THE increasingly powerful Somali Islamic movement expanded its territorial authority Saturday after taking control, in a skirmish-free move, of an agriculturally rich region in southern Somalia, officials said.
Authorities of the southern Lower Shabelle region handed over control to the Islamists who said they would introduce Sharia law in the region and vowed to seize more territory across the lawless Horn of Africa nation.
"I want to tell you that residents in Lower Shabelle region have handed the administration of the region to the Islamic courts and we have cordially received the offer,'' Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, chairman of the Islamic courts said in a speech at the handover ceremony.
"You know this region has long been one of the local militia-controlled regions in Somalia, but from today on, the Islamic courts will expand its rule around all its parts by implementing Sharia law,'' he said.
Lower Shabelle was controlled by a variety of militia sympathetic to the tribunals, which thus far did not wield direct control over the region.
The takeover was the second major territorial gain in nearly a week after they seized control of the port town of Kismayo, about about 500km south of Mogadishu, and which was held by a defence minister in the feeble government of President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed.
Sheikh Ahmed said the Islamists would continue seizing more territory a day after the movement's supreme leader announced plans to unify all the Islamic tribunals under one umbrella as the powerful Islamists consolidate their hold.
``We will continue taking over Somali regions until we free all Somali communities,'' Sheikh Ahmed told the gathering in Afgoi district, some 30km southwest of the capital Mogadishu.
At the same time, Islamic gunmen took control of parts of central Hiran region after brief clashes with local fighters who resisted the seizure.
"We have taken three armed vehicles from local militia who tried to fight us and by the wishes of Allah the control of every part in Hiran region is under our Islamic control'' an Islamic militia commander told AFP on conditions of anonymity.
"We discussed with local militias to bring their arms but after they ignored we attacked them and conquered the areas they ruled,'' said the commander, adding that one person was killed in the brief fire exchange.
The Islamists, who seized Mogadishu from warlords in June after months of fierce fighting, have vowed to fight any foreign troops on Somali soil and say they took Kismayo to prevent such a force from landing in the country.
#2
The Islamists continuing push through Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan are clearly the fault of G W Bush. If we only understood them better this wouldn't be happening. Why do they hate us???
because they hate everything except Sharia. It would be money well spent to kill these bastards en masse. Helicopter gunships and A10's vs Technicals and rpgs (knowing their tactics now). I like the odds. Draw them into the open and create job openings in the Islamic Courts. Court reporters are needed.....operators are standing by....
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/01/2006 17:46 Comments ||
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A hardline Muslim teacher who caused a furore by denouncing pupils for celebrating Christmas has been made a Government schools inspector. Israr Khan's Ofsted appointment was described by a former colleague as 'absolutely astonishing'.
Mr Khan, now headmaster of an Islamic school, launched into his tirade during a concert rehearsal at Washwood Heath Secondary School in Birmingham in 1996 after the choir including around 40 Muslim youngsters, had sung a number of popular Christmas songs, including carols. He leapt from his seat, yelling: "Who is your God? Why are you saying Jesus and Jesus Christ? God is not your God - it is Allah."
As children in the audience began booing and clapping, a number of choir members - both white and Asian - walked out, some in tears.
Mr Khan, a maths teacher, was asked to work from home pending an investigation but there was no disciplinary action.
It has been claimed that Washwood Heath school was then a 'hotbed of Islamic fundamentalism'. Rashid Rauf - the airline terror bomb suspect whose extradition is currently being sought from Pakistan - was a pupil there at that time. Mr Khan left Washwood Heath a year later to found the independent Islamic Hamd House Preparatory School in Small Heath, Birmingham, where he is headmaster.
Earlier this year, he was appointed as a governor of Anderton Park Primary School, in Sparkbrook, Birmingham.
A former Washwood Heath colleague laughed openly when told of Mr Khan's role as an Ofsted inspector where he has the responsibility for passing or failing schools. He said: "Given the man's history, it's absolutely astonishing. It's just the cheek of the man that he's been able to reach that position. He always was an extremely clever man.
"He gave me many insights into the Islamic cause and their hatred of the US and the Western World. He had a big support base among some of the Muslim parents.
"But there were some very influential, radical elements at Washwood Heath at that time and Israr Khan was very close to all that."
Earlier this year, Anderton Park, where 99.5 per cent of the pupils are Asian, received a dismal Ofsted report which branded its teaching and its achievements as inadequate. One Muslim father, who asked to be known only as Mohammed, said: "As a governor, Mr Khan will be able to exert a great deal of influence over the school and its policies.
Oh yaaassss, he'll be very influential.
"By his previous actions, he seems to represent what I would call a hardcore attitude to Islam."
Mr Khan declined to comment about his appointment, waving questions away at his large home in Moseley, Birmingham.
An Ofsted spokesman said: "Israr Khan was appointed as an additional inspector via a highly competitive recruitment and selection process. He has undergone all the relevant security checks."
Question: do the Brits really want to save themselves?
Posted by: john ||
10/01/2006 17:27 ||
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#1
Asian students means one thing in England and another in the US. A school with a 99.5% Asian student body in the US would max out any measure of academic achievement. Of course, Chinese and Japanese mothers would go ballistic if the schools tried to teach religion instead of math, science, etc. Studying the Koran is only useful for careers in seething and public displays of outrage.
#5
Wow. If only there was an investigative reporter with access to airtime and a brain not saturated in PCism and Dhimmitude left in the UK... Laying out the simple facts involved, not the least of which is the "Anderton Park, where 99.5 per cent of the pupils are Asian" bit, surely would open some eyes there, generate some questions, I would hope.
Methinks Anderton Park is very much akin to a malignant tumor on the body politic.
A previously unseen video made by Mohammed Atta, ringleader of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, has been obtained by a Britain's The Sunday Times, the newspaper reported overnight Saturday.
In editions available late Saturday, the paper said it had been handed the so-called martyrdom video, but did not reveal the source of the tape. It reported that Atta was filmed reading a document marked in Arabic as a will as he sat beside fellow hijacker Zaid Jarrah - who seized control of United Airlines flight 93, which crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pa.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
The laughing 9/11 bombers
Yosri Fouda
Exclusive film of suicide pilots at Bin Ladens HQ
See the video live from *noon* today GMT www.timesonline
A Muslim community leader in Perth is calling for calm in the wake of a drive-by shooting at a mosque in Mirrabooka on Friday night.
Police are investigating an incident in which a shot was fired through the window of the building, narrowly missing women and children. The Western Australian Security Investigation Group, ASIO and the Australian Federal Police are also investigating.
Islamic leader Rahim Ghauri says there has been an increase in attacks on mosques over the past few years. He says this is the first time a shot has been fired while people were worshipping. "This is an indication that there are people who are ready to go to this extent, which is sad for our society, which is sad as Australians because it means are we going to draw daggers onto each other and convert this lovely country into [a] battlefield?" he said.
The mosque's Sheikh Muhammad Agherdien says the congregation is shocked. "We've had windows shattered, we've had verbal abuse by cars passing and graffiti, but this is the first time that such a callous act to such an extent has occurred in the history of this mosque," he said.
THE US decision to ban torture may hinder the fight against terrorism, Attorney-general Philip Ruddock has said. Mr Ruddock's comments come as the US moves closer to putting Australian terrorist suspect David Hicks on trial four-and-a-half years after he was captured by the US in Afghanistan. Hicks is now held in the US prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
In Washington to meet American officials about the US military commissions set up to trial terror suspects, Mr Ruddock said the US decision to ban torture as an interrogation method could make it more difficult to gather information about terrorism. "The point the United States has made is that it will not use torture and those instructions have been given to their agencies and that may well limit the capacity of intelligence organisations in the future," Mr Ruddock said on ABC TV.
Sleep deprivation, Mr Ruddock said, was not torture. "I don't regard sleep deprivation as torture, I've not heard it being put in that way."
Continued on Page 49
#3
Torture is bad. Terrorism is worse. Anyways, wasn't the use of torture in the Anglo-Saxon legal system discontinued to avoid extortion of confessions?
LABOR'S promise to pull Australian troops out of Iraq on its first day in office is part of a wider solution to the problems of Islamist terrorism, opposition international security spokesman Kevin Rudd has said.
Instead of offering direct military support, a Labor government would provide training, logistics and aid to Iraq, Mr Rudd said today. "One of the clear ways in which we can assist is by enhancing the border security arrangements for the Iraqi government," he said on Channel 9. "We think we can do that by providing advanced training programs through Amman in Jordan to assist in helping Iraq plug the holes in their highly porous borders."
Mr Rudd reiterated Labor's plan to leave security detachments in Iraq to offer direct protection to Australian government officials.
Continued on Page 49
A majority of Danes still support the decision to print the controversial Prophet Muhammad cartoons that enraged much of the Islamic world, according to a poll published Saturday on the one-year anniversary of the printing.
The survey by pollster Ramboell Management - published by the Jyllands-Posten daily, the newspaper that first printed the drawings - showed 53 percent of Danes still think it was correct to publish the cartoons as a demonstration of free speech. According to the poll, 38 percent of Danes now think the drawings should never have been published, while 9 percent said they were not sure. Ramboell interviewed 1,041 people between September 4-7. No margin of error was given for the poll.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
If you hate Denmark so much, go home. And I think every other Western country printed them, too. So if you hate the country you're in, you can go home, too. You can change into your burka on the plane trip home. And leave all your possessions behind because they came from an infidel society and it would be wrong to keep them. Go back and try to make a living with olives, dates, camels, sheep, goats, and sand.
#2
So if you hate the country you're in, you can go home, too.
Supposedly, their hatred of any host country allows them to subvert and overthrow it.
When we finally get the spine to off all of the ingrates who preach or practice this thankless dogma, we'll be a lot farther ahead in fighting terrorism.
THE American army should scrap the Warrior Ethos, a martial creed that urges soldiers to demonstrate their fighting spirit by destroying the enemies of the United States at close quarter rather than winning the trust of local populations, according to senior US officers and counter-insurgency experts. Soldiers are instructed to live by the creed, which evokes the warrior spirit of the modern US army. It begins with the stirring vow, I am an American soldier, and goes on to affirm that I will never accept defeat. I will never quit . . . I stand ready to deploy, engage and destroy the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.
Admirable though this may be in the heat of battle, the Warrior Ethoss emphasis on annihilating the enemy is inimical to the type of patient, confidence-building counter-insurgency warfare in which America is engaged in the Middle East, according to Lieutenant-General Gregory Newbold, former director of operations to the joint chiefs of staff at the Pentagon.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2006 14:34 ||
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what a load of special bullshit.
A strategic corporal can have a lot more impact on the course of the war than a general, so its critical that soldiers and marines appreciate the consequences of their actions, Newbold said. The old Soldiers Creed came down to doing the right thing. I like that.
#4
This is a longstanding argument between conventional and unconventional soldiers. The problem is that each of them fight a different enemy in a different situation.
A US conventional soldier is fighting an enemy that is either an invader, or is defending his country. In the former case, the conventional soldier tries to protect and evacuate the locals so he can kill the invader. In the latter case, *he* is seen as the invader by the enemy who is rallied to "defend his country", *not* "defend his dictator."
I either case, the warrior ethos should be kept by the conventional soldier.
However, the unconventional soldier fights an enemy of split motives. He may want to defend his country, but his people may be an oppressed minority--he may despise the majority. He also needs the support of the people, voluntary or coerced, to continue the fight.
This is why the unconventional soldier is so fixated on winning the "hearts and minds" of the enemy *people*, if not their fighters.
Even the definition of battle is different between the conventional and unconventional soldier. For the former, it is a formal surrender of the enemy army, in which enemy soldiers are ordered to lay down their arms.
For the unconventional soldier, the battle continues, but migrates from being a war to a police action. The end for him comes when he can turn over his battle to a policeman.
In Iraq and Afghanistan, both of these philosophies coexist, and do to great effect. But there has been and will continue arguments as to which one is appropriate and how much the balance between the two philosophies should be.
#5
A soldiers job is to destroy the enemy. Kill enough of them and watch how the 'hearts and minds' of the locals come around to the proper way of thinking.
Watch Petraeus. He's a very smart guy and a potential POTUS.
#6
There is a gross difference between a WARRIOR and a policeman. Every member of the military is trained to be a warrior. We sometimes find ourselves doing police work, but the main job of a warrior is to fight against the enemies of the United States. Most warriors are flexible enough to handle ANY job that comes their way, regardless of what it is. This is just another piece of PC crap that has no place on the battlefield, and little in the US military establishment. This "general" needs to find himself looking for a new job - in the civilian sector, where he obviously belongs. He has no core "Warrior" ethos, which is essential for career military members at all levels.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/01/2006 16:35 Comments ||
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#7
nice pussy column - was that carter speaking?
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/01/2006 16:36 Comments ||
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#8
I can hear it now:
"The pansies are coming, the pansies are coming!"
Apologetic defeatist wimps. Out trying to assemble another poorly thought out policy that can only result in more Americans making the ultimate sacrifice for no reason when they could have avoided it by offing some ba$turd who deserved it or a sub-moron who shouldn't be in the gene pool anyway.
Maybe a better idea for this article would be that we shouldn't do stupid stuff that goads fence-sitters into being extremists. I can understand that.
But there's still fighting to be done, and the enemy hasn't really taken a break yet, he's just been shoved underground head first. When they go away, send in the police.
It should be known and understood that when an American soldier comes after your a$$, you have a problem. It should be something to be feared and therefore avoided at all costs. That filters out those with ulterior motives and lets us know exactly who we are dealing with. Success in Iraq will underscore this point and give the rest something to think about. Except for apologetic pu$$ies, of course, who don't have the balls and/or understanding to wait for future potential adversaries to learn a lesson at the enemy's expense.
#11
The #1 rule of battle is if you have a choice to fight one a**hole or a dozen a**holes, fight the one. You never let the enemy have any advantage, and this includes at home. If you can persuade his family that he is screwing up, it makes his job that much harder.
Hell, if you can get everything you want with diplomacy, go for it. Sorry if it isn't as emotionally gratifying as firing your bullet launcher. But you got to keep your eyes on the prize.
As a real world example of how unconventional sometimes works a hell of a lot better, the SF in Afghanistan spent months cultivating Afghans with a "hearts & minds" approach. And it was paying off in spades. They were helping out the good guys in all sorts of ways. The SF guys were seen as powerful warlords that it would be a very good idea to support.
Then the army sent in conventional soldiers. They went around FRIENDLY villages, kicking down doors, grabbing and searching women, and holding village elders at gunpoint.
The SF guys liked to shat. There were some very harsh words among commanders before the conventionals were pulled back. The SF had to throw a LOT of apology BBQs to get those villages and tribes back on our side. It had damn near resulted in several hundred Pushtun deciding that the Taliban weren't so bad after all.
#14
Saying that Abu Ghraib was caused by a problem with the "Warrior Creed," is really a stretch. I think that the Iraqis and Afghans understand the concept of "No Better Friend; No Worse Enemy" pretty thoroughly. Being overly sensitive doesn't win hearts and minds in the Middle East, it gets you stepped on.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
10/01/2006 22:46 Comments ||
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#15
The Failed Lefties + anti-Amer Agendists want to domestically increase anti-Amer Amer National/Hyper Socialism-Governmentism-Totalitarianism inside America, while internationally-geopol weaken + isolate AMERIKA unto world-wide Retreat, Withdrawal = Fallback, and Concession-Appeasement. Between now + 2015-2020, Amer's enemies can attack Hated Fascist = Well-Meaning But Imperfect America = Amerika AS LONG AS AMER ISN'T ACTUALLY DESTROYED. IOW, ANY COLLATERAL CASUALTIES INSIDE CONUS-NORAM WHICH RESULTS FROM "AMER HIROSHIMAS/NEW 9-11'S" DUE TO "LIMITED WARS/ATTACKS" IS NOT TREASON = MURDER/CRIME, BUT MERE POLITIX-POLISCHTICK. What kind of Soldier = Warrior is best to fight the most dangerous kind of enemy, which are THOSE FROM WITHIN??? * MSM > VALERIE PLAME'S JOB [AT PENN STATE] WAS TO RECRUIT OPERATIVES-INFORMANTS FOR THE US CIA [INTEL COMMUNITY?].
NEW YORK, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is hiding in the tiny, sparsely populated, heavily mountainous eastern Afghan province of Kunar, Pakistan's president says.
"It's not a hunch," President Pervez Musharraf told The Sunday Times of London. yep it's another lie, 'cause everyone knows he resides at yo momma house Perv.
Bin Laden is known to be hiding in the strongly tribal province, embedded in the Hindu Kush mountain range, Musharraf said.
He said bin Laden might be receiving help from Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the country's prime minister twice in the 1990s, who has been in hiding since siding with bin Laden shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks against the United States.
Musharraf spoke with the newspaper in New York after a contentious White House dinner meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, hosted by President Bush. Kunar Province
#4
No Arclight. Do a Deacon Jones style snatch and grap. Pack the entire town across the Afghan border then start emptying the bus until you get to the 6'5" guy.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
10/01/2006 22:58 Comments ||
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ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Army general headquarters has purchased all 22,000 copies of a sensitive book by a former Inter Services Intelligence(ISI) chief on the myth of the victory claimed by the Pakistan Army in the 1965 war against India.
The army felt The Myth of 1965 Victory by Lieutenant General Mahmood Ahmed would malign the armed forces image. According to GHQ sources, army chief General Pervez Musharraf found the book, published by Oxford University Press, too sensitive.
The sources said Mahmood had submitted the manuscript to the GHQ as per rules. However, after going through the manuscript, the GHQ referred it to Musharraf, who noted on the file that Mahmood should review sensitive parts of the book and the title, especially the use of the word myth in relation to the 1965 war.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: john ||
10/01/2006 10:43 ||
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#1
pathetic efforts to maintain a Pak myth. Losers in every war.
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/01/2006 11:07 Comments ||
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#2
But the Army didn't bother to buy up President General Dr. Pervez Musharref'd book? (He must be a Dr. -- a PhD is required for all national level politicians over there for some reason.) How insulting!
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/01/2006 14:06 Comments ||
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#4
And from Perv's own book
'Make Mullah Omar Hondas brand ambassador'
New Delhi
After Taliban leader Mullah Omar escaped from advancing US forces on a Honda motorcycle, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf jokingly advised the Japanese Prime Minister that the terrorist should be made a brand ambassador for the automobile major. In his book In the Line of Fire: A Memoir, Musharraf said the US started massive carpet-bombing of Afghanistan on October 7, 2001 and the Northern Alliance simultaneously launched a land offensive. This led to Taliban cadres fleeing from Afghanistan into the mountains. In the first week of Dec 2001, Mullah Omar, sensing defeat, escaped on a Honda motorcyle and went into hiding, Musharraf writes. Once when Japanese PM Koizumi asked me about the whereabouts of Mullah Omar, I told him that Omar had escaped on a Honda motorcyle, says Musharraf. He then suggested that the best advertisement for Honda would be an ad campaign showing Mullah Omar fleeing on one of its motorcyles.
Posted by: john ||
10/01/2006 17:46 Comments ||
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#5
Perv: I told him that Omar had escaped on a Honda motorcyle, says Musharraf. He then suggested that the best advertisement for Honda would be an ad campaign showing Mullah Omar fleeing on one of its motorcyles.
From the glamorous world of cinema and a life of comfort, Monica Bediwho was a friend of underworld mobster Abu Salemis finding it difficult to adjust to the tough life in prison.
Bedi was on Friday sentenced to five years imprisonment for getting a passport under a fictitious name.
According to sources in Chanchalguda women's prison, where Bedi is lodged, she was mainly quiet and appeared to be depressed. The facilities she had been enjoying while the trial was on, ever since she was lodged there after her extradition from Portugal along with Abu Salem in November 2005, have been withdrawn.
She was enrolled as "prisoner number 103" after the special Central Buro of Investigation (CBI) court on Friday convicted and sentenced her. The designer dresses that she has been wearing during the past 10 months of the trial have been replaced with white saris and blouses. When asked to choose between white saris and salwar suits, in accordance with jail rules, Bedi is reported to have picked up three pairs of saris and blouses.
Bedi was shifted to one of the barracks meant for convicts late on Friday following the court verdict, said a jail official. The jail has 330 prisoners. Bedi is sharing the barrack with 22 prisoners.
Five years into a war on terrorism, abiding distrust of Pakistan among allies and neighbors was laid bare in the past few days through a series of accusations against its military secret service.
On Saturday, Indian police said the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), along with Lashkar-e-Taiba, branded a terrorist group by the United States, was behind bomb blasts that killed 186 people and wounded hundreds in Mumbai on July 11.
President Pervez Musharraf had already spent the latter days of a lengthy overseas trip fending off Afghan and British insinuations that members of his security apparatus were covertly supporting the Taliban insurgency raging in southern Afghanistan.
Coming just two weeks after Musharraf managed to get India to resume a peace process that New Delhi froze after the Mumbai blasts, the timing of the allegation against the ISI is bad.
The agency is well-used to being blamed, though the West had been happy to enlist its support in a covert war against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan during the 1980s, just as it is now being used in the war on terrorism.
"Ever since I can remember, whenever there is something on, whenever a blast takes place here, or something in Afghanistan, there is the September 11, all sorts of things, so ISI is always in the eye of the storm," said Lieutenant-General Asad Durrani, a former head of the ISI.
#1
Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai pointedly warned of the dangers in a remark last week in the United States that snakes cannot be trained to bite other people.
Musharraf's modus of operandi is playing a double game. Always was and still is.
#3
The US must change the nature of dealings with the Pakis-they never were friends and never will be. The border issue has to be readdressed:
SOLUTION
Afghanistan and Balochistan should form a legal team to challenge the illegal occupation of Afghan territories and Balochistan by Pakistan in the International Court of Justice. Once the Durand Line Agreement is declared illegal, it will result in the return of Pakistan-occupied territories back to Afghanistan. Also, Balochistan will be declared a country that was forcibly invaded through use of force by the Pakistanis; and with international assistance, Balochistan can regain its independence. It is the right time to act now because the US and Allied forces in Afghanistan are positioned to facilitate the enforcement of the Courts judgment.
After Pakistan vacates territories belonging to Afghanistan and Balochistan, a new boarder should be demarked amicably to determine Baloch dominated areas to become the new Balochistan, and Pashtun dominated areas to be merged into Afghanistan. And, with the help of the US and Allied forces, the Afghans and the Baloch forces can flush out members of Al-Qaeda and Talebans from their respective countries.
A wise observer once said, Pakistan is a completely superfluous and artificially created spot on the world map that has become a breeding ground for extremism, and trouble that would be best done away with.
http://afghanland.com/history/durrand.html
(KUNA) -- Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf Saturday said his four-nation visit helped promote understanding with world leaders on regional and international issues including the war on terrorism and remove misperception about Pakistan, especially the peace deal to curb Taliban activities. "My visit has been very successful", the Associate Press of Pakistan (APP) quoted Musharraf as saying on his return from London on Saturday. The President also visited Brussels, Cuba and the United States.
"Yup. I really opened them infidels' eyes, by Gum!"
In his wide-ranging talks with the leadership of US, UK and European Union (EU), the President said he discussed the situation in Afghanistan in the wake of shifting of focus from Al-Qaeda to Taliban, peace deal with tribal elders of North Waziristan tribal agency and the need to address the root causes of terrorism.
On the sideline of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in Havana Cuba, the President held an important meeting with the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He described the meeting as very important and said it was a way forward towards conflict resolution.
President Musharraf also held important bilateral meetings with various leaders in Havana, including the President of Iran and OIC Secretary General to exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual concern. Replying to a question, the President said he discussed with the western leadership the conditions in the Muslim world and the prospects of counter terrorism campaign. The President said he highlighted the importance of resolution of Palestinian dispute, which lies at the core of whatever is happening around the world and the problems the Muslim world is facing today.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Yea the first being that Pakistan is on our side in the WoT.
#8
I was under the misperception that a nuclear Iran is a bigger problem than a nuclear Pakistan, but thanks to Perv's high profile I have learned a lot about him and now I'd just as soon we take out Pakistan's nuclear capabilities first. Perv is totally untrustworthy and is about one step away from losing control to people who would nuke us just a quick as Ahmanutjob.
#9
The US must change the nature of dealings with the Pakis-they never were friends and never will be. The border issue has to be readdressed:
SOLUTION
Afghanistan and Balochistan should form a legal team to challenge the illegal occupation of Afghan territories and Balochistan by Pakistan in the International Court of Justice. Once the Durand Line Agreement is declared illegal, it will result in the return of Pakistan-occupied territories back to Afghanistan. Also, Balochistan will be declared a country that was forcibly invaded through use of force by the Pakistanis; and with international assistance, Balochistan can regain its independence. It is the right time to act now because the US and Allied forces in Afghanistan are positioned to facilitate the enforcement of the Courts judgment.
After Pakistan vacates territories belonging to Afghanistan and Balochistan, a new boarder should be demarked amicably to determine Baloch dominated areas to become the new Balochistan, and Pashtun dominated areas to be merged into Afghanistan. And, with the help of the US and Allied forces, the Afghans and the Baloch forces can flush out members of Al-Qaeda and Talebans from their respective countries.
A wise observer once said, Pakistan is a completely superfluous and artificially created spot on the world map that has become a breeding ground for extremism, and trouble that would be best done away with.
http://afghanland.com/history/durrand.html
Pakistan said India should not point fingers without evidence after Mumbai police blamed Pakistani spies and militants on Saturday for a series of blasts that killed 186 people in July. "It is baseless, it is irresponsible and (done) out of habit," Tasnim Aslam, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said.
Has anyone but me noticed that the Paks don't seem to be conducting their own independent investigations into these atrocities that occur on Indian soil and are so recklessly blamed on them? If I was president, and the nation was blamed for something we hadn't done, like, f'rinstance, an unprovoked attack on the parliament of Canada, I'd be taking active measures to clear our name. I'd probably establish an independent body to conduct a separate investigation from the one I'd certainly order done by the CIA and/or the FBI. I might even request that the Brits, the Frenchies, and the Germans lend unbiased assistance; not having an ax to grind, I'd be sure they'd either clear our national name or find where the rogues were within our organization. If there did turn out to be rogues, I'd have them tried and executed for treason, since the government is expected to make foreign policy, not a bunch of mid-level functionaries who meet for bowling on Wednesday nights.
The ministry said later in a statement that Indian officials kept making unsubstantiated accusations against Pakistan for propaganda purposes to draw attention away from several insurgencies inside India.
They usually don't blame the Assam terrorists or the Nagas on the Paks. They often blame nasty actions originating in Bangla on the ISI, and usually they blame major infrastructure attacks on them.
The bombing of rush-hour commuter trains and stations in Mumbai killed 186 and wounded hundreds on July 11.
I'm not an Indian, and the Paks were the first suspects to pop into my mind, too.
The allegations leveled by Mumbai police against Pakistan's military spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba coincided with President Pervez Musharraf's return home after nearly three weeks abroad. "India has always chosen this path of pointing fingers at Pakistan without evidence," Tariq Azim Khan, Minister of State for Information, said. "If they have any evidence, they should provide us evidence and we will carry out our investigations."
If Pak took wasn't involved, and wanted to clear itself, it would be sending its own agents to find out who really dunnit. A few Perry Mason moments would shut the Indos up assuming they were wrong.
A spokesman for Lashkar, one of the most feared militant groups fighting Indian rule in Kashmir, denied the organization's involvement.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
I believe it was Whitney Houston who once said "Pak is Wack!"
#4
What exactly will India gain by sharing this evidence?
The Pak government has already admitted to the Sindh High Court that it has no operational control over the ISI.
All this does is expose Indian sources and methods to the Paks and helps them plan a better terrorist attack.
Posted by: john ||
10/01/2006 8:56 Comments ||
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#5
I'm guessing this charge will be met with the same response as were Danish cartoons and Papal speeches.
Posted by: john ||
10/01/2006 9:23 Comments ||
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#6
This of course is the same Pakistan whose ISI agents spread the rumor of the 4,000 Jews that didn't show up to work at the WTC on 9/11/01.
This is the same Pakwackland where a majority still believes that someone other than Muslim Arabs carried out the 9-11 attacks. And they have the nerve to demand proof from India. FU!
October 1, 2006: Is Shia warlord Muqtada al Sadr becoming more radical? For a time Muqtada al-Sadr, the radical Shia leader, who has generally opposed the secular government in Iraq, seemed to be moving to a more moderate position, possibly seeking to turn his large body of adherents into a political bloc. But apparently his efforts to curb the more radical elements among his followers, some of whom are leading anti-Sunni Arab "death squads," has led to rifts in the ranks. Many of Sadr's followers have kin who were victims of Saddam's secret police, and they want revenge. These disputes have been exacerbated by government efforts to crack down on private militias and death squads, which reportedly has included an occasional assassination of some of Sadr's more radical supporters. As a result of this, and out of fear of losing his followers, al Sadr is likely to become more radical. There are rumors that he is preparing a "coup" to secure greater authority over areas where his militia is particularly strong, such as the Sadr City district in northeastern Baghdad and in Basra.
Possibly in an effort to head off such a move, on September 17th the Ministry of the Interior and representatives of al Sadr's militia the Mahdi Army "Badr Army" initialed a "peace" agreement, in which each side agreed to ease up. Whether this hold, remains to be seen
The idea of turning Iraq into a federal state is viewed very suspiciously by the country's Sunni Arab minority, which formerly dominated the country. Sunni Arab areas (mainly in central Iraq) lack oil, and Sunni Arab leaders fear that federalism will lead to the impoverishment of their areas. That their generations of rule led to the impoverishment of the other areas is not something they want to talk about, but something that Kurds and Shia Arabs cannot forget. At present, plans for a federal Iraq revolve around three or four regions, a Kurdish north, a Shia center and south, and a Sunni west, with Baghdad, a very mixed area, as the fourth. Other ideas suggest dividing the country up into its 18 provinces. But these are really inheritances of Ottoman rule (1638-1918), and often bear no relation to ethnic or economic "ground truth." There is a very small group arguing for an even greater division of the country, into 25 or 30 regions, "cantons" rather than "states".
Adopting a cantonal system would allow relatively more Sunni participation in central government affairs. It would also allow for more interaction among the various groups, since smaller "states" might find themselves with similar interests in economic or other matters, that transcend ethnic and sectarian lines. Such a move might also placate Turkey, Syria, and Iran, who view the creation of a Kurdish "state" in northern Iraq as dangerous, given that they have substantial Kurdish minorities; several small Kurdish "cantons" would be less inclined to have expansionist ambitions than one big "state." Although the Iraqi parliament has been debating federalism for some time, the issue remains contentious, and a final decision keeps being put off, most recently just last week.
When it comes to fighting the terrorists, tribal ties still matter. In central Iraq, three Sunni tribes are particularly linked to the Sunni Arab violence; the Bulaym, Janabi, and Shammar Jarba. They were mainstays of the old Saddam Hussein regime, providing many recruits for the secret police and Republican Guard. Tribal politics for these three is all about either regaining control of the government, or getting amnesty. The government has been discussing amnesty deals with many of the tribal leaders. The problem is that the tribes want amnesty for more people than the government believes it can get away with. Attempts to give amnesty to those known to have been involved in killing Americans, blew up when Americans got wind of it. Same thing happened in Iraq when the government proposed giving amnesty to Sunni Arab tribal officials who had participated in attacks on Kurds and Shia Arabs both before, and after, the fall of Saddam in 2003. What it comes down to is that there are thousands of prominent Sunni Arabs who have to be either pardoned, captured or killed, before there can be peace in Iraq. Innocence
Israel should "liquidate" Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah "at the first opportunity," Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer, a former defence minister, told army radio on Saturday. "We must liquidate Nasrallah at the first opportunity, because he is the embodiment of evil, not just for us but for Muslims and Christians too," Ben Eliezer said. The minister is a member of the centre-left Labour party, the main coalition partner of the centrist Kadima formation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2006 00:00 ||
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#3
You had a chance about a week or so ago when he addressed a Nuremberg-like, Nazi-crazed mob of Hezbo supporters crowd of over 300,000.
Imagine, a direct airstrike on Nass-asshat Nasrallah right at the moment he began to address the mob crowd. I would have paid the maximum pay-for-view price to see that!
#5
Do it with napalm, to be sure to get the people close to him as well. Make it a 60-ship formation, so that all you leave is a few pieces of char to be scraped up and buried.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/01/2006 16:47 Comments ||
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Hamas officials on Saturday accused Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of planning to stage a coup against the Hamas-led government by sending thousands of PA policemen to riot in various parts of the Gaza Strip. They warned that Abbas's alleged plot would ignite a bloody civil war.
Cue Sea of Fire man...
Mashaal accused Abbas of plotting with the US and Israel to topple the democratically elected government headed by Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.
Meanwhile, sources close to Abbas revealed that he refused to meet Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal in Qatar until the latter apologized for insulting him in May. In that speech at a Palestinian refugee camp near Damascus, Mashaal accused Abbas of plotting with the US and Israel to topple the democratically elected government headed by Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.
... which seems to have done a pretty good job of paralyzing itself...
Qatar's rulers tried to arrange a meeting between Abbas and Mashaal over the weekend to discuss the formation of a national unity government, but Mashaal's refusal to apologize prompted Abbas to call it off, the sources said.
Just as well. I don't think there's ever been a "national unity" government that's actually worked. Though not working might actually be a step up for the current Hamas government, which could be described as "counterworking."
Abbas later flew to Kuwait, where he was to hold talks with the emirate's leaders on the current crisis between Fatah and Hamas.
Abbas is seeking the backing of as many Arab countries as possible for a potential dismissal of the Hamas-led government...
Abbas, according to the sources, is seeking the backing of as many Arab countries as possible for a potential dismissal of the Hamas-led government.
My guess would be that the only ones opposing it would be Syria and... ummm... maybe Yemen or Sudan. Possibly.
As Hamas and Fatah representatives continued to trade allegations over responsibility for the failure of the unity government talks, thousands of PA policemen took to the streets in the Gaza Strip, shooting into the air and blocking main routes. They were protesting the PA's failure to pay them full salaries since Hamas came to power eight months ago. "We want to live, we want salaries," the policemen shouted as they burned tires in some areas.
Sources in Gaza City said the protesters belonged to various branches of the PA security forces and were joined by several hundred Fatah gunmen...
Sources in Gaza City said the protesters belonged to various branches of the PA security forces and were joined by several hundred Fatah gunmen. In Deir al-Balah, a masked gunman tossed a hand grenade at a group of policemen who were blocking one of the main roads, wounding five of them. In Rafah, dozens of PA policemen threw stones at the car of Culture Minister Attallah Abu al-Sabah, smashing some windows. No one was hurt.
The protests, which began on Thursday, are seen by some Hamas leaders as an attempt by Abbas and Fatah to stage a coup against the Hamas-led government with the help of Israel and the US.
Abbas is the head of state. Hamiyeh's the PM of a government that's patently not working. Having the head of state dismiss the gummint and call new elections isn't a "coup."
These people who claim they are policemen are actually suspicious elements. These are forces of chaos and not security forces. These elements report to Abbas and he's responsible for their actions...
Hamas legislator Marwan Abu Ras accused Abbas of orchestrating the protests in an attempt to overthrow the government. "Abbas is behind the chaos and anarchy," he charged. "These people who claim they are policemen are actually suspicious elements. These are forces of chaos and not security forces. These elements report to Abbas and he's responsible for their actions." A statement issued by the Hamas leadership in the Gaza Strip claimed that Fatah was behind the protests. It noted that the protesters had opened fire indiscriminately, blocked main roads, assaulted residents and caused damage to infrastructure and private property. "These protests are designed to create more confusion in the Palestinian arena," the statement said. "The riots by the so-called policemen are part of an organized criminal campaign to trigger civil war and destroy our national institutions and achievements."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2006 00:00 ||
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#2
They warned that Abbas's alleged plot would ignite a bloody civil war.
Everything ignites violence over there. What's so special about this violence?
Abbas revealed that he refused to meet Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal in Qatar until the latter apologized for insulting him in May.
Sigh. In the Arab world, use whatever achieves your ends. That's why they have such a long memory I guess.
Abbas is seeking the backing of as many Arab countries as possible for a potential dismissal of the Hamas-led government.
I guess it's good to have guys with guns standing behind you when you threaten someone like Hamas. I wonder where his family is right now.
Hamas legislator Marwan Abu Ras accused Abbas of orchestrating the protests in an attempt to overthrow the government.
What government? Hamas wantw to hold on tight even though they are causing suffering. What sort of government is that? Hold another election and see how things go and be done with it. Or are you afraid of the results, Hamas? And have Jimmy Carter keep a watchful eye over the proceedings while you're at it so he can declare them "Free, fair, and more democratic than you'll find anywhere in the world, especially the USA!" And while he's there, I have a sandwich board he can wear . . . .
The Palestinian Authority's Refugee Minister Atef Adwan on Saturday warned Israel not to attempt to force the release of kidnapped IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit.
"Don't even think about it, Zionists!"
In an interview to the Nazareth-based Kul-el-Arab, Adwan said that the matter of Shalit would be resolved through negotiations, and urged Israel to accede to the kidnappers' demands to release Palestinian security prisoners as part of an exchange deal.
"Udderwise, he's toast! Yez got dat? Toast!"
Regarding the recent meeting in Damascus between Hamas leader-in-exile Khaled Mashaal and head of Egyptian Intelligence Omar Sulieman, Adwan told the paper that while he respected Sulieman, the Egyptian official should not send harsh letters to PA official.
"We got our dignity, y'know. Youse know what happens when our dignity gets dented!"
Rather, Adwan said, Sulieman should restrict his role to that of an advisor. According to Israel Radio, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said in Qatar on Friday that Egyptian-brokered efforts to secure Shalit's release continued.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Into the sea with you. Bye Gaza. Easy come and easy go.
#2
The math is painful but clear: How many Israelis will die as a result of releasing all the prisoners Fatah and Hamas wants vs. how many do they have in their hand now? What would the political cost be for Fatah and Hamas be if they held onto them or killed them?
Neither, apparently, will Israel's completed withdrawal from Lebanon.
PA math, as normal: Israel gives all, PA gives nothing. The PA will never HAVE to give anything, because Israel and the US have made themselves pliable and submissive in order to keep up the facade of an alliance with certain European countries. Shame on both Israel and the US.
#5
Start capturing and executing Gazans on a daily basis. Terrorism is defeated by visiting terror upon the perpetrators in many multiples.
Posted by: ed ||
10/01/2006 8:25 Comments ||
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#6
Wait for the next Hamas rally, then cordon off and detain the entire crowd. Bundle them off to an internment camp and keep them in miserable conditions. Offer to trade them back, but make sure that Hamas only gets the release of ordinary folk. No big wigs, no terrorists, just a buch of fuckwits who were stupid enough to vote in a terrorist government.
It either that or just begin leveling a solid block of Gaza on a daily basis until Shalit isreleased. Do it with bulldozers or, if there is armed resistance, regroup and walk in less accurate artillery to do the job. Palestinians are so death oriented that nothing else even makes an impression on them. Unless people have split open skulls or sucking chest wounds, they don't even notice.
Shin Bet Director Yuval Diskin, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and officials from unnamed Gulf states met secretly in Aqaba, Jordan to discuss keeping Hamas out of a new Palestinian government to be formed by Abbas, London's Al-Quds al-Arabi reported Saturday morning.
Egypt, Jordan and an unnamed Persian Gulf state are opposed Hamas' participation in a Palestinian unity government, according to the report.
The thugs in suits thing isn't working real well, is it?
Arab officials do not want Hamas' Ismail Haniyeh - whom they consider moderate - to continue serving as PA prime minister, because they see him as ultimately subordinate to Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Mashal.
Haniyeh's whatcha might call relatively moderate. For a Hamas thug in a suit. Meshaal is not nearly as moderate, not even relatively so, having threatened to murder Haniyeh.
The Arab officials would prefer to see an independent candidate - like Palestinian businessman Munib al-Masri - for the premiership. The report said Abbas accused Israel of trying to delay a resolution to the Gilad Shalit hostage crisis by making use of non-Egyptian mediators, including Turkey, Norway, and Spain. The PA chairman also said Syria and Iran wanted to see the negotiations fail, and requested that talks be coordinated through him personally, because Hamas would try to take credit for any successful resolution.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2006 00:00 ||
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DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) - Two advocates for Kurdish rights have been freed from prison, a Syrian human rights group said Sunday. Mohammed Ghanem, 51, a writer and human rights activist has been released after completing a six-month prison term for insulting President Bashar Assad, the National Organization for Human Rights said in an e-mail. NOHR said Ghanem had been released "recently" but did not specify when.
Publisher and editor-in-chief for the online magazine "Al-Souriyoun" ("The Syrians"), Ghanem also wrote political commentary for the periodical in support of Kurdish demands. He was arrested in March in Raqqa, 345 miles northeast of the Syrian capital, and convicted on charges of insulting the Syrian president, discrediting the Syrian government and fomenting sectarian unrest.
The rights group said another activist, Kurdish engineering student Lashfan Hassan Abdo, 23, also was released from prison. Abdo was arrested on charges of fomenting sectarian strife following riots between Syrian Kurds and Arabs during a soccer match in the northeastern city of Qamishli in March 2004 and sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison.
Syria's population of 20 million includes 2.5 million people of Kurdish origin, including 150,000 stateless Kurds who are mostly refugees from Turkey, Iran and other countries but may have lived in Syria for years.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/01/2006 15:31 ||
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No Logic Or Reason For Iran To Halt Enrichment As EU Negotiates and US Crafts Patchwork Policy With two days of talks between Irans Ari Larijani and the EUs Javier Solana ending Thursday with no progress, the Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki declared early Friday what has been whispered but rarely spoken aloud in Western diplomatic circles. Appearing on Iranian state-run television, Mottaki said, There is no reason or logic to suspending nuclear activities. The foreigners have experienced that using the language of threats and referring (Iran) to the Security Council is ineffective and there is now no option but to hold talks.
From other sources, some details of the two-day talks have emerged, most of them troubling. Frustrating those who have grown tired of talks about talks under the guise of actual negotiations working toward a solution, the EUs Solana said that some important progress on the elements relating to how the potential negotiations can take place.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad shed light on how any such negotiations can take place. He said of a halt to enrichment operations as reported back by Irans Ari Larijani, Then they reached a point that they asked for even just a one-day halt. We said we wont do it. This presents itself as confirmation that Irans position remains that they seek the process of negotiations but will not compromise. The world appears resigned to accepting such conditions.
While the process subscribed to by the European Union through Javier Solana has been criticized widely as playing into the Iranian strategy of delay and division, even the United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appeared ready to dismiss sanctions that would have the harshest impact on Iran: Sanctions against their import of gasoline, as the Iranians lack adequate indigenous refinery capacity to satisfy domestic demand. Rice cites fears of isolating the Iranian public from the West rather than from the mullah regime. This after the US Congress earlier this year reduced the amount of proposed funding in the Iran Freedom Support Act to support those same Iranian civilians from $75 million to merely $50 million.
For their part, the US House of Representatives approved an Iran sanctions bill Thursday, with the US Senate expected to follow. The current bill, formerly known as the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act (ISLA), is apparently the result of intense consultations with the Bush administration and bans groups and companies from participating in Iranian oil development as well as any industries and technologies that could lend direct or indirect assistance to Irans development of biological, chemical or nuclear weapons or destabilizing numbers and types of advanced conventional weapons. While the effort is to be applauded, the effect on the Iranian regime remains questionable.
The United States Treasury Department is also seeking to apply pressure to the Iranian regime by applying unilateral sanctions to international funds transfers for the state sponsor of terrorism and soliciting cooperation from other nations. The Treasury Departments genuine attempts at doing what is within their power is doubted in its potential effectiveness. Says Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, Roger Leeds, speaking to the porous nature of the disparate international finance systems, Its so easy to transfer funds around the world without going through some of the major financial institutions. It can be a pain in the neck for the Iranians, it will make their life miserable, but it wont keep them from transferring funds.
While each effort is also to be applauded, they are collectively an example of an inconsistent patchwork of policy brought on by the lack of Western unity with regard to the Iranian nuclear crisis, saying nothing of the seemingly sidelined immediate crisis of terrorism sponsorship.
#2
Yes, but they've turned on their (ineffective) ally... I find this troubling ....
Posted by: Bobby ||
10/01/2006 7:27 Comments ||
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#3
As time goes on, I believe that PC will inevitably go out the window and I doubt it will matter anymore whether Dubya = America strikes first, or Iran = Radical Islamism. Iran = China > their hegemonic ambitions is unilaterally dependent on getting concessions from the US-West, espec the USA, and iff they don't get it, they want the World to multilaterally fight America.It still comes down to "taking the World" wid them to hell. This article again affirms that Radical Iran is only interested in concessions and appeasement = VICTORY, that the WEST + WESTERN INSTITUTIONS MUST UNILAT SUBMIT TO ISLAM, OR ELSE. THE US-WEST EITHER GIVE IN TO DEAMNDS OVER IRANIAN NUKES + NORTH KOREA-TAIWAN, IN RETURN FOR BEING ALLOWED TO DIE LATER ON.
ZARIT, Israel - Israels army pulled out of south Lebanon early on Sunday to complete a handover to the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers under a ceasefire to end a war with Hezbollah guerrillas, Israeli military sources said.
Returning soldiers padlocked the border gate at Zarit, close to where Iranian-supported Hezbollah fighters seized two soldiers on July 12. The headlights of tanks lit up clouds of dust as they crossed back into Israel past coils of barbed wire.
The responsibility for Lebanon right now is in the hands of the Lebanese government and, of course, the UN so every act of Hezbollah is the responsibility of Lebanon, said Israeli army spokesman Major Zvika Golan before the last soldiers had left.
Military sources said a few Israeli soldiers would remain on the Lebanese side of the divided border village of Ghajar until security arrangements were finalised.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/01/2006 00:00 ||
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every act of Hezbollah is the responsibility of Lebanon
Good. Now if the UNFIL forces don't begin to demonstrate some significant effort towards disarming or expelling Hezbollah from the boundary area, at least Israel will have evacuated their soldiers from a free-fire zone.
Malaysia will send 360 soldiers to join the international peacekeeping force in Lebanon. The troops were approved by the UN, and are expected to be deployed within a few weeks, Israel Radio reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
I've worked with the Malaysian navy and found them to be professional. This is a rather different situation, though.
#4
Expect the M'sian Navy and Air Force to be somewhat better quality than that Army, at least some...perhaps due to educational standard of some of their officers. Even then, there was covered up fiscal corruption in both and the stigma of the Navy wrt the Vietnamese boat people episode of the past.
In private, the personnels are attracted by the very high UN pay(3-4x?) on "peace keeping" mission and there may be internal vying to be selected. Officially, it's about showing off the brotherhood factor for face sake and they probably expect a milk run like the last time in Bosnia. Who knows?
#5
Like the UN and French, they'll work on defusing the numerous bomblets left over from Israeli cluster bombs while completely ignoring Hezbo buners, IEDs, and rocket launchers.
#11
Malaysia's navy needs to stay home and work on their piracy issues. The Army could stand to stop the JI in Sabah. This is just dumb and more about the UN pay and helping Hezbullah than it is about peace.
More of my tax dollars supporting terrorists.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
10/01/2006 21:41 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
A previously unseen video made by 
A Muslim community leader in Perth is calling for calm in the wake of a drive-by shooting at a mosque in Mirrabooka on Friday night.
THE US decision to ban torture may hinder the fight against terrorism, Attorney-general Philip Ruddock has said. Mr Ruddock's comments come as the US moves closer to putting Australian terrorist suspect David Hicks on trial four-and-a-half years after he was captured by the US in Afghanistan. Hicks is now held in the US prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
A majority of Danes still support the decision to print the controversial Prophet Muhammad cartoons that enraged much of the Islamic world, according to a poll published Saturday on the one-year anniversary of the printing. 
From the glamorous world of cinema and a life of comfort, Monica Bediwho was a friend of underworld mobster Abu Salemis finding it difficult to adjust to the tough life in prison.
Five years into a war on terrorism, abiding distrust of Pakistan among allies and neighbors was laid bare in the past few days through a series of accusations against its military secret service.
(KUNA) -- Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf Saturday said his four-nation visit helped promote understanding with world leaders on regional and international issues including the war on terrorism and remove misperception about Pakistan, especially the peace deal to curb Taliban activities. "My visit has been very successful", the Associate Press of Pakistan (APP) quoted Musharraf as saying on his return from London on Saturday. The President also visited Brussels, Cuba and the United States.
Has anyone but me noticed that the Paks don't seem to be conducting their own independent investigations into these atrocities that occur on Indian soil and are so recklessly blamed on them? If I was president, and the nation was blamed for something we hadn't done, like, f'rinstance, an unprovoked attack on the parliament of Canada, I'd be taking active measures to clear our name. I'd probably establish an independent body to conduct a separate investigation from the one I'd certainly order done by the CIA and/or the FBI. I might even request that the Brits, the Frenchies, and the Germans lend unbiased assistance; not having an ax to grind, I'd be sure they'd either clear our national name or find where the rogues were within our organization. If there did turn out to be rogues, I'd have them tried and executed for treason, since the government is expected to make foreign policy, not a bunch of mid-level functionaries who meet for bowling on Wednesday nights.
October 1, 2006: Is Shia warlord Muqtada al Sadr becoming more radical? For a time Muqtada al-Sadr, the radical Shia leader, who has generally opposed the secular government in Iraq, seemed to be moving to a more moderate position, possibly seeking to turn his large body of adherents into a political bloc. But apparently his efforts to curb the more radical elements among his followers, some of whom are leading anti-Sunni Arab "death squads," has led to rifts in the ranks. Many of Sadr's followers have kin who were victims of Saddam's secret police, and they want revenge. These disputes have been exacerbated by government efforts to crack down on private militias and death squads, which reportedly has included an occasional assassination of some of Sadr's more radical supporters. As a result of this, and out of fear of losing his followers, al Sadr is likely to become more radical. There are rumors that he is preparing a "coup" to secure greater authority over areas where his militia is particularly strong, such as the Sadr City district in northeastern Baghdad and in Basra. 
Israel should "liquidate" Hezbollah leader 
Hamas officials on Saturday accused Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of planning to stage a coup against the Hamas-led government by sending thousands of PA policemen to riot in various parts of the Gaza Strip. They warned that Abbas's alleged plot would ignite a bloody civil war. 
The Palestinian Authority's Refugee Minister Atef Adwan on Saturday warned Israel not to attempt to force the release of kidnapped IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit. 
Shin Bet Director 
With two days of talks between Irans Ari Larijani and the EUs Javier Solana ending Thursday with no progress, the Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki declared early Friday what has been whispered but rarely spoken aloud in Western diplomatic circles. Appearing on Iranian state-run television, Mottaki said, There is no reason or logic to suspending nuclear activities. The foreigners have experienced that using the language of threats and referring (Iran) to the Security Council is ineffective and there is now no option but to hold talks.
