Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
When OBL was killed, I quipped that he had been relieved of his duties at al Qaeda in order to head up Obama's reelection campaign. Many of you scoffed. Some even suggested that the joke was inappropriate.
Here is a direct quote for tonight's SOTU address:
"Some said the state of our union was getting stronger, while others said it was getting weaker, but I was getting bin Laden."
U.S. military forces flew into Somalia in a nighttime helicopter raid Wednesday, freed an American and a Danish hostage, and killed nine pirates in a mission President Obama appeared to reference before his State of the Union speech, officials and a pirate source told The Associated Press.
Two SEAL teams landed near the compound where the two hostages were being held, NBC reported. As the SEALs approached the compound on foot gunfire broke out, the U.S. officials told NBC, and several of the militants were reportedly killed. O tells Panetta "Good job tonight" before his speech. He was prolly referring to his part in diciding to take the big risk and do it.
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/25/2012 05:36 ||
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#1
There are an awful lot of hostages in Somalia, and it is almost mysterious why more modern nations haven't sent in their equivalent of ninjas to do these kinds of ops.
Based on the unplanned and fouled up operation of the Battle of Mogadishu (Blackhawk Down), in which the US took 91 casualties while inflicting as many as 3,000 casualties; a well planned and executed operation could take out a legion of pirates.
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
01/25/2012 10:28 Comments ||
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#3
Jetsons - 2 Flintstones - zero
Posted by: Bangkok Billy ||
01/25/2012 10:47 Comments ||
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#4
Sorry, I thought I checked for duplicates before posting. (American & Danish hostages freed in military raid did preceed my posting.)
I do have a catchy title, tho...
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/25/2012 10:56 Comments ||
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#5
The AP has pirate sources?
There's a source in Kenya, ostensibly a spokesman from a "mariners' beneficiary foundation" that seems to have the latest information and was regularly quoted by the world's media. Not sure if he's still active or decided to lay low.
#6
Bobby, your article was published first -- when you checked,there wasn't another for you to see. I published the other article also because it gave details yours did not, details I thought important enough to take up extra space for the second article on Fred's server.
#9
I swear the problem with Somolia is that we would have to kill half the population to end the madness.
Then we'd have to take all the kids under the age of 15 and ship them off to repatriation camps to deprogram them from the drugs and propoganda and Islamic Jihadist nonsense they have been fed for these last several years.
And to think Clinton could have solved all of this with one air strike...
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
01/25/2012 20:15 Comments ||
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#10
Of course I am cynical enough to think that whatshisname will pull one of these during the election cycle in October to take out Dr. Z or one of the other biggies in AQ to get a bump in the polls.
Can we get DEVGRU to pull one of these to save the population of the US being held hostage by the crazy crap Congress and Senate?
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
01/25/2012 20:18 Comments ||
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#11
Many Muslims would like to see an empowered, viable OWG ISLAMIC UNION + MEDITERRANEAN UNION set up, i.e. "MUSLIM PROBS HANDLED + SOLVED BY MUSLIMS ONLY", but thus far have dropped the ball as per Libyuh, Syruh, ... + now this.
The post-Cold War + GWOT is turning out to be a "Golden Age" of sorts for US-ALLIED SPECOPS, but thats beside the point.
Instead of LESS US-NATO, UNO in the lead as per Muslim-on-Muslim regional or international
"Police Actions", THE ME + MUSLIM WORLD IS SEEING SAME, + PERHAPS MORE ....
E.g. FREEREPUBLIC > US MILITARY PREPARES RE-ALIGNMENT: MORE DRONES [global], SPECIAL FORCES [small Lily-Pad Bases ...].
WHAT WARSHIPS, ETC. IS THE DESIRED FUTURE "ISLAMIC UNION" SENDING TO THE STRAITS OF HORMUZ TO PROTECT MUSLIM INTERNAT TRADE FROM IRAN???
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Sudan air force on Monday bombed Elfoj refugee camp in South Sudan's Upper Nile state, leaving 14 civilians missing and injuring another, the UN said on Tuesday, raising the already high tensions between the two countries.
"The aerial bombing occurred just after 10am local time in Elfoj in South Sudan's Upper Nile state," the UN High Commissioner for refugees said in a statement.
"It was carried out in two instances with several bombs falling at the refugee transit site, located less than 10km from the border with Sudan," the statement read.
"At the time of the incident," the UN agency said, "about 5,000 refugees were at the site from where movements to new settlements take place on a daily basis."
"UNHCR and IOM teams with 14 trucks were supervising relocation operations when the first bombings took place. Refugees jumped out of the trucks. Agency staff had to seek safety," the agency said.
"UNHCR is alarmed by this attack on vulnerable refugees already fleeing violence in Sudan's Blue Nile state," it added.
The agency has so far relocated 11,477 refugees to safer locations 70 km away from the border since January.
The bombing is days after South Sudan announced it is shutting down the pipeline that runs through the Sudan to the export terminal at Port Sudan in response to continuous oil theft by Khartoum.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2012 00:00 ||
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Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
01/25/2012 11:51 ||
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#1
Algerian security foiled a terrorist al-Qaeda [in the Islamic Maghreb] plot to carry out suicidal attacks on U.S. and European ships in the Mediterranean from the eastern coasts of Algeria... [O]ne of the suspects, called H. Rabeh and currently detained by Algerian authorities, got in touch with a man nicknamed Abbie, wanted by authorities, and who is known for his activities in illegal immigration. Abbie provided Rabeh with detailed information about prices of boats and locations from which they can carry out the operation and which are basically centered around the Algerian east coast.
East coast of Algeria is at one of several possible shipping chokepoints in the western Med, and was possibly AQIM's best option. The Straits of Gilbraltar and the coastal area around Oran are more likely to be patrolled.
The other possibles are on the Tunisian coast, but there isn't as likely a support infrastructure in place as there is in Algeria.
Libya can be discounted in this instance. Too much open water and the shipping lanes are farther offshore.
#2
IIRC NET > BRIT EX-PM BLAIR? = allegedly signed a secret deal agreeing to hand over the major Brit Base at GIBRALTAR to Spain.
Iff true, then AL-QAEDA may have the advantage as the Spanish Navy is known to be one of the smallest + weakest in NATO-EU = EUROZONE. The impetus is on econ-troubled Spain + Madrid = Spanish Navy to modernize + change its ways.
* ION QAEDA, WORLD NEWS > AL-QAEDA-IN-IRAQ SAYS US WITHDREW TO SAVE FUNDS [save $$$], as due to looming econ collapse.
* FREEREPUBLIC > RADICAL CLERIC OMAR BAKRI MOHAMMAD THREATENS SYRIA [Baby Assad + Alawi' Regime] WID A WAVE OF SUICIDE BOMBS.
AQ + hardline Salafi Muslim Groups, other aligned prepping to wage war on Assad.
BANI WALID, Libya: LibyaÂ’s ramshackle government lost control of a former stronghold of Muammar Qaddafi on Tuesday after local people staged an armed uprising, posing the gravest challenge yet to the countryÂ’s new rulers. Elders in Bani Walid, where militias loyal to the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) were driven out in a gun battle a day earlier, said they were appointing their own local government and rejected any interference from the authorities in the capital Tripoli.
The townÂ’s revolt will heighten doubts in the West about the NTC governmentÂ’s ability to instil law and order crucial to rebuilding oil exports, to disarm tribal militias and guard Libyan borders in a region where Al-Qaeda is active.
Local elders denied reports that they were loyal to Qaddafi, who was captured and killed in October after weeks on the run, and Reuters reporters in Bani Walid saw no signs of the Qaddafi-era green flags which witnesses earlier said had been hoisted over the town.
Perhaps they're just loyal to his memory. It's hard to be loyal to a corpse...
But the collapse of NTC authority in the town, one of the most die-hard bastions of pro-Qaddafi sentiment during LibyaÂ’s nine-month civil war last year, will compound the problems besetting a government that in the past week has been staggering from one crisis to another.
Reuters reporters who entered Bani Walid on Tuesday morning saw a few of the black, green and red flags of last yearÂ’s anti-Qaddafi rebellion but there was no sign of any central government presence.
About 200 elders who gathered in a mosque decided to abolish an NTC-appointed military council for the town and appoint their own local council, in direct defiance of the authority of the government in Tripoli.
“If (NTC chief Mustafa) Abdel Jalil is going to force anyone on us, we won’t accept that by any means,” one of the elders, Ali Zargoun, told Reuters at the mosque.
Accounts from Bani Walid, a town about 200 km (120 miles) from Tripoli, late on Monday described armed Qaddafi supporters attacking the barracks of the pro-government militia in the town and then forcing them to retreat. A fighter with the routed pro-government militia told Reuters the loyalists were flying “brand new green flags” from the center of town. The flags were symbols of Qaddafi’s maverick, 42-year dictatorship.
But elders on Tuesday disputed that account.
“In the Libyan revolution, we have all become brothers. We will not be an obstacle to progress,” said another elder, Miftah Jubarra. “Regarding allegations of pro-Qaddafi elements in Bani Walid, this is not true. This is the media. You will go around the city and find no green flags or pictures of Qaddafi.”
Bani Walid, base of the powerful Warfallah tribe, was one of the last towns to surrender to the anti-Qaddafi rebellion last year.
A Libyan air official said war planes were being mobilized to fly to Bani Walid. But it was not immediately clear what the government in Tripoli could do. It has yet to demonstrate that it has an effective fighting force under its command and Bani Walid, protected behind a deep valley, is difficult to attack.
During LibyaÂ’s nine-month war, anti-Qaddafi NTC rebels tried to take Bani Walid but did not progress much beyond the outskirts of the town. It later emerged that Seif Al-Islam, one of Muammar QaddafiÂ’s evil spawn sons who was captured in the Sahara desert in November, had been using Bani Walid as a base.
Soon before the end of the conflict, with QaddafiÂ’s defeat unavoidable, local tribal elders negotiated an agreement under which forces loyal to the NTC were able to enter the town without a fight. Relations have been uneasy since then and there have been occasional flare-ups of violence.
A local resident, who did not want to be identified, said Monday’s violence began when members of the May 28 militia, affiliated to the NTC, arrested some former Qaddafi loyalists. That prompted other supporters of the former leader to attack the militia’s garrison. “They massacred men at the doors of the militia headquarters,” said the resident.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/25/2012 00:00 ||
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That uniform colour is really not becoming against his skin tone. Under the circumstances, perhaps they would let him transfer to another another branch.
[Dawn] Egypt's military ruler on Tuesday decreed a partial lifting of the nation's hated emergency laws, while saying the draconian measures would still apply to crimes committed by "thugs."
Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi said in a televised address to the nation that the emergency laws would be lifted effective Wednesday, the first anniversary of the start of the popular uprising that toppled longtime authoritarian ruler Hosni Mubarak. ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... Tantawi and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces he chairs took power when Mubarak stepped down on Feb. 11, 2011.
His decision to partially lift the decades-old laws, which give police far-reaching powers, would likely not satisfy rights groups that have been campaigning for the total removal of the laws. They have complained about the repeated use by the military of the term "thugs" to justify crackdowns on protesters.
Rights groups say at least 12,000 civilians have been tried before military tribunals since the generals took power nearly a year ago. Many of them, they say, were charged with acts of "thuggery" when, in fact, they were protesters.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
He's probably pondering what life will be like in his new dacha in whatever country doesn't extradite to Egypt or the ICC.
MUSCAT: Yemen's outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh is seeking exile in neighboring Oman, but the sultanate is reluctant to host him for fear of hurting its relations with any future Yemeni government, diplomats said on Tuesday.
Being next door creates problems for Oman, and opportunities for Saleh.
Saleh left Sanaa on Sunday and headed to the United States for medical treatment following a brief stopover in Oman, though he said in a parting speech he would return to Yemen.
Easier to do from Oman, particularly if you plan to return riding on top of a tank...
A foreign diplomat in Muscat said Saleh has sought permission to reside there. An Omani government source declined to confirm or deny receiving such a request, but said Oman would be reluctant to grant it in case this might harm future relations with Yemen.
The United States, which endorsed a plan to coax Saleh out of office by granting him immunity from prosecution over the deaths of protesters during an uprising against his rule, defended its decision to issue him a visa, despite criticism that it would be seen as sheltering him.
Or perhaps we were clever and cynical enough to insist that he stop in Oman. "For a few days."
"We ... believe that his absence from Yemen at this critical juncture will help facilitate a transition that completes the end of his rule, helps Yemen and ultimately has a positive effect on the rights and dignity of the Yemeni people," White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Monday.
"Our policy focus remains on preventing further instability and keeping that transition on track," he said, adding that Saleh would stay in the United States for a limited time only.
Despite Saleh's departure, many believe he and his supporters will still wield influence over Yemen, which has seen a year of anti-government demonstrations punctuated by warfare between Saleh's forces, those of a rebel general, and tribal militias.
Certainly he'll wield influence as long as his brothers, half-brothers and distant cousins run the military and the banks...
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/25/2012 00:00 ||
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[Yemen Post] The suspected al-Qaeda forces of Evil suddenly evacuated the southeastern town of Radda, Baitha province, Tuesday night after seizing it for nearly two weeks.
Residents in the town said the all the forces of Evil evacuated after a tribal delegation convinced them to leave the town.
A senior interior ministry official confirmed that the town is now free of bully boys.
This comes only one day after President-for-Life Saleh ... exemplifying the Arab's propensity to combine brutality with incompetence... left the country, raising speculations that Saleh was behind handing over the town to the bully boys.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
Don't you mean
"Thr Pirates Fled after forst invading?"
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/25/2012 11:34 Comments ||
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[Yemen Post] Military sources revealed on Tuesday that Vice President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi would issue a decree dismissing the commander of the Air Forces, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Saleh Al-Ahmar.
Hundreds of officers and soldiers have been demanding the ouster of Al-Ahmar, half-brother of the outgoing President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... , accusing him of corruption.
The soldiers complained that Al-Ahmar used to confiscate their rights and fail to keep his promises for which he pledged to grant them promotion and allowances. They have threatened to set up tents before the house of Hadi if their demands for Ahmar's ouster are not met.
On Saturday, one officer, Omar Al-Hatimi, strongly criticized Al-Ahmar while he was lecturing before a group of officers and threw his shoes at him.
Meanwhile, ...back at the pound, Zebulon finally found just the friend he'd been looking for... Students of Sana'a University demonstrated on Tuesday, demanding to dismiss Rector of Sana'a University, Khalid Tarmoom and Dean of Arts, Hassan Al-Kohalani. They charged them with corruption, raising slogans in which they called for immediately hold Al-Khohlani accountable.
The students alleged that Al-Kohani raise incitements against those students who had taken to streets and demanded the ouster of the outgoing President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Students of the Science Faculty staged a protest on Tuesday, demanding to improve education,
They've got internet access, right? Let them access the free MIT courses and self-educate, like everyone else.
provide the supplies of teachings and electric generators, and cancel registration fees. They further appealed the Higher Education and Scientific Research Minister Yahya Al-Shoabi to consider their demands and swiftly respond to them.
What has become known as the institution revolution hit many public authorities and resulted in the ouster of tens of corrupt officials in Yemen, as employees and students insisted on firing them.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2012 00:00 ||
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[Yemen Post] The army sent reinforcements to army units in the southeast Yemeni town of Rada, some 170km south east of the capital Sana'a, which was seized a week ago and declared an Islamic emirate by al-Qaeda bad boys.
Yemeni army sought to reinforce and enhance army units following the failure of a tribal mediation which aimed to end the violence in the town without bloodshed, according to local tribal dignitaries.
Last week, tribal chiefs accused the army and security forces in Rada of scheming with the cut-throats and letting their town of Rada easily fall in the control of al-Qaeda.
Ever since the town fell into the hands of islamists thousands of locals have staged almost daily rallies demanding the army force al-Qaeda faceless myrmidons out their town, local sources told YemenPost.
Yemen-based al-Qaeda branch has strengthened its foothold in the southern provinces of the fragmented-state, apparently taking advantage of the power vacuum triggered by massive popular protests calling for the end of the 33-year-long of President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it...
Saleh has left Yemen for USA shortly after delivering a farewell speech asking the Yemeni men and women for forgiveness for his shortcomings and mistakes during his reign as President.
Separately, UNICEF has warned today of the increasingly worrisome issue of heightened malnutrition among Yemeni children as the political crises was combined by dramatic hikes in food items, compounding the suffering of citizens.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2012 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] A physician of a reputed hospital was tossed in the clink from the capital's Uttara in the early hours of yesterday on suspicion of being a policymaker of banned myrmidon Islamist organization Hizb-ut-Tahrir Bangladesh, said Rapid Action Battalion.
Lt Col Ziaul Ahsan, director of the Rab intelligence wing, said the battalion tossed in the clink cardiac surgeon Dr Golam Haider Rasul, 45, a doctor of United Hospital, from his residence in Uttara Sector-3 around 1:30am, and large numbers of leaflets and books of the banned ...the word banned seems to have a different meaning in Pakistain than it does in most other places. Or maybe it simply lacks any meaning at all...
organization were recovered from his house.
"Haider, who got his MBBS degree from Dhaka Medical College, was maintaining close connections with runaway Hizb-ut-Tahrir leaders Mawlana Mamunur Rashid, principal of a madrasa in the capital's Mohammadpur, and Dr Towfiq Elahi, a teacher of a prominent private university," said Lt Col Ziaul.
He said Haider is also one of the major donors for Hizb-ut-Tahrir.
Haider's wife and father are also doctors, he added.
"During our preliminary interrogation, Haider admitted that he believes in Hizb-ut-Tahrir's politics," said the Rab's intelligence director, adding, "His father, Dr Golam Rasul, said he himself also supports the organization."
He also admitted to killing Jon Benet, and his father was the fellow on the grassy knoll...
"Haider is an adviser level leader of the banned organization, and plays a key role among its policy makers in Bangladesh," Lt Col Ziaul said.
Talking to The Daily Star, Commander M Sohail of Rab's legal and media wing said, "We are trying to find out whether there are more Hizb-ut-Tahrir men in that hospital."
Sources said Haider was tossed in the clink following a recent presser by Bangladesh Army in which it disclosed that there had been an attempt to overthrow the elected democratic government and that Hizb-ut-Tahrir had a link with the attempt.
Lt Col Ziaul said, "There is a long list of top ranking leaders of the banned outfit who are skilled professionals like doctors, engineers, teachers, and successful businessmen."
"Different other myrmidon organizations like Harkat-ul-Jihad Bangladesh, Hizb-ut-Tawhid, Allahar Dal, Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh The JMB is said to be the youth front of Al Mujahideen, the parent organization that began working toward establishing Bangladesh as an Islamic state in the mid 1990s which remains obscure even today. Other organizations, such as Jama'atul Jihad, JMB, Jagrata Mohammedan Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI), Hizbut Tawhid, Tawhidi Janata, Islami Jubo Shangha, Islami Shangha, Al Falah A'am Unnayan Shanstha and Shahadat-e al Hiqma are believed to be part of the Al Mujahideen network. The JMB at its peak was reported to contain at least 100,000 members, and an alleged 2,000-man suicide brigade, few of whom actually went kaboom!. JMB allegedly received financial assistance from individual donors in Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Pakistan, Soddy Arabia and Libya. Reports have claimed that funding of JMB by international NGOs like Kuwait based Society of the Revival of Islamic Heritage (RIHS) and Doulatul Kuwait, Soddy Arabia based Al Haramaine Islamic Institute and Rabita Al Alam Al Islami, Qatar Charitable Society and UAE-based Al Fuzaira and Khairul Ansar Al Khairia. The top leadership of JMB was captured in 2005 and hung in 2007, which pretty much shot their bolt. , and Lashkar-e-Taiba ...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI... have links with Hizb-ut-Tahrir which is also patronised by some mainstream anti-government political parties," said Ziaul.
In separate drives last week, Rab and police tossed in the clink at least 15 Hizb-ut-Tahrir leaders and activists including another doctor, and an IT expert of the Local Government Engineering Department. More than 500 Hizb-ut-Tahrir leaders and activists have been tossed in the clink since the organization was banned in 2009.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2012 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Police on Tuesday accused religious beturbanned goons over the kidnapping of a German aid worker and his Italian colleague, snatched at gunpoint five days ago.
The two aid workers were dragged from the home they rented in Multan late on Thursday, bringing to six the number of Westerners kidnapped in Pakistain since July.
"The kidnappers have made no contact so far," Azhar Akram, the head of the police investigation team told AFP from Multan.
Masked gunnies snatched the two aid workers, but left behind a guard and a Western woman also staying at the house.
"It could be a simple case of kidnapping for ransom, an bully boy group may be involved or may be linked to some personal issue," he added.
The German and Italian had been working for a year to help rehabilitate villagers affected by devastating floods in 2010.
Another member of the police team confirmed that suspicion was falling on religious bully boys.
"The gunnies are believed to have taken them to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... province or some tribal town in the lawless region on Afghan border," he told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
On Sunday, a Kenyan aid worker also went missing with his Pak driver.
Police fear the pair have also been kidnapped.
Earlier this month, gunnies kidnapped a British man working for the International Committee of the Red Thingy in Pakistain's insurgency-hit southwestern province of Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... Last August, an American development director, Warren Weinstein, 70, was snatched from his home in Lahore and in July a Swiss couple was kidnapped while driving through Balochistan.
The Taliban claim to have the Swiss, while al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri ... Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit, now the head cheese. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area. That is not a horn growing from the middle of his forehead, but a prayer bump, attesting to how devout he is... claims to be holding Weinstein, but the terror group has released no proof.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
Could be the local Racoons Lodge, too. Six of one, half-dozen of the other.
[Dawn] Hundreds of faceless myrmidons in jungle fatigues lined up to surrender weapons Tuesday as several turban groups formally joined a cease-fire with the government in a step toward ending a three-decade insurgency in northeast India.
The 676 fighters who handed over weapons to authorities at a sports stadium in the Assam state capital of Gauhati are members of nine of the more than 20 groups fighting the government in the remote northeastern state.
More than 10,000 people have been killed since 1979 when the cut-throats began fighting for greater autonomy for their ethnic communities in Assam. However, some people cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go... over the past two years, the groups have begun to reach cease-fire accords and enter peace talks with the government.
Tuesday's event in Gauhati brought the number of groups in talks to 15 -- leaving about a half-dozen still fighting.
Senior army and coppers stood by as Home Minister P. Chidambaram assured the ex-fighters they would be embraced back into society.
"We shall make sure each one of you are able to enjoy equal rights now that you have shunned violence," Chidambaram said.
He also said that the government was close to signing comprehensive peace deals with some of the groups, but did not elaborate.
Previously, the government has said it was open to discussing demands for more autonomy in areas including civic administration, finances and cultural rights.
The faceless myrmidons have argued over the years that Assam's indigenous people -- most of whom are ethnically closer to groups in Myanmar and China than to the rest of India -- are ignored by the federal government that sits 1,000 miles away in New Delhi.
They also accuse the Indian government of exploiting the northeast's rich natural resources.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/25/2012 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] At least three kidnappers and two coppers were killed in a daylong shootout in Jamrud tehsil of Khyber Agency on Monday.
Officials said that Khasadar and Levies personnel assisted by Beautiful Downtown Peshawar police, Anti-Narcotics Force and FC surrounded the house of Malik Gul Rehman in Ghundi area after getting information about the presence of a gang of kidnappers inside.
They said that sensing danger the kidnappers opened fire on the security forces, which was retaliated.
Local sources said that exchange of fire continued for almost eight hours as the operation was launched at 9am and ended at 5pm in the evening.
Officials said that two khasadars ...a rural policeman in Pakistain or India... identified as Mir Mat and Yousuf bit the dust when hit by bullets fired from the besieged house.
Another khasadar received injuries and he was shifted to a hospital in Peshawar.
Officials claimed to have killed three kidnappers while one of their accomplices managed to escape. Forces also put the house on fire after killing the three outlaws.
Local sources, however, said that a police official from Peshawar ordered killing of two kidnappers when they surrendered soon after the operation was launched.
Local sources said that one of the kidnappers held the forces engaged for almost eight hours after he saw execution of his accomplices at the hands of police. He was killed only when the forces used rocket launchers to destroy the house, they added.
Officials of political administration denied allegation about killing the two outlaws after their surrender.
In Nowshera, four copperswere maimed when a remote controlled bomb planted by suspected bully boyz along the main G.T. Road went kaboom! on Monday.
Officials said that four personnel of Elite Force including ASI Mohammad Rizwan, constables Riaz Anjum, Ihsanullah and Jawad were on way to Nowshera from Pabbi in a police van.
"When they reached the Refugee Camp Bridge near Azakhel, a remote controlled bomb planted beneath the bridge, went kaboom! and injured the four coppers," they added.
The injured coppers were taken to district headquarters hospital in Nowshera from where ASI Rizwan and constable Riaz were referred to Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar.
District Police Officer Mohammad Hussain along with a police contingent reached the site and started search operation. Seven suspected persons were locked away, he said.
In Bannu, a man and his wife received injuries when a rocket hit a house on Monday morning.
Sources said bully boyz fired three rockets on Bannu Cantonment at 6:45am from unspecified location. One of the rockets fell on a house, injuring Mohammad Nawaz and his wife Shabana Bibi.
The second rocket landed in the courtyard of a mosque while the third one fell on a road. The boundary walls of the house and the mosque were damaged.
The injured were taken to district headquarters hospital. The injured man in stated to be at death's door.
Police cordoned off the area and started search operation soon after the incident. Several suspects were locked away and shifted to undisclosed location for interrogation.
In Mohmand ... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar... Agency, an improvised bomb, planted by suspected bully boyz along a roadside at Qandharo area of tehsil Safi, was defused by security forces on Monday.
The security forces also conducted search operation in the area. However, a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all... there was no report of any arrest.
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[Dawn] The elders of Dallokhel and local leaders of Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spends more time running his madrassah. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability... -Fazl have said that they would continue to cooperate with law enforcement agencies and security forces for restoration of durable peace in the area."Joint and collective efforts by area people and law enforcers can help to eradicate the menace of militancy and restore peace in the district," they told a meeting, held in Dallokhel on Monday.
They said that the suspects, incarcerated during a search operation the other day, should be released as they were apparently not wanted by law enforcement agencies.
Maulana Syed Mohammad Mohsin Shah, a member of Marwat Qaumi Jirga, and JUI-F district chief Maulana Abdul Rahim also addressed the meeting.
They said that they would not allow anyone to disturb peace of the district. They added that all out assistance would be provided to security forces to eliminate saboteurs from the area.
"The credit for maintaining sustainable peace and protecting lives and properties of people goes to security forces," the speakers said. They called upon security forces to take elders into confidence before launching search operation in an area as it would help to tighten noose around myrmidons and reduce hardships of local people.
Meanwhile, ...back at the wine tasting, Vince was about to start tasting his third quart... unidentified gunniesrubbed out two persons in two different incidents in the district on Monday, police said.
They said that Haji Noor Mohammad was going home after offering Maghrib prayers in the village's mosque in Eesakkhel when unidentified gunnies attacked him. "He died instantly while the attackers managed to escape," they added.
In another incident, unidentified motorcyclists killed Sahibzada Daud Ahmad, near Kotka Parade in Naurang town.
The assailants managed to flee after committing the crime. Police registered separate cases in Lakki Marwat and Shaheed Asmatullah Khan cop shoppes and started investigation.
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[Iran Press TV] Unknown forces of Evil have attacked a state-run school in Khyber Agency in northwest Pakistain, killing a security guard and injuring two others, Press TV reports.
Those brave, brave Lions of Islam! Normally they only kill unguarded, empty buildings.
Officials told Press TV that the forces of Evil also detonated a bomb inside the building of the state primary school in Sheikh Mal Khei area of the tribal region early on Tuesday.
The school building was completely destroyed over the blast, they said. No group has yet grabbed credit for the attack.
Over the past several years, the forces of Evil have destroyed hundreds of schools in northwestern Pakistain, especially in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... province.
Describing education as 'unnecessary' or 'harmful' for girls, pro-Talibs have banned female education in northwestern Pakistain.
The move has affected thousands of girls in the region and caused the number of enrolments to drop dramatically.
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[An Nahar] A rocket fired from the Gazoo Strip landed in southern Israel on Tuesday, causing no damage or injuries, an Israeli police front man said.
"One rocket was fired earlier this morning from Gazoo and landed in an open area in the Eshkol region," Israeli police front man Micky Rosenfeld told Agence La Belle France Presse.
Overnight, Israel carried out several Arclight airstrikes in Gazoo that the Israeli military said targeted an arms factory and three tunnels.
Sources from the Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, movement said the strikes caused no injuries.
The Israeli military said the strikes came "in response to rockets fired against Israel in recent days."
So far this month at least nine rockets have been fired towards Israeli territory from the Paleostinian enclave controlled by the Islamist Hamas movement, according to the Israeli army.
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[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Gulf Arab states will pull out their observers sent to Syria as part of an Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... mission, they announced on Tuesday, urging UN Security Council members to press Damascus ...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world... to implement the pan-Arab body's decisions.
"Gulf Cooperation Council states have decided to follow Soddy Arabia's decision to pull out its observers from the vaporous Arab League mission in Syria," the monarchies said in a joint statement.
The six GCC states said their decision came after "closely following developments in Syria and after they have confirmed that the bloodshed and killings there continue (and after) the Syrian regime did not comply with implementing the Arab League decisions."
They also called on "members of the UN Security Council... to take all needed measures at the Security Council to press Syria to implement the Arab League decisions and the Arab initiative on Syria."
GCC states are "committed to all Arab League decisions... despite the conviction of (GCC) states that the latest decision must be stronger and more pressure put on the Syrian regime to force it to stop killing the Syrian people," it said.
The statement was referring to a surprise Arab League initiative on Syria, taken Sunday, which called on the United Nations ...Parkinson's Law on an international scale... to support a new plan for ending the bloodshed in the unrest-swept nation.
The plan, which envisages Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad The Scourge of Hama... transferring power to his deputy and the formation of a national unity government within two months, was swiftly rejected by Syria.
GCC states "urge their Arab brothers to commit seriously and truthfully to implementing Arab League decisions to press Syria" to comply with the league's decisions.
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[An Nahar] Syrian security forces killed 52 people across the country on Tuesday as troops stormed Hama following large protests in the flashpoint central city, activists said.
"The Syrian armed forces stormed the neighborhoods of Bab Qubli and al-Jarajmah in Hama, firing heavy machineguns," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Activists in the city said that troops had gone on the offensive after large demonstrations earlier in the day.
"Since the morning, entrances to Hama have been blocked ... Syrian troops stormed the city from its northern and western entrances," Saleh al-Hamwi, front man of the General Revolution Commission, told Agence La Belle France Presse by telephone.
Anwar Amran, another anti-regime activist in Hama, said tanks had entered the city and there had been "heavy machinegun fire" in three different neighborhoods.
Meanwhile, ...back at the scene of the crime, Lieutenant Queeg had an idea: there was a simple way to tell whether Manetti had been the triggerman -- just look at his shoes!... the Local Coordination Committees, the main activist group spurring protests on the ground, said security forces killed 52 people across the country, "including 18 who died when shelling destroyed two buildings in the Homs neighborhood of Bab Tadmur."
Thirty-nine people were killed in the central opposition bastion Homs, five in Hama province, three in the southern province of Daraa, the cradle of the uprising, two in the flashpoint northwestern province of Idlib, two in Damascus ...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world... province and one in the northern province of al-Raqqa, the LCC said.
For its part, the London-based Observatory said two non-combatants were killed in Hama province and one in Homs, Syria's third-largest city.
"A civilian was killed by gunfire from a checkpoint ... in the Bab al-Sibaa neighborhood of Homs," one of the focal points of protests against Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs... 's regime that erupted in March last year, it said.
Another two civilians died in Hama province when security forces fired on the car they were traveling in near the Tibah al-Imam locality, the Observatory added.
Separately, Syrian security forces reportedly opened fire in Idlib province in an attempt to disperse some 10,000 people gathered for the funeral of Radwan Rabi Hamada, an anti-regime protester killed in the town of Saraqeb on Monday.
Observatory chairman Rami Abdul Rahman said security forces fired heavy machineguns after Hamada's burial in the village of al-Bara.
And in the southern city of Daraa, festivities broke out between deserters and the regular army, the watchdog added.
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#1
"The Syrian armed forces stormed the neighborhoods of Bab Qubli and al-Jarajmah in Hama, firing heavy machineguns"
Odd. With Hama, it's traditionally heavy artillery.
[An Nahar] Syria said on Tuesday it will spurn further Arab efforts to resolve its political crisis, as Gulf states piled on pressure by deciding to pull out their observers and urging strong U.N. action.
The Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... said its monitors would be confined to base from Wednesday unless Damascus ...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world... gives its approval for the mission to continue for a second month after an informal extension ran out.
"Enough of the Arab solutions from now," Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said, accusing the Arabs of "plotting" to internationalize the crisis and taking decisions while "knowing that they will be rejected" by Damascus.
His remarks came after the pan-Arab bloc called on Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Lord of the Baath... to hand over power to his deputy and to clear the way for a unity government within two months, in a surprise weekend announcement.
"We do not want Arab solutions. We said that two days ago when we refused the initiative and when the ministers' council decided to turn to the Security Council," said Muallem. "We categorically refused (this proposal).
"The solution is a Syrian one based on the interests of the Syrian people ... based on the completion of the reform program proposed by President Bashir al-Assad," he told a televised news conference.
Muallem said Syria had no choice but to confront gangs that the government blames for the violence which the U.N. says has killed more than 5,400 people since March.
"It is the duty of the Syrian government to take the necessary measures to address the problem of those armed elements who are wreaking havoc throughout Syria," he said, stressing Russia would never accept foreign intervention.
"No one can doubt the strength of the Russian-Syrian relationship," based on their history and the interests of both peoples, he said.
Muallem admitted the violence and Western sanctions were causing an economic crisis in Syria, but vowed the government would not be swayed.
"There is no doubt that any kind of sanctions affect the population but they do not affect the political situation," Muallem said, speaking a day after EU foreign ministers slapped fresh sanctions on Syria's military brass.
The Arab League said on Tuesday it had requested a meeting with U.N. Secretary General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon ... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan... so it can present its proposals on resolving the crisis and seek support from the U.N. Security Council.
The request was issued jointly by the pan-Arab body's secretary general, Nabil al-Arabi, and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani, deputy secretary general Ahmad bin Helli told AFP.
Muallem brushed off the threat of the Security Council.
"If they go to (U.N. headquarters in) New York or the moon, as long as we don't pay their tickets, this is their business," he said.
Bin Helli said that the League's observers had been operating in Syria under an informal agreement that expired on Tuesday.
"If the Syrian government does not give its agreement to (further) extend the mission, the observers will suspend their work, will remain in their places of residence and will not move," he said.
The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council said it had decided "to follow Soddy Arabia's decision to pull out its observers from the vaporous Arab League mission in Syria."
The GCC called on "members of the U.N. Security Council ... to take all needed measures to press Syria to implement the Arab League decisions and the Arab initiative on Syria."
The Gulf states accounted for 54 of the 165 monitors in the Arab League mission to Syria, a GCC official said.
Regional heavyweight Soddy Arabia decided on Sunday to pull out its observers.
Western governments have been capitalizing on the Arab League's tough new stance to embark on a fresh drive for action by the Security Council.
Germany's U.N. ambassador Peter Wittig said it could mark a "game changer."
Wittig and the British and French ambassadors met counterparts from some Arab League nations late on Monday to map out the next moves at the U.N.
The European countries have asked for the Security Council to request that Arab League chief Arabi brief the 15-member Council "as soon as possible", diplomats said.
The Security Council has been blocked for months over Syria. Russia and China vetoed a proposed European resolution in October saying it was the first steps toward enforced regime change.
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#1
So Syria is admitting it will ignore Arabs and bow to its Persian masters?
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.
... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it...
... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it...
Police on Tuesday accused religious 
Mohmand
[Dawn] The elders of Dallokhel and local leaders of 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
