WASHINGTON - A US Army brigade scheduled to deploy to Iraq will now go to Afghanistan to maintain higher troop levels intended to boost operations against the Taliban, the Pentagon said on Wednesday. The 173rd Airborne Brigade, based in Vicenza, Italy, will replace another brigade that had its tour of duty extended last month to bolster Afghanistans NATO-led security force ahead of an expected spring offensive by Taliban militants.
The Pentagon said the brigade of about 3,200 troops would deploy in the spring. The decision will keep two US combat brigades in Afghanistan, where 2006 was the bloodiest year since US-led forces ousted the Taliban in 2001. Two US brigade combat teams in Afghanistan provide military capability and combat power required for NATO to continue its initiatives in promoting stability and security in the winter and spring, while denying safe haven for the Taliban, a Pentagon statement said.
There are some 27,000 US troops in Afghanistan. About 15,000 are in the NATO force while the rest conduct missions ranging from counter-terrorism to training Afghan forces.
Last month, the US Armys 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, which was close to the end of a year-long deployment in Afghanistan, was ordered to stay up to four months longer. As another brigade had already arrived to replace the 10th Mountain Division unit, that move doubled the number of US combat brigades in Afghanistan. That level of US military commitment will be maintained, with the 173rd Airborne Brigade taking over from the Mountain Division troops when they depart.
The Pentagon said a unit to go to Iraq in place of 173rd Airborne Brigade would be announced once it had been alerted.
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02/15/2007 00:00 ||
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(SomaliNet) Somalis interim Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi has repeated on Tuesday his early objection that he would never negotiate with the leaders of the ousted Islamic Courts Union vowing that they will be brought before justice. Premier Gedi made the statement in a press conference held at Somali
He accused what he called the Islamist remnants of being responsible for the attacks on the civilians in Mogadishu. The Islamists he said are not innocent and one day they will be brought to justice.
embassy in Nairobi, Kenya in which he partly raised about the reconciliation conference that is expected to be held in Somalia.
He accused what he called the Islamist remnants of being responsible for the attacks on the civilians in Mogadishu. The Islamists he said are not innocent and one day they will be brought to justice.
He gave details about his governments activities and progress in Somalia saying that the transitional federal government is now in full control of the country. Gedi said the government would use tough actions against anyone who opposes the peace. He described the attacks against the Ethiopians and government troops as acts of terror. Perpetrators, who waged a war against Ethiopian troops in the capital, have transferred the war to the port city of Kismayu, 500 km south of the capital Mogadishu, he said.
Gedi said his government would spare no efforts to pursue the remnants of the Islamic courts. They and their terrorist alliance are behind the sporadic attacks in Mogadishu."
Asked when the AU peacekeepers would be deployed in Somalia, Gedi said 4,000 troops from Nigeria and Uganda would arrive in Somalia soon. His latest comment came as the Ugandan parliament today fully endorsed quick deployment of Ugandan troops in Somalia. He has also revealed that a number of prisoners suspected links to Islamists deported from Kenya to Somalia would be presented to the press.
This article starring:
Ali Mohamed Gedi
Islamic Courts Union
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2007 00:00 ||
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(SomaliNet) The Ethiopian foreign minister Seyum Mesfin has visited Baidoa city, southwest of Somalia where he met with the top of Somalis interim government as the security level in Baidoa was unprecedented.
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02/15/2007 00:00 ||
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(SomaliNet) The transitional federal government in Somalia has moved into steps tightening the security in the capital Mogadishu after days of mortar, rocket and grenade attacks, killing scores of people and wounding others more, and also caused many residents to flee their homes.
The government, which faces strong opposition, on Tuesday night deployed hundreds of its troops in many streets that are key to the traffic to prevent any attack from the insurgents groups. Ibrahim Omar Sabrie known as Shaweye the deputy mayor of Mogadishu today told Somalinet that the security forces have put up several checkpoints in the capital to keep an eye with what he called the anti government elements sneaking through Mogadishu. Here in the capital, there are troublemakers who oppose the peace and like to live in anarchy so those are the ones we are targeting the security forces will use any means to hunt down the misled militia whose work is to harm the civilians, Shaweye said.
Despite no mortars launched in Mogadishu last night, a large number of people, among them women and children, could be seen fleeing Mogadishu on Wednesday morning to other provinces in the country. Normally all the roads to the areas of presidential palace, seaport, airports, hotels based by the government officials in Mogadishu are cut off, starting from the evening where the heavily armed allied forces of Somalia and Ethiopia are on alert and stopping people using these streets for security reasons. People in the capital, those live near the areas in particular began moving from their homes in fear of being target of insurgent attacks.
To prevent more violence and nighttime bombing, some of the districts in Mogadishu conduct efforts to form local paid militias to protect the villages from the attackers
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Ugandan peacekeepers pledged to join the African Union (AU) peacekeeping force for Somalia will be deployed solely in Mogadishu, the country's capital, an AU spokesman said on Wednesday. The 1,500-strong force could go to the lawless city as early as this weekend, following a vote by Uganda's parliament on Tuesday to send troops to aid the AU.
"We can't deploy all over Somalia. We'll be in Mogadishu. 1,500 people is adequate."
The Ugandan force would secure Mogadishu while the AU awaits troops from other countries to deploy to other Somali cities, Paddy Ankunda, spokesman for the AU mission said on Wednesday. "We can't deploy all over Somalia. We'll be in Mogadishu. 1,500 people is adequate [to secure Mogadishu]."
Nigeria, Burundi, Ghana and Malawi have also pledged troops to the AU misson, but it is unclear when they would mobilise them.
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The opposition Islamist group in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood, says at least 73 of its members have been arrested in overnight raids across the country. Security sources said those held were detained for belonging to an illegal organisation and for possessing anti-government literature. The Muslim Brotherhood is outlawed in Egypt but is normally tolerated.
The group says the arrests are a pre-emptive move ahead of April's vote for the upper house of parliament. "This is an attempt to marginalise the role of the Brotherhood in Egyptian political life, an attempt to impede our political path," Mohamed Habib, the Brotherhood's deputy leader, told the Reuters news agency.
The raids came days after one of the Brotherhood's most senior figures, Khayrat al-Shatir, was ordered to stand trial in a military court on charges of money-laundering and financing an illegal group. Thirty-nine other people are also accused.
Also on Thursday, Human Rights Watch, a US-based organisation, called on the Egyptian authorities to free hundreds of Brotherhood members who it said were detained "solely for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and association".
A Saudi wing of al Qaeda called for attacks on suppliers of oil to the United States around the world, saying targets should not be limited to the Middle East and listing Canada, Venezuela and Mexico as under threat. The threat appeared in the al Qaeda Organization in the Arabian Peninsula's e-magazine, Sawt al-Jihad (Voice of Holy War), which was posted on a Web site used by Islamist militants.
"It is necessary to hit oil interests in all regions which serve the United States, not just in the Middle East. The goal is to cut its supplies or reduce them through any means," it said. The group was behind a failed February 2006 attack on the world's largest oil processing plant, the Abqaiq facility in Saudi Arabia. "Targeting oil interests includes production wells, export pipelines, oil terminals and tankers and that can reduce U.S. oil inventory, forcing it to take decisions it has been avoiding for a long time and confuse and strangle its economy," it said.
"It is necessary to hit oil interests in all regions which serve the United States, not just in the Middle East"
Officials and regulators in Canada's oil and gas sector said they were taking the threat seriously but had not raised security levels. "We've always said that we're not immune to possibilities of terrorism," Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said. Canada is the biggest exporter of crude oil to the United States, followed by Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
Mexico said its crude oil installations were safe and there was no immediate plan to step up security. President Felipe Calderon's office said it was evaluating the threat. The country, which ships about 1.4 million barrels a day of crude to the United States, tightened security around its Gulf of Mexico oil rigs in 2005 in line with international norms, a spokeswoman at state-run oil monopoly Pemex said.
Venezuela said it was prepared to investigate the threat. "The Venezuelan state's intelligence apparatus is ready to launch any investigation in order to guarantee the operation of our strategic resources ... with a view to ensuring any early warning," Venezuelan Interior Minister Pedro Carreno told reporters.
The militant group also vowed new attacks in Saudi Arabia.
"For some time now, we have been preparing some quality attacks which will shake the foundations of the crusaders (Westerners) in the Arabian Peninsula," said the magazine, reappearing after a nearly two-year absence following a Saudi clampdown. "And we tell our leader Sheikh Osama bin Laden that we miss him terribly and we are proceeding on the road (of Jihad) ... your soldiers in the Arabian Peninsula are working to prepare for what would please you and the believers," the magazine said in another article.
The issue, dedicated to the theme "Bin Laden and the Oil Weapon," also carried operational details of the attack on the Abqaiq facility and an interview with a militant who said he had taken part in the raid. Al Qaeda leaders have repeatedly called for attacks on oil installations to block supplies to punish the West for what they see as a U.S.-led war against Islam. In 2003, al Qaeda militants launched a violent campaign to topple the U.S.-allied Saudi royal family with suicide attacks on compounds housing Westerners and on government buildings.
(Additional reporting by Jeffrey Jones, David Ljunggren and Randall Palmer in Canada, Saul Hudson in Caracas and Catherine Bremer in Mexico City)
North Korea on Wednesday criticised Japan for refusing to provide aid under a breakthrough deal on the communist states nuclear programme, a report said. Ri Pyong-dok, a researcher in charge of Japan at the North Korean foreign ministry, said Tokyo had obligations as one of the six nations involved in Tuesdays agreement in Beijing. Japan is included among the six parties, Ri told Japans Kyodo News in an interview in Pyongyang. This is, I would like to remind you, something agreed on by all six parties. Tuesdays joint statement is based on the principle of matching commitment with commitment and action with action, Ri was quoted as saying. Japan, the regions largest economy, has refused any funding for the deal under which North Korea would get an eventual one million tonnes of fuel oil for shutting down key nuclear facilities. Japan said it wants progress first in a row over North Koreas abductions of Japanese civilians in the 1970s and 1980s.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2007 00:00 ||
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#2
Interesting - RIAN.RU > Russia believes Japan has enuff plutonium stockpiled to make circa/approxi 5500 nuke warheads [547-- no.rounded off], most of which is piled-stored in Britain and France.
#3
The Koreans don't have a freaking leg to stand on when it comes to accusing other nations of being "deal breakers". And why can't the NorKs cough these people up anyway? Is it worth tens or hundreds of thousands dying? What's the big deal? The NorKs are acting as if they have some face left to save! Seems like it's for internal consumption or Kimmie's ego. And if the NorKs can't give on this one, why are we even talking with them?
#4
Problem for the NorKors is that a lot of the Japanese hostages are said to be dead now : several killed while trying to escape, and others died during the famine.
#6
Japan said it wants progress first
Duh! The Japs aren't stupid, but we are if we give Nork anything except in response to some concrete action of theirs.
#7
Now if we could get the Japanese to do the same about 'progress' with the UN about that security seat and Japan's contribution level to the operating budget, we could see some equally entertaining whining from the Turtle Bay Bureaucrats.
#9
Japan, has refused any funding for the deal under which North Korea would get an eventual one million tonnes of fuel oil
Good for the Japanese. If anyone cares, 1 million tones oil is 7.33 million barrels. At $60/barrel thats $440 million. Add in other goodies. I wonder how much the the US taxpayers will shell out before this charade collapses?
Posted by: ed ||
02/15/2007 11:17 Comments ||
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#10
I would provide aid in the form of fuel oil for the Norks. That aid would come from the Chicoms, and not the US. I would not give one cent to that regime. How about a deal like this:
*Kimmie and a stated numbers of his cronies, mistresses, cads, and camp followers get safe passage to Paris, France, where they can live out their years in exile.
*NORK goes into Chapter 11 receivership and is dealt with by a governing body of Chicoms, SKors, and US interests. Japan would work through the US so the Koreans don't go ape$hit because of history.
*The humanitarian needs of the North Korean people are taken care of right now.
*All the NORK nuke installations and components are dismantled and taken down.
*all the rest of the political crap can be dealt with later.
*If the Kimmie regime does not give in, we walk away from the six-party catering festival and let the Chicoms deal with their little mad dog, which includes footing the bill for these psychopaths.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/15/2007 15:03 Comments ||
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#11
This is, I would like to remind you, something agreed on by all six parties. Tuesdays joint statement is based on the principle of matching commitment with commitment and action with action,
Sounds like Kimmie's already laying the groundwork for excuses for non-compliance.
Life can become untenable when the Muslim population of a non-Muslim country reaches about 10 per cent, as shown by France, a Jewish expert on Islam says.
The Australian Jewish News yesterday quoted Raphael Israeli as saying Australia should cap Muslim immigration or risk being swamped by Indonesians. Professor Israeli told the Herald that was a misunderstanding. But he said: "When the Muslim population gets to a critical mass you have problems. That is a general rule, so if it applies everywhere it applies in Australia."
Professor Israeli, an expert on Islamic history from Hebrew University in Jerusalem, has been brought to Australia by the Shalom Institute of the University of NSW. The Australia-Israel Jewish Affairs Council is co-hosting many of his activities.
He said Muslim immigrants had a reputation for manipulating the values of Western countries, taking advantage of their hospitality and tolerance. "Greeks or Italians or Jews don't use violence. There is no Italian or Jewish Hilaly [a reference to the controversial cleric Sheik Taj el-Din al Hilaly of Lakemba mosque]. Why?"
Professor Israeli said that when the Muslim population increased, so did the risk of violence. "Where there are large Muslim populations who are prepared to use violence you are in trouble. If there is only 1 or 2 per cent they don't dare to do it - they don't have the backing of big communities. They know they are drowned in the environment of non-Muslims and are better behaved."
In Australia, Muslims account for about 1.5 per cent of the population. Professor Israeli said that in France, which has the highest proportion of Muslims in Europe at about 10 per cent, it was already too late. There were regions even the police were scared to enter, and militant Muslims were changing the country's political, economic and cultural fabric, and demanding anti-Semitic and anti-Israel policies.
"French people say they are strangers in their own country. This is a point of no return. If you are on a collision course, what can you do? You can't put them all in prison, and anyway they are not all violent. You can't send them all back. You are really in trouble. It's irreversible."
Professor Israeli said that in Australia a few imams had preached violence. "You should not let fundamentalist imams come here. Screen them 1000 times before they are admitted, and after they are admitted screen what they say in the mosque." He said some Muslims wanted to impose sharia in their adopted countries, and when propaganda did not work they turned to intimidation.
Professor Israeli said his task was to describe, not prescribe. He also said his warning did not include immigrants, including Muslims, who simply wanted to improve their lot. As long as they respected the law and democracy, their numbers Buddhist, Muslim or Jew were immaterial. It became material when a group accepted violence. "The trains in London and Madrid were not blown up by Christians or Buddhists but by Muslims, so it is them we have to beware," he said.
Keysar Trad, of the Islamic Friendship Association of Australia, said "Not only religious clerics need to be screened before entering Ausralia but also academics this type of academic does nothing but create hatred, suspicion and division We should review not only what the man has said but also those who have sponsored him, to see if they endorse those comments."
#2
Actually, as seen in Europe, I think 5% muslim population is when muslims place enough burdens on society to destroy the civilized aspects from within.
Posted by: ed ||
02/15/2007 9:53 Comments ||
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#3
I wish I could remember the site -- or had bookmarked it -- but there's a guy out there who crunched numbers on this. He looked at the violent crime rates of different neighborhoods in London and correlated them with the percentage of Muslim population. There were two inflection points; one around 5-10% and the other at 25%.
Damn. I wish I could remember that site!
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
02/15/2007 11:44 Comments ||
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#4
When the Muslim population gets to a critical mass you have problems. That is a general rule, so if it applies everywhere it applies in Australia."
Imho, the critical mass depends also on the "political correctness" of the country.
#5
I also have said for years now that we here in America should restrict immigration from majority Muslim countries. Unfortunately, due to the propensities of our mainstream media to unquestioningly assert the equivalency of all cultures people such as myself and Professor Raphael Israeli will go down as modern day Cassandras.
#6
I used to accept the "neocon"/Wilsonian view that predominantly islamic countries could be made representative democracies. I now believe the acceptable muslim population of a free country is zero percent. It has been too long since the Reconquista; we must relearn those lessons to our cost.
#7
At what point do you look around for people that came as refugees fearing political repression and tell them their country has been liberated and now needs their help in rebuilding.
I guess they all know the political repression angle was a lie in the first place for most of them.
A Muslim woman teacher who was ordered to stop wearing a headscarf at school has gone to a labour tribunal in Germany to assert the right to wear a beret instead.
Her lawyer said Wednesday his client, 35, was not a religious extremist, but had a cultural reluctance to show her hair. She wears the French-style felt beret pulled down so her hair does not show. The lawyer told judges that experts should give evidence that a beret is not a religious symbol and therefore cannot be banned in a secular school under laws requiring religious neutrality.
The woman trains behaviourally disturbed children at a secondary school in the western city of Dusseldorf, where authorities imposed a ban on scarves last year. When she changed to a beret, the principal told her to remove it. She ignored the demand and received a warning from the education authority. She asked the labour tribunal to set the warning aside.
The lawyer said a beret was a way of reconciling western culture and the woman's Turkish origins. But a state lawyer argued it was being used to dodge North Rhine Westphalia's state regulation against religious symbols in public schools.
The United States Army Special Forces are generally known as "green berets" for the color of their headgear. Other United States Army units can also be distinguished by the color of their headgear, as follows:
* Jungle green Special Forces
* Tan 75th Ranger Regiment and Ranger Training Brigade
* Maroon paratroopers (82nd Airborne Division and 173rd Airborne Brigade)
* Black all other Army units
Berets were originally worn only by elite units of the U.S. Army. Hence, there was controversy when in 2001 the United States Army adopted the black beret, previously reserved for the Rangers, as standard headgear for all army units. [10] The Rangers are now distinguished by tan berets.
The wearing of berets in the United States Air Force is somewhat less common, but several career fields are authorized to wear berets of differing colors, as specified in the following list:
* Maroon Pararescue
* Scarlet Combat Controllers
* Pewter grey Combat Weathermen
* Navy blue Security Forces
* Pewter green Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape specialists (SEREs)
* Black Air Liaison Officers (ALOs), Air Mobility Liaison Officers (AMLOs), Tactical Air Control Parties (TACPs)
#7
I seem to recall that the Green Berets got their headgear from the First Special Services Force, a joint US/Canadian unit in WWII that trained like a special forces unit but (inexplicably) was used like an infantry division. The Canadians wore red berets; the unit took up the tradition. The new Army special forces units switched to green to differentiate from the Canadian red beret.
Am I misremembering this? Or am I remembering correctly and the books were wrong?
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
02/15/2007 11:51 Comments ||
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#8
Pewter grey Combat Weathermen
There's a 70% chance you're gonna look funny.
BTW, why is someone her's afraid to show her hair teaching mentally disturbed children?
#9
She wears the French-style felt beret pulled down so her hair does not show
Only people who wear berets like that are country retards in comedies. You just don't pull it down. Anyway, no one wear berets in France today, bar a few trendy artsy types or rural folks who want to project a "rooted in tradition" image, and the army.
#14
Some Orthodox Jewish and Chassidic women wear the beret like that, but always with precisely 1" of hair showing at the forehead for some reason. They also believe that a woman's hair should be seen only by her husband and her family. It would be interesting if the woman were confused with an Orthodox Jew... But I suspect that nobody else wears any sort of headcovering in the school, and she's trying to work around the prohibition.
#16
Naw, BR. Then, you have nekkid female skin showing. The muzzie mens couldn't stand that.
Posted by: BA ||
02/15/2007 14:49 Comments ||
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#17
who wears the pink Salmon beret?
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/15/2007 15:19 Comments ||
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#18
I say let her wear a veil, or a hijab, or a niqab, or even a burqa if she wants. But if she decides to wear anything which WON'T cover her face then she has to agree to shave off her beard!
The risk of terror attacks in Europe is high and is increasing, France's leading anti-terrorism judge said, warning that a recent alliance between al-Qaida and a North African terrorist group poses a grave threat.
The Salafist Group for Call and Combat, known by its French initials GSPC, staged seven nearly simultaneous attacks in Algeria on Tuesday, targeting police in several towns east of Algiers, killing six and injuring around 30, according to officials, police and hospital staff. Al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa, the new name for the GSPC, claimed responsibility for the strikes. "The GSPC wants to carry out attacks in Europe, especially in France, Italy and Spain, and destabilize North Africa," Jean-Louis Bruguiere told The Associated Press on Tuesday night in New York.
French counterterrorism police arrested 11 suspects as part of efforts aimed at dismantling an alleged al-Qaida-linked recruiting network to send radical Islamic fighters to Iraq, police officials said Wednesday. Nine suspects were detained in and near the southern city of Toulouse before dawn Wednesday, following the arrest of two others late Tuesday at Paris' Orly airport, police said. The two had been sent home by Syrian authorities, investigators said. Bruguiere said the threat to Europe is "pretty high." France rates four on a scale of one to five, he said
He linked the increased threat level to the U.S.-led war on Iraq. "Actors of jihad have become radicalized and have tried to demonstrate that their means have not been diminished since September 11," he said.
As Western countries have developed new measures to fight attacks by Islamic radicals, the terrorists have also come up with a strategy to fight globally, he said. Despite the growing danger of further Islamist strikes in Europe, there have also been successes in anti-terrorism efforts. An attempted attack by GSPC in France was foiled by domestic counterterrorism groups, and the French government is cautiously monitoring the group's activities, Bruguiere said. European countries are working closely together to prevent further attacks and international cooperation. He said that cooperation with the United States in particular has improved significantly in recent years.
This article starring:
Jean-Louis Bruguiere
Al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa
The Salafist Group for Call and Combat
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2007 00:00 ||
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Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton warned President George W. Bush on Wednesday not to take any military action against Iran without getting congressional approval first. "If the administration believes that any, any use of force against Iran is necessary, the president must come to Congress to seek that authority," Clinton said in a Senate speech.
Clinton, a member of the Armed Services Committee, voted in 2002 to give Bush the authority to use military force in Iraq - a vote that has prompted some Democrats to demand that she repudiate. "It would be a mistake of historical proportion if the administration thought that the 2002 resolution authorizing force against Iraq was a blank check for the use of force against Iran without further congressional authorization," Clinton said.
She also insisted the resolution authorizing force against those responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks did not allow for US action now against Iran.
This article starring:
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
And what does Hillary think about Iran's nuclear ambitions and previous acts of war against the USA?
#6
The most effective military action would be a surprise attack. Hillary is effectively demanding that we warn the mullahs that we are going to attack. This would give them time to prepare, to hide their valuable asse(t)s, and in general result in the unnecessary deaths of American troops.
#7
Bullshit, Hilly. Dubya can, even by obeying the post-nixon "War Powers Act" law, raise holy hell in Iran for 90 days, and congress has ZERO to say about it.
#10
I think the entire US Congress needs a good lesson on the Constitution, and whose role is what. Hillary personally needs to be told to put a sock in that gaping piehole of hers, and tie it shut. John Murtha needs to be tied to a short, well-anchored rope and pushed off the Beltway bridge. A few others need to be horsewhipped, using a real horse. These people are going to get a lot of American civilians killed, and then whine it's all Bush's fault.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
02/15/2007 15:55 Comments ||
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#11
This from Andy McCarthy, from The Corner at 10:16 today, who was on the prosecution team against the WTC 1993 terrorists:
Re: The Home Front [Andy McCarthy]
Let's hope if any effort to prescribe conditions for troop deployment ever reaches a president's desk, that president whether it is President Bush or any future president, Republican or Democrat has the good sense to veto it. It would be unconstitutional.
The president is commander-in-chief. That is not just a title; it is an assignment of constitutional duties that may not be performed by any other branch.
Congress can deny him funding; it cannot exercise commander-in-chief functions. Rotating troops and assigning materiel for military engagements is an executive function just like deciding which target to hit, which hill to take, and which captives to detain.
If Congress wants to end the war, Congress can end it by de-funding it. Then the president has to bring everyone and everything home and members of Congress can then be politically accountable to the voters for the decision to abandon the battlefield before the President believed the mission was completed. Congress, however, cannot manage, much less micro-manage, the exercise of commander-in-chief authority in connection with military engagements that are authorized either by Congress or under the President's inherent Article II authority. It is for the president alone to exercise that power.
And what if the United States is invaded, or if our forces and interests are attacked overseas (as, for example, they have been repeatedly since 1996, and as they are currently being attacked from Iran and Pakistan, as well as Iraq and Afghanistan)? The Supreme Court has held since the Civil War era Prize Cases that the president has not only the authority but the duty to respond to provocations against the United States, regardless of whether Congress has acted. But would a president be expected to wait to dispatch forces until the Murtha two-year lay-off has run its course?
In The Federalist No. 73, Hamilton explained that the Constitution armed the executive with vigor and irreducible powers in order to defend against the propensity of the legislative department to intrude upon the rights, and to absorb the powers, of the other departments.
#12
We need to circulate a petition to demand that Congress immediately investigate whether Iran has been responsible for the manufacture and transport into Iraq of devices designed to kill American servicemen and -women.
Irrefutable proof of this is a casus belli for far stronger actions against Iran than mere sanctions, and this cannot simply be "swept under the rug."
President Bush is cautioning members of Congress against taking any legislative action that could harm U.S. troops in Iraq. VOA's Dan Robinson reports, the statement in a White House news conference came as lawmakers in the House of Representatives held a second day of debate on a Democratic-sponsored non-binding resolution disapproving of the president's troop buildup in Iraq.
The president was asked about the debate in the House on the Democratic-crafted resolution. He says he recognizes that all members of Congress are patriotic, and the fact that many Republicans were disappointed in the decision he made to send additional troops to Iraq. But he says the debate on the resolution, which appears headed for passage on Friday, should not lead to efforts to restrict funds or resources for U.S. troops: "My hope, however, is that this non-binding resolution doesn't try to turn into a binding policy that prevents our troops from doing that which I have asked them to do," said Mr. Bush.
While he suggests the debate could make some people wonder about U.S. commitment to Iraq, the president also addressed a key argument by Republican House leaders that one cannot support U.S. troops without supporting their mission: "I think you can be against my decision and support the troops, absolutely," he said. "But the proof will be whether or not you provide them the money necessary to do the mission." Democrats maintain they will not take actions that will harm U.S. troops in the field.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Democrats maintain they will not take actions that will harm U.S. troops in the field.
Which Democrats? Not Mighty Mouth Murtha, who's looking for a stealth way to cut the legs out from under them (the troops). Pelosi? Reid? Durbin? Kerry? Kennedy? Kucinich?
Bah, humbug.
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/15/2007 9:38 Comments ||
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#2
It is astonishing to think about some of the ineffectual, incompetent, idiots we send to Congress. WTF?
A former director of an Islamic charity in Oregon has challenged portions of a book by a former Muslim convert who claims the charity helped promote a radical version of Islam. In an e-mail his Oregon attorney released to The Associated Press, Soliman al-Buthi criticized "My Year Inside Radical Islam" by Daveed Gartenstein-Ross as "full of falsehoods" -- a claim the author denies.
Gartenstein-Ross worked for the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation chapter in Ashland for about a year, and his experiences formed the basis for the book, which he said Wednesday in an interview from Washington, D.C., was aimed at showing how beliefs can be shaped or changed by religious extremists. "The reason I wrote the book was to try to demonstrate how someone can accept a radical interpretation of Islam," said Gartenstein-Ross, who is Jewish but converted to Islam before he became a practicing Christian. "My religious journey is the backbone of the book," he said. "Unlike others who have left the faith, this book displays no theological lambasting of the Muslim faith."
The Ashland chapter of the charity was closed after al-Buthi and chapter founder Pete Seda were indicted on federal tax charges in 2005. Al-Buthi said in his e-mail he is in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, while Seda is believed to be in his native Iran. The indictment still stands, meaning they are subject to arrest if they return to the United States, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in Portland.
Al-Buthi criticized Gartenstein-Ross for suggesting that the Al-Haramain chapter in Ashland was linked to terrorism. "The charity has not been found guilty of supporting, encouraging, or funding terrorism or any other terrorism-related charges," al-Buthi said in his e-mail. But Gartenstein-Ross said the book is based on public records, including the federal indictment against al-Buthi, Seda and the Ashland chapter, which indicated the chapter sent money to Muslim fighters in Chechnya. "I took a very conservative approach to putting information forward because I wanted to make sure my book was airtight when it came to any factual allegations," said Gartenstein-Ross, who grew up in Ashland.
He noted the parent charity based in Saudi Arabia has been accused of links to terrorism, leading to pressure on the Saudi government to close it down in 2004.
Al-Buthi also criticized Gartenstein-Ross for singling out an essay about "jihad" included in an English translation of the Quran distributed by the Ashland chapter of Al-Haramain, suggesting it promoted a radical interpretation of Islam. The charity objected to the essay and requested that it be excluded from additional copies of the Quran translation after Gartenstein-Ross failed to raise any objections while he was working at the chapter, al-Buthi said. But Gartenstein-Ross said Wednesday that "radical themes virtually pervaded their literature," including the Quran translation. "What it featured was bracketed material and material not part of the Arabic text that was meant to guide the reader's interpretation," Gartenstein-Ross said. "And it uniformly guided the reader in a radical direction. This was their preferred interpretation."
Al-Buthi accused Gartenstein-Ross of helping to promote "Islamophobia" and failing to understand "the fundamental tenets of the religion he once claimed was his own." Gartenstein-Ross, however, said the book has been well-received by Muslim groups and reviewers, who also are concerned about extremism. "It's this radical world view that was of greatest concern," Gartenstein-Ross said of the charity, "especially because that's exactly what Al-Haramain claims they were against. Their mission was to spread peace, but I saw no evidence of that."
#3
Why does the Bush Govt (apart from the obivious Oil) put up with Official Saudi sponsored hatred/Wahabbism?????
If they acknowledged that Wahabbism was the problem, they'd have to do something about it. That would lead to difficulties fightin in Iraq, since most supplies have to traverse the entire Persian Gulf before they get to Iraq. The idea was to have stable bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, then take on Syria, followed by Iran, and then cleaning up Soddy Rabida and pakistan. At least, that SHOULD have been the plan. Unfortunately, Bush never called for increased troop strength to do that, didn't fight hard enough, long enough for victory, and failed to get his plan put foward to the people that controlled the purse strings - the US Congress. Plus, he needed to fight both Congress and the bureaucracy, who were against ANY military involvement, anywhere. He completely lost that battle. We'll pay for it in the near future, I'm afraid. We have a totally screwed-up government, and it's not going to get better on its own.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
02/15/2007 16:23 Comments ||
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Islamabad, 15 Feb. (AKI/DAWN) - Pakistan's federal government said in the Supreme Court on Wednesday that three out of six recently traced persons from a list of 41 people "missing" for many years are in its custody for security reasons. A three-member bench took up the matter on the application of Amina Masood Janjua regarding missing persons, including her husband, whose unexplained incarceration for the last one and a half years is believed to have been caused by his suspected links with Al-Qaeda or jihadi groups.
I believe that last sentence pretty much explains it.
A Supreme Court judge in January ordered the government to speed up the process of finding missing people. Human rights groups say innocent people are being abducted in the name of the war on terror.
Attorney-General Makhdoom Ali Khan informed the panel of judges that computer expert Mohammad Mansoor and businessman Malik Zulfikar had been detained under the Security of Pakistan Act, 1952. They were picked up by intelligence agencies in March 2005 and June 2006, respectively. Likewise, Alim Tariq is with the Punjab police under the Anti-Terrorism Act. However, three others had been released, the attorney-general said.
At the last hearing, the court was informed that the attorney-general would present a comprehensive report on efforts made by the government in locating the rest of 16 missing persons out of a total of 41. Khan also informed the judges that every possible effort was being made to locate those on the missing list. After the hearing, family members of the disappeared persons surrounded the attorney-general and pleaded for his help in identifying their near and dear ones.
A DNA sample might help
Posted by: Steve ||
02/15/2007 13:43 ||
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NEW DELHI: Terrorists are not only getting tech-friendly but market-savvy as well. A good part of terror funds is being sourced from manipulation of the bourses, particularly the Mumbai and Chennai stock exchanges, through fictitious or notional companies, according to National Security Adviser M K Narayanan. The NSA, who made this revelation during his address to the 43rd conference on security policy held last week in Munich, said many of the fictitious companies found to be engaging in stock market operations were traced to terrorist groups.
Isolated instances of terrorist outfits manipulating the stock markets to raise funds for their operations have been reported. Stock exchanges in Mumbai and Chennai have, on occasions, reported that fictitious or notional companies were engaging in stock market operations, news agencies here quoted Mr Narayanan as having told his counterparts in Munich.
Also expressing deep concern at the transfer of terror funds through valid banking channels from Dubai and UAE for use by groups like Jaish e Mohammad and Hizbul Mujahideen, Mr Narayanan stressed on the need to lift banking secrecy and the corporate veil to facilitate proper investigation of terror-related cases.
Terrorist groups, he said, generally make small transactions to avoid detection. Use of both real and fraudulent ATM cards has also been resorted to at times, he added. Security agencies have detected many instances of funds received via banking channels from so-called safe locations like Dubai and UAE that were intended for terrorist groups, he noted.
Squarely blaming certain official agencies in Pakistan for pumping millions of dollars for militancy in India, he said jehadi groups had started to establish a network of legitimate businesses to fund their activities. The terrorist groups are involved in legally running restaurants, real estate agencies and shipping firms and use their proceeds for their terrorist activities.
Among terrorist outfits, said Mr Narayanan, the LTTE has a very well-established network of legitimate business, which provides both funds as well as logistics for their activities. Jehadi terrorist organisations have begun to follow suit.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Sherry Rehman was reportedly attacked and rendered unconscious during a PPP rally at Pakistan Chowk on Wednesday. She suffered from a concussion of the spine due to several hits on the back of her neck, Rehmans mother Sabiha Hasan told Daily Times at Cliftons Ziauddin Hospital. The unidentified attacker, who escaped from the scene, was a tall, dark woman who climbed onto a truck Rehman was in, Hasan said. This person managed to climb inside the truck and even managed to get close to my daughter. She then attacked her with a blunt object, hitting her twice on the back of the neck. Sherry fainted, and the attacker managed to escape, she said. She said that her daughter had undergone a CT Scan and x-rays. They have given her steroids and she is sleeping at the moment, she said. The party has yet to register an FIR.
This article starring:
Sherry Rehman
Pakistan Peoples Party
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2007 00:00 ||
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President General Pervez Musharraf has said that the government will not allow the Talibanisation of Pakistani society, nor allow the Taliban to impede development and prosperity. The Taliban system will not be allowed to come to the country and the Taliban will not be allowed to hamper the path to development and prosperity. We will continue to move forward to transform Pakistan into a moderate, enlightened, Muslim welfare state, Gen Musharraf said in his address at a seminar titled Voices of Asia for the process of peace, cooperation and security, held here on Wednesday at the Institute of Strategic Studies.
He said Pakistan would continue its war against the Taliban and Qaeda for its survival. We are fighting this war for our security rather than to appease someone else, he said. He said peace deals like the one with tribal elders in North Waziristan should take place in other areas too, an apparent reference to Afghanistan.
The president rejected baseless charges made by Afghanistan that Pakistan was aiding the Taliban. No other country has played a more vital role than Pakistan in the war on terror. This blame game against Pakistan despite its pivotal role in the war against terrorism is a blatant denial of facts. Such a strategy has to be devised that the problems are resolved with a pragmatic approach, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Does anybody know if the Taleban view cricket as unislamic? One presumes they do.
No other country has played a more vital role than Pakistan in the war on terror
Pfffft.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
02/15/2007 3:53 Comments ||
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#2
No other country has played a more vital role than Pakistan in the war on terror
#6
Not all Pakistani is Talibanized: see the post in Non-WOT on the celebration of Valentine's Day by a number of their young people, against the wishes of their religious conservatives. What we don't know is how many of each there are, and how willing they are to act: we know the Talibunnies are willing to act - even suicidally, and we know 'liberals' in the West are not willing to act at all; maybe Pakistani liberals fall somewhere in between?
An adviser to Iraq's prime minister said Thursday that radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is in Iran, but denied he fled due to fear of arrest during an escalating security crackdown. Sami al-Askari said al-Sadr traveled to Iran by land "a few days ago," but gave no further details on how long he would stay in Iran. A member of al-Sadr's bloc in parliament, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of fear of reprisals, said al-Sadr left three weeks ago. "I confirm that Muqtada al-Sadr is in Iran on a visit," said al-Askari. "But I deny that his visit is a flight."
But another lawmaker loyal to al-Sadr, Saleh al-Ukaili, insisted that al-Sadr is in Iraq and claimed the accounts of his departure were part of a "campaign by the U.S. military" to track down the elusive cleric.
#3
If there was ever a case of justifying wearing a full-length sack and a smothering veil, it's al-Sadr. That POS is hard to look at. An axehandle manicure of the face would probably IMPROVE his looks.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
02/15/2007 16:33 Comments ||
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#4
Tater's in Iran living it up while his stoolies are living hard and dying for him? No shame. I'd like to have idiot followers like that.
The 'others' are Westerners, mostly human rights activists, who are pining for the days of Saddam. I'm editing them out, you can click the link if you really want to read all the whining.
BAGHDAD - War-weary Baghdadis awoke Wednesday to the reality of a long-awaited but strict new security regime, hoping against hope that this latest operation will stem a rising tide of bloodshed. But while many Iraqis and the US military welcomed the apparent resolve of the Iraqi government to finally take the situation in hand, some outside observers expressed concern that the plan could backfire.
I support this plan and am sure it will succeed, said Amer Mohammed, a 29-year-old Sunni who works for a computer company. All Iraqis will have to accept disadvantages like roads being cut by checkpoints, or raids. An hours pain is better than every hours pain, he said, as long tailbacks snaked through the city from police roadblocks.
Among the details revealed by Lieutenant General Abboud Gambar were the closure of borders with Iran and Syria, increased search and arrest powers, a longer ovenright curfew and a ban on civilians carrying weapons. Searches will be done on public streets, and precautionary measures will be applied on packages, mail, messages and communications and telecommunications equipment, he added. His combined security force of Iraqi police and soldiers will be empowered to search homes, cars and individuals, and all those who breach the terms of this decree will be judged under the law on terrorism.
Yasir Al Khattab, a young Shia, said: We will put up with the problems. We just dont want it to be another big show.
We support the plan fully because it is better than seeing our relatives and friends killed by car bombs and violence, Khattab said. He said, however: I am optimistic because I feel that this plan builds on the experience of earlier plans. They now know the defects.
Mohammed added: I believe this is the last hope to maintain security in Baghdad. We are in constant danger. We feel the government is now determined to restore peace.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/15/2007 00:00 ||
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WASHINGTON - The United States aims to accept about 7,000 Iraqi refugees by the end of the year, US officials said on Wednesday as the State Department sought to blunt criticism that it took in only 202 last year. The move, disclosed as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was to meet U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres, follows sharp questions from US lawmakers about why the United States has welcomed so few Iraqi refugees.
The UNHCR estimates that up to 2 million Iraqis have moved to neighboring countries, mainly Syria and Jordan, before and since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, while 1.7 million Iraqis are internally displaced.
Since 2003 the United States has taken in fewer than 500 Iraqi refugees, leading congressional Democrats and Republicans to question whether it was doing enough.
We ought to take our fair share, but the goal is to make Iraq a country where the refugees return.
The State Department last week said it had created a government task force to ensure the United States was doing its share. Department spokesman Sean told reporters the United States aimed to take in about 7,000 Iraqi refugees this fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30, 2007. Thats not a ceiling. Thats kind of a target, everybodys best guess for where well be, he added.
US officials later said the processing of the refugees, which include security and medical checks, should be completed by the end of December.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/15/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Christian Chaldeans, fine. Joooooooos (if any) fine. Moslems, not so fine.
#3
They are needed in Iraq. The bulk of the country is peaceful outside of Baghdad, let them resettle in a peaceful area and help rebuild their country.
Palestinian PM Ismail Haniya has resigned as part of a deal that will set up a national unity government.
The move came after Mr Haniya and President Mahmoud Abbas ironed out last-minute problems in the power-sharing deal sealed last week.
Factional fighting between Mr Abbas's Fatah and Mr Haniya's Hamas has claimed more than 90 Palestinian lives between December and this month. Mr Abbas has asked Mr Haniya to put together the new government.
However, there are still doubts whether the US will end its boycott of the government. A ban on Western financial aid has crippled the Palestinian Authority since Hamas, which has refused to recognise Israel, won elections in January last year.
Mr Haniya tendered his resignation at the meeting with Mr Abbas in Gaza. He will be formally reappointed and will have five weeks to get the new Cabinet accepted by the Hamas-dominated parliament.
Mr Abbas had called off a national address on Thursday because of last-minute problems over the new power-sharing deal. Hamas was reportedly unhappy about moves to dissolve a security force that it has established. There were also disputes over appointments to key Cabinet posts.
On Thursday it was unclear if the US would back the new government. Aides to Mr Abbas said Washington would continue its boycott unless the government met international demands over Israel. A US state department spokesman said Washington would not make a judgement until the government was formed.
Less than a week after the signing of the Mecca "national unity" agreement, a new crisis is looming between Fatah and Hamas over the formation of a coalition government. Hamas officials in the Gaza Strip told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday that the movement was strongly opposed to the expected appointment of Fatah legislator Muhammad Dahlan as deputy prime minister. The Mecca agreement calls for the appointment of a Fatah representative as Haniyeh's No. 2, and Fatah officials have put forward Dahlan as their candidate.
"Over our dead bodies," said a senior Hamas official...
"Over our dead bodies," said a senior Hamas official when asked about the possibility that Dahlan would be appointed. "This man has been involved in the American-backed plot to topple our government. We want a deputy prime minister from the West Bank."
Sources close to Dahlan denied, however, that he was interested in the job. "No one has approached Dahlan on this issue and we don't believe he wants to serve in the new unity government," one source said.
The Hamas official also said his movement was opposed to the appointment of another top Fatah official, Azzam al-Ahmed, as deputy prime minister. Like Dahlan, Ahmed has been accused of involvement in an alleged scheme to bring down the Hamas-led government. Two other Fatah officials, Muhammad Shtayeh and Naser Yussef, have also been mentioned as possible candidates for the post.
Fatah spokesman Abdel Hakim Awad said Hamas had no right to veto Fatah's candidate. "The appointment of a deputy prime minister is an internal Fatah affair," he said. "Hamas has no right to meddle in our affairs, whether the candidate is Dahlan or someone else."
This article starring:
ABDEL HAKIM AWAD
Fatah
AZZAM AL AHMED
Fatah
MUHAMAD DAHLAN
Fatah
MUHAMAD SHTAIEH
Fatah
NASER YUSEF
Fatah
Fatah
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
They're starting to look a lot like Qazi and the MMA... sulking, pouting, posturing, and walking out when they don't get their way.
#3
Fred, I like this new formatting I've been seeing the last couple of days-"stars", a list that makes a visual impression of these guys' names. With all the Mohammeds and Ahmeds in that part of the world, it think it will register better in my memory.
Bangkok, 15 Feb. (AKI) - Thailand has denied it is to ask Malaysia to broker a peace deal with rebels in three Thai Muslim provinces, saying that Malaysia's prime minster Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had been "misqouted" when he announced that his country would be involved. "There is no plan for such mediation that would necessitate any request," Thailand's foreign minister, Nitya Pibulsonggram, said in a statement released on Thursday. "We believe His Excellency the Prime Minister of Malaysia has been misquoted," the statement also said.
The Thai's are too polite to just say "butt out".
Badawi had said that the ethnic, linguistic and religious (Islamic) ties between Malaysia and the three troubled mostly Muslim provinces - Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani - made Kuala Lumpur the best candidate that Bangkok would want as a mediator, and that an official request would soon be forthcoming.
Pibulsonggram in his Thursday statement did stress that Thailand sees Malaysia as a partner in resolving a conflict which has killed more than 2,000 people since it began in January 2004. "Thailand values all the cooperation that Malaysia can extend to us in our effort to bring peace and normalcy to the three southern provinces, particularly in joint development projects along the common border," he said.
The two countries have announced they will extend by 10 kilometres a wall which runs along their border which divides Yala with the Malaysian province of Kedah and aims to curb smuggling and illegal crossings.
Funny, everyone is building walls to stop illegal crossings except us.
In the past Bangkok has accused Kuala Lumpur of not doing enough to prevent the Muslim rebels from using Malaysia as a base from which to launch their attacks. However since the ousting of Thailand's former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, in Septbember 2006, relations between the two neighbours have improved. While Thaksin had used strong-arm tactics in the southern provinces, his successor Surayud Chulanont, has raised the possibility of peace talks with the rebels.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/15/2007 13:50 ||
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#1
As per usual the news is backwards. The media should be asking the Thai government why it is not taking military action against Malaysia for its role in instigating Orcish slaughter-gangs in southern Thailand.
Foreign Minister Nitya Pibulsonggram denied on Wednesday that Thailand was seeking help from Malaysia as a go-between with insurgents, or planning to ask Kuala Lumpur to take any such mediation role.
Immediately after he arrived back in Kuala Lumpur from a three-day trip to Thailand, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Malaysia probably would act as a mediator in arranging talks between insurgents and Thai authorities. Mr Abdullah said he expected a formal request from Thailand.
Mr Nitya said the remarks by Mr Abdullah as carried by the Bernama news agency on Tuesday may have been misquoted. "We are checking with Kuala Lumpur. We believe His Excellency the Prime Minister of Malaysia has been misquoted. There is no plan for such mediation that would necessitate any request," he said in a statement issued by the foreign ministry.
According to Bernama, Mr Abdullah said that "Malaysia is well-placed to mediate in negotiations between Thailand and Muslim separatists" in the South. The Bernama report continued: "He said Malaysia had the capacity and ability to mediate in the issue as it understood the situation in Muslim-majority southern Thailand and the Thai government's stand to end the continuing violence. 'Moreover, we know the separatist groups, in the sense that they are Muslims, of Malay descent and that Malaysia has good relations with Thailand,' he told a news conference with Malaysian journalists at the end of his three-day visit to Thailand."
But the Thai side appeared surprised. "We are checking with Kuala Lumpur. There is no plan for such mediation that would necessitate any request," the Foreign Ministry's statement quoted Mr Nitya as saying.
In a related development, Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn has expressed concern for the plight of students in the restive South who travel far from home to attend school during the rainy season, Basic Education Commission (BEC) secretary-general Kasama Voravarn na Ayudhaya said yesterday. Khunying Kasama said the princess, who recently visited the troubled region, instructed the BEC to arrange accommodation in nearby communities for the affected students throughout the rainy season, to make life easier for them.
She also said the BEC is about to talk to the foreign affairs minister about a plan to send teachers to Malaysia to teach the Thai language to the children of Thai labourers working there. The teaching could be done in a "home-school" style, she said. There are more than 100,000 Thai people living in Malaysia.
Council for National Security chairman Sonthi Boonyaratkalin said yesterday security personnel had been aware of the PNYS (Pattani-Narathiwat-Yala-Songkhla) network - a student group at Ramkhamhaeng University that is allegedly connected with a suspect in the New Year bombings - for some time. He made the remarks in response to intelligence reports that security officers had monitored the university network, which has also spread in the South.
Gen Sonthi, who is also army chief, said concerned authorities were to meet with the university network soon, adding talks had been held with some network members in the South. He said it was too early to conclude that students with PNYS links were "bad guys".
In Yala, three people were killed in separate rebel attacks in Krong Pinang sub-district. The first victim was a rubber tapper who was shot dead by three armed attackers early yesterday morning.
Later, two herb traders were killed in a drive-by shooting. The victims were identified as Sonthaya Khamsikaew, 53, and his 29-year-old son, Choo.
A teachers' security escort was hit by a roadside bomb in Bannang Sata district yesterday. Five soldiers were wounded.
I would post this last bit as a seperate story on page 1, but I can't use the web address twice and I can't anything about the latest violence anywhere else.
AoS note 0800 CST: sure you can, and we encourage you to do so, as it makes the Burg more readable. Post the first part as a post, then do the second part as a separate post. Feel free to whittle and edit both to a pithy, gem-like core. You can use the web addy twice, you'll just get a note about a 'duplicate post'. Don't worry about that, we mods will fix it.
Israel could be a target of recently reported Iranian air force drills aimed at giving jets long-range attack capabilities, a security analyst told Ynetnews.
At the same time, experts said they doubted Iran's air force was anywhere near a stage of development that could challenge Israel's Air Force.
At the beginning of February, Jane's Defense Weekly reported that "Iranian pilots are stepping up training and exercises for long-range missions."
Quoting "Western defense sources," the report said "Iran is pursuing a longer-range strike capability for its air assets to support the delivery of more powerful strategic weapon systems," adding that Tehran was "investing considerable resources" in aerial refueling capabilities. The training involved Iran Air Force's (IRIAF's) Sukhoi Su-24MK strike aircraft, Jane's Weekly said.
The aerial refueling exercises, originating out of the Tactical Air Base 7 in Shiraz, southwest Iran, take place at night and involve planes flying at very low altitudes, the report continued. The exercises were aimed at simulating "operational scenarios that would entail night-time refueling of an Iranian attack aircraft, at low altitude over the Mediterranean, outward bound en route to the target," Jane's Weekly added.
Dr. Ephraim Kam, who teaches securities studies at Tel Aviv University, and is Deputy Head of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, confirmed that Iran possesses long-range warplanes. "They don't have many, but the Sukhoi Su-24 can also reach Israel. Iran also has a certain ability - though I'm not sure to what extent - to refuel in the air," Kam said.
"They could be taking Israel into account during their training," Kam said, adding: "It's logical, because if Israel attacks, they would want to respond. If they reach a nuclear ability, they may also want to have the option of using planes to launch nuclear missiles, and not rely solely on the Shihab 3 missile. This can't be ruled out," Kam said.
Kam added that Israel has been aware of Iran's air force capabilities for many years. "Against the Israeli Air Force, these planes are not very significant. They are not so developed in their long-range attack abilities. The Iranians are not sufficiently familiar with the Israel arena, and the Israeli Air Force (IAF) is much more developed. I assume Israel has answers to this," he said.
Yizhak Shapir, an expert on Iran's military capabilities, also of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, told Ynetnews that Israel was not at the top of Iran's target list. "Strategically, Israel is in a fairly low place on the list of Iran's targets," he said, adding: "It's not in first place."
"Ideologically, Israel is seen as an envoy of West. Strategically, they have many targets to look for, and they are looking to develop their air force capabilities," Shapir said.
"After saying that, it's also important to say their air force is small and weak, and certainly not close to being able to deal with IAF. Their warplanes the Sukhoi Su24, are from the 1980s. Their capabilities are from the last generation. They have a relatively small number of planes," Shapir noted.
Professor Raymond Tanter, founder of the Iran Policy Committee, did not specifically comment on the report by Jane's, but did suggest that Israel was in first place in Iran's list of targets. He underlined in an email sections of a recent book he co-authored, titled What Makes Tehran Tick, which he said "provides our latest thinking on the Iranian missile threat and motivations of the regime."
"Israel is the publicly-state destination of these missiles. Such targeting is not only declared in speeches of Iran's top leadership, but also inscribed on the fuselages of the missiles," the book passage said.
"At the same time, Iran is developing ideas for deceptive weaponry, such as transferable warheads. Iran's ballistic missile development is racing ahead in much the same way as its uranium enrichment, formulating missiles that could be fitted with the nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons as well as the conventional warheads that most of them were designed to carry," the book added.
Referring to Hizbullah's role in Iran's targeting of Israel, the passage continued: "Since the Shahab-3 was not used during the 2006 war in Lebanon, Iran may have been authorizing a closely-located third party to strike back strategically if the need arose, such as a response to an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear program."
#1
Using low-flying aircraft to make a low approach towards most likely an aircraft carrier fleet is not such a bad idea. There is a thick range of low mountains next to the Persian Gulf (see map)
that would help keep an aircraft obscured until it could close to under a hundred miles away. Then the aircraft carrier's first response might be to launch interceptors. But at the last minute, the Iranian aircraft launches its air-to-sea nuclear missile before swerving off.
If the missile is a particularly fast one, bought from China, perhaps, it would close so rapidly that it would severely tax the resources of the fleet.
I'm not saying it would work, only the numbers crunchers could tell you that. But it would have a much better chance than a ballistic missile.
Now, if they used two missiles on two aircraft, the first being an EMP attack to open the door for the second one, now you're talking. But again, it's one for the number crunchers.
#2
Point (1) "Deceptive weaponry ...Missles which can be fitted with nuclear, chemical, or biological warheads" > Author is indir affirming that Iran does intend to dev WMDS = NuKlar weeepons; and (2) there are still Net reports that Iran did covertly purchase advanced SU-27 + MIG 31/33's variants?
Also, WAFF.com > Iran General and Govt Officio claims that IRAN IS NOW 100% SELF-SUFFICIENT/INDEPENDENT in the all aspects of weapons dev and R&D. RADIO ISRAEL > IDF + MOSSAD sources > claim that current Iran talks = proposed agreements does little to prevent Iran from acquiring either Nuke materials andor Nuke devices from outside or third-party nations.
#4
well, sure, they were official Ianian Air Force jets, carrying Iranian Air Force weapons, attacking our troops and ships, but how do we know they were authorized at the highest levels? We demand the President send a UN-sanctioned diplomatic team for talks before he acts to protect those troops and ships! We will schedule hearings in March
Posted by: Jack Murtha and Chris Dodd ||
02/15/2007 22:43 Comments ||
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#5
I suggest that the Iranians check the open source documents on the powers of a carrier battle group's commander when attacked with nuclear weapons. Unless you get the carrier, all the missile-launching destroyers, and the Los Angeles class boomer with the same shot - a whole world of hurt is coming at you, express delivery.
#7
that would help keep an aircraft obscured until it could close to under a hundred miles away. Then the aircraft carrier's first response might be to launch interceptors. But at the last minute, the Iranian aircraft launches its air-to-sea nuclear missile before swerving off.
See that legend at the bottom of the map that shows where the 300 mile mark is? Good now add 200 miles to it, thats the effective combat radius of a Superhornet. Now look at how much range that covers in regards to the Gulf, then add in the carriers wont be operating usually less than 100 miles from any coast. Toss in ferry range and you can easily double the combat radius effectively meaning that a CBG will play merry hell with any air attack coming at it.
The following are excerpts from an interview with Syrian-born historian Mahmoud Al-Sayyed Al-Dugheim, which aired on Al-Jazeera TV on January 30, 2007. To view the clip click here.
Mahmoud Al-Sayyed Al-Dugheim: "We consider the Zionist plan to be dangerous to the Arab nation, but even more dangerous is the Safavid Sassanian Iranian plan to restore the Empire of Cyrus, which would range from Greece to Egypt, and the Arabian Peninsula, in addition to other regions. The Zionist plan was unable to penetrate the ranks of Islamic unity, the way the Safavid Iranian plan did. The collaborators with the Zionists throughout the Arab and Islamic world are too ashamed to reveal themselves, while the collaborators with the Sassanian Safavid plan boast about it in public. Wasn't it one of their leaders who said yesterday: 'We are a Lebanon in Iran, and an Iran in Lebanon?'"
"While the Zionist plan targets Jerusalem, which is holy to us, the Safavid plan targets Mecca and Al-Madina. If you go back to their books - which they do not mention in the media, yet these books exist and are accepted by them they claim that their Hidden Imam will come to Mecca and Al-Madina, destroy the Al-Haram Mosque and the Mosque of the Prophet, and dig in the graves of Abu Bakr and Omar and burn them both, and then he will command the wind to blow them away. He will also dig in the grave of Aisha, the Mother of the Believers, and will execute her. All this is part of their plan."
"The Shah was most definitely one of the sworn enemies of the Arabs, but he did not legislate a law to persecute the Sunni Muslims, who constitute one-third of the Iranian population. The new Iranian constitution persecutes Sunni Muslims in Iran, while it gives constitutional rights to the Zoroastrians, the Jews, and the Christians. This constitution denies the Sunnis these rights. There is no Sunni mosque in Tehran, even though there are over two million Sunni Muslims there."
"All these actions are part of the 50-year plan of the Protocols of the Mullahs of Qom. This plan has been published and is well known. It aims to infiltrate the Sunni Muslim countries, to annihilate them, and to sow civil strife between the ruler and his subjects, all within fifty years."
"Listen to the following secret communiqué: 'At the command and with the guidance of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Guide of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, and under the title 'The Shi'a of Ali Are Victorious,' the extended conference of the world's Shiites was held in the holy city of Qom. It was attended by the leaders of all Shiite parties and religious authorities. The conference decided that a global organization must be established to annihilate the people who are left, to examine and analyze the current regional situation, to build a military force, to infiltrate governmental institutions through the women's organizations everywhere, and then to infiltrate intelligence agencies, and to finish off the Sunni leaders, even by assassination.' This is the plan of the Hashashin, which still exists.
"There is a fatwa by their imams and religious authorities, which permits the trading and planting of hashish, in order to profit and to cover up their crimes."
"While the American target is economic oil, the Iranian Persian goal is to massacre the Arabs, as is evident in all their writings."
However, the late Ayatollah Khomenei had a visceral hatred of Sunnis (and Saddam Hussain hated Shia). Despite this, during the Iraq-Iran war, Iraqi Shia fought for Iraq with few loyalty problems and Iranian Sunni fought for Iran with few loyalty problems.
#3
Works for me.
Do the Sunnis have any protocols from, like, the Mullahs of Dearborn to wipe out the Shiites?
Maybe we could find a way to hook them up...
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/15/2007 14:23 Comments ||
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#5
Consider yourself lucky, I searched for a WEG's "Paranoia" cover, but could only find the french version on wikipedia. Aw, anyway, this would have been a tad too high-tech for this 'tard.
Saudi Arabia wants Iran to take a more neutral stance between Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims in the Mideast to prevent a dangerous increase in sectarian tensions, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said.
Iran backs Shi'ite groups in conflicts with Sunni factions in Lebanon and Iraq, two crisis points in the region that have raised Saudi fears of a sectarian explosion. Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia is worried that Shi'ite-Sunni fighting in Iraq, with whom it shares a long border, and sectarian tensions in Lebanon could explode out of control and damage its own interests or even lead the US to attack Iran, which would have repercussions across the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia has a sizable Shi'ite population in its own oil-rich east, where it also worries about unrest. In the past month, the kingdom has opened contacts with its longtime rival Iran in a bid to defuse the Lebanese and Iraqi crises.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2007 00:00 ||
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Saudis are hypocrites they fund hatred against shiites worlwide!!!!
Different spin than the story posted by Fred below.
TEHERAN - Irans influential former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on Wednesday said Teheran was prepared to remove obstacles in starting talks with the United States if Washington showed goodwill. If the United States makes a signal of its goodwill relating to Iran, we will remove the obstacles for starting talks, the IRNA agency quoted Rafsanjani as telling students in the holy city of Mashhad.
The main obstacle to resuming relations is Americas domineering and arrogant behaviour with other countries, said Rafsanjani, who now heads Irans main political arbitration body the Expediency Council.
And who would know more about arrogant behavior than an Ayatollah from the Master Race?
Rafsanjanis comments reaffirm the position of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who has repeatedly said Iran was prepared to talk to the United States if Washington changed its attitude towards Teheran.
Actually, it might be a sneaky signal that Rafsanjani and others want to undercut Mahmoud. The two were rivals in the last 'election', when Rafsanjani was the supposed favorite. There have been signs that some of the Mad Mullahs are uncomfortable with Mahmoud, and getting Rafsanjani out front is one way to signal that.
US President George W. Bush meanwhile on Wednesday flatly rejected direct talks with Iran, amid mounting international tensions over the Iranian nuclear programme, which the United States alleges is cover for a weapons drive. If I thought we could achieve success, I would sit down, but I dont think we can achieve success right now, the US president said at his first press conference of 2007.
Bush would be smart to start cutting DVDs to be slipped into Iran. Do a 30 or 60 minute 'sit-down with the Iranian people', with Farsi subtitles and translations. Put different versions to the Kurdish region and Balochi region. Talk directly with the Iranians and make clear we regard Mahmoud as insignificant.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/15/2007 00:00 ||
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If US shows goodwill
The MMs are still alive, aren't they? Doesn't that count?
#2
IRNA/OTHER > LARIJANI - Iran is willing to consider and GUARANTEE TO STOP ITS NUCLEAR DRIVE UNDER RIGHT, SPECIFIC CONDITIONS. Other Officios, however, say that Iran will not give up its nucprogs.
Iran will "remove obstacles" blocking negotiations with the United States if Washington shows good will, former President Hashemi Rafsanjani said Wednesday. "Any time the United States sends a signal showing good will in its dealings with Iran, we will in return remove obstacles in the way of negotiations," the official Islamic Republic News Agency quoted Rafsanjani as saying.
Rafsanjani's comments came just before U.S. President George W. Bush told reporters in Washington that he is convinced the Iranian government is supplying deadly weapons to fighters in Iraq, even if he cannot prove the orders came from the highest levels in Tehran. Rafsanjani is widely seen as a power broker in Iran seeking to reach out to the West and help reduce mounting tensions between Tehran and the United States.
Iran and the U.S. are at odds over Iran's controversial nuclear activities and its refusal to halt uranium enrichment. The former Iranian president in recent weeks has said differences between Iran and the West need to be resolved through "dialogue and wisdom" clear signals that Tehran would consider a face-saving solution to the standoff over Iran's nuclear program. "The most important obstacle in the way of establishment of relations, is the manner of America in seeking to dominate in dealings with other countries," IRNA quoted Rafsanjani as saying.
The United States in recent weeks also has stepped up its accusations against Tehran, claiming Iran is behind attacks against troops in Iraq, an assertion denied by Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/15/2007 00:00 ||
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clear signals that Tehran would consider a face-saving solution to the standoff over Iran's nuclear program
..No, that phrase is a clear signal that the writer is terrified that we might actually have to resort to force in order to end this threat.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/15/2007 8:54 Comments ||
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#2
Ah yes, the "moderate" and "pragmatic" Rafsanjani. Playing good cop to Ahmadhinutjob's bad cop.
BTW, it's been a while since we heard any bombast from the nutter - have the Mullah's decided it's time to muzzle him for a while?
Salman Rushdie can again add "professor" to his resume. The award-winning author has joined Emory University for a five-year stint teaching world literature to graduate students. His appointment is coupled with the donation of his literary archive to the college's library, a collection that includes manuscripts, journals, letters and photographs from his writing career.
Rushdie, 59, said Tuesday that this will be his only long-term commitment with a U.S. university because he wants to focus on writing more novels. He chose Emory "because they asked me and nobody else ever had," he told a group of reporters at a news conference. "The opportunity this offered is to go into much greater depth with a subject and with a group of people - both students and faculty," said Rushdie, who has lectured at campuses around the globe and has been an honorary professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The worn pages of the unpublished short stories and hand-drawn journals that fill his archive are a big boon for Emory, which wants to be known as a center for prestigious literary collections. The library already is home to archives from British poet laureate Ted Hughes and Nobel Prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney. "There is an attempt to build an extraordinary library here. The idea of becoming a part of developing that archive into another direction, which is prose, became very attractive to me," Rushdie said.
Rushdie held his first class at Emory on Tuesday, the day before the 18th anniversary of the death threat that catapulted him to worldwide fame. Rushdie was forced into hiding in England for a decade after the Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran issued a 1989 fatwa, or religious edict, ordering Muslims to kill Rushdie because of charges that Rushdie's book The Satanic Verses insulted Islam.
In 1998, the Iranian government declared it would not support but could not rescind the fatwa. Rushdie said he receives a "sort of Valentine's card" from Iran each year on Feb. 14 letting him know the country has not forgotten the vow to end his life. "It's reached the point where it's a piece of rhetoric rather than a real threat," Rushdie said.
The profile of the Bosnian immigrant who gunned down five people at a shopping mall is filled with uncertainty. Neighbors say they rarely saw the lanky teenager, whose mother removed him from school at 16 to work. But family members agree on what Sulejman Talovic, 18, was not: He was not motivated by Islamic belief or an act of terrorism when he shot nine people, five fatally, before he was stopped by police.
Trolley Square reopened Wednesday, less than 48 hours after the rampage, but some stores remained closed and plywood covered shattered windows. Bosnia's U.S. ambassador, Bisera Turkovic, planned to visit the city today in the search for answers to the shooting. Turkovic was scheduled to join fellow countrymen for lunch at the Bosna Restaurant and attend an evening memorial at the library.
"We are Muslims, but we are not terrorists," the boy's aunt, Ajka Omerovic, said Wednesday. She rejected any religious motive for the shooting and said the family is as mystified as anyone in a city that logged just eight homicides in 2006.
Authorities also are at a loss to figure out why Talovic committed the rampage and how he got his hands on a gun.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating how Talovic got a .38-caliber pistol. He also had a shotgun, a bandolier of shotgun shells under his trench coat and a backpack full of ammunition. But it's the pistol that he wasn't legally allowed to possess. "You can buy long guns at 18. ... The handgun he shouldn't have had," said Lori Dyer, in charge of the local ATF office.
Talovic lived with his parents and three younger sisters in a tiny ranch house on the west side, blocks from where a railroad yard and Interstate 15 slice through Salt Lake City. His father works long hours in construction.
Neighbors described the boy as a dipshit loner who dressed in black.
Neighbors described the boy as a loner who dressed in black. His parents, Suljo and Sabira Talovic, do not speak English well and have refused to answer the door, drawing their windows blinds tight.
Talovic worked for two months as a general laborer at Aramark Uniform Services, an industrial launderer and uniform-rental company, manager Trent Thorn said. He appeared for his regular shift on the day of the shooting.
Talovic and his family moved to the U.S. after living as refugees in Bosnia for five years, people close to the family still living in Bosnia told the AP. He was only 4 when he and his mother fled their village of Talovici on foot after Serbian forces overran it in 1993, they said. "Many left the village, but only a few made it," said Murat Avdic, a family friend.
#1
"We are Muslims, but we are not terrorists," the boy's aunt, Ajka Omerovic, said Wednesday. She rejected any religious motive for the shooting and said the family is as mystified as anyone in a city that logged just eight homicides in 2006.
How many of those eight homicides were committed by the same man at the same time? And why did the 'tard reporter feel that statistic was relevant?
And anyone want to bet that any computer this guy had was purged by his relatives before the search warrant could be issued?
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
02/15/2007 8:00 Comments ||
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#2
I'm under the impression that computer forensics is so good nowadays that nothing less than running a magnet over the hard drive will keep everything from being found... and pretty quickly, too.
#3
so, what will they find on the computer - 1. links to jihadi websites and al qaeeda manifestos 2. mods for Doom and Quake, links to goth sites, poems in tribute to the Columbine shooters and against athletes and preppies? 3. Some combination of the above?
#4
TW. When you remove a file, contents aren't erased. OS only marks the blocks as available for reuse so it is very easy, provided the OS has still not assigned the blocks to other files, to recover the contents wiuth mere software.
There are shreddder programs who repeatedly overwrite on afile before deleting it but you can still recover content with hardware. However it is quiete error prone and very unrealiable for compressed files where usually the 1,000,001 byte can't be uncimhered if you miss any of the preceeding 1,000,000.
On Linux we have crypted filesystems.: at boot time you have to provide the key for decrypting and no amount of forenics will recover a single bit if you don't know the key (this if laptop is stolenb, thieves will be able to get zero info from it). Of course there is still the old method of forcing the guy to confess the key.
#6
I don't know what will turn up on Sulieman's hardware, but I've got a hunch. The question is, will the gov't share any info witht the public. I ask that question for the reason that the police and FBI were very quick to announce that there is no evidence of terrorism here (pc bullsh*t). They ruled it out? How could it be ruled out?
You've got five non-muslims dead, four more seriously wounded, and the shooter is a muslim. I wouldn't be so quick to rule out sudden jihad syndrome.
Any infidel out there keeping a head count on the number of non muslims murdered or injured post 9-11 by muslims here in the USA?
Posted by: Mark Z ||
02/15/2007 11:58 Comments ||
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#7
Well, Mark, I remember at least 2 events (not long after 9/11):
(1) the shooting at the El-Al counter at LAX.
(2) the shooting up of that synagogue (in LA?).
Seems like there was another shooting in an apartment complex where 1 guy (neighbor) shoots up another guy next door.
Posted by: BA ||
02/15/2007 12:17 Comments ||
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#8
As a longtime Linux guy...JFM is right on. However, the probability of a home system running an encrypted filesytem is almost nil.
#9
and...He is a muslim, and he is a terrorist. You're telling me that when a person methodically walks through a mall terrorizing hundreds of people with a weapon, shoots 9 innocent people, murders 5 with intent to murder more is not an act of terror????
He is an islamic terrorist. Maybe not the classic definition we have grown to despise...but an islamic terrorist none the less.
any - so were the Columbine shooters "Christianist terrorists" (even though they target christians? After all they were nominally christian, and we dont know if this guy was more than nominally muslim, and they terrorized)
Was Ivan Boeskly a "Judaist swindler" (Well im sure all the antisemite web sites think so)?
Unless hes shown to have some religious or political motivation, hes merely a shooter who happened to be muslim.
mark z - five non-muslims dead. Well, what are the odds of hitting a muslim if you go shooting at random in a mall in SLC?
Not everyone who kills in Baghdad is trying to kill Mussies. There are common criminals, for ex. But after almost 4 years, ive yet to hear of a Goth video gaming trenchcoat wearing type setting off bombs in Iraq, and Ive heard of plenty of instances of bombs going off being claimed by AQ and other Sunni groups.
Im sure IF there was some deranged mentally ill guy determined to do a Columbine in Iraq, hed do it in the name of Allah, cause thats the culture. That seems to be what happened at the JCC in Seattle, and it could well be what happened in SLC, which is why I suggested option 3. But Im not sure.
#13
LH...I don't recall the Columbine teens being "Christian". My recollection is that they were pretty involved with the goth scene, and were agnostic. I understand your point, though. But I think the point could easily extend to the "Catholic" IRA, the "Protestant" Ian Paisley-Unionist gangs, and a host of secular-muslim terror groups.
Calling them "Christian" terrorists, IMHO, is a stretch.
#14
"My recollection is that they were pretty involved with the goth scene, and were agnostic"
At this point, we dont even know that the SLC shooter was not an agnostic. In Bosnia "muslim" is more or less an ethnic marker - a member of the muslim community, as opposed to Serb or Croat. IIUC you can be an agnostic "muslim" in Sarajevo just as you can be an agnostic serb or croat. Just as, of course, you can be an agnostic in the IRA.
In any case, its also a fact that the IRA is, after all, a terrorist org, with political objectives. This guy may well be a freelancer, and may have had no political objectives.
Grouping some guy who goes on a bender with AQ or Hezbollah just cause hes a nominal muslim, without EITHER any connection to a group OR any evidence of a political-religious motive, reeks of trying to build an unjustified case against muslims. Its the kind of thing that brings the very serious war on terror into disrepute.
#16
The guy was probably a Frustrated, Aimless, and Depressed Muslim Youth that stumbled upon Rantburg and went ape$hit after reading a few articles.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/15/2007 15:37 Comments ||
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#17
LH - I admire the way you play "devil's advocate" and bring up points that are not being considered by others. It keeps the discussions interesting, even when I don't agree with everything you say. And you always seem to try to be reasonable and considerate of others. If the Democrats had as strong a right-wing (along LH-Lieberman-Sam Nunn lines) as it does a left wing, I'd feel a lot better about politics in this country.
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.
WASHINGTON - A US Army brigade scheduled to deploy to Iraq will now go to Afghanistan to maintain higher troop levels intended to boost operations against the Taliban, the Pentagon said on Wednesday. The 173rd Airborne Brigade, based in Vicenza, Italy, will replace another brigade that had its tour of duty extended last month to bolster Afghanistans NATO-led security force ahead of an expected spring offensive by Taliban militants.
(SomaliNet) The transitional federal government in Somalia has moved into steps tightening the security in the capital Mogadishu after days of mortar, rocket and grenade attacks, killing scores of people and wounding others more, and also caused many residents to flee their homes. 
A Saudi wing of al Qaeda called for attacks on suppliers of oil to the United States around the world, saying targets should not be limited to the Middle East and listing Canada, Venezuela and Mexico as under threat. The threat appeared in the al Qaeda Organization in the Arabian Peninsula's e-magazine, Sawt al-Jihad (Voice of Holy War), which was posted on a Web site used by Islamist militants.
A Muslim woman teacher who was ordered to stop wearing a headscarf at school has gone to a labour tribunal in Germany to assert the right to wear a beret instead. 
The risk of terror attacks in Europe is high and is increasing, France's leading anti-terrorism judge said, warning that a recent alliance between al-Qaida and a North African terrorist group poses a grave threat.
Islamabad, 15 Feb. (AKI/DAWN) - Pakistan's federal government said in the Supreme Court on Wednesday that three out of six recently traced persons from a list of 41 people "missing" for many years are in its custody for security reasons. A three-member bench took up the matter on the application of Amina Masood Janjua regarding missing persons, including her husband, whose unexplained incarceration for the last one and a half years is believed to have been caused by his suspected links with Al-Qaeda or jihadi groups. 
President General Pervez Musharraf has said that the government will not allow the Talibanisation of Pakistani society, nor allow the Taliban to impede development and prosperity. The Taliban system will not be allowed to come to the country and the Taliban will not be allowed to hamper the path to development and prosperity. We will continue to move forward to transform Pakistan into a moderate, enlightened, Muslim welfare state, Gen Musharraf said in his address at a seminar titled Voices of Asia for the process of peace, cooperation and security, held here on Wednesday at the Institute of Strategic Studies. 
WASHINGTON - The United States aims to accept about 7,000 Iraqi refugees by the end of the year, US officials said on Wednesday as the State Department sought to blunt criticism that it took in only 202 last year. The move, disclosed as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was to meet U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres, follows sharp questions from US lawmakers about why the United States has welcomed so few Iraqi refugees.
Less than a week after the signing of the Mecca "national unity" agreement, a new crisis is looming between 
The following are excerpts from an interview with Syrian-born historian Mahmoud Al-Sayyed Al-Dugheim, which aired on Al-Jazeera TV on January 30, 2007. To view the clip click 
