#3
In other news, Michael Yon reports he's been kicked out of his embed with British 2 Rifles, surmising it's due to his criticisms of the British gov't. for not adequately resourcing its soldiers.
#5
The Pentagon needs a program to recruit prior service combat correspondents like Yon. Not only are they a major boost to soldier and public morale, writing knowledgeable military journalism, but they also operate at many hierarchical levels, objectively seeing what is going on from Private to CSM and from Lieutenant to General.
They see what is going on from squad level to Corps level. Everyone else is busy working. So in effect, they are like an "officer's officer". A commanding General, after giving them periodic one on one interviews, should ask them "What are you seeing?", and take notes.
If they see a problem, that problem is probably so critical that it must be dealt with immediately, or risk disaster. And even if the General is aware of the "general" problem, he likely does not know of its real, street level impact.
NILI, Afghanistan – The soldiers hesitated as the mullah preached, unsure if they would be welcome at the celebration of one of Islam's highest holidays.
But when the sermon ended, the Afghans draped bright scarves over the soldiers' tanned necks. Then they pushed Chief Warrant Officer Chaka, a Puerto Rican with a thick black beard and a deep tan who could easily pass for Afghan, up front to speak. Chaka thanked the elders and showed them his hands stained orange for the Eid celebration. "This is our home away from home," said Chaka. "We wanted to come over and be with our neighbors."
The event showed how these dozen Special Force soldiers have joined in the daily life of the town's 95,000 residents since they moved in a month ago. The team is among only a few U.S. troops to live in the midst of Afghans, but there will likely be more. The hope is to push Special Forces teams into villages throughout Afghanistan, giving them the mission of rebuilding and training Afghan police and soldiers. Rest at link
Posted by: ed ||
09/27/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Hope it works.
Posted by: Dave UK ||
09/27/2009 0:23 Comments ||
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#2
TOPIX > NATO'S TROUBLES IN AFGHANISTAN INSPIRE TALIBAN, AL QAEDA + TALIBAN OPEN UP A WIDER FRONT IN AFGANISTAN; + PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > BIN LADEN THREATENS EUROPE WITH VIOLENCE/TERROR UNLESS IT WITHDRAWS ITS TROOPS FROM AFGHANISTAN.
ZOOMG, once more too many long titles to remember in one shot.
* SAME > BRITAIN SHOULD SUPPLY ARMS TO AFGHANS DEFEAT INSURGENTS.
[Iran Press TV Latest] The Yemeni Army has declared that its troops have killed 15 Houthi fighters in the mountainous northern regions of the country.
The incident happened in clashes in the western parts of Saada Province, Xinhua reported on Saturday.
The military also said a number of fighters had been injured in the clashes, adding that the army is pushing its way through the area towards Malaheez, near the border with Saudi Arabia.
The announcement was made while Houthi fighters say they stopped an army offensive in Harf Sufian and attacked a security post in the area.
They also claimed to have captured a military base near the border.
The Yemeni government launched the Scorched Earth operation against Houthi fighters on August 11.
The government claims the Houthis are seeking to restore the Zaydi imamate in the area. The fighters, however, says they only want more autonomy and an end to what they call the government's discriminatory policies in the impoverished region.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/27/2009 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] Three criminals were killed in 'shootouts' with law enforcers yesterday in the capital, Kushtia and Bagerhat.
They are Johnny, 32, Mohon Malitha, 45, a leader of Purbo Banglar Communist Party and Fashiur Rahman Shanu, 45, ringleader of pirates' gang 'Shanu Bahini' in the Sundarbans.
Oh dear, Purblo Banglar Commie hardboyz and pirates hanging together -- how could it be that totalitarians and pure laissez fairees have ought in common?
Police said a patrol team of police signalled a private car to stop in Mirpur area around 3:00am.
It must have been the pirates' car. Communists wouldn't deign to be transported in something so plutocratic.
The team chased the car as the passengers tried to escape defying them. The criminals opened fire on police prompting them to fire back that triggered a gunfight near Kalyanpur Balur Math, said Officer in-charge of Mirpur Police Station Mizanur Rahman.
A gunfight in racing cars? How exciting -- just like the American gangster movies! And even one of the miscreants so thoughtfully named Johnny...
After the incident, Johnny was left with bullet injury on the spot and sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where the doctor on duty declared him dead.
"The bullet injury is on that spot, Dr. Quincy."
"Yes, Jim, that's why he's dead. That spot is immediately fatal, as the police well know."
Al-Amin, 30, a member of the gang, was arrested while others fled the scene.
There's no mention of a micro-van, so it must have been a clown car they used for the fleeing.
Police recovered one revolver and three bullets and seized the private car.
The revolver and bullets were returned to their velvet-backed homes, but the private car is now being driven by the police chief's eldest son -- a late birthday present. Not for them the near-monastic self-restraint of Rab personnel.
Johnny was an accomplice of top-listed criminal Bikash in Mirpur and was accused in seven cases including murders, the OC alleged.
Wanted on twelve systems for all sorts of crimes ending in -try, unloved even by his mother, as proved by the fact that she did not demand his remains for burial.
Constable Akramul Islam of the patrol team sustained bullet injury to the hand in the gunfight and was undergoing treatment at Rajarbagh police hospital.
Nicked his finger on it while snugging it into its velvet-lined, cedarwood box, he did. Jim put on a bandaid under the supervision of the august Dr. Quincy. Nurse stood ready with scalpels and full anesthesia, should they prove needed.
In Kushtia, Mohon Malitha was killed at Lalnagar village in Daulatpur upazila.
We'll leave that for Old Patriot to find. I finally got the map folded up, and I'm not trotting off to the football fields to unfold it in this rain.
Acting on a tip-off,
Sarge -- it's Mahmoud the Weasel on the phone! He needs money for the kids' school fees again.
Rab-12 raided Lalnagar where PBCP cadres, led by Mohon, was holding a meeting at about 4:00am.
Yes, the timing is right, and the participants, but where is the suitably proletarian meeting place? Clearly the captain of Rab-12 needs to insist that all staff go through training to properly write reports.
As the outlaws were asked to surrender, the criminals opened fire on the Rab personnel. The Rab team retaliated that left Mohon dead.
*sigh* Where, oh where is the colour and detail of the reports of yesteryear? (yestermonth, actually, but let's not quibble)
His accomplices, however, managed to flee the scene.
As if they were never there.
Rab recovered a locally-made gun, one bullet, two bombs and two knives after the incident.
Bombs? Not something I'd be comfortably keeping in the supplies locker. Never can tell when one of those things might decide to go off.
Mohon was accused in seven cases, including six for murders, said Daulatpur police.
Definitely a badman and a miscreant.
In another incident, Shanu was killed at Nandabala Canal in Mongla upazila of Bagerhat.
What, a third? The nights are busier, now that Ramadan has ended.
By the numbers then:
1. Mahmoud the Weasel galvanizes a response
On information, police swooped on Nandabala Canal
2. A bit late, timewise, but the police are not yet up to Rab standard
at about 7:00am where
3. Planning bad actions
the pirates were preparing to commit robbery, Officer in-charge of Mongla Police Station Kazi Jalaluddin told The Daily Star.
4. Crossfire, started by the badmen, has its inevitable result
Shanu came in the line of fire as the criminals opened fire on the law enforcers.
4a. Let us pause for a moment of respect for the shooting skills of all involved.
After the gunfight,
5. "He's dead, Jim."
he was found dead while
6. As if they never were
his accomplices fled the scene.
7. "Back to the evidence locker with you, my pretties!"
Police recovered one rifle and nine cartridges from the spot.
8. Wanted on twelve systems for dopery, mopery, barratry and murder, truly he was a badman.
He was accused in several cases, including murders.
9. Our wounded heroes are treated for splinters and released
Constable Zakir Hossain and Havildar Abu Musa were bullet-wounded in the gunfight and admitted to Mongla Upazila Health Complex.
Two separate cases-- one under arms act and another for assaulting police--were filed with Mongla Police Station.
And so ends another tale of the heroics of the Bangladeshi police and the Rab.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/27/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
7.9
Points off for: "The bullet injury is on that spot, Dr. Quincy."
WHICH DAMN SPOT?
I don't know, Shipman, but clearly Dr. Quincy and the Mirpur police do. Unlike my mother, I didn't run off on a whim to Switzerland for a medical school course, so I'm not sure whether the spot is geographical or anatomical. I hope my words did SuperHose no injury... we haven't heard from him in a while.
Thank you, dear Old Patriot. Your good opinion is well worth having.
Barratry? Practicing law without a license?
That's one of the ones I was thinking of, gromky. Such a wonderful word, don't you think?
[Bangla Daily Star] Police and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in separate drives arrested two members of banned militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) from Joypurhat and Nilphamari districts on Friday and yesterday.
Rab arrested suspected JMB member M Masudur Rahman Ranu, 27, son of Mahfuzur Rahman, from his residence at Begungram village in Kalai upazila of Joypurhat yesterday, reports our staff correspondent from Rajshahi.
A team of Rab-5 from Joypurhat camp arrested Ranu, wanted in a case filed in connection with Khetlal Police Station attack in 2003, from his house at about 9:30 am, said a Rab press release.
Our Nilphamari correspondent adds: Police arrested JMB member Azizul Islam, 35, son of late Muhammed Shamsuddin, from his residence at Purbo Khutamara village in Jaldhaka upazila on Friday.
Superintendent of Police Golam Rasul at a press briefing yesterday said Azizul Islam is a 'Gaeri Ehsar' member of JMB and he went into hiding after the countrywide serial bombings in 2005.
During primary interrogation, Aziz told police that he along with 15 other people was provided arms training by executed JMB leader Khalid Saifullah at a Teesta shoal (Char Bharat) in 2003.
He returned home on Friday morning and on information police arrested him after Jumma prayer.
Officer-in-Charge of Jaldhaka Police Station Arman Hossain told newsmen that police produced Aziz before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court yesterday and sought seven days remand but the court granted five days' remand.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/27/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh
A federal judge has ordered the release of a Kuwaiti man held at Guantanamo Bay and rebuked the US government for relying on scant evidence, uncredible witnesses and coerced confessions to hold him for more than seven years.
In an opinion declassified on Friday, US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said government attorneys presented a "surprisingly bare" record during four days of classified hearings last month to oppose Fouad Al Rabiah's request for release from the US naval detention facility in Cuba. She said the aviation engineer is being held almost exclusively on confessions obtained through abusive techniques, and his own interrogators repeatedly concluded they were not believable.
"Incredibly, these are the confessions that the government has asked the court to accept as truthful in this case," Kollar-Kotelly wrote in a 65-page opinion that was partially redacted to remove classified material. She called the coerced confessions "entirely incredible" and said they "defy belief".
"If there exists a basis for Al Rabiah's indefinite detention, it most certainly has not been presented to this court," she found.
Al Rabiah is the 30th Guantanamo detainee to be ordered released by federal judges after they reviewed evidence justifying detention. Seven detainees have been denied bids for freedom after judges determined the evidence suggested they supported terrorism. Some detainees who have won their freedom from judges remain at Guantanamo because no other country is willing to accept them. Al Rabiah's attorney David Cynamon said Kuwait has said it would allow him to return home, and he will be pushing aggressively for quick release.
"This case exemplifies everything that is wrong with Guantanamo," Cynamon said. "He's a completely innocent man and they torture him into confessing, right out of the North Korean and communist Chinese play book. It turns your stomach." The Justice Department would not comment on the judge's opinion.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/27/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
#1
would someone with knowledge opine on this ruling and/or the judge in particular. my only exposure to the judge was via the Microsoft anti-trust case. Would appreciate a quick lesson by the professors of Rantburg U.
Posted by: abu do you love ||
09/27/2009 2:07 Comments ||
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Two suicide attackers on Saturday separately rammed their explosives-laden vehicles into a police station in Bannu and a military-owned commercial bank in Peshawar cantonment, killing at least 23 people and injuring around another 200, officials said.
At least 10 people were killed in the attack in Peshawar, while seven, including two policemen, were killed in the assault on the Bannu police station. But a police official in Bannu said 13 people had been killed.
Authorities said the death toll could rise as many among the injured were in critical condition. Around 94 people were injured in Peshawar and 64, including 31 policemen, Bannu.
NWFP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar joined President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in condemning the blast, calling the attacks "acts of desperate terrorists".
Witnesses said police arrested two suspicious men from the site of Peshawar blast, which occurred some 300 metres away from the headquarters of the 11 Corps and the US Consulate in the high-security zone.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the Bannu attack and threatened to unleash bigger attacks on the government to avenge the killing of their leader Baitullah Mehsud in a US drone attack last month, AFP reported.
"It was a car suicide blast and according to our calculations 100 kilogrammes of explosives were used," Shafqat Malik, bomb disposal squad chief, told reporters at the scene of the Peshawar attack.
"The suicide bomber sitting inside the car hurled a grenade and then he detonated himself and the car," Malik said, describing the target as a branch of a bank run by an army welfare trust.
TV footage showed volunteers hauling the wounded on to the back of trucks as police tried to evacuate the area, with ambulances inching past onlookers as a young girl limped away with blood spattered on her green dress.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/27/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
I wonder if the Paks are finally beginning to get why the Afghans have been POed by the type of s%%t?
Four people, including two policemen, were on Saturday shot dead in various incidents of violence in Gilgit following a blast in a local bookshop, officials said. They said the explosives were placed in a bookstore in a busy market in Gilgit and the explosion killed one and injured four people. Following the blast, enraged protestors started pelting shops with stones and one of the groups clashed with the police as well, in which Superintendent Ali Sher was shot dead. A police official was also killed when protesters fired at a police van. Police said a 15-year-old boy, Kamran Hussain, was also shot dead in clashes. Rangers and police have stepped up security and increased patrolling.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/27/2009 00:00 ||
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The government has announced Rs 13 million as head money for five most-wanted Taliban commanders in Khyber Agency, including Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) founder Mangal Bagh Afridi. According to a private TV channel, Rs 5 million was fixed for Mangal Bagh, Rs 2 million each for LI commanders Saifoor and Adnan and Rs 2 million each for commanders Nazeer and Wahid of Darra Adam Khel.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/27/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
how much scratch is that in 'real money'?
Posted by: abu do you love ||
09/27/2009 2:08 Comments ||
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Twenty Taliban surrendered to the security forces on Saturday in various parts of Swat as military personnel conducted a search operation in the area, according to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations.
According to details, 10 Taliban surrendered to the forces at Bar Shaur, two at Shakardarra near Matta, seven at Gagra near Daggar, and one at Kankawe near Ambela.
The ISPR said search-and-clearance operations are still underway in Swat and Malakand division.
Meanwhile, the security forces discovered three tunnels and seized three solar battery chargers from the house of a suspected terrorist, Saiful Maluk, during a search operation at Balasur near Chuprial.
The forces also seized three cylinders from Mahak near Shah Dheri, each containing 20kg of explosives, and an air compressor with 200kg of explosives from a graveyard.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/27/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: TTP
#1
Were they all promised employment by the ISI?
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
09/27/2009 14:53 Comments ||
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#2
They've finaly learned "Surrender or Die" is NOT a joke.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/27/2009 21:50 Comments ||
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[Asharq al-Aswat] Iraqi authorities say they have captured two more fugitive inmates from a stunning jailbreak that included Al Qaeda linked prisoners sentenced to death.
A police official says the two men were tracked down Saturday near Tikrit, which is about 80 miles, or 130 kilometers, north of Baghdad.
They were caught not far from the prison where the breakout took place. Police say at least eight of the 16 fugitives have been recaptured since they climbed from a jail window late Wednesday.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/27/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Iraq
Ma'an -- Twelve people were injured when Israeli forces opened fire on a funeral on Saturday for three Palestinian fighters who were killed by an Israeli airstrike a day earlier, according to medical officials.
Dr Muawiya Hassanein, the director of Emergency Services in the Health Ministry in Gaza, said, "The Israeli military towers east of the eastern cemetery opened fire on citizens during the funeral of the martyrs."
Hassanein said that 12 mild to moderately injured people arrived at Ash-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City as a result of the Israeli fire. In the chaos after the shooting, another five people were wounded: three from Palestinian gunfire and two who fell to the ground while fleeing the area.
Three members of Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, were killed on Friday night when Israeli warplanes bombed a car that was traveling on Al-Jaru street east of Gaza City.
Thousands of Islamic Jihad supporters headed by senior leader Muhammad Al-Hindi participated in the funeral of the three men: Kamel Ad-Dahduh, Mahmoud Al-Banna, and Muhammad Marshoud.
The funeral began after the noon prayer at Al-Omari Mosque in Gaza Citry. Then Kamel Ad-Dahdouh's funeral procession began, heading to the cemetery in the Sheikh Radwan area, where the bodies of his father and three uncles are buried. A separate procession for Mahmoud Al-Banna and Mohammed Marshoud set off for the eastern cemetery.
Gunmen in the funeral procession fired in the air, expressing the deep outrage of the mourner, who shouted and called for Islamic Jihad to respond to the "crime" of the killings.
The Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad vowed, to avenge the deaths of its three members, and held the Israeli military responsible for a deteriorating situation in Gaza.
An Israeli military spokesperson said that a soldier "identified a group of Palestinians" approaching the border fence in the area, and then fired warning shots in the air.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/27/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
I'll bet they shot themselves. Or got shot by some terrorist hiding behind a rock trying to make the Israelis look good bad.
#2
how i wish the Israelis would napalm the funerals of these vermin. terrorists should have to be buried in secret... not in a heroic spectacle.
would go a long way to changing the hearts of the next generation, or at least partially chlorinate the gene pool of those most likely to 'follow in the footsteps' of terrorists
Posted by: abu do you love ||
09/27/2009 2:27 Comments ||
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#3
Gunmen in the funeral procession fired in the air,
Hint... Next time, use guns with no ammo, and just shout "bang bang bang" or "brakkka brakka brakka" while twitching the rifle as if recoiling, as you proceed to the funeral, rolling eyes and making faces, trying to look fierce and Holy.
It's the wise thing to do. And, if done in a very large group, it's also very funny, it so lightens up what would be otherwise a gloomy occasion... especially if a funeral member makes gross wet noises instead. Cheeky bastard.
#7
Thousands of Islamic Jihad supporters headed by senior leader Muhammad Al-Hindi participated in the funeral of the three men ...
In the chaos after the shooting, another five people were wounded: three from Palestinian gunfire ...
Gunmen in the funeral procession fired in the air ...
The more people in a huge, dense crowd and the more people shooting in the air, the more chance of their bullets hitting themselves - especially if they're shooting straight up in the air. So as usual - idiot palestinians shooting themselves. Works for me.
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.
[Iran Press TV Latest] The Yemeni Army has declared that its troops have killed 15 Houthi fighters in the mountainous northern regions of the country. 
[Bangla Daily Star] Three criminals were killed in 'shootouts' with law enforcers yesterday in the capital, Kushtia and Bagerhat. 
[Bangla Daily Star] Police and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in separate drives arrested two members of banned militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) from Joypurhat and Nilphamari districts on Friday and yesterday. 
A federal judge has ordered the release of a Kuwaiti man held at Guantanamo Bay and rebuked the US government for relying on scant evidence, uncredible witnesses and coerced confessions to hold him for more than seven years.
