MIRAN SHAH, Pak-Afghan border, Jan 20 (NNI)
The rebel Afghan Pashtun commander Badshah Khan Zadran has made a patch-up with Afghan president Hamid Karzai, reports said Sunday. A formal rapprochement agreement will be reached soon. According to government sources, the rebel commander has been forced to make a patch-up with Karzai administration under the intensive US pressure. I doubt if it was us. He declared jihad against us. If he's been bought, I doubt if Zadran will stay bought.
On the other hand the tribes siding with Commander Zadran have expressed their full support to president Hamid Karzai and vowed to impose fine on those who have been siding with the rebel commander Zadran. The tribals are assured by the Kabul government that they would get their share from the international funding if they stop their support to Zadran. The United Nations officials as well as American Army commanders want tribals part ways with their rebel leader and side with the central government for the sake of peace. I get the feeling it's the tribals who've been bought off. If Zadran's a party to the agreement, I'd guess it's a sulking acquiescence, and that he intends to break it at the first opportunity. I do hope there's an "unfortunate accident" in his future.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
01/20/2003 09:00 am ||
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This hurts my brain - tribes siding with Zadran vowed to impose fines on those siding with Zadran.
Source: NNI
The Hamid Karzai government in Afghanistan has reportedly deployed over five thousand paramilitary troops and security personnel to curb the alleged Taliban and al-Qaida activities in the Spin Boldak area that borders with Pakistan. Reports from across the Chaman border of Pakistan said the deployments were made in the Spin Boldak suburbs including Loy Karez, Baljar, Maaroof and Uzghistan areas. Elaborating a recent clash between the government troops and the adversaries in the Loy Karez area, an Afghan army officer Maama Ubaiduulah told reporters that four persons were killed and five injured in the skirmish. If the place wasn't so close to Pakland, it would have happened someplace else that was...
Regarding the law and order situation in the Spin Boldak area, Maama said it was better now. He added that a self proclaimed Taliban leader Hafiz Abdur Rahim was hiding in the mountains and was launching attacks on security personnel. Another government official Haji Fazl Din Agha said that the law enforcement agencies had recently arrested two alleged members of the Hizb-e-Islami or al-Qaida. There are probably lots more of them to be found. The 5000 number sounds inflated, though. I think the locals may be assigning themselves more importance than they have...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
01/20/2003 09:00 am ||
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Colorful prose style courtesy the original source, link courtesy Drudge...
HATE-FILLED Muslim cleric Abu Hamza is being urged to quit the country â before Britain kicks him out. Furious opponents, including Muslims, rounded on the hook-handed fanatic yesterday after ricin plot suspects were held at his mosque. Their calls piled pressure on Home Secretary David Blunkett, who has already ordered cops to nail the 45-year-old Egyptian firebrand â wanted in Yemen over an alleged terrorist bomb plot. Sounds good, but so far it's nothing but a suggestion...
Last night it emerged Hamzaâs British citizenship could be revoked under the new Nationality Immigration and Asylum Act, due to become law this spring. Hamza, who lost an eye and both hands fighting the Russians in Afghanistan, became a citizen after wedding Briton Valerie Fleming in 1984. Or maybe he lost 'em playing with explosives, after the Russers were gone...
But a Home Office spokeswoman said: âThe Secretary of State may deprive a person of citizenship status if satisfied that person has done anything seriously prejudicial to the vital interests of the UK.â In a rational world, that would include working toward the overthrow of the state...
However, she stressed any foreigner deprived of British citizenship must have an alternative state to go to first. Yemen's nice this time of year...
Hamza accused cops of âRamboâ tactics after 150 swarmed into the mosque hunting members of a gang producing killer poison ricin. But fellow Muslim leader Dr Mohammed Sekkoum led angry calls for his expulsion. Dr Sekkoum, leader of the Algerian Refugee Council, raged: âThe police should shut down the mosque and remove Hamza and his followers from the country.â Cheeze, even his fellow Muslims can't stand him...
Iqbal Sacranie, secretary general of the influential Muslim Council of Great Britain, said: âIt amazes the Muslim community no action has been taken against a man whoâs made the utterances this man has. These fringe elements feed Islamaphobia.â Almost as much as the explosives do, Iqbal...
Labour MP Andrew Dismore, who has monitored Hamzaâs activities for more than three years, said: âIt would be no loss if he was no longer here. Thereâs sufficient evidence for him to be charged with incitement.â The place would smell better, and it would be a lot prettier...
Anti-crime crusader Norman Brennan added: âMy message to him is simple â get out.â Ah, but the purveyors of warm milk and multiculturalism haven't counterattacked and called you a racist yet, Norm. Aux barricades! They should be here any moment!
Hamza, who lives in a council house in Shepherdâs Bush, West London, claimed cops raided the mosque where he preaches in revenge for the killing of Manchester detective Stephen Oake last week. Yep. Just a poor holy man, living in his welfare housing, on the dole like the other po' downtrodden enthusiasts for Armed Struggleâ¢...
Hamza, widely criticised for his inflammatory speeches, said the raid backed up PM Tony Blairâs âwar against UK Muslimsâ. He added: âThe people inside included a cleaner, a chef and two guards. It was a provocative act. You are trying to make an enemy out of nothing.â A cleaner, a chef, and two guards... Wonder what tasty viands they were cooking up, that they needed a couple hard boys to guard them?
The Charity Commission last week withdrew Hamzaâs charity status â opening the way for the Government to kick him out of the country. But he said of any possible expulsion: âI donât have a place to go.â "Youse guys can't dump me. Y'got no place to dump me to!"
Hamza arrived from Egypt as a student in 1981 and boosted his income by working as a hard boy bouncer in Soho. He wed [an Englishwoman named] Valerie in the old immigration marriage scam, but divorced several years later and is now thought to be married to an Arab woman and have âseveralâ children. Yemen has accused him of masterminding a plot to bomb British targets in the port city of Aden in 1998. Security sources claim they have evidence he sent his son, stepson and others from his âSupporters of Shariaâ group to training camps run by the Islamic Army of Aden. His recruits confessed in a Yemeni court to paying a local terrorist leader £2,000 for weapons and training. "Mahmoud, hit him there again!"
"But I already confessed!"
"We don't like you!"
"Ow! I'll confess to something else, too! Just don't hit me there again!"
The leader, Abu Hassan, led the kidnap of 16 Western tourists and told his gunmen to murder as many as they could when Yemeni soldiers tried to rescue them. Four, including three Britons, died. That's why they didn't like them...
Last night a Whitehall source said: âThe Home Secretary could look at extradition. But weâve no treaty with Yemen and he would not be sent there due to the harshness of the judicial system.â Well, make a damned exception, knotheads! Where's my rotten fruit? Hell. I can't toss it that far anyway...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
01/20/2003 08:40 pm ||
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Can't they take him on an escorted safari to the Empty Quarter?
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/20/2003 21:35 Comments ||
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If there are any moderate Muslims reading this, you really have to stamp on these guys like Christians have to do to our fanatics (White Supremacists mostly), would you be sitting comfortably if we allowed our leaders to call for another Crusade? (Which we have evolved past by the way Extremists, if your listening). Australia has Muslims coming in boatloads to get away from Sharia law gone bad.
A man arrested in a raid where a police officer died has appeared in court charged with terrorist offences. Libyan Khalid Alwerfeli, 29, has been charged under the Terrorism Act 2000 with possession of articles for terrorist purposes and possession of documents or records for terrorist purposes. He was remanded in custody for a week by Bow Street magistrates on Monday morning. Mr Alwerfeli was arrested last Tuesday during a raid on a flat in Crumpsall Lane, Manchester, in which Det Con Stephen Oake died from multiple stab wounds to his upper body and chest.
Kamel Bourgass, 27, appeared in court on Friday charged with the murder of father-of-three Mr Oake and the attempted murder of four other officers. He has been remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on 27 January.
The third man detained at the Crumpsall Lane flat was detained under the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act (ATCSA) - the new legislation brought in after September 11. The raid on Finsbury mosque might indicate that the Brits are taking the threat more seriously after the murder, but since Abu Hamza hasn't been jugged, they're probably not quite there yet. Because of the kid gloves stuff, there will be a pile of infidel bodies sometime down the road. When that happens, trace it to this sensitivity thing...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
01/20/2003 10:17 am ||
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I'm kinda wondering about Hamza. Is it sensitivity, or is he bait?
Posted by: Kathy K ||
01/20/2003 16:51 Comments ||
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If I was running it, he'd be bait - maybe on the payroll, maybe just stoopid. I'd be tracking everybody he talked to, to include his mailman and care repairman.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/20/2003 18:09 Comments ||
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I think the situation might be like Hassan Butt, where the Brits let some Mullah run his mouth while keeping an eye on the comings and goings of people he attracts.
Posted by: Paul ||
01/20/2003 18:31 Comments ||
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Sheikh Abu Hamza, who was not arrested, claimed the raid was both part of a "war" against Muslims and retaliation for the stabbing of an officer during a raid in Manchester. "It is disgusting. The police have never been denied access to the mosque," he said. "What can people have in a mosque? I think it was a provocative act. It was silly and illogical. I am not a military person. I am not an institution. I am a preacher. When did you last hear of a church being raided when someone has been arrested? These people do not have principles." When was the last time you heard of a church being the nexus of terrorism in an entire country?
Police insisted the raid was carried out sensitively, and said they had not entered parts of the mosque used for prayer, instead focusing on office and accommodation areas. They said they had "no quarrel" with ordinary worshippers at the mosque, and had been handing out leaflets suggesting alternative places of worship. Strongly suggesting, one would hope...
But Deputy Assistant Commissioner Andy Trotter said: "Public safety is our number one requirement and we will go anywhere that we have to, in order to pursue those that pose a threat to this country." He said the raid had been highly successful, and he expected it to lead to "more action in the future" as "part of our absolutely determined effort to keep the country safe". So far, we're not particularly impressed. Scotland Yard used to be chock full of smart guys. New Scotland Yard seems chock full of social workers...
BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said: "It's part of this whole nationwide operation to try to wrap up this network of suspected Algerian militants here in Britain." Ohfergawdsake! It's not just Algerians!
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
01/20/2003 10:07 am ||
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I lived in Britain for some years as political correctness was taking hold and the Brits were discovering self-flagellation over their colonial past. It has been one downhill race since then, with "multiculturalism" and "diversity" taking front seat at the expense of the very identity of the country, not to mention the things we have considered "English" for the longest time -- some good, some bad, but on balance quite adequate for giving Britain a steady plank to stand on.
With the Blairite "New Labour" dismantling the very vestiges of Britishness in order to satisfy this weird inner need to debase and degrade one's own culture, history, and tradition, British law enforcement couldn't escape. "Sensitivity" training and "community relations" have overtaken every last bit of common sense in dealing with criminals in a fitting manner.
Against this background, try to imagine the hard struggle that you'll have to wage to seriously energize the pinkish Brit government establishment against human-killing Islamo-terrorists. In days past, Sheik Abu Hamza not only would have been barred from entering Britain, he would have been sent down a deep black hole as a pre-emptive measure. The great contradiction of course is that Britain readily and willingly engages her military in the war against the Laden-ites, but seems wimpy and flaccid when it comes to dealing with the domestic front....
#2
From Reuters: Seven men were arrested at the North London Central Mosque during a police raid that was part of a wider probe into the discovery of ricin poison. "Police have recovered a stun gun, one blank-firing imitation firearm and one CS gas (tear gas) canister during the search of the Finsbury Park mosque," the spokeswoman said.
"Police have also recovered a large quantity of documents including passports, identity cards and credit cards. These have been taken away for examination and the search is ongoing. "Six of the men arrested were north Africans and one was east European. They were taken from inside the mosque and two adjacent homes and are still being questioned. These are people involved in terrorist activities, we believe," Assistant Police Commissioner Andy Trotter told Reuters. "The intelligence has been justified by what we have found...a number of very interesting documents."
Oooh,documents! I love nice hard physical evidence. They are hard to deny in court.
Posted by: Steve ||
01/20/2003 12:57 Comments ||
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"Police insisted the raid was carried out sensitively...."
Pretty scarey oxy-moron...I hope it isn't catching on this side of the pond....
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/20/2003 15:19 Comments ||
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I think I would prefer that police be polite and correct in their behavior, rather than "sensitive." It's comforting, and adds to the feeling of society's stability when policemen address the public as "sir" or "ma'am," even if forced by the moment's circumstances to thump knobs on their heads. It implies they wouldn't be thumping knobs if they didn't have to, and I think it develops a habit of respect that flows both ways - as I understand used to be the case in Britain.
"By adhering to the outward forms, we train ourselves to the inward norms." I think somebody said that, but I might have just made it up.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/20/2003 23:42 Comments ||
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PESHAWAR â Pakistan Awami Party(PAP) has warned the US administration to avoid attacking Iraq and in the meantime suggested to the Islamic world to convene OIC meeting to adopt a unanimous world strategy against attack on a Muslim country, said a press statement on Sunday. This is the same old philosophy: No Muslim country, no matter what it does, can ever be held responsible for its actions...
The PAP also suggested to Prime Minister Jamali government to convene a round table conference of all political parties so that to muster up a national strategy against aggression on a brotherly Muslim country. They further believed the US wants to capture natural resources of Gulf states and it has planned to deploy maximum number of troops through attacking Iraq. Regarding these realities all the developing countries, it suggested, must adopt a unanimous strategy against the US aggression plan on Iraq. What they're actually saying is, "if it could happen to them it could happen to us." Guilty consciences are a bitch, ain't they? Not enough of a bitch to make them repent and reform, though...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
01/20/2003 09:08 am ||
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This is a neat piece of misrepresentation. The headline's the same as it was in the original Pak press article â I believe it was NNI â a couple days ago. The content isn't quite an exact match for the headline, though...
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf said there was an âimpending dangerâ of Pakistan becoming a target of war for âWestern forcesâ after the Iraq crisis. Oh, horrors! Lemme get my jihad stuff...
Addressing a meeting of businessmen and industrialists in Lahore on Saturday, January 19, Musharraf said it was being speculated that Pakistan would become the target of âwestern forcesâ after the Iraq crisis and there were chances of such an eventuality. âWe will have to work on our own to stave off the danger. Nobody will come to our rescue, not even the Islamic world. We will have to depend on our muscleâ, Musharraf was quoted as saying by the Indian daily Hindustan Times on Sunday, January 19. January 19th seems to have been a long day...
The statement is seen here as an âextraordinary observationâ as he spoke not only of crisis similar to Iraq, but even expressed doubts about âwestern forcesâ. Yeah. Extraordinary. He's smart enough to realize that the Merkins are being polite because we need to see the Qaeda boyz with toe tags, not because we think the Paks are neat. You only get customers when you've got something to sell, and you can only get away with being snotty if people can't buy it anywhere else...
On the Taliban and Al-Qaeda regrouping, Musharraf said âsome foreigners in Pakistan are harming U.S. interests here though we take them as brothers.â Maybe you should stop embracing them?
âMuslims are suffering everywhere but in the hour of the need no one would help us because everyone has his own interests. We will have to be a very moderate county not with a confrontationist approach but with liberal mind.â That would be a good idea. It'd also be an unusual idead for Pakland, because that "confrontationist approach" is the hallmark of political thinking there: Perv vs. India, Qazi vs. Perv, jihadis vs. Merkins, you name it. They're a nation of Pashtuns.
The firm backing given to Bush by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has allowed Islamabad to make a spectacular return to U.S. grace as a strategic ally. Its past support for the Taliban and the continuing presence in Pakistan of powerful radical movements, including Al-Qaeda members, leave lingering suspicions, however. Its present support for the Talibs, and its meddling — either officially or through the fundo parties — in Afghanistan isn't helping to allay those suspicions, either. The Paks' "spectacular return to U.S. grace" could very well be followed by an equally spectacular departure. They have the chance to clean up their own house, and they're not taking it.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
01/20/2003 09:01 am ||
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It looks to me as if Musharraf is just trying to beat some of the obvious facts into the local donkeys. What good is "fighting to the last man" if you arent going to win? Heck, they wouldnt even place or show.
A quick devastating win in Iraq would help support his case nicely.
Press Trust of India
Setting January 25th as the deadline for Muslim women in Jammu and Kashmir to quit government jobs, a pro-Pakistani militant outfit today threatened to kill those who did not obey their orders, official sources said in Jammu. Yep. It's that "religion of peace" thing again...
The posters in the name of Harkat-ul-Jehadi-Islamia (HUJI) outfit pasted on the main walls of a mosque of Shahdara Sharief in the border district of Rajouri asked women to quit government jobs by January 25 or face death, the sources said. Rajouri borders Pak-occupired Kashmir. It's kind of an analog to Spin Boldak on the Afghan border, except that the infiltration's a little harder...
The posters, which were immediately removed by the police, also directed all families to get their daughters, who have reached the age of 15, married immediately, they said. All women, girls should take baths at home and stay all the times in their homes, they said and added "whenever they (women) move out they should be veiled. "Those who do not obey these directions will face serious consequences, including death," the HUJI posters said. That's what the Taliban looked like, alright...
The HUJI outfit also reiterated the threat issued by the Lashker-e-Jabbar (LeJ), which said women folks should journey along with their male counterpart. Jabbar is a nut group that's been around for a couple years. I don't think it's very large at all...
The move has sent shivers down the spine of people particularly in Muslim women in the border district due to the deadline threat, the sources said. "It is a move by the militant outfits to Talibanise the Kashmiriat and Sufi culture of Jammu and Kashmir," they said. Those shivers traveling down the spine, that's called terror...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
01/20/2003 09:00 am ||
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I think it was Mr T that said "enough of that Lashker-e-Jibber-Jabbar".
#2
Heh heh - that almost got wine through the nose...I like it
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/20/2003 17:21 Comments ||
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Actually, infiltration into Rajouri and other districts on the Indian side of the border is a lot easier. The reason:
If someone from Pakistan wants to get into Spin Boldak, they have to hide from the US army to do it. If they want to get into India, the Pakistani army will support them with an artillery barrage that makes it impossible for Indian infantry to intercept the infiltrators
About 20 per cent of all Pakistanis suffer from mental disorders. Half of them suffer from major ailments and half from minor ones. Only 20 percent? I'd have pegged it higher than that...
This was stated by Dr. S. Haroon Ahmed at the inaugural ceremony of the 'Marka-I-Nafsiyat - Psychiatric and Hypnotherapy Institute", which was held at a local hotel. The Adviser to the Prime Minister on Investments and Privatization, Dr. Abdul Hafeez Sheik, was the chief guest. Dr. Haroon said most of the sick people suffered form stress related diseases, which are now on the rise. Karachi was a particularly unfortunate City in this regard where depression was spreading fast, he added. He's talking about Terror Central. Any chance widespread mental illness and the presence of large numbers of terror "masterminds" are related?
He said the biologically weak people were especially vulnerable to stress-related disorders. A lot of the country's potential was lost because of these disorders. That, and the riots, murders, and general concentration on Olde Tyme Religion instead of making a living...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
01/20/2003 09:00 am ||
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One does not need the DSM-V to figure this out. Common sense will. But where common sense is lacking or is prohibited by the government (re: PC), you get this type of insanity.......
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/20/2003 14:07 Comments ||
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The only fair way to report this is to post the estimates for the US population, which would probably be similar. Really, from watching the news, I would think the Pak mental disorder incidence would be more like 50-75% of the total population.
President Megawati Sukarnoputri, saying terrorism had inflicted "immense damage" on Indonesia, urged Southeast Asian nations on Monday to work together to more effectively to fight the crime, AFP reported."Through close cooperation, we will effectively be able to combat it (terrorism) in our individual countries and jointly secure our region from itand address terrorism in all its forms and manifestations," Megawati said. Cooperation could cover information exchange, the provision of modern equipment, training and expertise. What an excellent idea. Wonder why nobody's thought of it before?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
01/20/2003 10:46 am ||
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Bali bomber key suspect Imam Samudra denied that his laptop computer, which had been opened by the police, contained pornographic pictures and that of several state official, his lawyers said Saturday. Toldja so. Heh heh...
Police, which have examined files on Samudra's laptop, said that they found pornographic pictures as well as the pictures of Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, National Police Cheif Da'i Bachtiar and Indonesian Mujahidin Council Chairman Abu Bakar Ba'asyir. Lawyer Achmad Michdan, who represents Samudra, said that his client insists that he has never put pictures in his laptop as his belief bans him from displaying material featuring living creatures, including pictures of human beings. "I was just doing some research..."
"If I had to enter the picture of a person, I would first feed my laptop with pictures of my wife and children, rather than those of Minister Yudhoyono or Da'i Bachtiar. What for?," Achmad quoted Imam as saying. "But I didn't have any of them naked. None of them's ever had their clothes off, you know..."
Police Senior Commissioner Drs Zaenuri Lubis, a spokesman for the Bali bombing investigation team, saidthat it was Imam's right to deny what his team had seen on the screen of the laptop. "He has the right to deny it. Everything could be proven during his trial in a court of law," he said. "Deny it all you want, holy man. We're not deleting them."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
01/20/2003 10:43 am ||
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Police said Monday they have a strong case against the alleged spiritual leader of the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) group and expect to submit his dossier to the prosecutors later this week. Cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, now in custody in Jakarta, was arrested Oct. 18 on charges of ordering a series of bombings in 2000 that killed 19 people and plotting the assassination of President Megawati Soekarnoputri. "We have much evidence on Abu Bakar Ba'asyir. We expect to file his dossiers to the state prosecutors within this week."," said Insp. Gen. Erwin Mapasseng, national police chief of detectives, without elaborating. Moving against Bashir would have been impossible in Indonesia six months ago. I'm surprised it's possible now, and I suspect he may get off in the end. Memories are as short in Indonesia as they are elsewhere...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
01/20/2003 10:38 am ||
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An unforseen accident while in custody would be fortuitous... suggestion: he chokes on his tongue trying to ululate?
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/20/2003 14:01 Comments ||
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Press Trust of India
With Moscow warning of a "real threat" of Weapons of Mass Destruction falling into the hands of Al Qaeda, a leader of the outfit has been quoted as having asked its followers to gain access to such materials which are "the biggest nightmare of America". In a recent article, the Al Qaeda leader, Abu Ubeid al-Qurashi, has said "all studies done on this matter agree on the fact that the attainment by the Mujahidin of WMD is the biggest nightmare that is facing America - meaning that the possibility is truly conceivable". Qurashi is the theorist of "Fourth Generation War"...
Stating that "large quantities of material used to make nuclear bombs are lost each year especially from countries that were once part of the Soviet Union", al-Qurashi says "the duty of the Mujahids in this situation is difficult to execute but not impossible, and common sense in this situation as in others is the logic of selling and buying". Al-Qurashi is said to be a scientist himself. The article has been translated and made part of a voluminous document entitled "The al Qaeda Threat: An analytical guide to al Qaeda's Tactics and Targets", written by two US anti-terrorist experts Ben Venzke and Aimee Ibrahim and its excerpts were posted at the website of the Intelligence Centre, Virginia. It's no surprise that Qaeda wants WMDs. There was enough evidence that came out of the cave complexes and safe houses in Afghanistan. I'm actually surprised they haven't had more success...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
01/20/2003 09:44 am ||
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Everytime I hear this mentioned I get the picture in my head of those poor dogs (harmless Labs no less) tha they did the tests on. I recently came upon a statement that under sharia, muslims are not allowed to keep dogs. Can anyone confirm this? If true, I can see why they used dogs, those bastards. (Ok I like dogs but I would say the same thing about any animal). Isn't it Gandhi who said we can say a lot about a country by the way it treats animals.
Asia News International
Osama bin Laden has issued a new statement urging Muslims to bury their differences and unite to fight the "external enemy", The Nation quoted sources as saying on Monday. The paper, Asharq Al-Awsat, said bin Laden had issued the statement in a letter via the Centre for Islamic Research and Studies in Pakistan. It said the letter was obtained by its journalist Mohamed el-Shaf'aie. I don't know that I'd like to do "Islamic research." What if your research finds something some holy man doesn't agree with? It's fatwah time, and somebody ices you for blasphemy. I'd guess they do a lot more study than research...
The letter, written in Arabic, was 26 pages long and signed by bin Laden, the paper said, adding that fundamentalist sources in London had told el-Shaf'aie that, although the letter was undated, it was written a few weeks ago. Wordy little bastard, isn't he?
"When will Muslims wake up from their long sleep and when will they distinguish between their friend and enemy," Asharq Al-Awsat quoted bin Laden as saying. "When will they direct their own arrows that they use to fight each other to their external enemy that steals and loots its fortunes and its resources." The usual blah-blah. Did they perchance attach a picture of Binny holding yesterday's newspaper? Somehow I doubt it... Asharq Al-Awsat is Saudi-owned and describes itself as an Arab independent newspaper. It is widely read and respected in the Middle East. If the letter is genuine, it would mark the first missive of 2003 from the leader of the Al Qaeda network, widely blamed for a series of atrocities across the world including the attacks of September 11, 2001, and last October's Bali nightclub bombing. "Universally" is probably the same as "widely."
The campaign continues to try and convince the gullible faithful that Binny is still alive and well, without producing him. With the exception of the audio tape, each try becomes less convincing.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
01/20/2003 09:01 am ||
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First we had videos, then we have audio tapes, then we get 26 page letters. What's next? Storytellers, Ballads in the key of B-minor? Seances? OBL has now become a liability dead or alive, and the key players (Axis of Evil and some of their neighbors) are becoming the focus. They are the ones who provide the real support. The olde follow the money trick.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/20/2003 14:15 Comments ||
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When will the CIA release a letter from Binny that says stop fighting you knuckleheads, I've seen the light and we are heading towards the extinction of Islam.
If he'd only waited another ten years he'd practically control Europe through unassimilated immigration. He could have used political correctness to keep the American deaf, dumb and blind while he applied pressure for the US to stop supporting authoritarian dictators. Then if the US let up its support they could have taken over the middle east nation by nation. But binny went for the home run and struck out instead.
#3
That is the trouble with a madman. People used to comment that if Hitler listened to his generals he would have waited longer to start the war so he would be better prepared. But if he was rational, then he would not have started the thing in the first place. In a very terrible way, Binny jumped the gun because he was (is, has been)a madman, and that has saved our collective asses. Except that some of our countrymen and others paid a terrible price for the warning.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/20/2003 17:05 Comments ||
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I say it's time to check the security measures again. Every time one of "Binny's" letters or tapes surfaces, something somewhere booms.
#5
"When will Muslims wake up from their long sleep and when will they distinguish between their friend and enemies"
To paraphrase, "When will Osama wake up from his long sleep and when will his supporters distinguish him from well-rotted compost?"
The reason why he stopped using video tapes is because everyone criticized him on his appearance. He tried losing weight, was succesful, and now everyone's on his back about his gaunt look. Cut him some slack and soon he'll reappear. Sheesh.
STEPHEN IXER, Associated Press Writer Monday, January 20, 2003
(01-20) 10:59 PST CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) --
Supporters of President Hugo Chavez clashed with opposition marchers outside Caracas on Monday, and one person was killed when shots were fired into the crowd.
The confrontation began when Chavez's supporters tossed bottles and rocks at the marchers in the town of Charallave, Miranda state governor Enrique Mendoza said. He said rioters set fire to vehicles and a stage that had been set up for opposition speakers.
Police were trying to keep the two sides apart when gunfire erupted. It wasn't clear who fired the shots, though Mendoza said police fired back.
A 29-year-old man was killed and 12 were wounded by gunfire, said Lt. Col. Guido Bolivar, an officer of the Miranda state fire department. The rest were hurt by flying objects, Bolivar said.
It wasn't known if the wounded were hit in the initial hail of gunfire or by police.
The violence heightened tensions surrounding a 50-day-old opposition strike intended to oust Chavez. Six people have died in protests since the strike started Dec. 2.
The unrest coincided with a visit from former President Jimmy Carter, who was trying to jump-start negotiations between the government and opposition.
Carter, who won the Nobel Peace PrizeInsert Chortle here.... in October, was to meet with Chavez and attend negotiations sponsored the Organization of American States. Carter's Atlanta-based Carter Center is also sponsoring talks. He arrived in Venezuela on Wednesday for a fishing trip. Well, with his track record of bringing peace to the world we should all be relieved that St. Jimmy of Plains is on the job. All Hail Jimmy!.
In his weekly television call-in show Sunday, Chavez warned that the government may walk out of negotiations with strike leaders. He accused them of using unconstitutional means to seek his ouster. We've got to put a stop to this "power to the people idea", its just gets in the way of too many of our plans and policies.
"We are carefully evaluating the possibility that our representatives will leave the (negotiating) table," Chavez said. "We don't talk with terrorists." Unless they are from Cuba, and they are named "Castro"
Political parties, business leaders and labor unions called the general strike to pressure Chavez to resign or call early elections. Election authorities agreed to organize a Feb. 2 referendum after accepting an opposition petition.
Chavez says opponents must wait until August, midway through his six-year term, for a possible recall referendum. A Supreme Court ruling on the matter is pending.
The strike has caused severe shortages in gasoline and foods such as flour, milk, bottled water and soft drinks.
Production is down to 800,000 barrels a day, according to the government, though opposition leaders put the figure at 600,000 barrels. Venezuela is the world's fifth-largest petroleum-exporting nation and produced 3 million barrels a day before the strike.
The president of Venezuela's oil monopoly urged workers to return to work Monday.
"I urge you as citizens, appealing to whatever reserves of rationality there may be, to stop these activities, stop this campaign that affects the whole country," Ali Rodriguez, president of Petroleos de Venezuela S.A, said in an interview on state television station Venezolana de Television.
"The objectives you have set are unreachable," said Rodriguez, a chief Chavez ally.
Chavez has fired more than 1,000 white-collar workers at PDVSA. He has the support of Venezuela's military and has sent troops to seize striking oil tankers, keep strikers out of oil installations and commandeer gasoline delivery trucks.
Chavez's opponents say his leftist policies have driven the country toward economic ruin.When have they ever done anything but create economic ruin? They also say his autocratic style erodes democratic institutions.
The kettle is starting to sing.....
Posted by: Frank Martin ||
01/20/2003 02:57 pm ||
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Let me get this straight...there is a national strike, s--t is hitting the fan, and Carter is also on a fishing trip to this fair country. I think that Carter ought to get out of the jump starting business as his wires are crossed. I hope that he does this on his own nickel and not on ours.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/20/2003 16:42 Comments ||
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Fox News has a video clip on their broadcasts today of the guy doing the shooting from atop a Green jeep right in front of the police, so the claim that they don't know who did it is BS
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/20/2003 17:32 Comments ||
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I saw on the news that Jimmah Carter was in Venezuela and almost bust a gut I was laughing so hard.
Posted by: Steve ||
01/20/2003 12:38 pm ||
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After Iraq falls, then Iran can be included officially in our Axis of Evil roster. Getting more than three at a time taxes the average consumer and overwhelms them as to the task at hand. Which is a big one.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/20/2003 13:52 Comments ||
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I would think the mullahs will overreact to our attack on Iraq by stopping all reforms and cracking down on the population. Nothing will bring about their fall faster, and we should play little part if any to keep the overthrow/civil war legit
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/20/2003 14:04 Comments ||
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Frank --- I agree. Why use muscle when levers and fulcrums will work without sweating it..
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/20/2003 14:24 Comments ||
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I agree too. I just hope we are helping as much as possible "under the table". It would be far better if Iran went free because of the efforts of it's own people than if we freed them, or even gave them overt help.
And that's the only thought that keeps me from parading on the outskirts of anti-war marches with a sign that says "Iran First!" ;)
Posted by: Kathy K ||
01/20/2003 16:47 Comments ||
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Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has shelved a tentative effort to explore an Arab proposal to arrange for his exile. Arab diplomatic sources said Saddam has cancelled plans to send an envoy to Egypt to discuss the proposal. The sources said the Iraqi president ordered a halt to efforts to explore the prospect of asylum amid a U.S. threat to arrest the envoy on charges of war crimes. Saddam's envoy, Ali Hassan Majid, was to have arrived in Cairo on Saturday. Majid was expected to have relayed a message from Saddam to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak concerning what diplomatic sources termed "personal issues." On Tuesday, Saddam informed Egypt that Majid would not be arriving in Cairo, the sources said. No new date was set. If the U.S. is serious about scaring Sammy out of office, they'll let Ali Hassan make his pitch to Mubarak. It looks like the exile option is a sop to the Soddies and Syrians...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
01/20/2003 10:28 am ||
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Hizbullah has completed a major reshuffle of its military command as part of preparations for any Israeli war against the Iranian-backed insurgency force. An unidentified Iranian military officer said the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has completed training and equipping of Hizbullah forces in southern Lebanon. The officer told the UAE Al Bayan daily that Teheran supplied mortars, rockets and other equipment to Hizbullah. "We have undergone preparations to face any developments and possible changes in the geopolitical situation in the Middle East in the event of a U.S.-led war against Iraq," the officer was reported as saying. The officer did not detail the reshuffle of the Hizbullah military command. The military leaders of the Iranian-backed movement have never been announced. I'd guess that when we go into Iraq, Hezbollah intends to open a second front in Israel's north. We can probably count on this happening. Bashir, in Syria, has military ambitions, and the ayatollahs in Iran see opportunity with the Great Satan otherwise engaged...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
01/20/2003 10:24 am ||
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Even if they don't, Mofaz should preempt. Just because, you know...look, Esquimeaux!
Posted by: Brian ||
01/20/2003 10:40 Comments ||
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If I were a turbanned nutter ruling Iran, I would be very careful when 150.000 heavily armed worshippers of the Great Satan are occupying the country next door. Making the Hizbullah loons invade the Little Satan's place doesn't seem very careful to me. Next thing you know, the worshippers of the Great Satan show up in Qom to have me and the other nutsoes properly ventilated. And that would ruin all the fun that is to be had in torturing cartoonists and university professors.
Posted by: Peter ||
01/20/2003 13:25 Comments ||
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A free and democratic Iraq is more dangerous to Iran than 150,000 heavily armed worshippers of the Great Satan.
As the Bush administration moves into what officials call the last phase of the showdown with Iraq, the United States is undertaking a vigorous military and intelligence effort to track, and possibly kill, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Good idea. Even if we don't intend to do it, it's good to have Sammy thinking we'll do it...
The effort involves, among other things, small teams of U.S. special operations forces and CIA paramilitary units inside and around Iraq, satellite imagery, radio intercepts and airborne reconnaissance, U.S. intelligence officials say. The activities are part of a strategy designed to pressure Saddam to depart or disarm and, if he won't, pave the way for a U.S.-led invasion to oust him. On Sunday, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he would support exile for Saddam and his family as a way to avoid war. But national security adviser Condoleezza Rice said it is "unlikely" the Iraqi dictator would go voluntarily as the confrontation enters "the start of a last phase." I'm with Condi. I think when he goes, it'll be feet first. Sammy's not bright enough to do the Idi Amin routine...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
01/20/2003 09:50 am ||
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This is literally bringing it back home. The Assassins were a secret society of Muslims formed arount 1090 AD in the area which is now Iran, I believe, at the time of the Crusades. What a great way to commemorate the accomplishments and legacy of such an influential group in world history..........
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/20/2003 14:02 Comments ||
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The real interesting story is that the Mongols first, circa 1256, conquered Afghanistan [check] which had suffered decades of anarchy, then destroyed the Assassins in a two year campaign [check], and then went on to incorporate Baghdad [in the 'to do' box] into their empire as the Ilkhanate. This included the execution of the ruler of Baghdad, rolled in a rug and trampled to death [actually a Mongol demonstration of respect]. No other army in the period could come close in skill and effectiveness to that of the Khan. It appears we've seen this story somewhere else.
Posted by: Don ||
01/20/2003 16:29 Comments ||
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But lets hope that the Americans don't all stay and convert to Islam after conquering Baghdad like the Mongols did.
Posted by: Paul ||
01/21/2003 1:06 Comments ||
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The crusades are far from over if Iraq falls. Jerusalem must be secure of Saracen influence.
Saudi Arabia's intelligence chief denied on Saturday reports that his country had proposed an amnesty for Iraqi generals close to President Saddam Hussein to encourage a coup against him. "This talk is totally baseless. The kingdom would not interfere in the internal affairs of Iraq and has no contacts with Iraqis inside or outside," Prince Nawaf bin Abdul-Aziz told the daily Okaz newspaper. Didn't think it would work...
He was denying media reports that the oil-rich kingdom had proposed a plan requiring a UN Security Council resolution declaring an amnesty to all but the most prominent Iraqi officials. A senior Gulf diplomat with close contacts with Saudi rulers said on Thursday the idea would be to encourage a last-minute coup against Saddam and avert war. One good thing about being a Soddy is that there are lots of gas pipes available to take when the Merkins take over Iraq...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
01/20/2003 09:12 am ||
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From the beginning, I think you had pointed out that if the Saudi plan ever became public, then it would fail amid Saudi denials. Congrats on a good call, whoever made it.
Hamas is ready to halt attacks on Israeli civilians if Israel stops harming Palestinian civilians, an official of the Islamic radical movement said Sunday as it prepared for renewed talks with other Palestinian factions in Cairo. "You go first, okay?"
âHamas rejects a halt to the resistance and rejects the truce which has been proposed,â Ossama Hamdan told AFP by telephone during a visit to Lebanon before heading to Cairo for the talks. âHowever, Hamas is sticking by its proposal formulated a year ago by recommending an end to attacks on civilians on both sides,â Hamdan said. Hamas would âstop attacking Israeli civilians without distinction for geographic boundariesâ if Israel stops attacking, killing, and arresting civilians and blockading their towns and villages, he said. Uhuh. And where's the hook?
However, he added: âWe do not consider settlers to be civilians.â Right there.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
01/20/2003 09:01 am ||
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The other hook is that they DO consider murdering-gun-thug-Isalmaniacs to be "civilians".
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
