Kenya's struggle with terrorism will continue as long as neighbouring Somalia remains lawless, the prime minister has said.
Kenya and Tanzania are marking the 10th anniversary of the US embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. Prime Minister Raila Odinga joined relatives and survivors at the site of the attack in Nairobi, which is now a memorial garden.
More than 220 people died in the first major al-Qaeda attack on US targets. "A lawless Somalia threatens Kenya's security," Mr Odinga said during the commemoration ceremony. "We need to build a new strategic engagement with popular voices in Somalia." He said the bombing ended country's innocence about the brutality of terrorism.
The ceremonies come days after Kenyan police narrowly failed to arrest the suspected mastermind of the bombings, Fazul Abdullah Mohammed.
This article starring:
Fazul Abdullah Mohammed
Posted by: Fred ||
08/08/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic Courts
#1
The nine European judges all come from countries which are unlikely to be targets in the war on terror.
They are Giovanni Bonnell, 72, from Malta, David Björgvinsson, 52, of Iceland, Paivi Hirvelä, 53, of Finland, Nebojsa Vucinic, 55, of Montenegro, Mihai Poalelungi, 45, of Moldavia, Jan Šikuta, 47, of Slovakia, Ljiljana Mijovic, 44, of Bosnia Herzegovina, Ledi Bianku, 37, of Albania and Lech Garlicki, 61, of Poland.
#2
It's really, really too bad that England joined the European union. They are no longer free to honor treaties they signed years ago.
Of course, ultimately it will just speed the establishment of Eurabia.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
08/08/2008 1:33 Comments ||
Top||
#3
good point that means all treaties with the UK (incl special relationship) are not worth the paper they are written on. Sad...
#6
So, if they have such powers, then take the seats of Britain and France from the Security Council and give it to one EUwennie rep. Otherwise its time we get seats for our three top states in GDP as well.
#3
Nothing to worry about here, just a slightly different view of what "Scottish Nationalism" means, just a bit of "diversity", another holiday activity idea, etc., etc..
#5
Popping off a few rounds on an AK doesn't make you a terrorist. If it does, I'm Carlos the Jackal.
TP, it's not what you do, it's who you do it with. Birds of a feather and all that.
#6
Flying you and your kids thousands of miles to Pakistan to do pop off those rounds in a jihadi training camp is a little different from bopping on down to the local range to sight in your high powered rifle and kill a lot of paper.
If Russia goes through with the sale of its most advanced anti-aircraft missile system to Iran, Israel will use an electronic warfare device now under development to neutralize it and as a result present Russia as vulnerable to air infiltrations, a top defense official has told The Jerusalem Post.
The Russian system, called the S-300, is one of the most advanced multi-target anti-aircraft-missile systems in the world today and has a reported ability to track up to 100 targets simultaneously while engaging up to 12 at the same time. It has a range of about 200 kilometers and can hit targets at altitudes of 27,000 meters.
While Russia has denied that it sold the system to Iran, Teheran claimed last year that Moscow was preparing to equip the Islamic Republic with S-300 systems. Iran already has TOR-M1 surface-to-air missiles from Russia.
Mixed media reports have emerged recently regarding the possible delivery of the system to Iran. Two weeks ago Reuters quoted a senior Israeli official who said the system would be delivered to Iran by the end of the year. In response, the Pentagon released a statement rejecting the assessment and saying that the US did not believe Iran would get it in 2008.
According to the Israeli defense official who spoke to the Post, "no one really knows yet if and when Iran will get the system."
A top IAF officer also said this week that Israel needed to do "everything possible" to prevent the S-300 from reaching the region.
"Russia will have to think real hard before delivering this system to Iran, which is possibly on the brink of conflict with either Israel or the US, since if the system is delivered, an EW [electronic warfare] system will likely be developed to neutralize it, and if that happens it would be catastrophic not only for Iran but also for Russia," the defense official said.
Neutralization of one of the main components of Russian air defense would be a blow to Russian national security as well as to defense exports. "No country will want to buy the system if it is proven to be ineffective," the official said. "For these reasons, Russia may not deliver it in the end to Iran."
Also on Thursday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak told an Italian paper that a nuclear Iran would be "dangerous to world order."
Barak emphasized that all options for dealing with threat of a nuclear Teheran were "open and ready," and stressed the importance of "strengthening and accelerating economic sanctions against Iran."
"Either way, we need to keep every option open. If they provoke us, or they attack us, our army is prepared to attack and to succeed uncompromisingly," he asserted in an interview with the daily Corriere della Sera . "It's up to us to find the best way to get the best result with minimum damage," Barak added.
"Iran confirmed its message when it stood against the whole world: to deceive and to reject. Their aim is to obtain an atomic bomb," he continued.
The defense minister also spoke of the results of the Second Lebanon War, telling the Italian paper, "Two years ago, we saw the price that's paid for a lack of an experienced leadership. Nevertheless, today we're equipped with a good understanding to prevent this from happening again."
He added that UN Security Council Resolution 1701 that brought an end to the war was inefficient since Hizbullah, Syria and Iran were doing what they wanted in Lebanon.
#1
"Israel warns Russia: We'll neutralize S-300 if sold to Iran"
"If you don't believe we can, ask Syria."
"it would be catastrophic not only for Iran but also for Russia"
What's the downside?
"No country will want to buy the system if it is proven to be ineffective" - like in Syria.
(Hmmmmm - I sense a theme here....)
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/08/2008 0:32 Comments ||
Top||
#2
As areminder, IRAN > ANY ATTACK ON ITS NUCLEAR SITES WILL BE AN ACT(S) OF WAR, subject to any form of retaliation as Iran deems fit. ALso, any attack by Israel will be deemed an attack by the USA.
#3
Hmm...so they did use this to neutralize Syrian air defenses. Verrrry interesting, I'd always assumed that a thicket of SAM defenses could deplete most strike forces. They might get through to their objective but it would be attrition city.
#6
Well if its like most russian arms exports it does about 1/3 of what it claims it can do. Probably a 1980's system that has been sitting in a warehouse for 25 years that they pulled out and did a software upgrade on.
#7
Israel has already proven that Russian anti-air systems can be taken down with ECM. I'm sure the US has some very nice toys that are tucked away in a AF base somewhere that can do the same thing.
You sure you want to prove that your stuff is crap, Russia?
#9
It's not just proven against Syria, Israel did tests against the Greeks who have Russian defences. The Russians freaked and the Greeks swore they did not use the Russian systems. Nobody believes the Greeks on that.
Israel should also let it slip that they plan to target moscow should Israel be nuked, you know to further test Moscows anti-air systems.
#10
Several airbursts of very small yeild (but high EMP) nuclear weapons over a few points would basically disable most of Iran and all electronics there, without causing any significant fallout or casualties.
Telecom and Power generation system (and therefor water and sewage) would become completely useless and remain that way for some time.
The Mullahs want to return to the 1100's? This would do it.
It would also result in starvation, widespread disease (cholera), and the inability of the Mullahs to control the people.
#13
.5MT, I was thinking along the lines of blowing out the infrastructure of Iran with EMP. power generation and transmission, as well as pulsing the major urban areas.
Its actually a humane way of collapsing the nation, as long as the people there rise up and throw off the theocracy, and then cooperate with western rebuilding of their nation in the model and image of Iraq.
They can pay for the repairs with oil.
Ethnic groups can be divided and reconciled to power sharing under a democratic umbrella (Arabs in the S, Pashtun in the east, Kurds in the N and persians, 50%, in the center).
Iran used to be a fairly prosperous and economically advanced semi-secular country before the Ayatollahs took over.
Imagine what all the Iranians could do when properly educated and motivated (like the Iraqis are starting to become), especially with a fresh example of the price of tyranny in their minds, and example of what prosperity a modern non-theocratic non-ethnic government can do right next door.
#14
I'd never thought of using an EMP, it's always the bug-a-boo the bad guys are gonna use. That plan sounds very effective for Israel's problems. If a nuke is used they will face political fall-out but they'll get that no matter what they do.
#15
EMP may very well be the only real "nuclear" option left to Israel, and if it is well controlled and low yield, they may even have deniability (of using a nuke), claiming it was a special "secret" (zionist? lol) weapon.
A key US lawmaker threatened Wednesday to hold up a landmark US-India nuclear agreement unless nuclear supplier states adopt a provision terminating the deal if India conducted a nuclear test explosion.
Howard Berman, chairman of the House of Representatives foreign affairs committee, said if the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) did not impose such a condition, the deal could not be approved before President George W. Bush leaves office in January 2009.
Aafia Siddiqui, who is to be arraigned in a federal court on Monday for a bail hearing, was the subject of a detailed report filed by this correspondent and published in Daily Times on November 11, 2004. That report is being reproduced below to give readers a wider perspective on what remains a perplexing case.
Aafia Siddiqi, the highly qualified 29-year old Pakistani cognitive neuroscientist wanted by the FBI for her alleged membership of Al Qaeda, once flew from Quetta to Monrovia, Liberia's capital, on a gem-smuggling assignment.
According to a detailed profile published by a Boston magazine, until the FBI called her a terrorist, she was living a "normal" life in Boston with her children and her doctor husband. In reality, the article by Katherine Ozment says, she was a "high-profile Al Qaeda operative".
She often travelled to Monrovia on her secret missions and would be driven to Hotel Boulevard, where other Al Qaeda figures had stayed, and "taken good care of until the deal was done". The man who would drive her from the airport to the hotel, a 60-minute drive, would later become the chief informant in a United Nations-led investigation. He described her as a quiet woman who wore a traditional headscarf and kept mostly to herself. She spent the week holed up in her room, making trips into town for small errands.
On one of her trips to Monrovia in June 2001, she left as quietly as she had entered, but with a large parcel containing gems from Africa's illegal diamond trade. They would be used as a convenient, hard-to-trace way of funding Al Qaeda's global terror operations. She was not seen again in Monrovia, but earlier this year, one of the men who had seen her in Liberia noticed a photograph of her and recognised the person.
At a news conference in May this year, US Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller announced that the FBI was looking for seven people with suspected ties to Al Qaeda. MIT graduate and former Boston resident Aafia Siddiqui was the only woman on the list. After her photos appeared on television, the informant picked up the phone and dialled investigators at the Special Court for Sierra Leone, which is examining Africa's illegal diamond trade. The informant was convinced that the woman in the photographs was the woman who had come to Liberia.
Her family denies she was ever in Liberia, with her family's attorney, Elaine Whitfield insisting, "Aafia Siddiqui was here in June 2001. And I can prove it." If she can prove Siddiqui wasn't in Liberia that week, she'll damage one of the most puzzling cases of alleged terrorism to emerge from 9/11. The claim that Siddiqui was involved in diamond trading is another in a series of sometimes surprising, sometimes vague accusations by government officials. In Siddiqui's case, the allegations have been further clouded by the often inaccurate, even hyperbolic descriptions of her by the media, says the article.
"To those who knew her, Aafia Siddiqui was a kind, quiet woman living the normal life of a Pakistani expat in Boston. To the FBI, which displayed her photograph at that press conference in May, she was a suspected terrorist with ties to a chief mastermind of 9/11 - and the knowledge, skills, and intention to continue Al Qaeda's terror war in the United States and abroad. Could one woman embody such diametrically opposed identities? Who is the real Aafia Siddiqui? And where has she gone?" the writer asks.
Born in Karachi on March 2, 1972, Aafia was one of three children of Mohammad Siddiqui, a doctor trained in England, and Ismet, a homemaker. Mohammed, Aafia's brother, is an architect living in Houston with his wife, a paediatrician, and their children. Fowzia, Aafia's sister, is a Harvard-trained neurologist who was working at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore until she decided to go back to Pakistan. Aafia was a graduate of MIT. She moved to Texas in 1990 to be near her brother and had good enough grades after spending a year at the University of Houston to transfer to MIT. Siddiqui's fellow students say she was a quiet, studious woman who was devout in her religious beliefs but not a fundamentalist. She often wore a headscarf but didn't cover her face.
While at MIT, Siddiqui apparently joined an association for Muslim students. She wrote three guides for members who wanted to teach other about Islam. On the group's website, Siddiqui explained how to run a daw'ah table, an informational booth used at school events to educate people about, and persuade them to convert to, Islam. Other references, however, reveal a passion for Islam that could be called hardline. In one of her pamphlets, she wrote, "May Allah give this strength and sincerity to us so that our humble effort continues, and expands until America becomes a Muslim land."
Her husband Amjad Khan turns out to have been more fundamentalist in his religious beliefs than her and wanted to return to Pakistan to raise the children in an "Islamic" way while Aafia wanted to stay in America. Hasan Abbas, now a visiting scholar at Harvard Law School and the author of the recently published 'Pakistan's Drift into Extremism', remembers the story of the couple's marital troubles differently.
He was told she was more extreme in her views than her husband. Siddiqui ordered the Quran and other Islamic books to be distributed to prisons and on school campuses. Boxes of them would arrive at the local mosque, and she would come pick them up. Siddiqui's missionary work stemmed from her belief that it was her duty to bolster the Muslim community around her. "She was always very frustrated here that Muslims were not addressing the needs of their community," says a woman who was a student of Siddiqui's, adding, "She said we needed to be doing more to help our people and that we needed to address the needs of the community." She says Siddiqui wanted her husband to use his medical skills to help the less fortunate.
In July 2001, two Saudi nationals, Abdullah Al Reshood and Hatem Al Dhahri, took over Khan and Siddiqui's lease when the couple decided to move. During that time, Al Reshood received a $20,000 wire transfer from the Saudi government. The money, a Saudi official later explained, was sent by the Saudi government to Al Reshood to pay for medical treatment for his wife.
Siddiqui and her husband were by now being watched by the FBI for having used a debit card to buy night-vision goggles, body armour, and military manuals from American websites, and for donating to charities the FBI watches closely. When questioned, Khan told authorities he had purchased the military items for big-game hunting in Pakistan, saying goggles and armour weren't available there. Siddiqui, who was questioned only incidentally, was quickly released.
Shortly after that, citing the difficulty of living as Muslims in the United States after 9/11, the couple returned to Pakistan. They stayed in Pakistan for a short time, and then returned to the United States. They remained here until 2002, and then moved back to Pakistan. The tension between the couple had continued to grow and finally reached breaking point in August 2002. Siddiqui was eight months pregnant with their third child, and she and Khan were now estranged. She and the children stayed at her mother's house, while Khan lived elsewhere in Karachi.
One day, Khan came over to Aafia's parents' house bearing a letter explaining that he was going to divorce Siddiqui. He started reading the letter, and a heated argument began between Khan and Siddiqui's parents. The fight was too much for Siddiqui's father who had a heart attack and died. Within weeks, Siddiqui gave birth to a son. Siddiqui stayed at her mother's house for the rest of the year, returning to the United States without her children around December 2002 to look for a job in the Baltimore area, where her sister had begun working at Sinai Hospital.
The real purpose of her trip, the FBI suspects, was to open a post office box for Majid Khan, a purported Al Qaeda operative who allegedly had plans to blow up gas stations and fuel tanks in the Baltimore-Washington area. Siddiqui's family contends that her trip to Baltimore was for the sole purpose of finding a job, and that if she did open a post office box, it was for the replies she hoped to get.
According to the article, "Months later, the FBI would make its most devastating claim against Siddiqui. It was still dark on the morning of March 1, 2003, when Pakistani authorities arrested Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a known September 11 mastermind, at a Karachi safe house. The arrest made news around the world. It also presaged the extraordinary vanishing act of Aafia Siddiqui and her three small children. It seems Khalid Sheikh Mohammed gave up Aafia's name as being a major Al Qaeda operative."
However, one of her defenders says Siddiqui's identity was likely stolen. "Aafia was, I think, probably a pretty naive and trusting person and my guess is it would be pretty easy for somebody who wanted to steal an identity to just steal it." About a month after his capture in the spring of 2003, she disappeared. The last her mother remembers, Siddiqui was piling herself and her children, then seven, five, and six months old, into a taxi headed to the railway station, the first step of what she said was her planned trip to visit an uncle in Islamabad. Her mother said goodbye to her daughter and grandchildren - and hasn't seen them since.
"What happened to Aafia Siddiqui and her children that day is anyone's guess. Siddiqui's mother, Ismet, claims that a few days after Siddiqui's disappearance, a man on a motorcycle arrived at her house in a leather suit and helmet and told her Aafia was being held and that she should keep quiet if she ever wanted to see her daughter and grandchildren again. A report in the Pakistani Urdu press said that Siddiqui and her kids had been seen being picked up by Pakistani authorities and taken into custody. Even a spokesman for Pakistan's Interior Ministry and two unnamed US officials confirmed this in the press.
Several days later, however, Pakistani and American officials mysteriously backtracked, saying it was unlikely that Siddiqui was in custody. Ismet, hysterical, decided to board a plane to the United States in an attempt to find her daughter. When official-looking men greeted her at JFK Airport in New York, she thought they were there to help her find her daughter," according to the article. Siddiqui's sister Fowzia picked up Ismet and took her back to Baltimore. There was a knock at the door. It was the FBI serving a subpoena for Ismet Siddiqui to come to Boston to testify before a grand jury.
In the days after Ismet was served the subpoena, she, Fowzia, and her son Mohammed all spoke at length with agents from the FBI and US Attorney's Office. Aafia Siddiqui had been missing for more than a year when the FBI put her photographs on its website. It was May 26, and Ashcroft and Mueller told the press that Siddiqui was an Al Qaeda facilitator.
This article starring:
Aafia Siddiqui
Posted by: Fred ||
08/08/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
Posted by: john frum ||
08/08/2008 11:41 Comments ||
Top||
#2
....having used a debit card to buy night-vision goggles, body armour,...... When questioned, Khan told authorities he had purchased the military items for big-game hunting in Pakistan
Moves towards the impeachment of President Pervez Musharraf are Pakistan's "internal matter" and it is for the Pakistani people to decide their political issues, the US State Department said on Thursday. State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said that it was to be hoped that any actions taken would be consistent with the constitution. Gallegos said it is the responsibility Pakistani leaders to decide on the way forward to succeed as a "democratic, modern and moderate country".
Posted by: Fred ||
08/08/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
Though the party extends its unconditional support to the president's impeachment, it is still a difficult task, Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Fazlur Rehman said on Thursday. Earlier in the day, the Fazl unconditionally supported its coalition partners' decision to impeach President Pervez Musharraf, but also called for changing the isolated president's policies, particularly on the war on terror. The Awami National Party (ANP) will back the impeachment of President Pervez Musharraf, ANP Information Secretary Zahid Khan said. "If the ruling coalition partners reached the decision to oust Musharraf, we will back it," the ANP spokesman said. He said that the ANP had always been against dictatorship and believed in supremacy of the parliament, independence of the judiciary and the media.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/08/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
President Pervez Musharraf has vowed to defend himself before parliament, Geo News quoted him as saying on Thursday. According to the channel, Musharraf told Muhammad Ali Durrani, Sharifuddin Peerzada and Malik Qayyum during a meeting that he had not violated the constitution for personal gains and that every action on his part was in the best interest of Pakistan. The president said he would justify all his acts and respond to allegations that the ruling coalition had levelled against him. The channel quoted him as saying that he would not surrender without contesting charges against him.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/08/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
As I read the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the presidency is more powerful than the Parliament. And Mushy has friends (PML-Q) in the assembly.
#3
The Pakistani Army has a habit of over-riding the civilian political establishment. Perv still has many friends in the Army. I don't think Perv's going to go quietly into the sunset. If the Army DOES decide to step in, there will be fewer politicians afterwards, regardless of their political party.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/08/2008 15:13 Comments ||
Top||
The prevailing domestic situation and various operational issues dominated the discussion of the military top brass on the first day of the two-day Corps Commanders Conference on Thursday, defence sources said.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Kayani presided over the conference. The corps commanders and the principal staff officers attended. No statement was issued about the deliberations on the first day.
The sources said it was a routine meeting and that the corps commanders had been meeting at the beginning of every month to assess the security situation and the on-going war on terror.
But the conference created hype as it coincided with the ruling coalition's announcement that it would impeach President Pervez Musharraf.
The conference will continue today (Friday), and discuss the promotion of brigadiers to major generals.
The ISPR had said in a statement on Wednesday that 650 brigadiers would be considered in the Selection Board consisting of top military officers, and those meeting the selection criteria would be approved for promotion.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/08/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
The United States should stand with the democratic Pakistani leadership and make efforts to settle border disputes involving India and Afghanistan as part of a regional approach to ensure peace and security, said Bruce Riedel, who is believed to be one of Barack Obama's foreign policy advisers, at a meeting on Wednesday. "The US needs to stand clearly with this newly elected democratic leadership.... we should avoid shortcuts ... we need to build confidence in Pakistan's democratically elected leadership," he said.
Reidel said it is time for President Pervez Musharraf to "take himself out of the Pakistani political equation. And it's time for the United States to not resist the removal of Gen Musharraf". The US, he admitted, has a remarkable bipartisan record of supporting dictatorships in Pakistan. "We have a huge catch up to do here," he added. He also expressed support for the Biden-Lugar bill that will triple economic assistance to Pakistan over the next 10 years.
Pakistan is behind the Indian embassy bombing in Kabul, Riedel said. However, when asked for evidence for his accusation, he replied, "Obviously, I no longer am privy to seeing intelligence that our government has but I think we've seen both the Afghan security services and the Indian security services pointing the finger at the ISI, and if we can take the New York Times as serious that the American intelligence services have also pointed at the ISI. The evidence that is available in the unclassified arena is not conclusive by any means," he said, adding, "But there is a history that most people in South Asia understand that makes it difficult to dismiss these accusations as out of turn."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/08/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
Obviously Barack Obama's foreign policy wonk Bruce Riedel is a moron. Commenting on foreign affairs with little or no factual support, entering himself into current geopolitics with no mandate, supporting rumor and inuendo as a policy foundation all scream out AMATEUR HACK.
#2
The problem is Pakistan. They will only accept one solution to the problem - total capitulation to Pakistan. The United States knows this, and won't play those games (I hope!).
Since BO is such an amateurish political hack, why is it surprising that most of his "advisors" are also amateurish political hacks?
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/08/2008 15:16 Comments ||
Top||
#3
OP even the old guard from the Clinton days that are in Obama's camp are amateurish political hacks.
Ahmedzai Wazir tribes on Thursday asked the government to "keep US drones away" from South Waziristan, saying the American spy planes could threaten peace in their areas.
The request comes a day after a new militant alliance claimed responsibility for attacks on security forces in South Waziristan seemingly in retaliation for the US airstrike on July 28. "We met a senior administration official (in Wana) today to ask him to convey to the government that these drones can put peace in Ahmedzai Wazir areas in danger," a tribal elder told Daily Times by phone from Wana after the meeting.
He said Tuesday's attacks on an army base and other targets by the Taliban Ittehad -- a new militant group led by Haji Gul Bahadar of North Waziristan and joined by Maulvi Nazir of South Waziristan -- was a "source of concern" for Ahmedzai Wazir tribes.
The July 28 missile strike killed Al Qaeda explosives expert Midhat Mursi al-Sayid Umar, 55, also known as Abu Khabab al-Masri in the Azam Warsak town near Wana. A source close to the new militant bloc said the attacks on Zarinoor army base and nearby military airport in Wana on Tuesday were "in reaction to the airstrike in Azam Warsak".
A source said the Taliban confirmed the killing of al-Masri in the July 28 missile strike by the US. "He has been killed along with his wife and a child in the missile attack," the source added.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/08/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: TTP
#1
Tough shit!
Posted by: Glising Dark Lord of the Faith9977 ||
08/08/2008 10:29 Comments ||
Top||
#2
could threaten peace Could threaten to leave certain wazirs and their ayrab guests in pieces...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/08/2008 11:57 Comments ||
Top||
#3
"American spy planes could threaten peace in their areas"
I certainly hope so.
BAGHDADShiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered most of his militiamen to disarm but said Friday he will maintain elite fighting units to resist the Americans if a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops is not established.
The statementread to worshippers during Friday prayers in Baghdad's former militia stronghold of Sadr Cityis in line with details revealed earlier this week and appears to be an extension of plans he announced in June aimed at asserting more control over the militia.
"Weapons are to be exclusively in the hands of one group, the resistance group," while another group called Momahidoun is to focus on social, religious and community work, Sadrist cleric Mudhafar al-Moussawi said.
He said the announcement was particularly aimed at members of al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia, which has been blamed for some of the worst violence against American troops and rival Sunni Arabs.
Thousands of worshippers streamed out into the streets after the Islamic service, burning an American flag and shouting: "No, no to America. No, no to occupation."
The cleric has linked the reorganization of the Mahdi Army to U.S.-Iraqi negotiations over a long-term agreement that would extend the American presence in Iraq after a U.N. mandate expires at the end of the year. Al-Sadr and his followers want the deal to include a timeframe for an American withdrawal and have warned they may not suspend operations without such a clause.
Several cease-fires by al-Sadr have been key to a sharp decline in violence over the past year, along with a Sunni revolt against al-Qaida in Iraq and a U.S. troop buildup. But American officials still consider his militiamen a threat and have backed the Iraqi military in operations to try to oust them from their power bases in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq.
The fighting cells will be "small and limited" and will only launch attacks under direct orders from al-Sadr in case of "dire necessity," the cleric's spokesman Sheik Salah al-Obeidi told The Associated Press in the holy city of Najaf.
He also ruled out attacks on Iraqis and claimed Mahdi Army members had shown interest in making the program a success.
"Now our stance is to watch the political developments and the security agreement. We will see if there will be a withdrawal timetable or not. We will wait for the results. These cells have not yet conducted any operations," he added.
Two Iraqi officials close to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki have said government and U.S. negotiators are near an agreement on all American combat troops leaving Iraq by October 2010, with the last soldiers out three years after that. The officials all spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are ongoing.
U.S. officials, however, insisted no dates had been agreed.
"It's premature to say what the aspiration goals and time horizons are going to be," and a date for troop withdrawals will not be "plucked out of thin air," White House press secretary Dana Perino said, speaking to reporters in Beijing on Friday where U.S. President George W. Bush is attending the Olympics.
Throughout the conflict, Bush steadfastly refused to accept any timetable for bringing U.S. troops home. Last month, however, Bush and al-Maliki agreed to set a "general time horizon" for ending the U.S. mission.
Both Iraqi and American officials agreed that the deal is not final and that a major unresolved issue is the U.S. demand for immunity for U.S. soldiers from prosecution under Iraqi law.
In northern Iraq, Kurdish leader Massoud al-Barzani visited the disputed city of Kirkuk and called for rival Kurds, Turkomen and Sunni Arabs "to have an open dialogue" to resolve their disagreement over sharing control of the oil-rich city.
His appeal came two days after the issue blocked passage of a provincial elections law, casting doubt whether U.S.-backed balloting can be held this year in the country's 18 provinces.
The bill failed because the sides were unable to come to terms on a power-sharing deal for the multiethnic region around the city of Kirkuk, the center of Iraq's northern oil fields.
Kurds consider Kirkuk their ancestral capital and want to incorporate it into their self-ruled region in the north. Most Arabs and Turkomen want Kirkuk to remain under central government control.
In Washington, the State Department expressed irritation that the parliament had gone into summer recess without having reached a compromise on the matter.
"The status of Kirkuk is indeed a sensitive issue that needs to be addressed in a serious fashion, but it is an issue that cannot be solved through the legislative mechanism of the election law," spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said. "The election law should not be held hostage to that problem."
#1
The fighting cells will be "small and limited" and will only launch attacks under direct orders from al-Sadr in case of "dire necessity," the cleric's spokesman Sheik Salah al-Obeidi told The Associated Press in the holy city of Najaf.
The same tactics have made Guam (hi JO8!) a American quagmire and forced the USMC from IWO.
#2
I still don't think Mooki is going to collect social security ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/08/2008 12:38 Comments ||
Top||
#3
The fighting cells will be "small and limited" and will only launch attacks under direct orders from al-Sadr in case of "dire necessity," the cleric's spokesman Sheik Salah al-Obeidi told The Associated Press in the holy city of Najaf.
I guess that means he'll only need a force of about 100 or so then, right?
#4
If I was a Mahdi getting my ass kicked in Sadr city, et al, whilst Snaggle Toofs is hiding in Iran, emploring me to push on via emailed letters, I'd feel a certain...hesitance, nay, ambivalence
Posted by: Frank G on the road ||
08/08/2008 21:36 Comments ||
Top||
(VOI) -- The regional President of Kurdistan on Thursday examined mechanisms to unify the two ministries of Peshmerga belonging to the main two Kurdish parties into united security force.
Peshmerga are Kurdish security forces overseeing protection of the Kurdish enclave and guarding Iraq's northern borders with Turkey and Iran. They belong to the main two Kurdish parties: the Kurdistan's Democratic Party (KDP) led by Massoud Barazani and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) led by Iraqi president Jalal Talabani. "Kurdistan's president Massoud Barazani headed a meeting of the general command of the region's border guarding forces to discuss the issue of unifying the two ministries of Peshmerga and Peshmerga Affairs into one ministry," said Kurdistan's regional president's office statement received by Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI).
The announcement noted "Barazani also conferred coordination with Iraqi forces to preserve stability, security, and Iraqi people achievements, in addition to forming the region's guarding forces relying on advanced and developed methods."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/08/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
(VOI) -- Baghdad Mayor on Thursday unveiled a $10 billion plan to develop and rehabilitate Baghdad Shiite slum of Sadr city which saw fierce clashes between government forces and militiamen loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Speaking at a press conference, Baghdad Mayor Sabir al-Essawi "the project has been enacted by the Iraqi cabinet". He highlighted "the project aims at constructing 150,000 residential units, in addition to expanding and rehabilitating Sadr city's services and infrastructures".
He did not give information when the project would be launched but noted "Baghdad mayoralty put a mechanism to execute the project." The local official stressed "global companies will execute the project since no local company can deal with such projects". "Foreign investors will work on the project's designs and consultancy," he explained.
The Mahdi Army, the armed wing of Sadr's movement, clashed with Iraqi security forces in Basra after PM Nouri al-Maliki announced a crackdown dubbed as Saulat al-Fursan (Knights' Assault) in late March which extended to major southern provinces and held on throughout April and May in the Shiite bastion of Sadr City in Baghdad, until a truce was signed on May 10.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/08/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Mahdi Army
#1
That could have happened 4 years ago. Tater might not win future popularity contests.
Iraq will resume searching for oil on Friday for the first time in two decades, the oil ministry said on Thursday, in the hope of finding vast reserves that lay undiscovered because of sanctions and war.
Iraq has 115 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, the third largest in the world, but the government believes the country's actual oil reserves may be three times as high.
Asim Jihad, spokesman for Oil Ministry, said it had trained three teams of geophysicists, geologists and engineers and would kick off exploration in the Gharraf field in Nassiriya in southern Iraq on Friday.
"Tomorrow, the equipment will be turned on to start the first oil exploration for 20 years, at a ceremony which will be attended by the oil minister and senior officials," Jihad said on Thursday.
Jihad said Iraq had only used about a fifth of the country's 500 possible oil-producing sites and they needed to explore more to try and confirm potential reserves. "These three teams are part of a group the oil ministry formed to renew exploration activity in order to change the unconfirmed reserves to confirmed ones," he said.
The first team will carry out seismic tests on the Gharraf field using up-to-date technology supplied by international companies, he said.
Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih told Reuters in April he had seen estimates from "reputable companies" that put Iraq's oil reserves at some 350 billion barrels, a massive figure which would put the country ahead of Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia is currently ranked first in the world with proven reserves of about 264 billion barrels, followed by Iran with some 137 billion and then Iraq on 115 billion. Iraq, whose primary source of revenue comes from oil, needs huge amounts of investment to boost oil output and rebuild the country after years of sanctions and war.
Violence in the country is now at its lowest since 2004. Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani also said in June Baghdad hoped to let foreign firms bid on many non-producing oil fields and potential oil deposits from next year.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/08/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Yay! Pelosi did the right thing and allowed a vote!
#2
Iraq may have 115 billion barrels of reserves, by probably not by SEC definitions of reserves. Thirty years of reservoir mismanagement have no doubt also taken a toll on what should have been reserves. Time will tell.
The may have another 200 billion barrels to be discovered - or not. Iraq is not a frontier province with lots of new places to look, and the biggest fields tend to be found early (e.g. KSA's Ghawar or Kuwait's Burgan). Time will tell this too.
Regardless, Iraq does have a lot of oil and a lot of opportunity to produce and find more. I would like to try, personally (but my wife would not be pleased).
#3
S'long as they're not looking in Kuwait should be ok....
Posted by: Kelly ||
08/08/2008 9:45 Comments ||
Top||
#4
I think in the last 20 years they have developed the tech to go much deeper, there may be massive fields that were overlooked simply because they were too deep. So, lets hope for everyone's sake that they are in Kurdistan.
#5
And with over $79 billion in revenue already sitting in the bank, new oil should cover lots of outstanding debts and finance rebuilding, employing many refugees. They could outshine Dubai!
#6
Oil wells normally have about a twenty year production lifespan, peaking in the first two years and then declining exponentially for the remainder of their life cycle. Since no replacement wells have been drilled for many years, it can probably be correctly assumed that the majority of their most productive wells are at, or near, the end of their production life span. Since Iraq has virtually no drilling and exploration infrastructure of its own, they have no choice but to contract out with international companies. IMO major oil production and drilling companies are probably very reluctant to even place bids, given the currant security situation. That would explain why it would be necessary for even the Kurdish Government to contract with each company on an individual basis rather than through an open bidding process. Drilling in Iraq will require the contracted companies to place hundreds of millions of dollars worth of investments, assets and personnel into an unstable area. Oil companies are no different than any other corporation. How many corporation executives do you know of simply sitting around salivating at the prospect of going to Bagdad? Probably none. Oil companies are no different. At the very earliest it will be several, if not many, years before any new wells can be put into production. In the mean time Iraqi oil production will continue to decline. And of course, what the msm decides to do with that fact will ultimately depend on who wins the next presidential election.
#7
At this point Iraq strikes me as a more stable and secure place to invest in oil projects than a lot of others - and with higher potential too. Look at the places we work - Angola (through all the civil war years), Nigeria (with weekly kidnappings), Congo, Indonesia, Libya, Venezuela, KSA, and even Europe and California! If the Iraqi government can get terms put together they'll have no trouble finding investors from the oil industry. We've been sending a few people in and bringing more out for training purposes for a while, in hopes of building connections and understanding. I am sure such programs will expand.
#8
There are some wells here in Colorado that have been producing for 50 years. They only produce about 700bbls/year, and many of them only pump one day a week, but they continue to produce. While Iraq hasn't done much reservoir maintenance, I don't think too much damage has been done. There are several fields, especially in the Kurdistan area, that haven't even been tapped yet. I wouldn't be surprised if there were fields in the Diyala province that haven't been found, or between Baghdad and Basra. There may even be some in Anbar that haven't been located. I'd love to see the seismic data, but I wouldn't want to be a jug-monkey in Iraq in the summertime.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/08/2008 15:28 Comments ||
Top||
The Popular Resistance Committees Palestinian militant group on Thursday warned Israel that the truce between Hamas and Israel in Gaza could end in three weeks time if no progress is made on the crossings and the release of prisoners.
The truce between Israel and Hamas went into effect on June 19.
"The Zionist occupation (Israel) has not yet agreed to the demand to release our prisoners so our fighters are preparing for the next round in which we will try to abduct more Israeli soldiers to swap them for our hero prisoners," Abu Attaya, spokesman of the PRC's armed wing, told Reuters.
Advertisement
On Thursday, the PRC allowed Reuters and other news organizations to film a live ammunition training exercise. Gunmen detonated bombs and opened fire while storming a mock Israeli army base built on the ruins of a former Jewish settlement in the southern Gaza Strip.
Abu Mujahed, one of the group's leaders, told dozens of guerillas undergoing military training that Hamas, the PRC and other factions were disappointed at Israel's slow progress in opening Gaza's border crossings and prisoner release talks. "[Israel] has until the end of the tenth week [since the declaration of the ceasefire] and if they do not abide by the obligations of calm, politicians will stop talking and military men will act," Abu Mujahed said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/08/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Popular Resistance Committees
#1
they better get this shit outta their system before Omellette leaves office.
Posted by: Frank G on the road ||
08/08/2008 21:45 Comments ||
Top||
he S-300P family of strategic SAM systems represents one of the most capable collections of air defense assets in the world. The first variants, coded SA-10A GRUMBLE by Western intelligence agencies, heralded in a new level of complexity and capability for the then-Soviet SAM forces. The SA-10A and subsequent SAM systems were so potent that they were referred to as "double digit" SAM systems by Western military arms, a moniker stemming from their Western identifiers, denoting their increased lethality over their predecessors. This lethality has made the S-300P series of SAM systems highly sought after commodities on the export market.
.... much more at link
#1
From what I gather, the SAM systems are state-of-the-art... for the last century, that is. Still, it's about the best stuff the mullahs can get their hands on. It will be tremendously effective on left-leaning western journalists, no doubt, it's intended target. Against modern weapons systems, not so impressive. I'm thinking about the Syria's use of state-of-the-art Russian detection systems when Israel flew in and took out their nuclear facility. My question is, what is Putin going to do? Will he continue his slide back into cold war tactics, like threatening to send bomber(?) into Cuba, or will he back off?
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
08/08/2008 16:54 Comments ||
Top||
#2
I wonder how these systems might come into play over Georgia?
(ISNA) -- Tehran's ambassador to Beirut Mohammad Reza Sheibani has rejected allegation that Iran is supplying military aid including anti-aircraft missiles to Lebanon's resistant group Hezbollah, Xinhua reported.
"Really. We have nothing to do with it. They make those armaments in their basements. They're really very good at it."
Sheibani made the remarks after a meeting with Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh. Sheibani said in his meeting with Salloukh that he had suggested that Tehran can provide technical, engineering and technological services to Lebanon.
"Once we've installed our satrap he'll take care of all the details."
He also said Iran hopes Lebanese President Michel Suleiman would answer to Iran's official invitation to pay a visit to Tehran in the near future.
"You should come and meet your new overlords. You'll find us quite reasonable most of the time."
On Iran's stance regarding Suleiman's planned trip to Syria, he said Tehran welcomes strong ties between Middle Eastern counties.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/08/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
#1
Is that Vanilla Ice? I was wondering what happend to him...
Israel will hold Lebanon responsible for any attacks against Israel, in particular for any Hezbollah efforts to avenge the death of its military leader Imad Mughniyeh. This decision on Wednesday by the security cabinet represents a change in Israeli policy, after always firmly separating Hezbollah and the Lebanese government.
According to defense establishment recommendations adopted by the security cabinet, Israel will treat the Lebanese unity government, which is headed by Fouad Siniora and includes Hezbollah, as responsible for any event that takes place in its sovereign territory or events for which Lebanese nationals are responsible.
A senior Jerusalem source said if Hezbollah attacks Israel from inside Lebanese territory, shoots at Israel Air Force aircraft or carries out a terror attack abroad as revenge for the Mughniyeh assassination (which it attributes to Israel), then Israel will hold Lebanon responsible and respond appropriately. In the coming weeks, Israel plans to start transmitting this message to the United Nations, United States, Russia and European nations, and primarily to Syria and Hezbollah itself.
In the Second Lebanon War, Israel avoided damaging Lebanese civilian infrastructure such as power stations, ports or government institutions, despite the recommendation of then-chief of staff Dan Halutz, due to pressure from Washington on Israel. The U.S. claimed that bombing Lebanese infrastructure would topple the moderate Siniora government.
Defense officials noted in the cabinet meeting that two developments supported a change in policy. The first is the fact Hezbollah is now a partner in a Lebanese unity government and holds veto rights. The second is that the guidelines of the new Lebanese government guidelines, approved by President Michel Suleiman, allow Hezbollah to continue its military activity against Israel.
The defense establishment believes these new conditions improve Israel's deterrent power as Hezbollah understands the severe ramifications of the new situation should there be any action against Israel in Lebanon or overseas.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/08/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
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.
Kenya's struggle with terrorism will continue as long as neighbouring Somalia remains lawless, the prime minister has said. 
BAGHDADShiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered most of his militiamen to disarm but said Friday he will maintain elite fighting units to resist the Americans if a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops is not established. 
Iraq will resume searching for oil on Friday for the first time in two decades, the oil ministry said on Thursday, in the hope of finding vast reserves that lay undiscovered because of sanctions and war. 
(ISNA) -- Tehran's ambassador to Beirut Mohammad Reza Sheibani has rejected allegation that Iran is supplying military aid including anti-aircraft missiles to Lebanon's resistant group Hezbollah, Xinhua reported. 
