Hi there, !
Today Fri 02/24/2012 Thu 02/23/2012 Wed 02/22/2012 Tue 02/21/2012 Mon 02/20/2012 Sun 02/19/2012 Sat 02/18/2012 Archives
Rantburg
531697 articles and 1855971 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 66 articles and 143 comments as of 13:27.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Afghans rescue 41 child suicide bombers
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
1 21:46 Super Hose [1] 
3 20:22 Mike Kozlowski [] 
13 22:52 Elmising Poodle6592 [1] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
2 22:48 Elmising Poodle6592 [] 
7 15:30 Thiper Craviger9845 [1] 
1 16:58 Mullah Richard [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
3 19:32 Thing From Snowy Mountain [] 
4 18:52 JosephMendiola [] 
1 00:31 JosephMendiola [] 
1 00:18 Super Hose [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
2 07:51 g(r)omgoru [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
2 18:20 tipper [1] 
Page 2: WoT Background
0 []
0 []
6 22:05 Super Hose [1]
2 23:02 Elmising Poodle6592 [1]
0 []
2 23:50 g(r)omgoru []
0 []
1 00:36 JosephMendiola []
7 17:26 mojo []
1 11:02 Gruth McGurque5303 []
0 []
3 18:20 trailing wife []
0 []
2 23:33 Elmising Poodle6592 []
1 00:45 Super Hose [1]
1 20:37 Mike Kozlowski []
0 []
0 []
2 17:39 SteveS []
7 22:01 Secret Asian Man [1]
Page 3: Non-WoT
6 23:16 Elmising Poodle6592 []
2 23:40 JosephMendiola []
0 []
6 22:43 CrazyFool []
5 21:28 Capsu78 []
1 19:59 Eric Jablow []
3 22:27 Super Hose []
9 17:50 CrazyFool []
5 22:18 Pappy []
1 14:46 g(r)omgoru []
5 18:39 Barbara []
4 09:13 Procopius2k []
1 00:48 Super Hose [1]
0 []
0 []
1 11:09 mojo []
Page 4: Opinion
0 []
0 []
3 21:33 Zhang Fei [1]
6 11:03 JohnQC []
7 13:45 newc []
1 14:56 g(r)omgoru [1]
Page 6: Politix
1 10:47 JohnQC []
1 16:21 Iblis []
Afghanistan
Quran Burning at U.S. Base Sparks Afghan Protests
You'd think after over ten years of this BS we'd all either know better than to 'desecrate' the holy Crayon, or have made a conscious decision to not give a s*it. These accidents and subsequent grovelings are counterproductive.
Troops on the U.S.' largest base in Afghanistan have inadvertently burned Qurans and other religious materials, triggering angry protests and fears of even larger demonstrations as news of the burning spreads.

The books were mistakenly thrown out with the trash
(Bite tongue - er, fingers - and refrain from obvious comment)
at Bagram Air Field north of Kabul and were on a burn pile Monday night before Afghan laborers intervened around 11:00 p.m., according to NATO and Afghan officials.

By the morning, hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside of Bagram and on the outskirts of Kabul. Some shot into the air, some threw rocks at the Bagram gate, and others yelled, "Die, die foreigners." Many of them were the same people who work with foreign troops inside the base. At one point, apparently worried that the base would be stormed, guards at the base fired rubber bullets into the crowd, according to the military.
I must say I have no sympathy with the protesters. I love my holy book too but I don't go nuts if somebody inadvertently handles it 'incorrectly'. These folks need an education, and rubber bullets may not communicate the point with sufficient pedagogic precision...
Posted by: Glenmore || 02/21/2012 09:50 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Many of them were the same people who work with foreign troops inside the base.

Anybody see a problem with this? Anyone?
Posted by: CrazyFool || 02/21/2012 10:07 Comments || Top||

#2  Hey, Korans, Bibles, it's all equal opportunity. I guess they didn't get the decree that there is only one god, HHS told the Catholics that a couple weeks ago on the contraceptives deal and it isn't the one in the books.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 02/21/2012 10:30 Comments || Top||

#3  An honest work mistake and then the rent-a-crowd showed up to perform perfunctory seething and calls for death to foreigners? These folks are far too thin-skinned.
Posted by: JohnQC || 02/21/2012 10:53 Comments || Top||

#4  Death to infidels, apostates, blasphemers, etc. SSDD.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 02/21/2012 12:08 Comments || Top||

#5  Just like Pakistan we could pay this country billions and they will hate us for being non muslim.

Total waste of time, money and lives.
Posted by: Gruth McGurque5303 || 02/21/2012 13:13 Comments || Top||

#6  "on a burn pile Monday night before Afghan laborers intervened"

lmao....can you even begin to imagine the looks on their faces when they saw teh whooly crayon burning? bwhahahahahahahahahaha comedy gold
Posted by: Clusosh Uloluling1817 || 02/21/2012 13:45 Comments || Top||

#7  Shouldn't Allah strike down the wrongdoers if he was so displeased. Aren't they a bit presumptious acting as if their will is Allah's will?
Posted by: rjschwarz || 02/21/2012 14:46 Comments || Top||

#8  lmao....can you even begin to imagine the looks on their faces when they saw teh whooly crayon burning? bwhahahahahahahahahaha comedy gold

Almost like burning p0rn outside a star trek convention. (Except p0rn has more redeeming features).
Posted by: CrazyFool || 02/21/2012 14:54 Comments || Top||

#9  Allan never does anything for himself, it's all left to his slaves.
Posted by: mojo || 02/21/2012 17:25 Comments || Top||

#10  Allen is a pretty weak "god," isn't he, mojo?

At least the Christian/Jewish God can smite people who bring him/her/it displeasure. Apparently Allen can only whine.
Posted by: Barbara || 02/21/2012 18:41 Comments || Top||

#11  And make fearsome faces Barbara - don't forget the fearsome faces.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 02/21/2012 18:47 Comments || Top||

#12  How could I forget that, CF? ;-p
Posted by: Barbara || 02/21/2012 20:28 Comments || Top||

#13  F 'em! With hopes that the tattle-tales rot in hell forever.
Posted by: Elmising Poodle6592 || 02/21/2012 22:52 Comments || Top||


Suspected Afghan police shoot dead an Albanian soldier; 11 police arrested
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/21/2012 09:36 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Medic contractor likely saved life of Afghan dog bite victim.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/21/2012 07:15 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


ISAF commander apologizes for improper disposal of Qurans
Investigation? We don't need no stinking investigation. TCN's saw it happen, it must be TRUE! Pay them and make it go away will you!
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/21/2012 06:49 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Did he really need to call them "the noble people of Afghanistan"? You mean, the people who crap of the roofs of their own homes?
Posted by: American Delight || 02/21/2012 7:20 Comments || Top||

#2  Burning other religious books however is mandated by the US military in Afghanistan.

Afghan and international media reported that as many as 2,000 protesters had gathered near the base. According to The Associated Press, Afghan police said protesters shouted “Die, die, foreigners!”

After 9/11 the US took the high road and never properly defeated and/or punished the Afghans, hence their utter lack of fear and respect.

“I offer my sincere apologies for any offense this may have caused, to the President of Afghanistan, the Government of the Islamofascistic Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, and most importantly, to the treacherous murderous noble people of Afghanistan.”

Since rejecting and disrespecting the Koran or other religious symbols is perfectly legal protected speech in the US, this profuse apology is misleading...

unless acceptance of Rushdie rules for non-muslims in the West is now the official policy of ISAF.
</rant>
Posted by: Thiper Craviger9845 || 02/21/2012 9:35 Comments || Top||

#3  What is proper disposal of the Quran? What do the holy men speak over the book?
Posted by: JohnQC || 02/21/2012 10:37 Comments || Top||

#4  Isn't the reason we are there is that about 19 people read that book and then flew fully loaded passenger planes into fully occupied buildings in New York City? And now our Generals are apologizing in regards to how American soldiers handled that book?

We just lost the war!
Posted by: Ebbaique Spereting5364 || 02/21/2012 10:51 Comments || Top||

#5  It's the PC BS running rampant in the U.S. and other places that most ordinary Americans despise. Some people look for reasons to get bent out of shape about nothing.
Posted by: JohnQC || 02/21/2012 11:20 Comments || Top||

#6  Leave these people to their own devices. They deserve it.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 02/21/2012 11:40 Comments || Top||

#7  Link to youtube video of ISAF Commander's statement.

What will Kim Jong Un make of this?
What will the Mad Mullahs make of this?

Nuts!
Posted by: Thiper Craviger9845 || 02/21/2012 15:30 Comments || Top||


Pentagon names units headed to Afghanistan as trainers
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/21/2012 06:35 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Afghans rescue 41 child suicide bombers
Kabul - The Afghan government said on Monday that police had rescued 41 children from becoming jacket wallahs as they were about to be smuggled across the mountains into Pakistain.
And as usual, the news is brought to us by some third-line MSM agency and not the New York Times...
To be fair, we rarely check to see what the New York Times reports -- while they have a few outstanding journalists on their payroll, the majority seem to see themselves as paid propagandists.
Interior ministry spokesperson Sediq Sediqqi told a news conference that the children aged six to 11 had been released on February 15 from the clutches of four gun-hung tough guys in eastern Kunar province
... which is right down the road from Chitral. Kunar is Haqqani country.....
He told AFP their families "were fooled by terrorists", who promised to send them to seminaries in Pakistain where they would be "brainwashed" and "prepared for suicide kabooms against Afghan and international troops in Afghanistan".

Police set to sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, in a pestilential prison with a life-long lock the four suspects and the children were returned to their families, the spokesperson said.

The Afghan government has accused madrassas in Pakistain of teaching violent extremism and sponsoring Islamist violence, a legacy of Afghanistan's 1979-89 US and Pak-sponsored mujahideen uprising against Soviet troops.

On February 12, Afghan authorities announced the arrest of two 10-year-old would-be suicide bombers allegedly planning to attack Afghan and international forces in the southern province of Kandahar, the Taliban's birthplace.

They had been reportedly released last August, along with 18 other children, after receiving a pardon from Afghanistan's Caped President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai
... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use...
The Taliban, which is leading a 10-year insurgency against Karzai's government and 130 000 US-led foreign troops, have reportedly used children and teenagers to conduct attacks on security forces.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/21/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  All roads/training lead to Pakistan
Posted by: Gruth McGurque5303 || 02/21/2012 11:16 Comments || Top||

#2  All roads/training lead to Pakistan
And paid for by our good friends, the Soddies.
Posted by: tipper || 02/21/2012 18:20 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
50 meddling UN Peacekeepers captured by Darfur rebels
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/21/2012 01:36 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Rebels release 49 peacekeepers in Sudan's Darfur region
KHARTOUM - A rebel group in Sudan's Darfur region said on Monday it has released 49 international peacekeepers it had captured earlier.

"All peacekeepers are free but we are holding three Sudanese accompanying them," said a front man for the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

The rebels had earlier on Monday said they had captured 52 international UNAMID peacekeepers.

A spokeswoman for UNAMID said the peacekeepers had been allowed to leave but they were staying in the area in north-western Darfur since they did not want to leave three jugged civilians behind.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/21/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  As they were leaving, the rebels were seen pushing a large cauldron towards the communal fire pit ...
Posted by: Super Hose || 02/21/2012 0:18 Comments || Top||


Arabia
US sees signs of Iran activity in Yemen
SANAA: Iran is becoming more active in Yemen and could pose a deeper threat to its stability and security, the US envoy to Yemen said on Monday, highlighting what would be yet another layer of uncertainty in a near-failed state.

US Ambassador Gerald Feierstein’s warning is likely to reinforce long-held fears among Sunni Gulf monarchies that Shiite Muslim power Iran is trying exploit regional unrest.

“We do see Iran trying to increase its presence here, in ways that we believe are unhelpful to Yemen’s stability and security,” Feierstein said in an interview one day before Yemenis head to the polls to elect a new president to replace Ali Abdullah Saleh, ending his three decades in power.

“I think that we are seeing increasing Iranian outreach to various actors,” Feierstein said.

The northern “Houthi” rebels, who draw their name from a tribal leader, control Saada province bordering Saudi Arabia, which intervened military in Yemen in 2009. There is ongoing fighting between the Houthis, who are members of the Zaydi branch of Shiite Islam, and Salafis - Sunni Muslims whose puritanical creed mirrors doctrines widespread in Saudi Arabia, and classes Shiites as heretics.

“We do definitely see a rise in Iranian finance, efforts on the part of Iran to increase its influence not only with Zaydi Shia elements but with Sunni elements as well,” Feierstein said.

“We do think that we have evidence of Iranian activities that will build up military capabilities as well. It’s a relatively recent phenomenon, Iran is taking advantage of this period of political instability and loss of government control over large parts of the country.”

The US Ambassador also said that while there were signs that the Houthis were willing to engage in dialogue to bring some stability to the country, the group was also expanding its territory.

“But we’re also concerned about conflicts between Houthis and others in the north and a fairly aggressive effort on their part to expand their territory and their control and so we hope that through this process of national dialogue they will engage politically and work in a positive way that will end this conflict.”
Posted by: Steve White || 02/21/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Iran must see itself as a Neo-Soviet player on the world stage. It is in a way. A way that is sort of crappy, second-rate and in need of a breath mint. By crappy, I mean crappy as compared to the Soviet Union which was crappy itself.
Posted by: Super Hose || 02/21/2012 0:16 Comments || Top||

#2  People need to pay attention to the religious doctrine of the Iranian nut jobs that are now in power. They believe they can precipitate the coming of the Mahdi. Learn about the prophesy they believe to be true. Their goal is the taking over of the holy cities of Saudi Arabia. Their prophesy speaks of an Army from the South (Yemen?) and an Army from the North (Iraq/Syria) converging on Saudi Arabia.

They believe that if they create the conditions mentioned in the prophesy, they can cause the Mahdi to appear. It would be like a Christian who believes that if they create the conditions written about in Revelations, they can precipitate the second coming.

These people are crazy, it would do us well to listen to what they are saying as they believe it.
Posted by: crosspatch || 02/21/2012 2:03 Comments || Top||

#3  And if they get nukes they will become even more aggressive.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 02/21/2012 11:45 Comments || Top||

#4  IIRC see also STRATEGYPAGE > SAUDI SHIA SUPPRESSED.

All of the Saudi Govt's = Royal Family's new or expanded Public Benefits for Muslims isn't enuff to placate or replace Shia-perceived Govt + Sunni PERSECUTION, DISCRIMINATION, + MISSING RIGHTS, ETC. AS MUSLIMS.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 02/21/2012 18:52 Comments || Top||


Yemen VP Reaches Out to Dissidents as Protest Turns Deadly
Yemen's future president Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi has pledged to southern separatists and northern rebels that he will address their concerns, as fears mounted over election boycotts and escalating vote-related violence.

Both the separatist Southern Movement and the northern Iranian catspaws are boycotting Tuesday's presidential vote, and attacks on polling stations and festivities between troops and anti-election protesters in the south have raised fears that polling day could be marred by violence.

Hadi in a televised speech late on Sunday said "dialogue and only dialogue" can resolve these long-standing conflicts.

"The southern issue and its implications, and what happened, and what is still happening in Saada (the rebel stronghold in the north), must be given priority ... and must be addressed with an open heart and without prejudice," he said.

Interior Minister Abdul Qader Qahtan also tried to reassure voters. "We have taken preventive measures to deal with groups that want to block people from carrying out their electoral duty," he told news hounds, urging a vote "for the security and stability of Yemen."

Escalating poll-related violence on Monday left one soldier dead and another maimed as troops clashed with separatists at a checkpoint in Yemen's southern Daleh province, a military official told Agence La Belle France Presse.

Seven armed protesters, chanting "revolution in the south" were maimed in the exchange of fire, a Southern Movement member told AFP. Troop reinforcements and dozens of armored vehicles arrived in the southern port city of Aden late Sunday, security officials said.

The deployment came as Death Eaters in the southeast province of Shabwa seized a polling station, triggering festivities with security forces who fired tear gas and live ammunition to force their retreat, witnesses and activists said. No serious injuries were reported.

Earlier, troops and separatists exchanged fire in Aden's Mansura neighborhood, a stronghold of the movement, where a mass protest against the poll was expected later on Monday.

A security official said police on Sunday and Monday carried out "arrest raids on armed hardliners" from the Southern Movement trying "by force to prevent citizens from participating in the elections."

"These elements are trying to create a state of fear among citizens by spreading rumors that February 21 will see acts of violence," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Hadi is the only candidate in Tuesday's poll,
How convenient. How democratic. The Kos Kiddies must be jealous...
a condition of the Gulf-brokered transition deal signed by outgoing President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh
... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it...
after months of protests and international pressure demanding his ouster.

Hadi will be president for an interim two years after which presidential elections and parliamentary elections will be held.
Which he'll win, because the new constitution will mandate it. Then he'll write another new constitution...
"It is every Yemeni's duty to vote, because only these elections can prevent wars and allow Yemen to enter a new phase," said Amine Haykal, a 28-year-old civil servant from Sanaa.

On Sunday Hadi, currently vice president, outlined his two-year plan, promising "radical reforms" and stressing the need to reunify the army. Hadi also pledged to fight al-Qaeda and its growing influence in the lawless south and eastern provinces where the Death Eaters have seized several towns in recent months.

In Zinjibar, scenic provincial capital of Abyan province, two soldiers were killed on Monday in festivities with al-Qaeda orcs, security officials said.

Troops have been battling the self-proclaimed Partisans of Sharia (Islamic law) in Zinjibar since last May when the cut-throats took most of the city.

In the north, Iranian catspaws, who have fought six wars with Saleh's regime since 1994, have also boycotted the poll, though they pledged to allow people to vote.

"The polling stations are open and working normally ... we are boycotting, we are not preventing" people from voting, Mohammed Abdul Salam, a front man for the Houthi
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates....
rebels, told AFP.

Mohammed Yahya, Chairman of the Electoral Commission, said 103,000 soldiers have been deployed to guard polling stations.

More than 12 million Yemenis are eligible to vote.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/21/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Caribbean-Latin America
Mexican security forces bag six bad guys in Zacatecas
For a map, click here. For a map of Zacatecas click here

By Chris Covert

Mexican Policia Federal (PF) and Zacatecas state police agents killed six armed suspects and detained eight others in Zacatecas in a brief running gunfight Monday morning, according to Mexican news accounts.

The shootout took place at about 0730 hrs between the communities of Buenavista de Trujillo and San Cristobal in Fresnillo, where state police agents observed the drivers of two trucks take evasive maneuvers when they saw the police, prompting at attempt at a traffic stop.

The drivers then attempted to flee, prompting a pursuit and an exchange of gunfire.
Reads almost like the RAB...
Previous versions of the story were that agents had detained an unidentified Los Zetas Valapraiso cell leader, and that the appearance of several armed suspects was an attempt to free the leader. That version was not denied by Zacatecas attorney general, Arturo Nahle Garcia however, subsequent reports from Zacatecas do not refer to the arrest. Arturo Nahle Garcia said an arrest had been made, and that several suspects did attack state police agents.

A version of the story published Monday afternoon by El Diario de Coahuila news daily was that when the state police agents were intercepted, they called for backup and that a Polica Federal road patrol unit showed up to provide relief.

After the gunfight, a total of eight suspects were detained: Martin Hernandez Torres, AKA El Mongo, 35, Inocencio Pizaña Ramirez, 25, Everardo Daniel Casanova Mejia, 21, Hidalgo Jerez Cajbon Caal, 18, Eduardo Ramirez Arteaga, 37, Marcos Ivan Bojorquez Corona, 25 José Ordaz Razcoc, 31 and Domingo Beb Caal, 39.

All the detainees are from Guatemala, according to El Sol de Zacatecas news daily.

Materiel seized in the aftermath include: 87 weapons magazines, 2,156 rounds of ammunition, 63 "stars", communications and tactical gear, and two vehicles: a Dodge Double Cab pickup truck and a Cadillac Escalade SUV, both reported stolen. El Diario de Coahuila reported six rifles and a rocket launcher was also seized following the confrontation.
Posted by: badanov || 02/21/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Down Under
Islamic group accuses Aussie intel of harassment
An Islamic organization in Australia is taking the country’s intelligence services to court over what it calls "constant harassment" and "bullying" against Muslims in the country.

In a press release, the Islamic Society of the Australian state of Victoria that they would press their case against security agents, who they said have been approaching Muslims daily, offering them jobs and demanding personal information.
Offering jobs? The horror!
The flasphoint of the lawsuit is Preston Mosque in Melbourne, where the Islamic Society says the intelligence agents have been harassing worshipers every day.

Baha Yehia, secretary of the Islamic Society of Victoria, said that the group plans to go to Canberra with their case if the issue cannot be resolved in Melbourne.

On Radio Australia, Yehia said that congregants are becoming more forceful in their refusal to speak with intelligence agents. He said, "People are more aware now and people know now that they can say no to ASIO – we don’t have to speak to you and we don’t want to speak to you."

But there are concerns that the mosque itself is a location of radicalism, where seven alleged members of the mosque were arrested and charged with belonging to a terrorist organization in 2008.

Yehia disavowed their membership, saying, "None of these people used to practise or preach at the mosque. They used to attend the mosque. You know, mosques have a different structure than churches."

Yehia added that many congregants are being approached, despite public statements by ASIO that they are not against Islam. Yehia stated, "There’s a bit of mistrust in the community because nobody knows who is working for ASIO, because a lot of people have been approached. And they’ve also been asked to work for ASIO."

See also:
Hizb ut-Tahrir urging Muslims not to talk to ASIO unless legally required
Posted by: ryuge || 02/21/2012 07:55 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq
Iraq Thwarted Infiltration on Syria Border
Iraq's interior ministry said on Monday its forces had fended off "smugglers and infiltrators" trying to cross the border from Syria.

"Border guards were able to fend off groups of smugglers and infiltrators who were trying to cross the border from Syria into Iraq," a statement on the ministry's website said, without specifying when this occurred.

The guards forced the groups to retreat into Syria, the statement said, adding that the incidents took place in areas of Nineveh province.
Welcome news though a few years late...
A statement released on Saturday by the Iraqi premier's office said Iraq is taking measures to secure its border with Syria against weapons smuggling and the unauthorized movement of people.

Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Light of the Alawites...
has been carrying out a bloody crackdown on an uprising against his rule, in which activists say more than 6,000 people have been killed since March 2011.

While there are still regular civilian protests that turn deadly in Syria, the focus has now also shifted to armed conflict with regime forces.

Iraq's interior minister said in an interview with Agence La Belle France Presse that jihadists were moving from Iraq to Syria and arms are also being smuggled across the border to opponents of Assad's regime.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/21/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Southeast Asia
Philippines captures terrorist wanted for beheading soldiers
An Islamic terrorist militant accused of beheading Philippine soldiers and other attacks was arrested on Tuesday after being surprised in his remote island hideout. Security forces captured Abdulpattah Ismael, a member of Abu Sayyaf, in a raid on a village on the southern island of Basilan, said regional police chief Superintendent Napoleon Estilles.

Estilles said, "He did not resist. He was taken by surprise. He did not expect this so he did not have time to react."

Ismael faces murder charges for his role in an ambush on Basilan in 2007 in which 14 Marines were killed, 10 of whom were beheaded, in one of the worst attacks by the Abu Sayyaf on the Philippine military.

Estilles said Ismael also was involved in a raid on a Basilan jail in 2009 that led to the escape of 31 inmates, including Muslim terrorists militants, and the death of a guard.
Posted by: ryuge || 02/21/2012 06:30 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Simple solution here.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 02/21/2012 16:58 Comments || Top||


Attack leads to the death of three terrorists in southern Thailand
Three suspected terrorists insurgents were killed and three security personnel were injured on Tuesday in Thailand's southern province of Pattani.

The gun battle took place as a group of ten government soldiers and paramilitary rangers were building a roadside checkpoint for a village defense unit when seven armed terrorists men in a pickup truck began shooting at them. The exchange of gunfire lasted about 30 minutes.

Two terrorists gunmen were instantly killed at the site of the first clash. The soldiers followed the terrorists attackers who fled in separate directions. A third terrorist assailant was gunned down in a clash during the pursuit, while the other four terrorists escaped. M16 assault rifles with fully-loaded ammunition clips were discovered near their terrorist bodies.

An investigation found that security personnel were aware of a possible terrorist attack targeting village leader Vorakit Nisorn, whose home is located near the clash sites and for that reason officials had deployed security forces in the area before the incident.
Posted by: ryuge || 02/21/2012 06:18 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Police think Bangkok bombers used stickers to mark targets
Bangkok Police believe that a number of stickers bearing the word "Sejeal" found posted along a road in the city may have been used by the Iranian men tossed in the calaboose in a terror plot last week to mark potential targets, the Bangkok Post reported on Monday.

The stickers were found posted at 52 locations along a road which leads to the Israeli embassy in Bangkok and is frequented by Israeli officials. Similar stickers were found at the house where a blast occurred last week, believed to be a work accident which took place while the suspects were planning a terror attack. The stickers were also discovered at another house linked to the suspects and under the seat of a cycle of violence believed to be the property of one of the suspects.

According to the report, the word written on the stickers, "sejeal," may refer to a passage in the Koran. Paleostinians snuffies have referred to their rockets and mortar shells as "sejeal stones," referencing the Koran passage.

The Bangkok Post added that Thai police were planning to seek an arrest warrant for a sixth suspect believed to be involved in the terror plot. An official said that the suspect is believed to have left Thailand for Iran already.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/21/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran says pre-emptive strike on 'enemies' possible
An Iranian military commander has said Iran would take pre-emptive action against its enemies if it felt its national interests were endangered.

Mohammad Hejazi, deputy head of Iran's armed forces, made his comments to the Iranian Fars news agency.

Our strategy now is that if we feel our enemies want to endanger Iran's national interests, and want to decide to do that, we will act without waiting for their actions," Mr Hejazi told Fars.

Posted by: Water Modem || 02/21/2012 17:28 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Sounds like the geopolitical equivalent of "Suicide by Cop" to me.......
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 02/21/2012 17:37 Comments || Top||

#2  Possible but unlikely, as Iran needs time to dev + safely master its NucTechs - iff that means being "humble" + tolerating a US-NATO naval, etc. presence offshore, SO BE IT! Iran still has its various MilTerr Proxies whom can PDeniably act "autonomously" or "independently" from Tehran.

IMO what mattered to the Mullahs years ago was a formal US-Allied GROUND INVASION + OCCUPATION to stop thier NucProgs.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 02/21/2012 18:48 Comments || Top||

#3  Bring it on. That's the ONE thing that would guarantee the mother of all beatdowns on those idiots.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 02/21/2012 20:22 Comments || Top||


Visiting United Nations IAEA nuke inspectors will not.... inspect
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/21/2012 06:55 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Link is to an article about Iran striking first....

As for the headline....

Did they ever Inspect anything before?
Posted by: CrazyFool || 02/21/2012 11:04 Comments || Top||

#2  "Visiting" just sounds so harsh.
Posted by: Elmising Poodle6592 || 02/21/2012 22:48 Comments || Top||


Syrians sense war in Damascus; Assad tries to score points
The protests that took place over the past two days in Damascus' Al Maza neighborhood have turned the Syrian capital - especially its heated neighborhoods - into a besieged and closed-in zone. According to reports by activists of the Syrian opposition, numerous security forces have been streaming into the capital, dozens of barriers have been erected in some of the main streets, and "there's a sense of war in the city."

There were severe shortages of electricity in Homs and Damascus after large generators that were supplying the cities with electricity were damaged either by bombardments of the Syrian army or by sabotage. In Damascus there is talk of insane price rises of 50%-80% on basic goods, hawkers -- who were once removed from the streets by police -- have opened improvised stalls to replace licensed stores, skyrocketing gas prices have caused increased taxi fares, and even the Iranian tourists who once visited holy sites for Shi'as in Damascus have stopped coming in light of the recommendations of the Iranian immigration authorities, who blamed the ban on Syria's dilapidated security situation.

Syrians sense war in Damascus while Assad tries to score points
Syrians report electricity shortages in Homs and Damascus, as Syrian President Bashar Assad tries minimizing pressure by a referendum on changes to the constitution that do not satisfy the opposition.

The protests that took place over the past two days in Damascus' Al Maza neighborhood have turned the Syrian capital - especially its heated neighborhoods - into a besieged and closed-in zone. According to reports by activists of the Syrian opposition, numerous security forces have been streaming into the capital, dozens of barriers have been erected in some of the main streets, and "there's a sense of war in the city."

Nonetheless, there is not yet talk of crowds bursting into the streets of Damascus. There are concerns that the Syrian army intends to "conquer" the city of Homs after explosions in the neighborhood of Baba Amar failed to suppress protesters, and in light of the shots that could be heard this morning, while clashes took place in the cities of Daraa, Hama and Idlib.

There were severe shortages of electricity in Homs and Damascus after large generators that were supplying the cities with electricity were damaged either by bombardments of the Syrian army or by sabotage. In Damascus there is talk of insane price rises of 50%-80% on basic goods, hawkers -- who were once removed from the streets by police -- have opened improvised stalls to replace licensed stores, skyrocketing gas prices have caused increased taxi fares, and even the Iranian tourists who once visited holy sites for Shi'as in Damascus have stopped coming in light of the recommendations of the Iranian immigration authorities, who blamed the ban on Syria's dilapidated security situation.

In the meantime, Arab diplomatic pressure is building up on Syria.

Despite all that, the Syrian regime still does not appear to be retreating, nor willing to cease the attacks on its citizens. Official Syrian media are reporting that the government is offering relief for loaners by retracting fines on late repayments, offering extended hours of free electricity, offering new housing projects as well as tax breaks for university students. This Sunday, Assad is expected to hold a referendum over changes to the constitution, which include, among other things, cancelation of the monopoly of the Baath party and limits to the tenure of the president to two terms of seven years. Assad will request to use the referendum and new constitution to prove how serious his intentions are to apply reforms, and in doing so, also try to convince at least some of the Arab states to remove the sanctions imposed on Syria, while giving Russia and China "ammunition" to continue supporting him.
Posted by: Pappy || 02/21/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  See also TOPIX > ASSAD: SYRIA FACING [dedicated foreign/external] ATTEMPTS TO DIVIDE IT.

and

* SAME > IRAN RAID SEEN AS HUGE TASK FOR ISRAELI JETS.

* SAME > SOUTH CAUCASUS NATIONS FEAR IRAN-ISRAEL [US-Iran] WAR.

Azerbaijan = fears Iran invasion, Georgia = caught in the middle be it US-vs-Iran or US-vs-Russia, + Armenia = desires to preserve Iran diploamtic ties.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 02/21/2012 0:31 Comments || Top||


13 Civilians, 2 Troops Dead as Syrian Forces Mass around Homs
Violence killed 15 people across Syria on Monday as regime troops massed around Homs, sparking calls for women and kiddies to flee the besieged flashpoint city, as Iranian warships docked at the port of Tartus in a show of force.

The reported buildup came as Mediterranean states meeting in Rome agreed to preserve Syria's territorial integrity and avoid an "Iraqi scenario," according to Tunisian Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem.

U.S. General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said any intervention in Syria would be "very difficult" and that it was "premature" to arm the opposition.

China's influential People's Daily warned that any Western support for the rebels would trigger a "large-scale civil war."

But, despite a weekend appeal by a visiting Chinese envoy for all sides to stop the violence, monitors said forces of embattled Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Lord of the Baath...
targeted the central city of Homs for a 17th straight day.

Attacks on Homs killed nine out of the 15 people killed across Syria so far on Monday, according to reports by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and official state media.

Shelling of Baba Amr, the main rebel stronghold in Homs, killed five civilians, while another four died when rockets crashed into al-Malaab district, said the Britannia-based Observatory.

The official SANA news agency said a lieutenant colonel and a sergeant were killed in a clash between border guards and an "armed terrorist group" in Athraya, central Hama province.

Activists and state media reported at least 14 people were killed Sunday, adding to the more than 6,000 people who have died in the Assad regime's 11-month crackdown on dissent.

"Infantry troops arrived yesterday (Sunday) in Homs," Rami Abdul Rahman, head of the Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told Agence La Belle France Presse on the telephone Monday.

A Homs-based activist voiced fears of an imminent attack on Baba Amr, the main rebel stronghold in the central city, speaking of "unprecedented military reinforcements coming from Damascus
...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world...
"News has been leaked to us from army officers about a bloody attack that will burn everything in Baba Amr," Hadi Abdullah of the General Commission of the Syrian Revolution said Sunday.

"We were expecting the attack two nights ago, but it could have been just delayed because of the snowstorm," he said.

A day after saying Baba Amr was being hit at the rate of up to five rockets a minute, Abdullah on Monday demanded a safe passage to allow women and kiddies to leave the district.

"We want women and kiddies to be allowed to leave," he told AFP, adding that "people were suffering from the weather while their conditions are miserable."

Abdul Rahman was cautious about the timing of the expected attack.

"We do not know when the attack might happen," he said.

Elsewhere, two warships from Iran, a key backer of the Syrian regime, docked at the port of Tartus, Tehran's state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
reported on Monday, adding that their crew would train Syrian sailors.

Iran's navy chief, Admiral Habibollah Sayari, said on Saturday that the ships, a destroyer and supply vessel, had passed through the Suez Canal to show the Islamic republic's military "might."

In Damascus, regime forces remained on alert after two days of large and unexpected protests, and after a call for a "day of defiance" was observed in restive neighborhoods, according to activists.

"Following the surprising demonstrations (on Friday and Saturday), the regime is reconsidering its security measures," in the capital, said Abdul Rahman.

Mohammed Shami, a front man for activists in Damascus province, said security was bolstered in some areas in the tense neighborhood of Mazzeh, including around the Iranian embassy.

Two masked men flew a large green, white and black flag of "independence" from a bridge in Kfar Sousa neighborhood, according to amateur video footage uploaded by activists to YouTube.

Activists reported Sunday a security clampdown on Mazzeh, thwarting plans to stage large protests in the area, scene the day before of a funeral that became a huge anti-regime rally.

Meanwhile,
...back at the Hubba Hubba Club, Nunzio had his hands full of angry bleached blonde...
the Syrian authorities freed blogger Razan Ghazzawi, symbol of an 11-month uprising, and six other female activists incarcerated last week, human rights
...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions...
lawyer Anwar Buni said.

The women were released on Saturday, but were ordered to report to police daily in order to continue their questioning, he said.

They were part of a group of 14 activists people incarcerated Thursday in a raid on the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression, a group headed by rights activist Mazen Darwish.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/21/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1 
In Other News:

Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham are feared to have parachuted into Homs to fight alongside rebels.
Posted by: Besoeker || 02/21/2012 1:17 Comments || Top||

#2  13 Civilians, 2 Troops Dead

Civilians, eh?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 02/21/2012 7:51 Comments || Top||


Terror Networks
A Snapshot of Brigadier Ijaz Shah: Bin Laden’s ISI Handler
Posted by: Water Modem || 02/21/2012 17:39 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Shah did it the bad stuff and nobody else knew ... except Goldilocks.
Posted by: Super Hose || 02/21/2012 21:46 Comments || Top||


Good morning
Posted by: Steve White || 02/21/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Birthday/Daily Gam Shot

Lucille Bremer aka Rose Smith in "Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)" aka Sally Hessler in "Till the Clouds Roll By (1946)" aka Princess in 'This Heart of Mine' / Moy Ling in 'Limehouse Blues' in "Ziegfeld Follies (1945)" aka Kathy Lawrence in "Behind Locked Doors (1948)" aka Lady Bianca in "Adventures of Casanova (1948)" (Died in 1996 at age 79)



Women Who Bathe in Style
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 02/21/2012 2:47 Comments || Top||

#2  OK, Cindy is done with me now.
Posted by: gorb || 02/21/2012 14:35 Comments || Top||

#3  It's Bajoran Week at the DS-TP?
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 02/21/2012 19:32 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
65[untagged]
1Muslim Brotherhood

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
Tue 2012-02-21
  Afghans rescue 41 child suicide bombers
Mon 2012-02-20
  Syrian army reinforcements head to Homs
Sun 2012-02-19
  Iran stops oil sales to British, French
Sat 2012-02-18
  SWIFT To Cut Off Iran - No Financial Telecommunications
Fri 2012-02-17
  Feds arrest another thinks-he-is suicide bomber heading to Capitol building
Thu 2012-02-16
  U.S. drone kills five insurgents in Miranshah
Wed 2012-02-15
  Thailand charges Iranian bomb suspects in Bangkok
Tue 2012-02-14
  Suspected Iranian Agent Bungles Bombing in Bangkok
Mon 2012-02-13
  Israel says bombs target embassies in India, Georgia
Sun 2012-02-12
  Uzbek man in US pleads guilty in Obama murder plot
Sat 2012-02-11
  Arrests in Quetta Related to Rabbani Assassination
Fri 2012-02-10
  Zawahiri says Somalia's Shebab Joined al-Qaida
Thu 2012-02-09
  Badar Mansoor Dronezapped in North Wazoo
Wed 2012-02-08
  German Police Arrest Lebanese, Syrian for Spying for Damascus
Tue 2012-02-07
  Blasts Rock N. Nigeria, Police Station Attacked

Better than the average link...



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.
18.206.76.160
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Background (20)    Non-WoT (16)    Opinion (6)    (0)    Politix (2)