Hi there, !
Today Fri 08/05/2005 Thu 08/04/2005 Wed 08/03/2005 Tue 08/02/2005 Mon 08/01/2005 Sun 07/31/2005 Sat 07/30/2005 Archives
Rantburg
531718 articles and 1856012 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 88 articles and 579 comments as of 15:56.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion           
24 Killed in Khartoum Riot
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
1 00:00 Captain America [1] 
0 [] 
2 00:00 mojo [] 
1 00:00 MunkarKat [1] 
6 00:00 Shipman [] 
0 [2] 
7 00:00 JosephMendiola [] 
11 00:00 BigEd [] 
12 00:00 Omeng Elmoluling6917 [] 
0 [] 
7 00:00 Scott R [] 
1 00:00 bigjim-ky [] 
2 00:00 Liberalhawk [] 
3 00:00 AlanC [] 
4 00:00 Bomb-a-rama [] 
1 00:00 bigjim-ky [] 
5 00:00 bigjim-ky [] 
1 00:00 bigjim-ky [] 
6 00:00 Shipman [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
10 00:00 Shipman [] 
10 00:00 mojo [] 
Page 2: WoT Background
1 00:00 PlanetDan []
6 00:00 Shipman []
4 00:00 Captain America []
5 00:00 BigEd []
3 00:00 Pheresing Thravith6039 []
5 00:00 Michael [1]
1 00:00 BigEd []
13 00:00 Cyber Sarge []
0 []
1 00:00 Classical_Liberal []
7 00:00 Shipman []
2 00:00 Ominesh Gleasing2331 []
16 00:00 Mrs. Davis []
24 00:00 JosephMendiola []
4 00:00 Ominesh Gleasing2331 []
2 00:00 ElvisHasLeftTheBuilding []
2 00:00 Ominesh Gleasing2331 []
3 00:00 Fred []
2 00:00 trailing wife []
1 00:00 Ominesh Gleasing2331 []
1 00:00 Ominesh Gleasing2331 []
0 []
30 00:00 Zhang Fei []
3 00:00 Rory B. Bellows []
7 00:00 mac []
11 00:00 rjschwarz []
2 00:00 bigjim-ky []
3 00:00 Paul Moloney []
4 00:00 Jackob Rubenstein []
17 00:00 Captain America []
3 00:00 rjschwarz []
5 00:00 AgentProvocateur []
15 00:00 Shipman []
2 00:00 bigjim-ky []
5 00:00 Scott R []
4 00:00 DEEK []
4 00:00 Shipman []
0 []
8 00:00 Danielle []
0 []
Page 3: Non-WoT
4 00:00 Sock Puppet 0’ Doom []
1 00:00 Pappy []
28 00:00 Bomb-a-rama []
8 00:00 Ominesh Gleasing2331 []
4 00:00 Shipman []
11 00:00 AlanC []
61 00:00 Jackal []
5 00:00 Bomb-a-rama []
5 00:00 Penguin []
4 00:00 Phumble Ebbomotch4624 []
10 00:00 tu3031 []
5 00:00 BigEd []
2 00:00 3dc []
0 []
21 00:00 Rafael []
6 00:00 Red Lief []
15 00:00 Valentine []
3 00:00 2b []
15 00:00 True German Ally []
2 00:00 bigjim-ky []
28 00:00 Barbara Skolaut []
2 00:00 BigEd []
Page 4: Opinion
16 00:00 Bobby []
1 00:00 Bomb-a-rama []
4 00:00 Bobby []
Arabia
Saudi Royals May Fight for Control After Fahd's Death
EFL
-- The accession of Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, who is crowned as King of Saudi Arabia tomorrow, may only delay a struggle for power in the Royal House of Saud. ``This is the largest royal family in the world and there will be a struggle as princes compete for positions of power,'' said Mai Yamani, a gulf region specialist at the London-based research center Chatham House. ``The big question is who will Abdullah appoint as his deputy -- it's the post they all want.''
I think the big question is whether Abdullah's going to have enough time before pegging out to move his own kids and allies into positions of power. And whether he's dumb enough to take any helicopter rides or to go for a drive in the desert.
Abdullah will be one of two octogenarians controlling affairs in the kingdom. Abdullah's half-brother, Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, currently minister of defense and also in his 80s, will become Crown Prince. King Fahd, ruler of 23 years, died Aug. 1 in the capital, Riyadh.
... also in his dotage 80s...
With Saudi Arabia holding the world's largest oil reserves, concern about the future direction of the kingdom helped drive oil prices to a record $62.30 a barrel on Aug. 1. Any reassurances from Abdullah and Sultan to western political and business leaders may be undermined as other royals dispatch their assassins jockey for position, said John Bradley, a Middle East historian. ``Saudi Arabia will see continuity under Abdullah but the issue of succession becomes serious now, bearing in mind that Abdullah and Sultan are themselves very old and are only a short- term solution,'' said Bradley, author of ``Saudi Arabia Exposed,'' in a telephone interview.
That's pretty much a statement of the obvious. I think we mentioned it here yesterday...
According to a report released Aug. 1 by research group Oxford Analytica, Abdullah has heart problems and is likely to be transitional ruler unlikely to fundamentally change the kingdom.
He's already done probably as much as he's going to do, since he's been running thing ever since King Fod became a broccoli...
The report also said the incoming Crown Prince Sultan has been treated for cancer.
We keep hearing these cancer stories, but nobody ever seems to croak from it. Muammar was supposed to be in the terminal stages three years ago. Yasser was supposed to have it.
Part of Fahd's legacy was to change the laws of succession in 1992, allowing for grandsons of the country's founder, Abdulaziz Ibn al-Saud to become king, Prince Turki al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the U.K., told reporters in London yesterday. The law decreed that the most capable prince would be selected as king by the Saud family, opening the way to a power struggle by removing the automatic nature of succession.
"There can be only one!"
"Most capable" can be translated as "last man standing"...
``Sultan and other senior princes all have sons from more than one wife who are potential rivals for positions of power,'' Bradley said.
Welcome to the Middle Ages where succession is still a contact sport

Potential leaders include Prince Bandar Bin Sultan, 56, the son of the incoming crown Prince Sultan and former Ambassador to the U.S.; Prince Salman ibn Adbul Aziz, 71; Interior Minister Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz, 70, and Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, 48, the world's fifth-richest man and largest shareholder in Citigroup Inc. Bandar and Alwaleed have extensive contacts with western business and political figures.
The so-called "moderate" branch of the family tree.
Prince Naif is a controversial figure, who Bradley doesn't believe the U.S. and other western nations would welcome as a contender to the throne. Shortly after the Sept. 11 2001 attacks on the U.S., Naif said he didn't believe Saudis were among the hijackers and that the attack was a Zionist conspiracy.
Voted "Most likely to smother his brothers in their sleep"
... and only half as bright as he thinks he is...
As the most influential member in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Saudi Arabia has led supply increases over the past few years, in a bid to satisfy a surge in world demand and benefiting from the sale of more barrels. It has also helped moderate demands for higher oil prices from other members of the group of 11 oil exporters, including Iran and Venezuela, aiming not to undermine demand for crude. ``I don't expect any change in policies, only continuity,'' Prince Turki al-Faisal said.
I wouldn't expect any overt changes in the coming months, but I expect there will be a lot of activity in the background, to include a few untimely departures from this vale of tears — let's call it a spike in the number of auto and aircraft accidents...
Bradley says the royal family must introduce additional social reforms to quell a population where the official unemployment rate is 25 percent and more than one-third of the population is under 14 years of age.
Or crack down even harder, which is more likely under Naif.
Abdullah had been in charge of day-to-day affairs in Saudi Arabia since Fahd suffered a stroke in 1996. Fahd's reign was marked by pro-U.S. policies, tense relations with Islamic clerics and an opening of the oil industry to foreign investment.
But, odds are, he ain't going to keep living much longer at his age.
Muhammad-Ali Zainy of the London-based Center for Global Energy Studies said future Saudi leaders must confront Islamic fundamentalists and may need to reduce the role religion plays in education. `They are already deep into Islamization, teaching people religion,'' he said in an interview. ``What really produced these fanatics and terrorists is too much focus on religion.''
We've noticed
Bandar was posted in Washington for 22 years and maintained close ties with the Bush family. President George W. Bush cited Bandar's ``charm, wit and humor'' and called him a ``tireless advocate for close ties, warm relations and mutual understanding between the United States and Saudi Arabia over 20 years,'' in a statement issued after his resignation from the diplomatic post July 21.
Yeah, yeah, we know. So did every one else in Washington.
The relationship between Bandar and the U.S. administration didn't lead to either country's intelligence service detecting the presence of 15 Saudi nationals in the U.S. in the months before Sept. 11, 2001. Those nationals joined with four other Islamic activists to carry out the hijackings.
Still, Bandar's experience and relationship to the current crown prince could give him an advantage among the younger rivals for the crown.
The big question is, did all those years hob-nobbing in Washington dull his skills at the close quarter knife fighting now being played out
Oxford Anayltica said the appointment of a ``second deputy prime minister'' to assist the crown prince will be a ``significant pointer'' in the direction of the kingdom. The person holding that position has traditionally become the next in line for crown princes, the report said. ``Two rival camps, the so-called reformers and the hardliners, are forming,'' Chatham House's Yamani said. ``If Abdullah can appoint a more open-minded younger figure, then there may be hope.''
Let the games begin!
"Mahmoud! I shall be calling on my half brother, Prince Ahmed. Fetch me my silken cord and the small bottle of 'special' seasoning!"
"Yes, effendi!"
"And... ummm... hire a new food taster. The last one died!"
Posted by: Steve || 08/02/2005 10:37 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  DUEL!

Swords at 20 paces. Winner gets the Magic Kingdom, and the lamp with three wishes.

Posted by: BigEd || 08/02/2005 11:16 Comments || Top||

#2  Large popcorn, exta butter.
Posted by: gromgoru || 08/02/2005 11:24 Comments || Top||

#3  Saudi Royals May Fight for Control After Fahd's Death

In other news:
Sun Expected To Rise in East
Posted by: mojo || 08/02/2005 11:40 Comments || Top||

#4  I forsee lots of "car accidents" in the desert. Also some "helicopter crashes"...
Posted by: tu3031 || 08/02/2005 12:01 Comments || Top||

#5  Saudi Royals May Fight for Control After Fahd's Death


...From your lips to Allan's ears.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 08/02/2005 12:12 Comments || Top||

#6  I really couldn't care less about those sandy assholes, but it seems like we are the ones who take it up the coat on oil prices every time something like this happens in arab-land. They have no reason to stabilize the region, and apparently every reason to destabilize it. (higher prices for the same barrel of oil) We simply can't win when it comes to arab oil.
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 08/02/2005 13:35 Comments || Top||

#7  Let's see if my scorecard is up to date. Abdullah controls the National Guard, Bedu to the core and loyal to him. Sultan controls the Armed Forces [rotfl] [hey, they might be worth spit] [or not]. Nayef controls the police, interior sercurity and most probably the religious police.

Tonight, on Pay Per View, RUMBLE IN THE DESERT
Posted by: Chuck Simmins || 08/02/2005 13:42 Comments || Top||

#8  One hopes it will be a fight to the death
Posted by: Michael || 08/02/2005 14:12 Comments || Top||

#9 
I thought the royal mascot got to make the final decision
Posted by: BigEd || 08/02/2005 15:26 Comments || Top||

#10  What is that thing, Big Ed? Is it real?
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/02/2005 17:32 Comments || Top||

#11  Baby aye-aye, in the lemur family, native to Madagascar
Posted by: BigEd || 08/02/2005 18:04 Comments || Top||


'Turki al-Faisal's former links to extremists needs clarification'
I was wondering if this would come up...
WASHINGTON: The appointment of former Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki al-Faisal as ambassador to the United States should be the occasion for Riyadh to clear up its past relations with Islamic extremists and terrorists, the New York Times said Sunday. Pointing to his former oversight of Saudi Arabia's relationship with Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar, Prince Turki represents the Saudis' longstanding ambiguous relationship with Islamic extremism, the Times said in an editorial. "His appointment should stimulate serious discussion of the darker aspects of Saudi Arabia's historic relations with the world of Islamic extremists and terrorists," the newspaper said. While stressing that Turki is "neither a terrorist nor a religious zealot", the Times said he was closely connected to Saudi Arabia's decades of aggressive Islamic diplomacy, some of which eventually spawned militant extremist groups like Al Qaeda and the Taliban.
Posted by: Fred || 08/02/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  In one way this is good: it should be easier to remember that he's not on our side. With Bandar, many assumed that he was on our side and gave him access, took his money, etc. Keep all Soddies at arm's length (and maybe hold a gun on them too).
Posted by: Spot || 08/02/2005 8:15 Comments || Top||

#2  wow, for once I agree with the NYT. I feel so confused.
Posted by: 2b || 08/02/2005 10:46 Comments || Top||

#3  ahhh, I bet they will just explore all of his darker sides and then after their "exhaustive examination", proclaim him fit as fiddle. Phew! I feel much better now.
Posted by: 2b || 08/02/2005 10:49 Comments || Top||

#4  Methinks it's dawned on the Manhattan elite that the parties, glad-handling, and birthday presents are over.
Posted by: Pappy || 08/02/2005 11:02 Comments || Top||

#5  Oh, I'm sure he'll still have that magic bag filled with presents for all the good little girls and boys, which will magically erase certain "unpleasantries". I wonder if Bandar will let him use his old one. It's probably lying around the embassy someplace...
Posted by: tu3031 || 08/02/2005 12:08 Comments || Top||

#6  Pappy - hmmm maybe this explains the sudden silence of the yappy dogs. Gotta wait and see what he thinks before they speak. Time will tell.
Posted by: 2b || 08/02/2005 12:27 Comments || Top||

#7  Bandar's Rolodex will be passed on or copied. The goodies will continue to flow to those in the State Dept Retirement Plan who deliver. Turki's as smooth as silk - he did the same gig, just as effectively as Bandar, in the UK, i.e. money talks everywhere. With a socialist Govt, he certainly didn't have to twist any arms there.
Posted by: Phumble Ebbomotch4624 || 08/02/2005 13:54 Comments || Top||

#8  I wish I was in a position to get some good bribes out of this one. They're going to be some good ones over this.
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 08/02/2005 14:44 Comments || Top||

#9 

Hmmm.
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 08/02/2005 14:57 Comments || Top||

#10  Turki's a distraction. Where's Nayef?
Posted by: mojo || 08/02/2005 20:18 Comments || Top||


Britain
More bomb suspects quizzed
POLICE are quizzing two more men over last month's failed bomb attacks as a suspect in Rome was charged with international terrorism. The pair were seized when three homes were raided in Stockwell, south London.
Hamdi Issac, also known as Osman Hussain, was charged by Italian prosecutors in a surprise move. It is not expected the charges, which include possessing false identity documents, will lead to a trial in Italy. The 27-year-old is said to be co-operating.

Chief anti-terrorist policeman Carlo De Stefano said the extradition should not take long. He revealed Italian police were probing links between Osman's family and an al-Qaida money-laundering network.
I knew that "one bad apple" meme was a little weak
One of Osman's brothers, Remzi, had been monitored since September 11, 2001 after the FBI placed his business on the list of companies involved with al Barakaat, the network used by al-Qaida to move money.

Immigration officers and police are investigating whether as many as four of those linked to the failed Tube and bus bombings on July 21 entered Britain on false papers. Immigration officers suspect the men, who have all been arrested, followed in the footsteps of Ethiopian-born Osman, who conned his way in by saying he was Somali. Osman, suspected of being the Shepherd's Bush bomber, was arrested in Rome after fleeing on the Eurostar. Downing St said an internal Home Office inquiry had been launched into how he was able to escape on the train and consideration was being given to reintroducing checks on everyone leaving Britain.

Another visitor to the Rome flat in recent weeks is said to have been Muktar Saed Ibrahim, 27, the suspected Hackney bus bomber, whom Osman alleges is the leader of the so-called East African cell.
Rome is looking more like a hub of operations than just a place Osman ran to hide
Police want to know why Remzi, one of four brothers now under arrest, flew to Dubai, Munich, Amsterdam, Zurich and Geneva in recent weeks.
That smells like a money trail
Mr De Stefano said Osman had made at least one mysterious phone call to Saudi Arabia on his journey. British and Saudi investigators are examining calls, text messages and emails between leaders of al-Qaida in Saudi Arabia and unknown people in Britain in February-May.
Posted by: Steve || 08/02/2005 15:04 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Remzi was just on a little holiday. A well earned vacation from his demanding line of work. A whirlwind holiday including duty free shipping in Dubai and then a visit to a few of the cultural treasures of europe to take in the beauty of western society.
Posted by: MunkarKat || 08/02/2005 15:41 Comments || Top||


Europe
Hofstadgroep terrorism suspects to remain in jail
The eleven young men in jail on suspicion of membership in the Hofstadgroep terror network will remain in detention until the next pro forma hearing in late September, a Rotterdam court ruled on Friday.
The revolving door seems to be turning much more slowly these days...
The court also ruled their attorneys could question witnesses including the head of the state security service AIVD and MPs Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Geert Wilders. The court found there were sufficient objections to releasing the eleven men.
Roughly nine rucksacks full of objections, I'd wager.
Posted by: Seafarious || 08/02/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
CounterTerrorism blog: PDF - The Road Through Syria to Jihad in Iraq.
Tips for would be Splodeydopes.

Posted by: 3dc || 08/02/2005 20:54 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  They've been staying up late watching old Crosby-Hope movies, the road to....
Posted by: Captain America || 08/02/2005 22:41 Comments || Top||


Blast rocks Tehran building
TEHRAN, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- An explosive device Tuesday rocked a building harboring foreign companies in central Tehran, causing damage but no injuries, the Iranian News Agency reports. IRNA said the building houses the offices of British Petroleum, British Airways and Mercedes Benz, producing panic among employees.
BP and BA, huh? Just a coincidence, I'm sure.
Police said an investigation was under way.
Additional: The device exploded around 9:30 a.m. (0500 GMT) in a garbage bin on the 10th floor near the British Airways office. One witness told Reuters the blast was caused by a bomb hidden in a rubbish bin in the hallway of a large tower block on the floor shared by the two companies and car giant DaimlerChrysler. "It was at 9.15 a.m. (0445 GMT) outside the BA and BP office, there were no casualties but the building was damaged," said the witness who works in one of the offices.
"It was hidden in a rubbish bin," he said. "Windows were smashed, there was a lot of damage to the building, parts of the ceiling collapsed."

Police at the scene told Reuters it was a bomb blast. However, the UK's Press Association said the explosion was thought to have been caused by device similar to a concussion grenade which produces a loud noise and a shock wave. Just a little wake-up call
Iran's Interior Ministry said they had sent bomb disposal teams to the building. It was not immediately clear who was behind the blast.
A BA spokesman in London told CNN: "We can confirm that police in Tehran are investigating a very small explosion outside an office block in the city. No one from British Airways or its franchise carrier BMed has been injured in the incident. "British Airways' franchise BMed, which operates a daily service to the city, has its office on the 10th floor of the building which also includes many other Western companies.
"There was no damage to the BMed office given its height above the ground. It is likely that the office will be closed for the remainder of the day."
Posted by: Steve || 08/02/2005 08:46 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Hmmm.... State-sanctioned terror against the west, or maybe some protesters against the current regime? Only the gummint knows for sure.
Posted by: Bobby || 08/02/2005 8:59 Comments || Top||

#2  The Brits are certainly popular at the mo' - heh.
Posted by: Howard UK || 08/02/2005 9:00 Comments || Top||

#3  And this on the same day:

TEHRAN, Aug 2 (Reuters) - A gunman on a motorcycle shot dead the judge trying the case of Iranian dissident Akbar Ganji, judiciary spokesman Jamal Karimirad said on Tuesday.


Mere coincidence?
Posted by: Mike || 08/02/2005 9:24 Comments || Top||

#4  The Brits are certainly popular at the mo'

remember the Iranin poster that was intent on sowing seeds of discontent between America and Britain - going on about the American Revolution? It was the first shot across the brow I guess. Interesting. I wonder why.
Posted by: 2b || 08/02/2005 10:04 Comments || Top||

#5  An explosive device Tuesday rocked a building harboring foreign companies in central Tehran, causing damage but no injuries, the Iranian News Agency reports.

Couldn't they have targeted a building full of mullahs instead?
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 08/02/2005 11:03 Comments || Top||

#6  Couldn't they have targeted a building full of mullahs instead?

Naw, you can dig magic mullahs out of rubble...

They are waiting for us, or Israel, to use the new super-deluxe particle/microwave weapon on the mullahs. Microwave cooks from the inside!
Posted by: BigEd || 08/02/2005 11:08 Comments || Top||

#7  I just wonder (hoping) that the US is conducting a top-to-bottom discombobulation of the entire Iranian nation. Literally thousands of agents all on a mission to be naughty. Agitating minorities, assassinating monsterous tyrants, disrupting and sabotaging trade and business, sewing distrust and disaffection, spreading disinformation and information, increasing popular discomfort, fomenting superstition and confusion. Oh, life can be good.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 08/02/2005 11:35 Comments || Top||

#8  AH, Anonymoose - those were the days!

What? 1955?

If we had two agents to rub together, we could make a fire....

But I hope other, less organized, forces are accomplishing the same thing!
Posted by: Bobby || 08/02/2005 12:02 Comments || Top||

#9  I hope the folks in whatever agency in Iraq have been able to find the folks who want the MMs gone as much as we do. Congrats and keep up the good work!
Posted by: Mrs. Davis || 08/02/2005 13:08 Comments || Top||

#10  Promote terror and that's what you will get. The prospect of financial loss probably never occured to them.
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 08/02/2005 13:12 Comments || Top||

#11  I guess asking for a 10,000 meter mushroom cloud and massive blast and heat waves would be stretching things just a bit - nevertheless, I would love to hear about it. 'Couldn't hardly happen to a better candidate city.

Love,
Lone Ranger
Range Class 11-76
Posted by: Lone Ranger || 08/02/2005 13:23 Comments || Top||

#12  No western business has any legitimate business in Iran. SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS.

Posted by: Omeng Elmoluling6917 || 08/02/2005 17:26 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine
Al Qaeda-Palestine announces its arrival in Gaza
Al Qaeda’s Appearance in Gaza is a Dangerous New Terrorist Manifestation

DEBKAfile Special Report

August 3, 2005, 1:43 AM (GMT+02:00)

This is from Debka, so take it as you may, but they generally have pretty good sources and break this type of sceurity/terrorism news from Israel first.This was the only place I could find reference to this new Al qaida branch, so all you Rantburger regulars please help find another source.
Tuesday, August 2, Al Qaeda claimed the establishment of a Gaza branch called “Al Qaeda-Palestine, Jihad Brigades in the Border Land.” As if Palestine didn't have enough targets for us to hit, I mean radical groups.See, pretty good sources.
Debka has a story on this at their site too, seems Al Q has some publisher friends stepping up to the plate.
Al Qaeda’s Palestinian gunmen performing on the tape claim the new organization is already in action and assume responsibility for firing rockets at the Israeli communities of Neve Dekalim and Gunei Tal in the Gaza Strip Saturday night, July 30.

Military tests revealed that Sinjal rockets, which are used by the Jihad Islami and are inferior even to the hit-or-miss Qassam missiles, were indeed fired at those two places. They'll move up to potato cannons next.Upstanding citizens no doubt.
Israeli intelligence experts on al Qaeda have three diverse theories to explain the new development. As always Debka has theories and lots of em, though I'm sure they are much more informed and educated than my theories would be.
1. This theory holds that the three most violent Palestinian groups, Hamas, Jihad Islami and the Fatah-al Aqsa Brigades, established a new umbrella organization to execute terrorist and shooting attacks against Israel’s withdrawal operation in two weeks while eluding the charge of flouting Abu Mazen’s orders. This theory does not fully explain al Qaeda’s introduction to the Gaza Strip.

2. Al Qaeda’s agents infiltrated the Gaza Strip through northern Sinai, the Palestinian arms smuggling gangs who work both sides of the Rafah border or Hizballah cells in Gaza, and set u p a new organization based on the Hamas and Jihad Islami.

3. The Palestinian Popular Committees which bring together the al Aqsa Brigades and other terrorist splinters has split into feuding elements, one of which may have joined up with al Qaeda, promised allegiance and collaboration and received funds. That money would have paid for the film and the two attacks.
I think an amalgamation of all three theories could also be possible.
Whichever mechanism was used, it is clear that the international Islamist organization has made its first public appearance as a terrorist force present in the Gaza Strip. In every country, this hostile penetration would have captured top headlines and the security authorities and government would have been challenged for explanations. However in Israel today, the government, defense officials are media are so deeply immersed in the task of rooting out every last civilian and soldier from the affected territory against all opposition, that they are incapable of reviewing that task in the light of the new invasion.This is Debka's hit at the Sharon withdrawal policy, but I do agree with them.

Methinks that most of us see no difference in the Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, and Al Qaeda, but obviously there are differences and plenty of them. However, that being said, they all will still catch bullets and missiles in the same way. And all of these groups will no doubt be in need of some ass kicking and may soon justify a more, shall we say hardline approach from Western powers in dealing with Palestine. Take note Abu Mazen, if you can't clean up your own backyard, we will do it for you.
EP
Posted by: ElvisHasLeftTheBuilding || 08/02/2005 18:49 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


New force in Gaza adds to security uncertainty
GAZA, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Hundreds of members of the dominant Palestinian movement Fatah began training in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday for what they said would be the foundation of a popular army to help keep law and order after Israel withdraws this month. But a senior Palestinian official close to President Mahmoud Abbas, who has been under pressure at home and from abroad to slim down security forces and rein in unruly militant factions, said the group was acting on its own accord.
Fatah wants to take credit for Israel leaving Gaza, this would be their force to do it
The group's appearance and the question of who might be behind it underscored confusion among Palestinian forces -- described in an independent report as being in disarray, undermined by corruption and internal rivalries.

Men, mostly dressed in military uniforms, began their training at Khan Younis training camp in the southern Gaza Strip under the supervision of some police and other security forces. Mohammad Zua'rub, head of the Fatah training school in Khan Younis said the current training plan involved 350 men and would take 45 days. "We have been instructed to train those men to found the nucleus of the Popular Army," Zua'rub told Reuters. "The course will include military training, psychological, security and political teachings." The Interior Ministry did not have immediate comment on the group.

It was far from clear how any new force might fit into the security structure and appeared certain to add to the current jumble of at least a dozen forces, many divided by deep rivalries and with a poor history of cooperation. The picture is further complicated by powerful militant factions waging an uprising against Israel since 2000. Zua'rub said the training had been ordered by Fatah leader Farouq Al-Qadoumi, who lives in exile and never accepted interim peace accords with the Israelis from the 1990s. But Qadoumi said he had nothing to do with any militia.
"There is the police and the security forces, why should I form militias, and I don't have the money to pay for these militias," he told Reuters by telephone.

A senior official in Fatah's leadership in the Gaza Strip who is close to Abbas also said the group had made no decision to form a popular army and accused unspecified people "trying to make personal gains" of being behind it. "The time now is to reinforce the Palestinian Authority and its security agencies and not to create new militias," said the official, who did not want to be named. But no apparent attempt was made to stop the training. Abbas has been under pressure from Israel and the United States to reorganise at least a dozen security forces and rein in militant groups, including groups within Fatah such as al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. Palestinians also demand reforms to forces that are widely seen as ineffective and sometimes corrupt.

An independent survey from a Washington-based think tank said last week that security forces were in such disarray they may not be able to fill the vacuum after Israel withdraws from the occupied Gaza Strip this year. The report criticised Israel for undermining Palestinian forces during the uprising as well as internal factors.
Posted by: Steve || 08/02/2005 15:42 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Zua'rub said the training had been ordered by Fatah leader Farouq Al-Qadoumi, who lives in exile and never accepted interim peace accords with the Israelis from the 1990s. But Qadoumi said he had nothing to do with any militia.
"There is the police and the security forces, why should I form militias, and I don't have the money to pay for these militias," he told Reuters by telephone.


I know some people who do. I'l bet you do too, don't you, Farouq?
Looks like somebody wants to get back into the show. And fast. So what if he's turned out by Iran or Syria?
Posted by: tu3031 || 08/02/2005 16:12 Comments || Top||

#2  "We have been instructed to train those men to found the nucleus of the Popular Army," Zua'rub told Reuters.

Hmmm... The Palestinian Authority Popular Army, huh?

Sounds like nepotism to me.
Posted by: mojo || 08/02/2005 19:41 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan/South Asia
Tales from the Crossfire Gazette
2 'robbers' die in 'crossfire'
Two alleged robbers were killed in "crossfire" between police and their associates in Araihazar upazila in the early hours yesterday. The victims, Benu, 26, and Dulu, 30, were accused of eight and four criminal charges including robberies and murders, police said.
Other than that, they were good boys
The police said they arrested the robbers from Baniapara in Araihazar on Sunday noon.
Step One..
Following the arrestees' statements,
Step Two..
the police took them to an abandoned textile mill
Ah, a classic Step Three...
to nab their accomplices and seize firearms
Step Four...
at around 2:45am.
Step Five..

The law enforcers said accomplices of the robbers opened fire on them,
Step Six..
forcing them to counter the attack.
Step Seven...
During an attempt to flee,
Step Eight..
Benu and Dulu were bullet-hit
Step Nine..
and pronounced dead on arrival at Araihazar Health Complex Level One Trauma Center doughnut shop, they added.
Step Ten..."They're dead, Jim"

Four policemen were injured in the gunfight. Police seized a revolver and 14 bullets from the spot.
Must have run out of shutter guns

Robbers kill policeman
A village policeman was killed by robbers at village Mugidanga under Kalikapur union in Rajbari early Sunday. The police and locals said a gang of armed robbers entered the house of Abdur Razzak of the village at about 2:30am and looted around Tk 25,000 in cash and gold ornaments from the house.
Interesting that Abdur the village cop gets picked to be looted
The gang took Razzak to a nearby pond, severely beat him up and strangled him. Then they tied his body with a tree and fled.
Methinks there was something personal about this crime
The police recovered the body in the morning and sent it to hospital for post-mortem examination.
"Paging Doctor Quincy!"

A case was filed. The additional police superintendent visited the spot.
Headmaster shot dead in Munshiganj
MUNSHIGANJ, Aug 1:–Armed assailants shot dead the headmaster of Bagra High School in Sreenagar upazila on Monday morning, reports UNB. The deceased was identified as Shahabuddin, 58, also former chairman of Bagra union parishad. Witnesses said the assailants attacked Shahabudin at 7.45am when he was going to Bagra Bazar. The gunmen stabbed on his abdomen and fired several shots on his head, leaving him dead on the spot.
Yeah, that'll usually do the trick
Shahabuddin was one of the witnesses in the Monwar Ali murder case in which 16 people were sentenced to death.
Ah hah, a clue!
Following the incident, Shahabuddin’s supporters blocked the Dhaka-Dohar road for two hours. On information, police rushed to the spot and engaged in clashes with the agitating people that left several injured. Tension was prevailing in the area.
Posted by: Steve || 08/02/2005 14:06 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Four policemen were injured in the gunfight.

This seems like a new wrinkle. Unless they're all reporting scrapes and bruises.
Posted by: Robert Crawford || 08/02/2005 14:49 Comments || Top||

#2  This seems like a new wrinkle. Unless they're all reporting scrapes and bruises.

"Dammit, if I told you once, I told you a hundred times! Lift with your legs, not your back when getting the body out of the car trunk!"
Posted by: Steve || 08/02/2005 15:38 Comments || Top||

#3  They all get nominated to "The Order of the Golden Truss."
Posted by: Seafarious || 08/02/2005 15:43 Comments || Top||

#4  The RAB is back in town! I feel safer somehow, even from this distance.
Posted by: Shipman || 08/02/2005 15:50 Comments || Top||

#5  The Bopmphal shutter gun and hair oil factory is shut for a 2 week vacation. So no shutter guns were available.
Posted by: Sock Puppet 0’ Doom || 08/02/2005 17:06 Comments || Top||

#6  hair oil factory :>

Isn't this the region where Macassar came from originally?
Posted by: Shipman || 08/02/2005 19:40 Comments || Top||


Operation Makalwain: 15 Jaish men killed, hunt still on
repost - first attempt was without the link
Operation Makalwain was no Kargil ...but it was perhaps one of the biggest operations since the mountain conflict: an entire Indian Army brigade (around 3,000 men) was involved in neutralising a large group of militants.

Troop-ferrying helicopters and artillery guns were used to illuminate the jungles and treacherous terrain in Tilel valley, west of Baraub. Until today, the Army’s 109 Brigade had recovered 15 bodies of JeM militants with AK-47, AK-56 rifles, grenades and communication sets. The search is still on because the group was estimated to be 25-members strong.

Posted by: john || 08/02/2005 13:21 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq-Jordan
Seven Marines Killed
Seven U.S. Marines Killed in Iraq
American Forces Press Service

Not much detail on the seven, but a LOT of minor successes that'd never make it out to us any other way.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 2, 2005 – Seven U.S. Marines were killed in Iraq Aug. 1, U.S. officials there announced today.
Six Marines assigned to Regimental Combat Team 2, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), were killed in action near Haditha. Elsewhere, a Marine assigned to the same unit was killed by a suicide car bomber while conducting combat operations near Hit. The names of the deceased are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

Three U.S. military personnel and two civilian interpreters assigned to a Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq special police transition team were injured today in central Baghdad when their Humvee was struck by a suicide car bomb. Two soldiers and one interpreter were later transported by helicopter to the 86th Combat Support Hospital, officials said.

In other news from Iraq, coalition forces captured 11 terror suspects and seized weapons and bomb-detonating devices during five separate sweeps through western and southwestern Baghdad on July 31, Task Force Baghdad public affairs officials announced today.

A task force unit securing a roadside bombsite at around 1 p.m. in southwest Baghdad saw two people parked on a nearby overpass. One of the men had a cell phone, and both were acting suspiciously.

As the soldiers went to investigate, another car drove up, and the two men jumped inside and the car sped off. The soldiers gave chase and detained the men. The vehicle was impounded after the soldiers found explosives material inside, and the two men were held for questioning.

At around 2:30 p.m., a U.S. patrol working in the western Baghdad district of Ghazaliya saw four men in a vehicle waving weapons in the air while driving along a major highway. When the unit stopped the vehicle, one of the occupants tried to run away and then pointed a weapon directly at the soldiers. "The patrol then fired and killed the terrorist," stated a release from Task Force Baghdad.

When the unit went back to the car, they detained the other three occupants and searched the vehicle, finding two AK-47 assault rifles and a pistol. The soldiers impounded the car and detained the three men.

In southwest Baghdad, anti-Iraqi forces driving a blue van fired on a Task Force Baghdad patrol at 6 p.m. The unit pursued the van for 10 minutes until the vehicle pulled over and the enemy fighters jumped out and tried to get away by running through a cornfield. The unit caught one of the attackers and took him into custody for questioning.

Elsewhere in Baghdad, Task Force Baghdad soldiers working in the western part of the city saw a car speeding down a road throwing items out the window just before 8 p.m. The unit found two of the items, which were hand-held radios. One of the radios was wired to a motorcycle battery. My radio battery was dead, so I had to improvise! Other members of the patrol chased the vehicle and detained five terror suspects for questioning.

Shortly after midnight, a terrorist fired on U.S. soldiers working in the Amin district of eastern Baghdad. No one was hit and the patrol returned fire, hitting the attacker in the arm. The soldiers then captured the attacker and brought him in for medical treatment before taking him into custody. Did I say this was the Armed Forces Press Service, not AFP? An hour later, the same patrol ran across an Iraqi woman who had injured herself in a fall. The soldiers suspected she was bleeding internally and brought the woman to a military medical facility for treatment. Just loadin' up on the humanitarian stuff, eh?

In northern Baghdad, task force soldiers manning a traffic control point stopped a minivan with four military-aged men just before 4 a.m. The van matched a description of a vehicle that was involved in a roadside-bomb attack earlier in the day. When the soldiers searched the minivan they found $4,000 in U.S. currency and explosive materials. All four men were taken into custody for questioning. One IED, $4,000. Not bad for a simple job!

Later, the soldiers stopped a car in western Baghdad and the driver gave them a fake I.D. card. The driver told the patrol he was from the area, but when the soldiers asked other residents in the neighborhood about him, no one recognized the man or confirmed his story. The soldiers then searched the vehicle, found explosive material inside, and detained the driver.

Just before noon, an Iraqi farmer led U.S. soldiers working in the Ghazaliya district of western Baghdad to a weapons cache hidden in a field. When the soldiers arrived at the site they found nine mortar rounds and two rocket-propelled grenades. A team of explosives experts safely detonated the munitions.

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq, Task Force Baghdad, and Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq news releases.)


Posted by: Bobby || 08/02/2005 12:24 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  i'm shocked i heard nothing about any of this on major networks
Posted by: Thraing Hupoluper1864 || 08/02/2005 14:56 Comments || Top||

#2  ABC Radio news dutifully updated the MSM Body Count Toteboard, then said dickall about the rest of it.
Posted by: eLarson || 08/02/2005 15:49 Comments || Top||

#3  These men are heroes. The Jihadis said they surrounded them and asked them to surrender. The marines didn't so they killed them.

They fought to the death.
Posted by: Penguin || 08/02/2005 16:22 Comments || Top||

#4  They're heros OK,but the story makes almost no sense. The bad guys kill 6 and remove helments and take their M-16s as souvenirs.

HOW can 6 Marines be killed a stripped like this in Indian territory?

Were they special operators that got discovered far from standard troop formations? If not,how on earth could this happen?
Posted by: Omeng Elmoluling6917 || 08/02/2005 17:23 Comments || Top||

#5  I heard on the radio in DC that the 6 were a team of sharpshooters whose position was compromised and that the bad guys got their sniper rifles.
Posted by: SamL || 08/02/2005 20:13 Comments || Top||

#6  Looks like somebody wasn't watching the back door. But they're prolly dead, now. My heart goes out to the families.
Posted by: Bobby || 08/02/2005 20:30 Comments || Top||

#7  So far TV News is hinting at pre-planned ambush, which leads to some disturbing CC questions that have to be asked, espec about intel reliability, mission security, and available fire support or rescue. Iff it is pre-planned ambush, then local US forces must have enemy informants/info leaks somewhere in their org!?
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 08/02/2005 23:59 Comments || Top||


Saddam trial to go live on TV, but trial date not yet set
The trial of deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein will be shown on live television, Iraq's top security adviser has announced. The trial will show the Arab and Muslim world "that this is going to be a fair, just trial with a defence counsel in there, with a proper prosecuting counsel as well there", Iraqi national security adviser Muwaffaq Rubaie told CNN. "And everybody will watch this trial live on television."

An Iraqi tribunal filed the first charges last month against Saddam over the 1982 killing of 143 residents of the village of Dujail, northeast of Baghdad, where he had been the target of a failed assassination bid. No date for his trial has been set.

The announcement over his trial came ahead of a confirmation in Iraq's parliament that a constitutional committee would submit a draft document for debate by an August 15 deadline. A national conference of top political leaders will take place on Thursday to help iron out remaining differences on the constitutional draft. Unresolved issues include federalism and how it will work, and whether the Kurds, in their semi-autonomous area in the country's north, should be allowed a future vote on self-determination. There is also disagreement on the division of revenue between the federal government and the regions, on the status of the ethnically tense city of Kirkuk, on whether Kurdish and Arabic should be official languages and on the role of Islam in the constitution.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/02/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Sung to
"Prisoners of Love"
from "The Producers"
Mel Brooks

Prisoner of Bush
Showed off my toosh
But my ass’ still in jail
Prisoner of Bush
My sons a-squosh
The defense better not fail

Oh, you can lock me up
And lose the key
But in my heart
Tigris palace for me!
Prisoner of Bush
My mind is mush
'Cause I’m still prisoner
I’m still prisoner
I’m still prisoner of Bush
Posted by: Ogeretla 2005 || 08/02/2005 1:27 Comments || Top||

#2  And our resident songster strikes again. What other war blog can boast such a roster of poets and bards, riddle me that!
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/02/2005 7:49 Comments || Top||

#3  I wonder who the TV sponsors will be... Roach Hotel?
Posted by: Dar || 08/02/2005 8:07 Comments || Top||

#4  I wonder who the TV sponsors will be...

Samson Rope Technologies; the official hanging rope of the Iraqi War Crimes Tribunal.
Posted by: Steve || 08/02/2005 8:31 Comments || Top||

#5  A great Hollywood script would have him rescued from the infidel forces and spirited away, to rise again and restore Iraq to its former glory. Except there may not be enough of his supporters left alive to pull it off. OBL doan wan him. Zark doan wan him eider.
Posted by: Bobby || 08/02/2005 10:43 Comments || Top||

#6  I wonder who the TV sponsors will be... Roach Hotel?

Roto-Rooter.
Posted by: Robert Crawford || 08/02/2005 10:50 Comments || Top||

#7  An OJ trial with a muslo-twist?
Posted by: Scott R || 08/02/2005 12:53 Comments || Top||


Africa: Horn
24 Killed in Khartoum Riot
John Garang, who led Sudan’s southern rebels for two decades before making peace and joining the government he fought, has died in a helicopter crash, sparking riots and fears for the country’s hard-won stability. At least 24 people were killed in Khartoum, a policeman said, after rioters torched vehicles and looted shops. Witnesses said southerners, who have long said the northern government discriminated against them, attacked Arabs in the street. “People have been running all over the streets. The policemen are taking people from the streets. There is fire and smoke,” a Reuters TV witness said.

Garang, 60, a key figure in a January peace deal hailed as a rare success story for Africa, became the country’s first vice president on July 9. He died over the weekend after the Ugandan presidential helicopter he was traveling in went down in bad weather. Six of Garang’s companions and a crew of seven also died in the crash near the Sudan-Uganda border, Khartoum said yesterday, though a member of the southern Sudan leadership council said 17 bodies were recovered.

Members of Garang’s southern Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the government in Khartoum — bitter enemies during the 21-year conflict — both promised to maintain the peace agreement Garang helped bring about. Just weeks before, he had come north to take his place in government amid a tumultuous popular welcome in Khartoum. But as news of his death was confirmed yesterday morning, thousands of his southern Sudanese supporters took to the streets of Khartoum in a different mood, wielding knives and bars, looting shops, starting fires and clashing with police. A Reuters witness saw 12 bodies in a morgue in the capital and a police official said all the dead, which included police, were killed in the rioting. A Khartoum resident earlier said two people had been killed in his street.
Posted by: Fred || 08/02/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Well, nothing guarantees stability like a good riot.
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 08/02/2005 14:03 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine
Huge Israeli Force to Block March on Gaza Settlements
The Israeli Army and police were deploying in unprecedented numbers yesterday to block an attempt by tens of thousands of settlers and their supporters to march towards doomed Gaza Strip settlements. The government ordered organizers of the rally to change their plans, charging that a mass descent on the main settlement bloc of Gush Katif would be "illegal" and exacerbate the risk of violent clashes. Security sources said 17,000 soldiers and a further 8,000 police were taking part in the operation in southern Israel ahead of the rally today, 15 days before the scheduled start of the pullout of the 8,000 Gaza settlers.
Posted by: Fred || 08/02/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  How come the IDF can mass 25,000 troops/cops to fight their own people, but they cant stop Hamas from walking across the border and blowing up the same people?
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 08/02/2005 15:37 Comments || Top||

#2  Cause the pro-settler protesters are trying to move en masse, in order to make the pullout more difficult. A hamas suicide bomber is a single individual moving stealthily (even so they catch quite a bunch). If the settler protesters were just trying to get one guy into Gaza, that would be a lot harder to stop - but what would be the point?
Posted by: Liberalhawk || 08/02/2005 16:58 Comments || Top||


Fatah member killed in Jabalia
A member of the Fatah Movement was shot dead Monday by unknown gunmen in the Saftawi area of Gaza City. Palestinian security sources said four gunmen stopped the car of Ahmad Abu Zayed, 36, and tried to kidnap him but when they failed they shot him in the chest, killing him instantly. In a separate incident, unidentified gunmen opened fire at two members of the military intelligence in the Wihda Street of Gaza City. The two men were seriously injured.

UPDATE; "It was da Joooos!"
TEL AVIV, Israel, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- Fatah's al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades Tuesday accused Israel of killing one of its senior members in Gaza's Jabalya refugee camp. The militant group vowed to retaliate "well inside Israel," a group member told Yediot Aharonot's Web site, Ynet.
The dead man was identified as Ahmed Abu-Zaide, the group's commander in northern Gaza. Unidentified men killed him and his death was initially thought to be related to internal struggles among Palestinian organizations, Ynet said. However a member of the group said that several hours before the shooting Israeli security personnel at the Erez Crossing questioned Abu-Zaide's relatives about the car he drives, who are his escorts, and the gun he owns.

Israeli military sources denied connection to the incident.
"Who? Us? Nah"
Posted by: Fred || 08/02/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Its all the fault of the Jews---if they hadn't put up that racist fence, we'd be killing them instead of each other. Can you get me a visa to UK?
Posted by: gromgoru || 08/02/2005 11:29 Comments || Top||

#2  Damn those Zionist masterminds!
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 08/02/2005 13:39 Comments || Top||

#3  I thought that the Jew's weapon of choice was a Hellfire missle from an evil American Apache whirlycopter.

They changing the M.O.?
Posted by: AlanC || 08/02/2005 14:51 Comments || Top||


Bomb explosion near Palestinian official's house
A bomb exploded on Monday near the house of the Palestinian Authority's Attorney-General Hussein Abu Asi in the Sabra district of Gaza City. Palestinian security sources said Abu Asi was unhurt in the explosion, which caused material damage. Palestinian police, who rushed to the scene, opened an investigation into the incident.
Posted by: Fred || 08/02/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Palestinian police, who rushed to the scene, opened an investigation into the incident. The image that comes to mind is more Keystone Cops than CSI.
Posted by: phil_b || 08/02/2005 1:07 Comments || Top||

#2  Depends on what the meaning of "near" is...
Posted by: BigEd || 08/02/2005 1:28 Comments || Top||

#3  Candygram for Hussein Abu Asi! Candygram for Hussein Abu Asi!
Posted by: tu3031 || 08/02/2005 8:50 Comments || Top||

#4  Palestinian police, who rushed to the scene, opened an investigation into the incident.

What the hell for? It's not like action would be taken to prevent this sort of thing happening again in the future...
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 08/02/2005 12:57 Comments || Top||


Iraq-Jordan
Iraqi forces find 12 bodies in Baghdad
Iraqi security forces found 12 bodies in a garbage dumping place in Baghdad Monday, a police officer said. Major Abu Saqer Al-Saedi told reporters the unidentified bodies were found while a patrol was inspecting Umm Al-Maalef area in the capital. The bodies were hand-cuffed and they were blind-folded, he added. There were military uniforms near the bodies.

Meanwhile, the Mutli-National Force (MNF) said it had arrested nine insurgents in northern Iraq. A statement by the MNF said the insurgents were arrested in different areas in Mosul. On the other hand, the US command in Iraq said it released 900 Iraqi prisoners out of 2,000 inmates during July.
Posted by: Fred || 08/02/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Seperately, Al-Qaida in Iraq reported a sucessful summer recruiting drive that bolstered it's membership by 899 new recruits.
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 08/02/2005 15:35 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan/South Asia
Five key Taliban members arrested by Pakistan
Pakistan arrested five senior Taliban leaders Monday, including a deputy to fugitive Taliban chief Mullah Mohammed Omar, officials said to a foreign news agency. The arrests were made after security men raided several homes in northwestern Pakistan. Two of the captured men are reported to have been identified as Maulvi Abdul Qadeer, a deputy to Omar and formerly chairman of the Taliban Special Council, and Abdul Kabir, a former Governor in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province. Names of the remaining three are not known, but they are also reported to be important Taliban leaders, now being interrogated by authorities.
Posted by: Fred || 08/02/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Catch.

and...

release.
Posted by: Raj || 08/02/2005 0:53 Comments || Top||

#2  Four number 3's and a joker.
Posted by: Seafarious || 08/02/2005 0:59 Comments || Top||

#3  Seafarious - How do we know? Talibanis banned playing cards too!
Posted by: BigEd || 08/02/2005 1:31 Comments || Top||

#4  If the Pakistanis captured them and divulged their id's then they're not key players.
Posted by: Howard UK || 08/02/2005 4:25 Comments || Top||

#5  They're probably nice murderers when you get to know them.
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 08/02/2005 15:33 Comments || Top||


Musharraf’s word on foreign seminary students is final: FO
Pakistan said on Monday that foreign students studying in local religious seminaries would have to return to their respective countries and only President Pervez Musharraf’s statement on the issue was correct. “Only what President Musharraf has said about sending back foreign students is correct. They will have to return to their countries. The Interior Ministry will work out the modalities in this respect,” said Foreign Office spokesman Naeem Khan at his weekly briefing.
Yeah, yeah. Tell 'em about how you stood firm on the religion column on the passports, too...
Posted by: Fred || 08/02/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  You know how cooperative muslims are, I'm sure they will just drop everything and hit the road. You don't think they will be the ones telling him to FO do you?
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 08/02/2005 14:02 Comments || Top||


Fazl denied transit in Dubai
I see two probabilities: first, they confused Mullah Diesel with Fazlur Rehman Khalil and didn't want a known terrorist tromping around, meeting with who knows whom. Or they might simply find Fazl boring and tedious and not want him under foot, making the point that back home in Peshawar he might be a big man, but in the bright lights of Dubai he's just a fat guy of no consequence.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government on Sunday night refused to grant a transit visa to Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Maulana Fazlur Rehman. Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed claimed that the UAE government had blacklisted Fazl and that was why he was refused a transit stay in Dubai. He also said the Pakistani Embassy was coordinating with the UAE government to allow Fazl to enter Dubai, but the UAE were independent emirates and Pakistan could not force it to do so. However, Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, acting secretary general of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), said Fazl would be deported to Pakistan and would land at Peshawar airport on Tuesday (today).

“Fazl landed at Dubai airport late Sunday night and was on his way to Saudi Arabia from Libya for Umra,” Hafiz Hussain said. Upon his arrival, Fazl asked the authorities to grant him a transit visa for 48 hours, he said, adding that immigration authorities were first willing to grant him the transit visa, but later refused to do so. He said Fazl remained at airport till Monday evening and was later taken to an airport hotel. Hafiz Hussain said he had been trying to contact Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri since Sunday night, but nobody was available. He also said the UAE government’s behaviour was condemnable and the MMA would protest against the act. He condemned Sheikh Rashid’s statement about the UAE government blacklisting Fazl. He asked why Sheikh Rashid had not told the FO or taken up the issue with the UAE government if he knew of the blacklisting by Sunday night.

Later, Fazl told Geo television that he wanted to know when and why the UAE government had blacklisted his name, agencies reported. Fazl also said he would sit back and see how the Pakistani government handled the situation. He also said Sheikh Rashid should have clarified why a friendly government had blacklisted him. “This incident is a result of the Pakistani government’s weak foreign policy.” He said that the Pakistani ambassador to the UAE had earlier told him that the issue had been resolved and that he could visit Dubai, but later said the problem had not been resolved.
Posted by: Fred || 08/02/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  A third possibility: UAE requires dress turban, not something one wears on Thursday to mow the lawn.
Posted by: Seafarious || 08/02/2005 0:20 Comments || Top||

#2  Hmm perhaps it's because the MMA are not the government of Pakistan and are just known trouble makers? To top that off he is not an Arab. Well it might be that pathetic dishtowel he wears on his head too.
Posted by: Sock Puppet 0’ Doom || 08/02/2005 0:32 Comments || Top||

#3  I swear that's one of the bath towels I had in the 70's...
Posted by: mojo || 08/02/2005 11:47 Comments || Top||

#4  Hence the name "Towelhead"...
Posted by: tu3031 || 08/02/2005 12:05 Comments || Top||

#5  Well mojo, you know the old expression, "one man's garbage is another man's headgear".
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 08/02/2005 15:31 Comments || Top||

#6  LOL!
Posted by: Shipman || 08/02/2005 15:52 Comments || Top||


8 hard boyz held in crackdown
SIALKOT/MULTAN: The government's crackdown against religious extremists continued on Monday with law enforcement agencies arresting five leaders of two banned religious organisations in Sialkot district and 63 people including three activists of banned organisations in southern Punjab. Police said four of the five leaders arrested from Sialkot district belonged to banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) while one belonged to Sipah-e-Muhammad. Police said one of the SSP leaders was arrested from Pasrur, two from Sialkot and one from Daska while the Sipah-e-Muhammad leader was arrested from Sialkot. Separately, three activists of banned organisations and 60 clerics were arrested in Bahawalnagar, Multan, Mailsi, Vehari, Muzaffargarh, Hasilpur, Bahawalpur and Ahmedpur East.Police said the three activists had been detained for 90 days under Section MPO-3. Police also said 60 clerics had been arrested for violating the ban on loudspeakers.
Posted by: Fred || 08/02/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Kashmir Korpse Kount
Two separate gunbattles in the Indian-held Kashmir left five suspected militants dead, while another was captured by plainclothes security officers, officials said. Soldiers raided Handwara town on Monday, triggering a gunfight that killed three suspected militants, said army spokesman Lt-Col VK Batra. Handwara is about 90 kilometers (55 miles) north of Srinagar. Two more suspected militants died in a separate shootout in Kulgam, south of Srinagar, Batra said.

Police claimed they had captured a suspected militant after a chase in Srinagar. Special operations police chased two young men on a motorcycle Monday and captured one, who was injured in the scuffle, said Deputy Inspector General of Police HK Lohia. The other escaped and police were looking for him. Witnesses said police had dragged one of the men and beat his head in with a rock bludgeoned his head with a brick before whisking him away in an armored truck. Lohia said recent intelligence had suggested militants were planning several attacks in Srinagar. “Our reports led us to these two men,” he said.
Posted by: Fred || 08/02/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Militants kill 5 horses carrying army supplies
SRINAGAR: A militant in Held Kashmir shot dead five horses carrying supplies for troops in the first recorded attack of its kind, police said on Monday. The militants have never been known to target horses used by the army since the insurgency against New Delhi's rule erupted in 1989, police said in a statement. The horses were ferrying food rations and clothing to an army camp when they were killed late Sunday. The attack took place in Arigam village. "A solo militant killed five horses from point-blank range and beat up two locals who were leading the horses," army spokesman Vijay Batra said.
Posted by: Fred || 08/02/2005 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Infidel Equines. To Hell with you all!

Now wait a minute here... Where's Wilbur?

Posted by: BigEd || 08/02/2005 0:36 Comments || Top||

#2  ... A SINGLE mujahid from the LapLion of Islam Equine Death Brigades in the Land of the Lost destroyed, at point blank range, one old mig, five helicopters and six tanks as well as 37 infidel hindu crusaders with 2 RPG7 rounds, 3 120 mm mortar rounds and half a box of rounds from a PKM. The brave mujahid then took a lollypop from a child and took a piss on 3 other helicopters before they could withdraw in abject fear. - JU - really!
Posted by: MunkarKat || 08/02/2005 8:22 Comments || Top||

#3  Let's get the lefties on this. They'll be really upset when they found out horsies have been wacked!
Posted by: Bobby || 08/02/2005 9:08 Comments || Top||

#4  They'll be really upset when they found out horsies have been wacked!

"It's Bushitler's fault for using these poor oppressed members of the equine race to haul weapons of death to the racist butchers in Occupied Ira.....what's that? Kashmir? Oh, never mind."
Posted by: Steve || 08/02/2005 9:31 Comments || Top||

#5  So what do the low-lifes at PETA have to say about this?
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 08/02/2005 11:16 Comments || Top||

#6  Next thing you know the horsies will be taken captive, blinfolded, hook-hooked and forced on camera to denounce their stable boys and filthy fillies.
Posted by: Greretch Sleresh2659 || 08/02/2005 12:26 Comments || Top||

#7  Steve, you can't blame Bushitler, he is only a pawn to his Zionist Masters . The entire incident is probably mis-reported by the media and their Zionist Masters . I personally believe that the army and their Zionist Masters are to blame and that the horses died a martyrs death.
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 08/02/2005 14:42 Comments || Top||

#8  I heard that all the joooooooo horses were "out sick" that day and so missed being killed. That's very suspicious.
Posted by: Jackal || 08/02/2005 16:20 Comments || Top||

#9  Idiots!!! It was probable their own mothers or sisters that brought up the ponys and colts feeding 'em corn and hay in the first place.
Posted by: smn || 08/02/2005 16:34 Comments || Top||

#10  LOL Jackal that's damn funny. I can't quite bring the image up. But Ima work on it. Hasidic Palamino Diamond Cutters....
Posted by: Shipman || 08/02/2005 19:44 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
88[untagged]

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

The Classics
The O Club
Rantburg Store
The Bloids
The Never-ending Story
Thugburg
Gulf War I
The Way We Were
Bio

Merry-Go-Blog











On Sale now!


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.
Click here for more information

Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Tue 2005-08-02
  24 Killed in Khartoum Riot
Mon 2005-08-01
  Fahd dead; Garang dead
Sun 2005-07-31
  Bombers Start Talking
Sat 2005-07-30
  25 Held in Sharm
Fri 2005-07-29
  Feds Investigating Repeat Blast at TX Chemical Plant
Thu 2005-07-28
  Hunt for 15 in Sharm Blasts
Wed 2005-07-27
  London Boomer Bagged
Tue 2005-07-26
  Van Gogh killer jailed for life
Mon 2005-07-25
  UK cops name London suspects
Sun 2005-07-24
  Sharm el-Sheikh body count hits 90
Sat 2005-07-23
  Sharm el-Sheikh Boomed
Fri 2005-07-22
  London: B Team Boomer Banged
Thu 2005-07-21
  B Team flubs more London booms
Wed 2005-07-20
  Georgia: Would-be Bush assassin kills cop, nabbed
Tue 2005-07-19
  Paks hold suspects linked to London bombings

Better than the average link...



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.
35.172.231.232
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Background (40)    Non-WoT (22)    Opinion (3)    (0)    (0)