Yemen began the trial on Monday of 34 supporters of a slain Shi'ite cleric but the judge quickly adjourned the session after the unruly defendants chanted slogans against the government and its ally the United States.
"Death to America, Death to Israel," the defendants shouted in unison before loudly reciting the Koran, drowning out all court proceedings. "We reject this trial as the government that is prosecuting us is our enemy."
Before the ruckus erupted, the prosecutor had charged the Yemenis, six of whom are being tried in absentia, with belonging to a subversive armed group.
The defendants have confessed to being loyalists of slain rebel Shi'ite cleric Hussein al-Houthi who launched an insurgency against the state last year.
The group -- which includes a woman, a 15-year-old and an army officer -- was also charged with launching grenade attacks in the capital Sanaa and of planning to assassinate politicians and army officers.
The trial was adjourned a week to Aug. 22.
Yemen says the Houthi rebel group wants to install Shi'ite clerical rule and preaches violence against the United States and Israel. The group is not linked to al Qaeda.
Houthi was killed last year along with 200 rebels in battles with state troops. The government blamed his father, Sheikh Badr el-Deen al-Houthi, for a new round of fighting that erupted in March and in which 170 rebels and security forces were killed.
The elder Houthi has since accepted an amnesty and agreed to stop fighting. But the government has arrested scores of loyalists after a spate of grenade attacks in Sanaa this year.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/15/2005 17:06 ||
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In news just, Saudi Arabia's regular and special security forces have sealed off the Al-Suwaidy neighborhood in Riyadh. All entrances and exits of the area have been closed. Sources inside say it appears that Sulul security apparatus are bracing to storm a house or a building in the area for what is widely believed to be a high value target, most likely one of those on the Kingdoms new âmost wanted listâ.
Saudis have them "surrounded", escape predicted.
News of the operation came approximately 50 minutes ago and details as of yet are sketchy. This is a developing story, More news to come as it is available.
And who better to get news from cornered terrorists than Jihad Unspun?
Posted by: Steve ||
08/15/2005 14:50 ||
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#1
I sure hope JUS didn't release this before the HVT was surrounded.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/15/2005 15:39 Comments ||
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A Yemeni court specialized in terror cases Monday started the prosecution of 34 people on charges of supporting slain rebel leader Hussein al-Houthy. The indictment included charges of forming armed gangs and planning terrorist attacks against military officials, security departments and the defense ministry. The defendants refused to appear in court to protest what they called "politically manipulated and exaggerated charges filed by the government which is the judge and the enemy at the same time." The defendants also accused the government of seeking to please the United States by showing that it is combating terrorism. The defendants are accused of possessing arms, explosives and rockets for intended use in illegitimate activities. Al-Houthy was killed last September during a 3-month-long rebellion he led in a northern Yemeni province.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/15/2005 09:18 ||
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Mohammed al-Massari (58), a Saudi dissident who claims to be an associate of Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, has appealed to Muslims across the world to donate money to his bank account in Britain, to enable him to spread the message of hate (against Britons).
The London-based fugitive is seeking the funds on a 24-hour radio station for the purpose. He also runs a website that shows beheadings and suicide bombers in Iraq, The Sun reported today.
According to the paper, Massari wants funds to run his Tajdeed Radio, and has urged Muslims everywhere to listen to its messages.
Boasting of having connections with Osama, Massari had even urged his followers to kill British Prime Minister Tony Blair during the Iraq war.
The paper quoted Labour MP Andrew Dismore demanding the bank account to be frozen, saying: âWhatâs the money really being used for?â
The report further said that Saudi Arabiaâs outgoing ambassador had last week accused the UK of ignoring warnings about al-Massari.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/15/2005 17:00 ||
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#1
DEAR FRIEND:
I AM HAVE EXCELLENT JIHAD BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU!
Officials in Chechnya say a car bomb has exploded near government buildings in the capital, Grozny, killing one person and wounding at least seven others.
Some reports from Grozny say the blast killed a young boy at a nearby gasoline station.
Russia's Ria-Novosti news agency says a session of Chechnya's Kremlin-backed government was interrupted by the explosion. The news agency also reports that Russian officials say a major search operation is continuing for a group of militants who attacked a house in southwest Chechnya on Saturday.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/15/2005 17:10 ||
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Lawia Sakra, the central suspect in last week's terror attempt in Turkey and one of the five most senior members of al-Qaida, met Mohammad Atta and supplied passports and money to terrorists in the United States, the Turkish daily Zaman reported on Monday.
Is there no one who didn't meet Mohammad Atta?
Lawia Sakra, a suspected Syrian al-Qaida operative arrested in Turkey last week, claims he knew about the preparations for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, and even helped the terrorists. Sakra was arrested on suspicion of involvement in the latest attempted terror attack against Israeli tourists that was thwarted in Southern Turkey. The Turkish newspaper Zaman published Monday details from the investigation conducted by Turkish security forces. According to the probe, Sakra related that he supplied passports and money to some of the terrorists that were involved in the attacks in New York and Washington. He also claimed that he met the Egyptian Mohammed Atta, who is considered to be the commander of al-Qaida operations, and who flew the first plane into the Twin Towers.
Along with Sakra, Turkish police arrested last week some ten others suspected in the planning of last week's attempted attacks. Zaman reported that Sakra is an al-Qaida commander in Turkey, one of the five most senior members in the organization and an expert in destruction. He said he was not connected to the bombing in Sharm el-Sheik last month that killed 88 people. Sakra is also a suspect in the 2003 attacks in Istanbul, in which 60 people were killed. Sakra allegedly assisted in the operations in attacks on two synagogues and on the British consulate, and in helping the bombers to flee the country.
While the other detainees connected to this matter are religious and pray while in jail, Sakra claimed that he does not pray. Sakra was undergoing psychological treatment and taking anti-depressants when he was arrested, Zaman also reported, and following a psychiatric evaluation, it was decided to continue this treatment in prison. Sakra was arrested last Sunday in the city of Diyarbakir, in southeastern Turkey, when he tried to board a flight to Istanbul. The police suspect that he underwent plastic surgery and tried to fly to Istanbul under Bedouin identity documents to carry out another attack. The police also suspect that he is still in contact with al-Qaida operatives, even after his arrest.
Last week, five cruise ships carrying more than 5,000 Israelis were diverted from Turkish ports because of intelligence reports warning of suspected attacks by al-Qaida. The Israeli government issued a warning to citizens that called on Israelis to avoid visits to the coastal strip of Turkey. The warning was lifted after the arrests. After his arrest last week, Sakra yelled from the courthouse window, "I have no remorse. I planned to attack Israeli ships. If they come, my friends will attack them." He also yelled, "Allah Akbar," Arabic for 'God is great,' before police closed the window.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/15/2005 17:09 ||
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#1
Dan I have never seen this man's name on a Al Qaeda leadership chart....have you?
#3
"To reach Lawia Sakra, dial...we're sorry, that extension is no longer available"
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/15/2005 18:27 Comments ||
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#4
Not to throw sand in the gears, but what thug is not going to say he is in OBL's inner circle?
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/15/2005 19:17 Comments ||
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#5
The Turkish opinion is that he's the #5 but either way he seems to be a major player: the plastic surgery, C-4, cash, and the fact that he's in tight with Zark seems pretty clear at this point.
I expect the Turks are in close coordination with Mossad on this one, though they were apparently annoyed at the Israelis for issuing a public alert for fear that it would alert other Sakra flunkies they were trying to nab.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/15/2005 19:53 Comments ||
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#6
Don't mean to create defensiveness with this. Isn't this the fellow who likes to drink rather than pray?
Everyone, it seems, is in tight with Zark. How many Lts have been captured or killed at this point? Money and C-4 is relatively fungible. Oh, and the Turks--enough said.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/15/2005 22:13 Comments ||
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Defence lawyers of a Moroccan terror suspect accused in Germany of helping the September 11 hijackers have called for his acquittal.
They argue that a conviction after the US refused to allow key al-Qaeda suspects to testify would hand a victory to Osama bin Laden.
Mounir el Motassadeq is charged with more than 3,000 counts of accessory to murder and membership of a terrorist organisation over his links to the Hamburg al-Qaeda cell.
El Motassadeq, 31, acknowledges that he was close to the three suicide hijackers who lived in the north German city, but maintains he did not know about their plans to attack the World Trade Centre in New York in 2001.
Completing the defence's closing statements, attorney Ladislav Anisic criticised the lack of direct testimony from witnesses including Ramzi Binalshibh, a key September 11 suspect in US custody.
US authorities had supplied summaries of interrogations, but they may have been "filtered" or obtained under torture, Anisic said, urging the Hamburg state court to give his client the benefit of the doubt.
"Don't let Osama bin Laden win by neglecting the principles of the state of law," Anisic said, as the year-old trial drew toward a close.
El Motassadeq, a slight man with a full beard, had nothing to add. "I think my attorney has said everything."
Prosecutors last week demanded the maximum sentence of 15 years in prison for el Motassadeq, who is accused of helping pay tuition and other bills for members of the cell to allow them to live as students as they plotted the attacks.
He was convicted in 2003 of the same charges, but the verdict was thrown out last year and a retrial ordered after an appeals court ruled el Motassadeq was unfairly denied testimony from al-Qaeda suspects in US custody.
According to statements provided by the US Department of Justice for the retrial, Binalshibh said he and suicide pilots Mohamed Atta, Marwan al-Shehhi and Ziad Jarrah alone comprised the Hamburg cell.
However, prosecutors have argued that Binalshibh, who was detained in Pakistan on the first anniversary of the September 11 attacks, probably lied in an attempt to protect co-conspirators.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/15/2005 16:53 ||
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{Cindy is getting a lot of Famous Scoundrels to endorse her: KOs, Michael Moore, now David Duke. I bet Osama is getting his PR dept ready to draw up his endorsement too]
#3
That's awesome Dean, Cindy, Farrakahn, Naral, Pelosi, Durban, Boxer, David Duke, Ward Churchill, preaching love and tollerance from the same page. The new Aryan Brotherhood. Hey, dems "diversity" means Jewish people too. I know - I know the Joos gave Teddy K. the car keys..
No wonder they tried to focus on Plame/Wilson..
#4
You can see why Cindy is the perfect poster-child for the left. She looks like your typical lefty. No longer young and hip - they've traded that image for a mirror image of themselves - old and looney.
.. He's Kofi Annan's Brother
THE official investigation into corruption in the £20 billion United Nations oil for food programme is now looking at the brother of Kofi Annan, the UN secretary-general. Kobina Annan, the Ghanaian ambassador to Morocco, is said by investigators to be âconnectedâ to an African businessman at the centre of the scandal.
Kofi, Kojo and now, Kobina. Better warm up that old "Family Affair" theme song
The oil for food programme was set up by the UN in 1995 to provide humanitarian supplies to Iraq, which was at the time prevented from trading normally with the rest of the world because of sanctions. However, Saddam Hussein subverted the programme by taking kickbacks from companies involved and giving cut-price oil vouchers to influential individuals around the world.
Yeah, Sammy forced them to take all that money
Kobina is the second member of Annanâs family to be drawn into the scandal, which has led to the resignation of several senior UN officials. The secretary-general has so far escaped censure, but the final verdict on his conduct will not be delivered by investigators until the autumn. Kojo Annan, the secretary-generalâs son who was involved with several companies seeking to profit from the programme, has been criticised and remains under investigation.
Inquiries into Kobina are at an early stage and he has not been interviewed.
However, investigators are understood to suspect that Michael Wilson, an African businessman, and Kobina had a business relationship at the time of the scandal. A source close to the investigation said: âWe believe Kobina Annan may be involved with Michael Wilson and Kojo Annan. We know there is a connection between Kobina and Wilson.â
The oil for food programme was the biggest humanitarian scam scheme undertaken. However, since the fall of Saddam allegations of corruption have surfaced forcing the UN to set up a commission, headed by Paul Volcker, the former head of the American Federal Reserve, to investigate it. Saddam is alleged to have used valuable oil allocations to influence key figures around the world. Bribes were also demanded in return for oil, which were paid into a network of secret bank accounts.
Volcker has already uncovered a web of corruption at the UN, which appears to have allowed the schemeâs abuse to continue unchecked.
Last week, in an interim report, he said Benon Sevan, the head of the programme, and Alexander Yakovlev, another senior UN official, had taken bribes. Sevan has left the United Nations in disgrace and Yakovlev was arrested in New York last week in relation to the charges.
Wilson, a long-standing family friend of the Annans, is now fast becoming a focus of Volckerâs commission and some believe crucial evidence surrounding his business activities may prove fatal to the secretary-generalâs career. Wilsonâs role in the oil for food furore dates back to September 1995, when Kofi Annan spoke about the possibility of Kojo working for Wilson after leaving university in Britain. Kojo was then employed as a graduate trainee at Cotecna, of which Wilson was a vice-president. The company monitors shipments of imported and exported goods around the world.
In 1998, the year after Kofi became secretary-general, an inspection contract to monitor oil exports leaving Iraq was won by Cotecna.
Initially it was claimed Kojo had no links with the company when the contract was awarded as he had left earlier in the year. However, it later transpired that he had continued to receive payments from Cotecna until 2004. The commission then unearthed e-mails sent by Wilson which refer to âbrief discussions with the SG (secretary-general) and his entourageâ at a UN event in Paris shortly before the contract was awarded. Wilson reported âwe could count on their supportâ â a claim denied by Kofi.
Kojoâs conduct has been criticised by investigators but no formal charges have been brought. Wilson is in a similar position, although the investigation into both men continues. Now investigators say a new link has been established between Wilson and Kobina the secretary-generalâs brother. It is not known what this connection is. Kobinaâs son, Kobina Jr, who lives in America, also has connections to the United Nations. Last year he worked for Ruder Finn, a New York public relations company that boasts a number of UN contracts. The company is run by David Finn, a friend of Kofi Annan.
According to American reports, Ruder Finn employed Kobina Jr on a short-term contract after Kofi asked Finn if he could offer some âguidanceâ to his nephew. At the same time the company was hired by the UN development programme to revamp its communications office.
A statement issued by the company said: âKobina Annan was interested in public relations and applied for Ruder Finnâs internship programme and was admitted. Ruder Finn was not awarded any UN contract because of Kobinaâs employment.â
Right. Sure. No connection.
Kobina senior was travelling last week and unavailable for comment. A spokesman for Kofi Annan declined to comment.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/15/2005 11:22 ||
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#1
Kofi, Kojo and now, Kobina.
Remember when a certain person would scoff at the suggestion that Kofi was dirty? How he'd say there was no evidence Kojo was involved in anything untoward?
I'll be honest -- I didn't see this spreading to Kofi's brother. I had no idea he had a brother, but that doesn't change the fact I had no idea it was going to spread like this. It turns out that while all of our suspicions were being poo-poo'd, we had no idea how big it would really be.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/15/2005 11:55 Comments ||
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#2
It all makes more sense now. Funny how sanctions ended up being a cash cow for some at the UN as well as their friends and family. Alot of those same folks were working really hard to keep Saddam under the gun and sanctions yet vehemently opposed a war or other action that might end sanctions and the oil for scamster profit scheme.
#4
I think that those predicting the imminent demise of Kofi Annan's Secretary Generalship are off target.
The problem is not that Kofi Annan is crooked, but that the UN -- more accurately, most of the member states of the UN -- are crooked. No honest broker, much less one interested in the spread of democracy and economic empowerment, will be elected to such a position, at least not in the foreseeable future.
The U.S. can act as a spoiler and depose a corrupt U.N. Secretary General, but there is not much point in doing so -- the Who's lament holds. A better strategy is to get the goods on the crook and play him like a 1959 Les Paul, which Bolton, if he is half the guy he has been played up to be by the wishy-washy, should be able to do in spades.
Posted by: Curt Simon ||
08/15/2005 15:44 Comments ||
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#5
Now, I'm no Sherlock Holmes, but I'm guessing that if you looked at all of Kofi Annan's brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, cousins, and close friends, you might find quite a few people who made a lot of money during the Oil-for-Food period, and can't explain exactly how they made it. But that's just my guess.
The Indonesian government and Aceh rebels on Monday signed a peace treaty to end nearly 30 years of fighting in the oil- and gas-rich province that has killed 15,000 people.
The signing ceremony in Helsinki followed seven months of talks mediated by former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, who spurred the two sides to agreement to help international aid reach the region that was devastated by last year's tsunami.
The pact gives amnesty to members of the Free Aceh Movement, or GAM. It was signed by Indonesian Justice and Human Rights Minister Hamid Awaluddin and Malik Mahmud, an exiled rebel leader who was briefly jailed in Sweden last year after Indonesia accused him of terrorism.
Also, an Indonesian court Monday sentenced the alleged mastermind of 2002 bombing of a McDonald's restaurant to life in prison, saying the Islamic militant planned the attack that came just weeks after the Bali nightclub attacks.
The accord, which became possible after GAM agreed to disarm and to renounce a demand for full independence, will be overseen by monitors from the European Union and Southeast Asian countries.
The peace process was initiated by Ahtisaari, a former peace broker in the Balkans and Namibia, after he was approached by the Indonesian government to help find a solution to the conflict.
GAM leaders, who have been living in exile in neighboring Sweden for decades, also backed the choice of Ahtisaari and joined in the talks that were held at a secluded manor house outside the Finnish capital.
After the tsunami, which killed 130,000 people in Aceh alone, aid workers poured into the formerly closed province, leading to international pressure on Jakarta to halt the violence â particularly from the United States and the European Union.
A previous truce ended after only six months in 2003, when the Indonesian army expelled foreign observers, declared martial law, arrested rebel negotiators and mounted an offensive in which more than 3,000 people died.
Hostilities in the area broke out in 1976. Although many Acehnese wanted an end to the bloodshed, there was general support for independence because of abuses. Human rights groups accuse Indonesia's army of executions, disappearances, torture and rapes.
Aceh, once an independent sultanate, was invaded in 1870 by the Dutch, who attached it to their East Indies colony, which gained independence as Indonesia in 1949.
The peace agreement comes on the heels of the conviction of Agung Abdul Hamid, 38, who was found guilty of being the "field coordinator and financier" of the early evening bombing that killed three people in the South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar. The dead and injured were all Indonesians.
"The defendant Agung Abdul Hamid ... has been convincingly proven guilty of planning or inciting other people to carry out an act of terrorism that resulted in casualties and destruction of public facilities," Judge Andi Haidar told the court.
Haidar said Hamid was guilty of violating the country's harsh anti-terror law and the 1951 Emergency Law on illegal possession of arms and explosives.
Prosecutors, who had demanded the death sentence for Hamid, described how he supplied the explosives and paid four others to take part in the December 2002 attack on the restaurant in the South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar.
Authorities who arrested him after massive manhunt said he was part of Laskar Jundullah, a little-known militant group believed to have connections with the al Qaeda-linked terror group Jemaah Islamiyah.
He also is accused of meeting Malaysian militant Azahari bin Husin in Jakarta. Azahari is accused of masterminding the Sept. 9 suicide attack outside the Australian Embassy that killed at least 11 people. Azahari remains on the run, along with fellow Malaysian militant Noordin Mohamed Top.
Hamid told reporters afterward that he was innocent and would appeal the verdict.
"I reject the sentence because all these charges are false. The trial is engineered and full of American intervention," Hamid told reporters. "Allah Akbar (God is great). I will challenge this unfair verdict."
At least 17 other men have been convicted and sentenced to jail terms ranging from two to 19 years over the Makassar blast, which came less than two months after bombings at nightclubs on Bali island killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.
Many of those found guilty are alleged to have fought in a bloody war between Muslims and Christians in central Sulawesi in 2000 that left 1,000 people dead.
Since the Bali bombings, suicide bombers have struck at the J.W. Marriott hotel and the Australian Embassy in Jakarta. Jemaah Islamiyah, some of whose members are believed to have had contacts with senior al Qaeda figures, has been blamed for the attacks.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/15/2005 17:04 ||
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ONE of the two terrorists who made the Bali bombs has been shot dead during a gun battle with soldiers near a militant stronghold in the southern Philippines. The remains of Umar Patek, a member of Southeast Asian terror network Jemaah Islamiah, and those of an al-Qa'ida-linked Abu Sayyaf commander were recovered from a creek bed on August 5, three weeks after they were ambushed by special forces. Security agencies formally identified Patek's remains yesterday, bringing an end to a three-year hunt to find one of the region's most dangerous bomb-makers.
Only three of the terrorists responsible for the Bali atrocities remain at large. They are master-bomber Azahari Hussein, his deputy Dulmatin and logistics man Noordin Mohammad Top. Patek had been responsible for mixing the chemicals used to make the 1-tonne potassium chlorate bomb that destroyed the Sari Club in Bali on October 12, 2002, claiming 202 lives, among them 88 Australians. The Philippines Government had claimed for several months that Patek and JI cohort Dulmatin had been hiding with the Abu Sayyaf in the restive province of Mindinao, controlled by Filipino Muslim militants.
Special forces soldiers launched an intensive operation in early July to find the pair thought at the time to be protected by Khadaffy Janajalani, the Abu Sayyaf leader responsible for dozens of kidnappings of Western hostages since 2000. Shortly after the offensive began, military officers claimed Dulmatin narrowly fled a helicopter gunship attack on a ramshackle Mindinao village. Dulmatin and Patek are thought to have been on the run ever since, taking refuge in Abu Sayyaf jungle hideaways and joining in combat operations against Filipino soldiers.
The death of Patek in the southern Philippines has reaffirmed suspicions long held by the Australian Government that JI and Abu Sayyaf have formed alliances to plot attacks against the West. Until early 2003, the two groups were thought to have remained largely separate, though working to a common end of establishing an Islamic stronghold governed by sharia law throughout the Indonesian archipelago and southern Philippines. Regional security officials believe dozens of Indonesian militants continue to conduct paramilitary training each month in Mindinao, before returning to their homelands. A spokesman for Foreign Minister Alexander Downer last night said the Government had not been formally advised of Patek's death. "However, in principle we welcome all reports of capture, or elimination of any of the terrorists connected with Bali," Mr Downer's spokesman said.
#2
What a lazy article. Mindanao is not a province, its a large island. There are many provinces in Mindanao.
And there is no Filipino province that is controlled by Muslim militants, much less the whole island, the residents of which are overwhelmingly Christian.
A court in Indonesia has sentenced a man to life in jail for the bombing of a McDonald's restaurant in 2002, which left three people dead. The man, Agung Abdul Hamid, was found guilty of financing and co-ordinating the attack, which took place in Makassar, in South Sulawesi. Prosecutors had asked Makassar's district court for the death penalty.
The bombing occurred on 5 December 2002, just weeks after the Bali attacks that killed more than 200 people. Chief judge Andi Haedar said Hamid was "legally and convincingly guilty of planning or inciting other people to carry out an act of terrorism that resulted in casualties and destruction of public facilities." Prosecutors said he had paid other people to take part in the attacks, and illegally possessed firearms and explosives. Hamid insisted he was innocent, and said he would appeal the verdict. "I reject the sentence because all these charges are false," he told the Associated Press. "The trial is engineered, and full of American intervention."
"Lies, all lies!"
Hamid was arrested on the island of Java last October, after being on the run from the Indonesian authorities for almost two years. Police claim he has links to the regional militant group Jemaah Islamiah, which has been blamed for several attacks in Indonesia, including the Bali bombings.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/15/2005 08:06 ||
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Iran yesterday warned the US that any use of force over its nuclear programme would be a "mistake", and told Europe that its attitude would help determine whether it resumes uranium enrichment. "Bush should know that our capabilities are much greater than those of the US," foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said. "We don't think that the US will make such a mistake."
Bush, whose country is derided in Iran as the "Great Satan", refused to rule out the use of force against Iran over its resumption of nuclear work, which the US charges is a cover for efforts to build the bomb. He said "all options are on the table", in an interview with Israeli television, a line he has used before with regard a potential US response to Iran's nuclear work.
#1
"Bush Carter should know that our capabilities are much greater than those of the US," foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said. "We don't think that the US will make such a mistake."
They're trolls. Refuse to play their game.
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/15/2005 7:53 Comments ||
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#2
Their capabilities are much greater than ours? I think those guys have been listening to their own bullshit for so long that they actually believe it now. See how they think they controll the whole game, they think they have the EU over a barrel, they think they can come in and swing their sausage around and nobody can do a thing about it. I think they are riding for a fall.
#4
told Europe that its attitude would help determine whether it resumes uranium enrichment
Meaning: if you bend over and let us drive, we'll nuke you last.
#5
the first strike should pulverize the foreign ministry. (Fuel air maybe?)
the second bomb for the president
the third for the parliment of mullahs
oh and obliterate Qom.
#6
Is Iran so unstable that a decapitation strike could do topple it without having to go full-on?
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
08/15/2005 8:39 Comments ||
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#7
I suspect that there are legions of Islamofacists in Iran who would instantly fill any leadership void that happened through a decapitation strike.
Be nice to show them that it can be done though, perhaps that would make the next crew behave better.
Good question. Its not at all clear how unstable it is, given rigid press controls there. My sense is that the exile web sites,(lets put this charitably) in an attempt to balence silence in the MSM, tend to report every whispered rumor of opposition. OTOH there seems to be genuine hostility to the mullahs among the middle class of North Teheran, and the students. And among the ethnic minorities, esp the Kurds, Azeris, Baluchis, and Awazi Arabs. But among the Farsi speakers of the provinces, and the working class of Teheran (IE the majority), I suspect there are alot of fence sitters (as well as SOME diehard support for the regime) I think the new president was chosen to appeal to those groups. A decapitation strike might stir up nationalist feelings (unlike the arab states, Iran really IS a nation) against the US. OTOH if the situation was such that the Mullahs appeared to have taken the first move, that MIGHT be lessened.
#9
I actually believe that if they were organized, acted in a coordinated effort, and were armed with what they could handle -- then the Persians would do 90+% of the work in the wake of a full-scale decap strike. I think they would need SF help with certain locations - that other 10%, such as oil infrastructure, which wouldn't be struck and likely has some permanent level of security. So, if we had the CIA of legend in operation, or if we get enough assistance from others who haven't gutted their intel, especially humint - which is the key to success if working with the Persians, then this would be the easy choice option. The extent to which this is the case is a total unknown - for outsiders. I'll wait and see, but have little doubt that these fools have miscalculated to the point of suicide.
#10
There is equal likelihood that the Persians would unite in opposition to the Great Satan meddling in their affairs and stand four square behind the MMs even longer.
We're going to have to settle in for a MAD session with the MMs for the next 30-40 years till the Persians have their fill of them, just as the Russians got fed up with the Bolshis. The danger will be that the MMs give nukes to terrorists.
We should welcome them to the nuclear club and tell them what the rules are. A nuke goes off any where, any time, we'll assume it was theirs. Then we should begin development of neutron weapons, a program halted by...let me see... ah yes, Jimmah Cahtah. That will cause less damage to the oil fields.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/15/2005 10:06 Comments ||
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#11
..and told Europe that its attitude would help determine whether it resumes uranium enrichment.
Didn't they already decide to do just that? Looks like they're trying to play the EU like a fiddle. Again.
#14
Technically their options are greater than ours.
Though they may soon have nukes delivered from ballistic missiles, they lack a strategic nuclear triad. This means we have the advantage of assuring their destruction in 2nd strike (or 1st strike for that matter) while they can only strike our bases in the region.
However, they have the option to use unconventional means to attack us (ie nukes for terrorists) in a way that lacks a clear 'return address.' We would never do such a thing for a number of reasons. Therefore, they do have more strategic options than we do.
Still talking smack about this is a mistake.
A 'decapitation strike' is not an option. The government has the legitimacy of being elected, however lame the election might have been. Killing their elected leaders would undermine our democratization drive, removing the force multiplier we get from supporting positive change.
Instead we need a combination of 'people power' and economic reality to get the Guardian Council out of the way before they do something stupid. Iran is rich on oil, yet its economy is a mess. The resistance groups need to begin linking the policies of the mullahs to this sad reality while building bridges to whatever legit (i.e. not controlled by mullahs) military and police units may be able to counter the Basji and Rev Guards when the frustration boils over.
Iran is a tough nut. Maybe if Shroeder loses, we can get some real cooperation from the EU but I'm not holding my breath. We should also not be shy in challenging Iran - up to and including entering its territory - if they are harboring terrorists or entering Iraq illegally. If done right, this will help us in Iraq, in the GWOT and in what needs to be our strategic goal for Iran: sweeping aside the Guardian Council before they do something that compels us to kill them all.
#15
I recall the comment ( Schwarzkopf I think) "After a while all you're doing is making the rubble bounce"
Looks like a good time to prove the theory.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/15/2005 10:43 Comments ||
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#16
Bouncing rubble builds no nukes.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
08/15/2005 11:25 Comments ||
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#17
JAB said: "A 'decapitation strike' is not an option."
Not to be argumentative, but to inform with accuracy, that's your opinion, though breathtakingly stated as fact, and is it not shared by the Administration nor the US Congress.
There have been numerous bits and pieces which could be accumulated into a case of casus belli, thus rendering the analogy that they have an elected government and thus cannot be attacked not only questionable, but likely null and void. There's no automatic safety-zone for "elected" Govts that threaten the world. Sheesh, Hitler was elected.
Indeed, there may be blowback among some Persians if we have to act without their assistance, but in the end, if the choice is to allow these insane IslamoNutz to have (and probably share) nukes - or not piss off some of the Persian people, I don't find that a terribly difficult choice. I think your assertion is, on the surface at least, specious and rather missing the big picture thingy, IMHO.
We also have resolutions passed in both the House and Senate. Hell, even Arnaud de Borchgrave, no fan of Bush, said it in plain language (4th paragraph) over a year ago - as shown in this RB article - referring to the, then, House resolution (HCON 398), which the Senate subsequently echoed in SCON 73 & SCON 81. I haven't followed up to see if they made it a joint resolution, but who cares? Are resolutions by both chambers saying "'all appropriate means' to end Iranian nuclear weapons development" insufficient evidence that your assertion is possibly in error?
We shall see. The warrant is already in Bush's back pocket. It might not be judged the prudent course when the moment of truth arrives, but it is already signed and sealed. I happen to trust Bush to do the right thing - and have confidence that he knows one helluvalot more than either you or I do, not to mention the stones to do what he deems is right. Timing will have a lot to do with it, of course, as nothing happens in a vacuum or when it's most convenient.
I won't argue speculations with you, I'll wait and see.
#18
The democratization drive is a noble effort, but not particularly helpful in the face of an existential threat. The USA will respond to Iran, either before or after a nuclear strike on our forces or homeland. At that point, decapitation is beside the point. The point will be to do whatever it takes to remove Iran's capability to strike again - whatever it takes.
#19
as usual - I'm with .com on teh eficiency and legitimacy of a decap strike. When teh elected leaders threaten war, they just may get it, and any and all belligerants are targets. Since the "holy" men run the nuthouse, they are legitimate targets and should be made examples of. I've no doubt there would be a hue and cry. F*&k em. Make threats and see what happens - lesson learned
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/15/2005 12:15 Comments ||
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#20
We should not do a decap strike. The leaders of Iran are not some external force imposed on the unknowing, impotent Iranian people by aliens. If we get to the point where we are willing to do a decap on the Iranian leadership, our action will be as much of a message to the next nation that wants to challenge us as it will be an action taken against Iran. If we tell the world, don't worry, we only want the three or 52 top bad guys, but everybody else gets a pass, there is no lesson to be learned about the cost of a nation adopting a bad ideology.
Part of the reason that Japan and Germany saw the light in 1947 was that every German and Japanese had seen first hand how upset we were about what they had done and suffered the consequences first hand. They also saw how we could be if they decided to change their mind. But kicking the shit out of them was a necessary first step. Every time we choke and don't finish the job by utterly destroying our enemy, we pay the price. Germany 1918, Korea 1950 Viet Nam 1975, Iraq 1991, and frankly, Iraq today. Our real problem there is that Turkey prevented the 4ID from stomping on the Sunni Triangle and utterly destroying it. When we utterly destroy an enemy, they learn to see things our way. Any less only allows resentment to brew till another day. We need to convince our enemy, the Iranian people who support the MMs, and there are a lot of them in Iran, that they made a bad choice that they shouldn't repeat.
As a practical matter Bush does not have the political support to do a decap today. If we get to the point where we are willing to do a decap strike, I suspect it will have been as a result of first use by Iran on somebody some where or the public threat to do so. If that happens we should kill every living thing in Iran. That has to be the new rule for the nuclear club. You use nukes first, you die. All of you. Otherwise the MMs will simply be replaced by the crazies who take over Pakistan and we'll be back to where we are today.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/15/2005 12:39 Comments ||
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#21
Yes, I was indeed expressing my opinion that a 'decapitation strike' is not now an option.
As I noted, I agree that circumstances may change that would bring us into open military conflict with Iran short of a nuclear counterstrike or preemtive strike necessitated by an imminent situation. Given where we are now, though, it would be difficult to cobble together a politically defensible casus belli absent a more concrete provocation (or revelation of such), especially after we based the Iraq war on WMD that ultimately turned out to be less of a threat than estimated. I trust Bush too, but the President must operate within the constraints of what is politically feasible even if he has the 'warrant' already in his pocket.
Even if we do enter into open conflict short of nukes, I suspect we'll go after the mullahs, nuke sites, Rev Guards, air defense and -- from what I've read as I'm no military expert -- a couple strategic points in the Straits before we hit the PM.
#22
Re #10 (Mrs. Davis): "We're going to have to settle in for a MAD session with the MMs for the next 30-40 years..."
No, they won't have enough nukes to destroy us for a long, long time. We will have years to wipe them out before they are capable of a large-scale attack.
Re #14 (JAB): "The government has the legitimacy of being elected..."
Yes, and Saddam was elected too. The mullahs disqualify their opposition before the ballots are even printed.
Re #14 (JAB): "Maybe if Shroeder loses, we can get some real cooperation from the EU..."
Pointless. The EU was all talk and no action even before France threw the constitutional process into chaos. Terror attacks outside the U.S./U.K. are just going to stoke appeasement. "Can't we all just be friends?"
Re #19 (Frank G): "there would be a hue and cry. F*&k em."
I'll take hue and cry over a nuke detonation in a U.S. port any day. F*&k em.
Re #20 (Mrs. Davis): "We should not do a decap strike. The leaders of Iran are not some external force imposed on the unknowing, impotent Iranian people by aliens."
To me, that's all the more reason for a prompt decap to set them way back. And a decap using nukes. The Iranian people and Islam in general both need need an object lesson in which civilization is in charge and which civilization is going to stay in charge. Pardon me -- my western imperialism is showing.
#23
Darrell, Agree with your western imperialism. That is exactly why a decap should not be done. It will not get that message across to a broad swath of the Islamic world. They need to understand there is down side for them personally if they pursue these policies. A decap doesn't send that message.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/15/2005 13:33 Comments ||
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#24
I'm baffled -- how could reducing Qom and a dozen other places to dust and spreading the fallout across Iran NOT send a personal message of the downside?
I mentioned it here way back that I had a friend who took a backpacker-style vacation in Iran - it was in fall 2002, I believe. He stayed a month (Aramcons have the $ and the time to do it right, heh) and traveled fairly widely and, as is his nature, spent as much time chatting folks up as sightseeing. He came back with two solid observations: first that if the US were to strike, he figured there would be some nationalistic feeling stirred up, and second that he was amazed by how pro-Western everyone was - especially pro-US. They were not Mullah fans, they ignored them, in fact, out in the provinces.
Observation: this was immediately after Khatami had won by a landslide, obviously before the Mullahs caught on to the fact that they needed to control the elections. The people were full of pride in having elected a President who was a "reformer" and a Majlis with many "reformers" to back him up in liberalizing Iran. So they were still believers in their "democracy"- and rightfully proud of making the "process" work for them.
Observation: There is a major youthful population bubble, as has been pointed out before, much like our Baby Boomers. They are currently in the teens to mid 20's range and most are directly attributable to the Ayatollah Khomeini's "revolution" in '79 (the math is there) which banned all forms of birth control. Their numbers are not insignificant and I do not know where anyone divines heavy support for the MM's. I don't buy it - even the documentaries I've seen since returning to the US substantiate the assertion that the Mullahs do not enjoy wide support.
Observation: Immediately after this period, the Mullahs disqualified all of the Majlis "reformers", replaced them with their own, and pulled Khatami's teeth, making him a hood ornament. I have zero doubt that they feel a lot less pride and nationalistic fervor, today.
Observation: The youth have received a lot of bloody noses in their attempts to protest. They don't stand a chance against the Mullah's thugs. They must harbor serious resentment over the deaths and injuries they've suffered for trying to exercise the "democracy" they thought was theirs.
Observation: In the most recent election cycle, these people stayed away in droves - and the entire process was a sham - the Mullahs had the game down pat, this time.
Now, letting these percolate for a minute or two, don't we want to try to cooperate with these people? I do. Somehow, some way, I do. My final $0.02.
#26
That's not a decap in my book, that's a small nuclear attack. A decap is like when we went after Saddam at the restaurant just before the fighting broke out. Small focused attack that takes out only the targets. Your decap, while nuclear, is still directed to the leadership, not the people.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/15/2005 14:09 Comments ||
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#27
Thanks -- I understand now, Mrs. Davis. I see your points. I was assuming that a decap would be harsh enough to preclude any prompt, major retaliation. A "Saddam at the restaurant" strike would be worthless. Especially given multiple mullahs.
#28
Some may find this link of interest. I do not see a decap as some little restaurant boom or two. I see it as Shock & Awe II - added on top of what you find under Air Strikes at the link.
#31
I think we should reopen diplomatic relations and send in Ambassador Jimmy Carter. That way if they grab the embassy our hands aren't tied, he can help them build houses that won't fall over in Earthquakes and you just know they'll be begging for us to withdraw him after a couple of days so we'll have some bargaining pressure.
#32
RC - Out of ~68 Million? Yeah, they can field some armed thugs to beat up the college kids. Gee, guess we'll have to nuke the lot of 'em, then. Seems to be the consensus.
#33
Since you've upped it to $.06, I'll just say I agree with .com that our best strategy is cooperating with the disaffected youth to overthrow the MMs. I doubt a decap would advance that strategy. But I'll leave that call up to the government employees who speak Farsi.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/15/2005 15:46 Comments ||
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#34
I should remain silent but I can't 20 + years of death to America and proxy and direct provocations and acts of war against the US are enough for us to deal with the Mad Mullahs today. That said we are going to have to go at this in a quite different way than we would wish. No massive attacks on Iran in the near future. We have to go through all the same gathering of obvious and irrefutable facts we did with Iraq and all the same obstacles tossed up by the EU and the Iranians fellow travelers. Only after we do that can we act. When we do act we will have to fight the same 5th column we are fighting right now.
#35
what about a strike aimed at "new defense minister of Iran, Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar, who was the commander of Iranâs Revolutionary Guards in Lebanon at the time of the bombing that killed 241 US Marines"
#37
RC - Out of ~68 Million? Yeah, they can field some armed thugs to beat up the college kids. Gee, guess we'll have to nuke the lot of 'em, then. Seems to be the consensus.
Where the fuck did I say that?
Or are you assuming because I asked a question that raises an uncomfortable fact -- there are Iranians who support the Mad Mullahs, and enough of them to keep the Mullahs in power -- that I must be in the "nuke 'em all" crowd?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/15/2005 16:11 Comments ||
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#38
Speaking through my hat, it seems to me that a strike to remove the Mullahcracy would have to be paralleled by destruction of the Republican Guards in their barracks, if we are to give the younger generation a chance to take back their country. The impression I've gotten is that they are lovely and idealistic, but have bought into the whole non-violence philosophy -- appropriate for a functioning democracy, but not the violent oligarchy in power there.
#39
Re #32 & #37:
"Gee, guess we'll have to nuke the lot of 'em, then."
"...in the 'nuke 'em all' crowd..."
I don't see the "nuke 'em all" crowd here, except in comments 15 and 16 which were not exactly deep thoughts. Please don't wreck the thread by polarizing it.
#40
There are a few of us around who feel that using nuclear weapons to demonstrate resolve against an aggressive Islamic nuclear threat is a legitimate use of those weapons. I am one of them. And I detest the way people often interpret that as a "nuke 'em all" stance.
The genie is out of the bottle. It has been for 60 years. The U.S. has pumped untold billions into nuclear weapons and delivery systems. I think there are appropriate times to use them. I grew up doing "duck and cover" drills in elementary school, and I don't want my grandchildren to be doing them. The mullahs would gleefully exterminate us. I'm simply advocating that we vaporize the mullahs and their main forces before they act on their professed inclinations. Call me "The Great Satan" if you will, but note that there's a "Peace Park" in Hiroshima today and Japan is not our enemy.
#41
I think Bin laden and others united in jihad have at least some of Russia's missing nukes already. Zawahiri's last video clearly stated the stated objective is to live in a Jew-free Palestine. The "American Holocaust" is being delayed until Iran's nukes are ready to go. With the American mainland smoldering under a mushroom cloud, Iran could take out our military bases in the region and handle the Israelis. The mad mullahs could effectively rule the world. We need to pre-emptively obliterate any rogue terrorists and anyone associated with them quietly wherever we can find them first. Even Venezuela, Cuba, and Argentina seem to be signing onto their agenda of anti-Americanism, so allowing Iran to stall out is very dangerous, in my opinion. Putting neutron bombs on the fast-track is a great idea...just think how effectively they could preserve the Temple Mount while eliminating the al-Aqsa mosque. Give the settlers heads up and solve the Islamic problem once and for all! Bible prophecy says Israel will one day extend to the Euphrates, hopefully sooner rather than later.
Mixed. Reports I've seen mention foreigners including Afghans, Palestinans, and Lebanese Shi'ites.
The volunteers (Baseej) technically come under control of the Revolutionary Guard. But the Baseej were reportedly given sole authority to quell civil disturbances after regular IRGC (Pasdaran) units refused to act against civil uprisings about 10-11 years ago.
#43
Wow I don't know who the dangerous people are sometimes; we have the crazy Bin Laden lot to take of, but reading some comments here there seems to be a lot of religious freaks around as well.
comment #41 Bible prophecy says Israel will one day extend to the Euphrates, hopefully sooner rather than later.
Get a grip, religion is a way of controlling the masses and is also a cause of all the shit that is happening now !
OH, ADMIN LAY OFF THE AMAZON COOKIES !!!
Posted by: SAM COHEN ||
08/15/2005 18:35 Comments ||
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#44
Wow I don't know who the dangerous people are sometimes;
Generally speaking, it's the ones who are blowing sh*t up and chopping peoples heads off. But that's more of a guideline than a hard, fast rule.
#49
Darrell - I was not trying to wreck the thread. I put at least as much thought into my comments in this thread as anyone else, I believe. And this topic has been hammered to a bloody stump many times before, though not in much depth for a coupla months. Today we're just sorta bringing it up to date a bit - after mucho rope-a-dope. The EU3 are dupes, the Mullahs continue apace trying to kill their people, and the only doubts revolve around whether the US or Israel will try to defang them -- and whether or not the effort will be more than whacking just facilities, i.e. will it include whacking the MMs. Happy happy joy joy, the thread lives.
#50
Sam "ALLCAPS" Cohen - Got a problem? You be tinkin' you be a greater tinker than de Prez Bush? You one of those non-religious folks who think the religious folks are somehow possessed of lesser intellects?
#51
The EU3 are dupes, the Mullahs continue apace trying to kill their people, and the only doubts revolve around whether the US or Israel will try to defang them
Nice and succinct .com, that's really all there is to say about this.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/15/2005 19:53 Comments ||
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#56
Also taking the thread on a slight tangent; People donât always cause suffering because of religion, look at the concentration campsâ¦
Yes, the ones of the Second Reich in South West Africa i.e. Shark Island overseen by Franz Ritter von EPP, mentor of Ernst Rohm and Him.
Nothing to do with religion though.
Religion is sometimes used as an excuse for a myriad of crimes, but they are still crimesâ¦
Posted by: SAM COHEN ||
08/15/2005 19:57 Comments ||
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#57
All comments come with a Life Guard and Water Wings.
#58
You one of those non-religious folks who think the religious folks are somehow possessed of lesser intellects?
Lol. If so, then you're the fool.
One last comment.
Itâs easy to provoke a controlled reaction of someone who has a one track mind.
And remember, fundamentalism on all sides destroys the amity between people.
Goodnight.
Posted by: SAM COHEN ||
08/15/2005 20:25 Comments ||
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#59
Regardless of Biblical prophesy, Israel does not want to rule to the Euphrates -- look at all the trouble they have with just the Palestinian territories.
#60
Lol, what does it do to your brain fart pet theory when you factor in that I'm an atheist, sonny? *poof* Stick to facts, save your prejudices, and you'll go far. Er, make that further.
#61
You know, I have an opinion about everything. Almost. For some reason solutions to Iran just don't seem right. Holding my breath for their democracy movement to finally sweep the Mullah's out of power is starting to look more and more unlikely.
#62
they need a nudge - I'm hoping it's GPS-guided
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/15/2005 22:27 Comments ||
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#63
unlike the arab states, Iran really IS a nation - LH, I was about to agree with you until that statment. Iran is a mini-empire and looks a whole lot like Yugoslavia did and in MVHO opinion will meet the same fate.
#65
Sam Cohen said "Totally agree %100, but you missed a small point, it's also done in the name of GOD"
Not quite, it's done in the name of Allah. There is a difference whether you want to admit it or not. Ignoring facts is very dangerous these days. Just listen to our enemies. Allah Akbar is not just a favorite saying. They live by it, and even worse, they die by it.
#66
LOL. SAM COHEN is a 14-yr-old who feels all grown up now because he/she has boldly proclaimed her/his independence from the manacles of theology. That'll teach Daddy!
From Jihad Unspun An American tank that was parked outside the as-Sajariyah mosque in western ar-Ramadi opened fire with its machine guns on worshippers as they emerged from the place of worship after the congregational prayers at midday Friday, cutting down more than 40 people. .... the soldier who was standing on the back of the tank continued firing the machine gun at the worshippers for about three minutes. .....
An Iraqi Resistance martyrdom fighter drove an explosives-packed tank truck into a US military column on the strategic road linking ar-Ramadi with points in western Iraq .... the bomber blasted into one American Zil troop transport vehicle, totally destroying it and killing 11 US soldiers. .... the US military had made no mention of the attack for fear of demoralizing the US troops. ....
"Oh I'm so demoralized. Hold me, Tyrone!"
Two Iraqi Resistance bombs exploded by US military column in the Abu Ghurayb area west of Baghdad at 2pm local time Friday afternoon. .... two bombs that were planted near each other not far from the Abu Munaysir Bridge blew up by a US column. The first blast struck a Humvee, the second a Zil American troop transport. .... the explosions killed seven American troops and severely wounded another three. ....
"Dammit, Tyrone, why'd ya bring the Zil? The Humvee I understand, but I loved that Zil!"
"Umm, sorry sir."
An Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by a US column in the northern Baghdad suburb of ar-Rashidiyah at 4pm local time Friday afternoon. ... the bomb destroyed one Humvee and disabled a second, killing four US troops and wounding three others. .....
An Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by a US column on the highway near the southern Baghdad suburb of ad-Durah .... a bomb that was planted by the side of the highway blew up as a US column passed by. The explosion destroyed one Humvee, killing three US troops and wounding two more. ....
An Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by a US military column on the main road in the northern Baghdad suburb of at-Taji close to the at-Taji bridge and the Sabâ ad-Duwar district .... a bomb that was planted by the main road in the town blew up as the US military column passed by. The explosion destroyed one Humvee, killing at least five US troops and wounding a sixth, witnesses said. ....
An Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by a US military patrol on the highway into Tikrit ... a bomb that had been hidden by the side of the road blew up as an American patrol went past on its way into town. The explosion destroyed a Humvee, killing four US troops. ....
An Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by a US military patrol in the ash-Shuhadaâ neighborhood of al-Yusufiyah, south of Baghdad .... a bomb that was planted by the side of a road in the ash-Shuhadaâ neighborhood blew up as a US patrol was passing, destroying one Humvee and killing three US troops.
Quite a string of bombings. Such brave jihadis.
Iraqi Resistance fighters shot down a US Apache helicopter over Kirkuk in northern Iraq on Friday morning. .... the Resistance fired a rocket that scored a direct hit on the Apache, causing it to crash, killing the crew. ....
An Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by US forces on the highway linking an-Nasiriyah with al-Basrah. ..... the attack severely damaged a US Humvee, killing two American soldiers and wounding three more US troops.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
08/15/2005 20:30 ||
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Iraqi leaders remained deadlocked Sunday over major issues in the country's new constitution, raising the possibility they would fail to meet the Monday deadline and push the country toward a political crisis.
With several questions unresolved, Shiite leaders said Sunday that they were considering asking the National Assembly to approve the document without the agreement of the country's Sunni leaders. Such a move would probably provoke the Sunnis, whose participation in the political process is seen as crucial in the effort to marginalize the Sunni-dominated guerrilla insurgency.
Shiite and Kurdish leaders said they were also considering giving themselves more time to reach a deal, though it was by no means certain that they could without amending the interim constitution, the law currently in force. That would require a three-fourths majority of the 275-member National Assembly.
If the deadline is not met nor the interim constitution successfully amended, the law appears to require dissolving the National Assembly and holding new elections. Shiite and Kurdish leaders said late Sunday that they were discussing that possibility, but said that they hoped to avoid it.
"That is the worst option, and we want to avoid it all costs," said Ali al-Dabbagh, one of the Shiite leaders charged with writing the new constitution.
The negotiations were stalled on a number of issues, including the role of Islam in the state, the rights of women and the distribution of power between central and regional governments. Issues that had seemed to have been settled, like the sharing of oil revenues, came unraveled.
American officials here have been pushing the Iraqis to meet the Aug. 15 deadline, arguing that any delay in the political process, devised to culminate in democratic elections in December, could risk strengthening the insurgency. A stalemate could also stall the Bush administration's plans to begin reducing the number of troops here as early as next spring.
The deadlock reflected a lack of consensus on basic questions underlying the nation's identity, a consensus which has largely eluded this country since it was carved from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire after World War I.
The disagreements run almost entirely along ethnic and sectarian lines, reflecting the deep divisions among Iraq's majority Shiites and the Kurdish and Sunni minorities.
The principal unresolved issue is whether to grant to the country's Shiite majority an autonomous region in the south. Shiite leaders are demanding that nine provinces in southern Iraq - half of the provinces in the country - be allowed to form a largely self-governing region akin to the Kurdish autonomous region in the north.
The leaders of Iraq's Sunni population staunchly oppose the Shiite demands, contending that if the Shiites and the Kurds were both granted wide powers of self-rule, there would be little left of the Iraqi state. The issue of Shiite autonomy is especially significant because the richest oil fields are situated in the extreme south of the country.
Indeed, some Sunni leaders say the Shiite demand for self-rule is largely a cover for hoarding the bulk of Iraq's oil revenues. On Sunday, an agreement on sharing oil revenues between the central and regional governments fell apart, with the Shiites demanding more control.
Under prodding from the American ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, the Shiites agreed to hold off on their demands for regional autonomy, in exchange for a mechanism in the constitution that would allow them to achieve that autonomy later. Under the formula favored by the Shiites, provinces could set up autonomous regions if they secured majority votes of their people, the provincial assemblies and the National Assembly.
But Sunni leaders rejected that proposal, saying it would only slow down, but not significantly hamper, the Shiite drive for self-rule. While accepting Mr. Khalilzad's basic formula, the Sunnis said they would insist on two-thirds majorities in all the voting.
"If we accept federalism, the country will be finished," said Saleh Mutlak, a Sunni leader on the constitutional committee.
Late Sunday, after many hours of negotiating, some Shiite leaders said they were so impatient with what they described as Sunni intransigence that they began to threaten to ram the constitution through the National Assembly without Sunni support.
Theoretically, at least, that was possible. Sunnis constitute only about 20 percent of the population, and they hold virtually none of the seats in the National Assembly, in part because they boycotted national elections in January. If the Shiites and the Kurds united around the proposed constitution, they could probably secure enough votes for its approval in the National Assembly, and in the nationwide constitutional referendum scheduled for Oct. 15.
Under the rules agreed to last year, the Sunnis could defeat the constitution, but only if they could muster a two-thirds majority voting against it in 3 of Iraq's 18 provinces. The Sunnis are believed to constitute a majority in three provinces, but some Shiite leaders said they were untroubled by the prospect of a Sunni veto.
"The Sunnis have to find a two-thirds majority, and they can't," said Sami al-Askary, a Shiite member of the constitutional committee.
Pushing the constitution through without the Sunnis, though, would almost certainly bring a Sunni reaction. Sunni leaders suggested that they could back out of the political process altogether, raising the prospect of a Sunni boycott of the Oct. 15 referendum and the Dec. 15 elections.
American leaders fear that failing to bring the Sunnis along into the political process would only further intensify the insurgency, which is already attacking American forces an average of 65 times a day here.
As the Aug. 15 deadline approached, it was difficult to differentiate between credible threats and high-stakes bargaining. There were suggestions, for instance, that the Shiite leadership itself was not unified on the federalism question. One of the Shiite leaders, Abdul Aziz Hakim, the head of the Supreme Council for the Islamic revolution in Iraq, who was expected to attend a meeting of the top political leaders on Sunday night, surprised many when he failed to show up.
Among the other questions still unresolved are the role of Islam in the state, including a proposal by the Shiites to include a political role for the Shiite religious leadership in Najaf. The power granted to Islam in the new constitution could affect the rights of women, particularly if Islamic law is allowed to govern marriage and family disputes.
Iraqi leaders have still reached no agreement on the city of Kirkuk, which is divided among three ethnic groups but claimed by the Kurdish regional government. The Kurds are pushing for a timeline to reverse decades of Saddam Hussein's "Arabization" policy that would require the repatriation of tens of thousands of people.
Also on Sunday, the American command announced the deaths of five American soldiers, all from roadside bombs. In the bloodiest attack, a bomb killed three American soldiers on patrol on Friday in the city of Tuz, north of Baghdad. A fourth soldier was wounded.
On Sunday, another roadside bomb killed an American solider and wounded three others near the western town of Rutbah. A fifth American soldier was killed Saturday by a roadside bomb in western Baghdad, and another was wounded.
The propaganda war continued as well. In a statement posted on the internet, Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia warned the Sunni clerics against urging their faithful to take part in the referendum on the constitution. The warning appears to be a reaction to the fact that many Sunni preachers, in contrast to the elections in January, are urging Sunnis to vote this time.
"Be informed that this conspiracy is to get America out of the logjam that it fell into," the statement reads. "We in the Al Qaeda organization will manifest the backsliding of all who call for the writing of the constitution and arbitrating on other than God's laws."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/15/2005 17:02 ||
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#1
Enough of this crap.Tell the Sunnies they have 1 wk to put a stop to the insurgency,kill or turn over Zargi and pals.If not they are SOL and any further attacks by Sunnies and Zarqi will be considered an act and decleration of all out war.Betcha that get thier attention.
KARACHI - Pakistani police said on Monday four suspected Islamic militants arrested last week belong to the youth wing of an opposition Islamic party but have no links with the Al Qaeda network.
That'd be Islami Jamiat Talaba, the strutting bullyboys who've been infesting good old P.U.
The four were arrested in the southern city of Karachi on Saturday with pistols and ammunition. Police said they belonged to a group of 22 militants who were planning attacks in the city. The four belong to the youth wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, Karachi police chief Tariq Jameel told a news conference.
Think Hilter Youth, with turbans
âDuring interrogation they revealed they belonged to this party and confirmed they had plans to create terror in the city,â he said. âInitial investigations show no links of this group with Al Qaeda. At the moment we have no evidence they have got terrorist training outside Pakistan,â he said.
Home schooled, eh?
The Jamaat-e-Islami is a main member of an alliance of conservative religious parties known as the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, which opposes President Pervez Musharrafâs liberal policy of âenlightened moderationâ. In an Independence Day speech on Sunday, Musharraf urged the country to reject conservative religious parties in local government elections due to begin on Aug. 18, saying they were blocking the countryâs progress. A spokesman for Jamaat-e-Islami said the four were party workers but denied that they had anything to do with anti-state activities.
"Yeah! Those grenades were for self-defense..."
âTheyâre creating fake cases against our workers because they want to keep us out of the local government elections,â said Sarfaraz Ahmed, a spokesman for the party in Karachi. Jameel said police were continuing their investigation of the four suspects who had been remanded in custody until Aug 21. Police were also hunting other members of their gang, he said.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/15/2005 15:56 ||
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#1
Pakistani police link militants to Islamic party ...
Natalee Holoway is missing ... Bears shit in the woods ... fire will burn you ... the sun rises ...
#2
Jamaat-i-Islami has never been anything but a terrorist entity, dedicated to the advancement of Islamofascism. Musharaf knows that, yet the political party - Pakistan Muslim League (Qaid-i-Azam; Great Leader; Jinnah) - runs Balochistan Province in league with the JI front group, Muttahida-Majlis-i-Amal. Musharaf has always been a JI sympathiser, and only uses US subsidies to advance joint PML-Q/JI goals. The rare al-Qaeda arrests made in the Pakistan terrorist entity, are always executed after extraordinary delays and in context of US co-operation concerns. US relations with the Pak terrorists encourage both Wahabist and Khomenist terrorism, and that is why US troops are taking heat from both the South and West of Afghanistan. A counter-terror war cannot be won if terrorists are indulged, and Pak Wahabis are taking license from the US indulgence. Screw the democratic choices that those animals might make. Either they pacify on our terms, or we turn them into charcoal. Do not pretend that we are winning this war.
Posted by: Vlad the Muslim Impaler ||
08/15/2005 21:29 Comments ||
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Now, where would the WoT be with ex-pert Richard Clarke? Why, we wouldn't have anyone to joke about. Obviously, ABC News knows what they are doing when they hired this clown as their terrorism ex-pert.
Intelligence officials are studying the most recent tape by al Qaeda's second in command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, for hidden clues.
Sitting in front of a gently rippling cloth screen in bright sunlight, an AK-47 in the background, Zawahiri promised more attacks so bloody they "will make you forget the horrors of Vietnam." He added that Americans and Britons "will not be safe until you withdraw from our land, stop stealing our oil and stop supporting the corrupt rulers there."
Richard Clarke, a former White House counterterror chief who is now an ABC News consultant, said the setup of Zawahiri's latest video contains possible hidden messages.
For one thing, Zawahiri wore a black turban, rather than the white one worn in his prior videos since 9/11. To Sunni Muslims, Clarke said, a black turban means "somebody is making jihad," or holy war.
"This is a very carefully staged propaganda video, in which things like this are supposed to have meaning," Clarke told Diane Sawyer on ABC News' "Good Morning America." "He's trying to align himself, wherever he was, with the people fighting in Iraq."
No, you don't say, Richard, tell us more.....
The setting in the outdoors, with the sun shining and a breeze blowing, also may have been meant to send a message. "What he's saying is 'I'm not stuck in a cave,' " Clarke said. "These people listen to what we say about them. When we say that they are powerless, they are stuck in a cave somewhere in Afghanistan, they want to have a way to come back and say no they're not. So here he is, outside in the light of day, dressed for war ⊠when, in fact, he probably is stuck in a cave."
I am so confused, Richard, you mean he is fooling everyone?Pay no attention to that darkened cave behind the curtain.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/15/2005 15:52 ||
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#1
For one thing, Zawahiri wore a black turban, rather than the white one worn in his prior videos since 9/11.
...and it's not even Labor Day yet...
I dunno, Dick. Maybe black showcases his purty mouth?
#2
Gently rippling cloth screen. That sounds like a sheet hanging out to dry.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/15/2005 16:22 Comments ||
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#3
Is there any doubt that this guy never had and will never have a clue? And Clarke was a White House counterterror chief under the Clinton regime, which explains why we are in the mess we are in today. I think Bush demoted him to Compter tech guy or something like that.
It's worse than than that! He wanted to get the job as Cyber Security Chief. George Bush wouldn't give it to him, so he resigned. He wanted it because he was certain the first attack by Al Qaeda on US soil woild be a computer virus.
As we can see from Sept 11, Richard Clark had bin Laden all figured out.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
08/15/2005 17:03 Comments ||
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#5
LOL Al, he must have missed the meeting! The guys a tool, a wonk, a whack job, and a danger to the U.S.
A TIME investigation reveals the Tehran regime's strategy to gain influence in Iraq--and why U.S. troops may now face greater dangers as a result
By MICHAEL WARE/BAGHDAD
The U.S. Military's new nemesis in Iraq is named Abu Mustafa al-Sheibani, and he is not a Baathist or a member of al-Qaeda. He is working for Iran. According to a U.S. military-intelligence document obtained by TIME, al-Sheibani heads a network of insurgents created by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps with the express purpose of committing violence against U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq. Over the past eight months, his group has introduced a new breed of roadside bomb more lethal than any seen before; based on a design from the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia Hizballah, the weapon employs "shaped" explosive charges that can punch through a battle tank's armor like a fist through the wall. According to the document, the U.S. believes al-Sheibani's team consists of 280 members, divided into 17 bombmaking teams and death squads. The U.S. believes they train in Lebanon, in Baghdad's predominantly Shi'ite Sadr City district and "in another country" and have detonated at least 37 bombs against U.S. forces this year in Baghdad alone.
Since the start of the insurgency in Iraq, the most persistent danger to U.S. troops has come from the Sunni Arab insurgents and terrorists who roam the center and west of the country. But some U.S. officials are worried about a potentially greater challenge to order in Iraq and U.S. interests there: the growing influence of Iran. With an elected Shi'ite-dominated government in place in Baghdad and the U.S. preoccupied with quelling the Sunni-led insurgency, the Iranian regime has deepened its imprint on the political and social fabric of Iraq, buying influence in the new Iraqi government, running intelligence-gathering networks and funneling money and guns to Shi'ite militant groups--all with the aim of fostering a Shi'ite-run state friendly to Iran. In parts of southern Iraq, fundamentalist Shi'ite militias--some of them funded and armed by Iran--have imposed restrictions on the daily lives of Iraqis, banning alcohol and curbing the rights of women. Iraq's Shi'ite leaders, including Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, have tried to forge a strategic alliance with Tehran, even seeking to have Iranians recognized as a minority group under Iraq's proposed constitution. "We have to think anything we tell or share with the Iraqi government ends up in Tehran," says a Western diplomat.
Perhaps most troubling are signs that the rising influence of Iran--a country with which Iraq waged an eight-year war and whose brand of theocracy most Iraqis reject--is exacerbating sectarian tensions between Sunnis and Shi'ites, pulling Iraq closer to all-out civil war. And while top intelligence officials have sought to play down any state-sponsored role by Tehran's regime in directing violence against the coalition, the emergence of al-Sheibani has cast greater suspicion on Iran. Coalition sources told TIME that it was one of al-Sheibani's devices that killed three British soldiers in Amarah last month. "One suspects this would have to have a higher degree of approval [in Tehran]," says a senior U.S. military official in Baghdad. The official says the U.S. believes that Iran has brokered a partnership between Iraqi Shi'ite militants and Hizballah and facilitated the import of sophisticated weapons that are killing and wounding U.S. and British troops. "It is true that weapons clearly, unambiguously, from Iran have been found in Iraq," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said last week.
How real is the threat? A TIME investigation, based on documents smuggled out of Iran and dozens of interviews with U.S., British and Iraqi intelligence officials, as well as an Iranian agent, armed dissidents and Iraqi militia and political allies, reveals an Iranian plan for gaining influence in Iraq that began before the U.S. invaded. In their scope and ambition, Iran's activities rival those of the U.S. and its allies, especially in the south. There is a gnawing worry within some intelligence circles that the failure to counter Iranian influence may come back to haunt the U.S. and its allies, if Shi'ite factions with heavy Iranian backing eventually come to power and provoke the Sunnis to revolt. Says a British military intelligence officer, about the relative inattention paid to Iranian meddling: "It's as though we are sleepwalking."
The Iranian penetration of Iraq was a long time in planning. On Sept. 9, 2002, with U.S. bases being readied in Kuwait, Supreme Leader Ayatullah Ali Khamenei summoned his war council in Tehran. According to Iranian sources, the Supreme National Security Council concluded, "It is necessary to adopt an active policy in order to prevent long-term and short-term dangers to Iran." Iran's security services had supported the armed wings of several Iraqi groups they had sheltered in Iran from Saddam. Iranian intelligence sources say that the various groups were organized under the command of Brigadier General Qassim Sullaimani, an adviser to Khamenei on both Afghanistan and Iraq and a top officer in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Before the March 2003 invasion, military sources say, elements of up to 46 Iranian infantry and missile brigades moved to buttress the border. Positioned among them were units of the Badr Corps, formed in the 1980s as the armed wing of the Iraqi Shi'ite group known by its acronym SCIRI, now the most powerful party in Iraq. Divided into northern, central and southern axes, Badr's mission was to pour into Iraq in the chaos of the invasion to seize towns and government offices, filling the vacuum left by the collapse of Saddam's regime. As many as 12,000 armed men, along with Iranian intelligence officers, swarmed into Iraq. TIME has obtained copies of what U.S. and British military intelligence say appears to be Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence reports sent in April 2003. One, dated April 10 and marked CONFIDENTIAL, logs U.S. troops backed by armor moving through the city of Kut. But, it asserts, "we are in control of the city." Another, with the same date, from a unit code-named 1546, claims "forces attached to us" had control of the city of Amarah and had occupied Baath Party properties. A 2004 British army inquiry noted that the Badr organization and another militia were so powerful in Amarah, "it quickly became clear that the coalition needed to work with them to ensure a secure environment in the province."
For many Iraqis in the south, the exile militia groups brought with them forbidding religious strictures. "These guys with beards and Kalashnikovs showed up saying they'd come to protect the campus," says a student leader at a Basra university. "The problem is, they never left." Militants frequently "investigate" youths accused of un-Islamic behavior, such as couples holding hands or girls wearing makeup. "They're watching us, and they're the ones who control the streets, while the police, who are with them, stand by," says a student leader who did not wish to be identified. "From the beginning, the Islamic parties filled the void," says a police lieutenant colonel working closely with British forces. "They still hold the real power. The rank and file all belong to the parties. Everyone does. You can't do anything without them."
Military officials say they believe Iranian-funded militias helped organize a mob attack in the southern township of Majarr al-Kabir on June 24, 2003, that resulted in the execution of six British military-police officers. According to a classified British military-intelligence document, a local militia leader is "implicated in the murder of the 6 RMP [Royal Military Police]." The man heads a cell of the Mujahedin for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (MIRI), a paramilitary outfit coordinated out of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's base in Ahvaz, Iran. Although U.S. and British officers think it unlikely the soldiers were killed on orders from Revolutionary Guard officers, they agree that the slayings fit within the Iranian generals' broad guidelines to bog coalition forces down in sporadic hit-and-run attacks.
The Iranian program is as impressive as it is comprehensive, competing with and sometimes bettering the coalition's endeavors. Businesses, front companies, religious groups, NGOs and aid for schools and universities are all part of the mix. Just as Washington backs Iraqi news outlets like al-Hurra television station, Tehran has funded broadcast and print outlets in Iraq. A 2003 Supreme National Security Council memo, smuggled out of Iran, suggests even the Iranian Red Crescent society, akin to the Red Cross, has coordinated its activities through the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. The memo instructs officials that "the immediate needs of the Iraqi people should be determined" by the Guard's al-Quds Force.
More sinister are signs of death squads charged with eliminating potential opponents and former Baathists. U.S. intelligence sources confirm that early targets included former members of the Iran section of Saddam's intelligence services. In southern cities, Thar-Allah (Vengeance of God) is one of a number of militant groups suspected of assassinations. U.S. commanders in Baghdad and in eastern provinces say similar cells operate in their sectors. The chief of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service, General Mohammed Abdullah al-Shahwani, has publicly accused Iranian-backed cells of hunting down and killing his officers. In October he blamed agents in Iran's Baghdad embassy of coordinating assassinations of up to 18 of his people, claiming that raids on three safe houses uncovered a trove of documents linking the agents to funds funneled to the Badr Corps for the purposes of "physical liquidation."
A former Iraqi official and member of Saddam's armored corps, who identifies himself as Abu Hassan, told TIME last summer that he was recruited by an Iranian intelligence agent in 2004 to compile the names and addresses of Ministry of Interior officials in close contact with American military officers and liaisons. Abu Hassan's Iranian handler wanted to know "who the Americans trusted and where they were" and pestered him to find out if Abu Hassan, using his membership in the Iraqi National Accord political party, could get someone inside the office of then Prime Minister Iyad Allawi without being searched. (Allawi has told TIME he believes Iranian agents plotted to assassinate him.) And the handler also demanded information on U.S. troop concentrations in a particular area of Baghdad and details of U.S. weaponry, armor, routes and reaction times. After revealing his conversations to U.S. and Iraqi authorities, Abu Hassan disappeared; earlier this year, one of his Iraqi superiors was convicted of espionage.
Intelligence agencies say Tehran still funds various political parties in Iraq. Documents from Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps files obtained by TIME include voluminous pay records from August 2004 that appear to indicate that Iran was paying the salaries of at least 11,740 members of the Badr Corps. British and U.S. military intelligence suspect those salaries are still being paid, although Badr leader Hadi al-Amri denies that. "I've told the American officers to bring us the evidence that we have a deal with Iran, and we will be ready, but they say they don't have any," he says.
What remains murky is the extent to which Iran is encouraging its proxies to stage attacks against the U.S.-led coalition. Military intelligence officers describe their Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps counterparts' strategy as one of using "nonattributable attacks" by proxy forces to maximize deniability. What's uncertain, says a senior U.S. officer, is what factions within Tehran's splintered security apparatus are behind the strategy and how much the top leaders have endorsed it. Intelligence sources claim that Brigadier General Sullaimani ordained in a meeting of his militia proxies in the spring of last year that "any move that would wear out the U.S. forces in Iraq should be done. Every possible means should be used to keep the U.S. forces engaged in Iraq." Secret British military-intelligence documents show that British forces are tracking several paramilitary outfits in Southern Iraq that are backed by the Revolutionary Guard. Coalition and Iraqi intelligence agencies track Iranian officers' visits to Iraq on inspection tours akin to those of their American counterparts. "We know they come, but often not until after they've left," says a British intelligence officer.
Shi'ite political parties do not dispute that the visits occur. And a steady flow of weapons continues to arrive from Iran through the porous southern border. "They use the legal checkpoints to move personnel, and the weapons travel through the marshes and areas to our north," says a British officer in Basra. Top diplomats and intelligence officials know that some Iranian officers are providing assistance to Shi'ite insurgents, but it's dwarfed by the amount of money and materiel flowing in from Iraq's Arab neighbors to Sunni insurgents.
Western diplomats say that so far, the ayatullahs appear to be acting defensively rather than offensively. An encouraging sign is that even Shi'ite beneficiaries of Tehran exhibit strains of Iraqi and Arab nationalism; and many have strong familial and tribal ties with the Sunnis. "We are sons of Iraq. The circumstances that forced me to leave did not change my identity," says Badr leader al-Amri. He's proud of his cooperation with the Revolutionary Guard to battle Saddam but says it extended only "to the limit of our interests." An informed Western observer thinks that while those groups maintain a "shared world view" with Tehran, much as Brits and Americans share each other's, they are now trying to balance their interests with those of their backers and are eager to wield power in Baghdad in their own right. "I think you'll never break a lifelong relationship," says the senior U.S. military officer, "but as time goes by, as they become politicians fighting local issues, they will change."
That may be true. But Iran shows every sign of upping the ante in Iraq, which may ultimately force the U.S. to search out new allies in Iraq--including some of the same elements it has been trying to subdue for almost 2ÃÂœ years--who can counter the mullahs' encroachment. The Western diplomat acknowledges that Iran's seemingly manageable activities could still escalate into a bigger crisis. "We've dealt with governments allied to our enemies many times in the past," he says. "The rub, however, is, Could it affect [counterinsurgency efforts]? To that I say, 'It hasn't happened yet, but it could.'" The war in Iraq could get a whole lot messier if it does.
Posted by: The Angry Fliegerabwehrkanonen ||
08/15/2005 14:11 ||
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3 killed in crossfire
Aug 14: A regional leader and a cadre of the outlawed Purba Banglar Communist Party (PBCP) were killed during an exchange of fire between RAB members and the outlaws at Sankarpasha area under Abhoynagar upazila of Jessore district early hours today. Three members of the elite force who were injured by bullets fired by the outlaws were shifted to hospital after first-aid was given to them, according to a press release issued by RAB-6 today.
The two outlaws who were killed in the incident have been identified as PBCP regional leader Raju Jamaddar alias Raju alias Ahad, 32, and party cadre Abu Bakkar alias Majibar, 32. The former hailed from village Bashuary under Abhoynagar upazila of Jessore district, while the latter from village Naodary under Phultala upazila of Khulna district. Both the outlaws were on the run to escape arrest by the police in connection with over half a dozen cases including murder filed against each with Abhoynagar and Phultala police stations.
Our tale now begins..
Earlier, RAB members arrested a band of four outlaws, Raju, Abu Bakkar, Alamgir alias Alam and Shaheen alias Babu, from village Sankarpasha early Saturday.
Step One:"Morning boys. Stick em up!"
RAB sources said, a team of RAB men was attacked and fired upon by the accomplices of the arrested outlaws near the brick-field zone of village Sankarpasha area early hours today while the forces were proceeding along with Raju and Abu Bakkar to a place for recovery of arms and ammunitions on the basis of information provided by them during their interrogation.
Covered steps two thru five in one run-on sentence.
Immediately, the RAB members retaliated by firing and the exchange of fire continued for about 20 to 25 minutes.
Step Six..
Taking advantage of the situation, Raju and Abu Bakkar fled from their custody during the encounter.
Step Seven: "Feet, don't fail us now!"
Later, the RAB members found the bullet-riddled bodies of Raju and Abu Bakkar lying near the spot.
"They was just laying there, shot to doll rags. Don't know who done it, must'a been a "crossfire accident". Happens a lot, round these parts."
The forces recovered one foreign SBBL gun, one Indian one shooter and six rounds of ammunition from near the place of occurrence.
Step Nine
Steps are underway by the RAB members to hand over to the police two other outlaws Alamgir and Shaheen who were arrested along with Raju and Abu Bakkar on Saturday.
Who are very glad they had their "I Luv the RAB" t-shirts on
UNB adds from Kushtia: A leader of an outlawed party was killed in a shootout with police at Khordo Bakhil village in Sadar upazila early today. Police said they arrested Jamal Mondol alias Jamal, 30, a regional leader of outlawed Biplobi Communist Party from Laxmipur village in Sadar upazila on Saturday night.
Ya'll know what happens next
According to his confession when police reached near a field at Khordo Bakhil village along with Jamal at about 4 am to seize hidden arms, his accomplice opened fired forcing the law enforcers to fire back.
The old looking for arms in a dark field at O-Four hundred gag.
Jamal was caught in the crossfire while trying to flee and died on the spot
."Ahhhhhhh.....rosebud!"
Police said Jamal was wanted in six cases including two murders. Police recovered one LG and some bullets from the scene.
Astrologer shot at in city
Gunmen shot and wounded an astrologer at Moghbazaar in the city on Saturday, reports UNB.
You'd of thought he'd have seen this coming
Informed sources said three young men came to the office of Joytishi Rathnaghar of Kazi Faizullah, 45 at 1pm and asked him look at their palms and tell their fate.
"I see trouble in your future, you will soon shoot ....uh oh"
Soon the young men picked up a quarrel with the astrologer and at one stage opened fire at him. Faizullah was rushed to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital with bullet wounds and later shifted to Paungu Hospital.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/15/2005 09:45 ||
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#1
The forces recovered one foreign SBBL gun, one Indian one shooter and six rounds of ammunition from near the place of occurrence.
SBBL? Lemme guess...
South Bronx Baseball League?
Sistema Bibliotecario Biomedico Lombardo?
Spam Bait Block List?
#2
Informed sources said three young men came to the office of Joytishi Rathnaghar of Kazi Faizullah, 45 at 1pm and asked him look at their palms and tell their fate.
Well, there's their problem right there. They went to an astrologer for palmistry...
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) - Fighting across southern Afghanistan has left at least 28 suspected Taliban rebels dead as violence rages on in the countdown to crucial legislative elections next month, officials said Monday. The bloodiest battle occurred in Zabul province Sunday when Afghan forces attacked a group of suspected militants, killing 16 and arresting one, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. Among the dead was a local Taliban commander, Mullah Nasir, it said.
Separately in Zabul, alleged insurgents mistakenly detonated a mine that was intended to hit a convoy of U.S.-led coalition and Afghan forces Sunday, killing one militant and wounding another, Sori district chief Rovi Khan said. On the same day in neighboring Uruzgan province's Dehrawud district, a gunbattle between Afghan soldiers and insurgents left five militants dead, the ministry statement said. Then in an adjacent district, Tirin Kot, police hunted down and killed six suspected guerrillas who attacked a highway checkpoint, provincial Gov. Jan Mohammed Khan said. Nine alleged militants also were arrested in a sweep of the area. No security forces were hurt in any of the clashes, according to the statement and governor.
Excellent!
Hunting them down means they've got the intel to drive their operations now, rather than thrashing blindly as they have on some previous occasions.
Khan said the police and Afghan army were on the offensive across his province to prevent the Taliban and other militants from disrupting legislative elections on Sept. 18. Nearly 1,000 people have died in violence since March. Officials have warned of further unrest leading up to the polls, which are seen as a major step toward democracy in Afghanistan after more than two decades of war and civil strife.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/15/2005 09:28 ||
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"suspected" Taliban "killed"? heh heh - how's that recruiting going? # 2 or #3 spots may be open again
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/15/2005 10:01 Comments ||
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#2
The two sweetest words in the COIN dictionary - "work accident".
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
08/15/2005 10:31 Comments ||
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#3
alleged insurgents mistakenly detonated a mine
Almost as nice as when a bomb maker doesn't quite get it right...
#5
I love disproportionate-force as a tactic. I believe Napolean first used it effectively, then Hitler (blitzkreig), and the Soviets forced the Nazis into retreat battles by means of lightening encirclement. When the FBI uses 50 members to arrest 4 culprits, the futility of resistance sinks in rather quickly, no matter what fire power the targets possess. The quicker the surrender, the safer the attack.
Posted by: Vlad the Muslim Impaler ||
08/15/2005 21:40 Comments ||
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That seems a very logical move.
THE US military has gone low-tech. Frustrated with the limitations of using its fleet of modern Humvee four-wheel-drives in rugged mountains with few roads, a battalion of marines has enlisted the help of transport vehicles that Afghan villagers have been using for centuries - donkeys. About 30 of the animals have been rented from local farmers to haul food and bottled water to hundreds of Afghan and US troops on a major two-week operation to battle militants deep in remote mountains in eastern Afghanistan. "With all the smart bombs and the modern stuff in war nowadays, this is the best way for us to resupply our troops there," said Lieutenant Colonel Jim Donnellan, commander of 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment.
Using aircraft to resupply the forces is also dangerous. In late June, militants in the area shot down a special forces Chinook helicopter, killing all 16 troops on board, as it tried to land. The operation is aimed at flushing those fighters out of the valley and US commanders are nervous about risking other choppers. Australia's most famous military donkey was used by war hero John Simpson at Gallipoli. Simpson used his donkey - called either Duffy, Murphy or Abdul - to carry dozens of wounded.
In Afghanistan, at one end of Korengal Valley, where the militants are suspected of hiding, squads of US Marines with heavy packs on their backs led out lines of donkeys, each laden with two boxes of water, a box of food rations and a sack of grain.
Giving old meaning to the phrase; "Get your tired ass up that hill."
While each marine carried enough food and water for themselves for two days, the donkeys gave each squad supplies for an extra 48 hours. Once finished, the animals would be led back to reload and then return to the mountains. Before coming to Afghanistan, some of the troops received training in handling donkeys at the Marines' Mountain Warfare Training Centre in Bridgeport, Nevada.
#2
The irony of this comes from the 10th Mountain Division in New York. When they were formed, they assumed that mules would be a major part of their operations. Mules are better than either horses or donkeys, for they are hardy and disease resistant. So the Division built large stables and purchased a bunch of mules. Unfortunately, they were unable to find anyone who was a skilled muleskinner, to train other muleskinners. And, unless you understand the way of mules, they are as unusable as a truck with no engine or wheels. So they ended up having a mule "fire sale", and returning to motor vehicles.
However, I was with the 10th in its reactivation from 1985-88 in the DISCOM where said transport would go. There never were any mules or facilities created. Never got to use the new facilities cause weren't built yet, had to do with rehab'd WWII buildings while the new Drum was constructed. Had a number of offers of former Mountaineers to show us the ropes, but it never was in the plan.
#8
Funny how these tales get circulated. I'll take your word for it, being there trumping military rumor mill. At the time I was in Germany, involved in other business.
#10
I've heard they did use mules in Italy during WW2 and had to use field manuals originally written in the late 1800s from the Indian campaigns. Seems plausible. Anyone know?
Egyptian authorities say there has been a serious incident near the airport used by the multinational observer force in the Sinai Peninsula. Initial reports indicating that a bus had exploded, causing casualties, have been denied by officials.
"Nope, nope, didn't happen. It was just a backfire. A really big backfire."
A blast reportedly occurred outside an airport at al-Gorah, the force's main camp in the north of Sinai. The Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) monitors Israeli and Egyptian adherence to the Camp David Accords.
A vehicle carrying force personnel appeared to be hit by a blast about 1km outside the base which is near the town of el-Arish. Egyptian officials said that the explosion was likely to have been caused by an unexploded landmine left over from conflicts with Israel, but this could not be confirmed.
I see. The bus didn't blow up, it was the landmine that blew up. The bus was just a innocent bystander.
Sinai was the scene of three Arab-Israel wars between 1956 and 1973. Under 1978 peace accords between Israel and Egypt, both sides undertook to maintain the Sinai as a demilitarized zone. The MFO operation is not run by the United Nations.
You can tell because it's been reasonably sucessful.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/15/2005 08:27 ||
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#1
lol! caused by an unexploded landmine left over from conflicts with Israel They never give up.
Posted by: ed ||
08/15/2005 9:28 Comments ||
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EL-ARISH, Egypt (CP) - Two Canadian members of an international peace-monitoring force in the Sinia were lightly wounded Monday when their vehicle was rocked by a crude roadside bomb near Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip, Egyptian officials said.
The blast went off on a highway about three kilometres from an MFO base near the border with Gaza, hitting an MFO vehicle. Two Canadian women members of the MFO were slightly wounded and returned to duty afterward, the governor of North Sinai, Ahmed Abdel Hamid, told state TV.
The explosion was caused by a natural gas canister that was planted on the roadside and detonated through a wire, Abdel Hamid said. A second wired canister failed to explode. Local security officials on the scene said the canisters had been filled with explosives.
Well, there goes the "left-over land mine theory.
Investigators at the scene found a white mini-bus bearing the MFO logo. It had flat tires and broken windows but no sign of fire. The explosion left a small crater beside the road.
MFO spokesman Ian Baxendell confirmed that two MFO members were "very lightly injured." But he had no further details and could not confirm that a bomb hit the vehicle.
Egyptian security officials at the scene said the explosion occurred at about 8 a.m. as the MFO personnel were driving away from the airport at el-Goura where they are based, 15 kilometres from the Gaza border. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to talk. Canada has about 30 troops in the MFO. The spokesman for the Canadian Embassy in Cairo, Ulrich Shannon, said he could not confirm any casualties.
Gov. Abdel Hamid said the explosion was meant more as a warning than to cause damage. "This is a firecracker," he told The Associated Press, but he did not elaborate.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/15/2005 12:25 Comments ||
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#4
The explosion was caused by a natural gas canister that was planted on the roadside and detonated through a wire, Abdel Hamid said. A second wired canister failed to explode. Local security officials on the scene said the canisters had been filled with explosives.
Gov. Abdel Hamid's contention that this was merely a warning, not an attack, doesn't seem borne up by the description.
Terrorist Abu Zubair, also known as Mohammed Salah Sultan, was killed Aug. 12 by Iraqi security forces in an ambush in the northern city of Mosul, officials said today. Zubair was a known member of al Qaeda in Iraq and a lieutenant in the operations of terrorist leader Abu Musab Zarqawi in Mosul. Zubair was being sought by coalition and Iraqi security forces for his involvement in a July suicide bombing attack of a police station in Mosul where five Iraqi police officers died. He was also suspected of resourcing and facilitating suicide bomber attacks against coalition, Iraqi security forces and Iraqi citizens throughout the country. When Zubair was killed, he was wearing a suicide device consisting of an explosive pack across his stomach armed with pellets, officials noted. Mebbe he felt like a cornered rat?
"Abu Zubair's death, as well as recent captures of terrorists in northern Iraq, is making a difference in coalition and Iraqi security forces efforts to disrupt terrorists operating in this part of the country," said Col. Billy J. Buckner, Multinational Corps Iraq spokesman. "Terrorists are doing all they can to stop the rise of a free Iraq, but their bombs and attacks have not prevented Iraqi sovereignty and they will not prevent Iraqi democracy," Buckner said.
Coalition and Iraqi security forces captured three bombmakers and six foreign fighters, and found and cleared 101 improvised explosive devices during the week ending Aug. 12. On July 27, forces conducted a raid on a safe house in Mosul, arresting six terrorists and finding terrorist propaganda, to include a letter written to Zarqawi. In that letter the author, Abu Zayd, a terrorist operating out of Mosul, complained of the poor leadership in Mosul and mistreatment of foreign fighters.
Maybe Abu Zubair's replacement will be better for them...
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/15/2005 07:50 ||
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most significant - killed by IRAQI FORCES. Who seem to be taking the lead in Mosul.
#2
"On July 27, forces conducted a raid on a safe house in Mosul, arresting six terrorists and finding terrorist propaganda, to include a letter written to Zarqawi. In that letter the author, Abu Zayd, a terrorist operating out of Mosul, complained of the poor leadership in Mosul and mistreatment of foreign fighters."
I suppose that, if he weren't dead, he could say 'I told you so'.
#1
This grave dates from the period just after the election. There is news here that the MSM do not want you to see: Iraqi forces located the gravesite and arrested the perps, killing one of them in the process.
The Iraqi forces were not in control in this area six months ago and they are now. Slowly, painfully, and at enormous cost, Iraqi forces are gaining in strength and confidence. The Michael Moore Minutemen have only one hope now, that their media-left fifth column in the United States can turn public opinion by capitalizing on atrocities committed for that very purpose, and force a US withdrawal before Iraqi forces are strong enough to stand on their own. It may already be too late for them.
#2
The only problem,AC,is that if we pull out now it will mean blood shed on a horrific scale.Ten's,if not hundreds of thousands will die.But when all is said and done the Sunnies of Iraq will cease to exist as a viable entity.
AMMAN - The Iraqi tribunal trying Saddam Hussein on war crimes charges has blocked a bid by his family to fire his vast team of defence lawyers, saying only Saddam can make such a move, the family said on Sunday.
Lance Ito, call your office.
Last week a lawyer acting for Saddamâs eldest daughter Raghad said the family had scrapped the team of more than 2,000 attorneys claiming to be representing Saddam and would build a new, better-organised defence team.
Organizing a team of 2,000 lawyers can be such a challenge ...
But the Iraqi Special Tribunal, the court set up to try the former president and other senior members of his regime, blocked the familyâs effort to shake up the defence team. âWe want to clarify some issues relating to the request to revoke all powers of attorney. We are very surprised by such unlawful acts. The exclusive right to empower any lawyer or to cancel any power of attorney is for defendant Saddam Hussein,â said a letter sent by the tribunal and obtained by Reuters.
Saddamâs family says many of the lawyers claiming to represent him were never formally appointed and are more interested in self-promotion than mounting a serious defence. It says they often gave conflicting legal opinions.
At least 2,000 different opinions, many times more.
More than 2,000 lawyers had volunteered for Saddamâs defence team, including former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark and a daughter of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Others who said they were on the team included Anglo-Italian lawyer Giovanni di Stefano who once worked on behalf of former Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic, and Roland Dumas, a colourful octogenarian who served as French foreign minister from 1988 to 1993 and acted as executor of Pablo Picassoâs estate.
A letter sent by Raghad to the tribunal said the family was entitled to choose Saddamâs defence team because the ousted dictator president was not able to make such decisions freely himself. âThe family of the dictator president is free to choose whoever it wants to defend him and to remove whoever it wants for as long as he is denied freedom of choice,â Raghdâs letter said.
Sources close to the family said they hoped the tribunal would change its position, possibly under US pressure.
Keep hoping.
The family demanded the presence of newly recruited lawyers alongside Khalil Dulaimi, the Iraqi lawyer who attends Saddamâs court hearings, to ensure Saddam had adequate legal representation for a fair trial.
Raghd said legal advice the family was getting from senior British lawyers whose identity has been kept confidential was to boycott the tribunal or any committee interrogating Saddam until her father was given access to heavyweight lawyers from abroad.
Namely, a group of 'senior British lawyers'.
The new team was ready to come to Baghdad as soon as the Iraqi special court gave them permission, Raghd said. âWe all able and willing to send legal specialists as soon as the legitimate tribunal your occupying masters allow them,â the letter said, referring to US-led forces in Iraq.
Raghd also criticised the tribunal for preventing her family from seeing Saddam, who aside from seeing a lawyer is isolated from the rest of the world. The tribunal denies that Saddam has had his rights infringed. So far Saddam has been formally charged in only one case the killing of Shias in the village of Dujail following a failed assassination attempt in 1982. Officials say his trial could begin within two months.
If when found guilty, he will get faces the death penalty.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/15/2005 00:00 ||
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Look for this boring melodrama to be resolved by a publicized meeting of SH with his chief lawyer and Tribunal judges, wherein the defendant is asked his wishes -- which always govern this matter.
I need cinematic trivia help -- was it "Take The Money And Run" by Woody Allen wherein the jury foreman stood and said "you honor, we find the defendant incredbly guilty"? That's the scene I keep seeing in my mind when considering the forthcoming trials.
I need cinematic trivia help -- was it "Take The Money And Run" by Woody Allen wherein the jury foreman stood and said "you honor, we find the defendant incredbly guilty"?
Actually, it was 'The Producers' - and what Mel Brooks could do with this...
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
08/15/2005 7:02 Comments ||
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I just watched that last night, strangely. When Woody Allen is found guilty, the judge takes off his glasses and stomps on them.
Israel has formally begun its withdrawal from the occupied Gaza Strip by outlawing the continued presence of Jewish settlers in the Palestinian territory. "This is the final closing of the Kissufim road into Gaza. From this moment on, all entrance and stay in Gaza is prohibited for Israelis by law," army spokeswoman Major Sharon Feingold said after Sunday midnight. "Tomorrow morning from very early the plan is to go into Gaza and ask them (the settlers) to kindly come with us," she added.
The 8000-9000 Jewish settlers who have made Gaza their home have a 48-hour grace period to leave before Israeli police and soldiers begin to forcibly evacuate all 21 settlements in the Palestinian territory on Wednesday. Eviction notices to all 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and four of 120 in the West Bank went into effect at midnight (2100 GMT Sunday), setting the clock ticking on a 48-hour grace period to cross into Israel. But Israel's military early on Monday cancelled an operation to deliver by hand eviction notices to individual homes in six Gaza settlements, saying it wanted to respect the wishes of the settlers there. Military spokeswoman Feingold said the settlers at the six locations preferred to receive the notices in the mail.
Settlers at several of the settlements planned to block the entrances to prevent soldiers from entering with the notices. Notices were to be distributed to the other 15 Gaza colonies on Monday morning as planned, said Feingold. Israel is also to dismantle another four enclaves in the northern West Bank before recalling all its soldiers from Gaza by early October, drawing a line under a 38-year occupation.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/15/2005 00:00 ||
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'Israel has formally begun its withdrawal from the occupied Gaza Strip..."
Gaza or the original Hebrew name Azah is Jewish Land. There was occupied by Jews since about 3000 years. But when the Islamic-Nazi cleric of Jerusalem starting preaching Jew hatred in the 1920's the Jews were run for the life form Assah and for many other areas before being killed!.
Now who is occupying somebody's else land?
#2
Don't you realize, CA, that when the cloven hoof of Islam is placed on a land, it is forever part of the Ummah, regardless of any temporary occupations afterwards. Kind of like the Brezhnev doctrine.
A Sudanese committee set up to probe the death of first vice president and former rebel leader John Garang, which triggered days of deadly rioting, began its investigations yesterday. âThe committee held its first meeting under the chairmanship of Sayyed Abel Alier,â said Siraj Eddin Hamid, a member of the committee and a former Sudanese ambassador to Uganda.
Garang died on July 30 when a Ugandan presidential helicopter on which he was traveling crashed on its way to south Sudan from Uganda, just three weeks after he became vice president under a landmark peace deal he helped craft. His death raised fears about the peace process in the war-ravaged country and sparked deadly riots in Khartoum and towns in southern Sudan, with some southerners claiming the government may have had a hand in it.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has suggested that the crash, initially blamed on bad weather in the mountainous region of south Sudan, may not have been an accident. Sudanese President Omar Bashir issued a decree on Aug. 8 establishing the seven-member committee and named former vice president Alier, a southerner, who like Garang hails from the Dinka tribe, to head the panel. The panel also includes six aviation experts â three from the Sudanese government and three from the former rebel group that Garang headed, the Sudan Peopleâs Liberation Movement.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/15/2005 00:00 ||
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Such a timely start, and in under 30 days as well. Better late than never?
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
08/15/2005 6:21 Comments ||
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Prosecutors in the trial of two Egyptians charged over deadly bombings in Sinai resorts last year have denied torture allegations made by the defendants.
"Nope. Nope. Never happened."
The prosecution produced a medical report during the session rebuffing claims that police tortured defendants Mohammed Gaiez al-Sabah and Mohammed Rubaa Addallah in order to extract confessions. "The report found that the police had nothing to do with the injuries on the bodies of the defendants," a prosecutor told the high state security court hearing the case. It added that the report concluded that "the injuries were normal and not the result of torture".
"I mean, there's lotsa people got them kind of scars on their noses!"
The accused men had alleged last month that police tortured them to force them to confess to carrying out the bombings that killed 34 people at the Hilton hotel in Taba and two other Sinai resorts on 7 October 2004. Defence lawyer Said Fathi questioned the veracity of the report and asked the presiding judge to allow him to study it.
"Lemme see that thing, Yeronner!"
The defendants are charged with "premeditated murder, failure to surrender themselves, determination to assassinate Israeli tourists ... terrorism and resisting the authorities during arrests". A third suspect, Mohammed Ahmed Salah Felifel, was killed by police at the beginning of the month.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/15/2005 00:00 ||
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Egyptian security forces have arrested three suspected members of a cell involved in the July bombings in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh that killed at least 88 people, the Al-Ahram daily said yesterday. The semi-official newspaper said security forces were searching for others who assisted or helped plan the three attacks on July 23. âPolice raided some of the hide-outs and they found, in a farm in El-Arish (north Sinai), about a ton of high explosives and are comparing it to the substances used in the three attacks,â the newspaper reported without giving a source.
I'd call a ton of explosives pretty good evidence they'd found some Bad Guyz...
Interior Minister Habib El-Adli said yesterday that security forces had uncovered details about the Sharm El-Sheikh attack, identifying perpetrators and arresting the main suspects, the official MENA news agency reported. He did not give details.
"I can say no more! You never saw me!"
Al-Ahram said one of three arrested was working as a guard in a farm owned by a Palestinian living in El-Arish. His arrest led to the other two being detained, it said. Authorities suspect the Sharm El-Sheikh attacks and bombings last October in and around Taba, another Sinai resort town, were all the work of a group of Bedouin based in northern Sinai. Hundreds of people were detained for questioning in the El-Arish area after the Taba attack. Al-Ahram said that security officials traced what it described as a âterrorist cellâ by following tracks of two vehicles carrying explosives from central Sinai to Sharm El-Sheikh. It said three members of the cell died at the sites of the Sharm blasts. After the explosions, it had not been immediately clear if some perpetrators had escaped.
Cannon fodder explodes. Controllers and masterminds and logistics cells live on, to groom more cannon fodder.
The first cell member blew himself up in a suicide attack when he rammed the Ghazala Gardens hotel in a pickup truck and a second died in a pickup in a market street, Al-Ahram said. A third was killed when he blew up a bag near a taxi rank, it said. Hide-outs related to the suspects were investigated in the areas of El-Arish and Al-Qantara, both in north Sinai, where weapons and explosives were seized, the newspaper said. On Friday, two police were wounded in Sinai in a clash with a group suspected of involvement in the attacks. Officials said at the time one man from the group of about 15 was arrested, as well as a woman believed to be the wife of another member.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/15/2005 00:00 ||
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Sri Lankan police have arrested 12 ethnic minority Tamils in overnight raids over the assassination of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, the Defence Ministry has said. The army, navy and police were involved in the raids in and around the capital, Colombo, said Brigadier Daya Ratnayake, a ministry spokesman said on Sunday. Eleven men and one woman were arrested. "They are being interrogated, but at this moment of time we don't want to say anything," Ratnayake said.
A state of emergency went into effect within hours of the killing of the heavily protected Kadirgamar, shot by suspected Tamil Tiger snipers on Friday evening at his home after taking a swim. Kadirgamar, 73, an ethnic Tamil who led efforts to ban the Tigers as a terrorist organisation but later backed peace efforts, was shot in the head and chest. Soldiers have been scouring the capital for suspects, searching homes and stopping cars, and military aircraft have been covering Tamil Tiger territory. The rebels have denied any responsibility for the shooting, a claim discounted by the government.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/15/2005 00:00 ||
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A key Taleban commander was captured and four Taleban militants were killed in separate incidents in Afghanistan in the latest violence before parliamentary elections, the US military said yesterday. Afghan security forces backed by US troops in a raid on Saturday captured Qari Baba, former governor of Ghazni province under the hard-line Taleban regime, said US military spokesman Lt. Col. Jerry OâHara. Qari Baba had been leading attacks against US troops and the Afghan government in the southeastern province of Ghazni. The National Security Directorate âled the raid and coalition forces worked together to detain Qari Baba at his home in an operation that was a success for all concerned,â OâHara said.
A weapons cache of 16 AK-47s, several machineguns, rocket-propelled grenades and launchers, cell phones and a large amount of ammunition was discovered in his house in Andar district, he said. On Friday, three insurgents were killed and two Afghan National Police were wounded in a firefight near the town of Deh Rawood in the southern province of Uruzgan, the US military said in a statement. The battle broke out after Afghan and US forces, patrolling in the area, came into contact with an unknown number of âenemy combatantsâ near the town which has been a hotbed for Taleban activity, it said. The same day one âenemy combatantâ was killed in another attack by seven to 10 militants on an Afghan-US military convoy south of Kabul, the statement said.
Hundreds of American Marines and Afghan special forces trekked far into remote Afghan mountains to retake a valley controlled by militants suspected of ambushing a team of US commandos and shooting down a special forces helicopter. The major offensive Saturday in eastern Kunar province, near the border with Pakistan, is the biggest yet against those believed responsible for the twin attacks on June 28, the deadliest blow for American forces in Afghanistan since ousting the Taleban in 2001.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/15/2005 00:00 ||
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Ha-ha!
Posted by: Nelson Muntz ||
08/15/2005 1:23 Comments ||
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How many commanders does the taleban have? Is it like mcdonalds where everyone behind the counter is a manager?
#4
Imagine what the resume of your typical Taliban fighter must look like:
1998-2001 Peshawar State College, BA in Jihad 2001-02 Commander of Militant Islamic Dogcatching Squad 2002-03 Commander, Donkey Cavalry Brigade 2003-04 Lieutenant to Mullah Omar
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.
Aug 15, 2005 
Iran yesterday warned the US that any use of force over its nuclear programme would be a "mistake", and told Europe that its attitude would help determine whether it resumes uranium enrichment. "Bush should know that our capabilities are much greater than those of the US," foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said. "We don't think that the US will make such a mistake."
An American tank that was parked outside the as-Sajariyah mosque in western ar-Ramadi opened fire with its machine guns on worshippers as they emerged from the place of worship after the congregational prayers at midday Friday, cutting down more than 40 people. .... the soldier who was standing on the back of the tank continued firing the machine gun at the worshippers for about three minutes. ..... 
KARACHI - Pakistani police said on Monday four suspected Islamic militants arrested last week belong to the youth wing of an opposition Islamic party but have no links with the Al Qaeda network. 
3 killed in crossfire
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) - Fighting across southern Afghanistan has left at least 28 suspected Taliban rebels dead as violence rages on in the countdown to crucial legislative elections next month, officials said Monday. The bloodiest battle occurred in Zabul province Sunday when Afghan forces attacked a group of suspected militants, killing 16 and arresting one, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. Among the dead was a local Taliban commander, Mullah Nasir, it said. 
A Sudanese committee set up to probe the death of first vice president and former rebel leader John Garang, which triggered days of deadly rioting, began its investigations yesterday. âThe committee held its first meeting under the chairmanship of Sayyed Abel Alier,â said Siraj Eddin Hamid, a member of the committee and a former Sudanese ambassador to Uganda.
Prosecutors in the trial of two Egyptians charged over deadly bombings in Sinai resorts last year have denied torture allegations made by the defendants. 
Egyptian security forces have arrested three suspected members of a cell involved in the July bombings in the Red Sea resort of 
Sri Lankan police have arrested 12 ethnic minority Tamils in overnight raids over the assassination of Foreign Minister 
A key Taleban commander was captured and four Taleban militants were killed in separate incidents in Afghanistan in the latest violence before parliamentary elections, the US military said yesterday. Afghan security forces backed by US troops in a raid on Saturday captured Qari Baba, former governor of 
