#4
I hear we're being asked to send some of our ground troops in to take the last bastions of resistance. I suggest that if there's enough resistance that it slows down the Ethiopians, just have them step back a few yards and let the USAF give the big rigs some air time. It's not far at all to Diego Garcia. Then send in the forensics team with DNA sample kits.
The suspected al-Qaeda militant who planned the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in east Africa was killed in an American airstrike in Somalia, an official said Wednesday. "I have received a report from the American side chronicling the targets and list of damage," Abdirizak Hassan, the Somali president's chief of staff, told The Associated Press. "One of the items they were claiming was that Fazul Abdullah Mohammed is dead."
48 hour rule applies unless they display his severed head.
Hassan said that American airstrikes in Somalia would continue. "I know it happened yesterday, it will happen today and it will happen tomorrow," he said.
Mohammed allegedly planned the attacks on the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 225 people. He is also suspected of planning the car bombing of a beach resort in Kenya and the near simultaneous attempt to shoot down an Israeli airliner in 2002. Ten Kenyans and three Israelis were killed in the blast at the hotel, 12 miles north of Mombasa. The missiles missed the airliner.
Mohammed is thought to have been the main target of an American helicopter attack Monday afternoon on Badmadow island off southern Somalia. U.S. attack helicopters also strafed suspected al-Qaeda fighters in southern Somalia on Tuesday, witnesses said.
Imagine the jump in his heart rate when a subordinate first screamed out, "By Allan! Those are American attack helicopters!"
#1
His las words as he knew the ordinance with his name on it was coming....
"But how could he let his happen to me I conficated and burned 25 kites and 8 chess sets. And, best of all I stoned women for showing their faces, and severed the hands of more than 40 petty thieves... I was doing Allan's work..."
More than 50 people were killed by American air strikes in Somalia on Sunday, most of them Islamist leaders fleeing in armed pick-up trucks across a remote stretch of the Kenya-Somalia border, officials of the transitional Somali government said today. The air strikes began Sunday night, when an American AC-130 gunship operating from a base in Djibouti pounded an area where American officials said three terrorist leaders were hiding. The three men are suspected of being ringleaders in the 1998 bombing attacks on American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. It was not clear whether any of the intended targets had been killed.
News of the air strikes set off fresh waves of anti-American anger in Mogadishu, the battle-scarred seaside capital of the country, which until recently was controlled by the Islamist forces. Theyre just trying to get revenge for what we did to them in 1993, said Deeq Salad Mursel, a taxi driver, referring to the infamous Black Hawk Down episode, when 18 American soldiers were killed by Somali gunmen.
And about 2500 Somali gunmen were killed by American soldiers. Don't forget, we won't.
The countrys transitional president, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, said today that he had given American forces permission on Sunday to carry out the strikes, according to news agencies.
The United States has twice involved itself in Somalia in recent years, and neither episode ended well. President Clinton abruptly ended a large American-led aid mission in the 1990s after the 18 soldiers were killed, leaving Somalia spiraling into chaos and bloodshed, conditions that still prevail in much of the country.
Thanks Bill.
Last summer, American efforts to finance a band of Somali warlords as a counterweight against a growing Islamist movement backfired when many Somalis learned of the hidden American hand and threw their support behind the Islamists.
The Islamists went on to capture much of the country, including the capital. But neighboring Ethiopia intervened two weeks ago by sending its troops in to aid the transitional government, saying that the Islamists were a growing regional threat. The Ethiopian-led forces quickly routed the Islamists, though a small band of fighters and leaders, along with several terror suspects, escaped to a thickly forested area along the Kenyan border where terrorists have taken sanctuary before.
According to Abdul Rashid Hidig, a member of Somalias transitional parliament who represents the border area, the American air strikes in the area wiped out a long convoy of vehicles carrying Islamist leaders trying to flee deeper in the bush. Their trucks got stuck in the mud, and they were easy targets, he said. Mr. Hidig said two civilians were also killed. But representatives of the Islamist forces said that the number of civilian deaths was much higher. "Oh, yasss! Very, very much higher! Thousands of innocent civilians and puppies and kittens and baby ducks and fluffy bunnies! Oh, the carnage! Oh, the humanity! I weep!"
Mohammed Dakhani, the Islamists health director, said that dozens of nomadic herdsmen and their families were grazing their animals in the same wet valley where the Islamist convoy was struggling to move across country. Their donkeys, their camels, their cows, theyve all been destroyed, he said. And many children were killed. "Many died, oh, so very painfully when donkeys and camels and cows fell on them! [Snif!]"
Mr. Daskhani, who spoke by telephone from a location he did not dare disclose, said he did not have more precise information about the effects of the attack.
For the first time since 1991, when the Somali dictator Siad Barre fled the country and plunged it into anarchy, a potentially viable national government is back in the capital. It is a transitional body set up with much United Nations help, and holds power now only because of Ethiopian military muscle. But many people here dislike the Ethiopians. Some call them infidel invaders because Ethiopia is a country with a long Christian identity, though these days half its people are Muslim. Others object to Ethiopias close alliance with the United States and remember past conflicts between Ethiopia and Somalia.
Some members of the defeated Islamist movement have said that they plan to go underground and start an Iraq-style insurgency against the Ethiopian-backed government. This evening, a band of such insurgents attacked a government building in downtown Mogadishu the former ministry of skins and hides where several dozen Ethiopian troops were based. The boom of rocket-propelled grenade fire echoed through the city center and touched off a two-minute gunfight. Hot spent shells clinked in the streets as residents ran for cover. At least one person was hurt, Mogadishu hospital officials said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/10/2007 00:00 ||
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Their donkeys, their camels, their cows, theyve all been destroyed, he said. And many children were killed.
#3
Yawn..... Task Force Ranger and the 160th's old recored still stands, per the piece count, 700 Sooomali militiamen dead (maybe as many as 1500 if you count the suspected drag-aways), 1000-4000 WIA in the battle for Mog.
#4
Yum, wienerschitzel! And the picture is just precious! But why do the Islamists think attacking the building that once housed the ministry of skins and hides will result in their own little Reconquista? And why was there once an entire ministry just for skins and hides, anyway?
#5
Mr Dakhani/Daskhani (excellent editing, NYT!) sure has accurate and graphic info gathered from his undisclosed hiding place under a child's bed....
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/10/2007 8:21 Comments ||
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TW: You're thinking like a westerner. They didn't say they were animal hides! Could be the Ministry of Skins and Hides (of the enemies of the jihadis).
Posted by: BA ||
01/10/2007 11:30 Comments ||
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#7
The boom of rocket-propelled grenade fire echoed through the city center and touched off a two-minute gunfight A two minute firefight?
Just enough to get a good 30 second feed for the nightly news.
Posted by: john ||
01/10/2007 14:17 Comments ||
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An al-Qaeda member suspected in the 1998 bombing of United States embassies in Kenya and Tanzania may have been killed in a weekend air strike in Somalia, an official said on Tuesday. The US intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it was not clear which of three al-Qaeda members wanted in African attacks died in the strike, the first overt US military intervention in Somalia since a disastrous peacekeeping mission that ended in 1994. The official said Sunday's strike was targeted against al-Qaeda's leadership. "We don't know which one is the one at the moment," the official said. "I don't think we got all three. Of the senior guys, people are looking at one."
US officials have long sought al-Qaeda suspects Abu Talha al-Sudani of Sudan, Fazul Abdullah Mohammed of Comoros and Kenyan Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan in Somalia. The men were believed to be hiding among Islamist troops fleeing Ethiopian and Somali forces. Sudani and Mohammed have been accused by the Bush administration of having a role in the embassy bombings, which killed 224 people. Nabhan is wanted in connection with a 2002 hotel bombing on the Kenyan coast which killed 15 people.
The United States hit southern Somalia on Sunday, targeting what they believed to be the "principal" al-Qaeda leadership in the area, the Pentagon and State Department said. Pentagon spokesperson Bryan Whitman said the strike was based on "credible intelligence" but he would not comment on whether it was successful. Sudani was named in grand jury testimony against al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden as a Sudanese explosives expert and has been described by US officials as the militant network's East African boss. Mohammed was indicted in New York for his alleged involvement in the embassy bombings and has a $5-million price on his head.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/10/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Here's a link I found to the AC-130 Spooky. I especially like the part about how the Vulcan gunners have to clear the spent casings with shovels! :-)
Posted by: Captain America ||
01/10/2007 7:33 Comments ||
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The FLIR imaging system is capable of telling the difference between people and livestock - and even between the different kinds of livestock, if there's not a lot of dust in the air. The post above is a crock, unless a bunch of Somali muzzie "leaders" tried to hide among them. Of course, I wouldn't put ANYTHING past muzzienutz - especially "important" muzzinutz.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/10/2007 14:52 Comments ||
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(SomaliNet) One person has been killed and two others were wounded in fresh clashes in Somalia capital Mogadishu on later Tuesday between allied forces of Somalia and Ethiopia and armed militias. Witnesses told Somalinet tonight that they heard two explosions follwed by gunfire around KM4 junction in south of the capital where unidentified militiamen attacked a compound stationed by the Ethiopian and Somalia interim government troops near Sahafi Hotel. The dead and the wounded were reportedly soldiers but it is not yet known whether they are Somalia government or Ethiopian soldiers. Reports also say that a young girl was injured in the explosion. Heavy exchange of automatic gunfire could be heard in the area.
The latest skirmish has erupted around 7:10 pm local time when unknown armed militiamen fired Rocket propelled Grenade at the building housing Ethiopian forces. This is the second attack against the allied forces in the capital within a week.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/10/2007 00:00 ||
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MOGADISHU - Many people were killed in Somalia in a US air strike targeting Al Qaeda suspects among fleeing Islamist fighters, Somali officials said on Tuesday.
The US strike, part of a wide offensive also involving Ethiopian planes, was apparently aimed at an Al Qaeda cell said to include suspects in bombings of US embassies in east Africa and a hotel on the Kenyan coast.
Aethiop and American planes working together -- at least in the same sky. How interesting.
A Somali elder or traditional leader reported a second US air attack on Tuesday that killed up to 27 people but that could not be confirmed by other sources.
Couldn't be confirmed due to a lack of live witnesses?
A Pentagon spokesman confirmed one air attack on Sunday against the top Al Qaeda leadership in east Africa. He would not comment on whether the raid was successful but said it was based on credible intelligence. Spokesman Bryan Whitman declined to state categorically whether the US military had mounted other air strikes but indicated he had mentioned all US operations.
A senior Somali official said an AC-130 plane, a formidable weapon armed with rapid-firing cannons, rained gunfire on the remote village of Hayo but said the attack was late on Monday. There are so many dead bodies and animals in the village, the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters.
Sorry about the cows.
The Somali elder, from the southern town of Afmadow, said a second strike killed between 22 and 27 people in the same area. US planes struck at Bankajirow this morning between 10 a.m. and noon (0700-0900 GMT), the elder, who did not want to be identified, said by telephone.
A US official, who declined to be named, suggested any air operations on Tuesday were not carried out by American forces.
Both Hayo and Bankajirow are near the Kenyan border, where hundreds of Islamists ran away fled after their defeat by Ethiopian and transitional government forces. Somalias defence and information ministers told Reuters air strikes had taken place south of Hayo, near Ras Kamboni and Badmadow at Somalias southernmost tip. Neither would say if the United States or Ethiopia, which has jets and helicopters in the area, carried them out, or precisely when they occurred.
US intelligence believes Abu Talha Al-Sudani, named in grand jury testimony against Osama bin Laden as a Sudanese explosives expert, is al Qaedas east African boss and is hiding among the fleeing Islamist troops.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/10/2007 00:00 ||
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Well, that was the point of the exercise, after all.
#4
Many dead in strike on Al Qaeda? That'll happen. It should give Muslims all over the world incentive to drive Al Qaeda out of any cover near the natives homes. Will it? Well, the incentive competes with the incentive to avoid decapitation and mutilation a la sharia bandits. Will danger everywhere they turn be just the thing to awaken the masses to birthing a country worthy of the name? Can Somali men and women shake loose the trance of "war is normal for everyday life" and strive to create a better place? It's a nice concept. Does is have a chance?
#5
Many people were killed in Somalia in a US air strike targeting Al Qaeda suspects among fleeing Islamist fighters, Somali officials said on Tuesday.
I get the impression somebody's playing with the wording here in order to get a pity party going.
AC-130's and "many dead" - when you care enough to send the very best...
#7
Ethiopia seems to have quite a variety of military aircraft, now mostly of Soviet make. They have Mig 21, Mig-23, Mig-27 fighter/attack aircraft, Sukhoi SU-25 "Frogfoot" ground attack aircraft, MI-24 "Hind" attack helicopters, MI-8 "Hip" transport helicopters, and a fairly nice array of trainer, transport, and logistics aircraft. They've been used against the Somalis more than once, and most of their pilots appear to have combat experience.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/10/2007 15:14 Comments ||
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US warplanes killed between 22 and 27 people in a remote area of southern Somalia during a strike on Tuesday, an elder from a neighbouring town said. The elder, who declined to be named, spoke to Reuters by telephone from the Kenya-Somalia border crossing at Liboi. Earlier, a Somali government source said a US attack plane killed many people with barrages of gunfire in a remote Somali village occupied by Islamists thought to be hiding at least one Al Qaeda suspect.
In the first known direct US military intervention in Somalia since a failed peacekeeping mission that ended in 1994, an AC-130 plane rained gunfire on the desolate southern village of Hayo near the Kenyan border late on Monday. I understand there are so many dead bodies and animals in the village, the senior source said.
The US Navy also confirmed it had moved the aircraft carrier Eisenhower to the Somali coast to beef up a naval cordon it had already put there. A US intelligence official said the air raid on a target in southern Somalia killed five to 10 individuals.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said that the strike was based on credible intelligence. US intelligence believes Abu Talha al-Sudani, identified in grand jury testimony against Osama bin Laden as an explosives expert from Sudan, is the leader of east Africas Al Qaeda cell and has been in and out of Somalia for over a decade. The Americans are saying an Al Qaeda member heading operations in east Africa is among the Islamists there, the source said. He did not know the mans name or whether he died.
Interim Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed defended Washingtons targeting of the camps where suspects in the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were believed under the protection of Islamists. Somali Information Minister Ali Ahmed Jama Jangali said: The Islamists are hiding in the thick jungle and its only air strikes that eliminate them from there. The strikes ... will continue until no terrorist survives.
The European Union criticised the US air raid. Any incident of this kind is not helpful in the long term, a spokesman for the European Commission said. In a related development, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said in an interview published on Tuesday that nationals from Britain, Canada, Pakistan and Sudan were among those captured or wounded during the ouster of Somalias Islamist rulers.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/10/2007 00:00 ||
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I condone summary execution of foreign jihad terrorists. There would have been no Gitmo releases of non-Afghanis, if I had my way.
#2
Jangali said: The Islamists are hiding in the thick jungle and its only air strikes that eliminate them from there. The strikes ... will continue until no terrorist survives.
(KUNA) -- Japan on Tuesday upgraded the Defense Agency to a full-fledged ministry for the first time since World War II, when the US stripped Japan of its right to a military. The move is part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's efforts to raise the military's profile, reflecting the military's growing role at home and abroad.
At a ceremony celebrating the upgrade, Abe appointed Defense Agency chief Fumio Kyuma as the first defense minister. "This is a significant step for us to end the post-war regime and lay the groundwork for building a new nation," Abe said in a speech to senior ministry officials and Self-Defense Forces, adding that the national security situation facing Japan has changed dramatically since the end of the Cold War.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/10/2007 00:00 ||
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Excellent. Along with Indian realignment, the most under-reported strategic development of recent times. And like the former, a very good one for the mobilized free world (US, Australia, UK - sort of, Israel, central Europe, parts of South Korea and Canada).
#9
I believe Gromky, who is currently in the wilds of China is American, RD. Both gentlemen's names are sometimes shortened to Grom/grom around here. Perhaps that's where the confusion comes from.
#12
This should piss off the ChiComs, although it is their own damn fault. Still lots of animosity left over from WWII when the Japanese behaved rather badly. I do wonder how much of the fuss is orchestrated by the Chinese Emperor, as oppossed to being indigenous. Woops, did I say 'emperor'? I meant Cenral Committe.
#13
Note that they haven't reinstated the names "Army" and "Navy". Those are still Self-Defense whatevers.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
01/10/2007 10:01 Comments ||
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#14
Japan is a good example of the proper way to deal with enemies.
First they repent. After proving they mean it, you forgive them.
In these PC days we want to take a short cut and go directly to forgivenss without the repentence.
This is, in a nutshell, our problem with Iraq. They never went through a total surrender / repentence phase before we started to forgive them and let them run things.
#17
Well, I for one, welcome the Japanese back into the fold. A shame, though, they got back to Defense Ministry before Mr. Pruitt's Secretary of War could be nominated and appointed for Rantburgia, lol!
Posted by: BA ||
01/10/2007 11:36 Comments ||
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#18
Hmmm.... fascinating.... Israel takes out Iran's nukes, and Japan takes out Kimmie's toys (after all they are in the area), and we just provide "strategic" advice to our two allies... Ol' "W" still has a couple diabolical bones left in him. I was beginning to wonder after Rummy and Bolton left...
China revealed the depth of its fear of Islamic-linked violence yesterday when police disclosed that they had killed 18 terrorists and captured another 17 after a fierce battle at a secret training camp in a remote northwestern region. It was the first time that China had announced the discovery of such a camp in its territory. Officials said that they had uncovered links between the activists and international terrorist groups, hinting at connections to al-Qaeda.
The clash in the Pamir mountains on Friday was one of the deadliest for years in the restive Xinjiang Uighur autonomous region, where 8.5 million Muslims make up most of the population. One policeman was killed and a second wounded.
Police said that the camp, in Akto county, was run by the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (Etim). It is listed as a terrorist group by the US, at Chinas insistence, despite concerns among Beijing-based diplomats over lack of evidence. Firearms and 22 grenades, plus materials to produce another 1,500 such devices, were seized at the camp, Xinjiang police said. Officials declined to reveal other details, saying that they would release information only as part of a manhunt for fugitives.
State media said that the group may have infiltrated the region with the help of al-Qaeda, but gave no details. Liu Jianchao, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, said: There is a large amount of evidence, including evidence from this raid, that shows the movement is associated with international terrorist forces, and that it planned, organised and carried out a series of violent, terrorist activities in China.
A resident said that he was not surprised to hear of such a training ground, adding that the Uighur ethnic minority had long been struggling to set up an independent East Turkestan state. He said: These mountains are very remote and cold, and no one could set up a camp without outside technological help and financial support. State media said that the suspected militants had even begun mining to help to finance their operations.
Police had found out that key members had arrived in the region, but no details were given of the exact location of the camp or how they were alerted to the suspects presence. More than 50 people were killed in an anti-Chinese uprising in Akto county in 1990. Li Wei, an anti-terrorism researcher at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said that Beijing needed to reassess the movements strength. It has received external training and financial assistance and it has munitions-smuggling channels.
Western experts and diplomats voiced doubts about the report, saying that it would be unusual for Turkic-speaking Uighurs bent on independence to set up a camp in mountains populated mostly by members of the Tajik minority, which is opposed to a separate state and would be unlikely to give refuge to members of a rival ethnic minority.
China says that Etim is one of the regions most violent groups and that 1,000 of its members have been trained by al-Qaeda. Western terrorism experts say that the organisation has effectively ceased to exist since its leader, Hasan Mahsum, was shot dead by Pakistani troops in October 2003.
Dru Gladney, a US-based expert on Xinjiang, said: Most groups in Xinjiang are not motivated by Islam but by sovereignty. It behoves the Chinese Government to provide much more evidence to remove the cloud of doubt that surrounds this incident.
Many Uighurs in Xinjiang are resentful of Chinese rule and feel that they have been left behind economically as better-paying jobs have been taken by the Han, who have moved into the region to seek their fortunes. Few are motivated by religious considerations. A Western diplomat said: We may see China now start to crack down on other possible terrorist threats further inland to show it is in control before the 2008 Olympics.
However, Zhao Yongshen, the deputy leader of Xinjiangs counter-terrorism force, said: East Turkestan terrorism forces will remain the main terrorist threat facing China.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/10/2007 00:00 ||
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Won't stop them from selling weapons to Muzzies, of course.
Western experts and diplomats voiced doubts about the report, saying that it would be unusual for Turkic-speaking Uighurs bent on independence to set up a camp in mountains populated mostly by members of the Tajik minority, which is opposed to a separate state and would be unlikely to give refuge to members of a rival ethnic minority.
Perhaps an advance camp from which to launch, umm, terrorist attacks against Tajiks who happen to be opposed to a separate state?
#7
Have a buddy who came back from this area recently. A very secretive place, more like a Marxist/Leninist area than a teaming hot bed of jihadi activity according to this guy. Average Joe on the street just wants to get along and make his/her daily living, but may internally want separation from China (communism). Not what you usually think of when you think "China." I chalk it up more to political disputes than terror, but could be interesting to watch.
Posted by: BA ||
01/10/2007 11:20 Comments ||
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#8
What's that I hear? It's the sound of Phrance not bitching about something! Qu'elle surprise!
#9
China has a long history of xenophobia, and this may just be another incident related to that, rather than anything to do with terrorism. I don't doubt the Uigurs would feel much better as an independent entity, instead of being China's whipping boy. The history in that area is as complex as anything from the Byzentine period, and goes back much further.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/10/2007 15:26 Comments ||
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#10
All muslims read the same book, they all have radical elements among them and they all have the same big ideas about that world caliphate crap no matter where you find them. So I wouldn't feel too bad for these goons if I were you.
Rome, 10 Jan. (AKI) - Italian conservative MP Daniela Santanche has received death threats over her opposition to the Muslim veil, Italy's leading paper Corriere della Sera reported in a front-page article on Wednesday. Santanche reportedly received a letter in Arabic and English at her lower house office Tuesday night with pictures of Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh, murdered in 2004 by an Islamist fundamentalist for his movie Submission, which denounced violence on women in Muslim countries, and Dutch MP Hirsi Ali, the film's author, who has also received death threats.
"This is the hour of my liberation...your time has come," the note said. The message also carried a paragraph from the BBC World website on 23 October, describing Santanche as an MP who "has said the veil is not required by the Koran" and has been described as "an infidel by an imam."
Santanche, a leading member of the right-wing National Alliance Party in Italy's opposition, has been under police escort since late October last year, when her criticism of the Muslim veil led to threats which were considered serious by security officials, including those of Muslim cleric Aby Shwaima, the imam of the mosque of Segrate in Milan and one of the founders of Italy's largest Muslim group UCOII, who slammed her as an "infidel" during a television show on Sky Italia on 20 October.
Shwaima's outrage was sparked by two television interviews given by Santanche in which she had said that the Muslim veil "is not a religious symbol and it is not required by the Koran" and that "it is not a symbol of freedom."
#2
Aby Shwaima must have some serious sexual hang-ups. All these unveiled women... Well, I think ol' Aby better move (back?) to Saudi Arabia, then he won't be so aroused, and wanting to kill everyone.
Poor Aby - all those pretty unveiled Italian Women...
Il Duce's granddaughter (also Sophia Loren's Niece), now a member of the Italian parliament (Monarchist Party), was, 10-20 years ago, a model who appeared in Vogue... So, Aby, this is for you :
#4
Daniela Santanche is pretty impressive in her own right. Not to mention hosting one of the most extravagant web sites ever designed for a pol (read: Italian design work - NR for dial-up connections).
Moroccan police have arrested a man suspected of sending death threats to a French philosophy teacher who has been in hiding since September after airing his thoughts about Islam in a newspaper, the daily Le Parisien reported Tuesday. The paper, citing sources close to the investigation, said the suspect, a Moroccan in his 20s, was arrested December 19 in his home country after returning from a trip to Libya. He was trying to go to Iraq, Le Parisien said. It was not immediately possible to verify the newspaper's report.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/10/2007 00:00 ||
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At last, a small bit of sanity.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/10/2007 6:25 Comments ||
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A 22-year-old Muslim convert accused by US authorities of being willing to commit acts of "violent jihad" pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges that he planned an attack at a shopping mall. "I feel well," Derrick Shareef said at his arraignment. He told US District Judge David Coar he had never been hospitalized for psychiatric treatment.
"I swear by Allah man, I'm down for it too, I'm down for the cause, I'm down to live for the cause and die for the cause, man."
Shareef was arrested December 6 after allegedly meeting an undercover agent to trade stereo speakers for a pistol and four grenades. He planned to "commit acts of violent jihad" by blowing up garbage cans at the mall during the Christmas shopping rush, according to a federal complaint. The complaint also said Shareef considered attacking city halls and courthouses. "Any place that's crowded, like a mall is good, anything, any government facility is good," he allegedly told a secret FBI informant when they talked about possible attack targets. The informant secretly tape-recorded his plans. "I swear by Allah man, I'm down for it too, I'm down for the cause, I'm down to live for the cause and die for the cause, man."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/10/2007 00:00 ||
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Three blasts in quick succession injured 10 people at a Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) public meeting in Nowshera on Tuesday, police officials said. Three of the injured are said to be in critical condition. The explosions occurred around 4pm during the public meeting at Nowsheras main chowk, Sirajul Haq, former NWFP senior minister and JI leader, told Daily Times.
JI chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed and other leaders were on the stage at the time. The blasts disrupted the public meeting and terrified the participants, who ran for cover, triggering a minor stampede. There were also reports of scuffles between the protestors and police. Police officials said heavy security was deployed at the public meeting, held to protest at a by-election in Bajaur that is due today. Qazi accused the government and intelligence agencies of planting the bombs.
The JI leader set a three-day deadline for the government to arrest the men behind the blasts, otherwise the party would launch a countrywide agitation against the government.
Online adds: An Interior Ministry statement said the blast took place at a telephone distribution point close to the rally at Nowshera, and that six of the 10 injured have been discharged from hospital. Law and order being a provincial subject, the federal government has asked the NWFP government to investigate the incident, it said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/10/2007 00:00 ||
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RTWT - written pre-speech
President Bush's speech may be scheduled for tonight, but the troop surge in Iraq is already under way.
ABC News has learned that the "surge" Bush is expected to announce in a prime time speech tonight has already begun. Ninety advance troops from the 82nd Airborne Division arrived in Baghdad Wednesday.
An additional battalion of roughly 800 troops from the same division are expected to arrive in Baghdad Thursday. Eighty percent of the sectarian violence occurs within a 30-mile radius of Baghdad, so that is where most of the additional troops will be concentrated.
It is the first small wave of troops in a new White House strategy that is expected to put more than 20,000 additional U.S. troops on the ground in Iraq and likely require new call-ups of the National Guard.
The president is expected to deliver his announcement about the troop increase, a plan that has already met with stiff criticism from many members of Congress, in a speech tonight from the White House.
The arrival of additional forces in Iraq comes a day after leading Democrats said they would back legislation that would block funding to pay for additional military forces.
A spokeswoman for Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., who, Tuesday, urgently called for Congress to vote on and reject the proposed surge, told ABC News that the arrival of additional soldiers "underscores Sen. Kennedy's point that Congress must act immediately."
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-N.M., also responded to the report, calling the troops' arrival "deeply disappointing."
Reid has said that Americans don't want to see additional forces in Iraq, and that he has been considering plans offered by his congressional colleagues.
Split Troops to Secure City
Military commanders say there is more to this plan than boots on the ground it's also how the troops will be used.
The idea is for U.S. and Iraqi forces to become a more integral part of Baghdad neighborhoods such as Dora, which was secured in August 2006 only to see violence spike when U.S. forces left.
Under the new plan, the city of Baghdad will be divided into nine separate sections at the request of Iraqis, who want one army and police battalion devoted to each section.
The additional U.S. troops being sent to Baghdad will be divided among the nine sections of the city, nearly doubling U.S. combat power in the region.
In a switch from the current course of action, these U.S. forces will be housed in the very neighborhoods they patrol. Military planners tell ABC News there will eventually be about 30 mini bases, called joint security stations, scattered around Baghdad, housing both U.S. and Iraqi troops.
The plan also includes an emphasis on performance from the Iraqis. White House officials said they have put tremendous pressure on Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to crack down on Shiite militias, especially radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who is thought to be responsible for most of the sectarian violence.
A senior White House official said that Maliki told the president, "I swear to God, I'm not going to let Sadr run this country."
Maliki must also provide Iraqi troops on schedule and give Sunnis a larger role in the government.
Tonight, the president is expected to say that he's made it clear to the prime minister and Iraq's other leaders that America's commitment is not open-ended, that now is the time to act.
The president is also expected to announce tonight the deployment of a second aircraft carrier perhaps the USS Stennis to the Persian Gulf, as part of a regularly scheduled deployment. Centcom Commander Gen. John Abizaid has requested a second carrier because of Iran and other threats in the region.
The ship will leave next weekend on its regularly scheduled departure date, but will proceed to the Gulf instead of its original deployment to the Pacific.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/10/2007 21:07 ||
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#1
Bush's speech [...] We will use Americas full diplomatic resources to rally support for Iraq from nations throughout the Middle East. Countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and the Gulf States need to understand that an American defeat in Iraq would create a new sanctuary for extremists and a strategic threat to their survival. These nations have a stake in a successful Iraq that is at peace with its neighbors and they must step up their support for Iraqs unity government. We endorse the Iraqi governments call to finalize an International Compact that will bring new economic assistance in exchange for greater economic reform. And on Friday, Secretary Rice will leave for the region to build support for Iraq, and continue the urgent diplomacy required to help bring peace to the Middle East. [...]
Jeebus, Why would you frame our effort or couch the situation that way? iow, set America up for a defeat if it pulls out because the Iraqi fail? [who the hell writes yhr prez's stuff XXXX]
Hey, If Iraq melts down on it's own dime, so be it. You can't save a person or a country that wills a pyrrhic victory or slouches off into oblivion all by itself.
It is not a defeat for America if that happens.
If the Iraqis refuse life and a Nationhood, so be it. Afterall It's their lot one way or the other and their defeat or not...NOT ours.
Heh, if they finally get it and pull it off, Best News in a long time. If the shit heads are thru and thru losers... [ then the State Dept will bring in a few million Iraqis 1st class, taking bets]
At some point we can say hey we tried but the suicidal bastards wanted to die, so tough shit, tough love good bye assholes have a happy SLO death..
#2
I like the part(s) where he put Iran, Syria, and Donks on notice to stop providing support to the insurgency. I give the speech a 8.5 because he did not directly call Kennedy a "pussy".
#3
"At some point we can say hey we tried but the suicidal bastards wanted to die, so tough shit, tough love good bye assholes have a happy SLO death."
except most Iraqis dont want to die. Certainly most Kurds dont, and i think most Shiites dont want to. Theyve gone with Sadr cause we havent managed to protect them from the insurgents, and they dont any better but to give him a shot.
If we fail you can blame the French and the Germans. You can blame the Iranians and the Syrians. You can blame State. You can blame the Dems. But dont blame the ordinary Iraqis, who were oppressed for years, who werent ready for freedom when we came, who got freedom along with a shitload of violence and chaos.
And yeah, if we fail, dont begrudge them their entry visas. Let them come here, and let their presence be a rebuke to everyone who thought we were there only for own interests.
#4
The most important part was getting rid of those silly no go zones.
I noticed Joe, Party of 1 Was the only specific name he mentioned in that bipartisan committee for success crap. I guess we know which side loserman is on.
Also, sounded like some bathists are going to be allowed back in. I don't know what's going on there, but I doubt al-Maliki was happy about it.
Has anyone heard from congressman al-Ellison? Hope them dems tell him to STFU.
Anybody hear Husseins rebutal?
Posted by: Mike N. ||
01/10/2007 23:12 Comments ||
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Joint US-Iraqi forces were deep into their biggest operation ever to subdue the Iraqi capital forty-eight hours before US president George W. Bush formally unveiled his new Iraq plan on Wednesday Jan. 10. The operation started out against terrorist hideouts in and around the Sunni stronghold of Haifa Street. Some 50 insurgents and jihadists were reported killed while fighting back with mortar and rocket-propelled grenade fire. A great number of Arab nationals, many of them Syrians, were detained, according to the Iraqi government.
The second battle in four years for Baghdad, a city of nine million inhabitants, places American armed forces in active combat on three anti-al Qaeda fronts: Iraq, Somalia and Afghanistan.
DEBKAfiles military sources report that in Baghdad, one US brigade is fighting alongside two Iraqi brigades, supported by tanks, warplanes and helicopters. Their mission is to purge and control Haifa Street, which is situated near the Green Zone government-US command center along the southern bank of the Tigris River which cuts through the town center. The street has been a major source of Sunni and al Qaeda terrorist violence since its former inhabitants, mostly Palestinians, were driven out.
The US-Iraqi mission includes taking over two important Tigris bridges, Tamuz and Jumhuriya, and three smaller ones in between.
These bridges, which link the northern and southern Baghdad districts, have been under Sunni-al Qaeda guns, and US and Iraqi military vehicles have drive across at their peril.
Despite heavy losses, the Baathist Sunni insurgents and al Qaeda are putting up heavy resistance; the battle is still at its outset. Large groups of buildings are occupied by fresh, heavily armed fighters and will have to be flushed out one by one. After this is done, the US-Iraq military force must proceed to three further missions in the operation to cleanse, hold and stabilize Baghdad.
DEBKAfiles exclusive military sources describe those missions:
1. Once Haifa Street is purged, large-scale US and Iraqi forces will throw a steel ring around Baghdad in an effort to seal it off from the rest of Iraq, block its roads and entrances to incoming insurgent reinforcements and cut off their routes of escape.
2. Another force will head into the Shiite districts of Sadr City and Azamiyah, strongholds of the radical cleric Moqtada Sadrs Mehdi Army militia, whose loyalists are riding high after taking charge of the Saddam Hussein execution on Dec. 30.
3. A third force will head south to Sunni insurgent bastions in the Baghdad district of Dura.
The Iraqi-US campaign to cleanse the Iraqi capital of militias, death squads, terrorists and insurgents and provide a measure of stability will in the process reduce much of Baghdad to a war zone for the foreseeable future.
A big question mark hangs over Moqtada Sadrs intentions. There is no knowing yet whether he will order his militiamen to forcibly block US-Iraqi forces ingress to the Shiite suburbs or pull them back to avoid a frontal clash. The Americans hope the fiery cleric will recall his disastrous experiences three years ago, when the Medhi Armys first encounter with US forces backed by Kurdish commandos ended in the rogue Shiite force being uprooted from the Shiite shrine cities south of Baghdad and Sadr being sent packing with his army to desperately seek refuge.
Today, the Mehdi Army militia is much bigger than the one which was routed three years ago, and is also better organized and equipped.
Its commander is expected by US commanders to be swayed in his decision on whether to stand up or stand aside by two main factors.
First, Sadr will be influenced by the outcome of the Haifa Street battle and how long it takes. He will want to see if the combined US-Iraqi force achieves control over the Tigris bridges. This would enable them to move troops and reinforcements rapidly and safely back and forth between southern Baghdad and the north, and free up the bulk of their military strength for operations against his militia.
Second, before taking on the combined Iraqi-US strength, the radical Shiite leader will want clear guarantees from Tehran for a steady supply of military assistance should the engagement be protracted. He will tax the officers of the Revolutionary Guards al Quds battalion attached to the Medhi Armys command in Baghdad with this errand. Such guarantees would be bad news for the US-Iraq campaign to stabilize Baghdad because it could lengthen hostilities.
Given these imponderables, DEBKAfiles military sources estimate that the second battle for Baghdad will take at least two or three months, if not longer.
This estimate matches President Bushs most probable timeline for the dispatch of another 20,000 US troops to Baghdad and the need to spread the surge over several months until early April, 2007.
Course, the headline used by Fox is
Official: Bush to Admit Iraq Mistakes snipping
The new approach includes sending 20,000 additional U.S. troops to join the 132,000 already there. Their purpose will be to help "break the cycle" of violence to "allow for the type of breathing space that the Iraqis need to get the type of political and economic reconciliation we all know that's necessary for that country to move forward," Bartlett told FOX News.
"President Bush would not commit one additional troop to Baghdad if it weren't based upon a new strategy with new outcomes to be expected," Bartlett said. "And that requires two basic things ... one, there has to be more Iraqi troops on the ground what we saw last time is that the Iraqis made pledges to bring in Iraqi troops that didn't materialize and, two, and just as importantly, is that the rules of engagement, the places where these troops can go and actually conduct operations, have to be different."
#1
The right kind of change to the ROE? One that includes ass-kicking and name-taking? Please?
Posted by: Jonathan ||
01/10/2007 13:15 Comments ||
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#2
One can only hope so, Jonathon!
Posted by: BA ||
01/10/2007 13:18 Comments ||
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#3
I would suspect that Maliki and company have told us to not interfere with Tater and his tots. However, we have proof that they are planning serious mischief, so we have told Maliki that either we dispatch Sadr or Sadr is going to overthrow Maliki.
Preview of tonight's speech [Mona Charen]
Based on a just-completed White House background briefing, it looks like the Presidents new Iraq strategy to be unveiled tonight looks promising.
The Administration recognizes a lot of what has gone wrong, for example, that is was unrealistic to assume that political progress could be made while the security situation remained so ghastly. The new emphasis is on security first. Five new American brigades will be sent to Baghdad to work with new Iraqi brigades securing the capital block by block. Unclear whether this will be sufficient force. Rules of engagement also to change so that there will be no more areas off limits to American forces.
The President also plans to ask for a larger army a little late and so necessary! It will be interesting to see how the Democrats in Congress handle that one. All that talk of supporting the troops. . .
Possible problem areas: the strategy still depends heavily on Malikis bona fides. They believe his heart is the right place but he has suffered from lack of capabilities. Thats a gamble. There is also a regional component to the new strategy that seems to rely on another push for Israeli/Palestinian cooperation (Rice is traveling to Middle East within the week). That sounds like Baker/Hamilton bunk, but lets see what she says.
#9
The right kind of change to the ROE? One that includes ass-kicking and name-taking?
These guys aint rookies anymore. They know who to shoot and why. Just let them off the leash, including their ammo dumps mosques.
And no more name taking or kicked asses. Just bad guys who show up at a morgue or at fertilizer plants with a hole in their gut would be nice. Don't return foreign fighters except maybe in anonymous zip-lock baggies.
Tap their cell phones and bug the mosques. Lay traps, set bait, play dead/injured and surprise them. Keep them guessing. Pay $200 for every tip that works out because it's cheaper than sending a squad out to look for clues. Set up a system so you could get tips without the tippers risking being exposed. And start using that MOAB or better yet a smaller variant. Let 'em know who's boss.
#15
If I was president my ROE to the General would be very simple and of course I would get a OK from the gen Pop here in the state in my speech goes a little something like this
"General Petreas, Your new ROE are WIN first second major is do best to keep US casualty low but make primary WIN happen" "if you need anything between here and there let me know I will order it and rally support, Victory is our ROE PERIOD Clear".
#16
I make it a point to click on the leftie / otherwise not-my-cup-of-tea ads. (From my home 'puter). Let the losers put a few extra shekels in Fred's jar.
Doesn't exactly make me feel all warm and tingly inside: there's not a word about any new, more aggressive ROE.
Pfeh...
Posted by: Dave D. ||
01/10/2007 17:18 Comments ||
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#20
Let's wait for the action. Even if they are going to a shoot first and let Allan sort them out ROE, they probably won't say it... they'll just do it.
(or not, of course, but I don't see a lot of advantage in blabbing about it beforehand.)
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Streets were quiet in a Baghdad district where U.S. and Iraqi forces killed 50 people in a major battle as President George W. Bush prepared on Wednesday to unveil a plan to send more troops to turn the war around.
Iraqi troops sealed off some areas in Haifa Street, a Sunni Arab stronghold, but fighting from a major U.S. and Iraqi operation to rid the area of "terrorist hideouts" had ended, an official at the Iraqi Army media office told Reuters.
"Whoa! Quite a desolation y'got there!"
"Yes. We call it 'peace.'"
"That's not salt you're sowing?"
The offensive, backed by American fighter jets and helicopters, followed an announcement by Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of a crackdown on militants in the capital. The Pentagon has identified Mehdi Army militias loyal to Sadr, a Maliki ally, as the greatest threat in Iraq. "We need a greater focus on the militias, which kill innocent civilians and defy the government with impunity," Hashemi wrote in an opinion piece in the Washington Post. "A comprehensive plan is needed to save Iraq from disaster. I hope that the administration has considered these critical issues and that the new strategy effectively addresses them."
In a sign of bubbling sectarian tension, residents in battle-scarred Haifa Street said the push was simply a front for Shi'ites pushing Sunnis out of the capital. "Is this Maliki's plan to secure Iraq? The government is handing us over to the Mehdi Army," a woman said.
"They were all innocent civilians," a man said pointing at bodies that had been brought to a local mosque in Haifa Street. "They are the martyrs of Haifa Street."
#1
Hmmm. Reuters has nuanced their spin. Formerly they were just anti American. Now they are also pro Sunni anti Shiite.
I love the way they quote a Sunni legislator to support what they claim is a Pentagon policy.
Personally, I dislike the Sadrists too and agree that the Sadrists have been doing some ethnic cleansing in the Baghdad area. However, since it seems impossible to put down at once both the various Sunni terror gangs and the Shiite terror gangs, I would prefer getting rid of the Sunni ones as a phase I.
I assume you mean that we might find some Shiite double (or triple) agents or Shiite weapon's specialists, etc. helping the Sunni terrorists. Yes, certainly, if that happens, its a bonus.
1/9/2007 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNEWS) -- U.S. Central Command Air Forces air and space power supported coalition actions in Operation Iraqi Freedom with F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-15E Strike Eagle and B-1 Lancer aircraft that dropped precision munitions Jan. 8 on a known insurgent stronghold south of Balad Ruz, Iraq. The strike targeted personnel and equipment of the insurgents and terrorists.
Air strikes were conducted against more than 25 targets including enemy buildings, equipment, vehicles, weapons caches and personnel. The aircraft used in the operation were selected in order to deliver the required effects to the ground commander.
#2
Also read, USA has to save civilian = non-combatant lives for the enemy while enemy per se doesn't have to do so, ergo NO B52/B-1 "BUFFING" OF ENEMY AREAS.
#4
Wow! I wouldn't have thought there were any Lancers in theater. Last I heard you only pulled those babies out when you needed some serious whoop ass opened up on the ground.
Hopefully, this means somebody's taking the gloves off over there - finally!
#5
The Lancers are also working the Afghanistan Theater.
Army Canon Cockers are also using the GPS guided MRLS in Iraq. Their rockets can hit within 6-10 meters of a target from 50 miles away. At Mach 2.5, the recipients never know death is coming.
(KUNA) -- Some 50 Iraqi terrorists were killed and 21 others were arrested in clashes between Iraqi and multinational forces in Heifa Street in Karkh in Baghdad on Tuesday, an Iraqi defence ministry spokesman said. Of the insurgents arrested in the ongoing military operation, there were Arab nationals, Spokesman Mohammed Al-Askari told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA). But, he failed to reveal where those Arab nationals are from.
Earlier on Tuesday, the US army said its troops and Iraqi forces launched a crackdown operation on the area where the clashes took place in order to regain security control over northern Heifa Street. Iraqi security forces said 30 militants were killed and eight others, including Sudanese and Syrians, were arrested in clashes at the same area last Sunday after corpses of people slain by insurgents were found there. KUNA correspondent in Baghdad said Tuesday he saw several US helicopters raiding several sites in Heifa Street, which has been closed by security forces since early morning.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/10/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
But, he failed to did not reveal where those Arab nationals are from.
#4
Would someone be willing to keep some sort of running tally? I'm confused as to how many terrorist we've actually exterminated. Is this the same 50 we got the other day?
Posted by: Captain Lewis ||
01/10/2007 9:03 Comments ||
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It appears to be a quagmire for the terrorists and I recommend they withdraw immediately. Either that or I call for a terrorist surge so lots more of them can be killed.
#6
The Death Watch site will always be conservative in its numbers for just the reason that Capt Lewis raises. I'm relying mainly on US military releases. Unfortunately, what a spokesman says and what goes into print are often two different matters.
#7
I'ma wonderin' if there's some way, Chuck, to calculate "foreigners" from "domestic" jihadis in Iraq? That way, we can see if it's a "real" insurgency. Of course, we all know the answer to that one (proof: these guys were Syrian and Sudanese).
Posted by: BA ||
01/10/2007 11:33 Comments ||
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#8
That opens another can of worms. I don't think we could find an impartial referee to judge who is foreign versus who is domestic. It is in the interest of the Iraqi government and many factions to increase the number of foreign terrorists in country. Many of the upper level folks have dual citizenship, the top AQ guy in eastern Iraq is a Canadian Iraqi.
And, as a practical matter, with all the forged passports, can you safely assume that the dead guy with the Sudanese passport was really Sudanese?
#9
Agreed, Chuck. Thanks for getting down to brass tacks!
Posted by: BA ||
01/10/2007 13:13 Comments ||
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#10
Now, if we could just get a bunch of 'em caught out in the open, so we could use Spooky. Preferably within a mile or so of the border they just crossed.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/10/2007 16:11 Comments ||
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At least three insurgents were killed, an al Qaeda cell leader was captured, and other suspected terrorists were detained through several recent operations in Iraq, military officials reported.
-- Soldiers from the 1st Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, with support from coalition forces, are conducting raids today in Baghdad. Three insurgents have been arrested so far in the ongoing operation.
-- Soldiers from Company A, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, detained seven suspects and discovered a weapons cache yesterday in northern Baghdad.
-- Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army, yesterday discovered five rocket-propelled grenade launchers, seven AK-47 rifles, one sniper rifle, ammunition, and six mortar fuses west of Ghazaliya.
-- Iraqi police provided medical screenings yesterday for children at a southern Ramadi school. Police forces visited classrooms, talked with students and handed out backpacks, Iraqi flags, soccer balls and jerseys, stickers, toys and candy.
-- 5th Iraqi Army troops and Task Force Lightning soldiers killed three insurgents, detained several suspected terrorists and discovered multiple caches Jan. 7 during operations in Tahrir village.
-- 6th Iraqi Army Division forces with coalition advisors captured the cell leader of an illegal armed group Jan. 7 during an operation in the Salaam district of northern Baghdad. The cell leader is responsible for kidnapping and murdering Iraqi civilians and security forces.
-- Following a firefight with terrorists Jan. 7 in Tameem, Iraqi police captured insurgents, confiscated a mortar tube and uncovered a weapons cache.
-- Iraqi army and coalition forces killed several insurgents, detained several suspected terrorists, and discovered several large weapons caches over the past five days during operations near Turki village. The caches contained hundreds of rockets, improvised explosive device-making materials, small-arms munitions and dozens of anti-tank weapons.
-- Iraqi troops working with 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, soldiers discovered an improvised explosive device Jan. 7 while patrolling the fish farm area west of Iskandariyah.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/10/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
The Iraqi Army and Police have been busy lately. Well done, all!
Early today, about 1,000 Iraqi army and coalition forces began a joint operation in Taleel Square in Baghdad, military officials reported. Soldiers from the 1st Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, with support from coalition forces, are conducting targeted raids to capture multiple targets, disrupt insurgent activity and restore Iraqi security forces control of North Haifa Street, said Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl, spokesman for Multinational Division Baghdad. "This area has been subject to insurgent activity, which has repeatedly disrupted Iraqi security force operations in central Baghdad," Bleichwehl said.
Joint forces reported receiving small-arms fire, rocket-propelled-grenade and indirect-fire attacks during the operation. The targeted raids resulted in the arrest of 21 suspects. No coalition or Iraqi forces were killed in action as a result of today's operations, officials said.
Attack helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft were used in support of this operation. No coalition fixed-wing aircraft dropped ordnance in support of this operation. Iraqi security forces remain in the area of today's operations to provide security for the citizens there. Coalition forces will continue operations in support of the Iraqi forces to restore Iraqi security force control and capture members of illegal militias, officials said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/10/2007 00:00 ||
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Fierce fighting broke out in the central Baghdad district of Haifa Street on Tuesday as US and Iraqi forces moved in against insurgents, in an area once viewed as a showcase for the ability to control Baghdad neighbourhoods, by saturating them with military forces. The battles, in which US and Iraqi ground forces were supported by helicopters and fighter jets, reportedly left at least 50 insurgents dead, and came hours before George W. Bush, US president, was set to announce a plan for Iraq that is expected to feature a surge of as many as 20,000 new US troops.
The district, a primarily Sunni Arab area that is virtually adjacent to the heavily fortified Green Zone, was a base for insurgents until a series of operations in early 2005, after which US troops withdrew and Iraqis took the lead in patrolling it.
The scale of Tuesdays fighting suggests that Sunni militants were able to move into the district again in force. It typifies the shifting nature of the insurgent presence in Sunni communities, in which guerrillas are driven out as US force levels go up and return as force levels fall, and leaves open the question of what a short-term increase in the number of US troops in Iraq can accomplish. Increased troop concentrations mean more patrols to disrupt insurgent activity, more observation points to monitor areas where guerrillas might gather, more checkpoints at which fugitives might be caught, and other benefits.
Citizens of mixed areas may also welcome an increased US troop presence to deter the rival armed groups that turn their streets into battlefields.
The Iraqi government has reacted cautiously to the possibility of a surge in US troops, emphasising that they want more control over Iraqi forces, most of which answer to a US or British chain of command. We are looking [out] for the Iraqi interest. If it comes from an increase in troops, whether Iraqi or multinational forces, we welcome that. But there should be more control, more [authority] for Iraqis on the security issue . . . That is what we agreed with the Americans, said Ali al-Dabbagh, government spokesman .
But the reaction of ordinary Iraqis to increased US forces appears to be largely determined by where they live, and to which sect they belong. Sunni civilians regularly say that they want US troops to protect them against Shia militias, while Sunni politicians say they oppose US withdrawal for fear they will be left at the mercy of a largely Shia military. Citizens of mixed areas may also welcome an increased US troop presence to deter the rival armed groups that turn their streets into battlefields.
On the other hand, any deployment into predominantly Shia areas such as Sadr City, where the US military treads lightly and many inhabitants believe militias such as the Mahdi Army to do a better job protecting them than the authorities, would probably spark a backlash.
The surge that Mr Bush is expected to propose reportedly increasing the 132,000-strong contingent in Iraq by as much as 20,000 is unlikely to be on a scale that would allow more long-term saturation of dangerous areas. Still, the short-term suppression of sectarian violence might allow Iraqis and Americans to pursue other goals aimed at undercutting the insurgency: building up state institutions such as the army and police, reaching a political deal between Sunni and Shia communities, and reducing unemployment.
Iraqs army, although hamstrung by administrative problems and poor morale, does appear to be slowly becoming more capable. US officers say that they will hand over full control over Iraqi units and provincial security to Iraqi officials by the end of this year. However, the army is less suited to gathering intelligence key to counterinsurgency than the police, who are corrupt, politicised, and ineffective even in parts of the country such as the southern city of Basra.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/10/2007 00:00 ||
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(KUNA) - Abduction operations and launching fire have resumed earlier today in northern Gaza between Hamas and Fateh movements according to Palestinian security sources. Unidentified militants abducted five Palestinian civilians, two of them are members of the executive force which is part of Palestine interior ministry, sources said.
The detainees were abducted in two separate operations where as many Palestinian groups made efforts between Fateh and Hamas movements to release the detainees. They succeeded in releasing three of them, sources added. Three of the executive force were injured when the militants attacked their vehicle with a mortar round.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/10/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
We swear we'll kill the hostages unless the Zionists release 1000 prisoners.
Posted by: abu Debbi ||
01/10/2007 1:17 Comments ||
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#2
five Palestinian civilians, two of them are members of the executive force
#5
I'm under the impression that a Palestinian civilian is anyone not photographed at the moment of death in a black running suit and balaclava, holding a machine gun and wearing a bomb vest.
#6
You (and me) are way behind times TW. I've just remembered watching a BBC reporter during a prelude to the Clinton's war to make Kosovo Muslem. She explained that Serbs had no right to wack a bunch of KLAs because
ARE YOU SITTING? PUT THE COFFEE AWAY?
the later, while both armed and moving toward Serb town, weren't using their weapons at the time.
IRBID, Jordan (AFP) - Jordanian security forces killed a suspected Al-Qaeda militant and captured another in a shootout in northern Jordan, state-run television reported and security officials said. "An Al-Qaeda terrorist was killed and another was captured in Irbid" round 90 kilometers (56 miles) north of the capital Amman, television said quoting a security official.
The suspect killed was identified as Suleiman al-Anjadi, "holder of a temporary Jordanian passport," television said, implying he was a Palestinian from the Gaza Strip. Unconfirmed reports suggested he was wanted by the authorities.
And now they know where he is. On a slab.
The captured suspect was named as Jordanian national Ramadan Mustafa al-Mansi, television said, after having previously identified him as Awni al-Mansi.
According to the report, "a group of intelligence forces backed by general security forces (police) were able to kill this morning a terrorist militant of the Al-Qaeda group and capture another." The joint force "stormed a house in the Matlaa neighbourhood of Irbid, where they had sought refuge, and the suspects opened fire on the security forces when they tried to arrest them", the report added.
"Youse in the building! Come out witcher mitts in da air!"
"You'll never take us alive, coppers!"
"Hokay!"
Gosh, I love that part of the story. Gets me every time.
You big ol' softy, you. Here, have a Kleenex.
The operation was launched after security forces "received a tip-off that Al-Qaeda was plotting attacks in Jordan," television said. A security official who declined to be identified said the operation began at around 7:30 am and lasted until noon, and that a large number of weapons, ammunition and explosives were seized, including automatic rifles. The official said that seven members of the security forces were wounded in the shootout with the militants.
Meanwhile a new Jordanian news website, Aaramnews.com, quoted the mother of Mansi, the captured suspect, as saying that he had disappeared from home 20 days ago "which prompted them to inform the intelligence services."
"We thought the Zionists had seized him. That's why we called. We never thought it would come to this. If we had, we wouldn't have called!"
Mansi's brother Issam told the website that his brother had been "threatened with death by masked men unless he followed them," adding that the suspect was married, aged 33 and worked in a banana warehouse.
Had a nice life in front of him. Decent job, good woman, kids in the future. Then he got holy, and now he's dead.
An AFP photographer who travelled to Irbid said police cordoned off the Matlaa neighbourhood and kept journalists at bay. The ground floor of the stone house where the suspects had been holed up was damaged, said the photographer, adding that some 20 policemen backed by a civil defence car and a bulldozer were outside the house.
Bulldozer? Learning from the Israelis, are they?
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/10/2007 00:00 ||
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A senior leader of the al-Qaeda-linked Muslim Abu Sayyaf group was killed in a clash with government troops on a southern Philippine island, the military chief said Wednesday.
General Hermogenes Esperon said Binang Sali, chief of the Abu Sayyaf's urban terror unit, was killed late Tuesday in a brief firefight in Patikul town on Jolo island, 1,000 kilometres south of Manila. "As the chief of the Abu Sayyaf urban terror group, Sali was largely responsible for the bombings in Jolo," he said in a statement.
His sister, Mustang Sali, was responsible for most of the traffic accidents...
Esperon said troops recovered the rebel's body and a pistol after the firefight. "His neutralization translates to one bomber less that could carry out an attack on any target during the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit," he added.
Major Eugene Batara, a regional military spokesman, said government troops have been trailing Sali for several weeks until soldiers finally caught up with his group on Tuesday. "Our troops did not suffer any casualty in the brief clash," he said. "Sali's men immediately withdrew under cover of darkness."
Batara said soldiers in the area were not able to determine if there were any more casualties in the rebels' side.
#10
The pic is from a series of Ziegfeld babez'. Ruth was a pretty successful singer, until she abruptly left the business - her old man was what they used to call a "cad."
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.
The suspected al-Qaeda militant who planned the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in east Africa was killed in an American airstrike in Somalia, an official said Wednesday. "I have received a report from the American side chronicling the targets and list of damage," Abdirizak Hassan, the Somali president's chief of staff, told The Associated Press. "One of the items they were claiming was that 
More than 50 people were killed by American air strikes in Somalia on Sunday, most of them Islamist leaders fleeing in armed pick-up trucks across a remote stretch of the Kenya-Somalia border, officials of the transitional Somali government said today. The air strikes began Sunday night, when an American AC-130 gunship operating from a base in Djibouti pounded an area where American officials said three terrorist leaders were hiding. The three men are suspected of being ringleaders in the 1998 bombing attacks on American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. It was not clear whether any of the intended targets had been killed.
An al-Qaeda member suspected in the 1998 bombing of United States embassies in Kenya and Tanzania may have been killed in a weekend air strike in Somalia, an official said on Tuesday. The US intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it was not clear which of three al-Qaeda members wanted in African attacks died in the strike, the first overt US military intervention in Somalia since a disastrous peacekeeping mission that ended in 1994. The official said Sunday's strike was targeted against al-Qaeda's leadership. "We don't know which one is the one at the moment," the official said. "I don't think we got all three. Of the senior guys, people are looking at one."
(SomaliNet) One person has been killed and two others were wounded in fresh clashes in Somalia capital Mogadishu on later Tuesday between allied forces of Somalia and Ethiopia and armed militias. Witnesses told Somalinet tonight that they heard two explosions follwed by gunfire around KM4 junction in south of the capital where unidentified militiamen attacked a compound stationed by the Ethiopian and Somalia interim government troops near Sahafi Hotel. The dead and the wounded were reportedly soldiers but it is not yet known whether they are Somalia government or Ethiopian soldiers. Reports also say that a young girl was injured in the explosion. Heavy exchange of automatic gunfire could be heard in the area. 
US warplanes killed between 22 and 27 people in a remote area of southern Somalia during a strike on Tuesday, an elder from a neighbouring town said. The elder, who declined to be named, spoke to Reuters by telephone from the Kenya-Somalia border crossing at Liboi. Earlier, a Somali government source said a US attack plane killed many people with barrages of gunfire in a remote Somali village occupied by Islamists thought to be hiding at least one Al Qaeda suspect. 
(KUNA) -- Japan on Tuesday upgraded the Defense Agency to a full-fledged ministry for the first time since World War II, when the US stripped Japan of its right to a military. The move is part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's efforts to raise the military's profile, reflecting the military's growing role at home and abroad.
China revealed the depth of its fear of Islamic-linked violence yesterday when police disclosed that they had killed 18 terrorists and captured another 17 after a fierce battle at a secret training camp in a remote northwestern region. It was the first time that China had announced the discovery of such a camp in its territory. Officials said that they had uncovered links between the activists and international terrorist groups, hinting at connections to al-Qaeda. 
Rome, 10 Jan. (AKI) - Italian conservative MP Daniela Santanche has received death threats over her opposition to the Muslim veil, Italy's leading paper Corriere della Sera reported in a front-page article on Wednesday. Santanche reportedly received a letter in Arabic and English at her lower house office Tuesday night with pictures of Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh, murdered in 2004 by an Islamist fundamentalist for his movie Submission, which denounced violence on women in Muslim countries, and Dutch MP Hirsi Ali, the film's author, who has also received death threats.
A 22-year-old Muslim convert accused by US authorities of being willing to commit acts of "violent jihad" pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges that he planned an attack at a shopping mall. "I feel well," Derrick Shareef said at his arraignment. He told US District Judge David Coar he had never been hospitalized for psychiatric treatment. 
Three blasts in quick succession injured 10 people at a Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) public meeting in Nowshera on Tuesday, police officials said. Three of the injured are said to be in critical condition. The explosions occurred around 4pm during the public meeting at Nowsheras main chowk, Sirajul Haq, former NWFP senior minister and JI leader, told Daily Times. 
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Streets were quiet in a Baghdad district where U.S. and Iraqi forces killed 50 people in a major battle as President George W. Bush prepared on Wednesday to unveil a plan to send more troops to turn the war around.
"We need a greater focus on the militias, which kill innocent civilians and defy the government with impunity," Hashemi wrote in an opinion piece in the Washington Post. "A comprehensive plan is needed to save Iraq from disaster. I hope that the administration has considered these critical issues and that the new strategy effectively addresses them."
1/9/2007 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNEWS) -- U.S. Central Command Air Forces air and space power supported coalition actions in Operation Iraqi Freedom with F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-15E Strike Eagle and B-1 Lancer aircraft that dropped precision munitions Jan. 8 on a known insurgent stronghold south of Balad Ruz, Iraq. The strike targeted personnel and equipment of the insurgents and terrorists. 
(KUNA) -- Some 50 Iraqi terrorists were killed and 21 others were arrested in clashes between Iraqi and multinational forces in Heifa Street in Karkh in Baghdad on Tuesday, an Iraqi defence ministry spokesman said. Of the insurgents arrested in the ongoing military operation, there were Arab nationals, Spokesman Mohammed Al-Askari told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA). But, he failed to reveal where those Arab nationals are from.
Early today, about 1,000 Iraqi army and coalition forces began a joint operation in Taleel Square in Baghdad, military officials reported. Soldiers from the 1st Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, with support from coalition forces, are conducting targeted raids to capture multiple targets, disrupt insurgent activity and restore Iraqi security forces control of North Haifa Street, said Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl, spokesman for Multinational Division Baghdad. "This area has been subject to insurgent activity, which has repeatedly disrupted Iraqi security force operations in central Baghdad," Bleichwehl said. 
Fierce fighting broke out in the central Baghdad district of Haifa Street on Tuesday as US and Iraqi forces moved in against insurgents, in an area once viewed as a showcase for the ability to control Baghdad neighbourhoods, by saturating them with military forces. The battles, in which US and Iraqi ground forces were supported by helicopters and fighter jets, reportedly left at least 50 insurgents dead, and came hours before George W. Bush, US president, was set to announce a plan for Iraq that is expected to feature a surge of as many as 20,000 new US troops. 
IRBID, Jordan (AFP) - Jordanian security forces killed a suspected Al-Qaeda militant and captured another in a shootout in northern Jordan, state-run television reported and security officials said. "An Al-Qaeda terrorist was killed and another was captured in Irbid" round 90 kilometers (56 miles) north of the capital Amman, television said quoting a security official.
The operation was launched after security forces "received a tip-off that Al-Qaeda was plotting attacks in Jordan," television said. A security official who declined to be identified said the operation began at around 7:30 am and lasted until noon, and that a large number of weapons, ammunition and explosives were seized, including automatic rifles. The official said that seven members of the security forces were wounded in the shootout with the militants.
A senior leader of the al-Qaeda-linked Muslim 
