A bomb planted by Taliban militants killed four policemen in Afghanistan on Sunday while various security operations against extremist insurgents left around 60 Taliban dead, officials said.
The policemen were driving in the southeastern province of Ghazni when a bomb ripped through their vehicle, provincial police commander Alishah Ahmadzai told AFP. A spokesman for the Taliban movement claimed responsibility for the attack.
The interior ministry announced meanwhile that police working with international soldiers had killed 25 Taliban on Saturday in an operation in the troubled province of Uruzgan, which has seen days of heavy fighting. The bodies of the dead were left at the battlefield, the ministry said in a statement.
Taliban attacked repelled: The coalition announced separately that its troops, teamed up with Afghan forces, had repelled an attack Friday on a military base in Uruzgan. There were some casualties to the enemy, a coalition spokesman told AFP without providing details. The provincial police chief, Jumagul Himat, said 35 fighters were killed but this could not be confirmed by the Defence Ministry.
Two foreign soldiers, one of them a 21-year-old Dutch national, were killed in Uruzgan in incidents on Friday and Saturday.
The coalition also announced it had killed several insurgents Saturday in the southern province of Helmand an area where British troops have taken the lead in NATO-led operations.. Warplanes were called in after rebels tried to ambush soldiers around Musa Qala district, the centre of which has been in Taliban control for months and is considered a rebel base. The Taliban overran two districts in neighbouring Farah province in the past week: officials have said they are preparing operations to take them back.
In other violence linked to the insurgency, a bomb exploded near the border with Pakistan early Sunday, killing a school headmaster, police said blaming the Taliban. And the Defence Ministry said Afghan troops killed four suspected rebels in two separate clashes on Saturday.
This article starring:
Alishah Ahmadzai
Jumagul Himat
Posted by: Fred ||
11/05/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Need to get that 15:1 ratio higher - like 15:0 or even better.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
11/05/2007 9:53 Comments ||
Top||
NAIROBI, Kenya Somali pirates left two boats they had hijacked in the waters off the Horn of Africa, and the newly liberated vessels -- and their crew of 24 -- were under U.S. Navy escort on Sunday, the American military said.
A U.S. Navy ship and helicopter were guiding the Tanzanian-flagged boats Mavuno 1 and 2 further out to sea, where naval personnel will later board the vessels and treat crew members, said Cmdr. Lydia Robertson of the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. The Navy is in radio contact with pirates aboard three other ships in the region, encouraging them also to leave those ships and sail back to Somalia. "We're very happy with this development and hope it happens with the other ships off the coast," Robertson said. "We're very happy for the crew and their families."
Robertson said the pirates boarded skiffs after they left the hijacked ships, and headed back to Somalia. No shots were fired during the incident, she said. She gave no more details.
The U.S. has now intervened four times in one week to help ships hijacked by Somali pirates. Sailors boarded a North Korean ship to give medical assistance to crew members who overpowered their hijackers, and a Naval vessel fired on pirate skiffs tied to a Japanese-owned ship. Robertson said that ship was still under control of pirates, although the U.S. Navy was still working to free that ship from pirates. There were no details on the other two seized ships.
In South Korea, the Foreign Ministry said 24 sailors onboard the two Korean-owned ships seized May 15 off Somalia were safe. The ministry said the ships were being escorted to a port in Yemen by a U.S. Navy warship at the request of the South Korean government, the ministry said in a statement. The two dozen sailors were comprised 10 Chinese, four South Koreans, three Vietnamese, three Indians and four Indonesians.
South Korean media have reported that the Somali pirates were demanding between $700,000 and $1 million in ransom. Robertson had no comment on ransom demands, deferring to the shipping company.
#1
Woo Hoo!! Go Navy. Whoda thunk that the job of US Sailors in the 21st Century would be going after pirates - once again. As my mom used to say, "All that is old is new."
And this sentence from the article needs a bit more detail, does it not? and a Naval vessel fired on pirate skiffs tied to a Japanese-owned ship.
#5
Yeah, yeah. I want someone to shove a camera and a mike into the face of any Donk Senators who sent the Prez the note on 'no authority to attack Iran' and ask when the Senate is going to give their 'mother may I' to this obvious overreach by the executive branch to use military force in an international situation. /sarcasm off.
#7
Robertson said the pirates boarded skiffs after they left the hijacked ships, and headed back to Somalia. No shots were fired during the incident, she said. She gave no more details.
#8
I want to know why the Masters of these vessels continue to put their ships in harms way by sailing close enough to the coast for the pirates to board them.
We need to be sending the bill for these liberations to the owners/insurers of these vessels. Maybe a few SEAL missions where these pirates lay their heads might be in order as well.
#9
Somali pirates left two boats they had hijacked and the two Korean-owned ships seized May 15
It sounds like the Somalis got their ransom and released the ships. The US Navy is now the world's towing service. Let the other nations rescue/escort their own damn people.
Posted by: ed ||
11/05/2007 11:20 Comments ||
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#11
Let the pirates board their skiffs, leave the mother ship, and blow them out of the water with 50 cal BMG.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/05/2007 15:46 Comments ||
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#12
After beating Notre Dame the pirates should be no problem.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/05/2007 15:48 Comments ||
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#13
The Navy is in radio contact with pirates aboard three other ships in the region, encouraging them also to leave those ships and sail back to Somalia
Sure. Just as soon as they find a team. Then make sure it's a team that's recently rehearsed boarding a moving ship from a small boat. Or do a rehearsal once you have a team. Thing is, you have to do it out of sight of the pirates; there might be someone sharp enough to catch on.
Or you can send in a helo with a rappelling team. It's awkward enough during an unopposed boarding. Which means lots of rehearsal. Or go in cold, and you can guarantee dead hostages. Factor in boarding an unfamiliar ship (builder's plans are really useful)and you can probably add some SEAL casualties as well. Maybe lull the pirates into complacency by doing numerous fly-bys (or make 'em even more nervous).
Make it a night-boarding? Sure. Provided you have a helo crew and a SEAL team that's experienced in it. Meaning... rehearsals. The unfamiliar ship-factor is still in play.
Not saying it can't be done. But it ain't Hollywood - you can't do it in 120 minutes.
Unidentified saboteurs bombed an oil pipeline Monday in Yemen's central Marib province, causing damage but not casualties, a security official said.
Yemen's official news agency SABA quoted Ahmed Fandar, a Marib security official, as saying a "group of saboteurs" were behind the explosion, which halted the flow of oil. Fandar said the culprits placed a bomb under the pipeline that was timed to explode. He did not identify the identities of the bombers but said the Marib security department was investigating the incident.
The security official did not comment on earlier reports that the explosion set the surrounding area ablaze.
Al-Qaida militants have been active in sabotage operations against oil pipelines and power stations in the country.
Posted by: anonymous5089 ||
11/05/2007 10:33 ||
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Link ||
[9 views]
Top|| File under: Global Jihad
#1
Guards are checking at the border for Menonites as we speak.
The US and Britain are today expected to demand that Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, honour pledges to hold elections in the next two months and step down as the army chief, or face a cut in western support.
The diplomatic showdown will come in the form of a meeting in Islamabad between the Pakistani leader and a group of ambassadors, two days after he declared emergency rule - and three days after giving assurances to the prime minister, Gordon Brown, and the US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, that he would stick to an election deadline in mid-January, and step down as head of the country's army.
Last night Pakistan's prime minister, Shaukat Aziz, called those promises into question when he said the government had not decided when to hold the elections and warned they could be delayed by up to a year. Wielding his new powers with an iron fist yesterday, Gen Musharraf rounded up hundreds of opposition and human rights activists and introduced tight media regulations. Mr Aziz's statement directly contradicted personal assurances Gen Musharraf apparently gave to Mr Brown and Ms Rice on the eve of the emergency declaration.
The pledge to the prime minister was made on Friday, when Mr Brown telephoned Mr Musharraf and expressed concern over reports that an emergency decree was being planned.
"He [Mr Brown] said we had heard he was considering this and we thought it was a bad idea," a British official said.
Downing Street and the Foreign Office denied claims from Islamabad yesterday that Britain had, in fact, sanctioned Gen Musharraf's declaration.
A Musharraf aide told the Guardian that the Pakistani president had "satisfied" objections raised by Mr Brown during the conversation. "There was pressure from the US and Britain in the beginning. But later on, when the government gave them the detail that elections will be held on time, and the president will take off his uniform, they did not have any objections," the official said, on condition of anonymity. A Foreign Office official insisted "no consent was implied or given".
In his address to the nation on Saturday night Gen Musharraf said the step was necessary to combat growing Islamist extremism that has seen a succession of suicide bombings and a battle in the previously peaceful northern area of Swat.
But yesterday his police turned their batons on political opponents and human rights critics from a wide spectrum of society - although notably not from Benazir Bhutto's People's party. Ms Bhutto, who has been edging towards a power-sharing deal with Gen Musharraf for months, condemned emergency rule but did not call her supporters on to the streets.
In Lahore police armed with assault rifles raided the offices of the national human rights commission.
Police seized camera equipment belonging to journalists. The ousted chief justice, Muhammad Iftikhar Chaudhry, was trapped behind a cordon of police at his Islamabad house.
The leader of the lawyer's movement, Aitzaz Ahsan, was held incommunicado at Adiala Jail near Rawalpindi. Tammy Haq, a colleague who attempted to visit him, said she feared he was being tortured. "I've seen martial law before, my brother was in jail, and this is exactly the same," she said.
Mr Aziz said the former cricketer Imran Khan and retired intelligence chief Hamid Gul were among 500 people being held in preventative detention. Private TV channels remained off air and senior journalists said they feared arrest. The only news coverage came through the state TV channel, which broadcast a report into the lack of press freedom in India.
The British and US reaction has so far been cautious. It has fallen short of condemnation. More severe measures, as well as a reassessment of western aid to the Musharraf government will hinge on today's critical meeting.
"What we will make very clear is that the government must keep to the commitment to hold elections on time, the commitment to take off the uniform, the commitment to a free press, the commitment to reach out other parties, and the commitment to release political prisoners," a senior British official said. "How they respond to that will determine how our reaction thereafter."
Ms Rice, speaking to journalists in Jerusalem, said yesterday the US would "review" aid to Pakistan, which has totalled $11bn (£5.5bn) since 2001.
British officials said they would reassess aid in coordination with the US.
In Lahore a human rights campaigner, Asma Jahangir, sent an email from home where she has been placed under detention for 90 days. "Those he has arrested are progressive, secular minded people while the terrorists are offered negotiations and ceasefires," she wrote.
Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, president of the ruling PML-Q party, said the decision to impose emergency rule was triggered by fears that the supreme court would rule against Gen Musharraf's recent re-election in a legal appeal. A friendly judge passed the information to the government last Wednesday. "He said the verdict may be unanimous. So we had no choice," he told the Guardian. "The debate was whether to impose emergency before or after [the court ruling]."
Asked how long the emergency measures would be in place Mr Aziz said: "As long as it is necessary."
Posted by: john frum ||
11/05/2007 10:05 ||
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[9 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
Sure hope Ms. Rice knows what she's doing. Is she quite certain the extremist won't win the election?
Authorities rounded up opposition leaders Sunday after military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf suspended Pakistan's constitution, replaced the chief justice and blacked out independent TV outlets, saying the country must fight rising Islamic extremism. Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup but had given a conditional pledge to step down as military chief and become a civilian president this year, declared a state of emergency Saturday night, dashing recent hopes of a smooth transition to democracy for the nuclear-armed nation.
"Gen. Musharraf's second coup," read the headline in the Dawn daily. "It is martial law," said the Daily Times.
"Gen. Musharraf's second coup," read the headline in the Dawn daily. "It is martial law," said the Daily Times.
Across Pakistan, police arrested political activists and lawyers at the forefront of a campaign against military rule. Among those detained were Javed Hashmi, the acting president of the party of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif; Asma Jehangir, chairman of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan; and Hamid Gul, former chief of the country's main intelligence agency and a staunch critic of Musharraf's support of the U.S.-led war on terror. "It's a big blow to the country," said Gul, as a dozen officers took him away in a police van near the parliament in the capital, Islamabad. Hashmi said the army general would not "not survive the people's outrage."
Up to 40 activists were hauled in when police raided the office of the Human Right Commission of Pakistan, including its director, I.A. Rahman, a harsh Musharraf critic, said Mohammed Yousaf, a guard at the office in the eastern city of Lahore.
Musharraf's leadership is threatened by an Islamic militant movement that has spread from border regions to the capital, the reemergence of political rival and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and an increasingly defiant Supreme Court, which was expected to rule soon on the validity of his recent presidential election win. Hearings scheduled for next week were postponed, with no new date set.
Attorney General Malik Mohammed Qayyum denied claims by Bhutto and commentators in the domestic media that Musharraf had imposed martial law direct rule by the army under the guise of a state of emergency. "There is no martial law in the country," Qayyum said, noting that the prime minister and parliament were still in place. "Only a state of emergency has been declared."
In Islamabad, phone service that was cut Saturday evening appeared to have been restored by Sunday morning. But transmissions by TV news networks other than state-controlled Pakistan TV remained off the air in major cities. Scores of paramilitary troops blocked access to the Supreme Court and parliament. Otherwise the streets of the capital appeared calm, with little sign of demonstrators. "Nobody cares about us or about what we think," said Mohammad Amin, 31, wearing a black prayer cap as he took a break from his work with fellow laborers to sip sweet tea.
Western allies had urged Musharraf not to take authoritarian measures despite recent his country's recent turmoil. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called for a return to democracy in Pakistan, as the American embassy urged citizens in the country to remain at home and defer all nonessential travel. But Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said the emergency declaration "does not impact our military support of Pakistan" or its efforts in the war on terror.
Bhutto, who had traveled abroad again in the wake of an Oct. 18 suicide attack that narrowly missed her but killed 145 others, immediately flew back to the southern city of Karachi, and declared that the emergency was the "blackest day" in Pakistan's history. "I believe the problem is dictatorship, I don't believe the solution is dictatorship," she told Sky News television in a report available via satellite.
In his televised address late Saturday, Musharraf, looking somber and composed, said Pakistan was at a "dangerous" juncture, its government threatened by Islamic extremists who are "taking the writ of the government in their own hands, and even worse they are imposing their obsolete ideas on moderates."
The military ruler, wearing a black button-down tunic rather than his army fatigues, also blamed the Supreme Court for punishing state officials and tying the hands of the government by postponing the validation of his recent election win. The court was expected to rule soon on opponents' claims that Musharraf's Oct. 6 victory was unconstitutional because he contested the vote while army chief. Musharraf on Saturday replaced the chief justice, Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, who had emerged as the main check on the president. His name was deleted from the court's Web site. "We have to create harmony among judiciary, legislative and executive ... This is how we would tackle the issue of terrorism in a better way," Musharraf said.
He said there would be no change in the government and its top offices, and parliament set to dissolve by Nov. 15 would complete its term. He also vowed to go ahead with parliamentary elections, originally due by January, but gave no time line. Deputy Minister for Information, Tariq Azeem, said Sunday he hoped the polls would go ahead soon. "But unfortunately everything has been put on the back burner," he said. "I'm still hoping the election will happen shortly ... but I can't give you the exact date."
Musharraf's emergency order imposed a provisional constitution. Seven of the 17 Supreme Court judges immediately rejected Musharraf's emergency order, which suspended the 1973 constitution, and only five agreed to take the oath of office under the provisional constitutional order. "We will send flowers to those judges who didn't take oath, and shame on those who did it," said Qazi Hussain Ahmed, the head of the six party coalition, United Action Forum.
Authorities arrested Aitzaz Ahsan, a lawyer who represented Chaudhry when Musharraf unsuccessfully tried to fire him earlier this year. Another opposition party leader, Imran Khan, was put under house arrest Saturday.
The emergency comes as Musharraf's security forces struggle to contain pro-Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants who have gained control of large tracts of the volatile northwest, near Afghanistan. Violence has reached major cities with deadly suicide attacks in Islamabad and Karachi underscoring the failure of Musharraf's administration to combat the threat despite huge financial support from the United States.
Talat Masood, a retired Pakistani general and respected analyst, said the emergency declaration was a pre-emptive move in case the court ruled against him, and said the move could "further aggravate terrorism and extremism in the country and slide the country into anarchism."
Rick Barton, a Pakistan expert at the Washington-based Center for International and Strategic Studies, said Musharraf's move would likely only postpone his political demise. "He's obviously not very popular, and it's not going to increase his popularity."
Musharraf issued two ordinances toughening media laws, including a ban on live TV broadcasts of "incidents of violence and conflict." Also, TV operators who "ridicule" the president, armed forces, or executive, legislative or judicial organs of the state can be punished with three years in jail.
I guess we can assume Rantburg is illegal in Pakistain. I stand by my opinion that the Pak president is a ridiculous little man; that the Pak military is a laughable pretense led by incompetents, much better suited to oppressing the population than to dealing with any real threat; and that the executvie, legislative, and judicial organs are chock full of time servers, men on horseback, and pursuers of the main chance. By dancing around the chimera of "democracy," rather than embracing personal freedom the Paks are trying to implement the side effect rather than the cure. But they'll never embrace personal liberty, because that would involve freedom of religion, as well as freedom from gangs of roving fascisti.
This article starring:
Aitzaz Ahsan
Asma Jehangir
Attorney General Malik Mohammed Qayyum
Condoleezza Rice
Geoff Morrell
Hamid Gul
I.A. Rahman
Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry
Imran Khan
Javed Hashmi
Mohammed Yousaf, a guard at the office
Qazi Hussain Ahmed
Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal
Rick Barton, a Pakistan expert
Talat Masood, a retired Pakistani general
Tariq Azeem
Posted by: Fred ||
11/05/2007 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[9 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
I didn't see a mention of Khan the proliferator!
#2
Scroll down for a full translation of Mushy's speech on the need for martial law. The site is run by Juan Cole's leftist groupies.
http://icga.blogspot.com/
#3
The military ruler, wearing a black button-down tunic rather than his army fatigues
Just like General Zia Ul Haq used to do...
Posted by: john frum ||
11/05/2007 5:42 Comments ||
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#4
What is compelling and interesting about all of this is that there is no solid concensus on how this will turn out and what the effect will be on WoT, Paki-India relations, improved democracy, radical Islam's march to oblivion, etc. Mushy cannot be pulling this off with the strongest support of the Army and ISI - yet he is declaring the emergency because of "extremism activity" which is something the ISI seems woe to separate themselves from. And to make matters worse these people have nukes.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
11/05/2007 10:04 Comments ||
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Pro-Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud on Sunday freed over 200 soldiers who had been taken hostage in South Waziristan over two months ago on August 30, a day after General Pervez Musharraf imposed a state of emergency, official sources and a military spokesman said. The 211 soldiers the militants have released reached Wana, military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad told Daily Times by phone from Rawalpindi.
He also confirmed that the government had released 25 militants in exchange for the soldiers freedom. The militants released by the government include Sohail Zeb, a 24-year-old convicted terrorist, who is a relative of slain Taliban commander Abdullah Mehsud. Officials said the soldiers and militants had been exchanged through jirga members at Tiarza tehsil, 25 kilometres northeast of Wana.
Baitullah Mehsud demanded the release of 30 militants that the government had taken into custody for terrorism charges as well as the withdrawal of the military from South Waziristans Mehsud areas in exchange for the release of the soldiers. The militants released 31 soldiers last month but killed three others. General Waheed said the militant group gave the tribal jirga an understanding that foreign militants would be expelled from Mehsud areas and security forces would not be attacked if their positions in the area did not change.
This article starring:
Abdullah Mehsud
Taliban
Baitullah Mehsud
Taliban
Major General Waheed Arshad
Sohail Zeb
Taliban
Posted by: Fred ||
11/05/2007 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
Not the 300 at Thermopylae, this lot
Posted by: john frum ||
11/05/2007 11:23 Comments ||
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#2
Bet the Pushtoons had a go at their "Hot Gates" before their release.
Posted by: ed ||
11/05/2007 12:22 Comments ||
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Fourteen Supreme Court (SC) judges, who refused to take oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) promulgated by President General Pervez Musharraf on Saturday, have been detained at their residences, sources in the judiciary told Daily Times.
A senior lawyer claimed that security personnel surrounded the houses of all such judges. Their telephone landlines and mobile phones had also been blocked. Sacked chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Chaudhry reportedly had no access to newspapers or television. Security personnel ringed the Lahore home of Supreme Court judge Khalilur Rehman Ramday, who had been hearing challenges to President Musharrafs October 6 re-election, AFP reported.
This article starring:
Iftikhar Chaudhry
Khalilur Rehman Ramday
Posted by: Fred ||
11/05/2007 00:00 ||
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[7 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
If authorities had arrested the SCOTUS Taney court in 1857, after the "Dred Scot" atrocity, then a lot of gravediggers might have been out of work.
#2
take note of events. If Hillary gets elected, we will get to see the same events unfolding here. Once in power, that woman will NEVER give it up. Just like Mushy and all of the other tyrants people like this don't give it up willingly. The crown has to be wrestled from them as they are kicking and screaming and dragged from the stage with their fingernails digging into the floor boards as they try to claw their way back up on stage.
#3
Musharraf is using domestic security problems as a cover for his assault against the rule of law and the advancement of his self-interest. Under his rule Pakistan has made only token attempts to suppress the activities of Islamic extremists. Those efforts will not become more vigorous if he succeeds in stifling legitimate dissent and sidelining his political adversaries (who also have no love for the country's radical elements).
Three major scenarios seem likely now:
1. Under the threat of loss of foreign aid, in a relatively brief period the Musharraf regime relaxes this order.
2. Musharraf strengthens his hold on the country's institutions, eventually with the covert support of foreign governments that prefer to deal with the "devil they know".
2a. He later hands off power to a successor backed by the military.
2b. Elections are held with strong international monitoring.
3. Assassination will lead to the overthrow of the Musharraf regime. In this case multinational forces will be charged with securing the nation's nuclear assets with the Chinese taking the lead. A provisional government led by Benazir Bhutto will take charge.
2b is the best realistic outcome. Preparations are already being made behind the scenes in dealing with the nightmares which would stem from 3.
Posted by: Oscar Hupereth1535 ||
11/05/2007 5:07 Comments ||
Top||
#4
When I think of today's societal gravediggers, Stevens, Souter, Breyer, and Ruth Buzzi Ginsburg naturally come to mind.
#6
The reason I don't think Hillary will give up the power is because I just don't think she will be able to. Don't forget, she and her husband already volunteered to stay in power during the Gore debacle of 2000. Can you imagine the turmoil that would have thrown us into? Once she grasps control, I don't think she will be willing to give it up without a serious fight. Anyhow, I think she's like Musharraf, you know what you are getting when you vote for them. Hillary is all about the power. She takes campaign cash from illegal sources, she is ruthless against her enemies and she doesn't believe she has to play by the rules. She won't go away quietly if she gets the power. She's already showing serious signs of paranoia.
Having a president who refuses to leave office can happen here, just like it can happen anywhere. It's just never happened before.
#7
Everyone is assuming Hillary will get elected. She has to win the nomination for the Democrat party first. Now, if she doesn't get that, I can see her not playing fair and running a 3rd party candidacy to avenge those primary defeats but if she is elected as Prez and decides to stay beyond her mandate there is a little thing called the American Military that would most likely intercede regardless of their pledge to obey their CINC.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
11/05/2007 10:10 Comments ||
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#8
regardless of their pledge to obey their CINC.
"I, (state your name), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. (So help me God)."
Defend the Constitution first, and only then obey the CINC, if it's a lawful order.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/05/2007 20:31 Comments ||
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#9
If she tried to retain power after a defeat and after the Electoral College confirmed her successor, she would not be the CINC, therefore her orders are not legal and WILL not be obeyed.
Posted by: Rich W ||
11/05/2007 21:46 Comments ||
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The takeover of key government installations including police stations by Al Qaeda-linked militants, and the surrender of paramilitary soldiers in Swat district, has brought regular troops closer to action, officials said on Sunday.
Militants took over two police stations on Saturday after police ran away abandoned them and seized weapons and armoured personnel carriers, also while setting around 160 paramilitary soldiers free who, they said, had surrendered to the militants in the last three days. Local residents told Daily Times that Matta tehsil and Khwazakhela, another important town 27 kilometres north of Mingora, had fallen to the Taliban.
Taliban militants are directing the traffic on the road, they added. We should forget that police and paramilitary force will restore peace in Swat now and thinking so is like hoping against hope. The only chance the government has is asking the army to take over the responsibility from civil armed forces in the district, a senior law-enforcing officer told Daily Times. The official said the provincial government was given a detailed briefing by law-enforcing agencies on Friday, and a request could be made to the army to take charge of the operation to restore law and order.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/05/2007 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under: TNSM
MINGORA: Two citizen were killed and several other injured while two mosque and 70 houses were demolished in result of shelling on Dherai, Koza Banda, and the sorrounding area. Acording to the details after announcing the state of emergenc severe shelling was observed from F.C camp Kanjo on Koza Banda in kabal and Dherai near Air port Kanjo which killed two citizen named Khalid and Sirjuddin on spot and also destroye the near houses which frieghtened the local civilians.
#4
It's my understanding that Mr. Dinner Jacket has to take the Charles Atlas Bodybuilding Course so he can guarantee repayment in case any sand gets melted, err I mean kicked, in his face.
The Iraqi parliament is poised to pass its first significant piece of legislation since the lawmakers went on summer recess a bill to remove immunity from expatriate security companies working there. The rare show of solidarity grows out of popular anger over the government's inability to prosecute employees of Blackwater USA for a Sept. 16 shooting incident that left 17 Iraqis dead.
Blackwater founder Erik Prince told The Washington Times this month that he would never hand over his employees to an Iraqi judicial system that he described as fatally flawed.
Doug Brooks, president of the International Peace Operations Association, which counts dozens of security companies among its members, warned that many companies would leave Iraq if the CPA order, known as Order 17, is completely removed.
If the parliament does approve the bill as drafted, it will be its first legislative achievement in months. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government has sent the lawmakers proposed legislation on oil and de-Ba'athification, but as yet parliament has refused to consider either one.
Asked whether the Iraqi parliament had the power to overturn Mr. Bremer's directive, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the regulation is Iraqi law and can be changed by the legislators.
However, Immunity vow stymies probe
The State Department promised Blackwater USA bodyguards immunity from prosecution in its investigation of last month's deadly shooting of 17 Iraqi civilians. As a result, it will likely be months before the United States can if ever bring criminal charges in the case that has infuriated the Iraqi government.
"Once you give immunity, you can't take it away," said a senior law-enforcement official familiar with the investigation.
All the Blackwater bodyguards involved both in the vehicle convoy and in at least two helicopters above were given the legal protections as investigators from the Bureau of Diplomatic Security sought to find out what happened. The bureau is an arm of the State Department.
#2
As much as I like the WATIMES, they and the rest of the media have had this immunity thing WRONG from day one. No Special Agent can grant immunity from prosecution. The DSS agents issued what is termed as a Garrity Warning to the BW guys. The Garrity Warning compels an individual to answer questions during an administrative (NOT CRIMINAL) investigation. The individual cannot refuse under penalty of dismissal for insubordination. The trade off is the agents cannot use anything the individual says against them in a crimianl case UNLESS the individual provides false statements. The wise agent stops the questioning if things look like the individual starts to incriminate himself. I have both read this warning to others and the warning has been read to me. Regardless of what the individual says, they can still be charged criminally. The investigators just have to go about things in a different way. No criminal immunity.
Posted by: Bangkok Billy ||
11/05/2007 18:24 Comments ||
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Iraqi Police, U.S. Special Operations Forces capture IED bomber in Ramadi
BAGHDAD Iraqi Police and U.S. Special Operations Forces captured an alleged extremist bomber and two other suspects during an operation in Ramadi Nov. 4.
Ramadi Iraqi Police and U.S. SOF captured the suspects during a raid to capture several individuals wanted for building and using improvised explosive devices in attacks on Coalition Forces. The suspected bomber is also believed to be actively involved in extremist recruiting. IED-making material was confiscated during the raid.
No Iraqi or U.S. forces were injured during the operation.
Two carloads of gunman ambushed a top aide to Iraq's Finance Ministry on Sunday in Baghdad, killing him and his driver, police said. The two were among 15 people killed or found dead in Iraq. The Finance Ministry had no immediate comment about the attack on Qutaiba Badir al-Din Mohammed, a Sunni adviser to Iraq's finance minister.
Violence claimed the lives of 10 Iraqis in Diyala, the troubled province northeast of Baghdad. Police said the victims included an Iraqi soldier, a policeman and an 8-year-old child, all killed separately. The soldier died when gunmen attacked his patrol in Khalis, a mostly Shiite town 50 miles north of the capital, police said. Three other soldiers were wounded in the attack, they said. The child died after seven mortar rounds landed on a residential area in the same town at sunrise, police said. A woman was also wounded by the barrage. And the policeman was killed in a drive-by shooting in nearby Muqdadiyah, 60 miles north of Baghdad, police said.
Meanwhile, police said clashes broke out in Buhriz, a suburb of Diyala's provincial capital, Baqouba. Policemen backed by members of the 1920s Revolution Brigades, a Sunni former insurgent group, battled gunmen and seized weapons and ammunition, they said. Four people were killed, including a 1920s member, police said. Later, a civilian was killed by a roadside bomb north of Baqouba, and a severed head was found dumped at a farm nearby, police said.
Another body was found floating in a drainage ditch in the Tahrir area, in a southern part of the city, they said. Farther west, a parked car bomb exploded in a commercial area in central Tikrit, killing three people including a 6-year-old boy, police said.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/05/2007 00:00 ||
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Kurdish rebels on Sunday released eight Turkish soldiers in northern Iraq two weeks after capturing them in an ambush inside Turkey, Kurdish government and insurgent leaders said.
The release came before Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets President Bush on Monday in Washington to agree on measures against the rebels, and avert a cross-border offensive against the Kurdish rebel group.
A spokesman for the group that captured the soldiers, the Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK, told The Associated Press by telephone that the eight were released Sunday morning near the border between Turkey and the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in Iraq's north. "The eight were freed this morning at 7:30 and handed over to Iraqi Kurdish officials in the mountains," said Abdul-Rahman Chadarchi, a PKK spokesman.
The soldiers were taken in an Oct. 21 ambush inside Turkish territory. The ambush also left 12 soldiers dead and raised pressure on Turkey's government to stage a cross-border offensive to fight Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/05/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Hopefully we will have confirmation on this soon.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Israeli aircraft struck in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday after a rocket attack on Israel, the military said, and Palestinian hospital officials said three Palestinian civilians were killed, including a father and son.
The military said it targeted a rocket squad that attacked southern Israel earlier in the morning, but had no information on casualties. No one was hurt in that rocket attack or two others that took place early Sunday, the military said.
Palestinian witnesses said an Israeli missile struck a trailer near the town of Beit Lahiya. Hospital officials identified the three dead men as Zaher al Aaer, 40, his 18-year-old son, Youssef, and a neighbor, Mohammed Abu Herbet, 23.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/05/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Zaher al Aaer, 40, his 18-year-old son, Youssef, and a neighbor, Mohammed Abu Herbet, 23.
Three Jerusalem Arabs have been charged with planning a series of terrorist attacks in the city, including the assassination of Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski, a suicide bombing and a shooting attack near the Western Wall, security officials said Sunday.
The suspects, who were arrested two weeks ago, were charged Friday in a Jerusalem court with establishing contacts with a foreign agent, conspiring to assist an enemy in time of war, and aiding a terrorist group. A gag order imposed on the case was lifted on Sunday evening.
According to the indictment, late last year Mamoun Abu Tir and Atallah Abu Tir, both 19 and from the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Umm Tuba, decided to set up a terrorist cell. Mamoun Abu Tir allegedly corresponded via the Internet with an Islamic Jihad operative from Algeria, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) said. The Algerian sent Mamoun Abu Tir instructions on preparing explosives, and in September 2007, connected him with an Islamic Jihad agent in the Gaza Strip, according to the charge sheet. Mamoun Abu Tir allegedly discussed attacks on various individuals, including the mayor of Jerusalem, and plans for a shooting attack at the Mughrabi Gate leading to the Temple Mount.
The suspects originally considered bringing a suicide bomber from Hebron to Beersheba, but eventually decided to carry out an attack in Jerusalem instead, according to security officials. The charge sheet says the Islamic Jihad member in Gaza offered to bring a suicide bomber to the security barrier on the outskirts of Jerusalem where the suspects would pick him up. The men were arrested before they were able to enact their plans, the indictment states. The third Arab resident of Jerusalem apprehended is suspected of actively supporting the plot.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/05/2007 00:00 ||
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(Xinhua) -- The military wing of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement claimed responsibility on Sunday for launching six home-made rockets into southern Israel. In a press statement, al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades said the rocket attack was part of a campaign launched in late October, which includes rocket-fire into Israel "as long as the Israeli crimes continue." The rockets were fired on the city of Sderot in southern Israel and Western Negev. Israel sources said the power was briefly cut in Sderot because of the Palestinian rocket attack.
Earlier in the day, an Israeli airstrike killed a militant from the Islamic Jihad (Holy war) movement while he was firing rockets in northern Gaza Strip. Jihad militant's death came after three Palestinian civilians were also killed this morning in northern Gaza.
This article starring:
al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades
Islamic Jihad
Posted by: Fred ||
11/05/2007 00:00 ||
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#2
TOPIX > YALIBNAN NEWS [Lebanon] > Lebanon's HEZBOLLAH WAR GAMES IN CASE OF FUTURE ISRAELI ATTACK AGZ SYRIA?, + IS ISRAEL PREPARING TO ATTACK HEZBOLLAH AGAIN?
Five persons, including two village heads, were killed
Monday in separate terrorist insurgent attacks in the southernmost provinces.
One village head and their associates were gunned down by suspected terrorists insurgents in Pattani while driving home in a pick-up truck after a monthly meeting in Thung Yang Daeng district. Four gunmen in a pick-up truck followed them and opened fire, killing three men at the scene.
Meanwhile, in a separate attack in Yala, a village head and a defense volunteer were shot dead on a road in Yala's Yaha district as they were en route to a monthly meeting.
Meanwhile, police were still searching for possible 32 acid bombs in Narathiwat after explosions of three bombs containing concentrated acid. A bomb disposal unit investigating the latest blast scene in Cho Ai Rong district and found a number '35' marked in the area, which they believed was a signature noting the numbers of bombs planted.
Police said the number was likely to be related to the previous explosion of three acid bombs in Sungai Kolok and Cho Ai Rong districts, injuring two local residents. The victims, suffering from severe burns on their heads and bodies, were sent to hospital.
"The three blasts might be a part of the "35 bombing plot" of the suspected insurgents, Pol. Lt-Col. Sukit Khammak said, noting that provincial police were tracking another 32 bombs. The homemade bomb, tied to a bottle of concentrated acid, is likely to be a new terrorist insurgent bomb tactic, as the combination appeared to cause more damage than previous bombs.
The Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar reported on Monday that Hizbullah held its largest military exercise ever in southern Lebanon several days ago. According to the report, thousands of Hizbullah fighters participated in the three day long exercise. The report claimed that UNIFIL troops operating in the area failed to notice the intensive preparations conducted by Hizbullah prior to the start of the exercise.
The newspaper claims the exercise was aimed at deterring Israel from launching an attack in southern Lebanon against Hizbullah. Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah reportedly personally commanded the drill.
The exercise took place south of the Litani river in what Hizbullah described as an "exercise of defensive nature against an overall Israeli strike." Aside from thousands of the movement's fighters, anti aircraft missile units, rocket launchers and engineering units also took part in the exercise.
When thousands of fighters participate that may mean as little as having Hizballah supporters moving around by buses. The hardware may or may not even be functional.
#13
That's why Israel calls it the "United Nothing". When it relates to success the effectiveness of the United Nothing has been compared to a screen door on a submarine.
Sgt. Schultz from Hogan's Heroes is alive and well in the UN.
#14
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon follows the rule: "See no evil, hear no evil, and speak not of evil." By following that rule, they really don't have to do anything.
#16
I have a friend here who was in the Norwegian Army in Lebanon for a UN Peacekeeping mission about 20-25 years ago. He said they had it pretty rough and got shot at a lot and they were occasionally allowed to shoot back. This was shortly after the MArine barracks was blown up. He doesn't like to talk about it. He thinks the Muslims in general and the Palistinians in particular are not salveageable. I agree.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
11/05/2007 16:06 Comments ||
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#17
The newspaper claims the exercise was aimed at deterring Israel from launching an attack in southern Lebanon against Hizbullah.
#18
As per Israeli sources on the Hezzies = Hizzies, the latter say its the job of the UNO/UNIFIL to protect the Hezzies = Hizzies = Lebanon, etc from Israel??? DOES LEBANESE HEZBOLLAH KNOW ITS THE SAME ORG AS SYRIAN HEZBOLLAH???
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.
A bomb planted by Taliban militants killed four policemen in Afghanistan on Sunday while various security operations against extremist insurgents left around 60 Taliban dead, officials said.
Unidentified saboteurs bombed an oil pipeline Monday in Yemen's central Marib province, causing damage but not casualties, a security official said.
Authorities rounded up opposition leaders Sunday after military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf suspended Pakistan's constitution, replaced the chief justice and blacked out independent TV outlets, saying the country must fight rising Islamic extremism. Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup but had given a conditional pledge to step down as military chief and become a civilian president this year, declared a state of emergency Saturday night, dashing recent hopes of a smooth transition to democracy for the nuclear-armed nation.
Pro-Taliban commander 
The takeover of key government installations including police stations by Al Qaeda-linked militants, and the surrender of paramilitary soldiers in Swat district, has brought regular troops closer to action, officials said on Sunday. 
Two carloads of gunman ambushed a top aide to Iraq's Finance Ministry on Sunday in Baghdad, killing him and his driver, police said. The two were among 15 people killed or found dead in Iraq. The Finance Ministry had no immediate comment about the attack on Qutaiba Badir al-Din Mohammed, a Sunni adviser to Iraq's finance minister.
Kurdish rebels on Sunday released eight Turkish soldiers in northern Iraq two weeks after capturing them in an ambush inside Turkey, Kurdish government and insurgent leaders said.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Israeli aircraft struck in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday after a rocket attack on Israel, the military said, and Palestinian hospital officials said three Palestinian civilians were killed, including a father and son.
Three Jerusalem Arabs have been charged with planning a series of terrorist attacks in the city, including the assassination of Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski, a suicide bombing and a shooting attack near the Western Wall, security officials said Sunday. 
(Xinhua) -- The military wing of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement claimed responsibility on Sunday for launching six home-made rockets into southern Israel. In a press statement, 
Five persons, including two village heads, were killed 
The Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar reported on Monday that Hizbullah held its largest military exercise ever in southern Lebanon several days ago. According to the report, thousands of Hizbullah fighters participated in the three day long exercise. The report claimed that UNIFIL troops operating in the area failed to notice the intensive preparations conducted by Hizbullah prior to the start of the exercise.
