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Today: 94 articles and 388 comments as of 3:23.
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Arab lawyers join forces to defend Saddam Hussein
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
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-Short Attention Span Theater-
Brits NYPD to ban crows Crowe as dangerous weapon
Posted by: Omaiper Ebbaiger8089 || 06/10/2005 14:40 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Appearing on CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman," the Academy Award-winning star said Wednesday, "I've got some friends in this town.
"People like Tommy Cronin at the NYPD made a few calls and, you know, just simplified things."



Thanks, Russ. Thanks a lot...
Posted by: Tommy Cronin, NYPD || 06/10/2005 16:21 Comments || Top||


Caribbean-Latin America
U.S. Seeks Colombia Warlord's Extradition
The United States on Thursday formally requested the extradition of the man considered Colombia's most brutal paramilitary warlord, indicted for conspiracy to import tons of cocaine into the United States. Diego Murillo, who also faces murder charges, is a leader of the outlawed United Self-Defense Forces. He also allegedly ran a team of assassins used by Pablo Escobar's now-defunct Medellin cocaine cartel. He was indicted by a federal court in New York in July 2004 for the drug charges.
Posted by: Fred || 06/10/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Caucasus Corpse Count
Chechen rebels killed seven Russian police in an attack near the mountainous south of the region, Russian officials were quoted as saying on Friday.

The RIA Novosti and Interfax news agencies quoted the regional interior ministry as saying the rebels were armed with a grenade launcher and hit a police vehicle near the village of Kurchaloi.

Attacks by separatist rebels are daily events in Chechnya but it is rare for Russian officials to acknowledge their losses so quickly.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 06/10/2005 10:10 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Down Under
Terror accused to answer charges
A MAN accused of plotting to bomb Australia's electricity grid and key military targets in Sydney will stand trial in the Supreme Court.

Former Sydney architect Faheem Khalid Lodhi was committed to trial yesterday on nine terror-related offences after a drawn-out hearing that included testimony from terror suspects around the world.
Mr Lodhi is accused of being the key Australian contact for imprisoned French terror suspect Willie Brigitte. He is also accused of being an "official" at a military training camp in Pakistan run by outlaw terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba in 2001.

Continued on Page 49
This article starring:
Defence barrister Philip Boulten
FAHIM KHALID LODHILashkar-e-Taiba
KHWAJA MAHMUD HASANLashkar-e-Taiba
magistrate Michael Price
MOHAMED ARIF BIN NAHARUDINLashkar-e-Taiba
WILLIE BRIGITTELashkar-e-Taiba
YONG KI KWONLashkar-e-Taiba
Lashkar-e-Taiba
Posted by: Spavirt Pheng6042 || 06/10/2005 19:15 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:


Bilal Khazal To Face Terror Charges
A SYDNEY magistrate has committed a former Qantas baggage handler to stand trial on a terrorist charge. Central Local Court Magistrate Michael Price today committed Bilal Khazal to stand trial on a charge of knowingly collecting or making documents connected with terrorism.

Crown Prosecutor Geoffrey Bellew told the court during the committal hearing that Khazal had compiled a terrorist manual by collecting articles he found on the internet. But Khazal's counsel, Murugan Thangarajm, said during the hearing that the book was only about terrorism and his client did not instruct people to commit terrorist acts. He also said Khazal had only written a couple of pages, and the rest was readily available on the internet.

But Mr Price today committed the 35-year-old to stand trial, saying there was a reasonable prospect of conviction. "I find there is a reasonable prospect that a reasonable jury properly instructed will convict you of this indictable offence and you are committed to stand your trial in the Supreme Court," he told the court. Khazal will be arraigned on that charge in the Supreme Court on July 1. He is still to face a committal hearing on a further charge of inciting another person to commit a terrorist act.
This article starring:
BILAL KHAZALal-Qaeda
Crown Prosecutor Geoffrey Bellew
Khazal's counsel, Murugan Thangarajm
Magistrate Michael Price
Posted by: Spavirt Pheng6042 || 06/10/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Good to know. Thanks! (But the picture didn't show up for me.)
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/10/2005 7:30 Comments || Top||

#2  Fundo beard... Check.
Brassiere cup on his head... Check.

Don't put me on the jury or he's a goner.
Posted by: Fred || 06/10/2005 12:50 Comments || Top||

#3  Pocket protector maybe? Jihadi nerd?
Posted by: tu3031 || 06/10/2005 12:53 Comments || Top||

#4  The picture works now, Fred. Definitely does not look like someone I'd allow to date my daughter.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/10/2005 16:13 Comments || Top||

#5  Bittem lip..maybe distant cousin>> William Peckerson Clintoon
Posted by: Red Dog || 06/10/2005 16:14 Comments || Top||

#6  Except for the "brassiere cup on his head", and the longer beard/hair, he looks pretty much like myself. Perhaps I should consider joining up the Master Religion? Just joking.
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 06/10/2005 17:08 Comments || Top||

#7  Looks like Michael Moore-on to me.
Posted by: Ptah || 06/10/2005 18:09 Comments || Top||

#8  John Al-Belushi
Posted by: Frank G || 06/10/2005 18:32 Comments || Top||

#9  The eyes are guilty. Of what, I don't know - but he's dirty somehow...
Posted by: mojo || 06/10/2005 23:42 Comments || Top||


Europe
'Eta' blast at Zaragoza airport
An explosion near the airport in Zaragoza, Spain, is thought to be the work of the Basque militants Eta. A warning telephone call was made to the Basque newspaper Gara - which is often contacted before Eta attacks. The airport authorities say the terminal was evacuated before the blast and there are no reports of injuries.
The Spanish government has drawn some criticism for saying it is ready to hold peace talks with Eta if the group lays down its weapons. The Gara newspaper reports that a call to its offices, and roadside assistance firm DYA, warned that a mortar attack on the airport was planned for between 1200 and 1400 local time. The explosion occurred at 1201 (1101 BST). The last attack claimed by Eta was a car bomb that exploded in Madrid, injuring three people on 25 May.
On Sunday, at least 250,000 people demonstrated in the Spanish capital against the government plans to negotiate with the militant separatists. Some of the demonstrators carried banners reading "Negotiations - not in my name".
But Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero told the Senate this week that "if there is any chance that Eta is willing to abandon arms and end violence forever, of course the government will hold talks in search of peace, which is what the great majority of Spaniards want".
He added that peace would be "the best tribute we could give to the victims of terrorism". Mr Zapatero also reminded the Senate that 178 Eta suspects had been jailed since the Socialists took over from the conservative Popular Party government in March last year.
More than 800 people have been killed during Eta's 40-year campaign for an independent Basque state.
Posted by: Steve || 06/10/2005 08:12 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  They were something like 800,000 people according to the police, 1 million according to organizers. The ones who tell it was 250,000 people are "El Pais" ie the flagship of the socialist controlled press group who did the mediatic putsh who preceeded the elections.

Looking at the images I would tend to think 250K people is _well_ below the real number.
Posted by: JFM || 06/10/2005 10:26 Comments || Top||

#2  Grabbing your ankles yet, Zappy?
Posted by: tu3031 || 06/10/2005 14:56 Comments || Top||

#3  A mortar, hey? I wonder where they launched it from. The civil airport is near to the end of a narrow (well, it used to be narrow!) road that runs from the Logrono Highway, and dead-ends at the military base. I do not remember any turn-offs, anywhere along--- just the civilian terminal just before the road went through the gates into the Spanish side of the base. There was nothing out there but the sentry box and the old aero-club building, just fences and hedges all the way along, except for the turnoff at the airport parking lot. I am fairly sure the military base and the civil airport shared at least some of the same runways, as they were so close... well, at least as close as things on airports and airbases are.
Now, from the other side of the base--- what used to be the American side--- the main enterance was from an access road that ran from the main highway between Zaragoza and Madrid. It turned off from the right, about 14 kilometers from town. There was an old inn/hotel on the left, and the access road dropping down from a ridgeline on the right. It was just a matter of a mile or two, and from the top of that ridge, right where the turn-off is, you have a lovely view of the base. During Desert Storm, when we were all getting paranoid about what a terrorist could do, I thought about how easy it would be to pull off the road at that particilar place, pop off a couple of dropping shots at the base, and be back on the road and twenty miles away before the smoke even cleared. Were I a betting person, that's what I'd bet the ETA did.
Posted by: Sgt. Mom || 06/10/2005 17:05 Comments || Top||


Germany expels 9/11 suspect despite acquittal
A German federal court on Thursday confirmed a 'not guilty' verdict on a Moroccan man accused of complicity in the Sept. 11 attacks, but authorities said they would expel him anyway. In the latest of a series of setbacks for prosecutors in high-profile terrorism trials in Germany, the federal court ruled that the acquittal of Abdelghani Mzoudi by a Hamburg court last year was sound. It turned down an appeal by the prosecution, which had argued the verdict was flawed and sought a new trial.

Despite the decision, a Hamburg interior ministry spokesman said the city would press ahead with the expulsion of Mzoudi on the grounds of "support for a terrorist group". He was given two weeks to leave the country or be deported to Morocco. "He can go where he wants, we don't care. He must just leave Germany because he represents a danger for the German people and for German security," the spokesman said.
"Get the hell out, and take your dynamite with you!"
Posted by: Fred || 06/10/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It appears that European courts don't haqve the kind of laws they need to prosecute crimes like this. If it had been domestic terrorism they would have locked him up and tossed the keys.
Posted by: Sock Puppet 0’ Doom || 06/10/2005 0:39 Comments || Top||

#2  Interesting, being it Morocco. Did they 'accept' Mzoudi or will he be parachuted from a plane flying through? Seriously, what is it about Morocco accepting everybody's trash these days?
Posted by: smn || 06/10/2005 1:13 Comments || Top||

#3  Germany expels 9/11 suspect despite acquittal

We don't care what you do ---- just do it to somebody else.
Posted by: gromgoru || 06/10/2005 7:01 Comments || Top||

#4  Did they 'accept' Mzoudi or will he be parachuted from a plane flying through?

Parachute?
Posted by: mrp || 06/10/2005 9:16 Comments || Top||

#5  Good for Germany! I take back some of the harsh comments I've made lately, since this was clearly planned all along.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/10/2005 10:28 Comments || Top||

#6  They're gonna fly him to Prague and toss him out a window...
Posted by: Seafarious || 06/10/2005 10:36 Comments || Top||

#7  the old Czech defenestration bit, huh?
Posted by: Frank G || 06/10/2005 11:22 Comments || Top||

#8  Well he's Moroccan after all.
I suppose you'll get the flight details in time.
He's all yours.

As for the appeal court's decision, there was not much they could do as they can only check if the law was duly applied. They can't consider new evidence or witnesses. A regular US court would probably have ruled the same.

There's a reason you have Guantanamo.
Posted by: True German Ally || 06/10/2005 14:11 Comments || Top||

#9  No kidding, TGA--tell it to the Left (I'm sorry! I meant...) the Liberal Democrats and their minions at the NYTimes and WashedUpPost!
Posted by: Jennie Taliaferro || 06/10/2005 17:15 Comments || Top||


Ansar al-Islam trial opens in Norway
The founder of Ansar al-Islam, a Kurdish group in Iraq suspected of terrorist activities, has begun his testimony in a legal fight against deportation by comparing his people's struggle to that of Israel. In his first day of testimony on Thursday, Mullah Krekar compared his group's struggle to establish a strict Islamic society in Kurdish areas of northern Iraq with that of the Jewish people 60 years ago, when they sought to establish Israel as a nation.

Krekar has been a refugee in Norway since 1991 and has taken the government to court over an order to deport him as a threat to national security. Erna Solberg, the minister of local government whose portfolio includes refugees, has said there is information indicating that Krekar remains a threat to Norwegian security. Even though Norwegian police dropped all charges against Krekar in June 2004, citing lack of evidence and fears that witness testimony in Iraq was coerced, Solberg upheld a 2003 order to strip him of his refugee status and deport him. Solberg said national security issues do no require the same level of proof as criminal cases. Krekar's case, which began in the Oslo city court, is expected to take about two weeks. However, appeals are expected to take years.
Posted by: Fred || 06/10/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Yeah. We're just like the Jooos...only different."
Posted by: Seafarious || 06/10/2005 0:19 Comments || Top||

#2  However, appeals are expected to take years.

...and that's what I'm betting on.
Posted by: Mullah Krekar || 06/10/2005 10:21 Comments || Top||


Great White North
In Canada, an Outcast Family Finds Support
EFL: Blood pressure alert. My first candidate for the shark food solution.
U.S. Detention of Teen Draws Concern
TORONTO -- The thundering F-16 and A-10 warplanes reduced the fighters' compound in Afghanistan to smoldering rubble. No one could still be alive, figured the U.S. soldiers crouched nearby. But inside, saved by a half-standing wall, a lanky 15-year-old waited as the wary soldiers neared. As the Americans recount it, he leapt up, threw a grenade and was cut down by the soldiers' fire. The grenade scored: A 28-year-old sergeant was mortally wounded.

The boy was not, however. Blinded in one eye, his chest ripped opened by bullets, Omar Khadr lay on the ground and asked the soldiers to kill him -- in perfect English. He was a Canadian. "Everybody who walked by wanted to put a round in him," said Master Sgt. Scotty Hansen, who was awarded a Bronze Star for Valor after the battle in 2002. "But we all knew that's not the way we do it."
Continued on Page 49
This article starring:
AHMED SAID KHADRal-Qaeda
A lawyer for the Khadrs, Dennis Edney
Amnesty International
Canada's prime minister at the time, Jean Chretien
Canadian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Rodney Moore
KARIM KHADRal-Qaeda
Kent Roach, a professor of law at the University of Toronto
OMAR KHADRal-Qaeda
Richard Wilson, a law professor at American University
Sgt. Christopher J. Speers
Sgt. Layne Morris
ZAINAB KHADRal-Qaeda
Posted by: tu3031 || 06/10/2005 09:05 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Canadian citizens should not be left beyond the reach of law," said Alex Neve, head of the Ottawa office of Amnesty International, a human rights group.

If they're not on your soil when they comitted the deed, they're pretty much beyond the reach of YOUR law. Unfortunately, that's usually how things work.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 06/10/2005 9:57 Comments || Top||

#2  "Isn't that supposed to be the thing that differentiates the Western world from the Eastern world? Freedom of speech? Freedom of thought? " Zaynab Khadr asked mockingly.

But not beyond being held responsible for their actions you asshat. Its that cause -->> effect thing.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 06/10/2005 10:08 Comments || Top||

#3  No good deed goes unpunished. I can't help but think the grunts should have alloted him one or two rounds in the head before the shooting stopped. I've got alot of respect for the men who resisted the urge to cap him after the shooting stopped. Don't think I would have been able to do the same.
Posted by: Tkat || 06/10/2005 10:13 Comments || Top||

#4  Was he wearing a uniform? If he was then he can be let to rot in a prisonner camp until the war ends. If he wasn't he should have been shot on the spot.

Both according to the Geneva conventions.
Posted by: JFM || 06/10/2005 10:29 Comments || Top||

#5  Whether it's terrorists or drug cartel thugs, why should we have to pay for long expensive trials, transportation, food shelter and medical?
Posted by: Red Dog || 06/10/2005 11:23 Comments || Top||

#6  ...Canada's lawmakers cannot look the other way when a citizen is held in foreign custody for years, under abusive conditions, and denied due process," said an editorial in the Toronto Star in February. "That makes Ottawa a silent partner in human rights abuse."

Let's ask that Iranian-Canadian journalist what she thinks of all this. Whoops, can't.
Posted by: Angie Schultz || 06/10/2005 11:25 Comments || Top||

#7  This whole family needs their asses kicked clear off the fucking planet. Who cares a rat's ass about asshole that want to kill us? Leave the kid on Devil's Island to rot and send those women back to whatever sandy shithole they came from, hopefully to be prosecuted there.
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 06/10/2005 11:26 Comments || Top||

#8  "But his Koran? Is his Koran okay?" Classic just classic! I never thought of using someone as a human mop over urine soaked floors. Sounds like a nice non-leathal (non-Koran abusing) way to get a prisoner to talk.
Posted by: Cyber Sarge || 06/10/2005 11:32 Comments || Top||

#9  Of course they want their passports. Canada won't give them passports. Why you ask? Because in the past they kept "losing" them and applying for more. Go figure?
Give them a one way travel document to whoever will take them. I guarantee they will be banging at the nearest Canadian Embassy door 6 months later looking for their "rights" as Canadians to return.
Posted by: Glaitch Wholurong7714 || 06/10/2005 12:22 Comments || Top||

#10  This sounds like a family that REALLY needs some "axehandle counselling". Begin with Mom and work down and out.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 06/10/2005 13:03 Comments || Top||

#11  "As the Americans recount it, he leapt up, threw a grenade and was cut down by the soldiers' fire. The grenade scored: A 28-year-old sergeant was mortally wounded."
Canada can support this family full of losers if they want to, but it pains me to know that my taxes are securing and feeding their Gitmo trash. For the life of me, I don't see why he doesn't get a quick tribunal and a firing squad.
Posted by: Tom || 06/10/2005 13:20 Comments || Top||

#12  Run a search on them in Rantburg. They've been here before. Many times.
Posted by: tu3031 || 06/10/2005 13:22 Comments || Top||

#13  He is guilty of Murder and should be charged and brought to trial. A trial infront of a Military Tribuine. Then he should be left to rot. No Virgins for Omar. Killing him will give him and his supporters what they really want.

I too would have been tempted put a 45 round between his eyes with my personal sidearm. This guy doesn't even deserve that. I am sure he is full of info. We will get it a little at a time. Time is on our side, not his or his families.
Posted by: Sock Puppet 0’ Doom || 06/10/2005 15:15 Comments || Top||

#14  Questions

The Geneva convention gives rights to recognized, uniformed combatants. Where does that leave armed civilians engaged in warfare? If they are not following the "rules", are they entitled to the protections?

Could armed civilians caught on the battlefield be summarily executed?

Posted by: john || 06/10/2005 17:45 Comments || Top||

#15  The requirements for being considered a POW are:

Art 4. A. Prisoners of war, in the sense of the present Convention, are persons belonging to one of the following categories, who have fallen into the power of the enemy:
(1) Members of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict, as well as members of militias or volunteer corps forming part of such armed forces.

(2) Members of other militias and members of other volunteer corps, including those of organized resistance movements, belonging to a Party to the conflict and operating in or outside their own territory, even if this territory is occupied, provided that such militias or volunteer corps, including such organized resistance movements, fulfil the following conditions:

(a) that of being commanded by a person responsible for his subordinates;

(b) that of having a fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a distance;

(c) that of carrying arms openly;

(d) that of conducting their operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war.


If you've got problems with YOUR DARLINGS sporting a distinctive sign that declares to the US military that I AM THE ENEMY, then you ought to read this.

NOT that you'd agree.
Posted by: Ptah || 06/10/2005 18:42 Comments || Top||

#16  My blood pressure spiked reading this story. *Aaaarrggghhh*

whatever happened to the good old days when people like this just disappeared?
Posted by: Frank G || 06/10/2005 18:50 Comments || Top||

#17  Armed civilians? No. However there is an area that says guerillas who follow the rules in the Geneva Conventions are considered to be combatants and have some of the same rights as regular members of armed forces.

In international conflicts, guerrillas must distinguish themselves from the civilian population if they are preparing/engaged in an attack. At a minimum, guerrillas must carry their arms openly. (Protocol I, Art. 44, Sec. 3)

Under the earlier Geneva Conventions, which are more widely recognized, a guerrilla army must have a well-defined chain of command, be clearly distinguishable from the civilian population, carry arms openly and observe the laws of war. (Convention III, Art. 4, Sec. 2)

However, there's a case to be made that foreign fighters in Afghanistan (and Iraq) could be classed as mercenaries. A mercenary is defined as any person who is specially recruited to fight in an armed conflict, takes a direct part in hostilities, who is motivated by money and is promised substantially higher pay than that paid to other combatants of similar rank, not a national of one of the countries involved in the conflict nor a resident of a territory controlled by any of the parties, not a member of the armed forces of any of the parties, and who has not been sent by another country on official duty as a member of its armed forces. (Protocol I, Art. 47). Mercenaries are not classed as combatants nor classed as prisoners of war (Protocol I, Art. 37).
Posted by: Pappy || 06/10/2005 18:56 Comments || Top||

#18  During WWII we caught a number of Germans who were raised in the U.S. but were fighting for Germany in U.S. Army uniforms, posing as Americans. They were questioned, given a cigarette, then shot.

No uniforms (or wrong uniforms), no rights. End of story.
Posted by: Parabellum || 06/10/2005 19:04 Comments || Top||

#19  Free the lad. Dip him in meat-tenderizer and a nice marinade and let him swim home from Gitmo. Given that this is the height of shark season he will finally be doing something useful in his life by contributing to the food-chain.

And for crying out loud...quit announcing we've captured these morons. Just whisk 'em away to Club Med Gitmo and be done with it!
Posted by: Justrand || 06/10/2005 19:10 Comments || Top||

#20  So can jihadi mercenaries, dressed in assorted camo and civies, (not in the uniform of a regular national army or pretending to be soldiers of same) be summarily shot when captured?

Posted by: john || 06/10/2005 20:20 Comments || Top||

#21  That should be lawfully, summarily shot
Posted by: john || 06/10/2005 20:22 Comments || Top||

#22  I'm sure if they asked, France would love to have them and make the mom some sort of national hero. But then the men all fought, and not surrendered, truely not of French tradition. OK mom can go to france but the one surviving man have to stay.
Posted by: 49 pan || 06/10/2005 21:10 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
Bharot planned to turn Citigroup into a piece of cutthroat shrapnel
A terrorism plot that sparked last summer's Orange Alert envisioned turning the Citigroup Center into "cutthroat shrapnel," according to a report yesterday. In reconnaissance plans, accused terrorist Dhiren Barot, currently jailed in Britain, called the building a glass house whose panels could be turned into "a potential flying piece of cutthroat shrapnel," according to a CBS News report. Barot carefully cased the landmark tower on Lexington Ave. and E. 53rd St. down to the smallest detail - even describing how the toilets could be used as a place to assemble a bomb. "The documents were very detailed," NYPD Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne told the Daily News. "They included, for example, how many seats there were around the conference table in the board room of the New York Stock Exchange [which he also scouted]. The level of detail showed they had engaged in serious reconnaissance."

Barot, 33, whose alleged Al Qaeda alias was Abu Eisa Al Hindi, checked out financial centers in Newark and Washington in addition to Citigroup and the Stock Exchange. A 50-page printout from his computer obtained by CBS revealed he was very thorough. "Restrooms ... do not have fully enclosed ... doors," he wrote. "If anything is being assembled there ... rest it on the toilet seat. So it can't be seen." Barot gave precise dimensions of support columns and mentioned they were coated with a "fire proof" material that was deemed "effective" except "for infernos such as ... the WTC," a reference to the 9/11 attacks.
Posted by: Dan Darling || 06/10/2005 12:08 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Why don't they just buy Citigroup and raise the interst rate on our citbank cards up to what a sears card charges. Now that would hurt.
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 06/10/2005 12:47 Comments || Top||

#2  I'me sure his lawyer's probably calling this, like, "performance art" or something, right?
Posted by: tu3031 || 06/10/2005 12:56 Comments || Top||

#3  They can turn the building into shrapnel, but I doubt they can make CitiGroup any more cutthroat than they already are.
Posted by: BH || 06/10/2005 13:16 Comments || Top||

#4  AQ will keep trying. That is their way. That is how the WTC went down.
Posted by: Sock Puppet 0’ Doom || 06/10/2005 14:53 Comments || Top||

#5  True, SPO'D. And the lefties and MSM (but I repeat myself) couldn't care less.

They think the islamic crocodile will never eat them.

They're wrong, of course. And that crocodile - if it gets the chance - won't even eat them last.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 06/10/2005 16:09 Comments || Top||


California arrests part of lengthy probe
Federal authorities aren't saying much about their terrorism investigation in nearby Lodi but are making two things crystal clear: Their work in the farming town has been going on for years — and it's not over yet.

They denied the implication by some members of Lodi's large Pakistani community that the probe was triggered by a rift between fundamentalist and mainstream factions.

Each side accused the other of contacting the FBI, which is in charge of the investigation. The dispute has led to a leadership struggle at the Lodi Muslim Mosque and a legal fight with a budding Islamic learning center.

"This specific investigation has been going on for several years," FBI spokesman John Cauthen said Thursday.

The FBI alleges several people committed to Al Qaeda (search) have been operating in and around the tranquil wine-growing region just south of Sacramento.

Investigators say Hamid Hayat (search), 22, trained with Al Qaeda in Pakistan and planned to attack hospitals and supermarkets in the United States. He is scheduled to appear in federal court Friday for a bail hearing.

Umer Hayat, 47, said his son was drawn to jihadist training camps in his early teenage years while attending a madrassah, or religious school, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, that was operated by Umer Hayat's father-in-law, according to an FBI affidavit.

Hayat allegedly paid for his son to attend the terrorist camp in 2003 and 2004. The affidavit says it was run by a friend of his father-in-law's.

The Hayats are charged only with lying to federal investigators.

Two Islamic religious leaders, or imams, and one leader's son also have been detained on immigration violations. Neither Cauthen nor a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would reveal specifics of the alleged visa violations.

Saad Ahmad, an attorney for the three men, did not immediately return a telephone call Thursday seeking comment.

The sequence that led to the arrests and detentions began May 29, when Hamid Hayat was trying to return to the U.S. but was identified in mid-flight as being on the federal "no-fly" list. His plane was diverted to Japan, where Hayat was interviewed by the FBI and denied any connection to terrorism.

He was allowed to fly to California, but was interviewed again last weekend. He and his father were charged after he flunked a lie detector test and then admitted attending the training camp, the affidavit said.

The Hayats and the imams are on opposite sides of a struggle between Pakistani factions in and around Lodi: The Hayats are aligned with a faction supporting more traditional Islamic values; the imams with another group seeking greater cooperation and understanding from the larger community.

Adil Khan was trying to start an Islamic center but has been sued by the Lodi Muslim Mosque, which claims he improperly transferred mosque property.

"It may well be that some of this is gamesmanship," said attorney Gary Nelson, who represents Khan in the civil lawsuit. "But we are talking about the FBI and INS, and they don't do this lightly. At least I hope they don't."

Lawyers for the Hayats are questioning why the FBI changed the affidavit. They maintain that copies released in Washington and Sacramento are significantly different.

The Washington version, released first, said Hamid Hayat chose to carry out his "jihadi mission" in the United States and potential targets included "hospitals and large food stores." The reference to the targets was dropped in a later version filed in federal court in Sacramento.

Hamid Hayat's attorney, Wazhma Mojaddidi, said that revision "strikes us as an odd turnabout."

Umer Hayat's attorney, Johnny Griffin III, said he was irritated that the government made public the references to hospitals and supermarkets, and then filed something different with the court.

Cauthen described the changes as routine revisions. Authorities said they had no indication of specific plans or timetables for an attack.

"There is no specific information about hospitals and food stores," he said. "They didn't stand out above other sectors of the infrastructure."
Posted by: Dan Darling || 06/10/2005 09:49 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I hate to sound paranoid, but what the hell, these are the times that we live in...

Has anyone wondered why a group of muslims would choose to migrate and form a community in a little rural town filled with Hispanic migrant workers? Does anyone think that this is just a coincidence? Or is this a deliberate experiment to target Hispanics?

I have to wonder. Its hard to escape the fact of the coming Hispanic demographic dominance throughout much of the country. Politicians know it well. What better way to capitalize on migrant worker misery for islam than to target such communities (much like in Chiapas?)

I get the strong impression that militant islam has the Hispanic community in its sites and has for a long time been on a covert campaign to head off this largely Catholic population from dominating the US as Catholics. If I were a muslim and I wanted to ensure islam's dominance that is what I would do. I would see Hispanic Catholics as the #1 obstacle to the cause who must be islamic if their numbers are going to make them a majority.

Anyone want to bet that certain audiences of muslims are getting the message that converting Hispanic or moving to a largely hispanic community brings a special reward in heaven? How much do you want to bet that Hispanics are being specifically "befriended"/targeted on campus and in the inner cities?

CAIR recently sent a Hispanic New Yorker to Dallas to be its spokesperson in the city. She has "coincidentally" chosen to keep her given hispanic name.

Hispanic names are increasingly popping up in news articles about muslim conversions. One campus paper recently ran an article which chiefly quoted the Hispanic female spokesperson for the campus muslim organization and get this she is a recent convert. Can anyone say fast track with a bullet?

Who would be better to target with criticism of Hispanic culture than an Hispanic college student who has already put distance between themselves and their birth culture. What would be better than to exploit the pride such a kid would feel for getting out and then blaming every problem of that culture on a lack of islam?

What better target could there be than an empoverished and possibly resentful migrant worker who feels powerless and exploited and looked down on. Feed him the argument that islam is a system that would empower him to use his anger righteously to eliminate his lack of respect and dignity.

I think we have a bigger problem than just fears of terrorism on our hands. What can be done to stop the islamic incursion into the Hispanic demographic? Is anyone working this angle? we need to get on the ball.

Posted by: peggy || 06/10/2005 12:14 Comments || Top||

#2  You don't sound paranoid to me.
Posted by: tu3031 || 06/10/2005 14:50 Comments || Top||

#3  Interesting, Peggy. I don't imagine the majority will convert, any more than the majority became Black Muslims. But a minority could be enough to cause problems.

HOWEVER, this is another of those strong horse thingies that bin Laden spoke about. If we can conclusively discredit and destroy the Islamofascists in Iraq, the desirability of Islam will fall off drastically to such people. So there's even more riding on Bush's invasion than we thought... I think. ;-) What say you?
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/10/2005 16:24 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
MILF Orders Hunt for Jemaah Terror Suspects in Mindanao
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front yesterday confirmed that two of the suspects in the deadly Bali bombings three years ago are hiding in the southern Philippines and that MILF forces are now hunting them. MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said the group is closely coordinating with the government authorities in the hunt for Pitono, also known as Dulmatin, and Umar Patek, main suspects in the the twin bombings on the Indonesian resort island that killed more than 200 mostly foreign holiday-makers. "Our forces are hunting the two suspects who are believed hiding in the hinterlands of central Mindanao region," Kabalu told Arab News.

The search was triggered by a recent government intelligence report that the duo have slipped into the southern Philippines and could be setting up bases in the region. Reports reaching the MILF leadership say the suspected members of the Jemaah Islamiyah terror network are with at least eight local extremists. "We have received reports from our commanders on the ground that Dulmatin and Patek have allied themselves with the Abu Sayyaf and we have passed this information to the government," Kabalu said.

It was not immediately known how and when the two terrorists entered the country, although Philippine military reports last year suggested that Dulmatin was killed in October an airstrike in Maguindanao, about 900 kilometers south of Manila. The strike came after spies tracked Dulmatin to a meeting with terrorists from the Abu Sayyaf group headed by Khadaffy Janjalani — who had evaded the military for five years — was also reported to have died along with 40 other followers. But the military failed to back up its reports with evidence.
Posted by: Fred || 06/10/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  So ol "lipless Eddie" is taking th Phils on another snipe hunt for JI. But then the Phils love to chase snipes. Just another day in the PI.
Posted by: 49 pan || 06/10/2005 21:17 Comments || Top||

#2  BTW love the photo. looks like the kid on Fat Albert cartoon.
Posted by: 49 pan || 06/10/2005 21:21 Comments || Top||

#3  Hmmm...now, I wonder why it is that every time I see one of these "MILF in the Philippines" threads, the very first thing that comes to my mind is Stiffler's Mom running around in a jungle dressed like Lara Croft...
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) || 06/10/2005 23:55 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
US concerned Syria targeting Lebanese
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is concerned about the possibility of a "pattern" of political killings in Lebanon, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday as two newspapers reported the Bush administration had word of a "Syrian hit list" targeting Lebanese leaders. "What we don't want is that there is a pattern now of assassination of key figures, because that would be very, very destabilizing in Lebanon, and I think it would have to point a finger at those forces that have been destabilizing in Lebanon," Rice said in an interview with Charlie Rose on PBS.
Bush administration officials say the United States has received "credible" word that Syria has developed a "hit list" targeting prominent Lebanese political leaders, The New York Times and The Washington Post reported on their Web sites. Both newspapers cited a senior administration official as saying Syria's plan was aimed at creating instability in an attempt to regain control of Lebanon.
But intelligence officials said they could not immediately substantiate the reliability of the information cited by the administration official, The New York Times reported. There was no immediate comment on the reports from the State Department.
Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated in February and anti-Syrian columnist Samir Kassir was killed last week in Beirut. "We need to be very clear that we expect a full investigation of the assassination of Mr. Kassir, following the assassination of Mr. Hariri," Rice said in the interview. Asked whether Syrian intelligence agents had withdrawn from Lebanon, she said: "I think some of us have our doubts and we need to keep pressure on the Syrians to be transparent about what they're doing in Lebanon." Rice added that the Bush administration was "being very clear to people that we want an international spotlight on what is going on in Lebanon" so the Lebanese can hold elections free of foreign influence.
A U.N. Security Council resolution in September demanded Syria withdraw all its forces from Lebanon, which were deployed there for 29 years. Damascus did so last month.
Posted by: Steve || 06/10/2005 09:50 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq-Jordan
Iraqi Palestinians squeezed by security crackdown
Sympathy Meter please...
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Palestinian refugee Thaier Noureddine never wanted to leave Iraq, even if he could return to the land his family fled after the 1948 Middle East war.
Ummmmm...your family's been out of there since 1948. I think "refugee" might be what you call yourself when you just want to pick up Arab chicks.Or talk to Reuters.
But he's been desperate for a way out since Iraqi security forces arrested his brother Ghazwaan and three other Palestinians in a crackdown on foreign fighters from Arab countries and Iraqi guerrillas suspected of "terrorist" attacks.
"He did nothing wrong. Is being a Palestinian a crime?"
Noureddine asked.
Maybe. But I'd definitely consider it "probable cause".
Iraq -- with its history of dictatorship and war -- has been the only home some Palestinian refugees have known since their families settled here after the violent birth of Israel in 1948.
The "violent birth of Israel". How "Reuterian"!
They have blended in over the years, as doctors, coffee shop owners and labourers in the major oil-producing country, but are now finding themselves under scrutiny from the police, state officials, the government and even their neighbors.
Geez, can't imagine why.
"Let them move us to Palestine or any country. I am ready to live in Sudan, in Darfur. It has problems. But if they take us we will go," said Noureddine, referring to the devastated western province of Sudan.
Suuuuuuuuure you will...
Some Iraqis believe that Palestinians in Iraq enjoyed privileges like free education and low-cost housing under Saddam Hussein, who portrayed himself as a champion of the Palestinian cause and delivered fiery anti-Israel speeches.
Now some of the 20,000 Palestinians in Iraq say they have been unfairly targeted by a government clampdown on guerrillas and subjected to abuse by Iraqis who believe they were cosseted by Saddam or are involved in guerrilla attacks.
Payback does indeed suck.
"Twenty-five Palestinians were arrested in May," said acting Palestinian ambassador Dalil Qoussus. "They are innocent."
They always are...
The Noureddine family's troubles began when Iraqi security forces showed up at Ghazwaan's apartment after a bombing killed 14 people at a crowded market in eastern Baghdad in May. His relatives said he was beaten and then taken away. "They fired bullets at the door of his apartment. Some landed in the bedroom," Thaier said. Ghazwaan and three other Palestinians soon appeared on "Terrorists in the Grip of Justice," a television show in which suspects confess to crimes including bombings and rape.
What's up with that, Thaier? Did he just want to get on TV?
It was not possible to determine if the confessions were genuine. Some of the suspects on the show had bruised faces, including one of the four Palestinians. Detainees have often complained of being beaten by Iraqi security forces and police.
"Reuters. We insinuate, you decide."
The arrests have led Palestinians to keep a low profile.In Baghdad's Baladiyat slum that is home to many of Iraq's Palestinian refugees, shops have been shuttered and alleyways are quiet, with a few bicycles leaning on tin shacks. One child holding a toy gun just stared out a window.
Dreaming of his sparkling future killing Jews or Infidels, maybe?
"We can't show our identification cards because they will see we are Palestinians. They think Arabs and Palestinians are terrorists," said Ghazwaan's sister Hala. "When we go to the market they call us terrorists. We can't even take a taxi because they call us terrorists."
Now why would anybody think that?
UNCERTAIN FUTURE
Palestinian refugees, many born in Iraq, never had much of a say in their future, and they still don't. Their lack of proper documents makes it difficult to travel outside Iraq.
Palestinians fear being swept up in security offensives against Arab guerrillas who have carried out suicide bombings that have killed thousands of people. Brosh Shaways, secretary general of Iraq's Defense Ministry, said security forces had not singled out Palestinians for arrest, but were detaining any suspicious Arabs without proper papers.
Yes, but they're "Palestinians". They're special suspicious Arabs without proper papers.
"Unfortunately there are foreigners and Arabs who take part in terrorist acts and explosions and making car bombs," he told Reuters. "It is the right of the Iraqi government and security forces to take action against them because the lives of innocent people are in danger."
Obviously a facist stooge of the US puppet government.
Palestinians can only hope escalating violence that threatens to push Iraq toward civil war will ease and take the pressure off their community. But guerrillas have stepped up attacks since the new government was announced in late April, killing more than 800 people, including civilians and security forces.
Thaier and others are not taking any chances. The welder decided to close up his workshop because people started calling him "the brother of the terrorist" after the confession show tied Ghazwaan to the Baghdad bombing.
A "welder" you say? Like in a "sheet metal shop"?
The Nourreddine family say Ghazwaan was just a coffee shop owner, not someone who would carry out a bombing that left crushed limbs and bodies under burning cars.
A...simple businessman.
"We have no hostility toward Iraqis. We are not related to any terrorists,"
Except that guy who admits he raped and murdered a bunch of people. But does that make him a terrorist?
said Hala, sitting beside Ghazwaan's children and holding up his picture. "Who is going to take care of his children?"
Yasser's dead, Sammy's in the can. Who can we turn too?
Isolated in the grim concrete buildings of Baladiyat, the Noureddines no longer see a future in Iraq. But they, like others, may have no choice. "When we hear any sound like an ambulance siren our hearts beat in fear. I am afraid they will kill me because I am the brother of the Palestinian," Thaier said.
Poor victimized bastards. They may never have lived in Palestine but they sure are good at their National Pastime.
Posted by: tu3031 || 06/10/2005 13:41 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1 
"Is being a Palestinian a crime?"
Usually.

"Refugee" my fat ass.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 06/10/2005 16:00 Comments || Top||

#2 
In Baghdad's Baladiyat slum that is home to many of Iraq's Palestinian refugees
So they live in slums in other countries too.

Think it might be your fault, paleos?
One child holding a toy gun just stared out a window.
Gee, just like in the "homeland."

Guess that proves it: It's genetic with these losers.

If you clowns would really move to Sudan, I'd gladly chip in on the (one-way) ticket. Just for the entertainment value.

Oxygen thieves.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 06/10/2005 16:06 Comments || Top||

#3  "But he's been desperate for a way out since Iraqi security forces arrested his brother Ghazwaan and three other Palestinians in a crackdown on foreign fighters from Arab countries and Iraqi guerrillas suspected of "terrorist" attacks.
"He did nothing wrong. Is being a Palestinian a crime?"



Being identified as a group, with a very unpopular ex-dictator, who used your cause as a source of his own legitimacy, is, if not a crime, close enough to one as far as the ways of the world are concerned. You want to live as a dispersed minority, you need to develop a certain political astuteness. And a willingness to move on, when things go south. Take it from us, we KNOW.

Or, if you dont want that, you might consider assimilating where you are. Intermarry with the locals. Who knows you might end up owning an Iraqi movie studio. Or your grandson might run for president of Iraq - but he'll be a Shia!
Posted by: liberalhawk || 06/10/2005 16:36 Comments || Top||

#4  How can a person be "Palestinian" and "Iraqi" at the same time???
You're either from one place or the other, so PICK.
And as "Palestine" isn't really a place, I'm going to go with Iraqi.
Posted by: Jennie Taliaferro || 06/10/2005 16:45 Comments || Top||

#5  I am ready to live in Sudan, in Darfur

Sounds like he can't wait to start raping those black muslim women and children in Darfur.....

Posted by: CrazyFool || 06/10/2005 17:22 Comments || Top||

#6  "Reuters. We insinuate, you decide."

tu3031: That's a good 'un! LMAO!
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 06/10/2005 21:22 Comments || Top||


US opens criminal probe of two army deaths in Iraq
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. army has opened a criminal investigation into a blast that killed two soldiers at a base in Iraq after discovering it was not caused by an insurgent mortar attack, a military statement said on Friday.
It said Captain Phillip Esposito and 1st Lieutenant Louis Allen were killed on Tuesday in an explosion at Forward Operating Base Danger near Saddam Hussein's hometown, Tikrit."The initial investigation by responders and military police indicated that a mortar round struck the window on the side of the building where Esposito and Allen were located at the time," the statement said.
"Upon further examination of the scene by explosive ordnance personnel, it was determined the blast pattern was inconsistent with a mortar attack."
The military said the soldiers killed were New York National Guard troops assigned to the Headquarters Company of the 42nd Infantry Division. Esposito was company commander and Allen was an operations officer.
Any potential Sgt. Akbar's in the outfit?
Posted by: tu3031 || 06/10/2005 12:01 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Any potential Sgt. Akbar's in the outfit?

According to an article on CNN.com, that possibility is on the investigators' list:

The Army is looking at a number of scenarios including accidental death, attack by an intruder or infiltrator, and fragging, which is the killing or wounding of a fellow soldier.



Posted by: Mike || 06/10/2005 15:34 Comments || Top||

#2  One thing I'm wondering is if someone kept a souvineer in their foot locker such as a mortar round.

Hmmm.
Posted by: JackAssFestival || 06/10/2005 17:35 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine
Palestinians free two militants held after bombing
The Palestinian Authority has freed two of nine Islamic Jihad militants jailed over a February suicide bombing in Israel that jarred a cease-fire, security sources said Friday. They were released from a prison in Jericho Thursday and two more were expected to be let out Saturday based on a deal that they remain within the West Bank town, the sources said.
"Don't go no where, see?" "OK"
The nine militants had been held without charge since their arrest shortly after the Feb. 25 bombing that killed five Israelis in Tel Aviv. It was the only attack of its kind since a truce declared at an Israeli-Palestinian summit on Feb. 8. Relatives said the men denied any involvement in the bombing and the prisoners staged a brief hunger strike last month. Their families accused the Authority of "appeasing Israel" by keeping the nine in jail. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, under pressure to ensure the truce is respected and security established to clear the way for statehood talks with Israel, vowed to do all he could to track down those behind the Tel Aviv bombing.

Jericho is one of two West Bank towns, along with Tulkarm, where the Israeli army transferred security control to the Palestinian Authority. But Israel has suspended further handovers, saying Abbas must do more to subdue militants. After Tulkarm's handover, Israeli troops raided a nearby village and killed an Islamic Jihad commander they accused of having masterminded the Tel Aviv bombing.

Asked about the prisoner release, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said: "The Palestinian Authority's living up to its commitment to fight terrorism is a prerequisite for moving forward on any sort of political dialogue." In Gaza, Islamic Jihad leader Khaled al-Batsh said Abbas had agreed at a meeting with militant group leaders Thursday to release the nine prisoners on the condition they would stay in Jericho. "We demanded their release because they were detained in connection to their resistance to the (Israeli) occupation. They should not be in jail for this," said Batsh.
This article starring:
KHALED AL BATSHIslamic Jihad
Islamic Jihad
Posted by: Steve || 06/10/2005 09:36 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Terror Networks & Islam
Zarqawi, al-Qaeda, and the New Islamic Front
Recent published accounts of the relationship between fugitive Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda terrorist network illuminate the relationship between the two men and their movements' vision of establishing an Islamic caliphate across the Middle East. The sudden rise in terrorist attacks against coalition forces in Afghanistan supports the theory that Arab terrorists in that country have regrouped in an effort to provide a reinvigorated Arab front against the United States, while the continuing insurgency in Iraq shows no signs of abatement, despite recent reports that al-Zarqawi may be near death as a result of a recent injury.

Almost immediately after the 1 June suicide bombing of a Kandahar mosque that killed mourners of an anti-Taliban cleric, Afghan officials said that it was carried out by Arab members of Al-Qaeda. "We have found documents on [the bomber's] body that show he was an Arab," Kandahar governor Gul Agha Sherzai told reporters, adding that intelligence indicated that "Arab Al-Qaeda teams had entered Afghanistan and had been planning terrorist attacks. Mohammad Hasham Alikozay, director of the Public Health Department in Kandahar, said that the "features found" at the explosion site indicated that the suicide bomber seemed "to be an Arab."

In line with the expectations of Afghan authorities and U.S.-led coalition forces, disruptive activities and terrorist acts either committed by or in the name of the neo-Taliban and their allies have increased since the weather improved in southern and eastern Afghanistan. In April, U.S. Major General Eric Olson said that there "has been an increase in Taliban and enemy activity in the spring [compared to the winter months]. And we anticipate that the enemy has the intention of trying to raise the level of activity this spring." However, Olson predicted that these activities would lack cohesion and fade in traditional neo-Taliban strongholds.
Continued on Page 49
This article starring:
ABU ABDULLAH AL SHAFEIAnsar Al-Sunnah
ABU MUSAB AL ZARQAWIal-Qaeda
ABU RAADal-Qaeda in Iraq
Kandahar governor Gul Agha Sherzai
Major General Eric Olson
Major General Khalil al-Ubaydi
Mawlawi Abdullah Fayyaz
Mohammad Hasham Alikozay, director of the Public Health Department in Kandahar
MUFTI LATIFULLAH HAKIMITaliban
MULLAH MAHDIAnsar Al-Sunnah
MUTLAQ MUHAMAD MUTLAQ ABDULLAHal-Qaeda in Iraq
SAIF AL ADLGlobal Al-Qaeda of Islam Army
Ansar Al-Islam
Ansar Al-Sunnah
Ansar Al-Sunnah Army
Global Al-Qaeda of Islam Army
Posted by: Dan Darling || 06/10/2005 09:42 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  strike one
strike two

hey batter batter!
Posted by: 2b || 06/10/2005 9:54 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan/South Asia
Tales from the Crossfire Gazette
Two killed in encounters with RAB
A convicted criminal, arrested Wednesday from a travel agency in the city, was killed in a predawn encounter between members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and his associates in Dohar on Thursday, reports UNB.
Course it was predawn, it's a RAB union rule
The dead was identified as Mohammad Bahauddin alias Bahu Dacoit, son of Golam Mostafa of Jhanki village in Dohar. He was sentenced to four and three years'' jail terms in separate cases.
RAB officials said they arrested Bahu from the city''s Fakirapul area while he was preparing to flee abroad concealing his identity.
"Howdy, Bahu. Taking a little trip, are we? Here, let me help you with that bag"
Acting on his confessional statement,
"Ouch! OK, I'll talk"
Bahu was taken to Shimulia area to recover illegal arms.
Our story now moves to a dark deserted alley, where....
As they reached there at about 4:30 am, Bahu''s associates opened fire on the law-enforcers, triggering a firefight.
"It's da law! They got Bahu, open fire!"
He was struck by bullets in the encounter
"Ouch...ouch..rosebud!"
and died on the spot, said a RAB standard pre-printed press release. It said two firearms and five rounds of bullet were recovered from the scene. Bahu was also wanted in 12 cases of robbery, extortion, illegal parking, snatching and possessing illegal arms.

In Pabna, a regional leader of an outlawed communist outfit was killed reportedly following a gunbattle between his associates and RAB men at Shibpur in Ataikula early on Thursday, reports UNB. Muhammad Jahit alias Jayit, said to be the leader of Purba Banglar Communist Party (ML Red Flag), was one of the accused in sensational ''four murder'' and ''five murder'' cases in Ataikula.
Not to be confused with the "two murder" and "seven murder" cases
Rapid Action Battalion sources said he was brought to Rajshahi RAB headquarters after a RAB team caught him from Sripur in Ataikula upazila on Wednesday noon.
As per his screams statement, he was brought back to Ataikula to look out for arms and his associates.
"As the team reached Shibpur in Ataikula at about 1:3am, some ones fired on the team forcing them to retaliate," a RAB official said.
"Somebody fired. Course, could have been a backfire or maybe a balloon popped. Can't be too careful."
Jayit was injured in the crossfire trying to escape taking advantage of the gunfight.
"Feet, don't fail me now! Ouch.... dammit, I knew I should worn my running shoes"
He was taken to General Hospital where he died after admission.
"He's dead, Jim"

One revolver, two bullets of pistol and a machete abandoned by the "terrorists" were recovered from the spot after the encounter.
Posted by: Steve || 06/10/2005 09:19 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq-Jordan
The Other Air War Over Iraq
June 10, 2005: There's a war going on in the air over Iraq. U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force UAVs (Unmanned Air Vehicles) are battling for, well, for respect and control of the air. It's not exactly a fair fight, mainly because the air force supplies the "air space manager," who decides who goes where over the combat zone. This has always been a difficult job. While the air force has transports and warplanes zooming around, the army also has its helicopters and, most importantly, artillery shells, in the air. Everyone has to step aside when the artillery opens up, as the big guns have the right of way. But now the air space manager has to deal with an increasing number of UAVs. No problem, as long as they are air force UAVs. But now the army has more and more UAVs, and often more than the air force has. The air space manager increasingly turns out to be an air force officer directing mostly army air traffic. This does not seem right to the air force.

Army UAV operators are increasingly getting the impression that they are not wanted, unless there's a mission deemed too dangerous for air force UAVs. Army UAV operators also know that the air force is not happy with army sergeants operating UAVs, while the air force only allows officers to "fly" UAVs. Air force attempts to establish standards for army UAV operators was rebuffed by the army. Unhappy with the difficulty in getting UAV, or any other support, from the air force on a timely basis, the army has increasingly bought more of its own UAVs. Army Hunters and Shadows compete with air force Predators.

But the air space manager will often restrict the use of army UAVs, "for safety reasons." The army UAV officers get steamed, because the only thing the see at risk is the current air force attempt to get control over development of all UAVs, and perhaps all the ones the army wants to use. Or at least the larger ones, like the Hunter and Shadow, that compete with the air force Predator. The army often takes UAV missions the air force refuses, as "too dangerous." At the same time, the army UAV operators find themselves being kept out of air space over an army combat operation, so that an air force Predator can be sent in to make the air force look good. It's getting ugly up there.
Posted by: Steve || 06/10/2005 09:08 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Same old sh*t, different day. The Army discovered that you don't need to be an officer to drive a helo years ago. A big shock to the Air Force.
Posted by: Chuck Simmins || 06/10/2005 9:26 Comments || Top||

#2  This "turf war" needs to be nipped off in the bud NOW.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 06/10/2005 10:01 Comments || Top||

#3  ....and lets not forget the most deadly of all UAVs - the ones the CIA flies. At least they have Hellfires attached. All the major kills in Afghanistan and Pakistan and even in Iraq (I believe)have been CIA operated.
Posted by: Jack is Back! || 06/10/2005 10:10 Comments || Top||

#4  I'd go for a stray Spooky run into Syria while cleaning the roaches from the border...better than any one UAV
Posted by: Frank G || 06/10/2005 11:14 Comments || Top||

#5  As the man says, the same old sh$$. I used to do radar nav checks on pilots as a Staff Sergeant - E5. They hated it, especially when I plotted them as much as 3000 meters off course. The equipment I was using and the scale of maps allowed me to plot their courses to within 10 meters. Acceptable limits were 500 meters.

As a 26-year veteran of the Air Force, I hate to badmouth my alma mater, so to speak, but there are a lot of things that need changing. The problem is, the people with the position to make the changes are too set in their ways to allow them. It's going to take a Donald Rumsfeld equivalent as Sec/AF to impose those changes, and to enforce them. The only way to guarantee success is to fire a bunch of three- and four-star generals.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 06/10/2005 13:55 Comments || Top||

#6  USAF is the only service that doesn't have warrant officers, as a matter of fact. Hmmm...
Posted by: 11A5S || 06/10/2005 14:21 Comments || Top||

#7  echo the previous same sh!t, different day. the USAF prima donnas are becoming very obvious. Had an interesting discussion at the local VFW the other day: seems that since the USAF was split off from the Army, the US has never won a war. Truces, maybe. maybe we need to combine all armed forces (at least it would end turf wars and also shed some redundant overhead).
Posted by: USN, ret. || 06/10/2005 14:38 Comments || Top||

#8  As we say in the Navy...the USAF is the only country club that makes everyone wear the same clothes.
Posted by: anymouse || 06/10/2005 16:38 Comments || Top||

#9  The Army is ahead of the power curve in TTP's when it come to UAV missions. The Army takes the high risk ones because they can get it done. As Jack said the Agency has armed UAV's, the combat aircraft of the future. I think the air force can see the future and they are fighting for their very existance. Why send a 40 million dollar aircraft with a Captain or Major when a good buck SGT with a laptop can do the same thing with a 200,000 dollar UAV and not put himself at risk. If they lose to the Army, and I hope they do, they will be relagated to being just a ride into theater, sort of like the Navy. Just think of the tax dollars we will all save.
Posted by: 49 pan || 06/10/2005 20:51 Comments || Top||

#10  If that's then mission then buy more, lots more C-17s.
Posted by: Shipman || 06/10/2005 21:09 Comments || Top||

#11  I think y'all need to check out the price of a Predator setup lately. YES, they have longer duration, and YES, they have a neato pair of hellfire missiles... but they cost about as much as A-10's. And if they ever got around to doing those A-10 upgrades, they'd have longer endurance and better sensors.

A lot of the recent stuff with the UAV's got done because it's more politically possible to get them built ("We're not risking a pilot, therefore there's no risk for President Clinton in using one!") than to upgrade the A-10, or even the fast-mover aircraft like the F-16 and -18, with better sensors and the equipment needed to relay those sensor pictures to the ground.

Remember that article about the new F-18 sensor pod being used in Iraq? They have five of them for the Carrier's air wing, and AFAIK it can't relay its images to the troops.
Posted by: Phil Fraering || 06/10/2005 22:28 Comments || Top||

#12  The next logical devs are unmanned air superiority fighter-bombers and startegic bombers per se - the time is looming when the Air Force may have to return full control of air-based TACTICAL capabilities to the Army, from tacair wings to missle units. For a long long while during the US-USSR Cold War, the Army had more aircraft and ships than either the USAF or the Navy. As both the USA and its enemies move towards resolution of the battle for control of the future Global Empire and OWG, simple budget accounting will induce the necess changes.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 06/10/2005 22:47 Comments || Top||


Progress, But Still Bleak - WaPo reports from Iraq
(About half edited out, for length. Registration req'd)
BAIJI, Iraq -- An hour before dawn, the sky still clouded by a dust storm, the soldiers of the Iraqi army's Charlie Company began their mission with a ballad to ousted president Saddam Hussein. "We have lived in humiliation since you left," one sang in Arabic, out of earshot of his U.S. counterparts. "We had hoped to spend our life with you."

But the Iraqi soldiers had no clue where they were going. They shrugged their shoulders when asked what they would do. The U.S. military had billed the mission as pivotal in the Iraqis' progress as a fighting force but had kept the destination and objectives secret out of fear the Iraqis would leak the information to insurgents.

Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Bobby || 06/10/2005 08:03 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Typical WaPo doom drivel


The Iraqi Mil blogs/Mil sites give a much more accurate feel.
Posted by: Red Dog || 06/10/2005 11:36 Comments || Top||

#2  I don't doubt that this Iraqi unit was unfit by American standards. I don't even doubt that a lot of the other Iraqi units are equally bad.

There are other units that are pretty good and anyway, they don't have to be good. They just have to be good enough.
Posted by: mhw || 06/10/2005 13:16 Comments || Top||

#3  Young Iraqi soldiers, ill-equipped and drawn from a disenchanted Sunni Arab minority The real story is why the Americans are bothering to train the Sunnis at all when the Kurds and Shiaa are more than happy to do the job.
Posted by: phil_b || 06/10/2005 14:39 Comments || Top||

#4  "Young Iraqi soldiers, ill-equipped and drawn from a disenchanted Sunni Arab minority, say they are not even sure what they are fighting for. They complain bitterly that their American mentors don't respect them."

this is big and good news. Yes, this looks a pretty pitiful unit, with lots of problems. But this is a Sunni Arab unit, and youve got to believe things are a lot better in the Shiite and Kurd units. The mere fact that these guys joined the army, and are doing anything positive at ALL is good news.

And yes, youve got to recruit Sunni Arabs - you DONT want the entire Sunni population to think this is a war against them.

I presume the US military chose this unit for the reporter for a reason - on the one hand they WANT to discourage the notion that things will be easy - but i think they also want to signal to the more understanding that yes, they ARE recruiting and training Sunni Arab units.

Theres more here than meets the eye, folks.

And my sympathies to the WaPo reporter whos out there in the war zone, and produced a pretty informative piece.
Posted by: liberalhawk || 06/10/2005 15:01 Comments || Top||

#5  Things are going to change according to their schedule, not our politics back home," said Sgt. Jonathan Flynn, 36, of Star Lake, N.Y. "You can't just put an artificial timetable on that."

Sergeant Flynn's message is the real takeaway here. Are you listening, Senator Kennedy? Senator Byrd? Chairman Dean? Vice President Cheney?
Posted by: liberalhawk || 06/10/2005 15:03 Comments || Top||

#6  Interesting, LH. I did see a bit of sunshine, but not as much as you did. Good points.

Now .. why do they have to be so hard to find? The "fundamental, perhaps irreconcilable differences" made me gag.
Posted by: Bobby || 06/10/2005 15:05 Comments || Top||

#7  why do they have to be so hard to find

cause despite progress, that when you think about it, is pretty incredible, things there are still pretty damned screwed up.

Many on the left dont seem to understand that just cause stuff is pretty damned screwed up, the long term trend is good. Many on the right dont seem to understand that just cause the long term trend is good, things are pretty damned screwed up.

learning to live with ambiquity is pretty hard.
Posted by: liberalhawk || 06/10/2005 15:10 Comments || Top||

#8  I agree, LH that learning to live with ambiquity is pretty hard. I try to find the silver lining in the gloom and doom. My complaint is that I do not believe the press has learned to live with the ambiguity, and they ought to! Maybe their confidence rating would go up?
Posted by: Bobby || 06/10/2005 15:16 Comments || Top||

#9  learning to tell a q from a g is also hard. my apologies.
Posted by: liberalhawk || 06/10/2005 16:38 Comments || Top||


At Least 17 Bodies Found in Iraqi Desert
QAIM, Iraq (AP) - At least 17 bodies have been found near a town close to the Syrian border that is considered an insurgent hotbed. Eleven were shot in the head and another was beheaded. Witnesses, including an Associated Press reporter, said Friday that the 11 bodies had their hands tied behind their backs and were wearing civilian clothes. They were found in separate locations near a small hamlet called Jabab, about 19 miles east of Qaim. It was unclear when they were killed.
The Interior Ministry also confirmed that another six bodies were found near Qaim outside the village of Fosfat. Interior ministry Maj. Falah al-Mahamdawi said the six men were found Thursday. They were also in civilian clothes and had civilian identification cards. It was unclear if the bodies had any relation to a group of about 20 Iraqi soldiers that have been missing from the Qaim area since late Tuesday.
Qaim, an insurgent hotbed 200 miles west of Baghdad, has been the scene of numerous U.S. military and Iraqi army operations. Marines carried out two major operation in the area last month. A total of 11 Marines were killed in the campaigns.
Al-Qaida in Iraq, the terror group led by Jordanian-born Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi, claimed in an Internet posting that it had abducted 36 Iraqi soldiers in western Iraq on Wednesday. The posting carried on a web site known to carry militant statements could not be independently verified. "A group of the infidel guards was arrested and investigated Wednesday," It said.
The group added that the men confessed their crimes "against Sunnis and their loyalty to crusaders." To release them, it gave the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari a day to set free "Muslim women" held in Iraqi prisons. It did not elaborate.
Capt. Ahmed Hamid said the soldiers disappeared Tuesday afternoon after leaving an Iraqi army base in two minibuses from Akashat, a remote village near the Syrian border about 110 kilometers 70 miles southwest of Qaim. Hamid, contacted by telephone at an Iraqi military base in Qaim, said the soldiers were wearing civilian clothes and traveling to the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, for a vacation.
Posted by: Steve || 06/10/2005 08:22 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I know it's wrong, but there's a little part of me thinking US troops should take, say, a couple weeks off and let the Shiites and Kurds take care of some... unfinished business.
Posted by: Pappy || 06/10/2005 11:09 Comments || Top||

#2  It's thier way of making sure they are not scrutinized by Amnesty International for having Gulag's.
Posted by: plainslow || 06/10/2005 11:31 Comments || Top||


Rantapalooza update
Steve White and Dan Darling came to preview the Rantapalooza venue with me earlier today ... that little fruity drink in Dr. Steve's hand sure looked refreshing!

This is the next in the series of reminders to keep July 9 free for Rantapalooza v2.0

We look forward to seeing all of the DC 'Burgers and hopefully a few of you from distant lands as well!

Remember:
Saturday July 9
3 pm
Washington DC
Posted by: Seafarious || 06/10/2005 01:24 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Aren't you forgetting the fourth person in attendance, Emily ;)

I mean, she's only the most beautiful girl at William and Mary ...
Posted by: Dan Darling || 06/10/2005 8:56 Comments || Top||

#2  I thought salmon man lived in Chicago.
Posted by: Shipman || 06/10/2005 8:58 Comments || Top||

#3  Dan: How could anyone forget the most beautiful girl at William & Mary? But her drink wasn't nearly as cute as Dr. Steve's.

:: waving hi to Sascha ::

Ship: The ways and powers of the Rantburg editorial staff are mysterious indeed. As they should be.
Posted by: Seafarious || 06/10/2005 10:23 Comments || Top||

#4  A little test. Please to forgive it ignites the atmosphere.

Nola N Julia
Posted by: Shipman || 06/10/2005 12:37 Comments || Top||

#5  More power.....

ET Bass
Posted by: Shipman || 06/10/2005 12:39 Comments || Top||

#6  Well, Fredman has made it work even better.
Posted by: Shipman || 06/10/2005 12:40 Comments || Top||

#7  How many were there last year, and will it be close to a Metro stop?
Posted by: Bobby || 06/10/2005 13:12 Comments || Top||

#8  Sea, will we be setting up a call-in time like the last time for those of us who can't make it?

I have rescue squad duty that night, but could call in and share a drink around 2 (no later than 3 - I go on duty at 6 & don't want any alcohol in my system).

Of course, I could join in a later call-in - with Diet Coke. :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 06/10/2005 14:23 Comments || Top||

#9  All yooz guyz n galz id da best.
Posted by: Rex Mundi || 06/10/2005 22:23 Comments || Top||

#10  I expect to be there. Where is there?
Posted by: JAB || 06/10/2005 22:40 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan/South Asia
6 militants, soldier die in clash near LoC
Six militants and an Indian Army soldier died in a gunbattle near the Line of Control (LoC), police said on Thursday. The fight broke out in the Keran sector of northern Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir, a police spokesman said. "The clash erupted when Indian troops ringed a house where militants were hiding," he said, adding soldiers asked the militants to surrender, but the militants responded by opening fire.
"You'll never take us alive, coppers!"
"Hokay." [BANG! BANG! BANGETY BANG!]
Posted by: Fred || 06/10/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Militants are stupid, Beavis.
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 06/10/2005 7:01 Comments || Top||


Sialkot blast's mastermind held
Police arrested a Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LJ) member from a house near Chowk Ghanta Ghar, officials said on Thursday. The man was arrested after a gunbattle near the house, adding that the suspect had confessed to being involved in the attack on Sialkot's Imam Bargah. Police later arrested two of his accomplices. Police Superintendent did not confirm the arrests.
Yeah. He sounds brilliant.
Posted by: Fred || 06/10/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:



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

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

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
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Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
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badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
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trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
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Two weeks of WOT
Fri 2005-06-10
  Arab lawyers join forces to defend Saddam Hussein
Thu 2005-06-09
  Italy hostage released in Kabul
Wed 2005-06-08
  California father and son linked al-Qaeda, arrested
Tue 2005-06-07
  U.S-Iraqi offensive launched near Syria
Mon 2005-06-06
  Iraq Nabs Nearly 900 Suspected Militants
Sun 2005-06-05
  Marines uncover bunker complex, Saddam sad.
Sat 2005-06-04
  Iraqi troops nab 'prince of princes'
Fri 2005-06-03
  Virgin Airbus Jet Emitting Hijack Signal Lands In Canada; False Alert
Thu 2005-06-02
  Bomb kills anti-Syria journalist in Beirut
Wed 2005-06-01
  At least 27 dead in Afghanistan mosque suicide blast
Tue 2005-05-31
  At least six killed in Karachi mosque attack
Mon 2005-05-30
  Doc faces terror charges in Palm Beach
Sun 2005-05-29
  "Non."
Sat 2005-05-28
  King Fahd is dead?
Fri 2005-05-27
  Zark is dead?


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