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Area: WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Blast kills MP in Mogadishu, Militants claim responsibility
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
2 23:26 Anguper Hupomosing9418 [3] 
9 20:58 European Conservative [1] 
6 14:44 Elmemp Elmetle1651 [] 
5 17:29 chris [] 
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10 21:51 rammer [1] 
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2 08:51 trailing wife [] 
2 12:47 Angeamp Turkeyneck4941 [4] 
1 04:05 Besoeker [] 
Page 2: WoT Background
1 20:29 Frank G []
2 14:31 Frank G [1]
5 17:57 Besoeker [2]
3 12:08 trailing wife []
7 18:14 tipper []
3 13:41 Bright Pebbles [1]
2 12:59 Daffy Uneting6856 []
1 23:24 JosephMendiola [2]
3 12:36 Northern Cousin []
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1 23:04 JosephMendiola [1]
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6 00:01 Redneck Jim [1]
12 13:42 Frank G []
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1 11:57 Redneck Jim [1]
1 13:13 Daffy Uneting6856 []
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1 07:07 Dale []
1 13:35 Mullah Richard []
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1 11:39 Ebbang Uluque6305 [4]
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Page 3: Non-WoT
4 23:16 JosephMendiola [4]
3 21:35 trailing wife [1]
1 11:54 Redneck Jim []
4 23:58 crosspatch [1]
7 16:09 Secret Master [4]
3 10:14 mojo []
11 22:21 Nimble Spemble []
3 14:40 Pappy []
Page 4: Opinion
1 20:55 trailing wife [2]
3 23:44 JosephMendiola [4]
4 17:50 Pappy []
5 17:53 phil_b []
7 10:58 JohnQC []
Page 6: Politix
1 21:08 Procopius2k [3]
11 20:53 trailing wife [1]
Afghanistan
US Military has to fight to purchase lauded IED buster
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/17/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Palantir
Posted by: Slusosh Thrineck4715 || 07/17/2012 0:17 Comments || Top||

#2  At long last, a fraud revealed!

Palantir, an effective, relatively easy to learn COTS (Computers Off the Shelf) system is just part of the Army software (SW) contracting, and systems acquisition problem.

Background: Digital Common Ground System (DCGS) (pronounced Deesigs) is an all encompassing Army system of the mid to late 1990's. It was designed to bring together operations, logistics, medical, and intelligence into one central digitized software. One system, one answer...what could possibly go wrong?

The only real Army takers for DCGS was the intelligence community (forced upon them by the way) where DCGS hitched it's wagon to a highly successful existing program called the Joint Intelligence Operating Center-Iraq (JIOC-I). The JIOC was the brain child of BG Keith Alexandera, then commander of the US Army Intelligence and Security Command at Fort Belvoir, VA. JIOC-I enabled soldiers to access massive amounts of data from archived DB's in the forward areas called "brains". JIOC-I was a simple program that permitted the soldier to access a 'flat network' containing dozens of diverse, existing systems, such as the highly successful, easy to use legacy program 'Analyst Notebook (AnB). Log on one time, use anything, the soldier's dream. JIOC-I integrated integrated newly developed SW licensing agreements as is normally done everywhere. JIOC-I also came with highly trained contract mentors and former soldiers, Marines, Airmen who assisted the soldier at the tactical levels. The DCGS program at first embraced and integrated the mentor concept, but is now reducing the mentoring cadre dramatically.

DCGS has taken bits of other programs and integrated them into DCGS hybrid Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) promoted variant software. The rub came initially with the Palentir Software licensing costs which were seen as prohibitive. Palantir also created a problem by making other existing DCGS software redundant. Decisions were made by the Program Manager (PM) to NOT use the very popular Palantir or the legacy AnB, and to continue to steal bits from existing and new SW applications to morf and prop up the SAIC DCGS system.

DCGS quickly became and continues to be the bane of the Army analyst. As you might expect the outcry from the Army analyst was muted as he or she were told by Army leaders to forget about A&B and Palentir and drink the DCGS kool-Aid.

Worked for the Army, but not the USMC, SOF or Joint Community....who fortunately do NOT report to an Army program manager, his Army Pentagon bosses and funders or leaders.

This SW systems war is not just about Palantir, but proprietary systems and contracts in general. The controversy was a long time seeing the light of day, but it has finally been revealed. This is a fight I hope the Marines and our fine Army analysts win.

Hoorah Marines!










Posted by: Besoeker || 07/17/2012 3:10 Comments || Top||

#3  Republican States should buy Palantir to look at voter fraud patterns...
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 07/17/2012 5:01 Comments || Top||

#4  Democrats should buy Palantir to look for right wing extremists.
Posted by: bman || 07/17/2012 9:56 Comments || Top||

#5  Fred could buy Palantir to look for trolls...
Posted by: manversgwtw || 07/17/2012 10:51 Comments || Top||

#6  Palantir has quite a history and has quite a capability.
Bank of America and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce wanted Palantir to foil Wikileaks.  When that was exposed people were suspended at the company.  It's capability in regards to artificial intelligence is as stunning as Stuxnet.

Read more here.

Unencumbered by legacy software languages it most likely works in multi-threaded mode on the software side with up to 12 core processors on the hardware side. Current can connect to any database regardless of the manufacturer and schema that older, slower legacy systems can't without a lot of coding on the development side or environmental reconfiguration on the client in the field.

The end user is King. Listen to them. Always. "The more sweat you put into training and preparation, the less blood you loose on the battle field."
Posted by: wr || 07/17/2012 18:57 Comments || Top||

#7  Besoeker, I am very glad to hear that you appreciated AnB. I worked with the team that built and deployed portions of it. I agree it was a good system with the tools available at the time.

I don't agree though that DCGS is bad. It has some good features, but is hard to use and is not Palantir, which is sweet. Also, DCGS' bad features are certainly not due to the development contractor. To the extent that DCGS is bad, it is because the PM for it is making poor decisions for the user, and the contractor, SAIC, is obliged to make what they are contracted to build by the PM.
Posted by: rammer || 07/17/2012 20:04 Comments || Top||

#8  Palantir was built with money from In-Q-Tel (the IC's venture fund) as well as from Peter Thiel's VC fund. While it has significant visualization and other capabilities, it works best with very large amounts of data. The DSGS program on the other hand must serve, among others, tactical operations centers and other lower-echelon analysis groups which often have limited bandwidth in theater.

In addition, DSGS is aimed at more than human-centric analysis. It intends to fully integrate the INTs (imagery, signals, sensors etc.) as a first step to full fusion across C4ISR. The program managers therefore end up making decisions that de-optimize one task (IED intel analysis, for example) in order to try to move forward with the larger mission.

FWIW - and yes, I could criticize elements of DSGS-A with gusto. But I understand the PMO's challenges and having a publicity campaign pushing them to adopt the product of a well-funded and politically well-connected product doesn't make their job easier.
Posted by: lotp || 07/17/2012 21:15 Comments || Top||

#9  Palantir isn't compatible across the community and still can't handle large data sets. Like ANB, there are propietary issues between Palantir and ANB. To me it reminds me a bit of AxisPro and all that folks tried to incorporate with that SW. There were plenty of issues which stemmed from the "brains" when they were first deployed, but the concept is sound. Using SW to help sort out meaning from vast data sources. Even so, we still have fallen way short because the individual analyst is encumbered with sorting out data and doing a triage of unstructured and structured data... that's something Palantir and most other SW programs still can't resolve consistently with large, diverse data sets.
Posted by: Squinty Chaith8856 || 07/17/2012 21:25 Comments || Top||

#10  Well then, it is settled. I completely agree with the last couple comments; although, we would benefit from a clearer definition of terms like large data, which can't really turn up in this forum.

And having fought for better intel over many years, am also surprised by the wisdom and very careful consideration being applied to this topic here. Yet again, Rantburg U is delivering a masters thesis in the form of commentary.

PM DCGS ought to crowd-source his requirements and design alternatives in this forum prior to settling on a design solution for the next increment.
Posted by: rammer || 07/17/2012 21:51 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Blast kills MP in Mogadishu, Militants claim responsibility
(Sh. M. Network)- A politician in Somalia's Transitional Federal parliament was assassinated Sunday in a roadside kaboom in Mogadishu, the Islamist Orcs and similar vermin of Al shabab tied to Al Qaeda, grabbed credit for the attack.

Mohamud Abdi Ibrahim better known as (Garweyne), the victim who was also former minister for humanitarian affairs and trade for Somali government, has been killed a remote-controlled landmine that struck on his car in Mogadishu's Hamar-weyne district at about 10:30 a.m. local time, according to witnesses.

Two others sustained serious wounds in the attack and were rushed to a hospital for medical treatment.

"I saw in my eyes blood strained nearby walls and fleshy tissues of the MP remained in the vehicle which the politician himself was driving at a market in Hamarweyne district," a witness said.
Posted by: Fred || 07/17/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab


Two killed in Afgoye district, outskirts of Mogadishu
(Sh. M. Network)-Unknown gunnies are reportedly killed in Afgoye district, some 30 kilometers North West Mogadishu and controlled by Somali government forces.

Witnesses said the two who were a father and his son have been shot to death by gunnies dressed in government military uniform, who opened fire indiscriminately on a shopping center at Hiliwaley village in the town on Saturday night at around 8:00 p.m. local time.

"The gangs robbed the shop by taking away at least 8 million Somali shillings, after shooting the owners [father and his son]," said a local resident.

Somali security forces have sealed off the area and conducted a search operation, but no one was tossed in the slammer
Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out!
for the incident.
Posted by: Fred || 07/17/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab


Witnesses: Al shabab kills a boy in El Bur town, central Somalia
(Sh. M. Network)-Al Qaeda-affiliated Al shabab hard boyz have shot to death a young boy inside the rebel-held restive town of El Burin Galgadud region, central Somalia, reports said.

Farah Mohamed Wehliye, the victim was killed by the hard boyz on Saturday in connection with pro-Somali government Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a (ASWJ) and Æthiopian troops linking, according to the local residents.

"The boy murdered by Al shabab fighters aged between 20 and 23 and was the son of former DC," said a witness who spoke with Shabelle Media via phone under anonymity.

El Bur, which is located about 150 km south of the Æthiopian border, was captured by Al-Shabaab
... Harakat ash-Shabaab al-Mujahidin aka the Mujahideen Youth Movement. It was originally the youth movement of the Islamic Courts, now pretty much all of what's left of it. They are aligned with al-Qaeda but operate more like the Afghan or Pakistani Taliban...
fighters shortly after the allied forces from ASWJ and Æthiopian troops withdrew last month, saying they made "a tactical move'.

On Jun 10, 2012, Al-Shabaab, has captured El Bur town from allied forces of ASWJ and Æthiopian.
Posted by: Fred || 07/17/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab


Africa North
Bedouins free kidnapped US tourists in Egypt: Security Officials
[Al Ahram] Egyptian Bedouin rustics on Monday released two US tourists who had been held since Friday in the Sinai Peninsula, a security bigshot told AFP.

"The two have been released after successful negotiations with the Bedouins and they are now in the North Sinai security headquarters," the official said.

The negotiations were being mediated by Bedouin elders, the official said, but refused to elaborate on the terms of the deal.

The lead kidnapper, Germy Abu Masouh, kidnapped the two, an American man and a woman -- and their guide in Egypt's lawless Sinai on Friday, demanding the release of his uncle who is being held on drugs charges.

Bedouins living in the Sinai, where most of Egypt's luxury resorts are concentrated, had long been marginalised under the regime of Hosni Mubarak
...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011...
, and the security situation there has been tense since his ouster in February last year.
Posted by: Fred || 07/17/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Bedouins living in the Sinai... had long been marginalised under the regime of Hosni Mubarak.

So, abductions by Bedouins are a sign of their new found freedom?
Posted by: American Delight || 07/17/2012 6:50 Comments || Top||

#2  So, abductions by Bedouins are a sign of their new found freedom?

More like reverting to old habits, I'd think. In the Muslim world the guest is sacred...until he isn't any more.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/17/2012 8:51 Comments || Top||


Arabia
UAE arrests at least four Islamists after plot reports
[Al Ahram] [Al Ahram] United Arab Emirates has tossed in the slammer
Book 'im, Mahmoud!
at least four Emirati Islamists after saying it was investigating a foreign-linked group planning "crimes against the security of the state", relatives and activists said on Monday.
Family members said those tossed in the slammer
Book 'im, Mahmoud!
included Mohammed al-Mansouri, head of the Islamist group al-Islah (Reform), which has been the target of a crackdown in the UAE.

"My father was tossed in the clink
Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'!
this morning around 11:30 in the souk in (northern emirate) Ras al-Khaimah," said Mansouri's son Hassan, adding he did not know his father's current whereabouts.

Interior Ministry officials were not available for comment.

UAE, a major oil exporter, allows no organised political opposition. It has avoided the political unrest that has toppled four Arab heads of state since last year thanks in part to its cradle-to-grave welfare system.

But it has also moved swiftly against dissidents, stripping citizenship from Islamists whom it deemed a security threat and issuing jail sentences to activists who called for more power for the semi-elected advisory council.

Authorities remain concerned that the growing influence of Islamists in post-revolutionary Egypt and Tunisia could embolden Islamist groups at home.

On Sunday, the state news agency WAM said prosecutors had ordered the arrest of a group that aimed to commit crimes against state security and challenge the constitution. It said the group was "subordinate to foreign organizations and agendas".

The brother of Khaled al-Shiba, one of the men tossed in the clink
Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'!
following that announcement, said he believed his sibling had been targeted for his links to Islah, echoing the comments of others who said their relatives had been tossed in the slammer
Book 'im, Mahmoud!

The UAE last year stripped seven Islah members of their citizenship, saying they posed a threat to national security and were of non-Emirati origin.

Another of the tossed in the clink
Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'!
men, Abdul Rahman al-Hadidi, was questioned and tossed in the slammer
Book 'im, Mahmoud!

by security officials at Sharjah airport on Sunday night on his way to Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in their national face...
to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca, his wife told Rooters.

"We were going to the Umrah (pilgrimage) with our daughters and they stopped us at immigration. Then they took my husband and locked him inside a room and started questioning him," Hadidi's wife Badriya said by phone. "Then security officials confiscated his mobile phone and took him away."

Activist said Hadidi was involved with Islamist groups.

Rashed al-Shamsi, also affiliated with Islah, was tossed in the clink
Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'!
by security officers who searched his residence in Dubai early on Monday, a relative said.

Activists said as many as seven people with Islamist connections had been tossed in the clink
Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'!
since the WAM report. It was not clear whether all of those were UAE nationals.

Relatives of three other people said to have been tossed in the slammer
Book 'im, Mahmoud!
could not immediately be reached for comment.

The arrests are the latest in what activists describe as a crackdown on political opposition in general, and Islamists in particular. Some of the people tossed in the slammer
Book 'im, Mahmoud!
over the past year had demanded greater power for the Federal National Council.

Islamists in the UAE say their ideology is similar to that of the Moslem Brüderbund in Egypt but deny any organizational links.

Analysts say Islamists are aiming to tap into unease among UAE's largely conservative citizens at having become a minority in their own country, most of whose 8 million people are foreign workers.

The economic boom in Abu Dhabi and Dubai has given the seven-member UAE an average per capita annual income of $48,000, but has also brought what some see as unwelcome Western influence.
Posted by: Fred || 07/17/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Wonder if there are/were any ties to the UAE registered 'fishing boat' the USN shot up yesterday......
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 07/17/2012 2:15 Comments || Top||

#2  UAE are rarely targeted as they are known to fund extremists worldwide.
Posted by: Angeamp Turkeyneck4941 || 07/17/2012 12:47 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
2nd False Bomb Threat In Four Days Closes Detroit-Windsor Bridge
If anyone in the Detroit-Windsor, Canada area can find additional details, please post in the thread. Thank you.

--tw
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/17/2012 12:50 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  fwiw,

The Detroit-Windsor Bridge aka the Ambassador Bridge is privately owned. It is the most heavily used US/canada crossing. The State of MI and Province of Ontario are planning a new bridge and there is bad blood between the pro new bridge and anti new bridge factions as well as people who don't like the company that runs the Ambassador Bridge (same company has trucking company subsidiaries in both the US and Canada).

And the owner of the bridge and truck companies is an ethnic Arab (I think christian) who is disliked by many blacks in city government.
Posted by: lord garth || 07/17/2012 16:08 Comments || Top||

#2  From Detroit Free Press: Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and others pushing for a new international bridge across the Detroit River today pointed to Monday’s closure of the Ambassador Bridge after a bomb threat as one more reason to build the bridge. “It is absolutely the last refuge of scoundrels to try and capitalize on security for political gain. Unless they are now saying the … government bridge is bomb proof, the governor and Tom Shields are just being irresponsible,” said Mickey Blashfield, the existing bridge company’s director of government relations.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 07/17/2012 23:26 Comments || Top||


Needles found in airline food
Delta Air Lines Inc. is trying to figure out how needles got into turkey sandwiches on four flights from Amsterdam to the U.S.
Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three Four times is enemy action.
The airline says needles were found in six sandwiches on four flights on Sunday. Delta spokeswoman Kristin Baur says one passenger on a flight to Minneapolis was injured, but the passenger declined to get medical attention.
If this is indeed 'enemy action' the needles might have been contaminated. This passenger should reconsider and see a doctor.
The sandwiches were prepared in the kitchen of a catering company in Amsterdam, and some were served to business class passengers on Delta flights. After the needles were found, passengers got pizza instead.

Delta says security for its meal production has been increased and it is using more prepackaged food while the investigation continues. The needles were found on flights to Minneapolis, Atlanta, and Seattle.
For more details, courtesy of Besoeker, see here.
Posted by: Elmemp Elmetle1651 || 07/17/2012 07:39 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  As if we needed another reason NOT to eat airplane food. One can just about guess who might have been employed in those Dutch based American vendor kitchens. We've likely seen the last of those snacks. Eating food laced with needles and medical waste... so overrated.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/17/2012 8:55 Comments || Top||

#2  Father and son, on separate flights to MN and Atlanta, find needles and want to save it for a lawsuit??? Wouldn't be of the unnamed religion or CAIR, would they?
Posted by: OmuluqueHapsburg5085 || 07/17/2012 10:25 Comments || Top||

#3 
In a federal report on the incidents, it was noted that the teen was the son of a passenger aboard the flight to Minneapolis who also found a needle in his sandwich.


I read that as saying both were on the same flight. Seems a bit suspicious, but not impossible by any means.
Posted by: gorb || 07/17/2012 12:02 Comments || Top||

#4  Sounds like a Doper ib the Kitchen.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 07/17/2012 12:06 Comments || Top||

#5  For the cynical ones amongst us:

Additional needles were reported found on two other flights, one by a crew member and another by a federal air marshal.

If this is fake, it is pretty elaborate. Or someone really is putting needles in the sandwiches.
Posted by: Frozen Al || 07/17/2012 14:15 Comments || Top||

#6  Per the Yahoo report the teen was on a flight from Amsterdam to Atlanta. His father (or mother?) found a needle on a flight from Amsterdam to Minneapolis.

Another interesting point from the Yahoo link:
"The sandwiches were served to business class passengers, crew members and government employees flying from Amsterdam to the United States."

I wonder if these government employees might have been the specific target of this 'attack.'
Posted by: Elmemp Elmetle1651 || 07/17/2012 14:44 Comments || Top||


Judge delays Guantanamo hearing in Sept. 11 case to avoid Ramadan conflict
A U.S. military judge agreed Monday to postpone the next court hearings at the Guantanamo Bay prison for five men charged in the Sept. 11 attacks to avoid a conflict with the Muslim holy period of Ramadan.

The judge issued a short order postponing the next pretrial hearings at the U.S. base in Cuba until Aug. 22-26 at the request of all five defendants, said James Connell, a lawyer for one of the accused.

The hearings had been scheduled to run from Aug. 8-12, which fall during the last 10 days of Ramadan, a period in which devout Muslims fast during the day and pray during the night. That would make it difficult for the accused to participate in their defense, said Connell, a lawyer for Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali.

"It's very difficult to pay attention to sometimes intricate legal proceedings when you haven't had any sleep and you haven't had any food," Connell said.

The judge, Army Col. James Pohl, denied a defense request not to hold any future hearings in the case on Fridays, a day on which many Muslims do not work and his order does not mention what will happen if future hearings fall during the month of Ramadan. The judge did not explain his decisions in the brief ruling.
Is the military justice system this deferential to other religions?
Military prosecutors had opposed a defense motion to prohibit any hearings on Fridays or during Ramadan, saying to do so would eliminate about 20 percent of potential hearing dates from the calendar and make it difficult to schedule court sessions at the remote base.

The five defendants were arraigned at Guantanamo in May on charges that include murder and terrorism for their alleged roles aiding the Sept. 11 attacks, the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil. The defendants include Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who has told authorities that he was the mastermind of the plot, and all five could get the death penalty if convicted.

The judge will consider a number of procedural motions during the next round of pretrial hearings in the case. The actual trial is not expected to begin for at least a year.
Posted by: Beavis || 07/17/2012 05:58 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Prediction: Nothing will happen on any of this until after the election. The Champ wills it.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/17/2012 8:59 Comments || Top||

#2  Strange. The judicial system in Islamic countries doesn't stop working during Ramadan.

Btw the inmates could be considered as "travelers" who aren't bound by the rules of Ramadan.
Posted by: European Conservative || 07/17/2012 9:45 Comments || Top||

#3  What conflict? I don't give a good squat about Ramadamadingdong.
Posted by: mojo || 07/17/2012 10:11 Comments || Top||

#4  Sadly, newly castrated Judges rely on prescedent (president?) for career retention rather than creating new law for career advancement (or termination).
Posted by: Whavising Bluetooth1125 || 07/17/2012 12:45 Comments || Top||

#5  citizens here in the US don't get the treatment these pieces of shit get. Anyone ever seen a docu on guantanamo? they get better shit than any jail or prison here in the US.
Posted by: chris || 07/17/2012 17:29 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
KP Chief Minister escapes terrorist bid
PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti escaped a terrorist attack when police seized a truck laden with 200 kgs of explosive material and a huge cache of heavy weapons on Taal Road near Hangu, on Monday.

The chief minister was scheduled to pass through a rally in Hangu city. District Police Officer (DPO) Dr Mian Saeed Ahmed said that police intercepted a suspicious truck on Taal Road. The explosive-laden truck was seized in Dalaro area, on a tip-off, he added. The DPO has said that during search, police recovered several bags with heavy explosive material and other weapons.

Qaiser, resident of Bara Khyber Agency, along with another suspect has been arrested.
Posted by: Steve White || 07/17/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Four killed, one injured in Balochistan
Quiet day...
QUETTA: Four people were killed and a foreigner injured in separate incidents of firing in Balochistan, on Monday.

In the first incident, two people, identified as Elahi Bakhsh and Khudae Dad, were killed in Amiry area of Kalat, when armed clash erupted between two groups. Police shifted the deceased to a nearby state hospital for post-mortem and termed the incident a result of old enmity.

In the second incident, unidentified armed men opened fire in Sanjavi. As a result, one man sustained serious wounds and was rushed to the hospital for medical aid. Local administration said that the injured was identified as Tufiqur Rehman, who had come from Indonesia, accompanied by a religious congregation.

In another incident, a person identified as Nimatullah was shot dead in Chaman town near Afghan border. Levies Force has registered a case and started investigation.
Posted by: Steve White || 07/17/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Shin Bet Foils Terror Cell's Abduction Plot
Two Paleostinians indicted for attempting to kidnap IDF soldiers in hope of using them to prompt prisoner exchange deal that would see Fatah, PLFP leaders freed

Cleared for publication: The Shin Bet, in a joint operation with the police, has been successful in thwarting an abduction plot by a terror cell based in Hizma, a Paleostinian village just north of Jerusalem.
 
The cell's leader, Rajib Musa Salah Salah al-Din, has a known affiliation with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Paleostine
... Paleostinian Marxist movement, founded in 1967. It is considered a terrorist organization by more than 30 countries including the U.S., European Union, Australia, Canada, and Antarctica. The PFLP's stated goal is the establishment of a socialist State in Paleostine. They pioneered armed aircraft hijackings in the late 60s and early 70s...
(PFLP).

According to available information, the cell planned to abduct an IDF soldier, hold him in Hizma and then "trade" him to relatives of security prisoners held in Israel, to that they could use him as a bargaining chip in a prisoner exchange deal.
 
The conceived deal was to include former Fatah secretary general Marwan Barghouti and former PFLP leader Ahmed Saadat.
 
Two Paleostinians were placed in durance vile
Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit!
and indicted in connection to the case. The two, identified as Aladin and Natzif Said, face three counts of attempted abduction with aggravated circumstances.
 
The investigation derived that the three had attempted to carry out their nefarious plan within the West Bank on several occasions, but to no avail.
 
According to Shin Bet sources, the next stage of their plan was to try and lure a solider waiting in one of the bus stops between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to board their car. The unfortunate abductee would have then been smuggled into the West Bank.
 
Security sources added that the cell's scheme indicates that the PFLP is becoming more adamant to see its leader freed.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/17/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: PFLP


Southeast Asia
Weapons cache seized in southern Thailand
A large amount of firearms, ammunition and other items involved in terrorist insurgent attacks in the southernmost provinces of Thailand was seized at the home of a suspected terrorist insurgent in Narathiwat province.

Capt Somkiat Phonprayoon, commander of a special Marine unit, led some 100 military personnel to search seven locations in Narathiwat's Bacho district. He searched seven locations around a home of a suspected terrorist insurgent, identified as Eruwan Maseng, and found an M-16 assault rifle stolen from the military during a raid on Jan 4, 2004. The unit also found an HK 33 assault rifle, shotgun, communication radio, medical equipment, 12 mobile phones and many rounds of ammunition.

The search was initiated after a checkpoint was set up as part of stepped-up security measures for Ramadan. During the operation at one checkpoint, Mr Eruwan, 20, and Mr Mohamad Fa-Isya, 21, stopped their motorcycle immediately after seeing checkpoint, then abandoned their vehicle and a bag before fleeing into the woods.

The Marine found two ID cards and a 9 mm pistol, which led the forces to search seven locations near Mr Eruwan's home.
Posted by: ryuge || 07/17/2012 00:41 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Assad moving troops from Golan to Damascus: Israel
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has moved army forces from the Golan Heights area next to Israel toward Damascus and other internal conflict zones, the Israeli army intelligence chief said on Tuesday.

As fighting rages between Assad's forces and rebels trying to oust his government, he has moved troops from the Syrian side of the disengagement line that divides the Golan Heights between Syria and Israeli-held territory, he said.

"Assad has removed many of his forces that were in the Golan Heights to the areas of (internal) conflict," Major General Aviv Kochavi told MPs.

"He's not afraid of Israel at this point, but mainly wants to augment his forces around Damascus," Kochavi said in remarks relayed by a Knesset spokesman.

Fighting between Assad's forces and rebels trying to oust his government has raged in Damascus since Sunday, with some activists saying it marked a "turning point" in the 16-month revolt against the regime.

Syria remains formally at war with Israel, which captured part of the Golan Heights in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in 1981 in a move which the international community does not recognise.

But Kochavi said "the probability of a conflict between Israel and Syria as a last resort for Assad is low."

He warned that "radical Islam" was gaining ground in Syria, saying the country was undergoing a process of "Iraqisation," with militant and tribal factions controlling different sectors of the country.

"We can see an ongoing flow of Al-Qaeda and global jihad activists into Syria," he said.

And with the Assad regime weakening, "the Golan Heights could become an arena of activity against Israel, similar to the situation in Sinai, as a result of growing jihad movement in Syria."

Without committing to a time framework, Kochavi predicted that Assad "won't survive the upheaval," and said "Hezbollah and Iran are preparing for the day after Assad's fall."

Kochavi also said Israel was closely monitoring the "possibility that advanced and unconventional arms would reach terror groups."

Last month, Israel's deputy chief of the general staff, Major General Yair Naveh, said that Syria holds the "biggest chemical weapons arsenal in the world."

Posted by: tipper || 07/17/2012 12:06 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Where's that darned coin?
HEADS: Israel pushes the border and sets up logistics centers and artillery in prep for an advance.
TAILS: Israel remains 'aloof' while it's neighbor deals with issues of internal security hoping for a more moderate future government.
Posted by: Whavising Bluetooth1125 || 07/17/2012 12:41 Comments || Top||

#2  Tails... for now.
Posted by: newc || 07/17/2012 14:13 Comments || Top||


#4  There were reports that Syrian troops on the Golan Heights were also having logistics issues. Logistics issues means there will be morale issues.

Then again, if Assad decided to exercise the Syrian version of the Sampson option, it'd make sense to move intact military forces back to his areas of control.
Posted by: Pappy || 07/17/2012 14:29 Comments || Top||

#5  When a regime can't keep the road from the capital to the airport open, its game over for them.

Reports say this road has been cut.
Posted by: phil_b || 07/17/2012 17:27 Comments || Top||

#6  well there may be jihadis flowing in but that also means more of them will have their hands full killing each other off.
Posted by: chris || 07/17/2012 17:27 Comments || Top||

#7  HHHHMMMMM, HHHMMMM, an intehwesting development, + one which covertly has my nose all twitchy.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 07/17/2012 20:03 Comments || Top||

#8  If Assad's regime does fall due to the plans of the West - what is his last-ditch option? I'd say that he may be considering turning over some of his VX or Sarin gas warheads to the Al Qaeda jihadists. Think about it - it would be the ultimate revenge ... for him.
Posted by: Raider || 07/17/2012 20:21 Comments || Top||

#9  "he may be considering turning over some of his VX or Sarin gas warheads to the Al Qaeda jihadists"

By dumping them on jihadists? Now that could get interesting.
Posted by: European Conservative || 07/17/2012 20:58 Comments || Top||


Authorities Chase Terrorists in Naher Aisha Area, Inflict Heavy Losses on Them in Idleb,  Deir Ezzor, and Aleppo Countryside
(SANA) -- The authorities chased an armed terrorist group in Naher Aisha area in Damascus
...Home to a staggering array of terrorist organizations...
countryside on Monday. This group had fled al-Tadamon neighborhood on Sunday.

The authorities also clashed with armed terrorist group in al-Zyara area in Idleb.

A source at the province told SANA that the authorities destroyed two of the terrorists' cars and confiscated a third.

The source added that weapons and ammunition were seized from the car, and that scores of bad boyz were potted, among them terrorist Nidal Eido.

In Deir Ezzor, authorities clashed with an armed terrorist group in al-Ommal area in the city and inflicted heavy losses on it.

In Aleppo
...For centuries, Aleppo was Greater Syria's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third, after Constantinople and Cairo. Although relatively close to Damascus in distance, Aleppans regard Damascenes as country cousins...
countryside, the authorities confronted gunnies who had attacked al-Sfireh area, inflicting heavy losses on them while a number of gunnies fled.

Authorities Seize Car Containing Weapons and Grenades in Darayya

The authorities seized a stolen car abandoned by gun-hung tough guys on the Four Seasons road in Darayya area.

The car, a Hyundai Verna, contained two automatic rifles, 9 fully-loaded magazines, two grenades, and two Israeli-made bombs with remote detonators.

Authorities and Border Patrols Confront Terrorist in Idleb Countryside

The authorities and border patrols confronted a terrorist group in the village of Heir Jamous in Salkin area, Idleb countryside. This group was responsible for attacking border patrol stations in the aforementioned area.

The clash resulted in severe losses among the terrorists, while others fled into the mountains and woods near the Turkish borders.

In Aleppo countryside, the authorities in Jarablos area clashed with gun-hung tough guys who attacked the district administrative department, injuring a number of terrorists.

Meanwhile,
...back at the fist fight, Jake ducked another roundhouse, then parried with his left, then with his right, finally with his chin...
authorities destroyed a hideout for gun-hung tough guys in al-Sultaniah neighborhood in Homs, inflicted heavy losses on the gun-hung tough guys and seized their weapons.

Authorities Clash with an Armed Terrorist Group in Abil Town in Homs, Inflict Heavy Losses on them

Authorities clashed on Monday with an armed terrorist group that was firing randomly at citizens in Abil town in Homs province.

A source in the province told SANA news hound that festivities with the armed terrorist group resulted in inflicting heavy losses on the terrorists, arresting many of them and seizing their weapons.

The source pointed out that during the festivities a car came to support the terrorists, but the competent authorities destroyed it.
Posted by: Fred || 07/17/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Morocco expels Syrian ambassador
[Al Ahram] Morocco's Foreign Ministry said on Monday it had asked the Syrian ambassador to leave the country immediately and declared him persona non grata. There was no immediate comment from the Syrian embassy. Earlier in the day, a Syrian embassy official denied speculation that the ambassador had defected.
Posted by: Fred || 07/17/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  "If that plane leaves the ground and you're not on it, you'll regret it. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But soon and for the rest of your life."
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/17/2012 4:05 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Tue 2012-07-17
  Blast kills MP in Mogadishu, Militants claim responsibility
Mon 2012-07-16
  US Ship Fires on Boat off Dubai, 1 Dead
Sun 2012-07-15
  At Least 83 Killed across Syria
Sat 2012-07-14
  NDS Chief Among Bombing Victims at Afghan Wedding
Fri 2012-07-13
  Defected Syrian Ambassador Calls on Countrymen to Join Him
Thu 2012-07-12
  Sudan university students hold major protest: Witness
Wed 2012-07-11
  Al Qaeda suicide bomber attacks Yemen police academy
Tue 2012-07-10
  Gang Linked to Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel Busted in Arizona
Mon 2012-07-09
  Nigeria raids, reprisals kill 37
Sun 2012-07-08
  Annan Admits Syria Mission Failure
Sat 2012-07-07
  Violence Kills 55 in Syria amid 'Liberation' Demos
Fri 2012-07-06
  17 Drone-zapped in North Wazoo, 17!
Thu 2012-07-05
  15th Syrian General Defects to Turkey
Wed 2012-07-04
  Pakistan opens Nato routes after US apology
Tue 2012-07-03
  Car bomb kills at least 25 in Diwaniya


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