On May 14 Barack Obama held a private meeting at Macomb Community College with Hassan Qazwini. What else happened on May 14? Could it be President Bush called out someone for talking with Terrorists?
Qazwini is the leader of the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn. Debbie Schlussel describes Qazwini as Hezbollah's most important imam and agent in America. Yep there it it the old Hezbollah = terorist connection. The stench of BO.... Kind of explains why he reacted so fast.
Obama's meeting with Qazwini came to light because of a brief report in the Detroit Free Press (with the photo above) deriving from Qazwini and his mosque. The Obama campaign has not itself posted any news account or press release regarding the meeting on its Obama News page. A Google News search on "Obama Qazwini" shows that news of the meeting has essentially remained a closely guarded secret.
The Free Press account states that the two discussed the presidential election, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the Iraq war, according to Qazwini. Schlussel asks why "this open anti-Semite and supporter of Israel's annihilation" was afforded the privilege of discussing "the Arab-Israeli conflict" in a private one-on-one meeting with Obama. Perhaps they were discussing what Obama referred to as the "legitimate claims" of Hamas and Hezbollah in his chat with David Brooks.
Schlussel has followed Qazwini's career for the past 10 years, decrying President Bush's meetings with Qazwini during the 2000 presidential campaign as well as in connection with the formulation of his faith-based initiative. Schlussel reports:
Qazwini is very open about his support for Palestinian homicide bombings, HAMAS, and Hezbollah. And he's a good friend of Hezbollah spiritual leader, Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah--the man who issued the fatwa to Hezbollah terrorists to murder over 300 U.S. Marines and U.S. Embassy civilians in cold blood. Qazwini's mosque has held rallies and celebrations in support of Hezbollah, and many of Hezbollah's biggest money-launderers and agents in America are his congregants.
When I went undercover to his mosque in 1998, he and others welcomed Nation of Islam chief racist Louis Farrakhan as "our dear brother" and "a freedom fighter." Qazwini applauded Farrakhan's anti-Semitic statements saying that Jews were the "forces of Satan" and that there needed to be a "jihad" on the American people.
Schlussel has more on her 1998 undercover visit to Qazwini's mosque at the time of Farrakhan's visit in her October 2001 post.
#2
Good find. Damn, not only is Hussein supremely arrogant but extremely stoopid. He thinks no one knows he's a Muzz ? Or is he merely talking to the enemy, like he proposes with Imadinnerjacket ?
KABUL, May 19 (Reuters) - NATO has sent in more U.S. reinforced troops along the Afghan border anticipating peace deals between Pakistan and the Taliban will allow the insurgents to launch more attacks into Afghanistan, NATO's commander in Afghanistan said.
Pakistan has begun Re-deploying thinning out troops in parts of its border region and freed Taliban prisoners to try to seal a peace with al Qaeda-linked militants active on both sides of the frontier.
"Our analysis of the previous peace deals ... is that when that dialogue is ongoing or when talks have been consummated in peace deals we see a spike in the untoward events that we experience on our side of the border," said General Dan McNeill, commander of NATO's 47,000-strong International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.
NATO says there has already been a sharp increase in militant attacks in eastern Afghanistan, the area closest to the parts of Pakistan where peace talks are underway. Mostly U.S. troops are responsible for helping Afghan forces patrol mountainous region.
"We are going to have a bit of a plus-up in the U.S. sector," McNeill told Reuters. "Because we expect more activity there, we attune some of our intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance processes and systems to focus where we anticipate things." The German and some of the other girly boy NATO allies will be safe.
ISAF, some 12,000 troops in a separate U.S.-led coalition force and more than 100,000 Afghan soldiers and police are fighting to contain a Taliban insurgency relaunched two years ago with a guerrilla campaign, backed by suicide and roadside bombs.
More than 6,000 people were killed in the violence last year, some 2,000 of them civilians, NGOs estimate. I thought it was 8,000 with mostly Taliban dead? Those NGOs just love to play with the numbers.
The Taliban are made up of several loosely allied groups which make their own operational plans, but accept guidance from a shura, or council, led by the reclusive Mullah Mohammad Omar.
"I don't know that Mullah Omar is alive. I don't know if he's dead either," said McNeill. "But I do believe there is a shura and I do believe it is located outside Afghanistan. It might possibly be in one of several Pakistani cities."
AL QAEDA HELP
Several Taliban militants have been killed in recent weeks in a series of apparent airstrikes on safe-houses on Pakistan's side of the border. The Taliban and Pakistani officials have said U.S. unmanned aircraft carried out the attacks.
Asked whether his forces would carry out strikes against the Taliban inside Pakistan, McNeill said: "The NATO mandate goes only as far as the border, that's as far as I'll go." The CIA and Spec Op's mandate goes a little further.
Intelligence reports suggested there were fewer foreign fighters with the Taliban this year, he said, but there was evidence of al Qaeda money, weapons and training helping the insurgents, especially in the east.
"In a couple of locations in the U.S. sector we have engaged insurgents and post-engagement we have discovered on some of the dead ones better equipment and in the process of engaging them we have seen better tactics indicating a better level of training," McNeill said.
Afghan forces were also much improved, he said, and "barring any cataclysmic occurrence", should be ready to fully take over security in Afghanistan by 2011 if they continued to make progress at the present rate.
Still, the Taliban are not the biggest threat to security.
"It seems to me there are two big threats out there are neither are the insurgent," McNeill said.
"I don't think this country can continue on its present path and expect reasonable progress if it doesn't take on the scourge of illegal narcotics," he said. "Secondly I think that governance has to improve greatly; the government has to extend its reach and it has to eliminate corruption." If they could discover perpetual motion they would have a Hat Trick of miracles.
Afghanistan produces 93 percent of the world's opium, a drug processed into highly addictive heroin and exported to the West. The lucrative trade is one of the biggest factors making Afghanistan one of the most corrupt countries in the world.
Both undermine public faith in the Afghan government and threaten to undo military efforts to defeat the insurgency.
(Xinhua) -- The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) on Sunday described the UN rapporteur report of civilians killing by Afghanistan-based international forces as groundless and rejected it.
After 12 days of tour to different parts of Afghanistan and talks with Afghans and military officials, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions Professor Philip Alston told newsmen on May 15 in his preliminary report that some 200 Afghan civilians had been killed in international forces operations over the past four months.
NATO's Civilian spokesman to Afghanistan Mark Laity termed the report as "disappointing" and "inaccurate".
"In summary we find much of the substance and the overall tone of his statement inaccurate and unsubstantiated," Laity told a press conference here Sunday. He said the report presented by Alston, had made strong allegation.
Alston in his report also added that the military commanders of the NATO had not provided details on civilian killings when approached.
Quoting an Afghan, the U.N. rapporteur said that a poor Afghan even was not allowed to ask why the troops kill his brother. "This is not only rejected by ISAF, but we consider it an irresponsible remark given the absence of evidence offered and the seriousness of the allegation," Laity noted. He moreover stressed that ISAF troops operate within strict rule of engagement and within laws of armed conflict.
A considerable number of civilians had been killed in foreign troops' operations against insurgents in Afghanistan and the trendprompted Afghan President Hamid Karzai to ask NATO and the U.S.-led Coalition forces to coordinate operations with Afghan authorities to cease civilian deaths.
When asked to comment on the number of civilians killed by the international troops during military operations so far this year in Afghanistan, Laity said, "It would be low double figure." He did not give a precise figure, saying it could be tens and not hundreds. "We hope and expect these inaccuracies will be addressed in the final report," Laity emphasized.
Afghan defense ministry spokesman Zahir Azimi who accompanied Laity at the conference also said that, "We do not agree with the report presented by Professor Alston."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/19/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Anyone who allows him or herself to be called a "rapporteur" by the press ought to have the common decency to kill themselves, thus sparing their families the ignominy of having produced such a worthless and malicious blight upon humanity.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
05/19/2008 10:44 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Of course, the UN rapper (or whatever his title is) did not bother to talk to the Taliban, who a) hide among civilians in violation of the rules of war, and b) deliberately target civilians.
I am sure that most of the civilian casualties from NATO were unexpected collateral damage, rather than deliberate acts. And that the NATO forces work very hard to minimize civilian casualties.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
05/19/2008 17:27 Comments ||
Top||
(Xinhua) -- Egypt has deployed its signal corps force in the western Sudanese region of Darfur as part of the AU-UN Hybrid Force there, the Egyptian MENA news agency reported on Sunday.
The corps comprising 92 technicians took position in Darfur, which will be followed by another 83-strong force of Signals battalion to join the Egyptian contingent in the war-torn region, MENA quoted a statement by the UN Information Center in Cairo as saying.
Egypt has pledged to send a 1,200-strong contingent to the Sudanese region to complete deployment by end of June, the report added.
Deteriorating security, harsh conditions and other obstacles in Darfur have considerably slowed the deployment of the UN-African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) in the Sudanese region, according to UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Marie Guehenno.
When fully operational, UNAMID, authorized by the UN Security Council in July, 2007, will become the largest peacekeeping force in the world, with almost 26,000 troops and police officers and nearly 5,000 civilian staff.
At the beginning of this year, the joint force took over from the ill-equipped and undermanned AU Mission in Sudan (AMIS) but has since faced various challenges in its own deployment.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/19/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
will become the largest peacekeeping force in the world, with almost 26,000 military and police rapists and nearly 5,000 civilian rapists.
Following heavily armed islamist fighters seizing Harar dhere town in Mudug region central Somalia on Sunday they have publicized a new campaign against the pirates: residents confirmed. The government troops that were in the town have pulled out after they received reports saying that the islamists have came into the town. One of the islamists commanders arrived in Harardhere who delivered speech to the residents of the town have acknowledged that they would fight against the pirates recurrently hijack the ships arriving in Somali coasts. We will not absolve the pirates and those associated to them, in the name of Allah we will behead them if they come in our hand one Alshabab commander told the crowds turned out in the town center when the fighters arrived in. They have also told that they would remove the road blocks in Mudug region.
Some residents told Mareeg online that the fighters have headed to other areas in the region after they drove out from Harardhere.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/19/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic Courts
BOGOTA, Colombia A wanted leader of Latin America's largest guerrilla army handed herself over to Colombian authorities on Sunday, Colombia's defense minister said.
Eldaneyis Mosquera, also known as "Karina," was one of the most senior women in the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. She operated in the country's mountainous, northwestern region, where security officials blamed her for a series of attacks and kidnappings.
"We've been after this woman for a long time" Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos told reporters.
The FARC has recently taken a number of hits in northwestern Colombia, where its leader was killed in March by a subordinate who then handed himself over to authorities.
Earlier this month, President Alvaro Uribe asked Mosquera in a public speech to turn herself in.
She surrendered in the province of Antioquia, some 93 miles (150 kilometers) northwest of Bogota.
#1
Actually she turned herself in after witnessing a semi-invisible warrior skin and decapitate several men during the hottest time of the year.
[/geek]
#7
The 9/11 culprits spent about $2 million to pull off the attack. It cost the US economy an estimated $26 billion. So much for the one 1/100th argument...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
05/19/2008 17:34 Comments ||
Top||
#8
So the Donks want a replay of the Carter 2000 theme? It worked so well back then. A twofer, getting to hammer BO and Jimmy in the same election. If BO wants to play McCain as nothing more than Bush, then McCain can play BO as nothing more then Carter.
#10
Obewan doesn't seem to know that Iran has been seeking technology that would enable production of nuclear tipped ICBMs. And they are currently projecting power in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Turkey. Barack Hussein is Arabic for: gas-bag.
#11
FOX NEWS AM [part]> DICK MORRIS > IIHC/IICC, I believe MORRIS was saying that in OBAMA's view, a US withdrawal from Iraq was okay becuz iff IRAN ever did become a de fact mil threat, to ISRAEL = IRAQ-MIDDLE EAST, the USA WILL BE RIGHT THERE NEXT DOOR IN KUWAIT??? MORRIS > OBAMA's view was nonsensical becuz it risked the USA firstly not only leaving its curr Iraqi mission incomplete and Iraq becoming heavily subject to foreign manipulation and interference, but also becuz it risked having the US to militarily come back in again to finally finish the job it should had finished/completed in the first place??? MORRIS ALSO OPINED THAT IRAN DOES INTEND TO PROJECT/EXTEND ITS POWER-INFLUENCE + DE FACTO DOMINATE THE PERSIAN GULF + MIDDLE EAST REGIONS.
#16
See TOPIX > IRAN HAS WON IN LEBANON; + IRAN-DAILY > IRAN CALLS HEZBOLLAH AND HAMAS THE MOST NOBLE AND POPULAR GROUPS IN LEBANON.
*ALso from IRAN-DAILY > MORE RADICALS ENTER/WIN in KUWAITI PARLIAMENT. Ala TURKEY, CHANGE IN THE ME WILL COME FROM WITHIN AND SAID CHANGE IS BEING LED BY THE RADICALS FROM WITHIN THE GOVT PROCESS???
Republican Senator Jon Kyl said Barack Obama's willingness to negotiate with Iran shows ``weak judgment,'' signaling his party will likely focus on portraying the Democratic presidential candidate as naive about rogue nations.
Obama's stance of holding talks ``without preconditions'' with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ``shows weak judgment, and frankly, naivete,'' Kyl, the No. 2 Republican leader in the Senate, said on ``Fox News Sunday.''
Obama, the likely Democratic nominee, said May 16 that ``tough diplomacy'' is needed to pressure Iran to foreswear a quest for nuclear weapons. He had said earlier in the campaign that he wouldn't rule out meeting with leaders of hostile states, unlike Republican President George W. Bush.
``What would Senator Obama be talking to Ahmadinejad about, this man who calls Israel a stinking corpse, who said that Israel should be wiped off the face of the earth?'' Kyl said on ``Fox News Sunday.''
Posted by: Fred ||
05/19/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
NYT - Obama: Man of the World He once got in trouble for making faces during Koran study classes in his elementary school, but a president is less likely to stereotype Muslims as fanatics and more likely to be aware of their nationalism if he once studied the Koran with them.
Mr. Obama recalled the opening lines of the Arabic call to prayer, reciting them with a first-rate accent. In a remark that seemed delightfully uncalculated (itll give Alabama voters heart attacks), Mr. Obama described the call to prayer as one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset.
So what part of "Death to America!" does Obama propose to negotiate, the timing? Or will Obama will settle for a severe maiming?
Posted by: ed ||
05/19/2008 8:28 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Senator Barak Hussein OBORAH
truth be told - other then the dumb quote about Hitler, Sen Borah did have many redeeming qualities I cannot lend to BHO.
#4
...why does Senator Obama want to sit down with a state sponsor of terrorism?''
It didn't work with Hitler. He invaded Czechoslovakia and Poland. He betrayed and broke his agreements. It didn't work with Kruechev. The evil empire collapsed because the pressure was maintained and then ratcheted up some more. The only thing that would work with Ahmadinejad is to put his nuts in a vice and then tighten.
Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., spoke this morning against President Bush's claim that those who want to negotiate with terrorists are taking the false comfort of appeasement.
Foreign Relations Committee head on Iran, Obama and vice presidency."This is raw, raw politics, demeaning to the presidency of the United States of America," Biden said in an exclusive interview on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos."
Biden explained his belief that the comments made to the Israeli parliament were targeted at Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. "I mean, literally, imagine what our friends, even our foes in the capitals from Paris to Tokyo thought, seeing the president of the United States in the Knesset, attacking another senator."
Biden, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, backed Obama's plan to engage in unconditional talks with the Iranians. "You either talk, you go to war, or you maintain the status quo," he explained. "What's the alternative to talking with a country that's building a nuclear weapon, attempting to, that, in fact, is helping kill Americans by supporting elements in Iraq that are killing Americans?"
Posted by: Fred ||
05/19/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
"This is raw, raw politics, demeaning to the presidency of the United States of America"
Almost as "demeaning" as listening to 8 years of "I did not have sex with that woman."
#2
"You either talk, you go to war, or you maintain the status quo,"
I think we could come up with a few more options if we tried. Reagan was a pretty good chessmaster and he never had to go to war or maintain the status quo with the USSR. He did talk, but he also did much more. All these assholes in DC think we are too stupid to see past what they tell us, and I mean both parties. I really can't see anything happening in the next 4 years to improve our situation, two communists and a quasi-con to choose from.
#3
Newsflash Slow Joe Biden: Barack Obama has already said he would invade Pakistan. Or is Barack all talk and hot air, like you?
Posted by: ed ||
05/19/2008 8:57 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Joltin' Joe stumbled out of the Senate cloakroom yesterday long enough to mumble incoherently about something that had apparently offended his sensitivity. He then burped, excused himself, and disappeared back into the shadows. Another Delaware heard from.
Yesterday: "If Iran ever tried to pose a serious threat to us, they wouldn't stand a chance."
Today: "Iran is a grave threat...The reason Iran is so much more powerful than it was a few years ago is because of the Bush-McCain policy of fighting in Iraq and refusing to pursue direct diplomacy with Iran. Theyre the ones who have not dealt with Iran wisely.
TOP Taliban militants - including possibly Mullah Omar's deputy Mullah Obaidullah Akhund - were believed to be on their way back to the battlefield last night after being freed by Pakistan's new Government as part of a deal to gain the release of the country's kidnapped ambassador to Kabul.
A full-scale withdrawal of Pakistan forces was under way from region of South Waziristan.
At the same time, reports indicated that a full-scale withdrawal of Pakistan forces was under way from the strategic region of South Waziristan, which is dominated by the al-Qa'ida- and Taliban-linked commander Baitullah Mehsud and serves as a key launching pad for attacks on coalition forces in Afghanistan.
The released ambassador, Tariq Azizuddin, seized by militants before Islamabad's election in February as he drove with bodyguards inside Pakistan territory along the main highway that leads to Afghanistan, is believed to have been held in South Waziristan.
Last night, as Mr Azizuddin was reunited with his family at his home in Rawalpindi, government officials insisted no deal had been done to secure his release. Pakistani newspapers reported that at least 12 "senior militants" including Mullah Obaidullah - Afghanistan's defence minister when the Taliban held power in Kabul, and a legendary fighter whose importance, analysts say, cannot be overstated - were freed as part of a deal in which 55 Pakistani soldiers as well as Mr Azizuddin were released, though Islamabad officials denied this.
Conflicting reports said that while Mullah Obaidullah was on the top of a list of more than 50 Taliban commanders whose release was demanded as part of the deal, Islamabad had declined to free him. Linked to the release deal, however, are believed to be the military pullout from South Waziristan and other moves to reach peace accords with the militants.
The prospect of some of the most hardline and effective jihadi militants being freed, and of the pullout from South Waziristan presaging similar retreats elsewhere, is likely to cause serious dismay in Washington, within NATO and among nations concerned about the seriously stepped-up levels of cross-border infiltration into Afghanistan from Pakistan.
When he was captured by Pakistani forces in the Balochistan capital of Quetta in March last year, Mullah Obaidullah was regarded as an important catch in the war against the Taliban. US President George W. Bush is expected to seek personal assurances about the Pakistani Government's commitment to the war on terror when he meets Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum at Sharm el-Sheikh. Washington has made no bones about its apprehensions over the peace deals being negotiated, and events surrounding the release of Mr Azizuddin will, according to analysts in Islamabad, do nothing to mitigate those concerns.
Meanwhile, the political problems confronting the fledgling Government were underlined last night when it was announced that the powerful lawyers' movement credited with leading the fight for democracy against President Pervez Musharraf is to start another "long march" - this time to try to force the restoration to office of the country's sacked judges. A meeting in the Punjab capital of Lahore decided yesterday to target Pakistan People's Party leader Asif Ali Zardari. He is seen as the main obstacle to the reinstatement of the judges sacked when Mr Musharraf declared his state of emergency last November. The march, due to begin on June 10, with lawyers from across Pakistan setting out for Islamabad in what is set to pose a huge challenge for the Government, is aimed at forcing Mr Zardari to change his stance.
Reports last night said that as relations with his main coalition partner, Nawaz Sharif, deteriorate, Mr Zardari was working out a "minus Nawaz" strategy that, to the delight of Mr Musharraf, would see the evolution of a two-thirds majority for a coalition made up of the PPP and parties allied to Mr Musharraf.
This article starring:
Asif Ali Zardari
Baitullah Mehsud
Taliban
Mullah Obaidullah Akhund
Taliban
Nawaz Sharif
Tariq Azizuddin
Yousuf Raza Gilani
Posted by: Fred ||
05/19/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
I guess we know exactly how the current Pakistani "government" stands in the war against islamic extremism. Load up the BUFFS, George, and teach them a lesson they've needed a long time. If there are no Pashtuns left alive in Pakistan when we're through, that's a two-fer. Other than needing Karachi for a port, there's now no reason to play nice with the PERVerts in that part of the world. Pakistan was created in 1947: it needs to die in 2008.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/19/2008 17:37 Comments ||
Top||
The government of Pakistan should prevent American attacks on the innocent citizens of Bajaur, a TTP spokesman said on Sunday. Speaking from an undisclosed location, Maulvi Umar expressed concern over the action against militants in Darra Adam Khel and Swat, saying it might cause a serious blow to their peace talks. The Taliban are ready to safeguard the borders of Pakistan if the government can not do so with military means, said the spokesman. Umar said that ambassador Tariq Azizuddin was freed after successful talks with the government of Pakistan, adding that their negotiations with the government had entered into a decisive phase. He said the two sides would exchange prisoners in the coming days.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/19/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
But Muslim attacks are justified?
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/19/2008 20:58 Comments ||
Top||
Islamabad disagreed on Sunday with the United States intelligence assessment that Al Qaeda is using Pakistans Tribal Areas to plot attacks on the US as Operation Zalzala continues in South Waziristan.
"Zalzala" is apparently Urdu for "run away!"
No Pashtun is a terrorist, 14 Division GOC Maj-Gen Tariq Khan told journalists while showing them the forward positions of the army in a former stronghold of Baitullah Mehsud.
Guess it all depends on your definition of "terrorist." If it doesn't include Pashtuns by definition, I guess by definition no Pashtun would be included. That's logic, at least that's what Humpty Dumpty tells me.
He also disagreed with the US allegation that the Pakistan Army was being lenient with Al Qaeda and the Taliban. I would disagree with the US claims of [us] being soft on militants.
"Reluctant to engage, yes. Craven, yes. Even cowardly. But not soft. Certainly not soft."
School and hospital: Baitullah Mehsud-led Taliban militants used a government-run school as a training centre for suicide bombing and a hospital to make bombs and improvised explosive devices in South Waziristan, the GOC said.
But that's really not terrorism, since no Pashtun can be a terrorist by definition.
However, Gen Tariq said the international press had overrated Baitullah Mehsud. Geo News quoted Gen Khan as saying that the army had not withdrawn from South Waziristan but the troops positions were being changed to facilitate the displaced residents return.
"How're they being changed?"
"They're just being set up in different locations."
"Where are those locations?"
"Guatamala."
The civil administration of South Waziristan and military authorities are also formulating a mechanism to ensure militants do not return to their former strongholds.
This article starring:
Baitullah Mehsud
Taliban
Maj-Gen Tariq Khan
Posted by: Fred ||
05/19/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
#1
I got a lot of useless $hit, I can dump on this writer such as bridges, skyhooks, and swamp land. Like taking candy from a baby.
The Pakistan army sought on Sunday to allay Western fears that plans to pull back some troops from tribal lands meant it was relaxing its fight against a Pakistani Taliban commander.
"Tut tut! Nothing to worry about!... Duck! [KABOOM!]"
The army launched an offensive in January against Baitullah Mehsud's fighters in their stronghold in South Waziristan, one of Pakistan's seven semi-autonomous tribal regions on the border with Afghanistan. Mehsud, who declared himself the leader of the Pakistani Taliban and declared war on the government late last year, has been boxed in, surrounded in the Mehsud tribal lands since then.
That's whatcha might call a pretty optimistic description. You might also word that as "Ensconced in his apprently impenetrable mountain fastness, Baitullah pulls the strings that send all who cross him, and even many who don't, to often gory deaths, not the least of them Benazir Bhutto."
The army is now pulling back, to let the estimated 200,000 people who fled the fighting to return home. "We are now adjusting our positions to allow these refugees to move back to their homes because their crops are being destroyed... and their animals are dying of starvation," local army commander, Major General Tariq Khan, told journalists on a trip to Waziristan organized by the army.
"We're doing it for the children!"
He said his troops will have to relocate as it would be risky to hold onto their current positions with a civilian population on the move. "The army is still in control," said the general, who commands a 15,000 strong division from Dera Ismail Khan, a small city on the banks of the Indus River, south of Waziristan. Pakistan's new government, sworn in at the end of March, has begun a policy of engagement, negotiating through tribal leaders to persuade Mehsud to halt militant operations from the region.
This article starring:
Baitullah Mehsud
Taliban
Dera Ismail Khan
Major General Tariq Khan
Posted by: Fred ||
05/19/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
BAGHDAD (AFP) - A media rights group has called for a full probe into the 2003 shelling of a Baghdad hotel by US troops which killed two foreign journalists, claiming that new evidence showed the incident was not an accident
The International Federation of Journalists said the United States should "tell the whole truth" about the incident at the Palestine Hotel on April 8, 2003, just a day before Baghdad fell to US invading forces.
The IFJ said a former US army sergeant had reported seeing secret US documents that listed the hotel as a possible target, in a statement which it said "exposed as a cover-up" contained in the US allegation that the shelling was an accident.
"Slowly, the awful truth about the events of that day are emerging," IFJ general secretary Aidan White said in a statement.
"This latest information adds to our concern that the failure to properly investigate and report on this attack is covering up the reality that the US was recklessly putting media lives at risk."
Spanish cameraman Jose Couso, who worked for the private television station Telecinco, and Ukraine-born Reuters cameraman Taras Protsyuk, were killed at the hotel, which was home to about 150 journalists and media staff at the time.
A Spanish court last week threw out murder charges against three US soldiers over the Couso killing, saying there was insufficient evidence indicating an "intentional desire" by the US soldiers to target civilians in the hotel.
There was no immediate confirmation from the US military in Baghdad to the IFJ statement.
Iraq remains the most dangerous country from which to report.
According to Journalism Freedom Observatory, a group monitoring and defending the rights of Iraq journalists, 232 media employees -- including 22 foreigners -- have been killed since the 2003 US led-invasion.
Among them, 179 of them were killed while on the job, while the remainder were killed for sectarian reasons or in random acts of violence.
At least 14 journalists are also being held hostage by various groups, according to the media watchdog.
#1
...Read the book 'Thunder Run', which has a minute-by-minute description of the incident, written by a journalist who was there. This was a horrible, horrible accident, though these people will clearly never believe it.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
05/19/2008 11:59 Comments ||
Top||
#2
"The IFJ said a former US army sergeant had reported seeing secret US documents that listed the hotel as a possible target, in a statement which it said "exposed as a cover-up" contained in the US allegation that the shelling was an accident."
My best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with a girl who saw Ferris pass out at 31 Flavors last night. I guess it's pretty serious.
#3
Right, it wasn't an accident. The journalists deliberately pointed something that looked like a spotting device at an Abrams, and the Abrams -- the crew of which had been in close combat all night-- deliberately fired at the spotting device. It's nature's way of telling you to be seriously frickin' careful what you point at an Abrams.
Posted by: Matt ||
05/19/2008 12:21 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Well, the propagandists journalists WERE the greater threat....
#8
As Mike says, read "Thunder Run". It's a real page-turner and has a detailed description of this incident.
Long story short for all you lazy, illiterate sumbitches: troops were taking indirect fire; there was a report of a spotter in a named hotel; they could see someone on a hotel balcony with what appeared to be optical equipment. The US troops made an amazing effort, including overseas cell phone calls to reporters, to verify the hotel. Unable to do so, someone finally made the decision to smoke the cameraman who was in the wrong place at the wrong time doing something foolish. So much for getting that great live action footage. A very unfortunate accident.
#9
A media rights group has called for a full probe into the 2003 shelling of a Baghdad hotel by US troops which killed two foreign journalists, claiming that new evidence showed the incident was not an accident
Waaaa I want a PROBE too! [heh! Not that kind!] How come only two foreign journalists were taged?
Ima way disapointed that we didn't Compost more of Dem!
[humm..a few dozen 120mm DU rounds thru that Hotel at least!]
/from my healthy mind thank you
#10
It's nature's way of telling you to be seriously frickin' careful what you point at an Abrams.
I sense truth in the above and therefore read it into the record again.
Posted by: George Smiley ||
05/19/2008 19:12 Comments ||
Top||
#11
"Slowly, the awful truth about the events of that day are emerging,"
Like the demolition of the twin towers, the murder of JFK, the fake moon landings, and the aliens kept in the deep freeze at Area 51.
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/19/2008 20:55 Comments ||
Top||
#12
The "rights group" KNOW (wink,wink)
the hotel was targetted because its the one THEY were staying at. Them killer US soldiers were out to silence their "TRUTH TO POWER"!!!!! (patent pending, trademark applied for)
Ma'an Palestinian fighters will strike at "the heart of Israel" if the Israeli military launches a major offensive in the Gaza Strip, the spokesperson of the radical Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), Abu Mujahid, said on Saturday.
Abu Mujahid told Ma'an that the PRC would keep "many and various options" on the table should Israel escalate its attacks in Gaza.
He also said that a ceasefire with Israel is "the exception of the basic rule of dealing with the occupation which is based on the necessity to continue striking against it. The resistance is ready to all options of confrontation in case Israel rejected the Egyptian truce initiative or to attempt to get away from it by adding more difficult conditions to it."
Abu Mujahid added that "the Israeli leaders are walking against history they do not know the more the Palestinians are attacked the more determined they become to win their rights of Freedom and Return."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/19/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Popular Resistance Committees
#1
ION COUNTERRORISM BLOG > FOUR NEW TERROR GROUPS ADDED to list of INDIAN MILITANT-TERROR GROUPS.
#4
PRC spokesperson: major assault on Gaza would provoke attack in the "heart of Israel"
WHEN Israel Strikes at the Heart of Gaza, Hama$$'s Leadership will look like rejected Swiss Cheese but with alot more holes in it. Thanks to Mossad, Shabak, Aman and other secrete Israeli organs sauces...
#5
I'd be surprised if Israel didn't someday just nuke Gaza until it was a huge, glowing bay on the Mediterranean. The only problem I see with them nuking the West Bank is that it cuts down on their expansion room, once they've given up trying to please the paleostains or the rest of the world.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/19/2008 21:23 Comments ||
Top||
#6
OP: There are other ways to nuke. For example, the Israelis could smuggle a radiation source into the upper floor of a tall building. Activated by a radio signal, it would invisibly bathe the surrounding area with radiation for several days, then close and wait for pickup.
Who would notice if a Paleo neighborhood stopped having children, but got a lot of leukemias, cancers, and other lethal problems?
If done systematically, it could really empty out a town in just a few years.
Israel has agreed to release 71 Palestinian prisoners "with blood on their hands" as part of a deal for kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, a senior Hamas source told Ynet on Sunday.
These prisoners were included on the list of 300 Palestinian murderers Hamas has demanded that Israel release in the framework of a future prisoner exchange deal. A senior official in Jerusalem said Israel is not giving out details on the ongoing negotiations, which are being conducted with Egyptian mediation.
According to the Hamas, Shalit was mentioned by the Israeli government during the talks on a possible ceasefire with Palestinian factions in Gaza only to "appease the Israeli public". "The Israelis are not really working to release him and are hoping that Hamas and the organizations that abducted him will give in and accept their terms, but this will not happen," the source said. "If the current situation persists, Shalit will be our guest for many years to come."
Hamas is demanding that during the initial phase of the deal Israel release 450 prisoners, including those with "blood on their hands", simultaneous to the transfer of Shalit to Egyptian custody. Some 350 additional Palestinian prisoners, including women and children, are also expected to be freed by Israel in the framework of the exchange deal.
According to the formulated agreement, Israel will release between 200 and 500 more prisoners upon Shalit's arrival in Egypt.
Sources in Hamas and officials familiar with the negotiations reiterated that Shalit's release will not be linked to any ceasefire agreement with Israel. Members of the Islamist group said they rejected Israel's offer to release hundreds of Gaza residents as part of a deal for the Israeli soldier's return, calling it an attempt to intensify the rift between Gaza and the West Bank and brand Hamas a local rather than a national Palestinian force.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/19/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has urged Muslims to break the Israeli-led blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, and fight Arab governments that deal with the Jewish state, according to websites. "The duty to break this blockade falls upon our brothers in (Egypt) as they are the only ones that are on the border," bin Laden said in the recording. "Each one of us is responsible for the deaths of our oppressed people in Gaza and dozens upon dozens have died due to this oppressive blockade," he said.
Hamas gunmen blasted open the Rafah border crossing to Egypt for several days early in the year until the Egyptian authorities, reviled by bin Laden for their relations with Israel, moved in troops and closed it again.
The authenticity of the tape could not immediately be verified, but the voice sounded like bin Laden's previous tapes. The recording, probably made days or weeks ago, appeared the day U.S. President George W. Bush ended a visit to the Middle East that he hopes will contribute to an Arab-Israeli peace settlement by the end of his presidency in January. Bush angered many Arabs by lavishing praise on the Jewish state on its 60th anniversary, hailing it as a "homeland for the chosen people".
Israel, which withdrew settlers from the Gaza Strip in 2005, sees militant activity on its territory as a threat to Israeli security. It has shut down traffic across its borders, causing severe economic hardship in the overcrowded area ruled by the Islamist Hamas movement.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/19/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
#1
Lead by EXAMPLE goat breath! Be the first one on the ladder and over the top!
(Xinhua) -- Deposed Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haneya on Sunday called on Egypt to open its borders with the Gaza Strip if Israel rejects an Egyptian initiative for ceasefire. "If the occupation is not interested in the Egyptian initiative, Egypt is asked to unilaterally open Rafah crossing and break the siege on the Palestinian people," Haneya said in a televised speech. "We support Egypt in its moves to achieve a mutual lull with Israel, coincident with lifting the siege, stopping the aggression and reopening the crossing," Haneya added.
Meanwhile, he said the Palestinians "are keen to end the issue of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit" who has been hold hostage in Gaza since 2006.
Israel demands Shalit's issue to be settled under the Egyptian initiative, but the Palestinians want Israel to release some one thousand prisoners in exchange for Shalit. "Settling this issue will not take time if occupation government responded to the Palestinian people's demands," Haneya said.
In addition, Haneya said his movement "is interested in resolving the internal Palestinian issues completely," referring to the differences with rival Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
A Hamas delegation will hold talks with Egyptian officials on Tuesday to discuss Israel's response to the initiative. Israel tightened the siege on Gaza and increased military operations after Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip by force last June.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/19/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
Ma'an Hamas criticized former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, the International Quartet's envoy to the Middle East, on Saturday for comments he made about strengthening the Palestinian Authority's (PA) security forces.
Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri said that Blair's remarks in an interview with the Jerusalem post were "a clear confession of the involvement of international actors including the Quartet in the internal Palestinian fighting."
Blair indicated that PA forces currently participating in a US-funded training course in Jordan would be better than the forces that were defeated by Hamas during the fighting in Gaza in June 2007.
Abu Zuhri, added that "These actors are still going on with their role of arming and training the Palestinian sides one against the other these statements are proof." Abu Zuhri said that Blairs comments also proved that the Palestinian security services in the West Bank are serving Israeli interests. "These acts will fail in destroying the resistance and the outcome will be the opposite." He called on international actors to stop intervening in Palestinian affairs and to "take Gaza as a lesson."
Fearing an attack on their own forces, Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip from US-armed and trained security forces affiliated to Fatah. The United States has continued to help equip the Fatah-allied forces in the West Bank since then.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/19/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
ION BIGNEWSNETWORK > NEW FINDINGS DIVULGE US [+ Brits?]HAND IN SHIRAZ MOSQUE BOMBING + IRAN: MOSQUE BOMBERS [US-Brit proxies > SHIRAZ] ALSO PLANNED TO BLOW UP OIL PIPELINES [SOuthern Iran].
* Fears Noordin Top has evaded massive manhunt
* Suspected of directing Bali bombings, other attacks
* If confirmed, escape a massive blow to Indonesia
SOUTH East Asia's most wanted terror suspect accused of directing the 2002 Bali bombings may have evaded a massive manhunt and fled Indonesia, according to police interrogation documents.
The documents, obtained by the Associated Press, include interviews with two senior Indonesian members of the Jeemah Islamiah network, the same network suspected terrorist Noordin Top belongs to.
Indonesia's Abu Husna and Agus Purwantoro were arrested en route to Malaysia in March during their escape bid to link up with terrorist groups in the Middle East.
Husna and Purwantoro told investigators an Algerian contact in Jakarta helped them obtain plane tickets, fake passports and gave them contacts in Syria, according to the investigation reports.
While discussing Husna's planned journey, the Algerian "Jafar" is quoted as saying: "Do you know that Noordin Top has escaped?"
Husna said he didn't and asked Jafar how he knew that. Jafar replied that it was a secret.
A senior Indonesian anti-terror officier said today that police were still "crosschecking" the information, the Associated Press reported.
If confirmed, Top's escape will be a blow to Indonesia, which has been praised for its recent wins in the fight against terror.
Top, a Malaysian national, has been on the run since the 2002.
Police have arrested several of his aides or couriers and often claimed to be close to catching him, but during the past 18 months the trail has apparently gone cold.
Top, believed to head a breakaway faction of Jemaah Islamiah committed to al-Qaeda style attacks on Western and civilian targets, is also accused of three other attacks on Western targets in Indonesia that have together killed more than 240 people, most of them foreign tourists.
(Xinhua) -- One of the latest developments in the Mideast is the mediation by Turkey to restart peace talks between Syria and Israel, a move analysts say meant more to sound out each other than discuss issues of substance at this stage.
By far, all the three parties have confirmed the mission by Ankara, though they have different versions about the efforts that started last year.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid a visit to Damascus late last month. He confirmed that Syria and Israel had asked Ankara for mediation, adding that such efforts would start at a low level before bringing the leaders together if successful.
Ankara has reportedly passed a message from the Jewish state expressing readiness to withdraw from the Golan Heights in return for peace.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told the Qatari daily Al-Watanin an interview that "What we now need is to find common ground through the Turkish mediator." But the Syrian president denied secret talks with Israel, saying "What Syria could do in this regard will be announced to the public and the only criterion to accept any talks is to be serious and committed to UN resolutions."
Israel, for its part, sounds more positive about the process.
Early this month, government spokesman Mark Regev announced "preliminary work" on resuming long frozen peace talks with Syria. "We don't just want to restart only a process of negotiations, we want to start a political dialogue," said the spokesman.
Peace negotiations between Israel and Syria broke off in 2000, when Ehud Barak, then Israeli prime minister on behalf of the center-left Labor Party, offered to withdraw from most of the strategic plateau, but wanted to keep a buffer strip along the Sea of Galilee's eastern shore, at the foot of the Golan.
Syria has consistently demanded a full return of the Golan down to the shores of the Sea of Galilee -- Israel's main water source -- as its price for peace.
Israel captured the Golan from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in 1981, a move never recognized by the international community.
Israel is now sweetening its peace offer in hope not only to end the state of war with Syria, but also to press for a windfall of isolating Iran and militant groups like Hamas in the Gaza Stripand Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth quoted a senior official as saying last month: "If Syria breaks away from the axis of evil, ifthe transfer of arms to Hezbollah is halted and if Jihad and Hamasbases are removed from Damascus, this will constitute progress."
Arab commentators said that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is negotiating with Assad over the return of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in order to break Syria's tight embrace with Iran, Israel's archenemy.
A commentator from the pan-Arab newspaper al-Hayat wrote that by concluding a peace treaty with Syria, Israel could "strike Iranin the middle of the heart" and also weaken Hezbollah, which is reportedly getting Iranian weapons via Syria.
Just as Israel conditions its offer on Syria's cutoff of ties with its enemies, Damascus likewise expects more in a peace deal with Israel.
Neutral Arab observers believe that Assad is trying to wriggle out of the international isolation through renewed peace talks with Israel. Damascus probably think that the negotiations could end an investigation of Syrian officials suspected of links in the2005 assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister Rafik Hariri.
For the time being, Assad seems in no hurry to move quickly in the aftermath of the failed talks in 2000, despite Israel's touting of the back-channel contact that may worry Iran and Hezbollah.
Instead, Assad stressed Syria was ready to negotiate with Israel through Turkey to "find common ground" for peace, but any direct talks must wait until a new U.S. president is elected.
Despite the trial balloon objective of the move at the moment, analysts believe that Syria and Israel, the long-time enemies in the Middle East have taken a positive step. Knowing each other better is probably the first step to make peace in a region that has been plagued by violence for so long, they say.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/19/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
Sunni Muslims are bitter and fearful after Shiite Hezbollah's triumph in Beirut, watching their backs on the streets and some even moving to safer spots.
It is an ominous sign of how Lebanon's latest political crisis has sharply worsened sectarian tensions in a country still traumatized by its 1975-1990 civil war.
"They entered and they carried out the plan. But who did they liberate Beirut from?" Mohammed Zaghloul, a 41-year-old Sunni, asked bitterly of Hezbollah, as he sat on a street corner in the Tarik Jadideh neighborhood, once controlled by Sunni groups.
The rise in sectarian feeling could be highly damaging to Lebanon's future and have implications across the wider Middle East, already struggling with Shiite-Sunni tensions sparked by the Iraq war and Iran's rising influence.
Until the recent fighting, Lebanon's long crisis had been largely political, as all sides worked to keep the country's ever-present sectarian issues from surfacing. But last week's fighting roiled up sectarian anger. Unchecked, the tensions could stoke another full-fledged civil war.
For now, Hezbollah's dominance is still evident on traditionally Sunni streets, raising hard feelings, even though its fighters have largely pulled back. Hezbollah flags flutter and some images of late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a Sunni icon, have been spray-painted over.
"It is strife already," said Sunni leader Saad Hariri, Rafik Hariri's son and the parliament's majority leader. "How are we going to heal the wounds?"
Sunni and Shiite factions and Christians allied with both sides were in Qatar on Sunday trying to resolve the 18-month political stalemate that sparked the violence. But the talks foundered on Hezbollah's insistence it would not discuss giving up its arms.
At least 67 people were killed in the clashes that saw Hezbollah and allied Shiite Amal fighters overrun positions of Saad Hariri's Future Movement and seize large swaths of Sunni areas of Beirut as the army largely stood by.
Other Sunni neighborhoods gave up the fight and sought army protection to escape a Shiite onslaught.
New York-based Human Rights Watch said Sunday that it had documented reports of violations of international law, including attacks on civilians and civilian property, committed by both opposition and pro-government militias during the fighting.
HRW said it spoke to several wounded civilians who said that gunmen fired on them even though they were unarmed during the clashes. An initial investigation showed that at least 12 of the Lebanese killed in the violence were not involved in the fighting in any way.
HRW also cited recent videos posted on youtube.com of the fighting in the northern town of Halba between armed men supporting the government and members of the opposition Syrian Social National Party. The videos show wounded men, apparently belonging to the SSNP, lying on the ground and being clubbed by gunmen.
In Sunni-dominated regions including the central part of the eastern Bekaa Valley and the northern port city of Tripoli and adjacent regions where fundamentalists have a foothold, Sunnis revolted and seized territory, attacking fellow Sunnis allied to the Hezbollah-led opposition. They also fought the Alawite community, an offshoot Shiite sect.
The former Sunni stronghold of Tarik Jadideh in Beirut, now guarded by the Lebanese army, is a stark reflection of the passions.
But the fear of Hezbollah is so strong that many refused to talk to a reporter or be named.
Mohammed Kamel, who runs a tiny used book store, said the Sunnis were no match for the armed Shiites during the fighting.
"The weapons they had were much stronger," he said. "They had rockets. A Kalashnikov cannot face the big guns."
After the fighting eased, Shiites on about a dozen scooters entered the area one recent day from a nearby Shiite neighborhood, said one resident, who asked not to be named because he feared retribution. A fist fight ensued, and two motorcycles were set ablaze.
Another resident, also asking not to be named, recounted how he was picked up in Noueiri, a Shiite district across from an army checkpoint, and beaten up simply because he was from Tarik Jadideh.
Some men have left the neighborhood since the fighting, moving to Sunni areas in the north. Others worry that Hezbollah is keeping a close eye on the neighborhood, possibly developing lists of who is who for future retribution.
At a funeral last week of a Sunni lawyer slain with his mother in a Hezbollah rocket attack, a colleague of the dead man expressed the fierce anger many here say they feel.
"Those who stormed the area are aggressors," said the dead man's colleague, Omar Tarabey.
During the civil war, Christians first fought Palestinian guerrillas and other Muslims. But as the war progressed, the fighting spread so that Christians fought Christians, and one Muslim sect was pitted against another.
After the conflict, most militias voluntarily disarmed as part of a power-sharing political settlement. But Hezbollah was allowed to keep its weapons by the government and Syria, which controlled Lebanon until 2005, to fight Israel.
Sunnis are believed to be Lebanon's second-largest sect, numbering slightly less than the 1.2 million Shiites. Largely city dwellers, they are an educated and merchant class that since the end of the civil war has shared political power with the other communities.
After Syria's 2005 withdrawal, Sunnis backed by Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia dominated the country's politics, while Christian numbers dwindled and Shiite influence waned.
But in November 2006, five Shiite ministers bolted from the government, saying it was marginalizing them. The Sunni-led majority in turn accused the Shiite groups of toeing the line of allies Syria and Iran.
Not all of Tarik Jadideh's residents share the same sectarian feelings. Sitting outside their clothing shore playing backgammon, Mohammed Jawhari, a Sunni, and Ali Sabra, a Shiite, say they get along just fine by staying away from heated political topics.
The latest turmoil in Lebanon was a "pity," Jawhari said. "I hope things will be over quickly," said Sabra, his business partner.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/19/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
#1
maybe a tiny violin or a sympathy meter reading is in order
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, May 19 (Reuters) - NATO has 
(Xinhua) -- The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) on Sunday described the UN rapporteur report of civilians killing by Afghanistan-based international forces as groundless and rejected it. 
Following heavily armed islamist fighters seizing Harar dhere town in Mudug region central Somalia on Sunday they have publicized a new campaign against the pirates: residents confirmed. The government troops that were in the town have pulled out after they received reports saying that the islamists have came into the town. One of the islamists commanders arrived in Harardhere who delivered speech to the residents of the town have acknowledged that they would fight against the pirates recurrently hijack the ships arriving in Somali coasts. We will not absolve the pirates and those associated to them, in the name of Allah we will behead them if they come in our hand one Alshabab commander told the crowds turned out in the town center when the fighters arrived in. They have also told that they would remove the road blocks in Mudug region.
BOGOTA, Colombia A wanted leader of Latin America's largest guerrilla army handed herself over to Colombian authorities on Sunday, Colombia's defense minister said.
Republican Senator Jon Kyl said Barack Obama's willingness to negotiate with Iran shows ``weak judgment,'' signaling his party will likely focus on portraying the Democratic presidential candidate as naive about rogue nations. 
Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., spoke this morning against President Bush's claim that those who want to negotiate with terrorists are taking the false comfort of appeasement. 
TOP Taliban militants - including possibly Mullah Omar's deputy 
Islamabad disagreed on Sunday with the United States intelligence assessment that Al Qaeda is using Pakistans Tribal Areas to plot attacks on the US as Operation Zalzala continues in South Waziristan. 
The Pakistan army sought on Sunday to allay Western fears that plans to pull back some troops from tribal lands meant it was relaxing its fight against a Pakistani Taliban commander.
BAGHDAD (AFP) - A media rights group has called for a full probe into the 2003 shelling of a Baghdad hotel by US troops which killed two foreign journalists, claiming that new evidence showed the incident was not an accident 
Israel has agreed to release 71 Palestinian prisoners "with blood on their hands" as part of a deal for kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, a senior Hamas source told Ynet on Sunday. 
Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has urged Muslims to break the Israeli-led blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, and fight Arab governments that deal with the Jewish state, according to websites. "The duty to break this blockade falls upon our brothers in (Egypt) as they are the only ones that are on the border," bin Laden said in the recording. "Each one of us is responsible for the deaths of our oppressed people in Gaza and dozens upon dozens have died due to this oppressive blockade," he said.
