Followers of an anti-U.S. cleric ambushed and killed 11 Yemeni soldiers searching for them in a mountainous area of the Arab state, an official said on Tuesday. He said the troops, one of them a colonel, had been hunting for rebel followers of cleric Hussein al-Houthi in the mountains of Saada province when they were killed in the overnight attack. Saada officials said the cleric's brother, Abdulkareem al-Houthi, was killed in clashes with government forces on Monday and the rebel group's military leader Abdullah Mosleh was also killed. Yemeni forces launched an operation to capture Houthi in June. Earlier this month, they seized the rebels' last stronghold but have yet to seize the fugitive cleric and a handful of his followers.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/24/2004 11:49:16 AM ||
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Honduras tightened security at foreign embassies and declared a national terror alert after receiving information that al-Qaida was trying to recruit Hondurans to attack embassies of the United States, Britain, Spain and El Salvador, a government official said Sunday. The heightened security was implemented three days ago after Honduras' intelligence services received reports of a plan allegedly targeting those countries' embassies here and abroad, Security Minister Oscar Alvarez said. "We are facing a state of preventative national alert, because our intelligence services report that al-Qaida foreigners have made offers for Hondurans to carry out sabotage both here and abroad," Alvarez said at a news conference.
Some Hondurans reportedly were offered money to carry out attacks, while others were approached on ideological grounds. Honduras has a tiny Islamic community. "We believe that there are Hondurans who could accept these offers, some for money, and others because they believe in Islam," Alvarez said. "Our best agents are investigating the case and working out a strategy to prevent international terrorists from using Honduras as a base for training terrorists." The purported al-Qaida plot was directly linked to the war in Iraq, which is why it targeted the United States, Britain and El Salvador, Alvarez said. However, it was unclear why Spain was targeted since Madrid pulled its troops out of Iraq earlier this year. "We are trying to avoid any problems," Alvarez said. "Starting three days ago, we have redoubled security measures at the embassies of those nations involved in Iraq. This situation will continue for the foreseeable future."
In July, Alvarez said a Saudi-born terror suspect sought by U.S. officials was spotted earlier this year at an Internet cafe in the Honduran capital before fleeing the country. The man, Adnan G. El Shukrijumah, once lived in South Florida and is the subject of an FBI alert issued in 2003. The agency has asked law enforcement agencies and the public to be on the lookout for Shukrijumah on the grounds he may be plotting terrorist attacks against the United States or its interests abroad. Shukrijumah, 29, apparently entered Honduras illegally from Nicaragua or Panama. Alvarez refused to elaborate on the details surrounding the sighting of Shukrijumah and his subsequent disappearance. However, Alvarez did not directly link Shukrijumah to the current alert, noting "his intention is to get into the United States" to commit attacks there.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/24/2004 12:37:18 AM ||
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#1
The purported al-Qaida plot was directly linked to the war in Iraq, which is why it targeted the United States, Britain and El Salvador, Alvarez said...However, it was unclear why Spain was targeted since Madrid pulled its troops out of Iraq earlier this year.
Investigators have found traces of explosive on the hands of a French photographer arrested this month in Poland on suspicion of preparing a terror attack, a Polish paper reported Monday. But the mayor from the suspect's hometown in south-eastern France said the arrest had likely been a "huge misunderstanding" and that French authorities were working to secure his release.
"He's such a nice boy, he's quiet and keeps to himself."
"Tests carried out with the aid of sophisticated equipment have confirmed the presence of traces of a very powerful explosive not only in the apartment but also on the hands of the 23-year-old Frenchman," the daily Rzeczpospolita said. A spokesman for the security services, Dariusz Bogaczyk, said traces of what were suspected to be explosives had been found in the apartment but declined to confirm that they had been found on the suspect's hands. "We discovered in the apartment where the suspect was staying traces of what could be explosives," the spokesman told AFP. "An expert will give his opinion over the coming days and his opinion can be crucial for the follow up of the enquiry," he said.
"I can say no more."
The suspect, identified as Mickael Neyrolles, was arrested while taking pictures of a gas pumping station. He is under investigation for "preparing actions which can endanger human life and destroy property", officials said. Gerard Manet, the mayor of the photographer's hometown Tartaras, said Neyrolles had been in Poland to take pictures of industrial sites for an exhibition linked to the jazz festival in a town south-west of Lyon.
'Cuz no jazz festival is complete without pictures of pumping stations.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/24/2004 4:35:17 PM ||
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#1
Obsessive fear of an attack? I would call it a realistic fear, given that the Poles have thrown in their lot with the US, UK and other members of the coalition.
The French photographer is either a moron, terrorist sympathizer....or both.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/24/2004 0:06 Comments ||
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As it shut down formal operations on Saturday, the September 11 Commission released a pair of staff monograph reports that reveal tantalizing and important new nuggets about the 9/11 plot, including the possibility that 9/11 ringleader Mohammed Atta and another hijacker visited an INS office in Miami together in May 2001 with Adnan Shukrijumah, a trained pilot who today remains one of the most wanted al-Qaeda terrorists with a $5 million U.S. bounty on his head.
The commission also revealed new but ambiguous evidence of a financial connection between one of the hijackers and a Saudi national in San Diego, and declares that this is the only known instance of a hijacker potentially receiving a noteworthy sum of money from someone inside the U.S. Atta visited the INS in May 2001 looking for a visa extension for one of his companions, but ended up with the INS discovering Atta himself had improperly received an eight-month visa, until Sept. 8, 2001, that was then rolled back to July 9. INS personnel who dealt with the Atta group then could not identify one of the men with him. But the "Terrorist Travel" staff monograph released yesterday said that, based on other evidence, the commission believes that fellow hijacker Ziad Jarrah "may have been" with Atta.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/24/2004 12:00:00 AM ||
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#1
Okay, the FBI/CIA/INS can't tell us for sure who was in an INS office in Miami in the State of Florida in the US of A, but can tell us, Atta wasn't at the Prague Airport.
SELF-CONFESSED Bali bomber Idris burst into laughter in the minutes after he was cleared of a central role in the blasts that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians. Unpunished because of a U-turn in Indonesian law, Idris was the last of the captured core Bali bombers to be tried. Three of his co-conspirators - Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, Mukhlas and Imam Samudra - were last year sentenced to death for their roles in the Bali bombings, and two to life in prison.
Led away to the holding cell at the back of South Jakarta district court, Idris, alias Jhoni Hendrawan, first looked horrified and then laughed as journalists pelted him with questions about the 10-year prison sentence he had just been given for his complicity in the bomb attack on Jakarta's Marriott hotel last August, which killed 12. "If we do anything, there's a risk," he said, from behind the bars of the holding cell. "This is the risk."
Idris attended nearly every major planning meeting leading up to the Bali bombing, helped purchase the van that was later packed with explosives, taught one of the suicide bombers to drive it, and personally detonated the smallest of the three Bali bombs outside the US consulate. Reading the short verdict, chief judge Asnahwati outlined the first charge, concerning Idris's role in transporting explosives for the Marriott blast. However, she explained that the second charge, concerning the Bali bombings, had been put to one side.
Indonesia doesn't have any laws against killing 202 people, y'see...
#1
put a $100,000 contract on his life while he's in prison, see how much he smiles then
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/24/2004 20:08 Comments ||
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Legal observers believe the 10-year sentence could be the judgesâ way of compensating for the Bali bombings acquittal.
Noooooooo! Stop it already. Substitute a U.S. Judge and verdict and see how it sounds. That's not what is going on here. He had a minor role, he gets minor time -- people still died no matter how minor his role.
NOW, REGARDING BALI. No matter how the MSM spins this tale, no matter how alarming they make these developments seem, THE STORY ISN'T OVER AND THE RI GOVERNMENT ISN'T PLAYING FAVORITES WITH an ISLAMOFASCIST. Despite the alarming title, this story (Bali bomb verdicts start to unravel) is quite a bit more balanced and includes the following:
However, an expert on Indonesian law said Australians need not be overly worried that the perpetrators of the Bali attacks would walk free. "People shouldn't be afraid of it. There are plenty of other grounds on which the Indonesians can get these people," said Tim Lindsey, an associate professor at the University of Melbourne Asian Law Centre.
Murder, arson and illegally transporting explosives were more conventional charges they could face which would also carry hefty sentences.
The principle of double jeopardy - not trying someone for the same crime twice - would not apply if the Bali bombers' appeals were accepted, as the verdicts would not be reversed but quashed, Dr Lindsey said. "That means they never existed."
And the RI Government starts fresh so that it can TRY HIM FAIR, HANG (or shoot) HIM FAIR.
#3
Now see, this is why the Ozzies have an SAS. The verdict ain't in just yet.
Posted by: Matt ||
08/24/2004 21:30 Comments ||
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#4
Drug the guy, implant a locating device on his person that can't be found by touch, then let him go in a remote location, but not before launching an armed Predator or two to cover the area. He'll be toast in short order.
An Indonesian court on Tuesday sentenced a Muslim militant to 10 years in jail for helping plan last year's J.W. Marriott Hotel bombing, but acquitted him of involvement in the 2002 Bali attacks. The court ruled that Jhoni Hendrawan, alias Idris, could not be prosecuted over the Bali case, in which 202 people died, because of a ruling last month by the country's Constitutional Court prohibiting the retroactive application of the anti-terror law used to charge him. 'In light of the Constitutional Court decision to declare invalid the retroactive use of the anti-terror law, we reject the second charge,' said Judge Asnawi who read out the verdict. Judge Asnawi, sentenced Hendrawan to 10 years imprisonment for helping plan the August 2003 attack on the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, which killed 12 people. Idris said he would decide later whether to appeal.
In earlier court sessions, Idris admitted taking part in both attacks, which he said were aimed at America and 'its henchmen who oppress Islam.' Prosecutors had demanded he serve 10 years. Idris was charged under an anti-terror law rushing through parliament after the Bali attacks. Last month, the Constitutional Court ruled that the law could not could not be used for crimes committed before its enactment. Lawyers for the 32 militants already sentenced in the Bali attacks have said they would appeal the verdicts based on that ruling. But Indonesia's justice minister insists that the decision does not affect convictions already handed down - a stance many legal experts have questioned. The Marriott blast occurred after the anti-terror law was passed. At least 10 people have already been convicted in the Marriott attack and sentenced from three to 10 years in jail.
Posted by: tipper ||
08/24/2004 5:10:35 AM ||
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#1
Nice to know the value Indonesia has established for the lives of it's citizens: 10 months each.
Posted by: ed ||
08/24/2004 7:36 Comments ||
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#2
Think that's cheap? The Lockerbie bomber was given 36.5 days per victim by the High Court in Glasgow. After 27 years (which was backdated to the day he was first taken into custody) he can apply for parole.
#7
The hypocrisy woven into this case is simply phenomenal. Muslim lawyers refused to defend Idris because, unlike Bali, his attack killed mostly Muslims.
The Marriott bombing sparked outrage in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, because 11 of the 12 victims were Indonesian, many poorly paid hotel workers and taxi drivers ... Muslim lawyers who represented the Bali bombers refused to defend the 14 Marriott suspects, including some who later apologized and are cooperating with police.
Despite the lawyers' culturally relative judgement that this was a heinous offense, the sentencing seems to reflect how attacking a perceived bastion of western interests is not of significance and slaughtering innocent Muslims is an acceptable loss in the pursuit of those ends. (Hint: M.A.R.T.Y.R.S.)
Were it not so revolting instead, it would be astonishing to see a court of law shamelessly attempt reconciling this monstrous and gross miscarriage of justice. One can only await what is sure to be extrordinary legal gymnastics as regards the prosecution of Abu Bakar Bashir. This will serve as a bellwhether in gauging Indonesia's potential for regime change commitment to fighting terrorism.
Government troops foiled a bomb attack Monday in Jolo by suspected urban terrorists belonging to the Abu Sayyaf extremist group, a military commander said. The improvised device was made from a mortar shell and planted on a roadside where soldiers and military vehicles frequently pass in the village of Alat on the island of Jolo in Sulu province, said Brigadier General Gabriel Habacon. The device was wired to an electronic timer and was powerful enough to kill scores of people had it exploded.
Members of the Explosive Ordnance Demolition squad of the Army's Task force Comet, which is under Southern Command chief Habacon, rushed to the scene and immediately detonated the powerful 60-mm mortar, said spokesman Major Bartolome Bacarro. "The explosive is made out of the 60-mm mortar, placed in front of Alvin's Pharmacy, near the mosque in Jolo," Bacarro said.
Bacarro said the military is still trying to determine which group was responsible for the latest bomb assault in Jolo Monday. "We have not yet identified who were responsible for this attempted bombing in Jolo, although we do not discount the sinister plot of the remaining Abu Sayyaf terrorists in the area," he added.
Indonesian police have arrested three men suspected of being members of a suicide squad belonging to the Al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah (JI) regional terrorist network, a senior officer has said. Police anti-terror squad chief Brigadier General Pranowo said the three were among five people arrested last month over suspicion of involvement in the 2002 Bali bombings and an attack on the Jakarta Marriott hotel in 2003. "We are currently in the process of investigating them, but we suspect that three of them are members of a special suicide squad of the JI," Brig Pranowo told AFP. He said the men were seized during raids in the cities of Solo and Surabaya on Java Island and were trained to conduct bombings anywhere their leaders ordered them to. He declined to give names or further details, saying it could harm the current police investigations.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/24/2004 4:52:25 PM ||
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Pakistani officials are seeking a man they and U.S. officials believe has taken over responsibility for planning al-Qaida attacks on the United States. They say he is the new No. 3 man in the terrorist network and may know the general whereabouts of Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri al-Qaida's No. 2 man.
Abu Faraj al Libi, a Libyan citizen who has long worked with bin Laden, is believed to have taken over the No. 3 job with the capture of his mentor, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, in March 2003, a senior U.S. official told NBC News. Like all of the officials interviewed for this story, the official spoke on condition of anonymity.
As Mohammed's top deputy, Abu Faraj is believed to have played a role in organizing the 9/11 attacks. Today, he is believed to be in charge of all al-Qaida's U.S. and United Kingdom operations, including any current plots. Abu Faraj is also believed to know at least the general whereabouts of bin Laden and al Zawahiri, and to be the mastermind of the Dec. 14 and 25 assassination attempts against Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. Pakistani officials told NBC News that Musharraf has told confidantes in the past few days, "We will get him."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/24/2004 12:00:00 AM ||
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#1
And we whack this mole, and another man steps up to be #3 of Al-Qaeda. Big deal. No matter how many we get, there's always going to be #1 out there, and he'll always have subordinates.
#4
But Gromky, it takes a good 6 months to become competent in a new job, and several years to properly train up one's replacement. On the job self-training is not an acceptable substitute, which is probably why ever more are being caught sooner in the training cycle, accelerating the process. Al Quaeda is already reaching down into the minor league teams for subs, and at the rate they are going, the #1 "man" will soon be coming straight from a Little League team.
From the breaking news, this sounds a little suspicious...
Air controllers on Tuesday lost contact with the second airplane with 44 passengers on board, Interfax news agency reported. It quoted Emergencies ministry as saying contacts with Tu-154 flying from Moscow to the Black Sea resort of Sochi were lost at 3 p.m. EDT when it was expected to be 90 miles from the southern city of Rostov-on-Don. Earlier Russian news agencies said that around the same time one more Russian passenger plane with more than 40 people on board went missing near the town of Tula south of Moscow.
A plane with 62 people on board has reportedly crashed in the Russian region of Tula.
The Itar-Tass news agency reports that the plane went down about 180km (110miles) south of the capital, Moscow. The were 54 passengers and eight crew on board, the agency said. It is not yet known whether there were any casualities.
#2
Tula is roughly 800 km from Rostov-on-Don. Whatever it is, it is not a collision. Another report indicates that the second plane disappeared within five minutes of the first (11:00PM local time vs. 10:56).
#4
Chechens carrying out that plot from years ago to blow up several planes over the Pacific simultaneously?
This is a very weird story.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
08/24/2004 18:26 Comments ||
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#5
And still the Russians will help the Iranians build their nuclear reactor/weapon plants. How many dead Russians is it going to take for them to understand that they have to really get on board with us in the WoT???
Posted by: remote man ||
08/24/2004 18:46 Comments ||
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#6
Gazeta.ru (in Russian) says:
Left Moscow at about the same time (22.00).
Went off air about the same time (22.56 and 22.59).
The plane that crashed in the Tula area exploded mid air
#10
There has been a bomb at a bus stop in Moscow as well, across from a police station. Via Lgf
Link requires registration, here is the text:
A bomb exploded at a Moscow bus stop, injuring four people, a spokesman for the capitalâs Federal Security Service said.
The explosion had a force of about 100 grams of TNT, the security serviceâs duty officer said, citing preliminary information.
It shattered the glass walls of the bus shelter located on Kashirskoye highway in southern Moscow.
The four injured included a woman who was in grave condition at a Moscow hospital, authorities said.
Kirill Mazurin, spokesman for the Moscow police, said on Russiaâs NTV television that authorities were investigating the attack as hooliganism.
NTV reported that terrorism had not been ruled out since the bus stop was located across from a police station and the explosion went off at a time when officers were usually leaving work.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
08/24/2004 19:13 Comments ||
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#11
Airports must stay open to accept acft ordered to land. If I were a pilot I'd be putting down ASAP.
#14
Horrible news.
I've got a friend (American) serving with our embassy in Moscow who's due to come home about now...hope he's OK but still many have been killed.
It's gotta be Chechens--and yes, the sooner Putin realizes that we're fighting the same war as he is, because the Chechens are trained, armed and funded by Al Queda, the better we all will be.
(And Bush needs to do so also, because Chechnya used to be considered by even the US as a "valid separatist movement.")
There's another RB post today about Georgia...well, someday soon, someone's going to have to help the Georgians clean the terrorists out of the Pankisi Gorge and I have a bad feeling it's going to be US military.
And maybe this is where Zaqarwi took his jihad...?
#15
We cannot be reactive, we will need to be proactive, which means preemptive. All this terrorist stuff and resources goes back to Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistani elements, and other smuggling or dope trade operations. Europe will just sit there and take it like Spain, or they will create a terrorist Czar, who will be taking a vacation. If anything is going to happen, it will start with the US, UK, Australia, and Russia. Maybe these hits will wake them up. I sure hope so. We cannot be divided if we are to survive and win. Dhimmitude is not an option.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/24/2004 20:05 Comments ||
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#16
I wish we had the cojones to clean up a bit of unfinished business in our own house first, but I doubt it. There are far too many Americans willing to roll over and play dhimmi, including at least one ex-president. They need to be neutered - with a blowtorch (but then, I'm just a bloodthirsty savage, so what do I know). If we don't get busy and actually FIGHT this damned war, we might just lose it.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/24/2004 20:20 Comments ||
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#17
I think some Chechens set them up the bomb.
Well when Bush declares Russian attempts to get the Chechens under control part of the WOT Russia might listen to us a bit more. But Bush just let one Chechen have asylum here in the US. The EU wants them to negotiate with the jihadists So don't expect too much help in the WOT from Russia.
#18
How many dead Russians is it going to take for them to understand...
This is Russia. They lost about 50,000 men on one particular day in their push toward Berlin near the end of WW2. They seem to have a higher threshold then the rest of us.
Posted by: Rafael ||
08/24/2004 21:12 Comments ||
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#19
I think some Chechens set them up the bomb.
If only they had moved zig for great justice, then all their base wouldn't belong to us . . . or something.
#20
re; Chechen asylum - I believe it was one of our immigration judges, not W, that allowed him in
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/24/2004 21:40 Comments ||
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#21
While I wouldn't be surprised if this was Islamacist, it's too soon to be sure it isn't a major Russian mafia move, something re: the Yukos affair or another internal issue.
Most likely Islamacist, but let's wait and see who was on those planes ... if any officials were killed, or any key industrialists, or journalists, it might be that sort of hit instead.
#22
And still the Russians will help the Iranians build their nuclear reactor/weapon plants. How many dead Russians is it going to take for them to understand that they have to really get on board with us in the WoT???
End of story, remote man. Until RasPutin stops trying to play both sides against the middle, he's going to be counting a lot more body bags. Arming China with advanced TMD (Theater Missile Defense) systems needs to be shoved up his @ss sideays too.
#23
If this was the Chechens, then maybe all that talk about Russian troops coming to Iraq may come to fruition - Putin could probably use US support in Georgia and Chechnya, and we could use their bulk numbers in Iraq.
#24
OS, are you serious? You spend all day Sunday convincing me that we should dance this ballet with Sadr to make sure he doesn't look like a martyr and then you want to invite the subduers of Grozny in to help. Talk about a bear in a china shop. Why? Aside from warm bodies what do they bring to the party? A source of cheap vodka for Iraq? The Russians have always coveted southern expansion. Why should we give them a toehold, even if they are down currently? Give them a free ride on Chechnya and think twice about Georgia, no more.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/24/2004 22:29 Comments ||
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#25
The Russian press already calls it acts of terrorism.
Hmmm I doubt that Putin will send troops to Iraq. After this he doesn't really need the U.S. to be quiet about Chechnya. And I doubt that the U.S. would trade in Georgia... if they did they'd lose a lot of credibility in other countries like Uzbekistan etc.
#26
MD: You spend all day Sunday convincing me that we should dance this ballet with Sadr to make sure he doesn't look like a martyr and then you want to invite the subduers of Grozny in to help.
I think there are other reasons for not offing Sadr. I think he's shown himself to be incompetent. That's a good quality for a leader for the other side to have. The more people he attracts to his side, the more of them will get killed off. The guy's like a decoy luring jihadis to their deaths.
Part of the problem we have in Iraq is trying to find the enemy and trying to get him to face our boys in a stand-up kind of fight. That's what Najaf is all about. Anyone who's studied Arab motivation - and the history of the Arab-Israeli wars - knows that there isn't an endless supply of jihadis. The trick is to get them to fight our boys face-to-face instead of laying IED's along our truck routes. Thanks to Sadr, this is coming to fruition.
#27
TGA, Agreed, that's why I'd think twice but not come to a different conclusion either time.
ZF, regardless, what do the Russians bring to the party in Iraq?
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/24/2004 22:47 Comments ||
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#28
MD: Russians bring warm bodies that can be deployed to the borders to secure them, and to patrol the hiways across the empty areas. This would free up Iraqi and US troops to clear the interior.
Its that simple. Russian troops under MNF command would not be "butchers" - and they would fill manpower needs that we simply cannot meet, allowing the Syrian border to be sealed, and the Iranian border to be clamped down more effectively.
Also, they would put a halt to the "not international" criticism of the US.
The Russians gain international stature, and get the US to look the other way while they crush the Chechen Islamofascists. And their troops get valuable "trigger time" in Iraw that makes them more useful for Russia back home - and thier officer crops gets first hand lessons for US officers in how to operate in modern mobile fashion - a transformation that Putin has been trying to force on the Russian military for the past few years.
SO its not letting the bear into the china shop - its getting bodies in the less demanding secotrs so we can use less troops overall, but more of them where we need them. Its a military term called "concentration of force" - something we cannot acheive now except on a smaller scale and in limited geographic areas.
Having 40-50K helpers on the borders, securing the oil and power infrastructure, and along the lines of communication, will allow our troops to concentrate on training the Iraqis, and going into battle along side of the Iraqis to end the guerilla attacks, and doing the civil projects that will prop up their economy - and a viable and robust economy is the ultimate solution to the problem there.
Its not THE optimal solution, but its certainly one that should not be discarded out of hand due to old prejudices and news distortions.
Putin can wrap himself in the mantle of the WoT,, we get help we need, he gets "stature" he needs at home as well as a the bonus of a bunch of well trained combat veteran troops and officers - who will change the balance greatly when deployed against the Chechens and any other of the brush wars Russia needs to fight on their own periphery.
#30
OS you got over the Cold War a lot faster than I. Russia and Syria are not a pairing that has historically meant good news for America. But you are always thought provoking.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/24/2004 23:13 Comments ||
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#31
Interfax says planes sent hijacking alerts (not confirmed yet)
#32
I didnt "forget" the cold war given thats whre I earned and learned a lot of my trade skills.
But I am willing to look at Russia as an ally of convenience, because it means less Americans will die military and civilian, and Iraq will stabilize that much more quickly - which helps us immensely in winning the WoT against Syria & Iran and the Pakistani Madrassas & Saudi financers.
Thats why I'm willing to look at the odd angles, and go outside the box. Its sort of how I earned (and to some extent still do earn) a living.
My overriding concern isn't politics as much as it is doing the right things and getting the right results. And it this case the end result needs to be a scure nationa nd less of our civilians and troops dying in the process -a nd as a side effect, spreading liberty into all parts of the globe - which is the best way to guarantee that our grandshcildren will not have to fight these guys on our shores, or over there.
American forces sharply intensified fighting here early today, as troops attacked rebels loyal to Moktada al-Sadr from three sides and pressed into the inner ring of Najaf's Old City for the first time. Inside the Old City, Mr. Sadr's loyalists appeared to be on the verge of collapse as American forces overwhelmed the poorly armed cannon fodder rebels with tanks, attack helicopters and AC-130 gunships. Many members of his militia have fled Najaf since early Sunday, when American forces began intensifying their assault, residents said.
"Culy-toed slippers, don't fail me now!"
Both the Army and the Marines took part in the latest attack, a coordinated series of assaults that began before midnight and did not cease until almost 3 a.m. The insurgents put up little resistance in the north and west, and even in the south of the city, the scene of heavy fighting during the past week, American forces seemed to take control. Reuters had reported that Iraqi security forces were within 400 meters of the shrine, with an American soldier guiding in about 50 servicemen.
"Tater, we will defend you with our blood! Them infidel swine dogs'll never take Holy Najaf, with its Holy Cemetary fill of Holy Dead Guys an' its Holy Shrine! They'll have to kill us all!"
[Click!]
"Uhhhh... Hi, there, G.I.! Nice... ummm... helmet! Ummm... Nice talkin' to yez! Gotta go!"
After offering to negotiate last week, the interim Iraqi government appears to have lost patience with Mr. Sadr, the Shiite cleric who has fiercely opposed the government as well as the American presence in Iraq. On Monday, the interim prime minister, Ayad Allawi, again demanded that Mr. Sadr disband his militia, a step Mr. Sadr has refused.
"Nope. Nope. Ain't gonna do it! Got more cannon fodder where that came from!"
#5
This is actually a somewhat balanced article. My draw almost dropped when I read that there are "old doubts" about "Mr." Sadr. Up until now, I guess I just thought he was a rebel cleric, the lightning rod for the millions of enraged shia's ;)
I wish the media would take their analysis just a bit further and speculate as to reasons adobe, mud, concrete building are bursting into flame when hit by US munitions. Sure, it could be HE rounds...but it's more likely that these are enemy ammo dumps, no?
NYT wouldn't want to give the new Iraqi forces the benefit of looking tough, now would they. No need to bravely storm the place, since all that's left inside is: "just a dwindling band of men napped and chatted on carpets in the shade of the mosqueâs high walls."
And the Reuter's article called them "poorly armed and equipped," or some such.
It's not a big victory, you see. Not much more than asking a few derelicts to move along.
If they are trying to spin it as "no big deal", it means they know it's already done. Woo HOO!
Posted by: B ||
08/24/2004 13:11 Comments ||
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#30
#2...the Persian Fallow deer, resident in Iran/Iraq was thought to be extinct. It's a little bugger...but has a larger brain than the "Rantburg spawn".
#35
Hi Gentle,
Glad to see you back. Can you comment on this?
Posted by: ed ||
08/24/2004 13:50 Comments ||
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#36
What did anyone expect was going to be the likely outcome of this? Negotiating with Sadr is useless as his previous uprisings show, so keep him talking, keep his guys in one spot, surround the place and then slowly pick them apart. No need to rush in - they aren't going to get any major re-supply and why waste your men? Just grind them down slowly, precisely, and relentlessly.
1) He has not completed his eductaion. Normally to move up, you have to have some significant scholarly achievement, some thoguht and literate amplification of dogma of Shia.
Sadr has not done this. He has instead killed his rivals and used populaims to force his way to his current title.
2) Imams are supposed to always be very well spoken, and fairly careful in their language, like Sistani. Good diction, pronounciation, and voice control. These are vital for their readings to promote the proper Word of Allah clearly for the worshippers, and for the prayers to be properly heard.
Sadr has poor voice, and alledgedly has a slight lisp. His diction (word choice) is poor and inexact. And he has no real training other than just saying what the people want to hear, especially the poor - in short he's a rabble rouser, not a man of Allah.
3) He is claiming that the Madhi is coming - basically trying to make himself the Moslem equivalnet of John the Baptist. Thats why he gave the Madhi Army that particualr name. The 12th patriarch is coming soon and will appear in Iraq, according to Sadr.
This particualr claim is disdained by almost all main-line Shia, which is why you do not see anyone other than the political masters in Iran backing the guy. The onlything this does is fire up the followers with a "millienialist" type of fervor. The problem for Sadr is that if the Madhi doesnt show up soon, he loses his apocalyptic followers and their fevor for suicidal militant actions.
4) His followers are increasingly composed of people they break out of jails - thugs, rapists and theives.
These guys, when in power, like when they have taken over a town, tend to repeat the criminal behavior. They wear out their welcom quickly outside of their home town - the ghettos of Sadr city and the warrens of Fallujah. This further burns out Sadr's credibility - the longer the Madhi army stays, the worse the locals like it.
ANd on top of that, any place Sadr goes ends up destroyed with a lot of dead Madhi Army bodes around, because it draws in the US forces, who are now closing to hand-to-ahnd range to clear these guys out, up close and personal. Sadr is getting a reputation for destroying anything where he goes - which makes him and his "army" unwelcome almost anywhere that knows the truth about him.
Finally, now that its known they are targeting mosques as "safe houses", the Allawi government woudl be wise to place trusted guards in company sized strength to secure all the other "top 10" major holy sites for Shia and Sunni. Once this is done, Sadr will have no more easy targets.
#40
OS, pardon me if this is an obvious question that you've already covered in your superb posts on this topic, but why is Sadr still walking and talking and seeing things? Every sniper in the 1st MEF must have had this guy in his sights by now.
Posted by: Matt ||
08/24/2004 21:47 Comments ||
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#41
Why is Sadr still walking and talking?
Simple - killing him without killing his reputation makes him a martyr around which the Iranians could build a continuing terrorist operation and destabilize the Iraqi government.
The one thing worse than death for Sadr is exposure of his inadequacies, and stripping away his standing and following.
And thats what this is designed to do.
Once Sadr is discredited, shown to be an agent of the Iranian government, and exposed as a generally disreputable little gangster, then someone can take him out - but there will be little need to do so.
#42
Meanwhile, marines swept around the western edge of the city before striking at a large parking garage just west of the mosque.
Is the parking garage holy ground?
Matt, Sadr was not available to meet with the peace negotiators in Najaf because it would be a risk to his security. What else could be made of this other than he was safely outside fo Najaf? He will not be easy to catch, but he will be easier to catch than Sadaam. I would stake out every Shia mosque beginning Thursday PM.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/24/2004 22:00 Comments ||
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#43
Let me clarify that a bit.
Kill Sadr now, and someone else steps into the head position of the organization.
Discredit him, and his organization withers away or shatters to small fragmented uncoordinated groups.
In either case it becomes unable to stage large operations like this, or even geographically diverse operations -the will be at best a force in Sadr City ghettos and Falluja, and possibly Al Ramadi. But thats it - and they will be unable to effectively resist the cordon-sweep-clear oif combined US/Iraqi forces in those cities.
#44
OS is right - Sadr isn't much more than a theology student. Some additional info on why he's still walking around - his father was highly respected and 'martyred' by Hussein's people. So although it is much dimmed by his thug if a son, the 'aura' still persists.
Russian artillery strikes killed 12 rebels Tuesday outside Chechnya's capital Grozny, the Interfax news agency said, citing a military spokesman. The bodies of five rebels were found about 6 miles south of Grozny after the area was shelled by Russian forces, and that seven others were found in a separate spot, Maj. Gen. Ilya Shabalkin told the news agency. Shabalkin said the rebels were believed to have been part of a group that came under attack Saturday night, amid heavy fighting in Grozny.
Accounts of the weekend's casualties have varied but an official in Chechnya's Moscow-backed government said that more than 30 people were killed, including at least 23 Chechen police or Russian servicemen and some civilians in attacks on police stations and patrols. Another official told The Associated Press that at least 41 people died -- not including rebels. Russian media, without citing sources, have put the toll even higher. Russian President Vladimir Putin made a rare visit to Chechnya on Sunday, a week before presidential elections in the rebel region to elect a successor to Akhmad Kadyrov, who was assassinated in May. A Kremlin spokesman said Putin made a lightning visit to Kadyrov's grave in his ancestral village on what would have been the 53rd birthday of the regional leader who was at the vanguard of Moscow's drive to crush a decade-long separatist war.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/24/2004 11:59:04 AM ||
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U.S. and Iraqi forces battled militants Tuesday in Najaf, sending plumes of black smoke over the holy city as Iraq's government warned fighters loyal to a radical cleric "they have hours to surrender" in their weekslong standoff inside the Imam Ali Shrine or face attack. "The decisive hours are near," said Iraqi Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan. In his threat to the militants at Najaf, the defense minister said guardsmen would use loudspeakers to urge the followers of firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to evacuate the shrine and surrender.
Explosives would offer them more encouragement...
Addressing Iraqi National Guard troops in Najaf, Shaalan said Iraqi troops were working to cordon off the Imam Ali shrine. "When your brothers approach the holy shrine compound, they will direct calls of mercy to those (militants) to surrender," he said. "They have hours to surrender." Speaking of al-Sadr, Shaalan added that if the cleric surrendered, "he will be safe and will be highly respected. But if he continues to resist, then there will be no options for him other than death or prison." Asked earlier if the operation could happen Tuesday, he responded: "We will give the humanitarian option a greater chance ... but if we run out of patience, then this will mean that the hour for the military plan has come."
U.S. helicopter gunships and Bradley fighting vehicles were attacking militant positions in downtown Najaf, and militants returned fire with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades. Witnesses said Iraqi forces accompanied U.S. troops into the Old City for the first time in recent days and were stationed about 200 yards from the shrine. Iraqi officials have said that any raid on the shrine would be conducted by Iraqi forces.
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Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/24/2004 11:56:59 AM ||
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#1
The U.S. military denied damaging the shrine; it said an air crew saw militants in the compound fire a rocket that clipped one of the walls and exploded 10 yards outside. Salam Pax has some pictures and narration of the struggle there in Najaf. One of the more interesting tidbits in there is how one thug shows him how to set off an RPG grenade without a launcher. Where the thing winds up going is a complete crap shoot, and it demonstrates not only how unprofessional this ragtag "army" is but also how little they care about damaging their oh-so-holy shrine.
Posted by: Dar ||
08/24/2004 12:32 Comments ||
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#2
Thanks for pointing out Salam's new blog. Hadn't noticed he had shifted digs.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
08/24/2004 13:00 Comments ||
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#3
Er... how many times have we heard this "hours to surrender" stuff in the last few weeks.
Posted by: Jim K ||
08/24/2004 15:04 Comments ||
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Iraqi defense minister sez Sadr has minutes to surrender
It is just a unit issue. Oh, yeah, the implication is days are lots of time, hours are not much time, minutes are certain death in a short time. But there is a time warp anomoly going right through all these holy cities, like the space-time continuum around a black hole. Do you get what I'm saying? Everyone comfortable with the concept?
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/24/2004 17:58 Comments ||
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#7
It is like that movie Groundhog day. We should just get this over with.
#8
Did everyone notice that Sadr wanted to turn over the keys of the mosque without vacating it. Sistani's people refused beacuse they were also unable to inspect the mosque. I can think of several reasons for turning over the keys at that point:
1. Sistani would then be the one being attacked, technically speaking.
2. The treasures have been looted.
3. The mosque is rigged to blow and Sadr doesn't want to be responsible for the Shrine's condition when he explodes it.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/24/2004 22:07 Comments ||
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#9
Yeah, yeah, yeah......surrender or else....*yawn*
Posted by: Halfass Pete ||
08/24/2004 23:32 Comments ||
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Police and intelligence officials in Pakistan have reportedly arrested seven foreigners suspected of having links with the Al-Qaeda. According to The News, a raid was carried out on a house said to be occupied by the alleged Al-Qaeda militant, Ghulam Mustafa, about 100 kms south-east of Multan. The raid also yielded several incriminating documents, computer CDs and some weapons. Mustafa is said to have been one of the key players who had planned to carry out attacks on President House, the Prime Minister House, GHQ of Army, US embassy, Army House and Chief Minister House.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/24/2004 11:53:15 AM ||
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The resistance to US and foreign troops in Iraq is becoming unified and now controls 70 percent of attacks, one of its leaders told AFP, adding that Jordanian extremist Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi had been given an ultimatum for violating its ideology. "There is one leadership comprising Iraqis and other Arab nationals which heads 70 percent of the operations being carried out in Iraq against the Americans and those who cooperate with them," said the source, who had close ties to Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden up until three years ago. The Iraq-based source, who declined to be identified and met an AFP correspondent in an Arab country outside Iraq, said "Zarqawi was given an ultimatum by the leadership of the resistance. They threatened to quash him by force" after he repeatedly violated Islamic ideology, and "the leadership of the resistance banned Zarqawi from publishing communiques and from violating (its rules)," he said.
He claimed that the beheading of US hostage Nicholas Berg attributed to Zarqawi in May had not been welcomed by the resistance leadership. "There was no proof that he was a US agent, even if he was a Jewish American," he said of Berg, the first of a number of hostages beheaded in Iraq by their captors. "Our religion does not tolerate killing for the sake of killing. There must be proof of involvement" in pro-US activity, he said. Killing Iraqi policemen or national guards "is legitimate because they are servile agents in the pay of the Americans and responsible for the death of hundreds of Iraqis", he said.
The source said he "recognised Zarqawi's profile" in the video of the beheading which was shown on an Al-Qaeda linked website in May. According to the source, "Zarqawi is an ace when it comes to explosives and in planning military operations", "He received a protection from the resistance but now most of them are against him because of deep ideological differences," he said.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/24/2004 11:52:18 AM ||
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#1
The leadership comprises "Iraqis who lived in exile during Saddamâs reign but who are opposed to the US invasion of their country" as well as Arabs who want to help them "fight the American devil", the source said. So, the management is not indigenous. ...is financed by "wealthy Iraqis but mostly from Saudi nationals". Ahhhhhh yassssssss our dear friends the Soddis. No surprise there either.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
08/24/2004 12:16 Comments ||
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#2
Let the internal power struggle begin. "I'm the Sword of the Faithful!" No, I am the Terror of the Infidel!" Enjoy the interneccine warfare boys.
#3
Zarqawi had been given an ultimatum for violating its ideology LOL
You didn't get permission asshole. Next time say "Osama may I" before you behead an infidel.
#4
Well, at least they've entered the "We're reining in the loose cannon" phase. Too bad really, Zarqawi was doing so much better than the Coalition at polarizing Shi'ites away from al Qaeda.
My rosy red you know what. They have murdered plenty innocent Iraqis'. Sounds like they are mostly external in origin and so is the money. If it's not a myth, which is more likely.
Iraqi security forces moved to within 400 yards of a holy shrine in Najaf on Tuesday, just hours after the government warned Shi'ite rebels inside they would be killed if they did not surrender. "God willing, we'll be moving in tonight," a commander of one unit told Reuters, adding that around 500 Iraqi troops had been deployed to the area around the Imam Ali mosque, the first time government forces have entered the battle zone.
The advance was carried out by 50 servicemen and came after U.S. helicopters fired missiles and strafed militia positions in a cemetery that adjoins the mosque, where most of the Mehdi Army loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr have holed up during a bloody three-week rebellion in the southern city. A U.S. soldier guided the men in. They were shot at by Mehdi militiamen and returned fire. "We are in the last hours. This evening, Iraqi forces will reach the doors of the shrine and control it and appeal to the Mehdi Army to throw down their weapons," Defense Minister Hazim al-Shalaan said at a U.S. army base outside Najaf. "If they do not, we will wipe them out."
I'd go for wiping them out and then appealing to them to throw down their arms...
With fighting raging, U.S. tanks reinforced positions along the southern flank of the mosque. Black smoke rose from the area and automatic gunfire crackled after an overnight bombardment from U.S. warplanes and artillery.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/24/2004 11:46:55 AM ||
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God willing, weâll be moving in tonight," Sigh Moslems....
Two South African men being held in Pakistan have apparently told investigators that they received "basic al-Qaeda training", the Johannesburg-based ThisDay newspaper reported yesterday. The newspaper said that Fordsburg doctor Feroz Ganchi and Laudium student Zubair Ismail had both admitted they were recruited in South Africa and had travelled to Pakistan for training.
The pair have been detained under Pakistani military law, under which suspects can be held without charge for up to 24 months. Ganchi appears not to have told his wife, Safiya, about the training. She told the Mail &Guardian recently that they were "extremely patriotic people who fully support the government of our country". Ganchi first learned of her husband's arrest from a newspaper report on July 25. "The article did not mention Feroz but I knew it must be him," she said in August.
"... because he's such a patriot."
Ganchi told the M&G Online yesterday that she was "very disturbed" by the new report. "After four weeks of interrogation I think all these confessions are false. By now they are going to say anything." ThisDay said that apart from the basic training they received at a safe house in Gujrat in July, the men apparently told investigators that they had planned to travel to an al-Qaeda camp at Shakai for more intensive training. Asif Shahzad, crime reporter for a Pakistani daily, The Dawn, who has followed the arrests closely, said last week that the interrogation of Ganchi and Ismail was being driven by the US, with Pakistani intelligence only assisting. Shahzad said that according to local intelligence sources the CIA was responsible for identifying the 13 al-Qaeda suspects arrested in Gujrat, including Ganchi, 33, and Ismail, 20. The heavy crackdown on al-Qaeda in Pakistan in recent months could not have been conducted by the Pakistanis alone, he added. Agents from South Africa's National Intelligence Agency (NIA) were apparently given access to the men last week. NIA director Vusi Mavimbela told ThisDay it was not true that maps and documents allegedly found in the men's possession showed that they had intended to attack key installations in South Africa.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/24/2004 11:41:22 AM ||
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Looks like they may finally be getting ready to rock the casbah.
U.S. and Iraqi forces battled militants in Najaf (search) on Tuesday, and Iraqi National Guardsmen surrounded the holy city's Imam Ali Shrine, where insurgents loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have been holed up for weeks. Iraqi Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan said the guardsmen will use loudspeakers to urge al-Sadr's followers to evacuate the shrine and surrender. "If they don't ... listen to reason, then certainly there will be a very simple operation, a very simple raid," Shalaan told al-Arabiya television. "The decisive hours are near," he said. Such a shame Tater will not be there to see the end result of his handiwork - and the end of a Kurdish Shia Iraqi Special Forces rifle.
Posted by: OldSpook ||
08/24/2004 8:42:12 AM ||
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#1
Oh crud! Fed/Moderators - this is supposed to be page 1.
One thing to note: they do not describe the forces there - but you can bet your bottom dollar that its the SF battalion. And the defense minister is right: It is probably a very simple assault now that the Marines and Cav have peeled the defenses back and attritted them severely.
#3
I'd love to find hash as the special on tomorow's breakfast menu.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/24/2004 9:51 Comments ||
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#4
Not to get excited, The is not the final absolutly no more warnings this is it read my lips I am totalally serious about this if you don't stop this nonsense you're are all going to die last chance, the is only the absolute I'm not going to tell you again final I will not repeat this warning again last chance.
Posted by: Michael ||
08/24/2004 10:11 Comments ||
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#5
Don't believe it. These guys never heard of the "Boy who cryed wolf"
#6
"Aw, come on guys. Give me one more one more chance."
/Tyson
They'll ring the shrine and make a big show for the press. Then Mookie and Co. will come out with big hugs for their Iraqi brethren, who will let them go as long as they promise to behave. And we'll do this again next year. Wash, rinse, repeat.
Sorry, but the current situation is the result of a LACK of decisiveness. Decisive means setting a deadline for compliance and following through with consequences for not complying. At this point, the only thing that would succeed in restoring even a semblance of faith in the Iraqi government would be for them to finally send in the commandos to kill Sadr and throw his broken body out into the street in front of their stupid little "shrine".
#8
maybe..but I think this may be it. They've probably spent the last week making sure that, if the shrine was rigged with explosives, the red and blue wires are no longer touching. I'm feeling optimistic that perhaps this could be it.
The marines prepared the stage, wrote the script and helped the Iraqi's rehearse their lines. Now it's show-time for the Iraqi's. While it this might just be the dress rehearsal - I think we are about to witness an old fashion, 7th century like attack on a castle.
Wow. Awesome. History unfolding before our eyes.
Posted by: B ||
08/24/2004 11:12 Comments ||
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#9
Old Spook convinced me to stay patient a little while longer. What convinces me is that if Allawi wants to get elected, he needs to take Tater off the political table. Part of this is making sure that he doesn't turn him into a martyr. A lot of this dancing has been focused on convincing people not in the combat zone that Tater is in fact the thug he is. This process appears to be near completion.
At least I hope.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/24/2004 11:39 Comments ||
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#10
Actually there may be some truth in that. Look at appeasement in 1937-8. It sucked, but you had to admit every last stone was overturned in order to find a peaceful answer. When war finally did come everyone one was on board because there was no doubt that all avenues had been tried and failed.
Sometimes I think that is what is going on here.
And I apologize for my somewhat sarcastic remark earlier, it was only intended as earth humor :-)
Posted by: Michael ||
08/24/2004 11:48 Comments ||
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#11
Michael: Look at appeasement in 1937-8. It sucked, but you had to admit every last stone was overturned in order to find a peaceful answer. When war finally did come everyone one was on board because there was no doubt that all avenues had been tried and failed.
Killing the enemy but delaying a final resolution is the opposite of appeasement. Appeasement is pulling out and not fighting him. What our men are doing is attrition, avoiding the enemy's complete destruction, while cutting his men down. Our people are doing this in order to avoid the appearance that we're bullying him - and thus avoid helping to attract new followers to his cause who might join out of sympathy. This is why we're repeatedly putting out peace overtures on the terms that we've defined (which he can't accept without abject humiliation) so he can reject them and make himself look unreasonable. This accomplishes two goals - it makes Sadr look like a hardliner who won't listen to reason - reducing the flow of recruits and increases the number of people who flock to the Iraqi government's position.
#12
Another way to look at it Zhang Fei is that we kill his followers and then let him go so that he can attract more by saying his escape was a victory. Then a few Iraqi's and a lot of Iranians (easier to kill them in Najaf than go into Iran after them) join up and we slowly bleed the radical numbers.
Because they tend to hide in the Mosques we actually have an advantage in that we know where and when and they've given up manuever. It also has the psychological effect of showing the Iraqi Shia who is putting the mosques at risk and who is refraining from damaging them.
With the election coming up in Nov it may be time to end the game because many in the states don't have much of a grasp of whats going on over there and freak out at any sign of combat.
#31
Does Fred have a procedure for becoming an official Rantburg TROLL? Or does any old troll that climbs up through the floorboards get to call themselves the Rantburg TROLL?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/24/2004 14:32 Comments ||
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#35
Zhang Fei
Actually I think that was what I was trying to say. I guess I did a poor job of it.
Anyway, how you said it!
Posted by: Michael ||
08/24/2004 15:39 Comments ||
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#36
So what kind of troll was this one. I mean, Boris was a Serbian Lop-Ear; Murat's an Anatolian Burrowing Troll; NMM and Anti are Common Red Marxian Trolls; but I don't see this species in my Roger Tory Peterson's Field Guide to Troll-Watching.
Posted by: Mike ||
08/24/2004 18:22 Comments ||
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#37
an attention-deficit or stuttering troll
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/24/2004 18:37 Comments ||
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#38
I'm here becuase Rantburg sucks (notice how my name has changed)
U.S. aircraft and artillery bombarded targets in the Iraqi city of Falluja early on Tuesday, lighting up the night sky with explosions that shook the southwest of the city, residents said. They said U.S. aircraft mounted several air strikes in the industrial sector of the city, and tanks were then seen going toward the scene of the attack.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/24/2004 12:34:42 AM ||
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always nice to wake up to some uplifting good news
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/24/2004 8:14 Comments ||
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#2
Hopefully we got rid of some more bad guys too.
Posted by: Douglas De Bono ||
08/24/2004 9:27 Comments ||
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#3
HealingIraq today says,
Something else has been bothering me for a while. How come there are NEVER any suicide bombings whenever there is trouble in the south with Sadr? And why do the Sunni areas seem so peaceful?
I don't think he is totally right. In April when Sadr was causing trouble there were lots of attacks in Sunni areas. However, the last two weeks of Sadrfest have been relatively quiet weeks in the Sunni triangle.
#4
Probably because of the continued Marine interdiction of Fallujah. It's tight enough to keep the wild boys stuck in the city, and loose enough to not provoke countersiege outrages.
Additionally, there seems to be a fairly hot war going in al Anbar. Most of the friendly casualties are coming from that province, and not anywhere in the south. We don't hear shit about al Anbar due to the media fixation on whatever's within arms-reach of Baghdad. All the English-language Iraqi bloggers are based in the urban areas, so that biases what we're seeing from them as well.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
08/24/2004 11:01 Comments ||
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#5
on whatever's within arms-reach of Baghdad. or a few hours from the bar.
Posted by: B ||
08/24/2004 11:04 Comments ||
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#6
well they had at least one possibly two suicide bombing attempted assasinations today near or in Baghdad - so the quiet ends
More evidence on OldSpooks' theory as to how to handle Tater.
U.S. infantrymen engaged in fierce battles with cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militants Monday and U.S. tanks moved closer to the revered Imam Ali Shrine as the American military stepped up pressure on the insurgents to leave the holy site and end their uprising. Late Monday, U.S. warplanes bombed the area of the Old City, and fires lit up the night sky, witnesses said. Ahmed al-Shaibany, an aide to al-Sadr, said shrapnel from the attack hit the shrine's golden dome, one of its minarets and the compound's outer wall. The U.S. military denied damaging the shrine and said an air crew saw militants in the compound fire a rocket that clipped one of the walls and explode 10 yards outside. "We are not doing anything that could have caused damage to the shrine," Marine Capt. Carrie Batson said. There was no independent confirmation of damage to the shrine, but violence earlier Monday ripped a chunk out of the outer wall of the compound. Explosions throughout the day shook the Old City, which is a mix of streets and narrow, maze-like alleys at the heart of much of the fighting.
With the U.S. advance Monday, fewer al-Sadr militiamen were in the streets and some were seen leaving Najaf. Militant medical officials said at least two insurgents were killed and four wounded. Al-Hakim Hospital said two civilians were killed and two others injured, but more casualties were reported in the Old City and could not be reached by emergency workers, said hospital employee Hussein Hadi.
Al-Sadr, whose Mahdi Army fighters are behind the uprising, has not been seen in public for many days, and police drove around Najaf with loudspeakers declaring he had fled toward Sulaymaniyah in northern Iraq. Al-Sadr's aides denied that. "Muqtada al-Sadr is still in Najaf and is still supervising the operations," Sheik Aws al-Khafaji, the head of al-Sadr's office in the southern city of Nasiriyah, told Al-Jazeera television.
So he should show himself.
Wuss.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/24/2004 12:18:31 AM ||
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#1
I hope that the outer walls of the shrine end up with thousands of bullet holes - each being a through-and-through of a Tot. The Mad Mullahs' Madhi "loyalists" payroll price tag is probably rising pretty fast trying to keep the bin full. They're currently being served up and knocked down damned fast it seems.
#2
Keep getting the ring tighter and tighter on the Shrine and Najaf.
We need to get the US troops right on the temple outer walls. At that point, it becomes the Iraqi's fight - the Iraqi SF shoudl have the upper hand at that point. And if they botch it or worse, back down, then we are well and truly f**ked.
Yes, discredit Sadr by giving him the rope he needs to hang himself and his followers too - he does a good job at hanging his Madhi Army out to dry every time he uses them. And one of these days maybe they will get a clue that they are being used like a condom whorehouse.
But there comes a time where you have to finally tighten the noose and kick the horse out from underneath the tree limb and let the bastards kick at the end of the rope.
And that time needs to be this week, from the looks of things.
If they want to get it done this week, they cannot extend this much past Wednesday,
Otherwise due to Sabbath, they will need extend this over to Sunday-Monday, which I do not see as a good idea politically. The Republican Convention is coming up, not a good time for the assault to go on, plus delay beyond this week seems to me to be overdoing it, unless there are a lot more Madhi than the open sources say there are - or unless they are waiting for Labor day weekend to bury the main fighting under holiday news.
(Cynical, yeah. I am.)
Now someone get us the Super Glue and go find where Allawi's balls fell off, someplace between Baghdad and Najaf...
May have to get him a new set. Hopefully we put big brass ones on him this time.
#3
.com, if the shrine is damaged, I think that we ought to contact The Learning Channel and see if Frank Bilac can repair the damage and possibly give the shrine a more folksy feel as well. They could get two volunteer Mullahs to do most of the work. Because they are Shia I think that their Trading Spaces work-shirts should be black.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/24/2004 3:00 Comments ||
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#4
A friend who's been in the Green Zone for a year says that there's been damage there on repeated basis -- we just fix it very quickly. Drives the jihadis nuts ... no good TV propaganda for them.
Pakistan has revealed dramatic plans of an al-Qaeda-linked group of terrorists to launch suicide attacks on key government leaders and the US Embassy earlier this month. A senior Interior Ministry official said yesterday that 11 or 12 suspects - one Egyptian, the others Pakistani - had been arrested over a week ago in the capital and other parts of the country. Last weekend Islamabad said it had cracked a plot to sabotage Pakistan's Independence Day celebrations on August 14, and late on Saturday officials finally revealed some details of that plot.
Details, details. Deep laid plots.
Deep laid plots. Sinister deep laid plots. Evil, sinister deep laid plots.
Dark conspiracies. Wheels within wheels. I can say no more. Mutter mutter...
Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told reporters that a terrorist group had planned attacks on key installations in the capital and the neighbouring garrison city of Rawalpindi. Among the targets were the official residence of President General Pervez Musharraf, the prime minister's house, a convention centre, parliament, the US Embassy and the headquarters of the army.
And Arkansas! And Missouri! And Wyoming! and New Caledonia! Yeaaaaaarrrrgh!
He said security agencies had seized a huge cache of arms and ammunition, including dozens of bombs, grenades, rocket launchers and detonators.
School supplies, it's that time of year.
Could be elk season.
Or religious paraphernalia...
Ahmed said only five or six people had been captured, while several others were on the run. It wasn't clear why he reported fewer arrests than the Interior Ministry.
Dontcha hate it when the ministries can't keep their stories straight?
Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayyat said intelligence agents made the arrests between August 10-15 and found neatly tailored suicide belts and other material that could be used in such an attack. He said they were linked to al-Qaeda and wanted to kill "important personalities" including Musharraf and government ministers. "They wanted to destabilise Pakistan, they wanted to create unrest and they wanted to weaken this government," he said.
More coal to Newcastle...
Hayyat said four of the arrested men were planners.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/24/2004 4:17:02 PM ||
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#1
LOL--Love the commentary, and in technocolor, no less! It's a veritable Rainbow of Rantingâ¢!
Posted by: Dar ||
08/24/2004 9:09 Comments ||
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#2
makes me feel very Bennetton
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/24/2004 9:15 Comments ||
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#3
Starting to look like a geologic cross section with a Emlieaque sky.....
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/24/2004 10:35 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
