JALALABAD: A former Taliban official died and three Afghans were injured when US special forces raided the officialâs home in eastern Afghanistan, said Fazal Akbar, governor of Kunar province.
Damn. Another one. He looks like a fish with a turban...
He added no US casualties were reported in the clash that took place in Watapur Karmon village on Saturday night. The US forces went to the home of Niamat Ullah, a former district official of the Taliban regime, to arrest him for allegedly rebelling against American troops and the local government.
"Yer under arrest, Niamat! Come out with yer hands up! And yer neighbors, too!"
"You'll never take us alive, infidel!"
The official and his neighbors resisted, opening fire on the US troops, and two Afghan women and one man were injured in the resulting gun battle.
"Niamat! You just shot Fatimah!"
"Wudn't me. It was them infidels!"
Niamat Ullah jumped into a nearby river, and his body was found downstream. It was not clear if he had been shot or drowned.
"He was right, Herb. We didn't take him alive."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/26/2003 01:04 pm ||
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Afghan authorities on Monday confirmed the arrest of a senior Taliban commander who was allegedly planning terror attacks in the south of the country. Mullah Janan was arrested in the southern city of Kandahar on Saturday. Janan was taken into custody with four other men accused of plotting to explode a bomb in a populated part of Kandahar near a government facility. On Sunday, Foreign Minister Abdullah described Janan as "one of the notorious links of Al Qaeda among the Taliban." Janan served as a Taliban commander in the northern provinces of Badghis and Faryab. Before that, he also was a commander loyal to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/26/2003 11:32 am ||
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JEDDAH â The security forces have foiled an attempt to smuggle 60 kilos of TNT, Al-Watan newspaper reported yesterday. The Arabic daily said road patrols in Madinah arrested a Yemeni who tried to smuggle the explosives, which were concealed in detergent cartons into the city. The man justified his possession of the explosives by saying he used them for legitimate excavation work, the paper said.
That's some really dirty underwear he's got there...
In another development, police in Tathleeth in the southern Asir region foiled another attempt to smuggle 50,000 pieces of ammunition in a car. Security officers are investigating the driver of the car for allegedly trying to smuggle the ammunition into the Kingdom, Al-Watan said.
What's to investigate? 50,000 rounds of ammunition? Find out who he's linked to, then cut his head off...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/26/2003 12:20 pm ||
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The United States is considering positioning combat troops and aircraft in Australia as part of an effort to intensify the war on terrorism in Southeast Asia, Australian defense officials were quoted by local press reports as saying. The reasons, they said, are political instability in Indonesia, to Australia's immediate north, and the rise of Islamic fundamentalist groups there, including Jemaah Islamiyah. Defense sources told the newspaper Australian last week that Washington had approached Canberra with plans that included the deployment of F-16 fighters and positioning up to 5,000 Marines at an Australian army base. If the plans were implemented, it would be the first time since World War II that U.S. troops in large numbers were deployed in Australia.
The Australian reported further that Deputy Defense Secretary Shane Carmody had told a parliamentary hearing on maritime strategy in Canberra that the provision of facilities for U.S. troops in Australia had been suggested. But an aide to Defense Minister Robert Hill told The Washington Times that "nobody at the U.S. political level has said they would like any access to Australian bases they don't already have." The aide could not confirm whether discussions about such a possibility were taking place at the departmental level. At present, U.S. military presence in the country is most prominent at the joint-intelligence facility at Pine Gap, the largest and most important U.S. satellite ground station outside the United States. It was used during both Persian Gulf wars to help direct U.S. missiles to their targets but does not include any American combat troops. "It will be a very brave government that decides to host large numbers of U.S. combat troops in this country," said John Walker, a lecturer in politics at the University of New South Wales. He said many Australians have begun seeing Prime Minister John Howard as a puppet of the Bush administration after he supplied troops during the war with Iraq without the explicit backing of the United Nations. Many Aussies also see John Howard as a brave man of his word.
In the pubs of Sydney, Mr. Howard has gone down a few notches from being "honest Johnny Howard" to being referred to as "Little Johnny Howard." Traders here are also worried when they see business opportunities in postwar Iraq being grabbed by the Americans, says Mr. Walker. "People here are alert to the broader relationship, especially trade. We were one of the main exporters of wheat to Iraq, but now the U.S. is in control of that. It's these sort of things that can sour the mood," he said. Some diplomats and analysts believe that while a U.S. presence in the region would be a stabilizing factor and a deterrent against the hegemony of China, a broadening of the presence would cause suspicion. "If the plan becomes policy, then of course we will take it up with the Australian government and the Americans, and ask for clarification on what exactly is being planned," said a spokesman for the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra. Making the Indonesians nervous would be sufficient reason to do this. Feeling surrounded yet, boys? Ask the mullets in Iran about that.
Analysts said it has always been Australia's wish to have the United States more interested in the country's north. "We would look to the U.S. if we went into any big confrontation in the region," said Wayne Reynolds, associate professor at the University of Newcastle. But he said U.S. troops on the ground should be a last resort. "The U.S. should provide logistical support, technological support, but military muscle should be provided by Australia itself," he said. Sure hope the Aussies know that we'd be there for them.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/26/2003 12:50 am ||
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Steve,
While most Aussies (and hopefully many Americans) would expect the US to be there in a crisis when we might need them - experience in East Timor didn't run that way. It was a different US Administration that looked at the Indonesians committing slaughter in Australia's nearest neighbour and announced that they felt like "we are being asked to tidy up my teenage daughter's bedroom". The US declined to provide material assistance.
We are realistic enough to realize that, while it helps to have good friends, when it comes down to it you may not be able to count on anybody. The current administration is unlikely to let us down, but you are bound to have another Carter or Clinton eventually.
Posted by: Russell ||
05/26/2003 3:13 Comments ||
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You know it ticks me off to no end? IT is when I read an Aussie official/prof state that "if the fight was a big one...of course we would expect the US to help" come on...we are trying to prevent a "big fight" by taking out the cowardly terrorists in southeast Asia...then the popular masses calling Howard a puppet? Go have another beer mate...you don't that you don't know! What fools! Yeah, we want to take over Australia, what a joke...any way I do think of the Aussies as friends of the US...Russell that fear you have of another Carter or Clinton coming into power is shared by me...on many levels...God bless!
Brien
#3
In the pubs of Sydney, Mr. Howard has gone down a few notches from being "honest Johnny Howard" to being referred to as "Little Johnny Howard."
Yeah, but that's been going on for at least four years. The newspapers (i.e. the Sydney Morning Herald) have been calling him that since before I went to Australia. Asking an Australian academic for his opinion on world affairs will always net you a result like the one shown. The rot is pervasive.
It would be very foolish to put any number of American troops in Australia. Right now, people making their way illegally to Australia are detained in camps in the desert until it can be determined that their status as asylum-seekers is legitimate. Advocates for the "hopeless" and "desperate" gather around them, trying to tear down the fences so the occupants can be free to flee into the wilderness and die.
There's a single atomic reactor in Australia, in Sydney. A while back Greenpeace invaded the place, hanging a big banner and generally making a nuisance of themselves. In neither case is the government (in my opinion) terribly serious about defending the facilities.
That's the sort of thing any American troops would have to contend with in Australia.
Condoleezza Rice was quoted in a German magazine Sunday saying the Bush administration was trying to patch up strained relations with Germany but would continue to ostracize Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Maude, there's a guy named Schroeder on line one.
Focus magazine reported President Bush's national security adviser told a German visitor recently that relations between Bush and Schroeder were ruined because of the German leader's outspoken opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq. The piano player?
"We're now doing everything we can to improve relations to Germany at all levels," the unnamed German visitor quoted Rice as saying. "But we're going to work around the chancellor. It's better to leave him out." That's a cartoon character, ya nitwit. This guy says he's Chancellor of Germany.
"The Bush-Schroeder relationship will never be what it was and what it should be," Rice was quoted as saying in Focus. Haven't got time to talk now. Tell him I'll call him from one of our new bases in the Balkans. What did you say his name was again?
Posted by: Christopher Johnson ||
05/26/2003 11:30 pm ||
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BRUSSELS -- The proposed EU constitution, unveiled Monday and to be considered by EU leaders next month, calls for an elected president and the post of foreign minister to represent the union internationally, and a binding bill of rights. the binding part is what will be the worst part
The document, drawn up by a 105-member committee led by former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing, calls for the European Union's six-month rotating presidency to be replaced by an EU president, elected from the current batch of heads of state for two and a half years. He also favors creating the post of EU foreign minister to represent the bloc on the world stage So if Chiraq can get the presidency, he can put off the bribery charges for another 2 and 1/2 yrs
Perhaps as important, at least to the British, was that the document does not use the term "federal" and the European Union will not be renamed "United Europe" of the "United States of Europe." ? United Weasels was also out of the question?
Welsh Secretary Peter Hain, who represents Britain on the 105-member convention, said the draft text showed London had made "good progress" in influencing the proposals. "We are burying once and for all the fantasies of a Brussels super-state. Europe will remain a union of sovereign nation states with governments such as Britain's in charge," he said.
"See? Nothin's changed!"
However, the opposition Conservative Party — which wants a referendum on any future EU constitution — said the draft constitution was still "unacceptable" and would "sign away crucial areas of national competence" to Brussels.
"It'll make Britain indistinguishable from Bavaria and Catalonia, both of which will look like Nantes. Eventually, we'll all be transformed into Bucharest, circa 1982..."
Giscard d'Estaing's blueprint, which will be debated by convention members Friday and Saturday, aims to define 'who does what?' in a Union that is set to almost double in size over the next four years. Giscard d'Estaing's power-sharing proposals have gone down well with larger member states, such as Britain, France, Italy and Spain, but are fiercely opposed by smaller states, the European Commission and the European Parliament.
"It's taken us all this time to get Bucharest to look like this, and you want us to go back to the way it was? You outta your minds?"
More popular among delegates to the Brussels-based body, which has been compared to the Constitutional Convention, which gave birth to the United States, are proposals aimed at boosting the bloc's foreign policy powers. In a nod to the recent splits over Iraq, the draft text unveiled Monday calls on members to "actively and unreservedly support the Union's common foreign and security policy in a spirit of loyalty and mutual solidarity." Or we'll punish you
It also commits the 15 members to come to each other's defense in the event of terrorist attack. Riggghhhttt, like Patriot Missiles for Turkey, M. De Villepin?
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/26/2003 10:52 am ||
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classic problem: if the EU is too weak then what good is it; if it is too strong then who wants it.
#2
"the binding part is what will be the worst part"
Yes, how horrid, the idea of having states bound to defend human rights.
"United Weasels was also out of the question"
We can see how grateful the Americans are for all the Danish, Spanish, Polish and UK assistance. Or don't you know that these countries are/will be members of the EU?
"We are burying once and for all the fantasies of a Brussels super-state. Europe will remain a union of sovereign nation states with governments such as Britain's in charge,"
Bzzt. The constitution clearly marks progress towards a federal state (and good for it), even though UK wanted the dread f-word removed.
"if the EU is too weak then what good is it; if it is too strong then who wants it."
I do. The ones who don't want it, like UK, may feel free to leave it.
#3
For once, Aris, I agree with you. The UK should have no further part of the EU consolidation. It's already unaccountable, corrupt and led by power-crazed manipulators. If you like that sort of thing, and the majority of your compatriots do too, fair enough. In Britain, the majority do not. What's wrong with a pan-European trading bloc? Why do you want to become a small and expendable cog in a machine which has no purpose but to further Franco-German interests? Your funeral...
#4
The idea of sovereign nations led Europe into destruction twice the last century. Today the European idea is to give up parts of national sovereignity in order to obtain a stronger European sovereignty. Still in the making, I agree.
How "sovereign" are countries like Slovenia or Lithuania? Outside the EU they would still have to follow all the (economical) rules of the EU without having a say in the matter. They prefer to be inside.
Smaller countries will have more influence inside the EU than outside. What could "sovereign" Slovenia really do? Print their own money, yes, but they'd still go by the mighty Euro. Playing the US card? Not likely. An US base isn't a substitute for thriving European markets and what political influence could such a country have with the allmighty US? A few troops in Iraq-Iran-Syria-Saudi Arabia (tick box)? The breadcrumbs of American geopolitics?
The Swiss have a first hand experience of what it means to follow what the EU says without having a say. OK the Swiss still have their secret bank accounts but this is pretty much the only thing that is worth staying outside. And sooner or later they will cede to EU pressure to tax non-Swiss clients.
Franco-German interests? The more countries join, the less influence these two countries will have (they will still have a lot though).
The EU may have been created for economical reasons but it also serves a political purpose: to guarantee that all European countries will live in peace with each other in the 21st century. Yes it's still rough at the edges but we are on track.
Of course, the bureaucratic structures must be reformed, democratization must take place. I guess the new Eastern members may very well teach us a lesson in that respect. Good for them.
With all respect: Vitriolic US statements just betray a certain worry: That the EU might seriously challenge the US. That's not what the EU wants. But we will have a stronger economical position if we are united. We won't be bossed around.
#5
TGA, in theory what you say is true. There's just one minor problem....
A nation, and particularly its diplomacy, reflects the culture of its people. I don't think French culture has changed all that greatly (except superficially) in the last century. They still believe themselves to be masters of diplomacy.
A century ago, these amazing French diplomats gave the world the Treaty of Versailles. Now you want to trust d'Estang?
#6
TGA and Aris - I have no fear that a EU will ever become a rival to the U.S. militarily and politically and economically. My comments on deeding yourselves to a French-schemed "union" are merely observations *shakes head* If it keeps Europe happy go for it - if you compete with us, I have no problem with that and the competition is what keeps us (and you) sharp. I merely was musing about the uber-state that has to restrict nations from leaving a voluntary union with little common grounds. Good luck
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/26/2003 21:08 Comments ||
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TGA and ARIS,
This Yank wishes you the best of luck on your journey through the "Looking Glass"
MOLON LABE
#9
Lileks's brief commentary on the EU Constitution, as well as a review of Matrix 2. Seems sad, really, how more than 200 years has not yet produced a group more insightful and forward-thinking than our own founding fathers.
#10
Aris & TGA: The Iraq war illustrated what divisions there are within Europe at fundamental levels. Why try to force common foreign policies on people who do not share common outlooks. It's not necessary and it's certainly not going to enhance any one nation's standing in global affairs to be represented by a single representative on, say, the security council. And, as for the democratization and reform. Call me a cynic, but I'd like to see that in place before signing away my democratic rights in a sovereign state.
A plane carrying up to fifty Spanish peacekeeping forces from Afghanistan to Madrid crashed early Monday in northwest Turkey, news reports said. The plane went down near the mountainous town of Macka, 30 miles south of the Black Sea port of Trabzon. One witness reported the wreckage of the plane was in flames and said he saw at least two charred bodies. The Ukrainian plane was flying from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, to Zaragoza, Spain, with a refueling stop in Trabzon. It carried 62 passengers — all Spanish peacekeeping forces — and 12 crew members. The plane apparently went down in its third attempt to land in thick fog at Trabzon. Officials said the pilot reported not being able to see the runway in the first two attempts, and the plane disappeared from radar screens at 4:45 a.m. Turkish military troops and ambulances rushed to the scene to rescue possible survivors, the Anatolia news agency said. Ouch. Condolences to all the families. And people, stop flying "Air Ukraine."
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/26/2003 12:29 am ||
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I like the Ukkies and all, but Jesus, what the hell are they flying? Buses with wings?
Posted by: The Marmot ||
05/26/2003 1:03 Comments ||
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A better question is, Why on earth does Spain contract its military airlift capability to the Ukraine?
They were part of the United Nations-mandated International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Yes, you can thank the nice people at the UN for this.
When we people learn that the UN f****s-up everything they touch!
Posted by: Phil B ||
05/26/2003 11:53 Comments ||
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FYI there are FEW countries in the world that have sufficient Airlift capability for their Armies. The Former USSR had HUGE fleet of transport planes and many former countries contact these out for peacekeeping purposes. It also allows some UN members to 'pay' for there dues in the UN by providing Airlift for Peacekeepers. On a side note: When the French want to deploy troops to Africa last year, they had to ask the US for planes to accomplish this.! Also the PRC Rarely provides planes for transport because nations REFUSE to let the PRC fly them. (Poor safety record).
#4
Why do the Euros keep contracting their military airlift needs out to the Ukraine? Why don't they ever develop their own version of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet? Despite of all the talk, they are still treating power projection as a joke. Obviously, they don't feel that the lives of their troops are worth paying top dollar for reliable aircraft and pilots, either.
#5
Picture this: It is 0445, the crew is tired, the runway is down to minimum conditions for the instrument approach, and you are approaching bingo fuel (minimum). Now you have to be at your best flying an approach that you may never have done. If you fly it and miss enough times, you will start believing that you see elements of the runway environment and will continue the approach to landing. A very dangerous thing to people in the air and people on the ground. Normal IFR (instrument flight rules) proceedure is to fly to the destination airport, shoot the approach(es) fly to the alternate airport and shoot the approach there. To stick around and fly multiple approach attempts is not justified unless there are improving ceiling and runway visibility conditions. You can never have too much fuel aboard unless you are on fire.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/26/2003 14:05 Comments ||
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LAHORE: âSuicide bombers represent the real Ummah,â Jamaat-e-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed declared in his presidential address at the launch of the Urdu translation of Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohammedâs book âA new deal for Asiaâ on Sunday at a local hotel.
We've often noticed the same thing on these pages...
The JI chief said the Ummah was not represented by kings and dictators, but was âin the heart beat of every Muslimâ. âThe Ummah are the people who sacrifice their lives,â he said. Mr Ahmed said the Ummah was the âsource of lifeâ for Muslims and this is why they would not accept âAmerican dictators and oppressorsâ. He said the real challenge facing the world today was to find the commonalities between people of different ideologies. He said Dr Mahathir envisioned a world where everybody lived peacefully and accepted the ideologies of others.
As long as they're Muslims...
Mr Ahmed mentioned that he was not granted a Malaysian visa when he applied for one recently, and not when he applied for one three years ago. âIn a global village, not only capital and commodities but also human beings should be allowed to travel freely,â he said.
"We should be able to subvert people wherever we want..."
He said those in favour of globalisation should learn from the vision of Islam, where under people would live peacefully and equally irrespective of caste, colour or creed.
As long as they're Muslims, of course...
The JI chief said there was âunnecessaryâ criticism of the removing of billboards that carried images of women. He said feminist movements throughout the world were protesting against the portrayal of women as commodities.
Qazi wearing the turban of feminism is an image that makes my sides ache...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/26/2003 01:19 pm ||
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Scott, you ask a good question but your answer is pretty crude. There would have to be a threshold beyond which hate speech becomes incitement to violence which would carry a punishment. What is the threshold and what is admissible evidence that the threshold has been crossed. These are not trivial questions. If we set the bars too high (which you rightly see as a danger), we endanger ourselves by allowing all manner of terrorists to initiate murder. Setting the bar too low, however, carries risks also.
#2
Islamic radicals have already attacked our citizens (WTC) and command and control (pentagon). Bush used the terminology 'war on terror'. Is it really war? Or just kind-of? We've discovered in the last 50 years how to win wars (GW1&2) and how to f - them up (nearly everything else) One of the things I thought we learned, was not to risk ground-holders when smart bullets will do. We abrogated the ABM treaty (and rightly so - witness Russia's overtures) and we need to discard the shielding of political targets. They have.
mhw - I think we're already at risk. I don't value the lives of our civilian leadership any more than our uniformed military. And if I read GWB correctly, neither does he. That could be a recent American distinctive, but if so, it's time we treated others in the same respect.
Posted by: Scott ||
05/26/2003 15:43 Comments ||
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Scott, here is an illustration of the risk of the low bar: it seems likely that all, or nearly all Wahabi true believers use hate speech and they all, or nearly all try to influence others to hate as well and many of them have actually committed murder or been accessories to murder. So do we kill each and every Wahabi. There are probably several thousand, maybe tens of thousands of Wahabis in the US. Many millions over the whole world?
Qazi, Fazl, Sami and Noorani are four powerful arguments in favor of a program of assassinations. Qazi's the biggest cheese of the lot - and they're all four pretty big physically, by the way; you eat well and often when you command the allegiance and the donations of hundreds of thousands, plus receiving regular "charitable assistance" from Soddy Arabia. Qazi has a vision of a subcontinental caliphate, stretching from Burma to Iran, with himself wearing the jewelled turban. He's the hidden hand behind the Kashmir jihad, and he's an absolutely humorless ideologue. Type in "qazi" in the search box, and if you think we're selective in what we post on him here, do a Google search on him. He's one bad boy.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/26/2003 17:32 Comments ||
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No. Just the ones in power. And the imams that give Quranic credibility to the murder of non-combatants. If we are gonna create martyrs, better to do it from the smaller pool. I actually believe civilization may catch up.
Take Pakistan. (Please!) Do you think Musharrif would shed any tears upon Qazi's demise? It's possible he's more realist than Islamist. I give him half a break being nest door to India. Would you wanna share a border with 1 billion nuclear armed hindus who believe you are less human than a cow? I believe that, behind the scenes, he might sanction certain hits. And so might the Saudis. They gotta be looking over their shoulders too.
Our questions are ones of morality. I don't believe they have any such burden.
Posted by: Scott ||
05/26/2003 17:42 Comments ||
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Fred, you're preaching to the choir.
I've had to come to grips with my own conscience on this stance. I liken it to being carnivorous. I eat the meat, could I kill the cow? If I couldn't, aren't I being hypocritical?
If I were a national leader, would I be willing to be a legitimate target? (Especially if I were willing to send other peoples' children to their possible deaths for the same ends.) And if I were willing to be a target, why would I not target avowed enemies, especially if it's gonna save many more lives in the long run. I do not believe those poor mopes in the slums of Lahore, Tehran, Damascus or Jenin are the enemy. The ones who motivate them to murder, are. I'm not just exercising some dang Marxian dialectic. It is the moral thing to do. So, could I do it. Yes. If I were commissioned and ordered by our C-in-C, I'm sure I could dispatch some tyrant, party or religious leader (or send someone better trained) and face my Lord over it. Any other stance, and we're back to hypocricy.
Posted by: Scott ||
05/26/2003 18:18 Comments ||
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I see no problems with popping the tops off those who are documented with running the Jihad Show. We take them at their word. Once they are removed you have taken the brain out and the body will follow. They have declared war, Jihad, and issued Fatwas for our destruction. They need to know how the action=>consequences thing works up front and personal, and then we will be able to bottom the rest of the masses out and maybe get on with reforms and some real human progress in the Middle Eastern Oil Patch.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/26/2003 19:16 Comments ||
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I agree,everyone of these buttwipes that preaches jihadi violence is a target and should be given a choice"Knock it off or die".
In addition everytime a terror strike is commited and orginazations such as CAIR,and AMSA do not loudly and publically condemn these attacks(with attendant Fatwas)should have thier offices targeted for police raids and closure.
KARACHI: Muhajir Qaumi Movement (Haqiqi) activist Javed Qamar was shot dead in Liaqatabad on Saturday night. He was in charge of the partyâs Liaqatabad sector. Police said Mr Qamar, 38, was attending a wedding ceremony on Saturday night when unidentified men kidnapped him. Later, he was found dead near the place where the wedding ceremony took place. Mr Qamar was a resident of Liaqatabad, but he was living in Ranchhore Lines due to security reasons. After the killing, Liaqatabad reverberated with the sound of gunfire. Firing in the air continued almost throughout the night.
That was either some hot wedding party, or the Qaumi activists decided to discuss the matter with the local Jamaatis...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/26/2003 01:13 pm ||
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The Indian army has conducted its biggest counter-militancy operation to date along one of the most unforgiving Himalayan ranges in Kashmir, the "shock and awe" campaign killing 62 Islamic militants within a month. In the operation, codenamed "Sarp Vinash" (Annihilation of Snakes), the Indian army's top counter-insurgency commandos climbed rugged mountain peaks â "sometimes on all fours" â travelled for days into dense forests and fought "pitched battles at close contact". During the drive that began on the night of April 21-22, 94 militant hideouts were smashed, including concrete bunkers and an underground tunnel in which 30-40 militants could easily live. "Some of these hideouts even had facilities to conduct surgical operations on wounded militants," said Major-General Hardev Singh Lidder, regional commanding officer of the "Romeo Force" of Rashtriya (National) Rifles, India's frontal counter-insurgency unit. "If this campaign had not been undertaken, the summer would most definitely have been a bloody one."
I suspect it still will be, just not as bloody as it would have been...
Huge amounts of arms and ammunition â grenade launchers, rifles, pistols, grenades, 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of explosives, booklets on "how to make poison", "a car bomb" and anti-personnel mines were recovered from the blown up bunkers, that had separate kitchens and latrines, Lidder said. Nearly 7,000 kilograms (15,000 pounds) of food supplies and soft drinks were found alongside medicines, glucose bottles, injections, mobile and satellite phones, dictaphones, blankets, copies of the Koran, diaries and family pictures. Calls from the phones have been traced to almost all major Indian cities including the western commercial hub of Bombay and riot-hit Gujarat city of Ahmmedabad, Lidder said. Some numbers have also been traced to Kuwait.
That's pretty interesting. Wonder who owns the numbers?
"Six major terrrorist groups including Lashkar-e-Taiba, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, al-Badr, had their cadres living here," he said. "In fact, there was coordination between them too. They used to meet at one hideout in the deep forests and discussed plans."
Why shouldn't they? They're really only divisions of one organization...
Lidder said the operation was planned in January when a surrendered militant disclosed that "300 to 350 terrorists" were living in bunkers in the inhospitable Pir Panjal and Hill Kaka areas of Surnakote, near the Line of Control. "We began the planning process and before the first strike, we had built helipads all around the area of operation which is like a bowl. We moved in supplies and built mule tracks. On the night of April 21-22, we began moving in," he said. "The terrain is so rugged that it takes 10 hours to reach the centre of the area from the outskirts and sometimes the climb was done on all fours. At around 5-5:30 am on April 22, we made first contact with a group of terrorists and gunned down 13. It was shock and awe. They just didn't know what struck them."
That's because they thought they were safe.
A sustained day and night campaign had begun, sometimes even using helicopter gunships to bust bunkers on mountain tops, the officer said, adding that about 80 percent of the "terrorists" killed were Pakistanis. According to Lidder, while 62 were killed â their bodies buried by police â three were captured of whom two are "young boys of 11 and 13 years who were forced to join the groups but have now been returned to their parents."
They'd be used as houseboys, I guess. And playthings.
These militants had been using the complex terrain of the region as safe hideouts to carry out guerrilla warfare for two to three years, Lidder said. "With the busting of the hideouts, he (the militant) is now on the run. He is running from boulder to boulder and we are chasing him. This operation will not end till we find the remaining terrorists. They have gone into the forests and we have gone after them," Lidder said. "If he lives to die another day, we are also not going anywhere from here."
That's the tough part about rugged, inhospitable terrain: it's rugged and inhospitable to both sides. Once you're tossed out of your hole in the wall, you've got to fend for yourself, and jihad becomes less important than catching something for breakfast.
Posted by: rg117 ||
05/26/2003 08:59 am ||
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Excuse my impulse to relate every story back to the Middle East, but why is it that every militant that Israel kills is debated incessantly in the media, the UN, and by the priests of Human Rights, but India can take out SIXTY TWO in a month with barely any mention? Not, mind you, that I begrudge India its security imperatives. Its simply the peculiar dichotomy that rankles. When are the self righteous little shits of the ISM, for example, going to plant their asses in Kashmir? When the next PM of India is called Atal Bahari Sharon, thats when.
Posted by: af ||
05/26/2003 10:11 Comments ||
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af - there are three reasons why Israel is held to higher standards.
1) they are Jews, and anti-semitism is real and growing in Europe and their elites. It never left the Arab countries
2) Israel is indelibly associated with the U.S. - Clinton tried to suck up to Arafat and look where it got him? Arafat gets the Peace prize (LOL)
3) Israel is a democracy in a sea of repressive arab dictatorships, and the only place where public pressure via debate can actually change the government's inclinations
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/26/2003 10:20 Comments ||
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On a slight tangent to af's comments. Excuse my impulse to connect everything back to the U.S. - Pak relationship, but think how many more Jehadi scum the Indians can finish offâreducing Uncle Sam's workload, if the U.S. stopped kiddygloving Perv and co.
"...80 percent of the "terrorists" killed were Pakistanis..."
And how many of the remaining 20 percent were Arabs?
Posted by: Old Grouch ||
05/26/2003 17:10 Comments ||
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Rajit- i agree, the fact that india is not condemned by the world, the way israel is, for her efforts to defend herself means that she must take full advantage of the opportunity to root out jehadis.
after perv falls to islamist pressure, as he will sooner or later, we (the u.s.) can drop the farce that pakistan is our ally and finally cultivate the alliance with india we should have had all along.
Posted by: pro-hindu jew ||
05/26/2003 23:46 Comments ||
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Make that pro-Indian jew, my friend..The routine Hindu v Muslim bloodfest notwithstanding, the secular Indian republicâwith a Muslim population larger than Pakistan'sâis 50 years and 1 billion people's worth of proof that theocrats have their heads up their asses.
At least nine people have died in two separate attacks in Indian-administered Kashmir. Police say a group of militants entered a remote village in the mountains in Rajouri, which is close to the border with Pakistan. They entered the house of a Muslim shepherd and shot him dead along with his wife and three sons, aged between five and 13. In the second attack in Poonch, Indian troops and Kashmir state policemen cordoned off an area near Surankote, a suspected militant hideout. A gunbattle left three militants and a policemen dead. Last week the Indian army announced that it had killed more than 60 militants hiding in the Surankote hills, in Operation Sarp Vinash (Annihilation of Snakes).
And more deaders, from Daily Times (Pak)...
Police said snuffies suspected Muslim militants stormed the house of Sultan Lone in Jul Sheeri village in the northern Baramulla district at dawn and shot him dead. Loneâs guest, Ghulam Ahmad Dar, was also killed. Police and paramilitary forces launched a search operation in the area. In a separate incident in the Saryala forest near Jammu Indian troops killed a gunny militant late on Saturday as well as a civilian who got caught in the crossfire, police said. Muslim civilian Yusuf Khan was killed in an exchange of fire between militants and security forces in the area of Damhal Hanjipora in the southern district of Anantnag on Sunday, police said, an encounter that followed a search operation by Indian troops.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
05/26/2003 03:11 am ||
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U.S. occupation forces have retrieved $250 million from Iraqi central bank vaults that were submerged in water, a top U.S. official said on Monday. Paul Bremer, who became Iraq's effective governor two weeks ago, said the money was found undamaged at the bank's basement in central Baghdad. ''The money belongs to the central bank and that's were it will stay. Where it came from I don't know and I'm not sure we will ever know,'' Bremer said. Iraqi bankers said finance ministry and Baath Party officials moved around $1 billion from the central bank to government bank branches for safekeeping shortly before the start of the U.S.-led invasion on March 20. But most of the money, the bankers said, was feared stolen in looting after the fall of Baghdad one month later. Bremer said security in the capital had improved but he expected restoration of basic services to take time. He gave instructions to buy generators producing 400-500 megawatts of electricity but the machines were not expected to become operational soon. ''It may not help us in the next 60-90 days but it may help us in the structural imbalance of power here in Baghdad,'' he said.
Leaving it in the bank, but hiding it underwater â to me, that implies somebody at the bank wanted to "protect" it from us infidels and maybe see to his retirement fund at the same time. I'd be having a talk with some of the senior officials...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/26/2003 05:36 pm ||
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More than 5,000 Iraqi army officers and personnel staged a demonstration Monday, May 26, protesting the decision by the American civil administrator of Iraq Paul Bremer to dissolve the Iraqi army and all affiliated bodies and gave him until Monday to renege the move.
Damn. Those people really are crazy.
The protesting military people, carrying banners that dismissed the illegal American decision and the occupation of their country, threatened organized armed resistance if the Americans fail to heed their demands.
Kinda late for that, ain't it?
Lt. General Saheb el-Mosawi, who spoke on behalf of the demonstrators and the entire Iraqi army, stressed that the decision taken by the occupation authority, which sent more than one million Iraqi citizens jobless, was an unacceptable insult to the honorable Iraqi army.
The one that raped Kuwait? The one that kept Sammy in power for 35 years? The one that fought the war with Iran?
Asserting that Iraqi military people were dumbfounded by the American decision, the top brass outlined the âdemandsâ of the Iraqi army as an accelerated formation of an Iraqi government that represents all society; payment of military people salaries according to set criteria; and the formation of an Iraqi army, from the old one, that maintains the countryâs dignity. Threatening nationwide massive demonstrations by members of the Iraqi army, their families and ordinary citizens, Lit. Gen. El-Mosawi gave the occupying authority until Monday to meet the Iraqi army âdemandsâ. He underlined that the Iraqi people would not tolerate any other âhumiliationsâ from the occupation forces.
He sounds like a real good candidate for some extended jug time, maybe for a blindfold and cigarette...
But Lt. Gen. El-Mosawi declined to respond to a question by IslamOnline.net correspondent what the Iraqi army would do if the U.S. gave their demands the cold shoulder. Approached by IOL correspondent, several demonstrators agreed on dismissing the American decision as unacceptable, but differed on future steps if their demands were shrugged off by the Americans. Salim Fatah, an Iraqi infantry officer, asserted that the Iraqi army officers were becoming inpatient with the occupation forces who âcrossed all red lines.â He said they were considering to organize armed resistance against the Anglo-American forces if they declined to meet their demands.
A good way to get yourself dead...
Amar Abdullah, an Iraqi aviation officer, accused the occupation power of seeking to get rid of all powers in Iraq under the pretext of links to ousted president Saddam Hussein and the Baath party. This is unacceptable because the Iraqi army was not a political body, he said.
Guess it all depends on your definition of "political."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/26/2003 11:45 am ||
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A US soldier has been killed in Iraq, and another wounded, in an attack on a convoy north-west of Baghdad. Military officials say the convoy was on a resupply mission when it was attacked by an unknown number, firing small arms, rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine guns. The statement gave no indication of the identity of those responsible. Earlier today, a US soldier was killed and another injured in an explosion at an ammunition storage site in the south of Iraq.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/26/2003 11:28 am ||
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(2003-05-26) -- U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld apologized to Senate Democrats today for pre-war "hyping" of the threat posed by Saddam Hussein's regime.
"I'm sorry Senators Biden, Rockefeller, Byrd, Roberts and others," said a contrite Mr. Rumsfeld. "We overestimated the threat posed by a lunatic dictator, who hated the U.S. and Israel, and who paid rewards to families of Palestinian terrorists. In an age when two of the world's tallest buildings can be brought down with tools used by the stockboy at K-Mart, we should have demanded more concrete evidence of exotic weapons of mass destruction. Saddam was helpless as a kitten up a tree."
Sen. Rockefeller, D-WV, said Congress must determine whether the administration "intentionally overestimated" Iraq's weapons program, or "just misread it. ... In either case it's a very bad outcome."
Mr. Rumsfeld agreed, "What an awful outcome. We deeply regret freeing the Iraqi people from a murderous gang of thugs masquerading in the United Nations as a representative republic. We're sorry that the Iraqi people have discovered thousands of graves of their Saddam-murdered relatives. It's none of our business if people want to live like that."
;-) Scott Ott's response to Biden, et al, yesterday on the Sunday News Shows
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/26/2003 10:48 am ||
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I gotta hand it to scrappleface - the guy is a great satirist.
Another Baathist sob story - cry me a river
He spent three weeks helping U.S. forces rebuild Baghdad's police department — but now he's gotten the boot. One of Baghdad's highest-ranking police officials has been fired in a purge of Baath Party members from top government positions. U.S. officials say Abdul Razak al-Abbassi led the west Baghdad police force. He was key to coaxing officers to return to work and rebuild their looted station houses, while restarting patrols in a city under siege from car-jackers and looters. Even an American military police commander concedes al-Abbassi was "very cooperative" and "very competent." But because he belonged to Saddam Hussein's Baath Party, he can't hold any of the three top positions in an Iraqi government bureaucracy. He could hold a lower-level job. there you have it - he could have a job, just not in authority
The move to oust al-Abbassi came after some Baghdad officers complained. A replacement was sworn in Monday.
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/26/2003 10:20 am ||
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Human rights group Amnesty International says the Indonesian military is committing grave human rights abuses in Aceh, including the killing of children and adult civilians. Amnesty says thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes, and Indonesian soldiers have carried out summary executions. The group expressed particular concern that a senior officer on trial in Jakarta for crimes against humanity in East Timor in 1999, has had a direct role in the military operations in Aceh.
Experience counts, doesn't it?
A major military offensive aimed at crushing the Free Aceh Movement has entered its second week.
Oh, golly gosh! Who could possibly have seen this coming?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/26/2003 11:19 am ||
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QUETTA: Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Deputy Director Akbar Baloch on Sunday said Iranian border security forces had deported 47 Pakistanis who were trying to make their way to Europe and the Gulf States.
I dunno why I feel like Deputy Director Akbar should look like a fish...
Mr Baloch said most of the Pakistanis had entered Iran on a tourist visa and had agents in Iran who facilitate their entry into Turkey and Greece. The 47 deportees belong to Sialkot, Gujrat, Gujranwala and Mandi Bahauddin. The deputy director said they were currently under FIA custody and would be sent back to their hometowns after âfulfilling legal requirementsâ.
Like jug time?
The deportees told Daily Times that they had hired the services of agents who operated in their villages. Aftabullah, a resident of Paswal district in Gujrat, said an agent had promised to take him to Greece on a payment of Rs 350,000. He said he paid Rs 35,000 in advance. His journey started from Karachi. He and the other men entered Iran via Mand Balo. They stayed for a couple of days in Tehran and later walked and travelled in a trailer for about 24 hours to reach the Iran-Turkey border. They somehow managed to enter Istanbul but were later surrounded and arrested by Turkish police who raided their hideout. Aftab said he and the others were searched and deported back to Iran and subsequently Pakistan âempty handedâ.
I wonder how many of these guys are honest migrant workers, with the requisite Pak love of false documents, and how many are Qaeda or similar agents. I'd wager that it's a thorough mix.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/26/2003 12:59 pm ||
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SEOUL - North Korea on Monday, May 26, threatened to inflict "unimaginable disaster" on South Korea which it accused of escalating the danger of war on the Korean peninsula. Last week North Korea sparked an outcry from South Korea and caused a three-day suspension of inter-Korean economic cooperation talks by threatening to bring "unspeakable disaster" to the capitalist South. This time the threat came from North Korea's powerful Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, a cabinet-level organization that directs relations with South Korea.
Pyongyang has turned up the volume of condemnation of South Korea since South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun and U.S. President George W. Bush agreed at a summit in Washington on May 14 that "further steps" may be necessary to counter the North's nuclear weapons drive. In a joint statement Roh and Bush also linked long-standing economic projects between North and South Korea to Pyongyang's actions on the nuclear crisis. At North-South talks last week in Pyongyang, North Korea expressed anger at South Korea, accusing it of aligning itself with the Bush administration's hard-line policy towards Pyongyang. It also demanded an explanation from South Korea concerning those "further steps."
Since Roh seems to be so easily intimidated, we can't discount the effects of this sort of ranting. The SKors have a lot to lose in a war...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/26/2003 11:56 am ||
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From "unspeakable" to "unimaginable." That's progress of a sort.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/26/2003 14:21 Comments ||
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Bush did some up close and personal intimidation himself. The Rummy threat really struck a chord.
#5
This one really pissed me off. Seriously. Our chief executive over here has no balls whatsoever. Last weekend, the South agreed to send 400,000 tons of rice to the North after getting threatened, and what does Pyongyang do? Make a stronger threat. Seriously, I don't pay South Korean taxes for Noh to let this kind of crap continue.
Posted by: The Marmot ||
05/26/2003 22:04 Comments ||
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KCNA -- A spokesman for the Korean Council of Religionists on Saturday issued a statement denouncing the South Korean authorities' pro-U.S. flunkeyist behavior. He said:
It is quite natural for religionists and people from all walks of life in South Korea to condemn the flunkeyist trip of the chief executive and express concern over the danger of war. Pro-U.S. servile diplomacy brought great disappointment and displeasure to the people of all social strata desirous of protecting independence and peace through national cooperation. None of the successive South Korean regimes so undisguisedly joined the U.S. in its moves to stifle the north and impose disasters upon fellow countrymen as the present regime did.
The Korean council of religionists fully supports the South Korean people from all walks life in their struggle and bitterly denounces the authorities' submissive act, branding it as blatant challenge to the basic spirit of the June 15 Joint Declaration calling for defending the nation's safety and peace by our nation itself and an anti-national criminal act of paving the way for a nuclear war. All the religionists in the northern half of Korea will positively defend the great Songun policy defending the nation's safety and peace and continue to wage a vigorous peace movement against the U.S. war moves.
The spokesman expressed the expectation that the religionists and people from all walks life in South Korea who are concerned about the destiny of the nation and love peace would more valiantly struggle against the U.S. moves to ignite a war in Korea and the authorities' anti-national act of supporting them.
Y'know, that kind of indicates that Songun is a religion. I guess I'm not surprised. I think he deserves extra points for referring to "flunkeyism"...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/26/2003 11:51 am ||
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It's nice to see the KCNA breaking that word out again - they had stopped using "flunkeyist/flunkeyism" for a while. I also think it's interesting that official announcements make as much reference to the "songun" (army-first) policy that they do to juch'e (self-reliance); it indicates how politically important the Nork military is.
Posted by: The Marmot ||
05/26/2003 22:13 Comments ||
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The United States has intercepts that show senior Al Qaeda operatives in Iran probably played a big role in the recent bombings in Saudi Arabia, a senior U.S. official confirmed to Fox News. The official said the U.S. had intercepts for months prior to the bombings, which showed that senior Al Qaeda operatives in Iran were communicating with Al Qaeda operatives in Saudi Arabia about an upcoming attack, with cryptic language suggesting the attack was going to happen in Saudi Arabia. The operatives had been in Iran for at least months, and came there after they fled Afghanistan during the U.S. military's attack aimed at toppling the Taliban government. The U.S. official also said there is intelligence after the Riyadh attacks that strongly suggests these operatives were pleased with their mission and involved in the attacks. The official stresses the intercepts were cryptic, with no specificity as to exact target, date or type of attack.
Iran also has an intel service that monitors radio transmissions. If we got it, they should have it.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/26/2003 11:36 am ||
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Iran also has an intel service that monitors radio transmissions. If we got it, they should have it.
But will they acknowledge it? The likely answer is, probably not.
Desperate Congolese civilians have pleaded with a top United Nations peacekeeper for more protection from eastern Congo's warring tribal militias. Drugged up militia fighters, some suspected of cannibalism, have killed hundreds of people with machetes, guns and bows and arrows but the small UN force in Bunia has neither the mandate nor the firepower to intervene. The UN wants an international force sent to the Ituri region and the under secretary general for peacekeeping, Jean-Marie Guehenno, flew into Bunia on Sunday to survey the situation. "I hope this deployment will happen as soon as possible and that the international community learns from this lesson," he told Reuters. "A multinational force sends a message that enough is enough."
"We have filled out all the forms, and now we're just waiting for the paperwork to go through. And then you'll see, by Gad!"
Mileyo Lotiyo, one of the local leaders who met Guehenno, said an international deployment was needed immediately.
"What the hell do you mean, 'You've filled out the paperwork?' Duck! Cheeze, that was close!"
The parties fighting for Bunia have signed a ceasefire, but the situation is far from stable and the crack of gunshots sent Guehenno's party scurrying for cover on Sunday.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/26/2003 11:23 am ||
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US deployment -- within 72 hr, a battalion of the 101st or 82nd airborne would have secured the closest airport. This would have required the Air Force and Army to get things together to do this, hence the 72 hr. Within 72 hr after that, we'd have another battalion (at least) at the airport, along with basic support units and some light fighting vehicles. Add a week: at least a regiment and support in, with tracked vehicles and secure comm and logistics. Some units would have already started securing the nearest towns, setting up safe havens, and setting up some medical assistance for the locals. The local commander would have met with all parties and informed them of his rules for engagement (e.g., "screw with me and you die"). Plus one more week: two regiments in, major towns/cities secured or almost so, NGO's starting to filter back in, food coming in via that airport, better logistics, gear, support and shelter for our guys, and a large field hospital setup for the locals. That's about three weeks.
UN deployment: paperwork, back to New York, paperwork, a preliminary caucus of the Security Council, paperwork, a statement, paperwork, a special observor, paperwork, a strongly worded statement, paperwork, followed by removal of UN peacekeepers because, after all, it isn't safe there anymore.
Question: which option would the world condemn first? Take your time ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/26/2003 13:56 Comments ||
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Steve-- really good point as to how the left would react. Maybe as a compromise we can fly in a couple of planeloads of human shields.
Posted by: Matt ||
05/26/2003 14:48 Comments ||
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Well..let's roll the instant replay, shall we...
12 May...1st news reports of Bunia massacres appear...killing has been going on since the 10th
14 May...Kofi Annan sez "somebody do something"
16 May...UN Security Council sez "Hey you guys, stop that!"
21 May...UN decides to investigate
24 May...UN is planning to investigating
26 May...Un is now preparing to investigate...a beaureacrat is airlifted in
So...16 days have passed, bodies are rotting in the streets, the on-scene Uruguayan "peacekeepers" (with a French commander) are hunkered down doing nothing because they don't have a "mandate" and as far as we can tell, the slaughter continues. The killers better watch out, they better not cry, they better not pout, I'm telling you why...the UN is investigating.
#5
If the National Security interest of the United States of America is not on the line, why do we send our troops off to die? The 101st and the 82nd aren't the 911 Emergency Line for the world, they are for our national defense. As sad as the situation is, it does not benefit us in the global calculations to allow our defense policy to be guided by humanitarian concerns. Sending in the airborne forces is a risk to the lives of our servicemen, and it's unjustifiable.
Posted by: Brian ||
05/26/2003 20:05 Comments ||
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French Foreign Minister, Dominique de Villepin, has called on both the Israelis and the Palestinians to fully implement the international roadmap to peace. The Israeli cabinet has voted in favour of the roadmap — for the first time officially recognising the Palestinians' right to statehood — but also passed a resolution denying Palestinian refugees their right of return. Mr de Villepin is touring the region, today meeting the Palestinian prime minister Abu Mazen and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
But natch...
He says both sides must fulfil its part of the deal. "This is the moment in which the future is being created, this is the moment in which the roadmap is being drawn," he said. "This is the light that we have been wanting to shed on the creation of a Palestinian state. This is the moment in which the Palestinians need to live side by side peacefully with Israel, an Israel that needs to have it security guaranteed."
If Dominique likes it, he must expect the Israelis to get really screwed...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/26/2003 11:17 am ||
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Dominique involved in a clusterfuck with Arafat...who'd a thunk it.
#2
I can now spend the rest of the afternoon washing my mind out with strong soap after the imagery that produced!
Posted by: Fred ||
05/26/2003 13:33 Comments ||
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Oh well, now that Dominique is involved this thing should be straightened out in a matter of days. But just in case, maybe Dominique should stay well away from any bulldozers he happens to see.
Posted by: Matt ||
05/26/2003 13:57 Comments ||
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In what could be an admission of the failure of the much-touted land reforms to alleviate food shortages, President Robert Mugabe has declared a state of disaster in all resettlement areas. In a government gazette released on Friday, Mugabe noted that there was widespread food insecurity and the risk of water shortages, not only in the resettlement areas, but in communal and urban areas as well. He also declared a state of disaster in Matabeleland South where livestock were vulnerable to the effects of drought. The declaration paves way for funds to be harnessed and channelled to the areas, and for donors to assist the affected people but it is feared that very little money would be raised because the government is broke and many donors have fled from Zimbabwe.
Federal agents have nabbed an Ohio truck driver after unmasking him as an al Qaeda operative in plots to collapse a suspension bridge and blow up an airliner in the United States. In a major intelligence breakthrough, captured al Qaeda leader Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who has been spilling to the feds ever since he was seized in Pakistan March 1, fingered the truck driver, Newsweek reports. The unidentified driver told his interrogators that he was ordered by his al Qaeda bosses to obtain tools that could be used to loosen bolts on a suspension bridge. The driver also revealed a plan, possibly using cargo trucks, to drive under the belly of a passenger jet without causing suspicion and blow it up. So Khalid serves up the little fishes along with his lies
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/26/2003 11:12 am ||
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Wonder how long it will take the "unidentified driver" to finger the next one up the food chain?
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/26/2003 14:03 Comments ||
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High Strength A325, A490 Bolts that have replaced rivets on structural steel are tightened to set torque requirements for reasons: to withstand repeated flexure and movement without losing their contact - friction strength (I do bridges for san diego). To think this numbnuts could loosen bolts without notice is in the fantasy realm. With what? a Torque wrench and elbow grease? lol
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/26/2003 16:32 Comments ||
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Lets see, truck, a tag-along compressor, 100ft of 11/2 air hose, big loud impact gun....nah, would not be noticed. Stop a lot of traffic though.
Posted by: john ||
05/26/2003 19:22 Comments ||
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A couple of trucks at night, one at either end, each with a large obvious sign saying "Bridge Maintainence" and traffic cones as per usual. Put the bad guys in some accurate uniforms, add some plastic explosives to a proper subset of bolts, and there you go.
If you've got someone on the inside, be nice if he could put a fake workorder into the system, just in case the guards are awake enough to check things out.
Reports of heightening Zanu PF power struggles resurfaced this week in the wake of Mugabe's latest condemnation of senior party officials over their clandestine bids to succeed him. Addressing thousands of supporters at a rally on Thursday in Mount Darwin, about 160km northeast of Harare, Mugabe said people were free to openly discuss his succession, but party functionaries should stop covert campaigns to take over. Last month Mugabe, for the first time, declared his succession debate open, but denounced party leaders who organised themselves along "ethnic and personal lines". He also indicated that his retirement could be near.
"Yep. The money's just about all gone... Wait! There's some..."
Retired army general Solomon Mujuru, Zanu PF secretary for administration and Speaker of Parliament Emmerson Mnangagwa, and Information Minister Jonathan Moyo are leading the fight for Mugabe's throne. Political analyst Ibbo Mandaza, who is closely linked with Zanu PF, said Mugabe's statements on his succession indicated that he was about to retire. He added that it would be helpful if Mugabe laid out the rules for choosing his successor.
"Rules: Whoever's left standing when the shootin's over gets to be king... uh, president. That's always been the Zim-Bob-Way."
As long as there was no official debate on the issue "speculation, anxiety and even division will persist", Mandaza said. Although Mugabe claims he has no problem with leaders who declare their presidential ambitions, he has in the past sidelined those who have shown that they want to succeed him. One such example was Zanu PF maverick Eddison Zvobgo, at one time seen as the most likely Mugabe successor, who was thrown into a volcano sidelined for stating that he wanted Mugabe's job. Mandaza, a former senior civil servant, said that without official endorsement, Mugabe's potential successors in the ruling party would not come out in the open.
Show your head, somebody'll try and take it off...
As if to confirm this, Zanu PF chairman John Nkomo, also considered a potential Mugabe successor, refused to talk about the issue when contacted about it. The secretary-general of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, Welshman Ncube, said Mugabe's remarks indicated he was getting increasingly paranoid about developments within his party. "He should simply say he wants to resign so that the country can move on. He is the biggest stumbling block to progress," Ncube said.
Unfortunately, most of his potential successors are the next biggest stumbling blocks...
Mandaza, claiming that the next president would come from Zanu PF and not the MDC, said the succession race was wide open. He named Mnangagwa in Midlands province, Nkomo and former Home Affairs Minister Dumiso Dabengwa in Matabeleland, Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo in Mashonaland West, former Finance Minister Simba Makoni in Manicaland and Foreign Minister Stan Mudenge in Masvingo as potential successors. He said Moyo, despite his posturing, was "too low in the ranks" to be a candidate.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
05/26/2003 11:00 am ||
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Not all Americans pay serious heed to the reasons for Memorial Day. Like the burden of fighting wars, remembering the dead often is left to the few, including those who love them. Douglas C. Payne, 53, says he never has forgotten to remember the fellow Marine who died saving his life in Vietnam more than 34 years ago. And he is haunted by doubt that the life he now lives is worth the sacrifice that earned his buddy, Pfc. Oscar P. Austin, a posthumous Medal of Honor. "The first time I met any of his family I was feeling guilty, oh yeah," Mr. Payne recalls. "And I could see where his family would feel that I wasn't worth him giving his life for me."
On Feb. 23, 1969, Pfc. Austin scrambled out of a safe foxhole and, with his own body, shielded the injured and unconscious Mr. Payne, then a 19-year-old lance corporal, from a hand grenade and rifle fire. The mortally wounded Pfc. Austin shot a North Vietnamese soldier who was storming their position, then fell dead 39 days past his 21st birthday. Mr. Payne has traveled to Washington from California over the years to touch Oscar's name on Panel 32W Row 88 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. He has left letters and thanks at the Wall for a life that he concedes wavered into alcoholism and despair before he regained his balance.
Families of wartime dead and veterans like Mr. Payne know precisely how to observe this Memorial Day, when newly turned earth lies raw on military graves resulting from the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts, which took 248 U.S. lives. Elite soldiers of the Old Guard placed individual American flags over the weekend at each grave in Arlington National Cemetery's gardens of stone. Today at 11 a.m., President Bush plans to lay a wreath at Arlington and express a grateful nation's homage, then meet with families of soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq. Communities across the land prepared for ceremonies, parades and other rituals of remembrance today. At 3 p.m. local time much of the nation will be asked to pause at airports, sports stadiums, shopping malls and other public places for the "minute of reflection" that became a fixture in recent years. An estimated 35 million Americans were expected to travel during the long holiday weekend. For some 162,000 Washington-area families, the only memorial in mind was Lane Memorial Bridge and getting across the Chesapeake on that span's busiest weekend of the year.
It was just that way for Deborah Peterson of Alexandria until Oct. 23, 1983, when Islamic Jihad terrorists drove more than a ton of TNT into a U.S. military barracks in Beirut. The 241 soldiers, sailors and Marines killed there included her 20-year-old brother, Marine Cpl. James C. Knipple. "Until then, except for our father who was in the Navy, we were just very typical, complacent Americans who thought of Memorial Day as the opening day of the pool and a three-day weekend and a barbecue," says Mrs. Peterson, who works in the pharmacy at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington. "Now we go up to the cemetery very often. I haven't worked a Memorial Day for 20 years." She says the family also visits Arlington National Cemetery each Oct. 23 â "the day of remembrance" for the Beirut families â and on the anniversary of the death from cancer of her father, retired Navy Capt. John Knipple, buried one row over and five graves down from his son in Section 59. It is in Section 59 that 21 of the Beirut dead lie, along with two of the 19 U.S. servicemen killed June 26, 1996, in a similar terrorist bombing at the Khobar Towers military complex in Dharan, Saudi Arabia. At a ceremony in 1996 near the cedars of Lebanon planted in Section 59, the Knipple clan befriended Fran and Gary Heiser beside the grave of their son, Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Michael Heiser. He was 25 when he died in Khobar Towers.
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/26/2003 10:28 am ||
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I looked at my late father's monographs of the 1st MarDiv in the pacific in WW2. He had lots of notations by pictures of guys that never came back. There were young medal of honor winners that died at age 19 or 20 or 21. There was a guy named Wilkenson sitting in a wheelbarrow with muddy rubber boots on eating out of his messkit at Pavuvu. Notation beside his picture said, K.I.A. Peleliu. There were so many of them that never came home, not even as bodies. Some they never found. They were robbed of their lives, their families, their kids, their wives, their grandchildren. They were scared shitless, but they did the dirty job they had to do so we could have a chance at living a decent life. I think about them today and I say, "Thank you for our lives and our country. We will never forget you."
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/26/2003 14:17 Comments ||
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Thanks for reminding us what this day is all about. I just wish there was something more I could say to all those men and women who never came home than "Thank you, from me and my family."
Posted by: Baba Yaga ||
05/26/2003 18:04 Comments ||
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EFL - from the Beeb
Iran has said it has arrested a number of members of the al-Qaeda network, but that they are not high level operatives. The announcement comes amid intense pressure on Iran from the United States, which alleges that Tehran is allowing terrorists safe haven in the Islamic republic. Iran rejects that charge. Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi told a government television station that Iran had been "the pioneer in fighting al-Qaeda terrorists, who have been posing threats to our national interests". Then his lips fell off
Washington says there is a link between Iran and the attacks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, earlier this month, which killed 34 people including nine suicide bombers. The US is reported to have cut off behind-the-scenes talks with Iran since the Riyadh attacks. The Washington Post newspaper said the officials would consider a Pentagon plan to destabilise the country. About friggin' time!
The issue has reportedly revived the split between moderates in the Bush administration who favour diplomacy and hardliners who prefer more robust action. The diplo-moderates (nice phrase, showing who the Beeb thinks is right) have absolutely nothing to show for their efforts since 1979, and things are getting worse. Time to admit they were wrong? Never!
It's also fired up the debate between the moderates in Iran who favor self-preservation and hardliners who prefer to tug on Uncle Sam's beard.
President George W Bush listed Iran as one of three countries in an "axis of evil" last year, but relations warmed slightly in the wake of the war in Afghanistan. Lately, however, they have become more tense.
Yasss... An unappetizing soup of regime change, seasoned with Hezbollah...
Washington accuses Tehran of harbouring al-Qaeda members, of working towards building nuclear weapons, and of interfering in US reconstruction programmes in Iraq. Tehran has strongly denied all of Washington's charges.
Despite the evidence...
It suspects that hardliners in the US administration are trying to pave the way for moves to undermine or change Iran's Islamic system. Mr Kharrazi says Iran has been fighting al-Qaeda for years. Iranian officials insist that they have detained and expelled more than 500 al-Qaeda suspects over the past year. But they admit that al-Qaeda suspects could be in the country without Iranian authorities being aware of it. ....rigghhhttt
It's possible. Ansar al-Islam seemed to trot back and forth across the border at will, getting medical care and buying groceries — "Ahmed, we need some bread, milk and eggs. Oh, and don't forget to pick up some arms and ammunition!" I've no doubt that the same thing happens on the eastern borders, especially at the nexus of Iran-Afghanistan-Pakistan. We have enough trouble tracking down our own illegal immigrants to understand that. At the same time, organized groups are something the government has a responsibility to know about, especially at the provincial level. So the question becomes how much do the government hacks not want to know? And how much does the Guardians Council-dominated end of the government know that the Majlis-dominated end of the government doesn't?
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/26/2003 10:06 am ||
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EFL.
President Bush is planning to travel to the Middle East early next month to advance the peace process amid fresh signs of progress in ending the violence between Israelis and Palestinians. A military support plane left Washington on Sunday morning, carrying personnel who will lay the groundwork for a summit in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt. Another possible site being explored was the royal retreat at Aqaba, Jordan. Bush tentatively plans to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas in Egypt to prod them into putting the peace ``road map'' into effect. Administration officials were still weighing whether Bush would meet with the two leaders together or separately. Doesn't mater, as long as Abbas is frisked.
It was possible Bush would make another stop in the region as well, the leading choice being Doha, Qatar, to visit troops. No doubt Sen. Robert Byrd (D-KKK) will object to such a photo-op.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Bush's plans could change. Political events in the region Sunday gave the plan momentum, but future developments could just as easily derail it. The administration wanted the support team in position so Bush could make a last-minute decision. Forecast: lots of splodydopes in the week before the trip.
But others said the plan was quickly firming up, with a strong focus on the Egypt summit. Before the Iraq war, Sen. Richard Lugar said he was told by the president that he was going to lead the road map process because of its importance to world peace. A leading Democrat in the Senate urged the administration to become more closely involved in the peace process and said the president should go ahead with the meeting. ``The Bush administration has effectively been disengaged from the ground in the Middle East what with winning two wars, and when that happens, nothing good will happen between the Israelis and the Palestinians as if anything good would happen anyway,'' Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., told ``Fox News Sunday.'' ``We're indispensable there. They need us because we're the only one they trust,'' said Lieberman, who is seeking his party's 2004 presidential nomination. ``There's a moment of opportunity here.'' What's the old saying about how the Paleostinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity?
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/26/2003 12:31 am ||
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Lieberman is often portrayed as a principled conscience of teh Dem hawk wing. He is neither. Judge for yourself after he became AlGore's running mate how he sucked up to Hollywood for $, and after Bush has done most everything Joe's asked (and Clinton didn't) he's had nothing good to say - everything was done too slow or too fast, with too little troops or too many, not enough supplies or too expensive, yadda yadda.
Typical whining
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/26/2003 10:06 Comments ||
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Actually with all Senator Byrd's success in getting millions of dollars for roads named after himself, he might want it called the "Senator Robert Byrd road map to middle east peace"
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.
