I'd keep writing this shit even if no one was reading it. I do this first and foremost for my own benefit, and if anyone else gets anything out of it, then it's icing on the cake. This blog thing has been cathartic as all get out, and I find myself feeling better as I purge the toxins of frustration from my system by writing everything out here. When I first started out, no one was reading this and it didn't matter one whit.
I can sympathize only too well. I've been stuck in the seemingly endless loop of compiling Rantburg since 9-11. It's like reading a book you can't put down, only I'm writing it. One of these days there are going to be a lot of books covering the War on Terror, but for now we don't know how it's going to turn out. Hell, it's possible we could even lose. The books might be in Arabic and not read a thing like what we've been watching. But I'm betting we'll win in the end.
Talk about a cast of thousands. Try millions. We have an International Criminal Mastermind with more than a few overtones of the Insidious Doctor Fu Manchu. We have venal dictators and crafty Oriental Potentates and shadowy international arms merchants. Raymond Chandler suggested that when you don't know what should happen next, have a man with a gun step through the door. We have gunnies, snuffies, even giggling psychopaths. There are sniveling cowards looking frantically for someone, anyone, to surrender to, and Internationally Renowned Perfessors demanding to be on the other side, even though the other side's plans for the likes of them include walls and blindfolds. There are spittle-spraying, eye-rolling beturbaned religious fanatics, whipping up the masses for Holy War. There's the plain-talkin' Texas president, underestimated by friend and foe alike (see Destry Rides Again), opposing a shadowy Council of Boskone. We have Chamberlains, Quislings, and more than a few Duces and Fuehrers and generalissimos, riots in the streets, plucky reporters and reporterettes, in fact all the elements necessary for either something by Tolstoy or Dostoevsky or maybe an excruciatingly bad 1930s novel. Or maybe both, with elements of Wagner. And Tom Clancy and Ian Fleming.
"There are no heroes," the nay-sayers said in their querelous post-modernist, Peace Studies voices. Don't they look stupid now? We have our heroes to go with our villains, every bit as magnificent in their bravery and goodness as the other side is mired in Evil. Just think of the matter-of-fact heroism of NYPD and FDNY, going in because there was a chance the buildings wouldn't fall down. We have Todd Beamer, Jeremy Glick, Tom Burnett, Mark Bingham, and Barbara Olson, resisting to the last. Mike Spann and Daniel Pearl, just doing their jobs, with danger and treachery all around them. Soldiers who are by God Heroic in their dedication and bravery, and even some allies who are true blue. And we have men and women who either don't get in the papers at all or who're mentioned once, like those who clobbered Shoe Boy.
I'll keep compiling Rantburg because I've got to know what happens next.
And I'll keep reading because, IMHO, your site is still the best place to pull all the threads together. Thanks for continuing! Posted by Old Grouch 4/8/2002 10:14:12 PM
Thanks, y'old grouch. I'll be here. I can't stop... Posted by Fred 4/9/2002 9:27:28 AM
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I've signed up with PayPal. Feel free to kick in to the beer fund.
Oh, Cheeze. No sooner do I stick my hand out than Photodude points to this muttwit, who sez we're all just in it for the money. When do I get my plutocrat hat? Posted by Fred 4/8/2002 7:06:04 PM
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Well-placed sources in Afghanistan have confirmed that the leader of the former Taliban regime in Afghanistan, Mullah Mohammed Omar, is regrouping in southern Orguzan province, and that he is trying to muster support from tribes there. Oruzgan is the One-eyed Mullah's home. I haven't been able to find the original of this article. From internal evidence, I'd guess it's from one of the Pak papers.
This approach shows that the Taliban are aware that they cannot single-handedly raise any significant opposition, and that considering the new political map in the country, they are now prepared to join with local commanders and tribal chiefs to wage war against foreign troops and the interim administration of Hamid Karzai. Translation: They've actually been beaten, and to make a comeback they've got to ally with other parties and hope to turn on them successfully when the common enemy's gone.
The sources also suggest that lines of communication are being established between leaders of the Northern Alliance, including Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani, Abdul Rassoul Sayyaf, General Mohammed Fahim and Mullah Omar and former Taliban minister Maulana Jalaluddin Haqqani (Haqqani is said to have been injured in the bombing in Gardez.) The Taliban reportedly have sent messages to the Northern Alliance leaders urging them to forget all past differences... and join hands to oust US troops from the country. Rabbani's been sour-graping since Karzai was named interim PM instead of naming him interim president. His reluctance to drop the reins of power (such as it was) gave Hekmatyar the excuse he needed to start the Dog-Eat-Dog and shell Kabul. Sayyaf is the Saudis man on the ground, leader of a tiny Wahhabi faction. Fahim's the defense minister and trying to be Masood's successor, without being able to wear that size shoe. Haqqani is the Great Taliban Hope at the moment. Nice to hear he was wounded. Hope it was painful and infected. There was a report he was wounded and maybe dead back in December, too.
This is said to be the first time since the emergence of the Taliban as a power in 1996 that Mullah Omar has shown any flexibility in his attitude towards the Northern Alliance, but clearly he has struck while the iron is hot to extend the hand of "friendship". Rabbani and Sayyaf were the most important resistance leaders during the Soviet invasion that ended in 1992, but in the current political situation in Afghanistan they have been left out in the cold. Although Fahim is the defense minister, the presence of foreign troops in the country - to which he is opposed - leaves him with little real authority on important defense issues. Even Afghans wouldn't find Mullah Omar's "friendship" the most reliable thing they've ever seen...
At the same time, the Northern Alliance leaders realize that support for former monarch Zahir Shah is widespread and growing at all levels - and that these supporters are largely more reliable and pro-West than any other faction in the country. Ah, introducing that outside factor is viewed as a danger to the internal balance of power, is it?
Leaders such as Rabbani and Sayyaf, who live in Kabul where they attempt to play the role of "fixers" by exploiting what access they have into the corridors of power, will be sharply shown that their support among the warlords is limited. Zahir Shah is still loved and respected among Afghans, irrespective of ethnic affiliations, and they are expected to demonstrate this support by flooding into Kabul. Toldja that Loya Jirga would have to be disrupted. But being too overt about it could lead to Unfortunate Accidents. It's happened before, and to better men than either of them.
The day that the former monarch steps into Afghanistan he will become an unequivocal "Afghan elder". In this capacity, as is the Afghan tradition, he will play a key role in the loya jirga (grand council) that is to meet to map out a more permanent political future for the country. Rabbani and Sayyaf, as well as Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a premier during the days of the Afghan communist regime in Kabul, have branded such a council as un-Islamic. There is little chance, therefore, of Northern Alliance people having any significant representation at the council, as pro-Zahir Shah elements, whether they be Pashtun or not, will rule the roost in Afghan politics. But the pro-Zahir Shah faction isn't strong enough to take power itself. That means it has to ally with existing internal parties, which would certainly involve Northern Alliance factions - just not Sayyaf's and Rabbani's, and certainly not Hekmatyar's. The "un-Islamic" brand is worthless on its face, even to Deobandi Muslims.
Many people loyal to the former king live in exile in Europe and America. They are generally wealthy and educated, and in good positions to influence events against the likes of Rabbani and Sayyaf. The latter, as well as Fahim, will have little option, then, if they want to have any influence, but to ally with Mullah Omar either overtly or covertly. Actually they could also ally with the Royalist party. Alternatively, they could ally with each other and form a "loyal opposition." (Excuse me while I wipe my nose. I was drinking coffee when I wrote that.) I'm not an Afghan, but to me it would seem that allying with the Talibs, who would then be guaranteed to turn on me if they ever achieved power again, would be at the bottom of the list of desirable actions.
Sources say that under the command of Mullah Saifullah Mansoor, the mastermind of on-going fighting around Gardez, small groups will remain hidden in the mountainous terrain around Shahi Kot and Zurmat. In the past week these groups have launched scores of hit-and-run operations against US and allied troops. So far to little effect...
Taliban sources claim that they have captured several US soldiers, whom they have detained in caves in the area. They are said to be prepared to negotiate conditions for the release of these prisoners. Not a very believable claim. This was first advanced by Taliban-news.com in the wake of Shah-i-Kot, and was subsequently put out by Gen. Hamid Gul. These aren't the most reliable of sources.
Taliban sources have also confirmed that al-Qaeda and the Taliban have sustained heavy casualties as a result of the US bombing in Operation Anaconda, but they have reinforced their positions with both men and ammunition through the support of tribes and local commanders in the area. We could tell they were taking heavy casualties. It was a cute trick to drag most of the bodies away to wherever they went. It doesn't mean anything, though. They're just as dead, regardless of where they are.
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A team of investigators traveled to Bamiyan to look into reports of mass graves containing the remains of people killed last fall during the last days of the Taliban. The investigators, from the United Nations and the Afghan government, visited the area after receiving reports from local leaders that they had discovered three large graves around the city. The leaders said the graves were filled with the bodies of Hazaras, members of a minority group that was severely persecuted under the Taliban.
A local Hazara leader told Agence France-Press that the remains of 35 people, including children, had been found in the three graves. Abdul Satar, a spokesman for the Hazara leader Karim Khalili, told the news agency that many of the bodies had bullet wounds. Manoel de Almeida e Silva, spokesman for the United Nations, said the leaders in Bamiyan believed that the victims were killed during the Taliban's final month in power. Hopefully the Hazaras won't forget what happened, especially since it happened continuously while the Talibs were in power. They took it worse than any other Afghan ethnic group. Cranky Hermit touches on the pain inflicted on the Hazaras, Shi'ite mongols in a sea of Sunni caucasians, while addressing the stoopid Herrold Afghan Korpse Kount.
Fred, sometimes bloggers permalinks don't work quite right and you have to manually enter part of the address. (I found this out from some bad experiences of my own.) But if the people wish to go directly to the rant you referenced without having to scroll the other gibberish I've posted since they can click on the link below. Posted by CH [crankyhermit.blogspot.com/2002_04_07_crankyhermit_archive.html#75149781] 4/8/2002 6:24:09 PM
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A bomb exploded near a convoy carrying Afghanistan's defense minister Monday, killing four bystanders and injuring 16 others in what officials said was another attempt to destabilize the interim government. Defense Minister Mohammed Fahim was not hurt when the bomb exploded in front of his convoy in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, said Agha Jan, an aide to the region's top military commander, Hazrat Ali. Jan, who was in one of the vehicles, said the convoy itself was not hit and the victims were people lined up along the road to welcome Fahim. Mir Ajan, a Defense Ministry official, called it an assassination attempt and said the perpetrators "were trying to destabilize the country and disrupt the minister's plans" in Jalalabad. Fahim planned to meet with local commanders and tribal leaders to discuss, among other issues, a government program launched Monday to eradicate illegal poppy crops, offering farmers about $500 an acre to destroy the crop that produces opium, the raw material for heroin. Doesn't look like they're succeeding in turning Fahim. He probably realizes how long he'd last under a return to power by the Talibs. It could also be that he hates their guts.
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The defiant Iraqi president pledged to defeat the United States if it attacks Iraq and to continue supplying the Palestinians "with every means by which they can defend themselves."
"We will fight (the Americans) with missiles, warplanes, marsh reeds and even stones and they will be defeated," Saddam Hussein was quoted as saying by state-run media during a Sunday meeting with top military commanders. He rejected U.S. criticism over payments to families of Palestinian suicide bombers, saying: "If Iraq has the chance and the capability to supply the Palestinians with every means by which they can defend themselves in a better way, we will not hesitate to do so." Yeah, yeah, yeah. They're gonna fight us with spit and brass knuckles, too. Ten years ago he had The Fourth Largest Army in the World and he was terrifying until Schwartzkopf stomped him flat as a pancake. Today he's got what he's been able to buy on the black market over the past ten years, and probably the willingness to use gas this time. We'll literally kill him and his family and his friends and their pets when he does.
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President Saddam Hussein announced today that Iraq would cut oil exports starting today for 30 days or until Israel withdraws from Palestinian territories. In a nationally televised speech, Saddam said all exports would be cut. The oil minister said the move took effect as Saddam spoke. He's been talking about it. Iran may follow suit. Not important - yet. Steven den Beste notes that
One of the reasons Turkey has been leery of a US invasion of Iraq is because of their concern that they'd lose access to Iraqi oil. But now they've lost it anyway. And this shows that even leaving Saddam in power won't guarantee continued access to Iraqi oil.
The most important effect of this action will be to make Turkey more likely to permit the US to use Turkish territory to attack Iraq.
Sammy has always been an unstable fellow but the "we can do business" crowd has accepted that because he's willing to sell in return for money, and then to spend the money where he got it. Indulging his whims in business, though, makes him an unreliable partner. This is not a good habit to have. The same expensive suits who can accept a few dead Kurds or a few kilotons discretely tucked away have a different attitude toward missed delivery dates and short counts.
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Hecklers repeatedly interrupted President Bush's speech at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium; he watched as authorities removed them, but didn't change his standard address on the war against terrorism. The demonstrators shouted: "We won't fight your racist war!"
Bush had to yell at one point as counter-hecklers shouted the protesters down. Maybe they could set up a desk at the Knoxville Civic Center where the kiddies could go to surrender?
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Osama Bin Laden stayed for three days in Faisalabad and was lucky to slip out barely a few hours before the FBI surprise raid in Faisalabad on March 28 last when he moved out of town, as a routine, leaving behind his lieutenant Abu Zubaida who was critically injured in the short encounter on the spot. Indication to this effect was revealed by the international mediamen visiting Faisalabad on the morning of the raid and are still continuing their detours. Latest in the series is the New York Times special investigation team visiting here Sunday. Even the local police and Pakistani authorities were kept completely in the dark about the target of the raids. Elaborate arrangements were made to conduct the surprise raid. Yeah. That's why it worked. Chief Arbuckle and the Kops weren't included in the planning.
The whole episode devolves upon the sophisticated wireless decoding ultramodern information technology whereby the American FBI manages to catch the waves of Cellular phone talk through satellite and traces backward the longitude and latitude of the phone call and exact location of its origin. Then the recorded voice was verified to be that of Osama and arrangements were made to nab him. Yup. Compromise the sources and methods. I try not to use bad language here, but - assholes!
Immediately âReckyâ (Reconnaissance) was ordered and the vigilance reports confirmed that the âtargetâ was available on site. The vigilance reports suggested that the âtargetâ was staying in a rented house for the last three days i.e. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Thereafter the FBI high-ups in Islamabad accompanied by crack airborne Commandos and marine contingent secretly landed at the Faisalabad airport from Lahore around 8:30 in the evening and with the help of local police and elite force mounted the surprise raid. Whose commandos and marines? Ours? Certainly not Paks?
The inmates of the rented house came to know of the surprise raid when the whole area was cordoned off and the commandos and Elite Force jawans jumped over the walls. The inmates immediately retaliated by firing in self-defence. In the minor exchange of gunfire Abu Zubaida, a lieutenant of Osama Bin Laden, received three bullets and was critically injured on chest, arm and leg. He and his companions were overpowered and taken into custody. The prime target, Osama Bin Laden, had however moved out only a few hours earlier as part of his strategy not to stay for longer time at one place. Identity of Abu Zubaida came to be known quite a long time after the arrest during investigation of his companions. Did Seymour Hersch write this?
The surprise raid codenamed âOperation Midnightâ was mounted at zero hour at midnight and whole operation was completed within four hours when the FBI team flew out from Faisalabad at 5 in the wee hours. The foreign mediamen leaked the information regarding the surprise raid in the evening and they rushed to Faisalabad by road, reaching here by sunrise. But they found the operation completed and remnants of the encounter spread around. The presence of Osama Bin Laden has been leaked now only a week after the episode and the foreign media teams are pouring in to dig out further details. Scouring the battlefield to shoot the wounded? Doesn't matter now. Was Binny (or one of his look-alikes) actually there? Who knows? One of these times, if he's not actually a layer of brown dust now, one of these raids will get him, assuming assorted orifices can quite crowing over how sophisticated our intel collection is and here's why...
"Yup. Compromise the sources and methods. I try not to use bad language here, but - assholes!"
I agree. There are times the media needs a good kick in the a-- or even a boot in the b----. Sigh. Some things can't really be said without bad language. I did try! Posted by Kathy K 4/8/2002 7:07:42 PM
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A national referendum on whether Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf should remain for a five-year term will be held on April 30, the country's chief election commissioner said on Monday. Irshad Hassan Khan said that an order for this purpose has been issued. Nearly 70 million voters would cast their votes. The rioting should begin any time now...
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Scores of foreign students have reportedly left the hostels of local deeni madaris following reports that a hunt is being launched against the associates and sympathizers of Al Qaeda members rounded up on March 28. FBI personnel with the assistance of Pakistani agencies had rounded up over four dozen people during raids on the charge of having links with Al Qaeda. The arrest of another six 'important' Al Qaeda men from Muslim Town came to light on Saturday.
It was learnt during visits to the main religious madaris of the city on Sunday that over 50 per cent students from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Turkemenistan, Egypt, Tunis, Thailand, and other Arab countries have either shifted to rented houses and other places or returned to their respective countries during the last week. Now doesn't that come as a surprise? Wonder if they took their guns and rocket launchers with them?
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French President Jacques Chirac on Monday condemned a wave of attacks on Jewish synagogues and other sites in France, saying the French were not anti-Semitic. His comments, made during a combined interview with four Jewish stations, were followed just hours later by the discovery of an attempted arson attack on a Jewish student union office at Paris's Jussieu University. Three Molotov cocktails were found near the UEJF office, a university official said, adding there had been no fire. "There are undisputedly anti-Semitic acts that are unacceptable and totally contrary to the principles of our republic, and which, I repeat, must be condemned in the most severe and complete terms," Chirac said. "But that does not mean the French are anti-Semitic." It's... It's... It's those damned Eskimos. They come sneakin' into La Belle France and just beat all the Jews up and burn down all the synagogues. And Samoans. They do that, too.
In Chirac's case, he's actually correct, literally. These Arab immigrants are not French. To an extent not encompassed in US political thought, European nationality is bound up in the concept of citizenship. Your last commentary isn't satiric at all, its true, except for the ethnic groups you cite.
What is the measure of French culpability is how the French gendarmes allow such illegal acts to be perpetrated against the peace and dignity of the French Republic. Posted by Tom Roberts 4/9/2002 9:07:31 AM
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US Secretary of State Colin Powell has arrived in Morocco on the first leg of a Middle East tour to try to secure a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians. Mr Powell is due to hold talks with King Mohammed VI, and with Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia who is currently at his winter residence in the country. Mr Powell's trip comes as Israel continues to resist US pressure to withdraw from the Palestinian areas it has occupied. Take your time...
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Israeli officials estimated that more than 100 Palestinians have been killed in the Jenin camp. The armed men "seem to have decided to fight to the last, to make the battle as bloody as possible," said the Israeli commander in the area, Brig. Gen. Eyal Shline. He said many houses in the camp were booby-trapped and that several men with explosives strapped to their bodies have blown themselves up in suicide attacks. Before daybreak Monday, Israeli attack helicopters began firing missiles at the camp after militants ignored calls to surrender. Jamal Abdel Salam, a camp resident and activist in Hamas, said army bulldozers flattened homes, and that dozen of houses had already been destroyed. By early afternoon, Israeli forces controlled almost the entire camp, the army said. The Israeli military said about 150 men put down their weapons and emerged from the camp early Monday. Abdel Salam said only women, children and the elderly left the camp. The militants were staying put, ready to fight to the death, he said.
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In Nablus, the West Bank's largest city, smoke rose from the Old City, a densely populated maze of stone buildings and narrow streets. Army officials said troops controlled about half of the Old City, and that dozens of gunmen surrendered Monday. In one rubble-covered alley, gunmen were trying to pull a seriously wounded comrade to safety. One of the rescuers was shot in the leg and fell over the wounded man before both were carried away as helicopters fired from machine guns. The incident Sunday was witnessed by Associated Press Television News cameraman Nazeeh Darwazeh, who also saw two bodies lying in the streets, including that of Ahmed Tabouk, a notorious local vigilante feared by many in the Old City.
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Many armed Palestinians located in the Casba of Nablus are laying down their arms and surrendering themselves to IDF forces. IDF forces are continuing their searches and uncovering weaponry caches and laboratories for the production of explosives. These activities are aimed at dismantling the Palestinian terrorist infrastructure in the city.
Last evening, Palestinian terrorists fired shots and threw hand grenades from Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity compound at two IDF positions in Manger Square. The grenades, combined with the shots, caused fires in a number of buildings in the compound. The IDF assisted Palestinian firemen to eventually extinguish the flames. As a result of the Palestinian gunfire, two Israeli Border Policemen were wounded, one seriously and one moderately. While evacuating the wounded policemen from the area, Israeli forces returned fire, killing one of the terrorists. It should be emphasized that there was no deployment of tear gas against the terrorists holed up in the church, but rather only smoke grenades. These were used by IDF soldiers in order to facilitate the evacuation of the casualties, which was carried out under heavy fire.
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The United States has remained mum on whether Saudi Arabia finances the Palestinian suicide bombing campaign against Israel. The U.S. policy comes as Palestinian sources acknowledge that Saudi Arabia has provided money to the families of suicide bombers. They said charities from such Gulf Cooperation Council countries as Qatar and Saudi Arabia have relayed thousands of dollars for the survivors of so-called martyrs.
U.S. officials said the Bush administration has been careful to avoid any connection between the Saudi kingdom and the Palestinian campaign to send suicide bombers to Israel. They said the administration has established that Riyad is cooperating with efforts to block financing to those groups deemed as terrorists by the State Department. Saudi Arabia has provided the Palestinian Authority and Islamic groups about $500 million over the last 18 months, officials said. The officials said most of the money has gone to PA Chairman Yasser Arafat and the Hamas movement. "Oh, they're makin' a list
And checkin' it twice.
Gonna find out who's naughty and nice.
US Army's comin' to town..."
If it mattered, they'd make a deal of it. Since they're not, it doesn't. Since it doesn't, that means the plans are already in place, and maybe even under way.
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However, one should not disregard US President George W. Bush's request of Israel to leave Area A. We likely still have a diplomatic window of opportunity, but by my estimate, we are talking more about a period of days than weeks, as the chief of General Staff requested. Secretary of State Colin Powell's arrival in the region will undoubtedly increase the pressure on us to leave Area A. Thanks to Ken Layne for the link...
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Israeli troops are preparing to pull out of the West Bank towns of Qalqiliya and Tulkarem, military sources said Monday night. The plans to withdraw from the cities came two days after President Bush urged Israel to start pulling out of the West Bank without delay. Military sources, who asked not to be identified, told The Associated Press that troops were preparing for a staggered withdraw from the West Bank, beginning with Qalqiliya and Tulkarem. The sources did not say when the pullout would begin, but Israel Radio said it would start early Tuesday. The radio report, which did not identify its military sources, said that troops would continue to maintain a cordon around the cities. Knew that'd happen. It'll be a staged withdrawal, very orderly, and they're not gonna demob the reservists.
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As he headed off on his high-stakes Mideast peace mission, Secretary of State Colin Powell said he'll meet Yasser Arafat "if circumstances permit" - and avoided any tough criticism of Israeli military moves. Powell also for the first time criticized Saudi Arabia for giving money to families of Palestinian suicide bombers as he got ready for a mission on which he'll press Arab leaders to work harder for peace. "Any time you incentivize in any way this kind of activity, you are contributing to the activity," said Powell - who then added "yes" when asked if that includes the Saudis.
Powell said he hopes to get a cease-fire started but doesn't expect to come home with a peace treaty. "I'm not even sure I'll have a cease-fire in hand," he said. Powell said it would be "appropriate" to meet Arafat "if circumstances permit" but was deliberately fuzzy on whether that means Israeli permission or requires Arafat to first speak out against terror. I'm not in charge, but if I was, I'd say that if Yasser didn't speak out against terror - publicly and in Arabic - he could just move another day further into a lonely old age.
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Lebanese Hizbollah guerrillas attacked Israeli military positions in a disputed frontier area Monday, drawing Israeli artillery fire and air strikes on south Lebanese border towns, witnesses said. In Jerusalem, Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer's office said he spoke by telephone with Secretary of State Colin Powell and asked him to press Syria, the main powerbroker in Lebanon, to rein in Hizbollah. Brigadier-General Shuki Shichrur of Israel's northern command said at a Jerusalem news briefing "a small number" of Israeli reservists had been called up for service in the north and more would be mobilized if the situation deteriorated. The witnesses said the Syrian-backed guerrillas fired anti-tank missiles and mortar rounds at Israeli army posts in the Shebaa Farms, a disputed patch of land near the border between Lebanon, Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
The Israeli army said Hizbollah fire also hit the northern Golan Heights, wounding one person. Israel responded by shelling the fringes of the nearby Lebanese border town of Kfar Shouba as a column of black smoke rose from one Israeli position in the Shebaa Farms and Israeli jets pounded the edges of other towns with rockets. There were no immediate reports of injuries. Witnesses said at least one Israeli military vehicle was hit by Hizbollah rockets, but there was no independent confirmation of that.
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Egypt has taken into custody a leading member of an Islamic insurgency group. Diplomatic sources said Pakistan has extradited Mohammed Najeh to Egypt. Najeh, also known as Abu Masab Roiters, was identified as a leading intelligence agent of the Egyptian insurgency group Jihad and a deputy of Osama Bin Laden. Najeh was said to have been sent to Egypt from Pakistan last month. He was arrested after he crossed into Pakistan from Afghanistan amid the U.S.-led offensive against Al Qaida.
The sources said Najeh was one of two insurgents extradited by Pakistan to Egypt. Cairo has obtained more than 25 Egyptian fugitives since the suicide attacks on New York and Washington on Sept. 11. They include insurgents who found safe haven in such countries as Azerbaijan, Bosnia, Jordan and Syria. "For me? Wotta nice present! Really, you shouldn't have..."
The Egyptians, for all their wobbling on the international war against terror, do have the nice habit of hanging these guys when they got ahold of them. Keeps the recidivism rate way down, too.
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Pakistan's ISI has entrusted the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) with the task of reviving militancy in Punjab, an Indian intelligence report says. According to the ISI plan, the Lashkar will impart arms training to pro-Khalistani outfits like the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), the International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) and the Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF). The intelligence report says the Lashkar has opened at least eight camps in Pakistan to train the Khalistanis. These are at Kot Lakhpat, Chakwal, Gujranwala, Mianwali, Peshawar, Attock, Shahidan Da Banga and Gulbarg in Lahore. Intelligence reports say that the ISI plan to arm and train Khalsitanis was one reason why President Pervez Musharraf was reluctant to hand over to India the five Khalistani terrorists living in Pakistan. India had named them in its list of wanted terrorists and criminals.
Interrogation of Sikh militants arrested in India over the last year suggest that the ISI's plan was set in motion last year. The report says nearly 200 Sikh youths were recruited in the first half of 2001.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
04/08/2002 ||
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Top|| File under: Lashkar e-Taiba
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.
