BERLIN (Reuters) - European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on Thursday he had failed to reach a deal with the chief Iranian negotiator on Tehran's nuclear ambitions, but said they would hold another round of talks soon. Shocking, I know...
Several Western diplomats who were briefed on Solana's talks with Larijani said the Iranians were still refusing to commit to suspending their uranium enrichment program and said Larijani appeared to be trying to drag out talks with Solana. You don't say...
We still have some issues that have not been closed," he added without elaborating. Solana said he hoped to renew contact with the Iranians by the middle of next week. Issues like when you are going to surrender to the 12th Mahdi?
Posted by: Ol Dirty American ||
09/28/2006 15:18 ||
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Anyone else notice how this always seems to turn out the same way?
NATO agreed on Thursday to take command of peacekeeping across all of insurgency-hit
Afghanistan next month after the United States pledged to transfer an extra 12,000 troops to its force. Pentagon officials said the transfer of troops currently in Afghanistan's eastern region would entail the biggest deployment of U.S. forces under foreign command since World War Two.
Afghanistan is experiencing the most serious violence since hardline Taliban Islamists were ousted in 2001. Militant attacks in eastern Afghanistan, near the border with Pakistan, have tripled in some areas, the U.S. military said on Thursday, despite a peace agreement on the Pakistani side meant to end the violence.
Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf stressed his commitment to fighting the Taliban in talks with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. "President Musharraf said he was determined to deal with the Taliban and reduce the level of cross-border activity," a spokesman for the prime minister said.
The NATO accord came as European nations failed to plug all troop shortfalls identified by commanders battling the Taliban insurgency, and will mean the United States providing 14,000 of some 32,000 NATO troops that will be under British command. "I am grateful that the United States has decided to bring its forces under ISAF," Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told reporters after a NATO meeting in Slovenia, referring to NATO's International Security Assistance Force. "It should not be used as an argument that we can now rest on our laurels," he added, urging other allies to come forward with extra troops for the more dangerous south.
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said it was "perfectly understandable" if other NATO allies restricted where their troops could operate, but added it undermined NATO's flexibility on the ground. "The aggregation of that is the situation that's really not acceptable," he told a news conference. "I believe a little more progress was made today and we'll just have to keep working on it."
RESURGENT TALIBAN
The U.S. troop transfer had been expected later in the year, but alliance officials said battles with resurgent guerrillas in the south showed the urgent need to pool British, Dutch and Canadian troops under NATO with separate U.S. forces.
The Taliban resurgence has soured relations between Kabul and Islamabad, crucial allies in the U.S.-led war on terrorism that are both battling Islamist militants. Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed to tighten security cooperation and to hold meetings of tribal leaders to encourage them to go after militants, Afghanistan's ambassador in Washington said on Thursday. Ambassador Said Jawad, providing details of a dinner on Wednesday at the White House attended by the U.S., Afghan and Pakistani presidents, said Pakistan had agreed to take action against militants based on Afghan intelligence. "Pakistan agreed that if it is provided with specific demands, names or lists of targets that it will comply," Jawad said in a brief interview.
Afghanistan is angry about the support a resurgent Taliban can get in Pakistan and is suspicious of a peace agreement struck in Pakistan this month. The pact is meant to end violence by pro-Taliban militants in Pakistan's North Waziristan border region. It is also meant to choke off cross-border attacks into Afghanistan. But the number of attacks on the Afghan side of the mountainous border, in the provinces of Paktika and Khost, had risen since the pact was signed, the U.S. military said. "There has been an increase in activity, certainly along the border region, especially in the southeast areas across from North Waziristan," a U.S. military spokesman, Colonel John Paradis, told a news conference. Referring to accounts from soldiers on the ground, Paradis said: "They have seen, in some cases two-fold, in some cases three-fold increases in the number of attacks."
Posted by: ed ||
09/28/2006 20:24 ||
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I thought the US wouldn't allow its forces to be under anything other than full US command. Am I wrong? Is some sort of arrangement here that protects US troops from possible problems?
KANDAHAR: Afghanistans security forces said they had killed or wounded more than 30 insurgents on Wednesday as a bomb blast injured three Italian soldiers and their interpreter.
Guess there'll be a great weeping and gnashing of teeth back in Miranshah...
Most of the enemy casualties were in the Garmser district of Helmand, said police. In a police operation in Garmser, 25 enemies of peace and stability were killed and wounded, said police spokesman Zemaria Bashary.
The Talibs seem to have a peculiar fondness for Garmser, don't they?
The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which commands foreign troops in most of Afghanistan, also said that 25 insurgents were killed after rebels opened fire on a police checkpoint in Garmser. The Taliban have captured the remote town at least twice in the last few months, but ISAF dismisses this show of force because the area has a meagre security presence.
I wonder if it has a meager presence or if it's a rat trap...
In another clash on Wednesday, Afghan security forces killed six Taliban and captured two others in a village in Laghman near Kabul, said police official Yar Mohammad Khan. An Afghan soldier was wounded and captured, he added. The Afghan Defence Ministry announced that Afghan and coalition soldiers killed eight Taliban and captured 16 on Tuesday as part of a major operation under way in the eastern provinces. The rebels were killed in Paktika province as part of Operation Mountain Fury, the ministry said.
Meanwhile in the west, an Italian convoy returning from a school building project was struck by a probable improvised explosive device near Herat, injuring three soldiers and an interpreter. Three Italian soldiers and an Afghan interpreter was hit, the last one seriously, said spokesman for the Italian force Captain Giancarlo Ciaburro. The explosion similar to several other Taliban-style strikes on foreign forces came a day after an Italian soldier was killed by a remote-controlled bomb outside Kabul. Five other soldiers were injured in the incident.
A suicide car bomb also exploded in Kandahar on Wednesday, just as a Canadian military convoy passed, said the ISAF. Police said that an Afghan civilian was injured. The blast was so powerful that it tore the car containing the explosives into chunks, said an AFP reporter at the scene. Pieces of the attackers body were strewn across the site.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
hope they find hell...sulferous. Dead bastards
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/28/2006 0:24 Comments ||
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#2
Got 30! sweet
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/28/2006 1:11 Comments ||
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KABUL: US troops on Afghanistan's eastern border have seen a threefold increase in attacks since the recent truce between Pakistani troops and pro-Taliban tribesmen that was supposed to have stopped militants making cross-border raids, a US military official said on Wednesday.
Rebels are no longer fighting Pakistani troops and are using the North Waziristan border area as a command-and-control hub for launching attacks in Afghanistan...
The agreement, which followed a June 25 ceasefire, has also contributed to the Taliban's overall resurgence as ethnic Pashtun rebels are no longer fighting Pakistani troops and are using the North Waziristan border area as a command-and-control hub for launching attacks in Afghanistan, said the official, who was interviewed on a US military base in Kabul.
Pakistani tribal elders brokered the truce between Pakistan's government and militants and an accord was signed September 5, ending years of unrest in the tribal region bordering Afghanistan. Under the deal, the militants agreed to halt attacks on Pakistani forces in North Waziristan and to stop crossing into Afghanistan to attack US and Afghan forces. But the agreement appears to have empowered Taliban infiltrators rather than slowing the incursions, with the number of attacks in eastern Afghan provinces rising threefold since July 31, said the US official, asking not to be named.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2006 00:00 ||
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#5
ARCLIGHT Waziristan like we did Laos. Did quite a bit of damage to the NVA that way, and sure made the Laotians mad at 'em. Unfortunately, we didn't blockade the ports of North Vietnam at the same time, so the material just kept pouring in. Even though we damaged or destroyed 50% of it, so much was coming down it didn't matter. I think Wazooland is a bit of a different matter. Of course, if the ISI and the Pak Army gets involved, like the NVA was in Laos, then we have an excuse to take out the madrassas in Pakistan - along with everything else.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/28/2006 15:12 Comments ||
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#6
My personal opinion is that the truce between the Pakis and the Talibunnies simply means that certain American forces will get all expense paid trips to Waziristan while Perv happily looks the other way while hawking his forthcoming book on the talk show circuit. Without Pakistani troops in the area, any cross-border excursions while in (premeditated) hot pursuit become just anther case of he said/she said.
Officially, the governments of the US and Pakistan get to CYA, the Pak army gets to go off and do whatever it is that it does best, the media gets to seethe and fume and the bad guys get to die. What's not to like!
Kismayo, Somalia - Islamic fighters opened fire on stone throwing demonstrators in a key Somali seaport on Thursday, in a third day of protests over their seizure of the town. No casualties were reported. Seven women were arrested by the Islamic militia after they joined demonstrations that have erupted in Kismayo, Somalia's third largest town, residents told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. The stone-throwing crowds chanted that the fighters "are not Muslims" and "use Islam as a cover."
The Islamic militia has swept through southern Somalia since taking over the capital in June. Its strict and often severe interpretation of Islam raises the spectre of Afghanistan's ousted Taliban militia, and contrasts with the moderate Islam that has dominated Somali culture for centuries. Some Somalis, though, have welcomed the order the militia have brought after years of anarchic clan rule.
In Kismayo on Thursday, demonstrators, most of them women and children, blocked roads with trees and rocks to prevent Islamic militia using their armoured trucks, many of which were flying the black flags associated with Islamic extremism, to break up the protests. Local businesses and markets closed down because of the demonstrations in this town 420km south-west of the capital, Mogadishu. The militiamen, armed with guns and wearing green military fatigues and white headbands, patrolled the streets. Adan Farah Sed told the AP by phone from Kismayo that residents felt threatened by the militiamen. Another resident, Adni Sagaro, said they should "go back to their bases and leave our city alone."
The militiamen had opened fire on a similar protest on Monday, a day after they took Kismayo without a fight. Witnesses said a teenager was killed and two others wounded.
On Wednesday 300 fighters surrendered their guns and armoured trucks to the Islamic militia and pledged to join their forces. Aden Hashi Ayro, the military chief of the Islamic group in Somalia, accepted the weapons, saying their aim "is to worship Allah and fight for the sake of Islam." Ayro, who according to the UN is a suspected al-Qaeda collaborator who trained in al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan, said, "Among our militia will be Somalis and foreigners."
The United States has accused the Islamic group of sheltering suspects in the 1998 al-Qaeda bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden has portrayed Somalia as a battleground in his war on the US.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/28/2006 08:47 ||
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Algerian Army forces discovered Tuesday a tunnel used by terrorists. The tunnel was a kind of workshop for manufacturing bombs and stocking clothes and food supplies. The army forces got hold of the contents of the tunnel during a large scale combing of Chrea forest in the Wilaya of Bouira. The quality and significant operation was carried out on the basis of information obtained from a terrorist arrested recently.
The information was about the terrorist group known as "Elhouda Squadron". The group belongs to the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, GSPC. It is still operating in the Eastern part of the Wilaya and hiding in the place called "Kaf Turda" which is situated in the borders of the Wilaya of Bordj Bouareridj, reliable sources said.
The special army unit found discovered a nearly twenty-meter-tunnel of ten bunkers. The terrorists who were hiding in the place could flee before the arrival of the army unit. Resorting to helicopters was necessary for the army unit to bomb the places likely to be a refuge for the terrorists, the same sources added.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Tunnels per Mohammad el Groundhog seems to be in vogue
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/28/2006 1:05 Comments ||
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a large scale combing of Chrea forest
Algeria has forests? Learn something new every day.
Posted by: Baba Tutu ||
09/28/2006 1:12 Comments ||
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#3
The Elhouda Squadron needs YOU! See your Turda recruiter today.
#4
So, the GSPC is using the same old tactics as the FLN did during the 1950's and 1960's. Which is why the Algerian government is using the same tactics as the French did against them {FLN}: helicopter assaults, and "enhanced questioning" - generally involving vicegrip pliers and gentalia.
#5
Before you begin questionning the use of enhnaced questionning by the French remember that the FLN was bombing bus schols, impaling babies and and massacring entire villages (villages of Algerins not of French). In that case making the guy speak baout his plans and accomplices SAVES LIVES. My only reservation is that torture must not be a a method of investigation but only used against people proved guilty without any shade of doubt.
Also I was born in Algeria and perhaps I owe my life to those French military who used torture.
Jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan has called on his Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to observe a ceasefire, a Kurdish news agency says. Ocalan also urged the PKK to seek a peaceful solution to their conflict with Turkey, Firat news agency says.
I'm guessing he's been reading the papers and knows what the Turks have planned. Or the Turkish Truncheon Team paid him a visit.
Ocalan's statement was released from prison through his lawyers.
The PKK separatists implemented a five-year unilateral ceasefire after Ocalan was arrested in 1999, but resumed armed activities in 2004.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/28/2006 08:44 ||
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MADRID: Techniques used to detonate the bombs which killed 191 people and injured 1,900 in Madrid in March 2004 were learnt in a training camp in Afghanistan, the daily El Pais said on Wednesday, quoting a confidential police report. These techniques, using the vibrators of mobile telephones to simultaneously detonate several bombs, were taught in a camp near Jalalabad run by the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM), said the report. The Spanish judiciary says the militant Islamic group is principally responsible for the March 11, 2004 attack for which 29 people have been charged.
The report says that investigations have revealed the existence of other individuals involved in the attacks apart from those who have been arrested and charged, El Pais said. It adds that these carefully planned attacks could have been the work of one of more terrorists with know-how and experience gained in Afghanistan or other combat zones.
The attacks on the trains which were approaching Madrids Atocha train station from Alcala de Henares were the worst in Europe since the explosion of a PanAm airliner over Lockerbie in Scotland in 1988 which killed 270 people. Spanish courts on Monday confirmed charges against 29 people accused of taking part in or being an accomplice to the attacks, most of them radical Moroccan Islamists resident in Spain. Their trial is expected to open in late January or early February 2007. Examining magistrate Juan del Olmo in charge of the case, believes the attacks were undertaken by a local Islamist cell inspired by Al-Qaeda but which acted under its own initiative to force Spanish troops to leave Iraq before claiming responsibility for the attacks in the name of Al-Qaeda.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2006 00:00 ||
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This doesn't surprise.
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/28/2006 1:04 Comments ||
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Trained in Afghanistan with over 100,000 others. Three weeks prior to 9-11, the "Islamway" website - connected to the Islamic Circle of North America - lost their ISP because they were posting Taliban/al-Qaeda recruitment messages. Many American Muslims of Pakistan descent who took extended vacations in Pakistan, actually took jihad-training in bin Laden terror camps. Thousands of these latent killers walk America's streets. Fear of being tarred with "Islamophobia" chills scrutiny of the pre-911 trainees.
#3
The Pakistan, Times merely repeats a smoke screen set by Spain's socialist press
Trust nothing about what the anglo-saxcn MSM say about the Spanish bomings. The reason is taht they base on what they see in Spanish journal of reference El Pais and this ones has become an officious ogran of the socialist party and makes the New Yoprk Times and BBC look honest.
Here is a summary of the siatuation
1) Some 90% of the suspects (both dead and alive) were in police payroll. They were petty criminals with no known links to islamism, some married, with children and their beahviour didn't match (in the days following the crime one of them called the police about vandalism his house had been victim).
2) The outcome of the elections depended on who was the author of the bombings: if it was ETA (as believed by EVERYONE, even the Basque nationalisyts) or at least, if ETA had helped the islamists then it would have been an overwhelming victory for the right wing party. If it was the Islamists then it gave the socialist an opportunity to win the elections
3) This was not enough. It also needed that the Governemnt looked like it was lying. The radios and TVs linked to the pro-socialist Grupo PRISA (El Pais mother firm) told several hours before the governemnt about clues pointing to islamist action. But the reason is that the Police didn't transmit the information to the government (cf note 1) until several hours after they had been filtrated to Prisa. Later, during the day before the elections (ie the "day of reflexion" where political activities are forbidden) there were demonstrations in front of the Popular Party sieges telling "Governmnt Assassin"... cevered by the PRisa TV, with an off-voice telling every five minutes the demionstartions were spotneous (they weren't) and that the reamins of a suicide terrorrist had been found (it was a white lie). It looks like these demos (and Prisa coverage) had a heavy influence on the outcome of the elections.
5) Clues on the scene of crime (like an uneploded bomb with a mobile phone and its card) led to first arrests of islamist took place before the elections.
Now during the investigation there have been plenty of contradictions (islamists who never set foot in a mosque (cf note 2) and still less in Afghanistan), unexploded bomb with shrapnel when no victim had any shrapnel, a van found full of explosives who had been previously searched with sniffer dogs and found empty.
Also there was NO investigation about the types of explosives (so no tracing of the source), the explosive experts didn't allow the guys of "scientific police" to take photos of the unexploded bomb before setting it because "it could detonate it". Police has omitted to transmit inforamtion to the judge. Important documents appear to have been rewriten or downright falsified, specially all parts about clues leading to collaboration between Basque and Islamic terrorism. In recent days despite all efforts of the government an investigation has been opened.
Now let's imagine a few hypotheis.
1) Islamists perpetrated bombings without help from ETA and arrests were legitimate. The miraculous clues had been planted by the islamist in order to be arrested and thus get the political effect they were after (toppling of the pro-US government). Nothing happens but this looks less credible every day.
2) Islamist perpetred the bombings but socislist policemen in hand with Prisa mounted an operation to mainpulate public opinion and alter ellection results. This implied fabricating clues adn arresting scape goats before the election. This would have an enormous backlash for the government
3) Ditto but with a bigger backlask wiould be if ETA had been involved, still more because Zapatero is involved in a process of surrendering to ETA
4) the Socialist policemen who controlled the suspects knew in advance about the bombings but them and Zapatero decided to let 200 people get killed in order to alter elkection outcome
Now, the news is that more and more people in Spain are beginng to believe at the very least in option two and that a couple weeks ago a Socialist ex-minister told something about "the Socialist party should auto-dissolve in case it knew beforehand". Ie even betrween high-ranking socialists option 4) is no longer considered unthinkable given the facts who are being revealed and the efforts of the government and police for closing/hindering the investigation or falsifying clues.
That is why there is suddenly a "discovery" that these guys went to Afghanistan.
Note 1: There is no spoils system in Spain. So governemnt, specially right wing governemnts have tio cope with civil servants who dislike it or are downright disloyal
Note 2: Islamisyt terrorists like Atta begin by being heavy mosque goers, grow a beard and only in a second phase, after optiong terrorism stop going to the mosque, shave their beard and try to look Westerner. The Madrdid guys were never in the beard/mosque going phase
#4
THe investigation I mentionned and who was opened just a couple days ago is about the action of memebers of Spanish police in falsifying official documents relative to the investigation of ythe bombings.
Two suspects in an alleged plot to attack the US or Israeli Embassy can be held in jail for four weeks while police finish their investigation, an appeals court ruled Wednesday.
All deny the charges, and their attorneys say there is no evidence their clients took any steps to prepare an attack...
The suspects were among four men arrested last week on suspicion of firing gunshots at Norway's main Jewish synagogue on Sept. 17. No one was hurt in the attack, in which about a dozen shots were fired at the building before dawn.
The charges against all four men were elevated to plotting terrorism, based on a police recording of two of them talking about ways to attack either the US or Israeli embassy. All deny the charges, and their attorneys say there is no evidence their clients took any steps to prepare an attack.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2006 00:00 ||
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Pakistans spy agency ISI chief in 2001 Lt Gen Mahmood Ahmed according to a commentary published here, was at all times aware of exactly where Osama bin Laden was located, as his agents tracked every move of his and the ISI was also aware of the planning for September 11.
Arnaud de Borchgrave writes in The Washington Times that Gen Ahmad was even accused of authorising British-born Pakistani terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh to make a $100,000 transfer to Mohamed Atta, the operational chief of the September 11 conspiracy, a charge that met vehement denials.
Omar Sheikh was tried and sentenced to death for the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal correspondent Daniel Pearl in 2002, but his ISI links spared him the gallows.
There was little doubt some elements of the ISI knew the outlines of the aerial plot against the US and the evidence was turned over to the September 11 Commission three days after its report had gone to press. It was never made public.
According to de Borchgrave, who has often come up with colourful theories, including his assertion once that Bin Laden was living in Peshawar, Gen Ahmed arranged to be in Washington the week of Al Qaedas big terrorist attack, presumably to take the Bush administrations pulse and gauge probable reactions.
After seeing Armitage, he called Gen Musharraf in Islamabad and translated the either-youre-with-us-or-against-us threat to mean that Bush planned to bomb Pakistan back to the Stone Age unless Gen Musharraf complied with Washingtons wishes.
De Borchgrave writes that Gen Ahmed clearly miscalculated. Not only did Gen Musharraf acquiesce to US demands, but he also dispatched General Ahmad to Kandahar with orders to get Mullah Mohammed Omar to hand over Bin Laden.
The delegation was made up of six religious leaders and six ISI officers. General Ahmed ignored his orders and advised Mullah Omar to hang tough and refuse to surrender Bin Laden.
He reported back to General Musharraf on October 6, 2001 that his mission had failed to persuade the Taleban. The US invasion got underway the next day.
The Washington Times columnist believes that heated denials notwithstanding, Taleban and Al Qaeda now have privileged sanctuaries in North and South Waziristan where they no longer have to duck when they see a Pakistani soldier.
Several thousand foreign guerrillas mostly Uzbeks, Tajiks and Arabs who made it out of the Tora Bora battle in December 2001, or stayed on after the Soviets abandoned Afghanistan in 1989, and married local girls are also home free.
A year ago, when this reporter was in Waziristan, a score of trainers in suicide and roadside bombing techniques had arrived from Iraq. Today, suicide attacks in Afghanistan are almost as commonplace as in Iraq.
Mehmood, who prematurely retired from the Army has since settled in Lahore and was not available for comment, The News daily reported.
In an interview to CBS show 60 Minutes in Washington last week, Musharraf had said that the former US assistant secretary of state Armitage had threatened to bomb Pakistan back to the Stone Age.
His comments were based on a report to him by Ahmed about the American stand on Pakistan's role in the war against terrorism after the 9/11 strikes.
Posted by: john ||
09/28/2006 16:23 ||
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The Paki intel chief sat on knowledge of a sneak attack on the US planned in Pakistan, and you're worked up because the US than threatened you?
The murder of journalist Daniel Pearl in Karachi in 2002 was masterminded by Sheikh Omar Saeed, a double agent of the ISI and JeM who was previously involved in terrorist attacks on high-profile targets in India. Musharraf himself admitted that Pearl had been "over-intrusive" in his investigations. Saeed had foreknowledge of the September 11 terrorist strikes and immediately informed Lieutenant-General Ehsanul Haq, then ISI director and corps commander for Peshawar. Saeed's capture spurred ISI higher-ups to intervene and obstruct his interrogation findings from being made public. Holding him in an isolated cell "helps Musharraf keep a key witness out of American, British and Indian hands".
Al-Qaeda's Abu Zubaydah, captured in 2002, claimed that the late head of the Pakistani air force, Mushaf Ali Mir, had prior knowledge of the September 11 terrorist plot. Mir had allegedly struck a deal with al-Qaeda in 1996 to supply arms and offer protection, a pledge that was renewed in 1998 in the presence of Saudi intelligence boss Prince Turki. Mir's plane crashed in 2003 without explanation and it is speculated that the US forces carrying out anti-Taliban operations had shot it down near Kohat because of his links with al-Qaeda.
Investigations into the September 11 plot revealed that ISI's then-head, hardliner pro-Taliban Lieutenant-General Mahmood Ahmad, ordered Sheikh Omar Saeed to wire US$100,000 to Mohammad Atta, the chief hijacker. In October 2001, Musharraf forced Ahmad into retirement after the FBI displayed credible evidence of his involvement in the terror attacks and knowledge that he was playing a "double game". So frustrated was the FBI with the calculated blockading of counter-terrorist operations by the ISI that it formed its own secret Spider Group of former Pakistani army and intelligence operatives to monitor fundamentalist activities through the length and breadth of Pakistan.
Posted by: john ||
09/28/2006 16:43 Comments ||
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#4
That's at least three Pak generals who knew about the planned 9/11 attacks...
Posted by: john ||
09/28/2006 16:44 Comments ||
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#5
Of course the Pakistanis knew about 9/11 since they funded much of it. The ISI, the Taliban and Al Qaeda are intertwined like snakes at an orgy.
Gen Ahmed arranged to be in Washington the week of Al Qaedas big terrorist attack, presumably to take the Bush administrations pulse and gauge probable reactions.
Exactly. And that is why I think flight 93 was targetting the White House, not Congress.
Pakistan must burn to the ground before this war can be finished.
Posted by: ed ||
09/28/2006 16:47 Comments ||
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#6
Attack the US, destroy a major city center, get billions in US aid and weapons, rescue dying economy. Anything wrong with that picture?
Posted by: ed ||
09/28/2006 16:52 Comments ||
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Should these allegations prove true, nukework is indicated. I have zer-fucking-oh qualms about glassing over any country that had detailed foreknowledge of 9-11. Pour encourager les autres.
#14
At the time of the attacks, ISI Director Lt. Gen. Mahmood Ahmed is at a breakfast meeting at the Capitol with the chairmen of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, Senator Bob Graham (D) and Representative Porter Goss (R) (Goss is a 10-year veteran of the CIAs clandestine operations wing). The meeting is said to last at least until the second plane hits the WTC. [Washington Post, 5/18/2002]
Posted by: ed ||
09/28/2006 17:42 Comments ||
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#15
Gawd amighty, I'd forgotten that Jello-Bob was the Chairman. A fierce one he.
#18
The delegation was made up of six religious leaders and six ISI officers.
Interestingly, there were only six people in the delegation.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
09/28/2006 17:57 Comments ||
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#19
Islamabad delenda est.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
09/28/2006 17:57 Comments ||
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#20
Ahmed, I swear on your mustache
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/28/2006 18:10 Comments ||
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#21
So, why are we not moving forces (from Korea)into Waristan ?
Take out anyone moving at night and anyone with a weapon, then we'll go door cave to cave and demonstrate our Orik. I guarantee the Pakis won't mind.
Further, this kind of developement will allow India to glass Pakiland with our blessings and a little incentive.
#22
...If true, the nthere is only one option: Perv needs to hand this guy over, and hand him over NOW. No excuses, no arguments. If he doesn't we should work on the assumption that Pakistan is just as hostile as Afghanistan or Iraq was...and act accordingly.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
09/28/2006 19:52 Comments ||
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#23
It strikes me that Islam at large is functioning a lot like the cult of the assassins. Conspiracy and underhanded dealings that result in thousands of our dead. What Genghis did to kill off that cult was to invade and kill every single person. At the end of his venture, no more assassins.
#24
Rolling Gen Mahmood Ahmed in a carpet and kicking him to death (as Hulagu Khan did to the last Caliph) might deter others...
Posted by: john ||
09/28/2006 22:04 Comments ||
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#25
Casino, the movie. Cornfields, baseball bats...
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/28/2006 22:19 Comments ||
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#26
What Genghis did to kill off that cult was to invade and kill every single person. At the end of his venture, no more assassins.
In light of just how intractable Islam has proven to date, this is why I continue to predict the Muslim holocaust. If the only bets were, "do nothing" and "the Muslim holocaust", I wouldn't put a plug nickle on "do nothing".
A British government-commissioned report allegedly claims that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency had supported Al-Qaeda and the Taliban and aided the Madrid and London bombers.
The report has been prepared by the Defence Academy, a Ministry of Defence thinktank.
The report, which was leaked to BBC's Newsnight programme, comes when Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The policy paper is also reported to propose using military links between British and Pakistani armed forces to persuade General Musharraf to step down as leader of the country, accept free elections, withdraw the army from civilian life and dismantle ISI.
Reacting angrily to the findings, the Pakistan President told the BBC, "These aspersions against ISI are by vested interests and by those who don't understand ground realities. I don't accept them at all and I reject them fully... Absolutely, 200 per cent, I reject it..."
"We don't like anybody advising us to dismantle ISI, least of all the [British] Ministry of Defence."
President Musharraf said he would raise the issues with Mr Blair today.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said the study in no way represented the views of the Ministry or of the Government. "To represent it as such is deeply irresponsible and the author is furious that his notes have been wilfully misrepresented in this manner," the spokesman said.
"Indeed, he suspects that they have been released to the BBC precisely in the hope that they would cause damage to our relations with Pakistan."
"Pakistan is a key ally in our efforts to combat international terrorism and her security forces have made considerable sacrifices in tackling Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. We are working closely with Pakistan to tackle the root causes of terrorism and extremism."
The leaked British report also "paints a stark picture of failure" on the War on Terror, according to Newsnight, suggesting that the West's fight against extremism was going nowhere with no end in sight.
The British report's author, who has a military background and links to MI6, travelled to Pakistan in June with a delegation on a fact-finding visit, the BBC programme stated. He is to have held interviews with the Pakistan army and academics to prepare a report about the Islamic country and the global war on terror. The BBC said it would not name him for security reasons.
The report states that ISI is supporting terrorism by secretly backing the coalition of religious parties in Pakistan known as the MNA.
"The Army's dual role in combating terrorism and at the same time promoting the MNA, and so indirectly supporting the Taliban through the ISI, is coming under closer and closer international scrutiny," the report said.
The British policy of supporting President Musharraf because he provides greater stability is flawed because Pakistan is "on the edge of chaos", the document claimed. It added, "Indirectly Pakistan, through the ISI, has been supporting terrorism and extremism whether in London on 7/7 or in Afghanistan or Iraq.
Posted by: john ||
09/28/2006 16:21 ||
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#3
In other news it was reported that the sun set in the west today, and is expected to rise in the east; water is wet and Francisco Franco is STILL dead.
#6
I understand that when the FBI was working to take down the mafia that they were full of people who came from the same groups that the mafia drew from, and the were in many cases had enough associations with the mafia that they understood them and knew their weak points and were thus able to take them down. Might that be the case here? The couldn't have taken down the mafia with a bunch of nuns running the FBI . . . .
#7
Might that be the case here? The couldn't have taken down the mafia with a bunch of nuns running the FBI . . . .
To some degree, yes, gorb. The Islamic terrorist groups largely depend upon familial ties. Due to these (literally) intimate relations, the chances of penetrating such organizations are reduced exponentially. The American mafia's porosity approached that of a sponge compared to the granite edifice of Arab Islamism. What continually assists our side is their endless internecine infighting. These stupid bastards never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity to unite.
(KUNA) -- Two policemen were killed and 18 people injured in three guerrilla strikes in Srinagar, summer capital of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir Wednesday. As many as 18 people were injured when separatist guerrillas hurled a grenade at a police party in Srinagar Wednesday, the news agency Indo-Asian News Service reported.
"The injured, 15 local policemen - one paramilitary soldier and two civilians - were taken to a Srinagar hospital for treatment. The condition of two of them is serious," Srinagar police told the news agency.
The explosion has led to panic in Srinagar's city centre. In another incident one police official, who was critically injured in a guerrilla attack in downtown Srinagar Wednesday afternoon, later succumbed to injuries, the news agency said. Guerrillas killed another policeman also in downtown Srinagar today. No group has yet claimed responsibility for Wednesday's attacks.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2006 00:00 ||
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DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Drive-by gunmen killed two militants and wounded three in another car in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, officials said. No one claimed responsibility for the shooting, but an area intelligence official said the attack may have been linked with rivalry between pro-Taliban tribal militants and a group of Uzbek fighters.
The attacked militants were believed to be loyal to a pro-Taliban tribesmen known as Hanan, who had started a campaign to oust Uzbek militants living in the Shakai mountain valley region north of Wana, an intelligence official said. On Sunday, Hanan and two of his fighters were wounded when their pickup truck was bombed in Shakai, a government official said. Security officials have said that Arab, Central Asian and Afghan militants had used Shakai as their hideout before Pakistani security forces overran their bases in recent years.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2006 00:00 ||
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PESHAWAR: Three tribes along with the local Taliban have set up office in Miranshah to fight crime in the city, tribal sources said on Wednesday. The Darpakhel, Burakhel and Miranshah tribes along with the Taliban have set up an office in Miranshah to bring law and order under control, sources close to the Taliban told Daily Times. A senior leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazlur Rehman) denied reports that the Taliban alone opened the office in violation of the peace agreement which aimed at preventing the Taliban from running a parallel administrative system.The office was opened on Wednesday and local residents expressed fears that the growing Taliban influence would undermine the tribal code of life. The locals criticised the government for completely disappearing from the streets. There is no police to provide security which is why the crime rate has increased, a resident of Miranshah told Daily Times. A pamphlet was distributed in the bazaar inviting residents to lodge their complaints with the office. It is not clear what role the office will play in maintaining law and order and whether the office will hand over criminals to the political administration. Residents said the opening of the office meant Miranshah has been handed over to the Taliban. Local militants have set up similar offices in the major towns of South Waziristan where they take up civil and criminal cases. Meanwhile, the 10-member monitoring committee for the peace accord will meet Dr Fakhre Alam, political agent of North Waziristan, to discuss the fate of 10 tribesmen arrested in connection with attacks on coalition forces inside Afghanistan.
Reuters adds: A pamphlet distributed in the Miranshah bazaar said clerics would be collecting funds to pay for a force aimed at protecting people from criminals. Reuters rang the telephone number on the leaflet, and was told by Maulvi Nizamuddin Borakhel: We opened the office to take action against masked men who are criminals. We want the pact with the government to be enforced completely, but these people are creating mischief against the country, he said. The leaflet said people could always shoot dead any masked men who attacked them. There are some crazy people, especially youngsters, who want to show-off their power, said Shah Zaman Khan, spokesman for a department dealing with tribal affairs in Peshawar.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
A map. Gotta have a map. Can't tell the players without a scorecard.
Posted by: Bobby ||
09/28/2006 5:36 Comments ||
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#2
Time to crank-start the earthquake machine again...
Posted by: Howard UK ||
09/28/2006 7:14 Comments ||
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#3
After reading the NIE I think I understand why we are alloowing the Jihadi's to temporarily take over areas were they can. Ala Afghanistan, S Afghanistan, Anbar, Rat Lines Anbar, Baghdad part, Warizistan.
Very simply it forces the people to see the true face of thier beloved Islamist and feel the consequences of thier victory up close and personal. I have seen the pattern that once the gerneral pop has their fill to the point were even the Big Satan himself is a improvement we roll in and retake the zones. Its winning hearts and minds BACKWARDS by just getting your enemy to lose them. Odd yes but it does seem to be working. After all the Big Satan will never be loved thier is nothing we can do to achieve that feat so by becoming the lesser/temporary evil is really our only option besides scorched earth.
#6
There are some normal people in Berkeley, Oldcat. I'd bet the physicists at LBL and the mathematicians at MSRI are fairly normal. Normal for physicists and mathematicians, that is. They don't deserve the Taliban.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
09/28/2006 15:22 Comments ||
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#7
A pamphlet distributed in the Miranshah bazaar said clerics would be collecting funds to pay for a force aimed at protecting people from criminals.
Ah, yes. Ye Olde Holy Man Shakedown, a tried and true method for showing your love for The Prophet.
Try saying "no" to them Wazooians...and enjoy your acid bath.
MIRANSHAH: The political administration of North Waziristan released three tribesmen on Wednesday suspected of fighting American forces in Afghanistan. Noor Hassan, Labeer Khan and Mohammad Yousaf were arrested in Kurram Agency at the Pak-Afghan border on September 19. AP, citing intelligence sources, reported that they were suspected of attacking a US base in Afghanistan's Khost province, but were released for lack of evidence under the peace deal between the government and North Waziristan tribes signed on September 5.
Also on Wednesday, the Pakistan Army returned weapons it seized from a seminary in North Waziristan one and a half years ago, also as part of the peace deal. The army raided the Munb-e-Uloom in the Danday Darpakhel area, one kilometre north of agency headquarters Mirnanshah, in 2005, seizing an arms cache including Klashnikovs.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Previously, the most famous armed seminarian was the late great Josef Vissarionovitch. These guys might just top him if they get the nukes...
The Central Criminal Court of Iraq convicted 22 security detainees Sept. 8 to 14 for various crimes, including possession of illegal weapons, using forged identification, and illegal border crossing.
The trial court found Sadiqh Saeed Ibu, a Syrian national, guilty of violating Iraqi Penal Code 10 of the Passport Law, and sentenced him to 15 years imprisonment.
The trial court found Ali Mahmoud Hisim guilty of possession of illegal weapons, in violation of Coalition Provisional Authority Order 3, and sentenced him to 15 years imprisonment. Coalition forces apprehended the defendant after searching his vehicle and finding one loaded AK-47, a loaded RPK, two brand-new RPGs, five AK-47 loaded magazines, three fragment hand grenades and two ammo drums. The defendant also tested positive for gunpowder and explosives.
The trial court found Abdullah Husayn Ahmad Salih Al-Sayad, a Yemeni national, guilty of illegally entering Iraq, in violation of Iraqi Penal Code 10, and sentenced him to 15 years imprisonment. Coalition forces apprehended him at the Iraqi-Syrian border. At the time of his apprehension, the defendant did not have identification or a passport.
The trial court found Abdul-Elwareth Al-Said Abdul-Elwareth Al-Maghrabi, guilty of possession of illegal weapons, in violation of Coalition Provisional Authority Order 3, and sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment. Coalition forces apprehended him after finding 28 RPG warheads, three 82 mm rockets, 13 armor-piercing RPG warheads, 28 RPG propellant charges, five SKS machine guns, three AKS assault rifles, 10,000 AK-47 rounds, and 400 14.5 mm anti-aircraft rounds.
The trial court found Taleb Khalif Khalifa guilty of possession of illegal weapons, in violation of Coalition Provisional Authority Order 3, and sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment. Coalition forces apprehended him after a search of his truck revealed 42 15-inch rocket time fuses and 20 rocket propellant bags.
The trial court found Yassinn Eeid Hamaid guilty of possession of illegal weapons, in violation of Coalition Provisional Authority Order 3, and sentenced him to seven years imprisonment. Coalition forces apprehended him after a search of his home revealed four sticks of plastic explosives, seven grenades, detonation cord, explosives fuses, and AK-47 ammunition.
The trial court found Omar Mohammed Kadihier Al Wani guilty of possession of illegal weapons, in violation of Coalition Provisional Authority Order 3, and sentenced him to six years imprisonment. Coalition forces apprehended the defendant after the search of his moped revealed a hand grenade.
The trial court found Malud Salim Muhammad guilty of possession of illegal weapons, in violation of Coalition Provisional Authority Order 3, and sentenced him to 6 years imprisonment. Coalition forces apprehended him after a search of his house revealed a large weapons cache.
The trial court found Muhammed Ahmad Salah, a foreign fighter from Lebanon, guilty of illegally entering Iraq, in violation of Iraqi Penal Code 10, and sentenced him to 6 years imprisonment. The defendant admitted coming to Iraq to fight Coalition forces.
The trial court found Cheikhou Babanding Bafodi Diakhaby guilty of not stamping his passport, in violation of Article 24 of the Foreigner Resident Law, and sentenced him to five years and one month imprisonment. The defendant is a foreign fighter from France who entered Iraq illegally.
The trial court found Ammar Rasheed Fayath and Laith Shaker Jassim guilty of possession of illegal weapons, in violation of Coalition Provisional Authority Order 3, and sentenced them to five years and one month imprisonment. Coalition forces apprehended the defendant after a search of their vehicle revealed a video tape containing an insurgent video of a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attack on a Coalition vehicle convoy.
The trial court found Hamid Ali Hanshill guilty of possession of illegal weapons, in violation of Coalition Provisional Authority Order 3, and sentenced him to two and a half years imprisonment. Coalition forces apprehended him after finding various RPG and AK-47 munitions.
The trial court found Hassan Wakeah Sultan guilty of possession of illegal weapons, in violation of Coalition Provisional Authority Order 3, and sentenced him to two and a half years imprisonment. Coalition forces apprehended the defendant after a search of five dump trucks owned by the defendant revealed numerous small arms weapons and ammunition.
The trial court found Mahmood Al-Hishmawi guilty of possession of illegal weapons, in violation of Article 27 of the Iraqi Penal Code, and sentenced him to one year imprisonment. Coalition forces apprehended him after observing the defendant fleeing from an IED explosion. A search of the defendants house revealed two gas masks; two loaded AK-47s; a dismantled phone; wire; and a bottle of white liquid.
The trial court found Ahmad Haloub guilty of possession of illegal weapons, in violation of Article 27 of the Iraqi Penal Code, and sentenced him to one year imprisonment. Coalition forces captured the defendant after receiving and returning small arms fire at the defendant and wounding him. A search of the defendants home revealed three AK-47s.
The trial court found Ayad Abeeb Hussein guilty of possession of illegal weapons, in violation of Coalition Provisional Authority Order 3, and sentenced him to one year imprisonment. Coalition forces apprehended him after finding various small arms weapons and ammunition in five dump trucks owned by the defendant.
The trial court found Kareem Salman Al Ghoray guilty of possession of illegal weapons, in violation of Article 27 of the Iraqi Penal Code, and sentenced him to one year imprisonment. Coalition forces apprehended him after a search of his home revealed a cellular phone attached to a 6V battery; an AK-47 with magazines; three mortar bore sights; to anti aircraft gun barrels; a bayonet; 293 red flares; 100 cardboard flares; 92 7.62 rounds; a 9 mm pistol; 9 mm rounds; nine identification cards; 27 .38 caliber rounds; and 30 8 mm mortar rounds.
The trial court found Muhammed Isam Ali Zahir Al Jaburi guilty of forging a civil affair ID in violation of Iraqi Penal Code 292 and using the forged ID in violation of Iraqi Penal Code 298, and sentenced him to one year imprisonment. Coalition forces apprehended him after a search revealed numerous false identification cards.
The trial court found Najah Gomer Kalib and Mohammed Mahda guilty of violating Article 430 of the Iraqi Penal Code, and sentenced them to one year imprisonment. The defendants opened fire on Coalition Forces. The defendants were found with an AK-47 and a machine gun.
The trial court found Mohammed Majid Fahaad guilty of possession of illegal weapons, in violation of Article 27 of the Iraqi Penal Code, and sentenced him to one year imprisonment. Coalition forces apprehended him after a search of his vehicle revealed an RPK with 150 rounds, an AK-47 with four magazines, an HHK G3 with two magazines, three walkie-talkies, a camcorder with footage of a local town, and a cell phone.
Upon conviction, defendants are transferred to the Iraqi Ministry of Justice to serve their sentences.
To date, the CCCI has held 1,537 trials of insurgents suspected of anti-Iraqi and anti-Coalition activities threatening the security of Iraq and targeting Multi-National Force-Iraq. These proceedings have resulted in 1,309 individual convictions with sentences ranging up to death.
For duty and inhumanity!
CAIRO, Egypt - In a new audio message Thursday, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq called for explosives experts and nuclear scientists to join his group's holy war against the West. He also said that more than 4,000 foreign insurgent fighters have been killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. I'll bet it's more then that. Probably a lot more.
"The blood has been spilled in Iraq of more than 4,000 foreigners who came to fight," said the man, who identified himself as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq. The voice could not be independently identified. The Arabic word he used indicated he was speaking about foreigners who joined the insurgency in Iraq, not coalition troops. That's 288,000 virgins. I see cutbacks coming. Maybe outsourcing...
The speaker said "the field of jihad" could provide scientists with an avenue for experimentation. Take it from Dr. A. Q. Khan. Jihad could be your stepping stone to a big guarded mansion on a mountain in the Big Wazoo!
"The field of jihad (holy war) can satisfy your scientific ambitions, and the large American bases (in Iraq) are good places to test your unconventional weapons, whether biological or dirty, as they call them," he said. Yes, but how's your dental plan?
In the recording, al-Masri's also urged Muslims to make Ramadan a "month of holy war" and called for insurgents in Iraq to kidnap Westerners. Sunni Arabs began observing Ramadan in Iraq on Saturday, while Shiites were to begin Monday. I remember when they used to bitch about us attacking during Ramalamadingdong. Something about insulting Muslims. But, then again, that was before we knew that everything insults Muslims...
Al-Masri called on insurgents in Iraq to capture Westerners so they could be traded for the imprisoned Egyptian sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, who was convicted in 1995 of conspiring to blow up New York City landmarks. Might be convenient if Blind Man was found hung in his cell...
"I appeal to every holy warrior in the land of Iraq to exert all efforts in this holy month so that God may enable us to capture some of the Western dogs to swap them with our sheik and get him out of his dark prison," the voice on the tape said. Oooops! Too late! We've fed Omar to the guard dogs!
Al-Masri, a Sunni Muslim, has been relatively silent since taking over control of al-Qaida in Iraq earlier this year a sharp contrast with al-Zarqawi, who frequently issued audiotapes and even a videotape that showed his face a few weeks before his death. Slacker...
Al-Masri is believed to have succeeded Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who died in a U.S. airstrike north of Baghdad in June, as the head of al-Qaida in Iraq. You'll get there soon enough, Abu...
#1
Arab scientists. heh. If he really wants the best scientists, he should try to recruit nobel laureates in science, 1/3 of whom are Jewish and NONE of whom are arab. oh. never mind.
#5
Any islamic experts out there? I was wondering where the virgins come from in the first place. Were they born in heaven eating white raisins or what? Did allah create them on the spot or did they live on earth at one time? Just trying to improve my virgin sourcing.
Posted by: Ol Dirty American ||
09/28/2006 15:29 Comments ||
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#6
Hubal operates a sex change clinic for the less successful shaheeds.
Posted by: ed ||
09/28/2006 16:59 Comments ||
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#7
Scientists are notoriously irreligious. Good luck finding any competent ones that buy into You and Mo's Jihad.
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A quarter of a million Iraqis have fled their homes and registered as refugees in the past seven months, data released on Thursday showed, amid an upsurge in violence that has accompanied the Ramadan holy month.
The sectarian killing continued in Baghdad, where police said they had found the bodies of 40 victims -- bound, tortured and murdered -- in the last 24 hours.
The United States says violence in Iraq has surged in the last two weeks, with this week counting the most suicide bombs of any week since the war began in 2003.
U.S. forces predicted a surge in violence with Ramadan and have proven right so far, with bombings and clashes mounting since Sunni Muslims began observing the holy month on Saturday.
The registered refugee figures showed 40,000 families -- 240,000 people -- claiming assistance, up from 27,000 families in July. The figures do not include an uncounted number of Iraqis who have moved home without claiming aid.
"The reason for this increase is that the security situation in some provinces has deteriorated considerably, forcing people to leave their homes in fear for their lives," said Migration Ministry spokesman Sattar Nowruz.
BOMBS
A car bomb and a roadside bomb exploded in quick succession in the Saadoun district of central Baghdad on Thursday, killing four people and wounding 38, police said. At least five other bombs went off in the capital, killing at least three and wounding 30.
Mortar rounds landed on a district in the southwest of the capital killing four. Bombs exploded in Mosul and Numaniya.
U.S. commanders have focused their efforts on the capital Baghdad over the past two months and say they have managed to reduce the number of sectarian death squad killings in the scattered neighborhoods they have targeted.
But the killers seem to have moved to other neighborhoods and violence has not subsided in the city as a whole.
Death squads were returning to one of the areas the Americans had cleared, Ghazaliya, because police were allowing the killers back in, said a senior U.S. military official who briefed reporters under condition he not be named.
"We would ascribe that to probably some measure of some element in MoI facilitating the re-entry of folks into the area," said the official, referring to the Ministry of the Interior which oversees the police.
He described a surge in death squad killings since February by militants within the Mehdi Army of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, including some who had become "rogue" and were no longer under Sadr's control.
The death squads have been seeking out victims using lists of targets and placing them before clerics who give religious sanction to their killings, he said, giving one of the most detailed descriptions of U.S. intelligence on the violence.
Since June they have carried out mass kidnappings, often of dozens of people stopped at a roadblock and separated out by their religion. They are held, tortured and killed.
"The hallmark we looked at frankly was individuals who had been hands bound, shot in the back or head, often, very often, indicated signs of torture on the body," he said.
#1
"registered as refugees in the past seven months, data released on Thursday showed"
"40,000 families -- 240,000 people -- claiming assistance, up from 27,000 families in July"
I'm not sure what these statistics mean. Was it 27,000 registered in the seven months ending late July, and another 13,000 in the two months since then? Are the families that registered in the past ever taken out of the count, or are they assumed to be refugees forever?
"40,000 families -- 240,000 people"
That's six people per family. In 2005, the total fertility rate was 4.3 children per Iraqi woman (http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/ipc/idbsum.pl?cty=IZ). It seems unlikely that the average refugee family is an intact family of two parents that has reached "total" fertility. I think Reuters is playing fast and loose with the numbers again.
#4
I know Iraqi Kurds who have abandoned their Baghdad homes this year and moved to Kurdistan. Didnt register with anyone. Surprisingly many Sunnis are fleeing to, of all places, Fallujah.
#6
U.S. forces predicted a surge in violence with Ramadan and have proven right
As always, the usual Muslim glee in slaughtering each other regardless of time or Holy season. We must take a page from this and NEVER show an ounce of respect for their celebration of Ramadan ever again.
#10
Ramadan is a favored time for war and raids on infidels. allah gives special favors for those martyred in a holy month. It is beyond my comprehension why the west thinks ramadan deseves special protection. Instead, it should be the favored time to kill them like the murderous bastards they are.
Posted by: ed ||
09/28/2006 19:38 Comments ||
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#11
Ramadan is the "religiously" and sociably acceptable period of estrus for the murdering kurs. I'm anticipating a welcomed spike in red-wire & blue-wire syndrone.
The radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr has lost control of portions of his Mahdi Army militia that are splintering off into freelance death squads and criminal gangs, a senior coalition intelligence official said Wednesday.
The question of how tightly Mr. Sadr holds the militia, one of the largest armed groups in Iraq, is of critical importance to American and Iraqi officials. Seeking to ease the sectarian violence raging across the country, they have pressed him to join the political process and curb his fighters, who see themselves as defenders of Shiism and often as agents of vengeance against Sunnis. But as Mr. Sadr has taken a more active role in the government, as many as a third of his militiamen have grown frustrated with the constraints of compromise and have broken off, often selling their services to the highest bidders, said the official, who spoke to reporters in Baghdad on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to speak publicly on intelligence issues. When Sadr says you cant do this, for whatever political reason, thats when they start to go rogue, the official said. Frankly, at that point, they start to become very open to alternative sources of sponsorship. The official said that opened the door to control by Iran.
Mr. Sadrs militia dominated by impoverished Shiites who are loosely organized into groups that resemble neighborhood protection forces has always operated in a grass-roots style but generally tended to heed his commands. It answered his call to battle American forces in two uprisings in 2004, and stopped fighting when he ordered it. But as the violence in Iraq has spread, evidence of freelancing Shiites has accumulated.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
OK! OK! So Tader has splinter groups. I vote we call them Tader Tots! :)
#6
This is the old PLO method of gaining cover : create "splinter groups" that operate the way that you wish but are "separate" from the main organization. Also, an Islamic variation on the Sinn Fein/IRA gambit used in Northern Ireland.
#7
Also done in the Philippines - the MILF will soon splinter into a skeleton 'MILF' crew to tie the government's hands while the bulk of them join some new group making new demands.
Sadr and Iran are using this BS line to have thier cake and eat it too. Sadr/Iran is allowed to keep the choas rolling in Iraq to help continue to tie down US forces while at the sametime by claiming these guys are rogue not regulars they can limit the US retaliation and keep US from sweeping Tater and all his boys back into Iran were they belong.
We should play along for awhile as long as he allows US to chop out sections of his Mehdi boys while the rest stand by. Especially if they give US some intel (which I doubt but it will let US determine the truth to Sadr's claim). Although we should continue to round up his boys until we cross that line and Sadr jumps allowing US to punch his card. We should round up not just the rogue names he gives US but everyone we think is a major Mehdi asset along the way.
"Most describe themselves as Mahdi Army members, the official said, and even get money from Mr. Sadrs organization, but are effectively beyond his control. "
Let me get this straight they are trying to sell US the BS line that Sadr is funding, arming, supporting these rogue groups who still even openly claim themseleves as Mehdi BUT Sadr has no control over them.
My BS meter just spun around full circle and broke off.
#14
I call B.S.
In these societies, no-one does anything with-out either authorization and/or pay.
Someone is paying these "rouge elements". Tater, thru cutouts IMO.
They are about as rouge as the various fatah "splinters".
Tater is emulating Arafish(tm).
Posted by: N guard. ||
09/28/2006 5:15 Comments ||
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#15
You're all just spinning your wheels. The one and only way to get traction against Moqtada Sadr is to cut his legs out from under him.
Theyre not sure who will come out on top, so they fund everybody, the official said of Iran.
TAKE IRAN OFF-LINE, NOW!
Denied Iran's support, Sadr almost instantly becomes irelevant. Without the massive capital influx coming from Tehran's mullahs, his entire house of cards will collapse in a few weeks. Iran's tentacles are twisting the blade in so many of the Middle East's worst and most intractable conflicts that only by hacking them off will we make any progress.
In the short term, we need to arm and train the locals to instantly blow away anybody stupid enough who walks out the door clad entitrely in black. Once a few dozen of these wannabe Darth Vaders start rotting in the street, Sadr's power base will begin to erode permanently.
#17
My BS meter just spun around full circle and broke off.
Mine shot flames twenty feet into the air.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
09/28/2006 7:12 Comments ||
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#18
Even Mr. Sadr, who fashions himself as the quintessential Iraqi nationalist, has reached out to Irans government, making a very public trip to Iran for talks early this year.
It was at this point in the article, when my bullshit detector spun around three times, emitted a horrible, skull-rattlingly high-pitched whine, and shatterd violently, leaving three smoking holes in my cubicle walls and a disgusting, lingering stench composed of two-parts sulfur and one-part bovine flatulence.
I mean really. Next thing you know, they'll ask us to believe that Noam Chomsky was a cold warrior.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
09/28/2006 8:31 Comments ||
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2) Wait, if necessary help a bit, until some people of the former rebellion beome disenchanted
because Big Rebel doesn't deliver everything, everywhere, instantly
3) Spread some rumors of corruption, preferrently with some of the payments being in sex. This way you break his influence and his followers will not riot at end of scenario
3) As soon as some disenchanted of his former movement do something wrong, even reckless driving
acuse the guy of having broken the treaty, arrest him in his ministry and execute him. Preferrently in public.
4) At this point the vast majority of the former
rebels have left clandestinity, have become fed up (after seeing that their idol was corrupt) and just in case you can arrest some of their more bellicose no longer clandestine leaders. You will probably have a new rebellion but only a fraction of what it was.
#28
The radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr has lost control of portions of his Mahdi Army militia that are splintering off into freelance death squads and criminal gangs,
So he won't mind if we kill them.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
09/28/2006 12:46 Comments ||
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#29
jfm: They don't have to put him in government if he has his own.
#30
Not a single named source check
NYT (usually synonymous with above) checkDefeatism of article not supported by article itself check
Good news disguised as bad - check
Lets take a look at this article, shall we, because what it really seems to say is that Sadr and 2/3 of his army have joined the political process. And the remaining 1/3 are fractured and have no central control. Iran doesnt know who to support, but, according to this article, apparently isnt supporting Sadr rather the Iranians are throwing money and arms at a bunch of guys helter skelter because none of them are strong enough to come out on top. Additionally, the article concludes that Sadr is looking for discipline to consolidate his power (apparently through the political process, if we are to believe the first half of the article) and is expanding his influence into areas such as of Kirkuk and in Diyala Province, both mixed-population areas north of Baghdad where sectarian disputes have been on the rise. There, he is trying to appeal by casting himself as a defender of Shiites against Kurdish and Sunni Arab factions.
And Sadr is no longer fighting against Americans and seems to be cooperating with American forces to help them get some of the rouge guys, like the Abu Dera guy.
For the interested here is a more detailed breakdown:
But as Mr. Sadr has taken a more active role in the government, as many as a third of his militiamen have grown frustrated with the constraints of compromise and have broken off, often selling their services to the highest bidders,
sooo...Sadar has lost control of his army because he joined the political process along with apparently 2/3 of his army. The remaining one third has become rogue killers who are being supported by Iran - who throws money at all of them because they do not know who will come out on top.
It answered his call to battle American forces in two uprisings in 2004, and stopped fighting when he ordered it. But as the violence in Iraq has spread, evidence of freelancing Shiites has accumulated
Author implies that evidence of freelancing Shiites has accumulated but, and the author is unclear here, Is this the same 1/3 of his fighters who were fighting against Americans but no longer heed Taters calls to stop killing and join the political process. I mean cause they werent in the political process before so one might write that Sadr got 2/3 or his army to join the political process and only 1/3 are still out killing Americans and Sunnis.
Mr. Sadr is still immensely powerful, with as many as 7,000 militiamen in Baghdad, the official said. And the cleric has turned that firepower into political might. His candidate list won about 30 seats in Parliament this year, one of the largest shares. The participation was a central goal for American officials, who tried for months to persuade him to stop fighting and enter politics
So the Americans have achieved their central goal of getting Sadr to fight using politics instead of murder.
Still, six major leaders here no longer answer to Mr. Sadrs organization, according to the intelligence official. Most describe themselves as Mahdi Army members, the official said, and even get money from Mr. Sadrs organization, but are effectively beyond his control. Some of those who moved away from Mr. Sadr saw him as too accommodating to the United States. Others saw him as too bound by politics, particularly as killings of Shiite civilians in mixed neighborhoods began to soar.
Why doesnt the author name the six major leaders? Again, this paragraph seems to really say that Sadr has joined the political process and due to the process, these six mysterious leaders are no longer beholden to Sadr. Is that not a good thing?
Theyre not content to sit there and just defend their family on the street corner, the official said. They want to go out and take on what they view as Al Qaeda or Baathists or both in aggressive measure.
Sadrs army members are killing AQ. Is that a bad thing? And he uses the words Batthists here instead of Sunnis. Why?
He started against the Americans, but he moved on to killing Sunnis, said Sattar Awad, a 29-year-old resident of the district. People here look at him as a brave man.
I would consider the fact that they are no longer killing Americans to be a good thing worthy of of note. But this author works for the NYT, so of course that would disappoint him. Question where was this author when the Sunnis were killing Shia and Kurds. Answer sucking up to Saddam at the central bureau no doubt.
Although the splintering has solved some problems for the American military, it has raised new ones. In some ways it makes it easier for me because I now have digestible doses I can deal with, said a senior American military official at a briefing on Wednesday, also in Baghdad. At the same time it creates problems because they are harder to find when they are splintered.
Nothing wrong with that statement. Probably true. But the author almost makes it sound like its a bad thing rather than a good thing that 2/3 of Sadrs army has apparently joined the political process and only the remaining 1/3 is splintered and still fighting.
The splintering has changed the tone of the American militarys interaction with the Mahdi Army in Sadr City. In past years, American forays into the area would often draw a storm of grenade attacks. But recent American moves into the area have been carried out relatively peacefully: Mr. Sadr has not ordered attacks because the men being sought were freelancers like Abu Dera, the intelligence officer said.
So, if I were to read between the lines, it almost sounds like Sadr is helping the American army get the rouge guys like Abu Dera.
And finally, the last three paragraphs I summed up above, it appears that that Sadr is looking for discipline to consolidate his power (through the political process) and is expanding his influence into areas such as of Kirkuk and in Diyala Province, both mixed-population areas north of Baghdad where sectarian disputes have been on the rise. There, he is trying to appeal by casting himself as a defender of Shiites against Kurdish and Sunni Arab factions and that Sadr is no longer fighting against Americans and even better, seems to be cooperating with American forces to help them get some of the rouge guys, like the Abu Dera
So this is really a good news article. Would we expect anything less from the NYT to spin it into bad?
#31
KUT - A spokesman for the good cop political movement of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in Wasit province said seven of its bad cop Mehdi Army militiamen were killed and 18 posted as red mist missing, along with nine wounded, after an airstrike on the village of Sayafiya, west of Suwayra and 50 km (30 miles) south of Baghdad early on Tuesday. The spokesman, Hameed al-Zargani, said the Mehdi Army was engaged in a gunbattle with Delta Force unidentified gunmen when bombs fell on the village. The U.S. military, the only force with such air power in Iraq, had no immediate comment. Maybe Allan sent down a bolt of Lightning!
#32
I kinda have to agree with anon here. This is clearly a case of the glass is 2/3 full. While the NYTimes is trying to spin it as the place is just continuing to spiral out of control when really it is only a 1/3 of Mooky's "Sadr Army" that has left the fold.
#33
You guys all make good points about this being an intentional splinter for deniability but I have a slightly different take.
I think Tater grouped a bunch of gangs and yahoos together and barely had control over them in the first place. They were happy to allow him to claim them because he covered them to some extent ubt now that he's making demands they're all "see you later, tater."
#34
CrazyFool, it isn't just a Muslim trick. Consider the IRA, the Provisional IRA, the Real IRA, the Imaginary IRA, the Transcendental IRA, the IRA Suicide Squad, the Orthodox IRA, the Reform IRA, the IRA in Exile, etc.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
09/28/2006 15:33 Comments ||
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#40
Stop! The only way to settle this is to mash Tater and tots (TM)
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/28/2006 18:14 Comments ||
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#41
The problem is Islam. We can write post after post addressing each and every *symptom* of the problem, but until the reasonable folks in the world reach the conclusion that reason and logic aren't abundent or appreciated in the Islamic world, we're all just wasting our time. Islam must be ridiculed and relegated to ash heap of history--until then, there are no "solutions" to any of these problems that will solved for more than the 30 minutes it will take for some Islamist in power somewhere to figure out a new way of dredging up the same ridiculous offenses over and over and over and over and over.
After a fierce battle in Khan Bani Saad Diyala governorate north of Baghdad with Mahdi Army, Iraqi resistance succeeded to capture one of the Mahdi Aramy.
They found a complete modern communications system manufacturing in the Ministry of Defense of Iran believed to be used as a direct contact with the Iranians.
Mahdi Army members were launching mortars on the city before they found themselves besieged by the villagers and the resistance.
BAQUBA: A US assault on an alleged Al Qaeda safehouse north of Baghdad killed four suspects and four female civilians on Wednesday, as a spike in violence during Ramazan killed at least 18 more.
In Baghdad, a car bomb exploded in a popular market in Bayaa neighborhood, killing five people, while more than 55 corpses turned up in various parts of the city, said security officials. The attack that killed insurgents and civilians was launched in the early hours of the morning in Baquba, said the US military in a statement. "Coalition forces killed four suspected terrorists and wounded two others during a raid targeting a terrorist tied to extremist leaders of Al Qaeda in Iraq in ... Diyala and Salaheddin provinces," it said. "They also found four women killed and another wounded in the objective building as a result of the air strike," Caldwell said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
if the women are there with the 'INSURGENTS' then why are they considered civilians? They are just as guilty as the men are.
Jordan's military court on Wednesday convicted five alleged militants, including a cousin of slain al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, of plotting attacks against US troops in Iraq.
The five were sentenced to prison terms ranging between six months to five years. Prosecutors charged the five men - Jordanians and Palestinians - with exposing the kingdom to retaliatory attacks and harming its relations with an unnamed foreign country - a reference to the United States. The indictment said the five sought to enter Iraq through Syria, aided by a network smuggling Arab fighters.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2006 00:00 ||
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#3
I trust the King as much as one can in this situation. But all you have to do is offer one of the guards some money and *poof* they suddenly evaporate into thin air.
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/28/2006 21:41 Comments ||
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#8
I have heard about it, but didn't pay much attention. I just glanced at it but will go back and read more of it later. How are these five guys connected to Black September other than they are terrorists and King Abdullah might like to fry a few of them just to feel like he got even with events from 36 or so years ago? I still don't see much of a link, but may after I read that article deeper. Are these actions a derivative of the events that led up to Black September? Thanks!
#9
IMHO - his (Abdullah's) position is precarious if he allows dissent, terrorist activities. Don't show weakness...ever. These mooks are expendable and will shortly find that out as an example to others....escape would not only be embarrassing, but destabilizing
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/28/2006 22:17 Comments ||
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#10
The moderate leaders seem to have come to the conclusion that that giving extremists what they want can come to no good end. The US had that policy too for the longest time and finally got paddled hard enough on 9/11 to figure that out. I kind of wonder what sort of effect a "Night of the Long Knives" would have on things there. Could go both ways I suppose. But I would think Jordan would be in a better position to get out of the hole they have dug themselves into than much of the rest of the Arab world. It makes more sense to me now that he should make sure something stupid doesn't happen - like the wood chipper running out of gas in the middle of things! :-)
IAF aircraft shot two missiles at a building used for storing weapons in Rafiah, near the Egyptian border, on Wednesday. Two people were lightly wounded, and the building was lightly damaged. The army reported that the building's residents had received an advance warning by phone and evacuated the premises. Arab sources claimed the IDF has recently attacked several homes of those suspected of smuggling arms to the Gaza Strip.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2006 00:00 ||
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Egyptian security forces destroyed a tunnel used to smuggle weapons into the Gaza Strip, police said on Wednesday. Police discovered the tunnel Wednesday near Karm Salem, less than 5 kilometers (3 miles) from Rafah crossing point, Capt. Mohammed Amin said. No arrests were made in the operation and police later detonated explosives in the tunnel to block it up.
On Tuesday, Palestinian security forces discovered two underground tunnels along the Gaza Strip border with Egypt. Only one reached Egypt and officials sealed it later in the day.
Since Israel pulled out of Gaza last summer, turning control of the border over to Egypt and the Palestinians, the IDF has said that cross-border smuggling of weapons and explosives has increased considerably. Chief of Shin Bet security service, Yuval Diskin, on Wednesday accused Egypt of allowing Palestinian gunmen to smuggle 19 tons of weapons and explosives into the Gaza Strip since Israel withdrew from the coastal area last year. "The Egyptians know who the smugglers are and don't deal with them," Diskin said at a Cabinet meeting. "They received intelligence on this from us and didn't use it."
But the representative to Egyptian parliament for Rafah, Fayez Abu Harb, took issue with the intelligence chief's comments, calling them "lies propagated by Shin Bet." "Egypt respects its commitments and international agreements with its neighbors, and protects its borders as a matter of national security," he said, mentioning that Egypt has discovered several tunnels and seized many caches of contraband from them in recent years.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Down here on the border, the Mexican narco-government is always "destroying tunnels" too...and then digging new ones.
An IDF soldier was lightly wounded on Wednesday when he was hit by a concrete block thrown by a Palestinian during an arrest operation in El-Amri refugee camp, next to Ramallah. During the operation, IDF Special Forces arrested an Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades operative and two other Palestinian fugitives. Two pistols were found in Palestinians' possession.
Palestinian gunmen fired on the troops while other Palestinians in the vicinity threw stones and blocks. The troops returned fire, hitting two of the gunmen. The wounded soldier was evacuated from the scene for medical treatment.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2006 00:00 ||
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"IDF troops currently stationed in Lebanon have permission to open fire on stone-throwing Hizbullah supporters," IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.- Gen. Dan Halutz said at Wednesday's cabinet meeting. The chief of staff told cabinet ministers that according to the IDF directive, troops were permitted to fire in the air and then at the legs of those hurling rocks in their direction. In addition, in the event that the troops sensed that they were in real danger they were granted permission to shoot to kill.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/28/2006 00:00 ||
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The chief of staff told cabinet ministers that according to the IDF directive, troops were permitted to fire in the air and then at the legs of those hurling rocks in their direction. In addition, in the event that the troops sensed that they were in real danger they were granted permission to shoot to kill.
All good news. The IDF must not have its hands tied on the battlefield.
#7
If they actually do it you would think that it would put a serious damper on the Paleostinians' national sport and favorite pasttime.
Warning shot should be a rock thrown back over their heads (try at least). Then whip out the Merkava main gun and watch 'em scatter. Shouldn't take more than a few shots with that bad boy!
Not that I mind ole Joanie, but as a film aficionada, allow me to suggest other cheesecake Hollywood posettes that might be enjoyed by the male 'burgers:
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KANDAHAR: Afghanistans security forces said they had killed or wounded more than 30 insurgents on Wednesday as a bomb blast injured three Italian soldiers and their interpreter. 
KABUL: US troops on Afghanistan's eastern border have seen a threefold increase in attacks since the recent truce between Pakistani troops and pro-Taliban tribesmen that was supposed to have stopped militants making cross-border raids, a US military official said on Wednesday.
MADRID: Techniques used to detonate the bombs which killed 191 people and injured 1,900 in Madrid in March 2004 were learnt in a training camp in Afghanistan, the daily El Pais said on Wednesday, quoting a confidential police report. These techniques, using the vibrators of mobile telephones to simultaneously detonate several bombs, were taught in a camp near Jalalabad run by the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM), said the report. The Spanish judiciary says the militant Islamic group is principally responsible for the March 11, 2004 attack for which 29 people have been charged.
Two suspects in an alleged plot to attack the US or Israeli Embassy can be held in jail for four weeks while police finish their investigation, an appeals court ruled Wednesday. 
(KUNA) -- Two policemen were killed and 18 people injured in three guerrilla strikes in Srinagar, summer capital of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir Wednesday. As many as 18 people were injured when separatist guerrillas hurled a grenade at a police party in Srinagar Wednesday, the news agency Indo-Asian News Service reported.
DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Drive-by gunmen killed two militants and wounded three in another car in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, officials said. No one claimed responsibility for the shooting, but an area intelligence official said the attack may have been linked with rivalry between pro-Taliban tribal militants and a group of Uzbek fighters. 
PESHAWAR: Three tribes along with the local Taliban have set up office in Miranshah to fight crime in the city, tribal sources said on Wednesday. The Darpakhel, Burakhel and Miranshah tribes along with the Taliban have set up an office in Miranshah to bring law and order under control, sources close to the Taliban told Daily Times. A senior leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazlur Rehman) denied reports that the Taliban alone opened the office in violation of the peace agreement which aimed at preventing the Taliban from running a parallel administrative system.The office was opened on Wednesday and local residents expressed fears that the growing Taliban influence would undermine the tribal code of life. The locals criticised the government for completely disappearing from the streets. There is no police to provide security which is why the crime rate has increased, a resident of Miranshah told Daily Times. A pamphlet was distributed in the bazaar inviting residents to lodge their complaints with the office. It is not clear what role the office will play in maintaining law and order and whether the office will hand over criminals to the political administration. Residents said the opening of the office meant Miranshah has been handed over to the Taliban. Local militants have set up similar offices in the major towns of South Waziristan where they take up civil and criminal cases. Meanwhile, the 10-member monitoring committee for the peace accord will meet Dr Fakhre Alam, political agent of North Waziristan, to discuss the fate of 10 tribesmen arrested in connection with attacks on coalition forces inside Afghanistan. 
MIRANSHAH: The political administration of North Waziristan released three tribesmen on Wednesday suspected of fighting American forces in Afghanistan. Noor Hassan, Labeer Khan and Mohammad Yousaf were arrested in Kurram Agency at the Pak-Afghan border on September 19. AP, citing intelligence sources, reported that they were suspected of attacking a US base in Afghanistan's Khost province, but were released for lack of evidence under the peace deal between the government and North Waziristan tribes signed on September 5. 
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A quarter of a million Iraqis have fled their homes and registered as refugees in the past seven months, data released on Thursday showed, amid an upsurge in violence that has accompanied the Ramadan holy month. 
The radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr has lost control of portions of his Mahdi Army militia that are splintering off into freelance death squads and criminal gangs, a senior coalition intelligence official said Wednesday. 
BAQUBA: A US assault on an alleged Al Qaeda safehouse north of Baghdad killed four suspects and four female civilians on Wednesday, as a spike in violence during Ramazan killed at least 18 more. 
Jordan's military court on Wednesday convicted five alleged militants, including a cousin of slain al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, of plotting attacks against US troops in Iraq. 
An IDF soldier was lightly wounded on Wednesday when he was hit by a concrete block thrown by a Palestinian during an arrest operation in El-Amri refugee camp, next to Ramallah. During the operation, IDF Special Forces arrested an Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades operative and two other Palestinian fugitives. Two pistols were found in Palestinians' possession. 
