Majlis Speaker Mehdi Karrubi Sunday announced that the deputies have withdrawn a bill to impeach Minister of Science, Research and Technology Mostafa Moin. Karrubi, speaking before the open session, said he had asked the deputies to cancel the bill, even though Moin had already said he was ready to answer the questions by parliamentarians. Some 20 deputies from the Majlis minority faction last week a bill to the Presiding Board of the Majlis to impeach Moin reportedly for his failure to stop the recent student unrest in the country. The deputies had cited the biased policies of science ministry officials toward the death sentence of academic Hashem Aghajari, and their provoking of students to stage rallies to protest the sentence as the main reasons for which they are going to impeach Moin. Members of the Science, Research and Technology ministry not believing in blind obedience to God's Annointed? Unheard of! Why, next thing you know they'll believe in myths like cause and effect...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/08/2002 09:33 am ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
Massoud Barzani, the head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in northern Iraq, in a meeting with Parliament Speaker Mehdi Karrubi Sunday, discussed the latest developments in Iraq. According to cultural department and public relations of the Majlis (Parliament), Karroubi stressed the importance of unity, dependence and territorial integrity of Iraq. The Iranian speaker called for unity among combatants of Iraq to this effect. That means no Kurdish state. The opinion seems to be unanimous, except maybe for the Kurds...
Barzani, heading a political delegation of the KDP party, arrived in Tehran early Sunday to discuss Iraq's future with Iranian officials as well as ranking officials of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI). That's the organization I'm hoping isn't an Iraqi Hezbollah...
The visit takes place right on the heels of Barzani's recent visit to Kuwait where he met with the head of SCIRI, Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim. The two stressed on the ouster of Saddam Hussein and election of a new leader accepted by all Iraqi groups. Political pundits have not ruled out rival Kurdish leader and the head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Jalal Talabani's visit to Iran in the forthcoming days. The two leaders are expected to participate at a December 13-15 meeting in London where 300 delegates of the six Iraqi opposition groups will convene to hammer out a power-sharing government to replace Saddam Hussein. They've had years to do that. If they'd done it five years ago, would could have just recognized them as the legit government of Iraq and acted to "assist" them in taking power.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/08/2002 09:33 am ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Call me simple, but I can't quite understand why they don't want a Kurdish state so much. Wouldn't be easier just to create one and then whenever the Kurds start agitating say, "Well, you've GOT a state. Don't like it here? Go there."
#2
Tripartite, the problem is that "Kurdistan" proper includes a big chunk of Turkey, plus small pieces of Syria, Iran and (??) a small piece of Armenia. The fear is that if you give the Kurds an independent state in northern Iraq, and Kurds in these other places will agitate, maybe agitate violently, to be included. Just mentioning an independent Kurdistan causes the Turks to hyperventilate, and as soon as the Turks pull their faces out of the paper bag they quit helping us. So the Kurds in northern Iraq have to agree to some sort of federated Iraq and renounce all intentions for an indepdent state. If they don't, the US just withdraws the no-fly zone in the north, and bad things start to happen.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/08/2002 16:02 Comments ||
Top||
Majlis Speaker Mehdi Karrubi Sunday warned that "the enemy, notably the US, could exploit student protests", which took a hot-blooded turn at the Tehran University campus on Saturday. "Our sermons, slogans and words may lead to disunity and discord and the enemy, notably America, which has been anti-student ... could exploit this situation," Karrubi said at the open session of the Majlis. "Nope. Certainly wouldn't want that, would we? So kindly return to your cells... uh... dormitories and resume your indoctrination. Morning prayers will be held as usual..."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/08/2002 09:33 am ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
Iranian police stormed a crowd outside the gates of Tehran University Saturday afternoon and arrested around a dozen people, an AFP correspondent said, after students demonstrating inside called for the resignation of the country's chief of judiciary. Several hundred people had begun to gather in Enqelab (Revolution) Avenue outside the campus where police had lined up a barrier of buses to block the view of the student demonstration inside. "If they can't see it, it didn't happen, right?"
Among the estimated 3,000 students, who had been banned from demonstrating outside the precincts of the university, some demonstrators hurled rocks at the buses, breaking some of their windows. They also called out to those outside to join them, prompting the moustachioed police to move in with truncheons to break them up. "Yar! We'll see what yer opinion is when ye'r missin' a few teeth, sonny!"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/08/2002 09:33 am ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
Renewed student protests in Iran on Saturday, the first in over two weeks, have shown that university activists are still determined to make their voices heard despite tough restrictions, analysts said. Impatient for reforms, activists seized the opportunity of National Student Day to renew demands for political change, posing a dilemma for authorities who since November 20 have signalled their wish to keep a lid on demonstrations.
Iran's government had little choice but to let the protests go ahead — but only inside campuses — given that the day marks the killing of three students protesting a 1953 visit by then-US vice president Richard Nixon during the late shah's reign. Student Day on November 7 is normally a symbol of the revolutionary struggle against Iran's monarchy and arch-enemy the United States.
On Saturday, thousands of students were out to mark the occasion, but with more contemporary concerns on their minds and an effort to keep up the momentum built up through protests in November. Those demonstrations, the largest since violent clashes in July 1999, were sparked by the sentencing to death for blasphemy of pro-reform academic Hashem Aghajari by a hardline judge. And just like last month, Saturday's gathering of more than 5,000 was carrying wider demands than just the release of Aghajari, whose sentence is now to be reviewed on order of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The theme was the freeing of all political prisoners, calls for the Islamic republic's judicial chief to resign and demands for a referendum on the country's political future.
Political boundaries were also pushed with some students even chanting slogans against Khamenei. Others targetted President Mohammad Khatami, accused of failing to face up to religious hardliners.
Observers agree that the students at Tehran university, traditionally a hotbed of dissent, were getting bolder. "A few years ago, people were too scared to take to the street. That is no longer the case today, even if they don't have permission," said analyst Said Leylaz. "It's an indication of the discontent." There's probably something to be said for the best cure for Islamism being to let them have what they're wishing for. The only problem with that is the number of innocent casualties along the way to eventually throwing the mullahs out.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/08/2002 09:33 am ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
Iran has launched an effort to bolster the military's loyalty to the ruling Islamic clergy. Officials said the Defense Ministry has bolstered Islamic indocrination among officers and troops to ensure their loyalty. They said the campaign was ordered amid rising unrest in Iran and a steady flow of leaks of military and strategic information to the West. Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei has instructed the military to increase courses in what he termed faith as well as religious and political insight. Khamenei was quoted by the official Iranian news agency IRNA as saying this was vital for the military to "defend Iran and the revolution." He's making the assumption the two are one and the same, of course. The Sovs used to treat the Party and the State as the same thing, too...
Khamenei met last week with officials in charge of indocrination at the military and Defense Ministry. The two bodies have established ideological departments to bolster loyalty and the influence of the clergy in the military and defense establishment. Yep. The Sovs used to have political officers, too...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/08/2002 09:39 am ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Ayatollah: How do we increase the effectiveness of the military?
Abdul the Rat: We indoctrinate them with Islamic teachings?
Ayatollah: Very good...And how do we quell the student rebellion?
Abdul: ...We indoctrinate them with Islamic teachings?
Ayatollah: Excellent, Abdul!
Posted by: Brian ||
12/08/2002 16:13 Comments ||
Top||
It doesn't involve combat troops because it's a command post exercise, or more likely a communications exercise...
Britain, Qatar and the United States launch an unprecedented exercise next week meant to test the effectiveness of a forward-deployed command station in the Persian Gulf that would maintain seamless connectivity with the headquarters of U.S. Central Command. To commanders and their staffs, this sort of exercise can be indistinguishable from the real thing. They get to compile and issue the orders to deploy troops, coordinate their operations, supply them, relieve them in place or withdraw them, suffer casualties, and have all sorts of things go wrong.
U.S. officials said this is the first time that the command will conduct its week-long Internal Look exercise in the Gulf region. Previous exercises â meant to simulate battle scenarios directed by a deployable command headquarters â were held in the United States in 1990, 1996 and 2000. The main difference between this one and those is that they're on site now. The map sets they're using will be the same, the comms gear will be the same...
Internal Look will begin on Monday in Qatar's Al Sayliyah base and will be comprised of 1,000 U.S. military personnel led by Central Command chief Gen. Tommy Franks. They will represent the air, naval, marine and special operation elements of Central Command in what was termed as a non-combat exercise. The exercise will include a range of scenarios that deal with any war against Iraq, officials said. They'll probably run one or two field training exercises, which is the same thing but with a limited number of troops, before running the actual operation. This is practice, hopefully making perfect...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/08/2002 09:54 am ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Of course in the newspaper business you would never expect the editor and publisher to know what their jobs are and the best way to communicate with each other how to handle the news on any given day or what the editorial policy should be or how to deal with stories or ledes raised by the reporters in the field. Why should a journalist think any different about the military?
Posted by: Jack ||
12/09/2002 9:52 Comments ||
Top||
Syria is said to be sending engineers and scientists for training in missiles and weapons of mass destruction to such countries as Iran and North Korea. Western intelligence sources said North Korea could be training Syria in nuclear weapons development. The sources said Pyongyang's acknowledgement of nuclear weapons could mark the start of its export of nuclear weapons expertise. "We know that North Korea has offered Syria expertise and training in nuclear weapons development," an intelligence source said. "At this point, we don't know of any firm deal." Betcha we find out, though...
On Oct. 16, North Korea and Syria signed a scientific and technological cooperation agreement that the sources said could be a cover for a nuclear weapons program. A Syrian government statement said the accord included cooperation in the fields of engineering, genetic engineering, energy, biology, solar energy and "other areas to be agreed on between the two sides." Syria seems to be working diligently to maintain its position as a member of the Axis of Just as Evil.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/08/2002 09:57 am ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Show me any evidence of NKor development in "the fields of engineering, genetic engineering, energy, biology, solar energy and other areas to be agreed on between the two sides." that don't involve missles or weapons of some sort. If there was any, the peons would be a little better off.
Posted by: Bob ||
12/08/2002 13:54 Comments ||
Top||
Kuwait accused Iraqi President Saddam Hussein on Saturday of trying to divide the oil-rich emirate by apologising to the Kuwaiti people for his 1990 invasion while lashing out at the nation's leadership. Information Minister Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah told the state's Kuna news agency: 'The message is an unveiled attempt to create a rift in the united ranks of the Kuwaiti people and leadership. Sheikh Ahmad added: 'Instead of deliberately ignoring the strong bonds tying the Kuwaiti leadership and people, Saddam Hussein should confirm his peaceful intentions in words and deeds by implementing all United Nations Security Council resolutions pertaining to the invasion of Kuwait.' He said the Iraqi leader also sought to 'encourage acts of terrorism which the whole world deplores', referring to Saddam's praise of Kuwaiti militants who recently attacked US troops stationed in the emirate. Yeah, that was kind of my interpretation, too, once I'd picked my way through the verbiage. An "unveiled attempt" is a pretty accurate description. Sammy never has been good at subtle...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/08/2002 01:13 pm ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
A sign of weakness,not strength.Sammy's getting very desperate if he thinks he can sweet-talk the Kuwaitis onto his side.Note to Bush:Faster,please.And don't stop till you reach Tehran.
Posted by: El Id ||
12/08/2002 21:44 Comments ||
Top||
Georgian special forces killed four and wounded one guerrilla during a Friday evening operation near the Pankisi gorge, an area reputed to be a shelter for Chechen rebels. One special forces member was seriously wounded during the operation, Security Minister Valery Khaburdzania told reporters on Saturday. He said that the guerrillas had taken a hostage and were trying to the cross the border into Russia. They were members of the Karachai ethnic group of the North Caucasus. He also said the guerrillas might have been involved in the kidnapping of British businessman Peter Shaw, who was released after being held captive in the gorge for four months.
FOLLOWUP:
Two of five militants who were killed near the Pankisi Gorge were wanted for organizing explosions of apartment buildings in Moscow, Georgian State Security Ministry spokesman Nika Laliashvili said. "Georgian special services monitored this group for a long time and certain actions were taken the day before in order to provoke their relocation. An ambush was set up for them in a deserted area. The militants were ordered to put down their arms and surrender. They opened fire on the servicemen and wounded one of them," Laliashvili pointed out. Rebels Tagir Bezhiyev, Timur Matchayev and Rashid Khubiyev committed suicide, he said. The other two militants were probably Georgian citizens who were to help the group cross the border, he said. It's good when they commit suicide. Saves having to shoot them or hang them...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/08/2002 01:08 pm ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
"I hereby confirm what has been issued by Al-Qaida political office regarding our responsibility for the Mombasa attacks in Kenya," an Al-Qaida spokesman said today on Qatar's Al-Jazeera television. The spokesman, Suleiman Abu Ghaith, as quoted by the Reuters news agency, was the first Al-Qaida official to claim responsibility for the twin attacks on Israeli targets in Mombasa on November 28, including a hotel bombing in which 13 people were killed. The other attack was an abortive missile strike on an Israeli Arkia jet as it took off from Mombasa on that same morning. Israeli and Kenyan authorities have pointed a finger at Al-Qaida, but the statement on Al-Jazeera was the first time the group was admitting to responsibility for these attacks. Kind of enhances the reliability index of Mojahedoon.net. Guess that's why it's defunct. We haven't heard much from Sully since he told us to fasten our seatbelts, back in July...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/08/2002 10:06 am ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
That website was in business four days ago, with Binny on the homepage, amid a lot of burning buildings and pictures of hand-helds and '47s. I guess we are mojahedoomed.
Lebanese and Syrian authorities are investigating an explosion that destroyed a mosque in the Bekaa Valley. Officials said 50 kilograms of TNT exploded in the 800-year-old Al Azeer mosque in the first such attack in years. They said the bombing in the town of Majdal Anjar appeared to connected to a land dispute between local Muslims and Armenians. Nobody was hurt in blast. Musta been them Armenians. A mean lot, Armenians. Y'can't trust 'em...
Muslim clerics convened on Wednesday, the night after the explosion, and termed it a provocative and unprecedented attack. They called on authorities to arrest those responsible and suggested that those behind the attack have been identified. "The goal of the attack was to threaten the political, security and social unity of Lebanon," Sheik Khalil Miss, the chief cleric of the Bekaa area, said. "So let's get started with the riots!"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/08/2002 09:42 am ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Must be pissed, getting boomed the way they boom others...
#3
50 kg of tri-nitro? Jeeze, the mosque musta popped like a wet paper bag. Them Armenians need to learn - it should only take around 5 kg, properly placed. Waste not, want not...
Palestinian police detained three men Sunday for questioning about the killing of a 12-year-old boy and his father last week in Gaza in a clash between opposing Palestinian groups. Palestinian police officials said they planned to question more witnesses in connection with Wednesday's shooting. According to witnesses, clashes erupted in Sheikh Radwan in Gaza City as Hamas and Fatah supporters gathered to write graffiti about the upcoming Eid el-Fitr festival, which signals the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Okay, we got two bunches of Paleostinians, out doing their civic duty by defacing whatever buildings they have left. What happened next?
Allam Jabin, 12, and his father, Issam Jabin, a policeman and a Fatah member, were killed in the gunfire, hospital officials said. Mohammed Ahmed, a Hamas supporter, is being treated in a Gaza hospital for shrapnel wounds from a homemade hand grenade. Police said it was still not clear who fired the shots. Witnesses said both were unarmed and that Issam Jabin was trying to break up the fighting. That's probably the surest way to get yourself bumped off in Paleostine...
Witnesses said a crowd of about 2,000 Fatah supporters, some of them armed, gathered in the streets following the clash. Some marched past the house of Ismail Abu Shanab, a prominent Hamas leader, firing shots in the air and at the house, according to witnesses. Abu Shanab was not home at the time. Shanab is a "prominent" leader because he's one of the Hamas politburo. He probably wasn't hope because he beat it when he heard the mob coming. Politburo members are too important to the Armed Struggle™ to actually get shot up...
A group of masked Fatah supporters also hurled hand grenades at the offices of the Islamic block of the Palestinian Journalist Union after swamping it with fuel, according to Mustafa Sawaf, the office's director. Couldn't find any Jews, so they torched each other. I love pure reason!
The latest internal flare-up threatens to undermine recent talks between Hamas and Fatah on ending the wave of suicide bombings against Israel. The talks which ended at the start of Ramadan are set to resume soon in Cairo. Not that they need undermined, mind you...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/08/2002 10:15 am ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
An unknown Lebanese group has claimed responsibility for planting the mine that seriously wounded two IDF soldiers on the Lebanese border on Sunday, Israel Radio reported. The group, calling itself the Ramsi Nahara organization, in a phone call to the French News Agency said they had planted the mine. Ramsi Nahara and another man Ali Issa were killed Friday when a car they were traveling in exploded. Lebanese Authorities said the Nahara was a known drug dealer who was also a double agent working for both Israel and the Hizbullah. Some in Lebanon have accused Israel of killing the two. "It was just business, Mike..."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/08/2002 10:18 am ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
The security establishment believes that activists from Al-Qaida in Lebanon are running Palestinian terrorists based in Gaza, sending them directives for their actions. Last week Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon said Al-Qaida is trying to send terrorists to Israel and the territories. They apparently were referring to information about Al-Qaida operatives in Lebanon, refugees from the American assault on Afghanistan who are working with Hezbollah to send directives for operations to terrorists in Gaza. News about this popped out back in January, when a Yemeni named Salah Hajir showed up in Lebanon to coordinate with Usbat al-Ansar, in Ain el-Hilweh.
Military Intelligence believes that despite the American operations in Afghanistan, Al-Qaida operatives are still active there and are involved in trying to establish terrorist cells in the territories. Actually, it's world-wide, but I guess that would include the territories. I don't think the actual brains are still in Afghanistan, though. They moved to Karachi and now seem to have moved on, probably to either Yemen or Bangladesh. There was a rumor on FoxNews that Ayman was in Bangla for the exploding theaters a day or two ago.
Their main route is through Lebanon. Directives to a Lebanese cell of Muslim extremists who tried to blow up the Allenby Bridge and to attack Christian pilgrims on the Millennium eve, also reached them through Lebanon, and with help from the Hezbollah. Hezbollah's very helpful in these matters. I don't think it's a formal alliance, though — just traveling in the same direction...
Over the weekend both the Hezbollah and the Palestinian Authority's Preventive Security apparatus issued denials of Sharon's and Ya'alon's charges and claimed there is no Al-Qaida connection to Hezbollah or to Gazans. But the defense establishment believes that both the Hezbollah and the PA were quick to disassociate themselves from any identification with Osama bin Laden, lest it spark a vehement American reaction. They still remember the daisy cutters. Remember Yasser's expression in the immediate aftermath of 9-11? He could see the end of terrorism staring him in the face, and himself with it...
Meanwhile, sentencing will be handed down soon in the case of Nabil Ukal, arrested two and a half years ago at the Rafah border crossing, on his way to a bin Laden training base in Afghanistan. Ukal, a Jabalya refugee camp resident, is on trial at the military tribunal at the Erez junction. He admitted to most of the charges against him, as part of a plea bargain. This isn't a hard indication of Qaeda involvement with the Paleoterrorists. The arrest was two and a half years ago, and the bin Laden boyz were recruiting Paleos just as readily as they were recruiting Yemenis, Uzbeks or Libyans. Abu Zubaydah's a Paleostinian, too...
After he was arrested, the Shin Bet described Ukal as bin Laden's emissary to the territories to establish an Al-Qaida network. The corrected charge sheet, however, accuses Ukal of undergoing weapons and sabotage training outside the territories, contacts with a hostile organization and conspiracy to commit a crime. The indictment does not mention the kinds of plotting the Shin Bet ascribed to him when he was arrested, but does detail Ukal's activities in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The fact that they were taken off the charge sheet doesn't mean they didn't happen — only that they could get a good enough sentence without them. Willie Sutton used to rob banks because that's where the money was; al-Qaeda would want to open a branch office in Paleostine because that's where the crazed killers are — and the Zionist targets.
According to the charges, Ukal first went to Pakistan in October 1997, first to undergo training in a base run by Al Ansar, an extremist Islamic group in Kashmir. That would be Harkat ul-Ansar. It's since been superceded by Harakat ul-Mujahedeen. It's leader, Fazlur Rehman Khalil, was a signatory of Binny's declaration of war. Khalil set off for Afghanistan last November to kill infidels, survived the experience — unlike most of those who went with him — and was last seen ducking out the back door last January as the coppers were banging on his front door.
From there he was sent by a Palestinian clergyman to Kabul, where Ukal met with a man dubbed only Abu Hamza, described as a bin Laden assistant. They went through a month-long training course in bomb-making and missiles at a bin Laden camp in Jalalabad. He was in touch with activists linked to the World Jihad in the U.S., Britain and Pakistan, receiving instructions from them on how to establish an independent terror network in the Gaza Strip on his return. Abu Hamza's a pretty common name. The first one that pops to mind is Abu Hamza al-Masri, but it's probably not him. He's the Finsbury Mosque mullah, wanted in Yemen on terrorism charges. A Jaish e-Mohammad statement, threatening dire revenge against India back in January was signed by an Abu Hamza, so it could be him.
Back in Gaza in July 1998, he met with Hamas leader Sheikh Yassin, reporting to him on the overseas training. Ukal began establishing his network, helped with $10,000 from Yassin. The infrastructure, which operated secretly. was not connected with the Hamas military wing. Yassin also helped pay for a planned trip by Ukal and other activists to Pakistan, but Ukal was arrested by the Shin Bet before he could leave the country. Shin Bet's got a good operation going there. I often wonder why they don't just kill Sheikh Yassin, but I guess they can just build their Who's Who in Terrorland list by watching his movements. It's interesting that Yassin was willing to fund a worth cause that wasn't under his control, too. Gotta think about that one...
Security sources said in the past they do not believe Yassin knew that Ukal was also working for bin Laden, even though he did know in general about the training. Ukal also admitted, as part of the plea bargain, that he planned to bomb Israeli markets and kidnap a soldier. He also tried recruiting two Israeli Arab members of the Islamic Movement in Israel, planning to send them overseas for terrorist training. Prior to 9-11, even Sheikh Yassin probably didn't tag the al-Qaeda operation with the importance it's assumed since. He probably just saw it as a way to get some good field training for the local thugs at a cut-rate price.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/08/2002 10:21 pm ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
One of the three victims who died at a McDonaldâs outlet on the groundfloor of the Ratu Indah shopping mall could have been the one who planted the bomb, police sources said on Sunday. Two of the victims had already been identified, but the third one was beyond identification because his face was completely destroyed by the blast. The fact that his face and his hands were all destroyed indicated that he might have been the one who planted the bomb. They declined to say whether this was a suicide bombing or an accident pending more investigation. The only clue the police have to date was that the victim was male in his late 30s. Police have already drawn up a sketch, or artist impression, of what the victimâs face looked like. How're they doing that, if he didn't have one? Sounds like he connected the black wire where the white wire's supposed to go, and then when he went to connect the white wire where the black wire's supposed to go it was all over...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/08/2002 10:24 am ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
Police picked up the wives of a leading member of the Laskar Jundullah, a radical Islamic group, on Saturday night as part of their investigation into Thursdayâs deadly bombings in Makassar, including the one at a McDonaldâs outlet. South Sulawesi Police Chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani said on Sunday the two women, Panca Budi and Ety Suharti, were picked up at their residence, in Makassar and in nearby Barru respectively. âWe brought them in for questioning about Agung Hamid, who is wanted for questioning in connection with Thursdayâs bomb attacks,â Firman said. The two women were being questioned in separate locations: Panca at the Makassar Police Headquarters and Ety at the South Sulawesi Police Headquarters. The organization's a new one on me, but it seems like every time three turbans get together in Indonesia they form a laskar of some sort...
Laskar Jundullah is the task force of the Committee for the Establishment of the Syariat in Indonesia (KPSI), a Makassar-based organization with ambitions to establish the Islamic laws. Firman had insisted that the police were not targeting at the Laskar Jundullah or its parent organization KPSI. The investigation are targeted at individuals who may have been involved in the bomb attacks, he said. âAll the arrests will be done according the the Criminal Code Procedures,â he said. No, no! Wouldn't want to offend the religious fanatix among us!
Besides Agung Hamid, police are also looking for Abdul Haris of the Islamic Youth Front (FPI) for questioning about the bomb attacks. On Friday night and Saturday morning, police raided the homes of at least eight activists of Laskar Jundullah. Firman said that as far as the police were concerned KPSI was not involved in the bomb attacks. But some individuals connected to the group might be. "We hope KPSI would cooperate in giving assistance to our investigation,â he said. Blowing up people while they're having lunch certainly sounds like something an Islamic Youth Front might do...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/08/2002 10:33 am ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Laskar Jundullah was active in the fighting in Muluku province, but it was a lot smaller than Laskar Jihad. Omar al-Farouq helped set it up, and I believe it's Indonesian leader was arrested a while ago after being caught with explosives.
Posted by: Paul ||
12/08/2002 19:28 Comments ||
Top||
#2
That's the corollary to the rule: three turbans get together, they form a laskar, and some Arab buys the guns for them.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/08/2002 19:33 Comments ||
Top||
KOTA KINABALU, Dec 8 (Bernama) -- The multi-agency security operation in the east coast of Sabah has been put on high alert following a report from the southern Philippines that at least 10 members of the Abu Sayyaf have fled their hideout by speedboat and are heading for Sabah.
Fifth Infantry Brigade Commander Brig-Jen Datuk Muhamad Yasin Yahya said today that the security forces had been stopping every boat crossing the country's maritime border.
"We are checking every boat but from the report we have received so far, there ware no indications that members of the group have slipped into our waters...we are monitoring the situation closely," he said when contacted here.
The report from Zamboanga claimed that the 10 had sneaked out of Patikul town on Jolo island in recent days to flee a military offensive on the island, which is a stronghold of an armed group that staged the hostage-taking incident on Sipadan and Pandanan islands in April and September 2000 respectively.
The report claimed that some of the Sipadan hostage-takers were also in the group that fled Jolo.
Following the two kidnapping, the security forces launched "Ops Pasir", an integrated security operation led by the military, in October 2000 to secure the waters from Kudat in the north right down to Semporna in the state's southeast.
It mainly involved the deployment of troops and logistics to previously unguarded remote islands.
Muhamad Yasin said: "We are on alert...the navy, the police, the army have stepped up patrols in the area."
#1
These guys beat it yesterday, in a speedboat - the implication is that they were traveling fast. They haven't been caught yet, so that means the Malays probably missed them.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/08/2002 19:31 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Darn near impossible to find them - its over 200kms between Jolo and Tambisan in Sabah - with dozens of little islands and reef-areas to hine out. The Sibutu Passage is a major pirate area and these guys could just mingle in there.
Posted by: Jack ||
12/09/2002 10:02 Comments ||
Top||
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.
Renewed student protests in Iran on Saturday, the first in over two weeks, have shown that university activists are still determined to make their voices heard despite tough restrictions, analysts said. Impatient for reforms, activists seized the opportunity of National Student Day to renew demands for political change, posing a dilemma for authorities who since November 20 have signalled their wish to keep a lid on demonstrations.
