Complete success is being claimed for the largest Afghan-led operation yet against the Taliban. Afghan army forces and police have now purged the Nad Ali district of Helmand of 400 Taliban fighters, following a series of chaotic battles. Allied commanders estimated 70 Taliban fighters were killed in the fighting, while many others fled or gave up their weapons. Locals said that the dead included at least one senior commander, Mullah Abdul Bary. "Of course there are some Taliban left in here, but they have dropped their weapons and they are hiding," said Colonel Rasoul, the commander of the 3rd Kandak, the best regular army unit in the fledgling Afghan security forces.
The operation, which began last week during the Persian new year celebrations of Nawruz, involved 400 Afghan security personnel, the biggest Afghan-led sweep yet in the Nato offensive in Helmand. Crucially, it was also backed by local militias, whose commanders had sworn to remove the Taliban from their land. The success means that much needed-reconstruction projects, postponed for months due to the Taliban presence, can now begin as planned.
The Afghan army soldiers patrolling through the fields of Nad Ali also boast new helmets, flak jackets and weapons - the first signs of a $2 billion US aid package designed to turn a ragtag force with an acute desertion problem into an army that would allow Western troops to begin pulling out. Another $6.2 billion is promised to the corrupt and widely mistrusted Afghan police force.
Important to the success of the operation was the frontline role of the local militias. Their fighters have local knowledge but neither training nor uniforms, tying lengths of orange or white tape round their arms for identification in battle. "It is very difficult to work with them," admitted Col Rasoul.
When The Daily Telegraph met some of the militia men - heavily armed, wild-looking youngsters in local garb and sunglasses - they boasted of killing three Taliban nearby. However, a senior provincial leader warned that the militia "must be controlled". "These are all Sher Mohammed Akhundzada's men," he explained. Akhundzada was provincial governor of Helmand until British pressure caused him to be removed in December. British counter-narcotics officials are certain he was a key figure in the province's drugs trade.
A police officer on the Afghan drugs eradication team in Helmand, who cannot be named for his own safety, said that several of the militia commanders control large opium poppy fields. "The poppy fields have not been destroyed," he said. "That is because they all have allies in the government in Kabul."
Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah threatened to kill an Afghan interpreter held hostage unless the Kabul government freed two Taliban prisoners, according to an interview broadcast on Italian television on Thursday. Dadullah said President Hamid Karzai must negotiate with the Taliban for the release of interpreter Adjmal Nasqhbandi, just as the Italian government had negotiated the release of reporter Daniele Mastrogiacomo, whom Adjmal worked for. "We ask the Karzai government to release two of our prisoners," Dadullah reportedly said in the interview with Sky Italia, which was broadcast in his native tongue with Italian subtitles. "The Kabul government has got no option, it must negotiate with us for Adjmal. If this doesn't happen then we will kill him."
Dadullah taunted Karzai, saying he was a puppet in the hands of Western governments and should show he had the same concern for the fate of Adjmal as the Italian government had shown for Mastrogiacomo.
This article starring:
Daniele Mastrogiacomo
interpreter Adjmal Nasqhbandi
MULLAH DADULLAH
Taliban
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Yup, "We're the religion of Peace, And we'll kill anyone who doesn't agree with us"
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/30/2007 6:00 Comments ||
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SECURITY forces killed 13 Taliban in battles in southern Afghanistan, while two police and a security guard died in rebel attacks. The new unrest came as a man claiming to be a Taliban commander in the southern province of Kandahar said he was holding three nurses, a doctor and their driver hostage and would release them in exchange for militants in prison.
More than 80 Taliban fighters attacked a compound in the southern province of Uruzgan overnight, sparking a pitched battle that lasted six hours, the US-led coalition said. Eight Taliban and an Afghan security guard were killed, it said.
Insurgents meanwhile stormed a police post north of Kandahar city overnight, provincial police chief Asmatullah Alizay said. "Two police were martyred in the attack. Taliban have abducted two other police as well," he said.
In a separate incident in Kandahar, NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said it had killed five militants west of the city in an overnight operation.'
A man claiming to be a local-level Taliban commander said the medical team, snatched on Tuesday, were "safe and sound".
"We are making a list of our prisoners and will release them in exchange for our men in the government prisons," the purported commander named Tur Jan said by telephone from Quetta a secret location. An Italian journalist was freed by the Taliban on March 19 after a militant commander said the government had released five high-profile Taliban prisoners. The government admitted it had freed some Taliban, but said it was a one-off deal.
In another incident, Afghan border police arrested five militants including two foreign fighters with weapons, explosives and radios in eastern Nangarhar province, the interior ministry said.
This article starring:
provincial police chief Asmatullah Alizay
TUR JAN
Taliban
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Thank you very much Italy. A friendly reminder to mohammedans everywhere: Italians fetch the highest prices on the hostage market.
Posted by: ed ||
03/30/2007 0:09 Comments ||
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#2
That picture is a nice reminder of what can happen in Paris when folks cross a certain line.
Militant Wahabbi Islamists Drag Christian Evangelist into Mosque and Beat Him to Death
The Washington-DC based human rights group, International Christian Concern (ICC) has just learned that an Ethiopian evangelist named Tedase was beaten to death by militant Muslims on Monday, March 26th, as he and two young women were on a street evangelism assignment in Jimma, Ethiopia. This marks the second time in six months that Christians residing in Southeast Ethiopia have been attacked and killed by extremist (Wahabbi) Muslims.
On Monday afternoon Tedase and two female coworkers were conducting street evangelism on Merkato Street in Jimma, Southern Ethiopia. Merkato Street runs by a Wahabbi Mosque. As the team was walking by the Mosque, a group of Muslims exited the Mosque and began to run after them to confront them. Tedase's female coworkers ran away from the mob but Tedase continued on. The Muslims caught up with Tedase, pulled him into the mosque, and savagely beat him to death. Sources from Jimma reported that Tedase was beaten with a calculated intention to kill him. This was no accident or case of mob frenzy getting out of control. His body was later taken to the hospital for an autopsy and he was buried Tuesday, March 27.
Our sources also reveal that Jimma Christians were conducting an evangelism campaign, and news of the outreach was spreading among Jimma residents as well as militant Muslim groups in the area. The Muslims that belonged to the Wahabbi sect purposefully beat Tedase to death as a message to Christians that they are ready to combat evangelism.
Aftershocks of the September 2006 Pogrom
This most recent incident in Ethiopia confirms ICC's decision to include this country in its Hall of Shame list, which highlights nations where Christians are enduring the most severe persecution. It is important to note that the Muslims who attacked Tedase belonged to the Wahabbi brand of Islam, an extremist sect imported from Saudi Arabia. It is clear that the Christians in Ethiopia are feeling Saudi Arabia's influence, particularly in Jimma, a Muslim dominated area where local authorities are almost exclusively Muslim. It was only six months ago, in September of 2006, that Muslim extremists burned down a number of churches and parishes, as well as Christian homes. As many as 2,000 Christians were displaced by the attack, an attempt to intimidate Christians with the hopes of converting them to Islam.
Evangelical church leaders are fearful that if police ignore Tedase's death, it will be a green light for Muslim groups in the area to attack their Christian neighbors at will and without retribution. We appeal to concerned individuals to contact the Ethiopian embassy in their own countries to ask for an investigation of Tedase's murder.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2007 13:45 Comments ||
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#2
Much like how Sudden Jihad Syndrome has yet to recognized for the Islamic terrorism it actually is, I'm curious as to how long it will take the other non-Islamic religions to understand that a campaign of calculated terrorism is being waged upon them with every incident like the one mentioned above.
The world's other religions must band together in denouncing Islam and working in concert to defeat it. The outrage over Pope Benedict's relatively benign comments should serve as ample proof of what Islam holds in store for all other faiths. As Benjamin Franklin once said:
"Hang together or hang separately."
That any tolerance is shown for the world's most intolerant religion is nothing short of self-immolation. This gradual suicide by abdication must end and end soon. It is simply baffling that other governments, churches, cultures and people in general continue to tip toe around the glaring fact that Islam is Hell bent on Global Cultural Genocide.
#4
Drag the beaters into church and baptise them, it'll ruin their life (What's left of it after we announce their "Conversion" to Christianity), if they can force conversions, so can we, especially when converting is a death sentence to Muslims.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/30/2007 20:10 Comments ||
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Addis Ababa - Ethiopia accused Eritrea on Thursday of arming anti-Ethiopian rebels and urged the United Nations to take action against its long-time Horn of Africa foe.
Don't hold your breath
Eritrean officials were not immediately available to comment, but always deny such allegations. Addis Ababa and Asmara have routinely fired harsh rhetoric at each other since a 1998-'00 border war killed 70,000 people. But tensions have climbed higher in recent months amid conflict in neighbouring Somalia and a kidnapping near their frontier.
"The Eritrean government ... is now organising, arming and training anti-peace Ethiopian elements to carry out its proxy war and cause destruction in the country," Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told parliament on Thursday.
"The UN Security Council cannot ignore repeated acts of terrorism being perpetrated by one of its member nations."
Why should today be any different than the last two or three decades?
The United Nations and Washington accused Eritrea of sending weapons and troops to militant Islamists who threatened to over-run Somalia's Ethiopian-backed government before being ousted in a two-week war over the New Year. Asmara denies it.
"Lies! All lies!"
Meles said Eritrean forces had suffered a "humiliating defeat" in Somalia, and were now focused on infiltrating "rogue elements" into Ethiopia to plant bombs targeting civilians. Addis Ababa was hit by several mysterious blasts last year. The government generally blames Eritrea or various rebel groups.
Meles also repeated Ethiopia's allegations that Asmara was behind the kidnapping of eight Ethiopians seized at gunpoint with five Europeans this month in Afar, northern Ethiopia. The Europeans were freed in Eritrea after 12 days, but nothing has been heard of their guides. Eritrea's government denied playing any role in the abduction, and in turn accused Ethiopia of manipulating the incident to its own ends.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/30/2007 12:58 ||
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Ethiopian helicopter gunships have fired at a market near an insurgent stronghold in the Somali capital. The BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu says hundreds of insurgents armed with rocket launchers and machine guns are battling Ethiopian troops. Ethiopian tanks are also deployed. Crowds dragged several dead bodies in uniform through the streets. The security crackdown in the south of the city is being billed as a three-day operation to restore order.
Meanwhile, Ethiopia says two-thirds of its troops have withdrawn from Somalia. Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told parliament the rest of his troops, which are deployed in support of the interim government, would leave in consultation with the African Union. Ethiopian troops helped install the government last December but have been gradually handing over responsibilities to the AU force that was deployed to Mogadishu this month to try and bring stability to the city. Some 1,700 Ugandan troops are in Mogadishu as the advance party of a planned 8,000 strong AU force.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Try the walking artillery urban renewal project.
Posted by: ed ||
03/30/2007 0:13 Comments ||
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#2
Crowds dragged several dead bodies in uniform through the streets.
Yep, the Somalis tried this a few times when the Italians first occupied Mogadishu in the 1890s. Having come late to colonialism, the Italians had the benefit of British and French experience. They simply moved into the offending neighborhood, burned it to the ground, and shot everything that moved. The locals were slow on the uptake and it took several repetitions for the lesson to sink in. The trouble ended and the otherwise feeble Italian forces controlled the city for another 60 years.
(SomaliNet) Reliable sources confirmed to Somalinet that at least 15 Ethiopian military personnel have been killed and others more were wounded in the latest gun battle that took place in Mogadishu today. Rivals are regrouping for more clashes. One of the Ethiopian trucks was reported to have burnt on ground as insurgents celebrate for victory. The casualty on the insurgents side was not clear but some reports say more fighters have been killed and wounded in the latest clashes.
All businesses in the capital have been closed due to the fighting. Medical sources say that at least 30 people were killed and more than 100 others mostly civilians were wounded in the violence. The rest of the people remaining in the capital are worrying about about fresh battles that can spark any time as both sides receive reinforcement.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2007 00:00 ||
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Lets hope Ethiops do not repeat Israel's mistakes with Paleos, or American mistakes with Iraquis.
(SomaliNet) The heaviest gun battle between Ethiopian forces and local insurgents since December last year is still raging in the Somalia capital as angry Somali crowds have dragged one Ethiopian soldier on the streets of Mogadishu. Witnesses told Somalinet that the dragged soldier was killed by an old man who was fighting along side the insurgents near the main industrial road where the worst fighting happened. The image of the Ethiopian soldier was also shown on Al-Jazeera TV.
On the insurgents side, there are number of militia members killed in the latest clashes, one resident who declined to be named told Somalinet by phone. Many crowds could be seen celebrating on the Ethiopian corpse as he was undressed, tied and then dragged by young men. The Ethiopian forces backed by tanks still continue fighting with what they believed to be remnants of the ousted Islamists.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2007 00:00 ||
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Sorry, but Ethiopians don't do CNN. Dragging a dead Ethiopian before Al-Jazeera cameras will only result in a bunch of dead, hungry and homeless savages.
Posted by: ed ||
03/30/2007 0:17 Comments ||
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#2
You said it ED, and the Ethiopians don't have a Les Aspin to deny the troops whats needed to 'kick a** and take names. Whats needed are a few 'sniper cameras' and death squads to kindly look the insurgents up later after they've eaten and gone to bed.
#3
Maybe the Ethiopians can drag some bad guys thru piles of pig ... uh, fecal matter, pile bacon on top, soak with gasoline and ignite, filmed and posted on the Internet, of course.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/30/2007 7:43 Comments ||
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#4
I may have to look into getting Ethiopian citizenship.
#5
In the "Black Hawk Down" incident, Somaniacs hacked flesh off dead US soldiers, stuck same on the ends of sticks and danced around with same. No major US media outfit played those tapes. If they had, the US would not have allowed Somali Islamofascists to be in the position to enforce Shariah at Minnesota airports.
#6
At the time, I was lectured at by all the usual traitors that "racist" media portrayals of Somalis made them look like "savages". I replied that it was savagery that made Somalis look savage.
I pray to God the Ethiopians respond with all the force we should have but didn't.
(SomaliNet) Former transitional national government consular in Dubai, UAE Abdinasir Ahmed Adan known as Serjito and two of his friends have been shot dead by unknown gunmen on Wednesday in the Somalia capital Mogadishu. Witnesses told Somalinet that the shoot out happened around KM4 junction in southern Mogadishu when one of three armed men drew a pistol and shot Serjito and two other men who were accompanying him. Serjito was shot dead as he was buying Khat leafs, the narcotic mild drug, from a kiosk. One of the two killed men was identified as Abdulahi Isse Shig-Shigow, another Somali politician. After the killing, the attackers have taken away the car of the murdered men and escaped unharmed.
The killing occurred 400 meters away to the place where the clan elders and the African Union officials are meeting over the situation in the capital. Shortly after the killings many nearby residents flocked the area to identify the victims. It is not yet clear why the politician was killed and it is not known whether this killing was politically motivated or not. Ahmed Serjito recently recovered from bullet-wounds when gunmen tried to kill him as he was driving in the capital last year.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2007 00:00 ||
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Six Islamic militants convicted of killing two judges during a wave of bomb attacks have been hanged in Bangladesh, officials say. The six included Abdur Rahman, the head of the banned Islamic group Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh, and his deputy Siddiqul Islam, known as Bangla Bhai, and four other JMB players to be named later. Police said the men were executed at different jails across the country. Heh. Coppers can do multiple ops at the same time too.
The November 2005 attack on the judges was part of a series of bombings for which the JMB was guilty blamed.
JMB was responsible. They said so themselves. But Aunty Beeb can't help themselves, it's reflexive.
During their trial, the men said they targeted the judiciary because it was run by secular rather than Sharia law.
"We dunnit, and we're glad, you sons of monkeys and pigs!"
The Supreme Court rejected their appeal late last year and President Iajuddin Ahmed turned them down for clemency earlier this month. "They were hanged in four different jails and their dead bodies were handed over to their families," Inspector General of Prisons Brigadier Zakir Hassan told the French news agency AFP.
Hey! Apparently it is possible to capture a 'militant', try them, and hang them. Huzzah! The ululator's in the back of the shed, under the leaf blower and the volleyball net.
JMB has claimed responsibility been blamed for a string of bombings across Bangladesh that left almost 30 people dead. In August 2005, some 500 bombs were set off in all but one of Bangladesh's 64 districts in the space of an hour. A number of subsequent bomb attacks targeted judges and court rooms. More than 100 cases in every upazilla have been filed against alleged members of the JMB in connection with the campaign. The government has been concerned about the possibility of retaliation to the hangings by still active JMB supporters, says the BBC's John Sudworth in Bangladesh. This is thought to be why the executions were carried out without warning in various jails across the country.
Whatever, Aunty. Bye, Bangla.
This article starring:
ABDUR RAHMAN
Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh
BANGLA BHAI
Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh
Inspector General of Prisons Brigadier Zakir Hassan
#2
Mebbe we need to contract the Bangla courts to handle our Gitmo garbage for us...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/30/2007 10:48 Comments ||
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#3
Yes.
Apparently David Hicks will go free in about a year or two (at most).
He got 7 years and will be transferred to Australia to serve his sentence. With expected time off, he will be out soon.
Posted by: John Frum ||
03/30/2007 13:56 Comments ||
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#4
The Banglas had their chance of deliverance from Hell in the early seventies but chose to be like crabs unwillingly to climb out of the open crate and preventing any others inside from doing so.
Japan's Cabinet approved a two-year extension of the country's air force mission in Iraq after it expires in July, the foreign minister announced Friday.
Tokyo has been airlifting U.N. and coalition personnel and supplies into Baghdad and other Iraqi cities from nearby Kuwait since early last year as part of efforts to support Iraq's reconstruction.
The mission had been set to end July 31.
"A two-year extension is necessary to continue stable airlifting support" because Iraq's reconstruction has not been completed, Foreign Minister Taro Aso said in a statement after Cabinet approved the plan.
"International society seeks support for Iraq's reconstruction and that (Japan's continuing support) also serves Japan's national interest," Aso said.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet hopes to get parliamentary approval of a bill for the extension by late June.
Tokyo has backed the U.S.-led Iraq invasion and provided troops for a non-combat, humanitarian mission in the southern city of Samawah beginning in 2004.
Japan withdrew the ground troops in July 2006, and has since expanded its Kuwait-based air operations.
The Iraq mission is among Japan's steps to boost its international profile. In October it also approved a one-year extension of its Indian Ocean naval mission supporting the U.S.-led anti-terrorism campaign in Afghanistan.
ABC News' Jonathan Karl Reports: ABC News has learned Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi plans to visit Syria next week to meet with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. The visit will make Pelosi the most senior U.S. official ever to meet with President Assad.
Pelosi will be traveling to Syria has part of Congressional delegation. On the trip, she also plans to visit several other countries in the region, including Israel, where she will deliver a speech to the Knesset.
Pelosi's visit to Syria would come as the United States has severed high-level contacts with Assad's government.
The administration recalled the U.S. ambassador to Damascus after the February 2005 assassination of Rafik Hariri in Lebanon. There has been very little high- or mid-level U.S. contact with Syria since then.
Last December, a delegation of four Senators visited Syria, a trip that was made over the objections of the Bush Administration. At the time, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice criticized the trip as unhelpful.
Traveling with Pelosi will be Congressmen Keith Ellison (D-MN), Nick Rahall (D-WV), Tom Lantos (D-CA), Henry Waxman (D-CA), and David Hobson (R-OH).
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration on Friday condemned plans by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to visit Syria and possibly meet its president, who the United States has accused of helping destabilize the region.
"We don't think it's a good idea," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino. "This is a country that is a state sponsor of terror, one that is trying to disrupt the Siniora government in Lebanon and one that is allowing foreign fighters to flow into Iraq from its borders."
The top House Democrat, who is third in line to the presidency, is already in Israel and will meet senior leaders there as well as address the Knesset, or parliament, in the coming days.
Pelosi was expected to visit Damascus and Beirut next week, but her office declined to comment on any travel plans beyond Israel.
Despite the Bush administration opposition, the State Department said it had briefed Pelosi's staff and was prepared to help on the ground in Syria.
"I'm not sure what she's hoping to accomplish there, I know that Assad probably really loves people to come and have a photo opportunity and have tea with him and have discussions about where they're coming from," Perino said, referring to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
"But we do think it's a really bad idea," she said.
#3
Ellison, as the first muslim member of Congress, should be an interesting prop for the speaker. This is an open challenge to the President and should be slapped down hard. For one, the AF should not provide transport for this junket.
Actually it has occurred to me that by loosing the war it really screws up oil which means that the dems will then have some really good reasons (on paper) for clamping down/raising taxes on oil use. Which is really something they want to do in the name of the CO2 god, which of course is just a pretext for controlling everyone's lives.
I am probably paranoid, but there are wheels within wheels here.
Posted by: kelly ||
03/30/2007 18:03 Comments ||
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#13
Did she pack her kneepads and bottle of Binaca?
(oh, that is so crude and vulgar of me. Mom should wash out my mind with soap!
Nope... let the comment stand. San Fran Nan can take her lumps from me, and everyone else. Lie down with dogs, Nan, get up with fleas)
#14
I, for one have no objection to the Madam of the House going to Syria.... I do, however, object to her coming back.
Posted by: Bill Shitch2844 ||
03/30/2007 19:37 Comments ||
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#15
This stuff is just incredible to me. These people just don't give a damn about the consequences of their actions. They do not have the power to draft foreign policy, particulary since they are members of the House of Representatives. They don't even get to vote on international treaties. Who the hell is going to pay for this trip? (I know, I know...all of us)
I just shake my head and pray for our soldiers/Marines/Airmen/Sailors and for our future.
#18
Unless this trip is about commerce, its only public purpose can be to undermine the current foreign policy of the Nation she is supposed to be helping lead.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
03/30/2007 19:53 Comments ||
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#19
I support Pelosi's ME trip; it is her return trip that I oppose.
#20
Speaker is a mother and a grandmother, and she knows how to protect the United States. ASSad will admire
Posted by: Captain America ||
03/30/2007 19:58 Comments ||
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#21
"Oh, please, may she become a human shield, smuggled to Tehran, forced to wear a full body black hijab, and taken by Nutjob as one of his wives."
Nutjob can keep Waxman, too; turn him into a Court Eunuch...
Posted by: Dave D. ||
03/30/2007 20:14 Comments ||
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#22
ASSad, meet ASShole, ASShole meet ASSad (Y'all have so much in common).
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/30/2007 20:20 Comments ||
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#23
Traveling with Pelosi will be Congressmen Keith Ellison (D-MN)
So, that's not one, but two counts of consorting with the enemy.
Since when did any of our politicians travel to Nazi Germany and meet with Hitler during World War II? It would have been treason then and it is most certainly treason now.
#24
I think this is a clear violation of the Logan Act. Madam Speaker does *not* have authority from the US Government to talk to foreign governments let alone hostile ones. Only the POTUS has that privilege and he did not delegate it to her.
Bush needs to nip this in the bud right now or he will be setting a precedent for congress usurping yet another presidential power.
#27
Zen and CF are absolutely right on this and that is what chaps me so hard about it. THIS IS NOT THEIR JOB!!!
It is a blatant attempt to usurp the executive branch and independently establish foreign policy. That is against the law. Sorry, but I know the mainstream media won't raise those issues. I am steamed.
These people, along with the grey-haired protesters I saw before dinner, are aiding and abetting savages, absolute utter savages. That they can claim some moral high ground while doing so defies all logic. It is willful ignorance or actively traitorous behavior. I don't care which, the lot of them should be horsewhipped.
#28
I agree that they are violating the Logan Act, to wit:
§ 953. Private correspondence with foreign governments.
Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.
This section shall not abridge the right of a citizen to apply himself, or his agent, to any foreign government, or the agents thereof, for redress of any injury which he may have sustained from such government or any of its agents or subjects.
The part in bold will be the tough nut to crack. INTENT must be proved. And who is going to go after Pelosi and Co.?
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/30/2007 22:51 Comments ||
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#29
kneepads and Binaca
That might do for Pelosi, but what's Assad going to do about the recurring nightmares?
#30
The part in bold will be the tough nut to crack. INTENT must be proved.
So, let's see: They're flying untold thousands of miles to a hostile region to look at the scenery? There is only one conceivable purpose for Pelosi and crew to visit Assad. Pelosi is seeking to back-channel the White house with one of our worst enemies! Unless she is able to provide some other verifiable pretext for her visit, and she cannot, this is flat out treason.
GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - Australian Guantanamo prisoner David Hicks signed a plea agreement that limits his sentence for supporting terrorism against the United States to seven years in prison, the military tribunal judge said on Friday.
But it was unclear whether that would include the five years that Hicks has already been held at the U.S. prison camp for foreign terrorism suspects.
Appearing at the U.S. military's war crimes tribunal court at Guantanamo on Friday, Hicks acknowledged that he trained with al Qaeda in Afghanistan and fought with its forces against U.S. allies in Afghanistan in late 2001 for two hours and then sold his gun to raise cab fare and tried to flee to Pakistan. He denied having any advance knowledge of the Sept 11 attacks.
The 31-year-old former farmhand from Adelaide pleaded guilty on Monday to providing material support for terrorism. Hicks will serve his prison term in Australia.
At the tribunal, the military accused Hicks of training with al Qaeda, taking up arms to join the Taliban and fighting U.S. forces and their allies in Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks.
Hicks is not accused of actually shooting anyone. A convert to Islam who has since abandoned the faith, he sold his gun to raise cab fare and was captured trying to flee to Pakistan by taxi in December 2001.
To finalize his plea, Hicks must convince the judge, Marine Col. Ralph Kohlmann, that he knowingly lent his services to an international terrorist group engaged in an armed conflict with the United States. Hicks was in the first group of prisoners brought to Guantanamo in January 2002 and has said he was abused by his captors, which the U.S. military denies.
#1
Once he gets his book deal and speaking tour, he's unlikely to screw it up with any recidivist tendancies...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/30/2007 10:51 Comments ||
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#2
Hmm. Johnny Taliban gets 20 years w/o the possibility of parole for his guilty plea and Hicks gets only 7, possibly getting off with time served. It was never confirmed that Johnny Taliban ever shot at anybody, while this piece of garbage has admitted to it on 3 countries and even returned to Afganistan to kill Americans (and Australians). Where is the justice in that?
Posted by: ed ||
03/30/2007 11:40 Comments ||
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#3
Where is the justice in that?
He's going to serve it in an Aussie jail, where he'll become some hairy ape's sheila, if they don't just plain kill him. I doubt many Aussies approve of Hicks' behavior.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/30/2007 12:24 Comments ||
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#4
What's Hicks got to worry about in Australian jails - they still have non-Muslims there? Oh, right, can't arrest the Muzzie criminals - would be racism, and they're the religion of peace and all that.
#7
I saw a TV report where Hicks will only serve about a year (or two at most) in Australia before being paroled.
I could not believe what I was hearing. The smug Brit reporter on the TV was icing on the cake.
Posted by: John Frum ||
03/30/2007 13:59 Comments ||
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#8
More details...
Hicks...confirmed to the judge that he conducted surveillance on the former American Embassy in Kabul.
Hicks, who had complained of abuse in U.S. custody in Afghanistan and at Guantanamo, agrees as part of the deal that he has "never been illegally treated by a person or persons while in the custody of the U.S. government," Kohlmann said.
He will also be required to cooperate with U.S. and Australian authorities to share his knowledge of al-Qaida and a militant Pakistani group, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, which helped him travel to Afghanistan to attend terrorist training camps.
"Any failure to cooperate with U.S. or Australian law enforcement may delay your release from confinement," Kohlmann said.
Another condition of the plea agreement calls for him to hand over to the Australian government any proceeds from selling the rights to his life story, depriving him of an opportunity to cash in on the sought-after details of his crimes and imprisonment. A gag order will prevent him speaking with the media for a year from the sentencing date.
Awwww, too bad, Davey. There goes the big payday...
#9
But after he gets out of jail, won't he have to worry about the moderate muslims down under; what with him abandoning the faith and all. Ain't that against the Koran (Muzzie for Dummies)
Fighting between local and foreign militants Friday killed 52 people, bringing to more than 200 the number of dead in recent days in a conflict between Pakistanis and suspected al-Qaida-linked extremists, a senior official said. Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao said 45 Uzbek militants and seven tribesmen died in battles in South Waziristan, a lawless region used as a rear base by Taliban militants fighting in Afghanistan and where the United States fears that al-Qaida is regrouping. Since fighting began last week, 213 people have been killed, including 177 Uzbeks and their local alllies, Sherpao told The Associated Press.
The minister said the conflict intensified Friday after foreigners failed to comply with an ultimatum from tribal elders to leave their territory. Security officials said tribal militias had fired rockets at the hideouts of the foreigners in several locations. An aide to Maulvi Nazir, the leader of the purportedly pro-government side in the conflict, said earlier Friday that they had killed 35 Uzbeks and lost 10 of their own men. He said both sides were using heavy weapons. The aide, who spoke to AP by telephone, asked for anonymity to prevent enemies from identifying him.
South Waziristan is generally off-limits to journalists, making it hard to verify reports of the fighting.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/30/2007 13:09 ||
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BANNU: Local Taliban detained female polling staff working for the National Assembly by-election for the Bannu seat on Thursday. The staff-members are being kept at the Government Primary School, Khidry Mohammad Khel. According to a private TV channel, the Taliban have said that ahead of the election, candidates and militants agreed that women would not poll votes.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Bet the Talibs are poling these women right now.
Posted by: ed ||
03/30/2007 0:43 Comments ||
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"We were told to fight against Israel, America and non-Muslims," said Muhammed Bakhtiar, 17, explaining why he wanted to become a suicide bomber. "We are so unhappy with our lives here. We have nothing," he said.
Last month, Bakhtiar and his school friend, Miraj Ahmad, also 17, left their home, families, and boarding school in Buner, a district of the Malakand Division of the Northwest Frontier Province. Their destination was the Muridke madrassa right outside of Lahore, Pakistans second-largest city. The madrassa or religious school is run by the Jamaat-ud-Dawah, the charity linked to the outlawed terrorist organization, Lashkar e Taiba. And Lashkar e Taiba has links to al-Qaida.
"We read about jihad in books and wanted to join," said Ahmad. "We wanted to go to the Muridke madrassa so we would have a better life in the hereafter." Ahmad said that he and his friend Bakhtiar were recruited at their high school in Buner. The recruiter offered to take the boys to Muridke for two weeks of training and then to Peshawar where they would be introduced to people and make contacts. "We were told it is our choice to become a freedom fighter or a suicide bomber," explained Ahmad, who had a neat beard and wore a white Muslim prayer cap. "But we should never fight against Pakistan."
Every morning the students were taught Islamic studies; afternoons were reserved for sports. Jihadi training was given in the evenings; two classes a night. "The jihadi man who brought us to Muridke told us we would become great by fighting jihad," said the clean-shaven Bakhtiar. "We knew we could never become great if we stayed in Buner. I wanted to become great" ...
This article starring:
MIRAJ AHMED
Lashkar e Taiba
MUHAMED BAKHTIAR
Lashkar e Taiba
Jamaat-ud-Dawah
Lashkar e Taiba
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Earthquake aid and other billions well spent. We would be better off leaving them starving and freezing just as allah intended.
Posted by: ed ||
03/30/2007 0:22 Comments ||
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#2
"We wanted to go to the Muridke madrassa so we would have a better life in the hereafter."
This is exactly how Muhammad recruited his first terrorist in Mecca and Medina. Religion of Pieces.
#5
"We read about jihad in books and wanted to join," said Ahmad. "We wanted to go to the Muridke madrassa so we would have a better life in the hereafter."
A suicide attacker blew himself up at a military training ground in eastern Pakistan on Thursday, killing one soldier and wounding at least six more, officials said.
The bomber detonated explosives at a training ground near Kharian, 130 kilometres southeast of Islamabad. Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao said one soldier was killed and six others wounded. However, military and police officials said seven were wounded. Officials said soldiers at the Guliana training ground, about four kilometres from Kharian, were learning driving skills when the bomber approached on foot and blew himself up near an army truck.
Ahsan Mehboob, the police chief of the surrounding Gujrat district, said the wounded soldiers were taken to a hospital, two of them in critical condition. Mehboob said the bombers upper body was mutilated beyond recognition. Intelligence agents arrived at the scene to collect and preserve evidence, he said.
Officials declined to speculate about who was behind the attack. However, the blast was the latest in a string of suicide bombings raising concern that militants aligned with the Taliban and Al Qaeda are gaining strength and taking aim at President Gen Pervez Musharrafs US-aligned government.
The attack comes two days after gunmen on motorbikes hurled grenades and opened fire on an army vehicle in Bajaur Agency, killing five officials of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2007 00:00 ||
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Tribesmen fought fresh battles with foreign militants on Thursday, leaving one tribesman dead and shattering a week-old ceasefire in South Waziristan. Security officials said Uzbek and Chechen insurgents traded heavy weapons fire overnight on Wednesday with local tribesmen. Fighting has started again between local tribesmen and foreigners and they are using heavy weapons and small arms in the Azam Warsak and Kalusha areas, a local government source said.
One pro-government tribesman was killed and three were injured, they said. A local tribal commander said that fighting would continue until all foreign militants were expelled from South Waziristan. Though a jirga is still trying to negotiate a ceasefire, our position remains firm that all Uzbek militants should leave the area, Haji Sharif, a supporter of Mullah Nazir, told AFP. Meanwhile, tribesmen claimed to have captured five foreign militants in fresh clashes in Wana, Azam Warsak and Sheen Warsak, Online reported.
This article starring:
HAJI SHARIF
Wazir Taliban
MULLAH NAZIR
Wazir Taliban
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2007 00:00 ||
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Go Red! Go other Red!
Posted by: ed ||
03/30/2007 0:30 Comments ||
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It began with a house-to-house sweep through what US forces said was one of this citys last insurgent strongholds. It ended with rooftop gunfights, airstrikes and dead guerrillas on the streets one sprawled next to a grenade he was about to hurl.
Five days later, the operation was over in a section of Ramadi dubbed the Heart of Darkness, and a newly arrived Marine battalion was poised to move in with Iraqi troops to hold it.
Commanders hope the troops will be able to keep out insurgents, but unfortunately as always it will be a challenge, said Marine Maj. Jim Lively, who was part of a seven-man American team that worked with an Iraqi army company to help clear the area.
Its so easy for them to put down their weapons, walk away and blend in with civilians, he said of the insurgents.
Several dead fighters in flowing robes or track suits lay in pools of blood on the road outside the courtyard where Lively spoke, one with an automatic rifle beside him. No doubt the rest are either out of town, or maybe sitting in one of these houses we just went through, Lively said.
Ramadi is still tremendously dangerous, but US commanders say daily attacks have been cut by half in recent months, partly due to help from local tribal leaders. But the sheiks influence is weaker in the city center, because no single leader holds sway.
Commanders say the only way to secure such zones is to pour in troops and keep them there. Until now, the area targeted in the latest operation was rarely patrolled for lack of soldiers, said 1st Lt. Mohamed Raad, an Iraqi company commander.
That place was the vortex of evil, said Sgt. Jack Robison of the U.S. Armys 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment.
Previously we wouldnt even have thought about walking down there.
The operations first day, March 24, saw coalition troops creep out before dawn with night vision goggles, climbing into the blown-out ruins of an abandoned home. With Iraqi soldiers and a handful of police, they swept through houses searching for weapons, checking IDs and photographing men of fighting age.
Helicopter gunships and fighter jets crisscrossed the sky.
Unmanned drones fitted with video cameras buzzed overhead.
The insurgents were watching.
We got a peeker to the south, on a rooftop, Robison said. Got one of those black masks on.
Robisons unit moved into a house and used it as a base for several days - living alongside a nervous family that watched with curiosity, served tea, and asked when the Americans would leave.
Soon, exchanges of gunfire erupted outside. An insurgent sniper shot an Iraqi lieutenant through the neck as he stood in a courtyard. Two Iraqis and an American also were wounded.
Several sweating U.S. soldiers stopped by and reported that bullets kicked up dirt beside them as they ran. One bullet struck an American in the side, but he was uninjured - saved by his armored vest.
Sitting on a bed with radio antennas sticking out the window, Army Capt. James Enos requested a missile strike on guerrillas holed up on a nearby rooftop. An explosion sounded. ŽEvidently that second-floor roof is now a first floor, Enos said.
Over the next two days, troops cleared houses as tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles guarded roads and Army civil affairs teams handed out food and water. One woman about to give birth was taken to a hospital in a Bradley.
On a wall across the street from a mosque, someone had scrawled in Arabic: ŽRamadi is life for the holy warriors ... and a cemetery for Americans. At night, Apache helicopters fired Hellfire missiles that streaked red across the sky. They also fired a 30-mm gun, and spent shells bounced off the concrete walls of a villa being used as a U.S. base. The target was another building where insurgents had been firing from with machine guns.
Among bodies found in rubble the next day was that of a little girl.
The fourth morning at dawn, Raads company moved into another grid of streets as U.S. tank cannons boomed and coalition machine guns provided cover.
Fearing bombs in the streets, they moved between houses by climbing over walls with ladders. It was a prudent choice:
Ordnance disposal units were called in repeatedly as bomb after bomb was found buried in the road.
Staff Sgt. Cory Schroeder, whose unit disarmed five explosive devices a day, said insurgents even planted two of them behind his vehicle while he disarmed another.
After removing a trip wire that Iraqi troops found in front of a door, Schroeder moved through a pile of trash outside. Looking down as troops walked in front of him, he spotted two metal strips wrapped together with brown tape - a pressure plate trigger connected to a bomb.
Stop! God! Schroeder yelled. These things are everywhere. As the operation wore on, coalition vehicles used bullhorns to air Arabic messages telling residents to stay inside. Streets were deserted. ŽThis is your last chance to help. Dont move. Dont run, one said. ŽHelp the Iraqi army and the American forces find insurgents. Another vehicle briefly blared a screeching Metallica tune.
Raads men went house to house, steadying their weapons on rooftop walls to engage insurgents blocks away. Amid the crackle of automatic-weapons fire, families huddled downstairs. Raad hurled a grenade off one roof after seeing two suspected insurgents running toward him.
ŽMost people are telling me its a safe area, its a good area, Raad said after speaking to one family. ŽThis is a very bad area; they just dont want to help.
On Wednesday morning, shots rang out again.
A block from where Raad and his men spent the night on the floor of another civilian home, six men lay dead in the street - shot by Iraqi soldiers. Most appeared in their 20s. Iraqi troops said the men were insurgents.
The body of a middle-age, mustachioed man in a gray robe sprawled on its back, eyes open. One hand held a red checkered head scarf. Six inches from an open palm was a green pineapple-shaped grenade he was evidently about to throw at Iraqi soldiers on the rooftop.
Around the corner, a burned car sat in the road sunken in ash, its dashboard melted. A trail of blood led to a courtyard where the body of a young man lay in the dirt beside a Kalashnikov assault rifle. Another body was on the ground near a charred, overturned motorcycle.
In the yard of a nearby house where another pressure plate had been rigged to set off a bomb, troops dug up a blue plastic barrel filled with Kalashnikovs, grenade launchers, a sniper scope, copper wires, bomb-making instructions and ski masks.
Also in the stash: American ammunition clips, flash-bang grenades and infrared strobes.
ŽTheyre taking them off our boys, said Sgt. 1st Class Michael Harper.
ŽOur dead guys? another soldier asked.
ŽYeah, Harper said, shaking his head.
Lively said the house had been abandoned by its owners and had been used by a half dozen insurgents to store weapons and plan attacks.
ŽThis is going to be a safe place, Lively said of the area. ŽBut the hold phase is key. ŽYou gotta keep a lot of folks on the ground here when we leave.
BAGHDAD, Iraq -Iraqi and Coalition Forces captured a suspected criminal Criminal? Usually they call these kind of guys terrorists. Why the terminology change?
tied to explosively-formed projectile facilitation networks during an operation Friday morning targeting anti-Iraqi forces in Sadr City. Sadr City. Shiite. EFP. Iranian? Or just associated with them?
The suspect is believed to be involved with several violent extremist groups responsible for attacks against the Iraqi people and Coalition Forces and facilitating the movement of EFPs into Iraq. But will he be willing to discuss these involvements with us? We can't do more than say 'pretty please' and Maliki administration has tended to be very 'understanding' with Shiite prisoners.
#2
"explosively-formed projectile facilitation networks" WTF is this???
you now use ordnance to creat projectiles? And just what is a 'projectile facilitation network' anyway? sounds like an everyday gun runner to me.....
if this is a foretaste of the new terms we gotta learn to play 'Cowboys and Muslims' I vote for B-52s and carpet bomb; screw this new shit....
Couple of interesting items; more at link.During the week of March 22-28 electricity availability averaged 6.1 hours per day in Baghdad and
12.6 hours nationwide. Electricity output for the week was 1% below the same period in 2006. That's a bit better than the "two hours per day" last reported by the MSM.
Iraqi Leaders Appeal to Neighbors to Increase Aid to Iraq:
In a statement addressing leaders at a two-day Arab League summit that opened March 28 in Riyadh, Iraqi Parliament speaker Mahmud al-Mashhadani appealed to Arab leaders to shoulder their legitimate, ethical and national responsibilities toward Iraq and to never abandon its people.
Iraqi Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi issued a similar appeal asking for more support from fellow Arabs and saying it was imperative to keep Iraq from being abandoned to terrorists and foreign powers. That's a reference to Iran, right?
UNHCR Calls Iraqi Refugee Situation Unsustainable:
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHRC) claims emergency camps to host Iraqis fleeing their country could be built if their numbers increase beyond the point where neighboring nations can cope and to avoid the closing of borders. UNHCR would set up camps in Jordan, Syria, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, effectively separating the refugees from the local population and economy. And the UN would pay for that?
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/30/2007 07:56 ||
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Shi'ite militiamen, who melted away from Baghdad when U.S. and Iraqi troops began their security crackdown seven weeks ago, are rolling back into the city with fresh Iranian training, Iraqi and other officials said. It is not clear whether the radical Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is in control of the newly trained group, which some Iraqis describe as a "secret army" trained and equipped by Iran. U.S. forces are concerned that, despite Shi'ite leaders' assurances that they have pulled their fighters off the streets, uncooperative militias will return and seek to destabilize efforts to secure the city.
Videotapes and other evidence of Iranian propaganda have been found on people recently detained in Sadr City, said a member of one of the multiple Iraqi and U.S. security forces trying to return security to Baghdad. "This is a special group, used for special operations, not controlled by Muqtada al-Sadr. This is a secret army," said the Iraqi, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals. "They work for Iranian intelligence. They have good weapons, good salary."
The daily number of sectarian executions is creeping up again in some neighborhoods of Baghdad, despite an enormous coordinated security effort by U.S. and Iraqi forces that has reduced incidents of violence. "We are 120 men and 17 Stryker [armored vehicles] facing 2.9 million people and staring right at the fangs of the beast," said one member of the U.S. forces who faces that challenge daily.
U.S. forces have been waiting to enter the heart of Sadr City until they identify the enemies, know their numbers and understand what it will take to subdue them. "We might push something to a flash point and force people to react -- people who, if given another option, might react differently," said one U.S. official, asking not to be named. Instead, U.S. forces are encouraging Iraqi security forces -- some of whom have personal ties to the neighborhood and are followers of Sheik al-Sadr -- to take the lead in the area as they go on joint foot patrols and visit with families on the outskirts of the area.
#2
A very nice tactical move if reports are correct. The Britts would want to first move their staff and Consular offices out of Iran, before the ante is upped though. You wouldn't want a 'tit for tat' on swaps all the way up the board. In any event, as long as the Iranians 'feel' they can't repatriate from Iraq, they're defacto hostages anyway. The 'wimp factor' is however suggested here. I agree with RD; the 24 hour rule is in effect.
#4
No, Excalibur, it's that police in Western countries would actually protect Iranian embassies. I remember that one of the SAS' most famed exploits was rescuing people at the Iranian embassy in London. If the police would just stand back and let the Iranians be treated as they deserve, it would be a different matter. I suspect that in short order there would be numerous lampposts decorated with hanging Iranians and their embassies would be burnt-out, shattered wrecks.
Posted by: Mac ||
03/30/2007 10:22 Comments ||
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A military leader of the 1920 Revolution Brigades, a major Sunni Arab insurgent group, was killed Tuesday in an ambush west of Baghdad, the group said in an Internet statement. Harith Dhaher al-Dhari died when gunmen fired rocket propelled grenades on his car in the Abu Ghraib district, according to a district official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared reprisals. The official said a passenger traveling with al-Dhari also was killed as well as another associate in a second car traveling behind. He blamed Al Qaeda in Iraq for the attack, but did not say how he arrived at that conclusion.
The group, in a statement posted on the Internet said: "The 1920 Brigades mourns its martyr, the brave leader Harith Dhaher Khamis al-Dhari who fell today, his honorable blood spilled on the battlefield of his jihad (holy struggle) in Abu Ghraib." The authenticity of the brief statement could not be verified but it appeared on a site that routinely publishes militant literature.
The killing of al-Dhari is likely to deepen the increasingly bloody rift between government supporters and opponents of Al Qaeda in the Sunni Arab communities west of Baghdad. The attack took place at a time when the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was making progress rallying tribesmen in the Anbar province, the epicenter of the Sunni insurgency, behind it in the fight against Al Qaeda, the deadliest terror group in Iraq. The government-backed tribal militias have been trying to chase Al Qaeda fighters out of the vast Anbar province. Al Qaeda has responded with bomb attacks targeting leaders and key supporters of the tribes allied against them.
The killing of the insurgent leader also came one day after outgoing U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told reporters that American and Iraqi officials had talked to representatives of insurgent groups hoping to draw more Sunni groups away from Al Qaeda. The 1920 Revolution Brigades has consistently been rumored to have taken part in these secret talks, which are believed to have been deadlocked over the demand that insurgents to lay down their arms and join the political process.
Al-Dhari's father is the sheik of al-Zuba'a tribe in Abu Ghraib. Also a member of this tribe is Deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zubaie, who was seriously wounded Friday when a suicide bomber blew up his vest of explosives at the prayer room of his Baghdad home.
The Islamic State in Iraq, an Al Qaeda-linked group, claimed responsibility for the attack on al-Zubaie, which killed nine people.
In separate statements, al-Dhari was mourned by the Iraqi Islamic Party, the country's largest Sunni Arab party, and by the Association of Muslim Scholars, a radical Sunni group led by Harith al-Dhari, an uncle of the deceased al-Dhari. Both groups have long been suspected of maintaining links to Sunni Arab groups fighting U.S. and Iraqi forces since 2003. The Islamic Party, however, is widely viewed as a force of moderation within the Sunni Arab minority, which is deeply embittered by the loss of its domination under Saddam Hussein. The association, on the other hand, has grown increasingly militant. "To be associated with the insurgency is an honor," the surviving al-Dhari told a television interviewer earlier this week. "We believe it trusts the association when it comes to working toward forcing the occupiers out."
This article starring:
Deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zubaie
HARITH AL DHARI
Association of Muslim Scholars
HARITH DHAHER AL DHARI
1920 Revolution Brigades
Iraqi Islamic Party
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad
1920 Revolution Brigades
Al Qaeda in Iraq
Association of Muslim Scholars
Islamic State in Iraq
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
"secret talks, which are believed to have been deadlocked over the demand that insurgents to lay down their arms and join the political process."
That is, they "deadlocked" over the refusal of the enemy to do the only thing that made the talks worth even having.
AMS has been begging for detention/extermination for a long time. As usual, the nitwit Shi'a can't seem to manage to do any actually useful killing - otherwise they'd have bumped off the whole AMS garbage collection. They're too busy grabbing people whose names are Omar or who don't have pictures of Ali in their taxis.
I'm likin' this red-on-red thing. There's nothing but upside for us and Iraq if AQ and the Sunnis kick the s**t out of each other.
#2
The killing of al-Dhari is likely to deepen the increasingly bloody rift between government supporters and opponents of Al Qaeda in the Sunni Arab communities west of Baghdad.
Why would this deepen the rift between 2 enemies of Al Qaeda, when Al Qaeda is the one who killed him.
#3
So the military leader of a major Sunni insurgent group, just killed in ambush, is the son of the Sheikh of some tribe in Abu Ghraib... where Saddam Hussein trusted the locals enough to build a major prison to house his enemies. That sounds more like a local feud than Al Qaeda getting rid of turncoat colleagues in the terror business.
(KUNA) -- A booby-trapped car bomb blew up southwest of the Iraqi capital on Thursday killing three people, police said. Police said the bomb went off close to a gas station in Al-Amel district, adding that four people were also wounded in the blast.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2007 00:00 ||
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SIXTY people were killed in a suicide bomb attack at a Baghdad market today, in the deadliest attack since the start of a security crackdown in the Iraqi capital. Two police sources put the death toll at 60, with dozens more wounded, and said the blast was caused by a suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest.
Agence France-Presse reported that security officials said two suicide bombers blew themselves up in the popular Shallal market in Baghdad's Al-Shaab district, while one witness told Reuters there were two blasts which he thought were car bombs. It was a very, very crowded market. All those killed are innocent, said Wissam Hashim Ali, 27, one of the wounded who was shopping at the market. There were two car bombs and people started dying, he told Reuters from the hospital.
Shaab is very close to Sadr City, a Shiite militia stronghold in north-east Baghdad that has frequently been targeted by major car bombs blamed by the government on al-Qaeda and other Sunni Arab insurgents.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2007 00:00 ||
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IDF forces operating in Nablus overnight arrested the city's Islamic Jihad leader. Golani troops apprehended Mohammad Katana, who, according to defense officials, was responsible for planning and executing attacks against Israeli targets.
This article starring:
MOHAMAD KATANA
Islamic Jihad
Islamic Jihad
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2007 00:00 ||
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A five-year-old Palestinian boy was killed, and his three-year-old brother and six-year-old sister wounded, in a blast in the house belonging to the public relations chief of an elite security force set up by the Hamas-led government in Khan Yunis.
In a separate incident in the southern Gaza town, two Palestinians were wounded in factional fighting, which erupted after one person was kidnapped by Palestinian gunmen.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Everbody knows that public relations work loses all of its impact if you don't get to use any explosives.
Three Palestinians injured when playing with a rifle at a wedding in Gaza
Gaza - Ma'an - Three Palestinian citizens were injured on Thursday night when they were playing with a weapon during a wedding party in Deir al Balah in the center of the Gaza Strip.
Okay, folks. Like to direct your attention to the dance floor for the traditional playing with weapons ceremony...
Medical sources said that three Palestinians were injured when the rifle which they were playing with fired.
Woah! Well...that didn't go well. It's okay, folks. They'll be bringing out the cake in a coupla minutes...
The sources added that the injured were Ayman Shahin, Ashraf Shahin and Salim Azayza and they were transported to Al Aqsa hospital for treatment.
...and remember folks. No fatal injuries, and, in Gaza, that means good luck for the happy couple...
#4
More detail Hamas man killed in accidental explosion in Gaza
An accidental explosion at a Hamas training camp in Gaza on Friday killed a Hamas member and injured seven others, security officials said.
The circumstances behind the accident at the base in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis were not clear. Kamal Moussa, from Hamas, was killed in the blast, security officials said.
Hospital officials said seven were injured, some critically.
Two Arab residents of Jerusalem were under arrest Thursday for allegedly trying to kidnap and murder haredim in the city, police said. The two suspects were apprehended earlier this month in a joint police-Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) sting operation. A gag order on the case was lifted Thursday afternoon.
According to police, the two men, Ayman Salhab and his cousin Haitham Salhab, both in their early 30s, planned to kidnap and murder haredi residents of Jerusalem and use their bodies as bargaining chips to win the release of Palestinian prisoners being held by Israel. The suspects, who have criminal records for drug offenses, have confessed to the allegations against them, police said. The two were recruited to carry out the kidnappings and murders by a Gaza resident who used to live in the Jerusalem area, in exchange for $2,000 each, police said.
Earlier this month, the two suspects allegedly scouted several Jerusalem neighborhoods - including Neveh Ya'akov, Givat Shaul, Har Nof and Beit Hakerem - and offered haredim rides in their search for a victim. The two men told interrogators they had selected haredim as their targets because "they are known to hitchhike" and "they are certainly Jewish," police said. After finding their victim, the suspects had planned to beat him and stab him with a screwdriver.
When none of the haredim accepted their offer of a ride, the suspects had planned to force a haredi into their car at gunpoint, police said, but the two were arrested in their east Jerusalem homes before they were able to carry out their plan.
The Jerusalem Magistrates Court remanded the two suspects on Thursday until Sunday, ahead of their scheduled indictment next week for attempted murder. Police plan to ask the court to remand the two men through the duration of the trial. "We only did it for the money and for our children," Ayman Salhab said during his court appearance. "I am sorry, and we will pay for our mistake." Asked what he would do if someone tried to kidnap one of his own children, Ayman Salhab said: "I would kill him on the spot."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2007 00:00 ||
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Ayman Salhab said: "I would kill him on the spot."
I think we have stumbled upon the proper punishment.
Posted by: ed ||
03/30/2007 0:34 Comments ||
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#2
. The suspects, who have criminal records for drug offenses,
Obviously not firing on all cylinders here.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/30/2007 6:13 Comments ||
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Insurgents detonated two roadside bombs simultaneously in two districts of Pattani Friday morning, killing one police and injuring at least five others.
The first bomb went off in Sai Buri district when police were patroling Por Ming village. Two officers were wounded from the blast. The second bomb were detonated in Mayo district when a vehicle of patrol police was passing. The blast killed a police instantly while four others were critically injured.
The advice came from officers with US Central Command 5th Fleet HQ at Manama, who spoke of security tension, a hint at an approaching war with Iran. Arab sources report the positioning of a Patriot anti-missile battery in Bahrain this week; they say occupancy at emirate hotels has soared past 90% due mostly to the influx of US military personnel. They also report Western media crews normally employed in military coverage are arriving in packs.
Thursday, March 29, Gen. Khaled al-Absi, Bahrains chief of air defense operations disclosed that new alarm networks had been installed and air defense systems upgraded to handle chemical, biological and radioactive attacks.
The USS Nimitz and its support ships will be departing San Diego Monday, April 2, to join the John C. Stennis Strike Group in the Persian Gulf. The nuclear carrier is due to relieve the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower , but military sources in the Gulf believe all three US carriers will stay put if tensions continue to climb or if fighting breaks out involving American, British and Iranian forces.
The mighty American armada is further supported by the USS Bataan and USS Boxer strike groups.
#3
I say it is all crap. DEBKA is not to be believed if they are the only source reporting something. I have *never* seen an accurate report from them when they are the sole source.
Also, there was an earlier report also sourced DEBKA that said something about "packs" of journalists being there. Fine ... but one thing journalists never do is keep their mouths shut. We would have heard about it by now.
#4
And if Pelosi is headed to Syria, that would be another indication that nothing is going to happen. Either that or she is headed there to tip them off like that other idiot did before the invasion of Iraq. But Pelosi isn't going to go anywhere near a live combat area. The frikken Iranians would capture her and have ANOTHER hostage to add to their historical pile of hostages.
#7
Crosspatch, I occasionally read DEBKA and just store their information in the back of my mind. I've seen one article where they were the only source and partially verified it. Google "Leslie Ann Shedd". Very interesting as she does pop up in ssdi.
#8
Crosspatch, I occasionally read DEBKA and just store their information in the back of my mind. I've seen one article where they were the only source. Google "Leslie Ann Shedd". Very interesting as she does pop up in ssdi.
#9
Yeah, even a stopped clock is correct twice a day but DEBKA is really, really bad most of the time. The reason I get all over it quickly is in the case someone who isn't familiar with DEBKA were to pop in and read that. I want them to know that it isn't likely to be true. It really bugs me to see them quoted on what I consider a site that often has some very good news links. It honestly is like quoting Weekly World News as far as I am concerned.
Not saying DEBKA sourced items shouldn't be posted, just that a second source should be located and if not found, the reader should be warned that it is probably a fabrication.
Recent modifications made to the Arrow enable Israel's ballistic missile defense system to successfully intercept and destroy any ballistic missile in the Middle East, including nuclear-capable missiles under development by Iran, Arieh Herzog, the head of the Defense Ministry's Homa Missile Defense Agency, has told The Jerusalem Post.
In a rare interview that will appear in full in Monday's Post, Herzog provides an inside look at the decision-making process behind Israel's missile defense systems, led by the Israeli- and American-developed Arrow missile, one of the only operational ballistic missile defense systems in the world.
On Monday, the IAF successfully tested a newly modified Arrow interceptor.
Iran and Syria, Herzog said, were investing unprecedented amounts of money in long-range ballistic missile capabilities - with the help of North Korea - and had all but given up building modern air forces.
"The Iranians are continually increasing the range of their missiles," he said. "They are buying technology and in some cases even complete systems from North Korea and other countries."
Herzog also said that while there might be missile systems in Iranian hands that the Arrow could not intercept, all of the ballistic missiles "currently operational" in the Islamic Republic could be destroyed by the Israeli defense system.
"Our Arrow operational system can without a doubt deal with all of the operational threats in the Middle East, particularly in Iran and Syria," he declared.
A branch of the Defense Ministry's Research and Development Directorate, Homa - Hebrew for "Fortress Wall" - was established in 1991 and given a mandate to oversee the development, procurement and integration of missile defense systems, once needed against crude Iraqi Scud missiles and now to face advanced long-range Iranian Shihabs.
Herzog said he favored selling the Arrow to Israel's allies. Countries that have expressed interest include Turkey and South Korea. At the moment, however, the sale of the system is not on the table and this would only change following a joint decision by Israel and the US.
"If it would be possible to sell the system, I would be in favor," he said. "But this is a government decision that needs to be made by Israel together with the United States."
Discussing the Second Lebanon War, Herzog said a missile defense system that was effective against the short-range Katyusha - close to 4,000 struck northern Israel - could have changed the outcome in Israel's favor.
"Active protection can dramatically reduce the number of casualties," he said, adding that this would also provide the government with improved "diplomatic maneuverability."
Such a system also serves as a deterrent. "If someone thinks that a large percentage of his missiles will be intercepted, he will think twice before attacking," Herzog said. "But, it is nice to have THAAD and Patriots all over. Can you ever have too much insurance?"
#1
Smells like they want to reassure their people that they can handle the Iranian missile threat.
I hope we have lots of these guarding the Green Zone.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
03/30/2007 0:29 Comments ||
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#2
Iran and Syria, Herzog said, were investing unprecedented amounts of money in long-range ballistic missile capabilities - with the help of North Korea - and had all but given up building modern air forces.
Sounds like military suicide to me. Kind of like trying to use a deer rifle for home protection. This sort of crap probably makes Israel pretty jumpy, given that their enemies are focused only upon killing them and not even on defending their own nations. We really need to instigate regime change throughout the entire MME (Muslim Middle East). There's just no way to trust any of these Arab and Persian loonies.
#3
I have suspected for some time that at least some of Israel's Arrows have nuclear warheads. Nuclear warheads were used on the US Safeguard system and its Soviet counterpart during the early 70s. Some Nike Hercules SAMs also had nukes and this was considered to have a capability against short and medium range ballistic missiles in Europe and South Korea.
The nuclear warhead greatly simplifies the manifold problems of intercepting a ballistic missile. This is why the early ABMs, from the late 50s onward, all had nuclear warheads. Given the technology of the time, there was simply no other workable option.
A low yield warhead exploded in space or in the high atmosphere is certainly better than a big one on the ground. EMP effects are a serious consideration, but (like most things nuclear) probably not as serious as the popular imagination makes them. We have many real examples of EMP effects, from nuclear tests before 1963.
The only one to produce significant effects on civilian systems was the Starfish Prime (scroll to 9 July 1962) shot in the South Pacific. This interrupted radio broadcasts, blew out street lights, and threw breakers in Hawaii, 800 miles away. Starfish Prime was a space detonation and involved a 1.4 megaton warhead, many times larger than what Arrow would need.
It is just speculation, of course, but this could well be the reason for Israel's confidence in the system.
#5
Icerigger,
Yes. Since blast and thermal effects are largely wasted in space, the main kill mechanism for ABM warheads would have been hard X-rays or neutrons. Research into how to optimize these effects started in the 1950s as part of the ABM program and led eventually to "enhanced radiation" warheads, the so-called neutron bomb.
Interestingly enough, Ariel Sharon apparently once let it slip that Israel has ER warheads. In an outburst at a 2002 news conference, he declared that Israel would "sterilize western Iraq with neutron bombs" if the Saddam regime dared to use WMD against Israel. All attempts to follow up were ignored.
#7
just keep giving those israelis money and they keep upgrading while keeping us apprised of the problems in the ME
I once attended a talk by Israel's Defense Minister during Desert Storm where he described how Israeli and American engineers upgraded the Patriot missiles during the war - the foundations of the Arrow. They had teams up on rooftops in Tel Aviv adjusting their algorithms in near realtime as the Scuds were incoming.
British forces were surrounding the Iranian consulate in Basra, Al Arabiya reported on Thursday, according to an Israel Radio citation. The forces were trying to exert pressure on Iran to release the 15 British soldiers being held captive.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Kool for days, I only hope the Brits have follow on OPs. For sure the A$$atollas will strike back with kidnappings of their own.
Really the Brits have to raise the stakes hard and fast, they can't afford any tit for tat now because the Iranians threw the gauntlet down first.
Timing now is everything, for real effect the Brits should snatch some real 'high-value' Iranians ASAP. As circumstances allow, anywhere any place all over the World.
#2
Its a good sign that the Brits are taking some kind of action. This however, is a half measure at best and if Iran strikes back at them for this, the left will use this for one of their "cycle of violence" screeches.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
03/30/2007 0:26 Comments ||
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#3
Looks like the GPS coordinates of the Iranian consulate in Basra fell outside of Iranian territory!
#4
See also RUMORMILLNEWS > INDYMEDIA.org > RUSSIAN JOURNALIST: USA PLANS TO ATTACK IRAN ON GOOD FRIDAY - more detailed than on RIAN; + KEN-WELCH.com> NUCLEAR WAR ALERT RAISED TO ORANGE.
#7
A very nice tactical move if reports are correct. The Britts would want to first move their staff and Consular offices out of Iran, before the ante is upped though. You wouldn't want a 'tit for tat' on swaps all the way up the board. In any event, as long as the Iranians 'feel' they can't repatriate from Iraq, they're defacto hostages anyway. The 'wimp factor' is however suggested here. I agree with RD; the 24 hour rule is in effect.
Iranian students held a small rally Thursday outside the British embassy in Teheran, demanding the seized British seamen be tried before an Iranian court. One poster at the gathering even called for the execution of the "15 British aggressors." The gathering of about a dozen students passed peacefully, according to a Web site report by the state IRNA news agency. Some of the protesters chanted, "Death to Great Britain," while others demanded an official British apology because of the "violation of Iranian borders" by the British seamen seized last Friday in the Shatt el-Arab waterway.
A speaker at the gathering said Britain had in the past "served the world so many lies" and "must learn to respect the rights of other nations." The student was not identified by name.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
I got yu'r seamen right here
Posted by: Captain America ||
03/30/2007 0:28 Comments ||
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#2
I sure would love to hear Bush end a national speech with "Death to Iran!"
Posted by: ed ||
03/30/2007 0:38 Comments ||
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#3
I sure would like to see preferable ½ of what was sent to the Falklands, brought out of mothballs and head toward Iran...quietly...can we get atleast one High Seas United Kingdom Carrier Group in the waves??? Geesh!!
Britain failed to win Security Council support Thursday for a statement that would "deplore" Iran's detention of 15 British sailors and call for their immediate release, council diplomats said. A senior Iranian official suggested Iran may put the British captives on trial.
After more than four hours of closed-door talks, ambassadors from the 15 council nations were still trying to agree on a watered-down press statement. "It doesn't look like we're going to come to agreement today - perhaps we'll take this up again tomorrow," US deputy ambassador Jackie Sanders said.
One compromise that would note the council's concern about the detention of the naval personnel and call for their immediate release was rejected by Russia, the diplomats said.
Russia proposed instead that the statement take note of the general situation and call for humanitarian access, the diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the discussions were private.
Britain asked the 14 other Security Council members on Wednesday to approve a statement which would "deplore the continuing detention by the government of Iran" of the 15 naval personnel who "were operating in Iraqi waters" as part of the US-led multinational force in Iraq under a council mandate.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
What say the UN Human Rights Council?
Posted by: ed ||
03/30/2007 0:40 Comments ||
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#2
Looks like the Russkis are once again an enemy gangster state.
Meanwhile, howz that brilliantly clever effort going to "isolate" Iran as our fiendishly sophisticated response to their piracy?
I'm guessing the idiots will release the captives when they've had their fun, and while in the end all of this will avail the doomed mullah-cracy nothing, it certainly indicates the UK continues to move closer to "lost cause" category. It's awful enough being a thinking American today and having to put up with the idiocy and cowardice in the political class and much of the electorate - can't imagine what it's like to be a clear-eyed Brit these days.
#3
I wouldn't count Britain out yet. It wouldn't surprise me at all if they participated in retalitory action of a meaningful sort. They fought well in Iraq. They are a force to be reckoned with - if they so choose. It is always a mistake to underestimate a credible foe.
#4
All the 'clear-eyed Brit these days' are leaving the country or have left .
I personaly wouldnt have allowed negitiations to be split between 1 woman and 14 men . We should have demanded the full release of all 15 together. Now we have 15 'bargaining chips' to worry about .. Once they release the woman , they will try and release the others one by one .
This is a perfect example of why women should not serve on the front-line . I am not saying they are incabale , no ... what I am saying is that the enemy we face today has got no quarms about playing on our sensibilities .
I am sick to the back teeth of this , f*ck the UN , and f*ck Iran . I would be more than happy to see Blair and co show some spine .
#5
If we are going to get dainty about the fate of female captives then women should under no circumstances be placed in harm's way. Not that this will do them any good once the rapists march up the Mall and fly the black banner from Buck House.
#6
And why are we supporting this organization? Deport the whole bunch and let them set up shop in Paris, Havana, Caracas, etc. They have finally devolved into the League of Ninnies.
#8
Re: females on patrol
Aren't we required by the "religion of peas" to have a female tag along in case some muslim women needs to be frisked? Or the jahdibi's would all dress up in womens cloths. Our own attempts at sensitivity being projectile vomited back at us again.
Iran on Thursday demanded an apology from Britain over what it said was the illegal entry of British navy personnel into its waters and defended its decision not to release a woman sailor. The logical solution to resolving this affair is for the British authorities to accept the reality, present their apologies to the great Iranian people, General Alireza Afshar, spokesman for the head of the countrys armed forces, was quoted as saying by the semi-official Mehr news agency. He said Britain also needed to admit the truth and make a commitment not to violate our waters again.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Why is this so flipping important to Iran? Is it a diversion?
#2
"I'm sorry we are going to have to wipe you off this earth."
Posted by: ed ||
03/30/2007 0:41 Comments ||
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#3
The sort of pathologically manic egotism that drives the Persian mind would be hysterically funny if they were still herding camels out in the desert. The notion of these sanctimonious buffoons getting ahold of nuclear weapons is simply bone-chilling. You may as well give a tantrum prone five year-old a full auto Uzi with the safety off.
How is it that the civilized world cannot bring itself to openly ridicule the Iranian mullahs? Their duplicity, perfidy and treachery are so omnipresent and patently obvious as to be implicit in all their dealings. Why so much of the world accords these violent thugs the least respect or credibility is a total mystery.
#4
I don't understand why Blair doesn't activate a rapid reaction fleet to atleast "head that way" slowly if need be? Is it against International Law to put a fleet to the high seas without first declaring war? Where's the mullah 'pucker factor increase' if the Ruskie's are providing intel that the Britt's docks and ports are calm and routine??
Posted by: Infidel Bob ||
03/30/2007 9:06 Comments ||
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#8
Just take the piss-ant country and be done with boundary disputes or whose waters who is in. Is there not anyone with testicular fortitude in the West. Give war a chance.
#10
Where's NATO? Where's the EU? This should be a wake-up call for the United States, Britain, and any other sensible nation. The NATO alliance is totally one-sided - we're supposed to protect the rest of the members. The EU is worthless. It couldn't defend itself from two troops of Boy Scouts armed with Swiss Army knives. The world is a dangerous place. The EU and most western European members of NATO have already surrendered, and are just looking for an enemy to hand their weapons and their lives over to.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/30/2007 12:53 Comments ||
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#11
I think Great Britain would have to invoke the NATO Treaty obligation.
#13
NATO fires up only on an attack on a signatories country, which is why NATO is in Afghanistan and why the German airforce was flying AWACS missions over the continental US in the days right after 9/11.
#14
PC-ism has been a long time in the making, whereby everything is polarised, either on or off, as in the digital age we live in now; yet not 30 years ago, I was using a slide rule, to get approximate values and then work it it out on paper to get a true answer.
Instant answers on a key-pad+dogma, a la Bob/Iran/Chavez and every other shit hole of the world = everything we say is true. And our alleged powers/defenders believe them, and don't defend us. Sheesh.
It's either on or off, black or white, no grey areas. These mo-fos are not pushing it, they have pushed it way over the line. Kill.
Iran further raised the stakes in the diplomatic stand-off with Britain tonight by releasing a second letter said to have been written by Royal Navy rating Faye Turney. In the the hand-written note, released by the Iranians to Sky News, Leading Seaman Turney is said to have called for the withdrawal from British troops from Iraq. There was no immediate response from the Foreign Office, however it is likely to raise concerns fresh concerns that it was written under some form of duress.
The letter, dated March 27, was addressed to representatives of the House of Commons and states: Isnt it time for us to start withdrawing our forces from Iraq and let them determine their own future?"
Iranian television also aired new footage apparently showing the capture of 15 Royal Navy personnel. In the five-second clip of film gunshots can be heard and a helicopter is shown hovering above inflatable boats in choppy seas. The video, shown on Iranian state television, then switches to an Iranian military official who outlines the Iranian position that the British vessels had strayed into their national waters.
The letter and footage was released as Britain continued attempts to finalise a UN Security Council resolution condemning the seizure, calling for the captives' immediate release and declaring they was taken during a routine patrol in Iraqi waters under a UN mandate. The UK has called for the resolution after freezing all bilateral ties with Iran except for contacts directly related to the hostage crisis. After accusing Britain of making a "fuss", Iran this afternoon responded by going back on its promise that Leading Seaman Turney would be released, claiming that she would now remain in captivity.
The crisis, which has contributed to oil prices surging to a six-month high of over $65 a barrel, was discussed between Hoshyar Zebari, the Iraqi Foreign Minister, and his Iranian counterpart at the Arab League Summit in Riyadh. Mr Zebari said that that he had demanded that the sailors be freed.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
I wonder if the captain of the HMS Cornwall isn't wishing he'd just sunk the ba$+ards right about now.
#2
Article 13 of the Third Geneva Convention states that "prisoners of war must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity".
It's more than a little curious how everybody fusses about the Geneva Convention rights of terrorist combatants who are out of uniform in civilian clothes, yet cannot be bothered to decry Iran's blatant abuse of the British military prisoners hostages.
Britain really needs to ratchet up the pressure on Iran. Close their London embassy, expel all Iranian diplomats and non-citizens, freeze all assets in British banks and generally get Medieval all over their Persian asses.
I'm astonished that the British public isn't up in arms over Iran's outrageous treatment of their soldiers. Iran's diplomatic Teflon needs to be stripped off of them right away. It's a funny coincidence that Teflon can only be broken down by extremely high heat. Goodness knows that Iran is pleading in a most abject fashion for some exposure to very high temperatures.
#3
If they were up in arms, we wouldn't know it because their media would ignore it. Even if the average British citizen is outraged, we will never hear about that, we will only hear spin from the mentally unstable who work for the Guardian, BBC etc. Just because the media doesn't report it, the polls distort it or "sources say", it is no indication of the actual mood of the majority of people who live there. Just like it is with our own media here in the USA.
#4
The Britts and they're stiff upper lip. It would have been better if the Iranians had came up to the Cornwall and white glove slapped the skipper; atleast we would have had a duel!! I would like to know why MI6 waved the retaliation off (sinking the Iranian mothership)? Could it be Israel wasn't ready with their Arrow Defense grid by then, and their intel knew it?
#5
The captain of the Cornwall was clear to defend these marines and sailors yet he let them be taken. A court martial might help him regret his decision.
#7
I wonder why the captain of the HMS Cornwall has not been cashiered from the Navy
Because he was following orders not to do anything
Posted by: Steve ||
03/30/2007 10:03 Comments ||
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#8
Does anyone actually know if the Captain of the Cornwall was prevented by his ROE from interdicting the Iranian seizure of his boarding parties? Clearly if he was, that needs to be dicussed and lessons re-learned from abject public policy cowardice. Conversely, if his ROE didn't prevent him from firing, and given that the Iranian vessels seen in the released video had only small arms, WTF? Courtmartialing him seems not only reasonable but essential to good order and discipline for the RN. Even in abject decline (soon to have a smaller navy than 4th rate powers), the RN needs some level of credibility.
#9
If we'd have bombed the crap out of these people a long time ago like we should have none of this would be happening now. It just goes to show how irresponsible and dangerous inaction is. How many more atrocities will the Mad Mullahs have to commit before we finally smack them back to the pre-Mohammed days?
There is a huge dearth of true reporting in the UK, reminds me of Zim in the early days, pure propaganda. I do believe it is going, or has gone dhimmi, but my heritage is English and I will stay for it's History.
As for the British people protesting the capture of our personnel, forget it, they aren't out there protesting, until it becomes bloody, and it will not be Dhimmi afterwards, so I hold out hope.
A Saudi accused of arranging financing for the Sept. 11 terrorist plot participants told a hearing he got money transfers from two hijackers inside the United States just hours before the attacks, said a transcript the Pentagon released Thursday. But Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi, who was based in the United Arab Emirates on Sept. 11, 2001, denied that he was a member of the Al Qaeda terrorist network and he also denied that he sent money to the hijackers.
He is one of 14 "high value" detainees who were transferred to Guantanamo last September after being held in secret CIA prisons abroad. The transcript of his Guantanamo hearing contained no reference to his detention; a portion in which he explained how he was captured in Pakistan in 2003 was censored by the Defense Department. The hearing, held to determine whether he is an "enemy combatant" eligible to be charged with war crimes, was conducted March 21.
Al-Hawsawi said he was told by Al Qaeda operative Ramzi Binalshibh about the Sept. 11 plot one day in advance and was instructed to fly that same day from the UAE to Pakistan, where he met Binalshibh the following day. Binalshibh is one of the 14 sent to Guantanamo last September; his hearing was March 9 but he refused to attend and submitted no statement.
This article starring:
MUSTAFA AHMED AL HAWSAWI
al-Qaeda
RAMZI BINALSHIBH
al-Qaeda
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
No more HARRY POTTER for him - oh the torture of it all.
#30
I give it another 30 minutes before someone comes along to tell us that "Pic-a-Nic" is racist.
While you're fixing things, is it possible to make it so that the website (when entered) shows up linked to the name? I gave up putting my blog in the website space because it looked ugly.
#36
Omang de Medici3438
Spiling the Short6719
Victor Emmanuel Uneating2118
Thavick Wittlesbach 666 ... Mark of the beast?
Phetch Oppressor of the Sith2593
Helmuth, Speaking for Whainter5033 ... This has possibilities. Hmmm...
One Eyed Hupavising9109
I like it. Fred-whatever you did to come up with this thing--can I have some too?
The rantburger formerly known as N guard.
Posted by: Helmuth, Speaking for N guard ||
03/30/2007 20:05 Comments ||
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#38
I can't speak for anyone else but, with my porous memory, I can guarantee I won't recognize anyone by their new nic. I lost track of several people I was fond of when they changed to whatever Fred's previous cool anonymizer gave them. Even though for a while they parenthesized their former name.
Hi, Mike Sylwester! Who had you been hanging out anonymously as?
#41
Why would those vile jihadis want to deprive the world of a civilization that could come up with the technology to give me the wonderful name Vinegar Uletle?
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.
Locals said that the dead included at least one senior commander, 
The Afghan army soldiers patrolling through the fields of Nad Ali also boast new helmets, flak jackets and weapons - the first signs of a $2 billion US aid package designed to turn a ragtag force with an acute desertion problem into an army that would allow Western troops to begin pulling out. Another $6.2 billion is promised to the corrupt and widely mistrusted Afghan police force.
Taliban commander 
SECURITY forces killed 13 Taliban in battles in southern Afghanistan, while two police and a security guard died in rebel attacks. The new unrest came as a man claiming to be a Taliban commander in the southern province of Kandahar said he was holding three nurses, a doctor and their driver hostage and would release them in exchange for militants in prison.
Ethiopian helicopter gunships have fired at a market near an insurgent stronghold in the Somali capital. The BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu says hundreds of insurgents armed with rocket launchers and machine guns are battling Ethiopian troops. Ethiopian tanks are also deployed. Crowds dragged several dead bodies in uniform through the streets. The security crackdown in the south of the city is being billed as a three-day operation to restore order. 
JMB has 
"We were told to fight against Israel, America and non-Muslims," said 
A military leader of the 
The group, in a statement posted on the Internet said: "The 1920 Brigades mourns its martyr, the brave leader Harith Dhaher Khamis al-Dhari who fell today, his honorable blood spilled on the battlefield of his jihad (holy struggle) in Abu Ghraib." The authenticity of the brief statement could not be verified but it appeared on a site that routinely publishes militant literature.
SIXTY people were killed in a suicide bomb attack at a Baghdad market today, in the deadliest attack since the start of a security crackdown in the Iraqi capital. Two police sources put the death toll at 60, with dozens more wounded, and said the blast was caused by a suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest.
IDF forces operating in Nablus overnight arrested the city's 
Iran further raised the stakes in the diplomatic stand-off with Britain tonight by releasing a second letter said to have been written by Royal Navy rating Faye Turney. In the the hand-written note, released by the Iranians to Sky News, Leading Seaman Turney is said to have called for the withdrawal from British troops from Iraq. There was no immediate response from the Foreign Office, however it is likely to raise concerns fresh concerns that it was written under some form of duress. 
