An Arabic TV station has aired video footage shot by al-Qaeda fighters which they say shows the gunning down of a US Chinook helicopter in Afghanistan.
The fighting led to the heaviest losses in the history of America's special operations Navy Seals.
The tape shows the identity card of a Navy Seal who died in the fighting as well as documents the fighters say they captured from an American computer.
The fighting took place in Kunar province in late June and July.
The tape, entitled "the war of the oppressed", was broadcast on the Al-Arabiya station. It shows three unidentified masked men speaking in the tape in English, French and Urdu.
The identity card of a US special forces operative, Danny Dietz, who was found dead in early July as part of a rescue operation in Kunar, is shown on the tape.
In the video, the militants claim to have captured a computer containing details of US military plans.
The US military said it had not yet seen a copy of the tape and would not comment at this point on whether it was authentic.
But in late June the US military had accepted that "hostile fire" might have been involved in bringing down the Chinook helicopter.
The Pentagon confirmed 16 personnel died in the Chinook crash.
The servicemen were on their way to join operations against militants.
At the time two separate Taleban spokesmen said there was a video of the crash.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/05/2005 11:32 ||
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Voice print analysis needed - compare to phone calls and get the perps.
Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, vowed Thursday to upgrade capabilities of the armed forces in the coming phase. Prince Sultan who is still the Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, said in a speech he delivered before the Saudi army command that his government will meet all people's demands and the armed forces would undergo a five-year term upgrading process. Meanwhile Saudi citizens including the regional governors and officials resumed for the second day running their visits to the palace of rule here pledging allegiance to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Will this also include lessons in surrounding suspected terrorists?
#4
I find this new situation in SA interesting. Traditionally, the Army, Air Force, and Navy (such as it is)have been under the Minister of Defense and Aviation. The counterbalancing, anti coup, forces, known as the White Army or the National Guard have been under the command of the Crown Prince. The latter forces are tribesmen loyal to the king.
So does King Abdullah relinquish the National Guard to Sultan while Sultan turns the defense forces over to a yet unnamed Minister of Defense?
It doesn't look that way when Sultan is out there pronouncing a new vision for the defense forces.
If a new minister of defense is named who will it be? Sultan's brother Rahman, the present deputy, or one of Sultan's sons?
#6
BigEd.... Flickr.com check it out..... cheap, fast and built in sizing or do your own H & W statement, I recommend it. There's a freebie that allows 10 meg upload a month.
Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Foreign Minister, has highlighted the significant role played by Late King Fahd bin Abdulaziz in the service of the Arab and Muslim causes as well as the international causes. Addressing a press conference here last night, Prince Saud said King Fahd had adopted a realistic oil policy for the service of both oil consumers and producers. He noted that the Kingdom's local and international polices would remain in line with the values and principles laid by Later King Fahd.
Prince Saud pointed out that the Custodian of the tow Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz would continue the polices of Late King Fahd.
Since they were his in the first place.
He underlined the importance of further developing of the country, adding that 'but development should be within the framework of the country's deep-rooted traditions and norms'. 'There will be no basic changes in the Kingdom's foreign policy', he said. On the Saudi-American relations, Prince Saud said 'they are excellent relations, and they will further improve'. 'In the Kingdom we are sure of the development of our institutions and of the existing confidence between the people and their leaders', he noted.
Meanwhile, Prince Saud denied the reports which said the Kingdom had received a request from the Mauritanian President, who had faced an attempt of military coup, for return to the Kingdom. Prince Saud highlighted the success attained by the Kingdom in fighting terrorism, and added 'this success is far more better than some politicians envisage in the us in this regard'. 'The Kingdom is determined not only to firmly confront terrorism at the military sphere, but also to tackle the roots and causes of this dangerous phenomenon', he elaborated. Citing the determination of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz to uproot terrorism, Prince Saud said the Saudi Government would tirelessly confront terrorists and their financiers and sympathizers.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2005 00:00 ||
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Terrorist attacks on civilians in the heart of London have long been considered inevitable by the UKâs police and intelligence services. For them, the London bombings represent the ultimate security nightmare: young men from Britainâs 1.6 million strong Muslim community willing to kill themselves and their fellow citizens in the country in which they were born. All but one of the men involved in the July 7 attacks were of Pakistani extraction, the other being a Muslim convert of Jamaican descent.
The West Yorkshire Scene
The bombers and their support network hailed from in and around the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire. Leeds lies at the heart of the industrial north of England and like many UK cities with an industrial past, has instituted regeneration programs over the last decade that, on the surface at least, have revitalized its image as a center of culture and business. However, within the Pakistani community â the cityâs largest minority group â in excess of 40% possess no qualifications and unemployment is double that of the white population. The city, with its population of 715,000, hosts more than 70 nationalities and one of its most culturally diverse communities is Beeston, an area in the southwest. [1] It is from there that western Europeâs first suicide attacks were planned.
Pakistanis constitute 11 per cent of Beestonâs population and are the largest non-white group in the area. The district is visibly deprived and has 7.8 per cent unemployment against a city average of 3.3%. [2] However, it is not a âsink estateâ but a working class district typical of northern Englandâs industrial cities, with its tight streets and rows of terraced redbrick houses. The area has three mosques, which attract worshippers from all over south Leeds. Beeston, and Leeds in general, has a history of peaceful cross-community relations. This stands in contrast to those in the nearby city of Bradford, and a number of other northern towns, which have experienced race riots involving disaffected Pakistani youths in recent years. The invasion of Iraq and the onset of the âwar against terrorismâ have challenged members of the wider Muslim community and their disparate and often divided leadership with fundamental questions concerning issues of identity, representation and religious interpretation.
The Terrorist Cell
Mohammed Siddique Khan, a mentor by profession, is regarded by the security services as the senior, dominant figure with operational command over the bombing team â a common attribute of terrorist cells. He was responsible for identifying, cultivating and supporting the three younger men. Khan also took charge of liaising with contacts outside the area and in Pakistan, including the alleged âmastermindâ. He was employed as a âlearning mentorâ at a local primary school between March 2001 and December 2004. Dedicated to his job, he was perceived as a father figure to the disenfranchised young men of Beeston. In a chance interview given to a national newspaper in 2003, he described with disdain how the deprivation in Beeston remained untouched by the city councilâs âregenerationâ strategy. [3]
The thirty-year old Khan lived with his pregnant wife and 18-month-old daughter and had studied at Leeds University. He had been off work on sick leave since September 2004 and resigned from his job last December. Khan had recently relocated from Beeston to Dewsbury, a small town near Leeds. [4] Back in February 2000, he established a gym with local government money under the rubric of the Kashmiri Welfare Association, which was associated with the Hardy Street mosque in Beeston. [5] The group aimed to keep youths off the streets by involving them in weightlifting. He continued his voluntary youth support activities following his appointment at the local school. However, in the past 18 months he was expelled from the mosque on suspicion of preaching extreme interpretations of Islam to young people. [6]
In 2004, he set up a second gymnasium on Lodge Lane in Beeston in the name of the youth program of the nearby Hamara Centre charitable foundation. [7] In the two months prior to the bombings, the building was closed for renovations, but locals have reported its continued use. All of the bombers are known to have frequented the Lodge Lane building. [8]
Shahzad Tanweer, 22, was a successful sportsman who received good grades at school before going on to study Sports Science at Leeds Metropolitan University. Son of a successful local businessman, Tanweerâs family was relatively prosperous and well respected, though he was effectively unemployed. [9] In November 2004, Tanweer and Mohammed Siddique Khan took the same flight to the Pakistani port city of Karachi. Tanweer had gone to the country, according to his uncle, to learn the Qurâan by heart. Their precise movements upon arrival cannot be confirmed, except that Tanweer traveled to his familyâs home village in rural Faisalabad and spent most of his two-month stay there. He studied the Qurâan in the local mosque and spent the majority of his time indoors as he did not feel welcomed as a Briton. His aunt confirmed that his only visitor during his stay was Khan. [10]
They flew back to the UK together in February of this year. At this stage, Tanweerâs relatives noted that he had become more religious; he now had a beard and prayed five times a day. According to his family, Tanweer despaired of UK policy in Kashmir, Iraq and Afghanistan, and he idolized Osama bin Laden. [11] Upon his return from Pakistan, he worked intermittently for his father and both he and Khan volunteered in an Islamic bookstore in Beeston, which also acted as a local drop-in center for youths. [12]
Eighteen-year-old Hasib Hussein left school in July 2003 after five yearâs education with no formal qualifications. [13] A keen sportsman, he was unemployed and frustrated by both his lack of options and local facilities to pursue his love of football. He smoked marijuana with his friends and got into occasional fights with white youths. Hussein had performed the Hajj and had become increasingly devout, but remained normal to his friends, although he had shaved his beard prior to the attacks â a common preparatory act amongst Islamists. His father, a devout Muslim who suffered from poor health and had been unable to hold down full-time work, had expressed concern at his relationship with Khan. [14]
Jamaican born 19-year-old carpet fitter Germaine Lindsay recently relocated to his English wifeâs hometown of Aylesbury in the south of England. He grew up in West Yorkshire, in the small working class town of Huddersfield, close to Leeds. Lindsay lacked a father figure and converted to Islam following his motherâs relationship with a Muslim. School friends portray him as an intelligent young man âfascinated by world affairs, religion and politicsâ who changed markedly after his conversion during the summer of his final year at school. Lindsayâs deepening religiosity became increasingly obvious: he studied Urdu, wanted to be known as Jamal, and condemned those who drank alcohol. His sister said that âhe was not my brother anymore.â Lindsayâs young wife, also a convert to Islam, was 8 months pregnant with their second child. [15]
A local politician stated that âwe know Lindsay used to travel, because the local mosques were too moderate for him.â Lindsay, who was a fitness fanatic, is believed to have met his fellow bombers while attending one of the gyms set up by Khan. Moreover, his best friend revealed that he âhad been going to a mosque in London and spoke of the teachings of someone down there.â [16]
Terror Connections
According to various reports, Khanâs name had emerged following a foiled plot to detonate a truck bomb in London in 2004. However, the intelligence services did not further investigate as he was only indirectly linked to one of the alleged plotters. In addition, Israeli reports have alleged that Khan spent a day in Israel in February 2003, leading to speculation that he was linked to the suicide attack perpetrated that April by two British born Pakistanis. An unnamed acquaintance of Khan told a local newspaper that he had traveled abroad frequently. [17]
Two other individuals linked with the investigation have been named as Haroon Rashid Aswad and Majdi al-Nashar, but their alleged roles remain unconfirmed. On July 21, it was reported and later denied that Aswad, 30, who was originally from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, had been arrested by Pakistani authorities in Islamabad. Police allege that he is the mastermind of the operation and is said to have made around 20 phone calls to the bombers Khan and Shehzad Tanweer in the months leading up to the attacks before flying out of London before July 7. [18] Aswadâs family stated that he had not lived in the family home, nor had they had contact with him, for around ten years. He is believed to reside in London. [19] One local press report said that he is a former aide to the radical London cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri. [20]
Egyptian national Majdi al-Nashar is linked to a flat in which the homemade explosives were manufactured. A devoted Muslim, he headed the Islamic Society at Leeds University, though one of its members said that he did not propagate extreme views. [21] The Islamist community in both Egypt and London also stated that they had never heard of him following his arrest in Cairo. [22] Although suspicion initially fell upon Al-Nashar, who was awarded a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Leeds University this year, he claims to have let the flat out to someone from London. This may have been Germaine Lindsay, whom he knew through attendance at a central mosque in Leeds, or Aswad, who local press allege visited the Yorkshire area after entering the country from abroad in the weeks before the attacks. [23]
Islamists and Counterterrorism
The attacks were claimed in two separate statements, one by the hitherto unknown Secret Group of Al-Qaeda of Jihad Organization in Europe and another by the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades, who have previously threatened European states. Occurring as they did on the day of the G8 summit, the bombers would have wanted to convey their fury at UK and U.S. policy in Iraq. This makes the first statement more credible. Yasser al-Sirri of the Islamic Observation Centre in London discredited this claim as âit contradicts the language and literature of al-Qaedaâ with its poor Arabic, misquotations of the Qurâan and its use of terminology. [24] Yet these very elements of the posting, which are usually written in the erudite Salafi-Jihadi language of al-Qaeda, indicate that even at the planning stage, and although there are connections with Pakistan, this was an all-British affair. On top of this, the claim stated that Britain is on fire in its ânorthern, southern, eastern and western quartersâ reflecting the bombers intended direction on the London Underground, before Hasib Hussein discovered the Northern Line was temporarily suspended and took a bus. [25]
The reaction to the blasts among the UKâs Islamist community has reflected the fact that the attacks will severely affect their future status in this country. Hizb ut-Tahrir condemned the bombings, as did Yasser al-Sirri, who stated that the goal was âillegitimateâ and that âGod says if anyone wants to do something [against a country] he must leave that country and fight them outside. He can go to Iraq and fight the American forces there, or British forces, but he shouldnât kill [British civilians].â [26] Other prominent London-based figures refrained from comment, though the website of Muhammad al-Massariâs Islamic Renewal Organization later posted one of the claims of responsibility and was promptly disrupted.
The only tacit endorsements came from Anjem Choudary, former UK secretary of the now defunct al-Muhajiroun â whose spiritual leader recently claimed that the âcovenant of securityâ between Islamists and the British state had expired â when he refused to condemn the attacks, and from Hani al-Sibaâi, Director of the Al-Maqrizi Centre for Historical Studies. Hani al-Sibaâi stated on al-Jazeera television that if al-Qaeda was responsible for the attacks, which he did not believe was the case, than âit would be a great victory for [al-Qaeda] and it would have rubbed the noses of the heads of eight countries [G-8] in the dirt.â [27]
The UKâs counter-terrorism policy is now under heightened scrutiny with demands for robust action. In response to the attacks, the government has announced an extra £10 million for the police, who will increase the number of Special Branch officers. MI5, the domestic intelligence service, had already been steadily increasing its numbers back to Cold War levels before the attacks and may receive an additional monetary injection, particularly following some well-calibrated comments to the press. It recently established a Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre to smooth cooperation between the different intelligence services after the debacle over intelligence related to the Iraq WMD claim. It is has also launched an Urdu language version of its website and, in recognition of the threat, is in the process of establishing eight regional offices, including one in Leeds, which it hopes will attract young Asian recruits. [28]
Current UK anti-terrorist legislation is already rigorous and controversially allows the detention of terrorism suspects without trial. High court judges regularly review such cases and suspects can now be released and made subject to âcontrol ordersâ that limit their movements and contacts. In the wake of the London attacks, a global list of terrorism suspects has been proposed and new counter-terrorism laws aimed at further squeezing the Islamist community in London and its communications network are being drawn up for fast-tracking in the upcoming parliamentary session.
Intelligence officials admit that they are at the same âlevel of penetrationâ amongst the Muslim community now as they were with the Irish republican community in the early 1970s, when the Provisional IRA acted with impunity. It took twenty years to effectively infiltrate the IRA, but that was a structured organization supported by a tiny community with distinct and realistic political goals. Now the potential pool of recruits is massive and the enemy is young British Muslim âclean skinsâ who are engaged in what appears to be a global struggle.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/05/2005 17:55 ||
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I was hoping for something short. Maybe tomorrow.
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/05/2005 22:04 Comments ||
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LONDON - Britain must withdraw its troops from Iraq in order to prevent further terrorist attacks, London Mayor Ken Livingstone wrote in a British newspaper on Thursday.
Britons need to support the police, treat Muslims with respect and pull out from Iraq to âmake us all saferâ; âAll are inter-relatedâ, Livingstone wrote in The Guardian daily. âAcceptance that the invasion of Iraq increased the likelihood of a terrorist attack on London now extends far beyond the usual suspects,â the anti-war left-winger wrote.
How about all the al-Q killing before Iraq?
âIf the invasion of Iraq had been justified, it would be possible to argue that we must bear the sacrifices necessary to achieve an outcome,â wrote Livingstone, who staunchly opposed the March 2003 US-led invasion.
Livingstone said Britons should also treat all members of the community equally to âshrink the pool of the alienatedâ that bombers draw upon. âThe reason the US is not able to stabilise Iraq is related to the same critical issue that affects policing in Britain: fanatical Islamofascists information,â he added.
He said Britainâs police forces would only be effective if they receive community cooperation. The mayor urged fellow anti-war campaigners to tell Londonâs communities to cooperate with police to catch terrorists. However, âthe quality of information the police get will be decisively affected by the degree to which communities are treated with respect,â he wrote.
So when you catch a jihadi and interrogate him, treat him respectfully. Giggle juice, for example.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/05/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Only a Lefty would argue that the USA and its Allies that appeasing and getting out of Muslim lands will stop the Burqua Boyz from working to accomplish their Global Islamist/Jihadist State, where Britain somehow does not fall under the definition or precept of "GLOBAL" or "GLOBAL STATE" * "I have a document signed by Mr. Hitler .... PEACE REIGNS IN OUR TIME"!?
#4
The family Every British solider who is injured or killed in Iraq can thank Red Ken for aiding in their loved ones death. Red Ken abettor of terrorism and islamo-fascist repression everywhere. I'd call him a pig, but that's a insult to swine.
#7
TGA - Yep, like most lefties in the UK, they've failed to realise they're under threat from an ideology akin to Nazism. I think we've shown the Muslim communities in the UK too much respect in recent years - the thanks we get? 7/7.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
08/05/2005 5:30 Comments ||
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#8
The speech of Livingstone and Galloway is that of the vilest treason against the west. How can any Englishman allow these pigs to continue to speak as they do while British soilders put their lives at risk to protect them? They have sided with those who would kill you as soon as look at you. Not one person seems to speak against them or even attempts to silence them. These two blame the the bombers victims for their own deaths.
The English are becoming unreliable. So be it if we have to go it alone. It's getting where I can't bear to even read the UK press since it's full of lies and propaganda. Shortly Livingstone will get his way and the UK will cut and run. Sad crap.
#10
Sock, I watched Tony Blair this morning and if his deeds match his words the Brits are taking a big step. They still have to overcome such nonsense as the directives for police when raiding Moslem homes but I'm not ready to write them off yet. We've got our share of surrender monkeys here, too. A reporter asked Blair to respond to Galloways attack on him and he refused. he said he wasn't going to get into a debate with Galloway because that is exactly waht he wanted and his statements didn't warrent a reply.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/05/2005 9:14 Comments ||
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#12
This reminds me of when Guliani said we should all grow beards, memorize the Koran, and changed the name from New York to Bin Laden City after 9/11, right? Oh, wait...
When's the next mayoral election in London? If you vote him back in, you deserve to get blown up.
#13
How about all the al-Q killing before Iraq?
How about the US financing Israeli terrorism for the last 50 years?
Ken's quite right in what he's written and as for the British being appeasers, I seem to remember that it was the USA that took nearly 3 years to join the fight against the Nazis and even then it was after both Germany and Japan declared war on them. Now that's real appeasement.
#14
Tell me again about the 1939 US-UK mutual defence treaty? But I do seem to remember a UK pledge to defend Poland. I also remember the French and British doing fuck all and sitting on their asses in France until the Germans drove panzers down their collective throats. And Socialtist trash like you in Britain were rooting for Stalin's buddy, Hitler, right up to the day German forces crossed Soviet lines.
Nothing ever changes with you narcissistic supporters of tyrants, except the name and flavor of the tyrany.
Posted by: ed ||
08/05/2005 10:25 Comments ||
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#15
On Sept 1st 1939 the Nazis invaded Poland, on Sept 3rd 1939, Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand declared war on Germany.
While you guys were wearing your yellow ribbons Britain and France were faced by the world's strongest military power, the Nazis were in much the same position as the USA are today, indeed there are many similarities not just Hitler/Bush.
I find it quite often Ed that Americans seem to have little factual knowledge of WW11, what they do have is based on what comes out of Hollywood. The USA of course continued to trade with the Nazis before and actually during the war. War for Americans even then was a matter of economics.
#16
Nice little European war you got yourselves in. Wasn't any US business. Tell me again how Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand came to the rescue of the Poles? Did one British soldier fight in defence of the Poles? Was one Wehrmacht soldier fired on in anger? Did your "antiwar" granddaddy also march in support of Hitler until Adolf broke the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact and drove for Moscow? Save me from your hypocracy. Chamberlain lied, Six million Poles died.
Posted by: ed ||
08/05/2005 10:52 Comments ||
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#17
Ms Thriper would be having to translate from German if it wasn't for the States' intervention in either World War - take your choice. Ken's an arse - inviting suicide bombers round for tea and now suggesting appeasement - I guess he's lost a whole lot of votes. I get the tube every day and won't be cowed by muslim scum.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
08/05/2005 11:02 Comments ||
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#18
We waited 2 days to declare war on Germany, your yellow bellies waited nearly 3 years. It was a world war, not restricted to Europe, even you should know that. What did you expect the British to do, march through Germany to get to Poland? I don't think I've ever heard anything quite as stupid in my life before.
Anyway if I continue to blow away your stupidity I will simply get censored from this extreme right wing board, so I leave the stage to you and your fantasies and ignorance.
#19
Finally, Ken would be or will be re-elected when the time comes round again, there's no doubt about that. British people are far more knowledgeable of world affairs than Americans and distrustful of Blair's collusion with dumbo Bush.
#20
How come Blair won the last election? You have a vote in this country and throwing bombs around where innocent people are concerned cannot be allowed to achieve any political outcome. Ken should be intelligent enough to realise this.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
08/05/2005 11:09 Comments ||
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#22
BFD. Your war, your neighborhood, your promises to come to the aid of allies. When did the mightiest forces in the world come to the rescue of Poland?
What the US should have learned from 1939 was that mutual defence treaties with Europe aren't worth the paper they are printed on. Never fear, this time Americans are paying attention. Be sure to count us out when the muslim conquest of Europe gets underway sometime between 2025 and 2035. I'm sure the Caliphate is counting on you to do what you always do, wait to be rolled over.
Posted by: ed ||
08/05/2005 11:13 Comments ||
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#23
Now-now, children.
Remember that the Hindenburg burned up because the USA refused to sell Helium to the Germans. When the war started, the USA said it would sell weapons to both sides on a "cash and carry" basis: you paid up front and used your own ships to transport it. While legally "equal," the facts of course were that the Allies could take advantage of this while the Germans couldn't. After the fall of France, British ships could be repaired in American shipyards. The USA had a "military exclusion zone" which we tried to patrol and keep all "belligerant submarines" out. Again, legally British submarines were equally forbidden, but who cared? Of course, there was FDR's Destroyers-for-bases deal, which didn't go through the Senate and thus was impeachment material.
Now, as for Poland, the problem was that way the German army did its waves, it was quicker to mobilize (plus, having started it, they had a head start). France did in fact launch an "attack" on the West Wall, but it was very timid. France did send a bomber unit to Poland, where it was destroyed in the fighting. Britain was far worse in preparedness and could only send 4-5 measely infantry divisions over to the continent. They bomb some German ships and tried a raid on Wilhelmshaven which got their bombers decimated.
#25
We should be getting equally PO'ed with the people of London for voting this guy into office. They got what they wanted.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
08/05/2005 12:05 Comments ||
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#26
In light of Fred's comments about this becoming a hate site I'd like to qualify what I said about muslim scum. I meant it in the same way as the Phalangists in Beirut who massacred Palestinians were Christian scum. Just like football hooligans are English scum. Ok? Got to stop poking trolls.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
08/05/2005 12:44 Comments ||
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#27
It was a world war, not restricted to Europe, even you should know that.
Can't argue with a professor of History. He's got us licked.
Posted by: Rafael ||
08/05/2005 13:33 Comments ||
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#28
SOB! Rafael you're right! He's talking about WW Deuce, The Big One! Dad's War. Has you know it was fought mainly in the Pacific North and NW of Australia, tho Ima told there was a bloody great battle along Queen St. in Auckland (that in New Zealand.... an island). The war ended almost 60 years ago to this date when Nixon dropped the bomb on Kent State.
#29
Blair can say all he wants to, he is a politician and gets paid for that. Facts are Livingstone is Mayor of a city of 7,421,209 souls (12,415,310 in the metropolitan area), those people elected and are happy to have him. To me London is England (screw this PC UK crap) If Englishmen are happy to have him that tells me where they are a a whole. It is ready to cut and run I say.
Call me when Blair tells Livingstone to shut up publicly. Tell me when someone punches Galloway in the face. If you think Britain is going to be with us in a year if it's needed good luck. As far as they are concerned we do it all wrong and are worse than the terrorists. Bush is more evil than Osama, read their press. Go to the BBC web site and read the comments left in their âHave Your Sayâ comments section. The comments reflect hate for the US as almost and subject they feature will have at least one comment blaming the US for the problem even if it's totally unrelated to the subject.
#30
So, thriper, we are cowards for not fighting your war for you any sooner? Tell me, then, what kept the Soviet Union from intervening against Hitler before he attacked them?
Oh, yeah, they were on his side, as were all of Red Ken's predecessors and their American counterparts.
For that matter, what kept Iraq and the Palestinian Arabs from joining the war?
In fact, they did, but on Hitler's side.
#31
"Anyway if I continue to blow away your stupidity I will simply get censored from this extreme right wing board, so I leave the stage to you and your fantasies and ignorance."
"Finally, Ken would be or will be re-elected when the time comes round again, there's no doubt about that. British people are far more knowledgeable of world affairs than Americans and distrustful of Blair's collusion with dumbo Bush."
Stupid authoritarian nationalist thriper.
These national socialist media slaves have no idea how backward and laughable their clairvoyant pronouncements sound to us.
#32
It's ironic that today's peace movement, represented here by the cowardly clairvoyant thriper, would fault us for a situation to which their direct, lineal predecessors, the peace movement of the 1930s contributed.
In the 1960s, the US guaranteed the independence of South Vietnam, as Britain did that of Poland in 1939. Where did that get us with the Brit left?
These vermin will be extinct by the time this war is over, it cannot end any other way.
#33
I'm gratified to hear you say that, AC. I consider the internal "ists" to be far more dangerous than the external threat posed by the sum of Islamofascists. We cannot be defeated. Wounded, yes, but not defeated. The true danger we face is surrender. I would welcome our Second Civil War - and to be utterly blunt, the sooner the better. What is being wasted, from limited time to lost focus to precious resources, dithering with these insane elements, simply boggles. The distractions retard the process of coalescing on important issues, such as border security. It will probably lead to our being hit, again. Were that not the case, just imagine what we could accomplish sans that 25% hardcore Moonbat segment and their Soros-type money-men scamming the 20% that are gullible, but well-intentioned... No Pelosis or Kennedys or Leahys or Dodds or Rangels or Voinovichs or Moores or KosKiddies... I do not pretend to know what will happen elsewhere, but I hope the moment of truth arrives soon here.
#34
#25 - but the buses run on time CAN'T YOU SEE THAT? Allahu Akbar.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
08/05/2005 18:57 Comments ||
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#35
Back in #13, I suspected Ebbuse Thriper9740 was trolling, so to speak, and thus fit the definition of the Norwegian creature living under the bridge and collecting tribute from the Billy Goats Gruff.
Goodbye, Ebbuse Thriper9740!
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/05/2005 22:10 Comments ||
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#36
what's up with these trolls and never-heard-of-before-posters who have been coming in here and purposely try to find issues between American and Britian? They've been at it for a week now. First one tried to get it going with the American Revolution and since that effort bombed, another effort was made and now another. Maybe we should all just start messing with our little divide and conquerer's mind. I know that I for one am still smoldering over the British policy of taxation without representation!
#37
or maybe it's Zang F in drag, still grinding his axe?? Or maybe not. Anyhoo...next time someone starts one of this intentionally inflamitory threads - I say everyone just either ignore or write jibberish answers to take the fun out of it.
The State Department says it has found ''mounting evidence'' that Venezuela is using its oil wealth to fund ''anti-democratic groups'' in Bolivia, Ecuador and elsewhere as part of a plan to destabilize the region.
The allegation is contained in a July 27 letter from the department's top congressional affairs official, Matthew Reynolds, to Rep. Ileana Ros Lehtinen of Florida, a member of the House International Relations Committee.
The letter was perhaps the clearest expression of administration concerns about the activities of Venezuela's leftist government in the Andean region. It said the State Department is troubled by the close relationship between the governments of Venezuela and Cuba.
''Cuba has a 46-year record of fostering instability and thwarting democracy at home and abroad,'' Reynolds said.
He also noted that the administration is worried about Venezuela's program to purchase arms and military equipment, including 100,000 Kalashnikov rifles and military helicopters from Russia and maritime patrol aircraft and vessels from Spain.
Asked about the letter by reporters at a briefing, State Department acting spokesman Tom Casey said he stands by the letter but he declined to cite evidence to back up the charges.
''I think if you look at the public actions Venezuela has taken, some of its efforts to use revenues that it's gotten through its oil industry to exercise influence or gain influence over some of its neighbors, you have at least some idea of some of the issues that have concerned us,'' Casey said.
Venezuelan Ambassador Bernardo Alvarez rejected the State Department allegations against his government.
''There is no evidence whatsoever,'' he said. ''We have good relations with all of the countries of the region,'' he added, mentioning Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil and the Caribbean.
''We are using energy as way of promoting real integration of the continent,'' he said. He added that Venezuela is striving for a more balanced relationship between Latin America and the United States to replace the ''hegemonic'' concepts associated with the Monroe Doctrine of 1823.
Casey said another source of U.S. concern about Venezuela is the ability of Colombia's largest leftist rebel group, the FARC, to operate on Venezuelan soil.
He also complained about the ''lack of controls'' in the border area and called attention to the weapons that find their way ''through illicit means'' into ``the hands of Colombian terrorist groups.''
Reynolds sent the July letter to Ros-Lehtinen in response to a letter she wrote to his office that she said was prompted by expressions of concern by constituents about Venezuelan activities.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/05/2005 11:45 ||
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I think "Hugo the Magnificent" should suffer an "unfortunate" accident...
Hugo Chávez is spending some of his country's oil windfall on buying support abroad. How much of a return is he getting?
WITH a swipe at American âimperialismâ and reports on social problems in Latin America, a new regional television channel began pilot transmissions on July 24th. Telesur, backed by the governments of Argentina, Cuba, Uruguay and Venezuela, bills itself as a home-grown answer to CNN that will let Latin Americans see themselves âthrough their own eyesâ. But 70% of the channel's $10m start-up cost comes from Venezuela's government. To many, Telesur looks like propaganda for Hugo Chávez, Venezuela's president, and his âBolivarianâ revolution, named for South America's independence hero but of increasingly communist socialist bent.
Predictably enough, at the urging of Connie Mack, a Florida Republican, the United States' House of Representatives greeted Telesur by approving an amendment to the Foreign Appropriations Act calling for rival propaganda broadcasts. That allowed Mr Chávez to gloat that by getting his channel on air he had âscored the first goalâ against George Bush. Telesur comes on the heels of other initiatives in which Mr Chávez is using some of his country's windfall oil revenues to procure friends and influence abroad, especially in Latin America. Thus, Venezuela has bought $538m of Argentine debt. It is talking about doing the same for Ecuador's new populist government. Venezuela has also promised to build houses in Cuba and to finance co-operatives in Argentina.
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Posted by: Steve White ||
08/05/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Hugo, Hugo, Hugo - what will Chelsea Clinton, Shannon, and Penn State, etc. say iff they knew!?
Hugey, Hugey, don'y let another Marriot betray its bananas?
#2
LOL, the first post where Joseph Mendiola didn't use mostly capital-letters!
But nonetheless, what do you all deem better - letting them rot away internally, or taking a wrecking ball to the problem and hoping that gringo-hating (I'm a banana, but would they know the difference or care?) doesn't actually slow the rot?
Posted by: Edward Yee ||
08/05/2005 9:14 Comments ||
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#3
EY: But nonetheless, what do you all deem better - letting them rot away internally, or taking a wrecking ball to the problem and hoping that gringo-hating (I'm a banana, but would they know the difference or care?) doesn't actually slow the rot?
To Latin Americans, *all* Americans are gringos, including the diplomats of Hispanic descent that we send out there.
#4
Let 'em rot or ripen, who cares? They will all turn on us, especially the Mexicans. So just keep some one covering the 6.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/05/2005 10:12 Comments ||
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#5
If pouring money down the sinkhole that is Cuba constitutes a diplomatic victory for Senor Chavez, we should encourage many more such triumphs for him. Just because you don't believe in profit/loss statements doesn't mean you aren't rocketing to bankruptcy.
Once oil drops below $40/barrel, Hugo will be hanging from the nearest lamp post.
#9
Pretty easy to understand if you weren't thinking in a linerar 1990 SEC Fashion. Joesph M. ain't talking about Auburn, this is like RealPolitik, I'm gonna call it RealFootaball. Come to Columbia and buy a visor.
Posted by: The Ole Ball Coach ||
08/05/2005 16:32 Comments ||
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BAKU: Azerbaijan does not plan to take part in a US military campaign against Iran or deploy US military bases on its territory, said Novruz Mamedov, the head of the country's presidential international affairs department, interfax reported on Thursday. "These rumours have nothing to do with the real state of affairs," Interfax quoted him as saying. Mamedov also dismissed rumours of Azerbaijan's involvement in a US campaign against Iran as "highly exaggerated". On Wednesday, the Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta had reported that Azerbaijan was close to agreement with Washington on the establishment of a US military presence following the eviction of American forces from Uzbekistan. The paper cited a source in the Azerbaijani security forces as saying that a team of US military instructors was already in the country looking at two possible sites for hosting the US military, one close to the capital Baku and the other close to the border with Iran. The former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan could represent a highly strategic location for US forces, in part because it borders Iran %u2013 one of the countries named by US President Bush in his first term as forming an "axis of evil", the Russian newspaper reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2005 00:00 ||
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A non-denial of US bases. Check out a map. With overflight rights from Georgia, and Armenia if required, guaranteed, Azerbaijan is a no-brainer for a base, and with Iraq makes Turkey irrelevant.
#2
Iran has been openly threatening grim death on the Azeris if they help the US in a war. So the US would both have to promise them a *lot* of remuneration *and* protection from any Iranian counterattack, mostly missiles.
MADRID - Investigators believe the masterminds of last yearâs Madrid train bombings set the date for their attack one day after Osama bin Laden threatened Spain and other foreign nations with troops in Iraq, a newspaper report said on Friday. The Al Qaeda chief, in a video that aired Oct. 18, 2003, warned of attacks on US allies that had dispatched troops to Iraq, including Britain, Australia and Spain.
The next day, a key suspect in the Madrid bombings purchased a cell phone in Belgium under a false name, and as a birth date gave March 11, 1921, El Pais said, citing a confidential police report to the judge investigating the attacks that killed 191 people.
So following Binny's threat, he purchased a phone. On that evidence you conclude they decided right then to begin planning the attack? And 3/11/1921 has what signifigance, exactly?
Police also believe the bombers chose that date to influence Spanish general elections - which were expected in March 2004 - and because March 11, 2004, was exactly 2 1/2 years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, the report said.
1921 = 2 1/2. I guess that makes some sense. Or not.
âIt thus seems the perpetrators considered themselves heirsâ to Sept. 11, the police report said.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/05/2005 10:36 ||
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3/11 = 911 days after 9/11.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/05/2005 11:23 Comments ||
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Math was always my worst subject.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/05/2005 11:32 Comments ||
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#3
Ah, the beauty of numeromancy: you can always twist digits until the desired pattern emerges. Similar to a good conspiracy theory.
Or we'll huff...and we'll puff...
TEHRAN/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Have they finally surrendered and made it official?
The European Union on Friday insisted Iran give up nuclear fuel work and called an urgent meeting of the U.N. nuclear watchdog that could refer Tehran to the U.N. Security Council for sanctions. You'll get it now, smart guy!
But a senior Iranian nuclear negotiator said the Islamic Republic would resume work at a nuclear fuel plant regardless of EU proposals for political and economic incentives that offered support for the building of nuclear power stations. "As Iran will have an assured supply of fuel over the coming years, it will be able to provide the confidence needed by making a binding commitment not to pursue fuel cycle activities other than the construction and operation of light water power and research reactors," said a copy of a summary of the proposals obtained by Reuters. How you say, "Take a friggin hike", yes?
The EU -- represented by Britain, France and Germany -- has been trying to find a compromise for two years between the United States and Iran. Washington says Iran is trying to build covertly a nuclear bomb, but Tehran denies the charge and says it has the right to convert and enrich uranium for power generation. No, no, no. We need it for...those glow in the dark wrist watches! Yes! That's the ticket!
The ambassadors of the Britain, France and Germany presented the EU's proposals to 15 top Iranian officials on Friday. "This proposal is not definite. It is negotiable and expandable," two sources present at the meeting quoted one of the ambassadors as saying. "The only item which is definite, is the one which asserts that the EU3 considers no difference between enrichment and uranium conversion activities." Make us an offer. I wanna sell you this car! "LISTEN TO REASON" Which, I believe, is the diplomatic equivalent of "pretty please".
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy called on Iran to "listen to reason." If Iran resumed its nuclear activities, "the international community will surely bring the issue to the Security Council," he told Europe 1 radio. Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooh...
The trio of European Union countries are also planning to call a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) -- the U.N. nuclear watchdog -- early next week to warn Tehran against restarting the sensitive nuclear work, diplomats said. We're warnin' yas!
The IAEA can refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council where the United States says Tehran should face sanctions. We really mean it!
"The Europeans, the Americans and the whole world should know that however many bribes they give, on no condition will Iran abandon its rights, we have definitely made our decisions and whatever they do it will be harmful for them," Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati told Tehran Friday prayers. Then it's time to start tweaking those target profiles.
Iranian officials said the EU offer included backing for Iran to be the main route for oil and gas exports from Central Asia, allowing Western companies to build nuclear power plants in Iran and closer political and security ties. Iran says it needs nuclear power stations to meet booming electricity demand. The EU3 offer of power stations could help Iran to meet that demand without having to process its own nuclear fuel -- which could be used to make a bomb. Isn't it about time that these idiots finally realize that the Iranians will not deal? They want the bomb, they will get the bomb. Unless they're stopped by force.
I do not know well the "Ni putes ni soumises" (I know very little overall), but I have the impression it is less a grassroots movement than a satelite of the french socialist party, like some more (sos racisme) or less (stop la violence) successful predecessors. IMHO one of their biggest flaws is that they don't explicitely acknowledge the weight of traditional islam, nor do they always denounce the "homeboy/yob" culture (as seen in one of their leaders defending the "Sniper" rap band and its declaration of war to France and anti-white prejudice), they seem more stepped into sociological explanations.
Still, it is quite good to have positive forces on that cultural battlefield, but I doubt they're ultimately much representative of anything.
Young Muslim women in the working class suburbs of France have two choices: slut or servant. Fadela Amara is trying to offer them a third option: respect. By Rebecca Hillauer
Fadela Amara has a mission. One sees it in the intensity of her eyes and feels it in the passion of her speech. A good two years ago, the daughter of an Algerian immigrant family in Paris, she founded the organisation "Ni putes ni soumises". This is also the title of her book, which won the "Prix du Livre Politique" of the French national assembly last year. In the book, Fadela Amara tells in a simple and direct style the story of her fight against the growing violence and social disintegration in France's suburbs.
Reading Amara's book, one understands quickly the gravity of the situation. On October 4, 2002 in Vitry-sur-Seine, a satellite town of Paris, 18 year old Sohane Benziane, the daughter of Kabyle immigrants, was burned alive. The perpetrators were two men her age of North African descent. They lured the girl, who refused to submit to the "norms of the neighbourhood", into a cellar. While one kept watch outside, the other poured gas over Sohane and set her on fire with a lighter.
This horrible deed was a catalyst for Fadela Amara. A few days later, she along with 2000 other men and women took part in a silent march. Then she organised gatherings at which girls and women could speak openly about violence in their districts. In February 2003 she initiated a "March of Women from the Suburbs". It went through a total of 23 cities and drew the nation's attention to the particular repression of the "girls of the city". Today "Ni putes ni soumises" has more than 6000 members and 60 local committees. The organisation encourages young women and men in the suburbs to act against ghettoisation and the suppression of women, and to support equal opportunity and rights. Fadela Amara wants to break the law of silence which has masked the violence of the suburbs, mafia-style.
The petite woman with the narrow face and the little pig-tail grew up in a suburban housing development in Clermont-Ferrand, a working class city in the South. "We thought at the time that the French republic was going to give us immigrant children a chance as well." Freedom, equality, fraternity â France's founding principles â are still seminal terms for the 40 year old. Like many daughters of immigrant parents, she didn't enjoy equal rights as she grew up in the 1980s either, but the common commitment to anti-racism movement brought the sexes closer together. The number of forced marriages decreased and the number of female Muslim students increased. Since the economic crisis of the 1990s, however, the clocks have started ticking backwards again.
Fathers in immigrant families don't only lose their jobs when they're unemployed. They lose their authority in the family. This position is then occupied by their eldest sons who, although they may not be able to find legal employment, can provide for the family through their work in "parallel economies": car theft and drug dealing. With the authority they inherit, they are able to impose their conservative notions of religion and morality onto their social surroundings. Their spiritual nourishment comes from the Islamic fundamentalists, whose influence in the suburbs continues to rise.
For girls in the neighbourhood the message is: take on traditional female roles, dress chastely, don't go out and most importantly, remain a virgin until you marry. This unwritten law doesn't only apply to Muslim girls. The north African young men, although they constitute a minority, command the non-Islamic populations in the suburbs as well: African immigrants and lower class French.
In her book, Fadela Amara describes precisely what effect this moral pressure has on the girls. And how much courage they need to stand up to their moral guard dogs by wearing make-up, for example, or a skirt. In the suburbs, both represent an act of rebellion. Many girls dress intentionally unattractively or wear a veil, for fear of reprisals.
"The veil symbolises submission to male dominance," Fadela Amara explains. For this reason, she supports Chirac's hard line of banning the veil in schools. The veil says "I am not available" and should, in principle, buy the women some peace. But what results is a confirmation of the fatal alternative presented in the provocative name "Ni putes ni soumises"; either a woman gives in to her traditional role, or she is considered a whore and fair game.
A common punishment for girls who rebel, in the worst case, is the so-called "tournante" â gang rape. Samira Bellil was the first to describe this phenomena in her book "Dans l'enfer des tournantes" (in gang-rape hell). She had been the victim of three gang rapes before she found the courage, after psychotherapeutic treatment, to tell her story. Samira Bellil was also patron of "Ni putes ni soumises" until she died last year at 31 of stomach cancer. (Here an obituary from the Guardian.)
Bellil's book and Amara's activites have woken up politicians. In various cities, emergency hotlines and hostels have been set up for women and girls forced to flee their neighbourhoods. In police stations, specialised workers are being trained to deal with "migrants' problems". But Fadela Amara believes that these measures address only the symptoms of the grievances; to eliminate the roots of the problem, steps have to be taken against mass unemployment and the ghettoising of the suburbs. But the author does not hold political forces responsible. In her book, she is very critical of the way many immigrants bring up their children.
"In Muslim immigrant families, the sons are treated like kings. They are not just preferred over the girls, they are spoilt and coddled." The crux is that when these young men encounter resistance beyond the family for the first time - when they don't get into university or college, for example - they react helplessly and destructively. They compensate for their fury and inferiority complexes with machismo and violence against those who are socially and physically weaker â girls in particular.
"In the suburbs, sexual education takes place through porn videos â how can these boys not have a twisted image of women?" Amara asks. She demands better sexual education in schools. The boys should learn values: how to deal with the opposite sex respectfully. To this purpose, Amara published a "How to respect" guide that's designed to fit into a trouser pocket. Her colleagues take these into the schools and discuss with students their notions of marriage, virginity, forced marriage, circumcision, tenderness and love.
Amara emphasises that this is the difference between those who talk about cultural relativism and her organisation, which is aimed at achieving universal human rights. "An exaggerated tolerance of supposed cultural differences which results in the maintenance of archaic traditions - that's just not acceptable."
Fadela Amara: "Ni putes ni soumises". La Decouverte, Paris 2004. 168 pg., 6 Euros.
Samira Bellil: "Dans l'enfer des tournantes". Gallimard, Paris 2003. 280 pg., 3,50 Euros.
#1
The ghettoisation of french suburbs comes from the msulim community recoiling away from mainstream life. The french did not put them in a ghetto, they put them in a suburb that they made a ghetto by being obnoxious enough to drive out all other non-muslims in the area. As for the unemployment thing, 10% is standard throughout france, so live with it. And as for the gangrape thing, I just don't know what to say, sounds very muslim to me.
#2
Cultural relativism is just another name for bmlatanat racism who allows rich white men to ask for Brown living in poverty and terror while rich white women ask for Coloured women suffering genital mutilation. Of course all of them, the coloured that is, as far as possible of the Chosen Ones (the white progressives).
#4
And here we go again with the bleeding heart explanation: unemployment. The problem is not unemployment but culture. The truth is that the North African culture makes for a boy who is usually an abyssal student (from the mouth of maths teacher: in her class most 12 years old weren't able to deal with proportionality problems) and this because in their culture the male child is a spoiled brat: if his sister, even older sister, is using/eating something and he takes it from kim he is not punished. It is not even clear his mother has authority upon him. He is also told that he is superior to the kaffirs.
But our spoiled brat who at 12, was still unable to master proportionality grows to an unemployable adult. Unemployable due to ignorance but also unemployable because he doesn't recognize authority from kaffirs. Worse, he sees his sisters perform better than him at school (1) and on the job market and tghen he reacts with violence.
The error is not having broken this culture: previous generations were teached that we were all French with Gaul ancestors, even when the kid was from Polish origin or had a black skin. But then the multicultis came telling that this were perfectly valid cultures (so it was OK to keep it) , that the police should not go into their suburbs and that Crusades were a great crime and Jihad a reaction against it (2). That is how you ensure a generation will not integrate: you integrate when you think this will improve your status not when you think you will degrade to kaffir status.
(1) Despite the handicap of Islam. We are told that the first years four-five years are crucial in the development of intellect, these are "the mother years" and Islam tries hard to produce stupid and ignorant mothers
(2) It is not a fiction. The Bibliotheque Natiionale de France (the equivalent of the Library of Congress) prepared a dossier for kids where they asked to show that a Jihad was reaction to the Crusades. Preventive reaction I suppose.
#5
Thanks for posting that article. I've read it before, but it's good to be reminded that there are indeed Muslims who have learnt positive lessons from living in the West. There are our mythical moderate Muslims: they want the freedom to just be regular members of society, who happen to be of the Muslim faith. It is odd, and a reflection of the male-primacy society they want to escape, that only females seem to be joining this movement.
France late on Wednesday called for democracy and the "legal institutional framework" to be respected in oil-rich Mauritania after troops seized power in the northwest African country.
"Or else. Pretty please?"
The military coup happened while Mauritanian President Maaouyia Ould Taya was in Saudi Arabia for the funeral of King Fahd. France is following the situation "with concern", a statement by the foreign ministry spokesman said.
Concern, with a side of apprehension. And a quick riffle thru the talking points to see if this can be blamed on neocons.
France "recalls its position of principle which condemns any seizure of power by force and calls for respect of democracy and of the legal institutional framework", the statement said.
Horse. Barn door. Note to professional handwringers: Stagers of coups rarely respect the "legal institutional framework." Until it's time for the trial, at any rate.
#1
Sounds pretty boilerplate to me. What else would you expect them to say? Of course there must be some nuances: "with concern" probably means "Are you friendly?" while "with deep concern" would mean "You aren't getting the easy loan terms."
Posted by: James ||
08/05/2005 0:34 Comments ||
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Switzerland's supreme court on Thursday ordered the country's justice authorities to halt cooperation with a French probe linked to a half brother of Osama bin Laden, Yeslam Binladin.
Hey Switzerland, don't do us any more favors, ok? You've done enough already.
The Federal Tribunal upheld an appeal by two companies cited in the probe which had sought to block the handover of bank account details to French judge Renaud van Ruymbeke. Van Rumbeyke first opened an investigation in December 2001 into allegations that Binladin's companies handled terrorist funds. The companies, which were not named in the tribunal's ruling, had protested that they had not received an adequate explanation of why the French investigator wanted the details.
"Er, 'cos he's the half brother of Tommy Turban and the money trail has left a dreadful stench?"
Swiss prosecutors had declined to give the companies the information, saying they wanted to protect the private interests of Saudi-born Binladin, a naturalised Swiss citizen who is based in Geneva.
"Yasss...his personal assets must be protected at all costs. Or no retirement to Montreaux for me..."
In its ruling, the Federal Tribunal said this was not sufficient reason for withholding the information, and that the companies should be granted access to their files. Meanwhile, Swiss prosecutors should freeze their cooperation with the French investigation, the court said. Binladin was questioned by Van Ruymbeke in September 2004 as a witness, but has never been charged. He has consistently denied any involvement in money laundering, and has condemned his half brother's terrorist acts.
#1
funny how Switerland, once considered the most friendly and neutral little chocolate haven on earth has finally been exposed as probably the most vile den of vipers nests in the galaxy. Who me? Steal money from little ol' ladies as I smile and help them cross the street?
WASHINGTON â Neo-Nazi skinheads are working with radical Islamists in a growing unholy alliance that has European law enforcement officials concerned about a new front in the war on terrorism, reports Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, the premium, online intelligence newsletter published by the founder of WND.
Sources in the UK, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Italy, Switzerland and in the Middle East are warning that the world should not be surprised to see young, white males involved in terrorism and in league with Osama bin Laden.
Just a few years ago, Muslims represented one of the biggest harassment targets of neo-Nazi skinheads in Europe. But anti-Muslim hate crimes by skinheads have seen a dramatic drop-off â even as their movement takes on more visibility and bigger numbers.
"In business they ignore the race," said an Italian official.
Law enforcement officials fear skinheads and neo-Nazis could provide not just additional numbers to the Islamic terrorist cause but also some operatives who would defy profiling efforts.
Skinheads can easily cover their tattoos and wear respectable clothing to deceive police and immigration authorities, say police officials. An Italian police expert on gang activities said it is known skinheads travel as far as Australia, South Africa and the Indian sub-continent "at times looking like the boy next door or a student on vacation." He also revealed Italian agents are aware of a number of meetings between gang leaders, radical Islamic students and organized crime bosses.
The chilling possibility that Muslim terrorists and neo-Nazis may combine forces was raised as a distinct possibility by Israel's president last month.
On a visit to commemorate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Israel and Germany, Moshe Katsav declared, "Let us not be surprised if one day terror organizations use neo-Nazis to carry out terrorist attacks."
The majority of Muslims in Europe are law-abiding citizens, he added. But Muslim extremists may form alliances with neo-Nazis, he said.
What brings the groups together is a common enemy â Jews â and business interests, say law enforcement officials. Neo-Nazi skinheads are deeply involved in drug-running and human smuggling gangs â two areas of common interest with Islamists.
Long before Katsav warned about the links between the neo-Nazis and the jihadists, Germany's minister of the interior, Otto Schily, the Muslim Hizb ut-Tahir, or Party of Liberation, which had ties with the neo-Nazi National Democratic Party. Hizb ut-Tahir, an organization with acolytes in many European countries, wants to unite the Muslim world in a single theocratic state under a caliph, or supreme Muslim leader.
Schily banned the group in 2002 after accusing it of "spreading violent propaganda and anti-Jewish agitation" and after receiving reports its representatives had met with members of the National Democratic Party in 2001. Schily is now considering a ban on activities by Hezbollah members in Germany.
Three million or more Muslims live in Germany, comprising about 4 percent of its population.
There is also a community of 100,000 ethnic German converts to Islam. One of them, Steven Smyrek, was arrested and imprisoned in Israel some years ago on charges of being a Hezbollah agent. He was released in 2004 in an Israel-Hezbollah prisoner swap, and now lives in Germany as a free man.
The mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Mohammed Atta, lived and studied in Hamburg, a major port in northern Germany.
Twenty-five thousand to 30,000 Muslims in Germany are members of radical Islamic organizations, according to a ministry of interior official.
Meanwhile, neo-Nazi skinhead numbers are swelling throughout Europe.
As Swiss President Samuel Schmid stood on the Rutli Meadow last week commemorating the Swiss Federation, he was shocked by more than 700 skinheads and neo-Nazis wearing black T-shirts who stood facing him, waving their fists in a Nazi salute.
The number of militants amounted to more than one third of the people attending the event, twice the number registered in the 2004 celebrations. The skinheads, waving the Swiss national flag, were not shy about chanting slogans such as "Schmid is a traitor," and other slurs aimed at minorities, especially against refugees from the third world. As is their common routine they also voiced hate expressions against the U.S. and the Jews.
Schmid was openly shaken as he realized he would not be able to finish his speech. He later expressed his anger and suggested that radical changes in future public celebrations of national day events should be seriously considered.
G2 Bulletin reports it has learned from a reliable source the stunned president did not waste any time contacting members of cabinet and other officials, telling them to get their act together and put an end to what he described as "hoodlums taking over a national holiday."
In reality it was the 10th year in a row that the extremists have made the journey to the legendary meadow on the shores of Lake Lucerne, and their numbers have increased each year.
An analysis of the overall proliferation of skinhead movements that originated in the UK, where they first appeared as gangs in the '60s, shows the Swiss numbers probably represent only a small fraction of the total number. Overall figures of those directly involved with skinheads, who later also joined neo-Nazi and fascist movements is well over 150,000 worldwide.
An Interpol source said the skinheads are well-organized, citing a number of events this year including a mass gathering during a concert near Germany. At that event, French and German police tried to stop hundreds of French and Italian skinheads and neo-Nazis from crossing the border into Germany.
Other notable events this year were neo-Nazi gatherings in Germany including Berlin and neo-Nazi and skinheadsâ demonstrations in the Baltic States and Scandinavia. Skinheads and neo-Nazis are a growing menace in Poland and in parts of Russia where they are accused of having committed murders, arson attacks, robberies and of cooperating with organized crime elements.
Russian law enforcement agencies are witnessing constant clashes between skinhead gangs and the police and murders of foreigners.
A Swiss official with the federal police, reacting on the Rutli Meadow event, bitterly emphasized agents have to divert attention from pressing issues related to the global war on terrorism to monitor skinheads, neo-Nazis, bikers and other street gangs.
They need to recognize who is who in these radical movements and to prevent gangs from becoming hired guns or suppliers of forged documents, weapons and explosives later used against governments at war with jihadi Islam.
The danger posed by the skinhead-Islamist alliance is being compared with the fast-growing menace of Central American street gangs, such as the Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, who are now the largest and most dangerous criminal group in several Latin American countries and in the U.S. MS-13, too, has been known to meet with al-Qaida operatives and is believed to be involved in smuggling some into the U.S. across the Mexican border.
#6
I was just thinking of how remote the missile silos in NE Colorado are, operated out of Warren AFM in Wyoming, and how long before anyone would even notice sabotage in these unmanned sites. This article brought to mind the time we went to Yellowstone and I was poisoned by Skinheads in a Cheyenne BBQ. He definitely shot me a very evil glare and made my whole family uncomfortable. I was gripped with the most violent case of dysentary imaginable in the most desolate area of high desert imaginable and nothing but cactus in sight! A FOX report on McVeigh placed him at a Neo-Nazi camp in OK as well as with Iraqi asylum seekers before the bombing and his repeated phone calls to the Phillippines to a number associated with Abu Sayaf. I know everyone hates to say 'conspiracy' but that's more believable than to say the Clinton administration or the FBI didn't botch the OK City investigation. I hope they rethink about these base closings, such as Ellsworth.
#7
I one more thought. The Skinheads often work as roughnecks on the oil rigs out there. These guys are often offered big bucks to work in the ME, as local crews steal the rig blind and hold everything up until they get new tools in. They get great vacations but partying risks a stay in the local dungeon. They typically don't feed their prisoners, as the family is responsible, so fiercely independent Americans must really need a job to go to Libya. Besides sharing the same hate literature and conspiracy theories, this is another possible tie. The home-grown jihadis and even training camps wouldn't draw much notice out there. Look how long it took to find Ted Kaczinskey's cabin.
Confidential government assessments say that Al Qaeda remains intent on attacking targets in the United States, and suicide bombings are clearly "a preferred method of attack among extremists" in the wake of terror attacks last month in London.
The July 7 attacks on the London transit system, as well as others in other countries, have prompted U.S. officials to reassess potential threats to targets in the United States.
Their conclusions, circulated among law enforcement officials by the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, differ little from many earlier assessments since the Sept. 11 attacks but make clear that officials see Al Qaeda as a continued threat.
Although U.S. intelligence officials "do not believe the London attack necessarily presumes a similar attack against rail or mass transit targets in the United States, there has been consistent threat reporting for some time suggesting that terrorists may have an interest in targeting mass transit systems," according to a July 20 security bulletin.
A second bulletin, also after the London bombings, warned that in addition to bombs on trains and subways, Al Qaeda might seek to derail trains or crash trucks carrying flammable material into trains.
Intelligence officials are also concerned that terrorists linked to Al Qaeda or other terrorist groups may again turn to airplanes as a method of attack by sending operatives to flight training schools or by using "an increased number of operatives" in the aviation industry to evade tightened airport security measures.
Still another target considered vulnerable by intelligence officials are high-rise apartment buildings. The bulletin says Al Qaeda might consider renting rooms in a high-rise building and using natural gas as an explosive to destroy it. But it cautions that the feasibility of such a plot is questionable.
The bulletin suggests that fresh intelligence collected as recently as last spring showed that Al Qaeda "remains interested in striking the homeland to undermine U.S. security and damage the U.S. economy."
Since the London bombings, U.S. officials have tightened security at many mass transit systems and have been combing leads from New York to Oregon in search of possible connections to the attacks.
So far, officials say they have found no hard evidence to suggest any complicity or knowledge by anyone in the United States, nor have they found any evidence to suggest plans under way for an attack here.
"We have no specific credible information to indicate that an attack in the United States is imminent or that Al Qaeda operatives are in the United States to conduct a homeland attack," one of the intelligence bulletins concluded.
With federal officials seeking to provide local law enforcement officers with quicker and more useful information to guard against terror attacks, some local officials have become more aggressive in developing their own policies.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/05/2005 11:31 ||
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American citizens better not even think about defending themselves or we'll sue everylast one of them!
SAN DIEGO â The Border Patrol's fleet just got a little more fleet. The Border Patrol's Marine Interdiction Unit is the proud owner of two new patrol craft. The 25- and 30-foot-long vessels are larger, faster and have better radar than the original three 24-foot rigid hulled inflatable patrol boats, which are going to be phased out. Senior Patol Agent Allen Gustafson said the boats are capable of going nearly 50 knots and have already made an impact.
"They're pretty quick," Gustafson said. "They allow us to be out there constantly."
In less than two months since getting the new boats, the unit has seized seven boats involved in migrant smuggling, rescued two disabled boaters and even helped bail out the "Stars and Stripes." Eighteen passengers were taken off the America's Cup yacht on July 13, after the yacht's crew put out a distress call saying they were taking on water. The yacht, now used as a charter vessel, was then towed to the Hornblower dock at Broadway Pier.
The Border Patrol plans to acquire a second 30-foot-long patrol craft later this year.
Much gassing from defense attorney deleted NEW YORK â Investigators have concluded that the former chief of the Iraq Oil-for-Food program, Benon Sevan, took kickbacks under the $64 billion humanitarian operation and refused to cooperate with their probe, his lawyer said Thursday.
Comes as a surprise, huh? I know. It floored me, too...
While the amount of money Sevan allegedly took wasn't immediately known â and may be as little as $160,000 â the findings would be a major blow because of his stature in the organization and the control he had over it. Sevan is also being investigated by the Manhattan District Attorney's office and could face criminal charges. As little as $160,000? Oh, well, let's just forget the whole thing then.
If anybody wants to kick in $160,000 to the tip jar, I promise not to dismiss it as piddlin'...
The Independent Inquiry Committee plans to release its findings about Sevan on Tuesday, and had sent advance notice to Sevan's lawyer, Eric Lewis, last week. Lewis revealed the findings early and vehemently denied both claims against Sevan, whom the U.N. is paying a symbolic one dollar a year to keep him on payroll so he'll cooperate.
The committee, led by former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, refused to comment on Lewis' claims. Under the Oil-for-Food program, Saddam's regime could sell oil, provided the proceeds went to buy humanitarian goods or pay war reparations. Saddam's government decided on the goods it wanted, who should provide them and who could buy Iraqi oil. But the Security Council committee overseeing sanctions monitored the contracts. In a bid to curry favor and end sanctions, Saddam allegedly gave former government officials, activists, journalists and U.N. officials vouchers for Iraqi oil that could then be resold at a profit. According to Lewis, the committee will find that a small trading company called African Middle East Petroleum Co. Ltd. Inc. paid Sevan in exchange for his helping it win oil contracts from Saddam Hussein's regime. It will say that he acted "in concert" with a friend named Fred Nadler, who is the brother-in-law of former U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali. Lewis said the letter of findings that Volcker's team sent to him does not spell how much he got in kickbacks.
Volcker's team has been investigating Oil-for-Food for more than a year. In an interim report released in February, the committee concluded that Sevan solicited oil allocations from Saddam Hussein's regime on behalf of the company, known as AMEP, between 1998 and 2001. It said Nadler was essentially his middleman and accused Sevan of a "grave conflict of interest." In its report, Volcker's team mentioned $160,000 in "unexplained funds" belonging to Sevan. Sevan had disclosed the money earlier, saying it was from an aunt in Cyprus.
That was the lady who fell down the elevator shaft...
After the February report, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced disciplinary proceedings against Sevan but said he would wait until the report came out before making a decision. It is almost certain that Sevan would be fired if the United Nations accepts the Volcker committee claims. Under what conditions might he not be fired? If he blackmails Kofi?
#3
I wouldn't accept any invitations to go fishing if I were you, Benon. Or any helicopter rides either.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/05/2005 8:36 Comments ||
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#4
There has to be a special room in hell for people like this. When it gets right down to it, there are few who are more contemptible than those who have plenty, are entrusted by others to administer to the world's most desperate and then they take the opportunity line their pockets with their last crumbs of bread. As if all of that despair and misery won't be what faces them for eternity.
That's your hell Sevan. You earned it. An eternity of pitiful spirits demanding you look at them and asking you why?
The Bush administration is considering taking the unprecedented step of preventing a visting head of state from addressing the United Nations in New York by denying a visa to Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, Iran's new elected conservative president.
Officials said a decision rested on investigations into whether Mr Ahmadi-Nejad was involved in the 1979 US embassy hostage crisis and the killing of an Iranian-Kurdish dissident leader in Vienna in 1989. Iran denies his involvement in either event.
A top Iranian official confirmed Thursday that Mr Ahmadi-Nejad, who took office on Wednesday, planned to address the UN Millennium Summit and its annual General Assembly next month. Ahmadi-Nejadââ¬â¢s visa application was submitted on Thursday, the Iranian official said.
The trip would be ââ¬Åmutually beneficial to the US and Iranââ¬?, the official added.
A White House official said that visa applications were confidential under US law and therefore he could not comment on the outcome. Asked if the presidentââ¬â¢s alleged involvement in the 444-day-long embassy hostage crisis, if proven, would be sufficient reason to deny him a visa, the US official replied: ââ¬ÅThat is something we are looking at.ââ¬?
A US official who asked to remain anonymous said agencies were examining whether there was sufficient evidence to deny a visa and how this would be justified under international law.
Stephane Dujarric, UN spokesman, said: ââ¬ÅThe host country agreement calls on the US not to impose any impediment to the travel to the UN of any representative of a member state on official business.ââ¬?
Yasser Arafat, Palestine Liberation Organisation chairman, was denied entry in 1988. He addressed the UN in Geneva. Mohammad Khatami, Iran's previous president, spoke at the UN several times, most notably just weeks after the September 2001 attacks, which he condemned.
Former US diplomats allege they recognise Mr Ahmadi-Nejad as one of their captors, but the Central Intelligence Agency has found no confirmation of this.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/05/2005 20:51 ||
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OH, Please do,
Or better Yet, arrest him when he steps foot on the tar-mac.
The latest video from the al-Qaeda leadership is being studied closely in Washington and London for clues about the organisation's strategy and possible whereabouts.
It is not, however, being seen as conclusive proof that Osama Bin Laden or his deputy were directly involved in either planning or executing the London attacks.
The 7 July bombings were said by police to bear the "hallmarks" of al-Qaeda but that could still mean the bombers were inspired and influenced, rather than directed, by it.
The Ayman al-Zawahri video does not include a direct claim of responsibility for London - although al-Qaeda videos rarely, if ever, contain such statements.
British intelligence agencies and police investigators have been trying to follow the trail of the 7 July bombers to see if it leads to the al-Qaeda leadership, but they say so far no conclusive evidence has been found.
It could still be found at some point but any links unearthed are more likely to be indirect.
The video message is being interpreted more as an opportunistic attempt by al-Qaeda to exploit the London attacks as a vehicle for pushing its own agenda.
Some analysts even believe al-Qaeda's leadership could be trying to claim credit for something others have carried out, because it's important for it to show itself as still the leader of the jihadist movement.
Despite being heavily damaged since 2001, al-Qaeda needs to show it is still around and active in order to maintain its reputation and draw in new recruits.
Claiming ideological and spiritual sovereignty over the attacks is therefore important for it in order to maintain its self-image as the leading, guiding force of jihadist opposition to the West.
After tying the London attacks to Tony Blair's foreign policy and warning of further harm, the statement moves into far more traditional rhetoric that has been seen in previous messages, with the demand to leave Muslim lands and the focus on Iraq.
The message does show an acute understanding of the nature of the information war and the news agenda.
While earlier messages were directed largely at the Muslim world, more recently they have also targeted western public opinion in an effort to divide it from its political leadership.
In this case they bring up the issues of British involvement in Iraq and US casualties, knowing full well that these are difficult questions for Tony Blair and George Bush.
US and British officials are increasingly focused on fighting the ideological battle against al-Qaeda as well as the military conflict, focusing on the need to counter its propaganda.
In many ways the battleground here is Muslim youth in the West and the fear that, unless properly countered, statements like that of Zawahri will contribute to radicalisation and recruitment, sustaining the long-term threat.
Al-Zawahri's last message came in June and was focused on Egypt. A month later suicide bombers struck hotels at the Sharm al-Sheikh resort.
No one is sure whether these messages act as triggers for other groups to attack but that possibility may cause some concern for British officials.
Even if there is no third group ready to attack, the concern will be that other groups may take their cue from the message and try to put some kind of operation together.
"When Zawahri goes public and says 'conduct more attacks in London' there will be people that will attempt to do it," argues former CIA officer Robert Baer.
Every day the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre - housed inside MI5 - assesses the intelligence over the threat.
The message will be factored into the assessment but is thought unlikely to make any significant difference to its overall view.
However that will not prevent the message being taken seriously as another salvo in the ongoing campaign.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/05/2005 11:26 ||
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BEIRUT, Lebanon, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Hezbollah Friday rejected calls by U.N. Representative in South Lebanon Geir Pederson to deploy the Lebanese army along the border with Israel. Minister of Energy Mohammed Fneish, who represents Hezbollah in Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's government, said the army was already present in the south.
Speaking in an interview with Beirut's daily al-Balad, Fneish charged that the United Nations was acting at the behest of Israel and the United States, which want to have the Lebanese army deployed on the border in order to act as a security shield for Israel. Hezbollah militants virtually control the border with Israel. On Thursday Pederson called Lebanon to deploy the army along the Blue Line, which the United Nations drew in 2000.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/05/2005 09:41 ||
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BEIRUT - The United Nations envoy for southern Lebanon urged Beirut on Thursday to consider how to deploy its forces in the south, where Hezbollah guerrillas often clash with Israeli troops.
Hezbollah currently controls security in the southern border area. Last week the UN Security Council called on Lebanon to extend its military presence to the south, with UN help if necessary, following Syriaâs withdrawal from the tiny country. âThe Security Council has asked for the deployment of the Lebanese Army to the south and I discussed with the foreign minister the need to establish a way of procedures so we can start working together on this very important issue,â Geir Pedersen told reporters.
Pedersen, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annanâs special representative for southern Lebanon, had been meeting new Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh. âWe agreed that obviously it has to be a Lebanese discussion, and then we will follow up on this very important issue,â he said.
âAt this stage it is not fair to give any time or any deadline. So, the important thing is that we have started the discussion and then hopefully, we will be able to move forward together,â Pedersen added.
Last weekâs unanimous council resolution had encouraged Annanâs staff to help Beirut comply.
Perhaps Mr. Bolton should volunteer us to help the Lebanese control the border.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/05/2005 00:00 ||
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Are you suggesting we give lessons on how to control southern borders?
Posted by: James ||
08/05/2005 0:40 Comments ||
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Dang. You got a point.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/05/2005 0:44 Comments ||
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UN envoy urges Lebanon to control southern border
Ain't gonna happen without the sternly worded letter...
The controversy stirred up in the United Kingdom over the details given by the New York Police Department on commonly available materials used in the July 7 London bombings would actually appear to users of jihadi forums as of no particular interest.
The details, described as âunhelpful' by British counterparts, were released during the course of a briefing given by NYPD Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, where the commonplace nature of the explosive materials used was intended as a measure to increase vigilance.
Yet the information available on the Internet to would-be bombers makes the controversy largely irrelevant.
The material itself, Acetone Peroxide (used allegedly for bombings in London and Casablanca) is given a detailed treatment in a jihadi forum [http://elaqsa.2islam.com/Explo/11.html], which hosts an "Al-Aqsa Encyclopedia" compiled by one âDr. Doom', which specializes in the art. Incongruously sitting opposite a contents list of Qur'anic commentaries, Hadith studies and chapters on Muslim law, including monographs on "Weddings in Paradise", the section "Military Preparation" contains a heading on "The Science of Explosives." It maps out the following:
First principles in the science of explosives
The composition of explosives
The influence of oxygen on explosives
Other factors influencing explosion
Chemical properties for explosives
Stabilization of chemicals
The physics of explosives (biophysics)
Explosive gas pressure
Under the section âmanufacture' the Encyclopedia lists an article available on Peroxide Acetone, followed by âforthcoming' treatments on:
Nitro starch
Nitro-cellulose
Nitro-glycerine
ââŠand much more, God willing.'
The exhaustiveness of the treatment of Peroxide Acetone is demonstrated by the elaborate specifications given on a hyperlink, which details the mass, density, boiling point, distillation and speed of detonation, in addition to molecular diagrams and detailed ingredient lists on manufacture. The article gives photographic step-by-step illustration of the preparation method and also provides extensive details on storage requirements. Full warnings are given on the sensitivity of the explosive to friction, heat and agitation and contact with acidic substances, and an advice to prepare the explosive as soon as possible to the time of its deployment.
The mujahid reader can also access video films illustrating in detail the manufacture and detonation processes, and both the thoroughness and the matter-of-fact economy of the whole article indicates that it was produced (or translated) by a highly trained expert in the field.
Other forums have been just as fruitful for aspiring mujahideen. The al-Ma'sada site posted details on explosives manufacture, often in the form of correspondence. The following from last November is typical:
"A question. Concerning Ammonium Nitrate â if it comes in the shape of gun pellets, does it need to be coated in an insulating substance, or is it ready for use as it is? When it comes to destroying buildings, what is the most powerful mixture for nitrates, and are nitrates of 46% nitrogen content ready for use directly, and without any further admixture? God grant thee ample reward"
"God willing, I can answer both your questions ⊠[details then follow of the correct quantities]. Also, on the following [web] page you can find all the details just about Ammonium Nitrates. Read it carefully and you won't be boredâŠ"
Another posting on the same forum in January provided no less than 64 detailed recipes for explosives production, including the full text of what it terms the "Mujahideen Terrorist Handbook", an American publication which lists, among other things, âBuying explosives and propellants', âuseful household chemicals and availability', âpreparation of chemicals', âexplosives recipes,' âignition devices', âlists of suppliers' and a âchecklist for raids on labs', prioritizing the materials to be stolen.
"Almost any city or town of reasonable size" the manual explains, "has a gun store and a pharmacy. These are two of the places that potential terrorists visit in order to purchase explosive material. All that one has to do is know something about the non-explosive uses of the materials âŠ"
As to the detonation method of using alarms on cell phones, mentioned in the briefing by Commissioner Raymond Kelly, this too has long been standard fare on the Internet. A posting last November on al-Ma'sada was a detailed response to a request for the essential missing part for a detonation system that employed an electronic circuit that would automatically turn on the phone. The answer was given with the customary self-absolvement of responsibility: "Do not use these files against any Muslim, we bear witness to God that we are innocent of anyone who does that⊠These files are provided for the aim of spreading Good among Muslims, and to prepare them for Jihad ⊠Fear God, and do not undertake anything until you have consulted with people of judgment and wisdom."
Articles such as these form part of the extensive literature on military materiel transmitted by the Internet on the more technical aspects of jihad. The most comprehensive of these manuals is the exhaustive Mawsu'at al-I'dad, (Encyclopedia of Preparation) which is nothing less than a massive contents list made up of URLs leading to further pages, with ever more sub-categorized URLs covering weaponry manufacture and deployment, guerrilla warfare, training and tactics. As indicated by Terrorism Focus article "A Guide to Jihad on the Web" (see Focus, Volume 2, Issue 7) the "Encyclopedia of Preparation" is now available in CD form. The anxieties of the UK police force in this respect, while understandable, are in the final analysis misplaced, since the Internet has long been used by mujahideen to distribute the information to within a few taps of the keyboard.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/05/2005 18:02 ||
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Surely someone can hack into these sites and jigger the instructions? It wouldn't take much, explosives tending to be, well, explosive.
#4
Lots of hackers use auto-dialers, right? I'm thinking about "War Games".
So why not start a program whereby you log on and call 50 cell phone numbers in Iraq? How much would that cost? Blow up a Jihadi while he's transporting the boom!
Remote detonation from the Great Satan™!
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/05/2005 21:46 Comments ||
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#5
Lots of hackers use auto-dialers, right?
In the 80's and early 90's, yeah.
This is the Internet age.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/05/2005 22:40 Comments ||
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The latest video communication from al-Qaeda, broadcast on August 4 by the Qatar-based al-Jazeera satellite television station, was notable for a number of reasons. First of all, it prolongs the mystery of attribution of the London bombings. The speaker, Ayman Al-Zawahiri noticeably did not explicitly claim responsibility for the attacks â perhaps the strongest pointer yet as to whether al-Qaeda was directly involved, or rather, whether its involvement extended to more than an âaspirational' role. There have been indications in the past of attacks carried out in their name (such as the Doha theatre bombing which they distanced themselves from), and the mixed implications for Islamist supporters in the United Kingdom leave their position on the July 7 bombings unclear. But in any case, an attack of such high priority, even if al-Qaeda were not involved, simply has to have a comment from the terror group, if they wish to retain their relevance. More than that, al-Qaeda can draw out the psychological impact of the bombings and benefit from them: if the attacks are a local affair, bin Laden and al-Zawahiri will take the credit for them.
Several audiences are intended for the video. For the Middle East, a large part of the five minute tape expounded on the occupation of Islamic lands by the infidel. The language of such addresses also typically focuses on the dangers of Western culture â notably the plan for democracy for the Middle East â presents to their vision of an Islamic world. For the Western audience, now grappling with the issue of whether to connect the London bombings with Iraq, and whether to take the route of Madrid, this message was intended to isolate the policymakers via inspiring foreboding among civilians and changing the political language among the intellectual elites. For British citizens: "Blair has brought you destruction to the heart of London, and he will bring more destruction, God willing." For citizens of the United States: "If you continue the same policy of aggression against Muslims, God willing, you will see the horror that will make you forget what you had seen in Vietnam."
Al-Qaeda still has its work cut out to reconcile the varying identities which it has accorded itself â as a defender of Muslims against Western geopolitical oppression and defender of Muslims against Western cultural infiltration, even where these formulate themselves in pro-democratic policies. Political representation of Muslims remains difficult for al-Qaeda, which has distinguished itself by dispensing with established national borders, using as in this tape, elastic terms such as "the land of Muhammad." Hence, in its âpolitical rhetoric' in video recordings and propaganda literature, the use of innovative âpara-political' vocabulary: âCrusaders,' âZion-Crusaders' (Sahyu-Salibiyyin), âinfidels' and âpolytheists' â most notably in the logo: "Akhriju al-Mushrikeen min Jazirat al-Arab" (Expel the Polytheists from the Arabian Peninsula). The strategy documents published by al-Qaeda for non-Western audiences, and which abound with this un-geographical (and un-chronological) terminology, indicate that the struggle will not end with a territorially defined settlement, but will remain an existential one.
Al-Zawahiri was careful to remind the Americans of bin Laden's previous offer of a truce and the threats that "you will not dream of security before there is security in Palestine and before all the infidel armies withdraw from the land of Muhammad." But one of the problems with al-Qaeda's weak political credentials is the inability to enforce its own threats and rewards. Spain's withdrawal from Iraq following the March 2004 train bombings has not spared its security forces subsequent Islamist threats.
For Western audiences, the al-Qaeda leadership is now experienced in nuancing its language for maximum resonance, at the same time sending alternative signals to the jihadi foot-soldiers. All the while Dr. Zawahiri spoke of the potential âtruce', expounded on more than one occasion as "cooperation with the Islamic nation on the basis of mutual respect," he was wearing a black turban â a badge of war and a sign that his secondary intention is to exploit the raised passions of the bombings in London and Sharm al-Sheikh to instigate further actions.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/05/2005 18:00 ||
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Spain's withdrawal from Iraq following the March 2004 train bombings has not spared its security forces subsequent Islamist threats.
That would be because because Al Q CONTROLS nothing. They influence the Jihadis, but they have no control. So the followers blow up women and children, Iraqis, Egyptians, tourists and Muslim apostates indiscriminately. Even if it's NOT in Binny's plan, how can he complain? That'd show his lack of control.
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/05/2005 22:16 Comments ||
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Terrorism is not new to North and West Africa. The region as a whole has been affected by a range of ethno-nationalist and religious conflicts, a number of which have been accompanied by highly destructive campaigns of terrorism. The civilian carnage wrought by the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) in Algeria is one of the more graphic examples, although more limited campaigns have also been associated with the Christian/Muslim communal conflict in Nigeria, Tuareg insurgent violence in Mali, the Cassamance struggle in Senegal and, to a certain extent, the POLISARIO secessionist struggle in the Western Sahara. While much of the terrorist violence in the region revolves around specific catalytic events (such as the annulment of the Islamic Salvation Frontâs electoral victory in Algeria in 1992 and the institution of Shariâah law in Nigeriaâs northern states in 2000), institutional weakness, autocratic governance and economic marginality have all provided an environmental context that is highly conducive to political violence and extremism.
These various manifestations of terrorist violence have had a notable impact on stability throughout the region. At the national level, it has played a prominent role in polarizing sub-national ethnic and religious identity, leading to highly divisive societies that have been unable to forge institutional structures for peaceful communal coexistence. Nigeria provides a graphic case in point, suffering over the last decade from an increasingly serious Christian-Muslim gulf borne of what is rapidly becoming an entrenched culture of extremist sectarian mobilization and violence. Equally as indicative is Algeria, where viscous campaigns waged by the GIA, the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) and associated splinter groups over the last two decades have torn and, arguably destroyed, much of the underlying social fabric holding the country together. Economically, terrorism has discouraged foreign investment and tourism as well as necessitated the re-allocation of scarce resources away from productive uses.
Just as critically, the rhetoric of counter-terrorism has frequently been co-opted by regimes to legitimate draconian internal security measures and institute all-embracing anti-opposition crackdowns, which have had a highly damaging impact on human rights and notions of responsible and responsive civil governance. The combined effect has been the emergence of states lacking most, if not all of the prerequisites for viable socio-political development.
Regionally, terrorism and terrorist-infused armed campaigns have also had a marked impact, complicating bilateral interstate relations and often negatively interacting with other transnational threats to stability. The POLISARIO struggle in the Western Sahara, which has involved documented, albeit sporadic attacks against civilian Sahrawis, has been a major factor in heightening tension between Morocco and Mauritania as well as undermining the prospects for the development of a wider economic community in the Maghreb. External terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda are strongly suspected of having forged mutually beneficial links with West African crime networks, particularly in Nigeria, paying syndicates to facilitate everything from document forgery to people, weapons, diamonds and drugs trafficking. Finally, the integrity of borders between neighboring countries has periodically been called into question as a result of population displacements and illicit commodity movements connected to, if not directly caused by extremist activity and/or repressive internal security drives.
Although for the most part terrorism in North and West Africa has manifested itself as a local phenomenon, there have been exceptions. The Algerian GIA, for instance, has carried out numerous attacks in France, benefiting from the overseas assistance of various diaspora communities scattered throughout southern Europe. More seriously and with particular salience to post-9/11 threat contingencies, the region has been directly connected to the global anti-western jihadist ambitions of Bin Laden. Al-Qaeda is known to have made logistical inroads into West Africa, seeking to radicalize regional Islamist sentiment, benefit from the pervasive influence of organized criminality that infuses states such as Nigeria and exploit the weak, porous borders and institutional structures that are characteristic of states throughout the Sahel and Maghreb. [1]
Moreover, there is increased evidence of North African Muslim involvement in the insurgency in Iraq where security officials fear they are gaining critical training and combat experience that could be used to inflame local jihadist sentiment in much the same way that occurred following the anti-Soviet mujahideen campaign in the 1980s.
It is this extra-regional dimension that is currently informing the threat perceptions of Western governments and intelligence analysts. In the United States there is a growing appreciation that terrorism in North and West Africa could pose a serious long-term threat to American national security interests. Economically, the region remains important, both with regards to oil â roughly 17 percent of Washingtonâs non-gulf petroleum imports come from the Central/West African basis â as well as in terms of overall trade and investment on the continent. Outbursts of extremist political violence obviously hold direct implications for ensuring the protection of these strategic energy supplies and otherwise providing a safe and stable environment in which to conduct macro-economic business. Just as importantly, the Bush Administration has become concerned that the combination of autocratic governance, economic degradation, political corruption and disregard for human rights will radicalize Islamic sentiment in West Africa and possibly avail the emergence of a new al-Qaeda front that could be used as a base from which to plan and execute future attacks on American global interests. The steady depletion of its regional diplomatic and intelligence capacities over the last several years has further heightened misgivings in the U.S., not least because it has translated into a weakened grasp of quickly evolving trends on the ground and created acute vulnerabilities that could be brutally exploited in the same manner as the 1998 bombings of Washingtonâs embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.
Apart from the United States, both France and the United Kingdom have exhibited a keen interest in dampening the potential for terrorism in North and West Africa. London and Paris retain substantial economic and political ties to many states in the region, which they do not want to see jeopardized as a result of extremist ethno-nationalist or religious violence. Moreover, by virtue of their past colonial relationship, the two countries continue to share an unwritten obligation for maintaining stability in this part of Africa by actively working to dampen cross-border and transnational influences such as terrorism. On a more practical level, the proximity of conflict-ridden states such as Algeria has galvanized concerns about imported extremism into Europe. France has already been severely affected by GIA hijackings of its commercial airliners â including a thwarted 1994 plot to fly an Air France jet into the Eiffel Tower â and during the summer of 1995 was hit by a wave of devastating subway bombings in Paris. Since 9/11, there have also been growing fears that al-Qaeda has effectively exploited the so-called Maghreb-southern Mediterranean backdoor to implant operational and sleeper cells in major metropolitan cities stretching from Rome to London. [2]
International concerns have been further galvanized by the endemic culture of transnational organized crime (TOC) that exists throughout West Africa, much of which is carried out by loosely organized networks based in Nigeria. These entities are known to have engaged in a variety of illicit pursuits including, notably: gem, people, drugs and weapons trafficking; document forgery; and advanced fee fraud (which essentially involves the creation of bogus business proposals that promise the recipients substantial financial rewards for participating). Algerian Islamists linked to the al-Qaeda network are widely suspected of using false passports and fake credit cards supplied by Nigerian syndicates to gain entry into France, Italy and Britain, while Bin Laden, himself, is alleged to have exploited the underground West African diamond trade to hide terrorist assets to the tune of at least $240 million.
As in many parts of the world, regional counter-terrorist structures and policies remain nascent or have yet to be developed. The reasons for this are complex, although most relate to one or more of the following eight considerations:
- The inherent tension between state sovereignty and the common will upon which regional cooperation is founded â namely that effective collaborative action necessarily requires individual member countries to cede some of their national independence to the wider group collective.
- The highly personalized nature of governance and politics in Africa, which has not only hindered the development of institutionalized forms of cooperation but also made these efforts contingent on the nature of the individual relationships that exist between what are often overly powerful presidents.
- The proliferation of regional groupings with overlapping memberships and/or mandates, which has resulted in duplication of effort, wastage of resources and conflicting spheres of jurisdiction. Moreover in several instances it has led to highly problematic institutional confusion, much of which has arisen from the pursuit of contradictory policies that have been instituted by countries belonging to more than one organization.
- A general lack of stakeholder involvement â particularly in relation to those constituencies most affected by regional security cooperation and related decision-making processes.
- Differing perceptions of the terrorist phenomena and the specific threat that it is seen to pose.
- A general absence of integrated national counter-terrorist structures through which to channel and direct wider regional responses.
- Insufficient national resources â both technical and human â to invest in counter-terrorism strategies commensurate with the rhetorical missions and designs adopted at the international level.
- The frequent use of proxy sub-state actors to undermine and destabilize bordering states.
The challenge for Africa in terms of counter-terrorism and security cooperation is first to undertake an honest assessment of the current threat environment confronting the continent; second to utilize the lessons regional governments have garnered from previous efforts at multilateralism; and third, to determine realistic policies for addressing cross-boundary challenges and influences. The stakes are high, as evidenced by a recent statement by Major General Richard P. Zahner, Chief intelligence officer for the United Statesâ Eastern Command: â[It is clear that] al-Qaeda is assessing local [North and West] African groups for franchising opportunities. I am quite concerned about that.â [3]
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/05/2005 17:58 ||
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Western experts are continuing to debate whether the 7 and 21 July 2005 attacks in London and the 23 July 2005 attack in Sharm al-Sheikh, Egypt, were directed and controlled by al-Qaeda's leaders, undertaken by so-called al-Qaeda "franchise" groups, or staged by al-Qaeda-inspired free-lancers. While this debate proceeds, it seems useful to step back and consider the possibility that, whoever exercised command-and-control over the attacks, al-Qaeda's assiduous effort to cultivate and train professional insurgents and urban warfare specialists via the Internet is bearing fruit.
Bin Laden has always considered al-Qaeda's main role in the war against America and its allies to be incitement and paramilitary training. Toward those ends, he established religious and insurgent training camps in places like Afghanistan, Sudan, and Yemen. Always aware of and eager to exploit the latest in modern communications technology, however, bin Laden did not put all his marbles in training camps. By the late 1990's, al-Qaeda's use of the Internet was well underway in regard to theological and paramilitary training. This trend accelerated rapidly after 9/11 when U.S. airpower made the use of physical training camps problematic.
Al-Qaeda's Internet programs cover a wide array of topics and this article will focus only on the training that has been made available for urban insurgents over the past few years; training, that is, which is pertinent to the recent operations in the cities of London and Sharm al-Sheikh. In particular, the writings of al-Qaeda military chief Sayf al-Adl and Abd-al-Aziz al-Muqrin, al-Qaeda's commander in Saudi Arabia until his summer 2004 death in a firefight with Saudi police, are pertinent to all three attacks.
Al-Adl is a former Egyptian military officer -- probably of its Special Forces -- and became al-Qaeda's military commander after Mohammad Atef's death in November 2001. Al-Adl played a prominent role in commanding and then dispersing al-Qaeda's fighters after the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan. He has since written extensively on the lessons al-Qaeda learned from fighting U.S. ground forces, and has been a prolific producer of paramilitary and intelligence instructional essays for the group's Internet journals. Less is known about al-Muqrin. He commanded al-Qaeda's forces in Saudi Arabia, and was killed in the operation in which the American engineer Nicholas Johnson was beheaded. While in command, he produced a stream of Internet articles on the need for jihad to defend the Muslim world, as well as instructional essays on urban warfare.
The most important fact of the three July 2005 attacks is that each was an absolute defeat for the security services involved. Both London attacks completely surprised London's Metropolitan Police and the British Security Service -- both among the best in the Western world -- and the Sharm al-Sheikh operation stunned the pervasive and interwoven security services of the Egyptian police state. In all three cases the attackers selected and surveilled the target, planned and prepared the attack, and struck at the time and place of their choosing without detection. The botched 21 July London attack should not obscure the fact that British authorities were blindsided for the second time in two weeks.
The training that made these attacks possible was available electronically. In a series of articles in al-Qaeda's Internet journal Mu'asker al-Battar, Sayf al-Adl and Abu-Hajar Abd-al-Aziz Muqrin offered instruction on how to plan and conduct an urban attack. "Planning," al-Adl wrote in September 2004, "is the scientific pre-examination of targets to identify the right target and the best means to achieve success. This is done by means of organizing a group of coherent, comprehensive, and well-aimed measures intended for misleading and taking the enemy by surprise and minimizing losses as much as possible if the act is discovered." To be effective, al-Adl explained, an attack plan must be "creative, flexible, and confidential" and have the following additional features:
1. A plan should be reasonable. In other words, alternatives should be well-examined and weighed carefully to choose the best of them.
2. There should be a major -- specific -- target and other secondary targets for the operation.
3. The plan should be realistic.
4. It should be coherent, tight and accurate. There should be no gaps in it. Rather, each part of the plan should complement the other part. It should appear to the enemy as a connected sequence of events.
5. It should be simple. In other words every member [of the attack team] can easily understand it [the plan] to implement it without difficulty. [1]
In the articles, al-Adl also stressed the need for rigor in the planning process by "presuming that the target is in the farthest place possible - the most difficult place," proceeding as if "the enemy is very smart and free to move," and preparing the operation "from the end to the beginning and not vice versa." [2] Al-Adl also emphasized the need for "vigilance" and security within the attack team. All members, he wrote, must be alert, steadily calm -- "no excessive zeal", and schooled to work on a strict need-to-know basis, especially regarding the actual attackers and the timing of the operation. [3] Team members should also carefully vary their activities -- "do not be a hostage of habit" -- and ensure that the vehicles and motorcycles used in pre-attack surveillance activities are locally owned and insured, "have proper licensing," and that drivers and passengers "adhere strictly to traffic laws to avoid being stopped [by police]." [4]
Abu-Hajar Abd-al-Aziz al-Muqrin supported al-Adl on the need for urban operations, adding that "[t]he dangers surrounding a mujahid in the city far exceed the dangers surrounding him in mountains or jungles." [5] Urban attacks are vital, al-Muqruin argued, "because most targets, regime officials, the economy, and wealth are concentrated there. In most cases cities reflect the state's prestige." As a practical matter, al-Muqrin explained, "City action needs small and separate groups, with no more than four individuals in each group." These men must be urbanites because "city residents are familiar with the nature and roads in the city ⊠[and will] be able to move around easily and smoothly to escape the eyes of the spies who are present in the cities." Al-Muqrin instructed his readers that the operational team for an urban attack should be divided into four units: the command group; the information-gathering group; the preparation group; and the execution group. The participants in these groups must be the best available, "[o]nly the best educated, cultured, and trained personnel in the organization must work in the cities. This will help personnel move and operate better." [6]
While the experts have yet to assign final responsibility for the attacks in London and Egypt, the foregoing suggests that the attackers and their supporters may well have profited form the urban-warfare training al-Qaeda has made readily available on the Internet. The complete surprise and success of the operations shows the attackers were well-trained in urban operational techniques approximating those taught by al-Adl and al-Muqrin. The London attackers picked out and surveilled âreasonable' targets; chose targets that were within their capabilities to strike; maintained compartmentation and security in the planning and preparation phases; and executed the attacks, as al-Adl instructed, so that they would "appear to the enemy as a connected sequence of events." Ironically, the rapid post-attack round-up of some members of the London teams by British and Italian authorities suggests that the al-Qaeda leaders' instructions for post-attack behavior were not followed. Al-Adl, in particular, stressed the importance of urban team members avoiding excessive movement and electronic communications after an attack, [7] and the British and Italian media report that the spate of arrests was triggered by the members' frequent movement and cell phone use. [8]
The foregoing barely scratches the surface of the in-depth instruction for urban operations, as well as for the organizational, intelligence-collection, logistical, and financial activities needed to support them that al-Qaeda has placed on the Internet. The instruction seems likely to produce a highly professional cadre, and one that is infused with al-Qaeda's offensive spirit. "A plan should be aggressive and free of hesitation. It should not be defensive," Sayf al-Adl told his readers. "Almost 75 percent of the plan involves well-examined possibilities. Apparently, it will be cowardly to try to increase this percentage since we will be seeking a higher safety percentage. Almost 25 percent of the plan is left to fate." [9]
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/05/2005 17:52 ||
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Looks like al-Guardian has a new hero.
They have never seen Juba. They hear him, but by then it's too late: a shot rings out and another US soldier slumps dead or wounded.
There is never a follow-up shot, never a chance for US forces to identify the origin, to make the hunter the hunted. He fires once and vanishes. Juba is the nickname given by American forces to an insurgent sniper operating in southern Baghdad. They do not know his appearance, nationality or real name, but they know and fear his skill.
"He's good," said Specialist Travis Burress, 22, a sniper with the 1-64 battalion based in Camp Rustamiyah. "Every time we dismount I'm sure everyone has got him in the back of their minds. He's a serious threat to us." Gun attacks occasionally pepper the battalion's foot and mounted patrols, but the single crack of what is thought to be a Tobuk sniper rifle inspires particular dread.
Since February, the killing of at least two members of the battalion and the wounding of six more have been attributed to Juba. Some think it is also he that has picked off up to a dozen other soldiers.
In a war marked by sectarian bombings and civilian casualties, Juba is unusual in targeting only coalition troops, a difficult quarry protected by armoured vehicles, body armour and helmets. He waits for soldiers to dismount, or stand up in a Humvee turret, and aims for gaps in their body armour, the lower spine, ribs or above the chest. He has killed from 200 metres away.
"It was the perfect shot," the battalion commander, Lt Col Kevin Farrell, said of one incident. "Blew out the spine. "We have different techniques to try to lure him out, but he is very well trained and very patient. He doesn't fire a second shot."
I wonder if he's local or an import?
Some in the battalion want marksmen to occupy rooftops overlooking supply routes, Juba's hunting ground, to try to put him in the cross-hairs. "It would be a pretty shitty assignment because he's good," said Spc Burress. "I think it's a sniper's job to get a sniper, and it'd probably take all of us to get him."
American snipers operate in teams of at least two people, a shooter and a spotter, the latter requiring more experience since he must use complicated formulae to calculate factors such as wind strength and drag coefficients.
Some worry that Juba is on his way to becoming a resistance hero, acclaimed by those Iraqis who distinguish between "good" insurgents, who target only Americans, and "bad" insurgents who harm civilians.
If we don't hear anything about him from their side, that could be a clue he's an imported hired gun. Wasn't there a rumor about a IRA shooter?
The insurgent grapevine celebrates an incident last June when a four-strong marine scout sniper team was killed in Ramadi, all with shots to the head.
Unlike their opponents, US snipers in Baghdad seldom get to shoot. Typically they hide on rooftops and use thermal imaging and night vision equipment to monitor areas. If there is suspicious activity, they summon aircraft or ground patrols. "We are professionals. There is a line between a maniac with a gun and a sniper," said Mike, 31, a corporal with a reconnaissance sniper platoon who did not want to his surname to be used. He spoke during a 24-hour mission on a roof during which his team ate junk food and urinated into a bottle. During daylight they lay on the ground, immobile, to avoid being seen. "It's not a glamorous life," he said. There was no sign of Juba, who tended to operate further east, but the team spotted mortar flashes and fed the coordinates to base. Mike said he had shot 14 people in Somalia, three in Afghanistan and one in Iraq. "It's not like you expect it to be, an emotional high. You just think about the wind, the range, then it's over with."
Sniper fire is only of the threats for an American military that has suffered heavy losses this week. Yesterday another soldier was killed in Ramadi, west of Baghdad, adding to the 21 who died in attacks on Monday and Wednesday. Roadside bombs account for most of the lives lost, and the size and design of the explosions has led investigators to conclude that the insurgents are learning bombmaking methods from other terrorist organisations.
Yesterday's New York Times reported that the techniques used by Hezbollah in Lebanon were increasingly being seen in roadside bombs in Iraq. An unnamed senior American commander quoted by the paper said bombs using shaped charges closely matched the bombs that Hezbollah used against Israel. "Our assessment is that they are probably going off to 'school' to learn how to make bombs that can destroy armoured vehicles," he said.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/05/2005 11:33 ||
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#1
Wonder if we'll ever hear if he is rubbed out?
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/05/2005 12:15 Comments ||
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#2
Obviously, they have no clue on the capability of a U.S. Marine sniper. I hear reports that a single U.S. sniper takes out 200 jihadi's a month.
#3
Yeah, the Guardian story will read something like: "The US military claimed today to have killed the elusive Juba, but insurgent sources -- like the bloke standing right next to me -- deny those claims, as the Bush adminstration's costly and illegal war continues..."
Posted by: Matt ||
08/05/2005 12:24 Comments ||
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#4
i say he is import from iran or syria maybe he'll get a 500 lb'er up his ass next time he takes aim
#6
After reading the article, I didn't quite figure out where there was any evidence that morale was being "sapped", except maybe in the author's mind.
..for an American military that has suffered heavy losses this week.
"Heavy"? This guy was obviously not around during WW2.
#7
Yeah, 3dc, there's some listening devices being tested that can locate the source of a sound by backtracking the echos. (That's prolly not completely technically accurate!) The article specifically refered to gunshots in an urban environment!
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/05/2005 16:39 Comments ||
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#8
My thing is an Islamic hero sniper going worldwide. With idiots trying to emulate him all across this nation.
Some worry that Juba is on his way to becoming a resistance hero, acclaimed by those Iraqis who distinguish between "good" insurgents, who target only Americans, and "bad" insurgents who harm civilians.
Wonderful. Is it just me, or does this whole article have the whiff of "Tokyo Rose"? Fucking enemy propaganda under a British masthead...
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
08/05/2005 16:43 Comments ||
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#10
long time after the war is over Juba will be sitting in his villa in Syria when masked men surround him and kidnap him never to be heard from again.
Painfull death awaits in a murky room.
#11
Sniper vs. sniper was the old way. Now, we have a 3rd dimension--UAVs. Combine them with a gun noise triangulation device already used in several American cities and you have this bird nailed. The devices pinpoint the building, then the UAVs both keep an eye on it, and anyone who exits it, and tracks them. Most likely he doesn't abandon his rifle, so he can be killed on sight if he is carrying it.
The travels of international terror figure Mustafa Setmarian Nasar:
- 1988, Afghanistan - Nasar makes contact with Osama bin Laden while fighting alongside other mujahedeen there. Occasionally travels to Khartoum, Sudan, after bin Laden sets up operations there in 1991.
- Mid-1990s, Madrid and London - Keeps contacts with extremists, works at extremist newsletter al-Ansar, or ``the supporters.''
- July 25, 1995, a blast in a Paris metro station opens campaign of eight bombings or attempted bombings in France, blamed on the Algerian Armed Islamic Group. British Secret Service detain and later release Nasar, suspecting his involvement.
- Fall 1997, Afghanistan - By now, he has returned there and runs a bin Laden-financed camp, keeps contact with Taliban leader Mullah Omar.
- By 1998, serves on al-Qaida's Shura, or ``consultation'' council, as Syrian representative.
- Fall of 2001, Afghanistan - There for the attacks of Sept. 11 and the U.S.-led invasion.
- Late 2001, Iran - believed to have fled there with other al-Qaida operatives after the fall of the Taliban.
- U.S. officials believe he has been to Iraq since Saddam Hussein's fall, perhaps as late as last summer. Thought to be in Pakistan, Afghanistan or Iraq since then.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/05/2005 11:40 ||
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The home of U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., was broken into by a group of suspected illegal immigrants but little damage was done, authorities said. Santa Cruz Sheriff Tony Estrada said a friend of Kolbe's reported the break-in on July 23 when he noticed one of the home's doors was wide open. Sheriff's deputies, Border Patrol agents and Patagonia police responded to the home in Sonoita, which is 25 miles north of the Mexican border.
The culprits apparently showed little interest in items of value and left untouched a computer, television, and rifle. Instead, they appeared to have showered, prepared a meal in the microwave, and helped themselves to a change of the congressman's clothes. The scene was consistent with similar cases involving migrant break-ins along the border, said Patagonia Assistant Police Chief Thomas Schenek. "The only real items you see taken or gone through in cases like this are food and clothing," he said. Estrada said the case will remain open until Kolbe can make a complete inventory of the missing items. They had better not break into homes of liberal democrat congressmen. Those liberals arm themselves with automatic weapons and shoot anything that moves.
#3
Just drove from LA to Austin last month via I10. What a godforsaken territory. I can't even imagine living 25 miles from the border. It's all freakin'desert!!
#5
I used to live in the Sonoita area, and now reside in Tucson. What happened is quite common in these parts. What more can be said on the illegal immigration topic? Arizona building industry, food service industry, and housekeeping industry runs on illegal labor...Republicans want the cheap labor and the Democrats/Identity Politics crowd want the increasing numbers of "victimized" undocumented workers as recruits...see MEXIFORNIA by Victor Davis Hanson for details...
#6
Good news. We have one less RINO. Be sure to welcome the prodigal son Kolbe, with open arms.
Moose,
Actually, liberals are cowards. They hire people to do their shooting. I can't for the life of me, picture a liberal, oiling much less shooting, a .270 hunting rifle.
August 5, 2005: The U.S. ground-based ICBM fleet covers an area of over 114,000 square kilometers â about the size of the state of Pennsylvania, and distributed across the Western United States. Current inventory includes 500 silos for Minuteman III missiles. The last of the 50 Peacekeeper silos and their launch facilities are in the process of being sealed up, with the final Peacekeeper missile scheduled to be removed from alert status on September 19.
One of the dirty little secrets of the ICBM force is that the government doesn't actually own and control all of the land the silos reside on. The majority of missile fields are on privately owned ranches, with silos and launch facilities having a 15 meter easement around them. Air Force personnel manning the silos travel a cumulative 19 million miles per year to get from bases to the launch facilities, often through snow, on gravel roads, because the locations are so remote.
I used to maintain the cameras in the entry ports in the Titan silos around McConnel AFB. Trip to the most distant one was 90 miles one way, if I remember correctly. Nice road trip in good weather, winter sucked.
Currently, half the 9,600 people in the U.S. Air Force ICBM force are dedicated to security, conducting such duties as patrols around the missile fields and stationary guards at silos and launch control facilities. Often, security forces can get called out as many as three times per day for alarms or incidents that require a manned response team to check things over. Currently, missile silos are protected by barbed wire fences and motion sensors, but the Air Force wants to add remote cameras. The motion sensors are so sensitive that a rabbit or tumbleweed often triggers off an alert, requiring a response team to go out and "eyeball" the cause of the alarm. A camera system would drastically cut down on false alarm calls. The Air Force would like to get funding for the cameras in the 2007 budget.
WTF? They still don't have freaking cameras topside?
The Air Force also wants to upgrade the helicopter fleet that carries around security personnel. An elderly fleet of 62 UH-1N Hueys currently move response teams around, but the first helicopters entered into service in 1970.
They're still using those same birds as when I was working? They were old then, leftovers from Vietnam.
The Hueys don't have the range or speed the Air Force wants; for example a Huey can't cross the ICBM facilities at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana without refueling. The Huey has a range of around 480 kilometers and a cruising speed of around 180 kilometers per hour. Replacement candidates include the Lockheed Martin/AgustaWestland/Bell US101, Sikorsky S-92 and the Northrop Grumman/EADS NH90.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/05/2005 09:58 ||
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#1
Yipes! I didn't realize the PeaceKeepers were being taken down so soon. Apologies to whoever sed bring back the MX yesterday, knew what he was talking about.
#2
One of the annoying reasons for taking the MX's offline is because they don't break enough. They do not provide enough hands-on repair time for the maintenance types at the depots. The Minutemen do. So there is a practical angle to it, along with a vested interest 'got to keep the jobs' angle. Kind of sad, but then, they did fully serve their secondary purpose - breaking the bank of the USSR.
These were my babies. I am sorry to see them go.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
08/05/2005 19:48 Comments ||
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Ah the MX was indeed a great program I hope that whatever 4th gen ICBM they decide to build at least meets the standards the MX had when it was deployed.
The cause of the helicopter crash which killed veteran southern Sudanese leader John Garang is "not clear", Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has said. All previous official comments have insisted that the crash was an accident.
Supposed to have flown into a mountain in bad weather.
Mr Garang was travelling in Mr Museveni's helicopter when he died. Mr Garang's death sparked three days of riots in Sudan, in which at least 130 people were killed. Mr Museveni was speaking to thousands of mourners in southern Sudan.
"Some people say accident, it may be an accident, it may be something else," he said in Yei, one of the southern towns where Mr Garang's body is being taken before the funeral on Saturday. "The [helicopter] was very well equipped, this was my [helicopter] the one I am flying all the time, I am not ruling anything out," Mr Museveni said.
"After all, it could be me next time"
Mr Garang died three weeks after being named vice-president as part of a deal to end 21 years of civil war. Hundreds of people - many in tears - have been turning out to see Mr Garang's coffin when the plane arrives in each town. In Juba, where the funeral is due to take place, thousands of volunteers are helping to build a mausoleum to house Mr Garang's remains, reports the AFP news agency.
Welcome to Graceland
A huge crowd is expected for the funeral, including the presidents of Sudan, Uganda and South Africa. Saturday has been declared a national holiday.
Juba is recovering from communal clashes, sparked by Mr Garang's death.
Northern Arab traders were attacked and their goods looted by angry southerners, leaving at least 19 dead. The town is reportedly running short of food. Mr Garang's widow and his children are accompanying the body from New Site, near where the helicopter crashed. "We have to keep his [Garang's] promise. We have to implement the peace agreement," Riak Machar, one of Mr Garang's former colleagues told the crowd in Kurmuk on Thursday. On Friday, the funeral procession goes to Yei, the one-time base of Mr Garang's rebel SPLA, Bor, where the rebellion started in 1983 and his birthplace of Panyagol near Bor, before reaching Juba.
Mr Garang's successor as southern leader, Salva Kiir, has also been appointed as national vice-president. The capital, Khartoum, is reported to be calm, with no more of the clashes between southerners and Arabs sparked by Mr Garang's death. More than 130 people were killed in three days of violence. An overnight curfew has been imposed and heavily-armed police and soldiers are on patrol.
A Sudanese minister has urged Muslim preachers not to further inflame tensions - most northerners are Muslims, while southerners are generally Christians or animists. The US has expressed deep concern over the situation. Its two envoys are due to meet President Omar al-Bashir. Leaders of both sides earlier urged calm, agreeing to set up a joint inquiry into what caused the crash of Mr Garang's helicopter. But correspondents say there is a real danger that a much-vaunted peace deal ending 21 years of civil war could be shattered by the sudden violence. "Enemies of peace may want to take the opportunity of the situation so that they don't allow the government and the SPLM to implement the peace agreement," Mr Kiir said. "We want this situation to be stopped as soon as possible so that security returns to Khartoum and its suburbs."
Posted by: Steve ||
08/05/2005 08:36 ||
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#1
Likely a Newtonian Mechanic did the maintenance.
If they got these flyin' and they're lettin' out the photographs, what else have they got flyin' today (anybody remember when the first Stealth crashed way back in the '80s?)?
#9
Pictures of the F-22 have been out for a long while.
My father-in-law (a WWII P-38 driver) went to the 1st Fighter Group reunion a few years ago in Virginia and a whole group of them got a tour up close and personal with the F-22s.
He was mightily impressed.
Brought home some great pics.
Posted by: DanNY ||
08/05/2005 23:05 Comments ||
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#10
Kool pics !
Posted by: God Save The World ||
08/05/2005 23:54 Comments ||
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AMMAN - Jordanâs King Abdullah told Israel on Thursday that its planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip must be followed by a pullout from the West Bank. Officials said the king also told visiting Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz that the withdrawal should open the door to restart negotiations on a US- backed âroadkill mapâ peace plan.
âThe withdrawal from Gaza should constitute the successful start and prelude to the withdrawal of Israel from the West Bank and the setting up of a viable independent Palestinian state,â he was quoted by the state news agency Petra as telling Mofaz.
Pro'ly not the time to remind Skippy that Jordan was once envisioned as the Paleo state.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/05/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
âThe withdrawal from Gaza should constitute the successful start and prelude to the withdrawal of Israel from the West Bank and the setting up of a viable independent Palestinian state,â he was quoted by the state news agency Petra as telling Mofaz.
No.
Israel pulls out of Gaza, then everybody watches what happens as a result and an appraisal is made then. The Paleos don't get a "viable state" by default, as they haven't proven that they have any sense of responsibility, nor have they proven that they can wean themselves of their seemingly ingrained tendency to resort to violence as a first response.
#2
If you give away everything before the negotiations start what the hell is left to negotiate the pre-67' 49' whatever. Not to mention how can you negotiate with someone that has no authority to do sh*t. The first thing would be for the Paleo leader X to prove he actually has authority by making a 1month cease fire actually have a cease of fire in it not just less fire. Once that was established then you could begin to actually negotiate.
Now once this is plan above is in place no negotiations because I doubt anyone can control the Paleo's with authority so how to get a leader to take control and negotiate and have the people's support. 1st someone has to lose Isreal is hated already in the world so Isreal should tell the world to stick it and just announce that every terrorist attack will result in more Paleo's being forced to exit territory while Isreali settlers move in (start with the border areas to secure a solid defendable border not a jig jog they have now. At first it would intesify the conflict then the Paleo's would realize they will be pushed to the borders of W Bank and Gaza if they dont stop the terror. A leader will step forward and stop the terror and negotiate. War has to have concequences the Paleo's feel they have reached the bottom and can lose nothing else no matter that should be proven wrong and Isreal should prove that the Paleo's can and will lose what little they have left if they continue. Consequences then the terror will stop or the Paleo's will be pushed to citie sized prisons on the border or scattered to the four corners of the earth. Either way at some point negotiations would come from the paleo's and peace and stop of the war would be the terms not more more more more then walk on water or die.
#3
The King of Jordan has no standing in the negotiations, unless he is willing to guarantee the peacefulness of the West Bank as a de facto Jordanian territory. Just as Egypt stands as guarantor - for what that's worth - for peace in the Gaza Strip.
#4
These mooks haven't even proven they can run a township let alone the Gaza Strip. After they establish authority and stop all attacks on Israel for 6 months to a year, then, maybe they can talk. Until then, King Guy, STFU.
This is the bill to Talibanize the NWFP. The MMA will keep harping on it, of course. I'm actually surprised that the court struck it.
Pakistan's Supreme Court has declared as unconstitutional a bill passed by a province to introduce what critics describe as a moral policing system. "The governor of the province of North West Frontier Province may not assent to the Hisba (accountability) bill in its present form," the Supreme Court said in its order.
The province's assembly, which is dominated by a coalition of Muslim parties, on 14 July approved the bill that called for establishment of a department to ensure adherence to "Islamic values at public places". A provincial bill must be approved by the provincial governor, who is appointed by Islamabad, before it can become law. The nine-member court bench noted that many of the provisions in the bill violate the country's 1973 constitution. The court had sat for four days to hear a challenge by the federal government against the legislation. The issue was referred to the Supreme Court by President Pervez Musharraf.
The bench said it would give reasons for its decision later and explain which parts of the provincial legislation are against the constitution. "We will introduce the bill again with some amendments," Malik Zafar Azam, the province's law minister, told reporters in the Supreme Court after its ruling. The six-party Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal or United Action Forum won parliamentary elections in 2002 in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Not that it will have any actual effect - the tribal society will still impose their mood-of-the-moment version of Shari'a, sanctioning the marriage of children, stonings, burnings, "honor" rapes and killings, the lot.
Indian military sources said on Thursday an investigation has been launched into alleged espionage by a soldier at a major air base near China, in which documents on troop deployments and high-level strategy were stolen. The investigation was prompted after the arrest last month of a corporal who worked in an area of the base with access to computer data. He was found with 100 pages of computer printouts of strategic importance, said a senior army officer who declined to be named. âIt seems (the corporal) last year passed on copious data on missile locations, deployment of infantry battalions at Chinaâs borders, weapons technology upgrades and classified minutes of commander conferences,â the officer said. Some documents, he added, had been stolen and passed on to rival Pakistan, which is a close ally of China.
He's toast.
The army officer said the thefts likely happened in a two-month period last year. âWe are in the process of ascertaining what we have lost but from the surface it appears there has been a serious breach (of national security),â the officer said. A military intelligence official said the thefts were from a âwar roomâ at the Tezpur base in northeastern India and were likely passed on to Pakistan and then China. The heavily-fortified base acts as a shield against three Chinese airfields in Tibet. The suspectâs father, who is a retired air force sergeant, and five others were picked up July 16 from the New Delhi suburb of Noida in connection with the case, the military intelligence official said. The Indian military declined any official comment.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/05/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
(cough) Yesterday (cough)
Posted by: Steve ||
08/05/2005 8:14 Comments ||
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#2
Oh yeah? You got one yourself today (the cabbie from MD) :-)
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/05/2005 10:39 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Dissention in the AoS ranks!
Now's the time for De-Stevefication!
The Free Rantburg forces must strike!
For immediate broadcast on RB Free Radio:
"The sun shines brightly on Lake Titicaca."
"The mangos are fresh today."
repeat...
"The sun shines brightly on Lake Titicaca."
"The mangos are fresh today."
An Iraqi delegation led by Saad al Hayani, the Foreign Minister Undersecretary for resource management and technical affairs, has recently visited Damascus for talks with Syrian officials on bilateral relations, Asharq Al Awsat has learnt. A source at the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied the presence of security officials amongst the delegation, revealing two visiting Iraqi officials held talks on Tuesday with Deputy Foreign Minister Walid al Muallem. They are al Hayani and Salah Abdel Salam, director of the consulate section.
The source told Asharq Al Awsat, âThe delegation was expected to include security officials. The fact that it included only two diplomats reveals its mission was to discuss diplomatic relations between the two neighbors and the necessary steps to be taken to establish embassies in Damascus and Baghdad.â Diplomatic relations between the two countries are currently restricted to a small presence in the Algerian embassy in each capital.
A Syrian diplomatic and security delegation had visited Baghdad on 28th June, 2005 carrying a message from Syrian Foreign minister Faruk al Sharaa to his Iraqi counterpart, Hoshyar Zebari. During meetings with Iraqi officials it discussed the obstacles that remain in the way of establishing full diplomatic relations between the two countries. At the time, a Syrian source close the negotiations said the delegation did not receive concrete proof of insurgents flocking to Iraq through the common border. It said officials in Baghdad spoke in general terms and stressed the importance of border controls and detaining members of the former regime. Damascus, to underline its desire to control its borders, had requested the United States supply it with specialized technical vision equipment. The demand was referred to Britain who has yet to supply the gear.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2005 00:00 ||
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Iyad Jamal al Din, an Iraqi political activist and specialist in Islamic affairs attacked the Shiaa religious authorities for interfering in politics and favoring a particular political group. âIt is dangerous,â he said, âto exploit religious legitimacy in politics. The Shiaa are courting catastrophe when the name of the religious leadership is exploited in politics. The 1,300 year old religious authority is respected throughout Iraq, and not only by the Shiaa community or parts of it.â
Jamal al Din is well known throughout his native country for opposing establishing a religious state in Iraq, instead strongly backing a secular state in Iraq . In an interview with Asharq Al Awsat in London, earlier this week, the Iraqi scholar said, âWhen the religious authority espouses a single state that does not represent the entire Shiaa community it puts itself in danger because its standing in Iraqi society and honor have been taken hostage by a few men.â If those in power succeed, Iraqis âwill rejoice and say they have weathered the storm.â However, if the politicians fail, âtheir failure will reflect on the religious authorities.â Jamal al Din feared for the standing of the Shiaa religious establishment if it is to be tarnished by political bickering. âWe want it to protect all Iraqis,â he added.
Explaining his preference for a secular state to in Iraq , the Iraqi scholar said such a regime âguarantees the freedom of political parties and individuals alike. It is a non-ideological regime.â He indicated that he did not believe secularism was an ideology in itself. Instead, he saw it as a method of administering the state. As such, according to Jamal al Din, the new Iraqi governments should be non-ideological and free of religious and doctrinal affiliations. âIts most important task ought to be managing the affairs of the country and its citizens and maintaining security. Other tasks historically entrusted to the government, such as acting as a moral guardian and encouraging the institution of the family should be transferred to civil society.â
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2005 00:00 ||
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I'm cautiously optimistic at this stage, which is probably the wrong thing to be. No one has mentioned how essential shariah will be to institute real democracy. It looks like your usual run of the mill military coup, which will result in elections in two or three years, confirming whoever's at the top of the junta as president for life. But the Islamists would love to have Mauritania, because it's such a primitive place. I'd guess they'll either try for a counter-coup or simply try and set up shop like Ansar al-Islam did in Kurdistan.
The military council that overthrew Mauritania's president on Wednesday has named the longtime chief of national police force as the country's new leader. A statement by the coup leaders published by the state news agency said Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall was "president" of the military council which toppled President Maaoya Sid Ahmed Ould Taya. The Military Council for Justice and Democracy had earlier announced the coup in a statement run by the state news agency. "The armed forces and security forces have unanimously decided to put an end to the totalitarian practices of the deposed regime under which our people have suffered much over the last several years," the statement said.
The council said it would exercise power for two years to allow time to put in place democratic institutions. Vall, 55, had served as the national police chief since 1987. Known for being calm and tight-lipped, he was considered a close confident of Taya for more than two decades. "The armed forces have unanimously decided to put an end to the totalitarian...regime under which our people have suffered much" The military statement also identified 16 other army officers who were members of the council. It pledged to "establish favourable conditions for an open and transparent democratic system on which civil society and political players will be able to give their opinions freely".
"This council pledges before the Mauritanian people to create favourable circumstances for an open and transparent democracy," it said. An opposition leader and a military source said they believed the head of the presidential guard, Colonel Mohamed Ould Abdel-Aziz, was involved in the coup d'etat.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
The Ould folk's home might be able to return to obscurity.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
08/05/2005 0:04 Comments ||
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#2
I'm predicting plenty of baubles and gewgaws to decorate His Excellency's smart new sash...
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.
Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Foreign Minister, has highlighted the significant role played by Late King Fahd bin Abdulaziz in the service of the Arab and Muslim causes as well as the international causes. Addressing a press conference here last night, Prince Saud said King Fahd had adopted a realistic oil policy for the service of both oil consumers and producers. He noted that the Kingdom's local and international polices would remain in line with the values and principles laid by Later King Fahd.
LONDON - Britain must withdraw its troops from Iraq in order to prevent further terrorist attacks, London Mayor Ken Livingstone wrote in a British newspaper on Thursday.
Hugo Chávez is spending some of his country's oil windfall on buying support abroad. How much of a return is he getting?
France late on Wednesday called for democracy and the "legal institutional framework" to be respected in oil-rich Mauritania after troops seized power in the northwest African country. 
Switzerland's supreme court on Thursday ordered the country's justice authorities to halt cooperation with a French probe linked to a half brother of Osama bin Laden, Yeslam Binladin.
NEW YORK â Investigators have concluded that the former chief of the Iraq Oil-for-Food program, 
The home of U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., was broken into by a group of suspected illegal immigrants but little damage was done, authorities said. Santa Cruz Sheriff Tony Estrada said a friend of Kolbe's reported the break-in on July 23 when he noticed one of the home's doors was wide open. Sheriff's deputies, Border Patrol agents and Patagonia police responded to the home in Sonoita, which is 25 miles north of the Mexican border.
AMMAN - Jordanâs King Abdullah told Israel on Thursday that its planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip must be followed by a pullout from the West Bank. Officials said the king also told visiting Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz that the withdrawal should open the door to restart negotiations on a US- backed âroad
Pakistan's Supreme Court has declared as unconstitutional a bill passed by a province to introduce what critics describe as a moral policing system. "The governor of the province of North West Frontier Province may not assent to the Hisba (accountability) bill in its present form," the Supreme Court said in its order. 
Indian military sources said on Thursday an investigation has been launched into alleged espionage by a soldier at a major air base near China, in which documents on troop deployments and high-level strategy were stolen. The investigation was prompted after the arrest last month of a corporal who worked in an area of the base with access to computer data. He was found with 100 pages of computer printouts of strategic importance, said a senior army officer who declined to be named. âIt seems (the corporal) last year passed on copious data on missile locations, deployment of infantry battalions at Chinaâs borders, weapons technology upgrades and classified minutes of commander conferences,â the officer said. Some documents, he added, had been stolen and passed on to rival Pakistan, which is a close ally of China.
An Iraqi delegation led by Saad al Hayani, the Foreign Minister Undersecretary for resource management and technical affairs, has recently visited Damascus for talks with Syrian officials on bilateral relations, Asharq Al Awsat has learnt. A source at the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied the presence of security officials amongst the delegation, revealing two visiting Iraqi officials held talks on Tuesday with Deputy Foreign Minister Walid al Muallem. They are al Hayani and Salah Abdel Salam, director of the consulate section. 
Iyad Jamal al Din, an Iraqi political activist and specialist in Islamic affairs attacked the Shiaa religious authorities for interfering in politics and favoring a particular political group. âIt is dangerous,â he said, âto exploit religious legitimacy in politics. The Shiaa are courting catastrophe when the name of the religious leadership is exploited in politics. The 1,300 year old religious authority is respected throughout Iraq, and not only by the Shiaa community or parts of it.â 
