August 10, 2004

Allah Descends from on High

Allah to John Kerry: "Many many moons ago, in Cambodia, I f**k buffalo. I think your my son."

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Suspect Arrested Taping Landmarks

Highly political move. I question the timing.

Might I also suggest to Dean Esmay this: Yes, the government of Pakistan is a close ally. No, the people of Pakistan are not our allies. And unfortunately government offices in Pakistan are filled with Pakistanis.

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August 09, 2004

Another Bulgarian Beheading Video

For original story, images, and links to video on this Bulgarian who was beheaded please scroll past updates section.

UPDATE 10/08: Kenneth Bigley executed in Iraq by Zarqawi terrorist organization. The story is developing, but sources in Fallujah claim Bigley beheaded. For the latest information, links to video, and images on the Kenneth Bigley murder please go to the MAIN PAGE or by CLICKING HERE for the 10/08 report.

For the latest information, links to video, and images on hostages in Iraq please check the main page by CLICKING HERE.

Here is a list of all the victims of Islamic Beheadings since late July this year.

10/08 Kenneth Bigley Executed in Iraq Images and Video Here.
10/02 Iraqi Victim Barie Nafie Dawoud Ibrahim Beheading Video and Images Here
9/22 American Hostage Jack Hensley Beheading Video and Images Here
9/20 American Hostage Eugene Armstrong Beheaded on Video Here
9/13 Turkish Hostage Beheaded on Video Here
9/08 Three Muslim 'Informants' Beheaded by the Religion of Irony
8/31 12 Nepalese Hostages Killed, 1 Beheaded Here
8/26 Italian Hostage Enzo Baldoni Murdered Here
8/25 Alleged CIA Agent Beheaded in Video Here
8/13 Another Alleged CIA Agent Beheaded on Video Here
8/11 CIA Agent Executed: Another Beheading Video
8/09 Another Bulgarian Beheading Video
8/02 Turkish Hostage Murdered
7/28 Bulgarian Beheading Video
7/27 Kashmir Rebels Bomb Hospital, Behead Three
7/27 Paul Johnson Beheading Video and Images Here
-----------------
Begin original post:

AP:

CAIRO, Egypt - Four masked, black-clad men who said they belong to a group that has claimed responsibility for kidnappings and killings in Iraq (news - web sites) beheaded a man identified only as a Bulgarian in a video posted on the Internet Monday....The militants in the video said they were from the Tawhid and Jihad group, which had claimed to have kidnapped two Bulgarian truck drivers June 29 and demanded Iraqi detainees be released in exchange for their lives.

The beheaded body of one of the drivers, Georgi Lazov, was found in the Tigris River in Iraq in mid-July and a tape was released showing his death. An announcement late last month of the discovery of a second decapitated body in an orange jumpsuit and a head in a bag near the Tigris River had prompted fears that Ivaylo Kepov too had been killed, but there was no video of his slaying.

Updates as they happen.

I previously posted about this here.

UPDATE I: The problem with blogging is you often write something before thinking too hard. This is NEW video. What I had before was not VIDEO, only still images from the video. Zarquawi's group had posted a message saying they would release the video in the future, along with some vidcaps they posted the day of the announcement. This is the video they announced.

UPDATE II: In the Bullpen has graciously offered to host the video in .zip format.

UPDATE III: Just to reiterate--this is new VIDEO, not a new beheading. The video shows either Georgi Lazov or Ivaylo Kepov who were both murdered sometime around July 13 or 14. See this post for a list of the 14 hostages murdered since 9/11.

UPDATE IV: Wizbang also has the video--but server is slow.

UPDATE V: Chris Short has also graciously offered to host the video (very fast), and has a good blog roundup. The version I sent him is the Real Video Version, and therefore does not need to be unzipped when downloaded. Scroll to bottom of post to get video.

Others on the trail: Jeff Quinton, James Joyner, In the Bullpen, Command Post, On the Third Hand, Wizbang

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Who Outted Khan?

Jay Tea blames the NY Times. Atrios blames......can you guess? Look for the answer below. more...

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Fear and Loathing in Iraq

This blog rocks:

Right now Lt Armeni is in critical condition in Germany. He was wounded on that attack on 05 AUG 04. I received a e-mail from his father thanking me for this site which allowed him a little more insight to the event that critically wounded his son on that day, and to continue praying for him. I am asking everybody to please include Lt Armeni and his family in their prayers. It would mean a lot. To me, and everybody else here. I know of at least five guys here who are alive today because of his actions on that day.
Indeed, let's pray for Lt. Armeni.

PS-unlike that Johnny Depp film with a similar name about that nutjob Hunter Thompson, this blog is not gay.

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Kos--Insane, Stupid, or Traitor?

When you equivicate between beating prisoners, which is routinely practiced in just about every country in the world--even in places which aren't 'brutal dictatorships'--then you are either insane, stupid, or a traitor (traitor here defined as giving comfort to the enemy). Kos may be all three:

The new Iraq looks just like the old one....

We replaced one brutal dictatorial regime with another brutal dictatorial regime.

Yup. Just like it.

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Marine in Al Jazeera Documentary

I may not have mentioned it in awhile, but why haven't we bombed al Jazeera? This is not a joke. We should completely oblitirate that organization. This is war. In war, propaganda outlets are legitimate targets.

Needless to say, I support the Interim Government's decision to close it down. But why for only a month?

Via Joe Gandalman (Dean Esmay is probably in the gulag, too) this link to a Boston.com article:

WASHINGTON -- For most of the central figures in the Arab-produced documentary film "Control Room," the grisly images that emerged from the US invasion of Iraq last year were no cause for a change of opinion

Jehane Noujaim, the producer, gives an inside look at the war through the eyes and lenses of Al Jazeera's journalists, based at US Central Command headquarters in Doha, Qatar. And over the length of her film, the chasm only widens between US military officials who speak about the "liberation" of Iraq and the Al Jazeera reporters skeptical of the invasion.

The exception is a Marine lieutenant named Josh Rushing.

Rushing, who was a Central Command spokesman assigned to escort the documentary makers during their time in Qatar, is among the film's most sympathetic characters. He is portrayed as a thoughtful young man moved over time by the grim reality of war.

At no point is he shown doubting the justness of the US effort in Iraq, yet the film documents a friendship between Rushing and an Al Jazeera reporter, Hassan Ibrahim. There are also moments on camera when Rushing is wrestling with the film's central themes: war, bias and the Arab world's strongest media outlet.

The article is a two-part series. I highly recommend it. Apparently, some of the brass were a little peeved at a Marine in an al Jazeera produced film and Rushing is thinking about not re-upping. Of course, most Marines don't re-up for a variety of reasons. I don't blame the brass for being peeved or Rushing for wanting to get out.

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Troll Alert?

Just the other day me and the regular crew were wondering why there were no trolls around here. I even told Brian B. that I was thinking of dropping some trollish comments, just to spark some debate. Then I get this (scroll down to comments):

Bu zalim insanlar gün gelecek Türk milletinin ayaklarını öpmeye kalkacaklar. Ama Türk oğlu Türk olan, asil kan Türk askeri başlarındaki puşileri Gözlerine bağlayacak ve o 3 kurşunu birer birer yavaş yavaş can cektirerek sıkacak. Bunu ya o Türk askeri yapacak yada BEN !!!!... Ne mutlu Türk'üm diyene, Ne mutlu Türkiyeliyim diyene, ............ Bir Gün..... O gün de gelcek ElbeTTttt....
Anyone speak Turkish?

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August 07, 2004

Religion of Beheadings Update: Benjamin Vanderford, Asshat

UPDATE: For the latest news, information, links to videos, and images on the hostage situation in Iraq, please go to the MAIN PAGE BY CLICKING HERE, then scroll down for updates.

Via Paul at Wizbang this report:

A video aired today that purportedly showed an American being decapitated was a hoax.

The man from San Francisco, said he videotaped the staged beheading at his friendÂ’s house using fake blood.

On the tape, Benjamin Vanderford, 22, sat on a chair in a dark room, his hands behind his back, trembling and rocking back and forth.

The tape showed a hand with a knife cutting at the motionless manÂ’s neck but did not show any militants.

I'm glad I added the caveat that this may be a hoax at the end of this post. The sad thing? This guy may actually win the seat he's running for in the upside-down world of San Francisco!!

No, his name is not Benjamin Ford, it is Benjamin Vanderford. Remember that name. This guy deserves far worse than losing his seat. This is the kind of guy who you SHOULD spit on if you meet him in the street. No, this is the kind of guy that you punch in the face should you meet him in the street.

Imagine the widow of Paul Johnson watching this dickhead? The grievous sympathy. The tears. Then to find out it was an anti-war hoax?

Words cannot describe this guy.

The original post (luckily made only five minutes ago), is below.

__________________________________________________________

Add one more to the list of the victims of the Religion of Peas. That makes fourteen hostages murdered in cold blood since 9/11. There names can be found at the end of this post. From ABC News:

New video aired Saturday purportedly shows a San Francisco man being depacitated moments after he urges the United States to end its occupation of Iraq.
Lest we forget, it is SOP for the terro-zombies to force their victims to make such statements. It is possible, though, that he really believes this.
The man on the tape identified himself as what sounds like Benjamin Vanderford, from San Francisco. He sat on a chair in a dark room, his hands behind his back, trembling and rocking back and forth.

The tape showed a hand with a knife cutting at the motionless man's neck, but did not show his head actually removed from the body.

The man on the tape says he lives at 1510 Eddy Street in San Francisco. A Ben Vanderford listed at that address has a Web site in which he says he is running for supervisor of San Francisco's District 5. The picture of Vanderford on the Web site closely resembles that of the man on the video.

"We need to leave this country alone. We need to stop this occupation," he said, adding that he had been offered for exchange with prisoners in Iraq.

"We need to leave this country right now," he said. "Everyone's going to be killed this way."

Unlike in previous videos of hostage killings, no militants were seen on the footage. He was clad in a t-shirt, not the orange jumpsuit that other hostages have been dressed in.

The video was titled "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Slaughters an American" and had no indication of when, or where, it was made. Zarqawi is an al-Qaida linked militant whose group, Tawhid and Jihad, has claimed responsibility for numerous deadly attacks across Iraq, including the beheadings of U.S. businessman Nicholas Berg, South Korean translator Kim Sun-il and a Bulgarian man, Georgi Lazov.

Ok, so it is possible that this is a hoax. At least, that is how I read the report. [he, he...also in the original post. What can I say? This kind of stunk]

Updates will be frequent.

Also on the scentfooled: James at OTB, M.H. King, Command Post

Not fooled: Leather Penguin, Michelle at A Small Victory, Kevin McGehee, Is Full of Crap, Dean Esmay, Jeff Quinton

UPDATE: Wild Bill has the video at his site.

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August 06, 2004

300 Terro-Zombies Down, Sistani's Health Failing

300 Fighters Killed in Najaf Battle:

NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. marines have killed an estimated 300 fighters loyal to a firebrand Iraqi Shi'ite cleric in fierce clashes around the holy city of Najaf in the past two days, a senior U.S. officer said Friday....

The fresh fighting, which still raged Friday, marks a major challenge for the interim government of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and appears to have destroyed a two-month-old cease-fire between U.S. forces and Sadr's Mehdi militia.

"The number of enemy casualties is 300 KIA (killed in action)," Lieutenant Colonel Gary Johnston, operations officer for the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, said at a military base near the city, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad.

Johnston told reporters the Mehdi fighters were badly coordinated and shot at random against the heavily armed marines who were backed up by helicopter gunships and fighter planes.

Now this is the kind of news I like to hear.

While their were some flare ups in violence yesterday, it seems almost certain that this major offensive is related to news that Grand Ayatollah Sistani's, who has called for cooperation with the new government, health is failing:

LONDON (Reuters) - Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has arrived in London for treatment for a heart condition.

The influential cleric, who has been a voice of moderation in postwar Iraq, landed at Heathrow airport on Friday aboard a scheduled flight from Beirut....

The reclusive Iranian-born Sistani holds huge sway over Iraq's 60 percent Shi'ite majority despite rarely speaking in public and not having left Najaf, south of Baghdad, for years.

He played a leading role in striking a ceasefire that halted fighting in April and May between the Mehdi Army militia of firebrand Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and American troops across southern and central Iraq.

Updates as they happen.

Also zombie hunting: Cameron

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'Torture' vs. 'Torture'

Three British nationals recently released from Guantanamo Bay have claimed they were tortured. The ICRC goes so far as to say that what is going on at Gitmo may be a war crime. Many involved in the Abu Ghraib torture scandal now stand trial for their crimes. In fact, Islamist websites routinely use pictures of 'torture' at Abu Ghraib to justify their jihad against the US.

But what exactly does 'torture' mean? Is what was done at Abu Ghraib torture? Laying aside the fact that most of what is being said by the released Gitmo prisoners is rubbish--also, suspend for a second your knowlege that the Geneva Conventions do not apply to non-uniformed enemy combatants---what about the more credible claims of 'torture'?

I offer the following photo essay. Us vs. Them. Our 'torture' vs. their torture.

WARNING: Extremely graphic. You must be an adult to see this!! The images below are extremely violent and ought to make you sick. more...

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August 04, 2004

Happy B-Day Mr. Arafat

Arafat turns 75, IDF celebrates with firework show.

Update: In response to Jeff's comment, I figure the least we could do is get Mr. Arafat a gift. We think a pizza would be fitting, say, one with ham, sausage, and Canadian bacon?

Since I seemed to have misplaced Yassir's address, maybe we can get the IDF to deliver it? Yeah, I hear those guys know where he lives. But I also hear he's a lousy tipper.

Send an IDF Soldier a pizza by clicking here!

And if you forgot about today's special occasion, never fear....the IDF delivers belated gifts too.

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Moorish Spain Watch

Via Robert Spencer and Doug Harper comes news that Spain is about to officially make Islam a state-sponsored religion. Does it surprise anyone that the new Socialist Government thinks the best way to fight terrorism is to go after 'root causes' and throw money at these Mosques?

Just one step closer to this....one step at a time.

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August 02, 2004

Got Al Sadr?

Via Wizbang, the Telegraph is reporting that al Sadr's house was surrounded earlier today, that there was a gun-battle, and that US Troops have withdraws.

Keep fingers crossed!!!

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Turkish Hostage Murdered

UPDATE 9/13: Another Turkish hostage, Durmus Kumdereli, murdered today. The post, pics, and video can be found here.

Update: I have the video linked. Scroll down.

Via Jeff Quinton I learn the sad news that my running count of murdered hostages since 9/11 is up by one. I'll update the list as soon as I learn his name. Let us never forget the victims of the Religion of Peas.

I've checked the website where Zarquawi's group usually posts their videos, but no pics are there. I'm assuming that they have opened up a new sub-domain extension for the video. I'll post it when I find it.

Update: I just saw the video. It's posted at Ogrish (no link on purpose--it's a snuff site). Can somebody tell me why we haven't carpet bombed Falujah again?

Update 2: Right on Red asks why Murat Yuce was shot rather than beheaded and wonders if it is because he was a Muslim. Possibly. Many fatwas have been cited in the mainstream press that condemn the beheadings. What is usually not reported is that if you read the fatwas carefully, the condemnation is often not about killing infidels per se, but about defiling the bodies.

Since this is all PR for the jihadis, they have a vested interest in not pissing off their audience.

Update 3: I found the video on a site that looks like they deserve some traffic. You can see it by clicking here or going to the Liberty Unites article (although the page says you must register to view video, if you click on the link under the pic and to the right it will take you directly there).

Update 4: I have also posted a shortened version of the video here.

No, I do not encourage wathcing this kind of thing for titilations sake. Why watch it? See this post.

Update 4: Sober reminder from Kevin Aylward that "They're still another Turkish hostage being held by the group."

Lest we forget, his name was Murat Yuce. His name was Murat Yuce.

I've been trying to keep the hostages executed count accurate, but may be off. E-mail me if I'm missing anyone. The list only includes hostages murdered, not total victims of terrorism.

1) Murat Yuce (Aug. 1)

2)Raja Azad (July 2

3) Sajad Naeem (July 2

4) Georgi Lazov (July 13) (rant)

5) Ivaylo Kepov (presumed dead) (probably July 14)

6) Keith M. Maupin (June 2

7) Kim Sun-il (June 22)

Paul Johnson (June 1

9) Hussein Ali Alyan (June 12)

10) Nick Berg (May 12)

11) Fabrizio Quattrocchi (April 16)

12) Martin Burnham (June 7, 2002)

13) Daniel Pearl (Feb. 2, 2002)

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Iraqi commandos free Lebanese hostage

Wow, I didn't even know there was such a thing as an Iraqi Commando! Via SMH:

"Iraqi commando forces carried out a military operation on the kidnappers of Vlad Damaa and released him half an hour ago," the source said in Beirut, declining to give any more details.

Damaa was seized at gunpoint on Friday from a construction concern he runs with a brother that sells prefabricated buildings to US forces in Iraq, his family said.

On a less optimistic note, a second Lebaneese truck driver is still missing.

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Prague Bombed...

...but don't worry (al Reuters) officials declared:

This was not a terrorist attack, it was not a bomb
Of course it wasn't a terrorist attack. How silly. Terrorists would never think of using something other than a bomb. Further:
The pedestrian district was teeming with thousands of tourists enjoying a sunny afternoon in the area
And Xinhuanet reports:
The British Foreign Office confirmed that three of the Britons were men and two women
Because we all know that terrorists don't target civillians, or tourists, or especially British tourists.

Oh, and also file this under 'definitely not terrorism' because, according to Reuters:

...the blast occurred near a casino and may have been a robbery attempt as an armored security vehicle was parked by the Israeli-owned Royal Casino.
Yup, couldn't have been terrorism. Nothing to see here, move along.

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Finally, something worth reading in the Arabian News

I can't believe the official organ (emphasis on 'organ') of the House of Saud publishes blog-friend Jane's op-ed. Go read it and then read her blog. What is especially interesting are these two paragraphs that I can't believe got past the censors. Perhaps there is some hope in the Kingdom, after all:

Republicans see the greatest challenge elsewhere. Vice President Cheney articulates their vision that “the enemy America faces today is every bit as intent on defeating us as were the Axis powers were in World War II or as the Soviet Union in the Cold War.” This view holds that the goal of the jihad is not to change US foreign policy but to destroy the US itself in a quest to establish a global caliphate. The 3/11 massacre in Spain they see as part of a larger effort to reclaim Al-Andalus. Republicans believe Al-Qaeda terrorists understand better than Democrats the historic stakes in Iraq and the major blow that would be dealt to their ideology by a self-governing Iraq.

Republicans, contrary to the prevailing international view, are not comprised of a cabal of neocons, Evangelicals, Zionists, oil barons and warmongers. Rather a portion of BushÂ’s base consists of ex-Democrat voters, prior liberals and other middle Americans disgusted with the Democrats reaction to the challenges America faces from radical Islamists.

Way to go Jane!

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July 30, 2004

Tanzanian al Qaeda Suspect Not Guiltiy....

....says terrorist's mother. Her reason? Because he is religious.

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US Attacked: US/Israeli Embassy Bombed in Uzbekistan

Reuters:

Simultaneous bomb attacks struck the U.S. and Israeli embassies in Uzbekistan as well as the state prosecutor's office in the capital Tashkent Friday, killing at least two people and wounding five.

The action appeared clearly coordinated, days after the start of a trial in Tashkent of 15 suspected Islamist extremists on charges of trying to overthrow the ex-Soviet state in connection with attacks in March that killed nearly 50 people.

Remember, a US embassy is the sovereign soil of the US. These terrorists have just declared war on the US.

UPDATE: Good news, no American casualties but....

Outside the heavily fortified American compound, a body believed to be that of a homicide bomber lay in the street across from the entrance.

For updates I suggest Jeff Quinton and the Command Post

Update: Best observation by Jane:"Once we reestablish our alliances with France and Germany, this won't happen any more."

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