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Al-Hayeri toes up
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Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 4: Opinion
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Arabia
Senior Qaeda militant killed in Saudi clash-TV
A senior al Qaeda militant was killed in clashes between Saudi police and wanted suspects in the capital Riyadh on Sunday, Al Arabiya television said. The Saudi-owned satellite channel identified the militant killed as Moroccan national Younis Mohammad Ibrahim al-Hayyari, whose name is on a newly issued list of 36 al Qaeda suspects believed to be linked to attacks in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman General Mansour al-Turki confirmed that a suspect was killed in the clash, but said it was too soon to say if he was on the new list. "There was a security operation in a location in Riyadh where it is thought some people from the latest wanted list were," Turki said. "One person was killed, but we do not know how many were injured or arrested."

The Gulf Arab state, the world's top oil exporter, has been battling militants loyal to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network, who have staged bloody attacks on foreign residents, government sites and energy-industry installations for more than two years. Last week, Saudi Arabia issued the new wanted list of al Qaeda suspects -- most of whom were Saudis but some were from Chad, Yemen, Morocco and Mauritania. Fifteen were believed to be at large inside Saudi Arabia, while 21 were outside the kingdom. All but two men on a previous Saudi list of 26 wanted militants, published in December 2003, are believed dead or in custody.
Posted by: phil_b || 07/03/2005 04:29 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  al-Hayyari? Isn't that the same Moroccan just named as the newly minted head of alQ in SaoodiLand last Thursday?

Gosh, how, um, convenient. Nayef and a Flunky prepare...

"Ahmed, do we know where this guy's hiding?"
"No, not yet, my Prince."
"How about this Moroccan twinkie..."
"Yes, your Highness. He's holed up and never leaves."
"Good. Announce that he's the new head of alQ."
"My Prince?"
"We have to do some PR work this week."
"Yes, my Prince."
"Oh, and don't surround him. I need a deader for the TV cameras."
"Yes, of course, Sire."
Posted by: .com || 07/03/2005 6:18 Comments || Top||

#2  A senior al Qaeda militant was killed...

Is this like a senior lieutenant [as often captured in Iraq]? I'm starting to think these boys are all over 55 and receive senior discounts to qualify. Just slow enough for the 'authorities' to catch up with. Wheelchairs optional.
Posted by: Glavimble Snereper7229 || 07/03/2005 8:38 Comments || Top||

#3  lol PD....twinkie?
Posted by: Frank G || 07/03/2005 11:42 Comments || Top||

#4  A variety of cheesedick, in the vernacular, of course, heh.
Posted by: .com || 07/03/2005 11:47 Comments || Top||


Europe
Blasts Target UN, OSCE in Kosovo
At least three blasts rocked the center of Kosovo's capital on Saturday, and one targeted the U.N. mission headquarters. An Associated Press reporter saw at least three U.N. vehicles set ablaze in the parking lot of the U.N. mission headquarters in Pristina. There were no immediate reports of any injuries after at least three near-simultaneous blasts, said Hua Jiang, chief U.N. spokeswoman.

The second blast happened near the building of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the OSCE, which is some 100 meters (100 yards) down the road from the U.N. compound. The third blast went off near the Kosovo government building which also houses the province's parliament and damaged it slightly, said Jiang. She did not say what caused the blasts. Police sealed off the areas after the explosions.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy || 07/03/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  U.N. Quagmire!
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 07/03/2005 0:30 Comments || Top||

#2  Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

There is an oxymoron if I ever heard one.
Posted by: mmurray821 || 07/03/2005 0:31 Comments || Top||

#3  OSCE Is that what is supposed to replace NATO?
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/03/2005 2:02 Comments || Top||

#4  Despite the UN pouring troops and billions of dollars into Kosovo since June 1999 political unrest and violence are on the uprise. Most American, UK. and German citizens do not approve of the current UN administration and demand a timetable to end the Quagmire. Sources from whithin Kofi's staff say all is bleak and that we are all doomed.
Posted by: AP || 07/03/2005 2:17 Comments || Top||

#5  Substitute "they" for "we" in that last sentence and you've got it, methinks.

The UN is DEAD. Fatally flawed from it's inception, it "passed on" rather quietly at least 30 years ago. The chattering classes, intelligentsia, elitists, multiculti and tranzi tools pulled off a takeover, the Vulture Elite as the sorely-missed Diplomad so succintly put it, and have been peddling the lie that the stink is, actually, a rare and precious perfume. Lol. Fuck. It's obviously a giant corrupt dead rat on the kitchen floor, that is if you haven't drunk the Kool Aid.
Posted by: .com || 07/03/2005 2:36 Comments || Top||

#6  in em weerd sorta way of thinken...

im ratherd haff em u.n. that dont werk than em werld guverment that werks too well.
Posted by: muck4doo || 07/03/2005 2:49 Comments || Top||

#7  ment to tell you . that Zen Through A Realistic World-View - and Superior Firepower was excellent.
Posted by: Red Dog ap || 07/03/2005 2:51 Comments || Top||

#8  M4D - Mrs D long ago made the perfect case for bilateral agreements. No "world" org would work - and only maybe a loose org (coalition of the willing & able) of a handful of true democracies could work and actually succeed in accomplishing worthwhile things - like stopping genocide (think: Rwanda / Darfur) and thugicide (think: Zimbob). We can split hairs forever, but what would work is more than what I'm willing to try and define, here, now - I'll cop-out by saying perhaps it's like art and smut - you'll know it when you see it (in action), lol! Toss the two failures onto the ash heap - and learn from them. The very same valuable lesson is probably going to be missed in the EU. They've been handed an "out" on a silver platter, but instead they'll probably force it and play a mulligan. Me - I'd walk away, thank my lucky stars, and hit the practice range till I was ready for a water hole.

RD - Thx! I actually worked on that for a little while - and hesitated to post it cuz it clearly targets pseudo-allies, too - and some around here are not ready for that, yet. I was mildly surprised by the lack of response, to be honest, because it was clearly an open challenge. They're still into putting their personal self-image ahead of making hard choices and choosing State Dept style accommodation and wishful thinking, something I just won't agree with ever again. I'm curmudgeonly and incorrigible, lol. It's impossible to call a spade a spade without wounding the "bystanders", apologists, and symps too. The professional hand-wringing crowd hasn't gotten anywhere near that far, yet. Sigh. Long way to go... I wonder how many will die before they "get it"... Because of what and how I post, nasty stuff in a pointed manner, I'm something of a shit magnet, lol! Because of that, your comments are doubly appreciated, but it'll prolly get you shot, too, lol!
Posted by: .com || 07/03/2005 3:35 Comments || Top||

#9  We better pull out. What's the timetable?
Posted by: Captain America || 07/03/2005 4:13 Comments || Top||

#10  Can you really blame any of these people for blowing up the buildings of 2 of the most useless organizations on the planet?!
I can't.
It was probaby blown up by the mutual assent of all parties.
Now the UN will have to go elsewhere for hot teenage girls.
How come Bill Clinton never gets called on creating this "quagmire" with no "exit strategy"?
And we're on the wrong side, too!
"Clinton lied, people died."
Posted by: Jennie Taliaferro || 07/03/2005 8:21 Comments || Top||

#11  What? Customer complaints because of poor service at the UN sponsored brothels?
Posted by: Glavimble Snereper7229 || 07/03/2005 8:34 Comments || Top||


Train bombing kills six in Turkey
Six people have been killed when a train was bombed in the mainly Kurdish region of eastern Turkey yesterday. A second train bringing help was also bombed about one kilometre from where the initial bomb went off. Twelve people were injured by the first remote-controlled bomb, which went off mid-morning in Bingol province, the Anatolia news agency reported.

The attacks were blamed on the rebel Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) who are active in the region, which has seen a sharp spike in attacks in the last few months. At the same time, the Turkish army defused another bomb found on the railway line near the first explosion and was searching the area for any more explosives, Anatolia reported.
Posted by: Fred || 07/03/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Afghanistan/South Asia
One Special Op. Rescued in Afghanistan
Posted on CNN: 10:49 a.m. EDT
One member of a U.S. special operations reconnaissance team missing in Afghanistan since Tuesday has been rescued, a U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity told CNN. The team member "evaded the enemy and was successfully rescued by U.S. forces," the official said.

No other details are being released because the search for other missing members of the team continues, the official said.

Old Spook, the efforts of you and your comrades are paying off. May all the rest of those found also be living. Our thoughts and prayers are with those at home and in the wild mountains of Afghanistan working to retrieve the remaining of their fellows and avenge their dead.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/03/2005 11:57 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Fox had a sentence slip out that the military expected to find the other three *alive* based on what the first rescuee told them. Haven't heard anything like that since, but hoping
Posted by: Frank G || 07/03/2005 16:35 Comments || Top||

#2  Frank, the Foxnews website says the same as of a few minutes ago.
Posted by: Matt || 07/03/2005 16:51 Comments || Top||

#3  The NYT is now saying specifically that the rescued spec op was a SEAL.
Posted by: Matt || 07/03/2005 20:19 Comments || Top||

#4  I hope they get all four and let no Talibs/ISI recruits escape alive
Posted by: Frank G || 07/03/2005 20:37 Comments || Top||

#5  Generally a team or section doesn't split up unless as it is as last resort, e.g. in danger of being overwhelmed or some other severe condition. It may confuse and cause enemy forces to diverge but it also makes it harder for US recovery efforts to find them. GOOD LUCK TO THESE MEN, AND GIVE 'EM HELL!
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 07/03/2005 23:16 Comments || Top||

#6  What exciting news, I sure hope they are found quickly and are okay. SEALS are pretty damn amazing folks. :)
Can't wait to hear how they probably got back at the Taliban guys
Posted by: Jan || 07/03/2005 23:18 Comments || Top||


A tribute request.
Posted by: 3dc || 07/03/2005 10:30 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Belmont Club: The Missing Recon Team
[snip]
The US has raised the stakes by sending in large numbers of men and following through with the action. A recent report says:

"U.S. fighter planes bombed a suspected Taliban compound in mountains in eastern Afghanistan in an area where an elite American military team has been missing for five days, a U.S. military spokesman said Saturday. It was not clear if there were any casualties."


Striking at a solitary compound in the heights of the Hindu Kush means solid intel. So my guess (speculation alert) is that the missing team was not the only reconnaissance unit in the area. The unanswered questions are:

* what is the real objective of the operation to which the missing recon team was in support?
* are current efforts aimed at recovering the missing team or at achieving the original aim of the operation?


BTW... read the full article and its comments..
Posted by: 3dc || 07/03/2005 10:20 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Fox Breaking 9:13 PST - 1 of the 4 has been recovered alive, wounded. No word on the otehrs
Posted by: Frank G || 07/03/2005 12:07 Comments || Top||

#2  Thanks Frank, Good news! the intel may help find the others.
Posted by: Red Dog || 07/03/2005 12:10 Comments || Top||

#3  God, please don't let him have been wounded by friendly fire ...
Posted by: Edward Yee || 07/03/2005 12:22 Comments || Top||

#4  I predict that something very interesting about this apparent miracle will emerge in the near future, as soon as the rest of the team is accounted for. All sources have been playing it very close to the vest, for fear of giving away something crucial. We should continue that until the final accounting.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy || 07/03/2005 12:29 Comments || Top||

#5  should put this news up as it's own post...too good to miss
Posted by: Frank G || 07/03/2005 12:38 Comments || Top||

#6  I just checked Fox, there was no news on the situation there.
Posted by: Phil Fraering || 07/03/2005 13:24 Comments || Top||

#7  AC-
One can only hope it involves a Big Kahuna.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 07/03/2005 13:35 Comments || Top||

#8  Foxnews TV PhilF
Posted by: Frank G || 07/03/2005 14:05 Comments || Top||

#9  It would make sense that a major objective is at stake, such as Bin Laden the cripple.
Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) || 07/03/2005 14:34 Comments || Top||

#10  Wretchard suggests the team's objective was a hunt for a "high value target". An alternate objective can be picked out of the book "Not a Good Day to Die : The Untold Story of Operation Anaconda". Leading up to Anaconda, 3-5 man Delta Force and Seal Teams were sent into the Shah-i-Kot valley from multiple directions to simply recon the battlefield. One of the team members was usually an Air Force controller. They drove trucks or rode helos, then walked to the sites they wanted to recon - awesome 3-4 day hikes with little gear high in the mountains through deep snow with no sleep. The battlefield itself had already been selected based on other intel. So perhaps the same happened here. Instead of being on the hunt, they may heve been picking out landing sites, avenues of ingress/egress for friendlies, likely escape routes for the enemy and resulting ambush opportunities. Supposition of course, so salt to taste.
Posted by: Zpaz || 07/03/2005 14:51 Comments || Top||

#11  Could be the baddies figured out a blocking position was being setup and went all out.
Posted by: Shipman || 07/03/2005 16:27 Comments || Top||


Iraq-Jordan
Egypt's Iraq envoy kidnapped in Baghdad
Egypt's envoy to Iraq has been kidnapped in Baghdad, possibly in response to reports he would become the first full-ranking Arab ambassador to the U.S.-backed Iraqi government, an Egyptian diplomat said on Sunday.

Ihab el-Sherif, the head of mission, was cornered by gunmen in cars as he came out of a shop after buying a newspaper on Saturday evening and had not been heard from since, the diplomat told Reuters on condition that he was not identified.

"The motives are believed to be political," he said, noting that Iraq's foreign minister had said just last week that Egypt would become the first Arab state to appoint a full-ranking ambassador to Baghdad since the fall of Saddam Hussein.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry, which said it was "checking reports" Sherif had "disappeared", has yet to confirm it plans to upgrade his post. The Baghdad mission had no comment.

An upgrade to full ambassadorial status for Sherif on the part of Egypt, the most populous and traditionally most powerful Arab state, could enhance the standing of a new Iraqi government many Arabs view with suspicion because of its backing from the United States and sectarian ties to Shi'ite Iran.

"He was buying a newspaper on Saturday evening when two BMWs full of gunmen blocked his way and kidnapped him," the diplomat told Reuters, saying there had been no word from the kidnappers.

It appeared the envoy had been on his own, he said.

More than 200 foreigners and thousands of Iraqis have been kidnapped in the chaos that followed the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. Some have been killed. Many have been released after the payment of ransoms to criminal gangs.

Others have been taken by insurgents from Iraq's Sunni Arab community -- a minority in Iraq but the majority in most other Arab states -- who have made political demands.
Posted by: phil_b || 07/03/2005 07:10 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Oops! We have a shit on shit action. Who to root for? Um, uh, er, both of them? That they all kill each other? I'm so torn.
Posted by: .com || 07/03/2005 11:35 Comments || Top||

#2  think Mubarak will pay a ransom? Me neither
Posted by: Frank G || 07/03/2005 12:01 Comments || Top||

#3  That's what you get for legitimizing a farce government..
Posted by: HumZ || 07/03/2005 14:35 Comments || Top||

#4  HA HA!
Posted by: Nelson Muntz || 07/03/2005 14:45 Comments || Top||

#5  I agree, the Egyptian regime is nothing but a money soaking scam operation, not a real government.
Posted by: Shipman || 07/03/2005 16:32 Comments || Top||

#6  Fox reported the zoomers say he was kidnapped because they believed he was pro-US and even a US "spy".

Right.
Posted by: .com || 07/03/2005 16:34 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan/South Asia
Home Minister orders arrest of culprits involved in attack
KARACHI: Sindh Home Minister Rauf Siddiqui ordered on Saturday the arrest of the perpetrators of the attack on Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader and former senator Nasreen Jalil at Karachi Airport, according to a press release issued on Saturday. Sindh Home Minister Rauf Siddiqui directed the police to arrest those who committed what he called a heinous act under "the garb of politics." He issued directives to the police to identify the culprits and to arrest them immediately.
Uhuh. That'll happen. Anybody want to bet that if they find anybody, they won't spend more than a few days in jug? And that Qazi's thugs will be rioting to spring them?
Posted by: Fred || 07/03/2005 00:09 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Six Afghans killed in bomb attack on convoy
KABUL - Four Afghan police and two soldiers were killed and a police chief and his driver wounded on Saturday when a roadside bomb blasted a convoy in Afghanistan that included UN and peacekeepers’ vehicles, a UN official said.

The explosion in the southeastern province of Paktika appeared to have been caused by a roadside bomb rigged up using an anti-tank mine, UN spokesman Adrian Edwards said. He said the police chief of Paktika province and his driver were slightly hurt, but no staff from the United Nations or the International Security Assistance Force peacekeepers were among the casualties.

The attack on the 20-vehicle convoy happened about 100 km (60 miles) southeast of Kabul, Edwards said. He said the soldiers killed appeared to have been riding in the open back of the vehicle carrying the police chief, adding that about 10 suspects were rounded up in an ensuing firefight. “It appears to have been quite a big blast,” he said.
Posted by: Steve White || 07/03/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Six for ten. The Afghans are getting better, I think. God speed their souls to Paradise.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/03/2005 8:26 Comments || Top||

#2  In Afghanistan you don't even have to use an IED. There are mines galor.
Posted by: Super Hose || 07/03/2005 22:47 Comments || Top||


Kashmir Korpse Kount
JAMMU, India (AP) - Indian soldiers on Saturday killed six Islamic terrorists militants who had crossed the mountainous frontier into India's portion of Kashmir from Pakistani territory, the army said. Two terrorists rebels and one civilian were killed in a separate gun battle Saturday. "The terrorists militants had infiltrated last night. Troops were keeping an eye on them and chasing them. ... We were able to kill them today," said Lt. Col. V.K. Badola, the army spokesman. The army also retrieved the terrorists militants' arms and ammunition, he said.

Authorities said the army interdicted the terrorists militants in the Keri sector of the mountainous Rajouri district, 110 miles northwest of Jammu, the winter capital of India's Jammu-Kashmir state.

Separately, government soldiers killed two suspected terrorists rebels in the Kotha forests of Bandipore, about 224 miles north of Jammu, police said. One villager also was killed and another wounded in the exchange of gunfire.
Posted by: Steve White || 07/03/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq-Jordan
Tribal leader arrested
In Mahmoudiya, US troops arrested Shaikh Adnan Fahd, the head of the area's al-Ghrir tribe, according to his brother, Eissa Fahd. There was no comment from US officials. Also on Saturday, al-Qaida in Iraq claimed responsibility for Friday's attack outside Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari's Islamic Dawa Party offices in Baghdad's Mansour district. The posting on an Islamic website could not be verified.
Posted by: Fred || 07/03/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Vegetable cart booms in Mahmoudiya
A bomb exploded on Saturday in a vegetable cart in a market in Mahmoudiya, a religiously mixed town about 20km south of Baghdad, killing two people and injuring 10 others, hospital officials said. The blast occurred a few minutes after mourners passed by with the body of an aide to Shia Grand Ayat Allah Ali al-Sistani - Kamaleddin al-Ghuraifi - who was slain on Friday outside a Baghdad mosque. It was unknown whether the bomb was intended for the mourners, who were carrying the body through the town en route to burial in the Shia shrine city of Najaf.

"It is a calamity for the neighbourhood, for Baghdad, for Muslims and for Shia," al-Ghuraifi's weeping brother Abu Hussein said. "What was his guilt? He was an old man, 70 years old and paralysed. What did he do?" Al-Ghuraifi's murder was one of three attacks on prominent Shia targets within 24 hours.
Posted by: Fred || 07/03/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  sumthin seeriusly rong wen we reech em f***** flyin carots of doom staje.
Posted by: muck4doo || 07/03/2005 3:15 Comments || Top||

#2  Vegan - right up your alley, M4D, lol! Hey, when you want a V-8, well, nothing else will do...

I must admit I'm morbidly fascinated that all the attempts to ignite a civil war have failed, thus far. Perhaps the Shi'a have just been down so long that they don't have it in their genes, anymore, I dunno. I'm not for it, but it is a remarkable social tell-tale, no? With or without "official" sanction, I'd be looking for like-minded people for targeted payback. Now if I was a "leading Shi'ite", I'd quietly form hit squads and start taking out tribal leaders and sheikhs all across al Anbar - not the Sunni "holy men", no no no, I'd go after the people who are actively supporting the killers and making it possible for them to operate. But then that's just me. Yeah, I know how some will take this. Tough shit.
Posted by: .com || 07/03/2005 3:47 Comments || Top||

#3  The Shia want the whole country, .com, and they'll have it to split with the Kurds unless they allow Al Qaeda and the Baathists to goad them into what will become an endless civil war. Which will morph quickly into a proxy war between Shia Iran and the rest of the Arab world. I have no doubt the Americans din something similar into appropriate ears, likely on an hourly loop.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/03/2005 8:37 Comments || Top||

#4  Really? The Shi'a, huh? Are you so sure?

And you think I don't understand the civil war thingy and Iranian attempts to play the Shi'a card, huh? Ol' Tater's an Iranian Shi'a proxy, wouldn't you say? I think I get it.

And with a 3:1 numerical advantage, it doesn't have to be endless.

And I though I made it clear I wasn't advocating, just observing. At the end there, I was just speaking for myself. And made it clear.

Hmmm. Not sure what to make of your apparent mini-'splosion there, tw. I guess, since it seems you're lecturing me on something I did not say, my response should be... Don't wag your digital digit at me, lol! I said precisely what I meant and meant precisely what I said. No more, no less.

K? Lol! :P
Posted by: .com || 07/03/2005 11:46 Comments || Top||

#5  Good morning to you, too, .com. Bad night, I guess. The nurse drew 15 vials of blood Friday morning, and I seem to be suffering some after effects.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/03/2005 12:15 Comments || Top||

#6  Huh? "Good morning to you too..."?

Look, you started this shit - and this post doesn't do dick to end it. It's a Dicky Turban response. If you don't have the stones to clarify and drive home your point, whatever it was, or apologize if you misspoke, then save it. I don't respect crap like this. Gee, I'm sorry about your blood loss. OJ and a cookie seems to be the thing at the blood banks.
Posted by: .com || 07/03/2005 12:31 Comments || Top||

#7  I'm sorry that what I wrote annoyed you, .com. That was not my intention. I'll come back later when my brain is better oxygenated.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/03/2005 16:17 Comments || Top||

#8  Well let's drop this, then, and go back to the topic. I think the Shi'a behavior is actually rather bizarre, almost masochistic. Reading the Iraqi bloggers hasn't really explained it. Obeying Sistani or his type of authority isn't absolute by any means, just as with most people, they actually only obey when doing so suits them - or they fear too many are watching. You see it in the everyday behavior of Muzzies. They're "good" when it suits / serves... then quietly break half the rules at once when that serves individual interests. So standing there and taking it in all of these bombings, which have killed truckloads of Shi'a, and the assasinations of Mullahs, leading right up to Sistani's door, demands something more to explain it than mere calls for restraint, IMHO.
Posted by: .com || 07/03/2005 16:56 Comments || Top||


Tater tot freed in Iraq
US forces in Iraq have released a close aide to Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shia cleric who led uprisings against US troops last year, officials in al-Sadr's organisation say. Mohammed al-Tabtabaei had spent a year in detention at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, but was freed without charge, they said. He was detained during the first of two uprisings mounted last year by al-Sadr across southern Iraq. The US military confirmed his release. Al-Sadr himself faces an arrest warrant for murder issued under the US occupation authority in 2003. But he has been largely left alone by the Iraqi authorities since he agreed to disband his al-Mahdi Army following fighting last August.
Posted by: Fred || 07/03/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  the food was too good for him while held captive.
Posted by: Jan || 07/03/2005 0:13 Comments || Top||

#2  Mohammed al-Tabtabae, we should release photo shop pics of him eating a huge Virginia ham w/ all the trimmings.

/note to me: always be careful typing the word Virginia.

Posted by: Trimmings || 07/03/2005 1:59 Comments || Top||

#3  typo or no trimminsd itn probly haff em same afect.
Posted by: muck4doo || 07/03/2005 3:23 Comments || Top||

#4  It was a huge mistake not to take care of business, right then and there, when this fuckwit murderer jumped up in the Shi'as face and did his best to kill off his "holy" rivals - and Shi'a dreams, as well. Truly world-class stupid. Yeah, yeah, I've been hearing how wonderful Sistani is for 2 yrs, now. Right. A statue would've been equally effective. I'm sure the pigeons would've appreciated it more.
Posted by: .com || 07/03/2005 3:52 Comments || Top||

#5  Great pic.

Caption:
"..and every night I have the same dream - a .30 caliber slug headed straight for my forehead."
Posted by: mojo || 07/03/2005 12:00 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine
Gaza militants storm building in jobs protest
Dozens of militants from the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades have stormed a Palestinian government building in the Gaza Strip. Carrying assault rifles and wearing masks, about 40 Al Aqsa militants stormed the Palestinian Legislative Council building in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, demanding jobs in the Palestinian security forces. The gunmen want Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to abide by a promise to recruit them into the security forces.

Under pressure from Israel and the United States to disarm the militant groups, President Abbas is offering gunmen jobs in exchange for them laying down their weapons. Hundreds of militants from Al Aqsa have already agreed to join the security forces.
Posted by: Fred || 07/03/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  have them do a suicide rehearsal first before they are recruited
Posted by: Jan || 07/03/2005 0:17 Comments || Top||

#2  good idea! lol
Posted by: Red Dog || 07/03/2005 2:00 Comments || Top||

#3  Popcorn?
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/03/2005 2:05 Comments || Top||

#4  guesn all em good jobs taken by palasnian rappers.
Posted by: muck4doo || 07/03/2005 2:18 Comments || Top||

#5  I've never seen a picture of more pathetic losers in my entire life. And I even watched the Gong Show and Jerry Springer, once each.

From Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Chapter 22, where a lynch mob has come for Col. Sherburn:

They swarmed up in front of Sherburn's palings as thick as they could jam together, and you couldn't hear yourself think for the noise. It was a little twenty-foot yard. Some sung out "Tear down the fence! tear down the fence!" Then there was a racket of ripping and tearing and smashing, and down she goes, and the front wall of the crowd begins to roll in like a wave.

Just then Sherburn steps out on to the roof of his little front porch, with a double-barrel gun in his hand, and takes his stand, perfectly ca'm and deliberate, not saying a word. The racket stopped, and the wave sucked back.

Sherburn never said a word -- just stood there, looking down. The stillness was awful creepy and uncomfortable. Sherburn run his eye slow along the crowd; and wherever it struck the people tried a little to out-gaze him, but they couldn't; they dropped their eyes and looked sneaky. Then pretty soon Sherburn sort of laughed; not the pleasant kind, but the kind that makes you feel like when you are eating bread that's got sand in it.

Then he says, slow and scornful:

"The idea of YOU lynching anybody! It's amusing. The idea of you thinking you had pluck enough to lynch a MAN! Because you're brave enough to tar and feather poor friendless cast-out women that come along here, did that make you think you had grit enough to lay your hands on a MAN? Why, a MAN'S safe in the hands of ten thousand of your kind -- as long as it's daytime and you're not behind him.

"Do I know you? I know you clear through was born and raised in the South, and I've lived in the North; so I know the average all around. The average man's a coward. In the North he lets anybody walk over him that wants to, and goes home and prays for a humble spirit to bear it. In the South one man all by himself, has stopped a stage full of men in the daytime, and robbed the lot. Your newspapers call you a brave people so much that you think you are braver than any other people -- whereas you're just AS brave, and no braver. Why don't your juries hang murderers? Because they're afraid the man's friends will shoot them in the back, in the dark -- and it's just what they WOULD do.

"So they always acquit; and then a MAN goes in the night, with a hundred masked cowards at his back and lynches the rascal. Your mistake is, that you didn't bring a man with you; that's one mistake, and the other is that you didn't come in the dark and fetch your masks. You brought PART of a man -- Buck Harkness, there -- and if you hadn't had him to start you, you'd a taken it out in blowing.

"You didn't want to come. The average man don't like trouble and danger. YOU don't like trouble and danger. But if only HALF a man -- like Buck Harkness, there -- shouts 'Lynch him! lynch him!' you're afraid to back down -- afraid you'll be found out to be what you are -- COWARDS -- and so you raise a yell, and hang yourselves on to that half-a-man's coat-tail, and come raging up here, swearing what big things you're going to do. The pitifulest thing out is a mob; that's what an army is -- a mob; they don't fight with courage that's born in them, but with courage that's borrowed from their mass, and from their officers. But a mob without any MAN at the head of it is BENEATH pitifulness. Now the thing for YOU to do is to droop your tails and go home and crawl in a hole. If any real lynching's going to be done it will be done in the dark, Southern fashion; and when they come they'll bring their masks, and fetch a MAN along. Now LEAVE -- and take your half-a-man with you" -- tossing his gun up across his left arm and cocking it when he says this.

The crowd washed back sudden, and then broke all apart, and went tearing off every which way, and Buck Harkness he heeled it after them, looking tolerable cheap. I could a stayed if I wanted to, but I didn't want to.


The full excerpt is here.
Posted by: .com || 07/03/2005 4:08 Comments || Top||

#6  huh - I always took a resume, a #2 pencil to interviews, never a mask and AK47....
Posted by: Frank G || 07/03/2005 11:26 Comments || Top||

#7  Wear a perky tie with yur aloha shirt?
Posted by: Shipman || 07/03/2005 11:53 Comments || Top||

#8  braided chest hair - it's an icebreaker...
Posted by: Frank G || 07/03/2005 12:04 Comments || Top||

#9  They need more patience. Live 8 just finished. It may be a week or two before their poverty is abolished.
Posted by: Super Hose || 07/03/2005 22:58 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan/South Asia
US planes bomb compound in Afghanistan
US warplanes bombed a militant compound in eastern Afghanistan, the US military said. "We had an air strike target an enemy compound on Kunar, which in our assessment we had to hit immediately," spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jerry O'Hara said. "The bombardment was done using precision guided munitions."

It was still unclear whether there were any casualties in the attack, which was carried out on Friday, Lt Col O'Hara said. Kunar governor Asadullah Wafa said there had been an air strike on Chichal village in Kunar but he could not confirm Taliban claims of civilian casualties. Taliban spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi said the air strike killed 25 civilians, including children. The strike came amid a search for a small US reconnaissance team that disappeared during a rescue attempt by a US helicopter that was subsequently shot down.
Posted by: Fred || 07/03/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  IMO any "compound" along either side of the border that even slightly appears fortified, ought to be bombed into rubble. If they aren't used by Taliban they are used by warlords, smugglers, or others who are probably up to no good. Destroying them lengthens the distance from the nearest aid and comfort.
Posted by: DO || 07/03/2005 12:49 Comments || Top||

#2  Right On, DO; and after reducing the plain to zero, send in a few 'Bunker Busters' to collapse the tunnels underground!
Posted by: smn || 07/03/2005 21:50 Comments || Top||


2 tribals arrested in Waziristan
A military search and cordon operation in North Waziristan on Saturday led to the arrest of two locals, a military official said. Rocket propelled grenades, rockets and hand-grenades were also seized from them, said the official, who asked not to be named. The operation was launched in the Madakhel tribe area near the border with Afghanistan, said a senior government official in Miranshah, the agency headquarters of North Waziristan. "The residents described seeing two foreigners after which a large number of army personnel were dropped in the area by helicopter," said the official.
Posted by: Fred || 07/03/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


FBI wants quick probe against money changer
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) through the legal attaché at the US embassy in Islamabad has asked the Government of Pakistan to expedite investigations against a Pakistani foreign exchange agent whom they suspect to be involved in terror financing. Mehboob Kukaswadia was offloaded from a Dubai-bound Emirate Airlines flight at Quaid-e-Azam International Airport, Karachi, with un-assorted foreign currency (other than US dollars) worth 1.7 million US dollars on September 14, 2004. In 2002, the legal attaché of US embassy in Islamabad had for the first time sought information about Mr Kukaswadia saying he had sent a huge amount of US dollars to Dubai via wire transfers.

The legal attaché at the US embassy in Islamabad had conveyed to the ministry of interior that the FBI had arrested two Pakistani-Americans in Chicago on information provided by the Federal Reserve Bank New York that their (two Pakistanis) currency trading firm was involved in transferring more than 120 million US dollars to Mr Kukaswadia. The legal attaché at the US embassy had conveyed to the ministry of interior that the FBI had arrested Abdul Rauf Noor Mohammed, president of Chicago-based currency trading firm Money Express (formerly known as Pakistan Express International), and its registered agent Junaid R Noor Mohammed on the basis of information provided by the Federal Reserve Bank New York.

The record provided to the FBI by the Federal Reserve Bank showed that 120 million US dollars were transferred to Mr Kukaswadia, primarily through Money Express. In its initial report sent to the FBI, the interior ministry had given a positive finding on the aspect of money laundering saying that Mr Kukaswadia at the time of sending money through Pakistan Express International had shown himself as a resident of 118, New Nauman Road, Kharadar, Karachi, and the amount was actually transferred to a non-resident Pakistani account at Askari Commercial Bank Limited where Mr Kukaswadia’s address was shown as P O Box No 4692, Dubai. The initial report sent in March shows that Mr Kukaswadia has dual nationality of Pakistan and Canada.
Posted by: Fred || 07/03/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


5 held for rocket attack on Jam Yousaf's house
QUETTA: Five more people were arrested on Saturday on suspicion of firing rockets on Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Muhammad Yousaf's house last month. Kalat police raided Mangchir Dilo Chjir and tracked down the accused. Police in plain clothes have also been deputed to various areas and more arrests are expected in the next 24 hours.
Posted by: Fred || 07/03/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Almost noon eastern and no rug comments. I call shark jump on this guy.
Posted by: Shipman || 07/03/2005 11:49 Comments || Top||

#2  rug? Drink cozy...
Posted by: Frank G || 07/03/2005 12:04 Comments || Top||

#3  Okay, we'll extend his rug run to 13 more weeks with an option for next year.
Posted by: Shipman || 07/03/2005 16:29 Comments || Top||


Afghan held with explosives
QUETTA: Paramilitary forces on Saturday arrested a suspected Afghan terrorist in Chaman about 125 kilometres northwest of Quetta, but it was not clear whether he had links with a terror group, an official said. Lt Col Rizwan Malik, a spokesman for the Frontier Constabulary troops, said the suspect was carrying explosives when he was arrested. "We suspect he wanted to deliver this bomb-making material to someone in Quetta," Col Malik said. "We don't know who sent him here, or whether he had links with any militant group."

Also on Saturday, troops raided a village in North Waziristan near the Afghan border and seized two men on suspicion of sheltering foreign militants, an official said, on condition of anonymity. He added that the troops also seized rockets, assault rifles and hand grenades.
Posted by: Fred || 07/03/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:



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Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2005-07-03
  Al-Hayeri toes up
Sat 2005-07-02
  Hundreds of Afghan Troops Raid Taliban Hide-Out
Fri 2005-07-01
  16 U.S. Troops Killed in Afghan Crash
Thu 2005-06-30
  Ricin plot leader gets 10 years
Wed 2005-06-29
  The List: Saudi Arabia's 36 Most Wanted
Tue 2005-06-28
  New offensive in Anbar
Mon 2005-06-27
  'Head' of Ansar al-Sunna captured
Sun 2005-06-26
  76 more terrorists whacked in Afghanistan
Sat 2005-06-25
  Ahmadinejad wins Iran election
Fri 2005-06-24
  132 Talibs toes up in Zabul fighting
Thu 2005-06-23
  Saudi Terror Suspect Said Killed in Iraq
Wed 2005-06-22
  Qurei flees West Bank gunfire
Tue 2005-06-21
  Saudi 'cop killers' shot dead
Mon 2005-06-20
  Afghan Officials Stop Khalizad Assassination Plot
Sun 2005-06-19
  Senior Saudi Security Officer Killed In Drive-By Shooting

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