Sad day in Iraq. Usually these guys do little damage to our aircraft. The location being in Western Iraq, expect an al Qaeda propaganda video within the next 24 hours. Xinhua:

Two US soldiers were killed when their helicopter was shot down north of Baghdad, according to the US military here Friday.

Two helicopters were under attack by small arms fire at 22:50(1850 GMT) while supporting coalition forces near Baquba, 56 km northeast of Baghdad, the military said in a statement.

One of two OH-58 Kiowa crashed by the fire, killing two US soldiers, while the second landed safely at a nearby base after sustaining damage, the statement added.

The US forces rushed to the scene and secured the site, said the statement, adding the incident was under investigation.

Posted by: Rusty at 10:02 AM | Comments (39) | Add Comment
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You know the bad guys are in bad shape when the run out of 'volunteers' for suicide bombing missions. Where is PETA when they're really needed?

Terrorists tie bomb belt to dog in Iraq:

Insurgents in Iraq attached explosives to a dog and tried to blow up a military convoy near the northern oil centre of Kirkuk.

The canine bomb went off but the only casualty was the unfortunate animal, said police. The militants wrapped an explosive belt around the dog and detonated it as the convoy passed through Dakuk, 25 miles south of Kirkuk, said the town's police chief, Col Mohammed Barzaji.

"The dog was torn apart by the explosion which caused neither injury among the soldiers nor any damage."

Posted by: Rusty at 09:55 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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Failed foreign policy. Imperialism. No blood for oil. Zionist neocons. Blah-blah-blah. more...

Posted by: Rusty at 03:07 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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1 This is actually a negative development. With the new law, the only people that can run against the president need to be approved by the president. Therefore, he ensures his competition is weak. The opposition (Kafeya) attempted to boycott the vote, as it is much difficult to ammend a law once it is in place. They believe that the entire law needs to be rewritten to allow anyone the opportunity to run in the election. Thus, this vote for "democracy" was a sham to ensure Mubarak stays in power

Posted by: Nick at May 26, 2005 04:32 PM (osgBA)

2 "The opposition says the conditions on presidential candidates are so restrictive that the ruling party would not face a credible challenge. " This way we can both point to change and not change at all. Sure to be ho-hum happy for the wingers at home.

Posted by: actus at May 26, 2005 05:54 PM (Ygl+x)

3 Dude, what is your obsession with Kip Winger's fans? I'm guessing you're a big Hanson fanboy, right? Fag.

Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at May 26, 2005 08:59 PM (0yYS2)

4 Hosni Mubarak is Egypts Urho K. Kekkonen, he will rule until he gets so old he goes all mumbly and wierd. Also, after he goes, Egypt will most likely fall into depression for 5 years after which they get companies like Al-Nokiak or Masah-Yardsni to give them an economic booster followed by a fast growth in economy.

Posted by: A Finn at May 27, 2005 05:08 AM (cWMi4)

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The group formerly known as Tawhid and Jihad and which has known ties to Osama bin Laden appears to be in complete meltdown mode. An Islamst message board frequently used by Abu Musab al Zarqawi's al Qaeda in Iraq claims that the terrorist mastermind has fled the country. The post was put up by frequent al Qaeda linked poster 'al-Khalidi'. Thanks to James Joyner who sends this UPI story along:

A militant Islamic Web site reported Wednesday Iraq al-Qaida leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was evacuated from Iraq after being injured.

Zarqawi`s group, al-Qaida Organization in Mesopotamia, said in a statement carried on the site Zarqawi was moved secretly to a neighboring country with the help of doctors from the Arab Peninsula and the Sudan.

The group did not identify the country to which Zarqawi was evacuated but said he is in a stable condition after a bullet pierced the right side of his chest causing breathing problems.

The group said in a message on the Web site Tuesday Zarqawi had been wounded. It asked for "prayers for our leader," and expressed pride at what they described as his heroic wounds. It did not say how or when the Jordanian-born Zarqawi was hurt.

Iraqi and US troops have arrested two top aides of Al-Qaeda's Iraq frontman, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and are hot on the heels of militants loyal to him in north-western Iraq, commanders said today, a day after the country's most wanted man was reported wounded.

Described as "one of the most wanted people" in northern Iraq, Mullah Kamel al-Assawadi was detained after he tried to bribe his way past an Iraqi checkpoint, the US military said.

One of Zarqawi's regional secretaries was also detained in the restive provincial capital of Baquba, north of Baghdad, a statement said.

"Assawadi was questioned by an Iraqi soldier at a checkpoint close to Balad," an insurgent stronghold near Baquba, the military said without giving a date for his arrest.

Described as one of Zarqawi's top lieutenants, Assawadi had on him various identity papers as well as dollars with which he tried to buy the soldier's silence.

"He tried to hide his identity but several detainees recognised him and he is currently held at a multi-national forces detention centre where he is being questioned," the statement added.

Assawadi allegedly financed and provided military training to an insurgent cell and helped prepare car bombs.

"He was linked to numerous Wahhabis (Saudi-inspired Sunni militants) operating north of Baghdad," said the statement, adding that Assawadi was based in the Sunni insurgent bastion of Samarra, a city north of Baghdad which was retaken from rebels in a massive US-backed assault last autumn.

The Iraqi Defence Ministry meanwhile announced that the Army and allied forces had "arrested Zarqawi's secretary for Diyala province, Agha Omar, on Tuesday in Baquba," without providing further details.

1754 thinks Zarqawi might have fled to Syria. Maybe, but it would be odd for one of Zarqawi's chief propagandists to mention the obvious--namely that Zarqawi is in Syria.

UPDATE: Do chiggers ever attack the anal cavity?

UPDATE II: Athena over at Terrorism Unveiled makes this excellent point, "Now, this would seem to be more of a disinformation ploy than the first allegation [that Zarqawi was wounded] in order to stop troops from trying to locate the (hopefully) immobile Zarqawi."

UPDATE III: Other jihadists denying the claim. Guardian:

Soon, the statement appeared on another militant site, where other posters quickly denounced it as untrue and unauthorized by the terror group.

Posted by: Rusty at 10:18 AM | Comments (24) | Add Comment
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These two morons, who, surviving this attempt at stupidity, will certainly go on to larger and dumber things.

LONDON (AP) -- Two "Star Wars" fans were critically injured when they tried to replicate the light sabers used in the movie by filling glass fluorescent light tubes with fuel, police and a news report said Tuesday.

The pair, Mark Webb, 20, and an unidentified 17-year-old girl, were planning to make a video recording of a duel like those in the just-released blockbuster film "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith," Britain's Press Association news agency said.

They were injured when one of the makeshift sabers exploded Sunday evening in the woods in Hemel Hempstead, north of London.

Hertfordshire Police said a third person present when the explosion happened had been questioned. The department said the two who were injured were in critical condition at a burns unit in Chelmsford, Essex.

"At this stage we are unable to confirm the exact circumstances, but glass tubes and traces of accelerant (flammable substance) were found at the scene," police said.

If there was not heavy drinking involved, there is absolutly no excuse.

Cross posted at Conservative Friends

Posted by: Drew at 10:12 AM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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David sends along this WSJ editorial for Greg's reading enjoyment:

To venture into the Arab world, as I did recently over four weeks in Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan and Iraq, is to travel into Bush Country. I was to encounter people from practically all Arab lands, to listen in on a great debate about the possibility of freedom and liberty. I met Lebanese giddy with the Cedar Revolution that liberated their country from the Syrian prison that had seemed an unalterable curse. They were under no illusions about the change that had come their way. They knew that this new history was the gift of an American president who had put the Syrian rulers on notice. The speed with which Syria quit Lebanon was astonishing, a race to the border to forestall an American strike that the regime could not discount. I met Syrians in the know who admitted that the fear of American power, and the example of American forces flushing Saddam Hussein out of his spider hole, now drive Syrian policy. They hang on George Bush's words in Damascus, I was told: the rulers wondering if Iraq was a crystal ball in which they could glimpse their future.

The weight of American power, historically on the side of the dominant order, now drives this new quest among the Arabs. For decades, the intellectual classes in the Arab world bemoaned the indifference of American power to the cause of their liberty. Now a conservative American president had come bearing the gift of Wilsonian redemption...

The children of Islam, and of the Arabs in particular, had taken to the road, and to terror. There were many liberal, secular Arabs now clamoring for American intervention. The claims of sovereignty were no longer adequate; a malignant political culture had to be "rehabilitated and placed in receivership," a wise Jordanian observer conceded. Mr. Bush may not be given to excessive philosophical sophistication, but his break with "the soft bigotry of low expectations" in the Arab-Islamic world has found eager converts among Muslims and Arabs keen to repair their world, to wean it from a culture of scapegoating and self-pity. Pick up the Arabic papers today: They are curiously, and suddenly, readable. They describe the objective world; they give voice to recognition that the world has bypassed the Arabs. The doors have been thrown wide open, and the truth of that world laid bare. Grant Mr. Bush his due: The revolutionary message he brought forth was the simple belief that there was no Arab and Muslim "exceptionalism" to the appeal of liberty.....

As I made my way on this Arab journey, I picked up a meditation that Massimo d'Azeglio, a Piedmontese aristocrat who embraced that "springtime" in Europe, offered about his time, which speaks so directly to this Arab time: "The gift of liberty is like that of a horse, handsome, strong, and high-spirited. In some it arouses a wish to ride; in many others, on the contrary, it increases the desire to walk." It would be fair to say that there are many Arabs today keen to walk--frightened as they are by the prospect of the Islamists coming to power and curtailing personal liberties, snuffing out freedoms gained at such great effort and pain. But more Arabs, I hazard to guess, now have the wish to ride. It is a powerful temptation that George W. Bush has brought to their doorstep.

Posted by: Rusty at 01:14 PM | Comments (23) | Add Comment
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...of Fight Club... (from the SITE Institute)

A past lecture authored by al-Qaeda’s research center, “The Center for Islamic Studies and Research”, also known as al-Neda, has been re-posted to the internet. The message directs Muslims not to "spread any information about the mujahideen which the enemy could benefit from." According to the Center, "It is well known that… America…is making a huge effort to collect information about the jihad and mujahideen from everywhere…the enemy has designated special organizations to analyze information, make links between the [pieces of information], and make conclusions out of [the information]." Thus, "Any Muslim who supports jihad and the mujahideen should not spread any information about the mujahideen…The most dangerous information is information which mentions the names of the mujahideen, times, places, numbers of mujahideen, amounts of supplies and weaponry, and ways of communication."

...is to not talk about Fight Club.

Sounds like the civilian population isn't exactly buying it:

He finishes by asking civilian Muslims to "Â…let the mujahideen manage the information war as they let them manage the military warÂ…"

Posted by: MattWMD at 10:13 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Anybody else find this odd?

Iran's Agriculture Jihad Ministry is determined to reduce the countryÂ’s heavy reliance on imported edible oil, said the official in charge of implementing the national oil seed production scheme.

What sort of crazy Iron Chef Iran is this? Does the loser get beheaded? Just asking...

2:00PM Update: This was just begging for some visuals...

Posted by: MattWMD at 07:32 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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1 Don't you get it??? It's a stuggle for the inner edible oil.

Posted by: Carlos at May 17, 2005 08:44 AM (8e/V4)

2 or maybe it's an inner struggle for oil?

Posted by: Carlos at May 17, 2005 08:44 AM (8e/V4)

3 I knew oil was involved somehow...

Posted by: Matt Hurley at May 17, 2005 08:49 AM (vQcWL)

4 Allah hates the imported cooking oils... ?

Posted by: Hoodlumman at May 17, 2005 08:49 AM (1iJzK)

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The thing about the living-dead is this: you can shoot them but they just keep getting up and coming after your brain.

If Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was a zombie, it would also explain his decapitation fetish. It's so much easier to get to the most tender portions of the brain that way.

Nope. Never heard this one before. Thanks to Tim from Opinion Bug for e-mailing this while I was busy grading. ADNKI:

Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is "serious injured, possibly dead" according to Colonel Fouad Hani Hassan, commander of the fifth division of the Iraqi armed forces, cited by 'Elaph', a popular website in the Arab world. Al-Zarqawi, considered al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq, is believed to have been injured in the major offensive US-led forces have been carrying out in the western Anbar province over the last few days. ...

While Operation Matador is not specifically aimed at catching al-Zarqawi, Brig. Gen. James Conway told a Pentagon news briefing on Tuesday that "it would be a welcome event to come across him or his body."

Posted by: Rusty at 05:18 PM | Comments (31) | Add Comment
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1 This is, what, the fifth time that Zarqawi has died? He is the Kenny of terrorists. Anyway, hopefully he's gone for real this time.

Posted by: Kazmin at May 11, 2005 06:09 PM (hp7es)

2 Seriously, wake me when they get him.

Posted by: Carlos at May 11, 2005 06:56 PM (8e/V4)

3 Oh my G*d, they killed Zarqawi! You bastards!

Posted by: Rusty Shackleford at May 11, 2005 07:17 PM (JQjhA)

4 Ding-Dong, The witch is dead!!!!

Posted by: THANOS35 at May 11, 2005 07:49 PM (mZYh2)

5 If true this will make the liberals very upset.

Posted by: Capitalist Infidel at May 11, 2005 09:47 PM (xkIHW)

6 Bin Laden and Al -Zarquawi are bitches. Let them keep killing all the "innocent civilians". So, when they are done, there's nobody left but the terrorists, then we can bomb the ass wipes back to Kingdom Come!

Posted by: DickHead at May 11, 2005 10:51 PM (Vc7PO)

7 When are you planning to leave Afganistan? If both bin Laden and al Zarqawi are dead/dying, there are no serious terrorist leaders alive to fear in there, except George Bush senior and junior, but they only terrorize armed Muslims in countries with oil, so there's no need to expect anything of them.

Posted by: A Finn at May 12, 2005 04:42 AM (cWMi4)

8 "Let them keep killing all the "innocent civilians". So, when they are done, there's nobody left but the terrorists, then we can bomb the ass wipes back to Kingdom Come! "-Dick Head An example of Zionazism stripped of its phony veneer. Dick Head expresses what each of you feel but are ashamed to admit. Your goal is total genocide. How is this different than the Nazis? You have a mental illness. Forget medication, get some psychoanalysis. Filthy Blood Lusters!

Posted by: greg at May 12, 2005 08:46 AM (/+dAV)

9 smelly mathafucker

Posted by: rody fabila at May 12, 2005 10:51 AM (K9SYG)

10 Dude, you've got to retake your blog.

Posted by: Leopold Stotch at May 12, 2005 11:05 AM (p8Vri)

11 Actually what I heard was taht Zarqawi was just doing some character research. I heard he has been cast as one of the major zombies in the new remake of Night of the Living dead.

Posted by: Butch at May 12, 2005 12:18 PM (Gqhi9)

12 FLASHBACK: 'Iraq was Invaded to Secure Israel,' says Senator Hollings, and 'Everybody Knows It.' “When a prominent American political figure speaks boldly about Jewish-Zionist power, that's news. So the recent remarks by South Carolina's senior Senator that Iraq was invaded "to secure Israel," and that "everybody" in Washington knows it, are indeed remarkable.” http://www.ihr.org/news/040716_hollings.shtml I remember this cartoon when I was a kid. It was about two dogs, a small smart one and a big stupid one. The smart small dog would bully the stupid big dog physically and intellectually, slapping him in the chops at will. This is the sort of power Israel holds over America. Do you feel that Israeli dick in your ass? You should. The Mossad and the CIA engineered 9-11 to manipulate you. In so doing they killed our Constitutional Republic. It is up to us to reestablish the Republic and seek justice for the betrayal of America. But Greg, our government would never attack its own people. Yes it would. In the following declassified document you can read about how our government had developed a plan to shoot down a plane full of Americans so they could blame the Cubans in order to justify an invasion. Kennedy rejected this plan, but he had much more character than Bush. http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/news/20010430/northwoods.pdf

Posted by: greg at May 12, 2005 02:38 PM (/+dAV)

13 Rusty, frankly if I was you, I wouldn't want any one posting links to IHR in my blog. For that matter, the anti-semites don't wash the floor after they piddle on it.

Posted by: Robin Roberts at May 12, 2005 03:47 PM (xauGB)

14 Robin, No one is posting links to IHR on YOUR blog.

Posted by: greg at May 12, 2005 03:56 PM (/+dAV)

15 Anyone hear that Twilight Zone music?

Posted by: Oyster at May 12, 2005 05:28 PM (YudAC)

16 Oyster I may be wrong but i dont think the A Finn that is posting is the A finn we think he is.

Posted by: sparky at May 12, 2005 05:56 PM (F1nba)

17 greg and AFinn, do you guys smoke crack, perchance???...you should stop, a mind is a terrible thing to waste...that is if you have minds left...nuff said...oh one last thing...stop watching "Conspiracy Theory" so much, would ya???

Posted by: THANOS35 at May 12, 2005 08:26 PM (mZYh2)

18 I've always been the same Finn, at least I've never seen any other Finn-comments than those I've written myself.

Posted by: A Finn at May 13, 2005 04:04 AM (cWMi4)

19 No, I don't do drugs, but since 1-6 oz of pure alcohol per day in the form of lager or other dark beer prevents various cancers, wounds and digestion problems in the food processing system, keeps flus, coughs and blood clogs away, cleans the whole system, burns colesterole, prevents osteoporosis and creates a feeling of pleasance (most of this only in people who don't smoke), my alcohol consumption may have an effect on my writings and opinions.

Posted by: A Finn at May 13, 2005 04:15 AM (cWMi4)

20 What I would really really really like to know, is how is the cat hunting legalization process in Wisconsin doing? Also, the wholphins are a thing that demands some attention.

Posted by: A Finn at May 13, 2005 04:27 AM (cWMi4)

21 Never seen any movies titled "Conspiracy Theory", so I've probably never seen it unless they've shown it under the Finnish title as a "Lauantaiaction"-movie on MTV3.

Posted by: A Finn at May 13, 2005 04:46 AM (cWMi4)

22 Oh that movie... Julia Roberts looked annoying as usual, never watched the movie from start to the end, just some good action parts. Same kind of "what you think is true, is really true even if every ounce of reason in you says it's not true"-stuff Matrix was all about. Oh yeah: Gillette - the best way to get rid of unwanted Bush

Posted by: A Finn at May 13, 2005 04:55 AM (cWMi4)

23 >>*if I was you*, I wouldn't want any one posting links to IHR in my blog. > >No one is posting links to IHR on YOUR blog. Reading comprehension obviously isn't greg's forte. (Hmm...maybe I should rewrite the above with fewer polysyllabic words so he'll be sure to understand what I'm saying.) In other words, greg, you're not very good at getting the meaning of what you read.

Posted by: salfter at May 13, 2005 11:45 AM (+Epz5)

24 Safter's a retard.

Posted by: greg at May 13, 2005 01:55 PM (/+dAV)

25 That still puts him two standard deviation's above your IQ, greg.

Posted by: Robin Roberts at May 13, 2005 02:44 PM (xauGB)

26 Sorry finn just seems like sometimes your different people it must be me

Posted by: sparky at May 13, 2005 02:58 PM (F1nba)

27 Or that lager

Posted by: sparky at May 13, 2005 03:18 PM (F1nba)

28 Robin must be out of diesel fuel for her vibrator again. PLAUPTHUMP PLAUPTHUMP PLAUPTHUMP!

Posted by: greg at May 13, 2005 03:51 PM (/+dAV)

29 Robin, "deviation's"?

Posted by: greg at May 13, 2005 03:54 PM (/+dAV)

30 hmmmmmmm, A Finn comes back with smart ass remarks...."pure alcohol" would probally kill you, Finn...you know, moonhsine....would make you go blind as it eats youre brain away....so if you are drinking that, it explains youre madness....and greg???....are you 12 years old???....you gotta be in that area what with the lowbrow, middle school cracks of a sexual nature.....oh yea, youre just so fuckin funny, i just bust a rib....NOT...ill stick with George Carlin if i wanna laugh....nuff said

Posted by: THANOS35 at May 13, 2005 10:28 PM (mZYh2)

31 Pure alcohol as in an amount of pure alcohol included in the stuff one is drinking... It's impossible to make 100% pure alcohol that stays liquid.

Posted by: A Finn at May 14, 2005 04:56 AM (lGolT)

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Hooray for our side!

U.S. forces have killed 75 insurgents so far in a new offensive in Western Iraq near the Syrian border, the military announced Monday.

The offensive, being conducted with U.S. air support in a desert area of Anbar province north of the Euphrates River, was targeting a sanctuary for foreign insurgents and a smuggling route.

As part of the offensive, Marines on Sunday battled insurgents in Ubaydi, in northwestern Iraq, and other nearby areas. The Marines, supported by Cobra attack helicopters, came under mortar and small-arms fire, according to a reporter accompanying the units.

Col. Stephen Davis, commander of Marine Regimental Combat Team-2, which is responsible for western Anbar province, said one Marine was killed and at least seven were wounded in the fighting.

A number of fighters were wearing flak jackets, which Davis said was unusual for Iraqi insurgents and reflected the influence of foreign fighters.

The offensive reflects the view of senior U.S. commanders who are giving higher priority to combating foreign fighters and Iraqi jihadists in response to the recent upsurge in suicide attacks and other developments that indicate a more prominent role in the insurgency by these radical groups.

Also on Sunday, the military announced that U.S. forces have arrested the alleged mastermind of last month's assault on Abu Ghraib prison and the organizer of recent lethal car bombings in Baghdad, the Iraqi government and U.S. military said Sunday.

Amar Adnan Muhammad Hamzah Zubaydi, detained Thursday in an early morning raid on his home, was described as an associate of Jordanian-born militant Abu Musab Zarqawi, according to separate statements issued by the Iraqi government and U.S. military officials.

Posted by: Rusty at 09:11 AM | Comments (53) | Add Comment
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1 Good news! Plus twenty-three in Afganistan. Plus lots more "detained."

Posted by: Young Bourbon Professional at May 09, 2005 09:22 AM (x+5JB)

2 Your 'tuna' is 75% 'dolphin'.

Posted by: greg at May 09, 2005 09:39 AM (/+dAV)

3 This good news is bound to often some Lefty out there.

Posted by: Carlos at May 09, 2005 09:40 AM (8e/V4)

4 “Abu al-Faraj al-Libbi, the alleged al-Qaeda leader arrested in Pakistan last week, is not the terror network's N. 3, according to European secret service sources” http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Terrorism&loid=8.0.164365478&par=0 Told you.

Posted by: greg at May 09, 2005 10:15 AM (/+dAV)

5 It seems it was ANOTHER case of mistaken identity. 25% tuna and 75% dolphin.

Posted by: greg at May 09, 2005 10:21 AM (/+dAV)

6 Captured Al-Qaeda kingpin is case of ‘mistaken identity’ “THE capture of a supposed Al-Qaeda kingpin by Pakistani agents last week was hailed by President George W Bush as “a critical victory in the war on terror”. According to European intelligence experts, however, Abu Faraj al-Libbi was not the terrorists’ third in command, as claimed, but a middle-ranker derided by one source as “among the flotsam and jetsam” of the organisation.” http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-1602568,00.html Why isn’t the American media reporting this update? Because they’re complicit in this war of lies. PRESSTITUTES!

Posted by: greg at May 09, 2005 10:41 AM (/+dAV)

7 Told you. greg, this unidentified eurowuss should identify himself, otherwise who gives a crap what he thinks (if he even exists). This seems to confirm that a cigar is usually just a cigar after all: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4513281.stm

Posted by: Carlos at May 09, 2005 10:44 AM (8e/V4)

8 3rd in command or 300th. The guys captured, and that's what counts.

Posted by: Young Bourbon Professional at May 09, 2005 10:50 AM (x+5JB)

9 Carlos, Your citation is from last Wednesday. Get with the program

Posted by: greg at May 09, 2005 10:52 AM (/+dAV)

10 greg, your two sources contradict each other-- not that this ever matters if you're a Leftie/dissenter. Their only goal is to discredit the official version, not to be consistent (Instead they discredit themselves). Your first source claims they got some Paki dude with a similar name, but the wrong guy. Your second source claims something entirely different-- that the guy they caught just isn't that high in the AQ hierarchy-- a "middle-level leader." Which of the sources you offered is the more accurate? Both can't be true. But that doesn't matter, right? -- not if your purpose is only to discredit the official version. You continue to bleed credibility, my friend.

Posted by: Carlos at May 09, 2005 10:54 AM (8e/V4)

11 Carlos, The two citations do contradict one another. What's certain is that this guy wasn't the #3 man. I doubt he's even Al Qaeda.

Posted by: greg at May 09, 2005 10:59 AM (/+dAV)

12 greg: "The two citations do contradict one another." Then why did you cite them?

Posted by: Carlos at May 09, 2005 11:05 AM (8e/V4)

13 While they contradict each other on a point they agree that he's not #3.

Posted by: greg at May 09, 2005 11:10 AM (/+dAV)

14 Yeah, that's right Greg, he's not #3... anymore, dipshit.

Posted by: Editor at May 09, 2005 11:13 AM (adpJH)

15 While they contradict each other on a point they agree that he's not #3. greg, but for different reasons, which in the end just sounds like wishful thinking. Do you also wish he isn't #3?

Posted by: Carlos at May 09, 2005 11:15 AM (8e/V4)

16 Carlos, When Jawa Report first brought this to our attention I said then that I doubted the claim that he was #3 because I had never heard of him. Turns out I'm right. He ain't #3.

Posted by: greg at May 09, 2005 11:18 AM (/+dAV)

17 Turns out I'm right. He ain't #3. greg, This goes back to my assertion about the thinking of conspiracy theorists-- they reach a conclusion, and then look for anything that might confirm it, no matter how silly it might be. Here, you reached a conclusion, and then latched onto two contradictory sources to "confirm" it. The fact that you would base your conclusion on two entirely contradictory sources says something about the muddled thinking of conspiracy theorists.

Posted by: Carlos at May 09, 2005 11:30 AM (8e/V4)

18 Carlos, No. I based it originally, last week, on the fact that I'VE NEVER HEARD OF HIM BEFORE. If you still think he's #3 then you are the conspiracy theorist.

Posted by: greg at May 09, 2005 11:35 AM (/+dAV)

19 I'VE NEVER HEARD OF HIM BEFORE. Greg, for admitting this, you are even a bigger idiot than any of us could ever have imagined.

Posted by: Editor at May 09, 2005 11:36 AM (adpJH)

20 greg: "No. I based it originally, last week, on the fact that I'VE NEVER HEARD OF HIM BEFORE." Because "greg" hasn't heard of him before. hahaha! good one.

Posted by: Carlos at May 09, 2005 11:36 AM (8e/V4)

21 Carlos, You think you're eating tuna but you're chowing down on dolphin. ENJOY!

Posted by: greg at May 09, 2005 11:40 AM (/+dAV)

22 greg, I don't consider your way of thinking to be healthy skepticism. It's irrational cynicism.

Posted by: Carlos at May 09, 2005 11:44 AM (8e/V4)

23 The DU isn't happy... lol http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1455911

Posted by: Ariya at May 09, 2005 11:52 AM (IXXEm)

24 Carlos, I know you desire him to be the #3 man. It's just wishful thinking on your part. If only wishes were horses...

Posted by: greg at May 09, 2005 11:55 AM (/+dAV)

25 >>>"The DU isn't happy... lol" Ariya, nope, they aren't. They've chosen a side, and it ain't ours. Everything they see, hear, read is filtered through that reality.

Posted by: Carlos at May 09, 2005 12:00 PM (8e/V4)

26 greg, I read your stuff precisely because I don't want to base my stuff on wishful thinking. And on occassion I'm dissuaded of those wishful thoughts. But rarely, and here is a pretty good example of why not.

Posted by: Carlos at May 09, 2005 12:03 PM (8e/V4)

27 One of my predictions for 2005 was hot pursuit across the border into Syria. I'm sticking to it.

Posted by: Dave Schuler at May 09, 2005 12:14 PM (GGDE0)

28 Carlos, He ain't the #3 man. Now wake up and smell your underwear.

Posted by: greg at May 09, 2005 01:38 PM (/+dAV)

29 greg, you've given no reason to doubt the official version.

Posted by: Carlos at May 09, 2005 01:56 PM (8e/V4)

30 Amusing that only Greg thinks his ignorance is evidence of anything.

Posted by: Robin Roberts at May 09, 2005 02:18 PM (xauGB)

31 Carlos, I believe the one and only point Greg is stating is that the guy caught was not the Number #3 man in Al Qaeda. Both sources Greg cited, both supported his claim. It makes no different if they contradict each other, as long as they don't do so on the point Greg is making. Off the subject, while everyone is talking about underwear on people heads, I do believe some people might like it, depending on whose underwear it was. I mean, Goldie Hawn or Farrah Fawcitt undies might not be to bad.

Posted by: Butch at May 09, 2005 02:19 PM (Gqhi9)

32 "the official version."-Carlos Not ready to smell your underwear yet, eh? Can't say that I blame you. What makes your version the official version?

Posted by: greg at May 09, 2005 02:23 PM (/+dAV)

33 ah, greg is just mad because the man isn't still out planning the murders of innocents. In short, he hasn't yet killed enough jews, he is small fish, we should throw him back and let him work his way up to a bigger terrorist.

Posted by: Defense Guy at May 09, 2005 02:48 PM (jPCiN)

34 Defense Guy, At least you're not holding on to the fantasy that this joker was the #3 man.

Posted by: greg at May 09, 2005 02:53 PM (/+dAV)

35 It makes no different if they contradict each other, as long as they don't do so on the point Greg is making. Butch, it makes all the difference. If the reasons both sources gave were consistent, then their claim could hold some weight. Given that they aren't consistent, the claims hold less weight. It comes off as just more flailing wildly in the dark. Much of the anti-Bush stuff is just that.

Posted by: Carlos at May 09, 2005 03:04 PM (8e/V4)

36 "Much of the anti-Bush stuff is just that."-Carlos Carlos, What the hell does this have to do with Bush? I've given you 2 credible sources that this isn't the #3 man. Even the source that Rusty quoted initially noted that this man was not on the FBI's most wanted list. You're just being IGNORant.

Posted by: greg at May 09, 2005 03:11 PM (/+dAV)

37 "Yet the backslapping in Washington and Islamabad has astonished European terrorism experts, who point out that the Libyan was neither on the FBI’s most wanted list, nor on that of the State Department “rewards for justice” programme. Another Libyan is on the FBI list — Anas al-Liby, who is wanted over the 1998 East African embassy bombings — and some believe the Americans may have initially confused the two. When The Sunday Times contacted a senior FBI counter-terrorism official for information about the importance of the detained man, he sent material on al-Liby, the wrong man. " http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-1602568,00.html What a bunch of bumbling idiots. Enough said.

Posted by: greg at May 09, 2005 04:21 PM (/+dAV)

38 16 different brands of tuna chicken of the sea and big cahuna packed in oil packed in water dolphin friendly and dolphin slaughter.

Posted by: Howie at May 09, 2005 04:27 PM (D3+20)

39 Howie, Don't you know? Chicken of the sea is not tuna, but chicken. I have Jessica Simpson's word on it. And we all know that pop stars are the smartest people in the world. So she should know.

Posted by: Butch at May 09, 2005 04:42 PM (Gqhi9)

40 Yea she is a bright one. But mmmmm. I've been pretty busy just saw gregs post about tuna and dolphin. Just leavin my mark so Ya'll know I'm still out here.

Posted by: Howie at May 09, 2005 04:56 PM (D3+20)

41 I've given you 2 credible sources that this isn't the #3 man. greg, Amazing. How can both be credible when they directly contradict each other? They can't. One of them is INcredible. The only question is which. But you use BOTH to prove your case, when either one taken in isolation contradicts the other's logic.

Posted by: Carlos at May 09, 2005 05:13 PM (8e/V4)

42 Regarding "Abu Anas" al-Libbi; Read this report from the BBC on 19 March 2002. Does anybody know if his caprure was ever confirmed? And several sources, especially those in the ME are still saying Abu Farraj Al-Libbi is No. 3. That he wasn't high up the ladder until recently. Maybe he's just No. 3 in Pakistan and only places No. 100 on a world-wide scope. They're beating the hell out of him too in Pakistan. And he still hasn't talked.

Posted by: Oyster at May 09, 2005 05:56 PM (YudAC)

43 Greg, Carlos, get a room!

Posted by: cindy at May 09, 2005 09:37 PM (o9c3W)

44 Surely 50,000 innocents had to die in the massive carpet bombings to get these poor "minutemen". If only we had an independent Italian communist to tell us what really happens!

Posted by: RicardoVerde at May 09, 2005 10:44 PM (3DOby)

45 Cindy, my post was the last. I WIN!

Posted by: Carlos at May 10, 2005 01:30 AM (8e/V4)

46 What is really happening: Monkeys run/fly/drive around a desert looking for monkeys with turbans on their heads so the wrinkly little mighty-monkey lets them go home to their little monkey wives or bitches, perhaps some monkey babies or farm animals. Well, now that I've written that, I must say a good thing about Bush (earlier referred to as mighty-monkey). It really meant a lot to countries under Soviet rule after WW2 (not Finland, since we actually beat back the Ruskies and tried to invade 'em a year after that, getting the whole world against us) when Bush made it publicly clear that the West thinks they were not liberated, but occupied and put under Soviet oppression. The statement turned some of the tension between EU and you into tension between Russia and you, therefore effectively turning eastern Europeans less anti-american (still not Finland, since we just don't seem to care about things outside the 1000km radius from our borders).

Posted by: A Finn at May 10, 2005 04:23 AM (cWMi4)

47 Your first source claims they got some Paki dude with a similar name, but the wrong guy.-Carlos Your second source claims something entirely different-- that the guy they caught just isn't that high in the AQ hierarchy-- a "middle-level leader."-Carlos Carlos, The 2 sources don't contradict the point that "they got some Paki dude with a similar name". (See below). While the first source says it is simply a case of mistaken identity, the second source suggests that although he isn't the man they thought he was he still may be a lower level operative. It doesn't contradiict the first source it gives additional information. "Another Libyan is on the FBI list — Anas al-Liby, who is wanted over the 1998 East African embassy bombings — and some believe the Americans may have initially confused the two. When The Sunday Times contacted a senior FBI counter-terrorism official for information about the importance of the detained man, he sent material on al-Liby, the wrong man."

Posted by: greg at May 10, 2005 08:32 AM (/+dAV)

48 Carlos, I accept your unconditional surrender.

Posted by: greg at May 10, 2005 02:52 PM (/+dAV)

49 greg, my not responding to your posts can have several implications. Sometimes I don't respond if I agree and I consider the matter closed, or when there's nothing to respond to, or when your post is so weak it doesn't warrant a response and I consider the matter closed as well. In other words, not responding to your post could very well mean you have been measured and found wanting and not worth responding to-- NOT that I've surrendered. I'm not necessarily making a judgement about your last post, only that when I don't respond, it doesn't mean what you think it means.

Posted by: Carlos at May 11, 2005 01:10 AM (8e/V4)

50 Carlos, Upon closer inspection my two sources aren't contradictory at all. I was so busy with work yesterday that I agreed with you before double checking for myself. The first post claims that the Americans have confused the identity of the prisoner. The second post ALSO claims that the Americans have confused the identity of the prisoner but goes on to say that he may be a low level member of AQ. This is not a contradiction, it is additional analysis. If I tell you I'm 40 and then I tell you I'm 40 and was born in March, have I contradicted myself? No, I've simply given additional information. I urge you to take an honest look at the two posts.

Posted by: greg at May 11, 2005 08:33 AM (/+dAV)

51 Numbers always come out of one mouth and thats America's, who is struggling to save its pride and is sacrificing its sons and daughters and yes ofcourse they project the numbers when 10 Iraqis become shaheed they say 100,same happened during the Vietnam War, the U.S. military released body counts of enemy and friendly dead to the media which reported them same no investigation of the truth. Invariably, the military’s data—showing more enemy than friendly dead—was designed to give the illusion that the United States was winning the war.Similarly, in Iraq, the U.S. military cheerfully reports that attacks against U.S. soldiers have dropped by more than half since their peak in November of last year and that firefights between U.S. soldiers and Iraqi guerrillas in Iraqi towns have also diminished. But like the body counts in Vietnam, the American public is in illusion of winning the war against the resistance much larger. http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/10703534.htm

Posted by: Fahd at May 12, 2005 12:38 AM (HAykV)

52 calos,keep your save the whale crap to yourself

Posted by: U.SRobotics at May 23, 2005 09:09 AM (YlL+X)

53 carlos,keep your save the whale crap to yourself

Posted by: U.SRobotics at May 23, 2005 09:09 AM (YlL+X)

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Honestly, I don't know why the jihadis would be interested in blowing up an internet cafe in Kabul, Afghanistan. As we've reported here previously, internet cafes are fast becoming the method of choice for the online jihadis to upload their propaganda and snuff films.

Maybe this guy didn't get the meme about that? Or maybe he was just angry at the downloading speeds of porn and stockquotes in Afghanistan's capital?

The Guardian:

U.N. engineer from Myanmar was among three people killed when a suicide attacker walked into a Kabul Internet cafe and blew himself up, officials said Sunday, in the first fatal attack on a U.N. staffer in the capital since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.

The bombing on Saturday followed a series of kidnap attempts on foreigners and the killing of a British development worker, deepening a sense of insecurity in the city just as a Taliban-led insurgency revives in the south...

The U.S. ambassador condemned the targeting of an Internet cafe as an attack on ``Afghans' desire to be part of the larger world.''

``The fact that this terrorist chose a place where Afghans and visitors visited to freely gather and exchange information is not surprising,'' Zalmay Khalilzad said. ``These tyrants fear truth.''

Officials said witnesses recalled a man entering the Park Internet Cafe in the upscale Shahr-e-Naw district on Saturday afternoon and going straight to the restroom. The explosion occurred just after he re-emerged....

Posted by: Rusty at 08:07 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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This is what happens when Christians get uppity in Muslim societies.

Fox:

Late Friday's explosion near the main square of picturesque Christian port city of Jounieh (search), 15 kilometers (10 miles) north of Beirut, killed a Sri Lankan woman, the state-run news agency and a leading TV station said. Police reported only two dozen injuries, half of them light from flying glass.

The blast shattered windows and started a shop fire. It also shook the nearby Maronite Catholic church at the entrance to the old souk, or market, and the office of Sawt al-Mahabba, a Christian religious radio station. The station had aired live broadcasts early Friday of a sit-in by relatives of Lebanese prisoners held in Syrian jails.

Posted by: Rusty at 03:36 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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No, you're supposed to put the TNT in the shoe before you throw it.

The Scotsman:

The prime suspect in an al Qaida-linked plot to strike Jordan with chemical weapons threw his shoes at military judges during a stormy hearing in Amman and told them terror mastermind Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi will “chop off” their heads....

Al-Jayousi disrupted WednesdayÂ’s proceedings in a rage over the killing of four alleged co-conspirators in a gunbattle with police a year ago, detailed by a forensic doctor in court....

An angry al-Jayousi took off his slippers and hurled it at the chief judge, Col. Fawaz Buqour. “Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi will chop off your heads and stuff it up your mouths, you God’s enemies,” he then growled, pointing his finger at the three-man tribunal.

It kind of reminds me of that Mojo Nixon song.

Zarqawi is everywhere
Zarqawi is everything
Zarqawi is everybody
Zarqawi is still the king

Hat tip: Internet Hagganah

Posted by: Rusty at 05:01 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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What can you say when the government of a country is running scared from a blogger? From a basement somewhere in a blue state, clad in pajamas, Jane Novak is bringing international attention to the ongoing ethnic cleansing of a small sect of Shias in Yemen.

Does she get a fatwa for her efforts? No, but she is being accused of being a freemason. Next, expect to be called a J-O-O. And from there you're only one step from the fatwa.

Oh, but the government of Yemen isn't going to get off with just the 'ethnic cleansing' rap. That would be too easy. Try this one on for size.

Are elements of the Yemeni government tied to al Qaeda and were those elements responsible for the U.S.S. Cole bombing?

1) The article below says the defecting Yemeni Ambassador says that al-qaeda within the yemeni security forces and govt were behind the Cole bombing in 2000

2) The 2003 Freedom House report Yemen says that [President of Yemn] Saleh refused to investigate the Cole bombing until the US threatened miliatary action.

3) The assasination of the Socialists leader in Yemen was tied to one person only, and intl orgs and Yemeni political groups say that this was orchastrated with people within the govt and the leadership of the Islah party together. The other suspects were released giving a green light to targeting other secularists.

3) If there are al-Qaeda within the govt and they are being held back from making jihad on the US, what is the next logical thing they would want to do? Make a jihad on the Shia of course.

Posted by: Rusty at 09:04 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Via Sworn Enemy this WAPO article. Maybe he was being seen for depression?:

The U.S. military is examining reports that insurgent leader Abu Musab Zarqawi was present last week at a hospital in Anbar province and the possibility that he may be ill or wounded, officials said Wednesday.

U.S. officials gave no details as to why they believe Zarqawi may be sick or injured. But U.S. military authorities were quoted this month as saying that Zarqawi had left medical information about himself on a laptop computer that was seized Feb. 20 in his closest known call with American pursuers. When his car was pulled over at a checkpoint outside Ramadi, Zarqawi fled on foot, leaving behind the laptop, photos of himself and contacts, officials said.

It was not clear whether suspicions about his health were linked to the seizure of the computer or grew directly out of Zarqawi's reported presence last week at a hospital in Ramadi, the capital of restive Anbar province. Zarqawi's group asserted in a written statement posted at two mosques, one of them in Ramadi, that the Jordanian-born militant was at the hospital last Thursday during a raid by U.S. forces but that the Americans missed him.

A U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, Lt. Col. Steven Boylan, confirmed Wednesday that officials had "received a tip that there were terrorists in and around the hospital in Ramadi."

U.S. and Iraqi forces "did go to the hospital to act upon the information," Boylan said. He did not confirm that Zarqawi was the target of the raid. The forces left without detaining anyone but were reviewing information from the operation, Boylan said.

Posted by: Rusty at 10:05 AM | Comments (13) | Add Comment
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I'm not sure how to read this, but the judge presiding over the Lynndie England Abu Ghraib trial threw out her guilty plea and entered a not guilty plea in the books.

Via Llama Butchers, WAPO:

A military judge Wednesday threw out Pfc. Lynndie England's guilty plea to prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib, saying that he was not convinced that she knew that her actions were wrong at the time.

Col. James Pohl entered a plea of not guilty for England to a charge of conspiring with Pvt. Charles Graner Jr. to maltreat detainees at the Baghdad-area prison.

She didn't know her actions were wrong implies that she's less than competent.

Is it standard practice for judges to throw out guilty pleas unless they think the defense lawyer is inadequately representing their clients interests because there is a strong likelihood that the accused will be found not-guilty?

The action came after Graner testified at England's sentencing hearing that pictures he took of England holding a naked prisoner on a leash at Abu Ghraib were meant to be used as a legitimate training aid for other guards.

When England pleaded guilty Monday, she told the judge she knew that the pictures were being taken purely for the amusement of the guards.

Pohl said the two statements could not be reconciled.

"You can't have a one-person conspiracy," the judge said before he declared a mistrial and dismissed the jury.

UPDATE: Check it out, Greg might be right for once. Only the person who ordered England was her boyfriend and not exactly high on the totem pole. CNN:

Graner testified Wednesday that he placed a dog leash around an Iraqi prisoner's neck and asked England to lead him out of his cell -- a legitimate technique for doing so, he said. England, who was photographed holding the leash, was just following orders, Graner said.

After that, Judge Col. James Pohl excused the jury and gave defense attorneys a tongue-lashing. Graner's testimony, he pointed out, contradicted England's guilty plea Monday to seven criminal counts -- each of which was represented by a photograph of her posing next to naked Iraqi prisoners in humiliating positions. In making that plea, she admitted her participation and said she knew it was wrong. If she was just following orders, Pohl said, she should be pleading not guilty.

Following a recess, defense attorneys told Pohl that England wished to enter a plea of not guilty, and Pohl declared a mistrial.

UPDATE: I'm scouring the blogosphere trying to make sense of this.....a few comments, but no real explanation

Others: Blogs of War

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I was watching WMD: The Murderous Reign of Saddam Hussein last night. It's a great little flick and I highly recommend you pick up a copy of it (I actually got the video before they became a sponser). I always knew Saddam Hussein was a thug and a sadistic SOB, but one of the things I learned in WMD is that the Baathists used beheadings to intimidate prisoners and terrorize populations.

Let me repeat that, Saddam's secular Baathist party used beheadings to intimidate prisoners and terrorize populations.

Let that sink in for just a moment.

Via Captain Ed we learn the excellent news that one of the leaders of the insurgency was captured and that he *shock* is a relative of Saddam Hussein. AP:

Iraqi security forces captured a son of one of Saddam Hussein's half brothers, who allegedly financed the insurgency, in a raid on suspected militants near the ousted dictator's hometown, the government said Wednesday....

Ayman Sabawi is the son of Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hassan, a half brother of Saddam's, who served as a presidential adviser before the U.S.-led invasion. Al-Hassan was captured Feb. 26 this year.

Ayman Sabawi "played a particularly active role in sustaining the terrorism by providing financial support, weapons and explosives to terrorist groups," the statement said.

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Chad sens me a link to the letter in which al Qaeda in Iraq's propaganda minister whines about low morale. I'm posting it below for your reading pleasure and so that an archived copy of it will be available in the future. more...

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This is the time at The Jawa when we dance! Abu Farraj al-Libbi apeared in a flyer listing Pakistan's most wanted terrorists last year. A $10 million dollar reward was offered for his capture. How much money is being offered by the U.S. for the capture of the terrorist scumbags holding Roy Hallums, Dean Sadek, or Jeffrey Ake?

TRADERROB sends along this ABC story:

Abu Farraj al-Libbi, a senior al-Qaida suspect wanted in two attempts to assassinate President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, has been arrested in Pakistan, the government said Wednesday.

Al-Libbi, a native of Libya who authorities say is a close associate of terror mastermind Osama bin Laden and acted as al-Qaida's operational chief in Pakistan, was arrested earlier this week, Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told The Associated Press.

"This is a very important day for us," Ahmed said. He would provide no details on where al-Libbi was captured or where he is being held.

Ahmed said the Pakistani government had been offering a $1 million reward for information leading to al-Libbi's capture, though it was not immediately clear if it would be paid. ....

Al-Libbi is accused of masterminding two bombings against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf in December 2003. The military leader escaped injury but 17 others were killed in one of the attacks.

He is accused of taking over as al-Qaida's operational chief in Pakistan after the March 1, 2003, arrest of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the terror network's alleged number three. Mohammed was later handed over to U.S. custody and his whereabouts are unknown.

UPDATE: This case is a perfect illustration of why the European & Leftist model of foreign policy is so bankrupt. Greg, in the comments, makes the good point that he has never heard of Abu Farraj al-Libbi, which is actually a good point. However, it misses the larger point.

The flyer below is Pakistan's most wanted terrorists, not America's most wanted terrorists. Meaning, these are the people Pakistan sees as the biggest threat to their national interests.

The idea of collective security ensured through international institutions such as the U.N. is based on the false premise that nations have a shared security interest. B-O-G-U-S.

Pakistan only became our ally when they saw how quickly the Taliban fell to the U.S. Because they were sponsors of the Taliban regime, they saw just how stupid it would be to go up mano-i-mano with the U.S. Our alliance was strengthened when al Qaeda saw the abandonment of the Taliban as an act of heresy. Thus, the plot to Musharraf.

Capturing Abu Farraj al-Libbi was important for Pakistan because the man threatened their national security.

Nations do not do things for other nations becaue they are friends. Nations act in unison only when their interests mesh.

It doesn't matter if the French love or hate us one iota. They help us to the extent that they help themselves. Nothing more nothing less.

They help us fight al Qaeda because al Qaeda threatens them. They oppose us in Iraq because Iraq did not threaten them and they had an interest in seeing the Hussein regime propped up.

Malkin has Bush's reaction, but notice Bush comments on the capture in terms of how it affects America's interests.

UPDATE II: What is the deal with this guys runny mascara?

UPDATE III: Scared Monkey's notes that Pakistan is only lukewarm at helping us find the al Qaeda bad guys. I think the national interest theory pretty much explains why..... more...

Posted by: Rusty at 08:14 AM | Comments (30) | Add Comment
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Sad news. I heard nothing about this until someone e-mailed the story to me. Two F-18 jets were first reported missing, then it was reported that theywere involved in a middair collision over Iraq. No doubt we will hear from The Islamic Army in Iraq claiming they downed the planes ABC News:

The body of a pilot from one of two missing Marine jets from the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier was found Tuesday, the U.S. command said. The jets had gone missing Monday night while flying in support of operations in Iraq, but there was no immediate word on the fate of the aircraft.

The brief military statement did not specify how many people were aboard the two F/A-18 Hornet aircraft when contact was lost with them. There were no immediate indication of hostile fire in the area at that time

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