(Xinhua) -- While Taliban militants have been strengthening their grip over several districts in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, the Afghan government is hopeful to restore stability there this year, a military official said Saturday. "We have decided to stabilize security in Helmand province this year," Defense Ministry spokesman Zahir Azimi told newsmen here.
He made this remark amid ongoing conflicts between militants and the NATO-backed Afghan troops in the militancy-hit and poppy growing province bordering Pakistan. Since Thursday, 69 militants and seven personnel of Afghan security forces were killed in clashes in Gereshk district of the province. "The troops are better equipped and have the ability to evict enemies and establish government sovereignty in 24 hours but we want to avoid damaging civilians," he added.
To achieve the goal, he said the government wants to pursue negotiation through tribal elders and to convince insurgents to vacate the area. To evict militants and restore government's authority across the province, NATO and Afghan forces launched a major offensive in the north of Helmand early this month. Taliban commanders claimed 10,000 fighters including 2,000 suicide bombers were ready to target Afghan and foreign troops based in Afghanistan this year when the weather gets warm. Militancy and conflicts have claimed the lives of more than 500 people this year in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2007 00:00 ||
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That task may actually become a bit easier with the mooks killing each other off in Wazirstan - cuts the logistics and available trained bodies for the Talib.
(SomaliNet) Belarus said on Saturday a missile caused a plane crash in Mogadishu that killed 11 of its citizens, while the Somali government said the incident looked more like an accident than an attack by ever bolder insurgents, Reuters reports. "The plane was shot down," Transport Ministry spokeswoman Kseniya Perestoronina said in Minsk, adding the large Ilyushin plane, in Somalia to assist struggling African peacekeepers, was hit at a height of 150 metres (500 feet).
If confirmed, it would be the most spectacular strike yet by rebels fighting the Somali government, their Ethiopian military allies and the African Union (AU) force since the start of 2007. Both a local Somali radio and an Islamist Web site said a missile hit the Russian-made Ilyushin -- used by a Belarussian firm -- just after takeoff from Mogadishu on Friday afternoon. However, witnesses who saw the plane burning in the sky and then crashing could not confirm it had been shot first.
And Somali Interior Minister Mohamed Mahamud Guled insisted the incident had the hallmarks of a technical fault, though investigations were under way to confirm exactly what happened. "The plane took off at around five o'clock and as soon as it reached 10,000 feet altitude, the pilot reported an engine problem in engine number two and said he would turn back to the airport," he told a news conference in Mogadishu.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2007 00:00 ||
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was hit at a height of 150 metres (500 feet).
Yeah, that's one part of a flight where a 2 lb. warhead could bring down a biggie.
(KUNA) -- Bangladesh's security forces have raided the political office of business magnate and son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, -- Tarique Rahman, following the interim government's decision to investigate reported links between him and Indian-born underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, who is now in self-exile outside India.
The security forces late Friday seized computers and documents from Rahman's office in Dhaka's posh Banani residential area, news agency Indo-Asian News Service reported Saturday. The alleged links between Rahman and Ibrahim were reported by Bangladesh's leading English and Bengali dailies Thursday.
The newspapers claimed Rahman visited Dubai last year to meet Ibrahim and signed several deals. Ibrahim is also wanted by India for his alleged role in 1993 Mumbai blasts, which killed more than 300. Rahman was appointed by his mother in an influential position in Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which ruled from 2001-06, with an aim to anoint him as her political successor. Rahman was arrested two weeks ago on charges of corruption.
Meanwhile, Chief Adviser of Bangladesh caretaker government Fakhruddin Ahmed has said in an interview to Time Magazine that his interim government does not intend to stay in power more than necessary but said that it would complete electoral reforms before conducting Parliamentary elections. He also defended the current drive against corruption and said the Bangladesh Election Commission (EC) has to decide when elections will be held. The ninth general election, scheduled for January 22, this year, was postponed following nationwide political turmoil and emergency was imposed.
Electoral reforms, and drive against corruption and militancy are high on the agenda of the interim government. "We are committed to holding elections in the shortest possible period but there is a wide acceptance in the country that the time that it takes to carry out these fundamental reforms should really be allowed, and then you hold elections. We do not intend to stay in power a day longer than necessary," Ahmed told the magazine.
The United States Friday said though there must be a timeline for elections, it is not pushing for a specific time for the conduct of the polls.
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03/25/2007 00:00 ||
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A British Muslim whose public praise of Muslim militants earned him notoriety in Britain said in an interview with the CBS programme 60 Minutes he has renounced his views and now opposes violence. Hassan Butt first gained notoriety in Britain for telling the BBC in 2002 that Britons would fight the West in Afghanistan and would return to launch attacks in the United Kingdom. Butt admits in the interview to be broadcast on Sunday(today) to actively recruiting young Britons to join extremist organisations and raising funds for jihad. But he now says the July 7, 2005, suicide bombings of three subways and a bus in London have led him to question and ultimately abandon his commitment to radicalism.
Hassan said he turned away from violence because no religious leaders were able to convince him it was sanctioned by Islam. Ive come to realise that killing in the name of Islam is completely and utterly prohibited, he said in a summary of the interview provided by CBS. Theres a big disease and a cancer in the Muslim world and it needs to be dealt with. One tactic to find recruits was to focus on young men who were being forced into arranged marriages, Hassan said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2007 00:00 ||
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Yah, its Taqiyah. As terrorists get older they are less useful on the front line. Until the Al-Qaeda operations needs staff this nut can claim pacificism. Its just terror support by other means.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Democrats' plan to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq next year responds to voters' demand for change, New Hampshire Rep. Paul Hodes said Saturday.
Hodes and other House Democrats on Friday pushed through a rebuke of President Bush and the war in Iraq. Bush promised a veto of the spending bill, which demands combat operations end before September 2008 - and perhaps earlier.
"With our vote this week, we're helping our troops, protecting our veterans, and fighting to end the waste, fraud and abuse," said Hodes, delivering the Democrats' weekly radio address. "After four years of a failed policy, Democrats are insisting on a new direction in Iraq and a real plan that holds the Iraqi people accountable for their own country."
More treachery at link...
Posted by: Dave D. ||
03/25/2007 00:00 ||
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I know I read it here at the 'Burg (Sherry?). I paraphrase:
We left troops in Japan for a long time, and the country thrived. We left troops in Germany for a long time, and the country thrived. We left troops in South Korea for a long time, and the country thrived. We took the troops out of Vietnam when Congress intervened, and millions died. Do you see the pattern?
When will the Dems set withdrawal dates from those countries?
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/25/2007 7:35 Comments ||
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#3
The only plan the dhemmis have is dhemmitude and capitualation. Chickenshit lot the bunch of them. They are aiding and abetting terrorists. This is called treason.
Exclusive to PJM by Richard Miniter, PJM Washington Editor
American forces in Iraq now hold some 300 prisoners tied to Irans intelligence agencies, Pajamas Media learned from both diplomatic and military sources.
More likely, the large number of Iran-linked prisoners reflects a change in tactics following the arrival of Multinational Force Iraq commander Army Gen. David H. Petraeus. Previously, Iranians and other foreigners could not be picked up without a provable connection to terrorism. Now, American and allied forces are encouraged to seize militants based on a reasonable suspicion of involvement in insurgent attacks. This is consistent with Iraqi law.
The Pentagon received considerable pressure from officials in the State department and CIA to release some or all of the Iran-linked prisoners to facilitate discussions between Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Iranian officials. Apparently, Gen. Petraeus sharply disagreed, saying that he intends to hold the prisoners until they run out of information or we run out of food, according to our sources who heard these remarks through channels.
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/25/2007 10:11 Comments ||
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#2
Good for General Petraeus. Keep 'em and wring 'em dry. Keep the pressure on Iran and fuck the goddamn State department. Bunch of wasted oxygen in that department.
#8
The Pentagon received considerable pressure from officials in the State department and CIA to release some or all of the Iran-linked prisoners
Can anyone tell me the difference between State and CIA? Because they sure as hell don't act any different.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
03/25/2007 11:33 Comments ||
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#9
"until they run out of information or we run out of food,"
I am really starting to like this guy. State Dept has been AWOL sinse the start of this war and looks bound determined to continue that disgraceful reputation. I actually had some hopes for state after Rice took over buy after a couple months and no mass firings it was obvios she didn't have the sack.
#13
Rice may not become President, but I'm thinkin Petraeus will.
Jebus, imagine how the leftards will go berserk over that idea. After years of telling us we can't make statements in favor of using the military unless we've been in the military, of attacking Bush because "he didn't serve", the idea of an actual military man in the White House will send them into shrieking hysterics.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
03/25/2007 15:28 Comments ||
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#14
I finally figured out how the State Department was intended to be used: It is a contrarian indicator! Since the State Department is saying to release them, Petraeus knows he is doing the right thing by keeping them!
#15
What Petreus did not say was something to the effect that "State and CIA didn't write his FITREPS or sign his paycheck" so they can bugger off. At least not publicly. Yet.
(3/22/07) This morning I met with members of the House Army Caucus, a bipartisan group of representatives who have a special interest in the strength and well-being of the Army. We discussed several key issues relating to the Army's readiness. I received questions from both sides of the aisle as to the measures the military will need to take if the Congress does not pass the Fiscal Year '07 supplemental by April 15th.
For example, according to the Army, which went through this experience last year, if the supplemental is not passed by April 15th, the service will be forced to consider the following kinds of actions: one, curtailing and suspending home station training for Reserve and Guard units; two, slowing the training of units slated to deploy next to Iraq and Afghanistan; three, cutting the funding for the upgrade or renovation of barracks and other facilities that support quality of life for troops and their families; and fourth, stopping the repair of equipment necessary to support pre-deployment training.
If the supplemental is not passed by May 15th, the Army will be forced to consider the following: one, reducing the repair work being done at Army depots; two, delaying or curtailing the deployment of brigade combat teams to their training rotations; three, this, in turn, will cause additional units in theater to have their tours extended because other units are not ready to take their place; four, delaying the formation of new brigade combat teams; five, implementation of a civilian hiring freeze; sixth, prohibiting the execution of new contracts and service orders, including service contracts for training events and facilities; and seventh, holding or cancelling the order of repair parts to non-deployed units in the Army.
This kind of disruption to key programs will have a genuinely adverse effect on the readiness of the Army and the quality of life for soldiers and their families. I urge the Congress to pass the supplemental as quickly as possible.
The police on Saturday arrested over 70 political activists belonging to various opposition parties during raids on their houses. These activists belong to the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Tehrik-e-Insaaf. It has been learnt that police have detained them under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance to stop them from taking part in the March 26 strike called by the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy. The strike has been called to denounce Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhrys suspension by President Pervez Musharraf.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2007 00:00 ||
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A key leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl from South Waziristan said on Saturday that the majority of Ahmedzai Wazir tribes were now against the presence of foreign militants in their areas. Returning from Wana after brokering a temporary ceasefire between Maulvi Nazir-led militants and Uzbek militants, MNA Maulana Mirajuddin said the Ahmedzai Wazir tribes had withdrawn the hospitality enjoyed by foreigners since they crossed into Pakistan from Afghanistan in 2001. What I gathered there is that Maulvi Nazir enjoys the full support of Wazir tribes, who are no more willing to shelter the foreigners and are demanding the foreigners leave their areas, the MMA parliamentarian told Daily Times over the telephone from Tank city.
Around 130 Uzbek militants were killed in four-day clashes with the followers of Maulvi Nazir, who had ordered foreign militants to surrender after an Arab fighter was found dead, and the Uzbeks were prime suspects. During the clashes, 30 supporters of Nazir were also reported killed.
Meanwhile, a jirga returned from Wana, but no final decision was made on the foreigners exit from the Wazir areas. We were successful in the sense that both sides agreed to find a solution to the problem through a jirga, said Mirajuddin.
A security official said the situation in Azam Warsak, Kaloosha, Sheen Warsak and other areas around Wana was calm, and no clashes had been reported. So far so good, he said via phone from Wana.
However, both sides were holding their positions on hilltops and roadsides, checking all traffic. Maulvi Nazirs men reportedly captured three Uzbeks and a local, but there was no independent confirmation. Also, some rockets and mortars were fired from the Afghan side, injuring a man and damaging two houses in North Waziristan, a local administration official told Daily Times. Five rockets and as many mortars were fired from across the border between 9am and 1pm in Utmankhel village, Mir Ali subdivision, from the direction of Afghanistans Khost province, said the official.
Misal Khan was injured when one of the rockets hit his home, while the other rockets and mortars landed in an open field, he added. He did not say whether security forces had retaliated. Meanwhile, two remote-controlled bomb attacks on two separate convoys of the Frontier Corps in Bannu injured one soldier.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2007 00:00 ||
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A rise in extremist tendencies in North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) is the outcome of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) governments wrong policies, Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao said on Saturday.
Addressing a meeting of Pakistan Peoples Party-Sherpao (PPP-S) leaders and workers at a hotel here, Sherpao said that he had warned that the MMA government was incapable of handling provincial affairs. He said that insecurity had gripped NWFP because of the MMA governments flawed policies. The minister, who heads the PPP-S, said that his party would chalk out a solid strategy to fight extremism in NWFP. He said that the PPP-S would maintain its independent identity. About the judicial crisis, Sherpao said the government believed that the Supreme Judicial Council would uphold the rule of law while deciding on a presidential reference against suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. The PPP-S meeting also passed resolutions condemning terrorism and demanding compensation for rain-hit people and development funds for NWFP.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2007 00:00 ||
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#2
the end meaning when we stop giving money to to paki's
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03/25/2007 2:41 Comments ||
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Al Qaeda in Iraq is using kidnapped children to pick up weapons dropped in battle zones, get past checkpoints and die in car bombs, according to U.S. officials and Iraqis in Baghdad. "Al Qaeda is using children to pick up weapons and ammunition knowing that U.S. troops will not shoot against children," said one U.S. military official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
There has also been a reported incident in which children were used to drive safely past a checkpoint in order to detonate a car closer to a target. "Men traveling with children in the back of their cars rarely get searched because they look like a family," said Hassan, a middle-aged Shi'ite living in one of the capital's older mixed neighborhoods. "Then they leave the car and blow it up by remote control with the children in it," he said. Hassan, who did not want his full name used out of fear of retaliation, said at one point last year children with Down syndrome had been used to carry bombs. So the Iraqis have noticed, and remembered. Separately...
In Baghdad neighborhoods where al Qaeda is believed to have a strong presence, U.S. and Iraqi forces are in the process of building barriers around markets to prevent car bombs from getting in. "There is an al Qaeda-related network that focuses solely on car bombs," said a second U.S. military official, who asked that his name not be used because he was not authorized to speak to the press. The second military official, who is involved in the operations, also said that in some cases entire neighborhoods are being cordoned off and turned into "gated communities."
"In my neighborhood there is some control to stop everything, and it's good, you know," Hassan said. "All the major markets in Baghdad now have concrete shields, so you go by walking. It's good, yes."
Terrorists got around the neighborhood choke points by waiting until the American forces left, and then dragging the smaller concrete barriers out of the way. U.S. troops then laid larger 10-foot high concrete barriers down horizontally on top of each other. The terrorists built sand and trash berms high enough to drive over them, acknowledged the U.S. official.
"If you stop the car bombs, then there will be motorcycle bombs. If you stop the motorcycle bombs, they will use suicide bombers. The terrorists have a brain -- maybe they will capture a pigeon and put a bomb inside," Hassan said. The only way to stop the terrorists, he said, was for Iraq's politicians to cut off support and money flowing to the Shi'ite militias, Sunni insurgents and al Qaeda networks. Odd that Hassan is the only Iraqi quoted. Odder still that two paragraphs above he's happy about the barriers, here he thinks the effort is hopeless. I wonder if he understood the questions at all, or just nodded yes whenever the reporter asked a question.
U.S. forces are hoping that by cordoning off neighborhoods they will cut off the enemy's ability to smuggle in large amounts of cash or weapons. "All we are looking for is a disruption effect," said the second military official. Disrupt them in Baghdad, pound them to pieces in Diyala, drive them across the border into Iran and block their return, until they give up the whole idea of jihad... one way or another.
#1
Driving the jihadists out of Iraq and blocking their return is not sufficient. We must destroy all states that harbor or support terrorists aka jihadists. Not invade and rebuild -- destroy. There must be a steep price paid by people who allow their state to be used to such ends. My guess is that after two states suffer such destruction, a lot of people around the world will be strongly motivated to quickly get rid of their tyrannical government.
And at home we should try for treason any politician or intellectual who opposes or undermines this strategy.
#2
"Al Qaeda is using children to pick up weapons and ammunition knowing that U.S. troops will not shoot against children,"
That needs to change. Just as with kids kicking around body parts of our battlefield casualties. Once enough parents bury enough of their children, they'll realize that al Qaeda gets them and their spawn killed. Maybe then they'll begin reporting al Qaeda's actions to the authorities. If not, we will continue killing them and their children until they no longer pose a threat to us, now or generations in the future.
These are not civilians, they and their children are active combatants. This is simple chlorination of Iraq's gene pool. Those foolish enough to wade into the deep end of things need to have their DNA fragmented. It is one of the most basic functions of war.
#4
Although it must be remembered that Al Qaeda isn't beyond threatening or holding hostage entire families in order to get a child to participate.
So, then their child goes out, gets killed and they blame al Qaeda who forced the whole issue. Plus, al Qaeda and other insurgents really don't have the time to hold entire familes hostage just to get some kid to play fetch for them. Think of the disproportionate manpower involved. Even if they threaten to come back later, the family should use that time to let the authorities set up an ambush. Iraqis must be made to realize that al Qaeda is not their friend. No better way exists than having their kids getting shot up.
Either families are not overseeing their young, unlikely from what I know of Arab culture, or they are knowingly let their kids participate in anti-American efforts. That makes them, right down to the brat, enemies and the sooner more of them are dead, the safer our troops are.
Cold-blooded? Yew betcha. Nothing less will win this war. Wars are supposed to kill people, preferrably your enemies, be they men, women or children. Those who are most indoctrinated against America are the likeliest to participate in this sort of crap and it is our duty to make them pay the price for it.
Like Patton said:
"Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his."
If these Iraqi bastards of any age are ungrateful enough to help kill their American liberators, then we are obliged to kill them first.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Saturday he had no plans to meet Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh during his Middle East tour. I will be meeting with President Mahmoud Abbas and other members of the cabinet. At this time I will say that my itinerary schedule at this time does not include my meeting with Prime Minister Haniyeh, he told a news conference in Cairo. Ban said he might also meet the Palestinian ministers of finance and foreign affairs, either with Abbas or separately. The two ministers are independent of both Hamas and of Abbass secular Fatah movement.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2007 00:00 ||
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In other words, to the UN the PLO is legitimate, but not Hamas. They prefer hate filled, murdering liars to hate filled, murdering truth tellers.
(Xinhua) -- A senior Islamic Resistance Movement(Hamas) leader on Saturday rejected Israeli government's decision not to release Palestinian tax revenues for fear of being used to fund Hamas. "Since the first day when Hamas won parliamentary elections more than a year ago, Israel has tried to blackmail the Palestinian people by withholding their money," said Khalil Abu Leila, chief of Hamas' foreign relations.
The Israeli government has reportedly decided not to transfer600 million U.S. dollars of tax revenues to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) for fear that the money will be used to bolster Hamas Islamists rather than moderate President Mahmoud Abbas. "In the past, they (the Israelis) have released 100 million U.S. dollars and it (the money) was spent in proper way...Hamas will not use any of this money because they are for the Palestinian people," Abu Laila argued. Earlier, Palestinian Information Minister Mustafa al-Barghouti said the PNA will start an international campaign to press Israel to release the money.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2007 00:00 ||
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Heh. Reject away, Khalil. Try holding your breath, too. That'll show 'em!
(Xinhua) -- Visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held a consultative meeting with foreign ministers of the Arab Quartet in the southern Egyptian city of Aswan on Saturday evening, Egypt's official news agency MENA reported.
During the talks, Rice and the officials from the Arab Quartet, which groups Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), exchanged views on the Arab-U.S. stance on how to push forward the Mideast peace process as well as the situation in Iraq and Sudan's western region of Darfur, according to MENA. They will hold a press conference on Sunday to inform the outcome of the Arab-US consultative meeting, MENA said, adding Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is expected to meet with Rice on Sunday.
Rice, who arrived in Aswan earlier in the day, is on a regional tour to pursue efforts to revive the Mideast peace process, which will also take her to Israel and the Palestinian territories. The visit came just days before the Arab summit in Riyadh due on March 28-29, during which the Arab peace initiative is very likely to be renewed.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2007 00:00 ||
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DEEP in a violent and lawless slum just north of the Lebanese coastal city of Tripoli, 12 men whose faces were shrouded by scarves drilled with Kalashnikovs.
In unison, they lunged in one direction, turned and lunged in another. "Allah-u akbar," the men shouted in praise to God as they fired their machine guns into a wall.
The men belong to a new militant Islamic organisation called Fatah al Islam. Its leader, fugitive Palestinian Shakir al-Abssi, has set up operations in a refugee camp where he trains fighters and spreads the ideology of al-Qaeda.
He has solid terrorist credentials. A former associate of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq who was killed last summer, Abssi was sentenced to death in absentia along with al-Zarqawi over the 2002 assassination of a US diplomat in Jordan, Laurence Foley.
Just four months after arriving in Lebanon from Syria, Abssi has a militia that intelligence officials estimate at 150 men and an arsenal of explosives, rockets and even an anti-aircraft gun.
During a recent interview, Abssi displayed his makeshift training facility and his strident message that America needed to be punished for its presence in the Islamic world.
"The only way to achieve our rights is by force," he said. "This is the way America deals with us. So when the Americans feel that their lives and their economy are threatened they will know that they should leave."
Abssi's organisation is the image of what intelligence officials have warned is the re-emergence of al-Qaeda. Shattered after 2001, the organisation founded by Osama bin Laden is now reforming as an alliance of small groups around the world that share a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam but have developed their own independent terror capabilities, these officials have said. If Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who has acknowledged directing the September 11 attacks and a string of other terror plots, represents the previous generation of al-Qaeda leaders, Abssi and others like him represent the new generation.
US and Middle Eastern intelligence officials say Abssi is viewed as a dangerous militant who can assemble small teams of operatives with acute military skill. "Guys like Abssi have the capability on the ground that al-Qaeda has lost and is looking to tap into," a US intelligence source said.
Abssi has shown himself to be a canny operator. Despite being on terrorism watch lists around the world, he has set himself up in a Palestinian refugee camp where, because of Lebanese politics, he is largely shielded from the government. The camp also gives him ready access to a pool of recruits, young Palestinians whose militant vision has evolved from the struggle against Israel to a larger Islamic cause.
Intelligence officials in Beirut says he has also exploited another source of manpower - it estimates that he has 50 militants from Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries fresh from fighting with the insurgency in Iraq.
Officials say they fear he is seeking to establish himself as a terror leader on the scale of al-Zarqawi. "He is trying to fill a void and in a high-profile manner that will attract the attention of supporters," the US intelligence source said.
Yeah, yeah, yeah... same shitski, different dayski. More at link....
Posted by: Dave D. ||
03/25/2007 00:00 ||
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DEEP in a violent and lawless slum just north of the Lebanese coastal city of Tripoli, 12 men whose faces were shrouded by scarves drilled with Kalashnikovs.
#2
This is why we still need a couple of battleships. One salvo, and that "training ground" will be a series of VERY large craters, and the men "drilling" there will become one with the terrain. Battleship salvos have an accuracy from a stationary point of less than half a meter. The only collateral damage will be to mud huts and squalling "palestinians".
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/25/2007 14:21 Comments ||
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#3
C'mon over guys. Let's start the party.
You'll find out why the Russians were afraid to invade this country.
We have guns too, and we take direct attacks on our citizenry in any form extremely seriously although you wouldn't know that from what our politicians say and do these days.
But don't listen to them. When the shit gets down to the grass roots, that's when the real America comes out to party.
(KUNA) -- The Lebanese army asserted Saturday its capability to discharge its duties across the Lebanese territories, particularly in the south, under the United Nations Security Council resolution 1701, according to a statement issued by the general directorate of the army here. The statement came in reply to the third report of the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 (2006). The report is submitted on quarterly basis to the Security Council in response to the SC request of December 12, 2006.
"The present report is submitted against the background of an acute and continuing political crisis in Lebanon and mounting Israeli concerns about the unauthorized transfer of arms across the Lebanese-Syrian border," Ban said in his report.
Asserting its capability to exercise authority over all the Lebanese territories, the army urged for more effective coordination with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) according to the standing field regulations and the technical arrangements agreed-upon by both sides. Under the UN resolution 1701which boosted the number of UNIFIL from 2,000 to 15,000, the Lebanese government deployed 15,00 troopers in the area between the Litani Rivera and the Lebanese-Israeli borders.
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03/25/2007 00:00 ||
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15,000 UN Plus 15,000 Lebanese Army S. of the Litani? Kinda getting crowed around there. Any citizens of the Zionist Entity know if the Jooooooo Army has an amphibious capability?
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Saturday dismissed the UN sanctions adopted by the Security Council against Iran as "unlawful" and "unjustifiable actions" by a few of its members. The UNSC unanimously voted Saturday to impose new sanctions against Iran supposedly for Tehran's refusal to stop enriching uranium.
Mottaki, addressing the council after the vote, defended Tehran's nuclear program as for civilian use, blasting the nuclear resolution as a "scheme" aimed at "depriving the Iranian people of its inalienable rights."
"Iran does not seek confrontation, nor does it want anything beyond its inalienable rights," Mottaki said. "I can assure you intimidation will not change Iranian policy," the Iranian Foreign Minister said outright.
He said the sanctions marked "the fourth time in the last 12 months that in an unwarranted move orchestrated by a few of its permanent members, the Security Council is being abused to take an unlawful, unnecessary and unjustifiable action against the peaceful nuclear program of the Islamic Republic of Iran."
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03/25/2007 00:00 ||
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U.S. Senator and Republican presidential candidate John McCain, R-Ariz., says there isn't much America can do about Iran's decision to take British military personnel into custody this morning. But he says there is something the British can do. During an interview with WLS Radio in Chicago Friday, McCain said Britain should threaten "very decisive action" for what he calls a gross violation of international law by the Iranians. And he says the United States can only provide moral support. We could glassify Qom, maybe...
McCain says this incident eerily reminds him of the Iran hostage crisis - when American citizens were taken hostage at the U-S Embassy in Iran. That lasted a year-and-a-half. "Eerily reminds him of the Iran hostage crisis"... You figured that out all by yourself, John? Nice...
Posted by: Dave D. ||
03/25/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Of course he's right - but why is he a presidential candidate? Come on. Primary voters and general election voters wouldn't let this guy near power in a million years. I don't make predictions but there's one I feel comfortable with.
#2
If that's all McCain can contribute as a Presidential candidate --"moral support"-- he's a coward.
The United States should pledge military support to Britain, just as Britain did after 9/11. This is an act of war against the UK. Very simple, and I'm not surprised McCain doesn't get it.
#3
Moral support, Senator? Are you running for office in Europe? Didn't think so. Seeds baby seeds. Show 'em.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
03/25/2007 1:10 Comments ||
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#4
'McCain said Britain should threaten "very decisive action" for what he calls a gross violation of international law by the Iranians.'
I think he is handling this in exactly the right way. I take the phrase "Very decisive action" as diplomat-speak for a military solution.
John McCain's lineage is military through and through - he definitely would NOT have reacted to the Iranian hostage crisis in 1979 with Dhimmi Carter's obsequience.
#6
Swat Syria and Iran and about 80% of the world's terrorist problems disappear. The other 20% are the talibunnies in Afghanistan. Swatting "hard" would eliminate a lot of future islamic terrorist problems. These are a couple of piss ant countries that are acting like they amount to something. A case of delusional psychosis. There is "therapy" for such psychoses--and not the Dr. Phil or Oprah kind.
#7
Iran committed an act of war against a NATO member. It seems to Me we owe them more than "moral" support. Of course, with the 'Rats in charge of Congress, that's all we'll do.
#8
Swat Syria and Iran and about 80% of the world's terrorist problems disappear.
Our friends from Riyadh fund about 80% of the world's terrorist 'problems'. They would have to be in this 'swatting' mix, also.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
03/25/2007 9:40 Comments ||
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#9
The more you evaluate the scope and range of terrorism, the more you conclude that taking Iraq, one, two, three was strategic brilliance.
Now we have a major force on the ground, airstrips and all, and our navy surrounding the theater. Thank you, Iran for drawing an EU member into the standoff.
I have tried a little role reversal, and I don't see how Iran benefitted from this latest move. But then, the twelfth Iman may have some magic up his dress.
#10
I, for one, will not be content until I hear the following question asked on the floor of the US Senate "Are you now, or have you ever been a member of the Mohammedan cult?".
(Xinhua) -- Diplomatic talks remain the best way to address the Iranian nuclear issue, Chinese Ambassador Wang Guangya said here Saturday after the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution with stronger sanctions aimed at pressuring Tehran to suspend uranium enrichment. "It is impossible to resolve the issue fundamentally by imposing sanctions and pressure only," Wang said in his explanatory remarks to the council. "We wish to call upon all the parties concerned to adopt a highly responsible and constructive attitude, keep calm, practice restraint, and refrain from any actions that may lead to deterioration or escalation of the tension."
"China has all along supported safeguarding the international nuclear non-proliferation mechanism and opposed the proliferation of nuclear weapons. We do not wish to see new turbulences in the Middle East. We are in favor of a peaceful solution to Iran's nuclear issue through political and diplomatic efforts and negotiations," Wang said.
Describing the development of Iran's nuclear issue as "worrisome," Wang expressed disappointment at Tehran's failure to respond positively to the requests of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Security Council. "Under such circumstances," he said, "we support the Security Council in taking further and appropriate actions to urge the Iranian side to suspend enrichment-related activities, in order tobring the process back to the negotiation track."
Wang stressed that China respects and recognizes Iran's right to peaceful use of nuclear energy. "It needs to point out that the purpose of the new Security Council resolution is not to punish Iran but to urge Iran to return to the negotiations and reactivate diplomatic efforts. The relevant sanction measures should neither harm the Iranian people nor affect normal economic, trade and financial exchanges between Iran and other countries."
He noted that all the sanctions are reversible. "If Iran suspends its enrichment related and reprocessing activities, and complies with the relevant resolutions of the IAEA and the Security Council, the Security Council shall suspend and even terminate the sanction measures." Wang said safeguarding international non-proliferation mechanism and maintaining international and regional peace and stability remain the premise and ultimate objective. "No actions should go astray from this goal," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/25/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
There is near civil war between Sunnis and Shiites in Iraq, and Persians and Arabs are at each others throats. And Muslim Hadith sanctions the existence of sectarian fighting. Talking is worthless. I would like to see Iran's Ayatollah's taken out; the Wall Street Journal and other elitists snots want to play the Shiite card. Insanity may be in season.
You mean all this excitement is over nothing??? Yikes! NEW DELHI: Former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami has pledged the Islamic Republic will never develop nuclear weapons and called for the crisis over Irans atomic programme to be settled through talks, a report said on Saturday.
Khatamis appeal on Friday in the Indian capital, New Delhi, came 24 hours before the UN Security Council was set to slap new sanctions on Iran over its refusal to suspend all uranium enrichment activity.
Iran will never go for nuclear weapons, Khatami told a media conference in the city, according to the Indian Express newspaper. Weapons of mass destruction have never been our objective, he said. Iran was always ready to give an objective guarantee on its commitment not to develop nuclear weapons and the issue should be solved through negotiations, he added. The sensitive region, which is already facing many problems over Iraq and Palestine, does not need another crisis, he said.
Khatami reiterated that Iran was pursuing its nuclear energy programme to meet its energy requirements. We have a huge reserve of oil and natural gas but it wont last long. Many countries in the world see fossil fuels as harmful and are looking for replacements, he said.
Nuclear energy is the most accessible form of energy. We must also make use of wind and solar energy, said Khatami, who met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh later in the day.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
03/25/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Adolf Hitler after the Sudenten land grab: "I have no further territorial demands."
#2
Nuclear energy is the most accessible form of energy. We must also make use of wind and solar energy, said Khatami, who met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh later in the day.
Mohammad Khatami, please meet Al Gore. Al Gore please meet Mohammad Khatami. You both have so much in common.
Someone please remind me why this guy's no longer in power? And this gives him credibility exactly how? All taqqiya, all the time. Period.
I still cannot believe this maggot was allowed onto American soil to address our nation near the fifth anniversary of 9-11. Bush's buy-in to the Religion of Peace [spit] is just about complete.
#10
Thats what Third Party war- and systems management [read - Commies] are for, ala NORTH KOREA. Lest we fergit, WMF/CHINESE MIL FORUM > NORTH KOREA vz CHINA > Intra-Forum brouhahas going on becuz Chinese texts + maps - surprise surprise - still depict/describe NORTH KOREA = KOREAS AS DE FACTO PART OF CHINA. Ditto for Unified Vietnam, Mongolia, Tibet, and many parts of SE + Central Asia including areas of post-USSR Russian FE and Muslim nations.
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
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Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
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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.
(SomaliNet) Belarus said on Saturday a missile caused a plane crash in Mogadishu that killed 11 of its citizens, while the Somali government said the incident looked more like an accident than an attack by ever bolder insurgents, Reuters reports. "The plane was shot down," Transport Ministry spokeswoman Kseniya Perestoronina said in Minsk, adding the large Ilyushin plane, in Somalia to assist struggling African peacekeepers, was hit at a height of 150 metres (500 feet). 
The police on Saturday arrested over 70 political activists belonging to various opposition parties during raids on their houses. These activists belong to the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Tehrik-e-Insaaf. It has been learnt that police have detained them under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance to stop them from taking part in the March 26 strike called by the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy. The strike has been called to denounce Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhrys suspension by President Pervez Musharraf.
A key leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl from South Waziristan said on Saturday that the majority of Ahmedzai Wazir tribes were now against the presence of foreign militants in their areas. Returning from Wana after brokering a temporary ceasefire between Maulvi Nazir-led militants and Uzbek militants, MNA Maulana Mirajuddin said the Ahmedzai Wazir tribes had withdrawn the hospitality enjoyed by foreigners since they crossed into Pakistan from Afghanistan in 2001. What I gathered there is that Maulvi Nazir enjoys the full support of Wazir tribes, who are no more willing to shelter the foreigners and are demanding the foreigners leave their areas, the MMA parliamentarian told Daily Times over the telephone from Tank city. 
A rise in extremist tendencies in North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) is the outcome of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) governments wrong policies, Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao said on Saturday. 
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Saturday he had no plans to meet Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh during his Middle East tour. I will be meeting with President Mahmoud Abbas and other members of the cabinet. At this time I will say that my itinerary schedule at this time does not include my meeting with Prime Minister Haniyeh, he told a news conference in Cairo. Ban said he might also meet the Palestinian ministers of finance and foreign affairs, either with Abbas or separately. The two ministers are independent of both Hamas and of Abbass secular Fatah movement.
(Xinhua) -- A senior Islamic Resistance Movement(Hamas) leader on Saturday rejected Israeli government's decision not to release Palestinian tax revenues for fear of being used to fund Hamas. "Since the first day when Hamas won parliamentary elections more than a year ago, Israel has tried to blackmail the Palestinian people by withholding their money," said Khalil Abu Leila, chief of Hamas' foreign relations. 
(Xinhua) -- Visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held a consultative meeting with foreign ministers of the Arab Quartet in the southern Egyptian city of Aswan on Saturday evening, Egypt's official news agency MENA reported. 
(KUNA) -- The Lebanese army asserted Saturday its capability to discharge its duties across the Lebanese territories, particularly in the south, under the United Nations Security Council resolution 1701, according to a statement issued by the general directorate of the army here. The statement came in reply to the third report of the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 (2006). The report is submitted on quarterly basis to the Security Council in response to the SC request of December 12, 2006.
(Xinhua) -- Diplomatic talks remain the best way to address the Iranian nuclear issue, Chinese Ambassador Wang Guangya said here Saturday after the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution with stronger sanctions aimed at pressuring Tehran to suspend uranium enrichment. "It is impossible to resolve the issue fundamentally by imposing sanctions and pressure only," Wang said in his explanatory remarks to the council. "We wish to call upon all the parties concerned to adopt a highly responsible and constructive attitude, keep calm, practice restraint, and refrain from any actions that may lead to deterioration or escalation of the tension." 
NEW DELHI: Former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami has pledged the Islamic Republic will never develop nuclear weapons and called for the crisis over Irans atomic programme to be settled through talks, a report said on Saturday.
