A Muslim cleric accused in Britain of incitement to murder praised Adolf Hitler and called for Jews to be destroyed in a videotaped sermon shown at his trial Friday. Egyptian-born Abu Hamza al-Masri faces life in prison if convicted of inciting murder and stirring racial hatred in speeches recorded on nine video and audio tapes made for supporters. Al-Masri, 47, has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The grainy, black-and-white footage was recorded in October 2000 at the Finsbury Park mosque, in north London, where the cleric was formerly head preacher, prosecutor David Perry said. "The Jews will be destroyed, the state (of Israel) will be destroyed and some of the Jews will be running around hiding behind the trees," said al-Masri, speaking in Arabic, according to a translation of the recording read in court. He said Muslims should ensure that Israel and the Palestinian territories becomes "the biggest Jewish graveyard in the world." Al-Masri said Hitler had been sent to Earth to persecute Jews and had targeted them for their "dealings and treachery."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/14/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Looks like ol' Danger Hooks is about to walk the plank...finally!
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
01/14/2006 0:31 Comments ||
Top||
#2
If his rants don't do it, then the UK has the same sort of judicial ills we do in FLA - ala Sami.
#4
SPo'D - Mebbe we'll get lucky and he'll criticize how one of the jurors dresses - or give one a funny look. Those offenses would prolly carry longer sentences and generate more outrage.
#5
Put him in the same cell with Pat Robertson, gently close the door, walk away.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/14/2006 8:05 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Uh, hang on a sec, a person can get a life sentence just for saying certain words, but people who who've committed violent crimes like rape, gbh, child abuse etc get out after a few years? (If they're even put away in the first place, that is.) This country is seriously, utterly f****d.
#8
watch for the juror taking 5 prayer breaks/day during the trial
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/14/2006 11:32 Comments ||
Top||
#9
Uh, hang on a sec, a person can get a life sentence just for saying certain words, but people who who've committed violent crimes like rape, gbh, child abuse etc get out after a few years?
It probably arises out of the idea that most mass-murderers of history were simply people saying "certain words". They had other people kill on their behalf. How many Jews did Hitler *personally* kill? In contrast to the many millions he caused to be killed by "certain words"?
The liberal belief of allowing all opinions their say is a highly respectable one, but one must also understand its counter-argument.
#10
From http://www.cs.indiana.edu/~dmiguse/Russian/vzbio.html
"Zhirinovsky praised Adolf Hitler's ideology of National-Socialism in an Izvestia article. One of his books, "The Last Thrust to The South", advocates military aggression against Russia's Southern neighbors as a way of achieving political stability in the region. Vladimir Zhirinovsky made headlines by threatening to take Alaska back from the United States, nuke Japan, and flood Germany with radioactive waste."
Chancellor Angela Merkel's fence-mending visit to the United States is being overshadowed by a growing scandal over reports that German intelligence had fed America key information about military targets in Iraq before the US invasion.
German MPs have called for a full inquiry into the allegations amid speculation about the future of Franz Walter Steinmeyer, Mrs Merkel's Social Democrat Foreign Minister, who was a senior government official during the Iraq war.
The reports of German-US intelligence co-operation, aired on Germany's ARD television channel, were confirmed by Berlin government sources and appeared to run directly counter to official German government policy on the war.
Citing a US government official, the TV channel said German intelligence officers in Baghdad had supplied information about a restaurant in the Mansur district of the city which the Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein, was said to have frequented on the eve of the US-led invasion. The US military bombed the building killing 12 people.
Renate Kunast, the opposition Greens party parliamentary leader described the reports as "monstrous". She added: "This suggests Germany took part in the war against Iraq after all."
Government officials conceded that Germany's BND intelligence services maintained a presence in Baghdad. But they declined to say what kind of information had been passed to the Americans other than details about which buildings - such as schools, hospitals and embassies- should not be bombed.
Mrs Merkel's two day trip to Washington had been widely canvassed as an attempt to repair the most serious rift in German-US relations since 1945, caused by the vehement opposition by her predecessor, Gerhard Schröder, to the invasion.
In Germany, there is speculation that the reports of German-US intelligence co-operation had been deliberately timed to embarrass Mrs Merkel during her visit and dampen her attempt to improve relations with Washington.
But in a speech at Washington's German embassy shortly after her arrival, Germany's first woman Chancellor suggested she was determined not to disappoint her American hosts, "We must now muster enough strength to begin a new phase in our relationship," she said.
And in a clear acknowledgement of the White House stance on terrorism she added: "The fight against terrorism has proven more difficult than the Cold War."
Washington underscored the importance of Mrs Merkel's visit by allotting three hours for her meeting with President George Bush and the Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice. In Germany, the US ambassador to Berlin has been on in a charm offensive, saying in interviews that German-US ties are "excellent." Before Mrs Merkel's visit, the Bush administration said they viewed Germany's new conservative leader as a strong partner who could help bridge differences.
Yet despite the pro-US rhetoric, German officials have made clear they have no misgivings about the abilities of Mrs Merkel's grand coalition government to substantially change Germany's position on key issues of American interest.
Although Mrs Merkel has shifted from her predecessor by stressing the importance of a US-led Nato, she ruled out sending German troops to Iraq. Shortly before her visit, she criticised the US prison in Cuba, saying: "Guantanamo cannot and should not exist in the long term. Ways must be found to handle prisoners differently."
Surveys show that among the 72 per cent of Europeans opposed to US foreign policy, Germany tops the bill, with 83 per cent of the people at odds with President Bush
#3
The scandal is that Schroeder's government lied to the German people, and caused the death of 12 Iraqis by feeding erroneous (or false?) target information to the US.
high. Ok, I agree, after a fair trial in which his alleged NOI ties are examined.
.
ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) - Attorneys for convicted Washington-area sniper John Allen Muhammad asked a judge Friday for separate trials for the six murders he is charged with in Maryland. Muhammad's public defenders argued in court documents that a single trial would prejudice a jury with ``irrelevant and inadmissible evidence'' from the separate crimes.
Currently, Muhammad faces a May 1 trial on all six murders.
Muhammad's lawyers requested a hearing on the matter in court papers filed in Rockville on the day of a deadline for pretrial motions.
Prosecutors sought to expand on evidence outside of the six murders. Other crimes, they said, should be considered because evidence from them demonstrate Muhammad's motive, intent and preparation to commit the crimes. ``This evidence is also substantially relevant because it proves that the charged murders were part of a larger scheme to extort $10 million dollars from the government,'' the Montgomery County prosecutors wrote.
Muhammad was sentenced to death after being convicted in a sniper shooting in Manassas, Va. Lee Boyd Malvo, who also is a defendant in the case, was sentenced to life in prison for a shooting in Falls Church, Va. Malvo's Maryland trial on six murder counts is set for October.
The two are accused of killing 10 people and wounding three in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., in 2002.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/14/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
I agree, separate him in two; and give each slab a trial!
#8
It was the Maryland families who wanted 'closure' for the murder of their loved ones. Now the shysters use that to prolong the agony - one trial for one 'closure', two trials for two 'closures'....
Who goes first? Which family will agree to go last? Years of tragic stories and remembrances...
VA shoulda fried him before they sent him to MD!
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/14/2006 9:10 Comments ||
Top||
#9
No, it's Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan and State's Attorney Doug Gansler needing publicity for their political campaigns. Duncan is running for the Dem nomination for Governor against Baltimore mayor martin O'Malley, and Gansler is seeking higher office as well.
Karachi, 9 Jan. (AKI) - (Syed Saleem Shahzad) - The news of the detention by Pakistani authorities of Ghulam Mustafa, a man once close to Osama bin Laden but also sponsored by the Pakistani intelligence services, is getting more and more embarrassing for Islamabad. When it emerged on 4 January that Mustafa, 38, was in custody, the security forces tried to down play his importance, linking him to the sectarian Sunni Muslim group Lashkar-i-Jhangvi. Adnkronos International (AKI) has learnt he never belonged to this shadowy group, but was a paid up member of al-Badr, run by the Pakistani secret services to keep the indigenous guerilla movements in Kashmir under its own control.
It was Ghulam Mustafaâs closeness to the establishment which prevented the government from making an announcement of his capture. Only after Adnkronos International (AKI) broke the story, was it forced to announce the arrest which had not been passed on to Pakistan's 'war on terrror' ally, Washington. Yet several weeks on, the man considered the head of al-Qaeda's Pakistani operations has still not been charged and is believed held at a secret location.
Ghulam Mustafa was never a member of an anti-establishment, shadowy organization Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, AKI has learnt, but instead a completely pro-establishment organization al-Badr. This was set up by the Pakistani secret service ISI to try to break the influence of Kashmiri indigenous armed liberation movements, like Hizb ul Mujahadeen, and to keep the control of insurgency in Kashmir.
Ghulam Mustafa's lawyer, Chaudhary Mohammad Farooq, told AKI that his client's only 'crime' was that he was a good Muslim and that he had no ties at all with the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi.
He was released from Adyala Jail on Sep 16, 2005, after being cleared of organising a terrorist plot. He had been in custody for 14 months. During this period, his lawyer said, the police continuously blackmailed his family members to the tune of 500,000 rupees (around 8,400 dollars) and even after his acquittal in the terrorism case intelligence agencies tried to arrest him on different occasions.
Lawyer Chaudhary Farooq maintained that intelligence agencies were skeptical that Ghulam Mustafaâs release from the anti-terrorist court was genuine and sent a team of investigators to probe whether he had paid any bribe to get a favourable court ruling.
Farooq, who also heads a prisoners' rights group, said Ghulama Mustafa came to his chamber in Lahore on December 17, 2005 asking him to file a writ for harassment of his family members by the intelligence agencies. As soon as he left the office and was sitting outside on his motorcycle Ghulam Mustafa was rounded up by men in plain clothes. He filed a Habeas Corpus petition in Lahore High Court for his release and the Punjab government has asked till December 29th to respond.
Chaudhary Farooq told AKI that Ghulam Mustafa was released on 29 December and he came not to his chambers but to his residence. He claimed that intelligence officers barged in and took Ghulam Mustafa away, saying clearly that he would not come back again!
Sources said that interesting aspect of Ghulam Mustafaâs detention is that so far no case has been registered, probably because intelligence agencies do not want to present him in the court of law for fear he may reveal his true identity.
Mustafa was first detained on 11 August, 2004 after his brother-in-law Usman was picked up for allegedly planning sabotage attacks in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.
During his 2004 interrogation, Ghulam Mustafa confessed that he was close to the al-Qaeda chief, Osama bin Laden, but denied any involvement in violence. He told his interrogators that his role was limited to financial and logistical support to al-Qaeda operations.
He also admitted that he was the sector commander at the Line of Control (LOC), that divides the disputed region of Kashmir between India and Pakistan, and had helped militants enter India from the areas of Bagh and Athmuqam in the Neelam valley. For this task he coordinated his assignments with Pakistan army officials of the Tenth Corps as well as the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) which is Pakistan's military intelligence service.
Ghulam Mustafa's confessions that he was doing logistics for al-Qaeda while also coordinating with Pakistan's secret services in Kashmir were if not a surprise, certainly an embarrassment. The interrogators opted to remain tight-lipped about his arrest and formally handed him over to the police and registered a case against him for alleged terrorist activities. However Pakistan's anti-terrorist court eventually released Ghulam Mustafa in September 2005 after they found no proof of his involvement in any violence.
Posted by: john ||
01/14/2006 17:46 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[8 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Don't know why they would be embarassed. The entire world knows that Pakistan is a terrorist state.
Hell, the official motto of the Pakistan Army is iman-taqwa-jihad fi sabilillah (Faith, Fear, Jihad in the way of Allah)
Posted by: john ||
01/14/2006 18:56 Comments ||
Top||
#2
how soon before we spite diplomacy and declare the Pakis and ISI as enthusiastic hosts for terrorists, Perv's assurances be damned?
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/14/2006 19:12 Comments ||
Top||
#3
I reckon when they're no longer of any use to us. Sooner or later they're going to have to be relieved of their nukes, too...
Posted by: Dave D. ||
01/14/2006 19:26 Comments ||
Top||
#4
They'd be on the list after Iran, I'd guess.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/14/2006 20:32 Comments ||
Top||
#5
After Iran, Syria, and NoKo.
May have to be after the House of Saud, if these madmen also have an ongoing nuclear acquisition program.
Pakistani officials said that Al-Qaeda deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was likely not killed in a US air strike, as Islamabad protested to Washington the deaths of 18 villagers in the attack.
The foreign ministry said it had summoned the US ambassador to receive a protest while Information Minister Sheikh Rashid condemned Friday's missile raid in a remote tribal area.
Police also used teargas to disperse protesters after a mob chanting anti-American slogans burned down a US-funded aid agency office near the site of the attack, witnesses said. That would be the "peaceful demonstration" from earlier ...
"Foreign Secretary Riaz Khan handed over a formal protest to the US ambassador at the foreign ministry this evening," foreign office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam told AFP.
It is the second protest lodged by Pakistan with its key "war on terror" ally the United States for alleged incursion into its tribal region bordering
Afghanistan this month.
Rashid told a news conference the government had "no information about Al-Zawahiri" following Friday's "highly condemnable" attack in Damadola, a village in the Bajur tribal agency.
"Things are being investigated, and let the investigation first be completed," he added.
Senior Pakistani government and intelligence officials said Zawahiri was thought not to have been in the area at the time of the air strike.
"As far as our investigations are concerned reports about Zawahiri being killed in the attack are not true," one top official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
"Our agencies have carried out initial ground checks and, combined with intelligence from the area, there is no indication about Zawahiri's presence in the area at the time of the incident or before."
Villagers in Damadola said they heard aircraft or helicopters before three explosions rocked the village, and insisted that the only victims were local people.
"We were asleep when the first missile hit another house. We came out but my three children were buried under debris in a second explosion," said Mohammed Khan, 35. His children all died.
"The US cannot do this without Pakistan's support. We are leaving it to God to give us justice."
In Khar, which is the main town in Bajur agency and close to Damadola village, an estimated 5,000 people gathered to protest the killings.
Some demonstrators set fire to the offices of Associated Development Construction, a non-governmental organisation funded by the US Agency for International Development, an official at the aid group said.
Police later fired tear gas shells to disperse the mob after the crowd headed towards a music and video cassette market, while security forces fired two shots in the air, the AFP reporter said.
Pakistan's biggest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, called for a nationwide strike on Sunday to protest against the deaths.
US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) sources said earlier they had unconfirmed indications that a key target, possibly Osama bin Laden's Egyptian number two and chief ideologue, died in a raid by a US Predator drone in Pakistan.
Citing US defense sources, NBC television said the strike had targeted Zawahiri, 55.
The US Defense Department denied that the US military had carried out any attacks in the area. "There is no reason to believe the US military is conducting operations there," said Lieutenant Colonel Todd Vician.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/14/2006 14:32 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
There you have it, right from ISI sources that have direct contact with him more than likely.
#2
I'll believe it when Zawahiri sez it..until then...these lying spokesholes are just looking for attention/spin/higher jobs
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/14/2006 15:35 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Gotta improve that Halliburton earthquake machine - villagers don't hear the planes circling overhead and much more plausible deniability. But so far the precision is lacking, and generates too much collateral damage.
#4
"Foreign Secretary Riaz Khan handed over a formal protest to the US ambassador at the foreign ministry this evening,"
Is the protocol to wipe your behind with it right away, or can you take it back to the embassy first?
#5
Police also used teargas to disperse protesters after a mob chanting anti-American slogans burned down a US-funded aid agency office near the site of the attack, witnesses said.
So does this mean that less of our money will be going into Paki-land? I sure hope so.
#6
The US Defense Department denied that the US military had carried out any attacks in the area. "There is no reason to believe the US military is conducting operations there," said Lieutenant Colonel Todd Vician.
Is that an official denial? Sounds more like a statement of opinion to me. There is no reason to believe the US isn't conducting operations their either.
#7
There's also a difference between the U. S. and the U. S. military. We have at least one non-military agency capable of pulling off such an operaion.
#9
they're only good for ops against the American voting public
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/14/2006 17:50 Comments ||
Top||
#10
At the Old Bailey, where Abu Hamza is on trial, a terror manual has been submitted into evidence
"The court was told chapters of the terrorist manual were dedicated to Osama bin Laden, the Pakistan government and terrorists who died for their cause."
Posted by: john ||
01/14/2006 17:52 Comments ||
Top||
#11
'PAKISTAN'S OFFICIAL DENIAL THAT AL-ZAWAHIRI WAS KILLED'.
Yada,yada,yada. When the hell are we going to wake up and realize that the Pakis are camel dung.Re-establish military ties with India. India has religious tolerence and an economy that is integrated into the world market. Meanwhile, Pakistan keeps chewing up our foreign aid dollars and doesn't contribute shit.
By the way. When we (USA) espouse our support for democracy we should always consider the consequences. How about the following....If 'free' elections were held in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Indonesia the lead vote getter would be Osama Bin Laden. You have to wonder what the outcome would be in Iraq if OBL ran against GWB. Democracy. I'm just a country boy, but I gotta wonder, is 'democracy' the glue that brings all nations together ? Or is it the opening of Pandora's Box ?
#12
We know what Pakistan is. But it has been worth the price, short term, to not have an overtly hostile Pakistan on Afghanistan's flank, feeding massive support to the Taliban and Al Qaeda when it was still resident there. The opinion of this little housewife, anyway.
#13
I agree. And if we continue to strengthen ties with India, Pakistan will find itself flanked on both sides by US allies, just as Iran is beginning to be.
#14
The Pak responce was probable scripted from the start. This type of protest will help quell the riots. Most Paks are sympathetic to the Taliban and AQ and if there was a hint of the Gov helping in his death the riots would be out of control. The Pak government is helping the best they can and still stay in power. I would not be surprised if Condi asks for an investigation tomorrow. This will bury it in bureaucracy for weeks until it falls from the radar screen. We will never be told he was there, we will know only if he comes forward and speaks.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
01/14/2006 20:50 Comments ||
Top||
#15
And when he does come forward to speak, we will know binny is a goner. Binny should be the one to make a statement, no ?
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
01/14/2006 21:13 Comments ||
Top||
#17
Interesting tidbit buried in the WaPo article on this:
U.S. military sources said Pakistan's intelligence service had been heavily involved in the attack. Senior Pakistani officials would not confirm involvement in the strike but acknowledged regular intelligence cooperation with the United States.
"The intelligence sharing is on an almost daily basis," said a senior Pakistani intelligence official, who said the cooperation included sharing of both human and electronic intelligence sources
In a major success on the anti-militancy front, the security forces on Saturday shot dead three top commanders of Lashker-e-Taiba in Poonch and Doda districts, official sources said.
On a tip off, the security forces conducted a joint operation in Sindhra top area of Poonch district.
During searches, an encounter took place in which two Pakistani terrorists were killed, they said adding that they have been identified as Abu Bilal and Abu Sakib -- both district commander of LeT.
The troops recovered 2 AK rifles, 120 rounds, 4 magazines, 9 grenades and one radio set besides some diaries from the terrorists.
In another encounter between troops and terrorists in Kishtiwar area of Doda district, one LeT commander, Abu Hamza alias Arif Mehmood of Pakistan was killed.
Posted by: john ||
01/14/2006 11:20 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in the al Qaeda terrorist network -- was not killed in a CIA airstrike on a remote Pakistani village, according a Pakistani intelligence source.
Curses! Foiled again!
Initially, U.S. sources said al-Zawahiri was the target of Friday's strike and may have been among the 18 killed. Pakistan's information minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad told CNN on Saturday the government plans to summon the U.S. ambassador and "make a strong protest" over the bombing of the village of Damadola, near the Afghan border. The Associated Press quoted a senior Pakistani intelligence official as saying "our investigations conclude that they (the CIA) acted on a false information." Reuters also quoted a senior Pakistani official as saying: "Al-Zawahri was not there at the time of the attack."
"Ayman! A drone just flew near the village and... Ayman?... Where'd you go?"
The Pakistani government was expected to issue a statement later Saturday, AP reported. Both the Pentagon and the White House declined to comment on initial reports of the airstrike on Friday. Friday morning's strike killed eight men, five women and five children, Pakistani intelligence sources told CNN. Three homes were targeted. "We are conducting tests to identify the bodies," one intelligence official said.
Posted by: john ||
01/14/2006 9:06 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Keep in mind that this is could be a hesitation mark. When Abu Zubaydah was bagged, first it might have been him, then it was some guy named Herb, and finally it was him. I think it took a month to confirm Khadr had shuffled off this mortal coil.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/14/2006 9:11 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Amazing. If you want info, we have to get it from the press, which rarely makes mistakes , or raely jumps the gun.
#4
I gather that a DNA test takes time, despite what they show on CSI. First of all, there is a three to five day period for the actual test, assuming a good sample and everything goes well. Then you need a sample of something to compare it to, in this case, some relative of Zawahiri.
If that has already been mapped, along with process checks for a *lot* of variables, perhaps a week, minimum, to know for sure.
#7
You don't want to admit it because you have a few days to a week of opportunity to 'spoof' communications allowing you to pull others out into the open for a few more government funded trips to 72 Virgin territory. Or is that Virginia? Whatever.
#9
The Russians have an interesting take on things. They are saying that we offed Z in a very serious hit some short time ago, right after his latest video debut, but have all sorts of reasons for putting on this show now. They may have a point.
Just guessing, first of all we wanted to nail this annoying, but connected tribe. Second, we wanted to get deep into their communications and maybe break into some of their networks. Third, we are watching some interesting bank accounts. Fourth, we want to see if any foreign government is part of the puzzle. Etc., etc.
#12
Debka had this earlier the Paks doubt he was thier. Also the 5dead AQ bodies have vanished so that DNA maybe awhile coming. Wether he was thier or not we will see in a few weeks old Zawahiri has been making alot of videos and tapes lately cureous to see if it gets all quiet or not. Dead or not I like how latley we have been hittin in Pak territory or at least Pak territory on paper since they no more control it than we do.
#13
the Paks have good reasons to lie. The US has good reasons to lie. The scummy ISI and the villagers certainly will lie. AQ will lie. The MSM will lie. Give it some time. That was an awfully big hit on a foreign nations' soil to do casually....
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/14/2006 11:28 Comments ||
Top||
#14
Good point Frank. I had to assume the Paks were in on this hit or they would be protesting at a much higher political level. Getting an unnamed high level official to comment is a great way to help make it fade from the press.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
01/14/2006 11:38 Comments ||
Top||
#15
I agree Frank a hellfire missle which a Predator can only carry two only has around a 200lb warhead. From some CNN footage and word we are talking block building leveled multiple targets that tells me this was a maybe predator order strike aircraft. That is a big gamble to strike a friendly nation territory with strike aircraft this was a major mission plus the fact the locals carted off the bodies if it wasnt high ranking AQ just women and children innocent locals why haul out 5 guys and hide their bodies? The Paks dont want to admit AQ is in thier turf and damm sure dont want to admit the US can at will take out village mountian tops to kill those AQ, dammed if you do dammed if you dont. I say give it a few weeks see if any more videos or tapes pop out I am leaning to NO this just seems like a big gamble for the US to take on to not get some major return on.
#16
I found this on the Pakistani newspaper the Nations web site in an article on the strike.
Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao said a number of the dead appeared to be foreigners with suspected terror links.
"It seems there were some people who were not locals and they were possibly involved in sabotage activities. Most of the bodies were charred," Sherpao told AFP.
#18
"'It seems there were some people who were not locals and they were possibly involved in sabotage activities. Most of the bodies were charred,' Sherpao told AFP."
They may have been Hajjis whose boat made a wrong turn somewhere around where the Red Sea meets the Indian Ocean, and they ended up in Pakistan. Probably innocent religious tourists ... or wait a minute, was it a wedding party?
#20
C-Low, Hellfire missile has about at 20 pound warhead, not 200.
The unitary warhead of the guided MLRS round however, is about 200 pounds and with a 5m cep at the end of a 70Km range. Could be predator was standing by doing real-time BDA for the cannon cockers on the border.
#22
On the subject of wait-and-see, remember the hit on Zarq's entourage some two months ago? I never saw any casualty list from that, after the initial reports of 7 AQ killed. Anyone got any info on that, and if it is still live it gives some perspective on the time frame here.
#23
all the denials are coming from people who either couldn't know yet for sure, or have vested reasons in lying..... wait-n-see
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/14/2006 14:21 Comments ||
Top||
#24
Powerline had an interesting comment:
The AP has more, but not much more. No word yet on Zawahiri. The most interesting thing is the AP account is that the AP had a stringer on the scene of the bombing within twelve hours, before any Pakistani security forces had arrived.
#25
As to the question of the strike aircraft. Could it have been one of the new Predator "B" hunter killers? Those things are rated for 1500lbs of goodies under each wing.
DNA testing will be required for positive identification, but reaching the site of the attack may prove difficult. Adnkronos reports âPeople are very angry. They are not allowing accessâ to the crash site. The town sits right on the border with Afghanistan in a remote location where Pakistani troops are not believed to be operating. The survivors may bury or destroy the remains before an investigative team arrives, and which may be required to fight their way to the scene of the attack.
#27
Then let's just claim DNA evidence shows the gentleman in question has been removed from his earthly coil, and leave it up to him to prove otherwise.
As I noted to Bill Roggio via telephone this evening, Damadola and the villages like it have basically been under de facto al-Qaeda rule since at least 2004 if not earlier - which may have been one of the reasons why we were able to track Ayman's movements, since he felt secure enough to start moving openly again.
Thousands of tribesmen on Saturday protested a purported US air strike that targeted Al Qaedaâs No. 2 near the Afghan border and left at least 17 people dead, witnesses said. The demonstration, which was peaceful, took place in Inayat Qala, about six kilometers (four miles) from Damadola where the strike happened early Friday.
Pakistani officials and US news networks reported the target of the attack was Ayman al-Zawahri, Osama bin Ladenâs top lieutenant. Witnesses estimated that more than 8,000 people attended the protest. A local Islamic party lawmaker, Sahibzada Haroon ur Rashid, said all the victims of the attack were local people and condemned it as âopen terrorism.â Obaidullah, a local doctor, said the protesters included supporters of various political parties.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/14/2006 05:06 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#2
A local Islamic party lawmaker, Sahibzada Haroon ur Rashid, said all the victims of the attack were local people and condemned it as âopen terrorism.â
*sound of a JDAM being locked into place*
Sahi, ol' buddy, you ain't SEEN terrorism...And Dan - if this hasn't been said before, it needs to be - THANK YOU for your info and insights.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
01/14/2006 7:24 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Just imagine the severity of the protests if the US had managed to kill al-Zawahri. Those tribesmen just love al-Qaeda.
#8
Thousands of tribesmen on Saturday protested a purported US air strike that targeted Al Qaedaâs No. 2 near the Afghan border and left at least 17 people dead, witnesses said.
Stop harboring terrorists and this won't happen. Shelter them, and the number of targets can only increase. So will the number of casualties.
#9
Of course the locals are angry: What will people think about their sacred hospitality, when their bestest guests keep getting blown up? I think a public, "Thank you for your help in this matter, we couldn't have done it without your help, you know who you are," would be ever so helpful to ram that message home.
A U.S. airstrike on a suspected Al Qaeda compound in a remote region of Pakistan targeted Osama bin Laden's second in command, U.S. officials said Friday, adding that they were investigating the possibility that the Egyptian militant had been killed.
The CIA and other counter-terrorism agencies would not comment officially on speculation that Ayman Zawahiri was among a handful of suspected senior Al Qaeda militants killed in the airstrike in the Bajaur region near the Afghan border early Friday. Nor would they say on the record whether U.S. warplanes or unmanned Predator drones had fired precision-guided missiles on at suspected militant hide-outs in the area, as reported by Pakistani officials and eyewitnesses.
A senior U.S. counter-terrorism official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information, said a compound that had been attacked was known to be frequented by Zawahiri and other top Al Qaeda operatives. Pakistani military sources told officials in Washington that they believed Zawahiri might have been among the dead, the official said.
The official said that U.S. authorities had been monitoring the location for months in hopes of striking at Zawahiri and that drones were sent to kill him when intelligence indicated he was there.
Although it was too early to tell whether Zawahiri or any other key Al Qaeda operative had been killed, the official called reports coming out of Pakistan encouraging, saying U.S. intelligence and counter-terrorism authorities view them with unusual optimism.
The official acknowledged that false reports of Zawahiri's death have been made from time to time. "There is something different about this one," the official said. "This seems to have validity."
U.S. counter-terrorism officials said Washington was eagerly awaiting more information from Pakistan after daybreak today. They said identifying the bodies could take several days.
For years, Zawahiri and Bin Laden were inseparable, several U.S. counter-terrorism officials said. But the two are believed to have been physically separated for some time, in part to make it harder for their pursuers to kill them simultaneously.
The U.S. counter-terrorism official said they probably were not together Friday. "They have been separated. Not too far away, but separate," the official said.
Many counter-terrorism officials believe that the Al Qaeda terrorist network has become a much more decentralized organization than it was before the 2001 attacks, when it ran training camps in Afghanistan.
U.S. officials said killing Zawahiri would be the biggest success so far in Washington's war on terrorism, but it could also spark a backlash from Al Qaeda sympathizers around the world.
Bin Laden has not been heard from publicly since December 2004, and some U.S. officials suspect that he is incapacitated. Other U.S. authorities say Zawahiri has long been the true mastermind of Al Qaeda.
Area residents and a member of parliament from the Bajaur region told reporters Friday that that four U.S. aircraft entered Pakistani territory from Afghanistan about 3 a.m. and attacked residential compounds in the village of Berkandi. The area borders Afghanistan's Kunar province, where U.S.-led forces are battling Taliban and allied insurgents. The tribal area is about 70 miles north of Peshawar in northwestern Pakistan.
"I saw four aircraft enter the area from Kunar province, which circled over the area for half an hour," resident Mohammed Rafiq said. "The planes made several sorties and fired missiles, which caused loud explosions."
Witnesses said 14 of those killed in the blasts belonged to one family. Haji Haroon Rashid, the Bajaur lawmaker, said he witnessed the attack and alleged that a spy plane had been seen flying over the area for days.
"I left my bed immediately after hearing the loud noise of planes. Thousands of other people were also watching the aircraft for half an hour, which fired nine missiles," Rashid said. "They killed innocent children and women who have absolutely no connection with terrorism."
In Kabul, the Afghan capital, U.S. military spokesman Lt. Mike Cody told Associated Press that he had no report of an attack.
Army Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan, a Pakistani spokesman, said he did not know the cause of the blasts, but he confirmed that they caused casualties.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasneem Aslam said it was unclear whether the explosions were caused by a cross-border rocket attack or whether they originated inside Pakistan. She and Sultan said the incident was under investigation.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/14/2006 04:58 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#3
U.S. officials said killing Zawahiri would be the biggest success so far in Washington's war on terrorism, but it could also spark a backlash from Al Qaeda sympathizers around the world.
When read quickly, the second part of the sentence seems to say that the 'U.S. officials' said a backlash would occur; then I looked at the link and realized it's the L.A. Times editorializing yet again in a news article.
#4
I hope this is true if so this is a huge huge sucess at just the right time too. Zarwahiri was the AQ man to Iran(AKA phase 3 WOT) and he was the smart one. By that I mean Zarwahiri leads with his brain not emotion like Zark. This will cripple AQ in Afghanistan badly and at the same time make Zark the top dog. Zark while he probably makes a great foot soldgier his making decisions on emotion of the moment with a especially brutal aspect for the sake of well being brutal makes his promotion a victory for US in the WOT. Although I hate to say it but if this is true and Zark moves up I would expect the LA times editoral to be true old Zark is going to be pissed and with full control his first order I would imagine would be full frontal assualt with maximum death anywere they can get the numbers. Of course these kind of offenses cant be held, loses hearts and minds, and burns the resources up but I dont think Zark sees that far out and is exactley why I think he would be a great leader for AQ well at least for our benefit.
#5
#3 - "but it could also spark a backlash from Al Qaeda sympathizers around the world." is not editorializing but rather a weird (although widely accepted) distortion designed to divert people's attention in the information front of WWIV. It's another effort to get the US to think that if we ignored al-Qaeda, they would leave us alone. < /FAT CHANCE>
#6
Haven't seen this much speculation in a long time. Half the threads say we missed him (wishfull thinking from the left maybe) and half the threads say we got him. Either way stuff like this must freak them out, when a dozen missiles come out of nowhere in the middle of the night, in the middle of the desert.
#8
Accurate counting is taught in the higher grades over there, 6. Most of the tribesman never get to that point. ;-) (Besides, I can't imagine worrying about counting stuff, when the world is suddenly going boom! around me. But I'm a bit of a wimp that way.)
#9
Also, the UAV's are generally high and quiet enough to be undetectable - except to highly sensed Paki lawmakers, of course. I call multi-BS on the Paks and the villagers...anything over two missiles was a multi-aircraft strike, probably set up by a UAV watching (and undetected...). If they find a forehead with an ugly knotty thing on it, we got him
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/14/2006 11:40 Comments ||
Top||
#10
You can hear the UAV's but the jets are much higher, further away and usually out of hearing range thus making the mistake of thinking the UAV's fired the missles understandable.
The message our IO guys need to get out to the Pak villagers is "if you provide sanctuary to Zaw or Zark or any AQ you and your family will die in the hit".
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
01/14/2006 11:48 Comments ||
Top||
#12
"Thousands of other people were also watching the aircraft for half an hour"
Yeah, sure Haji, like we'd give the Z-man a half hour of warning. Sure.
#13
Claiming it was a UAV hit does several things for the Pakistanis. It means there were no US citizens over their territory in a fighter/bomber, it puts this in the same category as the hit on the dude in Yemen a while back - or in the same category as the Israeli assasinations.
#14
Lots of the terrorists have ugly forehead thingies, from all the praying they do with their foreheads pressed to the ground, so just finding such debris isn't that helpful...
#15
pressing your forehead to the ground during praying doesn't do that. Having it pressed for years to the prison floor (while on all fours) may. Explains his nickname in Egypt: Dr. Sweet Cheeks
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/14/2006 15:38 Comments ||
Top||
#16
Frank G:
I thought it was a 'target' birthmark gift from Allan.
Eighteen people including 12 suspected tribal militants and six security personnel have been killed in violence-wracked Balochistan since Wednesday. Pakistani security forces shot dead 12 suspected tribal militants on Wednesday after a roadside bomb blast killed three soldiers, a government official said. The incidents near the Pirkoh gasfield, about 400 kilometres southeast of Quetta, were the bloodiest for months to rock the increasingly volatile province.
The three paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) soldiers died and three were wounded when their vehicle carrying food for the gasfield was hit by a remote controlled bomb, District Coordination Officer Abdul Samad Lasi said. Shortly afterwards dozens of armed insurgents attacked the gasfield, which is near Dera Bugti, and soldiers retaliated, killing 12 miscreants, Lasi said. However, the Jamhoori Watan Party rejected the governmentâs account of the incident. Party secretary general Agha Shahid Bugti denied that any tribesmen were killed in the clash, saying that 12 civilians who were arrested after the blast in Pirkoh were âlater killed in the custody of the paramilitary forcesâ.
He said 16 civilians also died in shelling and rocket attacks by paramilitary forces late on Tuesday in Dera Bugti town and Loti area. Separately, a rocket fired by suspected tribal militants struck a camp housing soldiers at Margat Indus, a coal mining area about 75 kilometres east of Quetta, killing three, security officials said on Friday. Pakistani military officials were not immediately available for comment. The BLA claimed responsibility for the attack.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/14/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Pakis blame India for Balochi resistance to Punjabi occupation and terror. I would point the finger at Iran, because they have close relations with India, and treat the Pigistan terrorist entity as a Sunni tool of the Sauds. The revolt will probably stay low-key.
Pakistan says it is investigating US media reports that Al Qaeda deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahiri may have died in a US air strike on a village near the Afghan border. Pakistani Information Minister Sheikh Rashid has not confirmed details of the attack, or whether Al Qaeda's number two was the target. The US television network ABC has quoted Pakistani military sources as saying five of a reported 18 people killed were suspected senior Al Qaeda members. Earlier, residents of the tribal region of Bajaur and local security officials said at least 14 people were killed in what they believe was a missile attack launched from Afghanistan.
I'm not going to get my hopes up too much at this stage, but it's obvious he was the target, and the thought of getting five Qaeda bigs makes my little heart go pitty-pat. It's interesting to compare this to the original Pak Daily Times story, where the carnage was limited to sweet little old granny ladies who baked cookies, kiddies, fuzzy puppies, and baby ducks.
PESHAWAR: Eighteen people, mostly women and children, were killed on Friday morning as missiles allegedly fired by US aircraft hit three houses in Bajaur Agency near the Afghan border. Two wounded women were admitted to a hospital in Khar, the Bajaur Agency headquarters. They were said to be in serious condition.
No mention of any Qaeda bigs, or even adult males...
âThe killings occurred in my neighbourhood. Eighteen people, most of whom were women and children, were killed and buried in a mass grave,â Bajaur Agency Member of National Assembly (MNA) Haroon Rashid said.
The local pols rush forth to denounce the attack. Haroon al-Rashid (that's gotta be an alias), living in the neighborhood as he does, can be expected to be aware of any foreigners or other tough guys wandering around, so if it turns out Ayman is one of the corpses, or even just that five of the corpses are high-ranking al-Qaeda figures, he's branded as a liar and as a traitor to his country...
Three houses were targeted in the attack in Damadola village, 30 kilometres north of Khar, in Mamoond tehsil at 3:00am.
Everyone should be expected to be snuggy-bye at 3 a.m...
The houses were 50 kilometres from the Afghan border overlooking Kunar province, a hotbed of anti-US insurgency.
... and often stated to be the current stomping grounds of Binny and/or Ayman...
Local administration official Abdul Qayyum said it was unclear what had actually happened.
Sounds like the place was rocketed. What do you think, Abdul?
A fact-finding team was being dispatched to the area to investigate the incident, he said. Federal Information Minister Sheikh Rashid said: âOur agencies have not yet clarified exactly what happened.â US forces in Afghanistan killed eight tribesmen in a similar attack on January 8 in the Saidgai border village.
Now, why would they do something like that?
Local residents said that two of the six children killed were six years old.
The baby ducks were freshly hatched, and the fluffy bunnies barely weaned...
âThe limbs of the dead were scattered all over the place,â said Lateef Khan, a local resident.
They didn't use the little rockets, huh?
The Bajaur Agency MNA said that if the government had not carried out the strikes, US forces in Afghanistan are the only possible explanation. âTwo US spy planes have been spotted over the village for the last three days,â he said.
That's a bad sign. If Ayman heard about the spy planes, you know he beat feet before the second one showed up...
However, the federal information minister rejected US involvement in the killings. âAmerican planes did not carry out the strikes. There was an explosion, and that may have caused the casualties,â he said.
That's 'cuz we'd never violate Pak sovreignty, since they'd never harbor our sworn enemies on their territory...
Masood Khan, whose house was among those bombed and whose family was killed in the attack, said that he was asleep when he suddenly heard a loud explosion. Khan denied having any links with Al Qaeda or any banned militant organisation. âWe have nothing to do with these groups,â he said. âWe are innocent. We have been treated unjustly, and leave it to God to do justice.â
"We are innocent, but well-armed, hill folk!"
The attack generated anger among the tribesmen, and MNA Rashid asked the people to attend a protest meeting organised by Jamaat-e-Islami on Saturday to condemn âthe uncalled-for aggressionâ.
If Ayman was there, it was called-for. Yet another case of the Jamaat jumping to the defense of the hard boyz, but we're used to that.
A security official said that wanted Al Qaeda suspect Maulana Faqir Muhammadâs house is located 10 kilometres from the site of the strikes.
I don't think that's what they were shooting for...
An airstrike in a remote Pakistani tribal area killed at least 17 people, and a senior Pakistani official said Saturday the target was a suspected al-Qaida hideout that may have been frequented by high-level operatives, possibly the No. 2 leader Ayman al-Zawahri. Citing unnamed American intelligence officials, U.S. networks reported that it was a CIA strike and that al-Zawahri, Osama bin Laden's lieutenant, could have been at a targeted compound in the Bajur area or about to arrive.
There was no confirmation from either the Pakistani or U.S. government, but a senior Pakistani government official told The Associated Press that "there is 50-50 chance that some al-Qaida personality was at the home" that was hit early Friday in the border village of Damadola, about 125 miles northwest of the capital Islamabad. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said Saturday that he had heard that the al-Qaida figure may have been al-Zawahri and that the information would be clearer later Saturday. ABC quoted anonymous Pakistani military sources as saying he could have been among five top al-Qaida officials believed killed. A senior Pakistani intelligence official told AP that the remains of some bodies were removed after the strike and DNA tests were being conducted, but would not say by whom.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/14/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
It's actually amazing, and I have to consciously shake off the automatic Western-think mode to do it, but weren't any of the mooks in PakiWakiLand watching when their treasured ISI creation, the Taliban, were summarily toppled with minimal US forces and without breaking a sweat? Hell, the whole process was slowed down to make it a Northern Alliance thingy.
Geez. The CogDis problem is remarkable - even in fuckwit-think mode.
The "alliance of convenience" with Pervy hasn't long to run, methinks. I'll be happier when that mud is removed from the water and we are rid of (yet another) State Dept stripey-pants obligation.
#2
Hope we had a valid FISA warrant before tracking Zawahiri just in case he called somebody in the US.
It's not looking as good as earlier today. The AP story is down to a 50% chance and Fred makes a good point that Z would have fled if Predators were buzzing around earlier.
#4
I'd say another strike on the Jammaat protest party is called for. Sure to be some unwanteds there or just a collection of assholes that would be better off taking dirt naps anyway...
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/14/2006 0:35 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Rooters has more that the ABC AU story. The locals admit to hosting a few visitors to celebrate Eid al-Adha.
#6
well, even if he did get away, as they always seem to do, I'm hoping that zawahiri has gone to hide in the same place that binny and zarqawi went....in that hiding place that's really, really, really deep.... so deep that we never hear from them again.
#11
With such a big target why not a bigger bomb.
The area targeted does not even abide by international law. It's us or them. Until the world turns were still the big man on the block so it's time for a MOAB. Fuck'em!!
#12
Oh, sinner man, where you gonna run to
Oh, sinner man, where you gonna run to
Oh, sinner man, where you gonna run to
All on that day
Run to the rock, rock was a meltin'
Run to the sea, sea was a boilin'
Run to the moon, moon was a bleedin'
Run to the Lord, Lord won't you hide me?
Lord said "Sinner man, you shoulda been a prayin'"
Oh, sinner man, where you gonna run to
Oh, sinner man, where you gonna run to
Oh, sinner man, where you gonna run to
All on that day?
#14
The US should let Aljazeera show the hellfire hit, like the Yasin assassination by Israel. Brains cooking in his own lap, while gazing wide eyed into astonishment! Al-Zawahiri would only be flattered flattened!
#15
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060114/ap_on_re_as/pakistan_al_qaida_attack
al-Qaida Leader Not at Site of Airstrike By RIAZ KHAN, Associated Press Writer
10 minutes ago
DAMADOLA, Pakistan - Al-Qaida's second-in-command was not at the site of a U.S. airstrike on a Pakistan village near the Afghan border that killed at least 17 people, two senior Pakistani officials said Saturday.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, said that Pakistan's own investigation concluded that Ayman al-Zawahri was not in the village of Damadola.
"Their information was wrong, and our investigations conclude that they acted on a false information," said a senior intelligence official who has direct knowledge of the investigations launched by Pakistan to look into the attacks.
Separately, a senior government official told AP that al-Zawahri was not present at the homes which were attacked.
"He was not there, and this is what we know after a detailed probe" into the incident, he said.
Pakistan's government was expected to formally issue its reaction on the attack later Saturday.
#17
The key to this war is not getting the man at the top -- visionaries aren't hard to find. Key is removing those capable of organizing the execution of that vision, so that the top man is isolated and alone, and the cannon fodder mill aimlessly and ineffectively until they are arrested, killed, or wander back home in disgrace. The West (not just the U.S.) has been doing a wonderful job of taking out that layer of management (who is #3 these days in Iraq? in Fallujah? etc).
I would be very satisfied if only five [unknown to me] senior A.Q. men had been killed in this particular raid. There are few worse hells for a go-get'em kind of guy like Zawahiri than to be hiding in the goat shed of the Tribal village idiot, with no wives and children to wait on his very word, and no clever lieutenants to execute his clever ideas. Let's keep shooting missiles at A.Q. conventions, and never mind only aiming for the Alpha male. Besides, there should be a high cost for even associating with these men. Darwin effect, wiping out the entire line of descent, sounds about right to me.
#19
Masood Khan, whose house was among those bombed and whose family was killed in the attack, said that he was asleep when he suddenly heard a loud explosion.
And just why was he "Sleeping" somewhere else than home?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/14/2006 19:58 Comments ||
Top||
A BRITISH journalist in Iraq was held captive for five days in December before being freed by US troops during a chance raid on an insurgent hideout, his newspaper employer reported today.
English-language UAE daily Emirates Today said its correspondent Phil Sands, 28, was kidnapped by unknown gunmen on December 26 from a Baghdad neighbourhood as he travelled with a local driver and interpreter. He was freed five days later when American military by chance stormed a hideout where he was held, the newspaper added in a front-page report, quoting US military and Sands himself.
"This is frankly an amazing case. We were conducting raids on 'safe houses' when we discovered Mr Sands," US military Central Command spokesman Captain Eric Clarke was quoted as saying. "Nobody ever knew he was missing."
Sands said the US soldiers "who were not there to rescue" him found him blindfolded and handcuffed. "I am so lucky to be alive and cannot wait to see mum, dad and the rest of my family," Sands, who is originally from Dorset, southern England, said following his arrival in Dubai.
#2
Let's see how his reporting of the event slants. I hope he gives the troops the credit they deserve and does not start with the typical slanted reporting.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
01/14/2006 11:20 Comments ||
Top||
#5
#2 Let's see how his reporting of the event slants. I hope he gives the troops the credit they deserve and does not start with the typical slanted reporting.
Posted by 49 Pan 2006-01-14 11:20
Right on 49 Pan: Let's hope this one doesn't turn out to be an ingrate like that Italian commie whore that was "rescued" in Iraq.
Two pilots were killed when a US military helicopter crashed after being reported lost on Friday near the Iraqi city of Mosul, with a top US commander saying that indications pointed to hostile fire as the cause. "Two pilots were killed on Friday when their Oh-58D Kiowa helicopter went down in the city of Mosul ... The aircrew members were recovered from the aircraft," a statement by the US military said. "The indicators are that (the helicopter crash) was due to hostile fire," said Lieutenant General John Vines, commander of the US-led multinational force in Iraq. Vines, who spoke via video link from Baghdad to reporters at the Pentagon, said that he had no further information on the incident.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/14/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
I wonder who has stepped up to the plate in this shithole to cover for Duece-Four's rotation back to The World...
Mosul needs a thorough 100% cordon - search - kill regemin... Too many good people lost there - same as with all of the fucking Sunni Triangle...
Nah, fuck it - rather than the Fallujah Treatment, god-damnit, I want smoking holes. Great big gigantic yawning smoking holes. Fuck this noise. Waste a couple of these shitholes, and just as the weather determined which Japanese cities were used as demonstrations of why they should surrender, toss the dice to choose the target(s). The rest will finally get the message they did NOT get during the initial phase of this conflict. You wanna harbor assholes? You can't drop a dime on 'em? Fine, then you get The Treatment. Fuck you. And your Family. And your Clan. And your Tribe. E-fucking-nuff, already. Rinse and Repeat.
Never met a Sunni village, town, or city worth ONE US Soldier. And yeah, I know Sunni and Shi'a both. Grrrr, this pisses me off far beyond my ability to express it.
---
Thank You for your service and sacrifice. Would that we pulled off the gloves - and you were the last.
#3
Again, very sad, though they certainly know and accepted the risk; my condoleances to their families, and praise theses fallen pilots, as well as all the US troops and iraqi friendlies before.
JERUSALEM (AP) - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's failure to wake up from a coma nine days after suffering a massive stroke does not bode well for his recovery, some doctors said Friday. Sharon, 77, remained in "critical but stable" condition Friday, showing no change from the previous day, said Hadassah Hospital spokesman Ron Krumer.
Israel's Channel 10 TV and Army Radio cited Hadassah officials as saying they were worried Sharon has shown no signs of awakening, even though doctors have begun weaning him off heavy sedatives used to keep his blood pressure in check and give his brain time to heal.
However, Krumer and outside experts cautioned it's too early to make conclusions about Sharon's long-term prospects. He's still receiving minimal amounts of sedatives, Krumer said, adding, "The period of time it takes a patient to wake up from such a condition after undergoing such an event differs from one patient to another."
Although doctors induced a coma, the condition may also be due to the Jan. 4 stroke itself.
Channel 1 TV cited one of Sharon's neurosurgeons, Dr. Felix Umansky, as saying he was optimistic Sharon would emerge from his coma within 10 days.
But several outside experts said the prognosis looked poor. "People can often wake up over a period of weeks and months but if they wake up faster obviously it bodes better," said Dr. Howard Riina, professor of neurological surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York. "The fact that he's not completely awake at this point does not bode well for a good neurologic recovery."
Dr. Nick Ward, a neurologist at London's University College, was more blunt. "It's a bad prognostic indicator," he said. "He's not going to get back to normal, that's for sure."
He's more likely to be correct. This is bad news.
Maurizio Miglietta, chief of Trauma and Critical Care at NYU Medical Center, said cerebral bleeding in the wake of Sharon's stroke means that "he's not the average stroke patient." A longer coma is probably to be expected, he said. "Neurosurgical patients sometimes don't wake up for a week or even two weeks afterwards," Miglietta said. "It's not uncommon."
A brain scan on Thursday showed the remnants of blood in his brain have been absorbed, the hospital said. In response, doctors removed a tube they had inserted into his skull to relieve pressure on his brain. The longer it takes for Sharon to regain consciousness, however, the greater the concern about extensive brain damage.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/14/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
Attackers have thrown a grenade into the compound of truce monitors in Sri Lanka's violence-scarred east, damaging vehicles and a building but causing no injuries, officials say. The attack came early on Saturday just hours after the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) reprimanded both Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam separatists and the government over a spike in violence. It was the first attack against the monitors since a 2002 ceasefire halted a two-decade civil war.
The bomb ripped through a car belonging to Scandinavian truce monitors, but there were no casualties, police said. The pickup truck of the Norwegian-led Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) was parked in their own premises in the town of Batticaloa, 300km east of Colombo, when the bomb went off, police said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/14/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
said Friday it was "premature" to speak of sanctions against Iran for resuming sensitive nuclear activities.
"The question of sanctions is premature," foreign ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei said. Instead it was necessary to "proceed step by step" after Thursday's meeting of the French, German and British foreign ministers in Berlin.
The European group of three called for an extraordinary meeting of the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to refer Iran to the UN Security Council.
Paris would "continue consultations" with Russia, China and its European partners on the issue, the spokesman said. Officials from the European Union, United States, China and Russia will meet over the Iran nuclear crisis in London on Monday, a European diplomat said Friday in Vienna. They are expected to decide when to hold the extraordinary meeting of the IAEA board of directors, according to the diplomat.
Iran's standoff with the international community escalated Tuesday after it resumed sensitive nuclear research linked to uranium enrichment, which produces fuel for nuclear power reactors but can also be used to make atomic bombs.
On Wednesday Tehran warned that reference of its programme to the UN Security Council could force it to cut off contact with the EU group of three, who have been leading negotiations over Iran's atomic programme since 2004.
"If the dossier is sent to the Security Council, the European countries will lose the means which are currently at their disposal, because... the government will be obliged, in conformity with the law adopted by parliament, to end all its voluntary measures of cooperation," Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said consensus was growing among the international community for action but that the military option was not being considered.
not by you, maybe ...
"I think in current circumstances it would not be conceivable, it would not be appropriate," he said. "Iran is not Iraq, we're working with the international community to resolve this in a peaceful and diplomatic manner."
true enough, they're not -- they look to be further along in actually having nuclear-tipped missiles
Russia, which has been trying to reach a compromise with Iran on uranium enrichment by carrying out the process on its soil, again urged Tehran to resume a moratorium on nuclear research and cooperate with the IAEA.
#1
"If the dossier is sent to the Security Council, the European countries will lose the means which are currently at their disposal..."
Ahhhem! Pardon me, but how is this a European matter anyway? Iran is threatening Israel and The Great Satan. What's really going on here is that these European stooges are dragging this out to curry favor with Iran for trade purposes. Take their copies of the dossier and shove them where the sun doesn't shine.
#5
time for Condi to show the links between the French, Russians, and Germans all helping Iran develope the Nuclear plants. Then she announces the US has frozen the funds of the French companies and individuals who did this. I'm dreaming, of course.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
01/14/2006 20:55 Comments ||
Top||
#6
As the saying goes, 'Dhimmies will be dhimmies'. And there's no better dhimmi than a peace loving Frankish dhimmi (formerly of the Crusades, but now just spineless save-us-from-the-Jihad appeasers).
And btw Mr. Chirac your jizyah payment is 2 weeks past due.
#10
"formerly of the Crusades"
You mean as in the famous Third Crusade, with Philip carrying his quarrels with Richard along, and eventually taking his army and going home?
Politics back home still seems to bedevil work in the Mideast. . .
Posted by: James ||
01/14/2006 23:00 Comments ||
Top||
#11
I am not suprised. Chirac/France and Merkel/Germany are first whores. What do you expect for a lepoard to change it's spots?
#12
I am not suprised. Chirac/France and Merkel/Germany are first whores. What do you expect for a lepoard to change it's spots?
Right. The only thing I'm surprised about is that anyone actually believed the EUnuchs were really serious this time. I'm certain Bush didn't believe it.
#13
You know I donât mind that we have to be the big stick of the world. I do mind that France, Germany, and EU seem to think the command us. France should try keeping the peace within its own borders before it try to act like a world diplomat. Although I donât like the idea of bombing Iran (because it might strengthen the mullahs) it may become necessary to do so it the interest of peace and security. Also itâs real hard to trust a government that start each morning in a mosque by chanting: â Death to America!â
#15
Ok maybe I've had one too many beers, but the more! I see EU leadership, the more it reminds me of the old midget wrestling I used to see on tv. Jack, wudda maroon!!
#16
Ok maybe I've had one too many beers, but the more! I see EU leadership, the more it reminds me of the old midget wrestling I used to see on tv. Jack, wudda maroon!!
BEIRUT - Lebanese security forces have arrested 13 suspected members of Al Qaeda on charges of weapons possession, security and judiciary sources said on Friday.
They said investigations were underway to determine whether the suspects -- seven Syrians, three Lebanese, one Saudi, one Jordanian with Lebanese nationality and one Palestinian -- had carried out or were planning to launch attacks. The arrests are believed to have taken place some two weeks ago, the sources said.
Al Qaeda has rarely launched attacks in Lebanon, although it has used allied factions to recruit scores of volunteers among Lebanese and Palestinian refugees who went to Iraq to fight. One of the Al Qaeda hijackers in the September 11 attacks in the United States was a Lebanese national.
A foiled attempt to bomb the Italian embassy in Beirut in 2004 was blamed on a small militant group with links to Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda in Iraq has claimed responsibility for firing three Katyusha rockets from south Lebanon into northern Israel on December 27. There has been no independent confirmation that the Sunni Muslim militant group was behind that attack.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/14/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
[A.Q.] has used allied factions to recruit scores of volunteers among Lebanese and Palestinian refugees who went to Iraq to fight
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.
A Muslim cleric accused in Britain of incitement to murder praised Adolf Hitler and called for Jews to be destroyed in a videotaped sermon shown at his trial Friday. Egyptian-born 
Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in the al Qaeda terrorist network -- was not killed in a CIA airstrike on a remote Pakistani village, according a Pakistani intelligence source.
Eighteen people including 12 suspected tribal militants and six security personnel have been killed in violence-wracked Balochistan since Wednesday. Pakistani security forces shot dead 12 suspected tribal militants on Wednesday after a roadside bomb blast killed three soldiers, a government official said. The incidents near the Pirkoh gasfield, about 400 kilometres southeast of Quetta, were the bloodiest for months to rock the increasingly volatile province.
Pakistan says it is investigating US media reports that Al Qaeda deputy leader 
PESHAWAR: Eighteen people, mostly women and children, were killed on Friday morning as missiles allegedly fired by US aircraft hit three houses in Bajaur Agency near the Afghan border. Two wounded women were admitted to a hospital in Khar, the Bajaur Agency headquarters. They were said to be in serious condition.
Two pilots were killed when a US military helicopter crashed after being reported lost on Friday near the Iraqi city of Mosul, with a top US commander saying that indications pointed to hostile fire as the cause. "Two pilots were killed on Friday when their Oh-58D Kiowa helicopter went down in the city of Mosul ... The aircrew members were recovered from the aircraft," a statement by the US military said. "The indicators are that (the helicopter crash) was due to hostile fire," said Lieutenant General John Vines, commander of the US-led multinational force in Iraq. Vines, who spoke via video link from Baghdad to reporters at the Pentagon, said that he had no further information on the incident.
JERUSALEM (AP) - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's failure to wake up from a coma nine days after suffering a massive stroke does not bode well for his recovery, some doctors said Friday. Sharon, 77, remained in "critical but stable" condition Friday, showing no change from the previous day, said Hadassah Hospital spokesman Ron Krumer.
Attackers have thrown a grenade into the compound of truce monitors in Sri Lanka's violence-scarred east, damaging vehicles and a building but causing no injuries, officials say. The attack came early on Saturday just hours after the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) reprimanded both Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam separatists and the government over a spike in violence. It was the first attack against the monitors since a 2002 ceasefire halted a two-decade civil war.
