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'Saddam's daughter won't be deported'
Today's Headlines
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Page 1: WoT Operations
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Afghanistan
I call bullshit on TIME: Taking Aim At the Taliban
In Afghanistan, they are making an army from enemies. During the country's civil war nearly two decades ago, Ahmad Zai Waris and Zubir Ahmad fought on opposite sides of the lines, Waris heading a mujahedin group determined to drive the Soviets out of Afghanistan and Ahmad as a soldier fighting for the Soviet-backed government. Now Waris and Ahmad live together on a military base in Afghanistan's eastern province of Kunar, hard against the Pakistan border. They often stay up late talking about guerrilla tactics of the past and how to use them against their new, shared adversary: the Taliban.
That's whatcha might call a "perfect storm" of doctrine raw material.
"If we are strong, no enemy will be able to infiltrate our villages. If the enemy cannot attack the army from villages, then they will have to fight from the open, where they can be defeated easily. And if fighting is in the open areas, civilians will not be at risk," says Waris. "We are the future of Afghanistan."
I'm not sure if they're talking about a "village watch" program like we had in Vietnam or a different approach. In Vietnam it didn't work all that well. The Vietnamese can be vicious warriors, but they don't have the tradition of it at the village level. The march at the behest of their rulers. Pashtuns have an opposite problem: they're too quick to shoot people up.
Some 38,000 Afghan soldiers have been trained by U.S. and coalition forces since 2003, and many already accompany NATO troops on the ground. The U.S. and the international community have launched an ambitious plan to nearly double the size of the Afghan National Army (ANA), to 70,000; to build a fully functioning police force of 82,000; and to lay the groundwork for a National Afghan Air Corps by December 2008. But building a strong army in the middle of a war is a difficult undertaking. Much of the Afghan corps is young, illiterate and prone to desertion. Few units are judged capable of fighting the resurgent Taliban on their own.
My guess would be that a bigger problem would be subordinating that warrior tradition to a soldierly approach. It's discipline and coordination that win wars, not individual ferocity - which is great for winning individual fights.
If the U.S. hopes to salvage some success for its increasingly parlous enterprise in Afghanistan, that will have to change.
I doubt anyone who knows anything about the subject was surprised by the fact that building a professional army within Afghanistan would be a complicated matter. Just the language differences were daunting enough. The fact that they're doing it slowly is a good sign. The previous Afghan army was modeled on the Soviet and it didn't work quite as well as its model, which in turn wasn't as great a shakes as it was made out to be at the time.
At a time when U.S. and NATO forces have come under scathing criticism for civilian casualties - figures compiled by Taliban and talibunnie threats media groups and human-rights organizations indicate that since the beginning of the year, the number of civilians killed by Western forces is on a par with those killed by militants - putting an Afghan face on the war has become an essential part of regaining the faith of the public.
It's a standard guerrilla tactic to mix with the civilian population for cover - it's not even a terrorist tactic. Think Chairman Mao: "The guerrilla is the fish, the people are the sea." Where you edge from guerrilla tactics into terrorism is when you start using them as physical shields, or you intentionally set things up so that your enemy damages them.
"All this anger about civilian casualties by foreign forces - it's just like Baghdad before everything started going downhill," says a Western official who has spent time in both countries. Because of a shortage of ground troops, the U.S. and NATO have relied on heavy and imprecise air strikes and artillery fire against the Taliban.
Except that our airstrikes are for the most part pretty precise. Within reason we hit what we're shooting at. If the Talibs pack what we're shooting at with women and children it's not a shortcoming on our part, it's a war crime on their part. But I don't hear the critics going on at length about the daily war crimes being committed by the head choppers.
Afghan forces, on the other hand, understand local culture and can live within communities, gathering intelligence and establishing security. "Every Afghan soldier that can fight effectively reduces U.S. boots on the ground, earns critical support from Afghans and has the potential to reduce collateral damage," says U.S. Ambassador William Wood.
I call bullshit on all of the bolded sections above. What really pissed me off were the factual errors in terms of casualties and "imprecise" fires. Oh, and the gratuitous hit on the Westerners in favor or the locals
But progress toward that goal remains halting, as a visit to the centralized Kabul Military Training Center (KMTC) makes clear. Many recent recruits had never been to Kabul before and found it hard to adjust to barracks life and a fully planned schedule.
In 1943 my father, swept up by the draft, was on his first trip outside the hills of Kentucky at the age of 33. No doubt he found it difficult to adjust to barracks life.
Some were mystified by the socks that came with their uniforms.
I'm not sure where that mystery comes from.They're used to sandals, but they do wear socks with them.
Like soldiers around the world, they complain particularly about the food. "The cauliflower is much better at home," says Mohammad Rahim, 18, as he picks over a meal of vegetable stew, rice and bread served out on the range where he's been drilling on targeted fire.
Right. My Mom cooked better than the army cooks I had when I was in basic training, too. She was nicer to me than my sergeants, too.
For 18 weeks the recruits learn to march in formation, set up camp, shoot weapons, organize missions and react to ambushes. Staff Sergeant Robert Paul Rosell, a California National Guardsman who works as a mentor to the Afghan battalion led by Waris and Ahmad, says, "The hardest lesson is getting through the idea of 'one target, one shot.' They tend to go blacko on ammo." Other military trainers call it the "spray and pray" school of target practice.
That's a cultural characteristic.
Rosell has spent the past four months living at a small ANA base in eastern Afghanistan, about a mile (1.6 km) from the Pakistan border, part of a new program to embed U.S. soldiers with Afghan companies to ease the transition to full independence. It's rough work. For the first month of their deployment, the troops had no showers.
Life's tough in the field. But someday, they'll look back on it, and they'll think: "Boy! We really smelled bad!"
Snow, mud and rain dogged every patrol, and landslides caused the collapse of a couple of barracks and a chow hall. The post's remote location meant that food supplies flown in by helicopter were sometimes delayed - and when they did come, half the vegetables had already rotted. Even the camp dogs, a white Lab named Musharraf and a mutt called Putin, were getting tired of potatoes.
"Musharraf? You are named after a dog?"
I'm not surprised, considering that potatoes are among dogs' least favorite foods.
The Afghans held impromptu dance performances when patrols went well and cracked jokes when they didn't. "Even on the worst days, they'd still be smiling," says Rosell. "These guys can handle anything."
That's not an exclusive cultural trait, except maybe for the dancing. It's a characteristic of good troops.
That's good, since the job of an ANA soldier is one of the most dangerous in Afghanistan. The dark khaki camouflage uniform, a gift from the U.S. government, may as well be a beacon for insurgent attacks. Several hundred ANA forces have died in combat since 2003, and a Taliban directive has decreed that ANA soldiers are infidels for their affiliation with the foreign forces. Insurgents prefer to target Afghan forces rather than NATO, knowing that the poorly prepared troops rarely drive armored vehicles and that they lack sufficient retaliatory firepower to mount a counteroffensive.
What they need is tighter liaison between the Afghans and the NATO troops. In an ideal world, they'd fight as a single force. I would guess that's an ultimate goal.
The rising military death toll has made recruiting new soldiers even more difficult, says Colonel Karimullah, head of army recruiting in Kabul. "The boys themselves are not afraid," he says. "But it is their parents who make the decisions to let them join, and when they see all this on TV, they don't think it's worth it."
Young men of that age group usually think of themselves as indestructible. I shudder when I think of some of the dumbass things I did when I was that age. Mom and Dad, with a years-long investment in raising them, view things differently. The teevee's a reminder they didn't have during the Soviet era.
Though recruitment rates have risen from 600 to 2,000 a month, re-enlistment is still a problem. Only half the soldiers renew their contracts once their three-year tours are up.
A 50 percent reenlistment rate's really pretty good for first-termers.
If a fair number of the ones who muster out remember what they were taught, remember that the fella from the next village wasn't so bad even though he snored at night, and remember that they're part of a nation as well as a tribe, a clan and a village, the other 50% will become just as valuable over time.
Many Afghans say their $100 monthly salaries are less than what they can make growing poppies or smuggling.
Money's not a motivator for military service, though. If you want to make money, you become a a lawyer or a politician. Once military pay makes it into the "adequate" range - enough to keep body and soul together, maybe even enough to support a family if you go career - mission and unit become the motivators. If the guy's not motivated by the mission and his unit, you don't want him anyway.
The escape rate, the equivalent of going AWOL in the U.S., is an ongoing headache for both the American and Afghan commanders. After a grueling tour in eastern Afghanistan, Waris sent his men home for a month's holiday. Six weeks later, they were still trickling back to their base near Kabul. One soldier, already late by a week, had told friends he was afraid to return, for fear of the commander's anger. Waris had to promise he wouldn't punish the man before he would agree to come back. "What can I do?'' he asks. "We need these guys."
The U.S. Army had the same sort of problems up until 150 years ago. They're rooted in society's structure, and that's changing, albeit reluctantly, in Afghanistan right now.
The Bush Administration has asked Congress for $8.6 billion to build up the Afghan National Security Forces over the next two years, with the international community contributing an additional $1.7 billion a year thereafter. (Considering that its fiscal 2005 GDP was $7.1 billion, Afghanistan can hardly be expected to foot the bill.) "It's a bargain," says Major General Robert Durbin, former commander of the Combined Security Transition Command in Afghanistan. "We are spending $15 billion a year now for the presence of U.S. forces. So for a fraction of the cost, you have the Afghans pick up the fight. So we have the option, if we so choose, to reduce our forces, and that's a good return on investment." Staff Sergeant George Beck Jr., a U.S. soldier training new recruits at the KMTC, says, "It's all about crawl, walk, run. Right now the Afghan army is at a crawl. In a few more years it will walk, and in 10 it will run. Then we can all go home."
Assuming we're successful in that, it's going to put the Afghans in an interesting position. Assuming they train to close to U.S. standards, they're going to end up with a well trained, highly disciplined, and highly motivated military. Their neighbors to the east - the guys who keep rattling on about strategic depth and who're trying to run the insurgency the Afghans are fighting - won't be in the same category. The Afghans will still be outnumbered by about five to one, but with a few strategically placed friends, they'll be in a position to keep the great gamers at a distance.
An even more interesting position is what these soldiers do over time. Some will make the Army a career, but many won't -- if they come home and become leaders that will make the Army an institution for civilizing and democratizing Afghanistan. And that will be an even stronger lesson for the neighbors to the east.
Posted by: Brett || 08/21/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  In solidarity Brett I call Bullshit too..

now I'll read it... worser than Cod Oil in the morning!
Posted by: RD || 08/21/2007 1:33 Comments || Top||

#2  PURE FU*CKING LIES, pure politics woven through @ through the whole fricken thing... my blood a boiling... damn I wish I hadn't read that..

I would personally love to beat the c*rap outta this POS and its editor.---> ARYN BAKER
Posted by: RD || 08/21/2007 1:41 Comments || Top||

#3  The escape rate, the equivalent of going AWOL in the U.S., is an ongoing headache for both the American and Afghan commanders. After a grueling tour in eastern Afghanistan, Waris sent his men home for a month's holiday. Six weeks later, they were still trickling back to their base near Kabul.

This is their culture speaking. It's perfectly acceptable behavior there, and they think western forces are too anal about these things.

I also understand that these guys get out of bed whenever they are darned good and ready. Left to their own devices, they would probably only fight when they felt like it, and not when the weather wasn't to their liking. If true then this probably hampers the overall effort, too. Lots to overcome here.
Posted by: gorb || 08/21/2007 2:22 Comments || Top||

#4  It si good to have an army of warriors, eager to fight but it is not enough. You also need people who kepa awake and alert when they are on guard duty even if their replacement has been delayed, peopple who don't bicker when tey have to dig trenches, peole who can refrain from firing or retreat when ordered even when they thrashing their direct opponents. That is an army of soldiers and these beat armies of warriors 9 times out of ten.

But of course the best is when an army is both an army of warriors and soldiers at the same time.
Posted by: JFM || 08/21/2007 4:39 Comments || Top||

#5  A key element in this effort is the new national military academy. Creating professional officers out of tribal members and forging a new Afghan identity that transcends tribal ties.

It's low profile in the press, but a lot of effort is going into this & it will pay off over time.
Posted by: lotp || 08/21/2007 6:19 Comments || Top||

#6  I was geographically disoriented. "Neighbors to the east", Fred - you refer to the southeast, not their friends to the west, who also would like to see anarchy on their border, as opposed to an islamo-democracy.
Posted by: Bobby || 08/21/2007 6:43 Comments || Top||

#7  Let's get a meter reading on this agenda-driven tripe.


Just what I thought.
Posted by: doc || 08/21/2007 8:22 Comments || Top||

#8  "The hardest lesson is getting through the idea of 'one target, one shot.' They tend to go blacko on ammo." Other military trainers call it the "spray and pray" school of target practice.

Not so much cultural as doctrinal. The Soviets favored spray-and-pray tactics, and the AK-series rifles are optimized for this style of shooting. The Afghan communist government's army was trained by the Soviets to Soviet doctrine, and most of the rebels copied it. (However, do see the chapter on Afghanistan in the 1985 edition of James Dunnigan's Quick & Dirty Guide to War, in which he describes Afghan tribsemen conducting a goat-shooting contest at 500+ yards with .303 Lee-Enfields.)
Posted by: Mike || 08/21/2007 8:43 Comments || Top||

#9  JFM:
At the risk of stating something you know better than I, there's a difference between Warriors and Soldiers. Think of the Zulu, Sioux, or Apache, all of whom were brave and superb fighters, yet would have gone home after an hour at Gettysburg.
Posted by: Gary and the Samoyeds || 08/21/2007 9:10 Comments || Top||

#10  Time Magazine = liberal bullshit propaganda.

'nuff said.
Posted by: DarthVader || 08/21/2007 9:24 Comments || Top||

#11  I feel like I need a bath after wading through that... Time has hit bottom and still floundering. A large part of the problem is who owns it.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 08/21/2007 11:29 Comments || Top||

#12  I would suggest that the writers of this "fact" based article are certainly unfamiliar with Joghn Keegan's "The Face of Battle" or his Chapter entitled "Any mother's son will do" on basic training, from Roman times til now. Military history, and the study thereof, are anathema to the modern day press. Sighhhh.
Posted by: Total War || 08/21/2007 11:39 Comments || Top||

#13  Oh she's certainly qualified to offer expert opinions on the subject...

Aryn Baker is the associate editor at the Asian edition of Time Magazine, based in Hong Kong. Since joining Time in 2001, she has worked as a reporter, editor and correspondent, covering everything from the first Tibetan beauty pageant to Iran’s Paralympics volleyball team, Afghanistan’s first female Olympian and Pakistan's polio eradication program. Prior to moving to Asia, Baker earned her M.A. in Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, where her focus was on radio and international reporting. While in the United States she wrote freelance articles for the San Jose Mercury News, the Los Angeles Times, the East Bay Express, the Asia Wall Street Journal and the Village Voice. She also produced a weekly news radio program for KALX in Berkeley, and interned at KQED in San Francisco. Journalism is a second career for Baker, who worked as a pastry chef in Paris for several years after earning a B.A. in Anthropology at Sarah Lawrence College.
Posted by: tu3031 || 08/21/2007 12:06 Comments || Top||

#14  re#12 My apologies. I just fact checked myself. The Chapter "Every mother's son will do" was from Gwynne Dyer's T.V. series/book called "War". Despite having been written by a Canadian and premiering on PBS, it is still a great piece of writing and worth a read/watch.
Posted by: Total War || 08/21/2007 12:17 Comments || Top||

#15  At a time when U.S. and NATO forces have come under scathing criticism for civilian casualties - figures compiled by Taliban and talibunnie threats media groups and human-rights organizations indicate that since the beginning of the year, the number of civilians killed by Western forces is on a par with those killed by militants - putting an Afghan face on the war has become an essential part of regaining the faith of the public.

Scathing criticism by who? The same groups and media hacks who distort these figures in the first place, or the mindless bleeding-heart dweebs who swallow their traitorous pablum whole? You caught the big fish, Brett. What a stinker.
If the Talibs pack what we're shooting at with women and children it's not a shortcoming on our part, it's a war crime on their part. But I don't hear the critics going on at length about the daily war crimes being committed by the head choppers.

This remains the central issue. The media's adamant refusal to indict our Islamic foes for near-constant war crimes is beginning to resemble aid and comfort to the enemy. They remain just as silent on how Islam itself is a standing violation of human rights.

Much like how after a while Moderate Muslim™ silence is no longer consent but, instead, becomes a lie: So it is with the media's silence regarding Islam's horrific catalog of war crimes and human rights abuses. The West must walk on eggshells while anything goes our barbaric foes. This is treason writ large.
Posted by: Zenster || 08/21/2007 12:39 Comments || Top||

#16  The West must walk on eggshells while anything goes for our barbaric foes.
Posted by: Zenster || 08/21/2007 12:41 Comments || Top||

#17  "The hardest lesson is getting through the idea of 'one target, one shot.' They tend to go blacko on ammo."

Would it help to train them on M-1s?
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 08/21/2007 15:07 Comments || Top||

#18  Does Time produce anything but BS?
Posted by: Unutle McGurque8861 || 08/21/2007 16:18 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Raiders attack Darfur camp
Armed raiders killed a policeman and wounded four others in an attack on a refugee camp in Darfur, adding to fears about the safety of displaced people the war-torn Sudanese region, officials said on Monday.

The attackers fired on a police post at Al Salam camp in the south of Darfur, the base for thousands of people who have fled their homes during more than four years of revolt. "This happened yesterday in Al Salam camp," deputy governor of South Darfur state Farrah Mustafa told Reuters from Darfur. "They killed one of our police and injured four."

Mustafa said investigations were continuing into who carried out the attack. He said 26 armed men attacked the post and tried unsuccessfully to steal police vehicles.
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Janjaweed

#1  Lutheran raiders?



Oakland raiders?
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 08/21/2007 7:29 Comments || Top||

#2  Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2007 8:03 Comments || Top||

#3  "Remember. people - shoot the man, not the horse. Dead horse is cover. Live horse? Big pile of panic."
Posted by: mojo || 08/21/2007 13:40 Comments || Top||


Africa North
4 get life for roles in Cairo bombings
A security court convicted and sentenced four Egyptian terror suspects on Monday to life in prison for their involvement in three 2005 terrorist attacks that killed two French tourists and an American, judicial officials said. Five others, including two women, received jail sentences that ranged from one to 10 years in prison, while the court quitted four others over the lack of evidence, the officials said. The verdict hearing for another suspect was postponed because he was sick and could not attend, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak to the press.
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Takfir wal-Hijra


Bangladesh
JMB man to die for Jamalpur killing
A Dhaka court yesterday sentenced a Majlish-e-Shura member of the Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), a banned Islamist outfit, to death for killing a Christian youth in Jamalpur four years back. Judge Mohammad Israil Hossain of the Speedy Trial Tribunal-4 handed down the sentence in the presence of the convict, Salahuddin alias Salehin, at a packed courtroom. The court acquitted two other JMB members -- Amir Khan and Sharif Monwar alias Shiplu -- as the charges brought against them were not proved.

Earlier, the prosecution and the defence finished their arguments and the court recorded statements of 14 prosecution witnesses. According to the prosecution, a group of JMB members led by Salahuddin killed Hridoy Roy of Sonarcor in Jamalpur's Sarishabari upazila on April 23, 2003 because he allegedly converted poor Muslim locals to Christianity. A murder case was filed with Sarishabari Police Station following the incident without naming any suspects. Investigation into the case later revealed that JMB members had been behind the killing.
This article starring:
AMIR KHANJamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh
Judge Mohammad Israil Hossain of the Speedy Trial Tribunal-4
SALAHUDIN ALIAS SALEHINJamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh
SHARIF MONWAR ALIAS SHIPLUJamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh
Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Militant detained, weapons cache found in Chechnya
(Interfax) - A suspected militant, a resident of the village of Komsomolskoye, has been arrested in Chechnya's Gudermes, a source in Chechen law enforcement services told Interfax by phone on Sunday. An improvised grenade was seized from the suspect, he said.

In other developments, two large barrels, filled with weapons and ammunition, were discovered in a wooded area on the limits of the village of Komsomolskoye. The cache is believed to have belonged to a criminal armed group led by Bantayev. Three mortar mines, six grenades, 504 cartridges, 300 grams of explosives, 20 improvised detonators and four electrical detonators, a plastic bottle filled with aluminum powder and a Kenwood radio unit were discovered in the barrel, the source said.
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria


India-Pakistan
Grenade attack kills one
CHINIOT: One woman was killed and four others injured in an alleged hand grenade attack on a mud house by two motorcyclists in Mohallah Qasim Town on Monday. The explosion seriously injured Razia Bibi alias Gogi, Bushra Ahmad, Halima Mohammad, Rabia Basri and Sughran Bibi. They were rushed to Tehsil Headquarters Civil Hospital where Razia Bibi died from her injuries.
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2007 08:46 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The Cycle of Violence strikes again.
Posted by: mojo || 08/21/2007 11:09 Comments || Top||


Militant commander killed, 15 suspects arrested in Sui
Security forces took action against militants in Sui in collaboration with Dera Bugti district police on Monday, as result of which a militant commander was killed and 15 suspects were arrested, District Police Officer (DPO) Dera Bugti Najum Tareen told APP. The security forces and police took action after the militants fired rockets at them, officials said. The name of the killed militant commander, whose body is currently being kept at the Dera Bugti Civil Hospital, could not be ascertained. However, officials said he was wanted by the police in connection with numerous criminal cases. The forces recovered 15 anti-tank and anti-personnel mines, five Kalashnikovs, five kg explosives, and hundreds of bullets from the possession of the militants.
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2007 08:45 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


6 soldiers killed in Hangu attack
Six security personnel were killed and 18 others, including a civilian, were wounded on Monday when a suicide bomber rammed a car packed with explosives into a checkpoint on Kurram Road in Tal tehsil of Hangu district, officials said.

Seven police officials were killed and several injured in a similar attack at the entrance of the Hangu Police Training Centre last month. Hangu District Police Officer (DPO) Ghulam Mohammad Khan said the suicide bomber came in a blue jeep from Miranshah and struck the Militia Mandoori check-post.

According to sources, a woman died when security forces opened indiscriminate fire after the incident. There were also reports of cross firing in the district after the blast. After the blast, senior police officials rushed to the scene and blocked the Hangu-Kurram Agency road.

Meanwhile, militants fired three missiles at Mir Ali camp on Sunday night. "One of the missiles hit the house of a Frontier Constabulary jawan, injuring a woman," they said.

Militants fired rockets at the Gunggat Jaur Khasadar post in the Kuz Hameer Kund area of Safi tehsil, on Sunday night, causing minor injuries to two Khasadars.
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Two top LeT militants killed in Kashmir gunfight
Two top militants of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) outfit were gunned down by Indian security forces in south Kashmir Monday. Police said personnel of the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the state police surrounded a house in Ganavpora village in Pulwama district, 50 km from here early Monday. "As the security forces tried to enter the house, the hiding militants opened heavy fire, which was returned. The fierce firing continued till late this afternoon. Two militants of LeT, including the outfit's district commander for Shopian district, was killed," a police spokesman here said.

He said arms and ammunition were recovered from the site. The slain militants have been identified as Abdul Hai Rather, LeT district commander, and Shiraz Ahmed, his associate.
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Lashkar e-Taiba


Pakistan frees Mohammed Naeem Noor Khan
A Pakistani accused of using his computer skills to help al-Qaeda has been released after three years in custody, a government official and the man's lawyer said Monday.

Pakistani officials have said that information from Mohammed Naeem Noor Khan quickly led them to a Tanzanian wanted for his alleged role in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa, which killed more than 200 people. Khan, who was captured in the eastern Pakistan city of Lahore in July 2004, has also been linked with terror plots in the U.S. and Britain, and to the arrests of suspects in Britain.

Deputy Attorney General Naheeda Mehboob Ilahi said in the Supreme Court on Monday that Khan, believed to be in his late 20s, was released and returned to his home in the southern city of Karachi. Ilahi provided no details.

The court has been pressing the government for information on dozens of people whose relatives say they were picked up and held incognito by Pakistani intelligence agents for alleged links to militants. Khan's lawyer, Babar Awan, confirmed that his client had returned to his family but said he had not been able to speak to his client to ask where he had been held, and by whom. Awan said Khan was never charged or brought before any court.

Khan, an engineering graduate, was suspected of being a point man who sent coded e-mails to al-Qaeda operatives possibly planning attacks in the United States, Britain and South Africa. Twelve days after his arrest, Pakistani authorities pounced in the city of Gujrat on Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, who had a $25 million bounty on him for his alleged role in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Information from those captured, including maps and photos found on their computers, helped prompt the U.S. government to issue a warning about a possible al-Qaeda attack on financial institutions in New York and Washington.

Clues gained after Khan's arrest helped British investigators nab Dhiren Barot, a confessed al-Qaeda terrorist sentenced last year to life imprisonment for plots to bomb U.S. financial targets such as the New York Stock Exchange and London hotels and train stations.
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda

#1  ISI connections anybody????
Posted by: Paul || 08/21/2007 5:01 Comments || Top||


Al Qaeda suspects nabbed in Manipur
Paramilitary troopers have apprehended 15 suspected Al Qaeda activists from a border town in Manipur after the group entered the region from Myanmar, officials said Monday. A defence ministry spokesperson said Assam Rifles troopers nabbed the group from a house Friday at Moreh town, 110 km from Manipur's capital Imphal. Moreh is located on the border with Myanmar. They were proceeding to Bangladesh via Manipur and Silchar in Assam, the sources said. Foreign currency, including US dollars, was seized from the arrested persons, the sources said. The other currencies recovered from them were Bangladeshi Taka, Myanmarese Kyat and some coins.

While one of the activists had a work permit of Thailand, identity card, hospital card, income tax card, a bank receipt of a Kuala Lumpur bank were also seized from the others, the sources said.
The activists were identified as Mohammed Nasen (42), Faizu Rehaman (17), Sled Salam (21), Abul Hussein (42) and Mohammed Rehman (18), all Bangladeshi nationals. The rest were identified as Mahabu Basar (22), Mohammed Junet (28), Basir Ahmad (21), Mohammed Salim (23), Sabir Ahmad (31), Mohammed Rohid (17), Abdullah (32), Mohammed Abdul (18), B Ahmad (18) and Sali Ahmad (32), all from Myanmar-Bangladesh border, the sources said.

"The group of 15 Muslim migrants had entered Moreh from Myanmar without valid travel documents. We shall be formally handing them over to the police Monday for further interrogation," defence spokesperson Lalit Pant told IANS. "No arms or ammunition were recovered from the group." Police and intelligence officials said 10 of them were Myanmarese and five were Bangladeshi nationals - the group members were planning to enter Bangladesh through neighbouring Assam. "There is a strong suspicion that they have links with the Al Qaeda or some other Muslim fundamentalist or terrorist groups. We shall soon be interrogating them," a senior police official said requesting not to be named.

Manipur, bordering Myanmar, is a hotbed of insurgency. Most rebel groups in Manipur have bases in Myanmar from where they carry out hit-and-run guerrilla strikes in the region.
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda


Pakistan: Suicide bombing leaves 4 troops dead
A suicide attacker detonated his explosive-laden car at a roadside security post in northwestern Pakistan on Monday, killing four troops and wounding eight others, officials said.

The paramilitary post was targeted on the outskirts of Thal, a town in the North West Frontier Province, a police officer said on condition of anonymity because he did not have the authority to speak to the media. The army's top spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad confirmed the bombing but said he did not have any immediate confirmation of casualties.
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Iraq
Michael Totten: How to spy in Iraq
as always, an interesting read and too long to excerpt - hit his tipjar if you can
Posted by: Frank G || 08/21/2007 18:08 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Lets ask the Dutch/Euros - WEEKLY STANDARD > THE KGB'S MAN IN COPENHAGEN. *FRANCE > RUSSIAN INVESTMENTS [espec Military-related ventures] at ALL-TIME HIGH.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 08/21/2007 18:58 Comments || Top||

#2  errr.... "Earth-To-Joe?"

wrong rant or wrong article...
Posted by: Frank G || 08/21/2007 19:41 Comments || Top||


Spec. Allison K: "I guess I have done my duty"
Truly an amazing story. All of my problems paled when I read this story.
Hattip: hotair.com

Last night, I had to wait for two hours to catch a Black Hawk from the IZ to Camp Taji. (I'll write more later about Taji and Tikrit, where I was last week.) In the crowded landing zone trailer, I plopped down on my body armor on an unoccupied piece of floor, thinking I would just watch tv and maybe sleep a bit before my flight. Instead, the soldier next to me, curious because of my civilian clothes and obvious youth, struck up a conversation, and we ended up talking straight up until her flight left an hour later. I'm still in awed shock over the story the soldier told me.

Her name was Spec. Alison K., and I stupidly assumed that she must be a rear-echelon soldier with a job at the embassy or somewhere like that -- she was petite, blonde, and looked like a more likely candidate for Princeton's Cottage Club than for combat. I was dead wrong about that. After I'd explained to her satisfaction what I was doing in Iraq, I asked her where she was from, where she was stationed, and what her duties were, as I do almost any soldier I talk to. She was originally from California, she said, and was with the 2-2 BSB at FOB Rustamiya, in east Baghdad (she was wearing the Indian Head patch so I knew she was from 2nd ID). She was 25, and twelve months into her first tour. I asked if it had been a rough deployment; she said yes, her truck had been hit by IEDs four times. Clearly she was not a rear-echelon soldier.

I hesitated to press for details, since you never know whether a soldier will want to go into what's happened to them, but she dove right in without my even asking. She drove a recovery vehicle for the 2nd BCT, 2nd ID, and went outside the wire three or four times a week to help drag burned-out Humvees, tanks, and Bradleys back to base. "We get either sniped at or IED'd pretty much every mission," she said. "East Baghdad's really rough, but it's awesome like that. You should visit before you leave!" It took me a moment to realize she wasn't being sarcastic. "The first time you get blown up by an IED, you're like, Dude, this is badass! but after that you're like, This really is not cool at all anymore. But riding out there, getting shot at, shooting back -- that doesn't get old." Many soldiers would disagree, obviously, it was hard to doubt her enthusiasm. She seemed to genuinely love combat, and she related two stories with particular relish. First, the time she was taping from her vehicle so that people could see what a convoy looked like, when, right there on tape, the truck directly in front of hers had hit an EFP and exploded in a cloud of flames. "It was insane," she added unnecessarily: "There no way you could ever plan to get a video like that."

The second story blew my mind. The previous week a soldier in her vehicle had been shot by a sniper and badly injured -- but saved from death by the bible he kept in his pocket, inside his armor. That sounded like something from a corny World War II-era morale-boosting story, of course, but seeing my disbelief she pulled out a photograph to prove it: a pocket bible, soaked in blood, with a squashed 7.62mm bullet embedded in it. There had been two rounds; both had penetrated the soldier's armor, and one had wounded him badly, but the other, which would almost certainly have been lethal, had been stopped by the bible. "He was asking for his bible at the hospital," she said, "so I found the top he'd been wearing and pulled this out of the pocket where he said it would be, and I was like, No fucking way." If he had died, she said, she would have been furious: "My two best friends from my unit have been killed out here already, one of them right in front of me, and losing a third one would have sucked ass."

That was one of the most intense stories I'd heard in Iraq, I told her, then asked, as an afterthought, what flight she was waiting for. "Oh, I'm on my way home for medical leave. I'm going to see by dad, which will be weird, since he's an Army colonel and never wanted me to join and ever since I enlisted we pretty much haven't been talking. I'm dealing with a divorce too -- never marry an infantryman, although I guess that wouldn't be a problem for you -- and it'll be good to get home and work on that." An estranged father and a divorce on top of twelve months in combat, four hits by IEDs, and two best friends' deaths -- I didn't know what to say. So I backtracked and asked, "What's the medical leave for?" That's when she dropped the bomb I'm still stunned by:

"The truck got blown up the day before yesterday, but this time it was an EFP and I actually got hurt -- not too bad, just shrapnel stuff. So I got evacuated to the CSH [combat support hospital] up here for treatment, and while they were working on me they found out that I was pregnant, which I didn't know about, and it was twins, and I lost them both in the explosion. So then they took some tissue samples during the surgery, which I guess is routine, and it turned out it was cancerous. So I'm going home to start treatment so they can see if they can stop it before it spreads. Sounds pretty bad when I say it all at once, huh? I guess it hasn't really all sunk in yet."

I couldn't believe my ears. This was by far the most devastating story I'd heard from any soldier here, and yet there she was, telling it to me in an completely calm and amiable voice. I had absolutely no idea how to respond. What do you say when a soldier tells you, without missing a beat, let alone breaking down sobbing as one might expect, that in addition to losing her two best friends and being in the middle of an ugly divorce, she has also been wounded by an Iranian bomb, found out she was pregnant with twins, found out they were dead, and then learned that, by the way, she also had cancer and had better leave her unit and start treatment right away? Nothing I could possibly say would come even close to acknowledging what she'd gone through and, beyond that, the stunning courage she was displaying in dealing with it.

While I stared at her, trying to figure out how to reply, Alison continued: "I definitely want to stay in the Army, but I think after this they probably won't let me. Andt blows that I have to leave my unit early, though. They still have three months to go. But I've been here for a year -- I guess I've done my duty."

I've met some pretty impressive soldiers over here, from Gen. Petraeus to Lt. Col. Peterson, but none of them hold a candle to this one. I hope that if I remember one thing from this summer, it's that this is what service and sacrifice are all about: heroes like Spec. Alison K.
Posted by: Brett || 08/21/2007 14:47 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Here's the story of the Bible:

http://northshorejournal.org/index.php/2007/08/pfc-schweigart-saved-by-bible
Posted by: Chuck Simmins || 08/21/2007 16:45 Comments || Top||

#2  Speechless.
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 08/21/2007 16:50 Comments || Top||

#3  The enemy gets men who want infinite orgies. We get men and women like Spec. Allison K. To all reading these words who are now serving, or who ever have served, thank you.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/21/2007 17:06 Comments || Top||

#4  *sniff* Must remember to NOT read these stories at work.

It invokes a strange mix of feelings in me: utter pride mixed with a sense of abject unworthiness.

And to think I was feeling stressed out over the past week's events at home.
Posted by: xbalanke || 08/21/2007 17:26 Comments || Top||

#5  I know what you mean, x.

I was bitching because my power was out for 2 days and my computer & phone were zapped by the lightning during the storm.

I'll shut up now.....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 08/21/2007 18:17 Comments || Top||

#6  Allison K is an example of the best and the brightest we have. What a lady!
Posted by: Frank G || 08/21/2007 18:26 Comments || Top||

#7  I am stuck in training. Listening to this and wondering when I will be eble to get over there.

(I already know, but I cannot tell you that).

Honestly, that young lady is courageous, but also sick.

The bomb that hit her vehicle (any one of them) has caused a mild brain injury and is preventing her from realizing the severity of what she is facing. Someone needs to make certain that she is treated for this condition or she may have irreversible damage (which might be the case anyway).

Just my $0.02.
Posted by: Jame_Retief || 08/21/2007 20:34 Comments || Top||

#8  Scott Thomas Beauchamp will never write anything half as good in his entire journalistic career. He should just slit his wrists now out of respect for Spec. Allison K.
Posted by: Zenster || 08/21/2007 20:46 Comments || Top||

#9  Jame, you may well be right. Army's been raising profile/awareness of the mild head trauma issue for at least the last couple months stateside so if that's a consideration here we can hope it gets diagnosed and cared for quickly.
Posted by: lotp || 08/21/2007 20:55 Comments || Top||

#10  God watch over this dear child because the world needs a LOT more Alison Ks. I thought I was a hard man but I am not in her league.
Posted by: Cyber Sarge || 08/21/2007 21:25 Comments || Top||

#11  Jame, keep us in the loop on your progress and if there's anything we can do here from the lowly 'burg.

And, that said, my hat's off to Spec. Allison K. Where do we find men (and women) like this? All over this fine nation, and yet, they carry on with life. Thank you to all who have, who are or who will serve!
Posted by: BA || 08/21/2007 21:27 Comments || Top||

#12  I was stunned reading this!

The question "Where do we get such men?" (from the movie 'The Bridges at Toko-Ri') obviously needs to be expanded to "where do we get such AMERICANS?"

A brave American...may God bless and protect her
Posted by: Justrand || 08/21/2007 22:06 Comments || Top||

#13  If the enemy were capable of thought--
the idea that we have an army full of soldiers like SPC Allison K. should chill them to the core.

"...and they shall know no fear." This is why the antiwar types hate us. Deep down inside, they know how worthless they are compared to soldiers like SPC Allison K.
Posted by: N Guard || 08/21/2007 22:56 Comments || Top||

#14  Wowser. I'm awestruck.

With nothing to add, I guess I'll go open a stubborn jar or kill a spider in the bathtub or something.
Posted by: SteveS || 08/21/2007 23:36 Comments || Top||


I Love the Smell of Hellfires in the Morning or Smoking Rockets Commander Cory
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 08/21/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency

#1  I Love the Smell of Hellfires in the Morning or Smoking Rockets Commander Cory

They come from the collection of the best film noir of the 21st century!

thanks GolfBravoUSMC!

;-)
Posted by: RD || 08/21/2007 1:30 Comments || Top||

#2  great footage

Maybe Iraq TV will show it with some appro commentary.
Posted by: mhw || 08/21/2007 8:47 Comments || Top||

#3  they're dead jim
Posted by: Jesus saves || 08/21/2007 11:11 Comments || Top||

#4  I love the secondaries and the smoke ring at the end. Classic.
Posted by: DarthVader || 08/21/2007 11:18 Comments || Top||


#6  Another war crime. Those weren't 'secondaries'; they blew up that poor family's kitchen and cooked off the propane tanks for the stove.
Posted by: Pvt. Beauchamp || 08/21/2007 19:50 Comments || Top||

#7  sounds reasonable to me - no need to fact-check
Posted by: Franklin Foer || 08/21/2007 20:20 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
IDF nabs senior Islamic Jihad member involved in terror attacks
Cleared for publication: The IDF and the Shin Bet have arrested Yassin Sabana, a senior member of the Islamic Jihad who served as one of the organization's commanders in the town of Qabatiya, near Jenin. Sabana was jailed in Israel between 2003 and 2004 and was involved in terror attacks against IDF soldiers. (Efrat Weiss)
This article starring:
YASIN SABANAIslamic Jihad
Islamic Jihad
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 08/21/2007 11:08 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Islamic Jihad


Israeli fire neutralize kills three terrorists militants in Gaza
An Israeli strike Terminated killed three militants from the radical Islamic Jihad group in the Gaza Strip near the border with Israel on Tuesday, officials said.
In a text message to journalists in Gaza, the militant group said the gunmen were killed east of the town of Khan Yunis as a result of a direct hit.

An army spokesman said that the military "attacked and identified hitting three armed gunmen that were identified close to the security fence in the central Gaza Strip."
Can a gunman not be armed?
Israel has carried out a number of strikes and incursions inside Gaza since Hamas, whose charter calls for the destruction of the Jewish state, took control of the territory in mid-June.

On Monday, six Hamas militants were killed in an Israeli strike on a jeep in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.

The latest deaths took to 5,830 the number of people killed in Israeli-Palestinian violence since the start of the second Palestinian uprising in 2000, the vast majority of them Baby Ducks Palestinian, according to an AFP count.
And if you can't trust the quai d'orsay's mouthpiece about that, then, who can you trust, I ask you?
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 08/21/2007 10:57 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Islamic Jihad

#1  the vast majority of them Palestinian

They can stop whenever they wish.
Posted by: gromgoru || 08/21/2007 17:12 Comments || Top||


Nablus: IDF troops surround Palestinian fugitives
IDF troops operating in Nablus on Monday surrounded a number of houses hiding Palestinian fugitives. According to the reports, as of Monday evening, one person had been arrested in the operation. There were no reports of casualties.
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: al-Aqsa Martyrs


EU Cuts Off Funding for Gaza Electricity
Electricity in Gaza on Monday became the latest battleground in the struggle between the coastal strip's Islamic Hamas rulers and their Fatah rivals, who have accused Hamas of pocketing electricity revenues. The losers are hundreds of thousands of Gazans, who have been plunged into darkness as European donors cut off key electricity aid.

On Sunday, the European Union stopped paying for fuel to power generators that produce electricity for at least half of Gaza's population of 1.4 million. On Monday, it said the payments would not resume because it had received word that Hamas was "diverting" electricity revenues.
Oh golly, there's a surprise, huh? Diverting cash to the Widows Ammunition Fund instead of paying for the widows' electricity?
"We are ready to resume our support to the Gaza power plant within hours once we receive the appropriate assurances that all the funds will be exclusively used for the benefit of the Gaza population," the European Commission - the EU's executive branch - said in a statement.

"Hamas is collecting all the electricity fees and never pays the costs of the electricity," said Jawwad Hirzallah, deputy minister of economy. "The Europeans were paying $10 million that Hamas collects from the people and doesn't pay the costs. So the European Union found itself paying the electricity company, while Hamas was pocketing the revenues."
Nice little scam, and the Euros -- up until now -- were easy marks.
But the Islamic militant group - which last month arrested the electric company's Fatah-affiliated executive director on corruption charges - has denied taking the utility's money. And it accused the government in Ramallah of trying to discredit it through the electricity crisis. "The government in Gaza is not involved in the operations of the (electric) company," said Ala Araj, a Hamas adviser. "In the next few days, the government will announce the investigations of the former director of the company, who stole money the EU donated."
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  This is beyond obvious. They must have known it was happening. Who got pi$$ed off in Euroland? Or, more likely I think, did someone on the west side of the Atlantic have a little talk with someone on the east side?
Posted by: gorb || 08/21/2007 4:17 Comments || Top||

#2  Gaza – Ma'an – Details of financial and administrative corruption in the Palestinian power company in Gaza was revealed by the deputy chair of the Palestinian power authority, Kan'an 'Ubeid, on Monday evening.

At a press conference in Gaza City, 'Ubeid said there was evidence of money and grants being embezzled as well as finances provided for projects that never materialized.

He called on the European Union to send monitors and auditors from local and international companies to investigate the accusations that money paid in utility bills was ending up in Hamas' coffers.

'Ubeid also called on President Mahmoud Abbas to bring to justice those alleged to have been involved in corruption at the power company. He revealed that a number of suspects have been arrested and have admitted to stealing fuel from the company.

He accused the Palestinian minister of information Riyad Al-Maliki of falsely claiming that Hamas took control of the power generating company and its income.

"There had been a contract with a local company to supply 430 thousand litres of fuel to run the company's generators, and the grant was stolen by the former general manager of the company, the financial manager in cooperation with the supplying company," 'Ubeid explained.

'Ubeid also a grant of 586,000 US dollars from the European Union appeared to be unaccounted for.
Posted by: tu3031 || 08/21/2007 8:35 Comments || Top||

#3  Europe should treat Palestinians like Israelis. That is, give them mucho money for attacking The Other with impunity. Thank Yaweh no Israelis ever get accused/convicted of embezzlement, nepotism, rape, harassment or other corruptions...not even their leaders.

Right.

I think this ongoing hammering of the already-weak will work. It certainly did in the Warsaw Ghetto. Sick, hungry, dying Jews just had to be treated that way. Their errant ways forced the Germany Army to a fair fight: tanks against pistols.

Same thing per the IDF and Hamas. It’s only fair that a super-power with nukes goes against an occupied people with no army, borders, access to the outside world, etc. We won’t go into how Jews used terror to create their racist state. What was the Stern Gang compared to Hamas.

Oh. I see. Both targeted civilians.

Funny how Israel’s "most moral soldiers in the world" got their clocks cleaned in Lebanon by Hizbollah. I guess 40 years of shooting kids for throwing stones, humiliating grandfathers in front of their families, making pregnant women give birth at checkpoints, etc. doesn't keep so-called warriors strong, much less right.
Posted by: MerelyMortalMan || 08/21/2007 9:07 Comments || Top||

#4  I knew it! Damn Jooos making those Hamas guys steal all that EU money and put their own people in the dark! I knew it!
Awwwwww...look what you made us do!
Posted by: tu3031 || 08/21/2007 9:19 Comments || Top||

#5  Yes, indeed, MereMortalMan is correct. Just as the Nazi effort reduced the Jewish population of Europe by something like 90% (a reverse decimation -- how clever of them!) and the number of Jews on the planet by one third, so the Israeli effort in the Palestinian territories increased the Palestinian population from 500,000 in 1948 to 4,000,000 today, with another million or so Palestinian expatriots, a ten-fold increase. Truly genocidaires to match the Nazis!
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/21/2007 10:05 Comments || Top||

#6  MerelyMortalMan : what the esteemed and graceful Tw said (see this too, but that's all lies, of course!).

Your talking points are straight out of the massive propaganda effort sustained by the Forces of Progress and the arabs over the last few decades : you've bought them line and sinker, congrats.

BUT, let me tell you, even if those were true, even if this was what really is happening in those disputed (and not occupied, that's not my dinstinction, but international law's) territories... I wouldn't care, and would support the israelis, even if they were Racist™ oppressors of those poor, wretched innocent brown people... because those poor, wretched innocent brown people define themselves as my ennemies, because the persons who support them here (either the leftist bots or the local version of poor, wretched innocent brown people) define themselves as my ennemies,a nd because in last analysis, Israel is a white, european, western State, and you've got to support your kind (sorry, gr*omgoru!), espcially in those stormy times (post-60's).
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 08/21/2007 10:15 Comments || Top||

#7  BZZZZT! Wrong answer!, but thanks for the failed moral equivalency lesson, MerelyMoronMan
Posted by: Frank G || 08/21/2007 10:54 Comments || Top||

#8  This also leaves the entire supply of electricity in Gaza under the thumb of the evil zionists...
Posted by: mojo || 08/21/2007 11:13 Comments || Top||

#9  Silly me; I would have thought that by now these fools would have figured out that infrastucture is necessary to survive and become productive. But after the greenhouse demo derby and the other various public utility trash-a-thons these asshats have done, why didn't I see the obvious??? perhaps I am the one in need of an application of the Cluebat......
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 08/21/2007 14:08 Comments || Top||

#10  3M raises a good point. Where are the cookies? Should he be allowed to have the special? I vote yes.
Special cookies for special visitors.
Posted by: Thomas Woof || 08/21/2007 18:49 Comments || Top||


Car bomb explodes in Acre assassination attempt
A car bomb exploded in Acre on Monday morning moderately wounding one person, who police claim is familiar to them. Police, sappers and firefighters reached the scene shortly after an explosion was heard from a private vehicle. Police suspected that the incident was an assassination attempt of a local criminal. The wounded man was evacuated to a hospital and four other people suffered from shock.
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Southeast Asia
Blast wounds 11 in southern Philippines
At least 11 people were wounded Tuesday in an explosion in southern Philippines, the police said.
A home-made bomb went off around 7:30 p.m. in front of a small market across from a busy park in Zamboanga City, 850 kilometers south of Manila, police officer Jay Agcaoili said.

He said initial investigation showed the crude bomb was planted under a chair near the market.
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 08/21/2007 10:55 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Abu Sayyaf


Philippines suspends peace talks with Muslim rebels
The Philippine government said Tuesday it had suspended peace talks with Muslim insurgents, saying it needed more time, and insisting the move was not linked to a military operation in the restive south. The talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has been waging an insurgency for decades in the southern Philippines, had been due to resume in Malaysia Wednesday.

"I need more time to clarify some things," said government negotiator Rodolfo Garcia, who requested the delay. He expressed hope that the talks could resume by the second week of September, after the government had "finalized its negotiating position." Garcia said his request had nothing to do with the current military offensive against Muslim extremists in the south of the country, which was launched in response to the killing of 14 marines in an ambush last month.

MILF negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said Tuesday that his group was ready for the talks, but had been told by the Malaysian facilitator that Garcia had "not been given clear guidelines on how to proceed with the peace process."

"That means we cannot resume the talks, because the government is not prepared to concede anything," Iqbal told ABS-CBN television in an interview, claiming that Manila had put off the talks, once before, in May.
Posted by: ryuge || 08/21/2007 08:38 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Moro Islamic Liberation Front


Three dead, three injured in southern Thai terrorism
A gunman killed Kubusoh Bukiyakong, 30, while she was working with two friends in a rubber plantation in Narathiwat's Rangae district. The gunman walked up to Kubusoh and fired three times. The victim died instantly as her friends narrowly escaped by running away.

Meanwhile, in Yala's Ban-nang Sata district, a resident was shot dead while leaving home to work in an orchard at about 9am. One of two men on a motorbike opened fire on Piramlee Apibalbae, 43, as he was about to leave his house. In Narathiwat's Muang district, terrorists militants sprayed AK-47 bullets into a teashop, injuring three men at 8pm on Sunday.

Plus:

The southern violence continues unabated with more killings on Monday night. In the latest attack, a security guard for Sungai-kolok municipality was brutally murdered after his neck was slashed by his attacker. The 41-year-old victim was identified as Mawi Chamai-upai. Authorities confirmed the incident took place near a convenient store in Sungai-kolok municipality. Investigators are still tracking down the person or group of people responsible for this attack. Only last month another security guard died in the same way in the same area.
Posted by: ryuge || 08/21/2007 07:12 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Thai Insurgency


Malaysia frees 4 Islamic terror suspects held without trial, rights group says
Malaysia's government has freed another four suspected Islamic militants jailed without trial for more than four years but authorities have restricted their movements, activists said Monday. It was the second release this year of alleged militants held under the Internal Security Act, which allows indefinite detention without trial. Four men were freed in June.

The latest four releases came on Aug. 15, 16 and 17 from the Kamunting prison camp in northern Malaysia, rights group Abolish ISA Movement said in a statement. The suspects were freed on the condition that they remain within the districts in which they live. Three of the men - Shukry Omar Talib, Mohammed Kadar and Mohamad Azmi Abdul Karim - were arrested in early 2002 while Shahime Ramli was detained in March 2003. All were held on suspicion of being members of the regional terror network Jemaah Islamiyah, the rights group said.

The group called for the restrictions to be lifted so that they could return to normal life. It also slammed the "selective releases" of ISA detainees by authorities, saying another 40 JI suspects held under the security law remained in Kamunting. The group called on the government to "release or prosecute all ISA detainees in Kamunting."

Internal Security Ministry officials could not be immediately reached for comment. The government usually does not publicly announce the release of people held under the ISA. No reason was given for the release, but security officials have said in previous cases that suspects were freed after they repented following intensive rehabilitation. Hundreds of people were arrested under the ISA in a sweep against Jemaah Islamiyah and its local affiliate, Kumpulan Militan Malaysia, mostly between 2001 and 2003. Jemaah Islamiyah is widely blamed for a string of terror attacks in the region, most notably the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, mostly Western tourists.

Malaysian opposition groups and activists have called for the ISA to be repealed, saying the law is widely abused to silence dissidents, but officials insist it is necessary to protect national security and ensure stability.
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Jemaah Islamiyah


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Leaflet drop said to warn of Iran move into north Iraq
Posted by: mrp || 08/21/2007 08:47 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: IRGC

#1  Bore site the arty, them 'ranians is a comin'.
Posted by: wxjames || 08/21/2007 9:45 Comments || Top||

#2  Who could drop them from helicopters, if that point is true, apart from the MM? The turks playing mindgames?
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 08/21/2007 10:07 Comments || Top||

#3  I hope ever so much that the Peshmurga sets up a vicious ambush (with help) to send a message to Iran. Only a handful of Iranians should survive to return to their country and tell the tale.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 08/21/2007 10:07 Comments || Top||

#4  Be sure to have some US Rangers up in the area on a "training" exercise.
Posted by: OldSpook || 08/21/2007 11:24 Comments || Top||

#5  OldSpook: I was thinking more along the lines of an air-fuel explosive like the BLU-96 2,000 pounder.

The Russians had a neat one they used in Afghanistan called "black rain". It was a thin liquid sprayed in droplets by helicopter. Once it dried it became a hard, tar-like substance that would ignite if you walked or drove over it, then stick and burn.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 08/21/2007 13:05 Comments || Top||

#6  Probably a realtor.

They used to call it "blockbusting".
Posted by: Richard Aubrey || 08/21/2007 16:39 Comments || Top||

#7  Black Rain/Red Mercury supposedly caused the Siberian Crater, the Czarist Precursor to the KGB were tipped to all sorts of wild and crazy stuff, including No-Crop-Circles and the whereabouts of Ambrose Bierce.
Posted by: Thomas Woof || 08/21/2007 18:56 Comments || Top||

#8  Kind of goes inline with the recent shelling activities goin' on in Kurdistan/N. Iraq, eh? The MM's really wanna stir up the antbed don't they?
Posted by: BA || 08/21/2007 21:21 Comments || Top||


21 Iranian hostages freed in Pakistan
Some 20 people who were taken hostage by gunmen in southeastern Iran were freed in neighbouring Pakistan on Monday after a Pakistani police operation, Iranian media reported a day after they were seized. "As a result of a surprise operation by Pakistani police ... 21 Iranian hostages were freed, 15 bandits were arrested and two of them were killed or wounded," Iran's state broadcaster quoted an Iranian deputy commander as saying.

Iran's ISNA news agency said 20 hostages had been freed, but it did not make clear whether this meant all of them were now released because some previous reports said as many as 30 were held. Others gave lower figures.
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Hadn't heard about the hostage taking in the first place.

If you take the combined credibility of the ISNA, the Pakistani police information section and the Iranian military command it adds to pretty close to zero.
Posted by: mhw || 08/21/2007 14:57 Comments || Top||


Lebanon: 2 troops die; army drops bombs on camp
Army helicopters dropped at least three bombs at suspected underground bunkers of Islamic extremists in a north Lebanon refugee camp on Monday, and two more soldiers were killed in the fighting, a senior military official said.

The bombs dropped by the helicopters weighed 400 kilograms (880 pounds) each and could level entire buildings, local media said. A military official, speaking on customary condition of anonymity according to army regulations, said one soldier was killed overnight and another died Monday, raising to 140 the total number of troops killed since fighting erupted May 20.
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Fatah al-Islam


Good morning
EU Cuts Off Funding for Gaza Electricity'Saddam's daughter won't be deported'Pakistan frees Mohammed Naeem Noor KhanTater: Iraq's gov't is near its endEritrean president warns United StatesHijacker Received Al Qaeda TrainingZim Parliament to mull nationalisation plans
Posted by: Fred || 08/21/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  wow.... am I a dirty olde man if her pic prods possible role playing?

/necrophilia aside of course
Posted by: Red Dawg || 08/21/2007 2:04 Comments || Top||

#2  Well, I don't think so, if it's any comfort.

By the way, where's her sheep hook?
Posted by: gorb || 08/21/2007 2:51 Comments || Top||

#3  Marion had a little lamb?
Posted by: Mike || 08/21/2007 6:14 Comments || Top||

#4  "Marion had a little lamb?"

William Randolph Hearst, by all accounts...
Posted by: Sgt. Mom || 08/21/2007 7:31 Comments || Top||

#5  Marion had a tiny ewe
it's coat a fine ecru
an everwhar that Marion wented
that ewe kept her in view

To ecole they wents one day....
Posted by: Izgot Noel || 08/21/2007 14:06 Comments || Top||

#6  Oh my. 19th century face and 21st century eyes....
Posted by: Vespasian Flavian3607 || 08/21/2007 15:10 Comments || Top||

#7  lol sorry guys at first glance I was reminded of Boy George
Maybe it's the hat
Posted by: Jan || 08/21/2007 17:13 Comments || Top||

#8  Ruh oh, Jan is right. That does look like BG, now Ima flash back to one Betty Brosmer... how easily we are fooled.
Posted by: Thomas Woof || 08/21/2007 19:03 Comments || Top||

#9  not enough piercings for Boy George, not enough package for Betty Brosmer.
Posted by: Frank G || 08/21/2007 19:33 Comments || Top||

#10  #7 lol sorry guys at first glance I was reminded of Boy George
Maybe it's the hat


omg now ima sick eeeewwww... eeeuuurpp..


Marion don't pay any attentention to that mean olde Jan!

Harumph!



/just kidding Jan... but omg plz in the future.... ~:)
Posted by: Red Dawg || 08/21/2007 22:16 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
53[untagged]
6Iraqi Insurgency
4al-Qaeda
4Govt of Iran
4Taliban
3Global Jihad
3Hamas
2Islamic Jihad
2Moro Islamic Liberation Front
1IRGC
1Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh
1Janjaweed
1Jemaah Islamiyah
1Lashkar e-Taiba
1Mahdi Army
1Palestinian Authority
1Takfir wal-Hijra
1al-Aqsa Martyrs
1Thai Insurgency
1al-Qaeda in Britain
1al-Qaeda in Turkey
1Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
1Fatah al-Islam
1Govt of Syria
1Abu Sayyaf

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Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
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Two weeks of WOT
Tue 2007-08-21
  'Saddam's daughter won't be deported'
Mon 2007-08-20
  Baitullah sez S. Wazoo deal is off, Gov't claims accord is intact
Sun 2007-08-19
  Taliban say hostage talks fail
Sat 2007-08-18
  "Take us to Tehran!" : Turkish passenger plane hijacked
Fri 2007-08-17
  Tora Bora assault: Allies press air, ground attacks
Thu 2007-08-16
  Jury finds Padilla, 2 co-defendents, guilty
Wed 2007-08-15
  At least 175 dead in Iraq bomb attack
Tue 2007-08-14
  Police arrests dormant cell of Fatah al-Islam in s. Lebanon
Mon 2007-08-13
  Lebanese army rejects siege surrender offer
Sun 2007-08-12
  Taliban: 2 sick S. Korean hostages to be freed
Sat 2007-08-11
  Philippines military kills 58 militants
Fri 2007-08-10
  Saudi police detain 135
Thu 2007-08-09
  2,760 non-Iraqi detainees in Iraqi jails, 800 Iranians
Wed 2007-08-08
  11 polio workers abducted in Khar, campaign halted
Tue 2007-08-07
  Suicide bomber kills 30 in Iraq, including 12 children

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