At least a dozen young Muslim men were detained by authorities in a southern Russian region near the restive Chechnya Tuesday, after police found a bag wired with explosives in a city park, a rights activist said. The roundup in Kabardino-Balkariya comes amid contract murders and other violence that is occurring with increasing frequency. Some is linked to rivalries between criminal clans and some is believed to be spilling over from Chechnya to the east, The Associated Press reported.
Law enforcement officials said five people had been detained in the sweep, but Valery Khatazhukov, chief of the Human Rights Center in the regional capital Nalchik, told The Associated Press that more then 20 families had reported that their relatives were arrested. Four families told AP their relatives had been detained, but they refused to give their names or give any other information, fearing retribution by authorities.
Regional Interior Minister Khachim Shogenov said a travel bag with wires protruding from it and containing about 10 kilograms of explosives was found in a park near the city police station Tuesday. âWithout question, the bomb was intended for a terrorist act against police officers and residents of the nearby buildings,â Shogenov said. Among those arrested were two men who were held for four years at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Rasul Khudayev, who was turned over to Russian authorities in February 2004 and ordered released four months later, said he was beaten when he was taken into custody, and then held for five hours. Khudayev said police did not question him and refused to explain why he had been detained.
Authorities say Islamic extremists are responsible for a growing number of attacks on law enforcement officials. Last month, four police officers were shot and killed by unknown attackers in two separate incidents. In December, unidentified attackers raided a branch of the Federal Drug Control Service in Nalchik, killing the four employees and seizing dozens of guns and ammunition cartridges. Authorities have blamed Islamic militants for the attack.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/18/2005 10:02 ||
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Article: Among those arrested were two men who were held for four years at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
The way liberals will spin this is by saying that Guantanamo turned them into jihadists. It's a variation of the old "society made them do it" argument.
#3
Valery Khatazhukov, chief of the Human Rights Center in the regional capital Nalchik, told The Associated Press that more then 20 families had reported that their relatives were arrested.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has not ruled a possibility to use high precision weapons against terrorists. Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, a day after Russia had tested new cruise missiles, Putin said he did not rule out that those weapons could be used for the fight against terrorism, RIA-Novosti news agency reported.
Putin said he was satisfied with the test launches of the new missiles. âWe had no such arms before, and now it appears,â he said. On Tuesday, Russian leader attended the test launches of four new cruise missiles being onboard a Tu-160 strategic bomber. âPrevious launches and launches during (the last) trainings have shown a high combat readiness,â the Russian president said. Putin added the new missiles had no nuclear warhead.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov confirmed that the new missiles were the weapons that could be used against terrorists. The Tuesday launches have finished the missile tests started in 2004, the minister added.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/18/2005 09:59 ||
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China was invited, while the USA was not. I do not like this. They are together in this build up. China is about to attack Taiwan. They've just about said so.
I have to go to my sources, though, to find out the situation there. (Not very good sources, but hey, better than nothing, right? lol)
PS. I still do not trust Russia. The Cold War is NOT over. It just may have turned hot.
#2
Here's an idea: Boeing or some other outfit should make cruise missiles whose main components are unmarked (down to assembly level only). Those can be used against known targets in terrorist-infested areas when needed and can give the US deniability.
"How do you know it was us? Coulda been the Russkies, you know...."
#3
Rosemary, this is our punishment for messing up the Ukraine election for Putin's puppet. He was trying to put the CCCP back together and we scuttled it, at least for a while. Then we helped Georgia shake loose of Moscow, and now Putin, not Russia, but Putin is looking east for friends as he solidifies power in Russia.
#7
China's population is taxing their national resources/endowments, and nothing the CCP has done has been successful. Large parts of China already suffer from desertification, with many reports of prtracted drought and starvation. Increasing popular unrests was part of the reason the CCP reorg country/provincial govts. into smaller, subdivided, tightly militarized sectors. WHatever modernity China hopes to achieve with its "special trade zones", the CCP and Chinese-specific Comunist Socialism, short of war, will be heavily dependent on foreign investment and capital transfers for many decades to come. Communist China, like the USSR before it, is a "great/world power" only because it has nukes, NOT because its traditions or methodisms permeate the world. Russia job in any US-China conflict is to arm all and every side, and contain or keep the US-NATO out of Communist Asia.
Excellent job. You don't have to use CAPS LOCK, I will more than glad to read your post. Now, work on using paragraphs, it'll be easier on everyone's eyes.
China is setting up special police units in 36 cities to put down riots and counter what the authorities call the threat of terrorism. Chinese state media said one of the first such forces, comprising 500 officers, had just been set up in Zhengzhou in central Henan province. Correspondents say unrest has become more frequent in China, often due to land disputes or economic inequality. There has also been increased coverage of such events in the Chinese press.
The Zhengzhou detachment will mainly deal with terrorism, violent crimes, riots and threats to public security, and will also be responsible for safety during major public occasions, the state news agency Xinhua said.
Can't have any unruly protests during the Olympics now, can we?
There have been two major disturbances near Zhengzhou in the last year. A violent clash over a land dispute injured about 30 people last August, and there were several fatalities during clashes between Han Chinese and Muslims three months later. Some 74,000 protests and riots broke out across China last year, involving more than 3.7 million people, Reuters quoted Chinese Security Minister Zhou Yongkang as saying.
The government, fearful as ever of any instability getting out of control, is now putting in place a range of measures to deal with the surge in demonstrations, says BBC East Asia editor Clare Harkey. They include new rules on complaining to the authorities - citizens are now banned from petitioning central government directly.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/18/2005 09:26 ||
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The government, fearful as ever of any instability getting out of control...
That is the problem, the peasents are restless and tired of getting f00ked while the city dwellers get rich. Good old fashioned class struggle, kinda like what China had back in the 40s, huh?
#2
They include new rules on complaining to the authorities - citizens are now banned from petitioning central government directly.
That is almost the entire problem right there. The people generally *like* the central government, but they *hate* their local authorities. Many of the protests are complaining *to* the central government that the local authorities are *ignoring* the central government decrees.
So this is essentially people on the bottom of the chain-of-command complaining to the big boss that the chain-of-command is disobeying him, and the big boss's response is to tell them to take it up with the chain-of-command.
HAMBURG, Germany - A German court will rule Friday in the retrial of the only man ever convicted of involvement in the plot behind the September 11 attacks. Moroccan national Mounir El Motassadeq, 31, was the first person worldwide to be convicted over the attacks but a federal tribunal ordered a new trial in March 2004 on the grounds that key witnesses in US custody were not allowed to testify.
Following are brief detailsâaccording to prosecutors in Germany and US investigatorsâof those believed to have been most involved in the so-called Hamburg cell in the northern German port city where three of the attackers lived.
Mohammed Atta: seen as the suicide hijackersâ ringleader, he died piloting the American Airlines plane that crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center. Born September 1, 1968 in Cairo, he came to Germany in 1992 and studied at university in Hamburg. A strict Muslim, Atta built up the Hamburg cell and provided its spiritual backbone. He attended training camp in Afghanistan in late 1999, then enrolled for flight lessons in the United States.
Marwan Al Shehhi: born May 9, 1978 in the United Arab Emirates, he died flying the United Airlines plane which crashed into the southern tower of the World Trade Center. He came to Germany in 1996, met Atta at language school. Attended Al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan before learning to fly in United States.
Ziad Jarrah: born May 11, 1975 in Lebanon, he died on the United Airlines jet that crashed in rural Pennsylvania when passengers tackled the hijackers. Arrived in Germany in 1996. Attended training in Afghanistan before joining a US flying school.
Abdelghani Mzoudi: the third person worldwide to be charged and the second from the Hamburg cell. The Moroccan national was arrested in Hamburg in October 2002 and acquitted in February 2003 of 3,066 counts of accessory to murder and membership in a terrorist organization. Left Germany in June 2005 under threat of deportation. Had close ties to most of cell, particularly Zakariya Essabarâwhom he allegedly supplied money for planned flight lessons in Floridaâand Al Shehhi, for whom he provided accommodation. Spotted at a training camp in Afghanistan in mid-2000.
Ramzi Binalshibh: also known as Ramzi bin Al Shaiba. Born in Yemen on May 1, 1972, he was arrested in Karachi exactly a year after the attacks. During trial he emerged as a leading figure in the Hamburg group. Binalshibh arrived in Germany in 1995 and applied for asylum. He met Atta at a mosque, and shared a flat with him for a while. Binalshibh boasted in an interview with satellite TV network Al Jazeera that he was an active Al Qaeda planner in the September 11 attacks. Enrolled in a flying school but refused entry to United States four times. Binalshibh reportedly told US investigators that Motassadeq and Mzoudi had nothing to do with plot.
Said Bahaji: born July 15, 1975 in Haseluenne, northern Germany, to a German mother and Moroccan father. Introduced to Atta by Motassadeq, Bahaji became a close friend, paying the rent on a flat he shared with Atta and Binalshibh. Described as responsible for logistics, he went to Afghan training camp in early 2000. Bahaji fled Germany shortly before the attacks, and is still at large. He is reportedly in close contact with his wife in Germany via e-mail and telephone.
Zakariya Essabar: born April 3, 1977 in Morocco. Arrived in Germany in 1997, studied in Hamburg from 1998 and introduced to Atta by Motassadeq. Attended training in Afghanistan in early 2000. He also lived for a while in Attaâs flat along with Binalshibh, and studied and worked with Jarrah. Wanted to fly in early 2001 to Florida where Atta and Al Shehhi were then staying, but twice refused a visa. He is also still at large.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/18/2005 00:55 ||
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If you want maximum effect, post very very high resolution pictures (5-10 megpix) on the site. Don't use "a href=.." command to link, but use "img src="http://www.blahblahblah.com" html command.
Linking won't take up any bandwidth or harddrive space. The pic will take up a huge amount of harddrive space and best of all, bandwidth. Also, it's legal.
I know, I know it's evil of me to suggest that. I wouldn't be so evil against her, if she didn't tell Israel to get out of the imaginary Paleostein.
#4
If you post an image tag with an http ref it won't affect the computers hosting the blog at all.... it'll just force the surfers to download the img from the server that is hosting it.
To address the admin deletion of comments: We have decided to remove comments that, by any measure of common sense, qualify as hate speech. This is a forum for rational discussion about the issues, not ad hominem attacks. Please contruct your thoughts in a rational, coherent manner. This applies to everyone, regardless of viewpoint. It is not a restriction on free speech, but an appeal to civil discourse. There are plenty of places on the Internet to employ vile, inflammatory language-- this is not one of them.
Cindy, read the following and read it carefully, slowly, and more than once so that it sinks in.
Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, burned its oil fields in a dastardly act of eco-vandalism, killed some 5,000 of his own people with chemical weapons at Halabjah, and stuffed another 400,000 or so of his constituents into mass graves.
In spite of that, did he possess weapons of mass destruction?
Considering the United States gave him approx 11 - 13 months warning, it can be assumed that nuclear, biologicial and chemical (NBC) weaponry was escorted covertly out of Iraq and into the hungry terror nations that surround the region.
But Cindy, even if Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction, the question that must be asked is did Saddam Hussein have ties to terrorism?
The notion that he did not is the platform upon which your bleat out your rhetoric; you and the other half-wits that have glommed onto you like velcro.
Here's the facts, Cindy Sheehan:
Saddam Hussein knew plenty about terrorism. In essence, he owned and operated a full-service general store for global terrorists, complete with cash, diplomatic aid, safe haven, training, and even medical attention. Such assistance violated United Nations Security Council Resolution 687. The results not only broke international law, but also were deadly, as this chart demonstrates.
The public evidence of Saddam Husseinâs cooperation with and support for global terrorists is abundant and clear. The Baathist governmentâs contacts and collaboration with terrorists in general, al-Qaeda in particular, and even the September 11 conspirators should make all Americans highly grateful that President Bush led an international effort to remove Saddam Hussein from power.
Cindy, you have to agree that the world is better off now that Hussein was removed from power.
You're not the only mother who lost a child in war. Remember 9/11.
But since you can't remember 9/11, letâs start with money. At a minimum, we know that Saddam Husseinâs government supported terrorism by paying "bonuses" of up to $25,000 to the families of Palestinian homicide bombers. How do we know this? Tariq Aziz, Hussein's own deputy prime minister, was stunningly candid about the Baathist governmentâs underwriting of terrorist killings in Israel.
âPresident Saddam Hussein has recently told the head of the Palestinian political office, Faroq al-Kaddoumi, his decision to raise the sum granted to each family of the martyrs of the Palestinian uprising to $25,000 instead of $10,000,â Aziz announced at a Baghdad meeting of Arab politicians and businessmen on March 11, 2002, Reuters reported the next day.
Aziz simply echoed the policy his boss established one week earlier. As Saddam Hussein put it on Iraqi TV on March 4, 2002:
"We are glad of the Istishhadiyyah [suicide] and heroic spirit of the Palestinian people. By Allah, what the Palestinian people does is beyond my expectationsâ¦â
Saddam Husseinâs vice president, Taha Yassin Ramadan, is the man who Israeli intelligence believes was directly involved in funneling money from Baghdad into the hands of the families of homicide bombers. Documents that the Israeli Defense Force captured in the Palestinian town of Ramallah indicate that Vice President Ramadan used the Arab Liberation Front, the Palestinian Liberation Front, and the Palestinian branch of the Iraqi Baathist party to pass these funds into the hands of terroristsâ families.
The devastation was extensive inside the eatery. Far worse, of course, was the human toll. Eleven Israelies were murdered while 52 were wounded.
Jews are human, aren't they Cindy? Before your son was killed, did you ever weep for Jews being slaughtered by barbarians?
A little over three months after that carnage in 2002, Mrs. Khaldiya Ismaâil Abd al-Aziz al-Hurani collected a check for $25,000 as a bonus for her sonâs suicide and his homicide of nearly a dozen others. The check was a âPresident Saddam Husseinâs Grantâ paid via the Palestine Investment Bank. These funds were transferred on June 23, 2002.
In another case, Usama Muhammad Id Bahr and Nabil Mahmud Jamil Halbiyyah blew themselves up in Jerusalem's Zion Square on December 1, 2001. Before setting off to "martyrdom," they also left a car bomb set on a timer two blocks away. It exploded just as rescue workers and emergency personnel arrived on the scene.
Here again, the physical damage was extensive, but largely reparable. Alas, the human toll was far more severe, what with 11 deaths and 188 injuries.
The deceased were all between ages 14 and 21. They were out for a night of fun after the end of Sabbath.
Jews celebrate the Sabbath, Cindy. That's who Muslims got the idea from.
On April 10, 2002, Izat Jarradat boarded a crowded bus strapped with explosives. As the bus approached the busy Yagur junction near Haifa, he blew himself up. This vulgarity killed eight Israelis and wounded 15 others.
Not all of these victims are Israeli. American Abigail Litle, the daughter of a Baptist minister, was just 14 years old when she was killed on an Israeli bus on March 5, 2003.
See, Cindy? Christians are being slaughtered by Muslims too.
Between the time Saddam Hussein boosted his bonus payments to the families of Palestinian terrorists and the March 20, 2003 launch of Operation Iraqi Freedom, 28 homicide bombers injured 1,209 people and killed 223 more, including at least eight Americans. These bonus checks were handed out at ceremonies where banners proclaimed the friendship of the PLOâs Yasser Arafat and Saddam Hussein.
The Palestinian newspaper, Al Hayat, in December 2000 featured a letter expressing gratitude and appreciation to President Yasser Arafat and to President Saddam Hussein from the family of Imad Al-Dib Badir Al-Dayah.
Cindy, does it matter to you that Jews are being murdered, or are Palestinians your only major concern?
In addition to funds, Saddam Hussein's government provided diplomatic help to Islamic extremists. This is Abu Abbas, former secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Front. He masterminded the October 7-9, 1985 hijacking of an Italian cruise ship whose name, sadly, is now synonymous with terrorism. The Achille Lauro was on a voyage across the Mediterranean when four Palestinian terrorists seized it on the high seas. They held some 400 passengers hostage for 44 hours.
At one point, they segregated the Jewish passengers on board. One of them was a 69-year-old New York retiree named Leon Klinghoffer. He happened to be confined to a wheelchair. Without mercy, Abu Abbasâ men shot Klinghoffer, then rolled him, wheelchair and all, into the Mediterranean.
The hijackers surrendered to Egyptian authorities in exchange for safe passage to Tunisia. Abu Abbas then joined them on a flight to freedom aboard an Egypt Air jet. However, four U.S. fighter planes forced the airliner to land at a NATO base in Sicily. Italian officials took the hijackers into custody. But Abbas possessed the ultimate get-out-of-jail card: An Iraqi diplomatic passport.
The source for this information is Bettino Craxi. At that time, he was Italyâs prime minister. As Craxi explained in an October 14, 1985 UPI story: âAbu Abbas was the holder of an Iraqi diplomatic passportâ¦The plane was on an official mission, considered covered by diplomatic immunity and extra-territorial status in the air and on the ground.â Seeing that this terrorist traveled as a credentialed Iraqi diplomat, the Italian authorities let Abbas flee to Yugoslavia. After political parties furiously withdrew from Craxiâs coalition, the Italian government collapsed.
Hisham al Hussein is the former second secretary at Iraqâs embassy in Manila.
The Philippine government expelled him on February 13, 2003, just five weeks before the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Cell phone records indicate he had spoken with Abu Madja and Hamsiraji Sali, two leaders of Abu Sayyaf, al-Qaedaâs de facto franchise for the Philippines. The timing was particularly suspicious, as he had been in contact with the Abu Sayyaf terrorists just before and after they conducted an attack in Zamboanga City.
Abu Sayyafâs nail-filled bomb exploded on October 2, 2002, injuring 23 individuals and killing two Filipinos and one American. That American was U.S. Special Forces Sergeant First Class Mark Wayne Jackson, age 40.
As Dan Murphy wrote in the February 26, 2003 Christian Science Monitor, those tell-tale cell phone records bolster the televised claim by Hamsiraji Sali, a top Abu Sayyaf terrorist, that the Iraqi diplomat had offered this group of Islamo-fascists Baghdadâs help with joint missions.
After escaping Italian police in October 1985 following the Achille Lauro hijacking (thanks to his Iraqi diplomatic passport), Abu Abbas finally ended up in Baghdad in 1994, where he lived comfortably as one of Saddam Husseinâs guests. U.S. soldiers caught Abbas in Iraq in April 2003. This time, he did not get away. He died last March 9, in American custody, reportedly of natural causes.
I hope he suffered.
Abbas' Baghdad sojourn was not an isolated incident. Saddam Hussein granted avowed international terrorists refuge in Baathist Iraq. Terror mastermind Abu Nidal also enjoyed his hospitality.
Nidal lived comfortably in Iraq between 1999 and August 2002. As the Associated Press reported on August 21, 2002, Nidalâs Beirut office said he entered Iraq âwith the full knowledge and preparations of the Iraqi authorities.â 13 Prior to his relocation, he ran the eponymous Abu Nidal Organization â a Palestinian terror network behind attacks in 20 countries, at least 407 confirmed murders, and some 788 other terror-related injuries. Among other savage acts, Nidalâs group used guns and grenades to attack a ticket counter at Romeâs Leonardo da Vinci airport on December 27, 1985. Another cell in Austria simultaneously assaulted Viennaâs airport, killing 19 people.
Among the five Americans that Abu Nidal murdered that day was John Buonocore III, a 20-year-old Fairleigh Dickinson College student who had studied in Rome that fall semester. Buonocore was shot in the back while checking in for his flight home. He had hoped to return to Wilmington, Delaware to help his father celebrate his 50th birthday.
The New York Times reports that Abu Nidal's Fatah Revolutionary Council murdered the following 17 Americans, at a minimum:
Americans killed in the Abu Nidal Organization's December 27, 1985 attack on Rome's airport:
*John Buonocore III, 20, of Wilmington, Delaware
*Frederick Gage of Madison, Wisconsin
*Natasha Simpson, 11, of New York
*Don Maland of New Port Richey, Florida
*Elena Tomarello, 67, of Naples, Florida
American executed during ANO's 1986 hijacking of a Pan Am jet at Karachi, Pakistan's airport:
*Rajesh Kumar of Huntington Beach, California
Americans slaughtered in ANO's September 8, 1974 bombing of a TWA jet over the Ionian Sea en route from Israel to Greece, killing all 88 aboard:
*Eitan Bard of Tuckahoe, New York
*Seldon Bard of Tuckahoe, New York
*Ralph H. Bosh of Madison, Connecticut
*Jon L. Cheshire of Old Lyme, Connecticut
*Jeremiah Hadley of Poughkeepsie, New York
*Katherine Hadley Michel of Poughkeepsie, New York
*Frederick Hare of Bernardsville, New Jersey
*Margaret Hare of Bernardsville, New Jersey
*Don H. Holliday of Mahwah, New Jersey
*Dr. Frederick Stohlman of Newton, Massachusetts
*Mrs. Frederick Stohlman of Newton, Massachusetts
If there is any justice here, perhaps it is the fact that Abu Nidal died in August 2002. Saddam Husseinâs government claimed that he committed suicide by shooting himself in the head â four times.
Cindy, you might ask, is there any evidence that Iraq sheltered those responsible for attacks on America?
Enter Abdul Rahman Yasin. This Indiana-born, Iraqi-reared terrorist remains wanted by the FBI for his role in the February 26, 1993 World Trade Center attack. President Bill Clinton's Justice Department indicted Yasin for mixing the chemicals in the bomb that exploded in the parking garage beneath the Twin Towers, killing six and injuring 1,042 people in New York.
Soon after the smoke cleared, Yasin returned to Iraq. Coalition forces have discovered documents that show he enjoyed housing and a monthly government salary.
Since Iraq was liberated, Yasin remains at large.
Let's talk about Abu Musab al Zarqawi. After running an al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan, he found his way to Baathist Baghdad, where he reportedly checked into Olympic Hospital, an elite facility run by the late Uday Hussein, son of the captured tyrant. Zarqawi is believed to have received medical treatment for a leg injury sustained while dodging American GIs who toppled the Taliban. He convalesced in Baghdad for some two months. Once he was back on his foot, Zarqawi then opened an Ansar al-Islam terrorist training camp in northern Iraq. Zarqawi is thought to be behind the October 28, 2002 assassination of Lawrence Foley.
Foley was a U.S. diplomat in Amman, Jordan who worked on international development projects. For that "transgression," he was gunned down and killed in his driveway at home.
According to dissidents, journalists who have visited, and even United Nations weapons inspectors, Saddam Hussein appears to have offered training to terrorists, in addition to funding, diplomatic help, safe haven and medical care.
So, Cindy Sheehan, does all of this, or anything else, suggest a tie between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda? Some evidence is interesting but far from solid, such as this mural that U.S. troops at an Iraqi military base in Nasariyah encountered that seems to celebrate the destruction of the Twin Towers.
Recall that Abdul Rahman Yasin, one of the al-Qaeda bombers who hit the World Trade Center in 1993, fled to Iraq after that attack and lived there freely, reportedly with a government salary. Thatâs one clear link to al-Qaeda.
Then there is the interesting case of Ahmad Hikmat Shakir â an Iraqi VIP facilitator who worked at the international airport in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Citing "a foreign government service," page 340 of the Senate Intelligence Committee's report on pre-Iraq-War intelligence indicates that, "Shakir claimed he got this job through Ra'ad al-Mudaris, an Iraqi Embassy employee" in Malaysia. On January 5, 2000, Shakir greeted Khalid al Midhar and Nawaz al Hamzi at Kuala Lampurâs airport. He then escorted them to a local hotel where these September 11 hijackers met with 9/11 conspirators Ramzi bin al Shibh and Tawfiz al Atash. Five days later, according to The Weekly Standardâs Stephen Hayes, Shakir disappeared.
Khalid al Midhar and Nawaz al Hamzi subsequently spent the morning of September 11, 2001 flying American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon, killing 184 people.
Shakir, the Iraqi airport greeter, was arrested in Qatar on September 17, 2001. On his person and in his apartment, authorities discovered documents connecting him to the 1993 WTC bomb plot and âOperation Bojinka,â al-Qaedaâs 1995 plan to blow up 12 jets simultaneously over the Pacific. Interestingly enough, as a May 27, 2004 Wall Street Journal editorial reported, Ahmed Hikmat Shakir's name appears on three different rosters of the late Uday Hussein's prestigious paramilitary group, the Saddam Fedayeen. A government source told the Journal that the papers identify Shakir as a lieutenant colonel in the Saddam Fedayeen.
Of course, we know what happened next. Mohamed Atta and his henchmen went to airports on the East Coast.
Within just three hours, he and the other pilots were in the air, about to reshape history. He and his evil colleagues turned this lovely vista of America's premier city into a towering inferno.
They stole 2,749 innocent souls from the American family and decapitated the most powerful skyline man ever built.
Do you care about that, Cindy? Do you care what Saddam Hussein did to the 2,749 sons and daughtes of mothers, just like you?
As the May 8, 2003 New York Post and other news outlets reported, Saddam Husseinâs government was complicit in the September 11 attacks.
Thus, there is abundant and undeniable evidence that Saddam Hussein provided money, diplomatic services, shelter, medical care, and training to terrorists of every stripe, including those complicit in the 1993 WTC bombing and â according to a Clinton-appointed federal judge â the September 11 attacks. The Iraqi dictator aided al-Qaeda and other global terrorists who murdered Americans, both at home and abroad.
Saddam Hussein was a living threat to American national security and the safety of the civilized world.
Earth is a safer place with him now where he belonged all along: BEHIND BARS.
Saddam Hussein is a disgusting example of human vermin. Cindy Sheehan, you disgust me even more.
This post was written with gratitude to "Saddam Hussein's Philanthropy of Terror - by Deroy Murdock" for providing all the source information for this post.
Then another one followed the above posting:
6:58 PM CDT
Anonymous said...
I am getting so tired of putting up with reading this crap. Please make this site password-only or just shut down the comments altogether.
7:06 PM CDT
So there is the full spectrum of people involved in this blog. Oh and by the way, Mucky was in fine form there too!
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/18/2005 21:59 Comments ||
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#11
Nice, AP, 'cept from what I see, somebody'd hafta break that down into bite-sized pieces for Mother Cindy and feed 'em to her over the next week. Too much to digest, doncha know....
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/18/2005 22:10 Comments ||
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#12
Language eh?
Call her and her supporters "a Fucking Hypocite". Those were her exact words were about Bush.
#13
Among reasonable people we will reason, but with the agenda-driven left, there is no room for reason. Cindy has found the emotional support that she needs from the LLL. They give her all the support that she needs in return for hawking their agenda. But she did lose her son, so as much as I think that her statements are a discredit to the memory of her son, and that she is willing to peddle the leftist tripe, she is still more to be pitied than censured.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/18/2005 22:35 Comments ||
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I tried to post this yesterday, but their electronic version was not up to date. Pretty short,the whole thing is here. Note the condecending terms for our President and leaders. Ah, the left at its' most ...well, you know.
Those who post at the left-wing Daily Kos Web site, the most visited political blog on the Internet, don't officially speak for Democrats, of course. But if you're a liberal and you want red meat, it's the place to go. Unfortunately for liberals, you can find the worst of liberalism there, too. Consider this excerpt from a post by "dataguy" â not just a "troll" writing something provocative, but a longtime contributor to the site. Saturday morning he posted a rather cold-blooded PR plan for getting the most political mileage out of protester Cindy Sheehan, the mother of fallen Army Specialist Casey Sheehan. Does the authentic voice of the left belong to "dataguy" or is he an outlier? Dozens posted comments at Daily Kos supporting the plan, while only a few condemned it. Does that matter? You be the judge:
"Framing Cindy Sheehan â we are making errors" (excerpt)
- "We are making errors with references to Cindy Sheehan. What are we trying to accomplish with promoting her? ... Relate her vigil over her dead son to universal archtypes [sic] of all vigils over dead children killed by dictatorial rulers throughout all history."
- "We should call her âMother Sheehan.' We should never call her Cindy; ... âMother Sheehan' is her title ... She is not a person now, she is a mother ... who has been wronged by state power."
- "We should use the word âuseless' frequently. The death of her son is a useless sacrifise [sic], done for the vanity of the ruler."
- "We should not use the name of her son. Her son is a symbol of all sons who have been sacrificed for this useless and criminal war."
- "If there are any persons who are theatre professionals at the Sheenan [sic] vigil, they should arrange things much more theatrically."
- " ... [H]ave her talk only through a spokesperson. In particular, I would not allow her to argue with critics, and would allow no critics to approach her ... If lesser emissaries from the ruler arrive (C Rice, etc), these should not be allowed to speak to Mother Sheehan."
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/18/2005 12:28 ||
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Actually, it should read Kos Makes the Daily Examiner, as in, made it into ....
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/18/2005 14:46 Comments ||
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Ah, Framing. Wish Ambrose Bierce were alive today; he'd have yet another entry for the Devil's Dictionary.
However, I will attempt to channel him....
Framing - presenting one's political views in a fresh manner in the hope that the listener will be run over by a passing bus and thus be rendered unable to vote against one's candidate of choice.
#5
About half of the web traffic at Kos is Conservatives checking out the latest conspiracy theories. I myself visit two or three left wing sites and also post on one called the Left Coaster just about every day. Mostly I challenge them to prove their LLL conspiracy theories (which they canât). Itâs fun throwing a verbal grenade or some red meat and watching them scurry.
#6
Isn't the Washington Examiner the one that is delivered daily, free. Talk about not being able to give it away. No one picks it up except to put in the trash. I thought about calling the police to complain about the daily litter...but I've got better things to do.
An NYPD Police Academy recruit of Middle Eastern heritage sports a bold tattoo spelling out the word "JIHAD" on his forearm, with a large sword drawn beneath it â and there's nothing the department can do about it, The Post has learned. WTF?!?!??!?!
The extraordinary markings caused a stir around the academy as soon as the 6-foot tall probationary cop rolled up his sleeves and revealed the tattoo. "People were shocked to see it," one source said. The controversy prompted police brass to interview the officer, who said that "JIHAD" is his nickname and made it clear that he had no affinity for any terror causes. Riiiiiight. And my nickname is "Pogrom." Got a problem with that?
In fact, "Jihad" has several meanings, ranging from "exerting utmost effort" and "to strive," to its more sinister usage by terrorist leaders who call for a "jihad," or holy war against the West. "Struggle" and "strive" and blahblahblah. Wake up and smell the caliphate, stupid lazy reporters.
Regardless of its interpretation, the NYPD, which has regulations for the length of an officer's hair, has no prohibitions against tattoos. And yet, recruits are screened beforehand, and have to show tattoos and explain in detail what they mean. For proof of this, go to a board called NYPD Rant, which is where the Post found this story.
A department spokesman declined to confirm or deny that any recruit sported a JIHAD tattoo. Sources say the officer, whose name was withheld, joined the NYPD's class of about 1,500 recruits less than a month ago. He was described as quiet and studious. and also, according to one cop on that board, as a "fvcking POS middle eastern recruit in the PA with a Jihad tattoo on his arm."
Police brass advised the officer's classroom instructors that they are to ignore the tattoo. But its existence captured the attention of the department's Intelligence Division. Really, no big deal! Just ignore it and he won't kill you. Really!
The NYPD does have a staff of Muslim Arabic speakers that spend a lot of time wading through the jihadi websites and chatrooms. The director of the CT unit was proud that several in his department had just made their haj.
It's likely to ruffle the feathers of some cops, particularly since the NYPD lost its first officer serving in Iraq earlier this month in a sniper attack.
I wondered where the odor of wet goat and Astroglide was coming from.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/18/2005 12:49 Comments ||
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#3
The sword under the word just means struggle nicely and all that. He may not be sociopathic boomer scum but he SURELY IS A PHUKWIT IDIOT. Not a smart pick for a PO no matter what you might think the meaning of the tatoo is exactly.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/18/2005 13:11 Comments ||
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#5
agree with munk - jihad has different meanings, but the sword underneath kinda specifies which meaning is meant i think. Theres a technical term for that in linguistics, which escapes me at the moment.
#6
Hi, my name is Jimbo and I'm a custodian at a local primary school here in NY City. I have a tatto on my ass that reads: "I shit for Satan" and on my forehead another that reads: "I'll eat your young."
NYC public school authorities asked to comment on this matter said: "Well, as long as Jimbo keeps his clothes on and wears a hat to cover the forehead tatto, we see no problem here."
But that's what CAIR, Cindy Sheehan, Sean Penn, James Zogby, Leslie Cagan, Ramsey Clark, Tom Hayden, Jane Fonda, Dan Rather, the entire editorial board of the NYT, LA Times, and Wash. Post, NPR, Bill Maher, Bill Moyers, Al Franken, Madonna, Frank Rich, Maureen Dowd, and Michael Moore all say.
#11
If he's a probie cop in New York, he'd better keep his nose super clean for a year. If he don't, some hard ass supervisor of his will make sure he never becomes a regular on the job.
#12
I think NY is terminal. To have this attitude, electing fuckwits like Hillary and showing such gross laxity and PCism after 9/11, indicates their Will to Survive Quotient is, in sum, negative. Stop sending my Federal tax dollars to prop up this witless Blue bastion.
#17
yes RC, kampf does, IIUC. Dont know too much German though.
Jihad definitely has different meanings. Bernard Lewis, author of "Political Language of Islam" agrees that it does. Though the violent ones are the more common ones, by a long shot.
#19
shift him from the NYPD - give him to Chappaqua
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/18/2005 20:23 Comments ||
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#20
First question---is he a Muslim?
Second question---if so, which brand?
Tatooing is against Islam. You'd be hard pressed to find a hardline variety that permits it---much less a variety that would make significant linguistic use of "Jihad" in a fashion that we might find objectionable here on Rantburg.
Serious Muslims, especially Jihadis, don't tatoo. That's why there's such a tradition of henna patterning in Islamic cultures.
Basically, the guy could just be like one of those choadlickers that want the Kanji for "Wind over fire" tatooed on their hineys, and end up with something saying "fart."
Citations will be forthcoming, if necessary. I'm still on my first beer and need another.
WND. More reliable than CBS, but...
Despite being a Texas native, a registered voter and holder of a state driver's license, a decorated Marine has been denied lower in-state tuition at a community college because they need to make room for illegal aliens he spent too much time out of the state while serving two tours of duty in Iraq.
Carl Basham says he was shocked when personnel at Peoples Republic of Austin Community College told him a few weeks ago that he didn't qualify as a Texas resident "for tuition purposes." Basham was born in Beeville, Texas, registered to vote in Travis County in 1998, holds a Texas driver's license and does his banking in Austin, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. "They told me that I have to physically live in the state of Texas for at least a year," Basham told the paper. "It kind of hurts."
According to the report, Austin Community College officials were unable to specify why Basham isn't considered a Texas resident, only that he didn't meet state requirements as determined by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. A spokeswoman said privacy laws prevent a discussion of Basham's case.
Heard on local radio here in San Antonio this morning that they said "if you enlist in any other state, you loose your Texas citizenship". He joined Marines in Shreveport, LA. This is not going to go over well here.
In-state tuition at the college is $500 per semester, compared to $2,600 for non-Texas residents.
"Mr. Basham has gone to war for us, and I intend to go to war for him!" said state Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, in a letter to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. "We owe it to our returning service men and women to make it as easy and uncomplicated as possible for them to resume their normal lives." The higher education board is reportedly investigating the case. Crap! We got caught.
Basham, 27, says that while his college costs eventually will be covered by the federal government, those benefits won't be available for several months, so he'll need to come up with the higher tuition cost plus cash for books in the meantime. The Marine's wife, Jolie, could hardly believe her ears when, after presenting multiple pieces of evidence proving his Texas residence, her husband was turned down.
"[The admissions officer] said, 'It's really your military service that's holding you back.' I couldn't believe that those words came out of her mouth," Jolie Basham is quoted as saying. I can.
She hasn't spent much time in Austin, has she?
Basham was honorably discharged from the Marines on Jan. 31 and hopes to work toward a degree in emergency medical care. Anyone here wanna make some calls to Limbaugh or Savage or someone?
#2
I bet that "rule" doesn't even exist. Austin is Texas is just another POS liberal town. Someone decided they were going to screw a Marine because they hate Bush, are against the war in Iraq and, WoT. I bet this is not teh only instance of this. He shouldn't be having to use his Education benifits if a state progam will cover it. I drive around Texas before you see me go through it.
#3
I clicked on this item saying "God, please don't let it be my state".
If his wife's place of residence was Texas while he was away (and I see nothing to the contrary), there should be no question. Not that there should be otherwise.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/18/2005 19:54 Comments ||
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#6
First NE groups start calling for their towns andor states to secede after Dubya won the Y2000 POTUS elex, so now its public or academic institutions - time for Cindy to once again call in the Commie Airborne, as "IFF ITS SEPARATISM, GRASSHOPPER, THEY WILL COME"!? These Lefties want the USA under Socialist OWG and Socialist World Order iff America has to be invaded to do it, they want the USSR-Red China back, only stronger and more despotic - Good Clintonians demand to be attacked and enslaved!
"We are not waging a war on terror in this country. Weâre waging a war of terror. The biggest terrorist in the world is George W. Bush!" Bigger than Binny or Yasser?
So declared Cindy Sheehan earlier this year during a rally at San Francisco State University. Sheehan, who is demanding a second meeting with Bush, stated: "We are waging a nuclear war in Iraq right now. That country is contaminated. It will be contaminated for practically eternity now." First I heard about us using nukes, must be getting serious.
Sheehan unleashed a foul-mouth tirade on April 27, 2005:
"Theyâre a bunch of fucking hypocrites! And we need to, we just need to rise up..." Sheehan said of the Bush administration. Nice mouth Mom.
"If George Bush believes his rhetoric and his bullshit, that this is a war for freedom and democracy, that he is spreading freedom and democracy, does he think every person he kills makes Iraq more free?" No every time will kill a terrorists it gets more free, sâok many News organization get it backwards.
"The whole world is damaged. Our humanity is damaged. If he thinks that itâs so important for Iraq to have a U.S.-imposed sense of freedom and democracy, then he needs to sign up his two little party-animal girls. They need to go to this war." Jenna and Barbara in Desert BDUs? That would definitely boost morale! But they would have to volunteer, like EVERYBODY else has.
I do have a question for Jenna though...last year during the election, it was announced that Jenna would be spending a year teaching in a DC public school. At the time I thought that was a great idea, but so far...no Jenna. What's up?
"We want our country back and, if we have to impeach everybody from George Bush down to the person who picks up dog shit in Washington, we will impeach all those people." I forget is it the majority or minority leader that picks up the dog poo in DC? Oh wait I hear Daschle is looking for a job. Off topic a bit, anyone hear anything about those much publicized vigil across the U.S.? The one here is Sacramento drew about 200 people. Not exactly a huge turnout and I was wondering what the rest of the country saw.
#1
It ain't really a prostest 'til you have the naked ugly people, and especially "inflated scrotum guy." Can we fly him in? I got a dollar, to help, anybody else, Bueler.. Bueler...
#2
Contaminated for eternity must mean depleted uranium.
Eveybody knows uranium is radioactive and deadly for a zillion years. Or wait, is that the un-depeleted stuff? Or plutonium? Or the stuff that makes my clock hands glow in the dark? Or the stuff in my smoke detector? Radiation is SO scary!
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/18/2005 11:11 Comments ||
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#3
I used to feel sorry for her, but that stopped about a week ago.
I also used to feel sorry for her kid. But now, I think he was lucky. How'd you like to come home to that fuckin nightmare?
#4
He isn't her "kid." He was an adult, more of one than she, in fact. I don't know how she didn't warp his mind over the years. I can only guess his father must have been a stand-up guy.
#8
Austin, TX paper had picture of vigil on front page -- with 300-500 in attendance. Can't say that's a significant number. And it was probably closer to the 300.
However, I loved the line about lots of those present had also demonstrated in Vietnam protests! Without them, number would have been much smaller.
#9
In my town, the only way you could draw a crowd to a anti-war candlelight vigil would be to have an open bar.
Posted by: Matt ||
08/18/2005 11:50 Comments ||
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#10
"Off topic a bit, anyone hear anything about those much publicized vigil across the U.S.? The one here is Sacramento drew about 200 people. Not exactly a huge turnout and I was wondering what the rest of the country saw."
There is a reason for the low turnout. The protest payment checks bounced at the last minute after the Boys & Girls Club situation became public.
#11
We want our country back and, if we have to impeach everybody from George Bush down...
We had that vote last November. You lost. You lost big time. I fully understand why you don't support democracy in Iraq or Afghanistan when you don't support democracy in the United States.
Keep pushing the envelope. Civil War Part Deux in 8, 7, 6 ....
#12
I have a different take...Turned on GMA this morning and while the coverage didn't lead, it represented close to 75% of the content of the first 10 minutes. Sandwhiched in between was the "odemeter of death" ... 4 US soldiers KIA in Iraq, 2 more in Afganistan.
I choose to link every soldiers death during this period to the morale boost the left, and the MSM has given the barbarians during the last few days. George Stuffanaloplis even ventured "This is President Bushes Swiftboat moment."
Anyway, Cindy likes her new job, professional protester, and she will be around as long as the funding is around. She has chosen to make herself a public figure... let's see how much she likes the scrutiny.
#14
I don't know Ed, she hasn't hit anybody and that won't shut her mouth.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/18/2005 13:03 Comments ||
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#15
Shomonter Threater9114:
Watch out now! Those disarmed (because they hate guns and gun owners), de-balled leftists are gonna come at yah with a rolling pin!
"If we're attacked, we would all go out. We'd all take whatever we had. I'd take my rolling pin and I'd beat the attackers over the head with it."--Cindy Sheehan
Posted by: Analog Roam ||
08/18/2005 14:16 Comments ||
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#17
Is that Nigella muzzled? Cindy Sheehan will be abandoned in due course by her handlers. At that time she'll be institutionalized or off herself when she begins to understand that she's made the painful loss of her son far worse to deal with due to her becoming a political tool and allowing her son's death to be used like a political football by people who probably care little about her or her son.
#18
According to the Times the Peoples Republic of Seattle could only muster about 200 ('A *HUGE OUTPOURING* according to the Times). And only about 3,000 in the entire Puget sound region....
That includes the kids who are there because of their moonbat parents (who can't help but to use them to make a political statement).
"I understand that she lost her son. I have a son, who has also served in the Marine Corps for about three years. I really appreciate her loss," said Eric Job, who does business development in Issaquah. His son is back from two tours in Iraq.
"At the same time, I feel like what she is doing is being manipulated by groups that don't really care about her or her son -- but really do care about being in the news media," said Job. "I think what's happened in Crawford, Texas, is a terrible, shameful thing." (From the Seattle PI)
I think she is a willing participant (with a filthy mouth).
#20
I would submit the 200 or 500 are vastly inflated figures. This isn't on 85% of the population radar. If you were to pol this household only 50% even know the name. Only 25% know anything about her in detail.
It's August there is no real news out of Washington so the media are making this news to further their own agenda of making trouble for Bush. Treason.
#25
Dem dar a'thousands fer Cindy, the MSM sezzes. Time to divert the Commie Airborne from Russia-China's "Peace Mission 2005" MILEX, since iff George Bush is a terrorist cuz Saint Bill Clinton made regime change in Iraq US policy, Dubya/USA = Terrorist = fits the definition(s), precepts and MILEX scope of "Terrorism, Separatism, and Extremism" > what the Commie Fascist= Fascist Commie Commie Sino-Russian milfors are practicing for!?
#26
Fergitten to a'sayin dat Cindy is a'callin fer INVASION, WAR, ATTACKS AND REVOLUTION AGAST HER OWN CUNNTRY - you know, PATRIOTISM!? Oh for the good old days of yore when American politicians can make promises without meaning or keeping them, when America must obey a world community whose mandates or directives are NOT to obeyed, when Governors of Texas/States were per se and undeniably responsible for Presidential decisions and the national economy, and law school-educated POTUSes did not know that as POTUS they were the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the Nation, and really Really REALLY R-E-A-L-LY believed they were telling people the truth when they lied to them, and how its America's fault for the demise of the USSR even though it was the Soviets whom proclaimed the USSR didn't need Freedom, America, the West or Trade to prove the obvious superiority and utopia of Socialism, Communism, and Sovietism. Perhaps the Lefties want the USSR wanna see the USSR come back,together with all gulags and re-education camps, for dat kinder, gentler, Totalitarianism, Stalinization, Sovietization, Russification, and Orientification - you know, FREEDOM AND AMERICANISM/WESTERNISM!? Now lets all be good Clintonians and demand to be properly but PC shot in the back of the head as we walk thru the door for our friendly, have-a-donut chats with Stalin's boyz vv 000's of Polish officers at KATYN FOREST!?
SAN DIEGO - The driver of an SUV packed with suspected illegal immigrants and nearly 700 pounds of marijuana sped from police the wrong way on Interstate 8 before crashing head-on into a California Highway Patrol car, officials said. Authorities say the incident late Wednesday was part of a pattern by smugglers who try to evade border checkpoints by veering into oncoming traffic, often at night, sometimes with their headlights off. The SUV involved had been modified to enable it to flee more easily. "This year for some reason they're becoming more frequent," said Brian Pennings, a CHP spokesman based at the agency's El Cajon office.
After Wednesday's crash, seven people jumped out of the disabled Chevrolet Suburban and fled into the bush about 30 miles east of San Diego, Pennings said. Investigators quickly caught five of the occupants, who appeared to be illegal immigrants, he said. The captured passengers and the CHP officer whose car was rammed were not injured, Pennings said. The driver had not been found late Wednesday.
The Suburban had been modified with a heavy-duty front bumper and solid, silicone-filled tires that could not be punctured by the spike strips that the CHP lays down to disable regular tires, Pennings said.
Somebody's been watching "COPS" and taking notes
Investigators found 694 pounds of marijuana inside, he said.
The pursuit began when a CHP officer tried to pull over the Suburban on a side road because it had an expired registration tag, Pennings said. But the driver steered the Suburban up an off-ramp and began speeding west in the eastbound freeway lanes, Pennings said. CHP officers laid down several spike strips but they had no effect on the Suburban's tires, he said. To prevent a head-on collision, CHP officers slowed and stopped eastbound Interstate 8 traffic, he said.
The CHP officer who spotted the Suburban was involved in a new operation aimed at capturing people who have been driving the wrong way along Interstate 8 to avoid detection at Border Patrol checkpoints, Pennings said. The CHP has received several such reports this year after receiving none last year, he said. On June 30, an immigrant smuggler swerved into oncoming traffic on a highway 20 miles east of San Diego and struck a pickup truck, killing five people in the van, including a 13-year-old boy. The driver of the pickup was among those injured. The van driver was charged with murder.
On Aug. 1, a van packed with suspected illegal immigrants overturned on Interstate 40, about 140 miles east of Los Angeles, killing six people, including the driver, and injuring 14.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/18/2005 11:36 ||
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#1
Packed with illegals and 700 lbs. of dope, and it is a suspected smuggling SUV? What am I missing here?
#4
we get these twice or three times a week - SUV or pickup packed with ILLEGALS running with lights off in wrong-direction traffic. Some here wonder why I'm so FUCKING mad at our nation's acceptance of illegal aliens crashing the border? Have a friend die in a head on with these assholes and you'll understand. Build the wall - long and tall
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/18/2005 19:19 Comments ||
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I still have my doubts as to whether there's really anything to the Able Danger story, but this looks interesting.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 - The chairman of the Sept. 11 commission called on the Pentagon on Wednesday to move quickly to evaluate the credibility of military officers who have said that a highly classified intelligence program managed to identify the Sept. 11 ringleader more than a year before the 2001 attacks. He said the information was not shared in a reliable form with the panel.
The chairman, Thomas H. Kean, a former Republican governor of New Jersey, offered no judgment about the accuracy of the officers' accounts. But he said in an interview that if the accounts were true, it suggested that detailed information about the intelligence program, known as Able Danger, was withheld from the commission and that the program and its findings should have been mentioned prominently in the panel's final report last year.
"If they identified Atta and any of the other terrorists, of course it was an important program," Mr. Kean said, referring to Mohamed Atta, the Egyptian ringleader of the attacks. "Obviously, if there were materials that weren't given to us, information that wasn't given to us, we're disappointed. It's up to the Pentagon to clear up any misunderstanding."
In a statement last week, Mr. Kean and the vice chairman of the commission, Lee H. Hamilton, said that Able Danger, a computerized data-mining operation run from within the Defense Department's Special Operations Command, "did not turn out to be historically significant, set against the larger context of U.S. policy and intelligence efforts." But Mr. Kean suggested Wednesday that the statement would need to be revised if information from officers involved in Able Danger proved to be true.
And they'd have to start by dumping Jamie Gorelick from the Commission, and swearing her in as a witness.
This week, an Army intelligence veteran, Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer, became the first officer associated with Able Danger to allow himself to be named publicly. Colonel Shaffer said that the project's analysts had identified Mr. Atta and three of the other hijackers by name by mid-2000.
The Sept. 11 commission has said that it received similar information in July 2004, only days before it issued its final report, from a Navy captain who was also involved in Able Danger. It said the captain's information was determined not to be "sufficiently reliable to warrant" additional investigation. The Navy captain has not been publicly identified.
The Pentagon has not disputed the accounts from Colonel Shaffer or the Navy captain. But it has withheld comment on Able Danger, saying it is gathering information about it.
Is that a CYA tactic, a delay to let the story run out and then clobber the Commission, or a general sign of disorganization?
Members of the Sept. 11 commission have disputed Colonel Shaffer's statements that he told commission staff members in October 2003 about the identification of Mr. Atta. The staff members have said they recall no mention of Mr. Atta's name in the meeting or in Pentagon documents that were later turned over.
Any minutes? Notes? Recordings?
Mr. Kean said he found it difficult to imagine they would have failed to follow up on any information about Mr. Atta. "The name Mohamed Atta was electric," he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/18/2005 01:25 ||
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#1
I'm buying the Able Danger line. After hearing a Lt. Col. Shaffer interview, the riff sounds credible and the (will it ever end?) 9/11 Commission has some 'spaining to do.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/18/2005 2:57 Comments ||
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#2
More interesting, what the hell was the CIA doing? Here the Able Danger folks were relying on publicly disclosed information and a powerful data mining capability.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/18/2005 2:58 Comments ||
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#3
We have had SERIOUS failures in the FBI, the CIA, the Pentagon which ultimately culminated in 9-11. Line people were on the case and the lawyers or the upper management prevented action that could have saved thousands of people and billions of dollars in assets. Now all we got was a bigger burearcracy and a new coat of paint.
There have been no real shakeups in the bureaucracy and people have not lost their jobs since 9-11. Is the bureacracy so entrenched that it can't be shook to its foundations for fundamental change?
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/18/2005 3:44 Comments ||
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#4
move quickly to evaluate the credibility of the 911 commission members.
#6
move quickly to evaluate the credibility of the 911 commission members.
The credibility of Richard Ben Veniste and Jamaie Gorelick? Give me a break! This was a political circus just like the TSA. It had no credibility and only rearranged the deck chairs on the ship. The captain is right to ignore it as it has no impact on the navigation around future ice bergs.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/18/2005 9:30 Comments ||
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An expedited immigrant removal program that has been on the books for nine years but never used in the Rio Grande Valley until June has already produced a 40-percent reduction of illegal immigration from Brazil.
U.S. Border Patrol spokesman Roy Cervantes said the program has been authorized under federal law since 1996, but was first tested in Laredo and San Diego, Calif. before being implemented here this summer. Under the program, undocumented immigrants from nations other than Mexico or Canada are detained and deported in as little as two weeks...
Border Patrol figures show that the Valley and South Texas have become major transit points for illegal immigrants from nations other than Mexico. Arrest figures show that Brazilians and Central Americans now outnumber Mexicans in the numbers of undocumented immigrants.
Since October, Border Patrol agents have arrested 21,456 Brazilians, 18,482 Hondurans, and 15,412 El Salvadorans compared to 45,418 Mexicans.
Part of the problem is blamed on the lack of immigration detention space that prompted Border Patrol agents to give thousands of Brazilians and Central Americans notices to appear (NTAs) before an immigration judge. The immigrants were released with their NTAs, but more than 90 percent of them failed to appear in court. Cervantes said the expedited removal program would change the process...
Cervantes said expedited removal applies to adult immigrants who are not Canadian or Mexican citizens, show no history of mental illness and were caught within 14 days of entering the United States in an area within 100 miles of the border.
Although Border Patrol figures show a record 21,456 Brazilians have been caught in the Valley and south Texas since October, Cervantes said figures from July show a 40 reduction from the previous month. Cervantes said the decrease is attributed to word of mouth among immigrants and human smugglers.
And the 'yes but' section:
But Nathan Selzer with the Valley Movement for Human Rights said the expedited removal program could create the potential for violations of due process or cause agents to overlook asylum seekers. Selzer said proximity to the border has made Mexicans the only recipients of expedited removal, but the program was slowly expanded to include Central Americans and others at ports of entry and then the field.
Selzer said expedited removal escalates a situation created by Border Patrol enforcement policies that have pushed illegal immigration out of border cities and into rural areas where risks for injury or death are higher.
âIt just shows how failed U.S. immigration policy is,â Selzer said. âIt will not deter entry. It just gets people out faster and theyâll just come back.â
#2
expedited removal applies to adult immigrants who are not Canadian or Mexican citizens, show no history of mental illness and were caught within 14 days of entering the United States in an area within 100 miles of the border.
Three questions:
If they arrived illegally, how can it be known how long they'd been in this country?
What portion of those numbers are re-arrests who failed to appear in court?
How many made their way back across the border after being deported previously?
#5
As terrible as this sounds. The people smugglers will get the hint when we shoot on sight the first fence jumpers. It's Draconian but effective. Perhaps we need to be less attractive to the rest of the world so people will want less to come here and others will want less to destroy us.
ALAMOGORDO â More than $6 million worth of cocaine has been seized by U.S. Border Patrol agents during two separate traffic stops in southern New Mexico during the past weekend, authorities announced Tuesday. Agents seized 10 pounds of cocaine at a checkpoint on N.M. 54 south of Alamogordo on Saturday. The drugs, wrapped in four bundles worth $328,000, were found hidden in the dashboard of a sport utility vehicle.
Agents arrested the driver, a 20-year-old man from Mexico, and turned him over to the Drug Enforcement Administration in Las Cruces.
On Sunday, agents at a checkpoint on U.S. 70 confiscated about 205 pounds of cocaine found in a semi truck that was transporting band equipment to Nashville, Tenn. Agents searched the truck after becoming suspicious of the driver. They found several bundles of white powder in two pieces of luggage on the floor of the sleeper area. In all, 70 bundles â worth an estimated $6.5 million â were found throughout the truck and trailer.
A 35-year-old man from California and a 28-year-old Mexican man were arrested in connection with the seizure and turned over to the DEA in Las Cruces. Their names were not released.
#3
"A 35-year-old man from California and a 28-year-old Mexican man were arrested in connection with the seizure and turned over to the DEA in Las Cruces."
Guess drug smuggling isn't one of those jobs Americans arn't willing to fill.
Nearly 4,000 Texas students would face a major tuition hike or loss of state financial aid if a conservative legal group successfully challenges a state law that has made college affordable for many illegal immigrants.
The Washington Legal Foundation has filed a complaint with the federal government charging that Texas is violating U.S. immigration law by allowing illegal immigrants living in the state to pay the same in-state tuition as Texas residents who are U.S. citizens...
#1
The Washington Legal Foundation has filed a complaint with the federal government charging that Texas is violating U.S. immigration law by allowing illegal immigrants living in the state..
#2
The National Council of La Raza and the League of United Latin American Citizens criticized the Washington Legal Foundation's effort as an attack on immigrants.
These ARE NOT IMMIGANTS - they are ILLEGAL ALIENS!!!
Actress Margot Kidder became a citizen of the U.S. Wednesday to avoid possible deportation to her native Canada when she begins protesting the war in Iraq, she said.
Kidder, best known for playing Lois Lane in the motion picture "Superman," was among 19 people who became citizens during a naturalization ceremony in federal court here.
"It means I can vote against anyone and everyone in elected office that in any way supported the Bush administration," said Kidder, 56, who has lived in this country for 34 years and has a residence in Livingston.
Dave Routzahn, director of the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Helena, vouched for her and the 18 other applicants. He said they have displayed good moral character, have been living in this country and are dedicated to its form of government.
Kidder said in an interview after the ceremony that her sole motivation was to protest the war in Iraq. She also criticized the Gulf War in the 1990s.
#1
Sounds like Dave Routzahn is full of it. Or just a fool. (or both)
Margot Kidder has good moral character? What's he been smoking?
Time was we rejected mental defectives as immigrants, let alone naturalized citizens. Now at least some people welcome them. (Like attracting like?) >:-(
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/18/2005 20:17 Comments ||
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#2
The majority of Federal employees are dues paying unionised Democrats This guy saying that goes right along with that. You wonder whay teh Border Patrol is so useless, this guy works at the same place.
A decade ago, polio had been virtually eradicated in most developing nations, including in Muslim countries. In 2001, it reached an all-time low, with only 483 cases reported worldwide. But the polio saga does not yet have a happy ending. In the past two years, the virus has begun to spread again. So far this year, 1,004 new cases have been reported globally, said David Heymann, representative of the World Health Organization for polio eradication.
One troubling aspect of the resurgence is its concentration in the Muslim world and the poor response by wealthy Islamic governments. Of the $4 billion spent to eradicate polio since 1988, only $3.5 million â less than 1 percent â has come from members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), even though 96 percent of all recent cases have occurred in Muslim countries, Heymann said. The inadequate support has many causes, according to officials from international aid groups. One involves cultural and religious misperceptions that sabotage medical treatment in poor regions. Another is the failure of some wealthy governments to shoulder responsibilities or show solidarity with less-fortunate neighbors.
In 2003, rumors that polio vaccines were harmful began circulating in the Muslim state of Kano in Nigeria, and were echoed by politicians and health officials. One rumor had it that the vaccine caused sterility in girls and had been developed by Western powers to diminish the Muslim population. According to Heymann, 1 billion children have received doses of the vaccine with no such side effects. Another swirl of gossip in Nigeria propagated fears that inoculation against polio would spread HIV/AIDS among children. Although the governor of Kano knew better, he was reluctant to defy popular opinion, one U.N. official said. All vaccination drives in Kano were suspended and polio began spreading from the region. Nigeria registered 355 new cases in 2003, while the disease moved into neighboring Niger, then headed east to Chad and Sudan and also appeared in Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Indonesia. By 2004 it had reached 18 countries, almost all members of the OIC.
The OIC issued three resolutions and organized the intervention of Muslim clerics. In 2004, fatwas, or religious edicts, supporting the vaccines were issued by Egypt's grand mufti, the country's senior spiritual leader, and the grand imam of the Al Azhar mosque in Cairo, as well as by local imams. But officials at the United Nations and other aid groups said the effort had little effect and came too late to stop the spread of Nigeria's polio strain. Two cases were reported last year in Saudi Arabia, where millions of Muslim pilgrims gather annually in the ritual pilgrimage known as hajj, and 400 cases have been documented this year in neighboring Yemen, which had reported no cases since 2000.
Polio has now re-established itself as an endemic disease that can be transmitted and exported in a number of countries, Heymann said. Yet despite the surge in oil prices, wealthy Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have been essentially turning their backs on the problem. The $4 billion spent on polio eradication since 1988 has come mainly from industrialized countries, including the United States, Britain, Norway, Sweden and Japan, and such groups as the Rotary Foundation and the U.N. Foundation. The United Arab Emirates contributed $500,000 in 2004 and Qatar gave $330,000 this year. King Fahd, the late Saudi monarch, donated $500,000 last February. Kuwait contributed nothing. Heymann said he and others lobbied OIC officials and Saudi diplomats unsuccessfully for larger donations.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/18/2005 15:40 ||
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"WaPo's kinda behind the curve on this one... "
In other news, water is wet. ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/18/2005 15:59 Comments ||
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But the polio saga does not yet have a happy ending.
#3
Gee, big surprise when Islamic governments tell people not to take vacinations since they cause sterility/poisoning/christianity. I don't wish disease on anyone, but they are kinda getting what they deserve at this point....
#4
If you want to trust some deranged holy man who tells you not to take the shot because it's some anti Muslim plot, maybe you deserve what you get?
I think I'll save my sympathy for the sympathetic.
#5
This is up there with poor Muslim showing on tsunami relief and poor Muslim showing on helping the Palestinians. Why am I paying $2.69/gal at the pump AND financing aid for the Saudi's dear Muslim brothers? King Fahd's $500,000 is 0.0125% of $4 billion.
#6
Another interesting thing about this article is the blatant "let's throw money at the problem" mentality that infects our leftist friends.
They write the words (Muslims don't trust the vaccine), but can't stop obsessing about the amount of money spent even though it's clear that it ain't about the $$$. They just can't help themselves (Muslims and WaPo editorial writers)!
Lest we view the ignorant savages with too much condescension, let us remember that the issue of anthrax vaccination in the military also provokes a great deal of ire.
#8
Re the issue of anthrax vaccination in the military, polio is infectious and out there to be eradicated, but anthrax has not attacked many soldiers to date. So far, it looks like taking anthrax vaccine was riskier than not taking it.
#9
LH: Gov'ts? IIRC Mahathir directed something similar, tho' I may be wrong. It is usually individual exalted learned clerics in the Religion of Peace who condemn their youngest and most helpless to a crippled and painful future. Inshal'lah?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/18/2005 19:14 Comments ||
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LH, you need about a 90% vaccine coverage to stop the spread of polio. Governments are responsible for maintaining that coverage level and taking appropriate steps. Several muslim governments have let their coverage rates fall well below 90%, including Indonesia and Yemen.
#11
In 2003, rumors that polio vaccines were harmful began circulating in the Muslim state of Kano in Nigeria, and were echoed by politicians and health officials.
Yeah, but anyone remember where those rumors started?
BERLIN - A member of Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafiâs close family - possibly a son - has been rushed by air ambulance to a hospital in the German capital after being injured in a car crash, media reports said on Thursday. A spokeswoman for the Libyan embassy in Berlin would neither confirm nor deny the reports. âI cannot say anything,â said the spokeswoman.
According to a report in the B.Z. newspaper, a 34-year-old man from Gaddafiâs family was flown to Berlin on Tuesday after suffering severe head injuries in car crash in Libya.
Another one of those desert car crashes, huh?
After arriving at a city airport, he was taken by emergency helicopter to special hospital in Berlinâs Marzahn district which deals with accident victims. B.Z. said bodyguards accompanying the man had used a suitcase filled with cash to pay in advance for all medical treatment.
Only the best for one of Gaddafi's boys. According to Google, Al-Saadi Gaddafi is in Australia playing football. Anyone got a list of his kin with ages, see which one is 34 years old?
Posted by: Steve ||
08/18/2005 15:28 ||
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Hopefully Gaddafi pays him a visit in the hospital.
#2
Wikipedia Sez: Qaddafi has eight children, seven of them sons. His oldest son, Muhammad Qaddafi, is by a wife now in disfavor, but runs the Libyan Olympic Committee. The next eldest Al-Saadi Qaddafi (32), runs the Libyan Football Federation, plays for Italian Serie A team Perugia, and produces films. He's in Australia right now, if he's 32 and the second oldest, that makes Muhammad Qaddafi the leading candidate The third eldest, Saif al-Islam Qaddafi, a painter, runs a charity which has been involved in negotiating freedom for hostages taken by Islamic militants, especially in the Philippines. Humm, according to al-Jiz Saif al-Islam is al-Qaddafi's second eldest son and is said to be his intended heir and is reportedly been studying in the UK for the past two years. Confusing, ain't it? His only daughter is Ayesha Qaddafi, a lawyer who has joined the defense team of Saddam Hussein. All have been speculated to be possible successors. Three more sons, Al Moatassim, Hannbil, and Khamees, are less prominent. (In September 2004, Hannbil was involved in a police chase in Paris.) Hannbil likes to drive fast, huh?
Posted by: Steve ||
08/18/2005 16:37 Comments ||
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I'd do a one-for-one Kennedy-hadghaffi swap anytime. The berber boyz don't seem lazy.
There's son Mutassim (a.k.a Hannibal, as in Lecter), with his penchant for speeding through Paris, trashing European hotel rooms, attacking police in Rome, crashing his yacht in Sardinia -- and getting away with it.
**UPDATE: Mutassim recently received a suspended sentence in France for beating up his girlfriend**
Then there's son Saadi, the Libyan answer to Uday Hussein. Saadi evidently has delusions of soccer greatness, insisting on playing for the Libyan national team and firing the team's coach. He managed to join the European team Perugia only to be kicked off for illegal doping. When the crowd at a Libyan soccer match started chanting against him, he ordered his bodyguards to fire into the stands - killing several people.
Daughter Aisha, known as the Claudia Schiffer of North Africa, has made headlines for joining Saddam Hussein's legal defense team (she has a law degree from Libya's Al-Fatih University).
Son Sayf (Arabic for "sword") is a 32-year-old bachelor and oft-mentioned heir to the Colonel's... well, throne. He keeps tigers in his apartment in Vienna and hangs out with Jorge Haider.
First-born Muhammed and his brother Mualassim have fallen out of favor with the Colonel.
It's all a riot until you imagine growing up in Libya with this dysfunctional family dominating the country... and terrorizing the national soccer team. And you have no way to hold them accountable.
But then there's the Colonel's likely-successor: the debonair son Saif, who speaks French and German and likes to hob-nob with European politicians like Austria's notorious Jorg Haider (plus keep a pet tiger in his apartment). Now, Saif is trying to burst onto the European art scene with a traveling exhibit of original paintings entitled: The Desert is Not Silent ("We speak of new... beginning" is the exhibit's tagline).
So what are the artistic skills of the Middle East's longest-serving dictator's son? Actually, not as terrible as you might think. Browse the complete gallery online.
The largest Sunni Arab political party yesterday criticised the committee drafting the constitution, calling it biased and chaotic. The statement accused the committee of trying to divert discussions away from Sunni objections over federalism. The Iraqi Islamic Party, which has members on the committee, said in a statement that federalism is only suitable in the Kurdish self-ruled areas and not elsewhere.
"We can only be ruled, not governed."
It also insisted on the constitution affirming the country's Arab and Islamic identity. The party, which has roots in the Muslim Brotherhood, also demanded that Islam be declared a main source in legislation. Women's groups fear a strong role for Islam in the legal code will threaten women's rights. The party also rejected giving the Shiite clerical hierarchy in Najaf a special status "because there is no need to put sectarian issues in the constitution".
"Sharia is not a sectarian issue, see..."
On civil status law, the group called for a law that "takes into consideration the pluralistic sectarian and religious personality and be implemented in all courts". The group said the drafting committee did not succeed in diverting the attention of the 15 Sunni Arab members from issues such as "the Arab and Islamic identity, the status of Shiite hierarchy, civil status law, women's rights and other issues. They tried to keep the 15 members busy with the federalism issue," the statement said.
The Muslim nation's public school texts still promote hatred and jihad, reformers say.
"Before Islam, people lived in untold misery all over the world," the textbook says. "Some Jewish tribes also lived in Arabia. They lent money to workers and peasants on high rates of interest and usurped their earnings. They held the whole society in their tight grip because of the ever increasing compound interest.
"In short, there was no sympathy for humanity," the passage continues.
"People were selfish and cruel. The rich lived in luxury and nobody bothered about the needy or those in sufferings."
A section on the Crusades teaches that Europe's Christian rulers attacked Muslims in the Holy Land out of revenge even though "history has no parallel to the extremely kind treatment of the Christians by the Muslims."
"Some of the Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem fabricated many false stories of suffering," the passage continues. "If they were robbed on the way, they said it were the Muslims who robbed them."
Christians eventually realized they were inferior to Muslims, the chapter concludes.
Posted by: john ||
08/18/2005 13:09 ||
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Damn it! Mushy, I told you to excise those passages!
"Christians eventually realized they were inferior to Muslims, the chapter concludes." Which is why 23 Arab Muslim nations' combined wealth does not exceed that of Spain! Also, why despite a few extremely wealthy regimes like Soddy Arabia or KOOOOwait, not one single Arab Muslim regime could manufacture a friggin pencil from scratch ... they'd have to import the technology and know-how. Also, what happen at Lepanto in 1572?
#2
"Some of the Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem fabricated many false stories of suffering," the passage continues. "If they were robbed on the way, they said it were the Muslims who robbed them."
When they were enslaved and sold throughout the Muslim world, they said it was Muslims who enslaved them.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/18/2005 14:44 Comments ||
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It is probably wrong to expect any change to the Pakistani curriculum.
Without overt islamism and jihad, what future is there for the Pakistan ideology and identity?
Former Dictator Zia Ul Haq made this point. Without islamization, they might as well "rejoin mother India"
Posted by: john ||
08/18/2005 15:02 Comments ||
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AMMAN (Reuters) - The lawyer of former Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz said on Thursday he expected his client to be released from jail without being put on trial. "I expect he will be set free soon, but not within days," attorney Badia Aref, who last saw Aziz on Tuesday during a visit to the U.S. run facility near Baghdad, told Reuters. Aziz is jailed along with ousted leader Saddam Hussein and other senior members of the Baath Party overthrown by U.S. forces in April 2003.
Aref said he had been getting more access to Aziz from U.S. authorities in the last few weeks, and that legal developments he was not able to disclose had made him expect Aziz would be released soon. "There are several legal elements that have emerged from the interrogations that have made me form an almost complete conviction that Aziz would be freed soon," Aref said.
If, and I do mean if, if true it means he cut a deal and will be testifying against Saddam at his trial.
Just as long as he's released, alone and without money, in Kurdistan ...
No charges have yet been brought publicly against Aziz, who Aref said had been questioned by the U.S. military exhaustively in 152 sessions.
They've charged most of the rest of Sammy's gang, right?
"Maybe the interrogations have come to an end. I don't know," Aref said. He added he had turned down a U.S. offer of accommodation near the detention center. "Because of the difficulties I am encountering in my movements to the detention center, the Americans offered me a place to sleep. I turned down the offer to be in a camp that is set up in country ... they are occupying," Aref said.
Aziz, who claims to be a Christian, was the face of Saddam's regime in foreign capitals and at the United Nations. Aref denied that Aziz, who was number 25 on the U.S. military's list of the 55 most-wanted Iraqis in the aftermath of the invasion, might turn a star witness for the prosecution and testify against Saddam.
"No, no, certainly not"
So far, Saddam has been formally charged in only one case -- the killing of Shi'ite Muslims in the village of Dujail following a failed assassination attempt in 1982. A date for that trial is expected to be set soon.
Aziz was expected to get his first visit from his family in the next two days, only a week after the former senior official took a 10-minute phone call from them after waiting for over two years, Aref said. "In the next two days he will be visited by his family including his grandchildren and daughter," Aref said. Aref said Aziz, who is in his late sixties, was exhausted physically and was in ill health. "He is exhausted and would die in prison if he stays in captivity another year," Aref said.
Promise?
Posted by: Steve ||
08/18/2005 11:51 ||
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Poor Mr. Aziz. OK, he was criminally complicit in mass murder and the chief flack for a gang of sadists; but I'm sure he was a good guy in all the other departments.
Posted by: Matt ||
08/18/2005 13:10 Comments ||
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He was good to his German shepherds, Blondie and Wolfe.
Posted by: ed ||
08/18/2005 13:30 Comments ||
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The last Moroccan prisoners of war held by a group fighting for independence in Western Sahara have been released. The 404 men, detained in southern Algeria for almost 20 years, will be reunited with their families in Morocco later on Thursday, the Red Cross says.
Twenty years in a Algerian POW camp, the mind boggles
They were the world's longest-serving prisoners of war. The Polisario Front said it hoped the release would clear the way for peace in Western Sahara. The area has been disputed since Spain pulled out in 1975. Neighbouring Morocco invaded, claiming Western Sahara should be part of its territory.
The International Committee of the Red Cross says the latest release marks an important step towards resolving the humanitarian consequences of the conflict in Western Sahara. But the organisation adds that work remains to be done establishing what happened to all those who went missing during the conflict.
"They're dead, Jim"
Over the years, the Red Cross has repatriated more than 2,000 prisoners captured in Western Sahara.
Polisario Front said "the gesture" should smooth the way to peace.
"We hope thus to contribute to the reduction of the suffering of the Saharawi people in the territories occupied by Morocco as well as contributing towards a just and lasting resolution of the conflict," Polisario's Europe representative Mohamed Sidati said in a statement, AP reports.
International opinion over Western Sahara is divided. The United Nations views it as a disputed territory; the African Union recognises its independence. The UN-backed peace plan includes a referendum on self-determination for the Saharawi people, but Morocco has refused to accept any loss of control over the area.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/18/2005 09:09 ||
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The International Committee of the Red Cross says the latest release marks an important step towards resolving the humanitarian consequences of the conflict in Western Sahara.
I guess this isn't the 'gulag of our time', is it?
CAIRO â A US-based human rights group demanded Libya yesterday to release a journalist and Internet writer detained since January or put him on trial. Abd Al Raziq Al Mansouri, 52, was arrested in Tobruk after writing some 50 articles and commentaries for a British web site during the past year critical of Libyan society and the government, Human Rights Watch said in a statement.
âLibyaâs internal security force has detained Al Mansouri since last January in an apparent effort to silence a writer with critical views,â the group said in its statement. âThe Libyan government should release Al Mansouri and drop the charges against him or grant him a prompt and fair trial,â HRW added.
Libyan authorities, according to HRW, claim he was detained for possessing a gun. Libyan officials were not immediately able to be reached for comment.
"We will say no more!"
The UK web site, Al Mansouri wrote for recently, reported that the Libyan writer broke his pelvis after falling from his prison bed and claimed he had not received appropriate medical care.
Bed must have been at what we docs call "orthopedic height". Lucky for him it wasn't at "neurosurgical height".
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/18/2005 00:42 ||
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BRECON, Wales - Thirty-five Iraqi soldiers completed leadership training on Wednesday at a British military college in Wales, with many guarding their identities for fear of reprisals. The select group of officers and non-commissioned officers graduated from the Infantry Battle School near Brecon after a three-month course in infantry training, the Ministry of Defence said.
But at their parade before Iraqi army deputy chief of staff Lieutenant General Nasier Al Abadi, many kept their identities secret to protect their families in Iraq from reprisals by insurgents. On Friday, one Iraqi officer cadet at the prestigious Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst won a special award for his excellence, but feared so much for his familyâs safety that he only gave his name as âJunior Underofficer Mohammedâ.
The 35 men at Brecon, chosen from the elite of army recruits in post-Saddam Iraq, are to return to the Ar Rustimiyah Military Academy near Baghdad to instruct members of the new Iraqi Security Forces.
Qhazwan Haji Abala, 29, from Kurdistan, one of the few to give his name, admitted that signing up posed a risk for his family. But he added: âWe are not doing something wrong in Iraq, we are doing something to be proud of. It should be the enemy that are afraid, not us.â
That's the spirit.
Captain Durgar Jassim, who joined Saddam Husseinâs army in 1993 and therefore confronted British forces in the 2003 US-led invasion, said training with his old foe posed no problems. âWe are not political persons. We are military,â he said. âThe first thing I have noticed is and it is very important that the people here have their freedom.â
Britainâs junior defence minister Adam Ingram said their training was a small but significant step towards developing a professional Iraqi army that could hold its own after US, British and other forces leave. âBritish army training is second to none, and once again this is evident when you look at the calibre of the Iraqi soldiers passing out,â the armed forces minister said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/18/2005 00:38 ||
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They better be excellent, we are relying on them as an exit strategy. I am always suspicious of former Saddam revoluntary guard in the midst, however.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/18/2005 3:01 Comments ||
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I wonder if the Brits allow non-Commonwealth students at the Command and Staff Course at Camberley? It would be a major boost to their military to start inviting some of their best and brightest newly-minted senior officers to Leavenworth for C&GS.
#3
They will lern to properly salute and inspect the troopen.
Maybe they'll get as good as the Jordanians. The Brits do have this knack for cranking out a dependable army - of course they use/used a lot of their own officers and senior NCO's to man 'em.
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.
An NYPD Police Academy recruit of Middle Eastern heritage sports a bold tattoo spelling out the word "JIHAD" on his forearm, with a large sword drawn beneath it â and there's nothing the department can do about it, The Post has learned.
A decade ago, polio had been virtually eradicated in most developing nations, including in Muslim countries. In 2001, it reached an all-time low, with only 483 cases reported worldwide. But the polio saga does not yet have a happy ending. In the past two years, the virus has begun to spread again. So far this year, 1,004 new cases have been reported globally, said David Heymann, representative of the World Health Organization for polio eradication.
The largest Sunni Arab political party yesterday criticised the committee drafting the constitution, calling it biased and chaotic. The statement accused the committee of trying to divert discussions away from Sunni objections over federalism. The Iraqi Islamic Party, which has members on the committee, said in a statement that federalism is only suitable in the Kurdish self-ruled areas and not elsewhere. 
