(Xinhua) -- Khartoum announced on Saturday evening that the Sudanese army and police had crushed an infiltration attempt of rebels coming from the restive western Sudanese region of Darfur.
In a statement, Police Spokesman Mohamed Abdel-Mageed al-Tayeb declared that remnants of the forces of rebel Khalil Ibrahim that attempted to infiltrate to the capital were "repulsed". Khalil Ibrahim is the leader of the JEM which is believed to have the most powerful armed forces among over two dozens of rebel groups in Darfur.
According to the police statement, a number of members of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) were killed in the fighting taking place in Omdurman Area in northwestern Khartoum. Among the killed were the commander of the infiltrated force Mohamed Salih Garbo and intelligence commander of the force Mohamed Anwar Nur. The infiltrators abandoned their vehicles and entered the residential quarters, said the spokesman, calling on the local residents to provide information about any suspected person.
He affirmed that the authorities would be able during the rest of this day to reach the remaining pockets of the infiltrators, who would face the legal measures.
Some infiltrators were arrested and government troops were picking up bodies, said the police. It was unknown whether there were any soldiers or policemen killed in the clash, which erupted around 04:15 p.m. (1315 GMT) and lasted for some five hours.
During the fiercest time of the fighting, heavy explosions and gun shots echoed every corner in Omdurman Area, which is the north gate of the Sudanese capital leading to Darfur, a Xinhua correspondent reported from a nearby street. He said that the army troops used artilleries, tanks and helicopters to confront the rebels equipped with machine guns and grenades.
Meanwhile, Large crowds of armed soldiers and policemen appeared on the main roads in other parts of Khartoum, and the bridges on the Nile River between central Khartoum and Omdurman were closed.
This was the first time for the Darfur rebels to infiltrate the capital and launch attacks there since bloody conflict erupted in the western Sudanese region in February 2003. Imposing a curfew in Khartoum as of 17:00 p.m. Saturday till 06:00 a.m. Sunday, the Sudanese Ministry of Interior called on the local residents to be cautious and to remain in their homes.
Since Thursday, the Sudanese government has repeatedly warned that rebels coming from Darfur were plotting to infiltrate the capital in order to carry out sabotage activities and arouse panic among the local residents.
The JEM, which terms itself as the biggest movement in Darfur, has refused to sit side by side with other rebel groups, some of them have a very small membership, on the negotiation table with the government, and demanded face-to-face talks with the government.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/11/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Looks like the rebels took Sudan's main military airport and presumably destroyed the planes. Egypt has sent military planes to the now closed Khartoum civil airport.
Nigeria's security services were on high alert on Saturday after a warning from the police chief that Al-Qaeda could be planning a bombing campaign in Africa's most populous country. "The Al-Qaeda network has planned to send time bombs to Nigeria," Inspector General Mike Okiro told senior officers on Friday at a meeting in the south of the west African nation, according to several newspapers.
Okiro gave no more details of the threat or of possible targets but ordered security checks to be upgraded across the west African country, particularly at seaports, airports and land border points.
Nigeria has never suffered an Al-Qaeda attack but since a large proportion of its population is Muslim, and since it is home to various armed groups, US officials see it as being at risk of such activity.
In February 2003, Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden called on Muslims to rise up in a number of states including Nigeria. In December 2007, he suggested that true Muslim believers should overthrow their governments, and made a reference to support for Nigerian "brothers".
Nigeria, the world's eighth-largest oil producer, has struggled in recent years to quell rebel attacks by a number of groups in the Niger Delta, the main oil producing region in the south of the country.
Nigeria's territorial waters have overtaken those of Indonesia to become the number-one hotspot in the world for piracy, the International Maritime Bureau said last month. With an overall population estimated at 140 million, Nigeria is home to at least 50 million Muslims and 12 of its 36 states -- all in the north -- have followed Islamic sharia law since 2000.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/11/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Nearly 100% of Nigerian oil is located in areas occupied by either Christians or African Spiritualists. The Biafran War was initiated after Muslims coerced a quarter million "conversions," on Christian territory. That war was a jihad, with the US in moral support of the Biafrans, and the UK and Russia supporting the national government. The Biafran movement led the Muslims to pullback their takeover plans. A revival of the pre war encroachments would force general conflict.
The Organization of the Islamic Conference recognizes "territorial integrity" when Muslims are the majority, in a plural state, and "self determination" where Muslims are the minority group.
#3
I hope someone's noticing that most of the areas of serious unrest involving muslims also involve oil-producing areas or where oil has recently been discovered - Sudan/Chad, Nigeria, the muddled east, Indonesia, western Africa, Malaysia/Thailand etc. We also have Hoogo Chavez trying to stir up trouble in oil-producing areas of Latin America, and the Chinese fingers in ALL the pies in some form. We are facing a major world battle, and few people are aware of it.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/11/2008 12:43 Comments ||
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#4
World battle is right, but the state department plans to fight it by handing out lollipops. The dems are in favor of a series of ice cream socials where our enemies are asked how many American citizens should die so long as the dhimmi donks are left in charge afterward.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
05/11/2008 12:54 Comments ||
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#5
Cookies, not candy. We're the cookie pushers. Strictly legit. We don't do candy. That's the CIA's gig. And that's why we stay on their side.
19 Kurdish rebels were killed in air strikes in southeast Turkey, reported the Turkish military Saturday morning.
A statement posted on the military Web site says the attacks were launched in response to a late Friday rebel attack on a military outpost in the border province of Hakkari, which killed two soldiers.
Turkey has launched several aerial attacks and one major ground operation against rebel bases across the border with Iraq this year.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/11/2008 00:00 ||
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JAMMU: Security forces on Sunday stormed a house in Sambha district in Jammu region and rescued all the five hostages, including three women, from militants' clutches, official sources said. Intermittent firing was on between militants holed up in the under-construction house and security forces, the sources said.
Militants struck in a big way on Sunday killing four persons, including a lensman of a leading state daily, and took two women hostage while engaging in a fierce encounter with security forces in Samba region in which one militant was gunned down.
A group of heavily armed militants, who are believed to have infiltrated across the border after firing at a BSF post here on Friday, struck at the house of a local political leader Hoshiyar Singh, killing him and his wife Sheshi Balla in Kali Mandi forest belt around 0750 hours (IST), official sources said.
As Army and BSF units rushed to the spot, a fierce encounter ensued in which Ashok Sodhi, a senior photojournalist with local English newspaper Daily Excelsior , who was covering the incident, was killed when a bullet fired by militants pierced his head, they said.
A jawan identified as Atul died and four persons, including a major of the Territorial Army were injured in the encounter. One of the militants was also killed in the gunbattle.
The militants, believed to be three to four in number, escaped from the spot and entered a house in a nearby village taking a woman and her daughter as hostage. Personnel belonging to the six Garhwal Rifles of the Army, BSF and police cordoned off the village and started a house-to-house search, the official said, adding that the operation was continuing.
"This is major encounter. Five persons including a militant have been killed. The operations is on", Inspector General of Police, Jammu range, K Rajendra told reporters.
Posted by: john frum ||
05/11/2008 09:06 ||
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#1
Posted by: john frum ||
05/11/2008 17:26 Comments ||
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#2
Photographer Ashok Sodhi, who was hit during a gunbattle between Indian forces and suspected Islamic militants in Indian-controlled Kashmir, is shifted to a hospital in Jammu, India, Sunday, May 11, 2008. Sodhi who was covering the battle for the local English newspaper, The Daily Excelsior, later died in hospital.
Posted by: john frum ||
05/11/2008 17:27 Comments ||
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#3
Posted by: john frum ||
05/11/2008 17:29 Comments ||
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#4
Posted by: john frum ||
05/11/2008 17:30 Comments ||
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#5
Great pics as always, John!
A field intubation in the pic of the photog. Ouch.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/11/2008 20:52 Comments ||
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Indian security forces killed at least 11 tribal militants in a fierce gun battle on Saturday in the countrys restive northeast, a police officer said. The fighting took place in a mountainous region of the northeastern state of Assam, where 30 armed militants were intercepted by security forces during a patrol, said the officer, who did not wish to be named.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/11/2008 00:00 ||
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Three suspected terrorists were arrested from GPO Chowk, Rawalpindi on Saturday, Express News reported. According to the channel, an intelligence agency arrested the alleged terrorists and seized arms, ammunition and suicide jackets from their possession. They have been moved to a private location for investigation, it said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/11/2008 00:00 ||
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Security forces on Saturday killed two miscreants after exchange of intense firing in Lanjho Saghari area of Dera Bugti, officials said. The two miscreants opened fire at the security forces after they were asked for identification. The security forces retaliated and killed both miscreants after a brief but intense exchange of fire. They were later identified as Aqil and Naseer Khan.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/11/2008 00:00 ||
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Police defused a bomb planted in the limits of Badaber Police Station here on Saturday, police said. Official Najmul Hassan from Badaber Police Station told Daily Times they had received information about a bomb planted in the Shaheed Garhi area. Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) was called who defused the bomb weighing around one kilogramme.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/11/2008 00:00 ||
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The main Wana-Tank road in the South Waziristan Agency (SWA) has been reopened for traffic after remaining closed for two days, from Sarokai to Kor Fort. SWA Political Agent Fazal Rabi Khan told this to the members of the Mehsud tribe in Tank on Saturday. Khan said that the Wana-Tank road was closed due to security reasons. The closure had caused the tribesmen great difficulties especially to the students, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/11/2008 00:00 ||
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An explosion on Saturday morning in the Allah Dand area at the outskirts of Batkhela caused partial damage to the Ghaus-e-Azam mosque.
This, despite the fact that there's a big sign that sez "No Smoking!" right on the door of the armory. Some people just can't comply with the rules.
According to police officials the bomb was planted outside the room of the mosque of Imam Maulana Muhammad Javed, who remained unhurt. The explosion was heard across area and caused panic among the people. Those responsible for the explosion could not be identified, officials said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/11/2008 00:00 ||
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Multi-National Division Baghdad aerial weapons teams conducted operations against criminal elements in Baghdad May 10. Following an indirect-fire attack in central Baghdad, an MND-B AWT made positive identification of a rocket rail at the point of origin in the Sadr City district of Baghdad used to launch the attack.
The AWT engaged a criminal element on site at approximately 6:40 a.m. with two Hellfire missiles. One criminal was killed, and the rocket rail and a shack were destroyed. Secondary explosions at the site also indicate that illegal weapons also were destroyed.
At approximately 10 a.m., an AWT observed five criminals east of Al Hajj Jabr in the New Baghdad district of eastern Baghdad. The criminals were heavily armed with a rocket-propelled grenade, two PKC light machineguns and two AK-47 rifles. The AWT fired two Hellfire missiles and killed all five men.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/11/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
I love a happy ending.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
05/11/2008 1:43 Comments ||
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#2
Expensive housecleaning. How much does a Hellfire cost? Anybody know? Have to admit, it's effective!
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/11/2008 13:31 Comments ||
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#3
How much does a Hellfire cost?
Roughly $58,000 per missile in the last procurement contract IIRC.
Coalition forces detained 12 suspected al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorists during operations targeting the terrorist network in central and northern Iraq today.
Coalition forces captured a wanted man and one additional suspected terrorist during an operation in Baghdad. The wanted man is believed to be an associate of an al-Qaeda in Iraq or AQI senior leader in the Northern Belt around the city.
Targeting the AQI network in the Abu Ghraib area, 25 miles west of Baghdad, Coalition forces used information from an operation April 20 to detain three suspected terrorists.
Iraqi and Coalition forces detained three suspected terrorists in Kirkuk during an operation targeting an AQI leader who operates in the Tigris River Valley.
Coalition forces used information gained from an operation April 24 to target an AQI liaison believed to be working with terrorists planning suicide car bombings. Coalition forces detained four suspected terrorists during the operation east of Bayji, about 100 miles south of Mosul.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/11/2008 00:00 ||
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A mortar attack killed and wounded several Iraqi civilians in the New Baghdad district of Baghdad 3 p.m. May 9. Initial reports indicate criminals fired 17 60 mm mortars that killed four civilians and wounded five, including a woman and a child.
Iraqi Police officers took the wounded civilians to a local hospital for treatment. Endangering the lives of innocent Iraqi civilians underscores the indiscriminate violence used by criminal elements, and this is what Iraqi Security Forces and Coalition forces are working to prevent, said Maj. Alan Stout, spokesman for 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/11/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Had to have been Coalition. No muslim would ever indiscriminately fire mortar rounds and kill innocent muslims especially women and children.
Iraqi Special Operations Forces detained three suspected Special Groups criminals involved in using terror tactics against local security forces in al-Amarah, Iraq, May 10.
Al-Amarah, 150 km northwest of Basrah in Maysan province, is recognized as a major criminal Special Groups stronghold. The criminals instill fear among the citizens of al-Amarah through use of terror tactics and as a means to limit local security forces efforts. This ISOF operation demonstrates that the Government of Iraq and Iraqi Security Forces are committed to preventing Special Groups from terrorizing Iraqi citizens, said Col. Bill Buckner, Multi-National Corps spokesman. They will pursue criminals wherever they hide to bring peace and security to Iraq.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/11/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Any countries out there that would mind if we threw these guys in a meat grinder? No takers? Well, I guess nobody will care then.
Iraqi and U.S. troops launched an operation in northern Iraq on Saturday to try to drive out al Qaeda militants regrouped there, the Iraqi military said. Lieutenant-General Riyadh Jalal Tawfiq, the commander of Iraqi armed forces in Nineveh province, said the operation would particularly target al Qaeda fighters in the city of Mosul, regarded as the group's last urban stronghold in Iraq.
Tawfiq said a vehicle curfew had been imposed throughout the province, whose capital is Mosul. "I declare the beginning of the military operation today to clean the province of al Qaeda remnants," Tawfiq told reporters. "I call on all the clerics and the heads of tribes to support the security forces in our effort to kick al Qaeda out."
A U.S. military spokeswoman for Iraq's northern region, Major Peggy Kageleiry, confirmed an operation was under way. "The GOI (government of Iraq) ... is undertaking a new phase of operations in Mosul to counter the terrorist threat," Kageleiry said. "This ... Iraqi-led series of operations continues to be closely supported by (U.S.) ... forces."
Tawfiq said large numbers of Iraqi forces had been sent to Nineveh, although he declined to give details. Residents said they saw U.S. fighter planes flying over Mosul.
In January, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced plans to drive al Qaeda out of Mosul, Iraq's third-largest city. U.S. military officials said at the time it would take months to clear the ethnically and religiously mixed city. U.S. officials blame al Qaeda in Iraq for most big bombings in the country, including an attack on a Shi'ite shrine in Samarra in February 2006 that set off a wave of sectarian killings that nearly tipped Iraq into all-out civil war.
A build-up of U.S. troops last year and support from Sunni Arab tribes that turned against al Qaeda allowed the military to conduct a series of offensives that largely pushed the militants out of Baghdad and the western province of Anbar. Many regrouped in northern provinces, such as Nineveh. However, U.S. commanders say al Qaeda in Iraq, although weakened, can still carry out large-scale attacks.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/11/2008 00:00 ||
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Israeli air raids on Gaza killed five Hamas militants on Saturday as the Jewish state warned the United Nations it will defend itself against Palestinian rocket attacks from the isolated territory.
The first overnight raid, which killed two Hamas militants near Rafah at the southern end of the strip, was aimed at a police station used by Hamas, the head of Gaza emergency services, Dr. Muawiya Hassanein, said.
The second attack targeted another Hamas police base in the city of Khan Yunis in the south of the territory and killed three members of the Hamas-run paramilitary group that polices the territory, he said. The third strike was east of Khan Yunis and wounded two Palestinian militants from Islamic Jihad, medics said.
An Israeli army spokeswoman confirmed the raids, saying "there were two aerial attacks against Hamas posts and one against gunmen approaching the (border) fence in the south."
Palestinian militants meanwhile fired 21 rockets at Israel, with one hitting a house in the hard-hit town of Sderot without causing any casualties.
In a letter sent to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday, Israel warned that it "will not remain idle while our citizens are constantly targeted by terrorist attacks. Israel will know how to defend itself."
Egyptians open border crossing
On Saturday, Egypt opened the Rafah border crossing for the first time in months to allow hundreds of Gazans to leave for medical treatment. "We will transport 550 patients in 40 Palestinian ambulances and five trucks," Hassanein said, adding that the patients include 200 people wounded in Israeli military operations and 70 children under the age of 16.
Scores of weary Gazans gathered outside the terminal as black-clad Hamas gunmen paced through the crowds and kept onlookers away from the crossing.
"We hope Rafah will stay open like before. The health situation in Gaza is very serious. There is no medicine, nothing," said Mufid Habush, as he waited at the crossing with his five-year-old daughter. The little girl, whose leg was amputated because of a birth defect, was due to have an operation in Egypt.
Hamas said the crossing would be open for three days to allow the sick to enter for treatment and those trapped on one side or the other to cross back to their place of residence. "We hope this will be the first step towards permanently opening the crossing and breaking the siege," senior Hamas official Ismail Radwan told AFP.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/11/2008 00:00 ||
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Tamil Tiger rebels sank a navy ammunition ship moored in the northeast of Sri Lanka on Saturday in an attack coinciding with key elections in the tense eastern province.
The guerrillas said their Sea Tiger commandos managed to infiltrate the tightly guarded port of Trincomalee in the early hours, holing the cargo ship as it was being loaded with ammunition destined for government troops. The navy said the MV Invincible sank after the underwater explosion but no lives were lost, with the blast shaking many people in the town from their beds on the same day elections were to take place. Commandos from Kangkai Amaran unit of the Sea Tigers took part in the naval mission in destroying the 80-metre-long vessel, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said in a statement from their northern mini-state. The explosion came just hours after a bomb ripped through a crowded cafe in Ampara, also in the east, late on Friday, killing 12 people and wounding at least 36.
Officials also blamed the LTTE for that attack. Despite the ongoing violence, voting was held on Saturday for the eastern provincial council that the government hopes will boost its fight against the ethnic rebels, who control a large part of the islands north. The polls are the first to be held in the eastern districts of Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Ampara in 20 years, and close to a million people are eligible to vote.
The eastern region, once home to several LTTE enclaves, was brought under government control after heavy fighting last year and Colombo is determined to show normality has returned. In Trincomalee district, which shares the same name as the port town, voting was low key. Peoples Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFRELL), a Sri Lanka rights group, said many locals preferred to stay home after the pre-dawn blast. Turnout in Trincomalee and Ampara is around 50 percent each, and Batticaloa 30 percent. People are really frightened to go out and vote, said PAFRELL chairman Kingsley Rodrigo.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/11/2008 00:00 ||
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We will see what the consequences are. One possibility (likelyhood?) is Israel decides it can't wait any longer to take out the Iranian nuclear program.
A nuclear weapon on a speedboat into Haifa harbour is now a distinct possibility.
#6
I have been watching the blogs from Lebanon. The Druze areas have been under attack from Hezballah and they have been calling the Army for help and there has been not any response.
#8
As I recall, the Hezbies and the Iranians have spent a fair bit of time building strategic hamlets villages in the Chuff Mountains in amongst the Druze. One of the aims was to marginalize and fraction the Druze to make it easier to run them over if needed.
And since the March 14th'ers over-played their hand, the Hezbies can now whack the Druze pretty hard.
Someone correct me if I've got my facts wrong.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/11/2008 20:44 Comments ||
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#9
One of the features of the Druze religion is that one may not convert to it, you must be born Druze. That tends to make them susceptible to outsiders wanting to wipe them out.
Fierce battles raged in northern Lebanon between rival clans on Sunday leaving at least one person dead even as the Hezbollah-led opposition handed control of the capital Beirut to the army. The firefights which erupted overnight were concentrated in the densely populated Bab al-Tebbaneh, Kobbeh and Jabal Mohsen neighbourhoods on the northern edge of the coastal city.
A security official said the fighting in the country's second city of Tripoli was between Sunni supporters of the Western-backed government and members of an Alawite sect loyal to Hezbollah, which is backed by both Syria and Iran. He added that thousands of people were fleeing the clashes and that at least two people had been wounded. "About 7,000 people have fled from Bab al-Tebbaneh, which marks the frontlines, because of the battles," he said.
Residents of Tripoli reported heavy machine-gun fire and the thump of exploding rocket-propelled grenades, an AFP correspondent said.
Bab al-Tebbaneh and Kobbeh are Sunni districts while Jabal Mohsen is mainly Alawite.
Alawites are a secretive offshoot of Shiite Islam who revere Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammed. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose government has been accused of backing Hezbollah, is an Alawite.
The battle in the north came despite Saturday's return to an uneasy calm in the capital Beirut, the scene of four days of fierce sectarian fighting between mainly Sunni supporters of the ruling bloc and Shiite opposition militias.
#1
Dear Leaders: why do terrorists have leverage over free people in Lebanon? I remember when the US occupied the Beirut Airport, and used ship to shore shelling against Hizbollah. We can do that again.
#6
grom - it didn't work because we DIDN'T CARRY THROUGH. If we had, Beirut would be an American-styled free city, with hezbullsh$$ reduced to a few enclaves in Damascus and Israel's northern border guaranteed. Of course, no one was willing to accept in 1983 that we were at war with a determined enemy. Maybe if we'd actually stood up to hezbulolsh$$ then, 9/11 would never have happened.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/11/2008 14:58 Comments ||
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#7
It's certainly a widely accepted view, OldPat. Deriving from belief that the majority of individuals in Muslim countries share the life goals of Americans or, say, Chinese and therefore construction of a civic society in Muslim countries is mainly a matter of persistance. I, personally, consider this belief in direct variance with observable phenomena.
One which is basic to the current USA endevour in Iraq. IMO, this belief is
#8
You mis-understand us, G(r)om. It must be incontrovertibly demonstrated to the overwhelming majority of Americans that the majority of individuals in Muslim countries do not share the goals of Americans before we utterly destroy them. After it is demonstrated, StarTrek.
#9
I can't help but thinking that it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. We don't help the guys fighting Hezbollah, so they take the choice that doesn't get their families killed, and we run around calling them animals, crowing that our prejudices are validated...
I'm starting to wonder, how many of their own cities is the "they're all animals" crowd in the West willing to sacrifice in order to validate their prejudices?
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
05/11/2008 20:07 Comments ||
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#13
Also, I think Nimble Spemble may be referring to an old joke, where some Arab leader is talking to Bush and says "You know, I just love the whole Star Trek series. I have only one question: why are there no Muslims?". Bush replies, "well, you see, Star Trek is set in the future..."
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
05/11/2008 20:17 Comments ||
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#14
TOPIX > HIZBULLAH CORNERS US ALLIES IN LEBANON; + SYRIAN DAILY: HIZBULLAH ATTCK STOPPED US-PLANNED LEBANON COUP.
Lebanese security and hospital officials say that at least 12 gunmen are dead and 20 wounded in a gun battle between pro- and anti-government groups in a remote region of northern Lebanon.
Saturday's gunbattle occurred in the town of Halba in Akkar, a remote Sunni region in northernmost Lebanon when fighters loyal to Sunni leader Saad Hariri and the government clashed with members of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, a secular pro-Syrian group allied with the Shiite Hizbullah.
The pro-government fighters stormed the office of the SSNP and set it ablaze after the gun battle.
The number raises to 37 the death toll since Shiite-Sunni sectarian erupted in Beirut on Wednesday and spread to other regions.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/11/2008 00:00 ||
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Hezbollah, the Shiite Muslim party that took over sections of western Beirut for four days, said it would withdraw its forces because the Lebanese army gave in to a key demand to let it preserve its military communications.
They've got their way, Nasrallah's established supremacy. They can take over again the same way any time they want to.
Al-Manar, Hezbollah's television station, said today the army had revoked the dismissal of the Beirut airport security chief, who was fired by the pro-Western government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. Siniora dismissed him over the discovery of a secret Hezbollah surveillance system at the airport. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had demanded his reinstatement. ``The opposition will pull its fighters back,'' al-Manar said in a brief statement. The party, which the U.S. regards as a terrorist organization, said it would not dismantle its private land-line telephone network. At a press conference, Ali Hassan Khalil, a legislator allied with Hezbollah, also said the militia would leave Beirut streets.
In a speech a few hours earlier, Siniora ordered the army to clear Beirut streets of gunmen loyal to Hezbollah and its allies. ``I call on the army to establish security for everyone in all areas and clear armed elements from the streets.'' The army made no immediate move to comply. Then, shortly after the speech, it issued a statement revoking the airport decision and saying it would look into the phone network.
Militia members from Hezbollah and its allies, armed with machine guns and wearing civilian clothing or fatigues, manned checkpoints on and around Hamra Street, a main commercial thoroughfare. Hezbollah, an ally of Iran and Syria, has been locked in a power struggle with Siniora, backed by the U.S. and its Arab allies, for 18 months. Hezbollah, which counts the Shiite group Amal and a Christian party in its bloc, is demanding a veto over government decisions.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/11/2008 00:00 ||
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#3
The Lebanese army is much like the Iraqi army of 2005, it is infiltrated with Hezbollah militia just as Iraq's was infiltrated with JAM. The Army is afraid that if they confront Hezbollah, half their soldiers would defect on the spot ... with their vehicles, arms, ammunition, and uniforms.
#4
pro-Western government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora
Another great defeat for Bush. Why does the MSM always stop there? Is it not also a defeat for the UN. And democracy, freedon, free elections, women, France, and the forces of moderation and civilization?
Or is it just a defeat for Bush?
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/11/2008 16:21 Comments ||
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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.
Security forces on Saturday killed two miscreants after exchange of intense firing in Lanjho Saghari area of Dera Bugti, officials said. The two miscreants opened fire at the security forces after they were asked for identification. The security forces retaliated and killed both miscreants after a brief but intense exchange of fire. They were later identified as Aqil and Naseer Khan.
Israeli air raids on Gaza killed five Hamas militants on Saturday as the Jewish state warned the United Nations it will defend itself against Palestinian rocket attacks from the isolated territory.
Hezbollah, the Shiite Muslim party that took over sections of western Beirut for four days, said it would withdraw its forces because the Lebanese army gave in to a key demand to let it preserve its military communications. 
