5 army soldiers were seriously wounded after their watch room was bombed by Habhab missiles just before fast break last Thursday. The wounded were transported to the hospital in Bordj Menael in Boumerdès province. Another terrorist group shot a military barrack near Zekri municipality in Tizi Ouzou province in an attempt to assault the barrack but army soldiers were vigilant and responded efficiently to the assault compelling the terrorists to flee. On another side, a terrorist group murdered a municipal agent in Drâa al Mizane in Tizi Ouzou when he was about to enter to a coffee in Friday to Saturday night.
However, security services dismantled many terrorists support networks in many municipalities in Djelfa province arresting ten people including a local elected, after getting information from a repentant terrorist. Furthermore, army forces dismantled two handmade bombs southern Sidi Bel Abbès province during Eid celebrations.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/15/2007 00:00 ||
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The Egyptian authorities have released a top Hamas operative wanted by the Palestinian Authority and Israel for his involvement in terror attacks over the past few years, PA officials told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday. The officials expressed outrage over the release of Nahro Massoud - one of the commanders of Hamas's armed wing, Izzadin Kassam - who fled to Egypt more than a year ago. At the request of the PA, Massoud and several other Hamas fugitives were arrested by the Egyptian security forces and held without trial. Massoud's name had appeared on a Hamas list of prisoners whose release the group was demanding in exchange for kidnapped IDF soldier Cpl. Gilad Schalit.
But it was not clear Sunday whether the Egyptian decision to release the Hamas fugitive was linked to secret talks on reaching a prisoner exchange deal with Israel. The Egyptians have been acting as mediators between Hamas and Israel in a bid to secure the release of Schalit, who was kidnapped by Hamas and other Palestinian groups in the summer of 2006.
According to the PA officials, the release of Massoud is yet another sign of the recent rapprochement between Hamas and Egypt. "The Egyptians have clearly changed their policy toward Hamas," they said.
Three weeks ago, the Egyptian authorities permitted Hamas supporters and figures stranded on the Egyptian side of the border to return to the Gaza Strip. The move was seen by PA officials in Ramallah as part of a deal between the Hamas leadership and Cairo to improve their relations. Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh has since spoken twice on the phone with Egyptian Intelligence Chief Gen. Omar Suleiman about the situation in the Gaza Strip and the ongoing Hamas-Fatah crisis.
Enraged by Hamas's violent takeover of the Gaza Strip last June, the Egyptians cut their ties with Hamas and moved their diplomats and security delegation from Gaza City to Ramallah.
A Hamas official confirmed that Massoud had been released after spending 11 months in an Egyptian prison. "He was released over the weekend, and since then, he has been reunited with his family in Syria,"
!
the official said. "All we can say at this stage is that he had been tortured while in prison."
The PA has accused Massoud of being behind the assassination of Col. Muhammad al-Musat, commander of the PA's Military Intelligence Force in the northern Gaza Strip. PA security officials said Massoud and a number of Hamas militiamen fled to Egypt through underground tunnels for fear of being arrested by the PA. They added that contrary to Hamas's claims, Massoud was now in the Gaza Strip, not Syria. "Unfortunately the Egyptians turned down our request to extradite Massoud and his gang," said one official. "Now they are releasing him unconditionally and without even informing us. This man should be brought to trial for his role in the assassination of Col. Musat and other crimes."
Massoud is also wanted by Israel for his role in a series of terror attacks. Two of his brothers, Khaled and Tito, who were also members of Hamas, have been killed by the IDF in the past four years.
No word on how Jemaine made out.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/15/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
Yep. The first thing they can "only say at this time" whenever released is that they were tortured. Its almost as if its in some playbook or something. Think so?
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
10/15/2007 12:29 Comments ||
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(KUNA) -- Fourteen people, suspected of being linked to Al-Qaeda terrorist network, have been arrested Sunday by Algerian authorities west of the capital. A security source told KUNA that the busting followed tips authorities received on the whereabouts of the network's food and ammunitions unit. Three were released on bail, said the source, pointing out that members of the network were very active east of the capital Algiers.
Meanwhile, Hugh Roberts, head of the International Crisis Group's North Africa project, said that information about the merging of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Fighting and Al-Qaeda was exaggerated. He told the Algerian Press Service (APS) that spreading this fact would hinder terrorist groups operating in this part of Africa, revealing that the Salafist Group has been margined in the previous years to a small number of operatives who took other aliases as attempt to misguide authorities. There was no solid evidence regarding cooperation between both terrorist groups, said Roberts, stressing that news about unity amongst terrorist groups in the North African region was clearly a sign that the Salafist Group was weakened. Attacks on civilians and avoiding operations against the police and authorities clearly indicated that the group has lost most of its powers, stated the expert.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/15/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa
A Saudi man suspected of involvement in the killing of four French tourists in the kingdom earlier this year has been arrested, the Interior Ministry announced Sunday. The four French holidaymakers were among a group of nine others attacked by militants while on a desert trip in Saudi Arabia in February, the first attack on foreigners by suspected al Qaeda militants in the kingdom for 2-1/2 years.
The tourists had been ambushed by the gunmen. They were camping in the desert in the scenic western part of Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said Abdallah bin Sayer al-Mohammadi, the last suspect wanted in relation to the attack, had been captured as part of a security operation that began earlier this month in a remote area northwest of the Muslim holy city of Medina.
The trial opened Monday of six men accused of being part of a terrorist network that allegedly turned a Belgian woman into a suicide bomber and who died in an attack on U.S. troops in Iraq. Six men, most of them Belgians of north African descent, face charges including membership of a terror group, forgery and fencing of stolen goods. All deny the charges.
Prosecutors allege the network was responsible for sending the 38-year-old Belgian woman to Iraq for the attack on Nov. 9, 2005. The woman, Muriel Degauque, was the only person who died in the blast. Degauque, the daughter of a hospital secretary, grew up on a quiet street in a town outside the city of Charleroi before becoming a baker's assistant. Years later she died in Baghdad carrying out a suicide bombing in the name of jihad. She was the first known European woman to die in such an attack.
Police were investigating the group at the time of the attack, and suspected they had set up a network that took people to Iraq to fight. Police said Bilal Soughir, 33, was the main suspect for keeping the lines open with terrorists in Iraq, and the only one behind bars when the trial opened.
Muriel Degauque became heavily involved in Islam after marrying an Algerian. Belgian prosecutors say Degauque carried out the attack near an American military patrol in Iraq after entering the country from Syria a month earlier. The group included her second husband, a Belgian of Moroccan origin who entered Iraq with Degauque and was killed in murky circumstances while allegedly trying to set up a separate suicide bombing. Authorities said the Belgian network had been planning to send more volunteers to Iraq for attacks.
#1
Don't you just love the way the NYT's and the IHT report things. I especially like the last part about her husband "dying under murky circumstances" as if killing a terrorist was supposed to be crystal clear and very public like on HD tv.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
10/15/2007 12:41 Comments ||
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#1
American named Samir Khan who produces his blog from his parents home in North Carolina...
heh, fits the stereotype, that we who "converse" with jihadi types use agin them in net wars..
/intruth I couldn't read the whole thang. perhaps he's a mole..
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
10/15/2007 1:55 Comments ||
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#2
THis is just not right... the TIMES ignored Lt. Michael Murphy being awarded the MOH....and then they run this fluff to a freaking jihadi wannabe.. I can not tell you how angry I am..
#3
If you think of this as a portal for our intelligence agencies to trace and track current and future bad guys, it might help, Chenter Unimp7361. The more the wannabees connect to known nodes, the less likely they are to be able to fly under the radar. And if a New York Times journalist has discovered this one, what odds, the clever boys and girls at West Point haven't?
I'd be more upset if the NYT's "dishonored" Lt. Murphy by publishing his MoH story. He is beyond their contempt for our armed forces. He deserves much more than the NYT's.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
10/15/2007 12:46 Comments ||
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#6
I read the link to the Jawa Report provided by doc in comment #5.
According to Dr. Rusty, he has been in possession of Samir's name, address, license plate number, and photograph for some time now. good work Dr. Rusty.
Speaking for myself, if I lived in Charolette, NC I'd like to know if my neighbor was a card carrying supporter of the violent overthrow of the USA.
Publish the photo and address Rusty.
Posted by: Mark Z ||
10/15/2007 16:46 Comments ||
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#7
apparently his blog has been shut down.
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/15/2007 19:02 Comments ||
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#8
In the comments to that post, Dr. Rusty was warned that if he posted young Mr. Khan's address and some harm came to gentleman, he could be held responsible.
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon has paid more than $100 million in bonuses to veteran Green Berets and Navy SEALs, reversing the flow of top commandos to the corporate world where security companies such as Blackwater USA are offering big salaries.
The retention effort, started nearly three years ago and overseen by U.S. Special Operations Command in Tampa, Fla., has helped preserve a small but elite group of enlisted troops with vast experience fighting the unconventional wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Defense Department statistics.
Overall, more than 1,200 of the military's most specialized personnel near or already eligible for retirement have opted for payments of up to $150,000 in return for staying in uniform several more years.
The numbers gathered by The Associated Press and other Pentagon research indicate there has not been an extended exodus of commandos to private security companies and other businesses that value their talents.
"Back in 2005, we saw quite a few exits," said Rear Adm. Michael LeFever, director of the Navy's military personnel plans and policy division. "What we're seeing lately is just the opposite. We've become very aggressive."
Defense Secretary Robert Gates remains so concerned over the lure of high salaries in the private sector that he has directed Pentagon lawyers to explore putting no-compete clauses into contracts with security companies that would limit their recruiting abilities.
While special operations forces are by no means the only candidates for security jobs in Iraq that can pay hundreds of dollars a day, they are the most attractive because of the unique training they receive.
In addition to being proficient with weapons, many of these troops have advanced education, the ability to speak the languages of the Middle East and other regions, and the cultural awareness that comes with living among the local populations.
For those same reasons, the military wants to hold on to them as long as possible, and at the same time demonstrate to younger enlisted troops that there's a financial incentive for an extended career.
The stress of repeated deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and the opportunities for financial stability outside the military have heightened the urgency of the military's retention efforts.
Gates said Wednesday the Army must focus more on training foreign militaries and fighting insurgent groups methods essential to success in the type of irregular warfare U.S. forces now face. Troops with these skills "need to be retained," Gates told the annual convention of the Association of the U.S. Army.
With the Pentagon expecting to spend an additional $43.5 million on commando bonuses in fiscal year 2008, which began Oct. 1, statistics show the military is building a more mature special operations force.
In addition to retention bonuses, enlisted special operations personnel ranging from corporals to sergeants major also qualify for a special duty pay of $375 a month above their normal salary.
The Special Operations Command bonus program was approved in late 2004 and targeted noncommissioned Army, Navy and Air Force commandos with 19 years or more of service. After 20 years, military personnel are eligible to retire at half pay and have lifetime access to military medical care and other benefits.
At the 19-year mark, an Army sergeant first class earns about $63,400 annually, a figure that doesn't include what the Congressional Budget Office calls "noncash" benefits available to military members such as subsidized child care, lower grocery costs at base stores and free access to recreational facilities.
The "critical skills retention" bonuses work on a sliding scale and are offered to senior enlisted personnel and warrant officers who form the backbone of the force.
Those agreeing to stay an extra six years receive $150,000; five years is worth $75,000; four years, $50,000; three years, $30,000; two years, $18,000; and one extra year, $8,000.
Since January 2005, 2,326 have been eligible and more than half took bonuses, statistics show.
Those who didn't opt for an extension may have retired, or they may be waiting for the right time to take the bonus: accepting it during a battle-zone deployment makes the payment tax free.
Within the Army Special Forces, the largest U.S. commando branch better known as the Green Berets, more than 900 have traded time for money. More than a third of these troops agreed to six-year extensions.
Overall, at a cost of $75 million, the Pentagon bought an average of 3.3 additional years from Green Berets with nearly two decades of experience in combat engineering, communications, intelligence and field medicine, figures show.
Just over 300 Navy SEALs Sea, Air and Land commandos have signed up for longer tours at a cost of $27.6 million. More than half agreed to six additional years.
The Air Force pool of combat controllers and pararescuemen with at least 19 years of service is the smallest; 32 of these troops opted for bonuses costing $3 million. Half took the six-year package.
While Special Operations Command officials view the results as positive, retention figures probably will do little to settle the heated debate over recruiting tactics used by private security companies.
"The disgraceful cycle works like this: Contractors hire away military talent. The military finds itself short of skilled workers, so contractors get more contracts. With more money, they hire away more uniformed talent," wrote Ralph Peters, a retired Army officer and a frequent commentator on military issues, in a recent opinion piece in the New York Post.
Blackwater USA has a large contract with the State Department to guard U.S. diplomats in Iraq. Since a Sept. 16 shooting in Baghdad that left 17 Iraqis dead, the company has been sharply criticized for the way it operates.
At an Oct. 2 congressional hearing, Democratic lawmakers accused the company of poaching from the military's ranks. Erik Prince, Blackwater's top executive, defended his company, saying not every one wants to stay in uniform for 20 years.
"At some point they're going to get out after four, six, eight, whatever that period of time is, whatever they decide, because we don't have a draft. We have a voluntary service," Prince said. "Yes, a lot of them come to work for companies like us, but not at any higher rate than they ever did before."
Chris Taylor, a former vice president for strategic initiatives at Blackwater, said Prince's claim is backed by a July 2005 study from the Government Accountability Office that said attrition levels within military specialties favored by contractors were about the same as before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
More recently, Chris MacPherson reached a similar conclusion in a research project he conducted over the summer in the Pentagon's special operations directorate.
"I found no evidence that (private security companies) have increased the number of U.S. special operations forces leaving the military," said MacPherson, a graduate student at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.
Of the estimated 25,000 security personnel working in Iraq, only about 2,000 are Americans and they earn between $350 to $500 a day, said Doug Brooks, president of the International Peace Operations Association.
That means there aren't that many high-paying security jobs available even if a service member leaves the military, said Brooks, whose organization represents many companies doing business in Iraq.
"There's no drain on the military," Brooks said. "This is way overblown."
#6
The very skilled professionals have proven themselves, which is all the more reason to consider the creation of an offshore American Foreign Legion, based on the French model.
It would be complementary to our Special Forces and their covert mission, yet it would be for overt missions that would be problematic for US forces, for all sorts of reasons.
It would cost far less than a US unit, and by being offshore could recruit the top US and foreign talent to work under US officers and senior NCOs. This would also help insure that our talent are not picked up by private organizations.
Perhaps it could be administered by a private corporation like Blackwater, which would handle all training and equipment/supply logistics, with the big stuff handled by the US military.
It would have no problem with supporting missions of US allies, or being OPCONNED to foreign command; though in such a capacity, they would be able to refuse operations that were inappropriate.
And while they would primarily be oriented to military missions, they might be augmented with an immediate response humanitarian division, that could quickly deploy, again for remuneration.
And it's not nearly enough (though definitely a good start).
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/15/2007 18:50 Comments ||
Top||
#8
The "Foreign Legion" idea has its advantages, and in fact many of these are the same as those the French sought in their own Legion, and in all the rest of their colonial military.
On the other hand, it has serious problems. The worst is that the US is likely to become as dependent on it as did the French, the colonials became the best of their military (taking the best ambitious officers and getting all the real-world experience), consequently it contributed to the degeneration of the French metropolitan army, which was content to sit at home and perfect bureaucracy.
#9
No foreign legions. If a fight is only worth risking lesser peoples (crude, but true) and not Americans, then it's not worth fighting. Instead let the qualified join the US military with a path to citizenship.
Posted by: ed ||
10/15/2007 20:05 Comments ||
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#10
Not lessors, and not a fully foreign legion either.
I can see it being a force that both US and non-citizens can be in as officers and non-coms. That way both regular military can get experience as well as others needed a fresh start or a path to citizenship. That way you can keep it deployed and not put a strain on regular units and their families. There will always be need for a military unit for deployment somewhere. The US could cycle normal soldiers and officers through on a volunteer basis and pull non-civies in for a citizenship after 4-6 years and then if they want to keep them as contractors or farm them out to other defense industries.
#12
ZERO PROBLEM. I'm currently reading "The Commandos" by Douglas C. Waller. While I've always had a high degree of respect for our Special Forces, now I'm practically in awe. These individuals are so incredibly dedicated to our nation's defense that they go through unmitigated absolute HELL during training. Especially so with the Navy SEALS. Money cannot buy this sort of grit and determination. We are fortunate to have these people serve our nation. Fortunately, America is worthy of these soldiers, even if so many of its citizens are not. I wish there was a check box on my tax forms for $5.00 donated towards retirements benefits, widows & orphans and scholarships for these brave warriors. I'd kick down in a heartbeat.
there ya go. For the widows and orphans. 5013C so you can deduct it on your taxes. Best damn foundation out there. Give till it feels good.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
10/15/2007 21:39 Comments ||
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#14
SEALS are gods on this Earthly plane. I say double the "new/proposed" incentives for E7/O4 under 15 years for 6 more big ones--- Same-O for USMC Recon Snipes at about the same career point. Best of luck to our USA/USAF SOFs as well ! You're ALL AWESOME! -lpg-
#15
Thank you so much, 49 Pan. Bookmarked and slated for future contributions. Fred is first in line but these worthy folks are right behind him. Bless them all!
By Jawad Mazhar Special Correspondent BosNewsLife reporting from Pakistan
LAHORE, PAKISTAN (BosNewsLife)-- An uneasy calm returned Monday, October 15, to the village of Gowindhi, near Pakistan's second largest city of Lahore, after a violent mob of Muslims "ransacked and desecrated" the local evangelical New Apostolic Faith church, rights investigators said.
"A Muslim mob mounted on the roof of the church and hurled down its loud speakers," on Wednesday October 10, said Khalid Gill, the regional director for Pakistan's Punjab province of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA), a major advocacy group.
"The mob of Muslim extremists also tried to destroy the boundary walls of the church and put manure on them." They allegedly ripped up the Bible's Book of Psalms and other Christian literature in the church. They also destroyed all the musical instruments, which were used during the praise and worship, Gill said.
Suspects were still at large Monday, October 15, apparently because local police refused to take action against them. Officials were not immediately available for comment. A 26-year-old Christian youth Sattar Masih witnessing the attack said he had informed the church's pastor, identified as Pastor Pervaiz, about the Muslim attack at the church.
CHRISTIAN PROTEST
The pastor contacted police, but they "blatantly refused" to take action against the militants, local Christians and investigators said. A delegation of local Christian leaders, including a former member of Lahore's district's council, protested the refusal by police to intervene. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Gill said police officials have been "forcing" local Christians and their leadership to reconcile themselves with Muslim hardliners. "Submit, humans!"
The latest attack underscored religious tensions in the region. Muslim shopkeepers of Gowindhi village, apparently encouraged by Muslim militants, have reportedly stopped selling kitchen and other house hold items to Christian residents in the village.
Christians in other parts of Pakistan have also complained about violence and some have received threats because of their refusal to embrace Islam, several rights groups say. Barnabas Fund, which investigates reports of persecution of Christians in especially Muslim nations, told BosNewsLife that in one recent incident a church-run girls' school in the area of Swat in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province was closed last month "after a letter from Islamic militants threatened to attack the school if it remained open."
STAFF ACCUSED
Barnabas Fund said, "The letter accused the staff of trying to convert Muslim girl students to Christianity." It also "criticized Muslim parents for allowing their daughters to attend [the school] and urged them to send them instead to Islamic madrassas," Barnabas Fund added. Parents have reportedly condemned the letter, and police set up a 24-hour guard at the school, which re-opened on September 17.
In addition a bomb exploded at a Christian school in Bannu, also in North West Frontier Province, in the early hours of September 15. No one was reportedly injured and despite the damage to the building, the school has continued. Some groups have linked the increased
attacks against Christians in Pakistan to the government's support to the US-led war on terror. Christians are often viewed by militants as supporting the United States, analysts say.
Barnabas Fund said the attacks against Pakistani Christians and churches also include legal challenges. "Various Pakistani politicians have attempted to reform the blasphemy law which could lead to long prison terms for Christians, "but threats from Muslim extremists have always prevented any substantial amendments from being put in place."
ELDERLY PRISONERS
It said it was especially concerned about the situation of two elderly Christians held on blasphemy charges, James Masih, 70, and Buta Masih, 85.
In a letter Barnabas Fund urged its supporters to "Pray that God will sustain them, and that they will soon be acquitted and released."
Christians comprise less than three percent of Pakistan's population of roughly 165 million people, most of whom are Muslims, according to the US Central Intelligence Agency
#1
"Suspects were still at large Monday, October 15, apparently because local police refused to take action against them. Officials were not immediately available for comment"
Says it all about Pakistan and tolerant?ISLAM!!!!
Posted by: Paul ||
10/15/2007 11:58 Comments ||
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#2
Yo, Christianity! It's time to fight or f&ck. Got it?
#6
Pigs. The more you wrestle with a pig in a mud pit, the more they like it.
Posted by: Herman Ulavith4441 ||
10/15/2007 12:46 Comments ||
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#7
I think it is very interesting that the Vatican, after 700 years, is releasing its transcripts and documents on the Knight's Templar. The fact that the Vatican is attempting to reconcile the Templars back into the mainstream of Roman Catholicism may mean a covert endorsement of a new "crusade". An imprimatur on the "West's counter-Jihadi" force.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
10/15/2007 12:49 Comments ||
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#8
The pastor contacted police, but they "blatantly refused" to take action against the militants
Might be time to maybe buy some guns there, pastor?
#9
The people who like to whine (but otherwise do nothing) about "ethnic cleansing" are going to be very unhappy about the fact that this region will historically be remembered as the birthplace of global cleansing...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
10/15/2007 13:29 Comments ||
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I seem to recall the Talibunnies blowing up the Bamiyan Buddhas in early 2001. I seem to recall what happened a few months later. History repeating itself?
Islamist radicals in Pakistan have attempted to destroy an ancient carving of Buddha by drilling holes in the rock and filling them with dynamite. The Buddha, in the Swat district of north-west Pakistan, is thought to date from the seventh century AD and was considered the largest in Asia, after the two Bamiyan Buddhas.
The 23ft high image was damaged during the attack, which brought back memories of the Taliban's destruction six years ago of the giant Buddhas at Bamiyan, in neighbouring Afghanistan. The explosion on Monday night damaged the upper part of the rock.
Pakistani troops have stepped up recent operations against militants in the fertile Swat valley, where thousands of locals are in thrall to Mullah Fazlullah, a rabble-rousing cleric who has called for suicide attacks and holy war. Fazlullah's men have continued to wage an offensive against what they deem 'un-Islamic' activity, last week blowing up dozens of music, video and cosmetics stalls at a market.
This article starring:
MULLAH FAZLULLAH
TNSM
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/15/2007 00:00 ||
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[7 views]
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#1
That sign of the intolerant shows you just where they are.
#6
The islamists better watch out for the disenchanted buddhist suicide bombers.
Posted by: Ol Dirty American ||
10/15/2007 9:33 Comments ||
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#7
So the next Mohammed cartoon should depict the Prophet (piss be upon him) putting a stick of dynamite into the hole they drilled into the Bhudda statue. Tit for tat, ya frickin' rag heads. Makes me wish I was a cartoonist.
#11
They have the intolerance of the Democratic-led US Senate.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
10/15/2007 12:50 Comments ||
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#12
A while back somebody posted a graphic of the kabah with scenes from the Simpsons being projected on its sides. That'd be the ultimate poetic justice: Get 'em all following the teachings of Homer Simpson.
Security was beefed up in the Indian capital Sunday night following the powerful explosion at a cinema theatre in Ludhiana in Northern Indian state of Punjab which killed six people and injured more than 25. Delhi was already on an alert after last Thursday's blast at the world famous Ajmer Dargah. The security was further strengthened following the blast tonight.
A close vigil is being maintained at public places, especially cinema halls, theatres and religious places following the two blasts within a gap of three days, an official of the Delhi police told reporters here tonight. Police have also been alerted to keep vigil at Delhis borders with other Indian states. Checking at inter-state bus stands, metro stations and railway stations have also been strengthened, the official said.
Northern Indian town of Ludhiana Sunday night when six people were killed and at least 25 injured in a powerful blast inside a cinema theatre, three days after the blast at the world famous Ajmer Dargah killed three people. Four persons died on the spot and two others died in a hospital, the news agencies reported.
The Shingaar cinema theatre, in Ludhiana in Northern Indian state of Punjab, where the blast occurred tonight was crowded with Sunday audience. Many people were out on the streets today on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr. The injured, some of them, stated to be in critical condition were admitted to CMC and Civil Lines hospitals in Ludhiana, the news agencies said. The blast took place in the second and third row of the cinema hall. The bomb could have planted during the interval of the film. The explosion took place within 15 minutes of the movie restarting after the interval, the news agencies reported.
Punjab police is investigating the cause of the blast. Forensic experts have reached the spot. Police did not rule out the role of splinter Khalistani terror groups like Babbar Khalsa International in the blast. Punjab was the hotbed of terrorism led by Khalistani groups during 1980s and early 1990s. Khalistani groups were reported to have received active support from Pakistanis Inter Services Intelligence.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/15/2007 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[18 views]
Top|| File under: Global Jihad
#1
Or course this could have been averted if the US would just stop working with Israel.
#3
I still think it would be a grand idea to start a multi-religion woman's movement predicated on their "personal space". That is, getting them to carry short knives, and if attacked or otherwise molested by men, to give them a good nick with it.
Now granted, some women would get beaten up for doing it, but many women regularly get beaten up for not doing it. And done a few times, and most men would suddenly realize that women don't like to be attacked or molested, and that they *can* do something about it.
This takes a lot of the fun out of attacking and molesting.
#6
Moose, somewhere out on the net there is a picture of a (match grade!) AR-15 with stock, grips and guard that is a shocking pink with multi-colored polka-dots. The the caption sez owner is female, i think... ( I really hope the owner is female. Do not mock the ghey sniper. Just don't do it. You have too much to live for...)
(peanut gallery goes "I dare ya to show up at range day with your AR-15 looking like that")
The hello kitty butt cozy is a nice touch. Hello Kitty 40K: in the grim future ther is only hello kitty...
Posted by: N guard ||
10/15/2007 21:44 Comments ||
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On April 30, 2007, I published the conclusion of a two-part dispatch, Desires of the Human Heart, about the efforts of the 1-4 CAV to transform an abandoned seminary into COP Amanche, an outpost in a Baghdad neighborhood that had been all but deserted after more than a year of sectarian violence. . . . A little more than 5 months later, I received the following update from LTC Crider, which I am reprinting here with his permission. . . .
Go read it. Then, go e-mail it to your Senators and your Congresscritter, and post links in any other discussion forums you hang out it.
Posted by: Mike ||
10/15/2007 11:23 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency
#1
Pure Petraeus CI doctrine - one unit at a time in one place at a time.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
10/15/2007 13:28 Comments ||
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N/T Instapundit
U.S. intelligence officials got mired for nearly 10 hours seeking approval to use wiretaps against al Qaeda terrorists suspected of kidnapping Queens soldier Alex Jimenez in Iraq earlier this year, The Post has learned.
This week, Congress plans to vote on a bill that leaves in place the legal hurdles in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act - problems that were highlighted during the May search for a group of kidnapped U.S. soldiers.
In the early hours of May 12, seven U.S. soldiers - including Spc. Jimenez - were on lookout near a patrol base in the al Qaeda-controlled area of Iraq called the "Triangle of Death." Sometime before dawn, heavily armed al Qaeda gunmen quietly cut through the tangles of concertina wire surrounding the outpost of two Humvees and made a massive and coordinated surprise attack. Four of the soldiers were killed on the spot and three others were taken hostage.
A search to rescue the men was quickly launched. But it soon ground to a halt as lawyers - obeying strict U.S. laws about surveillance - cobbled together the legal grounds for wiretapping the suspected kidnappers.
Starting at 10 a.m. on May 15, according to a timeline provided to Congress by the director of national intelligence, lawyers for the National Security Agency met and determined that special approval from the attorney general would be required first. For an excruciating nine hours and 38 minutes, searchers in Iraq waited as U.S. lawyers discussed legal issues and hammered out the "probable cause" necessary for the attorney general to grant such "emergency" permission. Finally, approval was granted and, at 7:38 that night, surveillance began.
"The intelligence community was forced to abandon our soldiers because of the law," a senior congressional staffer with access to the classified case told The Post. "How many lawyers does it take to rescue our soldiers?" he asked. "It should be zero."
The FISA law applies even to a cellphone conversation between two people in Iraq, because those communications zip along wires through U.S. hubs, which is where the taps are typically applied.
U.S. officials had no way of knowing if Jimenez and his fellow soldiers were still alive during the nearly 10-hour delay. The body of one was found a few weeks later in the Euphrates River and the terror group Islamic State of Iraq - an al Qaeda offshoot - later claimed in a video that Jimenez and the third soldier had been executed and buried.
"This is terrible. If they would have acted sooner, maybe they would have found something out and been able to find my son," said Jimenez's mother, Maria Duran. "Oh my God. I just keep asking myself, where is my son? What could have happened to him?"
Duran said she was especially frustrated, "because I thought they were doing everything possible to find him."
"You know that this is how this country is - everything is by the law. They just did not want to break the law, and I understand that. They should change the law, because God only knows what type of information they could have found during that time period."
#1
this country is supposed to function according to it's laws however it picks and chooses which laws to enforce and when. Maybe we have too many laws and maybe we have our head so far up our ass that we just can't see this is no way to win a war.
#2
Multi-lawyered war. Incredible. On an aside note, this clashes violently, (as do this article) with the leftist/Msm/euro/... worldview of the US army acting recklessly, without any restraint, and crushing iraq under its jackboot. Not that will make the critics thought.
#4
So, why couldn't incompetant AG Gonzalez issue an order ahead of the paperwork, and who are the incompetant legal beagles who took 10 hours to do a job so incompetantly?
#5
WHy did it take 10 hours? Becaue its DC, and everyone there is more concerned with power and covering their as than they are with the lives of the troops. Look at the actions of the Demcorat party for public proof - they are the ones that want all kinds of leagl hurdles in the way, and they really do not care to count the cost.
As for the Bush administration: Look at Especially Lawyers. After the screwing that Libby got (and not a damn finger lifted by Bush until way after the fact), nobody is going to stick their neck out.
#6
Not only is the war over-lawyered but badly lawyered at that. This is systemic in our government. I have a hard time believing it anytime we do something right, or timely. It must be a collossal mistake if that ever happens.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
10/15/2007 13:30 Comments ||
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#7
"How many lawyers does it take to rescue our soldiers?" he asked. "It should be zero."
Bottom line. The administration should have someone who is paid specifically to sit next to a hotline and provide authorization for these sorts of things. Precious human life aside, just the expense of training those soldiers that were killed could finance such a job slot for years.
They are talking about the organization itself, of course.
The U.S. military believes it has dealt devastating and perhaps irreversible blows to al-Qaeda in Iraq in recent months, leading some generals to advocate a declaration of victory over the group, which the Bush administration has long described as the most lethal U.S. adversary in Iraq.
But as the White House and its military commanders plan the next phase of the war, other officials have cautioned against taking what they see as a premature step that could create strategic and political difficulties for the United States. Such a declaration could fuel criticism that the Iraq conflict has become a civil war in which U.S. combat forces should not be involved. At the same time, the intelligence community, and some in the military itself, worry about underestimating an enemy that has shown great resilience in the past.
"I think it would be premature at this point," a senior intelligence official said of a victory declaration over AQI, as the group is known. Despite recent U.S. gains, he said, AQI retains "the ability for surprise and for catastrophic attacks." Earlier periods of optimism, such as immediately following the June 2006 death of AQI founder Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in a U.S. air raid, not only proved unfounded but were followed by expanded operations by the militant organization.
There is widespread agreement that AQI has suffered major blows over the past three months. Among the indicators cited is a sharp drop in suicide bombings, the group's signature attack, from more than 60 in January to around 30 a month since July. Captures and interrogations of AQI leaders over the summer had what a senior military intelligence official called a "cascade effect," leading to other killings and captures. The flow of foreign fighters through Syria into Iraq has also diminished, although officials are unsure of the reason and are concerned that the broader al-Qaeda network may be diverting new recruits to Afghanistan and elsewhere.
The deployment of more U.S. and Iraqi forces into AQI strongholds in Anbar province and the Baghdad area, as well as the recruitment of Sunni tribal fighters to combat AQI operatives in those locations, has helped to deprive the militants of a secure base of operations, U.S. military officials said. "They are less and less coordinated, more and more fragmented," Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the second-ranking U.S. commander in Iraq, said recently. Describing frayed support structures and supply lines, Odierno estimated that the group's capabilities have been "degraded" by 60 to 70 percent since the beginning of the year.
Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, head of the Joint Special Operations Command's operations in Iraq, is the chief promoter of a victory declaration and believes that AQI has been all but eliminated, the military intelligence official said. But Adm. William J. Fallon, the chief of U.S. Central Command, which oversees Iraq and the rest of the Middle East, is urging restraint, the official said. The military intelligence official, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on the condition of anonymity about Iraq assessments and strategy.
Senior U.S. commanders on the ground, including Gen. David H. Petraeus, the head of U.S. forces in Iraq, have long complained that Central Command, along with the CIA, is too negative in its analyses. On this issue, however, Petraeus agrees with Fallon, the military intelligence official said.
For each assessment of progress against AQI, there is a cautionary note that comes from long and often painful experience. Despite the increased killings and captures of AQI members, Odierno said, "it only takes three people" to construct and detonate a suicide car bomb that can "kill thousands." The goal, he said, is to make each attack less effective and lengthen the periods between them.
Right now, said another U.S. official, who declined even to be identified by the agency he works for, the data are "insufficient and difficult to measure."
"AQI is definitely taking some hits," the official said. "There is definite progress, and that is undeniable good news. But what we don't know is how long it will last . . . and whether it's sustainable. . . . They have withstood withering pressure for a long period of time." Three months, he said, is not long enough to consider a trend sustainable.
Views of the extent to which AQI has been vanquished also reflect differences over the extent to which it operates independently from Osama bin Laden's central al-Qaeda organization, based in Pakistan. "Everyone has an opinion about how franchisement of al-Qaeda works," a senior White House official said. "Is it through central control, or is it decentralized?" The answer to that question, the official said, affects "your ability to determine how successfully [AQI] has been defeated or neutralized. Is it 'game over'?"
In Baghdad, the White House official said, the group's "area of operations has been reduced quite a bit for a variety of reasons, some good and some bad." Three years of sectarian fighting have eliminated many mixed Sunni-Shiite neighborhoods. Those areas had been the most fertile and accessible places for AQI, which is composed of extremist Sunnis, to attack Shiite civilians, security forces and government officials. But the death of mixed neighborhoods also has made another Bush administration priority &0151; promoting political reconciliation &0151; more difficult.
The expanded presence of U.S. troops in combat outposts in many parts of Baghdad has also put pressure on AQI, but a major test of gains against the organization will come when the U.S. military begins to turn security in those areas over to Iraqi forces next year.
Recent suicide bombings in northern Iraq have convinced some officials that AQI has moved its operations in that direction. But the officials said they do not know whether AQI militants have permanently decamped from Baghdad and Anbar province, or whether they are merely lying low in anticipation of a U.S. departure or the failure of Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to end the sectarian divisions that AQI fostered and now feeds upon.
While a victory declaration might have the "psychological aspect" of discouraging recruitment to a perceived lost cause, the White House official said, advantages overall would be minimal. "I recognize that there are pros to saying, 'Hey, listen, the bad guys are on the run.' " But if AQI were later able to demonstrate residual capabilities with a series of bombings, "even though it was temporary," he said, "the question becomes: How does this play out in terms of public opinion?"
Posted by: Fred ||
10/15/2007 8:28 Comments ||
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#4
I wonder where Reid and Pelosi are on this assesment? I wonder if they realize, that if we win in this battle in Irag, the pressure on Iran's leadership will probally grow?
If they back what is happening now, without backing the virtues of the war, they can claim they made Bush change stategy, with thier winning seats in congress, and thier pushing Bush to do something other than stay the course.
#5
This is a battle for control of the American living room. It is far from won as the MSM continues to sing the al-Q lyrics. I doubt it can be considered won till 2/09.
#6
If we're winning, Reid and Pelosi are losing. So don't expect them to celebrate at all.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
10/15/2007 10:31 Comments ||
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#7
There is no need to declare anything. I can see the dhimmicrats looking for one of those "moments" such as on the USS Abraham Lincoln back in to 2003 to use during the upcoming election. Whatever is said will get spun and spun and then spun some more. If AQ is crippled, it will become evident soon enough. Reid, Pelosi, etc. might as well be considered the enemy for as much as they try to screw things up in the mideast.
#8
Could also be a little bit of PsyOps. Tell the world [especially AQ] that they are defeated and then drag them back to action so we can finish them and Binny off once and for all.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
10/15/2007 13:32 Comments ||
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#9
AQI is the back of the bus. We need to go after the driver (i.e., Pakistan).
WASHINGTON (CNN) The head of Blackwater USA on Sunday rejected a mounting series of reports suggesting the private contractor's security guards opened fire on innocent Iraqi civilians last month. "There was definitely incoming small arms fire from insurgents" in the September 16 incident in Baghdad, founder and CEO Erik Prince told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on "Late Edition."
There was no "deliberate violence," committed by Blackwater employees, he added. You mean they don't just pick out women, kids, and guys carrying baskets of vegetables at random, discuss it on their radios, and blow them away for no reason?
Still, when asked whether it is possible someone with Blackwater "screwed up" in the incident, Prince replied, "Certainly it's possible." He said he expects the FBI investigation to provide many answers.
Meanwhile, U.S. and Iraqi officials continue discussing Baghdad's demand that Blackwater be expelled from Iraq within six months, The Associated Press reported Sunday. American officials are also coming up with ways to fill the security gap if Blackwater is forced to leave, AP reported. Yeah, like make the Iraqis drive to the green zone and back and see how they like it. Maliki can go first. In any case, make a list of the hotheads because they aren't on the right side if they are pre-judging the situation.
Blackwater guards, protecting U.S. officials in Iraq, face dangerous circumstances every day and have navigated the vast majority of those situations without any violence, Prince told CNN. The guards just try to do their jobs, and are "not trying to make any trouble," he said. Lot of them are ex-military and still carry the same ideas. I'm sure a few aren't/don't, but no need to throw out the baby with the bathwater.
The Iraqi government accuses Blackwater guards of opening fire without provocation on civilians in a crowded area in Baghdad on September 16, killing 17 and wounding 27. Survivors told FBI investigators Blackwater guards shot at civilians presenting no threat. How would they know?
The first U.S. soldiers to arrive on the scene after the incident told military investigators they found no evidence contractors were fired upon, a source familiar with a preliminary U.S. military report told CNN. The soldiers found evidence suggesting the guards fired on cars attempting to leave and found weapon casings on the scene matching only those used by U.S. military and contractors, the military source said.
But Prince on Sunday told CNN, "In the incident reports I've seen, at least three of our armored vehicles were hit by small arms fire, incoming, and one of them damaged, which actually delayed their departure from the traffic circle while they tried to rig a tow.
"So there was definitely incoming small-arms fire from insurgents." He added, "I guarantee our guys weren't shooting at each other."
And he said the traffic circle is very big, so those first soldiers on the scene would have needed "almost a battalion to secure that entire area, to do a thorough crime scene type investigation."
"So the jury is still out. We'll see what the FBI report comes up with, but I'm confident that the kind of people we have out there are proven military professionals," Prince said.
Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh accused Blackwater of "a deliberate crime against civilians," and said the company "should be tried in court, and the victims should be compensated."
A Philadelphia law firm has filed suit in federal court against Blackwater on behalf of the families of three Iraqis killed and one wounded in the in the incident, which occurred in and around Baghdad's Nusoor Square.
A Philly law firm, eh? Wanna bet it'll be backed and funded by the usual progressive legal creeps?
The suit claims Blackwater "created and fostered a culture of lawlessness amongst its employees, encouraging them to act in the company's financial interests at the expense of innocent human life."
Prince called the lawsuit "politically motivated" for "media attention," and rejected the depictions of his company. "In Baghdad, the most dangerous city in the world, to say that it was a callous, rampant, evil action, you know, when the guys get it right 99 out of 100 times and don't have to use any force or any violence at all, I think they are doing very well," he said. Seems like the situation was a setup. Look for similar events in the future if this works out.
#2
The tribal and political infighting in Baghdad is more of a threat to long term stability in Iraq than anything else at this moment, thanks to the surge. I am sure Iran is also using its cronies to encourage dissent as well.
A militant killed during an operation in Mosul Saturday has been positively identified as a senior al-Qaeda militant known as Abu Doha, the US military said Sunday. Meanwhile violence occurring Sunday and Saturday elsewhere in Iraq killed a total of 17 people and wounded dozens more. "Along with kidnapping, Abu Doha and his associates were reportedly involved in weapons facilitation and coordinating attacks against Iraqi security and (US-led) coalition forces," a statement from the military said. "Abu Doha is also known to have numerous terrorist associates, including a key leader with ties to Syrian-based terrorists and the inner circle of al-Qaeda in Iraq's senior leadership," it added. The US military alleged that Abu Doha reportedly received his orders directly from Abu Ayub al-Masri, the head of the al-Qaeda network in Iraq.
Separately, and as Muslims celebrate the Eid al-Fitr feast, a bomb on a bus went off killing six people and wounding 16 Sunday in northern Baghdad, a police source told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). The commuter bus exploded in Eden square near the Shiite enclave of Kazimiyah. The condition of some of the wounded is serious due to the intensity of the explosion, according to hospital sources cited by the local agency.
This article starring:
ABU AIUB AL MASRI
al-Qaeda in Iraq
ABU DOHA
al-Qaeda in Iraq
Posted by: Fred ||
10/15/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
#1
The surge is working. Thank you General, Patton would be proud.
(Xinhua) At least eight civilians were killed and some 40 injured when a suicide bomber exploded his fuel tanker near a police headquarters in central Samarra in Salahudin province, the police said Sunday.
'A suicide bomber driving a fuel tanker, rigged with explosives, tried to hit the heavily fortified police headquarters in Samarra, 120 km north of Baghdad, but failed to approach his target,' a police officer told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. The driver drove his tanker to a nearby market when fired upon by the security guards of the headquarters and blew it up, the source said. After the explosion, gunmen armed with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns opened fire on the police guards outside the headquarters, but fled the scene after U.S. helicopter gunship came in aid of the police, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/15/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency
#1
Eight killed in Samarra suicide tanker bomb blast
*********************************************
The following is a similar VIBED attack in Iraq. +/- a few weeks ago.
Note the Iraqi Policeman and the VIBED.
Policeman's Grade: :-)
*10 out of 10 for focused and disciplined rate of fire at adversary.
*10 out of 10 for courage under fire.
**I have NEVER been trained to, or have ever practiced firing a weapon while Moon Walking Backwards period; and certainly never at at a high rate of speed.
*10 out of 10 for Moon Walking and firing weapon at the same time accurately.
BTW, the attack was severe but ultimately thwarted because al-Qaeda failed to take over the post.
The Terrorist video was captured, the video van took a few rounds at the end. [I wish I had more details for youse]
An Iraqi correspondent working for The Washington Post was shot to death Sunday while on assignment in Baghdad, the newspaper said. Salih Saif Aldin, 32, who wrote under the name Salih Dehema for security reasons, was killed in the neighborhood of Sadiyah, according to a statement. It said details of the incident were still unclear.
Sadiyah is a former religiously mixed neighborhood in southwestern Baghdad that is now dominated by Shiites after most Sunnis were driven out by sectarian violence. Aldin began working for the newspaper in early 2004 as a special correspondent in his hometown of Tikrit, 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of Baghdad, and later moved to the capital, "where he played an instrumental role of the Post's coverage of Iraq," the newspaper said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/15/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency
Pope Benedict XVI made a public appeal on Sunday for the release of two Catholic priests kidnapped a day earlier on their way home from a funeral in northern Iraq.
"Mahmoud, I can't think of anything more debauched than our trick with the exploding cart full of toys at the playground."
"Yeah. It's gonna be tough to cap that one, Ahmed. Unless..."
"Unless?"
"We could kidnap a coupla priests!"
"Brilliant! Can we rape 'em?"
"Ummm... Yeah."
"And boil their heads and eat 'em?"
"Hmmm. I think we'd hafta get a fatwa on that. Gimme a day or so for a answer from HQ."
The priests were abducted about 4 p.m. Saturday after participating in a funeral in western Mosul, according to Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa, Mosul's head of the Syrian Catholic Church, one of the branches of the Roman Catholic Church. Gunmen ambushed the priests' car, dragged them out and took them to an unidentified location, Casmoussa said Sunday, adding he waited a day to publicize the incident because he had hoped the kidnappers would demand ransom and release the priests. He said he hadn't yet heard from the unidentified men.
This article starring:
Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa
Posted by: Fred ||
10/15/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency
#1
Let them go.
And someone better let Fouty and Jimenez go as well.
#3
Yoo hoo, Benedict old boy, this pleading nonsense ain't gonna work. Either you kick down the jizya like a good little dhimmi or you make sure that Muslims get an asskicking. There are no alternatives. It's time to choose sides and only one of them is civilized. I hope this clears things up for you.
PS: Paying the jizya will only guarantee that more priests get kidnapped. Maybe this will help you to comprehend your alternatives.
Your not talking to a political head of state your talking to a head of a religious state (i.e. The Vatican). As a Roman Catholic, the Pope must set an example of Faith, Hope and Charity. What's he suppose to do, send the Swiss Guards as part of the coalition? And since when is the Pope a dhimmi? I assume you are generalizing using the pejorative. He may not be as intolerant of muzzies and terrorists as you and I but then he isn't supposed to be - his is a message of human reconciliation. As a practicing Catholic I respect his position but do not always agree with it.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
10/15/2007 13:45 Comments ||
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#7
As a Roman Catholic, the Pope must set an example of Faith, Hope and Charity.
Yes he must, especially so to his own flock. Coddling and accomodating Muslims does not serve that end. Yes, he must extend the hand of friendship to all mankind but there are limits, even as there were limits to Jesus' own generosity. The Muslims are the modern Pharisees. These sanctimonius, pompous, moralizing zealot bastards are out to kill all Catholics and Benedict owes it to his flock to see after their welfare first.
What's he suppose to do, send the Swiss Guards as part of the coalition?
No, but I would think that a more resounding condemnation of Islam's lack of reciprocity would be a damn fine place to start. Yes, he's made mention of it butvery much like Bushhe has one of the ultimate bully pulpits (if ever there was one), and still accommodates Islam far too much for the Church's own good.
To John Paul's eternal creditwhatever his other failingshe took a vocal and effective stand against communism and helped shatter the Iron Curtain. His actions can even be detached from all political motives in that Soviet communism represented the abuse of human rights on a monumental scale. More's the pity that the Vatican has seemingly abandoned it's fight against communism despite China's ongoing persecution of Christians.
And since when is the Pope a dhimmi?
I did notas you later recognizecall the Pope a "dhimmi". I cited the alternatives, of which paying ransom is dhimmitude. The Italians have already shown themselves inclined to pay Islamic kidnappers and I want it out in the open that the Pope doing so will make him a dhimmi.
I assume you are generalizing using the pejorative.
See above.
He may not be as intolerant of muzzies and terrorists as you and I but then he isn't supposed to be - his is a message of human reconciliation.
Again, just as Jesus had his limits, so must the Pope and any other decent human being. One cannot tolerate the intolerable without moral compromise. I hope very much that Benedict can avoid the sort of ameliorative displays of conciliation that John Paul demonstrated towards Islam.
As a practicing Catholic I respect his position but do not always agree with it.
I can only be glad of that. It makes possible the assumption that you recognize just how far out of the bounds of human decency Islam is and thereby makes necessary some truly brutal corrections of their desire for spiritual and corporeal ascendancy when they have so little moral authority.
A Hizbullah operative and the bodies of two Hizbullah fighters have been returned to Lebanon in exchange for the body of an Israeli civilian, according to media reports from Beirut.
The living Hizbullah man is Hasan Akeel, who was captured by Israeli troops during last years fighting between the two in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli, an Ethiopian immigrant, died at sea three years ago, his body possibly washed up on the Lebanese coastline.
The swap was facilitated in part by the United Nations peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL. The deal was brokered by German officials.
There was intense speculation in Israel that the exchange was going to include those of two Israeli soldiers, Ehud Goldwaser and Eldad Regev, who were kidnapped on July 12, 2006 in a Hizbullah attack on Israeli forces on the Israel-Lebanon border.
Their abduction, and the death of three other Israeli soldiers, sparked the 34-day war between Israel and Hizbullah.
It was believed the soldiers were alive when they were taken. Their families have launched an ongoing public campaign in Israel pressing for their release. Israel has up until now received no information as to their condition or indeed whether they are dead or alive.
Ahead of the exchange Israel and Hizbullah would not comment on the report.
Families of those still held in jails or hostage on both sides of the border are expressing hope that this swap will lead to further exchanges.
#1
The concept of military members recovering their dead, great. Let's straighten out the paleos and other barbarians by letting them know "you got a bag of bones. What made him (or her) a good person was what the were trying to do about barbarism when they died. We'll be grinding your martyr's bones for pet food. At least we're civilised enough to have pets (other than young boys)..."
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
10/15/2007 14:01 Comments ||
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#2
Israel should consider amputating the thumbs of any terrorists they release.
Salt???
The remains of one or two bodies of Israelis were transferred to A-Naqoura, a border crossing on the Israeli-Lebanese border on Monday, the Arabic language channel Al-Alam is reporting.
The names of the Israelis were not mentioned on the Iranian channel. Al-Alam said the bodies were those of two Israeli soldiers but a conflicting report said it was the body of an Israeli civilian.
It is possible the bodies in question are those of two Israeli soldiers, Ehud Goldwaser and Eldad Regev, who were kidnapped on July 12, 2006 in a Hizbullah attack on Israeli forces on the Israel-Lebanon border. Their abduction, and the death of three other Israeli soldiers, sparked the 34-day war between Israel and Hizbullah.
It was believed the soldiers were alive when they were taken. Their families have launched an ongoing public campaign in Israel pressing for their release. Israel has up until now received no information as to their condition or indeed whether they are dead or alive. The transfer is part of a prisoner swap in which Israel will release one Hizbullah fighter and two bodies of Hizbullah operatives, Al-Alam reported.
Israel and Hizbullah are not commenting on the report.
A Hizbullah operative and the bodies of two Hizbullah fighters have been returned to Lebanon in exchange for the body of an Israeli civilian, according to media reports from Beirut.
The living Hizbullah man is Hasan Akeel, who was captured by Israeli troops during last years fighting between the two in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli, an Ethiopian immigrant, died at sea three years ago, his body possibly washed up on the Lebanese coastline.
The swap was facilitated in part by the United Nations peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL. The deal was brokered by German officials.
There was intense speculation in Israel that the exchange was going to include those of two Israeli soldiers, Ehud Goldwaser and Eldad Regev, who were kidnapped on July 12, 2006 in a Hizbullah attack on Israeli forces on the Israel-Lebanon border.
Their abduction, and the death of three other Israeli soldiers, sparked the 34-day war between Israel and Hizbullah.
It was believed the soldiers were alive when they were taken. Their families have launched an ongoing public campaign in Israel pressing for their release. Israel has up until now received no information as to their condition or indeed whether they are dead or alive.
Ahead of the exchange Israel and Hizbullah would not comment on the report.
Families of those still held in jails or hostage on both sides of the border are expressing hope that this swap will lead to further exchanges.
#3
RD-the book says 24 seated and 31 on the floor. Real advantage is speed and range. When I left the Corps in 97 they said the last Frog (Ch-46) pilot had not been born. He (or she!) might be in flight school now.
Posted by: Bangkok Billy ||
10/15/2007 3:36 Comments ||
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#4
It's hard to appreciate the power in one of those things, they look so weird. One flew over my house a couple of weeks ago heading for Ohio and and nearly rattled the nails out of the wood.
#5
Newsweak had an article on these about how they had been troublesome and killed people then headed to Iraq. Not one mention of the complete redesign and the expanded capabilities it gives the Marines. Just doom and gloom.
Ya know, the helicopter also had a lot of crashes and deaths (still do) but look at everything it does to help not only the military, but humanity.
Bunch of damn anti-military, liberal asshats that bunch is.
#7
I had thought that the improvements in Helicopters over the years that the Osprey had teething problems pretty much ended the actual need for the things. Guess I was wrong, or political procurement is stronger than need.
#8
Funny thing about the Osprey, I had a GI Joe jet back in the 80s that was similar to a smaller version of the Osprey. Jets instead of props and it seated one but basically it was the same thing.
#9
RJS. These tactical requirements have only become MORE important. Range, speed and load carrying capability are ever more important and helo's don't have either the range or speed. I expect that there will be shakedown problems but I suspect they will be worked out if the politicians (both military & congressional) don't kill the program after the first crash.
Of course the politico's will whine about all the casualties (if fully loaded) but they won't say anything when the first fully loaded A380 crashes with the equivelence of a small mid-western town on board. High capacity equals high casualties when an aircraft goes down but you do your risk calculations and go for it.
#10
They are going to need bigger platforms (helo carriers) for the V-22 if it is truly going to be effective. Also, got to do something about range or deploy refueling units with the bird. Also, need to provide some ground support and self-defense ordinance. Just my two cents. But hey, for a jarhead its like upgrading to a Caddy.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
10/15/2007 13:52 Comments ||
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#11
What is really sad is the US and Britian could of had the same basic capability 40 Years ago. In the late '50s early '60s the British company Fairey was developing an aircraft caled the Rotodyne. With both an eye towards the civil market and the military it was touted as a short haul city center to city center aircraft. Vertical or short rolling take-off. Vertical landing capability plus a lot more engine out capability than the V-22 IMO. Granted the perfomance is a little lower than the V-22 but then 40 years or so seperate them. Plus the article was in Time
If 2007 technology and materials were used to manufacture a "NEW" Fairey Rotodyne prototype it would be even more capable than the original.
/thanks for reminding us about this combo aircraft, an old bird before its time..
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
10/15/2007 14:34 Comments ||
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#13
Plus today instead of the cluth driven compressors used to provide air to the tip jets air could be bled dierectly from a turbo fan that then supplys the trust for forward flight. A bonus is no props to bend if you can't get the gear down. What happens to a V-22 if the engines can't be rotated back to vertical for landing
#14
What happens to a V-22 if the engines can't be rotated back to vertical for landing
Pray you find a mountain of pillows before you run out of gas?
How do the engines get their power to the turbofans reliably through a connection that swivels up to 90 degrees? Seems like both the mechanics and the hydraulics would be very susceptible to damage, possibly even by a fortunate bullet from an AK-47.
#15
"What happens to a V-22 if the engines can't be rotated back to vertical for landing?"
"How do the engines get their power to the turbofans reliably through a connection that swivels up to 90 degrees?"
To answer the last first, the props and the engines are a unit and swivel through a common joint. there is a cross wing connection that allows one engine to drive both props in the event one engine dies.
The answer for the other, is that you can bet that it was analyzed and a statistical answer would show that the gear-up, no vertical transistion of the blades would only happen once every ( fill in some obscenely huge number here) flight hours.
I asked a similiar question during the development of the Navy A-12 bomber: what would happen if the weapons bay doors didn't close and one of the main landing gear tires blew on landing? answer: analyzed at a once in 5 million flight hour occurrence, but it would cause the aircraft to be written off. funny thing about stats: they don't alsways happen in an orderly fashion......
back to the Osprey: i would expect the blades to shred the fuselage and pray that there was enough time for the cockpit crew to get the PAX moved out of the line of fire when the pieces come flying through......
#16
Every time we develope spmething radically different their is pain during initial delivery. Remember the B-29 and all the engine fires. But instead of just trying to make the B-17 better we departed on a new path and it finally proved to be the right course.
Remember when the early jets were prone to Flameouts and took the areodynamic characteriscis of a flling brick. We couldn't go on trying to improve the piston powered plane, we had to move forward even if it was painfull.
In recent years remember all the problems with the Apache in Kosovo. Would we like to do without it now.
#17
A few notes: CH-47F new build $30M, V-22 $110M (est for 450 frames). V-22 is useless in urban or forested ops since troops cannot fast rope due to prop wash. Unarmed. Operations were limited (may still be) to hard surfaces (i.e. no combat sorties) due to prop wash kicking up rocks and trees that get sucked into the turbines. Limited to cargo hauling base 2 base. Get a CH-47 for 1/3rd the cost and get 50% more payload. Not ready for combat and never will be.
Posted by: ed ||
10/15/2007 18:21 Comments ||
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#18
Ed: Flew plenty in CH-47s in Nam. Rotor wash up to 100mph. Powered by Turbines subject to FOD strikes.
Osprey has winch cable, can they use it?. Special Ops to get Ospreys, Only hard surface special ops?
Payload (24 troops is issue) but I can assure the CH-47 can't carry 14 tons very far.
#19
CH-47 rotor wash is small compared to the V-22. Much smaller rotor area providing more thrust (2270 sq. ft vs CH-47's 5650 sq ft). The V-22 kicks up much larger debris. Helicopter turbines can and do have filters on the inlets. The V-22 cannot both for space and air volume requirements. Take a look at the inlet. It's not just large debris, but dirt and sand impinging on the turbines blades will wear them down very quickly.
Sure you can land on soft surfaces. Once. I may exaggerate, but ingest something large into those unprotected inlets and watch the turbines shred. No one would think of running a fighter on dirt and gravel. Same principle.
I know almost nothing about the winch, other than it has one, or how stable it is in the V-22's high speed prop wash. While it may work to rescue a pilot, it not any answer to deploying troops in combat.
The listed range of the CH-47D/F is greater than the V-22. The V-22 is 50% faster.
Posted by: ed ||
10/15/2007 19:42 Comments ||
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#20
Thanks Ed. Actually the Marines are repalcing the CH-46. Not nearly the horse the 47 has been.
Acually has less payload. They I'm sure will keep the 53s for some time.
#3
Whoa, Nellie! Like nobody on earth has a right to make sure this politically disruptive maggot has any price to pay whatsoever? Be still my beating heart!!!
#4
Right on schedule. Expect another one soon. Putin will then be forced, regretfully to be sure, to consolidate power around himself to save mother Russia.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/15/2007 0:58 Comments ||
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#5
For all anyone knows this whole 'news story' could be a Kremlin controlled, planted publicity stunt, so Putin can wipe out the rest of whatever political opposition remains in his neo-Soviet empire.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/15/2007 2:23 Comments ||
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#6
I'd be inclined to believe it's real. Certainly the Chechens and their financiers don't like him. The kaboom team is more an Islamic concept than a KGB-style idea.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/15/2007 8:26 Comments ||
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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is expected to pay a state visit to Turkey on Tuesday for talks with Turkish leaders on several regional issues of mutual interest. In his two-day stay in Turkey, the Syrian leader will meet Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Reccep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, the CNN Turk news network said. During the meetings, they will mull over a set of issues, including Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon and Iran, it added. The Syrian leader last visited Turkey four years ago,
2003, for those keeping score at home
a visit which paved the way for further cooperation between both countries. Al-Assad will be the first foreign leader to visit Gul since he took over as president of Turkey.
Fast, and smart.
This article starring:
Foreign Minister Ali Babacan
Prime Minister Reccep Tayyip Erdogan
SYRIAN PRESIDENT BASHAR AL ASAD
TURKISH PRESIDENT ABDULLAH GUL
Posted by: Seafarious ||
10/15/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[9 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
Death plots on Putin, but none on this guy?
SOmoen oughta be rigging a set of Iranian supplied EFPs just for him.
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Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
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The Egyptian authorities have released a top Hamas operative wanted by the Palestinian Authority and Israel for his involvement in terror attacks over the past few years, PA officials told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday. The officials expressed outrage over the release of Nahro Massoud - one of the commanders of Hamas's armed wing, Izzadin Kassam - who fled to Egypt more than a year ago. At the request of the PA, Massoud and several other Hamas fugitives were arrested by the Egyptian security forces and held without trial. Massoud's name had appeared on a Hamas list of prisoners whose release the group was demanding in exchange for kidnapped IDF soldier Cpl. Gilad Schalit. 
(KUNA) -- Fourteen people, suspected of being linked to Al-Qaeda terrorist network, have been arrested Sunday by Algerian authorities west of the capital. A security source told KUNA that the busting followed tips authorities received on the whereabouts of the network's food and ammunitions unit. Three were released on bail, said the source, pointing out that members of the network were very active east of the capital Algiers.
A Saudi man suspected of involvement in the killing of four French tourists in the kingdom earlier this year has been arrested, the Interior Ministry announced Sunday. The four French holidaymakers were among a group of nine others attacked by militants while on a desert trip in Saudi Arabia in February, the first attack on foreigners by suspected al Qaeda militants in the kingdom for 2-1/2 years.
By Jawad Mazhar Special Correspondent BosNewsLife reporting from Pakistan 
A militant killed during an operation in Mosul Saturday has been positively identified as a senior al-Qaeda militant known as Abu Doha, the US military said Sunday. Meanwhile violence occurring Sunday and Saturday elsewhere in Iraq killed a total of 17 people and wounded dozens more. "Along with kidnapping, Abu Doha and his associates were reportedly involved in weapons facilitation and coordinating attacks against Iraqi security and (US-led) coalition forces," a statement from the military said. "Abu Doha is also known to have numerous terrorist associates, including a key leader with ties to Syrian-based terrorists and the inner circle of al-Qaeda in Iraq's senior leadership," it added. The US military alleged that Abu Doha reportedly received his orders directly from Abu Ayub al-Masri, the head of the al-Qaeda network in Iraq. 
(Xinhua) At least eight civilians were killed and some 40 injured when a suicide bomber exploded his fuel tanker near a police headquarters in central Samarra in Salahudin province, the police said Sunday.
An Iraqi correspondent working for The Washington Post was shot to death Sunday while on assignment in Baghdad, the newspaper said. Salih Saif Aldin, 32, who wrote under the name Salih Dehema for security reasons, was killed in the neighborhood of Sadiyah, according to a statement. It said details of the incident were still unclear. 
