Nbuda by security forces who attacked the town, while festivities are underway between the regular army and deserters," the Britannia-based group said in a statement received by Agence La Belle France Presse.

Referring to the general strike in Maaret al-Noman, the Observatory said "electricity is cut in the town for more than 12 hours a day. There is a shortage of fuel, and Internet and communications are also cut, while the streets are full of barricades."

Separately, state news agency SANA said an army colonel and two soldiers were killed and two others maimed by a "terrorist group" as they were traveling to join their units outside Damascus.

And another colonel was captured by an "armed terrorist group" as he headed to a military airport in Homs province.

On Tuesday, 22 civilians died around the country in the ongoing regime crackdown on protesters.

The United Nations
...what started out as a a diplomatic initiative, now trying to edge its way into legislative, judicial, and executive areas...
estimated last month that more than 5,000 people had been killed in the crackdown on anti-regime protests that erupted in March, and many of them have been bumped off during street protests.

Damascus accuses "armed terrorist gangs" of fomenting the bloodshed.

In a speech on Tuesday, his first public appearance in months, Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Lord of the Baath...
vowed to crush "terrorism" with an iron fist.

"Regional and international parties who are trying to destabilize Syria can no longer falsify the facts and events," the embattled leader said in the nearly two-hour speech.

That prompted opposition movements to accuse him of pushing Syria toward civil war and world powers to accuse him of trying to shift the blame for the 10 months of bloodletting in the protests against his regime.
Posted by: Fred || 01/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Arab League Puts Off Sending More Syria Monitors
[An Nahar] The Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
is putting on hold a decision to send new observers to Syria after three monitors were slightly maimed in an attack this week, an official at the Cairo-based bloc said on Wednesday.

The official also dismissed remarks by an Algerian monitor who said he quit the Syria mission, accusing the regime of war crimes, saying all his claims were unfounded because he was bedridden and was never in the field.

"The Arab League will not send more observers to Syria for the time being until the situation calms down," following Monday's attack targeting observers in the port city of Latakia, the unnamed official said.

He said that two Kuwaiti monitors and one observer from the United Arab Emirates were maimed in the attack, suffering "minor cuts" when protesters broke the window of their vehicle.

Kuwait on Tuesday said two of its army officers who are part of the mission in Syria were "slightly hurt" the previous day by "unidentified protesters" in Latakia.

It was the first reported attack of its kind.

The UAE did not report any injuries among its observers but its foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, accused Syria on Tuesday of not facilitating the job of the Arab monitors.

"The job of the observers is getting more difficult day after day ... We do not see a commitment from the Syrian side that would allow them" do their job, he said.

The three injured observers were in a team of 11 monitors from different countries, the League official said, adding that they are still carrying on their mission in Latakia.

Last Sunday an Arab League task force on Syria decided to upgrade the mission by sending more observers to the violence-swept country despite mounting criticism of the operation.

League chief Nabil al-Arabi on Tuesday denounced Monday's attack and said he was holding the Syrian government responsible for the observers' mission.

"The Arab League is keen on the pursuit of the mission in a secure atmosphere so as not to be obliged to freeze the operation," Arabi said.

Meanwhile the vaporous Arab League official accused Algerian monitor Anwar Malek of making "unfounded" claims in an interview broadcast on Wednesday by Al-Jazeera television.

"He was ill and bedridden at his Syria hotel. So how could he make those claims?"

Malek had told Al-Jazeera: "What I saw was a humanitarian disaster. The regime isn't committing one war crime but a series of crimes against its people.

"Children are killed and they are starved and terrorized."

The observer, who said he spent 15 days in the flashpoint central city of Homs, said it must be declared a "disaster" zone. "I saw charred and skinned bodies that had been tortured," Malek said.
Posted by: Fred || 01/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Arab League observer quits, slams Syria
DOHA/DAMASCUS: An Arab League observer in unrest-swept Syria said Wednesday he has quit the mission, accusing the regime of committing a series of war crimes against its people and of duping his colleagues.

"I withdrew from the Arab observers mission because I found myself serving the regime, and not part of an independent observer group," Anwar Malek told the Doha-based news channel Al Jazeera.

The Syrian regime is playing "dirty," charged the Algerian observer. "It even began killing its supporters to convince the Arab observers that it is carrying out its duties and to gain their sympathy."

"The mission was a farce and the observers have been fooled. The regime orchestrated it and fabricated most of what we saw to stop the Arab League from taking action against the regime," Malek said.

"What I saw was a humanitarian disaster. The regime isn't committing one war crime but a series of crimes against its people," he said. "Children are killed and they are starved and terrorized."

The observer who said he spent 15 days in the flashpoint central city of Homs said it must be declared a "disaster" zone. "I saw charred and skinned bodies that had been tortured," said Malek.

Soldiers "attempting to flee or defect were executed," said Malek. "I saw three bodies of executed soldiers. They were shot from the back." In the interview, Malek said that there had been "an assassination attempt on Monday as we were being taken by car from Homs to Damascus" via the restive Baba Amro district where the mission came under gunfire.

Malek accused the Syrian regime of plotting the attack on the road "controlled by the army and pro-regime 'shabiha' militiamen." Also on Monday, two Kuwaiti army officers in the observer mission were "slightly hurt" in an attack by "unidentified protesters," the Gulf state's Defense Ministry has reported.

The observers were attacked while heading to the coastal city of Latakia, said the ministry.

Malek accused the Syrian regime of sending "spies and intelligence officers with our team to act as drivers and minders to get our information, and as soon as we left an area they attacked people."

On the detainees, he said, "None of the real prisoners on the lists of detainees the opposition has provided us with have been released."

The Arab League monitors have been in Syria since Dec. 26 to oversee a deal to protect civilians in the country, where the regime has waged a bloody crackdown on opposition protesters since mid-March.
Posted by: Steve White || 01/12/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  No caviar?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/12/2012 1:45 Comments || Top||

#2  Malek accused the Syrian regime of sending "spies and intelligence officers with our team to act as drivers and minders to get our information, and as soon as we left an area they attacked people."

Sounds like they were trained by the KGB FSB.

All snakiness aside, what a human rights nightmare. So the logical question to ask is, what will the Arab league do about it?

I have dibs on nada.
Posted by: Mike Ramsey || 01/12/2012 13:09 Comments || Top||

#3  I think there are 3 chances the Arab League will do something, Mike.

Fat, slim, and none. >:-(
Posted by: Barbara || 01/12/2012 13:12 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
35[untagged]
6Govt of Syria
3Govt of Pakistan
2TTP
2Govt of Iran
1al-Qaeda
1al-Shabaab
1al-Qaeda in Iraq
1Lashkar-e-Islami
1Muslim Brotherhood
1Boko Haram

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

The Classics
The O Club
Rantburg Store
The Bloids
The Never-ending Story
Thugburg
Gulf War I
The Way We Were
Bio

Merry-Go-Blog











On Sale now!


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.
Click here for more information

Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Thu 2012-01-12
  Dronezap Recess is Over: 2nd in two days
Wed 2012-01-11
  Iranian 'nuclear scientist' killed in Tehran bomb attack
Tue 2012-01-10
  Baghdad Bombs Target Shi'ite Pilgrims, 16 Killed
Mon 2012-01-09
  Suspected Islamic Extremist Arrested in Alleged Florida Bomb Plot
Sun 2012-01-08
  Kenyan airstrikes kill 60 in Somalia
Sat 2012-01-07
  17 Dead as Gunmen Attack Mourners of 5 Christians in Nigeria
Fri 2012-01-06
  Qatar: Arab monitors made mistakes in Syria
Thu 2012-01-05
  Baghdad bombings kill 29 in Shiite neighborhoods
Wed 2012-01-04
  Morocco gets new Islamist-led government
Tue 2012-01-03
  Iran Missile Drill Results Exaggerated, Images Photoshopped
Mon 2012-01-02
  Syrians ring in New Year with more anti-regime demos
Sun 2012-01-01
  Nigeria Declares State of Emergency in Troubled Areas
Sat 2011-12-31
  Yemeni protesters demand trial of president
Fri 2011-12-30
  At Huge Rally, North Koreans Declare Pudge Their Leader
Thu 2011-12-29
  Turkish air strike kills 35 Kurdish smugglers

Better than the average link...



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.
44.197.195.36
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Background (14)    Non-WoT (6)    Opinion (5)    (0)    Politix (3)