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Today: 115 articles and 480 comments as of 15:59.
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Iraqis seize 16 trucks filled with Iranian weapons
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
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Arabia
Kuwait denies Enezi tortured
"No, no! Certainly not!"
Kuwait has denied claims that the leader of a cell allegedly linked to the Al-Qaeda network died after being tortured in prison, a newspaper reported Thursday. Amer Khlaif al-Enezi died Tuesday night of "heart failure" after he was taken to hospital from his detention cell at the emirate's secret service police, the interior ministry said Wednesday. The death "has not resulted from torture as has been alleged by some ... The forensic report will prove this," Interior Minister Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah said in comments published by Al-Rai Al-Aam daily. "Those who propagate that suspect Amer Khlaif died under torture have no evidence and the forensic report will prove he died of low blood pressure," Sheikh Nawaf said.

The London-based Islamic Observatory, which monitors the treatment of Islamist prisoners in the Middle East, charged that Enezi had died "under torture" and demanded an independent commission of inquiry. "Enezi was killed because he refused to give information" on wanted Islamists, it said in a statement received by AFP in Dubai.
Continued on Page 49
This article starring:
Abdullah Okash
AMER KHLAIF AL ENEZIPeninsula Lions
Waleed al-Tabtabai
Islamic Observatory
Posted by: Dan Darling || 02/11/2005 10:07:00 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Kuwait: Holy man arrested
An imam of a mosque in Al-Thahr has been arrested by state security for giving refuge to one of the wanted terrorists for two days, says Al-Anba. Meanwhile, the Undersecretary of Awqaf says his ministry won't allow imams, who harbour extremist ideologies, to continue in their job, adding: "we will coordinate with the Interior Ministry on this issue." In other developments, four persons - including two Kuwaitis, a Jordanian and a Somali - were referred to state security for their suspicious movements in Mubarak Al-Kabeer. A reliable source said one of the Kuwaitis had some security restrictions on him.

Sources said Nuha Al-Enezi, wife of Amer Khlaif, was recently referred to the Makka Juma Hospital for medical attention after her interrogation, adding: "she has been charge sheeted for three security crimes." Sources went on to say security operations against terrorists are not yet over and the government is tightening security procedures along Kuwait-Iraq border. Indicating some weapons were recently found in Sulaibiya, they said, "they might have been left behind by the retreating Iraqi forces. Those who had these weapons should have thrown them away fearing the government."
This article starring:
AMER KHLAIFOsoud Al-Jazeera
NUHA AL ENEZIOsoud Al-Jazeera
Posted by: Fred || 02/11/2005 00:00:00 AM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Nuha Al-Enezi, wife of Amer Khlaif, was recently referred to the Makka Juma Hospital for medical attention after her interrogation

Pulling out one's fingernails can ruin a perfectly fine manicure.

Posted by: BigEd || 02/11/2005 18:03 Comments || Top||


Heart Failure ... MP Wants Answers
The leader of a cell which allegedly plotted to kidnap US soldiers and other Westerners in Kuwait died in custody overnight of heart failure, the Interior Ministry said Wednesday. Kuwaiti daily Al-Qabas added on its website that the suspect was being questioned by prosecutors Tuesday when he began to feel ill and was examined by doctors before he died. "Amer Khleif Al-Enezi died last night of heart failure," an Interior Ministry statement said. Enezi, 29, was detained on Jan 31 along with five of his supporters after a nine-hour firefight with security forces in which four gunmen were killed.

Another man who was arrested later died of his wounds. The cell of militants allegedly plotted to kidnap US soldiers and other Westerners and film their murders and carry out attacks on US military convoys heading for Iraq. The London-based Islamic Observatory, which monitors the treatment of Islamist prisoners in the Middle East, charged that Enezi had died "under torture" and demanded an independent commission of inquiry. "Enezi was killed because he refused to give information" on wanted Islamists, it said in a statement received by AFP in Dubai. "We call on the authorities to authorise the setting up of a neutral commission of inquiry, made up of Kuwaiti MPs, lawyers' unions representatives and doctors to elucidate the circumstances and reasons for this killing." Kuwaiti Islamist MP Waleed Al-Tabtabei, meanwhile, sent questions to Interior Minister Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah about the "circumstances surrounding the death" and whether Enezi's body was examined by forensics. The lawmaker, who demanded copies of the report on Enezi's death, also asked if security authorities had complied with the Constitution which bans the torturing of suspects during interrogation.

Enezi was a mosque preacher in Jahra, 40 kilometres (25 miles) northwest of Kuwait City, until a few months ago when he was reportedly dismissed by the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic affairs because of his "extremist views". Enezi's younger brother, Nasser, allegedly his right-hand man, was killed on Jan 30 in a gunbattle with security forces in Kuwait City during which a police officer was also killed. Security forces have fought gunbattles with al-Qaeda-linked Islamist gunmen, killing eight of them and capturing at least 14 others over the past month. Four police officers were also killed and 10 others wounded. According to press reports, Enezi confessed during interrogation that his group, the Peninsula Lions Brigade, was linked to the Saudi militant Al-Haramain Brigades, which has links with al-Qaeda. Enezi also reportedly confessed that his younger brother underwent explosives training in Iraq and that the group was planning attacks on US military convoys using Kuwait as a transit point to Iraq. Newspapers have reported that the ringleader told investigators the militants' aim was to set up an "Islamic emirate."
This article starring:
AMER KHLEIF AL ENEZIAl-Haramain Brigades
AMER KHLEIF AL ENEZIPeninsula Lions Brigade
Al-Haramain Brigades
Peninsula Lions Brigade
Posted by: Fred || 02/11/2005 00:00:00 AM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  it's called getting them before they get you
Posted by: shellback || 02/11/2005 12:04 Comments || Top||

#2  "He's dead, Waleed."
Posted by: tu3031 || 02/11/2005 12:06 Comments || Top||

#3  Actual Statement: "Enezi was killed because he refused to give information"
Which is quite different from:
"Enezi was killed because he did not have any information"

Can we subcontract Gitmo to Kuwait?
Posted by: Tom || 02/11/2005 12:21 Comments || Top||

#4  keep an eye (and a tail and a phone tap) on Waleed. He's shows concern for the wrong people
Posted by: Frank G || 02/11/2005 12:31 Comments || Top||

#5  Hmmm... Heart attack at 29. Did he have a family history of heart disease?

Unfortunate line of work he chose. But he's with the virgins in paradise. Getting peeled grapes. Getting neck rubs. He's not worried about kidnapping any US soldiers anymore. {SNICKER}
Posted by: BigEd || 02/11/2005 19:20 Comments || Top||

#6  Big Ed-No, he just saw a tit and went into immediate cardiac arrest. :)
Posted by: jules 2 || 02/11/2005 19:24 Comments || Top||


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Former Chechen VP detained
Chechen rebels have officially confirmed that Vakha Arsanov, former vice-president of the self-styled Chechen separatist republic of Ichkeria, was taken in custody by pro-Moscow Chechen police. A statement to the effect was published by a rebel Web-site on Friday morning. Arsanov was taken captive in mid-January in the village of Chernorechye near Grozny. He is currently being held in custody in Tsentoroi, Kavkaz-Tsentr reported.

On January 16 Russian news agencies reported that Vakha Arsanov, the former deputy to Maskhadov, was detained by republican special-purpose police forces in Grozny. Chechen law enforcers, however, never confirmed the report. Vakha Arsanov ran on the same ticket as Aslan Maskhadov, and the two won Chechnya's presidential election in January 1997 — as Chechnya was beginning to enjoy a brief period of de-facto independence from Moscow. Arsanov, a former Soviet traffic police officer, commanded a unit during the first 1994-96 Chechen war but chose not to fight when Moscow sent troops into Chechnya for the second campaign in 1999. Maskhadov fired Arsanov as vice president in January 2001 for not fighting federal troops.
This article starring:
VAKHA ARSANOVChechnya
Posted by: Dan Darling || 02/11/2005 10:15:42 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Down Under
Police probe second break-in
A SECOND break-in at the home of former Guantanamo Bay detainee Mamdouh Habib has a "whiff" of intelligence agency involvement about it, his lawyer said today. Mr Habib's lawyer Stephen Hopper said the break-in, the second in five days, had been discovered as he was been dropping two family members at their home in the Sydney suburb of Guildford around 7.30pm (AEDT) last night. "We rang the police straight away," Mr Hopper said. "There were signs of unauthorised entry and there was some damage."

A New South Wales Police spokeswoman said an investigation was under way into a break-in at Guildford, but would not elaborate. Mr Hopper said nothing appeared to have been taken, but he suspected intelligence agency involvement. "Obviously there is concern, but if it's ASIO attempting to intimidate (Habib family) they are not intimidated by that," he said. "There is certainly nothing they are going to find there that could cause my client or his family any problems. What is concerning though is that Australian authorities and American authorities told Mr Habib he was going to be harassed if he is released. There is a whiff of intelligence around what is going on but at this stage we have no evidence who is responsible."

A spokeswoman for Attorney-General Philp Ruddock, said it was a matter for NSW Police. "It's got nothing to do with ASIO," she said tonight. The break-ins come at the same time as Channels 9's 60 Minutes prepares the first interview with the former terrorism suspect, to be aired on Sunday, for which the network paid a reported $200,000. The federal Government will examine the television interview, which is being promoted by Nine as a "story of terrorism and torture", and may seize the payment if it could be proven to be the proceeds of crime.
Continued on Page 49
This article starring:
MAMDUH HABIBal-Qaeda
Posted by: God Save The World || 02/11/2005 4:42:14 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  A little paranoid are we, Mamdouh?
Good.
Meow-meow-meow-meow...
Posted by: tu3031 || 02/11/2005 10:45 Comments || Top||

#2  $200K? Assholes.....get the story, don't worry about what your payment may fund in the way of booming civilians
Posted by: Frank G || 02/11/2005 11:14 Comments || Top||

#3  If it was a government security operation he would have never know his home was entered. More likely it was some tabloid digging for dirt. I have no doubt his phone and home are under electric surveillance, perhaps even his auto.

Whatever he told "60 min." is a lie. It's not news when you pay. It's a story. We know he trained with AQ. He has been trained to claim torture. We know thats the case because we have their training manual.

The lawyer "Hopper" needs to have some of his pegs knocked down. He is a typical communist lawyer type. Thank god we finally locked one up here yesterday. Maybe someone in OZ will start a fund for that purpose.
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 02/11/2005 13:45 Comments || Top||

#4  They didn't leave a dead cat hanging from the bathroom doorway, so it wasn't the Sopranos...
Posted by: Old Patriot || 02/11/2005 15:33 Comments || Top||

#5  tu- lol!

More likely it was some tabloid digging for dirt
or maybe it was some of his jihad friends who suspect he is cooperating...or to make sure he doesn't lead them back to him....and that list goes on and on ....bwahaaahahhaaa!!

wahwaszat!! whoisit??? Hey Habibi...It's not just cause you are paranoid - it's that you have just cause to be paranoid....heheheh.
Posted by: 2b || 02/11/2005 17:59 Comments || Top||

#6  Nah, just his old buddies wondering why he was let go and whom he woofed on....
Posted by: 3dc || 02/11/2005 18:22 Comments || Top||

#7  a few well-placed rumors might take Mr. Habib's earthly cares off his mind...


heh heh
Posted by: Frank G || 02/11/2005 18:27 Comments || Top||


Europe
French call for 10 years for car bomb plotter
A prosecutor in France Wednesday called for a maximum 10-year prison sentence against an Islamic militant accused of plotting a suicide car-bombing of the US embassy in Paris in 2002. Djamel Beghal, 39, who is suspected of being the leader of five other men standing trial in the alleged plot, was arrested at Dubai airport July 28, 2001. The prosecution has maintained that he was on his way back to France to carry out the bombing when he was detained.
"Welcome to Gay Paree. Stick 'em up!"
According to the prosecution, Beghal confessed to having twice met with Abu Zubaydah, a top aide to Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, at a training camp in Afghanistan in March 2001. It is alleged Abu Zubaydah told him to organise a cell in Paris to plan the embassy attack. French investigators say Beghal, a Franco-Algerian, was the operational mastermind behind a radical Islamist cell that had contacts in Britain, Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands and Germany. The other members of the group, including computer expert Kamel Daoudi, were identified in surveillance operations conducted after Beghal's arrest.
If I was named Camel Doody, I'd become a terrorist, too.
The prosecutor, Christophe Teissier, also requested a maximum 10-year jail term for Daoudi and terms of between five and eight years for the other four accused. The trial is expected to end on February 16, but it will be several weeks before a final judgement is known.
This article starring:
ABU ZUBAIDAHal-Qaeda in Europe
DJAMEL BEGHALal-Qaeda in Europe
KAMEL DAUDIal-Qaeda in Europe
Posted by: tipper || 02/11/2005 9:18:43 AM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Austrians sold 800 sniper rifles to Iran; U.S. protests (.50 cal)
Posted by: ed || 02/11/2005 06:58 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  via http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/
Posted by: ed || 02/11/2005 7:53 Comments || Top||

#2  Austrians sold 800 sniper rifles to Iran; U.S. protests (.50 cal)

Hmph. Who cares about allies when there's a little money to be made?
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 02/11/2005 10:14 Comments || Top||

#3  Who cares about allies when there's a little money to be made?
This is Austria, not Australia. Austria is not a ally, more like a junior member of the Axis of Weasels.
Posted by: Steve || 02/11/2005 11:38 Comments || Top||

#4  I'll bet Patrick Kennedy is really pissed now...
Posted by: tu3031 || 02/11/2005 11:48 Comments || Top||

#5  Can we get the Brady Campaign or someone to sue Austria for any deaths that result from these weapons?
Posted by: jackal || 02/11/2005 14:11 Comments || Top||


Al-Motassadeq apparently still on trial in Hamburg
Posted by: Seafarious || 02/11/2005 10:45:30 PM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: WoT
Wealthy Pakistani held at Gitmo
A wealthy Pakistani businessman being held at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, prison camp for suspected terrorism ties urged al Qaeda operatives to acquire nuclear weapons for use against U.S. troops and said he knew where to get them, according to American investigators. The allegation, contained in documents filed recently in U.S. District Court in Washington, also identifies Saifullah Paracha, 57, who has an import business in New York, as a participant in a plot to smuggle explosives into the United States and to help al Qaeda hide "large amounts of money."

There are few details about the smuggling plot and little additional information about what the businessman, a permanent U.S. resident who's been held 19 months without charges, may have known about how to obtain nuclear weapons. Paracha, during a review tribunal of his case in November at the U.S. naval base in Cuba, vigorously denied any ties to al Qaeda and scoffed at the nuclear allegation. "Is a nuclear weapon something I could buy off the shelf? Can you buy it from Tony Blair?" he told a panel of military officers, referring to the British prime minister.
"Could I buy one from Abdul Qadeer Khan?"
Top American officials have warned that al Qaeda has sought nuclear materials and that a network of Pakistani scientists sold nuclear technology and expertise to Libya, Iran and North Korea.
Continued on Page 49
This article starring:
SAIFULLAH PARACHAal-Qaeda
Posted by: Dan Darling || 02/11/2005 10:08:19 AM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It will be easier for a nuke to pass through one of our our ports than for this rich traitor to get into heaven. Let's send him for his judgment day NOW.
Posted by: Tom || 02/11/2005 11:33 Comments || Top||

#2  "Is a nuclear weapon something I could buy off the shelf? Can you buy it from Tony Blair?" he told a panel of military officers, referring to the British prime minister.

He must be hoping the prosecutors have never heard of Khan.
Posted by: Robert Crawford || 02/11/2005 12:37 Comments || Top||

#3  Khaaaaannnnnn!!!
Posted by: Kirk || 02/11/2005 12:39 Comments || Top||

#4  A wealthy Pakistani businessman being held at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, prison camp for suspected terrorism ties urged al Qaeda operatives to acquire nuclear weapons for use against U.S. troops and said he knew where to get them, according to American investigators.

So much for the supposed terrorism/poverty link....
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 02/11/2005 15:52 Comments || Top||

#5  "Your money's no good here."
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/11/2005 23:02 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Janjalani aide captured
The alleged right hand man of Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani in the 2000 kidnapping of an American national, fell into the hands of the government.

Omar Usman Jimlani alias Abu Usman and Ustadz Asman was presented to reporters on Friday by Air Force chief Lieutenant General Jose Reyes.

Reyes said Jimlani was arrested by joint elements of the Air Force Intelligence Unit and the police Provincial Mobile Group during an operation in Sitio Lumantik in Payao town, Zamboanga Sibugay here on February 1.

Reyes said Jimlani was the right hand man of Janjalani and was involved in the June 2, 2001 raid on the Don Jose Torres Memorial Hospital in Lamitan, Basilan and the kidnapping of American Jeffrey Schilling in Indanan, Sulu and the attack on Ipil on April 4, 1996.
This article starring:
ABU USMANAbu Sayyaf
KHADAFY JANJALANIAbu Sayyaf
OMAR USMAN JIMLANIAbu Sayyaf
USTADZ ASMANAbu Sayyaf
Abu Sayyaf
Posted by: Dan Darling || 02/11/2005 10:17:42 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Main charge against Bashir dropped
Prosecutors recommended that hard-line cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir be sentenced to eight years in jail for his alleged role in a string of terrorist acts.

Ba'asyir, the alleged leader of Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), an organization linked to the al-Qaeda terrorist group, is on trial for allegedly inciting his followers to bomb two nightclubs in Bali in 2002, and the luxury JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta in 2003, crimes that could put the 66-year-old preacher on death row if convicted.

But a team of 14 prosecutors failed to come up with sufficient evidence to back up the primary charge that Ba'asyir had incited others to commit acts of terrorism.

"The prosecutors aver that: First, Abu Bakar Ba'asyir is not guilty of inciting people to carry out acts of terrorism, as accused in the primary charge. Therefore, he should be acquitted of this charge," said Salman Maryadi, the chief prosecutor, reading from the 312-page indictment during a heavily guarded court session on Tuesday.

"Second, the prosecutors aver that the defendant is guilty of collectively (with other JI members) conducting acts of terrorism. Third, we would urge the court to sentence the defendant to 8 years in prison ...".

Some 200 police officers were deployed around the court as hundreds of Ba'asyir supporters were present in the courtroom. His supporters, some of whom were wearing black vests bearing the slogans "Mujahidin" (Holy warrior) and "Hidup Mulia atau Mati Syahid" (Live honorably or die as a martyr), jeered and heckled the prosecutors.

Ba'asyir has denied any role in the bomb attacks, saying that such acts were against his principles.

He has previously told the court that he was being prosecuted for his critical views of the United States. He was arrested and convicted shortly after the Bali bombings on immigration charges, and was in prison at the time of the Marriott attack. He completed his sentence in April but was rearrested immediately.

Since his trial started in November, prosecutors have struggled to prove that Ba'asyir is a terrorist. Only one witness testified that he was the leader of JI, while most of the witnesses failed to link the cleric to either the Bali or Marriott bombings, which killed a total of 214 people.

Ba'asyir's chief lawyer, Muhammad Assegaff, said that the prosecutors had manipulated the facts used in the indictments.

The trial was adjourned until Feb. 17, when the defense will make its closing statement.

The prosecutors' weak case is likely to have prompted them to seek a lighter penalty than the maximum death sentence.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 02/11/2005 10:19:19 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Bomb wounds six at parade in southern Thailand
A powerful bomb exploded Thursday about 100 meters (330 feet) from where senior officials were watching a military parade, wounding at least six people in an attack blamed on Muslim militants in insurgency-wracked southern Thailand, police said. About 300 civil defense volunteers were marching inside a stadium in the province of Narathiwat when the bomb exploded near where Gov. Pracha Tehrat, army officers and the regional police chief were standing, a police officer said. Five military personnel and a woman near the scene were injured, said the police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Muslim insurgents were suspected in the attack. Leaflets distributed in the area on Wednesday warned people to stay away from government officials and not cooperate with authorities.
And in other Thai bombing news:
Two other explosions of remote-controlled bombs in the same province wounded four soldiers. In two other attacks in Narathiwat later Thursday, attackers used remote-controlled bombs to attack trucks carrying patrolling soldiers. In the first incident, a brief gunbattle broke out after the early-afternoon explosion, which wounded two soldiers. About an hour later in another location, two soldiers on a second truck were seriously injured by a bomb. The attackers escaped in both attacks. The attacks came a day after Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra vowed to maintain his tough policy against the escalating separatist rebellion, in which 650 people died last year.
Posted by: Seafarious || 02/11/2005 00:00:00 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  hmmmm... will the Thai army get the message and respond?
Posted by: Frank G || 02/11/2005 13:15 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Israel downed 2 Syrian MiGs last September over sea
Diplomatic sources said Israel Air Force F-16 multi-role fighters intercepted and downed two Syrian MiG-29 fighter-jets last year. The sources said the dogfight took place in September 2004 over the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
This was the first engagement between Israeli and Syrian fighter-jets since the 1980s. The sources said the air battle took place when Israel Air Force fighter-jets buzzed the Syrian city of Latakia, a port used by Iran for the shipment of weapons to Hizbullah.
The Washington-based Reform Party of Syria first provided details of the Israeli-Syrian dogfight. RPS said the air battle took place on Sept. 14, 2004, adding that both downed pilots were rescued by Syrian military helicopters, Middle East Newsline reported.
RPS, quoting a European source, said the Israeli fighter-jets used an Israeli-origin Python-4 air-to-air missile to down one of the MiG-29s. The other Syrian MiG-29 was shot down by a U.S.-origin AIM-9M Sidewinder.
The pilots of the MiG-29s were identified by RPS as Maj. Arshad Midhat Mubarak and Capt. Ahmad Al Khatib.
Diplomatic sources said the Syrian losses led President Bashar Assad to accelerate efforts to procure advanced anti-aircraft systems from Russia.
Syria has requested a range of anti-aircraft systems, including the SA-18, TOR-M1, S-300PMU2 and the S-400 systems.
The most likely Russian sale to Damascus is that of the SA-18, the sources said. They said Russia would supply the first SA-18 short-range systems — either directly or through a third country — within several months.
In January, Russia and Syria — overriding objections from Israel and the United States — agreed on the sale of the SA-18 to Damascus. Russian officials said the sale of the SA-18 would not violate any international arms agreement.
"Russia has cooperated with Syria for decades, and my country is convinced that Syria has a strong right to get defensive weapons," Russian ambassador in Tunisia Aleksei Tserub said.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 02/11/2005 3:54:41 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This is the same source that had the Chinese helicopters sinking a Indian sub yesterday. We got secret wars going on nobody told me about?
Posted by: Steve || 02/11/2005 16:00 Comments || Top||

#2  I will be tipping a nice glass of good white wine in honor of the IAF for the two air victories.
Posted by: badanov || 02/11/2005 16:04 Comments || Top||

#3  both downed pilots were rescued by Syrian military helicopters

VIRGINS ON HOLD...
Posted by: BigEd || 02/11/2005 16:06 Comments || Top||

#4  The first rule of air combat: Never chase anything bigger and meaner than yourself - you might catch it.
Posted by: mojo || 02/11/2005 16:35 Comments || Top||

#5  This does help explain why the Syrians are so fired up to get some decent anti-air missiles. Nothing like a gentle reminder from the IAF as to how impotent the Syrian air force is to make Babyface realize he needs some big guns.
Posted by: Steve White || 02/11/2005 17:54 Comments || Top||

#6  I hope worldtribune.com is not turning into Debka--Salt to Taste.

If it's true, ching ching, badanov.
Posted by: Poison Reverse || 02/11/2005 19:35 Comments || Top||

#7  Better stock-up on HARMS.
Posted by: raptor || 02/11/2005 19:49 Comments || Top||

#8  This does help explain why the Syrians are so fired up to get some decent anti-air missiles.

Which, five months after delivery, won't work because the "officers" confiscated the maintenance manuals.
Posted by: Robert Crawford || 02/11/2005 20:07 Comments || Top||

#9  Please don't praise the trolls.
Posted by: gromky || 02/11/2005 22:45 Comments || Top||

#10  I wonder if the Israeli pilots were grrrlz?
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/11/2005 23:14 Comments || Top||


Iraq-Jordan
Marine faces capital charges
I'm looking forward to the day when the Islamic holy warriors put their followers on trial for killing captured American soldiers.
A Manhattan Marine is facing a possible death sentence after shooting two Iraqis fleeing a suspected terror hideout in the Sunni Triangle.

Second Lt. Ilario Pantano, 33, has been charged with premeditated murder and with "numerous violations" of military law, the Marine Corps said. Pantano was commanding a platoon in April 2004, searching for a terrorist hideout and weapons, his mother, Merry Pantano, said. "Isn't it amazing?" she said. "He can face the death penalty for doing his job on the battlefield, making split-second decisions.

"He said it was self-defense in the situation that he was in."

Pantano has admitted shooting the two men as the fled the hideout, but his lawyer, Charles Gittins, said it wasn't murder. "Even if he's wrong, accidents happen in combat," Gittins said. "This was a very stressful situation. These two guys were bad guys. . . . He said, 'Stop' and they didn't, and he said it in Arabic."

Gittins also said that Pantano was cleared by his commanders in a battlefield investigation of the incident.

Pantano's mother said her son is a "wonderful person" who is "such a warrior." "I feel this is going to turn out OK," she said. "I'm so grateful my son is alive. I'm fortunate he came back in one piece."

The Marines had no comment, except to say the investigatory hearing process had started.

"There apparently was a disgruntled enlisted man involved," Gittins said. "The lieutenant reported it to his chain of command after it happened, and they investigated and said, 'Good to go.' Then three months, later a disgruntled enlisted man makes a complaint."

Pantano will be the subject of an Article 32 hearing to determine whether he should face a court-martial. No date for the hearing has been set. Pantano is stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina as he awaits his fate.

His parents have launched a Web site — defendthedefenders.org — to publicize their son's plight. "This is something we can deal with," Merry Pantano said. " He's focused. He's doing everything he can to fight these charges."
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 02/11/2005 2:09:07 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Clear him and return him to duty (facts permitting). The "enlisted man" should get his name known
Posted by: Frank G || 02/11/2005 14:38 Comments || Top||

#2  Wow ! If it happened like the mother said, this marine is getting the true shaft. But, I will need to see more info before I have an opinion.
But, if it is as told in the above post, I will be visiting defendthedefenders.org and trying to help out.
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 02/11/2005 14:38 Comments || Top||

#3  2d Lt. Pantano seems to have gooten the misfortune of a troublemaker in his command. Return Pantano to duty, and transfer the troublemaker to Northeast Alaska. Assign him to prevent Caribou from invading over the Yukon border...
Posted by: BigEd || 02/11/2005 14:42 Comments || Top||

#4  HAH, this is just the JAG going by the numbers, before they drop it. Aint no way this goes to a court martial. They will lose, and they must know that.
Posted by: Jimbo19 || 02/11/2005 14:54 Comments || Top||

#5  In some cases,the Marine corps conducts these proceedings to protect Marines from later civil action.Sounds cut a dried to me,if the story is true.He will get off,in that case.Seen similar actions in Nam in 1965.
Posted by: crazyhorse || 02/11/2005 15:23 Comments || Top||

#6  BigEd---NE Alaska. If you want to put a guy in Alaska for punishment, have him do some kind of menial duty at Shema, on the end of the Aleutian Chain. I met the manager of the Shemya airport on a trip from Seattle to Anchorage. It is bleak weatherwise and scenerywise.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 02/11/2005 15:44 Comments || Top||

#7  In some cases,the Marine corps conducts these proceedings to protect Marines from later civil action

Bingo.
Posted by: true nuff || 02/11/2005 15:54 Comments || Top||

#8  crazyhorse - you were there when Lt. Kerry chased down the wounded VC and shot him? ;-> If this guy gets the shaft, should Kerry be brought up on charges? Oh, no.... That's right - Jimmy gave him amnesty. I sure hope Jimbo is right. My son is in Iraq right now.
Posted by: Bobby || 02/11/2005 15:55 Comments || Top||

#9  Kerry is being punished by his marrige to Teresssssa.
BTW:I was outa there by 1966.I think you are correct about Jimmy,however.
Posted by: crazyhorse || 02/11/2005 16:39 Comments || Top||

#10  If a violation is suspected, unlike civil society, the incident must be reported and acted upon. Under the UCMJ, Art. 78. Accessory after the fact

Any person subject to this chapter who, knowing that an offense punishable by this chapter has been committed, receives, comforts, or assists the offender in order to hinder or prevent his apprehension, trial, or punishment shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.

So once reported, the incident has to be investigated, ergo the Article 32 inquiry. [BTW, this is also the basis of the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy. By law, the UCMJ, if you know you must tell.]
Posted by: Ebbavith Gleack2775 || 02/11/2005 17:02 Comments || Top||

#11  Alaska Paul- I had a cousin who was stationed on a base in the Aleutians in a clinic as a physical therapist. Interesting "climate incident" stories, that would freez ones b---s off if you get my drift.

After that being stationed in Guam was better to her liking...

Your Idea may have merit now that I think of it.
Posted by: BigEd || 02/11/2005 17:37 Comments || Top||

#12  Bobby, those were my thoughts. A Marine gets the works for shooting a wounded terrorist in a moaque. John Kerry gets the Silver Star for shooting a wounded VC. This Marine gets arrested for murder for shooting during a very tense situation. Go figure.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 02/11/2005 18:12 Comments || Top||

#13  This Marine showed the character traits that those of us in the military hope for and expect of those in command. He reported the incident to his Chain of Command and was cleared, he made a hard decision in a split second and then went to face the music. This is why he is getting the shaft.

He could have done what Kerry did and put himself in for a medal. Once you have a medal for an incident it is very difficult to take it away. But he had moral strength and is honest.
Posted by: Angash Flalet3755 || 02/11/2005 20:17 Comments || Top||


Polish Troops Won't Leave Iraq in 2005
WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Poland will keep its soldiers in Iraq at least through the end of the year, when the U.N. mandate for foreign troops expires, the country's defense minister said Friday.

Leaders in Poland, which commands a 6,000-strong multinational force in Iraq, have expressed hope that Iraq's Jan. 30 elections will pave the way for an eventual withdrawal of foreign troops. But Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski told The Associated Press that Poland's previous commitment remains in force. "We will be there until the end of the year," he told the AP by telephone from France, where he is attending a NATO meeting.

"There is a decision by the president that Polish soldiers will be there until Dec. 31, 2005 - up to 1,700 soldiers plus an additional 700 troops on standby in Poland, and that's how it will be."

Poland has more than 2,400 troops in the multinational force, which is based in central Iraq south of Baghdad. It is reducing its presence to 1,700 troops this month. Sixteen 16 Polish soldiers have died in Iraq.

Poland is one of more than 25 countries with troops in Iraq. President Aleksander Kwasniewski has been among the strongest supporters of the U.S.-led war. Parliamentary and presidential elections are planned in Poland this fall, and Kwasniewski cannot seek another term. Decisions on the Iraqi mission beyond 2005 will be taken by the country's new leaders, Szmajdzinski said.
Thank you, Poland!
Posted by: Steve White || 02/11/2005 11:21:14 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Trade preferences for Poland, Ukraine, etc. Trade restrictions for France, Germany, Turkey.
Posted by: ed || 02/11/2005 12:15 Comments || Top||

#2  how's that base transfer from Germany to Poland going?
Posted by: Frank G || 02/11/2005 12:34 Comments || Top||

#3  The Polish national motto is "Za wasza wolnosc i nasza!"("For your freedom and ours"). Tells you all you need to know.
Posted by: Mike || 02/11/2005 12:50 Comments || Top||

#4  Things like this make me very embarassed at all the Polish jokes I laughed at as a child. Everything I've experienced as an adult, from facing the Poles as adversaries during the Cold War to watching them perform as a free nation post-Solidarity, makes me respect them as warriors, as a nation, and as a people. God bless Poland and Poles everywhere.
Posted by: RWV || 02/11/2005 13:28 Comments || Top||

#5  I stopped telling Polish jokes when Lech Walesa formed Solidarity.
Posted by: Mike || 02/11/2005 13:45 Comments || Top||

#6  There is still one Polish joke left: "Eventually the EU will be dominated by a two-country coalition, which will be the economic powerhouse of Europe, the center of governance of Europe, and the military might of Europe. Those two countries will be Germany and Poland."
Posted by: Anonymoose || 02/11/2005 13:45 Comments || Top||

#7  The Poles know they are caught between decadent Old Europe and degenerate Russia with the Balkans not too far below. The want true friends in the worst way. We need to really mean it this time and not treat them like the Brits and the frogs did in 39. Start building bases. Big time. Not one American in Germany, France or Belgium. NATO HQ to Warsaw or out of NATO.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 02/11/2005 13:46 Comments || Top||

#8  Spot on, Mrs. Davis.

I'm still eagerly awaiting our mass exodus OUT of Germany, and then having the Germans complain about us UN-INVADING them!!
Posted by: Justrand || 02/11/2005 13:52 Comments || Top||

#9  The Polish were at one time one of the major nations and while it has been many years, I think they will be once again. The US and it's true allies should work to bring Poland into our circle reward their steadfast friendship and assistance as it deserves. We are lucky in a way that our former mayor of Knoxville was tapped by President Bush to be our Ambassador to Poland so we sometimes get to read about him and Poland in the local paper.
Posted by: Silentbrick || 02/11/2005 14:26 Comments || Top||

#10  As a Polish-Canadian, all I can say is...be weary. Poland is always a step away from being another Spain.
Posted by: Rafael || 02/11/2005 15:51 Comments || Top||

#11  :>
Posted by: half || 02/11/2005 18:30 Comments || Top||

#12  half ifn ya see .com giver him this url fer him colecshen:

http://www.progsoc.uts.edu.au/~whophd/fd/Best_adverty_ever.jpg
Posted by: Thraing Phearong2664doo || 02/11/2005 18:48 Comments || Top||


Zarqawi sez he's got a colonel
The Iraqi wing of al Qaeda said it had kidnapped a senior Interior Ministry official this week, according to an Internet statement posted on Friday. The Al Qaeda Organisation for Holy War in Iraq, headed by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, said it had seized Colonel Riyadh Katei Aliwi on Wednesday. "We will soon issue a tape of his confessions, so that he can serve as an example for all the enemies of God, who will be severely punished in the afterlife," the group added.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 02/11/2005 10:04:20 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Sure Z-man, whatever you say. Is the guy named Ken? Got a girlfriend named Barbie?

Your time is close at hand MF'er.
Posted by: Mark Z. || 02/11/2005 11:46 Comments || Top||

#2  Nothing says a few thousand Iraqi good ole boys can't take a road trip to Zarqa.
Posted by: ed || 02/11/2005 11:54 Comments || Top||

#3  Keep talkin' Z-man. All that blather leaves a trail.
Posted by: Tom || 02/11/2005 11:55 Comments || Top||

#4  I've said before that all we need is one guy with a GPS inplant to be captured by Zarqawi.
Posted by: mhw || 02/11/2005 13:19 Comments || Top||

#5 

Ooooh, a colonel, not a kernel...

Mmmm I had one of these stuck between two teeth and it hurt like the dickens... I thought Zarquawi was in pain... No such luck...
Posted by: BigEd || 02/11/2005 16:17 Comments || Top||


20 killed at Salman Pak
Insurgents attacked police yesterday in a region that has become one of Iraq's most dangerous, setting off an intense battle that lasted nearly two hours and left at least six policemen dead and 20 wounded, the US military said. The fighting raged in Salman Pak, a town about 15 miles southeast of Baghdad, as insurgents attacked police with mortars and gunfire, the military said. Nearly 20 cars were burning after the clash, one of the largest in weeks. There were no reports of insurgent deaths, but the US military said patrols were pursuing the gunmen.

Salman Pak is on the eastern edge of a region Iraqis have dubbed the "triangle of death," parts of which are so dangerous that many Iraqis are reluctant to travel its roads. Checkpoints manned by insurgents have sprung up along some of the region's highways as well as in such cities as Mahmudiyah and Latifiyah that have occasionally fallen under the sway of gunmen. Restive for months, the region is populated by both Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims.
"More filling!"
"Less taste!"
News agencies, using Iraqi Interior Ministry accounts, put the police death toll at 14, with six missing, and said the fighting was so intense at one point that reinforcements were unable to reach the wounded or recover the dead, who were left lying in the road. Lieutenant Colonel James Hutton, a military spokesman, said six policemen were killed in the fighting, which began at 1:45 p.m.

In Baghdad, a car bomb tore through Liberation Square, a landmark and one of the city's busiest roundabouts, after a US convoy drove past. The explosives, packed in a black sport-utility vehicle and apparently detonated by remote control, shattered the windows of nearby shops and destroyed another car. Iraqi police said at least four people were killed. At the scene, residents directed their anger at security forces and US soldiers for not protecting them and at the insurgents for attacking them. "I don't worry about myself only. I worry about my family, too," said a masked policeman who identified himself as Zaid.
Well, go shoot somebody. You're wearing a mask.
A high school teacher who gave her name as Souad approached him: "How can I feel safe if the man who is supposed to ensure my safety is gripped with fear?"

Elsewhere, bodies of 20 Iraqi truck drivers who had been shot were found dumped on a road, their hands bound behind their backs, police Capt. Ahmed Ismail said. Some of the trucks were owned by the government, Ismail said.

In Mosul, where the police chief this week threatened to detain the families of armed men in open-air camps, the US military raided the house of a high-ranking Iraqi National Guard officer, Brigadier General Moataz Taqa. Taqa was not home, but soldiers detained four of his men, police in Mosul said.

Around dawn today, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld arrived in Mosul on a surprise visit to review Iraq security forces and meet with Iraqi and US leaders. Rumsfeld also made a surprise visit to Iraq on Christmas Eve.

The country is still awaiting results from last's month vote for a 275-member parliament, as election officials work through a final count and sort out reported irregularities in Mosul and Kirkuk. A Western official briefing reporters said the results, originally expected yesterday, could be delayed until next week. "They have managed an extraordinarily complex operation in a very professional way, but they will be slow," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

In parts of Baghdad, green, red, and black banners went up yesterday to mark the first day of the lunar month of Muharram. For observant Shi'ites, the month culminates 10 days from now, on Ashura, when the death of the Prophet Mohammed's grandson in a battle near present-day Karbala is commemorated. During last year's Ashura, a string of bombings in Karbala and Baghdad killed at least 170 people.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 02/11/2005 10:02:16 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Salman Pak is where Saddam's terrorist training camps were. There was an airplane torso for practicing hijackings, and separate areas for Iraqis and foreigners, ie al Queda and others. The trainers were all Iraqi, however.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/11/2005 14:05 Comments || Top||


Zarqawi's military adviser reported seized
Iraqi security forces captured the military adviser to al-Qaida leader in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who is blamed for most of the terrorist attacks. Baghdad's pro-government daily al-Sabah reported Friday Ina Mohammed Kaissi, known as Abu Waleed, was captured Jan. 24 during police raids in a southern suburb of Baghdad.
And they have been sucking his brain dry ever since.
The large-bore drill bit -- a #7, I believe -- helped.
Kaissi, 41, was in charge of securing military facilities for Zarqawi's cells and was in close contact with leading terrorists such as Abu Omar Kurdi and Hassan Abou Seif, who was reportedly appointed by Zarqawi as his top man in Baghdad. The paper quoted Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh as saying: "Zarqawi is losing his battle against the Iraqi people, as his network comprising terrorists and criminals has been deprived of senior commanders in the past few weeks."
This article starring:
ABU MUSAB AL ZARQAWIal-Qaeda in Iraq
ABU OMAR KURDIal-Qaeda in Iraq
ABU WALIDal-Qaeda in Iraq
HASAN ABU SEIFal-Qaeda in Iraq
INA MOHAMED KAISIal-Qaeda in Iraq
Posted by: Steve || 02/11/2005 9:23:28 AM || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  in a southern suburb of Baghdad.

has anyone tried mapping the locations of these arrests of Zarqs aides based on public announcements? I bet wed see some interesting patterns.


Hope the Iraqis are involved in the interrogation, and hope they arent squeamish.
Posted by: Liberalhawk || 02/11/2005 10:13 Comments || Top||

#2  I think that you can be confident that both US and Iraqi intelligence have been doing just that, along with entering names into tribal databases, etc. This is all part of the roll up and represents a significant advance on the ability to defeat a violent terrorist group. I'm sure plenty of opportunistic common criminals are getting swept up as well.
Posted by: Remoteman || 02/11/2005 12:38 Comments || Top||

#3  The large-bore drill bit -- a #7, I believe -- helped.

A #7 isn't a terribly big drill ( ~ .257" dia.) How's about a one inch spade drill?

Works for me.
Posted by: badanov || 02/11/2005 12:47 Comments || Top||

#4  2" trepane....allows the CIA/Mossad Brain Hose© for full insertion
Posted by: Frank G || 02/11/2005 12:52 Comments || Top||

#5  Cheez, I make a joke about a #7 -- the favorite size for ANYTHING here at Rantburg -- and youse guyz get all technical on me. Sniff. Hummph.
Posted by: Steve White || 02/11/2005 17:57 Comments || Top||

#6  Size matters...except for...other things
Posted by: Frank G || 02/11/2005 18:11 Comments || Top||

#7 


LADIES & GENTLEMEN...

I guess we all agree that thie above kit is the highest step in interrogation technology!

Posted by: BigEd || 02/11/2005 19:24 Comments || Top||

#8  cut his balls off and make him eat them raw. Cut his sphincter muscles. and that's just for the marines and soldiers that were killed this week.
Posted by: anymouse || 02/11/2005 22:23 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan/South Asia
Tales From The Crossfire Gazette
Ex-Shibir cadre killed in ''crossfire''
For those readers who wonder why we carry this every day, I'll explain:
CHITTAGONG, Feb 10: A terrorist was killed in a shootout with police at Khagria in Satkania upazila early Thursday, reports UNB. Police said they arrested terrorist Nurul Islam, 35, an ex-cadre of Chhatra Shibir, from Banshbaria area of Sitakhunda upazila on Wednesday evening.
Step One: Arrest bad guy
According to his confession they went to Khagria area with him to recover the hidden arms.
Step Two: Extract "confession.
Step Three: Wait until dark
Step Four: Take him to "recover hidden arms"

As soon as police reached the spot at about 1 am his sidekicks opened fire on them, forcing the law enforcers to fire back.
Step Five: Sidekicks/cohorts/henchmen open fire.
Step Six: Cops shoot back.

Nurul Islam was caught in the crossfire and died on the spot.
Step Seven: Captured leader tries to escape.
Step Eight: Captured leader caught in "crossfire", shot dead.

The body was sent to hospital morgue for autopsy.
Step Nine: Ship body to Dr. Quincy's morgue.
Nurul Islam was wanted in 11 criminal cases including three murders, police said. A case was filed.
Rinse, repeat daily, same story, different thugs. Then there are the vigilante reports:

Dacoit beaten to death at Satkania
Feb 10: A dacoit was beaten to death by mob at Samadiapukurpar bazaar of Sadaha union under Satkania upazila in the district last night. According to eyewitnesses and local people, a gang of dacoits numbering about 20 raided the Samadiapukurpar bazaar at about 3.30 am last night. Sensing the presence of dacoits, the Imam of the local mosque spread the information through microphone. Hearing the news, hundreds of local people throng the spot and gheraoed the dacoits. Then the gang of dacoits fled the spot. But one dacoit was caught by the mob beaten mercilessly resulting his instantaneous death.
The identity of the victim could not be known.
Just another day in Bangladesh
Posted by: Steve || 02/11/2005 8:34:13 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  A dacoit was beaten to death by mob at Samadiapukurpar bazaar...

Well there goes that overtime...
Posted by: CSI: Bangladesh || 02/11/2005 9:40 Comments || Top||

#2  For those readers who wonder why we carry this every day, I'll explain:

Consumer demand.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 02/11/2005 9:51 Comments || Top||

#3  like Chinese food - I'm hungry for more the next day..
Posted by: Frank G || 02/11/2005 9:59 Comments || Top||

#4  Is this a rerun? When does the new season begin?
Posted by: ed || 02/11/2005 10:16 Comments || Top||

#5  Is this a rerun? When does the new season begin?
It only seems like a rerun, I have to check the names each time to make sure it's not. Even the Bangladesh papers are in on the gag, that's why they often put "crossfire" in quotes.
Posted by: Steve || 02/11/2005 11:24 Comments || Top||

#6  I am still trying to define the word "gheraoed."

I kinda doubt the bandit was "instantly" killed.

That guy that met his end in the Crossfire™ met his end by the book. It can't get anymore by the book. My Father in Law and Brother in Law have visited Chittagong BTW.
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 02/11/2005 13:55 Comments || Top||

#7  I don't think that word means what you think it means.
Posted by: Inigo Montoya || 02/11/2005 14:01 Comments || Top||

#8  Why bother with an autopsy, all of these quys stick their head in the exact spot to be hit behind the right ear. After which a pipe gun and 2 bullets are recovered. Its amazing how alike these pipe guns are. You just can't tell one from another
Posted by: Old Fogey || 02/11/2005 14:08 Comments || Top||

#9  "Gheraoed" seems to mean "interrogated by a mob" based on the context of this and several other uses I Googled.
Posted by: Tom || 02/11/2005 14:21 Comments || Top||

#10  bet that's an orderly procedure
Posted by: Frank G || 02/11/2005 14:26 Comments || Top||

#11  "Gheraoed" seems to mean "interrogated by a mob"

I think I've found a domestic usage: "The Democrats gheraoed Rice during her confirmation hearings."
Posted by: Robert Crawford || 02/11/2005 14:54 Comments || Top||

#12  Does Bangladesh have a problem with Clinton-appointed judges too?
Posted by: Old Patriot || 02/11/2005 14:54 Comments || Top||

#13  I like yesterdays comment:
Why is this posted everyday?
Because it happens everyday.

LOL
Posted by: Shipman || 02/11/2005 17:18 Comments || Top||


Nuggets from the Urdu press
Clergy gave us Islam!
Writing in Nawa-e-Waqt, Irfan Siddiqi stated that no 'enlightened' ruler, no 'clever' NGO, no 'ready-to-die' religious party had given Islam to Pakistan, but it was the lonely figure of the maulavi (cleric) who had kept to his job of inviting people to the rituals of Islam. It was the cleric who had lighted the lamp of faith in the face of all kinds of storm. And he despite his many weaknesses was better than the people who had hearts of stone.

Give the award to AQ Khan!
Writing in Nawa-e-Waqt, Dr Ajmal Niazi stated that during a ceremony of giving human rights award by the Human Rights Society of Pakistan to the great journalist and chief editor of Nawa-e-Waqt Mr Majeed Nizami, someone from the audience raised the slogan 'the award should be given to AQ Khan the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb'. The entire session agreed with the suggestion.

Illiterate MPA caught taking BA exam
According to Khabrain, an MPA who had only primary school education was caught by the police taking BA examination at Tando Jan Muhammad in Sindh. The man was Al Haj Mir Hayat Khan Talpur who had been elected five times to Sindh Assembly. He was taking BA finals in order to obtain a fake BA degree. When he was caught he began perspiring profusely and was greatly upset.

PPP versus Aga Khan Board
Secretary information of PPP Navid Chaudhry was quoted by Khabrain as saying that Jewish influence was being spread in Pakistan. He said that the Aga Khan examination board will be costly (mehnga paray ga) for Pakistan because it was dangerous. The real problem he said was of poor and rich students.

Osama is our hero!
Sarerahe wrote in Nawa-e-Waqt that according to one report the Pakistan government had refused the request of the American government to print 'wanted' ads about Osama bin Laden in the Pakistani press and TV. Islamabad was supposed to have said that the ads would create difficulties for it. The Americans did not know the mizaj of the Pakistanis. Osama was a hero for them and all the action taken by the US had not converted him to zero. Those Pakistanis who yearn for dollars and American approval should be patient.
Posted by: Paul Moloney || 02/11/2005 8:47:43 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  When he was caught he began perspiring profusely and was greatly upset.

...and haven't we all been there?
Posted by: tu3031 || 02/11/2005 9:43 Comments || Top||

#2  If a gentleman with an elementary school education proves capable of passing a BA exam, glory hallelujah -- let him keep what he earned the hard way! It's the autodidacts of the world who merit the most respect...learning in a classroom is easy by comparison.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/11/2005 10:38 Comments || Top||

#3  I suspect it may have been a degree from one of those prestigious unacredited universities you hear about in your email.
Posted by: Fred || 02/11/2005 20:15 Comments || Top||

#4  We interviewed Engineering Tech I postion candidates back in th e80's, with several having degrees from MIT. I couldn't figure out why until I found they were from Mapua IT in the Philippines
Posted by: Frank G || 02/11/2005 20:19 Comments || Top||


Iraq-Jordan
Iraqis seize 16 trucks filled with Iranian weapons, explosives and cash for terrorists
Iraqi Interior Minister Falah al-Naqib said in Baghdad last week that security forces recently arrested four terrorists who tried to attack a polling place during the Jan. 30 elections. "As far as I know, one of those who blew himself up was from Chechnya; another one was from Sudan; and a third person, who was killed, was a Syrian," he said. Another Syrian was arrested. A total of 15 terrorists were arrested during the elections and two cars filled with explosives were seized.

During one raid last week, Iraqi National Guard troops seized 16 trucks filled with weapons, explosives and cash. According to Iraqi authorities, the people involved in the arms smuggling admitted to having ties to Iranian intelligence in areas that include Samara, Balad, Najaf and Latifiyah. The captured smugglers provided details of the activities of the Al Fajer, a branch of Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security, which is working to recruit Iraqis for terrorist operations.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 02/11/2005 8:47:52 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Allrighty then. That's a casus belli if I ever seen one.
Posted by: Sobiesky || 02/11/2005 9:40 Comments || Top||

#2  Sounds to me like a sweep of the areas mentioned would be in order. Find these Iranian agents, then execute them, no questions asked.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 02/11/2005 10:05 Comments || Top||

#3  Bomb-a-rama,

You're forgetting step 2... Then go to war with Iran and replace the theocratic regime with a democracy.
Posted by: Damn_Proud_American || 02/11/2005 10:38 Comments || Top||

#4  DPA: Give the mullahs a little more rope to hang themselves with. I suspect that, as Iraq becomes more secure, the Iranian people will hang the mullahs off the same crane used for hanging "women accused of morals violations."
Posted by: mom || 02/11/2005 10:55 Comments || Top||

#5  we're gonna have to rip the guts out of the Middle East and have them start all over. Suicide bombings EVERY DAY for the last couple years is just too much to accept.
Posted by: shellback || 02/11/2005 12:57 Comments || Top||

#6  fire rockets from Iraq into Iran and say it's the work of the Iraqis. If Iran attacks, go get 'em. If they don't, keep firing the rockets!

heck, hamas seems to like the rocket thing.
Posted by: PlanetDan || 02/11/2005 14:25 Comments || Top||

#7  Rig the trucks with remotes drive across the border and set them off.Make sure to stencil"Return to sender"on the buper.
Posted by: raptor || 02/11/2005 19:42 Comments || Top||

#8  Iran wants to do mischief, we can do it too. The MMs need to be destabilized, spooks, dirty tricks, hacking, the whole nine yards. I hope we are doing something. There are groups that hate the MMs. They need to be supplied and encouraged. If the MMs stay around too long, they can undo all the work and sacrifices our forces AND those dedicated Iraqis have done.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 02/11/2005 22:42 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine
Israel Puts Off Talks After Hamas Mortar Attacks
Talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators yesterday to discuss the implementation of agreements reached at Tuesday's Middle East peace summit were shelved by Israel after a series of mortar attacks in the southern Gaza Strip, a Palestinian official said. "The Israelis have informed us that they are postponing the meeting because of the mortar attacks and the security situation in the Gaza Strip," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. "The meeting will now take place on Saturday evening or on Sunday," he added. The meeting had been due to bring Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's top adviser Dov Weisglass together to discuss the details agreed on at Tuesday's summit in Egypt.
Posted by: Fred || 02/11/2005 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Hamas will do their damndist to sabotage the negotiations between Abbas and Sharon. Abbas has been thrown down the gauntlet. He cleans up Hamas or he is irrelavant or gone.

On the other hand, if this Hamas crap continues, Israel ought to just quietly shut off the water to Gaza. They supply the fresh water there after the Paleos overpumped the wells and they became saline. The world will scream etc etc. but that ought to get the Paleos attention.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 02/11/2005 0:18 Comments || Top||

#2  The consequence of Western pressure on the Paleos may yet be a civil war.
Posted by: phil_b || 02/11/2005 0:24 Comments || Top||

#3  “The Israelis have informed us that they are postponing the meeting because of the mortar attacks and the security situation in the Gaza Strip,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. “The meeting will now take place on Saturday evening or on Sunday,” he added.

How about it taking place AFTER Palestinian terrorism has been brought under control by Palestinian authorities? Of course, when that will be is anyone's guess.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 02/11/2005 0:50 Comments || Top||

#4  This just points out the main problem in dealing with the Palestinians; besides the Kill the Jews! bloodlust thing, I mean. There is no such thing as "The Palestinians". All you have are various gangs of armed thugs who differ mainly in their armaments and hatreds, both internal and external. There is no central authority or government with which to negotiate a treaty or make a deal.

It is going to take a civil war or someone with a heavy hand to sort things out. I doubt if Abbas has the stones for it.
Posted by: SteveS || 02/11/2005 1:08 Comments || Top||

#5  if any group of people needed a leviathon....
Posted by: SON OF TOLUI || 02/11/2005 2:51 Comments || Top||

#6  Same old, same old. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me 35054809543689117 times...
Posted by: someone || 02/11/2005 2:59 Comments || Top||

#7  Paleo civil war,not necesarally a bad thing,Phil."Devide and Conquer".
Posted by: raptor || 02/11/2005 7:23 Comments || Top||


Hamas Rejects Pa Ceasefire
The largest Palestinian opposition group has rejected a ceasefire declared by the Palestinian Authority. Hamas announced it would not honor a ceasefire declaration by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas said on Tuesday at an Arab-Israeli summit in Egypt that the PA and all insurgency groups would end attacks on Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon also announced an end to offensive military operations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. "This expresses only the position of the Palestinian Authority," Hamas spokesman Mushir Masri said. "It does not express the position of the Palestinian movements." Hamas spokespeople said the entire movement -- whether in the PA territories or abroad -- agreed not to honor Abbas's declaration. They said Hamas would not end their attacks on Israeli targets, but did not pledge additional strikes.
Posted by: Fred || 02/11/2005 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  wack'em & stack'em.tag'em & bag'em.stab'em & slab'em.
Posted by: raptor || 02/11/2005 7:25 Comments || Top||

#2  Tumble Weeds?
Posted by: Shipman || 02/11/2005 9:54 Comments || Top||

#3  sounder like Claude clay
Posted by: half || 02/11/2005 18:49 Comments || Top||

#4  No country for you, then, PA. It is the one thing you are asked to do and you refuse. Let a year pass so the Palestinians can stew in their hardheaded, suicidal misery some more-so they can lose more children, lose more hope, lose more pride. Maybe then peace and prosperity will look more appealing than their "Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River" fixation.
Posted by: jules 2 || 02/11/2005 18:51 Comments || Top||


Hamas Increases Missile Production
Hamas has launched an effort to accelerate missile production in the Gaza Strip. Israeli military sources said Hamas has used Israel's ceasefire pledge to rebuild its military capabilities. The sources said this includes production of the Kassam-class short-range missiles, anti-tank rockets and mines. At the same time, Hamas was said to have restored strongholds destroyed by Israel's military. The sources said the strongholds have included weapons factories and warehouses. "Hamas and other groups are preparing for another offensive," an Israeli military source said. "They are being encouraged and paid by Iran to stage provocations that would end the ceasefire."
Posted by: Fred || 02/11/2005 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Cool! The more Hamas produces, the bigger the explosions will be when Israel responds to their provocations.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/11/2005 23:09 Comments || Top||


Iraq-Jordan
Iraq says to close its borders Feb. 17-22
Iraq will close all its borders for five days starting next week, the government said on Thursday, in a move designed to boost security. The borders will be closed between Feb. 17 and Feb. 22, the government said. It gave no specific reason for the closure but the dates coincide with the climax of a major Shi'ite religious ceremony attacked by multiple suicide bombers last year.
Posted by: Fred || 02/11/2005 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  they want to make sure that there are only self inflicted wounds on ashura--ya think al sistani has the strengh to self flagellate--the dude looks weak
Posted by: SON OF TOLUI || 02/11/2005 2:47 Comments || Top||

#2  A good idea whose time has come - in many places.
Posted by: .com || 02/11/2005 4:31 Comments || Top||


18th Airborne Corps Takes Command in Iraq
The U.S. Army's 18th Airborne Corps formally took control of coalition ground forces in Iraq on Thursday, bringing in a new commander and staff to replace 3rd Corps, which is returning to Fort Hood, Texas. Lt. Gen. John Vines became the new commander of what is formally known as Multi-National Force-Iraq. A 34-year veteran infantryman, he took over from Lt. Gen. Thomas Metz at a ceremony held in one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces near Baghdad International Airport. The transfer of authority was conducted by Gen. George Casey Jr., who commands all forces in Iraq. He said Metz's troops had made possible the transfer of sovereignty to a new Iraqi government in June, as well as the Jan. 30 elections. Casey said Vines' would oversee even more changes in Iraq, including the installation of a new transitional government, the drafting and adopting of a constitution and elections in December for new, fully constitutional government.
Hooah and welcome General Vines and 18th Airborne. Best wishes to all for a successful deployment and safe return home.
Posted by: Fred || 02/11/2005 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  My daughter's fiance is with the Screaming Eagles at Ft.Polk,La.Taking urban combat training,hope he is smaet enough to take it sireouslly.
Did anybody else have a problem with RB yesterday?(.com,could you post that spell check program link,need to run it on my new tower}
Posted by: raptor || 02/11/2005 7:21 Comments || Top||

#2  Note that the Lt. General (3-star) is in charge of US forces, Iraq; whereas the General (4-star) is in charge of the Iraq (regional) Command, which is a Command equal to CENTCOM in status, and is not limited to Iraq.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 02/11/2005 9:02 Comments || Top||

#3  raptor - Here's the IESpell homepage where you can get it.
Posted by: .com || 02/11/2005 12:49 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan/South Asia
Cleric shot dead in Sargodha
Maulana Qari Shabbir Ahmad Usman, the principal of the Jamia Usmania seminary, was shot dead by two motorcyclists at Morr 47 in Sargodha late on Thursday, police said. Mansoorul Haq Rana, the assistant superintendent of police in Sargodha, told Daily Times that two robbers tried to stop Maulana Usman and gunned him down when he resisted. He was going to see his uncle in Liaqatabad after leading Isha prayers. "It is a criminal act and has nothing to do with terrorism," Rana said.

He added that the unidentified killers had snatched money from two other people after tying them with ropes. The two victims witnessed the cleric's murder, Rana said. The official said that the police had increased security in the district.
Posted by: Fred || 02/11/2005 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Nepal's Maoists launch first major offensive
Five soldiers and at least one rebel were killed when Maoists launched their first major offensive since King Gyanendra seized power, attacking police posts and government buildings, an army source said on Thursday. The assault, which was repulsed by the security forces, took place Wednesday night in the far western region of Kailali, the source said. "Several hundred Maoist rebels tried to attack various government offices including those of the district police, regional police and ward police, Nepal Rastra (Central Bank) and district administration office in Dhangadhi district," the source said. "The security forces foiled the attack but five security men were killed and four other injured," he said, adding that the rebels had bombed the local jail and set free 18 inmates. The source said the Maoists had also suffered heavy casualties but only one body had been found because the rebels had carried away their dead and injured.
Posted by: Fred || 02/11/2005 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Maoists...jeesh..it's like watching "Return of the Dinosaurs".
Posted by: 2b || 02/11/2005 12:35 Comments || Top||

#2  Maoism is only decades behind reality. Compared to Osama and his crew, that's positively modern.
Posted by: jackal || 02/11/2005 14:05 Comments || Top||

#3  I thought they always were pretty offensive...
Posted by: mojo || 02/11/2005 16:29 Comments || Top||

#4  Rise of the Red-Star Turbans, for Socialism and Communism. *Madonna as the Three Sisters of the Apocalypse, the wife of Attila and Genghis and ... - "...Give yourself to me"!
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 02/11/2005 22:50 Comments || Top||



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