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Pirates take Saudi supertanker off Mombasa
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
7 00:00 Alaska Paul [1] 
11 00:00 fever (Formerly R-fever) [] 
21 00:00 Pappy [1] 
1 00:00 Besoeker [] 
1 00:00 Alaska Paul [] 
1 00:00 g(r)omgoru [] 
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4 00:00 Old Patriot [] 
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12 00:00 Verlaine [] 
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3 00:00 Old Patriot [] 
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Page 2: WoT Background
3 00:00 Frank G []
2 00:00 Bright Pebbles []
3 00:00 JosephMendiola [1]
1 00:00 JFM []
4 00:00 Besoeker []
22 00:00 Verlaine []
1 00:00 g(r)omgoru []
3 00:00 swksvolFF []
4 00:00 mojo []
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2 00:00 SteveS []
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Page 3: Non-WoT
1 00:00 OldSpook [1]
2 00:00 Scott R []
18 00:00 Verlaine [1]
4 00:00 JosephMendiola []
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14 00:00 Jeremiah Thaise1218 [1]
2 00:00 Redneck Jim []
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Page 4: Opinion
3 00:00 Frank G [1]
2 00:00 Besoeker [1]
9 00:00 JosephMendiola []
3 00:00 JosephMendiola [3]
12 00:00 JosephMendiola []
7 00:00 JosephMendiola [1]
Page 5: Russia-Former Soviet Union
2 00:00 Mullah Richard []
9 00:00 USN, Ret. []
Page 6: Politix
5 00:00 Dewey Cheatham & Howe []
4 00:00 JosephMendiola [1]
11 00:00 Rupert Clique5059 []
Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 11/17/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Is that Dennis Kucinich there tripping the light bombastic with Joan?
Posted by: SteveS || 11/17/2008 0:55 Comments || Top||

#2  [Who will buy my pretty spam?]
Posted by: tulsestelix || 11/17/2008 5:50 Comments || Top||

#3  [Who will buy my pretty spam?]
Posted by: SteemeNef || 11/17/2008 6:55 Comments || Top||

#4  The trolls are out early today. May be time to go troll-huntin' again, and thin their numbers.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 11/17/2008 13:54 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
54 dead in Afghan violence
Suicide bombings against foreign troops in Afghanistan on Sunday left two civilians dead, while the military claimed that it killed 52 insurgents.

Two German soldiers and two US soldiers were also wounded in the suicide bombings, while the British military announced that one of its troops had been killed in a blast in the southern province of Helmand on Saturday.

One of the suicide bombs hit a convoy of troops in the northern province of Baghlan. Two Afghans were killed and a dozen wounded, the interior ministry said. Two German soldiers were also hurt, one of them seriously, the German military said.

The other suicide car bomb on Sunday was on the outskirts of the western city of Herat that wounded two US soldiers, the US military said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

The US military said separately that its troops and Afghan security forces had killed 38 militants in Helmand on Saturday. "The combined forces engaged the militants with direct and supporting fires, killing 38 militants and destroying two militant vehicles," it said in a statement.

Troops killed four more insurgents who had attacked them at an illegal drugs factory in the neighbouring province of Kandahar on Saturday, it said. Meanwhile, troops killed five al-Qaeda-linked militants in the eastern province of Paktia on the border with Pakistan, the US military announced.
Posted by: Fred || 11/17/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  killing 38 militants and destroying two militant vehicles

Wedding party. Wait & see. It's always a wedding party. Lots of marrying going on.
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/17/2008 7:41 Comments || Top||

#2  I read this as: 2 deaths and 52 retroactive abortions.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/17/2008 13:30 Comments || Top||

#3  Wedding party. Wait & see. It's always a wedding party. Lots of marrying going on.
Posted by: Glenmore||


It's that "cycle of violence" thing - more marrying leads to more kids who grow up to get married and have gun sex, and have kids and...
Posted by: Old Patriot || 11/17/2008 14:14 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Pirates capture Saudi oil tanker south of Mombasa
Pirates have taken control of a Saudi-owned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean off the Kenyan coast, the US Navy says.
Someone better call the Saoodi Navy ...
The tanker was seized 450 nautical miles south-east of the port of Mombasa, a US Navy spokesman said. Twenty five crew are said to be on board, including members from Croatia, the UK, the Philippines, Poland and Saudi Arabia.

A BBC correspondent in Mombasa reports that this is the third tanker to have been hijacked by Somali pirates. It is also the largest vessel so far to come under attack by pirates in the area, the US Navy told the BBC.

The location is unusual and the capture marks a fundamental shift in tactics, the navy added.

The Sirius Star, owned by the Saudi company Aramco, made its maiden voyage in March 2008, according to the company website.

Lt Nathan Christensen, a spokesman for the US Navy's 5th Fleet, said that pirates had captured the tanker on Saturday. The ship was sailing under the Liberian flag at the time, he told the Associated Press by telephone from the 5th Fleet's HQ in Bahrain.
Oh sorry, my bad, call the Liberian Navy ...
Confirming that two Britons were aboard the tanker, the UK Foreign Office said it could not give any details of their role on the ship.
Posted by: 3dc || 11/17/2008 09:37 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I thought this problem was solved when the royal navy was sent to this AO.
Posted by: bman || 11/17/2008 11:47 Comments || Top||

#2  "The location is unusual and the capture marks a fundamental shift in tactics, the navy added."

Sounds like they went to the wrong AO.
Posted by: crosspatch || 11/17/2008 11:53 Comments || Top||

#3  450 nautical miles South East of Mombasa is half way dow the coast of Tanzania, and South of Dar As Salaam. This is a major extension of the pirates range of operations, and perhaps they now are being resupplied or even based from Kenya, Tanzania or Mozambique. It will be very interesting to see where this tanker heads for.
Posted by: Grunter || 11/17/2008 12:33 Comments || Top||

#4  If the pirates are Muslims, they should release it as soon as they realize it is owned by fellow Muslims, right? Right?
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 11/17/2008 12:34 Comments || Top||

#5  Of course.
Posted by: Steven || 11/17/2008 12:42 Comments || Top||

#6  Q ships!!
Posted by: Total War || 11/17/2008 12:48 Comments || Top||

#7  Low price of oil ops?
Posted by: swksvolFF || 11/17/2008 12:48 Comments || Top||

#8  *sip*

If ship is taken to pirate cove, GPS steer it into shore, spray the oil all over and set it on fire. Gotta be some James Bond way for the crew to get to an escape capsule and get away. Send the insurance bill to the country of navigable rights or sign waiver they have no control or rights over that water and foreign navies have unlimited operational ability.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 11/17/2008 12:55 Comments || Top||

#9  Half the ships in the world are either registered in Liberia or Panama, two countries known for their lax registration requirements and low (or non-existent) maritime taxes. Ownership is far more important than registration.

Either the Somalis have a much larger "mother-ship" than previously reported, or they're branching out. If this tanker ends up in Kismayo, we can pretty much conclude that the Islamic Courts Union is behind most of the piracy.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 11/17/2008 14:18 Comments || Top||

#10  I thought this problem was solved when the royal navy was sent to this AO.

The RN's AO is the Gulf of Aden. Not where the Saudi ship was taken. Google has maps. Use them.

Q ships!!

We'll keep it in mind, Admiral Nelson.

Either the Somalis have a much larger "mother-ship" than previously reported, or they're branching out. If this tanker ends up in Kismayo, we can pretty much conclude that the Islamic Courts Union is behind most of the piracy.

It's also possible that it's not even Somalis.

Posted by: Pappy || 11/17/2008 14:26 Comments || Top||

#11  Muslims have been pirates for, well, ever. Jihad booty is the best income of all, according to the Sunna.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/17/2008 14:33 Comments || Top||

#12  Q ships!!


Drink up, Ship!
Posted by: Mike N. || 11/17/2008 14:43 Comments || Top||

#13  The fun about it is that before they gotnthe two cash cows of oil and pilgrimage, Wahabism main source of revenue was sea piracy lading to clsahes with XIXth century Royal Navy.
Posted by: JFM || 11/17/2008 14:45 Comments || Top||

#14  Returning once again to their thieving roots I take it?
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/17/2008 14:47 Comments || Top||

#15  Would the ship and cargo be insured?
Its not like oil is retaining it's price.
Posted by: 3dc || 11/17/2008 15:01 Comments || Top||

#16  The RoE have prevented Britain and NATO from doing much more than observation but the Saudis are a different story. Sharia law administered on Muslims by Muslims usually doens't even register a complaint about "human rights".
Posted by: Thealing Borgia 122 || 11/17/2008 15:02 Comments || Top||

#17  There's no obvious solution to this problem except stop paying ransoms, and it's highly lucrative for the pirates. No ones going into the somali safe havens (Blackhawk Down redux), and boarding and retaking ships at sea is a very risky proposition. So I can only see this problem getting worse.
Posted by: phil_b || 11/17/2008 15:24 Comments || Top||

#18  In Thomas Jefferson's day this was known as " Jihad at Sea"
Posted by: Grunter || 11/17/2008 15:28 Comments || Top||

#19  According to Information Dissemination blog, the ship is proceeding towards, Eyl, Somalia. You will not stop this activity until the pirates operating out of these havens have some serious hurt put on them.

I would suggest sinking every boat, dhow, bathtub or dingy at Eyl, and then destroy any dock, shore facility there too. The pirates would have 24 hours to turn over the ship with the crew unharmed. If they do not comply, then level the town and bounce the rubble. If that does not work, then start leveling every coastal town that serves as a pirate haven.

Or you can talk this thing to death and pay the ransom, and wait for all the imitators to start the Somali Pirates Business Model™.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 11/17/2008 20:34 Comments || Top||

#20  AP, I understand where you are coming from and that is how the USA cleaned up the Barbary pirate problem, but that was then and this is now. Doing what you propose is an act of war and makes you responsible for the civilian population. GWB stayed well clear of the Somali quagmire and there is no chance the Big O is stepping into it. If he does, he is one hell of a lot dumber than he is claimed to be.
Posted by: phil_b || 11/17/2008 21:18 Comments || Top||

#21  Eyl is on the Indian Ocean side of the Horn, not far from their current bases. Meaning that while they may have additional motherships, the pirates haven't moved the base of operations very far.

And there isn't much there. Which might be conducive to AP's suggestion

Posted by: Pappy || 11/17/2008 21:47 Comments || Top||


Japanese ship hijacked off Gulf of Aden
Armed Somali pirates over the weekend hijacked a Japanese ship in the Gulf of Aden, defying several warships that are patrolling the volatile waters, a Kenyan maritime official said on Sunday. The 20,000-ton "Chemstar Venus", along with its 23 crew members, was taken on Saturday in the region, said Andrew Mwangura who runs the Kenya chapter of the Seafarers Assistance Programme.

Somali pirates have released a chemical tanker, the Stolt Valor, after they received a $1.1 million ransom, a regional maritime official said on Sunday. Two other ships could be released before November 25 because negotiations between the owners and pirates had been going well, said Andrew Mwangura, director of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme that monitors piracy.

But he said the pirates, who have made shipping routes off Somalia among the most dangerous in the world, had seized another ship, a Japanese cargo vessel. "It (the Stolt Valor) was released last night and after release, another ship was taken, a Japanese one with South Korean connections," Mwangura told Reuters, adding that a $1.1 million ransom had been paid for the Stolt Valor. "Stolt Valor is among three ships that are to be released this month," he added, naming them as the MV Genius and the MV Action but without giving further details.

The pirates off the dangerous Somali coast have taken three ships within the past week alone; another chemical tanker chartered by chemical tanker shipping group Stolt-Nielsen, a Chinese fishing vessel and a Turkish tanker. The Japanese cargo ship hijacked late on Saturday was carrying 23 sailors including five South Koreans, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency. Piracy off Somalia has plagued the shipping lane linking the Middle East Gulf and Asia to Europe and beyond via the Suez Canal and increased insurance premiums.

The International Maritime Bureau says 199 incidents of piracy or attempted piracy were reported worldwide from January to September this year, of which 63 were in the Gulf of Aden and off the Somali coast.
Posted by: Fred || 11/17/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  At over a million bucks ransom per ship this has to be the number one economic activity in Somalia.
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/17/2008 7:43 Comments || Top||

#2  One would feel rather stupid trying to grow corn there, eh ...
Posted by: Steve White || 11/17/2008 9:11 Comments || Top||

#3  Looks like they've "kicked it up a notch." FOXnoise reported this morning that the pirates had captured an oil tanker.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/17/2008 9:39 Comments || Top||

#4  Time to return to those thrilling days of yesteryear (circa 1700 - 1900) and treat pirates to a dose of the yard arm.

This idea that the genteel, PC manners we use with each other work with everyone is absurd.

Merchant ships should be armed and / or private protection companies should be chartered to end this sh**. Don't warn them, blow them out of the water at the first sign of trouble. And videotape everything.
Posted by: AlanC || 11/17/2008 9:47 Comments || Top||

#5  At over a million bucks ransom per ship this has to be the number one economic activity in Somalia.

Perhaps. I suspect only a small portion of the money stays there.
Posted by: Pappy || 11/17/2008 11:45 Comments || Top||

#6  Pappy,So what are your speculations on where that money does go? Kickbacks to 'negotiators'? 'Tithe' to Religion of Pieces?
Posted by: Glenmore || 11/17/2008 12:53 Comments || Top||

#7  So what are your speculations on where that money does go? Kickbacks to 'negotiators'? 'Tithe' to Religion of Pieces?

WAG? Islamic organized crime syndicate. Money to the places you mentioned, plus other 'pockets'.
Posted by: Pappy || 11/17/2008 14:33 Comments || Top||

#8  It is far past time for a good glassing of the Somali coast.
Posted by: DarthVader || 11/17/2008 15:15 Comments || Top||

#9  Any indication they know what they are pirating? Not all cargo is equally valuable nor is it all insured. Ransoms may be profitable but what happens when they get really dangerous stuff, like the Russian weapons and Iranian WMD's? With 63 incidents total in the Gulf of Aden this year, considering the high traffic in this sealane, the odds don't seem to be entirely coincidental to me.
Posted by: Thealing Borgia 122 || 11/17/2008 15:23 Comments || Top||

#10  Dispatch the Ninjas!
Posted by: mojo || 11/17/2008 16:07 Comments || Top||

#11  With 63 incidents total in the Gulf of Aden this year, considering the high traffic in this sealane, the odds don't seem to be entirely coincidental to me.

Suez Canal is a chokepoint; so is the opening of the Gulf of Aden. Wouldn't take much to station someone at both ends, or to bribe a canal employee, someone in a shipping and/or government office anywhere from Europe, down to Kenya.
Posted by: Pappy || 11/17/2008 16:14 Comments || Top||

#12  I am surprised that a combo of private/naval muscle hasn't been assembled to smash these idiots. Shouldn't be too hard.

I recall way back in the mid-70s the Philippines OK'd a Malaysian air strike on a pirate nest in their territory after an ambitious bunch had seized Lahad Datu in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo for a day (the bullet holes were still over the bank door when I was there in '93). Seems like pirate-plinking (both naval and land assets) would be mighty good (and fun!) practice for US and other forces (other forces will exist, don't they? or has the RN been tied up for lack of funds, and the NATO toy navies run down their AAA batteries?)
Posted by: Verlaine || 11/17/2008 23:21 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
Fighting in Congo despite rebel promises to UN
Another heroic chapter in the UN saga and it's legendary daring-don't
Congo's army clashed with rebels in some of the worst fighting in a week despite the rebel leader's promise to support a cease-fire, the United Nations and witnesses said Monday.

The two sides battled Sunday night in Rwindi, about 75 miles (125 kilometers) north of the eastern provincial capital of Goma. About 150 people took refuge outside a U.N. peacekeeping base here, huddling beside a white shipping container as the UN did nothing mortar shells and artillery fire rained down.

"These blue helmets would not let us inside, but it's better than nothing," said Clement Elias, 20, referring to the U.N. peacekeepers. He said he heard 100 explosions Sunday night.

There was no immediate word on casualties, according to U.N. peacekeeping spokesman Col. Jean-Paul Dietrich. "Everybody is trying to push the other side back," Dietrich said. "It's very regrettable that they could not respect the cease-fire."
You don't expect us to actually do something, do you?
Posted by: Spot || 11/17/2008 08:34 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Heart of Darkness - The Sequel
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 11/17/2008 11:28 Comments || Top||


Bangladesh
RAB: Huge explosives haul after JMB man nabbed
Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) seized 70kg of explosives following the confessional statement of an ehsar (full time member) of the banned Islamist outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) whom they arrested Saturday at Mirpur in the city. They also seized 40kg of nitric acid, 150 cases of improvised grenades, a large quantity of bomb-making materials and equipment, and over 2,000 books on jihad raiding two houses in Mirpur and another house at Shanir Akhra in the capital.

Rab Additional Director General Col Gulzar Uddin Ahmed said, "The JMB stockpiled the explosives and the books as they were preparing for fresh attacks and recruitment."

Rab captured JMB ehsar Mohammad Hanif alias Kamal, 28, hailing from Nandorkandi of Matlab upazila in Chandpur, at his home at Kalshi of Mirpur. Col Gulzar said Kamal is an ehsar of JMB's military wing. He is a close associate of present JMB chief Maulana Saidur Rahman.

Maj Momtajur Rahman, chief of the bomb disposal unit of Rab, told The Daily Star, "It is possible to make over 500 bombs with the seized explosives."

According to Rab officials, JMB chief Saidur was staying at a house in Mirpur-10 and he disappeared after Kamal was arrested. Kamal told reporters at Rab headquarters that they had been carrying out activities for jihad against the government which enforces man-made laws. He said they have the expertise to make bombs.

Col Gulzar said the JMB men had been recruiting people. Despite a number of major arrests made during crackdowns on Islamist militants in the last few years, over 250 trained operatives of JMB are still at large and many of them are reportedly trying to regroup. Fugitive JMB operatives have now become a matter of grave concern for the law-enforcement agencies which have no clue to their whereabouts and activities.

Their concern has recently increased as they received bits of intelligence information from across the country that the fugitives are now holding secret meetings under a new leadership.

Saidur Rahman took over as the new chief of JMB after JMB chief Abdur Rahman, second-man Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai and four other top JMB leaders were executed.
Posted by: Fred || 11/17/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh

#1  SOmething seems to be missing from this thrilling story; can't quite put my finger on it....
*thinks*
round of bullet?
vaporous accomplices?
early morning secluded rendevous?
confirmation of lack of viatl signs?

*right on the tip of my tongue, it is*
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 11/17/2008 13:50 Comments || Top||

#2  "Additional Director?"

What, did they run short?
Posted by: mojo || 11/17/2008 16:09 Comments || Top||


Britain
Doctor admits he is 'a terrorist'
An NHS doctor accused of attempted car bombings in London and at Glasgow Airport has admitted that according to English law he is a terrorist. Bilal Abdulla, 29, is alleged to have crashed into the airport in a Jeep laden with petrol and gas canisters.
With nails wrapped all around the canisters ...
But he told a jury he never wanted to kill or injure anyone.
Sad thing is, Britain today just might believe him ...
Dr Abdulla, from Paisley, and Dr Mohammed Asha, 27, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, deny conspiracies to murder and to cause explosions. The defence has said that Dr Abdulla and friend Kafeel Ahmed, 28, wanted to highlight the plight of people in Iraq and Afghanistan with a series of incendiary device attacks in June 2007.
How is an 'incendiary device attack' not an explosion? Or am I being too logical here ...
Dr Asha is accused of supplying them with cash and advice.

A jury at Woolwich Crown Court heard Dr Abdulla had told police in Scotland "something along those lines" that he was a terrorist shortly after being arrested. Dr Abdulla told the court: "Everyone was saying you are a terrorist, you are arrested under the Terrorism Act and so forth. That is my case in a nutshell. I am told I am a terrorist, but is your government not a terrorist, is your army not a terrorist?
Once again it's all our fault ...
"By the definition of the Act, according to English law, yes. That is my aim to change opinion using violence, using fire devices."
But not to murder or cause explosions, because Islam is a 'religion of peace', doncha know ...
Dr Abdulla told the jury that after attacks on London's West End had failed, he planned to flee to Iraq, via Turkey, because it would be "much easier to disappear" in a lawless country.

But as he approached the airport, Ahmed suddenly swerved the Jeep into the terminal building without warning. "He drove through the barrier and I got alarmed and I shouted 'What are you doing, what is happening?'," said Dr Abdulla. "I had never seen Kafeel's face like that in my life. He was determined, his foot was on the accelerator and he did not respond to me at all."

Dr Abdulla admitted throwing petrol bombs as he got out of the burning vehicle. But he claimed he had tossed them away to protect himself after Ahmed had passed one to him, accidentally lighting the others in the process. He said he could not recall exactly what happened afterwards, adding: "I know that I had struggled with people, I received punches and I punched back."

Ahmed, an Indian engineering student, died one month after the attack from critical burns after dousing himself in petrol.

Dr Abdulla told the court: "From day one, we said we will not kill or injure any innocent person. This incident, if it was to kill people or cause an explosion, we would not have done it that way. It looks very clumsy."
That's really his biggest complaint, isn't it: it was clumsy. And he failed.
Posted by: Steve White || 11/17/2008 10:52 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  He must have misunderstood the oath he took upon becoming a doctor:

Pick one:
___ The Hippocratic Oath

___ The Hypocritic Oath

It is an understandable mistake.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 11/17/2008 11:31 Comments || Top||

#2  him becoming a DR is not an understandable mistake
Posted by: chris || 11/17/2008 11:45 Comments || Top||

#3  IIRC, muslim doctors take a different, albeit similar oath.
Posted by: Pappy || 11/17/2008 11:47 Comments || Top||

#4  Doctors in the U.K. are in poverty as they only earn 100,000 GBP/Year (about 150,000 dollars per year).

Yet more proof that it's poverty, not being a muslim that causes terrorism.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 11/17/2008 13:04 Comments || Top||

#5  Zero tolerance.

He was accidently in a Jeep loaded with gasoline, headed for an airport.

If I was on the jury, he'd get life, in front of a firing squad.
Posted by: Docjohn || 11/17/2008 13:21 Comments || Top||

#6  Doctor admits he is 'a terrorist'

Is he a dentist by a chance?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/17/2008 13:24 Comments || Top||

#7  I don't consider $150,000 a year poor.
Posted by: chris || 11/17/2008 13:49 Comments || Top||

#8  Dr Abdulla told the jury that after attacks on London's West End had failed, he planned to flee to Iraq, via Turkey, because it would be "much easier to disappear" in a lawless country.

" 'Cause all us Muslims look alike, dontchaknow." Idiot. I'm sure he really does think the local Iraqis wouldn't be able to see the difference between a Western-born Pakistani and themselves... and that, despite having no connections, no wasta, they wouldn't turn him in to the authorities in considerably less time than it took him to get there.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/17/2008 14:15 Comments || Top||

#9  Not poor and uneducated, can't be a terrorist /sarc.

Besides, I hear Iraqis have become quite adept at picking out trouble-making foreigners.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 11/17/2008 14:26 Comments || Top||

#10  Look for an eight year sentence, out in four, with councilling and rent paid for dependants the whole time. Then he will have to stay here as country of origin would probs shoot the sorry fok.
Posted by: fever (Formerly R-fever) || 11/17/2008 14:44 Comments || Top||

#11  Ok, so, under English Law he is a Terrorist, but under Sharia law, he is not, this taqiya bidniss got me now, all the lies, Ima spinning like an English Judge a top here.

Out in 4, community service painting a girls school in the Midlands somewhere.
Posted by: fever (Formerly R-fever) || 11/17/2008 16:27 Comments || Top||


Europe
France arrests suspected Eta military chief
French police arrested the suspected military chief of the Basque group Eta in a pre-dawn raid on Monday, the latest blow to the separatist organisation held responsible for more than 800 deaths in Spain since 1968.

Garikoitz Aspiazu Rubina, known by the nom de guerre Txeroki or “Cherokee”, was detained together with a woman, also a suspected Eta militant, in Cauterets in the French Pyrenees, according to the French interior ministry and Spanish security sources quoted by the Spanish media.

The Eta military chief, accused of involvement in the murder of two Spanish police officers in France last year, was one of the most wanted men in Spain.

Spain’s ruling Socialist party welcomed the arrest of “a very bloodthirsty terrorist”. It described his capture as “magnificent news of great importance” because of his role as head of Eta military operations in ordering killings and carrying them out himself.

The arrest is the latest of several successes by French and Spanish police. Javier López Peña, presumed to be the overall head of Eta, was detained in May.

Posted by: lotp || 11/17/2008 09:13 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Let us know how you're getting on in that French prison Rube, hehehehehehe.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/17/2008 9:55 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Zardari seeks Predator technology from US
President Asif Ali Zardari has voiced the hope that President-elect Barack Obama's administration in the US will recognise Islamabad's key anti-terror role and understand the fact that Pakistan has been a victim of terrorism. "We think we need a new dialogue and we're hoping that the new (US) government will... understand that Pakistan has done more than they recognise" and it was a victim of the same insurgency the United States was fighting, he said in an interview with the Washington Post published on Sunday.

President Zardari expressed his disapproval of US drone attacks on Pakistani areas along the Afghan border and urged Washington to instead provide the Predator technology to Pakistan to enhance its ability to fight terrorism.

Rather than using Predator to fire missiles against Pakistani territory, why not give Pakistan its own Predators? "Give them to us... we are your allies," he said.

He said such unilateral strikes harmed efforts to win hearts and minds of the people. The US should equip Pakistan with advanced weapons to help its forces fight terrorists more effectively.

President Zardari said Pakistan received "no prior notice" of the air strikes and he disapproved of them. "If the casualties are women and children, the sensitivity of its effect increases," he said.

He said the US "point of view" was that the attacks were good for everybody, while "our point of view is that it is not good for our position of winning the hearts and minds of people"
Posted by: john frum || 11/17/2008 15:26 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Yup, give the tech to Pakistan to China and Russia. Sounds like Clinton thinking so it will happen.
Posted by: tipover || 11/17/2008 15:53 Comments || Top||

#2  Lemme think about it... No.

Make that HELL no.
Posted by: mojo || 11/17/2008 16:06 Comments || Top||

#3  The Obamessiah will provide without preconditions.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/17/2008 17:11 Comments || Top||

#4  Rather than using Predator to fire missiles against Pakistani territory, why not give Pakistan its own Predators? "Give them to us... we are your allies," he said.

And he'll make 10% of the Chinese sales
Posted by: john frum || 11/17/2008 17:17 Comments || Top||

#5  "we'll keep demonstrating it for you. You try and figure it out, k?"
Posted by: Frank G || 11/17/2008 18:15 Comments || Top||

#6  We should send him a "starter kit". An combination of an RC model kit and an Estes model rocket kit. Maybe toss in a Parallax Stamp and GPS module as a bonus. We could keep them busy for years with a total investment of under $500.
Posted by: Phinetle Squank7785 || 11/17/2008 18:29 Comments || Top||

#7  Send over the Predators and demonstrate to him, up front and personal, how Hellfire missiles work. A couple of accurate near-misses will discourage Mr. 10% from asking for Predators again.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 11/17/2008 19:12 Comments || Top||


20 killed in Bajaur operation
At least 16 militants and two civilians were killed in the latest clashes between security forces and militants here on Sunday.

In another clash, a chief of tribal laskhar, Malik Fazal Mabood and two tribesmen were also killed in operation carried out by tribal lashkar against the suspected militants. Meanwhile, tribal lashkar killed 10 militants in the operation.

Mamond tribes set the houses of 12 extremists' commanders on fire, sources said. While fierce fighting is underway between national laskhar and militants in Mamond.

Sources said that security forces, backed by helicopter gunships, heavily pounded the suspected militants' hideouts in various parts of Mamond tehsil, killing six militants and two civilians.
Posted by: Fred || 11/17/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Iraq
Suicide car bomb kills 15, wounds 20 in Iraq
A suicide car bomber killed 15 people, including 7 policemen, and wounded 20 others in Iraq's volatile northern Diyala province on Sunday, police said.

The police told Reuters the bomber had targeted a police checkpoint in the town of Jalawla. Police and police recruits are a favourite target of insurgent groups such as Al Qaeda, who view them as collaborators with the United States military.

Also, three people were killed, including two members of a pro-government Sunni militia, when a homemade bomb exploded near a checkpost in Baghdad, according to police.

Another seven people were wounded in the attack which came as Iraq's cabinet met to vote on a wide-ranging military agreement with the US that includes a timetable for all US forces to withdraw by the end of 2011.
Posted by: Fred || 11/17/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency


Iraqi Cabinet Approves Security Pact With U.S.
After months of painstaking negotiations between Baghdad and Washington, the Iraqi Cabinet on Sunday approved a bilateral agreement allowing U.S. troops to remain in this country for three more years.

The accord still needs approval by Iraq's parliament, but the Cabinet vote indicated that most major Iraqi parties supported it. The Iraqi government spokesman portrayed the pact as closing the book on the occupation that began with the U.S.-led 2003 invasion. "The total withdrawal will be completed by Dec. 31, 2011. This is not governed by circumstances on the ground," the spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, told Iraqi reporters, pointedly rejecting the more conditional language that the U.S. government had earlier sought in the accord.

American officials have pointed out that there is nothing stopping the next Iraqi government from asking some U.S. troops to stay on. The Iraqi military is years away from being able to defend the country from external attack, according to both U.S. and Iraqi officials.

Still, there is no doubt that the accord, if passed by parliament, will sharply reduce the U.S. military's power in Iraq. American soldiers will be required to seek warrants from Iraqi courts to execute arrests, and to hand over suspects to Iraqi authorities. U.S. troops will have to leave their combat outposts in Iraqi cities by mid-2009, withdrawing to bases.

The U.S. government has lobbied hard for the status-of-forces agreement, which would replace a United Nations mandate authorizing the U.S. presence that expires on Dec. 31. Without some legal umbrella, the 150,000 U.S. forces would have to end their operations in Iraq in a few weeks' time, military officials said.
Posted by: Fred || 11/17/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Palestinians fire 6 rockets at southern Israel
Israeli police say Palestinian militants have fired six rockets at southern Israel. Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld says the rockets landed in open areas, and no one was injured.

The attack came as Britain's foreign minister, David Miliband, planned to visit the southern Israeli town of Sderot. It was not known whether he was in the area at the time of the attack.

The Islamic Jihad militant group in the Gaza Strip claimed responsibility.
Posted by: ryuge || 11/17/2008 05:42 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The attack came as Britain's foreign minister, David Miliband, planned to visit the southern Israeli town of Sderot. It was not known whether he was in the area at the time of the attack.

And even if he was, they'd probably miss---can't trust Arabs to do anything right.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/17/2008 13:23 Comments || Top||


Israel, Germany reportedly develop missile warning system
Working in secret, Israel and Germany have jointly developed a nuclear missile detection system, according to the Defense News Web site.

Code-named Project Bluebird, the system is based on the prototype of an aerial infrared sensor designed to identify a nuclear-tipped missile speeding toward a target amid a cluster of decoy missiles.

Military planners work under the assumption that in a nuclear strike, decoy missiles could be launched along with those carrying nuclear warheads to confuse and overwhelm missile defense shields. According to the sources, Project Bluebird is designed to avert such a scenario.

On November 3, Defense News published details of the program and cited a German defense official as confirming its existence. According to the Web site, the system's infrared sensor has already been tested aboard a business jet.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/17/2008 02:59 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Southeast Asia
Three civilians gunned down in southern Thailand
Suspected terrorists militants shot dead three Muslim civilians and wounded an 8-year-old girl in the latest attacks in Thailand's restive south, police said Monday.

Gunmen on motorcycles fatally shot an assistant to a village chief as he was going home from a mosque in the southern town of Pattani on Sunday, police said. Hours later a 43-year-old alleged informant for Thai authorities was shot while siting in front of his house in Yala town. He died later in a hospital.

In the town of Narathiwat, at least three men in a pickup truck opened fire on a 49-year-old man and his daughter, age 8, as they left a mosque, police said. The man was hit in the head and back and died instantly, while the girl suffered gunshot wounds to her rib, arm and leg.

Plus:

The police arrested ten persons suspected of involvement in a group of bombings--a car bomb and another two simultaneous bombs--which wounded 71 persons in Narathiwat's Sukhirin District on November 4. The bombings occurred in Sukhirin District, which one of the ten suspects, Marose Dueramae, confessed to driving a motorcycle fitted with a bomb which he parked at the site, while another suspect, Turadee Madong, confessed to using mobile phones to detonate bombs in the car and in the two motorcycles. The police are investigating the suspects to track others in connection with the crime. The car bomb exploded near the Sukhirin district offices shortly before the other bombs, hidden in the motorcycles, parked at the market nearby exploded and wounded more than 70 persons.
Posted by: ryuge || 11/17/2008 05:15 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka steps up airstrikes after capturing rebel town
Sri Lanka stepped up air attacks against suspected rebel targets in the island's north Sunday, a day after ground troops re-captured a highly strategic town, the defence ministry said.

Mi-24 helicopter gun ships and fighter jets were deployed to pound defence lines of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on the Jaffna peninsula and on the mainland, the defence ministry said.

"Sri Lanka air force has launched a series of air strikes in support of ground troops in the Muhamalai area," the ministry said in a statement.

The attacks came a day after Sri Lanka's president asked Tamil Tiger rebels to surrender after troops said they had re-taken the town of Pooneryn from the separatist guerrillas following months of heavy fighting. President Mahinda Rajapakse said in a televised address to the nation that security forces took Pooneryn and the main northwestern coastal A-32 route on Saturday morning. The town was taken by troops after several failed attempts during 15 years of Tiger occupation.

Military officials said the fall of Pooneryn was a severe blow to the Tigers who are defending their main de facto capital of Kilinochchi, further southeast, amid a multi-pronged military thrust.

"Despite all their efforts, they failed in their bid to hold Pooneryn," the Sunday Times defence analyst Iqbal Athas said. "That it was a humiliating defeat for the guerrillas came from radio intercepts from the battle field."

The fall of Pooneryn shrank Tiger territory by about half and prevented the rebels from using the north-western seaboard to smuggle weapons and other supplies by boat from neighbouring India, military officials said. They said the bigger advantage for the military was the removal of Tiger artillery guns at Pooneryn, which had been used to hit the main Palaly airbase in the Jaffna peninsula and disrupted regular military flights.

The military has not given details of losses suffered by either side in the battle for Pooneryn, but Athas said both sides had suffered "very heavy casualties" in the fighting.

With the fall of Pooneryn, the military has taken the northwestern seaboard of the island and is poised to make a final push for Kilinochchi, defence officials said.

There had been no comment from the Tigers on the latest military action, but Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran is due to make an annual speech on November 27 setting out his plans for the next year.

The Tigers commemorate their war dead during a "Heroes' week" starting November 21. Last month, the military stopped releasing its own losses in daily bulletins, saying it would hinder operations. However, official figures tabled in parliament show that 1,269 troops were killed in the first 10 months of this year. The military says it killed more than 7,500 Tiger rebels during the same period.
Posted by: Fred || 11/17/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:



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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.
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Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
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ryuge
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Two weeks of WOT
Mon 2008-11-17
  Pirates take Saudi supertanker off Mombasa
Sun 2008-11-16
  Lankan Army seizes entire west coast from LTTE
Sat 2008-11-15
  Al-Shabaab closes in on Mog
Fri 2008-11-14
  U.S. missiles hit Pak Talibs, 12 dead
Thu 2008-11-13
  Somali pirates open fire on Brit marines. Hilarity ensues.
Wed 2008-11-12
  Philippines ship, 23 crew seized near Somalia
Tue 2008-11-11
  EU launches anti-piracy mission off Somalia
Mon 2008-11-10
  Somali gunnies kidnap two Italian nuns
Sun 2008-11-09
  Boomerette hits emergency room west of Baghdad
Sat 2008-11-08
  Mukhlas, Amrozi and Samudra executed
Fri 2008-11-07
  Pak: 13 dead in dronezap
Thu 2008-11-06
  Iran: We can block off Persian Gulf in blink of an eye
Wed 2008-11-05
  America Votes. B.O. wins.
Tue 2008-11-04
  IAF strike zaps four Gazooks
Mon 2008-11-03
  Sheikh Sharif returns to Somalia

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