Leading terrorist rights organization Human Rights Watch has unleashed a barrage of criticism on Jack Bauer of the government's Counter Terror Unit(CTU. Bauer's aggressive, often violent approach with regards to alleged terrorists has recently drawn the ire of this impartial organization.
"What is happening here is absolutely unbelievable," stated an HRW spokesman. "This man has, among other things: shot an alleged "terrorist" in the leg, used a lamp chord to extract information from an innocent businessman and pushed a naturalized U.S. citizen against a wall. Furthermore, we can prove that he and CTU have not provided culturally sensitive meals to Islamic prisoners on at least three occasions. To top it all off, these episodes of torture are filmed and played each week on the cable channel Fox! This is just one more example of the hubris of this administration and of their seamless ties with Fox."
Many in the Democratic Party have decried what they call an "unholy alliance" between the Bush administration and Fox for quite some time. These accusations came to a head in the months preceding the 2004 election when Fox ran a 3-part series entitled "When Democrats Attack!"
When approached for comment a visibly agitated Jack Bauer insisted, "My name is not Jack Bauer! My name is Kiefer Sutherland! I am an actor! Are you people nuts?!? It's a friggin' tv show!!!!"
TNOYF's counter terror experts tell us that Bauer's identity confusion is "consistent with the behavior of other agents who have been in the field for an extended period of time."
Saudi Arabia reaffirmed yesterday that it would not allow any "deviant or corrupt group" to undermine the country's security and stability. "We'll leave no stone unturned in our bid to combat terror," Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd told the Shoura Council. Inaugurating the 150-member council's first session of a new four-year term, King Fahd said the Kingdom would go ahead with its reform and development programs. He stressed the government's efforts to achieve speedy growth in all sectors and estimated total investments in the industrial sector at more than SR260 billion. In his keynote address, which dealt with foreign policy, economic liberalization, privatization programs, women's jobs and Arab League reforms, King Fahd reiterated Saudi Arabia's commitment to stabilize world oil market. "We'll work to achieve a balance between the interests of producers and consumers," the Saudi Press Agency quoted him as saying.
Was he drooling as he said this, or were the wires attached to his body moving with perfect coordination?
The Shoura inauguration comes a day after King Fahd reshuffled the consultative body, inducting highly educated and experienced professionals and expanding its membership from 120 to 150. More than two-thirds of its members hold doctorates. Shoura Chairman Dr. Saleh Bin-Humaid and its members took oath before the king during the ceremony. Bin-Humaid thanked the king for widening the council's role and said he hoped for greater progress over the next four years.
Compared to the last 900.
"I am sure that the coming sessions would witness major qualitative and objective changes in terms of the Shoura's responsibilities, powers, structure and mode of work," he added. Shoura members echoed his call, saying the body should have more oversight of government decisions. "We will need to discuss the budget and important ministries like the oil ministry," said Abdul Aziz Al-Oraier. Economist Ehsan Bu-Hulaiga said the council had made strides toward playing a legislative role and was "progressing" in its quest for scrutiny of the government.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
No deviant or corrupt group's huh? what about wahabbis, they're as deviant as they come.
BTW, is that a soul patch under his bottom lip or just a mole patch?
More than a dozen political societies are to meet today in an effort to initiate a national dialogue with the government on political and constitutional issues, it was announced yesterday. The meeting will set up a "permanent coordination committee," to be charged with preparing for the proposed national dialogue, according to Ahmad Juma, president of Al Meethaq Society, which called for the meeting, to be attended by 14 political societies. "We all want to overcome the current political tension which is the result of mainly the absence of a regular dialogue between the government and the political forces," he said.
He was referring to the frequent clashes between the government and the four opposition groups over the issue of constitutional reforms. The four groups - Al Wefaq Society, the National Democratic Action Society, the Islamic Action Society, and the Nationalist Assembly claim the reforms, initiated by His Majesty King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa four years ago, did not go far enough.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
There are no camps to house returnees from Iraq, whether they are Saudi or Iraqi, but anyone threatening security will be dealt with severely, a Saudi minister said. "There is no need for camps. But anyone who violates the country's security and interests will be hit with an iron fist, whether outside or inside the kingdom," Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, Saudi Arabia's Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Defence and Aviation, said.
He also described the kingdom's relations with the United States as "good", saying a forthcoming visit to America by Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz would further strengthen cooperation between the two countries. Addressing a press conference, after presenting awards to the winners of the King Faisal International Prize in Riyadh, Prince Sultan described the Crown Prince's visit to America as a "blessed step that would be in the interests of Islam and Muslims as well as the people of Saudi Arabia." Abdullah is expected to meet US President George W. Bush on April 24.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
But I thought the Saudis like to go camping in the desert, reliving the gloriously simple life of their bandit ancestors. Why all the fuss?
#2
naaaa...they like to picnic in the desert in the evenings, but actually camping is a little too rough. You can often see them sitting beside the road in the gravel, roasting a goat and boasting about what they'd do if they ever met an Israeli. That's what they call entertainment.
Posted by: Jim ||
04/13/2005 15:38 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Simple minds, simple pleasures, I suppose. Lovely image, Jim. It goes so nicely with .com's tales of his westernized Saudi colleague gleefully planning to systematically and creatively abuse his wife-to-be.
Bangladesh yesterday categorically said it would not allow any fencing by India within 150 yards of the zero line between the two countries, as such construction within no man's land contravenes the 1975 border guidelines. Dhaka reaffirmed its position a day before the two sides are scheduled to sit for a crucial border conference here.
Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and Indian Border Security Force (BSF) will hold talks today to try to resolve the contentious border issues. An 18-member BSF delegation led by its Director General R.S. Mooshahary arrived here yesterday afternoon to join the seven-day conference at the BDR Headquarters. BDR Director General Maj. Gen. Jahangir Alam Choudhury, who received his BSF counterpart at the airport, said that the 1975 border guidelines clearly mention that any type of defensive work cannot be done within 150 yards of the zero line. "Fencing is a defensive work, which is known by all countries. This also is taught at their (Indian) academy. So, we will not allow any fencing within 150 yards," Gen. Choudhury told reporters. However, BSF chief R.S. Mooshahary told reporters that India has been constructing fences for last 20-25 years. "It is an ongoing project. In some areas old fencing is being replaced by new while in some areas it is being completed. I don't think fencing is causing tension" he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Fencing is cutting down on smugglers and contraband, They can't have that.
#2
The impeteous behind the fencing is the arrival of literally millions of Bangladeshi immigrants over the years, completely altering the demographic composition of border districts.
In recent years, small Jihadi groups have emerged among the Banngladeshi immigrants in India, but due to vote ank politics, the governments in most of the states are unwilling to get rid of the Bangladeshis, so this is the next option.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
04/13/2005 3:54 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Wetback Baners.Who would a thunk it.
Build the fence 150.2 yds inside the border.
#5
My question is, what purpose does prohibiting contruction of a fence within 150 yards of "the zero line" serve? If the Indians putting up the fence erect it on THEIR side of the border, like say, one foot in, what's the problem?
Something unsavory is happening in Great Britain. Oona King, Labor MP for Bethnal Green, was pelted with onions and eggs by Muslim constituents Sunday when she participated in a memorial to Jewish victims of WWII's last German V2 missile attack on London. London's Mayor Ken Livingstone likened a Jewish journalist to a Nazi concentration camp guard, and on April 20 British university professors may decide to boycott Israeli academics. All the above are inextricably linked. All are products of unprecedented antagonism towards Jews and all things Israeli. The pretext is Israeli policy but that cannot, for instance, account for the atmosphere of hate towards Jewish students on British campuses.
Posted by: gromgoru ||
04/13/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Any idea that it is new that there is a strong undercurrent of anti -semitism in the UK is totally bonkers. There always has been. It's just that it was impolite for the educated to openly express it. in the recent past. Hating the Jews is a fine old English tradition.
#2
I grew up in England and our next door neighbours were Jews. If there was any overt antisemitism I wasn't aware of it and if it did exist, the Jews would have been well down the list after the Irish, Polacks, Italians, West Indians, Pakistanis, etc. This is clearly a new phenomena.
#3
Spod - yup, if you read your Dickens you'll see it, not so true these days though - post WW2 influence? I agree with you Phil - anti-semitism in the UK comes way behind prejudice against Pakistanis/Indians, the black community. Jews are largely assimilated and there exist very few communities in the UK that can be described as being overtly Jewish. Sure, anti-semitism exists - but is now the property of the far right, the intellectual left (Beeb/Universities) and the muslim community. It is laughable that UK Muslims, a community that cries persecution over the most trifling matters, displays publicly such vehement racism against the Jews. Seemingly very little is done to combat this.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
04/13/2005 4:36 Comments ||
Top||
#4
The problem lies in the fact that our ' academia ' are all lefty retards , Jew hating is a way of life for them ..
Some may say I generalize but in all truth , our education system is awash with , as Howard so well put it , interllectual left.
If I was edumacated (*chuckle*) by this lot , then there wouldnt have been much hope for me ..
When I see todays students pandering to the need of 'fighting the system and state' , I am truely saddened. This hate is a direct consequence of being brainwashed by the academia's view .
GO far enough left , and you end up on the right . *shrug*
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/13/2005 14:36 Comments ||
Top||
#2
I don't see this doing much. I think China will bitch and moan but they'll go ahead and let Japan do all the hard work of trying to find oil/gas.
Once Japan does find the deposits, a whole new game starts. Thats when I'll get the pop corn.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
04/13/2005 14:58 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Time for Condi to start lining up a new alliance for a new century: US and Japan + Australia + Singapore + SKor and maybe even India. Serious technology and serious warriors. This, not NATO, should be our principal focus now.
#10
Phase II now. Focus like the proverbial laser beam on the threat to the east. We're currently spending twice as much dilpomatic bandwidth (overall staff, resources, travel, time and attention) on Europe as on Asia. Should be the other way round.
I'm of three minds about this. On the one hand, the Uighurs are certainly being influenced by the Islamist currents. They've been captured along with all the other flavors of turbans in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and a few other places. On the other hand, the Chinese are typically Commie in their handling of both religion and minorities. On the third hand, when the professional human rights wienies climb on board, I feel more sympathy for the Politburo.
China is directing a crushing campaign of religious repression against Muslim Uighurs in the name of anti-separatism and counter-terrorism, a report by two US-based human rights groups said yesterday. "At its most extreme, peaceful activists practicing their religion in ways that the party and government deem unacceptable are arrested, tortured, and at times executed," said the 114-page report by Human Rights Watch and Human Rights in China. "The harshest punishments are saved for those accused of involvement in so-called separatist activity, which officials increasingly term 'terrorism' for domestic and external consumption."
The fact that they're heavy-handed and intolerant doesn't mean they've got no legitimate terrorist activity to contend with.
The report, "Devastating Blows: Religious Repression of Uighurs in Xinjiang", is based on previously undisclosed Communist Party and government documents. It also draws on local regulations, official newspaper accounts, and interviews conducted in Xinjiang. "Uighurs are seen by Beijing as an ethno-nationalist threat to the Chinese state," said Sharon Hom, executive director of Human Rights in China. "As Islam is perceived as underpinning Uighur ethnic identity, China has taken draconian steps to smother Islam as a means of subordinating Uighur nationalist sentiment."
Tagging the ethnic identity to Islam is kind of the giveaway here...
The report claims to unveil for the first time "the complex architecture of law, regulation, and policy in Xinjiang that denies Uighurs religious freedom, and by extension freedom of association, assembly, and expression. Chinese policy and law enforcement stifle religious activity and thought even in school and at home."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Fred: On the other hand, the Chinese are typically Commie in their handling of both religion and minorities.
This is a Chinese, not Communist, tradition. China has always been extremely harsh in dealing with rebels. In the 1870's hundreds of thousands of Muslims in the Yunnan area were massacred, after they had surrendered.
#2
Maybe so, ZF, but commies in general seem to have a lot of problems with religion or anything else that thinks it's bigger than the state.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
04/13/2005 0:38 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Ditto for Chinese "high culture" having a problem with ...
Posted by: Edward Yee ||
04/13/2005 0:43 Comments ||
Top||
#4
The Ujgurs are said to be direct descendants from the Huns and they dominated Central Asia for centuries. At times the Chinese depended on Ujgur "protection". In the 18th and 19th century the Ujgurs rebelled over 40 times against Manchu domination. (The British supported the latest Manchu invasions to stop the Russian expansion in that region.)
It's true that the Ujgurs embraced Islam, but you will also find Buddhist Ujgurs. The conflict with China had little to do with Islam, but of course today Islam and ethnic conflicts seem to merge.
I suppose we would be more lenient with a Tibetan uprising.
#5
DD: Maybe so, ZF, but commies in general seem to have a lot of problems with religion or anything else that thinks it's bigger than the state.
China has *always* ruthlessly suppressed factions or religions that challenged the state, including wealthy families, powerful nobles, Buddhism, various folk religions and Christianity. It has traditionally met these challenges with the selective killings of the leadership and members of the rank-and-file (a tactic quaintly known as "sha ji xia hou" or killing the chicken to scare the monkey) or with large scale massacres if open rebellion breaks out.
#6
TGA: The conflict with China had little to do with Islam, but of course today Islam and ethnic conflicts seem to merge.
That is correct. China has been fighting Turks (Uighurs and all the Central Asian 'stans are Turkic) for millenia. It was kind of like the Indian wars (except the adversaries were more evenly matched), where the nomads would come back to find that their pastures had been taken over by Chinese settlers. China's far west was wrested away from the Turks, and I'm not referring to Xinjiang.
#7
A footnote here is that the Chinese themselves are also part Turkic in origin - the Tang dynasty was founded by sinified Turks, meaning Turks who had accepted Chinese customs.
#8
The report claims to unveil for the first time âthe complex architecture of law, regulation, and policy in Xinjiang that denies Uighurs religious freedom, and by extension freedom of association, assembly, and expression. Chinese policy and law enforcement stifle religious activity and thought even in school and at home.â
#10
I don't understand the MSM and such having sympathy for the Uighurs. Like all muslim peoples seem to do, every step of the way when options lay in their path they took the wrong path. Lately they have been placing bombs in busses near Peking. It won't be long until the Olympics and the PRC doesn't want any of this activity to ruin that show. I can't see why the ROW would want the show ruined like Munich either.
#11
Like alot of wound up idiots, the limited knowledge, ignorance, and obstinancy just won't allow the Ulghurs to get savvy and pursue their aims through more effective means. For the effort, the PRC will stomp em to the last turban. Why would anyone expect the PRC not to do the one thing that it does seem to do best - control and order through brutality.
#12
China's far west was wrested away from the Turks, and I'm not referring to Xinjiang. Zhang Fei, are you saying that the areas slightly east of Xinjian were once Turkish?
I guess everyplace was owned by someone else at some point but I hadn't heard that. My history books show the ancient Chinese Kingdoms (5 kingdoms?) and I thought they pretty much slopped on over to about the Xinjiang border. Of course the maps were line drawings and very simple so they might be wrong or I just misjudged how far west the borders were.
#14
RJSchwartz: areas WEST of Xinjiang were part of China at one time or another. Chinese control of the Silk Road went well west of Khotan during the Tang Dynasty. Uighurs are eastern Turks; Uighur country formed the northwestern border with China, and the Uighurs and Chinese had regular skirmishes.
BH: Knock it off.
The Chinese systematically oppress all minority groups of any stripe. The Han in China are probably the most racist people on earth. During the Mao era the government settled huge numbers of Han in the area and they took over the good housing and the good jobs.
The Uighur were mostly nominal Muslims, with a lot of folk religion mixed in. They did attack and destroy the small Christian Uighur community while Chiang Kai-Shek was busy trying to fight the Japanese. I'd be willing to bet, however, that without the ferocious oppression on the part of the Chinese Govt., the Turbans wouldn't have had a receptive audience. I get my information from somebody who lived there for 5 years.
Sarcasm and irony plays a large part here - don't like it? Go somewhere else
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/13/2005 20:39 Comments ||
Top||
#17
The Chinese undoubtedly oppress their minorities, and the Muslim Uighur Turks are no exception. Then again, who needs more Islamists in central Asia.
The Chinese and the Uighurs - they deserve each other.
Three British nationals whose alleged surveillance of U.S. financial landmarks triggered an increase in the terrorist threat level last summer were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges that they were planning a catastrophic attack with "weapons of mass destruction," the Justice Department disclosed Tuesday.
The federal indictment, unsealed in New York, alleges that the three men, including a reputed top al-Qaida operative, conducted secret surveillance of the New York Stock Exchange, the headquarters of the International Monetary Fund in Washington and other structures in 2000 and 2001 as part of a plot to destroy the buildings and kill Americans, Justice Department officials said.
Without providing details, U.S. officials said the conspiracy continued until the men were arrested last August by British authorities after the suspects were linked to the planned attacks by computer files retrieved as part of a separate terror investigation in Pakistan. The men also face charges in London, where they remain in custody.
The computer files included detailed descriptions of the surveillance activities, whose chilling specifics prompted U.S. authorities to raise the terror threat level from "yellow" to "orange", or high, in the financial districts of New York, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia last Aug. 1.
Though the indictment says the men plotted to use weapons of mass destruction, it identifies the weapons only as improvised explosive devices. The phrasing is normally used to refer to chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.
"We have not alleged that," Deputy Attorney General James Comey said at a news conference. "But ... a weapon of mass destruction in our world goes beyond that and includes improved explosive devices."
The decision to elevate the threat level was controversial because it was based largely on information that was more than three years old. Coming in the middle of a presidential election year, it fueled criticism that the Bush administration was manipulating the terror-threat index for political gain. The alert level was lowered after the election.
At a news conference Tuesday, Comey defended the alert and said the plot, which extended over six years, represented a real and immediate threat.
"This conspiracy was alive and kicking up until August of 2004. That date is in there for a reason," Comey said, alluding to the indictment.
The case "highlights the nature of the enemy we face," he added. "That is an enemy that is patient, that is spread through the world and is bent on killing Americans in a spectacular way."
The indictment suggests that the conspiracy was active even as the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers were plotting their own attacks on New York and Washington. The indictment does not make any connection between the two. Comey noted that the indictment makes no "express" allegation that the defendants are connected with al-Qaida.
But an alias used by one of the defendants -- Dhiren Barot -- is identified in the final report of the federal commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks as being a senior al-Qaida leader who was dispatched by Osama bin Laden to conduct a scouting operation against financial and other targets in the United States.
Barot, according to the federal indictment, used the aliases Esa al-Britain, Abu Esa al-Britani, Esa al-Hindi, and Issa al-Hindi.
His alleged co-conspirators are two other British citizens, identified as Nadeem Tarmohamed, 26, and Qaisar Shaffi, 25. The three were arrested in a raid on a house in a London suburb last August.
The federal indictment, which Comey said was handed up March 23, describes a plot that began in 1998 when Barot served as a lead instructor in a training camp in Afghanistan where recruits were taught to use weapons and received other paramilitary training.
According to the indictment, in June 2000, Barot applied to and was admitted to a college in New York as cover for a series of reconnaissance missions he undertook with his co-defendants to New York and Washington between Aug. 17, 2000 and April 8, 2001.
According to the indictment, the men visited and conducted surveillance on buildings and surrounding neighborhoods in the United States, including the headquarters of the IMF and the World Bank in Washington, the headquarters of Prudential Financial Inc. in Newark, N.J., and the New York Stock Exchange and Citigroup Centre in New York.
The U.S. charges include conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction against persons within the United States, and conspiracy to damage and destroy buildings used in interstate and foreign commerce. The defendants face sentences of up to life in prison if they are convicted.
Comey said the United States would seek the extradition of the men from Britain once proceedings there are complete. He said he did not know when that would be.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
04/13/2005 12:12:07 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
I it will be interesting if they are ever actually brought to the US. I am not going to hold my breath.
#2
Yep... this will take years... I'd be surprised if we managed to convict them - a reluctance to divulge intel sources may jeopardise this one. I'm very interested to know who's going to be defending them - some moonbat with a chip on the shoulder like Imran Khan no doubt.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
04/13/2005 4:25 Comments ||
Top||
The alleged recruiter of six Yemeni-Americans from upstate New York who went to al Qaeda military training camps in the summer of 2001 denies recruiting the men or being connected to the terrorist organization linked to the September 11 attacks.
Juma Mohammed Abdul Latif al-Dosari, a Saudi who has been in custody at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, since his capture by U.S. forces near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, has told a military tribunal reviewing his status that the accusation "that I was recruiting for al Qaeda is not true," according to newly unclassified documents released to a federal court.
Al-Dosari's file is among more than 60 case files of hundreds of Guantanamo detainees that have been deposited with the U.S District Court in Washington, which is handling lawsuits challenging the imprisonments. The files were obtained and posted on the Internet by The Associated Press. (Detainees judge U.S. justice) According to the documents, the U.S. Navy told an enemy combatant status review board that al-Dosari is a member of al Qaeda who trained at an al Qaeda camp in Afghanistan as early as 1989, learning how to use an AK-47 assault rifle. Al-Dosari allegedly fought with Muslims in Bosnia in 1995 and with Arabs fighting Russian soldiers in Chechnya in 1996, according to evidence presented to the tribunal by a Navy lawyer.
Saudi authorities detained al-Dosari for questioning in the June 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers military housing that killed 19 Americans. Al-Dosari returned to Afghanistan in 2001 and fought with al Qaeda against a U.S. led assault in Tora Bora, according to the Navy. He surrendered to Pakistani authorities later in that year. "I am not an enemy of the United States," al-Dosari told his Guantanamo interrogators last December, according to the case file. "I am not a member of al Qaeda. I did not encourage anyone to go fight with al Qaeda, and I had no relationship with al Qaeda," he said.
He denied that his travels to Bosnia were for militant activities, according to the interview notes in the case file. "I didn't go to Bosnia for jihad. I went there for a blonde white female, to get married," he said.
He also denied that his 1996 trip to Azerbaijan was a stop en route to Chechnya. "My intention was to sight-see in Azerbaijan because I had never been there before," al-Dosari said. "I went to Azerbaijan to go back to Saudi Arabia, not to go to Chechnya."
A three-person military tribunal upheld al-Dosari's detention after a hearing he chose not to attend. The hearings were prompted by a Supreme Court decision requiring the military to provide a forum for 550 foreign nationals detained as terrorism suspects to hear evidence behind their detention and challenge it. "The detainee is properly classified as an enemy combatant and is a member of al Qaeda, that had affiliation with, and was supportive of Taliban forces engaged in hostilities against the United States," the panel found regarding al-Dosari, according to the court documents.
The lead recruiter of Buffalo Six, a Saudi born in Buffalo named Kamal Derwish, was killed in November 2002 by a CIA-launched Predator missile attack on al Qaeda operatives in Yemen. Al-Dosari, believed to be a friend of Derwish, lived for six months in Bloomington, Ind., and visited Lackawanna, New York, in 2001, speaking at the local mosque and staying with one of the men who later went to Afghanistan. The six recruits from Lackawanna, a small city five miles from Buffalo, individually pleaded guilty to terrorism-related charges in 2003 and are serving seven- to 10-year sentences in federal prison.
A seventh man who allegedly traveled with the group to Afghanistan, Jaber Elbaneh, is still at large, and the U.S. government is offering $5 million for information leading to his arrest.
This article starring:
JABER ELBANEH
al-Qaeda
JUMA MOHAMED ABDUL LATIF AL DOSARI
al-Qaeda
KAMAL DERWISH
al-Qaeda
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
04/13/2005 12:13:41 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Just for the record: Lackawanna, a city/suburb of Buffalo, NY, is in Western New York State. Upstate NY means places like Syracuse, and perhaps Albany. But those bits that along Lake Erie that are forever in the news because of their amazing snowfalls are in the western part of the state, and we are tired of those City folk misunderstanding their place in the universe relative to the rest of us.
#2
tw - Welcome back from, well, from wherever you've been!
And, of course, all Muzzies are poor put-upon innocents who never do mean, nasty, ugly, seditious, or violent things. All those stonings and beheadings and female castrations and "honor" killings and murders and purges and suicide bombers and genocidal campaigns to "reclaim Muslim Lands" and calls for jihad and Jooo-hating screeds are just misunderstandings.
A nasty virus started eating my .dll files, so we had to be rescued by a computer jockey friend. Which of course took more time than originally planned, as his group had to keep stopping to do their real work. ;-) Mr. Wife is much happier, now that he's managed to print out the tax returns -- which is what he was in the middle of when it all went whoopsy -- and I'm praying hard that nothing else happens before we figure out why I can't get McAfee VirusScan to admit it's already on the computer somewhere. Which is something for a nice Jewish girl who doesn't much worry about whether or not God exists...
But I have missed you all and Rantburg terribly -- where else can I get real news?!? And trailing daughter #1 has been going through serious internet withdrawel, compounded by general 14-year old craziness (#2 is just happy that her bat mitzvah went well, and now she doesn't have all that extra studying to do). So hopefully now we can all heave a deep sigh of relief, and return to normal life ... at least as normal as it ever gets around here.
#4
According to the records Syracuse gets more snow than Buffalo, although neither compares to the Tug Hill Plateau on the Western side of the Adirondack Mountains where some places get as much as 300" of snow a year. I recall being in the town of Old Forge and being astounded at how deep the snow was.
Ouch! A sick 'puter, IMHO, lies somewhere between a sick child and a sick pet, lol! The pain you feel is real enough, heh. Even if one leans towards the lower end of that range, i.e. pet, well, it's a damned talented one!
RB was down for about 3 hours the other day - and I was deep into DT's. I'm not sure I can feature, what, 2 weeks? No thanks, heh. When there are others involved, well, commiseration doesn't seem to apply, it's just compounded, lol!
Great to have you back!
I dunno diddley about NY outside of NYC - and that only for short layovers - so you and phil_b (and ZF, who's an NYC denizen, I believe) will have to cover the geography and weather, there, heh.
#6
Phil_b, right again, but it's generally Buffalo that makes the news anyway, ever since the blizzards of '76 and '77, when we had impassable snowdrifts picturesquely blocking main roads until June. As a precaution, we never go back to visit family at Christmas... as we've been snowed in for days even before the Thanksgiving holiday in November.
#7
Al-Dosari returned to Afghanistan in 2001 and fought with al Qaeda against a U.S. led assault in Tora Bora, according to the Navy. He surrendered to Pakistani authorities later in that year.
"I am not an enemy of the United States," al-Dosari told his Guantanamo interrogators last December, according to the case file.
"I am not a member of al Qaeda. I did not encourage anyone to go fight with al Qaeda, and I had no relationship with al Qaeda," he said.
Does CNN and AP not even READ what they wrote in the first parag when they wrote parags. #2 & 3? What in the world? Why even quote this jihadi lying about "not being an enemy of the U.S. or a member of AQ", when the first parag states he was fighting AGAINST US w/ AQ in Tora Bora! Man, the MSM never ceases to amaze. And I guess he went to Lackawanna for "sight seeing" too, eh? Only thing is, I can still see a Federale overturning his "status" and setting him free! Send him back to Gitmo in my mind.
Posted by: BA ||
04/13/2005 8:47 Comments ||
Top||
#8
A nasty virus started eating my .dll files, ...
TW, get a Mac! :-)
"get a Mac" should not be construed as a jihad in any way, nor as a reflection of the Steve Jobs reality distortion field, nor as a religious fever, ... oh hell with it, I'm on a crusade!
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/13/2005 10:06 Comments ||
Top||
#9
Is that the best cover story the poor ijit can come up with?!? One would think these jet setting mujihadeens could be a little more tricky. I'd suggest to the judges that they opt for a more severe sentence just because he's stupid and lacks any discernable of creativity.
#10
Steve, trailing daughter wants a Mac notebook in the worst way -- she tells me Macs are better for doing artwork on, and of course she can do her homework on the notebook while riding the schoolbus. We're to sit down with friend computer jockey in a bit to make some serious computer decisions, after which I shall serve a lovely dinner to all. But fcj did say I had done well setting up our antivirus/spyware/adware thingies, it's just that something managed to sneak through anyway after four years of trying. See: I have learned from y'all here at Rantburg!
BA, Tkat, good catch! I completely missed the outright lie, even right there in black & white. But nobody goes to Lackawanna for sightseeing, especially not in the First Ward where the bad guys lived. That used to be the Black section, according to Mr. Wife (who grew up in the nicer part of Lackawanna, where his father worked in the now-closed Bethleham Steel plant), and has only deteriorated since then. Not like the Yemenis and Persians that I knew growing up on the university (SUNY @ Buffalo) side of town, who were Jewish, educated, and charmingly open minded. :-) Credit where it is due, though: the bad guys were turned in by their friends & relations, who were appalled by such plots against their new home.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
04/13/2005 19:42 Comments ||
Top||
#13
You still have one Sssssship?
Posted by: too true ||
04/13/2005 19:42 Comments ||
Top||
#14
" CPM computers are never attacked by spyware or virilli."
Actually, there WERE a few CP/M viruses around. Of course, it was transmitted by copying floppies, since not many had modems.
Were there any ZX-81 viruses? How about My Heathkit ET-3400? Is it safe?
Oh, and Windows (or Winders, as they say in the South) has only a slight resemblance to CP/M. MS-DOS 1.0 was a quick and dirty copy of CP/M-80 v 2.x, but MS-DOS 2, 3, and 4 broke more and more away. Windows 1.x and 2.x (which no one bought) did indeed sit on MS-DOS (not CP/M). Windows/386 and later Windows 3.x (and 95/98/ME), were based on a new VM architecture which directly controlled the hardware and MS-DOS was only used for a few services (and it actually sat on top of the VM and VxDs, not actually touching harware itself.) Windows NT/2000/XP are a whole different matter. I have never tried to use the old FCB (CP/M compatible) method of accessing files, so I don't know if it's even still supported.
Three men have been indicted in the suspected terrorist plot at financial institutions in New York, New Jersey and Washington that led to the security crackdown last summer in the Northeast, the Justice Department announced Tuesday. A four-count federal indictment unsealed Tuesday said the men conducted scouting missions from the summer of 2000 through April 2001 at the New York Stock Exchange and Citicorp building in New York, the Prudential Building in Newark and the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington.
The authorities provided few new details about the suspected plot but said they were convinced that there were plans under way to attack the financial centers until last August, when the United States raised its terror alert level and Britain arrested a group of eight suspects in connection with the case. "This conspiracy was alive and kicking up until August of 2004," James B. Comey, the deputy attorney general, said in announcing the indictment.
The three men charged in the indictment were among the eight suspects jailed and charged in Britain last August in connection with the plot against the financial centers. The authorities identified the three men as Dhiren Barot, 32; Nadeem Tarmohammed, 26; and Qaisar Shaffi, 25. They are awaiting trial in Britain on terrorism-related charges for possessing plans, notebooks and other material that could be used in an attack.
In the American case, each of the three was charged with conspiracy to use unconventional weapons in the United States and providing material support to terrorists. If convicted, each faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. American officials said that they would seek to have the suspects extradited from Britain at some point but acknowledged that the timing was uncertain. A British official said Tuesday that the government would not even consider extraditing the men until their trial was over. Mr. Comey said, "The conspiracy laid out in the indictment was designed to kill as many Americans as possible, and the alleged surveillance of these buildings makes these allegations all the more serious."
The prosecution "highlights the nature of the enemy we face," he added. "And that's an enemy that is patient, that is spread throughout the world, and that is bent on killing Americans in a spectacular way."
It was unclear why American prosecutors decided to bring charges now, about eight months after the plot was disclosed, and the indictment provided few new details about the nature of the plot. In fact, last summer's best-selling final report from the Sept. 11 commission went into greater detail in some areas than did the indictment. The commission report said that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, suspected of masterminding the Sept. 11 attacks, sent Mr. Barot to Malaysia to receive terrorist training and, at the direction of Osama bin Laden, then sent him to the United States in early 2001 "to case potential economic and 'Jewish' targets in New York City." A footnote indicated that the information came from a 2003 interrogation of Mr. Mohammed, who remains in custody at an undisclosed location.
The plot was initially disclosed last August when the authorities ratcheted up the country's threat level in the three cities after warnings of an election-year attack on the United States. The alert led to sweeping security precautions in the three cities and severely restricted access to the Republican National Convention in New York. It also led to charges and speculation from some Democrats that the timing of the announcement, three months before the November election, was meant to bolster President Bush's standing as a president tough on terrorism.
Mr. Comey denied any political calculations either in raising the threat level last summer or announcing the new charges on Tuesday. "This is driven by the facts and the law," he said. Authorities have defended raising the alert, which they acknowledged was based on largely dated information, on the grounds that Al Qaeda is known to engage in lengthy planning before carrying out an attack and to remain fixed on particular targets for years.
The indictment said that in 1998, Mr. Barot was an instructor at one of Mr. bin Laden's training camps in Afghanistan where recruits received training in weapons and paramilitary tactics. In 2000, Mr. Barot applied to an unidentified college in New York where he was admitted for the 2000 and 2001 school years, although he never enrolled at the school or attended any classes. Mr. Barot and Mr. Tarmohammed arrived at Kennedy International Airport on Aug. 17, 2000, on the same flight from Britain, the indictment said. In late August, they traveled to Washington and returned to Britain on separate flights. In March 2001, Mr. Barot and Mr. Shaffi made a similar trip to the United States.
At the time of the security alert last summer, the authorities said that most of the surveillance activity took place before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The indictment said the men conducted surveillance at the buildings between August 2000 and April 2001, including video surveillance in 2001. The travel, planning and resources committed to the surveillance operation form the basis for the charges in the indictment that the men provided "material support" to terrorists, officials said.
This article starring:
DHIREN BAROT
al-Qaeda
James B. Comey, the deputy attorney general
KHALID SHEIKH MOHAMED
al-Qaeda
NADIM TARMOHAMED
al-Qaeda
QAISAR SHAFI
al-Qaeda
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
04/13/2005 12:03:37 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
funny that they scared everyone with this just before the election --what 3 years later
The Pentagon's plans for a major reduction and redeployment of US army forces in Europe will include moving the headquarters from Heidelberg to Wiesbaden and slashing troop strength by some 38,000 forces, reports said on Tuesday. US Army spokeswoman in Heidelberg, Elke Herberger confirmed a report in the German daily Stuttgarter Zeitung, saying "the headquarters of the land-based forces are to be moved from Heidelberg to Wiesbaden". Also under the plans by the US Army commander in Europe, General B.B. Bell, troop numbers in Europe are to be slashed from the current 62,000 to just 24,000 in the next five to ten years. In addition, the military's current main operating areas will be reduced from 13 to just four. Under the plans, two of the US Army's headquarters in Heidelberg, USAREUR (US Army Europe) and Task Force 5, are to be merged and moved to Wiesbaden. At the moment, Heidelberg is host to four of the eight US military headquarters in the southwestern German state of Baden- Wuerttemberg, with some 4,000 soldiers. The troop reductions and redeployment are part of the Pentagon's reorganisation plans aimed at returning some units back to the United States while leaving smaller units in Europe, including some being moved into Eastern Europe.
#5
Redesigning EUCOM. Right now EUCOM's area of responsibility includes: 35% of Earth's landmass, 50 million sq km of land; 60% of planet's coastline; 20% of the Earth's waters; 1.4 billion inhabitants, which is 23% of world population. The twist to this is that there is a new, IRAQ Command, of equal rank, that will probably carve a big chunk out of EUCOM and CENTCOM in the future. But as of yet, no announcement has been made as to what the new AORs will be.
#6
This is just the next tranch of a downsizing that has been going on since the early '90s. Who now remembers Abrams Airforce Base, in whose bookstore, restaurants, and Christmas Market I once spent so much money? Not to mention all the pubs in the Sachsenhausen section of Frankfurt, which had to learn to live on the spending of au pairs and university students, after all the Ami soldiers left.
#7
It is all for the better. They don't need us there and we have more pressing needs they can not or will not meet. The cross-cultural exchange alone was important back in the 1950's when my Dad was stationed in Neu Ulm but things are quite different now. Bye bye I say and make it quicker.
#8
Too little too late. How many people work at Ramstein? That's the ceiling.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
04/13/2005 13:24 Comments ||
Top||
#9
Anyone have some pictures of the KGB-financed peace protestors from the 80s? The "US out of Germany" ones? One of those banners would work well right here.
World Peace Imminent. Film at Eleven...
UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. General Assembly approved a global treaty Wednesday aimed at preventing nuclear terrorism by making it a crime for would-be terrorists to possess or threaten to use nuclear weapons or radioactive material. We will hunt you down and slap you silly!
A resolution adopted by the 191-member world body by consensus calls on all countries to sign and ratify the "International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism." The treaty will be opened for signatures on Sept. 14 and must be ratified by 22 countries to come into force. See ya in about twenty-two years.
"By its action today, the General Assembly has shown that it can, when it has the political will, play an important role in the global fight again terrorism," U.S. deputy ambassador Stuart Holliday told delegates after the vote. "The nuclear terrorism convention, when it enters into force, will strengthen the international legal framework to combat terrorism." Straight to quadruple secret probation! No ifs, ands, or buts...
Russia's deputy U.N. ambassador Alexander Konuzin, whose country sponsored the resolution, hailed it's approval. "It's the first time that an anti-terrorist convention has been developed on the basis of preventing — that is not after the fact but before the terrorist acts which are criminalized by this convention," he said. The treaty makes it a crime for any person to possess radioactive material or a radioactive device with the intent to cause death or injury, or damage property or the environment. It would also be a crime to damage a nuclear facility. Threatening to use radioactive material or devices — or unlawfully demanding nuclear material or other radioactive substances would also be a crime. Accomplices and organizers would also be covered by the convention. Fear our UN wrath!
Please? Pretty please??
Countries that are parties to the treaty would be required to make these acts criminal offenses under their national laws, "punishable by appropriate penalties which take into account the grave nature of these offenses." Appropriate penalties? Fly coach? Room service? Cabs instead of limos?
Russia launched the campaign for a treaty to combat nuclear terrorism more than seven years ago, when Boris Yeltsin was president. But it was stymied for years because countries believed the draft convention was trying to define terrorism — an issue that has deeply divided the United Nations. Stymied, I tell ya! Stymied! Many a night I cried into my filet mignon because of this... stymification. Isn't that right, Kojo?
Diplomats said the roadblock was broken after the drafting committee's last formal meeting in November, when the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference decided the new treaty could focus on criminalizing specific actions related to nuclear terrorism as other anti-terrorism treaties have done. Nice of them to give the go ahead. Did Allah come to them in a dream with the official OK?
The drafting committee then quickly agreed on a text on April 1, leaving the difficult issue of defining terrorism to a new overall convention on terrorism still under debate. The General Assembly has tried for years to define terrorism, so far unsuccessfully because of the argument that one nation's terrorist can be another's freedom fighter. ...and a certain organization's guarantee of damn good free lunches, dinners, and first class accomidations for the foreseeable future.
The convention requires all states that sign the treaty to adopt measures to make clear that acts designed to provoke terror in the general public or in specific groups cannot be justified under any circumstances "by considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or other similar nature." Yes, I'm sure that standard will be scrupulously adhered to. Well, maybe.
In recent speeches and in the U.N. reform plan he announced last month, Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for swift adoption of a global treaty against nuclear terrorism. Yes, that was the clincher for me.
The new convention will be the 13th U.N. treaty to fight terrorism, and U.N. Undersecretary-General for Legal Affairs Nicolas Michel said this means "that now most of the possible terrorism acts are covered by the existing legal instruments." Yes, we've all seen how effective they've all been, haven't we?
The convention calls for stronger cooperation between states on sharing intelligence and on mutual legal assistance. I'll sleep good tonight knowing that the UN has this thing all but locked up...
#1
"The treaty makes it a crime for any person to possess radioactive material or a radioactive device with the intent to cause death or injury, or damage property or the environment."
Read that a couple of times and see if any bells go off.
#2
The U.N. General Assembly approved a global treaty Wednesday aimed at preventing nuclear terrorism by making it a crime for would-be terrorists to possess or threaten to use nuclear weapons or radioactive material.
Sooo.....have these guys fixed what is ailing their organization yet?
#5
Russiaâs deputy U.N. ambassador Alexander Konuzin, whose country sponsored the resolution, hailed itâs approval. "Itâs the first time that an anti-terrorist convention has been developed on the basis of preventing â that is not after the fact but before the terrorist acts which are criminalized by this convention," he said.
So they're being pre-emptively ineffective?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
04/13/2005 16:15 Comments ||
Top||
#6
They (the UN) still haven't defined terrorist or terroism. This isn't just meaningless, it double plus meaningless.
#8
"The treaty makes it a crime for any person to possess radioactive material or a radioactive device with the intent to cause death or injury, or damage property or the environment."
It does no such thing. This just Tranzi wishful thinking. The next paragraph says what it actually does. At best it harmonizes national laws, although with the lowest common denominator effect.
Posted by: Tom ||
04/13/2005 19:26 Comments ||
Top||
#11
Folks---This goes beyond meaningless! Meaningless is just a start. Let us review what these UN clowns er diplomats have done:
1. They have collaborated to wordsmith a treaty document together that criminalizes the possession or threatened use of nuclear weapons or radioactive material, ostensibly for would-be terrorists.
2. Would-be terrorists still have to be defined. It could include be anybody. It could be Binny, or Hek, or Omar, or it could be Iran (0.00001% chance), or it could be persons in Israel (99-44/100% chance), or the US, or the UK, or France, couldn't be Russia (after all, it was their idea).
3. What is the criminal punishment for this crime, assuming that Inspector Clouseau nabs him or her? Three hots in a cot in the Hague? Real shake-em-in-their-boots deterrant to a suicide bomber.
All this proposed treaty does is put another brick in the transnational government framework. What this really is in the short term is a way to further isolate Israel but calling the Israeli government leader a terrorist who possesses a nuclear device. In the long term, the treaty will serve as a tool for anything the Tranzis want it to be to stick it to some country, like the US.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/13/2005 20:02 Comments ||
Top||
#12
Hmmmmmmm. I have some low-level sources (for testing Geiger counters and such). Am I "harming the environment" and thus subject to having the Blue Helmets come in and rob and rape My family?
11.04.2005 at 1200 UTC in position 03:30N - 104:24E, South China Sea. Two boats, one unlit, followed a tanker. When boats came within four cables, crew mustered, sounded whistle and switched on lights and boats moved away.
11.04.2005 at 0430 LT in position 03:47.46N - 098:42.64E, Pertamina jetty, Belawan port, Indonesia. Three robbers armed with long knives boarded a tanker at forecastle during cargo operations. D/O raised alarm, sounded whistle and crew mustered. Robbers jumped into sea and escaped in a high speedboat with ship's stores.
11.04.2005 at 0100 LT at Buzios, Brazil. Pirates armed with guns, pistols and knives boarded a yacht. They stole cash, documents and property and escaped.
10.04.2005 at 0520 LT in position 03:12.5S - 116:22E, Pulau Laut anchorage, Indonesia. Eight robbers armed with knives boarded a bulk carrier. They stole a liferaft, communication equipment, stores and escaped.
09.04.2005 at 0600 LT in position 04:43.7N - 106:14.8E, 15nm NE of Kakap Natuna Oil Terminal, South China Sea. Two fishing boats doing 15 kts approached a tanker underway. They came within one mile from both sides. Crew directed searchlights and activated fire hoses and boats moved away.
09.04.2005 at 0500 LT in position 05:32.7N - 098:14.8E, Malacca Straits. A speedboat doing over 23 knots approached a tanker underway at port quarter. When boat came within three cables crew sounded whistle and directed searchlights and boat moved away.
08.04.2005 at 2320 LT in position 01:15.30N - 103:33.72E, off Tg. Pelepas port anchorage, Johor, Malaysia. Ten robbers armed with knives boarded a tanker. They tied hands of master and other crewmembers with plastic strings and robbed ship's property and crew personal belongings. One crewmember was injured. Robbers escaped in a speed boat.
08.04.2005 at 0345 LT in position 01:16.0N - 104:10.0E, Singapore Straits. Several small boats surrounded a bulk carrier underway and persons inside attempted to board on both sides from bow to stern. Master took evasive manoeuvres, sounded whistle, directed search lights and crew activated fire hoses. Attempt continued for about 50 mins and boats moved away.
05.04.2005 at 1625 LT in position 25:14.1N - 057:04.5E, Gulf of Oman. A small vessel approached a supply ship underway and tried to come alongside. Master took evasive manoeuvres and sounded whistle. Suspect vessel moved away.
05.04.2005 at 1615 LT in position 01:08.8N - 103:29.0E, [off Indonesia's Karimun islands] Singapore Straits. Seven small boats surrounded a Japanese owned, Panamanian-registered tanker [M/T Yohteisan] underway . Persons in one boat attempted to board at stern during heavy rain and poor visibility. Crew activated fire hoses and ship increased speed. Boarding was averted.
04.04.2005 at 0130 LT in position 03:55N - 100:28E, SW of Sembilan Island, Malacca Straits. A boat chased a container ship underway on starboad beam and came close to port quarter. Alarm was raised and crew mustered. 45 mins later boat abandoned chase.
On 5 April, one of the Filipino patrol boats searching for the kidnapped victims [of] Tug Bonggaya 91, attacked on 20 March, clashed with gunmen near Sibutu Island, killing two of them, after attempting to inspect two suspicious speedboats. One boat was recovered by the Filipino authorities but it is unknown if the gunmen were part of the group that took part in the attack on Bonggaya 91. No ransom demands have been received. There is some speculation the attackers may be related to the attackers of tugboat East Ocean which took place on April 11, 2004 and that these gunmen could be linked to the Abu Sayyaf militant group, although no hard evidence was provided for these links. The kidnapped victims from the East Ocean were never found and are presumed dead.
The bulk carrier Ocean Bridge was boarded 01 Apr at 0300 local time while underway in position 03:06.9N, 100:44.6E, in the vicinity of One Fathom Bank. Later the same day, Malaysia reported it is going to place uniformed police officers armed with assault weapons on randomly selected tugboats and barges using the Strait of Malacca in a bid to thwart piracy attacks within its territorial waters
Passenger trawler Seven Star was boarded 02 April in the Meghna Estuary, in offshore Kalatola-Telirchar area, in Manpura Upasila in the Bhoa district [Bangladesh]... armed pirates boarded the vessel and looted the passengers of their cash and valuables. Ten passengers were injured during the attack and another 8 are missing after they jumped overboard to escape the pirates.
SEA SHEPARD CONSERVATION SOCIETY: Several crewmembers from the R/V Farley Mowat were arrested by Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), after a scuffle between sealers and seal hunt protesters broke out on the ice flows of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, [on] 31 Mar. Those arrested were released without bail while the RCMP continues to investigate the incident. The Farley Mowat is reported to be low on fuel and provisions and contemplating returning to Bermuda to re-supply. The vessel is not welcome in Canadian ports, nor is it allowed to enter a U.S. port.
Posted by: Pappy ||
04/13/2005 2:37:27 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Wonder if it might not be worthwhile to deploy a Q-ship or two in the Malacca Straits.
Posted by: Mike ||
04/13/2005 9:16 Comments ||
Top||
#2
If they really want to prove their manhood, they should try to board a U.S. destroyer.
#4
I think the idea is "We see You" now go away you brave Pirates.
Having been in our (US) Navy, don't underestimate those firehoses, they can sink a boat in a minute or two and a whole lot easier to explain than say, a small cannon or two.
Having said that, the only good pirate is a dead pirate, so stow a few machine guns, a single .30 would do the job nicely.
I know (Second hand) of a guy (Sailer)in the Gulf of Mexico that was jumped by two high speed "Cigarette" boats, and sunk them both with his entirely legal .30, took 2000 rounds to do it, so he bought 3000 rounds for the next possible "Event"
Indonesia's armed forces are one of the numerically larger forces in Southeast Asia. Only Vietnam's is larger. This military is not exactly the most modern, but in some areas, it is powerful, and can hold its own against some threats...
Funding for the Indonesian military is different — at least from what Americans are used to. Only about 25 to 30 percent of the $1 billion budget comes from the government. The rest of this comes from foundations for each of the services. These foundations often resort to illegal methods of raising funds (like smuggling and poaching).
Pay for Indonesian soldiers is also very low — and often the soldiers will supplement their income by setting up roadblocks and shaking down drivers. The Indonesian Army is also suspected of illegally capturing and smuggling parrots (this is surprisingly lucrative — a baby parrot can go for at least $600 from an aviary and prices of over $1000 are not unheard of).
The 2004 tsunami will also have a major effect on the Indonesian economy, and thus the defense budget — meaning the foundations that provide most of the funding will have taken a hit. As a result, Indonesia's military has quantity, but the quality is severely lacking, and it will look tougher than it really is. — Harold C. Hutchison (hchutch@ix.netcom.com)
#1
Pay for Indonesian soldiers is also very low â and often the soldiers will supplement their income by setting up roadblocks and shaking down drivers
Yikes! Remind your Congressthing to fully fund 3 USMC Divisons plus whatever else they want.
#2
It does keep some of their excess population occupied and off the streets, more or less. Think of the trouble the lads could get into if they were still living at home supported by Mum & Dad.
The U.S. embassy in Manila is beating the drums about militant-training activity on Mindanao in the southern Philippines, warning the rebellion-torn southern region could become the "next Afghanistan." U.S. embassy official Joseph Mussomeli is pressuring the Philippines to move more vigorously against Islamic militants infiltrating Mindanao, which he alleged was becoming the new "Mecca" for terrorism.
"Personally, I'm worried that we're not worried enough," he said. "I think the real danger here, and the danger that has been here since the mid-90s, is that we're not focused enough on the threat here.
"It's not the sort of threat that should be worried about coming here on a day-to-day basis. The threat is more long-term: that Mindanao is such a lawless -- certain portions of Mindanao -- are so lawless, so porous the borders that you run the risk of it becoming like an Afghanistan situation."
Mussomeli added the Bush administration was not trying to interfere in Manila's talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, commenting: "We certainly do not believe or at least we don't have clear evidence yet that the MILF as an institution, as an organization, have links with the Jemaah Islamiyah or the Abu Sayyaf Group." However, "it has to be a genuine peace process, and not a farce. There can't be real peace unless the links with JI and ASG are severed. That's the reality."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
04/13/2005 12:28:40 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
"beating the drums"?
What's that supposed to mean, setting up Iron John circles?
Or just might posssibly mayhaps could this be yet another wire service editorial-on-the-sly about Bush the Primitive Warmonger?
The presence of Al Qaeda-linked militants in the southern Philippines should not threaten weekend peace talks between Manila and the country's largest Muslim separatist group, peace broker Malaysia said Tuesday.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar met with Filipino Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo here Tuesday to "reiterate" Kuala Lumpur's commitment to host peace talks between Manila and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on April 16-18.
Syed Hamid, who attended an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ministerial meeting in this central resort city, was expected to fly later Tuesday to the main southern island of Mindanao to meet with leaders of the MILF ahead of the talks.
Syed Hamid will also inspect a Malaysian-led "international peace monitoring" team that has been observing the truce signed in July 2003.
Security analysts around the region have expressed fears that the Jemaah Islamiyah, regarded as Al Qaeda's Southeast Asian chapter, was increasingly liaising with Muslim militants on Mindanao to carry out a wave of bombings.
The US embassy Charge d'affaires in Manila, Joseph Mussomeli, had warned that Mindanao was becoming a "Mecca" for Islamic militants and could become the next Afghanistan.
Syed Hamid said it was important for both Manila and the MILF to "get rid of the root causes of dissatisfaction" and deny international support to armed militants.
He said clashes between the MILF and Philippine troops appeared to have been "tremendously reduced" since 2003, when both sides agreed to begin negotiations to end the rebellion.
"You can actually feel that there is a serious desire to find a long-term solution that is sustainable," the Malaysian official said.
"And I think that they (MILF and the Philippine government) are very well aware of the areas that need to find agreement (on)," he said.
"You want to narrow down differences and if you are able to do that, then it moves another step nearer to achieving the peace agreement."
Philippine National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said intelligence services had monitored the presence of foreign Jemaah Islamiyah militants in the south but said it was only a matter of time before they were rounded up.
While the government was keeping close watch over growing links between the JI and the smaller Abu Sayyaf group, Gonzales said he believed the MILF had been faithful to the terms of the peace process.
"The Abu Sayyaf is not part of the MILF, how can it complicate the peace talks? You know how notorious the Abu Sayyaf is, and they usually swing from kidnapping to religious fervor," he said.
Founded in the early 1990s by an Afghan-trained firebrand, the Abu Sayyaf disintegrated over the years into several rag-tag gangs of kidnappers and bandits.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
04/13/2005 12:15:37 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
A commercial produced by an organization fighting for the freedom of Iran that depicts a nuclear terror attack in America — the kind many experts believe is possible should Tehran get the bomb — will run in 20 markets across the country this month.
Titled "An Atomic 9-11: When Evil is Appeased," the spot, sponsored by the Iran Freedom Foundation, is based on a scenario described in the new WND Books release "Atomic Iran: How the Terrorist Regime Bought the Bomb and American Politicians," by Jerome R. Corsi, co-author of the best-selling "Unfit for Command."
The ad can be viewed on the IFF website.
Corsi believes an atomic 9-11 is an imminent threat once a terrorist state like Iran has the capability to develop nuclear weapons.
"The major technical problems that have kept terrorists from exploding improvised nuclear devices within American cities are solved once a terrorist regime like the Islamic Republic of Iran has the capability to manufacture a nuclear weapon and deliver it in containers to a major U.S. port," he said.
"The device can be picked up by sleeper terrorist cells, assembled and driven into the heart of the city, where it can be detonated at the height of an ordinary business day."
The resulting destruction from a successful atomic 9-11 attack on a major U.S. city like New York would be enormous.
"In the blink of an eye, the United States could be reduced to second-class economic status," Corsi said.
The scenario described in "Atomic Iran" shows that a 150-kiloton IND exploded in New York would reduce much of the city to rubble. Some 1.5 million people would be killed instantly, with another 1.5 million certain to die over the next few days.
The television ad will air for 13 days four times daily in each city. The markets include cities in Maine, Mississippi, Texas, Oregon, California, New Jersey, Illinois, Ohio, South Carolina, Alabama, Indiana, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Washington, Florida, and Washington, D.C. http://www.iranfreedomfoundation.org/ Do have a look at the commercial at the above link. It is short, sweet, and scary.
Lebanon is set to remain without a government for the foreseeable future after Prime Minister-designate Omar Karami suspended negotiations for a new cabinet and retreated to his hometown of Tripoli. As Lebanon prepares to mark the anniversary of the start of its 15-year bloody civil war with a celebration of national unity, the latest failure to form a government sounds the final death knell for seeing parliamentary elections held on time next month.
I think that was the intention, wasn't it?
Sources in the government said that Karami refused to continue consultations following the collapse of Monday's talks because he was angered at the lack of unity among his allies in the Ain al-Tineh loyalist gathering. State Minister Albert Mansour, a close ally of Karami, held last minute talks with Speaker Nabih Berri yesterday afternoon in an attempt to end the impasse which has left Lebanon without a working government since February 28 when Prime Minister Karami resigned in the face of huge street demonstrations. But the meeting failed to bridge the differences which have emerged in the loyalist camp and are centered on distribution of ministerial posts in the new government. Lebanon's opposition is widely favored to win next month's scheduled elections and many believe the outgoing loyalist Cabinet wants to delay elections in a bid to gain time and weaken the opposition.
Reeeeaaaalllly? Nobody ever woulda guessed that!
Opposition MP Hagop Kassardjian, an ally of Karami's popular predecessor, slain Premier Rafik Hariri whose killing in February rocked the country and crippled the state's institutions, said: "This play's scenes are known to everyone, its actors are extremely skilled and its plot is to arrive at a political crisis and cancel the parliamentary elections."
Subtle as a sledgehammer, ain't they?
Beirut MP Ghazi Aridi, a close ally of opposition leader and Chouf MP Walid Jumblatt, added: "This is a scheme to postpone the elections." Former Prime Minister Salim Hoss, who heads the National Action Forum, which is not aligned to either the loyalist or opposition camps, said people were "disgusted" by politicians quarrelling over key ministerial posts.
Apparently they regard them as worth quarrelling over, which means they expect to keep them...
While sources close to the consultations said Karami was considering quitting the premiership, other sources said nothing has been decided and insisted that Karami did not vacate his offices as was reported in some media. The failure to form a government is understood to now come down to the fact that former Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh is eyeing the Health Ministry's portfolio, a post which Speaker Berri wants to secure for one of his allies. Meanwhile, outgoing Minister for the displaced Talal Arslan said he wanted the Public Works and Transport Ministry, which is now in the hands of a Berri ally.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
You'd be more likely to lure my tourist dollars if you'd slash the throats of the Hizbollah trash camping in your country.
But that's just me.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/13/2005 10:59 Comments ||
Top||
#5
There's a 2 for 1 kidnap-ransom special going on.
Posted by: ed ||
04/13/2005 11:02 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Come to Beirut !
Watch rabid foam ridden madmen perform extreme sports
Join in on the Marchs . A lovely communal event
Enjoy more rabid foam ridden madmen indulging in ranting from the early hours
Beirut is a lively city , with much to do for all .
And the food is GREAT !
Come to us , ohh westerners , and if you are lucky , one of our many vigilant groups may come and whisk you away to an undisclosed location and hold you against your will . (only applies during the summer season , book in advance)
#7
The TV campaign will include short clips of local thugs singing in chorus "Come back to Beruit, what's old is what's new ... militiamen and carbombs, maybe kidnapping for you ... so stay in Beruit, perhaps blinded in chains ... spending your captivity, slowly losing your brains."
The police chiefs assigned by Military Public Prosecutor Jean Fahd to handle investigations into the recent bombings in Kesrouan and Metn will meet with him Thursday to discuss the results of their inquiries. Each area commander or police chief will submit the results of their investigations into the Sadd Bouchrieh, New Jdeideh, Kaslik and Broummana blasts. Sources say military experts believe those who planted the bombs were highly experienced professionals, and could be part of a sleeper cell that has now been reactivated.
Yassss... Prob'ly international criminal masterminds...
Military experts said each of the explosions was caused by roughly 30 kilograms of TNT, which left no traceable evidence. The sources said the only tangible piece of evidence was a confiscated Pajero four wheel drive vehicle with Lebanese Army license plates used by former chief of Syrian Intelligence Major General Ghazi Kenaan while he still held his post. Kenaan did not return the license plates to the Lebanese Army when he returned to Syria. Two Syrian soldiers who work with Kenaan's son Yurob were in the car when they were arrested. They were later released and the car was returned to the army. The sources said the issue of a pickup truck carrying 50 kilograms of explosives, seized in the Bekaa last week, will also be the subject of discussions in the meeting.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
Top Lebanese officials agreed yesterday on the make-up of a new government that had been threatened by last-minute squabbling over the electoral law and key Cabinet portfolios, a senior political source said. The line-up would include 30 mainly ministers, the source said, charged with leading the country to elections due in May but likely to be delayed while a new electoral law is drafted and passed by parliament. The deal over the new government, expected to be announced shortly, was struck at a meeting between President Emile Lahoud, Prime Minister Omar Karami and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri after a day of intensive talks.
Lebanon has been without a government since anti-Syrian protests forced Karami and his government to resign on February 28. Karami later agreed to form a new Cabinet to prepare for the election but had so far been unable to form a government, much to the ire of Lebanon's opposition which expects to win a majority in a house now dominated by Syria's allies. The new Cabinet's main task will be to draft the electoral law and supervise the polls to be held after Syria completes the pullout of its troops from Lebanon by the end of April. The opposition as well as the United States, France and the United Nations have called on the authorities to hold the elections on schedule.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
The head of Germany's BND intelligence agency, August Hanning, on Wednesday presented a likelihood ranking for weapons of mass destruction which could be in the hands of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
Hanning, speaking at a security conference in the German capital, said he did not believe bin Laden had managed to obtain nuclear weapons.
"We don't think al-Qaeda has made any progress here," said Hanning.
But Hanning expressed more concern over radiological weapons which he listed as a "probably" on his WMD listing.
Turning to biological weapons, Hanning said al-Qaeda certainly had access to basic poisons. Anthrax and plague were ranked as a
"maybe" while ebola and smallpox were deemed "unlikely."
Regarding chemical weapons, Hanning said basic poison gas was available to al-Qaeda but he termed deadly Sarin a "maybe."
Separately, Hanning sought to dampen critical comments he made in a newspaper interview earlier this week aimed at the United States regarding the hunt for bin Laden who masterminded the 11 September 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.
In the Handelsblatt interview, Hanning said the US made a major error in late 2001 by trying to capture bin Laden in the mountainous Tora Bora region of Afghanistan using local militias rather than American troops.
According to Hanning, bin Laden could have secured his freedom by paying off the militiamen.
"I believe it was a mistake that bin Laden escaped," said Hanning at the conference, adding that some media had tried to interpret his earlier remarks as a criticism of the US.
"What the Americans did in Afghanistan was necessary, right and important," stressed Hanning, adding that if the US had not intervened there probably would have been more attacks just as bad as 11 September.
But Hanning concluded his remarks with a warning.
"The war against terror has not been won and this encourages terrorism," he said.
Also speaking at the conference was the German foreign ministry's counter-terrorism chief, Georg Witschel.
Witschel said the new trend of international terrorism was to strike at soft targets such as tourist groups or unguarded commuter trains as in last year's Madrid bombings.
This, he said, was only partly because many other potential targets have been "hardened" over the past years.
More fundamentally, however, it is because terrorists have realised the shock value of hitting such targets is greater and the resulting economic damage is also greater, said Witschel.
Eric Luiijf, of the Netherland's Clingendael Centre for Strategic Studies, highlighted critical infrastructure - including water, power, food - as an increasingly likely target of terrorism.
"Critical infrastructure is a perfect target for asymmetrical warfare," he said, adding that the knock-on effects in Western Europe would be swift and devastating.
Luiijf said electricity was where Europe was most vulnerable, followed by water.
He called on the European Union to harmonise security and protection standards for critical infrastructure and create a single command and control centre both for state and private utilities.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
04/13/2005 4:15:45 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#2
I took a look on their site and for the sake of completeness they do sell alot of pro-military/troops stuff. Appears CafePress is just out to make a buck any old way they can. All the same, the shirt link isn't available anymore it seems. I'd call the shirt irresponsible and disgusting though it is not unique in our political culture these days. Who are these CafePress people anyway? Wonder if the consumers of their other products know the other face of the company? Somebody should let them know.
#3
I wrote them an email and forwarded the link to the Secret Service.
Fastest product pull I've ever seen.
One must wonder at the mental processes, or more likely the lack thereof, that resulted in their ever taking this all the way to the website. That's a LOT of steps. And, along the way, there was no one who said, "Um, wait a sec - we can't encourage and endorse the assassination of the President of the United States!"...
How far off the reality scale is this? Classic Group Think insanity - courtesy of terminal BDS. I hope the SecSvc guys rip out their hearts and eat them in front of their dying eyes.
#5
Hehe , good call .com !
Brought a smile to my face , and hopefully the complete opposite to cafepress.
Next mission , should you choose to accept it , is to lower their profits by 50% by 2006 :p
#6
Caqfe Press sells crap from all points of the political spectrum; I've bought from their site before. I hold my nose when I see some of the shit they carry, but this is way off the scale. Cafe Press lost me for good this time.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
04/13/2005 13:09 Comments ||
Top||
#7
CafePress will sell anything you want, as long as you conform to their artwork guidelines. You can submit any image that strikes your fancy. Their T-shirts are expensive and of low quality.
#9
Cafe Press is a drop shipper. You can have them produce anything they offer with your art work on it. I have a several products that came from them through orders made from various sites. It's all pretty crappy quality.
The thought process .com? What process? They are Chomskyites and TRANZIs who take their marching order from the likes of KOZ and funded by George Soros. They don't think in a normal fashion, they are herd animals that vomit the vile memes of their evil mentors.
Posted by: Matt ||
04/13/2005 15:27 Comments ||
Top||
#12
Gromky, you say that Cafe Press produces low quality tshirts, any idea about their collared shirts? Anyone know anyone else that can produce cheap tshirts or collared shirts to a specified design?
#13
I missed it, but LGF had this yesterday - so Charles' Lizardoids undoubtedly did the deed in getting CafePress to yank this despicable offering. Apologies to all for the repetition.
President Bush said on Tuesday trained Iraqi security forces now outnumber U.S. troops in Iraq and are playing a greater role in fighting insurgents.
Bush's comment followed remarks by senior military officers that U.S. forces could begin to be drawn down in significant numbers early next year if violence remains low at that time.
He spoke to a cheering crowd of about 25,000 people, including troops of the 1st Calvary Division, many of them just back from Iraq and many headed back there in the fall.
He said security operations in Iraq are "entering a new phase" in which the United States and its coalition partners are increasingly playing more of a supporting role and Iraqi security forces are more self-reliant and taking on greater responsibilities.
"Like free people everywhere, Iraqis want to be defended and led by their own countrymen," Bush said. "We will help them achieve this objective so Iraqis can secure their own nation and then our troops will come home with the honor they have earned."
Bush offered no timetable on a withdrawal. He said about 150,000 Iraqi military and police and other security personnel had now been trained, outnumbering the estimated 140,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.
"There's a lot of hard work ahead," he said. "The Iraqi people face brutal and determined enemies. But Iraqis are also determined and they have the will to defeat the insurgency."
Bush, who has criticized Iraqi forces in the past for running from battle, said at Fort Hood that they have courage and resolve and are fighting bravely.
He also spoke optimistically about the fledging democracy in Iraq, with the recent formation of a transitional government that is to lead in drafting a new constitution and set the stage for elections for a permanent government by year's end.
"As the Iraq democracy succeeds, that success is sending a message from Beirut to Tehran that freedom can be the future of every nation," Bush said.
And he said the war on terrorism was being won.
"In the last two years, you have accomplished much, yet your work isn't over. Freedom still faces dangerous adversaries. Terrorists still want to attack our people. But they're losing," he said.
The number of U.S.-trained Iraqi troops has been a controversial issue, with some congressional Democrats accusing the Bush administration of greatly inflating the number and overstating their capabilities.
In April 2004, the Pentagon said the United States had trained and fielded more than 200,000 Iraqi security forces. But Pentagon officials said last fall they had changed the way they calculated that number and greatly reduced how many it said were trained and equipped.
Bush came to Fort Hood, a short helicopter ride from his Crawford, Texas, ranch, to mark the second anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein, a war fought over weapons of mass destruction that were never found.
After his speech, Bush went to the 1st Calvary Division mess hall and ate fried chicken, macaroni and cheese and collard greens.
Before flying back to Washington, he visited privately for more than three hours with 33 families of soldiers killed in the Iraq campaign.
The exchanges were often emotional and some of the families expressed concerns directly to the president about the level of government assistance they were receiving, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. "We did make some notes of the concerns that they expressed and we will be following up on those," he said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
04/13/2005 12:33:57 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[9 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
"a war fought over weapons of mass destruction that were never found. "
The press just cannot leave that lie alone.
Its not that they suspected WMD were there, its that there was an imminent trheat, based on best available intel (including French and Russian) that he intended to regenerate his WMD production capacity. And in the post-9/11 world, it was unaccaptable that the President of the US allow that risk to the Republic, given that Saddam had links to terrorists, including monetary support, supply and training.
The true, tacit reasson we went is geopolitics: proof for bad-guys that the US can and will go in to a place like Iraq when its interests are threatened, that we can and will fight and *win* against an insurgency in spite of the left and press's attempts to demoralize the nation by being a tool of the enemy, and that the US will spread freedom and democracy no matter how hard the UN and its dictators try to stop us.
But the press, trying to sum up and get in a one sentence jab, gets it wrong again. And they use the old Goebbels thing: a lie repeated often enough becomes the truth in the minds of the masses. Thank God for the web, so the press cannot get away with it anymore.
#3
Actually this Reuters article waits until the 15th of 19th paragraph to get their antiBush dig in. That's a great improvement from even a few months ago.
#5
So who was saying there were no WMD's before we spent 18 months searhing for them, unencumbered? Kerry? Clinton? Kennedy? No. Not them.
If we had not invaded, who thinks Saddam would've let the inspectors roam freely? And even if he did, how long would it have taken them to declare there are no WMD's?
And who woulda believed 'em?
I think Old Spook has got it - the real message is we'll go anywhere, pay any price, fight any foe ... waitaminute... am I plagerizing somebody?
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/13/2005 17:03 Comments ||
Top||
#7
"a war fought over weapons of mass destruction that were never found. "
The press just cannot leave that lie alone.
Its not that they suspected WMD were there, its that there was an imminent trheat, based on best available intel (including French and Russian) that he intended to regenerate his WMD production capacity. And in the post-9/11 world, it was unaccaptable that the President of the US allow that risk to the Republic, given that Saddam had links to terrorists, including monetary support, supply and training.
The true, tacit reasson we went is geopolitics: proof for bad-guys that the US can and will go in to a place like Iraq when its interests are threatened, that we can and will fight and *win* against an insurgency in spite of the left and press's attempts to demoralize the nation by being a tool of the enemy, and that the US will spread freedom and democracy no matter how hard the UN and its dictators try to stop us.
But the press, trying to sum up and get in a one sentence jab, gets it wrong again. And they use the old Goebbels thing: a lie repeated often enough becomes the truth in the minds of the masses. Thank God for the web, so the press cannot get away with it anymore.
#8
"a war fought over weapons of mass destruction that were never found. "
The press just cannot leave that lie alone.
Its not that they suspected WMD were there, its that there was an imminent trheat, based on best available intel (including French and Russian) that he intended to regenerate his WMD production capacity. And in the post-9/11 world, it was unaccaptable that the President of the US allow that risk to the Republic, given that Saddam had links to terrorists, including monetary support, supply and training.
The true, tacit reasson we went is geopolitics: proof for bad-guys that the US can and will go in to a place like Iraq when its interests are threatened, that we can and will fight and *win* against an insurgency in spite of the left and press's attempts to demoralize the nation by being a tool of the enemy, and that the US will spread freedom and democracy no matter how hard the UN and its dictators try to stop us.
But the press, trying to sum up and get in a one sentence jab, gets it wrong again. And they use the old Goebbels thing: a lie repeated often enough becomes the truth in the minds of the masses. Thank God for the web, so the press cannot get away with it anymore.
The head of the German intelligence agency, in an interview published here Tuesday, said Osama bin Laden had been able to elude capture after the American invasion of Afghanistan by paying bribes to the Afghan militias delegated the task of finding him. "The principal mistake was made already in 2001, when one wanted bin Laden to be apprehended by the Afghan militias in Tora Bora," the intelligence official, August Hanning, said in an interview with the German business newspaper Handelsblatt. "There, bin Laden could buy himself free with a lot of money," Mr. Hanning said.
A spokeswoman for Mr. Hanning confirmed the accuracy of the newspaper's account. She said Afghan forces had told Mr. bin Laden they knew his whereabouts and he would be arrested, but they allowed him safe passage in exchange for a bribe. In the past, other officials - including Gen. Tommy R. Franks, the former American commander in Afghanistan - have acknowledged that Afghan militias who fought on the side of the invasion coalition had allowed leaders of Al Qaeda and the Taliban to get away. But Mr. Hanning is the top intelligence official to say Mr. bin Laden was among them.
In his interview, Mr. Hanning was critical of that strategy as it applied to the goal of capturing or killing Mr. bin Laden, who, he said, was able to insulate himself inside a protective network of supporters after the early efforts to arrest or kill him failed. "Since then, he has been able to create his own infrastructure in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area and has won many friends from the tribal groups there," Mr. Hanning said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
04/13/2005 12:17:47 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#2
why didn't Franks get nailed for this? I've never understood that.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
04/13/2005 14:54 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Nailed for what?
Likely as not, Franks found out about it after it happened. What was he supposed to do? Order the bribe-taking bastards shot? Order their arrest? Complain to Kabul? WTF?
No - smart. Think of it as a version of Apache scouts. In this case, the scouts were bribable. Sucks, but it's done. No Khyber-Pass follies this time, no alienation of the populace. Elected government in Kabul and slowly getting control of country; Taleban aren't. Binny's running from hiding place to hiding place.
If that's 'wimpy', then I'd take it and use it all over the muslim world. Not as much fun as nukes, but it'll do.
Lemme get this straight: They're wading in oil and they need reconstruction money? Might I suggest an alternative to handing them large sums of cash...?
Donors yesterday pledged far more than what is needed to help rebuild Sudan's pacified southern and northern areas at a conference here as the United States tied its aid to improvements in the strife-torn Darfur region. "This conference has pledged $4.5 billion for 2005, 2006 and 2007," Norway's Minister for Development Aid Hilde Frafjord Johnson told the donors gathered in Oslo. She said "at least two billion dollars" were promised in bilateral funding to assist Sudan's reconstruction. Based on a joint United Nations, World Bank and Sudanese needs' assessment, donors were asked to contribute $2.6 billion by the end of 2007 for reconstruction and development after a January peace accord ended 21 years of civil conflict in Sudan's south and parts in the north.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2005 00:00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
PC Internationalism run amok, Tranzi Think, if you will, at its finest.
#4
It's probably like Kyoto, Spot -- pledges for show, to be followed up by inaction. Anyway, "the United States tied its aid to improvements in the strife-torn Darfur region," so I don't think there will be any actual payment of the pledged monies in the measurable future.
#2
Yeah, yeah. A nice show by Bush of "even-handedness," so he can tell the Arab countries to shape up. I think that when the Europeans do such things it is referred to as diplomatic subtlety.
Despite a familial history of fondness for the oil-pumping, aristocratic, romantic Arabs, Bush has supported and relied on Israel like no previous American president. Especially post-9/11 -- he understands that we are now fighting a war Israel has been engaged in since before 1948, and he holds no brief with the hypocritical anti-Semitic anti-Israelism of so many of the world's ruling classes.
Thousands of Egyptian students, including many from the banned opposition Muslim Brotherhood, demonstrated Tuesday at universities across the country, the latest in months of protests demanding political reform and an end to the country's emergency laws. The protests at campuses in Cairo and two other cities were organized by the Brotherhood, Egypt's largest and oldest Islamic political group. The demonstrations were joined by a number of other groups, including supporters of "Kifaya," a growing activist movement calling for the end of President Hosni Mubarak's rule. "We called for these demonstrations so the political leadership realizes that the youth is in dire need of freedom," Karim Farahat, a student spokesman, said in a statement issued by the Brotherhood.
Egypt has seen an unprecedented string of demonstrations — usually numbering in the hundreds — against Mubarak's government since December in a country where direct criticism of the president was long taboo and where most protests focused on international issues such as Iraq or the Palestinians.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/13/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Saudi Arabia reaffirmed yesterday that it would not allow any "deviant or corrupt group" to undermine the country's security and stability. "We'll leave no stone unturned in our bid to combat terror," Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd told the Shoura Council. Inaugurating the 150-member council's first session of a new four-year term, King Fahd said the Kingdom would go ahead with its reform and development programs. He stressed the government's efforts to achieve speedy growth in all sectors and estimated total investments in the industrial sector at more than SR260 billion. In his keynote address, which dealt with foreign policy, economic liberalization, privatization programs, women's jobs and Arab League reforms, King Fahd reiterated Saudi Arabia's commitment to stabilize world oil market. "We'll work to achieve a balance between the interests of producers and consumers," the Saudi Press Agency quoted him as saying.
More than a dozen political societies are to meet today in an effort to initiate a national dialogue with the government on political and constitutional issues, it was announced yesterday. The meeting will set up a "permanent coordination committee," to be charged with preparing for the proposed national dialogue, according to Ahmad Juma, president of Al Meethaq Society, which called for the meeting, to be attended by 14 political societies. "We all want to overcome the current political tension which is the result of mainly the absence of a regular dialogue between the government and the political forces," he said.
There are no camps to house returnees from Iraq, whether they are Saudi or Iraqi, but anyone threatening security will be dealt with severely, a Saudi minister said. "There is no need for camps. But anyone who violates the country's security and interests will be hit with an iron fist, whether outside or inside the kingdom," Prince 
Something unsavory is happening in Great Britain. Oona King, Labor MP for Bethnal Green, was pelted with onions and eggs by Muslim constituents Sunday when she participated in a memorial to Jewish victims of WWII's last German V2 missile attack on London. London's Mayor Ken Livingstone likened a Jewish journalist to a Nazi concentration camp guard, and on April 20 British university professors may decide to boycott Israeli academics. All the above are inextricably linked. All are products of unprecedented antagonism towards Jews and all things Israeli. The pretext is Israeli policy but that cannot, for instance, account for the atmosphere of hate towards Jewish students on British campuses.
China is directing a crushing campaign of religious repression against Muslim 
11.04.2005 at 1200 UTC in position 03:30N - 104:24E, South China Sea. Two boats, one unlit, followed a tanker. When boats came within four cables, crew mustered, sounded whistle and switched on lights and boats moved away.
Lebanon is set to remain without a government for the foreseeable future after Prime Minister-designate 
The police chiefs assigned by Military Public Prosecutor Jean Fahd to handle investigations into the recent bombings in Kesrouan and Metn will meet with him Thursday to discuss the results of their inquiries. Each area commander or police chief will submit the results of their investigations into the Sadd Bouchrieh, New Jdeideh, Kaslik and Broummana blasts. Sources say military experts believe those who planted the bombs were highly experienced professionals, and could be part of a sleeper cell that has now been reactivated.
Top Lebanese officials agreed yesterday on the make-up of a new government that had been threatened by last-minute squabbling over the electoral law and key Cabinet portfolios, a senior political source said. The line-up would include 30 mainly ministers, the source said, charged with leading the country to elections due in May but likely to be delayed while a new electoral law is drafted and passed by parliament. The deal over the new government, expected to be announced shortly, was struck at a meeting between President 
The head of the German intelligence agency, in an interview published here Tuesday, said Osama bin Laden had been able to elude capture after the American invasion of Afghanistan by paying bribes to the Afghan militias delegated the task of finding him. "The principal mistake was made already in 2001, when one wanted bin Laden to be apprehended by the Afghan militias in Tora Bora," the intelligence official, August Hanning, said in an interview with the German business newspaper Handelsblatt. "There, bin Laden could buy himself free with a lot of money," Mr. Hanning said.
