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Hamas leader appeals for truce with Israel
Today's Headlines
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Afghanistan
Dutch troops to quit Afghanistan in 2010
The Netherlands announced Tuesday that Dutch troops would leave Afghanistan from July 2010, though it remained uncertain whether other nations would send enough soldiers to replace them.

“I do not have assurances that other countries will be ready to replace Netherlands troops, but I am certain that Dutch troops will leave in 2010,” Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen told journalists. “I indicated that in writing ... to the NATO secretary general, who has confirmed it. The Netherlands government decided last month to prolong its Afghanistan deployment by two years to December 2010 and the parliament approved the measure late on Tuesday.

Dutch troops are stationed in the southern province of Uruzgan as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Some 1,600 Dutch soldiers have been stationed in Uruzgan since July 2006. The mission, which was initially set to end after two years, is set to be reduced to between 1,100 and 1,200 soldiers in that region, with 250 troops in Kabul and Kandahar.
I suppose we'll have to replace them with our own. Perhaps from the troops we currently have in Y'urp.
Internal politics: “The power struggles involving interior politics will not have changed in three years ... so we will leave responsibility for the situation to NATO,” the minister said. The Netherlands had hoped to receive reinforcements from other NATO countries to allow it to further reduce the number of troops in its deployment. The country has lost 12 soldiers since deploying as part of the ISAF mission.
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  Leave one airfield (RAF Mildenhall?), RAF Molesworth, and the joint coordinating effort in London in England; Ramstein AB, Landstuhl Army barracks, and a mechanized brigade at Graffenwoehr; Aviano AB and Naples Naval Base in Italy, and a half-dozen installations (if possible) from the Poles, Czechs, Hungarians, and Bulgarians. Pull EVERYTHING ELSE out. Give NATO a five-year notice that they have to have equal forces (both in manpower and equipment) to deployable US forces, or we pull out of NATO. Watch the slippery brown stuff hit the air circulation device.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 12/20/2007 0:42 Comments || Top||

#2  Might want to keep Rota, too, so as to have airfields all along the Med. Gibraltar grows ever more croweded.
Posted by: Rory B. Bellows || 12/20/2007 9:00 Comments || Top||

#3  And I really feel that the Dutch have pulled their weight. It's some of the other NATO countries that ought to step up.
Posted by: Rory B. Bellows || 12/20/2007 9:02 Comments || Top||

#4  The Dutch have done more than their share. The NATO "partners" I'm frustrated with are Belgium, Germany ("we'll deploy, but we won't fight"), Italy (their current "leadership" is worse than Harry Reid), Spain ("cut and run"), Portugal, Greece, and Norway. Great Britain has also contributed heavily, but their "new leadership" is another set of cowards. Canada has stepped up and proven to be a real partner, and their contribution is greatly appreciated. Iceland doesn't have anything to contribute to battles in Afghanistan or Iraq.

The new NATO countries - Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, et al., have contributed more than most of the "traditional" NATO countries. What I'm REALLY pissed about is most of NATO's attitude that they US is REQUIRED to protect them, at no cost to them.

The only "base" we ever had in the Netherlands was an ammo storage facility that was closed during the 1990's.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 12/20/2007 11:55 Comments || Top||

#5  The Dutch have pulled their weight but they are still guilty for their weight being so small: ie gfor underfunding, undersizing their military who now can do little when needed.
Posted by: JFM || 12/20/2007 12:31 Comments || Top||

#6  Norway and the Dutch have been punching above their weight. I remind you of the "this didn't happen" training mission where the Dutch pilots flew and dropped a training munition (concrete blivet) on a dime to rescue some allies that were pinned, in spite of RoE that forbid them from engaging in "combat".
Posted by: OldSpook || 12/20/2007 13:19 Comments || Top||

#7  And they are a small country: about 16 million people, size = 2 x New Jersey.

OP - The army just announced that 2 divisions currently in Germany are being rebased to the US over the next few years, with brigade combat teams replacing them. The drawdown / withdrawl is already under way.
Posted by: lotp || 12/20/2007 13:48 Comments || Top||

#8  Specifically, the 1st AD is moving to Ft. Bliss and the 1st ID is moving to Ft Riley and Ft Knox, all by 2011.
Posted by: lotp || 12/20/2007 13:51 Comments || Top||

#9  And they are a small country: about 16 million people

hah?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/20/2007 19:58 Comments || Top||

#10  If the papers were on our side the headline would have read:

Dutch Troops To Stay in Afghanistan until 2010.
Posted by: Whomong Guelph4611 || 12/20/2007 20:45 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Bomb wounds 12 soldiers near Somali parliament
(SomaliNet) A roadside bomb wounded at least 12 Somali soldiers in Baidoa and two people were killed in violence in Mogadishu on Saturday, Reuters reports. The attacks in the capital and the south-central town hosting Somalia's parliament came after two days of fighting in Mogadishu between allied Somali-Ethiopian forces and Islamist insurgents. "A remote-controlled roadside bomb targeted a military pick-up truck," said police officer Aden Moalim in Baidoa. "At least 12 soldiers guarding the road to parliament, including one Ethiopian, were hurt."

In the capital, two people died after grenades were hurled at government troops patrolling Bakara Market, triggering a gun battle.

A local journalist who asked not to be named said he saw the insurgents execute one blindfolded captive during the clash while the second victim was killed by crossfire. "I and a few other people witnessed the killing of a blindfolded man who was shot dead by six young men armed with pistols," the journalist said. "Some people were saying the man was suspected of spying for government forces."

A police spokesman said several weapons caches had been seized since Friday during government operations in Bakara, which contains an open-air weapons bazaar.

Four suspected insurgents were killed on Friday after being seen firing mortars, he said, and several others were arrested.

At least 25 people have been killed in the capital since Thursday when mortar bombs damaged parts of Bakara and sustained fighting broke out in other parts of the city.

Many Somalis say the insurgents -- remnants of a hardline sharia courts groups chased out of the city a year ago -- have become increasingly confident in recent months while the interim government has been hobbled by infighting. The government says the rebels are backed by 4,500 foreign jihadists from Afghanistan, Chechnya and the Middle East.
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Islamic Courts


Hawiye clan leader speaks out from his hideout
(SomaliNet) The chairman of the Hawiye traditional council Mohamed Hassan Haad, who had been in hiding for the last two months for fearing of being caught by the transitional government troops and the Ethiopian ally, said on Wednesday he went back to Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

A source quoting Mr. Haad saying that he is now at his home in Mogadishu and feels no anxiety despite the government is searching for him to be put in custody for charges “I am aware of that the government is looking for me and other members in the Council,” said Haad. “The reason I came back to Mogadishu is for the people’s support here in the capital to continue insurgency against the Ethiopian occupation,” I am worried he said to be captured by the government as long as I am in the protection of the Somali people who are against the current regime and the Ethiopian presence in the country.

Earlier, the mayor of Mogadishu Mohamed Omar Habeb commonly known as ‘Mohamed Dhere’ said his government will arrest all the members of Hawiye Council led by Mohamed Hassan Haad and will be brought before justice. Haad’s comment came as two key members of Hawiye Traditional Council are still in the jail.

Meanwhile, people in the war torn country of Somalia today turned out for the Muslim celebration of Eid Adha as Mogadishu continues to indulge into quagmire of insurgency violence against the government and its Ethiopian ally killing hundreds of people and thousands more wounded.
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Islamic Courts


Africa North
GSPC finds allies in arms traffickers and narcotic smugglers
Investigations led by security services on terrorist attacks of last November against Djanet Airport, Southern Algeria have concluded that there is an alliance between drug and arms traffickers on the one hand, and elements from Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat GSPC which claimed responsibility of the airport attack. GSPC said the attack mastermind is the new Emir of the southern region Yahia Djouadi, alias Yahia Abu Amar.

Sixteen terrorists took part in the Djanet airport terrorist attack which targeted a military aircraft parked there, sources close to investigations mentioned, adding that those terrorists moved to the spot on 2 Toyota Station 4x4 cars. The same sources told El Khabar that investigations affirmed that the aforementioned terrorists belongs to smuggling groups activating in the Sahara, pointing out that most of them withdrawn to northern Niger.

Furthermore, Djanet airport attack came to confirm the strong alliance between GSPC and drug, cigarettes and arms traffickers as well as illegal migration networks, said the same sources, adding that a deal has been made between them stating that the track of the traffickers to be secured by GSPC, in exchange this latter would benefit from important financing source as well as establishing contacts with armed groups fighting against regimes in Sahel countries mostly in Niger and Chad.
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa


Down Under
'Jihad' bomb plotter's appeal dismissed by Australian court
A Pakistan-born architect convicted of plotting a "jihad" or holy war bombing campaign in Australia had his appeal dismissed in a Sydney court Thursday. Faheem Khalid Lodhi was sentenced to 20 years jail in August 2006 after a jury found him guilty of planning to blow up the electrical grid in Australia's biggest city.

Lodhi, who immigrated in the mid-1990s and holds Australian citizenship, was convicted of preparing for a terrorist act by seeking information about chemicals capable of making explosives. He was also found guilty of possessing a "terrorism manual" and of buying two maps of the Sydney electricity grid in preparation for a terrorist act. Lodhi denied the charges.

Prosecutors linked Lodhi to Frenchman Willie Brigitte, who was deported from Australia in late 2003 and subsequently convicted in France of plotting a major attack in Sydney.

Lodhi was one of the first defendants to be convicted under tough laws passed after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. His lawyers appealed on a number of grounds, arguing that the laws usurped the judiciary's role and denied him a fair trial, and that the link with Brigitte was overstated in the original court case.

The full bench of the New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal dismissed all the appeal grounds and upheld Lodhi's sentence in a 40,000-word judgement published Thursday on the court's website.
Posted by: ryuge || 12/20/2007 00:39 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda

#1  The Jihad Bomb Plotter doesn't appeal to me, either.
Posted by: gorb || 12/20/2007 6:44 Comments || Top||

#2  Let me think, that would be 20 years longer than any Muzz would get in the USA.
Posted by: Icerigger || 12/20/2007 9:13 Comments || Top||


Europe
French police make sweep of Qaeda network
French domestic intelligence services (DST) have carried out a number of arrests in a suspected Qaeda network here that was suspected of having provided support to Algerian extremist groups, a newspaper reported Thursday.

Conservative daily "Le Figaro" said in today's edition that after months of discreet surveillance and investigation, the DST had arrested eight men, seven Algerians and one French person. Unconfirmed reports said later that three of the men had been released after initial questioning. All eight were being questioned at the outset for their alleged role in providing logistical support to the "Qaeda Islamic Group in the Maghreb" which has been responsible for a number of deadly attacks recently, particularly a double bombing that killed more than 60 people in Algeria 10 days ago. The suspects are all in their early 30s, according to the newspaper, and the police are saying that it is one of the most important raids on "terrorist" networks this year in France.

But police officials told "Le Figaro" that the raids were not directly related to the latest bombings in Algiers, noting that the investigation had reached the stage when it was "ripe." France is under threat from Algerian extremist groups because of its improving relations with the Algerian government and a view that it is moving closer to the position of the United States on policy in Iraq and in several areas of the Middle East.

Qaeda leaders have called on their Algerian network to attack French targets and Qaeda number two, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, has vilified French foreign policy and its role in Afghanistan alongside the US and other Western forces. The "Vigipirate" anti-terrorist alert remains at Code Red here, the highest level possible and considerable security measures are in place around the country.
Posted by: ryuge || 12/20/2007 06:57 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa

#1  Meanwhile the religion of pieces continues to burn Paris.
Posted by: Icerigger || 12/20/2007 9:12 Comments || Top||

#2  I hope my fears of the yoot 'hoods in France being fortified are completely wrong.
(btw thanks ryuge for the clue-in on Thailand yesterday)
Posted by: swksvolFF || 12/20/2007 12:30 Comments || Top||

#3  Sounds like the Phrench are finaly getting a hint of a suspicion of a clue here. Ya think?
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/20/2007 14:37 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
Bin Laden's driver to receive POW review
A US military judge agreed to decide whether Osama bin Laden’s driver is a prisoner of war under the Geneva Conventions, a designation that could prevent the United States from trying him in the Guantanamo war crimes tribunals. The judge, Navy Capt. Keith Allred, said in a ruling on Monday that he would undertake a POW review for Yemeni prisoner Salim Ahmed Hamdan, who is charged in the Guantanamo war crimes tribunals with conspiracy and providing material support for terrorism.

If Hamdan is found to be a POW, he could be tried by court-martial, but not by the special military tribunals the United States set up at its naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to try non-US citizens on terrorism charges. Such a finding could cast further doubts on the widely criticised and still evolving Guantanamo court system that has yet to see a trial completed. The lone conviction at Guantanamo was the result of a negotiated guilty plea for an Australian now serving a nine-month prison term in his homeland.

Defence lawyers said he was a civilian driver and support worker who should be considered a prisoner of war and handled according to the Geneva Conventions outlining the treatment of war captives.
This article starring:
Salim Ahmed Hamdan
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda

#1  If he is a POW then apply the penalty for non-lawful combatants: the firing squad.
Posted by: JFM || 12/20/2007 5:42 Comments || Top||

#2  The judge, Navy Capt. Keith Allred, said in a ruling on Monday that he would undertake a POW review for Yemeni prisoner Salim Ahmed Hamdan

Was he waving a koran?
Posted by: Icerigger || 12/20/2007 9:15 Comments || Top||

#3  I am not a lawyer, but as I recall, the Geneva Convention is pretty clear about who is a POW: they have to be in uniform when captured. If not, it's to the firing squad as an illegal combatant.
Posted by: Rambler || 12/20/2007 10:45 Comments || Top||

#4  I can only hope that the good Captain is doing this in the 'not leaving any terns unstoned' category; by proving the creep doesn't deserve GC protection, then the illegal combatant model can prevail.
Posted by: USN,Ret. || 12/20/2007 13:37 Comments || Top||

#5  The ruling came down this afternoon. He is NOT a POW. Don't have the link, though.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 12/20/2007 21:25 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Senior Maoist arrested in India
A senior Maoist leader has been arrested in the southern Indian state of Kerala, police say.

They say that Malla Raji Reddy was arrested in the town of Angamaly in what they describe as a "big blow" to the Maoist movement.

Mr Reddy was in charge of the rebels in the states of Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat.

On Sunday over 100 Maoist rebels escaped from a prison in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh.

Police say that Mr Reddy has been underground for over three decades, and is a contemporary of the overall Maoist chief, Ganapathy.

They say that his arrest could inhibit the capability of the Maoists to carry on inflicting attacks against the security forces.

Over the last two years police say they have arrested or killed numerous senior Maoist leaders.

More than 6,000 people have died during the rebels' decades-long fight for a communist state in parts of India.

Posted by: john frum || 12/20/2007 11:48 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Blast damages music shop
Unknown miscreants bombed an audio-cassettes shop in the Chamkani Police Station limits here on Wednesday, police said. Chamkani Police Station Duty Officer Asmat Khan told Daily Times that a bomb went off at around 7:00am in front of the audio-cassettes shop at Pandu Chowk. The blast damaged the shop, but no casualties were reported. Meanwhile, miscreants lobbed a locally made bomb at a police post on Ring Road in the precincts of Yakatoot Police Station late on Tuesday, Yakatoot Police Station Moharir Watan Khan said, adding that there were no casualties. He said police had registered a case against unknown criminals. Earlier on Tuesday, unidentified terrorists bombed the shrine of Abdul Shakoor Malang Baba. Attacks on CD shops and net-cafes in the city have also increased during the past several months while police seem helpless before militancy.
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  For something that's supposed to be so "unIslamic", they sure got more then enough of these joints to blowup...
Posted by: tu3031 || 12/20/2007 9:46 Comments || Top||

#2  even in pakwakiland not everybody is so Islamic
Posted by: Liberalhawk || 12/20/2007 11:37 Comments || Top||

#3  Fatwah #736198562:

Dear Sir,

Your CD shop will be blown up at 7:00am tomorrow for the following reason(s):
( ) Un-Islamic content
(X) Poor selection of martyrdom videos
(X) Out of date Zawahiri tapes
( ) Failure/late payment of Jiziya

Sincerely, Mohammed
Posted by: Canuckistan || 12/20/2007 17:49 Comments || Top||


Eight 'militants' arrested in Swat
Security forces arrested eight suspected militants and targeted militant positions in the Puchar and Manjad areas of Swat district late Tuesday night, sources said.

They added that security forces destroyed several militant hideouts and that the eight people arrested from the Baryam Pul and Fizagat checkpoints were said to be close aides of the rebel cleric Fazlullah. Meanwhile, unidentified people hurled grenades at the house of Nadir Khan in Charbagh. The attack seriously damaged the house, but did not cause casualties. Security forces opened fire on the attackers, who fled the scene. Also on Wednesday, the Swat administration relaxed curfew from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm and announced to lift the curfew for three days in connection with Eidul Azha. People in large numbers were found coming to Mingora, the main town of Swat, for Eid shopping.
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: TNSM


Bomb kills two in Dera Bugti
A remote-controlled bomb killed two members of tribal leader Tariq Masoori’s family in Balochistan on Wednesday, security officials said.

The bomb hit a car carrying Masoori — PML-QQ’s candidate for PB-24 Dera Bugti —- and family members in the Dera Bugti area. “Two died and four were wounded, including Masoori’s father,” security officials said. Sardar Ali Khan Masoori’s nephews Wahid Buksh and Abdul Fateh were killed, a private TV channel reported. Five were injured while Massuri escaped uninjured, a police official said. District police chief Najmuddin Tareen said he did not know if the attack was politically motivated, and refused to speculate on who might be behind the attack. A banned organisation has, however, accepted responsibility for the attack, Online reported.
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Five charged in escape of Rashid Rauf
Two police officers are among five people arrested in the escape of a Briton suspected of plotting to blow up jetliners.
No! Reeeeeally? They were in on it? Who'da ever thunkit?
Britain has sought extradition of Rashid Rauf to question him as a "key person" in the transatlantic airplane plot and as a suspect in the 2002 killing of one of his uncles. He has denied involvement in both cases.
"Wudn't me."
Rauf slipped out the back door of a mosque Saturday. Officials say he tricked police into stopping to let him pray, with handcuffs removed, on the way back to jail after a court appearance on Britain's extradition request. Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz called Rauf's escape "unfortunate" and a serious security lapse.
"Unfortunate"? That's not the word I was looking for...
Nawaz said the five arrested include one of Rauf's uncles. Rauf's possible escape routes have been blocked but he had a "good eight-, nine-hour start that has given him some advantage," he said.
He's probably in Chitral by now, having tea with Binny and laughing his ass off.
A police official, in confidence, said the two officers were being investigated for negligence and possible links to Rauf's relatives. The escape is a pie in the face an embarrassment for President Pervez Musharraf. Rauf, who is of Pakistani origin, was arrested in Pakistan in August 2006 on a tip from British investigators.
This article starring:
Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz
RASHID RAUFal-Qaeda
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda

#1  I wonder what he promised Toody and Muldoon to let him..."pray"?
Got a feeling it won't be worth it.
Posted by: tu3031 || 12/20/2007 9:54 Comments || Top||

#2  Pray in the car, on the way to prison.
That's when you really need it.
NO STOPPING.
(And just WHY a Taxi, not a Squad Car?)
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/20/2007 14:44 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Religion of Peace in Iraq Update
BAGHDAD (AP) - U.S. soldiers found mass graves north of Baghdad next to a torture center where chains were attached to blood-spattered walls and a metal bed frame was still connected to an electrical shock system, the military said Thursday.
CIA on site looking for tips on effective interrogation.
Thursday near Kanaan, a Shiite-dominated town about 13 miles east of Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, a man wearing an explosives vest blew himself up amid a crowd that had gathered around U.S. soldiers handing out holiday gifts, a local policeman said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to release the information.
Here women grope Santa's crotch in the mall. Moral equivalence.
The grisly discoveries of the mass graves and torture center near Muqdadiyah, about 60 miles north of Baghdad, came during a Dec. 8-11 operation. The torture center, which the U.S. military said it suspected was run by al-Qaida in Iraq, was found based on tips from Iraqis in the area, where the al-Qaida insurgents are very active. Graves containing 26 bodies were found nearby.

"We discovered several (weapons) caches, a torture facility that had chains, a bed - an iron bed that was still connected to a battery - knives and swords that were still covered in blood as we went in to go after the terrorists in that area," said Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, the top U.S. commander in northern Iraq.

Soldiers found a total of nine caches containing a surface-to-air missile launcher, sniper rifles, 130 pounds of homemade explosives and numerous mortar tubes and rounds, among other weapons.
But no missile?
The Dec. 8-11 operation also saw multiple battles between American troops and militants. The military said it killed 24 insurgents and detained 37 others during the operation.
We have not yet received our report from Al Qaeda, but we are sure no more than 2 or 3 casualties were suffered - Allan would not permit it.
Despite a nationwide decrease in violence of nearly 60 percent, Diyala province, where the torture center was found, is still turbulent - largely because the summer influx of U.S. troops in Baghdad, a freeze on activities by the Mahdi Army militia and the rise of Sunni anti-al-Qaida "awakening" groups have pushed militants into the area.

"Yes, there are still some very bad things going on in that province," Hertling said. "We are slower in coming around because ... some of the extremists have been pushed east from Anbar province as they've seen the awakening movement there and north from Baghdad as the surge operations took place there."

Hertling said, however, that the number of roadside bombings against coalition and Iraqi troops in the area had decreased between 40 and 50 percent since the summer. He said there were 849 such attacks in November as compared to 1,698 in June.
So Diyala is a failure because attacks are only down 40-50% instead of the national average of 60%?
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/20/2007 07:28 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency

#1  The MSM has to have something to complain about or it will look like they have completely failed to bring about a defeat for the US in Iraq.
Posted by: DarthVader || 12/20/2007 8:17 Comments || Top||

#2  Don't worry Darth they will. The follow up story will be about how badly it hurts to be a muzzie killing for allah but waterboarded because they got caught inside an unholy mosque.

It's all in perspective, if you're a dhimmicrat.
Posted by: Icerigger || 12/20/2007 9:11 Comments || Top||

#3  "Here women grope Santa's crotch in the mall. "

They DO? Really Ive been living a sheltered life.
Posted by: Liberalhawk || 12/20/2007 15:51 Comments || Top||

#4  "Hertling said, however, that the number of roadside bombings against coalition and Iraqi troops in the area had decreased between 40 and 50 percent since the summer. He said there were 849 such attacks in November as compared to 1,698 in June.
So Diyala is a failure because attacks are only down 40-50% instead of the national average of 60%?"

The really positive thing from Baghdad, is that its not just roadside bombs (the biggest killers of Americans) that have gone down, but all kinds of shootings, bombings, and mayhem. Not clear that the decline in roadside bombings in DIYALA has been accompanied (yet) by the other good stuff.
Posted by: Liberalhawk || 12/20/2007 15:53 Comments || Top||

#5  I figured since Hertling was in charge of Northern Iraq, and he was referring to the decline in the 'area', he meant 'area' to be Diyala, or Northern Iraq at the most.
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/20/2007 19:01 Comments || Top||

#6  GLOBAL RESEARCH. CA > MEMRI interview of Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan Ldr Muhammed Taher Al-Farouq > " ALLAH WILLING, AMERICA WILL BE SOON BE ANNIHILATED. WE WILL REACH AMERICA...THE EYES OF THE [World/Global] NATION OF MOHAMMED ARE SET ON WASHINGTON, LONDON, MOSCOW, PARIS, NEW DELHI, BEIJING, AND OTHER COUNTRIES ... ... As for Infidels and Enemies of God[Islam] in His Kingdom, the movement will continue its JIHAD ... The [World/Global]Nation of Mohammed [islam] has everything except a CALIPHATE ...".

FAROUQ > argues it is NOT a SIN AGZ ISLAM/GOD to FORCIBLY, UNILATERALLY TAKE FROM INFIDELS, UNBELIEVERS, ANDOR ENEMIES OF GOD-PROPHET-ISLAM.
IOW, FAROUQ > Its NOT a sin to steal, kill, abuse, enslave or destroy. etc. non-Muslims.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/20/2007 20:00 Comments || Top||

#7  WASHINGTON, LONDON, MOSCOW, PARIS, NEW DELHI, BEIJING, AND OTHER COUNTRIES

At least they don't discriminate.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/20/2007 20:07 Comments || Top||


Saudis biggest group of al Qaeda Iraq fighters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Most al Qaeda fighters in Iraq are from Saudi Arabia and Libya and many are university-aged students, said a study released on Wednesday by researchers at the U.S. Army's West Point military academy.
Quelle surprise.
The study was based on 606 personnel records collected by al Qaeda in Iraq and captured by coalition troops in October. It includes data on fighters who entered Iraq, largely through Syria, between August 2006 and August 2007.

The researchers at West Point's Combating Terrorism Center found that 41 percent of the fighters were Saudi nationals. Libyan nationals accounted for the second largest group entering Iraq in that time period with about 19 percent of the total, followed by Syrians and Yemenis each at 8 percent, Algerians with 7 percent and Moroccans at 6 percent. On a per capita basis, Libyans accounted for the greatest share of foreign fighters entering Iraq.

Previous studies found Libyans accounted for a far smaller percentage of foreign fighters in Iraq, the West Point researchers said. They concluded the U.S. military either underestimated the Libyan contribution of fighters or that the pattern has shifted since a Libyan Islamic militant group strengthened ties with al Qaeda.

"The apparent surge in Libyan recruits traveling to Iraq may be linked (to) the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group's increasingly cooperative relationship with al-Qa'ida, which culminated in the LIFG officially joining al-Qa'ida on November 3, 2007," wrote authors Joseph Felter and Brian Fishman.
May also be Qaddafi flushing out the prisons.
According to the study, the average age of the 606 fighters who entered over that one-year period was 24-25. One was 15 years old.
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 12/20/2007 03:36 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Iraq

#1  Nice to have such good allies in WOT.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/20/2007 7:57 Comments || Top||

#2  I'd rather we fight them in what was formerly known as Saudi Arabia.
Posted by: ed || 12/20/2007 8:34 Comments || Top||

#3  'Most al Qaeda fighters in Iraq are from Saudi Arabia and Libya and many are university-aged students'

So much for the so called poverty excuse!!!!

Its all asbout ideology preached in Saudi and Pakistan!
Posted by: Paul || 12/20/2007 10:39 Comments || Top||

#4  g: Nice to have such good allies in WOT.

Well, we know that the population of Saudi Arabia aren't our allies. The government is. But at least we don't have to subsidize them to the tune of $5b a year. And unlike being Israel's ally, being an ally of Saudi Arabia doesn't make us the target of Muslim anger around the world.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 12/20/2007 12:04 Comments || Top||

#5  It's all da damn jooos!

Zhang Fei, horsedung.

1. There was not a word about Israel in first AQ communiques. It was latter convenintly added, in about late 2002, because anti-semitism seem to work so well.

2. What would happen if Israel was not there tomorrow? They would focus full speed on Great Satan.

3. House of Saud is also House of Wahhab. They are not separable. The vile indoctrination materials, used in KSA schools, are printed by Saudi government. Just get some stuff for distribution in mosques that is printed by Saudis and dispached by their embassy in US, to get some beaings. Hair would stand on the back of your neck. Some allies they are.

You've been a long time RBer, yet you still don't seem to get it.
Posted by: twobyfour || 12/20/2007 12:42 Comments || Top||

#6  be nice if some of these Saudi Clerics got a little boom boom action themselves.

There must be some nice Shia boom-stock dying to die in that large "Religious" School in SA.
Posted by: RD || 12/20/2007 14:00 Comments || Top||

#7  TBF: It's all da damn jooos!

I've been around Muslims for a while. And they've been unhappy about US support for Israel way before Saudi Arabia started spending big chunks of cash proselytizing. There was no need for al Qaeda to mention US support for Israel. It would be like the GOP mentioning that NAMBLA's manifesto is not part of the party's campaign platform. It's a given.*

Why do you think the rest of the world (ROW) lines up with Muslims? Because they like them? Let's face it - the Muslim world isn't exactly a model of success, and Muslims are the sleaziest and least ethical people around - and that's saying a lot, given contemporary standards. The ROW lines up against Israel because they want peace from Muslim terrorists. It's not that complicated. The Israelis are the good guys, but we do take flak of all kinds for subsidizing them, including boycotts by Muslim consumers who substitute non-US products when something is available, rather than buy from the main reason an Israel still exists.

* For example, Chinese newspapers routinely refer to the US as a bully when they write about foreign policy developments around the world, whether it is with reference to the Sudan, Zimbabwe or Venezuela. Everyone knows the reason for this hostility is US support for Taiwan. But it would be redundant for them to mention this. We acknowledge that we pay a price for supporting Taiwan, but acknowledging that there is also a price to be paid for supporting Israel is somehow taboo? That's just illogical.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 12/20/2007 14:39 Comments || Top||

#8  Let me also suggest a reason that Israel died out as a state, and had to be revived by the British empire. Jews have a tendency towards factionalism that springs from an excessive love for clever rhetoric in a point-scoring sense. This was what plagued the Byzantine empire. Instead of shoring up their relationships with their friends, and attacking their enemies, they spend all their time supplicating their enemies and attacking their friends. They spend all their time cultivating India, China and Europe, none of which have ever encountered a pro-Palestinian (and anti-Israel) UN resolution they didn't like. While whaling away at Uncle Sam, whose support they take for granted.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 12/20/2007 14:48 Comments || Top||

#9  And here I thought that "Leah Ashley" was the most ignorant, malicious idiot to visit 'burg in recent times.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/20/2007 15:20 Comments || Top||

#10  g: And here I thought that "Leah Ashley" was the most ignorant, malicious idiot to visit 'burg in recent times.

Nah - that honor belongs to you.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 12/20/2007 15:25 Comments || Top||

#11  Zhang Fei, I am not even sure that your #7 & #8 deserves a reply.
Posted by: twobyfour || 12/20/2007 16:11 Comments || Top||

#12  TBF: Zhang Fei, I am not even sure that your #7 & #8 deserves a reply.

I'm not sure you can manage a reply that does more than avoid the issue, which is that there is a cost to supporting smaller nations against their much larger adversaries. You can deny it all you want, but it exists, independent of all wishful thinking. I'm not saying that we shouldn't support the good guys, but the good guys ought to be aware that we are paying a price, and acknowledge it, instead of plinking away at their only real friends.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 12/20/2007 16:24 Comments || Top||

#13  Fuck it!

Of course there is a cost associated with support of small nations that are our friends. There is no denial about that.

What you forgetting is what costs would be if it were otherwise, if we did not stand behind our friends.

As for the aid, it is in the vicinity of $3.3 billion annually. I would probably agree that the aid to Egypt and Jordan should be cancelled and the aid to Israel scalled acordingly, to about $1.1 billon. There is enough value coming out of Israel that would make up the difference via trade.

Or Israelis could say enough of it, we have to pay for it by being bound in our actions. Let's be just great friends as always, but we want to create our policies in situ, not in Washington, DC.

Now, as plinking goes...

Friends often argue. It is a nature of all relationships. There is no need to be servile, in fact, that is more likely to be detrimental to friendship.

If someone pushed me into Road Kill (misnamed as Road Map), I would plink away with abandon. That we are fiends does not mean I would jump trhough hoops or even off the cliff to make you happy.

In fact, I myself plink away in general Rice direction for her koolaidish shortsighted efforts.

BTW, I am not a Jew (if so, then only honorary one), nor Israeli, nor Last Days fundie, thus I don't have any axe to grind. My only axe may be common sense and moral compass that I inherited.
Posted by: twobyfour || 12/20/2007 17:33 Comments || Top||

#14  Ima scratch 2x4 hed jest to make sure. Gotta couple of lumps here pal, you sure aobut this not a jooooooo deal.?
Posted by: Thomas Woof || 12/20/2007 19:45 Comments || Top||

#15  Dunno woof, ima think were all widdly off topic.
Posted by: twobyfour || 12/20/2007 20:19 Comments || Top||


Iraqi police arrest 20 terror suspects in Kirkuk
(KUNA) -- The Iraqi police arrested 20 terror suspects including 12 wanted persons during two crackdowns in Kirkuk governorate, in northern Iraq, on Wednesday.

The Iraqi policemen carried out a crackdown against terror suspects in the towns of Al-Robaidha, Al-Hamdaniya, Al-Asriya and Al-Salehiya, south Kirkuk, Director of Local Security Department Brigadier Sarhad Qader told KUNA here.

During the operation 12 wanted persons were arrested and large quantities of arms and munitions were seized, the senior police officer disclosed.

In a separate operation local policemen backed by the Iraqi military launched a crackdown in Al-Rashad area, southwest Kirkuk, where they arrested eight more terror suspects. The operation also led to the discovery of large arms cache, Brigadier Sarhad Qader added.
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency


Turkish forces seize PKK's arms, explosives
(KUNA) -- Turkish security forces found and seized weapons and explosives that belonged to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in eastern Turkey, the security directorate said Wednesday.

It added in a statement security forces have been combing the province of Bingol for a few days and have seized 60 kilograms of explosives and large quantities of weapons and bombs, which were used by the PKK. The seizure of the arms and explosives coincide with a large-scale operation carried out by over 100,000 Turkish forces to crack down against PKK militans in southeast Turkey and northern Iraq. The PKK has been fighting the Ankara government since early 1980s in a bid to establish a statehood in the southeast Turkey.
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I am having a lot of trouble supporting these incursions by the Turks. I am trying to read "A Shameful Act" and so far all I know is what I learned from visiting Turkey. They make the hair stand up on my neck.
Posted by: bman || 12/20/2007 10:31 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Philippines: Six Muslim rebels killed in clashes with marines
(AKI) - At least six Muslim militants have been killed in clashes with Filipino soldiers on the southern island of Basilan, according to the Philippines military. A report on Wednesday on the local GMA News TV quoted Philippines marine commander, Lieutenant Colonel Vincent Teodoro, as saying that the six killed were suspected members of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf rebel group.

Two marines were also killed and five other soldiers wounded in the fighting which erupted Tuesday morning. Teodoro said among the Abu Sayyaf fatalities was a brother of Abu Sayyaf sub-commander Fujuri Indama. Indama was reported to have been killed in a clash between the rebel group and security forces on 18 August that left 15 soldiers killed. Authorities later clarified that Indama survived the firefight. Teodoro said that the last report of fighting was in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
This article starring:
FUJURI INDAMAAbu Sayyaf
Lieutenant Colonel Vincent Teodoro
Abu Sayyaf
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Abu Sayyaf


Egyptian terror suspect held in Cotabato
A combined police-Army team on Wednesday arrested a suspected Egyptian terrorist in a residential district in Cotabato City and found in his apartment materials used to fabricate homemade bombs and reading materials espousing religious extremism.

Police seized materials supposedly used in bomb-making, including detonating cords, pellets, clocks, a mortar booster, firing wire, batteries, Christmas bulbs, cell phone chargers and switches.
Mohammad Sayed, also known as Abu Husein, was arrested inside his apartment at the Woman's Islamic Center around 2 a.m. The apartment is owned by a certain Ustadz Salama Abdul Rakman in Kampo Moslem, Barangay Mother Bagua. Sayed is alleged to have links with both the al-Qaeda and the Indonesian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah. Police seized materials supposedly used in bomb-making, including detonating cords, pellets, clocks, a mortar booster, firing wire, batteries, Christmas bulbs, cell phone chargers and switches.

A book entitled "Yayasan Pusakan Sawono" and a military manual of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front were also confiscated.
Police said they are now investigating whether the suspect is a member of a terrorist organization.
Police said they are now investigating whether the suspect is a member of a terrorist organization.

Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, spokesman of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said the suspect was taken to the city's police station for detention. "The suspect is now undergoing interrogation," Ando said.

Ando said intelligence operatives of the 6th ID are still hot on the trail of Sayed’s companions and contacts in Cotabato City and Shariff Kabunsuan. Government security units have arrested more than a dozen suspicious foreigners, mostly of Middle Eastern origins, in Central Mindanao in the past three years.
This article starring:
ABU HUSEINal-Qaeda
Lt. Col. Julieto Ando
MOHAMAD SAIEDal-Qaeda
USTADZ SALAMA ABDUL RAKMANal-Qaeda
Jemaah Islamiyah
Moro Islamic Liberation Front
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Moro Islamic Liberation Front

#1  The "Women's Islamic Center"???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/20/2007 0:16 Comments || Top||

#2  ISRAEL is also reportedly intent on sending INTEL info to the USA on Eqyptians filmed/photo'd helping HAMAS in arms smuggling.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/20/2007 0:56 Comments || Top||


Sri Lanka
LTTE attacked train: Colombo
Over 300 passengers of the Trincomalee-Colombo night mail had a narrow escape as suspected LTTE cadres attacked it with a claymore bomb, the military claimed on Wednesday.

The Defence Ministry said the engine and the rail track were heavily damaged due to the explosion which occurred at 8.30 pm on Tuesday. “Tiger terrorists had apparently targeted the civilians travelling in the train. It is ironical that the LTTE which claim to be the sole representative of the Tamil people have targeted the civilian passengers who were mainly Tamils whom they claim to liberate. “This cowardly attack is yet another instance of LTTE’s brutal terrorism which target unharmed innocent civilians irrespective of race and religion,” it said.

Highway closure
In another development, the LTTE complained that the closure of A 9 highway by the military since August last year had made life very difficult for the civilians of the Jaffna peninsula.

The LTTE said the highway served as a lifeline to the people of Jaffna as well as Vanni. “Seriously ill medical cases from Vanni were taken in ambulances to the Jaffna hospital. Every day ambulances plied seven to eight times a day, carrying around six patients in each trip. This is necessitated by the poor medical resources in Vanni. “Even the Jaffna hospital resources are very poor in comparison to what is available in the south of island. Many very seriously ill patients were taken to Colombo for treatment through the A9 route.”

The LTTE said the Jaffna civilians had no land route even to seek emergency medical treatment and the only option available to them is the “passenger” ship operated by the Navy. “It is a well known truth that each time this “civilian passenger” ship plies to and from Jaffna and Trincomalee, invariably the military personnel travelling in the ship is many times more than the number of civilians in the ship,” the Tigers complained.
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1 
Posted by: tu3031 || 12/20/2007 9:59 Comments || Top||

#2  Regain does the "Oh shit" better than Peter Falk (Course he was a far better actor too.)
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/20/2007 14:53 Comments || Top||


Good morning...
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Lame spam droppings removed by Management
Posted by: Some lame spammer || 12/20/2007 1:37 Comments || Top||

#2  Suprised you didn't put the Indians saying the weren't part of the US anymore into the head-line.
Posted by: Charles || 12/20/2007 6:59 Comments || Top||

#3  The headlines are for important, meaningful events--and the occasional lurid crime tale. Russel Means isn't important, meaningful, or even lurid in an interesting way.
Posted by: Mike || 12/20/2007 9:46 Comments || Top||

#4  I see Loretta is modeling the "Dazzle' pattern of sportswear.
Posted by: USN,Ret. || 12/20/2007 13:29 Comments || Top||

#5  American Citizen (Me) says "Muslim, clerics must die, world unsafe due to inbreeding and trained insanity"

I'm issuing a fatawah here(See if anybody listens to sanity?)
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/20/2007 14:30 Comments || Top||

#6  That's an idea, issue "Redneck Fatawahs" see if anyone listens?
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/20/2007 14:32 Comments || Top||

#7  Normally I'm not fond of turbans...
Posted by: Fred || 12/20/2007 15:10 Comments || Top||

#8  Hai Lowreta!
Posted by: Thomas Woof || 12/20/2007 19:23 Comments || Top||

#9  http://www.google.com
http://www.yahoo.com
http://www.msn.com
Posted by: Steefauctofex || 12/20/2007 23:39 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
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Two weeks of WOT
Thu 2007-12-20
  Hamas leader appeals for truce with Israel
Wed 2007-12-19
  Turkey's military confirms ground incursion; claims heavy PKK losses
Tue 2007-12-18
  Turkish Army Sends Soldiers Into Iraq
Mon 2007-12-17
  Paks form team to rearrest Rashid Rauf
Sun 2007-12-16
  Kabul cop shoppe boomed, 5 dead
Sat 2007-12-15
  Mehsud to head Taliban Movement of Pakistan
Fri 2007-12-14
  Khamenei appoints Qassem as Hezbollah military commander
Thu 2007-12-13
  Leb car boom murders top general
Wed 2007-12-12
  Qaeda in North Africa claims Algiers blasts
Tue 2007-12-11
  Taliban abandons Musa Qala
Mon 2007-12-10
  al-Abssi is in Syria and Fatah al-Isalm is in Gaza
Sun 2007-12-09
  Fierce battle rages for Taliban stronghold
Sat 2007-12-08
  Berri postpones Lebanon presidential election to Tuesday
Fri 2007-12-07
  Pak troops capture Mullah Fazlullah's base
Thu 2007-12-06
  Suicide attack on army bus in Kabul kills 16

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