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Kuwaiti Islamists form first political party
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Arabia
Festivities continue in Kuwait
At least five Islamist militants have been killed in a clash with security forces in Kuwait, state TV reports. Five police officers are said to have been hurt in the fighting, which was sparked by a raid on a house in the al-Qurain area, south of the capital. Four suspected militants were reportedly arrested during the operation. Amer al-Enezi, identified by state TV as an Islamic militant leader, was among those captured.
Here's your preacher, Fred: Among those detained was Amer Khlaif al-Enezi, a former mosque preacher who is the alleged spiritual leader of militants involved in a series of clashes with security forces this month. His brother Nasser was killed in a gunfight with police on Sunday.

On Sunday, three suspected militants and one policeman were killed in a shoot-out in Kuwait City, where western embassies have warned of new attacks. Earlier in January, four people died in clashes between security forces and alleged al-Qaeda-linked militants, opposed to the presence of western civilians and US soldiers in the oil-rich Gulf state. More than 25 Kuwaiti and Saudi suspects have since been arrested and accused of planning attacks on western targets.
More, please?
The fighting in al-Qurain neighbourhood was sparked by a police raid on a suspected safe-house for militants. Describing the assault as a "spectacular success", Interior Ministry spokesman, Adel al-Hashash, said police were still pursuing militants holed up in several locations in the neighbourhood. The Kuwaiti Interior Ministry had earlier said "there are several wounded and killed from both parties".
A resident of the area told Reuters news agency of heavy fighting. "There has been a lot of gunfire. There's been literally thousands of rounds of ammunition fired," James Busko said.
Three suspected militants and a police officer were killed on Sunday in a similar clash in a residential neighbourhood of Kuwait City popular with foreigners. US and western embassies have told their citizens to be on guard against attacks. Kuwait is a major oil producer and US ally.
This article starring:
AMER AL ENEZIal-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
AMER KHLAIF AL ENEZIal-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
NASER AL ENEZIal-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Posted by: Steve || 01/31/2005 9:24:01 AM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Unless you have a shovel, there's just no place to hide in Kuwait - so as long as there are gun-toting fools who failed to pay off the right Al Sabah then there will be firefights.
Posted by: .com || 01/31/2005 10:29 Comments || Top||


3 Killed, Wanted Terrorists Arrested in Kuwait Gunbattle
Omar Hasan, Agence France Presse
A policeman, a wanted terrorist and a Bahraini civilian were killed in a gunbattle here yesterday in the third deadly clash this month, as the government vowed to crush terror. "The government reaffirms its determination to crush this deviant group and deter all those who attempt to disrupt the security and stability of our beloved homeland," a Cabinet statement said after the firefight.
Vow as much as you please, but it's not gonna happen until you round up a few holy men...
An Interior Ministry statement said one terrorist and four security men were also wounded in the clashes in the Salmiya district, 20 km east of the capital, after police cordoned off an area in search of wanted terrorists. The wounded terrorist and a third suspect were arrested by security forces who stormed a building where "terrorists" were hiding and a heavy exchange of gunfire took place, the statement said.
I'm not sure about the use of quotes there. They were holed up in a building, they were shooting it out with the coppers. We can prob'ly assume they were terrs...
Interior Ministry spokesman Adel Al-Hashash told state television that the three suspects involved the shootout were among those most wanted by security forces. An AFP correspondent heard grenades and heavy gunfire throughout the hour-long exchange. Two helicopters hovered above the area, with access made off-limits by a massive police presence and armored vehicles. A security source identified the dead terrorist as Nasser Khlaif Al-Enezi, one of those most wanted and a brother of the terror group's alleged leader Aamer Khlaif Al-Enezi.
[Cue Family Affair theme music...]
The suspects had rented a flat on the sixth floor of the 10-story furnished apartment block, the source said. The incident came two weeks after a shootout between terrorists and Kuwaiti security forces left one gunman dead in Umm Al-Haiman. That gunbattle, near the largest US military base in Kuwait, came five days after another clash closer to Kuwait City left two security officers and a Kuwaiti suspect dead. The American, British and French embassies in Kuwait have advised their nationals to avoid certain areas in the country and warned of the danger of more unrest. Kuwaiti authorities have seized arms and explosives in subsequent raids around the country and, according to Interior Minister Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, arrested about 15 suspected terrorists. However, an unspecified number, including the group's leader, are still at large while up to 13 have been referred to the public prosecution.

Sheikh Nawaf acknowledged that the terrorists belonged to an "organized group", but the country's national guard chief, Sheikh Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah, has said some of the group's members were linked to Al-Qaeda. Sheikh Nawaf said on Saturday that Kuwait was in constant touch with Saudi Arabia over the confrontations between their security forces and terrorists.
This article starring:
AAMER KHLAIF AL ENEZIal-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
NASER KHLAIF AL ENEZIal-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Posted by: Fred || 01/31/2005 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Down Under
Counter terrorist authorities swoop after Sydney shooting
Counter terrorism authorities today descended on Sydney's west after a shooting linked to the Iraqi election added to tensions heightened by the historic ballot. Witnesses said two men with guns aimed at a number of cars and shops, and fired five shots during a melee involving 100 people on the main street of Auburn, about 11pm (AEDT) yesterday. Police said four men, including one hurt by a ricocheting shotgun pellet, were treated for minor injuries. They said the shooting followed a clash on Saturday involving protesters from an anti-election group and voters outside a polling booth in Auburn - one of Australia's nine out-of-country polling stations for Iraq's first election in 50 years.

"People involved in the disturbance on Saturday, and last night's incident, have told us that the election has heightened tensions," Superintendent Harding said. "What concerns us is that these heightened tensions have escalated into violence, which is unacceptable. All the security organisations, including counter terrorist organisations, have been taking an active role in managing this." Ahmad Attabi, who voted in the election and had his shopfront blasted, said he thought the attackers were "terrorist people wanting to kill somebody". He said 30 men associated with the anti-election protest walked up Auburn Road and began fighting with men outside his tobacconist store. Mr Attabi, whose two brothers were murdered under Saddam Hussein's regime, said the election was the source of all the weekend's problems.

Iraqi community leader and voter Kamil Alhamid said yesterday's attackers comprised men from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Lebanon, but not Iraqis. Mr Alhamid, the secretary of the Australian Ahl-Al-Bait Islamic Centre in Auburn, said the group were fundamentalists sympathetic to al-Qaeda and the terrorist group of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. He said the group's core had been meeting at a mosque a few blocks from his store for more than two years and had taken action in the past against Shiites by posting notices, but this was the first time they'd used guns. Mr Alhamid refused media access to any of the injured men for fear of reprisals.
It's nice to know I live so closely to these kind of people. If I had to guess, i'd say they might have something to do with the Ahlus ul Sunnah group, which is the most radical Islamist group I know of that operate in South West Sydney.
This article starring:
ABU MUSAB AL ZARQAWIal-Qaeda in Iraq
Posted by: Paul Moloney || 01/31/2005 6:03:17 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Poor dears, freedom has got to be like spraying a can of R.A.I.D. on the little bug thugs.
Posted by: Duke Nukem || 01/31/2005 6:30 Comments || Top||

#2  The stupidity of al-Zarqawi and his and Osama's followers. If they had just let the people vote, and ask them to write in, "American's leave", half the Shite's would of joined in. They would of got thier point accross, and not hurt the Iraq's, who they say they don't want to hurt.
Posted by: plainslow || 01/31/2005 8:58 Comments || Top||

#3  Yeah, right. The Shia, who are going to win the election, would write in, "America Leave".

We should try that in our next election, though. Apparently those with BDS, like plainsow, are so unstable that instead of vo,ing for "Kerry", we might be able to get them to write in "Bush is a Chimp".
Posted by: 2b || 01/31/2005 9:06 Comments || Top||

#4  A thought differnet than yours, unstable. Interesting. Since I voted for Bush, and finacially support the troops, through organizations such as Wounded Warrior Hospital Fund, does that make those thoughts unstable as well? Or just the ones differnt than yours?
Posted by: plainslow || 01/31/2005 10:42 Comments || Top||

#5  Think we got a blue on blue incident here.
Posted by: Shipman || 01/31/2005 13:21 Comments || Top||

#6  ...I want a pink (|) incident.
Posted by: up the middle || 01/31/2005 17:58 Comments || Top||

#7  As an Australian the only words that come to mind are:

"Dirty filthy worthless scums"
Posted by: God Save The World || 01/31/2005 23:42 Comments || Top||

#8  Hell, I'll second that sentiment, GSTW. Spot-on.
Posted by: .com || 01/31/2005 23:44 Comments || Top||


Europe
ETA Bombs Spanish Hotel, Tourist Injured
DENIA, Spain (Reuters) - A bomb exploded in a seaside hotel in southeast Spain on Sunday, slightly injuring a tourist, after a warning call in the name of the Basque separatist group ETA, officials said. The bomb, the second claimed by ETA in two weeks, was hidden in a backpack and left in a courtyard in the hotel in Denia, near the resorts of Benidorm and Alicante, the Interior Ministry said. About 160 people, including several British tourists, were evacuated before the explosion, but one guest's eardrums were damaged by the blast, a ministry source said.
The blast, which ripped a hole 10 meters by 5 meters (33 ft by 16 ft) in an outside wall and shattered windows, followed a warning call to the Basque roadside assistance authority in the name of ETA, a spokesman there said. "There's a device in Hotel Port Denia, in Denia. In 40 minutes it will explode," the spokesman quoted a woman as saying. "Long live ETA," she added in Basque. The Interior Ministry said the bomb exploded 35 minutes after the call.
Interior Minister Jose Antonio Alonso condemned the attack in a statement saying: "Terrorist attacks will never manage to change ... the government's policy of absolute steadfastness against terrorist violence." Less than two weeks ago a car bomb exploded in a Basque coastal town, injuring a police officer and crushing growing expectations of a cease-fire by ETA, which has killed nearly 850 people since 1968 in a campaign for an independent Basque state.
Posted by: Steve || 01/31/2005 11:03:59 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


French probe 'Iraqi network' war recruitment
A third suspected Islamic militant arrested in a police sweep against an alleged recruiting ring was placed under investigation Saturday for suspected membership of a network that sent young people to fight in Iraq. The court decision came after two other suspected Islamic militants, Farid Benyettou, 23, and Thamer Bouchnak, 22, were likewise placed under investigation Friday, accused of organising an operation to send volunteers to fight against US-led forces in Iraq. An examining magistrate Saturday placed the third man, 23-year-old Cherif Kouachi, under investigation for criminal association linked to a terrorist enterprise. The three - who all possess French citizenship - were arrested in Paris last Monday and Tuesday together with eight others since discharged from custody.

Benyettou is alleged by investigators to be the mastermind. Kouachi and Bouchnak, believed to be his lieutenants, were planning to take a plane to Syria last Tuesday and to continue from there to Iraq when they were arrested. Court sources said at least seven people out of about a dozen recruited by the network had fought or been killed in Iraq. The sources said the network had allegedly considered violent attacks on French targets, but had never got to the planning stage. The arrests were part of an anti-terrorist investigation launched in France last September after evidence emerged of a so-called "Iraqi network" recruiting Islamic militants in to fight US forces there. Intelligence agents believe there are between 15 and 30 French nationals with the insurgents in Iraq, and that four have been killed in clashes with the US military. The French foreign intelligence service DGSE has identified a Frenchman, named only as Fawzi D., as the head of a group of some 20 Islamic militants in Iraq, officials said.

"We are determined to stop young people going to make Jihad (Holy War) in Iraq because if they come back they will have greatly enhanced prestige, and be in a position to recruit more people to the cause - or even mount terrorist operations," said one official who wished to remain anonymous.
This article starring:
CHERIF KUACHIal-Qaeda in Europe
FARID BENYETTUal-Qaeda in Europe
THAMER BUCHNAKal-Qaeda in Europe
Posted by: Seafarious || 01/31/2005 00:00:00 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I hope that France becomes part of the AXiS of EvIl.
Posted by: Long Hair Republican || 01/31/2005 0:19 Comments || Top||

#2  They are already head of the AXIS of Irrelevance.
Most call it the EU.
Posted by: JerseyMike || 01/31/2005 9:16 Comments || Top||

#3  Dammit, JerseyMike, don't start a EU thread here! ;)
I still don't feel up to dealing with Aris this morning.....must be the Sauza.
Posted by: Desert Blondie || 01/31/2005 11:45 Comments || Top||

#4  Somebody say EU?
Bwwwwwwwhaaa!
Posted by: Shipman || 01/31/2005 13:22 Comments || Top||

#5  ... because if they come back...
Their priorities are quite clear.
Posted by: Dishman || 01/31/2005 15:08 Comments || Top||


Court bomb plot suspect to be extradited
Switzerland has agreed to a Spanish request for the extradition of suspected bomb plotter Mohammed Achraf. But Achraf has 30 days in which to lodge an appeal against the decision, the Swiss government said. Spain had earlier requested the extradition of Achraf, an Algerian national who has been held in custody in Switzerland since August. The Spanish authorities suspect him of involvement in plotting to carry out a bomb attack against the country's highest court in Madrid and other landmarks including the Real Madrid stadium in the capital. He has been held in Switzerland over alleged immigration offences, and had earlier sought political asylum in the country.
This article starring:
MOHAMED ACHRAFal-Qaeda in Europe
Posted by: Seafarious || 01/31/2005 00:00:00 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


International-UN-NGOs
Weekly Piracy Report - 18 to 24 January 2005
23.01.2005 at 0340 LT at Panjang port, Indonesia. Three robbers armed with long knives boarded a tanker at berth. D/O raised alarm and crew mustered. Robbers jumped overboard and escaped empty handed in a speedboat.

19.01.2005 at 0135 LT at berth no.2, Rio Haina port, Dominican Republic. Two robbers armed with long knives boarded a tanker during cargo operations. Duty a/b raised alarm and robbers jumped overboard and escaped.

16.01.2005 at 0010 LT in posn: 20:39N - 106:51E, Haiphong anchorage, Vietnam. Several robbers boarded a general cargo ship at forecastle. Duty a/b raised alarm and crew mustered. Robbers stole ship's stores and fled in an unlit boat. Port authorities informed.

14.1.2005 at 0430 LT at Nanjing anchorage, China. Three robbers boarded a chemical tanker. They broke padlock on a locker and stole safety equipment. Alert crew raised alarm and robbers escaped in a speedboat. Master attempted to contact local authorities but no response was received.
Posted by: Pappy || 01/31/2005 12:58:59 AM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Yar! We be.......Oop's, that's the alarm, gotta go"
Posted by: Steve || 01/31/2005 10:54 Comments || Top||

#2  With cat-like tread, upon our prey we steal
With silence dread- oops, the alarm bells peal!
Posted by: Korora || 01/31/2005 14:32 Comments || Top||

#3  No sword fights? Yawn...
Posted by: True German Ally || 01/31/2005 20:44 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Govt insists captured insurgent is Thai
The Department of Local Administration has confirmed that Doramae Kuteh, also known as Chae Kumae Kuteh, the man arrested in Malaysia last week on suspicion of having been a key mastermind behind the spate of insurgency in Thailand's deep South, is almost certainly the same as Chae Kumae Kute, a Thai national believed to head the Pattani Mujahideen group of insurgents, Interior Minister Bhokin Bhalakula revealed today. "If he's the same man, but holds dual nationality, we will have to see what amendments we need to make", he said, adding that Thailand would have to send evidence to Malaysia, including the suspect's 13-digit ID card number and his fingerprints. Asked about intelligence reports indication that the suspect's son could be preparing to take militant action in the southern border region, Mr. Bhokin said that, according to the Department of Local Administration, his son was possibly living abroad. The arrest of Chae Kumae could represent the capture of one of the most important kingpins behind the country's southern insurgency, which has claimed hundreds of lives since the beginning of last year.
This article starring:
CHAE KUMAE KUTEPattani Mujahideen
CHAE KUMAE KUTEHPattani Mujahideen
DORAMAE KUTEHPattani Mujahideen
Posted by: Seafarious || 01/31/2005 5:04:30 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Wow. A key mastermind! Not one o' them six-for-a-quarter masterminds, no siree bob!

A kingpin too!

What next? Capo di Tutti Capi?...
Posted by: mojo || 01/31/2005 17:37 Comments || Top||


Troops recover bodies of 7 slain MILF rebs
ZAMBOANGA CITY — Seven bodies of suspected terrorists were recovered by government forces as the death toll in the air bombardment of an alleged terror base in Maguindanao rose to 48, the military said yesterday. The remains found late Friday, however, could not easily be identified as "most were mutilated," said Col. Jerry Jalandoni, chief of the 604th Army Brigade based in Datu Piang, Maguindanao.
More casualties from the rebels' side are expected, Jalandoni said, as the airstrikes and artillery barrage launched Thursday hit Butilan Marsh where suspected renegade commanders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) were meeting with Abu Sayyaf leaders and about five to six Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) members. "So far, we have received reports that there were 48 missing fighters who were believed killed in the airstrike, including a certain Commander Aguila," Jalandoni said.
The ground military commander believes the two JI militants reported killed were a certain Dulmatin and Muayha. A military intelligence report also showed that an unidentified Indonesian died in the massive air raid.
Keeping my fingers crossed
The government suffered only one fatality and one slightly wounded. There were no civilian casualties, according to Brig. Gen. Alexander Yano, spokesman for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), after an inspection of the devastated area by the joint committee on cessation of hostilities with members of the International Monitoring Team (IMT). Military officials said the situation has returned to normal in Datu Piang. Not a single firefight was reported since yesterday morning although Jalandoni said movements from fleeing Abu Sayyaf and radical MILF rebels were monitored. Yano said residents have made their way back into their homes from evacuation centers.

Amid renewed hostilities in Mindanao, President Arroyo has said peace talks with the mainstream MILF does not stop government forces to run after "renegade" guerrillas behind attacks such as the raid on two Army outposts in Mamasapano and Shariff Aguak towns also in Maguindanao on Jan. 9.
The Mamasapano assault was blamed on Abdul Wahid Tondok, a renegade leader of a breakaway MILF faction. The MILF heirarchy has disowned the raid, saying it was not sanctioned. Tondok was believed to be with his men, Abu Sayyaf leaders including chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani and JI members before the terrorist haven in the marshy area of barangay Butilan was bombed. As the identities of those killed remained unclear, the military nonetheless warned Tondok that his days are numbered.
AFP Southern Command (Southcom) chief Lt. Gen. Alberto Braganza called on Tondok to surrender, saying a relentless military offensive against him will not stop. "With the (casualty) figure given on the ground from our intelligence unit, I better advise him (Wahid) to give up because I will not stop running after him and his cohorts," Braganza vowed.
The Southcom chief expressed belief that the Abu Sayyaf, a ragtag extremist group said to have links with the al-Qaeda, has been working with JI forces hiding in the southern Philippines amid reports that the two groups meet occasionally with some renegade members of the MILF. Braganza said last Thursday's gathering of the band of terrorists showed that the JI was indeed training guerrillas in the South. "We have been receiving reports on the training activities being conducted by the JI with the local fighters here," Braganza said. He said the reported death of two JI members from the airstrike "is a big blow" to the Indonesian militants' activity in Mindanao.
The MILF, which has repeatedly denied having ties with the Indonesian-based JI, complains the latest air attack violated its ceasefire agreement with the government. Resumption of formal negotiations are scheduled next month with Malaysia as third party facilitator. Malacañang, however, said it had prior clearance from the joint ceasefire committee and Malaysian-led IMT.
Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye reiterated yesterday in a radio interview the government's policy against terrorism carried out in the Maguindanao military offensive should not disturb the peace process. "Terrorism is our common fight. It is not just a fight of the government but I believe it is also a fight of the MILF," Bunye pointed out. The attack "was not aimed at the MILF," he clarified, but at terrorist cells "that pose a threat not only to national security but to the cause of peace itself." "Very clearly, the objective of the military was to really run after terrorist cells," Bunye stressed.
Nonetheless, MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said they have filed a protest before the Joint Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities against the military for alleged violations of the ceasefire pact. Palace communications director Silvestre Afable Jr., head of the government peace panel, told The STAR yesterday that they are still awaiting official notice from Malaysia as to the specific date when formal talks resume. The Malaysian government, he said, had expressed its "wish" to see a final peace treaty reached by middle of this year.
This article starring:
ABDUL WAHID TONDOKAbu Sayyaf
ABDUL WAHID TONDOKJemaah Islamiyah
COMANDER AGUILAMoro Islamic Liberation Front
DULMATINJemaah Islamiyah
EID KABALUMoro Islamic Liberation Front
KHADAFY JANJALANIAbu Sayyaf
MUAIHAJemaah Islamiyah
Posted by: Steve || 01/31/2005 11:24:22 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Feed their remains to the pigs.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 01/31/2005 12:18 Comments || Top||


Bali bomb suspect narrowly escapes capture
The Indonesian President says a Malaysian who allegedly played key roles in a series of deadly bombings in Indonesia narrowly escaped a police dragnet recently. Former university professor Azahari Husin has become the most wanted terrorist suspect in Indonesia, accused of building the bombs used in the worst extremist attacks in the country in recent years. "I have always kept track and the police chief from time to time informs me about the development [of the hunt]," President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said in an interview with the Koran Tempo daily. "I was told [he] was almost caught but slipped away."

Dr Yudhoyono, also known as SBY, said he had told police to intensify their hunt for Azahari and his Malaysian associate, alleged chief recruiter Noordin Mohammed Top. The President, who was sworn into office last October, has made arresting the pair among his top priorities in his first 100 days in office, but the deadline has passed and the two remain at large. Police said they were close to catching Azahari and Noordin in late 2003. Officers said they had trouble recognising them because they frequently changed their appearances, sometimes disguising themselves as beggars or professors.
This article starring:
AZAHARI HUSINJemaah Islamiyah
Posted by: God Save The World || 01/31/2005 4:57:19 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  An earlier report I read said that Azahari had bribed his way out of a police checkpoint after the embassy boom...and I bet he still has some "spare cash" lying around...
Posted by: Seafarious || 01/31/2005 10:52 Comments || Top||


Escaped Abu Sayyaf member gunned down
Soldiers on Sunday killed an Abu Sayyaf bandit who was among those who bolted the Basilan Provincial Jail in April last year. Southern Command chief Lieutenant General Alberto Braganza said Abdulajid Awalal alias Jaid Awalal was killed in an encounter in Sitio (hamlet) Batolareg, Barangay (village) Mahatalang in Sumisip town, Basilan province Sunday at dawn. Colonel Raymundo Ferrer, 103rd Army Brigade commander, said residents earlier reported the presence of Abu Sayyaf bandits inside the rubber plantation of Tumahubong Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Incorporated. Ferrer said Awalal, who had been convicted for kidnapping, carried a 150,000-peso reward on his head.
This article starring:
ABDULAJID AWALALAbu Sayyaf
JAID AWALALAbu Sayyaf
Posted by: Dan Darling || 01/31/2005 12:30:21 AM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq-Jordan
Iraq seized 200 suspected insurgents during poll
Iraqi security forces detained more than 200 suspected insurgents, including four Arab foreigners, in a crackdown that helped reduce attacks during Sunday's election, the interior minister said today. "What happened yesterday was the result of the security plans put in place by the Interior Ministry and Iraq's security forces for the election," Falah al-Naqib told reporters. He said 129 suspects had been rounded up near Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown in the Sunni region north of Baghdad, out of a total of 202 detained nationwide. The detainees included two Saudis, an Egyptian and a Yemeni, he said. He said Iraqi security forces had also killed four insurgents in shootouts on polling day.

US and Iraqi security forces enforced draconian measures for the election, shutting down Iraq's borders and airspace, banning civilian vehicles, imposing a dusk-to-dawn curfew and putting tens of thousands of security men on the streets. Suicide bombs and mortar attacks, mostly in Baghdad, killed 35 people, but failed to prevent millions of Iraqis from going to the polls in the first multi-party election in decades. In the week before the election, the government announced the arrest of several senior aides to al Qaeda's leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, suggesting it was making inroads against the group that had sworn to turn polling day into a bloodbath. However, some government officials cast doubt on the importance of the arrests, suggesting the announcements were designed to generate pre-election publicity.
This article starring:
ABU MUSAB AL ZARQAWIal-Qaeda in Iraq
Posted by: Anonymoose || 01/31/2005 8:38:57 PM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The success of this operation gives pause. Perhaps, without notice, such operations should periodically be undertaken. The scope and locations would be customized to the intel. At any given moment there are a finite number of asshats - every iteration could bring an appreciable reduction in asshattedness - a difference that would not be lost on the regular Iraqis over time. The key ingredient in this success, IMHO, is the serious border closing effort - to keep that asshat population fixed, or as near as can be. Soon, I hope, this can be the primary focus of the US and UK troops - it's a function where technology can really shine. If I had the call, I'd draw the borders so tight they'd squeak. The pilgrim business would be the rub. The Shi'a south is heavily dependent on the shrine game. There IS a workable solution somewhere in the balance that would yield the highest payoff of reduced asshat activity.
Posted by: .com || 01/31/2005 23:40 Comments || Top||


al Jizz: Video Seems to Show British Plane Hit in Iraq
EFL

Aljazeera has aired a video showing a purported Iraqi group firing missiles at the British C-130 transport plane which crashed on Sunday afternoon northwest of Baghdad. The video, issued by the military wing of the 1920 Revolution Brigades, also showed an explosion at a distance and what appeared to be the debris of a plane on the ground.

Aljazeera said on Monday it had received a copy of the tape from the group.

Earlier, Ansar al-Islam, an al-Qaida-linked group, posted a statement on a website claiming it downed the Hercule aircraft.

The authenticity of the Ansar al-Islam website could not be verified.

British Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon said in a statement: "We are aware of reports that the aircraft may have been shot down, but we are not in a position to come to any conclusions until the investigation is complete."

The ministry also declined to comment on reports in The Daily Telegraph and Daily Mirror newspapers that members of Britain’s elite Special Air Service (SAS) were aboard the flight.

Air Vice-Marshall Tony Mason, a military expert, said the crash, which occurred during a spate of attacks aimed at sabotaging the first democratic elections in Iraq for 50 years, could have been caused by hostile action.

"On the face of it we have a fully serviceable aircraft, we have an extremely competent crew, we have the potential indicator that the first statement said the crash site covered a wide area, which suggests impact in the air rather than the ground," Mason said.

Meanwhile Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has criticised the US for failing to halt what he called Kurdish efforts to dominate the oil-rich city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 01/31/2005 7:36:16 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Official comments don't support the idea that any significant number of SF personnel were on board, though I wouldn't bet the house on MoD press releases.

The AII video seems to be a spool of shite. Patched footage from various incidents. From the one glimpse I've had of the video the wreckage seems to be that of a jet - there definitely seems to be a jet engine on the ground, though I could be mistaken, and there's the possibility that the Herc was transporting an aircraft engine.
Posted by: Bulldog || 01/31/2005 19:49 Comments || Top||

#2  BD, Was the video broadcast or did you see it on the net?
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 01/31/2005 20:13 Comments || Top||

#3  Mrs D - Parts were broadcast on ITN.
Posted by: Bulldog || 01/31/2005 20:23 Comments || Top||

#4  The video appears to be several different pieces cobbled together badly.
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 01/31/2005 20:32 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine
Palestinians prepare to take control in West Bank, Hamas shells settlements
Palestinians prepared to assume security control from Israel in four West Bank cities as their leader Mahmud Abbas saw an historic chance for peace, although a lull in violence was broken. The fatal shooting of a 10-year-old Palestinian schoolgirl and retaliatory shelling by Hamas of Jewish settlements in southern Gaza cast a shadow over the burgeoning hopes for a breakthrough in the four-year-old conflict.
The little girl was probably killed by Palestinian reveleres returning from Hajj (and shooting their rifles into the air.)
A senior Palestinian official said the transfer could take place as early as Tuesday if talks with Israel later Monday progressed smoothly. "If we reach agreement tonight (Monday) with the Israeli defence minister (Shaul Mofaz), we expect that the army will withdraw from the four cities tomorrow," said the official, who has been closely involved in the talks with Israeli counterparts. The transfer would take place in Ramallah, Jericho, Tulkarem and Qalqilya, the source told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Mofaz was due to meet former Palestinian security minister Mohammed Dahlan later on Monday to finalise the transfer agreement after holding a similar meeting on Saturday. The two were also expected to discuss Palestinian demands for the release of large numbers of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. Militant groups such as Hamas, which is meant to be observing a temporary albeit unofficial truce, have indicated they will declare a temporary formal ceasefire if Israel ends its military operations in the Gaza Strip and releases prisoners. The bloodshed has not ceased completely however, with a 10-year-old girl killed on Monday at a United Nations-run school in the southern Gaza town of Rafah. Medical sources said that Nuran Deab died instantly after being shot in the head at the school by Israeli soldiers manning a observation post on the nearby border into Egypt. The armed wing of Hamas said it had responded by firing a total of seven mortars against the settlement of Neve Dekalim and also targeted the nearby Atzmona settlement. An Israeli military spokeswoman reported that six mortar shells had been fired in southern Gaza but without causing injuries.
Posted by: Seafarious || 01/31/2005 4:55:58 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Medical sources said that Nuran Deab died instantly after being shot in the head at the school by Israeli soldiers manning a observation post on the nearby border into Egypt.

How can the 'medical sources' know where the bullet came from? And why would Israeli shoot a 10-year old girl -- they aren't muslims so it isn't a religious requirement (see: honor killing).

My bet is that Hamas shot the girl themselves so they could have an excuse to get a 'hit' of murdering an innocent person. Maybe she flerted with a boy or something.....
Posted by: CrazyFool || 01/31/2005 18:28 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan/South Asia
Tales From The "Crossfire" Gazette
Jan 30: Three armed cadres of Purba Banglar Communist Party (ML-Janajuddha) were killed in separate crossfire incidents with the police last night. The deceaseds are Idris Ali (38), son of late Moniruddin of village Kutubpur in Sadar Upazila, Ekramul Hoque Shanto (32), son of Korban Ali of village Moheshpur in Alamdanga upazila and Hasibul (37), son of Abu Bakar Siddique of village Nilmonigonj in sadar upazila of the district.
I'm sure they were all fine boys who loved their mothers
Police said, Idris Ali was arrested by Islami University police from Jhaudia village in sadar upazila of Kushtia district on January 27 and was handed over to Chuadanga thana police on January 28. On his confessional statement he was taken to his home to recover arms and ammunition by police-van.
We all know how this is going to turn out.
When they reached near the village Kutubpur, a group of armed cadres opened fire on police-van, police also retaliated. At that time Idris Ali tried to escape from the police. But he was killed in the crossfire. All accomplices of Idris Ali managed to flee.
They always do, leaving no witnesses, just a dead body
Idris Ali was accused in six cases including three murder cases. He was an armed cadre of PBCP ML (Janajuddha). Later police rushed to Idris Ali's house and recovered one pistol and three rounds of bullet.

On the other hand, Akramul Hoque Shanta and Hasibul were arrested by RAB from Dhaka on January 26. Later they were handed over to Alamdanga thana police. On their confessional statement, they were taken to Kalu's house of village Rangpur in Alamdanga upazila of the district by a police-van, when they reached near the village, some armed cadres opened fire on the police, who also returned the fire.
Wow, it's like deja vu, or something!
Akramul Hoque and Hasibul started to run to escape.
"Follow me, Hasibul! It's our only...ouch!"
But they were killed in the encounter. Police recovered two Shot guns and four rounds of bullet from the place of incident. They were accused in 16 cases including 12 murder cases. Two separate cases were lodged with the police. All bodies were taken to Chuadanga hospital for post-mortem.
Posted by: Steve || 01/31/2005 2:17:28 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Makes my day to read about this fine police work.
Posted by: SPOD || 01/31/2005 14:42 Comments || Top||

#2  'Tis a fine RB day indeed. "The Crossfire Gazette" and "Pirate Watch" together... makes a gal giddy!
Posted by: Seafarious || 01/31/2005 14:46 Comments || Top||

#3  those Bangl coppers have this down to a science
Posted by: Frank G || 01/31/2005 14:52 Comments || Top||


Iraq-Jordan
Marine: AK rounds in the legs, grenade shrapnel in the back
Hat tip: Kim du Toit. Check out the story and picture of this brave Marine.
Posted by: Dar || 01/31/2005 2:24:11 PM || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This guy has balls the size of coconuts. God bless.
Posted by: Jonathan || 01/31/2005 15:12 Comments || Top||

#2  Hardcore, man. I love this guy - and what he did for his fellow Marine. I hope he recovers full use of his legs. 7 hits. Shit! Man, the medical biz has come a long long way.
Posted by: .com || 01/31/2005 15:20 Comments || Top||

#3  Quote heard this morning....

Marines don't die and go to heaven. They go to hell and regroup.
Posted by: Billary || 01/31/2005 19:50 Comments || Top||


Suicide bomber had Down's Syndrome
Terrorists used a disabled child as a suicide bomber on election day, Iraqi interior minister Falah al-Naqib said today.
to the depths of depravity...and beyond!
In all, 44 people were killed in a total of 38 bomb attacks on polling stations. Police at the scene of one the Baghdad blasts said the bomber appeared to have Down's syndrome. Mr Al-Naqib praised an Iraqi citizen who was killed while preventing one suicide bomber from reaching a crowd of people outside a polling station.
What scum these insurgent "leaders" are. First there was the report of a driver who didn't know he was on a suicide mission (the remote was in another car a safe distance behind), and now this. I can't imagine a lower degree of respect for humanity. Disgusting.
Posted by: PlanetDan || 01/31/2005 12:17:31 PM || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1 
I can’t imagine a lower degree of respect for humanity.
Then you're unfortunately sorely lacking in imagination, PlanetDan.

At least where these wankers are concerned.

Hell, they've already called for a backhoe. :-(
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 01/31/2005 13:02 Comments || Top||

#2  well the terrorists have a convenient justification for these things

in their twisted view, the Down's syndrome child will go to heaven where he will be cured of Down's syndrome and enjoy the pleasures of paradise
Posted by: mhw || 01/31/2005 13:20 Comments || Top||

#3  I don't know why anyone here is shocked. Remember the mentally-retarded Palestinian suicide bomber? Remember Saddam's prison for children of political adversaries? Remember the Oil-for-Food Program corruption essentially stealing aid from needy children? Remember the gasing of Kurd villages? Heck, this is just business as usual.
Posted by: Tom || 01/31/2005 13:30 Comments || Top||

#4  Anderson Cooper actually mentioned this story on CNN this morning. I almost spilt my coffee.
Posted by: john || 01/31/2005 13:49 Comments || Top||

#5  Tom's right on. To my western mind, these f*ckers are not just evil, but total cowards ta boot. As this is a shock to most of the civilized world one cannot forget what type of culture were dealing w/here. The respect for life is not just the same as you see in other parts of the world. These people are extremist religious-fascist goofballs, they will use whatever means necessary to kill whoever stands in their way. Then they'll rationalize the whole thing by using whatever koranic verse they can find. Its all about control as usual. I truly believe all humans are created equal, but all cultures do not develop equally.
Posted by: Jarhead || 01/31/2005 14:00 Comments || Top||

#6  Thisn the sort of thing that pisses off the real God.
Posted by: Q || 01/31/2005 14:03 Comments || Top||

#7  Wasn't that kid the Israelis caught a 'special needs' child? God will punish them for this.
Posted by: Cyber Sarge || 01/31/2005 15:35 Comments || Top||

#8  "...44 people were killed in a total of 38 bomb attacks..."

I keep hearing that this number includes 9 homicide bombers. It is disgusting that these scum continue to be reported as though they are among the victims.

God bless that poor boy. From what I know of Down's Syndrome, he was most likely just trying to please those he thought loved him... then they called his cell phone.
Posted by: Hyper || 01/31/2005 15:41 Comments || Top||

#9  Apparently some are forgetting That some of these "insurgents" are actually Saddam's guys not persons driven by religion. This is just the way they do business sending a handicapped kid to he death is just fine with them.
Posted by: SPOD || 01/31/2005 15:45 Comments || Top||

#10  John,
I heard another surprizing thing on CNN today. They mentioned that 93% of Iraqi exiles in the US voted. Of course they meant 93% of Iraqi exiles who registered to vote. A rare case of a CNN mistake being in the direction of pro US policy.
Posted by: mhw || 01/31/2005 15:45 Comments || Top||

#11  Jarhead, you raise the point that I just can't get my mind around.

The Bad Guyz are evil on the order of comic books or space opera villains, Fu Manchu with turbans. They admit to being evil, they don't try to even hide the fact, even revel in it. They are Nazis reborn, Fascism resurgent. To me, that requires a war of extermination. Yet here are Kennedy and Kerry and all their slimy ilk demanding we bring the troops home, bemoaning what are really very low casualty figures for the amount of combat being waged, wanting to quit and pretend it's 9-10-2001.

It just doesn't make sense. I sometimes feel like I'm living in a funhouse. But I'm coming to a better understanding of the people who ignored the smell coming from Dachau. I'm just glad I'm not one of them.
Posted by: Fred || 01/31/2005 15:57 Comments || Top||

#12  Didn't the US have the same situation in the 30's when confronting Hitler? IIRC, lots of people wanted America First, and wanted an isolation policy with respect to Europe. Nobody realized that Lufthansa was pioneering air routes in South America for Nazi strategic purposes in the future. Lots of nefarious things going on.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 01/31/2005 16:56 Comments || Top||

#13  Didn't the US have the same situation in the 30's when confronting Hitler?

Indeed, AP. We've been through all this before. The recurrent weakness of democracy tends to be a reluctance to act until all other avenues are exhausted and the fight is one of survival. It's easy to be pessimistic about history repeating itself but perhaps the robust actions in the ME this time round, with the low toll that Fred points out, does actually represent a leaning from the past. Despite the shrill calls for inaction, the sentient West, with US leadership, is nipping this one in the bud...
Posted by: Bulldog || 01/31/2005 19:37 Comments || Top||

#14  Perhaps a practical implementation of the principles of eugenics. It's a well known fact that Islamic fundamentalists are big fans of Hitler's philosophy.



Posted by: Glitle Craviter4997 || 01/31/2005 21:56 Comments || Top||


The Need for Speed
January 30, 2005: In combat, speed kills. Or saves lives if you happen to be the faster team. In Iraq, American troops have learned the value of drills (exercises that increase speed). These drills are the precise sequence of movements you make in combat situations. The scariest ones involve clearing buildings. You want to hit uncleared rooms so fast that any enemy fighters inside won't have time to react, or will react too slowly to be effective. These same drills have been used to good effect in the hundreds of raids conducted every month. In most cases, there is no one waiting with a weapon, but if there is, it is rare for them to even get a shot off. Speed also limits the ability to hide weapons or documents.

Many troops coming to Iraq thought they had their drills down pretty good. But they found that a little more speed could be a life saver. Fire teams (4-5 troops) can sometimes be seen practicing in their bases. Even marines aboard their amphibious ships, on their way to Iraq, will take over small portions of the ship and practice for hours, in the hope of shaving a second or two off their time. The moves become automatic, and buy you a few seconds for when the unexpected does happen, and you need a few seconds to get out of it alive.

Even non-combat troops have been introduced to battle drills in Iraq. Every soldier and marine gets some exposure to these drills in basic training. If you are assigned to a combat support unit (in a combat unit), there is some refresher training. Just in case. But in Iraq, it became a matter of life and death how well, and how fast you can open fire from inside a truck, or get out of the truck and get in the best position to fight back. The army opened a special school in Kuwait, where non-combat troops can learn how to survive, when they come under fire while driving supply trucks through dangerous areas.

New tactics have been developed as a result of so many troops getting involved in combat. When speed is needed just to get near the building to be cleared, a hummer will be used. The vehicle can approach a building more quickly, and quietly, than an M-2 Bradley. The Stryker, because it's on wheels, is almost as fast, and the Stryker brigades have used their armored vehicles speed and low noise level to quickly get close to targets, before the troops jump out and into the building. Even getting out of a vehicle quickly can be improved with practice. Nothing like a few close calls to generate a lot of enthusiasm for practice, lots of practice.
Posted by: Steve || 01/31/2005 10:23:20 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Talk about speed, how about the short time it took to nap those seven freakazoids who fired the missle on the embassy annex? (within two hours)

They gotta be shitting in their sneakers.
Smile, you are on camera losers.
Posted by: Duke Nukem || 01/31/2005 10:49 Comments || Top||

#2  Immediate Action Drills (IADs) i.e. vehicle dismounting, room clearing, magazine exchanges while engaging targets create muscle memory and familiarity. Thus usually increasing ones chances of survivability on the battlefield by shaving off wasted time.
Posted by: Jarhead || 01/31/2005 11:13 Comments || Top||

#3  Is it helpful with the fear factor JarHead?
Posted by: Shipman || 01/31/2005 13:52 Comments || Top||

#4  Good. We want y'all to survive, Jarhead, and achieve the maximum of whatever you aim for -- be it mayhem or otherwise.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/31/2005 14:26 Comments || Top||

#5  Ship, I think so. There's a phrase that some of the combat vets I talked to say: "The training just takes over." Reference to doing a thousand drills/repetitions under stressful conditions, hence the muscle memory just takes over from the conscious thought. Albeit, I'm sure there's a certain percentage of people who freeze up for whatever reason. Such is the horrible nature of war. The main thing is to minimize injuries/deaths as much as possible.
On the average, if you out cycle your opponents OODA loop you put him at a disadvantage. If you know your IADs down to the gnat's ass you stand a better chance of not getting killed.
Posted by: Jarhead || 01/31/2005 14:43 Comments || Top||

#6  Thx TW. When in doubt cause mayhem I always say. :)
Posted by: Jarhead || 01/31/2005 14:45 Comments || Top||

#7  Ugh.... Do you know how many times I have reloaded a 1911 or a m16 in my living room or brought it to aim back in the day.... Or practicing throwing practice greandes in the same bunker with the same guys assaulting over and over and over again. You get so you don't even think about it at all.
Posted by: Mark E. || 01/31/2005 15:04 Comments || Top||


Scan Eagle Changes the War Down Below
January 30, 2005: U.S. Marines in Iraq have had much success with yet another recently developed, low cost ($100,000 per system), UAV. The 40 pound Scan Eagle only has a seven pound payload. But with smaller, cheaper and more effective cameras and electronics, it can carry a vidcam capable of clearly seeing people on the ground, and whether or not they are carrying weapons. The Scan Eagle can stay in the air for 19 hours using only 1.5 gallons of gasoline. It can carry a day, or night vision, stabilized (the image remains locked on the same area, even if the UAV is being buffeted by wind) camera. Using GPS, the UAV can either fly a pre-programmed route, or proceed under operator control. The UAV is launched via a pneumatic catapult, and lands via a fifty foot pole and a "skyhook" system. It has a top speed of 93 kilometers an hour. Development began in 2002, and it entered service in February 2003. Scan Eagle operates from ships as well. The marines have one or more Scan Eagles operating over combat zones, most of the time, to better enable commanders to see where friendly and enemy troops are. The real time images are sent to a commanders laptop, or a large screen LCD. Enemy fighters try to avoid the Scan Eagle by always moving under cover. But this is not always possible, and simply makes their movements more difficult. For marines, having something like Scan Eagle overhead has changed the way battles are fought. Giving commanders a full time "God's Eye View" of the combat area provides the marines with a much better idea of who is where and doing what. Enemy ambushes are much more difficult to set up, and enemy troops get found, and killed, much more quickly.
Posted by: Steve || 01/31/2005 10:14:36 AM || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  19 hours on 1.5 gallons? That's outstanding! I love just the idea of these UAVs forcing the nutters to keep their heads up at all times--just keeping them paranoid and forcing them to stay under cover has got to make these priceless psychological weapons.
Posted by: Dar || 01/31/2005 11:09 Comments || Top||

#2  That's excellent endurance. I get 7.5 gallons per hour. I will leave the mil observations to the Remote Professionals.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 01/31/2005 11:15 Comments || Top||

#3  That is impressive "mileage"... but I can hear it now... You have too many Global Hawks. They're like the SUVs of UAVs!
Posted by: .com || 01/31/2005 11:15 Comments || Top||

#4  AFR-Iraq must be playing a lot of Alan Parsons Project these days.

"I am the eye in the sky, looking at you . . ."
Posted by: Mike || 01/31/2005 11:36 Comments || Top||

#5  AFR-Iraq must be playing a lot of Alan Parsons Project these days. "I am the eye in the sky, looking at you . . ."

You know, there's the seed of a truly wonderful mindf*cking right there - put the word out on the street that whenever that song plays over AFR, we have a bad guy sighted and locked in...and then play it at random intervals...

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 01/31/2005 22:28 Comments || Top||


Hand-wringing on Iraq
Iraq 's interim leader called on his countrymen to set aside their differences Monday while jubilant Iraqis sifted through millions of ballots, tallying the results of a vote they hoped would usher in democracy and lead to the departure of 150,000 American troops.
Yeah. Ain'tcha happy for them?
But there were fears that not everyone would accept Sunday's results.
I guess you're not...
But who expressed those fears - the MSM?
Sunni participation was considerably lower than other groups, a U.S. official said on condition of anonymity.
Sunnis, is it? Oh, y'mean the people the people the terrs live with? Y'think that might have something to do with it?
That raised fears
Again with the fears?
Oh, yasss. I'm so very frightened!
that Sunni radicals who drive Iraq's insurgency could grow ever more alienated.
MORE alienated? WTF - could they BE more alienated? BTW, what do you mean "alienated"? A kid who doesn't call home, that's alienated. People who blow up other people are called TERRORISTS.
I think they're referring to true alienation, not a child sticking his lower lip out. True alienation leads to violence. When that doesn't work it leads to ennui, then to cafard, and finally to slitting of the wrists, which prob'ly also deserves an expensive French name.
Posted by: Spot || 01/31/2005 9:12:08 AM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  LOL Spot.

"...fears that Sunni radicals who drive Iraq’s insurgency could grow ever more alienated."

Alienated? I'd bet most Iraqis would be happy with that. Dead: even better.
Posted by: Bulldog || 01/31/2005 9:51 Comments || Top||

#2  Hot damn--I thought terrorists alone were bad enough, and alienated terrorists sound even worse! Thank God they're not seething alienated terrorists--oh, hold me, Fatima!
Posted by: Dar || 01/31/2005 10:34 Comments || Top||

#3  ..that many Iraqis hope will usher in democracy and hasten the departure of 150,000 American troops.

Oh really? And how did Keyser come to this determination? Ask a handful of Sunni individuals about their feelings about being occupied and then decide to call that number "most"?
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 01/31/2005 10:50 Comments || Top||

#4  If they are not carefull they will"alienate"themselves into a grave.
Posted by: Raptor || 01/31/2005 11:15 Comments || Top||

#5  Better they be alienated than the rest of the world be upset or weasels.
Posted by: Duh || 01/31/2005 12:29 Comments || Top||

#6  Baathists were truly repudiated in this election, now the US and coalition should drive a wedge between the baathists and the foreign fighters by pointing out that the best case scenerio for the Sunni insurgency is an independent Sunni triangle with no economic prospects (even Jordan wouldn't want to absorb them). A worse case scenerio is chasing the US out and watching the Kurds and Shia fill some mass graves with payback.

You want some punks? Well do you? Time to cooperate and join the team for the big win.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 01/31/2005 13:12 Comments || Top||

#7  I prefer alienated over homicidal terrorist Sunnis, myself.
Posted by: Desert Blondie || 01/31/2005 14:17 Comments || Top||


Australian killed in Iraq crash
The Australian Defence Department has confirmed an Australian man was among at least 10 British military personnel killed in a military plane crash in Iraq today. Paul Pardoel, 35, a former Royal Australian Air Force officer from Victoria, had been serving with the British Royal Air Force and living with his family in the UK for several years. The Defence Department has confirmed he was on board the British Hercules transport plane which crashed about 40 kilometres north-west of Baghdad this morning.

British authorities say at least 10 military personnel are dead but the final toll may rise to 15. Australian consular officials in Baghdad are discussing the incident with British authorities. Mr Pardoel leaves behind his wife Kelly and three young children. His parents, who live in Australia, say their son was due to return home for good in a few months. His mother, Margaret Pardoel, says she cannot believe her only son is gone. "Paul was coming out of the Air Force in July and he was going into something completely different because of the children," she said. "That was very dangerous - too dangerous - and that was his last flight. He wasn't going to be doing any more and he never came back. It's very, very sad."

In other developments:
Iraq remains locked down and under strict curfews and restrictions as an estimated 8 million ballot papers from yesterday's elections are ferried under armed guard to Baghdad to be counted. The Federal Government has revealed it is reviewing the role and number of Australian troops in Iraq after deciding to move diplomatic staff in Baghdad to a coalition military camp.
Posted by: God Save The World || 01/31/2005 4:53:06 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  May he rest in peace and may his loved ones be comforted that through his death many others will live in freedom.
Posted by: Duke Nukem || 01/31/2005 10:54 Comments || Top||

#2  May God bless him and keep him, and give him peace. Words cannot express our gratitude to him and his family for the sacrifice they made to protect us all.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/31/2005 11:13 Comments || Top||


Iraqi Insurgency 101
Continued from yesterday, EFL ...
A video obtained by NEWSWEEK shows some of al-Shayea's half-whispered testimony, prompted by the commanding voice of an interrogator. He seems terrified, confused. Yet according to Kamal, the information he supplied offered startling insights into the relentless insurgency that has grown dramatically since U.S. troops toppled the statue of dictator Saddam Hussein on April 9, 2003. Al-Shayea claimed the Iraqi police even had Zarqawi himself under arrest in Fallujah last October, but despite a $25 million reward—and perhaps not knowing whom they had—they let go the most ruthless and notorious killer in Iraq. (According to the deputy minister, security officials who have checked the circumstances now believe that may well be true.)

General Kamal says information supplied by al-Shayea helped Coalition forces round up several of Zarqawi's key lieutenants within a matter of days. Among them is Abu Umar al-Kurdi, real name Sami Muhammad Saeed al-Jafi, a terrorist demolition man who confessed to 32 car bombings over the last two years. Even if Zarqawi continues to elude capture, nailing al-Kurdi was a critical score. It might—just might—eventually help change the course of this war that has seemed to defy political or military solutions, despite last weekend's elections, and despite an enormous toll in blood that included the loss just last week of 31 Americans in a nighttime helicopter crash.

The key to defeating the insurgents, Iraqi officials now believe, is to find ways to separate and eliminate the most radical groups, like Zarqawi's, from those others that may be willing to make peace. (Similar strategies were tried, and succeeded, in Algeria and Egypt in the 1990s.) Taking out a key bombmaker producing Zarqawi's arsenal is a solid step in the right direction. But to understand how this might work, it's important to look at the very beginnings of the insurrection, in those months when the Bush administration first seriously threatened war against Saddam and started massing its troops, but hadn't yet made its move. As the world pondered the question of whether Saddam would give up the weapons of mass destruction that, in fact, he no longer had, he was preparing another kind of surprise for the Americans.
Continued on Page 49
This article starring:
ABU OMAR AL KURDIal-Qaeda in Iraq
SAMI MUHAMAD SAID AL JAFIal-Qaeda in Iraq
Posted by: Dan Darling || 01/31/2005 1:59:12 AM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  1st warning this was an MSM hack job:

the relentless insurgency that has grown dramatically since U.S. troops toppled the statue

2nd and final warning for me that any conclusions reached by this article would be complete and utter bullshit:

It might—just might—eventually help change the course of this war that has seemed to defy political or military solutions, despite last weekend’s elections

Screw you Newsweak.
Posted by: JerseyMike || 01/31/2005 9:53 Comments || Top||

#2  I stopped getting Newsweek when I realized that it frequently bashes Christianity right before Christmas and Easter with "religious" spreads that subtly undermine Christian doctrine using left-leaning liberal theologians and such. Time is somewhat better, but many of the articles in these "news magazines" are just a tad more credible than the tabloids. For example, they select photos for shock value rather than representative photos. Watch -- next week they'll cover the Iraqi election with more bombing photos than voting photos.
Posted by: Tom || 01/31/2005 10:19 Comments || Top||

#3  Newsweak is an insurgent whore
Posted by: Duke Nukem || 01/31/2005 10:56 Comments || Top||

#4  Subtly undermine? Nothing they write about for those issues is new news. Often, it is years old for the archeology community. Not to mention that Newsweek presents argued hypothesis as settled fact.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/31/2005 11:20 Comments || Top||

#5  if dan darling thinks this is worth posting, then rest assured there are useful tidbits amidst whatever spin there is.
Posted by: Liberalhawk || 01/31/2005 11:48 Comments || Top||

#6  Not to mention Newsweek's snark-filled "Conventional Wisdom" feature...

Or the fact that Anna Quindlen actually gets a page-length column, when she is barely qualified to be part of the night cleaning staff...

Or the rampant "People"-ization of its features...

Or the way that Newsweek's "news" features reek of stale journo school recieved wisdom and PC-ness...


Yeah, I'm bitter about the money I wasted on that rag.

Since I dropped it after 9/11, I feel a lot better...
Posted by: Carl in N.H. || 01/31/2005 11:52 Comments || Top||

#7  I like News Weeks monthly advertorial section, it lends creditablity to an otherwise discredited audit dodging rag.
Posted by: Shipman || 01/31/2005 13:58 Comments || Top||

#8  Forget the article, the video is powerful. This guy realizes he's been lied to by these terrorist. It's just confirmation that these sons of bitches are evil and we don't need to show mercy.
Posted by: Chineter Spoger1529 || 01/31/2005 14:04 Comments || Top||


RAF Hercules Crash Update
A senior US military officer in Iraq said the aircraft was on its way to the large US base at Balad, which is used by allied special forces to mount operations in a number of towns inside the so-called Sunni Triangle. It was not immediately clear what caused the crash but the most likely explanation seemed to be that it had been shot down by insurgents. The incident is believed to mark the largest single loss of British personnel since the start of the war, almost two years ago. A "special duties" aircraft would normally carry a crew of five or six. It could carry up to 128 passengers but in a special forces role, a maximum of 70 is more likely.
70 UK SF in one plane over hostile ground? Methinks not. Probably nearer 7.
The Ministry of Defence was unable to say how many people were killed, but Tony Blair confirmed that British servicemen had died including members of the Army. "This country and the wider world will never forget them," he said, in a televised address from Downing Street. "This is the true face of the British Army: brave, committed, professional the world over, doing an extraordinary job on behalf of their country. "Yet again today we see the sacrifice that they make. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who lost their lives today." President George W Bush added his own tribute, saying: "We also mourn the American and British military personnel who lost their lives today." That appeared to suggest that there could have been US special forces on board the aircraft as well. The SAS operates in northern Iraq alongside its American counterparts. The worst loss of life for the SAS since the Second World War was in the Falklands when 18 members were killed.
Another air crash, when a Sea King ditched transferring men between ships in rough weather.
If the aircraft was shot down, it would represent a major success for the insurgents who have been trying to disrupt the Iraqi elections. US aircraft and helicopters have been regularly targeted with shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles. But although dozens of US helicopters have been brought down, until now no fixed-wing aircraft has crashed as a result of enemy attack.
One US C130 Hercules transport aircraft was hit by a missile last November in the same region and three other fixed-wing aircraft, including a civilian airliner, have been hit by missiles after taking off from Baghdad. But none crashed as a result. RAF Hercules operating in Iraq are fitted with several types of so-called DAS counter-measures against the heat-seeking guidance sensors of the missiles. They are based at Basra International Airport or al-Udeid base in Qatar and make regular "milk run" flights to Baghdad airport with supplies for personnel at the British Embassy and nearby US military headquarters. The only RAF C130s known to operate north of Baghdad are the "special duties" aircraft of 47 Sqn based at Lyneham.
Posted by: Bulldog || 01/31/2005 3:55:20 AM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Good rumor has it that the personnel loss was in the mid-teens. Cause truly not yet determined and under investigation. May their brave souls rest in peace.
Posted by: Verlaine in Iraq || 01/31/2005 4:44 Comments || Top||

#2  UPDATE: Ansar al Islam is claiming it hit the low-flying Herc with an anti-tank missile.

One of the crew was Australian - the first Australian death so far in Iraq.

Good rumor has it that the personnel loss was in the mid-teens.

The media here are saying that too, Verlaine.
Posted by: Bulldog || 01/31/2005 4:59 Comments || Top||

#3  I have a feeling the Ansar al Islam boys may live to regret this.
Posted by: Bulldog || 01/31/2005 5:02 Comments || Top||

#4  A vivid illustration that freedom is never free. May they rest in peace. They have made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their country and for which it stands.
Posted by: Duke Nukem || 01/31/2005 6:36 Comments || Top||

#5  One presumes that the Syrians' SAM missile deal with Russia went through without any hitches, then? As expected, the Beeb is conveniently focussing on this story to take the public's gaze away from the success of the Iraqi elections.
Posted by: Howard UK || 01/31/2005 6:45 Comments || Top||

#6  I expect a world-wide shortage of Kool Aid is imminent.
Posted by: .com || 01/31/2005 6:47 Comments || Top||

#7  totally agree Bulldog . Am sure the lads at Creden Hill are itching for some payback .
Posted by: MacNails || 01/31/2005 8:07 Comments || Top||

#8  The SAS do a fair amount of training in Norway, do they not? Mullah Krekar, spiritual leader of AAI, has been sponging and recruiting there as an exile since 1991...
Posted by: Bulldog || 01/31/2005 12:09 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan/South Asia
Taliban may be deported
Senior former Taliban officials arrested in Balochistan and suspected of links to Al Qaeda will be handed over to Afghanistan if nothing can be proved against them, police said on Sunday.

"If nothing is proved against them except living without any legal documents in Pakistan, they will be handed over to the Afghan government for being Afghan nationals," said Pervez Rafi Bhatti, the Quetta police chief. The 17 Afghan suspects were picked up by police in a swoop on Thursday on hideouts in Quetta in Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, AFP reported.

AP quoted Bhatti as saying that the police had gleaned "useful" information from the suspects, but he would not give further details.

He said six suspects were released late on Saturday after questioning proved they were Pakistanis with no links with the Taliban.

A security official in Quetta, who asked not to be named, said on Saturday that the Taliban suspects were being interrogated to know where Mulla Omar was hiding.

"The suspects are being questioned about their links to Al Qaeda," Bhatti said.

Investigators have identified one detainee as Mulla Abdur Razzak but on Sunday still could not confirm whether he is the former Afghan interior minister of the same name during the Taliban's rule.

The former deputy governor of southern Helmand province, Mulla Khush Dil, and ex-Kabul police chief Mulla Ibrahim were also among the arrested group.
This article starring:
MULA ABDUR RAZZAKTaliban
MULA IBRAHIMTaliban
MULA KHUSH DILTaliban
Posted by: Dan Darling || 01/31/2005 12:24:41 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


More on the Quetta boom
A powerful bomb exploded near the Askari Park, without causing any casualty or damage to property. However, a second blast partially damaged an oil tanker in the Kuchlak suburb of the city.

The bomb disposal squad defused a third bomb planted inside the Askari Park. Capital City Police Officer Pervaiz Bhatti confirmed the incidents, saying that unidentified persons had planted the bomb near the park which exploded at 3am. Another one, weighing 3kg, was planted inside the park which was defused.

About the Kuchlak blast, the police official claimed that a small bomb partially damaged the oil tanker but said it was not a subversive act. He said two private companies had a dispute with each other, and one of them had filed an FIR against the other for the incident.

When asked why blast incidents were on the rise despite tight security measures, he said a key saboteur had been arrested two days ago while 24 suspects had also been taken into custody. "We are investigating the matter from different angles," he said.

About the arrests of suspected Taliban three days ago, Mr Bhatti said that investigators were quizzing six senior Taliban while 11 others had been sent to jail.

He acknowledged that six activists of Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI-F), who had been held during raids to apprehend the Afghans, had been released the next day.
The CCPO said that if the detained persons, including Maulana Khushdil, Maulana Ibrahim, Mufti Razzak, Mufti Rehmatullah, Maulana Nabi, and Maulana Agha Muhammad, were found to be having no links with Al Qaeda then they would be handed over to the Afghan government.

He said that 17 Afghans were arrested on charges of entering Pakistan without legal documents. Upon completion of the interrogation process, the detained people would be sent back to Afghanistan. He acknowledged that six activists of Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI-F), who had been held during raids to apprehend the Afghans, had been released the next day.
This article starring:
MAULANA AGHA MUHAMADTaliban
MAULANA IBRAHIMTaliban
MAULANA KHUSHDILTaliban
MAULANA NABITaliban
MUFTI RAZZAKTaliban
MUFTI REHMATULAHTaliban
Posted by: Dan Darling || 01/31/2005 12:22:21 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Didja set the bomb for 3 o'clock?"
"Yeah, boss."
"3 P.M.?
"Ummm...whudduz 'P.M.' mean, chief?"
Posted by: PBMcL || 01/31/2005 0:33 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine
Quraya meets with Palestinian factions
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei held an emergency meeting with leaders of the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip on a day Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian. Quraya has been holding talks with members of the Higher Follow-up Committee for Intifada (HFCI), Aljazeera's correspondent in Gaza reports. Sunday's meeting was the second in less than 24 hours. AFP reports that the talks in Gaza City were part of efforts to reach an agreement for a halt to anti-Israeli attacks.

Political representatives of groups such as Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) took part in the meeting of the HFCI with Quraya. However, the main Islamic radical movement Hamas was not present, with members saying that organisers had not been able to contact them in time.
If you're not there, you're not committed to anything...
"We discussed the prospects for a mutual ceasefire which would see an end to the Israeli violations against us," Quraya said after the meeting. "We also talked about our (Palestinian Authority) contacts with the Israelis and how best to present our case." With deployment of police, there has been a downturn in violence Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas has persuaded the factions to observe a temporary "cooling down" period but wants Israel to match any formal ceasefire declaration by ending its military operations in the occupied territories and starting to release Palestinian prisoners. Nafaz Azzam, a local leader of Islamic Jihad, said that the meeting took place in a positive atmosphere. "We talked about a ceasefire, but everybody, including Abu Alaa (Quraya), agreed that this ceasefire should be not just be from one side and not for free," he said.
This article starring:
NAFAZ AZZAMIslamic Jihad
Posted by: Fred || 01/31/2005 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  if you give a mouse a cookie...
Posted by: 2b || 01/31/2005 1:19 Comments || Top||


Iraq-Jordan
Shiites Turn Out in Force
Lamia Radi, Agence France Presse
Mothers carrying babies and blind men helped by relatives were among thousands of Shiites who rushed to vote across southern Iraq yesterday, driven by fervor to shake off decades of oppression. "I insisted on coming despite my handicap because voting is a religious duty according to Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani," Iraq's Shiite religious leader, said blind Jawwad Shkeir, 56, as he went to vote in the holy city of Najaf.

Eighty-year-old Mahdeya Saleh, covered from head to toe in a black chador robe, beamed with pride at being part of Iraq's first democratic elections in 50 years. "I was often forced to vote under Saddam Hussein. Today I came freely to choose the candidate of my choice. This is the first and last time in my life," to vote, she said.

Long queues of voters desperate to end those miserable decades began forming outside polling stations from the minute they opened at 0400 GMT. Samir Hassan lost his leg in a Baghdad bombing but that did not stop him voting in Iraq's election yesterday, determined to defy the men who maimed him. "I would have crawled here if I had to. I don't want terrorists to kill other Iraqis like they tried to kill me," said Hassan, 32, at a polling station in western Baghdad.
Posted by: Fred || 01/31/2005 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Iraqi observers see little fraud in election
BAGHDAD: A group that organised 10,000 independent observers for Sunday's Iraqi election said there had been "very little fraud" seen during the historic vote. As polling stations started to close, a spokesman for the Ain (Eye) non-government organisation told a press conference "our observers remarked that in general the elections went ahead in an excellent way and there was very little fraud or violations."

"We have not reported any violations by the electoral commission," Najem al-Rubaie said. He noted that turnout in the Kurdish provinces in northern Iraq had been exceptionally high. "In Sulaimaniyah, we have had problems in two polling centres where electoral commission staff did not allow observers to enter. But we quickly solved this problem," Rubaie said. Even in the ethnic tinderbox of Kirkuk, where attacks against polling stations had intensified in recent days, he reported only minor attacks against one of them. "But the operation continued normally," he said.
Posted by: Fred || 01/31/2005 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I love that image. It captures so many aspects of the event, and her eyes aren't conveying some imaginary grudge or complaint - they emote joy. Fox is using this as the signature image of the election, as well.

The UN guy (can't recall his name at the moment) is waxing ecstatic about the way the election came off. Gee, ya think that means Kofi & Co will have to *gasp* admit it was "legitimate"? Is Ethel standing by with your pills?

Lol! If the wankers want to know, I suggest they ask the Lady in Black.
Posted by: .com || 01/31/2005 6:54 Comments || Top||

#2  I also like it because it reflects the changes that are occuring in this society. She's got relatively traditional dress, but it sure looks like lipstick to me and the V sign may now be universal, but we all know who made it famous. And I see not just joy but the quiet confidence and satisfaction of those who know they will prevail.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 01/31/2005 7:43 Comments || Top||

#3  Congratulations to the people of Iraq. Their courage and determination is deeply moving.
Posted by: Liberalhawk || 01/31/2005 9:28 Comments || Top||

#4  Bravo. Excellent!
Posted by: Ptah || 01/31/2005 11:32 Comments || Top||

#5  Choke on it Donks!
Posted by: Secret Master || 01/31/2005 15:08 Comments || Top||

#6  Im a donk and this is exactly the good news ive been looking for. This is a triumph for Iraq, for democracy, and for the American military - this is NOT a partisan victory for one American political party or the other
Posted by: Liberalhawk || 01/31/2005 15:11 Comments || Top||

#7  Unfortuanately, LH, your opinion is in the minority in the opposition, or at least the vocal minority. Too many Democrats define their success as Bush's failure not the country's success. It is part of their descent into minority and then marginality. Whether they can rebound is the question of the hour.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 01/31/2005 15:22 Comments || Top||

#8  Can we borrow some of the Iraqi poll-watchers in 2006 in Washington and Wisconsin?
Posted by: jackal || 01/31/2005 20:13 Comments || Top||


Muslim Scholars just hates those Iraqi elections
Iraq's influential Association of Muslim Scholars has told Aljazeera that the low turnout by Sunni Arabs in elections was due to a lack of real choice and military occupation.
As anyone can see, the Kurds and Shiites and Chaldeans and Turkmen had lots of choices and are completely unoccupied...
In an interview broadcast before polling stations closed on Sunday, Muhammad al-Kubaysi said low turnout in places such as Baghdad, Baquba and Samarra could have been prevented if there had been more time to create a genuine election.
"Yeah! You shoulda put the elections off for awhile."
"Like how long?"
"'Bout 30 years should do it..."
"The voter goes to the polling stations not knowing who he is voting for in the first place. There are more than 7700 candidates, and I challenge any Iraqi voter to name more than half a dozen."
There aren't quite that many parties, luckily, and they were voting by slate...
He also criticised the huge number of groups on voting lists in which it was virtually impossible to know who was standing for election and what the candidate's background was.
"Impossible. Simply impossible. Maybe Kurds and Shiites and Chaldeans and Turkmen could cope with it, but not Sunnis."
The AMS spokesman added that it would be wrong for the US to assume that any new government could legitimise the continued US military presence in the region. "The elections are not a solution to the Iraqi problem, because this problem is not an internal dispute to be resolved through accords and elections. It lies in the presence of a foreign power that occupies this country and refuses even the mere scheduling of the withdrawal of its forces from Iraq", he said. Al-Kubaysi said AMS believed political consensus among Iraqi parties could only be reached once the foreign military presence left the country and all parties had to rely on debate rather than use of force.
"And what'll you do for a government until then?"
"The Association of Muslim Scholars could run things until then. Trust us..."
"We have consistently argued that elections can only occur in a democracy that enjoys sovereignty. Our sovereignty is incomplete. Our sovereignty is usurped by foreign forces that have occupied our land and hurt our dignity." Asked whether the influential group was looking to upset a transition to democracy by rejecting elections, al-Kubaysi replied: "These elections ... are a means of establishing the foreign forces in Iraq and keeping Iraq under the yoke of occupation. They should have been postponed."
I'd call that a "yes."

This article starring:
MUHAMAD AL KUBAISIAssociation of Muslim Scholars
Posted by: Fred || 01/31/2005 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  There is nothing quite like Arab Logic. It needs a warning label. methinks...

The Surgeon General has determined that Arab Logic may be seriously hazardous to your mental health. If you delve too deeply, it has been shown to cause fundamental physical changes in the brain... first it severs the corpus collosum causing grande mal seizures and convulsions... then you begin speaking in tongues as your right and left hemispheres engage in a battle for dominance... text no longer makes sense - and you must rely upon the pretty pictures... then it fries the myelin from all your intercranial neurons, effectively shorting out all but the simplest thought patterns, and turns Schwann cells into Schwinn cells. As the event unfolds, your synapses begin to fire in perfect syncopated rhythm with Led Zeppelin's Kashmir and a puff of smoke comes out of your ears. Afterwards, when the event has completed, of course, you're a shoo-in to qualify for the Tour de France and you'll find yourself inexplicably drawn to the NYT Fashion & Style Section and consider vacationing in Paris as a rational act. In the final death-sprial of what was, once, your shining intelect, you'll consider haute couture as normal daywear.

Your choice. Don't say you weren't warned.
Posted by: .com || 01/31/2005 0:42 Comments || Top||

#2  "Iraq’s influential Association of Muslim Scholars..." I think there is a minor grammatical error here. I think the word "influential" should be capitalized, as part of their self-given title. So instead of IAoMS, it should be IIAoMS.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 01/31/2005 8:37 Comments || Top||

#3  Iraq’s influential Association of Muslim Scholars

. . . destined to take its place alongside Pat Buchanan's American Conservative magazine, Dennis Kucinich's 2004 presidential bid, and the Cleveland Browns offense, in the Organization of the Overrated and Overconfident Hall of Fame Obscurity.
Posted by: Mike || 01/31/2005 8:51 Comments || Top||

#4  rare form PD! LOL
Posted by: Shipman || 01/31/2005 10:26 Comments || Top||

#5  :) Tanx, bro!
Posted by: .com || 01/31/2005 10:31 Comments || Top||

#6  whatthe? I love Led Zeppelin!
Posted by: Frank G || 01/31/2005 10:46 Comments || Top||

#7  And that link goes to one of the best examples of R&R syncopation ever recorded, heh.
Posted by: .com || 01/31/2005 10:49 Comments || Top||

#8  "The elections are not a solution to the Iraqi --problem, because this problem is not an internal dispute to be resolved through accords and elections. It lies in the presence of a foreign power that occupies this country and refuses even the mere scheduling of the withdrawal of its forces from Iraq",--

Then it becomes an internal dispute which cannot be solved by accords and elections.
Posted by: anonymous2u || 01/31/2005 10:53 Comments || Top||

#9  ---"We have consistently argued that elections can only occur in a democracy that enjoys sovereignty---

Like the 2002 elections?
Posted by: anonymous2u || 01/31/2005 10:54 Comments || Top||

#10  I don't know about "Arab logic", but I've read plenty this morning that convinces me that Sunnis are morons and "Sunni logic" is an oxymoron.
Posted by: Tom || 01/31/2005 10:55 Comments || Top||

#11  Al-Kubaysi said AMS believed political consensus among Iraqi parties could only be reached once the foreign military presence left the country and all parties had to rely on debate rather than use of force.

So does this mean AMS WONT take part in the upcoming constitutional discussions?? If they do all the above is simply rhetoric. If they dont, I think they will simply marginalize themselves.


I also note that some Sunni groups DID participate, notably the party led by Adnan Pachachi. Also there was considerable Sunni voting in parts of Baghdad and Mosul, and even some in Fallujah of all places.

Posted by: Liberalhawk || 01/31/2005 11:45 Comments || Top||

#12  the "Kashmir" part would be cool, the rest of it I'd rather avoid........
Posted by: Jarhead || 01/31/2005 11:49 Comments || Top||

#13  foreign forces that have occupied our land and hurt our dignity

He just said it, the Sunni's can blame whoever they want, but it's really their own fault because all they care about is pride, and noone elses dignity for over 30 years.

Sorry about the lack of choices, Sammy wasn't on the Ballot this time!
Posted by: Chineter Spoger1529 || 01/31/2005 13:51 Comments || Top||

#14  Bummer, TGA: your elections are still not legitimate while we have our troops over there. You, too, Bulldog. Oh, and South Korea and Japan.
Posted by: jackal || 01/31/2005 20:16 Comments || Top||

#15  40% of the Sunni voted. This is just a bunch or trubaned retards. A far as I can tell all you need to be a Muslim Scholar is a turban and some people stupid enough to follow you.

The reporters hanging out in the green zone love this crap they can drink all day and report this nonsense as news. It plays to their bias so of course they love it.
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 01/31/2005 20:37 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan/South Asia
Three Al Qaeda suspects arrested
LAHORE: Law enforcement agencies arrested three men here on Sunday for suspected links with Al Qaeda, Geo news channel reported. The three men, arrested on a tip, were accused of working for Al Qaeda, the channel said. They are being interrogated at an undisclosed location.
Posted by: Fred || 01/31/2005 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Pakistan may deport Taliban
Senior former Taliban officials arrested in Balochistan and suspected of links to Al Qaeda will be handed over to Afghanistan if nothing can be proved against them, police said on Sunday. "If nothing is proved against them except living without any legal documents in Pakistan, they will be handed over to the Afghan government for being Afghan nationals," said Pervez Rafi Bhatti, the Quetta police chief. The 17 Afghan suspects were picked up by police in a swoop on Thursday on hideouts in Quetta in Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, AFP reported.

AP quoted Bhatti as saying that the police had gleaned "useful" information from the suspects, but he would not give further details. He said six suspects were released late on Saturday after questioning proved they were Pakistanis with no links with the Taliban. A security official in Quetta, who asked not to be named, said on Saturday that the Taliban suspects were being interrogated to know where Mulla Omar was hiding. "The suspects are being questioned about their links to Al Qaeda," Bhatti said. Investigators have identified one detainee as Mulla Abdur Razzak but on Sunday still could not confirm whether he is the former Afghan interior minister of the same name during the Taliban's rule.
This article starring:
MULA ABDUR RAZZAKTaliban
Posted by: Fred || 01/31/2005 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Clerics are put on tight leash in Multan
MULTAN: The district administration has banned the entry of 26 clerics and outlawed 28 others from making speeches during Muharram to tackle any sectarian incident, while mourners will be under tight screening during Majalis-i-Aza. Arif Nawaz, the district police officer, told reporters on Sunday that public meetings, rallies and demonstrations have also been banned.
Posted by: Fred || 01/31/2005 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Bomb explosions rock Quetta
Two bombs exploded in and around Quetta on Sunday, officials said, the latest in a series of attacks that have targeted government installations and security forces in the region. No injuries were reported. A bomb hidden in a plastic shopping bag went off near a park fence in a northern neighbourhood of Quetta, said Pervez Rafi Bhatti, the city's police chief. The second bomb exploded near a roadside restaurant in Kuchlak, a small town about 20 kilometres north of Quetta, damaging a trolley parked nearby, Bhatti said. No injuries were reported in the blasts. Elsewhere in the province, security forces seized a cache of arms and munitions in a dry stream in Naukundi, said Lt Col Rizwan Malik. No one was arrested and it was not known who dumped the cache there, Malik said. BLA spokesman Mir Azad Baluch claimed responsibility for Saturday's explosions in telephone calls to newspaper offices in Quetta.
Posted by: Fred || 01/31/2005 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Damn, will this story never die?
Posted by: Shipman || 01/31/2005 17:27 Comments || Top||


Holy Man Bumped Off in Karachi
Two gunmen riding a motorbike shot dead a leading Sunni Muslim scholar and his bodyguard yesterday in Pakistan's restive southern city of Karachi, police said. "Maulana Haroon Al-Qasmi and his guard have been killed in an ambush," city police chief Tariq Jamil told AFP, describing the victim as a noted scholar.
Oh! I'm just devastated! Poor Haroon!
Dozens of angry youths went on the rampage after hearing the news. The rioters attacked a police post, ransacked several shops and burnt tires on roads, witnesses said.
The standard reaction...
"We have reports of a few violent incidents after the murder. The situation is under control now," Jamil said. Paramilitary rangers had been called in to control the violence.
"After they tapped a few turbans things settled down quick enough..."
Witnesses said Qasmi and his guard were sitting in their car after leaving a mosque where he used to lead prayers in the downtown Tariq Road area when the two men sprayed them with bullets before fleeing.
"Take dat, youse guyz!"
They died on the way to hospital, Jamil said.
"Hang on, Haroon! We're almost there!"
"Rosebud!"
"Kill the siren, Mahmoud! And stop at the chicken stand. I'm hungry!"
The outlawed Sunni militant outfit Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan(SSP) said Qasmi was one of their activists.
Now he's a defunct activist of an outlawed Sunni militant outfit...
"He was a good lawyer and chief of our legal team, which is fighting cases of our workers in the courts," said SSP spokesman Qari Mohammad Shafiq. Qasmi's father Maulana Ishaq Al-Qasmi was shot dead at the same place in 2003, Shafiq said.
Sounds like a family tradition...
President Pervez Musharraf banned SSP in January 2002 but it re-emerged under a new name of Millat-e-Islamia. SSP leader Maulana Azam Tariq, also an MP, was assassinated in Islamabad in October 2003.
To jubilation among some of us...
The murder of a Sunni cleric before the holy Islamic month of Muharram has raised fear of sectarian clashes. "It is a conspiracy to ignite sectarian clashes in the city," said Allama Hasan Turabi, a Shiite cleric.
Uhuh. And where were you on the morning of the 30th, Hasan?

This article starring:
AZAM TARIQMillat-e-Islamia
MAULANA HARUN AL QASMISipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan
MAULANA ISHAQ AL QASMISipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan
QARI MOHAMAD SHAFIQSipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan
Posted by: Fred || 01/31/2005 9:54:54 PM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I thought they just finished a holy month. This is starting to sound like Medieval Catholicism, with saint's days and Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays off limits for various reasons. Or France today.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/31/2005 6:30 Comments || Top||

#2  "Rosebud!"

ROFL! Oh brother! Poor Wells, from icon full circle to anti-icon, lol!

Chicken schwarmas? Heh, loved 'em, though I'd tell the guy to hold the yogurt sauce and pickled celery, take 'em "home" and load up with cheese, tomatoes, onions, sour cream and Pace Picante - when I could find it. Oh, and Nalley's jalapenos - when available. Then it was a soft chicken taco in a thick tortilla, heh.
Posted by: .com || 01/31/2005 6:39 Comments || Top||

#3  well , he's definately a holey man now :P
Posted by: MacNails || 01/31/2005 7:53 Comments || Top||

#4  tw,

LOL
Posted by: Poison Reverse || 01/31/2005 8:17 Comments || Top||

#5  Sorry, Maulana. Not Muslim enough...
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/31/2005 9:18 Comments || Top||



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On Sale now!


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

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

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

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Two weeks of WOT
Mon 2005-01-31
  Kuwaiti Islamists form first political party
Sun 2005-01-30
  Iraq Votes
Sat 2005-01-29
  Fazl Khalil resigns
Fri 2005-01-28
  Ted Kennedy Calls for U.S. Withdrawal from Iraq
Thu 2005-01-27
  Renewed Darfur Fighting Kills 105
Wed 2005-01-26
  Indonesia sends top team for Aceh rebel talks
Tue 2005-01-25
  Radical Islamists Held As Umm Al-Haiman brains
Mon 2005-01-24
  More Bad Boyz arrested in Kuwait
Sun 2005-01-23
  Germany to Deport Hundreds of Islamists
Sat 2005-01-22
  Palestinian forces patrol northern Gaza
Fri 2005-01-21
  70 arrested for Gilgit attacks
Thu 2005-01-20
  Senate Panel Gives Rice Confirmation Nod
Wed 2005-01-19
  Kuwait detains 25 militants
Tue 2005-01-18
  Eight Indicted on Terror Charges in Spain
Mon 2005-01-17
  Algeria signs deal to end Berber conflict

Better than the average link...



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