April 27, 2005
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There's nothing a redneck loves more than a good bloody flick, right? So CAIR gives its seal of approval to the new movie Kingdom of Heaven. I was so looking forward to it too! Let me guess: when CAIR says the flick gives a 'balanced' view of the Crusades they really mean 'Christians look bad'. Count me out now.
Lamia Abed Khadouri al-Sagri, a member of Iraq's National Assembly,
was murdered by terrorists inside her house. These guys are just like the Klan on meth.
The deadline is up for the 3 Romanian and 1 American hostage being held in Iraq. Romania has asked that their captors extend the deadline. No jokes, just pray.
Like rich-white-trash diva Paris Hilton's Blackberry, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's computer got hacked. What was on it? Porn, of course.
The Ebb and Flow Institute has a great biography of Geert Wilders, a Dutch politician who is being held in prison to guard him from members of the Religion of Peace who peacefully have threatened to peacefully cut his head off because he had the nads to speak out against them.
Highest religious authority in Saudi Arabia gets caught on tape urging young Muslims to go fight in Iraq, use General Lee to cross border.
High-school dropout? Learn a new skill from home: USDOJ publishes al Qaeda training manual. (Via Evil Glenn)
Islamic scholar Ali al-Timimi convicted of inciting al Qaeda support, Muslims seethe.
Pakistan will not give up nukes. Meanwhile, the Religion of Peace beats the crap out of an uppity young Pakistani Christian.
Man convicted in missile sting operation. I'm sure it was a setup.
"I punched Saddam in the mouth!"--Man, I envy that dude!
Groups in Turkey move to ban Schwarzenegger films because of his support for recognition of Armenian genocide. Gay porn still popular in Turkish mountains.
The Muslim school agenda vs. the Creationist school agenda. Food for thought.
Andrew Sullivan in full Freak-Out mode. And speaking of Andrew Sullivan: Gay rebels married in Philippines first openly gay-terrorist wedding ceremony.
MoveOn.org has some new TV spots. Let me give you a hint: there are no chicks in bikinis.
When 'people of the soil' protest Bush.
More oil refineries? Hell yes!
The Abe Fortas fillibuster in perspective.
When white-trash marries a promulent lawyer. Elizabeth Edwards' tinfoil brigades.
Jeff Quinton must not get a lot of trolls these days. Hey Jeff, come on over whenever you feel the need to go troll hunting!
Thomas Sowell on Black Rednecks.
And remember, for all your teacher-student sex-scandal updates check out Interested Participant!
Check out these other WTW participants:
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Does the ISG report really claim that there were no transfers of WMD from Iraq to Syria? No, it does not. What it does claim is that:
ISG judged that it was unlikely that an official transfer of WMD material from Iraq to Syria took place.As we reported here last year, if WMD were moved they might have been moved to the Al Safir facility. So, is the ISG really suggesting they have inspected that chemical weapons plant? No. In fact, in an addendum to the report:
ISG was unable to complete its investigation and is unable to rule out the possibility that WMD was evacuated to Syria before the warWe've known for a long time that there is a strong connection between insurgents in Iraq and Syria. For instance, after the battle of Fallujah, a GPS unit was discovered in a terrorist safe-house with Syrian coordinates on it. Ansar al-Sunnah terrorists have confessed to recieving training from Syrian intelligence officers. Suspects in the Najaf bombing also confessed to having links to Syria. Photos have been found of insurgents with senior Syrian military officials. And Syrian fighters are routinely captured or killed in Iraq. Do a quick search for 'Syria' on my site and you'll see much, much more.
So what the ISG report tells us is simply, "we don't know". I am not claiming that Syria has Iraq's WMD nor am I claiming the Iraq actually had substantial amounts of WMD before the invasion. Just that 'we don't know', that is all.
But whether or not WMD were moved out of Iraq and into Syria is really the least of our worries. Why? Because Syria produces WMD and because at least some elements of the Syrian military and Baathist establishment are directly tied to the Iraqi insurgency.
Since the 1970s Syria has pursued what is now one of the most advanced Arab state chemical weapons (CW) capabilities. It has a stockpile of the nerve agent sarin that can be delivered by aircraft or ballistic missiles, and has engaged in the research and development of more toxic and persistent nerve agents such as VX....In addition, Syria is believed to be developing biological weapons.Syria has a combined total of several hundred Scud and SS-21 SRBMs, and is believed to have chemical warheads available for a portion of its Scud missile force. Syria has also developed a longer-range missile -- the Scud D -- with assistance from North Korea. SyriaÂ’s missiles are mobile and can reach much of Israel from positions near their peacetime garrisons and portions of Iraq, Jordan, and Turkey from launch sites well within the country. Damascus is pursuing both solid- and liquid-propellant missile programs and relies extensively on foreign assistance in these endeavors. North Korean and Iranian entities have been most prominent in aiding SyriaÂ’s recent ballistic missile development. Syrian regional concerns may lead Damascus to seek a longer range ballistic missile capability such as North KoreaÂ’s No Dong MRBM....
So while the jury is still out on the Iraqi WMD question, let us not forget that the Syrian Baathists are in no way less dangerous. The point of the Iraqi WMD investigatioin is largely political: was the Iraq War justified? But that question is moot. The more pressing point is the extent to which present and future dangers are prepared for and met.
Captain Ed has more as does Jack Lewis.
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April 26, 2005
UPDATE 9/07: ROY HALLUMS RESCUED IN IRAQ!!!! Details here. Or try the Main Page.
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American Roy Hallums was abducted from his temporary Baghdad home on November 1st, 2004. He was in Iraq as a civilian contractor working on rebuilding efforts. His mission had everything to do with helping the Iraqi people rebuild their country after decades of war, mismanagement, and terror under the Saddam Hussein regime.
I had the opportunity to have several e-mail conversations with both Susan Hallums and Carrie Hallums Cooper recently. They have graciously agreed to letting us interview them. What follows is part 3 in a series of interviews with the family of Roy Hallums. In part 1 and part 2 we interviewd Susan Hallums, Roy Hallums' ex-wife.
In this segment we interview Roy's daugther, Carrie Hallums Cooper, asking her the same questions we asked her mother. Carrie runs the website Free Roy. Carrie is 29 and makes her home in California where she also works. Carrie has an MFT (Masters of Family Therapy) and is currently pursuing a Ph. D. in Clinical Psychology. Carrie also is engaged in fundraising to help defray costs associated with freeing her father.
You can donate to the Free Roy Foundation by clicking on the Pay Pal button below.
Or you can send a check or money order to
Free Roy Foundation
c/o Carrie Cooper
PO Box 947
Westminster, Ca. 92684
More information is on the Free Roy website. Roy and other heroes will be celebrated at the Inland Empire Memorial Day Heroes Festival in Riverside, CA on May 14th.
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Rusty Shackleford: Can you tell our readers a little something about the kind of man Roy is?
Carrie Hallums Cooper: My Dad is the most giving person I have ever met. He did whatever he could to help his family and friends. Some other words that describe him are: thoughtful, kind, intelligent, quiet, athletic, funny, and fun. No one, besides my Mom, has ever treated me as well as my Dad has. My Dad, though far away, was always there for me. He called me all the time and sent me e-mails every day or so.
My Dad has many interests, both socially and intellectually. My Dad likes playing chess with me, going to art museums, walking on the beach or just being in nature (he likes being outdoors), riding his bike, going out to eat, reading, and he likes to listen to classic rock music (which my Mom always hated). He kept up to date on what was cool and hip, at least as much as he could being overseas.
My DadÂ’s dream for when he returned home from the middle east was to have a house by a lake, to own a boat, and to go fishing on the lake. He had recently purchased a home in Memphis near a lake and was excited to buy a small boat so that he could go fishing. I hope that he gets to do that some day.
My Dad was very wise and he always gave me good advice. He encouraged me to continue to do well in school, and for that matter he supported and encouraged me in everything I did. I carry every piece of advice, and all of his love and support, as well as, every memory that we made with me everywhere I go. I treasure it because it may be all that I have left of my father. more...
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UPDATE: Kerry the Vampire Slayer image. (Thanks Oyster!)
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Update: I'm not kidding!
Update II: Last chance Reynolds!!
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The whole article is fascinating and gives a brief history of Baathism in Syria and how that country, like Hussein's Baathist Iraq, modelled their political system after the Soviet Union. Here are some key points about the expected move to multi-party elections and the parties that might be allowed to compete.
The article ends by claiming the move to multi-party elections are a response to a the 'Assistance to Support a Transition to Democracy in Syria Bill' which passed on March 8th. That Bill authorizes the President "to provide assistance and other support for individuals and independent non-governmental organizations to support transition to a freely elected, internationally recognized democratic government in Syria." The Baathists apparently believe that their decades of monopoly power and propaganda will be enough to keep them in power. We shall see.
A new Ba'ath Party law is to be created in Syria, breaking the socialist parties' monopoly over politics in that country, in place (with the exception of the years 1961-63) since 1958. The move is a calculated gamble on the part of the government, and will also challenge a US bill against Syria calling for "Assistance to Support a Transition to Democracy in Syria"....Hat tip to Simon's World. Coming Anarchy has related thoughts and a bigger picture view. 1972 notes that Assad has been claiming that things are going to change in Syria since March. I would point out the coincidence that this was when the U.S. law was passed encouraging democracy in Syria.For various reasons, that did not happen in 2001, but today it is almost certain in Damascus that a new party law will be created, and announced at the upcoming Ba'ath Party Conference in June, breaking the socialist parties' monopoly over politics in Syria. President Bashar Assad was very clear about that when speaking to Spanish journalists in Syria in March. He said, "The coming period will be one of freedom for political parties" in Syria....
Under the new party law expected in June, parties not affiliated with the NPF will be permitted to operate as long as they are not Islamic, or encourage sub-national loyalties (eg Kurdish, Circassian, Armenian, etc). The first party expected to receive a license is the SSNP. It is also the party expected to obtain the widest popularity in Syria.
Founded in Beirut in 1932, originally as a secret society of five intellectuals, by the revolutionary philosopher Antune Saada, it grew into an official party and became immensely popular in Syria from the 1940s onward. A radical and secular party, it originally flourished among students at the American University of Beirut and spread to other intellectual centers in Lebanon and Syria, calling for the unification of Greater Syria (Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq and Jordan), and challenging the ideas of modern Arab nationalism that became popular in the 1950s under Nasser of Egypt. Meaning, the SSNP was uninterested in North Africa (Egypt included) or the Arab Gulf region....
Other parties expected to emerge are the Coalition for Union and Democracy, a Nasserite organization, and the Arab Socialist Union of Jamal al-Atasi, a party that is Arab nationalist in outlook, pro-Nasser, relatively popular in Syria, which deviated from NPF ranks for ideological reasons in the 1970s.
If the arrested Damascus parliamentarian Riyad Sayf is released from jail (his prison term ends in 2007), he will strive to re-establish his Movement for Social Peace. An unofficial party, it was created and abrogated in 2000, lobbying for the creation of a multi-party system, a release of political prisoners, and an end to socialism in Syria. If no legal obstacle prevents him from getting a license (he might be stripped from his civil rights), then Sayf might succeed and his party would win during election time, because he is popular in Damascus.
A moderate Islamic party might be permitted to operate under the leadership of Dr Mohammad Habash, the regime-friendly Islamist deputy in the Syrian parliament, but no license will be given to the Muslim Brotherhood, which tried and failed to topple the Assad regime in 1982, inflicting a lot of blood in Syria....
Probably, in a healthy political environment, independents will strive to re-establish the National Party of Damascus, loyal in the 1950s to Syria's late president Shukri al-Quwatli, who died in 1967, and others will work for the People's Party of Aleppo, whose president and co-founder Nazim al-Qudsi died in 1998. Both parties were non-ideological, unlike the Ba'ath and communists, but rather mirrored the socio-political interests of their respective communities, and promised to represent them adequately in parliament during the 1940s and 1950s....
In 2000, Paris-based Syrian businessman Umran Adham tried to re-establish Quwatli's National Party, but the project was delayed "because the state was unenthusiastic". A legal team was put in charge of paperwork, and the National Party's 1946 constitution was updated to apply to modern Syria. Adham had explained that the party should be ready by late 2001 and able to take part in the parliamentary elections of 2002. He then spoke to the Beirut-based Daily Star and said the project had been delayed "for another three to four years". He added that he had "sent out signals" showing that the project was ready and awaiting approval, and received "an extremely passive response" from senior state officials, showing that no Ba'athist leaders wanted to resurrect the National Party in 2001.
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CNN:
A U.S. military investigation has cleared American troops of any wrongdoing in the shooting death last month of an Italian security agent in Baghdad, according to a senior Pentagon official.Check out Sgrena's reaction. And yes, she should be charged with purgery. Times Online:The agent's death strained relations between the United States and Italy, two stalwart allies in the Iraq war.
The U.S. soldiers involved will face no disciplinary actions, the Pentagon official said Monday....
The investigators' report also said there appears to have been no attempted coordination on the part of the Italians to clear the U.S. checkpoint, the official said....
Italian media reported that while Italian officials participated in the U.S. investigation, it is unclear whether they would endorse the report. News reports in Italy also said officials there do not agree with the findings.
If the Italians don't endorse the report, its credibility would likely be hurt in Italy.
Italian magistrates are conducting their own unilateral investigation into the shootings and are being given access to the car that carried Calipari and Sgrena in hopes of determining how the soldiers fired on it.
An Italian journalist rescued from hostage-takers in Iraq last month has reacted angrily to a US military investigation absolving American soldiers of responsibility for killing the man who rescued her...Meanwhile the Italian political left is using the report to their advantage. Of course the report is unacceptable to them. Nothing short of Bush=Hitler would satisfy the left-wing nutjobs of Europe. Reuters:In a front page editorial in her left-wing daily Il Manifesto, Sgrena called on Silvio Berlusconi, the Prime Minister, to respond what she called a "slap in the face for the Italian Government".
Sgrena, a veteran war correspondent who was held hostage for a month in Iraq, wrote: "After the apologies comes the slap in the face."
She said that the Americans had not listened to either her testimony or that of another Italian agent, even though, she said, both had given the same evidence without discussing what had happened.
"Obviously, our two testimonies given to the American commission were useless. Or will I be charged with perjury?" questioned the journalist.
"The greatest disappointment would be if our authorities were to accept this insult without reacting."...
The Americans have offered to release the report, but Italy is blocking its publication while the Government works out its response....
It comes a very bad time for Signor Berlusconi, just when he's reforming his Government after disastrous losses in regional election," Owen said.
"It will also increase pressure on him to withdraw Italian troops as soon as possible."
Italian opposition parties branded a report that cleared U.S. soldiers of blame for the killing of an Italian agent in Iraq an insult on Tuesday and urged the government to press for a fuller investigation....Giuseppe Fioroni, a leader of the opposition centre-left Margherita party, urged the government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to demand full cooperation from the U.S. authorities to determine who was responsible for Calipari's killing.
"A one-sided conclusion absolving anyone of blame that the Italian side does not accept is an insult to the truth and to the memory of Nicola Calipari apart from being a serious act of arrogance towards Italy," Fioroni said in a statement.
Gigi Malabarba, of the Communist Refoundation Party, alleged in a speech in the Italian Senate that the U.S. ambassador in Iraq at the time, John Negroponte, wanted Calipari killed for negotiating with hostage-takers. He admitted he had no proof.
Greens member of parliament Laura Cima called the findings "a big slap in the face for the Italian government" and said it should press for the truth "if it can find any pride at all".
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April 25, 2005
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Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.--{U.S. Constution, Article. III, Sec. 3}A Brown University student is speaking out about the war in Iraq. Guess which side she supports? Liz Sperber in Brown University's The College Hill Independent:
UNCONDITIONALLY-that's the way I support the Iraqi Resistance these days. While I do not offer political support to all groups involved in the anti-imperial struggle in Iraq, I work to support its collective purpose: forcing the troops out now. Forcing because the United States won't leave any other way.Nice. Even though we say we want to leave, and last time I checked by 'we' I mean EVERY POLITICIAN IN THE US, somehow this self-described student of African-Studies knows what our real motivations are.
Check out the three publications she lumps together. At least she gets that part right:
In this vein, it is clear that those reports in the Anglo-American media that cite a decline in insurgent attacks are relying on coalition force press releases. These reports have been directly contradicted by recent articles in Al Jazeera, the Washington Post, and even the New York Times ...BINGO!!
The first step towards adopting such a plan of action is understanding why supporting Iraqi resistance groups is the imperative flipside of our support for US troops-even if we don't know, understand, or agree with the politics of the resistance groups themselves.Um, excuse me Liz, but there is a word for someone who adheres to the enemies of the United States or gives them aid and comfort: traitor.
Ok, I know I've been pretty fast and loose with that term in the past. But what else do you call an American citizen who wants our side to lose?
We are in a shooting war, dearest. Even though the reason you say you want to support them is so you don't have to go to war, so what? And if my grandfather had wished Hitler a speedy victory before he got drafted?
"You know," says my grandfather, "I may have a few political qualms with Hitler, but I must say that these days I pretty much support him UNCODITIONALLY. I mean, if that's what it takes to drive the Yankee Imperialists out of Europe, so be it."
Oh, and look to the right to see the cartoon that was published with the editorial. Click it for the full size version. Now click here for a comparison. Ms. Sperber's freedom fighters are none other than Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's al Qaeda in Iraq. That is a cartoon representation of the murderous group with Eugene Armstrong shortly before they cut off his head.
Ms. Sperber ought to take a gander at this post which shows her allies at work on Mr. Armstrong. Just keep scrolling down Ms. Sperber and then compare that to Abu Ghraib.
It just gets worse from here. This poor girl obviously has been paying attention in class, because she spouts off typical Chomskyian drivel. I'll skip to the treasonous portions:
Thus, while the ostensible savagery of targeting of civilians does help the US government label the freedom fighters of the present as terrorists, the simultaneous media censorship omnipresent throughout the war in Iraq blinds us to the equally if not more savage violence perpetrated by our state against the Iraqi civilians.She then goes on to repeat the lies of Giuliana Sgrena [see the lies she propogates here for instance] and the blood libel she, other leftists, and the terrorist supporting Arab press (e.g, al Jazeera, al Arabiya) have repeated.
In Fallujah, for instance, where reporters were prohibited for several months beginning in November 2004,Not true, as we reported here the AP had a photographer embedded with the terrorists in Fallujah. His name is Bilal Huessein.
65 percent of buildings were leveled to the ground and anywhere between 600 to 3,000 civilians were murdered, mostly by carpet-bombing, the increasingly favored technique employed in Iraq as manpower begins to dwindle. All of these conditions must be recognized when we consider our relation to the Iraqi resistance.For a more thorough examination of left-wing lies about the Fallujah campaign, see this post.
She then goes on about Iraqi self-determination, nowhere indicating that all polls from Iraq indicate that the Iraqis themselves don't want the U.S. to pull out immediately. Pull out, yes, but not now. All polls in the U.S. also agree that we should leave--but not yet.
If you couple the lies that she believes coming out of the left-wing media, than her conclusions are inescapable. If the U.S. really is as bad as al Jazeera reports it to be, then isn't it one's moral obligation to fight the evil Zionist crusador forces?
Rather, if we support the Iraqis right to self-determination, it must be because we identify a common, equal humanity between us; because we recognize that US occupation of Iraqi land and the US-sanctioned torture, rape, murder, and theft are unjust. That, in addition to the plight of our soldiers, which many of them argue is worsening every day, is why we must demand troops out now. For no other reason. Accordingly, since the Iraqi resistance is the force working to regain Iraqi sovereignty, we support them-unconditionally.That, Ms. Sperber, is treason.
The rest is just nonsense. Ms. Sperber would have us believe that Abu Ghraib was the worst of crimes while every day Geneva Convention violations by 'the resistance' (such as using children as combatents, intentionally murdering non-combatents, using the civilian population as human shields, not wearing uniforms, murdering colloborators, political assasinations, etc) are just minor incidents that are part and parcel to war.
Let me repeat these words: Ms. Sperber, you are a traitor.
Hat tip to John Little who innocently points out that you can contact Ms. Traitor at utnow@brown.edu">outnow@brown.edu.
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Anyway, there are a few interesting things out there that are Star Wars related. Disclaimer: Extreme geek alert! more...
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Bill from INDC Journal & Jeff from Protein Wisdom, asked me to come into a chat with both of them.Since I guess I'm partially responsible for this online meeting, let me just be the first to say ewwwwwwwwwwwww!!!
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U.S. patrol in Iraq spots car with anti-US slogans, finds grenades and a bloody machete in trunk, nabs terrorists. I bet it's guys like these that Zarqawi volunteers for suicide missions. Oh, and happy ANZAC Day to our Aussia and NZ friends!
A number of people have e-mailed me about the Kill Jews for Peace Website. My initial reaction was that it had to be a spoof. Beth thinks otherwise. If it's not, then why the hell does Cao get a death fatwa issued but not me!!
Why Lebanon Matters. I disagree that Lebanon is the key to resolving the Clash of Civilizations, but it is key in spreading democracy and further isolating Syria. Speaking of, Syria says that most of their troops are pulling out today. (Via Chad)
In Indonesia they give you 4.5 days in jail for every person you murder in the name of Jihad. On the other hand, if you're caught with some marijuana, you could just find yourself in jail for the rest of your life. Especially if you're a Westerner.
Saudis arrest 40 Christians for praying. Good thing they weren't trying to convert a Muslim, that could get your head chopped off!
Iran developing new bomb technologies.
Iraqis generally positive about prospects for future (via Ace).
Palestinians now starting blood-libel campaign against the U.S., says we grind the bones of Palestinian children and devour their eyes. Baseball, hot-dogs, apple-pie, and Pali-eyes!
AP stringer killed in Iraq, but it looks like the bad guys didi it this time (via LGF).
Is actor James Woods a CIA agent?
Domestic Dhimmis and Links of Interest
Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal says 9/11 was our fault. She'll fit right in in Hollywood. (via Say Anything)
Good riddance! Please don't come back.
Donald Rumsfeld does Dolly Parton. I'm serious.
In support of John Bolton. I said John, not Michael.
Trey Jackson has audio of DNC Chair Howard Dean impersonating Rush Limbaugh snorting cocaine. Notice the media outrcry over this one yet?
Report: Conservative Southern Democrats Disappearing
Sexual predators could be in your town. Scary thought.
When hunger strikes go terribly wrong!
Phin thinks we should invade the Vatican now! It's funny because it's true.
Markos "Screw Them" Zúniga is chosen as Jackass of the Week over at Decision '08. Persnonaly I'd like to nominate him for Jackass of the Century.
The guys get shirts! Or, the single fashion review ever written that doesn't sound gay.
Leopold Stotch proves he has poor taste by declaring ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 'the most inspiring show on television today'. Dumbass!
Apocolypse Now--The Llama Butchers ask the important questions: Whatever happened to Kelly McGillis? Meanwhile, Kevin Aylward asks the even more important questions: Whatever happened to Cory Haim?
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Iraqi police have detained a Reuters Television cameraman for more than 24 hours in the northern city of Mosul, with no details released of any charges, relatives and colleagues said on Sunday.UPDATE: And another one! An AP photographer was shot while another AP stringer was detained in the incident. However, the second photographer Mohammed Ibrahim was later released.The father of cameraman Nabil Hussein, 30, has also been detained since he tried to visit his son a few hours after the arrest. Relatives said about 20 policemen raided the home of Nabil Hussein on Saturday morning and then beat him, his driver and a fellow journalist before detaining them.The driver and the second journalist were released later on Saturday.
Driver Ismail Ibrahim and Hussein's brother, Namir, who said he also witnessed the arrests, said police did not state a reason for their actions and no charges were mentioned.
"They put bags on our heads and beat us," Ibrahim said, adding the men had been taken to Mosul's police headquarters.
Police and Interior Ministry officials in the city said they knew nothing of the detentions: "When I asked about my brother they said they did not know about it," Namir Hussein said.
Interior Ministry officials in Baghdad said they would inquire about the case....
Hussein was arrested before an Associated Press cameraman was killed and an AP photographer wounded in a shooting incident in Mosul on Saturday. The exact circumstances were unclear but Saleh Ibrahim died after going to cover an explosion.
Hussein, who is also a producer, has worked as a stringer for the London-based international news agency since 2003.
Mohammed Ibrahim, a photographer working for The Associated Press, was released Sunday by the U.S. military, which had held him after a shooting in which a television cameraman working for The AP was killed.Ibrahim was wounded when gunfire broke out after an explosion Saturday in the northern city of Mosul. Saleh Ibrahim, a television cameraman working for The Associated Press, was killed in the same incident. The two men were brothers-in-law.
Mohammed Ibrahim said U.S. forces escorted him and his brother, Wamidh, who contributes to European Pressphoto Agency, from the hospital hours after the shooting and released them after nearly 24 hours in detention.
A U.S. military official, who would not allow the use of his name, said the two men had been "caught up in the sweep after the situation."
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Thanks to the, literally, scores of people who e-mailed me about the story yesterday. Really, too many people to give the hat tip to right now. You can see images and a link to the video of the helicopter downing here.
Here is the original report of 6 men being caught followed by news that four more were nabbed. Boston Globe:
The suspects in the helicopter downing were caught after US soldiers from Task Force Baghdad were tipped off by an Iraqi civilian who told the Americans that he knew where insurgents had stashed a blue Kia pickup truck that was used in the attack and led them to the site, the military said in a statement.ABC News:Soldiers searched two nearby houses shortly after midnight yesterday, arresting three men and seizing bomb-making material in the first home. Three suspects were grabbed from the second residence, and all were being questioned, the military said.
The U.S. military said Sunday it has arrested four more suspects in Thursday's downing of a civilian helicopter north of Baghdad, bringing the number apprehended so far to 10. All 11 helicopter passengers and crew were killed, including one shot by insurgents....The American military said Sunday it detained the additional suspects in the downing of the helicopter during the past 24 hours. Iraqi civilians helped U.S. forces locate the first six suspects captured Saturday, the military said.
The Russian-made Mi-8 helicopter was shot down about 12 miles north of Baghdad. The dead included six American bodyguards for U.S. diplomats, three Bulgarian crew members and two security guards from Fiji, officials said.
Two militant groups claimed responsibility for the attack and released video to back their claims. In one video, insurgents are seen capturing and shooting to death the lone survivor, identified as a Bulgarian pilot.
The aircraft was owned by Heli Air of Bulgaria and chartered by Toronto-based SkyLink Aviation Inc.
The six Americans were employed by Blackwater Security Consulting a subsidiary of security contractor Blackwater USA of Moyock, N.C., which had four employees slain and mutilated by insurgents in Fallujah a year ago.
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Here are a few important points from The Institute for the Secularization of Islamic Society. Much of this report relies heavily on Vahakn Dadrian's work on the subject.*
During the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid, the Ottoman Turks massacred over 200,000 Armenians between 1894-96. This was followed, under the Young Turk regime, by the Adana massacres of 25,000 Armenians in 1909, and the first formal genocide of the 20th century, when in 1915 alone, an additional 600,000 to 800,000 Armenians were slaughtered.21 The massacres of the 1890s had an "organic" connection to the Adana massacres of 1909, and more importantly, the events of 1915. As Vahakn Dadrian argues, they facilitated the genocidal acts of 1915 by providing the Young Turks with "a predictable impunity." The absence of adverse consequences for the Abdul Hamid massacres in the 1890s allowed the Young Turks to move forward without constraint.22Here is a report yesterday's anniversary from Radio Free Europe: more...Contemporary accounts from European diplomats make clear that these brutal massacres were perpetrated in the context of a formal jihad against the Armenians who had attempted to throw off the yoke of dhimmitude by seeking equal rights and autonomy. For example, the Chief Dragoman (Turkish-speaking interpreter) of the British embassy reported regarding the 1894-96 massacres:
"Â…[The perpetrators] are guided in their general action by the prescriptions of the Sheri [Sharia] Law. That law prescribes that if the "rayah" [dhimmi] Christian attempts, by having recourse to foreign powers, to overstep the limits of privileges allowed them by their Mussulman [Muslim] masters, and free themselves from their bondage, their lives and property are to be forfeited, and are at the mercy of the Mussulmans. To the Turkish mind the Armenians had tried to overstep those limits by appealing to foreign powers, especially England. They therefore considered it their religious duty and a righteous thing to destroy and seize the lives and properties of the Armenians..."...
The genocide of the Armenians was a jihad. No rayas took part in it. Despite the disapproval of many Muslim Turks and Arabs, and their refusal to collaborate in the crime, these masssacres were perpetrated solely by Muslims and they alone profited from the booty: the victims' property, houses, and lands granted to the muhajirun, and the allocation to them of women and child slaves. The elimination of male children over the age of twelve was in accordance with the commandments of the jihad and conformed to the age fixed for the payment of the jizya. The four stages of the liquidation- deportation, enslavement, forced conversion, and massacre- reproduced the historic conditions of the jihad carried out in the dar-al-harb from the seventh century on. Chronicles from a variety of sources, by Muslim authors in particular, give detailed descriptions of the organized massacres or deportation of captives, whose sufferings in forced marches behind the armies paralleled the Armenian experience in the twentieth century...
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April 23, 2005
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Caption this photo of an Iranian paratrooper unclear on the concept. Winners announced Monday.
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