Saudi Arabia has detained five people suspected of spreading Islamic militant ideology in the kingdom, which is battling an 18-month wave of Al Qaeda violence, the Interior Ministry said on Saturday. It said three men were arrested shortly before Friday's midday prayers in Zulfi, north-west of Riyadh. Two others were detained later on Friday in separate raids in the capital. None was believed to be involved directly in violence. "They are suspected mostly of supporting the extremist thought. They were trying to spread it among the youth," Interior Ministry security spokesman Brigadier-General Mansour Turki said.
That could be a good sign. Or it could be that they're rivals to the Learned Elders of Islam...
Around 170 people, including foreigners, Saudi security forces, civilians and militants have been killed in attacks and clashes since a wave of suicide bombings in Riyadh in May 2003. A statement issued in the name of Saudi Arabia's royal rulers said the kingdom was committed to hunting down the remaining militant supporters of Saudi-born Osama bin Laden. Al Qaeda has tried to drive non-Muslims out of the oil giant, which is also home to Islam's two holiest cities of Mecca and Medina, and overthrow the ruling House of Saud. "We have pledged to track down members of this group, whoever they are, and judge them by Islamic Sharia law, without leniency" said the statement by the kingdom's ailing King Fahd and its de facto ruler Crown Prince Abdullah. "We gave them time to repent from their extremism," they said in the statement, which was issued late on Friday to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
Somehow they still haven't gotten around to cutting anybody's head off, even though the Bad Guys have.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/15/2004 11:13:32 PM ||
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#1
supporting extremist thought and spreading it among the youth--must have been writers for rolling stone
Posted by: SON OF TOLUI ||
11/15/2004 2:30 Comments ||
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#2
Huh, spreading extremist thought? Isn't that the whole point of the Magic Kingdom?
#3
Isn't that the whole point of the Magic Kingdom?
Right up to the point where they start calling for the overthrow of the House of Saud. Then they've gone too far.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/15/2004 16:02 Comments ||
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Heavily EFL.
The first trial of a suspect implicated in the 11 March train bombings in Madrid opens on Tuesday with a 16-year-old in the dock facing up to eight years in detention for allegedly handling and helping to transport the explosives used in the attack. He will appear in court hidden by a screen at the trial, set to last three days and at which cameramen and photographers will be banned, in line with all hearings of minors. Nicknamed El Gitanillo ("Little Gypsy") he is one of 19 suspects held on suspicion of involvement in the attacks. The majority are Moroccan nationals.
I'm trying to read between the lines here. With a nickname like Little Gypsy, do you think this kid is Muslim? Or is he just a local (probably Romany-origin) yokel that they paid to be a mule for the TNT?
The youth is believed to have become caught up in a network of drug dealers who, the Spanish authorities say, traded explosives stolen from the mines for drugs, selling the dynamite to the bombers who blew up the trains packed with early morning commuters. The teen suspect is accused of having knowingly helped to transport some 20 kilogrammes by bus to Madrid, where he transferred the material to contacts in a bar. One of those contacts, [Spanish Magistrate Juan] Del Olmo believes, was Jamal Ahmidan, one of seven people who blew themselves up in a police raid in the Madrid suburb of Leganes during a police raid on 3 April. In late February, the teenager is alleged to have gone to a mine with another suspect, former miner Emilio Suarez, who, it is alleged, then met Ahmidan and two other suspects, Abdenabi Kounjaa and Mohamed Oulad Akcha at his home two days later. Suarez is understood to have then sent his young accomplice back to Madrid on 4 March, a week before the attacks, where he again is alleged to have met up with Akcha.
So it looks like the True Believers (TM) did need to hire some locals to acquire the 'splodey stuff. Perhaps it's getting harder for Mahmoud and Achmed to buy it direct.
Three alleged members of a radical Dutch Islamic group were arrested in June and deported to the Netherlands because police feared they were planning an attack on then-Prime Minister Jose Barroso, a former top Portuguese police official said in comments published Monday. The government in the Netherlands confirmed that three men arrested June 11 in Porto, Portugal the site of the European Championship soccer tournament are alleged members of a group referred to by Dutch intelligence as the "Hofstad Network," which has been linked to the Nov. 2 killing of filmmaker Theo van Gogh. The suspects, whose names have not been confirmed by authorities in either country, are believed to have been arrested in a sweep after Van Gogh was shot and stabbed in Amsterdam.
The suspects in Portugal drove a car registered to Mohammed Bouyeri, who has been arrested in connection with the killing of Van Gogh, according to former Portugal national police chief Adelino Salvado, who spoke to the daily newspaper Diario de Noticias. Bouyeri, 26, a dual Dutch-Moroccan citizen, was arrested minutes after Van Gogh's murder with a note in his pocket saying he planned to die in the name of jihad, or Islamic holy war. The newspaper report identified one of three men detained in June as El Fahtni Noreddine. Dutch media identified one of 13 men arrested last week in connection with Van Gogh's murder as Nouredine El F., who shared an apartment with Bouyeri.
Police feared the men were planning an attack during the soccer tournament, Salvado said. About 1 million fans attended games at the three-week competition involving 16 national teams. Police officials were not immediately available Monday for comment. Salvado said "foreign intelligence services" wanted to keep the men under surveillance but Portuguese police feared they were preparing an attack on then-Prime Minister Jose Manuel Barroso and foreign dignitaries among the 700 people due to attend a gala dinner in Porto on June 11, the eve of the soccer tournament. Dutch officials said the three were deported back to the Netherlands on June 16 and June 21 by Portuguese authorities because there wasn't enough evidence to hold them. Salvado said he "couldn't take risks. Everything indicated they were preparing an attack," according to the newspaper.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/15/2004 11:03:27 AM ||
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An unidentified man tried to set himself on fire outside the White House fence midday Monday, witnesses said. Onlookers said the incident took place outside the Northwest gate. Uniformed Secret Service agents were seen rushing to surround the man, who had graying hair and glasses. He was heard screaming in pain. Television cameras captured the aftermath. Smoke hung in the air around the man as paramedics rushed to provide aid. The man appeared to be clutching his hand in pain, but it was unclear how serious his burns were. A spokesman for the District of Columbia Fire Department said the man suffered burns over about 30 percent of his body. What a loser - he even farked this up. UPDATE:
A bearded man shouting "Allah" was injured while apparently setting fire to his belongings outside the White House today and was quickly subdued by Secret Service guards. A Reuters reporter saw the man try to present a manila envelope to guards near a Secret Service post on Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington. Moments later, a plume of smoke rose above the guard post, while two guards wrestled the man to the ground and a third extinguished flames that engulfed his briefcase and overcoat a few metres away. The man, who appeared to suffer from a burn to his right hand, groaned and repeatedly shouted "Allah", as guards held him on the ground. The area was cordoned off and fire trucks and ambulances arrived on the scene. Neither the Secret Service nor the White House offered immediate comment on the incident, and the man was not identified. Via Drudge, who also reports the tourists from Florida videotaped the incident and gave the tape to the Secret Service.
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/15/2004 2:31:03 PM ||
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#5
I wonder what he accomplished other than confirm the idea that there is an insular group of pacifist nut-cases who don't understand the WoT, and have no real contact with anyone who does.
"A bearded man shouting "Allah" was injured while apparently setting fire to his belongings outside the White House on Monday and was quickly subdued by Secret Service guards.
A Reuters reporter saw the man try to present a Manila envelope to guards near a Secret Service post on Pennsylvania Avenue outside the White House West Wing.
Moments later, a plume of smoke rose above the guard post while two guards wrestled the man to the ground and a third extinguished flames that engulfed his briefcase and overcoat a few feet (metres) away.
The man, who appeared to suffer from a burn to his right hand, groaned and repeatedly shouted "Allah," as guards held him to the ground."
#10
Yeah, Shipman, the Buddhist monks immolated themselves; these potatoheads just singe themselves a little.
This has got to be one of the lamest protests ever, right up there with the "I'm Sorry, World" dweebs.
Posted by: Carl in N.H. ||
11/15/2004 16:38 Comments ||
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#11
the Reuters wording doesn't make it sound like he set himself on fire. It sounds more like his briefcase and overcoat, several meters away, were on fire and his hand got burned.
#14
Those secret service lads are better guys then I am. I would've just front kicked the fool away from me. Self combust on the street asshole, no since getting my hands crispy.
#16
There was video footage on CBS. The Guards were most definatley NOT wrestling him to the ground. They were kneeling next to him trying to help. It appeared he was burned on the right hand as well as part of his face. He almost made an ash of himself.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
11/15/2004 21:21 Comments ||
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#17
And most tourists just take a picture...
Posted by: Rafael ||
11/15/2004 22:55 Comments ||
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Hat Tips Hannity/Drudge
National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, one of President Bush's closest counselors, will be nominated to replace Colin Powell as secretary of state, ABC News has learned. Senior administration sources confirmed that Rice would be Bush's choice. The news comes just hours after the White House announced Powell had submitted his resignation. Rice has served as national security adviser since Bush first took office. The new post comes as a sort of birthday present for Rice, who turned 50 on Sunday. Rice was the first female U.S. national security adviser. If confirmed by the Senate, she would be only the second woman and second African-American to be appointed secretary of state.
Born in Birmingham, Ala., Rice graduated from the University of Denver when she was just 19 years old. She went on to pursue her doctorate. In 1981 she began teaching at Stanford University, where she later served as provost. In 1989, the first President Bush's national security adviser, Brent Scowcroft, helped convince her to leave Stanford and work for him in Washington. She quickly became one of George H.W. Bush's most trusted advisers. Colin Powell was a good leader and very conciliatory... Now, secure in his second term, he choses his good-right-hand to take care of some "take no prisoners" problems with "Old Europe" and elsewhere...
#2
Condi should clean house like Goss is doing. Kick out every friggin one of the Clintonistas and bring in some fresh blood. I bet she sails through the lame duck Senate.
#3
Oh murgatroyd! Can you imagine what would happen if Dick Cheney decided to resign "for health reasons", say about 1.5 years before the end of his term, and Condi was made VP? To say that "hilarity would ensue" would be an understatement. I bet nearly every democrat would vote against her, then spend the next year trying to force everybody to rationalize their vote away.
#4
Lay down a couple of rules, fast. No more sub rosa dissing of the Bush admin and winking to European counterparts about what a madman/idiot/zealot Bush is. No more leaks and stunts with Vanity Fair or the NYT.
And any Europe- or mideast-based senior Foreign Service staffer who will not begin to speak up for and publicly champion the admin's policies will be reassigned to sub-saharan Africa or the Andes.
LOOKING for a cause with a difference? Adopt a sniper. A Texas police SWAT officer is running a charity for frontline snipers in Iraq and Afghanistan, supplying everything from baby wipes to body armour. The brainchild of Port Arthur detective and police sniper Brian Sain, Adopt a Sniper (www.adoptasniper.org) has raised thousands of dollars in cash and gear to supplement the kit of sharp shooters in up to 75 US combat platoons. "Being aware that police snipers often face the same logistical problems as their military counterparts, I assumed correctly that they were doing without things they needed to get their jobs done," Mr Sain said.
He contacted US military sniper schools and began sending supplies, tailored to the needs of each sniper, in January. "People from every walk of life are helping. Once the word got out that a group of policemen was helping the military and inviting civilian assistance, it really took off," he said.
Some US soldiers deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan spend their own money to supplement equipment issued by the military. "Snipers need gear that is different than the average airman, marine, sailor, or soldier," Mr Sain told Reuters via e-mail. "When the snipers desperately need mission specific gear ... we just try and fill that void."
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#3
I just donated some bucks to them. I hope others will follow - there are plenty of other similar causes as well! Does anyone know of ways to donate to the Poles and other folks in Iraq?
A television pool report by U.S. network NBC said on Monday that a U.S. Marine had shot dead an unarmed and wounded Iraqi prisoner in a mosque in Falluja. The Iraqi was one of five wounded prisoners left in the mosque after Marines had fought their way in on Friday and Saturday. There was no immediate comment from the Pentagon on the report.
U.S. forces launched an offensive one week ago on Falluja, and have gained overall control of the formerly rebel-held city, although scattered resistance remains. The pool report by NBC correspondent Kevin Sites said the mosque had been used by insurgents to attack U.S. forces, who stormed it and an adjacent building, killing 10 militants and wounding the five. Sites said the wounded had been left in the mosque for others to pick up and move to the rear for treatment. No reason was given why that had not happened.
A second group of Marines entered the mosque on Saturday after reports it had been reoccupied. Footage from the embedded television crew showed the five still in the mosque, although several appeared to be already close to death, Sites said. He said one Marine noticed one of the prisoners was still breathing. A Marine can be heard saying on the pool footage provided to Reuters Television: "He's fucking faking he's dead. He faking he's fucking dead." "The Marine then raises his rifle and fires into the man's head. The pictures are too graphic for us to broadcast," Sites said. No images of the shooting were shown in the footage provided to Reuters.
The report said the Marine, who had returned to duty after being shot in the face a day earlier, had been removed from the field and was being questioned by the U.S. military. Sites said the shot prisoner "did not appear to be armed or threatening in any way."
#4
OK, so what if he popped a terrorist? Anyone see the video of the beheadings or the bodies hanging from the bridge? Seems that wasn't "too graphic" for broadcast on Al Jiz. Of course this is jumping to the conclusion that the Marine shot him in cold blood and didn't feel threatened.
#5
DU is all over this, as can be expected. Injured guy, shot in a freaking mosque. The backlash from this is going to be worse than the Abu Ghraib silliness.
#6
Excepting the question of what orders the Marines were operating under, I don't see what the issue is. It certainly wasn't a violation of the Geneva Conventions, since the conventions don't apply to the terrorists.
The press should -- but of course won't -- let this alone so the military can deal with it.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
11/15/2004 19:12 Comments ||
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#7
Concern about suicide bombers. The Marines know about suicide bombers and a causualty they thought was dead started moving. Could have easily been a suicide bomber going for the explosives trigger. Also, in the same story, they showed the aftermath of one booby trapped body that killed 1 Marine and wounded 5.
Posted by: ed ||
11/15/2004 19:16 Comments ||
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#8
SOD: you're right but they won't STFU. They won't because they have no clue how bad they lost in the election. They're still convinced they matter. Fox gets it. They run the story and do it right. If they try for another Abu Ghraib with this one it'll only add to the perception that they're just shills.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
11/15/2004 19:18 Comments ||
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#9
Shit happens, that's war. If anyone had any idea on how many Jap/Nkorean/Chinese/VC/NVA pow's we whacked in our other respective wars the LLL's would do a circus flip and want to throw 80 yr old vet's into jail. I'm not saying it's right it just is what it is. War's a fucked up surreal experience. So Fuck the DU. Monday morning quarterbacking pussies. I'm so glad we didn't have the 24 hr MSM news cycle back in 1942, we'd of never made it to Iwo or Normandy.
#10
My guess is that the guy had been up walking around, before the marines got there. Someone spotted the terrorist, and reported the mosque was reoccupied. When the Marines showed up, he played dead. Who knows how many lives were saved by shooting this scumbag.
#11
Robert Crawford. I'm with you on the Geneva Convention.That's why the Corps. will court martial the juggie,fine him a dollar,and send him home.No kidding.
#12
Sites said the shot prisoner "did not appear to be armed or threatening in any way."
Did not appear... what the hell does that mean?
Perhaps the terrorist had a gun or explosives under him where the Sites could not see? Did Sites ask the marine why? Did he (Sites) refuse to report it?
Of course the MSM will be all over this jumping to conclusions with banner headlines for weeks and then bury what really happened on page c-47 lower lefthand corner small print...
#13
I just got through watching Harddick with Chris "LLL" Mathews and he was surprise looking for a excuse to blame the Marine. BTW, he had Left Wing Colonel, essentially, to justify his leaning.
#14
This is what I demand to hear..."...After further review, the board has determined that Marine- - has acted within the rules of engagement and in fear of his safety and life; and that of his fellow soldiers. No additional action is warranted, and Marine - - is hearby ordered to return to duty!!".
#16
does anyone think the terrorist would have cared about killing the marine ? By the way, ain't that why they went there in the first place. I say give the man a medal.
#17
methinks Mr. Sites better watch his six, the Marines won't be watching it for him
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/15/2004 19:58 Comments ||
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#18
All right, it's time for this embedded crap to end. If the news outlets are going to just start shrieking at the first sign of anything that THEY think is unusual, then it's not worth the trouble of bringing them along.
#20
Why do I have this aching desire to punch Mr. Sites of NBC?
Posted by: Mark Z. ||
11/15/2004 20:34 Comments ||
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#21
Let me make this real personal. My Gos Son is a Marine. He is shipping out early next year. If he were in that room and faced with that situation, I would hope he would shoot first and check second.
These prissy reporters don't seem to understand that this combat against a ravenous, immoral enemy. There are no rules!
#25
The way I understand it one group of Marine stook the mosque and left five wounded. Another group was supposed to bring the wounded out so they could get medical attention. A third group arrived and saw the wounded guys, and from his comments didn't know they were previously captured and thought that at least one was faking being dead.
The guy who did the shooting was wounded in the face a day before so he might be a little touchy if that was the trick used to blast him.
My gut instinct from the report I read is that the guy will be cleared, and if the Arabs and Islamoids complain we can mention that the Marine failed to chop the man's head off while he was still alive so they should shut the hell up and let our internal judicial system deal with it.
5 deaders and 5 wounded were left in a moskkk the day before - the site was considered neutralized - and the wounded were, by obvious implication, left to die or whatever.
Next day activity is noted at the moskkk (people seen moving around) and it's unclear whether there was any fire coming out. Then the Marines send another patrol to check it out. And the video picks up from there.
Leading with a couple of grenades would've been my inclination - these guys are gutsier and more hardened than that - they do the face-to-face thingy without hesitation - as the video showed. If they had been more chicken, like me, there would be no issue. Having to pay for their bravery and direct approach sucks beyond belief. Hesitation often kills, and suicide / booby-trapped jihadis is common knowledge among the troops, so he did The Right Thing, in urban warfare ROE, I believe. I hope someone with big brass and big stones stands up for this man when he stands before the other man at JAG.
#27
My opinions are, as usual, mixed. BUT NOT FLIP-FLOPPING! >:D
On the one hand, the description of the exact moments ("Heâs fucking faking heâs dead. He faking heâs fucking dead," followed by an immediate shot) aren't flattering when it comes to his self-discipline, IMO. On the other hand, hesitation already got a Marine killed when terrorists in Falluja disguised themselves as Iraqi National Guardsmen to ambush Marines, so it makes sense both subjectively and objectively.
My verdict: An unfortunate incident, but acceptable. Make a note of it on his file, and put him back on the frontlines -- preferably in heavy combat where this won't be an issue and the reporters will be too busy pissing themselves to write such fluff.
Posted by: Edward Yee ||
11/15/2004 22:01 Comments ||
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#28
.com: On the one hand, the description of the exact moments ("Heâs fucking faking heâs dead. He faking heâs fucking dead," followed by an immediate shot) aren't flattering when it comes to his self-discipline, IMO.
Don't really see that. The guy's scared out of his mind that the guerrilla is going to trip his explosive belt using his elbow, his fingers, whatever - and has a split second to react. I'm surprised he acted so fast. I would have been frozen a little longer.
#30
no uniform = killed dead and shot a couple more times. Grenade's ok - flamethrower preferred, but messy
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/15/2004 22:32 Comments ||
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#31
Using the mosque for cover in the first place, as these unlawful combatants were clearly doing, is an unambiguous war crime. The Marine was serving summary judgment. Case closed.
How depraved is the LLL?
Well, their moral equivalency flying monkeys are all over this one.
To even get close to moral equivalency, the Marines would have to have dragged this guy into the street, cut off his head with a rusty bayonet, and posted video of the proceedings on their unit website.
To fully reach moral equivalency, however, they would have to torture him into identifying his completely innocent relatives, then behead the relatives and use the video in a recruiting ad.
#33
Why won't the news orgs embed themselves with the terrorists? They would get better quality footage by far.
Oh and, give this Marine a medal.
Posted by: Rafael ||
11/15/2004 22:51 Comments ||
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#34
Where were the mass-media cries over the jihadists beheadings, burnings and scores of suicide bombers all directed at fellow Americans. We are in a war against terrorists.
The liberal media would rather attack the U.S. armed forces then the enemy because they are ticked off over Kerry getting beaten by the American voters placing Bush back in the White House.
This is whom we fight, Islamic terrorists.
Who is the leftist media fighting?
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
11/15/2004 23:06 Comments ||
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#35
Hey, we should give Kevin Sites a break on this. He seems to have reported what he saw. This guy has balls of brass and is hardly anti-military. In Afghanistan he saved some lives with his quick thinking. The SF guys said so in "The Hunt For Bin Laden." Also, his blog, www.kevinsites.com, is pretty good. I think there are numerous mitigating circumstances, but shouldn't we allow for the possibility that this kid did a bad thing?
Posted by: Tibor ||
11/15/2004 23:22 Comments ||
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#36
Somehow, I'm not quite as willing to give him a break when I read stuff like this at Kevin Sites blog:
So in some ways, embedded in this unit, I begin to feel I've betrayed the people that depend on me to be skeptical; to question the dominant powers and institutions of my nation and the actions it undertakes in the name of its citizens. I am not a military or American cheerleader, not a mouthpiece signed on to some institutional agenda whether I believe in it or not. I am here to ask the hard questions of the people who make the hardest decisions; ones that result in people dying or people being killed. I must remember as one journalist advised, "write in your notepad every day 'I am not one of them.'"
Posted by: A Jackson ||
11/15/2004 23:42 Comments ||
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#37
a good take - caught at LGF:
If the Marine was right that the Iraqi was feigning death, or if he drew a reasonable inference of the same, then shooting the wounded man first and asking questions later might well have been the correct thing to do. War is not like police work where an officer has a duty not to kill unless he absolutely has to. A soldierâs duty is to kill every enemy he can who is not actively trying to surrender. Feigning death is not trying to surrender, and a fighter in such circumstances could very well inflict terrible damage. Some of the fighters in Fallujah have been strapped with suicide bomber belts. In this circumstance, any covert activity, like feigning death, would seem to call for instant death.
Of course there may be more to the story. Maybe standing orders addressing such situations demand forbearance. Maybe both of the fighterâs hands were already blown off and surreptitious action was clearly impossible. NBC reports that the âprisonerâ (I have to put that in quotes) âdid not appear to be armed or threatening in any way,â but appearances can be deceiving. If the Marine detected deceit, then acting on the presumption that appearances ARE deceiving seems warranted. It is certainly not obvious that the Marine acted wrongly, never mind criminally.
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/15/2004 23:45 Comments ||
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#38
Yet that, the police officer version as commonly understood by Jo Avg American with all its restraints thanks to TV and movies, is the one being subtly presented by the media thus far - implying automatic guilt. And Kevin Site's comments were the starting point and provided the cover.
Yo, Kevin, this isn't NYPD Blue, jerkoff - you should apologize for your statements - erroneously based upon idiotic assumptions in a war zone. Apologize or be forever associated with the Rather SeeBS New Yellow Times genre of asshat MSMism.
#39
Why would one of the Marines exclaim, not once but twice, that this dude was faking? I think the Marines were briefed beforehand on exactly this type of scenario. In such a situation, and in these exact cicrumstances, what other action could be taken except to shoot the f%cking faker in the head?
I could see it now: "This guy is faking!" "Ok, cordon off the area! Call the negotiators! Send in the robot! Bomb sniffing dogs!!"
Posted by: Rafael ||
11/16/2004 0:05 Comments ||
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There have been at least three separate clashes between armed Arab factions in the Palestinian Authority (PA) just since the death of PLO leader Yasser Arafat last week.
These may be the first signs that previously sporadic battles are set to take a much more violent turn.
Last Thursday, for example, rival factions in PA-controlled Jericho were involved in street battles, with an unspecified number of persons taken to the hospital. Today, the PA city of Kalkilye was the scene of gun battles between rival terrorist groups. Preliminary reports indicated that a number of people were wounded in the clashes.
Yesterday, PA officials announced that a general election will be held on January 9th. In addition, the Fatah council announced that Abu Mazen will be the only candidate, seeking to eliminate the threat of competing against Marwan Barghouti and others who are setting their sights on the PA leadership role.
Barghouti is currently serving consecutive life sentences in Israeli prison for his involvement in terrorist attacks.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
11/15/2004 2:49:51 PM ||
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#1
One photo of the meltdown in Post-Arafat-Land
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
11/15/2004 14:51 Comments ||
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#2
"Meltdown: Rival Gangs Violently Vie For Control In PA"
Whew. Until I read the body of the article, I thought this was going on right here in Philadelphia.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
11/15/2004 15:00 Comments ||
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#3
"Abu Mazen will be the only candidate"
'nuff said.
#6
Re: #3 Could one of the esteemed Rantbugarians please explain to me this concept of one candidate elections? Since I'm a member of the red-necked idiots club (despite living in the most blue of states)I'm not sure how this works. Since there's only one choice do they just pre-mark the ballots? Is there a "None of the above" line? Or do they use "Diebold" machines?
Actually i think they meant one Fatah party candidate, which would rule out Bargouti, Dahlan, Abu Alaa, etc. There will be at least one independent running, and Hamas might run, if they dont decide to boycott. And Bargouti may yet run anyway.
#8
LH, if I can add that Fatah controls the money and infrastructure so whatever person they nominate, will be the defacto President. This is of course contingent on 'fair' elections again controlled by Fatah. The PA un Ambassador was pleading for Israeli and U.S. help conduct elections in 60 days. What he really wants is someone to keep the thugs down (or kill them) so they can legitimize the next terror leader.
#10
Yeah, CS, I look forward to da elecshun of Da Mayuh. The arrangement you describe is just fine wit me, as a former denizen of the town that extends from West Rogers Park to the Far South Side.
If its the election of cook county democractic chairman PLO Central Committee Chairman Abu Mazen, supported by ward boss gaza strongman Mo Dahlan, against naive good government types Hamas and others, thats a GOOD result
#13
Who cares which one is running for Fatah, Hamas, etc.? all of their "leaders" have bloodied their hands in terrorism. None of them recognizes Israel's unconditional right to exist.
So as long they are killing each other, works fine with me.
#14
didn't we have a futures on the possibility of a paleo civil war? Sheesh...wish I could have put some money on that sure thing.
I feel for the paleo people. Arafat is directly responsible for their miserable "society". If this helps them to realize it is their own leaders and not the Jews who are responsible for their plight -then something good will come out of this impending nightmare.
#17
Dave D. You think that's bad, I just moved to Pennsylvania from Palo Alto. And all they want to write about in the paper around here is JOE PA.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
11/15/2004 18:49 Comments ||
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#18
Fred - pass the popcorn please. :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
11/15/2004 19:21 Comments ||
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#19
I love Krauthammer's point: the MSM and the "world community" mourn the passing of the great nationalist leader, Arafat. The MSM and the "world community" urge Bush to seize the opportunity for progress represented by the passing of the great nationalist leader, Arafat.
#20
Two street battles and no deaths? Bomb-a-rama,these idiots aren't capable of killing themselves unless they strap on the tnt. When they start booming themselves,then I'll know they're serious.
Posted by: Stephen ||
11/15/2004 21:53 Comments ||
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Tourist operators say violence in Thailand's Muslim south has scared away Malaysian tourists who usually flock across the border to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr holiday that ends the fasting month of Ramadan. Malaysians, long the largest group of foreign visitors to Thailand, have shunned bomb-hit Sungai Kolok, a town known for its night life.
That's part of the plan, can't have the Malaysian muslims seeing people having fun. Might give them ideas.
Last month, a bomb exploded on a bar strip in Sungai Kolok, a weekend getaway, killing a Malaysian man and a Thai woman and wounding dozens other. A blast on the same strip wounded 28 Malaysians and Thais in March. Tourist operators say the number of Malaysians crossing to Sungai Kolok has dropped to less than 150 a day now from 1,500 a day last year.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
11/15/2004 1:55:43 PM ||
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KADENA AIR BASE, Okinawa — When it's too dangerous for humans to fly over terrain on reconnaissance missions, a team of airmen from the 320th Special Tactics Squadron are using ravens to do the job. Mechanical "Ravens," to be exact. The $40,000, four-pound flying cameras, with wing spans of 36 inches, were recently put through their paces at a tactical and live-bombing range in Lop Buri, Thailand. They passed with flying colors, according to the airmen who honed their skills flying the remote-controlled "eyes in the sky" last week.
According to a 353rd Special Operations Group news release, which did not identify the operators by name, each Raven has a camera mounted in its nose, and the live feed provides the operators with battlefield intelligence and can give ground force commanders up-to-the-second data for several miles. They also can be flown in the dark, using the camera's night-vision capability. "The utility for a Special Tactics Team is tremendous," said one operator.
The Ravens extend the ground controllers' vision over ridgelines, giving them the ability to find the enemy without exposing their own position. The Ravens also are used for search and rescue operations in hostile environments, like steep mountains and cliffs. And their ability to do remote battlefield assessments make them useful tools in battling terrorism, according to the news release. The battery-operated mechanical birds are designed to collapse upon impact so the camera is protected from the blow, according to the news release.
Each operator goes through a week's training in Yuma, Ariz., getting hands-on experience that includes putting the birds together and performing flight operations, landings and maintenance.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/15/2004 11:32:50 AM ||
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#3
Thailand: beautiful place, beautiful people. Hope to go back again. Most people go south but the north is much more rural. Khon Kaen, beautiful. Wonderful culture.
Armed pirates hit Indonesia oil port three times in a week, attacks may be linked to terrorism. (From Friday but may not have ben covered)
Armed pirates have struck three times in a week at one of Indonesia's main oil exporting ports, prompting the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) to issue a strong warning to shipping in the area.
The ocean crime watchdog said Friday that an oil tanker, a bulk carrier and a container ship were targeted at Balikpapan, with one of the attacks resulting in a crew member being taken hostage.
The latest attacks came as Asian governments tried to step up action to counter growing violence at sea amid concerns that some incidents could have links to global terrorism.
Some security experts say there is growing evidence linking ship piracy and terrorism, and they warn that radical Islamist groups could attack an oil tanker, port, or strategic waterway like the Malacca Straits with severe consequences.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
11/15/2004 8:07:54 AM ||
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#1
A few surplus Mark-I .50's should take care of this crap...
#4
Who has primary responsibility for combatting piracy on the high seas? My understanding is that it's a huge problem in Asia. And potentially even larger. Obviously, at some point the jihadists will figure out how to use it to their advantage.
#5
This topic has already been covered a few times here at Rantburg. Indonesia and Malaysia both regard any American augmenting of their naval elements as a threat to their national sovereignty.
At some point, the overall piracy and terrorism threat is going to null out their objections. Merely sinking a single supertanker in the Malacca Straits could heavily damage the entire East Asian economic sphere. There have already been incidents where pirates commandeered a large maritime vessle only to "practice" piloting the helm for several hours before abandoning it. A single hijacked liquified natural gas supertanker could yield the same explosive equivalent of a small nuclear device.
Southeast Asia's protestations vis sovereignty cannot be permitted to override security concerns for the entire region.
#7
Phil I'm pretty ignorant of such matters but I still find scenarios where LNG tankers don't explode credible. Every safe docking and delivery to me is a seeming miracle.
#8
"At some point, the overall piracy and terrorism threat is going to null out their objections."
This maybe true, but I cant imagine Indonesia letting in US forces anywhere near Indonesia - there are still bad memories from the Suharto-era. Only a major attack would force the Indon Gov't to face up to the problem and ask for foreign western assistance.
#9
Wonder how the Indonesians and Malaysians feel about the Indian Navy augmenting their efforts?
Re LNG tankers, I think the greater threat, assuming the jihadists have some clever economists in their ranks, would be the jihadists creating so much fear uncertainty and doubt regarding the contents of container cargo arriving at US ports that we would be forced to inspect many or most containers manually. This would undo the massive productivity gains made possible by just-in-time, automated loading of containers, perhaps shaving as much as one percentage point off of US GDP growth. A far bigger hit to our economy than 9/11.
#10
I happen to be researching, blocking the Malacca/Singapore Straits and other potential threats. Zenster is right that sinking a single supertanker in the right place would block the strait in one direction (and in practice in both directions because eastbound fully laden supertankers can't use the westbound channel. Its too shallow). There isn't enough surplus shipping to compensate for the extra time required to take alternate routes (Sunda strait) and other problems, e.g. a supertanker once it enters the strait (about 200 miles) can't turn around.
All in all it would be an economically hugely disruptive event. Certainly causing a global recession.
Otherwise, the Indons would probably welcome blocking the strait as the only alternate routes are wholly in their territorial waters.
#12
This maybe true, but I cant imagine Indonesia letting in US forces anywhere near Indonesia - there are still bad memories from the Suharto-era.
Are you kidding? The new Head of State - former General Yudhoyono - is a graduate of the US Army Command and General Staff College, as well as the US Airborne and Ranger schools - and holds a Masters Degree from Webster University. Regionally, his ties to the American military are probably second only those of former Philippines President Fidel Ramos - who graduated from West Point.
Now, with that said, President Yudhoyono must still play to his domestic constituency - and he is unlikely to be inclined to play the lackey. But - the US has its best chance in years to work closely with the Indonesian government.
A top Iraqi military leader today praised coalition efforts to free Fallujah of terrorists and insurgent fighters. During a meeting in Fallujah Nov. 14, Gen. Babakir Zebari, chief of the Iraqi Military Staff, thanked U.S. Army Gen. John Abizaid, commander of the U.S. Central Command, and U.S. Marine Lt. Gen. John Sattler, commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, on "their success in the area of Fallujah." Coalition forces and Iraqi military units have been fighting for almost two weeks in Fallujah to exterminate anti-Iraqi forces using the city as a sanctuary. The name given to the operation is Al Fajr, which means "Dawn" in English. "This is a step in the right direction. ⊠I want to thank the U.S. generals for helping us to coordinate the battle and inviting us to participate in the operation," Zebari said.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
11/15/2004 3:56:13 PM ||
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Islamic Jihad and Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade leaders in the West Bank have said they will unilaterally cease all attacks in Israel proper for a 60 day period until the Palestinian Authority's elections on January 9th. This will be tough to hold between rival death cultists
Hamas has not joined in the Fatah-led ceasefire, said its spokesman Sami Zuhri Monday evening. Hamas needs to stay in practice so we can only hope they bump each other off in great amounts.
The move comes a day after Fatah militants opened fire towards Yasser Arafat's likely successor, PLO secretary general Mahmoud Abbas, during a memorial service for the former leader on Sunday.
Abu Khaled, an Islamic Jihad leader in Nablus stated Monday that " we [Islamic Jihad] will abstain (Jihad version of Lent)from attacks on targets inside Israel during the 60 day period [leading up to elections for PA chairman] so that we will not be accused of sabotaging the democratic process inside Palestine.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
11/15/2004 2:35:07 PM ||
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#1
And on the 10th, no doubt their "activities" will resume.
The leader of a militant group involved in beheading hostages and other attacks has been arrested and the group was broken up, Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said Monday. Allawi identified the group as Jaish Muhammad, Arabic for Muhammad's Army. The group "has been arrested ... We arrested their leader," Allawi said, identifying him as Moayad Ahmed Yasseen, also known as Abu Ahmed. Muhammad's Army was known to have cooperated with Jordanian terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and al-Qaida and Saddam loyalists and was responsible for killing and beheading a number of Iraqis, Arabs and foreigners in Iraq, Allawi said. "They were planning to destroy Fallujah...by blowing up important positions," he said. "They have extensions abroad that I cannot talk about now." Allawi did not say how many members of the group were captured or what kidnappings the group has been involved in.
"I can say no more."
The militant group was arrested during U.S.-led military operations in Fallujah, the television station said. Allawi also said officials had arrested members of another group, whom he did not name. He said they have been detained and will be interrogated. The U.S. military has said in the past that Jaish Mohammed appears to be an umbrella group for former intelligence agents, army, security officials, and Baath Party members.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/15/2004 2:06:24 PM ||
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Off with their heads!!
They wouldn't be Iranian by chance?
Posted by: Capt America ||
11/15/2004 16:16 Comments ||
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They were planning to destroy Fallujah...by blowing up important positions,"
Insurgents set fire to a storage tank at an oil pumping station along Iraq's main export pipeline to Turkey on Monday, witnesses said.
Witnesses said they also attacked four oil wells west of Kirkuk, setting them ablaze.
Reuters television pictures showed huge flames and thick black smoke pouring into the air at the pumping station about 40 kilometres south-west of Mosul, in Iraq's far north.
Officials said last week that the line was pumping at about 500,000 barrels per day, but officials at Iraq's Northern Oil Company would not comment on pumping rates on Monday.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
11/15/2004 12:34:31 PM ||
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11/15/2004 12:42 Comments ||
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Posted by: Howard UK ||
11/15/2004 10:22 Comments ||
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#3
Thanks for posting this, OS. I noticed that, according to the notes surrounding the photo, it has not yet been released (meaning, I suppose, that the press has not yet requested it for publication). No surprise there.
#6
eLarson's absolutely correct! It was VERY neatly written! The Marines are, after all, MASTERS of communication! True, much of it is non-verbal, but they always manage to get their point across.
November 15, 2004: American and Iraqi troops entered Mosul to battle some 500 gang members who attacked and destroyed six police stations, and ran wild in Sunni parts of the city. Only armed Kurds resisted the Sunni Arab gunmen. The gangs also killed the head of the organized crime effort in Mosul.
Mohammad al-Capone: "I want this guy dead! I want his family dead! I want his house burned to the ground! I want to go there in the middle of the night and piss on his ashes!"
Seeing what is happening in Fallujah, where gang headquarters have been captured and cleaned out of weapons and other gear, the Mosul groups apparently see themselves threatened and forced to fight. The gangs are better armed, paid and led than the police, and have fewer restrictions on who they can kill, torture or kidnap.
al-Capone: "You can get further with a kind word and a gun than you can with just a kind word."
This is particularly true in the Sunni Arab areas of central and western Iraq. In the Kurdish areas to the north, and the Shia Arab region in the south, where most of the population lives, the police have established and maintained control. The battles in Fallujah, Mosul, Ramadi, Samarra and other Sunni cities is mainly about breaking the power of the gangs. While some of the gangs are political, most are business enterprises, and the government offensive over the last week has been bad for business.
In Fallujah, some 1,200 gunmen have been killed and another 400 captured. About 50 American and Iraqi troops have died. Several hundred gunmen are trapped inside the city, and refuse to surrender, so far. American troops continue to hunt these holdouts, but expect that to be done with in a few days.
"You wanna know how you do it? Here's how, they pull a knife, you pull a gun tank. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one a hundred of his to the morgue! That's the Chicago Fallujah way, and that's how you get al-Capone!"
Posted by: Steve ||
11/15/2004 9:21:26 AM ||
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thanks for the post - the MSM has been bizarrely silent about the NUMBER of insurgents on the loose in Mosul. 500 would seem to be manageable. Seems like the only forces there were the IP, no ING or US troops - is this so? ANd all non-Kurdish IP have fled the Sunni areas, more or less. Though there are reports that police stations have been recaptured but by whom? Kurdish IP or ING? Kurdish party militias? Americans?
Soon this should be an opportunity to cordon off the Sunni sections, kill the 500 insurgents, and destroy more arms caches.
FALLUJAH, Iraq, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- U.S. troops bombarded an underground bunker complex in Fallujah Monday in the second week of fighting to rout Iraqi insurgents, CNN reported. The targeted complex had entranceways large enough to drive trucks into and steel-enforced tunnels in the southern part of the city. Various reports said the complex was used by insurgents to store weapons, ammunition, food and medical supplies.
Sounds like they were using one of Sammy's old bunkers.
As army and Marine units battled block-by-block, bodies of Saudi, Jordanian and Palestinian nationals were found littering the streets. In some cases, it was deemed too risky to retrieve the bodies, some of which were being gnawed by dogs, the BBC reported.
A fitting end, don't ya think?
The U.S. military said it has killed about 1,200 militants, while 38 U.S. soldiers have been killed and 275 wounded in the offensive on the city. Six Iraqi government troops have also died. Meanwhile, the Iraqi Red Crescent aid society said there was a desperate need for food, clean water and medical supplies, as hundreds of civilians were still hiding in their houses. U.S. military officials have said they will coordinate the flow of aid into the city.
UPDATE: FALLUJAH, Iraq -- US forces dropped a pair of 2,000-pound bombs early yesterday morning on a bunker complex believed to be an insurgent training facility on the southern edge of this city, where the most dedicated and best trained rebel fighters are making a last stand. The bombs shook the ground of the former insurgent stronghold and set off secondary explosions that went on for 45 minutes but could not be seen above ground, persuading officers of the Army's First Infantry Division that there were large stockpiles of weapons underground.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/15/2004 8:50:32 AM ||
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#1
UPI has "bodies of Saudi, Jordanian and Palestinian nationals were found littering the streets" but the NYT can't find bodies. Maybe the NYT reporters need to get out of the hotel bar in Baghdad.
Posted by: Tom ||
11/15/2004 9:17 Comments ||
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#2
A fitting end, don't ya think?
I would've preferred pigs, but any four-legged beast feasting on dead terrorist flesh will do.
#5
how can you tell the difference between Saudi, Jordanian and Palestinian bodies?
Perhaps the Saudi bodies are clothed in white, gold-trimmed robes, while the Palestinians are in hand-me-down t-shirts supporting Israel's Maccabee soocer team and ski masks?
#9
"...persuading officers of the Army's First Infantry Division that there were large stockpiles of weapons underground..."
No Chit
Posted by: Capt America ||
11/15/2004 16:18 Comments ||
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Umm... so how much was stored in the bunker that it would take 45 minutes to finish cooking off?
Must've been one helluva stockpile. The only way that anyone down there is going to come out will be as bags containing carbon labeled, "human remains".
FALLUJA, Iraq, Nov. 14 - American forces overran the last center of rebel resistance in Falluja on Sunday after a weeklong invasion that smashed what they called the principal base for the Iraqi insurgency.
American commanders said 38 American servicemembers had been killed and 275 wounded in the Falluja assault, and the commanders estimated that 1,200 to 1,600 insurgents - about half the number thought to have been entrenched in Falluja - had been killed. But there was little evidence of dead insurgents in the streets and warrens where some of the most intense combat took place.
Now, who's saying that? The commanders or the writer? My bet is on the writer.
The absence of insurgent bodies in Falluja has remained an enduring mystery. Roaming American patrols found few on Sunday in their sweeps of the devastated landscape where the rebels chose to make their last stand, the southern Falluja neighborhood called Shuhada by the Iraqis and Queens by the American troops.
Posted by: Damn_Proud_American ||
11/15/2004 12:55:07 AM ||
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#1
Btw, I got this article from drudge and his link to it was as follows:
"As many as 1,600 insurgents in Fallujah were killed so rapidly that streets were littered with 'alarming' number of bodies... "
That seems to be the opposite of what the article states and now drudges link has been changed to point to drudgreport.com. It appears that the NY Time may have swapped out the article on him... or changed the text regarding bodies.
#6
that quisling nytimes writer dexter filkins wouldn't know a dead body from a deadline--the putz probably majored in islamic studies at al fookmeupmebum university in jedda
Posted by: SON OF TOLUI ||
11/15/2004 2:53 Comments ||
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#7
If there are so few dead bodies, then why have we read elsewhere that the locals are complaining about the stench?
#8
The Times failed in its dump Bush editorialising rampage, so this time around its going to be 'all the news that's fit to invent', direct from the handbook of CBS & Chief Dan Rather-not-speak-truth.
New York Times Building a few years back :)
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
11/15/2004 3:55 Comments ||
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#9
BBC online is saying 1200 is claimed by the US.
#10
I am not sure why they need to see and count bodies? After the debacle of body counts in Vietnam the military has always erred on the side of caution. Just because the reporteres aren't taken on a personal tour of the mourge, doesn't mean that there aren't 1200 dead. P.S. FUCK THE TIMES!
#14
Actually Filkins filed some interesting stories from Fallujah, even if you had to filter out some spin - it was better than the NYT usually is, though not as good as John Burns.
On the other hand an embed ONLY sees one sector of the battlefield, and it may well be that in Filkins sector there werent that many bodies in the streets. Note he mentions this phenomenon ONLY for Shuhada, NOT all of Fallujah. Of course reports ive seen might explain that by most insurgents being killed inside buildings, rather than in the streets.
#15
CyberSarge-
Make you wonder if the overriding reason for demanding a body count isn't so they can tear it apart later...
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
11/15/2004 9:36 Comments ||
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#16
Very true Crazyfool. But as long as there are people who can see it happening,(the MSM contradicting themselves) like the ones that read this blog, the MSM will continue to delcine.
#17
I think LH has it. The combat area in Fallujah covers about 15 square miles. That equals 10,800 heavily built-up acres. With 1200 dead rats, that is just one carcass for every eight acres in an even distribution, even if none have been removed and they are all visible in the street. Of course, many have been removed, they are not all lying in the streets, and the distribution is not even. There must be large areas where no bodies at all are visible.
#18
get with "the times". The NYT is defunct. It matters less what they say than what The Globe or the Star say. They, like CBS, have proven to be a propaganda outlet. To fuss over whether or not they say one thing or another, is a silly waste of breath.
#19
The military really had it pounded home in Vietnam that there is no way to get good PR from pictures of bodies, no matter whose. So they have become expert at making bodies disappear. S.O.P. now is probably something like: 1) if uniformed, note location, body bag and ship out to Quartermaster unit. 2) if non-uniformed, take DNA, remove personal effects, body bag and ship to Quartermaster disposal site (mass grave.)
#21
Actually, Filkins is Muslim. Radical? Well, the Times hires nothing else. They ALL HATE America. It is time to exterminate it completely by taxing all advertisers 10 times the cost of any Times advertising.
#22
with the firepower being laid down by the military, there's often not much of a body to be seen. TOWs, 25 mike mike, coax, and tank rounds basically shred or incinerate bodies.
Posted by: Jeff ||
11/15/2004 12:02 Comments ||
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#23
Leaddog2,
I googled that Filkins got his BA in Florida and master's at Oxford, but found no reference he is a Muslim convert. Do you have a reference for that, or is that speculation?
Posted by: ed ||
11/15/2004 12:43 Comments ||
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That's the local branch of the Learned Elders of Islam. I find it disappointing that they only surrounded his house, rather than reducing it to rubble and killing everyone inside to include the butler and the cat.
Ahmad Abd al-Ghafur al-Samarrai, a member of the influential Iraqi Muslim body, told Aljazeera that the US forces had surrounded al-Dhari village "without justification" on Sunday. "US forces are carrying out random strikes and arrest operations," al-Samarrai said. Al-Dhari's house had been surrounded and stormed while an associate, Shaikh Abd al-Sattar, had been arrested, he added.
That's good. Hopefully the full color 8x10 glossies of him with ladies underwear on his head and a banana up his butt will be widely circulated...
US forces also surrounded al-Haswa and al-Iskandariya cities south of Baghdad, raided mosques and arrested three of their most prominent imams, the Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS) said in a statement. "The situation is very difficult," al-Samarrai said. "Cities are surrounded, US forces are heavily deployed in many areas in Iraq and helicopters are hovering over them. We don't know what they want."
Oh, go on! Make a guess!
"The Iraqis want nothing but to be liberated from occupation," he said. "They only want to be free people. However, US forces should never underestimate the Iraqis and their abilities."
Nor should the big turbans of the Learned Elders of Islam underestimate the Americans and their abilities.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/15/2004 10:05:40 PM ||
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"Nor should the big turbans of the Learned Elders of Islam underestimate the Americans and their abilities. "
#2
I know there are intricacies to this unknown to those of us not directly involved, but it's about time. These public faces of doomed Sunni chauvinism should have been put on ice long ago. Incitement should have been banned -- this is our Civil War times 10, not a nation-building field trip.
Subduing Fallujah will help, but to really impress Shi'a that the new boss won't be the old boss, some focused nastiness is in order. Get out those rosters of party/intel/mil/govt. employees in every Sunnis town/neighborhood of consequence, and provide them free room and board behind wire, indefinitely. Adapted for scale, do to every Sunni town what we did with Saddam's home village: isolate and ID/hound the male populace of concern.
The spirit and will of the Sunni community have to be broken -- only areas and individuals clearly playing ball excepted (and there are some). Wars (incl. civil wars) end because somebody loses, not because everyone decides to get along. Plenty of stupid challenges will remain, but forcing subordinate status on the Sunnis is a pre-condition for any progress on bigger issues.
#3
Amen, Verlaine - well put. And, just for al Dhari's benefit, there's nothing random at all about what the US does, little one. I think we're warming up the toaster.
Posted by: Curt Simon ||
11/15/2004 10:20 Comments ||
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#9
Wars (incl. civil wars) end because somebody loses, not because everyone decides to get along.
This is precisely why any ideas put forth by the current Iraqi leadership about accomodating or appeasing rebels, rebel sympathizers, and their terrorist allies gets ridiculed. Someone who isn't beaten, and doesn't feel they've been beaten will be inclined to soldier on until their will is broken.
#10
Wars (incl. civil wars) end because somebody loses, not because everyone decides to get along.
Insurgencies happen at two levels, the combat against the insurgents AND the folks who provide the insurgents the sea to swim in. You can kill all the insurgents, but you also need to come to SOME understanding with ENOUGH of the supporters to make any future insurgency marginal. (in the US Civil war, the conventional fighting was followed by occupation, and a KKK insurgency, which ended when the federal govt accommodated the white South politically) It will not be necessary to win over EVERY Sunni Arab, but it WILL be necessary to win over SOME of them. The Kharzai govt has pursued exactly that policy in Afghanistan, and the same will be necessary in Iraq.
Oh. Well. It was all wasted effort then, wasn't it? Never mind...
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, whose supporters had allegedly made Fallujah their base, and a militant cleric who was one of his top aides have escaped the US-led offensive on the city, Iraq's secretary of state for national security, Qassem Daoud, has said. "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and Abdullah Junabi have fled, leaving their supporters to taste death," he said.
"We are outta here! Feet, don't fail us now!"
US and Iraqi officials claimed that Zarqawi was holed-up in Fallujah and had given residents an ultimatum to hand him over or face attack.
They didn't, and we did...
Sunni clerics in the city repeatedly denied Zarqawi was in Fallujah.
"No, no! Certainly not!"
US and Iraqi officials provided no evidence that Zarqawi, who has a $US25 million bounty on his head, was in Fallujah.
So that means he wasn't there, right?
US forces launched numerous "precision" air strikes on targets in the city near Baghdad and claimed to have killed many Zarqawi associates before the all out assault on the city.
They never claimed to have killed him, though...
A rebel spokesman told Arab television station Al-Jazeera on Saturday that US forces were in an impasse in Fallujah, and denied the offensive had succeeded. "The announcement of the end of the military offensive is proof that American forces are in an impasse, the American criminals and the Iraqi apostates have suffered more than 150 killed and more than 270 wounded," said Abu Saad al-Dlimi.
We're all dead. Finished. Washed up. Our stomaches are roasting in hell.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/15/2004 10:13:30 PM ||
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"The announcement of the end of the military offensive is proof that American forces are in an impasse..."
Well, no. Actually, Saad, it's proof that you mooks got your turbaned asses seriously whipped - up, down and sideways - and there's not all that much left for the Marines to do in the rebel-zapping department. They'll be thinking of you, though. Sleep tight.
#5
Bomb, that's the MSM Meme du Jour. There always has to be a shortcut from thought for our overburdened MSM hacks. Can't have complexity or contrary memes, now.
Arab satellite television Al Jazeera says an Islamist group has freed two women relatives of Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi but is still holding his male cousin hostage.
That's the guy in his 70s. Takes real Islamic heroes to hold an old man like that...
The channel, which was quoting unidentified sources, gave no further details. Iraqi officials were not immediately available to confirm the report. A previously unknown Islamist group seized the prime minister's 75-year-old first cousin Ghazi Allawi along with Ghazi's wife and their daughter-in-law in Baghdad. The group threatened to kill them in 48 hours unless Iraq's interim Government called off the US-led assault on the rebel-held city of Fallujah and freed prisoners.
That worked well, didn't it?
The government said it would not be influenced by the abductions, which took place a day after Dr Allawi ordered a full-scale assault on Fallujah, which his Government and the US military say had become a haven for foreign Islamist fighters. Relatives of one of the kidnapped women, identified as Wasnaa Mohammed Jaafar Husseini, begged her captors to release her saying she was nine months pregnant.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/15/2004 10:29:29 PM ||
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I regret I have but one life to lose for my country.
Allawi should give his people a US history lesson.
A spokesman for the Falluja resistance says US forces are at an impasse in the city, and denies the US offensive against the town has succeeded.
"No, no! Certainly not! The Resistance is heroically repelling the invaders, mowing them down in drovers! Tell 'em, Mahmoud... Mahmoud?"
Speaking to Aljazeera by telephone on Saturday, the spokesman said the US military was suffering increasing numbers of casualties. "The announcement of the end of the military offensive is proof that American forces are in an impasse ... the American criminals and the Iraqi apostates have suffered more than 150 killed and more than 270 wounded," said Abu Saad al-Dlimi, spokesman of the Shura (consultative) Council of the Muhajidin in Falluja.
"Yeah! We're murderlizin' 'em! Their stomaches are roasting in hell! Tell 'em, Ahmed!... Ahmed?"
Earlier, US-backed Iraqi government officials pronounced the conclusion of a massive six-day US offensive on Falluja. "Today alone, young freedom fighters have been able to torch more than 12 [American military] vehicles," said the resistance spokesman, adding that the situation had not changed for the past three days. "US forces are still outside the [northwestern] Julan neighbourhood. US forces were not able to gain one metre of this district," Dlimi added.
"Dead! They're all dead! We slaughtered 'em all! Tell 'em, Mustafa!... Mustafa?"
"US forces are meeting with fierce resistance from inside Falluja districts ... and are surrounded. They are under missile and artillery fire," he said. A senior Iraqi official said earlier on Saturday that the battle to retake the city was over, with more than 1000 fighters killed, but that the country's most wanted man, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, had fled.
"Youse guyz keep fighting! I'm gonna go get help! (Curly-toed slippers, don't fail me now!)"
"Operation Fajr (Dawn) has been achieved and only the malignant pockets remain that we are dealing with through a clean-up operation," Qasim Dawud, a minister of state, said. The US military, which spearheaded the six-day assault, said commanders on the ground had yet to declare the operation over. Dlimi rejected Dawud's assertions. "The number of martyrs among young fighters does not exceed 100, the others are unarmed civilians who were crushed by American tanks," said Dlimi.
"Duh! Yeah! Dey never laid a glove on us... Huhuh! Lissen to da birdies! I like birdies!"
"If [the Americans] say they have wrapped up operations in Falluja, we are telling them that if that is true allow all satellite networks to enter the city this night so the world can see what is really happening in the streets of Falluja. "Everything they are announcing is disinformation. Falluja is the theatre of butchery and destruction. Today they bombed the only telecommunications centre which provided links between Falluja and the outside world. Americans are criminals," said the spokesman.
"A curse on their infidel moustaches!"
Posted by: Fred ||
11/15/2004 9:33:50 PM ||
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I don't know... this Dlimi's no Baghdad Bob. They should try to pick Bob up as a free agent next season. I'm pretty sure he won't bust their salary cap. Ever since his aweful '03 season with the Iraqi Baaths he just can't seem to demand the same kinda baksheesh as he used to.
#2
I thought Bob was going over to CBS to become the new anchor? The newiers really have to be desperate for 'hate America' commentary to start quoting "A spokesman for the Falluja resistance..." But they are slow to learn the lesson.
Iraqi security forces have started entering sections of Mosul amid denials by the US military that its forces have withdrawn from the northern Iraqi city. Clashes between anti-US fighters and interim government forces erupted in the centre of Mosul, with the two sides exchanging automatic gunfire and rockets. They were particularly heavy close to the police headquarters in the Zanjali area. As the clashes intensified, local mosques were heard broadcasting a call to "resistance against occupation forces".
In a reasonable world the mosques would be rubble now.
The national guard had deployed its personnel in several districts in Mosul mid-morning, as well as alongside the river Tigris and in the west of the city, the reporter said. Two police stations were retaken in the centre and the north, and members of the national guard were seen patrolling several districts armed with anti-tank missiles and assault rifles. The national guard also set up roadblocks in key areas of the city, which came under attack from armed groups. At 1:30pm, a roadblock in the Al-Qadisiya section of the city came under heavy gunfire and witnesses reported at least one national guard member killed. Meanwhile, a convoy of 12 armoured US vehicles started to patrol in the centre and the north for the first time since the recent bout of fighting broke out. Anti-US fighters, who had deployed in force on Thursday, taking up positions in front of public buildings, had disappeared from the streets. However, they were still seen moving around in cars at break-neck speed.
Gotta be pretty fast cars to outrun tank rounds...
The US military acknowledged it had been involved in intense fighting with the fighters, who said they were trying to draw resources from the assault on Falluja. But the military said in a statement that US troops had not withdrawn. "Three days ago, a number of groups ranging in size from 15-50 AIF insurgents moved through the city conducting attacks on police stations, Iraqi government facilities and other fixed sites," it said. "During this time the fighting was intense, but ... many of the insurgents were defeated. Sporadic fighting followed on Friday and Saturday," it added. "Only a small number of terrorists are operating in the city ... and resistance is sporadic."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/15/2004 10:01:12 PM ||
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The Iraqi goverment ought to announce any mosque that is used to incite terrorist acts will be razed and the imams tossed in jail. I bet the Imams get quiet and mosques quit being used a weapons depots.
#2
I think think they'd just circle the wagons, SPo'D and provide the True Believer wankers with yet another excuse to take to the streets.
Allawi's chances of getting elected in Jan, 2005 are probably very low, but perhaps rising. As we've read from various sources, many Yagoub (that's Joe in Arab-speak) Avg Iraqis want the terrorists stopped - a much higher ratio of Shi'a than Sunni, of course. Allawi is now facing what all politicians face - and he's betwixt a rock and a hard place mainly because the only people who could rally support for what must be done to civilize Iraq, the religious "leaders", are assholes. Sorry Em, but accuracy counts, too.
What game are the Shi'a "leaders" playing? The Sunnis are, clearly, Ba'athist asshats cuz those who didn't support the Party were prolly purged a decade or more ago.
Ask Sistani and his ilk WTF and you'll know if the Shi'a want chaos or peace, and why. I believe they rather like the chaos as it gives them the opportunity to maintain their power - and not share it with the Gov't.
Iraqis in positions of real power who want a peaceful democratic Iraq can be counted on one hand, methinks.
A South Africa Airways flight to Johannesburg was forced to land back at Entebbe yesterday after a bomb scare on board. Airport officials said the plane returned 55 minutes after take off. The Chief of Aviation Security at Entebbe Airport, Mr David Kalya, said a passenger who went to the toilet as soon as the seatbelt signs went off had found a writing on the inside of the door asking: "Is there a bomb on this plane?" The writing was in a black marker. The passenger alerted the cabin crew. The pilot requested for permission to land and returned to Entebbe Airport.
The aircraft, a Boeing 737 Flight No. SA 161, had taken off at 3.30 p.m. and landed back at 4.25, after 55 minutes in the air. Reports say it had left Ugandan airspace before it turned around. All 109 passengers on board were made to disembark and their luggage off loaded. Reports say among them was the former Inspector General of Government, Mr Jotham Tumwesigye. "The plane was taxed at the end of the runway away from the others and searched for explosives using sniffer dogs. The luggage was also screened and all passengers body-searched," Kalya said at the airport.
He said particular attention had been paid to three men. One of them is a Somali national, Mr Abdul Noor Mohammed, flying on an 'emergency' Somali passport. Mohammed arrived in Uganda yesterday morning on an earlier SAA flight, after being denied entry into South Africa. "Uganda also decided to deport him back to South Africa," an official said. Mohammed was also seated on the seat right next to the toilet where the writing had been done. However, the passenger next to him reportedly exonerated him by saying that he had been the last to enter the aircraft and had not left his seat since. The two other suspects were two male adults, who had black markers in their luggage, but they were exonerated because the passengers next to them said they had not left their seats. By 8.30 p.m yesterday, when we went to press, security officials had started quizzing a group of aircraft cleaners from Entebbe Handling Services, who had handled the aircraft.
What's this? Profiling? Suspicion falls on poor Abdul Noor Mohammed just because he's got a turban and he's rolling his eyes and grimacing as he's being deported from country to country?
Posted by: Fred ||
11/15/2004 10:31:55 PM ||
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flight attendants tried to write on mr. noor mohammid's head in black marker--but the writimg was invisible
Posted by: SON OF TOLUI ||
11/15/2004 2:25 Comments ||
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Egypt has released from prison in recent days 700 members of the Al Gamaa Al Islamiya, a group that fought the government in the 1990s but which has since renounced violence, a newspaper reported yesterday. The daily Al Masry Al Youm said the prisoners had been serving jail sentences between five and 10 years. It did not say how much time they had served.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/15/2004 10:59:57 PM ||
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No doubt they'll be heading over for a Kumbya get-together with the laddies from the Ulster Defence Association...
#2
achmed, i'm so glad to get out after 10 years--no i don't sit down anymore--i just sort of hover--please help me obtain a recurved mongol bow and some spectacles--i wish to rejoin the jihad--i heard there's some infidel action in falluja
Posted by: SON OF TOLUI ||
11/15/2004 2:17 Comments ||
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Pakistani security forces say they have destroyed several militant bases in the latest phase of their operation in South Waziristan, a border region close to Afghanistan. The Pakistani army believes hundreds of foreign Islamic militants, including Arabs, Afghans and central Asians, are holed up in the region. The US says Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden and other senior figures could be hiding there in the area's caves and canyons. A Pakistani commander, Major General Niaz Khattak, says Government forces killed at least 30 militants over the past week. "We have made substantial special gains about Waziristan," he said. "We have caused considerable attrition on the militants, we have busted their main bases."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/15/2004 10:22:34 PM ||
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An Islamic militant group holding three United Nations (UN) workers hostage in Afghanistan has renewed its deadline for its demands to be met. A man claiming to speak for the group, Army of Muslims, says if no decision were forthcoming later today, a decision about what to do with the hostages would be referred to his tribal council. The group wants to swap the UN workers for 26 prisoners. It has set and broken a series of deadlines for the killing of its captives in the past.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/15/2004 10:20:32 PM ||
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The allies need to encourage the tribal council to make the right decision, or the tribal council's existance on the earth may become precarious.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/15/2004 1:43 Comments ||
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"The election is OVER, let's get back to the war on terror," declares Rodong Sinmun in a signed editorial today.
From Emily:
It's an honor and a privilege to serve Fred's little corner of the blogosphere. Whether you were aware or not, RB *is* read by some in the corridors of power, and it's always been my private fantasy that some of our news gathering and analysis in here translates to policy out there.
We're starting to see a decline both of "civil, well reasoned discourse" and useful hard news about the WoT lately here at RB. I'm getting tired of the stories about bias in the media, looney lefties, and so on. We GET IT, already, and there's plenty of blogs that discuss that stuff. I'm also concerned that the formerly high level of intelligent discussion has suffered lately. There's too much cussing and intolerance, and I worry that new readers will simply surf on by rather than stay and add to the fun.
From Steve W. of the Army of Steve:
The Rantburg community is blessed to have any number of opinions on domestic politics, religion, culture and the appropriateness of tittie bars in Peshawar. We're all fairly like-minded on the WoT, and that's what is important. We see the needs, we debate the issues, and we discuss the strategies. To do that we need information, and that is one of the primary reasons why the 'Burg exists -- to pull together the eclectic, useful stuff we need as raw material for our thoughts. No other blog does that as well as we do.
The election was part of that, and the election now is over. Rantburg needs to re-focus on the WoT. There's always a place for weird animal stories, but the peripheral political and cultural news is better discussed elsewhere (e.g., LGF, Polipundit, OldPatriot, OxBlog, etc). Like Emily says, we get it.
It's hard for the editors to edit the 'Burg, and it's hard for you the reader, with 100+ posts every day, especially when the majority no longer relates to the WoT. We need to retain our focus. The editors will do that, and we hope you will too.
Posted by: The Rantburg editorial staff ||
11/15/2004 10:06:53 PM ||
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Not to be needlessly contrarian, but isn't this why we have a Page 2 in the first place? Page 1 is still Page 1.
#3
We're starting to see a decline both of "civil, well reasoned discourse" and useful hard news about the WoT lately here at RB
I will cheerfully restate my commitment to avoiding gratuitous personal insult and off-topic digressions. Rantburg has an important message that this world needs to hear. I intend to provide factual and pertinent information that is material to fighting terrorism, plus the occasional wacky bit of fluff that sticks to my monitor's sceen every once in a while.
#4
Love the focus on WOT and the multitude of articles and links, esp from non-western sources.
But too often the comments become an echo chamber. Would like to see more *intelligent, good-faith* dissenting views here. Not of the Aris Whatzisproblemis variety; am thinking more of those expressed by Robert Kaplan in the NYT today.
No shit, Em? Damn! Who'da thunk it? Guess I'll have to cut back and not %^^#$%^^@ say %^#*@&@% is really on my ^%$#$^&*& mind, anymore. It'll prolly be good for my keyboard to use those otherwise useless $^&(^%@%^&(*(&%^$^*&()_)(*^&*&^%$##W#E%^& keys.
Question... Is calling someone "asshat" still allowed, provided there is a good reason for it?
(I reserve my right to define ad hoc what the 'good reason' is). :-)
#8
No shit, Em? Damn! Who'da thunk it? Guess I'll have to cut back and not %^^#$%^^@ say %^#*@&@% is really on my ^%$#$^&*& mind, anymore. It'll prolly be good for my keyboard to use those otherwise useless $^&(^%@%^&(*(&%^$^*&()_)(*^&*&^%$##W#E%^& keys.
Silly me. Here I was, thinking an IT professional like you had hot keys for all that colorful vocabulary, .com. Shows what I know.
#9
Even with page 2, I think what Emily and Steve are saying is to think about what you post. The occasional yukko article is great, but page 2 IMHO should be still somewhat related to the WoT, but not at the other extreme, the level of the National Enquirer.
This is a WoT weblog and we need to be focused. I realize that some people make other people react in crazy ways, but that has to be minimized. Though reading a certain comment with all caps makes me think that I am a Western Union telegraph office operator at times......
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/15/2004 1:41 Comments ||
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#10
But too often the comments become an echo chamber. I Agree. There are some really intelligent and insightful people who post here, and the RB inline editorializing/counterspin can be a joy to read (All hail the Master Fred). OTOH a significant number number of posters I wouldn't miss and others could learn that brevity is most definitely a virtue.
#11
the stories surface elsewhere eventually, i come for the comments. most of the opinions seem to reflect those warm and fuzzy believes that you all cling to to reinsure your inclusion in the human race. did any one notice where i left that half full vodka bottle?
#22
There are some commentors and posters whose comments are insightful regardless of length. However, I would suggest what I've done, which is make a short comment, and if you've got a longer screed at your blog, include a direct link to the entry if you feel that you need to be more lengthly to cover your six.
Oh, and a big thanks to Steve and the editors. Once I've got my head back above the financial waters, I'll be making another donation.
#29
personally i like the colorful language. it makes some of the comments.............well, more colorful. the idea of a politically correct rantburg makes me sqeamish, as it would just be regraded to the insipid, content-void dribblings of the mass-media. expletives mean passion, and it's far more interesting to hear a point of view that is, well, incensed, insanely biased, and fucking meaty. it can still be clever.
#31
Please remember that the WoT, while impressive, is not the entire picture. Retain the "conventional" conflict point of view, too, and remember that there are dozens of 'wars' going on right now that have little to do with WoT, *and* some potentially REALLY BIG ONES coming down the line that need attention.
#34
I think that posts which relate to the insanity of the left here and abroad are well related to the WoT. Silly stuff like the OBD thread yesterday, yes, we can do without that (but it was fun trying to convince Mark Espinola and raptor to come to the dark side (country music)).
I agree with Incredulous and Llex. I post, read and comment here in rantburg to get a fix on what is going on but also to be entertained by the sometimes colorful language that is here. Yes, expletives are bad in public discourse, but this IS rantburg. Maybe we can tone it down some maybe self censor, but this is RANTburg.
ArisK excluded, there's little to none of the pomposity and posturing you find at the partisan sites. Don't Sullivan-ize Rantburg. Can't bear to read that fragile soul's hamlet-like pontifications.
#36
I'm a longtime reader of both Rantburg and LGF. Started reading LGF before Sept. 11, and watched as it grew from very few comments to the where it is now -- someplace where I can't keep up with the comments. Rantburg, however, is keep-up-withable. Even on the most logorrheac of days. And there's truly good insight and analysis here. So, I'll do my part and think three times before posting any article from now on. Don't want to ruin our little spot here.
#37
I've enjoyed the RB experience, no complaints. Remember the teen who stopped by a couple of days ago to tell us "this site sucks"? Well thats because RB isn't easy. Lots of stuff to dig through.
I've read some of the best commentary here though and thats what brings me back. From busted sgts, spit and shine assets like the Army of the Steves, lofty generals with feather plumed hats and far flung cadres armed to the teeth.
When I came here I was mad as hell about the WTC and the islamic threat. My view has been to ratchet up that hatred and make arguments based on that. The bitch slapping comments arn't offensive to a site like RB.
Homo marriage: That is page two stuff. But to not respond to something that could be so damaging to western culture due some lazy-fair thinking, no way. Unless coherant arguments are attempted then PC wins and you've got Holland. Holland wasn't built by PC. It evolved into PC.
But I would agree that the main point of this site is the war and thats what I seek most.
#40
Sully showed his true colors this spring when he turned his site into All Abu Ghraib, All The Time. He's of course a smart guy and has interesting opinions but he lacks the two indispensable attributes for winning this war: fortitude and measured judgment. With his weeks of hysterics about this minor scandal, he threw out years of credit earned by attacking MSM spin and cluelessness. Perhaps he has some kind of deep sexual phobia related to humiliation, bondage, etc. Whatever, the man simply is not a reliable guide to military matters of any kind.
He typifies the great defect of the smarter academic types who never served in the military, namely their delusions that complex operations are not attended by enormous uncertainty, that information is anything other than partial and insufficient (and cannot made to be sufficient), and that transatlantic elite media buzz is equivalent to "moral high ground."
I'll take the judgment of a sober, clear-eyed vet, or for that matter a truly wise observer like Tom Wretchard, over Sullivan or Dresner or the Oxford boys any day. Which is why I now spend more time on Rantburg in a day than I do on Sully in a month.
#42
First, while wretchard does some ok stuff on military affairs, he also tends to be overly certain about how clear everything is.
And he tends to miss the broader political side. Oxblog and Drezner and Belgravia Dispatch all get that much better than he does. (And btw, Abu Graib WAS a disaster, though I dont assign nearly as much blame to Rummy as Sully does)
And Sully had a good point today, re shifting of forces between Fallujah and Mosul.
#43
Emily wrote: "We're starting to see a decline both of "civil, well reasoned discourse" and useful hard news about the WoT lately here at RB. I'm getting tired of the stories about bias in the media, looney lefties, and so on. We GET IT, already, and there's plenty of blogs that discuss that stuff. I'm also concerned that the formerly high level of intelligent discussion has suffered lately. There's too much cussing and intolerance, and I worry that new readers will simply surf on by rather than stay and add to the fun."
WADR, I disagree with much of this. The "civil, well reasoned discourse" line is next to a picture of a guy dishing out a beating. That's an attractive feature here -- people willing to dish out a rhetorical beating. As for items on media bias, left-wing loonies and the like, I hope to see less of that now that the election is over. However, all of those things directly implicated the WoT in that had the MSM and the left gotten their way, the wrong guy would have been leading the WoT, and many of us were deeply concerned about the message that would have been sent by the defeat of President Bush. Going forward, I agree that Scott Peterson and cloned animal stories should be off limits, but stories of MSM bias and left-wing loonery that impact the WoT are definitely ON POINT.
Sorry for the rant. This still is RANTburg, right?
P.S. - None of my smart-assery is meant to diminish the important contributions of Fred and the rest of the editorial board. Keep up the good work.
P.P.S. - I like cussing.
Posted by: Tibor ||
11/15/2004 14:09 Comments ||
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#44
Bull Tweed! As long as the commie Left remains delusional (and, in so doing, poses undue risk to the realistic and pragmatic Rantburg community) about the WoT, we must continue to roll up our pant legs and wade through the murky refuse produced by those who do us harm from within.
Consider the harmful affects of Abu Ghraib caused by MSM, the not so anonymous, Mr. Anonymous on Tick-Tock (60 Minutes) last evening, the hatchet job on Peter Goss at CIA by Wapo and NY Slimes.
I suggest that the presidential election campaign is finished, but the internal struggle continues with a direct impact on the WoT.
---- Good Day ----
Posted by: Capt America ||
11/15/2004 16:07 Comments ||
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#45
WOT is a war on many fronts, but a little focus can't hurt. Seems like a good time to thank Fred and all assembled for the education my pre-9/11 life didn't provide. Rant on
#46
These liberals who are whining about the electin like they did in 2000 are aiding the enemy.
Posted by: political ||
11/15/2004 19:16 Comments ||
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#47
If I'm too rude, crude, and raunchy for RB, then I assume Fred will tell me - he has my email and isn't known for his shy retiring demeanor, sorry Fred - it's true, lol!
My philosophy - yes I have one on this topic, having raised a daughter single-handedly for over a decade:
Words are only words. Each reader / listener attaches meaning and reacts, each absolutely individually. That reaction is their own responsibility, period. If you let someone push your buttons by remote control, then who's at fault? Who's the fool? Hell, I love word-controllable people! I have many chores I'd like to farm out. And their angry response? Depends upon the source. Some a yawn, some a laugh, some a sarcastic reply, some a vituperative attack. Just depends on what will effectively communicate what I want to communicate.
Re: Terror, War on.
Is this a topic for PC-ized erudite and urbane witticisms? Hardly, IMHO. If it is, then I've misread everything about RB from Day One. I think it's actually about violence - real raw unciviliazed violence which ranges from cutting off heads to genocide. If I utter some "fucks" along the way, is that too much? Words?
Fred: Tell me to buzz the fuck off and you've got it.
#48
I'm with PD - I understand we need to let the politics die down and focus on the WOT, but if my comments are too rough, let me know and I'll go elsewhere
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/15/2004 22:17 Comments ||
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#49
I think, from his post, Frank would agree with this:
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/15/2004 22:36 Comments ||
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#51
Who said anything about scaring...or leaving?!!!
Never that, Frank and PD. I respect everyone here far too much and value everyone's opinion. Not to mention you all make me laugh out loud!
This is the standard memo that must be issued and ignored from time to time from HQ. No doubt you'll see some form of it again sometime around the New Year. Just remember we have a wide audience and that words sometimes look different on the screen than they sound in your head when you're typing...
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.
Saudi Arabia has detained five people suspected of spreading Islamic militant ideology in the kingdom, which is battling an 18-month wave of Al Qaeda violence, the Interior Ministry said on Saturday. It said three men were arrested shortly before Friday's midday prayers in Zulfi, north-west of Riyadh. Two others were detained later on Friday in separate raids in the capital. None was believed to be involved directly in violence. "They are suspected mostly of supporting the extremist thought. They were trying to spread it among the youth," Interior Ministry security spokesman Brigadier-General Mansour Turki said.
Allawi identified the group as 
A South Africa Airways flight to Johannesburg was forced to land back at Entebbe yesterday after a bomb scare on board. Airport officials said the plane returned 55 minutes after take off. The Chief of Aviation Security at Entebbe Airport, Mr David Kalya, said a passenger who went to the toilet as soon as the seatbelt signs went off had found a writing on the inside of the door asking: "Is there a bomb on this plane?" The writing was in a black marker. The passenger alerted the cabin crew. The pilot requested for permission to land and returned to Entebbe Airport. 
Pakistani security forces say they have destroyed several militant bases in the latest phase of their operation in 
