Afghanistans Taliban movement has urged the war-torn nations former mujahideen factions to join it in their campaign to drive out foreign forces from the country. The Taliban appeal follows complaints by some mujahideen leaders about being sidelined from President Hamid Karzais government they brought to power by helping US-led forces with the overthrew of the Taliban in 2001.
But the factional forces, many of whom fought against the former Soviet invasion of the country, still have military and political positions in Karzais government. There is no doubt that the former leaders and commanders of Jihad have given a lot of sacrifices for Islam and for the path of freeing the country, the Taliban said in a statement on their website. Now, it is necessary that they stand beside their people and the nation and show their sacrifice once again against this invasion...the Islamic Emirate will adopt a understanding path with them and keep its bosom open for them, the statement said. The Taliban said If countries allied to America end the occupation of Afghanistan and pull out their troops, then Afghans will not view them as enemies like America,.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
The Taliban said If countries allied to America end the occupation of Afghanistan and pull out their troops, then Afghans will not view them as enemies like America,.
We rather like the tag 'Enemies of Islam' thanks very much ... I think we'll stay a while . The climate is lovely thanks very much
The security minister in Somalia's semiautonomous State of Puntland has handed President Mohamud "Adde" Muse his official resignation papers, inside sources tell Garowe Online.
Abdullahi Said Samatar, who was appointed in January, resigned after facing stiff resistance from police commanders and some Cabinet ministers. According to our sources, senior police commanders working at strategic locations in the port city of Bossaso refused to accept Samatar's order to report for training at Armo Police Academy, south of Bossaso. These police commandants' refusal is linked to fear that Samatar aimed to replace them at their jobs if they reported to Armo, the sources added.
People who know Samatar well described him as a man with advanced knowledge of police operations, with plans to improve the Puntland police force from the officer level to commanders. But he has faced resistance from the region's security establishment since his appointment nearly two months ago, including from police chief Abdiaziz Ga'amey who rejected Samatar's past attempts to replace several commanders.
Further, Puntland Intelligence Service (PIS) director Osman "Diana" Abdullahi has steadfastly refused to come under the jurisdiction of not only the Puntland Ministry of Security, but even the Somali federal government as a whole, sources said. Mr. Diana reportedly told Ministry of Security officials that PIS comes under the direct authority of the American government, with sources linking his comment to CIA funding for the PIS.
Puntland government sources tell Garowe Online that domestic pressure that caused Samatar's resignation originated from Finance Minister Mohamed "Gaagaab" Ali, who opposed Samatar's appointment to the Cabinet from the beginning.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2008 00:00 ||
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Top North Korean and US nuclear negotiators will hold one-on-one talks in Geneva this week to seek a breakthrough in stalled disarmament talks, officials said Tuesday.
The scheduling of the talks could mean that North Korea is ready to respond to a proposed compromise that China has reportedly crafted as host of ongoing six-nation negotiations on the North's nuclear disarmament.
US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill and North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan will meet in Geneva, Switzerland, on Thursday, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in Washington. McCormack said the talks were expected to last a day, but could go longer.
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03/12/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
TOPIX > THE NORTH'S SMALLER MISSLES [TacMis]. Mobile, not FIXED, and NOKORS are steadily dev ability to fit a [compact?]NUCLEAR WARHEAD ON A BALLISTIC MISSLE; + JAPAN CONCERNED ABOUT CHINA'S NAVAL BUILDUP IN INDIAN OCEAN.
#7
Breakthroughs my ass. I'm increasingly convinced that they're just waiting until the North Korean artillery pointed at Seoul collapse into nonfunctional lumps of rust.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
03/12/2008 14:17 Comments ||
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#8
I've seen this story before; waddya mean the writer's strike is over and this is not a re-run???????
A COPENHAGEN court has extended the detention of two Tunisians suspected of plotting to kill a Danish cartoonist who satirised the Prophet Mohammed until they are deported. Like previous rulings in the case, the lower court judge's decision was in line with recommendations from Danish police intelligence agency PET, which deems the pair a threat to national security.
The men, whose identities were not disclosed but who are dangerous raving loonies aged 25 and 36, were arrested in a PET raid on February 12 along with a Dane of Moroccan origin who was later released. According to PET, the three were planning to murder Kurt Westergaard, 73, one of 12 cartoonists who drew caricatures of the prophet for a Danish newspaper, sparking angry protests across the Muslim world in early 2006.
Mr Westergaard's cartoon, which was considered the most controversial, featuring the prophet's head with a turban that looked like a bomb with a lit fuse, was republished in at least 17 Danish dailies after police foiled the murder plot last month.
On PET's recommendation, the Danish justice ministry has ordered the two Tunisians expelled without trial, which is permitted under Danish anti-terror laws introduced in 2002. The two have been legal residents in Denmark for more than seven years, and have claimed their innocence.
"Pure as the driven snow!"
They have been held since their arrest without being informed of the charges against them and without the possibility to appear before a judge.
Frank Wenzel, the 36-year-old's lawyer, told AFP he had requested that this case of "deprivation of freedom without due process" be brought before the country's Supreme Court. "An expulsion without trial is a violation of the (European) human rights convention, and the same goes for the police decision to keep the motivation for the expulsion secret," he said.
Because protecting a terrorist's rights is more important than protecting the life of an innocent citizen ...
Mr Wenzel also said he planned to "file an asylum request" in Denmark for his client, who he said "risks being submitted to torture if he is expelled to Tunisia".
Apparently Tunisia doesn't like raving looney murderers either. Good on them ...
He referred to a recent ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that Tunisian citizens could not under current conditions be sent safely back to the North African country.
"Nope, nope, can't do it, nope ..."
Mr Wenzel said the other Tunisian's lawyer had filed "the same requests".
#1
Mr Wenzel also said he planned to "file an asylum request" in Denmark for his client, who he said "risks being submitted to torture if he is expelled to Tunisia".
Sounds serious. Better deport the lawyers with them in case there's "problems"...
On Wednesday, March 19, POG will be holding a torch-lit march to a modern day castle of abominationsour local military recruiting station. If the station remains open, we intend to evict it and everything inside of it, occupy the location, and transform it into something useful for the community. Well also be bringing a movable cage in which to confine military recruiters until they no longer pose a danger to our friends and neighbors.
Tough talk, the kind the mainstream media culture condemns when it comes from loyal Americans, but which is ignored or excused when left-wing seditionists do it.
It is still just talk, though, and it will probably come to nothing. It isn't that the moonbats aren't stupid to try it--there are no known limits to their stupidity-- but that Soros will intervene to stop it, since it might work against the leftist propaganda campaign to seize the White House.
If they do happen to try it, especially the kidnapping, it will be the worst day for domestic liberals since the Rosenbergs were fried.
#1
Btw, "POG"= "Pittsburgh Organizing Group" or maybe "Pittsburgh Orc Gang," I forget which.
(Please remember not to leave out the "h" in Pittsburgh; the Pittsburghundians go apeshit when you do that. Besides, we wouldn't want anyone to think there was a moonbat orc gang in Pittsburg KS, Cthulhu forbid.)
#5
Kidnapping, false imprisonment, obstructing federal officers in the performance of their duties - all federal offenses. Just the posting constitutes conspiracy to do the acts. Chances of them finding a sympathetic jury outside EuroBlue enclaves? Priceless.
#6
I'd show up, and bring my walking stick. 54" of unshod solid tight-grained white oak, cured, sanded and brown at the ends from handling.
Of course some might call it a bo.
All I can say to these candy-assed wanna-bees is: bring it. I've seen far worse, and even old as I ma, I'll whip your little asses.
Ya see, the dirty little secret is that Anarchists are pussies - they don't do well unless in groups and attacking the unarmed and unprepared. If they are caught out alone, or face trained and/or organized opposition, they disintegrate because they are gutless.
And remember, the first ones up against the wall in an anarchy are usually the anarchists.
#9
I think alot of people are overlooking something.
Title 18, Part I, Chapter 115, § 2388. Activities affecting armed forces during war
(a) Whoever, when the United States is at war, willfully makes or conveys false reports or false statements with intent to interfere with the operation or success of the military or naval forces of the United States or to promote the success of its enemies; or
Whoever, when the United States is at war, willfully causes or attempts to cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty, in the military or naval forces of the United States, or willfully obstructs the recruiting or enlistment service of the United States, to the injury of the service or the United States, or attempts to do so
Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.
(b) If two or more persons conspire to violate subsection (a) of this section and one or more such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each of the parties to such conspiracy shall be punished as provided in said subsection (a).
(c) Whoever harbors or conceals any person who he knows, or has reasonable grounds to believe or suspect, has committed, or is about to commit, an offense under this section, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.
(d) This section shall apply within the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States, and on the high seas, as well as within the United States.
Now, seems to me that they could put everyone of these orc's in prison for two decades if there's a Fed. Prosecutor with a spine. Too bad there isn't one.
#10
I'd like to see the recruiters come to work that day in BDUs, carrying weapons. A half-dozen M-16s and a Ma-deuce would put an end to this tomfoolery in a heartbeat. If that's not possible, I'd like the recruiters to have a "hands-on visit" from a squad of Green Berets or a Navy SEAL team.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/12/2008 13:41 Comments ||
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#11
Unfortunately, DoD will make damn sure there's no confrontation, up to and including closing the recruiting office for the day.
And the assholes will say they won. And they might be right...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/12/2008 13:53 Comments ||
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#12
M Murcek is right - the military will be under very strong orders not to engage.
#13
By the way, there are plans for similar protests in Tacoma WA, NYC and a number of other cities as well:
CHICAGO, MINNEAPOLIS, NEW YORK, WASHINGTON D.C., ORLANDO, CHAPEL HILL, SC, TAMPA, BATON ROUGE, SAN DIEGO, SEATTLE, SAN FRANCISCO, OAKLAND, AND SACRAMENTO ....
#15
Local DoD top (dogs)Chickens have already sent out info flyiers regarding the pending Saturday Tacoma Mall sit it or whatever it is, stongly encouraging active duty, dependents, retirees and DoD civilians to stay away from the festivities. I took a copy to a biker co-worker; kind of like waving a red cape at a bull..... not that i would condone violence of course....
#16
Walter Reuther, president of the UAW, who had been a socialist in his youth and even went to work on an assembly line in Russia, had an interesting solution to communists trying to take over the UAW.
Ax handles.
After a thorough discussion with union members, the communists left, never to return.
#4
But only after they are invaded by an army. Palestinians are not an invading army and Israel cannot defend itself against them. In fact, the Israeli dead from the activists is punishment for the inhumane treatment from the Israeli government on the poor Palestinians!
Follow up questions:
1. does that right include the right to assasinate Hamas leaders, including leaders of its "political wing"?
2. Does it include the right to fire at rocket launching sites, bombmaking factories, etc knowing that civilian casualties will inevitably occur?
3. Does it include the right to shut down the border crossings into Gaza until such time as a suitable border crossing regime is established?
4. Does it include the right to shut of electricity for limited periods of time in an attempt to disrupt Hamas operations?
5. Do you think that Israels refusal to accept Hamas as a negotiating partner until it first recognizes the state of Israel and changes its charter is A. Reasonable B. An excuse to avoid serious negotiations. If you beleive A, than what do you think of the many folks in Europe, academics like Rashid Khalidi, etc who hold with B? Are they simply misguided? Or are they perhaps people who do not value Israels existence? How would you persuade people not to listen to them?
#6
LiberalHawk, I want you in the Washington press corps if Obama wins. Heck, if any of them win.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/12/2008 10:52 Comments ||
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#7
LH
I presume you know that the fellow you named in Q5 (Prof Khalidi who is holds the Edward Said chair at Columbia U) was a pal of Obama back in the late 90s; threw a fundraiser for Obama in 2000; and has complained that Obama doesn't love the Paleos enough.
There are probably a bunch of other Rantburgians who know that (or at least part of it) but virtually none of the press know it (or at least they act like they don't).
#9
See GLOBALRESEARCH.CA > THE REAL MEANING OF "SHOAH" - ISRAEL IS PLANNING ANOTHER PALESTINIAN GAZA EXODUS. Israel's proclaimed "Combat Zones" in Gaza a PDENIABLE COVER not only to destabilze and control the PA, but in particular to de facto induce a Palestinian diaspora = emigration into other Muslim lands???
The White House said Wednesday that "there is no one" inside the US government who wants war with Iran, even though US President George W. Bush has not ruled out any options. "There's no one in the administration that is suggesting anything other than a diplomatic approach to Iran," spokeswoman Dana Perino said one day after the commander of US forces in the Middle East resigned.
Perino said "it's nonsense" to say that Admiral William Fallon was pushed out because he reportedly disagreed with Bush's hardline approach towards forcing Tehran to end its suspect nuclear program. "The president welcomes robust and healthy debate," she said, adding that there were "dissenting views on a variety of issues that get worked out through our policy process. That is usually not played out in the press."
"What the president has said is that all options are on the table is what helps make diplomacy work and makes it more effective," she said.
Fallon said in a statement Tuesday that he was stepping down because reports that he differed with Bush over Iran -- chiefly an article in Esquire magazine -- had become "a distraction."
Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced he had accepted Fallon's resignation "with reluctance and regret," saying there was a "mis-perception" that the admiral was at odds with the administration over Iran.
But the sudden departure of the head of the US Central Command drew an avalanche of criticism from top Democrats who suggested that he had been forced out because of his candor. Asked about Esquire's contention that Fallon's removal would signal the United States was preparing to go to war with Iran, Gates said: "Well, that's just ridiculous."
In an admiring profile of the admiral, Esquire writer Thomas Barnett portrayed Fallon as "The Man Between War and Peace," crediting him with calming tensions with Iran last year while bucking a White House move toward war.
"Well-placed observers now say that it will come as no surprise if Fallon is relieved of his command before his time is up next spring, maybe as early as this summer, in favor of a commander the White House considers to be more pliable," said the article. "If that were to happen, it may well mean that the president and vice president intend to take military action against Iran before the end of this year and don't want a commander standing in their way." "Submit, human!"
Might just mean that the C-in-C wants flag officers to remember who makes policy.
#2
OTOH, VARIOUS NETTERS > Present DEM front-runner BARACK OBAMA had said that as POTUS he will enure that IRAN DOES NOT GET NUCLEAR WEAPONS, which by extension pragmatically infers that IRAN WIL EITHER NOT GET "DUAL-USE/MIL CAPABLE" NUCTECHS, OR THAT THERE BE VERY STRICT, UNSC-CONTROLLED RESTRICTIONS ON IRAN NUCTECHS + NUCMATS.
IRAN = RADICAL ISLAM > CAN THE RADICALIST AGENDAS-GOVTS OF ONE, OTHER, ANDOR BOTH WAIT LIKELY 10 YEARS [OR MORE] TO ACHIEVE THEIR AGENDAS VIA NON-VIOLENT, NON-WAR BASED
"PEACEFUL/DEMOCRATIC" MEANS!?
Theoretically, IRAN'S FUNDAMENTALIST REVOLUTIONARY AGENDA + RADICAL ISLAMISM'S GLOBAL JIHADIST AGENDA can both continue on after 2010 or 2012 + beyond, BUT AT WHAT COSTS = PRICE TO UNILATER, ISLAMIST-ONLY CONTROL OF THEIR OWN DESTINY AND AGENDUMS, BY AND FOR THEMSELVES + GLOBAL ISLAM/ISLAMISM!?
Credibility Match: Fred Kagan vs. Nir Rosen
With Jim Lehrer in the Ring
Wednesday, 12 March 2008, Mosul, Iraq
Sorting out the truth about the war in Iraq has always been difficult. The first challenge is deciding whom to listen to and whom to just ignore. Listen to someone who is truthful and knows what he's talking about, ignore the blatherers. Simple enough. The difficulty comes in sorting out who is who.
I greeted Fred Kagan with some skepticism at first, yet the more he talks about Iraq, the more apparent it becomes that his words are measured and resonate with the truth on the ground here. Not so with Nir Rosen.
This morning I watched the television screen in Mosul as Kagan and Rosen debated Iraq, hosted by Jim Lehrer. Kagan's statements were entirely consistent with what I see and hear unfolding here. By comparison, Rosen came across as a new Baghdad Bob. While he might be articulate, well dressed and highly credentialed, Rosen's characterizations of the situation were at best inconsistent with ground-based realities, and at worst completely false . Kagan is worth listening to. Nir Rosen is not.
Michael Yon, Mosul, Iraq
Posted by: Mike ||
03/12/2008 10:08 ||
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#1
I hope Michael Yon continues with this line of thinking. I would greatly enjoy seeing him rate the major pundits for accuracy.
Can you imagine the response of the MSM to pundits talking about Iraq being rated as "poor", for their ignorance, prejudice and general bias?
All Yon would have to do is make a list of them, with 1 to 5 star rating for "accurate", "informative", and "objective".
Hopefully it would get wide distribution through the conservative media.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) said on Tuesday that the twin terrorist attacks in Lahore were a consequence of President Pervez Musharrafs failed policies against Al Qaeda militants.
PML-N spokesman Ahsan Iqbal condemned the attacks and blamed military operations ordered by Musharraf for destabilising regions near the border with Afghanistan. He has carried out indiscriminate operations in the Tribal Areas that have opened up new fault lines in Pakistani society, Iqbal said. Unless he [Musharraf] resigns, there will always be a cause for all these groups to carry on these activities, he told Dawn News.
He said that Pakistan needed to find political and economic solutions to combat militancy, adding that dialogue was needed with different groups to bring peace. Carrying out military operations only to appease foreign powers must stop, Iqbal said. The biggest hurdle in addressing this problem is the president himself.
A Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) spokesman, meanwhile, blamed Musharrafs friendship with the United States. It [the bombings] started when we started having a friendship with America.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2008 00:00 ||
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Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema said on Tuesday that besides militant organisations, individuals had also planned and carried out suicide bombings. He was talking to reporters during a weekly briefing.
He said the government had freed convicted Indian spy Kashmir Singh on humanitarian grounds and expected reciprocal response from India.
He denied reports that the Interior Ministry had barred Caretaker Human Rights Minister Ansar Burney from accompanying Singh to India.
He said the Foreign Office would take up with the Indian External Affairs Ministry a Pakistani citizens killing in an Indian jail. He said the security forces had relaxed the curfew in Swat valley last week and held seven terrorists including two militant commanders. A terrorist was held for beheading of a mobile phone companys employee, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2008 00:00 ||
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Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema said on Tuesday that it was incorrect to speculate foreign involvement in the two suicide attacks in Lahore without proof. To a question at a weekly briefing, he said: We cannot blame any country until we have solid evidence. Its not only a national problem but an international one. He said provinces had been told to enhance security in the wake of the attacks. Additional measures are being taken to beef up security at public places, government installations and likely targets of terrorist elements.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
We cannot blame any country until we have solid evidence. Its not only a national problem but an international one.
Agreed. Most likely a domestic source. I can't imagine outsourcing a job like this when there are so many qualified candidates in country.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Robin Vincent of the UK as the Registrar of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to prosecute the suspects in the assassination of Lebanese former Premier Rafik Hariri and others, it was announced here late Monday.
And not just any ol' tribunal, neither. It's a Special tribunal!
Vincent will commence his duties at a date to be determined, Ban's office said in a statement.
Just as soon as he gets one of these:
From 2002 to 2005, Vincent served as Registrar of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Since then, his work has included serving temporarily as Deputy Registrar of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and advising on the establishment of other international tribunals, including the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
Splendid chap.
"The appointment of the Registrar reflects the steady progress being accomplished in establishing the Special Tribunal for Lebanon," the statement noted.
A prosecutor, Daniel Bellemare of Canada, has also been appointed by Ban. He is currently the Commissioner of the UN International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC). Ban has also appointed eleven judges.
As to funding, the UN has USD 29.4 million in hand and USD 21.3 million in pledges. That amounts to more than what's needed for the bar tab but not the hooker tab for the first year and the start up of the tribunal in The Hague.
A management committee consisting of France, Germany, Lebanon, Netherlands, UK, and the US, with the UN Secretariat participating ex-officio, has been constituted.
Posted by: Seafarious ||
03/12/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
So what do we think will happen first? The glaciers melt or this tribunal?
It's hard out there for a crew working the Stryker Mobile Gun System (MGS). In addition to battling insurgents in the cities of Iraq, the soldiers assigned to the armored support vehicle have had to fend off attacks from critics back home, including some in the military itself. The 2008 Pentagon Authorization bill included language to limit funds for MGS until the Army drafts a report detailing fixes to the vehicle. In an annual report that the Army disputed, the Pentagons director of operational test and evaluation described the MGS as not operationally effective. Media reports quoting crews unhappy with some design elements also surfaced this year, further diminishing the Strykers combat reputation.
The MGS has the same body as nine other Stryker variants, so it shares design flaws common to them all, including vulnerable wheels, inadequate armor and cramped operating conditions. Other complaints specific to the MGS variant revolve around computer system freezes, and instability caused by its large, tanklike main gun. The Army decided to try and put an M68A1 105mm gun on a Stryker chassis, and the results have been disastrous, anti-terrorism expert Victor OReilly wrote in an oft-quoted 2003 report he prepared for Rep. Jim Saxton.
But try telling some of the Stryker MGS crews that their battle-tested vehicles are not effective, and you get a more nuanced appraisal. In a new round of on-the-ground reviews from U.S. troops (a master gunner also offered his defense of and suggestions for improved Abrams tanks), next-gen armored vehicles appear to be improving safety in Iraq.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/12/2008 10:43 ||
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#1
I know I can't have any really valid opinion, being a civie with no other ideas that what he can read here and there on the subject, plus, I'm biased, because I've read Mike Sparks early on, and he really, really, really, really dislikes Strykers and other lightly armored wheeled vehicles with little "popguns", and he makes his points with fervor (he seems a bit crazed, not that there is anything wrong with that, of course :-)...), but apart from the the stealthier wheels and higher road speed (but sparks debates that last point), what exactly can do the LAV or the Stryker and its variants than an upgraded and pimped out (and much cheaper) M113 couldn't (with big guns and heavy firepower, 90mm cannons, 106mm RR,... as Sparks would want, of course)?
Or the USMC EFV?
That is, don't fix what isn't broken, keep what's working, and upgrade accordingly to the advances of technology in comms, sensors, fire control,... rather than spending billions in literally re-inventing the wheel?
#2
Not that I don't think the Strykers, LAV, are not good vehicles in their own right with inherent advantages and drawbacks due to their design, but I'm curious, why shelve large stocks of capable vehicles, as proven over time, give more as foreign aid, and then go back from scratches, with lots and lots of money in R&D?
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/12/2008 13:49 Comments ||
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#4
Most people who complain about military equipment have never been in a fight - period. The only way to get accurate information about what works and what doesn't is to listen to the people that use this equipment daily. The armchair admirals and generals in the Pentagon need to remember that.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/12/2008 13:56 Comments ||
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#5
anonymous5089, the M113 and the M577 (command track version) were old 30 years ago when I was driving the 577. They were maintenance hogs and the engines, drive trains and tracks were subject to breakdown. They are are noisy and slow and don't have any room to add all of those new goodies that keep our troops alive and in contact with each other. And the fact that they are a slab sided, thinly armored (fifty cal will penetrate) and probably a really good IR target. Those slab sides would be a really great surface to hit with rpg's and that flat floor should transmit every bit of force of a landmine/ied to the crew and troops. Other than that it's a great piece of vintage tech suitable for show at a museum.
Not that I have an opinion on the subject.
Did I mention that the tracks are a PIA to maintain? If you could get the parts.
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/12/2008 20:25 Comments ||
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#7
Strykers do what everything else in the inventory cannot do and that is be quite, travel quickly and efficiently without tearing up the community, and most importantly they protect Soldiers. I have worked along side them and they get it done. I saw one take an IED one day in Baghdad and the boys calmly exited via the ramp and all of them merrily went after the trigger man. Yes the MGS has problems and must be worked out, but the guys are making that happen. One other point that is very importnt...the bad guys are terrifed of them..very hard to kill and they pack a punch they cannot hear coming.
by Gil Ronen
Security Minister Avi Dichter (Kadima) gave the police an order Wednesday to destroy the home of the family of the terrorist who murdered eight yeshiva students last Thursday night. The order came after six days of deliberations and legal consultations.
I must say I could have made that decision in less than six minutes. Considerably less.
The home can only be torn down after the OC (Officer in Charge of) Central Command signs an order to that effect. Sources in the Ministry for Public Security said that Dichter decided to act in the matter of the house because he was concerned by the fact that it was nearly a week since the massacre, and still no action was taken against the terrorist's family's home.
However, according to Hebrew news site Nfc, the legal aspects of a decision to raze the home are still being examined. The police have reportedly turned to the Ministry of Defense to get more information about the legal process required for tearing down the house or sealing its doors and windows. Dichter said that without the legal basis for razing the house, "nothing can be done."
Waging lawfare once again.
Earlier in the day, Dichter was under fire in the Knesset for not tearing down the mourning tent outside the family's house. Dichter said that the law allows tearing down the tent only if there is proof that it serves as a base for terror activity. Likud MK Gideon Saar scoffed at the delay, pointing out the terrorist's father has also been arrested and that posters praising the killer adorned the mourning tent. Jordan prohibited the establishment of a mourning tent in its country for the terrorist, but Israel allowed the tent in eastern Jerusalem to remain standing.
Immediately after the Thursday massacre, the Legal Forum demanded that the house be torn down and insisted that the action was perfectly legal. The forum's legal representative, Attorney Yitzchak Bam, explained in a letter to the IDF that according to Provision 119 of the Provisions for Defense in a Time of Emergency, which date back to the pre-1948 British Mandate era, the IDF OC Major General in charge of an area may order, after allowing a hearing for the people involved, the destruction of a terrorist's house. "There is no more fitting instance than this incident for using this authority," Bam noted.
The High Court allowed the a home demolition in a similar case several years ago, when the IDF OC Central Command ordered the destruction of the home of a terrorist who massacred 22 people, including babies, in Jerusalem's Bus No. 2. The terrorist's family petitioned the High Court against the demolition order, but the High Court rejected the petition. The judges, Eliyahu Matza, Edmond Levi and Esther Chayut, wrote: "It appears that the terror groups are making increasing use of residents of eastern Jerusalem because the resident permit which they possess makes it easy for them to reach Israel's population centers without arousing suspicion.
"Assisting in the cold blooded murder of innocents is a very serious deed," the judges wrote. "It justifies very serious [counter] measures."
#1
I keep saying that what must be done to stop this crap is to publicly *humiliate* families that do it. Only with vilification will this stop.
Every member of the family should have their pictures and names put in the newspaper declaring their family "in shame for evil murder", along with invectives against them, that they are "unclean", "eaters of pork who live as dogs", and "lickers of shoes".
In turn, their murdered daughter should be uplifted as *better* than her family, and "beloved of heaven" because of her persecution.
#3
No Ice, they'd have to evolve several evolutionary steps to qualify as "Animals" after all they have no spines, you know, like slugs and other slimy things.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/12/2008 16:31 Comments ||
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#4
The youth had informed his family members that he was going to murder his sister early Tuesday morning, and then set off to do just that.
Seems as though the have a few more left to arrest.
Anonymoose: I keep saying that what must be done to stop this crap is to publicly *humiliate* families that do it.
Seems to me there is no room for humiliation. Those who follow the practice are proud of it, and everyone else can go to Hades. I wonder if the father regrets having passed the tradition down to his kids, or if he thinks his daughter is innocent.
Israel has agreed not to launch new strikes on the Gaza Strip if militants in the Hamas-run territory stop firing rockets, a senior defence official said on Tuesday.
The conditional agreement was reached with Egypt, which is seeking to broker a deal to achieve a truce and lift the blockade of Gaza after a surge in violence last week plunged the already faltering peace talks into jeopardy.
Israel has reached an agreement with the Egyptians that if there is no rocket fire from Gaza, it will not launch attacks against Gaza, the official, requesting anonymity, told reporters. The deal is subject to Gaza not becoming a ticking bomb where militants transport rockets or make other preparations for attacking the Jewish state.
The official said that while Israel had agreed not to launch a broad offensive, it reserved the right to attack specific targets if the need arose. He said Egypt, for its part agreed to do everything in its power to prevent weapons being smuggled into Gaza. Efforts to bring about a ceasefire have gathered pace, with senior US and Israeli envoys holding talks in Egypt over the past week, as have delegations from Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, who lost control of Gaza when Hamas violently seized the enclave last June, said on Monday there was agreement in principle to reach a truce.
No reason to retaliate: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the army would have no reason to retaliate if the militants stopped their attacks. But he vehemently denied there were any negotiations either direct or indirect on the issue. Israel, the United States and the European Union view Hamas as a terrorist organisation and have sought to isolate the group since it won Palestinian democratic elections in January 2006. But Washington encouraged Cairo to launch its mediation efforts amid fears that the recent bloodshed in Gaza could torpedo peace talks that were re-launched in the United States in November but have made little progress since.
Mohammed Bassiuni, the Egyptian Parliaments National Security Committee chairman, said on Monday that Egypt was working on a comprehensive initiative to include a truce, an end to the Israeli blockade of Gaza and an exchange of prisoners between Israel and Hamas.
Israel and Cairo were also working on a deal to allow Egypt to increase the number of border police deployed along its 14-kilometre border with Gaza to 1,500, said a senior Israeli official. This would require amending an annex to the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace deal, which declared the Sinai peninsula a demilitarised zone.
Gaza militants in January blew up part of a border wall, allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flood out of the tiny coastal enclave into Egypt to stock up on desperately needed supplies.
Hamas denies: Meanwhile, Hamas denied on Tuesday comments by its rival, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, that its pursuit of an Egyptian-mediated truce with Israel was motivated by a desire to protect its leaders from Israeli assassination. These remarks are nothing but lies aimed at damaging Hamass image, Sami Abu Zuhri, an official of the Islamist group said in a statement issued amid a lull in violence between Israel and militants in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip. Hamas leaders seek martyrdom and would never bargain over the blood of their people like others do, said Abu Zuhri.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Dammit! I hate being this wrong -- I thought surely Prime Minister Olmert would see both the necessity and the success of the sustained raids. Still, "no rocket fire" is setting the bar high for the various splinter groups that have been shooting off rockets with Hamas' deniable connivance.
After almost completely halting cross-border rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel,
Or not.
the militant Hamas movement yesterday said it was working with Egypt to advance a "calming" of tensions with the Jewish state. For the third day in a row, the Israeli army did not carry out operations in Gaza, while militants fired only one rocket into Israel.
The new math: peace = no Israeli army activity is equal to only one rocket fired at civilians
The uncharacteristic restraint is aimed at giving Egyptian diplomacy a chance after a devastating Israeli operation last week in Gaza to quell rocket fire left more than 120 dead, many of them civilians. However, analysts say the calm is fragile. "There are many agents of violence and it will be difficult for both sides to control them," Menachem Klein, of Bar Ilan University, near Tel Aviv, said.
"Yass, yass. Nigh on impossible," said the wizened one.
Ismail Haniye, the Hamas prime minister, yesterday insisted Hamas was curbing the rocket fire from a position of strength. He said the restraint was in response to Israel stopping its attacks in Gaza "after recognition that it failed" to crush Hamas fighters.
A senior Israeli official visited Egypt on Sunday after the Hamas-Egypt talks, but Ehud Olmert, Israel's prime minister, yesterday denied his government was engaged in indirect talks with Hamas. But hours later, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, told al-Arabiya television Israel and Hamas had agreed in principle on a truce. Egypt is said to be pushing a deal that would include the lifting of an Israeli blockade on Gaza borders and an exchange of prisoners.
#2
It's not how it works gorb. It's more along the lines of.
"Islamic Jihad press office. Abdullah speaking. Hi Abdullah, this is Muhammad. We're going to raid the Zionist enemy with several Kassams---you take the responsibility this time."
#3
MEMRI BLOG > GAZA PHYSICIAN To AL-SABAH NEWS > NEXT INTIFADA WILL BE NUCLEAR!? Plans/Attempts are being made to smuggle Nuke andor Chemical weapons into Palestinian enclaves for use agz Israeli targets???
A Palestinian rocket fell near the Israeli city of Ashkelon Tuesday, briefly threatening a fragile period of calm as Egypt said it was optimistic about mediating a truce between Israel and the Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip.
Israeli defense officials said the army would not retaliate for the attack, since Hamas militants had not launched the rocket. They spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the subject.
The situation remained tense, with the lead negotiator for the West Bank-based Palestinian government accusing Israel of endangering the peace process with new plans for settlement expansion.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a tiny militant group, claimed responsibility for Tuesday's rocket, which Israel said landed in an open area south of Ashkelon, causing no injuries.
Ashkelon, a city of 120,000 some 11 miles north of Gaza, repeatedly came under fire during intense fighting earlier this month between Israel and the Hamas militant group.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who visited Ashkelon earlier Tuesday, was not in the area at the time of the rocket strike. He told residents Israel has no certain way of stopping rockets. "This is the reality of life in our country," Olmert said. "We know that there is no certainty the quiet of today won't be replaced with commotion tomorrow."
Palestinian rocket squads repeatedly hit the coastal city, a sign of their growing sophistication, in attacks that helped prompt fighting that killed three Israelis and 120 Palestinians, including dozens of civilians, according to Palestinian officials.
Israel halted the offensive in Gaza last week, and militants have sharply scaled back their rocket fire since then. Egypt has been serving as a mediator between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers, but both sides have denied talk of an official cease-fire.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2008 00:00 ||
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A pro-government militia composed of former Tamil Tiger rebels won a local election in a turbulent eastern city, according to a state television report Tuesday, despite allegations that it used child soldiers, extorted businessmen and carried out killings.
The militia known as the TMVP took 53 percent of the final vote in Batticaloa, giving it 11 of the 19 seats on the municipal council, Rupavahini Television announced, citing the country's elections commissioner.
The government had billed the election Monday, the first in 14 years, as a first step toward restoring order in a region long dominated by the insurgents. But human rights groups and opposition politicians said a climate of violence and chaos tainted the election. Residents said they were desperate for order to be restored. A high turnout was crucial to justifying the government's decision to hold the vote, and it was estimated at 50 percent, said Sritharan Sabanayagam of People's Action for Free and Fair Elections, an independent election monitoring group.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2008 00:00 ||
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Long piece, interview with Montazeri, briefly touches on Short Round.
Qom, 11 March (AKI) - By Ahmad Rafat - Iran will be voting for a new parliament on Friday. Ahead of the elections, Adnkronos International (AKI) has asked the opinion of the Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, one of highest authorities in Shia Islam and one of the founding fathers of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Montazeri, who is married to the sister of the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Musawi Khomeini - the leader of the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, presided over the commission which drafted the Iranian constitution. Although he was considered the natural heir to Ayatollah Khomeini, Montazeri was "disinherited" by his brother-in-law and was instead placed under house arrest, up until four years ago, for having criticised the repressive actions in the middle of the 1980s.
Montazeri is considered a conservative with regard to Islam. Politically he can be defined as a pragmatist with great respect for human rights.
As much as any ayatollah can have!
In an exclusive interview with Adnkronos International (AKI), Montazeri stressed that "all governments and people have to have access to technology and nuclear energy."
He said that "the errors committed by the Islamic Republic and the gratuitous provocations of the current government are the basis for the lack of international trust in our country."
"These errors have brought about an international cohesion that has been manifested in the sanctions against Iran with worrying consequences for the population," Montazeri told AKI.
"Youse knuckleheads, they're on to us!"
The Grand Ayatollah hopes that "the government, bearing in mind the current difficulties, renounces its emotive and extremist policies and strives to overcome the current isolatio, to prevent political and economic pressures from crushing the country and the population."
Montazeri also referred to the charges that that have been levelled against Tehran that it is interfering in the internal affairs of its neighbours, particularly Iraq. "Although it is our duty to help neighbouring countries, with which we share a common faith and culture, and which today are facing difficulties, this help should in no way become interference. In the same way, that great powers should not influence the choices made by developing countries with their economic support," he said.
Of course, what he means by non-interference is a little different than what you or I mean.
The Grand Ayatollah had a strong response to a question on the failure of many people to a secure a candidacy in the upcoming parliamentary elections on 14 March. "The failure of useful people with experience to secure their candidacy, just like the strong pressures that have been placed on newspapers and journalists, as well as women and students, causes the deepening divide between the people and power," said Montazeri. "It calls into serious question the legitimacy of the government and of the institutions," he said.
We've noticed. Now logically (and I use the word advisedly) you're obligated to take the next step.
"Under the current conditions, with the rise in international pressure, I don't understand why our government has not thought about the consequences of its choices," said Montazeri.
Maybe it's because they're a bunch of Mad Mullahs ...
"The people are already unhappy about runaway inflation and rising unemployment, and these unwise decisions have done nothing but fuel the popular dissent," he told AKI. "A parliament chosen under these conditions and without genuine and fair competition, surely cannot be representative of the majority of Iranians, who will see themselves governed by a uniformed minority incapable of responding to their needs," he said.
The Grand Ayatollah is also the spokesperson for the disaffected of the Iranian population who do not take a positive view of the generosity with which Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government has lavished aid on certain Middle Eastern movements and Latin American countries. "It is obvious that the Iranian population should not have to pay the price for this lavish aid to other countries and movements," he said, adding that "this winter many parts of the country suffered from the cold and the lack of fuel for heating."
Something about taking care of one's own first when times are tight.
Tracing back the past 29 years of life in Iran, Montazeri said that "I do not accuse anyone of betrayal, but I cannot ignore that with the extremism of some and the authoritarianism of others, we have prevented the materialisation of the principle objectives of our revolution, which were political and civil freedom for the entire population," he said.
Grand Ayatollah Montazeri also hinted at the massive presence of the military and the clergy on the country's political and economic scene, which has been the subject of strong criticism by the reformist forces. "On the interference of the military in political life, I will repeat the statement of the late Ayatollah Khomeini, who said that it is not in the interest of the country or even the armed forces that wear a uniform to put themselves into political games and to align themselves with the parties," he said.
Montazeri is not even in favour of the presence of the clergy in executive roles. "The clergy must keep themselves as far as possible from executive roles and from the centres of power so as not to compromise its role as the spiritual guide of the population," said the Grand Ayatollah.
That's a more traditional role of Shi'a theology, which is willing to render upon Caear as it were. It was Khomeini who upset that by preaching a more activist theology, so what Montazeri is calling for, in coded language, is a return to the old days where imams preached and secular authorities ran the country.
This vision by Montazeri who has always been opposed to the presence of the clergy in executive roles, is one of the reasons for which he was distanced in his time from Ayatollah Khomeini.
Hossein Ali Montazeri is not against the death penalty, which is provided for under Islamic Sharia law, but he is convinced that the Islamic Republic is abusing this law. "The death penalty was provided for bloody crimes and on the request of the relatives of the victim and on other rare occasions, and always if the accused had freely admitted the crime, but in no case if the confession is the consequence of the use of force, of torture or other types of pressures," he said.
As for the practice of stoning, another punishment that has recently been applied by Iranian judges, Montazeri stressed that "the conditions under which such a sentence may be passed are so difficult that it would render this almost impossible."
"To prove the crime of adultery, one needs to listen to four reliable eye-witness testimonies, which is almost impossible," he said. "In no case has Islam allowed the stoning of children by their parents, which unfortunately happened recently when a father stoned his 14-year-old daughter after he suspected her of having a relationship with a man," said Montazeri.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/12/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
WAFF.com/TOPIX > ISRAEL: EL BARADEI/CHIEF OF UN IAEA IS AN IRANIAN AGENT.
the problem is not so much the existence of moderates, but, as Steve said, taking the next step. Montazeri is isolated and powerless - in a material sense - for now. His voice would influence elections, except the ruling Mullahs gut the elections by disqualifying candidates. Note the guys they are excluding now arent even the real radical reformers - its the "moderate" Khatami types.
The triumph of moderate Shiism in Iran will apparently require a revolution. Montazeri, though speaking out, is careful not to call for a revolution. Whether thats cowardice, or a sensible reading of the balance of forces, I am not in a position to say.
An independent UN expert on Tuesday criticized Lebanon's handling of suspects detained in the assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri.
Leila Zerrougui said Lebanese authorities were arbitrarily detaining seven people more than two years in the bombing because they had yet to be indicted. "They have to be indicted," said Zerrougui, who heads the UN working group on arbitrary detention.
She said that, otherwise, the seven detainees - four military officials and three civilians - should be released. They are being held for alleged involvement in the Feb. 14, 2005, bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/12/2008 00:00 ||
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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.
Afghanistans Taliban movement has urged the war-torn nations former mujahideen factions to join it in their campaign to drive out foreign forces from the country. The Taliban appeal follows complaints by some mujahideen leaders about being sidelined from President Hamid Karzais government they brought to power by helping US-led forces with the overthrew of the Taliban in 2001. 
Top North Korean and US nuclear negotiators will hold one-on-one talks in Geneva this week to seek a breakthrough in stalled disarmament talks, officials said Tuesday. 
A COPENHAGEN court has extended the detention of two Tunisians suspected of plotting to kill a Danish cartoonist who satirised the Prophet Mohammed until they are deported. Like previous rulings in the case, the lower court judge's decision was in line with recommendations from Danish police intelligence agency PET, which deems the pair a threat to national security.
Next week in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, anti-war lunatics are planning to storm a military recruiting office and 
by Gil Ronen
Israel has agreed not to launch new strikes on the Gaza Strip if militants in the Hamas-run territory stop firing rockets, a senior defence official said on Tuesday.
A pro-government militia composed of former Tamil Tiger rebels won a local election in a turbulent eastern city, according to a state television report Tuesday, despite allegations that it used child soldiers, extorted businessmen and carried out killings.
