The United States may be forced to change tactics in the war on terror if Pakistan pulls out of the search for Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters along its Afghan border, the new American general in charge of the campaign said Friday. Lt. Gen. Dan K. McNeill said enemy fighters will find plenty of refuge in Pakistan's western tribal region if Pakistan shifts its troops away from the Afghan border. "We will determine what it means to us, if indeed there are withdrawals," McNeill said in an interview with The Associated Press. "And if we need to make adjustments because of anything that's occurred in Pakistan, we will do so." McNeill has avoided commenting on the possibility of the United States expanding its search in western Pakistan, where some American special forces have worked in past months. Glad to see he didn't say something stoopid like "We will certainly respect the territorial integrity of Pakistan and refrain from any cross-border operations." We've been staying out because the Paks have been insisting they could handle it. Now they're saying they're not going to handle it because they have more important things to do. We've already got the precedent of having the Special Forces and CIA in there. If there's a situation where they need support from conventional forces there might be a CC to the Paks...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/01/2002 07:49 am ||
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A bomb exploded outside the provincial governor's office in Kandahar on Saturday but there were no casualties or damage. Spokesman Omar Samad said Governor Gul Agha Sherzai was not in the office at the time of the explosion. There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the blast, the second such attack on Sherzai in recent months. Samad blamed remnants of the Taliban. "The Taliban and al Qaeda, along with their foreign backers, are behind it," Samad told Reuters. Who else? Unless there's somebody else who doesn't likeGul Agha. Oh. Well, that is a possibility...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/01/2002 09:26 am ||
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Twenty-eight scruffy prisoners filed out of Kabul's main detention center on Saturday as Afghanistan's interim authorities implemented an amnesty they hope will ease overcrowding in the country's squalid jails. 28 of them? Well, that frees up lots of room...
The released prisoners included a woman who had been arrested for adultery, still a crime under Islamic law despite the overthrow of the country's hard-line Taliban rulers. She was freed after convincing a prison review commission the man with whom she was involved was her fiance. They don't have shotguns in Afghanistan? A shotgun and a preacher would have made things easier on her and the Afghans wouldn't look goofier than they are.
Prisoners over 60, children under 18 and minor felons serving terms of less than a year are being released as Afghanistan reverts to a 1976 penal code that blends Islamic law with Western concepts of justice, Chief Justice Mawlavi Fazil Hadie Shenwary said. That's certainly an improvement over cutting people's heads off...
The fundamentalist Taliban, ousted from power in December following a U.S. air offensive, imposed only a strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law. Criminals were as often executed, stoned or buried under a bulldozed wall as they were jailed. Jug must have looked pretty nice to them, actually.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/01/2002 10:04 am ||
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Rival factions fought with rockets and small arms fire in the capital of the southwestern Afghan province of Nimroz, killing at least 10 people. The fighting between the two factions started on Friday night in the provincial capital Zaranj, near the Iranian border, and continued on Saturday. The fighting raged the night after a force led by provincial security chief Mohammad Yaqub Barakzai was attacked by a force loyal to commander Abdul Quddus. Eight people were killed inside a house hit by a rocket while two soldiers died and 20 were wounded in gunbattles between the two factions, he said. A resident in Nimroz said the forces of Barakzai, a close relative of Kandahar governor Gul Agha Sherzai, were being surrounded by those of Quddus'. Gul Agha has sent reinforcements for Barakzai, Afghan sources in the area said. This might be an inter-clan shootout, rather than having any political significance.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/01/2002 10:26 am ||
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The HMS Portland, operating in the northern Persian Gulf, "firstly tracked and subsequently boarded the MV Devo which was found to be carrying 3,100 tons of illegal diesel oil," the embassy said in a statement. During the operation Tuesday night, a British Royal Marine detachment "encountered significant passive defenses," such as hatches and doors welded shut, and barbed wire on the upper deck. A search revealed incorrect documentation and the contraband oil, the embassy said. The embassy did not say what happened to the ship or its crew, but usually such ships are impounded and the crew investigated and released. Does that mean all those checks to the boomers are gonna bounce?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/01/2002 07:53 am ||
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The 3000 dwt capacity figure indicates this was a very small tanker. The vast majority of world oil trade goes in bottoms which are 10x this size or more. Given that fact, running around ships that are 50 years obsolete in order to evade detection gives an idea of how important this is to Iraq.
Posted by: Tom Roberts ||
06/01/2002 9:08 Comments ||
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Rev. Jesse Jackson has accepted an invitation to visit the Middle East and will be making the trip sometime between June 8 and June 14, Palestinian Authority Spokesman Hassan Abdel Rahman said Friday. The Rev previously was called in by offered to negotiate with the Taliban for us. That worked pretty well...
Rahman said Jackson is planning to meet with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and other officials from both the Palestinian and Israeli sides. Rev Al did that, too. It really made things better, too...
Israeli sources say they have been informed of Jackson's plans. An embassy official said, "We are always happy to meet Americans who want to contribute to building peace and ending terrorism." "(Yawn!)"
Jackson has expressed the wish to visit Jenin and to meet with victims of Palestinian bombing attacks. A Jackson spokesman confirmed that he will be traveling to the region. Wonder if he'll compare Jeningrad to Selma, Alabama?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/01/2002 07:49 am ||
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The United States had ample evidence that a devastating terrorist attack on U.S. soil was likely long before Sept. 11, the Bush administration's top anti-terrorism prosecutor said Friday. Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff cited nearly a decade's worth of hints that foreign terrorists were targeting Americans. He did not say that the United States had specific information that could have prevented the Sept. 11 attacks. On Wednesday, FBI Director Robert Mueller said there may have been missed clues before the attacks and suggested that investigators might have uncovered the plot if they had been more diligent about pursuing leads. Oh, for Gawd's sake! Stop with the "where did we go wrong" breast-beating and just do your goddamned job!
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/01/2002 07:49 am ||
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The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms posted a $5,000 reward Friday for information leading to the location of a cache of explosives that was stolen earlier this month. Special Agent in Charge John Torres said the explosives were stolen from a gold mining operation in Scott Bar, Calif., near the Oregon state line border. According to the Siskiyou County sheriff's department, 700 pounds of dynamite were stolen, which is about two mining seasons' worth of explosives for the business. The dynamite sticks were stolen between April 6 and May 18 from two locked boxes stored deep in the mine. ATF officials said the thieves had to cut through a door to get to the explosives. Officials said there was no apparent terrorist link to the theft, but they could not rule out the possibility. Maybe they should work pretty hard at doing just that, eh?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/01/2002 08:00 am ||
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Pervez Musharraf on Saturday tried to defuse fears of nuclear war between his nation and India, saying that such a war was all but unthinkable. "I don't think either side is that irresponsible to go to that limit," Musharraf [the man irresponsible enough to let things get to this point] told CNN in an exclusive interview. "I would even go to the extent of saying one shouldn't even be discussing these things, because any sane individual cannot even think of going into this unconventional war, whatever the pressures." So why make faces, roll your eyes, and threaten dire consequences? The Indos haven't been sending thugs into your territory...
India has a stated policy that it will not be the first to strike with nuclear weapons; Pakistan does not have an official policy on the matter. But Musharraf said Pakistan backs something "much bigger than that." Stand back! It's the manure truck!
"We've called for a no-war pact [with India], that there shouldn't be any war," he said. "We've called for denuclearization of South Asia, so we've called for reduction of forces." If you don't walk around pushing and shoving and punching people when you can't get your way, probably no one's going to hit you. That would be the best "no-war pact."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/01/2002 07:49 am ||
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Wanting denuclearization of south Asia is a bald face lie. Musharraf knows full well that his nukes are the only thing keeping New Delhi from converting Western Pakistan into a totally demilitarized protectorate.
If I was Vajapayee, I'd leap on this de facto offer in a heart beat, and after the Paki nukes were in third party custody, give Pakistan an ultimatum concerning Kashmir on India's terms.
India doesn't need nukes to insure military superiority WRT Pakistan. China is the nuclear issue for India. And that is a long term problem which can be dealt with in the long term.
Posted by: Tom Roberts ||
06/01/2002 9:41 Comments ||
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Of course it's a lie. Had the jihadi situation begun developing like it is now before the Paks had nukes there would have been war long before it reach the point it's at now.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/01/2002 9:52 Comments ||
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As fears of a war grow in South Asia, the United Nations has ordered the evacuation of the families of its staff in Pakistan and India. However, officials added there was no sense of panic and the order from United Nations headquarters in New York was merely a precaution. "Nothin' to worry about, folks..."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/01/2002 07:49 am ||
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India has asked Israel to speed up supply of a large number of Aerostat Ballons to give it capability to detect incoming attacks on targets upto 500 kms. The two countries have recently concluded an agreement to this effect and now Tel Aviv has been asked to speed up the delivery of the system, which is also capable of providing an in-depth battlefield surveillance as well as track incoming enemy artillery shells, top defence ministry officials said. "No, no. Thursday might be too late. Can you overnight 'em Fedex?"
As part of measures to further bolster defence against missiles, officials said New Delhi was according top priority to upgrading border radar systems as well as looking keenly at the United States anti-missile system, which is presently in testing stage. Officials said India was evaluating the American system, which was likely to be fielded by 2005-2006, with Washington inviting Indian experts to missile command post exercises in June. Asserting that India had information that Pakistan had deployed its clandestinely acquired Chinese and North Korean missiles, officials said "We have taken Islamabad's threats very seriously and taken counter-measures". I've never heard anything about whether the Indos have bought Patriot systems, or whatever the successor system might be â haven't been tracking the defense industry news. It would certainly seem to be a logical purchase, and it wouldn't make much sense to have the warning system without having something to do on warning other than launch and incinerate.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/01/2002 08:20 am ||
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What the Indians want, and what Russian AND the US want to sell them is a combination ARROW/S-300&400 system. The Russians have some very good interceptors, but their C3I systems are relatively obsolete. The US sorta forgot to keep hiring rocket designers to replace the Werner von Braun crowd, but the NMD/theatre BMD system developments are going ahead rapidly now. Given the Putin-Bush and DepSec Armitage riding around New Delhi on elephants on a regular basis, I've read about some relatively big programs being done on a coequal basis between Israel-India-Russia-& US. Sorta what Ronald Reagan was talking about 15 years ago, but on a regional basis.
The US is being slightly tight with the PAC-3 Patriot upgrade. I've read that there is serious consideration that we may sell it to Taiwan and Israel in order to provide an any cruise missile capacity to those countries' ADA systems. But in both of those cases the US has identified their national security as being critical to US interests. The US has not represented India in the same catagory of diplomatic interests, if for no other reason than that it would enrage the Pakistanis who are our supposed "allies" in Afghanistan. Long term, I'm betting that "money talks" and that our need for Islamabad's poor variety of ally diminishes rapidly.
Incidently, last week there was a US offer to increase US-Indian joint efforts "in space techology" if India stood down its mobilization. What does that offer represent, precisely????
My bet is theatre BMD and modern IR/visual satellite recon systems. The fact that the launchers also would be defacto solid fueled ICBM delivery sytems is a gimme in that scenario, and as such would represent a significant, if not order of magnitude, improvement in Indian nuclear delivery technology.
Posted by: Tom Roberts ||
06/01/2002 9:27 Comments ||
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Reading the original article, the Indians are starting to import 155mm arty ammo to augment their depot stocks. This means that the mobilization to date is JUST getting serious. It also means that India is going to keep on shelling Azad Kashmir for a while.
Sorry about typos above: should be
"Bush-Putin entente" and
"anti Cruise Missile" not "any..."
Posted by: Tom Roberts ||
06/01/2002 9:34 Comments ||
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Twenty-one militants surrendered in Kashmir on Saturday, and handed over their arms and ammunition, an army spokesman said. Sixteen of the militants belonged to Kashmir's dominant separatist group Hizbul Mujahideen, he said. The rebels surrendered their weapons to the deputy commissioner of northern Kupwara district, Syed Haque Nawaz and senior police and army officers. "All sixteen Hizbul militants belonged to one battalion," Nawaz said, adding that the surrender marked the first time since the eruption of armed insurgency in 1989 that an entire battalion of any group has surrendered. The five other militants who gave themselves up belonged to other groups active in Kashmir. "Battalion" is a pretty grandiose description for 16 guys...
Nawaz said all the 21 militants were local Kashmiris. The battalion commander, who gave his name only as Tanveer, said the group was disillusioned with the "ongoing violence in Kashmir." "We surrendered because we want peace to return," said Tanveer, adding they had been running from one forest to another in search of hide-outs and food. "We want to live a normal life," he said. The militants surrendered 20 AK-47 rifles, two rocket launchers, one machine gun and some grenades and rockets. People who lead normal lives don't lug those things around. Wonder how many other cracks in the jihadi structure will open in the coming days, and how they're related to the dissention in the ranks?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/01/2002 08:29 am ||
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A grenade fired at police post exploded among passers-by on Saturday in Anantnag, wounding 16 civilians and a policeman. The snuffies were apparently targeting a police picket in front of a civil administration building in Anantnag. The wounded, who included three women, were shifted to the main hospital in Srinagar, where five were listed in serious condition.
One person was killed and 13 others including two security personnel were injured overnight in a grenade explosion, set off by hard boys in Srinagar's Naaz Crossing. Crazed killers tossed a hand grenade at a foot patrol of Border Security Force (BSF) injuring 14 people, including two BSF personnel. Those boys should be allowed around grenades.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/01/2002 08:41 am ||
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Pakistan security officials on Friday broke an Indian spy network with the arrest of its five potential agents who were planning to carry out terrorist attacks in border areas of the country. Sources disclosed that Pakistan intelligence agencies on a tip off nabbed an agent of Indian spy agency and recovered satellite phone and other confidential documents form his possession on Thursday. During interrogation, he revealed to the investigation officials about the presence of his other accomplices in the country. On Friday officials of intelligence agencies on the lead of detained agent, arrested five Indian spies including two women from a house. It is learnt that said persons had recently arrived in the area and hired two homes in the area. Security has also been stepped up in the area and local administration has asked the citizens to keep a close eye around their surroundings and inform the police about any suspected person. Hard on the guys they picked up, but it's nice to see the Paks on the receiving end.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/01/2002 08:49 am ||
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Police in Rawlakot [Pak Kashmir] arrested fifty antisocial elements and seized guns, arsenal and several Indian movies in an action launched against them. On the special directives of SP of Rawlakot police, police raided Khan House hotel on Hegira road and arrested several people including lot of school students for watching Indian movies. Indian movies, by God! Get a rope!
Besides the owners of the hotel, Khan Murtaza, Shaukat Khan, and Aurangzeb; Gullfaraz along with few other people has been arrested for possessing 30 bore pistols, hand grenades, various camera and blue print Indian movies. A dangerous lot, indeed. Azad Kashmir is a safer place with them under lock and key. Watch those grenades, though. There's something wrong with them, as they seldom hit the intended target...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/01/2002 08:56 am ||
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Nearly 10,000 paramilitary troops moved into town Saturday after police said an Islamic separatist group threatened to blow up a Hindu temple at the site of a demolished 16th century mosque. Security was tightened as thousands of Hindus began arriving in Ayodhya to hold a Sunday prayer ceremony close to the ruins of the Babri mosque razed by Hindu nationalists eight years ago. That demolition triggered riots killing 2,000 people. Intelligence reports say a Pakistan-based militant group, Jaish-e-Mohammed, planned to attack the temple. The Pakistan-based group has not made a public statement about such plans.
Thousands of Hindus will participate in Sunday's ceremony, concluding 108 days of worshipping fire as an expression of resolve to build a temple for their deity, Rama, at the disputed site. Makes a mighty inviting target, if you're trying to start a shooting war...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/01/2002 06:05 pm ||
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Israeli troops staged wide-ranging operations in the West Bank Saturday, making arrests as they searched for Palestinian militants in four cities and villages. The almost daily Israeli forays into Palestinian territory have come to resemble police operations carried out with tanks and armored personnel carriers. Probably because that's what they are. If the PA had any real cops, they'd be doing the job...
In the largest raid, Israeli troops searched house to house for a second day Saturday in the Balata refugee camp. Soldiers rounded up Palestinian men ages 15 to 45 on Friday, and after checking identity papers, put about 100 in trucks and drove them to a nearby military base. All of them no doubt sober, church-going boys with no involvement in terrorism. No idea how they got on the list...
The soldiers also patrolled the deserted streets of Nablus, which is under curfew, and made arrests Saturday in a residential area near Al-Najah University, where many students live. A group of men defied the curfew and attended prayers at the mosque in Nablus' Old City. An Israeli armored personnel carrier fired on them as they were leaving, killing Tareq el-Kharaz, 24, Palestinian doctors said. The Israeli army said it was checking the report. "Curfew" means stay indoors. It doesn't mean "go outside and ignore the tanks and troops while you do what you want."
Troops also entered the nearby village of Tamoun, about 10 miles northeast of Nablus, using small explosive devices to break down the doors of some homes, Palestinians said. The army said seven suspects were arrested. Soldiers in armored vehicles also entered Bethlehem's Dheisheh refugee camp before dawn, where they arrested one suspect before leaving several hours later, the army said. At a checkpoint leading into Bethlehem, a Palestinian woman attempted to stab an Israeli soldier, the army said. She was overpowered by the soldier and taken into custody for questioning. First question: "What were you thinking?"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/01/2002 07:49 am ||
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President-for-Life Yasser Arafat, under international and internal pressure to reform his Palestinian Authority, has named new ministers and redesigned his security apparatus, a Palestinian newspaper said on Saturday. Al-Quds, in the latest of a series of reports in Palestinian media, said the cabinet reshuffle would take effect next week, with the number of portfolios trimmed to 28 from 32. Four entire seats? That's all he could cut? Parkinson is chuckling in his grave. What happened to cutting back to 20 seats, which'd still be too many by half...?
It said Arafat had created no post of prime minister, which would leave his executive power as president intact. He was to relinquish the religious affairs, general education and sport and youth portfolios, retaining only the interior portfolio. Of course no prime minister. Yasser wouldn't give up that much power without a gun held to his head. The seats he's "relinquishing" are notsquats that could easily be covered by party hacks, if they merit cabinet-level attention at all.
But this would give him control of a new "security council" comprising four Palestinian security agencies for self-rule areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, al-Quds said. That's where the guns are. That's the important part...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/01/2002 09:44 am ||
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Venezuelan secret police arrested an alleged member of the Basque separatist group ETA on Friday, the Spanish Embassy said. Police arrested Juan Victor Galarza, 43, in Maracay, 60 miles west of Caracas, said embassy spokesman Eduardo Avire. Wanted in Spain on terror charges, Galarza was being held in a Caracas jail pending extradition proceedings. Venezuela's government also is investigating the whereabouts of 23 other ETA suspects. Has Hugo decided not to give aid and comfort to guys like this? Wonder what brought that on? Hey, as long as they're rounding them up, maybe they'll catch Matilda ("She took all mah money and run off to Venezuela!").
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/01/2002 07:58 am ||
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The FBI told police departments an empty launcher for a shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missile found near a military base in Saudi Arabia was linked to Al Qaeda, but cautioned there were no signs terrorists planned to fire on U.S. commercial jetliners. Were there signs they didn't?
Instead, the FBI indicated it believes Al Qaeda may try to use such weapons against U.S.-led military forces in the region. The FBI message noted that U.S. planes have used the Prince Sultan Air Base since the 1991 Gulf War. The FBI said Thursday it was unknown how long the missile tube had been there before its discovery by Saudi soldiers about three weeks ago. Saudi security guards at the base found the 4-foot-long launcher for a Soviet-made SA-7 missile about two miles from the nearest runway, inside the base's outer perimeter fence and near an inner fence. A cover on the front of the launch tube was intact, but there were scorch marks on the back of the tube, indicating it could have been used to fire or try to fire a missile. No pilots reported seeing, hearing or detecting any missiles, and officials said there were no reports of any threats against the air base. About 4,500 U.S. troops and an unspecified number of American warplanes use the desert base. They told police departments where? In the U.S. or in Saudi Arabia? Wonder if this ties in with the SA-7s reported smuggled into the U.S.?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/01/2002 08:10 am ||
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Saudi Arabia has tried, convicted and sentenced some suspects in the 1996 Khobar bombing that killed 19 U.S. servicemen, but the main suspects are still at large. "It is known that we arrested some parties, except for two or three fugitives who are the main suspects. We have not found them," the deputy interior minister, Prince Ahmad bin Abdul-Aziz, told the Saudi newspaper Al-Jazirah. "The rest have been sentenced under (Islamic) Sharia law, and the sentences will be announced at a suitable time." He added that before being carried out, the sentences would need to be upheld by an appeals court and a supreme judiciary body before being ratified by the king.
The prince did not say how many people had been convicted or whether anyone had been sentenced to death. Saudi Arabia has said some suspects might be in Europe. The United States in 1999 extradited a Saudi dissident, Hani al-Sayegh, to the kingdom, which suspected he was linked with the bombing. Washington last year indicted 13 members of an allegedly pro-Iranian group called Saudi Hizbollah and a Lebanese man in the bombing. The United States has also accused Iran of involvement in the bombing of June 25, 1996, in which a truck exploded outside a U.S. military barracks in Dharan. There were 372 U.S. servicemen wounded. Iran has dismissed that accusation as "baseless."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
06/01/2002 09:33 am ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
