Sarah Palin spoke Wednesday night and the air cleared on the Republican side of the poltical house.
The Republican party, like the Dems, has always been a coalition. Today it's made up of a mix of economic conservatives, social conservatives, free trade advocates, paleocons, neocons, William F. Buckley cons, ex-cons, libertarians, Second Amendment advocates, evangelicals, and guys who just came in to get out of the political rain. Because of the often competing opinions, it's been an interesting political party, a lot more fun than the dour Dems with their didacticism and their attitude of being ever so much more sensitive and politically correct than thou.
But the Pubs have also been in the doldrums since the last Congressional elections. They got tromped, and the reason they got tromped was that suddenly, without warning, they weren't the party with ideas. They were merely the party with earmarks.
Everybody, with the possible exception of some of the Dem rank and file, knows the Dems are corrupt. They're the party of Tammany Hall, of the Chicago machine, of the courthouse clique. That's what they do, and in 1996 the Pubs took Congress away from them because the Dems had become not only intellectually bankrupt, but too arrogant to even bother hiding their corruption.
The Pubs thereupon began acting remarkably like Dems for the next ten years, until they got dumped.
This left the body politic in the peculiar position of having a government run by reviled machine politicians and blatant demagogues -- remember that 13 percent approval rating -- while the Party of Ideas was reviled for whatcha might call "taking a wide stance" on the issues while it boodled.
The rest of us, who weren't office holders, found ourselves actually trying not to pay attention to politix as the housing bubble swelled and burst and gas prices went through the roof. The pols all tried to sound like Ronald Reagan without bothering to act like him or, even more important, to fire the rest of us with his zest and vision. G.W. Bush, bless his heart, had good intentions but, let's face it: he's no Great Communicator. The best Dick Cheney could do was to pot an occasional lawyer, eliciting a golf clap but not really getting the nation fired up.
All of which brings us back to Sarah Palin. When you're lost in the wilderness, it's good to find somebody who's at home there.
There, barely noticed by most of us outside Alaska, was Sarah, turning back the money for the Bridge to Nowhere. There was Sarah, taking on an entrenched Republican clique as she took the governorship. There was Sarah in Juneau, duking it out with the oil companies -- Malefactors of Great Wealth, as T.Roosevelt would have called them -- and winning.
More importantly, there was Sarah, being what we are or at least what we think we could be -- working on a fishing boat, working on PTA committees, raising a family, hunting moose, even winning a beauty contest. Those are Republican things, by Gum!
Just as important is what she's not: she lived in an unorganized community, she's not a vegetarian, and if she speaks French it's not her preferred language. She's not a product of the Ivy League, and she's never been to a finishing school. She isn't in politix because her hubby keeled over dead or served a couple terms as president.
She's her own woman. She's what feminism could have been. She's what we want our daughters and granddaughters to grow up to be.
The Republicans are the mostly conservative party. It's what we've been since at least the Taft administration. But we're also the anti-party, which means we're not the party of the machine. That would kinda sorta make us by default (apologies to Ross Perot) the Reform party, which has been the tub John McCain's thumped lo, these many years. He hasn't always been right -- McCain-Feingold's a stench and an abomination, with more loopholes than any castle on the Rhine -- but he's been consistent.
And there's Sarah, doing much the same things, and some of them better.
And she's ever so much better looking than Joe Biden.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
McCain's speech tonight highlighted the cancer at the core of the party - beltway elites who have steered the party way from the GOP of TR and Reagan, and onto the GOP of GWB's waffling (No vetoes of pork in his first 6 years!) and the GOP in congress being run by the K-Street gang.
He set up a very good case for the two of them coming in as outsiders and reformers. Cleaning house first on the GOP, returning it to Reagan's populist "Jacksonian" conservatism, and then cleaning the other side of the aisle and the corruption of the "permanent" government behind them.
That will be VERY hard for Obama and Biden (the ultimate insider, been in Senate since McCain was in that POW cell) to pin the "4 more years of Bush" crap on them, and even harder for them to find a credible avenue of attack on that sort of position.
#4
Amen, Fred. Alaska Paul and I had a long talk while I was driving home this evening. It's not that the trunks are without sin or mistakes. Look at the travesty GW brought with his lack of backbone on illegal aliens, or his socialist "prescription drug care plan". The stupid RINOs we elected...in the Administration and in Congress... have over the past 4-6 years, p*$$ed away the money and the goodwill of the American people.
However as bad as this is, the core donks have shown who they really are and what they are capable of doing, if given the opportunity.
Witness the attack on Sarah Palin. I agree with Paul and Dennis Miller: the American people (for all the warts) are all about fair play. The donks may have overplayed their hand....finally...begun the alienation that could give the WH to the trunks. The hard core donks, by and large do not subscribe to absolutes and thus the ends justify the means. Anything to win and all costs.
I repeat again my challenge to the hard core donk who insists Palin is unqualified but voted for Jimmy Carter in 1976. Carter was a member of the local school board, hospital and library board and city council...2 terms in the State Senate and then 1 term as Governor of Georgia for cryin out loud. Gerald Ford...25 years in Congress, well respected across both aisles, Minority Leader and a sitting (though unelected VP).
If you voted for Carter over Ford and say that Palin is not qualified you are either fool and/or a hypocrite.
#5
The financial markets have gone a bit wobbly this week. Is that all based on strictly current economic conditions? Or is it a referendum on McCain/Palin?
And PS to Fred: Episode IV was subtitled "A New Hope™." Take from that what you will.
#6
I'd be careful with the SW reference. Episode IV ended with a scene straight out of "Triumph of the Will", which made me think the Rebels will become the new Nazis. I think better of McCain and Palin.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
09/05/2008 1:52 Comments ||
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#7
Probably 2 SCT appointments coming up in the next four years. No way we can let Bammo make them.
#8
That about summed up our conversation, Anymouse. My wife tells me that principals at her schools have warned teachers about press people deluging on Mat-Su schools trying to find out anything about Sarah Palin. I would imagine some for a story and some for dirt or smear.
I want to see Washington and MSM shook to their core by McCain and Palin. Like Graucho Marx, Daffy Duck and Bugs used to say:
Of course you know, this means war.
But this time it is not funny. Make no bones about it. It is a war for the soul of the country.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/05/2008 3:15 Comments ||
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#9
before getting so enthused remember
McCain-Feingold Act (campaign finance)
McCain-Kennedy Bill (immigration)
#10
Regardless of what they say, I think the Democratic Party realizes they have 60 days to discredit Sarah Palin. If John McCain wins this election, Sarah Palin will be invincible in 2012 and 2016.
#12
Emotions aside, McCain & Palin need to start talking specifics especially what they are going to do that is "different" from what W and the Congress (both of them - the repubs and dems) have done or not done. Energy - put Palin on the point. Economy - need some specifics on taxes especially corporate taxes and reducing our debt. How to make the financial mess evaporate and create more sustainable growth - what levers to pull and how to effect confidence in the economy. Blah, Blah, Blah!
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
09/05/2008 10:12 Comments ||
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#13
This financial mess ain't goin to evaporate. There's lots more to come for the next 2 years.
#14
The financial markets have gone a bit wobbly this week. Is that all based on strictly current economic conditions? Or is it a referendum on McCain/Palin?
Posted by Seafarious
The financial marketeers don't like change. They like predictability. Gov. Palin is an unknown quantity to them, so they flinch. The markets are always a mess during an election year, doesn't mean jack.
#15
McCain appealed to me because he was different. He was a "maverick" - a reformer - and also a moderate. In this run it wasnt clear how much he wanted to be a moderate.
In this convention he has reaffirmed himself as a maverick - ready to take on those of both parties who engage in the narrow corruption of set asides and lobbyists favors and so forth. He did NOT show himself a moderate - on all the key domestic issues he did not show himself different from W at all. Energy, taxes, education, health care those are all Bush policies he supports.
Now you can pretend to yourselves taht the problems today are cause the "beltway types" hijacked Bush. AFAICT the key special interests supporting Bush are no different from those who supported Reagan, or who still support the GOP policies.
And no, the GOP isnt the anti-party or the natural party of reform, unless you happen to identify reform with your specific agenda - I know thats appealing to you, as the opposite agenda is identified with reform on the left - but to the center both ideologies must stand on their own. Govt solutions are neither automatically good or automatically bad, public policy to address social justice is not a bad thing helping those scuzzy types who dont deserve help, nor is it something to be supported regardless of cost or whether the program is thought out.
The American center is wise, I think. They (barely) favored Clinton and his reinvention of the center left. When W offered compassionate conservatism, and Gore began to drift from Clintonism to poorly thought out populism, they favored W (by a hair). They favored Bush again during a time of war, when Bush seemed to be competent at running the war (and again, that was close).
This year, the GOP seems to think the problem with W was that there was too much compassion and too little conservatism. That it didnt stick enough to its conservative principle. I think they profoundly misread the center, which has never bought off on that ideology - I can explain each GOP win since 1980 on terms other than ideology, in terms of factors that dont apply this year.
Against this GOP, this year, Hillary could won solidly, Biden perhaps in a landslide. Unfortunately, the anti-DLC left, frustrated for so long, facing a DLC weakened by Iraq, finally won (but by a hair). Fortunately, maybe, for the Dems, Obama seems to have the intelligence to see that the center is where the win will be.
I think BHO will win, perhaps by a hair.
as for the GOP being more fun, I dont think so. Didactic - mention your core issues, and theres as much didacticism and political correctness as on the DEM side. Certainly your convention, which seemed to be much more enthusiastic about Palin than McCain, doesnt show that openness and diversity.
And tamany hall?? Man, theres lots of US political history you dont know. There have been GOP political machines through the 19th and 20th C - rural machines, in Philadelphia even an urban machine. State machines in Indiana in the 20th c, and in ohio in the 19th. Republican machine politics isnt a product of post 1996, its a product of the messiness of democracy, and has been around a long time.
This is not to neglect that Republicans can be pro-reform - not just TR, but someone else you seldom hear mentioned La Guardia - perhaps because he was truely a Republican who joined the party only to oppose a Dem machine, but who did not share the conservative gospels of his time. He was endorsed by the GOP, and by the NY Labor party (later the NY Liberal party). Theres no more room for them in todays GOP.
Sarah Palin has challenged the Alaska good old boys. Has she challenged GOP orthodoxy? Has she stood up for the teaching of real science in the schools? Has she challenged the global warming denial of the right? Has she challenged GOP orthodoxy on taxes or health care? If so, I dont see it.
#16
Against this GOP, this year, Hillary could won solidly, Biden perhaps in a landslide.
Whatever it is you're using, if it makes you that delusional it's got to be illegal. "Biden" and "landslide" are two words that simply never will be, and never under any conceivable circumstances could ever have been, connected with the word "win" between them.
Biden? BIDEN? The guy who had to steal lines from Neil Kinnock? The guy affectionately known as "Plugs?" The most annoying bloviator since Warren Harding?
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Man, that's some good stuff you're using, LH. For the sake of all of us, stay away from your car or any type of heavy machinery...
#18
Biden landslide? Biden only gets microphones and chairmanships due to a seniority system. Obama is just cynical enough to think that "Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee" is a title that will earn his ticket some much-needed foreign policy respect. In reality, the more Biden opens his mouth, the more Obama will lose. The only way Obama/Biden can win is to avoid all debates.
#19
Look at the records of Biden and Obama; two of the three most liberal votes in the Senate. McCain is among the most conservative, his maverickness being a function of pique with W as much as personality but not policy, as I expect Palin would be also.
With donk control of Congress unlikely to be overturned, the voters have two very distinct alternatives, either a significant shift to the left or stalemate.
McCain's challenge is to make this clear to voters. I suspect he will not be up to this challenge because of his unwillingness to campaign properly against his fellow club members.
He has set Palin up as a contender for '12 by which time there may be significant buyer's remorse if The One does win.
#20
Look at the records of Biden and Obama; two of the three most liberal votes in the Senate. McCain is among the most conservative, his maverickness being a function of pique with W as much as personality but not policy, as I expect Palin would be also.
With donk control of Congress unlikely to be overturned, the voters have two very distinct alternatives, either a significant shift to the left or stalemate.
McCain's challenge is to make this clear to voters. I suspect he will not be up to this challenge because of his unwillingness to campaign properly against his fellow club members.
He has set Palin up as a contender for '12 by which time there may be significant buyer's remorse if The One does win.
#21
mhw, before getting too rainy I'd say that I agree with about half of McCain's voting record. The few things I have agreed with bo's statements he flops on in short order making him completely untrustworthy.
Yes, specifics need to be talked about - that was brought up with our watching group. But the convention is not the time to do that, only outline topics else they would still be there talking. That is, you don't give away your coaching scheme at the pep rally.
BO:JB will win if JM:SP let them evade debate and sit back to entrench key states. As a KU man I'm telling you that you can win even when everyone says not just that you arn't supposed to win but you are not allowed to win. I think you Giants fans out there could agree. There is a lot of campaigning left and bo was supposed to be up 10 points or something not dead even.
We are standing on the shoulders of giants and too many people are looking for earwax.
Eric you lost me. Look, you are sitting in the base huddling with your family watching the ticker count down until the very planet you are on is about to be evaporated, knowing that your odds at best are like the roule+te wheel hitting 00 four times in a row. Only a handful of entire squadren comes back damn right I'd throw a barbeque. Its the Battle of Midway as I saw it. The very real threat of the Empire was defeated so why worry about the potential politics at that point. Besides, I think one had to believe in national socialism and/or dear leader and only one ticket fits that bill. Republicans becoming the new nazis just pissed me off, completely demeaning and void of the reality of the American value system.
#23
Just on the basis of an entirely non-scientific survey of female human beings of my acquaintance, I would say that the personal attacks on Palin and her family remind me of those work-accident guys who get the red wire and the green wire mixed up. And it's almost as if McCain just knew the opposition would react that way.
Posted by: Matt ||
09/05/2008 12:19 Comments ||
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#24
#9: before getting so enthused remember
McCain-Feingold Act (campaign finance)
McCain-Kennedy Bill (immigration)
I'm still having problems with the immigration thing. I like Sarah Palin a lot. How could I not? She might just bring me around. But she hasn't said boo about immigration and I suspect she won't because it's probably not much of a problem in Alaska. Here in Kaliphornia it has had a severe impact. I wouldn't be surprised if neither of the candidates campaigns in this state. Obama probably figures he has it in the bag and McCain probably figures it'd be a waste of his time and money. That's what Bush figured and Kerry never showed up here either. Yeah, they visit their rich friends once in a while to collect contributions that they will spend in other states but they ignore the voters. We're accustomed to being ignored by presidential candidates. This used to be a red state. Remember Nixon? Remember Reagan? Now if Republicans say the demographics have changed it's their own damn fault because they let it happen.
McCain says he is his own man, that he wants to serve America and not any special interests. I want to believe that but how does he explain the McCain-Kennedy Bill? How is that "right for America"? It isn't. Was it an honest mistake or a special interest thing?
As I watched the conventions I realized as I have so many times before that I feel a lot more at home with Republicans. I know I can't expect to agree with them on everything but I still think they have some work to do cleaning up their act.
#26
AFAICT the key special interests supporting Bush are no different from those who supported Reagan
Then you certainly are not very observant. And "support" does nto entail the muchy payoffs that are happening now with rampant earmarks and pork-barrel projects, all of which Reagan fought, and none of whcih Bush coudl be boehtered to Veto.
And you also miss the point- the corruption he speaks of isnt neccesarily Bush, its mainly rooted inthe congress.
Of course, LH, you seem to be getting your talking points from the Obama campaign, so if you are going to lobotomize yourself in that manner, you may want to refrain from posting such stupidities as the one you put about Bien winning the presidency - Palin got nearly as many votes for Mayor as Biden did in most primaries; that pretty much puts your point in the "Stuck on Stupid" bin.
#27
Immigration has become an issue at the level of the states, because the states have been passing and enforcing laws against illegals while Congress very noisily accomplished nothing. Candidate McCain doesn't bother addressing the issue because the people have made their will very, very clear on the matter... and Homeland Security keeps sending ICE out to collect illegals in ever-increasing multiple hundreds, which is scaring others into quietly moving back home.
There are plenty of laws on the books about illegals. It's just a matter of enforcing them, not passing new ones to be ignored.
#28
I think the one thing that can win it for the Repugs this time is energy - especially the "Drill here, drill now" meme. I know a lot of people are being hurt by the high cost of energy, and the pass-along rise in costs of everything else. The Dems' refusal to open up domestic production will kill them, not only in the Presidential election, but in a lot of tight races for Congress. Hammering that one point could be the deciding factor in the 2008 election.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/05/2008 12:52 Comments ||
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#29
I'm paying $3.25 for regular. We'll be testing $3.00 by election day. No. 2 Fuel bills won't have hit yet. It won't be an issue for the swing voter by then.
I believe the label pin you refer to is a Blue Star insignia. Palin is not wearing the flag of
Mothers of men and women in uniform (not as community organizers) serving their country wear these pins with great pride. Most, though not all, of these mothers are Trunks.
Having said this, I do not doubt for a second that Gov. Palin would be proud to wear the flag of Israel. I believe the good Governor is aware that Israel is the only oasis of freedom in a muslim swamp.
The 2004 US Presidential election was the single largest nonsporting event ever bet on and the 2008 US Presidential race will easily top that record.
"The Democratic party needs to be very worried after McCain's speech," warned Payton O'Brien, Senior Editor of the Gambling911.com website, which monitors political prediction markets throughout the day. "Public web polls show that McCain's speech had a positive effect overall and this is very much reflected in Friday afternoon's prediction market odds."
Prediction markets have proven to be especially accurate in determining outcomes of political elections especially as the event gets nearer.
#37
Liberalhawk. You spend much of your focus on the flaws of the GOP.
You said, "There have been GOP political machines through the 19th and 20th C"
Am I correct in assuming that your idea of change is to vote for a man whose rise to power has been by positioning himself inside what is well known as the single most corrupt political machine in the country?
You ask, "Has she challenged GOP orthodoxy?" But you fail to ask yourself if Obama has ever challenged either the corrupt Chicago machine (answer=no) or the same failed liberal marxist dogma that has ruined the economy of every country it has ever been practiced in?
Has she stood up for the teaching of real science in the schools?
Have you asked yourself if Obama ever stood up against the Black Separatists and anti-semites within his church? He never stood up against Ayers, Acorn or refused the sweetheart deal from Rezko on his mortgage.
Spare us the lectures on the need to look deeper until you do the same.
A man is under arrest in Washington after an improvised explosive device, a rifle and some ammunition were allegedly found in his jeep, Capitol Police said Friday.
The man stopped to ask police for directions near the Capitol building at about 11 a.m. EDT Friday, at the intersection of 2nd and Independence Avenue Southeast, according to Capitol Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider.
So our boy knows how to build an IED but can't use a Garmin ...
The officer responding noticed a rifle case on the car seat and inspected the jeep, discovering the IED, rifle and ammunition. A canine unit was enlisted to help. "They've all been rendered safe right now because they're in the custody of Capitol Police," Schneider told reporters at a briefing Friday.
The officer took the unidentified man into custody; the vehicle is still being searched.
Library of Congress employees near where the jeep was stopped have been evacuated, and several roads have been closed while police continue their investigation.
Schneider said that it wasn't clear what the man intended to do with the cache of weapons.
#2
The man stopped to ask police for directions near the Capitol building at about 11 a.m. EDT Friday, at the intersection of 2nd and Independence Avenue Southeast, according to Capitol Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider.
So our boy knows how to build an IED but can't use a Garmin ...
driving by the capitol building is pretty damned confusing, lots of one ways, jersey walls, security blocks, etc. I know garmin catches the one ways (though not if theyre changed for construction or whatever) but not sure if it gets all the other stuff. Just got ours a little while ago and havent taken it by the Capitol lately. It does suggest fairly odd things in other parts of central DC though.
#3
Just got back from DC. Sorry, but it just ain't that hard to drive there. I'm calling bullshit on this one -- they found him another way and don't want to share exactly how they did it.
#6
I used to live 5 blocks from there (in fact, I was there for 9/11 and the subsequent antrhax decontamination).
The Hill can be confusing for visitors due to construction, one-way streets, poor signage, the grid system origin being so close and discontinuities of some streets. I often provided out of towners with directions. I would always end by telling them to take the metro in the next day. If they seemed smart, I would explain how address numbers worked in DC as well, so they could navigate by them.
Recently I drove in DC with my Nuvi. The software did not work very well and kept telling me to take routes I knew were suboptimal. It's worked fine everywhere else, but L'Enfant's diagonals must not work well with the algorithms.
It is a great city to walk in when it is not 95 and humid.
We'll see what sort of 'IED' he had. Very fishy. Asking cops for help could be an act of over confidence or arrogance and does not automatically mean this was an innocent mistake. Recall Mohammad Atta requested help from the government when he was shopping for a crop duster, etc.
#7
Well, in that carrying a rifle and ammunition in your car is *legal*, what exactly do they mean by "Improvised Explosive Device"? That could be about anything.
A bottle with gasoline in it? A firecracker? 10 pounds of C-4 wired to three propane tanks? A basement thermonuclear device?
#8
JAB, couldn't agree more. Spent last Sunday walking to all the monuments. 11 miles later on the pedometer, it was time to pack it in. Think it was only lower 80s... :-)
#9
IG-88, Al Gore must have been in town. For DC, 80s is a cold snap.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
09/05/2008 16:12 Comments ||
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#10
Just got back from DC. Sorry, but it just ain't that hard to drive there
perhaps you misunderstood. I didnt say its hard to drive in the capital. I said its hard to drive near the Capitol. IE the building. The blocks right around it, with lots of blocked streets, and as someone said above, the center of the grid system (2nd and D for example, occurs in 4 separate places all a few blocks from each other NW, NE, SW, and SE respectively)
#13
#7 Anonymoose, I agree with you. Insufficient information has been presented. I don't know DC's gun laws but a cased rifle (loaded?) would not get you a raised eyebrow in most of the country. So, the question is what do they define as an IED? A propane bottle for your BBQ?
Right now it's just a lot of hyperventilation on the part of the media. TBD.
#14
I agree with Nimble, a name or brief description would really round out the article and make it worth a damn. Whenever the name/description is missing a wild part of me starts to think it was withheld intentionally so we start to think any protected groups have a bad member or two.
Posted by: Formerly Dan ||
09/05/2008 19:45 Comments ||
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#16
he drove a "typically white" vehicle
/s
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/05/2008 20:01 Comments ||
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#17
Christopher Shelton Timmons, 27, of Orange, Va., was charged with carrying a deadly weapon and possessing unregistered firearms and ammunition, said Capitol Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider.
The leading anti-drugs judge in Afghanistan has been killed. Judge Alim Hanif, 65 who headed the Central Narcotics Tribunal Appeals Court, was shot on his way to work in and died in a Kabul hospital. Representatives of the court paid their respects, saying he was deeply committed to tackling the country's drugs problems.
The attack on a leading judge has sent shockwaves through the judiciary in Afghanistan. Mr Hanif's colleagues said he was a man of integrity, who was deeply committed to his job. He took a tough stance on drug trafficking and was not frightened to hand out stiff sentences.
It is not clear who shot him, but many believe his murder is a warning to others in the judicial system who have been trying to stamp out Afghanistan's drugs trade.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Ok, it's now official: Afghanistan is a nation run by drug lords, just as Bolivia is. I don't doubt that Karzai is the kingpin. It's time for the US to stop "nation-building" and start stomping all the enemies, including those in the Afghanistani government. This is the second time in six years we've created a local government far too quickly, and with far too little control over the process (Iraq is the other, but they seem to be sorting themselves out).
The main problem are the Pashtuns. The only way that problem can be "solved" is to reunite the Pashtuns from both sides of the border, and then sit on them HARD for a few years until they learn to behave themselves. None of the political "leadership" in the United States OR Europe has the stomach for that, so the problem will continue to exist until it gets so blatant the only solution is the elimination of the Pashtuns.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/05/2008 12:59 Comments ||
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A German man of Pakistani heritage suspected of raising money and recruiting fighters for Al Qaeda has been charged with belonging to the organisation, prosecutors said on Thursday. Aleem N was arrested in February at his home in Rheinland-Palatinate and was charged on August 19. A statement from German prosecutors said Nasir travelled "regularly" to Pakistan and "by summer 2004 at the latest" he had agreed with Al Qaeda leaders to take part in group's activities.
This article starring:
ALIM NASIR
al-Qaeda
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2008 00:00 ||
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(AKI) - Pakistani security forces killed at least seven people including two Taliban commanders and two children in fresh shelling in the troubled northwest Swat Valley, the Geo News television channel reported on Thursday.
Unnamed sources cited by Geo News said the military pounded several different areas of Swat on Thursday. claiming to have killed two key Taliban commanders in the Kozabandi area of Tehsil Kabbal.
The commanders were reportedly brothers, Younus and Zia-ur-Rehman. Bombs targeted several houses, killing five people including a husband and wife and their two children, and injured several others.
Local political leader, Siraj Khan, whose mother and sister were injured in the shellings, told Geo News that several houses had been destroyed.
Also on Thursday, at least three people were killed and six others injured as fighting between warring rival tribes continued in the Kurram Agency tribal area bordering Afghanistan. Mortar missiles, rockets and automated weapons were being used in fighting involving militants in some areas Kurram Agency including the Pewar area, Geo News reported.
Meanwhile, the death toll in month-long fighting between Pakistani security forces and militants in the restive northwest has risen to 700 including 400 militants. Local people in the region have had severe problems in getting food, medicine, fuel and other essentials, as roads have been closed for a year. Those caught up in the fighting tribes are also finding it difficult to observe the Ramadan fast, Geo News said.
Member of Parliament from Kurram Agency, Sajid Hussain Turi said that militants were taking part in fighting and law and order had been destroyed.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday at least 20 people were killed in an attack by US-led coalition forces on the village of Musa Neka Ziarat in the South Waziristan tribal area near the Afghan border, Pakistani daily Dawn reported. The number of victims from the attack was higher than previously estimated and included women and children. It was the first known ground assault of its kind and came amid an increase in the number of missile and predator attacks on suspected Al-Qaeda hideouts in recent days, according to Dawn.
This article starring:
Kozabandi
Kurram Agency
Musa Neka Ziarat
Pewar area
South Waziristan
Tehsil Kabbal
Local political leader, Siraj Khan
Sajid Hussain Turi
YUNUS UR REHMAN
TTP
ZIA UR REHMAN
TTP
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2008 00:00 ||
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Paramilitary forces killed 20 militants in Darra Adam Khel in a clash that erupted late on Wednesday, officials and residents said. "At about midnight, 20 miscreants were killed during [a] heavy exchange of fire with the Frontier Corps (FC) soldiers," a spokesman for the paramilitary force in Peshawar said in a press statement.
Miscreants -- isn't that an RAB word?
He did not say in which upazaila where the encounter took place or if any foreign militants were among the dead.
Peshawar's road link with the southern districts has been cut off since August 29 when the paramilitary forces foiled a suicide attack on its base near the Kohat Tunnel. The tunnel has since been closed for traffic.
Bajaur: In another development, five soldiers were injured in an attack by militants in the Bajaur tribal region. The FC spokesman said militants fired rockets at a military checkpoint near the town of Tor Ghundai, and at a security forces camp in Khar, injuring five soldiers.
Mamoond: Meanwhile, security forces pounded suspected hideouts of militants in parts of the Mamoond tehsil, administration officials in Khar said. Reports from the area said local residents were fleeing amid fears of a military operation as Taliban presence in the area increased. "We are moving out of Mamoond because we fear the government is set to begin a military operation against militants," a local resident said.
But little signs of troop movement were seen in the region.
Markets in Inayat Qila bazaar, Soi, Loyesam, Nawagai, Siddiqabad and nearby areas remained closed. Government and private schools in Bajaur have also been closed because of security concerns, Khar residents told Daily Times.
Officials told Daily Times earlier this week that military attacks on militants in Bajaur Agency had recently become "25 to 35 percent" more intense.
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09/05/2008 00:00 ||
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Troops backed by helicopter gunships killed 17 militants in the Kooza Bandai area of Swat on Thursday, officials said. Three key commanders of rebel cleric Fazlullah were among the dead. Military spokesman Maj Nasir Ali identified them as Ziaur Rehman, Muhammad Younas and Saifur Rehman. Local sources said the military had full control of the area after the operation that began on Tuesday. Wife of a Jamaat-e-Islami leader and his three children were killed when a mortar shell hit their house during the operation. Security forces and helicopter gunships also pounded suspected Taliban positions in the Dherai and Saigram areas of Kabal tehsil.
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09/05/2008 00:00 ||
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Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) allegedly kidnapped three Khasadar (tribal police) personnel, including a naib subedar and two civilians from the Ziarai checkpost in Khyber on Wednesday night.
According to reports, armed LI militants stormed the checkpost and kidnapped Naib Subedar Nisar Khan and two others. The kidnappers also stole two cars and set fire to another car and part of the checkpost.
A Khasadar official said the five could have been kidnapped to force the government to release 10 LI members arrested several days ago at Jamrud. LI has not confirmed the claim. So far, the administration has not taken any action to recover either the Khasadars or the civilians.
Meanwhile a jirga being held to negotiate the release of Khuga Khel Shinwari jirga members is still in progress. The political administration began a crackdown on the Khuga Khel Shinwari tribe to force them to surrender Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam Khyber Agency leader Mufti Ijaz Shinwari and the local leader of the Tanzeem-e-Ittehad Ulema.
The Khasadar Force subedar major told Daily Times that the political administration had arrested more than 24 people from the Khuga Khel Shinwari tribe. They said more than 60 shops had been sealed and around 20 vehicles had been seized so far in the crackdown.
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09/05/2008 00:00 ||
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Bajaur Agency Taliban commander Faqir Muhammad on Thursday warned the Salarzai Tribe to stop co-operating with the government or face militant action, tribal sources said. The tribe has formed a lashkar (a private volunteer army), which set fire to 18 houses of local Taliban commanders in the agency's Salarzai tehsil in the past few days. The lashkar has warned anyone caught sheltering militants will be fined Rs 1 million and his house will be torched. Locals said militants had been expelled from the Kasai, Pusht, Chelagam, Danqun and Kotki areas, following the formation of the lashkar.
This article starring:
Chelagam
Danqun
Kasai
Kotki
Pusht
FAQIR MUHAMAD
TTP
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09/05/2008 00:00 ||
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"Kill enemy fighters, hear the wamentations of their wimmin!" Coalition forces killed one enemy fighter and detained 15 suspects during operations today targeting al-Qaida in Iraq bombing cells and their supporting networks in Baghdad and the Tigris River Valley, military officials reported.
A suspected car-bombing cell leader and three alleged associates are in coalition custody after an operation in Baghdad. The alleged leader reportedly is involved in procuring of bomb components, building bombs and distributing them to the cell, which has been known to attack Iraqi civilians in northern Baghdad, officials said. He also is believed to have contact with terrorists around Iraq and internationally.
During the operation, a surveillance team saw an armed man try to sneak behind the target building. Coalition forces called for him to surrender and fired warning shots, but the gunman refused to comply. Perceiving hostile intent, coalition forces engaged and killed him.
Several operations in Tikrit targeted al-Qaida in Iraq cells operating in the Tigris River Valley and netted 10 suspected terrorists, including two wanted men. One of the wanted men is believed to be a senior terrorist leader in the area, and the other wanted man allegedly operates a bombing cell under his direction.
Also in the Tigris River Valley, coalition forces in Sharqat, about 55 miles south of Mosul, detained a suspected al-Qaida liaison. The man reportedly specializes in transporting false documents for terrorists.
In other operations, Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers seized munitions yesterday and today.
While on patrol today, soldiers serving with Company D, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, attached to the 4th Infantry Division's 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, found a 155 mm round, a 120 mm round and two Italian manufactured anti-tank mines in Baghdad's East Rashid district.
Yesterday, soldiers serving with the 25th Infantry Division's Company C, 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, found a cache northwest of Baghdad. The munitions seized included 6 pounds of unidentified bulk explosives, two anti-aircraft gun mount, two anti-aircraft heavy machine guns, a rifle stock and two rifle barrels.
Also yesterday, soldiers serving with the 4th Infantry Division's Troop C, 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, received a tip over the phone that led to a cache in East Rashid. The weapons seized included four claymore mines and nine rocket-propelled grenade rounds, two of which were of Iranian-made.
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09/05/2008 00:00 ||
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The government's counterterrorism unit on Thursday warned of concrete terror threats against Israelis travelling abroad, especially in Sinai, Thailand and Turkey.
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09/05/2008 00:00 ||
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Hamas security forces detained a senior leader of Jaish al-Ummah, a pro-Al-Qaida group on Thursday in the Gaza Strip, one of his aides said.
Abu Hafs was ordered by the Hamas internal security service to report for questioning on Wednesday, two days after Jaish al-Ummah held an armed training session in the Gaza Strip, and has not returned since. "They imprisoned him," said the aide, who asked to remain anonymous. The aide said he believed the arrest was linked to the training session. The Hamas-run Interior Ministry in the Gaza Strip had no immediate comment.
Abu Hafs vowed in an interview during the training session to fight Israel and infidels. He also criticised Hamas for not implementing Islamic law in the Gaza Strip. Jaish al-Ummah says it supports Al-Qaida ideology but is a saparate group.
This article starring:
ABU HAFS
Jaish al-Ummah
Posted by: Fred ||
09/05/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
"Welcome to the Hotel California, habibi. You'll note our knives are quite steely."
Terrorist vermin Seperatist militants have shot dead three men in Thailand's Muslim-majority south, including a man in a graveyard who was mourning the victim of an earlier attack, police said on Friday. The 47-year-old Muslim man, a local government official, was praying early Friday at his brother's grave in Yala town when he was shot repeatedly, police said. His brother had been killed last year in separatist violence, they added.
In nearby Pattani province, a 46-year-old Buddhist man was killed in a drive-by shooting, while a soldier was wounded in a bomb blast as he conducted a patrol on motorcycle, police said. Late Thursday, a 43-year-old Muslim man was found dead in a fruit orchard in Narathiwat province, on the southern border with Malaysia.
Thirty-one Tamil Tigers including a senior leader of the guerrillas were killed in heavy fighting with security forces in the embattled northern Sri Lanka, as troops continued their push towards the rebel 'capital' of Kilinochchi. The Lankans are headed toward the blowoff, it would seem...
Sri Lankan troops killed 11 Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels in separate clashes in Andankulam in north-eastern Welioya area on Wednesday, the military said.
A senior LTTE leader "Lt Col" Neelawannan was killed during a gun battle with security forces in Vennirikulam in the rebel stronghold of Kilinochchi, the government's Media Centre for National Security said.
Continuing with its operations in Kilinochchi, 330 kilometres north of Colombo, the army gunned down nine LTTE rebels in Venirkulam and Akkarayankulam, it said.
According to sources, the LTTE defence in the south of Kilinochchi includes an earth bund running zigzag from Nachchikudha to Akkarayankulama along with many military trenches and bunkers.
In separate clashes, the troops killed 11 LTTE cadres in Vavuniya, Nagarkovil area in Jaffna and Muhamali, the military said. At least 30 Sri Lankan soldiers were injured in the fighting with the rebels since Wednesday, the Defence Ministry said.
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09/05/2008 00:00 ||
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Government forces and Tamil separatists were locked in heavy combat in northern Sri Lanka with at least 41 rebels and five soldiers killed in fresh fighting, the defence ministry said yesterday.
At least 30 government soldiers were also wounded following the latest clashes with the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) since Wednesday, the ministry said in a statement. "The LTTE continues to steadily lose manpower as the Sri Lankan security forces continue to advance further into the heart of the LTTE administrative power, Kilinochchi," the ministry said. "This is a major setback for the terrorists."
The military has said that it wants to dismantle the Tigers' de facto mini-state by capturing the town of Kilinochchi, 330 kilometres (200 miles) north of Colombo. Government troops were now said to be within striking distance.
The military on Wednesday evening accepted the bodies of 19 soldiers killed by the Tigers during this week's fighting that saw security forces capture the strategic town on Mallavi from the rebels. The defence ministry described the capture of Mallavi as "one more decisive and impressive phase" in its campaign to defeat the Tigers, who have fought for decades for a homeland for minority Tamils in island's north and east.
The ethnic Sinhalese-dominated government has asked tens of thousands of Tamil civilians living in rebel territory to cross over to government-held areas in the island's north to avoid getting caught up in the crossfire.
The latest casualty figures raise the number of rebels reported killed by troops since January to 6,333. The military says 609 soldiers were killed during the same period.
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09/05/2008 00:00 ||
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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.
Sarah Palin spoke Wednesday night and the air cleared on the Republican side of the poltical house.
The leading anti-drugs judge in Afghanistan has been killed. Judge Alim Hanif, 65 who headed the Central Narcotics Tribunal Appeals Court, was shot on his way to work in and died in a Kabul hospital. Representatives of the court paid their respects, saying he was deeply committed to tackling the country's drugs problems. 
(AKI) - Pakistani security forces killed at least seven people including two Taliban commanders and two children in fresh shelling in the troubled northwest Swat Valley, the Geo News television channel reported on Thursday. 
Coalition forces killed one enemy fighter and detained 15 suspects during operations today targeting al-Qaida in Iraq bombing cells and their supporting networks in Baghdad and the Tigris River Valley, military officials reported. 
Hamas security forces detained a senior leader of 
Thirty-one Tamil Tigers including a senior leader of the guerrillas were killed in heavy fighting with security forces in the embattled northern Sri Lanka, as troops continued their push towards the rebel 'capital' of Kilinochchi. 
Government forces and Tamil separatists were locked in heavy combat in northern Sri Lanka with at least 41 rebels and five soldiers killed in fresh fighting, the defence ministry said yesterday. 
