An online al-Qaida magazine is urging Sunni Muslim fighters in Iraq to join hands with Osama bin Laden to defeat its enemies. ''We are urging all the leaders of Sunni holy warriors to fight for God's word to prevail over that of the infidels, to join hands with the leader of Islam's soldiers today, Osama bin Laden,'' said an editorial in the bimonthly al-Qaida military publication Al-Battar Camp. It said bin Laden would bring ''victory (over) infidels from the atheist Crusaders.'' Al-Battar, Arabic for ''sharp sword,'' is a slick Web magazine featuring a table of contents and op-ed page and a letters to the editor section.
"Dear Editor: In the name of Allah the most merciful. Print my letter. Or else."
The leaders of Sunni Muslim fighters in Iraq ''should follow the lead of holy warrior leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, may God keep him, who initiated this good precedent, may God reward him,'' the magazine said. Al-Zarqawi's militant group, Tawhid and Jihad, believed to be behind many deadly attacks in Iraq, declared its allegiance to Osama bin Laden two weeks ago, citing the need for unity against ''the enemies of Islam.'' The group now calls itself al-Qaida in Iraq. ''That the leader of Tawhid and Jihad group announced his allegiance to the sheik of holy war and holy warriors in our time ... is good omen for victory,'' the editorial said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
10/28/2004 1:18:50 AM ||
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"Dear Editor: In the name of Allah the most merciful. Print my letter. Or else."
I'd hate to see the letter they send with the renewal notice.
Four British men who claim they were tortured in Saudi Arabian prisons after being arrested for a series of anti-Western bombings have won a partial victory in their battle for compensation. The men were told by the Court of Appeal that they could not sue the Saudi government but could pursue their actions against the jailors who allegedly abused them. The appeal judges upheld a High Court ruling against Ron Jones, 51, which struck out his £2 million compensation plea because the Riyadh authorities had diplomatic immunity in Britain. However, they ruled that there was no blanket immunity for Saudi officials, clearing the way for the men to sue two interrogators and the deputy governor of the jail where they were held.
The Master of the Rolls, Lord Phillips, sitting with Lord Justice Mance and Lord Justice Neuberger, said in his judgment: "It can no longer be appropriate to give blanket effect to a foreign state's claim to state immunity ... in respect of a state official alleged to have committed acts of systematic torture."They refused to allow Mr Jones's appeal, but said a request to sue the jailors made by Sandy Mitchell, of Glasgow, Les Walker, of the Wirral, and Bill Sampson, a British-Canadian citizen who lives in Perth, would be sent back to the High Court. Mr Jones, of Crawley, Sussex, said: "I am delighted with the ruling. As far as I am concerned the torturers are the Saudi government - they are employees of the government."
And Saudi employees don't do anything without the boss's OK.
The men were arrested in the wake of the bomb attacks in 2001 in which a British and American worker were killed. The group was accused of being part of a turf war between expatriate alcohol dealers.
Yeah, yeah, we know, the whole damm kingdom was being overrun with alk dealers.
Posted by: Steve ||
10/28/2004 11:24:12 AM ||
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Here's one for the Surprise-o-meter. Edited for brevity.
Russia angrily denied allegations Thursday that Russian forces had smuggled a cache of high explosives out of Iraq prior to the U.S. invasion in March 2003. Defense Ministry spokesman Vyacheslav Sedov dismissed the allegations as "absurd" and "ridiculous." "I can state officially that the Russian Defense Ministry and its structures couldn't have been involved in the disappearance of the explosives, because all Russian military experts left Iraq when the international sanctions were introduced during the 1991 Gulf War," he told The Associated Press. We all know how sacrosanct those sanctions were to Russia.
Posted by: Dar ||
10/28/2004 1:32:58 PM ||
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Christian Science Monitor, dateline August 20, 2002: "The Moscow daily Kommersant wrote yesterday that if sanctions against Iraq are lifted, Russia is set to renew arms sales to the regime. The newspaper added that its military sources said that Russian military cooperation organizations "have become more active in Iraq lately." Even more Russian workers in Iraq will pose "new problems for the US" because it "won't be easy for Washington to bomb the citizens of the country which is one of the allies in the antiterror coalition," the paper wrote."
Posted by: Tom ||
10/28/2004 13:46 Comments ||
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Perhaps Russian Mercinaries supplied by the Russian privatized explosive manufacturers?
Mercinaries, some of them had Iraq experience pre-'91...???
#5
A 2003 tidbit: The highest-ranking Communist bloc defector, Ion Mihai Pacepa (defected from Romania when it was still Communist) has warned that Russia has an interest in having Iraqâs WMDs disappear. He explains that Russia had a key role in Saddam receiving the weapons initially, and had a secret operational plan to make them âdisappearâ should it become necessary. The plan was called âSarindarâ, or, âEmergency Exitâ. Pacepa played a key role in Operation Emergency Exit in Libya. The goal of the plan? To remove all WMDs from any third world ally that was being invaded by the West. The plan, he writes, originally developed for Libya (and to hide Russiaâs complicity in the activity) was quickly expanded to other allies of Russia including Iraq. As a bonus, the operation âwould frustrate the West by not giving them anything they could make propaganda with.â
WMDs would be burned or buried deep at sea (in Libyaâs case, most likely underground for Iraq), but technical documents would be preserved in small water-proof containers for future use. All the plants for WMDs would have a civilian cover, so the West could not prove they were WMD sites. The plan involved an intense propaganda campaign, in which the politicians making the accusations towards the Soviet/Russian ally would be mocked. Among the propaganda activity would be anti-Western demonstrations and protests. Pacepa says he knows first-hand that the Operation Emergency Exit was applied to Iraq, because Ceausescu, Brezhnev, Andropov and Primakov all informed him about it. It is interesting that Primakov also is known to be close to Saddam Hussein and to regularly consult with him (and was in Baghdad from December 2002 up until when the war began). Pacepa concludes Russia advised Iraq on how to implement its old Emergency Exit plan.
Posted by: Tom ||
10/28/2004 14:25 Comments ||
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Bill Gertz was on the Michael Savage show ... it seems the Russians through Primakov had quite a sophisticated speznatz operation in Iraq. The Pentagon is working feverishly on documents outlining the entire framework and nature of what amounts to a sophisticated intelligence operation aimed at moving proscribed materials, explosives, munitions, chemicals, etc into Syria... Gertz is still on the case and more should follow ...
#7
A true Soviet is a Soviet is a Soviet. Which nation supplied Saddam's Iraq with all sorts of arms? When our Marines advanced toward Baghdad the T-72 tanks they encountered were not made in Iceland.
This is just one more reason Putin's Russia was in no way interested in seeing the Saddam clan ousted from power. Arms & oil=$$$$$
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/28/2004 22:33 Comments ||
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France will be always on the side of the Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat, French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier declared Thursday.
That's because he's a dictator. France kinda traditionally sides with dictators...
"France, as I told you (Arafat) in Ramallah on June 30, will be always on your side to back your effort in favor of a just and negotiated peace," Barnier said. "It is with concern and sympathy that I keep informed of the development of your health. "I wish to express my most sincere wishes for your recovery, hoping that you can return rapidly to your place to lead the Palestinian Authority." According to one of Arafat's doctors, the 75-year-old Palestinian leader is suffering from a potentially fatal blood disorder which will require more tests to determine the cause outside the West Bank, where he has been kept under virtual house arrest for the last three years. French presidency announced on Thursday evening the leader's imminent move to Paris for treatment at the request of Palestinian Authority. He was expected to arrive in Paris on Friday.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/28/2004 7:42:14 PM ||
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After the cortege passes under the Arc de Triomphe, will it procede to Les Invalides or Le Pantheon?
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
10/28/2004 19:52 Comments ||
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So there you have it. France sidles up to Yasser officially. They are on the side of a career terrorist. The French government is a nation hostile to the US and should be treated as such. Might as well, you can NEVER trust them.
I have a friend who was flying troops to Kuwait before OIF got started. They flew across France. I guess that the French did not know the manifest, heh heh.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/28/2004 19:59 Comments ||
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It's a relief to know where France stands. Now if only JFK will take a stand.
Posted by: ed ||
10/28/2004 20:39 Comments ||
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The new submarines was ('were', Pravda's Commies are still speaking USSR-Speak) named in honor of the State of Virginia. The US Navy put into service a new submarine, which had been designed especially for the anti-terrorist struggle. It is noteworthy that the Soviet Union used to have a similar submarine: the 667A submarine was redesigned as a carrier sub, which was outfitted with two mini submarines in addition to torpedoes. The American submarine bears a certain resemblance to the Soviet sub as far as its objectives are concerned.
The official website of the Russian Ministry for Atomic Power said that the US submarine Virginia was evaluated at $2.2 billion. The sub differs from its analogues for its capability to navigate at a relatively small depth, which is an important aspect for anti-terrorist operations. The crew of the nuclear-powered 113-meter-long submarine counts 130 members.
The solemn ceremony took place at the largest US Navy base on the Atlantic coast in Norfolk, Virginia. The new $2.2 billion submarine was named in honor of the state. The submarine was built by Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics corporations. Virginia is capable of navigating in shallow waters to pursue terrorists. Instead of a periscope the crew of the new sub will use a special high resolution digital camera. This new feature allowed to move the captain's bridge to a more spacious compartment on the lower deck of the sub. The torpedo compartment can be redesigned too to place additional bunks there. Like the above-mentioned Soviet sub, the US nuclear submarine is equipped with unmanned watercrafts, which will be used for reconnaissance purposes under the water.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/28/2004 5:42:17 AM ||
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It sure is a good thing for us the Soviet Union broke the ground in so many areas. History will no doubt rec ord it as a highwater mark in technical advancement.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
10/28/2004 7:27 Comments ||
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A number of comments:
"The US Navy put into service a new submarine, which had been designed especially for the anti-terrorist struggle."
The Virginia is an adapted attack submarine design. It is a matter of semantics, I suppose, but it was not designed specifically for counter-terrorist ops from the beginning (the project started in the early 90s as a more affordable follow-on to the Seawolf class).
"It is noteworthy that the Soviet Union used to have a similar submarine: the 667A submarine was redesigned as a carrier sub, which was outfitted with two mini submarines in addition to torpedoes. The American submarine bears a certain resemblance to the Soviet sub as far as its objectives are concerned."
Naturally, the Russkies have to claim credit for the innovation, but the US has been converting subs of one kind or another for special ops since the early days of WW2, when the large pre-war subs Argonaut and Nautilus were used to take Carlson's Raiders to Makin. The Nautilus and her sister-ship, Narwhal, were later refitted as specialized transport submarines and saw extensive service in support of Phillipine guerrillas. After the war, there were a number of transport conversions of wartime fleet submarines, including Sealion and Tunny. The latter had a long and varied career over a quarter of a century, first being converted into an SSG for the Regulus cruise missile, then into a transport submarine for special ops. She saw combat in that role during the Vietnam War and may have been the last submarine to fire a deck gun in anger.
The specially built postwar SSG Grayback was also converted for transport work, as were several early SSBNs.
#3
Hell, the admirals adapted the Virginias because they was looking at sub drivers being out of work.... it's an underwater littoral combat vessel! LOL! Just make sure it can kill every thing in the Straits of mollusks inside 3 hours.
From MEMRI, an article by Dr. Nimrod Raphaeli, Senior Analyst of MEMRI's Middle East Economic Studies Program
The Iraqi daily Al-Mada ("Horizon") was the first newspaper to publish a list of 270 individuals and organizations that benefited from oil vouchers granted to them by the regime of Saddam Hussein. The intention of the grant was either to allow the recipients to sell the vouchers to intermediaries for a quick profit or to buy the oil themselves at discounted prices. It was assumed that the vouchers would permit their ultimate bearer to purchase Iraqi oil at a sufficiently discounted price as to leave a margin of profit to the voucher beneficiary, the intermediary, the oil company which ultimately lifted the oil and, in some instance, to the regime itself in the form of surcharges or kickbacks that it levied on Iraqi oil exports. Al-Mada differentiates between "end-users" and "not-end users," the latter term referring to voucher recipients who had no refineries and, in many instances, were not in the oil business to start with. According to Al-Mada, its list is limited "to non-end users and to intermediary companies." It is this list in Al-Mada that has triggered multiple investigations.
The Duelfer Report and the Vouchers
Based on a thorough examination of the data at Iraq'sMinistry of Oil and its marketing arm, the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO), the Duelfer Report, released in September 2004, has pieced together a complete list of oil vouchers granted by the Saddam regime during the entire life of the Oil for Food Program beginning with the first phase of the program in 1996-7 and ending with the thirteenth and last phase, which ended with the fall of the regime.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
10/28/2004 9:24:55 AM ||
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Good article, Mike. Thanks! I haven't gone back to MEMRI in a while -- I get too depressed reading the vicious, raving idiocies of the lunatics. So I really appreciate that you're willing to do it, and pick out the important bits. Here at Rantburg there is the leavening of dancing houris and Arafat's lastest travails to keep me feeling perky ;-)
The 'revelation' that 380 tons of powerful conventional explosives have allegedly gone missing from the Al Qaqaa former Iraqi military complex near Baghdad has caused a political storm in Washington. Senator John Kerry has accused President George W. Bush of "incredible incompetence" and his aides have called for the Bush Administration to "answer for what may be the most grave and catastrophic mistake in a tragic series of blunders in Iraq."[1]
#3
El Baradei has been for years now an agent of Islamofascism. He was head of the Egyptian nuclear program, and resigned shortly before Sadat signed the peace agreement with Israel. IN the last few years, El Baradei has been in charge of covering up for Iraq, Iran, Libya, and NoKorea -- and that's the tip of the Blixian iceberg.
#4
No need for concern. If the UN goes about trying to get Kerry elected with its usual honesty, efficiency, and competency, Bush will get about 65% of the vote.
#5
Can we at least kick el Baradei out? You can simply cancel tourist visas and declare a diplomat persona non grata. What is the rule for UN employees?
#6
I posted this in another article, but I am now wondering where did Skerry get his intell to know that this explosive material was used on the USS Cole.
I was watching FNC and I can't remember where Skerry was talking but he said "the explosives from QA QAA where used to blow up the USS Cole, etc.." That is not the verbatum quote but it is what he said and my jaw dropped to the floor. If that where true then it would show that Saddam was working with Al Qeada, and that the IEAE was responsible for not securing the explosives. Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't the USS Cole bombing happen before the invasion, and before the WTC attack.
I also, think that this story was a set up by Clinton to sink Skerry's run for office.
Check out my blog, for more.
Posted by: SGT. Rock ||
10/28/2004 15:23 Comments ||
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The trial of radical Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir on charges of planning and/or inciting terrorist bombings has begun in Jakarta. The 66-year-old Muslim cleric arrived at the Jakarta court house on Thursday surrounded by gun-toting police officers. He was greeted by scores of supporters chanting "Allahu Akbar," or "God is greatest." Reading from a lengthy indictment, chief prosecutor Salman Maryadi said Ba'asyir planned and/or incited others to commit terror crimes from 1999 until August 2003. "The defendant ... planned and or moved other people to conduct terrorism crimes, on purpose and consciously using violence or the threat of violence to create the atmosphere of terror, resulting in mass casualties," Maryadi said, according to a Reuters news service report. The chief prosecutor said Ba'asyir had conveyed to his followers the message or order from Osama bin Laden that the killing of Americans was allowed by Islam, chief prosecutor Salman Maryadi told the court. Ba'asyir denies any involvement in the bombings and maintains no such terror group exists.
"Lies! All lies!"
If found guilty, Ba'asyir could face the death penalty and execution by firing squad. An earlier attempt to prosecute Ba'asyir over the October 2002 Bali bombings failed, although the religious leader did serve 18 months in jail for immigration violations. Prosecutors are more confident of making the charge stick this time, believing they have a stronger case and more reliable witnesses to prove Ba'asyir's involvement in the crimes. Speaking to reporters as he arrived at court, Ba'asyir repeated his claim that U.S. President George W. Bush and Australian Prime Minister John Howard have pressured the Indonesian government to bring false charges against him. "Everyone knows, schoolchildren know, it's Bush and his slave, John Howard," Ba'asyir said.
"I know they know it, 'cuz we taught 'em!"
The charges relate to a suicide bomb attack at the J.W. Marriott hotel in Jakarta in August last year which killed 12 people and the Bali explosions which left more than 200 dead, including 88 Australians. Nearly 80 witnesses for the prosecution are expected to be called, including convicted bombers involved in the Mariott and Bali attacks. "The police and prosecution really want to see these charges stick," Southeast Asia director of the International Crisis Group Sidney Jones told CNN Thursday.
Over 200 dead, Sid? Yep, they want the charges to stick.
"I think it's going to be a stronger case this time around." But she cautioned that the evidence against Ba'asyir seemed to be indirect and the strength of the case would probably depend on the quality of the witnesses testifying against him. "This is going to be a riveting drama," she said.
To heck with Act II, "The Trial." I wanna cut right to Act III, "The Hanging."
The trial is being held in a converted government auditorium in the Indonesian capital. As many as 700 security forces have tightened security around the makeshift court, partly chosen to accommodate the expected large crowds at the trial.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
10/28/2004 1:12:20 AM ||
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From Geostrategy-Direct, subscription req'd. More insomnia medicine four you, courtesy of the Mad Mullahs.
Iran has been examining a proposal to construct up to 10 nuclear reactors. The plan comes as work on Iran's first nuclear reactor has been hampered by labor protests. They put their money into religious fanaticism and nukes, sound seismic resistant buildings are on the back burner.
Iranian officials said the plan, drafted in parliament and examined by the government, would follow up the construction of the Bushehr nuclear power reactor. The plan called for the construction of an additional nine nuclear reactors after Bushehr. If the first one is levelled, the others may be put on hold for a while, heh.
So far, Iran has been discussing the construction of additional reactors with Russia, the prime contractor of the Bushehr project. Russia's dealing with the devil is going to bite them in the ass, but they cannot help it....
Moscow was said to have agreed in principle to construct an additional three reactors in Iran as well as a second reactor unit at Bushehr. The $1 billion Bushehr reactor is said to be between 80 and 90 percent complete. Iran has said the facility would be operational in 2006 while Russia said the reactor could be on-line in 2005. For mission planning, the attack will have to be done before fueling, so that means now until early summer 2005 at the latest.
Officials said the construction of additional reactors has become feasible with Iran's acquisition of expertise and equipment required to complete the nuclear fuel cycle. They said Iran was capable of doing everything from mining uranium to producing enriched uranium through gas centrifuges. On Oct. 24, a parliamentary delegation toured a uranium conversion facility in Isfahan to examine Iran's nuclear capabilities. The delegation expressed support for the establishment of a network of nuclear power reactors to ensure Iran's nuclear explosive energy needs over the next 20 years. Kamal Daneshyar, chairman of parliament's energy committee, has called on the government to construct an additional nine nuclear power plants in Iran. Daneshyar said the added facilities would ensure that Iran could produce at least 10 million megawatts of electricity per year from nuclear energy. The parliamentary chairman said the government was being pressed to issue tenders for the construction of nine nuclear reactors. He said international companies would be invited to submit bids. "I'll do it! I'll do it!" sez France.
Officials said parliament would become more active in Iran's nuclear program. They said parliamentarians would tour nuclear sites in an effort to accelerate government and parliamentary decisions. Be a good time for an attack during a Bushehr junket, heh heh. A two-fer.
The discussion on additional nuclear power plants came amid protests by laborers at the Bushehr nuclear facility. Bushehr workers have said they haven't been paid their salaries, Iranian media reported. Somehow, we need to exploit that issue. Do the MMs have a serious cash flow issue. Someplace I read that Iran has been paying Russia cash for the reactor job, and that payments were an issue for a while.
On Oct. 22, Iranian security forces disrupted a labor protest at Bushehr. The ILNA news agency said authorities dismissed some of the protesters and transferred others. The labor dispute at Bushehr has been submitted to the Labor Ministry. But Isa Kamali, secretary of the Bushehr Labor Association, said the ministry was blocked from investigating the complaints because of the classified nature of the nuclear reactor project.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/28/2004 3:01:51 PM ||
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Russiaâs dealing with the devil is going to bite them in the ass, but they cannot help it....
Make that has bitten them in the ass. Iran was backing the terrorists in that school.....
#9
Today there are two kinds of submarines in our Navy: the TRIDENT ballistic missile submarine, the so-called "boomer," equipped with an estimated weapons load of more than 200 nuclear bombs carried in 24 extremely long-range intercontinental missiles; and the "Attack" submarine, fitted with shorter-range, air-breathing missiles, which are also capable of phenomenal accuracy over land or sea. Both types carry conventional torpedoes, and can launch all their weapons from complete submergence.
The TRIDENTs carry a MIRVed missile in each of their 24 missile tubes. MIRV is the acronym for Multiple, Independently targeted, Re-entry Vehicle, meaning that after reaching the target vicinity the missile's warhead splits apart into as many as ten smaller nuclear bombs aimed at ten different targets with computer-controlled accuracy. How this works - and the precise number of reentry vehicles in each warhead - is secret, but the tremendous fact is that a single broadside from such a submarine - all 24 missiles fired at the same time - can destroy any nation on the face of the earth. No nation - and this includes our own - could even hope to function, or even continue to exist, in the face of such a salvo. Incontrovertibly, the TRIDENT submarine with this fantastic armament will prove to be the dooms-day weapon imagined by scientists, statesmen, and historians since the term was invented.
#11
Looks like the Pakistanis are going to get some mullah mist drifting their way. That's fair since they hold the record for proliferation-related sales anyway.
Posted by: Tom ||
10/28/2004 20:19 Comments ||
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#12
Want to bet all 10 reactors will be the graphite - heavy water plutonium factories? How many thousands of plutonium cores will they produce each year?
Posted by: ed ||
10/28/2004 20:42 Comments ||
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#13
Not only that, but with 10 reactors going and a plutonium extraction plant or two on line, they are going to have one mess of highly toxic and radioactive waste to deal with, too. And the odds are that the Iranians will have to deal with serious seismic issues with the plants. And we know how careful they are with building construction, a la Bam.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/28/2004 21:11 Comments ||
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#14
AP, Don't worry. The Iranians have the Russians helping them who're going to ratify Kyoto.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
10/28/2004 21:14 Comments ||
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I (/optimism on/) see this one going our way. First, note that Iran's been paying Russia in cash. Soooo, Russia keeps building the plants and then (woops) let's slip to us their exact GPS coordinates after Putin's been pushed over the edge from that school attack. A win-win...Russia gets cash, and we (or Israel, if Bush isn't re-elected) get the GPS coordinates for testing our new low level bunker busters. Also, maybe Russia (again, whoops) accidentally doesn't build them to specs...what could that do? (/optimism off/)
Posted by: BA ||
10/28/2004 21:20 Comments ||
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From Geostrategy-Direct, requires subscription.
Iran's nearly completed facility in Isfahan is regarded as vital for the production of nuclear weapons. Which puts it on the target list.
A senior Iranian official said Teheran was nearing completion of the uranium conversion facility. The facility is designed to convert uranium ore, or yellowcake, into uranium hexafluoride, a key component in the process of enriching uranium to produce nuclear weapons. This plant will concentrate the U235 that is needed for fissile material for "Little Boy" type nukes
"Currently, the Isfahan uranium conversion facility is 70 percent operational," Iranian Atomic Energy Organization Deputy Director Mohammad Ghanadi said. "I can say that 21 out of the 24 workshops in this facility have become operational." Ghanadi's assertion, broadcast by Iranian television on Oct. 24, was the first disclosure of Teheran's progress in completing the nuclear fuel cycle. The MMs are playing a big game of chicken. They are madder than a bunch of shit house rats and are betting on the whimpiness of the EU, IAEA, and candidate Kerry. They are raising the stakes on GWB and Israel. If the enrichment continues, then proxies will have nukes.
The UCF plant was designed to produce uranium hexafluoride, placed into gas centrifuges for the manufacture of enriched uranium. The International Atomic Energy Agency has called for Iran to suspend its nuclear fuel cycle activities by the next meeting of the agency's board of governors in late November. So far, Iran has refused. They have thumbed their noses at the IAEA, because they know that the IAEA has no teeth. Also, they can draw out "negotiations" while they busy themselves with their nuke production hardware.
Instead, Teheran said it intended to use the Isfahan plant to convert 37 tons of uranium ore into uranium hexafluoride, sufficient to produce five nuclear bombs. Last month, the IAEA determined that the uranium conversion facility at Isfahan was operating on an experimental basis. Now, that took some real heavy research and brainpower.
Iran has announced plans to become independent in every phase of the nuclear fuel cycle. In a speech to Iranian workers at the Isfahan facility, Ghanadi said Iran was preparing to launch operations of its first uranium mine. That's the real kicker. They won't be denied the raw materials. They've got it in-house. Toppling the MMs is becoming the only option.
Ghanadi said the mine, located in the central Iranian town of Saghand, would become operational by March 2005. Teheran would also search for uranium in other areas of the country believed to contain the ore. So there you have it folks. Who do you want to be your captain in these dangerous waters, Bush or Kerry? Look at your children and vote next Tuesday, if you haven't already.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/28/2004 2:10:44 PM ||
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Agree with Tom. We can go the useless and non-productive diplomatic way while we are making attack plans. Good diplo front for the EU and IAEA morons makes 'em feel warm, fuzzy and important. [/sarcasm]
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/28/2004 14:31 Comments ||
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Iran said on Wednesday a heavy water plant would start functioning within a month near the city of Arak. "With two out of three units already operational, we are currently able to produce heavy water with 15 per cent," the state news agency quoted the plant's research and development chief, Manoushehr Madadi, as saying. "In a month's time and with operation of the fourth unit, we will be able to produce heavy water with 99.8 per cent," he said. "By then we will be able to produce 16 tons from the current eight tons and therefore the country will no longer need to import heavy water," he said. The plant itself "was constructed and operated by Iranians without outside help."
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/28/2004 5:17:50 AM ||
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There was quite an operation to destroy the Norweigan heavy water plant and blow up the ferry transporting the product in WWII, IIRC. All done at great risk to deny the Nazis heavy water.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/28/2004 11:29 Comments ||
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#5
Heavy water is D2O or two deuterium atoms combined with an oxygen atom. Deuterium is nothing more than a hydrogen atom with an extra neutron in the nucleus, thus the name "heavy". Heavy water slows down the neutrons in a water nuclear reactor so the emitting of neutrons from uranium in the nuclear fuel will hit another uranium atom, splitting it, and eventually forming plutonium. Heavy water enables the reactor to use natural uranium, instead of enriched (high U235) uranium.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/28/2004 13:28 Comments ||
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Posted by: Frank G ||
10/28/2004 15:05 Comments ||
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#10
Thx Sea, Frank. As well as could be expected. Brain surgery chemo, radiation and funky meds. I can use my left hand again, some, but it twits about, hard to hit the shift key. I've got a walker and I can gt in and out of the car, Woo hoo! Wheel chairs, give those folks some crdit.
I've missed ya all,I saw angels, no bull, Someday I'll tell you all about it. Global prayers MAN!
I'm going to hang out for awhile if my head stays cool.
#15
Deuterium isn't a very effective moderator, however. Carbon works better, which is why both the UChicago boys and the Russkies used it. Plain water with a dissolved moderator (like Boron) is what the US uses, IIRC.
#16
AP, I'm afraid that you missed one key use of deuterium: it "can also be combined with tritium and used as a "booster" in nuclear fusion bombs of the implosion type." Source.
Posted by: Tom ||
10/28/2004 19:59 Comments ||
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D'oh! I plumb spaced that one! They make lithium deuteride and pack it around a stick of plutonium. When the primary fission bomb goes off the LiD gets packed between two critical masses of Pu and that creates the high temps needed for fusion. Then you have 3 or so reactions going to create the energy of fusion. Holy shi'ite! My head was not in this one. So the MMs are doing the following:
1. Gas centrifuges for U235 concentration
2. Bushehr Reactor const for Pu production. They get electricity AND Pu for an added bonus.
3. Heavy water production for booster fuel for fusion bomb.
The MMs are going for the Full Meal Deal. And the EU is sitting there parlaying with the MMs while the MMs are well on their way to be a major Nuke Power.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/28/2004 22:04 Comments ||
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#18
while the MMs are well on their way to be a major Nuke lesson in bad faith/threats/consequent destruction by stronger parties tired of f*&king around
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/28/2004 22:15 Comments ||
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Iranian mullahs like to portray U.S. presidential elections as a choice between bad and worse but there is little doubt they would prefer Democratic challenger John Kerry to win next week. Since President George W. Bush took office the Islamic state has been dubbed an "axis of evil" member, seen U.S. forces mass on its borders in Iraq and Afghanistan and faced concerted U.S. accusations that it has a covert atomic arms programme. Kerry is unlikely to ease the pressure on Iran, which will remain a key U.S. foreign policy challenge whoever wins the Nov. 2 vote. But the Massachusetts senator's emphasis on a multilateral foreign policy approach and hints he would negotiate with Iran over its nuclear programme appeal to the country's bazaar-rooted instincts to bargain its way out of a crisis.
"Logically speaking, everything points to Iran supporting Kerry," said Tehran-based political analyst Mahmoud Alinejad. "If Bush is re-elected we're toast it will be on a platform of a radical strategy to democratise the Middle East, if necessary by force. At least what Kerry has hinted at provides the possibility for Iran to get out of this deadlock, to buy some more time." Conservative strategist Amir Mohebian, who advises some of Iran's top policymakers, agreed. "We prefer Kerry because he favours diplomatic methods rather than pressure. Iran is better off if he wins," he told Reuters.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/28/2004 5:13:39 AM ||
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They will also have nuclear weapons faster if Kerry wins.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/28/2004 11:30:15 PM ||
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All I hear is blah, blah, blah but all I see is a continuing enrichment program. Mullahs, prepare to receive your raisins. Shock and awe begins in six days.
Posted by: Tom ||
10/28/2004 8:30 Comments ||
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There's a lot of money to be made when governments set the price of oil. See how the game worked for Saddam Hussein and some lucky oil traders participating in the oil-for-food program.
I'm not even going to try to pick out the significant bits -- this is about money, which I've never understood - much to my husband's dismay. But this Forbes mag. journalist seems to have made a pretty thorough examination of the books. Have fun! (And if someone would be so kind as to summarize for us duffers, my heartfelt thanks!!)
ABC News on Thursday showed video that appeared to confirm that explosives that went missing in Iraq did not disappear until after the United States had taken control of the facility where they were stored. The disappearance of the hundreds of tons of explosives from the Al Qaqaa storage facility has become a hotly contested issue in the U.S. presidential campaign. Democrat John Kerry said it was an example of President Bush bungling the Iraq war. Bush countered that Kerry was making wild accusations without knowing the facts.
Vice President Dick Cheney said it was possible that the explosives had been removed from the site before the U.S. forces arrived there. ABC said the video was shot by an affiliate TV station embedded with the 101st Airborne Division when members of the division passed through the facility on April 18, nine days after the fall of Baghdad. ABC said experts who have studied the images say the barrels seen in the video contain the high explosive HMX, and U.N. markings on the sealed containers were clear. The barrels were found inside locked bunkers that had been sealed by inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency just before the war began, ABC reported.
#1
really?!? They had film of every ton of explosives? It think not. What I saw was a film of a few doors with seals still in place. Hardly conclusive proof of anything.
#2
also, from the linked story: "The barrels were found inside locked bunkers that had been sealed by inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency just before the war began, ABC reported"
Does this mean an ABC film crew broke the seals to look in the bunkers?
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
10/28/2004 23:11 Comments ||
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#5
good link Phil! Good analysis
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/28/2004 23:29 Comments ||
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#6
This is so much hog shit. The ABC affiliate has more holes in their story than a block of swiss cheese. You can view the video at KSTP (type in google)
Posted by: Capt America ||
10/28/2004 23:30 Comments ||
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#7
Incidentially, this worthless video story is the basis for tomorrow's NY Slime article.
Posted by: Capt America ||
10/28/2004 23:30 Comments ||
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#8
Anyone with a mind at all and an IQ above 70 believe that John Kerry is riding his whole election on slapping our military in the face "again" and is hoping to gain support by using this story is not a true American. What a pathetic piece of dog poo hanging from the dogs butt hairs that John Kerry is. I can only wish that Carl Rove drops a huge atomic bomb between now and Friday night. I like the pole numbers but I can't believe that it is this close....
From the CNN archives: November 3, 2000
The amount of the explosive C-4 used to attack the USS Cole may serve investigators as a clue, according to U.S. and Yemeni officials. Unlike Czech-made Semtex, the more popular choice among terrorists, C-4 is an expensive and relatively hard to get explosive, yet the suicide bombers used as much as 600 pounds of it.
"It's not an explosive that is available on the market except for highly sophisticated, organized groups capable of getting it from certain governments or states," said Yemeni Prime Minister Dr. Abdul Karim al-Iryani.
Developed in the '50s
Every bomb squad in the United States is familiar with C-4, which was developed in this country in the 1950s. "A pound and a quarter can destroy a vehicle, can take out a room in a house or something of that nature," said Montgomery County, Maryland, Assistant District Fire Chief Brian Geraci. C-4 -- short for Composite-4 -- is a mix of a material called RDX (Research Development Explosive) and a plasticizer that gives the material a firm but pliable form like putty. It can be pushed into any shape and has a long shelf life. U.S. officials believe C-4 was used in 1996 to blow up the Khobar Towers, killing 19 U.S. service personnel in the military housing complex in Saudi Arabia. The use of C-4 against the USS Cole suggests to some bomb experts that a government hostile to the U.S., such as Iran or Iraq, may have been the original source of the material. However, C-4 is widely distributed around the world. Many U.S. allies have it and experts say a similar formula has also been produced in Canada, Austria and possibly Iran. In the 1970s, renegade ex-CIA agent Edwin Wilson was convicted of shipping 21 tons of C-4 to Libya for use in what the U.S. government said was a school for terrorists that he set up there.
Explosive residue tells on its maker
Experts say careful lab work may determine exactly where the C-4 used against the Cole came from if technicians can identify traces of other chemicals in the explosive. The United States and many other countries have signed a pact mandating that plastic explosives be tagged with selected chemical marking agents to facilitate their detection. That agreement was negotiated in the wake of the 1988 Pan Am 103 bombing and is aimed at combating the use of plastic explosives by terrorists. "Each (C-4) factory will have something of a signature, based on the other things that are produced there, that will be contaminants in the explosive residue from the Cole," said explosives expert Jack McGeorge.
U.S. officials hope with patient police work to find the C-4's origin and then trace how the explosive ended up in the hands of the suicide bombers who attacked the Cole.
Posted by: Patrick ||
10/28/2004 12:30:54 PM ||
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For those of y'all, like me, who are ignorant about explosives, it seems that C-4 is mostly RDX, which is, I suppose, the point of this article.
Since C-4 is an American product, and Occam's Razor would suggest that Yemeni would get their explosives from, say, Saudi Arabia, I have to wonder why the Cole explosives would be likely to be reprocessed Iraqi RDX. I'd think that Saudi Arabia would be awash in C-4, given our extensive military aid to that particular country...
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
10/28/2004 13:57 Comments ||
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A day late and a dollar short.
The landmark October 9 presidential poll has thrown up strong divisions in the Islamic clergy, between those who view the election as consistent with religious law and those who attack the poll as anti-Islamic. Leading religious scholars in the Afghan capital have voiced support for the recent presidential election. In contrast, several mullahs in outlying villages condemned the poll, saying it was the work of Europeans and Americans. One has even urged supporters to wage war against the new government.
Much of the disagreement centres on the interpretation of Islamic law as to whether religious scholars alone have the right to choose a country's leader, or whether ordinary people have a right to participate. Mullahs in Afghanistan wield considerable influence. As the majority of the population is illiterate, the word of religious scholars, particularly in rural areas, is greatly feared respected. One of those most vehemently opposed to the election is Mullah Azizurrahman, 45, a fundamentalist mullah who has a mosque just outside Kabul city. He said the government should be chosen by Islamic scholars and not by ordinary people. "Anyone who cast a ballot and took part in the election has committed a major sin," he told IWPR. Azizurrahman's view represents the extreme end of the spectrum. In his view, even the interim and transitional governments of Hamed Karzai are in breach of Islamic law. He gauges their credentials by asking what "hudud" — punishments sanctioned by Islamic law, such as flogging, amputation, stoning to death and burying alive - have been put into practice by the Karzai-led governments...
"Cuz if it don't got shari'a, it don't got nuttin'..."
"Sayyid Ahmed Al-Safi, a representative of Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, reiterated during the Friday prayers sermon at Karbala the call of the Maji'iya for widespread participation and voting in the upcoming elections late January 2005. Al-Safi stressed that 'heavy participation in the voting procedures is a national and legal (religious) duty,' adding that those who refrain from voting would 'enter Jahannam (Hell)'.
Al-Safi strongly denied rumours appearing in the media last week that the Marji'iya or Sistani had prepared or endorsed any slate of candidates. This following attempts by several Islamic parties in the south (such as the Da'wa party, SCIRI, and Hizbollah) to mislead Shi'ite Iraqi voters that they are backed and supported by the Marji'iya, or that voting for candidates from these specific parties is an 'order' from the Sayyid (Sistani). Some have even presented forged statements with Sistani's seal on them to convince potential voters.
Meanwhile, the Association of Muslim Scholars continues its threats to boycott the elections especially if a military campaign is carried out against Fallujah or other 'Sunni' towns and areas. On the other hand, several Sunni clerics as well as the Islamic party have issued statements strongly encouraging Iraqi Sunnis to vote in order to guarantee representation in the government and not to fall into the trap of avoiding the elections.
Another Shi'ite cleric, Ayatollah Sheikh Muhammed Al-Ya'qubi, leader of the Islamic Fadhila party and a disciple of the late Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammed Sadiq Al-Sadr, also stressed in a recent statement that voting is an imperative duty for all Muslims the same as prayers or fasting.
As far as public Iraqi opinion. I sense that Iraqis in the north and south are the most eager to vote, unlike Iraqis in Baghdad and the surrounding areas. This is probably due to security concerns as voting centers in Baghdad are easier to come under attack. The same applies to the areas north, west and east of Baghdad. One example is the continous suicide bombings of IP and National Guard recruiting centers, no security measures have been successful in preventing these attacks. Recruits still stand in long queues on the street just like sitting ducks waiting to be bombed. If the voting procedures would be in a similar fashion then I doubt anyone would be willing to vote, and nobody can possibly blame them for that."
Discrepancy Found in Explosives Amounts
Documents Show Iraqis May Be Overstating Amount of Missing Material
Oct. 27, 2004 — Iraqi officials may be overstating the amount of explosives reported to have disappeared from a weapons depot, documents obtained by ABC News show. The Iraqi interim government has told the United States and international weapons inspectors that 377 tons of conventional explosives are missing from the Al-Qaqaa installation, which was supposed to be under U.S. military control. Decimal point, man! Where is the decimal point?
But International Atomic Energy Agency documents obtained by ABC News and first reported on "World News Tonight with Peter Jennings" indicate the amount of missing explosives may be substantially less than the Iraqis reported. Peter Jennings ignored the reporters statement about quantity...
The information on which the Iraqi Science Ministry based an Oct. 10 memo in which it reported that 377 tons of RDX explosives were missing — presumably stolen due to a lack of security — was based on "declaration" from July 15, 2002. At that time, the Iraqis said there were 141 tons of RDX explosives at the facility. al-Baradei doesn't get our support to continue in his slot, so he's doing, he hopes, payback!
But the confidential IAEA documents obtained by ABC News show that on Jan. 14, 2003, the agency's inspectors recorded that just over 3 tons of RDX was stored at the facility — a considerable discrepancy from what the Iraqis reported. The IAEA documents could mean that 138 tons of explosives were removed from the facility long before the start of the United States launched "Operation Iraqi Freedom" in March 2003.
The missing explosives have become an issue in the presidential campaign. Sen. John Kerry has pointed to the disappearance as evidence of the Bush administration's poor handling of the war. The Bush camp has responded that more than a thousand times that amount of explosives or munitions have been recovered or destroyed in Iraq. Don't confuse Lurch with the facts. Russian Special Forces before the invasion? Shhhh!
The IAEA documents from January 2003 found no discrepancy in the amount of the more dangerous HMX explosives thought to be stored at Al-Qaqaa, but they do raise another disturbing possibility. The documents show IAEA inspectors looked at nine bunkers containing more than 194 tons of HMX at the facility. Although these bunkers were still under IAEA seal, the inspectors said the seals may be potentially ineffective because they had ventilation slats on the sides. These slats could be easily removed to remove the materials inside the bunkers without breaking the seals, the inspectors noted. al-Baradei and his merry gang of Keystone Cops! What's a few seals between friends. Just feed 'em sardines, and they will disappear!
Posted by: BigEd ||
10/28/2004 4:00:49 AM ||
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Reality looks like Scrappleface again.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
10/28/2004 7:24 Comments ||
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#2
Hey, what's 138 tons of high explosives between friends! The NYT always rounds up when they're attacking Bush.
Posted by: Tom ||
10/28/2004 8:24 Comments ||
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#3
somebody at CBS must look like a genius for trying to hang on to this story until next weekend. Avioded another Rathergate.
Waiting for the NYT retraction in 5,4,3.....
Posted by: john ||
10/28/2004 10:26 Comments ||
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#4
The strategy is clear: Let Kerry bloviate, then point out that the stuff was WMD components. Therefore, there WAS WMD in Iraq. If they object that it wasn't WMD, but just plain explosives, why have it under IAEA seal? If it's "dual use", then it IS WMD (Recall the "dual use" agricultural helicopters sold as crop sprayers that were converted to chem warfare attack helicopters to gas the Kurds. Fool us once...)
#5
It would have been a Machiavellian trick, but if the Bush Admin had known of the subsequent details, they could have held their fire, and bought TV time immediately after 60 minutes on Sunday, and shown all contradictory evidence.... 1% of original quantity, and moved out before war by Russian Special Forces, and Iraqi Secret Service. Maybe actual WMDs (nerve gas). Why else would they need the Russians there? Remember they found nerve gas antidote at QaQaa! If they didn't tell CBS what they would do... Just cut to a live broadcast of the Prez, it would have beeen interesting. But the NY Times jumped the gun, and it looks like Lurch has egg all over his botoxified face.
The entire 60 Mins crew would cry "foul", of course, and "set-up", which like Lurch, is what they were trying to do to the Prez.
Next "October Surprise"?
I still say that if the MSM or some Kerry lackey like mister Maine nutball fisherman, who had the DUI stuff, tries something, a 527 with a {wink-wink} from Bush has the General Discharge docs along with an ad detailing Kerry's treasonous meetings with the Viet Cong in Paris in 1970. This is not being released because not only would it end Kerry's political career, it would strike at him personally. Treason implications would affect someone like a major sex crime of some sort. And there would be no sympathy backlash. Remember there was the desired effect of that 20-yr old DUI on Bush, and Bush is the kind of fellow who would only resort to this if he felt he were being seriously cheated.
If all he would say about Senator Kennedy Bagogas was that he was "uncivil", after all the personal attacks, means he's a better man than most of us, but , because of the terror implications of someone of Kerry's ilk cheating his way in, abetted by MSM sycophants, then he would be forced to act, and probably feel bad about it....
After Bagogas' attacks last spring, I Emailed the White House and told them that the Prez was being to nice, that the attacks were very personal, and if it were me, I'd have the notion to do more than call the fat jackass "uncivil"... SO much in Bagogas' past is rife for study...
#6
More in-kind campaign contributions to the Kerry campaign from the media. The FEC needs to look into this. We need the FCC to do something, actually not do something: renew the licenses of directly-owned stations.
Though the decimal point is an Islamic innovation (like the works of Shakespeare) and therefore entitled to multi-cultural acknowledgement, it must be kept in mind that the notion of absolute value in numbers is an oppressive and rigid concept whose prevalence should be attributed properly to the effort by white, male capitalist elements to continue their hegemonistic dominance. Selah.
The controversy over Iraq's missing explosives intensified on Wednesday as the Bush administration rejected charges of incompetence and a senior Pentagon official claimed the munitions may have been removed by Russians before the US-led invasion. Breaking his silence over an issue that has dominated headlines since Monday, President George W. Bush accused John Kerry, his Democratic challenger, of making "wild charges" over the 350 tonnes of explosives and weapons.
The Pentagon is still investigating their disappearance. But Scott McClellan, White House press secretary, said there was a "very real possibility" the munitions were taken by the Saddam Hussein regime before US troops arrived at the munitions facility at al-Qaqaa, south of Baghdad. At a rally in Iowa on Wednesday, however, Mr Kerry claimed that Mr Bush had allowed the explosives to fall into the hands of Iraqi rebels. Later, his campaign conceded that the Hussein regime might have removed the munitions before the invasion.
But in a further development, John Shaw, a deputy under-secretary of defence, suggested that "Russian units" had transported the explosives out of the country. In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Shaw said: "For nearly nine months my office has been aware of an elaborate scheme set up by Saddam Hussein to finance and disguise his weapons purchases through his international suppliers, principally the Russians and French. That network included. . . employing various Russian units on the eve of hostilities to orchestrate the collection of munitions and assure their transport out of Iraq via Syria."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
10/28/2004 1:07:48 AM ||
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Reading the Washington Times article, it appears to be more than just one man's opinion.
Posted by: V is for Victory ||
10/28/2004 7:16 Comments ||
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Iraqi officials may be overstating the amount of explosives reported to have disappeared from a weapons depot, documents obtained by ABC News show. The Iraqi interim government has told the United States and international weapons inspectors that 377 tons of conventional explosives are missing from the Al-Qaqaa installation, which was supposed to be under U.S. military control. But International Atomic Energy Agency documents obtained by ABC News and first reported on "World News Tonight with Peter Jennings" indicate the amount of missing explosives may be substantially less than the Iraqis reported.
The information on which the Iraqi Science Ministry based an Oct. 10 memo in which it reported that 377 tons of RDX explosives were missing -- presumably stolen due to a lack of security -- was based on "declaration" from July 15, 2002. At that time, the Iraqis said there were 141 tons of RDX explosives at the facility. But the confidential IAEA documents obtained by ABC News show that on Jan. 14, 2003, the agency's inspectors recorded that just over 3 tons of RDX was stored at the facility -- a considerable discrepancy from what the Iraqis reported.
The IAEA documents could mean that 138 tons of explosives were removed from the facility long before the start of the United States launched "Operation Iraqi Freedom" in March 2003. The IAEA documents from January 2003 found no discrepancy in the amount of the more dangerous HMX explosives thought to be stored at Al-Qaqaa, but they do raise another disturbing possibility. The documents show IAEA inspectors looked at nine bunkers containing more than 194 tons of HMX at the facility. Although these bunkers were still under IAEA seal, the inspectors said the seals may be potentially ineffective because they had ventilation slats on the sides. These slats could be easily removed to remove the materials inside the bunkers without breaking the seals, the inspectors noted.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
10/28/2004 1:03:12 AM ||
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#1
Tee hee.
Since CBS/NYT got their info. from ElBaradei himself, that does not speak well to his competency to head of the IAEA. Another arrow in Bush's quiver as he works quietly to replace the .... gentleman.
It does reflect well on ABC and Jennings that they did the research and reported the truth, especially as it makes their boy Kerry look really, really, stupidly vindictive. Does ABC still consider Kerry to be their boy, or have they thrown him over as a bad investment?
#4
---But International Atomic Energy Agency documents obtained by ABC News and first reported on "World News Tonight with Peter Jennings" indicate the amount of missing explosives may be substantially less than the Iraqis reported.---
Gritting his teeth all the way.... Hope he laid in a supply of antacids.
#5
Hey, this is just a hatchet job concocted by El Baradei, Kerry, and the MSM. Kerry is still sticking with the lie today hoping it will stick with someone that votes.
#6
I can't believe that no one has picked up on what John Fn sKerry said in one of his speeches. I was watching FNC and I can't remember where Skerry was talking but he said "the explosives from QA QAA where used to blow up the USS Cole, etc.." That is not the verbatum quote but it is what he said and my jaw dropped to the floor. If that where true then it would show that Saddam was working with Al Qeada, and that the IEAE was responsible for not securing the explosives. Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't the USS Cole bombing happen before the invasion, and before the WTC attack.
I also, think that this story was a set up by Clinton to sink Skerry's run for office.
Check out my blog, for more.
Posted by: SGT. Rock ||
10/28/2004 12:20 Comments ||
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I believe that this war is one of the prototypes used by al-Q in its current operations. Note that the scheme was cooked up and nurtured in Egypt. And also that the UN was used to provide the appearance of legitimacy for terroristic acts performed in the name of "self-determination."
Fifty years ago Sunday, Algerian nationalists sparked what was to become one of the African continent's bloodiest independence wars with a series of some 60 nearly simultaneous explosions and attacks that left a dozen people dead. Their meticulously planned surprise operation targeted symbols of French rule such as police stations, municipal buildings, bridges and electrical facilities, stunning the colonial authorities only months after France lost Indochina at Dien Bien Phu.
Multiple coordinated explosions, check. Infrastructure targeted along with civilians, check. Complete and utter surprise, check.
It would take the French political class nearly nine more blood-soaked years to grasp the amplitude of the rebellion, and to break ranks with proponents of an eternal French Algeria.
Elites in France completely clueless and in denial, check.
The National Liberation Front (FLN), announcing in Cairo its intent to wrest independence from France after 132 years under its rule, was immediately embraced by charismatic Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser, at a time when European colonial powers, weakened by World War Two, faced a wave of nationalism encouraged by the defeat of Nazi totalitarianism.
Someone more knowledgeable about Nasser's role will have to comment here.
#1
The very first victim of the Algerian rebellion was an Algerian, seconds later were killed the couple of French teachers he had persuaded to come to teach the children of his village.
Quite a symbol since the FLN main feature was its brutality toward suppressing any Algerian who didn't support it (including those supporting other liberation movements): entire villages were destroyed and its population (children included) put to death in the most sadistic ways. The other feature is that after the independence the Socialist Algeria created the most backward woman legismlation of all Maghreb and, in order to Arabize the Berber population, it brought Egyptian "teachers" who had zero qualifications and were mostly from the Muslim Brotherhood (outlawed in Egypt). Ah, the Berber websites tell that the operation who allowed the French Army to decapitate the Berber resistance was allowed by info given by the Arab leaders of the FLN
#2
I've always thought it was odd that France tested its first nuclear bombs in Algeria while the war was in progress, though the test sites were in remote parts of the Sahara very far from the urban centers of the conflict (French forces had almost eliminated organized rural resistance by then.)
The French in Algeria pioneered some of the techniques that were later used in Vietnam, including extensive use of helicopters. It also presaged Vietnam in deploying air power of all kinds on an unprecedentd scale for guerrilla warfare. In 1958, according to British historian William Green, L'Armee de L'Air had more than 800 aircraft in Algeria, with more from the Navy and Army.
Two American aircraft that figured prominently in the Vietnam War, the T-28 and The AD Skyraider, (later re-designated A-1) saw extensive service in Algeria, as did the H-34 helicopter and several other US aircraft.
French AD-4 (A-1D) Skyraider as used in Algeria, 1960 (1/48 model)
#4
not quite Chuck. Yeah, algeria was theoretically part of France, like New mexico part of the US. But suppose New Mexico was 90% Apache, and Apaches could vote only if they renounced Apache customs, and few did so.
#6
An interesting site is anp.org, the Free Algerian Officers Movement, an pro-democracy organization. I'm not vouching for its authenticity, but according to it, Algeria is run by a mafioso military, the rancid leftovers of the original FLN. Even El Para is considered to be on the payroll of the generals.
Posted by: chicago mike ||
10/28/2004 15:28 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
