A suicide bomber killed 13 people and wounded 13 on Tuesday when he set off explosives outside police headquarters in Kandahar, a government spokesman said. A Taliban spokesman, Qari Mohammad Yousuf, claimed responsibility on behalf of the group, saying that the bomber came from Kandahar. "The Taliban did this suicide attack. We will pursue these kind of attacks against government or coalition forces," he told Reuters and the AP in a phone call from an undisclosed location about an hour after the bombing. Yousaf has claimed previous attacks on behalf of the Taliban but his exact ties to the militia's leadership are unclear.
"Thirteen people were killed and 11 wounded. Ten of the dead and five of the wounded were police," an Interior Ministry official said. Some of the wounded were in a critical condition, officials said. The attacker drove a "motorbike straight into the guard post and then there was an enormous explosion," said Jan Mohammed, a senior police officer at the scene.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2006 00:00 ||
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Armed men have stolen 20 trucks carrying aid in Sudan's troubled Darfur region, the World Food Programme has said. Christiane Berthiaume, spokeswoman for the UN agency, on Tuesday said the attacks on several convoys took place in recent weeks in zones controlled by Darfur's rebels. "The roads are dangerous. Every day, trucks get attacked, their cargoes are stolen and their drivers are kidnapped," Berthiaume told journalists. Security problems are putting the WFP's operations in Darfur at risk, she added.
Some 2.7 million people in the region rely on food aid from the WFP, and the agency is finding it increasingly difficult to recruit drivers because of the violence. That is raising fears that it will be unable to deliver enough supplies before the rainy season starts in April, turning the region's roads into a quagmire, Berthiaume said. Despite pressing Sudan's governments and Darfur's rebels, the WFP has received no guarantees that its convoys will be safe, she said. Sudanese authorities blamed the abduction on the rebels.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
before the rainy season starts in April, turning the region's roads into a quagmire
#2
I say there, in the back, Leftenant... how many lorries was it again please? Sir! 20 sir, yes, 20 it was sir. Thank you Leftenant, you may sit down. Yes indeed gentlemen, Darfurtrkn B. Hard
#4
Deploy release mechanisms similar to the dye packages that banks use for tainting holdup money. Place these devices inside the bags of food aid. If the food is removed from the transporting staff's physical presence, proximity detectors are defeated and poison is released into the foodstuffs.
Somehow, we need a way of making sure that whenever food aid is diverted or stolen it becomes a fatal last supper for the thieves who took it.
In the wake of the escape of 23 al-Qaeda prisoners from the prison of the Yemen Political Security Organization, security forces here launched a large-scale arrest campaign that included round 200 persons from relatives of the escapees. Security forces arrest campaign is part of investigation in the escape incident which the U.S. State Department described as a disappointing development, emphasizing that America would work with Yemeni officials and its international partners in the manhunt of those dangerous terrorists.
Yeah. I think I'd call it a "disappointing development" if I worked for the State Department. They're not allowed to call it a "fuck up."
Head of the specialized punitive prosecution Saeed al-Aqil is undertaking interrogation with the detainees after he has listened to testimonies of chief of the Political Security Ghalib al-Qamash and deputy of the Political Security Organization Rajih Hunaish and Imam of the mosque Riyadh al-Ghaili whom the security arrested for three days. He as also listened to testimony of Judge Hamoud al-Hattar, chairman of the Ideological Dialogue with those accused of extremism, who is also preacher of the same mosque.
Kind of raises the question of who was convincing whom, doesn't it? So we've got a 300 yard tunnel from the mosque to the jug, a holy man, and a judge. The prescription on my glasses has about run out, but I think I can still make out what happened.
Eyewitnesses have told NewsYemen that the escape operation was carried out through a small tunnel dug from inside their cell in the Security prison ending up to bathrooms in the women mosque, part of Al-Awqaf mosque to the south of the wall of Political Security building.
Pretty dead-on navigation for cutting through 300 yards of dirt. And I notice there's no mention of tunneling from the mosque to the jail house.
NewsYemen also learnt that the prisoner running away was discovered by the person who is used to clean those bathrooms of the mosque on Fridays.
"Hooo, boy! This place is even filthier than usual!... Hmmm. What's this? A six foot wall of dirt behind the crapper?... And a hole... Wonder where it goes?"
He had found out a hole inside one of the bathrooms and reported that to the Imam of the mosque who in turn informed the security.
"No!... Reeeeeally? A six-foot wall of dirt behind the crapper, y'say?"
"Yeah, your holiness!"
"Well, we must notify the proper authorities immediately!"
At that time he did not know that the hole was used for the escape of prisoners, some of whom were sentenced to death for explosion of the American warship Cole and the French super oil tanker Limburg.
"We thought God had given us a new root cellar because we're so devout!"
According to sources specially informing NewsYemen, reports on gathering evidence have indicated preliminary estimates that digging inside a big prison cell, where 23 prisoners were held, to the mosque bathrooms took them about two months, adding that the prisoners had more than two months before attacked an officer and soldier from the Political Security when they tried to enter their prison ward.
So the guards didn't enter that part of the prison for two entire months, because the prisoners hollered and made faces at them? I've got a pretty good idea who's in charge in that calaboose.
The officer and he soldier wanted to calm down the prisoners chanting of slogans resounding in the prison divisions. It seemed those chanting of slogans were used as a cover to distract attention from digging operation.
"Hey hey! Ho ho! This load of dirt has got to go!"
Unverified information mentioned that the fugitives left behind a letter threatening with future operations to release the remaining prisoners. According to investigation sources, there were previous reports received by the prisons outside guards pointing out to hearing sounds of digging at unknown places and intermittent times.
"We thought we had termites something awful. Wotta relief."
The southern wall of the Political Security building is about 40 meters away from the prison ward where the tunnel was dug. There is a 12-meter dead-end street separating between the woman mosque and the southern wall. The dead-end street is under an around the clock watch of security soldiers. The tunnel is about 60 meters long and 4 meters deep would only allow creeping inside it.
That would imply it's under the road, which is prob'ly why they called it a "tunnel" and not a "foot bridge," so the bulls could stare at the road continuously and wouldn't notice anything but a bit of noise now and then. That'd be drowned out by the caterwauling from the mosque.
NewsYemen has also learned that some political security members have expressed to investigators their anger for holding the responsibility of protecting convicted prisoners despite that their establishment is for investigation rather than a punitive one. The prosecution has earlier refused a request by judiciary for transferring Al-Rabeeie, Al-Badawi and other convicted to the Central Prison. Members of political security have said if the convicted prisoners were transferred to a general prison they would have been watched easily.
But the judge was busy trying to... ahem... talk them out of their evil ways. So he left them in the local lockup. The one near the mosque where he preaches.
Higher leaderships are expected to visit the building of the Political Security. A source at the American embassy in Sanaa who refused to identify himself, told NewsYemen that the US embassy may issue a press release on the incident if it found that necessary. Immediately after announcement of the 23 al-Qaeda operatives escape last Friday, the American embassy warned its citizens outside Yemen against unnecessary travel to Yemen and stressed on those inside Yemen to be very careful. The sources confirmed they have no information on certain threats against the Americans and preferred not to talk about the escape operation and would wait for official explanations.
"We don't wanna talk about it."
American FBI said it was closely following up the situation after the escape of the 23 most dangerous al-Qaeda operatives from the Political Security prison in Yemen. The special investigator Richard Kolco said in Washington that while they were closely watching the situation, they would work with their local and international partners to hunt down those dangerous terrorists. Meanwhile the Interpol issued an urgent warning indicating that the fugitives posed a danger to various countries. In response to the Interpol warning the Yemeni interior ministry distributed picture of the escapees.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
The solution is obvious. In the future prisoners will be interrogated until wrung dry and then summarily executed. Very few dead prisoners escape, at least not muslim ones.
#4
He as also listened to testimony of Judge Hamoud al-Hattar, chairman of the Ideological Dialogue with those accused of extremism, who is also preacher of the same mosque.
Waitafrickingminnit.
The guy in charge of trying to talk the terrs out of their unIslamic ways was a preacher at the mosque at the other end of the escape tunnel?
Do I have that right?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
02/08/2006 10:43 Comments ||
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#5
Methinks Yemen just lost an awful lot of "ally in the WOT" brownie points. This stuff doesnt even happen in Pakistan.
#6
After the People's Republic of Yemen (Aden) fell to the Egyptian supported (north) Yemen (Sanaa) forces I have found it a bit confusing to understand the current government and stucture (if any).
#7
I had thought that one was a communist totalitarian regime, city-based, while the other was an Islamic totalitarian regime, somehow involving desert tribes and lots of chewing of the narcotic khat leaves. That was as much as I was willing to learn after Mr. Wife turned down a proferred assignment there -- one the times he was very pleased to be able to say, "I'm afraid I can't even consider that. Jewish wife, y'know." We do come in handy sometimes. ;-
)
Posted by: bk ||
02/08/2006 13:02 Comments ||
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#10
Fox is reporting one of the escapees is one of the group associated with the Lackawanna Six. Zark's American relative was also very familiar with the States, living in MN, NC, and UT, which means their reach may be longer than we had hoped. Starting with the relatives is the place to start. Hope they are rounded up before they get to us, as a US target is probably next.
The Specialist penal court began trying 14 suspects accused of forming an armed gang and targeting Yemeni security and military sites as well as western interests in Yemen. In the session headed by Judge Mohamed Al-Baadani, prosecution read its findings. It accused the suspects of forming an armed gang to kidnap American nationals in Yemen and target military and security leaders as well. Prosecution charges affirmed that suspects noted foreigner gathering places at the Sheraton Taj Sheba Hotel and a Hadda residential complex.
Forging Civil Status stamps also was among charges. The forgery was meant to prepare identity cards for the accused to travel to Iraq to fight foreigners there. According to prosecution, six kilos of TNT were found with the suspects who intended to blow up security officials houses. Prosecution claims also revealed that between 2004 and 2005, the suspects surveyed residents on the whereabouts of American nationals. Prosecution revealed that the accused confessed to renting a house and buying a computer to forge IDs. Most suspects denied the allegations, saying they forged the IDs to go Iraq to fight Americans there. Suspect Ali Sufian assured that he gathered the youth for Jihad in Iraq and did not think of targeting Americans in Yemen.
"No, no! Certainly not!"
Suspect Faisal Abdulaziz Al-Fotaini, 30, confessed that he prepared an explosive belt to blow up security premises in February 2004. Suspect Mohamed Ali Haida confessed that he forged Civil Status stamps to make IDs for some suspects to go Iraq. Suspect Mohamed Qaid confessed to preparing a remote control electrical circuit for detonation, however it failed to operate. Suspect Adnan Abdulkareem also admitted preparing a detonation device for use in Iraq. Suspect Hamid Radman noted that he went to security offices when they summoned him and has been detained ever since.
The court adjourned until next Saturday to enable some suspects to authorize lawyers to stand on their behalf. Other suspects were allowed to make photocopies to submit their plea. Security arrested the 14 suspects May 9, 2005 south of Sanaa in Shomila. They were found with weapons, explosives and explosive belts, together with plans to conduct terror operations by attacking residential complexes occupied by foreigners and security personnel. They were about to carry out their plans when they were detained. Security said the cell was led by a Mohamed Sofian Al-Amari.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
We're not going to target Americans in Yemen, we're going to target Americans in Iraq.
Bangladesh announced the arrest on Tuesday of nine members of a militant Islamic group blamed for a series of deadly blasts. Four regional commanders and five militants belonging to Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) were detained in northern Syedpur, spokesman for the anti-terrorist Rapid Action Battalion, Mashuk Ahmed, said. He added that 20 kilograms of explosives and 84 detonators were seized in the overnight raids.
Police blame the outlawed group for 434 synchronised blasts across the country last August and suicide bombings in urban centres that have killed 28 people including four suicide bombers, and injured hundreds. JMB leaflets calling for strict Islamic law were found at blast sites. Bangladesh, the world's third largest Muslim-majority nation, has pledged to defend the country's secular system against Islamic militantism. Four lawyers and two judges were among those killed in the blasts which have targeted the judiciary.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2006 00:00 ||
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RAB admits 9 to the 12 step program. News at 0214.
The bodies of three soldiers killed while on duty in Iraq were flown back into the country on Wednesday.
A repatriation ceremony took place at RAF Brize Norton, Oxon, for L/Cpl Allan Douglas, 22, Cpl Gordon Pritchard, 31 and Trooper Carl Smith, 23,
The three were the 99th, 100th and 101st UK servicemen to die since the Iraq war began. Defence Secretary John Reid has said the time is approaching" when coalition forces "can begin leaving Iraq". Mr Reid said there could be "significantly fewer" UK troops there by next year.
Trooper Smith, from Kettering, Northants, killed in a road traffic accident in Abu al Khasib, had only been on duty in Iraq for 11 days. The soldier - who has a three-year-old son, Lewis - had joined the forces at the age of 22 and had been in Iraq since 23 January, serving with the 9th/12th Lancers.
Cpl Gordon Pritchard and L/Cpl Allan Douglas (from l - r)
It was not yet clear whether the accident was caused by a collision with another vehicle. On 30 January, Lance Corporal Douglas, from Aberdeen and a member of 1st Battalion The Highlanders, was shot dead after coming under small-arms fire on patrol in the Maysan province.
His father, Walter, 54, said his son's funeral was likely to take place next Monday in Aberdeen. The following day Cpl Pritchard became the 100th member of the British armed forces to die since the Iraq war began.
The married father of three from Edinburgh was killed when the Land Rover he was travelling in was blasted by a roadside bomb in Um Qasr. He died instantly and three other soldiers were injured, one seriously.
We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire...Give us the tools and we will finish the job.
Sir Winston Churchill, BBC radio broadcast, Feb 9, 1941
British politician (1874 - 1965)
#1
We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
02/08/2006 15:58 Comments ||
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#2
Another Churchill q btw.. NIce one Bes.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
02/08/2006 15:59 Comments ||
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No problems Howard. At happier times I've spent a few nights at Brize Norton myself. Milk and biscuits from the naffie were always a treat. Friendly folks back then, I'm sure they still are.
#4
Blessings on them and their families. And may their children live such lives as to bring their families as much justified pride as their fathers have done.
NEW YORK - A terror informant arrested in 2004 identified one of the London transit system suicide bombers as a possible threat, according to U.S. officials who said the tip was too vague to foil last year's deadly attack. The FBI passed on the warning about Mohammed Sidique Khan to British authorities before the July 7 bombings, two U.S. law enforcement officials based in New York said Tuesday. The informant, Mohammed Junaid Babar, identified Khan as a potential terrorist, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is based in Britain. However, they said, Babar offered no specific information about a plot targeting the transit system.
Khan and fellow bomber Shehzad Tanweer were briefly put under surveillance by Britain's MI5 security agency in 2004, but the operation was halted when security services decided the men did not pose any immediate threat. They were among four men who later blew up three subways and a double-decker bus, killing 52 commuters and themselves. Khan, a 30-year-old Briton of Pakistani descent, reportedly had traveled to Pakistan. In a videotape that surfaced after the bombings, he said he was inspired by al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
Babar, a U.S. citizen of Pakistani descent, has pleaded guilty to terrorism charges in federal court in Manhattan. In his plea agreement, he described traveling to the Pakistani province of Waziristan to supply cash and military equipment to al-Qaida and providing members of the Pakistani terror cell in London with material for fertilizer bombs. A scheme to blow up pubs, restaurants and train stations was foiled in March 2004, when British authorities arrested several suspects and seized 1,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate from a storage locker in London. Babar, who remains in custody in New York, is due in Britain later this month to give prosecution evidence at the trial of seven men charged in the plot.
Britain's Home Office and London's Metropolitan Police have refused to comment on Babar's claims about intelligence related to Khan, citing government policy not to discuss issues of security or intelligence. The British government is to publish at least part of a review of intelligence on the July 7 bombings after Home Secretary Charles Clarke called for a narrative of events leading to the bombings.
#1
If our media-political elites weren't pants pissing scared of Muslimutts, then more of those of that class who were lukewarm on the cult, might inform. Islam: WRITE IT OFF!!!
A LONDON-based arms dealer was caught by FBI agents trying to sell millions of dollars worth of weapons to a Colombian terror group, the Old Bailey was told. Syed Bukhari allegedly agreed to supply rocket launchers, machineguns and grenades to terrorists -- enough equipment to arm 1000 soldiers and bring down military jets.
But the 46-year-old from Hendon, North London, had unwittingly entered a deal with an undercover FBI agent calling himself David Sullivan. "He (Mr Sullivan) posed as an illegal arms trader," Julian Bevan, QC, told jurors at Monday's hearing. "He told Mr Bukhari he was acting as an agent for a terror group in Colombia." Mr Bevan said that the group -- FARC -- was recognised worldwide as a terror organisation.
The pair first met at a London hotel in December 2002. Mr Bevan said: "Mr Sullivan during the course of that meeting made it plain that he was an illegal arms trader, telling Bukhari that he relied on smuggling, false documentation and bribery to achieve his ends. "He indicated by implication that his clients were neither countries nor governments but persons in Mexico and South America with an emphasis on Colombia."
At that first meeting, Mr Bukhari is alleged to have shown an interest in what Mr Sullivan could supply him, including a "guided laser system" called Viper that pinpoints targets from a distance, as well as night-vision goggles. In addition Mr Sullivan claimed that he could offer a remote control system, known as Piccolo, which would allow an unmanned aircraft to launch missile strikes.
Turning to what he required, the FBI agent told Mr Bukhari that he was seeking surface-to-air missiles. "Bukhari's reaction to the request was that he would see what he could do to obtain this equipment," Mr Bevan said.
Between December 2002 and July 2004, Mr Bukhari arranged a shopping list of weapons to sell to Mr Sullivan, the court heard. Mr Bevan said: "The weapons that were to be supplied included no less than 200 surface-to-air missiles, sometimes called SA18s. "It was also part of the arrangement that he would supply rocket-propelled grenades sufficient to equip a battalion, approximately 900 to 1000 men, and no less than 900 AK47 rifles. The cost of the surface-to-air missiles would alone have exceeded pound stg. 21.6 million ($50.8 million)."
According to the prosecution, Mr Bukhari and his family are experienced arms dealers and had supplied surface-to-air missiles and helicopters worth pound stg. 50million to Pakistan.
Mr Bukhari denies entering into or being concerned in an arrangement where property is to be made available for the purposes of terrorism. The trial continues.
French police have seized a massive haul of heroin worth millions of euros, hidden in a lorry on its way from Turkey to the UK. Customs officials found more than 305kg of the drugs with a street value of 12m euros ($14.3m; £8.2m), when they searched the vehicle at Dunkirk.
A spokesman said it was the biggest haul seized in France since 1972. A 32-year-old Turkish man, who said the drugs had been planted in his lorry without him knowing, was arrested.
The drugs - white heroin, which is more expensive than brown heroin - had been hidden in sports bags. "This latest haul on its own represents more than three-quarters of the total quantity of heroin normally seized by customs in a year," customs officials said in a statement.
Nice nab Frenchies!
A military truck hit a land mine on a dirt road near the last Pakistani border town of near Angoor Adda, injuring two soldiers, a security official said on Tuesday. The soldiers were riding on a water tanker traveling to a stream to fetch water for their base when the land mine went off on Monday in South Waziristan, near the Afghan border, the official said. The two soldiers were shifted to a military hospital in Wana for treatment. However, their condition is not known. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2006 00:00 ||
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One man died in an explosion in the Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL), an army official said on Tuesday. Inter Services Public Relations Director General Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan said that one man was killed while handling explosive material at KRL. However, he refuted reports of terrorist involvement in the explosion. "It was a minor accident," he said. He said there was no other loss of life or property in the incident.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2006 00:00 ||
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QUETTA: Suspected tribal militants blew up a pipeline supplying gas to the Uch power plant near Dera Murad Jamali late on Monday night, forcing the foreign-owned plant to shut down This was the fourth attack on the pipeline of 24-inch diameter since January. The pipeline explosion blew up six feet of the pipeline at Chatthar town in Balochistan, local police officer Khalid Magsi told AFP.
A cop named Muggsy? Ohfergawdsake.
It cut the supply to the gas-fired Uch power plant, which had to close down. The plant is jointly owned by Tenaska Inc and GE Capital of the US and International Power Plc of Britain. He could not say how long repairs would take. Dera Bugti District Coordination Officer Abdul Samad Lasi said three bombs went off Tuesday at a state-run gas field in Loti, damaging pipelines linking gas wells to a purification plant.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2006 00:00 ||
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The fort of Nawab Akbar Bugti in Dera Bugti caught fire on Monday night as the last employees of the tribal chief vacated the building, a Bugti spokesman said. Dera Bugti District Coordination Officer Abdul Samad Lasi said that an arms and ammunition dump in the building had caught fire and security forces found three tribesmens bodies in the deserted fort. We recovered three bodies, all appeared to have been hit by splinters from exploded ammunition, he said. He said the Nawabs employees probably set fire to the ammunition dump before they fled the fort.
Asked how the fort had caught fire, tribal spokesman Shahid Bugti told a press conference at the Quetta Press Club that security forces had intensified attacks on the building in recent days, and mortars had hit five vehicles of Nawab Bugti. He denied that anybody had been killed. Lasi said security forces on Tuesday captured three suspected training bases used by the tribesmen and seized rocket launchers, rockets, bombs and AK-47 rifles. They also arrested two men as they were planting an anti-tank land mine on the road between Dera Bugti and Sui.
Bugti said at least 75 people, mostly women and children, and 62 security personnel have been killed in 38 days of military activity in Dera Bugti. The government has given no death toll on either side since it launched an operation in areas of Balochistan controlled by the Bugti and Marri tribes in December. The government says the sardars of these tribes run private militias which have repeatedly attacked government-owned infrastructure in the province and security officials, including a rocket attack on Gen Pervez Musharraf when he was visiting Kohlu on December 14 and an attack on the head of the Frontier Corps paramilitary force.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2006 00:00 ||
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The U.S. government wants an Iraqi court to handle criminal charges against a naturalized American citizen who is being held in Iraq on suspicion that he is a senior operative of insurgent leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The man's lawyers said he is innocent and likely to be tortured if he is handed over to the Iraqis.
The case is the first known instance in which the government has decided to allow an American to be tried in the new Iraqi legal system. At least four other U.S. citizens suspected of aiding the insurgency are being held in Iraq, the Pentagon has said.
Shawqi Omar, 44, who once served in the Minnesota National Guard, has been held since late 2004 in U.S.-run military prisons as an enemy combatant. He has not been charged with a crime or been given access to a lawyer, said Jonathan Hafetz, a lawyer representing Omar's family in the United States.
The government said Omar, who also holds Jordanian citizenship, was harboring an Iraqi insurgent and four Jordanian fighters at the time of his arrest and also had bomb-making materials. He is described in court papers as a relative of Zarqawi who was plotting to kidnap foreigners from Baghdad hotels.
Separately, Omar, Zarqawi and 11 others have been indicted by a Jordanian court on charges they plotted a chemical attack against Jordan's intelligence agency.
Omar's family said he is a businessman who was seeking reconstruction contracts in Iraq.
The family is asking a U.S. judge to step in and force the government to charge Omar with a crime and put him on trial in the United States, or release him. They also are seeking to prevent Omar's transfer to Iraqi custody, which they said would subject the Sunni Muslim to torture by Shiite-dominated authorities.
U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina last week issued an order in Washington temporarily blocking Omar's transfer to Iraqi custody. The order is set to expire on Monday, but the judge could extend it.
The Justice Department weighed in on Tuesday, arguing that Urbina has no business intervening on Omar's behalf and denying that Omar is even in U.S. custody.
Instead, the department said in court papers, Omar was captured by the U.S.-led multinational force in Iraq and remains in its custody. The multinational force is independent of the U.S. government, the department said.
In any event, Omar would not be handed over to the Iraqis unless he is convicted in an Iraqi court, the government said.
Hafetz, a lawyer at New York University's Brennan Center for Justice, said the government is resorting to a legal gimmick to keep Omar's case out of American courts. "It's legally incorrect and factually incorrect to say the U.S. does not have control of him," Hafetz said.
In July, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said five unnamed Americans, including one who also had Jordanian citizenship, were in U.S. military custody in Iraq. Whitman said then that the government had not decided whether their cases would be turned over to the Justice Department or to the new Iraqi legal system, which has handled the prosecution of other foreign fighters who came to Iraq to fight the U.S.-led occupation and Iraqi government.
In March, Matthew Waxman, the Pentagon's deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs, said a panel of three U.S. officers determined the Jordanian-American was an enemy combatant and not entitled to prisoner-of-war status under the Geneva Convention. The description provided by Waxman and other officials matches Omar's biography as contained in the government's court papers.
In its filing Tuesday, the Justice Department said the officers were part of the multinational force.
Omar became a U.S. citizen in 1986, two years after he served in the National Guard. Omar spent about 11 months in the Guard before being discharged in November 1984 without completing his training, said Shannon Purvis, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota National Guard. Omar received an "uncharacterized discharge," meaning he was discharged for such things as health problems or poor performance, Purvis said.
Non-citizens can serve in the Guard as long as they obtain citizenship within eight years of joining, Purvis said.
#1
In the Guard 20 years ago? Why even mention it (I know, it's the MSM at it again)? This goes to show again that there should NOT be allowed dual-citizenship for US citizens. If he was caught with all those people/stuff, and also involved in the Amman chemical plot, I say let the Shia's have him!
Posted by: BA ||
02/08/2006 14:30 Comments ||
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#2
The headline makes it sound like someone on active duty, or recently discharged, was a mole for the bad guys. The truth is far less interesting.
A civillian caught in Iraq by the Iraqis while engaged in "insurgent" activities against the legitimate, elected Iraqi government is going to be tried in an Iraqi court. Whoopee wow. I'd'a never seen that coming, would you (he says, voice dripping with irony).
Posted by: Mike ||
02/08/2006 14:54 Comments ||
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EFL Nearly half the money funding insurgents comes from outside the country, according to a senior Iraqi official. But officials suggest old sources are drying up and the radical groups are turning to ransom kidnappings - up to 10 a day in Baghdad alone - to finance their guerrilla attacks. Most victims are Iraqis, whose families pay between $3,000 and $50,000 for their release. Virtually none of the kidnappings is reported to the police.
Other sources of funding include extortion, attacks on fuel tankers and other types of banditry, and possibly even government money earmarked for securing infrastructure and battling the insurgency - either directly or through corrupt officials. Most media attention falls on the 268 foreigners known to have been abducted since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. Forty-four have been killed and 135 released, according to the Washington-based Brookings Institution. Three others escaped and three were rescued, it said, while the fate of the others was not known. The real figure of foreigners abducted is believed to be higher because truck drivers from Turkey and other neighboring countries are often believed ransomed with no publicity.
For the insurgents themselves, kidnappings offer a low-risk but high-yield option. Although some kidnappings may be purely criminal, many of them are carried out with such precision that the assailants may have had formal military training. Responsibility is often claimed by previously unknown groups, which the experts believe exist only in name and are meant to conceal the identity of those behind the kidnappers - insurgent groups seeking funding to finance attacks.
Carroll's kidnapping was claimed by the "Revenge Brigade." Another group, the "Tawhid and Sunnah Brigade," said it kidnapped German engineers Thomas Nitzschke and Rene Braeunlich. "These are single-operation names," said Mustafa Alani, an Iraqi who heads the Security and Terrorism Studies Program at the Gulf Research Center in Dubai. "They protect the real group behind the kidnapping along with its credibility if the operation goes bad," he said.
Two bombs exploded minutes apart near a central Baghdad square on Tuesday, killing at least seven people and wounding 20 as violence increased ahead of a major Shiite holy day later this week. The first Baghdad bomb was in a plastic bag placed near a CD vendor's stand close to the capital's Tahrir Square by a man who fled seconds before the explosion, which killed at least three people, said police Capt. Mohammed Abdul Ghani. Ten minutes later, a second bomb hidden in a drain exploded, killing four more people including one policeman, he said. Officials at two hospitals where the casualties were taken confirmed that seven people were killed and at least 20 wounded in both bombings. The exact motive of the first bomb was unclear. Police Lt. Mohammed Khayoun said the CD vendors may have been targeted because some sold sexually explicit films. The second blast, he added, was aimed at policemen arriving at the scene.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2006 00:00 ||
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If this sort of thing was going on in the U.S., our public areas would hip deep (so to speak) with German Shepherds, Labs, Beagles and other working dogs sniffing out bombs and such.
It seems like the Islamic aversion to our best friends is a very fatal mistake.
Posted by: SLO Jim ||
02/08/2006 12:07 Comments ||
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DEBKAfile Exclusive: Hamas Gaza leader Mahmoud a-Zahar is gravely ill with intestinal cancer. His illness has slowed down the Cairo talks with Hamas leaders on a Palestinian government. A-Zahars illness bears radically on the prospects of a formula coming out of the Cairo talks for Hamas to take over Palestinian government. The Americans and Egyptians believe that the indisposition of the most rigidly hardline Hamas leader will ease the prospects of a formula for letting Hamas into a government with which Israel can be asked to live, or at least conduct day-to-day affairs. Khaled Mashaals statement to the BBC Wednesday, Feb. 8, was the first outward development.
A-Zahar was diagnosed with an advanced case before last months Palestinian elections but he kept it secret from Palestinian voters. He is now under treatment at the Cairo military hospital. DEBKAfile sources report that Egyptian and Palestinian doctors attending him are pessimistic about his chances of recovery.
The Islamic terror groups senior executive in Gaza, a-Zahar is a rigid hard-liner on relations with the United States and Israel and his movements commitment to armed violence against Israel until its destruction. He is not afraid of a showdown on these issues with the Egyptian mediators of an acceptable US-backed solution that will bring Hamas to government. He is also prepared to defy the Damascus-based Hamas politburo chiefs, Khaled Mashaal and Mussa Marzouk. Ismail Haniya, the second in line for the primacy in Gaza after a-Zahar, is not present at the Cairo negotiations. His public tone is generally more yielding and diplomatic than that of the ailing leader, although his objectives are as absolutist and extremist. But he is believed to be more amenable to pragmatic steps if he believes they will lead eventually to Hamas cherished goals.
This tendency and A-Zahars illness have encouraged the Americans and Egyptians to build on the prospects of a formula that will let Hamas into a government with which Israel can be asked to live, or at least conduct routine day-to-day affairs.
Khaled Mashaals statement to the BBC Wednesday, Feb. 8, was the first outcome of this amended approach. He offered a message to the next Israeli government that Hamas would be ready to talk if Israel met certain strict conditions. The most important of these was its pullback to the pre-1967 boundaries. This willingness, he said, would be taken as Israeli recognition of the rights of the Palestinians and the Hamas would "possibly give Israel a long-term truce, while not renouncing violence.
DEBKAfiles Middle East sources report that Mashaals words responded to the proposal Egyptian intelligence minister placed before Mashaal and a-Zahar Tuesday, Feb. 7 with backing from Washington: Hamas must accept a back-seat, wire-puller role in Palestinian government and enter into a long-term truce lasting 10-15 years. The proposition was placed before Hamas leaders as an Egyptian ultimatum.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
02/08/2006 14:02 Comments ||
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#6
Allah willing, he will die sooner rather than later.
My vote is for a long, slow, lingering painful death. But, that's just me.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/08/2006 14:17 Comments ||
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#7
Mitch H. Eating pork. Eating pork in itself will not kill you, but eating pork in your closet with no daylight and your head covered with a picnic cloth will definitely kill you.
#9
It must be tremendously comforting to jihadists to be treated by "Egyptian and Palestinian doctors" who can provide the best 7th century health care in the world.
#11
It must be tremendously comforting to jihadists to be treated by "Egyptian and Palestinian doctors" who can provide the best 7th century health care in the world.
Especially as it apears that the cleverest of the Egytian and Palestinian doctors go on to head terror organizations.
Hamas' exiled political chief warned Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday not to make leadership changes without consulting the militant group, taking a hardened stance ahead of negotiations to form a new government. Khaled Mashaal's strong warning may have been in response to Palestinian press reports that Abbas planned to appoint his current interior minister, Nasser Youssef, as deputy commander of Palestinian security forces. That would enable the Palestinian leader to keep control over the forces. "I take this opportunity to tell (Abbas) not to make any new moves, changes or appointments" without consulting Hamas, Mashaal told a press conference in Cairo.
Hamas also was upset when Palestinian Parliament speaker Rauhi Fattouh appointed Fatah activist Ibrahim Khreisheh as director general of the legislative council after the militant group won a big parliamentary majority in Jan. 25 elections. Mashaal, speaking after meetings of Hamas' leadership in the Egyptian capital, said the militant group had not yet decided on a candidate for prime minister.
But another top leader said Hamas had settled on Jamal al-Khudairi, a businessman who ran in the parliamentary elections as an independent with Hamas' backing. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because Hamas had not yet made its proposal to Abbas. Al-Khudairi, a well-known Hamas sympathizer, has never addressed violence or recognition of Israel, focusing most of his campaign speeches on domestic issues like matters like education and job training. He has also talked about the need for internal Palestinian reform. Mashaal said "al-Khudairi is a respected Palestinian personality," though he said Hamas had made no decision.
#5
Elections have consequences and Abbas ain't consequential.
Posted by: Captain America ||
02/08/2006 12:27 Comments ||
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#6
Joke! Israeli defense analysts give Fatah a 10 to 1 advantage in weapons. Israel has just turned over $55 million in tax receipts to Fatah controlled PA organs. Too bad they have to play the Fatah card, but...
Dunno about this democracy thing. Should we respect Germans who supported the Nazi Party?
#7
Time for Abbas to take a line from Deteriorata:
"Know what to kiss and when ...
Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. This is his just reward for adopting his Abu Mudhen nom du guerre. Live by the sword and get cut way too often, sucker.
#8
Dunno about this democracy thing. Should we respect Germans who supported the Nazi Party?
Certainly. Respect their decision and feel no remorse when the bombs land on them. You makes your choices and you pays the consequences.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
02/08/2006 13:47 Comments ||
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#9
Live by the sword and get cut way too often, sucker.
He had his chance to disarm the bastards when it was relatively easier to do, but his excuse was that he didn't want to provoke a "civil war". Now those that he should have disarmed are now in charge and are pretty much calling the shots.
THE 12 Filipino crewmembers aboard the Taiwanese registered FV Feng Long No. 16, Chung-yi No. 218 and Hsin-lienfa No. 36 have set sail for familiar waters and back to their homeland. The Filipinos had spent over five months detained by Somali pirates on an island off southern Somalia.
The three vessels were intercepted by the self-proclaimed National Volunteer Coast Guard (NVCG), a vigilante-style organization aimed to seize foreign vessels for fishing illegally in Somali waters.
The three vessels were en route to the southern city of Kismayo to collect their annual fishing licenses when the NVCG boarded and commandeered them and set sail for their base on the island of Koyema, approximately 60 kilometers to the south of Kismayo.
The NVCG is one of three major factions responsible for the upsurge in piracy along the Horn of Africa, but, unlike its competitors, the centrally located Somali Marines and the Northern-based Puntland Militia, it claims to be a response to the decade-long conduct of illegal maritime activities in Somali waters rather than a cause.
Somalia has issued self-proclaimed (and not internationally recognized) 200- nautical-mile territorial waters in the wake of the civil war, leaving the country regimeless and its maritime domain transformed into a sea of anarchy because there is no enforcement.
From within, piracy, drug, and arms smuggling increased while foreign commercial vessels committed illegal dumping and illegal fishing from abroad. The NVCG is an attempt to regulate illegal fishing from foreign vessels for the sake of securing Somalias resources for its own people.
Many foreign vessels purchase annual fishing permits from local warlords or from the brass-plated Somali Department of Fisheries, allowing them to fish within loosely defined areas.
However, the annual proceeds, which are earned from the permits and can total up to US$70,000 a vessel, are not distributed among the Somali population. Thus the NVCG aims to spread the wealth by commandeering foreign fishing vessels and collecting US$5,000 from a crewman as a fine, yet there is no evidence that the NVCG distributes its revenues. Instead, income is reinvested into acquiring arms and new boats thereby defeating the purpose of wealth spreading among the people.
Upon extended negotiations, the captives were set free and on February 1, the Feng Long arrived in the port of Mombassa for replenishment and questioning before returning to the Asia Pacific.
The crewmembers told their stories to the Kenyan Marine Police and the Mombassa-based Seafarers Assistance Program (SAP)2 of the malnourishment and the torture which ensued for nearly half a year.
The Filipino seafarers often acted as translators, furthering the negotiation process between the NVCG, the ships owner, and Taiwans Ministry of Foreign Affairs due to their superior grasp of the English language. The timing of their release was ideal because human intelligence reports indicate that fighting was about to break out between the Kismayo faction and a Mogadishu-based faction, which could have spilt over onto Koyema, compromising the seamens safety.
The recent capture of 10 Somalis currently being charged with piracy in a Mombassa court of law has angered Somali faction leaders who are demanding that America and other foreign powers keep out. The commandeered Indian dhow, the Al Safina Bisarat, was intercepted by the USS Winston Churchill and the 10 Somalis were detained and sent to Mombassa for questioning.
NVCG Commander Garaad Mohamed is now demanding that unless the Somalis are released, future hostages will be executed. It is not known how much was paid to release the vessels but any funds transferred would have likely occurred via Mombassa given that the NVCG, like many Somali militias, conduct their illegal banking activities and shipment transfers via East Africas largest port.
It is a harsh reality that Filipinos are often placed in challenging situations that compromise their security at sea, especially given the fact that they are proportionately the largest nationality of sea-going workers and represent over a quarter of the worlds mariners.
Filipino seafarers employed in the maritime commercial shipping industry have become a vital component of the overseas Filipino workers economy and therefore, the preservation, safety and security of Filipinos working on vessels in potentially dangerous areas are important.
Though illegal maritime activities such as piracy and smuggling are an inevitable consequence in high-risk areas, such as South East Asia and East Africa, more measures must be implemented to aid seafarers when they become victims of maritime crimes.
Measures should be put into practice in both prevention and response areas ensuring that the level of risk can be reduced and that there are no unnecessary delays incurred when securing the seafarers freedom.
Regrettably, those employed on fishing or merchant vessels transiting Somali waters always face an increased risk in which the favorable outcome is survival, as indicated in the recent episode involving the 12 Filipinos after enduring half a year in prison-like conditions, unable to earn a wage, and away from their families.
The maritime Horn of Africa has become a very dangerous place for all nationalities, particularly Filipino seafarers, given their dominance in the marine labor market. To the relief of the 12 families, the hostages are coming home. However, the question must be asked as to how long it will be before the next vessel with Filipino seafarers on board is attacked and seized.
Karsten von Hoesslin is a research fellow with a Canadian think tank specialing in maritime security
I wonder if the NVCG has a ground or infantry component. We could contract them to provide detention and border security in Arizona and Texas.
KAYHAN, the mouthpiece newspaper belonging to Uber-Mullah, Khamnei, in its Tuesday, Feb. 7th edition called for taking the IAEA inspectors hostage and prosecuting them for espionage.
The item read:
"Now that the Europeans have gone back on their pledges to us and have even begun to beat, even the Americans, in referring our nuclear dossier to the U.N. Security Council, the regimes authorities must teach them and the spies they call "inspectors of the International Atomic Agency" a profound and interminable lesson...so much so that they cannot even consider taking one breath."
The item also clearly indicated that "captivity and slaughter" of the IAEA inspectors inside Iran would be an integral part of "the nuclear revolution of the Islamic realm".
#6
very nice ( i mean from a no downside POV) , but please tell me when someone other than an Iranian exile site verifies this. I mean theyre noble folks, the Iranian exiles, but i find their sites tend to pick up every rumor.
#8
Okay, so not only has MadMoud of UN member-state Iran called for the destruction of another per se
UN member-state, now the Iranian version of Soviet State Media is now calling for the kidnapping and killing of UN employees-officers, which iff affirmed by MadMoud becomes yet another valid violation ags Iran of the UNO Charter. Its Y2006, and America and nay the entire world needs a Commie Mother to save everyone from the dire rule and consequences of defective selfish Fascist male brutes - Male Brutes and Brutuses everywhere.
#9
Khamnei's mouthpiece newspaper calls for taking IAEA inspectors hostage and killing them
I would tend to regard this as the capstone of ElBaradei's career. His Nobel Peace Prize would pale in comparison to having all his coddling of the world's biggest sponsor of international terrorism being repaid with a thorough cleaning of his screwloose clock. Oh, that the UN would finally see the real fruits of their efforts.
Chile joined the growing list of countries dragged into the conflict between Denmark and the Muslim world this weekend, when protestors set the Chilean Embassy in Syria ablaze on Saturday. Chiles Embassy in Damascus is housed in the same building as the Danish Embassy. It was burned when a protest against a Danish newspapers publication of 12 religiously incendiary cartoons turned violent. Fortunately, no one from any of the embassies was hurt in the attacks. Chilean acting Foreign Minister Cristián Barros said Sunday that the Syrian government is responsible for the attacks. Obviously it is the responsibility of the receiving government to assure the safety of diplomatic and consular missions in their country.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
CHILE?
Posted by: Phil ||
02/08/2006 9:34 Comments ||
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#2
I wonder if somewhere in the Pentagon, a Brigadier is desperately trying to find the US contigency plan for a Chilean-Syrian war.
#7
Was this the embassy where they set fire to the first floor, then worked their way up, floor by floor, till they found thenselves trapped on top of a burning building?
Posted by: Steve ||
02/08/2006 10:56 Comments ||
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#8
Winter fruit embargo!
Posted by: ed ||
02/08/2006 11:01 Comments ||
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Posted by: Andy ||
02/08/2006 11:52 Comments ||
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#11
Makes complete sense. They are obviously protesting the "secret" CIA and German BND terrorist detention center of Colonia Dignidad near Santiago. Who did the leak?
#13
Perhaps they confused Chile's flag as being some variation of the American flag? It is red, white, and blue with a star and stripes.
Posted by: Dar ||
02/08/2006 13:36 Comments ||
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#14
Embassies are in the same building. Really hard for a fire to seperate out the two.
Probably seemed pretty safe sharing an embassy with the Danish. Lot safer than sharing one with the US. Funny how things work out some times.
I'm actually kind of surprised that there isn't a seperate compound filled with Latin American embassies. Sort of like the western compounds found in Saudi Arabia but one that would be filled with Salsa dancing and rum swilling huddled together for mutual defense, convenience, and party. Yeah, you gringos are always trying to slip under the fence and get in, but no Tequila for you!
SIDON: Three new people, including a Muslim cleric, were arrested on Monday on suspicion of throwing a hand grenade at the Lebanese Army barracks in Beirut last week.
A Muslim cleric? Now, don't that come as a surprise!
According to security sources, a police unit raided an apartment on Awqaf street in Sidon at around noon, seizing machine guns, missiles, bombs, ammunition, hand grenades, detonators and maps.
Yes. They are obviously very devout.
Policemen were seen carrying several white bags and cardboard boxes of weapons and ammunition out of the apartment and loading them into four Internal Security Forces vehicles. The sources said the apartment that was raided belongs to Sheikh Mohammad al-Ansar, and is located in a building belonging to the Dar al-Awqaf (the Islamic Endowment Center).
The raid was carried out after unidentified individuals provided information about the bombing that targeted the Lebanese Army's Prince Bashir barracks in Ramlet al-Baida. Another police unit raided a residential apartment along the eastern boulevard of Sidon, seizing weapons and ammunition. That apartment belongs to an Islamic activist - identified only as H. K. Since the blast, 14 suspects have been arrested in a series of raids on homes and mobile phone shops. Telephone tapping revealed that the suspects were connected to illegal activities in the Lebanese territories. Detectives are trying to decipher some coded messages that were recorded during telephone calls and are comparing the messages with the suspects' statements.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2006 00:00 ||
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More than 300 Lebanese students raised 57 flags representing the Arab states in front of UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura on Tuesday to denounce the cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad published in Danish, Norwegian and French newspapers. Protestors also held banners calling for a boycott of Danish, French and Norwegian goods, as well as posters calling on French President Jacques Chirac to apologize to Muslims. UNIFIL's French battalion adopted pre-emptive measures, closing down all entry points to the headquarters and began patrols of the area. One protester handed Colonel Jacques Leulle a letter and bouquet of flowers to be passed on to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. Another protester shouted: "We are not against you but you must condemn these acts."
Or else.
In the letter, the students said they "respect all religions and believe in all prophets, and therefore refuse any offense against man's beliefs by virtue of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights." The students called for a law that would prohibit the insult of religious symbols.
A blasphemy law. Like Pakistan has.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Note that there was a spontaneous (internet and SMs) muslim demonstration organized in Paris a couple of days ago, about 1000-3000 demonstrators depending on the sources, with french msm being very quiet about that except the leftist channel i-télé, and they asked for a "blasphemy law" too.
Also, the Seine-Saint-Denis (heavily islamized Paris area) muslim federation is planning an another demonstration, and they too will be asking for a law prohibiting the "slandering of islam"...
"Aggression against life and property can only damage the image of a peaceful Islam," said the statement released by Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the EU chief Javier Solana.
#6
Jules: Remember your stats class and think bell curve -- the majority of Moslems are trying to live day by day, just like everyone else. By defining Islam in a prosocial direction, the majority will be able to outweigh the radical element. Get it?
#7
Remember your stats class and think bell curve -- the majority of Moslems are trying to live day by day, just like everyone else. By defining Islam in a prosocial direction, the majority will be able to outweigh the radical element. Get it?
BS.
Go read Tim Blair's site -- "Fox Turns Chicken" thread -- for a shining example of a moderate Muslim. It's refreshingly honest, and clarifies what we've been witnessing in re the "moderate" response to Islamist terrorism.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
02/08/2006 12:25 Comments ||
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#8
No, ex-lib.
Where is the evidence of this 'pro-social direction'? A handful of Muslims' statements that mix "peaceful Islam" and "offensive cartoons" with pleas for non-violence? Phooey.
The Muslim majority's silence tells us what we need to know. They may be trying to live their lives day by day, but in their bulk non-reaction, they demonstrate sympathy for the causes of violent bullies who are defining the religion for them. When we see hundreds of thousands of Muslims protesting this 'false' version of Islam, then I will concede I was wrong. But we won't see that, because doing so would make them apostates in the eyes of their pious brethren. I don't put my faith in a delusional fairy tale that the majority will come around and defy their umma and risk death to protect freedom and democracy.
That this is a horrid discovery makes it no less true. We don't close our eyes to bad things we don't want to see. Our country's future is at stake.
#9
No, the statement is true. Note the sentence structure -- *a* peaceful Islam, not *the* peaceful Islam. Statistically speaking, at some point in space/time, there exists an Islam that is, indeed, peaceful. Unfortunately, none of the ones that I'm aware of to date fit that criterion; and, each non-peaceful flavour of Islam endured by the outside world does indeed damage the image of Islam as a religion of peace, 'stead of pieces.
#13
The statement is factually correct. It does not say that Islam is peaceful. It connotes that there is an "image" that is being destroyed. The same image that is put forth by the undersigned fakers who are more concerned about image than reality.
Code for shut-up already or everyone will see the truth.
#14
Where is the evidence of this 'pro-social direction'? A handful of Muslims' statements that mix "peaceful Islam" and "offensive cartoons" with pleas for non-violence? Phooey.
The Muslim majority's silence tells us what we need to know. They may be trying to live their lives day by day, but in their bulk non-reaction, they demonstrate sympathy for the causes of violent bullies who are defining the religion for them. When we see hundreds of thousands of Muslims protesting this 'false' version of Islam, then I will concede I was wrong. But we won't see that, because doing so would make them apostates in the eyes of their pious brethren. I don't put my faith in a delusional fairy tale that the majority will come around and defy their umma and risk death to protect freedom and democracy.
That this is a horrid discovery makes it no less true. We don't close our eyes to bad things we don't want to see. Our country's future is at stake.
Word, Jules. Islam, as a whole, is rotten to the core with its overinflated sense of piousness. Toss in the death sentence for apostasy and you have a no-win situation. The average Muslim is obliged to figure a way out of that no-win situation. We are NOT responsible for the trap they are in. If they cannot escape the vicious circle they are confined in, they will perish with all of those we must exterminate to save our world.
#15
When we see hundreds of thousands of Muslims protesting this 'false' version of Islam, then I will concede I was wrong. But we won't see that, because doing so would make them apostates in the eyes of their pious brethren.
As it was explained, ol' Mo' said that if you declare another Muslim an apostate, then one of you most certainly is. That's interpreted to mean that if the other guy isn't, then you are, and you're thus condemned on judgement day.
So Muslims -- excepting the truly free ones who are rare as hen's teeth -- will simply not condemn another Muslim out of fear not for physical retaliation, but because their faith will not allow them to harshly judge another Muslim.
I have a feeling "particularly on the word of a kaffir" finds its way into that, but it wasn't stated explicitly.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
02/08/2006 13:44 Comments ||
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#16
bell curve
A bell curve has two tails.
At one end of the bell curve (leaving aside exmuslims) we have Muslims like the Imam in Italy who thinks the Koran grants Israel to the Jews. Omar at Iraq the Model. Fouad Ajami. Various folks who are now defending the right of newspaper to print these cartoons, offensiveness be damned. Moving up the curve you have folks who may not "get" western freedoms, but who have common enemies with us. The Kurds. A pretty good portion of the Afghans. Israeli Druze (if you count them as muslims) Then you get the folks who will at least speak out against violence (except when its aimed at israel) Moving toward the peak of the curve you have the silent majority. Moving down from the peak you get the huge numbers who hate the west, who sympathize with Bin Ladenism, who will join a mob when theyre inflamed, but who wont fight for the caliphate. Going further down the curve you get those who will support the caliphate with words, or money, but who wont take up a weapon themselves. At the far end of the curve are the jihadis themselves.
Bush, to his credit, recognized this curve, and has been struggling with how to deal with it.
In Baghdad, Iraq's top Shiite political leader criticized attacks on foreign embassies by Muslims.
"We value and appreciate peaceful Islamic protests," said Abdul Aziz al-Hakim. "But we are against the idea of attacking embassies and other official sites."
'"The Muslim Fury," one newspaper headline screamed. "The Rage of Islam Sweeps Europe," said another. "The clash of civilizations is coming," warned one commentator. All this refers to the row provoked by the publication of cartoons of the prophet Muhammad in a Danish newspaper four months ago. Since then a number of demonstrations have been held, mostly--though not exclusively--in the West, and Scandinavian embassies and consulates have been besieged.
But how representative of Islam are all those demonstrators? The "rage machine" was set in motion when the Muslim Brotherhood--a political, not a religious, organization--called on sympathizers in the Middle East and Europe to take the field. A fatwa was issued by Yussuf al-Qaradawi, a Brotherhood sheikh with his own program on al-Jazeera. Not to be left behind, the Brotherhood's rivals, Hizb al-Tahrir al-Islami (Islamic Liberation Party) and the Movement of the Exiles (Ghuraba), joined the fray. Believing that there might be something in it for themselves, the Syrian Baathist leaders abandoned their party's 60-year-old secular pretensions and organized attacks on the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus and Beirut. . . .
The truth is that Islam has always had a sense of humor and has never called for chopping heads as the answer to satirists. Muhammad himself pardoned a famous Meccan poet who had lampooned him for more than a decade. Both Arabic and Persian literature, the two great literatures of Islam, are full of examples of "laughing at religion," at times to the point of irreverence. Again, offering an exhaustive list is not possible. But those familiar with Islam's literature know of Ubaid Zakani's "Mush va Gorbeh" (Mouse and Cat), a match for Rabelais when it comes to mocking religion. Sa'adi's eloquent soliloquy on behalf of Satan mocks the "dry pious ones." And Attar portrays a hypocritical sheikh who, having fallen into the Tigris, is choked by his enormous beard. Islamic satire reaches its heights in Rumi, where a shepherd conspires with God to pull a stunt on Moses; all three end up having a good laugh.
Islamic ethics is based on "limits and proportions," which means that the answer to an offensive cartoon is a cartoon, not the burning of embassies or the kidnapping of people designated as the enemy. Islam rejects guilt by association. Just as Muslims should not blame all Westerners for the poor taste of a cartoonist who wanted to be offensive, those horrified by the spectacle of rent-a-mob sackings of embassies in the name of Islam should not blame all Muslims for what is an outburst of fascist energy.'
#19
Liberal Hawk: Good post on the Islamic bell curve. I think that's exactly right. The problem is that the right hand end of the curve is doing its damnedest, with Saudi/Wahhabi money, to draw the whole upper end of the curve to itself and cow (silence) the rest. Right now, we don't have many good tools to pull things back. Bush's speech may have been correct but it's unlikely to be effective. If these yahoos provoke a real clash of the civilizations they're going to lose but it could be very ugly. i don''t think it will be long now before UK, Dutch, Danish and French vigilante groups will spring up and start firebombing mosques, etc. Then the shit will really hit the fan.
Posted by: PC ||
02/08/2006 14:22 Comments ||
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#20
"...protesting this 'false' version of Islam..."
Unfortunately, Radical Islam is the true nature of the beast. The so-called "moderates" have been practicing Islam Lite and now they must be brought into line with the real Islam, or be branded Apostate.
They'll certainly fall in behind their more devout brethern. Bet on it. Ultimately we will either reconcile ourselves to the fact that Islam must be destroyed, or we'll accept that we do not have the spine for it.
It really is, us or them.
I would like to state that I do not believe it would be necessary to kill every muslim, just enough to break their will and shatter their faith in Allan.
We could start by removing recognition of Islam as a legit religion, and classifying it as a cult.
#21
"Islamic ethics is based on 'limits and proportions...' "
Right. Like chopping off a hand and a foot for theft. Like stoning to death a woman who has sex outside of marriage.
LH-Do you actually believe the drivel of what you posted? Muslims are tolerating this hijacking of their religion because they fear being identified as bad Muslims more than they fear being monstrous human beings.
#22
This guy Mohammed, the butt of cartoons was one smart cookie. In the eighth century, he figured how to control a chunk of the population, keep it from wandering from his teachings, pursue converts with passion, secure the propagation of his brainchild, and remove any and all reasoned opposition to his screed. I'm not sure he wanted it to get this far out of control, but it has. He must have been extremely envious of both Jesus and the Jews. The former for having followers centuries after his death, and the latter for not succumbing to his pressure. Both of these groups set an example that there was another way, therefore it became necessary to tarnish and remove them.
#24
It's a Allan thing, you we wouldn't understand, or would we? Herbert Spencer's view was that this law of organic progress is the law of all progress. Whether it be in the development of the Earth, in the development of Life upon its surface, the development of Society, of Government, of Manufactures, of Commerce, of Language, Literature, Science, Art, this same evolution of the simple into the complex, through a process of continuous differentiation, holds throughout. Bottom line, a hate based faith, warm climates and goat herding has inhibited their progress. They've simply not evolved.
#25
"He must have been extremely envious of both Jesus and the Jews."
Not to far from the truth there WXJ. I believe Mohammad in his formative years viewed himself a the next great jewish prophet and the Rabbis pretty muched laughed him out of the Temple. His response to dealing with the Sins of Man is mcuh closer to the Jewish faith. He does not recognize the inhernet weakness of the Human character that cannot possibly avoid Sin. I believe his Mother was Christian. To bad he did not incorporate a little more Christian theology to deal a little more humanely with Sin.
#26
"LH-Do you actually believe the drivel of what you posted? Muslims are tolerating this hijacking of their religion because they fear being identified as bad Muslims more than they fear being monstrous human beings."
AFAICT most muslims in the world are barely literate or illiterate peasants in places like Indonesia or Bangladesh who are too busy trying get a field ploughed to bother with any of this.
But as to the others, its not in the nature of most people to run out and protest the wrong actions of their coreligionists. Im a Jew who doesnt support the actions of the Kahanists (radical and violent extremists) but i dont spend much time protesting them. Silence does NOT imply consent in this kind of situation. Silence implies apathy, which, im sorry to say, is the normal human response to things that dont threaten oneself or ones near and dear.
Look at how small the crowds in question actually are. A few thousand in Bangladesh, a country of 90 million plus. In pakistan they had to have the rally in Peshawar, the center of Pashtun looniness. And of course the worst embassy trashing is in Iran, in Syria, or in Lebanon.
Condi today put the blame squarely on Syria and Iran. You may think what she says is drivel, but I do not.
And Amir Taheri has been one of the strongest voices in the WOT, and is published by several conservative newspapers.
#28
The myth of the moderate Muslim. I personally know some moderate Muslims, but I am confident that they would be called 'apostate' by the militants. I don't really think the the peaceful end of the bell curve matters very much.
I would rather not have a conflict of civilizations, but the militant Islamists want one. However, if the 'moderate Muslims' do not stop their co-religionists, then we shall have one. The soothing words from some Muslim appologists mean little. Protests against the destruction of Muslims in Jordan means what? When they protest the destruction of Jews, Christins, and Hindus, I will begin to pay attention. I will believe them when they begin to turn over their Islamists.
The longer that the militants perceive weakness in the West, the more agressive they will becomme, and the more destructive the conflict will be.
#30
"Where is the evidence of this 'pro-social "direction'?"
Well, actually, both the Indonesian Moslems and now the Danish Moslems are seeking--as organizations--to define Islam in a liberal, prosocial direction, that is in line with: " . . . a faith that brings comfort to people. It inspires them to lead lives based on honesty, and justice, and compassion."
So keep up on the news --kay?
The lack of social/political aplumb here regarding some posters here, boggles the mind. Influences toward a new sense of self-definition for Moslems is a key aspect in the WOT. When people can define themselves away from radicalism and destruction, it's generally a good thing, and capturing the Moslem mainstream's initiative is critical.
The criticism of Bush on this subject is a facade for promoting certain political agendas ahead of the forthcoming presidential elections.
Next point--do conservatives come out in droves every time the LLL has a demonstration? Does that mean we all ascent to the liberals' "plan" for America? Point being, the Moslem demonstrators actually represent a tiny fraction, number-wise of people, compared with the rest of them who don't show up. It's the fundamentalists that are a lost cause, and it's the fundamentalists who are controlling the media image--naturally--average folk don't make good news stories.
Note: I will reiterate that some posters here have a very specific agenda tied to a very specific special interest group, aimed at achieving certain political gains for their group. They insist on adopting a definition of Islam that is precisely inflexible, so that a perceived threat against their special interest group can somehow be elminated--if enough other people adopt their narrow view. Certain of these posters have advocated for the destruction of Mecca and Medina, for instance, as a way to punish and defeat radical elements within the Moslem world, as well as Islam in general--supposing that all Moslems worldwide will simply keel over and rethink their religion--that the destruction of their religious sites would somehow be "proof positive" that "Allah" doesn't exist and that they've been wrong all this time. A more likely scenario would be along the lines that Allah allowed the Moslem world to see just how bad the West is, in order to motiviate Moslems to band together to try and annihilate the West. A lack of critical thinking is the problem with the "all or nothing" mentality and other agendas people masquerading as purveyors of real political discussion.
By identifying Islamic terrorism with radical Islam, it leaves the door open to new definitions, which many Moslems are willing to walk through. It's a good strategy. The radical elements tried, somewhat successfully, to rally the Moslem world over the cartoon issue. It will backfire, but if nominal Moslems only hear condemnation from the West, they will be played into the hands of the radical elements. And I honestly believe that some posters here fume and spout about how bad all Moslems are in order to achieve a united Islam on the side of the terrorists, which is a really stupid idea. Ever hear of divide and conquer? If you want new ideas to overtake the present idiocy, you have to leave the light on, and at the same time, show no tolerance for terrorism and the kind of things that were orchestrated over the cartoons.
It's not about Bush. It's about the future of the planet.
#32
When I was in Africa we knew a few Muslims, mostly farmers. They considered themselves good Muslims, though Wahhabis would have thrown a fit at some of the things they did. The problem revolves around who gets to define who is a good Muslim. Right now the money tree says its the Wahhabis.
Islam has always had its jihadist factions, and they seem generally to have been able to make a good case that they are the true heirs of the tradition. Its our bad luck to be living in a time when they're on the rise again.
That old village was undoubtedly swamped by the tides of refugees years ago (there was a huge camp next door), but I wonder whether villages like it still exist, or whether the Salafists have won them over.
Posted by: James ||
02/08/2006 15:47 Comments ||
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#33
Text of World Islamic Front's Statement Urging Jihad Against Jews and American Crusaders"
signed by Shaykh Usamah Bin-Muhammad Bin-Ladin (the prominent Saudi oppositionist); Ayman al-Zawahiri, amir of the Jihad Group in Egypt; Abu- Yasir Rifa'i Ahmad Taha, a leader of the [Egyptian] Islamic Group; Shaykh Mir Hamzah, secretary of the Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Pakistan; and Fazlul Rahman, amir of the Jihad Movement in Bangladesh"
Praise be to God, who revealed the Book, controls the clouds, defeats factionalism, and says in His Book"But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the pagans wherever ye find them, seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war)"; and peace be upon our Prophet, Muhammad Bin-'Abdallah, who said I have been sent with the sword between my hands to ensure that no one but God is worshipped, God who put my livelihood under the shadow of my spear and who inflicts humiliation and scorn on those who disobey my orders. The Arabian Peninsula has never -- since God made it flat, created its desert, and encircled it with seas -- been stormed by any forces like the crusader armies spreading in it like locusts, eating its riches and wiping out its plantations. All this is happening at a time in which nations are attacking Muslims like people fighting over a plate of food. In the light of the grave situation and the lack of support, we and you are obliged to discuss current events, and we should all agree on how to settle the matter.
No one argues today about three facts that are known to everyone; we will list them, in order to remind everyone
First, for over seven years the United States has been occupying the lands of Islam in the holiest of places, the Arabian Peninsula, plundering its riches, dictating to its rulers, humiliating its people, terrorizing its neighbors, and turning its bases in the Peninsula into a spearhead through which to fight the neighboring Muslim peoples.
If some people have in the past argued about the fact of the occupation, all the people of the Peninsula have now acknowledged it.
The best proof of this is the Americans' continuing aggression against the Iraqi people using the Peninsula as a staging post, even though all its rulers are against their territories being used to that end, but they are helpless. Second, despite the great devastation inflicted on the Iraqi people by the crusader-Zionist alliance, and despite the huge number of those killed, which has exceeded 1 million... despite all this, the Americans are once against trying to repeat the horrific massacres, as though they are not content with the protracted blockade imposed after the ferocious war or the fragmentation and devastation.
So here they come to annihilate what is left of this people and to humiliate their Muslim neighbors.
Third, if the Americans' aims behind these wars are religious and economic, the aim is also to serve the Jews' petty state and divert attention from its occupation of Jerusalem and murder of Muslims there.
The best proof of this is their eagerness to destroy Iraq, the strongest neighboring Arab state, and their endeavor to fragment all the states of the region such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Sudan into paper statelets and through their disunion and weakness to guarantee Israel's survival and the continuation of the brutal crusade occupation of the Peninsula.
All these crimes and sins committed by the Americans are a clear declaration of war on God, his messenger, and Muslims. And ulema have throughout Islamic history unanimously agreed that the jihad is an individual duty if the enemy destroys the Muslim countries. This was revealed by Imam Bin-Qadamah in "Al- Mughni," Imam al-Kisa'i in "Al- Bada'i," al-Qurtubi in his interpretation, and the shaykh of al-Islam [not further identified] in his books, where he said "As for the fighting to repulse [an enemy], it is aimed at defending sanctity and religion, and it is a duty as agreed [by the ulema]. Nothing is more sacred than belief except repulsing an enemy who is attacking religion and life."
Posted by: Explain This ||
02/08/2006 15:54 Comments ||
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#34
The Organization of the Islamic Conference is the provisional government of the Islamofascist hordes. We don't negotiate with hordes.
#35
Point being, the Moslem demonstrators actually represent a tiny fraction, number-wise of people, compared with the rest of them who don't show up. It's the fundamentalists that are a lost cause, and it's the fundamentalists who are controlling the media image--naturally--average folk don't make good news stories.
And it is these same fundamentalist Islamists who are sidelining insane amounts of wealth that we are obliged to divert towards fighting terrorism instead of curing disease, thwarting poverty, eradicating illiteracy and stopping the ritual abuse of women.
Islam is far and above the major source of terrorism and therefore it must be the one to combat it. Failure to do so means that Islam, as a whole, is responsible for draining the world's coffers to fight their own radical factions. Muslims can do something to fix the problem. They can turn in radical imams and mullahs who advocate violent jihad.
It is not so much that we are pushing the mythical moderate Muslims into the hands of their terrorist brethern, they are allowing themselves to be herded by their radical factions to that side. They obviously lack the will to rebel and vocally decry this perversion of their so-called religion, and thereby have allowed it to be transformed into a political death cult. The west is in no way responsible for this. Islam can clean its own house or be swept into history's dustbin. We have no obligation to save Islam from itself.
If Islam wants to survive, it will have to correct its current deviation from any policy of coexistence. Otherwise it will, by default, position itself as a sufficient threat to the remaining world's population to where it will justifiably be expunged from global culture.
#36
What if the so called "moderate muslims" actually believe and support the jihad as stated in post#33, but just dont come out and say it or participate physically in the fighting?
Posted by: Common Sense ||
02/08/2006 16:49 Comments ||
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#37
What if the so called "moderate muslims" actually believe and support the jihad as stated in post#33, but just dont come out and say it or participate physically in the fighting?
Then they still richly deserve to have their sorry @sses bombed back to the stone age when the time comes. They may consider themselves fortunate if they manage to survive at all.
#39
The really odd thing is that they are saying almost the exact same thing about the U.S. and its alliance in Iraq and the middle east.
They see the U.S. as evil and the U.S. sees them as evil. It all depends on your point of view.
Posted by: Common Sense ||
02/08/2006 16:59 Comments ||
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#40
Islam is quickly earning a Darwin Award.
Works for me.
They see the U.S. as evil and the U.S. sees them as evil. It all depends on your point of view.
Your pathetic attempt at moral relativism sucketh mightily.
America is not busy flying fully loaded passenger airliners into occupied skyscrapers. We are not actively seeking to detonate nuclear bombs or release bio-chemical weapons in other countries.
Please do not try to equate the war on terror with terrorism itself. One begot the other and there is no circularity in the progression.
#42
"I'm a Jew who doesnt support the actions of the Kahanists (radical and violent extremists) but i dont spend much time protesting them. Silence does NOT imply consent in this kind of situation."
Time spent is not finally the point; if Kahanists commit atrocities, would you speak against their actions?
And I disagree-in these days of PILES of Islamic crimes which Muslims know about, silence IS consent.
"It's not about Bush. It's about the future of the planet."
Well, we agree on one thing-this is not about Bush. Nor, I would add, is it about a political agenda. It is about the nature of Islam.
So, we'll disagree. Time will tell. Perhaps lots of time...maybe long past our last days. Our children and grandchildren will know the truth of it.
Posted by: Mike ||
02/08/2006 9:40 Comments ||
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#2
Make sure it's a paperbag, and not a plastic bag! Or if you insist on using a plastic bag, don't forget to have air holes in it!
Do you know how many bloggers suffocate each month while wearing a bag on their head? It's tragic!
That was my safety tip for the day, thanks for your attention. Next time I'll explain how to drink a glass of water without drowning (trick is not to breath at the same time).
Posted by: Dave D. ||
02/08/2006 10:31 Comments ||
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#6
Naah,
Plastic and paper are for wimps!
Fred's gonna go whole hog and use burlap, the itchiest, scratchiest bag he can find!
Who says bloggers can't do self flagellation as good as the Islamofascists?
:)
Posted by: DanNY ||
02/08/2006 10:36 Comments ||
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#8
So what do you have against the Apache Nation?
Is there a Jack Abramoff connection there you dont want to discuss? Come clean repubs/cons.
Posted by: Common Sense ||
02/08/2006 11:29 Comments ||
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#9
I don't understand why in the hell you picked Debian as a Linux distribution. It is poor on config tools, doesn't autodetect hardware and IMHO it is a distro for people playing macho. The fact it solves dependencies (its one redeedming feature) is nolonger an argument since other distros do it as well (and will do it better once they integrate Smartpm who is leagues ahead of apt-get). Anyway it is not a distribution for people coming straight from Windows.
#10
All that matters is that you fixed it, Fred dear. And in only a few hours, too. Now my heart rate can return to normal, espcially as this was only due to a small programming error, rather than another battle in the War on Terrorists.
Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in a cup of tea, which we can drink in peace as we peruse Rantburg's pages. Besoeker's favourite milk tarts are on the sideboard, along with the "something a bit stronger" for those of you who aren't posting from work. Fred, I'll set some aside for when you get back from your paying job, and Ethel, too, of course. Poor dear, how many pills did she have to bring you while you sweated over your little problem, I wonder. ;-)
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
02/08/2006 13:16 Comments ||
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#12
Being a Debian user is hard, you have to put up with all the jealousy from the users of the lesser distributions out there.
I had minor problems with _this_ install (it's a newly bought and installed machine) because I decided to go with the amd64 distribution, which is a little more bleeding edge, but as you can see, it's working.
I do want to talk to Fred and his other tech consultants in a conference call because I suspect he's [redacted] and he'd be better off doing [redacted] but I don't want to go over the details here. And I don't have time to mess with it now, I've got stuff at machine shops that need prints _now_...
(And a lawn mower being fixed. There's a rig in Patagonia that's shut down until I can get the handle on the lawn mower rewelded and they can mow a new path to the platform...)
Posted by: Phil ||
02/08/2006 14:09 Comments ||
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#13
Do it yourself head bag:
Roll out 12 inches of aluminum foil. lay middle finger of left hand at 45 degrees from one corner pointing toward middle of aluminum sheet. Curl on edge of sheet around till it touches other edge pivoting around middle finger. Crimp edges tangent to middle finger together. The resulting shape will be a cone. Please start over if you have any other shape. Remove finger and place cone on head.To be kept in the dark place cone on head with long side over eyes. To see while receiving messages contemplating, place cone on head with long side toward rear.
#17
You did see what he had to say re: kde vs. gnome, right?
Posted by: Phil ||
02/08/2006 18:22 Comments ||
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#18
I apologize. I had that stupid "The Internet" icon on the new computer at work, so I dragged it into the trash, and it said "Are you sure you want to delete The Internet."
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 suicide bomber killed 13 people and wounded 13 on Tuesday when he set off explosives outside police headquarters in Kandahar, a government spokesman said. A Taliban spokesman, 
Armed men have stolen 20 trucks carrying aid in Sudan's troubled Darfur region, the World Food Programme has said. Christiane Berthiaume, spokeswoman for the UN agency, on Tuesday said the attacks on several convoys took place in recent weeks in zones controlled by Darfur's rebels. "The roads are dangerous. Every day, trucks get attacked, their cargoes are stolen and their drivers are kidnapped," Berthiaume told journalists. Security problems are putting the WFP's operations in Darfur at risk, she added. 
In the wake of the escape of 23 al-Qaeda prisoners from the prison of the Yemen Political Security Organization, security forces here launched a large-scale arrest campaign that included round 200 persons from relatives of the escapees. Security forces arrest campaign is part of investigation in the escape incident which the U.S. State Department described as a disappointing development, emphasizing that America would work with Yemeni officials and its international partners in the manhunt of those dangerous terrorists. 
The Specialist penal court began trying 14 suspects accused of forming an armed gang and targeting Yemeni security and military sites as well as western interests in Yemen. In the session headed by Judge Mohamed Al-Baadani, prosecution read its findings. It accused the suspects of forming an armed gang to kidnap American nationals in Yemen and target military and security leaders as well. Prosecution charges affirmed that suspects noted foreigner gathering places at the Sheraton Taj Sheba Hotel and a Hadda residential complex.
Bangladesh announced the arrest on Tuesday of nine members of a militant Islamic group blamed for a series of deadly blasts. Four regional commanders and five militants belonging to Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) were detained in northern Syedpur, spokesman for the anti-terrorist Rapid Action Battalion, Mashuk Ahmed, said. He added that 20 kilograms of explosives and 84 detonators were seized in the overnight raids.
A military truck hit a land mine on a dirt road near the last Pakistani border town of near Angoor Adda, injuring two soldiers, a security official said on Tuesday. The soldiers were riding on a water tanker traveling to a stream to fetch water for their base when the land mine went off on Monday in South Waziristan, near the Afghan border, the official said. The two soldiers were shifted to a military hospital in Wana for treatment. However, their condition is not known. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.
One man died in an explosion in the Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL), an army official said on Tuesday. Inter Services Public Relations Director General Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan said that one man was killed while handling explosive material at KRL. However, he refuted reports of terrorist involvement in the explosion. "It was a minor accident," he said. He said there was no other loss of life or property in the incident.
QUETTA: Suspected tribal militants blew up a pipeline supplying gas to the Uch power plant near Dera Murad Jamali late on Monday night, forcing the foreign-owned plant to shut down This was the fourth attack on the pipeline of 24-inch diameter since January. The pipeline explosion blew up six feet of the pipeline at Chatthar town in Balochistan, local police officer Khalid Magsi told AFP. 
The fort of 
Nearly half the money funding insurgents comes from outside the country, according to a senior Iraqi official. But officials suggest old sources are drying up and the radical groups are turning to ransom kidnappings - up to 10 a day in Baghdad alone - to finance their guerrilla attacks. Most victims are Iraqis, whose families pay between $3,000 and $50,000 for their release. Virtually none of the kidnappings is reported to the police.
For the insurgents themselves, kidnappings offer a low-risk but high-yield option. Although some kidnappings may be purely criminal, many of them are carried out with such precision that the assailants may have had formal military training. Responsibility is often claimed by previously unknown groups, which the experts believe exist only in name and are meant to conceal the identity of those behind the kidnappers - insurgent groups seeking funding to finance attacks.
Two bombs exploded minutes apart near a central Baghdad square on Tuesday, killing at least seven people and wounding 20 as violence increased ahead of a major Shiite holy day later this week. The first Baghdad bomb was in a plastic bag placed near a CD vendor's stand close to the capital's Tahrir Square by a man who fled seconds before the explosion, which killed at least three people, said police Capt. Mohammed Abdul Ghani. Ten minutes later, a second bomb hidden in a drain exploded, killing four more people including one policeman, he said. Officials at two hospitals where the casualties were taken confirmed that seven people were killed and at least 20 wounded in both bombings. The exact motive of the first bomb was unclear. Police Lt. Mohammed Khayoun said the CD vendors may have been targeted because some sold sexually explicit films. The second blast, he added, was aimed at policemen arriving at the scene.
DEBKAfile Exclusive: Hamas Gaza leader Mahmoud a-Zahar is gravely ill with intestinal cancer. His illness has slowed down the Cairo talks with Hamas leaders on a Palestinian government. A-Zahars illness bears radically on the prospects of a formula coming out of the Cairo talks for Hamas to take over Palestinian government. The Americans and Egyptians believe that the indisposition of the most rigidly hardline Hamas leader will ease the prospects of a formula for letting Hamas into a government with which Israel can be asked to live, or at least conduct day-to-day affairs. Khaled Mashaals statement to the BBC Wednesday, Feb. 8, was the first outward development. 
Hamas' exiled political chief warned Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday not to make leadership changes without consulting the militant group, taking a hardened stance ahead of negotiations to form a new government. Khaled Mashaal's strong warning may have been in response to Palestinian press reports that Abbas planned to appoint his current interior minister, Nasser Youssef, as deputy commander of Palestinian security forces. That would enable the Palestinian leader to keep control over the forces. "I take this opportunity to tell (Abbas) not to make any new moves, changes or appointments" without consulting Hamas, Mashaal told a press conference in Cairo.
SIDON: Three new people, including a Muslim cleric, were arrested on Monday on suspicion of throwing a hand grenade at the Lebanese Army barracks in Beirut last week.
More than 300 Lebanese students raised 57 flags representing the Arab states in front of UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura on Tuesday to denounce the cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad published in Danish, Norwegian and French newspapers. Protestors also held banners calling for a boycott of Danish, French and Norwegian goods, as well as posters calling on French President Jacques Chirac to apologize to Muslims. UNIFIL's French battalion adopted pre-emptive measures, closing down all entry points to the headquarters and began patrols of the area. One protester handed Colonel Jacques Leulle a letter and bouquet of flowers to be passed on to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. Another protester shouted: "We are not against you but you must condemn these acts."
