Hi there, !
Today Fri 03/11/2011 Thu 03/10/2011 Wed 03/09/2011 Tue 03/08/2011 Mon 03/07/2011 Sun 03/06/2011 Sat 03/05/2011 Archives
Rantburg
531710 articles and 1856002 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 74 articles and 173 comments as of 15:21.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Gaddafi sends negotiators to Benghazi
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
2 00:00 trailing wife [1] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
2 00:00 trailing wife [] 
24 00:00 trailing wife [] 
2 00:00 mojo [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
1 00:00 JosephMendiola [1] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
1 00:00 Anonymoose [] 
0 [] 
3 00:00 Halliburton - Mysterious Conspiracy Division [1] 
1 00:00 Water Modem [] 
8 00:00 JosephMendiola [1] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
2 00:00 Bernardz [] 
8 00:00 trailing wife [] 
2 00:00 Swamp Blondie [] 
Page 2: WoT Background
5 00:00 crosspatch [1]
2 00:00 Water Modem []
10 00:00 Angie Schultz [1]
3 00:00 USN,Ret []
0 []
11 00:00 Gloluse B. Hayes9343 []
2 00:00 Cyber Sarge []
7 00:00 Gloluse B. Hayes9343 []
1 00:00 Dribble2716 []
1 00:00 Anonymoose []
7 00:00 Shieldwolf []
1 00:00 JosephMendiola []
1 00:00 Water Modem []
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 []
1 00:00 JohnQC []
0 []
16 00:00 Fire and Ice [2]
7 00:00 g(r)omgoru []
Page 3: Non-WoT
1 00:00 twobyfour []
0 []
0 [1]
11 00:00 Procopius2k []
4 00:00 CrazyFool []
0 []
0 []
8 00:00 JosephMendiola []
1 00:00 Pollyandrew []
0 []
0 []
0 []
2 00:00 AlanC []
Page 4: Opinion
3 00:00 Anonymoose []
2 00:00 Enver Huperesing8417 []
Page 6: Politix
0 []
2 00:00 DepotGuy []
8 00:00 USN,Ret []
Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Birthday/Daily Gam Shot

Claire Trevor aka Francey in "Dead End" aka Gaye Dawn in "Key Largo" aka May Holst in "The High and the Mighty" aka Dallas in "Stagecoach" (Died in 2000 at age 90)



Women Who Bathe in Troughs
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 03/08/2011 0:37 Comments || Top||

#2  aka Velma Valento, the "big-league blonde" and Moose Malloy's ex-sweetie in "Murder My Sweet"
Posted by: mojo || 03/08/2011 10:31 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Afghanistan - Battle for Bomb Valley
1 of 3



2 of 3



3 of 3 (Update)

Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 03/08/2011 10:36 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


2 Killed, 19 Wounded in Eastern Afghanistan
[Tolo News] At least two non-combatants were killed and nineteen others were maimed in two roadside kaboom blasts in eastern Nangarhar province on Monday, local officials said.

The kaboom occurred in Jalalabad city of Nangarhar wounding 19 civilians who were rushed to the governmental hospital, officials in the hospital said.

Meanwhile,
...back at the ranch...
Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, a front man for governor of Nangarhar said the first blast happened at 11:00 am local time and the second at 11:30 am near Eidgah mosque in the city.

Mr Abdulzai said two people were killed in the first blast, but there is no report about any deaths caused by the second kaboom.

No group has grabbed credit for the bombings.

Insurgents usually use Improvised Explosive Devices to target Afghan and foreign forces, but civilians are often the main victims.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


37 Militants Renounce Violence in Kunar
[Tolo News] Thirty seven cut-throats have surrendered to government forces and embraced the Afghan grinding of the peace processor, Isaf said on Monday.

The men who have renounced violence, were active against the government in eastern Kunar Province, Gen. Josef Blotz, Isaf front man told a presser in Kabul on Monday.

"Just this week 37 former cut-throats joined the grinding of the peace processor and reintegrated into Afghan society in the Ghaziabad District of Kunar," Mr Blotz said.

Kunar is a restive province bordered by Pakistain. Violence has recently increased in the province where beturbanned goons have been carrying out attacks against Afghan and foreign forces.

The Afghan forces will undertake full security responsibilities by the end of 2014.

The US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has arrived in Kabul to visit his troops and to talk with Afghan officials about security transition.

The foreign forces have increased their military operations in different parts of the country to clear volatile regions of cut-throats ahead of the gradual withdrawal of international troops scheduled to begin in July this year.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Africa Horn
40 killed in south Sudan clashes: army
[Bangla Daily Star] Clashes between the southern army and a rebel militia group in south Sudan's Upper Nile state have left more than 40 people dead, including seven soldiers, southern army front man Philip Aguer said yesterday.

"There was fighting on Sunday between the SPLA and a former militia group under Ulony, a militia commander who had been in the service of Khartoum for a long time," the front man for the Sudan People's Liberation Army told AFP.

The bully boyz attacked a group of SPLA soldiers who had gone to the market in Owach, a town west of Upper Nile's state capital Malakal, killing one and wounding one, Aguer said.

"After that incident, the SPLA attacked their camp at around 12:00 pm, and fighting took place in which 37 of Ulony's men and seven SPLA soldiers were killed, including the one that died earlier," he said, adding that another 28 soldiers were maimed.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Kenya mounts search for 9 Shaboobs
[The Nation (Nairobi)] Police on Monday released photographs of four people who they say are al Shabaab officials operating in Kenya.

The move comes a week after the group linked to al Qaeda terror network issued threats against Kenya for aiding the Transitional Federal Government in Somalia.

Besides, police released profiles of five others who they say have been planning terror attacks on Kenyan soil.

Nine others were nabbed in a night operation in Nairobi's Eastleigh estate at the weekend.

At the same time, police went to court seeking arrest warrants for the suspects.

Al Shabaab front man Sheikh Ali Mohamuo Raghe, alias Shiekh Ali Dhere, warned of Dire Revenge™ attacks against Kenya following intense fighting pitting his forces against the TFG troops, in which he lost control of Bullahawa, near the Kenyan border.

Kenyan military had prevented al Shabaab fighters fleeing the war from seeking refuge across the border.

"Previous warnings to Kenya are nothing compared to this one. We are going to retaliate against it (Kenya) harshly, " the al Shabaab front man was quoted saying in Mogadishu.

Police commissioner Mathew Iteere reacted by sending a security alert requiring precautionary measures at all public places while assuring Kenyans that adequate security measures had been put in place.

The police chief ordered heightened security at malls, hotels and in public service vehicles.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab


Africa North
Skynews: 10 minute video inside zawiya
Posted by: Frozen Al || 03/08/2011 14:25 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


El Para in Serkadji
[Ennahar] The public prosecutor at the court of Sidi M'hamed in Algiers, ordered yesterday the detention of Amari Saifi, alias " Abderrezak El Para" after his hearing in the matter of membership in terrorist groups activating in inside and outside the country.

The former leader of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat
... now known as al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb...
(GSPC) was taken yesterday under heavy escort to his hearing.

According to information received by Ennahar, the decision to question the accused in cases of terrorism takes place within the lifting of emergency rule. The accused under house arrest fixed by the Interior Ministry under the state of emergency will now be heard. Are concerned those accused of terrorism who have not surrendered but have been nabbed.

According to the sources, the decision to audition El Para was due to the fact that he represented a great danger to national security. He should be tried because he had not surrendered to security services, but was hiding and had been delivered by the Libyan authorities after an arrest warrant issued by the Algerian justice and security.

El Para is best known for the case of the kidnapping of German tourists when his lover companions were sentenced to life imprisonment and others to 20 years in prison.

The case of the companions of El Para had been repeatedly postponed at the request of the defence, for the presence of El Para in person, as the unique witness in the case who could confirm or disprove the allegations to the accused. At trial, the four defendants in the case of the kidnapping have demanded the presence of Amari Saifi, whose name was on the list of the accused, before the public prosecutor waived him for reasons they think beyond their control. El Para was therefore not heard at the hearing and he was not imprisoned, so that the trial took place without his testimony.

Four defendants were prosecuted for the kidnapping of German tourists in southern Algeria, arms trafficking with the aim of supporting the group of Hassan Hattab in the north, before El Para and many of his men are nabbed by the Chadian opposition following armed festivities between them which resulted in serious injuries.

Two other defendants have decamped from Tazoult prison in Batna in 1994 together with 1,200 prisoners who have all joined the bush and strengthened the ranks of the armed Islamist groups at the time, before joining the Salafist Group for Preaching and battle in 1998, then led by Hassan Hattab and their journey into the Sahara with Amari Saifi in search of weapons.

Who is El Para?

Amari Saifi, alias Abderrezak El Para, was born in 1968 in the province of Guelma, of a French mother. He joined the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) after being dismissed from the ranks of the national popular army where he was part of the paratroopers' Special Forces.

He joined the GIA in 1993 before deciding, with Hassan Hattab, who was chief of the second zone of the GIA in 1996 to dissenting the group led by Zitouni because of the latter's deviation from the ideology. He is considered one of the founders of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat in June 1999. Abdelmadjid Dichou designated national emir has directed "El Para" to lead in the fifth zone to the east. He was replaced by Hassan Hattab two months after his death during a meeting in the province of Batna and El Para was appointed his deputy. He participated in drafting the charter of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat.

El Para was accused in several cases including the kidnapping of 34 foreign tourists in southern Algeria, later released after paying a ransom.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa


7 killed, 50 Injured in Battle for Bin Jawad Control in Libya
[An Nahar] At least seven people were killed and more than 50 maimed in festivities between Libyan rebels and supporters of Moammar Gadhafi at the coastal hamlet of Bin Jawad, hospital figures showed Monday.
The casualty list posted at Ajdabiya hospital, where most of the maimed were taken after Sunday's festivities, reported seven dead and about 52 people hurt.

Witnesses said another six or seven dead were taken to the rebels' main stronghold of Benghazi, Libya's second city and further to the east, but that was not immediately possible to confirm.

The dead were all volunteer fighters, mostly from Benghazi.

The hospital in Ras Lanuf, which was closest to the fighting, was utterly deserted on Monday. A casualty list was pinned up on the window, giving a corpse count of seven with 59 maimed, an Agence La Belle France Presse news hound said.

Meanwhile,
...back at the ranch...
Libyan rebels were not visible Monday west of the front line town Ras Lanuf, on the road towards the hamlet of Bin Jawad, an AFP news hound said.

From a position about five kilometers from Bin Jawad, a warplane could be seen circling overhead, then heading back towards the west, where forces loyal to Gadhafi have their strongholds.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Thousands of guards force a police cordon and march in Algiers
[Ennahar] Thousands of communal guards, recruited to support the police in Algerian villages, forced several police cordons on Monday in Algiers and marched to the National Assembly to demand higher wages, said a journalist from AFP.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Libya plane hits town, over one million need aid
[Ennahar] Government forces struck at rebels in Libya's east and were reported attacking a town near Tripoli on Monday as concern grew over civilian suffering and a growing refugee exodus.

The United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society said more than one million people fleeing Libya and inside the country needed humanitarian aid, and conditions in rebel-held Misrata town were particularly worrying following attacks on it by forces loyal to Muammar Qadaffy.

Offering a potential olive branch to rebels seeking to end Qadaffy's long rule, one of his associates appealed to opposition chiefs for dialogue, in a sign the aging autocrat may be ready to compromise with the unprecedented revolt.

The offer, rapidly dismissed by rebels, coincided with warnings by Qadaffy that if he fell thousands of refugees from Libya would "invade Europe".

Swiss-based exile group Libyan Human Rights Solidarity said forces loyal to Qadaffy had launched a new attempt to capture Zawiyah, a rebel-held town 50 km (30 miles) west of the capital.

It was impossible to verify the report because residents in the town who had been speaking to journalists by telephone were no longer reachable.

In the east, a warplane launched an air strike on the outskirts of the rebel-held oil terminal town of Ras Lanuf 600 km (400 miles) east of the capital Tripoli, witnesses said.

"There was an aircraft, it fired two rockets there were no deaths," Mokhtar Dobrug, a rebel fighter who witnessed the strike, told Rooters.

The attack fitted the pattern of much of the fighting, which has been erratic, with small groups engaging each other, guerrilla-style, in hit and run raids. Air attacks have been fitful and the bombing often inaccurate.

In some areas, advantage on the ground has swung back and forth without conclusive result.

But the resilience of Qadaffy's troops in the face of protests which started in mid-February and their ability to launch a counter-attack has raised the prospect that the country is heading for prolonged bloodshed.

"It's clear the government feels a sense of momentum on its side," said military analyst Shashank Joshi, an associate fellow at Britain's Royal United Services Institute.

"Government forces have more mobility than the rebels thanks to airlift and a decent amount of road transport.

"That's blunted by the fact that we are seeing extremely poor fighting skills by government forces, and reasonably competent fighting by the rebels."

The United Nations and the European Union are dispatching fact-finding missions to the north African nation, where reports by residents of attacks on civilians by security forces have triggered a war crimes probe and provoked global outrage.

Tens of thousands have decamped across the border to Tunisia since the uprising prompted a violent crackdown by security forces.

In Geneva, U.N. aid coordinator Valerie Amos said more than a million people fleeing Libya and inside the country need humanitarian aid.

Amos made clear that her first priority was Misrata, a town of 300,000 which residents said had been attacked at the weekend by government forces with tanks and missiles.

"Humanitarian organisations need urgent access now," said Amos, who was in areas of Tunisia along the Libyan border at the weekend. "People are injured and dying and need help immediately."

The rebels have called for U.N.-backed air strikes against what they say are African soldiers-for-hire used by Qadaffy to crush the uprising against his 41-year-old rule.

The government says it is fighting against al Qaeda cut-throats and maintains that its security forces have targeted only armed individuals attacking state institutions and depots.

Witnesses said government forces advanced on rebel-held Ras Lanuf in a counter-attack that forced residents to flee and rebels to hide their weapons in the desert.

"READY TO DIE"
In Ras Lanuf, one angry man told rebels to go home, arguing that they were bringing fighting closer to oil terminals.

Another complained of the rebels' inexperience, as one opposition fighter lay on his back and fired an automatic weapon at a government warplane flying overhead.

"I believe these youths are ready to die, but they won't make a difference," he said. "Look at the way they're firing at the plane. They have no experience, no leadership and no strategy."

The army was moving down the Mediterranean coastal road east of the recaptured town of Bin Jawad, heading toward Ras Lanuf which is about 60 km (40 miles) away, witnesses told Rooters.

Residents of Ras Lanuf, fearing assault by the army, were leaving in cars laden with belongings on Monday and rebels said they had moved weapons into the desert for safekeeping.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  One prominent kook site has suggested that Qaddafi used a tactical nuclear weapon at one point.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 03/08/2011 9:03 Comments || Top||


Arab League backs Libya no-fly zone: France
[Asharq al-Aswat] The Arab League supports imposing a no-fly zone over Libya to prevent Muamer Qadaffy's government forces attacking rebels, French officials said Monday, quoting the league's secretary general.
Absolutely we do. You Westerners just go ahead and implement one at your own expense (financial, moral, political) and we'll watch.
Secretary general Amr Musa told French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe that the league backed the idea when the pair met in Cairo on Sunday, foreign ministry front man Bernard Valero told news hounds.

"Mr. Musa confirmed the support of the vaporous Arab League for a no-fly zone," Valero said.

Juppe said Saturday his country was working with Britain to get a United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society Security Council resolution to impose a no-fly zone in Libya.

Juppe and British Foreign Secretary William Hague said last week they were preparing measures to propose to the European Union summit on Libya set for Friday, specifically mentioning a possible no-fly zone.

US President Barack B.O. Obama said Thursday he was examining the "full range" of military options, including a no-fly zone, if the revolt in Libya turns into a bloody stalemate and humanitarian disaster.

Libya has been rocked by the revolt against Qadaffy's four-decade rule which erupted on February 17.

Qadaffy is fighting a bloody rearguard action against rebels and the turmoil has sparked a mass exodus from the oil-rich north African nation.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Here's a mostly serious question for those in the know.

What's to stop us from renting out several UAVs to the Arab League, with necessary tech support, and let them have the joy stick and fire buttons?

Put them in control, send them a bill, and let them explain how and why the targeted whatever they shot at.

Sure, plenty could go wrong, and they'd certainly blame us regardless of the outcome, but it would 1) take us out of the decision loop; and 2) force them to make some interesting decisions.

If Daffy is using Serbian pilots, why can't the Arab League borrow some hardware as well?

Of course, why doesn't the Egyptian Air Force simply do the job? That would be simpler.
Posted by: Halliburton - Mysterious Conspiracy Division || 03/08/2011 16:03 Comments || Top||

#2  "What's to stop us from renting out several UAVs to the Arab League..."

These are not the drones you seek... Because they'll pilot them right on over into Israeli airspace. They won't even need enough fuel to return to base...
Posted by: American Delight || 03/08/2011 20:29 Comments || Top||

#3  We fix that with the program. They just get to say where they fly in Libyan airspace. Seems like a programming solution - limit the coordinates to a few select areas, borrow an Egyptian airstrip west of Alamein, make a Qatari airman push the fire button, and so forth.
Posted by: Halliburton - Mysterious Conspiracy Division || 03/08/2011 21:29 Comments || Top||


Fierce fighting rages in Libya
[Al Jazeera] Forces loyal to Muammar Qadaffy, the country's long-time leader, have been staging a fightback against opposition forces, taking the town of Bin Jawad and moving on to the oil port of Ras Lanuf.

Witnesses have also told Al Jizz that Az Zawiyah, in the west of the country near the capital Tripoli, was under heavy attack by government forces.

There has been fierce fighting in Misurata, located between Tripoli and Qadaffy's hometown Sirte, with reports of at least 18 people killed.

However,
The infamous However...
Al Jizz's Jacky Rowland, reporting from the town of Brega, said that the opposition forces had advantages in terms of "their sheer number, patriotism and enthusiam".

"For a few days the rebels were making gains, but overnight it would appear that pro-Qadaffy forces took some ground," our correspondent said.

Government forces appeared to have "drawn a line in the sand" on the road to Sirte, Qadaffy's hometown, she said. "If the rebels want to capture Sirte, they will have to prepare for heavy fighting
... as opposed to the more usual light or sporadic fighting...
along the way."

At the hospital in Brega, 42 injured members of the opposition force were being treated, while there were confirmed deaths of at least eight, our correspondent reported.

"The vast majority of those injured had been injured by their own weapons," she said, explaining that the rebels had little or no military training.

"People with no prior military experience, telling the soldiers that they want to fight and they want to fight in the anti-Qadaffy forces."

The opposition forces "have plenty of rifles and ammunition", but Qadaffy's troops had aircraft which the rebels did not, Al Jizz's Rowland said.

Fighters pounded
With helicopter gunships, fighter jets and tanks, Qadaffy loyalists have pounded opposition fighters with artillery, rockets and gunfire in several cities, including Bin Jawad, Tobruk, Ras Lanuf and Misurata.

Abdel Basset Abu Zouriq, a spokesperson of the opposition, told Al Jizz on Monday that Misurata was still under control of opposition forces.

"Pro-Qadaffy forces are still somewhere outside the city, regrouping for future attacks," he said.

He said that the city was anti-Qadaffy in general and so government forces could only attack the city or invade it for few hours and then withdraw.

In the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, much of the euphoria and excitement that victory was close at hand had faded, Al Jizz's Hoda Abdel-Hamid said.

Some feared that pro-Qadaffy forces had deliberately retreated to around Sirte, drawing the inexperienced and poorly equipped rebel fighters forward and leaving rebel-held towns exposed to a possible counteroffensive.

"Some people told me all the young people had gone to the front. There is no one left to protect the city," our correspondent in Benghazi said.

"There is an understanding that [Qadaffy's ousting] is not going to happen so easily."

Abu Sadr, an opposition activist in Benghazi, told Al Jizz that for the time being people in the city were very relaxed.

"We know we are safe from any attack on the ground and government forces are not going to come into Benghazi unless it is an air force attack," Sadr said.

"From Brega to Ras Lanuf is important, because Qadaffy forces are very close."

Qadaffy's claims
Qadaffy may also be seeking dialogue, with a former prime minister appearing on state television urging opposition members to join talks.

Qadaffy himself made a brief appearance in Tripoli's Green Square on Sunday night, but disappeared almost immediately.

Crowds were seen celebrating and shouting the leader's name as he appeared in Tripoli's Green Square, but no explanation was given as to why state TV did not stay with footage of the president.

They instead cut back to the studio, going on to a separate interview.

He also appeared in an interview for television station La Belle France 24, where he repeated claims that al-Qaeda was responsible for plunging the country into chaos.

Qadaffy said that Libya was an important partner to the West in containing al-Qaeda and also played a vital role in keeping sub-Saharan illegal migrants trying to reach Europe.

"Even the Israelis in Gazoo, when they moved into the Gazoo Strip, they moved in with tanks to fight such Islamic exemplars," Qadaffy said, likeing the Paleostinians to al-Qaeda.

"It's the same thing here! We have small gangs who are fighting us. We did not use force from the outset ... Armed units of the Libyan army have had to fight small armed al-Qaeda bands. That is what's happened."
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  many place names not widely seen in the world press since the times of Rommel.
Posted by: Water Modem || 03/08/2011 10:10 Comments || Top||


Obama: Gaddafis staff will be held accountable
[Ennahar] U.S. President Barack B.O. Obama Monday warned the staff of Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffy,
... an Arab institution for 42 years ...
warning them that they should be held accountable for the violence currently afflicting their country, in statements to news hounds.

"I want to send a clear message to the staff of Colonel Qadaffy. It is their responsibility to choose how they will act in the future.They will be accountable," Obama said in the Oval Office of the White House, where he received Australian Prime Minister JuliaGillard.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Only if he looses.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/08/2011 7:54 Comments || Top||

#2  Obama: and if that doesn't work, I'll hold my breath!
Posted by: Jack Salami || 03/08/2011 8:13 Comments || Top||

#3  File under Pot & Kettle
Posted by: Procopius2k || 03/08/2011 9:22 Comments || Top||

#4  Unimpressive, punkish bloviations. When will they end?
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/08/2011 9:34 Comments || Top||

#5  Accountable? Unacceptable? Brought to Justice?
These are threats, and require the will to act, and most importantly, that OTHERS believe you have the will to act.
As for holding people accountable, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_R._Higgins
Hezbollah
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Beirut_barracks_bombing
Hezbollah

and still waiting for them to be held accountable and brought to justice....
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 03/08/2011 14:53 Comments || Top||

#6  Thank you, President Le Petomane...
Posted by: tu3031 || 03/08/2011 16:14 Comments || Top||

#7  "Send in the 1st Accountants Brigade! I want to know WHERE THOSE STRAWBERRIES WENT!!"
Posted by: mojo || 03/08/2011 18:06 Comments || Top||

#8  In response, the Rebs have formally rejected negotiations wid Muammar + have repor given him 72 hours to leave power or else face formal prosecution for HR abuses + related heinous crimes.

See also THE HINDU > US ASKS QADDFAFI AIDES TO LEAVE HIM OR FACE CONSEQUENCES.

* SAME > [retired UK BrigGen. Ben Barry]EXPERT: NO FLY ZONE MAY NOT HALT QADHAFI OFFENSIVE.

Real threat to Libyuhn Rebels from the air is from ARMED LIBYAN ARMY HELICOPTER GUNSHIPS, NOT FAST-MOVING FIXED-WING STRIKE AIRCRAFT - US, NATO DO NOT HAVE THE NUMBERS OF AIR ASSETS AVAILABLE, IN-THEATER OR ELSEWHERE, TO SUPPORT AN EFFEC NFZ FOR A COUNTRY AS LARGE AS LIBYUH.

IOW, the US-NATO will have to put off A NFZ for AT LEAST A YEAR-PLUS WHILE WORKING TO DEV THE AIR ASSETS REQUIRED FOR A NFZ(S); OR ELSE MAKE SIGNIFICANT FORCE DIVERSION(S) FROM OTHER REGIONS E.G. AFPAK.

SUB-IOW > EXPANDED OR NO MAJOR USDOD BUDGET CUTS FOR US AIRPOWER THIS YEAR = INDEFINITELY?

* ION NEWS KERALA > MUAMMAR GADDAFI'S SON [Saadi[ WARNS OF CIVIL WAR IFF HIS FATHER [Big Daddy-o] LOSES CONTROL | ...REBELS REJECT TALKS OFFER.

* INDIAN EXPRESS > REPORT: GADDAFI WANTS IMMUNITY [prosecution from War Crimes = Crimes agz Humanity, etc.], CASH FROM REBELS TO QUIT LIBYA.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 03/08/2011 23:23 Comments || Top||


Libya executioner bombed mosques, hospitals and children
[Ennahar] Libyan revolt reached yesterday, the capital Tripoli where gunshots are heard from early morning near the place where Qadaffy is assumed to be.

In parallel, the forces of Khemis El Qadaffy conducted throughout the day yesterday, attacks in the town of Misrata, using tanks and causing casualties among women and kiddies. The houses of civilians and hospitals are also subject to bombardment.

According to the website of the Libyan opposition, units of the son of Qadaffy, Khemis el Qadaffy, yesterday attacked the town of Misrata with tanks causing about a dozen dead and fifty seriously injured.

Two children, including one aged six, were killed in these attacks, the most violent since the beginning of armed festivities between rebels and army forces loyal to Qadaffy.

Still according to these sources, Qadaffy's mercenaries attacked a drug depot in the town of Misrata before a fire broke out.

In the old hospital, the maimed have being attacked by missiles and tanks by the army of Qadaffy.

Near the last checkpoint at the exit of Ras Lanuf, about 30 minutes drive from Ben Jawad, rebels, nervous and staring at the sky, opened fire with antiaircraft weapons.

An aircraft was seen flying over the area, and then the smoke was about 4 miles away. The rebels shouted "God is greatest", mounted in their cars and took off into the desert.

At the place where the smoke had risen, they found two craters on either side of the road. Gathered around the craters, they welcomed the pilot as a nationalist for missing his target.

A few hours earlier, rebels had said they have beat feet from Ben Jawad after ambushing forces loyal to Colonel Qadaffy. According to medical sources, the festivities on Sunday in Ben Jawad killed two and injured at least 30.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


UN Appoints New Envoy on Libya
[Tolo News] The United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society has appointed a new special representative on Libya to discuss with officials in Tripoli about ways for an immediate end to ongoing violence in the country.

UN Secretary General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon has announced Jordan's former foreign minister Abdulillah al-Khatib as its special representative to Libya as pro-Qadaffy forces have reasserted their control over many rebel-held towns.

The UN is also planning to send a humanitarian team to Misrata to reach people after fierce fighting there.

"Civilians are bearing the brunt of the violence, and calls for an immediate halt to the government's disproportionate use of force and indiscriminate attacks on civilian targets" a statement from UN Chief office said.

"He stresses that those who violate international humanitarian law or commit grave crimes must be held accountable," the statement said.

Libyan Foreign Minister had agreed to accept the immediate dispatch of a humanitarian assessment team to the capital Tripoli, UN Chief said.

Anti-government forces stationed in the eastern city of Benghazi have formed a Transitional National Council that has urged the international community to recognise it as Libyan sole government.

More than 1,000 people have bit the dust since the outburst of unrest in Libya nearly three weeks ago, UN estimates indicate.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Gaddafi sends negotiators to Benghazi
[Asharq al-Aswat] Informed Libyan sources in the city of Benghazi, where the headquarters of the Interim National Council are located, which has recently put forth its candidates to administer the country in the coming period, have revealed that Colonel Muammar Qadaffy
... dictator of Libya since 1969. From 1972, when he relinquished the title of prime minister, he has been accorded the honorifics Guide of the First of September Great Revolution of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya or Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution. With the death of Omar Bongo of Gabon on 8 June 2009, he became the longest serving of all current non-royal national leaders. He is also the longest-serving ruler of Libya since Tripoli became an Ottoman province in 1551. When Chairman Mao was all the rage and millions of people were flashing his Little Red Book, Qadaffy came out with his own Little Green Book, which didn't do as well. Qadaffy's instability has been an inspiration to the Arab world and to Africa, which he would like to rule...
yesterday sent a negotiator on his behalf to visit the Council. [Via the negotiator], the Libyan leader declared his readiness to abandon power and leave Libya, in return for ensuring the safety of himself and his family.

The sources explained that Qadaffy's terms were as follows: The General People's Congress [Qadaffy's parliament] would convene to declare that Qadaffy had stepped down, and handed power over to the National Council. In return, Qadaffy sought assurances for his safety, that of his family, and his wealth.

In a telephone interview with Asharq al-Awsat, the sources revealed that Qadaffy demanded assistance in leaving the country, which he intends to do, and requested guarantees that he would not be pursued, either internally or abroad, or brought to face international courts.

Sources did not disclose the content of the Council's response, saying only that: "there has yet to be an official response to Qadaffy's demands, whether negative or positive". However,
The infamous However...
the sources said that the general popular trend at present is to reject all negotiation and dialogue with Qadaffy, under any circumstances.

The sources also revealed that Colonel Qadaffy had yesterday distributed a quantity of weapons and ammunition amongst the "Abna al-Rafaq", a group of young loyalists in Tripoli who are affiliated with leaders of the Revolutionary Committees, in a move which the sources termed part of the "Qadaffy Maneuvers". By doing so, Qadaffy is seeking to deliberately confuse matters, and spread chaos, in order to blur the picture of what is happening in Libya in front of the foreign media and observers.

The sources said that these youths are taking to the streets of Tripoli and firing bullets in order to spread terror and confusion amongst the citizens, and amidst the ranks of journalists and foreign correspondents, who were initially invited to the Libyan capital by the Qadaffy regime.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  As a last act, he only negotiates for himself. Leaving his loyalists to the mercy of the rebels. If that's the case, the loyalists would do well to execute the bastard as a way of showing their atonement to the rebels. It would be a start. And I think it is a very Arab thing to do.

I would send each side a book on Appomattox.
Posted by: Penguin || 03/08/2011 0:15 Comments || Top||

#2  Not many Arab leaders have been executed for their crimes?

I do not think it is a very Arab thing to do.
Posted by: Bernardz || 03/08/2011 4:42 Comments || Top||


'Gaddafi agrees to conditional surrender'
[Iran Press TV] Embattled Libyan ruler Muammar Qadaffy has reportedly expressed his readiness to hand over power to the revolutionary National Council on his own terms.

Qadaffy has dispatched his special envoy to hold talks with the interim National Council based in Benghazi, Saudi-owned daily Asharq al-Aswat reported citing sources.

The longest-serving leader in the Arab world, however, has set numerous conditions.

The informed sources have told the paper that Qadaffy has demanded safe passage and full protection for all members of his family and the people within his inner circle.

Moreover, the opposition will have to facilitate any departure from Libya for Qadaffy and his associates wishing to leave the country.

Another one of the conditions is that the council does not hand over Qadaffy to the International Criminal Court
... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ...
(ICC), the report added.

The Libyan League For Human Rights says at least 6,000 people have been killed so far in Libya.

The UN Security Council has recently imposed sanctions on the Libyan regime and has referred Qadaffy to the International Criminal Court.

The developments come two days after the council held its first formal meeting to discuss the overthrow of Qadaffy.

The council earlier refused to enter talks with the regime unless Qadaffy leaves office.

The 30-member body was established in the eastern city of Benghazi by revolutionary forces following the liberation of several eastern cities.

The council, headed by Libya's former justice minister Mustafa Abdel Jalil, plans to lead the country to an election.

He was among the first high-profile Libyan figures to defect from the Qadaffy regime following the brutal crackdown on opposition protesters.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  If the man, who sanctioned the Lockerbie bombing, survives as leader, then the UKs underwear is the least of our concerns.
Posted by: kojack || 03/08/2011 6:19 Comments || Top||

#2  There are increasingly limited options to where a dictator can flee these days. It used to be that the world was their oyster, but nobody wants the hassle these days.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 03/08/2011 9:07 Comments || Top||

#3  Isolationist that I am, I still think some very well placed guided munitions (in the 2,000+ pound range) sent honking in from way, way, way up high.... not a bad idea.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/08/2011 9:17 Comments || Top||

#4  I nominate Dribble for snark of the day:
Everybody is gonna scratch their balls and watch
Posted by: Water Modem || 03/08/2011 10:14 Comments || Top||

#5  Good snark indeed Dribble.

However I think the Vampire Vulture Elite of the U.N. are drooling to go in - once things have settled down - to claim credit - and a fresh source of underage girls and boys to exploit. Food for Nookie programs and all that like in other places in Africa.

I get the image of that famous picture of the starving African boy and the patiently waiting vulture.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 03/08/2011 11:26 Comments || Top||

#6  Dribble, I'm no expert but from all I've heard, as a general rule throughout history, British soldiers do not pee their pants.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 03/08/2011 12:23 Comments || Top||

#7  Thanks Ebbang . Its the politicians that 'piss their pants' not the soldiers , and for all together differnet reasons than fighting .

We military types roll up our sleeves and get stuck in . To imply we are a feckless bunch of cowards doesnt do you any favours in an otherwise reasonable snark

/mildly offended
Posted by: Oscar || 03/08/2011 14:37 Comments || Top||

#8  /mildly offended

Dribble does like to push that offensive limit. He seems at least as knowledgeable as I, but then, I daren't claim to know more than I've learnt here at Rantburg, except in the small areas of my own experience. His writing style, on the other hand, hearkens back to that creative writer who pretended to have spent time in Iraq for The New Republic -- remember him? I'd love to hear from those who've served whether he rings true or not, as I'm not qualified to judge. If I am wrong, I will apologize.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/08/2011 14:59 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Yemen opposition vows escalation against president
[Ennahar] Yemen's opposition coalition vowed Monday to escalate protests that have swept the country demanding the resignation of President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh
... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, after serving as a lieutenant colonel in the army. He had been part of the conspiracy that bumped off his predecessor, Ibrahim al-Hamdi, in the usual tiresome military coup, and he has maintained power by keeping Yemen's many tribes fighting with each other, rather than uniting to string him up. ...
, after he rejected a plan that would have him step down in 2011.

Tens of thousands of protesters are camped out in major Yemeni cities, staying awake through the night to hear speeches and sing national songs, as their tone against Saleh hardens.

Saleh, a U.S. ally against al Qaeda's Yemen-based wing, rejected a plan proposed by an opposition coalition last week, which would have implemented political and electoral reforms while paving the way for his resignation within the year.

"Recent events have proven that the regime is incapable of answering the demands of the people, and for that reason it needs to go," said the coalition's front man, Mohammed al-Sabry.

"The protesters are studying several options for an escalation, including organizing a day when all Yemenis will take to the streets, a 'Friday of No Return' protest, and other options," he told Rooters.

Yemen, neighbor to oil giant Soddy Arabia, was teetering on the brink of failed statehood even before recent protests. Saleh has struggled to cement a truce with Shi'ite Mohammedan rebels in the north and curb secessionist rebellion in the south.

CORRUPTION, UNEMPLOYMENT
The growing Yemeni protests, and a series of defections from Saleh's allies, have added to pressure on Saleh to end his three-decade rule in the Arabian Peninsula state. But neither side appears willing to compromise to end the deadlock.

Saleh rejected the opposition plan, which would have also required him to remove family members from key posts, and reiterated his pledge to resign when his term is set to expire in 2013. He also adopted a proposal by religious leaders for revamping elections, parliament and the judicial system.

Protesters are frustrated with corruption and soaring unemployment in Yemen, where 40 percent of its 23 million people live on $2 a day or less and a third face chronic hunger.

Half of Yemen's population is armed, and experts worry that as protests continue, sporadic festivities between Saleh loyalists and anti-government demonstrators could evolve into greater violence. The United States and Britain have warned citizens against travel in Yemen due to recent unrest.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Omani protesters unmoved by sackings
[Asharq al-Aswat] Omani protesters demanding a clampdown on corruption in the Gulf state maintained vigils Monday despite the sacking of two ministers and pledges to create jobs.

A sit-in at the Earth Roundabout in the industrial city of Sohar, north of Oman, entered its ninth day with activists demanding the sacking of more ministers for alleged corruption, a protester said.

Another crowd has maintained an anti-corruption sit-in outside the consultative council in Muscat, the sultanate's equivalent of parliament but without legislative authority.

The army dispersed the vigil in Sohar on March 1 after protesters blocked the entrance to the city's port, but the sit-in resumed shortly after.

"The peaceful sit-in continues for the ninth consecutive day," said the protester, adding that a crowd of around 200 people at the roundabout during the day swelled in the evenings to about 2,000.

Protesters in the normally placid sultanate insist that their demands are confined to reform and a crackdown on corruption, without challenging the legitimacy of Sultan Qaboos, who has ruled Oman for four decades.

"Omani people are demonstrating peacefully only for reform, and not to topple the regime," he said.

One protester was killed in festivities between police and demonstrators in Sohar on Sunday.

Sultan Qaboos on Saturday sacked two ministers in response to protesters' grievances.

More cabinet members are expected to be removed, as the regime moves to contain popular unrest amid a wave of regional pro-democracy demonstrations that have swept the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia from power.

The sultan also announced the creation of 50,000 new jobs and a monthly allowance of 150 riyals ($390, 283 euros) for registered job seekers.

He ordered the formation of a ministerial committee to draw up proposals to meet calls for the consultative council to be given more powers.

Last month, Oman raised the minimum wage for nationals working in the private sector from $364 to $520.

Oman guards the strategic Strait of Hormuz through which 40 percent of the world's oil shipments pass, and Muscat is a key Western ally in the region. Iran borders the waterway's northern flank.

Meanwhile,
...back at the ranch...
some 200 employees at Oman Air staged a sit-in on Sunday outside the national carrier's headquarters, demanding higher salaries and promotions, a union official told AFP, requesting anonymity.

The company promised to study the demands and respond by Tuesday, he said.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Bahrain protests reach US embassy
[Al Jizz] Dozens of Shia Mohammedan political activists in Bahrain have gathered outside the US embassy, one of several scenes of protest in the Gulf state, calling on Washington to press for political reforms.

Activists gathered at a fence set up in front of the embassy on Monday, chanting slogans in English and Arabic against the monarchy of Hamad bin Issa Al-Khalifa.

Opposition supporters claim that the US is showing less support for the movements in Bahrain than it did for the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt that ousted those countries' presidents.

The AFP news agency reported that a US embassy political officer, Ludovic Hood, brought a box of doughnuts for
the demonstrators as they gathered down the street from the embassy in the run-up to the rally.

"These sweets are a good gesture, but we hope it is translated into practical actions," Mohammed Hassan, who wore the white turban of a holy man, told Hood.

But Zeinab al-Khawaja, a protest organiser, told Al Jizz that the US needed to keep its distance from events in Bahrain.

"We want America not to get involved, we can overthrow this regime," she said. "All we want is for America not to support the dictatorship in Bahrain."

Bahrain is a strategic US ally and home to the US Fifth Fleet.

Elsewhere, Al Jizz's correspondent reported scores of protesters gathering on the main road outside the Bahrain Financial Harbour (BFH).

Some of the protesters waved one dinar notes, claiming it was the amount of money that Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa, the prime minister, had spent when he "bought" the land for the BFH.

Bahrain has been wracked by weeks of protests by its Shia Mohammedan majority, which has long complained of discrimination and political persecution in the island kingdom.

The Al-Khalifa family, which has ruled Bahrain for more than 200 years, is Sunni.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  See also WAFF > {Stratfor] BAHRAIN AND THE BATTLE BETWEEN IRAN AND SAUDI ARABIA.

ISLAMIST SHIA IRAN holds the LOW-RISK, HIGH GAIN dominant position vee the Sunni-centric Saudis in Jasmine-trubled ME + Persian Gulf, + also vee the US in Iraq = Iran's strong position is likely to remain as such even after the various "Jasmine" Mass Protests, Uprisings end.

WHILE CONTROL OF BAHRAIN + OTHER SMALLER GULF = ARABIAN STATES [Emirates] WILL ALSO ALLOW IRAN TO CONTROL THE WATERS + KEY LITTORALS OF THE PERSIAN GULF, IT IS ENUFF FOR IRAN THAT IT WILL SUCCEED IN LT AS LONG AS ITS AGENDA + INFLUENCE, ETC. IS NOT SERIOUSLY OPPOSED OR CHECKED BY US MIL FORCES IN THE REGION.

IOW, Iran = Radic Islam doesn't need to absolutely win - it just has to "NOT LOSE" TO ULTIMATELY DEFEAT THE US???

["Amer Dunkirk" + US-BASE-TOO-FAR QATAR here].

VERSUS

* PEOPLE'S DAILY FORUM > US CAN'T AFFORD TO BE BE TIMID IN THE FACE OF GLOBAL CHANGE.

* SAME > THE ARAB "WESTPHALIA".

French-style, homogenous, Ethnic-defined national border lines.

versus

SAME = A MIDDLE EAST WIDOUT BORDERS?

The NO-BORDERS-NEEDED, heterogenous ideal of the 1960s "UNITED ARAB REPUBLIC" [UAR] pan-Arab = universal concept.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 03/08/2011 23:47 Comments || Top||


44 Protesters Wounded in Ibb Province
[Yemen Post] At least 44 protesters were maimed during festivities that erupted between pro and anti-government protests in Ibb province.

Sources told the Yemen Post that the pro government protesters attacked a sit-in on Sunday for anti-protesters, fighting with them in which 44 people were maimed from both sides.

Sit-inners in Ibb province continued their sit-in for the third consecutive week, demanding the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Sahel's regime.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Fresh Blow to Yemen Ruling Party as Scores Quit in Dhamar
[Yemen Post] Scores quitted the General People's Congress, the ruling party, on Sunday as blows to the regime struggling to gain the public support amid the escalating protests demanding its removal continue.

In Dhamar, lawyers, tribal sheikhs and social figures tendered their resignations from the ruling party in protest at abusing its power and forcing school and college students to take to the streets for the pro-government rallies as well as in protest against violence against the anti-regime demonstrators and sit-inners, informed sources said.

The resigned said students were forced to participate in the rallies that were said to have aimed to show support to the president Saleh's initiative recently offered for the opposition to come back to dialogue and to work together towards concrete reforms, the sources added.

The move by the party was a serious violation of the constitution and as confiscation of freedom of expression through forcing the people to take part in rallies they might not like to attend, the sources cited some of those who resigned as saying.

The resignations also came in protest at involving children in political rallies and festivals as well as closing schools with the aim of meeting personal interests, they added.

In the last few weeks, important figures, supporters and tribal sheikhs have left the ruling party after the crackdown on the anti-government protests and sit-inns intensified and in protest against illegal policies of the regime facing mounting pressure by hundreds of thousands of sit-inners and by external allies.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Suspected Al-Qaeda Militants Kill Two intelligence officers in Abyan and Hadramout
[Yemen Post] At least two officers were killed in two separate attacks, believed to be by suspected Al-Qaeda Death Eaters in Yemen's southern provinces of Abyan and Hadramout.

Colonel Abdul Hamed Al-Sharaebi, an officer in Yemen's intelligence apparatus was killed by Al-Qaeda Death Eaters in Zenjobar, while the other officer,Colonel Shaef Al-Shaebi was killed in Saewn district.

Sources said that the attackers were riding cycle of violences when they fired on the two officers but no casualties were reported.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia


Britain
UK resident arrested over Stockholm suicide kaboom
A British resident has become the first person arrested in connection with the Stockholm suicide kaboom, police said today.
British national? Let me guess his first name: Christopher? Andrew? Trevor? Nigel?
The 30-year-old man was detained in Glasgow in connection with the attack in Sweden in December last year. The foreign national was arrested under the Terrorism Act shortly after 6am in the Whiteinch area of the city.

It is alleged the man was involved in aiding forces of Evil in Sweden, but is not Swedish.

The jacket wallah, Iraqi Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly, 28, who studied at the University of Bedfordshire, blew himself up and injured two people in a botched attack in Stockholm.

Police said there was no evidence to suggest that there was a direct threat to Scotland. The man is being held and interviewed in Glasgow, police said.
Posted by: || 03/08/2011 14:27 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Caribbean-Latin America
18 bad guys die in intergang battle in Tamaulipas
For a map, click here. For a map of Tamaulipas, click here.
A total of 18 armed suspects were killed in an intergang firefight in southern part of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas early Monday morning, according to English and and Mexican news reports.

The battle took place near the town of Abasolo, Tamaulipas at about 0650 hrs. Abasolo, Tamaulipas is about 60 kilometers northeast of Ciudad Victoria, which is Tamauliapas' capital.

Southern Tamaulipas was the scene of another large battle more than two weeks ago in which 11 alleged gang members and seven civilians were killed in a running firefight near Padilla and on the road to Matamoros.
To read Rantburg's February 15 report gunfight near Padilla, Tamaulipas, click here.
Tamaulipas is a known battle area between the Gulf Cartel and its former armed wing, Los Zetas. Numerous gun battles have taken place between the two group since the split some years ago, many occurring in the border cities of Matamoros, Reynosa and Nuevo Laredo, and all in Tamaulipas. Los Zetas currently control the Nuevo Laredo crossing into the US.

In other news, a news release issued by the Secretaria Marina (SEMAR) described an armed confrontation between an armed group and Mexican Marines on the Matamoros-Ciudad Victoria highway Monday which killed two armed suspects and wounded another. Reports say the armed group attempted to carjack a vehicle from a passing family, and were apparently thwarted by the marines.

Marines failed, however, to capture the suspects and instead seized a luxury SUV, an AK-47 assault rifle, 12 weapons magazines,and 227 rounds of ammunition.
Posted by: badanov || 03/08/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It would be an interesting graphic to compare the kill rate in the Mexican drug war versus Afghanistan.
Posted by: Penguin || 03/08/2011 0:28 Comments || Top||

#2  It would be an interesting graphic to compare the kill rate in the Mexican drug war versus Afghanistan.

We know we aren't getting complete information from Afghanistan, Penguin. How much do we know about purely local-on-local mayhem, as well as Taliban-on-local action?
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/08/2011 11:14 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
Norks Jam GPS to Disrupt S.Korea-U.S. Drills
North Korean military units jammed Global Positioning System signals Friday in some parts of South Korea, the government believes.
Isn't that an act of war?
A government source on Sunday said intermittent GPS failure occurred in northwestern base station coverage areas such as Seoul, Incheon and Paju last Friday. "We suspect the interference was caused by strong jamming signals sent by the North."

The North first attempted to jam GPS signals last August during joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises and the latest attack apparently targeted the current "Key Resolve" drills, intelligence agencies say.

The North has two types of GPS jamming devices -- one imported from Russia in the early 2000s and an adapted version. For three to four years it has been circulating a sales brochure for its own version in the Middle East.

The vehicle-mounted device imported from Russia is capable of jamming GPS signals from 50 to 100 km away. The North Korean-made jammer has similar capabilities but is cheaper. An intelligence report says the North recently imported a new 24-Watt jammer from Russia that is capable of interfering with GPS reception within a radius of 400 km, which means it can cover nearly all of the Korean Peninsula.

The devices are targeting mainly the U.S.' Tomahawk and South Korea's cruise missiles or their Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) bombs. But most of the weapons are capable of avoiding signal interference since they use military codes.

The South Korean and U.S. militaries use missile and bomb guidance systems alongside inertial navigation systems. Their accuracy could suffer if only the INS is used. Once the GPS devices are jammed, it would be difficult to locate the precise position of enemy ships or aircraft and could result in missiles or bombs hitting the wrong targets.

A military source said, "We've suffered no significant damage from the North's GPS jamming operations, but missiles or bombs could of course be affected."
Posted by: Steve White || 03/08/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  A jamming signal should make a good homing beam for a transmitter-destroying missile.

I'm just sayin'.........

"Eighth Army officials today expressed regret over an unfortunate incident in which a test of a new missile was disrupted by unexpected interference, resulting in the missile diverting far off course, and inadvertently crossing into North Korea, where it evidently exploded."
Posted by: Lone Ranger || 03/08/2011 0:20 Comments || Top||

#2  That is really, really stupid for N. Korea to show their hand. Now the US and SK can plan accordingly.
Posted by: Glegum White8424 || 03/08/2011 0:32 Comments || Top||

#3  A shrieking child throwing a tantrum. A child with nukes.

I wonder if a HARM can lock that jammer.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike || 03/08/2011 5:06 Comments || Top||

#4  Giving a press release about an enemies capabilities is solely intended to muddy the water. It can be done when the system doesn't work, to make the enemy think it did; or when it works, to make the enemy think it doesn't work.

So the bottom line is that we want to reduce their international sales.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 03/08/2011 8:59 Comments || Top||

#5  Perhaps they did it to see what our response would be so they can compensate for it in the future - hope we didn't take the bait.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 03/08/2011 9:05 Comments || Top||

#6  Whiskey Mike,
Having had the pleasure of working with the HARM (AKA the Mach 5 High Explosive Fuzzbuster), let me assure you that the old girl is well up to the task. IIRC the latest version specifically had home-on-GPS-jam software installed in it and it's been demonstrated under, ahem, 'combat conditions'.

Now, the one that really will mess with you is the RAF's ALARM. Outstanding weapon that has a little tool called 'loiter mode'. Put simply, one can fire it at a target and if the target sees it and shuts off the radar it can shut off its motor and deploy a small chute, then hang around for IIRC a minute or two until the target thinks he's safe and lights up his radar again. The seeker head then cuts off the chute, relights the motor, and sends the missile back in.

I LIKE that.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 03/08/2011 9:07 Comments || Top||

#7  Now, the one that really will mess with you is the RAF's ALARM.

Wicked!
Posted by: gorb || 03/08/2011 9:56 Comments || Top||

#8  IIRC, the US has a HARM missile that is similar. Either way, finding an active jammer and killing it is the easy part. They only are meant for being turned on if an attack it actively taking place and only used to make the initial strike miss, then turned off and moved.

Otherwise they are just really loud targets.
Posted by: DarthVader || 03/08/2011 11:22 Comments || Top||

#9  Reminds me of an old urban myth flying around about 10 years ago .. Goes something like this (copy n pasted as Im a lazy bum nowaday !)

A report has revealed that two traffic patrol officers from North Berwick were involved in an unusual incident whilst checking for speeding motorists on the A1 road between Oldhamstocks and Grantshouse.
Last May, they were using a hand-held radar device to trap unwary motorists on the Edinburgh to London trunk road. One of the unnamed officers used the device to check the speed of an approaching vehicle, and was surprised to find that his target had registered a speed in excess of 300 miles per hour. The £5000 machine then seized up and could not be reset by the bemused PC's. The radar had in fact latched on to a NATO Tornado aircraft in the North Sea, which was taking part in a simulated low-flying exercise over the Borders and Southern Scotland.
Following a complaint by Sir William Sutherland, Chief Constable of the Lothian & Borders Police force to the RAF liaison office, it was revealed that the officers had a lucky escape - the tactical computer on board the aircraft not only detected and jammed the "hostile" radar equipment, but had automatically armed a Sidewinder air-to-ground missile ready to neutralize the perceived threat. Luckily the Dutch pilot was alerted to the missile status and was able to override the automatic protection system before the missile launched.
The Police declined to comment, although it is understood that officers will be advised to point their radar guns inland in future.
Posted by: Oscar || 03/08/2011 12:45 Comments || Top||

#10  ...but had automatically armed a Sidewinder air-to-ground missile ready to neutralize...

What rubbish, Sidewinders are Air Intercept (Air-to-Air) missiles.
Posted by: Lemuel Unaper1938 || 03/08/2011 13:27 Comments || Top||

#11  Dutch don't fly Tornados. The GPS jammers Iraq imported, ineffective as they were, were supposed to have been destroyed with laser guided bombs. Though rumor at one time was they were destroyed with JDAM bombs.
Posted by: Gloluse B. Hayes9343 || 03/08/2011 14:33 Comments || Top||

#12  Face meet palm ... Neither of you two (Gloluse B. Hayes9343 and Lemuel Unaper1938) see the URBAN MYTH status . Theres a lot of holes in the story , but this article reminded me a bit of it

Next time I'll put bells , whistles , chimes , alarms and sirens on there so you pick it up quicker

:)
Posted by: Oscar || 03/08/2011 14:41 Comments || Top||

#13  Next time I'll put bells , whistles , chimes , alarms and sirens on there so you pick it up quicker


Fred should program something like that next to Italics in comments.
Posted by: Pollyandrew || 03/08/2011 15:07 Comments || Top||

#14  The GPS jammers Iraq imported, ineffective as they were, were supposed to have been destroyed with laser guided bombs.

I thought I remembered hearing Schwarzkopf saying that they used GPS-guided bombs shortly after that was done. Maybe he was joking, but I remember laughing at it.
Posted by: gorb || 03/08/2011 15:09 Comments || Top||

#15  Isn't that an act of war?

It is if I'm more than ten miles from home.
Posted by: gorb || 03/08/2011 15:28 Comments || Top||

#16  it is understood that officers will be advised to point their radar guns inland in future.

Gorgeous English understatement! Yes, you did state that it was an urban legend, Oscar -- I saw the words. But I've been know to miss subtleties like actual words, myself, so I can't cavil when others do.

There was a discussion here recently, prompted by an article about the U.S. Air Force spy plane pilot who flew really, really fast over Libya back when Reagan was president (somebody please chime in with the details, please!), and was going so fast that he overflew the refueling plane in Italy before he was able to slow down. There were two stories told in the thread, as I recall: one about the private pilot calling in for a ground speed check, getting something that made him feel smug, only to hear an anonymous voice being told he'd achieved some impossible speed (clearly a fighter jet pilot tweaking him); the second story was the anonymous voice calling in to ask that 10,000 ft. be reserved for him, the airport saying, "Sure, if you can get up there," and the response being, "Thank you. Now descending to 10,000 ft." I wish I could remember the actual stories or find them by a web search, but I'm afraid it's a double fail for me, today.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/08/2011 15:31 Comments || Top||

#17  You are thinking of the SR-71 Blackbird, TW; simply an amazing machine. A quick google for
sr-71 blackbird stories
will turn up some goodies

As for the Norks, I think it is nice of them to give our guys some practice in a real-world situation.
Posted by: SteveS || 03/08/2011 16:36 Comments || Top||

#18  You are thinking of the SR-71 Blackbird, TW;

Thank you, SteveS. I'm going to need more guidance to find the story, though. Now I know why one of our posters uses the nym SR-71.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/08/2011 17:10 Comments || Top||

#19  TW, here is a link:



preview is giving me a hard time so just in case...

http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2007/11/21/story-sr71-pilots-sh.html

Posted by: Whiskey Mike || 03/08/2011 17:22 Comments || Top||

#20  That's the story, Whiskey Mike. Thanks!
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/08/2011 18:17 Comments || Top||

#21  Here's the Rantburg article, TW. Those were my comments.
Posted by: Angie Schultz || 03/08/2011 21:19 Comments || Top||

#22  Brian Shul is a great speaker and photographer. Well worth seeing his 'Sled Driver' presentation:

http://www.sleddriver.com/
Posted by: Classical_Libera || 03/08/2011 22:02 Comments || Top||

#23  Here's the Rantburg article, TW. Those were my comments.

Thank you, Angie! A wonderful story -- you tell it considerably better than I do. :-)
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/08/2011 22:17 Comments || Top||

#24  Hi, Classical_Liberal - it's been a while! Missed you, my dear.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/08/2011 22:41 Comments || Top||


Fifth Column
Colorado "Jihad Jane" To Plead Guilty
News-sourcer-who-shall-not-be-named EFL and Fair Use
A woman described as a troubled single mother and extremely unattractive will plead guilty to a terrorism conspiracy charge Tuesday, her lawyer said, becoming the rare American-born woman to admit plotting with foreign terrorists.

Jamie Paulin-Ramirez, 32, of Leadville, Colo., faces up to 15 years in prison. An April indictment charges that she accepted an invitation from co-defendant Colleen LaRose
another fugly Jihadi-wannabe
to move to Ireland to help work toward a Muslim holy war.

Paulin-Ramirez arrived in Ireland on Sept. 11, 2009, and married an Algerian terrorism suspect the same day.
A non-djinn whirlwind courtship
Posted by: Frank G || 03/08/2011 15:35 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Shoot her and call it a day.
Posted by: DarthVader || 03/08/2011 15:50 Comments || Top||

#2  Another one bites the dust. Well done, to all involved!
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/08/2011 16:24 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Gunmen attack MQM MPA's Hyderabad residence; no casualties
[Dawn] Unknown gunnies fired at the Hyderabad residence of Muttahida Qaumi Movement's provincial minister Zubair Ahmed Khan late Sunday, DawnNews reported.

No casualties were reported and Khan remained safe.

The assailants managed to escape from the scene.

MQM officials and police reached Khan's residence soon after the incident.

MQM's zonal in charge Mohammad Sharif said Khan was standing outside his residence when two men riding a cycle of violence started firing.

Moreover, MQM chief Altaf Hussain condemned the attack on Khan and said those behind the attack should be immediately nabbed.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Four more killed as Karachi target killing continues
[Dawn] Four people, including two political workers and a woman, were killed while four others were maimed on Monday as murder in the city continued for a second consecutive day.

Doctor Hasan Asif also a political worker was killed in the area of Rashid Minhas Road when his car came under attack. Asif was taken to hospital but he pegged out.

A forty-year-old unidentified man was bumped off near Clifton Bridge.

Meanwhile,
...back at the ranch...
a woman named Ameer Jan was killed and her son maimed when unknown assailant opened fire near Banaras Chok of Oranagi Town.

Unknown motorcyclists also killed one man and injured two others near Railway crossing in North Nazimabad.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan


Iraq
30 protesters detained in Kurdish Iraq
[Iran Press TV] At least 30 anti-government protesters have been nabbed after gunnies attacked demonstrators camping out in a square in Sulaymanieh in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region.

"Protesters were attacked by armed and masked gunnies at around 02:30 am (2330 GMT). Tents were burned, personal equipment destroyed or stolen and around 30 nabbed," a Press TV correspondent in Sulaymanieh reported early Monday.

The anti-government demonstrators were determined to continue their protest despite the fact that security forces had issued an alert that "they would not be responsible if anything happened to those who remained in the town square at night."

Although the protesters were forced to leave Sara Square, neither the attacks nor the cold night air were able to deter hundreds of demonstrators from camping out in the city.

The anti-government demonstrators hope that their protests will finally convince the government to listen to their demands for better living conditions and ending food and electricity shortages.

The recent government crackdown on protests in the Iraqi Kurdistan region has angered the people of Sulaymanieh.

Over the past two weeks, seven people have been killed and more than 200 injured during festivities between police forces and protesters, while 220 more have been nabbed.

The crackdown has also led many Kurds to reject the call from the region's President Massoud Barzani
... hereditary head of the Kurdish Democratic Party, maybe a little too close to the Medes and the Persians for most people's tastes...
for early elections.

Following the announcement on Friday, thousands flocked to the town square to continue their daily protests, reflecting their lack of faith in Barzani's words.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Tunnel collapse kills Gaza man
[Ma'an] A young man died Monday morning inside a tunnel at the Egyptian border in southern Gazoo, medics in the coastal enclave confirmed.

Identified as Abdul Aziz Sabah, 18, from Der Al-Balah, the teen was said to have been crushed wen a Rafah-area tunnel collapsed.

Medics retrieved the body and delivered it to the Abu Yousef An-Najjar Hospital, medical officials announced.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  Did his goat survive? Inquiring minds want to know!
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 03/08/2011 13:01 Comments || Top||

#2  Aw, crap. The Gaza Tunnel Authority was so looking forward to seeing triple digits on the "Days Without a Work Accident" board outside the main entrance, too.
Posted by: Swamp Blondie || 03/08/2011 22:13 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
63[untagged]
2Taliban
2Govt of Iran
1al-Shabaab
1al-Qaeda in Arabia
1Govt of Pakistan
1Hamas
1Hezbollah
1Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan
1al-Qaeda in North Africa

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

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

Merry-Go-Blog











On Sale now!


A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
Click here for more information

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

Two weeks of WOT
Tue 2011-03-08
  Gaddafi sends negotiators to Benghazi
Mon 2011-03-07
  National Libyan Council to seek recognition
Sun 2011-03-06
  Gaddafi forces fight to seize Zawiyah, dozens killed
Sat 2011-03-05
  Qadaffy forces try, fail to retake Zawiyah
Fri 2011-03-04
  Libyan rebels push west
Thu 2011-03-03
  Gaddafi strikes at Brega, rebels eye foreign help
Wed 2011-03-02
  National Libyan Council outlines strategy
Tue 2011-03-01
  Yemen Opposition Rejects Plan for Govt of National Unity
Mon 2011-02-28
  Defiant Gaddafi confined to Tripoli
Sun 2011-02-27
  Ex-minister forms interim govt. in Libya
Sat 2011-02-26
  Anti-Gaddafi protesters control Misrata: witness
Fri 2011-02-25
  Gun battles rage as rebels seize Libyan towns
Thu 2011-02-24
  Gaddafi says no surrender, protesters deserve death
Wed 2011-02-23
  OPEC crude oil exceeds $100
Tue 2011-02-22
  Gaddafi said barricaded in his Tripoli compound

Better than the average link...



Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
44.200.95.157
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Background (24)    Non-WoT (13)    Opinion (2)    (0)    Politix (3)