KABUL, Afghanistan Afghan and Coalition forces killed one al Qaeda member and detained 13 other suspected terrorists Aug. 15 during an early morning operation conducted in Khowst Province near the village of YaQubi . Need to work on achieving the reciprocal of that killed/captured ratio.
The purpose of this operation was to capture a known al Qaeda facilitator considered a significant threat to Afghan and Coalition forces. Credible intelligence linked the targeted terrorist to weapons and explosive smuggling in the Khowst Province.
Upon arrival at the compound, the assault force requested a peaceful surrender of people within the compound. Most of the people surrendered to the assault force at that time. During a routine search of the buildings within the compound, a man disguised as a woman resisted capture and was subsequently shot and killed. Was this the AQ facilitator the raid was aimed at? Does he get delivered to his virgins in a burka?
Numerous detonators and other bomb-making materials were discovered during the operation. Inside the two buildings housing this material, there were more than 60 women and children. Lions of Islam hide behind their women and children.
The weapons cache was moved outside the compound and subsequently destroyed. No Afghan or Coalition forces were injured during the operation. It is a known extremist tactic to surround themselves with women and children and put them in harms way, said Col. Thomas Collins, Coalition spokesman. Al Qaeda and other extremist organizations dont care who they endanger. Their aim here was to surround their bomb-making operations with women and children, knowing the Coalition takes extreme caution to avoid injuring civilians.
#3
a man disguised as a woman resisted capture and was subsequently shot and killed. Was this the AQ facilitator the raid was aimed at? Does he get delivered to his virgins in a burka?
One can only hope that those who are martyred in a burqa end up playing "catcher" along with the 71 other virgins awarded that day.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Terrorists Insurgents targeted NATO patrols with bicycle-rigged bombs that wounded four alliance soldiers Monday. A bomb rigged to a bicycle exploded as a NATO patrol passed, slightly wounding four French soldiers, France's Defense Ministry said. Three civilians also were wounded, officials said. A second bomb found at scene in the northern neighborhood of Khayrkhana was disarmed.
Another bomb-rigged bicycle blew up as a NATO vehicle passed on a main road near a U.N. office in the capital, an Interior Ministry spokesman said. The bomb exploded prematurely and caused no damage or casualties, he said, adding a terrorist suspect had been arrested.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/15/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Ima thinkiering that a GPS-enabled JDAM Bombbike might be able to autopilot. The arrival at your destination might be a little abrupt, however
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/15/2006 10:18 Comments ||
Top||
MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Northern Somali authorities loyal to the interim government on Tuesday hunted down clerics trying to spread the grip of Mogadishu-based Islamists, and peace talks scheduled for Sudan were put on hold.
Excellent! It's cleric season!
The Islamists asked for a two-week delay in Arab League-brokered talks in Khartoum with the government, now past a Monday deadline to form a cabinet after its dissolution for non-performance last week. The Islamists, who rule Mogadishu and a key swathe of southern Somalia through sharia courts backed by disciplined militias, have vowed to spread Islamic law across the Horn of Africa nation of 10 million. That has put them at odds with the shaky interim government, a fractious, secular administration that has struggled to impose authority anywhere in the country except at its temporary base in the south-central trading town of Baidoa.
Police in the self-governed northern Puntland state, once ruled by Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf, were tracking Sheikh Ahmed Shanle after he announced the formation of a sharia court in Las Anood district on Sunday. "The sheikh and his group escaped, but the police will catch and bring them to justice," Puntland police officer Abdullahi Jama told reporters.
You could take them on a 2 AM road trip looking for a arms cache. I'm sure I can find a spare shutter gun around here somewhere
Two journalists who reported on the opening of the court were arrested on Monday, but later freed, local reporter Abdullahi Yasin told Reuters.
Puntland, which covers northeastern Somalia and is the tip of the Horn of Africa, has been self-governed for years and is relatively stable by the standards of a country mired in anarchy since the 1991 overthrow of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. Though its leaders have quarrelled with Yusuf, a Puntland native, they share a common enemy in the Mogadishu Islamists.
On Monday in Puntland's main port, Bossaso, police jailed another cleric and 10 of his followers who were trying to open a sharia court, authorities said.
"Git yur hands up, holy man."
The Islamists accuse the government of being a puppet of Ethiopia, and say the presence of Ethiopian troops in Baidoa and elsewhere on Somali soil is proof of that. They refuse to negotiate with the government until the troops leave. "Under the excuse of the Ethiopian troops, they are not going to the Khartoum talks, but in a sense, this suits their policy of slow, quiet consolidation," said a Western diplomat. The diplomat said the Islamists were "very, very cunning" in biding their time to get stronger, thus giving the government little choice but to accept Ethiopia's backing -- and direction.
The government accuses the Islamists of al Qaeda links and planning to usurp its legal authority through a military campaign cloaked in the guise of spreading Islamic law. An Arab League official blamed the Islamists for further delaying the peace talks, originally set for mid-July. "We are not happy with the new position of the Islamic courts. They are the only side responsible for postponing the negotiations," said Samir Hosni, the League's Somalia pointman.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/15/2006 15:17 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
ooohh I like it
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/15/2006 15:46 Comments ||
Top||
#2
What they need are lots of snipers - and an endless supply of bullets.
I'll gladly fork over for a case - anybody know where I can send them?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/15/2006 15:53 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Like I said a few weeks back, the Islamists can run wild all over the rump state of Somalia, but when they get to Puntland or Somaliland, they are goners. Both of those places have a functional central government, and a basic army. Plus a couple of hundred thousand Ethiopian "volunteers" standing by, if needed.
#5
And so it goes, onwards and downwards, without reason, purpose, point or end.
I somtimes wonder why we even bother with some parts of the world.
Posted by: N guard ||
08/15/2006 17:13 Comments ||
Top||
#6
I somtimes wonder why we even bother with some parts of the world.
Only the advent of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons has made it essential to monitor these various and sundry hell-holes. Terrorists, by there sheer existence, have now made it essential to exterminate them. If this requires the wholesale slaughter of all Muslims on the face of this earth, then so be it.
Each day another 9-11 happens. Not so noticable as the Twin Towers' collapse but just as deadly. Some 3,000 African children die on a daily basis, be it from famine, disease, war or disaster. Imagine the incalculable wealth currently being expended world-wide on thwarting a tiny but pathologically violent faction of one putative religion.
Now imagine how many of the world's most dire problems could be addressed if that vast wealth were not being diverted by the need to combat terrorism. Where is it written that outside cultures are responsible for cleaning up the mess that is Islam?
Somehow, in a feat of masterful prestidigitation, Islam has foisted its housecleaning duties upon the outside world while it is allowed unfettered access to our educational and economic institutions along with a safe haven to continue breeding.
Only when this world reads Islam the riot act and makes clear the intensely painful consequences (namely, nuclear annihilation) for not eliminating the jihadists in their midst will there be even the slightest glimmer of hope for halting terrorism. Until then we remain complete and total fools in their eyes and are obliged to witness yet another 9-11 happen each day. How much longer will this lunacy continue?
#7
The Islamists, who rule Mogadishu and a key swathe of southern Somalia through sharia courts backed by disciplined militias, have vowed to spread Islamic law across the Horn of Africa nation of 10 million.
First off, I love the disciplined militia line. What does this mean, that they don't rape and pillage wantonly, show up when told to do so and only do it with the goat on occasion?
And who knew there were 10 million people in Somalia. I thought lots of these folks starved to death. Man, they breed like rabbits.
Zenster, what you said. Unfortunately, that slap down on Islam ain't gonna happen until tens of thousands of our citizens get killed in a single event.
August 15, 2006: The situation in Sudan's western Darfur region has gone from bad to worse. Renewed violence has either stymied or stopped food and relief aid deliveries to three million refugees and displaced people in the region. The May 5 peace agreement (Darfur Peace Agreement, or DPA) has not brought peace. For example, attacks on African Union (AU) peacekeepers were up 900 percent over the same period last year. Last year, attacks on AU peacekeepers occurred but were rare. Though the peace agreement was signed over three months
ago, the Sudanese government has yet to produce a plan to disarm the pro-government militias in the region.
Tap, tap....nope
In terms of the number of aid workers killed, July 2006 was in deed the worst month since the Darfur tragedy began in early 2003. Eight aid workers were killed. The UN estimates that there are 14,000 aid workers in the Darfur region.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/15/2006 10:05 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
That'll happen when you substitute action for talk with murderous subhumans (that'd be the Janjaweed, for you NPR folks out there).
Posted by: Jules in the Hinterlands ||
08/15/2006 10:23 Comments ||
Top||
#2
When has a peace deal -- short of total surrender -- not increased violence?
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
08/15/2006 10:30 Comments ||
Top||
(SomaliNet) More defected militiamen from the weak transitional federal government based in the provincial town of Baidoa in southwest Somalia were reported to have joined on Sunday the Islamic Courts who control the capital and key towns in central and southern of the country — this is another blow to the powerless government.
An Islamic courts official confirmed to reporters in Mogadishu that another defected militia from Somalia government chose the right path and joined them. The militia defected from Baidoa some 240km southwest of the capital has reached Barawe district of lower Shabelle region in south of Somalia and then crossed into the capital Mogadishu where they have met a warm welcome from the Islamic Courts for their joining.
They were 35 militiamen armed with two pick up trucks mounted with heavy machineguns. They said their defection came after facing life difficulties from the government and could not stay with what they called enemy troops (Ethiopia).
Posted by: Fred ||
08/15/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
(SomaliNet) Unconfirmed reports say four former bad boys of Mogadishu have been caught entering Uganda illegally and have been detained by Ugandan police. Heavy-weight warlord Muse Sudi and his colleagues Bashir Rage Shirar and Abdulkadir Bebe whose Bebe name stands for armored army carrier are said to have asked the Ugandan authorities to be deported to Ethiopia, the Islamic courts' sworn enemy.
All credits go to the controversial Islamic courts who single handedly chased these Mogadishu stranglers and others out of Somalia. As controversial as they may seem, the courts' sudden rise and change to Somalia's political landscape is seen as positive move toward stabilization, at least those who've lived under Muse Sudi and the likes see the courts as saviors.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/15/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
All credits go to the controversial Islamic courts who single handedly chased these Mogadishu stranglers and others out of Somalia.
Careful. Wait until the Islamic Courts and sharia start crossinfg the border. Then you sing a different tune.
Posted by: john ||
08/15/2006 15:48 Comments ||
Top||
LONDON -- Another suspect in an alleged plot to blow up trans-Atlantic jets was arrested Tuesday in England. Authorities said the suspect -- who is the 25th person taken into custody -- was arrested Tuesday in the Thames Valley suburbs west of London. Authorities wouldn't say exactly where the arrest happened, but Thames Valley is where several suspects were arrested earlier. It's also where police raided two Internet cafés and hauled off computers.
The latest arrest follows a British report stating that the search of a woodland area in Thames Valley turned up several firearms and other items of interest. It was not immediately clear whether the weapons were meant for use in the alleged plot to use liquid explosives on 10 planes flying to the United States.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/15/2006 14:49 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
The Government is discussing with airport operators plans to introduce a screening system that allows security staff to focus on those passengers who pose the greatest risk. The passenger-profiling technique involves selecting people who are behaving suspiciously, have an unusual travel pattern or, most controversially, have a certain ethnic or religious background.
The system would be much more sophisticated than simply picking out young men of Asian appearance. But it would cause seething outrage in the Muslim community because its members would be far more likely to be selected for extra checks. What doesn't cause outrage in the moslem community?
Officials at the Department for Transport (DfT) believe that it would be more effective at identifying potential terrorists than the existing random searches. They also say that it would greatly reduce queues at security gates, which caused lengthy delays at London airports yesterday for the fifth day running.
The DfT has been considering passenger profiling for a year but, until last week, the disadvantages were thought to outweigh the advantages. A senior aviation industry source said: The DfT is ultra-sensitive about this and wont say anything publicly because of political concerns about being accused of racial stereotyping.
Three days before last weeks arrests, the highest-ranking Muslim police officer in Britain gave warning that profiling techniques based on physical appearance were already causing anger and mistrust among young Muslims. Tarique Ghaffur, an assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said: We must think long and hard about the causal factors of anger and resentment. There is a very real danger that the counter-terrorism label is also being used by other law-enforcement agencies to the effect that there is a real risk of criminalising minority communities.
Sir Rod Eddington, former chief executive of British Airways, criticised the random nature of security searches. He said that it was irrational to subject a 75-year-old grandmother to the same checks as a 25-year-old man who had just paid for his ticket with cash. Philip Baum, an aviation security consultant, said that profiling should focus on ruling out people who obviously posed no risk rather than picking out Asian or Arabs.
A DfT spokesman refused to make any comment or answer any questions on profiling.
#3
Finally. Agreed, SPOD - as for allowing anyone from any of the "Islamic" countries to enter the West, by any means, shut it off. Forever. And deport those that are among us. All of them. A public oath of allegiance - required at least annually - or out. First whiff of sedition or perfidy, such as giving to a "Muslim charity" --they're gone. Enough with the PC bullshit - it's slow-motion suicide. Take note, America - time to catch up with the Brits here.
Quarantine Islam. Cut it off. If it desists, then leave it to stew in its own juices - without any assistance or access to the West. If it doesn't, kill it - nest by nest.
I have decided they are not worthy of freedom or sympathy or quarter. Quarantine is my last stand before deciding they are not worthy of life on my planet. And I've decided it's MY fucking planet. Fuck them and the disease that they carry.
#4
I heard a story once that goes something like this... Your daughter is walking home from class late at night and up ahead is a biker bar with a long row of choppers sitting out front and drunks stumbling in and out of the bar. If she crosses the sidewalk and proceeds on home on the other side of the street, is she "profiling" or just using good ole common sense? You be the judge.
#9
The Muslim community refuses to understand anything but their own presumed supremacy and "rights to dominate".....aka "dhimmify all, accomodate, accept nothing".
Their spins and the fudges will not end because of their allah fascism and approved taqiyyah. Aided by entrenched moronic lefties, the storm will have to brew to full strength for Britain before bursting.
#11
Profiling but apologising on the other hand :
Passport photograph of girl's bare shoulders rejected 'as it may offend'
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/08/14/npassport14.xml
Nope, they are not awaken.
#12
She should walk clear of the bikes, the old pan leaks so much oil she might slip and get hurt! But then if Clinton was across the street she would have no fear of the bikers, they would be across the streey kicking the crap out of a prez that sold America down river.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
08/15/2006 9:07 Comments ||
Top||
#13
...profiling should focus on ruling out people who obviously posed no risk rather than picking out Asian or Arabs.
#14
Finally. The airlines realize if they don't get down to business, they won't have any. They can't keep the PC facade going and load aircraft in a timely fashion. No ones gives a shit if Muzzies are upset. They don't need to fly. They can go back to their donkeys and camels. We can't really be concerned about their feelings, they're always upset. What we need to do is make them conform to cultural norms, or remove them from society.
#15
Years ago we used to have a seperate "DAP" line for folks who wanted to do the DAP thing in the chow line. It eventually cured DAP. Maybe we could have seperate Muzzie airlines.
#17
Aren't there already separate lines for those frequent flyers who go through the process of getting themselves pre-approved for security? Surely anyone can try to qualify, Muslims as well, and that would shrink the risk pool that ought to be examined more closely. Certainly I'd be willing to let whomever examine my life in detail ahead of time, if it would make subsequent travels go more smoothly.
#18
Of course in this country we ought to profile all ACLU weasel appeasing bastards and their ilk, and ship them off to Gitmo for intense "interrogation". This would make things simpler... They may be citizens, but they are enemy combatants.
#20
A "soul brother" greeting (e.g. fist taps). Must have missed the separate chow lines.
Posted by: ed ||
08/15/2006 11:54 Comments ||
Top||
#21
I say 2-3 hour security screening procedures for "terror prone" profiles, and 10 minute security procedures for people booking flights 8 weeks in advance with credit cards they pay one every month, under the scrutiny of NSA easedropping is not out of line.
Maybe sitting in a couple long airport security lines will convert some of that seething into a desire to curb ones own trash.
#22
Well, since ALL the terrorist attacks have come from a certain ethnic/religious group (with a few outlyers, being converts), I don't see any reason WHATSOEVER to double-check airline passengers bearing identity or resemblance to the same. I mean, what good would that do? Gawd, what is the world coming to? We should all just get along. It's one of our core values. Like the leader of Iran said, he likes spending "quality time" with his family, just like most of us do. So we're not all that different after all. We just need to learn to get along. Detaining young Moslem men is just going to fan the flames of rage and hurt their feelings. Some of them might become terrorists who otherwise wouldn't have if it weren't for the airline checks. If we would just give them some of their demands and let them have a greater say in government, they would be happy. Really, really happy.
#23
You were being sarcastic, weren't you, ex-lib?
Can't fool ol' Bobby!
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/15/2006 15:47 Comments ||
Top||
#24
What doesn't cause outrage in the moslem community?
That which causes seething.
It's time for Islam to realize that so long as it remains the almost exclusive source of terrorist atrocities, then all of its adherents and fellow countrymen will necessarily be regarded with a greater degree of suspicion. This is not profiling, it is simple common sense.
If Muslim people wish to end such perceived profiling, they had better well begin to root out the jihadists in their midst. This world has yet to see anything of the sort. Until we do, all outside cultures are entitled to do whatever it takes in order to maintain security.
Islam has almost singlehandedly propagated modern terrorism. They can now go about stuffing the genie back into the bottle or continue to pay the price in everyday life. I have zero sympathy for a putative religion that is diverting so much of this world's wealth towards thwarting a small fraction of their pathologically violent adherents. If they refuse to do anything about it (and they evidently refuse), whatever escalating measures are required to combat their atrocities should be expected and met without complaint upon their part.
#26
I saw a piece on TV last night that said that Richard Reid, the shoe bomber, once took an El-Al flight to Israel. They didn't like the answers to his questions enough that they had an air marshal sitting next to him during the flight.
Law enforcement sources confirm to News 4 that Tucson Police have issued an "attempt to locate" on two Middle Eastern men in their 20's who purchased nearly 50 phones from Sam's Club and Wal-Mart in Tucson. Sources say the men made the purchases on Saturday and Sunday.
There's been a number of arrests nationwide with very similar circumstances. News 4 is not linking this case with the national cases, but we do want to point out how similar they are.
Arrests have been made in Michigan and Ohio and there are reports of large numbers of cell phones being sold to young men fitting the same description in Wisconsin. There was a very similar case that went down in Antigo, Wisconsin where police say another group of men bought more than 90 cell phones from 4 different stores.
News 4 spoke with a Wal-mart and Sam's Club representative and he would not confirm nor deny that these men did in fact buy those phones. Instead, he referred us to the police and we spoke with the Pima Sheriff's Department and the Marana and Oro Valley police departments.
Tucson law enforcement authorities confirmed late Sunday night that officers are searching for these two men.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/15/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
All one type..
NOT GOOD!
Randomizes lot number and serial number so it is hard to tie user to a geographic site.
NOT GOOD!
Let's user have random phones from all over for each call.
NOT GOOD!
BUT... ALL one model....
Is a bit better excepting millions sold.
Also the pre-paid bit.
Solution:
1) Flag for instant FBI interest all of this type of pre-paid cellphone calls made.
2) Since they are for emergencies and should never be turned on under ordinary circumstances .... Start tracking them the micro-second that they register on the cellphone network. If police cars are nearby check out the user. (You can get pretty good geo-location from power strength meaurements of the phone that are passed up in registration, poll, handover and other messages) another good reason to have my old SuperSniffer overlay sensing and injection network running if those idiots at my old manufacturing company still have the software - that way it would not impact operation of the active cellular system
3) everytime one of these model phones registers on the system - wait a few mins and then give it a spam phonecall and e-mail and SMS. That way if the terrorists have hitched a bomb up to it you can have some early explosions.... er.. work accidents. Anybody else will just see it as spam.
(No Do Not Call Registeries should be permitted for prepaid phones.)
4) Lots more that could be done...
#8
I don't think this is an attempt to purchase phones for IED's. Just another example of the Arab mind in action. They are pretty useless in most things but in the Art Of the Bazaar they are good. They can spot a deal a mile off, and these phones are a bargain.
For instance, here in Australia, you can pay up to $160 for the Nokia 2600 which I believe is the phone sold by TracFone. Phone manufacturers use different pricing in different regions, and this leads to arbitrage. For instance in the local papers recently there was an article about Asian students buying up Motorola phones and shipping them back to Hong Kong where they cost $60 more. The students were paid $20 for each phone purchased.
Have a look at this court case for a bit of background on how these scams work and the issue of unblocking phones.
#9
1 - land lines are easier to tap [thank the NYT for alerting the muzzies].
2 - they're mobile. so while you can eventually triangulate the location, the subject is on the move too.
3 - an indirect form of burst communication. Use once for comm and then dispose. No pattern to follow. And patterns are what Able Danger and its successor utilize.
4 - while 1 and 2 means they can probably id the receiver in the foreign country, 3 means they are unlikely to zero in on the domestic source.
I'm beginning to think that this may be one of the few effective measures that can be taken in the near-term. The thundering silence of America's Muslim community over the endless stream of Islamist atrocities is proof enough of their divided loyalties.
Why not require separate indentification for each individual cell phone purchased? The few number of these bulk sales represent a minuscule fraction of manufacturers' profits. There is really no need to permit the sale of large quantities to unregistered individuals (who are not legitimate retail dealers). The possibilities for abuse far outweigh any arguments with respect to restraint of trade. This one is a no-brainer.
Ok, but what about those who are already here? My suggestion remains the same. Any muslim from any anti-America or anti-Israel state who has been here for less than a reasonable amout of time (say 10 years) should have their record scrutinized for possible terror ties or anti-government activities. Those who fail should be sent packing. Those who pass should be compelled to take a loyalty oath to the United States or be deported. Of course this is Orwellian. Of course this is a violation of 'human rights'. Of course this is 'not the American way'. But we are talking about the very survival of the American way of life. This is a war. Throughout American history, many civil rights have been suspended in times of national emergency. Some of these were ridiculous and cruel, such as the internnment of Japanese American citizens in WWII. Some were, I believe, absolutely necessary for the preservation of the nation, such as Lincoln suspending habius corpus during the civil war.
None of this however, addresses the real cancer among us, which is secular progressive liberalism. It's been far more devastating to the American way of life than any terrorist ever was. But alas, one problem at a time.
#12
"Ok, but what about those who are already here?"
Deport them all, regardless of the amount of time, or even if they are 2nd and 3rd generation. We can send the secular progressive liberals with them too, since they like Muslims so much.
In Ohio, prosecutor James Schneider said he didn't have enough evidence to present felony terrorism charges for Ali Houssaiky and Osama Abulhassan, both of Dearborn, Mich., to a grand jury. The two men face a misdemeanor count of falsification accusing them of lying about why they bought the phones, Schneider said.
"We're grateful the Washington County Prosecutor's Office has been willing to keep an open mind and look at all the evidence and make their decisions based on the evidence," said William Swor, who is representing Houssaiky.
The FBI is reviewing the Ohio case and staying in touch with local authorities. No federal charges are pending, said special agent Mike Brooks of the FBI.
Authorities stopped the men on a traffic violation in Marietta, Ohio, on Aug. 8 and said they found airplane passenger lists and information on airport security checkpoints, along with $11,000 cash and 12 phones, in their car. Abulhassan and Houssaiky admitted buying about 600 phones in recent months at stores in southeast Ohio and selling them to someone in Dearborn.
Who?
Defense attorneys said the government had no evidence the phones were being used illegally and the men planned to resell the phones simply to make money. They also said the airport and airplane information were old papers left in the car by a relative who worked at an airport.
Makes no sense to buy phones in Ohio and resell them in Michigan. Anyone in Dearborn can go to the Walmart and buy the phones themselves.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/15/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
CARO, Mich. (AP) - The FBI said Monday it had no information to indicate that the three Texas men arrested with about 1,000 cell phones in their van had any direct connection to known terrorist groups.
Authorities had increased patrols on the 5-mile-long Mackinac Bridge after local prosecutors said investigators believed the men were targeting the span. Local authorities didn't say what they believed the men intended to do with the phones, most of which were prepaid TracFones, but Caro's police chief noted that cell phones can be untraceable and used as detonators.
The FBI issued a news release Monday saying there is no imminent threat to the bridge linking Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas. The release also said the FBI had no information indicating that the men, Palestinian-Americans living in Texas, had any direct links to any known terrorist groups or to the alleged plot to bomb trans-Atlantic jetliners that was announced in London last week.
"Nope, nope, pure as the driven snow, nope ..."
William Kowalski, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's Detroit field office, said authorities believe concern about the bridge was connected to images of the Mackinac Bridge found on a digital camera belonging to the men. Kowalski said there was nothing illegal about buying cell phones in bulk, but that profits from that kind of activity can be suspicious.
More to this than meets the eye. Buying cell phones retail and reselling them in the US doesn't make sense. Driving from Texas to Michigan to buy cell phones doesn't make sense.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/15/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
I can vouch for the FACT that there are plenty of Tracfones for sale here in Texas (at $19.95 each), and there's NO profit to be made buying 'em in Michigan and reselling them here.
#3
Clearly something not good is going on here. Reading this WaPo article, it occurs to me that this may be a case of the FBI letting the small fry go in the hopes they will lead them to bigger game.
I did like the concluding quote:
"I hope this is a good lesson for local police not to spread fear and paranoia," Imad Hamad, regional director of the American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee, said of the Michigan arrests. "I'm grateful that federal authorities provided such a clarification."
#4
What's the expalnation for all the phones? Does it make ANY sense? Is it even marginally plausible? No?
So try the jihadi bastards for mopery and dopery or something and toss 'em in the klink. Shit, you can't blow your nose in this country anymore without breaking three laws and an EPA guideline, so FIND A FREAKIN' PRETEXT!
#5
Tipper got it in comment #8 in this thread. I bet all the phones are GSM which are useful most places overseas. If they were for use in the US, they could just as well went for CDMA phones which are harder to eavesdrop.
Posted by: ed ||
08/15/2006 10:12 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Suddenly, these identical cases are turning up all across US. Not before. Now. Same people would have noticed it earlier also. Phones , or phone parts, are being sold to someone in Dearborn for transhipping. They may be used for communications, but ultimately as detonators is my guess. I would say these perps will have company for some time to come. It would be far better to have a general terrorism charge and send them to Cuba for inderterminate period. Bushies were exactly right on this angle. Cut off any further news coverage, just handle it. And get these bastards off our streets.
#7
Someone noted yesterday that they'd read the goons were buying these Tracfones, discarding the chargers, SIM cards and even batteries (I think) and were busted in Michigan (from TX). There's NO way they're doing this for profit in my mind (gas alone would eat you up in a van from TX to MI, not to mention there's plenty of Wal-Marts in between to buy these at). I'ma thinkin' they were headin' to Dearborn/Detroit for sale to overseas jihadis.
Then, a local (lives 3 miles from the bridge) called in said she'd been wracking her brain trying to think of what they'd be used for on the bridge (not very busy, not a "symbolic" bridge, etc.). Then, their local news ran the story on the annual run/walk across the bridge over Labor Day (coming up soon). Supposedly, 60,000+ people on the bridge during this run/walk. Now, discarding all the "accessories" leads me to believe they'd be a trigger/detonator. 1,000+ of them could cover a good chunk of that bridge for that run/walk. Not to sow conspiracy theories, but, you gotta ask....
Posted by: BA ||
08/15/2006 15:11 Comments ||
Top||
#8
whoops "called in to Hannity's show yesterday.."
Posted by: BA ||
08/15/2006 15:12 Comments ||
Top||
#9
They want phones not traceable to one geographic area. (ie lot numbers which are reverse engineerible from other info)
In other words they don't want a whole bunch of phones from Dearborn popping up on a roaming network somewhere else at the same time.
PLEASE SOMEBODY IN THE FBI GET A CLUE!
JUST BECAUSE YOUR LAWYERS DOESN"T MEAN YOU HAVE TO BE MORONS TOO!
#10
Anybody ever seen The Wire?
Drug dealers buy these in bulk, & only use them for a week, before the feds/police can get a wiretap up. then they ditch them for a new set of phones. Suppose the muzzies could be doing the same thing...
On the eve of Independence Day, two Pakistani terrorists were today arrested by the BSF while they were crossing over to the Indian side from Bangladesh at Hingalganj in West Bengal's north 24 Parganas district. The arrested, both residents of Karachi, were identified as Mohammand Zuber, a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) member and Mohammad Sohail, associated with Jaish-e-Mohammad, DIG(G) of BSF B S Rana told reporters.
Preliminary interrogations by the BSF revealed that the two had arrived in Bangladesh in the first week of July.The duo was prima facie found to be arms dealers and were on way to Kashmir via Delhi, Rana said adding their other real motives of coming to India were being ascertained. Rana said the arrest was made at Charalkhali under Hingalganj police station when the Pakistanis were crossing Ichhamati river on boat. They would be handed over to police tomorrow.
Patrolling along the Bangladesh border was further stepped up following the arrests. BSF sources said the two had been engaged in smuggling RDX and other explosive materials for Kashmiri militants from Bangladesh via Indo-Bangladesh border. The BSF south Bengal frontier has informed the Union Home Ministry about the arrests.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/15/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
The interrogation of two Laskhar-e-Taiba militants arrested last week has brought to light "direct links" between Pakistani intelligence agency ISI and the terror outfit, strengthening India's case that Islamabad was actively supporting terrorist activities in the country. One of the arrested militants Abu Anaz has revealed that he was the body guard of Lashkar second-in-command Zaki-ur-Rehman and given detailed description about functioning of the terror outfit and the monthly meetings that take place between Pakistan Army officials and LeT leaders. "Zakir-ur-Rehman and some others of LeT used to meet Pakistani Army's Major Wajahat, Brigadier Riaz and Brigadier Haji every month in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir," Joint Commissioner (Special Cell) Karnal Singh said.
Abu, a Pakistani national, has told police that Major Wajahad used to visit the Laskhar top leader at the outfit's sprawling 50 acre office in Shiwai Nala, also known as Baitul Mujahideen, in Muzaffarabad. "We have got details about ISI and Pakistan Army's connection with Laskhar-e-Taiba. It is not that LeT's working independently. The monthly meeting discussed terror activities in India and this brings out the linkages among terror groups, Pakistan Army and the ISI," he added.
He has also given details about the command structure of the outfit and names of operatives in charge of various departments. Anas used to take Zaki-ur-Rehman, whom he described as a person in his mid-40s in charge of terrorist operations in India, for meetings with ISI officers in a green Land Cruiser (IDL-5392) in Islamabad and Muzaffarabad, Singh said. He has told police that one Hafiz Sayeed, a resident of Johar Town in Lahore, was the chief of LeT, while Hazi Ashraf from Faislabad and Yousuf Taabi was in charge of finance and functioning of madrassas.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
08/15/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
No surprise Pakistan are up with Iran as the main terrorist threat to the West!!!!
#3
And their little dogs (Syria, Hezbollah), too!
FWIW-I saw an article in the MSM on the weekend essentially saying "Gee, look at all these links to Pakistan!" and I thought, well duh, what are you going to do about it? *cue crickets*
GUWAHATI, India - Rebels hurled a grenade at a security patrol in Indias troubled northeastern state of Assam on Monday, killing three civilians, including a woman and a child, police said. Several others, including four policemen, were wounded in the attack by suspected militants of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), which came a day after the government suspended military operations against the group to help peace moves.
The targeting of a police foot patrol in the town of Duliajan, about 500 km (310 miles) east of the state capital Dispur, came on the eve of Indias Independence Day, a time when rebels routinely launch attacks. We are not sure who was behind the attack, but we have strong reasons to suspect that ULFA is behind it, a senior intelligence officer told Reuters in Guwahati, the states main city.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/15/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
CAMP AL ASAD, Iraq (Aug. 14, 2006) U.S. Marines detained three men for suspected involvement in the murder of an Iraqi man in Haditha, Iraq, 120 miles west of Baghdad.
Four masked gunmen in a white pickup truck arrived at the victims house and announced that anyone assisting Coalition forces would be killed, according to eye witnesses, who also stated the gunmen were not from the Haditha community.
Sources say the victim, armed with a personal rifle, fired at the four gunmen in self-defense killing one and wounding two others. After running out of ammunition, the victim was forced from his home and was killed execution-style in front of his house by two of the gunmen.
Three of the suspects fled the area and were later detained by Coalition forces.
The wounded suspects were transported to a nearby U.S. outpost, where one was assessed as urgent surgical and one routine, and were later transported by U.S. military aircraft to a Coalition medical facility for further care.
Urgent surgical is the U.S. military medical term which denotes a patient who requires immediate care due to the potential loss of a limb, eyesight and/or life.
Routine is the U.S. military medical term which denotes a patient whose injuries are not immediately life-threatening in nature.
The condition of the wounded suspects is unknown.
The third detainee was taken into custody by Coalition forces authorities.
The U.S. and Iraqi military units, which provide security to the town of Haditha are the Hawaii-based 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment and 2nd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division.
#1
Urgent surgical is the U.S. military medical term which denotes a patient who requires immediate care due to the potential loss of a limb, eyesight and/or life.
#5
Took one down with him, good show! May his soul rest in peace.
Posted by: Charles ||
08/15/2006 12:18 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Sounds like he gave up after running out of ammo. I can't figure out why he wouldn't go at his adversaries with a bayonet or a knife, since he knew he was heading for certain death. Better to be shot down while charging at your enemy than to give him the pleasure of being able to shoot you without fearing for his own life.
#7
Take them up in a C-130 at 33,000 feet and let them go.
The C-130 ceiling is only 28K or so. I say tie them to a weather balloon, along with a bag of pork rinds.
#10
When such actions become routine in Iraq the United States can leave - Iraqis will have learned that the only way to be secure is to be armed to the teeth, and willing to defend themselves and their families. It worked against the native Americans, it worked anywhere free men settled new lands, and wherever free men were threatened by tyrants, internal or external. It will work again - here, in Iraq, in Israel, and anywhere else men long to be free. God bless this honorable "American born somewhere else", and his family.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/15/2006 16:24 Comments ||
Top||
#11
It sounds like the message is finally getting through. Only when the population at large begins offering up resistance to the terrorists, be they sunni or shiite, will there be any hope of peace. I'm still waiting for any fighting age male clad all in black to be drilled before they walk more than ten feet from their doorway.
#13
Never can have too much ammo. Like too beautiful, too rich, etc. Also, backup is necessary. Two is one, one is none.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
08/15/2006 18:47 Comments ||
Top||
#14
Quality of the ammo matters too, depending on your purpose. Most of what we have in my home is for the practice range, but there are a couple boxes of high-pressure defense-quality rounds coming too .....
CAMP FALLUJAH A Marine's latest piece of artwork wont hang in a museum. Its going to be on display in this city west of Baghdad for Fallujans to remember one of their martyred heroes.
Maj. Alex J. Durr, a 45-year-old combat artist from the Marine Corps Historical Division, recently put the finishing touches on a painted mural of Iraqi Brig. Gen. Khodeiri Obeid Abbas Al Janadi, Fallujahs former Deputy Chief of Police, who was gunned down by insurgents June 19. Durr was commissioned to do the piece by Col. Larry Nicholson, RCT-5s commander, to honor a Son of Fallujah who was killed protecting the city and people he loved.
The mural was painted on a concrete barrier and will be placed along a main route through the heart of the city. It will be on permanent display to honor the native Fallujans sacrifice for his city and his country.
Ive done portraits, but nothing ever this big, said Durr, from Fort Worth, Texas. Its pretty satisfying that this will be put to use immediately. To think this guy lost his life for his country its pretty humbling, he added. Thats gone through my head a couple times.
The nearly six-foot tall concrete barrier features a portrait of Khodeiri in the full uniform of an Iraqi Police officer, with the epaulettes of an Iraqi brigadier general. The inscription above him, written in Arabic, reads, Son of Falluah. Next to his face is written, hero and martyr. Below him is his full name and the date he was slain.
Durrs involvement in the project was happenstance. Durr knows that this work will never be in a museum, but will be on display for more than 200,000 Fallujans. It will preserve Iraqi history Fallujan history for all to remember one of their own men who stood up for their pride against terrorists.
Interesting background stuff at link
What an amazing opportunity to have a piece of his work displayed so publicly, Nicholson said. I told him, Not only are you recording history. Youre making it.
Lt. Col. Frank Charlonis, RCT-5s Police Implementation officer, said the portrait is satisfying to all those who knew and worked with Khodeiri. He worked hand-in-hand with him since January to grow and train Fallujahs police force.
He was one of the Sons of Falluah, said 40-year-old Charlonis, from Charlotte, N.C. His death has really affected the city. It had a big affect on the police.
Charlonis said the mural will serve to honor one of the citys leaders, who saw Iraqis through tough times. It will serve as an inspiration to the police, he said. It will always be there to remind them of what it means to be an Iraqi and from Fallujah.
This is for a good cause, Durr said. Maybe it will help them to understand their struggle against terrorism. Its part of the team effort. Im lucky enough to do something I enjoy doing.
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/15/2006 09:47 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
They should start doing a bunch of these. A mosaic of the Iraqi people (from all groups) would be a good thing to set up in the middle of the city. Probably would get blown up now, though.
Four Iraqis have been killed in a suicide bomb attack on an office of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. The PUK is Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's political party.
Police officials have warned that the death toll could climb as rescuers search the rubble. More than 30 people were injured in the attack. Mosul is a religiously and ethnically mixed city 390km (240 miles) north Of the capital, Baghdad.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/15/2006 08:33 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
NORTHERN ISRAEL War does strange things to the mind. The first time you hear the loud BOOM, BANG, and CRASH of incoming and outgoing artillery, you will jump. You will twitch. You will want to take cover. You will want to hide. You will feel like you could die at any second, like the air around you is drenched with gasoline, like the universe is gearing up to smash you to pieces.
Its amazing how fast you get used to it, even if you have no military training and grew up in a tranquil conflict-free place in suburban America.
It took me four hours.
The BOOM, BANG, and CRASH had nothing to do with me. Oh sure, it could have had something to do with me. I could have been hit. There is no doubt.
But heres the thing: war is slow. War in Northern Israel, anyway, was slow. It isnt, or at least wasnt, anything like fast street to street fighting in Hollywood movies. It wasnt Black Hawk Down and it wasnt Omaha Beach.
Any given location in Northern Israel and Southern Lebanon would almost certainly never be hit with a missile, bomb, or artillery shell. Lebanon was hit more frequently, and Israel was hit more randomly, but the vast majority of people in both places werent even scratched, let alone killed.
Explosions crank your survival instinct up to eleven. But after a while straight math kicks in. You run numbers in your head, even subconsciously. Most specific locations arent hit, ever. And most of the time you are standing in one of those locations. Even if you do happen to briefly pass through one of the specific locations that are destined to take a hit, what are the odds, really, that you will be standing there when it actually happens?
Being in Northern Israel was not like being in Baghdad. No one was out to get me. Only Hezbollah fighters and leaders in Lebanon were targeted as individuals. All of Northern Israel was a collective target, but a very large one which I vanished into almost completely.
The head of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) called Tuesday for the United Nations to enable his force to take "strong measures" in order to enforce UN resolution 1701, which brought about the Monday cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah after more than month of fighting.
"What kind of measures?"
"Strong measures!"
In an interview with Haaretz, Major General Alain Pellegrini urged the Lebanese authorities to take responsibility for the disarmament of Hezbollah in the area close to the Lebanon-Israel border, saying that the responsibility for such a move lies primarily with them. When asked his soldiers would engage an armed Hezbollah activist, Pellegrini said that it was hard for him to answer. "Sarge, can I shoot this guy?""That's hard for me to answer."
It was possible, he said, but it would depend on the rules of engagement. That's good. I thought it might depend on a provision of the Sacramento City Charter, but apparently not.
Maybe they could even decide in advance what those rules would be. Wouldn't hurt.
He said that he would prefer that the UNIFIL troops had the ability to employ "strong measures" to enforce the UN resolution.
Pellegrini said he expects an advance force, most likely from France, to arrive in the region next week, in order to bolster the current deployment. Within several ... OK, as long as that's a firm "several"
... months, he said, another 15,000 troops would be deployed from a number of countries.
An advance force from France? They'll garrison a) Cyprus b) North Beirut and c) the airport. That's it.
On Thursday, the UN is set to host a formal meeting of nations that have expressed an interest in contributing to a beefed-up multinational force in southern Lebanon, and the world body is hopeful that the first announcements of new troops will be made at the meeting.
Posted by: Matt ||
08/15/2006 17:46 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
"U.N." and "strong measures" - not words that normally appear in the same sentence.
Unless "strong measures" means "strongly worded letter" or "extra-strong pout."
Allah God help the poor bastards who take this assignment, because the Useless Nitwits surely won't.
I hope their wills are made out....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/15/2006 18:35 Comments ||
Top||
#2
UNIFillies wanta kick some Hezbo ass?
Go for it, need some bullets for those guns?
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/15/2006 18:56 Comments ||
Top||
#3
prediction: ceasefire breaks by Hezbollah reinfiltration/fire and all them Shiites/Hezb supporters get to make the trek north again, while the UNIFIL troops sit at the airport for weeks.
Nostradamus Jr
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/15/2006 19:33 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Hezb is so trigger happy that I doubt the cease fire will last long enough for 15,000 to arrive at the airport. Best scenario is that the Leb Army positions to prevent Hezb from slaughtering UNIFIL at the airport.
#5
This whole thing is a train wreck. Hezbies still have rockets, still have the Israeli soldiers, and most importantly, still have air in their lungs. If there is any justice in this world, the Israeli people will rise up and impeach Olmert, Peretz, and the whole f*cking incompetent lot of them.
Oh, and a great big shout out to our inept State Department for supporting terror by pressuring the Israelis to stop before the job was done. To hell with Condi Rice. Isn't there anyone in our government who has some sack left?
Or the Israelis could demand Shalit and $100 million cash or artillery will walk the length and breadth of Gaza.
Egyptian mediators have presented Hamas and other groups with a new proposal aimed at ending a six-week-old standoff over an Israeli soldier seized near the Gaza strip, Hamas officials said on Tuesday.
A source close to the negotiations said the proposal called for Hamas to transfer Corporal Gilad Shalit to Egyptian authorities in return for Israel's release of up to 600 Palestinian prisoners, including women and minors. Another group of Palestinian prisoners, including many who have served longer sentences, would be freed by Israel at a later date.
The Israeli government has so far rejected any prisoner swap for Shalit, who was captured by gunmen from Hamas and other groups in a cross-border raid on June 25. Israel responded by launching an air and ground offensive that has killed more than 165 Palestinians in Gaza, more than half of them civilians.
"A new offer was made to the Hamas movement by the Egyptian security delegation in Gaza," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters, declining to discuss the proposal's contents. He said that the groups would not back down from demands that Palestinian prisoners be released in exchange for Shalit.
"Hamas is still committed to its demand that there must be reciprocity in time and action," Abu Zuhri said. He also stressed the group was insistent that those freed fall under the categories of prisoners specified by the three factions holding Shalit.
Hopes for end of sanctions on PA
The Palestinian authority hopes that the end of the conflict in Lebanon will lead to an end of sanctions on the PA. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met in Gaza on Tuesday with Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas to discuss the political situation in the region, pursuant to the clashes in southern Lebanon and to the internal changes within the authority itself, which include the possible formation of a unity government.
Both sides expressed hope for a conclusion to the internal crisis in the PA, which has revolved around the issue of Gilad Shalit. Haniyeh said last week that he hoped a deal over Shalit could be reached soon, though he offered no details. A senior Palestinian official said Qatar had recently stepped in to help mediate between Israel and Hamas, stating that "Israel has made new offers to Hamas via the Qataris in return for Shalit."
Political change in the area?
Sources in the PA believe that the conclusion of the war in the Lebanon, as well as the willingness demonstrated by Palestinian factions to discuss a potential cessation of rocket fire and a focus of anti-Israel operations only against soldiers and settlers in the West Bank, could bring about political change in the area.
During a meeting this week between EU foreign minister Javier Solana and Abbas, Solana said that it was clear that key to the conflict in the Middle East was the Palestinian issue. Sources close to Abbas told Ynet that Solana enumerated several EU proposals aimed at encouraging the Palestinians to facilitate an end to the Shalit crisis in order to bring about subsequent discussions in the international community involving a revocation of sanctions against the Palestinian Authority.
Posted by: ed ||
08/15/2006 13:58 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Forgot to specify the category, but somehow it fits. Tales of kidnapping and ransom with Egypt playing the pimp.
Posted by: ed ||
08/15/2006 14:04 Comments ||
Top||
#2
How about one executed Hamas MP per day til he's released?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/15/2006 14:09 Comments ||
Top||
#3
How about Gilad Shalit or we take over ALL of your oil wells?
#5
If I was Israel I would take it of course thou how I understand that proposal it says no were that the 600 have to be transferred alive.
This is just more evidence stacked onto the piles already of why the DEATH PENALTY is so important to civilized society. If Israel had such this would not even be a issue.
The sad part is I believe Israel will agree and even further humiliate US more than they already have. I feel for the Israeli people but you get what you vote for.
#6
Boy, if I were a Paleo, I'd be offended and would seethe. I think Egypt just told them that one Jooooo is worth 600 Paleos, or am I reading that wrong?
Posted by: BA ||
08/15/2006 15:34 Comments ||
Top||
#7
Actually, one Jooooo is worth 1200 Paleos, but the Egyptians are trying to get the two sides to meet each other half way.
#8
I think the 600:1 ratio is an accurate reflection of the casualty rate inflicted by either side. Is it just me or does this vastly disproportionate offer offend all sensibility? Who are these f&ckwits and how do they summon the gall to even propose such a preposterous notion? More importantly, how can this world continue to ignore the routine extortion (because that is what this essentially is) practiced by Islam in all of its dealings with outside cultures?
Israel would be well within its rights to summarily execute anyone who comes forward with such an insulting offer.
#9
We really don't know if he is alive, but if he is, the door is open to put an end to this permanently.
Make the trade. Welcome home Gilad.
Then, attack and annihilate them. Kill thousands before you declare a victory.
Survival in the new world is not for pansies.
Yet it is these pansies that are hamstringing all efforts to defeat terrorism. I'm beginning to think that people who refuse to take Islamic terrorism seriously actually abet it.
#11
Line the D9s up at the north end of Gaza then level and permanently retake one square mile of territory for each day Shalit remains in captivity. Repeat as necessary on the West Bank.
August 15, 2006: Israel shot down two more Hizbollah UAVs, which were apparently being used as cruise missiles. One of the UAVs was downed over northern Israel, the other over south Lebanon. One of the downed UAVs was definitely carrying explosives, and the other probably was.
Hizbollah calls their UAV "Mirsad 1", but it appears to be an Iranian Ababil. This is a 183 pound UAV with a ten foot wing span, a payload of about 80 pounds, a cruising speed of 290 kilometers an hour and an endurance of 90 minutes. The Ababil is known to operate as far as 150 kilometers from its ground controller. but it also has a GPS guidance system that allows it to fly a pre-programmed route and then return to the control by its ground controllers for a landing (which is by parachute). Used as a cruise missile, it has a one way range of about 400 kilometers. Using GPS guidance, it could deliver about 60 pounds of explosives to a prominent Israeli government building in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv. The Ababil normally carries a variety of day and night still and video cameras.
When the Hizbollah UAVs first appeared, the Israelis feared that the low flying Ababils could come south carrying a load of nerve gas, or even just explosives. There's nothing exotic about UAV technology, at least for something like the Ababil. It was no surprise that Iran began using home made UAVs in the late 1990s. After all, they had received some UAVs from the United States in the 1970s (Firebee target drones.) The Israelis immediately tagged Iran as the supplier of the Hizbollah drone, because Iran has long supplied that terrorist organization with cash, weapons and equipment for decades. Now Israel has many components of two shot down UAVs, which will enable them to make a positive identification.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/15/2006 10:17 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Hello? Restart the offensive Israel! The Hizmonkies have broken the almighty cease fire.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
08/15/2006 10:29 Comments ||
Top||
#2
I believe this story refers to a pair of UAVs Israel shot down a few days ago, before the cease fire.
#11
When is Iran going to be taken to task for its incessant meddling? The sheer fact that Tehran still stands is testimony to this world's voluntary blindness. Take out the mullahs and a whole lot less of this vile nonsense will happen.
(IsraelNN.com) Foreign Minister Tzipy Livni is set to fly to New York Tuesday evening for a meeting with United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan. Livni is also expected to meet with diplomatic officials and Jewish community leaders. The foreign minister originally intended to fly to New York to attend the ceasefire talks over the weekend but was not allowed by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to do so.
Posturing by Iran
(IsraelNN.com) Iranian officials are threatening to fire long-range missiles at Tel Aviv if Israel attacks Iran. An Iranian religious leader said in a state-run television interview on Tuesday that the Islamic country would launch 2,000 kilometer missiles at Israels White City if the Jewish state makes one iota of aggression against Iran. Cleric Ahmad Khatami, a member of the Islamic council that appoints and dismisses the countrys top leader, said the 70-kilometer range missiles fired by Hizbullah during the war against northern communities turned Israel into a country of ghosts.
IDF Corners al-Aksa Terrorists in Shechem
(IsraelNN.com) IDF troops surrounded a safe house in which an operative from the al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades terror group was hiding on Tuesday. Ahmad Nadi was warned by IDF soldiers to turn himself in, as his house was in the process of being bulldozed. Other wanted terrorists were cornered in a second building, both in the Askhar neighborhood of Shechem. Exchanges of fire were reported by local sources, who said that two people were injured during the firefight. Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades is the military division of the Fatah faction run by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
FM Livni: Syria Has Choices to Make
(IsraelNN.com) Foreign Minister Tzipy Livni said Tuesday that Syria will have to make a choice whether to continue its support of Hizbullah attacks or allow Lebanon to build a strong future. Syria will need to decide where they stand, she said. Lebanon is supposed to take off in a different direction without them. They can continue influencing and leading an open front with Hizbullah.
Syrian President Bashar Assad said The true path to peace is negotiation, but if that is not possible, then resistance is the only way. Assad added that the resistance he referred to was not limited to armed struggle, but could be cultural and political.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/15/2006 09:22 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
And the countdown to the 22nd begins.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
08/15/2006 9:43 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Syria will need to decide where they stand, she said
Tzipy, the Syrians have long made that decision.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/15/2006 10:12 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Livni should tell Kofi to F**k himself and the camel he rode in on. We should directly tell Ihmanutjob that any offensive attack on Israel is regarded as a direct attack on US and we would respond with unrestricted might and completely extinguish all life in the area formerly known as Iran.
#6
Concerning the way the strange leaders of Israel view Syria, Peretz just said that "Negotiations with Syria may be possible". No, you are not dreaming.
Peretz: Negotiations with Syria may be possible
By AP AND JPOST.COM STAFF
Aug. 15, 2006 12:43 | Updated Aug. 15, 2006 19:31
The conflict with Hizbullah may have created a new opportunity for renewed dialogue with the Palestinians, and potentially also with Syria, Defense Minister Amir Peretz said Tuesday afternoon.
Speaking at a bar mitzva party, Peretz said that he believes every war generates the possibility to further the greater diplomatic process, and that in this case that could mean conducting negotiations with Lebanon and creating the conditions for negotiations with Syria.
In response to this statement, Israel Beiteinu head Avigdor Lieberman said that Peretz was suffering from a failure to acknowledge reality.
"It is just this kind of obliviousness to reality that brought the country to the present conflict," Lieberman said.
"After Assad announced that the Golan Heights would be liberated by Syrian soldiers and that Hizbullah won the conflict, Peretz's call for negotiations with Syria will be received as a weakness and an invitation for another attack," he said. "It is preferable that the defense minister focus on preparing the army for the next unavoidable conflict rather than unrealistic wishful thinking."
Lieberman was referring to statements made earlier Tuesday by Syrian President Bashar Assad. Assad said in a speech that America's plan for a "new Middle East" had collapsed after Hizbullah's successes in fighting against Israel.
JERUSALEM (AP) - An Israeli airstrike late Monday destroyed a house in the Gaza Strip, injuring at least eight people, officials said. The military said an Islamic Jihad command center was targeted but Palestinians said the building was empty.
Palestinian officials said the house had been evacuated two days before when Israeli officials called the residents and told them a strike was imminent.
I simply do not understand why Israel is making these calls.
Eight people were wounded in the attack, two moderately, hospital officials said. Many of the wounded were bystanders, though the house's owner and his wife and children were outside the building during the attack and were wounded as well.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/15/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
I simply do not understand why Israel is making these calls.
I think I do. At least 2 of the reasons are:
1.The Israelis, like us, value human life and can't quite bring themselves to fire away w/o at least trying to clear out the teh Non-combatants. It makes for less flinching when the "kittens, puppies, and baby ducks" agitprop starts up.
2. It is a subtle form of Agitprop/psyops/I.O. that drives home how overwhelmingly omnicient they are.
Imao, the 2nd point, while valid, does tend to backfire when applied to a less rational opponent...
Posted by: N guard ||
08/15/2006 9:45 Comments ||
Top||
#2
I'll bet they don't make the call until a intel drone is overhead. See where they go to ground until you reach critical mass of targets.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/15/2006 11:04 Comments ||
Top||
The Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency has begun working with Israel to help find ways to counter enemy rockets, a much shorter-range threat than the "Star Wars" mission to block ballistic missiles for which is it known, the head of the agency said on Tuesday.
"We have been working with the Israelis ... as they go through with development of their own indigenous capabilities for that threat," Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry Obering told reporters after a speech at a missile-defense conference here.
"That is not mature. That is still in development," he said of the effort to defeat something he likened to mortar or artillery fire.
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency grew out of the so-called "Star Wars" Strategic Defense Initiative launched by then-President Ronald Reagan in 1983. It is building a multibillion-dollar shield designed to thwart all classes and ranges of incoming ballistic missiles.
The United States has a long history of high-tech joint projects with Israel, including co-development of the Arrow, the system Israel has deployed to defend against short- and medium-range missiles.
Until now, the Missile Defense Agency -- noted for its work on layered defense against intercontinental missiles -- has not been known to be involved in addressing the rocket threat to Israel from Lebanon's Hizbollah fighters.
Israel's defense ministry recently asked the Pentagon for information about a next-generation chemical-laser system for intercepting short-range Katushya and Kassam rockets, Globes Online, an online publication, reported on Sunday.
The system at issue, called Skyguard, is built by Northrop Grumman Corp. and based on a tactical high-energy laser the company co-developed with the Israeli army in the 1990s. Northrop, based in Los Angeles, had no immediate comment.
Company officials told reporters July 12 they were awaiting a show of interest from Israel to kick off an export-license request for the updated system.
Israel is interested because of the threat from Hizbollah rockets to strategic sites including oil refineries and chemical factories in and around the northern city of Haifa.
#1
Still waiting for a laser system that will fry Hezbos like bugs on a grill
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/15/2006 19:39 Comments ||
Top||
#2
a South-Lebanon-sized BugLight? Brilliant!
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/15/2006 19:55 Comments ||
Top||
#3
There are things out there. For instance, Raytheon (My company, so I'm biased) has an AATM (anti-anti-tank missile). A rocket has to be easier than that. If nothing else, you have more time.
DENPASAR, Indonesia - Eight Indonesians jailed over the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people could have their sentences cut to mark Indonesias independence day, a prison official said on Tuesday. Indonesia traditionally has a prisoner remission programme to mark independence day on Aug. 17, but cutting the punishment of anyone involved in the Bali bombings will likely anger countries whose nationals died in the blasts. Many of those who died were foreign tourists, among them 88 Australians.
Eight out of ten prisoners from the first Bali bombing in Kerobokan jail is being proposed for remission. Whether they meet the provisions or not depends on the minister of justice, said Ana Agung Mayun Mataram, head of the prison division in Balis local justice ministry. Suicide bombers killed more than 20 people in attacks last year on Bali restaurants. The prisoners being considered for remission are serving sentences of between five to 16 years and were convicted on charges related to the 2002 bombings, such as robbery tied to helping fund the plot or hiding key figures.
The official said that two other prisoners at the jail in Bali had not been put forward for remission since they were serving life sentences over the bombings.
The remission will be read by Bali governor, Dewa Made Bratha, at the 61st Indonesian Independence Day ceremony at Kerobokan jail, said the prison official. He said prisoners were usually only put up for remission for good behaviour and if they were serving a minimum of six months jail. A total of 33 people were jailed over the 2002 Bali blasts.
Among these, Amrozi, Ali Gufron, and Imam Samudra are being held on death row in a jail in Java province for their leading roles in the bombings and are due to be executed this month. Australia protested against the release in June of Abu Bakar Bashir, a Muslim cleric who served 26 months of a 30-month sentence for conspiracy in the 2002 Bali blasts. The radical clerics sentence was cut for last years independence day.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/15/2006 09:56 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
if they allow these mooks out, end Aussie and American travel to Indonesia
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/15/2006 13:20 Comments ||
Top||
#2
That Indonesia is even considering such a notion is a total slap-in-the-face for the civilized world. We need to begin snuffing their nation's entire Islamic clergy post haste, starting with that waste-of-skin, Bashir.
Suspected Muslim insurgents shot dead the owner of an elephant troupe performing in the villages of southern Thailand as he sold tickets for the show to children, police said. Four men pretending to queue among the youngsters opened fire on Mongkol Traiyos, 25, the owner and ticket-seller of the elephant troupe, on Sunday, said police lieutenant-colonel Somsak Tangnapadon, the deputy investigative commander in Yala province.
The victim had said in an interview earlier this month that he feared for his safety because of an ongoing Muslim insurgency in Thailand's three southernmost provinces, but felt that his show would not be targeted. The troupe was about to perform its afternoon show behind a mosque in the capital district of Yala, one of the three border provinces plagued by a Muslim insurgency. Lt-Col Somsak said Mr Mongkol was shot seven times and died shortly afterwards. The suspects fled by motorcycle, he said, adding that he thought the attackers were "people trying to cause unrest in the area" - a phrase often used to describe Muslim insurgents in the south.
Mr Mongkol owned the Dok Din Troupe, which came from Chaiyaphum province, about 800 miles to the north-east. He and his colleagues toured the most violent towns of the Muslim-majority south to entertain children with his elephants, which play football, do tricks and walk on two legs. Police and soldiers had initially told Mr Mongkol not to go to the restive towns, but the villagers and headmen said it was safe, so the troupe went.
#2
I know about kites, laughter, girls, beer, and sports, but going to the circus is haram? I had no idea. None at all. The poor guy made a lot of kids laugh and made a few bucks off of it. Then some sick humorless bastards killed him for it and sped of on the Motorcycles of Doom™.
I don't know why, but this really gets to me. Bastards.
ZAMBOANGA CITY - Suspected Abu Sayyaf guerillas beheaded one of two kidnapped victims in Jolo island, where security forces were battling the terrorist group allied with the Indonesian Jemaah Islamiyah network, officials said. Officials said the severed head of Jeffrey Selvin, 27, was found by civilians in front of the police headquarters in downtown Jolo at around 6 a.m. Saturday. His body had not been recovered. The man and his mother, Jacky, 58, were kidnapped July 27 outside their house on Gandasuli Road in Jolo. The woman, whose fate remains unknown, owns a bakery in Jolo.
In June suspected Abu Sayyaf gunmen freed kidnapped pharmacy owner Bren Vergara after more than two months in captivity. His family was said to have paid more than P1 million in ransom. The man was snatched on April 12 together with his ailing 70-year-old mother, Caridad Vergara, who had been freed earlier near Jolo. Officials said their guards tortured both hostages during their captivity in the mountain. The man was beaten so badly that he nearly died. Gunmen snatched the two outside their pharmacy store in downtown Jolo.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/15/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Yeah, everywhere people find God, there you are Islam to cut off their heads.
Fighting between government forces and Tamil insurgents in Sri Lanka's north and east and a suicide bombing in the capital left dozens dead, including youths killed in what the rebels alleged was an air raid on a home for teenagers, officials said. The clashes along the frontiers dividing government and rebel territory in the north and east, and the blast in Colombo appeared to dash what little hope was left for a quick end to fighting that has steadily worsened over the past four weeks, undermining an already shaky cease-fire.
The 2002 truce was intended to halt more than two decades of bloodshed between the government, dominated by Sri Lanka's 14 million Sinhalese, and the rebels, who have been fighting since 1983 for an independent homeland for the country's 3.2 million Tamils. While it remains officially in effect, months of shootings and bombings already had left it in tatters before the latest round of clashes. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan was "increasingly alarmed" over the violence and called on both sides "to cease hostilities immediately and to return to the negotiating table," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at U.N. headquarters in New York.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/15/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
What a Spiritually enlightening experience from Islam.
#2
Newc- Actually, I believe the Tamils are Hindu and their Sinhalese adversaries are predominately Buddhist. Muslims and Christians are both small (but significant, maybe 8% each) minorities in the Lankan population.
The Pentagon has sent a single military planner to the United Nations to begin preparations for an enhanced Lebanese peacekeeping force, a top official said.
U.S. involvement in a peacekeeping force is likely to be limited to just logistics support, and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton suggested to reporters Tuesday that other nations are not eager to commit troops to the 15,000-man force.
"I think that obviously the decisions have to be made by individual countries and their taking into account the circumstances of the mission, the extent of the mandate, the operational difficulties. I did see a story from -- I suppose I should say one wire service from Rome today quoting an Italian military official as being rather skeptical of being involved in a U.N. force. But in any event, this really is a responsibility of the Secretariat. We're doing everything we can to help support the generation of new contributions, but that's what the Department of Peacekeeping Operations really is there to do," Bolton said.
The international force would supplement a Lebanese force of 15,000 meant to control Lebanon's borders and the southern swath of the country now being occupied by Israeli forces.
Although France spearheaded the effort to get international agreement for a peacekeeping force, it is not clear that the country will command the unit, as has been posited, Bolton said.
"I think the decision on who the force commander will be will depend in large part on what country makes the most significant troop contribution. And my understanding from various parts of the French government is they have not yet made a decision on whether and at what level their force contribution will be made," Bolton said.
"This is really a test for -- for the Secretariat in getting the enhanced UNIFIL in place and the decisions that have to be made by the government of Lebanon," said Bolton.
#1
U.S. involvement in a peacekeeping force is likely to be limited to just logistics support
Read that USAF airlift, helo MEDIVAC, hospitals, etc. Watch the bastards use a Ruskie MANPAD to try and shoot down the first plane. We need to stay the phuech out of it altogether.
#2
Oh, probably also just getting troops TO Lebanon. France has no airlift capability. Neither do Italy and the other countries who've been mentioned. Takes a long time by train and ship.
#4
I bet those Hizbollah fighters cringe at the thought of French troops. The French (after decades of training) can run faster from a fight than Hizbullah. That means they can't provide human shields for the terrorists.
#5
Precisely lotp. The French will call upon their friends, those nasty colonial Ameerikans as they did in 'Operation Leopard,' Katanga Zaire 1978. French Foreign Legion Para Rgt (2 Rep), heros all. They jumped from 5 C-130's and two Frog C-160's using US Army T-10C's into 10 foot high elephant grass and termite hills at 16h00, in clear skys. One jumper became towed but was cut lose and landed safely. Corporal Richard Arnold, a Brit was the only casualty that first day. He survived tghe jump but was killed by a head wound, his body mutilated. The fuzzie wuzzies pretty much ran from the Legion and hid, which was all in all, good for them.
#13
I think it will go hot again before the UN force hits the beach and they will cry they can't go in.
The 22nd is right around the corner. At first I thought the 22nd crap was bogus but after seeing the Iranian president interview I am not so sure. He just gave me the impression of someone who prepared mentally to do something really stupid. What exactley I don't know. But his eyes mixed with Assad and the Hezbollah braging this week convinced me that we had reached the point were things were not going to cool off just get worse and worse and worse until something breaks US or them. They can't destroy US all but I think they believe they can bluff US into surrender.
#2
If Israel made a clean bag of one of their leaders, in which there were no living witnesses, imagine the glee they could provoke by claiming he had "defected", and had been put in an identity protection program in exchange for his cooperation?
They might even suggest they had given him to a third, unnamed country for relocation. I bet that would make Hezbollah poop their pants.
Israel Defense Forces troops killed a senior Hezbollah leader just before the UN cease-fire took effect, the army said Wednesday. GOC Northern Command Udi Adam said IDF forces killed the head of Hezbollah's special forces, identified as Sajed Dawayer, during clashes in Bint Jbail. There was no immediate confirmation from Lebanon. The IDF said Dawayer was killed moments before the cease fire went into effect on Monday morning.
During the fighting Israel Air Force planes bombed southern Beirut dozens of times, attempting to hit Hezbollah leaders. Earlier Tuesday, a senior Hezbollah official said that no member of Hezbollah's top leadership was killed in Israeli attacks against Lebanon during the war. "Thank God, no one in a leadership position has been martyred ... even though we hope to be martyrs one day," said Sheik Naim Kassem, Hezbollah's deputy leader. Kassem spoke in an interview with Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV station, his first appearance since the start of the Israel-Hezbollah war on July 12.
Israel said its forces have killed hundreds of Hezbollah guerrillas, but the group said about 70 members were killed. Kassem said Hezbollah scored a "strategic victory" against Israel in the war.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/15/2006 19:00 Comments ||
Top||
#2
MSNBC say the Israeli are proposing to swap the body for the 2 kidnapped Israeli soldiers. I say to bomb the houses (no warning them beforehand) of Hizb'allah family and relatives starting with Nasrallah and working down the org chart. Make it so no family or clan will want anyone in Hizb'allah.
Posted by: ed ||
08/15/2006 19:45 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Nasrallah is the top man. The rest are insignificant.
President George W. Bush and prime minister Ehud Olmert in speeches on Aug. 13 laid down the law on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701. Bush said the motion marked a pivotal moment in the Middle East and would end Hizballahs state within a state. This term was borrowed from an earlier Lebanon reality: The stranglehold Yasser Arafats PLO held on South Lebanon and Beirut in the 1970s. Tuesday morning, an Israeli spokesman emphasized that Hassan Narallah must obey the Security Council resolution. If he failed to do so, Israel would have to do the job.
DEBKAfiles exclusive sources in Beirut report that Nasrallahs machinations represent a reality which is a world away from this kind of rhetoric:
1. He has notified Lebanese prime minister Fouad Siniora that the only concession he is willing to make with regard to the Hizballah presence in South Lebanon is to avoid exhibiting his fighters weapons in a demonstrative fashion.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve ||
08/15/2006 09:08 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Unfortunately, yet predictably, this report is playing out accordingly.
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/15/2006 10:15 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Hizb has had some significant a$$kicking, but now they will be able to reinfiltrate south Lebanon among the refugees and, if the farces, er forces settle in, will start their little rocket game, just like the good olde days with ye Olde UNIFIL forces. So now the New and Improved forces will have to choose to try and stop Hizb and face Hizb's ire, or object strenuously and stay put, causing tremendous tactical problems for Israel.
My money is on the latter. This so-called cease fire is an absolute disaster for Israel. And Olmert can be thanked for the half-a$$ed leadership he provided in Israel's time of crisis.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/15/2006 11:03 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Given that Pencilneckneck-n-head was crowing over the support Syria gave to Hezbollah, would a resumption of rocket attacks give Israel a good excuse to go straight to Damascus?
#5
eLarson---I would not count on any a$$kicking on Israel's part until their own internal problems in the govt are sorted out, IMHO.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/15/2006 14:40 Comments ||
Top||
#6
I read here the other day the Israelis would never call for an election during a time of war.
So they have a cease fire - what are they waiting for?
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/15/2006 15:21 Comments ||
Top||
#7
Someone needs to start "carving out" Nasrallah's heart with a dull rusty butter knife. Snuffing this one maggot would make for a huge change. Assad should have the pleasure of having his palace collapsed on him. These sh!ts are the source of so much grief that it goes beyond imagination.
#8
Someone needs to start carving out Nasrallah's heart with a dull rusty butter knife. Snuffing this one maggot would make for a huge change. Assad should have the pleasure of having his palace collapsed on him. These sh!ts are the source of so much grief that it goes beyond imagination.
That a government which bases its decisions on popularity polls is crippled from the get-go. This sort of non-leadership is poisoning the efficacy of America's domestic and foreign policy.
#11
Israel should nuke everything north of the Litani, and kill every Muslim south of the river. THEN they'd have a peace they could live with. Anything else is going to be rinse and repeat.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/15/2006 18:49 Comments ||
Top||
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says a new Middle East has emerged as a result of what he called Hezbollah's victory over Israel in southern Lebanon.
He said the vision of the region the US aspired to had become an illusion.
His comments came as the truce between Israel and Hezbollah remains intact despite sporadic violence.
Thousands of displaced Lebanese are returning home after a halt to the conflict, in which both sides claimed to have been successful.
The defiant speech is the clearest sign of how US opponents in the Middle East have been emboldened by the outcome of the conflict, says the BBC's Jon Leyne in Damascus.
Mr Assad said there was no more need for defeatism among Arabs - a feeling echoed across the Arab world, our correspondent adds.
As Lebanese refugees continued to pour back to their homes on Tuesday, their government said it was ready to move forward with its part in securing the ceasefire.
Defence Minister Elias Murr said that by the end of the week, the Lebanese army would deploy 15,000 troops on the boundaries of the southern Litani River, some 30km (19 miles) from the border with Israel.
In the meantime, international troops currently in Lebanon would assume positions vacated by the Israeli army before handing them over to the Lebanese troops.
He said it was not the job of the Lebanese army to disarm Hezbollah fighters but he was confident they would withdraw from areas in southern Lebanon as the troops moved in.
Mr Assad, speaking in Damascus a day after the UN-brokered ceasefire took effect, was giving his first speech on the crisis since it began more than a month ago.
He praised the "the glorious battle" he said had been waged by Hezbollah, and said peace in the Middle East was not possible with the Bush administration in power in Washington.
"This is an administration that adopts the principle of pre-emptive war that is absolutely contradictory to the principle of peace," he said. "Consequently, we don't expect peace soon or in the foreseeable future."
#1
Unfortunately, Baby Asshead believes this crap. I think he was scared for a while after Iraq was invaded and Libya gave up the bomb, but now he's struttin' like a dick cock. Let's hope the IDF shows him the real New Middle East.
#2
Syria needs a hail of cruise missiles. There is zero hope of ever correcting the pathological behavior of these maggots. They've breathed their own exhaust for so long they think it's Shalimar. Kill them, now.
DEBKAfile: Nasrallah is transferring his entire fighting force from northern Lebanon to the South.
Well, the gunnies are moving back. He'll stay put where it's safe.
The rockets and guns were silent up to Tuesday morning, Day 2 of the ceasefire although during the night Hizballah fired six mortar rounds at Israeli troops who returned fire without suffering casualties. However, the swelling numbers of returning Hizballah fighters with their families are jamming the roads south also blocking the deployment of the 15,000-strong Lebanese force ordered by UN SC resolution 1701 to take over the South and disarm Hizballah. The Hizballah are moving back into their still undamaged bunkers and fortified civilian dwellings opposite the Israeli border.
Getting ready for round two
Therefore, while thousands of displaced people in Israel and Lebanon head back to their ravaged homes, DEBKAfiles military sources report trepidation about the durability of the ceasefire which Israel declared Monday morning. Everyone is talking about the inevitability of a second round. Hours after the ceasefire went into effect Monday morning, 6 Hizballah fighters were shot dead in three incidents with Israeli troops.
Israeli forces inside Lebanon will hold their positions until a strengthened international force and the Lebanese army take over. The discharge of reservists called up for the war begins at the end of the week although the Lebanese defense minister promised to move his men into position by then only north of the Litani. Northern Israelis towns and farms face immense reconstruction and recovery projects after Hizballahs 33-day rocket blitz.
After night fell, Hizballah staged victory celebrations in Beirut, while its leader, Hassan Nasrallah proclaimed a historic and strategic victory over Israel. Hizballah fighters in uniform directed the traffic in Beirut and took up police duties. Nasrallah also promised his men would help repair destroyed villages in the south.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/15/2006 08:48 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Goody, goody. Target rich environment for Round II.
#3
Let's see, Saddam disregarded 17 resolutions and still there was no teeth in "serious consequences"......
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/15/2006 10:18 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Nothing to see hear folks. Just another incomplete mission in the War on Terror.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
08/15/2006 10:51 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Well TW, I've reached the depths of despair after Oslo. Nowadays, I'm an optimist. And I've every reason (Arab psychology) to believe that there will be round II, probably before the end of Aug.
In general, Israel will not be safe until Islam and Europe are no longer important factors in world affairs.
For the record, I had to dump about 40 tons of raw sewage out of this story before it was post-worthy.
Highlighting the nonexistence fragility of the peace, Hezbollah guerrillas fired at least 10 Katyusha rockets that landed in southern Lebanon early Tuesday, the Israeli army said, adding that nobody was injured. The army said that none of the rockets, which were fired over a two-hour period, had crossed the border and so it had not responded. The truce that took effect at 8 a.m. (1 a.m. EDT) largely held through its first day, although skirmishes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah left six guerrillas killed as both sides promised to retaliate when placed on the defensive. Israel threatened to retaliate against any attacks, while Nasrallah said the militia would consider Israeli troops legitimate targets until they leave.
But Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz said that aside from the isolated skirmishes that killed six Hezbollah fighters, the cease-fire was holding and could have implications for future relations with Israel's neighbors. Both sides appeared under strict orders to avoid confrontation. The slain militants "were very close, they were armed, and they posed a danger to the troops," Dallal said. "We're going to shoot anybody who poses an imminent threat to the troops." Hezbollah was believed to have suffered heavy casualties it reported only 68 fighters killed, but Israel said the number was closer to 400. Now was not the time to debate the disarmament of his guerrilla fighters, Nasrallah asserted confidently after his forces stood toe-to-toe against Israel's vaunted military, able to fire rockets to the very end and blunt attempts by an overwhelming Israeli ground force to wipe out guerrilla positions. "Who will defend Lebanon in case of a new Israeli offensive?" he asked, sitting in front of Lebanese and Hezbollah flags. "The Lebanese army and international troops are incapable of protecting Lebanon."
But Nasrallah said he was open to dialogue about Hezbollah's weapons at the appropriate time. He also credited his group's weapons with proving to Israel that "war with Lebanon will not be a picnic. It will be very costly." Hezbollah fighters rarely allowed to be photographed seen in earlier visits to southern villages also appeared more openly.
Ah yes, the elusive Lion of Islam, a shadowy sprite more rumor than fact. Mostly a fiction created from whole cloth by neocons and right-wing radio talk show hosts...
Two young men in khakis were spotted carrying semiautomatic rifles, and others talked into two-way radios. A few carloads of young men screeched into Kafra and jumped out of their cars, kissing their boyfriends waiting comrades on each cheek.
#1
Breakfast check from FNC + CNN > IDF believes there are [non-aligned?] Muslim armed groups still oper within Litani buffer zone, read behind the lines. IDF spokepeople can't or won't confirm rockets as being by the Hizzies per se, only by Muslim armed groups.
#3
Suppose they were firing at Israeli soldiers? Or perhaps trying to stage another "Israeli attack" by causing the deaths of a few more Lebanese civilians?
#4
Latest from JPOST Hizbullah likely to retain weapons
Hizbullah will not hand over its weapons to the Lebanese government but rather refrain from exhibiting them publicly, according to a new compromise that is reportedly brewing between Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Seniora and Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
The UN cease-fire resolution specifically demands the demilitarization of the area south of the Litani river. The resolution was approved by the Lebanese cabinet. Expect Kofi to raise alarm in ...
#5
"But Nasrallah said he was open to dialogue about Hezbollah's weapons at the appropriate time."
"Appropriate time"? Would that be after all the Joooooos are dead, Nasty?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/15/2006 16:17 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Soon enough this world is going to learn that intent is sufficient justification for prosecution. It is in the criminal world (e.g., conspiracy) and this needs to be extended into the political arena as well.
Iran's Ahmadinejad and his open declarations of war upon the United States and Israel need to be taken seriously. In the exact same fashion, just because this latest barrage of Hezbollah missiles did not reach their intended target, is no reason not to declare a breach of the ceasefire and resume kicking Lebanese @ss.
Due to niggling little things like taqqiya there is no possibility of accurately assessing Islamic statements for even the slightest degree of fact or truth (a pair of concepts that enjoy vast separation in the Muslim world). All we have to go on is the intent of our foes.
Their intent is to take over this entire planet and commit Global Cultural Genocide. Based on this knowledge, we need to act accordingly. Unfortunately, most of this world's population is virtually uncontaminated by such a dreadful notion and gives the incessant torrent of Islamic atrocities a pass.
I can only speculate what sort of heinous crime against humanity the Islamists will need to commit for this globe's population to finally have had enough. I, for one, am not willing to wait around and see. Until there comes some sort of genuine and authentic renunciation of violent jihad and overall reformation, Islam must be banned in all countries that permit freedom of religion. Islam must be declared a political ideology that is incompatible with all democratic processes and eradicated wherever it has taken root.
Even if it were possible to overlook the revolting nature of jihadist terrorism (an impossibility in and of itself), the institutionalized abuse of Muslim women is reason enough to dismantle Islam. Never have I seen such an entrenched credo with so few redeeming qualities to it.
France and Italy are leading the scramble to beef up the small UN monitoring force in southern Lebanon which will be key to making the tenuous ceasefire that started Monday durable.Under UN Security Council Resolution 1701, unanimously adopted Friday, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is to swell from its current 1,990-strong force to 15,000 international troops.
I smell money! Sweet, sweet money for all the EUrocrats and UNocrats. Getcher free money here!
Here is a provisional breakdown of countries prepared to contribute troops:
Although frantic moves are being made to get the new UNIFIL deployed as quickly as possible, there is no firm timetable. Israel has said its soldiers will remain in strategic positions in southern Lebanon until UNIFIL troops take over.
FRANCE
French President Jacques Chirac, whose country drafted the UN resolution with the United States, has said France will assume its responsibilities, "particularly concerning the new UNIFIL force." Reports say France would command the UNIFIL deployment. The defence ministry has said it is "too early" to put a figure to France's troop contribution, although press reports have spoken of several thousand. One French official, speaking anonymously, said 4,000 "seems a feasible number," while a military source said the actual number of French soldiers in Lebanon would likely be around 2,500. A French military planning officer was due to arrive at the UN peacekeeping operations department in New York Monday. In addition, five military engineers were expected in Lebanon to assess road transport reconstruction needs.
ITALY
Italy has agreed to send some troops, according to both the Lebanese and Israeli governments. Italian defence officials cited by the media have spoken of between 2,000 and 3,000 soldiers. The government is to meet on Friday to set out the details of the mission.
MALAYSIA
Malaysia's Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has said the country will send a battalion of 1,000 soldiers once the UN gives the green light.
RUSSIA
Russia is considering the possibility of participating but the foreign ministry said a decision had not been made.
BELGIUM
Belgian Defence Minister Andre Flahaut told AFP that Brussels intended to send troops but it was unclear how many because the mandate had not yet been defined.
SPAIN
A government official told AFP Spain planned to send 700 soldiers. Defence Minister Jose Antonio Alonso said in a radio interview Monday: "It is especially important to arrive at a peace and Spain, as a member of the United Nations, is ready to help out."
GERMANY
Germany's interior and defence ministers have said they are in favour of contributing soldiers, but no number has been advanced and parliament has yet to vote on any deployment.
PORTUGAL
Portugal has said it is willing to contribute troops, without specifying how many.
THAILAND
Thailand has said it would consider "positively" a UN request for troops, without giving a number.
INDONESIA, MOROCCO and TURKEY
These three Muslim countries have all agreed to take part, according to the Lebanese prime minister's office, but Turkey indicated Monday that it would wait for an expected new UN resolution "to bring more clarity." Again, no firm numbers have been given.
These countries are undecided or have apparently ruled out supplying soldiers to the new force:
AUSTRALIA
Australian Prime Minister John Howard has said he was undecided whether to supply troops. "If we were to make a decision to make a commitment it would be a very small, niche commitment," he said. "We have other responsibilities."
BRITAIN
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has said his country's military -- engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan -- is too stretched to be involved in the reinforced UNIFIL deployment.
INDIA
India said there were no plans to add to its 672 soldiers already serving in the current UNIFIL. A foreign ministry spokesman said: "I see nothing leading to that."
NORWAY
A Norwegian foreign ministry spokeswoman said "it is too early to go into any detail about a Norwegian contribution to a peacekeeping force for Lebanon."
UNITED STATES
The United States, Israel's closest ally, is thought unlikely to contribute to a force in Lebanon.
Although frantic moves are being made to get the new UNIFIL deployed as quickly as possible, there is no firm timetable. Israel has said its soldiers will remain in strategic positions in southern Lebanon until UNIFIL troops take over. UNIFIL, under its original mandate, has been in operating in southern Lebanon for 28 years. That rolling mandate was again extended for one month by a UN Security Council vote on July 31. It currently counts troops from China, France, Ghana, India, Ireland, Italy, Poland and Ukraine, under French command. Under UN resolution 1701, the expanded force is to support the Lebanese army as it takes up positions in southern Lebanon, formerly
* cough cough *
a Hezbollah-controlled zone, and help in humanitarian work. The resolution says UNIFIL will "take all necessary action in areas of deployment of its forces, and as it deems within its capabilities, to ensure that its area of operations is not utilized for hostile activities of any kind."
#5
Muslims are over represented in the French Defense service, and the French are Eurabian stooges. Instead of human shields, the Hizbis can use French troops.
#9
What nation with a competent military would allow it's soldiers to be commanded by the French, a nation whose military has not won a war in almost two centuries?
#10
The New and Improved UNIFIL. This is classic Lucy, Football, and Charlie Brown. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. I hope Israel tosses out Olmert and Peretz. They have been an unmitigated disaster for Israel.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/15/2006 11:10 Comments ||
Top||
#11
Wrong, the French military WON the Algerian war and taht wa&s squandered by De Gaulle who was maneuvering to congratiate himself with the two bit diactaors from Arab countries.
#12
Leaving aside the question of who provides the troops -- which certainly has the look of a goat rodeo in the making-- I haven't seen anything specifying what the troops are supposed to do when they get there. Olmert originally requested "combat" troops -- which I took to mean "troops ready, willing and authorized to engage in combat"-- and I've also seen references to "robust" rules of engagement, whatever that means. So suppose the hypothetical Malaysian contingent comes across a group of Hezbollah setting up a rocket launcher. Do they (a) start shooting (b) call Kofi for instructions which will never come (c) mill about smartly or (d) help set up the launcher?
Posted by: Matt ||
08/15/2006 13:07 Comments ||
Top||
#13
Matt:
We think we know what they're supposed to do. What they actually do is another matter whatsoever. Didn't I read that there were to be 15k troops? Nowhere even close to that number yet, unless it includes Hezbollah Lebanese military. And, I love our western nations respones:
Aussies: "Nope, we're busy elsewhere."
Brits: "Nah, I'm doing my hair that month."
U.S.: "Nah, unless you allow us ROEs that are "proactive" and we can redeem our 200+ Marines killed there in the 80's."
India: "We already have hundreds there, what more do you want from a nation of a billion+?"
Posted by: BA ||
08/15/2006 15:02 Comments ||
Top||
#14
UN don't want American troops there because they would fire at the hizzys in about the first hour they were there and dare Kofi to tell them to stop.
Although I like India as much as the next guy, I wouldn't call it a "western" nation. I've been there a couple of times, and I'd consider them as "Eastern" as it gets, both in culture and values--and they are proud of it, even if some of the young people like to superficially ape what Americans do.
Up to 50 people worldwide may have been part of the alleged conspiracy to explode bombs on aircraft heading from Britain to the US. New details about the plot are contained in a briefing document from the counterterrorism section of the New York Police Department.
"Bombs were to be placed on up to 10 different airliners," the document says. "Explosives were to be detonated mid-flight over the Atlantic Liquid explosives were to be used as the main charge [They] would have been smuggled on board then assembled on board."
It says three terrorists would have been assigned to each aircraft. Twenty-three people, who were arrested last Thursday are still being questioned.
In another sign of the global nature of the investigation, 15 more people were reported to have been arrested in Pakistan.
But most attention is still focused on a Briton, Rashid Rauf, who was arrested in Pakistan and has been described by British and Pakistani authorities as a key player in the alleged plot.
The transfer last year of millions of dollars from Britain to a Pakistani charity involved in earthquake relief helped investigators uncover the plot, according to two senior Pakistani intelligence officials. They claimed that a large portion of the money sent from Britain to the charity was siphoned off and ultimately used to prepare for the attacks.
About £5 million ($12 million) was transferred to Pakistan, but it is claimed that less than half was used for relief operations after the earthquake last October, which killed tens of thousands of people.
The Pakistani officials did not identify the charity, but The New York Times reported on Monday that investigators are focusing on Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a charity that is a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamic militant group.
#1
The transfer last year of millions of dollars from Britain to a Pakistani charity involved in earthquake relief helped investigators uncover the plot, according to two senior Pakistani intelligence officials. They claimed that a large portion of the money sent from Britain to the charity was siphoned off and ultimately used to prepare for the attacks.
Does the lateness of the hour preclude the entry of the surprise meter?
German authorities are investigating a possible link between the captured terrorists of the recent airliner plot and a key figure in the Hamburg cell who worked with Mohammed Atta on the 9/11 attacks. Said Bahaji, a computer expert who helped plan 9/11, may have provided the same assistance to these suspected al-Qaeda terrorists.
Lots more at the link.
Posted by: Mike ||
08/15/2006 08:51 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Said Bahaji
I Have an idea. Strip him down to his shorts. Cover him with sow phermones and put him in the area where there are lots of wild boars during mating season. Then roll cameras. I am sure it will make "Funniest Home Videos"
First, a big thanks to everyone for maintaining the Burg whilst Fred's away fly fishing, and a special thanks to Scooter for picking up the Defender-Scimitar & Times-Picayune.
Quick style notes --
1) Opinions go under 'Opinion', not the other categories. Yeah, I know, floored me too.
2) Don't include the publication date, vendor, etc in the opinion pieces. If you want to cite the author, it's the first line of the text, and in italics please. People can always hit the link for the rest of that stuff.
3) Move long pieces to 'Page 49'.
Again, many thanks!
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/15/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Steve -- thanks for the info and..... about moving long stuff to "Page 49." Huhhhhh.... how do you do this? I frequently see this at our beloved Rantburg. And wonder, "Now how did he/she do that?" Always thought it was you mods doing it!
I'm sure it is something that is just staring me in the face when posting..... but, I'll admit.... I haven't the vagus idea how to do a Page 49!
Thanks... sometimes, some of us need reminders and instructions. Have a good one.
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/15/2006 6:14 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Steve, I just went to the Rantburg readers post-your-own-article screen. There's no option for Page 49. That's a editor only function done from the holding tank.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/15/2006 8:33 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Re page 49: oh.
Never mind.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/15/2006 8:53 Comments ||
Top||
#6
So.....you can't tell us how to do that?
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/15/2006 9:35 Comments ||
Top||
#7
My mistake, I keep forgetting that 'Page 49' is a moderator-only tool.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/15/2006 9:53 Comments ||
Top||
#8
That'll teach you to stay awake during staff meetings.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/15/2006 10:05 Comments ||
Top||
#9
Any minute now, there'll be a thread opening up at Democratic Underground on "dissention and morale issues within the Army of Steve."
Posted by: Mike ||
08/15/2006 10:51 Comments ||
Top||
#13
Was it the snoring or the slack, open mouth at Fred's Page 49 lecture that gave me away?
Actually, I think it was the eyelids taped open with surgical tape.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/15/2006 15:08 Comments ||
Top||
#14
#5 Steve - would it be possible to give posters a way to post the rest of longer articles on Page 49, or would that cause more trouble that it cured?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/15/2006 15:15 Comments ||
Top||
#15
Fred would need to do that, but if I understand Fred's design correctly that might entail giving permissions for things I suspect he would rather not open up to everyone.
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.
KABUL, Afghanistan Afghan and Coalition forces killed one al Qaeda member and detained 13 other suspected terrorists Aug. 15 during an early morning operation conducted in Khowst Province near the village of YaQubi .
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - 
MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Northern Somali authorities loyal to the interim government on Tuesday hunted down clerics trying to spread the grip of Mogadishu-based Islamists, and peace talks scheduled for Sudan were put on hold.
August 15, 2006: The situation in Sudan's western Darfur region has gone from bad to worse. Renewed violence has either stymied or stopped food and relief aid deliveries to three million refugees and displaced people in the region. The May 5 peace agreement (Darfur Peace Agreement, or DPA) has not brought peace. For example, attacks on African Union (AU) peacekeepers were up 900 percent over the same period last year. Last year, attacks on AU peacekeepers occurred but were rare. Though the peace agreement was signed over three months 
(SomaliNet) More defected militiamen from the weak transitional federal government based in the provincial town of Baidoa in southwest Somalia were reported to have joined on Sunday the Islamic Courts who control the capital and key towns in central and southern of the country — this is another blow to the powerless government. 
(SomaliNet) Unconfirmed reports say four former bad boys of Mogadishu have been caught entering Uganda illegally and have been detained by Ugandan police. Heavy-weight warlord Muse Sudi and his colleagues Bashir Rage Shirar and Abdulkadir Bebe whose Bebe name stands for armored army carrier are said to have asked the Ugandan authorities to be deported to Ethiopia, the Islamic courts' sworn enemy. 
The Government is discussing with airport operators plans to introduce a screening system that allows security staff to focus on those passengers who pose the greatest risk. The passenger-profiling technique involves selecting people who are behaving suspiciously, have an unusual travel pattern or, most controversially, have a certain ethnic or religious background.
On the eve of Independence Day, two Pakistani terrorists were today arrested by the BSF while they were crossing over to the Indian side from Bangladesh at Hingalganj in West Bengal's north 24 Parganas district. The arrested, both residents of Karachi, were identified as Mohammand Zuber, a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) member and Mohammad Sohail, associated with Jaish-e-Mohammad, DIG(G) of BSF B S Rana told reporters. 
The interrogation of two Laskhar-e-Taiba militants arrested last week has brought to light "direct links" between Pakistani intelligence agency ISI and the terror outfit, strengthening India's case that Islamabad was actively supporting terrorist activities in the country. One of the arrested militants Abu Anaz has revealed that he was the body guard of Lashkar second-in-command Zaki-ur-Rehman and given detailed description about functioning of the terror outfit and the monthly meetings that take place between Pakistan Army officials and LeT leaders. "Zakir-ur-Rehman and some others of LeT used to meet Pakistani Army's Major Wajahat, Brigadier Riaz and Brigadier Haji every month in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir," Joint Commissioner (Special Cell) Karnal Singh said. 
GUWAHATI, India - Rebels hurled a grenade at a security patrol in Indias troubled northeastern state of Assam on Monday, killing three civilians, including a woman and a child, police said. Several others, including four policemen, were wounded in the attack by suspected militants of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), which came a day after the government suspended military operations against the group to help peace moves.
Four Iraqis have been killed in a suicide bomb attack on an office of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. The PUK is Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's political party. 
The head of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) called Tuesday for the United Nations to enable his force to take "strong measures" in order to enforce UN resolution 1701, which brought about the Monday cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah after more than month of fighting. 
JERUSALEM (AP) - An Israeli airstrike late Monday destroyed a house in the Gaza Strip, injuring at least eight people, officials said. The military said an Islamic Jihad command center was targeted but Palestinians said the building was empty.
ZAMBOANGA CITY - Suspected Abu Sayyaf guerillas beheaded one of two kidnapped victims in Jolo island, where security forces were battling the terrorist group allied with the Indonesian Jemaah Islamiyah network, officials said. Officials said the severed head of Jeffrey Selvin, 27, was found by civilians in front of the police headquarters in downtown Jolo at around 6 a.m. Saturday. His body had not been recovered. The man and his mother, Jacky, 58, were kidnapped July 27 outside their house on Gandasuli Road in Jolo. The woman, whose fate remains unknown, owns a bakery in Jolo.
Fighting between government forces and Tamil insurgents in Sri Lanka's north and east and a suicide bombing in the capital left dozens dead, including youths killed in what the rebels alleged was an air raid on a home for teenagers, officials said. The clashes along the frontiers dividing government and rebel territory in the north and east, and the blast in Colombo appeared to dash what little hope was left for a quick end to fighting that has steadily worsened over the past four weeks, undermining an already shaky cease-fire.
Israel Defense Forces troops killed a senior Hezbollah leader just before the UN cease-fire took effect, the army said Wednesday. GOC Northern Command Udi Adam said IDF forces killed the head of Hezbollah's special forces, identified as Sajed Dawayer, during clashes in Bint Jbail. There was no immediate confirmation from Lebanon. The IDF said Dawayer was killed moments before the cease fire went into effect on Monday morning.
But Nasrallah said he was open to dialogue about Hezbollah's weapons at the appropriate time. He also credited his group's weapons with proving to Israel that "war with Lebanon will not be a picnic. It will be very costly." Hezbollah fighters rarely 
France and Italy are leading the scramble to beef up the small UN monitoring force in southern Lebanon which will be key to making the tenuous ceasefire that started Monday durable.Under UN Security Council Resolution 1701, unanimously adopted Friday, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is to swell from its current 1,990-strong force to 15,000 international troops.
First, a big thanks to everyone for maintaining the Burg whilst Fred's away fly fishing, and a special thanks to Scooter for picking up the Defender-Scimitar & Times-Picayune.
