A new audio message from the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, has declared jihad on Iraq's majority Shia population. More bombs went off in Baghdad today targetting Iraqi police officers. Zarqawi has claimed the bombings which killed 23.

Al-Jazeera:

"The al-Qaeda Organisation in the Land of Two Rivers (Iraq) is declaring all-out war on the Rafidha (a pejorative term for Shia), wherever they are in Iraq," said the voice which could not be immediately verified but sounded like previous recordings attributed to al-Zarqawi.

"As for the government, servants of the crusaders headed by Ibrahim al-Jaafari, they have declared a war on Sunnis in Tal Afar," the clip added...

"You must choose between the good side and the bad side."

Any religious group that wants to be safe from the blows of the mujahidin must [disavow] the government of al-Jaafari and its crimes. Otherwise it will suffer the same fate as that of the crusaders," said the tape.

At the same time, "any tribe ... whose allegiance to the crusaders and their agents is proven will be targeted by the mujahidin in the same way the crusaders are".

Under traditional interpretations of Islamic law, the maximum penalty for apostasy is death.

An interesting side note from the al Jazeera report refers to Zarqawi as 'the one-legged fugitive'. Zarqawi was reportedly hurt in May, but that was allegedly a serious chest wound. This is the first I had heard about Zarqawi missing a leg. It's time to take out his other one. Start with the kneecaps. Then move to the left arm......

So, why is peg-leg Zarqawi trying to kill as many Shias as possible? He's trying to start a civil war. Unfortunately, many on the Left believe a civil war is already happening in Iraq. But if this is 'civil war', then how come the vast majority of Sunnis are planning to go to the polls in the coming election? Wars begin only when politics fail.

Further, many on the Left openly support those that are fighting our troops, the side that wishes to impose a Taliban-like regime there. These people are traitors.

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Are things really all that bad in Iraq? Not according to those that are actually there. In a Pentagon press briefing today, a commander from Mosul, Iraq, described a much weakened al Qaeda presence in that region. At least 80% of al Qaeda fighters are dead or captured, and those fighting today are much less organized with far poorer training.

But how can things be getting better in Iraq when so much news--today's news--always seems so bad?

Flipping through the news this morning as I got ready for work, I noticed that CNN and Fox were reporting some very bad news from people who should know how things are going, reporters in Baghdad. However, one thing seemed rather odd to me--both reporters had the same background shot.

In fact, both reporters were at the same Baghdad hotel well inside the Green Zone. So, how are they getting their news? They are getting their news from the DOD just like I am, only they can broadcast their original news from Iraq and thus you get the feeling that they are more authoritative because they are, you know, there, even though there isn't really anywhere near where the stories are happening.

Journalists such as Michael Yon are the exception to the rule. He's embedded with military forces in Mosul, so when Yon reports that things are much better in Mosul today than last year, you better believe him. Yon is actually there where there is.

So, when Army Col. Robert B. Brown, commander of the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division's Stryker Brigade Combat Team, reported from Mosul, Iraq, about conditions there you better listen, too. Remember, Yon is embedded with these guys. Stryker Brigade News has a great gallery of the men of the 1/25 here.

Here are some highlights from a DOD press release about Brown's conference. And by 'highlights', I mean pretty much the whole press release. But, as you read it, imagine that I am reporting from inside the Green Zone. I'm sure that will make it much more believable. Here's a visual, to help put you in the mood.

Brown notes that eighty percent of al Qaeda's network in northern Iraq "has been devastated" since January due to the capture or killing of key leaders and the outrage of Iraqi citizens.

The situation in Mosul is "improving on a daily basis," Brown said. "Normalcy has come back into the city." more...

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Here are the Left's freedom fighters at work in Iraq. Who are we fighting in Iraq? Extremists who are working to create a Taliban-like state.

"When the terrorists took over the city," the commander of the Third Armored Cavalry Colonel H.R. McMasters said in a State Department briefing yesterday, "they replaced all the imams from the mosques with Islamic extremist laymen; replaced all teachers from the schools with people who "preached hatred and intolerance"; and kidnapped and murdered large numbers of people, "including a Sunni Turkmen imam and a city councilman who was shot about 30 times to the head in front of his family.

"The enemy here did just the most horrible things you can imagine," McMasters said, "in one case murdering a child, placing a booby trap within the child's body and waiting for the parent to come recover the body of their child and exploding it to kill the parents." more...

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1 Have a link to this? Source: State Department press release. doesn't quite cut it... TY!

Posted by: Ariya at September 14, 2005 03:09 PM (noCGr)

2 Linked....because I just love the name 'Ariya' Here's the thing, though. Why is it that I have to link my sources but not the AP or Reuters?

Posted by: Rusty Shackleford at September 14, 2005 04:21 PM (JQjhA)

3 You need to come up with your own "anonymous sources" Rusty. Then you too can say anything you want.

Posted by: Oyster at September 14, 2005 04:45 PM (fl6E1)

4 I was watching a press conference by Col. H.R. McMaster, the commander of the 3rd ACR who just kicked ass and took names in Tal Afar, and he mentioned that. He also said they had found a house that contained chemical weapons. It was on CSPAN yesterday, and it was an excellent briefing.

Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at September 14, 2005 05:17 PM (0yYS2)

5 Same press conference. I didn't notice the chemical weapons thing.

Posted by: Rusty Shackleford at September 14, 2005 05:33 PM (JQjhA)

6 It was a brief mention.

Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at September 14, 2005 07:11 PM (0yYS2)

7 Hmm interesting. This is a major sucess I must say. I say this because it is an example that we are infact better than the terrorists. I find that too often our oppressive anti-terrorist tactics, in examples like Guantanamo Bay & ABu Ghraib, cause more hatred and terrorism. COunter-terrorism to often violates the very rights we are fighting for, and hence causes the civilians of the Middle East to hate us more than terrorists, or their previous oppressive regimes. However, as inspiring as this article is, you have to look at any article with skeptisism. One from the Department of State is obviously somewhat bias for well, the state. And we must look as this as only an example. A great and positive step foreward, but nonetheless, until presented with proof that it is the norm, i will not accept it as such, call me a pessimist, but i just dont trust things until I see them from news sources on both sides of the political spectrum.

Posted by: Ash at October 17, 2005 03:33 PM (v4xco)

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Jawa Report readers will recall that on Sept. 7th we received information that some major news would be coming out of Afghanistan in the following weeks. At the time we labeled our information 'a rumor' since we could not confirm it. Today, Ed Morrissey notices that more rumors out of Afghanistan have begun to percolate to the mainstream media.

The Jawa Report, one step ahead in reporting unsubstantiated rumors.....(thanks to tip from source that wishes to remain anonymous)

UPDATE: Military now denying report. Scroll down for details more...

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Thanks to all of you who participated in the Blog Sabbath Caption 9/11 Edition.

Thanks to Rusty for saying "Go for it."

No one knows what the future holds, but, for now, your memories have been digitally engraved for all the world to see, if they happen upon them.

I need to give a special thanks to Demosophist for letting us know... more...

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There is no confirmation of the report, only a claim made by a group. If they actually used chemical weapons, they were ineffective as no injuries were reported from the attack on the Green Zone. The same group had threatened to use chemical weapons on Sept. 11th.

SITE:

In a statement issued today, September 13, 2005, The Victorious Army Group, [Jeish al-Ta'eifa al-Mansoura], claims to have fired chemical rockets today at several targets in Baghdad, including the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Green Zone, and the Security Academy. According to the message, the explosions “shook the whole capital Baghdad,” and ambulances were seen carrying away the dead of the “converters.” The group indicates: “Here are the mujahideen rockets hitting the converters’ dens as a response to the evil thing done by them in Tal Afar.”

AKI:

For the first time, terrorists linked to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi are claiming to have struck the Iraqi capital Baghdad with chemical weapons. The claim was made in a statement published on the Internet by Islamic group al-Taifa Mansura (The Victorious Side) which is part of the al-Qaeda network and close to its Iraqi representative, al-Zarqawi.

The same group last Sunday threatened to attack the Green Zone in Baghdad with missiles containing chemical warheads unless the Americans halted the ongoing offensive against the city of Telafar.

A short while ago, in a second statement the group claimed responibility for missile attacks on central Baghdad from 8.30am till 10am local time on Tuesday morning. The message alleged that chemical weapons hit the interior ministry, the foreign ministry and the American training school which is also located in the heavily fortified Green Zone....

The firing of five rockets was confirmed by an Islamic site close to the Baathist-inspired guerrillas - islammemo - which referred to at least four rockets with chemical warheads. The site, which tends to publish unreliable biased news reports, celebrates it as the first chemical attack in Iraq."

Others: In The Bullpen

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1 How about responding in kind. We are spendign millions destroying these horrid weapons. Would it not be more cost effective to show Zaqueery and his bunch what real chem weapons can do. No wouldn't be prudent as W sr. used to say.

Posted by: Howie at September 13, 2005 01:36 PM (D3+20)

2 You know Mahmood, doing a "poo finger" on each rocket does not make it a WMD. You got to try a little harder. NOW GET BACK OUT THERE AND GIVE ME YOUR BEST!!!

Posted by: Filthy Allah at September 13, 2005 01:38 PM (5ceWd)

3 Filthy kills me.

Posted by: Oyster at September 13, 2005 01:51 PM (fl6E1)

4 Chemical warheads do not make explosions. Heat and shock of an explosion tend to destroy the chemicals, defeating the purpose. Instead, chem warheads tend to have very small charges intended to spread their contents around or even just make sure their cases are open.

Posted by: Robert Crawford at September 13, 2005 01:57 PM (n5eDP)

5 Didn't you hear, there are no WMD in Iraq. Cindy Sheehan said so.

Posted by: The Man at September 13, 2005 02:02 PM (EDlAL)

6 Actually Mr. Crawford, there is a minor explosion. More of a "POP" really. The dispersal of a chemical munition is a complex occurance when attached to a mortar or a bomb lets say. A bomb on the road side would probably destroy the chemical. A mortar could be fitted to disperse a chem weapon but I doubt Sayeed and Abu in their underground lab can manage to properly assemble a legitmate dispersal mechanism to attach to the mortar. Yes, It can be done under circumstances that don't involve running and dodging bullets but, Sayeed and Abu are not in those circumstances. I think that they have resorted to the "Poo finger" method of dispersing their own individual chemical biological weapon. This is much easier. Sayeed would after a large dinner of dal,curry & lamb soaked in ghee...dig his index finger in his o-ring up to the first knuckle. Sayeed then, whilst holding the dirty digit in the air, walk over to the morters and then "wipe" the darkend digit on to the morter to be fired at the infidel at a later date. Then, Sayeed would go on the net and announce he "Poo fingered" the morters thus striking fear and disgust in our troops.

Posted by: Filthy Allah at September 13, 2005 02:44 PM (5ceWd)

7 Cont: THis method of "poo finger" Wmd does backfire. The types of food Sayeed is required to eat to create the proper "Poo finger" athmosphere Could in fact create a condition called PSA or, Porn Star Ass from continued bouts in the privy. I am not sure if you have seen a porno that includes lots of back door action.... but if you have, you know what PSA is. For those that don't, I will try now to show you. It is a "O" instead of an "x"

Posted by: Filthy Allah at September 13, 2005 02:49 PM (5ceWd)

8 This is also known as the 'Mall Rats' WMD.......

Posted by: Rusty Shackleford at September 13, 2005 03:00 PM (JQjhA)

9 The statement "The site, which tends to publish unreliable biased news reports, ..." was referring to Reuters, Â… right?

Posted by: Don Miguel at September 13, 2005 04:01 PM (+KixN)

10 Respond in time lets use luaghing gas on them and allow them to lighten up

Posted by: sandpiper at September 13, 2005 08:31 PM (g0rz7)

11 Actually Mr. Crawford, there is a minor explosion. More of a "POP" really. Isn't that what I said? I wrote: Instead, chem warheads tend to have very small charges intended to spread their contents around or even just make sure their cases are open. My point was there's nowhere near enough to shake anything, let alone an entire city.

Posted by: Robert Crawford at September 13, 2005 08:55 PM (Gn9tM)

12 However, you failed to mention anything about "Poofinger" so, you must be an idiot.

Posted by: Filthy Allah at September 13, 2005 09:01 PM (bikuR)

13 If any type of NBC attack occurred in the BD Green Zone there is almost a 100% chance that there would have been confirmation by now. This would be big news. It would be a justification for continued presence in Iraq. In addition to that there are many special interest groups who would benefit any type of NBC attack however so small, even if it was a complete failure. Deploying such weapons with any effect requires some skill. I do not see how an attack of this sort could be kept secret for more than a few hours. It could be that they through some household cleaners over the wall and the only way to find the chems is to look for a clean spot.

Posted by: Nelson at September 17, 2005 04:41 AM (S783J)

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Are you tired of all the coverage race is getting as if the only ones to suffer were those in New Orleans? So check out his story on NPRÂ’s Morning Edition about St. Bernard parishÂ’s troubles. Click this link then click to listen.

All they are worried about is this race thing. It doesnÂ’t look that way to me because there are just as many whites here as blacks.

Yeah I know NPR but listen anyway.

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I kept wonderng why Zaqueery keeps accusing us of using chemicals. Well now we see why. He is trying to justify this.

An Internet notice from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi from the Iraqi division of al-Qaeda and other organizations like Ansar al-Sunnah said, “If the Tel Afer operation does not end in 24 hours, Ceyh al-Taif al-Mansura military office has decided to organize attacks towards important and strategic targets of the occupation and Iraqi forces using chemical weapons developed by the Mujaheeden.”

Yeah right, he is so desperate he is willing to turn to WMD. Hmm..wonder where he got em?

Hat tip: IOERROR

UPDATE FROM RUSTY: The threat, it seems, was not from Zarqawi, but from another terror organization. Not sure why media reports have this wrong. There has been a definite upswing in terrorist communiques and threats in the past 24 hours, all as a response to the Tel Afar offensive. more...

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In a new audio tape from al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al Zarqawi accuses US forces of using 'poison gas' in its offensive on Tel Afar. The audio of the tape is available here (scroll to Sept. 12th, second link).

Some Arab and hardcore Leftist presses have often repeated the claim that the U.S. is using chemical, biological, and even nuclear weapons in Iraq. [related story here]

Zaraqawi's audio speeches have often come at times when it appeared that al Qaeda was on the run. This tape comes as US forces have launched an all out offensive against al Qaeda in Iraq, with a large measure of success. A similar audio tape emerged after reports that Zarqawi had been shot and after the fall of Fallujah to U.S. forces. Both tapes promised the immenent defeat of the U.S. at a time when al Qaeda was on the run.

On the audiotape, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is heard to say:

The Crusaders mobilised their big armies and used the most destructive and lethal weapons and the most deadly and hurtful poison gas together with their stooges. But God made them drink at the hands of the mujahedeen the different kinds of death and made them face horrible things that they will never forget. [source]

Tel Afar is now controlled by the Coalition troops and al Qaeda forces are reported to have fled the city. Who was it that ran away Zarqawi?

SITE has a partial translation here, in which Zarqawi claims that hurricane Katrina was an act of Allah brought about by the prayers of the faithful:

I believe that the destructive hurricane which hit America, within its own house, was nothing but the result of a prayer of a father or a mother whose son was killed, or of boy who became an orphan, or of a woman whose honor was violated on the lands of Afghanistan, Iraq or others”.

This morning, another operation was launched to root out al Qaeda linked terrorists in Iraq's al Anbar province. The new offensive, Operation 'Cyclone', targetted the terrorist safe haven of Rutbah.

For the past several months, terrorists within Rutbah have escalated their intimidation and murder campaign against the local populace and city government officials. The resulting effect was an increased ability to move freely within the area and a base for them to launch attacks against innocent civilians, Iraqi Security Forces and Coalition Forces.

In recent days, Coalition Forces have also captured Ammar ‘Abd-Al-Hafiz ‘Abd Muhummad (aka Ammar Amam Wakhtif or Sheik Ammar), an admitted terrorist and leader of the lnu’man Brigade, in a raid earlier in September in the Ramadi area. Sayf-al-Din Yahya 'Anad (aka Sheik Sayf or Abu Hamza), a Nu’man Brigade cell leader, was also captured during the raid. He was responsible for organizing and directing attacks against Iraqi Security and Coalition Forces.

Abu Zayd, (above right) identified as the current Al Qaeda in Iraq military emir of Mosul, was also killed in a raid.

Others: In the Bullpen

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Michelle has the story as well as another good 9/11 post to go along with todayÂ’s caption contest.

ABCNEWS link.

Yesterday, London and Madrid. Tomorrow, Los Angeles and Melbourne, God willing. At this time, don't count on us demonstrating restraint or compassion," the tape warns. "We are Muslims. We love peace, but peace on our terms, peace as laid down by Islam, not the so-called peace of occupiers and dictators." American intelligence officials believe the man who appears on the tape to be Adam Gadahn of Orange County, Calif. Last year, Gadahn delivered a similar taped communiqué for al Qaeda. That tape was later deemed authentic.

Michelle has the scoop on him.

As does Rusty here and here.

Also see MTP today. Tim takes NO mayor to task. Oh I canÂ’t wait for a transcript. At least Nagin admits he could have done a better job and gives Mr. Bush a fair shake. Kind of adds to the talk this week what while Mr. Bush was talking up the FEMA director privately he was hot. Intresting Nagan did't do the same for the LA Governor.

Also It's cooling off so Howie is starting a new batch of wine. Yes hard times call for tough measures. And I am going to say again. Don't miss the caption contest it's a hit.

Updated: below the break as promised are those MTP quotes. full transcript here.

Also It apprears John Cole also enjoyed Mr. Russert's work. Since one of his commenters points out that Nagin was a Republican before switching parties to run for Mayor, It's fair to point out that Russert is or was a Democrat.

Update II : Mike Brown has resigned. If anyone has not noticed Bush likes to mangle the names of those he is miffed at. He called him brownie.

Update III. R. David Paulison chosen to replace Mik Brown and FEMA.

more...

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It's already 9/11 in Afghanistan. Among the several hundred news articles that pass on the Leftist meme that the U.S. hasn't really accomplished anything after 9/11, I did find one from Reuters reporting from Afghanistan.

Of course, it wouldn't be al Reuters if halfway into the article they cut away from it to remind readers that the U.S. hasn't really accomplished anything after 9/11 in Afghanistan.

Here's how our soldiers in Afghanistan are remembering the day that changed the world. God bless them, every one. more...

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U.S. and Iraqi troops have enter Tal Afar today.

In the Tal Afar offensive, which had been expected for weeks, coalition forces faced several hundred lightly armed insurgents in the largely deserted city, 260 miles northwest of Baghdad and about 60 miles east of the Syrian border.
There was heavy gunfire in the Sarai district, the oldest part of the city and the major insurgent stronghold." I can see why the terrorists chose this place for a fight, it's like a big funnel of death," Sgt. William Haslett of Rocklin, Calif., said of the twisting streets and alleys in the old city.

While ass wadds in Aswad beg to be next.

Gunmen on Saturday opened fire on workers heading to their jobs at a U.S. military base in Khalis and killed four people, police said. The incident took place in the village of Aswad nearly 30 kilometers (20 miles) northwest of Baquba. The dead were described as civilians. Four other people were wounded as well. Baquba and Khalis are in Diyala province north of Baghdad.

The more things change the more things stay the same.

Hugo caused $7 billion ($9.4 billion in 2000 dollars) in damage in the US (plus $3 billion in the Caribbean). At the time it was the costliest hurricane in US history, but was exceeded in 1992 by Hurricane Andrew in south Florida. In South Carolina, which bore the brunt of the storm on the continent, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was slow in responding and Senator Fritz Hollings referred to them as "a bunch of bureacratic jackasses." An investigation was launched, which led to some reforms in FEMA procedures that helped the agency do a somewhat better job during Andrew, the next catastrophic hurricane to strike the United States.

So are you telling me that since 1992 Democrats have known FEMA was slow and did very little, not even with 8 years of Bill Clinton in the White House? Excuse me for thinking about that. It seems to be the larger the organization the slower and less flexible. That's why little old churches get there first. They are small and flexible no red tape required. It could also be related to the fact that many roads were cleard by a rednecks with a package of Red Man in the hip pocket and a chainsaw in the pickup.

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Randy at WTVW asks that all his viewers talk this up today. So here goes. WTWV the Evansville/Vanderburgh County police and the Evansville Otters baseball team are holding a telethon this week to raise money for the American Red Cross for Hurricane relief. Last night a total of 20,020 dollars was raised. Calls will be taken on Thursday and Friday from 6 to 10 pm CDT. Donations can be by credit or debit card or if you prefer give your address and they will send you an envelope and you can pay by check. It's not so much how much you give but scrape up that change out of the couch and send it along.

Cingular Wireless has donated cell phones for our volunteers to take pledges. The following numbers will be used to donate during the three days of the phone-a-thon: (812) 618-6956, 618-6957, 618-6958, and 618-6959.

Then don't forget to log donations and mention The Jawa Report. No matter where you are, let's make our presence known. Also if you prefer note the blogadd for mercycorps on our home page.

Also one more thought. Some of the most effective relief efforts I've seen coverage of are done by churches. So toss an extra buck or two their way as well.

Also the company I work for in my real job has added another 20 grand to the effort bringing thier total to 45,000. Way to go.

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Not even a UN recognized nation-state, Palestine slowly creeps toward civil war. Who is in control of Gaza and the West Bank? No one. Israel fears bad press from its Western allies for striking at militant terror organizations such as Hamas, who openly display their weapons in organized press events, and the Palestinian Authority fears its own people, who support the terrorist cause. This is an intractible problem.

Not only did The Popular Resistance Committee assassinate the former head of PA security and cousin of Yasser, Moussa Arafat, they also have taken his son hostage.

Washington Post:

The former head of general security in Gaza, Moussa Arafat, was killed before dawn Wednesday when gunmen stormed his home here, dragged him outside and shot him in the street. The incident threatened to aggravate tensions among Palestinian factions and security services struggling for power in the Gaza Strip following Israel's evacuation of its 21 Jewish settlements here.

A militant faction known as the Popular Resistance Committees comprising disaffected members of various Palestinian parties asserted responsibility for the assassination of Arafat, who was a cousin of the late Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat. The group also claimed to have kidnapped his son, Manhal, a major in the Palestinian military intelligence service, from the three-story family home shortly after 5 a.m....

Arafat held the rank of minister and served as Abbas' military affairs adviser at the time of his murder, carried out in the street only a half-mile from the presidential compound.

"The way this was carried out underlines a very strong message, even if that message may not have been intended," said Ziad Abu Amr, an independent member of the Palestinian Legislative Council who often serves as a mediator between the various Palestinian factions. "It points out the chronic failure of the Palestinian Authority to establish law and order in Gaza and the price it is now paying for past decisions not to do so." ...

We are saying that we can take responsibility," Shaath told reporters here. "We will take all the steps necessary, and I don't think there is any doubt in anyone's mind. This is not political resistance to the occupation. This is a crime by any definition - no justifications, no pretext."

Moussa Arafat, 65, was a senior member of the important Fatah Revolutionary Council. The committee guides the secular nationalist movement that is the largest faction in Palestinian politics and whose members fill out the ranks of the Palestinian Authority....

The statement read over the phone described Moussa Arafat as a "collaborator," a term used to describe Palestinians who assist Israeli intelligence services. "He was one of the heads of the corruption and his poison spread among the Palestinian people," said a spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees, who identified himself as Abu Abeer. "We're going to deal with his son according to the results of the investigation we are conducting."

A Palestinian intelligence officer Wednesday held interior minister Naser Yousef responsible for the assassination of former security chief Musa Arafat and urged him to resign.

Palestinian intelligence chief in the West Bank city of Nablus, Maher al-Fares, told a press conference that he wondered the Palestinian security forces didn't react quickly to the early morning attack on Musa's home in Gaza City which is just few metersaway from the preventive security headquarters.

He called on the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to find and punish those behind the assassination.

But notice that the specific charge that led to his assassination was collaboration. Thus, his execution was justified on Islamic grounds. Collaboration with the infidels is the most common reason given when terrorists murder hostages.

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While this is not good news, it is important to realize that the U.S. had been pounding the town off and on for over a week. The town has been the center of fighting between a pro-government Sunni tribe and a tribe that has aligned itself with al Qaeda. No government forces are in the city. With no one apparently in control, al Qaeda has instituted harsh sharia law and is murdering citizens and closing down any business that sells anything that smack of Western culture.

Washington Post:

Abu Musab Zarqawi's foreign-led Al Qaeda in Iraq took open control of a key western town at the Syrian border, deploying its guerrilla fighters in the streets and flying Zarqawi's black banner from rooftops, tribal leaders and other residents in the city and surrounding villages said.

A sign newly posted at the entrance of Qaim declared, "Welcome to the Islamic Kingdom of Qaim." A statement posted in mosques described Qaim as an "Islamic kingdom liberated from the occupation."...

Armed insurgent fighters loyal to the Jordanian-born Zarqawi openly traveled Qaim's streets. The fighters included both Iraqis and foreigners, including Afghans The foreign-led fighters hung rooftops with Zarqawi's al-Qaeda banner of black backgrounds with a yellow sun.

Shops selling CDs, a movie theater and a women's beauty parlor were newly burned, apparently targeted by Zarqawi's group under its strict interpretation of Islamic law.

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So a Muslim woman has an affair with a Christian man and how does the family react? Murder their own daughter and then round up a couple of hundred thugs to march to the neighboring Christian town and then start burning down houses. I have a great idea, let's give these people their own country and army!

What most Muslims do not know themselves, so immersed in a false history which portrays a past Islamic Utopia broken only by Western Imperialism and Zionism, is that pograms against Christians and Jews were not uncommon events during the past thousand years of Muslim domination in the region.

JPost:

Efforts were under way on Sunday to calm the situation in this Christian village east of Ramallah after an attack by hundreds of Muslim men from nearby villages left many houses and vehicles torched.

The incident began on Saturday night and lasted until early Sunday, when Palestinian Authority security forces interfered to disperse the attackers. Residents said several houses were looted and many families were forced to flee to Ramallah and other Christian villages, although no one was injured.

The attack on the village of 1,500 was triggered by the murder of a Muslim woman from the nearby village of Deir Jarir earlier this week. The 30-year-old woman, according to PA security sources, was apparently murdered by members of her family for having had a romance with a Christian man from Taiba.

"When her family discovered that she had been involved in a forbidden relationship with a Christian, they apparently forced her to drink poison," said one source. "Then they buried her without reporting her death to the relevant authorities." ...

"More than 500 Muslim men, chanting Allahu akbar [God is great], attacked us at night," said a Taiba resident. "They poured kerosene on many buildings and set them on fire. Many of the attackers broke into houses and stole furniture, jewelry and electrical appliances."

With the exception of large numbers of PA policemen, the streets of Taiba were completely deserted on Sunday as the residents remained indoors. Many torched cars littered the streets. At least 16 houses had been gutted by fire and the assailants also destroyed a statue of the Virgin Mary.

"It was like a war, they arrived in groups, and many of them were holding clubs," said another resident.

"Some people saw them carrying weapons. They first attacked houses belonging to the Khoury family [looking for the man who had the affair with the women, not realizing he had already fled the village.] Then they went to their relatives. They entered the houses and destroyed everything there. Then they tried to enter the local beer factory, but were repelled by PA security agents. The fire engine arrived five hours later."

Col. Tayseer Mansour, commander of the PA police in the Ramallah area, said his men arrived late because of the need to coordinate their movements with the IDF. "The delay resulted in the torching of a number of houses and cars in the village," he said.

Related let's give these guys a state news: Huge explosion rocks Gaza strip. May I suggest to Bill Quick that a more likely explanation is that Hamas bombers are generally retards?

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Darn I've got some catching up to do here. So I'll be pretty busy and with Rusty out guest bloggers are welcome.

See bush saves Police officers. Not Bush, a bush.

Also this morning I was listening to an interview of an evacuee from Katrina. She was a nurse at a veterans hospital/retirement home and had accompanied vets to a DC area evacuation site. Paraphrased quote

I've lost my job, my house, my car, everything I'm now free to fish

Updated: Also our last festival of Fatwas has moved pretty far down. Link this post and send a trackback if you would like a Friday Fatwa.

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See this entry from deansworld about Michael Yons blog. Mike is in iraq and blogging strait from Mosul. He has pics and first hand accounts events there.

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WTVW has posted a link to a missing persons site started by a New Orleans paper. The site is so that people searching for loved ones can possibly link up. This sort of stuff seemed to work in London a while back. I may be the last to know. If you know of other sites post em in the comments and we'll move em up.

Updated : hat tip Jawa readers.

http://www.gulfcoastnews.com is establishing a list and is looking for online persons to volunteer at shelters taking names and listing them for the many people without power, computers or Internet. They are also in need of server power as their resources are greatly limited right now as well.

B4B posted this site: http://www.katrinafinder.us/ along with this info, "Dan Ford from Electric Desert has devised a database for those hoping to locate a loved one in the Katrina disaster zone, and can also be used by those living in the Katrina zone to inform their loved ones they are OK."

KatrinaHelp.info is shaping up to be a good resource, too

CNN has started a page of links as well.

Link to FOXNEWS Katrina help page.

Erin reports that Fats Domino is missing in New Orleans.

Updated: Fats has been located and is safe.

The big man in the office upstairs sends this link.

Craiglist New Orleans.

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See CaptainÂ’s Quarters to find out who supports the Anti war movement and the good captainÂ’s take on it.

Stampede kills over 600 in Bahgdad.

Carnival of Liberty IX

Michelle has in depth New Orleans updates.

I donÂ’t want to stir too much on this but yesterday gas was 2.38 overnight the same fuel in the ground is 2.89. Will it make four bucks?

Hat tip : Cube buddy Dave.

Updated: I talked to Granny (nickname) about the gas deal. She says 3.50 in the am possibly.

Terrorists Captured in Iraq.

Captured were Durayd Jassar Khalifah Hamud (aka Abu Jabbar), a known terrorist leader and weapons dealer for the NuÂ’man Brigade and Ali Husayn Muhammad Jasim, (aka Khalid Nazal or Abu Umar), a known IED cell leader in the NuÂ’man Brigade

Quotes of the day from IOERROR the quotes are the best part on his site I think.

There is no left or right. There's only an up or down: up to the ultimate in individual freedom, consistent with an orderly society - or down to the totalitarianism of the ant heap. And those today who, however good their intentions, tell us that we should trade freedom for security are on that downward path. — Ronald Reagan

When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him." — Jonathan Swift

Cover up girls.

More able danger.

This order to destroy the records occurred prior to 9-11-01. Weldon intimated that it happened during the Clinton Administration.

How does Cindy do it? Hyscience has the answer.

See the looting Video on MSNBC. Looting cops wow.

Hat tip: Mark.

Updated:

The first story on The Northeast Intelligence Network has been solved. It was a gas theft reported WTWV this AM. Two warrants(for two white rednecks) have been issued and the truck recovered. Yep they wanted gas but stole the wrong truck and got jet fuel instead.

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