The links between Saudi Arabia and the September 11 terrorist attacks are not something we'd expect the desert kingdom to be trumpeting, but it has done just that by appointing one of its princes, Turki al-Faisal, as its new ambassador to Washington. It's an odd choice, to say the least. Save for diplomatic immunity, one could just as easily make an argument that Riyadh's newest envoy should, on arrival at Dulles Airport, be brought in for questioning by the authorities. Here's a brief resume:
Prince Turki served as head of Saudi intelligence from 1977 until 10 days before September 11, 2001. As such, he was Riyadh's main contact with the Taliban in Afghanistan - and thereby also with Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda. He admits to having met Mr. bin Laden a few times, according to "Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, From the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001," a Pulitzer-winning book by the Washington Post's Steve Coll. Mr. Coll writes that while the Saudis deny Mr. bin Laden was ever a Saudi agent, "it seems clear that bin Laden did have a substantial relationship with Saudi intelligence."
The Saudi intelligence services, under the prince, also oversaw the funding of "radical Islamists in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and elsewhere," Mr. Coll reports. One such Islamist was Abdullah Azzam, who "preached stridently against the United States" and helped found the terrorist group Hamas. The prince was named in a civil lawsuit filed in 2002 by September 11 families seeking $1 trillion from alleged financiers of Al Qaeda. The lawsuit notes that the testimony of a senior Taliban official who defected, Mullah Kakshar, "implicates Prince Turki as the facilitator" of money transfers from wealthy Saudis, "in support of the Taliban, al Qaeda, and international terrorism."
The lawsuit also alleges that the prince was party to a 1998 agreement between the Saudis and the Taliban. In the alleged deal, the Saudis promised not to seek Mr. bin Laden's extradition or the closing of his terrorist training camps and would provide the Taliban with oil and financial assistance, in exchange for Mr. bin Laden promising not to try to overthrow the Saudi monarchy. The prince, in his role as head of intelligence, the lawsuit suggests, "was in a position to know the threat posed by bin Laden, al Qaeda, the Taliban, and the extremist and violent perversion of jihad and hatred that the Saudi religious schools were fomenting in young people."
The prince denied the allegations against him. But that denial has never been adjudicated by a jury. Prince Turki successfully persuaded Judge Richard Casey to dismiss the claims against him because they stem from his alleged actions when he was acting for the Saudi government, so he cannot be held accountable for them in an American court. One of the lawyers for the September 11 families, Michael Elsner, told The New York Sun that a letter has been filed with the court asking permission to appeal the dismissal.
It may well be that Prince Turki was simply acting on behalf of the Saudi monarchy, but that only raises the bigger question of America's relations with the kingdom. The knowledge that 15 of the 19 September 11 hijackers were Saudis and that Saudi money and religious instruction helped finance and inspire the terrorists has already put the relationship between the kingdom and America in a precarious spot.
Recent reports indicate that links between Saudi Arabia and terrorism continue to this day. The Sunday Telegraph reported this week that Saudi officials admitted that two senior Al Qaeda operatives in the kingdom - both of whom are now reportedly dead - "made money transfers and used coded text messages to communicate with suspected terrorists in Britain before last month's terrorist attacks in London." The Telegraph reported that one of the terrorists, Abdel Karim al-Mejati, was alleged to have been behind last year's terrorist attacks at Madrid. The Telegraph also reported last week that two men arrested for the July 21 attempted bombings at London were also linked to Riyadh. Hussain Osman called the kingdom on his cell phone just before he was arrested. Muktar Said Ibrahim, according to friends cited by the Telegraph, traveled to the kingdom for a few months in 2003 for a "training course."
On American soil the Saudis are propagating a "totalitarian ideology of hatred that can incite to violence," according to an 89-page Freedom House report released in January. It was based on the study of more than 200 documents distributed in American mosques by the Saudi government. Muslims are reminded that it is a religious obligation to hate Christians and Jews. They are told that they must behave as on a mission behind enemy lines while living in the lands of unbelievers. They must make money and acquire knowledge to use either for jihad against the infidels or to proselytize them. Textbooks, Freedom House reported, also "propagate a Nazi-like hatred for Jews" and "avow that the Muslim's duty is to eliminate the state of Israel."
There are no signs that the princes in Riyadh are ending their support for radical Islamists and terrorism - let alone granting women equality, introducing democracy, and all the other reforms President Bush is demanding from other repressive countries. Prince Turki's own resume reads like a checklist of the many faults Americans find in the Saudi monarchy. That the prince is the most suitable candidate the Saudis can offer for ambassador is but another reminder of why the kingdom is a prime candidate for regime change.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/10/2005 11:19 ||
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Wouldn't it be something if Turki's "credentials" were rejected... Since his true credentials read like an indictment of everything wrong with the "Special Relationship"...
Certainly, we can fully expect no change in the double-dealing subversive backstabbing asshattery of the House of Saud with this "appointment" - a rather comical and disingenuous term given that he is one of the small cabal that run SA. Why tolerate it any further?
Time to break with the PC BS. Everything done above-board henceforth, everything described in plain-speak, everything worthy of the values we espouse.
#4
The Saudis hold the world economy hostage to their oil production. More the point, the Saudis, along with Iran, are the major suppliers of Western Europe (I'm not sure where Japan gets its supplies). Loathesome though they are, I don't see Bush doing anything substantial about Saudi Arabia until Iraq's oil production is up to speed. I don't see him risking a world wide depression at this stage; allies as money grubbing as France, Germany and Russia would never stand for it. I know this is old news for Rantburgers, but frustrating as it may be, we can't forget it. Especially as I'm sure the Saudis are counting on this fact to protect them from Saddam's fate... at least until they can find something better to fight us with.
KUWAIT CITY - Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmed Al Sabah, the emir of Kuwait, returned Tuesday, after months of treatment and rest in the United States and Switzerland. Sheikh Jaber, 79, spent more than two months in the US, where he had medical tests and surgery for a dilated blood vessel in his left leg. He then moved to Zurich, Switzerland, for recuperation.
He has made few public appearances in recent years. Whenever he did appear, he spoke with difficulty and relied on support from his aides. With the crown prince, Sheikh Saad Al Abdullah Al Sabah, also ailing, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah, the prime minister and the emirâs half brother, seems to be the most likely candidate.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/10/2005 00:03 ||
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...and I hear he came in first in the King Fahd Lookalike Contest.
LONDON (AFP) - A puppeteer in Britain has been rapped for portraying Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein as villains, a report said.
American-born Brent de Witt, 41, has been scolded for using the pair's characters in the traditional children's puppet play, Punch and Judy.
The show had crowds in fits of laughter -- but a few dissenters at the seafront in Broadstairs, southeast England, failed to see the joke.
Leftist wankers have no sense of humor
"I put them in the show as villains who would go and steal Punch's sausages," De Witt told the Daily Express. "It was very topical and just a bit of fun. "But then we had a few people who did not care for it and instead of telling me they went straight to the council.
"Waaaa, the evil puppet man is being mean! Make him stop!"
"They sent word down for me to take the characters out of the show."
Osama bin Laden heads the Al-Qaeda global terror network, while ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is in US custody near Baghdad awaiting trial on charges of crimes against humanity.
But other than that....
Bin Laden, cast as the devil, is defeated by Mr Punch in traditional fashion: clobbered with a stick.
Works for me
Posted by: Steve ||
08/10/2005 15:56 ||
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Great. The PC puppet police are on the job. I feel much safer now.
#2
What do you expect this is TRANZI England. 99% of the population sees everyting in the EU issued shades of grey not the black and white reality. If it had been puppets of GWB and TB it would have been acceptable.
ONE of the prime suspects in a failed bid to repeat the July 7 bombings in London got married four days before the attack, a source at the mosque where he tied the knot said ovenight. Yasin Hassan Omar, 24, wedded his bride on July 17 in a private ceremony before family and close friends at North Finchley mosque in north London, where he had been a regular worshipper for the past year. "He came in that day with his family. Just after prayers they announced there was a bride and a marriage," a source at the mosque was quoted as saying by Britain's domestic Press Association news agency. "They got married and there was a small feast for whoever was present and they shared some food. There were not a lot of people there, it was just his close family and friends, and it was just like other marriages."
In other words, a islamist wedding party consisting of the usual terrorist suspects
Somali-born Omar appeared in court on Monday charged with two others with attempted murder, conspiracy and possession of explosives in connection with the July 21 bid to repeat the July 7 bombings. Fifty-six people were killed in the July 7 morning rush-hour attacks on three Underground trains and a double-decker bus, including four apparent suicide bombers.
Detectives from London's Metropolitan Police are studying a list of guests given to them by the North Finchley mosque, pending the return from holiday of the imam who conducted the ceremony.
#1
Since AK's and RPG's are probably a bit harder to get in the West, I guess blowing up a train full of infidels would be a proper Muslim substitute for marital celebration?
LONDON, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Two of Britain's closest allies in the war on terror have criticized the government for being too soft on Muslim extremists at home.
The U.S.? Australia?
In an interview with the Times of London Tuesday, Prince Turki al-Faisal, the outgoing Saudi ambassador to London, said that he had been "going around in circles" during his 2 1/2-year posting trying to make Britain understand the threat from Saudi dissidents in London linked to al-Qaida.
That would be the reform-minded "dissidents" who think Saudi isn't islamic enough
His comments coincided with those of Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf who accused the government of failing to extremism in mosques. Asked by the BBC if Britain had been too soft, he said: "Yes, I think so, absolutely. It should be stopped, nobody should be talking of hatred and militancy and aggression ... That is not what the mosque is meant for."
Then his lips fell off...
The Home Office is in urgent talks over powers to exclude radicals who advocate or glorify terrorism.
Like the outgoing Saudi ambassador? No?
Posted by: Steve ||
08/10/2005 09:59 ||
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Some would argue that the US was far too soft on radicals (i.e., Al Qaeda) prior to the 9-11 roof falling in.
And of course the Paki Wakis and the Soodies were/are "allies"
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/10/2005 10:51 Comments ||
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Amid growing calls to charge some clerics under incitement and treason laws, one of the most radical firebrand leaders left Britain. Sheik Omar Bakri, who earned a reputation for extremism during his 20 years in Britain, announced Tuesday that he was in Lebanon. Bakri said he was visiting relatives. "Enjoy your holiday - make it a long one," Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott said when asked about Bakri at a news conference. Bakri has dual Syrian and Lebanese citizenship, and has permission to live in Britain. Sorry Deputy Prime Minister, but snarky comments should be reserved for blogs. You, sir, have a responsibility to get things done. Deeds not words, Prescott.
"Provisionally, (Bakri) left for a month, obviously he will be monitoring the situation to determine if it is feasible to return," Bakri's close associate, Anjem Choudary, told The Associated Press. "I think he would return if the political situation changed in this country ... (but) it is incumbent upon Muslims to go to a place where they can propagate Islam and now in Britain, Muslims are under siege." "Muslims are under seige"; read: terrorist sponsors not welcome.
Bakri has made it clear that if he is told that he is not welcome in Britain, he won't return, Choudary said. "Good," Prescott said when told that. "I don't think he is welcome by many people in this country, is he?" Prescott said. "But at the moment he has the right to come in and out. ... It's a democracy, not a dictatorship, for God's sake." Again with the rhetoric. The guy should have been deported. Leaving under his own free will is not a victory for you, Mr. Prescott.
Home Secretary Charles Clarke already has wide-ranging powers to exclude people from the country if he finds their "presence is not conducive to the public good" or based on national security reasons, the Home Office spokeswoman said. Last year, Britain barred 14 people from entering the country - 12 for national security reasons, the spokeswoman said. The Home Office refused to comment on specific cases.
The Crown Prosecution Service has said it would investigate whether Bakri's past comments - which have included reported praise for the Sept. 11 attacks - fall under laws banning inciting violence. Nice to see you're "investigating" that - four years later.
In Egypt, authorities Tuesday released an Egyptian chemist, Magdy el-Nashar, who had been sought by Britain in connection with the July 7 attacks, which killed at least 56 people, including four suspected suicide bombers. El-Nashar said after he was freed that he knew two of the bombers casually. Egyptian authorities said they found no evidence against him. Egyptian officials finding no evidence = el-Nashar bribed the hell out of them.
Posted by: John Kerry ||
08/10/2005 00:00 ||
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Son of a bitch! I posted this! Why can't I get the "JK" name off my submit form?! Am I doomed to be a French-looking, boring idiotarian who served in Vietnam forever?
Posted by: Chris W. ||
08/10/2005 0:20 Comments ||
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Your name came through on the other article you posted. I'll check the way the cookies are set.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/10/2005 0:37 Comments ||
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Thanks.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
08/10/2005 0:38 Comments ||
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If he does come back, strip search, cavity search, rip his luggage to shreds. If they find anything, Hookboy gets a roomate.
#5
This "rhetoric" is telling Bakri he is self deported. If he comes back, the re-de-portation is likely to be less pleasant. No need for deeds when words do the job. And give a hint to lots of others that this can be done the easy way or the hard way, it's your choice. Faster, better, cheaper. Works for me.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/10/2005 8:55 Comments ||
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Pack his 2 wives and 7 baby boomers into a shipping box and mail to Syria.
Posted by: ed ||
08/10/2005 9:25 Comments ||
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powers to exclude people from the country if he finds their "presence is not conducive to the public good"
why not call him a lazy leech for sponging off the taxes paid by hard-working Brits and be done with it - he's gone - no return, and kick his misbegotten offspring and chattel out too. Buh-bye!
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/10/2005 10:05 Comments ||
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Prescott suggests Bakri make his vacation a long one
For the right price, someone would probably be willing to make it a permanent one, as in six feet under....
#9
Bomb: You make a good point. Moving the problem does not solve the problem. With the UK, US, France, Pakis, etc. all kicking the mad men out, they need somewhere permanent to go (hell).
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/10/2005 10:53 Comments ||
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Excellent. Bakri puts the lie to his own martyrdom rhetoric by declining to be a martyr in any deportation process. The man who would have others give their own blood won't even make an argument in court. Take note all potential suicide bombers: You are being duped! Run Bakri run. See Barkri run.
#11
"Sorry Deputy Prime Minister, but snarky comments should be reserved for blogs. You, sir, have a responsibility to get things done. Deeds not words, Prescott."
Snarky comments should be reserved for blogs?
Posted by: Don Rumsfeld ||
08/10/2005 16:46 Comments ||
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Yes, I affairs of State snarky comments can be unhelpful.
An attack on London's financial district is inevitable despite tighter security in the wake of the July bombings on the capital's transport network, the area's police chief said in an interview published on Tuesday.
Seems like an attack on everything is inevitable, doesn't it? It's kind of like everything you eat, drink, smoke, or touch giving your cancer...
James Hart, who heads the City of London police force, said police had disrupted "hostile reconnaissance" of the region several times but made no arrests. He did not give details of which buildings had been staked out, saying only that they were businesses, iconic sites and prominent buildings. "Every successful terrorist group pre-surveys its target," Hart said in an interview carried on the Financial Times Web site (www.ft.com). "There is no doubt that we have been subject to that surveillance. If you want to hurt the government ... where better to hit than at the financial centre?"
Where, indeed? Except that in Beslan they hit an elementary school. In Moscow they hit a theater. In Bali they hit a few beer joints. In Turkey they hit a bank and a synagogue. In New York they hit the World Trade Center. In Madrid it was trains. And in London they've so far hit buses and trains.
The City of London is home to scores of banks, law firms, the London Stock Exchange and the Bank of England. Tourists attractions include St Paul's Cathedral and the Monument, a stone tower commemorating the 1666 Great Fire of London. Hart said it was only a matter of time before bombers targeted the City, bombed twice by the IRA in the early 1990s. "Look at the number of times we were hit by the IRA," Hart said. "I think (another attack) is a question of when rather than if."
Well, you're probably right. Hitler bombed the place, too. Given determination on their part, you can't stop them from doing terrible things. Best to concentrate on making them wish they hadn't. Think Guy Fawkes...
He said security in the district had been tightened since the July 7 bombings, which killed 52 people on three London trains and a bus, and the failed July 21 attacks also targeting city transport. Hart told the FT he believed those behind the July bombings were not linked to al Qaeda, contradicting previous statements by London police chief Sir Ian Blair. Instead, the bombers were a third-tier grouping with intellectual sympathies to al Qaeda propaganda, Hart said.
The guys who boomed were cannon fodder. Look for their support network and you'll find people who're maybe "second tier" who're allied with al-Qaeda.
Posted by: Oztralian [AKA] God Save The World ||
08/10/2005 00:00 ||
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My travel plans to central London are firm. F*CK the coward, I give no ground to such losers.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/10/2005 10:57 Comments ||
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Why always "inevitable" this or "inevitable" that?
Why not this: It is inevitable that if Muslim world continues to assault every faith, nation, etc. sooner or later, an unrestrained, nuclear-armed power like Communist China will make a wasteland of much of the Muslim universe.
Posted by: Ward C the Moron ||
08/10/2005 11:09 Comments ||
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It's Inebbitabbbable!
Posted by: Kim Jong Il ||
08/10/2005 11:28 Comments ||
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One more time please?
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
08/10/2005 14:26 Comments ||
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Britain is considering setting up secretive courts to make it easier to prosecute terror suspects — and to hold them without charge for longer than the current 14 days — as part of the crackdown following the deadly London bombings, officials said Tuesday.
Ahah! Star Chamber coming back, is it? Well, I knew it was too good to last...
The Home Office said it was weighing changing the pretrial process to deal with particularly sensitive terror cases, with the aim of "securing more prosecutions." Currently, terror suspects can be held for two weeks without charge; after they are charged, police can no longer question them. Police have asked the government to extend this period to three months.
And then off with their heads?
The anti-terror courts — run by judges with high-level security clearance — would meet behind closed doors to study the merits of the case against terror suspects, rule on highly sensitive evidence and decide how long the suspect could be held, The Guardian newspaper reported Tuesday, citing unidentified Home Office officials.
Judges with security clearances? Behind closed doors? But that'd keep people from wandering in and gawping as the nation's secrets are being discussed! What about the people's right to know?
A spokeswoman for the Home Office confirmed a new pretrial procedure is under consideration, but couldn't provide any other details. "I want to emphasize: There is no question of secret trials, there is no question of jury-less trials, there is no question of any sort of internment," Britain's chief legal official, Lord Chancellor Charles Falconer, told the British Broadcasting Corp. radio.
No Star Chamber? No Judge Jeffries?
"What is being suggested is ... just a sensible period to detain suspects while a sensible investigation is going on."
No circus midgets? No tumblers? No jugglers? No elephants?
The July 7 bombings and the failed attacks two weeks later prompted the British government to propose new anti-terrorism laws aimed at rooting out Islamic extremists. The sweeping measures, which could include deporting foreigners to countries where torture is believed to be widespread, sparked concern Tuesday from the U.N. special envoy on torture. Human rights laws now prevent Britain from deporting people to a country where they may face torture or death. But Prime Minister Tony Blair wants to win pledges from the countries that they would not subject deportees to inhumane treatment.
Seems a reasonable, even soft-hearted step to me, since we're talking about people who're apt to either explode among honest Britons without warning or to incite others to do so...
An agreement has been reached with Jordan, and Britain is talking to Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt. Blair also said the government might amend Britain's human rights legislation to make it easier to deport Islamic extremists. "If there is a substantial risk in a certain country like Algeria, Jordan, Egypt, etc., then diplomatic assurances cannot be used," U.N. envoy Manfred Nowak told BBC radio. "If a country usually and systematically practices torture, then of course they would deny they were doing it because it is absolutely prohibited."
And of course there's always the possibility that they won't be beaten with rubber hoses after deportation from Britain, but that they will the first time they step out of line back in the Olde Countrie. So, really, there's no way to be sure, so Tony's just supposed to keep 'em.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/10/2005 00:00 ||
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There is no question of secret trials, there is no question of jury-less trials, there is no question of any sort of internment," Britain's chief legal official, Lord Chancellor Charles Falconer, told the British Broadcasting Corp. radio. "What is being suggested is ... just a sensible period to detain suspects while a sensible investigation is going on."
Of course any number of cell mates may encourage talking about what they know...
EFL. Think the Mexican government will care enough about their citizens to do this? Nah....me neither.
Alarmed by the increasing number of undocumented immigrants from Guatemala dying in the Arizona desert, the Guatemalan government is warning its countrymen to stay home rather than risk their lives trying to enter the United States illegally from Mexico.
Last week, several high-level officials from Guatemala along with a Guatemalan television crew toured both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border near Nogales to document the dangers involved with crossing illegally into the United States. U.S. Border Patrol officials have counted a record 199 deaths in Arizona since Oct. 1, the start of the federal fiscal year.
"It's not as easy as it seems," said Milton Alvarez, acting Consul General of Guatemala in Los Angeles. He visited the Arizona border along with Guatemala's Secretary of Foreign Relations Jorge Briz and Deputy Secretary of Foreign Relations Juan Jose Cabrera. "The smugglers are telling the migrants at the border they'll get them to Phoenix in three hours and the three hours can turn into three days or longer walking through the desert," Alvarez said. If they're lucky, they'll walk out....
Officially, the Guatemalan government has counted 10 migrant deaths in Arizona since May. But the government believes the actual number is "much higher" because many Guatemalans trying to cross illegally into the United States use fake Mexican documents to avoid being deported all the way back to Guatemala, Alvarez said.
Tighter enforcement in the Tucson sector has pushed much of the traffic west. In the Yuma sector, apprehensions of Central Americans increased 808 percent from a year ago, to 1,090.
Before setting out, most undocumented migrants from Guatemala are unaware of the risks of trying to enter the United States illegally, said Eliseo Dardon, president of Maya Tikal Organization, a Guatemalan community group based in Phoenix.
Besides temperatures that can exceed 110 degrees in the summer, migrants risk being robbed, raped, abandoned or killed by smugglers, who charge $5,000 or more for the trip from Guatemala to the U.S. Not to mention the ones held hostage once they get here...lovely bunch of people, migrant smugglers.
"What they see is (migrants) coming back after four or five years with money in their pockets," said Dardon, who was interviewed for the documentary to be aired as a weeklong special this month on Telediario, Canal 3, a major television network in Guatemala. "But they don't see the other side of the coin. This is not an American Dream anymore. It's become a nightmare."
Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a Washington, D.C-based organization that advocates for tighter restrictions on immigration, praised Guatemala's efforts to discourage people from trying to sneak into the United States, though he said it won't stop people from trying.
The United States needs to do a better job enforcing U.S. immigration laws against employers that hire undocumented immigrants, he said. That would send the message "that it's futile, that even if you do make it you aren't going to realize your goal of access to jobs," he said.
#1
Trouble is, Guatemala is a humid country with lots of water. Mexico North of DF is generally hot and dry. For this reason, Guatemalans are a lot more likely to die crossing the desert than are Mexicans, who have a greater likelihood of knowing how harsh a desert can be.
#3
The United States needs to do a better job enforcing U.S. immigration laws against employers that hire undocumented immigrants, he said. That would send the message "that it's futile, that even if you do make it you aren't going to realize your goal of access to jobs," he said.
I agree completely. If employers are still willing to gamble on someone's identity without conducting anything more than a cursory check, then it's time to hit 'em where it'll hurt the most.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
08/10/2005 13:26 Comments ||
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BAR, we need to perp walk some illegal-hiring CEOs and bankrupt their companies. It wouldn't take many before the word got around that hiring illegal "cheap" labor had a damned expensive downside and that the risk/reward ratio was prohibitive. Most businessmen aren't stupid. Make that negative cost/benefit relationship clear and our problem with illegals will go away quickly.
Posted by: mac ||
08/10/2005 23:51 Comments ||
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THE Aussie accent is as distinct and as portentious as the threats the demented, black-robed, AK-47-carrying terrorist is screaming against the West.
"The Muslim world is not your backyard," he shrieks.
"The honourable sons of Islam will not let you kill our sons. It is time for us to be equals. As you kill, you will be killed. As you bomb, you will be bombed."
Apart from a slight tonal inflection which would indicate that the speaker is from an immigrant community within Australia, the impassioned words could be those which renegade Adelaide Taliban fighter David Hicks wrote to his parents of his desire to see Islam conquer the world.
Not surprising, really, since Hicks was an enthusiastic convert to al-Qaeda's bloody philosophy of Islamic world domination.
"Pakistan, Kashmir and Afghanistan [will] join together in a true Islamic state. The Islamic state is nearly completed," he wrote in a letter to his parents.
"As a Muslim, I believe in destiny. I will always fight for the truth, Islam."
And on al-Qaeda's video, Hick's doppelganger, his features covered in a black balaclava, howls: "The animals under Islam will not just let you kill our families in Palestine, Afghanistan, Kashmir and the Balkans, Indonesia, the Caucasus and elsewhere.
"Oh people of the West, don't be fooled by the lies of Blair and Bush that you are free nations, for the only freedom that you have is the freedom to be slaves of your whims and desires."
The image of the shrouded terrorist appears in a three-part two-hour al-Qaeda recruitment video titled The War of the Oppressed People, sections of which have been aired by Dubai's al Arabiya television network.
It includes blurry footage purporting to show a rocket attack on a US Chinook helicopter in which 16 Americans were killed in June, a wounded US serviceman and a US laptop computer, and the planting of a roadside bomb which killed an Afghan security chief.
It also seems to show al-Qaeda terrorists examining weapons and preparing bombs packed with bolts in Afghanistan, before attending a briefing by an instructor on "Operation to Defeat the Crucifix", a campaign targeting US and allied forces.
Senior al-Qaeda figure Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi is featured warning that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have created "two fronts" for recruiting terrorists to the cause of Hicks' heroes, Osama bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Omar, and a Pakistani recruit says: "If this is terrorism and fundamentalism, then OK, we are terrorists and fundamentalists."
Which seems to undermine the argument put forward by Hicks' civil libertarian lawyers and anti-Western supporters that he was just a well-meaning dope who strayed into bad company.
The film is subtitled in Arabic, with interviews in English, French, Pashto and Urdu, as well as Arabic spoken with Yemeni, Saudi and Iraqi accents, according to linguistic experts. Its evil doctrine needs no translating, however. It is the doctrine that Hicks says he was destined to fight for, and if necessary, die for.
Perhaps he even knows the Australian-accented terrorist who wants to extend the terrorist campaign against innocent men, women and children.
In recent weeks The Daily Telegraph has revealed that bookshops associated with radical Muslim groups in Sydney and Melbourne peddle books filled with anti-Western, anti-Semitic hate. Perhaps the masked terrorist began his journey to Afghanistan fuelled by the poisonous lies contained in such garbage?
Or perhaps he was a student of the self-styled clerics and leaders like Australian-born Muslim Wassim Doureihi from the extremist Islamist organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir, who have called for the defeat of Western civilisation and its replacement with a medieval theocracy, a religious government under which women are subjugated, homosexuals and adulterers are put to death, and thieves mutilated?
But whoever he is, it is a fair bet to suggest that he doesn't care that al-Qaeda has killed more innocent Muslims than Christians since it began its campaign of global terror, or that the Islamic nations are gradually moving away from the feudal fundamentalism he represents.
He may, like Hicks, find some sympathy among the Lunar Left and the skinheads of the Ultra-Right, but won't win any from decent Australians of any religion concerned about maintaining a law-abiding liberal democracy for their children to inherit.
Just as Hicks has condemned himself by his words and deeds, so too has the anonymous braggard behind the balaclava identified himself with al-Qaeda's nihilistic Islamist death cult.
Moderate Muslims must disown these monsters and their particular perverse stream of Islam and the fifth column apologists for such evil-doers should join them in branding all those who proclaim their support for terror as outlaws.
Those within Australia who encouraged Hicks and his Aussie-accented brother-in-blood to take the path of violence and terror must be hunted and captured with the same energy used by allied troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to restore peace in those nations.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/10/2005 14:55 ||
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BRANDISHING an automatic rifle and vowing in a broad Australian accent to take revenge against the West, this man could be our latest homegrown terrorist.
ASIO officers were stunned when this balaclava-clad man appeared on Arab television yesterday threatening a bloody campaign against Western countries with troops inside Iraq.
He then boasted that his al-Qaeda comrades had brought down a US helicopter in Afghanistan in June, killing 16 troops.
"It is time for us to be equals. As you kill us, you'll be killed. As you bomb us, you will be bombed," the heavily-armed young man said in what seemed to be an Australian accent.
A crack team of intelligence agents was last night working on the ground in the Middle East, scanning the video footage for clues. While the tape could be an elaborate hoax, they are treating
it as genuine until proved otherwise. The video was broadcast on the Dubai-based network Al-Arabiya and warned British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George W. Bush to remove troops from Iraq or face further attacks from Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda.
Deliberately switching between a London cockney and Australian accent, the man appeared determined to disguise his origins.
But language experts yesterday told The Daily Telegraph the man probably spent part of his childhood in Australia and it was more likely his British accent was fake.
"From listening to this man speak, it's clear he has spent quite a bit of his youth in Australia," Dr Felicity Cox from Macquarie University said.
A spokeswoman for Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said the video was being treated seriously and copies had been passed on to ASIO.
"We've been advised that ASIO is looking at the footage very carefully and will keep us informed of any developments," the spokeswoman said.
Mr Ruddock's office said about 10,000 people from around the world poured into Afghanistan to fight alongside the Taliban in 2002 and "there was every possibility" some were Australians.
Adelaide man David Hicks trained alongside Taliban forces, while Mamdouh Habib has refused to explain why he was in Pakistan and Afghanistan before and just after the September 11 attacks in New York.
In a two-minute assault on Western values, the self-declared freedom fighter featured in the yesterday's video declared war on the perceived enemies of Islam.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/10/2005 14:52 ||
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Prime Minister John Howard has paid tribute to Australia's secret warriors to whom he has given more work and more money than any previous Australian government.
Officially launching a new book on the Special Air Service (SAS) Regiment, Mr Howard said he felt a special obligation to the SAS, as well as all others in the defence force - because he had sent them into danger in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"It is true that in the time that I have been prime minister the activities of the SAS have been the most intense since the time the regiment was formed," he said.
As Australia's premier counter-terrorist force, the SAS has been granted vast resources over the past few years.
Mr Howard said his associations with the SAS, most recently when the soldiers provided protection for his trip to Iraq late last month, had left an indelible impression.
"They have left first and foremost the impression of that high derring-do courage which is so essential to special forces and so characteristic of how we like to depict ourselves as Australians," he said.
"They have left the indelible impression of superb professionalism and, where necessary, discipline. They have also left a great impression of a humanitarian understanding of the role of a modern army."
Army chief Lieutenant General Peter Leahy said much was asked of the Perth-based unit of about 500 highly trained troops.
"The public know little of the Special Air Service Regiment and this is by choice and for good reason. We asked the men of the SAS Regiment to do difficult tasks, usually at short notice and in very complex, dangerous and often sensitive circumstances," he said.
"This book lifts the veil of secrecy that surrounds the SAS ever so slightly."
The book, The Amazing SAS by journalist Ian McPhedran, details the exploits of Australia's special forces soldiers in East Timor, Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as in the controversial MV Tampa affair in 2001.
The SASR prides itself on its mystique and low profile. Mr McPhedran said he managed to convince senior officers and soldiers that their story should be told and the book is the product of hundreds of hours of recorded conversations.
He said a group of Australian special forces soldiers was now preparing to return to Afghanistan.
"Some may not return and it is my hope that under such tragic circumstances their families will be looked after properly," he said.
"Things have improved in recent times in terms of compensation for war veterans but there is a long way to go. It is not good enough for families to have to rely on charities such as the SAS Resources Trust to make up the shortfalls."
Posted by: Oztralian [AKA] God Save The World ||
08/10/2005 00:15 ||
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God bless them and their families. And thanks to the Aussies for standing firm with us. The "quiet warriors" are doing the deeds we need done in this war. Personally, I think it best that they're so "secret."
Posted by: BA ||
08/10/2005 10:12 Comments ||
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The Aussies have always been our greatest ally. A deserved well done to these brave warriors and friends.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/10/2005 11:01 Comments ||
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good on ya.
Posted by: bk ||
08/10/2005 14:34 Comments ||
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FIGHTERS from Ireland have joined al-Qaida in Afghanistan and took part in the downing of a helicopter that left 16 US troops dead, it was claimed yesterday.
A video shown on Arab television and also delivered to British Prime Minister Tony Blair claims the recruits from Ireland were part of a multinational force that took part in the attack and the ransacking of a US military base.
While a small number of militants living in Ireland are thought to have travelled to training camps in Pakistan, this is the first time it has been claimed that Irish people are directly involved in fighting within Afghanistan.
Part of the video was screened on Dubai-based al-Arabiya television channel and showed a man speaking in a pronounced British Midlands accent warning the "people of the West, don't be fooled by the lies of Blair and Bush".
The station's reporter, in a voiceover, said: "It is noteworthy that al-Qaida fighters from Britain, Ireland, France and Pakistan, in addition to Arabs, speak in the film before the military operation."
The British man, wielding an AK-47 and wearing a black balaclava and combat gear, proclaims he is a mujahedeen and speaks in English as he addresses a camera in the centre of woodland.
"Oh people of the West, don't be fooled by the lies of Blair and Bush that you are free nations, for the only freedom that you have is the freedom to be slaves of your whims and desires," he said.
Blurred video footage also shows the rocket attack on a Chinook helicopter which claimed the lives of 16 US Navy Seals in June.
A French-speaking fighter vows to "slit the throats of the Americans and the Jews" and makes a sawing motion with his hand.
It claims a group attached to al-Qaida were involved in what was called Operation Vanquishing the Cross. The attack, in the Kunar province, was the first involving a downed helicopter since March 2002.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/10/2005 15:02 ||
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a man speaking in a pronounced British Midlands - The media is convinced its an Australian accent.
Vietnam veteran Steve Pitkin claims that John Kerry pressured him to lie in 1971 when he claimed U.S. soldiers engaged in atrocities during the Vietnam War. Pitkin had been a key participant in John Kerryâs infamous âWinter Soldierâ hearings of the same year, which concluded that the U.S. military was allegedly engaging in war crimes against the Vietnamese. These days, Pitkin appears in the controversial anti-Kerry documentary âStolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal.â The film features a clip of Pitkin from another documentary film, "Winter Soldier." In that clip, the bearded and bandana-wearing Pitkin seems stunned and vague while being questioned by John Kerry in a preliminary interview â apparently overwhelmed over being asked to describe his combat tour.
Today, however, Pitkin discloses that his lack of candor in the 1971 film clip actually reflected his efforts to avoid giving Kerry what he so desperately wanted: war stories about how American troops in Vietnam were daily committing war crimes in a last-ditch attempt to turn the tide in that 10-year conflict. In the end, Pitkin said, he gave in to Kerryâs pressure and made up allegations of war crimes. "The VVAW [Vietnam Veterans Against the War] found me during a difficult time in my life, and I let them use me to advance their political agenda,â Pitkin now confesses. âThey pressured me to tell their lies, but that's no excuse for what I did. I just want people to know the truth and to make amends as best I can. I'd hate to see the troops serving today have to go through what Vietnam veterans did."
During a speech at the Kerry Lied Rally on Sept. 12, 2004, Pitkin first identified himself as a vet who, with prodding from Kerry, lied about atrocities in Vietnam:âThey knew I was one of the very few real combat veterans in the room. I told them I didnât have anything to say. Kerry said, âSurely youâve seen some of the atrocities.â âI kept saying ânoâ and the mood turned ugly. One of the other leaders whispered to me, âItâs a long walk back to Baltimore.â Iâm not proud of this, but I finally agreed to speak. They told me what to talk about â American troops beating civilians and prisoners, shelling and destroying villages for no reason, and acts of racism against the Vietnamese.
âJohn Kerry knew that the Winter Soldier testimony was a pack of lies. I know, because I was there, and I told some of those lies.â
In âStolen Honor,â Col. Bud Day, a Medal of Honor winner who spent 67 months as a POW, and 16 other POWs of that war lambaste Kerry for creating the myth of brutal GIs terrorizing the countryside. âThe thing about the Kerry comments in 1971 is that they were so sensational, so outrageous, that they were precisely the kind of thing that a propaganda expert and the news media were looking for ...,â Day said. âHe has destroyed the good name of all Vietnam veterans. Now he wants us to forget. I can never forget.â In âStolen Honor,â Day and the sixteen other POWs who served years in captivity while undergoing torture claimed that Kerryâs Winter Soldier hearings gave the North Vietnamese fodder for their attacks on the POWs and their desire to continue the war.
After years of living a lie, the turnabout by Pitkin is 180 degrees.
In 1971 he introduced himself before the âWinter Soldiersâ investigative panel this way:
âMy name is Steve Pitkin, age 20, from Baltimore. I served with the 9th Division from May of '69 until I was air-evacuated in July of '69. I'll testify about the beating of civilians and enemy personnel, destruction of villages, indiscriminate use of artillery, the general racism and the attitude of the American GI toward the Vietnamese. I will also talk about some of the problems of the GIs toward one another and the hassle with officers.â
Now, in a sworn affidavit recently executed in Palm Beach County, Fla., he has set the record straight:
â... During my service in Vietnam, I neither witnessed nor participated in any American war crimes or atrocities against civilians, nor was I ever aware of any such actions. I did witness the results of Vietcong atrocities against Vietnamese civilians, including the murder of tribal leaders. ...
âI joined Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), at Catonsville Community College in Baltimore in 1970.
âIn January of 1971, I rode in a van with John Kerry, a national leader of the VVAW, and others from Washington D.C. to Detroit to attend the Winter Soldier Investigation, a conference intended to publicize alleged American war crimes in Vietnam. Having no knowledge of such war crimes, I did not intend to speak at the event.
âDuring the Winter Soldier Investigation, John Kerry and other leaders of that event pressured me to testify about American war crimes, despite my repeated statements that I could not honestly do so. One event leader strongly implied that I would not be provided transportation back to my home in Baltimore, Maryland, if I failed to comply. Kerry and other leaders of the event instructed me to publicly state that I had witnessed incidents of rape, brutality, atrocities and racism, knowing that such statements would necessarily be untrue.â
In his affidavit, Pitkin also describes how John Kerryâs famous medal tossing in front of the U.S. Capitol was staged:
âIn April 1971, I attended a VVAW protest in Washington D.C. known as âDewey Canyon III.â During this event I was present when protestors, including John Kerry, threw medals and ribbons over a fence outside the U.S. Capitol. I witnessed a man holding a bag of ribbons and medals and handing them out to other protestors. I saw that many of the ribbons and medals were not those that would be received by veterans of combat in Vietnam.â
Pitkin served with the Ninth Division of the U.S. Army beginning May 25, 1969. A mortar explosion wounded him and later the wounds became infected, resulting in his removal from the combat zone. During his tour he received the Combat Infantry Badge, Army Commendation Medal, RVN Cross of Gallantry, Air Medal and Purple Heart. He went on later in life to retire from the U.S. Coast Guard. NewsMax spoke to Scott Swett of SwiftVets.com and Wintersoldiers.com, who gave some background as to how Steve Pitkin surfaced after three decades. According to Swett, Pitkin placed a comment on the SwiftVets.com bulletin board about a month ago. Swett says it was he who followed up, interviewing Pitkin over the course of a couple of days.
Says Swett: âPitkin is unique in a couple of ways. He is the only Winter Soldier investigation subject to come forward and under oath recant his testimony. Pitkin is furthermore the only investigation interviewee to return to the military. But most significantly, Pitkin was interviewed directly by Kerry himself on a segment called the âmiscellaneous panel.ââ
Posted by: Steve ||
08/10/2005 12:21 ||
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Just when the "Kerry 2008" campaign had achieved a critical mass of 10 potential voters.
Posted by: Matt ||
08/10/2005 12:49 Comments ||
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Old news. Swift Vets had added a post-Unfit for Command chapter on their website last year detailing some of this guy's story. I'm glad it's still in the news though.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
08/10/2005 13:23 Comments ||
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The 34-year-old antiwar documentary "Winter Soldier," which famously features, for about a minute of its 95 minutes, young Vietnam vet John Kerry, is poised for its first significant theatrical release in the U.S., according to the New York Times. And that fact has some Vietnam Veterans, who believe the film was thoroughly discredited, hopping mad. The film's renaissance is scheduled for Friday at the Film Society of Lincoln Center â followed by other public screenings in Chicago, Detroit, Hartford, Minneapolis and other venues.
The film's distributors claim that the war in Iraq has made the Vietnam-era film as relevant as when it was a campy favorite on the nation's college campuses. But B.G. Burkett, Vietnam veteran and author of "Stolen Honor: How the Vietnam Generation Was Robbed of its Heroes and its History," tells NewsMax, "It's amazing how a paper like the New York Times would publish such a story without vetting or commenting on the claims [of atrocities] in the film.
Well, no it's not
"It's pretty much settled now that much of the so-called atrocities was the product of outright fabrications and some even offered by persons with criminal records. "Some of this stuff is ludicrous on its face," adds Burkett, "but it's being offered as gospel."
Burkett singles out Scott Camil, a former Marine scout and forward artillery observer, who in the film confides, "If I had to go into a village and kill 150 people just to make sure there was no one there to kill me when we walked out, that's what I did." Burkett recalls to NewsMax a gathering at Texas Tech University where the whole phenomenon of Vietnam Vets Against the War was being addressed. When Camil made a comment directed at Burkett, the author recalls firing back, "Aren't you the same Camil that wanted to assassinate eight U.S. senators?" Indeed, the VVAW reportedly voted on the draconian assassination measure to off the hawkish lawmakers â a vote, Burkett says, in which Kerry participated. "Kerry voted against the assassination," recalls Burkett. "I guess he was already thinking ahead to the time those guys would be his colleagues." Made at a three-day gathering in 1971 of Vietnam veterans telling of alleged atrocities they had reportedly seen and committed, "Winter Soldier" was later shown at the Cannes and Berlin film festivals, on screens in France and England, and on German television.
"The context is why we wanted to do it," said Amy Heller, co-owner with her husband, Dennis Doros, of Milestone Films. "We have a 9-year-old son," Heller added, "but if he were 19 and wondering what he should do with the next stage of his life, I sure would want him to see this film before considering going into the military." One of the apparent pretexts for releasing "Winter Soldier" now is that the U.S. is involved in an unpopular war in Iraq. The distributor notes that with the Abu Ghraib coverage in Iraq, the old film manifests an eerie prescience.
Case-in-point, the backers claim: a sequence in "Winter Soldiers" where a former Army interrogator describes using "clubs, rifle butts, pistols, knives" to extract information - "always monitored" by superiors or military police - and back dropped by the admonition: "Don't get caught." Mr. Doros, who wants to broaden the potential modern audience even further, noted that he hoped the film would be shown on cable television. "They [potential military recruits] should see that war isn't always what they imagine from movies and books and modern media," Doros said. "That the atrocities, the gore, the daily horror of bombs bursting out and bullets riddling your friends' bodies next to you, have been glossed over." The Doros couple finds a segment with Rusty Sachs, a former Marine helicopter pilot, particularly instructive about how brutality in war inevitable evolves. Reportedly, Sachs describes contests to see "how far they could throw the bound bodies out of the airplane."
Critics then and now, however chide the grainy documentary as including nothing to elucidate what it shows. There is no narration per se. Witnesses are left to tell their stories to the camera's eye. No less than 18 unknowns working with borrowed equipment and donated stock shot more than 100 hours over that three-day weekend in 1971. The team then spent six months editing. "We did a screening at NBC," recalls Fred Aronow, one of the original filmmakers. "We got the reply back that this was incredibly interesting material that the American public should see, and it's unfortunate that NBC cannot broadcast it. They did not give a reason." The modern backers hope all that will change â if the new release builds any momentum, not to mention an interested audience.
Most recently the producers of "Stolen Honor," an attack on candidate John Kerry that was shown on Sinclair Broadcasting stations last fall, used outtakes from "Winter Soldier," but the film was never shown in its entirety. Burkett shared with NewsMax his thoughts about the International Court at the Hague, a forum which deals with war crimes â offenses that know no statute of limitations. His fantasy is that the Hague would someday charge those who claimed atrocities during the Vietnam conflict. "I'd like to hear their defense," he says.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/10/2005 11:53 ||
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Well, of course, kids today have no idea that war is icky. I mean, like, people die and stuff, y'know?
Damn, can these assholes be any more patronizing??
#2
Any chance there will be an annotated version giving the real service records of those speaking?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/10/2005 13:39 Comments ||
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The film's distributors claim that the war in Iraq has made the Vietnam-era film as relevant as when it was a campy favorite on the nation's college campuses.
So was "Reefer Madness" and Three Stooges festivals....and they made more sense.
CLEVELAND (AP) â The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio said today it will no longer accept funding from the United Way so as not to complete a required counterterrorism compliance form.
At issue is a counterterrorism form the ACLU believes can be intrusive on individual liberties. The form requires agencies to comply with the U.S. Patriot Act by assuring they are not involved with anyone on a federal terrorism watch list.
In October of 2004, the ACLU turned down $1.15 million in funding from two of itâs most generous and loyal contributors, the Ford and Rockefeller foundations, saying new anti-terrorism restrictions demanded by the institutions make it unable to accept their funds.
The Ford Foundation now bars recipients of its funds from engaging in any activity that "promotes violence, terrorism, bigotry, or the destruction of any state."
The Rockefeller Foundationâs provisions state that recipients of its funds may not "directly or indirectly engage in, promote, or support other organizations or individuals who engage in or promote terrorist activity."
#2
"Even the right to be a terrorist is protected under the First Amendment," ACLU spokes-transgenderperson, Missy Asslitch
AP: American Freikorps units guns down ACLU assembly members
July 20, 2008 (Boston): Police and FBI believe that the American Freikorps struck again, this time gunning down fifteen ACLU members who were attending a conference ironically titled "Terrorism is a protected status."
Police and FBI have had difficulty shutting down the Freikorps organization which many law enforcement counter-terrorism experts believe consists of Iraq War vets and right-wing militias that have declared war on the Fifth Column left in America. ...
Posted by: Ward C the Moron ||
08/10/2005 11:18 Comments ||
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Right on, Lh. But I wouldn't give them credit for some change of heart... I'd say it's self-preservation and self-serving greed, more likely. The people controlling these two Moonbat bagmen recognize their lucrative positions could be in jeopardy if they don't demonstrate at least the pretense of having standards. That it's merely pretense is a matter of historical record for both. Nonetheless, it worked to the public good in this case, at least.
Hmmm. Unable to formally declare they don't support terrorists... Why, without a great deal of effort, one could argue that's a declaration that they do...
#8
In truth, most of the women lawyers in the ACLU are "industrial" looking, or angry1 anti-male lesbians, so, they want an Islamofascist takeover of the USA so all women will be forced to wear burquas, and level the playing field. Sort of a Socialism of Looks thing...
1- Hold on - before you call me a homophobe - Not all lesbians are ugly, angry, or leftist... but the ones in the ACLU... ARE!
Imagine my distress when I turned Night Line on last night and I was confronted with the gory details of my son's murder in Sadr City, Baghdad, Iraq on 04/04/04. Imagine, also, my sorrow and rage at the side of the story that you presented to the American public. Shame on you for besmerching the memory of your son and his sacrifice, you nutty old bat!
I was on the Night Line Townhall Meeting in Washington, DC on 01/27/05. After I spoke (which I think was a fluke), Ted Koppel dismissed me as being "emotional." First of all, how can I approach this discussion without emotions, MY SON WAS KILLED, AND KILLED FOR LIES? Second of all, that show was not fair and balanced and I think the conclusion "Should we stay" was foregone. Howdy Doody is usually pretty kind to lefty types like you. You musta really pissed him off!
The show last night was also not fair and balanced. To see all the wives being interviewed who had not lost their husbands and to hear what "hard work" it is to be left behind when their husbands are at war. How hard to you think it is to have a child killed in an illegal and immoral war? In this "wonderful" group of families left behind, we had exactly ONE of the wives call us..she is Diane Rose who was my son's Colonel, Frank Rose's wife. The last time we heard from Diane was in October and we feel we have been left behind by anyone connected to the 2-5 Cavalry. Is support only given if your loved one stays alive? One wife was quoted as saying that Sundays were the hardest for the families left behind. My son was killed on Palm Sunday last year..how does anybody think Sundays are for my family? People are giving you a W-I-D-E berth, my dear!
{SNIP}
Am I emotional? Yes, my first born was murdered. Am I angry? Yes, he was killed for lies and for a PNAC Neo-Con agenda to benefit Israel. My son joined the Army to protect America, not Israel. Am I stupid? No, I know full-well that my son, my family, this nation, and this world were betrayed by a George Bush who was influenced by the neo-con PNAC agenda after 9/11. We were told that we were attacked on 9/11 because the terrorists hate our freedoms and democracy...not for the real reason, becuase the Arab-Muslims who attacked us hate our middle-eastern foreign policy. That hasn't changed since America invaded and occupied Iraq...in fact it has gotten worse. The jooooos killed my son!
It would be so amazing if your show would put me, or another parent who lost their child on who disagrees with the war and this administration: to have just an entire show..without presenting the false side of the debate. That would take a lot of courage and integrity. I hope your program will exhibit these qualities.
It is unfair that we can't propogandize with our pacifist organization, to the exclusion of others, supported by anti-american Arab types, who we must appease...
I also think that Mr. Koppel owes me an apology for the rude way I was treated on his show. After I expressed myself about the war being based on lies and that the troops should be brought home immediately because the war was based on lies, I was not thanked for my comments, or my son's sacrifice. He just said to keep the discussion away from emotions. Then, the wife of a soldier who was killed was allowed to speak and she praised the policies of this deplorable and despicable administration, and she was thanked and praised by the panel. Who stole the strawberries?
Also, another aspect that Mr. Koppel refused to acknowledge was when a man walked up to a microphone and asked Richard Perle to explain PNAC..he was rudely ignored. Explanations are beyond a wombat like you...
WEBSITE SEZ : The Project for the New American Century is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to a few fundamental propositions: that American leadership is good both for America and for the world; and that such leadership requires military strength, diplomatic energy and commitment to moral principle.
{SNIP}
Your show needs to show both sides of this debate and stop being a propanda tool for this administration. This is my challenge to you from a true patriot who wants the lies exposed. ABC a propoganda tool for the administration? LOL!
Love and Peace!!!
Cindy Sheehan
Mother of Hero: Spc Casey Austin Sheehan KIA 04/04/04
Casey's Peace Page
Co-Founder of Gold Star Families For Peace
This is only about 1/3 of the entire letter where she rants on & on about the same BS she's been spouting off for the MSM in front of the Prez's. ranch...
#2
Absolutely agree, SPo'D - her son would obviously be mortified by her behavior and shameless use of his sacrifice to parade her personal dementia. Is this solely her doing or is someone putting her up to this display? A quick check of the records for her travel, accommodations, and sundry expenses might be very revealing. I think "tool" is the operative word.
#3
I think the anti-Semitism would lead one to believe she may have many new friends w/ Middle Eastern "connections"
There is this fellow with her at Crawford named Hadi Jawad. He usually hang out in Dallas from what I can see... "Dallas Peace Center" is a favorite spot...
Now, while composing this, I poked around on Google.
There is the Government List
Q: What is the Excluded Parties Lists System (EPLS)?
A: EPLS is the electronic version of the Lists of Parties Excluded from Federal Procurement and Nonprocurement Programs (Lists), which identifies those parties excluded throughout the U.S. Government (unless otherwise noted) from receiving Federal contracts or certain subcontracts and from certain types of Federal financial and nonfinancial assistance and benefits.
Name : HABUBI, Dr. Safa Hadi Jawad
Class : Entity
Record Type : Primary
Exclusion Type : Specially Designated Nationals
DUNS : -- --
Program : IRAQ
Addresses :
1 : Flat 4D Thorney Court, Palace Gate, Kensington, England
2 : Iraq
Description :
CT Actions --
Action Date : -- --
Term Date : Indef.
CT Code : -- --
Agency : TREAS - OFAC
Alternate identity : aka AL-HABOBI, Dr. Safa
aka AL-HABOBI, Dr. Safa Haji J., DOB 01 Jul 46.
aka AL-HABUBI, Dr. Safa Hadi Jawad
aka HABUBI, Dr. Safa Jawad
aka JAWAD, Dr. Safa Hadi
The updated link deletes addresses, but a Google cache has him as above
Is that address close to the home of any of the dead terrorists of July 7, or the incearcerated terrorists of July 21?
AL-HABUBI, Dr. Safa Hadi Jawad (a.k.a. HABUBI, Dr. Safa Hadi
Jawad; a.k.a. JAWAD, Dr. Safa Hadi; a.k.a. HABUBI, Dr Safa Jawad;
or a.k.a. AL-HABOBI, Dr. Safa; a.k.a. AL-HABOBI, Dr. Safa Haji
J.), Minister of Oil; DOB 01 Jul 46; Flat 4D Thorney Court,
Palace Gate, Kensington, England; Iraq (individual) [IRAQ]*
The names of the following Iraqis were specifically added to the
list as Specially Designated Nationals of Iraq:
....
AL-HABUBI, Dr. Safa Hadi Jawad (a.k.a. HABUBI, Dr. Safa Hadi
Jawad; a.k.a. JAWAD, Dr. Safa Hadi; a.k.a. HABUBI, Dr Safa Jawad;
or a.k.a. AL-HABOBI, Dr. Safa; a.k.a. AL-HABOBI, Dr. Safa Haji
J.), Minister of Oil; DOB 01 Jul 46; Flat 4D Thorney Court,
Palace Gate, Kensington, England; Iraq (individual) [IRAQ]* Link of Above
Then this:
Dr Safa Hadi Jawad al-Habboubi, a person with complementary talents, joined this group. He had graduated in mechanical engineering from the universities of Baghdad and Lyon and had the necessary expertise in the fields of heavy industry and automated machine tools. This special qualification, together with his proven leadership qualities, predisposed him to run various production units, such as the above mentioned Public Company of Technical Industries. Simultaneously charged with procurement issues, he distinguished himself by his sense of initiative and inventiveness. In London he used a front company, the "Technological Development Group", in order to buy the American company Matrix Chrurchill Co., whose president he became. Later-on he engineered likewise the purchase of a special alloys factory. Furthermore, it is worth mentioning his involvement in the Atlanta negotiations concerning unlimited loans from the "Banca nazionale del lavoro", a particularly sensational scandal.
The Sept. 11 commission will investigate a claim that U.S. defense intelligence officials identified ringleader Mohamed Atta and three other hijackers as a likely part of an Al Qaeda cell more than a year before the hijackings but didn't forward the information to law enforcement.
Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), vice chairman of the House Armed Services and Homeland Security committees, said Tuesday that the men were identified in 1999 by a military intelligence unit known as Able Danger. If true, it's an earlier link to Al Qaeda than any previously disclosed intelligence about Atta.
Sept. 11 commission Vice Chairman Lee H. Hamilton said Tuesday that Weldon's information, which the congressman said came from multiple intelligence sources, warranted a review. He said he hoped the panel could issue a statement on its findings by the end of the week.
"The 9/11 commission did not learn of any U.S. government knowledge prior to 9/11 of surveillance of Mohamed Atta or of his cell," Hamilton said. "Had we learned of it, obviously it would've been a major focus of our investigation."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/10/2005 14:41 ||
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It's called defensiveness. These worthless ashholes refuse to go away, clinging to their 15 minutes of fame (disgrace is more like it).
Get lost. You commissioners have already demonstrated the Peter Principle in detail.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/10/2005 18:33 Comments ||
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Jamie Gorelick? Any comment? She was the one that held the wall against info cooperation among agencies. She should've been testifying instead of on the panel. Perhaps Sandy Burglar can take her place?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/10/2005 19:56 Comments ||
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#3
Michael Savage's entire show today devoted to this story. 2nd hour is interview with Jacob Goodwin, who broke story
The Rolling Stones, not exactly a band at the forefront of rock 'n' roll activism, are taking aim at the American right with a new song on their upcoming album, according to Newsweek magazine.
Uhuh. Right. We're supposed to take his opinion seriously.
That's probably the signal to start the revolution. Is Charlie Manson still locked up? Is it 1969 again? I keep playing this Stones CD backward, and it sez "Jagger is dead"...
The track, "Sweet Neo Con," boasts the line, "You call yourself a Christian, I call you a hypocrite/You call yourself a patriot, well I think you're full of s---," according to the weekly newsmagazine.
"You call yourself an intellect, I call you a dumbass/You ain't got no voice left/And you never had any looks"
"It is direct," singer Mick Jagger was quoted as saying, adding that his collaborator, Keith Richards, was "a bit worried" about a backlash because the guitarist lives in the United States and Jagger does not.
So what's he know about the U.S.?
"Sweet Neo Con" is one of 16 tracks featured on the Stones' new album, "A Bigger Bang," which comes out in the United States on September 6, and a day earlier internationally. It was not featured on a 12-track advance CD circulated to critics. The group's publicist was traveling and not able to confirm the quoted lyrics or provide the complete lyrics. The band is currently rehearsing in Toronto ahead of a world tour that begins on August 21 in Boston. In their 43-year career, the Stones have observed political developments in songs like 1968's "Street Fighting Man," but have generally avoided taking sides. Notable exceptions included the 1983 single "Undercover (of the Night)," about civil rights abuse in Latin America, and 1991's Gulf War-related track "Highwire."
Whoopdy doo. Somehow, when I sit down and think real hard on the great minds of the 20th century, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards don't immediately spring to mind. I dunno why.
Posted by: Oztralian [AKA] God Save The World ||
08/10/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
He should stick to songs about picking up ugly women.... something he knows more about than politics...
#3
Well that settles it. I'm changing my party affiliation to Democrat first thing in the morning and I'm off to the Lefty blogs right now. So long, SUCKERS!
Posted by: Chris W. ||
08/10/2005 0:23 Comments ||
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#4
Notable exceptions, so many notable exceptions are not anymore exceptions. I remmeber the liar line at time of Gulf War "we sell them missiles we sell them bla bla..." Just money seekers...
#5
Set them up a gig in Pakistan and lose the return tickets.
Posted by: ed ||
08/10/2005 2:12 Comments ||
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#6
This should play well with the Air Head America crowd. And we all know what a massive consumer audience that is. Other than that, well who cares? All's it means is that I won't buy their album, you won't buy their album and they'll be lucky to fill little venues like Humphreys By the Sea - even after the radio stations give away 110% of their tickets. And Soros will have to fund rent a crowds to make it look successful.
"Number 3 caller, YOU are the lucky winner of tickets to the see the Stones!"
#7
Who the hell wants to see 60+ year old geezers prancing around on stage dressed like ponces and singing the songs of their 30-year-gone youth? It was time for these characters to hang it up a long time ago.
Posted by: mac ||
08/10/2005 5:35 Comments ||
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#8
Jagger is from Dartford. Nuff said.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
08/10/2005 5:44 Comments ||
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#10
And to begin with, the Stones were, even at the age of their splendor, a very overstated group: the Beatles could do rock like the Stones (cf return from USSR) and alot of things teh Stones couldn't do (cf "Yesterday"). It was their demagogical "rebelness" who kept them in the charts. Furthermore unlike the Beatles they weren't lucky enough to find a bitch Yoko forcing the split of the group before their timle had passed so survived on their myth while producing mediocrity.
But this is a moot point, whatever his musical merits the real point is why is Mr Jagger's using the stage to voice his opinion as if he were anything else but a sixty years old guy who didn't go beyond high school, has probabbly read little during his life, lives in a bubble and has had his mind altered by drugs and excess alcohol? Your average blue collar can give sounder advice than Mike Jagger so why is nobody telling Mr Jagger to shut up out oif respect for that blue collar who doesn't have the same tribune and is smarter and better informed than him?
#11
A different spin. Jagger has always been a give the punters what they want kinda guy. He has doubtless seen the market for idiotic Leftist nonsense - M Moore etc. Just someone else grabbing his slice of the tax on Leftist ignorance.
#13
Talk about bad timing with the dust still settling from the London bombings. Even so, am I supposed to care about the political opinions of an aged burned out rock star?
#17
The utterances of aging Lord Rockstars who long ago became walking self-parody are just about as valuable as the words of the 60 year old street person riding a girl's bike around my slice of the city collecting second hand tobacco at 7:30 am. They share alot in common.
#18
It's all about free publicity and about introducing more excitement into a fading career that could use a little Viagra. It's also typical of Newsweek, which is why I no longer subscribe.
#19
Didn't these guys write a songe titled "Sympathy for The Bin Laden Devil?"
Too much sex, drugs, underaged females, and ... hmmm was it these guys who had sex with a small shark or was that Led Zep? Somebody out there will recall that one. Please clarify.
Posted by: Ward C the Moron ||
08/10/2005 8:42 Comments ||
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#20
2b - you from SD too?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/10/2005 8:57 Comments ||
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#21
This is a joke, right? I mean, the tour's sponsored by Ameriquest Mortgage, for crissakes! Hahahaha... Oh, you ancient, rebellious bastards you! Street Fighing Man, my ass! Just don't trip over your walkers when you take a swing at THE MAN!
Hey, kiddos! We think Bush sucks, so we're still hip or fly or whatever the kids call cool today...
so come on out and spend 150 bucks a ticket just so you can tell the story about the time you saw US in concert. Just try to ignore the fact that we lost the magic about 25 years ago...
Other than one poster suggesting that visas be denied (not a constitutional right BTW), I don't see a single call for censorship. Mockery? Yup. General snarkiness? Heck yeah. Rude comments about aging ignorant musicians? You bet. Censorship? Nah. Our enemies serve us best when we let them keep blabbering.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/10/2005 15:13 Comments ||
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#42
NO GOOD REACTION
Sung to the Stoneâs
NO SATISFACTION
I canât get no good reaction,
I canât get no good reaction,.
âcause I try and I try and I try and I try.
I canât get no, I canât get no.
Sittinâ in my big olâ house.
I see my cat chasinâ a big mouse.
Iâm glad I donât have to feed him today,
âCause my record profits Iâve frittered away,
Drugs were no fire to my imagination.
I canât get no, oh no no no.
Hey hey hey, thatâs what I say.
I canât get no good reaction,
I canât get no good reaction,.
âcause I try and I try and I try and I try.
I canât get no, I canât get no.
Watchinâ my nose hair a-grow
Realize that aging ainât so slow
I wonder if I got some bad beef,
Mad cow syndrome has no releif,
I donât wanna drool on the nurseâs sleeve...
I canât get no, oh no no no.
Hey hey hey, thatâs what I say.
I canât get no CD sale action,
Purchases of them are, but a fraction.
But I try, and I try, and I try and I try.
I canât get no, I canât get no.
When Cigarettes havenât killed me yet
With what Jennings and Supermanâs wife did get
Doc tells me, âyouâd better quit this week
âcause you see youâre sinking.â - life is bleek.
I canât get no, oh no no no.
Hey hey hey, thatâs what I say.
I canât get no, I canât get no,
I canât get no good reaction,
No good reaction, good reaction, good reaction,
PS. I would like to see Jagger himself sing this.
That is what I had in mind. -O'05
#43
The stones still rock, however their politics suck.
Posted by: hey mo ||
08/10/2005 16:08 Comments ||
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#44
Just had a weird thought. What if an aging rock band put out a really, really shitty song. What if that shitty song went up the charts because of the lefty lyrics despite being so lame. What if there was some kind of bet on the outcome of weather politics could trump art?
New charges that a Maryland paramedic gave "material support" to terrorists raise anew troubling questions for post-9/11 America.
Do extremist cells still exist in the United States? If they do, how much progress is being made to route them out?
The homegrown nature of the July attacks in London as well as the arrest of a man in Zambia on charges that he'd tried to set up a terrorist training camp in Bly, Ore. in 1999, gives the questions extra salience, according to terrorism experts.
Their assessments of the law enforcement's success rate are mixed. Critics note that most of the suspected terrorists arrested in the US so far were not engaged in any active plan to harm the US. Some, like the newly charged paramedic Mahmud Faruq Brent, had allegedly gone for training in camps in Afghanistan or Pakistan, but mostly they were caught bragging to undercover agents - who openly encouraged them - about their willingness to engage in jihad.
At the same time, analysts point out that the nature of Al Qaeda has changed so much in the light of aggressive law enforcement tactics since 9/11 that the traditional "sleeper cell" model may no longer be attractive to al Qaeda here in the US. As a result, capturing potential terrorists may be the best thing the FBI can be doing right now.
"Measured against [FBI director Robert] Mueller's very confident assertion that there are hundreds of individuals who are members of sleeper cells in the US, these arrests don't indicate to me that we are making progress," says Michael Greenberger, director of the Center for Health and Homeland Security at the University of Maryland. "At the same time, I sympathize with the need to nip terror in the bud and it may very well be that indictments that focus on proposed activities or bragging about future activities may be effective. But we also have to wait to see what the facts in each case were."
Martial-arts beginningBrent was arrested as a result of a sting operation. His former martial arts teacher, a jazz bassist from the Bronx named Tarik Shah, set up the encounter with the FBI shortly after he himself was arrested in May on charges that he gave material support to terrorists. Prior to 9/11, Mr. Shah had taught martial arts at a mosque in Beacon, N.Y. and Brent was one of his prize pupils.
Terrorism experts say that martial-arts training can be the first step in Al Qaeda's elaborate recruitment process. The most able and dedicated are singled out, invited to weekends that involve things like white water rafting - or as in the case of the Virginia Jihad Network, paintball battles in the woods. That creates bonding and allows recruiters to identify those that are especially aggressive or have leadership qualities and aids in indoctrination. Eventually, this process leads to the terrorist training camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
According to the indictment, Brent had ties to the Virginia Jihad Network, the leaders of which were convicted in March 2004 and are serving lengthy prison sentences. It was through them that Brent allegedly made his way to Pakistan to one of the terrorist training camps there.
Shortly after Brent's old friend and teacher Shah was arrested in another FBI sting, Shah turned informant and set up a meeting with Brent at a hotel in Maryland, according to the indictment. During the meeting, Shah indicated that he wanted to go overseas to a training camp, and Brent encouraged him. But Brent said it would be difficult to help him because his "only connect" was "doing time now." He also said in the post-9/11 climate it was hard to know whom to trust anymore. "We don't know who is who," the indictment quotes him as saying in a taped conversation. "We were not in a position to make new friends."
Experts say such comments indicate the success law enforcement has had in creating a "hostile operational environment" for any sleeper cell like the one responsible for the 9/11 attacks. And that has markedly changed Al Qaeda's style in the US.
"Not so many people are going back and forth between borders. They're avoiding communications that can be intercepted, exchanges of money that can be tracked," says Brian Jenkins, a senior terrorism expert at the RAND Corp. in Santa Monica, Calif. "All of these are dangerous."
But all this also makes them harder to detect.
The fact that neither Shah nor Brent were actively involved in any plans fuels critics' concern that the FBI is targeting "B" or "C" potential recruits while more dangerous sleeper cells may be lying in wait - those that are more careful about their new friends.
At the same time, experts note that federal authorities are under "great pressure to move in early and operate preventively or preemptively."
"That means that as opposed to waiting for full-fledged conspiracies, they may be picking up individuals when they are still in the early part of this [recruiting] trajectory. They may have only taken a few steps down the path," says Mr. Jenkins. "But if you're going to wait until there are mature terrorist plans, then that runs a risk. And in this post-9/11 environment, authorities are unwilling to take that risk."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/10/2005 14:54 ||
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A secret US military intelligence team identified the September 11 hijack leader Mohammed Atta and three of his accomplices as probable al-Qa'eda terrorists a year before the attacks.
I'm not real confident about the veracity of this story, for what the story's worth. It sounds like somebody's being fed a line of bull...
But its suspicions were never shared with the FBI because the military was nervous about breaking restrictions on spying on US territory imposed after the Watergate scandal.
I think this guy's seen one too many movies where rogue elements within the government set up their own illegal operations and unfairly target the nice-looking young guy who doesn't know what's going on but they do terrible things and that cheeses him off so that he turns into a killing machine and many car chases and explosions follow.
But he and the bottle blonde always figure it out at the end ...
Until yesterday it was believed that Atta was never identified as a threat before leading the 19-man suicide squads which hit New York and Washington in 2001. However, according to an intelligence official, a Pentagon team, Able Danger, named Atta, Marwan al-Shehhi, Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hamzi as members of an al-Qa'eda squad which it dubbed the "Brooklyn cell" a year earlier.
"Able Danger"? Oh, yes. I recall it well. It was a sub-project within "Frightening Claw."
"We knew these were bad guys and we wanted to do something about them," the intelligence officer told the New York Times.
"We tried to enlist the A-Team, but their car blew up. Again."
The officer took the information to the Special Operations command headquarters in Florida with a recommendation that it be passed to the FBI. It was not.
"Bob, I've got a report here from some operation called 'Able Danger.' Can I use your shredder?"
Able Danger, which used computers to throw up links in information from unclassified sources, had another purpose. "Ultimately, Able Danger was going to give decision-makers options for taking out al-Qa'eda targets," the officer said.
Maybe I should just rename Rantburg as "Able Danger" and submit a budget request for next fiscal year...
Posted by: DanNY ||
08/10/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Actually the FDNY had very good intel coming out of the Arabic community in Brooklyn during the late 70s and early 80s. Informers were IDing bad guys in relation to arsons, etc... But with a change in mayoral administrations the whole operation was shut down, too politically incorrect.
Posted by: DanNY ||
08/10/2005 0:25 Comments ||
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#2
It wasn't the military, though...
Posted by: Fred ||
08/10/2005 0:39 Comments ||
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#3
But with a change in mayoral administrations the whole operation was shut down, too politically incorrect.
This "desire" to be politically correct needs to taken out back and shot twenty times. We as a nation are paying too high a price for it.
#4
Let's say that Atta was ID'ed in early 2001 just for the sake of arguement. Now the question is just what agency ID'ed him and who under federal guidlines or law could they share information with or whop would they have to rely on to pass the information to the party they wanted. And could all of this been done legally. the intelligence sharing system was a mess in 2001 and I am not sure it is fixed today (I have the feeling the people at the floor level are doing just fine, it is the agency heads that are butting heads over territory
#8
Red flag alert! I thought Atta and Co. were all in Germany (Hamburg, I think) up until about a month or so before 9/11. Thus, maybe, just maybe the DoD DID tag them as potential AQ baddies. However, the 2nd paragraph says they didn't forward the info because of domestic spying concerns. Something doesn't jive. Quite possible they tagged them overseas???? But couldn't tell the FBI cause they were (by then) on US soil? Doesn't fly to me.
Posted by: BA ||
08/10/2005 10:06 Comments ||
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Posted by: ed ||
08/10/2005 10:20 Comments ||
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#10
Thanks for the tip, Ed! However, this raises an interesting question. If the DoD's intel units were knowledgable of a jihadi overseas and said jihadi shows up in the U.S., can they still track him? Or do they have to hand over tracking to the FBI. Or is it even legal for them to hand over tracking to the FBI? Enquiring minds, ya know?
Posted by: BA ||
08/10/2005 11:27 Comments ||
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#11
Even if the intel reached the FBI, Gorelick at the DOJ, put a wall up.
I don't think this is a MSM spill, this hurts the Clinton's more than anyone else.
#12
If this is true, I want my money back for that fraudulent 9-11 Commission book.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
08/10/2005 13:31 Comments ||
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#13
So many bad details ...
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/10/2005 14:39 Comments ||
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#14
I saw PA Rep. Curt Weldon on Fox and Friends, saying he wants to get to the bottom of this. He said it was a top secret military intelligence unit that was prevented from giving the info to the FBI by the Clinton's DOJ lawyers. They were still reeling about Waco and said they were here with green cards and gathering intelligence on them was illegal. Supposedly some on the 9-1-1 Commission was briefed but it wasn't in the report and killed by higher ups. I think he said he thought the military was circumventing the CIA because of previous intel failures. Sounds truthful fo me. Weldon was researching his book Countdown to Terror.
#15
If the DoD's intel units were knowledgable of a jihadi overseas and said jihadi shows up in the U.S., can they still track him? Or do they have to hand over tracking to the FBI. Or is it even legal for them to hand over tracking to the FBI?
a) my understanding is that the ID was done via datamining from open source materials, i.e. sifting through masses of published info and correlating details. there hasn't been any hint that military people physically surveilled or tracked anyone within the US.
b)the military is pretty much forbidden from such tracking activities within the country
c) they can hand over info. however, it was a sensitive political call since under the Clinton admin strong firewalls were erected to make that hard to do
d) it was also politically sensitive because, although the datamining in question used publicly available info, it could be mischaracterized as "electronic invasion of privacy" and therefore was touchy ....
Posted by: leader of the pack ||
08/10/2005 15:10 Comments ||
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#16
Thanks, LotP! To me, though, it seems asinine that the military (intelligence) can't watch these guys. I know you'll get the ACLU crying "They're looking at what books Achmed checked out at the library", but if they were truly searching PUBLICLY available info (e.g. Google), why can't they follow-up? It's one thing to place military in use against the citizenry (Posse Comitatus), it's another to just gain intel on foreigners (non-U.S. citizens) in the WoT.
Posted by: BA ||
08/10/2005 15:17 Comments ||
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#17
ed, thanks for the timeline. There are people with other ideas about Atta's timeline. This fellow (link) thinks the FBI isn't being very honest about where Atta was, and so the timeline is unreliable. Unfortunately, Hopsicker subscribes to the "inside job/war for oil" school of thought. Nevertheless, I believe his research commands attention. He's stumbled onto part of the whole, and doesn't know what to make of it.
Rep. Curt Weldon is a longtime Republican congressman from Pennsylvania who is currently vice chairman of both the House Homeland Security and House Armed Services Committees. His testimony was entered into the Congressional Record: June 27, 2005. It was universally ignored.
Goodwin was interviewing Weldon on another matter when Weldon interjected Able Danger (from Savage interview of Goodwin today). Goodwin broke the story in GSN yesterday & it was finally picked up widely today.
[August 07 2005] at 0754 UTC in position 15:06N - 041:49E, Southern Red Sea. Four small boats equipped with powerful outboard engines were sighted by a container ship underway. Each boat was manned by 10 persons and had no fishing gear.
Recently Reported Incidents
[August 04 2005] at 0600 LT in position 02:19.5N - 101:50E, 5nm off Tanjung Tuan, Malacca Straits. Several persons in an unlit speedboat, length 6 meters, approached a bulk carrier underway. They came within one cable intending to board. Crew mustered, activated fire hoses and directed searchlights. Speedboat slowed down and fled.
[August 04 2005] at 0430 LT in position 01:41.7S - 116:38.4E, Adang Bay Anchorage, Indonesia. Four robbers were in the process of boarding a bulk carrier using hooks attached to ropes. Alert crew raised alarm and robbers aborted boarding.
[August 04 2005] at 0250 LT at No. 2 Anchorage, ILO, Peru. Two robbers armed with long knives boarded a general cargo ship at forecastle. They stole ship's stores and escaped in a fishing boat. Master called port authorities on VHF but received no response.
[August 04 2005] at 0006 LT at Callao Anchorage area no.8, Peru. Three robbers boarded a tanker by climbing anchor chain. They broke padlocks of forward locker, stole ship's stores and escaped. Master reported to port authorities and police.
[August 03 2005] at 1600 UTC in position 13:24N - 049:25E, Gulf of Aden. Persons armed with guns in two speedboats trailed a chemical tanker underway at a range of 10nm. Ten mins later, they increased speed and came within two cables astern. Alert crew prevented boarding. Later, three speedboats made similar attempts to board but ship took evasive manoeuvres and boarding was averted.
[August 03 2005] at 0212 LT Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Ten persons in a white boat attempted to board a container ship underway. Crew mustered and robbers aborted attempted boarding.
[July 25 2005] at 2100 LT at Chittagong Port, Bangladesh. Robbers in a small boat approached a bulk carrier at berth. They stole zinc anodes welded to the hull using crowbars. Crew raised alarm but robbers threw stones at them and escaped. Master called authorities and a security boat arrived 10 mins later to investigate.
[July 15 2005] at 0400 LT at Chittagong Anchorage, Bangladesh. Four robbers boarded a bulk carrier coming in to anchor. One robber held watchman at knifepoint while others broke into aft locker and stole ship's stores. Alert crew raised alarm and robbers escaped.
#1
Yar, a fine week of piracy it be. Me coffers and me dead man's chest be overflowing. Avast, ye scurvy dogs, hoist the mainsail and shove off... there be piracy that needs doin'!
Posted by: Chris W. ||
08/10/2005 0:28 Comments ||
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#2
I'm sure these are the same guys appearing, week after week.
#4
Just think what a few big fat juicy Q-Ships could do. No need for heavy guns or automatic weapons. There are only about eighty gazillion Soviet PRGs in the world
#7
Not having the faintest clue what Americans are talking about is the cat in the lap of my days.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
08/10/2005 18:06 Comments ||
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#8
Howard, dear, I'm as confused as you are. Errol Flynn was a film star back in the early talkie days -- he played Robin hood and various dashingly romantic pirates, highwaymen and stray princelings -- so long as he could wave a sword, wear tight pants and woo pretty ladies, all were content. Other than that, I don't seem to have the cultural referents. ;-)
VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran began breaking U.N. seals at a uranium processing plant on Wednesday, the IAEA said.
"They have begun breaking the seals," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) spokesman Mark Gwozdecky said. "They are going to break all the seals and begin operating the plant in full."
He said IAEA surveillance equipment was in place at the plant near the central city of Isfahan.
Get ready to rummmmmmmble!
Posted by: BA ||
08/10/2005 08:29 ||
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#1
Time for GW and Puty to talk about reducing their own nuclear holdings by, say, 50 warheads apiece. Of course the problem will be with the Russian translator trying to understand nukleeoor, but then they can put Laura on the line to clear that up. She can pronounce it.
#2
Somehow, my thoughts turn to Madonna singing like a virgin.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/10/2005 11:13 Comments ||
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#3
Stop in the name of the IAEA!
Cease and desist in the name of the IAEA!
I'm sternly warning you in the name of the IAEA!
Cease and desist or recieve a strident warning in the strongest possible terms in the name of the IAEA!
You won't?
Okay.
TEHRAN - Iran would rather submit to UN economic sanctions than back down on its nuclear program, the defence minister said on Tuesday ahead of a meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog on how to respond to Iranâs resumption of uranium conversion.
Meanwhile, Iranian officials said they have improved the range and accuracy of the Shahab-3 missile which is a conventional weapon but can be fitted with a nuclear warhead. The missile can now strike targets as far away as 2,000 kilometers with an accuracy of within one meter, they said.
Iran denies US accusations that its nuclear program aims to develop weapons, saying it is intended only to produce electricity.
The missiles are only for a space program ...
Admiral Ali Shamkhani, Iranâs outgoing defense minister, said the board should consult with Iran on âwhy it did not follow the Paris Agreement.â He underlined that Tehran has not violated the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which gives countries the right to pursue peaceful nuclear technology. âWe will go along with possible sanctions rather than submit to humiliation if there is no other choice,â he told a press conference in Tehran.
Ali Agha Mohammadi, a spokesman for Iranâs Supreme National Security Council, said Iranian officials would explain their countryâs stance to the IAEA. Iran continues to give the IAEA access to its nuclear sites. But Shamkhani warned that if the United States or any other country tries to attack its sites it would cut ties with the agency. âIf some day they attack, we will drop all our nuclear commitments,â he said. âWe are capable of meeting our defense needs and improving (the Shahab-3âs) specifications at any time.â He did not mention retaliating to an attack by military means.
Gen. Ahmad Vahid, the father of Iranâs missile industry, told the Associated Press that Iran has boosted the missileâs range from about 1,300 kilometers to 2,000 kilometers. âWe have been working on the missileâs range since we started manufacturing it,â said Vahid, a member of Iranâs elite Revolutionary Guards. In July, Iran said it carried out a successful test of a solid fuel motor for the Shahab-3. Vahid did not specify whether the new fuel was behind the missileâs improved performance.
Iran has been careful to disperse its nuclear facilities and protect parts of it underground, wary of airstrikes to take out the program such as the 1981 Israeli air raid that destroyed neighbouring Iraqâs main nuclear reactor at Osirak.
Shamkhani said Iranâs missiles were not targeting any particular country. âWe have reached a level of regional deterrence,â he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/10/2005 00:07 ||
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#1
The Ha'aretz version of the story also contains this blurb:
"Our nuclear capabilities are not annihilable," Vahid said. "We have mastered nuclear science by ourselves. In case of any damage, we could construct it somewhere else."
He's probably right but it still sounds like a challenge worth taking.
#4
Allies will become non-allies. Neutrals or covert opponents will move to active opposition. Why would the Brits, Italians, or Poles help us when they could get London, Rome, or Warsaw destroyed? Germany and France will move to active opposition to the US in order to stave off terrorist attacks on their populace. Iran will have a free hand to subvert the Sunni mideast and launch terrorist raids (like Mo) to terrorize, weaken, and take over the infidels.
Posted by: ed ||
08/10/2005 2:51 Comments ||
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#5
France have plenty of nukes but I don't know if they have the stomach to play playing nuclear chicken with Iran, they will get blackmailed.
#6
It's going to take one of these garbage dumps like Iran or NKor to pop a nuke before someone acts. When they do, I hope the response ensures that neither place has any hope of supporting life again for at least 300 years.
Posted by: mac ||
08/10/2005 5:31 Comments ||
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#7
The Europeans are so not in the heads of their middle eastern friends. Note to Europeans: the Muslims aren't dhimmis. They have no intention of being your dhimmis, victims or patrons. They would rather die than to bow to you in exchange for your beads and trinkets. In fact, they'd rather you die than to be humiliated by your pandering. Every time you offer them something as a token, you insult them. Not that they won't take whatever you offer them - you see, they aren't stupid - you are.
#8
in fact, each time you give them a welfare check, you insult them. They'll take it, but they are insulted. With all that insulting going on, no wonder they are so ticked off. Better to kill you than to be so humiliated.
#9
"Iran would rather submit to UN economic sanctions than back down..."
Ooooh, sanctions -- the horror! Just look at how sanctions have improved Cuba, Libya, Iraq...
Kojo must be drooling already.
#10
âIran would rather be hit by nuclear weapons sanctions than back down ...'
Posted by: Ward C the Moron ||
08/10/2005 8:39 Comments ||
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#11
in fact, each time you give them a welfare check, you insult them.
Just the opposite, from what I can see. The check is viewed as jizya, and considered only what's due their status as the rightful rulers of the universe.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/10/2005 8:42 Comments ||
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#12
Fox had video of the Iranians breaking the IAEA seals on nuke equipment this AM. Faster, please
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/10/2005 8:54 Comments ||
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#13
Sanctions? That's a great idea! What do you think, Kojo?
#15
The US strategy on this is plain. We have given full permission for the EU, Russia and China to do all they can to peacefully get the Iranians to cooperate. Both knowing that they won't, and that they intend to make nuclear weapons, and that they might use them, the US has already reached the following agreement with the EU, Russia and China. We will not attack Iran first, believing this to be problematic. Instead, we will put our resources into building a missile defense shield *around* Iran, so that if Iran launches a nuclear missile, we can shoot it down. *But*, if they do so, *then* the US will have free reign to do to Iran *anything* it needs to do to de-nuclearize it as a nation, without argument, disagreement, interference, or complaint from the EU, Russia and China.
From that point on is speculation, but I suggest that after such a launch and shoot-down the US would make an ultimatum to Iran as a nation, not to the Iranian government. "Either the *people* of Iran immediately dissolve their government, to become a UN protectorate until such time as a fully democratic government can be elected under UN auspices, or the nation of Iran will be permanently dismantled and will cease to exist as a nation."
#16
Moose - Interesting speculation. I do not believe we are quite that confident (100% successful shoot-downs and with the debris landing where?), given the horrific mother-loving stakes involved. If I were an Israeli, I would certainly harbor serious doubts.
The after speculation is equally interesting - and I would not follow that scenario as my first choice - a UN protectorate? But a couple of very interesting speculation exercises, indeed... But I can't buy in.
This indicates, does it not, you do not believe the US or Israel, either one, will attempt any pre-emptive action? I find that hard to believe. In Israel's case, very hard. For them, this goes so far beyond speculative exercises that, well, the chances it will play out this way approach nil.
#17
In essense, the Iranians are correct, they *can* make a nuclear weapon, and missiles to carry it, and there is very little, short of the (unacceptable) nuclear annihilation of their country, with horrific loss of life, that we can do to stop it. 350 hardened targets is just too many. As much as some of you more "macho" types might want to anyway, the US won't do that. However, that being said, under *any* circumstance, the US would then need to build a multi-layered missile defense shield around Iran. Granted, no such shield can be 100%, but even if the missile gets through, none of Iran's potential targets are harmless, and could annihilate Iran anyway. So you work on the assumption that everything works. That their nuclear missile flies and that we can shoot it down. So now you must plan what to do afterwards. Since they could otherwise continue to make and shoot nuclear missiles, we must at that point stop them cold. And no other country would stand against us. This means that we could slowly and methodically destroy as much of Iran as necessary, using conventional weapons as in Gulf War I. And faced with this prospect, at some time we should issue an ultimatum to the Iranian people, ordering them to decapitate their government and turn their country over to the UN for temporary management. I say the UN, because the other nuclear powers would insist on it. I might also add that the first use of a nuclear missile might invoke several obscure UNSC Cold War era resolutions that are unbelieveably harsh and punitive.
I have no doubt that as many "hardened" targets were destroyed in the opening of OIF.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/10/2005 14:11 Comments ||
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#20
Gee, .com, why so upset? I did mis-speak when I said 350 hardened targets. Only a dozen or two are perhaps hardened.
The 350 number:
http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=940
And, horrors!, the data comes from Debka, which you will now says proves that it is unreliable.
So, continue on by detonating a tactical nuclear device over a university in a populated area, just because they make some critical widget for the program. They can still play a shell game with their hardened bunkers and their nukes. How many of our divisions will it take to invade and conquer their country to insure they have no nuclear program? 15? 20? Killing how many million Iranians?
No, the US is not going to do that. It just won't, unless they manage to attack one of our carrier groups in the Persian Gulf, Med, or Arabian Sea. So, then, what are the alternatives?
I refuse to accept the notion that this early in the game, a major nuclear war is the only option.
#21
Geez, Moose - your ass must be getting sore from pulling out all of this silly drivel. I thought your original post was interesting - and said so - though I didn't agree with the scenario. I guess I offended your sense of self-importance, lol. Ideas get shot down with reality everyday. Deal with it. Now you're just being a tedious child.
First, I'm not "so upset", lol. You haven't said anything worthy of such a response. Except maybe the pejorative context you used for "macho". It takes "macho" people to do the hard work, to protect you so you can publicly wank off about being "macho". The Michael Yon piece today is a good example of "macho" people doing "macho" things without half of your pretentious self-aggrandizing attitude - want to expand your comment to include them? - or are you trying to suggest something else? Maybe you think you can cow me, suggesting I'm a chickenhawk, perhaps? I served in the US Army and was sorta "macho" - I admit it - wanna take me on? Lol. But no, sorry to burst your bubble, you aren't upsetting - you're just irrelevant and irritating. This is par for the course for pretentious voyeurs like you.
I didn't say or even suggest nuking Iran - point out my comment or support for it, lol. If you had been around a bit longer, you would know better. The RB archives are there if you wish to discover what I've suggested are possible courses of action regards Iran. Nuking them was never one of them. You're just playing strawman games - to cover your wounded pride, I guess. Who cares? Just state your ideas and take what comes, sonny.
The argument that Debka is less than reliable is denied me? Lol. Wotta wanker. I can say what I believe and your silly attempt to pre-empt me is causing a severe straw shortage. Get a grip. BTW, did you check out "strategic"? Seems not.
Your #20 is a silly blurb of strawman BS and posturing. None of it applies to the story, my comments, or anything else that I can see. Please do continue, however - after you hit the tip jar.
#22
.com and Moose: whether 12 or 350 or any number in-between, there are too many targets in Iran for us to hit in a pre-emptive strike. Much as we'd all prefer an Osirak scenario, it ain't gonna happen. The Mullahs are Mad but not stupid: all the sites we'd like to clobber are well-dispersed, hidden and defended.
.com is right, and I don't need to hit the archives (I actually have a memory for some of this stuff).
Essentially, the two of you are in violent agreement.
As much as we kvetch about it, there wasn't and isn't any other alternative to sitting back and watching the MMs' join the nuclear club. Hell, we didn't stop the NKors, and when we (correctly) stopped Saddam most of the rest of the world peed on us in response. So we devise a plan to contain the rat bastards, whether it's Moose's plan or someone else's [1], and wait for the day the Iranian people get upset enough to remove the MMs.
[1] Not John Frickin' Kerry's, if you don't mind.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/10/2005 15:43 Comments ||
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#23
Lol, Dr Steve. You old softy, you.
I do believe the US or Israel will take pre-emptive action. You are now officially added to the list of Mikey, Moosey, and Stevey say it ain't gonna happen.
We'll see. There are 2 points I offer that suggest otherwise, assuming the Persian people don't take care of it for us:
1) Bush said they would not be allowed to obtain deliverable nuke weapons. He's been pretty good at keeping his promises.
2) The US sold a buttload of bunker-busters to Israel. Wotta ya think they might be for?
#24
Well I said I'd prefer an Osirak. I think we'd get a nice two-fer if the bunker-busters could be used: the loss of face for the MMs would inspire a new revolution.
But to possess bunker-busters is one thing, the will to use them is another. I don't think Sharon has it. He's old, he's tired, and this whole Gaza thing is taking a lot out of him. See of the photos of the man lately? He's whupped.
I agree that Bush keeps his promises. But I think he also knows that there are too many sites to whack all at once. I keep wondering if he's doing the hard, dirty work of getting the intel net in Iran re-established with an eye towards revolution in, oh, 2007. Just wondering.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/10/2005 16:09 Comments ||
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#25
ABM systems aren't cheap. Appropriations, contracts and plans for that much gear would be hard to do quietly in the current DC. We may have some Aegis in the neighborhod from time to time, but hardly a secure ring.
The problem with a land based ABM ring around Iran is which countries will we still be in in 4 years? Which countries will still be there in 4 years? I can see Iraq trifurcating soon after we leave. Very thin reeds all, including our close ally Turkey.
Finally, the least problematic means of delivery of nukes is ICBMs launched from Iran. If they do that, glass 'em over, short debate. The real problem is when they get it to the point where one can be put in a container with a half dozen suiciders in Istanbul and shipped to NYC or LA on a containership. Wasn't us mullahs. Musta been Kimmie.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/10/2005 16:25 Comments ||
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#26
I don't think that Iran will be allowed to become a nuclear state for exactly the reasons .com has pointed out.
If there's a screw-up though, and they do end up with some weapons, things could start to get nasty very quickly.
Two articles come to mind.
1) The classic The Three Conjectures from about 2 years ago, where Wretchard starts from the premise of Islamic terrorists getting hold of a continuous supply of mass produced nukes. The conclusion is that if one of these weapons is detonated, because there is no central authority to negotiate with (or destroy) and it is assumed that more and more of these weapons can be used with impunity, the logical outcome is to annihilate the entire Muslim world on the detonation of the first of these weapons.
2) What would you do?, from almost a year ago, where the author speculates that Israel will have little choice but to annihilate as many of their enemies as they can;
I would most likely hit at all of the Arab/Muslim world's military facilities and large units, industrial base, critical infrastructure (including any large cities), and so forth. Some of these attacks would be conventional, but most would be nuclear. And as part of that, I would have to strike Pakistan and eliminate their military and nuclear capability as well, because they are the only Muslim state with a declared nuclear capability, and even if they didn't want to strike directly, there's no guarantee that the ISI wouldn't give weapons to terrorists for revenge attacks.
So let's all hope that Iran does get de-fanged eh?
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
08/10/2005 16:39 Comments ||
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#27
Quite.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
08/10/2005 16:45 Comments ||
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#28
.com doesn't take disagreement well, does he?
There's a lot to Moose's scenario. Israel is in a very tough position. I'm not sure the Osirak option is a realistic one at this time, unless they have agents physically on the ground at all the major sites. And even then I'm not sure it's realistic.
More to the point, there are wider objectives here than *merely* preventing nukes in Mullah hands (huge an objective as that is). The Iranian people have an increasing pride in their country. It would be a lot better for the region and the world if they themselves were to finally overthrow the Mullahs because THEY decided they're hurting Iran's future.
Now ... we can provide both pressure and options to help that along. Might could be the pressure is already being applied in some quiet ways via spec ops / peshmerga aiding and abetting some of those increasingly violent clashes with the security forces in a variety of cities at once. More overt pressure will backfire unless the Iranian people in general perceive it to be warranted due to Mullah actions.
So IMO there's some solid analysis in Moose's scenario. Will it work that way? Who knows? But .com's nasty little attack on it is both unwarranted and unhelpful.
Posted by: leader of the pack ||
08/10/2005 16:48 Comments ||
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#29
Amen, Tony (UK).
Howard, um, given your classic comment, lol, how's Rummy's Honorary British Citizenship coming along? He seems to have the right touch, to me...
#30
"I keep wondering if he's doing the hard, dirty work of getting the intel net in Iran re-established with an eye towards revolution in, oh, 2007. Just wondering."
One hopes that some friendly Iraqi Shia are doing regular talent spotting among the Iranian pilgrims to the Shia holy sites.
Sharons tiredness is irrelevant, I think. Israel wont act till the last possible moment - when that is depends on whose intell you believe. And when they do, it is of course a very iffy thing, as above posts layout. OTOH, if youre the mullahs you have to worry about a substantially complete hit, and what that does to you domestically. Gets to be a bit of chess game. Or Poker.
ABMS - i thought current tech was designed to kill a warhead as its in descent. So you protect the target country, not surround the would be attacker. But i know to little about this tech to say.
Note violence the last few days in Iranian Kurdistan - even made it into the Guardian. 12 Kurds killed. Reports from Iranian kurdish groups based in IRAQ.
#31
.com - quite agree with Tony's point. Back from pub and rendered incapable therefore cannot offer much. Sorry man.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
08/10/2005 17:10 Comments ||
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#32
I'm betting we'll see a pre-emptive de-fangment of the Mad Mullahs before Bush's term is over, and before the MMs have a chance to acquire a functioning weapon. Bush has said we "will not allow the world's worst regimes to possess the world's most dangerous weapons," and I take him at his word.
I've no idea how that de-fangment is going to be achieved, or when; but I'm certain that it must be done, and therefore will be done.
God help us if it isn't.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
08/10/2005 17:12 Comments ||
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#33
lotp - Lol! Who got excited about being disagreed with? Geez, you really need to pay closer attention. As for agreeing with Moosey, knock yourself out. I presented a different view of his assertions and Moosey got defensive, then popped a vein. It has yet to actually respond coherently.
I said the original post was interesting BS, lol! What more do you want? You though it was deep analysis? Okay...
Regards intel, the point is that we don't know how close or far away they are, do we? None of us here, anyway. Those who do know aren't likely to share that info. As I mentioned above, I've been here awhile - and posted quite a bit on this particular topic on several occasions. The favored option is the Persians, themselves, taking back their country, of course. Time is the key. And we just don't know if there's enough of it. Clinton / Tenet / et al wasted so much time and did so much damage to both our military and intel that they are on the hook for what happens in both NorKieLand and Iran.
My attack was not nasty, but you seem to want to make this more personal. Do you wanna play, lotp? I can play. I've been nice because The Sheriff wants nice. But don't presume you know dick about me, son, since it's self-apparent you do not, lol.
I agree with Lh - Sharon will do what he has to do if that moment comes. I hope it doesn't come to that, but I have doubt about the Israelis having the will to survive. I'd also wager that in-country intel is much better that many believe - though not because of the CIA, damnit.
BTW, the Word of the Day is still Strategic. Every process has choke-points and it takes a lot of pieces, each the result of processes, to create a deliverable nuke.
#35
Well, for those who don't get agitated about speculation, I'll follow up on several trains of thought. First being, while we might like there to be a popular revolution in Iran, it is hardly something we can base policy on, especially where nuclear weapons are involved. Personally, I just don't see it happening. Second, our theater missile defenses, what can be said about them, do add up to something. In Israel and Iraq we have Patriot batteries, possibly in other locations like Arabia and the Gulf States. There are the aforementioned Aegis systems (note that we are also setting up area defenses to protect Japan and the US from Nork in this concept, so we are definitely thinking about it). Then there are heavy 747-based lasers, 4 of them, deployment unknown, and a larger number of high performance aircraft with anti-electronics microwave weapons capable of scrambling a missile. Strategically, if we unilaterally attack Iran, or do so with the help of Israel, which I do think is a strong probability, we will do it in one of two ways: preemptively, with strong opposition from the rest of the world, and with a probability that we would be declared an "aggressor" nation, which could invoke sanctions against us that could last for years. Or we could make arrangements before such a conflict, giving the opportunity for mostly the EU and Russia to try and stop Iran from making nukes, but only *on the condition*, that if they failed and Iran did one or more of the following: made a nuclear weapon and declared they were now a nuclear power; tested a nuclear weapon; or (most likely), launched a nuclear weapon in an act of aggressive war--then the US could attack them without any international resistance, and perhaps the other UNSC members would be pre-obligated to support us, at least nominally, the aggression involving nuclear weapons. In either case, while I don't envision the conquest of Iran to be a cake-walk, it would optimally be done much like the 1-month air war of Gulf War I--which would also make having a theater anti-missile defense a very good idea. Then, "What do you do with Iran once you have it?" becomes the big question. The Kurdish northwest would be very strongly drawn to secede and join Iraqi Kurdistan. Other areas, such as the Arab southwest (with many of their oilfields) and Balochistan might also be drawn to secession or violent civil war against the Persians. In addition, there is a worldwide dilemma. That being, would Russia, the EU and China demand UN control of Iran, both to establish IAEA control over their nuclear production; but also because by dominating both Iraq and Iran, the US would have strategic control over most of the world's oil? And would the US agree to this demand, not for their reasons, but for our own: namely that with our armed forced already stretched thin between two countries, instead of risking overtaxing ourselves, the UN could pick up the slack on the relatively (compared to Iraq) easier job of returning real democracy to Iran, once we just assured that there was no "great leader" or guardian council around to bias things anymore. The bottom line is that I doubt Israel thinks it can go it alone, and our leaders won't be willing to launch based solely on intelligence estimates--the Iranians will have to *do* something first, before we can kick their butts.
#36
The "return" key, also know as the "enter" key, can do wonders. It can even give the appearance of organization, if applied judiciously.
That said, there are a lot of points in that mass of Joycian schtuff - some of which might be plausible, but I'm not interested in building and populating an outline to verify. Most do not echo the blunt speculative assertions in the original post with which I took issue.
Speculation's fine. So is rebuttal and / or alternative views. If you care to have an honest discussion, then post in a fashion that doesn't preclude it.
#37
We can discuss strategy til the cows come home and there is nothing wrong with that. The word of the day maybe Strategic, but eventually the other "s" word in order. The word "Survival." As I have posted before, it's going to get to a point where its no longer about making deals, concessions, or sanctions but about "Survival."
There are two words that we should NEVER forget that the Jews stated after the Holocaust, "Never Again." So, the world can make all the deals they want over lobster, steak, or fine wine. Or make 10,000 page list of ramifications, if Israel does a preemptive strike. But, the Jews say "Never Again". Bottomline, the Jews will do what they have to do. If that means 5 millions Muslims die, so be it. Of course the Israeli's will wait til the last bit negotiations run out but eventually, the Jews could care less about deal making.
.com is right. The word of the day is "Strategic." Pretty soon the word of the day is "Survival." But, since the mid 1940's, the words have always, and forever will be, "Never Again."
#38
A few operational parameters re ABMD based on open source data:
There are a couple phases to ballistic missile defense. First, the satellites need to detect the missile launch during the boost phase. The constellation is in geosynchronous orbit, so there's a pretty constant lookout for that. Detection time is pretty quick once the missile breaks through cloud cover - on the order of a small number of seconds.
The next phase is the time-critical one, depending on which system is deployed. It is possible that in the newer system the satellite alerts the radars directly, passing look angles and estimated trajectory info automatically. In that case the radars would attempt to acquire the missile automatically while the humans in the loop are just getting the alert. For those older systems in which that is not automated, the lag time depends critically on whether or not the crew is already on alert and expecting a potential attack.
Once the incoming is acquired, the response must be launched.
It's roughly 8-10 min. from early boost stage in northern Iran to Israel, 10-15 min from more southern potential launch sites. Very little time for humans in the loop to turn the radars on and set look angle, but doable if the system has the direct commo link for initial radar control by the satellite.
Just some parameters that can give a little shape to speculation. A lot of both strategy and tactics ultimately hinge on technical capabilities ... a truism but one that's easy to forget.
Posted by: leader of the pack ||
08/10/2005 19:20 Comments ||
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#39
A direct missile attack is not the way Iran operates. They will go the usual islamic route of a sucker punch, an attack through a third party with a smuggled device/devices really is the Iranian way. The missiles are a misdirection. Their intent is to attack "The Great Satan" and kill it.
Screw the diplospeak. We need to be very direct with the EU Russia and China. None of who will risk a disruption in the flow of oil to do jack shit about this issue. Of course Iran hasn't been threating them with destruction since it's inception. So it really is our problem.
Our news media doesn't show us 1/10 of 1% of the anti US propaganda and rhetoric the government of Iran puts out. It does a huge disservice.
#40
I mostly agree with you, SPOD, with one exception. I think the mullahs are quite willing to threaten missile use in a credible way. I wouldn't be surprised to see a launch that just barely skims the Iraq/Iran border out into the waters of the Gulf, for instance, if they can time it to avoid any of their own oil shipments out at sea.
And I'm not sure they are sufficiently sane to be totally safe WRT Israel. If Hizbollah gets their heads handed to them in a definitive way by Israel, I think there are some in Iran who would shoot first and think later.
Posted by: leader of the pack ||
08/10/2005 19:44 Comments ||
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#41
Vahid's probably correct that we can't really stop Iran's nuclear program dead in its tracks but we can deal it serious setbacks. If we're serious about slowing the Iranian's nuclear ambitions we'll know in the next few months because the uranium enrichment plant at Isfahan, the reactor at Bushear, and the mass scale heavy water plant at Arak, almost certainly among other complete or near complete sites to be used for the mass production of fissile material, will be flattened. It's the massive industrial infrastructure necessary to produce the nuclear material in the first place that's the vulerable point. After that infrastructure has a year or two to operate full-bore it'll be too late.
Problem is we, or whomever takes on the task, will have to flatten similar facilities every year or two as they're rebuilt until we or the MMs get tired of the game. At some point they'll just import a sufficient quantity of material from Pakistan, North Korea, China or elsewhere, light off a test in the desert somewhere and thereby bring the game to a screeching halt. Doesn't mean we shouldn't play though.
I find the idea that the MMs might be insane enough to fire a nuclear-tipped Shahab-3 at western Europe (or any nuclear power or nation under the western nuclear umbrella) questionable. They have to know that the response would very likely be overwhelming and, despite the fact that we question their sanity daily, I've got to think that they probably do care at least a little about keeping their nation somewhat intact. Those toys IMHO are destined to land in Israel alone, that's the only target that might allow their hatred to get the better of their limited judgment.
And ed, that's pretty much what I was getting at: nothing in your scenario is a dramatic shift away from the stance of western Europe towards the US right now. What you describe wouldn't be anything new it would just be a continuation of the current trends. That said I think you underestimate Europe. One day they'll awaken to Islamo-fascist homicide bombers in their subways and a news report featuring an MM threat to nuke their cities and enough will finally be enough.
#43
A "true muslim" doesn't fear death as they automagicly are transported to paradise and 72 virgins if they die as a martyr. These MM's truly believe that and would put their nation at risk. They already evidence no fear of the EU 3, as the EU3 can't project power more than a few blocks with out heavy lifting from the USA. Attack the US in a surprise attack using smuggled nukes and use missiles on Israel. If they get sent to allen because of retaliation no big deal. They get 72 virgins. It's a win, win deal.
It's a much graver situation than it appears to be. 20 something years of death to America as a focus of this regime isn't something that can be put aside as just talk. These SOBs have acted on everything they desired up to this point. We can't allow them to achieve there goal of possession of nuclear weapons.
#44
Don't have to nuke Iran. Just issue an ultimatum saying that all tankers leaving Iran will be escorted to a US holding center and emptied of their cargo. Of course this will upset a whole bunch of people in Europe and elsewhere but I bet a compromise would soon be reached after loss of such a significant source of income.
#45
Attack the US in a surprise attack using smuggled nukes and use missiles on Israel.
Agreed and that's not contra to anything I said above. The MMs may or may not be insane enough to launch in Israel after they acquire their nuclear weapons and they're certainly insane enough to hand one or more over to terrorist organizations if they believe they can get away with doing so, but my point was that they gain absolutley nothing by threatening or attacking their partners and allies in Europe. The only thing that would accomplish is shifing European public opinion away from their side. I don't think they're that dumb.
I'm well aware of the 72 raisins / virgins promise but there are many stories circulating that the MMs live somewhat less than pure Islamic lives. I'd be willing to be that some / most of them have been corrupted by power and wealth to the point where religion has become primarily a tool to control the masses and preserve their own status. Most of 'em are probably about as religious as our televangelists. After all, we don't see many of them going to fight in the jihad in Iraq now do we and one of the strongest demands on Muslims with respect to jihad is that they *must* go to neighboring nations and fight infidels when their Muslim neighbors are under seige. If they were truly rabid sword of Islam types they'd be hoofing it across the border so they could collect their 72 raisins post-haste.
#46
I'm not convinced we can't take out the majority of facilities via reconstituted cruise missile stocks and JDAM packages. Conventional, not nukes.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/10/2005 20:53 Comments ||
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#47
Moose, lotp, and AzCat,
You guys to a great job of explaining military options. But, its the cart before the horse. We must study the psychological strategy of MM's first, before military. If have to hear that the MM's are going to attack "Great Satan" using nuclear weapons first, again, I am going to go crazy. They are not going to attack the U.S. first. The attack on the U.S. will come later.
Please listen, the motis operendi of the MM's is the same as the motis operendi used by Hitler. Create a divide between Christians first, then attack the Jews. The Christians are already divided when it comes to Israel. So the first part is taken care of. All that remains is to destroy Israel. The MM's know, just like Hitler, that it is a bad psychological and military strategy to attack a Christian's before the Jews. Yes, Hitler attacked Poland first. There is a reason for that, he wanted to exterminate the Polish Jews first. In 1939, Poland had huge Jewish population. The stratedy was to fool the Christians into thinking that Hitler was only after the Jews.
Hitler created such a successful propaganda inside Germany, that the Christians never saw what hit them. What the world seem to have forgotten is that 6 million Christians were also killed by Hitler. Again, 1. create a divide among Christians 2. then kill the Jews 3. then kill the Christians. Inside Germany, the Christians were told that Jews were evil Christ-killers among many other things. Please read this article carefully and you tell me if you see a difference between Hitler's propaganda and the current MM's. Personally, I think the strategy is similar.
Do I think the MM's will attack the "Great Satan?" Sure I do. But, not first. It wouldn't be strategic.
#48
PR - we rarely agree, but I'm with you on this one. The Israelis will face an annihilation option, and whether Sharon appears tired (sorry SW) or not - he'll make the call to tak them out first. I think that option will become too damaging to world-wide "stability" and we will do the job first, and with good reason...I'll put $ on that
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/10/2005 21:25 Comments ||
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#49
Frank,
What do you mean, we rarely agree? I agree with you 99% of the time. Are you forgetting the old battles with Aris?
MOSCOW - Russia called on Iran on Tuesday to halt all uranium conversion work immediately and continue cooperating with the UN nuclear watchdog. âIt would be a wise decision to immediately stop the resumed work on uranium conversion and continue close cooperation with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) to remove all remaining questions relating to the Iranian nuclear programme,â the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/10/2005 00:05 ||
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#1
Ruskies playing CYA
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/10/2005 11:17 Comments ||
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Iran's Judiciary Spokesman Jamal Karimi-Rad in a press briefing [said that Tehran's public prosecutor has] been threatened with death by a terrorist group. Karimi-Rad said a terrorist grouplet calling itself the Rotary InternationalOprah's Book ClubDalai Lama Brigade in the Land of the Too-Tight Turbans Fedaiyan Guerillas, which claimed to have killed Judge Masoud Moqaddas, has issued such a threat on its website. The spokesman added that international organizations and countries allegedly fighting terrorism refused to condemn the assassination of an Iranian judge and once again showed their double standards and gave lie to their claim of defending human rights. "This places a heavy responsibility on the press to disseminate and deplore such dualism," ISNA further quoted him as saying.
"Yeah. It was all the fault of the West. Certainly the noble mujahideen...er, gunnies and shadowy insurgency ringleaders bear no responsibility. It's a cultural thing. You wouldn't understand."
Judge Masoud Moqaddas, involved in some of Iran's high-profile political cases, was gunned down while leaving office a week ago. The motive is still unclear.
Nope, nope. No clues at all. Not even one. Better go ask the Magic 8-Ball® then. Although it will prolly tell you to "Ask again later."
Karimi-Rad said coordinated efforts are underway by judicial, intelligence and police forces to identify the assailants.
#2
Such threats are nonsense. A bullet in the back of the head to somebody is the best threat around. You need not leave a note, the message is clear and unambiguous. Cowards and bullies especially have a deep and abiding clarity of the meaning of such communications.
Islamic leaders freed from jail after last week's coup in Mauritania said Wednesday they were wrongly branded as terrorists — and that the toppled president himself was responsible for any extremism in this overwhelmingly Muslim nation.
It's that old definition of terrorism thing again...
Experts also said U.S.-allied President Maaya Sid Ahmed Ould Taya's allegations that Islamic terrorists were at work in Mauritania were exaggerated, adding to widespread resentment that led to his downfall in an Aug. 3 military putsch. Taya, who seized power in a 1984 coup, had cracked down hard on political enemies for years, imprisoning dozens of politicians, soldiers and Islamic leaders. His toppling was celebrated in the streets of the capital.
African Union envoys who came here decrying the coup left on Wednesday convinced that most Mauritanians wanted the dictator out and expressing confidence the military junta would keep its promise to usher in democracy within two years. On Sunday, a judge in Nouakchott freed 21 prisoners jailed since April 25 on charges of plotting against the state. At least 50 others remain behind bars on similar charges. "The deposed regime accused all its opponents of extremism and terrorism," said Mohamed Hassan Ould Dedew, a prominent Islamic spiritual leader among those released. Those repressive tactics only radicalized extremists and risked producing "young terrorists ready to kill themselves," Dedew said.
"This change of regime came at a good time, because Mauritania needs moderate Islamists who want to participate in a democratic debate that banishes extremism and cultivates a culture of tolerance and openness," he said. While Mauritania has not seen suicide bombings, Taya's government accused some opponents of training with al-Qaida linked insurgents in neighboring Algeria. On June 4, a guerrilla raid on a remote army post in northern Mauritania left 15 soldiers and nine attackers dead. Algeria's Salafist Group for Call and Combat — on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations — purportedly claimed responsibility. Some of those jailed by Taya's regime were accused of setting up local terror networks who allegedly trained with the Salafists.
Moktar Ould Mohamed Moussa, another prominent Islamic-oriented politician who was freed Sunday, said he was not abused during his time in jail. But he said detainees accused of being Salafists "were savagely tortured and forced to admit relations with foreign jihadist organizations." Moussa, a former ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, said Taya should be imprisoned for repressing "imams, religious scholars and preachers who never called for violence, and who've explained for years that Islam prohibits killing."
That last sentence is why I ain't buyin' what they're trying to sell...
Posted by: Fred ||
08/10/2005 21:55 ||
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If you call us terrorists again we'll blow you up.
There is no dearth of evidence that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are partners in global terrorism. Mosques and jehadi-oriented madrassas in both countries spout anti-Western venom. Terrorist groups such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba have links in Saudi Arabia. There are reports of extensive nuclear cooperation between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia since 1994. Hopefully, says G. Parthasarathy, the new Saudi monarch, King Abdullah, will avoid the path of sponsoring terror abroad.
Posted by: john ||
08/10/2005 14:41 ||
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Ayman al Zawahiri, the No. 2 man in al Qaeda's terror network, appeared on a videotape last week delivering a new warning of death and destruction to the West, unless coalition forces withdraw from Iraq and the West stops supporting corrupt regimes in the region.
"Our message to you is clear, strong and final: There will be no salvation until you withdraw from our land, stop stealing our oil and resources and end support for infidel, corrupt rulers," said al Zawahiri, in the tape first aired on the Qatar-based Al Jazeera network.
In short, there was nothing new in al Zawahiri's message. Or was there? While the verbal message delivered by the al Qaeda leader was "standard," there was an important -- albeit subtle -- point made in the video, which contained some revealing, and one might add, disturbing, information. But you had to see, not hear it.
As with most such videos delivered by al Qaeda in the past and aired on the Arab networks first and later picked up by Western media, weapons are frequently used as props. This time was no exception, and behind Osama bin Laden's deputy was a weapon nonchalantly positioned against the wall of wherever al Zawahiri taped his message.
At first glance, the weapon passes for a Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifle, initially built by the Soviets, but since cloned by several former Eastern Bloc countries, as well as by Yugoslavia, China and North Korea. More than 50 armies in the world have firearms created by Kalashnikov.
But a closer inspection of the weapon reveals it has a little black tube attached under the barrel, quite similar to the ones on the American M-16, which turns it into an M-203 grenade launcher.
The disturbing fact in this instance is that al Zawahiri is making a bold statement in showing off his new hardware. New, sophisticated weapons, such as the one in the video are not the kind peddled by arms dealers in shady backwater Middle East arms bazaars. This weapon appears to be a state-of-the-art modern gun made in either China or North Korea.
Quick research shows the weapon behind al Zawahiri is called a Wz. 1974 Pallad grenade launcher. According to the Kalashnikov Web site, the attachment was initially developed in the late 1960s to replace the not entirely successful Wz. 1960.72 grenade-launching adaptations of the AK. But as is often the case, the plans remained shelved for many years before it was developed and manufactured.
Interestingly, in a dozen conflicts this reporter has covered in the Middle East since the early 1970s, he had never come across such a weapon. Instead, the preferred adaptation used by fighting forces throughout the Middle East, from the Palestinians to the Iraqis, starting from the early 1960s and through the most recent conflicts, has been a grenade attached to a rod that fits into the barrel of the AK47, called "energa."
Charles Henderson, a former U.S. Marine warrant officer and author of several books on warfare, who saw action in Vietnam and Lebanon, thinks al Zawahiri's weapon "is more modern than any old Soviet Kalashnikov." Mr. Henderson, too, has never come across one before during his years of deployment in Vietnam and Beirut.
Al Zawahiri displaying his new model Kalashnikov sends a message that al Qaeda is still able to purchase sophisticated gear. This detail begs the question; who is still selling al Qaeda such guns?
Mr. Henderson thinks the Pallad can only come from governments.
"The weapon is no doubt North Korean or Chinese," he told United Press International. "The modern rifle raises many questions, and I think makes a statement that there are governments with arms-making capacities who are supplying these devils."
One of the problems in fighting, particularly affecting undercover agents, is troop morale, explains Mr. Henderson. And when sleeper agents hiding in the West see brand-new weapons of that caliber on television, Mr. Henderson says "it sends a message saying we are not out of it, not by a long shot."
"Meanwhile, North Korea, China and half a dozen other nations are having their diplomatic discussions about maintaining peace in that region, and all the while [North Korean leader] Kim [Jong Il] is selling Kalashnikovs to al Qaeda, and thinking us the fools. They have the perfect distraction, Iraq, while they rebuild too," said the former Marine.
"While we are being distracted by Iraq, al Qaeda is regrouping and reorganizing," said Mr. Henderson.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/10/2005 15:26 ||
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I noticed that weapon in the background but never got around to asking my nephews about it.
It seems we are going to be fighting a series of proxy wars again with the puppeteer being China trying to unobtrusively wear us down.
It would be a good time to start undermining that regime with all means necessary.
Posted by: DanNY ||
08/10/2005 16:08 Comments ||
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Pakistan is a big buyer of both Chinese and North Korean military equipment.
Its past acquisitions have gotten into terrorist hands.
The timers used in the 1993 Bombay financial district blasts (prior to 9/11 the largest coordinated terror attack anywhere) were identified by the FBI labs as having come from US military stocks supplied to Pakistan.
The Indian army has captured Stinger MANPADs from Pakistani terrorists in Kashmir.
The ISI arms its terrorist clients well.
Posted by: john ||
08/10/2005 16:13 Comments ||
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A quarrel between two firearms vendors at a Floyd County [ed.: Kentucky] flea market on Thursday allegedly led both men -- described as "good friends" -- to draw guns. Douglas Moore, 65, of Martin, who supports the war, shot and killed Harold Wayne Smith, 56, of Manchester, who opposed it, investigators said. Proof that anti-war folks have lousy aim.
...the episode might mark the first death in the United States resulting from a dispute over the war.
Both Smith and Moore maintained gun-trading tables at the Bull Creek Trade Center near Prestonsburg, and witnesses said they began arguing over the war early Thursday morning.
One witness, Sam Hamman of Prestonsburg, told The Floyd County Times that the two men always carried guns and bickered frequently about the quality of guns, knives and the war.
"Harold was talking about the 14 people that were killed in Iraq the other day and Doug said that just as many people were killed on the highways here," Hamman told the paper.
Another witness, Chuck Newsome, said yesterday the Sept. 11 attacks also were included in the argument, which quickly escalated into an altercation and then to a kind of showdown in front of the market's snack stand.
After a scuffle, Newsome said he saw Smith stand beside the snack shed, pull a small pistol out of his pocket, cock the hammer and sounding much like Yosemite Sam say, "Now, you dog-blasted, ornery, no-accountvarmint! Come back here, ya card-carryin' commie! "I'm going to blow your ... brains out."
Witnesses said Moore responded, Dem's fightin' woids!" andpulled a .38-caliber pistol from his pocket.
"Doug was just quicker," Harold Hannah of Salyersville said. Ouch! I knew I shoulda taken dat left toin at Albe-koi-kee!
The jihadist bulletin boards were buzzing. Soon, promised the spokesman for al Qaeda in the Land of the Two Rivers, a new video would be posted with the latest in mayhem from Iraq's best-known insurgent group.
On June 29, the new release hit the Internet. "All Religion Will Be for Allah" is 46 minutes of live-action war in Iraq, a slickly produced video with professional-quality graphics and the feel of a blood-and-guts annual report. In one chilling scene, the video cuts to a brigade of smiling young men. They are the only fighters shown unmasked, and the video explains why: They are a corps of suicide bombers-in-training.
As notable as the video was the way Abu Musab Zarqawi's "information wing" distributed it to the world: a specially designed Web page, with dozens of links to the video, so users could choose which version to download. There were large-file editions that consumed 150 megabytes for viewers with high-speed Internet and a scaled-down four-megabyte version for those limited to dial-up access. Viewers could choose Windows Media or RealPlayer. They could even download "All Religion Will Be for Allah" to play on a cell phone.
Never before has a guerrilla organization so successfully intertwined its real-time war on the ground with its electronic jihad, making Zarqawi's group practitioners of what experts say will be the future of insurgent warfare, where no act goes unrecorded and atrocities seem to be committed in order to be filmed and distributed nearly instantaneously online.
Zarqawi has deployed a whole inventory of Internet operations beyond the shock video. He immortalizes his suicide bombers online, with video clips of the destruction they wreak and Web biographies that attest to their religious zeal. He taunts the U.S. military with an online news service of his exploits, releasing tactical details of operations multiple times a day. He publishes a monthly Internet magazine, Thurwat al-Sinam (literally "The Camel's Hump"), that offers religious justifications for jihad and military advice on how to conduct it.
His negotiations with Osama bin Laden over joining forces with al Qaeda were conducted openly on the Internet. When he was almost captured recently, he left behind not a Kalashnikov assault rifle, the traditional weapon of the guerrilla leader, but a laptop computer. An entire online network of Zarqawi supporters serves as backup for his insurgent group in Iraq, providing easily accessible advice on the best routes into the country, trading information down to the names of mosques in Syria that can host a would-be fighter, and eagerly awaiting the latest posting from the man designated as Zarqawi's only official spokesman.
"The technology of the Internet facilitated everything," declared a posting this spring by the Global Islamic Media Front, which often distributes Zarqawi messages on the Internet. Today's Web sites are "the way for everybody in the whole world to listen to the mujaheddin."
Little more than a year ago, this online empire did not exist. Zarqawi was an Internet nonentity, a relatively obscure Jordanian who was one of many competing leaders of the Iraq insurgency. Once every few days, a communique appeared from him on the Web. Today, Zarqawi is an international name "of enormous symbolic importance," as Army Lt. Gen. David Petraeus put it in a recent interview, on a par with bin Laden largely because of his group's proficiency at publicizing him on the Internet.
By this summer, Internet trackers such as the SITE Institute have recorded an average of nine online statements from the Iraq branch of al Qaeda every day, 180 statements in the first three weeks of July. Zarqawi has gone "from zero to 60" in his use of the Internet, said Michael Scheuer, former chief of the CIA unit that tracked bin Laden. "The difference between Zarqawi's media performance initially and today is extraordinary."
As with most breakthroughs, it was a combination of technology and timing. Zarqawi launched his jihad in Iraq "at the right point in the evolution of the technology," said Ben N. Venzke, whose firm IntelCenter monitors jihadist sites for U.S. government agencies. High-speed Internet access was increasingly prevalent. New, relatively low-cost tools to make and distribute high-quality video were increasingly available. "Greater bandwidth, better video compression, better video editing tools -- all hit the maturity point when you had a vehicle as well as the tools," he said.
The original al Qaeda always aspired to use technology in its war on the West. But bin Laden's had been the moment of fax machines and satellite television. "Zarqawi is a new generation," said Evan F. Kohlmann, a consultant who closely monitors the sites. "The people around him are in their twenties. They view the media differently. The original al Qaeda are hiding in the mountains, not a technologically very well-equipped place. Iraq is an urban combat zone. Technology is a big part of that. I don't know how to distinguish the Internet now from the military campaign in general in Iraq."
After Abu Musab Zarqawi swung the curved blade of his sword and decapitated Nicholas Berg, he picked up the bloodied head of his victim and screamed out praise to Allah. The camera lingered on the dead man's wild eyes.
The exact date of this atrocity is unclear. The date the world came to know about it is not.
On May 11, 2004, a posting with a link to the video appeared on the al-AnsarWeb forum. Soon, it had been downloaded millions of times, freezing up servers from Indonesia to the United States. A wave of copycat beheadings by other groups followed. Zarqawi became a household name.
It was, said Kohlmann, "the 9/11 of jihad on the Internet -- momentous for them and momentous for us. For years, people were saying how the Internet would be used by terrorists. And then all of a sudden somebody was beheaded on camera and it was, 'Holy smokes, we never thought about the Internet being used this way!' "
Televised beheadings were not uncommon in Saudi Arabia. But Zarqawi did not use the long executioner's sword of Saudi government-sanctioned beheadings. Instead, he invoked the imagery of his American captive as an animal.
"They take what anyone who's ever been to a halal butcher shop would recognize as a halal butcher knife and they cut the side of the neck and saw at it, bleed him out, just as they do when they're killing sheep," said Rebecca Givner-Forbes, who monitors the jihadist Web sites for the Terrorism Research Center, an Arlington firm with U.S. government clients. "Originally, they used the word for 'sacrifice,' which suggests the death has some kind of meaning, and then they used the word they use to butcher animals."
Khattab, a Jordanian-born commander of foreign fighters in Chechnya, videotaped graphic attacks on Russian forces in the 1990s and packaged them together as videotapes called "Russian Hell," which sold in Western mosques and Middle Eastern bazaars and now circulate on the Internet.
The immediate precursor to the Berg video was the 2002 execution-style killing of journalist Daniel Pearl in Pakistan, which was taped and distributed electronically when mainstream news outlets refused to show it. But even the horrific scene of Pearl's throat being slit failed to gain the audience that Zarqawi commanded two years later, coming as it did before widespread availability of broadband Internet to play back the video.
Zarqawi, a veteran fighter who had run his own training camp in the western Afghan city of Herat before fleeing to northern Iraq during the 2001 U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, had never been known as an Internet innovator. His first statement from Iraq that gained wide circulation did so not because it was online but because it was intercepted and released by the U.S. occupation authority. The January 2004 letter to al Qaeda urged creation of "armies of mujaheddin."
On April 9, 2004, a short video clip was posted on the Internet, the first attributed to Zarqawi's group, according to Kohlmann. It was called "Heroes of Fallujah," and it showed several black-masked men laying a roadside bomb, disguising it in a hole in the dusty road, then watching as it blew up a U.S. armored personnel carrier.
Later that month, on April 25, Zarqawi issued his first written Internet communique, asserting responsibility for an attack near the southern city of Basra. "We have made the decision and raised the banner of the jihad," it said. "We have taken spearheads and javelins for a boat in our cruise toward glory."
And then it cited a verse from the Koran: "Fight them, Allah will torture them at your hands. . . . "
"The Winds of Victory" opens with footage of the American bombing of Baghdad. It is nighttime, and the screen is dark except for the violent orange explosions and the wry captions "Democracy" and "Freedom" written in Arabic.
The film was the first full-length propaganda video produced by Zarqawi's organization, complete with scenes of mutilated Iraqi children and the horrors of Abu Ghraib prison -- and it hit the Internet in June 2004, a month after Berg's killing.
For the first time, the video put names and faces on the foreign suicide bombers who had flocked to Iraq under Zarqawi's banner, showing staged readings of wills and young men from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Libya and elsewhere in the Arab world looking alternately scared and playful. Video footage of their explosions followed their testimonials, often filmed from multiple angles.
But the hour-long film was too big to send out all at once online and had to be broken into chapters released one a week. "Hardly ideal for a propaganda video," Kohlmann said.
That same summer, as copycat beheaders circulated footage of their attacks in Iraq and Saudi Arabia, Zarqawi was fully exploiting his electronic distribution network. In early July, he released his first audio recording, putting it directly on the Internet -- unlike the tapes of al Qaeda leaders bin Laden and Ayman Zawahiri, which still go directly to Arab satellite television. His beheading of Berg was completely justified, Zarqawi said, and those Muslims who disagreed were just "slaves."
Later that month, "astonished" at mistaken reports about the group's activities, Zarqawi's organization urged its audience "not to believe this false information." Henceforth, Zarqawi said, "all of our statements are spread by means of the brother Abu Maysara al-Iraqi," making him an official Internet spokesman.
At the same time, Zarqawi was in negotiations in a series of online missives with al Qaeda about pledging allegiance to bin Laden. For months, a main sticking point was Zarqawi's insistence on targeting representatives of Iraq's Shiite majority as well as the U.S. military, bin Laden's preferred enemy.
But Zarqawi had acquired huge new prominence through his Internet-broadcast beheadings. The once-wary al Qaeda leadership seemed to take a new attitude toward him, and the online magazine of al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia hailed him as the "sheikh of slaughterers."
On Oct. 17, 2004, the deal was struck and announced in cyberspace as the U.S. military was launching an offensive in Fallujah, determined to drive Zarqawi's men out of their sanctuary. Zarqawi pledged fealty to bin Laden and spoke in his online posting of eight months of negotiations, interrupted by a "rupture." Experts believe their contact was almost exclusively in the open space of the Internet.
Two days later, Zarqawi put out his first statement in the new name of his organization. Once called Tawhid wal Jihad (Unity and Holy War), it was now the Al Qaeda Committee for Jihad in the Land of the Two Rivers.
For 26 minutes, the instructional video lays out in precise detail how to construct the item that more than any other has come to symbolize the Iraq insurgency -- a suicide bomber's explosive belt.
It shows how to estimate the impact of an explosion, how best to arrange the shrapnel for maximum destruction, how to strap the belt onto the bomber's body, even how to avoid the migraine headache that can come from exposure to the recommended explosive chemicals.
The video -- all in Arabic -- appeared on the al-Ansar forum, where it was found one Sunday in December 2004 by the SITE Institute. The forum where Berg's beheading had also first appeared was one of Zarqawi's preferred Internet venues, among the dozens of password-protected jihadi Web forums that have proliferated over the last few years.
This and other Arabic-language forums hosted discussions on the latest news from Iraq, provided a place for swapping tips on tradecraft, circulated religious justifications for jihad, and acted as intermediary between would-be fighters and their would-be recruiters. Most of the sites prohibit postings from unapproved users, but they can be accessed in the open and rely on widely available software called vBulletin ("instant community," promises the software's maker).
Many postings to the boards were not official statements from al Qaeda but unsolicited advice, such as the recent notice called "the road to Mesopotamia" posted on an underground Syrian extremist site, in which one veteran offered a detailed scouting report, down to advice on bribing Syrian police and traveling to the border areas by claiming to be on a fishing trip.
The bulletin boards also make information quickly available from Iraq, where fighters are gaining combat experience against the U.S. military. In one case cited by John Arquilla, a professor at the Naval Postgraduate School in California, would-be insurgents in the Sahara Desert were able to ask for -- and receive -- information from the ground in Iraq about how best to build bombs.
And the bulletin boards keep track of Zarqawi's corps of suicide bombers, with long online lists of the "martyrs" compiled from various sources. Israeli researcher Reuven Paz has a list gleaned from the postings of more than 400 Zarqawi recruits who have died in Iraq. Paz said the biographies are an informal census very much in keeping with the profile of an Arab Internet user -- middle class and highly educated, "people with wives and kids and good jobs," Paz said, "going, as if by magic, after the virtual leader."
In March, one of the al-Ansar forum's own members became another entry. For the previous 11 months, Zaman Hawan had confined his jihad to 178 online postings to the forum. But on March 24, 2005, according to another forum member's announcement, he "carried his soul on his hand, and went to jihad for the sake of Allah," dying in a suicide attack in Baqubah, Iraq. The posting went on to list phone numbers in Sudan for forum members to call Hawan's father and brother and congratulate them on his "martyrdom."
By April, the al-Ansar bulletin board had become too well known as Zarqawi's outlet. The forum closed without notice. Alternatives quickly appeared. For a while, "mirror" sites emerged featuring many of the same users, with the same logins and passwords. They, too, disappeared. The al-Masada forum briefly took up the banner. Then participants began to warn that it had been breached by Western intelligence -- and the jihadists abandoned it, as well.
The upheaval has resulted in a much more decentralized system for disseminating the bulletins from Iraq, with new boards constantly cropping up. As soon as a posting from Zarqawi's group appears now, dozens of new links to it are copied to the other jihadist sites within minutes, making for an intricate game of Internet cat-and-mouse. And even if the forums or fixed Web sites are temporarily out of commission, other ways still exist -- such as mass e-mails sent out several times a day with the latest in Iraq guerrilla videos, communiques and commentary from Yahoo e-groups such as ansar-jehad.
While Zarqawi's group has moved away in recent months from videotaped beheadings of foreigners, the shock value of the Berg beheading has created a race for more and more realistic video clips from Iraq. Filming an attack has become an integral part of the attack itself. In April, a cameraman followed alongside an armed insurgent, video rolling, as they ran to the scene of a helicopter they had just shot down north of Baghdad. The one member of the Bulgarian crew found still alive was ordered to stand up and start walking, then shot multiple times on film as the shooter yelled, "This is Allah's judgment." The three-minute video from the Islamic Army of Iraq came at a time when many of the bulletin board sites were down; SITE Institute's Rita Katz found the link through the ansar-jehad e-group.
"It's the exact reason why we built the Internet, a bargain-basement, redundant system for distributing information," said Kohlmann. "We can't shut it down anymore."
Indeed, just last week, a notice went out on the jihadist bulletin boards: The Ansar forum that had disappeared in April was back up and running.
A few weeks ago, al Qaeda in the Land of the Two Rivers released the third version of its online magazine, Thurwat al-Sinam. This latest issue lectured on the recipe for a successful raid, an almost-scientific procedure involving six steps for planning and executing, with five groups of fighters designated by tasks such as "protection," "gap-making" and "pushing in."
The magazine also held up a model for the Internet campaign that has built Zarqawi's reputation, provided his recruits, served as his propagandist and his carrier pigeon. In an essay aimed broadly at the Muslim world, the magazine claimed the 7th-century Koran as a useful blueprint for today's wired warriors in Iraq, calling its story of the prophet Muhammad's pitch to the people of Mecca "a very good example of how to conduct an information battle with the infidels."
Battles can be won in Iraq but then ultimately lost if they are not on the Internet. "The aim is not to execute an operation, which is followed by complete silence, but telling the reason why it was executed," the magazine advised. "It is a must that we give this field what it deserves. . . . How many battles has this nation lost because of the lack of information?"
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/10/2005 15:21 ||
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U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says coalition forces have unambiguous evidence that weapons and bombs are being sent across the border from Iran into Iraq. He stopped short of saying whether the Iranian government is directly involved in the arms transfers, which Washington says add to the instability in Iraq. The charges come despite recent progress by Iran and the Shi'a-led Iraqi government to forge closer ties, including Iranian aid for building a new airport and an offer to help train Iraqi troops.
Washington is stepping up charges that weapons from Iran are contributing to the conflict in Iraq.
"It is true that weapons -- clearly, unambiguously from Iran -- have been found in Iraq," U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said yesterday. He stopped short of saying the Iraqi government is directly involved in the weapons transfers and did not specify to whom the arms are going.
But he suggested the Iranian government at least bears responsibility for failing to stop the activity. "It's a big border, and it's notably unhelpful for the Iranians to be allowing weapons of those types to cross the border," Rumsfeld said.
The charges come a week after U.S. media quoted intelligence officials as saying that a large shipment of machine-manufactured bombs coming from Iran had been captured in northeastern Iraq late last month.
"The New York Times" reported that the shipment contained so-called shaped charges designed to destroy armored vehicles. Shaped charges focus the force of the bombâs explosive power in a specific direction to increase the chances of penetrating armor plating. Until now, most of the bombs targeting U.S. armored vehicles in Iraq have been improvised explosive devices assembled from weapon stockpiles in Iraq itself.
In recent weeks, coalition officials have also reported the seizure of a shipment of mostly small arms sent from Iran into southern Iraq.
The recent evidence of these arms transfers prompted U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad to complain publicly last week that Iran was taking actions that undermine Iraqi security. âIran is working along two contradictory tracks," he said. "On the one hand, Tehran works with the new Iraq. On the other, there is movement across its borders of people and material used in violent acts against Iraq.â
Jonathan Lindley, who researches regional issues at the Royal United Services Institute in London, says it is not clear who in Iran would be sponsoring the weapons transfers. But he says U.S. suspicion would almost certainly focus on such institutions as Iranâs Islamic Revolution Guard Corps, which might or might not be acting with broader government approval.
âIran tends to have a sort of multichannel administrative structure, and these sorts of issues of transnational support for Shi'a groups tend to be linked to the Revolutionary Guards, the Pasdaran, and it would seem highly likely that any weapons that have been found are in some ways traceable back to them,â Lindley told RFE/RL.
The Revolutionary Guards, a branch of Iranâs armed forces, is often accused by the United States of supplying help to the Lebanese Shi'ite Hizballah. "The New York Times" reported that the seized shaped charges closely match those Hizballah has used against Israel.
The finding of the shaped charges in northeast Iraq suggests that they were delivered to groups of Arab Sunni insurgents in that area and intended for use against U.S. armored patrols.
The discovery also raises the question of whether the charges could be used by Arab Sunni insurgents against the Iraqi government -- with which Iran has improving relations -- or even against Iraqi Shi'ite targets. If so, Iranâs supplying the bombs would appear paradoxical.
But Lindley said the shaped explosives would likely not be suitable for the kind of attacks that Arab Sunni insurgents have carried out previously against Iraqi security forces and that some Al-Qaeda-linked groups have conducted on Shi'ite mosques. Those attacks have used car bombs or suicide bombers in explosive vests against nonarmored targets.
Meanwhile, the seizure of small arms from Iran in southern Iraq suggests continued Iranian support for Iraqi Shi'ite groups that forged close links with Tehran during the Saddam Hussein era.
These include two formerly exiled anti-Hussein groups that sheltered in Iran -- the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) and the Al-Da'wah Party. SCIRIâs militant wing, the Badr Brigades, was armed by Iranâs Revolutionary Guards to conduct guerrilla operations in Iraq against Hussein.
Both SCIRI and Al-Da'wah are today part of the U.S.-supported Iraqi government, but they are reported to maintain close ties with Iran.
Lindley says Iranian goals in Iraq appear to include pressing the U.S. military to leave Iraq without risking a war with Washington and trying to forge close ties with the emerging Iraqi government.
âItâs quite conceivable that what one is seeing is different parts [of the Iranian] government pursuing their own strategies with regard to Iraq. But it would seem quite credible that there is both a desire to prevent direct conflict with the United States over Iraq but to ensure that the government that does eventually emerge in Iraq is one that is pro-Iranian. Or if not pro-Iranian, at least resolves Iranâs continual security problems with Iraq,â Lindley said.
Iran and Iraq fought an eight-year war in the 1980s and have yet to sign a full peace treaty. But relations have greatly improved since Iraqi Shi'ite politician Ibrahim al-Ja'fari became Iraqâs transitional prime minister in April.
In recent months, the two sides have discussed construction of a multimillion-dollar airport near the Shi'ite holy city of Al-Najaf in southern Iraq. The project would be largely financed by a low-interest loan from Iran.
They have also announced plans to build an oil pipeline between Al-Basrah and Abadan, in Iran; the possible return of some of the 153 civilian and military aircraft that Saddam Hussein sent for storage in Iran during the early days of the 1991 Gulf War; and an Iranian offer of military cooperation, including training Iraqi armed forces.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/10/2005 15:17 ||
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My answer to this is simple, load up every Iranian bomb we confiscate and send them back to Iran.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Tuesday that weapons recently confiscated in Iraq were "clearly, unambiguously from Iran" and admonished Tehran for allowing the explosives to cross the border.
Iran's defense minister denied the claims in a report carried by the state-run news agency IRNA.
According to Ali Shamkhani, Iran is playing no role in Iraqi affairs, including "its alleged involvement in bomb explosions."
The shipment of sophisticated bombs was confiscated in the past two weeks by U.S. and Iraqi troops in southern Iraq, senior U.S. officials said Monday.
Although he would not comment on whether the Iranian government was directly involved, Rumsfeld said, "it's notably unhelpful for the Iranians to be allowing weapons of those types to be crossing the border."
"What you do know of certain knowledge is the Iranians did not stop it from coming in," he said.
Rumsfeld said the weapons create problems for the Iraqi government, coalition forces and the international community.
"And ultimately, it's a problem for Iran," he added.
When asked if that was a threat of possible retaliation, Rumsfeld replied, "I don't imply threats. You know that."
"They (the Iranians) live in the neighborhood. The people in that region want this situation stabilized with the exception of Iran and Syria," he said.
The U.S. officials said the weapons were more lethal and more sophisticated than the bombs typically used by Iraqi insurgents.
After examining the truckload of weapons, intelligence analysts said the explosive parts are similar to those used by Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
While there is no evidence Iran's government sanctioned the weapons shipment, the analysts said it may indicate a rogue element inside Iran is making the weapons and trying to ship them to Iraq's insurgents.
Troops found the bombs inside crates seized near a border crossing on the Iraqi side, the officials said.
Three senior U.S. officials told CNN the weapons were made in such a way that their blast would have been focused in a single direction, thereby increasing their lethality.
One official said the shipment included "tens" of bombs.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/10/2005 15:15 ||
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Paraphrasing...
"I know what you're thinking.... But being as ... we have the most powerful army in the world, and we could blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya punk?"
#2
"And ultimately, it's a problem for Iran," he added.
Lol! I think Rummy's bucking for British citizenship. That's about as understated and dry as a human can get, heh. Heads up, MM's, that was your subtle cue to grab a clue.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld accused Iran yesterday of allowing weapons to be exported to insurgents in Iraq who use them to kill U.S. troops, coalition forces and civilians.
"It is true that weapons, clearly, unambiguously, from Iran have been found in Iraq," Mr. Rumsfeld said in one of his sharpest attacks on the hard-line Islamic regime in Tehran. "It's notably unhelpful for the Iranians to be allowing weapons of those types to cross the border."
Commanders have said they have seen evidence that deadly improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the chief killer of Americans and allied Iraqis, were assembled in Iran.
Commanders have stopped short of accusing Tehran of funding the bomb making. But Mr. Rumsfeld went a step further yesterday at a Pentagon press conference, saying Iran was "allowing" weapons to enter Iraq.
"It's a problem for the Iraqi government," Mr. Rumsfeld said. "It's a problem for the coalition forces. It's a problem for the international community. And, ultimately, it's a problem for Iran."
Syria has received most of Washington's wrath for allowing foreign fighters and suicide bombers by the hundreds to pass through Damascus, get training, financing and passports, and then slip into Iraq.
In an interview with The Washington Times last year, Mr. Rumsfeld said Iran was funneling people and money into Iraq to try to influence the political process.
The Times previously reported that Iran's Revolutionary Guard, the regime's ideological enforcer, pumped cash into southern Iraq to aid extremist Shi'ites who support turning Iraq into a theocracy, just like Iran.
On the overall war, Mr. Rumsfeld and Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, continued to be generally upbeat on Iraq's political progress, but tight-lipped on when the U.S. can turn over all counterinsurgency missions to the 178,000-strong Iraqi security forces.
Gen. Myers said that, while the political process may convince Sunni insurgents to stop fighting and join the new Iraq, it will not stop al Qaeda-linked terror leader Abu Musab Zarqawi.
"There is one that will not be deterred, and that's the al Qaeda piece, the Zarqawi piece," Gen. Myers said.
Mr. Rumsfeld said: "Dick Myers said Zarqawi's not going to give up. That's what he does. He gets up in the morning and wants to recruit people and arm them and finance them and kill people, preferably anybody he can get his hands on. ... That's what he does. He isn't going to give up."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/10/2005 14:47 ||
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#1
Your tax dollars at work! Now, after more than two years of this BS, Rummy see an Iranian connection? My eyes are wide shut!
#2
You don't seriously believe Rummy wasn't aware of this before now, do you? That he has irrefutable evidence in hand to publicly prove it, now, is why the MSM has suddenly shown interest in publicizing the issue. Just cuz they're not running the stories doesn't mean anything - I saw him interviewed by Brett Baeir on Fox TV twice (the first was about a year ago, IIRC) and he said much the same back then as now.
The Arabic television network Al-Arabiya aired a videotape purportedly by Al Qaeda (search) that shows terrorists training for attacks on the United States and on coalition troops in the mountains of Afghanistan.
U.S. intelligence officials believe the tape is authentic. The two-hour tape, which Al-Arabiya (search) described as a documentary and ran over the weekend, bears the name of Al Sahab productions â the production company used by Al Qaeda for numerous other videos.
In the tape, terrorists are seen in classroom settings, planning attacks, building bombs and training for ambushes. Itâs subtitled in Arabic but carries interviews in English, French, Pashtu, Urdu and Arabic spoken with Yemeni, Saudi and Iraqi accents. English-speaking members address people in the West directly.
A British- or Australian-accented man wearing a black robe, AK-47 and military-style vest, warns Westerners of "the lies of Blair and Bush."
"The Muslim world is not your backyard," he yells. "The honorable sons of Islam will not let you kill our sons. It is time for us to be equals. As you kill, you will be killed. As you bomb, you will be bombed."
U.S. intelligence officials said the tape is the latest in a long list of efforts to recruit and promote for Al Qaeda on the Web and over the airwaves. An Al-Arabiya official said the network received the tape last week but he would not say how or where it was delivered.
A British member of Parliament blasted Al Arabiya for keeping its sources quiet, especially after London was targeted by terrorists twice recently â on July 7, when four bombs exploded on the cityâs subways and a bus, killing 56 people; and again on July 21, when another series of four bombs failed to detonate. Al Qaeda did not take responsibility for the attacks.
âThis has nothing to do with Islam,â Lord John Taylor (search), told FOX News. âTheyâre not martyrs. Theyâre murderers.â
The three-part video, titled "The War of the Oppressed People," depicts what appears to be a few months in the lives of a group of fighters in wilderness camps in the Afghan mountains.
The men cook tea over campfires and kneel in prayer under the open skies, then duck into a makeshift classroom where an instructor outlines the coming "Operation to Defeat the Crucifix" against U.S. and allied forces.
In one scene, the tape claims Al Qaeda was responsible for shooting down a U.S. Chinook helicopter, killing all 16 American troops on board.
The tape features an appearance by top-ranking Al Qaeda member Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi, as well as shots of a U.S. Air Force A-10 jet making bombing runs on a mountainside, and a close-up of a U.S. soldier quivering face down on the ground.
Al-Iraqi, speaking with a scarf hiding his face, says the U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have created "two fronts" for recruiting terrorists to the cause of Usama bin Laden (search) and Taliban leader Mullah Omar (search).
"Now all the world is united behind Mullah Omar and Sheik Usama," he says.
The program includes interviews with bearded fighters claiming they are avenging the killing of Muslims by the U.S., Britain, Israel and India.
"If this is terrorism and fundamentalism, then OK, we are terrorists and fundamentalists," a Pakistani man who identifies himself as Bilal says in Urdu.
One grisly segment shows a dead soldier lying face up, his bearded face caked in blood. The soldier, perhaps an Afghani, is dressed in green camouflage fatigues with a red shoulder patch. The insurgents display his rifle, an American M-16.
In another scene, a group of bombmakers slices white bricks of plastic explosive, packing them into cooking oil cans along with heavy steel bolts and gobs of glue.
Green-hued night footage shows the men digging holes at the roadside and planting the bombs.
Later, shaky footage follows a blue SUV as it travels along a remote dirt road. Text on the bottom of the screen says the car is carrying the head of security for Afghanistan's Kunar province.
Without warning the vehicle is ripped apart in a giant fireball. The attack appears to depict the June 28 roadside bombing that killed a district police chief and two other officers.
Yet another scene pans across a cache of captured U.S. gear, including a laptop, an M-16, military radios, a global positioning satellite display and the Department of Defense ID card of slain Navy SEAL Danny Phillip Dietz Jr.
Dietz, 25, of Littleton, Colo., was killed June 28 after his four-man reconnaissance team came under attack in Kunar province. The Chinook helicopter was downed and the 16 troops killed as the craft was on its way to aid Dietz, killing all aboard.
An insurgent is shown going through the laptop's hard drive, zooming in on a U.S. military document marked "For Official Use Only" and a map of Kabul marked with the locations of the U.S. and British embassies.
The film is subtitled in Arabic, but carries interviews in English, French, Pashto and Urdu, as well as Arabic spoken with Yemeni, Saudi and Iraqi accents.
Baker Atyani, Al-Arabiya's Asia bureau chief, said the network received the tape last week, but would not say how or where it was delivered.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/10/2005 14:47 ||
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The program includes interviews with bearded fighters claiming they are avenging the killing of Muslims by the U.S., Britain, Israel and India.
I'll bet you that Indian PM Singh took a note of the company he was included with...
A video showing a so-called "Top Ten" of bloody attacks against US forces in Iraq that were claimed by Al-Qaeda-linked groups appeared on an Islamist web site Wednesday.
The 17-minute video is aimed at "those who like to see American crusader blood flowing," said the group calling itself the Islam Media Front which said it posted the footage.
One segment shows American soldiers' bodies torn to pieces in an attack near the Syrian border that was claimed by the Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Land of Two Rivers (Iraq), the group of Iraq's most wanted man Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Another shows a US helicopter that was shot down and reduced to shreds of metal by a group calling itself the Islamic Army of Iraq.
Yet another scene shows seven US soldiers whose bodies were pulverised in a landmine explosion, before other US soldiers come to collect their remains.
The scenes are backed by an audiotrack of Koranic chants, war cries and calls of "Allahu Akhbar" (God is Greatest).
The makers of the video call on their sympathisers to "spread the video on foreign forums so that Americans will be ashamed of themselves at the weakness of their army."
Al-Qaeda-linked groups regularly use web sites to distribute shocking footage of kidnappings and slayings as a tactic to increase the psychological impact of their attacks.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/10/2005 14:44 ||
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"spread the video on foreign forums so that Americans will be ashamed of themselves at the weakness of their army."
To make our Army stonger, we need to follow allen and blow up children? Or would it help to use mentally disabled folks and canines to self-destruct? Mebbe we just all need frontal lobotomies?
Eat sh*t, three meals a day, and live forever. In hell, that is.
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/10/2005 15:18 Comments ||
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#2
That's it! Calling for all video of C-130's bombing the jihadis, any on the ground video of us shooting it up with the jihadis (even in mosques), etc. These goons need to be taught a lesson. Let's get Michael Yon a video camera to film our guys in their next staged roadside bombing shooting up the jihadis who come to celebrate (w/ AK-47s in tow, no less)! Maybe we could set up a separate section (a'la Thugburg) w/ links to any US videos there may be out there (I'm sure Fred doesn't wanna host video himself, so we could just collect links).
Posted by: BA ||
08/10/2005 15:22 Comments ||
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The alleged al-Qaeda operative who was arrested in Pakistan on Sunday had in his laptop, maps of cities in Italy and Germany. According to Pakistani intelligence sources, Osama bin Yousaf, 33, confessed on Tuesday to his participation within the al-Qaeda terrorist network and maps of Italy, Germany, Pakistan and Britain were also found in his home. According to the Pakistani newspaper, The Daily Times, bin Yousaf is also said to have been in contact with al-Qaeda operatives in Pakistan and Europe.
âBin Yousaf confessed to being part of the al-Qaeda network and to have provided logistic support to militants,â according to officials quoted in the Daily Times. The intelligence officials also said that his cell phone numbers were found in the telephone index of Abu Faraj al-Libbiâs - a senior al-Qaeda leader who was arrested in Pakistan in May - after which American and Pakistani intelligence agencies put him on their watch list.
Bin Yousaf was arrested after the authorities in Pakistan tracked phone calls made by him from several locations around Pakistan to Italy, Germany and Britain.
âHe called someone in the UK on Thursday, called someone else in Italy on Friday and made two long phone calls to somebody in Germany on Saturday,â said the officials quoted in the daily. Through the calls the police managed to track his location and eventually arrested bin Yousaf in Faisalabad, a city 350 kilometres from the Pakistani capital Islamabad.
During his interrogation, bin Yousaf described how he had travelled to Afghanistan in 1992 where he received guerrilla training and was injured in fighting a year later after which he returned to Pakistan. He travelled back to Afghanistan in 1995 where he was introduced to al-Qaeda leaders. Intelligence officials in Pakistan have described bin Yousaf as being a close aide of al-Libbi and Amjad Hussain Farooqi, the, who was killed by pakistani security forces in September 2004.
In addition to the maps, officials also found, three credit cards, a computer, dozens of CDs, three grenades, two AK-47s and hundreds of bullets in bin Yousaf's possession.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/10/2005 14:41 ||
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In addition to the maps, officials also found, three credit cards, a computer, dozens of CDs, three grenades, two AK-47s and hundreds of bullets in bin Yousaf's possession.
You know a man could have a purdy good time in Karachi with all this stuff.
#2
Let us not be so suspicious {Wink} Bin Yousaf might have just had a yen for a BigMac!
Map From my paternal grandfather's hometown to a McDonald's in Exeter, Devonshire, England... The nearest city to where my mother's side of the family came from.... Easily available on the web...
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Aug. 9 - Armed men entered Baghdad's municipal building during a blinding dust storm on Monday, deposed the city's mayor and installed a member of Iraq's most powerful Shiite militia.
#1
ive seen elsewhere that the provincial govt wanted to oust this guy. The prov govt is dominated by Shiite religious parties, while the city mayor is a secularist. So its not quite the militia coup the NYT implies. Dont have a cite handy, though.
#2
It could be possible, but the method to HOW it was done bothers me. Also, I don't know how Islamic this "militia" is.
The man the group installed, Hussein al-Tahaan, is a member of the Badr Organization, the armed militia of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, known as Sciri.
#3
I'm not sure how much difference (if any) there is between Provincial Shia Religious parties and Shia militia.
I am curious about the motive - a power play on political/religious grounds, or an attempt to either remove, replace or install a corrupt official.
#7
I'll agree to "could've", but "would've" suggests they are incapable. Few here hold the Arabs in as much contempt as I do, but I ascribe that to a barbaric tribalist society and indoctrination by The Religion of Hate, not to some congenital condition. They certainly may waste this golden opportunity, but I believe we have to play it out and let them prove that case, themselves.
If this is, indeed, a Sadr action, then he just negated all of the stupid forgiveness he's enjoyed since the start of the war. Sitting with Jaafari just last week for the TV cameras and looking so chummy, pretending to be a civilized politician instead of a killer, thug, and agent of the MM's, this action will put Jaafari in a bind. That's good. Time for the blinders to come off and for Tater to be fried. That's what I hope this pointless act, and it should be obvious that it is pointless, leads to.
#8
As far as I can tell, this is a case where the elected representatives of the region were trying to fire the manager hired by the previous, appointed representatives, and he was refusing to go. So they sent roughly twice as many goons as he had on his payroll to make sure he went this time.
1) Mayor of Baghdad isn't the same thing as an American mayor. Far as I can tell he's a glorified chief-of-staff for infrastructure and maintenance.
2) Most of these articles are quoting the offended party heavily, which suggests that all of these characterizations of al-Tamimi as "secularist" and his enemies as "religious" is al-Tamimi's own spin.
3) His own vice-Mayor was quoted in one of the articles as complaining that al-Tamimi had a hundred goons on his payroll, all hanging out around the offices.
In short, he's a Sunni holdout from the Governing Council days who was refusing to turn over his office to the new party. It all strikes me as about on the par with similar armed standoffs that periodically occur in the deeply corrupt Sioux reservations in the Dakotas. Not particularly appetizing, but I don't have to eat the resulting sausage.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
08/10/2005 15:27 Comments ||
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#9
Mitch - Can you cite a source or two? You post puts an entirely different light on it - Thx! I did presume he was an elected official... my bad!
#12
I was hoping that Jaafari would lose enough Arab "face" that he'd realize what a tool he his just because Sadr's a Shi'ite, but you're prolly right on the money. The sectarian Islamic BS is why I am not optimistic that Iraq the (Yugoslavia of the M.E.) will survive intact.
These appear to be the same folks with the AQ newspaper.
Such nice fine lads...
DEBKAfile discloses: The 10 suspects Turkey arrested in plot to blow up Israeli cruise ships belong to IBDA-C, the Great Eastern Islamic Raiders Front
August 10, 2005, 3:08 PM (GMT+02:00)
Jailed Turkish terror chief Mirzabeyoglu
According to DEBKAfileâs exclusive counter-terrorist sources, the ten people detained in Turkey Wednesday, Aug 10, were part of an al Qaeda plot to ram fast rubber dinghies loaded with explosives into several Israeli cruise vessels docking in southern Turkish ports last weekend. The same IBDA-C group struck Jewish synagogues in Istanbul on November 15, 2003.
The Israel liners were diverted to Cypus from their destination port of Antalya and Israelis warned to avoid that coast. Our sources add the link between the IBDA-C and al Qaeda goes back to 1998 when its leader Mirzabeyoglu and his followers were sent to prison. Between 50 and 70 escaped the country, splitting up between Afghanistan, Chechnya, Greece, Bosnia and Germany. In the first two countries, the fugitives joined up with al Qaeda and fought with them. In Bosnia, they received terrorist training; in Greece they exploited old connections in Greek intelligence to secure assistance. In the 1980s, when tensions were running high between Athens and Anakara, Greek intelligence used IBDA-C members for forays into Turkey.
In Germany, the Turkish terrorists set up logistics and intelligence networks to support members operating in conjunction with al Qaeda.
From the late 1990s, therefore, far from the gaze of western counter-terror and Turkish security authorities, the IBDA-C and al Qaeda quietly built up one of the most dangerous undercover terrorist networks operating today in Europe.
He would rather be drunk. He rarely knows the real names of the women with whom he consorts. He frequently complains. He would rather be high. Ask him what heâd be doing if he hadnât taken his current job and heâll say, time and again, "Iâd be in trouble like my friends back home â dead or in jail." He is profane, uneducated, impious, lecherous, and unwashed. He doesnât care much about the war. In most cases, he misses his mother badly.
But the American combat infantryman in Iraq is doing just fine. His emotions tamped into a predatory groove by a long night of remotely observing the Milan runways, his reflexes tuned to Pentium speed by his Xbox, he pulses with caffeine, androstene, maltodextrin, sodium citrate, high-fructose corn syrup, nicotine, and a psychedelium of food dyes. He scores a 10-1 kill ratio when the enemy fights him head-on.
Interesting article on the 506th. Definitely told from an angle you don't often see.
#1
He has just reenlisted in the army for a further six years. "Saddamâs time is gone, man," says Krebbs. "Iâm more interested in studying up on these insurgents. We got to learn more about Syria." He takes a pinch of Skoal from a small hockey puck of dip. Almost half the platoon dips.
#2
Appropriately for young men involved in a nationâbuilding project, philosophical and cultural issues are frequently addressed in a political context, as in "Shut up, you Democrat fag" or "Fuck off, you redneck Nazi." In a month of listening to soldiers make extraordinary confessions and talk about how much they wanted home (for sex, for their parents, for a drink), I never hear a word about wanting out.
The average soldier in the unit has spent only two or three weeks in the States over the past two years. Out of nine wounded soldiers in the platoon, one is still an invalid, four chose never to leave the base, three returned home, and four are trying to get back to the unit.
Nash: "When I went to the hospital in Germany I was offered 30 daysâ convalescent leave back home, and then I could probably have stayed in the States. Even then I said, "Fuck that, Iâm going back to my friends." Now theyâre the only friends I have. The people at the hospital tried to talk me out of it. Then they said, "What part of the service are you in?" I said Eleven Bravo â the infantry.
They never bothered me again about going home."
Posted by: Steve ||
08/10/2005 9:59 Comments ||
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#4
Overall, it was a good read, IMHO. A little melodramatic and swaggering here and there - with some subtle denigration / belittling of those with the stones to do the hard jobs, which almost pissed me off. There are echoes of James Jones in this piece - the good and the bad.
#5
This is a hyper-ventilating anti-war piece in the Michael Herr tradition. Could the author have done a better job of documenting every negative aspect of these soldiers? How can anyone's reflexes be tuned by X-box? My thumbs reflexes maybe, but little else. Do you pulse with caffeine? Or corn syrup for that matter? Psychodelium? Huh? Is that supposed to convey information or perhaps just invoke an image from an Oliver Stone movie? The picture of the Iraqi in the thermal sights with the "War Games" caption - what's the implication? Killing is a game for soldiers and thus they and us are damnable? War games is right, only we are the ones being played. Phooey.
It could have been the Iraqi desert with the burning sun and dusty blue sky. The "Gladiator," an unmanned remote-controlled vehicle, makes its way over a dirt obstacle yesterday as a crowd observes. Carnegie Mellon and BAE Systems held a public demonstration of the robot, developed for the Marine Corps.
But instead of sand, it was a tidy asphalt surface in Uniontown yesterday, where a military-green robot resembling a large all-terrain vehicle climbed and tumbled over makeshift stacks of wood planks and piles of stone-filled dirt, preening before a crowd uttering "ohs" and "ahs".
Known as the Gladiator Tactical Unmanned Ground Vehicle (TUGV), the six-wheeled combat robot spun around in circles displaying its strength and durability at what could have been its coming-out party-- the first public demonstration of the prototype designed and developed at Carnegie Mellon University and set to be built and manufactured at BAE Systems' Ground Vehicle Unit plant in Fayette County.
In February, CMU beat out defense giant Lockheed Martin for a $26.4 million Defense Department contract to produce a line of six Gladiator TUGV prototypes. The goal is to build big remote-controlled reconnaissance robots capable of carrying out search-and-discovery missions in potentially hostile areas, to warn soldiers of the dangers ahead, and to protect them from mine fields, craters, trenches, hidden enemies or even greater threats such as chemical, biological or nuclear traps. Eventually, the military hopes to arm the remote-controlled TUGVs with machine guns and other weapons, giving them the capacity to destroy enemy targets.
Just don't connect them to Skynet.
Marine Corps Col. Terry Griffin, the project manager for the Department of Defense Robotic Systems Joint Project Office, called the Gladiator "the future of war-fighting.
"Remote combat task is to accomplish the mission and save friendly lives," Griffen told a crowd of BAE employees, politicians, CMU researchers, staff and reporters on hand for yesterday's demonstration. "We're going to do that with the Gladiator."
Although the vehicle, weighing nearly 3 tons, is large enough for combat, it appears remarkably friendly, looking and acting like an oversized remote-controlled toy. Designed to fit into a military Humvee for transport, the Gladiator will be driven remotely by a soldier using a Sony PlayStation-like joystick. The soldier will wear a special helmet fitted with an eyepiece that serves as a camera, allowing the soldier to see what the robot sees, even though it could be miles away.
The latest Gladiator prototype has containers for hand grenades that can be used for clearing obstacles and creating a footpath on difficult terrain for soldiers following behind. It also features what looks like organ pipes to produce smoke, and it has a mount on top for a medium-size machine gun or multipurpose assault weapon.
The six prototypes, which will be tested under a variety of conditions before the Department of Defense orders up to 200 Gladiators, are the third stage of the robot's development process. A joint team of CMU researchers, consultants with military-experience and BAE engineers are now tweaking the Gladiator to a "bible-like" set of military requirements and expect to deliver the six prototypes to the Marine Corps by May 2007. "The Marines are a tough customer. They have continually pushed them to make it easier to use," said Randy Bryant, dean of CMU's School of Computer Science.
Researchers at CMU's Robotics Institute and the National Robotics Engineering Consortium have been developing and fine-tuning the Gladiator since 2002, when several research teams and defense contractors began competing to present the Department of Defense with a specialized robotic vehicle to venture into unknown territory on battlefields and deliver real-time pictures to soldiers. CMU began working with BAE in the most recent phase of the project -- needing an experienced defense contractor to build and manufacture the Gladiator.
Yesterday's demonstration was to showcase not just the the first unmanned ground vehicle used for reconnaissance, but also to highlight the region's economic-development success in winning a big military contract. "We wanted to show the public what we were doing," said BAE spokesman Herb Muktarian, who noted that most of the 150 employees in the company's Fayette County plant are not yet working on the Gladiator but refurbishing Bradley combat vehicles. Amazingly enough, the Pentagon wants 1/3rd of its combat vehicles to be unmanned robots by 2010.
#2
It's important to remember that any such vehicle is interwoven into a much greater whole. To start with, its operator probably can multitask on his PDA, so he can also see the terrain ahead, live pics from any UAVs about, and has lots of other information readily available, such as from sensors and other users. Second, the armored vehicle itself might be interconnect to other such vehicles, like Strykers, giving it coordinated fires. Third, there might be an overall commander directing the mass movement remotely (leaving the actual maneuver to users), and coordinating between different military units to produce a cohesive robotic front lines.
#4
Does anyone have a link to video of recent UAV take-out of Jihadi mortar team in Iraq?
Posted by: Ward C the Moron ||
08/10/2005 11:06 Comments ||
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#5
BAE engineers are now tweaking the Gladiator to a "bible-like" set
The project is doomed with the use of the word bible. The Left will soon product a sequel to the movie "Stealth" (which bombed at the box office too).
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/10/2005 11:08 Comments ||
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#6
Amazingly enough, the Pentagon wants 1/3rd of its combat vehicles to be unmanned robots by 2010.
Yeah, that's cause the bean counters have figured all the savings from not paying retirement or veterans medical benefits that'll be saved. BTW, didn't someone mention Skynet? :)
#7
that's cause the bean counters have figured all the savings from not paying retirement or veterans medical benefits
Yeah, that *must* be the reason. It's certainly not because a robot is a force multiplier that enables sensors and weapons to be deployed in high-risk situations without risking soldier's lives.
Personally, I think this is great because we are one step closer to unleashing Giant Killer Robots. Woo woo!
A delegation from the African Union has arrived in Mauritania to urge leaders of last week's coup to restore constitutional order to this oil-rich nation.
While they're there, I hope they asked the colonels or generals or whatever they are to overthrow that guy in Niger, too...
The 53-nation body condemned the 3 August coup and suspended Mauritania's membership of the organisation, but has stopped short of calling for exiled President Maaouiya Sid Ahmed Ould Taya to be restored to office. Taya, who had ruled since a 1984 coup, was widely unpopular and most Mauritanians welcomed his ousting. The African Union (AU) delegation includes Nigerian Foreign Minister Oluyemi Adeniji, South African Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula and an official of the African Union Commission. They are expected to meet the newly declared president, Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, and other leaders of last week's coup.
Nigeria holds the chairmanship of the AU, and South Africa is this month's head of the organisation's Peace and Security Council. Speaking in an interview on Monday broadcast on the Arabic news channel Al-Arabiya, Taya vowed he would return to power and called on his country's armed forces to reverse the coup. Taya issued orders "in my capacity as president of the republic to the armed forces to restore the natural order and put an end to this crime. I am determined to return to Nouakchott to continue the job of building our nation."
I hate to say this, but I think you've been fired.
Taya on Tuesday left the west African state of Niger where he had been given refuge and headed for The Gambia, an aide of Niger President Mamadou Tandja said. Taya, who was toppled by top army brass while he was abroad on Wednesday, left for Banjul, the capital of the tiny West African state, he added. The Gambia, a narrow strip of land that is surrounded on three sides by Senegal, is an English-speaking state that does not have a border with Mauritania.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/10/2005 00:00 ||
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Can the international community form a worldwide Society of Useless Debating Clubs that can combine all these useless, impotent hackeramas for people that can't hold legitimate jobs? We got the UN, The African Union, the Arab League, the EU and I don't even think I've scratched the surface.
It might help cut down on costs...
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
KUWAIT CITY - Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmed Al Sabah, the emir of Kuwait, returned Tuesday, after months of treatment and rest in the United States and Switzerland. Sheikh Jaber, 79, spent more than two months in the US, where he had medical tests and surgery for a dilated blood vessel in his left leg. He then moved to Zurich, Switzerland, for recuperation.
An attack on London's financial district is inevitable despite tighter security in the wake of the July bombings on the capital's transport network, the area's police chief said in an interview published on Tuesday.
Britain is considering setting up secretive courts to make it easier to prosecute terror suspects — and to hold them without charge for longer than the current 14 days — as part of the crackdown following the deadly London bombings, officials said Tuesday.
A secret US military intelligence team identified the September 11 hijack leader Mohammed Atta and three of his accomplices as probable al-Qa'eda terrorists a year before the attacks.
Judge Masoud Moqaddas, involved in some of Iran's high-profile political cases, was gunned down while leaving office a week ago. The motive is still unclear. 
A delegation from the African Union has arrived in Mauritania to urge leaders of last week's coup to restore constitutional order to this oil-rich nation.
