March 30, 2005
There is both much hope and much fear coming out of the Middle East today. On the one hand democracy and freedom seems to loom imminently on the horizon. On the other hand, those same democratic forces may unleash radical Islamist elements long suppressed by totalitarian tyranny.
Recently I was skimming through files uploaded by users at an Arabic forum. The images found at the website offer insight into the promise and perils of democracy in the Middle East. These images show that major differences exist within Arab societies in attitudes towards the West and modernism.
Posted below you will find some of the most interesting images. They show the hopeful side of the Arab world and the not so good side. more...
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So you truly believe that the objective behind this middle-eastern adventure is the 'Democratisation' of the region? Well I guess there's a sucker born every minute.
My relatives are not 'a bunch of rag heads'. They are earning a rather good living there and are deeply ashamed of what we are doing to the region.
Ever read General Smedley Butler's 'War is a Racket'?
Check it out:
http://lexrex.com/enlightened/articles/warisaracket.htm
The motives of warmongers has not changed since.
Always remember that America was never under threat, let alone under attack. This was straightforward bullying. In fact it's not even a war because to have a war you need TWO warring armies. Here we have the biggest military on earth battering a starving nation.
I guess things may calm down in the end. But, as Smedley points out, it will only happen when the US has secured it's energy interests from the region.
This has nothing to do with 'Democracy'. And no ... the Iraqi people do not want Western troops there. You can fantasise all you like.
Ciao
DEBKAfile exclusive military sources report complete collapse of pro-Syrian political and intelligence structure in Lebanon and abrupt withdrawal of all Syrian commands including key figure military intelligence chief General Ghazaleh.Lebanese secret service chief Gen. Raymond Azar has fled to Paris. Internal Security Forces head Gen. Ali al-Hajj about to quit.
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March 29, 2005
The American Forces Press Service quotes Abizaid as saying, "The terrorist groups such as that led by Abu Musab al Zarqawi continue to be very dangerous."
However, “Many of the former Baathist criminals, who know they won’t have an opportunity to participate in the political future of the country, are continuing to fight,” the general said. (AFPS)
The elections of Jan. 30, though, has encouraged Iraqis and the performance of the Iraqi security forces in those elections also is a cause for hope.
“Certainly it’s better since the election,” Abizaid said. “I think continued military operations and continuing strengthening of the Iraqi security forces will make it better still.” (AFPS)
Abizaid then pointed the finger of blame squarely at Syria and Iran.
“Their security services can find those facilitation cells; they can dismantle them,” Abizaid said. “And they can certainly go after the people we have identified by name that are former members of the regime that are coordinating actions inside Syria. I won’t go so far as to say that these groups have the active support of the Syrian government, but the Syrians certainly aren’t doing enough to shut off their support for the insurgency.” (AFPS)
"We know that Iranian intelligence services people were involved with Muqtada al-Sadr during the uprisings back in April,” he said, “and then again in November (Iranian operatives) showed themselves in the Najaf area.” (AFPS)
Unsurprisingly, Arabic news sources have spun the General's words to mean that the absolute number of foreign fighters have increased. A clear sign that the strength of the insurgency is growing.
However, the General clearly indicated that the overall strength of the insurgency has fallen since the election.
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The Sofia News Agency reports the Interior Minister as saying, "He is surrounded in a certain area, and we hope for the best. This operation is ongoing. We hope that the situation will be completely different in Iraq at the end of this year."
Al-Nakib said al-Zarqawi was moving in "more than one area," but declined to provide more details, reports BNN.
Fingers. Crossed.
UPDATE: Novinite, which is the official foreign news agency of Bulgaria, was where this story first appeared. Later, the AP picked up the story and clarified that al-Nakib's remarks were much more general than the Novinite story.
Apparently what al-Nakib meant was that Zarqawi would eventually be captured because the Iraqi security forces are gradually taking control of the streets and winning the war.
An interesting fact bolsters his argument from the Zarqawi produced murder video released Sunday that we posted images from here. For the first time, Zarqawi uses a silenced pistol to murder the hostage victim.
As reader Eric J. notes:
The silenced pistol says to me that they are:Indeed.A. In an urban area where neighbors may hear them. (No surprise, the hostage takers seem to mostly have kept their hostages in urban areas, rather than taking them out somewhere in the countryside.)
B. Do not want to attract attention to themselves - do not control their surroundings.
It seems to indicate that random gunfire is something that would be noticed and investigated, where that was probably not the case a few months ago.
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March 26, 2005
Lebanon's Christian population has overwhelmingly supported mass demostrations aimed at forcing Syria to withdraw. Counter-demonstrations in support of Syria's long-time occupation were reported as consisting mainly of Palestinian refugees and supporters of the Islamic terrorist group Hizballah.
ITV reports that five people were wounded in the blast. The AP reports that at least two of the wounded were Asian born foreigners.
CNN:
A blast rocked Beirut on Saturday night, and Lebanese television broadcast stark images of severely damaged structures engulfed in flames.Related: Bomb in Beirut Mall Kills 3Security officials reportedly think a car bomb caused the blast.
Casualties cannot yet be confirmed in the blast, which is said to have occurred in eastern Beirut, a predominantly Christian area.
Ambulances raced to the scene, reportedly in an industrial district, but it is not known whether people were trapped in the buildings.
A print shop and possibly a timber yard were said to be affected, which would account for the extensive flames and smoke.
News footage showed firefighters attempting to extinguish the fierce flames, which were shooting out of many windows.
The explosion was the latest in a series of blasts in the Christian areas of Lebanon. It occurred on the eve of the Christian holy day of Easter.
Four days ago, a bomb ripped through a shopping mall in a predominantly Christian area north of Beirut, killing three people and wounding at least two others, police said.
Just a few days earlier, a car bomb exploded in another Christian area of Beirut, shearing off part of a multistory office building. Nobody was killed.
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Ever since we began our efforts in Iraq those on the left have been using Vietnam as an analagous war. Trying to shame us in the same way they shamed us then. It turns out they are right to compare Iraq to Vietnam. Only this time, it's our enemies who are beating a hasty retreat and seeking peace with honor.
Thanks to Mark for sending me this FT piece:
Many of Iraq's predominantly Sunni Arab insurgents would lay down their arms and join the political process in exchange for guarantees of their safety and that of their co-religionists, according to a prominent Sunni politician.Let me just add that I've seen hundreds of videos produced by various insurgent groups for propaganda value. The most recent trend in these videos seem to be roadside bombs detonated at some distance. In fact, after the bomb goes off these people rarely continue taping. They split real fast like.
Sharif Ali Bin al-Hussein, who heads Iraq's main monarchist movement and is in contact with guerrilla leaders, said many insurgents including former officials of the ruling Ba'ath party, army officers, and Islamists have been searching for a way to end their campaign against US troops and Iraqi government forces since the January 30 election.“Firstly, they want to ensure their own security,” says Sharif Ali, who last week hosted a pan-Sunni conference attended by tribal sheikhs and other local leaders speaking on behalf of the insurgents.
Insurgent leaders fear coming out into the open to talk for fear of being targeted by US military or Iraqi security forces' raids, he said.
Sharif Ali distinguishes many Sunni insurgents, whom he says took up arms in reaction to the invasive raids in search of Ba'athist leaders and other “humiliations” soon after the 2003 war, from the radical jihadist branch associated with Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Unlike Mr Zarqawi's followers, who are thought to be responsible for the big suicide bomb attacks on Iraqi civilian targets, the other Sunni insurgents are more likely to plant bombs and carry out ambushes against security forces and US troops active near their homes.
Sharif Ali said the success of Iraq's elections dealt the insurgents a demoralising blow, prompting them to consider the need to enter the political process.
These people are not nearly as daring as they would have you believe.
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Schultz!!!
Good thing Colonel Klink wasn't running the camp, eh? Then again, I guess Kos, Michael Moore, Ward Churchill, and ilk, already believe the Nazis are running the joint......
UPDATE: I forgot to link this awesome-o photoshop by Confederate Yankee yesterday. Tim Robbins, indeed!!
So many metaphors, so little time. This article, cited below, goes with the Shawshank Redemption metaphor, while OpiniPundit sees more of the 'Great Escape' angle. more...
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March 25, 2005
Let me just make the disclaimer that I am extremely skeptical. However, as Robert Spencer has been reminding readers of late, this is exactly the type of thing we ought to be on the lookout for. Via M.H. King this AFP report:
A shadowy Islamist group which claimed it carried out last week’s suicide bombing in Qatar said in an internet statement it was responsible for an oil refinery explosion in Texas that left 15 people dead.SITE adds:“It was a new kind of operation as we promised before,” said the ”Jund al-Sham Organisation” (Organisation of Soldiers of the Levant) in the statement posted on an Islamist website and dated March 24.
“Jund Al-Sham is able to attack with an iron fist all the enemies of Allah wherever they are,” added the statement, whose authenticity could not be verified.
“This operation was a big surprise, which we spoke of in other statements, and we will continue our suicide operations inside and outside America, and we will attack the economy of America as America did the economies of the Muslims,” it added.
The group also threatened to carry out attacks in Britain and Italy, and said these would continue “until the last soldier of the Crusaders or Jews is no longer in an Islamic country.”
The communiqué, which has not been corroborated by any other source, also states that the attack was a follow up to a promise made by Abi Hamza “the American” who had declared that “He will turn your streets red, covered with blood.” It seems that the communiqué refers to Abu (abi) Azzam the American, a purported al-Qaeda member who in a videotape broadcasted on October 26, 2004 had threaten to carry out attacks in the United States.James Joyner is skeptical too.The communiqué also promises that “This announcement will be followed by a detailed and illustrated announcement of this blessed operation in Texas’ main refinery.”
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I'll run with the Stars and Stripes version of events:
You know, shit tends to happen when you're married to an asshole.
A “high-level” commander of the insurgency in Afghanistan was killed in a firefight with U.S. forces along the rugged border with Pakistan, according to an Army announcement.Officials said Raz Mohammed, “implicated in many of the attacks against coalition forces in Paktika Province,” was killed alongside two other enemy fighters March 22 when Afghan and U.S. forces clashed with militants during a raid to capture Mohammed.
Mullah Hakim Latifi, a purported Taliban spokesman, in a satellite telephone conversation with The Associated Press from an undisclosed location said the clash occurred when U.S. troops surrounded the tents where Mohammed was living in Waza Khwa, an impoverished district on the Pakistani border.
He confirmed the death of Mohammed, who he said was a senior military commander in eastern Laghman province before the TalibanÂ’s ouster in 2001.
He said MohammedÂ’s wife and six of his children also were killed.
Latifi claimed that eight American soldiers died in the battle, but the American military said coalition forces suffered no casualties.
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March 23, 2005
It turns out that there were 85 pieces of terrorist shit that were splattered by our Iraqi allies today, not 80. Hey, five more dead mujahidin going to meet their 75 white grapes is a good numerical adjustment in my book.
The great part about this story, as Confederate Yankee rightly notes, is that it was the Iraqi forces themeselves that flushed these pieces of turd. We Americans, apperenlty, just sat back and held the toilet paper.
Confederate Yankee has a good roundup on how the MSM is under-emphasizing the importance of this story. Go read it.
Interesting enough, Evan Kohlmann of the Counterterrorism blog, e-mailed me yesterday with some interesting photos of what appear to be a terrorist training camp in Iraq. Hmmm, mujahidin make mistake of taking photos of terrorist training camp....Evan releases the photos to the public....the next day terrorist training camp raided......Maybe just a coincidence?
Chad Evans at In the Bullpen notes that since there were foreign fighters at the camp, it was most likely one of the various al Qaeda linked groups. I ditto the sentiment especially in light of Evan's findings.
Hyscience has some interesting factoids about the area in which the human diarhea were training. Apparently, Lake Tharthar was Saddam Hussein's favorite fishing spot. The good doctor also notes that there has been a significant decline in terrorst activities in the Sunni triangle in the past month. *Excellent* (read in Mr. Burns voice)
Goldstein, of course, one ups the insiders who follow the jihadi message boards with some insider information of his own. He has his own Mosad agent deeply rooted in a Tikrit bunker.
Others: James Joyner more...
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The full video may be downloaded here. (see 0323200503) more...
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Score one more for the Pajamahidin! Al Jazeera:
Yemeni President Ali Abd Allah Salih has pardoned journalist Abd al-Karim al-Khaiwani who was put behind bars for criticising his regime.Salih told a government-named dialogue commission that he was pardoning al-Khaiwani, whose one-year jail sentence was upheld by an appeals court on Tuesday, a member of the committee said, requesting anonymity.....
Al-Khaiwani, who has been in jail since early September, is editor of the opposition weekly Al-Shura, which was ordered to suspend publication for six months. The period has elapsed, but the weekly has yet to resume publication....
Al-Khaiwani's case is linked to an armed struggle waged by a Zaidi preacher, Shaikh Husain Badr al-Din al-Huthi, in northwest Yemen last year....
Al-Khaiwani, himself a member of the Zaidi sect, a moderate Shia Muslim group dominant in the northwest but in the minority in the mainly Sunni country, defended al-Huthi throughout the conflict and was bitterly critical of the government's handling of the rebellion.
He went so far as to lash out at the family of the Yemeni president.
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March 22, 2005
UPDATE: Lebanese blogger reacts:
Yet another bomb! Events on the ground are proving that the Syrians have not left Lebanon. They have withdrawn some of their troops and ostensibly closed their "intelligence offices" in Beirut and a few towns, but they still control Lebanon.
Three people were killed and several more wounded early on Wednesday when a bomb exploded at a commercial center in a Christian town north of the Lebanese capital Beirut, police and local television said.AFP:
Television footage showed the roof of the center in the coastal town of Kaslik had collapsed and emergency services workers were searching through the rubble for other victims.Police said blast had been caused by a bomb, but gave no more details.
Three people have been killed and two injured in an explosion at a shopping centre near Lebanon's port of Jounie, north of Beirut, according to local media reports.IsraelNN:Private television station LBC reports that the explosion took place in a mainly Christian area.
Television footage showed the roof of the centre in the coastal town of Kaslik had collapsed and emergency services workers were searching through the rubble for other victims.
Police said the blast had been caused by a bomb but gave no further details.
Shortly after midnight tonight, an explosion rocked a predominantly Christian area north of Beirut. Lebanese media carried reports of three dead and two wounded in the blast. The cause of the explosion was not immediately confirmed.The Christian community has been heavily involved in the anti-Syrian activities that followed the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in mid-February. Lebanese supporters of Syria from the Shi'ite Hizbullah terrorist organization have carried out random shootings at buildings in Christian neighborhoods during the turmoil that ensued. On Saturday, a car bomb exploded in a Christian suburb north of Beirut, injuring nine people.
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IRAQI police have seized 30 men linked to terror groups and involved in three beheadings, the rape and murder of three women, and the separate murders of 40 other people, General Adel Molan said today.Related. Also related. The good news, it just does not end.Some of the men belonged to al-Qaeda and some to its sister group Ansar al-Islam and were caught in Baladruz, 60km north-east of Baghdad, the general said.
He said police had divided the detainees into three groups: the first was wanted for beheading three people; and the second for the separate murders of 40 people, including some Diyala provincial council members and Iraqi security forces.
The third group raped and then murdered three women, Gen Molan said.
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March 21, 2005
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The General Headquarters of the Mujahadin Army in Iraq has made the following statement addressed to the American people. The communique is written in English. The letter is published in its entirety below, with brief commentary and analysis.
A propaganda video was also put out with the message. The video may be downloaded here (see 'communique7.wav).
The video shows IEDs being made and used, while the letter is read as a voice over. The voice over on the video is more extensive than the printed letter. Part of the video shows insurgents digging up previously buried ordinance, which is then converterd to use as IEDs. The video is desinged to show a strong insurgency in order to sway American public opinion. It paints a Vietnam like picture in exactly the same way the American left portrays Iraq.
[ UPDATE and NOTE TO SELF: Insurgents digging up previously buried ordinance....they know where to find weapons that are covered with dirt.....buried weapons are then converted to use on the masses.....video shows previously buried weapons then used for destruction.....and this video was probably made by Saddam loyalists who might know where to find buried weapons......I know there is something to this, but my mind is just unable to connect the dots.....]
Notice the heavy use of Leftist media reports, including the allegation made by Giuliana Sgrena that chemical weapons were used in Fallujah, to justify ongoing efforts to kill Americans. Also notice the heavy use of anti-Semetic imagery and the major theme of a global Jewish conspiracy. Hat tip Infovlad. more...
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Shortly after the fall of Saddam, Islamists, who took control of the streets of many Iraqi cities, began to target Christian owners of liquor stores. They first ordered the owners to close their businesses; if the owners failed to comply, the Islamists gutted the stores and often killed the owners. An example is liquor merchant Bashir Toma Alias, who was shot in the head in the center of a bazaar in Basra while on his way home to celebrate Christmas....Not the hookers!! Any one but the hookers!!!The report goes on to warn that unless these "Islamic terrorists" are brought to justice, "Iraqi Chaldeans will continue to be an easy target for such criminals who are bent on imposing their distorted version of Islam by force." It was reported that in the southern city of Basra, the second largest city in Iraq, armed Shi'ite groups with names such as "The Revenge of Allah," "Hizbullah," and "The Organization of Islamic Doctrines," roam the streets to mete out "Islamic punishment" on traders and users of alcohol, as well as on prostitutes. Four hundred Christian stores were closed. According to Faysal Abdullah, the head of the Organization of Islamic Doctrines, Islam "rewards those who seek martyrdom and who were designated by Allah to uproot vice."
Often the police stand idly by in the face of crimes committed in their presence because they are afraid of the armed Islamists or because they sympathize with their aims.
I would only add that Christians have never been allowed to fully practice their religion. Islamic law forbids conversion to Christianity (or any other religion) and prescribes the death penalty for those who would openly attempt to proseletyze Muslims. Not a single Muslim country--whether it be 'moderate' or not--allows true freedom of religion in that regard.
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A SAUDI academic has been sentenced to 200 lashes and time in jail for insulting an Islamist colleague, a Saudi-owned newspaper reported today.(hat tip: Discarded Lies)Hamza al-Muzaini, a lecturer in linguistics at King Saud University, was accused by Abdullah al-Barak, a lecturer of Islamic culture at the same university, of defamation and insult, the London-based Al-Hayat reported.
Barak, who is described as a radical salafist - a strict form of Sunni Islam - reportedly accused Muzaini of "mocking long beards" and questioning his knowledge in an article published a few months ago, other reports said.
Muzaini was sentenced to 200 lashes, four months in prison and banned from publishing, a verdict he immediately appealed, the newspaper said.
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March 19, 2005
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Rusty: "Rachel Corrie!!"
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