KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) -- U.S. artillery and airstrikes killed between 50 and 60 suspected Taliban militants Tuesday, the fourth day of a NATO-led offensive in southern Afghanistan, an alliance spokesman said.
Ah, I love good news to start the week
NATO already has reported more than 200 Taliban killed in the operation. The U.S. troops, operating under NATO command, clashed with the militants in Panjwayi district of Kandahar province, where an offensive began over the weekend to flush out hundreds of Taliban fighters.
Maj. Quentin Innis, a NATO spokesman, said the troops had identified Taliban positions and the two sides had exchanged fire. He said the estimate of 50 to 60 killed was based on reports from troops looking through "weapons sights and other observation devices." He said there had been no NATO or Afghan troop casualties. It wasn't possible for reporters to reach the site of the battle to independently confirm the death toll.
"Not that we'd really want to leave the hotel bar, you understand"
The Afghan Defense Ministry also said 200 militants had died since Saturday -- increasing its previously reported toll of 89. The dead included four Taliban commanders and 12 of their bodyguards, a ministry statement said, citing intelligence reports.
Goody, goody
Five Canadian soldiers have also been killed, one in a friendly fire incident Monday involving a U.S. warplane.
Mullah Dadullah, the Taliban military commander for south and southeastern Afghanistan, has rejected NATO's claims of more than 200 dead.
"Nope, didn't happen."
Qari Yousaf Ahmadi, who claims to speak for the Taliban, said if NATO had killed so many Taliban fighters, they should show them to the media. He also denied that hundreds of Taliban militants were trapped in Panjwayi, and said its fighters were battling NATO and Afghan forces there. He spoke to an Associated Press reporter by phone from an undisclosed location.
Keep talking, Qari.
Another NATO spokesman Maj. Scott Lundy said earlier Tuesday that an estimated 700 militants were "trapped" in an area spanning several hundred square miles in Panjwayi and Zhari districts, some in fortified compounds, others moving in the open.
If they stay put, we'll root them out. If they run, they're exposed to air strikes. Not exactly "trapped", but not "surrounded" Saudi style
NATO has also reported 80 Taliban have been arrested and that another 180 have fled the fighting -- some of the most intense since the fall of the Taliban regime nearly five years ago. "It's a complex battle space. Some (Taliban) elements are fixed, others are moving," Lundy said.
During Monday's clashes, a U.S. A-10 Thunderbolt warplane supporting NATO mistakenly strafed Canadian troops fighting Taliban forces in Panjwayi, killing one soldier and seriously wounding five. A top U.S. general expressed sadness over the incident, which was being investigated by a board of military officers.
"The death or injury of each and every coalition member is a tragedy that saddens us, our families and the military and civilian members of the coalition," Lt. Gen. Gary North, commander of U.S. Central Command Air Forces said in a statement. A 12-year old girl was killed and nine other civilians were treated for wounds from the fighting in Panjwayi at a Kandahar hospital, said Dr. Qayyum Pohya, the hospital's chief.
Fighting between resurgent Taliban militants and U.S. and NATO forces has left hundreds dead in the past four months -- the deadliest violence since the pro-al-Qaida Taliban regime's 2001 ouster.
Insert "doom, gloom, quagemire" here
The latest clashes came as NATO leaders, including Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and top commander U.S. Gen. James L. Jones, were in Afghanistan for talks with Afghan officials on a security and development accord and to assess progress in the alliance's mission to stabilize the volatile south.
The NATO chiefs, who arrived in Afghanistan late Monday, are due to travel around the country and on Wednesday meet beleaguered President Hamid Karzai. Their three-day visit will coincide with a trip to Kabul by neighboring Pakistan's President Gen. Pervez Musharraf.
Pakistan, a key Western ally in the war on terrorism, is under increasing pressure to crackdown on Taliban on its soil. Afghanistan claims militia leaders stay in Pakistan and that militants launch cross-border attacks. Pakistan denies the presence of Taliban leaders and says it has 80,000 troops at the border to stop infiltration.
Yeah, right
Posted by: Steve ||
09/05/2006 13:27 ||
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#1
Just keep stackem' like cordwood. It's the only thing they really grasp.
#4
We need new clean score cards and maps.
The handoff of this area from American forces to NATO was a great move. As an organization, NATO needs real time operations to flush out inefficiency and adopt latest theater advances. It is also a chance for our allies to help us in this common interest war.
Hooah !
#7
I wonder where this cannon fodder is coming from?
My money would be on mostly Pakistanis from the tribal areas, followed closely by Afghans, with various Arabs making up the remainder.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
09/05/2006 18:26 Comments ||
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#8
And as long as the junkies in the West buy Afghani heroin, the Taliban will have the funding to keep buying themselves a bunch of stupid tribals to fight and die for them. For those who are having a hard time understanding the whole rent-a-tribal issue, it is like have the US and Mexico in the 1880s fighting along the border in an undeclared war. The Mexicans would be arming and paying Apaches, Commanches, and bandits to conduct running raids across the border in the US. And the US would be killing them in large numbers, like now. The major problem for the West in this kind of battle is that we no longer do the necessary actions to end this sort of thing : scorched earth on identified enemy villages, constant cross-border raids in strength, and cantonment of hostile populations in designated areas - with shoot on sight if they wander off the reservation.
#9
I wonder where this cannon fodder is coming from?
StrategyPage has more details. It says 1/3 are Pakistanis and 5% other foreigners. Of the Afghans, it did not break down how many were from Afghanistan or refugees living (and indoctrinated) in Pakistan.
The increased fighting is from the extra money coming from the out of control opium trade (as much of 50% of Afghan GDP), "defeat" of Pakistani forces in the tribal territories, and a belief that if the European forces are bloodied, they will leave.
Posted by: ed ||
09/05/2006 21:06 Comments ||
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#10
What is so friggin' hard about keeping a bunch of uneducated morons from growing opium? If you find opium ==> spray it! Who cares if somebody gets a skin rash the next day? In fact, use a little napalm here and there and perhaps people will decide it's more trouble than it's worth. Let it be known far and wide that if they are found growing opium and they claim to own it, that they have a choice between jail and knocking down their house and raping their goats (we can get some Taliban to do that since they seem to enjoy that kind of thing). If they don't claim to own it, then they shouldn't mind if we spray it. Or we can kill them and their family. Anyway, what's so hard? Logistics? Seems to me if Americans are dying because of this money, it's worth it to invest a thousand guys into stemming a huge source of $$$.
KABUL - NATO said on Tuesday its major offensive to crush a revitalised Taleban in southern Afghanistan is pushing the guerrillas into a corner as heavy fighting continues. We are closing the circle on the Taleban -- we have got the Taleban in a bit of a trap, NATO spokesman Major Quentin Innes said.
NATO launched Operation Medusa, its biggest ground offensive against an increasingly active Taleban, last weekend in Kandahar province, the hardline Islamist groups spiritual heartland. The operation is focused on Panjwai district, near the capital, Kandahar city, and is being supported by air strikes. Medusa was launched after NATO forces encountered stiffer-than-expected Taleban resistance as it took over the south from US-led troops, the alliances biggest-ever ground operation.
Casualties have been high. NATO says it has killed more than 200 guerrillas, a claim the Taleban disputes. At least five Canadian soldiers have died in combat and 14 British troops were killed when their plane crashed early in the offensive. A Taleban spokesman said civilians had also been killed in the operation but Innes had no reports of civilian casualties.
Taleban military chief Mullah Dadullah has threatened to target journalists spreading NATO propaganda. The Taleban says its casualties number barely a dozen.
We haven't heard from Dad for awhile. The fact he's complaining tells me they're hurting
Fighting across Afghanistan is the worst since US-led forces ousted the Taleban in late 2001. More than 2,000 people, most of them militants, along with scores of civilians and aid workers and hundreds of Afghan security personnel, have been killed so far this year. More than 115 foreign troops have died.
NATOs commander in Afghanistan, Lieutenant-General David Richards, has described Medusa as a pivotal campaign in putting down the Taleban to allow vital reconstruction and development.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/05/2006 13:00 ||
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I think that the policy of attempting to reintegrate the Taliban back into Afghan society was a huge mistake. Those who sided with mullah Omar and bin Laden were ideologically tainted and should have been treated as such.
#5
I must admit, the NATO group, especially the Canucks, are performing well beyond what I expected. Great ! Just Great ! Keep it up everyone. And, thanks for your sacrifices and your help. We really appreciate it.
#9
Z: I think that the policy of attempting to reintegrate the Taliban back into Afghan society was a huge mistake. Those who sided with mullah Omar and bin Laden were ideologically tainted and should have been treated as such.
I think human motivations are complex and not strictly ideological. I have no doubt that many joined the Taliban either to get on the winning side or to simply avoid getting killed. The average warlord in Taliban-era Afghanistan had two basic options, disarm while sticking out like a sore thumb because everyone knew him as an ex-warlord (except he was now defenseless) or remain armed and join the Taliban together with his band of followers. Many probably chose the second option because it kept their choices open - if the Taliban moved against them, they could always rebel along with their followers, whereas disarming might be the fastest ticket to a shallow mass grave for him and his followers.
#10
This is probably why the Pakis are abandoning Waziristan to the Taliban. The Taliban are in severe danger, with a large portion of their forces in threat of destruction, so the Pakis are giving their proxies a safe harbor.
Time for a midnight sunrise over Islamabad, IMHO. I'm sick of this fucking game. Treat Pakistan the way they act -- like our mortal enemies.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
09/05/2006 20:48 Comments ||
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#11
Actually Z, it would appear that the NATO policy of reintegrate the Taliban back into the dirt of Afghanistan is working quite well.
Posted by: john ||
09/05/2006 20:51 Comments ||
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KABUL - A Canadian soldier was killed and several others NATO soldiers wounded early Monday in a friendly fire incident during a major anti-Taleban operation under way in southern Afghanistan, the force said.
Troops battling Taleban insurgents in the Panjwayi district of southern Kandahar province had called for air support, NATOs International Security Assistance Force said in a statement. Two ISAF aircraft provided the support but regrettably engaged friendly forces during a strafing run, using cannons, it said.
The incident resulted in one ISAF death and multiple casualties. An ISAF spokesman said later the dead soldier was Canadian.
Four Canadian soldiers involved in the operation, called Medusa, were killed on Sunday. The operation was launched Saturday and involves about 2,000 ISAF and Afghan soldiers and support staff and is aimed at driving seasoned Taleban fighters out Panjwayi.
ISAF commander Lieutenant General David Richards told reporters the incident was regrettable. But the task they were set is extremely important, perhaps vital to the operation we are conducting here, the British general said. This was the first such incident in more than 800 ISAF operations involving close air support, he said.
Happens less (?) than it used to but it still happens. Condolences to the family and the team members.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/05/2006 00:00 ||
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..Apparently an A-10 strafed a Canadian unit. Still trying to get some details.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
09/05/2006 14:46 Comments ||
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Cairo, 5 Sept (AKI) - The number of people arrested by the Egyptian security forces on suspicion of belonging to an al-Qaeda cell has risen to 93, the pan-Arab daily Al-Sharq al-Awsat reports. Another 23 people were detained on Monday, the paper says, in the city of Damanhur, north of Cairo. The operation there came several hours after a similar sweep in the coastal city of Alexandria in which 70 people were arrested.
The inquiries by Egyptian police focus on attempts by the suspects to make contact with the al-Qaeda network through appeals and messages on the Internet. Those under investigation allegedly tried to contact the leaders of al-Qaeda in Iraq to join their jihadi ranks.
"Single Egyptian male wants to meet al-Qaeda leader. Enjoys seething about jews, chanting death to Great Satan, and long walks in the desert. Send picture."
The daily also carries the news of the release of 16 members of the Muslim Brotherhood. The men were among others arrested in August on accusations of belonging to the movement which though tolerated is officially banned.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/05/2006 12:05 ||
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#1
Put these guys to work piling rocks into triangular shapes.
Kyrgyz security forces have killed a man suspected of being a member of a banned Islamist militant group, a security official said on Monday. A spokesman for Kyrgyzstans SNB security service said Rasul Akhunov had been killed during a special operation in the southern town of Osh on Saturday. The spokesman said Akhunov was one of the leaders of the Islamic Party of Turkestan, an underground group accused by the authorities of trying to oust the countrys secular government and set up a pan-Central Asian Islamic caliphate a theocratic state governed by strict Islamic laws.
The spokesman added Akhunov had taken part in gang raids on Kyrgyz and Tajik border posts in May and killed a number of customs officials and border guards. Southern Kyrgyzstan lies along a heroin-trafficking route where crime-related shootouts are commonplace, although there has been a notable upsurge in violence in recent months.
Security forces have blamed the Islamic Party of Turkestan and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan for staging what they call terrorist acts in the area and have stepped up operations against suspected militants. The two groups are classified as terrorist groups by Russia and the United States. The guerrillas of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan fought in Afghanistan alongside Taliban forces. Security analysts say the movement was largely ruined by the U.S.-led campaign there.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2006 00:00 ||
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Sarajevo, 5 Sept. (AKI) - The Bosnian authorities have revoked the citizenship of 50 foreigners, mainly from Asian and African countries who are suspected of having links to the al-Qaeda terrorist network, a Bosnian official said on Tuesday.
"Asian" likely is Euro-speak for Pakistani. "African" could be Algerian, Libyan or Egyptian
Out of the 400 cases processed so far, 50 individuals have been stripped of their citizenship and are to be deported, said Vjekoslav Vukovic, the president of a state commission which has been reviewing the citizenship granted to foreigners during Bosnias bloody 1992-1995 civil war.
"Among them are people who are on the United Nations list as supporters of Al-Qaeda, as well as people for whom we have data linking them to terrorist activities, Vukovic told Sarajevo media.
Thousands of mujahadeen from Islamic countries fought on the side of local Muslims during the civil war, and many were given citizenships and passports and remained in the country after the war. According to intelligence reports, some of them have been operating terrorist camps in Bosnia and indoctrinating local youths with radical Islam. Vukovic said a total of 1,500 cases will be reviewed, but his commission was also looking into the circumstances of how citizenship had been awarded to foreign fighters and who had signed the documents.
Kadrija Kolic, a lawyer for several naturalised citizens, has said that it was a "crime" to revoke the citizenship of the former fighter, as they had been granted by the wartime government of Bosnia's late president Alija Izetbegovic.
Kolic said he would appeal to the international organisations and the EU to stop the process of deportations, claiming they violate African and Asian citizens human rights.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/05/2006 11:48 ||
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So the purge continues. This is better than the old way.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
09/05/2006 12:12 Comments ||
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While they are at it, deport Kolic too. Lawyers qualify as terrorists.
#5
That's leadership. Now if American authorities....that's you Chertoff & Gonzales...pay attention, the path is clearly delineated. Get going and start throwing these undesireables out. Now !
#7
#5 That's leadership. Now if American authorities....that's you Chertoff & Gonzales...pay attention, the path is clearly delineated. Get going and start throwing these undesireables out. Now !
Posted by SOP35/Rat 2006-09-05 15:43|| Front Page|| ||Comments Top
Police in Denmark on Tuesday arrested nine people suspected of plotting a terror attack with materials they acquired to build explosives, intelligence officials said. Justice Minister Lene Espersen called the case "very serious," and said the group had been under surveillance for some time. "It is among the worst that has happened in Denmark," she told the TV2 channel, without providing any details.
Lars Findsen, head of the Danish Security Intelligence Service, said the suspects had acquired materials to build explosives "in connection with the preparation of a terror act," without elaborating. He did not reveal the planned target of the attack and said it was hard to evaluate how far the plot had come along. "With the general terror situation, the Danish Security Intelligence Service didn't want to run any unnecessary risk," Findsen said.
He said the suspects _ one ethnic Dane and eight people with immigrant backgrounds, all between the ages of 18 and 33 _ would face a custody hearing later Tuesday in Odense, 100 miles west of Copenhagen. Espersen said all nine were Danish citizens. The suspects were arrested early Tuesday in Vollsmose, a mostly immigrant suburb west of Odense, Denmark's third-largest city.
The sweep came nearly two weeks after four young Muslims were charged in Copenhagen in connection with a Bosnian terror probe. Investigators said the network planned to blow up a target in a European country to force the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan and Iraq. The four men, who have not been identified, were charged with helping to provide weapons and explosives to two men arrested in Bosnia. The four have denied any wrongdoing. Police did not say if the new arrests were related to that case.
Findsen said, however, the arrests were not related to a terror investigation in Germany in which four Lebanese suspects are being held in connection with a failed train bombing attempt. German media claimed one of the suspects, Youssef Mohamad el Hajdib, who was arrested Aug. 19 in the northern German city of Kiel, was heading to Denmark. German and Danish media reported German police found a telephone number in his pockets for Abu Bashar, an imam living in Odense. Abu Bashar has denied knowing el Hajdib but told newspaper Fyens Stifitstidende that it was a matter of time before terrorists would strike Denmark. "I fear a terror attack in Denmark because there are Danish troops in Iraq," he was quoted as saying.
#2
He said the suspects _ one ethnic Dane and eight people with immigrant backgrounds, all between the ages of 18 and 33 _ would face a custody hearing later Tuesday in Odense, 100 miles west of Copenhagen. Espersen said all nine were Danish citizens.
Britannica definition of ethnic group:
Social group or category of the population that, in a larger society, is set apart and bound together by common ties of language, nationality, or culture.
#3
"I fear a terror attack in Denmark because there are Danish troops in Iraq," he was quoted as saying.
The usual veiled threat by Islamic clergy. These thankless ingrates cannot bring themselve to understand that Saddam is no longer slaughtering hundreds of their fellow Arabs every stinking day. Nor that our current efforts focus on eliminating terrorist elements that continue to slaughter dozens of innocent Iraqi citizens on a near-daily basis.
Noooooooooooo. It's all about being the "crusading" Westerners "occupying" their precious sh!thole of a charnel house. Imam Bashar's ingratitude should be rewarded with a one-way plane ticket to Iraq so he can once again enjoy all the benefits of living in a muslim majority nation.
#5
mam Bashar's ingratitude should be rewarded with a one-way plane ticket to Iraq
Only if he's dumped out from 35,000 feet over Ramadi - without a parachute, and with his turban glued to his scalp.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/05/2006 16:49 Comments ||
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Bilal Ahmed, the top commander of Hizbul Mujahideen outfit, who hails from Pakistan, was killed in an encounter with security forces at Gagangir, 80km from here on Srinagar-Kargil road on yesterday morning, the sources said. good work men
They said two militants and a soldier were killed in another encounter that broke out at Bonibagh village in Kangan, 40km from Srinagar on the same road on Wednesday night. Two AK rifles and some ammunition were recovered from the slain militants whose identity is being ascertained, the sources said. In another gun battle, an unidentified militant was shot dead by security forces in Kund village of Qazigund, 80 km from Srinagar in Anantnang district, the sources said.
Militants Pak Thrill killers on Wednesday night barged into the house of one Hasina Akhtar in Dangiwacha area of Baramullah district and shot her dead, police said, adding that the incident was being investigated.
Meanwhile, security forces averted a major tragedy yesterday as they detected an improvised explosive device on Bijbehara area along Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. The explosive was detected by a foot patrol party of security forces and later defused by the bomb disposal squad of police. Security forces have also busted two militant hideouts and recovered arms and explosives from them in the border districts of Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir, defence sources said. Army troops busted a militant hideout at Bharat Gala, south west of Rajouri town yesterday during a search operation, they said, adding however that the militants managed to escape leaving behind some arms and explosives.
Anti-Terrorism Court Judge Moqarab Khan postponed till September 9 a hearing against five accused bombers, as the prosecution witnesses did not appear. The court summoned them to the next hearing.
I predict sudden onset memory loss
Three of the five accused are from the Bugti tribe. Police had lodged two cases against Mir Jam Maqbool, the ringleader, Mir Abid Bugti, Tehran Dad Bugti, Azeem Ullah Bugti and Asghar Ali for bombings at Ichhra Bazaar and Azadi Chowk.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2006 00:00 ||
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PESHAWAR: Key Taliban commanders, members of the grand tribal jirga and senior administration officials will meet in Miranshah today (Tuesday) to sign a peace deal, a jirga member told Daily Times on Monday. "The jirga's final decision will be read out to the key Taliban leaders who will then sign it," the member, asking not to be named, told Daily Times on the phone from Miranshah. Maulana Gul Bahadar Khan and Maulana Sadiq Noor, key Taliban commanders in North Waziristan, will sign the treaty at the governor's cottage in the presence of jirga members and senior administration officials, he added.
The jirga member said that the details of the peace deal were likely to be released to the media when the jirga members and Taliban commanders meet NWFP Governor Ali Muhammad Jan Orakzai in Peshawar later this week. "We hope the jirga will hold its last meeting with the governor in Peshawar on September 8 (Friday)," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2006 00:00 ||
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Six people were wounded in a grenade attack while insurgents bombed a gas pipeline in southwestern Pakistan as unrest continued over the killing of a rebel chieftain, police said. Unidentified attackers on a motorbike hurled a grenade at a crowd outside a shop in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province where violence has erupted almost daily over the leader's death in a military offensive on August 26. "Six people were brought to our hospital, they were hit by splinters," Raz Mohammad, a doctor at a state hospital, told AFP. "Their injuries were not serious."
The attack came hours after a rally in Quetta to protest the killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti, who had been leading tribal rebels in a violent campaign for autonomy and a greater share of revenue from Balushistan's natural resources.
Rebels detonated a bomb Sunday that blew up a pipeline and disrupted gas supplies to thousands of homes in Mastung and Qalat districts, local police officer Hamid Shakil said. The blast took place 35 kilometers (21 miles) south of Quetta, amid calls by opposition parties to stage demonstrations across Baluchistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2006 00:00 ||
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An Army officer was killed and a militant arrested in Baramulla district since Sunday evening, a defence spokesman said on Monday. Acting on specific information, troops of 57 Rashtriya Rifles assisted by local police launched an operation at Chak Rishipura, 55 kms from Srinagar on Sunday, the spokesman said. The troops noticed the movement of militants and challenged them following which the ultras opened fire and the troops retaliated, he said.
During a search of the area after the firing stopped an injured militant, identified as Ilyas of Lashkar-e-Taiba was found and taken to Srinagar under police custody, he said adding six UBGL grenades, three hand grenades and a mobile phone was recovered from him. He said as the troops received information that associates of Ilyas had taken shelter in nearby Ayatpora the troops cordoned the area. While the cordon was being laid, firing from a house injured the captain. Because of late hours and pouring rain the injured captain could not be evacuated and succumbed to his injuries, the spokesman said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2006 00:00 ||
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Because of late hours and pouring rain the injured captain could not be evacuated
WTF??
Police found the tortured, blindfolded bodies of 33 men scattered across the capital and the U.S.-led coalition reported combat deaths of seven servicemen, a day after Iraqi leaders said the capture of a top terror suspect would reduce violence. They lied! Lied, I tell you! One entire day has gone by, and nothing happened! Nothing, I tell you!
On Tuesday, Iraq's parliament voted to extend the country's state of emergency for 30 days, except in the northern Kurdish region. The measure has been in place for almost two years and grants security forces greater powers. Several lawmakers questioned the validity of the vote. Kennedy? Kerry? Murtha?
Police said they the 33 bullet-riddled bodies all showed signs of torture and had their hands and feet bound. The men had been dumped around several neighborhoods, police said.
British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett arrived in the capital Monday on an unannounced visit her first to Iraq since taking up the post in May.
"We do not underestimate the challenges ahead," Beckett said in a statement. "But we must not forget the progress made in the last twelve months in bringing the first democratically elected national unity government to the country, with a constitution voted for by the people."
Lots of old news left out, but this was too interesting to omit:
Disagreements continued over the handover of Iraq's armed forces command from the U.S.-led coalition to the Iraqi government, I must have missed all the other stories about this 'disagreement' and the Defense Ministry said a ceremony to mark the transition had been postponed indefinitely. The two sides still need "to complete some legal and protocol procedures that will lead to a complete understanding between the Iraqi government and the multinational troops," the ministry said. Handing over control from the coalition to Iraqi authorities is a key part of any eventual drawdown of U.S. troops in the country. I'm tired of "drawdown". I say we reduce the forces in Iraq right after those that have been there longer - Korea, Germany, Okinowa, etc.
Posted by: Bobby ||
09/05/2006 06:53 ||
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SALT
ABC News has obtained exclusive photographs of two alleged Iraqi snipers and a vehicle modified as a "mobile shooting platform."
The two insurgents and their car were seized in Iraq last week by Iraqi forces and are now in U.S. military custody. The vehicle had been retooled to conceal a compartment for a high powered sniper rifle under a back seat and two portals for the rifle scope and muzzle next to the left rear lights. The sniper car was reminiscent of the vehicle used by the two spree killers who killed ten people and terrorized Washington, D.C., in October 2002.
One of the alleged Iraqi snipers, Abdul Ali Abdul Rathman (pictured above), told interrogators that he had killed 31 American soldiers. photos of the pug uglies at the link
Posted by: Francis ||
09/05/2006 00:07 ||
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#8
I don't think so my good islamofascist. Instead Zed will get out the blowtorch and have a long and enjoyable session with these two, then go hunting for you.
Posted by: ed ||
09/05/2006 1:34 Comments ||
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#9
Soiled jammies before or after arrest?
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/05/2006 2:04 Comments ||
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#10
I don't think Tubby was the shooter. He couldn't get his fat ass in the trunk. Maybe he was the idea man.
I don't think Tubby is the idea man, either. He looks more like ballast to steady the car. :-)
As for the 31 soldiers killed: I think maybe, but probably not.
#11
To #3 , we should nuke the whole of the middle east except for Israel .. but we dont , simply put , we are too nice for that , unlike you and your retarded mussie friends
#12
The vehicle had been retooled to conceal a compartment for a high powered sniper rifle under a back seat and two portals for the rifle scope and muzzle next to the left rear lights. The sniper car was reminiscent of the vehicle used by the two spree killers who killed ten people and terrorized Washington, D.C., in October 2002.
The resemblence is only a coincidence, I'm sure.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
09/05/2006 5:22 Comments ||
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#13
Sniper caught who killed 31 GIs
31 bullets apiece, slowly applied to the extremities, save for the last one.
#15
I think maybe he SHOT 31 american soldiers, but not killed. PRobably drove off to fast to see if they died or not.
Posted by: Charles ||
09/05/2006 7:58 Comments ||
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#16
Berofe the blow torches and other fun toys, we need to get them to talk. By the looks of the fat one, it wont take much more than setting a pair of pliers on the table in front of him. We need to find out who the suppliers are and hunt and kill them.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
09/05/2006 8:03 Comments ||
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#17
Judging by the last photo at the link, they were busted for having a taillight out. The DC shooters used a single hole cut in the center of the trunk 'lid'.
Posted by: Bobby ||
09/05/2006 8:15 Comments ||
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#18
Going to be interesting to see how quickly an Iraqi demands they be turned over to the Iraqi police. But an execution may be more likely that way.
#19
I have no use for them, but a lot of posters sound an awful like Brits about American sharpshooters in the AWI and War of 1812. Morgan's men did a good job dropping officers at Saratoga and Maryland men took out the senior British commander at North Point. Come on, any different than sliding in a Stealth at 20,000 feet and lopping one on an Iraq command bunker, other than us doing it and not them. Again, that said, best the boys be held in a Kurdish cell than Gitmo. I doubt they'll find any sympathy there. It's not like the ACLU will be concerned about them there. And I think we have a few chips to call in with the Kurds.
#25
No need for torture, when we have much more effective ways of getting information when time isn't quite so pressing. Figure a week, and the gentlemen will have told us everything we ask -- truthfully, not like the old "truth serums" that just made people babble -- and been happy to do so. Physical coersion is only necessary in situations of imminent danger, and when one is willing to accept the risk that the information will be untrue, said only to end the pain.
#26
Charles,
I think you meant "shot at 31 American soldiers". Hit 3, killed none.
An Jihadi "sniper" is a guy who aims at a target (instead of spraying wildly).
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
09/05/2006 11:27 Comments ||
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#27
You left out Bullets Dipped in Pork Fat.
Ummm ... no I didn't, doc. This "wrapped in bacon" garbage has all the maturity of a playground taunt. It's as childish as the endless "diaperhead" and "Muzzie" name-calling. Islam can still qualify as a religion if it reforms on significant issues like taqiyaa, abuse of women and violent jihad. Bandying about religious insults is unproductive. Nailing Islam for its genocidal theocratic political ideology is far more important in the fight against terrorism. Which, I believe, is what Rantburg is all about.
#28
I say let the friends and buddies in the units who lost soldiers and marines to these Lions of IslamTM take them in for a no-holds barred Cage Match. Each unit member gets 1 minute.
Iraqi security forces killed 14 terrorists and arrested almost 200 suspects, the government said on Monday, in a spectacular follow-up to their earlier capture of an alleged top-level Al Qaeda leader. Prime Minister Nuri al-Malikis office announced that over the previous 24 hours a large force of Iraqi troops and police swept through suspected insurgent strongholds in the Euphrates valley south of Baghdad. Over the past 24 hours Baghdad and its outskirts witnessed a series of military operations carried out by security forces from the defence and interior ministries to achieve security and stability, Malikis office said.
A Sunni political party with MPs sitting in Iraqs fragile ruling coalition condemned the raid and demanded that detainees be released.
The raids took place on Sunday in a region south of Baghdad which is mainly inhabited my members of the countrys restive Sunni minority and has been a hotbed of the insurgency. The units in charge of the southern and middle Euphrates district, the 8th and 10th army divisions, killed 14 terrorists and arrested 98 of them along with 95 more suspects, the statement said.
Police in Hilla, south of Baghdad, said that US forces and aircraft assisted Iraqi troops in Mondays arrest operation near Jorf al-Sahkr, but there was no immediate confirmation of this from US headquarters in Iraq. An exchange of fire between gunmen and troops led to the death of an Iraqi soldier, an officer said, adding: The clashes continued for four hours. Iraqi forces managed to confiscate large caches of weapons during the raid, while planes from the coalition forces bombed a number of areas.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2006 00:00 ||
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Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas confirmed Tuesday that a deal had been reached to secure the release of kidnapped IDF soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit.
Abbas told Bahrain-based newspaper El-Halij that Shalit would be transferred to Egypt and held there until Israel fulfilled its part of the bargain.
Earlier, Channel 2 News reported that the kidnappers had promised to release news of the soldier's welfare by Wednesday.
The announcement came after the Egyptian newspaper Al-Hayat reported that Shalit had already been transferred to Egypt as part of a deal to secure his release.
The Jerusalem Post was first to report on Friday that two officers from Egyptian intelligence were stationed in the Gaza Strip and were said to be in touch with the actual kidnappers, who had passed on to them their demands. The Post reported that Israel was holding up the deal, and Egypt was waiting for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's response.
According to Al-Hayat, Shalit was handed over to Egypt "a short time ago" in exchange for Israel's guarantee to release 800 Palestinian prisoners in three stages.
Gilad's father Noam Shalit denied the report, saying unequivocally that Gilad was not in Egypt.
Israel Radio reported that Hamas had retracted its demand that Shalit be freed simultaneously with the Palestinian prisoners.
Al-Hayat said that Israel had stipulated that no prisoners with blood on their hands, as well as Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti and Ahmad Sadat, the PFLP head involved in the murder of former tourism minister Rehavam Ze'evi, should be freed as part of the deal. Channel 10 News reported that Hamas had agreed to Israel's conditions.
A senior government source said that Israel was unaware of such developments and the security establishment made no comment on the reported agreement. Later officials from the Prime Minister's Office said they could not verify the information.
#2
Negotiating with terrorists legitimizes them. Israel has gone down a different and disturbing path since the Entebbe raid. Israel needs to quit playing footsie with Abbas and all the other Paleo liars, thugs, and terrorists.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/05/2006 11:37 Comments ||
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#3
Israel should leave all of their negotiating to Korbin Dallas.
#4
Seems to me that any release of this kind will result in the deaths of far more Israelis than the one they are getting in exchange. Can't be true unless Israel is trying to make a point, which they seem to be doing a lot of these days. Hmm . . . .
Sri Lanka on Monday took control of the strategic Tamil Tiger held Sampur town in the Trincomalee district. The town occupied by the LTTE since the 2002 Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) has been the theatre of hostilities since August 24. In recent days, the Sri Lankan military has repeatedly complained that the Tiger military base at Sampur has been targeting the main naval base in Trincomalee as well as causing turmoil in the Muslim-dominated Muttur town leaving scores dead and thousands homeless.
I'm probably terribly misinformed on this, but it seems to me that if it's their country, they should occupy it, and they should take grave exception to anyone else trying to do so...
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa broke the news about the capture of the town at the 55th anniversary celebrations of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) here during the day. "Sampur is now totally under the Government military control. The Government proved that Sri Lankan forces are in a position to successfully face the challenges of terrorism", he told the delegates amidst cheers.
The Lankans would seem to share my opinion...
Mr. Rajapaksa also praised the army chief Sarath Fonseka who resumed duties a few days after recovering from a murderous attempt on his life in Colombo in April this year. A spokesman for the military said the security forces are continuing their operations in the southern part of Trincomalee and steadily moving towards the LTTE-controlled areas.
Good move. The Lankans have had their own country for 2500 years or so. No reason to let somebody else snatch it away now...
The LTTE termed the advance of the military into Sampur as a "breach of the CFA" and lodged a complaint with the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM). It claimed the military operation had left 97 civilians killed, 215 civilians injured and 46,000 civilians displaced. Besides homes and other public buildings, crops and livestock were also destroyed, it said.
On the other hand, the Tamils could have simply withdrawn, couldn't they?
"The GoSL started the war of occupation of Sampur on 28 August, with no concern about the Ceasefire Agreement. GoSL is now gleefully celebrating the destruction it wrought on the people of Sampur. Why is SLMM quiet in the face of this arrogance of the GoSL to commit atrocities against civilians?" the complaint read.
Because it's their country?
Mr. Rajapaksa had made known the intentions of the Government to neutralise the threat from Sampur on August 21. Reaffirming commitment to the CFA, Mr. Rajapaksa had told the envoys of Co-Chairs of the island nation that his Government will "seriously consider" any initiative incorporating a clear commitment to a comprehensive and verifiable cessation of hostilities to be made by the LTTE leader, V. Prabhakaran. He told the envoys that such a cessation of hostilities should include the "explicit modality" of ensuring that Sampur area does not pose a military threat to the Trincomalee harbour and its environs emanating from the LTTE military presence in the area.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Strategically, it is rather good timing on the government's part.
Tehran, 5 Sept. (AKI) - Iranian authorities have hanged an ethnic Arab activist convicted of involvement in a series of bombings in 2005, a government spokesman in Iran's Khuzestan region said Tuesday. The activist, Hamid Hassanai, was hanged on Sunday, the spokesman said. Hassanai is the fourth ethnic Arab activist to be executed in the last six months. Another six ethnic Arabs are awaiting execution in Iran.
I'm torn, dammit. It is Iran, but the odds of a "Arab activist" being pure as the driven snow is pretty small
Posted by: Steve ||
09/05/2006 12:29 ||
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#1
Me as well Steve. I want Iran to be troubled within, but have no problem with a Arab Activist being killed for bombing.
#2
Rhetorical question: Even if he was trying to blow up a Mad Mullah?
Does our end justify his means?
Posted by: Bobby ||
09/05/2006 14:47 Comments ||
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#3
Let the turbans say "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." We can do better than that...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
09/05/2006 17:09 Comments ||
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#4
I don't think it is necessary to take sides on every issue. Sometimes it is enough to just note it that it is happening. "A pox on both your houses" may be the proper response in this case.
Posted by: Scott R ||
09/05/2006 17:53 Comments ||
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#5
Necktie party?
Go three blocks down to Mullah Expressway and hang a left (Ahem)
A bomb blast near the southern Lebanese city of Sidon has seriously wounded a senior intelligence officer and killed four of his aides and bodyguards. Officials said Samir Shehadeh's car was hit by a remote-controlled bomb as he drove past the village of Rmeileh. Col Shehadeh was an investigator into the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in early 2005.
The incident comes amid a fragile truce after 34 days' bitter fighting between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas.
Both vehicles of Col Shehadeh's two-car convoy were riddled with shrapnel. Police sealed off the area and began collecting evidence. Government officials said Col Shehadeh was taken to hospital in Sidon and his condition was stable.
Lebanon's acting information minister told Lebanese TV that one of the dead bodyguards had been acting as a decoy for Col Shehadeh in the lead car. "It is obvious from the decoy operation that saved him that that there were expectations (of an attack)," Ahmed Fatfat told Future TV.
He knew they were out to get him. "They", of course meaning Syria. This is almost a trademark of their's, the bomb beside the road.
The bombing comes two weeks before the UN chief investigator is to submit a report on his latest findings in the Hariri investigation to the UN. The Lebanese government is expected in the next few weeks to authorise an international tribunal to bring those responsible to justice. Col Shehadeh is reported to have been involved in the arrest four pro-Syrian Lebanese generals last August in connection with the investigation.
Earlier UN investigator's reports have also implicated top Syrian officials in the Hariri killing, although Damascus has denied any role in it or the string of bombings targeting anti-Syrian figures which followed the 14 February 2005 assassination. Mr Hariri's death galvanised Lebanese opposition to Syria, which subsequently bowed to pressure to pull its troops out of Lebanon after nearly 30 years of military presence.
Additional: Police Chief Antoine Shakhur told reporters Tuesday that Shehade had been only lightly wounded in the blast that targeted his convoy. Four bodyguards died, however, while three others were wounded along with an engineer who was working on the road, hospital sources said.
Perhaps the "engineer" should be questioned as to what kind of roadwork he was doing. The bomb that got Hariri was buried in the road.
Investigators believed that an explosive charge was positioned along the road and detonated as Shahades four-wheel-drive vehicle passed. A second car was also damaged by the blast.
It was the first such attack since May 26, when a leader of the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad in Lebanon and his brother were killed in Sidon, the main city in southern Lebanon, after a bomb was placed under their vehicle. On December 12, 2005, lawmaker and journalist Gibran Tueni was killed by a roadside bomb in Beirut along with three other people. Lebanon was rocked by a string of attacks against prominent anti-Syrian figures following Hariris assassination.
Belgian prosecutor Serge Brammertz, who heads an inquiry into that murder, has pointed to possible links between Hariris death and 14 other attacks against anti-Syrian personalities in Lebanon since October 1, 2004.
They just can't help themselves.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/05/2006 08:41 ||
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#1
Syria. Using the Lebbo "confusion" to take a shot at one of the people who helped to nail them. But it's purely revenge... Too late, gents, the writing's on the wall. You can't stop it and nobody's buying what you're selling, anyway. And, BTW, nobody's gonna miss you when you're gone, either. Time to load up a plane and head for Switzerland, pencil-neck.
#2
we engineers are good at directing and designing work for others to do...not do it ourselves. That's why we went to school, dammit. If was actually working, he's lying about being an engineer :-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/05/2006 13:57 Comments ||
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#3
Between the tender mercies of Nasrallah and Assad, Lebanon almost must be missing those tranquil days of Israeli occupation.
Qatar will be sending 200-300 troops for keeping the peace in Lebanon, becoming the first Arab country to participate in an expanded UN force. Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabr Al Thani, the Qatari foreign minister, said in Doha that the troop pledge was intended to "tell the world that there is an Arab presence, however small, and to say to Israel that we believe in this resolution and that we want to implement it."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
A bit of research on Wikipedia shows Qatar to be a possible stronghold of Mythical Moderate Muslims. Women can vote, and they are as literate as men. Plus, of course, there's a big US base there....
Posted by: Bobby ||
09/05/2006 7:40 Comments ||
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A missile was fired at a helicopter escorting Sen. John McCain during a visit to the Republic of Georgia last week.
A statement from that nations interior ministry says the surface-to-air missile was aimed at a chopper involved in a visit of a U.S. Senate delegation to the former Soviet republic. McCain was mentioned as the leader of the group.
The ministry statement claims American officials were notified of the incident. State Dept. spokeswoman Joanne Moore told the Associated Press she had no information about the reported attack.
The president of Georgia, Mikhail Saakashvili, is a strong ally of the U.S. He is also trying to re-establish control over two regions of the country trying to break away from the central government.
Word of this missile launch was made as part of a statement about a Sunday attack on a helicopter carrying Georgias defense minister. His aircraft was damaged by large-caliber machine gun fire and forced to make an emergency landing. No one was injured.
#1
...Man, that had to bring back some bad memories for Senator McCain. Am very glad though he is safe and sound.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
09/05/2006 8:54 Comments ||
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#2
...well it was 'reported' and a statement issued from the interior ministry, so whether one did or not....? Or do you believe everything reported by the press these days?
#4
Clereng, I might not vote for the man in '08, and there's things he's done that I don't agree with (*cough* McCain-Feingold *cough*), but none of it's a death penalty offense. Only moonbats support the assasination of their political opponents.
Glad the bad guys missed. Hope the counterbattery shoot didn't.
Posted by: Mike ||
09/05/2006 11:45 Comments ||
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#5
Once a SAM magnet always a SAM magnet. Glad it missed him.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
09/05/2006 12:15 Comments ||
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#6
Sad irony it would have been... shot down and captured. Maybe he should consider a John Deere on the back 40, some ducks and geese on the pond, bbq and lemonade.
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Chevron Corp. said Tuesday it successfully completed what it called "a record setting production test" on the Jack No. 2 well at Walker Ridge Block 758 in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico....During the test, the well sustained a flow rate of more than 6,000 barrels of crude oil per day, Chevron said.... Chevron is the operator of the Jack prospect with a 50 percent working interest. Devon Energy and Statoil each own a 25 percent working interest... It is 270 miles southwest of New Orleans and 175 miles offshore... in 7,000 feet of water, and more than 20,000 feet under the sea floor, breaking Chevron's 2004 Tahiti well test record as the deepest successful well test in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Jack No. 2 well was drilled to a total depth of 28,175 feet.
More than half a dozen world records for test equipment pressure, depth, and duration in deepwater were set during the Jack well test, Chevron said
#1
in 7,000 feet of water, and more than 20,000 feet under the sea floor, breaking Chevron's 2004 Tahiti well test record as the deepest successful well test in the Gulf of Mexico.
Hard to believe... a great technology that exploits a resource that would be just a waste otherwise. way to go Chevron!
jeebus.. just think of all the oil off Caliphornia's coast and yet the "green wieners" won't even allow full and proper surveys of our vast resources there.
#2
and the best place for a wind farm on the east coast is Nantucket. Kerry, the windsurfer, knows that. But can't have any of those ugly windmills spoiling the waterfront views....
Posted by: Bobby ||
09/05/2006 10:33 Comments ||
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#3
There is more oil in the Gulf of Mexico than the ME. If we could get the EPA off our back we could take those billions of dollars going to the ME and put it directley into our economy and get some jobs to boot. Those rigs need crew support staff on shore techs and then you got all the ships or pipe line people with refiners.
The sad part is Cuba with Chinese companies are going to drill oil just 45miles southern FL IN VIEW of our beach and yet I have heard nor seen any EPA Eco protest marches rallies claiming we must stop this or the whole enviorment will colapse. Wonder why that is? I guess thou its only bad when it helps the evil US thou huh?
#4
What do you mean "our oil pressure is dropping"?
Posted by: Hugo Chavez ||
09/05/2006 10:40 Comments ||
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#5
Chevron opened up about 3% on the news.
Also, this discovery will eventually have to be reconciled with the fact that the current estimate of US Reserves don't include anything in deep water and this drilling depth.
#6
"What do you mean "our oil pressure is dropping"? -- Hugo Chavez"
Hey, now there's an idea. I wonder if it would be technically possible to set up underwater wells off the coast of Venezuela for the sole purpose of draining away the pressure from Chavez' wells?
#7
"I wonder if it would be technically possible to set up underwater wells off the coast of Venezuela for the sole purpose of draining away the pressure from Chavez' wells?
#10
Hey, now there's an idea. I wonder if it would be technically possible to set up underwater wells off the coast of Venezuela for the sole purpose of draining away the pressure from Chavez' wells?
Sure, ask Oklahoma.
#13
This is so important. We thought it was there if we could get it. Now when we go after the Iranian dwarf and his mullahs, we don't give a rat's ass about their oil threats. (ah, our very good Saudi friends too) They may hurt the Chicoms and sting the Japanese for a bit, but we can handle our own requirements.
#15
#14 Because oil doesn't come from dead dinosaurs?
5 miles down = tectonic activity.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
09/05/2006 16:06 Comments ||
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#16
Some of the wells in the Anadarko Basin in Oklahoma are 40,000+ feet deep. There's plenty of oil in the US, it's just economically not feasible to drill much of it. It costs BIG BUCKS to drill a well more than 25,000 feet deep, and the deeper you go, the more expensive it is. We need the oil from the Gulf, and any we can find off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. We also need to open up the drilling in some western areas of the US the environutcakes and EPA refuse to allow. We are at war, and oil is a major weapon of our enemy. We need to take that threat away from them. The only way to do that is to increase US production.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/05/2006 16:56 Comments ||
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#17
They may hurt the Chicoms and sting the Japanese for a bit, but we can handle our own requirements.
If we could handle our own needs, the glut would drive the price of oil down so low it would help any economy, including the Chinese!
Some, maybe a lot of the very deep oil and, especially, natural gas is thought to be from a different process than the oil and gas near the surface. There are a number of theories that methane was locked into the mantle during the earth's formation.
#19
Word has it that it will take 2 years to get the site into full production, and the price of oil needs to be at least $55/barrel to make it doable.
#20
Call me crazy, but how do you figure that becoming energy independent is going to stop muslim terrorism? We do not buy oil from them, and they keep planning the destruction of the country, what is the plan? Capet-bomb them?
Liberals, democrats, and the rest of the fifth-columners will oppose that. That they will not have the financial resources? They are plenty of them already living in western societies that will be more than willing to finance them.
It might slow them down a bit but becoming energy independent will not deter them from their ultimate goal: the destruction of this country.
#23
I really do not think that it takes a lot of money to conduct a devastating attack. They are evil but no stupid. Look at the plot to bring 10 airplanes down. That did not require a lot of money and the terrorists were homegrown.
Who is to say that the muslim terrorists already here could not do the same or worse.
#24
TMH - are you deliberately obtuse? It's a fact that reducing funding and the price of oil reduces fungible support to Islamic terror, besides decreasing the balance of trade deficit to our least friendly traders
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/05/2006 20:52 Comments ||
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#25
Frank,
Not need for insults here. I spent 8 years in the Middle East, 4 of them in Saudi Arabia. The institutionalized brainwashing that goes there transcend money. They will always have money available for terrorism. Believe me, I would like to see this country become energy independent jus to be able to see those bastards drink and eat their oil. But, like I said before, I do not believe that it will slow them down that much. Their hatred towards this country is greater than their need to feed or clothe themselves.
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/05/2006 21:07 Comments ||
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#27
TMH is right, nothing will stop their hatred of the west, in particular the United States. We are second only to Israel in their hatred. There are only two viable solutions, neither of which appear to be catching on. #1. Destroy them as a race and culture. #2. End immigration and restrict them to the sand and their region of the world.
#28
Me too, TMH. 4 years in Expec at Aramco (database support - I'm not a petroleum guy). On the first commercial flight into Bahrain after Gulf War I, then across the causeway to the Magic Kingdom. My first day at work was the first day of Ramadan!
You know how they say they give you two buckets when you arrive in Saudi: one for the money you make, and the other for the sh*t you have to take? My sh*t bucket filled in 1995. I was never happier to get on a plane in my life.
#29
My husband's sh*t bucket filled in 2005. They thought we were crazy for coming back a year short of 5 and given up the first big pay-off. Were you in the Hills or Main Camp?
#30
Several Muslim bloggers label the USA as being a rogue colony of sinister or criminal Britain andor Western Europe that needs to be destroyed. Any Euro or Westernist that believes America = Israel = USA-West out of the ME are the only agendas - read. targets for conquest-destruction by Radical Islam - is deluding himself.
Maybe simply not seeing the whole picture. Does the name Hezbollah ring a bell? Takes a big pile of cash to fund those mooks and buy lots and lots of rocketry supplies. Payments to families of suicide bombers, Iranian nuke research, building mosques in InfidelLand. The list goes on. Money is the lifeblood of terrorism. Without it, these guys are just whiney people living in a desert.
#32
This war is, or at least damned well should be, fought on many fronts. It will include:
*energy independence for us and our allies, which include Japan, Australia and others. Then we will not be subject to blackmail by the oil ticks. That means greater energy efficiency, alternative sources of energy, and dramatically increased domestic petroleum production.
*Decreasing or eliminating Wahhabi funding of mosques in the US, at least.
*Severely limiting persons from states sponsoring, aiding, or abetting terrorism from entering this country, and limiting movement of diplomats from places like Iran.
*Taking out financiers of terrorism. This includes Saudi princes. Take out a half dozen and many will get the message. I mean wetwork, not meeting them for lunch.
*Target key installations, or leaders that have threatened to annialate us, Isreal, or our allies. Precision big booms. Send a message that if you threaten us, we will kill you.
Then the oil ticks will get the message. They will continue their jihadi nutcase behaviors until they see the errors of their ways, so to speak.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/05/2006 22:25 Comments ||
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#33
I see that, Steve. Iran producing Nuclear weapons requires cash and they will sacrifice their own people to continue developing those weapons, just like that crazy North Korean is doing. North Koreans are starving but their nuclear program continues.
I agree that with less cash Hezbollah will cease to be less of a threat to Israel's existance and to some US interests in the ME but their agents around the world will still receive the cash they need to conduct terror attacks.
About building mosques on Infidel land...Talid bin waleed can continue building mosques around the world even if the price of oil drops to a dollar per barrel. His assets are not tied up in oil. The same goes for most of the saudi princes. Remember, they are evil, not stupid.
#35
His assets are not tied up in oil. The same goes for most of the saudi princes. Remember, they are evil, not stupid.
his assets ARE tied to oil, and he's mortal. He's also available for whacking, should we decide we have "limited energy independence" from the Saudis and choose to exercise the opportunities that presents. If all Saudi princes had to stay home in that hellhole they've created, due to fear of wetwork, they might feel different about Allah's fine plans
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/05/2006 22:52 Comments ||
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#36
I beg to differ, Frank. His fortune, for the most part, is already made and very much diversified. Now, you are absolutely right when you say: "He's also available for whacking, should we decide we have "limited energy independence" from the Saudis and choose to exercise the opportunities that presents. If all Saudi princes had to stay home in that hellhole they've created, due to fear of wetwork, they might feel different about Allah's fine plans"
That they will understand!
#37
Terrorists need bucks to build and run mosques, weapons/bombs, fake IDs, bribe monies, safe houses, stash houses, wepons catches, computers, pay networks, transportation, medical, families and dependants, food support etc etc.
And anything we can do to impinge on their ability to get and or move money will be a great asset for us on the WOT.
#42
TMH - your point is well taken, but funds can be tied up, particularly when the US declares any company dealing with them to be non gratas
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/05/2006 23:35 Comments ||
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#43
His point stands true if the rest of the world also buycots them. I'm afraid China and others would rally to buy their cheap oil despite our boycot and the funding stream would continue. We must hit their wells and facilities to reach the end your after, otherwise the market will still buy, and fund.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
09/05/2006 23:41 Comments ||
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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.
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) -- U.S. artillery and airstrikes killed between 50 and 60 suspected Taliban militants Tuesday, the fourth day of a NATO-led offensive in southern Afghanistan, an alliance spokesman said. 
PESHAWAR: Key Taliban commanders, members of the grand tribal jirga and senior administration officials will meet in Miranshah today (Tuesday) to sign a peace deal, a jirga member told Daily Times on Monday. "The jirga's final decision will be read out to the key Taliban leaders who will then sign it," the member, asking not to be named, told Daily Times on the phone from Miranshah. Maulana Gul Bahadar Khan and Maulana Sadiq Noor, key Taliban commanders in North Waziristan, will sign the treaty at the governor's cottage in the presence of jirga members and senior administration officials, he added.
Six people were wounded in a grenade attack while insurgents bombed a gas pipeline in southwestern Pakistan as unrest continued over the killing of a rebel chieftain, police said. Unidentified attackers on a motorbike hurled a grenade at a crowd outside a shop in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province where violence has erupted almost daily over the leader's death in a military offensive on August 26. "Six people were brought to our hospital, they were hit by splinters," Raz Mohammad, a doctor at a state hospital, told AFP. "Their injuries were not serious." 
An Army officer was killed and a militant arrested in Baramulla district since Sunday evening, a defence spokesman said on Monday. Acting on specific information, troops of 57 Rashtriya Rifles assisted by local police launched an operation at Chak Rishipura, 55 kms from Srinagar on Sunday, the spokesman said. The troops noticed the movement of militants and challenged them following which the ultras opened fire and the troops retaliated, he said. 
Iraqi security forces killed 14 terrorists and arrested almost 200 suspects, the government said on Monday, in a spectacular follow-up to their earlier capture of an alleged top-level Al Qaeda leader. Prime Minister Nuri al-Malikis office announced that over the previous 24 hours a large force of Iraqi troops and police swept through suspected insurgent strongholds in the Euphrates valley south of Baghdad. Over the past 24 hours Baghdad and its outskirts witnessed a series of military operations carried out by security forces from the defence and interior ministries to achieve security and stability, Malikis office said.
Sri Lanka on Monday took control of the strategic Tamil Tiger held Sampur town in the 
Tehran, 5 Sept. (AKI) - Iranian authorities have hanged an ethnic Arab activist convicted of involvement in a series of bombings in 2005, a government spokesman in Iran's Khuzestan region said Tuesday. The activist, Hamid Hassanai, was hanged on Sunday, the spokesman said. Hassanai is the fourth ethnic Arab activist to be executed in the last six months. Another six ethnic Arabs are awaiting execution in Iran. 
