Police in Cambridgeshire, England, have been called in to investigate a small explosion at the high-security Whitemoor Prison. Until Thursday, little news was divulged about the Aug. 4 incident, but Sky News reported a Prison Service spokeswoman confirmed a small "firework-like" explosion went off in a wing at about 7:45 p.m. Officials said al-Qaida suspect and would-be shoe-bomber Saajid Badat, 25, who was jailed this year for 13 years, was placed in isolation with three other prisoners after being forensically tested for traces of explosives.
Nice to see he's keeping busy in the stir.
The prison was locked down for a search by bomb squad staff and detection dogs, the report said. "The device is being analyzed but there is nothing to indicate explosives have been smuggled into the prison," the spokeswoman said. Officials said they believe the explosive was made from ingredients available within the prison, such as sugar and weed killer.
Sounds like he may have been doing a little "Show and Tell" for his new buds.
I think he watched one too many episodes of McGyver, myself...
Posted by: Steve ||
08/11/2005 11:14 ||
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people with this kind of specialized knowledge/training should be kept alone, not out where they can collaborate with comrades or,worse yet, train others who are as yet uninitiated in the cult.
Posted by: bk ||
08/11/2005 11:36 Comments ||
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Security forces have arrested Omar Bakri, the Islamic cleric being investigated in Britain on terror-related charges, officials said Thursday. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak about the case, refused to say when or where Bakri was arrested. we can say no moreâ¢
The local Future TV channel reported that Bakri was arrested Thursday afternoon as he left its building in the west Beirut district of Raouche after giving an interview. the differences in consequenses of "giving an interview" in a western country vs in a middle eastern country will soon become apparent
The station said Bakri was told that the General Security department wants to question him about "information regarding his entry into Lebanon." hopefully this "questioning" will incorporate car batteries, wet sponges and pliers"
Bakri, who earned a reputation for extremism during his 20 years in Britain, announced Tuesday that he was in Lebanon. The cleric said he was visiting relatives but planned to return to Britain within six weeks. Bakri founded the now-disbanded radical Islamic group al-Muhajiroun, which came under scrutiny in Britain, particularly after some of its members praised the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. Bakri is from Syria, but his wife's family is Lebanese and he has citizenship in both Syria and Lebanon. "I have rights!!!"
#1
King Tubby Hookhand Cleric, Preacher of Hatred and Lover of the Trew Faith (ie the western welfare state DOLE) to the Lebanese - "Why don't they love me?!"
#2
I'm moving to England. I won't pose a security threat. I just want to be on the dole, so I can get 6 weeks vacation at once. I only get 4 weeks( no more than two in a row) after working here 9 years. With no hope of more.
Posted by: bk ||
08/11/2005 11:48 Comments ||
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#6
Lebanese
Posted by: bk ||
08/11/2005 11:49 Comments ||
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#7
The same Lebanese who kicked out the Syrians a few months ago? The same Lebanese who like what they saw in Iraq (then - when they voted)? Those guys?
I love it when a plan (seems to) come together!
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/11/2005 12:13 Comments ||
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#8
Bit of an update. This appears not to be your brightest move, Omar. Enjoy it in Lebanon. Looks like you'll be there for awhile...
Last night Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, said that he would refuse a request that had been received from the cleric to return to Britain for a heart operation on the NHS.
The cleric claimed to have an appointment at a London hospital for an operation to widen an artery which would cost up to £8,000 if he had to have private treatment. He said: "I have every right to come back. Britain is my home. My family are there and I have done nothing wrong."
Officials believe that Mr Bakri Mohammed is trying to test the Home Officeâs promised immigration rules. His followers said yesterday that they might challenge any ban on medical grounds.
Senior officials said that the Home Secretary could exercise leniency if it were a life-or-death matter, but a routine operation was unlikely to be grounds for lifting any ban. One said: "His heart condition was not serious enough to prevent him flying to Beirut last weekend and I am sure they have very fine hospitals in Lebanon where this procedure could be done".
Mr Bakri Mohammed, who has collected up to £300,000 in various benefits during his 19 years in Britain, had been given leave to remain indefinitely after claiming that his life would be in danger if he returned to the Middle East.
Ten foreign nationals believed to be a "threat to national security" have been detained in Britain and will be deported, Charles Clarke, home secretary, announced. The individuals, who the Home Office refused to name, were held by four police forces working with the Immigration Service. Mr Clarke said: "In accordance with my powers to deport individuals whose presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good for reasons of national security, the immigration service has today detained 10 foreign nationals who I believe pose a threat to national security. They will be held in secure prison service accommodation and I shall not disclose their names. Following months of diplomatic work we now have got reason to believe that we can get the necessary assurances from the countries to which we will return the deportees so that they will not be subject to torture or ill-treatment."
Abu Qatada, described as al-Qa'eda's spiritual ambassador in Europe, is believed to be among the ten held today. Qatada, 44, a Jordanian father of five who has lived in the UK for 12 years, is currently the subject of a control order at his London home. Control orders were imposed after the Government's policy of detaining foreign terror suspects without charge was ruled unlawful by the Law Lords. Some of the other people detained today were also subject to control orders, sources said.
Today's detentions follow the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Jordan yesterday ensuring deportees would not be mistreated on their return. Prime Minister Tony Blair also had "constructive conversations" with authorities in Algeria and Lebanon last week over guaranteeing the safety of deportees. In all, Britain is looking for assurances from 10 countries, a Home Office spokeswoman said. The police forces involved in today's detentions were the Metropolitan Police, Bedfordshire, Leicestershire and the West Midlands, the Home Office said.
#2
Prime Minister Tony Blair also had "constructive conversations" with authorities in Algeria and Lebanon last week over guaranteeing the safety of deportees.
Yeah, that'd be my main priority too. Sure it would...
Any word on the cost savings to the British Welfare system due to these deportations? I'd be interested in that.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2005 00:00 ||
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Under the agreement, Jordan would have to guarantee a deportee would not be tortured or otherwise mistreated at home and would not face the death penalty.
#5
BS: I had a flash of the "transplant surgery" in Face Off, lol! "Nope, he has no face, so we can execute this jihadi, sir!"
Posted by: BA ||
08/11/2005 8:50 Comments ||
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#6
PR - Don't think that's it. The name, etc., is filled in automatically by the computer. The strange thing is my e-mail address stayed the same; just the name changed (and not to one of Fred's interesting ones, either). And I'd been commenting earlier with no problems.
As I said, weird.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/11/2005 9:08 Comments ||
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#7
I'd seek legal counsel Barb while you still have time.
#10
Cleanup on aisle 3. Com, I needed a beverage alert on that one! Not that I'm groveling, but you never cease to crack me up (which is what I need at work).
Posted by: BA ||
08/11/2005 14:33 Comments ||
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#11
Heh, BA - Great Minds, bro...
Ship, when I even remotely understand his posts, leaves a rich fertile, uh, medium behind him, heh.
#14
Styx River Legal Emporium? Sounds like a growning concern. Which side of the Styx is it on.
Its kind of important to know before investing...
I only know this...
The river of which many know its name, without knowing its origin or what it really stood for. A river that separates the world of the living from the world of the dead. Styx it is said winds around Hades (hell or the underworld are other names) nine times. Its name comes from the Greek word stugein which means hate, Styx, the river of hate. This river was so respected by the gods of Greek mythology that they would take life binding oaths just by mentioning its name, as referenced in the story of Bacchus-Ariadne, where Jove "confirms it with the irrevocable oath, attesting the river Styx."
There are five rivers that separate Hades from the world of the living, they are:
1. Acheron - the river of woe;
2. Cocytus - the river of lamentation;
3. Phlegethon - the river of fire;
4. Lethe - the river of forgetfulness;
5. Styx - the river of hate.
It is thought that Charon, the old ferry man who ferries the dead onto the underworld, crosses the river Styx where the dragon tailed dog Cerberus guards, allowing all souls to enter but none to leave. This is a misconception, Charon crosses the river Acheron where also Cerebus stands his eternal guard. Also while on this subject, Charon only takes the souls across that are buried properly with a coin (called an obol) that was placed in their mouths upon burial.
If a god gave his oath upon the river Styx and failed to keep his word, Zeus forced that god to drink from the river itself. The water is said to be so foul that the god would lose his/her voice for nine years. The river is not the subject of any story itself but is mentioned in several. These little pieces give a wonderful view of not only the river but the ancient Greeks view of the underworld. From its Adamantine gates to its separate levels of Tartarus and Erebus onto the Elysian fields.
Federal troops in Chechnya clashed with militants in the southeast of the Russian republic Wednesday night, Chechen law enforcement bodies said Thursday.
Five militants entered the village of Dyshne-Vedeno on the border with Daghestan. The federal troops opened fire and pursued the militants. There are no reports about losses.
Unidentified assailants set fire to three houses of local policemen in Dyshne-Vedeno Wednesday night, which left one woman dead.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/11/2005 12:22 ||
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Ol nasty peg leg's own home district I believe. They have not been able to mount the actual combat operations they once could and it seems they no longer have their jihadi combat camera men on staff and working to get the propaganda footage. No spring/summer offensives to speak of and no replacement "moderate" Maskhadov finger puppet to pursue negotiations. Things are looking grim and pathetic for the the pride of Chechen Jihadi thuggery (future is brighter for their pro-russian counterparts despite the low level weekly bloodletting).
SEOUL: South and North Korea on Wednesday set up a first cross-border military hotline and conducted a trial run in an effort to avoid accidental clashes between the two sides, officials said. The two sides, still on truce since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, agreed last month to run the hotline between communication liaison offices on either side of the western border. "It is the first direct communications linkage between the military authorities of the two Koreas," a South Korean defence ministry official said after a test run on the telephone and fax line.
[Span Class=Old Mel Brooks routine]
(Mel picks up phone)"Hello? You don't say."
(listens) "You don't say."
(listens) "You don't say." (hangs up phone)
(Greek chorus offstage) "Who was it?"
"He didn't say."
[/Span Class]
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2005 00:00 ||
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[Span Class=Old Mel Brooks routine]
(Mel picks up phone again)"Hello? You don't say."
(listens) "You don't say."
(listens) "You don't say." (hangs up phone)
(Greek chorus offstage) "Who was it?"
"Same guy."
[/Span Class]
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
08/11/2005 7:00 Comments ||
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#2
Hahrooow,
Now don't send me f*****g Han Brix or I'll feed him to the fish.
FORMER army private Mathew Stewart has emerged as the chief suspect in the hunt for the masked terrorist with an Australian accent.
Stewart left home four years ago to fight alongside Osama bin Laden and has not been seen since.
Australian Federal Police officers immediately identified Stewart as the probable hooded figure who appeared in a terror video aired on Arab TV this week.
They questioned his distraught mother Vicki Stewart who - after looking at a still image from the video - denied the heavily armed man was her missing son.
But one of Stewart's close friends, Adam Miechel, said he believed the self-declared terrorist on the video was the man he grew up with in Mooloolaba, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.
"My first thought was, 'Yeah, it even sounds like him'," Mr Miechel told The Daily Telegraph yesterday. "It looks like him. It sounds like him as well."
Stewart made headlines when he allegedly fled Australia to fulfil his dream of living in Afghanistan and fighting alongside the Taliban.
US forces reportedly found documents identifying Stewart as an al-Qaeda recruit during a raid on a terrorist training camp in late 2002.
Intelligence agencies believe he made the decision to fight against US and Australian forces after returning from a tour of duty in East Timor, which caused him to have a mental breakdown and led to him being discharged from the army on psychological grounds.
Vicki Stewart was too distressed to speak yesterday and took the day off work to deal with the authorities.
A family spokesman released a statement confirming that police were treating her missing son as a suspect.
"She [Mrs Stewart] has been contacted by the federal police and has been shown photographs by officers and advised them that the person in the photograph was definitely not Mathew Stewart," the spokesman said.
"The family is still grieving for Mathew, who disappeared four years ago without a trace.
"The family supports the work that the federal police are doing in this matter."
Mr Miechel said he felt uncomfortable talking about the matter because he was concerned fresh talk Stewart was alive would upset his family.
In a tragic twist, it is understood Stewart's parents held a small funeral service - without a body - for their son.
"His mum has buried him," Mr Miechel said.
While Stewart's family denied the man seen brandishing an automatic rifle on the video was Stewart, police are treating him as their main suspect.
Stewart is one of a handful of Australians believed to have travelled to Afghanistan to fight alongside the Taliban in the lead-up to al-Qaeda's attacks on September 11, 2001.
Australians David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib were picked up on terrorism charges and held by the US, but Stewart and another unidentified man, from Melbourne, were never found.
In a revealing interview last year, Mrs Stewart spoke of her son's depression and her belief that he was dead.
"I couldn't have loved him any more than I loved him," she said.
Intelligence agents were last night still analysing the video, anonymously sent to Arab TV network Al-Arabiya.
In a two-minute diatribe against Western values, the masked gunman called on the US and Britain to withdraw troops from Iraq or face the consequences.
"As you kill us, you'll be killed. As you bomb us, you will be bombed," the militant said.
Posted by: Oztralian [AKA] God Save The World ||
08/11/2005 19:13 ||
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A Syrian believed linked to al Qaeda was taken before a Turkish court Thursday on suspicion he was plotting to slam a speedboat packed with a ton of explosives into cruise ships carrying Israeli tourists.
Turkish police were frantically searching for other suspects linked to the man, who had undergone plastic surgery apparently to help conceal his identity. Authorities were also hunting for two squads of possible suicide bombers, reports said.
Israel, meanwhile, refused to cancel its travel warning to the Turkish Mediterranean coast, saying that the threat of an attack still exists.
Defense lawyer Osman Karahan said his client, who was identified in the Turkish press as Lu'ai Sakra, was found with 1,650 pounds of explosives.
"He was planning to hit Israeli ships in international waters with these explosives," CNN-Turk quoted Karahan as saying.
Sakra shouted that he had no regrets after he was led handcuffed by police into the courthouse.
"I was going to attack Israeli ships," he said. And then in an ominous threat, he added: "If they come, my friends will attack them."
"I had prepared a ton of explosives," he also said in a barely audible voice. He spoke Turkish with an Arabic accent.
A statement from police headquarters said the suspect had an important position within al Qaeda and had undergone plastic surgery. The Hurriyet newspaper said Sakra had had plastic surgery several times, to change his appearance.
A Turkish police official said security forces were looking for other suspects linked to Sakra. Private NTV television said police were searching for two teams of possible suicide bombers.
Five cruise ships carrying some 5,000 Israeli tourists have been diverted from Turkish ports to Cyprus in recent days following intelligence reports that a terror attack was imminent.
Israel on Monday urged its citizens not to visit beach resorts on Turkey's Mediterranean coast. Turkey is a top vacation spot for Israelis, and more than 300,000 visit each year.
In Israel, a security official said the Israeli travel warning will remain in effect due to a continued threat of attack.
The Istanbul court charged Sakra Thursday with membership in an illegal organization, defense lawyer Ilhami Sayan said. He refused to give any details, citing court regulations.
Karahan told reporters that his client rejected accusations of membership in any organization and insisted that he was acting alone.
A police official said Sakra was planning to attack Israeli cruise ships with Zodiac speedboats packed with explosives. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because only top-level officials are allowed to speak on the record without prior authorization.
As Sakra left the courthouse, he shouted: "I was planning an attack in open seas. Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar."
Sakra faces up to five years in prison if convicted of membership in an illegal organization.
Another Syrian, identified by the semiofficial Anatolia news agency as Hamed Obysi, whom Turkish reports said was an al Qaeda courier, was also charged Wednesday with membership in a terrorist organization.
Police said Sakra is believed to have acted as a contact between al Qaeda and Turkish extremists responsible for the 2003 bombings of two synagogues, the British Consulate and a British bank in Istanbul. The bombings killed some 60 people.
Sakra also is accused of helping the masterminds of those attacks flee the country. They reportedly fled to Iraq and joined the insurgency there.
Police believe Sakra was still in contact with al Qaeda operatives planning future attacks.
Suspects tried in Turkey for the 2003 Istanbul bombings said they originally were planning to attack an Israeli cruise ship in the Mediterranean, according to a court indictment.
Police said in a statement that the two Syrians were detained following an investigation into a fire that broke out in the early hours of Aug. 4 in a house in Antalya.
Bomb squad members and police intelligence officers were brought to the area after people noticed strong chemical smells coming from the house, the statement said.
Police apparently had been watching the two Syrians before the fire and later tied them to the house and the Istanbul bombings.
Last Saturday, police stopped Obysi after he tried to bribe border police to allow him to cross into Syria, the statement said.
Sakra was detained at an airport in the southern city of Diyarbakir carrying a false identity card, it added.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/11/2005 12:14 ||
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I'm glad they busted this up before it happened.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/11/2005 12:54 Comments ||
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#3
"In Israel, a security official said the Israeli travel warning will remain in effect due to a continued threat of attack."
The Israeli security official also said that all options are on the table, to remove the travel warning. One option is to schedule an appointment with a certain, eye doctor in Syria. The calendar is always clear for an Israeli visit.
Broadcasts of a Lebanese television channel linked to the Hezbollah militia group have been stopped to Asia and Latin America, France Telecom said Wednesday. The French group said distribution of the al-Manar channel via its Globecast satellite subsidiary had ceased to Asia last week and to South America at the beginning of July.
You have chosen wisely, FT. Though I bet the loonbats and the Islamists whine and seethe...
The halt to transmissions follows a decision by French authorities last December to ban the station from broadcasting across Europe using the Paris-based Eutelsat company on the grounds that it was inciting racial hatred. Jewish groups, notably the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, hailing the Eutelsat decision but accused France Telecom of helping the Lebanese channel by continuing broadcasts to Asia, via Globecast's dealings with Asiasat, and to Latin America through the Spanish satellite provider Hispasat. The Spanish government announced in June that it was ending al-Manar broadcasts on Hispasat because "those guys are nuts" the channel's licence was not in order. Hezbollah is both a political party in Lebanon and a militia group which from time to time launches cross-border attacks against Israel. It is viewed by the United States and some European countries as a terrorist organization.
#1
Ah, yes, I recall the sudden 180° reversal on al Manar. I'm just happy they were so sophisticated and sensitive about this, not pre-emptive and cowboyish. Lesson learned, Jackie. Lead on.
#3
The plug on Al manar was pulled out in France last year, after a campaign by jewish intellectuals (that al manar was allowed to be aired in the first place was telling, quid pro quo for the first hostages?), a 180° because of the antisemite acts wave which doesn't prevent the quai d'Orsay from using the hezbollah tool in its lebanese powerplay (Chirak's France would want the hezbollah not to disarm, and even to be declassified as a terrorist mvt).
This is another affair, I was informed about by jewish and islaomophobe sites, but I didn't really see in the french MSM (correct me?)
#4
That Bastard Cowboy Jock! Personally, he would have done well to arrange the exchange of the kinder gentler deranged boomer channel with a 24/7 Bollywood dance video channel and just call it a prudent ratings decision and healthy boost to french multiculturalism.
OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - An Oklahoma man was taken into custody after he tried to carry a bomb on board an airplane on Wednesday in Oklahoma City, an FBI spokesman said. Charles Alfred Dreyling Jr., 24, was detained on Wednesday morning after a security screener using an X-ray machine saw the device in his luggage as he tried to board a flight to Philadelphia at Will Rogers Airport in Oklahoma City.
Well, if I was going to the City of Brotherly Love I'd carry protection, but a bomb is a bit much.
I'm very impressed the security screener found it. That's one.
"Although the investigation is in its initial stages we have found no apparent connection to any type of terrorist activity or group," FBI spokesman Gary Johnson said.
Another one of your "lone white male" suspects, eh?
Who can fly airplanes, per his resume.
Johnson said the screener saw an "improvised explosive device" in Dreyling's carry-on luggage then wet himself. A woman answering the phone at Dreyling's home on Wednesday night declined to discuss the matter.
"I can say no more!"
Johnson said Dreyling would be charged in federal court on Thursday with possession of an explosive device at an airport.
They really don't like that.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/11/2005 10:51 ||
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Not much on Google for his name. He -- or his father -- gave some money to the Oklahoma University College of Pharmacy, but that's all.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/11/2005 11:01 Comments ||
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#7
Flying airplanes is an expensive hobby. Not just a bum, but one who is still being supported by Mommy and Daddy. And, since the OU page is still valid, one who realized a bit late that going to college is a good idea. Did he go because he decided to grow up, as a way to meet girls, or because that was the only way Daddy would keep paying his bills?
#13
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - An explosive device was found in a passenger's carryon bag as the man passed through a checkpoint, and federal agents arrested him, the FBI said Thursday.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bob Troester described the device as a carbon-dioxide cartridge with a black-powder detonator.
Just a big firecracker. Enjoy your time in the slammer, Chuck.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/11/2005 12:44 Comments ||
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#14
You won't find too much alive and worth eating on a regular basis in the waterways in Philly. If you caught it and killed it the EPA still doesn't advise you eat too much of it. CNN has a nice pic of the badboy. Contrast it with the one BH dug up on badboy's website. In the words of a former client "his mind be swimmin ... it's all in the eyes you see."
#15
You fishheads don't understand. He was obviously afraid of flying and fearing hijacking. To mitigate his concerns he built his own bomb never intending to use it..... Because what are the odds of two unconnected bombers on a flight? It was a form of insurance.
The same folks critizing the intelligence community for not "connecting the dots" have a few questions of their own to answer for.
The Sept. 11 commission was warned by a uniformed military officer 10 days before issuing its final report that the account would be incomplete without reference to what he described as a secret military operation that by the summer of 2000 had identified as a potential threat the member of Al Qaeda who would lead the attacks more than a year later, commission officials said on Wednesday.
What Was Known About the 9/11 Plot: An AmendmentThe officials said that the information had not been included in the report because aspects of the officer's account had sounded inconsistent with what the commission knew about that Qaeda member, Mohammed Atta, the plot's leader.
But aides to the Republican congressman who has sought to call attention to the military unit that conducted the secret operation said such a conclusion relied too much on specific dates involving Mr. Atta's travels and not nearly enough on the operation's broader determination that he was a threat.
The briefing by the military officer is the second known instance in which people on the commission's staff were told by members of the military team about the secret program, called Able Danger.
The meeting, on July 12, 2004, has not been previously disclosed. That it occurred, and that the officer identified Mr. Atta there, were acknowledged by officials of the commission after the congressman, Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania, provided information about it.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/11/2005 08:16 ||
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The articles on this subject focus on the blame game, but what I find amazing is that someone was actually able to ID Atta as a potential threat. I hope we haven't given away too much about how we did this. One article I read gave some details that I think were a little too explicit.
Posted by: jolly roger ||
08/11/2005 8:59 Comments ||
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#2
Here's another interesting connection ...
Schlumberger has been linked to UNSCAM. Notice who's on the Board of Directors?
#3
Jolly: The blame game is what the 9/11 Commissionn was all about. In the end, it appears it fell victim to the same problems it accused the intelligence agencies of having: only utilizing information that supported their preconceptions.
Ironic isn't it?
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/11/2005 10:30 Comments ||
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#4
Wow, JU. So Gorelick not only put up walls between FBI and CIA/DIA, but also serves on Schlumburger's board (since 2002)? So much for the evil Cheney/Halliburton connection. Nice find!
Posted by: BA ||
08/11/2005 11:16 Comments ||
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#5
the 9/11 commission report was a whitewash from the start.putting Jamie gorelick on that Commission was liking hiring a goat to be your gardener.if you watched gorelick during the hearings, you could see her physically schmoozing the chairmen at every hearing.she puts up the wall on the able danger and other reports while she was in the AG office and then on the commission deflects anything which will point to her and the other left wing lamebrains under Clinton.The Commission pointed out,correctly,that we had no Humint capabilities prior to 9/11,butdid not point to the people who actively prevented the development of that capability starting w/ Frank Church and Walter Mondale in the mid seventies,and up to the Asst Sec at State, I think,Steve Smith,who ordered the CIA not to associate with nasty people in their effort to infiltrate terorist organizations.AFTER 9/11 Smith was unrepentant and announced that he was comfortable with hisa actions "because the CIA got to associate with a better quality informant"
Posted by: john e morrissey ||
08/11/2005 11:42 Comments ||
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Staff members now are searching documents in the National Archives to look for notes from the meeting in Afghanistan and any other possible references to Atta and Able Danger, Felzenberg said.
And so now we come back to the National Archives -- and October 2003. One of Sandy Berger's last visits to the Archives where he took highly classified material out the door with him was in October 2003, around the time that the Commission first heard about Able Danger. Does this start to sound just a little too convenient and coincidental?
Even without the possible Berger theft as part of the story, this constant shifting of the story underscores the massive credibility deficit that the Commission has now earned. First they never heard of Able Data. Then, maybe a low-level staffer told them about the program but not the Atta identification. Next, the military met with the Commissioners but didn't specify the Atta identification. Now, we finally have confirmation that the Commission itself -- not just its low-level staff -- knew that military intelligence had identified Mohammed Atta as an al-Qaeda operative a year before 9/11. Instead of reporting it, the Commission buried it.
This points to some disturbing questions. It looks like the Commission decided early to pin blame on the intelligence community rather than the bureaucracy which stripped it of its ability to act in the interests of our security. Who benefited from that? Commissioner Jamie S. Gorelick. Who else stood to lose if the real story came out? The answer to that may well be the NSA director who conducted a clumsy raid on the National Archives in the middle of the investigation.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/11/2005 14:35 Comments ||
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#7
Read Gorelicks bio paragraph at Schlumberger. Notice anything missing?
No mention of the Justice Department. Her other past occupations are listed, her foundations, yadda-yadda, but the fact that she was big heat at DoJ isn't there. Isn't that usually something you want everyone to know?
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/11/2005 15:40 Comments ||
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Islamic militants linked to al-Qaida have plotted attacks on U.S. and British consulates, hotels, a mall and other targets across the country, according to a confidential Philippines government report reviewed Thursday by The Associated Press.
The report, which was prepared in March, contains sketchy details of bombing, kidnapping and assassination plots that Philippine intelligence agencies say are linked to the Abu Sayyaf extremist group and the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Some of the attacks were intended to be staged by Filipino militants trained by al-Qaida's regional ally, Jemmah Islamiyah, the report said.
Abu Sayyaf members have been battling government troops in the southern Philippines, and the group has been blamed for bombings and other terror attacks in recent years, including two explosions in the southern port of Zamboanga that wounded 26 people late Wednesday.
Two other southern cities mentioned as targets in the report, Cotabato and Koronadal, were hit by bombings that wounded four people July 30. Abu Sayyaf also was blamed for those blasts.
The MILF's leaders have been engaged in peace talks with the government since 1997 and spokesman Eid Kabalu denied the group was planning any attacks.
"That's an invention," Kabalu told AP. "The peace talks have not been cut and there is a cease-fire in place."
The report said the terror attacks being plotted by Abu Sayyaf were intended to project strength after setbacks in battles with government troops.
Among attacks blamed on Abu Sayyaf were three almost-simultaneous Feb. 14 bombings that killed eight people and wounded more than 120 in Manila and the southern cities of General Santos and Davao. The report said those bombings bolstered concerns that Jemaah Islamiyah is operating in the Philippines and co-ordinating with local militants.
"The JI fund support for terrorist operations remains unhampered despite the neutralization of key financiers in previous years," the report said.
Abu Sayyaf leader Abu Sulaiman planned car bombings in Manila's business district, military and police camps in the capital and sites in Davao, the report said. Two Abu Sayyaf would-be suicide bombers were waiting to acquire "luxury cars" to use in the attacks, it said.
Ferries serving the southern Mindanao region and Manila also are Abu Sayyaf targets, the report said.
The report said the MILF's special operations group, whose members have been linked in the past to Jemaah Islamiyah, plotted to bomb U.S. and British consulates, a commuter train, hotels and a mall in the capital on unspecified dates.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's national security adviser, Norberto Gonzales, said terror plots may have been delayed or thwarted by U.S.-backed military offensives that have kept Abu Sayyaf guerrillas on the run, tighter immigration watches and the strengthening of security at potential targets.
Gonzales also said government offensives against local militants may have prompted Jemaah Islamiyah to plan to send about 10 Indonesians for possible suicide bombing missions in the Philippines. Previously, foreign militants have relied on local insurgents to carry out attacks, he said.
At least two of the 10 Indonesian militants may have already reached here, he told reporters.
"We are beginning to see a new development," he said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/11/2005 12:18 ||
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At least 16 people were injured in two bomb attacks in the southern Philippine port city of Zamboanga two days after a controversial election for new leaders of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The first bomb, planted under a parked mini-van in downtown Zamboanga, exploded around 7.20 p.m., injuring four people. The powerful blast destroyed the van completely and damaged two small buildings nearby, officials said. Bomb experts were sifting through the debris, searching for clues on what kind of explosives were used in the attacks, when second explosion ripped through the second floor of another building just 50 meters away from the main police headquarters in the busy business district. At least a dozen people were wounded in the blast, but independent sources said the number of casualties could be more.
The blast tore through the second floor that houses the St. Anneâs budget motel and damaged a branch of the popular fastfood chain Chowking and several smaller shops. Paramedics rescued trapped and wounded motel guests from the second floor. The facade of the building was almost destroyed. Shattered glass and twisted metals and debris littered the streets. The shock waves from the explosions destroyed display windows of several shops around the blast scenes. Fear gripped many people who were rushing home at the time of the explosions. Some 100 soldiers and policemen, backed by armored vehicles, secured downtown Zamboanga until security officials declared it was safe.
No group claimed responsibility for the blasts and investigators were trying to determine the identity and motive of the attackers, said Senior Superintendent Jose Bayani Gucela, Zamboangaâs deputy police chief. âWe are looking into the involvement of the Abu Sayyaf in the two bombings. The public should be vigilant for future attacks,â one police officer said, referring to the extremist group blamed a series of kidnappings and bomb attacks in the southern Philippines over the past years.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2005 00:00 ||
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A series of powerful explosions ripped through Zamboanga city in the southern Philippines today injuring at least 24 people. Power was cut in the city of 700,000 immediately after the rush-hour explosions hit a mini-bus depot and a downtown restaurant, residents said. A third explosion rang out shortly after the second one but the cause and target was not immediately determined. Police said the first explosion tore through a mini-bus and a motorcycle at a depot in the commercial section of the city, wounding at least four people. A second blast ripped through a popular fast-food restaurant on the city's downtown Climaco Avenue and the city was blacked out. Radio Mindanao Network reported from the scene that 14 people were taken to hospital following the first two blasts. No further details were immediately available. Police kept journalists away from the scene of the second and third explosions. Zamboanga in the west of Mindanao island is a mixed Muslim and Christian city which has been troubled by separatist insurgencies and Islamic militancy in the past. No group claimed responsibility for the blasts.
"Commander Robot, we miss you!"
Posted by: Oztralian [AKA] God Save The World ||
08/11/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
As the Phils continue to pull their forces out of Zambo and up to Cotabato, I fear this sort of thing will become much more common.
Posted by: bk ||
08/11/2005 10:56 Comments ||
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Muslim extremist gunmen killed three municipality guards and injured four others in an attack in eastern Algeria, reports said Thursday. Daily al-Watan said gunmen attacked a convoy of municipality guards in the province of Skikda, 375 miles east of Algiers. In another incident, security forces arrested eight people who made up a gang for support of armed groups in western Algeria. The group was accused of providing logistic support, information and money to armed organizations.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/11/2005 11:30 ||
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#1
It's heartening to see a news service identify gunmen as 'Muslim extremist'
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A purported al Qaeda video aired on an Arabic-language news network appears to show the photo identification card and weapon of one of the Navy SEALs killed in late June in eastern Afghanistan, a Navy official said. The card shows the name of Petty Officer 2nd Class Danny Dietz, 25, of Littleton, Colorado, who died on or around June 28 in the Afghan mountains while part of a four-man SEAL reconnaissance team. His body was recovered July 4. "We have no reason to believe it's not his," the official said.
The two-hour video, aired on Al-Arabiya satellite news network Friday, also shows an M-4 carbine -- the type Navy SEALs use in the field, he said. The official could not verify that a laptop computer shown on the tape was a Navy computer. But he said SEALs often take computers on missions to retrieve maps and information on locations, targeting insurgent activities. The video shows an apparent body from the shoulders up, with a helmet on the head. No face is shown. Navy officials said they could not confirm anything about that part of the video, except to say the way the body was dressed is not how SEALs dress in the field.
The video segment is part a propaganda film titled "The War of the Oppressed People."
Was that a film about their victims? Or the women and children of Afghanistan under the Taliban? I'm confused.
Other parts of it feature people described as militants showing off weapons, including surface-to-air missiles and possible bomb-making materials. There are interviews and anti-Western diatribes in Arabic, French and English. Al-Arabiya would not say where or how it obtained the video.
Dietz was one of four SEALs participating in Operation Red Wing -- a counterterrorism mission in Kunar province. Two other SEALs also died, but the fourth escaped to a village, where he was hidden by villagers and was later rescued by U.S. forces. An MH-47 helicopter en route to support the four-man team crashed June 28, killing all 16 aboard -- eight special operations soldiers and eight Navy SEALs. The U.S. military believes the helicopter was shot down by insurgents.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/11/2005 08:58 ||
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#1
He took an ID card with him?? I don't believe it.
#2
It doesn't matter Chuck, the US has recovered the body and the rebels have shown that they killed the man; they have sent their message loud and clear! Now the US has to respond with an equalizing message , or the propaganda war will tilt to the insurgents favor!
#4
Poison Reverse, the 'propaganda war' IS a war within a war! Don't underestimate the power of the MSM 'CNN Viewers, etc' the ebb and flow of this powerful persuasion can move mountains!
#5
Yeah, you know. The war where every incident is the worst since Aunt Mary's bake sale, where the death toll is up to nearly 60% of the deaths on 9/11, where the violence escalates or rages every day, except when it is spinning out of control, where all death counts are preceeded by "at least", suggesting somebody is hiding a few, and where the word 'quagmire' hasn't been used lately, but they're warming it up again for the upcoming constitution crisis... That war.
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/11/2005 12:23 Comments ||
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#6
I know Bobby, we 'CNN Viewers' are sleep at the wheel !
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/11/2005 13:08 Comments ||
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#9
Lets see they (the bad guys) won exactly one engagement in the past two years and somehow that show they are "winning?" I think they are desperately trying to boost their PR campaign because recruits are lacking. Yes it sad that 16 good guys died in that raid but the press acts like they operate with impunity, not even close to the truth.
Pakistan says it has fired its first cruise missile, describing the launch as a "milestone" in its history. The Babur missile is capable of carrying nuclear and conventional warheads and has a range of 500km (310 miles), a military spokesman said. Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said the launch was a birthday gift to President Pervez Musharraf. Analysts say the launch is likely to cause concern to regional countries, particularly nuclear rival India.
The launch comes days after Pakistan and India agreed to give each other advance notice of future nuclear ballistic missile tests. India was not informed about Thursday's test because the agreement did not cover guided missiles, a Pakistan military spokesman said.
Uh huh. Right. Whatever.
There was no immediate reaction to the test from Delhi.
"F*&%#@ Paks!"
"Mukkarjee! Hurry up with the plans for the ABM system!"
Mr Ahmed said the "milestone" launch had been a success, adding: "The nation is proud of its team of scientists who have raised the country's prestige in the comity of nations." He said it was a gift from scientists to President Pervez Musharraf, 62 on Thursday.
Damm, I didn't get him anything.
Neither did Fazl, fortunately.
Cruise missiles are usually low-flying guided missiles. "The technology enables the missile to avoid radar detection and penetrate undetected through any hostile defensive system," the Pakistan military said in a statement. Pakistan has its own range of intermediate and short-range ballistic missiles which are test-fired for North Korea quite regularly. Army spokesman Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan said Pakistan had now joined the few countries "that can design and make cruise missiles".
The BBC's Zaffar Abbas in Islamabad says the test is likely to ring alarm bells in many countries. Pakistan has been under close scrutiny by the international community since its leading nuclear expert, AQ Khan, was found to have leaked nuclear secrets two years ago. India and Pakistan routinely test-fire their missiles. In March, Pakistan successfully tested a long-range nuclear-capable missile - the Shaheen II, with a range of 2,000km (1,250 miles). Both countries have limited command-and-control structures, and neither has developed the technology to recall a nuclear-tipped missile fired in error.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/11/2005 08:34 ||
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#1
The Future Perfect:
Nuclear-armed Iran with advanced missile capabilities;
Islamist-controlled Pakiskankland with cruise and long-range nuclear missle capabilities;
Islamist-Baathist occupied Iraq following President Hillary Clinton's 2009 withdrawal of all U.S. forces;
An Islamicized sovereign Gaza and increasingly Hamas-dominated West Bank;
Saudi oilfields, pipelines bombed by emboldened Al-Qaeda;
$5.00 per gallon gasoline in U.S. by 2008;
Things are looking pretty good. And I didn't even include North Korea or Communist China.
What happened to the Axis of Evil? We had a chance to hammer at least Syria and possibly Iran in the days immediately after the victory that was Operation Iraqi Freedom. Instead, we allowed our awesome military to get bogged down in an inclusive war of attrition in Iraq.
Somebody dropped the ball big time! Somebody made the brilliant call that had 150,000 troops cover a country the size of California replete with unguarded borders with three hostile entities: Syria, Iran, and the KSA.
Who is in charge here? Conservative Republicans or Jimmy Carter-era Democrats? Reagan's gotta be rolling in his GRAVE!
#2
...and the Democratic Party solution: send in the FBI.
BTW, you forgot bullet points on the list and also, there shouldn't be a semicolon at the end of a sentence. Next time, try ending the sentence with a proper punctuation before adding a space.
You need to do your research. It was Bill Clinton that sold our advanced gyro-stabilization technology to the Chinese for campaign contributions. Reason number 1001 why Clinton was probably our most dangerous President.
Without advanced gyro-stabilization technology from the US, the Paki's would have never been able (or delayed to oblivion) to build a terrain hugging missile.
You're probably wondering if Clinton sold the tech. to China how did Pakistan get it. I will let you figure than one out.
#4
I agree about the bullet points. It makes a list much easier to read. However, many people use semicolons to show the end of each point on a list.
I do have a thought about that $5/gallon gasoline: hybrid vehicles are already being sold in the U.S. faster than they can be manufactured. Should petroleum prices really reach that high, the entire First World will convert to hybrid vehicles, and Americans will give up their SUVs and Hummers, effectively halving the amount of petroleum used for personal transportation. Also, such a high price for a sustained period of time will result in renewed pumping of oil from American wells, and serious investment in extraction from Canadian oil sands (where oh where is Mark E. when we need him??). And such high prices should concentrate European minds nicely on the real issues, while drastically slowing down China's economy. At which point China will have neither the funds nor the social climate to allow the kind of little adventures they now indulge in. So, while definitely uncomfortable, I don't think $5/gallon gasoline will be quite the disaster you are planning on.
Also, I am willing to put my reputation on the line here, and say that unless the Republicans field a presidential candidate as weak as Senator John F. Kerry, there is no way the Democrats are going to win the next election. Especially if Senator Hillary Rodham-Clinton stands up for the Democrats. (Of course, this opinion is worth exactly what you just paid for it! ;-] )
#9
Yet another Pak missile named after a central asian muslim plunderer of India.
Since Paks have zero design capability, this must be a Chinese cruise missile.
Anyone recognize it?
The quoted range violates MTCR export guidelines
(as if China cares).
Posted by: john ||
08/11/2005 13:48 Comments ||
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#10
Close up of the Babur
Posted by: john ||
08/11/2005 14:28 Comments ||
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#11
Spembles are deliciously ironic. Swirbels seem to have a desperate sense of promotion.....kinda like some of Kevin Costners lesser flicks - Waterworld, The Postman, The Shipman always Rings Twice
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/11/2005 15:47 Comments ||
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#12
Seen my new one yet?
Christ, even I don't remember the name of it...
Posted by: Kevin Costner ||
08/11/2005 16:03 Comments ||
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#13
Open Range - you and Duvall were awesome. Stick to westerns, pal
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/11/2005 16:50 Comments ||
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#14
Close up of the Babur
...Al-Tomahawk...
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
08/11/2005 16:53 Comments ||
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#15
LOl. Now, that was funny. Frank Man back after a long layoff vacation.
#16
Yah, it's hard to tell from the picture where the air intake would be in flight, but it looks like it would be in the same place as on a tomahawk.
OTWH (On the worse hand) we're allegedly selling them harpoons, including the land attack version.
Posted by: Phil ||
08/11/2005 17:49 Comments ||
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#17
Poison Reverse on # 2 and # 3:
First, I don't know how to do bullet points here unless I cut and paste from Word. I assume that is how it is done, right?
Second, semi-colons often are used to indicate the end of each point on a bullet list.
Third, I do consider Bill Clinton one of the worst Presidents when it came to our national security, indeed also when it came to the honor of the Office of the Presidency. Clinton was a disaster on both counts. I just happen to find Carter slighty worse for two reasons: He gave us the Iran of today and he continues to be the worst, most obnoxious ex-President ever!
How Paki got China's tech? I know about that.
I'm venting about Iraq because we have been too PC, too nice, too pussy-footing around. I had hoped that by now, Syria would have been smoldering courtesy of B-2s and the Iranians would be sh*tting themselves. Instead, it appears our enemies' nads are getting larger while we're being served up the spectacle of Cindy Sheehan night after night.
God, this isn't the my father's America! He served during W W 2. We're getting hit by Iranian-made IEDs and what's the deal here? What are we going to do, use harsh language on Iran? I don't blame Bush; I blame the MSM, the professors, the universities, the Democrats, liberals, and the whole sick PC and ACLU-lawyer culture. Michael Savage is right, they are the enemy within.
Pakistanis Say They Are Studying U.S. Missile
Tomahawk Reportedly Was Recovered After Raid on Camps in Afghanistan
Officials said experts associated with Pakistan's civilian and military missile programs were inspecting the guidance system, onboard computer and propulsion system of the Tomahawk missile, which was fired Aug. 20 in the U.S. attack on camps in Afghanistan but apparently fell short of its target.
Some sources indicated that information obtained by examining the missile might be shared with China, Pakistan's ally, but officials refused to comment on that possibility.
"It is a gift from the God," the official said. "The country that had denied us all sorts of economic and military assistance has suddenly gifted us the weapon of choice from its arsenal."
Posted by: john ||
08/11/2005 19:28 Comments ||
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#21
Poison Reverse, I would accept your apology with pleasure, but by now you'll have noticed that GF and I are indeed different people. Can I fold it up in lavender scented paper and store it away against future need? ;-) GF is a great deal more impatient than I, for one thing.
I think we all understand his frustration, but even with all the new recruits, our forces (including the Brits, the Poles, the Australians, the Mongolians, the South Koreans, the Japanese, etc, etc) and the new Iraqi forces are very busy in Iraq and Afghanistan (and wherever else the Special Forces types are wandering around -- very quietly -- these days). It feels to me -- and I haven't any source for numbers to back up my contention -- that units are being rested in rotation, so that they'll be fit for the next big push as soon as Iraq is a bit more settled. I hope I'm right, because our guys have been going full out for almost 18 months, which can take quite a mental and physical toll under any circumstances, let alone when bad guys are trying to kill you.
This is a very different war than the war GF's father and my parents were involved in. This is a finesse war, not a meat grinder. We haven't the manpower for one thing, and the toys our troops play with these days require a good deal more than just a high school education. And we're trying to build a society even as we fight, so that hopefully we won't have to garrison the region for the next generation just to maintain order. Which takes a lot more attention to detail than simply breaking things and killing people. Or so it appears to this little civilian housewife. ;-)
Anyone can understand the anger that GF is stating, but it should be articulated in a specific manner within the subject matter of the topic. He/she just essentially dropped cluster bomb full of rants concerning multiple topics. This person clearly looking for a "fire and forget" blog, RB, as you already know, is not the place for that. The topic of this thread is "Pakistan Fires New Cruise Missile," and not oil, Iraq, Hamas, or Saudia Arabia.
john,
I appreciate the link but this article is misinformation and truth deflection at its best. The article states, "officials said experts associated with Pakistan's civilian and military missile programs were inspecting the guidance system, onboard computer and propulsion system of the Tomahawk missile." Any military expert ( and we have plenty at RB) will tell you, there is no way in HELL that the Paki's picked terrain hugging missile technology from busted up Tomahawk missile. Any military expert will also tell you that its the software that counts, not the hardware. There are plenty of countries that have Tomahawk type missile's but can't make it work. There is a reason for that. Without the software, the hardware is useless. Military software is written in at least 256 bit(AES) Advanced Encryption Standard, which is usually on the chip itself. The chips are especially designed to self destruct during ANY anomly.
Bottomline, this article is a red herring. The truth is that the Clinton Adminstration sold the gyro technology, including software, to the Chinese and now inturn have turned it over to the Paki's.
#26
Of course, Poison Reverse. But we were all newbies here once upon a time. I seem to recall you annoying the oldsters early on, and I'm quite certain I did, too. I particularly remember Mr. (and later Mrs.) Davis's great kindness in explaining things to me. ;-)
GF, I don't know how to do the html thingy, but I just use small letter O as a rough substitute for real bullets. (No doubt why nobody ever invites me to play war with them.)
o So this
o Is what I do.
And nobody complains about the presentation, although plenty disagree with what I actually say.
Copy and paste this (li class="MsoNormal" style="") to the RB comment window. Don't use the parentheses. BUT add "<" right before "li" and ">" right after second quotation mark This will give you your bullet point.
For example, this how it would look like with 3 bullet points.
#4
Combine this with unmanned air to air refueling, stealthed airframes and precision weapons and they should be formidable. But I question just what the cost will be in terms of the airframes overall price
#5
"...the two unmanned vehicles entered the AOA, a 30 by 60 mile area within the test range, ready to perform a simulated Preemptive Destruction-Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses mission."
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/11/2005 18:52 Comments ||
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#10
driving up 395 July 29th between the turn off to Edwards and Red Mountain, we saw 1 (not two, sorry) plane fly over the highway at what had to be supersonic speed - at 200' or so above ground. It was not a plane sillhouette I was familiar with...this explains much
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/11/2005 19:06 Comments ||
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Despite tall claims of eliminating Al-Qaeda from the troubled Northern areas, Pakistanâs General Pervez Musharraf has, in practice, handed over the once hotbed of foreign militants, the South Waziristan Agency, to a former Taliban Commander, until recently a wanted terrorist by the Army. Ubaidullah Mahsood, who had a head money of several hundred thousand rupees is now running his own Government in the Agency, and in Taliban style.
That'd be Baitullah Mehsud, Abdullah's brother, who "surrendered" to the Pakalonians...
And to facilitate âCommanderâ Ubaidullah Mahsood, General Musharraf has withdrawn all Pakistan Army troops from the area under Mahsoodâs control. âThe Taliban militia is back in power, now inside Pakistan and is transforming the area into its fiefdom,â a tribal elder told this correspondent from Dera Ismail Khan on telephone. The elder, who wanted to remain anonymous for obvious reasons, described the situation in the agency as âatrociousâ like it was in pre-September 2001 Afghanistan, under the Taliban rule.
That's because the Taliban originated right there, and their regime was an expression of peculiarly Pashtun values.
Ubaidullah Mahsood has banned television, satellite dishes, music and videos declaring them un-Islamic. Kids cannot play cricket as it is described as the game of infidels. Shops are forced to close during the prayer timings, and those who try to skip the prayers are forced to proceed to the mosques. Women have been asked not to dress other than the local traditional cloths. Common people are asked to contact the local Taliban commander to resolve their personal disputes. Groups of Taliban carrying AK-47 rifles and rocket launchers are being sent to remote villages with the orders of their hard line leaders. These Taliban call jirgas in village mosques and do not tolerate defiance. Warnings have also been issued to criminals. âAny one found involved in a crime including theft, robbery or drug trade will face cutting of the hand, the punishment prescribed in Sharia laws.â There are reports that some of the criminals were arrested, paraded in public and taken away to unknown place.
See what I mean? Though I think the peculiar resonance between the worst of Arab culture and the run-of-the-mill Pashtun culture probably results in something that combines the worst elements of both. The two seem to feed each other...
What has stunned the local population is the sudden transformation of fortunes of the former Taliban leaders and supporters and how those who were until recently hunted by the Pakistan Army for months, had gained legitimacy and returned to power. The Army operation in South Waziristan had claimed hundreds of lives and Pakistan Army had suffered heavy casualties as well. Thousands of inhabitants were displaced from their native villages and are still forced to live in tough conditions elsewhere, either in Tribal Areas or adjacent cities of Tank and Dera Ismail Khan. Life marginally started improving in Mahsood territories of South Waziristan Agency when Ubaidullah and his followers entered into a peace dialogue with the Pakistan Army, responding to a general amnesty offered by General Musharraf. A ceasefire was announced on February the 2nd this year in a crowded signing ceremony attended by Corps Commander Peshawar and Ubaidullah Mahsood. Both sides stopped attacking each other. Army started pulling back the troops as displaced locals started returning to their homes. Tribal leaders guaranteed law and order in their part of agency.
The Pak army withdrew, so Mehsud took it as an abandonment of the field, which it apparently was...
Waziri militants were also given millions of rupees that they demanded to pay back their Al-Qaeda masters, the advance they had taken to resist the Army operation. In an indirect way, Pakistan Army paid millions to Al-Qaeda which could be used at other places, at another time.
Well, no. Not indirect. I don't think I'd call it that.
But all this is now coming to naught. According to tribal sources despite the agreement with the Pakistan Army, Ubaidullah Mahsood helped the most wanted militant in Waziristan, the fugitive and defiant Abdullah Mehsud, to escape from South Waziristan Under the Administration of Ubaidullah Mahsood, targeted killings of many of those who helped the Pakistan Army during the summer operation have been reported.
I thought Abdullah was titzup? Or did they forget to drive a stake through his heart?
More than 36 such killings have been witnessed only in South Waziristan and many others have received warnings. The same trend was observed in North Waziristan where bodies of victims were found on road side or deserted places with messages that âthose who will spy for infidel Americans will meet this fate.â The killers did not even hide their identities but authorities did not arrest a single person.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
08/11/2005 04:06 ||
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#1
Could this be a version of "let a thousand flowers bloom" or just a total caving of Pakistan to the Taliban elements of Pak society?
#2
Heh, SPo'D. Methinks the "hunting" was show and the current situation was The Plan from the first day after the Taliban's fall. PakiWakiLand is now, and has always been, the enemy of civilization. The Taliban are the true face of the PakiWakis.
#3
I've never trusted a place that calls itself "the land of the pure".
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/11/2005 7:44 Comments ||
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#4
Perv plays the double game, as evidenced with the PakiWaki land relationship with the ChiComs and the obscure "apprehension" of A. Q. Khan.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/11/2005 8:28 Comments ||
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#5
"Despite tall claims of eliminating Al-Qaeda from the troubled Northern areas, Pakistanâs General Pervez Musharraf has, in practice, handed over the once hotbed of foreign militants, the South Waziristan Agency, to a former Taliban Commander, until recently a wanted terrorist by the Army."
Gen. Mushy: "Look Ubaidullah, I'm not too keen on the bit about banning cricket, but if your boys concentrate on crossing that Afghan border, I'm cool with it. Just stay out of my domain."
Waziri militants were also given millions of rupees that they demanded to pay back their Al-Qaeda masters, the advance they had taken to resist the Army operation.
Umm, has Gen. Mushy ever seen "The Godfather?" You know that "protection" money in the end doesn't work.
#6
go to the link, and go to the front page. Paper has a lot of overthetop headlines - some are interesting, but im not sure this can go with less salt than Debka.
#7
Al-Qaeda and its mistress the Taliban are not about Islam nor of anti-Western... The West is just an excuse and Islam is it's cover. The Taliban and Al-Qaeda are about revolution and a goal of vast self-empowerment. This self-empowerment through revolution is manifested thru narcotics trafficking, slavery, deception, prostitution, murder, extortsion, arms smuggling, money laundering, theft, intimidation, rape, blackmail, assaults, bribery and many other unholy acts in defiance of God's plan for mankind. Its about power. When one achieves power then they posture themselves in a God-like way and eventually replace God in the lives of God's creations. Shame on them and their sympathizers and supporters.
#8
In an indirect way, Pakistan Army paid millions to Al-Qaeda which could be used at other places, at another time.
"Hey Abdullah...In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the 72 Virgins."
#9
But then, on the other hand, Perv might be totally fed up with the tribals in SW, and is temporarily allowing the Taliban to rule the place as "king stork". How long can the locals tolerate it before they lose their cool, and the place degenerates into a bloodbath, with Perv's enemies killing Perv's other enemies? I only suggest this because the place is so incredibly duplicitous, power there is so precarious, and Perv is still around even though everybody wants him dead, so he is not a complete idiot.
Britain yesterday described as "unacceptable" the smuggling of weapons from Iran into Iraq after revealing that a consignment was intercepted at the border between the two countries.
While complaints have been made in the past, it is relatively rare to have concrete evidence of such smuggling.
The British embassy in Tehran raised the issue at a meeting with the Iranian foreign ministry. Officials relayed the government's concern and pressed Iran to acknowledge that there was a problem that should be dealt with.
Donald Rumsfeld, the US secretary of defence, warned Iran this week about the extent of smuggling. The US has been protesting for the past two years over alleged Iranian meddling in Iraq. Mr Rumsfeld told a Pentagon briefing that the smuggling was "a problem" for the Iraqi government. "It's a problem for the coalition forces. It's a problem for the international community, and ultimately, it's a problem for Iran," he said.
Disclosure of the smuggling came hours after four American soldiers were killed and six were wounded as a patrol was attacked near Baiji, 112 miles north of Baghdad, late on Tuesday. A bomb wrecked two Humvees and a bigger armoured vehicle.
Iran has repeatedly denied any involvement in the insurgency or party politics in Iraq.
A senior British official disclosed yesterday details of the incident two weeks ago when a group crossing from Iran was intercepted near Maysan, which is in the British controlled sector of Iraq. Iraqi security forces opened fire and the smugglers fled back to Iran leaving their cache of timers, detonators and other bomb-making equipment.
The British official said he did not know the identity of the group or those behind it but said it had the "fingerprints" of either Iran's Revolutionary Guard, controlled by the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, or the Lebanese based Hizbullah which Tehran backs. The incident came against a backdrop of tension between Iran and the west over allegations that Tehran is intent on securing a nuclear-weapons capability.
The US has had no diplomatic relationship with Iran since 1980 and has branded it part of the "axis of evil". But Britain usually opts for a less confrontational approach than the US. The British official said he thought such smuggling from Iran was infrequent and trivial compared with the weapons going into Iraq from Syria.
Bayan Jabr, Iraq's interior minister, also played down the incident, saying it "was very much exaggerated".
Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Iraq's prime minister who spent years in exile in Iran, dodged questions yesterday about the alleged use of Iranian weapons by insurgents.
Iran has a vested interest in maintaining a degree of instability in Iraq to ensure the US and Britain leave but it does not want anarchy threatening its own security. Events in Iraq are going in the direction Tehran would have wished with its Shia co-religionists dominant and an increased Islamisation in the British sector.
Iran can exert influence through the many prominent Iraqis who were exiled in Tehran and via the Badr brigades, the Iraqi Shia militia that was based in Iran.
The British claim the Badr brigades have been disbanded but although they have swapped their uniforms for Iraqi police or army gear many of the men retain their original allegiances.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/11/2005 03:18 ||
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#1
So now we've caught a shipment, and the Brits have caught another shipment...
#2
Sounds like two separate shipments, according to my math.
In all probability, these two shipments are the tip of the iceberg.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/11/2005 8:38 Comments ||
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#3
And despite these developments, it will be business as usual:
More talk of early withdrawal;
More idiotic statements like: "If we had more troops in Iraq, we'd offer the insurgents more targets." Huh?
I found this in my WW2 vet uncle's attic:
US ARMY Order of the Day Briefing:
Gen. Eisenhower: Gentlemen, I've decided to offer the Germans defending Normandy's coastline fewer targets. I am scaling back the initial D-Day plus-one landing force from 155,000 men to 15,000. We'll scatter them in such a way as to have each man separated from the next by 100 yards.
My uncle: Uh, General sir, wouldn't that give the Germans a counter-attack advantage?
Gen. Eisenhower: Son, you fight with the Army you've got, not the one you'd like to have.
#4
More idiotic statements like: "If we had more troops in Iraq, we'd offer the insurgents more targets." Huh?
If the 150,000+ for D-Day was good, why not 1,500,000? Or 15,000,000? The Allies used the Normandy beachheads to pour troops into Europe -- why didn't they send all those troops in at zero hour?
Once you comprehend the answer, then maybe you'll understand one of the reasons for not sending more troops to Iraq.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/11/2005 10:41 Comments ||
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#6
Now children,are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin. Repeat after me until you know this off by heart.Bush is a Chimp,Bush is a Chimp, Bush is a Chimp,Bush is a Chimp. HAHAHHAHHAHHAHAHAHAHA (Waits for Cletus and Brandine to take the bait)
Two Nepalese religious students left Pakistan yesterday, the first of more than 1,400 foreigners set to be deported in a government drive to curb extremism at the nationâs Islamic schools. Ahmad Ali, 20, and Shabnum Shagufa, 19, students at the Jamia Naeemia madrassa in the eastern city of Lahore, decided to return to Nepal after authorities warned that foreign students at madrasas could be arrested unless they left the country by September. âI feel sad that I could not complete my education,â Ali told The Associated Press before crossing by land into India. He said that Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf had âwrongly punished foreign students.â We are peace-loving people. We are against terrorism. What was our fault? ... Does the government have any charge against us?â
Ali had been studying at the madrasa for four years, and needed four more years to complete his studies. Shagufa, who is Aliâs aunt, had been there for three years. Musharraf is facing international pressure to curb extremism in the thousands of seminaries across Pakistan â particularly after reports emerged that two of the bombers in the attacks that killed 56 people on the London transport system on July 7 had visited Pakistan and may have gone to madrasas. Most of the madrasas in Pakistan are funded by Saudi Arabia private donations or by religious political parties. A few are believed to receive money from Muslim countries too, but the schools rarely acknowledge such foreign assistance, usually saying the money comes from individual donors living abroad.
Since the 1980s, madrasas have been a recruiting ground for militant groups fighting in Afghanistan and Kashmir, but they also provide an education for hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis poorly served by the state schooling system. Musharraf has faced criticism at home for the plan to expel foreign students, with opponents, particularly from religious-based parties, saying it is unjustified.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Since the 1980s, madrasas have been a recruiting ground for militant groups fighting in Afghanistan and Kashmir, but they also provide an education for hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis poorly served by the state schooling system.
Mebbe Perv needs to be changing the curriculum and teachers, rather than the students.
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/11/2005 7:52 Comments ||
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#2
changing the curriculum and teachers is hard, and Perv may not feel its the best use of his limited power now. Getting rid of the foreign students makes it more of a domestic paki prob, and less likely to lead to headlines about bombings overseas, that would bring down more pressure on his head.
QUETTA: Unidentified motorcyclists gunned down a Shia businessman on Wednesday evening. Syed Anwar Abdi, owner of a glass store, was going home after closing his store when two motorcyclists opened fire at him, killing him at the scene. Police termed the incident an act of sectarian violence and cordoned off all entry and exit routes to the city. Separetely, unidentified men shot dead a retired revenue official in Amphare Gilgit area on Wednesday. Iqbal was injured in firing on Wednesday afternoon and later he died in hospital. The victim was a Shia. The police fear that sectarianism can be the reason behind the incident.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2005 00:00 ||
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#3
My inner paki cries at how the world fails to properly appreciate and respect traditional paki values and practices such as the ritual sectarian killing thingy.
#4
My inner paki. LOL. That opens a new line of thinking. My inner Saudi: I think I'll go to Iraq and get killed. My inner Yemeni: I think I'll go to Iraq and get killed. My inner Syrian: I think I'll go to Iraq and get killed. You get the picture.
WANA: Four people were killed on Wednesday in a mine blast targeting the vehicle of a pro-government tribal elder in South Waziristan Agency, officials said. The elder, Haji Khadeen, who had led a government campaign against Al Qaeda-linked insurgents, was critically wounded while three of his relatives and a passer-by died. The attack took place in Dazha Ghandi. âAccording to our information, four people died when the vehicle hit a mine planted by unidentified people,â local administration official Wasal Khan said. âHaji Khadeen is in hospital, his condition is serious.â
It was not immediately clear whether the mine blast was part of a tribal vendetta or linked to Khadeenâs role in the campaign against militants in the region, officials said. Witnesses said members of Khadeenâs clan later opened fire and threw grenades at a Wana market shopping plaza owned by rival tribesmen, but no casualties were reported. This year Khadeen had raised a tribal force that conducted house-to-house searches after the Pakistan Army launched an operation against Islamic insurgents in March. No one was arrested in the search operation but the lashkar (tribal army) destroyed several houses on suspicion their inhabitants were sheltering foreign militants.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2005 00:00 ||
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An American journalist who was shot dead in Basra last week was executed by Shiite extremists who knew he was intending to marry his Muslim interpreter, it has emerged. Steven Vincent was shot a week before the planned wedding to Nouriya Itais and had already delivered a $2,500 dowry to her family. The disclosure casts new light on the grip of Islamic religious sects in the British-run south- east of Iraq - raising concern that they will take control once troops start to withdraw. Mr Vincent was abducted from his hotel three days after writing a piece in the New York Times accusing British officials of allowing religious parties to infiltrate the Basra police. In America, his death was taken as retribution for his article. But in London yesterday, British officials pointed out that the police in Basra believed it was retribution for his affair. "We warned him to look after his security in a more professional manner than he was doing," said the official. The couple were found by Iraqi police after being shot by their captors. Medics managed to save Ms Itais.
#10
I dunno, but sounds like a bullshit cover to me.
Iranian, I mean, Shiite militias are having their way in Basra and he was endangering that.
So they fuckin offed him.
The Iranians want badly their wonderful Shiia playground next door from whence to influence Iraq. It seems to be coming no matter what the Coalition wants, there's just too many Shiia and it's a numbers game.
But whatever. Most of us in the world could give a shit less about their assasinations. They're killing all the Sunnis and baathists thugs that we shoulda offed in the first place, but I digress less fuckers for us to kill today, more for tommorrow.
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.
Police in Cambridgeshire, England, have been called in to investigate a small explosion at the high-security Whitemoor Prison. Until Thursday, little news was divulged about the Aug. 4 incident, but Sky News reported a Prison Service spokeswoman confirmed a small "firework-like" explosion went off in a wing at about 7:45 p.m. Officials said al-Qaida suspect and would-be shoe-bomber 
Security forces have arrested 
Broadcasts of a Lebanese television channel linked to the Hezbollah militia group have been stopped to Asia and Latin America, France Telecom said Wednesday. The French group said distribution of the al-Manar channel via its Globecast satellite subsidiary had ceased to Asia last week and to South America at the beginning of July. 
t least 16 people were injured in two bomb attacks in the southern Philippine port city of Zamboanga two days after a controversial election for new leaders of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The first bomb, planted under a parked mini-van in downtown Zamboanga, exploded around 7.20 p.m., injuring four people. The powerful blast destroyed the van completely and damaged two small buildings nearby, officials said. Bomb experts were sifting through the debris, searching for clues on what kind of explosives were used in the attacks, when second explosion ripped through the second floor of another building just 50 meters away from the main police headquarters in the busy business district. At least a dozen people were wounded in the blast, but independent sources said the number of casualties could be more.
A series of powerful explosions ripped through Zamboanga city in the southern Philippines today injuring at least 24 people. Power was cut in the city of 700,000 immediately after the rush-hour explosions hit a mini-bus depot and a downtown restaurant, residents said. A third explosion rang out shortly after the second one but the cause and target was not immediately determined. Police said the first explosion tore through a mini-bus and a motorcycle at a depot in the commercial section of the city, wounding at least four people. A second blast ripped through a popular fast-food restaurant on the city's downtown Climaco Avenue and the city was blacked out. Radio Mindanao Network reported from the scene that 14 people were taken to hospital following the first two blasts. No further details were immediately available. Police kept journalists away from the scene of the second and third explosions. Zamboanga in the west of Mindanao island is a mixed Muslim and Christian city which has been troubled by separatist insurgencies and Islamic militancy in the past. No group claimed responsibility for the blasts. 
Muslim extremist gunmen killed three municipality guards and injured four others in an attack in eastern Algeria, reports said Thursday. Daily al-Watan said gunmen attacked a convoy of municipality guards in the province of Skikda, 375 miles east of Algiers. In another incident, security forces arrested eight people who made up a gang for support of armed groups in western Algeria. The group was accused of providing logistic support, information and money to armed organizations.
Despite tall claims of eliminating Al-Qaeda from the troubled Northern areas, Pakistanâs General Pervez Musharraf has, in practice, handed over the once hotbed of foreign militants, the 
Two Nepalese religious students left Pakistan yesterday, the first of more than 1,400 foreigners set to be deported in a government drive to curb extremism at the nationâs Islamic schools. Ahmad Ali, 20, and Shabnum Shagufa, 19, students at the Jamia Naeemia madrassa in the eastern city of Lahore, decided to return to Nepal after authorities warned that foreign students at madrasas could be arrested unless they left the country by September. âI feel sad that I could not complete my education,â Ali told The Associated Press before crossing by land into India. He said that Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf had âwrongly punished foreign students.â We are peace-loving people. We are against terrorism. What was our fault? ... Does the government have any charge against us?â
QUETTA: Unidentified motorcyclists gunned down a Shia businessman on Wednesday evening. Syed Anwar Abdi, owner of a glass store, was going home after closing his store when two motorcyclists opened fire at him, killing him at the scene. Police termed the incident an act of sectarian violence and cordoned off all entry and exit routes to the city. Separetely, unidentified men shot dead a retired revenue official in Amphare Gilgit area on Wednesday. Iqbal was injured in firing on Wednesday afternoon and later he died in hospital. The victim was a Shia. The police fear that sectarianism can be the reason behind the incident.
WANA: Four people were killed on Wednesday in a mine blast targeting the vehicle of a pro-government tribal elder in South Waziristan Agency, officials said. The elder, Haji Khadeen, who had led a government campaign against Al Qaeda-linked insurgents, was critically wounded while three of his relatives and a passer-by died. The attack took place in Dazha Ghandi. âAccording to our information, four people died when the vehicle hit a mine planted by unidentified people,â local administration official Wasal Khan said. âHaji Khadeen is in hospital, his condition is serious.â
