More than a thousand Afghans signed up on Thursday to say they wanted to go and fight Israel in the Gaza Strip, many of them blaming the United States which has some 30,000 troops in Afghanistan, for supporting the Jewish state. Scores of young men crowded into the library of Kabul's Milad ul-Nabi mosque, lined with banners reading "Death to Israel" and "Death to America", to sign up to fight Israel.
"More than a thousand brave Afghans registered their names here to fight Israeli troops in Gaza," said Habibullah Assam, the imam of the mosque and organiser of the campaign. "Several hundred Afghans, including doctors and teachers, have also volunteered to give blood to help the miserable people of Palestine," he said.
"The acts of Israel against the innocent Muslims of Gaza are barbaric and inhumane and widely helped by the Americans," Assam said, adding that nearly 10,000 people across Afghanistan had so far volunteered to fight in Gaza.
One Afghan at the mosque said he fought in Chechnya in the 1990s after being trained by the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba Islamist militant group which India says is behind the Mumbai attacks. "I have the military training and I will do whatever possible to go to Gaza to at least fire one bullet towards Israel," Mohammad Ayaas said. "I will be the luckiest person to die beside my Muslim brothers fighting for an honourable cause."
The 13-day Israeli operation against Hamas in Gaza led to protests in Afghanistan last week. While reaching Gaza from Afghanistan is all-but impossible, many of the volunteers said they would take revenge on U.S. troops inside Afghanistan instead.
"Infidels are killing Muslims everyday and the United States is saying Israel's offensive is just," said Mohammad Akram, a shopkeeper. "If we can't reach Gaza, we should seek revenge on Israel's allies in our own country like the Taliban do."
#1
Scores of young men crowded into the library of Kabul's Milad ul-Nabi mosque, lined with banners reading "Death to Israel" and "Death to America", to sign up to fight Israel.
Suuuuuure ya will, boys.
So why not fight the Americans? I mean, it'll save you a bus ticket, seeing how they're probably right down the street. Could it be because you're the typical crew of Brave Jihadi Pussies?
ISTANBUL, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Somali pirates released a Turkish cargo ship hijacked in October after its owners paid a ransom, Turkey's Anatolian news agency said on Wednesday.
The MV Yasa Neslihan was en route to China on Wednesday after pirates freed it in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia, Anatolian said, citing Fehmi Ulgener, a lawyer for the Yasa shipping company which owns the vessel. Yasa officials had been negotiating with the ship's captors for its release and had paid an undisclosed amount of money as ransom, Ulgener told the news agency. The 20 Turkish crew were all safe, he said.
The Marshall Island-flagged Neslihan was carrying 77,000 tonnes of iron ore from Canada to China when pirates seized the ship in the Gulf of Aden in late October.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/08/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
When is somebody gonna stomp on these cock-a-roaches?
Bangladesh will hold talks with neighbouring countries to work out effective measures to fight militancy and terrorism for ensuring peace and stability in South Asia, said newly appointed Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni yesterday.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2009 00:00 ||
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A website has defended a message urging British Muslims to contact prominent British Jews to protest at the Israeli attacks on Gaza. The post was made during a discussion on Ummah, an Islamic internet forum. A member suggested that people who featured a list of influential Jews - including David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary - should be reminded of the plight of the Palestinian people.
Among other prominent Jews featured on the list were Lord Levy, the pop music producer Mark Ronson, the lawyer Anthony Julius, and the businessman and television personality Alan Sugar.
A link to the list, which was first published by the Jewish Chronicle newspaper, was posted by a member of the forum using the name Saladin1970. He wrote: "It would be beneficial to start compiling a list so that we can write polite letters reminding them of the injustices of Israel and to stop supporting Israel."
After some discussion, another member, using the name Abuislam, asked: "Have we got list of top Jews and supporters yet we can target? Can someone start posting names and addresses."
Saladin1970 later replied: "The best thing to do is not to contact them directly", adding that Muslim groups should boycott those named and connected businesses.
A spokesman for the website denied claims made in a newspaper report that the post represented a "Hate hit list" and that it encouraged readers to attack those named. He claimed that an examination of the website's records showed that the username Abuislam was registered to a freelance journalist, whose real name was known to them and who had "decided to pose as a Muslim to make Muslims look bad".
Abraham. Posing as a Muslim. Like, "Hymie" wasn't available. Jeez.
In a statement, he said: "Like most Muslims, and a great number of non-Muslims across the world, many of our users are currently engaged in various kinds of protest and campaigning against the massacre of Palestinian civilians by the Israeli Forces.
"Clearly, most people will realise that this thread is about a peaceful form of campaigning against the state of Israel by writing 'polite' letters to well-known and wealthy supporters of the state asking them to withdraw that support and encouraging Muslims not to do business nor work with them until they do."
He told The Daily Telegraph that any messages endorsing attacks against Jews "would be immediately removed" from the site, on which a large number of Islamist, anti-Israeli and anti-Zionist messages were found to be on display on Wednesday afternoon.
Earlier a report by the Community Security Trust, which gives safety advice to British Jews, said there had been an increase in the number of anti-Semitic incidents since the start of the conflict.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/08/2009 00:00 ||
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High-Profile Doctor in Gaza Called an 'Apologist for Hamas'
By Jennifer Lawinski (Fox)
A high-profile Norwegian doctor who has said the September 11 terrorists were justified in their attack is now treating patients in Gaza and is being accused of presenting "hard-core propaganda" to TV interviewers in his telling of the conflict between Hamas and Israel.
Dr. Mads Gilbert has become an unofficial advocate of the Palestinian cause, his critics say.
The only word I quibble with is 'unofficial' ...
International media reports, including those from the BBC, CBS, CNN and FOX's sister station Sky News, present Gilbert as an ordinary doctor. But a look at his record shows that Gilbert, 61, is a political activist and member of the Norwegian Maoist "Red" party, and he has been involved in solidarity work for the Palestinians since the 1970s. He has criticized the international aid organization Doctors Without Borders for refusing to take sides in conflicts.
Gilbert volunteers at the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza with the Norwegian Aid Committee (NORWAC), an aid organization funded by the Norwegian government, and he has been interviewed by the media on a variety of issues. Israeli government officials have said Hamas hides weapons in the hospital where Gilbert works.
NGO Monitor, an Israeli human rights watchdog group, says Gilbert presents one-sided criticism of Israel to the media and has accused Israel of deliberately targeting civilians in its Gaza offensive to stop Hamas from firing rockets into Israel.
In addition to being supportive of the terrorist organization Hamas, Gilbert has voiced support for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. "The attack on New York did not come as a surprise after the policy that the West has led during the last decades," Gilbert told the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet on Sept. 30, 2001. "The oppressed also have a moral right to attack the USA with any weapon they can come up with."
When asked if he supported a terror attack on the U.S., Gilbert said, "Terror is a bad weapon but the answer is yes within the context which I have mentioned."
Gerald Steinberg, executive director of NGO Monitor, said Gilbert's characterization of the situation in Gaza is "in the form of incitement of hatred."
"We question the accuracy and the political biases if they exist by groups that claim to promote human rights, humanitarian and non-political goals," Steinberg told FOXNews.com. "A doctor is someone who is not supposed to take a political side."
"We found out he justified the 9/11 attacks.⊠Here's a guy with a radical political background who is being interviewed as if he were a neutral medical observer," Steinberg said. "He has become an apologist for Hamas, totally violating his obligation as a physician to heal the sick and not contribute to violence."
A representative for Sky News said it has not presented a biased picture of the conflict in Gaza when interviewing Gilbert. "We are reporting events as they happen and interviewing all of the protagonists and a wide range of commentators on the situation," the network said in a statement.
"Dr. Gilbert is a working doctor in Gaza interviewed by the international news agencies in Gaza. A short interview clip with him has been included in one of our reports. Sky News has consistently reported on the Hamas rocket attacks into Israel, given extensive context and background to the dispute and interviewed the Israeli President live on air for 15 minutes."
The BBC did not respond to a request for comment.
Gilbert told FOXNews.com that he is neither anti-Israeli nor anti-American. "I did my Ph.D. research in the United States at the University of Iowa in Iowa City," Gilbert said. "I have hundreds of American friends and I have many, many Jewish friends.
"I have nothing against the people of Israel. I have nothing against the Jews. In fact, I think that one of the worst things that happened in history was the Holocaust."
But Gilbert said he and NORWAC do not hide their pro-Palestinian bias in the Hamas-Israel conflict. "We support the Palestinian people, and that's absolutely no secret that we have been supporting the Palestinian people for many years," Gilbert said. "We have been working tirelessly to improve the medical conditions through systematic training and teaching....
"I do not support the wall on the West Bank and I do not support the siege of Gaza," he said. "This is very simple. If that is biased, so be it. Call me biased."
Steinberg said Gilbert's partisanship violates his ethical code. "By justifying terror, supporting Hamas and fueling the conflict, NORWAC and Mads Gilbert have violated the Hippocratic Oath 'first, do no harm'," he said.
The Hippocratic Oath states: "In every house where I come I will enter only for the good of my patients, keeping myself far from all intentional ill-doing."
But George Annas, a professor of medical ethics at The School of Public Health at Boston University, said Gilbert's political stance does not violate ethical codes. "I think its fine for doctors to have political affiliations as long as they make them known. It really doesn't get to be a medical ethics issue unless you get some patients involved," Annas said.
Problems might arise, Annas said, "if he has wounded and sick patients and has been taking time away to do interviews and people are dying."
#2
Nobody has ever explained to me what the argument is against the wall. West bank can certainly get food in from the Jordan side so the only thing the wall does is keep the Pals from killing Jews. So unless i hear otherwise I always equate those opposed to the wall wtih saying the Jews are not allowed to defend themselves even in non-violent ways.
#3
Sounds like the doc needs to make the acquaintance of an axehandle - right across the top of both hands. Being a useful idiot is one thing - being an active part of the problem is another.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/08/2009 15:14 Comments ||
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#5
During the first wave of the Black Plague across Europe which would kill off about a third of the population and during a period when 'modern' medicine was yet to understand its pathology, the Duke of Milan issued an edict that any household that was found to have a member with the plague that household would be sealed up with all it occupants. Cruel, yes. However, in the end it spared Milan the ravages and even greater death that visited elsewhere. Sometimes, walls are your only protection against the most vile threats known to man when other do not work.
#6
I would agree, P2K and I think history will judge Clinton harshly for the corruption involved in admitting China to the WTO and the devastation that has wrought. We will start to get out of this crisis when we leave the WTO and reconstitute our free trade block to include only democracies.
#7
Anyone saying something like this, that people should attack the US, needs to be put onto a list. This list should be given to a new Intel agency operating under enhanced WWII rules.
Then list will be issued to the wetworks department who will ensure that these people receive their rewards for their call for attacks against us. Publish the list to the UN, so that they know who will be executed during the coming months. If anyone complains, add their name to the list.
Since this is already stuff they accuse us of, I don't see how it can make things any worse and if people start dying for their desire to hurt us, things may just get better.
As always, my preference is for the US to use satellite beam weapons for this kind of thing, mostly microwaves. Especially good when these idiots are on TV and can be zapped publically.
#8
"As always, my preference is for the US to use satellite beam weapons for this kind of thing, mostly microwaves. Especially good when these idiots are on TV and can be zapped publically."
Me likee, SB. :-D
Make it so.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/08/2009 17:04 Comments ||
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#10
As per the MSM-Net, unless PEBO starts saying something to the contray, HE's NOT LOOKING LIKE A PRO-PEACE, PRO-MUSLIM, ANTI-BUSH "NEUTRALIST/MODERATE/CENTRIST", OR EVEN A [former]"GOOD MUSLIM".
Lest we fergit [old], USA > NEW 9-11 > IIRC A MAJOR NEW TERRORIST STRIKE(S) UTILIZ NUKES-WMDS, ESPEC "DIRTY NUKES". AGZ US CITIES OR OTHER HIGH-VALUE TARGETS IS POSSIBLE OR LIKELY BEFORE YEAR 2013.
At the rate PEBO is going vee Bush WOT policies > Jan 2009 - NLT 2010???
#11
D *** NG IT, I don't recall the Movie Title [again] but this artic reminds me of that old 1970's late nite made-for-TV movie about a AFRICAN-AMER/BLACK VPOTUS whom takes over as POTUS per se for his white predecessor.
WEIRD > ITS ONE OF THOSE FEW FLICKS WHOSE TITLES I JUST CAN'T REMEMBER NO MATTER WHAT I DO, BUT THE PLOT I DO VERY WELL.
#5
Now, now. No advocation of violence on American soil.
He's not a citizen, solicitation of violence against American interests abroad would seem to be proper grounds for revocation of his residency. Send him back to wherever he came from.
*Then* go ahead and whack him. It's all about procedure, bigjim.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
01/08/2009 10:43 Comments ||
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#6
This piece of dog crap should never set foot on US soil again. If we don't get control over these fifth column turncoats we're going to soon have major issues right here. We see this spewing and go on in disbelief and pay no mind. Just what the Brits did 20 years ago.
#10
I'm afraid he's going to develop a serious case of sleepwalking, and falling off a 22-storey balcony in the middle of the night - IF he comes back to the US, where sleepwalking may become a pandemic for Islamists.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/08/2009 15:17 Comments ||
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#11
In sum, he's arguing that America per se must be attacked, + that Jihad take place agz or inside America as Islam's ultimate enemy and ISRAEL's GREATEST SUPPORTER. IFF YOU KILL AMERICA, YOU [inevitably]KILL ISRAEL.
MORE PRESSURE ON PRESSURE UPON PEBO = SOON-TO-BE POTUS OBAMA.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
01/08/2009 19:07 Comments ||
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#13
Deacon, you left out the part of him landing on 9 bullets. BTW he does have a petition pending to be granted US citizenship.
Posted by: bruce ||
01/08/2009 19:32 Comments ||
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#14
Compare wid ISRAELI MIL FORUM/WND > MAPPING SHARIA IN AMERICA: ARE AMERICANS SAFE FROM US MOSQUES ["Mapping Sharia" Special project from ME Pert and former USAF Special Agent Dave Gaubatz]???
Individuals and organisations guilty of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai should be named and punished, in a free, fair and impartial investigation and prosecution, intellectuals from India and Pakistan said in a joint statement on Wednesday.
The statement said intellectuals from both the countries understood and shared the anger of the people over the attacks, adding that there was a dire need to eliminate terrorism that had impacted the entire South Asian region and threatened a peaceful co-existence of the people of the region.
The group of Indian and Pakistani intellectuals, who met in Delhi in the past two days, appreciated the restraint exercised by New Delhi following calls for reprisal from within India. In the statement, they appreciated the Indian government's readiness and determination to discourage hasty conclusions concerning the nature and extent of the involvement, if any, of the Pakistani state, urging it to refrain from taking any steps which would weaken the bonds that had developed between the civil societies of the two countries over the past five years.
The statement said war was not an option and all talk of partial or targeted action was ill-informed and dangerous given that both the countries were nuclear-armed.
Peace process: In the statement, the Indo-Pak intellectuals said they believed it was necessary for the two governments to resume the peace process. They welcomed the statement made by Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee in Srinagar that India-Pakistan dialogue in the context of Kashmir would not be affected.
They said the recent elections in Indian-held Kashmir provided encouraging signals including a high turnout and the deliberate eschewing of violence by terrorists.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
To say that war is not an option is to give up. War has to stay on the table if India wants to retain any hope of getting those thugs.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
01/08/2009 8:43 Comments ||
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India's state minister for external affairs has urged Pakistan to "own the nationality of all the Mumbai attackers" and act against "the organisations responsible for the attacks", a private TV channel reported. Joint investigations into the Mumbai attacks would not be meaningful if Pakistan did not honour the commitments it had made, the minister, Anand Sharma, said while talking to reporters in New Delhi. He urged Pakistan not to be "in a state of denial" saying this was "neither in the interest of regional peace nor in that of Pakistan".
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2009 00:00 ||
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Islamabad's acknowledgement that the lone surviving Mumbai gunman Ajmal Kasab is a Pakistani shows that it is sincere in probing the attacks, PML-Q Secretary General Mushahid Hussain said on Wednesday. More like they couldn't come up with any more reasons, no matter how far fetched, for him not to be a Pak.
Talking to a private TV channel, Hussain said US pressure was one of the reasons behind the Indian move to share its evidence with Pakistan, and that an agreement on the identity of Kasab would help defuse the tensions that India had heightened unnecessarily. "But the war of words will continue," he said, "because Indian political parties have election campaigns on their hands."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
"But the war of words will continue," he said, "because Indian political parties have election campaigns on their hands."
And Islamabad is full of folks that will cut off their elected officials' heads.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
01/08/2009 18:31 Comments ||
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During a visit to Afghanistan, Pakistan's foreign minister on Wednesday strongly rejected accusations by India that Pakistani government agencies had played a role in the terrorist attacks in Mumbai in November, insisting that his government wants to "get to the bottom" of the incident and hopes for cooperation with India, not "finger-pointing."
At the same time, Pakistan's powerful intelligence chief said in a rare interview from Islamabad that his government has no desire to fight a war with India, Pakistan's larger neighbor and longtime rival, and that he views terrorism as the "real enemy" of his country.
But in a sign of the deep internal fissures within Pakistan's government over the Mumbai attacks, the country's national security adviser was fired in Islamabad on Wednesday after publicly acknowledging that the lone surviving gunman appeared to be a Pakistani citizen, an allegation previously denied by Pakistani authorities.
In an interview with CNN, Mahmud Ali Durrani said there appeared to be proof that all 10 gunmen had Pakistani roots. Officials from the Foreign and Information ministries confirmed that assertion, but the Foreign Ministry later retracted its statement, and within hours, government officials and national TV channels reported that Durrani, a former intelligence chief, had been dismissed by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2009 00:00 ||
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Militants who attacked Mumbai were urged to kill their hostages in cold blood and fight to the death in the name of Islam, according to transcripts of intercepted telephone calls made public yesterday.
In one exchange, one of the two attackers who stormed the luxury Oberoi-Trident hotel was told to "inflict the maximum damage" and to "kill all hostages, except the two Muslims" they were holding.
"We have three foreigners, including women," the attacker identified as Fahadullah said.
"Kill them. Keep your phone switched on so that we can hear the gunfire," he was told.
The transcript then said the two attackers were heard to tell the two Muslims to step aside and order the hostages to stand in a line. Gunfire was heard, then cheering.
Details of the attackers' conversations, allegedly with their six "Pakistan-based handlers," are contained in a dossier of evidence that India says "unmistakenly" points to elements in Pakistan being behind the attacks. The document, obtained by The Hindu, an English-language newspaper, puts the official death toll at 165 civilians and security personnel -- two more than previously -- plus nine of the 10 attackers.
It also lists items recovered after the attacks, including Pakistan-made weapons and global positioning systems with co-ordinates of a sea route from off southeast Pakistan, as well as Pakistani washing powder and shaving cream. Much of the detail has emerged piecemeal since the 60-hour siege ended on November 29, including claims that the banned Pakistan-based Islamist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) trained and equipped the militants and financed the operation.
Islamabad has angrily rejected allegations from Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the attacks had the support of some "official agencies" and that Pakistan used terrorism as an "instrument of state policy."
India's Defence Minister A.K. Anthony maintained the pressure Wednesday, expressing concern that there was "no serious attempt" to disband the 30 "terror outfits" that were working across the border.
The head of Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja Pasha, earlier told Der Spiegel magazine in an interview that it was fighting terrorism, not India. "We may be crazy in Pakistan, but not completely out of our minds. We know full well that terror is our enemy, not India," he was quoted as saying in the German publication's online edition.
He also rejected claims that ISI-sponsored Pakistani groups were behind the attacks, accusing India of giving them "nothing, no names, no numbers, no connections."
The dossier -- a 13-page summary and 50 pages of supporting documents -- contains phone numbers and email addresses allegedly linked to LeT commanders.
According to the transcript, one of the two attackers at the Nariman House Jewish cultural centre was told: "Brother, you have to fight. This is a matter of prestige of Islam.
"Fight so that your fight becomes a shining example. Be strong in the name of Allah... Brother, you have to fight for the victory of Islam. Be strong."
A separate call added: "Keep in mind that the hostages are of use only as long as you do not come under fire because of their safety.
"If you are still threatened, then don't saddle yourself with the burden of the hostages, immediately kill them."
The caller went on: "If the hostages are killed, it will spoil relations between India and Israel."
An attacker replied: "So be it, God willing."
Five hostages, including a rabbi and his wife, were later found dead with the two militants.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2009 00:00 ||
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Aswat al-Iraq: Nearly two and a half million pilgrims, including a half million women, have ended the rituals of the Ashuraa visit, an official source from Karbala province said on Wednesday.
"Pilgrims have finished Twereej running, thus ending the Ashuraa visit," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. The Twereej running is a popular custom in the Ashuraa visit.
Shiites commemorate the killing of Imam Hussein Ibn Ali, his brother and friends in Karbala in the battle of Taf on Muharram 10, 61 (October 10, 680 AD on the Gregorian calendar).
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
I'd make it "barbaric and unsanitary blood ritual", but whatever.
Aswat al-Iraq: Shiite Cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Wednesday called to raise Palestinian flags over buildings, mosques and churches in expression of solidarity with the people in the Gaza Strip. Sadr has urged countries to "immediately shut down their Israeli embassies and to strip these terrorist spots of immunity," according to a statement released by Sadr's office in Najaf and received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency. The Shiite cleric also called to carry out reprisal attacks against "the Zionist enemy."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Mahdi Army
#1
What part of FOAD Mukty does nop understand? Nuther cockroach. I wanted to call Korben Dallas and then realized he's in the future.
#2
I really think Mossad should have taken out Sadr, the leader of Hamas hiding in Syria as well as the leader of Hezzbolah at the kickoff to the invasion of Gaza.
Remove the Iranian puppets and see how quickly the Iranians can respond through their proxies.
I'd also have hammered out some kind of propoganda really connecting the Hamas with Shi'a. Down deep the Sunni hate the Shi'a and Arabs hate Persians and Israel needs to work that divide. Don't promote Jews in the propoganda, just emphasize that the Iranians are calling the shots and using Palestinians as pawns.
#4
My only guess is they cant' be found and/or Israel is afraid that the world would condem them (even more) if they expanded the war into other nations.
NAJAF, Iraq - The Shia radical movement of Moqtada al-Sadr, which fought two wars with US troops in 2004, threatened on Wednesday to resume attacks on American targets inside Iraq over Washingtons support for the Israeli assault on Gaza. I ask the Iraqi resistance to engage in revenge operations against the United States, the biggest parter of the Zionist enemy, Sadr said in a statement issued by his office in the central shrine city of Najaf.
He called on all countries which host Israeli embassies on their territory to close down those missions which are the source of terrorism in Arab and Islamic countries as a sign of support for the Palestinian people.
He called on Iraqis to place Palestinian flags on the roofs of all buildings, mosques and churches in a show of support for the mujahedeen (holy warriors) in Gaza.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/08/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Sadr lives in Iran. Hasn't shown his face in Iraq for quite awhile now. Let Iran claim him now, they deserve him.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
01/08/2009 8:28 Comments ||
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#1
"suspending operations after an Israeli tank shell hit one of its convoys during the ceasefire period, creating secondary explosions, unfortunately killing two drivers."
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
01/08/2009 16:29 Comments ||
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The biggest hurdle to winning a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, according to diplomats and Israeli military officials, is a problem that has bedeviled Israel for years: how to stop Hamas from digging tunnels into Egypt in order to bring tons of rockets and other weaponry into Gaza.
Mediators are trying to come up with an anti-tunnel plan to satisfy Israel, which has said it won't agree to a truce unless it includes concrete measures to prevent Hamas from rearming. Some of the ideas under consideration include construction of a giant underground barrier along the nine-mile border between southern Gaza and Egypt, as well as international military patrols with the authority to search for and destroy any freshly built tunnels, Israeli officials said.
Former British prime minister Tony Blair, who along with several other European leaders has been trying to broker a deal, said Tuesday in Jerusalem that an "immediate cease-fire" was within reach if a solution to the tunnel problem could be found.
"These circumstances focus very much around clear action to cut off the supply of arms and money through the tunnels that go from Egypt into Gaza," Blair told BBC radio. "I think that is the one basis on which we could bring a quick halt to" the fighting, he added. "Otherwise, I think we are in for a protracted campaign."
Israeli military officials estimated that they had blown up about half of the estimated 300 smugglers' tunnels along the Gaza-Egyptian border since Israel began airstrikes Dec. 27.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hamas
#2
Can they not use ground penetrating radar to find the tunnels?
Seems they'd be fairly easy to collapse once found, they look like deathtraps anyway.
1. Enviro - Salt water canal (off the med) presumably will lead to more salinization of the ground water, a big issue. Fresh water to precious to use.
2. Symbolism - the Hamas sympathizers worldwide will scream that this makes Gaza more of a prison
3. Politics - A moat emphasizes the SEPERATION of Gaza from Egypt. Politically its more to Israel's advantage to emphasize the connection of Gaza and Egypt.
Peace brokers proclaimed a breakthrough Wednesday in efforts to halt the Gaza conflict as Israel warmed to a Franco-Egyptian initiative.
Israel stopped short of saying whether the plan floated late Tuesday by the presidents of Egypt and France after a summit by the Red Sea would be accepted as a basis on which to end its 12-day-old campaign in Gaza where nearly 700 people have been killed.
However its chief spokesman said Israel viewed the initiative positively, prompting French President Nicolas Sarkozy to hail its "acceptance" by Israel and the head of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas to say he was willing to go to Egypt for more talks.
Egypt is also to invite Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Abbas's rival Fatah movement, to a fresh round of reconciliation talks.
The Israeli military called a three-hour halt to its bombing of Gaza in the afternoon to allow aid to reach the territory, prompting Hamas fighters to also hold their fire and allowing embattled Gazans to venture outside to shop for food. Clashes resumed after its expiry, however.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
Peace brokers?
Is there really much of a market? What's the going price per peace?
Israel has taken a battering in the global propaganda battle over its war on Hamas, despite deploying all weaponry ranging from Youtube videos to Twitter blogs and an overworked spokeswoman, analysts said.
Governments have slammed the Israeli military onslaught on the Gaza Strip, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has condemned attacks near U.N. schools that killed dozens and foreign media are angry at being kept out of the Palestinian territory.
With images of parents carrying lifeless children to overwhelmed hospitals dominating international media, angry protests have been staged in major capitals and Israeli websites have reportedly come under cyber attack.
European Union External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner told President Shimon Peres in a meeting on Tuesday that "Israel's image is being destroyed" by its refusal to heed ceasefire appeals.
Hate to be cynical, but Israel's international image hasn't been good for years, decades even. So what's the long-term consequence? As far as I can see, just mean words from the EU and the UN. If Israel were to show some more spine and look the Y'urp-peons, UN-uchs and the press in the eye and say "screw you guys, we're finishing the job", the only response would be helpless splutter and eye-rolling.
Hamas has concentrated on the Arabic media and shunned the West. Israel has launched a sophisticated public relations campaign to keep the focus on cross-border rocket attacks from Gaza that preceded the war.
Military spokeswoman Major Avital Liebovich has become an international media celebrity fending off tough questions about Israeli attacks and the mounting toll.
Israeli ambassadors have also been sent into the television battle. The defense ministry has posted videos of Israeli air strikes on Hamas targets on Youtube, and the government has organized Facebook groups.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Israelis should have stopped caring long time ago--no matter what they do, it is always wrong from the perspective of anti-semitic cesspool.
#4
Israel needs to wage its media campaign with two target audiences in mind. And each of them requires a different message. The leaders in the West must be told in no uncertain terms that the era of the diplo-dance is over period. Then present them with the choice. What is more acceptable one side making indiscriminate rocket attacks into civilian population centers or one side making targeted strikes with all efforts to avoid civilian casualties? You need to choose because you cant have both. Oh and BTW you can shove that Proportionality argument up yer chute! Then ask the Arab leaders a simple question The Paleo cause is one thing but is HAMAS really worth it? Other then that, trying to persuade the ignorant, the handwringers, and the haters is really an exercise in futility.
#6
The fact that al Arabiya felt the need to post this suggests "whistling past the graveyard", which is to say, they're alarmed that Israel isn't getting as much of the filthy end of the stick as they normally do in these situations.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
01/08/2009 10:58 Comments ||
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#7
Most people accept the propoganda without knowing the issues at hand, especially legal ones. Israel needs to keep up the videos and blogs, but the facts, such as Hamas' violations of the Geneva Conventions by storing weapons in schools and using Red Cross ambulances needs to be widely circulated in the media. Just like 'green helmet guy' was exposed, the bloggers can be invaluable in digging out the truth. Learn the lessons of Iraq-the war can be won, one battle a time.
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Wednesday warned that "all possibilities" were open against Israel as he gave a fiery speech on the Jewish state's offensive in Gaza.
"We have to act as though all possibilities are real and open with Israel and we must always be ready for any eventuality," said Nasrallah, whose Shiite forces fought a devastating war with Israel in 2006.
He warned that that the 2006 war, which killed some 1,200 mostly civilian Lebanese, would be "but a walk in the park" compared to what awaits Israel if it launches a new offensive on Lebanon.
He also rebuked Arab leaders for mediating a truce with Israel instead of siding with embattled Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2009 00:00 ||
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Israel is expelling Venezuela's charge d'affaires in response to the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador to Caracas over the war in Gaza, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Wednesday.
"We obviously will take retaliatory measures and will expel the Venezuelan charge d'affaires in Tel Aviv" on Wednesday, the spokesman, Yigal Palmor, told AFP.
The charge d'affaires is Venezuela's top diplomat to the Jewish state.
The Venezuelan government on Tuesday ordered the expulsion of Israel's ambassador to Caracas to protest the Israeli military's offensive in the Gaza Strip, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
go a step further and don't even let him get his clothes before he leaves
Defense Minister Ehud Barak met with Javier Solana, the European Union's foreign policy chief, in Tel Aviv on Wednesday. Barak and Solana discussed the latest events, as well as the expected developments in the Gaza Strip, the Defense Ministry said. "Our intentions are that the operation will create a safer reality for our residents in the South. We will not renounce this goal. In order to reach it we will make every political effort and every military action," Barak told Solana.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2009 00:00 ||
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JERUSALEM - The European Union said on Wednesday it was prepared to help Egypt prevent arms smuggling along its border with the Gaza Strip as part of a ceasefire with Israel but played down the need for foreign ground forces.
Western and Israeli diplomats said the talks centred on the idea of sending specialised international forces or teams, equipped to search out and destroy smuggling tunnels, to the so-called Philadelphi corridor that runs between Gaza and Egypt.
European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana told Reuters in an interview in Israel that the bloc would consider ways to help the Egyptians combat arms smuggling. But Solana said hunting for tunnels under the Philadelphi corridor would 'be done probably with technology, not with people'. He said the technological means were available to address the problem, though he offered no specific details.
Israeli officials say advanced sonar can detect some tunnels but they are sceptical that technology alone would prevent Palestinians from rebuilding smuggling tunnels under the sandy, 14-km (9 mile)-long Philadelphi corridor.
A canal from the Med right along the corridor, 14 km long, 100 m wide and 30 m deep, would put a big dent in the problem ...
Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip has included several air force sorties in which 'bunker buster' bombs were dropped on the corridor, exploding underground and sending out shockwaves designed to collapse the secret passages.
Another senior EU diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the bloc was pushing for a broader monitoring mission as part of any Gaza ceasefire that would ensure both sides meet their obligations. This would include having monitors verify that Israel opens border crossings with the Gaza Strip to humanitarian and other goods. Israel has been cool to this idea.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/08/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Another senior EU diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Juden arouse
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Wednesday warned that should Israel attack Lebanon, it would suffer an even greater defeat than the one he claimed it suffered in 2006.
"We are prepared for every possibility and are ready for all aggression... The Zionists will discover that the war they had in July was a walk in the park if we compare it to what we've prepared for every new aggression," Nasrallah said, referring to the Second Lebanon War.
Nasrallah also chastised Arab leaders for trying to mediate a truce between Palestinian Hamas and Israel, instead of siding with the embattled Palestinians in Gaza.
Thailand's new premier must ensure that troops who tortured and killed a Muslim cleric in the far south face justice, a rights group said on Thursday, adding that such abuses fuelled unrest in the region. Imam Yapa Koseng, a 56-year-old religious leader, was arrested in March last year and died days later in military custody in the Muslim-majority deep south, where a deadly separatist insurgency is raging.
'Prosecuting the soldiers who killed an imam in army detention will be a test of the administration of Thailand's new prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva,' New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement. An inquest in Narathiwat province last month ruled that Yapa died after beatings by soldiers during interrogation, an army spokesman told AFP, adding that they planned to begin the process to prosecute five soldiers.
HRW said the imam's death highlighted broader human rights violations in the south, including illegal and arbitrary detention and torture including beatings, electric shocks and strangulation.
'The new government needs to overhaul the counter-insurgency strategy that encourages abuses, impose effective civilian control over the army, and provide efficient redress for victims of abuses,' said HRW Asia Director Brad Adams. 'By relying on repressive measures and restrictions on fundamental human rights, Thai authorities have created a fertile ground for the insurgency to expand.'
#1
No word from HRW about the hundreds of innocent villagers hacked to death by insurgents. My suggestion to HRW Asia Director Brad Adams is an auto-erotic maneuver that is difficult, if not impossible to perform. Sheesh, wherever to they find these idiots?
#2
I don't think it's Iran's big move. I think it is just a bone to keep the world busy whilst they press forward with their plans for world domination via a few nukes.
#5
ION MEMRI > IN AN OPEN LETTER TO BARACK OBAMA, THE CHIEF OF THE TORA BORA BATTLEFIELD HAS WARNED THAT THE FLAMES OF THIS GAZA FIGHT WILL "BLOW UP IN WASHINGTON".
Whew, too early in the Guam AM for anuther long Title.
A senior Iranian politician met Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal in Damascus on Wednesday as the Palestinian Islamist group considered an Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Ali Larijani, speaker of parliament and one of the major figures in the Islamic Republic, met Mashaal and several high level officials from Hamas at the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital, witnesses said.
The meeting stretched into the early hours of Thursday, with no details emerging from the deliberations. Larijani earlier met leaders of Islamic Jihad, a smaller Palestinian group with close links to Iran.
Just making sure everyone knows the game plan ...
Iran and Syria are the major backers of Hamas, and Syria hosts members of Hamas' exiled leadership, including Mashaal. The two countries have influence on Hamas but little is known about what advice Tehran and Damascus have been giving Hamas in the current crisis.
Larijani also met President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday to discuss the "dangerous situation" in Gaza, the official Syrian news agency said. He is the second Iranian official to visit Syria since Israel's ground invasion of Gaza began on Saturday.
Saeed Jalili, a senior Iranian security official, met Hamas and Islamic Jihad officials in Damascus this week, before Egypt announced a plan for a truce in Gaza brokered by France.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/08/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
There will never be peace in the Middle East until Iran is dealt with!!!!
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution has condemned the Israeli military attacks on Gaza which has so far left 282 people dead. In a condolence message released on Sunday, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei denounced Israel, describing its attacks as a "deliberate massacre" of innocent and defenseless civilians.
"What pain greater than Muslim silence on this humanitarian tragedy?" the Leader asked, lamenting the lack of world action on the issue. "Instead of standing up to Israeli war crimes and defending innocent Gazans, some Muslim leaders have paved the way for Tel Aviv to commit these crimes against humanity," he continued.
Ayatollah Khamenei said the contributions of the Bush administration toward the "genocidal Israeli assaults" against Palestinians have further tarnished the US image and world standing.
The UN Security Council has been unable to force an end to Israeli attacks against Gaza due to the intervention of the United States. Washington once again used its veto powers on Sunday to block a resolution calling for an end to the massive ongoing attacks against the impoverished region. The US, a staunch ally to Israel, has so far vetoed over 40 anti-Israeli resolutions sought by the council since 1972.
According to Ayatollah Khamenei, those who masterminded the "abysmal catastrophe" should be personally tried and met with severe reprimand. Monday has been declared by the Leader as a day of national mourning.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/08/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Who'd know what genocide is better than Muslims?
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
A website has defended a message urging British Muslims to contact prominent British Jews to protest at the Israeli attacks on Gaza. The post was made during a discussion on Ummah, an Islamic internet forum. A member suggested that people who featured a list of influential Jews - including David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary - should be reminded of the plight of the Palestinian people.
Thailand's new premier must ensure that troops who tortured and killed a Muslim cleric in the far south face justice, a rights group said on Thursday, adding that such abuses fuelled unrest in the region. Imam Yapa Koseng, a 56-year-old religious leader, was arrested in March last year and died days later in military custody in the Muslim-majority deep south, where a deadly separatist insurgency is raging. 
A senior Iranian politician met Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal in Damascus on Wednesday as the Palestinian Islamist group considered an Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Ali Larijani, speaker of parliament and one of the major figures in the Islamic Republic, met Mashaal and several high level officials from Hamas at the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital, witnesses said.
