NATO forces in Afghanistan said Wednesday they had found several Iranian-made armor-piercing explosives similar to what Hezbollah uses in Lebanon. Thomas Kelly, a U.S. colonel under NATO command, said forces had found several of the so-called "explosively-formed projectiles" that were more sophisticated than the crudely-made bombs usually used by Afghan insurgents. But the senior spokeswoman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), U.S. Lieutenant Colonel Claudia Foss, stressed that the alliance had no evidence that the Iranian government was involved in the supply.
Kelly said four of the devices, which are also being used by Iraqi insurgents and Lebanon's Hezbollah, were found in Herat near the Iranian border and in Kabul, where a fifth device had harmlessly exploded early this year.
The colonel told a Kabul media briefing that the bombs were "something called explosively-formed projectiles (EFPs)... They're designed to penetrate armored vehicles. "These are very sophisticated IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and they're really not manufactured in any other places other than, our knowledge is, Iran," he said, adding that the explosives were factory-made.
Taliban insurgents commonly attack U.S.-led, NATO and Afghan targets with roadside bombs and other explosives made from old ammunition such as mortars and rockets left over from the war-torn country's decades of conflicts. "The insurgents may have access to this device but may not yet know how to use them or know if they're effective or not," Kelly said.
Foss, however, told the same briefing that ISAF's commander had previously said "that we have no evidence of any formal supply of weapons from Iran." "For decades this country has been under attack and we find weapons all the time but, as far as any formal supply, there's been no evidence."
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in June that "substantial" quantities of Iranian weapons are flowing into Afghanistan and that it was difficult to believe the Iranian government was not aware of it. The United States has long accused Iran's Quds Force, an arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, of arming and training Shiite extremist groups in Iraq. But in recent months U.S. military officials have said Iranian-made weapons including EFPs have also turned up in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/20/2007 00:00 ||
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GWB: no Ayatollahs, no terror. Islamofascist life is cheap.
John Bolton, former US ambassador to the United Nations, has heavily criticised former Dutch minister Ad Melkert who is currently second in charge of the United Nations development aid organisation (UNDP) in New York.
In an interview on the tv current affairs programme Nova on Thursday evening, Bolton said he would like Melkert to step down from the UNDP post saying that he had insulted and threatened the current US ambassador to the UN, Mark Wallace. He declined, however, to give details. Bolton said another Dutchman should take over the post as the Netherlands is one of the biggest donors to the UNs development aid fund.
Bolton also accused Melkert of a bunker mentality in a conflict between the US and the UNDP over aid to North Korea. According to the Americans, Melkert has failed to intervene in the abuse of UN funds in North Korea. They claim UN money intended for the population is being siphoned off by dictator Kim Jong Il.
Melkert came under fire from conservative Americans earlier this year because of his former role as chairman of the World Bank ethics committee. The bank president Paul Wolfowitz was forced to step down following a row over preferential treatment for his girlfriend.
Bolton did not directly make a direct link with the Wolfotwitz affair during the Nova interview. However, but both he and the former World Bank leader now work at the conservative think-tank, the American Enterprise Institute, together with one-time Dutch MP and anti-Muslim campaigner Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
VisionTV says it will monitor one of its shows more closely after it broadcast a lecture by an Islamic preacher who said scripture requires Muslims to either fight jihad or finance it. The multi-faith channel, available in 7.8 million Canadian homes, said it took the precaution following a complaint about last Saturday's broadcast of a lecture by the Pakistani fundamentalist.
In the hour-long talk, Israr Ahmad said, "Jihad in the way of Allah, for the cause of Allah, can be pursued either with your financial resources or your bodily strength when you go to fight the enemy in the battlefield. So jihad, the highest form, is fighting in the cause of Allah."
Mr. Ahmad runs a seminary and bookstore in Lahore, Pakistan, and his writings foresee the "global domination of Islam," compare Jews to "parasites," describe the Holocaust as "divine punishment" and predict the "total extermination" of Jews. His followers in Canada include terror suspect Qayyum Abdul Jamal, who was arrested last summer for his alleged role in a plot to detonate truck bombs in downtown Toronto. According to Mr. Jamal's wife, Mr. Ahmad was her husband's teacher and mentor.
The television program left some wondering how the Pakistani preacher, who claims that Jews control the world through a secret conspiracy involving financial institutions, made it on to Canada's government-regulated airwaves. "Israr Ahmad is widely known for his hateful words and vilification of Jews," said Canadian Jewish Congress spokesman Bernie Farber. "We are deeply concerned that Vision would give this individual the imprimatur of Vision's credibility. It was a mistake in judgment and ought to concern all of us."
VisionTV's code of ethics forbids the broadcast of programs that glorify or incite violence or "have the effect of provoking or abetting domestic or international religious or political conflicts." The broadcaster acknowledged that the show, Dil Dil Pakistan, had talked about jihad and fighting but said it did not contravene the station's policies against incitement because the comments were made in a historical context. But it said the show would be monitored more closely.
"We have essentially a system of flagging shows when complaints are made, where we'll watch subsequent episodes even more carefully than we otherwise do, and take extra care and caution. So that's certainly the case here," said Mark Prasuhn, VisionTV's chief operating officer and vice-president of programming.
Toronto resident Mindy Alter, however, said the message came through loud and clear when she tuned in to the show, which aired from 3 to 4 p.m. on July 14. "The part about the jihad, he said very specifically that it is incumbent upon Muslims to wage jihad against their enemies until Islam rules supreme over the world," Mrs. Alter said. "I'm sorry, I don't think that belonged over the airwaves of Canadian TV.... You can put that in whatever context you like. To me that's preaching jihad."
Responded Mr. Prasuhn: "Definitely, the viewer is correct. [Mr. Ahmad] does make the point about, you either contribute financially or through your body, and he uses the word fight. But none of this, as far as I could see, is in any way correlated or referenced to the present day. It is strictly a historical context and reading of the Koran by a Koranic scholar." more at link
Posted by: ryuge ||
07/20/2007 08:36 ||
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#1
scripture requires Muslims to either fight jihad or finance it
Bad, bad, baaaad dhummi to let it being brodcast in English.
#2
The television program left some wondering how the Pakistani preacher, who claims that Jews control the world through a secret conspiracy involving financial institutions, made it on to Canada's government-regulated airwaves.
I am wondering how anyone could possibly be surprised. Canada's entire academic and media establishment carry water for jihad every day. They can hardly wait to offer over their daughters for rape and their necks for the knife.
#4
Responded Mr. Prasuhn: "Definitely, the viewer is correct. [Mr. Ahmad] does make the point about, you either contribute financially or through your body, and he uses the word fight. But none of this, as far as I could see, is in any way correlated or referenced to the present day. It is strictly a historical context and reading of the Koran by a Koranic scholar."
*sigh*
Is this fellow playing taqqiya or simply ignorant?
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
07/20/2007 12:05 Comments ||
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#5
If this was in English, it was a great thing for real Canadians. If this doesn't wake them up to what they have done, then nothing will. I wonder if Canadians monitor British news at all ? The problem is we have an unprotected border with these loons.
#6
tu3031, Vision TV has no ratings,but as a digital channel cable companies in Canada must carry it as part of government attempts to provide "diversity" in Canadian programming.
So far, the government has not figured out how to force people to actually watch "diversity". Be sure they are working on this.
Disarmed by the Dhimmis Apparently they want to lose on the home front as well.
Yesterday, members of Congress met in conference to finalize provisions of the 9/11 security bill, which implements the final recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. But as of press time, the Democratic majority was using a technicality to block the so-called John Doe amendment from being included in the bill. The amendment, which protects citizen whistleblowers who report suspicious activity from being sued, was sponsored by Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) after six imams who were removed from a U.S. Airways flight in November filed a lawsuit against the passengers who reported their behavior to flight crews.
Their lawsuit charges that the imams were victims of an "intentional" and "malicious" . . . "conspiracy to discriminate" and seeks compensatory and punitive damages from the airline and "John Doe" passengers - including an elderly couple who, according to legal papers, "purposely turned around to watch them" in the boarding area and then "made a cellular phone call."
The John Doe legislation, called the Protecting Americans Fighting Terrorism Act, passed in the House in April with overwhelming bipartisan support, by a vote of 304-121 - including 105 Democrats. Now, King wants to include it in the 9/11 security legislation as a stand-alone measure to assure its passage apart from the larger bill. It is up to the majority leadership, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, whether they will allow the provision to be added to the bill. Reached by telephone yesterday, a senior Pelosi staffer refused several times to say whether Pelosi supports the John Doe legislation in principle. Why? What could prevent any member of Congress from supporting no-brainer, bipartisan legislation that protects Good Samaritans from frivolous lawsuits? One possible motive: According to key Democrat leaders, John Doe protection will encourage "racial profiling."
Let's put this in perspective. The alleged conspiracy to kill U.S. soldiers at Fort Dix was foiled by a Circuit City store clerk who alerted law enforcement after the suspects brought a video to the store for reformatting on DVD. An FBI spokesman called the 23-year-old tipster an "unsung hero" and acknowledged that the plot would have gone undiscovered if he hadn't stepped forward. The hero clerk later told reporters that after seeing several Middle Eastern-looking men shouting "Allah Akbar" while firing assault rifles and engaging in military-type maneuvers on the video, he discussed overnight with his family whether or not to call authorities. Lucky for us, he made the right decision. But would he have made that call if he thought getting it wrong might require defending himself against a multimillion-dollar lawsuit? Would you? "An overwhelmingly bipartisan majority of Congress supports protecting vigilant citizens who are our first and sometimes last resource in the War on Terror," said Steve Pearce (R-N.M.), co-author of the John Doe bill. "But unfortunately they're not going to get the support of the new majority leadership in Congress."
We disarm ourselves when we succumb to political correctness - which encourages us to second guess our common sense and look the other way. It is an outrage that Pelosi and Reid would allow individuals to be punished when they come forward to protect us all.
If you see something; say something.
Dhimmicrat version: If you see something; shut up.
Video: Peter King rips the Democrats for voting against John Doe
Posted by: GK ||
07/20/2007 18:39 ||
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#1
Hmmmm.....If I was Karl Rove, I might tell GW to veto the bill if it arrives without the John Doe provision...
#3
People that legitimately report suspected terrorist activity should enjoy the same immunity as good Samaritans who render CPR or first aid to an injured person. The "Flying Imams" case needs to set a precedent regarding what does and does not constitute noticable and potentially terrorist activity.
It is not at all ironicafter so many atrocities being immediately preceded by cries of "Allahu Ackbar"that Islamic religious behavior in public should rightfully generate suspicion. In light of an almost unanimous refusal to diligently identify and expel the radicals amongst them, Muslims have deservingly forfeited all benefit of the doubt over how their conspicuous public worship has become valid grounds for suspicion.
Through both their deafening silence and radicalism, Muslims of all stripes have successfully eroded whatever respect their faith might once have enjoyed. The West is neither obligednor is it even ableto rehabilitate Islam's thoroughly tainted reputation. Politicians who enact legal protections in order to immunize Muslims from justifiable public suspicion betray all involved.Noone benefits when Islamand anyone who acts upon its tenetsis sheltered from the well-deserved consequences of its violently intolerant doctrine. Terrorism is a direct result of properly interpreting and worshiping the Koran. Pretending otherwise is a disservice to Muslim and non-Muslim alike.
Whatever noble intentions that Multiculturalism might once have possessed will wither in its tight embrace of Islam. The heinous nature of Muslim atrocities overwhelms even the most auspicious goals of fostering Multicultural diversity. Any attempt to soft-pedal terrorism will inevitably accrue the implaccable wrath of its far more numerous victims. Using the pretense of mercy or tolerance to shield a violent minority from the consequences of their crimes is to be an accomplice before and after the fact. Politicians who engage in this outrageous moral tresspass shackle themselves to the perpetrators they wittingly or unwittingly abet.
ISLAMABAD: The government has been observing Indian diplomats activities for the last six months especially after the start of the present judicial crisis, reliable official sources revealed to The News.
Indian diplomats suddenly become more active and started meeting different government officials, politicians and lawyers secretly after March 9, the sources said. They said that these official and Indian consulates in Kandahar and other Afghanistan cities bordering Pakistan were controlling and monitoring ambiguous activities in Pakistan. The sources revealed that two Indian embassy diplomats were seen hobnobbing with some senior officials (not judges) of the Supreme Court on 14th June this year. Sources said that these diplomats have played a key role in blowing the whole judicial issue out of proportion.
They said that main feature of these activities of the diplomats of the neighbouring country was to target the Chinese. Kidnapping of the Chinese in Islamabad and killings in Peshawar was also the result of the propagation of these diplomats, the sources claimed.
Repeated attacks on Chinese are amid at deteriorating Pak-China relations and thus destroying Pakistans economy, sources said, adding: Those who are being used by these foreign diplomats are not the friends of Pakistan.
Discussing Thursdays Hub attack, these government sources said that this was a traditional terrorist attack. They said the notorious intelligence agency of the neighbouring country has become active again. They said that use of mines and intensive firing with modern weapons in Tuesdays and Wednesdays attacks on security forces have proved involvement of this intelligence agency in the attacks.
Further explaining the Indian involvement, the sources said that these diplomats have started a proper campaign against Pakistan Army. They alleged that the book written by Dr Ayesha Siddiqa against the army was also the part of that campaign. They claimed that Dr Ayesha had closed relations with a lady diplomat of Indian Embassy. Ayeshas personal car is still present in the house of said lady diplomat in Islamabad, the sources said, adding: Even Ayeshas compartment in London was also provided by this diplomat.
Official sources said that the present statement of the Indian prime minister on Kashmir was totally out of context. There was no need to made such a statement in the present scenario. The sources said there were no negotiations going on at any level right now. These sources alleged that this statement was aimed at diverting the attention from the Indian involvement in the on-going terrorist attacks in Pakistan, which are specifically targeting our Chinese friends.
The sources said the Indian diplomatic missions in European countries and the USA are proactively propagating that Pakistan was an irresponsible nuclear state. We are facing many problems at home front while these Indian missions are trying to convince the western people that our nuclear assets could go in the hands of extremists any time. The sources said that they want to target Pakistan strategic defence assets.
Posted by: John Frum ||
07/20/2007 19:43 ||
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oohhh....diplomats having secret meetings with lawyers....that will bring out the jhihad in any red-blooded Pakistani.
ISLAMABAD: Islamabad is set to take up with Kabul the issue of 171 RAW-trained Afghan terrorists who intelligence agencies say sneaked into Pakistan two months ago and are yet to be traced.
Intelligence agencies suspect that these Afghans were involved in the recent spate of suicide bombings in Pakistan.
Sources told Daily Times that intelligence agencies informed a meeting chaired by Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao on Wednesday that 25 of the 171 Afghans had links with RAW agents in Indian consulates at Jalalabad and Kandahar.
The sources said that the Afghans had crossed the border via Torkham and Chaman two months ago and had spread in the settled areas of the NWFP, Sindh and Punjab for suicide bombings.
The sources said that the intelligence agencies ruled out Al Qaedas role in the recent terrorist incidents and held the RAW network responsible for the suicide bombings in Islamabad, NWFP and other parts of the country.
The sources said that the government had decided to take up this issue with the Afghan government through diplomatic channels. They added that the Foreign Office representative present at the meeting had been asked to prepare a draft of all evidence of RAW activities for taking up the matter with the Afghan government.
The sources said that the meeting had also decided to deploy Punjab Rangers for the security of the Diplomatic Enclave, foreign missions, sensitive installations, important personalities and maintaining law and order in the federal capital. They said that 60 platoons of the Frontier Constabulary were being sent back to the NWFP to tighten security in the restive province.
The sources said that the Interior Ministry had sanctioned the recruitment of 7,500 personnel for the Islamabad Capital Territory Police, and asked the Punjab police to recruit more personnel as well.
The Interior Ministry has ordered the Islamabad district administration and the police to submit a report on the criminal record of militant suspects in the federal capital as well as information about the staff and security situation of all private organisations.
The meeting also decided to issue orders to the provincial home departments and the Islamabad administration to tighten security for the Pakistan Peoples Party leadership after the blast at the partys camp set up to welcome Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry on Tuesday night.
The meeting issued directions to the district coordination officers and district police officers to ensure that no Islamic organisation arranged big gatherings so that anti-state elements could not exploit the situation.
Posted by: John Frum ||
07/20/2007 07:20 ||
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the intelligence agencies ruled out Al Qaedas role in the recent terrorist incidents and held the RAW network responsible for the suicide bombings in Islamabad, NWFP and other parts of the country.
So... Osama and Zawahiri are blameless... and Manmohan Singh (to whom RAW reports) is responsible?
No wonder the CIA can't find Osama... he must he hiding in Delhi!
Posted by: John Frum ||
07/20/2007 7:33 Comments ||
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RAW couldn't even bomb its own HQ.
Their deputy director has absconded.., seems he was a Bangladeshi mole.
It's being described as the mother of all spy scandals. TIMES NOW has learnt that a Bangladeshi spy called, Dhimanchand Malik had managed to breach the country's highest and securest office - the Prime Minister's Office or (PMO) as well as the Cabinet Secretariat.
But even before the police could catch him, Dhimanchand Malik, who served as a high ranking deputy director of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) for five years till 2005 is now absconding.
The alleged infiltration of the PMO's office was revealed after Anuj Bharadwaj, director, Aviation Research Centre, who is working in the Cabinet Secretariat, registered an FIR at the Lodhi Colony police station. With no trace of the alleged mole, he has been declared an absconder.
It is feared that Malik has leaked confidential security information. He is also believed to have stolen some sensitive documents.
As soon as the breach was revealed, a team immediately left for 24 Parganas in West Bengal to verify the residential address given by Malik. However, locals told the team that Malik was, in fact, a Bangladesh citizen.
Over the years, a spate of espionage cases has rocked the nation. Joint secy in RAW, Rabinder Singh, defected to the US on June 5, 2004. In 2002, 12 former staff of the PMO and the Rashtrapati Bhavan Secretariat were sentenced to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment in the Coomar Narain espionage case of 1985.
Posted by: John Frum ||
07/20/2007 8:06 Comments ||
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#3
Lets see, months before the Red Mosque became an issue, Afghan terrorists under a Bangladeshi working for India were wandering into Pakland to stir up trouble...sure.....
I'm surprised they missed the North Korean suicide bombers hired by the Tiawanese Intelligence smuggled in from Iran by US Special Forces.
Though the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) have apparently a similar stand on law and order issues, including military operations, the JUI-F is reluctant to oppose the federal governments anti-militant policies, as it is more interested in rule politics.
The NWFP government finds itself in an embarrassing situation these days. It requested the federal government to deploy the army in Swat and other troubled areas, while on the other hand its major ally, the JI, was demanding the federal government withdraw army from the areas where it had been deployed. The provincial government, headed by JUI-Fs Akram Khan Durrani, is under enormous pressure and confused as general elections are knocking at the door and the religious alliance has its vote-bank mainly in rural areas. The JI and the JUI-F have scores of differences on the inside over political issues and the federal governments anti-militant policies, Brig (r) Mehmood Shah, former secretary home, tribal affairs and secretary FATA, told Daily Times.
Shah said Chief Minister Durrani asked for armys help at the recent National Security Council (NSC) meeting and that the security forces were deployed in Swat and other areas on his request. The former home secretary said the JUI-F believed in rule politics and could not afford to lose NWFP and Balochistan governments by opposing the centres policies.
This article starring:
AKRAM KHAN DURRANI
JUI-F
Brig (r) Mehmood Shah, former secretary home, tribal affairs and secretary FATA
Jamaat-e-Islami
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl
Posted by: Fred ||
07/20/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
(JUI-F)
I'd no idea there were French Jews in Pakistani tribal politics.
The Washington Post has urged the United States government to militarily strike Pakistans tribal agency areas since the Pakistani government has been unable to flush out terrorist groups from their sanctuaries.
The shock editorial, advocating the unilateral bombing of a sovereign state which is a close Washington ally, proves, according to a political observer who wanted to remain unnamed, that when it comes to perceived US security interests in the world, no holds are barred and no principles of international law apply.
The lead editorial said, If Pakistani forces cannot or will not eliminate the sanctuary, President Bush must order targeted strikes or covert actions by American forces, as he has done several times in recent years. Such actions run the risk of further destabilising Pakistan. Yet those risks must be weighed against the consequences of another large-scale attack on the US soil. Direct intervention against the sanctuary in Afghanistan apparently must have seemed . . . disproportionate to the threat, the Sept 11 commission noted. The United States must not repeat that tragic misjudgment.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/20/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Roll back over a hundred years and see what it was like with the Apache raiding from Mexico into Texas and the New Mexico territory. Much the same. Glad handing and nods in Mexico and nothing happening [like that has changed in the same time frame - NOT]. It was a quagmire of unending military commitment and campaigns. No over all strategy. Diplomatic complications. Political interference. The Donks had just succeeded in executing a withdraw of Federal troops from the South [more of loading up the trains rather than the helicopters] which would herald the loss of civil rights by the black community for nearly a hundred years. If it hadn't been for the Apache directly raiding into Texas and forcing the Texas Donks into action, the Army would have been reduced to practically nothing. Maybe if we extended human life expectancy to a couple hundred years, we'd remember the follies of the usual suspects and grasp the patterns of repeated behaviors. It's the result of destroying the record of one's past, previously known as 'history'. If you don't have a past, its going to be an interesting if not a unnecessarily tough future.
Facing al-Qaeda
With the terrorists growing stronger, their sanctuary in Pakistan must be eliminated.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
HOMELAND Security Secretary Michael Chertoff makes a good point: No one who has been following the news should have been surprised by the conclusion of U.S. intelligence agencies that al-Qaeda is growing stronger and that the threat that it will stage another major attack against the U.S. homeland is a serious one. That al-Qaeda has established a sanctuary in Pakistan's tribal areas -- cited as among "key elements" in the regeneration of "its homeland attack ability" by the new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) -- has been known and discussed since last year. The "leverage" provided by a thriving affiliate organization in Iraq is all too obvious. What's missing in Washington is not information about al-Qaeda, Mr. Chertoff says, but a readiness to make hard decisions about how to protect the country.
The Homeland Security chief has some choices he'd like Congress to make, including modifications to visa-free travel to the United States and the installation of technology allowing for tighter screening of air travelers. The issues he raises are important, and we will return to them. Yet, if there is one decision that seems most urgent in light of the intelligence reports, it is what to do about the al-Qaeda base in Pakistan, which is allowing the group's senior leadership to coordinate with what the NIE calls "operational lieutenants" and to train militants for operations in Europe and the United States.
The Bush administration has been ducking this critical problem for too long, despite the clear lesson of Afghanistan. The Sept. 11 commission concluded that tolerance of al-Qaeda's sanctuary there was of "direct and indirect value . . . to al-Qaeda in preparing the 9/11 attack." The commission said the U.S. government must disrupt such bases in the future "using all elements of national power." Senior administration officials have publicly acknowledged since early this year that an al-Qaeda sanctuary exists in Pakistan. But they have rigidly stuck to a strategy of depending on Pakistan's autocratic president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, to take that disruptive action -- even while Mr. Musharraf has pursued a contrary policy of appeasing the Pakistani tribesmen who are harboring the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
Administration officials say they believe Mr. Musharraf will resume military operations in the tribal areas after a 10-month suspension -- if only because the militants broke a truce last week and attacked government forces. But earlier operations by the Pakistani army failed; government forces may be too weak to break up the sanctuary. Mr. Musharraf himself is preoccupied with preserving his own regime. If the militants offer him a separate peace, he may well accept it.
The administration says it has a comprehensive strategy that involves funneling $750 million over five years into development programs in the impoverished tribal areas and beefing up the Pakistani forces that patrol the frontier with Afghanistan. The State Department says it is also pressing for democratic elections in Pakistan this year, though it has ignored Mr. Musharraf's blatant preparations to manipulate the process. If it really were to focus on economic development and democracy rather than propping up the tottering general, the United States might contribute to stabilizing, over a period of years, one of the world's wildest territories.
Yet that won't address the imminent threat of a revived al-Qaeda organization able to strike the United States from a secure base. If Pakistani forces cannot -- or will not -- eliminate the sanctuary, President Bush must order targeted strikes or covert actions by American forces, as he has done several times in recent years. Such actions run the risk of further destabilizing Pakistan. Yet those risks must be weighed against the consequences of another large-scale attack on U.S. soil. "Direct intervention against the sanctuary in Afghanistan apparently must have seemed . . . disproportionate to the threat," the Sept. 11 commission noted. The United States must not repeat that tragic misjudgment.
#5
The Bush administration has been ducking this critical problem for too long, despite the clear lesson of Afghanistan.
Hmmm, seems I recall a Predator strike against a home where A-Q #2 was supposedly visiting. I know there have been several "targeted killings" in Pakistan, but there's only so much you can do in another nation's sovereign territory - at least if you agree to work within the framework of international law. As long as we have to recognize Pakistan's right to exist, we have to acknowledge that unrestrained attacks on foreign soil are acts of aggression - I.E., grounds for declaring war against the aggressor. We either have to force Perv to clean his own house, or we need to decide that war with Pakistan is no big deal and go for it. Either way will not only require action from the President, but also from both parties in Congress.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/20/2007 13:22 Comments ||
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#6
The Bush administration has been ducking this critical problem for too long
Coming from anyone save the democrats or MSM, this accusation might actually carry some weight. It doesn't, so it doesn't.
#7
The Bush administration has been ducking this critical problem for too long
That's what happens when you get tied down in Iraq.
If we pulled all the troops out of Baghdad tomorrow, think what that would do to help with the Pakistani problem. Why, we could send them all to Darfur and Al Qaida would throw up it hands in surrender.
#9
As a form of balance, the WaPo requires itself to call for strong military action in half the cases. In another form of symetry the WaPo maintains the same level of stupidity in both its hawk and dove templates.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
07/20/2007 23:45 Comments ||
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BBC Urdu has conducted the first in-depth interview with one of the Islamic militants who were holed up inside Lal Masjid in Islamabad.
For six months, the mosque complex which also housed a womens madrassa and a childrens library had been occupied by Islamic militants, among them children and several hundred women. One of them was an 18-year-old girl the eldest of seven children from a village in the Punjab. She spoke to a reporter from BBC Urdu at her village this week.
Below are selected quotes from the interview.
On the thoughts of her family: I was not in contact with my family. The last time I contacted them, I told them that the army would not start an operation. They asked me to come back but I said I would never come back as I wished to be martyred. My brother said that he would force me to return, but I told him that he could be beaten up if he came near the madrassa.
(She refused to leave the mosque but about 430 women and children left the mosque on July 4, after troops lay siege to the complex.)
A girl who came with us was taken home forcibly. She was crying and told the teacher that she didnt want to go back. The teacher asked her to go back with her parents. We felt sorry for her as we came here with the passion of jihad and to preach Islam and now, because there was a problem, the girls had gone back. We did not appreciate the parents behaviour. The teacher said that no one was being stopped from going home and she asked parents to go and find their children to take them home. Very few girls left because they were afraid those who left were either minors or they forced to leave by their parents.
As the assault by the Pakistani troops intensified: We were shocked that they cut off the electricity and also cut off the water and gas supply. What could we do? We were only praying to God to show them the right path. They were throwing teargas shells in large amounts. We were continually cleaning our eyes with salty water. Glass windows were breaking, doors were breaking. We couldnt sleep, sometimes one would sleep for an hour, or half an hour, the others would stay awake. That way we managed. On July 10, the last day of the battle: We wanted to carry out suicide attacks. We asked the teacher to provide us with arms necessary for suicide attacks. She said that we didnt have sufficient explosives. Yes, we had a passion and we were willing to go to all lengths. We had been told by our teacher that they had put explosives in the building and that we shouldnt die in this manner, but come outside to face the bullets or even surrender. It was better to come out rather than die under the debris. The final assault by the troops on the mosque: We came outside with our hands raised and saw that the doors were closed and they were on the roof. There was no way to leave. We told them that we had surrendered and they should not shoot at us. A policeman showed us the way out and finally, we were taken outside. They took us to another room and gave us food. We were crying a lot because the Qurans were burning inside Lal Masjid, which was on fire. We pleaded to them to let us take the Qurans. We were sad to see Qurans being burnt in front of our eyes. At sunset we were told that we were going to be sent home, and at night, we left the area.
On returning home to her village: After meeting my father, I was overcome by grief as I had gone hoping to be martyred, but came back alive. Now theyve attacked the mosque and Jamia Hafsa. I wish the whole country has Lal mosques. I will work for jihad, and open a madrassa and train people for jihad.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/20/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
I was overcome by grief as I had gone hoping to be martyred, but came back alive.
The government has directed the intelligence agencies to identify the madrassas involved in militancy and spreading hate material across the country to contain the recent wave of extremism. Sources told Daily Times on Thursday that there were about 17,000 madrassas in the country and the agencies would need four to six months to complete their task and submit a report to the Interior Ministry. The sources said the agencies would investigate the madrassas links with militants and would check whether any madrassa was preparing children for militancy. The sources said the decision in this regard was taken at a meeting of the National Security Council on June 4 with President General Pervez Musharraf in the chair. Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao briefed the meeting about increasing militancy in the country. The sources said that the Interior Ministry had a list of 20 madrassas that were involved in militancy across the country, but it was felt that the information gathered by the intelligence agencies and provincial home departments was incomplete and should be verified.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/20/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Sources told Daily Times on Thursday that there were about 17,000 madrassas in the country and the agencies would need four to six months to complete their task and submit a report to the Interior Ministry.
Why don't they save themselves the trouble and just make a copy of the list they already have and just change the title?
Mariane Pearl filed a lawsuit at a US court on Wednesday against Al Qaeda, other radical groups and Habib Bank Ltd over the 2002 abduction, torture and murder of her husband. This is totally wrong. I strongly deny it, Zafar Aziz Osmani, senior executive vice president at the bank, told Reuters. As an institution, we have never been involved in supporting any terrorist organisation.
"No, no! Certainly not!"
The issue is related to 2002, and the bank was until recently in government control, and obviously any government-controlled organisation cannot go for any fishy business, Osmani said, AP reported. Mariane Pearl alleged in the lawsuit that Habib Bank and its subsidiaries knowingly conducted financial transactions on behalf of charities linked to extremist groups.
This article starring:
Mariane Pearl
slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl
ZAFAR AZIZ OSMANI
Habib Bank Ltd
Habib Bank Ltd
Posted by: Fred ||
07/20/2007 00:00 ||
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A helicopter took members of an all-tribes jirga to North Waziristan on Thursday to hold talks with Taliban in a bid to save a peace accord. We are going to Miranshah to discuss the peace accord with Taliban leaders, Malik Waris Khan, a member of the jirga, said. The jirga left after a meeting with NWFP Governor Ali Jan Orakzai. Sources said the jirga members were driven to a secret location to meet Maulana Gul Bahadar, a senior Taliban commander.
This article starring:
Malik Waris Khan, a member of the jirga
MAULANA GUL BAHADAR
Taliban
NWFP Governor Ali Jan Orakzai
Posted by: Fred ||
07/20/2007 00:00 ||
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Meet da Doghmushes...
GAZA CITY (AFP) - Inside his heavily fortified compound, the head of Gaza's most notorious clan offers insight into his sprawling family that until recently was little known outside the unruly territory. "We have all the factions in our ranks," Salah Doghmush says of his clan, which shot to international notoriety recently when a group founded by one of its own kidnapped BBC journalist Alan Johnston. "Fatah, Hamas, Popular Resistance Committees, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Army of Islam," he says, listing some of the main Palestinian factions. "We have them all." Keep ya friends close, ya enemies close, keep everybody close...
"But to remain united, not talking politics has become law within the family," says the head of a clan with an estimated 3,500 members inside Gaza and 1,500 abroad.
Boosted by their numbers, money and arms, the Doghmushes have become one of the most powerful of Gaza's clans over the past several years.
The clan compound lies in the Sabra district of Gaza City, with each entrance featuring a checkpoint guarded by heavily armed men."No armed stranger can enter here," says Salah, dressed in the traditional white jalabiya robe. "Those who don't know Doghmush criticise us. But those who know us say that we are the best family" in the Gaza Strip, he says smiling.
One of the people to know the family is Kamel, the 70-year-old head of the Badawi clan linked to the Doghmushes by marriage. "It's a family that instills fear because there are so many of them and they have a lot of money," says the wrinkled Badawi, reclining in his luxurious garden. "They have managed to establish a monopoly on the import of rubber into Gaza, and they also own a number of garages and work in construction," he says. No olive oil company?
The Doghmushes are also suspected to have earned a large part of their fortune in arms smuggling, and Palestinian security services say their pockets have been lined with ransoms paid to free foreigners kidnapped by clan members. The most infamous kidnapping was that of BBC's Alan Johnston. The veteran newsman was held for nearly four months -- by far the longest a kidnapped Westerner was held in Gaza -- before being freed unharmed on July 4. Wonder how much the BBC coughed up?
The group that took responsibility for his abduction, the Army of Islam, was founded in 2005 by Mumtaz Doghmush, a high-school dropout who at one point has been associated with Fatah, Hamas and the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC). Army of Islam is the latest addition to the myriad of factions represented among the Doghmushes, and uses language and symbolism usually associated with Al-Qaeda. Prior to the Johnston kidnapping, the Army of Islam was mainly known for participating, along with Hamas and the PRC, in the cross-border raid last June in which militants killed two Israeli soldiers and seized a third who remains in captivity. Yeah. We dooze it for Da Prophet, ya unnerstan?
Salah Doghmush has little to say them."Whatever Mumtaz is up to has nothing to do with the family. It's not something we know about," he says brusquely. "I don't want to ask. It's none of my business." I nevah wanted dis for you, Mumtaz...
Indeed, for several months now, Salah Doghmush has had other business on his mind, amid ongoing tensions with Gaza's new masters, the Islamist movement Hamas.
The strains began in December, when two Doghmushes loyal to the secular Fatah movement -- Mahmud and Ashraf -- were killed by the Islamists during factional clashes in Gaza. The family has vowed to avenge the deaths. Oh, boy! Who are we rooting for in this one? The Dogmushes ought to get into the popcorn business...
"We know that there were 18 people who participated in the attack," Salah Doghmush says. "We have killed three. The others will have to pay. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." I want inquiries made. I want acts of vengance...
The tensions with Hamas further increased during the Johnston kidnapping. Hamas, eager to show to the outside world that it would introduce a measure of law and order to chaotic Gaza, surrounded the Doghmush compound to put pressure on Mumtaz to free the journalist. "There is no more confidence between us and Hamas," says a senior Army of Islam official, declining to give his name. Abbas is a pimp. He coulda never outfought Mahmud and Ashraf...
"We could never believe that Hamas could kill Mahmud and Ashraf, after all that Mumtaz had done for them. There will be no forgiveness," he warns. But I didn't know til this very day that it was...Haniyeh all along.
#6
The clan compound lies in the Sabra district of Gaza City, with each entrance featuring a checkpoint guarded by heavily armed men."No armed stranger can enter here," says Salah
bet Mr. Apache, Mr. F-15, say different
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/20/2007 19:02 Comments ||
Top||
#7
Zen - the Arab world has actually made it to the 19th century?
Who knew!?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/20/2007 19:22 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Who knew!?
I suppose that was rather overly generous of me. I take it all back!
Hamas leaders on Thursday condemned Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's decision to hold early parliamentary and presidential elections and vowed to foil the vote. They also accused Abbas of conspiring with Israel to assassinate Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip. Abbas has won the backing of the PLO Central Council, whose members supported the call for early elections and demanded that Hamas give up control of the Gaza Strip.
The council, one of three key decision-making bodies of the PLO, met in Ramallah over the past two days to discuss the latest developments surrounding Hamas's takeover of the Strip.
Addressing the gathering on Wednesday, Abbas attacked Hamas and said he did not need permission from Syria-based Hamas leader "or his like" to hold elections. Abbas also said Hamas's leaders were "digging their graves with their own hands."
Abbas's remarks set off a wave of rumors according to which Israel was planning to launch a massive military operation in the Gaza Strip to crush Hamas and eliminate its top leaders. "Mahmoud Abbas is no longer qualified to lead the Palestinian people," said Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar. "By issuing death threats against his own people, he has lost his credibility among the Palestinians."
Speaking to reporters in Gaza City, Zahar, who served as foreign minister in the Hamas-led unity government, accused Abbas of conspiring with Israel to kill Hamas leaders. "We all know that Abbas does not have the power to carry out his threats when he talks about digging graves," he said. "So the question is: Who's going to dig the graves for Hamas on his behalf?"
Zahar also accused Abbas of rallying the international community against Hamas and of serving US interests in the region. "Abbas is inciting the enemy to attack the Gaza Strip," he said. "He has specifically asked Israel to invade the Gaza Strip. But Israel knows that it will pay a heavy price for such an adventure and that's why the Israeli's haven't fulfilled Abbas's demand."
Calling on Abbas to step down, the Hamas leader asked: "What kind of a president is this who calls on the enemy to attack his own people? How can he remain in his job after he has asked the Americans to occupy the Gaza Strip when their forces are being defeated in Afghanistan and Iraq? Abbas is also trying to starve his people by closing the Rafah border crossing. Where in the world is there a president who seeks to starve his people and increase their suffering?"
Zahar criticized Abbas for his decision to disarm Fatah militiamen in the West Bank and accused him of resuming security coordination with Israel against the "Palestinian resistance factions."
He said Hamas would soon reveal many documents that were seized in the headquarters of Fatah-controlled PA security forces in the Gaza Strip that proved these services were spying on Islamic organizations throughout the Arab and Muslim world.
Zahar said his movement would work to thwart early elections. "These elections are aimed at bypassing the legitimate institutions of the Palestinians," he said. "They will not resolve the crisis; on the contrary, they will only aggravate the problem."
He said Hamas was convinced that Abbas was planning to steal the vote. "Why is he [Abbas] assuming that the results of the new elections will be different from the last ones in January 2006?" Zahar asked. "Most probably it's because he's planning to forge the results. In the West Bank, the results will be 100% forged."
Nabil Amr, a top adviser to Abbas, said such charges "belonged in the garbage bin." He said the PA leadership has decided to ignore all statements made by Hamas leaders. "Zahar's statements reflect Hamas's growing frustration and depression," he said. "Hamas has clearly run out of ammunition and the only thing they are doing now is issuing derogatory statements. But we have decided to ignore them completely."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/20/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
'Israel, Abbas plan to kill our leaders'
Short answer? Yes. Long Answer? Definitely.
What kind of a president is this who calls on the enemy to attack his own people?
And what sort of elected leadership runs about indiscriminately offing their own people? Pot-> Kettle -> Black.
Where in the world is there a president who seeks to starve his people and increase their suffering?
These boys don't get out much, do they? Where to start? Let's see; North Korea, Zimbabwe, Iran, Burma, Ethiopia, Somalia, Nigeria ... I'm sure I've left out quite a few. It's a grand tradition among tyrants, we'll just leave it at that.
Saudi Arabias Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Shaikh has urged the Muslim youth to be aware of elements that were launching fake jihad. In an interview, he said that there were large numbers of such elements, which were giving lessons of fake jihad to the youth and misguiding the common man. Self-claimed mujahideen with their version of jihad are only distracting Muslims, he said. Sheikh Abdul Aziz said that jihad, in present time, was to shun evil and follow the teachings of Islam. He said it was ironic that Muslims had divided into sects, and that each sect considered itself to be on the correct path and declared the other non-Muslim. He advised young men not to follow such teachings and consult authentic religious scholars for proper guidance. Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Shaikh graduated from Imaam ad-Dawah Institute from the Faculty of Sharia in 1962.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/20/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Self-claimed mujahideen with their version of jihad are only distracting Muslims... from the proper demographic jihad. What are they thinking, where they presume that slaves would come from?
#2
Self-claimed mujahideen with their version of jihad are only distracting Muslims,
WARNING: WE RECOMMEND ONLY GENUINE JIHAD. ACCEPT NO SUBSTITUTES.
Fake jihad does not reflect the thoughts or opinions of either Muslims, my mosque, my Imam or the ummah. All jizya reserved. You may distribute this message freely but you may not take riba from it. Jihad is subject to change without notice. This jihad has not been safety tested for children under the age of 3. Illustrations are slightly enlarged to show bomb construction detail. Intended solely for the private use of Muslims. Any resemblance to sane persons, living or dead, is unintentional and purely coincidental. Do not remove pages from Koran under penalty of law. Wash hands and feet before use, dry bomb vest on low heat. Do not bend, fold, mutilate, or spindle Koran. Your blast radius may vary. No substitute jihads allowed. Daw'ah is for a limited time only. This jihad is mandatory where prohibited, taxed, or otherwise restricted. Attacks may vary in Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. Jihad is provided "as is" without any warranties. Terrorist assumes full responsibility. Past detonations do not predict future results and people can and do lose lives or body parts. This is an equal opportunity jihad. No shoes, no shirt, no jihad. C-4 quantities are limited while supplies last. If any fake jihads are discovered, do not attempt to carry them out yourself, but return to an authorized Mosque for service. Read Koran at your own risk. Parental advisory - explicit prayers. Suras may contain explicit materials sane readers may find objectionable. Parental indoctrination is advised. Keep away from line of fire. Keep Korans away from Jews and Infidels. Limit one free Koran per family please. No bomb vests on credit. No thinking necessary. You need not be sane to detonate. Some wiring required. Batteries not included. Instructions are posted at jihad website. Action figures sold at Mosque. No jihad is guaranteed. Slippery when bloody. Safety keffiyeh may be required during use. Fused for your protection. Do not pray if safety seal is broken. Shout Allahu Ackbar! before you boom. Not liable for fake jihad arising from use or misuse of Koran. For use against Jews and Infidels only. If rash, irritation, redness, or swelling develops, shout inshalla and continue praying. Read Koran only with proper indoctrination. Do not avoid extreme doctrines and conduct jihad in a cool dry place. Keep bomb vest away from open flames. Avoid contact with Jews and Infidels and avoid inhaling blast fumes. Puncture, incinerate, or stone all transgressors. Do not jihad near a flammable or magnetic source. Smoking your Koran could be hazardous to your health. Jihadi carries no cash. No alcohol, dogs or horses. Unauthorized reproduction strictly prohibited. No haram ingredients unless otherwise specified. Mosque package not for resale. List at least two alternate targets. First blow up, then fall down. Some whiffs of sanity mentioned in this jihad appear for identification purposes only. Record jihad attacks on back of Koran. Jihad is a registered trademark of Islam. No jihads until the thinking comes to a complete stop. Jihad only as directed. No other jihad expressed or implied. Jihad will be paid for by zakat. This is not an offer to sell jihad. Jihad may be too intense for some victims. Freshest if detonated before date on bomb vest. Jihad subject to change without notice. Assault times approximate. Simulated thought processes. As seen on al-Jazeera. One bomb vest kills all. Many jihadis look alike. Contains a substantial amount of non-explosive ingredients. We have sent the jihadis which seem right for you. For Islamic use only. Jihad was current at time of detonation. You must be this tall to jihad. Jihadis have been briefed on some questions before the boom. You must boom to win. No truth, honor, integrity, sanity, rationality or cohesive cognition added. If boomed, do not induce vomiting, and if symptoms persist, consult an imam. May cause explosiveness. Alcohol may intensify this effect. Use caution when booming a car or bus. Possible penalties for early detonation. Loss of virgins may apply. Jihad valid only at Jew and Infidel sites. Slightly higher west of the Green Zone. Allow four to six seconds for detonation. Must be 5 to boom or marry. Jihads are closer than they appear. Jihad does not cover misuse, accident, lightning, flood, tornado, sewage tsunami, volcanic eruption, earthquake, hurricanes and other Acts of Allah. Neglect, damage from improper reading, incorrect indoctrination, unauthorized Koran reading, broken minaret or marred prayer rug, missing or altered serial numbers on weapons, electromagnetic radiation from nuclear blasts, sonic boom vibrations, customer adjustments that are not covered in this list, and incidents owing to an airplane hijack, ship sinking or taking on water, motor vehicle exploding, dropping the Koran, falling mosques, leaky sewage ponds, broken greenhouses, rooftop swan dives, automatic weapons fire, or projectile (which can include, but not be limited to, arrows, bullets, shot, BB's, shrapnel, lasers, napalm, torpedoes, or emissions of X-rays, Alpha, Beta and Gamma rays, knives, stones, etc.). Other sharia laws may apply. Jihad ends in case of nuclear holocaust. Jihad measured by death toll only. Contact your local mosque for details. Explosives may settle in transit. May cause random outbursts of extreme violence, epileptic seizures, or whatever. Actual jihad may differ from explanation in sermon.
#16
Have you been holding that in reserve or did it just come to you?
With a little encouragement from others, I've been including disclaimers in some of my previous postings. When I saw the "fake jihad" exhortations in this article the old light bulb came on and about an hour later the above sprouted from my monitor's screen. I used this ultimate disclaimer as a template and performed all the necessaryand ridiculously obviousIslamic permutations upon it con gusto. I'm glad that you enjoyed it.
#18
If any fake jihads are discovered, do not attempt to carry them out yourself, but return to an authorized Mosque for service. Read Koran at your own risk.
(AKI) - The Philippines' largest Islamic rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, has welcomed news that Malaysia will head an international monitoring team (IMT) to investigate the clash between the army and rebels in Basilan, in the southern province of Mindanao last week.
Peace talks between the MILF and the government are now at risk following the bloody conflict, in which five members of the rebel group and at least 14 soldiers - ten of whom were decapitated.
"This move is very significant if we are to know the truth of the decapitation of the soldiers and the imam Alkanul," said Mohagher Iqbal, the the head of the MILF negotiating team said on the group's website.
Alkanul is the religious leader killed and mutilated hours before the conflict between the MILF and the army that took place in Basilan in on July 10.
The MILF has denied having decapitated the soldiers even though it has never denied the deaths took place during the bloody conflict.
The conflict occurred while the military was conducting a search and rescue operation for Giancarlo Bossi, an Italian priest abducted in Tipo-tipo town in the island-province of Basilan in June.
The IMT will also try and veryify whether the MILF has breached the truce that was the basis of peace talks that were underway since 2001.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/20/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
I can never read one of these stories without laughing. Do these Brave Jihadi Warriors know what that acronym means to any infidel whose mind is remotely close to the gutter?
Posted by: The Doctor ||
07/20/2007 11:07 Comments ||
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Tehran, Iran, Jul. 19 One of Irans most senior clerics has been taken to intensive care after the state of his health sharply deteriorated, it was announced on Thursday.
Ayatollah Ali Meshkini, Chairman of the Assembly of Experts, is currently connected to an intensive care unit (ICU) artificial breathing apparatus. He is suffering from a blood disease that has badly damaged his bodys self-defence mechanism, according to the state-run news agency ISNA.
Leukemia? Myelodysplastic syndrome? Sepsis?
AIDS.
The news agency Fars, operated by the office of Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, reported that Meshkini had gone into shock on several occasions on Thursday. He is currently undergoing treatment at a Tehran hospital.
In February, Meshkini was re-appointed as head of the Assembly of Experts, a key constitutional supervisory body, amid speculation that he would forego the position to Irans former President Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Meshkini is also the Friday prayers leader in the holy city of Qom.
It's going to be a "hot" summer in the Middle East, said Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad following a surprise meeting with Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah in Damascus on Thursday evening, Channel 10 reported.
Nasrallah allegedly entered Syria dressed in a burqa via an underground tunnel, the television channel said.
"We hope that the hot weather of this summer will coincide with similar victories for the region's peoples, and with consequent defeat for the region's enemies," Ahmadinejad added, in an apparent reference to Israel.
During his one-day trip to Damascus, Ahmadinejad held talks with counterpart Bashar Assad which focused on the Iraq situation, Palestinian territories and Lebanon, where both Teheran and Damascus wield influence. "The enemies of the region should abandon plans to attack the interests of this region, or they would be burned by the wrath of the region's peoples," the hardline Iranian leader said at a joint press conference with Assad.
Ahmadinejad, accompanied by a high-level delegation, was greeted at Damascus airport by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem ahead of the official reception by Assad at the People's Palace. Assad was sworn in Tuesday for a second seven-year term.
He described Syrian-Iranian relations as "amicable, excellent and extremely deep," adding that the two countries have common stands on regional issues and face common enemies.
Assad said Ahmadinejad's visit came in the context of the continuous developing relations between the two nations whose "farsighted policies" have proven to be correct. The Syrian leader said they also discussed "ways of restoring dialogue among all Palestinian factions." Syria also backed Iran's right to pursue a nuclear program and the two called for the "departure of all occupation forces" from Iraq - a reference to US troops.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/20/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
I doubt Ahmadinejad truly appreciates just how "hot" his future promises to get. And I'm not talking about his afterlife.
#5
Naharnet also covered the "event" (nice photo, too).
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lashed out Thursday at the region's enemies and called for Lebanese unity during meetings in Damascus with his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad and Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
"The enemies of the region should abandon plans to attack the interests of this region, or they will be burned by the wrath of the region's peoples," the hardline Iranian leader said at a joint press conference with Assad.
"Burned", eh? What are the odds that the Persians have already "acquired" nukes?
Iranian state television aired a documentary Wednesday using statements by detained Iranian American scholars to make a case that Washington was plotting to foment a velvet revolution in the country.
The programme, called In the Name of Democracy, showed extensive video, apparently heavily edited, of academics Haleh Esfandiari and Kian Tajbakhsh. They have been held for more than two months without access to legal counsel in Tehrans Evin prison, home to Irans most famous political prisoners as well as common criminals. The 50-minute documentary, apparently assembled to suggest a US-backed attempt to bring down Irans clerical government, is filled with fragmented and seemingly mundane descriptions of the scholars professional lives and is interspersed with video of the colour revolutions that toppled governments in the former Soviet bloc.
Esfandiari, 67, of the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, described her day-to-day activities as director of a programme that brings together scholars, policymakers and journalists from the Middle East and the West. Anyone who was invited from Iran to deliver a speech at a highly reputed center like the Wilson center could attract many listeners, including policymakers, she said.
The main objective in communicating with these groups was to know key ones in order to invite them for lectures and place them in the vast network. The Iranian government alleges that the Bush administration, which has spoken often in favour of regime change in Tehran, is trying to use Irans once-vibrant constellation of civil society organisations to pursue its foreign policy objectives.
But at least a few Iranian viewers were unimpressed with the documentarys purported evidence. I could not understand ... the relationships between Ukraine, Georgia, Serbia, the so- called velvet revolutions with the Iranian situation and these three poor detainees, said a Tehran woman who spoke on condition that her name not be used. The second detainee, Tajbakhsh, summarised his work for philanthropist George Soros Open Society Institute, a New York-based think tank that promotes democracy.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/20/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Right about now we should provide a leak that three of their council of twelve have been secretly negotiating with us in exchange for a lot of money and permanent residency in Paris.
#6
Why are they filming the old geezers? I'm sure they can find some government guys discussing the desirability of Iranian regime on CSPAN. If we're not fomenting revolution over their air and radio waves, I want to know why not.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
07/20/2007 23:39 Comments ||
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(AKI) - Kurdish trade unionist Loghman Mehri is reported to have been kidnapped with his wife by unknown assailants while entering the bus station in the Iranian capital,Teheran. Several passengers at the scene said Loghman had been violently beaten before being loaded into a car and taken away with his young wife. The trade unionist, free on bail, was due to present himself next week at Sanandaj prison, in Iranian Kurdistan. He was in the capital on his honeymoon.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/20/2007 00:00 ||
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An alleged leader of the Fatah al-Islam terrorist network has testified to interrogators that the group is linked to the head of Syria's intelligence apparatus Maj. Gen. Assef Shawkat, the brother-in-law of President Bashar Assad. Ahmed Merie, a Lebanese citizen arrested late in May at a Beirut hotel, also testified to military examining magistrate Rashid Mezher that
Four members of Fatah al-Islam gunned down legislator Pierre Gemayel on Nov. 21 in east Beirut's suburb of Jdaideh.
four members of Fatah al-Islam gunned down legislator Pierre Gemayel on Nov. 21 in east Beirut's suburb of Jdaideh, according to the daily al-Moustaqbal. Another pan Arab daily, al-Sharq al-Awsat, published a similar report.
The report said Merie testified to Mezher during interrogation that he was the "liaison officer" between Fatah al-Islam's leader Shaker Abssi and Shawkat . Shawkat, according to Merie's alleged testimony, provided Fatah al-Islam with a "highly qualified explosives expert who trained members of the group on bomb making." Shawkat also provided the group with "significant support," the nature of which was not reported. Merie was also quoted as telling Mezher that he worked out the explosives expert's safe exit from the Nahr al-Bared camp in north Lebanon and back to Syria before the clashes broke out between the terrorists and the Lebanese Army on May 20.
The newspaper report quoted unidentified judicial sources as saying Merie identified four members of the Fatah al-Islam network who carried out the Gemayel murder. The sources, however, refused to disclose names of the suspects. Nevertheless, the newspaper said the so-called Majd el-Dine Abboud, who also goes by the code name of Abu Yezen,
Such Jihadists included Fatah al-Islam financial backer, a Saudi named Abdul Rahman al-Yahya, who goes by the code name of Abu Talha.
was one of the suspects in the Gemayel murder. He was killed in confrontations with the Lebanese Army. It couldn't be determined whether Abboud was a Syrian or Palestinian citizen, the report noted.
Merie and his brother, Mohammed, also testified in separate sessions that Fatah al-Islam had planned to carry out bomb and booby-trapped car attacks against several targets in Lebanon, including two Beirut hotels frequented by personnel of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in addition to some embassies and U.N. offices, the report added. It said Merie testified to playing a role in smuggling Iraqi, Tunisian and Saudi "jihadists" to Lebanon via Syria.
Such Jihadists included Fatah al-Islam's financial backer, a Saudi named Abdul Rahman al-Yahya, who goes by the code name of Abu Talha. Merie, according to the report, rented an apartment for Yahya in the northern city of Tripoli and "received from him lots of money used to finance members of the group and for the purchase of a highly sophisticated machine used to forge passports which was confiscated later at one of the squad's apartments in Tripoli."
Merie, the report added, moved to the Akkar province after outbreak of clashes at Nahr al-Bared and stayed for a couple of days with a relative. He then moved to the eastern Bekaa valley before settling at the hotel in Beirut's district of Ashrafiyeh where he was busted by police and arrested. "He maintained contact throughout that period with Abssi and his gang," the report concluded.
This article starring:
ABDUL RAHMAN AL YAHYA
Fatah al-Islam
ABU YEZEN
Fatah al-Islam
AHMED MERIE
Fatah al-Islam
MAJD EL DINE ABUD
Fatah al-Islam
MAJ. GEN. ASEF SHAWKAT
Govt of Syria
military examining magistrate Rashid Mezher
MOHAMED MERIE
Fatah al-Islam
Pierre Gemayel
SHAKER ABSI
Fatah al-Islam
Fatah al-Islam
Posted by: Fred ||
07/20/2007 00:00 ||
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The United States said Wednesday there was clear evidence of arms smuggling across the Syrian border to terrorist groups in Lebanon, and accused Iran and Syria of playing a negative role in the country. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad made the accusation after a closed Security Council meeting to discuss progress on a U.N. resolution that ended last summer's war between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas backed by Syria and Iran. That resolution banned weapon transfers to Hezbollah.
Khalilzad said the United States had sent a clear message in the meeting on "the negative role that Syria and Iran are playing and called on them to cease and desist from their negative activities" in Lebanon. He added that there was clear evidence of "arms transfers to terrorist groups" inside Lebanon, including Hezbollah, the Palestinian extremist group PFLP-GC and Fatah Islam, the al-Qaida-inspired militant group that has been fighting the Lebanese army for the past two months. Khalilzad was referring to a report by a U.N.-appointed team that assessed the border late last month and concluded that security was too lax to prevent arms smuggling.
Syria's U.N. Ambassador Bashar Jaafari dismissed allegations that arms were being smuggled across his country's border with Lebanon. "We denied it many times and we are still denying it," he told reporters after the meeting. Jaafari claimed the information about arms smuggling provided to the Security Council came only from Israeli intelligence and none of it was from Lebanese authorities.
However, U.N. Mideast envoy Michael Williams said "virtually all" of the arms smuggling documented in the secretary-general's report to the Security Council last month came from the Lebanese government or Lebanese security agencies. "I think the situation is very serious," he told reporters.
In the report last month, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Syria and Iran to do more to prevent arms smuggling into Lebanon, citing Lebanese and Israeli government allegations of violations of the arms embargo.
Ban said Lebanon informed him that on June 6, four trucks were seen by Lebanese armed forces traveling from Syria to Lebanon. Each truck carried two vehicles mounted with 40-barrel rocket launchers, he said. Syria dominated Lebanon for nearly three decades. But in 2005, it was forced to withdraw tens of thousands of troops from its neighbor amid an uproar over allegations that Damascus played a role in the assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri. Syria denied it.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/20/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
What is the use in complaining publicly? Nobody gives enough of a shit to do anything about it. It's all hot air that makes everyone except for Iran/Syria look feckless and dumb. Pisses me off.
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