A CIA-led raid on a compound in eastern Syria killed an al Qaida in Iraq commander who oversaw the smuggling into Iraq of foreign fighters whose attacks claimed thousands of Iraqi and American lives, three U.S. officials said Monday.
If our CIA was any good at all they would have planted evidence showing that the Iranians had done it ...
The body of Badran Turki Hishan al Mazidih, an Iraqi national who used the nom de guerre Abu Ghadiya, was flown out of Syria on a U.S. helicopter at the end of the operation Sunday by CIA paramilitary officers and special forces, one U.S. official said.
"It was a successful operation," a second U.S. official told McClatchy. "The bottom line: This was a significant blow to the foreign fighter pipeline between Syria and Iraq."
A senior U.S. military officer said the raid was launched after human and technical intelligence confirmed that al Mazidih was present at the compound close to Syria's border with Iraq. "The situation finally presented itself," he said.
The three U.S. officials, who all spoke on the condition of anonymity because the operation was classified, declined to reveal other details of the raid. A CIA spokesman declined to comment.
"We can say no more, and we said too much already!"
The senior military officer said that U.S. intelligence had been tracking al Mazidih for some time, and that "the more we learned about him and how he works" the higher he rose on the U.S. most-wanted list. "He is the guy who produced the most prolific of the foreign fighters networks," said the first U.S. official, adding that the extremists he smuggled into Iraq were responsible for attacks that "killed thousands of Iraqis and our own U.S. forces."
On Feb. 28, the Treasury Department announced a freeze on any U.S. assets belonging to al Mazidih and three of his associates, charging that they were smuggling "money, weapons, terrorists, and other resources through Syria to al Qaida in Iraq, including to (al Qaida) commanders."
The Treasury Department announcement identified al Mazidih as a Sunni Muslim who was born in the late 1970s in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul and was a lieutenant of al Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi, who was killed in 2006. He was believed to be living in the Syrian town of Zabadani.
"Former al Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi appointed Badran (al Mazidih) as the group's Syrian commander for logistics in 2004," the Treasury said. "After Zarqawi's death, Badran began working for the new AQI leader, Abu Ayyub al Masri. As of late-September 2006, Badran took orders directly from Masri, or through a deputy.
"Badran obtained false passports for foreign terrorists, provided passports, weapons, guides, safe houses, and allowances to foreign terrorists in Syria and those preparing to cross the border into Iraq," it said. "As of the spring of 2007, Badran facilitated the movement of AQI operatives into Iraq via the Syrian border. Badran also directed another Syria-based AQI facilitator to provide safe haven and supplies to foreign fighters," the Treasury said. "This AQI facilitator, working directly for Badran, facilitated the movement of foreign fighters primarily from Gulf countries, through Syria into Iraq."
The Bush administration, which for years has expressed frustration over what it charges have been Syria's lackluster efforts to stop foreign Islamic fighters from crossing into Iraq, refused to publicly acknowledge the operation.
It wasn't immediately clear whether an order that President Bush signed in July allowing U.S. commandos from Afghanistan to attack a suspected terrorist base in Pakistan also authorized cross-border operations in other countries.
Pentagon officials were tight-lipped about the operation. But they were quick to defend the decision to cross the border, with one saying that if nations that sponsor terrorist networks won't go after them, "we will."
Good. Now be quiet.
The raid into Syria on Sunday has ignited a major diplomatic storm, with Iran joining in Syria's condemnation of the U.S.
Oh there's a surprise ...
The Syrian government charged that eight civilians, including four children, along with fifty baby ducks and twenty fluffy kittens, died in what it described as a daylight attack on al Sukkari farm in eastern Syria by U.S. forces that flew across the border from Iraq in four helicopters.
"The Americans do it in the daylight. This means it was not a mistake. It is by blunt determination," Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al Moallem charged Monday at a news conference in London. "For that, we consider this criminal and terrorist aggression."
And we'll do it again if you don't bring the border infiltration to an end ...
The Syrian Foreign Ministry Monday summoned Maura Connelly, the ranking U.S. diplomat in Damascus, to receive an official protest, said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.
The Iraqi government defended the raid. Government spokesman Ali al Dabbagh said that Syria had refused to hand over foreign fighters who'd taken refuge there after killing 13 Iraqi border guards. However, al Dabbagh said, a proposed accord governing the status of U.S. forces in Iraq "will limit this type of operation. It will limit the United States from using Iraqi land to attack others." This was a very special, five star operation. He literally got the Yamamoto treatment. Continued on Page 47
#4
The Syrian government ordered Tuesday an American school and a US cultural center in Damascus closed in response to a deadly US attack on a village near the Iraq border, the Syrian state-run news agency SANA said.
Ha! looks like Zippy's got a lotta Jimmy Carter in him...
#5
The Syrian government ordered Tuesday an American school and a US cultural center in Damascus closed in response to a deadly US attack on a village near the Iraq border, the Syrian state-run news agency SANA said.
Good, no EXCELLENT! The Center is nothing more than a gateway to the US for muzzie students throughout the region. Go ahead and insist that the US Mission be closed as well. We'll save a bundle of tax dollars!!!
#8
Do it now and continue to do it through January 20, 2009. If the polls are correct, it will be at least 4 and maybe 8 years before we get anymore licks in.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/28/2008 10:31 ||
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#1
Silly Syrian boys. It's time for Syria to take its hurt little ego and go home. They say what two blackhawks can do. It would be a bad day to see a company of Apaches crossing the border into Syria. It's best for them to just complain to the corrupt UN and be done with it.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
10/28/2008 10:40 Comments ||
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#2
Why do I not feel the least bit sorry for them, even though it seems that we may have done what they claim?
I guess criminals are technically civilians. But the era of using borders on a map as safe refuge to commit terrorist and criminal acts seems to be over.
It doesn't work for the PKK any more, it doesn't work for the Pakis, and now it doesn't work for the Syrians. Take a lesson and commit crimes in your own country.
#3
Lots of precedent in the Mexican border conflicts with Pancho Villa. Mexican criminals raided into the US and retreated to safe haven in Mexico, where our troops were forbidden to pursue. Eventually an agreement was reached with the Mexican (quasi-) government and Pershing mounted sanctioned anti-Villa efforts within northern Mexico. But he was forbidden to shoot at Mexican government soldiers - so whenever he got close to Villa he would find Mexican soldiers in the way.
(AKI) - Syria's Foreign Minister, Walid Muallem, on Monday accused the United States of "terrorist aggression" over an alleged weekend raid on a village near the Iraqi border. Speaking in London after talks with British Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, Muallem said the attack was in breach of international law.
"We consider this criminal and terrorist aggression. We put the responsibility on the American government," he told a media conference in London. "Killing civilians in international law means a terrorist aggression," he added, in the first comments by a Syrian minister since the reported attack on the village of Al-Sukkariya, eight kilometres from the border.
Earlier on Monday, Iran joined Syria in condemning the alleged US attack.
Asked if Syria would use force if the Americans mounted a similar operation again, he said: "As long as you are saying if, I tell you, if they do it again, we will defend our territories."
Muallem stressed that all the victims were unarmed Syrian civilians who were killed on Syrian territory.
The Syrian minister said that four American helicopters had crossed the border around 5 p.m/ on Sunday local time. Two of them landed at the village site, while the other two aircraft protected them.
In Washington, White House spokeswoman, Dana M. Perino, refused to comment on the reported attack. However, media reports say that an unnamed US military official confirmed the attack.
In Tehran, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hassan Qashqavi, condemned the attack, saying a violation of the territorial integrity of any sovereign state was unacceptable.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
10/28/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Terrorist aggression on our part about 4 years late, Wally. We should have been more aggressive with terrorists, all right.
Like the Russians say, "tough schitskis." Learn to live with it.
Posted by: Alaska Paul in Juneau, AK ||
10/28/2008 0:36 Comments ||
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#2
Terrorist - I do not think it means what you think it means.
Posted by: Bobby ||
10/28/2008 5:41 Comments ||
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#3
Are we getting in our "last licks" now before possible change of policy come Jan? It seems we're more aggressive lately inside of Pak and now Syr.. After all, they could always blame it on lame duck, Bush..
Posted by: Tom- Pa ||
10/28/2008 6:24 Comments ||
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(AKI) - Two Baluchis accused of belonging to a band of drug traffickers, were hanged on Monday in Zahedan, capital of Iranian Baluchistan.
In an official statement issued by Zahedan prison, the names of the two prisoners were not released, only their initials.
According to data released by the Italy-based human rights group, Hands Off Cain, the hanging of E.M and Kh.N lifted the number of executions in Iran to 230 since the beginning of 2008.
Last week, the Italian rights group said that Iran ranked close to China and Saudi Arabia for the highest number of executions. "Iran was 'distinguished' by the high number of death sentences, carried out by public hangings, usually with a crane or low platform to assure a slow and painful death," the organisation said in a statement.
Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah chief Sayed Hassan Nasrallah has met his main political foe, Sunni majority leader Saad al-Hariri, for the first time since the war with Israel in 2006, a statement said on Monday. "There was an affirmation of national unity and civil peace and the need to take all measures to prevent tension ... and to reinforce dialogue and to avoid strife regardless of political differences," a statement issued by both sides said.
Hezbollah's al Manar television aired footage of the meeting which was attended by aides to both leaders. The statement also said that Nasrallah and Hariri would be in "mutual contact".
Sunday's meeting came ahead of a national dialogue session next week set to address issues dividing pro- and anti-Syrian factions, notably the fate of Hezbollah's arsenal.
Statements from Hariri's office and Hezbollah said the meeting stressed the importance of "national unity and civil peace to prevent tensions and reinforce dialogue." They said both sides underlined the importance of maintaining cooperation and described the tone of the meeting as "open and frank."
The Hariri aide said the meeting was held at a secret location for security reasons.
Positive meeting
Hezbollah MP Hassan Hoballah, whose party is backed by Syria and Iran, told AFP that the meeting was "very positive, which helps strengthen national unity and lay the foundations for agreement.
"It promotes a positive climate for legislative elections in (spring) 2009," he added.
A debilitating 18-month long political crisis between Hariri's Western-backed parliamentary majority and the Hezbollah-led opposition took a dangerous turn in May when the Shiite militant group staged a spectacular takeover of mainly Sunni west Beirut. The fighting, which brought the country to the brink of another civil war, left at least 68 people dead.
It ended after a Qatari-brokered accord that led to the formation of a national unity government in which the Hezbollah-headed opposition has a power of veto over major decisions.
The statement said Hariri and Nasrallah were also committed to implementing the Qatari-mediated deal which had called for "national dialogue" talks, the first of which were held last month. The next session is due on Nov. 5.
Central to the dialogue is a discussion on the fate of Hezbollah's weapons. Demands for the disarmament of the Syrian- and Iranian- backed Hezbollah are at the heart of more than three years of political turbulence in Lebanon since the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.
Saad al-Hariri, his father's political heir, has insisted that the issue of Hezbollah's weapons be discussed. Hezbollah says it needs its weapons to defend Lebanon from Israel. The group stood its ground in the 34-day war with Israel in 2006.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
10/28/2008 00:00 ||
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The Cairo-based Arab League (AL) has strongly denounced a US air strike inside Syria that killed nine Syrian civilians and wounded 14. "Such a violation undermines the efforts to establish regional security and may lead to more tensions in the region," the Arab League said in a statement on Monday.
The statement also noted that the US raid spoils the credibility of peace efforts in Iraq and neighboring countries.
Confirming its solidarity with Damascus, the Arab organization voiced its support for Syria to protect its people and sovereignty. It also called for an investigation to "hold those responsible into account."
US commandoes in four helicopters on Sunday attacked the Syrian village of al-Sukkariya at about 5:45 pm (1445 GMT), some eight kilometers from the Iraqi border killing nine civilians and wounding 14 others.
Damascus officials have been aiming indignant remarks at Washington in succession after the reported incident with the Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem saying, "We consider this a criminal and terrorist aggression".
Meanwhile AP quoted from an unnamed US military official as claiming that the US raid targeted a network of al-Qaeda-linked foreign fighters moving through Syria into Iraq.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
10/28/2008 00:00 ||
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Iran's Foreign Ministry says Esha Momeni, a Los Angeles-born Iranian-American graduate student, is being investigated by the judiciary. "The relevant bodies are pursuing her case. Nothing has been finalized yet," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi on Monday.
Momeni's attorney Mohammad Ali Dadkhah says the 28-year-old California State University student was conducting a research concerning the status of women in Iran. She was reportedly arrested on Oct. 15 after a driving violation.
"Esha Momeni's parents told me she has been informed of the accusations over her activities in the women's signature campaign," AFP quoted Dadkhah as saying.
The US has requested Switzerland, which represents American interests in Tehran, to find out more about Momeni's case.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
10/28/2008 00:00 ||
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Syria yesterday condemned the US for launching "criminal and terrorist aggression" on its soil while the Iraqi government defended action against foreign jihadis amid warnings it might complicate plans for a controversial security agreement between Baghdad and Washington.
Walid al-Muallem, Syria's foreign minister, used a visit to London to lambast the US for its "cowboy politics" and hinted that Sunday's raid was designed to halt Syria's gradually improving relations with the EU and Britain. Iran and Russia also condemned the US for aggravating tensions in the region.
Syria reported that US troops, backed by helicopters, launched the attack five miles into its territory, killing eight people, including four children.
Still no word on the number of fluffy bunnies ...
But at the funerals of the victims, where angry crowds chanted anti-American slogans, an Associated Press photographer said he saw the bodies of seven men. Iraqi media were last night reporting that US sources were claiming to have killed the leader of a border-smuggling network.
The US again refused to comment publicly on the attack, despite clear hints from officials in Washington that special forces had indeed targeted al-Qaida-linked foreign fighters moving into Iraq. If confirmed, it would be the first such US strike inside Syria since the 2003 invasion. Muallem, in the first public comments by the Damascus government, warned that if such an attack recurred, Syria would defend its territory. "The Americans know full well that we stand against al-Qaida," he said. "They know full well we are trying to tighten our border with Iraq."
They've been trying for five years now and haven't quite seemed to get the hang of it ...
Muallem had been due to hold a press conference with David Miliband, the foreign secretary, but the event was cancelled by mutual agreement, apparently because Miliband did not want to be questioned about the raid.
Why not? It's not like he had anything to do with it.
Miliband said Britain was concerned about the growth of al-Qaida groups and insurgent networks developing along the Syria-Iraq border. British officials claimed Muallem did not deny the seriousness of the problem and the need for better cooperation with Iraq, but gave no firm commitments. In Baghdad, the Iraqi government spokesman, Ali al-Dabbagh, appeared to support the US by calling the area of the attack "a staging ground for activities by terrorist organisations hostile to Iraq". He added the US operation "was targeting smugglers who transferred people to Iraq".
The US has steadily been ceding control of the Iraqi armed forces to the Maliki government and has transferred security responsibility for 12 of the country's 18 provinces. But the US still controls Iraqi air space and runs military operations where and when it chooses. "We have been in meetings all day about this," said an Iraqi defence official. "This is not something we can control or respond to."
But Brigadier Fadel al-Sultani, now responsible for security in the Hilla region - which takes in part of the restive Anbar province that stretches towards the Syrian border - told the Guardian the province was no longer a haven for insurgents using the Iraqi border town of Qaim, close to where Sunday's attack took place, as a staging point. "We can say with certainty that al-Qaida are 95 per cent defeated," said Sultani. "They have gone. Five per cent are out there and are robust. We retain a strong interest in them and so do the Americans. They were with us this morning discussing an offensive."
The attack in Syria also provoked new concerns about the agreement extending the legal basis for American forces in Iraq after a UN mandate expires in December, with a prominent Kurdish politician, Mahmoud Othman, claiming the raid was carried out without the Iraqi government's knowledge.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/28/2008 00:00 ||
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Bush would undo a fair amount of the good he's done if this were to come to pass.
Several American media outlets reported on Saturday that President George Bush is likely to announce after next month's presidential elections that he intends to restore the diplomatic relations with Iran, almost 30 years after they were suspended.
Not bloody likely ...
Quoting U.S. civil servants, the reports said that Bush's decision to postpone the announcement until after the elections was meant to rid the two presidential candidates of having to deal with the controversial move.
In the first stage, the American administration allegedly seeks to appoint a low-level diplomatic delegation, and has already started the recruitment process.
Tehran has already been informed of the initiative, but its view on the matter remains unclear. Similar reports were published a few months ago, but the plan was then put on hold. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has said Tehran would favorably consider such proposal, as long as it was to be carried out bilaterally.
U.S. sources said the purpose of the diplomatic effort is to better communicate American messages to the Iranian people, which are largely hostile to the U.S. They said that it does not signal a conciliatory approach to the Iranian regime or any change of policy vis-à-vis the contentious issues that are on the table, namely Iran's nuclear program.
The United States severed its diplomatic ties with Iran in 1979, in the wake of the Islamic revolution that ousted the Shah and brought Ayatollah Khomeini to power. A group of Iranian students, supported by the Islamists, took over the American embassy and held its workers hostage for over a year.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/28/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Yeah. Just what we need. Another embassy to get taken over, and staff to become hostages. It is stupid. I would not be surprised if it happens.
Posted by: Alaska Paul in Juneau, AK ||
10/28/2008 0:38 Comments ||
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#2
It's kind of obvious that Bush wants McCain to lose.
#3
"In the first stage, the American administration allegedly seeks to appoint a low-level diplomatic delegation, and has already started the recruitment process."
Just send Jimmy Carter over .. He's as low level as anyone could get
#8
I almost wonder if Bush is trying to "throw" this election. But think about it, we all know how bad a President Jimmy Carter was and Obama looks to be as bad if not far worse. After Carter we had 12 years of Republican control. Throw the game for some long term agenda? Besides, it's not like McCain is a real Republican anyways? Wishful thinking I am sure, but I need something to give me hope this election season.
#9
Well, I heard from some US civil servants that I know(I won't name them) that Bush intends to bomb Iran on Wednesday at 3:45 pm the day after the election. In fact several media outlets have reported it (I won't name them). Some bureaucrats have been heard to make comments to that effect. Because it is thus written, it MUST be true!
#13
It's not really "diplomatic relations"; it wouldn't be a full-blown diplomatic mission. If it happens, the personnel would likely be attached as an 'interest desk' to another embasssy, such as the Swiss.
#14
Could be that W is setting up Iran to do Obambi's first "test". Yep, redo all of Jimmuh's mistakes in about 6 months then the US will understand how clueless the media kept the masses about Obambi. But maybe I hope too much.
#16
I am the meanest SOB in the valley, and ONLY I get it right here. W is a faith based under thinker, whose alcoholism fried his intellectual capacity. He has been a lousy President because his crippled brain inhibited him from identifying the enemies who should have been killed since 9-11. There has not been enough killing; I would like to see more.
Iran needs to look like the Moon. If the sheep elect a President who can't see that, then the righteous need to rule from below. We need to destroy all the Smart Bombs and dust off the nukes. If you don't get it, then smack yourselves in the head. That is an order, and you are conscripted as soldiers to the necessary slaughter.
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