Families in this Syrian village on Monday buried loved ones they said died in a U.S. helicopter attack. A U.S. counterterrorism official said American forces killed the head of a Syrian network that funneled fighters, weapons and cash into Iraq. The raid Sunday targeted the home of Abu Ghadiyah, the nickname for the leader of a key cell of foreign fighters in Iraq, according to the U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence.
Also Monday, a villager said U.S. forces grabbed two men and took them away by helicopter during the cross-border raid.
During the funerals, residents shouted anti-American slogans and carried banners reading: "Down with Bush and the American enemy." Syria's foreign minister condemned the raid as "cowboy politics."
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
10/27/2008 15:42 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11151 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Iraq
#1
good, too hell with russia and iran condemning anything . who cares it's not like they haven't sponsored everything against us in the last 80 years at least.
Posted by: chris ||
10/27/2008 16:06 Comments ||
Top||
#2
The only complaint I've got about this is that it's abour five years too late.
#4
An Associated Press journalist at the funerals in the village cemetery saw the bodies of seven men--none of them children. The discrepancy could not immediately be explained.
AP reporter is going to lose his job for not getting the full propoganda line straight. ALWAYS include women, children and baby ducks!
#6
If Syria is trying to stop the flow of terrorists from their country to Iraq as they say, it seems like their response should be 'thank you very much to our American friends for your help'.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
10/27/2008 17:41 Comments ||
Top||
#7
I noted that two were captured and carried off. I imagine that Assad in Damascus is going to be having sleepless nights for a while.
#8
"I imagine that Assad in Damascus is going to be having sleepless nights for a while."
Awwwww, da' poor babeeeeee.
We could fix that for him, 'moose.
With a dirt nap. :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/27/2008 18:39 Comments ||
Top||
#9
Per tu above, the only problem here is that this comes years late. There probably should have been dozens of such operations carried out - and even much bolder and more aggressive ones - starting in late '03 or thereabouts. Even assuming some covert festivities we don't know about, clearly there was a failure to exploit the strategic momentum as well as prosecute the Iraq operation properly by confronting Syrian and Iranian meddling and imposing an unsustainable cost for it. And this is NOT hindsight.
#11
Syria's foreign minister, Walid al-Moallem, described the raid as "cowboy politics." He warned that if there was a repeat attack on Syria, "we would defend our territories."
Considering the situation...that's about as measured of Syrian diplo-speak as it gets. It will be interesting as to who gets invited to next weeks party.
Since an Obama-Reid-Pelosi govt will be doing everything possible to disengage, the Iraqis had better get used to a more direct way of talking like say, "Thanks USA, Kill more terrorists please."
Iran's Parliament will move in November to impeach Interior Minister Ali Kordan for "dishonesty" after he confessed to holding a fake Oxford University degree, the ISNA news agency said on Sunday. "Kordan will face an impeachment vote on November 4," a member of Parliament's board, Hamid Reza Hajibabai, was quoted as saying.
Pressure has been mounting on Kordan to quit the cabinet post he took up in August after the prestigious British university denied awarding him any qualification through a representative, as he had claimed.
"The minister has claimed to have been deceived by the Oxford University's representative ... Whether he has been deceived or dishonest, such a person does not deserve to be interior minister," read the motion signed by 28 MPs. An impeachment motion needs a minimum of 10 signatures to be put on Parliament's agenda.
Kordan had asserted the degree was issued for his "managerial and executive experience and for submitting a thesis to Oxford University via a person who had opened an affiliate office in Tehran in English-language affairs." He later said he had approached Oxford University after MPs cast doubt on his degree, but "to my utter disbelief, the university did not confirm [the degree] when my representative went there."
He had shown the purported degree to MPs in a controversial vote of confidence session on August 5, during which he was confirmed in office by 169 votes to 100.
The minister replaced Mustafa Pour Mohammadi, who fell out with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The president has been supporting Kordan throughout the controversy, once saying that he should not be judged by "a torn piece of paper."
The country's presidential election slated for June 2009, in which Ahmadinejad is expected to run, is overseen by the Interior Ministry.
Kordan has said he pressed charges against the person who claimed to represent Oxford in Tehran as soon as he realized his degree was fake.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/27/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11144 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
That's funny. Even though he was a dried camel dung salesman before he was Interior Minister, he seemed to fight right in with the rest before they figured it out. I guess they figure he wasn't properly qualified somehow.
Iran is arming 'freedom armies' in the Middle East, a military website quoted a top commander of the country's elite Revolutionary Guards as saying on Sunday. "Today, not only our armed forces are self-sufficient but the freedom armies of the region also get part of their weaponary from us," said Hossein Hamedani, the deputy commander of Iran's volunteer Basij militia.
His comments appeared on the public relations website of the Revolutionary Guards. Like those of the Revolutionary Guards, commanders of the militia are appointed by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Hamedani, whose military rank was not provided, did not elaborate what he meant by 'freedom armies'. But Iran has dubbed Palestinian groups such as Hamas and the hardline Islamic Jihad as well as the Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah as 'freedom armies' since all have vowed to fight Tehran's regional arch-foe, Israel. Tehran has always maintained that its support to these groups is merely 'moral' and that it does not provide them with any military means, despite claims to the contrary by Washington.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
10/27/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11145 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Who exactly are they giving these weapons to? Give them to the wrong folks and heads of state will roll. Must be "freedom armies" outside Iran's border?
#4
Arabian Nightmare
U.S. and Iraqi forces regularly capture Iraqis smuggling weapons in from Iran. Over the Summer, nearly 10,000 Iranian weapons were seized from smugglers, usually by American troops. Iran denies any involvement, as there is a lot of smuggling from Iran to Iraq. But many of the captured smugglers admit that they received military training in Iran, as part of a plan to build a pro-Iranian terrorist organization inside Iraq, to be used whenever Iran believes it needs a little more chaos inside its Shia neighbor. ...
Posted by: ed ||
10/27/2008 7:43 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Iran is running out of cash.
Unfortunatly their wheat crop was average this year, but the Egyptian blight/mold has made an appearance. This stuff kills wheat and wheat is very important to the Iranians.
Syria on Sunday summoned the U.S. and Iraqi envoys to Damascus to protest a U.S. military attack on its territory and to demand that Iraq prevent U.S. forces from attacking Syria from its territory, official media reported.
"Syria condemns and denounces this act of aggression and U.S. forces will bear the responsibility for any consequences," the SANA news agency quoted an official as saying. "Syria also demands that the Iraqi government accepts its responsibilities and launches an immediate inquiry following this dangerous violation and forbid the use of Iraqi territory to launch attacks on Syria," it said.
Nine people were killed and 14 injured after U.S. military helicopters attacked a village inside Syria along its border with Iraq, moments later U.S. soldiers stormed a building in the same area. "Nine people were killed and 14 wounded in the raid, which hit a group of builders while they were working," the private television channel al-Dunia said. "All victims were civilians," it said.
Reports said American helicopters attacked the village of Al-Sukkiraya, east of the capital. It was unclear when the attack happened. A Pentagon spokesman declined to comment on the attack.
Commander Darryn James said that there was "no response" from the U.S. Department of Defense about Syrian media reports of the attack, in which four American helicopters were said to have breached Syrian airspace to launch the operation, killing eight civilians "We are in the process of investigating this," Sergeant Brooke Murphy, a U.S. military spokesperson, told AFP in Baghdad.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
10/27/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11155 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
So far there is no US confirmation. All reports so far as I can find are "unnamed or unattributed" sources.
#3
"SyriaIraq condemns and denounces this act of aggression and U.S.Syrian forces will bear the responsibility for any consequences," the SANA news agency quoted an official as saying. "SyriaIraq also demands that the Iraqi Syrian government accepts its responsibilities and launches an immediate inquiry following this dangerous violation and forbid the use of IraqiSyrian territory to launch attacks on SyriaIraq," it said.
There, fixed it.
Everything old is new again. It's all a matter of perspective. The tables are turned. Now the shoe's on the other foot. Do unto others. And so on and so forth. Not that they actually see the irony of their own words or anything . . . .
#4
Builders? What happened to wedding party attendees? Sounds like bio-metric targeting, tough to shake those bio-bots moving back and forth across borders.
#6
The article is not clear, was the building a milk factory, or a shelter for orphaned fluffy bunnies? I thought the syrians would be more professional.
#7
StrategyPage: October 25, 2008: U.S. Army Special Forces raided a farm eight kilometers inside Syria, killing at least eight people. The attack was on smugglers who moved terrorists, weapons and money into Iraq. The U.S. had asked Syria to shut down operations like this, but this particular location was apparently protected by some very generous bribes. U.S. and Iraqi forces have shut down most of the smuggling gangs inside Iraq, at least those that specialize in supporting terrorists. In the last six months, these operations have shut down about half the terrorist related smuggling. Only about twenty terrorist recruits are getting into Iraq each month, down from over a hundred two years ago. Although al Qaeda urges new recruits to go to Afghanistan, many prefer Iraq because it is closer and not such an unfamiliar culture. Already the word has filtered back that Afghanistan is an alien and hostile place, even for suicide bombers.
Posted by: ed ||
10/27/2008 7:50 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Long War Journal: Syrian strike aimed at al Qaeda's coordinator in Syria - Abu Ghadiya, a senior al Qaeda leader who has been in charge of the Syrian network since 2005.
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/27/2008 8:20 Comments ||
Top||
#9
9 dead wedding party members, 14 wounded orphans... but no mention of fluffy ducks and bunnies??
Damn, the imperial stormtrooper legions are slipping. Time for some remedial training.
#16
Syrian villager says 2 men grabbed in US raid The Syrian government statement said eight people were killed, including a man and his four children and a woman. However, local officials said seven men were killed and two other people were wounded, including a woman among the injured.
An Associated Press journalist at the funerals in the village cemetery saw the bodies of seven men none of them children. The discrepancy could not immediately be explained.
Posted by: ed ||
10/27/2008 14:45 Comments ||
Top||
SUKKARIYEH, Syria (AP) - A resident of the village that was the scene of a U.S. raid says he saw at least two men taken into custody by American forces and whisked away by helicopter.
The villager spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared for his life.
Another villager at the site displayed amateur video footage he took with his mobile phone that shows four helicopters flying toward them as villagers point to the skies in alarm.
An Associated Press journalist at the attack site in far eastern Syria on Monday saw the grainy video.
A U.S. military official in Washington confirmed Sunday that special forces had conducted the raid in Syria, targeting al-Qaida-linked foreign fighters. At least seven men died.
#19
Tough shit next case. The world needs to understand that COWARD TERRORISTS will no longer be tolerated and if you are stupid enough to stand in the way, we will steam roll your stinking MUSLIM ASSES. This planet has had it with these chicken shit ARABS!!! Death to all those Sons Of Bitches!!!!!!!!
A senior Israeli military official on Sunday accused Syria of arming Hezbollah in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution which ended the 2006 war between Israel and the Lebanese militia.
"Syria has become Hezbollah's arms warehouse," military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin told minister during the Israeli cabinet's weekly meeting, according to another senior official. "Hezbollah activists are doing whatever they want in Syria. Syria has removed all restrictions and through its irresponsible behavior it allows Hezbollah access to nearly all of its strategic capabilities."
Israel has repeatedly accused Syria of arming Hezbollah and allowing Iranian weapons into Lebanon in violation of Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended a 34-day war between Israel and the Lebanese militia two years ago.
Israeli officials have refrained from openly accusing Syria of supporting Hezbollah since the two states announced in May they were holding Turkish-mediated peace talks after an eight-year hiatus.
Meanwhile, dozens of Jewish settlers rampaged through the West Bank town of Hebron after Israeli troops removed an illegal settlement outpost, Palestinian residents said. "A settlement outpost was evacuated and several settlers were arrested," an Israeli army spokesman said. Military radio said five settlers had been arrested and charged with assaulting soldiers.
Witnesses said the settlers hurled rocks at houses, vandalized several Muslim graves in a local cemetery and slashed the tires of cars belonging to Palestinian residents near the Kiryat Arba settlement.
The violence broke out after Israeli security forces removed several settlers from a building outside an existing settlement.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak slammed the settlers' actions, but also accused the legal system of leniency towards the Jewish population in the occupied West Bank. "I would like to underline the severity of the actions and statements made by the extreme-right in the territories," Barak's office quoted him as saying during a weekly cabinet meeting. "I believe that the punishment is too soft and that the legal and justice system must pay attention to that," the former army chief said.
The incident came a day after more than 500 Palestinian police reinforcements fanned out across the town as part of a widening security crackdown to bolster stalled U.S.-backed peace talks.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
10/27/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11142 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
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.
Families in this Syrian village on Monday buried loved ones they said died in a U.S. helicopter attack. A U.S. counterterrorism official said American forces killed the head of a Syrian network that funneled fighters, weapons and cash into Iraq. The raid Sunday targeted the home of Abu Ghadiyah, the nickname for the leader of a key cell of foreign fighters in Iraq, according to the U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence. 
Syria on Sunday summoned the U.S. and Iraqi envoys to Damascus to protest a U.S. military attack on its territory and to demand that Iraq prevent U.S. forces from attacking Syria from its territory, official media reported. 
A senior Israeli military official on Sunday accused Syria of arming Hezbollah in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution which ended the 2006 war between Israel and the Lebanese militia.
