Al-Qaeda welcomes Michael Jacksons conversion to Islam.
Initial reports are already filtering through that Al-Qaeda has warmly welcomed Michael Jackson into their faith 'as they would any sincere new adherent' and are confident that this high profile conversion will prove to be the turning point whereby millions of young Americans, already disillusioned by the economic crisis that is sapping Americas confidence will turn to the Koran for inspiration.
Sources close to Al Qaeda leadership are said to have have confirmed the open satisfaction of senior figures including Deputy Ayman Al-Zawahiri regarding the pop star's conversion, according to some Pakistani news services. Jackson's controversial past should not preclude him from sincere practice of Islam or acceptance by fellow Muslims as 'the ability to repent is a key belief' one source commented.
It is claimed that the Al Qaeda leadership were already most surprised by the fact that Americans were prepared to vote in as President a candidate with some recent Muslim heritage, even if the President-elect is a practising Christian.
This did not of this stop Ayman Al-Zawahiri referring to Obama as a house negro' recently, although Malcolm X was lavishly praised during the same speech he made the rather controversial comment in. Now with this latest celebrity conversion Al-Qaeda are hopeful that the west is finally moving religiously towards Mecca.
Generally, intelligence sources agree that Al Qaeda is very interested in attracting disaffected African-Americans into the fold and the recent criticisms of Obama were very much in line with this aim. Obama is unlikely to solve all the problems that exist within Africa-American communities and might not be seen as acting sufficiently in the interests of fellow Black Americans by some.
Most observers agree that Jackson's conversion amidst his financial troubles is something that Al Qaeda would welcome. Interestingly Jackson is off to London today to dispute a large debt supposedly owed by him to a Bahrani prince. Perhaps his new found faith will soften the heart of his alleged creditor?
Somali pirates holding an oil-laden Saudi super-tanker for a $25 million dollar ransom said they will fight back should any military intervention to free the ship be attempted, a member of the pirate group said Saturday. "I hope the owner of the tanker is wise enough and won't allow any military option because that would be disastrous for everybody. We are here to defend the tanker if attacked," Abdiyare Moalim told AFP.
" I hope the owner of the tanker is wise enough and won't allow any military option because that would be disastrous for everybody. We are here to defend the tanker if attacked. "
Pirate
Speaking from the coastal village and pirate stronghold of Harardhere, off which the Sirius Star is anchored, he said he was one of the pirates on shore tasked with organizing militias protecting the area as foreign navies sent warships to Somalia's dangerous waters and shipping companies sought alternative routes.
A local fisherman told AFP that reinforcements of at least 10 well-armed men had joined the pirates holding the ship and its 25-strong crew. "Early this morning, I saw at least 10 heavily armed pirates heading to the ship. Their boat returned after dropping them off," Hassan Ahmed said.
Local militia and hardline Shebab fighters also arrived in Harardhere in what some residents said was a move to position themselves for a share of any ransom paid.
Ransom
The Sirius Star, the biggest ship ever hijacked, and its 100 million dollar load of oil was seized last Saturday and taken to Harardhere, 300 kilometers (180 miles) north of lawless Somalia's capital Mogadishu.
The pirates on Thursday gave the owners 10 days to pay a $25 million dollarransom, said a pirate who identified himself as Mohamed Said, threatening "disastrous" consequences if Vela International, shipping arm of the Saudi oil giant Saudi Aramco, fail to comply. "The Saudis have 10 days to comply, otherwise we will take action that could be disastrous," he said.
He did not specify the threatened action but the 330-meter (1,000-foot) long tanker is carrying two million barrels of crude oil. Environmental groups have warned of a huge catastrophe if oil from the super-tanker was released.
There's a way to fix the problem: release the oil into the ocean and Greenpeace will take the pirates down without mercy ...
Posted by: Fred ||
11/23/2008 00:00 ||
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(SomaliNet) Somali pirates have collected more than $150 million in ransoms over the past year, Kenya's foreign minister says.
The Kenyan official, Moses Wetangula is calling on ship owners not to pay ransom when their vessels are hijacked off the lawless coast of Somalia because such payments are what have emboldened the pirates.
In their most daring seizure so far, the pirates captured a massive Saudi supertanker loaded with $100 million worth of crude oil.
Wetangula was speaking Friday during a meeting with diplomats to discuss piracy off the eastern Africa coast.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/23/2008 00:00 ||
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(SomaliNet) The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Luis Moreno Ocampo wants to arrest three rebel leaders from the Sudanese region of Darfur and prosecute them for war crimes.
The ICC chief says the three were responsible for the attack on an African Union peace mission in September 2007.
Twelve people were killed in the attack and eight others injured. Mr Ocampo said such actions cannot be allowed to go unpunished. The judges of the court in The Hague must now agree to issue the arrest warrants.
The names of the rebel leaders and the groups to which they belong have not been made public. Mr Ocampo says this is confidential information and its release could obstruct a future trial. In July, Mr Ocampo demanded the arrest of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for genocide in Darfur. His request is still being considered.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/23/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Geeze - Elton John looks really bad these days...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
11/23/2008 1:00 Comments ||
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(SomaliNet) Countries bordering the Red Sea pledged to cooperate at a meeting in the Egyptian capital Cairo on Thursday, where they discussed hijackings by Somali pirates.
The nations blamed the frequent acts of piracy on the state of lawlessness in Somalia, which has not had a central government since 1991. Egypt says it is suffering financial losses as a result of the hijackings because an increasing number of ships no longer travel through the Suez Canal.
The Danish firm A.P. Moller-Maersk, one of the world's largest shipping lines, says it will divert some of its ships around South Africa's Cape of Good Hope in order to avoid the pirates.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian government says it is "keeping all options open" in its search for a solution to the hijackings, including diplomacy and military operations. The United States, Russia and European countries have a number of warships off the Somali coast.
Somali pirates seized the Saudi supertanker Sirius Star last weekend. The pirates, who are demanding a ransom of around 20 million euros, say the consequences will be "disastrous" if the ransom is not paid within ten days.
The Sirius Star is carrying two million barrels of oil worth nearly 80 million euros. Maritime sources say three more ships have been seized since the hijacking of the Sirius Star.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/23/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
You could send them flowers and a nice note asking them to please behave. Or perhaps you could, ummm, kill 'em.
Put armed soldiers or mercenaries on merchant ships. Use convoys with naval escorts through pirate infested waters. Use air patrols to find and sink pirate ships. Naaaahh, better to yak about the problem endlessly.
#3
Fuck 'em. Stay out, save our money and lives as long as US ships and personnel are not attacked. First time US personnel are attacked, hold the pirates and town for ransom.
Posted by: ed ||
11/23/2008 12:25 Comments ||
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#4
Ditto Ed. Looks like an African problem. If my memory serves me correctly, they don't like Anglo colonial solutions.
#6
We've dealt with African pirates before, and without having to jaw-jaw with every prince, potentate, or peddler in the world before doing it. The first time a US ship is captured, Somalia should cease to exist, even on OLD maps. It worked once, it will work again.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/23/2008 13:59 Comments ||
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#7
I agree, OP. I hope that we are feeding intel to our allies, like India, who will do something about it. That would be appropriate for us. India, China, Egypt, Saudis, all have a dog in this fight. They need to step up and take responsibility. Cheap flags of convenience are like cheap parachutes. Caveat Emptor, MoFos.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/23/2008 15:21 Comments ||
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#8
Saudi could stop it real easy.
A life time ban on Hajji trips to Mecca for pirates and everybody in their clan.
It would stop yesterday!
Deep in Yemen's restive desert, terrorists target a family of European tourists. While the country mourns the deadly attack, an elite government force storms the killers' mountain hideout and brings them down in a hail of artillery. Ripped from the headlines - and punched up with some nifty military heroics - this is the plot of "A Losing Bet," a new film financed by the government of Yemen that aims to educate a terror-scarred nation about the consequences of jihad.
"The film is part of the government's effort to show the people of Yemen the negative impact of terrorism - on the economy, on tourism, on their standard of living," said Yemen's foreign minister, Abu Bakr al-Kirbi. "Hopefully, it will be watched by other countries. We need to enlighten people."
Produced for about $200,000 - expensive by local standards - the film revolves around an array of loosely connected characters: a jihadist who returns home in the hope of reuniting with his family; a university graduate who resists the pull of extremism; a jobless young man who falls prey to a charismatic al-Qaida recruiter; and two girls, a Yemeni and a European tourist, whose friendship nearly ends when the visiting girl's family comes under attack.
It's undoubtedly slick, and audiences seem to love it, but critics say the film has little hope of reaching the disaffected communities most vulnerable to terrorist ideology. Yemen has a fast-growing population, 40 percent unemployment, an economy teetering from shrinking oil supplies and tribal and religious leaders who command more authority than the government - a mixture of ills more potent than any film, critics argue. "It's propaganda," said Murad Zafir, a former government official who now works for a nonprofit institute in Sanaa, the capital. "It's a fancy, well-funded film that some well-educated people can see, but it can't compare to the messages going out on the radio and in certain mosques."
Producers hope to air the film on Yemeni television and release it on DVD, but since premiering to a VIP crowd at Sanaa's five-star Movenpick Hotel in August, it's played only at colleges and cultural centers in major cities. A free screening last month in a Sanaa University auditorium drew a standing room only crowd that found comfort in the film's broad predictability. The students giggled when jobless men were portrayed as comically lazy, snickered when bushy-bearded militants lectured dogmatically about jihad and applauded enthusiastically when Yemeni intelligence got its men in the end.
The writer-director, Fahdel al-Olofi, said the story came to him after seven Spanish tourists and their two Yemeni guides were killed in a suicide bombing at a temple in Marib, east of Sanaa, in July 2007. Al-Olofi, a producer of documentary television series, had never done a film before, but when he approached Interior Ministry officials with the idea, they were eager to help. In a surprising departure for a secretive government that tends to view the media as a nuisance, officials loaned al-Olofi a military helicopter for the climactic scene and sent security experts to consult on jihadist ideology and recruiting tactics.
Mona al-Asbahi, an actress who Yemenis recognize from popular TV serials and who plays a woman abandoned by her jihadist husband, said: "I would have done the movie for free. Everyone in Yemen has someone who has been affected by terrorism."
The film's release comes as some experts warn that a new, more dangerous generation of al-Qaida-inspired militants could be gaining power in Yemen. For years, Yemeni officials favored a softer approach to al-Qaida and other radical groups, releasing some militants while enrolling others in Islamic re-education programs, in exchange for pledges not to carry out attacks on Yemeni soil. But experts say that those agreements angered younger Yemeni extremists, including many who went to fight U.S. forces in Iraq. Following a government raid in August that killed Hamza al-Quyati, a leading al-Qaida operative, an extremist group calling itself the Soldiers' Brigade of Yemen vowed to retaliate. Some experts say that foretold the U.S. Embassy bombing five weeks later, a sign that al-Qaida in Yemen wasn't crippled by the death of a key figure.
Gregory Johnsen, an independent expert on Yemen, said the attack illustrated the weaknesses of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's strategy to co-opt Islamic militants. "Saleh just has a difficult time ruling this country, so he has to play different factions against one another," Johnsen said. "There are so many different problems that Yemen has to deal with, and they don't have the resources to deal with them."
#1
the film revolves around an array of loosely connected characters: a jihadist who returns home in the hope of reuniting with his family; a university graduate who resists the pull of extremism; a jobless young man who falls prey to a charismatic al-Qaida recruiter; and two girls, a Yemeni and a European tourist, whose friendship nearly ends when the visiting girl's family comes under attack.
If Gary Colemans is signed it's a winner. High concept. It's the 70's again.
BERLIN - King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has offered political asylum to Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar, 49, German news magazine Der Spiegel reported Saturday, quoting government sources in Kabul.
The report said the approach was made at the request of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and outgoing US president George W Bush. Karzai hoped the offer would speed up plans for a reconciliation process in the landlocked Asian nation and had promised the Taliban leader safe passage if he decided to return to Afghanistan, Der Spiegel said.
Terrorism experts believe Mullah Omar is hiding in the Pakistan city of Quetta, possibly with the help of the countrys Inter- Services Intelligence agency, the report added.
'Possibly'?
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/23/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
The questions is not who the Saudi Apartheid Islamic Republic would give asylum to, rather to whom they wouldn't. Idi Amin died in Saudi. The bar is laying on the ground.
Officials say German police carried out raids in three states searching for suspected supporters of a terror cell whose plans to attack U.S. targets in Germany were foiled last year. Federal prosecutors' spokesman Frank Wallenta says police made no arrests during Thursday's raids on the residences of several people suspected of acquiring detonators for three alleged terror plotters.
The suspected plotters are now on trial. They are alleged to have operated as a German cell of the radical Islamic Jihad Union.
Wallenta declined to say Saturday where the raids had been carried out. Germany's Bild daily says they were in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Lower Saxony.
#6
Code Pink---they need to read the History of Useful Idiots and think if they really want to do this stuff with Iran. Read the chapter on Adolf Hitler and Ernst Röhm. That is a good one.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/23/2008 15:26 Comments ||
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#7
Rather saucy of the Lady Pinkos to be running around unaccompanied by their male relatives.
Ferik Duka said last week that he had brought his family to the United States nearly 25 years ago for a better life. Once, he thought he had found it. Now, he and his wife, Zurata, sit in a federal courtroom in Camden each day watching and listening as their three oldest children, sons Dritan, 29, Shain, 27, and Eljvir, 25, stand trial on allegations that they plotted a jihad-inspired attack on Fort Dix.
The charges, Ferik Duka said, are ridiculous; his sons are not guilty. "I'm confident in the American justice system," he said. "My sons are innocent." So he sits in the fourth-floor courtroom, dressed in a sports coat over either a shirt and tie or a turtleneck, his thick arms folded in front of him, watching the system work. His wife, wearing a head scarf, is always by his side. Occasionally other family members - a son and daughter born in the United States, a daughter-in-law, grandchildren - attend the sessions.
When the defendants enter the courtroom, the relatives smile and nod. When court ends promptly at 4:30 p.m. each day, they wait for the jury to exit, then exchange nods, smiles and waves again as the Duka brothers and their codefendants, Mohamad Shnewer and Serdar Tatar, are led away by U.S. marshals. All five have been held without bail since their arrests in May 2007. All five are foreign-born Muslims who were raised in the Cherry Hill area. Eljvir Duka is married to one of Shnewer's sisters. All face life in prison if convicted.
Ferik Duka, 61, shook his head at that prospect and then talked about better times. Standing on the steps of the federal courthouse on Market Street one morning during a break in the trial, the burly roofing contractor lit a cigarette and told the story of his coming to America. "I came . . . because we heard a lot of good things," he said. "Freedom of speech, democracy, opportunity. And it was true. I chose America because of those things."
It was 1984. He had left Yugoslavia, where, he said, there was little work and less opportunity, especially for ethnic Albanians like himself. To this day their immigration status remains murky. The government has labeled them illegal immigrants. But Ferik Duka said he had a lawyer and had been trying for years to straighten out his status. "I came in illegally, but since 1985 I have been applying" for legal status, he said. "I work. I pay taxes."
Duka operates a roofing and construction business out of his home on Mimosa Drive. His three oldest sons worked with him. They are religious, he said, but not fanatical. "For Muslims, it is not easy to live in the United States," he said. "But still, it is better than in Muslim countries. We are not extremists, not terrorists." They are, he said with no little pride, "Albanians."
"We do not have a history of terrorism," he said. "We fight man to man." And, he said, all Albanians are grateful to the United States for coming to their aid in the war with Serbia and for ending the ethnic cleansing that cost tens of thousands of Muslim lives. It was against that backdrop that Duka offered his assessment of the case against his sons. The charges, he said, are built around the lies of two FBI informants, Mahmoud Omar and Besnik Bakalli. continued at link
Pakistan's UN ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon has proposed that a joint Pakistani, NATO and US military force under the command of Gen Ashfaq Kayani should be set up to increase co-ordination and "curb terrorists across the Pak-Afghan border".
Haroon said in a speech at the US Army War College last week that he was making the proposal to "end complaints of mistrust among coalition partners and provide much needed local experience, essential for success in Afghanistan". He also said that there was a better understanding between the leadership of Afghanistan and Pakistan today than in the past, and called on the incoming Obama administration to increase economic assistance to Afghanistan and Pakistan so that economic activity can be generated and the basic needs of the people are addressed, adding that this "will not cost much".
The United States as a matter of policy does not permit US military personnel to serve under any non-US command. Ambassador Haroon also dated 1978 as the year of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, whereas it took place in 1979. He said the "amalgam of diverse interests under the nomenclature of Taliban has taken upon us, it is now Pakistan's war. If the Taliban are not defeated history is a witness that whenever Khyber has been breached, the battle has been fought in Panipat." He said the void left by the United States after the Soviets were defeated was filled by the Taliban, who challenged the status quo and "provided the people of Afghanistan religious education and their brand of justice". Underscoring the history of US-Pakistan relations, he said since Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan visited the US in 1950, Pakistan has maintained close relations with the United States and has been a member of CENTO, SEATO and Baghdad Pacts. The ambassador listed the number of defence pacts at three, whereas CENTO and Baghdad Pact refer to the same treaty.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/23/2008 00:00 ||
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Iraq's parliament will vote Wednesday on a security pact with the US that would allow American troops to stay in Iraq for three more years.
Mashhadani says chances that the deal will pass are "50-50.''
Parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani made the announcement on Saturday at the end of a seven-hour debate on the agreement in which at least 40 lawmakers spoke. He said the vote could even be held earlier than Wednesday if the country's main political groups reached agreement on the deal.
Al-Mashhadani, a Sunni Arab who supports the pact, said chances that the deal will pass are "50-50.'' "We support the agreement because it is the least bad alternative," he said.
Some other Sunni politicians are calling to put the pact to a referendum.
The 85-member United Iraqi Alliance, which is the biggest Shia parliamentary group, expressed its support for the pact through Hadi al-Ameiri. "It is not the ideal choice but it is the best choice because at least it sets a timetable for the departure of American troops," he said.
30 MPs of the Shia Sadrist bloc, have opposed the deal from the start. Thousands of Sadrist supporters gathered in Baghdad on Friday to protest against the security agreement. "The deal was written by American hands and the government has been obliged to sign it. It damages Iraq's sovereignty," Nassir al-Isawi said.
To be approved the Status Of Forces Agreement or SOFA, needs 138 votes from the 275 MPs.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi, said the deal was necessary because the premature departure of US troops would cause serious security threats. "The alternative is much worse than the agreement,'' he said, referring to an expiring UN mandate, under which the US forces are operating in Iraq. The mandate expires on December 31 2008.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose government negotiated the deal over the past several months, has said he wanted the deal approved by consensus, and the country's most influential Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has indicated that the deal would be acceptable only if it wins passage in the legislature by a big majority.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/23/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Chances that it'll pass the Donk Senate are probably even lower.
Aswat al-Iraq: The head of al-Anbar Rescue Council, Sheikh Hameed al-Haiss, on Saturday said that the Iraqi-U.S. security pact is the suitable way for U.S. forces to withdraw from Iraq, expressing his full support of Premier Nouri al-Maliki in this regard, in addition to amending the constitution. "Al-Anbar clans will encounter any intervention in Iraq's issues," al-Haiss told Aswat al-Iraq. "In the same way we eliminated al-Qaeda organization, we will battle anyone who intervenes in Iraq or touches its lands," he said. "The constitution was written in a hurry, and politicians should not interfere in people's decisions," he added. "We will not allow anyone to divide Iraq, whoever he is," he noted. "Kirkuk is part of Iraq, and we will practice all pressures on politicians to prevent splitting Kirkuk," he asserted.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/23/2008 00:00 ||
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BAGHDAD - Iraqs defence minister on Saturday warned of the dangers of withdrawing U.S. forces before the end of 2011, a date set with Washington in a security pact opposed by some lawmakers.
Defence Minister General Abdel Qader Jassim said withdrawing before that date would threaten Iraqs oil exports, enable neighbouring countries to encroach on Iraqi territory and give free reign to foreign spies. The period of the timetabled withdrawal gives us enough time to complete our abilitiestraining, combat and technicaland secures us great support, Jassim told a news conference in Baghdad.
Correct. The Iraqi forces have made impressive strides, but most experts in our own military say that the Iraqis need considerable work on training and logistics. That's something we can really do well in the next couple of years, and in that time the politicians can continue their slow progress on reconciliation.
Successive governments have not succeeded in disarming the heavy and medium weapons of, and I am not naming any names, the armed blocs and armed wings, he added, justifying the pacts 2011 withdrawal date.
The security pact governs the U.S. troop presence in Iraq and will replace a United Nations mandate which expires at the end of the year. Iraqi politicians are under pressure to pass the deal to avoid an extension of the mandate.
The defence minister said Iraqs navy was not ready to assume responsibility from U.S.-led forces for protecting offshore terminals that export the countrys crude. If we evict them in an unplanned or sudden way, then ... piracy will begin here ... the ability to export will be hugely threatened, he said.
Some countries shell certain areas of Iraq daily, he said, without naming any, and the presence of U.S. forces deters them from expanding their operations. Turkey frequently shells northern Iraq in its hunt for Kurdish separatist rebels.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/23/2008 00:00 ||
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#7
Steve: The question is not if Bambi is listening, it is whether he cares, or if it suits his purposes. I don't doubt that he will sell the US gains down the river if it will advance his policies.
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
11/23/2008 20:18 Comments ||
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#8
We love your money, we want you to go away?
No, actually some of us would like to shove your money up (some of you) recta. But the rest of us have a deeply seated psychological need to believe that not all Gentiles are against us.
#11
I wish you and Bibi success. That's no snark. Both Israelis and Americans will have to man up and get bloody minded.
Posted by: ed ||
11/23/2008 22:27 Comments ||
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#12
Not all gentiles are against all of you, but some gentiles are definitely against some of you.
We're on the same side of this issue. US aid to Israel strikes me as similar to a millionaire insisting on giving money to his upper-middle class brother-in-law.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
11/23/2008 22:41 Comments ||
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#2
The One and his zombie army of True Believers have already decided that a few million dead Jews is a perfectly acceptable price to pay for that Hopeful Changiness thing...or is it Changeful Hopiness...or is it...
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
11/23/2008 21:28 Comments ||
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A defense establishment paper recommends making contingency plans to attack Iran, reaching an agreement with Syria that includes leaving the Golan Heights and preventing new elections in the Palestinian Authority, even if this means a confrontation with the United States.
The paper will be presented to the cabinet next month as part of the National Security Council's annual situation assessment.
The document warns that in 2009, Israel may find itself facing a nuclear Iran virtually alone, following a rapprochement between the U.S., Iran and the Arab world that would also undermine Israel's military superiority. Additionally, it warns of a possible collapse of the PA, which would effectively kill the two-state solution.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
11/23/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
The document warns that in 2009, Israel may find itself facing a nuclear Iran virtually alone
Nuclear Iran has a choice of conquiring Arab Gulf states---making Obambi geek, or MAD with Israel.
following a rapprochement between the U.S., Iran and the Arab world that would also undermine Israel's military superiority.
If Israel's military superiority depended on USA, Israel would cease to exists in 1948, or 1956, or 1967.
Additionally, it warns of a possible collapse of the PA, which would effectively kill the two-state solution
#3
Does this mean the US can stop subsidizing Israelis, Egyptians and Palestinians? $6 billion/year will buy a lot of F-22s or manufactured goods the US no longer makes..
Posted by: ed ||
11/23/2008 12:35 Comments ||
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#6
His Arrogancy is deliberately being intellectually dishonest with us. Just because their military superiority didn't depend on the US at the time doesn't mean it didn't depend on a nation that isn't Israel. The nations Israel bought weapons from then (Russia and France) stopped selling arms to Israel. Which is how we ended up selling to them.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
11/23/2008 22:35 Comments ||
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#7
Not to mention almost being overrun in 1973 and the US (that's Nixon to Grom) stripping the European theater of weapons and ammo to send to Israel. Would have been a great time for the Soviets to pour through the Fulda Gap.
Posted by: ed ||
11/23/2008 22:40 Comments ||
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JERUSALEM - A radar system, which the United States agreed in July to deploy in Israel to counter a perceived missile threat from Iran, is to go operational in mid-December, army radio reported on Saturday. The US military technicians who will operate the system are currently carrying out the final tests, the radio said.
The radar system, which has a range of more than 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles), has been installed in the Negev desert in southern Israel. Some 120 US troops have been deployed to Israel to set up and operate the system, public radio reported in late September.
The idea here is to help Israel create a layered missile defence capability to protect it from all sorts of threats in the region, near and far, a senior Pentagon official told AFP in late July.
The so-called X-band radar system, also known as an AN/TPY2, is a powerful phased array radar that is designed to track ballistic missiles through space and provide ground-based missiles with the targeting data needed to intercept them.
The United States deployed a similar system to Japan in 2006 in response to a North Korean missile test. It plans to install a larger one in the Czech Republic. The Pentagon was scheduled to deploy the radar to Israel in the autumn of 2009 for a joint exercise but moved it up a year following the talks in Washington earlier this year.
The system includes two massive radar antennae which have been under construction near the Dimona nuclear plant in the Negev. The Maariv newspaper reported on October 5 that the two 400-metre-high (1,300 foot) masts being erected near the top-secret military plant where Israel is widely believed to have developed the only nuclear arsenal in the Middle East would be the largest in the region.
Data from the radar will be provided to Israels missile defence system, but it will remain owned and operated by the US military.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/23/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
I'm really curious re the orders the operators will receive from their incoming CINC.
Three men accused of carrying out a fatal bombing in a mosque in Iran have confessed to being brainwashed by a Western terrorist cell. The three confessed in a Saturday hearing at the Islamic Revolution court to 'being brainwashed into launching a terrorist attack in the country,' according to IRNA.
A further four individuals have also been charged over the incident.
Iran had initially detained 15 people in connection with April's deadly explosion in the southern city of Shiraz. However, seven people are currently charged with involvement in the fatal bombing. Later in May, Iran announced that Britain, Israel and the United States were responsible for the deadly blast, which killed 13 Iranians and injured more than 200.
Ali-Akbar Haidarifar, representing Tehran's prosecutor-general said, "The explosion in Shiraz was one of the country's most fatal terrorist acts, and I request punishment be mete out to the perpetrators at the scene of the crime [religious center]."
The Iranian judiciary official said the inquiry into other suspects as well as those outside the country and the countries which instigated this act of terror would continue.
Iran's Intelligence Ministry announced in May that the terrorist group's targets also included Iran's oil pipelines, Tehran's international book fair as well as other crowded locations in different cities such as scientific, religious and educational centers.
The Iranian judiciary spokesman, Alireza Jamshidi had earlier warned that the Islamic Republic might press charges against the United States, Britain and Israel over their involvement in the April 12 bombing.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/23/2008 00:00 ||
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A top Iranian commander says Iran will retaliate against any country that would aid and abet a potential strike against Iranian interests. Brigadier General Seyyed Mohammad Hejazi, the Chairman of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Saturday that Iran has drawn up plans to take retaliatory measures against potential aggressors and their accomplices.
This comes as Israeli echelons have stepped up their efforts to portray Iran as an international threat, claiming that the country seeks nuclear weaponry.
Tehran, a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) denies the Israeli claim, insisting that its enrichment program is solely directed at the civilian applications of the technology.
While maintaining that a nuclear Iran would pose an existential threat to Tel Aviv, Israeli officials argue that the use of military force is a legitimate option in halting Iran's nuclear progress.
Since the historic victory of Barack Obama in the US presidential election, Tehran has seen an explicit increase in Israeli threats against its nuclear program. Commander of Israeli Air Force (IAF) General, Ido Nehushtan, has said in a recent interview that his forces are 'ready' to attack Iran's nuclear sites whenever Tel Aviv gives a green light.
Bahrain is the home to the US Fifth Fleet, which is responsible for US naval forces in the Persian Gulf.
A senior politician and former top Israeli military official, Lieutenant General Moshe Ya'alon, declared last week that an attack on Iran would be in line with efforts to overthrow the Tehran government.
Iran, in response, has warned that should any of its national interests come under attack by either the US or Israel, its armed forces would target Israel and American bases in the region.
In a show of power, the Iranian military has recently test-fired its medium- and long-range missiles -- such as the advanced Shahab-3 and the newly-tested Sejjil missile.
On Saturday, Brig. Gen. Hejazi said in spite of a ballistic response, Iran, in times of war, would become 'an even bigger quagmire' than Iraq and Afghanistan for the US.
For Washington to assist Tel Aviv in a war against Tehran, its forces would have to use territories of the two US-occupied countries or Bahrain -- where the US 5th Fleet is stationed. "We have ensured that if any harm is inflicted on Iran, anyone who assists the aggressor will suffer hurtful retribution," warned Jazayeri.
The Iranian general also claimed that the IRGC naval forces are capable of destroying US warships in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz -- if the White House envisions a new military conflict in the oil-rich region.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/23/2008 00:00 ||
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Somali pirates holding an oil-laden Saudi super-tanker for a $25 million dollar ransom said they will fight back should any military intervention to free the ship be attempted, a member of the pirate group said Saturday. "I hope the owner of the tanker is wise enough and won't allow any military option because that would be disastrous for everybody. We are here to defend the tanker if attacked," Abdiyare Moalim told AFP.
(SomaliNet) Somali pirates have collected more than $150 million in ransoms over the past year, Kenya's foreign minister says. 
(SomaliNet) The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Luis Moreno Ocampo wants to arrest three rebel leaders from the Sudanese region of Darfur and prosecute them for war crimes. 
(SomaliNet) Countries bordering the Red Sea pledged to cooperate at a meeting in the Egyptian capital Cairo on Thursday, where they discussed hijackings by Somali pirates. 
Deep in Yemen's restive desert, terrorists target a family of European tourists. While the country mourns the deadly attack, an elite government force storms the killers' mountain hideout and brings them down in a hail of artillery. Ripped from the headlines - and punched up with some nifty military heroics - this is the plot of "A Losing Bet," a new film financed by the government of Yemen that aims to educate a terror-scarred nation about the consequences of jihad.
Ferik Duka said last week that he had brought his family to the United States nearly 25 years ago for a better life. Once, he thought he had found it. Now, he and his wife, Zurata, sit in a federal courtroom in Camden each day watching and listening as their three oldest children, sons Dritan, 29, Shain, 27, and Eljvir, 25, stand trial on allegations that they plotted a jihad-inspired attack on Fort Dix.
Pakistan's UN ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon has proposed that a joint Pakistani, NATO and US military force under the command of Gen Ashfaq Kayani should be set up to increase co-ordination and "curb terrorists across the Pak-Afghan border".
A defense establishment paper recommends making contingency plans to attack Iran, reaching an agreement with Syria that includes leaving the Golan Heights and preventing new elections in the Palestinian Authority, even if this means a confrontation with the United States. 
