BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- Coalition forces interdicted a group of Pakistanis enemies in the Helmand Province on Monday evening. Coalition aircraft patrolling the Helmand Province fired two AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and dropped one bomb on four enemies while they were meeting at a suspected Taliban camp in the Lashkar Gah District. Three enemy fighters were killed and one fled during the air strike.
"Curly-toed slippers, don't fail me now!"
There were no damages to puppies, baby ducks civilians or property observed during the operation. The people killed were responsible for launching numerous attacks against Government of Afghanistan and Coalition forces including financing terrorist activities. Afghan and Coalition forces will continue to pursue those who stand in the way of the government of Afghanistan s objectives, said Army Lt. Col. Paul Fitzpatrick, Combined Joint Task Force - 76 spokesman. Afghans are tired of the death and violence Taliban fighters and other enemies of Afghanistan have inflicted upon them, he said.
JALALABAD: Five children were wounded when a mortar shell exploded in eastern Ningarhar province on Monday. A correspondent of Afghan Islamic Press visited the area where five children were wounded in an explosion of mortar shell. Some children who were grazing their cattle found a mortar shell in Saracha area, 10 kilometer east of Jalalabad, and were playing with it when it exploded, leaving five children wounded, AIP correspondent said.
He said the injured children were between the age of six to ten and were cousins who were rushed to hospital soon after the explosion. Earlier the local officials had disclosed the number of injured children as six.
Important safety tip, kids! Do not play with the mortar shells.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/25/2006 00:00 ||
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LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan_A plane carrying U.S. drug enforcement officials narrowly missed a truck as it came in to land at a southern Afghan airport Monday, but overran the airstrip and slid headlong into a nearby nomad settlement, killing four people. At least 13 others were injured, including several American passengers, after the Russian-made, twin-engine An-32 aircraft slammed into a cluster of tents and mud brick houses where some 20 women and children ate rice near the airstrip at Bost airport in Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand province.
Two of the 16 people on board the plane — 12 passengers and four crew — were killed, said Canadian military spokesman Maj. Quentin Innis without identifying the dead further. Eight others were wounded and flown by military helicopters to a U.S.-led coalition hospital in Kandahar, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) to the east. A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said the two dead on the plane were Ukrainian flight crew members.
I hate to sound unsympathetic, but flying on aircraft crewed by Ukes is in the same category as playing with mortar shells your cow found.
The U.S. Embassy said several of the 11 Americans on board were injured, but none killed. The nationality of the other passenger was unclear. Two Afghan nomad girls aged 2 and 3 were crushed to death after the plane careered into their brittle mud brick homes as they slept, their mothers said. At least five more villagers were wounded. "We were sitting eating our lunch when I heard a loud noise, and then turned to see a big plane sliding along the ground from the airstrip before it smashed into our homes," said Lal Bibi, 40, whose 2-year-old daughter, Palwasha, was killed. The casualty count could have been higher if the settlement's males had not left earlier to work at a nearby farm picking opium poppies, Bibi said.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/25/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
The casualty count could have been higher if the settlement's males had not left earlier to work at a nearby farm picking opium poppies,
Opium pickers living near the air freight offices eh? Sounds like an occupational hazard.
An Egyptian security official reported on Tuesday that police had arrested 10 people on suspicion of involvement in Monday's triple terror attack in Dahab which killed at least 24 people. Details of the suspects were not yet released for publish.
Meanwhile, an anti-terrorism expert said that groups in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula were already plotting their next attack on the popular resort area. Brig.-Gen. Elkana Har Nof, an official in the prime minister's counterterrorism department, said the Red Sea coast area is a target because it is popular with both Israeli and Western tourists, and important to the tourism economy of pro-Western Egypt.
Dahab, 25 April (AKI) - Egyptian police arrested ten people on Tuesday in connection with the terrorist attacks on the resort of Dahab in the Sinai peninsula which killed at least 23 people and wounded 70, reports said citing local security forces. Most of the dead were Egyptians enjoying a Spring holiday at the seaside resort. A German boy was among the foreigners killed. The wounded included Britons, French, a Palestinian, an Israeli, an American and three Italians, reports said.
The three explosions in Dahab on Monday night were probably from time bombs planted on the ground rather than carried by suicide bombers, security officials told Reuters on Tuesday. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blasts.
Reports however said Islamic militant groups based in the Sinai might be responsible for the attacks aimed at destabilising the local economy and the regime of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. Local militant groups are believed to be behind the attacks on the Hilton hotel in the resort of Taba, north of Dahab, in October 2004 and on the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to the south in July last year.
Additional: Dahab, 25 April (AKI) - Investigations into the attack at the Dahab tourism resort in the Egyptian Sinai peninsula continued on Tuesday as police tried to ascertain who was behind the terrorism act. At least 23 people were killed - including three foreigners - and 70 wounded in the attack on Monday night. Though at first investigators said remote control bombs caused the three explosions that rocked a restaurant, a cafe and a supermarket popular with tourists, in the past few hours the hypothesis that suicide bombers caused at least two of the three explosions reportedly gained new momentum.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/25/2006 08:48 ||
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The most eficacious way of diminishing the suicide attacks is to attack the money source. Somebody has to take out one or two "salafi-wahabi" bankers and one or two mullahs in S. Arabia.
Egyptian security officials estimate that the international Al Qaeda terrorist organization was behind the terrorist attack in the Sinai resort town of Dahab Monday night, the online edition of the Israeli radio Arutz Sheva reported. At least 22 were killed and more than a 100 wounded in the explosions, but some media still report that 30 were killed.
The attack came one day after Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden warned in a tape recording that western citizens were legitimate targets of his terrorists.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
04/25/2006 01:13 ||
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The judge in charge of the inquiry into the Madrid train bombings travelled to Morocco to interrogate a suspect in the case. Judge Juan del Olmo went to a jail in Salé, a city near the capital Rabat, to question Mimoun Belhadj.
"Rodrigo! My number three, no, number four truncheon, por favor. Perhaps even the number five. After all, we *are* in Morocco."
Belhadj is the brother of one of the 29 men accused of the rush-hour bomb attacks in which 191 people died and more than 1,700 were injured in March 2004. The unusual move was made with the cooperation of the Moroccan authorities.
"Yes, effendi, the soundproofing is quite adequate here."
Del Olmo, along with a number of Moroccan judges, interrogated Belhadj as part of an international tribunal. Belhadj is currently serving two years in jail after being convicted of terrorist offences. He was extradited from Syria. He is the brother of Youssef Belhadj, who was extradited from Belgium to face charges in Spain relating to the Madrid bomb attacks carried out by Islamic extremists. Spanish police have been hunting both brothers, who are allegedly members of the Moroccan Islamic Combat Group (GICM), which was said to have been involved in the Madrid bombings. They allegedly fled to Belgium after the attacks. Del Olmo is also due to travel to France to interrogate another suspect in the case.
#1
He would be better to stay in Spain and investigate the suspicious activities of Spanish police.
Let's recall that it was the discovery of both an unexploded bomb and a van with islamic propaganda who allowed Zapatero to present the bombings as retaliation for Spanish involvement in Irak and thus turn around a certain defeat into victory.
So let's see:
1) The cops who first entered the van ahev declared that the van was empty. A sniffer dog failed to find explosives. But after that van was moved to the siege of the anti-terrorist unit there were found not less than 100 incriminating objects including tapes of entry level teaching of Coran (I thought those guys knew it from memory) and explosives.
2) The unexploded bomb was in fact unwired to the cell phone. That cell phone had a card who led the police to the suspects (before the elections). Small problem: it was not only unwired but contained nails and other shrapnel-like material when no victim had sharpanel wounds.
3) The police didn't analyze the wagons to determine what kind of explosives were used. Now that was found in both the van and the unexploded bomb was goma-2 (a kind of dynamite) who when cutting metal lets "barbs" on it while the metal of the wagons had no barbs who points to use of military explosives like C4. But as I said the police didn't analyze the wagons.
3) Between the ten suspects not less than nine were police confidents, one of them was even a former cop (a Syrain who married a Spanish woman) and must have been very good at their job of being a covert cell because they lived in defintely unislamic ways or had their childeen congratulate them for St-Joseph (the Catholic Father's day). Also most of them had their phones tapped but surveillance on them stopped just a couple days before the bombings
4) The socialist governement is pressuring the judge intio closing the investigation.
There are many more "black holes" in the investigation but have presently no time to tell all (if you can read Spanish go to http://libertaddigital.com), one of those days I will post a complete summary about the suspicious things in the investigation.
Three explosions shook the Egyptian Sinai resort of Dahab yesterday, killing at least 33 people and wounding at least 150, a security official said. Witnesses said smoke could be seen rising from the towns tourist bazaar, and residents said they saw body parts and debris on the street after an explosion at a restaurant. An official with the local ambulance service said many of the dead appeared to be foreigners.
The Dahab resort is popular with Western backpackers and budget Israeli tourists. Many Egyptians were also vacationing in the Sinai Peninsula as the bombings struck on Sham Al-Nessim, a public holiday which traditionally marks the beginning of spring. Around 7 p.m., we heard three explosions close to the seafront alongside a supermarket in the center of Dahab, French tourist Frederic Mingeon said from the town. There was a plume of smoke and people started running and screaming.
State television said the blasts appeared to have been the result of remote-controlled bombs not suicide bombers. All exits from the town were sealed off by police.
Israel, whose border is less than 160 km from Dahab, immediately offered to send emergency teams to help with rescue efforts. Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz offered to send army rescue teams and doctors, his ministry said. Hundreds of Israeli tourists were rushing home after the blasts, Israeli police said, although the Defense Ministry could not confirm any Israeli deaths.
The Interior Ministry said the blasts ripped through the Ghazala supermarket and the Nelson and Aladdin restaurants in central Dahab. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak pledged to punish the perpetrators of the bombing. said. The perpetrators of these heinous acts of terrorism will be tracked down and punished, Mubarak was quoted by the official MENA news agency as saying.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/25/2006 00:00 ||
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Trust in Egyptian security ... and celebrate diversity!
A gang leader, who was also accused of killing Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) constable Delwar Hossain in Tongi, was killed in an 'encounter' with Rab members early yesterday.
Fancy that...
The gang leader, Shaheen Hawlader alias Hossain Hawlader, 36, had admitted to the Rab officials that he and his cohorts killed Delwar after committing robbery at his house on April 21.
"Yeah, we dun it! What's ya gonna do about......oh, wait"
Rab-9 arrested Shaheen at Kunia Pachar of Gachha union under Gazipur Sadar upazila at about 11:00am on Saturday.
"WACK! Youse under arrest, Hoss!"
Following Shaheen's information,
extracted via visegrip pliers
Rab men accompanying the criminal went to Polashona of the union at 1:00am yesterday to arrest his two accomplices Humayun and Shamsur and recover illegal arms.
"Come on, Hoss. We're taking a ride."
When they reached there, Shaheen's accomplices opened fire at the Rab men who retaliated.
"Shit, it's the RAB. And man, they look pissed!"
Trying to escape, Shaheen received bullets.
"BANG! BANG! And this one's for Delwar..KAPOW! He owed me money and now I'll never collect!"
Didn't even get a chance to say 'rosebud' ...
He was sent to Gazipur Sadar Hospital where doctors declared him dead,
"He's dead, Jim"
Rab said, adding that two Rab members were also injured during the encounter.
"Those knuckles look bruised, should have worn your gloves"
Rab recovered a shotgun, a pipe gun, four bullets and an axe.
Shutter gun must have been busy elsewhere
Hailing from Bakerganj in Barisal district, Shaheen lives in Gachha union where he has been conducting criminal activities for a long time, Rab said. He is also wanted on twelve systems accused in three robbery and two carjacking cases.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/25/2006 09:59 ||
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#1
Well, I certainly didn't see that coming. I figured a formal indictment, then a lengthy trial. Right?
#7
Ambulance/rickshaw chasing lawyers in Bangla, even those that get up really really early, don't have much to do other than maybe a game of pin the toe tag on the miscreant with Dr. Quincy.
DIYARBAKIR: A Turkish soldier and three members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) have been killed in a clash in southeastern Turkey, the provincial governors office said on Monday. The clash occurred in the remote province of Sirnak on Sunday during the Turkish armys annual spring offensive against PKK rebels, who cross into Turkey from their mountain strongholds in northern Iraq. Army operations were continuing on Monday, the governors office said.
Dozens of guerrillas and members of the security forces have been killed in recent clashes and mine attacks, as well as a string of bombings in Turkeys largest city Istanbul, some of them claimed by a group linked to the PKK. The Sirnak clash coincides with the dispatch of Turkish troop reinforcements totalling 40,000 to the southeast to help deal with expected PKK incursions. Ankara has repeatedly asked the United States to crack down on Kurdish militants.
Go to it, guys. I never have been partial to the adherents of Armed Struggle™.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/25/2006 00:00 ||
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Pro-Taliban militants ambushed a Pakistani army convoy in the restive North Waziristan tribal region, killing seven soldiers and rebels, officials said on Tuesday. The convoy came under attack on Monday in the mountains near the main town of Miranshah while heading towards Beermal on the Afghan border. Four soldiers and three militants were killed. "They first detonated an explosive with remote control on the roadside and then opened fire on the convoy," an intelligence official told Reuters. He said eight soldiers were wounded in the fighting that lasted for an hour.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
04/25/2006 01:12 ||
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A city court in Srinagar has ordered the release of an imam arrested by the anti-terrorist squad of Mumbai Police from Haj House in a follow-up to the arrest of three alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba militants. Maulana Ghulam Yahya Allah Baksh, 44, from North 24- Parganas district in West Bengal was arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (ULA) last January. He was later handed over to Jammu and Kashmir Police, who booked him for "sabotage and waging war against the country" on February 21.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/25/2006 00:00 ||
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One person was killed and 36 injured on Monday in grenade attacks on crowded polling booths and a police vehicle during by-elections in Jammu and Kashmir, said police and witnesses.
Three voters and an election official were injured in a blast at Palhalan, witnesses said. Four policemen were injured afterwards by an angry crowd who blamed them for the grenade attack. Soldiers fired several shots in the air to disperse angry residents protesting the incident, said a correspondent. Sixteen voters and two paramilitary troopers were injured in another grenade attack on a voting station in Wagoora, further north of Palhalan, police said, blaming militants for the attack. In Srinagar, where there was no voting, a grenade attack on a police vehicle killed a civilian and injured 10 others, including six policemen, police said. Voting took place at 364 booths, said state election official Mohammed Aslam.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/25/2006 00:00 ||
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QUETTA: Security forces, acting on a tip-off, defused explosives planted in the office of the Sui district coordination officer on Monday. Meanwhile, unidentified people blew up a pipeline in Loti Gas Field, suspending gas supply from the field. In another incident, unidentified people fired seven rockets which exploded near security forces camps in Dera Bugti, Kohlu, Treman and Pirkoh. There was no loss of life or property in the attack.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/25/2006 00:00 ||
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The Pakistani government is contemplating a move to seek the extradition of a US informant who told a British court on March 30 that he was involved in two plots to assassinate President General Pervez Musharraf and had bought guns, ammunition and grenades to carry out the killing.
Mohammad Junaid Babar, a Pakistan-born American, said the first plot was in early 2002 and the second was planned for Eid in 2003. The 31-year-old is the main prosecution witness at the London trial of seven Britons who are accused of planning bomb attacks in the UK. Police describe the case as Britain's biggest terrorism trial since the Sept 11 attacks on the United States.
"Since the man has confessed to conspiring to attack our president, our investigators would like to question him and he may be needed to be prosecuted here in Pakistan," said an official of the ministry of interior while talking to Daily Times on the phone from Islamabad.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/25/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Sure. Hand over Khan.
Posted by: ed ||
04/25/2006 1:04 Comments ||
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MIRANSHAH: Militants fired rockets at an army convoy and opened fire on a roadside military post in separate attacks in North Waziristan on Monday. Two soldiers were killed and 12 were wounded, an official said.
The assailants fired a barrage of rockets at the convoy after it stopped when a roadside bomb went off close to it, a local intelligence official said. No one was hurt in the bomb blast, but one soldier was killed and 12 others wounded, two seriously, in the follow-up rocket attack, he said. In the other attack, militants driving a car opened small arms fire at a security post east of Miranshah, killing one soldier, the intelligence official said.
Local pro-Taliban tribal militants have been blamed for much of the fighting in North Waziristan in recent weeks. Military officials have said that Arab, Afghan and Central Asian militants allegedly linked with Al Qaeda are present in North and South Waziristan.
Earlier on Monday, militants fired rockets, mortars and small arms at a security post in South Waziristan, triggering a gun battle with troops that left one attacker dead and two others wounded, another intelligence official and a fighter said. The troops retaliated with artillery and small arms fire, forcing the assailants to retreat toward nearby hills after an hour-long gun battle in Humrang.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/25/2006 00:00 ||
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PESHAWAR: Pro-Tribal militants set bundles of newspapers on fire in North Waziristan on Monday and threatened newspaper correspondents who referred to them as 'terrorists' and 'miscreants', eyewitnesses said. "As the van bringing Urdu and English newspapers reached Mir Ali, around eight masked Taliban torched the newspapers," a tribal journalist told Daily Times. A pamphlet was later left in the bazaar, reading: "If any newspaper calls us terrorists or miscreants, we will hold its North Waziristan correspondent responsible."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/25/2006 00:00 ||
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Yeah! Call us terrorists one more time you turbanless media geek twit and we will come in the middle of the night and terrorize you many times over until you are terrorized! So there!
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan_Suspected Islamic militants fired rockets, mortars and small arms at a security post in a restive tribal region in Pakistan early Monday, triggering a gunbattle with troops that left one attacker dead and two others wounded, an intelligence official and a fighter said.
The fighting broke out before dawn in Hamrang, a village in the South Waziristan tribal area that borders Afghanistan, the official said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of his job.
The troops retaliated with artillery and small arms, forcing the assailants to retreat toward nearby hills after an hour-long gunbattle, he said.
The militants took away their wounded comrade, leaving splashes of blood at the scene from where the attack on the post was launched. No one among the soldiers was injured and their post was not hit in the raid, he said.
The wounded militant, a local tribesmen, died later Monday at a private hospital in Wana, the main town South Waziristan, a fellow fighter said on condition he not be named for fear of being traced by security forces.
The two other attackers were only slightly injured, said the man by telephone from Wana, about 130 kilometers (80 miles) northwest of Dera Ismail Khan, a city located near South Waziristan.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/25/2006 00:00 ||
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The Iraqi Interior Ministry is constructing 45 forts along the nearly 1,000-kilometer border with Iran. Officials said the forts were part of a system designed to reduce the influx of insurgents and weapons from Iran. And reduce traffic for pilgrims from Iran coming to worship Mars, the god of war.
The forts would be built with aid from the U.S. Army. Officials said the Interior Ministry and the U.S. military have been determining the location of the forts.
So far, officials said, 39 forts have been completed along the Iranian border, Middle East Newsline reported. Officials said they were constructed along ancient routes through the mountains of the north. Bottle up the easy ones and make the infiltrators work harder through the rougher routes.
Most of the forts were based on a British design. The facilities contain living space for guards and commanders as well as offices, kitchen and armory.
Each fort has been protected with observation posts. Each post also contains a 50 kilovolt generator with another 50 kV generator as a backup. I think that they mean 50 kilowatt. 50,000 volts would be quite a surprise when you turn on the lights.
"Iraq's self-governing is dependent on its ability to manage its boundaries," David Crumpton, an engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said. "These border forts provide facilities which will allow them to do just that."
Officials said the forts would facilitate observation and reconnaissance missions to prevent smuggling and infiltration. They said the forts would also serve as bases for training and patrols.
In 2005, the Interior Ministry oversaw the construction of dozens of forts along the Iraqi border with Syria. Officials said infiltration from Syria has been significantly reduced over the last six months. I would certainly hope so.
Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition, reported 251 border forts and 20,000 border enforcement personnel. Lynch reported a huge increase in the number of facilities over the last 14 months. The forts have come under the authority of the Iraqi Department of Border Enforcement.
"[They're] on a glide path to have 28,000 people to occupy these border forts and secure Iraq's sovereign borders," Lynch said. I hope that the Iraqis are getting have a bunch of kick a$$ border guards now. They certainly need them.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/25/2006 20:42 ||
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#1
This sounds like progress. I wonder if it could be duplicated anywhere else?
#2
"50,000 volts would be quite a surprise when you turn on the lights." They would be REALLY bright for a very short time, tho.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
04/25/2006 21:29 Comments ||
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#3
HERE is a video of a 500,000 volt arc on a high voltage transmission line. Impressive arc! Click on the picture for a real thrill. Don't mess with the electricity gods, by gawd!
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/25/2006 21:43 Comments ||
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#4
AP,
An ex-co-worker makes tesla coils with the primaries being coiled 1" waterpipe. That allows him to effectively water cool the dang things. He can light up lightbulbs with antennas and grounds from 1 mile away and run lighting bolts from basketball hoops to the ground.
I keep track of where he lives so I don't live anywhere near him. I don't wish to loose my electronics to his EMF pulses.
#6
Each mud hut fort is also well marked on the roof for an easier target reference point for the Iranians. The Iraqi forts not only provide wonderful target reference points for the impending Iranian cross-border defensive move, but also good rubble reference points for Iranian units on the move. The better forts will be kept intact for Iranian special law enforcement and security services use. The worlds gone cuckoo and we all have a ringside seat. Didn't anyone annotate this in the planning stages for these forts?
#7
mud huts? Troll, only Iranians in earthquake zones live in those
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/25/2006 23:09 Comments ||
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#8
I suspect a far deeper motive for these forts, assuming they are part of the contingency plan for a war with Iran, which they very might well be.
For example, the Iranians might be planning to set up defenses in depth in the North to preclude a quick advance on Tehran. Then they would plan for considerable unconventional attacks in southern Iraq to try and bog down US and British forces there.
A chain of forts would prevent any northern unconventional infiltration into Iraq, which would simplify things for us.
CAIRO, Egypt Apr 25, 2006 (AP) In a rare video posted Tuesday on the Internet, al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi accused the West and the United States of waging a "crusader" war against Islam but said Muslim holy warriors were standing firm. He also said the recent formation of a new government in Baghdad was an attempt to help the United States get out of what he called the dilemma it now faces in Iraq. "When the enemy entered into Iraq, their aim was to control Iraq and the area," al-Zarqawi said in the video. "But here we have been fighting them for the last three years."
In the past, al-Zarqawi has made statements only through audiotapes posted on the Web, although photos of him obtained by the U.S. government have been widely circulated. It was not possible to confirm the authenticity of the video, but it was posted on a Web site that al-Zarqawi's group and other groups have often used to post Internet messages. Intelligence analysts in Washington were examining the video, and two U.S. officials declined to comment immediately.
In the video, al-Zarqawi, who wears a beard and mustache, sat dressed in black, with an ammunition vest. An automatic rifle was propped against the wall to his right. He wore a black scarf wrapped on his head and around his neck, while the black flag of his group, al-Qaida in Iraq, was superimposed on the screen. In another scene, he was shown sitting on the floor with four other men, all wearing black masks. In a third scene, al-Zarqawi could be seen in a desert, holding a heavy automatic rifle as if ready to fire.
The video came just two days after a highly publicized call to arms by al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden on an audiotape played on Arab television that encouraged Muslims to support his group in its war with the West. It also came a day after a triple bombing at a resort in Egypt that killed at least 24 people, including 21 Egyptians and three foreigners. In addition, it has been just days since Iraq named a new prime minister and made progress toward forming a new government. In that sense, the video could be an attempt by the terrorist leader to raise his visibility at a time when U.S. officials are hailing the Iraqi political process as a setback to the insurgents.
Al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian, has claimed responsibility for some of the most high-profile suicide bombings in Iraq, and also for a score of other attacks including hotel bombings in November in Jordan. But in recent months, al-Zarqawi had sharply lowered his profile, halting his group's Internet claims and joining a clearinghouse group of other radical groups. Some other radical leaders had said he had been shunted aside and told to lower his profile.
In January, al-Zarqawi's group said in a Web statement that it had joined five other Iraqi insurgent groups to form the Mujahedeen Shura Council, or Consultative Council of Holy Warriors. Since then, al-Zarqawi's group had stopped issuing its own statements, a sharp contrast to its previous frequent postings, and al-Zarqawi had not issued a Web audiotape since January.
In the video posted Tuesday, the logo of the Shura Council appeared on the screen as al-Zarqawi spoke, even as the black flag of his specific group, al-Qaida in Iraq, appeared in the corner.
Among other attacks he has been blamed for, U.S. officials believe al-Zarqawi personally beheaded American businessman Nicholas Berg, whose savage killing was shown on a videotape distributed by al-Qaida in Iraq in May 2004. It was the first of a series of videotaped decapitations of Westerners in Iraq, which ended after widespread complaints from Muslims who were sympathetic to the insurgency but objected to the video beheadings.
Some experts have long cautioned, however, that al-Zarqawi's role may have been exaggerated and that some of the attacks claimed by his group or that U.S. and Iraqi officials blamed on him may have been carried out by others. Iraq's insurgency has always been made up of several disparate groups, and some of them, including Ansar al-Sunnah Army and the Islamic Army of Iraq, have been nearly as violent as al-Zarqawi's al-Qaida in Iraq. The Jordanian-born militant, however, seized most of the attention because of his relentless Internet propaganda efforts, the brutality of his attacks including the hostage beheading videos put on the Web and a series of suicide car bombings that targeted mostly Shiites.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/25/2006 15:00 ||
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#1
By golly, the AP actually describes the Zarkster as a terrorist. Isn't that a violation of their usage rules?
Posted by: Matt ||
04/25/2006 15:44 Comments ||
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#2
Matt, the AP must have concluded that Zarqawi has contributed to global warming (or the Bush 2004 campaign).
Posted by: Tibor ||
04/25/2006 16:00 Comments ||
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#3
Tibor, LOL.
Posted by: Matt ||
04/25/2006 16:49 Comments ||
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#4
Better than even money, Zark is no longer in Iraq. If Dan Darling is lurking, I'd be interested in his take on this.
#5
Zark's in Boston, acting as a speech writer for Kerry.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
04/25/2006 18:51 Comments ||
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#6
Z man, and Obama Bin Laden surfacing in the same week. It must be a PBS "Pledge Week"drive . How come I'm not getting my complimentary "John Tesh live from Redrocks" concert?
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/25/2006 21:54 Comments ||
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#8
Ah! The great pervert Zarqawi has finally allowed his man-boy face to be shown on video. His arrogance knows no decent bounds. His desperate ploy of appearing as a normal jihadist child-molester that only a Hamas member's mother could love fails to strike me as nothing less than funnier than camel splat. Zarqawi is an alley boy in search for other losers to spread his self-inflicted pain on others. What a fraud! Zarqaweewee is no muslim and never was. He still tosses islam around like the village children he preys upon. Zarqaweewee, do you hear me you deaf and blind infidel? You are a fraud. You may be a fraud, but are definitely a souless and murderous servant of satan. Your appetite for helpless children is well known and word precedes disease like yourself. Zarqaweewee, you finally found a weapon similar to princess Oshama bean Ladyeen, and you wave your dainty feces fragrant fingers in ways so similar to the she-dog Ewesama baa Laadeen. Perhaps you and the princess can get together to molest the young earthquake orphaned village kids in Iran. Princess Ewesama bred with a woman many years ago and beget a couple of puppies. At least one of his pups is a guest in Iran and helps himself to the children there just like big dog daddy bin Ladin does. perhaps you will be indoctrinated in the ways of his version of islam as it best suits and benefits him. Just be wary of one-eyed Omar though! He is the jealous type, and will kill you many times until you are dead.. Nobody takes the hand of his former ballarina partner! Are you getting all this down Zarqaweewee? You are an imposter and only serve satan and your selfish hidden agenda. Why don't you do everyone a favor and go hang yourself from the tank barrel of an M1A2 Abrams tank? Before that... stick a sandal in your mouth so nobody hears your squeal like the pig you are. You are a loser Zarqaweewee!
One misplaced cell phone and one savvy interpreter equaled one dead terroristinsurgent, several pieces of intelligence and a whole lot of captured weapons. On a routine patrol, U.S. troops with 1st Battalion, 68th Armor came upon a house in the midst of dense greenery and at the end of a dusty country road. Staff Sgt. Matthew Nicodemus, 33, said he immediately noticed that no Iraqi men were around.
Suddenly, a cell phone inside the home rang, said Nicodemus, of Altoona, Pa. The interpreter went in and answered the phone, and on the other end of the phone the person said, in Arabic, Hey, coalition forces are here, go ahead and run away, and he specifically said, Go and run into the palm groves all around here, Nicodemus said.
The troops then fanned out into the palm groves and found several weapons including several rocket-propelled grenades and hand grenades, two AK-47s and a new snipers rifle, Nicodemus said. They also found a hand-written map of a U.S. military base, diagrams on how to build rockets and a CD-ROM with several thousand files written in Arabic, said Sgt. 1st Class Michael Greer, 35, of San Luis Obispo, Calif.
If that werent enough, the terroristinsurgent kept calling the interpreter back to ask what the Americans were doing. The interpreter kept the act going. Hes basically acting like, you know, hes watching us ... making sure everything is fine, Nicodemus said.
The U.S. troops knew the terroristsinsurgents were coming back and decided to lie in wait for them. Many troops said they were psyched by the prospect of killing the person on the other end of the phone. I love this [expletive], said Sgt. Nicholas Hake-Jordan, 23, of Springfield, Ore.
The troops didnt have to wait long. Shortly after U.S. troops set up, the terrorists insurgents called the interpreter and said they would be by in about 10 minutes to attack the Americans, said Staff Sgt. Art Hoffman, 30.
When seven terrorists insurgents got to the house, they ran into a wall of U.S. fire, said Hoffman, of Baltimore. The first guy that came in the door just dropped like a rock. The other two guys behind him got hit pretty hard, too. The rest grabbed their wounded and just ran back off, said Hoffman.
One terrorist insurgent was confirmed killed in the fighting and the other two were in bad shape, he said. Let's hope they get much worse.
Afterward, the battalion commander, Lt. Col. Thomas Fisher, 42, praised his soldiers actions. The initiative demonstrated at the platoon level is exactly how you win this fight, said Fisher, of Sioux Falls, S.D.
#1
other two were in bad shape, he said. Let's hope they get much worse.
Unfortunately, the creatures likely wound up in a US run medical facility. So Fred's "pray for sepsis(C)" will fall under dan's "wishful thinking even in hell" rubric. Sometimes, we're too civilized for our own good.
I came to this conclusion about 2 months into our tour. Most of the time it is a good thing tho, and makes shaving in the morning a lot easier.
Posted by: N guard ||
04/25/2006 8:20 Comments ||
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#2
So, no hope for a sucking chest wound, and even less so for a sucking head wound?
Posted by: N guard ||
04/25/2006 11:56 Comments ||
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and a CD-ROM with several thousand files written in Arabic
I'm very curious about what could possibly be on there, especially if they had a lay-out of a US base
Posted by: Charles ||
04/25/2006 14:46 Comments ||
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Expect a full recovery.
Good! Then we wring him dry of any intelligence information and turn him over to the Iraqi government, "suggesting" either a RAB-type incident or a more conventional hanging.
Works for me either way.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/25/2006 18:14 Comments ||
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but hey maybe those who survived can lead us too more
Page 3 story on Caterpillar profits (NB: yesterday) made me wonder why whenever a structure is found containing bombs or their components it isn't bulldozed flat.
BAGHDAD, Iraq During a search of two houses in the southwestern suburbs of Baghdad, Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, Multi-National Division Baghdad, uncovered a large cache of weapons April 22.
In the first house, the cache consisted of two 55-gallon drums of home-made explosives, two pressure plates, one artillery shell, a home-made rocket launcher, two pipes filled with high-explosive material, a seven-foot missile, a 14.5 mm Dishka heavy artillery machine gun and six anti-tank mines.
In the second house, located approximately 150 meters east of the first house, a second cache was found, consisting of eight shape charges, a sniper rifle, five pressure plates, three rocket-propelled grenades, an acetylene tank and two grenades taped to a window. The interior of the rear door appeared to contain an unfinished booby-trap.
Inside, Soldiers also found a note asking other terrorists for help to attack a local Coalition Forces operating base.
An explosive ordinance disposal team destroyed the caches on site.
#2
consisted of two 55-gallon drums of home-made explosives
Good to see they're having to roll their own as it were. Probably had to destroy this stuff on site - likely very unstable.
#3
In the second house, located approximately 150 meters east of the first house, a second cache was found, consisting of eight shape charges, a sniper rifle, five pressure plates, three rocket-propelled grenades, an acetylene tank and two grenades taped to a window.
More marks of Iran/Tehran, or are they able to produce in-country now?
Posted by: BA ||
04/25/2006 14:35 Comments ||
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Car bombings and shootings killed 20 people and wounded more than 100 in Baghdad yesterday as Washington stepped up pressure for Shiite Premier-designate Jawad Al-Maliki to form a government and halt Iraqs slide into civil war.
Insurgents set off seven car bombs, two of them at a Baghdad university, security officials said. Five people died in the coordinated attack on the Mustansiriya University that also wounded 25.
A car bomb in the north Baghdad neighborhood of Bab Al-Muhaddam killed three people and wounded 25, while another in Tahrir Square in the city center wounded 15. Two car bombs also went off within minutes of each other in east Baghdad, wounding nine.
A seventh bomb exploded in the upscale Mansur neighborhood, wounding seven. Six people died in a series of shootings in south Baghdads restive Al-Dura district, while one civilian was killed near the restive city of Baquba, north of the capital.
Thirty-two bodies of Iraqi police and security forces recruits were discovered in two areas of Baghdad yesterday, Interior Ministry sources said. All 32 were from the town of Ramadi in the insurgent heartland of Anbar province, which is fiercely opposed to the government, the sources said.
One group of 17 were kidnapped and then shot dead after they signed up for the police force one week ago. They were found in the Baghdady district of the capital.
The other 15 were found bullet-riddled in two cars in Abu Ghraib, on the western edge of Baghdad. All the men had bullets in their heads, an Interior Ministry official said. Further north, four police and two insurgents were killed in clashes near ousted President Saddam Husseins hometown of Tikrit, police said.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/25/2006 00:00 ||
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IDF troops arrested the West Bank spokesman for the Hamas in the city of Ramallah early on Tuesday, the wife of the Hamas official said. She said her husband, spokesman Farhat Asaad, was arrested overnight at their home in a western neighborhood of Ramallah. Asaad does not hold a post in the new Hamas-led Palestinian
government.
The IDF said 18 suspected militants were arrested overnight, but an IDF spokeswoman was unable to confirm whether Asaad was among them. The spokeswoman said, however, that none of those detained overnight was
arrested in Ramallah.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/25/2006 11:13 ||
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#2
Well, perhaps someone came for him in the night. The lady probably hopes it was the IDF, since that would yield the highest probability of her not becoming a widow.
EFL - EFGarbageDisposal. Expect seething to start in 5...4...3.
Israel is set to launch on Tuesday a highly accurate imaging satellite which will enhance its ability to spy on Iran, a report in the mass circulation daily Yedioth Ahronoth said.
Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said this week that the nuclear program being pursued by arch-foe Iran was the most serious threat faced by Jews since the Nazi Holocaust.
"The capabilities of the satellite speak for themselves. I do not need to say anything about what the purpose of its use might be," Shimon Eckhaus, the chief executive of manufacturer ImageSat International told Reuters.
The Eros B satellite has a camera which can decipher objects on the ground as small as 70 centimeters (about two feet) across, the report said. Eckhaus confirmed the accuracy of the published details to Reuters.
The report said Eros B will join an earlier version of the satellite, launched in December 2000. Both are set to augment the work of Israel's declared spy satellite, Ofek 5, which regularly passes over Arab territory.
The Yedioth report said that Israel was planning to send up another spy satellite with the ability to view objects in all weather conditions and in darkness. The Eros satellites are effective only in daylight and in clear visibility.
The launch comes at a time of heightened tension over Iran's nuclear program.
Gee, ya think?
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/25/2006 10:19 ||
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#1
Which way does Israel launch for a polar orbit? Can't be north, but south doesn't look to politically promising either - over SA and intersect the Red Sea early as possible?
#2
Like its predecessor in 2000, Eros B is set to be launched from the Svobodny Cosmodrome in the Russian Far East later on Tuesday using a Russian Start-1 rocket.
It will orbit the Earth at a height of about 310 miles and will circle the globe roughly every 95 minutes, ImageSat said.
Because of the country's geographical location and small size, the space industry generally favors smaller payloads that can more easily be launched from Israeli territory.
Israel is only able to launch small satellites westwards over the Mediterranean Sea -- opposite to the Earth's rotation -- because it cannot risk rockets flying over its Arab neighbors to the east or debris falling on their territory.
#4
Israel Chooses Indian PSLV To Launch New Spy Satellite
By BARBARA OPALL-ROME in Tel Aviv, Israel
K. S. JAYARAMAN in New Delhi, India
November 14, 2005
In a controversial break from a longstanding military space policy of strategic self-reliance, Israel has decided to launch its next spy satellite aboard India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rather than its own indigenous Shavit rocket.
Officials here say Israel's Ministry of Defense and state-owned satellite producer Israel Aircraft Industries Ltd. (IAI) are nearing conclusion with their Indian counterparts of all political and contractual agreements required for the planned October 2006 launch of the TechSAR, Israel's first synthetic aperture radar imaging satellite. On the government-to-government level, officials said, a pre-existing bilateral accord on strategic cooperation already covers most aspects of the mission.
In a Nov. 10 interview, a Ministry of Defense source estimated the PSLV launch cost at no more than $15 million, whereas the Shavit price tag ranges from $15 million to $20 million. The estimated 260-kilogram TechSAR is slated as the exclusive payload aboard the PSLV, which will be launched from the Indian Space Research Organisation's Satish Dhawan Space Center on the nation's southeastern coast. If all agreements are finalized in the coming months, as expected, IAI will ship the satellite to the Indian launch site by summer.
Doron Suslik, IAI's deputy corporate vice president for communications, declined all comment on TechSAR launch matters when contacted Nov. 11.
Reached by telephone Nov. 11, K.R. Sridharamurthy, executive director of Antrix Corp., the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation, said he was unable to comment due to the "confidential nature of the negotiations."
Government and industry sources here conceded that Israel's embrace of the PSLV was driven in large part by a loss of confidence in the Shavit, which has had reliability problems over the past decade. The latest Shavit failure, in September 2004, destroyed the defense ministry's estimated $100 million Ofeq-6 electro-optical imaging satellite.
But several Israeli officials insisted that other factors beyond risk mitigation led to the PSLV choice, including the desire to strengthen strategic cooperation with India, the defense ministry's largest export customer. According to multiple sources, India has begun discussions with the defense ministry and IAI regarding a possible purchase of a clone of the TechSAR satellite to enhance New Delhi's strategic intelligence and targeting capabilities.
Another factor influencing the PSLV decision was the defense ministry's need to accommodate new orbital requirements for the TechSAR. In a Nov. 10 interview, an industry executive said Israel's plans to offer TechSAR imagery to key export clients necessitated a higher-inclination orbit than the Shavit could achieve.
"It was decided fairly late in the program to make certain TechSAR footprints available to high-value export customers. And if they intended to attract customers in different parts of the world, they realized a higher inclination would help capture more imaging areas," the executive said.
Geography and politics dictate that the Shavit rocket launch westward over the Mediterranean, meaning its payloads can only reach orbits that cover low latitudes. To provide global coverage, satellites must be operate in high-inclination orbits that take them over the poles, and that requires launching them on a northward or southward trajectory, which is not an option for Shavit.
In contrast, the Indian PSLV has no such restrictions.
Other industry experts here, however, expressed doubt that a desire for a high orbital inclination drove the PSLV decision. "The Shavit could have accommodated [the defense ministry's] business plans, but the decision was made that we could not afford another failure," insisted one executive.
And while supporters of the Shavit were disappointed by the move to the Indian launcher, they insisted that the Israeli government has not forsaken its policy of space launch self-reliance and will deliver its planned Ofeq-7 into orbit using an improved version of the homegrown launcher.
Rachek Naidel-Ashkenazi, a spokeswoman for the defense ministry, declined to discuss specific plans for the TechSAR launch. Nevertheless, she said Israel intends to launch future military spacecraft with the Shavit. "Our policy is to preserve an independent launch capability. That has not changed," she said Nov. 11.
Tal Inbar, a space expert and research fellow at Israel's Fisher Institute for Air and Space Strategic Studies, said that if the TechSAR is to be launched by an Indian launch vehicle, it will be an exception to rules that have governed and should continue to guide Israeli military satellite launches. "But what's most important is the ability to deliver the payload into space successfully. So when considering that the reliability of the Israeli launcher is not so high, it is probably appropriate to launch from another vehicle," Inbar said.
The PSLV is a four-stage rocket that combines solid and liquid propellants. Because of TechSAR's small size relative to most PSLV payloads, it will launch on a version of the rocket that is not equipped with strap-on boosters, Israeli sources said.
Israeli government and industry sources insist that use of the Indian launcher will not involve the transfer to India of sensitive Israeli technology or know-how. "It's a significant step forward for strategic cooperation, but let's not get carried away. They're not going to be able to open up our satellite and learn our secrets," a defense official said.
Posted by: john ||
04/25/2006 17:50 Comments ||
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#6
Shavit has small payload so any bird designed for it has to be tiny.
If they anticipated using the Indian PSLV, they could have made it larger, adding fuel, extra sensors etc.
The PSLV can send 3 tons to LEO
Posted by: john ||
04/25/2006 21:13 Comments ||
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#7
going against Russian launch also minimizes.....mishaps
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/25/2006 22:10 Comments ||
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ANKARA - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas vowed on Tuesday to prevent civil war breaking out among Palestinians as tensions rise between his Fatah faction and the Hamas-led government. The tensions flared into a shootout at the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza on Sunday, when gunmen from Fatahs al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade clashed with Hamas guards. At least four people were injured in that confrontation.
We wish such events did not occur, but we will absolutely not allow civil war, Abbas told Turkish reporters during a visit to Ankara. Some people may want Palestine to be destroyed, but they will not succeed. We will not permit such destructive clashes. We have red lines and we will not let any civil war occur, he said in remarks translated from Arabic. He did not say how he would prevent further clashes.
Abbas, who backs peace talks with Israel, has infuriated Hamas by vetoing a new Gaza security force which the Islamic militant group wanted to set up. Hamas says the veto helps a Western campaign to isolate the new Palestinian government. Western countries regard Hamas -- which refuses to recognise Israel -- as a terrorist organisation and have suspended direct financial aid. Israel has cut off monthly tax transfers, further exacerbating the Palestinians financial crisis.
Abbas appealed to the international community not to punish his people because of Hamas stance on Israel and peacemaking. We dont want financial aid to be cut because it is the Palestinian people who will pay the price, said Abbas, winding up two days of talks with Turkish leaders.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/25/2006 09:34 ||
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#1
When Pals stop embracing the Hamas stand, we'll talk maybe.
Jordanian security sources have revealed to Asharq al-Awsat that a secret investigation into the smuggling of weapons by Hamas into Jordan has implicated five members of the Palestinian parliament movement. The issue was first raised last Tuesday by a Jordanian government spokesperson who said security forces seized rocket launchers and other weapons from a Hamas arms cache in the country. Amman also accused Hamas of using Jordan to engage in anti-Israeli activities.
The accusations caused a fallout between the Jordanian government and Hamas, which now dominates the Palestinian government and parliament. Following the announcement, the Jordanian government cancelled Wednesdays visit of Mahmoud A-Zahar, who heads external relations in the Palestinian government.
The sources said the five people involved in the smuggling were members of Hamas and active supporters of the organization in Jordan and outside the country. The group members, two of whom are Jordanians, were caught smuggling arms and storing them on Jordanian soil, and also surveying strategic locations in the country. The sources said the suspects will be taken to a national security court when the investigation is completed.
Hamas officials have vociferously denied the allegations, which they say are fabricated. They say Amman is being influenced by the United States to boycott the new Palestinian government.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/25/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
black september revisited?
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/25/2006 8:54 Comments ||
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#2
They say Amman is being influenced by the United States to boycott the new Palestinian government
And I naively thought that the Jordanians were influenced by the Elders of Zion. Duh!
Posted by: Elder of Zion ||
04/25/2006 9:20 Comments ||
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Yeah, but since the USA are in the hands of the EoZ, it's the same thing, I guess. Anyway, it's the joooos fault, of course.
Jordan began and then quickly adjourned the trial of a failed female suicide bomber yesterday, who has already confessed she tried to blow herself up as part of attacks on Amman hotels last year that killed 60 people. Chief Judge Fawaz Al-Baqour adjourned the trial after 35-year-old Sajida Al-Rishawi told the court she had no lawyer to defend her against charges of conspiracy to carry out terrorist acts, causing death and destruction, and the illegal possession of explosives.
She's just a poor widow lady, y'see...
Prosecutors say Rishawi tried to blow herself up during the attacks alongside her suicide bomber husband, who killed himself and others in their coordinated attack on the Radisson hotel during a wedding reception on Nov. 9, 2005. I have no one... I am alone with Allah (God) protecting me, Rishawi told the judge in her first public appearance since a television confession a few days after the blasts where she appeared in a head scarf and a long black coat describing her attempts to detonate an explosives-laden belt.
"Woe is me! I'm all alone! Who will feed my poor kiddies?"
"Waydaminnit! You ain't got no kiddies!"
"Well, if I did, who would feed 'em?"
Standing in the dock, Rishawi was dressed in a long blue prison gown with her head covered in a brown scarf and talked without emotion during the brief session. The three-man military tribunal held in the top security Jweida prison, after Al-Qaeda threats to release Rishawi, then instructed the countrys bar association to appoint lawyers to defend her before setting a new trial date.
"Awright. Who's representing the Widow al-Shimeri, here?"
"Ummm... Yer honor, my won-lost record's been takin' a beating lately. How about Mahmoud? He can represent her!"
"No, I can't! I gotta wash my hair that day!"
"An' I'm gonna be outta town, Judge!"
Rishawis husband Ali Hussein Al-Shimeri, who accompanied her to the hotel, was among three dead male Iraqi suicide bombers whose attacks killed mostly Jordanian wedding guests.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/25/2006 00:00 ||
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April 25, 2006: The recent flap over six retired American generals publicly calling for the Secretary of Defense to resign, also brought out opinions, via the Internet, from lower ranking troops (active duty, reservists and retired.) The mass media ran with the six generals, but got shot down by the troops and their blogs, message board postings and emails. It wasn't just a matter of the "troop media" being more powerful. No, what the troops had going for them was a more convincing reality. Unlike the six generals, many of the Internet troops were in Iraq, or had recently been there. Their opinions were not as eloquent as those of the generals, but they were also more convincing. Added to that was the complaint from many of the troops that, according to the American constitution, it's the civilians (in the person of the Secretary of Defense) that can dismiss soldiers from service, not the other way around. While the six generals were only expressing their opinions (which only active duty troops are restricted from doing, because of the different military legal system they operate under), it rubbed a lot of people (military and civilian) the wrong way because of the constitutional angle.
Naturally, the details of this media battle didn't get a lot of coverage in the mass media. Makes sense. Who wants to discuss a defeat, by a bunch of amateurs no less. But the mass media has been missing an even larger story about the military and the Internet.
The military has become a lot more responsive to "what the troops want" in the last decade, since the Internet became widely available. What happened was simple. The troops got on line, found each other and have been sharing opinions and experiences, getting to know each other, and doing it all very quickly. The most striking example of this is how it has changed the speed with which new weapons and equipment get into service. Troops have always bought superior commercial equipment, usually from camping and hunting suppliers. And a lot more of that gear has been available in the last decade. Because the word now gets around so quickly via the net, useful new gear is quickly purchased by thousands of troops. After September 11, 2001, with a war on, having the best gear was seen by more troops as a matter of life and death. This quickly got back to politicians, journalists and the military bureaucrats responsible for buying gear for the troops. The quality of the "official issue" gear skyrocketed like never before because of the Internet pressure.
But the troops also exchanged information on tactics and techniques, as well as anything else they knew that could help keep them alive in combat. This alarmed the Department of Defense, which put some restrictions on active duty bloggers. The troops did not fight back, as, once reminded, they understood that, in public forums, anyone could read what they were saying, including the enemy. So a lot of this information continued to be exchanged email and private message boards. The military got into the act by establishing official message boards, for military personnel only, where useful information could be discussed and exchanged. All this rapid information sharing has had an enormous impact on the effectiveness of the troops, something that has largely gone unnoticed by the mass media.
The brass have not tried to discourage all this communication, because the officers use it as well, for the same reasons as the troops. Most junior officers grew up with the Internet, and many of the older ones were using the Internet before it became popularized in the 1990s. Even the generals of today, have experience with PCs when they were young, so have no trouble getting into this new form of communication. The military is eagerly building a "battlefield Internet" for use during combat, and parts of this are up and running and heavily used in Iraq and Afghanistan.
This is all uncharted territory. There's never been an army before where all the troops were so well connected with each other. So far, the benefits have outweighed any liabilities. But no one is sure where it will go next, and the public is largely unaware of the impact, because the mass media has not grasped nature and extent of the changes.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/25/2006 09:42 ||
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#1
1. Its the two of the 6 who WERE recently active duty in Iraq that matter, not the others.
2. They had a better view of how many troops are needed, and more importantly, of whether OSD is listening to the generals on troop requirements (as OSD has consistently claimed) or not than any sergeant, no matter how brave.
3. No, the generals cant dismiss the SecDef. Only POTUS can dismiss SecDef. POTUS, and all elected officials who support POTUS, are answerable to the voters of the United States. And said voters want and need info on how OSD made and makes such crucial decisions as the number of troops required for an occupation. They especially need this when further wars and occupations are contemplated. The generals are providing that info.
#2
Elliot Cohen's editorial in WSJ hit these fellas right between the eyes with a sledge hammer. Next stop, majors retiring to rat out generals, and so on down the chain of command.
Posted by: Captain America ||
04/25/2006 10:11 Comments ||
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#3
two who matter, the rest don't LH? Knee's jerking again...restless liberal leg syndrome
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/25/2006 10:19 Comments ||
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#4
The difference between the generals and the sergeants is that the sergeants aren't auditioning for the number two slot on Hillary's ticket.
Posted by: Matt ||
04/25/2006 11:22 Comments ||
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#5
"The generals are providing that info."
Out of their finely-tuned sense of duty, no doubt.
#6
The problem is LH, the generals where wanting a civilian fired because he didn't agree with them and that rub alot people the wrong way. Even people I know that dislike Bush was saying they didn't want military men decideing who get fired and who doesn't. We don't like military controlling govt. it is a slippery slope.
#7
I know when I want info on how OSD made and makes such crucial decisions as the number of troops required for an occupation I turn to TIME, the weekly Newsmagazine.
#8
That's my best source too Nimble. Maybe he should have had more troops. Maybe. Or, maybe not. Either way, firing a guy for a single decision that was less than ideal is assinine. Anyone who says otherwise can feel free to kiss Rummies ass, because what they say, don't mean shit. It's not Veitnam anymore, stop whining. Losers.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/25/2006 17:31 Comments ||
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#9
Hmmmm....which CENTCOM commander asked for more troops and was refused? Please fill in the data, otherwise you're not in the proper chain of command in accordance with the Goldwater-Nichols Act.
MANILA A Muslim militant leader accused of the kidnapping of three US tourists has been arrested in the southern Philippines, the military said on Tuesday.
Senior Abu Sayyaf leader Shari Amiruddin, also known as Abu Omar, was the planner of the May 2001 kidnappings on the western island resort of Dos Palmas and also took part in bombing operations in several southern cities, the military said. He was arrested in the southern city of Zamboanga on Monday by army intelligence agents.
An Abu Sayyaf band led by Amiruddin raided the Dos Palmas resort and seized more than a dozen hostages, including the US Christian missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham and Peru-born California resident Guillermo Sobero. Sobero was beheaded while in captivity while Martin Burnham was shot dead during a rescue attempt in June 2002. His wife Gracia was rescued.
The hostages were taken by boat to the jungles of Basilan, a rugged island in the southern Philippines and a rebel stronghold. They were kept in near starvation and moved from camp to camp in shackles as the Abu Sayyaf rebels eluded a massive manhunt that lasted for over a year. The Filipino hostages were freed one by one, allegedly in exchange for ransom. The previous year, the Abu Sayyaf seized 21 European and Asian tourists from the Malaysian resort island of Sipadan. All of them were also freed after Libya offered funds for their release.
The US State Department considers the Abu Sayyaf a foreign terrorist organization which once received funding from Osama bin Ladens Al Qaeda network. The group is also responsible for the worst terrorist attack ever in the Philippines, fire-bombing a passenger ferry off the main island of Luzon in February 2004, killing more than 100 people. Last week, a Singapore-based security analyst said the Abu Sayyaf has been cultivating links with the Jemaah Islamiyah, a Southeast Asian militant group blamed for the October 2002 and 2005 bombings in Bali, Indonesia.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/25/2006 09:39 ||
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Colombo, 25 April (AKI) - The Sri Lankan army and air force has begun air and artillery strikes against the Tamil Tiger positions near the northeastern port of Trincomalee after a female suicide bomber blew herself up in the army headquarters in the capital Colombo on Tuesday. Reports say that Scandinavian monitors of the ceasefire agreement between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, confirmed the airstrikes.
The head of the Sri Lankan government peace secretariat, Palitha Kohona, was quoted on the Indian Daily News and Analysis website as saying that "the LTTE did something this afternoon that clearly breached the ceasefire" and that "the government had to act." However he also added that the government still hoped that "the LTTE will decide to come to talks."
No one has claimed responsibility for the suicide attack at the army headquarters, but the army blames the Tamil Tigers for the blast which killed at least eight people and has seriously injured army chief Lt Gen Sarath Fonseka.
Army chiefs take a dim view on attempts on their lives and tend respond violently
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), has been fighting for an independent homeland for minority Tamils in the north and east of the country since 1983 and argues that Tamils have been discriminated against by successive majority Sinhalese governments. A ceasefire was brokered between the government and the Tamil rebels in February 2002 after a two-decade long insurgency claimed more than 60,000 lives.
Peace talks were scheduled for Tuesday in Switzerland but the Tamil Tiger rebels pulled out last week following the recent escalation of violence in the Tamil-majority areas. Tuesday's suicide blast was the first such attack since July 2004.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/25/2006 15:07 ||
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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - A female suicide bomber disguised to look pregnant blew herself up in front of a car carrying Sri Lanka's highest-ranking general Tuesday, killing eight people and badly wounding the top officer. Twenty-six others also were injured.
The air force later launched attacks on areas controlled by the Tamil Tiger rebel movement, a rebel official and witnesses reported.
The attack and apparent military retaliation were further blows to an already fraying cease-fire that took effect four years ago on this island nation near the southern tip of India. At least 89 people, including 43 soldiers or police, have died in violence this month.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/25/2006 11:34 ||
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Colombo, 25 April (AKI) - A female suicide bomber blew herself up inside the Sri Lankan army headquarters in the capital Colombo, killing at least six people and injuring the head of the army, Lt. General Sarath Fonseka. This latest attack seriously calls into question the current peace process between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tiger rebels who have been fighting for an independent homeland for minority Tamils in the north and east of the country since 1983.
No one has claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attack. However Tamil Tigers are known to frequently use suicide bombers in their operations.
In the past month, the north and east of the country have been rocked by mine attacks and ethnic riots. Last week the rebels pulled out of scheduled talks with the government but this latest attack has brought the violence to a new level. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) argues that Tamils have been discriminated against by successive majority Sinhalese governments.
A ceasefire was brokered between the government and the Tamil rebels in February 2002 after a two-decade long insurgency claimed more than 60,000 lives.
Tuesday's blast is the first suicide attack since July 2004.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/25/2006 08:52 ||
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Sri Lankan police arrested five Maldivian nationals sparking unconfirmed rumours that the suspects were linked to Al-Qaeda, police and media reports said Monday.
The five -- two women, two children and a man -- were taken into custody at the request of the Maldives government and handed over to the Maldivian high commission (embassy) here, police chief Chandra Fernando said.
"We acted on a request by the Maldivian authorities," Fernando told AFP. "We have no information to suggest that the suspects are Al-Qaeda."
The Island newspaper said the arrest of the Maldivians at Sri Lanka's only international airport triggered speculation that the suspects belonged to the Al-Qaeda movement of Osama bin Laden.
Maldivian dissidents based in Colombo charged that the Male government is using the Sri Lankan police to crack down against political opponents and journalists.
In December, Sri Lanka's police raided a Maldivian radio operating in exile in Colombo following an Interpol report that it was involved in gun-running.
Police dropped the case after finding no evidence to support the report originated by the Maldivian police.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
04/25/2006 01:09 ||
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Life is just peaches and cream in the Paleo 'refugee' camps, isn't it?
Calm was restored to Sidon's Taamir neighborhood after clashes broke out late Sunday between youths from the Popular Nasserite Movement and members of the Jund al-Sham. Mohammad Mallah, wounded in a gunfight, was rushed to the An-Nida al-Insani Hospital in the Ein El-Hellhole Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp.
A second round of violence which took place about three hours later caused some minor damage to local homes, stores and vehicles and caused a power interruption. According to security reports, an argument between two people at the Habli coffee shop in Taamir escalated into a shooting incident in the street. Lebanese and Palestinian forces rushed to the area to contain the incident and arrest the armed individuals.
Residents said they were living in constant fear that more violence would erupt.
The violence over the weekend was not the first of its kind. Similar clashes took place in October 2005, after which numerous calls were made for the deployment of the Lebanese Army to fill the security vacuum and protect Taamir residents after one man was killed and four were wounded. The neighborhood is home to members of various political factions and military groups that regularly have armed clashes in the streets.
Repeated incidents of violence have pushed many residents, including Hassan Abu Oqda, the owner of the coffee shop where Sunday's argument took place, to pack their things and move inside the bordering refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh, "for security."
"The situation is unbearable. We need a permanent solution because the people want to eat and provide a living for their families," said restaurant owner Mahmoud al-Gharbi said. "We are not satisfied with the situation because we live in constant tension and panic," Gharbi added, calling on government officials to find an immediate solution.
On Monday, a member of Jund al-Sham, Mohammad Mohammad, was transported from Ain al-Hilweh to the Hammoud Hospital in Sidon. Mohammad had been shot by his uncle in a family dispute.
Meanwhile, a dawn blast rocked the Rashidieh refugee camp in Tyre when suspects tossed a hand grenade at the home of the Hamas Movement representative Hajj Abu Khaled Murra. According to Ali Barakeh, the movement's political-relations official in Lebanon, the explosion caused material damage but no casualties. While Murra refused to comment on the incident, Hamas' political representative in Tyre, Abu Khaled Jihad, condemned the act as "attempted murder."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/25/2006 00:00 ||
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President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hinted Monday Iran was considering withdrawing from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and said he did not think the Security Council would impose sanctions on Iran.
Amid increasing reports of a possible U.S. military action against Iran, Premier Tony Blair insisted Britain and the U.S. were not discussing that option, but said a "strong signal" needs to be sent to Tehran over its resumed nuclear program.
In his latest vitriolic attack against Israel, the firebrand leader said the "fake" Jewish state "cannot survive" and called on migrants to the country to go back to where they came from.
The Security Council has told its nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, to report by Friday on its demands for Iran to halt enrichment and answer outstanding queries about its nuclear nuclear program.
"I think it is very unlikely for them to be so stupid to do that," Ahmadinejad said at a rare news conference when asked about the sanctions.
"I think even the two or three countries who oppose us are wise enough not to resort to such a big mistake," he said. "Those who are speaking of sanctions would suffer more harm."
Asked about the Council's demands for suspension of uranium activities, Ahmadinejad said: "It's not like we just follow whatever they issue."
Iran says it only wants to enrich uranium to make reactor fuel to generate electricity, as is authorized by the NPT.
"Our policy is to work within the NPT and the Agency," Ahmadinejad said. "But if we see they don't want to accept our rights we will reconsider." The IAEA, he added, "hasn't done anything but cause a nuisance."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/25/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
That's a gawd-awful shame. No more toothless dog to beat for AhMad
Posted by: Captain America ||
04/25/2006 10:08 Comments ||
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the firebrand leader said the "fake" Jewish state "cannot survive" and called on migrants to the country to go back to where they came from.
Yes, and the many who came from Iran -- and their offspring -- have had IDF training and adopted the prickly Sabra outlook. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would not enjoy the result if he got them back, along with their fair share of Israel's weaponry.
US intelligence chief John Negroponte said that Al-Qaeda is a weakened organization that serves mainly as an inspiration to other Islamic terrorist groups.
But Negroponte predicted it will take a generation to win the ideological struggle against Islamic extremist groups which have grown and spread by inflaming grievances that are commonly held in the Muslim world.
His comments came a day after the airing of an audio tape attributed to Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden calling on Muslim fighters to wage war in Sudan against "crusader thieves."
Speaking to the Anti-Defamation League, Negroponte said Al-Qaeda and its affiliates remain the top threat to the United States. But he said Bin Laden's group is "a somewhat weakened organization."
"They still plot against our homeland and bin Laden and Zawahiri are still alive -- his deputy -- but they have suffered a lot of losses in their high command," he said in response to a question.
"And if anything, I think that, rather than directing many different operations around the world, I think they are more in the mode of serving as an inspiration for some of these terroristically inclined groups elsewhere," he said.
Negroponte said other Islamic extremists, aided by global telecommunications, are now playing prominent roles in pushing Al-Qaeda ideology.
"The result is that we are facing a range of groups, networks and individuals espousing Al-Qaeda's ideology and attempting to carry out its anti-Western agenda," he said.
To win the war against Muslim extremism will require that Muslims recognize it as a problem, something that he said "will take the work of a generation to fix."
"Turning the tide of an ideology that has been hardened in conflict after conflict, adding places like Chechnya, Indonesia and Somalia to the list of over a dozen so-called jihads since Afghanistan, will take time and sustained commitment," he said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
04/25/2006 01:11 ||
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Only a frigging, weak kneed diplodinc could come up with words like... "weakened but inspiring" to describe a heinous, murdering enemy.
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
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Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
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Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
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BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- Coalition forces interdicted a group of 
JALALABAD: Five children were wounded when a mortar shell exploded in eastern Ningarhar province on Monday. A correspondent of Afghan Islamic Press visited the area where five children were wounded in an explosion of mortar shell. Some children who were grazing their cattle found a mortar shell in Saracha area, 10 kilometer east of Jalalabad, and were playing with it when it exploded, leaving five children wounded, AIP correspondent said.
LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan_A plane carrying U.S. drug enforcement officials narrowly missed a truck as it came in to land at a southern Afghan airport Monday, but overran the airstrip and slid headlong into a nearby nomad settlement, killing four people. At least 13 others were injured, including several American passengers, after the Russian-made, twin-engine An-32 aircraft slammed into a cluster of tents and mud brick houses where some 20 women and children ate rice near the airstrip at Bost airport in 
An Egyptian security official reported on Tuesday that police had arrested 10 people on suspicion of involvement in Monday's triple terror attack in Dahab which killed at least 24 people. Details of the suspects were not yet released for publish. 
The judge in charge of the inquiry into the Madrid train bombings travelled to Morocco to interrogate a suspect in the case. Judge 
Three explosions shook the Egyptian Sinai resort of Dahab yesterday, killing at least 33 people and wounding at least 150, a security official said. Witnesses said smoke could be seen rising from the towns tourist bazaar, and residents said they saw body parts and debris on the street after an explosion at a restaurant. An official with the local ambulance service said many of the dead appeared to be foreigners.
A gang leader, who was also accused of killing Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) constable Delwar Hossain in Tongi, was killed in an 'encounter' with Rab members early yesterday. 
DIYARBAKIR: A Turkish soldier and three members of the outlawed 
Pro-Taliban militants ambushed a Pakistani army convoy in the restive North Waziristan tribal region, killing seven soldiers and rebels, officials said on Tuesday. The convoy came under attack on Monday in the mountains near the main town of Miranshah while heading towards Beermal on the Afghan border. Four soldiers and three militants were killed. "They first detonated an explosive with remote control on the roadside and then opened fire on the convoy," an intelligence official told Reuters. He said eight soldiers were wounded in the fighting that lasted for an hour.
A city court in Srinagar has ordered the release of an imam arrested by the anti-terrorist squad of Mumbai Police from Haj House in a follow-up to the arrest of three alleged 
QUETTA: Security forces, acting on a tip-off, defused explosives planted in the office of the Sui district coordination officer on Monday. Meanwhile, unidentified people blew up a pipeline in Loti Gas Field, suspending gas supply from the field. In another incident, unidentified people fired seven rockets which exploded near security forces camps in Dera Bugti, Kohlu, Treman and Pirkoh. There was no loss of life or property in the attack.
MIRANSHAH: Militants fired rockets at an army convoy and opened fire on a roadside military post in separate attacks in 
PESHAWAR: Pro-Tribal militants set bundles of newspapers on fire in North Waziristan on Monday and threatened newspaper correspondents who referred to them as 'terrorists' and 'miscreants', eyewitnesses said. "As the van bringing Urdu and English newspapers reached Mir Ali, around eight masked Taliban torched the newspapers," a tribal journalist told Daily Times. A pamphlet was later left in the bazaar, reading: "If any newspaper calls us terrorists or miscreants, we will hold its North Waziristan correspondent responsible."
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan_Suspected Islamic militants fired rockets, mortars and small arms at a security post in a restive tribal region in Pakistan early Monday, triggering a gunbattle with troops that left one attacker dead and two others wounded, an intelligence official and a fighter said.
Car bombings and shootings killed 20 people and wounded more than 100 in Baghdad yesterday as Washington stepped up pressure for Shiite Premier-designate Jawad Al-Maliki to form a government and halt Iraqs slide into civil war. 
Jordanian security sources have revealed to Asharq al-Awsat that a secret investigation into the smuggling of weapons by Hamas into Jordan has implicated five members of the Palestinian parliament movement. The issue was first raised last Tuesday by a Jordanian government spokesperson who said security forces seized rocket launchers and other weapons from a Hamas arms cache in the country. Amman also accused Hamas of using Jordan to engage in anti-Israeli activities.
Jordan began and then quickly adjourned the trial of a failed female suicide bomber yesterday, who has already confessed she tried to blow herself up as part of attacks on Amman hotels last year that killed 60 people. Chief Judge Fawaz Al-Baqour adjourned the trial after 35-year-old 
