Somalis applauded on Thursday the French troops who captured six pirates, wretched with rampant piracy plaguing their Horn of Africa country.
"Yay! Hurray! String 'em up!"
The Somalis, part of a group that stormed a French luxury yacht and held its 30 crew hostage for a week, were flown to France on Wednesday and are being questioned over the April 4 attack. "Pirates are terrorists and should be dealt with accordingly," Sheikh Osman Alasow, a Koranic teacher, told Reuters in the humid, coastal capital Mogadishu. "It would be good if the French commandos punish and force their captives to reveal the names and whereabouts of other pirates hiding in Somalia," he added.
Careful with that feather! You're about to knock me over!
Either a different clan, no cut of the boodle, or both, I'm guessing.
Spoilsport. Go ahead, disillusion me ...
Last week, French officials said France had the right to prosecute the pirates. An initial investigation opened on Monday into "boat hijacking, kidnapping and confinement in an organised gang with ransom payment" which carries a maximum life sentence.
They can't call it "piracy" or they'd have to string 'em up from the yardarm.
Meanwhile, Somalia's waters have become among the world's most perilous, despite calls for international action to patrol the shipping lanes. The Somali government, struggling to end an Islamist-led insurgency and assert its authority, has appealed for help to finance and train its own coast guard to protect waters plied by thousands of merchant ships sailing to the Cape of Good Hope every year.
Here's a job the Italians, Greeks and Spanish could do. French could let them use Djibouti as a base. Let the Euros police the waters.
"France has done a great job and it would be wise if other powerful countries would follow suit," said Adow Hussein, a 60-year-old khat dealer. "But the problem is some foreign countries ... encourage piracy by directly or indirectly by paying ransom."
Dang. Another voice of sweet reason. That's two in all of Somali.
Somali pirates often justify their actions as measures against illegal fishing and toxic dumping but with more than 30 attacks in 2007 alone -- many for ransom -- it is proving to be a lucrative trade. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are believed to have been paid to pirates in recent months in exchange for the safe return of vessels and their crew.
However, housewife Halima Abdi defended the pirates saying they were protecting the coastline from dumping. "They have hijacked ships, yes, but they have not made any trouble inside foreign countries. To imprison them would be an excuse for depriving us of our natural resources," she added.
Like piracy ...
This article starring:
Sheikh Osman Alasow
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2008 00:00 ||
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Six Somali men involved in capturing a French yacht and holding its 30 crew hostage have said they were part of a maritime militia group with a written code of conduct, a French judicial source said on Thursday.
"Arrr! 'At's right, matey! We signed the articles, we did!"
Actually, it isn't really a code; more of a guideline, really.
The men were captured in the Somali desert by French troops on Friday after holding the yacht and its crew off Somalia for a week and fleeing with part of the booty ransom, which was recovered. They were flown to France this week to face trial. The yacht's captain told investigators the ransom paid was $2 million (1 million pounds). But the half-dozen men are just part of a larger group of pirates that carried out the hostage-taking and they only had about $200,000, or 10 percent of that amount, on them.
"We buried the rest, we did! And the likes o' yew'll never find it, y'swabs!"
"The chance of identifying them (the others) is relatively small," the judicial source said on condition of anonymity.
"Calling all cars! Be on the lookout for a pirate crew flying the Jolly Roger! That is all!"
The men said their militia group was based in the village of Garaad-Ade in the northern province of Puntland, and police found their manual of good conduct on board the luxury yacht.
"It's our articles, 'at's wot it is!"
Piracy is lucrative in the waters off lawless Somalia's coast and most kidnappers treat their captives well in anticipation of a good ransom. The manual banned mistreatment of hostages, notably sexual abuse, the judicial source said.
"C'mon, Cap'n! Just a little goose? It's been four years since we seen a woman!"
"Ummm... Mahmoud? 'At's not a woman."
"It's not?"
"It's a... ummm... giraffe."
"Close enough. Please, Cap'n?"
"That shows that it is an organised activity," he added. According to their initial statements to police, two of the men took part in the April 4 raid on the yacht, three others were part of the armed guard that watched over the hostages, and one was their driver when they returned to land. The men, aged between 25 and 40, are suspected of "boat hijacking, kidnapping and confinement in an organised gang with ransom payment" which carries a maximum life sentence.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2008 00:00 ||
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An absconded defendant who was convicted of terror offences alongside Abu Izzadeen has handed himself in to police.
Shah Jalal Hussain, 25, disappeared while the jury trying him at Kingston Crown Court was still deliberating. He failed to turn up at court last Tuesday and police have been searching his home address and those of his relatives for any sign of him.
On Thursday, he was found guilty of fundraising for terrorists alongside notorious Muslim activist Izzadeen. Both men and four co-defendants were due to be sentenced on Friday.
Izzadeen was convicted of fundraising for terrorism and inciting terrorism abroad after a series of rabble-rousing speeches at a central London mosque in support of jihad. Simon Keeler, 36, was convicted of both the charges that Izzadeen faced. Abdul Saleem, 32, and Ibrahim Hassan, 25, were convicted of inciting terrorism but cleared of fundraising for terrorists. Hussain and Abdul Muhid, also 25, were found guilty of fundraising for terrorists.
Rajib Khan, 29, was cleared of the same charge. The jurors failed to reach verdicts in respect of the charge of inciting terrorism overseas in his case. They also failed to reach a verdict in respect of Omar Zaheer, 28, also charged with the same offence and a third offence faced by Izzadeen of encouraging terrorism.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is likely to visit Vietnam and China next week on an unprecedented trip by plane, a news report said Thursday.
"You'll never get me up on one o' them! I wanna go by train!"
"But Your Enormity! You cannot go by train from Pyongyang to Hanoi!"
"Why do I want to go to Hanoi?"
"The hookers, Your Ferocity!"
"And why don't I want to go by train?"
"Sergeant Arsicaud, Your Terribility! He is still out there. Somewhere. Waiting. To pounce."
"Since 1954?"
"These Frenchies, Your Monstrousness, they like to wait until your guard is down."
"Can I go Lufthansa?"
Kim could make an official visit to Vietnam and stop in China on his way back home, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported, citing unidentified diplomatic sources in China. In October, Kim accepted an invitation to visit Hanoi from Vietnam's Communist Party chief Nong Duc Manh. Kim has also regularly visited neighboring China, the North's main ally.
Since taking power in 1994, Kim is not known to travel by plane. He took a special luxury train all the way to Moscow on a 2001 visit to Russia. Kim "would travel this time by plane, not by train," Yonhap quoted an unidentified source in Beijing who handles North Korean affairs.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
See also TOPIX > KRAUTHAMMER - DETERRENCE, MISSLES MAY SAVE US. Cold War style Mutual Destruction, vv Iran-NK; + MISSLE DEFENSE. "The inevitable has arrived" - the era of non-proliferation is over. Also from TOPIX > DETERRING THE UNDETERRABLE + SOUTH KOREANS DEBATE THE NEED FOR US PRESENCE.
#5
Considering what happened the last time he took the train, it is possible he feels safer traveling by plane. But, there better be armed guards on all the NorK fighters while he is in the air or there could be a succession problem.
After months of quiet diplomacy, the Norwegian government has given up on efforts to send former terrorist-group leader Mullah Krekar back to his homeland.
Ohfergawdsake. Can't we just send somebody to shoot him? It's been years!
Krekar, who has been under an expulsion order after being determined a threat to Norway's national security, initially came to Norway as a refugee from Iraq in the early 1990s. It later emerged that he was the head of guerrilla group Ansar al-Islam and he repeatedly violated the terms of his asylum by travelling back to northern Iraq to lead guerrilla activities. Krekar is the only person in Norway ever to have been sentenced to deportation because he is a danger to the countrys security.
But Norway still won't dump his Islamic buttocks because they're afraid of offending him.
However, Norway has not been able to deport Krekar because he faces the death penalty in his homeland. Norway will not extradite anyone if they are under threat of execution when they are returned to their country of origin.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2008 00:00 ||
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#2
Interesting system. Can't lock him up because he hasn't committed a crime here (yet) and can't deport him because he could be subject to execution for crimes he committed there. Want to move to Norway - just murder somebody in a capital punishment jurisdiction and then hop a plane to Norway and claim asylum.
The Web site governmentattic.org says NORAD and U.S. Northern Command "have released a copy of their audio files, telephone conversations and situation room discussions, from the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001."
And governmentattic.org has posted them all to its site, in .zip files linked within a .pdf document.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/18/2008 11:22 ||
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They are all fabricated, of course, so it looks like the government didn't bring down the towers. But we know the truth!!!
HT HotAir, Weasel Zippers! sweeeeet "pic" of Jimmuh in a Hamas green headband at WZ
Today, Rep. Sue Myrick (NC-9) called on Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to revoke former President Jimmy Carters passport. This is in response to the former President traveling to Syria to meet with Hamas, an organization officially designated by the United States as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
Former President Carter has acted in contradiction of international agreements to isolate Hamas. He has acted in defiance of both United States policy and international policy. His actions reward terrorists, lend support, and provide legitimacy to their belief that violence will eventually get them what they want, said Rep. Myrick.
After Hamas won the 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections the Quartet (US, UN, EU and Russia) called on Hamas to renounce terror, recognize Israel and recognize the previous agreements between the Palestinian Authority and Israel as they seek an agreement to make peace. Hamas has categorically rejected these three conditions for more than two years.
Congress granted the Secretary of State the power to grant and verify passports. In 1981, the United States Supreme Court held in the case of Haig v. Agee that the Secretary of State has the implied power to revoke passports as well (453 U.S. 280).
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/18/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
"I like this new headband, it covers my lobotomy scars!"
#2
There is a long neglected statute on the books that the US should again begin enforcing, that prohibits citizens from engaging in unauthorized interference in US foreign policy.
It could cover a multitude of sins, from US citizens going to fight on behalf of enemy foreign governments, to Jesse Jackson or Jimmy Carter meeting with an encouraging enemies of the United States.
Importantly, it would also nail people like George Soros, who attempt to interfere with foreign nations in the hope of taking them over.
#3
Passport, hell - can't we just revoke Jimmuh himself?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/18/2008 11:07 Comments ||
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#4
It's really too bad we can't revoke his citizenship.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
04/18/2008 11:44 Comments ||
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#5
I would just love for Condi to clip this old fool's wings. The only problem is that jimmuh would most likely enjoy the hell out of the publicity and subsequent court battles. Might be more trouble than it's worth.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/18/2008 11:57 Comments ||
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#6
Revoke his passport than throw his senile old ass in jail for violating the Logan act.
#7
CF, unfortunately, there is no record of anyone being prosecuted for, let alone convicted of, violating the Logan Act. And since all of the people I know of (John Kerry, Jesse Jackson, Jimmy Carter) who clearly (in my opinion) have violated it are Democrats, and thus above the law, it is unlikely that it will happen here.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
04/18/2008 16:12 Comments ||
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#8
Just don't allow him back in the country.
Posted by: Thaimble Scourge of the Pixies4707 ||
04/18/2008 16:48 Comments ||
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#9
Revoke the passport while Jhimma is in Syria. You like them so much, go live with them.
About 300,000 U.S. troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder or depression, but about half receive no care, an independent study said on Thursday.
The study by the RAND Corp. also estimated that another 320,000 troops have sustained a possible traumatic brain injury during deployment. But researchers could not say how many of those cases were serious or required treatment.
Billed as the first large-scale nongovernmental survey of its kind, the study found that stress disorder and depression afflict 18.5 percent of the more than 1.5 million U.S. forces who have deployed to the two war zones.
The numbers are roughly in line with previous studies. A February assessment by the U.S. Army that showed 17.9 percent of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan suffering from acute stress, depression or anxiety in 2007, down from 19.1 percent in 2006.
But the 500-page RAND study, based in part on interviews with more than 1,900 soldiers, sailors and Marines, also said that only half of troops suffering debilities receive care. And in half of those cases, the care is only minimally adequate.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
More than a one in three chance of scrambling your brain (half mental, half physical) if you get sent to Iraq or A'stan? That's scary. Regardless of treatment quantity and quality (or lack of), percentages like this are asking for analysis of WHY the numbers are so high. Or are they 'normal' (and unavoidable) for war, anywhere, anytime? (Or, taking a Lib position, it's a volunteer force and you'd have to have mental problems to sign up in the first place.)
#4
Anxiety disorders affect one in eight Americans. Most of those suffering from anxiety also suffer from depression, because both are responses to brain chemical imbalances (primarily seratonin for both).
#5
This is Roooooters, the guys I know that have served were anxious when they came home, took a while to re-acclimate, but are back to their old selves now. Of course, most were dicks before they went, so how can you tell?
#6
It's a kind of culture shock. They have been in the heat of hell with 40 pounds of gear and sometimes in sand storms, with IEDs and snipers without warning, and they come back to slack couch potatos calling them baby killers from the softest part of the comfort zone.
Hmmmm, why do they get so emotional ?
I can only imagine, but I think I would want heroic recognition. Some kind of applause for an outstanding job and thanks for my efforts. I would want women to kiss me, and girls to hug me, and men to shake my hand and thank me for keeping them safe. I would want respect for my uniform, and familiarity with whatever metals or ribbons I had. I would want smiling, welcoming faces, happy that I am well without even knowing who I am.
Those who don't get any of that should have some kind of post-traumatic stress.
#7
These are the same guys who have perscribed Ritalin to every young boy with a cold.
Job security: define illness down, get lots of new clients.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
04/18/2008 11:31 Comments ||
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#8
My dad worked convoy escort for the navy in WW2. Until his death he would jump whenever we had to wake him up. Technically that is an example of permanent stress, derived from combat: re. residual fear of torpedos. However, since that stress didn't hamper normal living, I would file it under: no big deal.
The average person doesn't like to hear this but: many military lifers crave the rush of battle. For them, high adrenalin situations are the spice of life. That is one reason why stop-loss reactivations didn't bother most of the 40,000 soldiers so effected.
However, I question the Iraq theater' omission to execute disproportionate retaliation, in face of IED murders of US troops. Do-nothing should NEVER be deemed an acceptable response to a terror challenge. Where locals have refused to report IED plants, their homes should be destroyed. The planting that led to the "Haditha" retaliation incident, was executed in broad daylight. How many locals would be complicit if they knew their homes would face demolition?
#9
Remember? The MSM told that Vitenam veterans had mental problems, high rates of alcoholism and high rates of suicide. In fact they were lower than on average and certainly lower than those of reporters.
#11
Anyone that has been in combat can tell you it changes you and some folks can't deal with that too well. I know I had my issues, but worked through them.
Face it, you cannot face the stress of kill or be killed, and doing the killing, or seeing a buddy killed (or both), and not come out unscathed.
Those are not normal human activities.
I don't really question the numbers, but I do question the severity. Someone parked on a FOB doesn't have nearly the combat stress levels of the average grunt, nor the stress of the drivers running on the MSRs with the ambushes and IEDs.
#12
My dad worked convoy escort for the navy in WW2. Until his death he would jump whenever we had to wake him up.
McZoid, please thank your father from me. If he was in the Pacific, he probably helped keep my mother's first husband safe, if the Atlantic he helped speed the troops that ended the war before my mother was discovered. Either way, without him and his mates, I would not exist.
Not quite separately, Mr. Wife always jumps when awakened as well, ready to fight before his eyes open, the residue of his first black belt, in Kung Fu. Yet the closest he came to military experience was the stories told by his uncles after they came back from Viet Nam, so it can't be blamed on PTSD.
#13
TW, the startle and suddne jump on waking is common among military types. I have it, and so does my wife, although she never served in combat. I guess it comes from having to respond and be awake instantly for several years. I bet firefighters do the same thing.
#14
I have the same thing OS and never saw anything other than a brief firefight. The floor in my house creaking at night because someone walked on it wakes me up. I know a ex-firefighter that is the same way so I bet that is a common trait. The two cops I know are that way too. Maybe it is from extended stress at anytime that effects the brain.....
#17
I think that many currently serving are going to have an unusual mental health issue. That is, nothing they can do or hope to do back in the US will offer them the same job satisfaction. Not pleasure, but a deep, heartfelt intensity.
That is, in Iraq and Afghanistan, their smallest contribution could mean the difference between life and death. The people there were beyond needy, they were desperate.
But America is a bloated, self-satisfied ivory tower. Ignorant and indifferent to the rest of the world, for the most part. How to return to this world, where even saving someone's life hardly merits a "thank you"?
#18
I think we will have a new surge: of highly competent, battle-tested, patriotic, intelligent and motivated, political candidates.... and it makes me VERY hopeful for the future of America
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/18/2008 21:36 Comments ||
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#19
Served in Nam 1965-1966..PTSD was defined much later,what ever that is....
China will offer its close ally Pakistan a low-interest US$500 million (315 million) loan to help ease its growing financial problems, Pakistan's foreign minister said Thursday.
Shah Mehmood Qureshi made the announcement after a recent visit to China and after Pakistan hosted a protest-free, security-heavy leg of the Olympic torch relay amid Western criticism of its giant ally's human rights record in Tibet. Qureshi, who accompanied President Pervez Musharraf on the April 10-15 trip, said that it had been "highly successful" and that Beijing was Pakistan's only "time-tested" friend. "If we have any reliable friend, my experience says it is China," Qureshi told a news conference in the capital, Islamabad.
Qureshi is a loyalist of slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, whose party defeated Musharraf's political supporters in February elections and now leads a new coalition government.
The government has inherited an ailing economy. It faces yawning budget and balance of payments deficits driven by rising world prices for commodities such as oil. The World Bank last month urged the new administration to take urgent action or risk a crisis, even though the economy was still growing at an annual rate of more than 6 percent.
On Thursday, Qureshi said that Pakistan faces "huge economic problems" but that he hoped the government would overcome them. He said that trade between Pakistan and China was worth US$6.8 billion (4.28 billion), and that he hoped that it would reach US$15 billion (9.45 billion) by 2011. The two countries' alliance goes back decades, and China is a leading source of investment and arms supplies for Pakistan. They are also rivals of India, which neighbors both.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/18/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Practically speaking, I'm not sure you could shore up Pakistan if you put cinder blocks under the corners.
#2
Qid, Pro, Quo, if you ask me! The thanks, for the US looking the other way as the Chicoms mash the necks in on the Tibetans.Not surprised when "W" accepts the blood stained cash; he'll probable be sitting in the front row seats at the Olympic Games opening, with the Chairman! God, I hope they're not holding hands such as with the Saudis! We're all going to be stomping in US rice patties in the future!!
#6
smn, AKA dumbass, the US isn't accepting the money. The "US" is a reference to how to measure the figure. How you got W and the Tibetans in is a measure of your intelligence. Try reading the article, it helps
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/18/2008 9:10 Comments ||
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#7
Sometimes it helps. Sometimes I just look at the pictures and get mad.
The NWFP government can consider the release of banned organisation Tehreek Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad, and the implementation of the Shari Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2008 in the Malakand Division to bring peace to the restive region, NWFP Law Minister Barrister Arshad Abdullah said on Thursday. He said in an interview that the government would consider these options if there was a popular demand for them. Before the 2008 general polls, NWFP Governor Owais Ghani sent the draft of the Shari Nizam-e-Adl Regulation to President Pervez Musharraf for his approval. The draft proposal aimed to end the unrest in the Malakand Division. The draft proposes the ending of the jurisdiction of superior courts in the area and the establishment of Qazi courts, for swift justice.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Just have the whole damn alphabet surrender right now and get it over with...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/18/2008 8:28 Comments ||
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#2
WAFF.com > STRATEGYPAGE - AFGHANISTAN: AL QAEDA REPLACING THE TALIBAN; + INDIA-PAKISTAN: LET US IN OR ELSE. US demanding Milfor-Specops access to NWFP to search for Osama, etal. + Paki guaranty assurances over Paki nuclear security.
OTOH, CHIN MIL FORUM > CHINA DAILY - RECENT VIOLENT TIBET RIOTS were suppor, induced, or caused by US INTEL AGENCIES???
The United States has promised to curb airstrikes by drones against suspected militants in Pakistan, as part of a joint counter-terrorism strategy agreed with the new civilian government led by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in Islamabad, according to a report published in the Guardian on Thursday.
The British daily reported that the strategy would be supported by an aid package potentially worth more than $7 billion, which is due to go before Congress for approval in the next few months.
The package would triple the amount of American non-military aid to Pakistan, and is aimed at redefining the bilateral relationship, US officials say.
Pakistan will also be given a democracy dividend of up to $1 billion a reward for holding peaceful elections and forming a coalition government, the Guardian reported. Of that, $200 million could be approved in the next few days, it added.
Aid: The aid package being put together by Democratic Senator Joseph Biden will mark a decisive break in US policy on Pakistan, which for much of the past nine years focused on President Pervez Musharraf and the Pakistani military as Washingtons primary partners in the war on terror. Officials in Washington said on Wednesday that the shift had already been made. Senator Biden wants to show the relationship is much broader than a military one, and that we are willing to sustain it over time, one of the senators senior aides said.
A US administration official said, Each day Musharrafs influence becomes less and less. Civilians are in control. People arent meeting with Musharraf anymore . . . we are very pleased with the new civilian government.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#2
The article doesn't say anything about curbing ground strikes, if I'm reading it correctly. Nor about fixing that little Ghost problem they seem to be having in certain villages in the tribal territories. And life should become more interesting in that part of the world if Senator Biden's measure does not pass.
The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) has said that terrorists are still operating freely in Pakistan along its Afghanistan border.
According to a report released this week - Combating Terrorism: The United States Lacks Comprehensive Plan to Destroy the Terrorist Threat and Close the Safe Haven in Pakistans Federally Administered Tribal Areas GAO said since 2002, destroying the terrorist threat and closing the terrorist safe haven have been key national security goals. The US has provided Pakistan, the agency pointed out, a key ally in the war on terror, more than $10.5 billion for military, economic, and development activities. Pakistans Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), which border Afghanistan, are vast unpoliced regions attractive to extremists and terrorists seeking a safe haven.
The GAO was asked to assess firstly the progress in meeting these national security goals for Pakistans FATA, and secondly the status of US efforts to develop a comprehensive plan for the FATA. To address these objectives, GAO compared national security goals against assessments conducted by US agencies and reviewed available plans. According to its findings, the United States has not met its national security goals to destroy terrorist threats and close the safe haven in Pakistans FATA. Since 2002, the US relied principally on the Pakistan military to address US national security goals. Of the approximately $5.8 billion the US provided for efforts in the FATA and border region from 2002 through 2007, about 96 percent reimbursed Pakistan for military operations there.
According to the Department of State, GAO noted, Pakistan deployed 120,000 military and paramilitary forces in the FATA and helped kill and capture hundreds of suspected Al Qaeda operatives; these efforts cost the lives of about 1,400 members of Pakistans security forces. However, GAO found broad agreement, as documented in the National Intelligence Estimate, State, and embassy documents, as well as Defence officials in Pakistan, that Al Qaeda had regenerated its ability to attack the US and had succeeded in establishing a safe haven in Pakistans FATA. No comprehensive plan for meeting US national security goals in the FATA has been developed, as stipulated by the National Strategy for Combating Terrorism in 2003, which called for by an independent commission, mandated by congressional legislation in 2007.
In 2006, the US embassy, in conjunction with Defence, State, and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and in cooperation with the government of Pakistan, began an effort to focus more attention on other key elements of national power, such as development assistance and public diplomacy, to address US goals in the FATA. However, this does not yet constitute a comprehensive plan or a single coordinated strategy that includes all elements of national power - diplomatic, military, intelligence, development assistance, economic, and law enforcement support.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
#1
So tell me again why we are going to stop drone attacks inside Pakland? Looks like a target-rich environment to me.
JAMRUD: A charged situation prevailed in the Jamrud sub-division of the Khyber Agency on Thursday, after
Seven people were killed in a battle between the Lashkar-e-Islam and Kooki Khel tribesmen.
seven people were killed in a battle between the Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) and Kooki Khel tribesmen late on Wednesday. LI activists hoisted black flags over fortress-shaped houses they had captured from Kooki Khel tribesmen late on Wednesday. Both sides have taken ground against each other. LI commanders Said Nawaz and Sabeel said that one of their colleagues was killed and six others were injured. Resident Qaseem Gul said people were shifting their families to other areas due to a shortage of food and medicines. Residents said some key members of the Kooki Khel tribe, including the son of the late Zahir Shah, surrendered to the LI in the evening.
This article starring:
Lashkar-e-Islam
Said Nawaz
Lashkar-e-Islam
Zahir Shah
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2008 00:00 ||
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[9 views]
Top|| File under: Lashkar-e-Islami
Marking the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, al Qaeda's media arm released an audio recording, purportedly from the group's second-in-command, saying U.S. troops there have failed. "Where the American invasion stands now, after five years, is failure and defeat," the voice on the tape -- supposedly that of Ayman al-Zawahiri -- said in the roughly 16-minute recording, which was posted Thursday on several militant Islamist Web sites.
The tape referenced testimony by David Petraeus, the top U.S. general in Iraq, before Congress this month, when he said that further troop withdrawals in Iraq will have to wait at least another 45 days.
"It is all a silly episode to disguise failure in Iraq and so Bush would avoid making a decision on withdrawing troops -- which is considered to be a declaration of crusaders' defeat in Iraq -- and move forward the problem to be the next president's issue," he said.
CNN could not immediately confirm that the speaker was al-Zawahiri.
Al-Zawahiri's last public statement came April 3, when he said in an audio message that al Qaeda does not kill innocents and that Osama bin Laden is healthy. In the latest tape, the speaker says that if President Bush "kept all his troops in Iraq until the end of time and until they go to hell, they will not witness anything except failure and defeat, God willing."
He also accuses Democrats seeking the presidency of "trying to deceive their people by saying that they will withdraw their troops from Iraq by talking to Iran."
The speaker spent about 10 minutes of the message addressing what he called corruption in Egypt and other Muslim nations that he said has led to food shortages and other hardships for citizens. Al-Zawahiri is from Egypt. "Corruption and stealing have gotten to the point of making people hungry and preventing them from basic food," he said. "Making people hungry in Egypt ... is a part of the U.S.-Zionist plan, which aims to make Muslims subservient."
#2
DRUDGEREPORT/TOPIX > IRAN CLERIC SAYS IRAN MUST BECOME A MILITARY SUPERPOWER TO DEFEND ISLAM. The death of the USA-Israel is at hand.
Who knew?
* DEBKA > AL QAEDA is reportedly prepping a new Euro campaign.
*RIAN > IS IRAN A NUCLEAR POWER?
Again IMO, RUSSIA-CHIN + CENASIA/ASIA NOW, REST AFTER - both IRAN + RADICAL ISLAM includ AQ need potent MIL NUKE-WMD ARSENALS ASAP AMAP NLT 2010 or 2012 [Net article > hint of 2013?]. IFF THEY DON'T HAVE ANY ALREADY VIA "BLACK MARKETS/MAFIAS" AS PER PRE 9-11 + POST 9-11 NET REPORTS, THE MOST EXPEDITIOUS OR CONVENIENT WAY WOULD BE FROM UNSECURE COLD WAR SOVIET BASES-STOCKS, + BLACK MARKETS-MAFIAS, ETC. AGAIN.
#3
IRNA > OFFICIAL: IRAN AN IMPORTANT TRADE PARTNERS OF TAIJIKISTAN. One of Taijikistan's Big Five of global 75 trading nations; + IRAN, INDIA STRESS REGIONAL COOPERATION TO RESOLVE CRISIS IN AFGHANISTAN + TOPIX > INDIA'S MUSLIMS DEMAND MORE RIGHTS, AUTONOMY.
And EUROPE it is - again, IMO the Net evidence taken collectively indics that Iran's + Radical Islam's strategic focii is RUSS-CHIN + CENASIA [former SSR's?], at least for the time being as they dev nuke weapons capabilities. IRAQ, ISrael, ME, AFRICA, and areas in Euro are HOLDING/DIVERSIONARY/SECONDARY FRONTS, AT BEST ARE "PREPPING THE BATTLEFIELD" FOR FOLLOW-ON, POST-RUSS/ASIA NEW JIHAD.
WHAT WILL DUBYA-USA DO VV IRAN AS PER MIL ACTION, AS CLEARLY BOTH IRAN + ISLMAISTS ARE COUNTING ON DUBYA-USA NOT TAKING ANY MIL ACTION AT ALL AND ON DUBYA BEING A "LAME DUCK" FOR REST OF 2008???
I haven't read the report(not more than the first 4 pages) nor do I know the reputation of the author. I assume this report will be front page of the Tehran Times tomorrow though. Could someone with more knowledge please make some relevant comments to shed some light on this report and what it means? Is it relevant at all?
I'm curious to know to if and to what extent Cheney and Rumsfeld's involvement in day to day war operations have influenced our desired outcomes and eventual victories in the larger WoT. But first things first who is Joseph Collins?
WASHINGTON | The war in Iraq has become ``a major debacle'' and the outcome ``is in doubt'' despite improvements in security from the buildup in U.S. forces, according to a highly critical study published Thursday by the Pentagon's premier military educational institute. The report released by the National Defense University raises fresh doubts about President Bush's projections of a U.S. victory in Iraq just a week after Bush announced that he was suspending U.S. troop reductions.
The report carries considerable weight because it was written by Joseph Collins, a former senior Pentagon official, and was based in part on interviews with other former senior defense and intelligence officials who played roles in prewar preparations. It was published by the university's National Institute for Strategic Studies, a Defense Department research center.
``Measured in blood and treasure, the war in Iraq has achieved the status of a major war and a major debacle,'' says the report's opening line.
At the time the report was written last fall, more than 4,000 U.S. and foreign troops, more than 7,500 Iraqi security forces and as many as 82,000 Iraqi civilians had been killed and tens of thousands of others wounded, while the cost of the war since March 2003 was estimated at $450 billion.
``No one as yet has calculated the costs of long-term veterans' benefits or the total impact on service personnel and materiel,'' wrote Collins, who was involved in planning post-invasion humanitarian operations.
The report said that the United States has suffered serious political costs, with its standing in the world seriously diminished. Moreover, operations in Iraq have diverted ``manpower, materiel and the attention of decision-makers'' from ``all other efforts in the war on terror'' and severely strained the U.S. armed forces.
``Compounding all of these problems, our efforts there [in Iraq] were designed to enhance U.S. national security, but they have become, at least temporarily, an incubator for terrorism and have emboldened Iran to expand its influence throughout the Middle East,'' the report continued.
The addition of 30,000 U.S. troops to Iraq last year to halt the country's descent into all-out civil war has improved security, but not enough to ensure that the country emerges as a stable democracy at peace with its neighbors, the report said.
``Despite impressive progress in security, the outcome of the war is in doubt,'' said the report. ``Strong majorities of both Iraqis and Americans favor some sort of U.S. withdrawal. Intelligence analysts, however, remind us that the only thing worse than an Iraq with an American army may be an Iraq after a rapid withdrawal of that army.''
``For many analysts (including this one), Iraq remains a `must win,' but for many others, despite obvious progress under General David Petraeus and the surge, it now looks like a `can't win.'''
The report lays much of the blame for what went wrong in Iraq after the initial U.S. victory at the feet of then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. It says that in November 2001, before the war in Afghanistan was over, President Bush asked Rumsfeld ``to begin planning in secret for potential military operations against Iraq.''
Rumsfeld, who was closely allied with Vice President Dick Cheney, bypassed the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the report says, and became ``the direct supervisor of the combatant commanders.''
''The aggressive, hands-on Rumsfeld,'' it continues, ``cajoled and pushed his way toward a small force and a lightning fast operation.'' Later, he shut down the military's computerized deployment system, ``questioning, delaying or deleting units on the numerous deployment orders that came across his desk.''
In part because ``long, costly, manpower-intensive post-combat operations were anathema to Rumsfeld,'' the report says, the U.S. was unprepared to fight what Collins calls ``War B,'' the battle against insurgents and sectarian violence that began in mid-2003, shortly after ``War A,'' the fight against Saddam Hussein's forces, ended.
Compounding the problem was a series of faulty assumptions made by Bush's top aides, among them an expectation fed by Iraqi exiles that Iraqis would be grateful to America for liberating them from Saddam's dictatorship. The administration also expected that ``Iraq without Saddam could manage and fund its own reconstruction.''
The report also singles out the Bush administration's national security apparatus and implicitly President Bush and both of his national security advisers, Condoleezza Rice and Stephen Hadley, saying that ``senior national security officials exhibited in many instances an imperious attitude, exerting power and pressure where diplomacy and bargaining might have had a better effect.''
Collins ends his report by quoting Winston Churchill, who said: ``Let us learn our lessons. Never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. ... Always remember, however sure you are that you can easily win, that there would not be a war if the other man did not think that he also had a chance.'' Obtain the report here.
#1
Don't really know what to make of this. Points out some pretty obvious issues with the way the war has been handled. Certainly points a finger at Rummy and others for having a too cavalier attitude about going in. But the author still says the war is a must-win. Perhaps the reporting on the report is suspect.
Hindsight is 20/20. We should have gone in, if at all, with a bigger force. We should have imposed martial law for a period of time, during which we should have focused on understanding who was who in the country and trying to shore up basic services.
But I say all this and wonder whether any of it would have done any good without some of the locals learning the lessons they have over the past 5 years. I am suspect that the Sunnis would have played nice regardless of what we did. Maybe they had to go through AQI hell to understand that there are worse things that working with the Americans/creating a real country.
#3
Speaking as a complete amateur on this war-fighting thingy, (Abu Uluque was right about that, way back when), I agree with AlanC. Invasions are one thing, conquest another, at least if management refuses to put the entire male contingent of the populace to the sword.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/18/2008 15:49 Comments ||
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#5
The only way this was a major debacle was if it was decided in advance that we would rather nuke the Middle East and it's citizens en masse. It sucks that we had to take this on but it would have sucked worse had we been hit with a nuke and retaliated with the fury that act would have induced in the American body politic. We may still have to do that but if we do, at least we will be able to say we tried the other path and didn't just go for the exterminator first.
You can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
Posted by: Thaimble Scourge of the Pixies4707 ||
04/18/2008 16:45 Comments ||
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#6
Apparently the NDU is operated under the direction of the Joint Chiefs see
http://www.answers.com/topic/national-defense-university-1
#7
I have almost the opposite opinion of the Iraq war.
While I do agree that initial combat operations were superior, in the occupation the largest lesson learned was "Do things the American way, do not try and preserve any of the defeated system."
We dissolved the Iraqi military, and in the long run, they have a better military for it. We tried to keep what police forces they had, and still have to contend with police deficiencies.
Their most functional part of government was their judicial system. We should have completely reordered it from Napoleonic Law to Common Law. Not doing so was both a short and long term error.
We should have imposed their first constitution, and they should have been under that constitution until the day we left. By then, they probably wouldn't have wanted to change it.
The bottom line is that we should have forced them to have efficient, modern systems from the very start. Doing so would suck the life out of their wanting to do things "the old way".
We should have also used biometric technology to ID and make an ID card for everyone we met. It would have saved immense amounts of time to have a national census this way, along with a US military managed database of the entire population.
It would have made the restoration of government and security much, much faster.
#8
TOPIX > ZAWAHIRI: MAKE IRAQ A FORTRESS OF ISLAM, + ALL AL QAEDA HAS LEFT IS SPILLING MUSLIM BLOOD AND HOPE LIBERALS WILL SURRENDER [first], + A LOOK AT AL QAEDA'S REAL CBRN CAPABILITIES.
*WND > PAT BUCHANAN - IRAN FIGHTING A PROXY WAR WITH THE US?
So let's see what's happening on the Rafah stretch. Up to Mahmoud in the Mutual of Gaza Traffic Chopper...
Gaza Ma'an Three people survived the collapse of a tunnel underneath the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt on Friday in the town of Rafah, local sources said. Tunnel Collapse...Please seek alternate route...Tunnel Collapse...Please seek alternate route...
Witnesses told Ma'an that the tunnel collapsed late on Thursday night in the As-Salam neighborhood at the Egyptian border. Three people were pulled from the rubble. No one was killed. Move it along. No body parts to hold up. Move it along...
Muawiya Hassanain, the director of ambulance and emergency services in the Palestinian health ministry said that Gazan hospitals did not treat anyone for wounds resulting from the collapse of the tunnel. Tunnel? What tunnel?
Iran has increased its efforts to smuggle weapons into the Gaza Strip by using floatable devices that it drops near the waters off the Gaza coast and are then picked up by Palestinian fisherman, senior defense officials have told The Jerusalem Post.
According to defense officials, Iran was sending rockets as well as other types of advanced weaponry to Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip via tunnels dug under the Philadelphi Corridor and connecting the Sinai Desert with Rafah as well as by sea. Officials said that the Navy was doing an effective job in curbing the smuggling by sea but that there were shipments that Israeli forces did not succeed in intercepting.
"They throw the weapons overboard in waterproof sealed tubes which then float into the Gaza waters and are picked up by fishermen," one official said. "Sometimes Navy boats intercept them and sometimes they get through."
Be a real shame if those Iranian ships had a series of unfortunate accidents ...
In recent months, the IDF has noticed an increase in Iranian-made weaponry in the Gaza Strip, including rockets as well as mortars. Terror groups in Gaza recently were equipped by Tehran with two different types of mortar shells made in Iran - one 120 mm with a range of 10 kilometers like a Kassam rocket and another with a shorter range of six km.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Sounds like it might be real easy to scoop up their new toys, tinker with them a little bit and put them back in the water.
Then we could all sit back and read about all the noisy "mysterious" stuff suddenly happening in Gaza...
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas confirmed that plans to present two female Palestinian terrorists with a medal of honor have been withdrawn. Abbas informed Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik of the decision in a telephone call from Moscow late Wednesday.
The Al Kuds Mark of Honor, the PLO's highest medal, was meant be awarded in a ceremony in Ramallah Thursday to two female terrorists who helped kill Israelis. The terrorists' families were slated to receive the honors in their stead. Abbas informed Itzik that the awards for the two terrorists, as well as for other Palestinians imprisoned in Israel, had been revoked.
Itzik said that the plan had caused outrage among the Israeli public and MKs, adding that it certainly would not have been not conducive to peace negotiations The two female terrorists were Ahlam Tamimi, a Hamas affiliate serving a life sentence for driving the suicide bomber who exploded himself in the Sbarro restaurant in Jerusalem, killing at least half a dozen people, and Amra Muna, who seduced Ophir Rahum over the Internet and then lured him to Ramallah where he was murdered.
Conferring the Al Kuds Mark of Honor is decided at the discretion of the PA president, and he alone has the final say when choosing the Palestinians to be honored with the medal. PA Minister for Prisoner Affairs Ashraf el Ajami told Israel Radio on Wednesday that his ministry gave Abbas a comprehensive list of prisoners and his office chose the nominees from this list.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2008 00:00 ||
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[3 views]
Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority
Hamas's two top leaders, Mahmoud Zahar and Said Siam, traveled to Cairo Wednesday for talks with former US president Jimmy Carter and Egyptian officials on the latest developments in the Gaza Strip.
I think my malaise is acting up.
Hamas officials said the two had been invited to Cairo at the request of Carter, who is currently on a tour of the Middle East. Carter is scheduled to meet later this week in Damascus with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal.
Pfeh. What's Meshaal? A piker. He's hardly got any hostages at all.
On Tuesday, Carter met in Ramallah with Nasser Eddin Shaer, a prominent Hamas figure who previously served as deputy prime minister in the Hamas government.
They made kissy-face and felt each other up. Jimmy wasn't heeled. Betcha Nasty was.
Hamas spokesman Ayman Taha said Zahar and Siam would brief Carter during their meeting in Cairo on the "suffering of the Palestinians as a result of the Israeli-imposed siege of the Gaza Strip."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Why is this snake loose puking his venom while he is pretending to represent America?
Posted by: Ana ||
04/18/2008 9:09 Comments ||
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#2
Jimmy's become background noise. It's there, and you know it's there, but you hear it all the time and you just ignore it.
Thailand's Cabinet approved a three-month extension of emergency powers in the country's jihad insurgency-plagued southern provinces Friday. Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said the state of emergency, imposed since July 2005, "is unlikely to be in place forever, but it is still necessary for now."
Emergency powers, which are renewed by the Cabinet every three months, cover the provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, where an insurgency has left more than 3,000 dead since violence flared in 2004. The state of emergency allows the government to impose curfews, prohibit public gatherings, censor and ban publications, detain suspects without charge, confiscate property and tap telephones. It also gives officials legal immunity for acts including killings carried out under its provisions. Human rights activists have criticized the continued use of emergency rule, saying it has failed to contain violence and has worsened the situation by allowing violations of constitutional rights.
Friday's extension came a day after the National Security Council lifted martial law, imposed nationwide after a September 2006 military coup, in all areas of the country except the restive south. Since the coup, martial law had gradually been lifted in about half of Thailand's 76 provinces, including the capital, Bangkok. Thursday's move ended martial law in 179 districts across 31 provinces where it was still in place, Samak said. It remains only in the three southernmost provinces and five districts of Songkhla province, which borders the insurgency-hit area, Samak said.
DAMASCUS, Syria - Moonbat Jimmy Carter has arrived in Syria where he is due to barf all over himself meet the political terrorist leader of the terrorist militant Palestinian Hamas group.
The former U.S. president's visit comes a day after he met several Hamas terrorists leaders in Egypt and said he had asked them to stop rocket attacks into Israel. Carter also is scheduled to meet Friday with terrorist enabling Syrian President Bashar "Pencilneck" Assad before holding talks with Hamas' exiled terrorist political chief Khaled Mashaal. He also plans to meet with Syrian terrorists businessmen.
Carter's meetings with Hamas have drawn sharp criticism from Israelis, U.S. officials. Washington lists Hamas as a terrorist group.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/18/2008 11:25 ||
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#1
Could we PLEASE replace the stock picture of Jimmuh with a more modern one - one that shows what a senile old fool he is.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
04/18/2008 14:03 Comments ||
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#2
... or a photo of Bozo the Clown or equivalent.
Syria sees war with Israel as a real possibility, and is preparing for such an event, Syrian President Bashar Assad said Wednesday to Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar. Nevertheless, he said that the likelihood of war with Israel breaking out is low under the current circumstances.
Speaking to a group of Arab intellectuals, the Syrian president added that whilst war was not a preferable option, "if Israel declares war on Lebanon and Syria or if America declares war on Iran," Damascus will be prepared.
"We must keep American interest in mind," continued Assad. "In the last Lebanon war it was evident that Israel wanted to pull out at a specific time, however the American government forced them to continue."
He added that "we know there is someone in the American government who is interested in this war, and we are preparing for it."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
White flags, body bags, and expressions of outrage all stocked and ready to go, eh, oh Chinless One??
I've already put on a third shift at the industrial popcorn factory. If they keep this crap up, how will I ever meet the demand?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/18/2008 17:44 Comments ||
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#8
Barbara,
Let me look into setting up a West Coast facility. Of course, with all the corn going into ethanol production these days, it's getting mighty expensive. Maybe we will just have to drink the ethanol.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
04/18/2008 21:31 Comments ||
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Reporters who take course will be put on call to be sent to Lebanon or Syria should war break out.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2008 00:00 ||
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[8 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
"Embedded" media to be decoy/diversions for 3-man AT crews? IDF has already found them to be great targets for flechette rounds per today's incident.
Iran said Thursday that it "highly values ... the precious viewpoints" of Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun. The stand was outlined by Iran's Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Shibani after visiting Aoun at the latter's residence in suburban Rabiyeh, north of Beirut. Shibani said Aoun briefed him on his viewpoints "on the best ways leading to finding an exit out of this political crisis."
The two, according to the Iranian diplomat, reviewed "latest developments related to the nuclear file, in addition to the ongoing developments in Iraq." Shibani said Iran belongs "to the Middle East and the Islamic region's fabric."
He said "strangers ... should be asked to stop interfering in the affairs of Muslims and Arabs."
Shibani said the "ongoing political crisis should not be linked to the conflicting viewpoints between Iran and the United States."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/18/2008 00:00 ||
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[6 views]
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Al-Qaida's No. 2 said in an audiotape released Friday that the United States will lose whether it stays in Iraq or withdraws, and he sneered that President Bush just wants to pass the problem on to his successor.
The message from Ayman al-Zawahri released early Friday on a militant Web site appeared to be one of the most quickly prepared tapes produced by al-Qaida referring to Congressional testimony only last week by the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, in which he recommended a halt to further U.S. troop withdrawals until after July.
"The truth is that if Bush keeps all his forces in Iraq until doomsday and until they enter hell, they will only see crisis and defeat by the will of God," said al-Zawahri, the deputy of al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden. "If the American forces leave, they will lose everything. And if they stay, they will bleed to death," he said.
The authenticity of the 16-minute recording, entitled "Five Years of the Invasion of Iraq and Decades of Injustice by Tyrants," could not be independently verified. But it carried the logo of al-Qaida's media wing. It was the second message this month attributed to the terror network's chief strategist.
"Bush declared that he will grant Petraeus all the time he needs, a ridiculous show to cover up for the failure in Iraq and to allow Bush to evade the decision to withdraw the forces, which is an admission of the failure of the crusader invasion of Iraq, by passing the problem on to the next president," al-Zawahri said.
Al-Qaida leaders have sped up their reactions to events with such messages a sign of the sophistication of the group's media network despite having to work underground. Even so, usually messages refer to events that took place several weeks earlier, so the reference to Petraeus marked an unusually fast turnaround.
Al-Zawahri also called in his latest message for Muslim support of jihad in Iraq, and for backing al-Qaida's affiliate there, the Islamic State of Iraq.
He taunted the so-called Awakening Councils in Iraq Sunni fighters who switched sides and joined the Americans in fighting predominantly Sunni al-Qaida militants. "Weren't these Awakening (Councils) supposed to hasten the departure of the American forces, or are these Awakenings in need of someone to defend them and protect them," al-Zawahri asked.
Al-Zawahri criticized anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who has ordered his militia in Iraq to halt attacks on American and Iraqi forces. He "has become the laughing stock of the world" and is a "toy" in Iran's hands, he said.
The al-Qaida deputy whose group is made up of Sunni extremists also spoke out against mainly Shiite Iran and what he called its expansionist plans. He said Tehran "has clear goals, which are the annexation of southern Iraq and the east of the Arabian Peninsula" as well as strengthening ties to its followers in southern Lebanon. He said that if Iran achieves its goals, "this will add oil to the fire which is already ablaze. This will explode the situation in an already exploding region."
#7
Strategy Page says Al Qaeda has concluded they've lost Iraq and is shifting personnel and money to Pakistan.
We can dismiss this as misinformation designed to cover the withdrawl.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
04/18/2008 11:58 Comments ||
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#8
Al-Zawahri criticized anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who has ordered his militia in Iraq to halt attacks on American and Iraqi forces. He "has become the laughing stock of the world" and is a "toy" in Iran's hands, he said.
#9
Zawahri appears to be following the time-honored Democrat tradition of declaring victory and leaving. Winners don't have to claim they are winning on websites from anonymous locations.
SITE Intelligence Group found the item below on Al-Ekhlaas, one of Al-Qaida's central messaging forums on the Internet, which has begun a new series in English titled, "Watching and Monitoring the Jihad Media Watchers." They passed along the item below to Evan Kohlmann, who sent it to me, and I want to share it with our readers and contributors. They also passed out a "Badge of Honor" to SITE, Evan Kohlmann, IntelCenter, the NEFA Foundation, and Internet Haganah (my congrats to them). Here is our Badge below - I am especially amused at their twist on our logo
#1
Maybe this is the final stage of Jihad, to not actually do anything, but become an "Internet tough guy" who annoys people by trolling on bulletin boards.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Somalis applauded on Thursday the French troops who captured six pirates, wretched with rampant piracy plaguing their Horn of Africa country. 
Six Somali men involved in capturing a French yacht and holding its 30 crew hostage have said they were part of a maritime militia group with a written code of conduct, a French judicial source said on Thursday.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is likely to visit Vietnam and China next week on an unprecedented trip by plane, a news report said Thursday.
After months of quiet diplomacy, the Norwegian government has given up on efforts to send former terrorist-group leader Mullah Krekar back to his homeland.
The Web site 
China will offer its close ally Pakistan a low-interest US$500 million (315 million) loan to help ease its growing financial problems, Pakistan's foreign minister said Thursday.
The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) has said that terrorists are still operating freely in Pakistan along its Afghanistan border.
JAMRUD: A charged situation prevailed in the Jamrud sub-division of the Khyber Agency on Thursday, after 
Marking the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, al Qaeda's media arm released an audio recording, purportedly from the group's second-in-command, saying U.S. troops there have failed. "Where the American invasion stands now, after five years, is failure and defeat," the voice on the tape -- supposedly that of Ayman al-Zawahiri -- said in the roughly 16-minute recording, which was posted Thursday on several militant Islamist Web sites.
Hamas's two top leaders, Mahmoud Zahar and Said Siam, traveled to Cairo Wednesday for talks with former US president Jimmy Carter and Egyptian officials on the latest developments in the Gaza Strip. 
Syria sees war with Israel as a real possibility, and is preparing for such an event, Syrian President Bashar Assad said Wednesday to Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar. Nevertheless, he said that the likelihood of war with Israel breaking out is low under the current circumstances. 
