From Geostrategy-Direct, subscription.
The commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East said last week that the U.S. Navy has been ordered to step up anti-piracy operations against ship-borne criminals near East Africa.
Adm. William Fallon said pirates in the region have become bolder and are attacking larger ships.
I have given some guidance to our naval commanders, and we've been able to get some approvals to do some things that are a little more aggressive than we had in the past. We were pretty much in a passive mode," Fallon told Voice of America. We're going to continue to operate in this area and to do everything we can to discourage this kind of activity. How about following pirate vessels back to port with a UAV and then make a crater of the dock area for a radius of 100 meters.
Navy ships recently retook a pirated ships and blocked pirates from getting supplies from shore. Small boats used by pirates also have been destroyed off the coast of Somalia.
Pirates pose a threat to stability in the region. This kind of behavior, lawless behavior, if it's allowed to continue, just fosters an atmosphere of total disregard for accepted norms of behavior. And one thing leads to another, and if you allow this kind of behavior, whether it's ashore or afloat, typically there's a downward spiral. And that's what I think we've seen in this area. So, we're trying to clean up the neighborhood. Master of the Obvious, understatement of the week.....
An estimate 200 pirates are believed to operate in East African waters and until recently operates a number of criminal enterprises that were engaged in stealing ship cargo and kidnapping crews and vessels and seeking ransom.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/12/2008 18:50 ||
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#1
destroy port, berthing, warehousing, living quarters, civilian support (family) and infrastructure. Wait 6 months, rinse, repeat. No mercy
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/12/2008 19:30 Comments ||
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#2
Small Boats, large ocean, "accidents happen" you know.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/12/2008 19:57 Comments ||
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#3
Captain to chief Bosun, "Did you hear a crunch?"
Bosun, Nosir.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/12/2008 20:09 Comments ||
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#4
more likely: "have that paint repaired".."yessir"
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/12/2008 20:13 Comments ||
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#5
Protect the paint; arm the Bosun with a LAW rocket.
This kind of behavior, lawless behavior, if it's allowed to continue, just fosters an atmosphere of total disregard for accepted norms of behavior. And one thing leads to another, and if you allow this kind of behavior, whether it's ashore or afloat, typically there's a downward spiral. And that's what I think we've seen in this area. So, we're trying to clean up the neighborhood. About a quarter century after the fact.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/12/2008 20:36 Comments ||
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The number of men held at Guantanamo Bay is declining rapidly, but there is no way out for most of the Yemeni detainees because their homeland's government and Washington are mired in a diplomatic impasse over security concerns.
The jail at the U.S. Navy base in southeast Cuba entered its seventh year Friday, with Yemenis now making up the biggest group of prisoners. Only one Yemeni was among a record 100 detainees sent away over the past six months, according to an Associated Press count.
Of the 275 prisoners who remain at Guantanamo, nearly 100 are from Yemen, replacing Afghans and Saudis as the predominant detainee group as the jail population has declined from a peak of about 680 in 2003.
The United States and Yemen have refused to publicly disclose details of their negotiations. But Sandra Hodgkinson, deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs, said Yemen must do more to assure that any repatriated detainees do not attack the U.S. or its allies.
"Torture 'em all you want, but just make sure they stay the hell away from us!"
Posted by: Fred ||
01/12/2008 00:00 ||
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#3
Given the Yemen Gov'ts periodic "Islamic Dispensation" amnesty for prisoners, their revolving doors, and tissue paper thin prison walls, I'd hesitate these mooks back too. Chances are they'd be back on the front before the paperwork cleared. Yemen is not a partner in the WOT, they do what they have to to stay off the shitlist, nothing more
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/12/2008 12:25 Comments ||
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#4
Send them back in HavaTampa Cigar boxes...as ashes.
#5
Trade all of them for the perps who bombed the Cole and the evidence to try them. I'm sure we don't have to worry about the ACLU successfully, getting a judge to free the people who killed our sailors. Levenworth will be a nice change for them. If they get their quickly, they can see their first snowfall.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/12/2008 14:48 Comments ||
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#6
SuperHose - first snowfall at Leavenworth was a couple of weeks ago, I believe. I have a friend that lives down south of Lawrence who says he's had to scrape his driveway twice already.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/12/2008 15:58 Comments ||
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#7
Maybe they can scrape the exercise yard of the SHU for cardio.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/12/2008 16:49 Comments ||
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#8
Gitmo is heaven on earth compared to Yemen.
Posted by: regular joe ||
01/12/2008 19:26 Comments ||
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Welcoming proposals from Oxford's Central Mosque to sound the call three times a day over East Oxford, the Rt Rev John Pritchard said those opposed to the plan should "relax" and "enjoy community diversity".
"Really. Just relax and enjoy it!"
Bishop Pritchard said: "I want to distance myself from what the Bishop of Rochester has said (that some parts of the country were now too dangerous for non-Muslims to enter). "There are no no-go areas in this country that we are aware of and in all parts of the country there are good interfaith relationships developing." Maybe the historian Edward Gibbon was prophesying when he wrote in 1788:
Perhaps the interpretation of the Koran would now be taught in the schools of Oxford, and her pulpits might demonstrate to a circumcised people the sanctity and truth of the revelation of Mahomet.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/12/2008 10:56 Comments ||
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> There are no no-go areas in this country that we are aware of and in all parts of the country there are good interfaith relationships developing."
I used to live there 10 years ago. Shall I do Rantburg exclusive?
Hat tip redstate.com
Venezuelan Jews, long uneasy with the Chávez government's alliances with Iran and other Middle Eastern countries that espouse anti-Israel views, are concerned that the government is sponsoring anti-Semitism in this hemisphere, a prominent journalist said Tuesday.
''The situation we have now in Venezuela is that for the first time in modern history we have government-sponsored anti-Semitism in a Western country,'' said Sammy Eppel. ``That is why this is very dangerous, not just for the Jewish community in Venezuela but for the Jewish community as a whole.''
Among the examples offered by Eppel: Venezuelan government intelligence services twice have raided the country's most important Jewish center in a vague, ultimately unsuccessful search for weapons. Publications of the government's cultural ministry run articles entitled ''the Jewish Question,'' along with a Jewish star superimposed over a swastika.
These examples, according to Eppel, an analyst and journalist who has written for El Universal and El Mundo, among other publications, are evidence of a pattern of official intimidation against the country's fast-dwindling Jewish population. Many of them have resettled in South Florida since President Hugo Chávez's rise.
About 30 people attended Eppel's presentation Tuesday, sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League at the Aventura Chabad. Many of the examples were excerpts from government-linked media. One 2006 article in El Diario de Caracas debates whether it will be necessary to ''expel [the Jews] from the country.'' Another article in the Diario VEA accuses Jews of being involved in the murder of a government prosecutor.
The Anti-Defamation League has admonished the Venezuelan government for making the Jewish community a ``target for intimidation.'' ''We have called on the Venezuelan government to cease their rhetoric and their intimidation of the Jewish community in Venezuela,'' said Andy Rosenkranz, the ADL's regional director for Florida. ``It's very poisonous anytime you have government-sanctioned anti-Semitism take root because it's a dangerous atmosphere for the Jewish community but it also shows the world kind of intimidation and instigation that the government is capable of displaying.''
Eppel drew connections between the anti-Semitism and Chavez's alliance with the Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, also stridently critical of the United States. ''Chavez actually believes he is going to defeat capitalism and the U.S.,'' Eppel said.
Venezuela's Jewish community once numbered 30,000, but community leaders estimate that number has dropped dramatically during Chavez's tenure in power. Several recently arrived Venezuelan Jews attended Eppel's presentation and lamented the situation in the country. ''It's a very positive thing to get information on what's going down there with our Jewish community,'' said Aventura resident Steven Sznajderman, 59, a Venezuelan Jew who moved to South Florida a year ago. ``There haven't been physical attacks yet on [Jews] in Venezuela, but we have to be on the lookout.''
#2
''The situation we have now in Venezuela is that for the first time in modern history we have government-sponsored anti-Semitism in a Western country,''
Does this mean he no longer considers Europe western?
#3
I thought we stomped this shit out of existence in 1939-1943?
Time for a do-over?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/12/2008 16:40 Comments ||
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#4
I understand why Jews feel a connection to the Holy Land, but there can't be the same feeling of a connection to Venezuela. They are welcome in California. I'm sure they already speak Spanish.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/12/2008 16:57 Comments ||
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Now this would get the French riled. It's one thing to have a few hunnert carbeques every night, it's another thing to blow the Eiffel Tower.
PARIS - French intelligence services are tracking the authors of a message apparently describing a militant threat against the Eiffel Tower, the daily Le Monde said on Friday.
I think I've seen this movie...
The newspaper said Portuguese air traffic authorities had intercepted a vague and confused short wave radio message apparently describing a threat on Thursday, but were not panicked by the message, according to a police source.
"Oui are not paniqued! It is merely puppets cavorting!"
The French capital is already at its second highest security alert level and further public security measures would serve little purpose, Le Monde quoted police as saying. Weve been at red for several months. Its the highest level before scarlet alert which is implemented when there are attacks, the local police headquarters told the newspaper.
"And after scarlet -- crimson! Vous know what that means!"
Black. And we know what that means.
Several apparent threats against Paris and prominent personalities have also been identified on an Islamist website and are being taken seriously following the murder of four French tourists in Mauretania last month, French media said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/12/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Did they threaten to blow it up, or to turn it into a giant tesla cannon to attack allied forces with?
#4
Black is the next level. The French are perfectly capable of getting ugly if they have to. They just have to want to do it. Blow the Eiffel Tower and they'll want to.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/12/2008 13:26 Comments ||
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#5
"Civilization" to France, WAKE UP.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/12/2008 13:58 Comments ||
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If they are targeting the Eiffel Tower, everybody in Paris needs an immediate tetnus shot. That thing should have been wheeled to the scrap yard in 1960.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/12/2008 14:40 Comments ||
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#7
Let them hit it, SOMETHING needs to wake the Phrench, that will do it.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/12/2008 16:38 Comments ||
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Millions of air travelers may find going through airport security much more complicated this spring, as the Bush administration heads toward a showdown with state governments over post-Sept. 11 rules for new driver's licenses.
By May, the dispute could leave millions of people unable to use their licenses to board planes, but privacy advocates called that a hollow threat by federal officials.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who was unveiling final details of the REAL ID Act's rules on Friday, said that if states want their licenses to remain valid for air travel after May 2008, those states must seek a waiver indicating they want more time to comply with the legislation.
Chertoff said that for any state which doesn't seek such a waiver by May, residents of that state will have to use a passport or certain types of federal border-crossing cards if they want to avoid a vigorous secondary screening at airport security. "The last thing I want to do is punish citizens of a state who would love to have a REAL ID license but can't get one," Chertoff said. "But in the end, the rule is the rule as passed by Congress."
The plan's chief critic, the American Civil Liberties Union, called Chertoff's deadline a bluff and urged state governments to call him on it. "Are they really prepared to shut those airports down? Which is what effectively would happen if the residents of those states are going to have to go through secondary scrutiny," said Barry Steinhardt, director of the ACLU's technology and liberty program. "This is a scare tactic."
It's also the law. But the ACLU doesn't have any criticism for Congress, it seems.
So far, 17 states have passed legislation or resolutions objecting to the REAL ID Act's provisions, many due to concerns it will cost them too much to comply. The 17, according to the ACLU, are Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington.
Maine officials said Friday they were unsure if their own state law even allows them to ask for a waiver. "It certainly seems to be an effort by the federal government to create compliance with REAL ID whether states have an interest in doing so or not," said Don Cookson, spokesman for the Maine secretary of state's office.
The Sept. 11 attacks were the main motivation for the changes: The hijacker-pilot who flew into the Pentagon, Hani Hanjour, had four driver's licenses and ID cards from three states.
The Homeland Security Department and other officials say the only way to ensure an ID is safe is to check it against secure government data; critics such as the ACLU say that creates a system that is more likely to be infiltrated and have its personal data pilfered.
Nah, to do that you'd have to download all the data into a laptop and leave it in a taxi or something. Oh wait ...
Congress passed the REAL ID law in 2005, but the effort has been delayed by opposition from states worried about the cost and civil libertarians upset about what they believe are invasions of privacy.
Under the rules announced Friday, Americans born after Dec. 1, 1964, will have to get more secure driver's licenses in the next six years, over which time the new requirements would gradually be phased in. A key deadline would come in 2011, when federal authorities hope all states will be in compliance, and the regulations would not take full effect for all Americans until 2017.
To make the plan more appealing to cost-conscious states, federal authorities drastically reduced the expected cost from $14.6 billion to $3.9 billion, a 73 percent decline, said Homeland Security officials familiar with the plan.
By 2014, anyone seeking to board an airplane or enter a federal building would have to present a REAL ID-compliant card, with the notable exception of those older than 50, Homeland Security officials said. The over-50 exemption was created to give states more time to get everyone new licenses, and officials say the risk of someone in that age group being a terrorist, illegal immigrant or con artist is much less. By 2017, even those over 50 must have a REAL ID-compliant card to board a plane.
Among other details of the REAL ID plan:
* The traditional driver's license photograph would be taken at the beginning of the application instead of the end so that if someone is rejected for failure to prove identity and citizenship, the applicant's photo would be kept on file and checked if that person tried to con the system again.
* The cards will have three layers of security measures but will not contain microchips as some had expected. States will be able to choose from a menu which security measures they will put in their cards.
* After Social Security and immigration status checks become nationwide practice, officials plan to move on to more expansive security checks. State DMV offices would be required to verify birth certificates; check with other states to ensure an applicant doesn't have more than one license; and check with the State Department to verify applicants who use passports to get a driver's license.
#2
If Hawaii NH and Maine are magnets for illegals,then the attraction must be extremely weak. Maine and New Hampshire were both pretty white bread last time I visited.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/12/2008 15:31 Comments ||
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#3
These people are all in favor of the IRS and Social Security knowing everything there is to know about me and ripping me off on a regular basis. But when it comes to asking people if they really are citizens of this country or if they are here legally they act like it's some kind of threat to their civil rights. OK, fine. You don't want a card? You don't get a job, you don't vote, you don't drive a car, you don't get on an airplane, you don't get educated, you don't get treated at the hospital. In fact, you can FOAD.
#4
This has got to be real bureaucratic just to be bureaucratic doesn't it. We already have a passport system for travel into another country. Shouldn't be too hard to come up with a passport-lite[tm] for return into the US from countries that don't require a passport to enter, set up in the same voluntary manner that the existing passport is. It can be administered by the feds without having to wait upon the states. And since it is a 'Real ID'[tm] it can used for other authentication purposes internally to the US to comply with federal requirements [banking, voting, etc]. BTW, the feds have had one for decades in the form of military identity cards [along with very appropriate and harsh penalties for duplicating or selling the suckers]. Shouldn't be too hard to set up a civilian version.
#5
If Hawaii NH and Maine are magnets for illegals,then the attraction must be extremely weak. Maine and New Hampshire were both pretty white bread last time I visited.
Yeah, SuperHose. New Hampshire, unlike Arkansas, probably doesn't have that many illegals. All those pasty, white liberals don't even know what an illegal alien looks like which is why they were willing to vote for an idiot like McCain. Just wait, though, if McCain and the ACLU have their way they'll find out soon enough.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/12/2008 15:50 Comments ||
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#7
A national ID card is needed. This sounds like a good way to ease into it. Why hasn't anyone dismantled the bottom feeders in ACLU ? Way past time for them to be gone, gone, gone.
#8
A friend in Texas reports around 95% illegals(Probably wildly exaggerated) and most people speak Spanish (Believe that one)
Maybe Mexico is trying to Re-take THEIR territory? Hmmm?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/12/2008 16:47 Comments ||
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A national ID card scheme would be a disaster for several reasons.
The number one reason is that a LOT of people, both for good reasons and bad, don't want one, would fight it every inch of the way, and would subvert it. If subverted, it would be a national nightmare.
In truth, the Social Security card was *intended* from the get-go to evolve into a national ID card, despite promises to the contrary. From its very inception it was compromised in countless ways.
The assumption of a national ID card is always that it is a direct connection between individual citizens, 350 million of them, and the federal government. That it would somehow make things clearer, or easier. But that is not, and perhaps *cannot* be the case.
In practice, State DMVs are tasked with figuring out how to carry out a national ID. These are perhaps the most corrupt government agency in any State. They are continually scandalized by providing fake IDs by the tens of thousands. This would not change with a national ID.
Argue it as you might, even the Soviet Union never developed a way to account for their citizenry. The onus was always on the cooperative, and the uncooperative found countless ways to evade the system, even when threatened with death.
The second largest group that evades national IDs are the "incompetents", people who are too damn *stupid* to get or keep their papers. This is about 17% of any population. If you give them an ID, they will lose it within a day.
The largest group are intelligent people who don't want the damn things. They will spend years to break the system, to screw things up, to make IDs so unpopular that nobody wants one.
And the bottom line is that national IDs accomplish *nothing* of what they are promised to do. They give no greater security. They do not make or keep people honest. They do not account for citizens who don't want to play, and they cost a bloody fortune.
Compare them to driver's licenses or mandatory insurance required to drive a car. Any guesses what percentage of drivers out there have neither?
"Many (Wisconsin) adults do not have either a drivers license or a photo ID. An estimated 23 percent of persons aged 65 and over do not have a Wisconsin drivers license or a photo ID. The population of elderly persons 65 and older without a drivers license or a state photo ID totals 177,399, and of these 70 percent are women. While racial data was not available on the state population with photo IDs, 91 percent of the states elderly without a Wisconsin drivers license are white. An estimated 98,247 Wisconsin residents ages 35 through 64 also do not have either a drivers license or a photo ID."
#10
Argue it as you might, even the Soviet Union never developed a way to account for their citizenry.
One of the reasons is that the Party never trusted their own people/scientists to do the computer engineering. Cause it could lead to something like an internet and free communication. See how everyone goes crazy when official records, which for decades were open to the public but in paper form and laborious to dig through, suddenly become available 'on line'. Panic ensues. Technology has erased the technical problem.
We'll get a national id card when the demand is made from the bottom up. A voluntary id which is secure and accepted means of identification at reasonable cost and accessibility will create a natural evolution to adoption and implementation. Having one forced down everyone's throat won't.
#11
Correction Maine has been aggressively importing Sudanese because there's not enough Mainers on welfare already.
Posted by: regular joe ||
01/12/2008 19:23 Comments ||
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#12
Moose, you dead wrong. Quite a number of countries have a compulsory ID system and they work well - fraud and impersonation are almost non-existent and this is without biometric data.
One significant impact is they make life much harder for illegal immigrants.
A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that four British men have no right to sue top Pentagon officials and military officers over torture, abuse and violations of their religious rights that they allege to have sustained while detained for two years at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/12/2008 09:59 ||
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Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has ruled out a UN inquiry into the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, as demanded by her party, saying that Pakistan should not be compared to Lebanon. "It is not possible. Is another country involved?" he said in an interview with Le Figaro newspaper published on its website on Friday (local time). "Pakistan is not Lebanon."
Ms Bhutto's party has called for a UN inquiry into her death comparable to one into the 2005 killing of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, whose death was blamed by many Lebanese on Syria. Damascus denies involvement.
Mr Musharraf said Pakistan had its own institutions to manage the inquiry into Ms Bhutto's assassination and noted they would also be helped by British police.
He said there was a campaign by Al Qaeda to undermine Pakistan but denied his country was about to fall apart. "They do not have the capacity to destabilise the country, but their suicide attacks create disorder and dishearten the population. However Pakistan is not on the verge of disintegration," he said.
He also said Pakistan's economy would survive if the United States decided to cut financial aid - as suggested by some politicians unless Pakistan does more to fight terrorism and restores full civil rights. "Do you think Pakistan would die if it didn't receive this money? Our economy is doing well," he said. "Over the last six years, we have received a total of around $US9 billion, more than half for fighting terrorism. If the Americans don't want to pay any more, they should ask other people to help them. But the fight against terrorism would suffer."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/12/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
First we need to have a "Meeting" to tell you what we want you to say, then have your "Inquiry".
(And submit it to us for "Corrections" before going public)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/12/2008 13:55 Comments ||
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PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif said on Friday that the PML-Q is a product of the ISI and called for an end to the agencys political wing.
In an interview with Hum TV, Nawaz said no democratic person could welcome an army coup, adding that the ISI might have been involved in the distribution of sweets upon the dismissal of his government in 1999. Nawaz said a countrys premier was answerable to the people and not to the army chief. He said the wars fought by Pakistan erupted during military rules, whereas democratic governments had ensured the development of the country.
The PML-N chief said he conducted nuclear tests in 1998 in the supreme national interest despite extreme pressure by Bill Clinton.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/12/2008 00:00 ||
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Investigators on Friday said tribal elements were behind Thursdays suicide attack here, which killed 24 people, most of them policemen. However, they said it was too early to determine exactly who orchestrated the bombing.
It seems that the incident has links in the tribal region and Thursdays blast was the handiwork of those who have carried out similar strikes in other parts of the country, senior police officer Aftab Cheema told AFP. The inquiry team is looking into all aspects of the crime and we hope to reach the bottom of the incident and those involved in it very soon, he added.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, in which a suicide bomber approached a group of about 60 riot police outside the Lahore High Court and detonated a device packed with ball bearings.
Head and legs: A head and legs found at the site of the blasts are being examined and DNA tested. His face is also being reconstructed by doctors, Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Cheema said. He said banned outfits and extremist elements are behind the terrorist and suicide attacks, reported APP. Cheema strongly condemned the attacks, saying, we will give strict and harsh punishment to these miscreants and anti-state elements who are behind these attacks. It will be a lesson for them.
Meanwhile, one of the seven-member investigation team told Daily Times on condition of anonymity that they had recovered a finger believed to be of the bomber, which has been forwarded to the National Database and Registration Authority to trace his identity through fingerprinting.
Modern methods: The investigator said the matter was being pursued through modern forensic methods. He said investigators had collected three different types of ball bearings from the crime scene, adding that they were forwarding all collected body parts to the Institute of Microbiology at Punjab University for DNA testing. The officer said investigators were trying to find links between the bombings in Sargodha, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Lahore.
Also on Friday, District Coordination Officer Muhammad Ijaz and Lahore Police Chief Malik Muhammad Iqbal visited hospitals to inquire about the well being of the injured policemen and citizens. They distributed Rs 20,000 to each of them on behalf of Punjab Chief Minister Ejaz Nisar.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/12/2008 00:00 ||
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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - President Pervez Musharraf warned US troops would be regarded as invaders if they crossed into Pakistan to hunt Al Qaeda militants and said he would resign if opposition parties tried to impeach him after next months elections.
Musharrafs remarks were in an interview with Singapores The Straits Times published Friday. The New York Timesrevealed reported last week that Washington was considering expanding the authority of the Central Intelligence Agency and the US military to launch aggressive covert operations within the tribal regions. Several US presidential candidates have also hinted they would support unilateral action in the area.
Musharraf told The Straits Times US troops would certainly be considered invaders if they set foot in the tribal regions. A full transcript of the interview was published on the papers Web site. "If they come without our permission, thats against the sovereignty of Pakistan. I challenge anybody coming into our mountains. They would regret that day," he said in the interview in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
What if we just over-fly the region? And drop off some stuff?
Musharraf is also under gathering domestic political pressure. The party of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto and the other main opposition grouping are predicted to make gains in the Feb. 18 polls. They have vowed to oust Musharraf if they emerge as winners. Musharraf is seen as vulnerable to impeachment over his decision to fire Supreme Court judges and suspend the constitution last year.
If that (impeachment) happens, let me assure that Id be leaving office before they would do anything. If they won with this kind of majority and they formed a government that had the intention of doing this, I wouldnt like to stick around, he said. I would like to quit the scene.
Dubai sounds nice. And Britain will be an Islamic state pretty soon. Might get some property cheap there.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/12/2008 00:00 ||
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#3
I have the mental image of a Company of Marines, with huge grins , in the Pakistani Presidential Palace, saying "Mother May I", holding Musharraf at rifle-point, It would look like a horse stable, knee deep, they'd be digging the shit out for weeks.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/12/2008 14:05 Comments ||
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Perhaps this should be filed under "Idiot of the Day"? :-)
Blackwater Worldwide repaired and repainted its trucks immediately after a deadly September shooting in Baghdad, making it difficult to determine whether enemy gunfire provoked the attack, according to people familiar with the government's investigation of the incident.
Damage to the vehicles in the convoy has been held up by Blackwater as proof that its security guards were defending themselves against an insurgent ambush when they fired into a busy intersection, leaving 17 Iraqicivilians dead.
U.S. military investigators initially found "no enemy activity involved" and the Iraqi government concluded the shootings were unprovoked.
The repairs essentially destroyed evidence that Justice Department investigators hoped to examine in a criminal case that has drawn worldwide attention. The Sept. 16 shooting has strained U.S. relations with the Iraqi government, which wants Blackwater expelled from the country. It also has become a flash point in the debate over whether contractors are immune from legal consequences for their actions in a war zone.
Blackwater's four armored vehicles were repaired or repainted within days of the shooting, and before FBI teams went to Baghdad to collect evidence, people close to the case said. The work included repairs to a damaged radiator that Blackwater says is central to its defense.
The damage and subsequent repairs were described to The Associated Press by five people familiar with the case who discussed it in separate interviews over the past month. All spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case.
The repair work creates a hurdle for prosecutors as they consider building a case against any of the 19 guards in the Sept. 16 convoy. It also makes it harder for Blackwater to prove its innocence as it faces a grand jury investigation and multiple lawsuits over the shooting. The company is the target, too, of an unrelated investigation into whether its contractors smuggled weapons into Iraq.
Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said any repairs "would have been done at the government's direction." Blackwater's contract with the State Department requires that the company maintain its vehicles and keep them on the road.
The State Department would not comment on whether it ordered the repairs to the vehicles involved in the shooting.
Blackwater's chief executive, Erik Prince, has pointed to the damaged trucks to counter accusations that his contractors acted improperly.
In interviews this fall, he said three of Blackwater's armored vehicles were struck by gunfire and that the radiator from one was "shot out and disabled" during the shooting in Baghdad's Nisoor Square. An early two-page State Department report supports Prince's statements. The report noted the Blackwater command vehicle was "disabled during the attack" and had to be towed.
Prince has indicated he expects the FBI investigation to clear his company. Yet people close to the case say the vehicles and radiator alone probably will not be enough to do that because repairing the trucks made it difficult for investigators to say whether the convoy was fired on or not.
As for the radiator, investigators have verified that it was damaged. But it, too, was repaired before the FBI arrived two weeks after the shooting.
No bullets were found inside the radiator to prove it had been shot, as opposed to being broken during routine use. That makes it hard for scientists to say for certain what caused the damage or when, according to those close to the case.
The preliminary State Department report noted "superficial damage" to the vehicles; and photographs exist showing bullet damage. People who have seen the photos said there are no time stamps or other indications of when and where that damage occurred.
One photo, obtained and broadcast by CBS News, bore no notations indicating when it was taken or even if the vehicle pictured was involved in the shooting.
The evidence gaps will force investigators to rely more heavily on testimony and other statements from witnesses. But even those efforts have been hampered by a State Department deal that gave Blackwater guards limited immunity for their
statements following the incident. As a result, the Justice Department cannot use those interviews in its criminal investigation.
There were 19 security guards at the scene. Investigators believe only a few fired their weapons. Investigators are pushing ahead with the search for additional evidence and so far are focusing on as many four guards who could face criminal charges.
Over the past two months, prosecutors have brought several guards before a Washington grand jury to describe their recollection of the shooting. According to the initial State Department report, the shooting occurred as the Blackwater
convoy was responding to a car bombing about a mile outside the U.S.-protected Green Zone, which houses the Iraqi government and several embassies.
James Sweeney, a lawyer representing several guards, would not discuss the forensic gaps or whether the grand jury investigation is helping authorities bridge them. He said Blackwater guards are patriots, not aggressors.
"They are good, solid intelligent Americans. They're good people," Sweeney said. "They're protecting U.S. diplomats."
North Carolina-based Blackwater is the largest private security company protecting U.S. officials in Iraq. It has been paid more than $1 billion from federal contracts since 2001. Despite criticism, Blackwater notes that no official under its protection has been killed or seriously injured.
Blackwater also strongly denies wrongdoing in a weapons smuggling investigation by federal officials in North Carolina. Two former employees, who prosecutors say are aiding the investigation, were sentenced to probation Thursday on gunrunning charges.
Blackwater and other contractors operate in a legal gray area. They are immune from prosecution in Iraqi courts. If the Justice Department wants to bring criminal charges such as assault, manslaughter or murder in a U.S. court, prosecutors would have to do so under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act.
That would require the government to show that State Department contractors were "supporting the mission of the Department of Defense overseas." Defense lawyers are expected to argue that guarding diplomats was a purely State Department function, one independent from the Pentagon.
The Justice Department has said it could be some time before it decides whether it will bring charges in the case.
#1
Blackwater and other contractors operate in a legal gray area. They are immune from prosecution in Iraqi courts.
Letters of "Marque and Reprisal"?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/12/2008 17:05 Comments ||
Top||
#2
I propose new ROE for firms like Blackwater. Only after their clients are dead, can they shoot back. Everyone can agree this will ensure there actually is an attack. They could drive with the VIP's strapped to the front of the vehicles, with tapes rolling so that the VIP's being shot will be recorded.
Makes sense to me, that way no guards will shoot anyone until there's dead, verifiable proof.
Okay, so I'm being sarcastic:p Frankly, I feel this whole thing is a Jihadi op to get rid of /good/ bodyguards and replace them with twits.
gee Nancy, Harry? Another benchmark met. Can you still say "Quagmire" without your lips (or face, for Botox Nan) falling off?
Iraq's parliament adopted legislation Saturday on the reinstatement of thousands of former supporters of Saddam Hussein's Baath party to government jobs, a key benchmark sought by the United States as a step toward easing sectarian tensions.
The bill was approved by a unanimous show of hands on each of the law's 30 clauses. Titled the Accountability and Justice law, it seeks to relax restrictions on the rights of members of the now-dissolved Baath party to fill government posts.
It is also designed to reinstate thousands of Baathists dismissed from government jobs after the 2003 U.S. invasion a decision that deepened sectarian tensions between Iraq's majority Shiites and the once-dominant Sunni Arabs, who believed the firings targeted their community. The strict implementation of so-called de-Baathification rules also meant that many senior bureaucrats who knew how to run ministries, university departments and state companies ended up unemployed in a country where 35 years of Baath party rule and extensive government involvement in the economy had left tens of thousands of party members in key positions.
That, coupled with the disbanding of the Iraqi army, threw tens of thousands of people out of work at a critical time in Iraq's history and fueled the burgeoning Sunni insurgency.
The Bush administration initially promoted de-Baathification but later claimed that Iraqi authorities went beyond even what the Americans had contemplated to keep Saddam's supporters out of important jobs. With the Sunni insurgency raging and political leaders making little progress in reconciling Iraq's Shiite, Sunni Arab and Kurdish communities, the Americans switched positions and urged the dismantling of de-Baathification laws.
That's one way of spinning it ...
Later, enacting and implementing legislation reinstating the fired Baath supporters became one of 18 so-called benchmark issues the U.S. sought as measures for progress in national reconciliation.
The legislation can become law only when approved by Iraq's presidential council. The council, comprised of Iraq's president and two vice presidents, is expected to ratify the measure.
The draft law approved Saturday is not a blanket approval for all former Baathists to take government jobs. The law will allow low-ranking Baathists not involved in past crimes against Iraqis to go back to their jobs. High-ranking Baathists will be sent to compulsory retirement and those involved in crimes will stand trial, though their families will still have the right to pension. The Baathists who were members in Saddam's security agencies must retire except for members of Fidayeen Saddam, a feared militia formed by Saddam's eldest son, Oday. They will be entitled to nothing.
Progressive Left is going to need some new talking points. Let me see if I can guess --
It's too late, should have been done before
It's too late, too many people have died
It won't matter, Iraq won't hold together
It was only done at gunpoint
Iraqis can't govern ... hey look, it's William Shatner!
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/12/2008 09:45 ||
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#1
We bring you de-de-baathification.
The NYT only made it to the third graf before the but leaked out:
But it was unclear on Saturday how far the legislation would go toward soothing Sunni Arabs, many of whom of have strongly denounced the government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki for shutting them out. Under the new legislation, Iraqi officials said, the most senior former Baath officials would be eligible only to have their pensions reinstated, and anyone convicted of crimes would not be allowed to return.
(KUNA) -- The Interior Ministry announced Friday that al-Qaeda in Iraq has been successfully penetrated by means of a recently formed government security apparatus and is virtually an "open book," confirming that the sectarian sedition in the country was at the end of its rope.
Good to proclaim whether or not it's true. Keep playing with their heads ...
Major General Abdul Karim Khalaf, director of operations at the Interior Ministry, told KUNA here "we have succeeded in establishing a capable intelligence apparatus to penetrate the al-Qaeda organization in Iraq and all armed groups targeting Iraqi national security." He said emphatically that the sectarian sedition in Iraq has virtually ended, adding that the new intelligence apparatus is able to achieve its objectives regarding all armed groups operating in Iraq.
He went on to say that "al-Qaeda is now an open book for us, now that we have succeeded in penetrating it." Khalaf did not reveal the extent of al-Qaeda's reach in Iraq but asserted that trained Iraqi security elements currently operate under cover within this terrorist organization which he said will be dismantled soon.
Iraqi security forces had announced during the past 48 hours the arrest of the mastermind behind the second Samarra explosions and the killing of Abu Qataadah al-Saudi (who was one of the most prominent leaders of al-Qaeda in Iraq) in a military operation in south-west Samarra.
The joint Iraqi and American forces killed at the end of last month Abu Abdullah al-Zubai, who was the regional commander or "Prince" for al-Qaeda for the region extending from west of Baghdad to the east of Fallujah.
Meanwhile US fighter jets yesterday in coordination with Iraqi forces shelled about 50 strongholds of al-Qaeda in the Arab-Jabbour area south of the capital.
Last month the leader of al-Qaeda in southern Baghdad, known by the name of Muhammad Khalil al-Qargholi, was killed in air strikes coordinated by Iraqi security and US forces south of Baghdad.
In the same month a terrorist leader who went by the name of "Abu Maisara" was killed along with nine of his aides by joint US-Iraqi forces. The US army described him as an adviser to the terrorist leader al-Baghdadi (who also went by the name of Abu Ayyub al-Masri) and his predecessor the notorious Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
This article starring:
Abu Abdullah al-Zubai
Posted by: Fred ||
01/12/2008 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[2 views]
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#1
I told you, and the more Iraqis learn, the more pervasive this will be.
It is coming, I assure you, the end of Al-Q.
Not even Pakistanis will be able to resist this.
#2
Perhaps the end of organized resistance by Al-Qaeda in Iraq. AQI will still be able to launch suicide bombings and make everyone miserable, it just won't be able to take and hold territory.
#5
In the spirit of 'an ounce of prevention' I have had my own experience of 'Citizens On Patrol' (sorry for the police acadamy reference) but I still don't know if the meth'd up knuckleheads have forgot about it or are stewing (Nobody likes a bully. Lose the streets and it is hell getting them back).
Taking it to the level of organized gang warfare the good citizen, who wants protection for family and friends, needs to be supported. I have heard (unsubstantiated) stories that 'people are bought at $10 a day' - hell, they get paid more than a volunteer firefighter - as RB's know some people hump hose do it for free :) . If this is something they want to do, and it sounds like it, then by all means $10 is a no brainer. What they also need to do (if not done already) is set up a system of Incident Management - that is radio training for proper codes and oration, general procedures, etc. - to report perps; Contain, then bring in the bruisers and mops.
Build trust, smash al-queeni, keep it going for 5 years straight at least then it becomes sulf-sustained.
Ma'an US President George W. Bush completes his three-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories on Friday, during which he said he believed a peace deal would be completed by the end of 2008.
In a statement on Thursday evening he called on Israel to stop occupying some Palestinian territory and also suggested compensation should be given to Palestinian refugees rather than them being allowed to return to their homes in what is now Israel.
On the last day of his visit he visited the "Yad Vashem" Holocaust museum in Jerusalem. He will then go by helicopter to the north of Israel to visit two Christian sites overlooking Lake Tiberias.
Bush will also hold a short meeting with the Middle East Quartet, Tony Blair before going to Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv for a farewell ceremony, which Israeli President Shimon Peres and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert are expected to attend.
During his visit Bush has held talks met with Olmert and other Israeli leaders, including Israeli opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu. He also met with the sons of the former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Earlier on Thursday he was hosted by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in his Ramallah headquarters, before going on to visit the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
Bush will then travel to Kuwait on the second leg of his Middle Eastern tour.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/12/2008 00:00 ||
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[2 views]
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#1
"optimistic about peace in 2008"
What, he finally decided to drop a couple of MOABs on Gaza?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/12/2008 0:36 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Just remember, US REGIONAL-GLOBAL ENTRENCHMENT > IRAN > broadly means IRAN-RADICAL ISLAMISM must evetually accede to SELF-ISOLATION, CONTAINMENT + POTENTIAL FUTURE IMPLOSION [internal Iran "regime change"]; OR IN ALTERN WAGE [MUTUALLY DESTRUCTIVE?] WAR IN A FINAL DESPERATE BID TO FORESTALL/PRECLUDE DEFEAT, to include the humiliation or disproval of Islam/islamism as DIVINE-BASED, i.e. FALSE BELIEF(S).
The World will be twiddling its thumbs this year in nervous = scared ambiguityas to what the outcome will be.
#6
We know the solution, we just haven't decided on the method, P2K.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/12/2008 17:22 Comments ||
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#7
Cemetaries are quiet, orderly and peaceful. Insane asylums are chaotic and noisy. In the end I am as optimistic as Bush that the situation is headed towards peace.
Gaza will stil smell the same.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/12/2008 17:31 Comments ||
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#9
Have not had the chance to really trim the herd from the bs.
One thing is for sure, whether I like what I discern, or not, is that the excuse that the reason there is turmoil in said region is because the USA was not involved enough is out the door; ball has been served.
Ma'an - An Arab member of the Israeli Knesset said on Friday that a Palestinian state will be established in spite of Bush and not because of him. Dr Ahmad Al-Tibi, from the Arab Movement for Change, commented on Bush's visit, saying that it was empty of substance and will not provide any breakthrough in Palestinian-Israeli negotiations.
Regarding Bush's statements at a joint press conference in Ramallah with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Tibi said, "Bush practically said said 'Yes to the checkpoints' where there is insecurity for Israel, which also shows he does not care about the resolutions of the United Nations. He also demonstrated his indifference to the suffering of the Palestinians and his disregard for the decisions of the international community."
He also added that Bush only came to the region to strengthen his relations with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/12/2008 00:00 ||
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[5 views]
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#1
Methinks W ought to stop trying and see how they like it.
#2
Nah, then we'd have to do it all over again, to the survivors this time.
(Might be no survivors)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/12/2008 20:07 Comments ||
Top||
#3
He could of said, "we will help fortify the wall, withhold aid and press for sanctions, and increase supplies of arms to the Israeli's and Jewish settlers", but instead he saying he's giving the Palestinians a state and is asking for '67 borders to be returned. How evil!
Posted by: Snique Dark Lord of the Apes1889 ||
01/12/2008 23:14 Comments ||
Top||
Ma'an Prime Minister of the de facto government in the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniyeh, said on Friday, that US President George W. Bush's visit to the region gave the Israeli government the go-ahead to the Israeli policy of occupation over the Palestinian Territories and offered only "more slogans, illusions and deception" to Salam Fayyad's Ramallah-based government.
"Bush's visit yielding only endorsed further US-Israeli domination over the region," he said after Friday prayers at the Al-Gharbi mosque in Ash-Shati' Camp in the Gaza Strip.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/12/2008 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
I think a few bomb runs with a trio of BUFFs would make a lasting impression on Haniyeh and HAMASS - maybe even "permanent". If they cannot live in peace with Israel, they should all die at war with Israel and its US ally. That should also apply to Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Soddy aRabida, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, UAE, Oman, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Pakiwakiland. Either learn to live in peace with everyone, including Jews, Christians, and Athiests, or die like the dogs you are - and do it NOW, so we can get on to other, more important things, like colonizing the moon and finding an alternative to fossil fuel.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/12/2008 17:32 Comments ||
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#2
Old Patriot, we've had a few run-ins, but not this time, you're dead right, it's the delaying do-nothings that are killing us.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/12/2008 20:16 Comments ||
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#3
The Syrians, the Israelis, the Russians, Hamas, the knee-jerks at Rantburg - nobody was happy with this trip.
Kinda proves the old adage that, if nobody's happy, then you must be doing something right.
Sri Lankas government on Friday rejected a Tamil Tiger offer to abide by the terms of a newly-scrapped six-year ceasefire and vowed to push on with a military campaign to crush the rebels.
The Tigers said on Thursday they were willing to implement the terms of a truce Nordic monitors say they have violated thousands of times, but also said they were ready to face a full-scale war if the government wages one. But the 2002 truce broke down on the ground into renewed war two years ago, with both sides accused of serial violations, and the rebel gesture was too little, too late.
Liberation operations: While the CFA (ceasefire agreement) was on they attacked civilian targets. So what they are trying to do is take cover under this and then unleash terror activities, Keheliya Rambukwella, a minister and government defence spokesman, told Reuters. We will be going on with our liberation operations. We need to liberate the whole country from terrorism. We will flush them out. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were not immediately available for comment.
Violence rages: Raging violence continued on Friday, when air force jets bombed a Tamil Tiger naval wing base in the islands far north, the military said, adding troops killed 10 rebels in the northwestern district of Mannar. The military says it has killed around 200 insurgents since the government announced a week ago it was scrapping the tattered truce. There were no independent accounts of the fighting or how many people were killed. Analysts say both sides tend to exaggerate enemy losses and play down their own. The Tigers said on Thursday they were shocked and disappointed the government had scrapped the truce, which the state says the rebels simply used to buy time to regroup and rearm. The rebels said they were ready to implement all provisions of the failed pact 100 percent. However critics say it was an empty promise from a group widely outlawed as terrorists and blamed for a succession of ambushes, bombings and assassinations while the truce was on.
Asked if the Tigers would no longer violate the ceasefire terms, rebel peace secretariat head S Puleedevan told Reuters on Thursday: We are not saying that. What we are saying is we tried our best to implement (the truce). If full-scale war is thrust upon us, we will face it and the Sri Lankan armed forces will face the same fate that they have faced in 1997/1998, he added, referring to the bloodiest phase of a 25-year war.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/12/2008 00:00 ||
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[3 views]
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#1
The only way to stop the Tigers is to lynch them all. >:-}
#7
Let's link the LTTE to the Maoists in India, the LeT, and the Taliban. Then no one has to feel sorry for their defeat - except the Tamils, of course.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/12/2008 17:39 Comments ||
Top||
Kuwait is the US President George W. Bushs first stop Friday, Jan. 11 in his Persian Gulf tour, at the end of his talks in Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The high security focus has therefore shifted to the Persian Gulf region, centering on the USS Harry Truman.
DEBKAfile reports that US intelligence has learned that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards may be planning further provocations after harassing the US Navy on Jan. 6.
According to our Iranian sources, the new Revolutionary Guards (IRGS) commander, Mohamed Jaafari, is instigating these incidents with wholehearted encouragement from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Supreme ruler Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is believed out of the picture.
These episodes also serve as live drill for the IRGSs naval units. In the last two years, they have taken over Irans regular navy and built up a new backbone of small, speedy boats manned by marine commandos, like those which provoked three American warships in the Strait of Hormuz on Jan. 6.
They have also boosted Irans submarine force with home-made mini-subs designed for underwater guerrilla tactics to catch American and Israeli vessels unawares. The IRGS is now working on a living torpedo, a suicide bomber who rides in to attack enemy shipping athwart a torpedo with a powerful, fast engine. In practice operations, the bomber jumps out of a fast boat as it sails close the target-vessel and blows it up.
Israeli military circles conclude from Bushs talks with Israel leaders that his administration has given up on serious pressure to make Iran abandon its covert military nuclear program. Iran now feels able to consummate its nuclear aspirations free of impediments and the threat of sanctions.
In a paper he published on Jan. 10, the former Israeli Military Intelligence chief Aharon Zeevi affirmed that this effect was wrought by the recent US National Intelligence Estimates statement that Iran had given up its covert nuclear weapons program. This report, he said, had seriously unsettled the moderate pro-US Sunni nations, such as Saudi Arabia and Turkey, who have accordingly lost hope of Washington acting to strip Iran of its nuclear arms potential.
They have responded by enhancing relations with Tehran.
Amid the shower of verbiage on the Palestinian issue and personal backing for prime minister Ehud Olmert, the visiting US presidents talks in Jerusalem exacerbated Israels concerns with regard to its primary security threat, Iran and its nuclear activities. The USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group is commanded by Rear Adm. William E. Gortney.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/12/2008 22:51 Comments ||
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#5
Maybe the IRG should google the words Saratoga and Gulf of Sidra.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/12/2008 22:55 Comments ||
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#6
According to our Iranian sources, the new Revolutionary Guards (IRGS) commander, Mohamed Jaafari, is instigating these incidents with wholehearted encouragement from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Supreme ruler Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is believed out of the picture.
Somehow I doubt he's out of the picture.
Posted by: Snique Dark Lord of the Apes1889 ||
01/12/2008 23:06 Comments ||
Top||
#7
He might be quite out of the picture of they actually fire on us. I would imagine that most of the Iranian coast and probably every single oil refinery in Iran would also be "out of the picture" shortly after engagement.
Member of the Iranian Council of Leadership Experts Ahmad Khatami on Friday called for returning his country's nuclear file from the UN Security Council to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Khatami, who made the call during a visit to Iran by IAEA head Mohammad Al-Baradei, said all reports pointed to the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear activities. "Therefore, the Iranian nuclear file should return to the IAEA," Khatami said during a Friday sermon in one of the Iranian capital's mosques. Khatami called on Al-Baradei to "close the Iranian nuclear file at the IAEA" through submitting a positive and realistic report on the nature of the Iranian nuclear activities.
Khatami also pointed to US President George W. Bush's current visit to the area and claimed that it (visit) was aimed at "exerting pressure on Arab states in order to normalize their relations with the Zionist state and continue the US plan aimed at scaring Arab states of Iran." The Iranian official called on the Arab states in the area "not to link their destiny with that of the US president," whose remaining days in office are numbered.
A 12th parliamentary session to elect Lebanon's president was postponed on Friday to January 21 despite intense international efforts for rival parties to agree on an Arab League compromise. "Saturday's session has been postponed until Monday, January 21 at noon," Ali Hamdan, spokesman for parliament speaker Nabih Berri, told AFP.
He said Berri decided to delay the session after meeting with Arab League chief Amr Mussa, who has been holding marathon talks with Lebanese leaders since Wednesday in hopes they would agree on an Arab plan to end the presidential crisis. "Because the negotiations are ongoing, the speaker decided to postpone the vote," Hamdan said.
Mussa was expected to leave Beirut on Saturday. Officials from both the ruling Western-backed majority and the Hezbollah-led opposition had earlier predicted that the vote would not take place due to the continued standoff between the two sides. "Everything indicates that tomorrow's (Saturday's) session will meet the same fate as the 11 previous ones and be postponed," Elias Atallah, a deputy with the ruling majority, told AFP.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/12/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
Dr. Samir Geagea , leader of the Lebanese Forces said Thursday Syria's final response to the Arab initiative was signaled by the closure of overland border crossings with Lebanon. Syria has closed two border crossings: Al Aboudiyeh and Al Masnaa. The border crossings are a barometer of Syrias relationship with Lebanon. Closing these crossings always expresses Syrian anger towards Lebanon. "This symbolic step reflects the real (Syrian) stand regarding the Arab initiative," Geagea said.
He said statements made by Syria's allies in Lebanon in the past two days "indicate that they do not accept the Arab plan."
He stressed, in an interview with radio "Voice of Lebanon" , that the March 14 forces would continue "to the last minute in exerting efforts needed to bring the Arab plan to success."
Geagea said "regional sides do not want a state in Lebanon. Unfortunately some local sides are in harmony with the regional sides, and for their own reasons they are in harmony with the Syrian stand and block the resurrection of a powerful state."
He urged the opposition to "meet the majority and elect Gen. Michel Suleiman president if they do not have any real objections."
Geagea said the Arab initiative does not include a power sharing formula in the forthcoming government . This will be left for the president in accordance with the constitution. He noted that the rights of the Christians would only be respected by electing a president, asking where would the Christians' "rights be if Syria got a big share in the forthcoming government that should be formed after the presidential election?"
Posted by: Fred ||
01/12/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
Maybe if Geagea caught a Tommahawk in the temple he'd be a little more receptive. Just saying...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/12/2008 17:44 Comments ||
Top||
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.
The number of men held at Guantanamo Bay is declining rapidly, but there is no way out for most of the Yemeni detainees because their homeland's government and Washington are mired in a diplomatic impasse over security concerns.
Welcoming proposals from Oxford's Central Mosque to sound the call three times a day over East Oxford, the Rt Rev John Pritchard said those opposed to the plan should "relax" and "enjoy community diversity". 
PARIS - French intelligence services are tracking the authors of a message apparently describing a militant threat against the Eiffel Tower, the daily Le Monde said on Friday. 
Millions of air travelers may find going through airport security much more complicated this spring, as the Bush administration heads toward a showdown with state governments over post-Sept. 11 rules for new driver's licenses.
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has ruled out a UN inquiry into the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, as demanded by her party, saying that Pakistan should not be compared to Lebanon. "It is not possible. Is another country involved?" he said in an interview with Le Figaro newspaper published on its website on Friday (local time). "Pakistan is not Lebanon."
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - President Pervez Musharraf warned US troops would be regarded as invaders if they crossed into Pakistan to hunt Al Qaeda militants and said he would resign if opposition parties tried to impeach him after next months elections.
In a statement on Thursday evening he called on Israel to stop occupying some Palestinian territory and also suggested compensation should be given to Palestinian refugees rather than them being allowed to return to their homes in what is now Israel. 
Sri Lankas government on Friday rejected a Tamil Tiger offer to abide by the terms of a newly-scrapped six-year ceasefire and vowed to push on with a military campaign to crush the rebels. 
Dr. Samir Geagea , leader of the Lebanese Forces said Thursday Syria's final response to the Arab initiative was signaled by the closure of overland border crossings with Lebanon. Syria has closed two border crossings: Al Aboudiyeh and Al Masnaa. The border crossings are a barometer of Syrias relationship with Lebanon. Closing these crossings always expresses Syrian anger towards Lebanon. "This symbolic step reflects the real (Syrian) stand regarding the Arab initiative," Geagea said.
