Islamist groups waging war in Somalia against the country's feeble, foreign-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG) have been riled by a new fatwa issued earlier this month by self-appointed Somali clerics. A spokesman for the clerics, Sheikh Nur Barud Gurhan, told an October 27 telephone press conference that the clerics issued a six-point fatwa regarding the internal dispute among Islamic Courts Union (ICU) leaders, who are divided over the Djibouti Agreement.
The group of clerics, including well-known religious authorities of Somali and Oromo ethnicity, decided to hold the meeting and issue the fatwa due to "the colonization of Somalia, the massacre of our people and destruction of our religion and country," Sheikh Gurhan said. Point one of the issued fatwa declares that "it is a duty for the jihad to continue until all enemy soldiers leave the country."
A key clause calls for an emergency gathering of ICU executive and legislative officials, inside and outside the country, to be held within one month. "The signing of agreements must be stopped until after the dispute is resolved," said Sheikh Gurhan, while reading the document. The clerics' fatwa prohibited the exchange of conflicting statements over the media that "divide up the fighters and the public," while warning fighters against acts that cause more harm than good.
Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, the ICU's executive head, signed the peace agreement with the TFG on October 26, which calls for a ceasefire effective November 5 and the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops within 120 days. But Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, chairman of the Shura (legislative) council, rejected the peace pact and urged guerrillas to continue the anti-Ethiopia insurgency. The two men helped form the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) in Eritrea in 2007, which included exiled Islamist leaders, ex-lawmakers and Diaspora activists. However, after the signing of the Djibouti Agreement, the ARS split into two rival wings, with a Djibouti-based faction led by Sheikh Sharif and an Eritrea-based faction led by the hardliner, Sheikh Aweys.
A spokesman for the ARS-Djibouti faction, Dahir Gelle, dismissed the clerics' fatwa in early comments to the media as "servicing the interests of Hassan Dahir [Aweys]." However, unconfirmed reports told Garowe Online that Sheikh Sharif might be reconsidering the clerics' call for an ICU general conference.
Key Islamist figures associated with the ARS-Eritrea faction have publicly denounced the clerics' fatwa. Sheikh Omar Iman, who was recently crowned ARS chairman by the Eritrea-based faction, said he welcomes the new title while condemning the Djibouti-based peace process as "being organized by Ethiopia and the U.S." "The jihad will continue and no one can stop it as long as the enemy is in the country," Sheikh Omar said from Eritrea, where he lives in exile with Sheikh Aweys.
On the clerics' fatwa, Sheikh Omar Iman rejected calls for an ICU emergency gathering while dismissing notions that the Islamic clerics take control of the war until the dispute is resolved. Another figure, ex-warlord Yusuf Indha Ade, rejected the fatwa and accused the clerics of supporting the Djibouti-based ARS faction. Indha Ade, who was a notorious warlord in the early 2000s before joining the ICU as defense chief, is closely associated with the Eritrea-based faction.
Sheikh Dahir Addow, the ICU chief in Middle Shabelle region, returned to the provincial capital Jowhar on Thursday after attending the peace talks in Djibouti. Local reports said Sheikh Addow traveled by land through Hiran region, where he held meetings with ICU officials.
Also Thursday, the ICU administrator in Hiran region, Sheikh Abdirahman Ibrahim Ma'ow, told a press conference in the regional capital Beletwein that all groups should support the clerics' decision. He held the press conference to respond to Abukar Mohamed, a top ICU military commander based in Hiran, who rejected the Djibouti Agreement and dismissed the ceasefire. "His [Abukar Mohamed] comments do not speak for the ICU administration in Hiran region," Sheikh Ma'ow said.
More divisions became evident when one of ex-warlord Indha Ade's top lieutenants, Nuriye Ali Farah, was assassinated in Lower Shabelle region. Indha Ade's supporters immediately blamed al Shabaab, with unconfirmed reports saying three al Shabaab members were killed in retaliation.
#2
I'm not sure there's a "side" worth supporting in this mess, other than the group in Somaliland, which seems to have things in order. The old "kill 'em all and let God sort it out" seems to fit Somalia like a glove. No one seems to be willing to actually work toward building a stable goverment, and that includes 90% of the people.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/31/2008 14:45 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Support the side that's losing.
Posted by: ed ||
10/31/2008 14:48 Comments ||
Top||
The Colombian government on Wednesday fired 27 army officers and soldiers, including three generals, amid allegations that poor young men had been lured to the country's turbulent outback from slums in the capital and killed there by troops.
The purge, announced by President Alvaro Uribe at a news conference, is considered unprecedented for Colombia's large, U.S.-backed army, which has long resisted reforms. The dismissals came as Uribe faces criticism abroad for his administration's human rights record while he attempts to lobby a Democratic-controlled Congress in Washington to support a free trade deal.
The president's office issued a statement that outlined serious command-and-control problems in the army an d said soldiers might have collaborated with criminal bands to inflate the number of combat deaths, traditionally used by the military as a measure of success.
"In some instances, there has been negligence in the army, and that has permitted some people to involve themselves in crimes, which in some regions end in the killings of innocents to show success against the criminals," Uribe said.
The head of the armed forces, Gen. Freddy Padilla, read the names of the officers and soldiers removed from service, including four colonels and seven lieutenant colonels. The generals were Paulino Coronado, who oversaw the region where the young men from Bogota were killed, and two division commanders, José Joaquin Cortés and Roberto Pico Hernandez.
The last time the government purged so many officers at once was during the administration of President Andrés Pastrana.
"It's certainly the biggest one-day purge," said Adam Isacson, a senior military analyst at the Center for International Policy in Washington. "Uribe has fired generals before, not always for human rights violations. But these are the biggest human rights-related firings in about 10 years."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/31/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
For all the talk about the economy, voters have the war in Iraq on their minds, too, in the leadup to Election Day. They're worried about supporting the troops and caring for war veterans, debating who can best lead the military, and wondering how and when the U.S. should get out. Nah, it's all over, isn't it? The One is a done deal.
Democrat Barack Obama rose above his primary opponents in part because his opposition to the war gave him an argument for judgment that he would use throughout the remainder of his campaign. Republican John McCain was largely written off as a candidate until the security situation in Iraq improved under the surge strategy that he had long advocated.
An Associated Press-Yahoo News survey taken this month shows that 74 percent of voters say the war in Iraq remains a very important or extremely important issue for them. More, including several interviews, across a fairly moderate spectrum, at link.
Posted by: Bobby ||
10/31/2008 06:32 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
No shit Sherlock.
Do they teach them that in journalism school for the slow weeks. Pick some obvious thing and print it like it's breaking news?
#2
No, that was news to me, bigjim. I thought there was no war in Iraq and we were losing in Afghanistan. Did I miss a MSM story? Did we invade Iraq again?
[/bitterness]
Posted by: Bobby ||
10/31/2008 17:49 Comments ||
Top||
TAMPA, Florida (Rooters) - U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus took over the command running the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan on Friday and said it was vital to combine military and civilian power and work with allies.
Petraeus, hailed as an outstanding U.S. military leader for helping to pull Iraq back from the brink of all-out civil war, took charge of U.S. Central Command in a ceremony at the headquarters in Tampa, Florida.
Central Command, known as Centcom, oversees U.S. military operations and strategy in a volatile swathe of the world that covers 20 countries and stretches from Egypt across the Middle East and into south and central Asia.
Petraeus, 55, a fiercely competitive, media-friendly soldier who holds a doctorate in international relations from Princeton University, leaves on Saturday to visit the region.
His most pressing problems include rising insurgent violence in Afghanistan and safe havens for Taliban and al Qaeda militants across in border in Pakistan.
"From trans-national extremist organizations and industrial-strength insurgencies to weapons proliferation, a rise in piracy and persistent ethno-sectarian conflict, the Centcom area contains innumerable challenges," Petraeus said.
"Addressing these challenges requires comprehensive approaches that employ the whole of our government's capabilities in close coordination with host country and coalition governments and security forces," he said.
His remarks reflected Petraeus' belief that violence and instability cannot be solved by force alone and that economic development and political measures are also needed to address underlying causes.
Petraeus, 55, pursued that approach as the top commander in Iraq from February 2007 until last month and violence dropped to its lowest level in more than four years.
PRE-EMINENT SOLDIER
While other major factors also contributed to the security gains in Iraq and analysts argue about how durable they are, Petraeus' leadership has earned him widespread praise in the United States and beyond.
"He is the pre-eminent soldier-scholar-statesman of his generation and precisely the man we need at this command at this time," Defense Secretary Robert Gates said at the ceremony, conducted outdoors in bright sunshine.
"Under his leadership, our troops have dealt our enemies in Iraq a tremendous blow. Now he will take aim at our adversaries in Afghanistan."
One of Petraeus' main challenges will be to maintain his cautious approach to troop cuts in Iraq while meeting commanders' requests for more forces in Afghanistan, where insurgent violence has worsened this year.
That task may be more difficult if Democrat Barack Obama defeats Republican John McCain in next week's U.S. presidential election. Although he has reserved room for maneuver, Obama has suggested removing combat troops from Iraq in 16 months.
Petraeus took over at Central Command from Army Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey, in temporary charge since Navy Adm. William Fallon quit in March after a magazine article said he was pushing President George W. Bush to avoid war with Iran.
Jurors in the trial of five men accused of plotting an attack on a New Jersey Army base listened Thursday to recordings of one defendant discussing driving a fuel truck into a building and firing on people in a picnic area. For the third straight day, the trial was dominated by recordings made by federal informant Mahmoud Omar, a native of Egypt with a sketchy past who is being paid $1,500 weekly for his cooperation.
Many of the conversations involve suspect Mohamad Shnewer, now 23, a cabdriver and college dropout who drove with Omar to Fort Dix and Delaware's Dover Air Force Base in August 2006. The government says that attacking the Army post in New Jersey was Shnewer's idea, and that the defendants were inspired by al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden. Defense lawyers contend that Shnewer was dragged into the plot by Omar and that the four other suspects were unaware of their plan.
All five defendants are foreign-born Muslims in their 20s who spent years in southern New Jersey. They are charged with conspiracy to murder military personnel, attempted murder and weapons offenses. They face life in prison if they are convicted.
In one conversation jurors heard Thursday recorded in August 2006 Shnewer and Omar agree that the best way to attack the U.S. would be by hijacking a fuel tanker and driving it into a building. They even agree to go to truck-driving school to prepare. A month later, though, they talked specifically about a different type of attack on Fort Dix when they met outside Omar's apartment in Cherry Hill.
Shnewer, who had a collection of jihadist videos on his computer, laid out the details: The men should target a picnic area, shooting for one to two minutes, then run about a quarter-mile to pile into a getaway car that would meet them there. Along the way, they should also fire larger weapons on the Humvees that would come after them. Maybe they would shoot rockets into some buildings on base. Omar agreed, adding that the men should be equipped with walkie-talkies to communicate. He asked Shnewer who else was on board.
Shnewer said he had spoken with the brothers Dritan, Eljvir and Shain Duka, who are also charged in the alleged plot. "We all came to the conclusion, whatever happens, we need at least a few months of training at least," Shnewer says. Omar sounds impatient with that. "This is what I have been telling you, Mohamad, for a few months," he says. "But you wouldn't listen to me."
Daily life keeps intruding on that meeting. Shnewer presents Omar's young daughter with a SpongeBob SquarePants toy; Omar's wife asks Shnewer if he wants something to eat; Omar asks her to take their daughter inside.
On that occasion, as on others, Omar asks if he can speak directly with Eljvir Duka, who also goes by the name Sulayman. "I have told you on many occasions, Mohamad, that I need to talk to Sulayman," Omar says. "I want to tell him, 'Listen, Sulayman, me and Mohamad, we have a plan. Are you with us or not?'" Shnewer says it's been hard to make connections because the Duka brothers are working on a long, tough roofing job. And he says that Serdar Tatar, the fifth man on trial, has gotten married and moved to Philadelphia.
Eventually, Omar does have individual conversations with some of the other men. Those conversations are not as explicit as the talks involving Shnewer. When Omar and Eljvir Duka talk in November 2006, for instance, Omar asks about getting a fatwa or religious permission. But it's never clear from the words in their exchange exactly what it would be for.
In another conversation, Omar mentions Fort Dix to Tatar, who doesn't indicate that he knows why Omar is mentioning it. Still, Tatar, a 7-Eleven clerk, says he'll get Omar a map of Fort Dix from his father's pizza shop near the base. The jury had already heard that the map was found in Shnewer's closet after the men were arrested in May 2007.
#1
ION RIAN > MOSCOW DENIES PENTAGON CLAIM OF "STOLEN" [andor MISSING] RUSSIAN NUCLEAR WEAPONS. US SecDef argues Russ may not know how many nukes, espec tacnukes, it has nor how many are missing or stolen.
Also from RIAN > seems LIBYA = THE COLONEL/LEADER may become host to a Russ naval base, besides a major arms deal???
A Yemeni prisoner watched an Al Qaeda recruiting video with his Guantanamo interrogator and proudly admitted producing the work, the interrogator testified in the US war crimes court. "He considered it one of the best propaganda videos Al Qaeda has to date," former FBI special agent Ali Soufan testified in the US war crimes trial of defendant Ali Hamza al Bahlul. Osama bin Laden was so impressed with the video that he promoted Bahlul to become his media secretary, the FBI agent quoted Bahlul as telling him. Bahlul is on trial at the US naval base in Cuba, on charges of conspiring with al Qaeda to attack civilians, soliciting to commit murder and providing material support for terrorism.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/31/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
#1
So an award at the oscars is on the cards then?
Canadian Omar Khadr, the last westerner held at Guantanamo, will challenge his detention and upcoming trial before a federal judge on Thursday, on grounds it violates international and United States laws, his lawyers said. Khadr, 21, was arrested in Afghanistan in 2002, and charged with killing a US soldier with a hand grenade. His trial by a special military tribunal is to start on November 10 -- it was delayed one month due to elections in Canada and the US.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/31/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
This a letter to the editor in The Nation newspaper. It refers to the official motto of the Pakistan Army: "Iman-Taqwa-Jihad fi sabilillah" - "Faith, Fear of Allah, Jihad in the way of Allah"
Young minds
Sir: Recently, on a childrens TV channel, I was watching a quiz programme. In one of the stages, the anchor provides answers to the contestants, who then have to guess the question. In this particular episode, the host said: This stands for iman, taqwa and jihad fi sabilillah. The students thought hard, and then one of them responded: What is Al Qaedas motto?
The host was shocked. He replied, I will never ask you about Al Qaeda on this show. Another student tried his luck: What is the Pakistan Muslim Leagues motto?
This is how our schoolchildren respond to the Pakistan Armys motto. We need a desperate image overhaul to say the least.
SAIF REHMAN
Lahore
Posted by: john frum ||
10/31/2008 17:15 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[10 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Let's let Don Pardo tell them what they didn't win.
An Encyclopedia Britannica.
A case of Turtle Wax.
A year's supply of Rice-A-Roni, the San Francisco treat
They have shamed themselves and their entire families. They will have to martyr themselves to regain their honor. Watch out for them.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
10/31/2008 22:16 Comments ||
Top||
Yet another sign that peace has come to Iraq. The U.S. is beginning to replace foreign workers with Iraqis. The foreign contractors are cheaper than soldiers, mainly because most of them are unskilled labor from countries with very low pay scales. These civilians still make several times what they could back home, if they could find a job back home. Foreigners were hired because it was too dangerous to hire Iraqis. First, there was the loyalty problem, and then there was the risk of terrorists threatening, or killing, Iraqis working on American bases. There were some Iraqis working on those bases, mainly interpreters and some key specialists. And these Iraqis faced constant danger from terrorists. This policy greatly reduced the terrorist attacks inside American bases. There were only a few in over five years, all carried out by Iraqis who had access to the bases.
...
One of the first major bases to replace foreign contractors will be al Asad air base. There are 5,000 foreign civilians at al Asad, and all are expected to be gone, and replace by Iraqis, within a year. It may be a few years before all (or nearly all) of the civilian contractors are replaced by Iraqis. This will save the United States a lot of money, as the Iraqis will be paid according to prevailing wages in Iraq. That's less than half what most of the foreign contractors are paid.
Posted by: ed ||
10/31/2008 14:58 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Less than half huh?
Don't say that too loud or Nike will be horning in on your deal.
In a blunt assessment, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, Army Gen. Raymond Odierno, said Thursday that there is a 20 percent to 30 percent chance that the United States and Iraq won't reach a deal to allow U.S. troops to operate in Iraq past Dec. 31.
On a scale of one to 10, "I'm probably a seven or eight that something is going to be worked out," Gen. Odierno told The Washington Times during a visit to the 101st Airborne Division in Samarra, about 120 miles north of Baghdad. Classic spin: 7 or 8 out of ten sounds positive, so write it as 20-30% negative.
"I think it's important for the government of Iraq. I think it's important for security and stability here."
Massoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdish Regional Government, told The Times on Wednesday evening that he would be happy to host U.S. troops if the central government in Baghdad refuses to do so.
"The people of Kurdistan highly appreciate the sacrifices American forces have made for our freedom," Mr. Barzani said at a reception in Washington after meetings with President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Posted by: Bobby ||
10/31/2008 06:24 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
The Iraqis have to wait until the US election to make up their mind. If McCain wins, no problem. If Obama wins, problem.
Syria severed communications with Iraq, suspended bilateral security meetings and decreased the number of its border troops, Al Arabiya TV reported on Thursday.
Thousands of rubesfoolsrustics people marched in the streets of Damascus on Thursday to protest at a deadly American raid on a village near the Iraqi border which Syria has branded a barbaric act.
Security was boosted around the area in central Damascus housing the U.S. embassy which was closed on Thursday ahead of the demonstration because of the potential threat of violence.
"Colonialists, listen, the people of Syria will never be brought to their knees," cried youths as they gathered in the city centre but some distance away from the U.S. mission. "Allah, Syria, Bashar," they chanted, referring to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Demonstrators, including civil servants and students, waved Syrian flags and banners reading "No to American terrorism" and "American democracy -- the killing of civilians at Abu Kamal," the area targeted in Sunday's U.S. raid. The protest wound down after several hours with no reports of violence.
Syria had earlier ordered an American school and cultural centre to be shut down in an apparent response to the U.S. action on Sunday.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/31/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
"Colonialists, listen, the people of Syria will never be brought to their knees," cried youths
actually, you've been on your knees for Iran for some time now. Wipe your chin, k?
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/31/2008 7:57 Comments ||
Top||
#2
More kabuki from a police state dictatorship, with scripted anger and the usual pre-written lines... why western media even take it seriously is beyond me... oh, wait, I forgot!
THE mother of two of the Bali bombers on death row says her sons were right to "kill infidels", as they prepare to face firing squads over the attacks which killed 202 people.
Seventy-year-old Tariem spoke today in her house in the village of Tenggulun, East Java, after working all day in her fields and visiting the mosque. "I don't cry. I leave it all to God," she said as convicted terrorists Amrozi and Mukhlas, two of her 13 children, waited for the firing squad in a prison on the other side of Java.
"I feel that killing infidels isn't a mistake because they don't pray," she said as she sat on the stone floor of the family home surrounded by Amrozi's children and wife. "My sons are right. I wake up at 2.00am every morning to pray for their safety."
The old woman coughed and asked for medicine as she spoke, and appeared confused about her sons' fate, asking: "Will my sons be executed?"
None of the bombers' relatives here expressed regret for the carnage unleashed on October 12, 2002. More than 160 foreign holidaymakers including 88 Australians were killed in the blasts, one of the worst terror atrocities in the name of Islam since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
Another son, Ali Imron, is serving a life sentence for his role in the plot.
"As prayer leaders my sons would lead prayers at the mosque but they don't do that anymore. I miss that," Tariem said. "I want my sons to be safe and for them not to be executed."
Authorities have said Amrozi, 47, Mukhlas, 48, and Bali ringleader Imam Samudra, 38, will be executed by firing squad any time from midnight today to mid-November. The family should be notified three days in advance.
Younger brother Ali Fauzi, 38, said the family had made no plans for funerals and had not been informed about the executions, adding he was sure Amrozi and Mukhlas were on the "right path" in their final days. "I met both of them last month and they told me, 'don't be sad'. They always look so happy and I'm sure they're fighting on the right path," he said.
Looking relaxed and beaming broadly like his older brother Amrozi, known as the "smiling assassin" for the grin he sported throughout his trial, Fauzi said the family had nothing to be ashamed about. "Do we feel embarrassed or ashamed of what they have done? No, we feel proud because in this world full of lies and accusations there are still people who are ready to fight against that," he said. "If they're executed we'll bring them back home and conduct prayers. Then we'll bury them at a site which we can't tell you about.
"We don't want any autopsy because although the soul is no longer there, the body can still feel pain."
Neighbours in the village expressed little sympathy for Amrozi and Mukhlas. "They should be executed because all of us should be peaceful toward one another," said Sulastri, a neighbour.
Village chief Djarum said losing any of his neighbours was like losing one of his own family, but he did not support the bombings. "I'm sad but I'm not proud of what they did because Islam is a peaceful religion," he said.
Shop-owner Mahfud Hasan said he had known Amrozi since they were children. "I didn't believe it until I saw him confess on TV and I was so shocked," he said.
Students at the Islamic school where Fauzi teaches Koranic studies said they were banned from reading newspapers or watching television. But they were hungry for news. "I feel sad that they're being executed because they're Muslims like me, so I sympathise with them," said 20-year-old student Mohammad.
#3
The west should revisit the concept of blood feuds.
Posted by: ed ||
10/31/2008 14:01 Comments ||
Top||
#4
"I feel that killing infidels isn't a mistake because they don't pray,"
Anybody here remembers those horrible pics (that were conveniently dumped into the memory hole by the msm just like the WTC jumpers) of those bodies piled up in the flaming rubbles of the club, naked by the explosions, and charred by the heat?
This just proves once again that we don't belong all to the same humanity, and that there definitively are "US" and "THEM".
It's not just the wrenching video of 9-11 suppressed by the MSM. The MSM is in possession of heartbreaking audio of telephone calls made from the Towers and from Flight 93 to loved ones.
The MSM won't allow us to see and hear what happened that day. The MSM wants us to forget.
(CNSNews.com) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad predicted on Thursday that the imminent collapse of international "bullies" would be a good opportunity to spread Islam and Iran's Islamic Revolution. Ahmadinejad did not mention the U.S. by name but said that the "bullying powers" were on the verge of collapse because they are hated by the nations of the world, the official Iranian news agency IRNA reported.
Addressing a meeting of Islamic scholars and religious leaders, Ahmadinejad said that "all nations are looking for a new way as they lost their hope [in] the big powers."
The present situation "is a great chance to introduce pure Islamic thoughts and ideals as well as Iran's Islamic Revolution," he said.
Retired Israeli army Lt.-Col Jonathan Halevi, a counter-terrorism expert, told CNSNews.com in an earlier interview that Iran has been using the Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah as a "long-arm" to spread its Islamic revolution throughout the world.
In an address to the United Nations last month, Ahmadinejad charged that the "American empire in the world" was "reaching the end of its road."
Ahmadinejad's latest comments came a day after Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani threatened the U.S. with suicide bombings in response to an alleged U.S. counter-insurgency strike five miles inside Syria earlier this week.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/31/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
ION WORLD MIL FORUM > SOUTH KOREA MUST STOP LEAFLET PROPAGANDA PROGRAM OR NORTH WILL MAKE "DECISION OF CHANGE", INCLUD UNSPECIFIED POSSIBLE MILITARY ACTION AGZ SOUTH.
* TOPIX > NORTH KOREA TELLS/WARNS SOUTH KOREA: STOP LEAFLETS, OR ELSE!
HMMMMMM, HMMMMMMM, all this fracas over TRASH/PAPER-FROM-THE-SKIES > Methinks NOKOR probs are MUCH WORSE THAN THE MSM-NET REPORTS???
A Syrian television station is reporting that the country is reducing the number of troops on its border with Iraq in response to a deadly U.S. cross-border raid. Syrian and Iraqi officials did not immediately confirm the report.
Presumably that's to ostentatiously allow as many jihadis as please come tromping into Iraq.
The private station, Dunia, showed footage Thursday of Syrian troops dismantling positions on the border and leaving the area. The report says the act was a Syrian response to the "American aggression."
Normally armies don't retreat within their own country if they're not at war...
On Sunday, the U.S. military launched a deadly raid into Syria. Washington hasn't formally acknowledged the raid. But U.S. officials say the target was a top al-Qaida in Iraq figure who operated a network that smuggled fighters into Iraq.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/31/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
Presumably that's to ostentatiously allow as many jihadis as please come tromping into Iraq.
#2
Who is going to issue the muj their "Jihadi's Guide to the Islamic State of Iraq" and their travelers checks? Maybe we could set up some kind of reception line on the Iraqi side for them....
Posted by: Boss Cravilet8390 ||
10/31/2008 9:16 Comments ||
Top||
#3
with the troops pulled back who is going to guide the jihadis to the border and protect them en route?
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
10/31/2008 16:33 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Then again, they simply could be getting out of the way.
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.
Islamist groups waging war in Somalia against the country's feeble, foreign-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG) have been riled by a new fatwa issued earlier this month by self-appointed Somali clerics. A spokesman for the clerics, Sheikh Nur Barud Gurhan, told an October 27 telephone press conference that the clerics issued a six-point fatwa regarding the internal dispute among Islamic Courts Union (ICU) leaders, who are divided over the Djibouti Agreement. 
By Andrew Gray
A Yemeni prisoner watched an Al Qaeda recruiting video with his Guantanamo interrogator and proudly admitted producing the work, the interrogator testified in the US war crimes court. "He considered it one of the best propaganda videos Al Qaeda has to date," former FBI special agent Ali Soufan testified in the US war crimes trial of defendant Ali Hamza al Bahlul. Osama bin Laden was so impressed with the video that he promoted Bahlul to become his media secretary, the FBI agent quoted Bahlul as telling him. Bahlul is on trial at the US naval base in Cuba, on charges of conspiring with al Qaeda to attack civilians, soliciting to commit murder and providing material support for terrorism.
