The whereabouts of the wife of deceased terror suspect Younes Ibrahim Al-Hayari, a Bosnian woman, and her child are still unknown. They both accompanied him on his journey that started in Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj pilgrimage in February 2001, during which he decided not to return to his country of origin, and to join Islamic militant groups.
"Dang! I really like it here in Arabia! And those guys with the automatic weapons are really keen! I wanna be like them! Whaddya think, honey?"
"Yes, dear! **God, please martyr this goof!**"
Al-Hayari participated in the Bosnian war from 1992 to 1995 with other Arabs who volunteered themselves as part of a holy war. During this period, he married a Bosnian woman and later acquired a Bosnian passport. The Bosnian ministry of interior affairs has denied this, after they had thoroughly investigated files with information about all Bosnian nationals. They asserted that passports were confiscated from a number of people who fought in the Bosnian war.
Okay, so it's a false Bosnian passport.
The intense media coverage of Al-Hayari and his companions has neglected the situation of his wife and child.
I hadn't given them a thought. As soon as I'm done reading this article I'm going to forget them...
Al-Hayari would frequently use his wife and child as a ploy to conceal his movements when shifting between locations.
That's because he's an Islamic hero. They do that sort of thing...
However, they were not present at the scene of his death.
"Hrarrr! Cops! We're surrounded by cops! Get my shootin' iron, woman!"
"Here you are, dear!... Ummm... I have to run down to the drug store..."
What adds to the ambiguity of this case is that the wife of formerly wanted terror suspect Al Majati, who was murdered in last April's Al-Rass incident, confirmed that she was unfamiliar with Al Hayari and his family.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2005 00:00 ||
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"Al-Hayari would frequently use his wife and child as a ploy to conceal his movements when shifting between locations."
A security source doubted the authenticity of the information exchanged by different media means about the involvement of a Yemeni suspect in the list of 36 Saudi suspects wanted by the court on suspicion of terrorist acts. An official source told 22 May weekly last Thursday that the Yemeni Ministry of Interior does not have any documents carrying the name of Hassan Mohammad Hamid whose name was announced in an Interior Ministryâs statement last Tuesday.
"Hassan Mohammad Hamid? Hmmm... That's an unusual name. Never heard of him!"
The source clarified there is still an ongoing contact with Riyadh, the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to know whether the travel documents alleged to be possessed by a Yemeni national are forged or authentic.
Oh, c'mon! What do you think?
In the same context, the source revealed to al-Watan Newspaper the list of the wanted suspects including 21 fugitives who fled the country. The Yemeni authorities claimed that these suspects should appear before the court for committing different crimes inside Yemen.
What part of "fled the country" are you having trouble with?
According to the source, the list of the wanted suspects involve 8 Saudi nationals accused by the Yemeni security authorities of committing various crimes in Yemen such as money laundering, murder cases and drug trafficking. It pointed out one of the wanted Saudi nationals, Hassan Mohammad al-Sahari, was sentenced by the Yemeni judiciary to five years in jail for being involved in drug trafficking.
So what's he doing out of jug?
The list covers 10 Yemenis suspected by the authorities of bombing police stations to the north of the country, attacking security forces while on duty and committing other crimes. The list also includes 3 suspects holding the UAE citizenship and a Colombian who are facing the charges of murdering Yemenis and smuggling Yemeni antiquities, the source added.
Where the hell did the Colombian come from?
The same source ascertained all the wanted suspects are fugitives outside the country while the preliminary information indicates the existence of 14 suspects inside the Saudi lands. The source mentioned that Yemen urged Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, and the U.A.E. through their interior ministries to hunt all the wanted suspects and capture them, but up until now all these countries have never provided information whether they did so according to the Yemeni government request or not.
Ahah! Through the fog of Yemeni journalistese I begin to comprehend that some of the guys on the 36 Most Wanted list were already on the Yemeni Hundreds Most Wanted list and that they haven't been getting much, if any, cooperation from their neighbords in snagging them...
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2005 00:00 ||
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I'm getting slender, too. And my hair's definitely thicker and starting to get wavy...
Saudi Arabia has made significant strides in its battle against terrorists, according to Crown Prince Abdullah. His comments come days after Saudi troops battled with and killed the head of al Qaida in the kingdom Younis Mohammed Ibrahim al-Hayari. "Security forces have killed many heads of sedition and foiled a large number of operations aimed at sabotage and terror," he said.
"... and they keep finding more..."
Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz added that security forces in the country would "continue to hunt down this deviant group and uproot terrorism.â
Cut any holy men's heads off lately? How's Sheikh Hawali doing these days?
Saudi Arabia has suffered a series of attacks since May 2003 when suicide bombers attacked three ex-pat compounds in the capital Riyadh. The kingdom then launched a wave of retaliatory raids against the militants. It issued a list of 26 most wanted suspects, killing or capturing 23 of the figures on that original list.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2005 00:00 ||
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"Cut any holy men's heads off lately?"
Nailed it, Fred. The whole game boils down to the Friday "Prayers" spew and the imams who deliver it. The imams are the key. If the Saudis - or any other "Govt" wanted to control the jihadi component, this is the most obvious and easily controlled major choke point. Here is where jihadis are created by the images of glory and Paradise peddled by the imams, recruited and handed off to the active jihadis, and funded - through the imams' demands for zakat and "charity" donations.
When heads roll, regularly and in number, then we'll have tangible proof of the existence of Moderate Muzzies, not just untapped Resource Muzzies waiting for the call.
It is my opinion that the Lists are mostly bullshit - some idealistic sacrificial fodder, some desperate dupes and fools on the payroll to be used when PR needs demand it, and a very few bona-fide loose cannon baddies. Can't have too many of that last type, cuz you need "victories" for the PR machine - and these guys actually fight back. Nayef is a player. Arabnews, GulfNews, KhaleejTimes, et al are fed, and faithfully trumpet, whatever Nayef wants, no more and no less.
A Bahraini political society has been ordered to close for 45 days for "illegal activities," a government statement said yesterday. A statement issued by the Ministry of Social Affairs said the Islamic Action Society has been temporarily closed due to "the illegal activities which violate the rules under which the society was established." The closure order came a few days after the group, part of the four-society opposition alliance, organised a public forum to honour 73 former political prisoners, convicted in 1981 for plotting to overthrow the government. Sources said speeches at the forum were "provocative" and contained "insults to national leaders."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2005 00:00 ||
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Lol - these Islamic Action Society fools think they're in America or the UK. Look, boyz, here you can do all sorts of outrageous seditious shit and not only get away with it, hell, you'll get support out the wazoo. You can do everything short of actually attempting to overthrow the government by force. And even then , you'd have the ACLU, whack-job socialista judges, et al, behind you.
Over there, well, you've got a Kingy Thingy who likes being King and can do whatever the hell he wants. The status quo is his primary concern. Fuck with that, and you'll get thumped. This "office closure" strikes me as the mildest thing he could do to someone who's trumpeting sedition. I'd think of it as strike one. But that's just me.
Kuwait City: The Islamic Constitutional Movement has initiated a campaign to recruit women to create a strong base at all electoral constituencies, according to a leader of the movement. The movement's current rank of female members will be used extensively during the campaign, said Dr Mohammad Al Basiri, a prominent leader of Islamic Constitutional Movement (ICM) and an MP.
"No, you can't vote! It's un-Islamic! We ain't gonna let you vote!... You can vote now?... Well, vote for us! We'll look out for you!"
The political situation in the country has changed and the ICM will have to take these changes into account to make progress in the political arena, Al Basiri was quoted as saying by the Al Watan daily yesterday.
Yeah, things have changed... Not as much as they're going to in the next 30 years, but changed...
"The new law allowing women to exercise their political rights and other laws like lowering the age limit for voters and allowing military personnel to vote along with amendments in the number of constituencies will surely change the political structure and have a dramatic effect on the performance of Parliament," he said. Speaking on ICM's earlier opposition to granting women their political rights and refusing to favour bills in this regard, Al Basiri said, "We have already closed this chapter and are looking forward to have women's active participation in political life but according to the limits and laws given by our religion."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2005 00:00 ||
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This is a test of The Kuwaiti Emergency Broadcast System Kuwaiti wymyn's tolerance for cognitive dissonance. If they support the Islamic Constitutiomnal Movement (*snicker*), then their tolerance is fatally foolish. If not, then they have functioning brains and some notion of reality. This is only a test.
MOSCOW - Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev said on Tuesday Olympic athletes would be at risk from attacks by his forces if the Russian capital won the right to hold the 2012 Games. âNo one could guarantee the athletesâ security, even if our forces conducted extremely careful strikes on Moscow. But there should be no doubt that we have bombed and will bomb Moscow,â he said in a statement on a rebel Web site.
Basayevâs comments came as campaigning for the right to stage the Games entered its final 24 hours, with officials from the five candidate cities gathered in Singapore to make presentations to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Basayev has a habit of making statements intended to embarrass Russia, and his words will be viewed as a blow by Moscow, already seen as the outsider in the race against New York, London, Paris and Madrid ahead of Wednesdayâs IOC vote.
Basayev also has a habit of being a murderous thug.
âToday the war, which was started by Russia, still continues. Moscow is the capital of a warring state and this city is a zone of legitimate military activities for our mujahideen (holy warriors),â Basayev said. âThe Olympic Games do not interest us much. Our people have other problems. Only Allah knows what will be in 2012, and whether the world will care about sport or whether (Russia) will even exist,â Basayev said.
I'm hoping Shamil's long dead by then...
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/06/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Seeing how they won't be there, knock yourself out, bub.
#2
Old Nasty Pegleg feels left out because he inhabits small holes far from the Slimelight tm in Iraq. No book signing tour for him. Sales are surely flat. Things must be getting a little grim and depressing for him as the periodic messages have taken on a more shrill tone in contrast to the wide-eyed messianic bragging Babykiller Bob of old. I always thought he should have stuck to the computer repair field and petty crime.
Posted by: Abu Ratcatcher to the Stars ||
07/06/2005 9:04 Comments ||
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#3
If the arrogant cock's still breathing in 2012 I'm sure he'll be welcome at the paralympics.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
07/06/2005 10:18 Comments ||
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Maybe blind Abu Hookhands can get out of prison by 2012 and give Basayev a run for his money in the 100 meter jihadi dash at the paki tribal area paralympics to be held in Quetta.
Interior ministers of the five largest European Union countries have agreed to share the costs of organizing charter flights to send home illegal immigrants and help deal with human smuggling. French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy announced the accord after talks in the town of Evian with his counterparts from Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain. He said the five countries will charter aircraft which will stop in each of those countries to pick up illegal immigrants of the same nationality and return them to their countries of origin. He said the first flights will begin in a matter of days.
Mr. Sarkozy said the ministers also agreed on measures to deal with identity theft and the increasing trade in fake passports and identity documents. Illegal immigration, mostly from Africa and Asia, is a matter of growing concern for EU countries.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/06/2005 10:29 ||
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Give it a week and it will stop due to costs. Oh, even if it does work they'll have to stop it after the news reminds them that the Americans started the same thing with illegals first. We all know being goo EUro's they don't want to emulate anything America does even if it works.
#2
Charter flights?? They need ships to send back their illegals. Same here. We need to charter ships to send back the Brazilians and Central Americans streaming past our southern border.
It's a crime how these OTM (other than Mexicans) are caught by the Border Patrol and released with a promise to appear in immigration court. Word has gotten out in Latin America that our border is a flippin' joke. Catch and release! Like a fish.
#6
Well, see Europe's airport tarmacs, anyway. And even if the flight costs a bit, it's chaper than the cost of bugging them and tailing them to make sure they stay out of trouble.
VIENNA - The Justice Ministry denied on Wednesday that inquiries are underway against Iranian president-elect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in relation to the murders of three Iranian Kurds in Vienna in 1989. The ministry said that the state prosecutorâs office was only investigating whether a so-called âWitness Dâ, who made allegations against Ahmadinejad, in fact existed.
The witness had been named by Austrian opposition Greens specialist in security questions, Peter Pilz, on Tuesday. Pilz said he had handed information on to the Austrian authorities for investigation. Pilz said that âDâ, a former journalist in Teheran who later fled to France, accused the president-elect of having belonged to a three- member âoperations commandoâ which committed the murders of Iranian- Kurdish leader Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou and two other Kurds on July 13, 1989. âDâ said his source was another presumed member of the commando, Nasser Taghipour, who later became General of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (Pasdaran). Pilz said that âDâ could have only had his âabsolutely correct insider informationâ from a direct participant in the crime.
On Tuesday, Austrian Ambassador Michael Stigelbauer was summoned to the Teheran Foreign Ministry over the reports linking Ahmadinejad with the 1989 murders. âWe called the Austrian ambassador in on Tuesday to give an explanation,â said foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi.
General Director of the ministry Rahim Pur accused Austria of anti-Iranian propaganda, and demanded an explanation of how the reports appeared. As well as Pilz, recent press reports in the Czech Republic and Austria have charged Ahmadinejad with involvement. No-one has ever been arrested for the murders.
In 1989, under apparent Iranian pressure, the suspects were allowed out of Austria unscathed. One of them even had a police escort to Vienna airport. Last week, the Prague newspaper Pravo said Ahmadinejad was allegedly involved in the Ghassemlou murders. The president-elect had previously also been accused by other sources of involvement in the 1979 occupation of the US embassy in Teheran. He denies any implication in either event.
Pravo quoted an informed source as saying that Ahmadinejad was a high-ranking commander of the Revolutionary Guards (Pasdaran) in western Iran, and was responsible for âstorm operations abroadâ. âA few days before the murder of Ghassemlou, he was in Vienna, and his task was to give the weapons from the Iranian embassy to the murder commando,â the report said.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/06/2005 10:26 ||
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In 1989, under apparent Iranian pressure, the suspects were allowed out of Austria unscathed. One of them even had a police escort to Vienna airport.
I guess we can save the postage on any coalition invitations to Austria.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
07/06/2005 12:07 Comments ||
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WASHINGTON (AFP) - More than two US soldiers were killed every day day in June in Iraq; most were under 25 years of age and they came from all over the United States, according to information provided by the Pentagon. Hang in there; there is news here....
Of the 77 servicemen and women who died in June, 48 or 62 percent, were aged 25 or younger. The youngest soldiers killed were 18. And this is significant because ....?
One was Jonathan Flores, from San Antonio, Texas. He was killed on June 15 along with three comrades when their vehicle struck a booby trap in combat near Ramadi, west of Baghdad. Another was Christopher Kilpatrick, from Columbus, Texas. He was killed on June 20 at Tal Afar, northern Iraq, when his convoy came under enemy fire.
The oldest casualty was 46. He was Sergeant Larry Arnold, from Carriere, Mississippi, who was killed June 11 in Owesat, along with a comrade when their armored vehicle went over a land mine. Who was the comrade? What's his name? It's soon-to-be shown as significant! Read on!
The ethnic makeup of the June fatalities was not provided by the defense department, but many of the names among those killed in June -- Ramona Valdez, Carlos Pineda, Roberto Arizola -- appear to be Hispanic. Whaddabout Kilpatrick and Arnold? (See above)
Last year, The Washington Post daily conducted a survey among Hispanics, 30 percent of whom believed their community was paying too heavy a toll for the war. A breakdown provided by the Pentagon in January showed that 11.6 percent of US military fatalities were Hispanic, when they group made up only nine percent of all members of the armed forces. Oh the horror! But what about the other ethnic groups? Which group is having less-than-their-fair-share killed in the service of their country? How many liberals, as a percentage of the population, are in the military? How many college grads are KIA, compared to high school dropouts? There's a really big story here ... somewhere....
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/06/2005 09:29 ||
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I saw a story last month about the heaviest casualties were in the age 25-35 white group. 48% of all casualties. Now I want to see the MSM parading that story.
#2
The real story, US citizens of hispanic origin are patrotic folk and are very proud of their military service to our counrty. In La Lomita the upper working class Barrio I grew up in every hispanic house had proudly displayed pictures of sons in uniform. Some of them deceased, all the way back to WW2 and before. Nothing to see here? Yes, the real story and the MSM will not tell you any of it. MSM MIA.
#3
So the Crushing Morale Post Washington Post discovers that 11.6% of U.S. fatalities in the Iraq War are Hispanic. And what? Hispanics make up almost 14.4% of U.S. population. Also, what's in a name?
My surname is Hispanic, but I was born here and consider myself American and nothing else. Yet if I had been a U.S. casualty in Iraq, the Post would have listed me as a "victim" of U.S. discrimination merely on the basis of my surname and little else.
How does one's surname in any way reveal one's beliefs, politics, nationalistic inclinations? It doesn't just in the same way that race, religion, and heritage diminish identity with and loyalty to the United States of America.
#4
From StrategyPage June 15, 2005 Attrition categoty: Two percent of those killed have been women, while 31 percent were age 22 or younger. Only 11 percent of the dead were 35 or older. Active duty troops account for 78 percent of the deaths (but only comprise about 60 percent of the troops in Iraq). The army accounts for 69 percent of the dead, the marines 28 percent. Lower ranking troops (grades E1-E4) were 59 percent of the dead. Whites were 74 percent of the dead, blacks ten percent, Hispanic 11 percent. Itâs a suburbanites war, with 40.5 percent of the dead coming from the suburbs, and a third from rural areas.
It seems blacks(13%) and hispanics (13+%) are a bit unrepresented as a percentage of population, even more so as a percentage of the military age population. This is a reprise of the Vietnam war canard (lie, in unFrechified English) that blacks were a disproportionate percentage of casualties. Divide and conquer.
Posted by: ed ||
07/06/2005 13:24 Comments ||
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Sorry ... this line should read like this:
It doesn't just in the same way that race, religion, and heritage *do not* diminish identity with and loyalty to the United States of America.
#6
The ethnic makeup of the June fatalities was not provided by the defense department
That's because it's meaningless. They're all Americans, regardless of the color of their skins.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
07/06/2005 13:28 Comments ||
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#7
Ed ... Vietnam Canard is right. Whites suffered most casualties not just numerically, but proportionately as well.
See:
Black Patriotism vs. Liberal Lies
FrontPageMagazine.com | March 20, 2002
"WE LIVE IN AN AGE OF LIES," wrote David Horowitz last November, "manufactured by progressives to discredit America . . . by sowing racial and ethnic hatred â in particular by spreading destructive myths among black Americans to make them hate their own country."
Sadly, there is abundant evidence supporting Mr. Horowitzâs assertion about progressives. It is inexpressibly tragic that by encouraging such anti-American sentiments in the black community, the Left utterly ignores the great patriotism that so many blacks have shown throughout our countryâs history, even during those eras when societal discrimination cast a dark shadow over every aspect of their lives. Examples of voluntary black patriotism do not harmonize with dogmas depicting our nation as racist and therefore unworthy of defending; thus the aforementioned progressives prefer to mischaracterize such examples as evidence of coerced black submission to societyâs oppressive demands.
Consider the issue of African Americans who fought in the Vietnam War, which was the subject of Mr. Horowitzâs November 5 article "Black America at War." In that piece, Horowitz took issue with the popular contention â which has become part of modern "conventional wisdom" â that black soldiers fought and died in disproportionately high numbers in Southeast Asia during the war years.
Horowitz wrote that whites comprised 88.4 percent of those who served in Vietnam, 86.3 percent of those who died there, and 86.8 percent of those killed in actual battle (as distinguished from those who died from accidents or illness). Blacks, he added, comprised 10.6 percent of those who served in Vietnam, 12.5 percent of those who died, and 12.1 percent of those killed in actual battle. Finally, he pointed out that 13.5 percent of our countryâs military-age males during the war years were black â meaning that there is no basis upon which to claim that a racist American government was indiscriminately rounding up large numbers of black men to be used as cannon fodder in the jungles of Southeast Asia. The National Archives and Records Administration, the Vietnam Helicopter Crew Members Association, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) confirm these statistics. In their meticulously researched book Stolen Valor, B.G. Burkett and Glenna Whitley also corroborate Horowitzâs numbers. It is necessary only to clarify that according to the VFW, Hispanics, who were originally counted as whites, comprised about 170,000 (or 5 percent) of the 3,403,100 personnel who served in the Southeast Asia Theater â Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. They also accounted for 3,070 (or 5.3 percent) of the casualties.
While many of the reader responses to Horowitzâs article thanked him for bringing to light some facts that were not widely known, many others strongly rebuked him for allegedly misrepresenting reality. He was accused of being, among other things, "unlearned," "unintelligent," a "liar," a "coward," and a "racist" traveling down a "dark path of ignorance and hate."
It is by no means surprising that some readers would react so hotly to Horowitzâs assertions. Like so many Americans, their opinions about the Vietnam War have been shaped by the claims of inaccurate though wildly popular sources. One such source is Wallace Terryâs best-selling 1984 book Bloods, which states that blacks in the war died in numbers far exceeding their representation in the U.S. population. "Black soldiers were accounting for more than 23 percent of American fatalities in Vietnam," says the book jacket, "although blacks comprised only 10 percent of Americaâs population." This myth was further reinforced in the popular culture by such media presentations as a 1986 Frontline television program called "The Bloods of âNam," which gave viewers the overall impression that our government was figuratively parading impoverished ghetto youngsters into the very crosshairs of Vietcong rifles.
Isnât racism problematic enough without having to "invent" it where it doesnât exist? The fact is that 7,257 black American soldiers were killed in Vietnam, a figure representing 12.5 percent of all American fatalities. As Burkett and Whitley point out, "an examination of the casualty records indicates that the highest rate for black servicemen was [16.3] percent in 1965, and almost all of those killed [during that year] were volunteers in elite units, not reluctant draftees involuntarily assigned to combat units. Black casualty rates dipped under their [13.5 percent] proportion in the population [of draft-age males] in most other years. In 1969, the warâs peak, black deaths accounted for 11.4 percent of the total." In short, black deaths in Vietnam were, overall, roughly proportional to what would be expected if they were drafted and sent into combat on a color-blind basis. If anything, their casualty rates were slightly lower â not higher â than their representation in the overall population of draft-age men.
In 1993, researchers Cynthia Gimbel and Alan Booth conducted an important study for the Population Research Institute at Penn State University. They examined several previous studies of black participation in the war and concluded that the literature simply did not support claims of disproportionate black service, combat exposure, or casualty rates during the war. In fact, their investigations indicated that black draftees had a significantly lower risk of being given a combat arms assignment than did white draftees. If we examine the numbers on a year-by-year basis, we find that black casualties comprised the following percentages of total casualties: 1962 (1.8 percent); 1963 (4.2 percent); 1964 (5.8 percent); 1965 (14.4 percent); 1966 (16.3 percent); 1967 (12.5 percent); 1968 (13.2 percent); 1969 (11.4 percent; 1970 (11.0 percent); 1971 (11.4 percent); 1972 (10.1 percent; 1973 (2.4 percent); 1974 (1.6 percent); 1975 (4.4 percent). In the earliest years of the conflict, Americaâs military presence in Vietnam consisted largely of advisors â some 16,000 as of November 1963. March 1965 saw the first arrival of American combat troops, who would not be completely out of Vietnam until March 1973.
Burkett and Whitley note that "the early [combat] units to go into war [in 1965] were elite troops of the Marine Corps, the Special Forces, and the 173rd Airborne, units almost exclusively populated by highly motivated volunteers â including higher proportions of blacks. Seventy-five percent of blacks who served in Vietnam volunteered to go. In fact, blacks tended to volunteer for combat at higher rates than whites." This explains the higher black casualty rates in 1965 and 1966, when heavy American combat began in earnest.
In sum, blacks were not in Vietnam because a racist government had summoned them from the ghettos in order to waste their supposedly expendable lives in remote jungles 8,000 miles away; they were there in large measure because of their own courage and patriotism, notwithstanding the fact that they often experienced racism back home. It is a great indignity to the legacy of those brave and selfless individuals for the Left to now insist on portraying their courageous march into Southeast Asiaâs battlegrounds as the functional equivalent of powerless captives being herded â because of their governmentâs disdain for their "genetic undesirability" â into Hitlerâs death camps.
John Perazzo is the author of The Myths That Divide Us: How Lies Have Poisoned American Race Relations. For more information on his book, click here. E-mail him at wsbooks25@hotmail.com
#8
"That's because it's meaningless. They're all Americans, regardless of the color of their skins."
Thanks, RC, right on the money. 2 observations to tack on...
Ironically, for an outfit like AFP, your statement is meaningless - they have no understanding or concept of the Melting Pot. It's not the Euro way of doing things or thinking, thus dismissed out of hand due to sheer ignorance, not to mention that it activates one of the agenda ticklers. That the numbers quoted are statistically trivial and meaningless, this is only a carefully selected slice in time, after all, is lost on most readers, so they know they'll successfully influence the dummies. AFP is an alien entity with no solid knowledge of America or Americans in this regard - and missing the key points because they're arrogant ignorant agenda-driven dickheads.
WaPo, on the other hand, quoted by the article as tracking ethnic stats (Can you say "common agenda"?), is something else entirely. Were they Americans (I suggest they're not.) they would've (and should've) taken a much larger view of the active social phenomena involved, such as the points made above that Hispanics, as a an ethnic group, are very patriotic and recognize the Armed Services as a very effective vehicle for personal betterment (e.g. tuition support), etc. Nah, they get no cover for ignorance, they deserve the bitch-slap due seditionists, political fifth columnists, and liars. It's simply whoring, disingenuous asstard divide and conquer MSM whoring. Fuck WaPo. In every way possible. I hope I live to see them fold.
#9
Amen to the last 4 comments. The supposed party of tolerance and the mindset of the "tolerant" left breeds hate and division. They always try to divide and conquer to pull america apart. Better us fighting each other then them I guess is their strategy. It worked back in the 60s and 70s, but it is only pissing people off now days.
Notice that this is a carefully selected slice in time where the Statistics just 'happen' to agree with the AFP/WaPo Agenda. Notice that there is no mention of those killed in May, or April or any other month in the last 2 years.
I wonder how long AFP/WaPO were waiting for these numbers to happen to come along.
hey Look! The last 2 times I flipped this coin (out of the last 500 times) it was heads -- that means that it will *ALWAYS BE HEADS* from now on.
#14
Anybody know what percentage of casualties in the Civil War and the Indian Wars were Irish?
I bet it's high. Besides being a recognized self-betterment system, it's also a quick route to citizenship. Very popular with immigrants, in whatever time slice you cherry pick.
Books to stack on the bedside table this fall: "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," "1776" . . . "Messages to the World â The Statements of Osama bin Laden"?
A New York-based publisher of scholarly and general-interest titles, many of them with a leftish political slant, said yesterday that it will release a compendium of the terrorist fugitive's speeches and written tracts to help the American public better understand his bloody guerrilla philosophy.
But the project raises questions about whether profit earned, however indirectly, from terrorist activities isn't so much blood money â akin to reissuing a hate-filled screed like Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf." It's revenue "made off the words of a criminal mastermind who murdered 30,000-plus Americans," said Scott McConnell, editor and publisher of The American Conservative magazine. " . . . It's regrettable."
Bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist network has claimed responsibility for the Sept. 11, 2001, World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks, as well as other atrocities. "Messages to the World" nevertheless could find a place on the shelf with kindred notorious products such as Charles Manson's music albums ("Way of the Wolf," "Live at San Quentin," among others) and artwork by Richard Ramirez, the so-called Night Stalker.
Next month, Morning Star Communications plans to publish "Son of Hope," the prison journals of "Son of Sam" murderer David Berkowitz.
Verso Books, which has issued best sellers by the likes of Noam Chomsky, Rep. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Alexander Cockburn, said the 224-page bin Laden hardback will have an initial press run of 20,000 copies selling for $24 apiece. "We've had great interest (in the title) from book chains and university stores," said Amy Scholder, Verso's general manager.
Some scholars said yesterday that they were more concerned about where the tome's sales revenue might be funneled than whether the book could be used by militants in the U.S. as a sort of inspirational text. Bin Laden's writings are already well-represented on the Internet, noted Jim Phillips, a research fellow specializing in Middle East affairs at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. "The question is, where does the money go after people buy the book," said Phillips, stressing that the work could serve a valuable educational function if it presents bin Laden's ideology in a balanced fashion.
If it has a positive spin and promotes the idea that "people will be happier when the infidels are killed, that's another thing," he added.
Verso said yesterday that no money from the book's sales will benefit bin Laden or any terrorist organizations. The publisher "has no interest in supporting" al-Qaeda, Scholder said.
"Messages to the World" was translated and edited by Islamic scholar Bruce Lawrence, a professor of religion at Duke University. He has written several books, including "Defenders of God: The Fundamentalist Revolt Against the Modern Age." Lawrence said yesterday that he has no intention of glorifying bin Laden, whom he described as "a devil we need to know."
The book traces how the terrorist's message and strategy have evolved in the past year, connecting strands of bin Laden's Koranic scholarship, CIA training, interventions in Persian Gulf politics and messianic anti-imperialism that have come to make up the foundation of al-Qaeda's deadly program. "We've heard more about bin Laden publicly in the last five years than anybody with an Arabic name," Lawrence said.
However, most translations of bin Laden's work available in the West have been flat and stale, and rife with misspellings and bad punctuation, Lawrence said. Some of bin Laden's prose "is actually quite dazzling," he said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
07/06/2005 09:39 ||
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#1
Did we ban the printing of Mein Kampf during WWII?
#3
Verso Books, which has issued best sellers by the likes of Noam Chomsky, Rep. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Alexander Cockburn, said the 224-page bin Laden
Anyone see a pattern here?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
07/06/2005 11:14 Comments ||
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Excellent idea. Publish it. I read both "Mein Kampf" and "Das Capital" for a required philosophy course in college, one of the best classes I ever had. Title of the class -- "Evil in the Modern World". I think Bennie's book could be the third required reading for that class.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/06/2005 11:18 Comments ||
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Since this is a war of ideologies by all means let us get Bin Laden's words out into the open. He can't compete with us in the marketplace of ideas; that is why he has to crash airplanes into buildings.
However, HO, if you think the American Left will blanch at a massacre in East Timor, you don't know them very well. The facts fit their mindset or they're disregarded. In that regard, they have a great deal in common with Islamists.
#1
Don't miss "Zarqawi's" complaint about being compared to a leftist at the same site - http://iowahawk.typepad.com/iowahawk/2005/07/stop_comparing_.html
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/06/2005 8:09 Comments ||
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Heh. It's a pretty good sign that your career as a Dread Terrorist is well into its 16th minute when you become the object of scathing web-based parodies.
My advice, Zarq, is blow yourself up now so you can stake a position as a legendary jihadi before one of your disgruntled minons shoots your sorry ass for the reward money.
WASHINGTON, July 6 (UPI) -- The U.S. National Counterterrorism Center reports there were 3,192 terror attacks in 2004 that resulted in the deaths, injury or kidnapping of 28,500 people. The NCTC data said North America and the Caribbean had 10 terrorism incidents in 2004, which included attacks by the Animal Liberation Front in the United States.
Iraq had about 875 attacks, India about 360 and Nepal about 320, the Financial Times reported. About 19 percent of the terror incidents were attributable to Islamic extremists. Of the remainder, 25 percent were secular political attacks, while the reasons for 56 percent were unknown.
NCTC Director John Brennan said many failed efforts to attack the United States were not included in the numbers. The center also unveiled a "Terrorism Knowledge Base" Web site, tkb.org, which allows the public to track the number and kind of terrorist incidents.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/06/2005 11:35 ||
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I hope they continue to change the criteria annually to render their statistics useless.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
07/06/2005 11:59 Comments ||
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And give Greenland a box. I'm sure they're feeling slighted.
[July 04 2005] at 0310 LT in position 06:19.5N - 003:22.0E, Anchored 4nm from break water, Lagos, Nigeria. Five robbers boarded a tanker. They tied up and assaulted duty A/B. They stole ship's equipment and stores and escaped at 0340 LT. Master reported incident to authorities.
[June 30. 2005] During early morning hrs, Umm Qusar, Iraq. Robbers armed with guns boarded an integrated tug and barge underway. They fired shots and held the crew at gun point and stole cash and crew personal belongings. No injuries to crew.
[June 26 2005] in position 04:47.6N - 048:12.0E, off Hobyo, East coast of Somalia. Pirates hijacked a general cargo ship underway loaded with cargo. Ten crewmembers are held hostage and pirates are demanding a ransom for release of the ship and crew.
[June 25 2005] at 0230 LT at Tema anchorage, Ghana. Three robbers boarded a container ship via hawse pipe. They cut forward store lock but were unable to open door. Duty A/B raised alarm and crew mustered. Robbers escaped empty handed in their boat waiting with one accomplice. Port control informed.
The National Police announced on Tuesday that 11 out of 17 alleged terrorists arrested last week had been officially charged as suspects in relation to a string of terror activities around the country, including the deadly bomb blast in front of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta last year.
National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Soenarko D.A. told reporters that the suspects, who were apprehended in Central Java and Jakarta, would be charged under the Antiterrorism Law (No. 15/2003), which carries a maximum penalty of death.
Nine of the 11 were apprehended in Surakarta and neighboring Wonogiri in Central Java, while the other two were arrested in Jakarta.
"We have issued arrest warrants and they have been detained," Soenarko said.
Soenarko refused to divulge the full names of the suspects, giving only their initials and their alleged roles in terrorist activities.
The first two suspects, who were captured in Jakarta, were identified as IH and EK.
They allegedly provided the detonating leads and TNT (trinitrotoluene) for the bomb attack in front of the Australian Embassy in September 2004, which killed 10, including the suicide bomber, and injured some 180 people.
Three other suspects were held in Central Java -- UP, DC and JT -- on charges of harboring two Malaysian fugitives, Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Mohd. Top as well as supplying materials for a series of bomb attacks around the country. The two Malaysians are the reputed top leaders of Jemaah Islamiyah, a regional terror group linked to Al Qaeda.
Four suspects -- JT, JS, MI and HS -- were charged with aiding and abetting terrorists, including providing transportation and financing.
Soenarko also revealed that the last two suspects, HM and FP, were suspects in the murder of prosecutor Ferry Silalahi last year in conflict-prone Palu, Central Sulawesi. Ferry was shot dead in his car after leaving a house where he had attended an evening religious service.
"As for the other six people that haven't been declared suspects yet, they are still being interrogated," Soenarko said.
Police have arrested scores of terrorists linked to the bombing incidents in Bali in 2002, the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta in 2003, and the Australian Embassy in 2004. Three men have been sentenced to death in relation to the Bali attacks.
While most of those arrested have been found guilty by the courts, many have claimed to be innocent.
Meanwhile, a family member of one of the recently arrested terrorist suspects said that his brother, Joko Tri Purwanto (one of the two JTs identified by the police), was apprehended last week after his wife delivered their third child at a Surakarta hospital in Central Java.
According to Eko, Joko's elder brother, the latter had no criminal record and was not involved in terrorism. "In fact, he never leaves home for more than 24 hours," Eko told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
He said that the 34-year-old Joko looked after his two cell phone shops in Surakarta, working from 9 a.m until nine in the evening. "Even if he had to go out, it would only be to look for used cell phones to be sold in his shops."
Eko said he was upset by how the police had handle the case, claiming that the police did not produce a warrant when arresting his brother.
He said that when Joko was arrested, he was carrying some Rp 7 million (US$737) in cash, which he intended to use to pay the hospital bills of his wife. He feared that the police would claim that the money was to be used to help finance terrorism.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
07/06/2005 10:01 ||
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July 6, 2005: The MILF admitted that they had been hiding Abu Sayyaf leader Khaddafy Janjalani in one of their camps, but had recently ended that relationship, and had expelled the Abu Sayyaf men. When news of this arrangement became known, MILF leaders insisted they had just tolerated Janjalani staying near one of their camps. Abu Sayyaf is a splinter group of the MILF, and there have been many efforts to reconcile the split. Abu Sayyaf is in favor of Islamic radicalism, MILF is not. The Islamic radical factions in the south are also providing support for the Indonesian Jemaah Islamiyah Islamic terrorist group, which has also been spotted in the southern Philippines, apparently receiving aid by MILF members.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/06/2005 08:47 ||
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The key sentence comes below. If you weren't sure what France and German motives are in dealing with Iran, this should clarify matters.
It's summertime in much of the world right now â and if past experience means anything there will soon be a crisis over Iran's nuclear programme. This time things are much more serious than before. Relations between Tehran and the West are looking distinctly overcast in the wake of the presidential election victory of hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad.
But there are also deeper rooted reasons for the looming clash, which could lead to United Nations action against Iran, splits among Europe's biggest powers, and sabre-rattling (at the very least) in the US.
Just look back at the last couple of summers, both of which presaged stormy weather ahead. In June 2003 the International Atomic Energy Agency announced that Iran had failed to come clean about its nuclear activities, which other countries feared were aimed at producing nuclear weapons. Tensions increased, with the US refusing to rule out military action, until October when French, German and British foreign ministers reached a deal with Tehran.
In July 2004 the deal fell apart as Iran started making parts for centrifuges that could be used to produce weapons grade uranium. Tehran later announced it had also started producing feedstocks for the nuclear cycle, while the "EU3" countries warned that unless Iran curtailed all such activities they would back calls to refer it to the UN security council.
That year's crisis came to an end in Paris in November when a new, tougher agreement between the EU3 and Tehran curtailed all Iranian activities linked to uranium enrichment for the duration of negotiations on the long term future of the nuclear programme.
The Europeans said they were looking for "objective guarantees" that Iran would not use nuclear technology to develop the bomb. In return they said they would help Tehran with technology, forge closer economic links, particularly trade, and even address the country's security concerns. But the Europeans added that, given Tehran's history of subterfuge and concealment, the objective guarantees they were seeking were, in effect, the dismantlement of the entire Iranian infrastructure for uranium enrichment â the process that can produce both nuclear fuel and nuclear bombs.
Iran has consistently maintained it has a right to enrich uranium, which it says it needs to bolster its energy security (despite its reserves of oil and gas) and that it has no intention of giving it up. The country has always insisted its nuclear programme is wholly peaceful. That difference in views has set the stage for the breakdown in negotiations that European diplomats now widely expect this summer. and which only an idiot ever thought would succeed in the first place - assuming 'succeed' means ending the runup to Iranian nukes Indeed it was a triumph of European diplomacy, uh huh. yup. triumph. with behind the scenes US support, that a Geneva meeting in May managed to delay the denouement until after Iran's presidential elections.
The Europeans have promised to deliver a new package of proposals to the Iranians by early August â the betting is that they will now do so just after Mr Ahmadi-Nejad's inauguration. Next to no one can conceive of how they can come up with anything that Tehran will accept. The EU will offer fuel guarantees to allay any Iranian need for enriched uranium, deeper economic links and a security dialogue to make Iran, a country traditionally bordered by enemies, unlike other countries, you see feel more at peace in the world. ooohhh - feelies!!! But it is hard to see how any of it will make any difference, given Tehranâs consistent message on uranium enrichment and the widespread perception in European capitals that Iran's real desire is to be within arm's reach of nuclear capacity.
As a result European minds are turning to security council resolutions. The EU3 have already told the US that they would support a referral to the UN if Iran resumes its nuclear programme.
But there are at least three problems. First, the EU3 themselves may not be united on vigorous action against Tehran â after all, Germany and France are by some counts the two biggest foreign investors in the country. Not even Russia, but Germany and France.
Second, any issue would have to be discussed at the IAEA, the UN's nuclear watchdog, before being referred to New York â and the fate of a hostile resolution put to the IAEA's 35-member board of governors is far from certain. And third, China is developing ever closer ties with Iran and may veto any UN vote. So any initial stab at a UN resolution is likely to be diplomatically worded so that it can be agreed on by the EU3, make it through the IAEA and not be vetoed by Beijing. As a result, it is only likely to call on Iran to respect the Paris agreement. A later resolution, if things got that far, might seek to turn the Paris agreement into international law by denying Iran the right to enrich uranium. Any attempt to impose sanctions would be much further down the line. This is all too late. They're close to weapons now. And I'm not at all sure that France and Germany aren't happy about that, privately.
The Europeans also hope that by winning over Moscow to their cause â Russia, as a neighbour of Iran's, has no interest in seeing a nuclear-armed Tehran â they will create a critical mass in favour of a resolution. What is this writer smoking? Russia is selling Teheran some of the critical technology and materials for their nuclear program. With all four other permanent members of the UN security council agreed on a relatively inoffensive resolution, it may be difficult for China to wield its veto.
But just as the Europeans are seeking to deal with the imminent clash by drafting relatively soft resolutions, Iran is likely to try to defuse such a confrontation by resuming nuclear activity in a patchy and low-profile way. Tehran knows that if it starts its entire nuclear programme up again at one blow a security council resolution is more likely; as a result it is likely to resume the programme in dribs and drabs.
All of which means that the next few months are profoundly uncertain. European unity may prevail and bring a UN resolution in its wake. But there is also a risk that, even though the talks fail, the UN process will ground to a halt, which will be good news for two groups of people â the champions of Iran's nuclear programme and the partisans of an airstrike against Tehran. This summer looks like it will be hot. But after that things could get even stickier.
Posted by: too true ||
07/06/2005 10:21 ||
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The only reason Iran is talking to the EUros is to buy time. They haven't stopped their program and will not stop it. They know that once they get their hands on some bombs, everything changes.
#3
All that has been done and will be done is useless wanking. There is no diplomat anywhere except France and Germany that thinks Terhan can be trusted.
All this is about is giving France and Germany what they want. It has nothing to do with making Iran give up enrichment and a weapons program. The Franco-German socialist wealfare states can't stand to lose the money they have tied up. Screw the rest of the world and their security Franco-German socialism must triumph. We should start putting the screws to the Franco-Germans, shove their economies into the crapper. Force this issue.
All the while the Iranian Terrorist State will be getting their fissile materials together and attacking by surogate and threatening us and our real friends.
The left loves to make this missquote: "You are with us or against us." Well it is the truth and we should start acting like it.
#4
The French and other EU anti Semites are very happy to Israel's options limited by a nuked up Iran. Oil is supreme for the Euros. They will run over their grandmother to secure Arab/Muslim oil. Meanwhile the ChiComs are signing long term oil supply contracts with Iran and Venezuela. 60$-80$/barrel crude may not be so fungible after all.
#5
60$-80$/barrel crude may not be so fungible after all.
?
It'll be even more fungible. Now oil's economic desirability as an energy source might be effected, but I don't have a clue at what price point that would start to occur.
#8
Nuke em til they glow, then shoot em in the dark. The Iranian cannot be allowed to get nuclear weapons.
It might be good for the LLL here that want the USA to loose in the ME to think about what will happen when the ass hats get nukes. We loose a city or two, and then we kill them all.
Which American admiral said,"When this war is over, Japanese (Arabic) will only be spoken in hell."
#10
Jackal, of course, you are right about Farsi in Iran. Their destruction was assumed. I was referring to the rest of the Islamic countries. Once a nuke or two goes off here, Wretchard's Third Conjecture comes into play. Dealing forcefully with Iran now might avoid that, - "Pour le encoureger les autres."
Iran's ultraconservative president-elect on Monday dismissed as "baseless" allegations of his involvement in the 1979 hostage-taking at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and in killing dissidents.
"Who? Me? Nawwww!"
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also said Iran was seeking "fair and expanding" relations with the world. "The dissemination of baseless information by Western countries despite enjoying advanced intelligence gathering capabilities is questionable," the official Islamic Republic News Agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying during a meeting with Iranian lawmakers. "We seek fair and expanding relations with all countries, and I advise them to adjust their stances toward Iran," said Ahmadinejad.
"Otherwise we'll storm their embassies and hold their people hostage for a year or two..."
Seven former American hostages held in the embassy take-over have claimed that Ahmadinejad was one of their captors, though organizers of the hostage-taking have said he was not among them.
"Yeah! Who you gonna believe? Us? Or the Great Satan?"
A separate allegation stems from a report by the Austrian newspaper Der Standard, quoting a top official with Austria's Green Party as saying authorities have "very convincing" evidence linking Ahmadinejad to the 1989 slaying of Abdul-Rahman Ghassemlou, an Iranian opposition Kurdish leader in Vienna. The agency report didn't say if the president-elect commented on that charge, but a former top Iranian intelligence official, now an opponent of Ahmadinejad, has said the accusation is incorrect.
"Nope. Nope. Wudn't him. It was... ummm... somebody else."
Ahmadinejad also criticized remarks by Western countries about last month's presidential election in Iran. "These countries will have to explain why they are attacking the democratic behavior of the Iranian people," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2005 00:00 ||
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I think the Mullahs want us to think he's a hostage-taker and assassin - that's their subtle way of telling us how insignificant we truly are.
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/06/2005 7:59 Comments ||
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He's got the kind of face you hope to see on a deck of playing cards.
Iran summoned the Austrian ambassador to the Foreign Ministry yesterday in protest at charges its President-elect Mahmood Ahmadinejad was involved in the 1989 murder of an Iranian Kurdish leader in Vienna. âThese accusations are ridiculous and unfounded, and for this reason we have summoned the Austrian ambassador to the Foreign Ministry to ask him for an explanation,â Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Assefi told AFP. âWe categorically deny these accusations which are part of a scenario made up by Zionist circles unhappy with the high turnout of Iraniansâ in last monthâs presidential elections, he said. âIn international norms, it is not acceptable for anyone to make unjust accusations and to drag the courts behind him,â he said.
Austrian legal authorities said earlier yesterday that they wanted to interview an Iranian journalist living in France who claims to have evidence that Ahmadinejad was involved in the assassination of Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou. âIf the witness is ready to come to Austria, the Austrian security services will listen to him,â a spokesman for the Austrian public prosecutorâs office, Ernst Kloiber, told AFP.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2005 00:00 ||
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Naikkhongchhari upazila of Bandarban hill district has become over the years a safe transit point for smuggling and dealings of heavy and sophisticated arms. Besides, the remote dense forests here have also turned into a secure hideout for foreign-based, especially Myanmar militant or rebel groups and tribal criminal gangs.
In separate or joint raids since September last year, Army and Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) dismantled several hideouts and recovered around 200 sophisticated firearms, ammunitions and war-instruments from Naikkhongchhari. The arms and ammo included Ak-47 rifle, M-16, Ak-56, G-3 rifle, foreign-made pistol, anti-aircraft rocket launcher, anti-tank grenade, hand grenade, land mine, explosives and military uniform.
On June 17, a joint team of army and police in a predawn raid at Kalaghata in Bandarban arrested nine Manipuri people whom they linked to an insurgent group of Indian state of Manipur. The law enforcers picked up 10 people from the house of one RK Khambal and a farmhouse deep into the forest, but later released one after primary interrogation. They seized some Indian currencies, a powerful binocular and some documents from their possession. They are active members of a rebel outfit, the People's Liberation Army of Manipur (PLAM), which is fighting for an independent state, sources said. Law enforcers arrested two criminals Zahed Alam and Monzur Alam (both are from Ramu in Cox's Bazar) with 190 bullets of Ak-47 rifle at Naikkhongchhari on May 28.
An army-BDR joint team on March 14 raided deep forest at Mong Thua area in Dochhari Bazar and recovered seven SMG, seven walkie-talkies, 29 land mines, seven detonators and few instruments from a makeshift hideout.
Army and BDR dismantled a militant hideout and seized 11 Ak-47, 53 magazines, over 1500 bullets of Ak-47 and huge instruments at remote Chikanchhari forest on January 6. In another raid at the same place on December 16 last year, law enforcement agencies recovered 25 Ak-47, two M-16s and huge ammunitions and explosives.
Several Myanmar-based militant groups have set up their hideouts at deep forests of Naikkhongchhari, sources said. They used to operate from there, collect heavy firearms and conduct training camps. A portion of those firearms are sold out through arms dealers to different terrorist groups in Chittagong, Dhaka and other parts of the country, sources added.
The sophisticated firearms like Ak-47, Ak-56, M-16, G-3 rifle, SMG, pistol, grenade have a good demand to criminal groups operating in Chittagong, Dhaka and elsewhere and they buy those arms at a very high price, sources said. Ak-47, M-16 and G-3 rifles are sold at Tk 1.50 to Tk 2 lakh; Israeli-made Uzi submachine gun and Ak-56 rifle at Tk 1 to Tk 1.50 lakh; sophisticate pistol at Tk 50,000 to Tk1lakh; a hand grenade at Tk 2,000; an Ak-47 bullet at Tk 30 and a bullet of Tommy gun at Tk 20, sources added.
1 US Dollar = 63.90000 Bangladeshi Taka
1 Bangladeshi Taka (BDT) = 0.01565 US Dollar (USD)
The most active militant groups are Arakan Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (ARSO), National United Party of Arakan (NUPA), Arakan Rohingya Islamic Front Organisation (ARIFO), Democratic Party of Arakan (DPA), Arakan Rohingya National Organisation (ARNO), Arakan Liberal Party (ALP) and Arakan Army (AA). Bangladesh and Myanmar has a 188-kilometre borderline. Of this, about 100 km from pillar no 1 to 55 is protected with arrangement of paramilitary BDR. But the remaining 88 kms are left unprotected, as those are dense forests, sources said.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/06/2005 10:34 ||
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Looks like there's money to made in arbitrage between Peshawar (PEWAR) and Naikkhongchhari (NKKCCRI.
The abduction of an Egyptian diplomat in Iraq followed by the attacks yesterday on emissaries from Bahrain and Pakistan demonstrates a new low to which the insurgents have sunk. It is a basic tenet of a civilized world that diplomats are become targets of aggression, however at odds a host country may be with the state the diplomats represent. Even when diplomacy fails and countries declare war, governments are expected to give safe passage to their enemiesâ diplomatic staff for them to return home.
Rest at link
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/06/2005 09:29 ||
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Tell that to the Mad Mullahs. Some of us still remember those 444 days of captivity.
#3
Yeah, that head-chopping stuff and blowing up civilians was OK, but kidnapping diplomats is going too far! Um ... except if you're Iranian, and they're American diplomats - that's OK too.
Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa condemned al-Sherif's kidnapping and the attack on a Bahraini diplomat on Tuesday, saying they "serve the interests of those who try to sever Iraq's ties with its Arab surroundings".
"Such acts confuse the Arab public as it tries to understand what is going in Iraq," he said. I hafta admit, this statement confuses me!
He said the presence of diplomatic missions in Baghdad show Arab nations' "genuine desire to continue contacts with all the Iraqi people. It is also an affirmation of the Arab identity of Iraq".
Amnesty International also condemned the attacks.
In a statement sent to Aljazeera.net, the rights organisation said the abduction of Egypt's ambassador to Iraq on Saturday, Tuesday morning's attempted assassination of Bahrain's envoy and the attack on the Pakistan ambassador's convoy, were an intensely worrying new trend in abuses by armed groups.
"The attacks on Arab and foreign diplomats in recent days appear to represent a new and worrying phase in the campaign by armed groups opposed to the Iraqi government and the presence of US and other foreign troops in Iraq," the statement said.
The statement accused the diplomats' abductors of preventing the Arab governments from developing appropriate ties with the new Iraqi leaders.
"Clearly, the aim of these groups is to deter Arab foreign governments from developing close relations with the new Iraqi administration and are seeking to ratchet up further their campaign of violence against all those associated with the new government," the statement said.
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/06/2005 09:29 ||
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"Such acts confuse the Arab public as it tries to understand what is going in Iraq," he said.
Translation: When the terrorists act like the animals they are, it confuses the people the Arab League are trying to dupe.
Amnesty International also condemned the attacks.
Yet remains silent on the conditions in which Matt Maupin is held.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
07/06/2005 11:12 Comments ||
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Funny, I don't remember hearing from Arab League or Amnesty when Nick Berg was beheaded, etc.
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/06/2005 13:41 Comments ||
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Waddaya want? Consistency? Logic?
I liked the article because someone other than the U.S. was in the crosshairs. It's a start!
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/06/2005 15:27 Comments ||
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"Such acts confuse the Arab public as it tries to understand what is going in Iraq,"
As opposed to their current razor-sharp insight into the situation?
Qa'idat Al-Jihad Fi Bilad Al-Rafidain (Al-Qa'ida for Jihad in the Land of the Two Rivers)
The key terrorist organization headed by Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi, born as Ahmad Fadhil Al-Khalaila in Al-Zarqaa, Jordan. Previously known as Monotheism and Jihad [Al-Tawheed wal-Jihad].
Responsible for a large number of car bombs and suicide bombers as well beheadings of captives. Draws mainly on Jihadist fighters from outside Iraq for the suicide bombings. However, it was reported by an American senior military official that Al-Zarqawi's network has been expanding with the enrollment of Iraqi Islamists into its ranks. The organization remains the primary target of the multinational and the Iraqi security forces.
Ansar Al-Islam (Defenders of Islam)
Established on December 10, 2001 by the merger of three Islamist groups â Jund Al-Islam (The Soldiers of Islam), Kurdish Hamas, and Harakat Al-Tawheed (the Monotheism Movement). The key leader was Mullah Fateh Kraikar (his real name is Najm Al-Din Faraj). Ansar Al-Islam is a Jihadist Salafi movement influenced by the writing of Sayyid Qutb and the military program of the Egypt terrorist group Al-Gamaah Al-Islamiyya at a time when it adhered to Jihad. In an interview with the London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Mullah Kraikar said that he had met with bin Laden only once, in a stately villa in Peshawar, Pakistan, which belonged to a Saudi prince. Seven other Saudis were present in the meeting. He claimed in the interview that the purpose of the meeting was to seek financial help for the victims of Halabja. [59]
According to a study by Dr. Hani Al-Siba'i, the head of the Maqrizi Center for Historical Studies in the U.K, the organizational chart of this group shows one Amir and two deputies in addition to the Military Committee, the Legal (Shari'a) committee, the public relations committee and the security committee.
Following 9/11, Mullah Kraikar sought a ceasefire with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) with which it had had many bloody clashes. However, the ceasefire was ruptured following an attempt on the life of Dr. Barham Saleh, who was at the time prime minister of the PUK region. Saleh, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was accused by Kraikar of being the key CIA man in Kurdistan. He is currently the Minister of Planning and Development in the Iraqi government.
The group's main camp, which was located in Biyara, Iraqi Kurdistan, had been bombed by the U.S. Air Force in March 2003. Many were killed. Survivors were taken to Assayish Prison in Suleimaniyya, Iraqi Kurdistan. The group took responsibility for the suicide bombings at the headquarters of the Kurdish Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan in February 2004 which resulted in the death of 109 people. Ansar Al-Islam sheltered Al-Zarqawi when he fled from Iran before the occupation of Iraq. There is no information on the level of collaboration, if any, between the Ansar and Al-Zarqawi. The group has allegedly experimented with chemical weapons.
Mullah Kraikar is currently in Norway, but the Norwegian government announced recently that it would extradite him to Iraq as soon as conditions permit.
Jaysh Ansar Al-Sunna (The Army of the Defenders of the Prophet's Conduct)
Believed to be a splinter group of Ansar Al-Islam. Created as a Salafi group five months after Iraq's occupation. It is headed by Abu Abdullah Al-Hassan bin Mahmud. He was the one who deceptively announced on the Internet that he had beheaded the Marine of Lebanese origin, Wassif Ali Hassoon. He also alleged responsibility for the attack on branches of the two main Kurdish parties which resulted in the death of 109 people and the injury of many, including American soldiers. All its statements are signed by "the military body of Jaysh Ansar Al-Sunna." This group took responsibility for the December 2004 suicide bombing at the U.S. army mess.
The Kurds arrested in Erbil (Iraqi Kurdistan) 40 members of a network which belongs to Ansar Al-Sunna. They were planning big operations in Kurdistan, to turn the territory into another Baghdad. [60]
Al-Jaysh Al-Islami Al-Iraqi â Fayaliq Khalid Ibn Al-walid (The Iraqi Islamic Army â Khalid ibn Al-Walid Brigades)
The organization threatened to execute a Filipino hostage unless the Philippines withdrew its small contingent of about 60 soldiers from Iraq. The Philippines capitulated to the threat, and the individual in question was released. The video was shown on Al-Jazeera TV on July 7, 2004. In mid-July 2004, the group issued "a warning to the Italian people" demanding the withdrawal of the Italian military from Iraq or face "fleets of car bombs."
Al-Kata'ib Al-Salafiya Al-Mujahida Fi Bilad Al-Rafidain (Salafite Jihadist Brigades in the Land of the Two Rivers)
The announcement about the creation of this organization was issued in early March 2005, shortly before the first meeting of the recently elected Iraqi National Assembly. The organization declared that it was founded on the pure Salafi program. It distanced itself from "excessiveness, secularists, Ba'thists, Saddamists, and from those who seek to re-establish the buried Ba'thist state." It did say that it was a Sunni organization. The London daily Al-Hayat which published the group's announcement on March 24, 2005, has hinted that there may be "suspicious fingers" behind this organization.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
07/06/2005 09:49 ||
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Shortly after the occupation of Iraq in April 2003, Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi emerged as a leading terrorist in that country. While a number of terrorist organizations are operating in Iraq besides the insurgency movement led by Saddam's former intelligence and loyalist groups, Al-Zarqawi's organization combines terrorist activities with an ardent anti-Shi'ite zeal designed to instigate a civil war between the Iraqi Sunnis and the Shi'ites.
This paper explores Al-Zarqawi's words and actions and his linkage with al-Qa'ida under the leadership of Osama bin Laden. Al-Zarqawi initially operated independently of al-Qa'ida. But recently, bin Laden named him the Amir, or commander, of Al-Qa'ida in Iraq. The meaning of this is not clear. Has bin Laden elevated Al-Zarqawi because of his increasing notoriety and his influence among potential Jihadist elements, hoping to forestall his emergence as the single most important terrorist figure? Or does Al-Zarqawi need bin Laden's endorsement to strengthen his grip on the terrorist activities in Iraq?
Peals of laughter rang through the remote farmhouse as friends rushed to welcome home their long-lost neighbor. Hugs and handshakes were exchanged. Teenage boys circled about, offering endless trays of sweet tea. The women waited patiently in a back room, silent and unseen as ever.
The bearded man at the center of the hubbub, Mufti Habib ur Rehman, allowed his solemn face crack into a grin. "It's good to be back," he said.
Only days earlier, Rehman, a one-time Taliban governor, had been a wanted man. He lived as a fugitive across the border in Pakistan, 20 miles to the south. He hadn't seen his family in years. The Americans were offering a $2, 500 bounty for him -- dead or alive.
Then one morning in April, after secret negotiations brokered by local clerics -- and promises from U.S. forces not to shoot -- the 35-year-old Taliban loyalist came in from the cold.
"I am not a terrorist. I am here to work for the reconstruction of my country," Rehman said before pledging allegiance to President Hamid Karzai.
Dozens of mid-level Taliban officials have quietly defected this year, a process U.S. authorities hope will help end the insurgency that has dogged Afghanistan since 2001. Rehman, one of the initiative's success stories, held a news conference where he embraced the local governor. "The past is clear for everyone," he told journalists. "What counts now is the future."
The reconciliation plan chugs forward against a backdrop of intense bloodletting. The past three months have seen a sharp increase in Taliban attacks and aggressive U.S. responses across southern Afghanistan. Suicide bombings, assassinations and extensive battles have claimed more than 700 lives on all sides over the past three months, according to U.S. and Afghan official estimates.
Yet hopes remain that dialogue can soften, if not solve, Afghanistan's insurgency. Reconciliation drives in at least four southern provinces -- led by governors, mullahs and tribal leaders -- have netted a small but influential group, including several commanders and Mullah Mohammed Nazim, a onetime governor of the former Taliban stronghold of Zabul.
Still, there are many complications. Last spring, the Taliban's leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, scotched hopes of an early truce by rejecting an amnesty offer from the Afghan government's leading negotiator, former President Sibghatullah Mojaddedi.
Afghan officials say the resurgent Taliban seems to be influenced by reinvigorated ties with al Qaeda, whose militants are suspected of having a hand in a suicide bombing in Kandahar last month that killed 20 people, including the Kabul police chief, Gen. Akram Khakrezwal.
"It's not a traditionally Afghan thing. That may be the significance of the attack -- it shows the influence of a global jihadi network," said Joanna Nathan, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, a conflict-analysis organization based in Brussels.
Afghan officials say that behind the hard core of Taliban lies a majority of battle-weary combatants. Three separate programs in Khost, once home to Osama bin Laden, claim to have attracted between 10 and 20 militants each. Their focus is North Waziristan, the district just over the Pakistani border that has, by several accounts, become a major Taliban bolt-hole.
One key issue preventing the return of more insurgents, said Mullah Ramatullah Mansoor, a militant cleric who secretly met with Karzai after returning home last year, is the continued detention of Afghans at Guantanamo Bay -- an issue that sparked nationwide riots in May after allegations that a Quran had been flushed down a toilet. About 17 people were killed and 100 injured.
The U.S. military, stung by reports of prisoner abuse at its detention centers in Afghanistan, is starting to address those concerns. On Saturday, military officials released 57 Taliban suspects from Bagram Air Base. Another 144 are due for release later this year.
But Karzai has yet to announce a full, national amnesty for Taliban fighters -- something that looks increasingly distant given the surge in fighting of recent months.
He is under pressure from allies within the former Northern Alliance, who have a deep loathing for the Taliban -- their enemy during the civil war in the 1990s. Human rights groups insist the Taliban must be held accountable for their numerous abuses, including their brutal treatment of women and the mass execution of enemy soldiers.
And skepticism about the reform of ex-Taliban fighters remains.
Amir Shah Kargar, a burly Khost resident who spent five years in a Taliban jail, shook his head slowly. "Only the American spies will come back," he predicted. "But the hard core, those with a real ideology -- they will never give up alive."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
07/06/2005 09:27 ||
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The reputed leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq says the country's fledgling army is as great an enemy as the Americans. He also brushed aside calls for him to abandon the insurgency in favour of peace talks with the Iraqi government and the Americans. In an audiotape found on the internet, a man claiming to be Abu Musab al-Zarqawi also announced the formation of a new terror command to fight Iraq's biggest Shi'ite militia. His comments appeared aimed at discouraging armed Iraqi groups from entering talks with the Iraqi government. He challenged critics who maintain that fighting US troops is legitimate but who oppose attacks on Iraqi forces. US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other officials have said US representatives have participated in meetings with Sunni insurgents in an effort to help the Iraqi government draw the militants into the political process.
"Some say that the resistance is divided into two groups - an honourable resistance that fights the nonbeliever-occupier and a dishonourable resistance that fights Iraqis," the speaker said. "We announce that the Iraqi army is an army of apostates and mercenaries that has allied itself with the crusaders and came to destroy Islam and fight Muslims. We will fight it."
The speaker tacitly acknowledged pressure to abandon the struggle against the Americans and their Iraqi allies, saying he was "saddened and burdened" by people "advising me not to persist in fighting in Iraq". "How long will the people of knowledge stay away from the battlefield of jihad, issuing verdicts and giving advice that are far from the reality that the nation is living?" he asked.
In an impassioned defence of the insurgency, the speaker said al-Qaeda was willing to fight to the end "so that the women are freed from the prisons of the Crusaders and the spiteful Shi'ites". "Some want us to end our jihad in Iraq," he said. "God has ordered us to fight the non-believers ... we think that the nation is committing a sin by failing to support the mujahideen."
He said the Americans began speaking of negotiations to end the conflict after al-Qaeda had "humiliated" US forces on the battlefield. "Didn't they (the Americans) plan to turn against Syria and its people after invading Iraq under the pretext that it is giving refuge to Baathists and is not stopping the infiltration of fighters," he said.
It may not have been in at the start, but V3.0 is still in Beta
"God thwarted their plans through the strikes of the honest mujahideen. They're still keen on carrying out their plan and moving in that direction to enable Israel to control the area from the Euphrates to the Nile."
It was impossible to determine whether the speaker was Zarqawi, although the voice sounded like ones on tapes US officials have acknowledged were made by the Jordanian-born terror mastermind. It could also not be determined when the speech was delivered, although the speaker refers to codenames for US military operations launched in recent weeks.
The speaker said al-Qaeda in Iraq would soon unveil a new unit, the Omar Corps, to "eradicate" the Badr Brigade, a militia of the country's biggest Shi'ite party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq.
Oh, please, be my guest. I'll make popcorn
.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
07/06/2005 09:24 ||
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#1
Fine. Go ahead. We'll turn your Corps into a corpse.
#2
Having failed thus far to ignite civil war with attacks on mosques,etc, they may think targeting the Badr brigade directly will do it. It will be hard for Sistani to keep the Badr types from striking back on their own - the key will be to keep them focused on striking back at the insurgency only, and not at Sunni Arab civilians.
AMMAN, Jordan, July 6 (UPI) -- Muslim scholars and thinkers from 40 countries meeting in Jordan are preparing a covenant banning violence and terrorist acts, sources said Wednesday. Some 170 scholars will be closing their two-day conference in Amman later Wednesday amid calls to condemn acts of violence and terror carried out by certain Islamic extremist groups contrary to the nature and principles of Islam, the sources said.
"contrary to the nature and principles of Islam" That gives them a loophole big enough to drive a car bomb through.
Their final statement will stress the "illegitimacy" of religious edicts issued by the extremist groups, legalizing killings and terror acts in the name of Islam.
"Yeah, you can't be issuing no fatwas unless you're a holy man like us!"
Jordanian King Abdullah warned at the opening of the conference that such acts by terror groups tarnish the true image of Islam and give non-Muslims pretexts to interfere in the affairs of Muslim countries and peoples.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/06/2005 08:38 ||
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Muslim scholars and thinkers from 40 countries meeting in Jordan are preparing a covenant banning violence and terrorist acts.
Expect the following conclusion.
Dar el Harb is violence and terrorism. The righteous have a right to self-defense.
President Abdullahi Yusuf has told the BBC he is to head south through Somalia from his northern stronghold collecting troops and militia as he goes. He plans to go to the town of Jowhar, which is 90km north of the capital, Mogadishu, and is his preferred temporary base for the new government.
Not quite Sherman's march to the sea, but you work with what you've got.
The warlords in control of Mogadishu have threatened to attack Jowhar if the president establishes himself there.
"This town ain't big enough for the both of us, and dat one ain't any better."
Observers say the president's announcement could trigger fighting.
It don't take much, we're talking about Somali here.
Since President Yusuf left his exiled home in Kenya last month he has been based in Bossaso in his home region of Puntland preparing to venture south to Jowhar. "Without troops no government can work," the president told the BBC's Somali Service.
Somalia has not had a functioning government since the overthrow of President Siad Barre in 1991 and 13 previous attempts to end the anarchy have failed. The Somali government, which was established in Kenya, has been divided since May, with the speaker of parliament operating from the capital, and the president refusing to move there while it is still under the control of his rivals.
The Mogadishu warlords were named as ministers in Mr Yusuf's cabinet but soon fell out with him, siding with the speaker. Last month, President Yusuf met the speaker, Sharif Hasan Shaykh Adan, in Yemen's capital, but they failed to agree on where the government should be based.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/06/2005 08:10 ||
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THE head of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, lashed out at contacts between some rebels and US officials, in a new voice message attributed to him today. Iraq's most wanted man, who has a $US25 million bounty on his head, also announced the creation of a new unit to take on Shiite foes and vowed to go to the Palestinian territories to continue the fight after "victory" had been won in Iraq.
"The enemy is experiencing its worst days on the earth of Mesopotamia, at a time when a member of the US Congress has said that the United States are losing the war in Iraq," said the voice message on an internet site, without giving further explanation. "Some people want to stop our jihad (holy war) in Mesopotamia," the voice said, referring to the contacts that have taken place between insurgents in Iraq and US officials.
It was not possible to verify the authenticity of the message, which comes two days after a newly named "spokesman" for two Iraqi insurgent groups asked the US Congress to make an "official" offer for negotiations. US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has confirmed that contacts have taken place between Washington and elements from the insurgency but has also made it clear that the United States has never talked with Zarqawi.
Zarqawi, whose insurgency is conducted by mainly Sunni militants, said he was creating a new brigade, called "Brigade Omar" to take on its opponents within Iraq's majority Shiite Muslim community. The new brigade would "seek to remove the symbols and the members of the brigades of treason, the Badr Brigades," he said, referring to the thousands of Shiite paramilitaries trained and supported by Iran to fight the former regime. Its parent organisation, the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), says it has now been transformed into a political organisation called the Badr Organisation.
More red-on-red? Knock yerselves out, boys!
In the new recording, Zarqawi for the first time vowed to move "after the victory in Iraq" into the Palestinian territories to continue the jihad there. "All that we want is to win a victory in Iraq so that we can go into Beit Al-Maqdes (Jerusalem)."
The voice also hit out at some Islamist ideologues, like his ex-mentor Abu Mohamad al-Madqissi, who have slammed the insurgency for targeting ordinary Iraqis as well as the international forces based in Iraq.
#1
"The enemy is experiencing its worst days on the earth of Mesopotamia, at a time when a member of the US Congress has said that the United States are losing the war in Iraq," says Zark-boy, probably not sure to whom of several Senators/Representatives to attribute the statement - Kennedy? Durbin? Or was it that Kerry guy?
Any of the 535 members of Congress notice they're being quoted by Zarqawi?
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/06/2005 7:53 Comments ||
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#2
I'm glad the democratic asswipes are such an inspiration to Zarq. Keep it up boys, maybe you can get a few more Americans killed.
#4
I'd say it's official now. King tubby mullah of mahdi boyscout army fame is probably really po'd now. Strangest part is the promise to get around to the Paleos one of these days. The paleos are nasties in their own right but I don't know how the Omar sociopaths' brigade teaching how to better slaughter your own shia will fly there. Z-man is making a nice mess of things for himself.
Posted by: Abu Ratcatcher to the Stars ||
07/06/2005 8:41 Comments ||
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#5
Anytime you can drag the paleo people to your corner gives your side a little extra street cred amongst muzzie. It's a sure fire winner of a tactic.
Any out-of-the box solution that Manmohan Singh government may have been considering on Pakistan has now gone right back into the box. Tuesdayâs suicide attack at Ayodhya may dent the political support for the peace process with Pakistan. The main Opposition party, BJP, is taking a relatively restrained approach for the time-being, waiting for government to come out with its reaction first, but the initial response of party chief L K Advani made it plain that its consent could come only in exchange of a strict â no terrorâ conditionality. There are several features of the attack that will play on the peace process. Despite the sketchy identification of the terrorists, it is now reasonably clear that it was the handiwork of ISIâs largest jehadi export: Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Given the cozy links that the jehadi outfit continues to have with influential sections in the Pakistani establishment, the attack can only reinforce the growing perception that it continues to violate its most fundamental commitment of January 6, 2004 â to curb terrorism against India. The Ayodhya attack follows the past few weeks of deadly operations in J&K. The choice of the target, the disputed temple at Ayodhya, say top level sources in government, is little short of diabolical. It was aimed at creating communal strife, using what they thought was a failsafe tinderbox.
Where the plot failed was in the lack of any civilian casualties, and a ââsuccessfulââ operation against terrorists by the security forces. But while it may have failed, the attack has constrained government from initiating any new CBM with Pakistan. Pakistan will surely invoke the ââdeniabilityââ principle, which would leave India with the onus of breaking off the peace process. This is a trap government clearly recognises and intelligence assessments are under way to ensure that blame is precisely pointed. Opposition will find it easy to target government on its ââsoftenedââ approach to terrorism â both the agreements signed by UPA government with Pakistan glossed over its commitment to end terrorism against India from ââany territory under its controlââ. The attack also puts US, the only country which has a foothold in this peace process, in a particularly strange situation. Coming as it does days before Manmohan Singh is scheduled to travel to US, it will make it immensely difficult for Washington to preach the propriety of peace to New Delhi.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
07/06/2005 01:45 ||
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Has Ayodhya delivered a blow to Indo-pak ties?
Does an outbreak of cancers delivers a blow to ties with a toxic waste dump?
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan is to withdraw its ambassador from violence-plagued Iraq after the envoy said he had a âvery narrow escapeâ from an attack on his convoy in Baghdad on Tuesday.
"Gucci loafers don't fail me now!"
Envoy Younis Khan will be shifted to the Jordanian capital Amman following the assassination attempt, the third attack in four days on a foreign diplomat in Iraqâs main city, Pakistanâs foreign ministry said. âI am safe but it was a very narrow escape,â Khan told AFP by telephone from Baghdad.
Khan, who was only posted to Baghdad around two months ago, said gunmen in two cars opened fire on his vehicle when he was around a kilometre (half a mile) from the Pakistani embassy. âI was returning to my home when two cars came from behind. There were armed men inside and they fired at my car. But luckily the bullets didnât hit my car,â Khan said.
Security guards in another car travelling with him immediately opened fire on his attackers, Khan said, adding that âsome bullets hit one of the attackersâ cars.â âWe sped out of danger but it was an extremely dangerous situation,â he said.
Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Naeem Khan said no one was injured in the attack on the envoyâs convoy. âWe have been watching the security situation in Iraq and we have decided to relocate the ambassador to Amman. But this in no way dilutes our commitment to continuing to work for a peaceful and stable Iraq,â he told AFP.
Ambassador Khan added: âIt is not safe because the security situation here is extremely bad.â
In April, an employee at the Pakistani embassy in Baghdad was abducted as he went to a mosque for evening prayers. Malik Mohammad Javed, a non-diplomatic official at the Pakistani mission, was freed two weeks later after Islamabad sent a special envoy to the Iraqi capital. Pakistan denied paying a ransom.
In July 2004, two migrant workers from Pakistani Kashmir were killed in Iraq after their captors alleged they were spying for the United States and that Pakistan was planning to deploy troops in Iraq. Another kidnapped Pakistani, Amjad Hafeez, was released the same month after eight days in captivity.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/06/2005 00:00 ||
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NEW DELHI - India accused Pakistan on Tuesday of failing to dismantle the âinfrastructureâ of militancy in Kashmir and of adopting double standards in fighting international terrorism. âThe infrastructure is still there,â Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee told a news conference. âThey have not dismantled it.â
The minister said he told his US hosts this during his visit last week and also told them that Pakistan was adopting a dual approach towards fighting global terrorism. âOne approach is a proactive one with the United States. The other is not so proactive as far as its borders with India are concerned... We are keeping our fingers crossed on what will happen when the snow (in Kashmir) melts,â Mukherjee said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/06/2005 00:00 ||
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JERUSALEM - Israel said on Tuesday it was close to agreeing to deployment of an Egyptian security force along Egyptâs border with Gaza that could pave the way for a complete Israeli withdrawal from the territory. âWe are in the process of concluding the protocol concerning the deployment of 750 Egyptian border police who would replace civilian police who are there,â Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz told a parliamentary committee.
The move would accompany Israelâs planned August evacuation of Jewish settlements built in the Gaza Strip. Mofaz said if the new Egyptian forces put a stop to arms-smuggling through tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border by the end of the year, this would enable Israel to withdraw troops from the frontier area in addition to the rest of Gaza.
Will they shoot Paleo arms smugglers or just catch-and-release?
Egyptian presidential spokesman Suleiman Awad was quoted by Cairoâs state news agency MENA as saying consultations were âclose to ending and what is agreed will be announced soonâ.
âI believe that ultimately it is in the interests of the Palestinians and the interests of the Egyptians to stop the smuggling of the weapons,â Mofaz said during the committee session. âIt would enable us to leave the Philadelphi corridor because it is also in our interest to leave the Philadelphi corridor,â he added.
Senior Israeli officials have been meeting with Egyptian counterparts in Cairo in recent days to put final touches to an agreement to exchange Egyptian civilian police for a crack unit equipped to collect 'user fees' shut down smuggling.
Mofaz said the agreement would be a document separate from Israelâs 1979 peace treaty with Egypt under which it withdrew from Egyptâs Sinai Peninsula, which was then demilitarised and put under monitoring of a UN observer force.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/06/2005 00:00 ||
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The Islamist movement Hamas was at loggerheads with the Palestinian Authority yesterday after shunning an offer to join a unity government, and vowed to resist any bid to disarm its members. Khaled Meshaal, the Damascus-based overall leader of Hamas, told the leader of the dominant Fatah faction that he expected legislative elections to be organized swiftly, as he confirmed a decision not to join the government.
As far as I know, Meshaal hasn't set foot in Paleostine in years, for fear of getting helizapped. They named him boss of bosses precisely because he's out of range, I think...
âWe will not participate in this government for it is not the right mechanism,â Meshaal told reporters in the Syrian capital after meeting Farouk Qaddoumi. âWe must rapidly rebuild the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) and organize legislative elections,â he added.
"We can then take over and be in charge and everything will be all better and we can kill all the Jews!"
Hamas has indicated its willingness to join the PLO, an umbrella movement of Palestinian factions is headed by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. However, not only has Hamas shut the door on joining forces in government but it also made clear that it will resist any attempt by Abbasâ regime to disarm it. Hamas has been behind the majority of anti-Israeli attacks during the nearly five-year Palestinian uprising. âWe will not allow anyone to disarm us,â Mahmoud Zahar, Hamas leader in its Gaza stronghold, said in an interview with Palestinian news agency Ramattan.
I think Fat Boy Zahhar's in line for a helizap himself, when Hamas gets around to seriously breaking the current hudna. It's a shame, really. He makes me look so slender...
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2005 00:00 ||
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#2
"Hello, Ari? Mahmoud. Say, these Hamas goons are getting out of hand. Of I had one of my boys slip your people a list of names and addresses?... Thanks, Ari, you're a pal.... No, not dead, just reasonable.... Ha! You got that right..."
Pakistan believes Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden is hiding in southern Afghanistan, where the Taleban have stepped up attacks, Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao said in an interview published yesterday.
"We're sure he's not here! We asked around and everything!"
Bin Laden, his deputy Ayman Al-Zawahiri and fugitive Taliban leader Mulla Mohammad Omar might be in the area since it is ânot under effective control of Afghan government,â Sherpao told the official Associated Press of Pakistan. âThe possibility of Mulla Omar, Osama Bin Laden and his close aide Ayman Al-Zawahiri hiding in that area cannot be ruled out,â the minister told the news agency.
So how can you rule out any or all of them being in Waziristan, North or South, which is similarly, even less so, under the control of Pakistani gummint?
Sherpao denied that Bin Laden, who has a 25-million-dollar US bounty on his head after masterminding the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, was on the Pakistani side of the rugged terrain near the Afghan border.
"Inconceivable!"
US and Afghan officials have long said they think Bin Laden and other Al-Qaeda kingpins have been hiding out in the mountains on the frontier between Afghanistan and Pakistan since the Taleban were toppled in late 2001. Islamabad and Kabul have recently traded accusations about whose side of the border the militants are hiding, and who is to blame for failing to find them.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
pak statement decode: SF soldiers are putting real heat on OBL, up in the North.
Posted by: Red Dog ||
07/06/2005 2:35 Comments ||
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Sudan and two Darfur rebel groups signed a "declaration of principles" Tuesday aimed at helping bring peace to Darfur, but failed to reach a comprehensive deal to stop the violence that has left tens of thousands dead in Sudan's western region. At the end of the fifth round of peace talks, representatives from the government, the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement signed a three-page document agreeing to broad commitments, including respecting Sudan's unity, upholding democracy and "justice and equality for all, regardless of ethnicity, religion and gender."
Yeah, sure. That'll work.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2005 00:00 ||
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When driver Rehan agreed to take four youth around the city for a "quick pilgrimage" in his vehicle, little did he know that they were on a dangerous mission to attack the makeshift temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya.
The weaponry didn't tip him off?
Rehan, who was arrested by the police at the site of the terrorist attack, later told his interrogators that four persons hired his vehicle, telling him that they wanted to have 'darshan' at the makeshift temple. "They hired my vehicle at a petrol pump. One of them came up to me and did the talking, after which they put their stuff in the vehicle," the driver, a resident of Ayodhya, who appeared to be in his early forties, said. Breaking into tears, he said the militants had come to the petrol pump in a Sumo and switched over to his jeep. Rehan said the driver of the Sumo had objected to losing his passengers to him, and to pacify him, he gave him a "token amount" of Rs 70.
So he actually had to pay to take the guys around the city?
Then the four youth told him they wanted to have `darshan' at the makeshift temple, following which they wanted to be taken to Lucknow. "They took the route along the Rajghat, close to the river. And where the road ends at Nirmochan Ghat, there is a small temple, where they knelt before the deity and prayed," Rehan said. The jeep was then reversed from there and taken to the makeshift temple.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2005 00:00 ||
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One of the few occasions where I actually agree with Kofi. The difference between us is that he'll soon drop the subject and I won't...
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday sharply condemned recent attacks on foreign diplomats in Iraq and voiced hope that they would not weaken the determination of the world community to support the Iraqi people. In a statement released by his office, the UN chief, who is on his way to London after attending the African Union (AU) summit in Libya, said he was "deeply dismayed" by the recent rash of attacks, which he "vehemently condemns."
Within four days, the head of the Egyptian mission in Baghdad has been kidnapped, Bahrain's envoy wounded in a failed kidnap attempt, the Pakistani ambassador fired on and the Russian ambassador's car riddled with bullets. The attacks follow a conference in Brussels on June 22 at which the international community threw its support behind the Iraqi government of Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari that resulted from historic elections on January 30. "There can be no justification for the targeting of diplomats. As with earlier attacks against the United Nations and other international actors in Iraq, the secretary-general hopes these latest attacks will not weaken the resolve of the international community to stand with the Iraqi people at this critical juncture in their history," Annan's office said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2005 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
The whereabouts of the wife of deceased terror suspect 
A security source doubted the authenticity of the information exchanged by different media means about the involvement of a Yemeni suspect in the list of 36 Saudi suspects wanted by the court on suspicion of terrorist acts. An official source told 22 May weekly last Thursday that the Yemeni Ministry of Interior does not have any documents carrying the name of 
Saudi Arabia has made significant strides in its battle against terrorists, according to 
A Bahraini political society has been ordered to close for 45 days for "illegal activities," a government statement said yesterday. A statement issued by the Ministry of Social Affairs said the Islamic Action Society has been temporarily closed due to "the illegal activities which violate the rules under which the society was established." The closure order came a few days after the group, part of the four-society opposition alliance, organised a public forum to honour 73 former political prisoners, convicted in 1981 for plotting to overthrow the government. Sources said speeches at the forum were "provocative" and contained "insults to national leaders."
Kuwait City: The 
MOSCOW - Chechen warlord 
Interior ministers of the five largest European Union countries have agreed to share the costs of organizing charter flights to send home illegal immigrants and help deal with human smuggling. French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy announced the accord after talks in the town of Evian with his counterparts from Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain. He said the five countries will charter aircraft which will stop in each of those countries to pick up illegal immigrants of the same nationality and return them to their countries of origin. He said the first flights will begin in a matter of days.
[July 04 2005] at 0310 LT in position 06:19.5N - 003:22.0E, Anchored 4nm from break water, Lagos, Nigeria. Five robbers boarded a tanker. They tied up and assaulted duty A/B. They stole ship's equipment and stores and escaped at 0340 LT. Master reported incident to authorities.
Iran's ultraconservative president-elect on Monday dismissed as "baseless" allegations of his involvement in the 1979 hostage-taking at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and in killing dissidents. 
The reputed leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq says the country's fledgling army is as great an enemy as the Americans. He also brushed aside calls for him to abandon the insurgency in favour of peace talks with the Iraqi government and the Americans. In an audiotape found on the internet, a man claiming to be 
NEW DELHI - India accused Pakistan on Tuesday of failing to dismantle the âinfrastructureâ of militancy in Kashmir and of adopting double standards in fighting international terrorism. âThe infrastructure is still there,â Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee told a news conference. âThey have not dismantled it.â
The Islamist movement 
Pakistan believes Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden is hiding in southern Afghanistan, where the Taleban have stepped up attacks, Interior Minister 
Sudan and two Darfur rebel groups signed a "declaration of principles" Tuesday aimed at helping bring peace to Darfur, but failed to reach a comprehensive deal to stop the violence that has left tens of thousands dead in Sudan's western region. At the end of the fifth round of peace talks, representatives from the government, the 
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday sharply condemned recent attacks on foreign diplomats in Iraq and voiced hope that they would not weaken the determination of the world community to support the Iraqi people. In a statement released by his office, the UN chief, who is on his way to London after attending the African Union (AU) summit in Libya, said he was "deeply dismayed" by the recent rash of attacks, which he "vehemently condemns."
