I kinda sorta mostly doubt it, but let's see what UPI has to say...
Saudi security forces scored a spectacular victory in their war on terror Wednesday when they killed three top al-Qaida leaders in two shoot-outs in the capital Riyadh. The Saudis announced the killing of Sultan Bjad Saadun al-Otaibi, Bandar Abderrahman al-Dakhil and a Yemeni called Ibrahim Ahmed Abdel Majeed al-Reemy. Security officials said Reemy was believed to be the real leader of al-Qaida in Saudi Arabia.
Seems like everybody's trying to be in charge. Line forms on the right...
However, in early November, the group in a web-release identified its new leader in the Desert Kingdom as Saud ibn Hamoud al-Otaibi who appears to have been a kinsman of Sultan Bjad Saadun al-Otaibi. Sultan Bjad Saadun al-Otaibi and Dakhil were both among the top 26 most wanted terrorists on an Interior Ministry list issued a year ago.
There was nothing to prevent Saud from having the title and al-Reemy from being the actual head cheese. There's enough wheels within wheels/things are not what they seem in Arabia to make me expect things like that.
The Saudi operation caught some other al-Qaida big fish in the country. Also among the dead according to a Saudi Interior Ministry statement were Thamer Khamis Abdel Aziz al-Khamis, who is believed to have run al-Qaida's Internet operations in Saudi Arabia and Saud Abdullah al-Jadhii who is believed to have been a key figure in organizing an April attack on a security forces headquarters that killed five people and injured 145. It was the fourth time in only a year that Saudi security forces have succeeded in decapitating al-Qaida in their country. In the past year, three previous al-Qaida directors of operations in Saudi Arabia have all been hunted down and killed. Khaled Haj was shot dead April 16 after trying to drive through a security checkpoint in Riyadh. His successor and deputy, Abdul Aziz al-Muqrin, was detected and shot down after ordering the beheading of U.S. captive Paul Johnson. And Saleh al-Oufi, who succeeded them both, was reported by the group to have been killed in a security raid on one of his hideouts in Riyadh during the summer, though Saudi officials have neither confirmed nor denied this.
Something about dumping the carcass out in the desert someplace...
In fact, despite many prognostications of doom to the contrary from Western critics, the Saudi security forces have come up to speed and scored many impressive successes against al-Qaida over the past year. Out of the 26 most wanted terrorists on the list issued by the Saudi Interior Ministry a year ago, only seven are still at large. Despite a plethora of alarmist reports in the Western media, the Saudis remain effective masters in their own house. As Wednesday's successful operations indicated, they continue to enjoy a level of penetration and intelligence access to terrorist circles such as the U.S. armed forces have not begun to manage yet in neighboring Iraq.
And vice versa, according to Debka and what we've seen here...
Wednesday's success came right after daring bomb attacks outside two major security headquarters in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh Wednesday: the Saudi Interior Ministry and a Special Emergency Forces base. However, only one person was killed in the attacks and casualties were light. The pattern of those attacks confirmed the predictions we have made in Intelligence Watch over the past two months that al-Qaida would only be able to stay on the offensive in Saudi Arabia in the short term with small-scale, embarrassing attacks against high visibility, prestigious targets. Wednesday's bomb attacks were just an insignificant pinprick compared with the ambitious al-Qaida operations that slaughtered 2,800 Americans on Sept. 11, 2001 or the bomb attacks against Madrid's rail commuter system that killed 200 people on March 11, 2004. The tiny scale of the Riyadh bombings and the devastating response to them the Saudi security forces were able to mount with an hour of them taking place pose a striking contrast to the continued success of the massive Sunni Islamist insurgency that is decimating demoralized new security forces in neighboring Iraq. The Saudis' success this week reveals that they enjoy a level of penetration into terrorist circles such as the U.S. armed forces have not begun to manage yet in neighboring Iraq.
I've been saying all along that intel is everything. And I know how military intel operations work, so I'm trying to figure why we're not seeing more dramatic success...
Al-Qaida should certainly not be totally written off in Saudi Arabia. Resentment of continued U.S. support for Israeli policies, the continued U.S. military occupation in neighboring Iraq and the possibility of more U.S. military action in the coming year against either Syria or Iran, or both countries could easily swell their ranks again. But claims that Saudi Arabia is somehow a "failed state" or on the verge of dissolution are not borne out by the extremely impressive counter-insurgency record of the past year.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/31/2004 5:11:05 PM ||
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#1
"so I'm trying to figure why we're not seeing more dramatic success..."
Nayef and the Mad Mullahs are still breathing? Just trying to help out... Stop hitting me! Help!
#2
I've been saying all along that intel is everything. And I know how military intel operations work, so I'm trying to figure why we're not seeing more dramatic success
Perhaps because Allawi and Co really are not on our side? That they're trying to appease their Ba'athist comrades in Syria and are playing back our agents? Just a hunch.
#3
It's a lot easier for the Sauds to track and kill Al Qaeda members - all they have to do is pull that Paymaster checkbook out and see who the stubs are made out to...
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/31/2004 18:25 Comments ||
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#4
Yes, the sense is not much intel success in Sunniland. Allawi is a lame duck, which could explain a lack of visible effort. The buildup of at least a core counter-insurgency capability by the Iraq govt seems to be nowhere in sight, but maybe it wouldn't be visible anyway. A shiite-Kurdish govt might take the gloves off, but might prefer to seal off and isolate Sunniland.
The Sods created AQ. The Sods fund AQ. The Sods train AQ. The Sods recruit AQ. The Sod's teach AQ. The Sods ARE AQ.
Posted by: Mark Z. ||
12/31/2004 19:45 Comments ||
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#6
Seems like every time AQ launches an attack INSIDE Saudi Arabia there is a rapid and effective counterattack somewhere on AQ. As #3 suggests, the KSA authorities likely have good intel on where to find some AQ at any time; when AQ breaks the rules and strikes in the Kingdom, some AQ leader pays the price. But just a few; just enough to try to keep AQ more motivated elsewhere than in KSA. Can't afford to expose their moles & need a scapegoat, so AQ and KSA continue their intermittently violent truce.
Hospitals in Riyadh received 15 members of the security forces who sustained injuries in the two explosions that targeted the premises of the Ministry of Interior and the Special Forces base in Riyadh. Dr. Muhammad Mufti, director general of the Security Forces Hospital in Riyadh, said they received 11 injured soldiers, five of them from the patrol police and the rest from the Special Forces. All the injured were in stable condition with most of the injuries confined to bruises and cuts resulting from the shattered glass and debris.
At Al-Mashari Hospital, four members of the security forces were admitted after sustaining varying degrees of injuries. One soldier had his feet amputated while the other three were said to suffer minor injuries. Seven terrorists were killed in the gun battle following the two explosions. Shortly after the explosions, security forces raided a villa in a neighborhood north of the capital. Another three were killed in an earlier firefight that began late Tuesday and continued into Wednesday.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/31/2004 3:54:38 PM ||
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"Security Forces Bear the Brunt of Attacks"
Only in Arabia would this be considered "news", lol! I guess they've missed the last few centuries' worth of memos on what security (a.k.a. armed and state-empowered) forces do. Oh, wait - I get it! It's a Magic Kingdom thingy! Duh! Nevermind...
North Korea on Friday threatened to cut off diplomatic contact with Japan amid a controversy over the communist state's abduction of Japanese citizens. Tension between the two countries has increased since Japanese officials alleged that purported human remains of two kidnapping victims recently returned by the North were proven by DNA tests to belong to other people. Some Japanese politicians have called for sanctions against Pyongyang, a move that North Korea has warned would be tantamount to a declaration of war.
North Korea has insisted the remains are authentic and repeated its call Friday for their return, and has alleged the controversy was manufactured by right-wing Japanese politicians. "Now that it has become clear that the Japanese government has openly joined the ultra-right forces in their moves against the DPRK it no longer feels that any DPRK-Japan inter-governmental contact is meaningful," an unnamed spokesman from North Korea's Foreign Ministry said, referring to the country by the abbreviation for its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "As we have already clarified, we are fully prepared to react to Japan's every provocation with physical strength," the spokesman said in the report carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency.
Good idea, cut off the last point of western trade and currency you have.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/31/2004 12:30:52 AM ||
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Yea the major outlet for all their Crank and other illegal drugs as well.
#2
Oh no! How will Japan survive the loss of, uh, um, er, nevermind. I'm gonna miss Li'l Kimmie when he's gone. Who else provides as much or as rich Mouse That Roared entertainment? Lol!
#6
Some Japanese politicians have called for sanctions against Pyongyang, a move that North Korea has warned would be tantamount to a declaration of war.
For the Kimmie gang, anything that goes against their wishes would be tantamount to a declaration of war.
#8
they can sure dance on them (as ads posted here as links can show - embarrassing - lol) . Think of 5000 men and women doing the shuffle on the deck of the JFK?
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/31/2004 21:55 Comments ||
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What part about "No way in hell" don't they understand?
Who says Zappie will say no? He's already caved to al-Qaeda.
Basque's parliament approved a proposal for virtual independence from Spain, with last-minute support from a formerly banned party seen as the political wing of the Basque separatist group ETA. The plan poses the stiffest challenge to the Spanish central government since the Basque region became semiautonomous 25 years ago. The region now will begin a six-month period of negotiations with Spain's central government. If there is a lull in ETA violence, the Basque regional government plans to hold a referendum on the proposal, regardless of whether the Spanish government accepts it. The Basque parliament approved the plan 39-35, with three of the 'yes' votes coming from Socialista Abertzaleak, considered the successor to the Batasuna party — banned last year by the Supreme Court on grounds it was part of ETA.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/31/2004 00:00:00 ||
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#1
"Fine. Enjoy your 'mountain fastness'. Let us know when you get hungry..."
#3
As long as its a case of true desire for national independence, rather than a case of
neighbourly imperialism in disguise (as in the cases of e.g. Transnistria, South Ossetia, Abkhazia, and so forth and so forth), just let them go away. Atleast if you are sure enough that residents will enjoy atleast as many democratic liberties as they previously did.
It's less of a problem in the long run, and either way it'd be morally difficult to justify why they shouldn't be allowed to go independent if they wish.
#4
As long as its a case of true desire for national independence
So where does this desire for independence end? Will we end up with city-states, just because some people feel misunderstood and oppressed? The city folk don't understand the country folk? Barcelona feels neglected by Madrid? Just what is the reason why Basque wants independence? This trend toward break-ups, for reasons other than oppression, has its limits as to how far it should be allowed, imo.
Posted by: Rafael ||
12/31/2004 16:40 Comments ||
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#5
I agree with Aris. Let's recognize the new Basque state and start selling them arms. The Macedonians too.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
12/31/2004 16:47 Comments ||
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#6
So where does this desire for independence end? Will we end up with city-states, just because some people feel misunderstood and oppressed?
Do you think that all these cities will *want* to become independent?
The EU referendums alone show that people often feel the benefits of unity. More to the point, Quebec voted against independence. The people in Corsica voted against expansion of their autonomy.
If people *wanted* to devolve to city-states, then by all means give them the right to devolve. But people don't always so desire.
The Macedonians too
They are already independent, hadn't you heard? That whole "Republic of Macedonia" thing?
#7
"hadn't you heard?"
Aris, didn't it occur to you that she was just referring to selling them arms? If you want some respect around here, stop dripping with condescension.
Posted by: Tom ||
12/31/2004 17:46 Comments ||
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#8
didn't it occur to you that she was just referring to selling them arms?
Is there anyone who objects to selling arms to FYRO Macedonia? Anyone whatsoever?
If you want some respect around here, stop dripping with condescension.
If you don't want condescension stop making foolish assumptions about me and where I stand on issues based on my ethnicity.
Quitting with the ethnic stereotypes would truly be a good place to begin. The crowds of people insistent that I can't be Greek, I must be faking it, because I didn't fulfill their narrowminded expectations of what a Greek should think like are an amusing chapter in my Rantburg experience, and one that significantly increased my contempt for many participants here.
That was before your time here I believe, and before anyone bothered to google my name.
#9
I didn't make ANY assumptions about you and where you stand on issues based on your ethnicity. I just pointed out that you made an unwarranted assumption of ignorance in regard to Mrs. D's Macedonian reference. Once again, you are Arisifying a thread.
Posted by: Tom ||
12/31/2004 18:09 Comments ||
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#10
no assumptions, just punk
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/31/2004 18:13 Comments ||
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If your willing to let a chunk of your country break off, then that's your problem.
#12
I didn't make ANY assumptions about you and where you stand on issues based on your ethnicity.
No, it's Mrs D. who foolishly thought she had scored a point by trying to use my nationality against me. Such attitude deserves condescession.
As for "arisifying the thread", who was the one who tried to make it personal by intentionally mentioning an issue that she'd believe would score a point against the Greek fellow? Why, it was Mrs. D. And who was the one who tried to make it personal by talking about respect given me or the condescension I use? Why, it was you.
Who were the ones that *didn't* actually use any *arguments* about the issue of the thread? Why it was both you and Mrs. D.
Who was it that didn't mention the topic of the thread at all? It was you.
Fred!! I can imagine you are a busy fellow, but you've still not responded to the issue I raised. You either tell Tom and Frank to cease their trollery and stalking of me, or you tell *me* to take a hike.
Yesterday (more recently than the thread I mentioned to you), we had Frank G making despicable insinuations of antisemetism against me, while Tom makes accusations I faked identity to post like "Murat". Obsessive stalkers. (and as a sidenote, Tom, I'd not make a fun of a person for his physical appearance, and certainly not for the fact he's bald. So me and Murat may both have knowledge of Kojak and of the word "dude", but we differ on the moral level, okay?)
In this thread Tom and Frank have not been as bad, but they again destroyed a thread by obsessing on me and following me around, and commenting on me rather than on the issue of the thread -- the exact same duo.
#13
they weren't insinuations, they were questions, and yes, I think you're basically another EUrostatist antisemite. I don't assume that greeks think any particular way, but if I did, I would assume most over the age of 20 (and those with jobs) think differently than you, capische?
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/31/2004 19:08 Comments ||
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#14
Fred doesn't have to ask you to leave, you can (as previously promised) at any time on your own volition. I, for one, enjoy your presence, and the sparklingly incandescent flurries of discussion: "Fred, save me! They're picking on me!". Hoping for 2005 we don't have Aris doing a "Checkers" speech
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/31/2004 19:11 Comments ||
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#15
Free Speech, particulary that absolute type, can be a real bitch. With it, you have the right to get up in someone's face and let 'em have it - ridiculing them, challenging them, mocking them, and generally speaking, have a great time. And if their God or whatever it is they fawn over doesn't save them from you, then it's just tough shit, man, cuz it's Absolute Free Speech. It's a fundamental Right. I heard about it here at Ranburg U from a distinguished and infallible contributor. Go figure, he?
#16
They weren't questions, they were trolling accusations. If I asked you "I bet you donate to KKK, don't you?" that'd be a similar kind of 'question' as the ones you used.
but if I did, I would assume most over the age of 20 (and those with jobs) think differently than you, capische?
Quite possibly. For example I'd guess that most Greeks over the age of 20 are anti-Americans and anti-Semites who think that Russia is better than the USA, that Israel is worse than the Palestinian leaders, and that the Serbs were poor innonent victims.
That would indeed make them think differently than me, capische?
Fred doesn't have to ask you to leave, you can (as previously promised) at any time on your own volition.
That depends on what the creator of the forum, wants the forum to be *like*. And that depends on his choice - whether it is my contributions or your trollery that are most valuable to Rantburg.
#17
"Hoping for 2005 we don't have Aris doing a "Checkers" speech."
Could very well happen; haven't we already had the "You won't have Aris to kick around anymore" speech?
Posted by: Dave D. ||
12/31/2004 19:18 Comments ||
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#18
.com> Yes, .com, as you may have noted I didn't ask the police to drag Frank G away for using his rights of free speech. I didn't threaten violence on him for using his rights of free speech, either. (ofcourse Frank once took seriously a "threat" I made about rabid mobs chanting my name and burning down his house. That was amusing but it represented *his* inanity, not mine)
Unlike you, I understand what "Free expression" and "free opinion" actually entails. It also means that Fred can choose which people he wants to have contribute in his forum, and in which manner. It's his forum.
#19
but they again destroyed a thread by obsessing on me
That does tend to happen. Just take it to mean your argument is so good they can't attack it with issues and instead use character assassination. Some very good politicians in waiting around here.
#20
ahhhh WA, happy new year to you as well! Riding to the rescue of Aris's ego!
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/31/2004 19:26 Comments ||
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#21
Lol, it's the Avian of Action! Oh, please, Winged Wonder, do please continue! You are so droll and there is so much emotion in this thread needing to be sopped up by your dry wit!
#33
Aris, how many words have you added to this thread since the last mention of the Basques?
Posted by: Tom ||
12/31/2004 20:49 Comments ||
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#34
Wow, I'm Basque! French side of the Pyrenees , which, although fairly docile, might see things differently should their spanish side get independence...the breakdown of nation-states to tribes, again
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/31/2004 21:04 Comments ||
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#35
It's a granularity thingy. I wanna be the first on my block to have my block become independent. The People's Republic of Las Vegas, Tropicana Block 119. The one next to the Black Bear Diner, lol! I am the Emperor, Caeser, King, and President-For-Life (of my lease).
#36
There, you see, Aris -- it took Frank G to bring the thread back on topic. Dearisification.
Posted by: Tom ||
12/31/2004 21:07 Comments ||
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#37
The People's Republic of Las Vegas, Tropicana Block 119.
It was done in UK, a person declaring his house sovereign soil. When the British authorities prevented him from leaving it however because he didn't have a passport, I think he began to see the folly of that idea.
There was also a Don Rosa story around that concept, I believe, Scrooge McDuck declaring the "moneybin" I think you call it? independent. Then there was a mass invasion of robbers, and United States police wouldn't intervene, as it was beyond their jurisdiction. Neither did the army, not having made a defense alliance with the new nation.
But by all means make your house independent, if you feel you can survive with what you can grow inside it.
Is it devolution to tribes, or is it a libertarian's dream, where people's society reforms on a voluntary basis?
For all of the repetitious claims I'm a "statist", it seems I'm the only one here who doesn't hold the state's territorial integrity as something sacrosanct.
Told you I was more freedom-loving than most of you. ;-)
#38
Lol! Sigh, wotta foolish response. You made no case, just took a comment meant to be sarcasm (which you knew it to be) and then used it, stuffed full of irrelevant fiction - nice diversionary associative tactic - and used it as a strawman for another of your fantasy jaunts wherein you "teach" the dumb American cowboys about freedom. You're a trip, sonny.
So here you are, waving your arms and pretending "freedom" is a simple word game - as if you had the first clue about what lies behind the word. You really do need a massive injection of reality - the hard world where shit isn't simple and neat and clean, where you can't tie everything up in some word package to regurgitate for some lame Professor who has also lived a sheltered life, where it sometimes gets bloody as hell and you're glad most of it is the other guy's, where the story never quite turns out like the storybook endings of your childhood. There are 18 and 19 year old Marines who know more about freedom than you will ever know, or even suspect.
Regards your separatists, when their little experiment falls on its face, will you come to their aid? On any level? Will you actually know what to do? Do you even know anything of the people you say should be allowed to create this Basque "nation"? Gee, sonny, they might not be the Knights in Shining Armor you presume. Did you research it? Nahh, of course not. What if they're just thugs trying to control territory and gain power? Talked to Joe Average on Basque Street (without the pressure and presence of the "separatists", of course) to find out if he wants what they want? His neighbors - did you ask them yet? The point is rather obvious: you think simple ideas and romantic notions are reality. Wrong. Often Dead Wrong. You're a simplistic little boy full of romantic morality tales.
This is not a simple issue, despite your simplistic views and statements and your crude little strawman exercise - most of which was irrelevant twaddle about some fiction you've read, rather than reasoned arguments and an outline of who, what, when, where, how, and most importantly why.
If you want to be taken seriously, then you must make a complete case - not just defeat your own farcical joke and proclaim yourself a wizard and moral superior. Tit for tat threads of 100 comments don't do much, either. Instead, take the time to actually make a case for or against the proposition. Then post it, let the muddle die down, and address the serious responses. It's really quite stupid to make so many presumptions and offer precisely zero evidence to back it up - just your silly moral posturing and victory dance over your own fool's post. For your facile and infantile behavior, I offer you scorn, not respect.
I have come to believe you have Little Man's Disease. Being insignificant and irrelevant, when you've got the notion stuck in your head that you should be important, you've decided you're smart enough to go on the offensive. This is supposed to convince others, they will oooh and ahhh over you and this response will assuage your feelings. But, as you are probably discovering, rather slowly I might add, it doesn't work - for two reasons: first - you're really not that smart and second - you have no real experience and it's obvious to everyone but you that you're full of bullshit. Apparently, this notion that you should be important is eating its way to the outside from your center - seeking freedom, I guess, from such small confines. At this point I might offer you some advice about how to act and behave on RB that would garner you the respect you obviously crave. But you're old enough to figure it out - and you're also old enough to recognize the need to jettison your Little Man demon. He has another name: ego.
Son, I've already done the hard shit you're just about to begin doing. I've fought for my life and the lives of those with whom I served. I've worked my ass off for decades without self-pity to raise a family and educate my child and set her on her way. I didn't blog to make myself feel important - I was already important. Breadwinner, defender, teacher, friend. I've learned what is and isn't freedom. You haven't the first inkling.
You should take a hike, sonny. And not come back until you've stopped talking, started listening, learned what's important in life, and realized that your own ego, and it's a magnificent fucking monster, is your worst enemy.
Personally, I don't give a shit what you do or don't do. You are, truly, insignificant. Good luck.
THE US Justice Department has released a memo to replace a controversial document outlining how to avoid violating US and international terror statutes while interrogating prisoners.
In a December 30 memorandum released early today, the department stepped back from an August 2002 memo that said only the most severe types of torture were not permissible under US and international agreements against torture.
The new memorandum was more broad in its definition of what could be considered torture, and therefore what was unacceptable under US law and under the UN Convention Against Torture.
#7
As recorded by one of the new "fly on the wall" surveillance systems. You know, like the ones we're using in Abbas's office, at AlQHQ, in the Mad Mullah Situation Room, and the 300 palaces in Saudi... [Reduced to save precious pixels - Ed.]
"We've been tasked with defining torture. So, who wants to start?"
"Sitting through a General Assembly Session resolution debate criticizing Israel at the UN?"
"Or a Senate Session? A Leahy, Rockefeller, or Warner speech would do it."
"How about being forced to listen to the entire ICC case against Milosevic?"
"And not being able to make any sound whatesoever - or go to the john."
"Yeah, just 5 minutes of Carla Del Ponte pontification is sheer torture!"
"I know! Having sharp bamboo shoots pushed under your fingernails and steel needles plunged in your eyes!"
*silence*
"Okay, who's the clown?"
"I'm the janitor, ma'am, I just came in to empty the wastebaskets."
"Fine. Do it and go - we have important work to complete here."
*Janitor finishes and leaves*
"Okay, where were we?"
"How about putting intimate women's apparel on prisoners' heads? The Arabs would go wild!"
"Damnit, Johanssen! Don't you read the newspapers?"
"Uh, no Madame Chairperson, I can't read. I just watch TV - documentaries mostly, about sharks and the evils of American culture, and, of course, The Pedophilia Channel."
"Oh, that's right - sorry. I forgot you were our UN Observer."
"Okay - any more ideas? We'd better call a caterer, this is gonna take awhile."
Two prisoners with alleged ties to the al-Qaida terrorist network refused Thursday to appear before U.S. military review tribunals in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, while a third detainee did attend. A 26-year-old prisoner accused of traveling to Afghanistan with the help of an al-Qaida facilitator did not attend his hearing, said Lt. Cmdr. Daryl Borgquist, a spokesman for the Combatant Status Review Tribunals. In his home country, the prisoner attended a mosque "believed to be a major transit point for Islamic fundamentalists volunteering for combat operations," Borgquist said. The detainee's home country was not disclosed. The unclassified allegations against the prisoner did not specify whether he engaged in combat in Afghanistan, saying only that he was arrested with 30 others trying to cross the border into Pakistan.
A 36-year-old man who was arrested while living in a suspected al-Qaida safe house also did not attend his hearing, Borgquist said. The military did not say why the two did not appear.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/31/2004 00:00:00 ||
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The military did not say why the two did not appear
I hope its because the court date was scheduled for the same time as their flogging and torture.
Lets save everybody alot of aggravation and show them the same compassion one of our captured guys would get, just drag 'em all out and shoot them, after you sweat them for every ounce of info we can get.
Bodyguards whisked Sri Lanka's prime minister away from a meeting with ethnic-Tamil tsunami quake victims Thursday after some victims hit journalists and a soldier with wooden poles. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, four Cabinet ministers, military officials and a media contingent flew to the island's northern coast to inspect the devastation and speak to residents close to Valvedditturai, the home town of the leader of the Tamil rebels, Vellupillai Prabhakaran. The people were telling the prime minister their problems and what aid they needed when an announcement was made over a loudspeaker urging people not to interact with the prime minister, said an official with the group. After hearing the call, the public got agitated and shouted "Get out ... We don't want your help." Some members of the crowd then picked up wooden poles and bashed some journalists and a soldier. Rajapakse and the other ministers were rushed to a nearby military base, the official said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/31/2004 00:00:00 ||
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Lebanese Minister of Information, Eli Ferzli, condemned the UN Security Council resolution No. 1559, saying that it interferes in Lebanon's internal affairs. Resolution 1559 called for Lebanon's political sovereignty to be respected and demanded the withdrawal of all foreign forces from the country. The draft resolution was adjusted to ensure that it would pass; the word "Syrian troops" was changed to "foreign troops".
That covers the Samoans and Peruvians, too, see?
"The resolution inserts Lebanon in an internal dispute to turn it away from a basic plot to settle the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon," Ferzli said. He added that the resolution aims at isolating Lebanon from Syria and forcing Beirut to sign a peace deal with Israel.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/31/2004 3:46:40 PM ||
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Well, that makes sense. If the subject matter of the meeting happens to turn to what to do about them, it could be kind of embarrassing...
Iran and Syria decided not to participate in the upcoming meeting of Iraq's neighboring countries in the Jordanian capital, Amman. Lebanon's daily As-Safir newspaper said that the Iranian foreign minister, Kamal Kharrazai and his Syrian counterpart, Farouk Al Sharra, will not attend the convention. The paper did not say who would represent the two countries if they decided to attend the meeting. The meeting, planned for January 6, will be attended by the foreign ministers of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Turkey, as well as Egypt, which hosted previous meetings of Iraq's neighboring countries as well as the parley of Iraq's donor states.
The ministers are expected to discuss how Iraq's neighbors can support the political process in Iraq, particularly the upcoming national elections, planned for January 30. Earlier this month, Jordan's King Abdullah II alleged that the Islamic republic is trying to influence the outcomes of Iraq's elections for its own political ends, a charge that Iran strongly rejected. Also Iraqi and U.S. officials claim that Syria sends military equipment to Iraq and allows insurgents to cross its border into Iraq. Syria has strongly rejected those claims, saying it is doing its best to tighten control at the terrain that defines its border with Iraq.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/31/2004 3:43:17 PM ||
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Well, you know what people are say about you when you are invited to the party but don't appear.
Let's face it. Iran and Syria are the problem not the solution.
Posted by: Capt America ||
12/31/2004 19:08 Comments ||
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#2
But... but when people don't show up at a pot-luck, it gets all skewed! Too many salads or too many desserts!
I'm telling you, there's nothing that's not our fault...
Iran's national security chief, Hassan Rohani, blamed the U.S. foreign polices in Iraq and elsewhere for the expansion of global terrorism.
Right. There was no such thing as global terrorism before we got there, see?
On Friday, the Iranian News Agency cited Rohani as saying that the "U.S. interference in the internal affairs of states and the injustice done in Iraqi prisons and elsewhere are the reasons for the spread in world terrorism." He also said that the U.S. slogan of fighting terrorism is a "big lie", adding that "the real fight against terrorism should start by curbing injustice and unfairness."
Hassan? We're doing that. We're killing or jugging all the rat bastard head loppers and boom boyz we can find. There's nothing more unjust or unfair than chopping somebody's head off.
"The policies and practices adopted by the U.S. in the world make the world's peoples hate America," he said.
Oderint dum metuant, Bub.
Rohani also accused the United States of trying to provoke another crisis over Iran's nuclear program. Washington accuses Iran of covertly developing a nuclear weapons program and wants Tehran's nuclear file to be sent to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions. Iran denies the accusations, insisting that it nuclear program is mainly aimed at the peaceful generation of electricity. "Iran needs to produce electricity from nuclear energy, but the U.S. is trying to make up and create problems for Tehran," Rohani said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/31/2004 3:39:12 PM ||
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"Allahdamnit! It's your fault that we have to kill or enslave you! Just lie back and enjoy it, Americans - you fucking infidels! Abu Ghraib! Fallujah! Kabul! Iwo Jima! The Alamo! Teheran and Qom! Uh, oops, strike those last two. Er, wait, we didn't mean that kind of strike! Translation problems... hold on, we'll get it right in a minute, insh'allah... We said back off! We can shout, don't hear you!"
#2
..."curbing injustice and unfairness."
Well Iran know all about that, they despense injustice and unfairness on a daily basis in their own "islamic" court system.
Oh Iran interfers in no ones business (except Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine...)
Please, you limp membered grey beards need to seriously STFU.
Iraqi PM Iyad Allawi sent a letter to the President Bashar al-Assad on Friday, urging him to handover Saddam's loyalists, saying that they are disrupting security in Iraq. In his message, the Iraqi PM said that it was 'disgraceful' that loyalists of the toppled Iraqi president were abusing the hospitality accorded to them in Syria. However, Allawi stressed that he does not mean that those officials were working with the approval of the Syrian government. Yet he urged the Syrian government to hand over those, he says are harming Iraq. Allawi claimed that he has evidence that former Iraqi officials are living in Syria and carrying out what he called 'terrorist acts'.
"There are elements that abuse hospitality accorded to them, whether in Syria or elsewhere. They seek to harm Iraq and the Iraqi people. I wrote letters, including one to [Syrian] President Assad, in which I explained the issue to him," Al-Arabiya Arabic TV station quoted Allawi as saying.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/31/2004 3:37:24 PM ||
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Translation: Don't make me ask the Marines to come over there and get them.
For 40 years, the M-16/M-4 rifle family has reigned as the U.S. military's standard-issue battle rifle. Any gun manufacturer that wants to tackle that stranglehold must also take on the legacy issues that have plagued the M-16/M-4 series over the years: maintenance and reliability issues, overheating (especially in the M-4s), and the less than stellar stopping power and penetrating capabilities of the Remington .223 (5.56mm NATO) cartridge these rifles shoot.
Posted by: John Q. Citizen ||
12/31/2004 11:59:12 AM ||
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Forget the XM-8,in my opinion.Dependance on batteries will not hack it.Just imagine that thing in "hand to hand" combat.Give it to the Army.
Now the Barrett gets a real slug in the picture and is a US manufacturer.My experience was with the M-14.Never failed me and weight was not an issue,as I threw that flak jacket away.
#2
This looks like a winner - from many angles. Hell, not even Remington will squawk since they make the new cartidge, as well. The knockdown power and the M-16 issues it solves sound like a win-win... If the pricing on the components and ammo are fair, it might even get by the Pentagon logistics folks. The inertia of the Status Quo is remarkable, however...
#3
I don't know if Barrett's 6.8 will fly. I am very confident that the Army is going with the H&K, I think in 5.56. If someone does go with the 6.8 then Ronnie Barrett will be able to buy a few more Italian suits, that is for sure.
#5
Actually, crazyhorse, the 2nd generation upgrade ended its dependence on batteries - it now has fold-up "standard" iron sights in the M16 post/ring style, the ring being a fold-up tab forward of the sight module and the post being part of an elevation/windage-adjustable front sight column atop the gas block.
Posted by: Edward Yee ||
12/31/2004 21:32 Comments ||
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Muqtedar Khan of the Brookings Institution has announced, in a recent article in the Daily Times of Lahore, the coming into existence on Dec. 13, 2004, of yet another organization of American Muslims claiming to be moderates. It does not lack for ambitions: "Now with the constitution of the American Muslim Group for Policy Planning, Moderate Muslims in America have a name and an address." Unfortunately, in its initial form, the AMGPP does not at all appear to be moderate.
Rather, it resembles the Progressive Muslim Union (which opened its virtual doors a month earlier, and which I have analyzed in a lengthy blog entry). The two organizations have overlapping personnel, some on the left (Ahmed Nassef) and others Islamist (Salam Al-Marayati). They share an American feel to them (in contrast to many other Muslim organizations, with their more immigrant-like quality). Their main difference seems to be that PMU is based in New York and AMGPP in Washington; this means that while the one has a regular feature on "Sex and the Umma," the other includes the phrase "policy planning" in its name. The one tries to be hip, the other to be influential.
If you can get past the guards and fences, the ingredients for a chemical attack are available off the shelf at a crumbling military base called Shchuchye in south-central Russia. There, stacked like dusty wine bottles on wooden racks, is a collection of 1.9 million artillery shells filled with nerve agents such as VX, an oily yellow liquid so deadly that a single drop on the skin can kill. The smallest shells, each containing enough poison for at least 85,000 lethal doses, could be slipped easily into a backpack. But while U.S. officials fret about possible theft, Russia insists that the weapons are secure and that none are missing.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/31/2004 12:46:52 AM ||
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Man I hate the MSM. I feel like they need a new monikor - something that indicates that they confirm for the asshats what to do, how to do it, where to get it, how to use it, when to use it, and who to use it on for maximum effect. All that comes to mind is collaborators, facilitators, counselors, etc. Sigh. Not nasty enough to convey my feelings.
#2
Over-rated threat: "85,000 lethal doses", for example, would require a cluster of 85,000 people and perfect dispersal -- perfect positioning, no wind, no evacuation, etc. Still a serious issue, but the MSM loves to hype it up.
Posted by: Tom ||
12/31/2004 11:39 Comments ||
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Perhaps I'm being silly, but I find this comforting. I read this to mean that I needn't worry about biological or nuclear (whether the big babies or just dirty bombs) attacks in my suburb any more. And chemical attacks, from what I understand, are only effective within a certain limited area, and only on the individuals who are on the spot at that moment, or immediately downwind. No secondary infections, no longterm contamination of the site. Thus, not nearly as effective as a terror weapon, either. The idiots would be better off sticking with explosives and AK-47s!
#4
Perhaps I'm being silly, but I find this comforting. I read this to mean that I needn't worry about biological or nuclear (whether the big babies or just dirty bombs) attacks in my suburb any more. And chemical attacks, from what I understand, are only effective within a certain limited area, and only on the individuals who are on the spot at that moment, or immediately downwind. No secondary infections, no longterm contamination of the site. Thus, not nearly as effective as a terror weapon, either. The idiots would be better off sticking with explosives and AK-47s!
Plans were unveiled here to deploy 100,000 Iraqi police and soldiers to stave off a bloodbath on election day, as US President George W. Bush said polls would go on as scheduled on January 30.
The deadly violence came as battles between US troops and Iraqi insurgents in the northern city of Mosul killed at least 26, including a US soldier, and 30 people died when a booby-trapped house in Baghdad exploded. A dozen Iraqi deaths Thursday brought the three-day toll to well over 100.
The grim business of hostage taking again surfaced, with two Lebanese businessmen kidnapped in an upmarket neighborhood of Baghdad late Wednesday.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/31/2004 12:48:18 AM ||
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Allawi and Yawer decided that the elections would go forth, not Bush - but this is the Khaleej Times - taking the typical cheap shot suggesting puppetry's afoot. Get a grip, you wankers, things changed 6 months ago.
I wish the Iraqis well in the elections - but they're going to have to pull it out of the fire themselves - mainly by turning in the asshats when they find out about them. Otherwise, they'll keep getting hit for being sheep.
#4
The Iraqi people are pacifist sympathizers, who will 'straddle the fence' because of it's cushy neutral position to do so! I suspect atleast 1/3 of the 100,000 troops will be 'scouts' or intel gatherers for the insurgents. Another 1/3 won't shore up their positions or worse, may step aside during insurgent attacks or run away! I hope the US watches it back at the end of January!
#5
It will be interesting to see if the election results in the de facto partitioning of Iraq. With shias and Kurds in control of the govt, I would think they would devote all of their energies to isolating and crippling the Sunnis, even at the risk of civil war. I'm not sure they have a choice. If the Sunni "insurgency" isn't crushed decisively, there will be no end to the violence.
#6
Why don't we just have them all vote with absentee ballots? This would eliminate polling station violence, although it would substantially increase the risk of a Christine Gregoire victory.
#7
If the Sunni "insurgency" isn't crushed decisively, there will be no end to the violence.
Oh, I wouldn't say that. If the Shiites and the Kurds were to clean out the Sunnis, I'm sure they could do it in ways that the U.S. military couldn't. Could move a little bit faster that way.
When US troops stormed the rebel-held city of Fallujah last month, they uncovered photos of senior Syrian officials that have further strained the already tense relations between Syria and Iraq, according to the Iraqi ambassador to Syria. Several captured insurgents were found in possession of the photographs, confirmation, according to Iraqi officials, that some elements in the Syrian regime - perhaps acting independently - are involved in Iraq's bloody insurgency. "Prime Minister Iyad Allawi wrote a letter to the Syrians saying he had the pictures but was not going to release them despite being under pressure from the Americans to do so," says Hassan Allawi, Iraq's newly appointed ambassador to Damascus.
#3
Several captured insurgents were found in possession of the photographs, confirmation, according to Iraqi officials, that some elements in the Syrian regime - perhaps acting independently - are involved in Iraqâs bloody insurgency.
Come on guys, it's gonna take more than just photos of Syrian officials to prove their complicity.
US Marines in Fallujah released a report on Nov. 20 that revealed they had discovered a hand-held Global Positioning System receiver with waypoints originating in western Syria and the names of four Syrian foreign fighters contained in a ledger.
A little better, but something more substantial would be great, like intercepted communications between Syrians and Zarqawi's thugs. Or capture of known Syrians in a terrorist safe house. Hard proof is the ticket.
#4
Last week, Gen. George W. Casey, the commander of US forces in Iraq, said that the exiled Baathists had formed a group called the New Regional Command and were running the insurgency from Syria.
We need to lay it to Syria in no uncertain terms. If they harbor terrorists, they are our enemy!
Until recently, many villagers here in the fertile plains of northern Uganda wouldn't dare whisper anything bad about a notorious rebel leader named Joseph Kony - even if his soldiers had kidnapped their children, killed their neighbors, or attacked them, as they've done all too often. The reason: Mr. Kony was believed to have a powerful spirit that helped him defy bullets, foretell attacks, and know when people criticized him. In fact, for 18 years Kony has been one of Africa's most mystical and feared rebels. The US calls his Lord's Resistance Army a terrorist group. It has killed more people than Al Qaeda, Hamas, and Hizbullah combined.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/31/2004 12:52:06 AM ||
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Itâs a reference to one of the biggest changes in the warâs dynamics - a shift that Western diplomats here connect to Americaâs war on terror.
The Hudood Ordinances are against the spirit of Islam and distort the laws set by the Holy Quran, said Dr Muhammad Tufail Hashmi, a religious scholar, on the launch of his book 'Hudood Ordinances in the light of Holy Book and Sunnah' on Thursday. The book analyses the Hudood laws and is published by Aurat Publication and the Information Service Foundation, a non-government organisation (NGO). They also arranged a discussion 'Hudood Ordinances-The Islamic Perceptive', chaired by Justice (r) Nasira Javed Iqbal and conducted by Mirza Naeem. Renowned jurists, lawyers, scholars, parliamentarians, journalists, civil society groups and other people participated in the discussion.
Dr Hashmi has studied in Jamia Ashrafia, Punjab University, Riyadh University, Saudi Arabia and Open University Milton Canes. He is the legal advisor to the Federal Shariah Court and has served at many educational institutions. Dr Hashmi told Daily Times that Dr Tariq Siddiquee, the former vice chancellor of Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, and a close friend, instigated his research. In his book, Dr Hashmi's says that the present laws are the reason why gang rape incidents have increased. He says, "There is no need for four witnesses and circumstantial evidence s to investigate in Zina Biljabar. Non-Muslims should be exempted from these laws. The definitions of Zina, Hud, Nikkah are not according to The Quran and Sunnah. Women are being victimised and imprisoned through these laws." The book summarises that the most of the Huds are not related to the Quran and Sunnah. The Zina and theft laws (ordinances) in the same Hudood laws' package are against the Quran and Sunnah. Even, the sentence for consuming alcohol was set by the Pakistan Penal Code, as there is no sentence for this crime in the Quran and Sunnah.
Addressing the discussion, Dr Hashmi said that the Hudood laws had not adopted the religious definition of Zina (forced sexual intercourse). He said that marriage had different rules in different Fiqhas and schools of thoughts. He said that the law about Zina was only applicable if the woman acted as a willing participant. He said that when there was Tamakun (willing situation) no Hud could be levied on the woman. He said the present Hudood laws were sentencing women in both situations, willing and unwilling participation. Dr Hashmi said that there was no proof of demanding four witnesses for a Zina verdict in Islamic history. He said there were many examples where the decision was made on the woman's statement. He said the Hudood laws were contradicting the Quran.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/31/2004 00:00:00 ||
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I agree with Dr. Hashish about the Nogood Ordinances--whatever the hell he said.
Asif Ali Zardari flew to Dubai on Thursday night to get laid reunite with his wife Benazir Bhutto after eight years. Zardari left for Dubai on PIA flight PK-603 with his daughter Asifa at 10 pm. His son Bilawal and other daughter Bakhtawar left on an earlier flight. Benazir lives in Dubai in self-imposed exile.
The government issued Zardari a passport and took him off the Exit Control List two days ago. Zardari has not seen his wife since he was detained in 1996 on murder and corruption charges, which he says were politically motivated. He was freed on bail just over five weeks ago. After visiting Dubai, he will go to Saudi Arabia for Umra. Pakistan People's Party supporters crowded the airport as Zardari left, chanting slogans in support of the Bhutto family. Some activists jostled journalists as they tried to talk to Zardari. Before leaving, he told reporters that he would only be away for a short time. On his return, he would take a tour of Pakistani cities to boost his party, the Pakistan People's Party.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/31/2004 00:00:00 ||
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Let's just hope they don't come to blows.
Posted by: Capt America ||
12/31/2004 0:58 Comments ||
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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.
North Korea on Friday threatened to cut off diplomatic contact with Japan amid a controversy over the communist state's abduction of Japanese citizens. Tension between the two countries has increased since Japanese officials alleged that purported human remains of two kidnapping victims recently returned by the North were proven by DNA tests to belong to other people. Some Japanese politicians have called for sanctions against Pyongyang, a move that North Korea has warned would be tantamount to a declaration of war. 
Iraqi PM Iyad Allawi sent a letter to the President Bashar al-Assad on Friday, urging him to handover Saddam's loyalists, saying that they are disrupting security in Iraq. In his message, the Iraqi PM said that it was 'disgraceful' that loyalists of the toppled Iraqi president were abusing the hospitality accorded to them in Syria. However, Allawi stressed that he does not mean that those officials were working with the approval of the Syrian government. Yet he urged the Syrian government to hand over those, he says are harming Iraq. Allawi claimed that he has evidence that former Iraqi officials are living in Syria and carrying out what he called 'terrorist acts'. 
Muqtedar Khan of the Brookings Institution has announced, in a recent article in the Daily Times of Lahore, the coming into existence on Dec. 13, 2004, of yet another organization of American Muslims claiming to be moderates. It does not lack for ambitions: "Now with the constitution of the American Muslim Group for Policy Planning, Moderate Muslims in America have a name and an address." Unfortunately, in its initial form, the AMGPP does not at all appear to be moderate.
Until recently, many villagers here in the fertile plains of northern Uganda wouldn't dare whisper anything bad about a notorious rebel leader named Joseph Kony - even if his soldiers had kidnapped their children, killed their neighbors, or attacked them, as they've done all too often. The reason: Mr. Kony was believed to have a powerful spirit that helped him defy bullets, foretell attacks, and know when people criticized him. In fact, for 18 years Kony has been one of Africa's most mystical and feared rebels. The US calls his Lord's Resistance Army a terrorist group. It has killed more people than Al Qaeda, Hamas, and Hizbullah combined.
