Hi there, !
Today Sat 01/02/2010 Fri 01/01/2010 Thu 12/31/2009 Wed 12/30/2009 Tue 12/29/2009 Mon 12/28/2009 Sun 12/27/2009 Archives
Rantburg
533705 articles and 1862008 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 86 articles and 303 comments as of 10:22.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Iran MPs call for 'maximum punishment' of protesters
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 2: WoT Background
5 00:00 Cornsilk Blondie [1] 
4 00:00 Rhodesiafever [] 
0 [4] 
2 00:00 JosephMendiola [] 
5 00:00 Mike Hunt [4] 
8 00:00 JosephMendiola [] 
6 00:00 crosspatch [] 
3 00:00 Jame Retief [] 
2 00:00 Mitch H. [] 
0 [6] 
0 [] 
0 [2] 
0 [1] 
0 [1] 
5 00:00 Barbara Skolaut [9] 
0 [4] 
0 [1] 
0 [2] 
2 00:00 ed [6] 
6 00:00 Cyber Sarge [] 
2 00:00 Uncle Phester [4] 
6 00:00 BigEd [8] 
15 00:00 abu do you love [1] 
Page 1: WoT Operations
2 00:00 JosephMendiola [1]
1 00:00 Mike Hunt [6]
3 00:00 Matt [2]
13 00:00 Rhodesiafever [2]
0 []
1 00:00 JosephMendiola [3]
11 00:00 Rhodesiafever [2]
2 00:00 Besoeker []
0 []
5 00:00 anonymous5089 []
7 00:00 Ho Chi Whavise4499 []
3 00:00 lotp []
0 [5]
0 [4]
1 00:00 mojo []
4 00:00 abu do you love [2]
0 [5]
0 [2]
3 00:00 JosephMendiola [4]
0 [1]
5 00:00 USN, Ret. [1]
0 [1]
10 00:00 USN, Ret. [6]
0 [1]
3 00:00 JosephMendiola []
1 00:00 JosephMendiola [5]
0 [4]
8 00:00 Dean Wormer []
Page 3: Non-WoT
1 00:00 Atomic Conspiracy [3]
4 00:00 Mike Hunt [4]
1 00:00 gromky [5]
6 00:00 Uncle Phester [1]
11 00:00 Rambler in Virginia [4]
1 00:00 Besoeker [1]
7 00:00 Mike Hunt []
1 00:00 USN, Ret. []
1 00:00 JosephMendiola []
4 00:00 Scooter McGruder []
0 [1]
1 00:00 Grunter []
Page 4: Opinion
3 00:00 AlanC [2]
3 00:00 JosephMendiola [3]
1 00:00 Abu Uluque [1]
2 00:00 Don Vito Anginegum8261 [2]
4 00:00 Steve White [1]
0 [1]
5 00:00 lord garth []
1 00:00 lex []
1 00:00 Besoeker [1]
0 []
2 00:00 g(r)omgoru []
9 00:00 BigEd [1]
1 00:00 Procopius2k on vacation [1]
31 00:00 Zebulon Ebbusoger5635 [5]
1 00:00 Bobby [1]
2 00:00 BigEd [4]
3 00:00 AlanC [1]
Page 6: Politix
10 00:00 DarthVader [2]
7 00:00 JosephMendiola [2]
6 00:00 Abu Uluque [1]
6 00:00 CrazyFool []
4 00:00 anymouse []
9 00:00 eLarson [1]
Arabia
Yemen permits wanted al Qaeda leaders to operate in the open
That should make them easier to find.
Posted by: tipper || 12/30/2009 10:14 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:


Al-Qaeda in Yemen Expands Operations
[Asharq al-Aswat] Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which claimed responsibility for the attempted attack on a U.S. airliner bound for Detroit, is led by a Yemeni who was once a close aide to Osama bin Laden.

The group formed in January this year, when leader Naser Abdel Karim al-Wahishi announced a merger between operatives from Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Al-Wahishi, who goes by the alias Abu Basir, was among 23 al-Qaeda figures who escaped from a Yemeni prison in 2006. He is on Saudi Arabia's most wanted list, which includes many militants currently in Yemen.

At least two former detainees released in November 2007 from the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have resurfaced as al-Qaeda commanders in Yemen. Said al-Shihri, who was released from a Saudi rehabilitation program last year, is a deputy leader of the organization in Yemen. Another former Guantanamo inmate, Abu al-Hareth Muhammad al-Oufi, surfaced in January in a video clip showing him sporting a bandolier of bullets as an al-Qaeda field commander.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has been blamed for a series of attacks in Yemen, including an assault against the U.S. embassy in San'a, and suicide bombings targeting South Korean visitors. Recently, the group indicated it was ready to take its fight beyond Yemen. The government there said the Nigerian accused in the Christmas day attack on the U.S. airliner visited Yemen this year. In claiming responsibility for that attack, al-Qaeda urged supporters to get the "infidels" out of the Arabian peninsula. The call echoed Osama bin Laden, who criticized Saudi Arabia for hosting American military bases.

The group's first operation outside Yemen was carried out in Saudi Arabia this August against the kingdom's counterterrorism chief, though that bomb attack failed.

Experts believe the al-Qaeda fighters number in the low hundreds. The group appears to be well funded and has found sanctuaries among a number of Yemeni tribes, particularly in three eastern provinces.
This article starring:
ABU AL HARETH MUHAMAD AL UFIAl-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
ABU BASIRAl-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
NASER ABDEL KARIM AL WAHISHIAl-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
SAID AL SHIHRIAl-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Posted by: Fred || 12/30/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia


China-Japan-Koreas
Over 80% of N. Koreans Depend on Markets
Around 80 to 90 percent of North Koreans buy daily necessities in the market and an average of one person per household is a trader, making it unlikely that the regime will succeed in reverting to a centralized economy, an academic says.
When the state utterly fails to provide the basics, people will find a way to care for themselves.
Han Ki-bum, a North Korea expert and former National Intelligence Service agent analyzed the North Korean economy over the past 10 years and submitted a dissertation to Kyungnam University on Tuesday.

Citing interviews with North Korean defectors and sources in the North, Han wrote, "Some traders promote fantasies about South Korean goods. When young customers approach, these merchants tell them, 'Look at the [South Korean] mark. It's the best. Take it or regret it later.'"
Posted by: Steve White || 12/30/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Around 80 to 90 percent of North Koreans buy daily necessities in the market and an average of one person per household is a trader,

This sounds exactly like my History lessons of the USA before 1800.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/30/2009 1:05 Comments || Top||

#2  When the state utterly fails to provide the basics, people will find a way to care for themselves.

Well, those that survive, anyways.
Posted by: Mitch H. || 12/30/2009 8:48 Comments || Top||


Europe
Dutch to use full body scanners for US flights
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/30/2009 11:08 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Does this mean they'll allow US Air Marshals on flights?
Posted by: Frozen Al || 12/30/2009 12:26 Comments || Top||

#2  I can fix this problem. For all international flights

1) Sky marshals.

2) Hand-screen of every piece of carry-on luggage.

3) Psychology screening: a trained screener talks to each passenger and looks for inconsistencies, anxiety, etc.

4) Shorten, not lengthen, the no-fly list, make it accurate as possible, and enforce it rigorously. Better yet, incarcerate every person on the no-fly list. There's a job for Interpol.

5) Make clear that countries with a significant number of al-Qaeda crazies residing within pay a price: for example, no more visas for ANY of their citizens to come to the U.S. If we can't trust them to take care of their citizens, we can't trust their citizens in our country.
Posted by: Steve White || 12/30/2009 14:41 Comments || Top||

#3  Make clear that countries with a significant number of al-Qaeda crazies residing within pay a price: for example, no more visas for ANY of their citizens to come to the U.S. If we can't trust them to take care of their citizens, we can't trust their citizens in our country.

No more Saudi students or British visitors to Disneyland.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/30/2009 18:45 Comments || Top||

#4  The petroleum curtain?
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 12/30/2009 18:53 Comments || Top||

#5  Nice list, Dr Steve. If only they would implement it.

(Of course, I'd be happy to settle for a small pack of Vietnamese potbelly pigs on each flight. They'd amuse the kids, and freak out the jihadi wannabes who would be afraid that they might get a speck of lard on them when the plane goes boom.)
Posted by: Cornsilk Blondie || 12/30/2009 21:18 Comments || Top||


“Al-Qaeda practises beating body scanners”
A body scanner at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport would not necessarily have detected the explosives which the would-be syringe bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab had sewn into his underwear. A Dutch military intelligence source told De Telegraaf newspaper that Al Qaeda has its own security scanners and has been practicing ways of concealing explosives.

The terrorist group has even carried out test runs at smuggling explosives through European airports, the paper reports.

On Monday Schiphol's operational manager Ad Rutten said the explosives carried by the 23-year-old Nigerian Abdulmutallab may well have been detected had he been scanned by one of the airport's 15 body scanners. Schiphol was the first airport to run a trial of body scanners, which use sound waves to see through passengers' clothing. At present the scanners are only an optional alternative to the conventional metal detector, as European privacy laws prevent them being made compulsory.

Since the attempted attack on the flight from Schiphol to Detroit, Schiphol has been operating tightened security measures. Around 50 extra security staff have been hired in to carry out the tightened checks on passengers to the United States. All passengers to the US are now being body searched at the gate. The airport says that while the chance of discovering any concealed explosives is still not 100 percent, it is at least much higher than it was.
Posted by: tipper || 12/30/2009 10:18 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  We can play this game all day long. My 13 year old could smuggle a bomb on a plane if he thought about it for ten minutes. The way to stop it is to kill the organizations that promote this behavior, kill the ideology and the leaders that recruit and promote this. We need to go after the people that fund these people. We need to not invest in scanners for airports, we need to eliminate the people that are trying to kill us. Read killing Pablo, use it as a model, stop feeling guilty for killing bad guys and make this country safe.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 12/30/2009 16:12 Comments || Top||

#2  I referred that excellent book to a fellow recently Pan. He replied, "I don't have to read it." I didn't ask any additional questions.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/30/2009 16:22 Comments || Top||

#3  It's a good book. Your friend must be an interesting person.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 12/30/2009 16:34 Comments || Top||

#4  I stopped feeling guilty quite a few years ago.
Posted by: Rhodesiafever || 12/30/2009 18:00 Comments || Top||


'European funding of Israeli NGOs isn't 'meddling' in policy'
The EU's funding of NGOs in Israel does not constitute meddling in Israeli political affairs, and the EU hopes the government will not place restrictions on outside funding of these groups, the EU's new ambassador to Israel told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday.
it isn't 'meddling in policy'--- it's war by other means.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/30/2009 03:16 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The odd part is why Israel doesn't fight back against the EU. The EU does not have any considerable intestinal fortitude, and with a little finesse, Israel could make them back off.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/30/2009 8:58 Comments || Top||

#2  Never do your enemy a small injury, Anonymoose.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/30/2009 9:30 Comments || Top||

#3  Never do your enemy a small injury


Lethality should be at the heart of all operations against the enemy.
Posted by: Jame Retief || 12/30/2009 10:12 Comments || Top||


Fifth Column
Al-Jazeera, Hamas TV Interview Former British MP George Galloway

Notice the numerous "allan willing"... are the "we" and the - literal, I mean, come on! - arab butt-kissing of "gorgeous george" just some good old fashioned huckstery, or, is he fully on the other side (he did marry muslim broads, after all)? Or maybe a mix of those two...? A whore, a fellow traveller, something in-between?
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 12/30/2009 08:13 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Tragically, he is still an MP. He was expelled from Labour, so is now an independent.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/30/2009 8:55 Comments || Top||

#2  Follow the money.

IIRC, his charity ("Maryam Appeal"?) was taking kickbacks from Saddam. Prob'y now on the Hamas payroll
Posted by: lex || 12/30/2009 9:15 Comments || Top||

#3  100-1, leads back to BRITISH Labour Party.
Posted by: Rhodesiafever || 12/30/2009 18:05 Comments || Top||

#4  No sour grapes there RF. Clearly a legacy of treacherous old Harold Wilson. May 24th, 1995 not a bad day, not a bad day at all.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/30/2009 18:09 Comments || Top||

#5  Galloway is in need of a severe beatdown.
Posted by: Mike Hunt || 12/30/2009 20:51 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Obama Quietly Changes U.S. Immigration Policy
The Obama administration quietly announced last week that it would overturn one of the harsh immigration enforcement measures enacted by the Bush administration following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Beginning next month, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said, those who arrive in the United States fleeing torture or persecution abroad will no longer automatically be welcomed with handcuffs and months in a jail cell. Instead, many of those seeking protection will again be permitted to live freely in the country while their applications for permanent asylum are considered by an immigration judge.
Posted by: ed || 12/30/2009 06:39 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Oh, goody! Now the bad guys can fly in, get a few lap dances, and then blow up a domestic airliner.

Any chance the One will re-visit this decision after the Christmas Miracle?
Posted by: Bobby || 12/30/2009 7:05 Comments || Top||

#2  So the 'keep out of jail free card' simply reads "I am fleeing torture and persecution." Will we be using the UN definition? Appears we'd better get ready for an onslaught of persecuted Gazookians, unwanted criminals from Cuba, and other new Democrats from the middle east. With the dole and food stamp money running dreadfully low, one must wonder how we are to feed these people. The Napolitano "system is working" for us again.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/30/2009 7:30 Comments || Top||

#3  Mark Steyn once remarked that the quickest way for an immigrant to get into Canada legally would be to commit some horrid crime in the old country and claim he's fleeing to Canada to avoid torture and execution.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey || 12/30/2009 10:17 Comments || Top||

#4  When is the Obama administration going to take the "kick me" sign off the U.S.? Why is he asking for trouble?
Posted by: JohnQC || 12/30/2009 10:59 Comments || Top||

#5  Why do I think we're living The Manchurian Candidate, Part Deux?
Posted by: Black Bart Ebberens7700 || 12/30/2009 12:22 Comments || Top||

#6  So I imagine we will now see full flights of "refugees" from Somalia and Yemen.
Posted by: crosspatch || 12/30/2009 18:24 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
Flight 253 jihadist: "I imagine how the great jihad will take place, how the muslims will win"
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 12/30/2009 08:25 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Fox Nuus just reported the Detroit Jihad lad has confessed that "there are hundreds like him training in Yemen." Barry may have to very soon direct a mandetory conscription of "man-made disaster" and "isolated act" lawyers.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/30/2009 9:35 Comments || Top||

#2  MUTALLAB II > IIHC, FOX NEWS AM Segment repor that another male airline passenger has been arrested bu authorities in MOGADISHU allegedly carrying chemicals + syringe which could be used as a bomb???

Lest we fergit, the closer ISLAMIST IRAN gets to effec formal indigens Nuclearization [Year 2012 maxima], THE GREATER THE PROBABIL OF MULTIPLE TERROR STRIKES BEING PLANNED + LAUNCHED AGZ THE USA PROPER.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/30/2009 18:10 Comments || Top||


Muslim Guerilla Training in New York
Posted by: ed || 12/30/2009 06:59 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Please post to page 1.
Posted by: ed || 12/30/2009 7:06 Comments || Top||

#2  Moved to page 2. We try to keep page 1 for violence committed, page 2 for background and prep.
Posted by: lotp || 12/30/2009 7:35 Comments || Top||

#3  Blind Gov. Paterson was heard to remark: "I'll keep an eye out for 'em."
Posted by: Black Bart Ebberens7700 || 12/30/2009 12:13 Comments || Top||

#4  Where is the FBI? Where is Janet?
Posted by: anymouse || 12/30/2009 13:30 Comments || Top||

#5  Covering butt.
Posted by: JohnQC || 12/30/2009 14:40 Comments || Top||

#6  That's a lot of covering, John....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 12/30/2009 15:31 Comments || Top||

#7  this has been going on in New York for quite some time. I saw a piece on tv about this compound they have up there over 6 months ago. Muslims have these little "communities" all over the place. There is also one in Franklin County GA where you can hear automatic weapons being fired all the time. Local law enforcement is scared too go there and have only saw the FBI come anywhere near it once and that was right after 911
Posted by: chris || 12/30/2009 17:31 Comments || Top||

#8  IIRC FOXNEWS > Guest Pert FRANK GAFFNEY > opined that the USA WILL TRULY LOSE THE WOT IFF

* HIDE OUR HEADS IN THE GROUND LIKE OSTRICHES.

* AMERS [espec WASH Govt. Leadership] REFUSE TO RECOGNIZE THAT THE ISLAMIST JIHAD IS A REAL THREAT TO OUR NATIONAL SURVIVAL + CHOOSE TO RESPOND/FIGHT AGZ IT WID PCORRECTNESS + HALF-MEASURES.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/30/2009 17:57 Comments || Top||


US group to protest terrorism in name of Islam
[Al Arabiya Latest] A Detroit-based American attorney told Al Arabiya on Tuesday he is organizing a peaceful protest against terrorism in the name of Islam on the day the U.S. District Court has scheduled a hearing for the Nigerian who attempted to blow up a Delta airlines flight.

"For eight or nine years Muslims are attacked by the media and by terrorists who pretend to represent us. It is time we take a stand and show Islam is not an evil religion, it is a religion of peace. Those who would commit terrorism do not represent Islam," Majed Moughni, organizer of the Dearborn Area Community Members, told Al Arabiya.

" For 8 or 9 years Muslims are attacked by the media and by terrorists who pretend to represent us. It is time we take a stand and show Islam is not an evil religion, it is a religion of peace. Those who would commit terrorism do not represent Islam "
Majed Moughni, organizer
The Detroit bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, is accused of trying to attack Northwest Airlines flight 253 en route to Detroit Metro Airport on Christmas Day, by attempting to detonate an explosive device on board. He claimed he was acting on al-Qaeda orders.

Moughni's Facebook group, the Dearborn Area Community Members, called for local Muslims and other citizens to join the protest and take a strong stand against Abdulmutallab's actions.

One post read: "Please bring your signs, and American flags: theme: "NOT IN THE NAME OF ISLAM."

Posted by: Fred || 12/30/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Global Jihad

#1  time we take a stand and show Islam is not an evil religion

While I like the idea, it's not much and kind of late. And good luck with it, Majed - betcha some of your 'peaceful' brethren show up looking for a fight.
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/30/2009 7:50 Comments || Top||

#2  The insurmountable problem is, when your prophet says it's OK to lie "whenever you're uncomfortable", who's ever going to believe you're telling the truth.
Posted by: Mad Eye Flomort8998 || 12/30/2009 10:45 Comments || Top||

#3  there was a similar event in 2005 initiated by the Free Muslim Coalition Against Terror (or Terrorism)

It was endorsed by a bunch of moderate/reformer/progressive muslims but opposed by CAIR, etc.

per this report, it was attended by fewer than 100 people (some of whom were not muslims)

Posted by: lord garth || 12/30/2009 12:09 Comments || Top||

#4  I want to stand up and be counted: I don't beat my wife.
Posted by: Hammerhead || 12/30/2009 12:39 Comments || Top||

#5  The Muslims are Peace lie is getting very old, and proved a pure lie.

If you really want the world's respect, modify your religious teachings and clean your own house.
If not, the hell with all Muslims.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/30/2009 13:23 Comments || Top||

#6  Can't wait to see the huge crowds. waiting, waiting, waiting........Thought so
Posted by: Cyber Sarge || 12/30/2009 15:28 Comments || Top||


Obama says 'systemic failure' allowed airline plot
President Barack Obama said Tuesday that "a systemic failure" allowed the attempted Christmas Day attack on a Detroit-bound flight from Amsterdam. He called it "totally unacceptable."

The president said he wants preliminary results by Thursday from two investigations he has ordered to examine the many lapses that occurred. It will take weeks for a more comprehensive investigation into what allowed a 23-year-old Nigerian carrying explosives onto the flight despite the fact the suspect had possible ties to al-Qaida, Obama said.

"It's essential we diagnose the problems quickly," he said, interrupting his vacation for a second consecutive day to address the incident, with more anger this time directed at the flaws in the U.S. system.

The suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, was on one advisory list, but never made it onto more restrictive lists that would have caught the attention of U.S. counterterrorist screeners, despite his father's warnings to U.S. Embassy officials in Nigeria last month. Those warnings also did not result in Abdulmutallab's U.S. visa being revoked.

On top of that, airport security equipment did not detect the bomb-making devices and materials he allegedly carried on board.

Obama said many things went right after the incident, with passengers and the flight crew subduing the man and government officials working quickly to increase security.

However, he said: "What's also clear is this: When our government has information on a known extremist and that information is not shared and acted upon as it should have been ... a systemic failure has occurred. And I consider that totally unacceptable."

Posted by: Fred || 12/30/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda

#1  At first when I watched his speach today I thought, Oh look, he's finally getting some balls. Then the sad realization sets in. This is typical pattern. He is blaming America for the bomber. It's our fault, the CIA, FBI, the systems fault the bomber got through security. Just like he called the Mass police stupid and his wife said she was never proud to be an American. He, our president is supposed to be on our side, this guy was a terrorist, now our president has turned it into being our fault, he got through because we failed. Bullshit! He needs to stand up and say,"This terrorist tried to hurt my country. I will do everything in my power to hunt down everyone involved in this terrorist act. I will not rest until everyone involved in this event are brought to justice." But of course he won't, our prez is a coward.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 12/30/2009 0:55 Comments || Top||

#2  it has been a systemic failure... a failure for the people of this country to learn the lesson that life is not always fair, that sometimes you need to take care of yourself, and the government is not the answer to all your problems. there has been a systematic failure by the central institutions of this country(aided by 5th columnists on the left) to teach common values to our youth and to set a standard where someone is responsible for the outcomes of their actions.

Obama is the pentacle of this failure and our country will remain beclowned by him for 3 more years. he is the product of a broken system that promotes failure and lionizes victimhood.

excuse me, i need to go vomit
Posted by: abu do you love || 12/30/2009 1:06 Comments || Top||

#3  The cheapest and most effective solution for preventing these people from terrorizing America is to simply stop granting them visas to come to America. All of the 9/11 hijackers had visas and were probably having their expenses paid by some ridiculous diversity-driven foreign aid program. The underwear bomber had a visa. Take a politically incorrect turn and stop granting visas to Arabs and Muslims until the jihad is over. Stop letting innocents be slaughtered on the alter of political correctness.
Posted by: elio17 || 12/30/2009 1:57 Comments || Top||

#4  indeed... rather than the US having to prove they should not be let in, make them prove they should. place the presumption on 'danger' until proven shown otherwise.
Posted by: abu do you love || 12/30/2009 2:48 Comments || Top||

#5  Systemic failure means Bush's system failed. So it's not his fault.

One - or more - scapegoats must be found.
Posted by: Bobby || 12/30/2009 6:05 Comments || Top||

#6  "Obama is the pentacle of this failure "

LOL! I'm sure you mean "pinnacle", but I like your version too - it is funnier.
Posted by: Scooter McGruder || 12/30/2009 6:27 Comments || Top||

#7  Obama should be careful with is verbiage. I suspect many Americans are beginning to suspect his election was the result of systemic failure.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 12/30/2009 6:47 Comments || Top||

#8  I thought Janet said the system worked perfectly? Maybe only 'her' system worked, the part left over from Bush is what failed?
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/30/2009 7:54 Comments || Top||


#10  49 Pan- well said!
Posted by: Hammerhead || 12/30/2009 12:42 Comments || Top||

#11  "Barrack Obama Said"
AUTOMATIC, TURN OFF THE EARS.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/30/2009 13:14 Comments || Top||

#12  ObamaSpeakTM: "Systemic" = Bush
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 12/30/2009 13:23 Comments || Top||

#13  Obumble: Before I read this on TV, what does the word "systemic" mean?

TelePrompter: Systemic refers to something that is spread throughout, system-wide, affecting a group or system such as a body, economy, market or society as a whole. It should not be confused with "systematic", which means methodical.

Oblahblah: Wah?

TelPrompter: In this case it means it's Bush's fault.

Obambi: That's better. Could you post it phonetically for me?
Posted by: regular joe || 12/30/2009 16:41 Comments || Top||

#14  "Systemic failure" > USA, or the Dutchies? Yemenis? Somalis???

* PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > OBAMA: MILITANTS IN AFGHANISTAN, PAKISTAN, YEMEN, AND SOMALIA ARE PLANNING ATTACKS AGZ THE USA, + anywhere else in World Islamist MilTerrs are.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/30/2009 19:11 Comments || Top||

#15  yeah, i did want pinnacle, but typoed and clicked the wrong one in the spellchecker.... not enough time catching ZZZs,,,

Posted by: abu do you love || 12/30/2009 23:35 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
JI demands probe into Karachi blast, fire incident
[Geo News] Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi Hussain Mehanti has demanded judicial probe into Karachi suicide blast and fire incidents. Mehanti was addressing a meeting of district leaders. The meeting passed a unanimous resolution demanding the government to arrest the real culprits behind the attack and give financial assistance to the families of Karachi blast victims. Medical facilities should be provided to the injured and government should compensate losses of the traders besides announcing a financial package. Meanwhile, Muhammad Hussain Mehanti and Ex-MPA Nasrullah Khan visited Jinnah Hospital and inquired about their health. Earlier, members of All Pakistan Small traders Organization met with Jamat-e-Islami Karachi leaders and apprised them of the losses.
Posted by: Fred || 12/30/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Islami


Terrorists out to destabilise Pakistan: Sharif
[Dawn] Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has strongly condemned the suicide attack on the main Ashura procession in Karachi on Monday afternoon.

Speaking to the media in Lahore, the PML-N chief said the blast in Karachi was yet another attempt by terrorists to destabilise the country and that 'they are enemies of Islam and Pakistan.'

Sharif added that the amendments made by military dictators in the 1973 constitution must be immediately abolished in order to restore some form of stability in Pakistan.
Posted by: Fred || 12/30/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Iraq
Iraqi MP: 30,000 Baathists Included in Debathification Program
[Asharq al-Aswat] Baathists said that they feel like they are heading towards an increase in "stability and security" thanks to a number of [political] lists that will participate in the upcoming legislative elections scheduled for March 2010. These [electoral] lists will work to "return the rights of Baathists who were wronged by some political parties" following the collapse of the previous Iraqi regime. For his part, Iraqi Virtue party MP Sabah al-Saadi said "there are 30 thousand Baathists included in the Debathification [program] who hold sensitive [political] positions in the Iraqi state today.

Abu Ahmed, a former member of the dissolved Baathist party told Asharq Al-Awsat that "following the occupying forces control of Iraq, we felt panic and fear, but despite all of this we still had hope, especially as the President Saddam Hussein was still alive, but after his death there was severe fear and loss of hope for the majority of Baathists with regards to living a decent life."

Abu Ahmed added "most of us [Baathists] wanted to live in peace with a new life away from arrests and surveillance, and subpoenaing by security men. We suffered a lot as a result of political parties, and they asked a lot from us, we even surrendered our personal weapons to them but to no avail."

Former US Administrator of Iraq, Paul Bremer, initiated the Debathification committee in the wake of the collapse of the Saddam Hussein regime in April 2003, to pursue the Baathists [and prevent them from holding political positions]. The committee's name was later changed to the "Accountability and Justice" committee, and the Iraqi parliament voted to enact a special law [on former Baathist members].

A former member of the Baathist party who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat on the condition of anonymity said "the smile has returned to our faces after almost 7 years, and we expect good [to come from] the nomination of individuals and [political] lists to stand at the forthcoming elections and return to us what has been lost, especially as most of us have faced injustice and have not committed any crime."

This former Baathist party member, who joined the party in the 1980s, said "we have been waiting for these candidate lists to stand for election for several years, and [we expect] them to have a comfortable majority in the forthcoming Council of Representatives in order to defend our rights."

He added "we will vote for the list that is closest to us and will achieve our ambitions."

Posted by: Fred || 12/30/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Iraqi Baath Party


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Hamas: We wont sign Egyptian unity plan
[Ma'an] Hamas does not want to sign the Egyptian reconciliation document, but the party is ready to talk unity, Hamas politburo deputy chief Moussa Abu Marzouq told Saudi newspapers Tuesday.

Hamas leaders are ready to talk about reconciliation, but not on the terms of the Cairo document, the leader said, as high-profile Hamas leaders met in Damascus to discuss the same issues, along with Israel's latest offer in prisoner swap talks.

Abu Marzouq said the issue of reconciliation was at the top of the party's priority list, along with securing a prisoner release in exchange for a captured Israeli soldier.

Hamas will not think of signing the document unless our comments are taken into account, Abu Marzouq said, noting that if Egypt was not capable of brokering a deal than Palestinians would go elsewhere for assistance.
Posted by: Fred || 12/30/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Egypt: Viva Palestina must obey our rules
[Ma'an] The Egyptian government has the right to determine through which port aid convoys to Gaza can arrive, and to request cooperation from the activists, Husam Zaki, spokesman of the Egyptian foreign ministry told Egyptian TV on Monday.

Zaki told Egypt's Channel Two that activists had finally listened to government orders, saying they would re-route the convoy to travel via Al-Arish, the Mediterranean port, rather than Nuweiba, the Red Sea port.

Viva Palestina organizers lamented in a statement that the demand would "add days and costs to the journey, as it [would] entail hiring ships and sailing around the Sinai Peninsula through the Suez canal." The first two convoys also traveled to Gaza via Al-Arish, and organizers did not explain why they had changed course for this trip.

The first Viva Palestina convoy, backed by British MP George Galloway, started in the UK, went south to Spain, then across North Africa to Egypt. For second convoy, in June, delegates flew into Cairo and drove equipment to the Rafah crossing.

The latest convoy travelled through Europe to Turkey and down to Jordan via Syria. Egyptian spokesman Zaki said he understood why the group chose to travel through Turkey.

"We realized the political goals behind passage through Turkey, most of the participants and the aid were from Turkey," Zaki said. He said Egypt had no problem with Turkish aid and Viva Palestina delegates coming into the country, but asked that participants respect the government decision.

He explained that a route for the convoy via Al-Arish had been approved by Egypt's security services, adding that all aid destined for Gaza was required to clear at the port in Al-Arish only.

Zaki said the convoy organizers were informed of the rules, but said the "did not even bother to reply" to the Egyptian communiqué.

Organizers told Ma'an they notified Egyptian officials of both the route of the third convoy and details of all the participants "well in advance" of the travel date, and added that they were only told of the rules preventing them from using the Nuwbia port on 21 December.

Zaki said the route for the convoy via Al-Arish had been approved by Egypt's security services, adding that all aid destined for Gaza was required to clear at the port in Al-Arish only.

Zaki said the convoy organizers were informed of the rules, but said the "did not even bother to reply" to the Egyptian communiqué. A spokeswoman from the Viva Palestina office in London said the accusation was false.
Posted by: Fred || 12/30/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Southeast Asia
Top's relatives are suspects
[Straits Times] INDONESIAN police said the brother and father-in-law of Noordin Mohammad Top, one of Asia's most wanted men before he was killed in a raid in September, were being held on suspicion of hiding the late militant.

Top's father-in-law Bahrudin Latif and his son, who were captured last week in West Java, were suspected of possessing material used for homemade bombs.
Ito Sumardi, chief of police detectives, told reporters on Tuesday that Bahrudin Latif, also known as Baridin, and his son, who were captured last week in West Java, were also suspected of possessing explosive material used for homemade bombs.

Malaysian-born Top set up a violent splinter group of regional militant network Jemaah Islamiah, which was responsible for a series of attacks in Indonesia including the bombing of two luxury hotel bombings in Jakarta in July.

Mr Sumardi said police were investigating the network linked to Baridin, who was being held in Jakarta. Police have previously accused Top's father-in-law, who was a veteran of the Afghanistan conflict, of being a key figure in Al-Qaeda in Southeast Asia.

The militant has been on the run since fleeing just before a raid earlier this year in which police found a cache of explosive material in the back garden of his home in Cilacap, Central Java. Baridin's daughter married Top in 2006 and the couple had two children, according to the International Crisis Group.

Tito Karnavian, the head of Indonesia's anti-terrorism unit Detachment 88, said last week that despite set backs militant cells in Indonesia were still actively recruiting new members and planning attacks, the Jakarta Post reported.
Posted by: Fred || 12/30/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Jemaah Islamiyah


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Fatah official: Deadly Beirut blast was an accident
[Ma'an] Fatah Central Committee member Sultan Abul Enein said on Tuesday that the blast in Beirut on Saturday that caused the deaths of two Hamas members was an accident.

He said in an interview with Voice of Palestine radio that the explosion resulted from a "misuse of arms," and had no security or political significance.
Smoking while unloading the dynamite boxes, was it? Tusk tusk.
He did not say on what basis he made these assertions. Abul Enein served as one of Fatah's senior leaders in Lebanon for years before moving to the West Bank in August.

The two Hamas members were buried on Tuesday. Hamas has not publicly accused anyone of carrying out the apparent bombing.

Speaking at the funeral on Monday, Hamas' top leader in Lebanon, Osama Hamdan declined to speculate on who was responsible. Also on Monday Lebanon's official National News Agency reported that the blast had been caused by 15 kilograms of TNT.
This article starring:
OSAMA HAMDANHamas
SULTAN ABUL ENEINFatah
Posted by: Fred || 12/30/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [9 views] Top|| File under: Fatah

#1  Hmmm, I've noticed an increase in Boomers going boom whenetting their devices, Scraping the bottom of the gene pool aparently.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/30/2009 1:10 Comments || Top||

#2  Safety rules say to enforce radio silence when handling explosives with electrical detonators. Maybe somebody is driving around Beirut transmitting volumes of radio 'noise' and every now and then happen to do so as they pass a bomb factory. This would be strictly an unwitting malfunction of their CB, certainly.
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/30/2009 7:45 Comments || Top||

#3  they passed up an oppurtunity too blame it on the jews? has hell frozen over?
Posted by: chris || 12/30/2009 17:33 Comments || Top||

#4  This supports my guess that Hezb wired the car and it went off before it was supposed to killing some Hezb workers and some Hamas guards. Hamas is afraid to blame Hezb and Hezb is afraid to admit their guys messed up.
Posted by: lord garth || 12/30/2009 19:48 Comments || Top||

#5  It was an accident, all right.

They meant to kill Joooooooos instead....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 12/30/2009 20:05 Comments || Top||


Iran: Fatemeh Karroubi Condemns Attacks Against Her Family
A statement from Fatemeh Karroubi, wife of opposition leader and disputing candidate of Iran's June presidential elections, Mehdi Karroubi, was issued today denouncing the attacks against her family.

Ms. Karroubi writes that her family has been threatened by "nightly attacks of arbitrary forces." She adds that she holds the government responsible for anything that may befall members of her family.

Mehdi Karroubi has been repeatedly attacked by pro-government forces in the past six months. In the latest attack a group of government supporters in plain clothes attacked his car a few days ago.

Hosein Karroubi, son of the opposition leader, has announced that his father is "partially imprisoned" because his security personnel refuse to cooperate with him anymore.

Ms. Karroubi writes that certain officials have given the "green light" to a group of arbitrary forces passing as "revolutionaries" to attack "senior figures of the system."

She adds that these elements have been trained in specific sessions to commit any "immoral, illegal and irreligious act."

She also refutes recent rumours of her husband's arrest.

In the past two days, more and more hardliners have urged the judiciary to arrest the two opposition leaders, Mehdi Karroubi and MirHosein Mousavi.

Today the judiciary announced that they have arrested over 20 political activists and journalists.

Posted by: Fred || 12/30/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


'Nauseating' Zionist play behind protests: Iran
[Al Arabiya Latest] Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused the United States and Israel on Tuesday of staging an anti-government protest in which at least eight people died, saying it was a "nauseating play."

His talk of a theatrical piece "commissioned and sold out" by the country's two arch-foes, came as Iran's parliament called for opposition demonstrators to be given maximum punishment, which is the death penalty.

" Americans and Zionists are the sole audience of a play they have commissioned and sold out. A nauseating play is performed "
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
"Iranians have seen lots of these games," the president was quoted by state news agency IRNA as saying.

"Americans and Zionists are the sole audience of a play they have commissioned and sold out. A nauseating play is performed."

Ahmadinejad also condemned comments made by U.S. President Barack Obama and the British government, who have lashed out over Iran's crackdown on protesters.

"We have advised them repeatedly but if looks as if they insist on being humiliated, we are sure they will be humiliated more than their predecessors," he said.

Posted by: Fred || 12/30/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  So its all staged by foreigners and/or it only has one tiny audience in Iowa and no one else in the whole wide world is paying attention? Paid for by Langley and the Juice? No sh9t.

And its a put up job and no one is watching? yeah?

Sell me some really greasy Polish baloney.

And all those people participating and some getting shot and who could have stayed home...why are THEY motivated? Motivated in such numbers that you have to censor your own Media coverage its so huge and all over the place. And did I mention you are shooting your own people? I thought I might bring that up.

And take a look at the currency in your wallet and tell me if any of the bills with the Ayatollah's picture on it have "Death" in Farsi written across his forehead and down his nose.

I think you are talking to yourself and that you just might be having a very bad day there, Pussy.

What else y'got?
Posted by: Angleton9 || 12/30/2009 6:06 Comments || Top||

#2  'Nauseating' Zionist play

Katz?
Posted by: ed || 12/30/2009 6:33 Comments || Top||


Obama denies US involvement in Iran protests
President Barack Obama on Monday expressed support for the protesters in Iran and denied that the United States or other foreign countries had anything to do with the unrest.

President Obama, in Hawaii where he is on a family vacation, condemned the violence against demonstrators on Ashura, the holiest religious ceremony on the Islamic calendar for Shias, and called for the release of those "unjustly detained" after the deadly protests.

Iran was the scene of protests on Sunday with security forces clashing with demonstrators who chanted anti-government slogans and damaged public property. According to Iran's police, seven people were killed during the unrest. The force says it neither used violence nor shot a single bullet and only used tear gas to disperse the protesters.

"For months, the Iranian people have sought nothing more than to exercise their universal rights," Obama told reporters. "Each time they have done so, they have been met with the iron fist of brutality, even on solemn occasions and holy days."

Iran on Tuesday blamed foreign countries for interfering, orchestrating and supporting the unrest in the country, which first erupted after the June 12 election.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the violent protests on the day of Ashura in Tehran were sporadic but well-guided and pre-planned. He said setting public property aflame and creating chaos is not acceptable anywhere in the world.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast said supporting the violation of law and encouraging protests is considered as "interference in the internal affairs" of Iran.

President Obama, however, sought to distance himself from the Iranian assertion, saying, "It's about the Iranian people, and their aspiration for justice, and a better life for themselves... And the decision of Iran's leaders to govern through fear and tyranny will not succeed in making those aspirations go away."

He said Washington or its allies had nothing to do with the protests.

Following the Sunday protests, Iranian security forces rounded up a number of opposition figures, including former foreign minister Ebrahim Yazdi, who is the current Secretary-General of the Iran Freedom Movement.

The protests were also met with widespread condemnation in the country, with Iranian lawmakers staging a rally to criticize the riots and the use of the sacred occasion, Ashura, to stage anti-government protests.

Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, who spoke to reporters after the rally on Tuesday, asked authorities to show "no mercy" to rioters.

"Majlis wants the judiciary and intelligence bodies to arrest those who insult religion and impose the maximum punishment on them without reservation," Larijani said.

Tehran Prosecutor-General Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi promised that the Judiciary would firmly deal with the rioters, Fars News Agency reported.
Posted by: Fred || 12/30/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Do the Mullahs think its going to go away?

I think Bambi is finally smelling the breeze and has decided to get his toes a bit wet in whatever that is that's flowing down the street. He's a careful kinda guy. Like with the Afghanistan thingy..he likes to take his time on these statesman type thingys. Solemn deliberation, deep thought...then decisive action ( with a bugout clause ). The man is a born politician, nearly a god really. Greek Columns and symbolic Seals and unique Logos and songs from choirs of schoolchildren.

And those speeches...uses "I" and "me" about 34 times whenever he gives one. And I like that rhetorical flourish of "some say..BUT I say". That's pure Jesus gold.

Meanwhile they are torching police cars and working in teams to isolate some Basij and beat his fu8king brains out in less than ten seconds of quick work. Ever worked in a ten man squad of College boys with kerosene soaked knotted newspapers in a big trash bag you can stuff under the popped up hood of a Police car or just bust out the side window with a pipe and light the whole sack in the drivers side?

Pick out a particular Policeman, isolate him and cut him off. Then get him. Do it fast. Knock him flat with pipes (Five men) Cut his uniform off him with box cutters and leave him naked.( three men ) Slit his nose down the center so he remembers.( do that yourself)

Work as a team. Get another one. Use the crowds for cover.
Posted by: Angleton9 || 12/30/2009 6:32 Comments || Top||

#2  A-9, I am SERIOUSLY glad that you are on "our side"....
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 12/30/2009 13:20 Comments || Top||


Iran MPs call for 'maximum punishment' of protesters
[Dawn] Iranian MPs called for the "maximum punishment" of opposition demonstrators on Tuesday after violent protests erupted during a Shia religious commemoration and eight people were killed.

The conservative-dominated parliament condemned "disgusting comments" by Western governments about Sunday's unrest and accused the protesters of being "anti-religion" and "counter-revolutionaries."

"Parliament wants the judiciary and intelligence bodies to arrest those who insult religion and impose the maximum punishment on them without reservation," said the statement read out by parliament speaker Ali Larijani on television.

But the MPs appeared to be softer on opposition leaders, who reject President Mahmoud Ahmadienjad's June re-election as fraudulent, and urged them to distance themselves from the protests.

"We expect these gentlemen who had complaints in the election to wake up and clearly separate their path from this wicked movement, not to come out and issue statements again and make the air dustier."

The MPs hit out at US President Barack Obama over his "statement in favour of this group which committed anti-religion acts on Ashura" and said it was reminiscent of his predecessor George W. Bush.

"Such praise disgraces you and causes the system to act more firmly," the statement said.

Obama demanded on Monday that Iran free those protesters it had detained and told the opposition that history was on its side as he led Western nations in denouncing the Islamic regime's deadly crackdown.

"The United States joins with the international community in strongly condemning the violent and unjust suppression of innocent Iranian citizens," Obama said in Hawaii where he is on holiday.

At least eight people were killed as security forces used teargas, batons and eventually live rounds to push back thousands who had taken to the street.

More than a dozen dissidents were also rounded up as the regime stepped up its crackdown on opposition.

The nephew of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi -- Ahmadinejad's main challenger in the disputed June election -- was also shot dead in the demonstration.
Posted by: Fred || 12/30/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  I think the vigilantism sign should be directed at the Iranian MPs who said this.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 12/30/2009 11:29 Comments || Top||

#2  Appears to me all these brave souls need for an internal solution are weapons and ammunition.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/30/2009 11:44 Comments || Top||

#3  "You can't win, Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine."
―Obi-Wan Kenobi
Posted by: Black Bart Ebberens7700 || 12/30/2009 12:25 Comments || Top||

#4  And the very haughty, French-looking Massachusetts Democrat, who by the way served in Vietnam wants to go to Iran.
Posted by: anymouse || 12/30/2009 13:00 Comments || Top||

#5  Can we make them keep him, anymouse?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 12/30/2009 14:02 Comments || Top||

#6  Barbara! LOL Tsk tsk - We do not know that he may be refused entry. There are livestock quarrantine rules, you, know! ;)
Posted by: BigEd || 12/30/2009 17:26 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
55[untagged]
6Govt of Iran
4TTP
3Hamas
2Global Jihad
2Taliban
2Govt of Pakistan
1Govt of Sudan
1Hezbollah
1Iraqi Baath Party
1Iraqi Insurgency
1Jamaat-e-Islami
1Jemaah Islamiyah
1Pirates
1al-Qaeda in Iraq
1al-Qaeda
1Commies
1Fatah
1al-Qaeda in Arabia

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

The Classics
The O Club
Rantburg Store
The Bloids
The Never-ending Story
Thugburg
Gulf War I
The Way We Were
Bio

Merry-Go-Blog











On Sale now!


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.
Click here for more information

Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Wed 2009-12-30
  Iran MPs call for 'maximum punishment' of protesters
Tue 2009-12-29
  Iran MPs rally against populace
Mon 2009-12-28
  13 turbans titzup in N.Wazoo dronezap
Sun 2009-12-27
  Mousavi's nephew banged in Tehran
Sat 2009-12-26
  Delta boomer wasn't on no-fly list
Fri 2009-12-25
  Nigerian attempts to detonate on Delta flight from Amsterdam
Thu 2009-12-24
  Yemeni strike kills 30, targets cleric linked to Ft. Hood attack
Wed 2009-12-23
  Iran militia attack pro-reform cleric's home in Qom
Tue 2009-12-22
  Clashes at Montazeri funeral
Mon 2009-12-21
  Terrorists kidnap Italian couple in Mauritania
Sun 2009-12-20
  Suspected Al Qaeda #1 in Yemen escapes raid, #2 doesn't
Sat 2009-12-19
  5 dead in N.Wazoo dronezap
Fri 2009-12-18
  La Belle France, U.S. launch offensive in Uzbin valley
Thu 2009-12-17
  12 dead in N.Wazoo dronezaps
Wed 2009-12-16
  First of 30,000 new troops arriving in Afghanistan


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.
18.190.159.10
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Operations (28)    Non-WoT (12)    Opinion (17)    (0)    Politix (6)