A Taliban attack on a police post in western Afghanistan sparked a battle that left at least 20 militants and four police dead, a provincial governor said on Thursday.
Dozens of fighters attacked a police position in Badghis province Wednesday, setting off a three-hour gunfight, governor Mohammad Ashraf Nasiri told AFP. Twenty militants were killed and nine militants were wounded in the fighting, he said. Four police were also killed.
Western Afghanistan is relatively peaceful compared to the insurgency-hit south and southeast of the country, where militant attacks are an almost daily routine. But Bala Murghab district, the scene of the latest attack, has seen a spike in violence in the past months. Seven Afghan soldiers and 20 militants were killed in a battle there last month that was sparked when Taliban militants ambushed an Afghan and NATO army convoy.
In another incident related to the insurgency, a suicide bomber on a bicycle blew himself up on Thursday in the southern province of Ghazni, provincial police chief Alishah Ahmadzai said. His target was an Afghan army truck, and a soldier was severely wounded.
Elsewhere Afghan soldiers carried out an operation in Wardak province in which three enemies were killed and nine wounded and arrested, police said. Wardak, which adjoins Kabul province, is where Taliban-linked militants captured a German engineer two months ago. The operation did not appear to be related to the kidnapping.
A Bangladeshi national was seized in neighbouring Logar province on Saturday by unknown men whom police say were criminally motivated and not linked to the Taliban. Three suspects have been arrested. A road accident in southern Afghanistan killed two British soldiers, the Defense Ministry. The ministry said the troops from 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment died when their Pinzgauer armored vehicle went off the road during a resupply mission near Gereshk in Helmand province. No enemy forces were involved. The ministry did not identify the soldiers, but said their next of kin had been informed.
Britain has some 7,000 troops in Afghanistan, where they are engaged in fierce, and increasingly bloody, fighting against the resurgent Taliban in Helmand. Eighty-one British personnel have been killed in Afghanistan since operations began there in November 2001.
UN renews NATO troop mandate: The UN Security Council authorized NATO-led troops to stay in Afghanistan for another year on Wednesday and gave the Japanese government support in its domestic dispute over refueling US and other ships in the Indian Ocean. The vote was 14-0 with Russia abstaining in the resolution that emphasized the increased violent and terrorist activities by the Taliban, Al Qaeda, illegally armed groups and those involved in the narcotics trade.
The International Security Assistance Force has close to 40,000 soldiers in Afghan to combat the countrys former Taliban rulers, toppled by US and Afghan forces in 2001.
This article starring:
governor Mohammad Ashraf Nasiri
provincial police chief Alishah Ahmadzai
Posted by: Fred ||
09/21/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
NEWSVINE >ASHARQ ALAWSAT > NEW FRENCH FOREIGN POLICY TAKES SHAPE. French interests espec NATIONAL-GLOBAL SECURITY now has priority over being a PC alternative to the US and appeasing 3rd World despots as during the Cold War. IOW, France wants to join the [Free] World, drops anti-US/Brit CONTRARIANISM.
BOSTON (AP) A sophomore at MIT has been arrested at Logan International Airport in Boston, after allegedly walking into the airport with a fake bomb strapped to her chest. Massachusetts Institute for Terrorists...
Officials say Star Simpson, who's 19 years old, had a computer circuit board, wiring and putty that later turned out to be Play-Doh. They say she was wearing it, in plain view, over a black hooded sweatshirt she was wearing. Nice way to git shot, honey.
Troopers were notified, and tracked her down outside a terminal, where she was arrested. They then determined that the device was a fake.
The commanding officer of the state police at the airport says Simpson is "extremely lucky" that she followed the instructions of police, or "deadly force would have been used." He says, "She's lucky to be in a cell as opposed to the morgue." "This is your brain. This is your brain after a headshot. Any questions?"
Officials say Simpson is an MIT sophomore from Hawaii.
#2
Oxford 101 dear, when critiquing the language usage of others, 'tis best to be perfect oneself. Next time, please capitalize the first letter of the first word of each sentence. Thanks ever so!
#3
Well, there's one Star in the universe that's not very bright. If it was me, they're would be one bullet riddled MIT ditz blown all over the pavement at Logan.
I can hardly wait for her explanation. I'm thinking "performance artist" might be mentioned...
#5
Oh, and it may very well be [blank]'s second, or even nth language. A significant number of posters at Rantburg are neither native English speakers (whether American standard, British standard, or one of the many other accepted dialects), nor citizens of an English-speaking country, nor even resident in one. Or it might simply be a typographical error, to which imperfect persons are more or less prone.
BOSTON - An MIT student with a fake bomb strapped to her chest was arrested at gunpoint Friday at Logan International Airport and later claimed it was artwork, officials said.
Star Simpson, 19, had a computer circuit board and wiring in plain view over a black hooded sweat shirt she was wearing, said State Police Maj. Scott Pare, the commanding officer at the airport.
"She said that it was a piece of art and she wanted to stand out on career day," Pare said at a news conference. "She claims that it was just art, and that she was proud of the art and she wanted to display it."
The device had wires connected to a battery, allowing it to light up, he said. Simpson also had Play-Doh in her hands, he said.
#10
Maybe she could hold art seminars in the slammer, whilst chowing down on three square meals a day at our expense.
Posted by: Bobby ||
09/21/2007 12:15 Comments ||
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#11
I can see that the silly girl did this in all innocence - and innocense in its other sense of unworldliness is the best explanation I think.
There is such a thing as circuit board art - when I used to go to computer swap meets there were sometimes people selling kits for these things. Its definitely a geek thing - as is carrying around play-dough. I doubt very much that she intended anyone to think that all this amounted to a bomb, rather I doubt that the idea that someone could take it for a bomb crossed her mind.
But the times are not right for such obliviousness.
I flew through Logan last month on a trip to Europe and had to go through the checkpoint.
Wife, kids and myself. Coats and jackets, shoes and belts off, complete package and baggage search, walk-through detector; the whole lot. Multiple layers of guards and TSA staff to pass by.
Got bagged, because of a plastic bag containing liquid soap and mouthwash showed up on the scanner. TSA folks told me that I had to have removed it from the travel bag first before putting in the scanner.
I wouldn't count on it. This is Massachusetts. Deval Patrick will just call it another "failure of human understanding" and she'll end up making shiny light thingys for retarded kids with the Aquateen Hunger Force idiots from last year...
"It takes an elite eductation plus years of psychotherapy to be this stupid".
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
09/21/2007 12:44 Comments ||
Top||
#16
Waiting for the lawsuit from this ditzy chick:
"Yer Honor they wuz staring at my chest, and that offends me deeply, even tho' i am pretty proud of these babies(jiggles hooters)"
#18
A woman arrested Friday for carrying a fake bomb into Boston's Logan airport is an MIT computer whiz who loves "crazy ideas" and "saving the planet from evil villains," according to her blog on a Web site hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Get the coat with the long arms ready.
In her blog, MIT student Star Simpson says she is "currently studying computers and how they work." Simpson also participates in MIT's MITER project, a student run electronics engineering workshop. An MIT spokeswoman on Friday confirmed that Simpson is currently enrolled in the school's famed computer science program. The spokeswoman could not say whether the school is contemplating any disciplinary action against Simpson. "It's too early to say," she said. The spokeswoman said MIT is planning to release a formal statement on the matter.
"She's crazy, Jim"
Simpson's blog indicates she previously lived in Hawaii. It reveals a personality that could be described as quirky. She writes that she previously spent time "traveling the world and saving the planet from evil villains with my delivered-just-in-time gadgets."
Posted by: Steve ||
09/21/2007 13:29 Comments ||
Top||
#19
Or it might simply be a typographical error, to which imperfect persons are more or less prone.
I blame Fred's spellchecker. Or my fat fingers, or global warming..
Posted by: Steve ||
09/21/2007 13:31 Comments ||
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#20
And just where does she get the large amount of cash to "Travel the World" not to mention MIT,
Betcha she turns out to be a "Inherited Rich", moron.
(Singing) You can rely on the old man's Money, You can rely on the old man's money, you're a rich girl, A bitch girl, yeah, you're a rich bitch girl. Say money, money won't get you too far, get you too far today.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/21/2007 13:44 Comments ||
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#21
More Coffee, can't even remember all the words.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/21/2007 13:49 Comments ||
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#22
Sitting here wondering how Star's gonna get home to Hawaii; 'cause the very, very least that should happen is her name should go at the top of the "no fly" list.
#23
an MIT computer whiz who loves "crazy ideas" and "saving the planet from evil villains,"
There is no possible way to spin this event into some sort of innocent act. Anyone as intelligent as this young woman must obviously be is fully aware of the current security issues at all major airports. Even if this was a publicity stunt, it still represents an abuse of the common weal. I can only call this "terrorism lite". Several years in jail are needed to ensure that no one else mimics this moron. Walking around with an intentionally simulated bomb simply has ZERO redeeming social value and only serves to desensitize the public regarding how important constant vigilance continues to be. Anything but a stint of hard time will be a total miscarriage of justice.
#24
I also have to agree with Justrand. The police would have been fully justified in shooting this woman on sight to prevent her from detonating the device in public.
#29
From Dhimmi Watch
Dhimmitude is the status that Islamic law, the Sharia, mandates for non-Muslims, primarily Jews and Christians. Dhimmis, "protected people," are free to practice their religion in a Sharia regime, but are made subject to a number of humiliating regulations designed to enforce the Qur'an's command that they "feel themselves subdued" (Sura 9:29). This denial of equality of rights and dignity remains part of the Sharia, and, as such, is part of the law that global jihadists are laboring to impose everywhere, ultimately on the entire human race.
The dhimmi attitude of chastened subservience has entered into Western academic study of Islam, and from there into journalism, textbooks, and the popular discourse. One must not point out the depredations of jihad and dhimmitude; to do so would offend the multiculturalist ethos that prevails everywhere today.
But in this era of global terrorism this silence and distortion has become deadly.
If we just said "NO MUSLIMS MAY FLY" %90 of this problem would go away.
#30
I had a girlfriend at Bell Labs who kept getting promoted up the management ladder because she could actually talk to normal people, she generally walked forward, and she came out of her office during the daytime. Her husband had to tie her shoes, though, as she'd never learnt how. Last I heard, she was a director. This poor girl probably is still confused about just what happened, and why.
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
09/21/2007 15:48 Comments ||
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#32
I can tell ya a story about a famous MIT graduate. We'll call him Mr. K. I interviewed at his company one time and they said one of the great pastimes was telling Mr. K stories. One they told me was when Mr. K made it big he decided to celebrate and go out and buy a new top end Jaguar, which lasted him a year before he blew it up since he didn't know that you had to change the oil in it.
Just because they're geniuses don't necessarily mean they have a clue about anything else but what they're geniuses at...
#33
"an idiot", not "a idiot". what, is English your second language or what...
Just like a liberal. Worried about form over substance. Nice smackdown, TW.
Oxfraud: Here's a hint: Look at the meaning behind the werds, not the wurds themselves. If you have to resort to nitpicking about spelling and the like then that will be a barrier that keeps you from getting to the substance. Or maybe that's your hard-limit. My guess is that it's the latter because I haven't seen one word of substance from you yet even though you have had more than one good opportunity. Come to the party.
#34
Simpson was charged with disturbing the peace and possessing a hoax device. A not guilty plea was entered for her and she was released on $750 bail.
During the hearing, Simpson smiled as she entered wearing a T-shirt and sandals. After she posted bail, she left in a taxi with a man who identified himself as her boyfriend, but neither would answer more questions from reporters.
Oh, yeah. I'm sure she'll be breaking rocks for years...
#35
Nice. All you guys come to ""'s defence after Frank G has wantonly picked at every nit I have ever posted. But did anybody ever come to my defence? Noooooo.
#38
One of the evil things about the war on terror is that being pretty and young and blond and dumb and female, with a nice pair of hooters, is no longer a legal defense.
Does she want to be a Whitehouse intern when the Dems come to power next year?
#39
Without the DAMNED attacks by ISLAM this would be an OKAY BEHAVIOR!
I could not agree with you more. Islam has imposed a fundamental loss of innocence upon our world that amounts to a crime against all humanity.
Its good for students to experiment and new ideas and modes to be developed. This is ISLAM constraining our society!
However questionable Simpson's incredibly stupid act was, it is far more damning that the bulk of Western civilization still refuses to demand an end to Islam's predation upon personal freedom. Constraints such as this one are but a tiny fragment of the overall damage being done to our world. I still maintain that a new 9-11 atrocity is caused by Islam every single day. The astounding amount of resources being diverted by the fight against Islam could be applied to far better causes such as ending world hunger, eradicating AIDS and polio, stopping illiteracy and many other such noble agendas. Instead, each day another 3,000 or more people needlessly die because we must direct our attention to thwarting a gang of religious bullies with delusions of global domination.
It is this totally unwarranted consumption of international resources that steadily erodes my opposition to first use of nuclear weapons to annihilate Islam. Muslims are bleeding our world white through the death of a thousand papercuts. It is a vampire culture that engages in the very worst abuse of human rights and remains entirely without even the least redeeming features.
Another reason why Zenster's responses look better and better to this citizen.
Thank you for your support, 3dc. The West needs to get over its admittedly civilized compunctions about permanently halting Islam's assault upon all that is worthy and decent about our modern culture. We are insane to put up with such a foul attack on individual liberty and the democratic process as a whole. One way or another, this farce must end.
Its a freedom that as been lost because of the MOFOS in the MIDEAST!
Le bingo. If there is a root cause of this civilizational conflict, it is Islam. Not Western intolerance or "Islamophobia" [spit]. As Crusader takes such great pains to point out, "Islam is the problem. Islam has always been the problem."
#40
Heh, How many of you even wear clothes with slogans on them?
How about a t-shirt with a collage?
Star Simpson has to be a little weak in the imaginnation dept to do what she did at an airport.
Airports, Nuke facilities, etc. are the last place to fool around acting like a kid pulling off stunts.
Why?
Police are very dependant on their leadership to set the correct group attitude when they are acting in group dynamics together.
Without good leadership, if y'all haven't noticed, Police under stress in a GROUP can act just like a gang ... true examples: 25 rounds through a single perp. single suspect is beat down by 15 officers etc.
Heh, to their defense, they deal with the scum of the Earth every day, so they get an attitude about the public.
LOL!
BTW, Her depiction of a bomb is so f'n bad, that if I were the head Airport cop, I woulda just given her a ticket for BAD ART!
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
09/21/2007 16:32 Comments ||
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#41
NS - that's because I'm teasing, or did you not notice the
/pedantic asshole
at the bottom? :-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/21/2007 16:34 Comments ||
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#42
O jesus om gawg
are you going to go on a Islam rant on this thread too
"stuck on stupid"?
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
09/21/2007 16:55 Comments ||
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#43
What are the airports to do when fabrics like this are all over:
Philips Lumalive textiles light up the catwalk or her new fashion collection, the acclaimed German fashion designer Anke Loh has chosen to use the innovative light-emitting fabric from Philips called Lumalive textiles. Lumalive textiles contain LEDs that display full color moving images on clothing.
example:
or "Flexible Transistors for Your clothes" like
examples include: UV Detecting Bikini, Display Jacket, Wearable Computing, LED Shirt, Heated Gloves, Motorola/Burton Audex Jackets, Levi's iPod "RedWire DLX" Jeans, undershirts that have a panel of heating fabric, a shirt that is designed to register intimate words whispered into the wearer's ear.Wearable Displays
NOTE NONE OF THESE fashion statements can make it though an airport in these days of Dhimmitude.
The end result will be ALL NUDE flying with body paints quickly disallowed as they could be printed circuits.
#49
I've been to MIT. Got thrown out of the MIT Bar.
There really are people who are very smart in mathematics, electronics, physics, etc. who really don't understand what goes on around them.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
09/21/2007 19:04 Comments ||
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#50
It has been incredibly stupid behavior since the 1970s to show up at the airport with ANYTHING that even resembles a bomb - or have all the complainers forgotten about all those hijackings back then? Also, people have been arrested and sentenced to jail for making hijack "jokes" in airports even BEFORE 9/11. Personally, I think the dumb bitch should have taken two to the head, just to be sure she wasn't a suicide bomber. This is the typical eroding attack behavior of fellow travelers to get the authorities to drop their guard and say "Jeez, another dumb student prank" just before the vest full of C-4 and ball bearings goes off in the visitors lounge.
Posted by: Homer ||
09/21/2007 21:34 Comments ||
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#55
Pappy.
That the response to Islam puts us into a constraining so many of our actions but no constraints are applied on the religion at fault.
Will we have to be constrained forever and always have the terrorists in the back of our minds?
If so then perhaps the suffering on the terror support side needs to be ramped up each year until it is never repeated. More than just what the military can do.
I don't know what the answer is but it really upsets me that this perverse religion can inflict constant trauma on the whole planet.
#56
Will we have to be constrained forever and always have the terrorists in the back of our minds?
6 years so far isn't 'forever'. This is the Long War - we either come to grips with that or we give up. Fighting this unconventional war without bringing the West to its knees economically, politically and socially is going to take patience, persistence and endurance.
The 'nuke them all' option is another form of 'give up', at least at this point. It will be a generation until this is played out.
That's the Joint Chiefs' take and I think they're right. We can live without mock bombs on overprivileged kids at the airport and not suffer too very much of our liberties and our creativity IMO.
On the other hand we had better keep a very close eye on Latin America because Islamicists aren't the only serious threat to us now that the 20th century geopolitical tectonic plates are shifting irrevocably.
Students in 12 northern New Jersey towns got an unexpected day off Thursday after a threatening letter warned that several schools would be "blown out" at 11:30 a.m. Emerson's mayor received the letter Wednesday, and police and sheriff's deputies searched about 60 school buildings there and in surrounding northern New Jersey towns through the night but found no explosives, Bergen County Police Capt. Kevin Hartnett said. Classes, canceled for about 14,000 students Thursday, were to resume Friday.
This article starring:
Bergen County Police Capt. Kevin Hartnett
Posted by: Fred ||
09/21/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden called on Pakistanis to rebel against President Pervez Musharraf in a new audiotape released on Thursday, saying his military's siege of a militant mosque stronghold this year makes him an infidel.
The storming of the Red Mosque in Islamabad in July "demonstrated Musharraf's insistence on continuing his loyalty, submissiveness and aid to America against the Muslims ... and makes armed rebellion against him and removing him obligatory," bin Laden said in the tape. "So when the capability is there, it is obligatory to rebel against the apostate ruler, as is the case now," he said, according to a transcript of the tape released by Laura Mansfield, an American terror expert who monitors militant message traffic.
Bin Laden's voice was heard over video showing previously released footage of the terror leader. The video was released Thursday on Islamic militant Web sites.
This article starring:
Laura Mansfield, an American terror expert
Posted by: Fred ||
09/21/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
#1
Very nice, Binny now showing signs of jumping off the fence and 'tilting the scales' off center. If I were a CIA 'Longrange Seer',this declaration would excite my charts! A candle burning at both ends produces a light shadows can't hide from.
#5
Time to break out the napalm and cluster bombs, Perv. You can clear a lot of "hilltop anchor posts" with napalm. Only takes a little to get LOTS of secondaries. We'll see what Perv's made of in the way he responds to this declaration.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/21/2007 12:53 Comments ||
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#6
Who to root for?
Who to root for?
Never mind, I hope both of you much success and very large body counts.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/21/2007 13:54 Comments ||
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#7
When's Perv going to declare war on Binny?
Absolutely spot on, JohnQC. This nagging question has been hanging in the air for several years now. There is no longer any irony or amusement in watching terrorists turn upon their handlers. Perv has worked both sides of the street like a jonesing crack whore. His payment to the piper is long overdue. Either Musharraf begins a concerted effort to eradicate the concentration of terrorists in Pakistan's border region or he can die for his inaction. I no longer give a hot damn if Pakistan is scrubbed clean of all lifeforms. As a failed experiment in Islamic "purity", it remains a blight upon this entire world and a constant source of boundless human misery.
A policeman was killed and four security personnel injured when a bomb exploded near Paithom Hotel in the Gali Bagh area of Swat district here on Thursday, police said. Swat District Police Officer Muhammad Iqbal confirmed the incident, saying that a patrol unit had reached the hotel at around 8.15am, when a remote-controlled bomb went off, injuring five people. The injured, three policemen and two security guards at the hotel, were rushed to the Saidu teaching hospital, where Head Constable Fazal Nawab succumbed to his injuries. The condition of the other two policemen was stated to be critical and one of them, Bacha Khan, was later shifted to a hospital in Peshawar. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Swat.
This article starring:
Head Constable Fazal Nawab
Swat District Police Officer Muhammad Iqbal
Posted by: Fred ||
09/21/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
Eight soldiers were injured Thursday when suspected pro-Taliban militants fired rockets at a checkpost in a restive tribal area bordering Afghanistan, officials said. Troops at the Khajuri checkpost in North Waziristan responded to the attack with artillery fire, but there were no immediate reports about militant casualties, a security official said. Eight soldiers were injured, two of them seriously when two rockets hit their post, he said.
Pakistan has lost around 1,000 troops since pushing forces into the tribal belt to hunt Al-Qaeda-led militants who fled the US-led invasion that toppled Afghanistans Taliban regime after the 9/11 attacks.
In a separate incident, suspected militants shot dead a tribesman who they said had spied on their activities in Bajaur, another tribal district on the Afghan border. The bullet-riddled body of the tribesman was found some 25 kilometres northwest of Khar, the main town in Bajaur, a security official said. Militants have shot dead several tribesmen and elders who support the ongoing Pakistani military operation in the area.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/21/2007 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
BAGHDAD - American convoys under the protection of Blackwater USA resumed on Friday, four days after the U.S. Embassy suspended all land travel by its diplomats and other civilian officials in response to the alleged killing of civilians by the security firm.
A top aide to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had earlier conceded it may prove difficult for the Iraqi government to follow through on threats to expel Blackwater and other Western security contractors.The aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation into Sunday's shooting was ongoing, said a way out of the Blackwater crisis could be the payment of compensation to victims' families and an agreement from all sides on a new set of rules for their operations in Iraq.
U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Mirembe Nantongo said the decision to resume land travel outside the heavily fortified Green Zone was made after consultations with the Iraqi governments. She said the convoys will be limited to essential missions.
Nantongo declined to comment on an Interior Ministry report that officials said concluded that Blackwater guards opened fire Sunday from four positions on a square in western Baghdad after a vehicle near their convoy failed to stop."We're waiting for the results of the investigation, which we are conducting as quickly as we can," she said.
The U.S. ban announced Tuesday had confined most American officials to the Green Zone, a 3 1/2-square-mile area in the center of the city that houses the American Embassy and thousands of U.S. soldiers and contractors. The decision kept them from visiting U.S.-funded construction sites or Iraqi officials elsewhere in the country except by helicopter an indication of how dependent the State Department is on Blackwater protection.
Blackwater has said its employees acted "lawfully and appropriately" in response to an armed attack against a State Department convoy. Several Iraqi witnesses and officials claimed the security guards were the first to open fire.
U.S. and Iraqi officials have formed a joint committee to probe the widely differing accounts.
Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said a report found that the security guards opened fire first on Iraqi drivers.
The report, Khalaf said, recommended annulling a legal provision that gives immunity to foreign security companies operating in Iraq. It also recommended Blackwater compensate the victims' families and that all foreign security companies be replaced by Iraqi companies.
According to Khalaf, a car bomb detonated around noon Sunday near al-Rahman mosque in Mansour, a mile north of Nisoor Square. "Minutes later, two mortar rounds landed nearby Nisoor Square and they (Blackwater) thought that they were under attack," Khalaf said. "They started shooting randomly from four positions in the square, killing 11 civilians and injuring 12 others. The first one who was killed was a driver who failed to stop and then his wife," Khalaf said.
#2
I'm some concerned. I have no doubt that most of the Blackwater people and other contractors are good folks. But they need to be under rules that make clear what they can and can't do in Iraq, and average Iraqis have to feel that they're safe when Blackwater is around.
Otherwise this will undermine what we're trying to accomplish.
A suggestion: Blackwater should be issued a Letter of Marque (Article I, Section 8 of our Constitution). If they don't accept it their contract is cancelled. If they do, their employees in Iraq are subject to the Uniform Military Code of Justice. That provides them with substantially better legal protection than they have now, and ensures that they'll follow appropriate rules and procedures. The Code could have whatever new rules/sections required for contract employees.
Just a thought.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/21/2007 11:33 Comments ||
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#3
Steve, there are rules. They were put in place under Bremer and ratified by the elected Iraqi government. Bottom line: contractors cannot be prosecuted in Iraq courts for actions that legally fall within their responsibilities. Can be prosecuted in Iraqi courts for all other actions: corruption, rape, murder unjustified by defending their charges etc.
#4
A suggestion: Blackwater should be issued a Letter of Marque (Article I, Section 8 of our Constitution). If they don't accept it their contract is cancelled. If they do, their employees in Iraq are subject to the Uniform Military Code of Justice. That provides them with substantially better legal protection than they have now, and ensures that they'll follow appropriate rules and procedures. The Code could have whatever new rules/sections required for contract employees.
The UCMJ will subject them to RUF/FOE and the mindless limitations placed on the average soldier in the ITO. The US State Department will never permit their people (or the IZ gov't counterparts) to be put to that type of risk. Think about it!
What pisses me is the unheralded effectiveness of these contractors, their continued willingness to come over here and be shot at on a daily basis, and their numerous sacrifices. Blackwater is just one of many. What you are seeing here is.... "future war." We should take note of it and accept it for what it is.
(2) Contractors shall not be subject to Iraqi laws or regulations in matters relating to the terms and conditions of their Contracts, including licensing and registering employees, businesses and corporations; provided, however, that Contractors shall comply with such applicable licensing and registration laws and regulations if engaging in business or transactions in Iraq other than Contracts. Notwithstanding any provisions in this Order, Private Security Companies and their employees operating in Iraq must comply with all CPA Orders, Regulations, Memoranda, and any implementing instructions or regulations governing the existence and activities of Private Security Companies in Iraq, including registration and licensing of weapons and firearms.
3) Contractors shall be immune from Iraqi legal process with respect to acts performed by them pursuant to the terms and conditions of a Contract or any sub-contract thereto. Nothing in this provision shall prohibit MNF Personnel from preventing acts of serious misconduct by Contractors, or otherwise temporarily detaining any Contractors who pose a risk of injury to themselves or others, pending expeditious turnover to the appropriate authorities of the Sending State. In all such
circumstances, the appropriate senior representative of the Contractors Sending State in Iraq shall be notified.
#6
The original report of the incident in question, as posted at Rantburg, described the situation as a planned ambush using Iraqi Army and Iraqi Police against the Blackwater convoy. I haven't seen anything to convince me that report is untrue, although granted I'm not in any way qualified to judge such things.
#7
"If they do, their employees in Iraq are subject to the Uniform Military Code of Justice."
"Contractors shall not be subject to Iraqi laws" is quite different then not beholden to any laws. They are still subject to US laws. In fact the Pentagon spokesman said yesterday contractors can even be subject to UMCJ.
#8
TITLE 10 > Subtitle A > PART II > CHAPTER 47 > SUBCHAPTER I >Art. 2. Persons subject to this chapter
(a) The following persons are subject to this chapter:
(1) Members of a regular component of the armed forces, including those awaiting discharge after expiration of their terms of enlistment; volunteers from the time of their muster or acceptance into the armed forces; inductees from the time of their actual induction into the armed forces; and other persons lawfully called or ordered into, or to duty in or for training in, the armed forces, from the dates when they are required by the terms of the call or order to obey it.
(2) Cadets, aviation cadets, and midshipmen.
(3) Members of a reserve component while on inactive-duty training, but in the case of members of the Army National Guard of the United States or the Air National Guard of the United States only when in Federal service.
(4) Retired members of a regular component of the armed forces who are entitled to pay.
(5) Retired members of a reserve component who are receiving hospitalization from an armed force.
(6) Members of the Fleet Reserve and Fleet Marine Corps Reserve.
(7) Persons in custody of the armed forces serving a sentence imposed by a court-martial.
(8) Members of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Public Health Service, and other organizations, when assigned to and serving with the armed forces.
(9) Prisoners of war in custody of the armed forces. (10) In time of war, persons serving with or accompanying an armed force in the field.
(11) Subject to any treaty or agreement to which the United States is or may be a party or to any accepted rule of international law, persons serving with, employed by, or accompanying the armed forces outside the United States and outside the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands.
(12) Subject to any treaty or agreement to which the United States is or may be a party or to any accepted rule of international law, persons within an area leased by or otherwise reserved or acquired for the use of the United States which is under the control of the Secretary concerned and which is outside the United States and outside the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands.
(b) The voluntary enlistment of any person who has the capacity to understand the significance of enlisting in the armed forces shall be valid for purposes of jurisdiction under subsection (a) and a change of status from civilian to member of the armed forces shall be effective upon the taking of the oath of enlistment.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person serving with an armed force who
(1) submitted voluntarily to military authority;
(2) met the mental competency and minimum age qualifications of sections 504 and 505 of this title at the time of voluntary submission to military authority;
(3) received military pay or allowances; and
(4) performed military duties;
is subject to this chapter until such persons active service has been terminated in accordance with law or regulations promulgated by the Secretary concerned.
(d)
(1) A member of a reserve component who is not on active duty and who is made the subject of proceedings under section 815 (article 15) or section 830 (article 30) with respect to an offense against this chapter may be ordered to active duty involuntarily for the purpose of
(A) investigation under section 832 of this title (article 32);
(B) trial by court-martial; or
(C) nonjudicial punishment under section 815 of this title (article 15).
(2) A member of a reserve component may not be ordered to active duty under paragraph (1) except with respect to an offense committed while the member was
(A) on active duty; or
(B) on inactive-duty training, but in the case of members of the Army National Guard of the United States or the Air National Guard of the United States only when in Federal service.
(3) Authority to order a member to active duty under paragraph (1) shall be exercised under regulations prescribed by the President.
(4) A member may be ordered to active duty under paragraph (1) only by a person empowered to convene general courts-martial in a regular component of the armed forces.
(5) A member ordered to active duty under paragraph (1), unless the order to active duty was approved by the Secretary concerned, may not
(A) be sentenced to confinement; or
(B) be required to serve a punishment consisting of any restriction on liberty during a period other than a period of inactive-duty training or active duty (other than active duty ordered under paragraph (1)).
(e) The provisions of this section are subject to section 876b (d)(2) of this title (article 76b(d)(2)).
#9
(4) Retired members of a regular component of the armed forces who are entitled to pay.
This is why some of us don't comment as fully as we could about some of the stuff that comes up on Rantburg. I signed a document that said I wouldn't discuss "sources and methods" or other sensitive material for 70 years from the date of signing. I'm sure Old Spook, Pappy, Fred, and a few others have also signed such documents. Of course, Congress, the MSM, and certain CIA employees doesn't seem to be held to the same exacting standards.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/21/2007 13:05 Comments ||
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#10
"Of course, Congress, the MSM, and certain CIA employees doesn't seem to be held to the same exacting standards."
OP, think that you nailed it, but i might add, they don't hold THEMSELVES to those standards.
if you did a DNA exam, you would probably find they are missing the credibility gene.
#11
Why aren't there more gun-cams? Even a simple system that recorded stuff on each side of the vehicle they are in would have been a big help here. If a bullet is fired then just download the video from the cam as evidence of what Blackwater was up against. It would also help keep the rogues in check as well.
I tried to patent a CDMA gun cam in 1997. I would have turned on an alerted police or HQ or whatever when taken off safety.
Video would have been an option to the HQs.
HiRes photos would have been sent when fired showing what the gun was pointing at.
The corporate patent lawyers refused to consider it as I was told: "We can't afford to have our engineers and you testifying in every court in the world all the time as expert witnesses."
This kind of upset me as it would have been the perfect retirement package. An expert witness on something like this import typically gets $1000/per hour!
That was my plan.
Now 5 years later I see another division of that company had an engineer get world patent of the year for that idea. He quit the company and lives in Atlanta (according to USPTO). This upset me as it was my idea, he was an H2B from India and he got the meal ticket.
#14
3dc, if you have any documents showing your concept as presented to management, with the subsequent dismissal of the idea, but same idea later picked up, you can own their asses. This is near perfect grounds for nullification of the patent (you were the inventor, the invention was later filed but not under your name) at least. You could 'persuade' the company to compensate you for the idea if it is of any value to them. Don't get too greedy, but get even. Companies pull this all the time, but it is so easy to bust them for it. Documentation is the key.
Or, just bust their patent if you don't like them.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
09/21/2007 19:01 Comments ||
Top||
#15
A key player in the patent idea still works for the company and begged me not to. I owed him some favors.
There were funny things with patents in that company. 7 of us had a really big one pertaining to polarization. Tons of math, protocols etc...
The company's patent lawyers took their sweet time filing it. (about 3.5 years) In the process a Q guy beat us by 6 weeks spinning our ideas (or his separately conceived ones) into about 60 patents. (somebody in the corporate patent office must have leaked or delayed on purpose) In the meantime, unknown to the patent office or corporate, we did real world tests with prototypes in Tel Aviv and discovered that Semi-Trucks destroyed the usefulness of the idea. (timing, phase angles and all that) So that loss was painful to take but even more painful for Q as it didn't provide a large enough useful gain to cover the costs of all the patents they filed.
#16
I suspect that video cams are being used by Blackwater personnel, but the results haven't yet surfaced, and may not for years. In a similar vein, a Missouri police officer was fired after he was caught on video tape taunting and threatening a man, sometimes shouting and using profanity. Two unusual elements of this were (1) the video was made by the man in question, not by the police officer, and (2) the stated cause of the firing was that the policeman had switched his dash cam off before the incident, thereby not following his department's performance standard.
It was late in the afternoon, and the paratroopers from 2nd Platoon were pulling security at the end of a quiet residential street. Their interpreter was inside one of the houses, helping the platoon leader interview a source. Before long, a group of women clad in black approached, shouting and causing a scene. Normally, with no interpreter on hand, it would be hard for the paratroopers to figure out why the women were upset. But in this instance, there was an easy solution.
"Sal, go talk to them," suggested squad leader Staff Sgt. Antonio Alvarado to the Soldier next to him. Programs like this result in serious mojo to the participants. I expect the embeds are fast track NCOs, who will be the bones to the IA senior NCO corps.
The soldier called 'Sal' got up off a knee and strolled over to the women. Conversing easily in Arabic, he quickly calmed them down and had them describe the problem. As they spoke, he jotted down the information in a green notepad to give to the platoon leader later.
How is a Soldier in a U.S. platoon able to communicate with Iraqis so well? Simple - he isn't a U.S. Soldier at all. 'Sal' is actually Hanni Sadoon, a sergeant from the Iraqi Army embedded with the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division.
In the northern Adhamiyah area of Baghdad, Sgt. Sadoon and more than 20 other soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 11th Iraqi Army Division are embedding with paratroopers from the 2nd "Black Falcon" Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment in a new program designed to foster partnership and expose the Iraqis to U.S. military techniques.
Currently each of the Black Falcon platoons has four embedded Iraqi soldiers. The soldiers stay with the platoons for 60 days, and then return to their own units. The first group of embeds is about halfway through the program.
The program has advantages for both sides. The Iraqi soldiers learn new techniques and tactics, while the American platoons get the benefit of the embedded soldiers' cultural knowledge. "It's a great advantage to me as a squad leader, because it's like having an extra soldier and an extra interpreter at the same time," said Staff Sgt. Alvarado, an Edcouch, Texas-native.
Day in and day out, the Iraqi and U.S. soldiers pull guard duty together, listen to the same briefings, and go out on the same raids and patrols. The paratroopers have given all the Iraqis friendly nicknames, as well as "Double-A" 82nd Airborne patches to sew onto their uniforms. Basically, the embeds are like replacement soldiers who happen to be Iraqis.
"Once we're out on the street, we treat them just like a 'Joe.' They're just another Soldier," said Staff Sgt. Shane Glowcheski, a Rapid City, S.D.-native acting as a platoon leader for B Battery, 2-319th AFAR. Staff Sgt. Glowcheski currently has four Iraqi Soldiers embedded in his platoon.
On a recent patrol, Sgt. Sadoon and Staff Sgt. Alvarado took the point together, leading the patrol down winding streets and talking with local merchants along the way. At one point, Staff Sgt. Alvarado stopped to talk to a man sitting sprawled-out on a curb. After a while, Sgt. Sadoon came over. He listened for a while, then turned to Staff Sgt. Alvarado. "Majnoon," he said, pointing a finger at his head and wiggling it in a circle: "Crazy." The man was apparently deranged.
"Oh, I thought he was trying to tell me something," Staff Sgt. Alvarado said as they continued the patrol.
For the paratroopers, walking several miles a day on patrol is routine. The Black Falcons conduct engagement patrols constantly through the area, building a rapport with the community. "That's why we're so good in this sector, because we got the trust of the people," said Staff Sgt. Glowcheski.
For the Iraqi Army, gaining that trust has proven more difficult. Because the IA is required to man so many checkpoints, the Soldiers have little time to do the kind of dismounted engagement patrols that have proven successful for the Black Falcons. The embed program gives selected members of the IA that opportunity, said Lt. Col. Al Shoffner, the battalion commander.
For the embeds, it means learning to use a softer touch when dealing with the local people. Staff Sgt. Glowcheski said that under Saddam Hussein the Iraqi Army never did peacekeeping operations, it was strictly a fighting force. Some of that attitude still lingers, he said. "They're very aggressive. We're trying to tame that down and show them that they only have to be aggressive when they need to be aggressive," Staff Sgt. Glowcheski said.
It's an attitude that the paratroopers believe is crucial to success in a counter-insurgency fight and to the long-term ability of the IA to be successful. "We're trying to guide them to interact with the people more, so the people will trust them and come to them first, so that when we're out of Iraq they'll be able to depend on the IA forces," said Staff Sgt. Alvarado.
After several weeks of patrolling with the Americans, Iraqi soldiers like Sgt. Sadoon say the message is starting to sink in. The most important thing is to take an active role in the life of the community, he said. "We keep in touch with the locals and see what their needs are, what they are suffering from, like the power and electricity, and also the security issues," Sgt. Sadoon said.
The next step for the embeds is to return to the Iraqi Army with their new skills and teach them to their fellow soldiers, Staff Sgt. Glowcheski said. "They need to take all the things we're teaching them, from the battle drills to the counter insurgency stuff, and take it back to their unit," he said. "That's really the point of all this."
#1
This is something they should have been doing on day one!
Yes, this will result in some serious Mojo for the participants. Not just for the Iraquis, tho. An armed 'terp will have a somewhat different take than the colledge boys we were stuck with. Discuss.
Posted by: N guard ||
09/21/2007 5:51 Comments ||
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#2
They should also do it with junior officers.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/21/2007 7:46 Comments ||
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#3
Professional, empowered NCOs are a revolutionary idea for a ME army.
#4
I don't think anyone was ready for this on day 1, N guard. We had as much learning to do as the Iraqis to get to this point. The embeds will be the bones of the Iraqi Army NCO, corps, but also of civil society as they rear their children with the ethos they've learnt here, then themselves retire and get involved on the civilian side.
#8
Been doing it in Korea since the war. They're known as KATUSAs (Ka-tous-ahs), Korean Augmentees to the United States Army. You have a few in each section or platoon. There's a KATUSA officer and Senior NCO at the Brigade level to assist [to include discipline - the augmentees really didn't want a little one on one discussion with the senior NCO]. Helps alot with working with locales and coordinating with other Korean authorities. Normally, it was one year of national military service for every Korean male or two years as a (volunteer) KATUSA.
Over the decades, its sort of evolved in a good o'boy net for those who completed their time. Meant getting good job offers, good positions within corporations, many other perks. So, there evolved a bit of old world bribery to get one's kid into the program.
#10
as lotp notes, NCOs are a new concept for most Arab armies...yet the backbone of ours! (having been part of the backbone! :) )
Most Arab armies want Officers from "reliable" sources (religious, political, etc), and a bunch of cannon-fodder on the other end...with little in between.
#11
Great story, Chuck. Our people in Iraq are just amazing.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/21/2007 11:49 Comments ||
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#12
Most Arab armies want Officers from "reliable" sources (religious, political, etc), and a bunch of cannon-fodder on the other end...with little in between.
From what I can tell, the authority we push down to junior officers and NCOs in particular is pretty much unprecedented. It goes along with a whole lot of other things, including "no soldier left behind".
#13
Well, when you start with the greatest country in the world, what else would you expect? Democrats?
Posted by: Bobby ||
09/21/2007 12:20 Comments ||
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#14
I found as I lived with and advised the Iraqi Army, the Iraqis actually have a number of good NCOs. The trick is getting the old guard to let go and empower them. We never had a problem with the guys doing the right thing once the officer let go. Me and my NCOs learned from them how to deal with the mindset and they learned from us to be in charge. When well led (just like most cases in history)the IA will perform well, and since most of their senior NCOs are on their 4th war they know how to fight, you just have to refine them.
#15
By now there must be a vast understanding of their language on the part of our troops, and a vast understanding of our language on the part of the Iraqis. This helps and is essential for this type of inter service operations.
Coalition forces killed seven terrorists and detained eight suspected terrorists during operations Thursday targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq leaders in the central part of the country.
Coalition forces targeted a senior leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq during an operation in Mahmudiyah in continued efforts to boost security in the southern belt around Baghdad. After several hours of monitoring a known terrorist group, ground forces returned to the area where terrorists had engaged them with small arms fire during previous operations. As Coalition forces arrived at the target area, they identified hostile intent from the group of men they were monitoring and called for close air support. Seven terrorists were killed and three suspected terrorists were detained on the scene.
In Samarra, Coalition forces captured three individuals believed to be closely tied to senior leaders of al-Qaeda in Iraq and two additional suspected terrorists. "Terrorists cannot hide from our operations against their leadership network," said Maj. Winfield Danielson, MNF-I spokesman. "Iraqi and Coalition security forces will ensure al-Qaeda in Iraq does not come between the Iraqi people and the future they choose for their country."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/21/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Iraq
Iraqi Special Operations Forces killed three militant extremists during an early morning intelligence driven operation targeting an extremist Special Groups battalion commander Sept. 19 in the Bayaa area of Baghdad.
As the Iraqi and U.S forces arrived at the target location, two armed insurgents pointed their weapons at the forces exhibiting hostile intent. The forces responded with proportional and well-aimed fires, killing the two individuals. At a second location, a third insurgent attacked the teams with small arms fire. The teams responded with proportionate and well-aimed fire, killing the insurgent.
The ISOF detained three other suspicious individuals at the targeted locations.
The targeted militant extremist Special Groups battalion commander is wanted for launching rocket and improvised explosive device attacks against Iraqi and Coalition Forces. Intelligence indicates he is also the media representative for the Jaysh al-Madhi militia in al Bayaa.
In two other separate intelligence driven operations Sept. 19 in Diwaniyah, Iraqi Special Operations Forces detained 11 other individuals. The operations targeted smuggling operations and supply routes bringing arms, ammunition, mortars and IEDs into Diwaniyah. They were also targeting an extremist IED cell leader and assassination cell member.
U.S. Special Forces were advisers during these operations and there were no Iraqi or U.S. Forces injured.
This article starring:
Jaysh al-Madhi
Posted by: Fred ||
09/21/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency
#1
I know, I know..."detained" is the PC phrase our military uses these days when bagging the bad guys.
Still, each & every time they use the phrase I picture a guy in a suicide vest with an AK-47 slung over his shoulder, looking at this watch and muttering: "How much longer am I gonna be detained? I've got tickets for the ballet!"
#5
Justrand - I get a totally different picture: jihadis stacked five or six deep in the back of an unarmored deuce and a half, their hands and feet secured, a bag over their heads, and two burly privates pointing M-16s at them. In a "real" war, the M-16s would be replaced with AR-15s with bayonets.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/21/2007 13:17 Comments ||
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Iraqi Special Operations Forces, with U.S. Special Forces as advisers, detained seven suspected Shia insurgents during an early-morning operation Sept. 20 in Sadr City.
Iraqi and U.S. Forces were en route to detain a high-level Shia extremist, when several armed individuals were spotted on the rooftops of nearby buildings. The forces called in an AC-130 Gunship to provide suppressive fire, allowing the forces to continue to their objective. Once at the objective area, several targeted residences were searched and seven suspected Shia extremists were detained.
As the team departed the objective, they were ambushed by several insurgents. One ISOF Soldier received non-life threatening injuries and has been transported to a medical facility in Baghdad for treatment.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/21/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Mahdi Army
oh please please please please please please please please please please pleaseplease please please please please please please . . .
A day after the cabinet defined the Gaza Strip as "hostile territory," The Jerusalem Post learned Thursday that the IDF is working on a proposal that calls for a "complete disengagement" from the Gaza Strip - involving the closure of all border crossings with Israel and the transfer of all responsibility over the Palestinian territory to Egypt. lock the gate, throw away the key, have a beer . . . and lob missles back on a tit for tat basis.
Helizaps are more precise ...
The proposal, defense officials said, was recently raised by Deputy Chief of General Staff Maj.-Gen. Moshe Kaplinsky during a series of meetings within the defense establishment.
While Israel removed its military positions and settlements from the Gaza Strip in 2005, it has maintained a certain level of responsibility for the Palestinian population there, including coordinating the Gaza-based activities of humanitarian organizations such as UNRWA, the World Bank and the International Committee of the Red Cross. let 'em coordinate on their own. better yet, let 'em pound salt.
According to the proposal, which officials stressed was in its early stages, Israel would completely disconnect from Gaza by closing off the Erez, Karni, Sufa and Kerem Shalom crossings and instead directing humanitarian organizations to work with Egypt. let's hope they treat Egypt exactly as they treated Israel
"The idea is to finalize what was started with the 2005 'disengagement,'" explained a senior defense official. "No matter how much we try and what we do, the humanitarian organizations consistently blame us for the humanitarian situation in Gaza. This way they will no longer have a case against us, since we won't be involved." a blinding flash of the obvious
The official said the proposal was being pushed strongly by Kaplinsky, who has said in a number of meetings that there is no longer a need for Israel to take responsibility for what happens in the Strip. there hasn't been for some time
The parallel being suggested is southern Lebanon, which is home to Hizbullah guerrillas and their weapons but, following Israel's withdrawal from its security zone there to the international border in 2000, is plainly no longer under Israel's responsibility.
Under the proposal, it is possible that the Palestinians would be able to rebuild the Dahiniye Airport and construct a naval port.
It's possible I'll win a date with Angie Harmon, too ...
"The terrorist groups are anyhow smuggling explosives, missiles and weapons into Gaza through tunnels along the border with Egypt," an official said. "If they get an airport or a naval port, it will not make such a big difference." and if they decide to use them, retaliation is much easier
They can bring much more through a naval port. Think Nork freighters direct from Iran ...
A spokeswoman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Thursday night that he had not seen the proposal. Spokeswoman Miri Eisin said she had no comment about whether he was likely to support it. In any case, before the plan could be implemented, she said, "it would have to be brought to the full cabinet" for a vote.
Meanwhile Thursday, defense officials met to discuss the practical implications of the security cabinet's decision on Wednesday to designate Gaza as hostile territory, paving the way to curbing Israel's provision of electricity, fuel and other supplies to the Strip. just disengage completely. give 'em all the electricity, fuel and water they want. and nothing else. give the responsibility for humanitarian aid to people they're not trying to kill every day.
Let them buy fuel and make their own electricity. Might teach them responsibility. Oh cheez, what am I saying ...
Under the cabinet decision, Defense Minister Ehud Barak is now authorized to impose humanitarian sanctions following Kassam attacks against Israel.
One equation being considered is that every time one of the Gaza crossings is shelled or attacked, it will be shut down for several days. "Until now, we risked out lives to keep the crossings open," an official from the Defense Ministry explained. "From now on, if they attack we will just close the crossing for several days." how about for several eons instead?
Twice the lifespan of Ismail Haniya should do it ...
Israel plans to begin immediately restricting the amount of fuel it allows to enter the Strip. Diesel will be allowed in to fuel ambulances, sewage pumps, generators and garbage trucks, but gasoline will be restricted.
Some defense officials voiced opposition on Thursday to the cabinet decision. The coordinator of government activities in the territories, Maj.-Gen. Yosef Mishlav, voiced staunch objection to the plan, the Post has learned, apparently for not being sufficiently decisive, and even appeared before the security cabinet after asking Barak for special permission.
Mishlav told the ministers that the cuts to electricity and fuel supplies would be ineffective in stopping Hamas's rocket attacks. He added that by not cutting off supplies altogether, Israel was still allowing Hamas to govern - albeit under slightly greater economic pressure. Mishlav said the only way to really pressure Hamas was to completely cut off supplies and allow a humanitarian crisis to develop. He did not say, however, that he favored this course of action.
#1
The flaw in this is the assumption that Egypt would be willing to assume responsibility for Gaza. Why would any country other than Iran assume responsibility for Gaza?
#3
Egypt had responsibility for Gaza from 1948 until 1967. They even issued special postage stamps for "Palestine". Jordan had a similar arrangement for the West Bank. Frankly, both territories should be a part of Israel, and all the Arabs in Gaza either forced into Egypt or the sea, while those in the West Bank being forced into Jordan, Syria, or Saudi Arabia. That includes all the muslims in Israel. Any attack against Israel should be responded to with disproportionate force - say a tac nuke or two. After about a dozen such "reminders", Israel's neighbors should begin to get the message - Israel is not to be messed with.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/21/2007 13:24 Comments ||
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#4
. . . lob missles back on a tit for tat basis
Helizaps are more precise ...
and precision is important for what reason, again? There's something much more satisfying giving back equally.
Frankly, I think precision targeting has allowed palis to have their cake and eat it too: they voted for Hamas and know they're not going to be killed for it. If they are killed it's only because they were being used as human shields.
#7
"No matter how much we try and what we do, the humanitarian organizations consistently blame us for the humanitarian situation in Gaza. This way they will no longer have a case against us, since we won't be involved."
How nice to see Israel finally catching on to the no-win game being played by these so-called "humanitarian" agencies that are involved in this farce. Every single kindness is turned back against them while the slightest error is blatted about as the latest atrocity. Enough of this bullshit.
It will be more than a little entertaining to watch these "humanitarian" organization tiptoe through the minefield of administering directly to Palestinian goons and thugs. Let them finally get a taste of just how thankless a task it is to deal with these gangsters. More than anything, it's long past tea to begin exposing the lopsided and anti-Semitic politics of these terrorism-facilitating "human rights" groups. Not a single one of them has a speck of moral authority until they make a definite stand against the human rights abuses of shari'a law.
The IDF commander in Nablus, Col. Amir Baram, said on Thursday evening that all of the terror operatives involved in a planned suicide attack on central Israel had been caught, Israel Radio reported. In addition to the terrorists arrested throughout the day, Baram said, many other terror suspects have been detained, and the main part of the three-day operation is over. However, IDF troops will not yet leave the Ein Beit Ilmeh refugee camp, he said.
Earlier Thursday, paratroopers and soldiers of the Haruv Battalion detained three Hamas men who were planning to carry out a suicide bombing in the center of Israel. The arrest was made as part of a wide-scale raid on the Nablus refugee camp of Ein Beit Ilmeh. In all, 37 fugitives were detained in the camp in the past three days.
The members of the group arrested Thursday afternoon were a man planning to enter Israel with a suicide vest, a recruiter and a man whose role was to drive the attacker to his intended target.
Earlier Thursday, the army was investigating Palestinian claims that an IDF bulldozer ran over the body of a 17-year-old Palestinian youth who was killed by shrapnel earlier Thursday near the El-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. Dr. Moaiya Hassanain of the Health Ministry in Gaza identified the youth as 17-year-old Mahmoud Kassassi. No terror groups claimed him as a member. The left side of Kassassi's face was crushed. According to the IDF, no official complaint about the incident has yet been filed with the Gaza Liaison Administration.
The army also reported that ground troops and armored vehicles have been operating in northern Gaza since early morning in an attempt to locate weapons smuggling tunnels and Kassam rocket launchers.
In another incident, two Hamas gunmen were injured on Thursday in clashes with IDF troops on the Gaza border, Palestinian officials said. Hamas said one of its men was critically wounded and another moderately. The IDF said it had conducted a brief incursion into Gaza and exchanged fire with gunmen, hitting one of them.
Elsewhere, IDF soldiers operating in Nablus arrested two senior officials in the Fatah-allied Aksa Martyrs Brigades, Palestinian sources reported. The two were not wanted by Israel, and may have been arrested by mistake, Israel Radio reported, adding that one of the two had been wearing women's clothing.
... consisting of a push-up bra, crotchless undies, and a hot pink miniskirt...
Also Thursday, two Kassam rockets fired from the Gaza Strip landed in open territory near Sderot. No wounded or damage were reported.
This article starring:
Aksa Martyrs Brigades
17-year-old Mahmoud Kassassi
Dr. Moaiya Hassanain of the Health Ministry in Gaza
Ein Beit Ilmeh refugee camp
IDF commander in Nablus, Col. Amir Baram
Posted by: Fred ||
09/21/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
... consisting of a push-up bra, crotchless undies, and a hot pink miniskirt...
Palestinians on Thursday fired an anti-tank missile at an IDF tank operating in the northern Gaza Strip. No casualties or damage were reported in the attack which was claimed by the Islamic Jihad.
This article starring:
Islamic Jihad
Posted by: Fred ||
09/21/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic Jihad
Eight men of a 12-man military patrol were wounded Thursday night when a bomb exploded beneath their vehicle as they were patrolling this restive southernmost province. After the explosion, a group of 20 terrorists insurgents opened fire on the patrol as it scattered from the disabled vehicle, with gunfire bring exchange for about 20 minutes.
The 15-kilogramme dynamite bomb planted beneath a road in Katong sub-district of Yaha district destroyed the army truck, tearing a one-metre-deep and three-metre-crater in the roadway. Inspecting the ambush site Friday morning, a police bomb disposal team determined that the bomb was command-detonated by battery cable in an intended ambush, a now familiar mode of terrorist insurgent attack.
Elsewhere, shooting incidents were reported at Narathiwat's Ra-Ngae district, with presumed terrorists insurgents firing weapons on an Army base and Maruebotok School. Although no casualties were reported, the school closed for the safety of students and teachers.
Also in Ra-Ngae, 38-year-old Nipol Rojbamrung was shot in front of her home, and was taken to a hospital in Ra-Ngae district where she is receiving treatment. The departing terrorists insurgents scattered spikes on the road between Ra-Ngae and Ruso districts to delay police arrival and pursuit.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
A Taliban attack on a police post in western Afghanistan sparked a battle that left at least 20 militants and four police dead, a provincial governor said on Thursday.
Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden called on Pakistanis to rebel against President Pervez Musharraf in a new audiotape released on Thursday, saying his military's siege of a militant mosque stronghold this year makes him an infidel. 
A policeman was killed and four security personnel injured when a bomb exploded near Paithom Hotel in the Gali Bagh area of Swat district here on Thursday, police said. 
Eight soldiers were injured Thursday when suspected pro-Taliban militants fired rockets at a checkpost in a restive tribal area bordering Afghanistan, officials said. Troops at the Khajuri checkpost in North Waziristan responded to the attack with artillery fire, but there were no immediate reports about militant casualties, a security official said. Eight soldiers were injured, two of them seriously when two rockets hit their post, he said.
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