A key province in southern Afghanistan is harbouring a fierce insurgency whose growing popularity, strength and territorial control threatens the entire country, according to a new study.
The province of Helmand lies at the heart of Afghanistan's opium-growing belt, and falls under the responsibility of Brigadier-General David Fraser, the Canadian commander for international forces in the region.
After six months of travel around Helmand, a team of 20 field researchers from the Senlis Council, a European think tank, concluded that the Taliban insurgents are gaining ground. That contradicts the message from top military officials, including Gen. Fraser, who recently told The Globe and Mail that the Taliban are increasingly challenged by government authorities.
"It's getting really bad out there," said Emmanuel Reinert, the council's executive director. "The coalition would be better off to face the truth, rather than believing their own spin."
About 900 people have been killed in Afghanistan this year, with fighting on the rise between Taliban and government forces. The situation is worst in the south, where the report says insurgent attacks have increased 600 per cent over the past six months.
Two competing theories have emerged to explain the surge in violence. Military planners say they're pushing troops into Taliban strongholds, wresting control from the insurgents and provoking fights.
But the Senlis Council supports the opposite view, that the foreign troops are losing popularity and influence as the Taliban fight to defend the illegal opium trade that serves as Afghanistan's largest industry. Among the council's many interviews with teachers, farmers, government officials and other ordinary Afghans, Mr. Reinert said one encounter stood out. It was a comment that may explain why the perception of success in southern Afghanistan is so different inside the military, he said.
"One local man said, 'We tell the invaders what they want to hear, but afterward we will kill them,' " Mr. Reinert said.
None of Helmand's 13 districts are fully controlled by the government, the report concludes. Central authority prevails during the daylight hours in Laskhar Gah, the provincial capital, but control is uncertain in 10 districts as insurgents clash with government forces. Three northern districts are entirely controlled by insurgents.
Britain is sending 3,300 troops to Helmand this summer. A British military official recently expressed the hope that the province's farmers won't make the connection between an influx of foreign troops in support of the government and an increase in state-funded poppy-eradication programs. But the Senlis report suggests that poppy farmers know their illegal trade is threatened by the foreigners.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 00:51 ||
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#1
"...poppy farmers know their illegal trade is threatened by the foreigners"
Bing Bong! this is key "illegal trade". We should kill every grower of this poison I don't care if they are "just doing it to feed their wife and kids" most of this stuff ends up in Eastern and Western Europe. It's not 'muslims" taking it.
"Is this your poppy field" Bang. How hard it that? Smack funds jihad. Kill the bastards.
#4
Scanning the website, Senlis Council seems to be a pro opium legalization group. In their view, the right thing to do is to run away and regulate poppy production. Senlis does not explain how they plan to enforce regulation if poppy production comes under the control of islamists who want to destroy western civilization.
Posted by: ed ||
06/08/2006 12:43 Comments ||
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#5
They'll have their jones on for a while, but once they link up with their supplier they won't feel a thing.
The assertions that coalition military is acting aggressively in the province, and that lots of locals hate the coalition (and the Kharzai govt) are not necessarily in contradiction.
It would certainly make sense to provide economic reconstruction aid at the same time we eradicate poppies. If we cant manage to speed up the aid, it might make sense to slow the poppie eradication.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - More than 250 Afghans were arrested after a riot in Kabul last week that killed about 20 people, the intelligence chief said Wednesday. A roadside bomb killed three Afghan troops, and the U.S.-led coalition confirmed the deaths of two American soldiers.
Amrullah Saleh said that 141 Afghans remain in custody and that 52 have confessed to crimes committed during the May 29 riot, which was sparked by a deadly crash involving a U.S. military vehicle.
A U.S. military spokesman, Col. Tom Collins, meanwhile, said Afghan investigators will have "full access" to U.S. equipment and to soldiers for interviews during the inquiry into the crash. Collins told a news conference that although more than 2.5 million people live in Kabul, only about 1,000 people took part in the riot. Saleh, speaking at a separate news conference, said that some people were forced to participate by small gangs wielding guns.
Saleh said he could not yet say if a specific group - one opposed to the government of President Hamid Karzai, for instance - was behind the riot. He did say Afghan authorities had identified 10 people who led or encouraged the demonstrators.
Collins, who was also asked if a certain group was behind the riot, said officials "know for a fact that there were agitators in the crowd who worked to incite the crowd to get them riled up."
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/08/2006 00:00 ||
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Very little seems to be known about the man who led Somali Islamist militants to win on Monday the decisive battle against the coalition of the so-called warlords for the control of the Somali capital, Mogadishu. His name is Sherif Sheik Ahmad Sheik Mahmoud, often shortened to Ahmad Sherif, and he is the leader of the forces of the Islamic Courts Union, which many suspect is the Somali branch of Al-Qaeda. Some initial information about the man now running Mogadishu was recently published by websites close to al-Qaeda.
Ahmad Sherif was born in the Somali southern region of al-Mahadi in 1964. Young Ahmad Sharif was initiated to the study of sharia - Islamic law - by his father, Sheik Mahmoud, who was the leader of the Somali Islamic movement al-Idrisia.
In 1992 he left al-Mahadi for Sudan, where he studied literature and education at Kardafan university. Afterwards Ahmad Sharif moved to Libya, where he was awarded a degree in law at al-Maftuha university.
During the long period he spent studying abroad he was appointed secretary general of the association of Somali people abroad.
Once he returned home, he was firstly elected chairman of a Somali cultural organisation and in 2002, appointed judge at the Islamic Court of Shabelle, in central Somalia.
A number of Islamic courts originated through the country during the period of anarchy which began over ten years ago, and in 2004 Ahmad Sherif was elected leader of the Islamic Courts Union.
He seems just short of his goal, to become the first leader of the new Islamic emirate which many say is currently emerging in Mogadishu.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 01:10 ||
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A covert effort by the Central Intelligence Agency to finance Somali warlords has drawn sharp criticism from U.S. government officials who say the campaign has thwarted counterterrorism efforts inside Somalia and empowered the same Islamic groups it was intended to marginalize.
The criticism, expressed privately, flared even before the apparent victory this week by Islamist militias in the country dealt a sharp setback to American policy in the region, according to U.S. government officials with direct knowledge of the debate.
The officials said the CIA effort, run from the agency's station in Nairobi, Kenya, had channeled hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past year to secular warlords inside Somalia with the aim, among other things, of capturing or killing a handful of suspected members of al Qaeda thought to be hiding there.
Officials say the decision to use proxies was born in part from fears of committing large numbers of American personnel to counterterrorism efforts in Somalia, a country that the United States hastily left in 1994 after attempts to capture the warlord Mohammed Farah Aidid and his aides ended in disaster and the deaths of 18 American troops.
ADDIS ABABA - Dissident factions of two Darfur rebel groups that have rejected a peace deal for the troubled western Sudanese region are to sign onto the pact this week, African Union officials said on Wednesday.
Splinter wings of the Peoples Front for Sudan Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and Sudanese Peoples Front Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) are to sign a specially prepared annex to the May 5 AU-mediated peace accord here on Thursday, the officials said. The dissident JEM and SLM rebels are going to sign a declaration on Thursday saying that they support the Darfur Peace Agreement, said Assane Ba, a spokesman for the Addis Ababa-based pan-African body.
Who?
The declaration will then be annexed to the original accord and will bring these rebels into line with the other signatories, he said.
Representatives of the two groups have been in the Ethiopian capital since last week when a May 31 deadline for holdouts to the agreement to sign or face possible sanctions passed with no new signers. They said Friday they were ready to accept the deal but were waiting until the African Union came up with a mechanism for them to join the peace deal, which aims to end a three-year conflict that has claimed up to 300,000 lives and displaced some 2.4 million others.
Also because they were being ignored and were getting their butts kicked.
The AU Peace and Security Council is due to meet on Thursday to approve the annex to the agreement, which is hoped will put further pressure on the remaining holdouts to sign, diplomats said. For the African Union, this serves to marginalize those who have not yet signed and keep up pressure for them to join the process, one African diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Only one Darfur rebel group, the main wing of the SLA, has thus far signed the peace deal with Khartoum and AU officials have become increasingly frustrated with the refusal of the JEM and an SLA faction led by Abdel Wahid Mohammed Al Nur to accept it.
AU commission chief Alpha Oumar Konare told reporters on Thursday that discussions with Al Nurs faction were ongoing. We maintain contacts, he said. We received a message from Abdel Wahid saying he is ready to come, but he has some conditions. Now we have to examine those conditions.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/08/2006 00:00 ||
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THE uncle of a suicide bomber who killed 21 people in an al-Qaeda attack on a synagogue on the Tunisian island resort of Djerba in 2002 has been sentenced to 20 years in jail, a court official said. Belgacem Nawar, 44, who protested his innocence at the trial and said he was unaware of the deadly plans of his nephew Nizar Nawar, had been facing the death penalty.
Nizar drove a truck filled with gas that exploded at a synagogue killing 14 Germans, five Tunisians and two French.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 00:55 ||
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#1
The Tunisians may be on to something. If the death-cult boomers knew their families would be taken out and shot as a result of their actions, maybe they wouldn't be so quick to push the button. Then again.....
#2
..Well, that's kinda the problem - if they're crazy enough to push the button, they're crazy enough to believe they're doing they're relatives a favor by propping them up in front of a firing squad.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
06/08/2006 12:10 Comments ||
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BRITISH police were given three more days today to question two men arrested by anti-terrorism police in a raid on a house suspected of being used for making a chemical bomb. The men, one of whom was shot during the operation, were detained after more than 250 officers, some wearing chemical, biological and radiological protection suits, raided a house in Forest Gate, east London, last Saturday.
Today, the day the warrant for their detention was due to expire, police were granted until Sunday, June 10, for detectives to question the two suspects, aged 23 and 20.
"Nigel, we've been given more time for our interrogation."
"Excellent Basil. Pass me the number 7, there's a good fellow."
The men, whose lawyers say they deny any involvement in terrorism, are being held at London's top security Paddington Green police station. Saturday's raid has provoked criticism from some local Muslim leaders who accused police of using "heavy-handed" tactics.
So far detectives, who said they had been acting on specific intelligence about a plot to make some form of chemical bomb, have not found any device.
Prime Minister Tony Blair has warned against drawing any conclusions about the raid and said there may be "a whole series of things" police need to look into in connection with it. "I support the police 101 per cent," Mr Blair said. "If they (the police) have a reasonable piece of intelligence that they think they have to investigate and take action on, they should," he said yesterday.
Mr Blair said he was not concerned about a Muslim backlash if the police got things wrong. "It's a real mistake to think that your average person from the Muslim community is any different from anybody else. They know perfectly well there's a problem.
"We know there's a problem with terrorism."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 00:49 ||
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The policy of double standards of some countries has a negative effect on interaction and cooperation of the world community in the fight against international terrorism, Nikolai Patrushev, the director of Russias Federal Security Service (FSB), said on Wednesday, addressing deputies of the State Duma lower house of parliament.
For instance, odious leaders of band formations, such as Zakayev, Nukhayev, Udugov, who are on the international wanted list travel feely in many countries. An ideologist of militants, Vychigayev, staying in the US, makes no secret of his ties with Basayev, who is officially recognized as an international terrorist, also by the United States, Patrushev said.
He said the United States, in the fight against terrorism, acts tough, when this suits it, disregarding generally-recognized norms involving citizens rights and liberties.
At the same time, the FSB director noted progress in interaction with the security services of the United States. A Lebanese citizen who participated in combat operations in Chechnya has been detained in the US. His extradition to Russia is presently considered, Patrushev said.
The FSB presently interacts with 104 security services in 67 countries. This cooperation rests on both a bilateral and multilateral basis. Its main trends are fighting international terrorism and extremism, illegal narcotics trafficking and illegal immigration, Patrushev said.
Citing examples of such cooperation, he said security bodies carried out, in 2005 alone, 140 operations to detain terrorists and extradite them to the countries where they had committed crimes. Thus, eight members of Uzbekistans Islamist movement were detained and extradited to Uzbekistan last year. At Russias request, officials of Kazakhstans National Security Committee detained a participant in the raid on an administrative building in Nazran. A participant in the raid on Budennovsk in 1995 was extradited to Russia from Sweden.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 02:17 ||
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#1
Nah, it's not really a double standard, although there are two points to be made...
1) We hate real baby-killers.
2) We think you're a bunch of inept posturing asstards.
If the Eurodicks allow passage of these cretins, it's because they're cretin-fearing cowards. If you lot weren't such lying preening fuckups, led by a duplicitous Russian media whore and World Wannabee, they wouldn't be alive to prance about, now would they? Hell, you've killed as many hostages as the baby-killing Chechens. Is any of this getting thru, hotshot?
Sure, if we catch any of your baby-killers, yup, we'll send them to you - assuming you'll actually DO something with them. Don't disappoint us, though, or we'll treat you with the derision and scorn you've earned.
#3
Communists-for-Fascism-for-Communism Russian-speak for America is the "foreign hand" behind/controls the Chechen rebels. SIGH, SO MANY "FOREIGN HANDS", NOT ENUFF LOTION OR BOTTLED HAND SOAP, D*** It!?
We will invent bigger rocks for our anti space catapults! Die Yankee Dog!
Pyongyang, June 7 (KCNA) -- The U.S. imperialists are disclosing their wild ambition to misuse modern science and technology for turning outer space into a theatre for carrying out their strategy for world supremacy, observes Rodong Sinmun Wednesday in a signed article. KCNA phrase of the day: "U.S. imperialists". Be the fifth caller...
It says: The warlike Bush administration is putting spurs to the militarization of outer space by spending a stupendous amount of funds despite unanimous rebuff and opposition of the public at home and abroad. Commence Operation Stupendous Spurs!
The U.S. is now hell bent on the moves to militarize space in quest of its world supremacy. Hell bent, I tell you! Hell Bent!
The U.S. Department of Defense is pushing forward at a final stage the development of air-based laser weapons capable of destroying inter-continental ballistic missiles at the phase of their acceleration under the plan to expand the Missile Defense System not only on the ground but in outer space in the days ahead. ...and yoooooou can't... nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-na!
For the present, the U.S. is contemplating carrying on the development of land mobile complex system for an electronic jamming in satellite communication systems and the development projects for fast feeding of information about attack into space mechanisms and conducting an experiment on the use of land-based high power laser weapon capable of destroying low-orbit satellites next year. Whaddaya mean "contemplating"?
The U.S. is set to develop space weapons capable of promptly hitting any targets on the land. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzztttttt... Poof! There goes Pyongyang!
Okay. What's our next target?
Ummmmmmmm...according to the list, they don't have any.
All the facts clearly indicate that the U.S. works hard to shift to comprehensively deploying the space weapon system sooner or later so as to turn outer space, an object for a peaceful use common to humankind, into a dangerous military base and a battle field.
If the U.S. imperialists are allowed to militarize space, it will entail such irretrievable consequences as bringing unspeakable disasters to humankind. ...and really bad news for Dear Leader.
The U.S. imperialists are the common enemy of humankind as they are threatening humankind's existence and civilization and blocking world progress and development.
The world progressive people are called upon to heighten their vigilance against those moves of the U.S. imperialists and wage a more dynamic struggle to check them. Are they talking about the San Francisco City Council?
Black anti-Semites storm Pariss old Jewish quarter.
On the last Sunday of May, 30 angry black men stormed into the heart of the old Jewish quarter, terrorizing residents, shopkeepers, and Sunday strollers. The self-styled militia of the Ka Tribe, a black separatist group originally connected to the no-longer funny black comic Dieudonné MBala MBala, embodied the worst fears of a Jewish community exposed, since January 2006, to a new rise in anti-Semitic attacks.
Three months after the torture-murder of Ilan Halimi, the intimidating incursion of the Ka militia into the narrow Jewish street of the Marais looks like an ominous sign of worse to come. The Ka Tribe is the lunatic fringe of a broad anti-Semitic movement originally inspired by Dieudonné, who has become a hero to a segment of black French society by focusing resentment on Jews. But Dieudonné, with a French mother and Cameroonian father, was not black enough for Stellio Capochichi, the Tribes leader, whose origins are Haitian and Ivoirian.
#5
Mildred, I hear that heavy boom, boom, boom radio racket and the dog barking... must be that rowdy bunch of 'Ka' suckers again. Please pass me another empty magazine, and after the coffee is ready, put in a call to the Sheriff's dept and Georgia Bureau of Investigation. We must be ready to receive them.
#1
Religious tolerance should be granted only to real religions, not the Death Cult. We saved you Belgians, Dutch and French 60 years ago. You floppers are once again screwing up big time. You save yourselves while you can, or your nations are gone.
Even though Zarqawi, the face, potentially the operational head, certainly the morale booster, the recruiting head of al Qaeda in Iraq, has now been eliminated, there are many, many others who are there to fill the operational gaps.
Certainly we have seen this over the past several years since the insurgency has taken hold, that with every announcement of the death or the capture or the killing of senior figures in these movements, it does not signify a downturn in the intensity of the insurgency.
Rather it continues, and some would say it continues to get stronger.
As Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari acknowledged, it is not just al Qaedaism that is creating this violence in Iraq right now and this incredible instability but it is this now almost entrenched homegrown sectarian violence which is happening to a great extent within the within the Shia community, between Shia and Sunni and vice versa, militia, revenge squads, death squads, all this kind of thing that is going on unabated and unchecked until now.
It's a huge moment but it is a moment which is as important for the internal sectarian strife as it is for the killing of the leader of the foreign jihadis in Iraq.
#4
hey Nimble Spemble, I didn't even see this article you posted but we must be on the same page anyway...i left this on the Zark thread earlier....
yep badanov... LOL! I watched the treason defeatist, the Mustachioed one Christiane Aman-Long-Horse-Face-pour practically CRY and then disassemble Zarks death as per usual
#11
Hmmm...let me get this right. The American system turns out thousands of leaders every years for their military. The system by and large works very effectively. Now how many 'leaders' of any effectiveness outside media manipulation [and that's with a willing partner] and killing civilians by the boat full, has the other side fielded?
We've been killing the cannon fodder pretty effectively, so Darwinian adaptation is not reaching successful critical mass. Further, we've gone through about 18 months of 'senior aides'. The raw material just ain't there bitch. I'm sure they can find one or two more. Hell, after we got Victorio, Geranimo showed up. Got him too and things sort of settled down pretty much after that. These types do not have a deep team to call upon.
#12
Header: Amanpour knows of many, many others to fill in for Z-man
I seriously doubt it. Now, if people of her caliber were volunteering, I could see it. But people like her have alternatives. There are legitimate outlets for people of caliber in the Arab world. As long as these choices are present, they will choose going into a trade or going into business rather than joining up with a terrorist group - a job that, by the way, pays crap and comes with really lousy benefits. This is why people like Zarqawi are hard to replace, because terrorists don't have a big pool of potential recruits (and therefore, leaders) - most Arabs will exult at American deaths, but very few actually want to have to personally face GI's in action.
Grass-roots Democrats weighing in on several popular liberal Web sites Thursday morning said that they were troubled by reports that al Qaida's top operational terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, had been killed in a U.S. air strike.
Reacting to the news, one visitor to the Daily Kos complained that using military force to kill Zarqawi "violates everything my America stands for."
"It violates the rule of law and invokes the rule of force in what should be a criminal, not a military, matter."
Another Daily Kos'er was irked because he thought the news would benefit President Bush: "No doubt Karl Rove will have the sock puppet president acting as if he personally dropped the bomb that killed that jackass," he wrote. "But other than a couple of photo ops of Bush looking cocky, it does nothing because two more tin-plated Zarqawi's will pop up."
A third Kos poster suggested that there was little difference between the top al-Qaida terrorist and the leader of the free world, writing: "Now [that] we are rid of one murderous tyrant - how about the removal of another one - believed hiding in a safe-house at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?"
Over at the Democratic Underground, reaction to news of Zarqawi's death was also negative: "Convenient too that this would happen now," complained one DU'er: "Guess we should just all forget about that Haditha mess, the fact that we are approaching 2,500 dead and the fact that our economy is in big trouble."
Another DU poster said that killing the al-Qaida chief really wasn't such a big deal, insisting: "Zarqawi was a fringe group of al-Qaida, and definitely not responsible for the bulk of the insurgency and civil war now occurring in Iraq. Any gains that they hope to receive will be short-lived when reality strikes home."
Think I'll pop over and see if I can pick up a few more gems of wisdom, these are pretty tame by DU standards
Posted by: Steve ||
06/08/2006 10:46 ||
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#1
To claim the timing was convenient is ignorant. It would have been better to time such a kill closer to the 2006 election, or better yet closer to the 2008 election cycle. Even a week ago it might have had some use in helping the 50th district in California that everyone was considering a bellweather for 2006.
But to come now? I think this could potentially be the worst timing for political advantage short of killing him in the lull after the 2004 elections or something.
#2
Well, the Donks *DID* loose their best speechwriter.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
06/08/2006 11:07 Comments ||
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#3
...and the fact that our economy is in big trouble.
Last I checked, the unemployment rate was below 5% and GDP was at an annualized +3 percent clip. Are these the same people who claim to be 'reality-based'?
#4
Here we go: "...I never believed in this pat story of AL Qaeda in Iraq. It set off my bullshit meter right from the get go. This won't help Bush as much as Rove would like. It is just a desperate stunt in an attempt to prop up Bush's poll numbers and boost the popularity his failed war by feigning the killing of one of the psyop program's main character. But by next week they'll have thought up another one to take his place. This is a classic case of the tail wagging the dog. And what better way to shut down the story of Bush's bisexuality that were picking up a "head" of steam? I'm sure Jeff Gannon is thrilled about this latest development."
"Do we even know if this guy ever existed? And if he did, who is he and how would we know? And even if he is who they say he is, so what?
We'll have 200 threads on this while BushCo keeps stealing us blind, pissing off the world and rigging the next election. Meanwhile, if there is an al Qaida, they'll be laughing their asses off and picking a new guy to hold the key bunch. What changes -- besides a new rallying cry for all those new guys we've enraged? I have to up my SOMA dose for a few days."
"Listening to CSPAN now ... it seems that it's *nationalistic fervor* It's disgusting hearing these right wing crazies continue to believe that Iraq had any DAMN thing to do with 9/11.
What did the average Iraqi do to us? Now every terrorist in the ME is scrambling over to THEIR country. While Earl and May Ella in the deep south think that it's fine to trash a country that did NOTHING to us because evidently we are SUPERIOR."
"The guy was merely an invention of the Bush administration anyway and this convenient web site is most likely run by the CIA. Now they'll have to invent a new "terrarist" to chase all over Iraq, while continuing to look for weapons of mass destruction. I wonder what fancy name they'll come up with for a "Al Qeada in Iraq" leader?
Lucky for George Al Zarq-who-i got blasted at such an apropo moment with the brouhaha over psycho scribe coulter reaching a fever pitch in the US. That should that all go away now thanks to the death of this fictitious "terrarist". Isn't the timing special?"
Posted by: Steve ||
06/08/2006 11:11 Comments ||
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#5
My God, these people have no soul. What's the first reaction of these 'Americans'? Not joy over the death of a monster who delighted in sawing off heads in front of a video camera, blowing up school children, etc. No, but rather a knee-jerk continuation of their psychotic anti-Bush tirades. To hell with them all.
#7
On CNN this morning I swear that the anchor had to cut to commercial so she could dab the tears from her eyes.
Well, it's as emotional a moment for CNN as Arafat's leaving his bunker was for the BBC.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
06/08/2006 11:27 Comments ||
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#8
On CNN this morning I swear that the anchor had to cut to commercial so she could dab the tears from her eyes.
OT : this reminds me of the female US correspondent of the leftist french private channel "canal +"/"I télé", who followed GWB during his campaign trips (bitterly commenting on the "fanaticism" and "all-american-ness" of his fans attending his meetings), and who spontaneously bursted in tears on air when she had to announce his re-election.
Lol, the poor thing couldn't stand the idea of the Monster being in office for 4 more years... She's still the channel's US correspondent, commenting on current affairs, btw, you can guess how fair and balanced she is.
#9
Steve, I salute you. I'm so glad that steel-nerved men such as yourself are willing to plunge into the fever swamps so we don't have to.
Make sure you get a good long bath, now.
Posted by: Mike ||
06/08/2006 11:44 Comments ||
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#10
Dang Right. Kudos Steve, you're a better man than I. I swear, I spent 5 seconds at the site and I could actually smell the stench through the monitor.
#16
F**k it man, the Kossacks dont speak for dems.
If youre surprised how pissed I am, you need to know a little of virginia politics.
We got a primary coming up. Jim Webb vs Harris Miller. Harris is a lifelong Dem, a telecom lobbyist, with a long list of the usual policy proposals on health care, employment, education etc. Rock solid, moderate to liberal Dem.
Jim Webb is ex-military, ex-Reagan cabinet, voted for Bush and George Allen in 2000. Anti gun control.
You know who the Kossacks are rallying around. Jim Webb. Webb has only two "liberal" policy positions. 1 is populist hostility to free trade. the other is longstanding opposition to the war in Iraq - he calls himself a "realist" and hates neocons. The Kossacks would like folks to think that they like Webb cause hes more "electable" than Miller. But those are the same guys who want Ned Lamont over Joe Lieberman in Conn.
Needless to say I will be voting for Harris Miller. Jim Webb is everything I DONT want the Democratic party to be. I despise the Kossacks for supporting him, and I despise anyone who takes the Kossacks as representative of the Dem party.
'The Senator from Delaware also said that he hopes [Zarqawi's death] improves President Bush's approval ratings. "We get one president at a time.... This election in November is not for President of the United States.... I hope it does improve his standing and emboldens him to take bolder moves in terms of his policy in Iraq.... His low ratings and his inability to rally support is a difficult position for the United States internationally."'
#20
seems both sides are piling on the political bandwagon. The MSM, however, seems to believe this is all bad news. I don't have much use for politicians of any denomination.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
06/08/2006 14:14 Comments ||
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#21
Hey, at least Daily Kos and Democratic Underground mention the bastard got whacked.
Nothing, nada, zip over at MyDD. It's far more important to them that Cox is banning Craigslist. They must have a new personal ad up (this time, it's gonna get them some tail! Not like the other five times, this one is GOOD!!)
The moonbats are starting to recover from the shock, though. DU now has a statement from Richard Clarke saying it's not going to speed the end of the Iraq quagmire!! war, Atrios is telling his readers to buy Dixie Chicks tickets to support their tour, and the Kossacks are going off about how Bush could have whacked Zarq before the war and the Iraqi guvmint let him go once before...
Anyway, if your tummy can stand it, go read some of the posts. Watching the inmates go off their meds is rather amusing if you have a sick sense of humor (note, someone there actually has a pic of Jimmah as his/her avatar. YJCMTSU.)
'Hawk, what's the difference between Bull Moose and Markos Zuniga?
Answer: Bull Moose is a grownup.
Posted by: Mike ||
06/08/2006 16:18 Comments ||
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#24
"I have to up my SOMA dose for a few days."
You're still not at therapeutic levels, bub.
Posted by: Mike ||
06/08/2006 16:19 Comments ||
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#25
F**k it man, the Kossacks dont speak for dems.
Really? Better tell the Dems.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
06/08/2006 17:54 Comments ||
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#26
Christ! After you read Daily Kos you feel like you need to delouse. I can't believe people are actually going online to mourn the death of Zarky. What a bunch of assholes! If they hate america so much why don't they go to Iraq and fight coalition forces.
They do in my world gthem along with the "quagmire" and "all US troop are criminals" MSM. I would not piss on a Democrat if they were on fire.. I will never vote for one again im my life. As far as can see and am conncerend Kos and the DU are the mainstream Democratric party.
#29
The MSM can't complain becuz Osama been dead before, SPOCK has been dead before, and many Hollyweird actors-actresses as well, dubious alleged "obituaries" which the MSM itself played a role. ZARK's death, iff true, is just one outstanding achievement for Dubya and the GOP-Right - THERES ALWAYS THE SAINT BILL CLINTON EXAMPLE ON HOW TO WIN AGAINST A SUCCESSFUL REPUBLICAN(S) [Bush 1-Dole] BUT SAINT BILL HIMSELF SEZZES HE WAS PREZ BY ELEX FRAUD. As neither Hillary nor the Dems for 2008 can singularly claim anything from Saint Bill's alleged "successful" "record/tenure", the only thing/cards they have left is new 9-11's and anti-GOP/USA "nuclear brinkmanship"!?
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Michael Berg, whose son Nick was beheaded in Iraq in 2004, said on Thursday he felt no sense of relief at the killing of the al Qaeda leader in Iraq and blamed President Bush for his son's death. Asked what would give him satisfaction, Berg, an anti-war activist and candidate for U.S. Congress, said, "The end of the war and getting rid of George Bush."
The United States said its aircraft killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the insurgent leader who masterminded the death of hundreds in suicide bombings and was blamed for the videotaped beheading of Nick Berg, a U.S. contractor, and other captives.
"I don't think that Zarqawi is himself responsible for the killings of hundreds of thousands of people in Iraq," Berg said in a combative television interview with the U.S. Fox News network. "I think George Bush is. George Bush is the one that invaded this country, George Bush is the one that destabilized it so that Zarqawi could get in, so that Zarqawi had a need to get in, to defend his region of the country from American invaders."
Berg said Bush was to blame for the torture of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad. "Yeah, like George Bush didn't OK the torture and death and rape of people in the Abu Ghraib prison for which my son was killed in retaliation?" he told his Fox interviewers. In a telephone interview with Reuters from his home in Wilmington, Delaware, the father said: "I have no sense of relief, just sadness that another human being had to die."
Berg, who is running as a Green Party candidate, has repeatedly blamed Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for his 26-year-old son's death. Nick Berg's videotaped beheading by hooded captors was posted on the Internet, and the father said he could understand what Zarqawi's family was going through.
"I have learned to forgive a long time ago, and I regret mostly that that will bring about another wave of revenge from his cohorts from al Qaeda," he told Fox.
Zarqawi's organization took responsibility for the execution of Nick Berg in May 2004. The video was published with a caption saying: "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi slaughtering an American." When an Islamist Web site showed the video of a man severing Berg's head, the CIA said Zarqawi was probably the one wielding the knife. The father said he was not convinced.
"I have been lied to by my own government," he told Reuters on Thursday.
#1
Grief can do strange things to people. Like inventing torture, rape and murder that never occurred. Tell ya what Dad; if you keep your piehole open, you're fair game. Ann Coulter's not the only one getting tired of the tactic of using 'greiving' families as unimpeachable spokesmen for the Anti-Bush message.
#4
Either this guy has totally lost it over his son's murder, and can be forgiven for his gibberish, or, maybe he's always been this way and this idiot thinking encouraged his son's being over there in the first place.
In 1965, as the Vietnam War was escalating under President Lyndon Johnson, Berg realized Americans had no reason to fight the people of Vietnam. Protesting the war became part of his life. He also became a teacher, earning a masters degree from Temple University in 1969. He found teaching a rich and fulfilling career. In 1991, when the United States invaded Iraq in the Gulf War, Berg intensified his protest activities despite reprimands from his school's administrator. He protested the current administration's invasion of Iraq as well, organizing local marches, protests, and vigils and traveling to Washington, D.C. These increasing efforts attracted a modicum of press coverage.
In March 2004, in Iraq, the American military and the FBI illegally detained Berg's son Nick, a civilian on a mission of peace, for thirteen days. This detention thrust Nick into an invigorated war, as the Iraqis were energized by the revelation that Americans had committed atrocities in Abu Ghraib.
Any questions?
Posted by: Steve ||
06/08/2006 12:22 Comments ||
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#7
Grief can do strange things to people.
It can do even stranger things to strange people. If I remember correctly, this guy was already a little bit of a sky pilot before his son was killed.
Posted by: SLO Jim ||
06/08/2006 12:31 Comments ||
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#8
He should be forced to watch the video over and over until he can correctly identify who cut off his son's head.
Posted by: ed ||
06/08/2006 12:48 Comments ||
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#9
Running for Congress as a Green, huh? How many votes do ya think he'd get if nobody knew that his kid was murdered in Iraq?
But ya gotta try to cash in while the gettin's good.
Right, Cindy?
#12
Perhaps Michael Berg would like to go over to Iraq and walk around on the streets. Without telling anybody who he is. I wonder what his half-life would be.
Posted by: grb ||
06/08/2006 16:00 Comments ||
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#13
#4 - I'll take Door #2.
#12 - his half-life would be longer than it people did know who he was....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/08/2006 19:06 Comments ||
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#14
SO iff the Secular Commies = God-based Commies point their guns at him + Alan Alda/HAWKEYE, and no matter how raesonable, appeasing, or compromisory they are, unlike ALan Alda = Hawkeye will Berg at that moment fight for his life, or like HAWKEYE do what the people wid guns tell him to do???
Security experts are urging the federal government to crack down on Islamic extremists who may be preaching hatred in Canada's mosques, following the stunning arrest of 17 Toronto residents on terrorism-related charges. "That is, not allowing extremists to come here so easily, and asking those who are preaching extremism to get out of here -- making sure they are removed," Martin Collacott, an immigration analyst, told CTV News.
The Conservative government is looking into the possibility, said Immigration Minister Monte Solberg. Such a change would bring Canada's system in line with American and British immigration laws, which allow for the swift deportation of radicals who incite hatred or glorify terrorism. The British law was changed after the London suicide bomb attacks last July that killed 52 people.
However, many Muslim leaders argue that such a proposal unfairly targets them, and that there is no evidence any imams are preaching violence. "Do any of our imams teach terrorism at the mosques?" questioned Imam Salam Elmenyawi of the Muslim Council of Montreal. "Is there any proof that there is an imam doing such work?"
At the mosque where five of the suspects prayed, Imam Aly Hindi denied teaching them any form of hatred or extremism. "We are not radicalizing anybody," he said. "Mosques are used as places of worship, but also we cannot speak only of how to pray -- we speak about current affairs from time to time when drastic things happen. We speak out. This is our right as Canadian citizens."
Hindi, who also opined that the government did not seem to have a strong case against the suspects, said it is the duty of imams to raise the standard of morality in Canada. He argued that sometimes imams must talk about major current events, including debating foreign policy and other issues, but that this is not the same as trying to overthrow the system.
But a report released Wednesday by the Asia Pacific Foundation, an international policy assessment group, said Canada needs to be aware of radicals recruiting young men who feel alienated. "The foiled plot has raised questions in Canada about the threat that exists from within its own society," the report said.
Another concern is people traveling to Pakistan to learn from extremists, the group warned. Mohammad Momin Khawaja, the first person charged under Canada's Anti-Terrorist Act, spent several months in Pakistan. However, it's unknown whether he spent any time with extremists. Khawaja was arrested in Ottawa in March 2004, and has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
Meanwhile, officials are also concerned about radicals surfing the Internet for material that incites hatred, and finding others who share their fanaticism. Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said the Toronto group may have found inspiration on the Internet for their alleged bomb plot. "Some were born here, some were not and we are facing an international phenomenon in terms of people availing themselves of information on the Internet to fuel their own extremist ideology," said Day.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/08/2006 10:59 ||
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Now you're homing in on the key to stopping this shit. Eliminate the imams/mosques. Don't just deport them. We want to gather them up and talk to them for a while. Quietly remove them to Gitmo. No publicity, they just are no longer present in community. When this happens repeatedly, a message is sent.
#2
However, many Muslim leaders argue that such a proposal unfairly targets them, and that there is no evidence any imams are preaching violence. "Do any of our imams teach terrorism at the mosques?" questioned Imam Salam Elmenyawi of the Muslim Council of Montreal. "Is there any proof that there is an imam doing such work?"
Ah, phase three: denial.
Tell me, Salam Elmenyawi -- do you preach from the Koran? To you tell your flock to emulate Mohammed?
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
06/08/2006 12:04 Comments ||
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#9
Ask them if Allan wears a thick off-white fur piece.
Well, we're not sure either, so we're sending yall to interview, and worship, the one we call Yogi and Booboo Allan.
#10
On a more serious note, this is the kind of activity we need to join. Let's identify the enemy, and pass some laws. Let's draw some attention to the real problem and embarass the Eurowienees.
Outlaw Islam NOW !
#11
Nimble Spemble---Slave Lake..... um, Great Slave Lake, where Yellowknife is located in the Northwest Territories or Lesser Slave Lake NNW of Edmonton, Alberta. I do not think that either one of them would want Muzzie Imam rejects.
How about Ward Hunt Island? 450 miles or so south of the North Pole west of Alert? Or Wrangell Island, NW of Barrow in Russia, with 500 polar bear dens?
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/08/2006 21:24 Comments ||
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Another concern is people traveling to Pakistan to learn from extremists
Not to worry, US Intelligence is keeping a close on travelers, friends & family, etc. especially to and from locations such as peace loving Pakland.
The 17 men accused of plotting homegrown terrorist attacks on the Canadian government contemplated using an airplane as a weapon, like the Sept. 11 hijackers, and possessed detonators that could trigger bombs by a cell phone, a technique employed by the Madrid train bombers in 2004.
These chilling details alleged by Canadian investigators are contained in the complete eight-page charging document submitted to the Canadian court this week. The document, which paints the fullest picture yet of the alleged terrorist conspiracy, has not been made public but has been reviewed by CBS News.
The document describes the changing targets the suspects allegedly considered and their paramilitary activities in an improvised training camp north of Toronto. It also clarifies the links between the Canadian suspects and two men detained in the United States for their alleged terrorist schemes.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 01:18 ||
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"Canadian jihadis had big plans"
Ah, don't they all. So competitive these youts, trying to kill more people, destroy more shit, make their mark pissing a little higher on the wall. Such drive, such blind devotion, such energy. It's downright insane heartwarming.
Wajid Khan won't decide til the last minute whether to fly as scheduled to Brussels today for a meeting of defence chiefs at NATO headquarters. It's an important summit and the Liberal Party's associate defence critic Khan was a former military pilot in Pakistan before coming to Canada in 1974 wants to be there. He missed the meeting last October because he helped organize Canada's response to the earthquake in Pakistan.
There is just one problem: Khan is also MP for Mississauga-Streetsville. It's on his turf that security forces scooped up suspected Islamic terrorists last weekend. It may not be a good time to be out of the country. Khan realized with a shock on Saturday that he knew one of the accused, or rather, had had an encounter last year with Qayyum Abdul Jamal, the 43-year-old caretaker and frequent radical speaker at Mississauga's Ar-Rahman Islamic Centre.
Khan had been invited to speak at the Islamic centre at a Mississauga strip mall. Jamal was slated to introduce him. But in the process, the avowed fundamentalist launched a verbal attack on Canadian institutions and, in particular, on the deployment of Canadian troops in Afghanistan, where, he said, they were raping the Afghan women.
"It was all kinds of derogatory things," Khan recalls. "I said, `You're talking a lot of nonsense. The troops are doing a wonderful job there.'
"I told the congregation that this was misinformation and they shouldn't accept it. Then I walked out."
Good for you.
He later learned that some members of the centre were "so upset with Jamal they roughed him up a little, pushed him." The point is, Khan says, not all Muslims are like-minded.
Khan met on Sunday with representatives of 25 different non-religious Muslim organizations who want to help security forces root out Islamic extremists. He told them they can start by "not tolerating this kind of nonsense in the community."
Critics such as Tarek Fatah of the Muslim Canadian Congress, however, charge that ordinary Muslims are all too often left out of the loop. Police and politicians seem to meet only with religious leaders, he says.
There's an interesting point -- perhaps the average Ahmed on the street would be more willing to help the police, but the mosque leaders are getting in the way.
He's also critical of Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair for holding a press conference Sunday at a Scarborough mosque. "Blair sat down with the most radical imams and gave them credibility," he says.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 00:43 ||
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25 different non-religious Muslim organizations
Given that Islam is more of an ideology than what we in the West would call religion, exactly what is a non-religious Muslim?
Is there any country not linked to the Canadian arrests?
A 21-year-old man has been arrested in the U.K. by British police as part of the ongoing investigation into an alleged terror cell in Toronto. The 21-year-old, whose name has been not been released, was arrested at Manchester Airport on Tuesday night.
Today, police in northern England began searching three properties in the city of Bradford, which sources say is connected to the Tuesday evening arrest. It is believed the man arrested is a U.K. citizen. The BBC reports that he is believed to have recently been in Pakistan.
Police later said detectives also had arrested a 16-year-old in Dewsbury, near Bradford, as part of the same investigation. According to the Telegraph & Argus in Bradford, the blue door to number 27 Hanover Sq., (map) splintered from the force of the battering ram, was being guarded by uniformed police officers.
Neighbour Hasanul Maab said an elderly woman lived in one of the properties and she was often visited by her sons, who live in the Bradford area. He said the woman, with her son and his wife, were led away by police in Tuesday night's raid. "A police van arrived and some police officers dashed out and started shouting," said Maab. "They used a ram to knock the door down and then they rushed inside shouting.
"They were in there for about an hour before they brought all three people out - two ladies and one young man. They then drove off in a police car."
Maab said he had lived in the area for about 30 years and had not experienced anything like this before.
Police have not revealed what the connection is between the Bradford man and the suspects being held in Toronto.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 00:42 ||
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A plot to take MPs hostage on Parliament Hill was abandoned at an early stage because the alleged conspirators - who hail from southern Ontario - knew little about Ottawa, The Canadian Press has learned.
The suspects are being interrogated about any possible plans to attack targets in the United States or links to sympathizers south of the border, sources also indicate.
The public was shocked to hear a group arrested on terrorism-related charges had supposedly planned to storm Parliament, seize politicians and behead the prime minister.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 00:33 ||
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would-be-terr 1: "So you ever been there?"
would-be-terr 2: "Where?"
wbt1: "Ottawa."
wbt2: "Er, no. You?"
wbt1: "Nope. See it on CBC, though, eh."
wbt3: "Yeah, that's good."
wbt1:
wbt2:
wbt3:
wbt1: "Hmm... hokay. How about CN Tower and the Hockey Hall of Fame, then?"
There are new revelations about the alleged bombing plot by a group of Toronto-area men that led to a massive police sweep last week, in court documents made exclusively available to CBC News.
According to the documents, the group is alleged to have been well-advanced on its plan to attack a number of Canadian institutions, possibly including the Houses of Parliament, the RCMP and the CBC.
The documents repeat what was reported earlier this week, that the plotters hoped to take federal politicians in Ottawa hostage, and demand both the withdrawal of Canadian forces from Afghanistan and the release of some prisoners in Canadian jails.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 00:32 ||
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Lot's of interesting things can be discovered about people and connections in half a year...
Canadian television reports that one of a group of Toronto-area men now in custody on terror-related charges had enrolled in a flight training program as part of a plan to use aircraft in an attack on Canadian targets.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which cited allegations contained in court documents, said Wednesday Amin Mohamed Durrani, 19, had enrolled in a training program at a Toronto-area college but then withdrew out of fear his activities would draw the attention of authorities.
Durrani is one of 12 men and five youths being held after a weekend raid in and around Toronto.
Several of the accused face charges of knowingly participating in a terrorist group, while six are charged with planning an explosion that could cause death or serious injury.
The documents repeated allegations revealed by a lawyer at a court appearance Tuesday, that some in the group had planned to storm Parliament and take politicians hostage to force Canada to remove its troops from Afghanistan.
Citing the documents, CBC said suspects were also alleged to have planned attacks Toronto police stations using radio controlled toys packed with explosives.
In other developments, The Associated Press reports one of the terror suspects who allegedly plotted to storm Canada's Parliament and behead the prime minister was a former reservist who received weapons training, an official said Wednesday.
Steven Vikash Chand -- who went by the alias of Abdul Shakur, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police -- belonged to the Royal Regiment of Canada, a reservist unit that meets in Toronto, Cmdr. Denise Laviolette told AP. (Full story)
The arrests have intensified the spotlight on Canada's presence in Afghanistan and shocked Canadians not used to worrying about attacks on home soil.
"As recent events have shown us, terrorism is a problem to address here in our own country and in fact around the world." Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day told a parliamentary committee Wednesday.
Day said the government planned to fulfill its pledge to increase its foreign intelligence capability, but he said it had not decided whether this should be as part of Canadian Security Intelligence Service or through a separate agency.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 00:30 ||
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I couldn't be a lawer, I could never walk into court with a straight face and try to tell a jury that these are good boys and that the govt is trying to frame them for terrorism. I wouldn't even try to explain the 3 Tons of ammonium nitrate and cell phone detonators, or the al-quaida style training camp.
Some Democrats, breaking ranks from their leadership, today said the death of terrorist leader Abu Musab Zarqawi in Iraq was a stunt to divert attention from an unpopular and hopeless war. "This is just to cover Bush's [rear] so he doesn't have to answer" for Iraqi civilians being killed by the U.S. military and his own sagging poll numbers, said Rep. Pete Stark, California Democrat. "Iraq is still a mess -- get out."
Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Ohio Democrat, said Zarqawi was a small part of "a growing anti-American insurgency" and that it's time to get out. "We're there for all the wrong reasons," Mr. Kucinich said.
Officially, Democratic leaders reacted positively to the news and praised the troops that successfully targeted al Qaeda's leader in Iraq with 500-pound bombs at his safe house 30 miles from Baghdad. "This is a good day for the Iraqi people, the U.S. military and our intelligence community," said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.
President Bush said that yesterday's killing of the 39-year-old Jordanian-born terrorist offers an opportunity to "turn the tide" in the war and that Tuesday he will discuss with Iraqi leaders "how to best deploy America's resources in Iraq." A senior White House official cautioned that Mr. Bush was not hinting at possible early reductions in U.S. troops there, according to Reuters news agency.
Meanwhile, Democrats sprinkled caveats throughout their praise. "That is good news; he was a dreadful, vicious person," said Sen. Kent Conrad, North Dakota Democrat. Mr. Conrad added that he hopes the military can get Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri, another top al Qaeda leader. "They're even more important," he said.
Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, Michigan Democrat, said it was good news but added, "I think we have a long way to go."
Republicans called Zarqawi's death a positive step and thanked Iraqi citizens for standing up to a threat against their nascent Democracy.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/08/2006 17:42 ||
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#1
I find it incredible that so many Dems find it difficult to say, "Cutting off the heads of American voters is not acceptable and we are glad the bastard is dead" without turning it into a political slap at Bush.
#4
Killing Zark WAS a stunt. More stunts, if ya pleeze.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/08/2006 19:41 Comments ||
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#5
Is it that hard for anyone to say he or she would like Global Government, and to argue the merits of same PUBLICLY before the Amer people - you know, DEMOCRACY???
FAYETTEVILLE -- A federal judge is being asked to decide whether audio recordings advocating martyrdom and jihad allegedly found on a computer hard drive seized from a Fayetteville man accused of trying to aid a Palestinian terrorist group are admissible as evidence.
Arwah Jaber faces charges of knowingly attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, considered by the government to be a terrorist organization.
Federal prosecutors said Wednesday the recordings go to the core issue in the case, whether Jaber intended to travel to Palestine for the purpose of joining the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and possibly losing his life in the process of doing so.
Prosecutors contend Jaber admitted using the word "jihad" in discussions with others about his intentions and told them he may not survive.
"The fact the defendant was listening to audio recordings regarding martyrdom and 'jihad' is therefore highly relevant and corroborative of the defendant's own statements," according to the government.
Jaber filed a motion seeking to exclude the audio evidence, including translations, arguing they are protected free speech and irrelevant to the case under federal rules of evidence.
Translations of the recordings, along with numerous other documents from both sides, have been filed under seal so the judge can review them and rule on admissibility. Documents filed under seal cannot be accessed by the public but are available to the other side in the case.
If convicted of the material support charge, Jaber faces up to 15 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine or both. He also faces deportation. Jaber also faces a number of minor charges related to immigration statements and credit card applications.
The case is set to begin June 12 in U.S. District Court in Fayetteville.
Jaber was pulled out of line and arrested June 16, 2005, at the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport. The government contends he was flying out to join the jihad. Jaber maintains he was going to visit relatives.
Jaber, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in the West Bank town of Yamoun, allegedly told federal authorities he told his doctoral professor and others at the university he was going to Palestine to "fight for freedom, peace and justice."
Jaber maintains he was frustrated with his professor over delays in graduating and made the statements in an effort to sway the teacher into approving his degree. He contends he didn't mean any of it and recanted the statements under questioning by FBI agents.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A former FBI agent pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to a misdemeanor charge in connection with a Chinese spying investigation. Denise K. Woo, 47, pleaded guilty to one count of disclosing confidential information. Prosecutors agreed to drop five felony counts of disclosing a wiretap, revealing the identity of a covert operative and lying to FBI agents when questioned.
Woo, who has been discharged from the FBI, will be on probation for one year and fined $1,000 when she is sentenced on Aug. 28.
Gee, wotta tough sentence. She can do this standing on her head.
A 2004 indictment alleged that in 1999 Woo intentionally disclosed the name of an informant to a man identified only as "J.W." and told him about telephone surveillance involving an investigation. The man was a Chinese-American employee of a defense contractor under investigation for possibly passing defense secrets to China, authorities said later
In the plea agreement, Woo acknowledged she had passed on information about the informant's identity to J.W. She acted out of concern that the man, a family friend, was being wrongly suspected, her lawyers argued.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/08/2006 00:00 ||
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WTF? Absurdly lenient deal. This asshole broke her oath and broke the law for nothing more than personal satisfaction, regardless of the results of the investigation. Our legal system is so biased in favor of the defense - and prosecution offices almost everywhere in this country seem populated by lazy second-rate talentless morons - that it is utterly unfit to serve as the venue for dealing with our national security.
As mojo said yesterday, they should throw her ass in jail and melt the key.
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan on Wednesday announced financial assistance worth three million dollars for the Palestinians and reiterated full support for the Palestinian cause of achieving an independent homeland.
A whole three million? Why that will cover about ... one day's salaries vigorish. Wotta guy.
The announcement came as the visiting Palestinian Foreign Minister Dr. Mahmoud Al Zahar met his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid Mehmud Kasuri in Islamabad. Pakistan is the third country after Iran and Russia to have announced financial assistance for the Palestinians.
They're up to about six days worth of help, assuming the banks will transfer the money, which they won't.
Al Zarar arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday on a two-day visit following the formation of the Hamas government in the Palestinian territories. An official statement issued after the meeting quoted Kasuri as expressing Pakistans complete solidarity with the Palestinians in their quest for statehood.
"As long as it doesn't cost us anything. We have our own problems, y'know."
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/08/2006 00:00 ||
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I think India gave them 2 million, so Perv was obliged to give 3 million.
Posted by: john ||
06/08/2006 7:16 Comments ||
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So Perv with give the Paleos money, whose leaders have abscounded with billions of aid, and his country is hurting after the earthquake? Disconnect here, but SOP in Pak-Land.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/08/2006 21:40 Comments ||
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Janata Party national president Subramanian Swamy on Wednesday demanded abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution granting special status to Jammu and Kashmir and bombing of terrorist training camps across the border.
On a mission to revive the Kashmir unit of his party, Dr. Swamy said Kashmir was a settled issue. The Janata Party considers the whole of the State, including PoK and those parts in possession of the Chinese, as an integral and inalienable part of India, a consequence of the instrument of accession signed by the Maharaja (Hari Singh), he said.
He said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should have articulated India's stand to the people during the second roundtable conference to resolve the Kashmir issue. "We need to have a zero tolerance policy as far as terrorism is concerned," he said, adding that the ongoing peace process be rejected as it would yield nothing.
He said: "Even General Musharraf is under the direct threat of terrorists and we should help him to eliminate them."
He accused militants of ethnic cleansing and said "minorities [Kashmiri Pandits] were herded out of Kashmir." "Kashmir does not become Islamist just because Muslims are in majority. The State has a glorious Hindu and Buddhist past," he said.
Posted by: john ||
06/08/2006 00:00 ||
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June 05 2006 at 0050 LT in position 05 53.28S 106 05.29E, P.P Kali anchorage, Merak, Indonesia. Six robbers armed with long knives in an unlit boat approached a general cargo ship from stern. Two robbers boarded and broke open padlock of E/R storeroom. They stole engine spares and escaped.
June 05 2006 at 02:15 LT at Dar Es Salaam Roads, Tanzania. Six robbers armed with knives and tools for cutting locks boarded a tanker. They broke into forward locker and stole ships stores. Alert crew raised alarm and robbers escaped in a motorboat. Master reported the incident to port control.
May 31 2006 at 2040 UTC in position: 05:52.2S-106:04.5E, Tg. Priok anchorage, Indonesia. Five robbers armed with long knives boarded a bulk carrier. They tied up two crewmembers and threatened them with knives. They stole engine spares and escaped in a speedboat.
#1
This is new, they're stealing engine spare parts, it tells me that they are having engine trouble.
I also note that the piracy frequency is down, that reinforces the "Engine Trouble" theory.
As an aside, Spare Parts do not all fit the same engines, unless you know exactly what you're looking for, the odds are good that the "Spares" are relatively worthless.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
06/08/2006 8:24 Comments ||
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There's enough brokers around who ID the spares and are willing to pay a low but adequate amount for them. They'll turn around and sell them to willingly-blind dealers, repair yards, etc.
and the deputy secty general who made the criticism lives in a house owned by George Soros.
John Bolton, the US Ambassador to the UN, called on Kofi Annan, its Secretary- General, to personally and publicly repudiate criticisms of the US and its people by Mark Malloch Brown, his British deputy.
But Mr Annan, an old friend of Mr Malloch Brown who has promoted him to a series of top jobs in the UN system, retires on December 31 after a decade in office and was in no mood to back down.
The Secretary-General stands by the Deputy Secretary-General and agrees with the thrust of his speech, Mr Annans spokesman said last night. The speech was not a mistake.
In his speech on Tuesday, Mr Malloch Brown attacked the US for too much unchecked UN-bashing and stereotyping over too many years. From Lebanon and Afghanistan to Syria, Iran and the Palestinian issue, the US is constructively engaged with the UN, he said.
But that is not well known or understood, in part because much of the public discourse that reaches the US heartland has been largely abandoned to its loudest detractors, such as Rush Limbaugh and Fox News, he added.
That is what I mean by stealth diplomacy: The UNs role is in effect a secret in Middle America even as it is highlighted in the Middle East and other parts of the world.
Mr Bolton told Mr Annan that Mr Malloch Browns comments were the worst mistake by a senior UN official that he had seen in many years and would damage the world body.
Analysts say that the clash could imperil congressional funding for the UN. The US, which pays 22 per cent of the UNs administrative budget, is already threatening to block its budget for the second half of this year unless it adopts a set of management reforms.
Mr Malloch Browns speech was delivered to a think-tank seminar attended by prominent Democrat foreign policy experts and supporters. The audience included Madeleine Albright, the Clinton Administrations Secretary of State, Anthony Lake, National Security Adviser to President Clinton, and Richard Holbrooke, the former UN Ambassador.
Mr Bolton, a longtime UN critic, denounced Mr Malloch Browns condescending, patronising tone about the American people.
The row comes after months of tension between the blunt-speaking US envoy and Mr Malloch Brown, a former journalist and political consultant who was drafted in to do damage control during the Oil-for-Food scandal.
#1
Boltman is so mean to the world body. Here, poor ole Brown was amongst Donk chums, one who can leg press 400 lbs., and Boltman had to disrupt the blame America party.
Speaking of shark chum, Kofi and company get flushed in December.
Posted by: Captain America ||
06/08/2006 0:31 Comments ||
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Didn't know about the Soros house connection. Thanks lotp.
When you think about it, the Red State demographic is really the main (and last) enemy for these Tranzi clowns. Europe has swallowed the Tranzi garbage hook, line, and sinker. There's no real threat there. The rest of the world (with a few exceptions like Australia and Israel) is run by corrupt, kleptocratic elites that the Tranzis keep in line through the largess of the World Bank, bribes and the occasional use of sanctions (be nice, General, or we'll stop the supply of Mercedes spare parts to Upper Revolta).
A lot of folks here at Rantburg and I have asked why the Tranzis seem to be aligning themselves (if not allying themselves) with the Islamists. A while back, a few of us were arguing what would happen if the Blue Staters were to precipitate a civil war. I replied that it would be over in a couple of weeks since their leadership was made up of pacifists, the means of production had moved almost completely into the Red zones, and their manpower pool was an undisciplined urban rabble. In that light, a Tranzi-Islamist alliance makes perfect sense. The Tranzis need Al Qaeda as a mercenary or proxy force. It's their only hope of defeating Red State (and county) America. Maybe they think that they can frighten us or intimidate us into silence without resorting to decisive warfare.
Either way, they're screwed. If they fail, we will destroy them. If they succeed, the Islamists will consume them.
There's been a lot of gloom and doom lately in the blogosphere. Me, I'm honored to think that I'm part of a creative minority of perhaps 100 million that is keeping the rest of the world at bay.
#5
Well said, 11A5S. You left out well-armed, but that's a given 'round here, LOL. Indeed, it is an honor to commit hearth and heart to the last bastion of Freedom. Thank you, sincerely, for the reminder that the cause is noble, as well as necessary.
#7
Thank you, kind sir! I had to put in a full day of "consulting" (it's like printing money) yesterday, but since I seldom sleep and keep no regular hours, it's probably hard to tell, LOL. I love this place!
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said today the death of al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was a blow to the terror network. "Today's announcement was very good news because a blow against al-Qaida in Iraq was a blow against al-Qaida everywhere," Blair told Cabinet members. The prime minister also praised U.S. and coalition troops for their work in Iraq and its new democratically elected government.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/08/2006 10:45 ||
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BAGHDAD - Almost 600 prisoners were released in Iraq on Wednesday, state television reported, a day after new Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki said a total of 2,500 would be freed to help foster national reconciliation. It was one of the biggest such releases of prisoners held in Iraqi or American detention since US-led forces invaded the country three years ago to topple Saddam Hussein.
I spent 16 months in jail without any specific reason. They only questioned me once, accusing me of funding terrorism, said one of more than 100 people freed in Baghdad. He said he had been arrested by Iraqi forces and then handed over to the US-run Abu Ghraib prison. Im happy to return to my family, added Youssef Khidr, 38, looking exhausted.
Get a job, take care of your family, and don't let us think you're hanging with a bad element, 'k?
Most of those in detention are believed held on suspicion of involvement in the insurgency. The move by Maliki appeared to be an attempt to shore up his own authority at a time when rivalries within his ruling Shia Alliance have cast doubt over his effectiveness.
Never occurred to the reporter that freeing the people makes space for the real bad boyz, makes people breathe a little easier, and just might be the right thing to do.
State television, citing the Justice Ministry, said a total of 594 people had been freed across Iraq. Many of those in detention -- estimated at more than 28,000 -- are from Saddams once dominant Sunni community, which forms the backbone of an insurgency against the US-backed, Shia-led government.
Maliki, who has pledged to heal sectarian wounds and crush the insurgency, said in a televised statement on Tuesday that the prisoner release would free those who had no clear evidence against them or had been detained mistakenly. Maliki had cited the release of those imprisoned without just cause as one of his priorities when his cabinet took office in May. Such detentions, by Iraqi and US security forces, have been a major source of popular discontent.
Seems reasonable.
But Saddam loyalists or terrorists would not and should not be freed.
A U.N. report last month said there were 28,700 detainees in Iraq, including 5,000 held by the Interior Ministry even though it should only detain people for short periods of time.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/08/2006 00:00 ||
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I believe LTC Kurilla (Now Col, IIRC) covered this topic in detail. The terrorist who shot him was someone they had captured and turned over to Jabr's (or his Shia predecessor's) Interior Ministry. I guess the lesson should be take no obvious terrorists prisoner... But in the insane climate, it won't happen - and our people will continue to pay.
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Italy announced its intention on Wednesday to pull out all its troops by the end of the year, an action that further reduces the number of international troops supporting the United States in Iraq. Italian Foreign Minister Massimo DAlema said Italy would begin reducing the number of Italian troops in Iraq this month and the Italian military presence in Iraq will end by the end of the year.
My sprize meter wriggled a bit. I thought for sure they'd gone within days of Prodi's election.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Iraqis would be ready to take over responsibility for the southeastern area where the Italians are based. This withdrawal will not begin suddenly but it will be gradual, he said during a joint news conference at the Iraqi Foreign Ministry. We have a security plan to transfer the security tasks from the Italian forces to the Iraqi forces starting end of this month.
Thanks for the help, and wish you'd stay til the end. Your troops deserve the honor of finishing what they started.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/08/2006 00:00 ||
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I would note that Prodi is far saner than other elements of the European left (believe me, I am not happy about the Italian elections for a number of reasons), particularly someone like Zapatero, who should be thanking Garzon and del Olmo every day that his country remains safe despite his idiocy. We should probably view Prodi as less corrupt and manipulative version of Chirac, which while far from ideal is still better than the alternative.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 0:24 Comments ||
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Less corrrupt and manipulative than Chirac: gee Dan, wotta endorsement. Can I get you to endorse the Democrats in 2008? :-)
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/08/2006 0:55 Comments ||
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With that kind of a stunning recommendation? Probably. Last I heard nobody in the US political system has managed to get a full immunity from ongoing corruption investigations on the grounds that cooperating would conflict with their official duties. I'd love to see someone try to pull something like that here in the US ...
They don't call Chirac La Girouette for nothing, lemme tell you.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 1:06 Comments ||
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Actually, I believe he was called chirouette, a wordplay on that, but I'm not sure (mind you, when he was seen as a solid, atlantist tatcherite conservative back in the early 780's, the left called him facho-chirac, "fascist chirac").
He was also dubbed "Mr 5 minutes, shower included", for his supposed infamous "quickness" in his many affairs and extra-conjugal encounters. An another popular Rpr (his first party) nickname was supposedly "le grand con" (the tall c*nt).
Disappointed followers, and they are plenty, he betrayed/destroyed the whole french right, had very harsh words for him, the more famous being Miss Garaud, "I thought chirac was made from the stone used to carve sculptures, in fact he's made from the one used to make bidets".
#5
Great background, A5089! Stones for sculptures vs stones for bidets. That's a keeper.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/08/2006 9:32 Comments ||
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Brave brave Italians, brave Italians ran away.....Bravely ran away away, oh brave Italians! When danger reared it's ugly head, they bravely turned their tail and fled, Oh brave Italians....
While the Hamas/Palestinian Authority continues to claim hunger and impoverishment because of the world's financial boycott, 111 truckloads of TV sets have entered Gaza over the past two weeks. The televisions, imported by Israelis and resold to PA importers for sale to end users, were shipped through the Karni Crossing. The upswing in television purchases in the PA may be related to the start of the World Cup soccer games in Europe, broadcast throughout the Middle East. The price in Israel to watch the World Cup is some 300 shekels.
Lt.-Col. Shlomo Dror, speaking with Arutz-7's correspondent Haggai Huberman, confirmed the report, and said that 400 trucks enter every day with food and medicines. Foreign Minister Tzippy Livni yesterday told American envoy David Walsh that the Hamas-led PA government refused Israel's offer of 50 million shekels worth of medicines, instead demanding that Israel provide the cash equivalent from the tax revenues Israel began withholding since the Hamas took over the PA. Israel's decision is to use the money for humanitarian purposes, and not to transfer money that is likely to be used to fund attacks against Israelis.
Several weeks ago, Israel turned to the PA, via the World Health Organization (WHO), in an attempt to find out which hospitals they should provide with medical equipment and medicines. WHO officials came back with an answer a few days ago, saying that the PA is not interested in receiving medicines, but rather cash. "The PA's position shows that there really is no health crisis in the PA, contrary to its claims," Israeli security sources said, "and that they want to use the money for other things."
The European Union is attempting to expand the definition of "humanitarian needs" to include all welfare and social services, such as education, social workers and psychologists. Many in Israel, on the other hand, feel that whatever money is given for these purposes will simply free up other PA monies to be used for terrorism and related causes.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/08/2006 17:49 ||
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Program 'em all to stay on the Food Network.
Posted by: Dar ||
06/08/2006 19:16 Comments ||
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Just like the "poor" in the U.S.
They always seem to have money for cigarettes and Milwaukee's Best, but not for food or clothes for their kids.
#3
Hey, D *** it, stop those trucks, FIDEL needs his imported expensive hams!? KRAUTHAMMER to PA -"Say it wid me, NO TVS, BUT I-M-P-O-R-T-E-D E-X-P-E-N-S-I-V-E HAMS, AND FOR FIDEL, NOT THE [STARVIN']PEOPLE OR EVEN THE [STARVIN']ARMY"!?
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/08/2006 20:39 Comments ||
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Too bad we couldn't override all their network signals so they could only have access to Emeril Lagasse preparing filet de Porc Normande all night, every night.
GAZA (Reuters) - The ruling Palestinian faction Hamas on Thursday deplored the killing by U.S. warplanes of the al Qaeda leader in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, describing him as a casualty of a crusade against Arabs and Muslims.
Oh glorious Allah, why do you let the infidels strike BACK????
Hamas, branded as a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union and shunned by the West since winning office in the Palestinian government in March, had distanced itself in the past from violence abroad blamed on al Qaeda.
But in a statement faxed to Reuters after Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. air strike north of Baghdad on Wednesday, Hamas said it mourned the Jordanian-born insurgent as a "martyr of the (Muslim Arab) nation".
"With hearts full of faith, Hamas commends brother-fighter Abu Musab ... who was martyred at the hands of the savage crusade campaign which targets the Arab homeland, starting in Iraq," the statement said.
#2
Cut off their friking water.
Hey, guys, enough with the water comments. What do you think makes them so stupid? We don't want to fight an enemy with all his faculties, when we can fight irrational half-wits who can't plan beyond the moment.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/08/2006 14:13 Comments ||
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They just admitted to supporting the killing of US troops through Zarqawi. Can we cut off every last cent to them now?
Posted by: Charles ||
06/08/2006 14:14 Comments ||
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Works out for Mashaal. He's got another mug to put up on that poster of the rodents he's always seen sitting in front of.
Prosecutors in Jordan have charged with terrorism 12 men, including a cousin of al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, suspected of planning attacks against Israeli and US targets. The men, according to judicial sources in the Jordanian capital Amman, belong to two separate militant groups. Omar Khalayleh, 30, cousin of the Jordanian-born al-Zarqawi, is accused of belonging to a five-man cell - all arrested in May - active in recruiting militants to fight against American troops in Iraq.
Some of the other cell members are also accused of travelled illegally through Syria to reach Iraq and participate to participate in the insurgency.
Five Iraqi, one Libya and one Saudi citizen arrested in February are accused of belonging to the separate cell planning terrorist attacks against hotels near the Dead Sea frequented by Americans and Israelis and an attack agaisnt the Quenn Alia international airport in Amman.
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06/08/2006 00:52 ||
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AMMAN - Jordans King Abdullah II said Wednesday, on the eve of talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, that his country will never be a substitute homeland for the Palestinians.
"No, no, certainly not!"
If there is anyone who believes that it is possible to settle the Palestinian issue at the expense of Jordan, he should know that Jordan will never be a substitute homeland for anybody, the king said. The Palestinians homeland and their state should be on Palestinian soil, and nowhere else, he added in a speech to a graduating class of police and army officers at Muta University, south of Amman.
Nevermind that 'Trans-Jordan' was originally supposed to be the Arab part of the package ...
King Abdullah meets Thursday in Amman with Olmert, who was elected in March on a pledge to set Israels final borders by 2010, unilaterally if necessary. In an interview Wednesday with the Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot, King Abdullah said he would tell Olmert of his opposition to any unilateral steps by Israel.
That would raise question marks and a sense of insecurity not only among the Palestinians, but among all the partners of peace in the region, he said. The ability to improve relations between us and Israel could also be damaged by this unilateral move.
Since bilateral moves have worked so well ...
He stressed that Jordan is first and Jordans interests supersede all other interests and considerations, according to an English-language transcript of the speech released by the royal court. We know that there are some who seek strength from some states to hurt this country, or to disrupt the relationship between the two brotherly peoples, the Jordanians and the Palestinians, he said.
Like Hamas for example. They really like you.
Those, and those who stand behind them, should know that the Jordanian-Palestinian relationship is a sacred historic bond.". He added that Jordan will not be lenient towards, or tolerant of, any party that tries to disrupt this countrys security and stability.
Which is why he's thumping Hamas operatives in his country.
Jordan announced in May the arrest 20 Hamas suspects accused of plotting attacks in the kingdom and said it uncovered an arms cache and seized weapons including Iranian-made Katyusha rockets. The radical Islamist movement, which won January elections and now heads the Palestinian government, denied any involvement in the alleged plot.
"Lies! All lies!"
In his speech, the Jordanian king also warned against the most difficult conditions and worst developments facing the region in the Palestinian territories and Iraq, as well as Irans nuclear row with the West. The deteriorating state of affairs in the West Bank and in Iraq, and the dispute between Iran and the United States of America, all threaten security and stability, he said. We should be at the highest level of alertness and preparedness in order to face the worst possible scenarios and to defend our country and national interests, the Jordanian monarch added.
"Please don't let them kill me!"
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/08/2006 00:00 ||
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Correctomundo, kingy boy! Jordan ain't a substitute it IS a Palestinian state. 80% population IS Palestinian!
#2
Well, expand Israel's borders into Jordanian territory and call it Palestinian soil, if you want, but moving the Israelis out isn't the answer and someone has to go. Side by side is the only viable solution. Weigh the choices carefully, King, as you ultimately choose your own destiny and Obadiah 1 sounds pretty decisive on those who would mock Israel.
#4
Iff MadMoud gets his way it won't matter becuz Israel + all Muslim nations in the ME will be future provinces of Radical Iran = Persia anyways - you know, obeying the QURAN and PROPHET.
JERUSALEM - The European Union has proposed creating an aid mechanism for the Palestinians that would funnel up to $30 million a month to a limited group of government workers, sidestepping the Hamas-led government. The proposal, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters on Wednesday, must still be approved by the EUs partners in the Quartet of Middle East mediators -- the United States, Russia and the United Nations.
What's that word again? Jizya?
The $30 million in proposed monthly social allowances would cover approximately 25 percent of the Palestinian Authoritys $120 million monthly wage bill.
Yup, jizya.
Western diplomats said the EU envisioned providing the allowances to health and education workers, about a quarter of the Authoritys 165,000 workforce.
What about the suffering Gaza airport workers?
But the United States and Israel may object to paying teachers because of concerns about the curriculum under the Islamist-led government, diplomats said.
What part of the curriculum, other than the Joooo-murdering and Xian-hating?
In addition to providing allowances to some workers, the EU proposal calls for providing $6 million per month through a World Bank trust fund to keep health and other essential services running. Another $6 million a month would provide fuel supplies to the Palestinians.
You'd think the Paleos would have considered basic health care and fuel supplies sufficiently important to elect a government that would deliver them, but no.
EU member states and the Quartet are expected to review the EU proposal starting this week. The EU hopes to begin paying allowances through the mechanism next month.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/08/2006 00:00 ||
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Can they do direct deposit?
Posted by: Captain America ||
06/08/2006 0:33 Comments ||
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They still need a bank for that, and the banks are more afraid of us than Hamas. Fancy that.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/08/2006 0:56 Comments ||
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Why is Europe stealing my money and funding terroists with it.
#5
The Palestinians have the money to buy guns, explosives and rockets. They shouldn't be given any aid until that cash is spent on salaries, food and medicine.
Folks, I couldn't make this shit up even with my imagination running wild. Even Thailand isn't wacky enough to actually implement this policy, but the fact that this made it onto page 2 of the Bangkok Post should send a message to the Muslim vermin down in the deep south of Thailand
Plan to pay civilians who shoot rebels
Fears it may inspire extra-judicial killing
BANGKOK POST and ISSARA NEWS CENTRE
The governor of Pattani wants to offer cash rewards of 50,000-100,000 baht to civilians who kill or injure insurgents in gun fights. He says rewards would give people an incentive to fight back, but academics and law experts argue it would just encourage more extra-judicial killing. Do ya' think?
However, caretaker Justice Minister Chidchai Wannasathit and army chief Sonthi Boonyaratglin appeared to second the idea yesterday.
Pattani governor Panu Uthairat said his proposal was a security measure aimed at protecting the lives of innocent people in the province. ''In some cases, people want to retaliate. Some have fired warning shots into the sky. Others clashed with insurgents who were killed or wounded in the process,'' he said.''Some wounded insurgents were caught. In the past, we handed out 5,000 to 10,000 baht in cash to civilians to boost their morale so they will fight back in self-defence,'' he said.
A source said civilians would be given 50,000 baht each if their return fire hit any insurgents, leading to their capture. The amount would double if the insurgents were killed.
Mr Panu said the authorities could not provide security for people around the clock. People should learn to protect themselves. They should be permitted to carry guns but only use them in self-defence, he said.
Legal experts questioned the Pattani governor's authority to offer a cash reward. Outgoing Bangkok Senator Sak Kosaengruang, formerly president of the Lawyers Council, said the idea was dangerous and unlawful.
If the reward was offered to police, it would lead to extra-judicial killing by unscrupulous officers, he warned.
Mr Sak said the governor should tell people how he had conceived the idea and where he would find the money to pay the rewards.
''What I want to know is whether the Southern Border Peace-building Command is aware of this policy,'' Mr Sak said. The command is in charge of security administration in the deep South.
Pol Gen Chidchai, also a deputy prime minister, downplayed fears a reward-system would give rise to extra-judicial killings. He promised to consider both sides of the proposal.
Gen Sonthi said the reward offer was a strategy by the governor to stimulate people to be extra careful. People should trust the government's judgment in tailoring anti-insurgent strategies to the region.
Two soldiers were shot dead in Yala's Bannang Sata district yesterday. Sgt-Maj Charaewat Khamnoei and Pvt Mongkol Prasuk were ambushed while providing motorcycle escort for teachers. Assailants fired shots at them shortly after a bomb blast.
Caretaker Interior Minister Kongsak Wantana said the government would carefully study all aspects of the National Reconciliation Commission's proposal that the Yawi dialect should be introduced as the second official language in the deep South.
Maybe it's time to float a version of this initiative as an approach toward stemmming the tide of illegal immigration across the US Southern border .... heh, heh, heh .....
Now that's what I'm talking about!
Jakarta, 8 June (AKI/Jakarta Post) - The June issue of Playboy Indonesia, the second ever in the world's most populous Muslim country, is not only free of steamy nude pictorials, but also conspicuously lacking in advertisements. White space occupied the pages where the glossy advertisements that filled April's first edition should have been placed. "These blank pages are dedicated to our loyal clients who have been threatened against placing ads in this magazine," was the message from publisher PT Velvet Silver Media on the 'bare' ad pages.
Although reticent advertisers may have pulled out due to the threats launched by Muslim hard-line groups, the publisher refused to be cowed by the Islamic extremists - it moved its office from Jakarta to the more hospitable location of Bali and prepared there the second issue of the magazine. The publisher's re-location to predominantly Hindu Bali provided the security it needed after a building housing its office in South Jakarta was vandalized in April.
"We decided to move our office and all editorial staffers to Bali as security and serenity is our main priority," said the magazine's editor in chief, Erwin Arnada, Antara newswire reported on Thursday. He added that the move to Bali prevented the publication of a May edition. "We feel safe after we moved to Bali and we had to prepare the second edition while we were also busy moving out. That is why we are late," Arnada concluded.
The June issue of the magazine, which hit Indonesian newsstands on Wednesday, offers bolder content than the first published last April.
The June playmate is Bali-based French beauty Amar Doriane, whose seductive poses in see-through lingerie make her April predecessor Kartika Gunawan look like a naive schoolgirl. Local model Joanna Alexandra also flaunts an alluring gaze as skimpy outfits expose her midriff and thighs.
OK, it's not the US Playboy. But, it's a start
It also has other content likely to offend the members of the hard-line groups, with two articles discussing items prohibited for consumption in Islam - pork and alcohol. The chairman of the Bali section of the Alliance for Independent Journalists, Anton Muhajir, writes about the huge success of pork meatball soup in Bali, with Javanese vendors of beef meatball soup finding very few customers. The report on pork is followed by an article about the thriving business of selling locally brewed beer in Yogyakarta.
The second issue of Playboy Indonesia also features a long interview with death-row convict Fabianus Tibo, a Christian who was sentenced to death for his role in the Poso sectarian conflict. Poso - the main port and transportation hub for the northeastern coast of Central Sulawesi - was heavily damaged in an ethnic/religious conflict between Muslims and Christians over several years in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the town is currently almost exclusively controlled by Muslim forces. Radical groups have urged the government to expedite the execution of Tibo.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/08/2006 08:59 ||
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Indonesia become an Islamic state? Next you're going to tell me that the Vatican City is going to be a Catholic state. Indonesia is basically Islamic. The version of islam is more than a tad bit different from Iran or Saudi. While rads can make inroads and, like everywhere else, become the local bully, its not likely to be sustainable in the entire country. Remember the phrase 'He who defends everything, defends nothing'. You need to focus.
The Philippine government remains hopeful a peace deal with the largest Muslim rebel group will be signed by September despite protracted talks over land, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyos peace adviser said yesterday.
Jesus Dureza, who once sat as the chief negotiator with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (Milf), said Manila was offering the Muslim rebels broader powers to govern in a wider area of the south of the mainly Roman Catholic country.
Our position is there was a timeline agreed upon by both sides. Were still sticking with that timeline, Dureza, a former congressman and journalist, told Reuters at his office.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 00:59 ||
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Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday Iran is ready to discuss "mutual concerns" over its nuclear program and claimed the West had given in to the will of the Iranian nation. Ahmadinejad did not say whether Iran accepted a Western proposal for resuming negotiations that demands Tehran suspend uranium enrichment in return for a package of incentives . "On behalf of the Iranian nation, I'm announcing that the Iranian nation will never hold negotiations about its definite rights with anybody, but we are for talks about mutual concerns to resolve misunderstandings in the international arena," Ahmadinejad told thousands of people in Qazvin, west of the capital Tehran.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/08/2006 10:48 ||
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TEHERAN - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that there would be no concession over Irans right to pursue nuclear technology, indicating that Teheran would reject the new international proposals to defuse the crisis around Irans nuclear programme.
We will never ever make any concessions or negotiations on our legitimate right and will not allow the West to tell us what to do and what to decide, the president said in a speech in Qazvin, central Iran, which was broadcast live on the news network Khabar. The West would make a grave mistake in believing that the Iranian nation would negotiate about its destiny because Iran would not retreat one iota from its undeniable rights to pursue peaceful nuclear technology, Ahmadinejad added.
Thanks, Mahmoud. I knew we could count on you.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/08/2006 10:07 ||
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BEIRUT - Lebanese leaders are due to resume crucial roundtable talks on Thursday amid rows over the disarmament of the pro-Syrian Lebanese Shiite militant Hezbollah which only recently clashed with Israeli troops on the borders. On Thursday, leading Lebanese politicians are due to continue to discuss the last item on the agenda of the roundtable talks: a defense strategy for Lebanon in the face of the potential Israeli danger.
In which Lebanese army forces will step aside so that the Israelis can gobsmack Hezbollah.
Pro-Syrian groups, led by Hezbollah, have rejected domestic and international proposals to disarm the militant group or integrate its guerrillas within the ranks of the regular army.
The anti-Syrian parliamentary majority, led by Hariris son MP Saad Hariri and Druze leader MP Walid Jumblatt, insists that once the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms border area is liberated, Hezbollah should be disarmed.
So even Wally is hewing to the Shebaa myth. I guess he wants to live.
Sources close to the parliamentary majority said Wednesday they will present a defense strategy which keeps the decision-making for the protection of Lebanon in the hands of the state and the regular army.
Which is generally what a nation-state does, when they're truly a nation-state and not a colony or vassal.
Nasrallah said Monday: We will go to the negotiation table in a comfortable situation because we have proposed our (defense) strategy ... but what is the vision of the other parties to protect Lebanon?
Hezbollah MP Mohamad Raad told Al-Balad daily on Wednesday that if participants do not agree on a defense strategy to protect Lebanon, the situation will remain as it is and the resistance will continue.
Pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud said earlier this week that anyone who seeks to disarm Hezbollah will be considered a traitor.
His lips move and yet you never see the hand behind him.
Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, once a close aide to Hariri, maintained that our position is clear: we want to liberate this occupied land (Shebaa), and at the same time we want to regain state sovereignty.
You could toss the Syrians, that would help with the sovereignty.
If these (Hezbollah) weapons are for the liberation of the land, why would arms be kept once the lands are liberated? he said.
Ummm, to kill Joooos?
Jumblatt also said today we are discussing the way to build a state ... to send the army to the south, to have Hezbollah surrender his weapons to the government as well as to draw the borders and establish diplomatic relations with Syria.
In seven rounds of talks since March 2, leaders were unable to find a consensus on the future of the countrys embattled president who the anti-Syrian camp wanted to remove from power.
Because Emile knows that he's a dead man the second he steps down.
But they reached agreement to establish an international court to try those responsible for Hariris killing, to dismantle Palestinian military bases in Lebanon, to work to normalise relations with the former powerbroker Syria and to define borders between the two countries. But the last three points have yet to be implemented as they require the cooperation of Damascus, which has rejected calls to define the border in the Shebaa Farms area before Israel pulls out of the territory.
Thus keeping everything frozen in place to their benefit.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/08/2006 00:00 ||
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I have a grudging admiration for Nasrallah the politician: he keeps the Lebanese politicos hopping and guessing nonstop. In my widest imagination I find it difficult to believe that the Lebanese Army will defang the "Resistance". The Lebanese Army doesn't even assert gun-control measures over the Paleo militias in their midst...and we are supposed to believe they will disarm their fellow Lebanese? Upshot: NRA will disarm voluntarily before Hezbullah does the same...
DAMASCUS - Syrian writer Mohammed Ghanem has been sentenced to six months in jail by a military court for having offended President Bashar al-Assad, a human rights group said on Wednesday.
The Syrian National Human Rights Organisation said Ghanem was convicted on Tuesday by a court in the central town of Raqqa. He was found guilty of offending the president of the republic, damaging the image of the state and incitement to confessional dissent, the groups president, Ammar Qorabi, said in a statement.
Ghanem was arrested on March 31 at his home after he published articles on the Internet critical of the domestic situation in Syria.
Can't have that, can they. Doc Assad is a very secure man, y'know.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/08/2006 00:00 ||
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Remember, he was supposedly the epitome of Moderate Mulsim leaders.
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad yesterday accused the United States of leading the world into another global conflict in which nuclear could be used.
Mahathir said that the US-led invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, and Washington's threats to attack Iran over its nuclear programme were tantamount to a "fourth World War." He described the Cold War as the third World War.
"Maybe this is an alarmist view ... but the fourth World War is already on and unless something is done, it will spread from Iraq and Afghanistan to Iran and beyond," said Mahathir, an outspoken critic of the West who had described the US as a "mass murderer" for its invasion of Iraq.
He told reporters that what was more "frightening" was that nuclear weapons could be used in the new war.
Mahathir said he was in Iran recently and was convinced that Iranians would not give up their right to a peaceful nuclear programme, which the US says is capable of building weapons. Iran insists it only wants to produce energy.
Mahathir claimed the Iranians have trained 14,000 suicide bombers who "will not confine themselves to Iran," citing press reports which he did not identify.
The Perdana Leadership Foundation, a non-governmental organization headed by Mahathir, will hold a three-day seminar from June 20 to call on world leaders to criminalize war. Among those attending are Dennis Halliday and Hans Von Sponeck, who both separately held the post of UN assistant secretary-general.
Mahathir, who retired in 2003 after 22 years in power, said the only way to prevent war is to elect leaders who commit themselves to settling disputes through negotiations and not through killing and violence. "That to us is very primitive," he said.
However, he showed sympathy with Iraqi insurgents who have killed hundreds of in their war against US troops.
"Nobody should kill, but there are instances when people have no means to defend themselves. They don't have bombs???, they don't have rockets???, they are in fact defending themselves," he said. Source: China Daily
#1
WWIV started on 9/11/01. Mahathir probably heard about it. Maybe even praised Allah for it at Friday prayers.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
06/08/2006 6:02 Comments ||
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What he really means is if this is settled through force we are going to lose, the way we are going to win is through 'negotiation' and gradually rolling back our opponent's advantage.
#3
"Notice me! Notice me!" Mahatir screamed, stamping his tiny feet in impotent rage. "It's still my turn! My fifteen minutes aren't up yet! Why are you lavishing your attention on that Chavez bastard when it's me you really want? Damn you all, I'm important too! . . .
Posted by: Mike ||
06/08/2006 7:00 Comments ||
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What he really means is if this is settled through force we are going to lose, the way we are going to win is through 'negotiation' and gradually rolling back our opponent's advantage.
That worked so well during the 1930s.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
06/08/2006 7:58 Comments ||
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Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran are hardly the "world". This clown has delusions of grandeur.
However, if he'd like to call it the US-Muzzie war, I'd be happy with that moniker.
#6
who had described the US as a "mass murderer" for its invasion of Iraq.
I truly believe these muzzies know so little of history that they are not aware of the mass murder we can commit when properly aroused. Someone from the Japanese embassy should pay a visit and familiarize them on the alternative consequences of opposing versus playing ball with Uncle Sam.
#7
He was a loudmouthed troublemaker his entire time as PM of Malaysia. I always hoped we'd bitchslap him like he deserved but what happened was even better--we ignored him. That drove his lame wannabe butt slap berserk. He's just a second-class jerk who wants his betters to notice him--a bandarlog
Posted by: mac ||
06/08/2006 8:40 Comments ||
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He described the Cold War as the third World War.
That's what I think history will finally call it. It was a global war against communist expansionism fought by the major powers through proxies. Korea and Vietnam were the two major conflicts with Central/South America and other small 'brushfire' conflicts in Africa and Asia. In places such as Korea and Cuba it's still lingering on with a up-tick in South America with socialists coming back into power.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/08/2006 12:34 Comments ||
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Remember, he was supposedly the epitome of Moderate Mulsim leaders.
Shortly after 9/11 I read a book (Islam Beyond Violence IIRC) that held him up as just that. Sadly, I'm not sure the book was wrong.
#12
Mahathir is a moderate because he believes the ummah must build up their strength before attacking the infidels.
Posted by: ed ||
06/08/2006 12:50 Comments ||
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You know the [God-based] Left > America and only America is undeniably and unconditionally and unequivocally, but only PC and co-incidentally, to blame for the nuclear war the Failed Left wants to fight anyways Year 2015-2020 against anti/non-Socialist-Communist, non-OWG suborned, Fascist = HalfCommunist America = Amerikka!?
The 90-page sixth issue, April 2006 edition of the Vanguards of Kharasan, a periodic magazine published by the Media Committee of the al-Qaeda mujahideen in Afghanistan and electronically distributed across several jihadist forums, contains several articles addressing the condition of the mujahideen and Crusader forces in both Afghanistan and Iraq. The publication also evaluates speeches from terrorist leaders such as Usama bin Laden, Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, and Mullah Omar, and provides general mujahideen information, including the biography of Sheikh Abu Yihya and proper activities that mujahideen should engage during their jihad.
An editorial opening the magazine explains that its dissemination was delayed for several months due to the intensifications of attacks led by the infidel and collaborating forces to drive the mujahideen away from Pakistan. The author issues thanks to the Pakistani tribes who helped the mujahideen, specifically those in the regions of North and South Waziristan. This is followed by the first article, Magnificent Return of the Leader of the Jihadi Process, written by Hussam Abdul Ruuf, who describes Usama bin Ladens January 2006 speech as restoring pride in the chests of his lovers and instill distress and grief in his enemies. To this end Ruuf quotes passages from this speech about the purported American intention to not relinquish from war. He also writes positively of Zawahiris speech in which he reminds Hamas of their duty to the Islamic Nation, and Mullah Omars announcement that this coming summer will be hot for the American and Western forces. Ruuf also mentions U.S. President George W. Bushs visit to Southeast and Central Asia, allegedly seeking to apply full pressure on Afghanistan to guarantee the calm withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan.
Of considerable length, an article written by Abdul Majid Abdul Majed titled: The Sides of the Conflict: Targets and Results, evaluates the targets of the Crusading enemy, dangers and obstacles facing jihadist activities, and advice predicated on past experiences. Abdul Majid divides his section into two branches, one dealing with Afghanistan and the other with Iraq, writing of the enemys purpose and the hubris they exhibit. He states: The Americans are in a difficult predicament. On the one hand, they cannot remain in light of the great losses afflicting them every day. On the other, they cannot exit and leave Iraq. The article continues to discuss the American strategy and available options, and their alleged intention to occupy Syria and Iran. In addition, Abdul Majid looks at the danger of the collaborating governments and Iran, and disputes amongst the jihad groups, advising that refuge be sought in Allah and the mujahideen must strive to fulfill the duties of jihad. By that, he writes that suicide operations must be expanded, attacks launched within Israel, exploiting the geography and composition of the people in the battlefronts, opening further fronts against the Americans, and proselytizing.
Other pieces within the issue include field reports of mujahideen operations between October 2005 and January 2006, common mistakes exhibited by the mujahideen in jihad, announcement of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan regarding their martyrs, and a biography of Sheikh Aby Yihya the Mortar, a contemporary and close friend of Abdullah Azzam who died of nose cancer, as a result of inhaling the vapors and smoke emitted from the mortar shells and the heavy weapons in which he specialized.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 01:37 ||
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I imagine Western intelligence services rather appreciate this. Winnowing the wheat from the chaff and selecting counter-moves and ops must generate some interesting brainstorming sessions.
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures tumbled $10 an ounce early Thursday as the dollar rallied on continued rate hike expectations and news of the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, ... Ululation this is GOOD and the metals market KNOWS it
... the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, in a Baghdad air strike. The announcement by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki sent oil futures below $70 a barrel and sent the dollar higher.
Gold for August delivery was last trading down $9.60 at $622.90 ... its $613.90 at time of posting
... an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange after earlier touching $620.70, its lowest level since April 21. Other metals fell sharply too. Silver was down 36 cents at $11.53 an ounce, platinum fell $15.50 to $1,216 an ounce, palladium fell $9.85 to $328.90 an ounce and copper was down 14.9 cents at $3.435 a pound.
Kevin Kerr, trader and editor of Global Resources Trader, a newsletter published by MarketWatch, said the market's initial reaction to the Zarqawi news may be short-lived. oh yes voice of gloom
The news "seems to have sent a message that oil production in Iraq may increase and that the death also somehow is good for the dollar," ... if he can't see why it woul dbe good for the dollar to win in Iraq he shouldn't be an economic commentator
... he said. "As we have seen in the past though, if anything the killing may lead to more attacks and even worse violence, having exactly the opposite effect." Rubbish. He'll be proved wrong. We have just dealt a big blow and made our enemies look like the weak horse. They will lose support and followers. THey lose honour, we gain it. Attacks will reduce. Violence will be reduced. Rebuilding will be easier. This guy's an idiot
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/08/2006 10:37 ||
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The gold market has long been a pet peeve of mine. It seems to thrive on doom, gloom, and the hope vision of some Mad Max sorta future.
Posted by: SLO Jim ||
06/08/2006 12:37 Comments ||
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I noticed the DOW went down over 100+ points last time I checked. Why would they do that when Zarqs death is GOOD news? Asking since I have no idea how the market works.
Posted by: Charles ||
06/08/2006 14:24 Comments ||
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Because Asian markets went down 3% yesterday.
Posted by: ed ||
06/08/2006 14:35 Comments ||
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I bot some stuff around 11 or so and I thought the market was off almost 200 at that point - it sure has rallied.
Down only 36-ish at this point.
Oil has fallen 1.7% to below $70 for the first time in two weeks after the death of al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq, where crude exports have been curbed by frequent sabotage attacks and instability.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/08/2006 09:04 ||
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I do *not* like the fact that the $ rises against the euro, it dampens my compulsive internet buying spree. I hope the US authorities will take that into account the next time they wish to bump off a terrorist supremo. Think about me, dammit!
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.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - More than 250 Afghans were arrested after a riot in Kabul last week that killed about 20 people, the intelligence chief said Wednesday. A roadside bomb killed three Afghan troops, and the U.S.-led coalition confirmed the deaths of two American soldiers.
ADDIS ABABA - Dissident factions of two Darfur rebel groups that have rejected a peace deal for the troubled western Sudanese region are to sign onto the pact this week, African Union officials said on Wednesday.
THE uncle of a suicide bomber who killed 21 people in an al-Qaeda attack on a synagogue on the Tunisian island resort of Djerba in 2002 has been sentenced to 20 years in jail, a court official said. 
BRITISH police were given three more days today to question two men arrested by anti-terrorism police in a raid on a house suspected of being used for making a chemical bomb. The men, one of whom was shot during the operation, were detained after more than 250 officers, some wearing chemical, biological and radiological protection suits, raided a house in Forest Gate, east London, last Saturday.
Security experts are urging the federal government to crack down on Islamic extremists who may be preaching hatred in Canada's mosques, following the stunning arrest of 17 Toronto residents on terrorism-related charges. "That is, not allowing extremists to come here so easily, and asking those who are preaching extremism to get out of here -- making sure they are removed," Martin Collacott, an immigration analyst, told CTV News.
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan on Wednesday announced financial assistance worth three million dollars for the Palestinians and reiterated full support for the Palestinian cause of achieving an independent homeland.
Recently reported incidents:
BAGHDAD - Almost 600 prisoners were released in Iraq on Wednesday, state television reported, a day after new Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki said a total of 2,500 would be freed to help foster national reconciliation. It was one of the biggest such releases of prisoners held in Iraqi or American detention since US-led forces invaded the country three years ago to topple Saddam Hussein.
While the Hamas/Palestinian Authority continues to claim hunger and impoverishment because of the world's financial boycott, 111 truckloads of TV sets have entered Gaza over the past two weeks. The televisions, imported by Israelis and resold to PA importers for sale to end users, were shipped through the Karni Crossing. The upswing in television purchases in the PA may be related to the start of the World Cup soccer games in Europe, broadcast throughout the Middle East. The price in Israel to watch the World Cup is some 300 shekels.
AMMAN - Jordans King Abdullah II said Wednesday, on the eve of talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, that his country will never be a substitute homeland for the Palestinians.
JERUSALEM - The European Union has proposed creating an aid mechanism for the Palestinians that would funnel up to $30 million a month to a limited group of government workers, sidestepping the Hamas-led government. The proposal, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters on Wednesday, must still be approved by the EUs partners in the Quartet of Middle East mediators -- the United States, Russia and the United Nations.
BEIRUT - Lebanese leaders are due to resume crucial roundtable talks on Thursday amid rows over the disarmament of the pro-Syrian Lebanese Shiite militant Hezbollah which only recently clashed with Israeli troops on the borders. On Thursday, leading Lebanese politicians are due to continue to discuss the last item on the agenda of the roundtable talks: a defense strategy for Lebanon in the face of the potential Israeli danger.
DAMASCUS - Syrian writer 
