The Brit soldiers do their job, it's the pols and military bureaucracy that's failing. Caught this via Jules Crittendon
Two British soldiers from the same battalion have been nominated for the Victoria Cross in recognition of their incredible bravery in the face of the enemy. The citations for Britain's highest gallantry award came after the men were involved in fierce fighting against the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The first is Captain David Hicks who would become the first officer to win the VC since Falklands hero Lieutenant-Colonel Herbert 'H' Jones. The second is believed to be Lance-Corporal Oliver 'Teddy' Ruecker, 20.
Last month Capt Hicks, 26, refused morphine when mortally wounded in order to lead a counter-attack against a Taliban rocket assault. In May L/Cpl Ruecker fought off Taliban riflemen to rescue a badly wounded comrade from a burning armoured car. One VC has already been awarded for gallantry in Afghanistan.
The fact that there are two more nominations is an indication of the ferocity of the fighting involving British soldiers. The awards would be the first time two soldiers from the same battalion have received the Victoria Cross since the Korean War. L/Cpl Ruecker would be only the second living recipient of the VC in 38 years.
Defence sources have told The Mail on Sunday that two VC citations have been written by the soldiers' commanding officers from the 1st Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment.
Colleagues who witnessed the bravery provided written accounts describing what they saw in great detail. These 'Post Incident Reports' included the duration of the battles, numbers of friendly and enemy casualties and how many men on both sides were killed
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/03/2007 10:24 ||
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#1
Meanwhile, several MoH nominations languish in the Pentagon for fear that one of our heroes may turn out to be less than perfect. The Lynch and Tillman media circuses have created a paralysis at DoD.
#2
Never refuse Morphine. I took 2 separate shots when I had a kidney stone. I drove home both times, against doctor's orders. I was fully functional, except for the lack of road-rage.
#3
You're clearly special, McZoid. Any painkiller heavier than Tylenol sends me straight to sleep for four to eight hours... and without experience there's no way to know beforehand which way one's body will respond. Especially when the wound is mortal.
#4
I hate to be a buzzkiller. I've driven on painkillers also. However, I have since found that that driving while using legally prescribed painkillers could result in a "driving under the influence" if you should have an accident where someone ends up dead and an investigating officer orders blood tests.
#5
An old combat NCO suggested to me that extraordinary heroism has become so commonplace in Iraq and Afghanistan, that it has "priced itself out of the market." He then said the new standards for (Army) valor decorations are as follows:
1) Bronze Star: John Rambo, wipes out enemy battalion single handedly, armed with only a captured enemy spork and 50% blood loss.
2) Silver Star: John Wayne, who wipes out an enemy battalion with a broken enemy spork, single handedly while rescuing his own battalion, and a full hospital, orphanage or elementary school. Concurrently beatification must be pending, prior to Sainthood.
3) Distinguished Service Cross: Hercules, a demi-god, who wipes out an enemy division and gets another one to surrender single handedly, after having lost both legs while "rescuing a bus load of burning orphans", and fending off an invasion of hideous UFO aliens.
4) Medal of Honor: Ends the war by forcing the enemy to surrender after two straight weeks of hand to hand fighting, and is presented his MoH by God, personally, before being adopted by Him. Posthumously, of course.
#6
That sounds like our guys, Anonymoose. All the ones whose governments let them fight. Some of the early stories about the British units were mind boggling -- do y'all remember that British unit that ran out of bullets, charged with fixed bayonets, and destroyed the enemy? It seems to me the Spaniards did something likewise amazing, before the new government pulled them out of the fight...
#7
Concerning US valor decoration awards - if my reading of the milblogs is correct, the USMC's doing a better job of recognizing and rewarding its people's efforts. I think the Marines have awarded upwards of 10 Navy Crosses, vs (IIRC) only three DSC's for the Army. The Marine awards also seem fairly distributed by rank; on the other hand, one Army wife in a comment on Blackfive stated that the unwritten usual standard for award of significant Army decorations is "be dead, or be an officer".
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
09/03/2007 16:54 Comments ||
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#8
Here is the last list for the Marines that I can find:
KABUL - Afghan police claimed on Sunday to have killed 120 suspected Taleban terrorists fighters in southern Kandahar province over the weekend, while coalition forces said they arrested 11 terrorists, including a Taleban leader, in the eastern region.
Afghan and coalition forces gave contradictory reports on the death toll of terrorists insurgents at the weekend in the southern province of Kandahar. Provincial police chief Sayed Agha Saqib said their forces, supported by US-led coalition troops, killed 120 terrorists insurgents in two operations southwest of the city.
Twenty terrorists militants were killed in Arghandab district and another 100 terrorists were killed in Zherai district in two separate operations that began late Saturday and was ongoing, Saqib told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. Dozens of terrorists' insurgentss bodies had been left to rot on the battlefields.
Bring in a D-9 and some quicklime.
Meanwhile, the US military said in a statement that Afghan and coalition forces killed at least 25 suspected terrorists insurgents in a firefight southwest of Kandahar City, the provincial capital. Using intelligence information, the combined forces attacked two compounds which comprised seven buildings and contained several terrorist insurgent leaders who had been responsible for the several attacks in the province, the statement said.
Upon entering the first compound, the terrorists insurgents attacked Afghan and coalition forces with small-arms and machinegun fire, it said, adding that the ground forces requested close air support. During the ground engagement and air assault, 11 terrorists rebels were killed. A splodydope suicide bomber also blew himself up during the engagement in the first compound but caused no casualties among the joint forces.
The forces killed another 14 Taleban terrorists fighters after coalition aircraft dropped bombs in the second compound, it added.
Around 1,000 Taleban terrorists fighters were killed during an operation, dubbed Medusa, in the same areas of the province last year in which the terrorists insurgents were driven out of the area. But according to coalition forces intelligence, local residents had been seen leaving the area for the last few weeks and terrorist insurgent commanders were attempting to re-establish their control in the area.
So it was time to take out the trash again.
Also on Sunday, Afghan and coalition forces patrol came under small arms fire by terrorists insurgents in Shah Walikot, district of Kandahar province, the military said. The combined forces returned fire and killed an estimated number of six terrorists rebels, the statement said, adding the incident happened near the area where on August 28 over 100 Taleban terrorists fighters were killed in fighting with joint forces. One coalition soldier was wounded in the firefight, it said.
Afghan and coalition forces also claimed to have killed several dozens of terrorists insurgents in the neighbouring province Helmand, where Taleban are most entrenched, since Friday.
An entrenched Taleban? More like 'pre-buried'.
However, it is very difficult to verify independently the number of Taleban death toll, as the areas where clashes take place are remote and inaccessible for the media.
Coalition also said in another statement that they have arrested eleven suspected terrorists insurgents including Mohammad Ali Jan, a insurgent financier in Sabari District of eastern Khost province on Sunday morning. One more terrorist insurgent was killed by in an Afghan and coalition forces operation against militants associated with the Al Qaeda network on Sunday morning in Paktika province, a separate US military statement said.
Three Afghan national army soldiers were killed and two other were wounded when their vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb in Sperwan area of Panjwayi district of Kandahar province on Saturday, defence ministry said in a statement. Three other army soldiers were wounded, when a rocket fired by insurgents, hit their military compound in Seyuri district of Zabul province on Saturday, the statement said.
More than 4,300 people - most of them terrorists insurgents - have been killed in Taleban-led violence so far this year.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/03/2007 00:00 ||
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#2
Wow. Think how happy all the islamists are that their terrorist sons are headed to heaven. If Islam is a religion, they should thank us. If it is a political system, they wouldn't like that at all.
#5
gotta be tough getting recruits when the previous 1,000's sent out to smite the infidels keep not coming back...heh
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/03/2007 7:34 Comments ||
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#6
Moose, I'm beginning to think the whole Tora Bora thing was overblown.
I've got 63 Talibs killed 8/31-9/2. It appears that CJTF-82 has elected to join MNF-I in reporting enemy losses.
There's little doubt that the ANP and the Afghan Army are racking up their own toll of dead Talibs, as well. Grain of salt on the totals, but I would say that Afghans are perhaps the fiercest fighters we have ever worked with in this sort of situation.
#7
This keeps up and Chuck is going to need some more beads on his abacus.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/03/2007 12:41 Comments ||
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#8
While dead Taliban are always a good thing, at day's endeven if we kill every last one of themAfghanistan will still remain an Islamically governed nation. This is an unacceptable outcome for the massive cost extracted in both human lives and financial treasure. It is abject stupidity that the West should sacrifice so much only to leave behind another terrorist hive.
The Kandahar authorities detained four Pakistanis on suspicion of helping insurgents build bombs, an intelligence official said. On a tip-off we captured four Pakistanis who are experts in making suicide-bombing vests and remote-controlled bombs, Abdul Qayoum Katawazi told AFP. He would not provide further details, citing an ongoing investigation. Roadside bombs and Iraq-style suicide explosions have become key tactics for Taliban militants, who have intensified their attacks as part of a bloody insurgency they are waging against the government in Kabul.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/03/2007 00:00 ||
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(SomaliNet) Three soldiers were killed and three civilians were wounded when the local insurgent groups clashed with the government troops at Suuqa Xoolaha village in Huriwa district, north of the Somalia capital on Sunday afternoon, witnesses said. Islamist fighters ambushed police convoy returning to their post near SOS Mother and Child hospital around 5:00pm local time. They have exchanged 15 minutes gunfire.
With their usual deplorable marksmanship.
Witnesses told Somalinet after the skirmish they could see bodies of three soldiers laying on the ground. Three other bystanders were also wounded in the sprayed bullets.
It is not clear the casualty on the militants who escaped through the village.
The police spokesman Abdiwahid Mohamed Hussein said he had no information about what happened and told Somalinet that he will later detail on it when things become more clearer. He argued that the city was entirely calm today and violence happened.
He's a pretty good police spokesman if he can say that and keep his lips on.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/03/2007 00:00 ||
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NYALA, Sudan, Aug. 28 Some of the same Arab tribes accused of massacring civilians in the Darfur region of Sudan are now unleashing their considerable firepower against one another .... In the past several months, the Terjem and the Mahria, heavily armed Arab tribes that United Nations officials said raped and pillaged together as part of the regions notorious janjaweed militias, have squared off in South Darfur, fighting from pickup trucks and the backs of camels. They are raiding each others villages, according to aid workers and the fighters themselves, and scattering Arab tribesmen into the same kinds of displacement camps that still house some of their earlier victims.
#3
What's not to like? I like the idea of these turds killing each other by the bushel.
'Considerable firepower'? From the backs of camels? Versatile aren't they? weapons platforms, means of exchange, transport, sexual gratification (but who's to say that there isn't the odd relationship that ends up in long term commitment?) and food - not always in that order though.
Hopefully some of the 'earlier victims' will get some payback.
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
09/03/2007 13:14 Comments ||
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#4
It was a massacre, said Mohammed Yacob Ibrahim Abdelrahman, the top Terjem leader. By our brothers.
#5
JohnQC, the UN an diplo busybodies would certainly try. But likely with little effect--the revenge killings are viral and won't stop until molech is satisfied with the harvest.
#6
For this to be taking place I have to assume the Christians (most of them at any rate) have been killed).
In a microcosim this new phase of Darfur bears witness to the final stages of the worldwide jihad being waged on the West. When the Jews, Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, and animists are no longer significant in terms of absolute numbers, the muzzies will turn in on themselves.
Those of you out there that read these missives from RB and do not understand or acknowledge the threat posed by islam turn my stomach.
Posted by: Mark Z ||
09/03/2007 14:45 Comments ||
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#7
Red on Red! Unlimited firepower! Will the last muzzie left please turn out the lights?
#8
Relax, Mark dear. Remember there are always newcomers who've just found Rantburg, and need time to digest the mass of information that gives solid foundation to the glimpses through the veil.
CAIRO - Egyptian authorities said on Sunday they had arrested 12 people embracing conservative Sunni Muslim ideas, a security source told AFP. The 12 Salafists were detained during the last two weeks in different provinces of Egypt. They did not belong to one particular group, the source said.
The independent daily Al Masri Al Yom reported on Sunday that authorities had launched a massive search for Salafists in Egypt fearing the spread of their ideas which include the application of Islamic law. It said the 12 would go to a prison where 330 other Salafists were already being held.
In July, the Egyptian authorities said they arrested an undisclosed number of Arab nationals belonging to an extremist Islamist group with jihadi tendencies following threats by groups believed to have links with Al Qaeda.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/03/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Rick: I can't believe there's gambling going on in this cafe!
Lots of red meat in this article, but no encounters or long walks behind the brick factory...
Bangladesh police have arrested a key suspect behind twin blasts in India's southern city of Hyderabad that killed 43 people last month, Indian media reports said Monday. Abu Hamza, 32, arrested at a lodge in Dhaka on Saturday, is a close aide of Mohammed Abdul Shahid, alias Bilal, the commander of the banned Bangladesh-based militant group Harkat-ul Jehad-i-Islami (HuJI) who masterminded the August 25 bombings, the Times of India daily reported.
Hamza, also an accused in the Mecca mosque blast in Hyderabad in May that claimed 11 lives, was responsible for smuggling high-intensity RDX explosives into India on the orders of Bilal, police sources told the Times.
The Hyderabad police learnt about Hamza's involvement in the twin blasts when they interrogated Abdul Sattar, a HuJI militant currently in jail.
Hamza, who, like Bilal was a Hyderabad resident, left India in 2004. According to the Indian police, Hamza had been helping Bilal in various terrorist activities as well as recruiting for the HuJI in Hyderabad.
He frequently crossed over from Bangladesh into India in the past few years and would often meet Bilal and his brother Mazid, the report said.
Other news reports said Hamza was a trans-border criminal who had extended support to HuJI and other Pakistan-based militant groups purely for monetary gains.
But it might be difficult for Indian authorities to extradite Hamza to India in the absence of an extradition treaty with Bangladesh.
Over the weekend, the Hyderabad police named 15 people as suspects in the blasts at an outdoor auditorium and a popular eatery that left more than 50 injured. While four of the suspects were already under arrest, Bilal and 10 others were still at large.
The suspects were named on the basis of a confession by Shaik Abdul Nayeem, an operative of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba militant group who was arrested last year while trying to enter Indian territory from Bangladesh.
Nayeem had also confessed to a role in the July 2006 blasts on the train network in Mumbai which killed 186 people, as well as links with other terrorist groups like HuJI and smuggling of explosives.
Soon after the blasts, senior officials and security agencies had blamed terrorist organizations based in Bangladesh and Pakistan for the attacks. The powerful bombs are believed to have been planted in bags and triggered by a timer device.
#1
The suspects were named on the basis of a confession by Shaik Abdul Nayeem, an operative of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba militant group who was arrested last year while trying to enter Indian territory from Bangladesh
All terrorist attacks lead back to one country-our allies PAKISTAN!!!!!
Posted by: Paul ||
09/03/2007 9:18 Comments ||
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Four people have been arrested in connection with the bombing in May of a mosque in the south Indian city of Hyderabad, police said, adding they could be part of the same group involved in last weeks twin bombings in the same city.
Two blasts occurred minutes apart on Aug 25 in two crowded parts of the city, an emerging information technology hub, killing 40 people and wounding about 80 others. In another attack on May 18, 11 people were killed when a bomb exploded during Friday prayers at the historic Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh state. We have registered a case against 15 people...four have been arrested for transporting RDX explosives, from Bangladesh to India, which were used in the Mecca masjid blasts, Balwinder Singh, Hyderabads police commissioner told Reuters.
RDX was not used in last weeks bombings but there is a possibility that the 15 people we have filed a case against could be part of the same outfit involved in the twin bombings. Authorities suspect militant groups based in Pakistan and Bangladesh are behind the attacks. Both Islamabad and Dhaka have rejected the idea, saying Indian officials are jumping to conclusions. Singh said the main suspect was Shahid Bilal of Harkat-ul Jihad Islami (HuJI), a Bangladesh group originally set up during Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/03/2007 00:00 ||
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Around 73 people, including security personnel, militants and civilians, were killed and 76 injured in almost 18 incidents of violence in NWFP and tribal areas in August.
Six suicide attacks - one each in Hangu, Shangla and Tank districts, two in North Waziristan Agency and one in Parachinar, Kurram Agency - also took place. Around five incidents of violence were reported in Swat, one in Swabi, three in Peshawar, one in Lakki Marwat and others in the North Waziristan. However, July was more deadly than August, as suicide bombers went on a bombing spree in the aftermath of the Lal Masjid military operation.
On August 3, a bomb exploded in Lakki Marwat district, injuring four people, while a remote-controlled blast injured six people in Matta tehsil of Swat the same day. A suicide attacker struck a bus station in Parachinar, Kurram Agency, on August 4, killing nearly nine people and injuring 43 others. The same day, four soldiers and 10 militants were killed in North Waziristan. Three Pakistan Air Force (PAF) personnel sustained injuries in a blast on August 6 near the Gulshan Rehman Colony on Kohat Road in Peshawar. A remote-controlled bomb killed two people in North Waziristan on August 11, while another bomb went off at the Peshawar Bus Terminal on August 7, but there were no casualties.
Two people died in Swabi on August 15, when a tuition centre was bombed. A suicide bomber targeted a military convoy in Tank district, injuring five soldiers, whereas seven militants were killed in North Waziristan Agency in clashes with security forces on August 17. Three soldiers were killed in a suicide attack on Tarkhobi check-post in North Waziristan on August 18 and 15 militants died when security forces pounded their hideouts in the Mir Ali town of North Waziristan on August 19.
A suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into the Mandoori check post in Tal tehsil of Hangu district, killing nearly six soldiers on August 20. Militants attacked a check post in Bannu district in the Miran police precinct on August 22 that left four FC personnel and three militants dead. A remote-controlled blast on August 23 at the Charbagh police post in Swat district injured four cops. Another suicide bomber killed nearly five soldiers in Miranshah, North Waziristan, on August 24. A suicide attack on a police mobile killed four policemen and wounded two others in the Machar area of Shangla district in Swat on August 26.
On August 29, three soldiers sustained injuries when an improvised explosive device (IED) targeted security forces in the Datta Khel tehsil of North Waziristan. Two men sustained injuries when militants targeted a passenger coach in Peshawar the same day. Militants blew up around six CD shops, 20 other shops and three houses in Matta tehsil of Swat on August 30, however, no casualties were reported in the incidents. On August 31, two Frontier Constabulary soldiers died when militants attacked their check post in the Gali Bagh area of Swat.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/03/2007 00:00 ||
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DERA BUGTI: A security official was killed and four others injured in a landmine explosion in the Loti area of Dera Bugti on Sunday. Security personnel were on routine patrol when their vehicle hit a landmine, killing a security official and injuring four others. Members of the local administration rushed the injured to hospital. Also, a telephone digital box was destroyed when an explosive device went off in the Munno Jan area, suspending service to dozens of phone connections. Adjacent shops were also damaged, but no casualty was reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/03/2007 00:00 ||
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Local Taliban militants said on Sunday they had abducted scores of soldiers, demanding the withdrawal of troops from tribal areas in exchange for their release. The military has insisted that some 150 soldiers were stranded after straying into Ladha in South Waziristan in stormy weather on Thursday. Our colleagues have captured them and put them in jails, Zulfiqar Mehsud, a spokesman for the militants, told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location. He said the fighters had surrounded the soldiers and forced them to surrender their weapons.
Sounds like they were crack troops, by gum!
Weren't quite surrounded 'Saoodi style', were they ...
We took them into custody because the soldiers were preparing to launch an operation in South Waziristan, he said, claiming responsibility for the kidnapping Saturday of 10 additional soldiers from the Frontier Corps. He said negotiations for their release could start once the government agreed to honour a peace accord it concluded with tribal militants in February 2005, under which Islamabad agreed to withdraw troops from the area.
Military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad reiterated that the soldiers had not been kidnapped, but were trapped amid a dispute between the militants and local tribesmen. We have not received any demand from them, he told AFP. He said a jirga was holding talks with local tribesmen to secure safe passage for the soldiers. Gen Arshad told Daily Times that the soldiers were not missing or held hostage but were staying with the Mehsud tribe.
An intelligence official in the region told AP that militants abducted 205 troops - 135 army soldiers, 70 paramilitary troops - and seized 20 military vehicles. Militants on Sunday distributed pamphlets in Mir Ali, North Waziristan, warning local tribes not to side with government forces killing innocent men, women and children in the region. Like in Afghanistan, we have established suicide squads for attacks on troops and their allies in Pakistan, a group calling itself the Mujahideen of Waziristan said in the statement.
Staff Report adds: Mohmand Agency political authorities on Sunday formed two jirgas for the safe recovery of the 10 FC personnel kidnapped on Saturday. A 120-member Mohmand jirga met Mohmand Political Agent Dr Kazim Niaz late on Sunday. The political agent gave the jirga a 12:00pm Monday deadline for the FC mens release. Militants also distributed pamphlets in Bara Bazaar in Khyber Agency saying the Taliban have finally reached Bara, and warning that if anyone tries to hinder our movement and activities, we will launch a holy war against them.
Meanwhile, one man was killed and 14 injured when a bomb went off in a pharmacy at Mirza Alma Market in Wana Bazaar on Sunday, destroying Aurangzeb Medical Store and damaging several other shops. Eight of the wounded are said to be in serious condition. The bomb was apparently an attempt to kill pro-government tribal leader Mita Khan, who was seriously hurt in the blast, an intelligence official told AP.
Militants occupied two Khasadar check-posts in the Qandharo and Halimzai areas of Mohmand Agency and snatched weapons from officials manning the post. An FC man was killed and another injured during an exchange of fire between rival groups near the Nahaqi check-post.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/03/2007 00:00 ||
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Rivalries and violence between Shiite factions are threatening to overshadow progress US forces have made against Al-Qaeda in Iraq and other extremists just weeks before the top American commander and diplomat in Iraq report to Congress. An all-out, Shiite-on-Shiite conflict could plunge the oil-rich and mainly Shiite south of Iraq into chaos that could rival - or even surpass - the bloodshed across Baghdad and the center of the country for more than four years.
That, in turn, could shatter the relative unity in the Shiite mainstream - which has given crucial support to the US-led mission in Iraq - and deepen the predicament of embattled Shiite Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki. Clashes between rival Shiite factions have not been uncommon since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003, but the most recent ones are by far the most ominous given their deadliness, scope and timing. For Washington, the danger of a full fledged armed conflict in southern Iraq could not have come at a worse time.
Gen. David Petraeus, America's top commander in Iraq, and Ambassador Ryan Crocker are due to report to a skeptical Congress on the Iraq war in less than two weeks. A southern Iraq mired in political turmoil and bloodshed could only strengthen the argument of war critics and intensify calls for a drawdown on the estimated 160,000 US troops now in Iraq. Dealing with such a conflict could pose a serious dilemma for the US military - to watch from the sidelines while rival factions fight it out or intervene to restore the peace.
Taking the first option would undermine the military's reputation as the ultimate guarantor of security in Iraq. The second would most certainly mean bolstering the relatively light US military presence in the area - now overseen by British forces - giving the politically damaging impression of a widening war. The major players in the power struggle in the south are the Mahdi Army militia loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr and the Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq, the country's largest Shiite political party and the patron of the Badr militia.
Security forces in the region are known to be dominated by supporters of the Supreme Council, led by Abdul-Aziz Al-Hakim, whose family has been locked in a long-running competition with Al-Sadr's family over leadership of Iraq's Shiites. The rivalries boiled over into deady clashes Monday and Tuesday in the holy city of Karbala during a major Shiite religious festival. Dozens of people were killed. In an apparent bid to deflect criticism of the Mahdi Army over the violence in Karbala, Al-Sadr announced Wednesday a "freeze" of the militia of up to six months to allow for its restructuring. The move was followed by reported threats by Al-Sadr aides that the feared militia would resume its activity if the arrest of Sadrist officials did not stop.
Tensions have been building up in the south in recent weeks, with two provincial governors assassinated and clashes erupting in several cities between the Mahdi Army and Badr militiamen. The future of south Iraq looks even more uncertain because of Britain's plans for the gradual reduction of its military force in southern Iraq, where it has played a key role in keeping the peace among rival Shiite factions since its arrival in 2003.
One particularly ominous sign came Sunday when about 50 Mahdi Army militiamen systematically looted a former British-Iraqi security command. Hassan Al-Suneid, a key Shiite lawmaker from Al-Maliki's Dawa party, also sought to discount the significance of the latest tensions, arguing that there has been no sign to date to suggest that irreparable damage has been inflicted on the unity of Iraq's Shiites, who account for about 60 percent of the country's estimated 27 million people and are Iraq's most dominant group.
"It is mostly a case of political jockeying," said Al-Suneid. "Everyone wants to be seen as Iraq's hero and the deliverer to win a larger popular following." The rivalry between Shiites in the south is mainly motivated by the pursuit of domination in the strategic and potentially rich Shiite heartland.
Beside the vast oil reserves, control of the south offers the wealth generated by the area's shrine cities of Najaf and Karbala, which attract millions of visitors every year and cash donations by pilgrims. The two cities also are prestigious seats of Shiite learning. Part of the problem in the south is that the Sadrists did not take part in local elections held in January 2005, selecting to focus instead on the simultaneous parliamentary vote. That decision allowed their rivals in the Supreme Council to dominate local governments across the south, leaving the Sadrists bitter and angry over their lack of representation.
The deeper roots of the conflict may be found in the makeup of the protagonists themselves. Al-Sadr's supporters are primarily poor Shiites who gain from the services offered by the group and obtain a sense of empowerment through membership of the Mahdi Army. In contrast, the Supreme Council is perceived as a magnet of middle- and upper-class Shiites and enjoying the endorsement of the wealthy and traditional clerical leadership.
"In many ways, the Sadrists are leading a social revolution," said Joost Hiltermann, Middle East director of the International Crisis Group, a respected research agency based in Brussels, Belgium. "It is a struggle against the traditional political class and the wealthy merchants of the Shiite shrine cities who support the Council," Hiltermann said.
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC ||
09/03/2007 11:59 ||
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#1
For the last time: the US CANNOT prevent limited civil wars in Iraq. The Baghdad situation is being resolved through volunteer (mostly) ethnic cleansing.
#2
Yes, it is a huge mistake for our military to get involved in trying to save people who love death so much. Let 'em have what they love and bring 'er on home...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
09/03/2007 14:11 Comments ||
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British troops were quitting the southern Iraqi city of Basra on Sunday night in another step towards handing over the province to Iraqi control and paving the way for an eventual withdrawal of British forces from Iraq.
AFP cited BBC as saying the Iraqi head of security confirmed the reports of a British pullout. A British Ministry of Defence source in London said troops were pulling out of Basra Palace in the city centre and withdrawing to the vast British airbase on the outskirts of the city but declined to comment further. One Reuters witness said he could see helicopters taking off and landing at the palace. The withdrawal means the end of a British presence in the volatile city for the first time since the US-led invasion to oust Saddam Hussein in 2003. It is part of plans to transfer security control of Basra province, expected before the end of the year.
British forces, however, would remain in an over watch role and continue training Iraqi security forces. Britain has already handed over three other provinces in southern Iraq.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/03/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
I'm guessing the troops are bummed out, and the political leaders are wondering if they did the right thing.
BAGHDAD - US-led forces on Sunday killed eight suspected militants, arrested four and freed nine Iraqis awaiting trial at a kangaroo court run by Al Qaeda just north of Baghdad, a military statement said.
The nine were freed when American forces raided a building in the town of Tarmiyah that was allegedly being used by Al Qaeda to hold illegal terrorist court proceedings, the US military statement said. Coalition forces found nine Iraqis inside the building, some who had been there for 30 days, bound and awaiting sentencing by the illegal court system. (They) were examined and found to be in relative health.
After freeing the men troops engaged five suspected militants armed with rifles and machine guns in a nearby palm grove, killing them all in an operation that also involved air strikes, the statement said. It added that two suicide vests and other weapons were found at the site, while ammonium nitrate and bomb-making equipment was discovered in a nearby building.
In a raid on an alleged cell of Al Qaeda in Iraq in the town of Salman Pak, just south of Baghdad, US troops shot dead a man who reportedly drew a pistol when they approached, the statement said. Troops then engaged and killed two armed men who moved into position against them, the statement said. Four suspected militants were arrested in the same operation.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/03/2007 00:00 ||
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An IAF aircraft struck in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Yunis on Sunday, missing a car carrying Islamic Jihad terrorists, the group said. Three people were reportedly lightly wounded in the attack.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/03/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Pretty brave coming from a bunch of guys who probably had to change their underwear afterwards.
Hamas gunmen opened fire at pro-Hamas protesters at a rally on the Gaza-Egypt border Saturday, killing a teenager, hospital officials said.
That makes sense. Not a lot of sense, but sense. I guess. In an Islamic kind of way.
Tens of thousands of flag-waving Hamas supporters gathered at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on Saturday to demand it be reopened. The border, Gaza's only gateway to Egypt, has been shut since Hamas' bloody takeover of the Gaza Strip in June. Hamas gunmen guarding the border fired in the air as hundreds of protesters tried to rush the border terminal and attempted to infiltrate into Egypt. A 17-year-old was shot in the head and was later pronounced dead, medics said. Seven others were wounded by gunfire and trampling.
"This is a peaceful protest to voice our message that we are looking for freedom," said Issa Mashar, a top Hamas leader in Rafah. "We came to send a message from the people who are suffering."
But when hundreds of Hamas supporters tried to storm the crossing, Hamas militiamen staved them off by shooting a few as a lesson to the others firing in the air.
Asharaf Abu Aya, one of the rally's organizers, appealed for calm from the crowd. "There is no need to break into the crossing. Return to your homes! The crossing is no longer under the occupation. All is well! The crossing is under the control of the Hamas Executive Committee," he said.
"Move along!"
Also Saturday, Hamas authorities set a hefty bail for the release of the Fatah activists it arrested following a Gaza protest rally. On Friday, Hamas men violently dispersed a crowd of Fatah protesters, firing in the air and beating demonstrators. Some 20 people were wounded in the clashes, including two French journalists and two children, according to doctors and witnesses. Scores of protesters were arrested. The violence began at the end of a Fatah prayer session it held outdoors to protest against Hamas, which it says is persecuting its members in Hamas-controlled mosques.
The PLO Executive Committee, a top Fatah decision-making body, was set to meet later Saturday in Ramallah upon the request of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to discuss Friday's clashes in Gaza. It was expected to denounce Hamas for its aggression against the Fatah protesters. Fatah officials said 170 of its members remained in Hamas custody Saturday. Some of those released emerged from their arrest with their heads shaved - a humiliating gesture.
Hamas said it released most of those arrested and that only about 20 remained in detention. But Hamas demanded a 1,000 shekel bail for the release, about a month's salary in the impoverished Gaza Strip, where 60 percent live under the poverty line. "I consider this a theft. What is the crime I committed?" said Ahmad Siam, 33, whose father paid the sum for his freedom. "I didn't commit a crime to pay that money."
Ihab al-Hussein, a Hamas security spokesman, said the money would be reimbursed in six months if the offenders pledged not to resume "rioting or illegal activities."
"This is a legal measure. It is a way to bring the person to reconsider his action. Money might be the way to prevent these chaotic acts," he said.
The legal system in Gaza stopped functioning after Hamas took over the coastal strip in June. Abbas fired the Hamas-led government, formed a new government in the West Bank and ordered judges, prosecutors and police to stop cooperating with Gaza's new rulers. Last week, Hamas appointed its own prosecution team in Gaza, which Saturday imposed the hefty bail.
Ibrahim Abu Naja, a Fatah official in Gaza, said his group would not pay up. "This is a serious precedent," he said. "The decisions adopted are illegal. This is tantamount to occupation (laws)," he said, referring to Israel's rule over the Gaza Strip, which ended in 2005.
Families of some detainees said they could not afford to pay the bail, and said they would organize another rally if their sons were not released. Khalil Abu Shamala, a human rights activist in Gaza, said both the detention and the bail demand were illegal. "The whole legal system in Gaza is destroyed and defunct," he said. "On what basis can they arrest, detain, question and then set bail?"
Posted by: Fred ||
09/03/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
"On what basis can they arrest, detain, question and then set bail?"
Geez, what basis... they're Hamas and who is more?
They have guns and are frightening terrorists. They can do what they please. Did you vote for them? Whaddidya expect?
I think 4 years of Hamas may actually cure a dozen of Gazans.
Hamas, who are, let's not forget, terrorists and the elected officials in Gaza do the following;
1. They kill one of their own supporters who's demonstrating in favour of them (??? oookaaay, let's see how this pans out)
2. They make up their own laws, and are quite literally judge, jury and executioner
3. There's a major barney outside a prayer session called because people are getting harassed inside a 'place of worship' (scare quotes ok, we're talking about a mosque here). Anyone see the cognitive dissonance here?
4. They then extract punitive damages from people (loafers and ne'er do wells most likely)
5. Extract maximum shame by shaving their heads (should have taken their shoes as well - always a good one)
6. And finally, we get a quote from a Human Rights Activist (in Gaza? - this guys got balls of steel, either that or he's deranged) on the street bemoaning the fact that they're behaving like hooligans and fascists.
Well, d'uh what on earth did you expect when these people were elected. If ever there was a group of people who deserved what they get, it's gotta, just must be, the Paleos...
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
09/03/2007 13:49 Comments ||
Top||
#5
#1: "On what basis can they arrest, detain, question and then set bail?"
I think this is a good idea that needs some improving,
Bail is one Million per person, Cash omly
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/03/2007 15:39 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Great post, Tony!
"I consider this a theft. What is the crime I committed?" said Ahmad Siam, 33, whose father paid the sum for his freedom. "I didn't commit a crime to pay that money."
Hoo boy, this is rich. Ahmad, baby, the crime you committed is being Palestinian. You parasites have sucked down billions of dollars over the last several decades with absolutely nothing to show for it. Now stop whinging and suck it up like a good little terrorist martyr.
Ihab al-Hussein, a Hamas security spokesman, said the money would be reimbursed in six months if the offenders pledged not to resume "rioting or illegal activities."
Priceless! Hamas is now blackmailing some of history's most consummate blackmailers. You could cut the irony with a knife.
"This is a legal measure. It is a way to bring the person to reconsider his action. Money might be the way to prevent these chaotic acts," he said.
Anyone else have their doubts about this? We've already funneled in billions and the violence has never stopped yet. Hamas is in for a big surprise if they think they can stop Palestinian violence with anything except a bullet.
"The whole legal system in Gaza is destroyed and defunct," he said.
"The whole legal system in Gaza" was destroyed the moment any Palestinians set foot in it. The rest has all been downhill ever since.
Violence continued in Thailand's southernmost provinces Monday when a couple was ambushed by a group of gunmen and a soldier was slightly wounded in a bomb attack.
55-year old Yala rubber tapper Abdulkordae Dayama was killed after the unidentified men gunned him down in a hail of bullets while he drove a motorcycle to work in a rubber plantation with his wife in Yala's Raman district Monday morning. Mr. Dayama's wife was wounded in the shooting and is now recovering in hospital.
Meanwhile, a bombing at the entrance of Ban Lawo Village in Pattani province injured one of the ten-man military unit assigned to escort teachers to school. It was determined that the bombers detonated a five-kilogramme bomb hidden under the roadway by remote control.
Sri Lankas military has taken the Silavathura area in the northwestern district of Mannar, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said on Sunday, a day after the military launched a new offensive to drive out Tamil Tiger rebels.
The rebels, meanwhile, said the death toll from a claymore set by the military in the area had risen to nine. The offensive came days after Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said the country had no plans for a major operation on rebel-held territory in the countrys north. The clashes in Mannar are the latest in a spate of land and sea clashes, ambushes and air raids between the armed forces and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels. The security forces had liberated the Silavathura as they have liberated (the) east, said President Rajapaksa referring to military recent operation which evicted Tamil Tiger rebels from restive east. Military Spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe said the military was consolidating positions in the captured areas and had also taken a rebel naval base.
The army successfully captured an LTTE Sea Tiger base, including three boats and a large quantity of anti-personnel mines and detonators, the defence ministry said. It said an unspecified number of civilians had fled and sought shelter in schools and a church within the government-controlled area of Mannar. The army is now engaged in consolidation operations to retain control of the area, the defence ministry said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/03/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Go go Sri Lanka. They've been doing quite well recently against the rebels. But they've got quite a way to go, too.
Shaker Youssef Al-Absi , the fugitive leader of the Fatah al-Islam militants was killed today as he was trying to flee the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in north Lebanon. This information was confirmed by a hospital in Tripoli and by Lebanese army sources.
According to army sources, Al-Absi was killed in the morning and his body was found near the eastern section of the camp. The army brought in some Fatah al-Islam detainees to view the body and they all confirmed that it was that of Al- Absi. Later in the day, the army performed DNA tests which provided the final proof of his death.
There were many conflicting reports today about the whereabouts of Al-Absi. Late afternoon it was reported that that the army has captured Al-Absi. Early afternoon it was reported that he was able to escape. Similarly it was reported earlier that Abu Salim Taha, the spokesman of Fatah al Islam has surrendered, but the latest report confirmed that he died today after he was fatally wounded while he was trying to escape.
The two aren't mutually exclusive, of course...
The army victory today brings to an end the Fatah al-Islam organization, and the life of of its leader Shaker Youssef Al-Absi.
Background Information on Al-Absi
Al-Absi is high on Jordan's most-wanted terror list. A military court sentenced him to death in absentia in July 2004, along with al-Qaida in Iraq leader, Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, for their roles in the 2002 slaying of a U.S. diplomat in Amman. Al-Zarqawi died in a U.S. airstrike a year ago.
Jordanian prosecutors say al-Absi, who is also known as Abu Youssef, sent money raised by al-Zarqawi through intermediaries to the Jordanian cell that killed the American diplomat, Laurence Foley. Al-Absi also arranged to train militants in Syria on weapons and explosives, according to Jordanian military court documents.
Al-Absi was also implicated in other planned terror plots in Jordan. Six months ago, Jordanian police engaged in a gun battle with two militants in the northern city of Irbid, killing one and arresting another. The arrested militant later confessed that al-Absi had sent the pair to carry out terror attacks in Jordan.
Unlike traditional Palestinian militants like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, al-Absi has for years been interwoven with the al-Qaida-linked militant underground, reportedly visiting Iraq and Afghanistan and associating with al-Zarqawi, one of al-Qaida's most brutal leaders. Al-Absi is wanted in three Mideast countries - Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
He has the death sentence on twelve systems...
He reportedly came to Lebanon last year from Syria, where he spent a number of years, some of them in prison. In the Nahr el-Bared camp - safe from Lebanese authorities who cannot enter Palestinian refugee camps under a 40-year-old agreement - he slowly built up his organization.
This article starring:
ABU SALIM TAHA
Fatah al-Islam
ABU YUSEF
Fatah al-Islam
Nahr al-Bared
SHAKER YUSEF AL ABSI
Fatah al-Islam
Fatah al-Islam
Posted by: Fred ||
09/03/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Later in the day, the army performed DNA tests which provided the final proof of his death
#2
Sounds like my favorite kind of failed escape... 1) the coppers took him to a back room in handcuffs 2) gunshots are heard 3) body brought out, with shots to back of head 4) coppers explain he tried to get away but was killed in the attempt.
"The battle is over. The Lebanese army has seized the last positions of Fatah al-Islam in the camp," a senior Military officer claimed, in reference to the Nahr al-Bared camp in north Lebanon. "Most of the terrorists were killed today the others have been captured. A few might have escaped but the army is hunting them down."
Nahr al-Bared Battle Ended Sunday in a Lebanese victory after the army took full control of Fatah al-Islam's last hideouts in the besieged refugee camp, who have been at war with the Lebanese Army for the past three months. Troops around the camp fired celebratory shots at around 4:00 pm (1330 GMT) to signal their joy at the end of the deadly standoff that has pitted the army against terrorist Fatah al-Islam fighters. "The shots you are hearing are celebratory shots, the camp has fallen," the officer said.
Residents near the camp meanwhile waved Lebanese flags and chanted as convoys of cars honked their horns. Lebanese citizens fired their guns in jubilation, while others waved the Lebanese flags and chanted as convoys of cars honked their horns.
In a statement, the army said that "the militants of Fatah al-Islam attacked army positions in a desperate attempt to flee Nahr al-Bared camp". The militants reportedly attacked at least two checkpoints outside the camp. It was not immediately known if any of the militants had managed to escape.
The army has cordoned off the area and blocked the main road leading to Syria. Helicopters have been called in to search the area.
The army has cordoned off the area and blocked the main road leading to Syria. Helicopters have been called in to search the area. Last week Lebanese security officials said they believed that only about 30 Fatah al-Islam fighters remained in the camp, though other reports put the number slightly higher.
Meanwhile, Lebanese troops were still clearing the camp of mines and explosives, but there were no more clashes with Fatah al-Islam, an army spokesman said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/03/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Throughout recent history, Lebanon has served as a beacon of pluralism in an increasingly monothiestic realm. For that alone, I give them well-deserved credit.
#2
Pop Cult Pablum: next on "Dancing With the Stars" Which one is the has-been?
Floyd Mayweather, Jr., boxer
Mark Cuban, Dallas Mavericks owner
Wayne Newton, singer
Melanie Brown, aka "Scary Spice"/Mel B.
Sabrina Bryan, Disney Channel's Cheetah Girls
Helio Castroneves, Indianapolis 500 champion
Jennie Garth, Beverly Hills, 90210
Josie Maran, model/actress
Cameron Mathison, All My Children
Marie Osmond, singer
Albert Reed, model
Jane Seymour, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
#5
Well, that depends on your definition of pistol.
Posted by: Abu Uluque6305 ||
09/03/2007 13:17 Comments ||
Top||
#6
"Happiness is a warm gun - bang bang, shoot shoot"
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/03/2007 13:25 Comments ||
Top||
#7
Mae West was one of the very few superstars of her time to set up her own production team and make real money from her fame. Despite any appearance of amity on-screen, she and W.C. Fields mutually despised one another. Field's referred to her as, "A plumber's vision of Cleopatra". West got the best revenge by outliving Fields. According to legend, Mae died with all her own teeth in her head. Some priceless quotes of hers:
"I used to be Snow White, but I drifted."
[at a dinner party, the hostess exclaims about West's diamonds]
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Upon entering the first compound, the 
Also on Sunday, Afghan and coalition forces patrol came under small arms fire by 
The Kandahar authorities detained four Pakistanis on suspicion of helping insurgents build bombs, an intelligence official said. On a tip-off we captured four Pakistanis who are experts in making suicide-bombing vests and remote-controlled bombs, Abdul Qayoum Katawazi told AFP. He would not provide further details, citing an ongoing investigation. Roadside bombs and Iraq-style suicide explosions have become key tactics for Taliban militants, who have intensified their attacks as part of a bloody insurgency they are waging against the government in Kabul.
(SomaliNet) Three soldiers were killed and three civilians were wounded when the local insurgent groups clashed with the government troops at Suuqa Xoolaha village in Huriwa district, north of the Somalia capital on Sunday afternoon, witnesses said. Islamist fighters ambushed police convoy returning to their post near SOS Mother and Child hospital around 5:00pm local time. They have exchanged 15 minutes gunfire. 
CAIRO - Egyptian authorities said on Sunday they had arrested 12 people embracing conservative Sunni Muslim ideas, a security source told AFP. The 12 Salafists were detained during the last two weeks in different provinces of Egypt. They did not belong to one particular group, the source said.
Around 73 people, including security personnel, militants and civilians, were killed and 76 injured in almost 18 incidents of violence in NWFP and tribal areas in August.
DERA BUGTI: A security official was killed and four others injured in a landmine explosion in the Loti area of Dera Bugti on Sunday. Security personnel were on routine patrol when their vehicle hit a landmine, killing a security official and injuring four others. Members of the local administration rushed the injured to hospital. Also, a telephone digital box was destroyed when an explosive device went off in the Munno Jan area, suspending service to dozens of phone connections. Adjacent shops were also damaged, but no casualty was reported.
Local Taliban militants said on Sunday they had abducted scores of soldiers, demanding the withdrawal of troops from tribal areas in exchange for their release. The military has insisted that some 150 soldiers were stranded after straying into Ladha in South Waziristan in stormy weather on Thursday. Our colleagues have captured them and put them in jails, Zulfiqar Mehsud, a spokesman for the militants, told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location. He said the fighters had surrounded the soldiers and forced them to surrender their weapons.
Rivalries and violence between Shiite factions are threatening to overshadow progress US forces have made against Al-Qaeda in Iraq and other extremists just weeks before the top American commander and diplomat in Iraq report to Congress. An all-out, Shiite-on-Shiite conflict could plunge the oil-rich and mainly Shiite south of Iraq into chaos that could rival - or even surpass - the bloodshed across Baghdad and the center of the country for more than four years.
British troops were quitting the southern Iraqi city of Basra on Sunday night in another step towards handing over the province to Iraqi control and paving the way for an eventual withdrawal of British forces from Iraq. 
BAGHDAD - US-led forces on Sunday killed eight suspected militants, arrested four and freed nine Iraqis awaiting trial at a kangaroo court run by Al Qaeda just north of Baghdad, a military statement said.
Hamas gunmen opened fire at pro-Hamas protesters at a rally on the Gaza-Egypt border Saturday, killing a teenager, hospital officials said. 
"The battle is over. The Lebanese army has seized the last positions of Fatah al-Islam in the camp," a senior Military officer claimed, in reference to the Nahr al-Bared camp in north Lebanon. "Most of the terrorists were killed today the others have been captured. A few might have escaped but the army is hunting them down."
Residents near the camp meanwhile waved Lebanese flags and chanted as convoys of cars honked their horns. Lebanese citizens fired their guns in jubilation, while others waved the Lebanese flags and chanted as convoys of cars honked their horns.
