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Iranian Weapons Intended for Taliban Intercepted
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
7 00:00 Zenster [3] 
2 00:00 Danking70 [4] 
2 00:00 Old Patriot [3] 
12 00:00 JosephMendiola [5] 
8 00:00 Excalibur [3] 
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1 00:00 Galloways Outcropping [3] 
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Page 2: WoT Background
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2 00:00 Pappy [3]
7 00:00 RD [5]
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3 00:00 JosephMendiola [5]
3 00:00 FOTSGreg [3]
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2 00:00 JosephMendiola [4]
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10 00:00 Judge Lynch [3]
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3 00:00 sinse [3]
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4 00:00 Barbara Skolaut [3]
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Page 3: Non-WoT
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10 00:00 Zenster [4]
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Page 4: Opinion
1 00:00 Zenster [4]
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6 00:00 Frank G [3]
1 00:00 Verlaine [3]
Page 5: Russia-Former Soviet Union
11 00:00 RD [4]
6 00:00 Cyber Sarge [3]
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7 00:00 Frank G [3]
6 00:00 USN, Ret. [3]
2 00:00 sinse [3]
Afghanistan
Iranian Weapons Intended for Taliban Intercepted
U.S. forces recently intercepted Iranian-made weapons intended for Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, the Pentagon's top general said Tuesday, suggesting wider Iranian war involvement in the region. It appeared to be the first publicly disclosed instance of Iranian arms entering Afghanistan, although it was not immediately clear whether the weapons came directly from Iran or were shipped through a third party.

Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that unlike in Iraq, where U.S. officials say they are certain that arms are being supplied to insurgents by Iran's secretive Quds Force, the Iranian link in Afghanistan is murky. "It is not as clear in Afghanistan which Iranian entity is responsible, but we have intercepted weapons in Afghanistan headed for the Taliban that were made in Iran," Pace told a group of reporters over breakfast.

He said the weapons, including mortars and C-4 plastic explosives, were intercepted in Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan within the past month.

Iran has had an uneven relationship with Afghanistan over the years. During the wars of the past quarter-century — the 1979-89 Soviet occupation, the subsequent civil war, Taliban rule starting in 1996 and the 2001 U.S.-led invasion — millions of Afghans, particularly from the western provinces, took refuge in Iran.

In recent years Iran has contributed to numerous economic improvements in western Afghanistan, including roadways, schools and several clinics. But Michael Rubin, an Iran expert at the American Enterprise Institute, sees reason for concern about Iran's efforts to increase its influence inside Afghanistan. "Iran's leadership often strikes pragmatic relationships to further their influence at our expense," he said Tuesday. "A lot of testimonials about Iranian assistance in Afghanistan are based more on wishful thinking than reality."

In a statement issued in response to Pace's comments, the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran, a coalition of Iranian opposition groups, said Iran's Quds Force has been active in Afghanistan for several years.

With regard to Iranian activities in Iraq, Pace said it is clear that Quds Force members are involved in the network that supplies materials to make roadside bombs, which are a leading killer of U.S. troops in Iraq. "We know that there are munitions that were made in Iran that are in Iraq and in Afghanistan," he said, adding that it also is clear that the Quds Force reports to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, which reports directly to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/17/2007 17:40 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It is way past time for spanking Iran. Phucqers.
Posted by: Unique Battle || 04/17/2007 17:57 Comments || Top||

#2  Causus Belli. Death Warrant for Aqua Velva Jacket man
Posted by: Galloways Outcropping || 04/17/2007 18:28 Comments || Top||

#3  Radical Shia Persians arming arch-Sunni Talibans. Good heavens, is nothing sacred?!
Posted by: mrp || 04/17/2007 18:49 Comments || Top||

#4 
Now wouldn't it just suck if they somehow accidently found there way back to the Iranian general population. I hear they're not so crazy about those Wacky Mulluhs in charge. I'm just saying I'd hate or for a bunch of weapons to fall off the Hummus truck in downtown Tehran.
Posted by: macofromoc || 04/17/2007 19:28 Comments || Top||

#5  I'm all for arming the resistance movements in Iran, especially with their own weapons.

Take that and fuck you and your goat, Admanahole.
Posted by: DarthVader || 04/17/2007 19:43 Comments || Top||

#6  RUSSIAN news websites a while back were ironically were all roughly hinting or indic that Radical Iran is desirous of expanding her influence in Central Asia includ Muslim former Soviet SSR's.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 04/17/2007 23:20 Comments || Top||

#7  Few regimes in history have ever deserved an as-yet-unreceived asskicking like Iran.
Posted by: Zenster || 04/17/2007 23:25 Comments || Top||


Suicide bomber kills ten: Afghan police
A suicide bomber on Monday blew himself up among policemen doing their morning exercises in the northeastern Afghan city of Kunduz killing ten and wounding 25, the Interior Ministry said.

Separately, a suicide bomber attacked a private US security firm in southern Afghanistan killing four Afghans working for the company and wounding another, officials said. NATO-led forces also killed several ‘key’ Taliban leaders in a series of air strikes and raids targeting militants in southern Afghanistan last week, according to an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) press statement.

Taliban insurgents, fighting to oust foreign troops from Afghanistan, have launched a wave of suicide attacks in the south and east but attacks in the north have been rare. Taliban commander Hayatullah Khan claimed responsibility and said there would be more attacks. “It was a successful strike and such bombings will continue,” he said. “All of our suicide bombers are Afghans and they are waiting for orders in various Afghan cities.” Suicide attacks in Afghanistan, almost unheard of three years ago, surged from about 20 in 2005 to over 140 in 2006. There have also been numerous attacks this year. Earlier, on Saturday a suicide bomber killed seven policemen and a civilian in an attack on a police station in the eastern town of Khost.

The security firm US Protection and Investigations said a suicide bomber riding a motorcycle had blown himself up near a convoy and killed four employees while wounding another. Separately in the eastern Paktika province, police and US-led coalition forces attacked suspected Taliban insurgents crossing from Pakistan into Afghanistan, killing 10 militants and wounding 15, the provincial governor said on Sunday.

Meanwhile, last week, the NATO-led ISAF conducted several raids in the insurgency-hit southern province of Helmand. Approximately 5,000 Afghan and foreign troops were involved in the major operation, said an ISAF press release.

The release stated that ISAF, in joint operations with Afghan forces, launched a series of attacks and precision strikes against Taliban extremists in Helmand resulting in the elimination of several key extremist leaders. No details on the identities or ranks of the Taliban leaders, or the locations or dates of the attacks were given.

“We fully realise the influence these Taliban extremist leaders have on the population of southern Afghanistan, who have said that they feel like hostages in their own communities,” the ISAF Commander for southern Afghanistan Major General Ton van Loon said.

Around 37,000 NATO-led troops and a separate force of nearly 12,000 US-led coalition soldiers are in Afghanistan to hunt down the rebels trying to topple the US-backed government in Kabul. Separately the coalition said it had captured eight Taliban insurgents early on Monday. It revealed that four of them were allegedly linked to a “known, high-ranking Taliban leader” while the remainder were seized for allegedly running a militant “safe-house” in the Barmal district of Paktika province.
Posted by: Fred || 04/17/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Islams graet primitive contributions to the world we live in: slaughter, bloodlust, and carnage.
Wadda great religion!
A Religion of pieces and terror! and manliness, combined with a compassionate metrosexuality! Islam I say! praise Satan! Praise Satan! Praise Satan!
Posted by: Vinegar Ulogum7733 || 04/17/2007 14:24 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Recent militia attack kills 40 in Darfur
KHARTOUM - At least 40 civilians were killed and 25 wounded in an April 11 attack believed to have be carried out by the Janjaweed militia in the war-torn Darfur region, the UN mission in Sudan reported on Monday.

‘A group of armed men, allegedly Janjaweed militia, attacked Abujogh Market (north Darfur) and seven other villages,’ the mission said in its daily report. ‘The attackers reportedly used 30 vehicles equipped with heavy machine guns and artillery. Reportedly, 40 civilians were killed and 25 others were wounded,’ it added.
African Union has been a real success here ...
Posted by: Steve White || 04/17/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Bangladesh
Security forces hold 27 militants in Bangladesh
RAB has been so busy they haven't even been able to do a proper cross-fire ...
DHAKA - The number of suspected Islamic militants netted by special anti-terror police squads rose to 27 Monday as 19 more members of the banned Jamiatul Mujahideen group were arrested by security forces across Bangladesh.

In a stepped up drive against religious extremism eight Islamic priests were arrested in the northern Pabna district for spreading militancy through mosques. Seven alleged militants were also rounded up after an overnight raid on a hideout used by the extremists evading arrests in Bogra district north of Dhaka. Four others were also detained for distributing Islamic posters and booklets.

Earlier eight suspected Islamic militants were captured by an anti-terror police squad in central Bangladesh Sunday during a raid on an Islamic religious school, officials said. The arrested militants were members of the outlawed Mujahideen group who have vowed to change Bangladesh, a Muslim majority country, into an Islamic state ruled by the Koran.

Police raided a madrassa, an Islamic school, in central Tangail district after a tip off that the militants had gathered for a secret meeting. A huge number of home made explosives including hand grenades were seized.
Posted by: Steve White || 04/17/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Shooting commies in crossfires and recovering their shutter guns is all well and good but I prefer arresting islamic clerics for spreading militancy in the mosques. Lock 'em up and throw away the key. That's the way to beat this thing. While your at it, demolish the mosques and burn the korans.
Posted by: treo || 04/17/2007 10:05 Comments || Top||

#2  They oughta hold them under 10 feet of water. Its a good start
Posted by: Vinegar Ulogum7733 || 04/17/2007 14:14 Comments || Top||

#3  In Bangladesh, that could be, like, ten minutes from now...
Posted by: tu3031 || 04/17/2007 14:16 Comments || Top||


Charges framed against 6 JMB cadres in Ctg
A Chittagong court yesterday framed charges against six Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) activists in four cases filed in connection with bomb attacks, murder, and possession of illegal firearms and explosives. The accused include JMB bigwigs Javed Iqbal alias Mohammad and Zahid Hossain alias Bomb Mizan. The cases were filed in connection with the August 17, 2005 countrywide bomb attacks, the bomb attack on Chittagong court building premises on November 29, 2005 and illegal firearms and explosives that were recovered from the port city's Pahartali area on December 14, 2005.

The court of additional metropolitan sessions judge pressed charges against the six and exempted three top JMB leaders, including Abdur Rahman, Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai and Ataur Rahman Sunny who were executed in the Jhalakathi judges murder case, and one deceased suicide bomber Abul Hossain. Judge Akter Hossain framed charges against JMB Chittagong Divisional Chief Javed Iqbal alias Mohammad and Zahid Hossain alias Bomb Mizan in the two cases filed in connection with the November 29, 2005 attack.

Charges were also pressed against Mohammad, Zahid, Alauddin Rubel and Arshadul Alam in connection with the case filed for August 17, 2005 serial bomb attacks in Chittagong. The judge also pressed charges against Mohammad and Zahid along with two others--Naimuzzaman and Rafiqul Islam alias Rumel--in connection with the December 14, 2005 arms and explosives haul case, sources said.

Abdur Rahman, Sunny and Bangla Bhai were accused in all the four cases while Abul Hossain was accused in the explosion and murder cases filed in connection with the suicide bomb attack that left three people including a policeman and an upazila Jubo League leader dead on November 29, 2005.
This article starring:
ABDUR RAHMANJamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh
ABUL HUSEINJamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh
ALAUDIN RUBELJamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh
ARSHADUL ALAMJamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh
ATAUR RAHMAN SUNNYJamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh
BOMB MIZANJamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh
JAVED IQBALJamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh
Jubo League
Judge Akter Hossain
NAIMUZZAMANJamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh
RAFIQUL ISLAM ALIAS RUMELJamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh
SIDIQUL ISLAM ALIAS BANGLA BHAIJamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh
ZAHID HUSEINJamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh
Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh
Posted by: Fred || 04/17/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


India-Pakistan
Rockets fired upon FC check post
Unknown assailants fired rockets at a Frontier constabulary check post in Kohlu on Monday. Faced with returned fire, the attackers fled. On Monday afternoon, a rocket exploded near the Bambore Top check post. The Frontier constabulary returned fire but the attackers ran away. No loss of life or property has been reported. In a separate incident, nine suspected criminals were arrested in Balochistan. Four were arrested when a search operation revealed that they had weapons, three criminals were arrested in Dasht for terrorism and two others were arrested in Mund. In another raid, security forces arrested 31 Afghanis for illegally entering Pakistan. The prisoners were released to the local administration for further proceedings where cases have been registered against them under the Foreign Act.
Posted by: Fred || 04/17/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Suicide squad on way to Islamabad
Intelligence agencies have warned that three would-be suicide bombers have set out for Islamabad to target government functionaries if law-enforcement agencies crack down on Jamia Hafsa and Jamia Fareedia. Daily Times has learnt that intelligence agencies submitted reports to the Interior Ministry a few days ago warning that the three men, including two Uzbeks, had left Darra Adam Khel for Islamabad to undertake suicide attacks. Ikramullah, 20, a resident of Gedaro Killi, Zarghun Khel and member of the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba, reportedly heads the group. The group, trained at a camp located in Shawal, Waziristan, was reportedly sent by Tariq Mazid Khel, who runs a training camp at Zarghun Khel and claims to have contacts with intelligence agencies. The Interior Ministry has directed the district administration and police to apprehend the gang.
This article starring:
Darra Adam Khel
IKRAMULLAHSipah-e-Sahaba
Jamia Fareedia
Jamia Hafsa
TARIQ MAZID KHELSipah-e-Sahaba
Sipah-e-Sahaba
Posted by: Fred || 04/17/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Wonder if there will be video?
Posted by: Jack is Back || 04/17/2007 8:50 Comments || Top||

#2  Wonder if Nappy-seven-headedMedia Whore will facilitate its airing? Or not
Posted by: Vinegar Ulogum7733 || 04/17/2007 14:38 Comments || Top||


Lal Masjid pulls out of talks
Army helicopters 'gas' madrassa students, take pictures
The Lal Masjid on Monday pulled out of talks with the government, after two army helicopters hovered over the mosque compound in the morning taking pictures and spraying a gas on madrassa students, in what the mosque sees as a prelude to an operation.
"Mahmoud, give 'em a whiff o' the gas!"
"But Ahmed! It'll make their pee-pees shrink!"
"Mwaah-hah-hah-hah-hah!"

“In the present situation when military helicopters are hovering over Lal Masjid and an operation is being finalised under the cover of talks, we cannot continue negotiations any further,” Maulana Abdul Aziz, chief cleric of Lal Masjid, told reporters.
"Nope. Nope. Can't do it. Sorry."
Earlier, Abdul Rashid Ghazi, brother and deputy of Aziz, said an army helicopter “appeared from nowhere” at around 10:40am and hovered over the mosque and its Jamia Hafsa madrassa for girls for around 15 minutes, and took pictures of the unveiled students and sprayed a “mysterious gas” on them which caused breathing difficulties and watery eyes. The helicopter flew away and another army helicopter later flew over the place, he said.
It was piloted by djinns. I seen it with my own eyes.
Ghazi said PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, who is heading the negotiations from the government side, phoned him and expressed shock at the incident. Ghazi alleged that Monday’s incident took place at the behest of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain. He demanded the government bring back Hussain through Interpol and try him for the murders of former Sindh governor Hakeem Muhammad Saeed and Maulana Salahuddin. Asked if they had planned any strategy to counter an aerial attack on the mosque compound, Ghazi said: “We will condemn any such attack, however, I can’t say anything about our retaliation.”
Posted by: Fred || 04/17/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  so the govt is contemplating a tear gas attack.

Or hinting at it, in the hope the loons will get the idea and decide to compromise.

But if they go through with it, is Perv confident he has the support when the MMA goes to war against him? Thats why he was talking with Benazir?

Where is Hamid Gul right now, I wonder?
Posted by: liberalhawk || 04/17/2007 10:26 Comments || Top||

#2  Spray them with a mixture of benzine, napthene and gasoline, then drop a lit candle. THAT will "shrink their peewees".
Posted by: Old Patriot || 04/17/2007 14:48 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Acid truck bomb attack foiled
A TRUCK laden with nitric acid and explosives overturned before the driver could attack a security station run by US and Iraqi troops north of Baghdad, the US military said today. A security patrol went to help the driver of the truck after it overturned and found it loaded with eight containers of nitric acid and explosives. The driver confessed he had been paid to attack the joint security station in Mushada, which also houses the town's police station, north of Baghdad.
And now he can 'pay' to tell us all the details!
The use of nitric acid in bomb attacks could mark another shift in tactics by insurgents, who in recent months have rigged nearly a dozen truck bombs with chlorine gas, mainly in western Anbar province.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/17/2007 17:37 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Acid is a sacrament of the Religion of Pieces. /sarcasm off
Posted by: Galloways Outcropping || 04/17/2007 18:36 Comments || Top||

#2  Coming soon: One less VBIED factory taken off-line.

Hope the neighbors enjoy the fireworks.
Posted by: Danking70 || 04/17/2007 18:41 Comments || Top||


Sky News: New Pics of Attack on Iraqi Bombers
New footage has been released showing the moment two roadside bomb teams in Basra were attacked by British forces.
Doesn't show a whole lot, but it's more than we had before! :-)
The Ministry of Defence says the Iraqi militiamen targeted may have been responsible for the deaths of four British soldiers earlier this month.
Ooh, targeted! I like the sound of that! >:-)
"(They) were intent upon launching exactly the same type of attack in the same area," said a spokesman.
Now they're intent on avoiding Fred's virgins.
At least eight of the Iraqis who were laying devices were killed in the attack, on the outskirts of the Hyall Shuala district, on Friday night.
From the size of the explosion I'll bet they're having a real hard time getting all the little bits to tell the same story. Just wait for the wailing and divide by 90dB and you'll know about how many died.
The operation was launched by the Multi-National Division (SE) Force Reserve, 2nd Battalion Duke of Lancaster's Regiment Battlegroup.
Any bets it was conceived and planned by some mighty pi$$ed off grunts?
A spokesman for the group said: "The Multi-National Force in south east Iraq must be able to exact revenge and strike those militia who seek to kill its soldiers, and who also intimidate the people of Basra with death threats.
Anybody else wanna limp?
"Operations against rogue militia will therefore continue, especially so against their leadership and their weapons stocks but also, as in this case, against operatives."
And anyone else we don't like until such time that you're all dead or permanently stuck under your beds.
The four Britons who died in the roadside bomb attack on April 5 were Second Lieutenant Joanna Yorke Dyer, Corporal Kris O'Neill, Private Eleanor Dlugosz and Kingsman Adam James Smith.
R.I.P.
Their bodies were flown back to the UK last week.
What's left of the bad guys has already been taken care of by the crows.
Posted by: gorb || 04/17/2007 06:33 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The brave and free never get a chance to sell their story to the tabloids only the little cowards that were suppose to be Royal Marines. More like Royal Chumps. Here are the "real" men and women of the British military. Cheers to them and may God Bless their souls.
Posted by: Jack is Back || 04/17/2007 8:52 Comments || Top||

#2  looks like nice secondaries going off....
Posted by: Frank G || 04/17/2007 9:13 Comments || Top||

#3  Good riddance.
Posted by: DarthVader || 04/17/2007 9:16 Comments || Top||

#4  Just wait for the wailing and divide by 90dB and you'll know about how many died.

Good one, gorb!
Posted by: Verlaine || 04/17/2007 9:33 Comments || Top||

#5  The night belongs to the Brits and the US. Believe me when I tell you a great many of these AK toting goat buggers are getting properly WHACKED from above by 20mm and Hellfire!
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/17/2007 9:42 Comments || Top||

#6  More deader, more better.
Posted by: Excalibur || 04/17/2007 10:22 Comments || Top||

#7  More proper whackings, please, Besoeker. ;-) The genetic pool is getting nicely culled in Iraq these days.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/17/2007 10:51 Comments || Top||

#8  GORB!

;-)
Posted by: RD || 04/17/2007 12:57 Comments || Top||

#9  Exploding Jeehadees! Headed staight for Hell and eternal suffering and torment by the devil they so faithfully servred with their lives-
Ba'el Sabab, and his humble serpents the Allah and MuhomMAD travelling exploding roaadshow! Praise Allah and build a shrine to them both. Then tear it down for this is Wahhabee way~! Wa-EEEEE!
Posted by: Vinegar Ulogum7733 || 04/17/2007 14:34 Comments || Top||

#10  It just dawned on me - allan's 72 virgins are all clones of Lorena Bobbit. How poetic.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 04/17/2007 14:50 Comments || Top||

#11  Nice bit of payback by the Brits. Cheers!
Posted by: Zenster || 04/17/2007 17:20 Comments || Top||

#12  CIVIL WAR JOURNAL this AM > ABE LINCOLN > "Americans must live as free men at all times or we will choose to destroy ourselves by deliberate self-suicide", or words to that effect. THE COMMIES-SOCIALISTS LOVE TO ARGUE THE FORMER BUT LIVE THE LATTER. WOT > ultimate or greatest threat to free democratic America as we know it is FROM WITHIN.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 04/17/2007 23:26 Comments || Top||


Insurgent attack kills 13 Iraqi troops
Could have used those T-55s ...
MOSUL, Iraq - Insurgent gunmen attacked an Iraqi army checkpoint on a road in northern Iraq on Monday and killed 13 soldiers, army Major Qassim Abdullah said. ‘A large group of terrorists drove up in five cars and opened fire immediately on the Al Hadhar checkpoint, before making off,’ the commander told AFP in the northern city of Mosul. Four soldiers were wounded in the attack, Abdullah added.

Hadhar is a remote town on a major road south of Mosul, 300 kilometres (185 miles) north of Baghdad in an area where Iraqi security forces often clash with Sunni insurgents linked to the Al Qaeda network.
Posted by: Steve White || 04/17/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Insurgents? Cowards, more like. Without uniforms and insignia, willfully and deliberately involving and endangering unarmed civilian populace. Cowards willfully waiving all rules of Geneva Convention and the Socialist Media Totalitarians who love, admire, adore and respect them.
Posted by: Galloways Outcropping || 04/17/2007 18:34 Comments || Top||


Iraqi tankers take on first mission
Iraqi Army tankers took the lead on their first real mission by conducting a mounted patrol in their T-55 tanks on a major highway near Kem, Iraq Thursday. IA Soldiers from the1st Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army Division (Mechanized) went on a joint mission with U.S. Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment and searched for insurgents who would endanger the lives of innocent Iraqi civilians.

Leading up to the patrol, the Iraqi Army tankers received training for more than three months from Soldiers of the Company C “Cobras” from 2-8 Cavalry. The training included maintenance on T-55 tanks; instruction on how to drive the tanks, gunnery on all the various tank weapons systems, and other instructions concerning combat operations.
The T-55, every dictator's tank of choice for suppressing the locals. I'd like to see these used to suppress al-Q and the Sadrists.
“They’ve really come a long way,” said Capt. Nels Hanson, commander of Cobra Company. “We’re hoping to empower them more and more each day and this week we’ll continue taking them on more patrols. We’ll do this for several days as we want them to gain confidence as they continue becoming more competent at doing this.”

Hanson said he sees this first patrol as a small step toward opening doors of self-reliance for the Iraqi Army as they continue to take over responsibility for their area of operations. “Eventually, they will be able to fully take over in their areas of responsibility and it’s a good opportunity to get more IA troops into the fight and less U.S. Soldiers into the fight,” Hanson said.

Hanson said one of the keys to success were Iraqi platoon leaders who assisted his Soldiers with training the Iraqi tankers. “Many of them had served in the Army under the previous regime,” said Hanson. “We explained to them how we wanted to see the training conducted and they did an excellent job in executing the training and being involved in the day-to-day activities.”

Although, the day’s mission found no insurgent activity, it was a great example of the progress the IA tankers have made and the future that is to come. “We’re very proud of them, they’re very motivated and we were happy to see them out there,” said Capt. Wes Durham, who works with the military transition team for 2-8 Cavalry. “The next step will be integrating them into more complex missions.”

“It feels good to share in this milestone,” said Spc. Jason Aschenbrenner, a humvee gunner and infantryman with Cobra Company. “The Iraqi troops just keep getting better at their jobs and they show that they really do care about the security of their people.”
Outstanding. Heavy armor is one of the last few major missions the Iraqi army needs to develop, along with anti-tank, ADA and Air Force.
And Combat Support. Especially Combat Support.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 04/17/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This is good news. Nothing impresses the locals like a heavy tank bouncing the sand as it approaches. When the locals see tanks, AQ is outta business.
Posted by: Rex Mundi || 04/17/2007 2:15 Comments || Top||

#2  Shirley the New York Times will pick up this article and spread the good news on Page 1.
Posted by: Bobby || 04/17/2007 6:40 Comments || Top||

#3  The picture at the link is of a T-72. I wonder how many survived...
Posted by: Bobby || 04/17/2007 6:44 Comments || Top||

#4  ...It will be interesting to see how this works out - I've always heard it said (and I firmly believe) that our guys could take the other side's gear and still win. Here we have Soviet tanks being run in accordance iwth US doctrine - looking forward to the results.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 04/17/2007 9:03 Comments || Top||

#5  And they need to get paid, too. This has been a major problem. I remember a Marine friend at the palace who would periodically fly the payroll satchel out to Anbar. It's the little things (!!) that are actually some of the big obstacles in a place like Iraq.

Posted by: Verlaine || 04/17/2007 9:45 Comments || Top||

#6  "...and stop calling me Shirley!"
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 04/17/2007 14:10 Comments || Top||

#7  USN, Ret.

Now here this, "...and stop calling me Shirley!"

LMAO!
Posted by: RD || 04/17/2007 20:18 Comments || Top||

#8  "T-55"s > didn't the Soviets = Russians produce 50,000 - 80,000 of these "Soviet/Russian Shermans" during the Cold War??? Good enuff for crowd control + crushing Warsaw Pact demonstrations agz the USSR, but haven't defeated a major Western army yet.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 04/17/2007 23:31 Comments || Top||


Tater Tots Quit Government
The militant Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr withdrew six ministers loyal to him from the Iraqi cabinet on Monday, in the first major shake-up of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki’s government since it was installed a year ago. Legislators working for Mr. Sadr said that Mr. Sadr was withdrawing his ministers from the 38-member cabinet because the Iraqi government had refused to set a timetable for pulling American troops out of the country. The move is the first time Mr. Sadr has followed through with a threat to cut some of his ties with the government and with Mr. Maliki, a conservative Shiite whose grip on authority largely rests on Mr. Sadr’s political support.

Mr. Sadr said he was motivated by Iraqi nationalism, asserting that his action was intended to give the government a chance to appoint new ministers who would not be beholden to any political party or have sectarian agendas. “I ask God to bestow upon the people an independent devoted government to be like a candle in the middle of the dark, away from occupation,” Mr. Sadr said in a statement, which was read at a news conference by Nassar al-Rubaie, a senior Sadr legislator.

The immediate effect of the pullout on the day-to-day work of the government and its ministries is unclear. Mr. Maliki did not announce any replacements on Monday, and the six ministries now controlled by Mr. Sadr could stagnate if Iraq’s various political parties engage in protracted haggling over the new appointments — a common blight of politics here. On the other hand, Mr. Sadr’s ministers are generally seen by Iraqi and American officials as corrupt and incompetent, so replacing them could bring long-term benefits to the ministries. Mr. Maliki has been saying for months that he wants to overhaul his cabinet.

Mr. Maliki said in a statement on Monday that he “welcomes the announcement of his eminence Moktada al-Sadr authorizing him the allocation of the six ministries that are held by Sadr’s bloc.”
Posted by: Fred || 04/17/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Note to Bush. Kill him. Now.
Posted by: Mike N. || 04/17/2007 0:20 Comments || Top||

#2  Tater Tots Quit Government

mookie will be heartbroken when no one cares.
Posted by: RD || 04/17/2007 2:03 Comments || Top||

#3  "whose grip on authority largely rests on Mr. Sadr’s political support."

Horsehit. The Dawa Party has more Shia support than that fat little punk. About time someone stuck a fist up his butt.
Posted by: Apostate || 04/17/2007 8:39 Comments || Top||

#4  About time someone stuck a fist up his butt.

They'd have to pull Maliki's nose out first:)
Posted by: Jack is Back || 04/17/2007 8:56 Comments || Top||

#5  Sounds like an extremely good reason NOT to have a timetable. But try telling that to the donks.
Posted by: treo || 04/17/2007 10:23 Comments || Top||

#6  I hope you know you are forfeiting your government pension as well. Still want to throw that tantrum, hmmmm?
Posted by: Vinegar Ulogum7733 || 04/17/2007 14:11 Comments || Top||

#7  Yeah, you'll never get your teeth fixed now!
Posted by: Vinegar Ulogum7733 || 04/17/2007 14:40 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Fighting spreads in southern Philippines, 21 dead
Fighting between government forces and rogue Muslim rebels is spreading in the southern Philippines, shattering hopes for peace and threatening local support for a U.S.-backed campaign to flush out militants. A military spokesman said on Tuesday that army commandos were fanning out into the jungles of Jolo island, 600 miles (950 km) south of Manila, to hunt members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) after three days of pitched battle. "Our troops were now pursuing a separate group of MNLF rebels in another part of the island," Lieutenant-Colonel Bartolome Bacarro told reporters.

Seventeen rebels, three soldiers and one civilian have been killed since renegade MNLF commander Habier Malik fired mortars at marines on Friday night, triggering fierce retaliation by the military, which dropped 250-pound bombs on his base. Nearly 8,500 families have fled the fighting and thousands crammed into schools and gymnasiums in downtown Jolo, relying on food rations from disaster agencies.

In its campaign to destroy the Abu Sayyaf, the most militant of four Muslim rebel groups in the largely Catholic country, the military had been careful to avoid the use of air strikes in order to win round locals, tired of so-called "friendly fire". The troops' use of heavy bombs over the weekend and their targeting of the MNLF, which is seen as having more legitimacy than Abu Sayyaf, could undermine crucial local support. "It's going to complicate things because the MNLF probably have more local contacts, more traction with the locals then the Abu Sayyaf, who tend to be more thuggish," Tom Green, executive director of Pacific Strategies & Assessments, told Reuters. "Going against the MNLF means that a broader spectrum of people are affected because of blood ties, fathers, sons, uncles, brothers, that is going to complicate things."

Ustadz Habier Malik, an MNLF field commander loyal to jailed Muslim leader Nur Misuari, fired mortar rounds on a military base in Panamao town on Friday to retaliate against an attack by soldiers on MNLF positions in Indanan.

On Tuesday, the national police said seven people were taken captive by the Abu Sayyaf in Parang town, including six men working on a government road project. "The governor of Sulu was negotiating for the release of all seven hostages," said Joel Goltiao, police chief in the Muslim autonomous region, adding armed police officers were tracking down the Abu Sayyaf group behind the kidnapping.
This article starring:
HABIER MALIKMoro National Liberation Front
Joel Goltiao, police chief
Lieutenant-Colonel Bartolome Bacarro
NUR MISUARIMoro National Liberation Front
Pacific Strategies
Tom Green
USTADZ HABIER MALIKMoro National Liberation Front
Abu Sayyaf
Moro National Liberation Front
Posted by: ryuge || 04/17/2007 07:55 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  If you count up the news accounts of dead Abus over the last 5 years and cut the number in half you still have more dead Abus than there supposedly ever were.

So I think it's more a situation of lots of bad guys who sometimes wear an Abu hat and sometimes an MNLF or MILF or JI or what-have-you hat.

And if that's true you'll never be done with the Abus until you deal with the other groups as well.
Posted by: Iblis || 04/17/2007 12:43 Comments || Top||

#2  The other problem is that there's a steady flow INTO the Philippines from Indonesia, Malaysia, and points west. Cut that link, and you can reduce the numbers significantly. Otherwise, you're in a self-perpetuating mess.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 04/17/2007 15:00 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
France ‘was seconds’ from downing Israeli jet
France and Israel are on a collision course in south Lebanon following incidents involving Israeli warplanes over- flying the positions of the French military contingent serving with the UN peacekeeping force there.

In the most serious confrontation, French troops were said by sources in Paris to have been "just two seconds" from launching an anti- aircraft missile at two Israeli F-15 fighters carrying out mock low-level attack runs over one outpost.
Wonder if the F-15s then would have been authorized to clobber the AA site?
As this was happening, a pair of Israeli reconnaissance aircraft circled over the headquarters of the French battalion in the Jabal Maroun area, possibly taking aerial photographs there.

Even before these incidents occurred, French diplomatic sources had let it be known that President Jacques Chirac was urging Israel through diplomatic channels to halt their regular incursions into Lebanese air space.

The French officer in command of the 11,500-strong UN contingent, Major General Alain Pellegrini, made it clear that he considered these incursions violated the UN Security Council resolution that brought an end to last summer’s brief but bloody war between Israel and Hezbollah. If diplomatic efforts should prove inadequate to resolve this issue, Pellegrini added, "maybe other means would have to be considered." In private, French officials contend that the over-flights are designed to provoke Hezbollah into renewing its attacks on Israeli targets, opening the way for massive retaliation.
They've never heard of aerial recon. Must not have. No one in Y'urp ever does such a thing. Ucky.
In response, Israeli sources accuse the French contingent of turning a blind eye to Hezbollah's stealthy rearmament in breach of the UN resolution and doing little to prevent the guerrillas from reoccupying positions close to the border.
The French aren't turning an eye, they're walking hand-in-hand with the Hezbies. They dislike the Israelis and would like nothing better than to see the Hezbies whack Israel again.
The recent announcement that Pellegrini will be replaced in overall command next month by an Italian general elicited a resounding "good riddance" from the Israeli high command, with one senior officer asserting that he had "turned pro-Hezbollah".
Turned? He's always been anti-Israel.
Posted by: Steve White || 04/17/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Israel should tell France to FOAD on this one.
Posted by: Mike N. || 04/17/2007 0:13 Comments || Top||

#2  This really pisses me off. There is only one reason for France to bring AA with them to Lebanon.
Posted by: Mike N. || 04/17/2007 0:19 Comments || Top||

#3  General Alain Pellegrini, made it clear that he considered these incursions violated the UN Security Council resolution

Right. Anyone who violates these agreements should be nuked.
Posted by: gorb || 04/17/2007 0:21 Comments || Top||

#4  RUSSIA > WARNS ISRAEL ABOUT CONFLICT WITH SYRIA. D ***ng it, MISCALCULATION OF OPPOSING STRENGTHS may lead to incidents and finally a full-scale Israeli-Syrian War in ME, ergo Russia must continue to arm everybody and anybody, espec enemies of the West. And now you know why its Dubya-USA's fault.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 04/17/2007 0:31 Comments || Top||

#5  They may have been "seconds" from firing, but in any duel between French fire control and Israeli countermeasures, my money's on the Israelis.
Posted by: Mike || 04/17/2007 0:34 Comments || Top||

#6  Two words: French Fried.
Posted by: Zenster || 04/17/2007 1:46 Comments || Top||

#7  They were perhaps ""second from" shooting; not the same thing as "downing". Presumeably, the two F-15's were armed and dangerous, and might have taken offense at being shot at.
Posted by: Bobby || 04/17/2007 6:38 Comments || Top||

#8  Thanks Zen, needed the laugh. Throwing hat into the ring, French Toast.
Posted by: Icerigger || 04/17/2007 8:48 Comments || Top||

#9  I agree - why do the UN peacekeepers need AA for? They usually do f**k all in conflicts except take copious notes and photos they end up selling to Al-J and The Guardian. Maybe it was to keep the Hezbo's air force carrier pigeons grounded.
Posted by: Jack is Back || 04/17/2007 9:00 Comments || Top||

#10  Good point Mike.
Posted by: plainslow || 04/17/2007 9:04 Comments || Top||

#11  #5 They may have been "seconds" from firing, but in any duel between French fire control and Israeli countermeasures, my money's on the Israelis.

Which would have played havoc on French foreign arms sales. If you're going to buy junk, just buy Soviet Russian, Chinese, former eastern block stuff because it is at least cheaper junk.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/17/2007 9:31 Comments || Top||

#12  My money is on the IAF. They wrote the book on how to take out SAM sites in 1982.
Posted by: DarthVader || 04/17/2007 9:43 Comments || Top||

#13  And the French were just seconds from massive vigilante retaliation from the Sons of Heinlein.
Posted by: Excalibur || 04/17/2007 10:26 Comments || Top||

#14  Hah! As if.

More like: "The French were seconds away from wetting their pants, since they haven't the balls to actually shoot at a warplane."
Posted by: mojo || 04/17/2007 10:27 Comments || Top||

#15  That would have been silly. And expensive. For France. Israel has its whole military at Lebanon's doorstep. France's military is several time zones away.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 04/17/2007 10:36 Comments || Top||

#16  The French were just two seconds away from launching AA against two Israeli F-15s and about thirty seconds away from losing a SAM site and declaring de facto war on Israel.

It's my understanding that most air forces, including the US and Israel have standing ROE's that state they are free to retaliate if fired upon from the ground (got the US into a bit of trouble on the western border of Iraq and in Afghanistan at least once or twice as I recall).

Posted by: FOTSGreg || 04/17/2007 10:46 Comments || Top||

#17  the french were prob too drunk too actually fire the AA. if anyone else has seen the vid i have you know what i'm talking about
Posted by: sinse || 04/17/2007 11:03 Comments || Top||

#18  The recent announcement that Pellegrini will be replaced in overall command next month

When was the announcement made? Before or after the incidents? Little Napolian Pellegrini wanted to show what a big man he was against the Israelis but his UN superiors decided he wasn't big enough.
Posted by: Angaiger Tojo1904 || 04/17/2007 11:29 Comments || Top||

#19  Israel should give the Phrench exactly 24 hours to remove the AAA and Missile sites because they are percieved as a CLEAR provacation and threat to the free exercise of Israeli self defense. After 24 hours the Israelis should elimintate them. FYI I will give you BIG odds on the Phrench firing on Israeli Aircraft.
Posted by: Cyber Sarge || 04/17/2007 12:08 Comments || Top||

#20  As this was happening, a pair of Israeli reconnaissance aircraft circled over the headquarters of the French battalion in the Jabal Maroun area, possibly taking aerial photographs there.

Israel clearly knows who the enemy is.
Posted by: xbalanke || 04/17/2007 12:48 Comments || Top||

#21  Help me out here.

If you are two seconds from firing, that means you already have the radars turned on, right?

Sounds like '82 to me.
Posted by: Iblis || 04/17/2007 13:17 Comments || Top||

#22  Strong odeur of merde. 2 seconds from firing means radar lock, and very likely, a HARM riding down the beam.
Posted by: ed || 04/17/2007 13:50 Comments || Top||

#23  Back up a moment, please. What happened in '82, and what is a HARM?
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/17/2007 14:02 Comments || Top||

#24  HARM: High speed Anti-Radiation Missile. designed to take out fixed radar sites by locking onto the radar emissions when the radar lights up an aircraft. The missile, one locked, follows that course to the target.
That is half your answer, TW, i will leave the history part to our other experts ( i can't remember what happened last week....)
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 04/17/2007 14:17 Comments || Top||

#25  But in the final, critical, last seconds leading up to...(yawn)...that decisive french surrendering known the world over kicked into action!
Posted by: Vinegar Ulogum7733 || 04/17/2007 14:18 Comments || Top||

#26  '82 was the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. The IAF destroyed the Syrian SAM sites in the Bekaa valley. An area most "experts" said couldn't be done with jets since the missiles were so advanced.
Posted by: DarthVader || 04/17/2007 14:24 Comments || Top||

#27  There are better versions of the HARM nowdays. The old HARMs could be beaten by the radar operator turning the radar off. Nowdays the missile goes for the last known position of the radar or can go into a loiter mode so when the radar comes back on, even in a different position if it is on a truck, the missile will re-target and take it out.
Posted by: DarthVader || 04/17/2007 14:26 Comments || Top||

#28  Thanks, USN, Ret., Darth Vader. I was busy getting married and buying a first house in 1982, which distracted me from the outside world. It sounds like the French behaviour was... unwise.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/17/2007 14:28 Comments || Top||

#29  Frecnh behavior certainly didn't happen at all; the last time this was reported by french authority, neither the UN record, neither Israel could comment on the supposed incident, because there was no record of it (source from memory being the Mena Press website, whom I generally find trustful in their reporting).

So, this is Israel getting intel aboput what's going on and possibly rattling the cage, french military probably not being happy about it, but IMHO not doing stoopid stuff like this (except in reports from "sources in Paris), and shiraq's France doing what it does best, posturing to try to continue to exist, in the ME and elsewhere.
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 04/17/2007 14:38 Comments || Top||

#30  This makes no sense, but we are talking French here.
Why would the French fire a missle at an Israeli fighter, or even threaten too ? Either France is in league with Hezbollah, or France is looking for a fight it can't win. If the latter, then it makes no sense, but if the former, then we need to reestablish the peace-keeping force, which consists of all Islamic armies and the French.
If all the UN peace-keepers are anti-Israel, then they had better dig deeper bunkers, and have a going away party for the French.
The price of this 'ceasefire' is coming due.
Posted by: wxjames || 04/17/2007 16:09 Comments || Top||

#31  too bad they didn't just blow the french too hell then we wouldn't have too discuss it. something more interesting in other words
Posted by: sinse || 04/17/2007 16:39 Comments || Top||

#32  What happened in '82

As to the 1982 Bekaa Valley incident, it was an early use of UAV or drone technology that allowed the Iraelis to triumph. A monitoring drone was flown up the valley in advance. This triggered all of the anti-aircraft guidance radars to light up and illuminate the drone. Using telemetry, the radio frequencies and locations were transmitted back to waiting ground crews who then programmed these settings into both source guided weapons and on-board jamming countermeasures for the Israeli aircraft. As the IDF planes entered the Bekaa all of the installations were preprogrammed for disruption and targeting. The Israeli victory was overwhelming.
Posted by: Zenster || 04/17/2007 16:59 Comments || Top||

#33  Frenchbollah...what will they do when the conflict in Lebanon flares up this summer...will they run like they have done throughout history?
Posted by: Unolump Smith8555 || 04/17/2007 17:10 Comments || Top||

#34  Much of the Syrian AA network was destroyed by IDF Artillery from informatino gathered as described by Zen.
Posted by: Shipman || 04/17/2007 17:28 Comments || Top||

#35  the French must stop any resistance to the rearming of hezbos, which is the UN Plan for Lebanon, that and resuming ethnic cleansing begun in '73.
Posted by: Galloways Outcropping || 04/17/2007 18:41 Comments || Top||

#36  TW,
As added flavor, I understand that the decoy drone was set up to give the radar signature of an F-15 so the Syrians would use their "real" freguencies. (These info gathering games were played thoughout the Cold War, so militaries developed the habit of using "peacetime" to hide what they'd use when the shooting starts).

Once the Israelis had the info, they proceeded to BBQ the Syrian air defences.

Al
Posted by: Frozen Al || 04/17/2007 19:00 Comments || Top||

#37  Mmmmmm - Barbeque. :-D
Posted by: Elmiger Sinatra5732 || 04/17/2007 19:52 Comments || Top||

#38  Well, double-crap! Where'd my cookies go?

#37 was me.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 04/17/2007 19:57 Comments || Top||

#39  They got jealous of the barbecue and left.
Posted by: Jackal || 04/17/2007 20:06 Comments || Top||

#40  Israeli Jet "was seconds" From Taking Out French Radar Site.B>

There...fixed it for you.
Posted by: OyVey1 || 04/17/2007 20:55 Comments || Top||

#41  Thanks, everyone -- Rantburg U rulez! Actually, I'd be willing to believe that a5089 is right that this is not much more than posturing by Chiraq and his idiots in Paris. I seem to recall a similar tale about supposedly almost shooting down overflying Israeli jets shortly after the French unit arrived last summer/fall.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/17/2007 21:53 Comments || Top||


Terror Networks
Abu Zubaydah Denies Running Al Qaeda Training Camps in Afghanistan
An alleged terrorist being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, denied U.S. government accusations that he managed al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan or facilitated a failed terrorist attack on Los Angeles in 1999, according to a transcript released today from his March 27 tribunal hearing. The detainee, Abu Zubaydah, told the tribunal through an interpreter that he didn't support Osama bin Laden's philosophy of targeting innocent civilians as part of waging jihad, or holy war. He was captured during a raid at a safe house in Pakistan on March 28, 2002.

The tribunal was held to determine if Zubaydah, 36, could be designated as an enemy combatant. A U.S. government witness, Ahmed Ressam, who is also being held at Guantanamo, told officials at the hearing that Zubaydah was a staunch bin Laden supporter, had run at least two terrorist training camps for al Qaeda in Afghanistan and had also helped him, Ressam, gain access into the U.S. to conduct terrorism before the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States.

Ressam was arrested after crossing the U.S.-Canadian border at Port Angeles, Wash., Dec. 14, 1999. A Los Angeles federal court found him guilty on several counts of terrorism and other felony charges on April 6, 2001. Federal prosecutors alleged Ressam's car contained bomb-making materials and that the Algerian was planning to bomb New Year's celebrations in the United States. Ressam, who told U.S. officials that he'd planned to place a bomb at Los Angeles International Airport, stated that he studied for the mission in April 1998 at a terrorist training camp near Khost, Afghanistan, a facility that Zubaydah had overseen.

A Federal Bureau of Investigation source said Zubaydah, who was born in Saudi Arabia, had traveled to Saudi Arabia in 1996 and delivered $600,000 to al Qaeda kingpin Osama bin Laden. Zubaydah told officials at the tribunal that he never visited bin Laden at that time or had transported money to the al Qaeda chieftain. "I only met him in the year 2000," Zubaydah said. "I'm not his (bin Laden's) partner and I'm not a member of al Qaeda."

Regarding Ressam's accusations, Zubaydah acknowledged he had assisted in the obtaining of passports, but "not fake ones." He did not dispatch Ressam to perform mayhem in the United States, he said. "I wanted five real Canadian (only) passports to be used for personal matters, not terrorist-related activities," Zubaydah said.

The government said Zubaydah had expressed his desire to wage holy war on the United States through some entries in his personal diary, in which the detainee stated he would instigate racial riots and set off timed explosives targeting gas stations, fuel trucks and forests. Zubaydah responded that his writings "were strictly hypothetical - they were not plans that I intended to execute against non-military targets in America or anywhere else." Zubaydah also told tribunal officials that he'd never visited or managed the Khalden training camp in Afghanistan that was cited by Ressam. Instead, Zubaydah said he'd worked out of Pakistan to help facilitate logistics for people en route to the camp. "But, I knew nothing about the details of the actual training at the (Khalden) camp," Zubaydah said, noting that he "was not the head of the training camp."

Zubaydah also told the tribunal that he didn't support al Qaeda's philosophy of conducting total war against enemies of Islam, including the killing of civilians. "I disagreed with the al Qaeda philosophy of targeting innocent civilians like those at the World Trade Center," Zubaydah asserted. "I never believed in killing civilians," he added.
This article starring:
ABU ZUBAIDAHal-Qaeda
AHMED RESAMal-Qaeda
Posted by: Fred || 04/17/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Yep, looks innocent to me. In fact, Pinch Sulzberger has invited him to the Hamptons this summer to write his bio.
Posted by: Jack is Back || 04/17/2007 9:01 Comments || Top||

#2  Looks like the first one to try to beat the rap, rather than embrace it (furriners, I mean, not home-grown losers like Lindh and the Aussie).
Posted by: Verlaine || 04/17/2007 9:41 Comments || Top||

#3  He was captured during a raid at a safe house in Pakistan on March 28, 2002.

So what was he, the piano player?
Posted by: tu3031 || 04/17/2007 14:29 Comments || Top||

#4  Poor, innocent maimer and torturer. Shirley he was tertured!
Posted by: Vinegar Ulogum7733 || 04/17/2007 14:49 Comments || Top||

#5  He's a lying sack of sh$$. It's all takayyia. Hang him, then feed his body to the sharks.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 04/17/2007 15:05 Comments || Top||

#6  Whachoo got against sharks, #5 OP?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 04/17/2007 15:53 Comments || Top||


Good morning....
At Peaceful Meeting, Zimbabwe Opposition Leaders Call for Mugabe's OusterAbu Zubaydah Denies Running Al Qaeda Training Camps in AfghanistanKhaleda shows her backBenazir-Musharraf deal is doneLal Masjid pulls out of talksCharges framed against 6 JMB cadres in CtgSudan agrees to accept U.N. attack helicoptersNo need for ties with India: Hafiz SaeedKerry reopens door to possible presidential run
Posted by: Fred || 04/17/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Hey, that's Baby Assad! Get him!
Posted by: gorb || 04/17/2007 0:19 Comments || Top||

#2  Can't be, his neck is too short ...
Posted by: Steve White || 04/17/2007 0:43 Comments || Top||

#3  Yeah, and this guy has a chin. Oh well.
Posted by: gorb || 04/17/2007 1:07 Comments || Top||

#4  Here's a link to Rosalind.

And here's a gratuitious link to the original dumb blonde. Hot beverage alert! :-)
Posted by: gorb || 04/17/2007 5:59 Comments || Top||

#5  that's Archie Leach
Posted by: Frank G || 04/17/2007 7:22 Comments || Top||

#6  Hey, what are those two doing on the Front Page?
Posted by: mrp || 04/17/2007 7:40 Comments || Top||

#7  The Newlywed Game still has the best "dumbest stuff ever said" on TV - sort of like an adult "Kids Same the Darnest Things".
Posted by: Jack is Back || 04/17/2007 8:49 Comments || Top||

#8  Even Rosalind Russell could not save "His Girl Friday". Though the wise-cracking is fun for a bit.
Posted by: Excalibur || 04/17/2007 10:23 Comments || Top||



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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.
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Two weeks of WOT
Tue 2007-04-17
  Iranian Weapons Intended for Taliban Intercepted
Mon 2007-04-16
  Bombs hit Christian bookstore, two Internet cafes in Gaza City
Sun 2007-04-15
  Car bomb kills scores near shrine in Kerbala
Sat 2007-04-14
  Islamic State of Iraq claims Iraq parliament attack
Fri 2007-04-13
  Renewed gun battle rages in Mog
Thu 2007-04-12
  Algiers booms kill 30
Wed 2007-04-11
  Morocco boomers blow themselves up
Tue 2007-04-10
  Lashkar chases Uzbeks out of S Waziristan
Mon 2007-04-09
  MNF arrests 12 bodyguards of Iraqi Parliament member
Sun 2007-04-08
  40 die in Parachinar sectarian festivities
Sat 2007-04-07
  Pakistan: Curb 'vice' Or Face Suicide Attacks, Mosque Warns
Fri 2007-04-06
  12 killed in Iraq Qaeda chlorine attack
Thu 2007-04-05
  50 more titzup in Wazoo festivities
Wed 2007-04-04
  Iran deigns to release kidnapped sailors
Tue 2007-04-03
  All British sailors confess to illegal trespassing

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