War against terror

[Ironsight 1]

Washington Post

Quote[/b] ]Pakistani Forces Kill Top Fugitive

Pearl Case Suspect Linked to Al Qaeda

By Kamran Khan

Special to The Washington Post

Monday, September 27, 2004; Page A11

KARACHI, Pakistan, Sept. 26 -- Security forces on Sunday killed a Pakistani fugitive accused of organizing the kidnapping and killing of Daniel Pearl, an American journalist, in 2002 and carrying out two unsuccessful attempts on the life of Pakistan's president late last year, according to senior police and military officials.

Officials said Amjad Hussain Farooqi, described as Pakistan's most wanted fugitive and an associate of the al Qaeda network, died during a two-hour gun battle in Nawabshah, a town in the southern province of Sindh. Two other men were arrested in the raid, which was carried out by a special military team formed in March to track down Farooqi after officials determined he was behind the attempts to kill Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's president, in December.

Pakistani intelligence officials said Farooqi was the leader of a band of Pakistani Islamic militants who worked closely with Abu Faraj Libbi, a Libyan-born al Qaeda lieutenant closely linked to Ayman Zawahri, Osama bin Laden's closest aide. "Abu Faraj arranged money for Amjad Farooqi as he made plans to kill the president," said Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao.

Sherpao said his government "can say with full confidence that Farooqi was the chief al Qaeda contact in Pakistan."

A member of Lashkar-i-Jangvi, a violent Sunni Muslim organization responsible for numerous attacks on Pakistani Shiites, Farooqi was one of the hijackers who commandeered an Indian Airlines plane in December 1999 and ordered it flown to Kandahar in southern Afghanistan. The hijacking ended after the plane's passengers and crew were swapped for four men held in Indian prisons. One of the four, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, was sentenced in July 2002 to death by hanging for the kidnapping and murder of Pearl, a reporter with the Wall Street Journal.

Pakistani investigators recently said Farooqi helped force Pearl into a vehicle when he was kidnapped in Karachi on the night of Jan. 23, 2002, and was present when Pearl was beheaded.

Full article

More scum eliminated

[billybob2002 0]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm....ainee_2

Quote[/b] ]Ex-Gitmo Detainee Vows to Fight Russia

Thu Sep 30, 5:12 AM ET World - AP

By JAN M. OLSEN, Associated Press Writer

COPENHAGEN, Denmark - A Danish man who was released from U.S. military detention in Guantanamo Bay told a television interviewer he plans to travel to Chechnya (news - web sites) and join Islamic militants fighting Russian forces.

In a live interview with the DR-1 television channel Wednesday night, Slimane Hadj Abderrahmane said he planned to go into hiding and then "try to find a way to Chechnya."

As a condition of his release from Guantanamo in February, Abderrahmane pledged to refrain from warfare. Of the pledge, he said, "They can use it as toilet paper over there in the United States."

Abderrahmane was not charged upon his return to Denmark. He was widely criticized earlier this week when he told Danish media that Denmark's prime minister and the nation's troops in Iraq (news - web sites) were legitimate targets for terrorists.

Although lawmakers criticized the remarks as out of bounds and said they amounted to incitement to violence, they did not violate any Danish laws.

"I am going to Chechnya and fight for the Muslims," the 31-year-old Dane said during an interview on the daily news show, Nyhedsmagasinet. "The Muslims are oppressed in Chechnya and the Russians are carrying out terror against them."

His lawyer, Tyge Trier, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Abderrahmane, whose mother is Danish and father Algerian, has claimed he was in a training campaign to join Islamic fighters in Chechnya when he was arrested in Pakistan and transferred to Guantanamo in February 2002.

Danish Justice Minister Lene Espersen said Abderrahmane's comments represented "a new situation that the law enforcement authorities must reconsider."

Pia Kjaersgaard, the leader of the Danish People's Party, said Abderrahmane's behavior was "completely grotesque" and urged the government to hand him over to the U.S. authorities.

Another lawmaker, Elisabeth Arnold of the centrist Radical Party, said he represented "a risk."

In previous interviews, Abderrahmane has said Danish authorities seized his passport after he returned to Denmark in February. He has also said he cannot leave the country without the permission of the Danish Intelligence Security Service.

In June, a Danish television crew followed Abderrahmane as he traveled to London to meet British Guantanamo detainee Tarek Dergoul to discuss a possible lawsuit against the United States.

Currently, there are more than 600 prisoners in the detention at the Guantanamo base. A few dozen have been released since early 2004, while only four have been charged so far.

[turms 0]

Quote[/b] ]US tackled on al-Qaeda suspects

The suspects are thought to held outside the US

A New York-based human rights group has challenged America's treatment of 11 al-Qaeda suspects it is thought to be holding outside the US..

Human Rights Watch said prisoners were being denied access to the Red Cross and protection under international law, and it suggested torture had been used.

A spokesman compared their treatment to the 'dirty wars' of Latin America when people 'disappeared' while in custody.

A spokesman for the CIA declined to comment on the report.

Now [disappearances] have become a United States tactic in its conflict with Al-Qaeda

Key al-Qaeda figures like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the suspected planner of the 11 September 2001 attacks, are among those being held as part of the US-led "war on terror".

Human Rights Watch, which based its 46-page report largely on news reports, acknowledged the need to bring terror suspects to justice but questioned the legality of the detainees' treatment.

The BBC's Jeremy Cooke reports from New York that the well-respected group has delivered a damning indictment.

HRW highlights a number of areas in which the US appears to be violating international legal standards:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3735294.stm

[Blake 0]

Well I partially agree that US has got to conduct a bit of shady war against key AQ members especially. It can't be all that public I believe otherwise their operations might get compromised. It's not realistic to think that such high-level operations would be made under surveillance of human rights organizations or red cross. Comparing those 11 AQ suspects to thousands of 'dissapeared' in Latin America is a bit of exaggaration too...

But I think more importantly it's a time to set up charges against those 600 Quantanamo prisoners or send them to their native countries for trial. There they would face also further surveillance by local security forces even if found innocent to make sure they will not engage in radical activities. Under such circumnstances I doubt most of them would do so.

It's been 3 years now and they're still just 'detained' without status. Legal process hasn't mostly even started yet. They can't all be AQ members or terrorists in the essence of the word. Many of them probably just happened to be in a wrong place at the wrong time with no AQ or Taliban connections. Furthermore, the longer they're being held the more radicalized views they might develope which would just be a disservice to the US interests.

[theavonlady 2]

Frankly, Turms, I don't give a damn.

The world is upside down. Treason and mendacity are now virtues and "human rights groups" have been turned into the supplicators of terror organizations.

[Donnervogel 0]

Frankly, Turms, I don't give a damn.

The world is upside down. Treason and mendacity are now virtues and "human rights groups" have been turned into the supplicators of terror organizations.

hahah... get down from the paranoia trip...

Most "human rights groups" are still what they've always been. Objective and a bit too idealistic (but that's good - the world could need some idealism) surveillance groups. If they begin to critisise Israel or the US it's not because they support terrorism. It's because they apply the same standarts to "western states" and to the terrorists. And if western states commit criminal activieties or don't follow international law they report it.

So if you find yourself being targeted by their critisism you should not begin to cry how unfair everyone is. But you should follow the law.

[Acecombat 0]

Quote[/b] ]Treason and mendacity are now virtues

Dont know then why they locked that guy 'whathisnametheisraelinuclearinfoleaker'

Quote[/b] ] supplicators of terror organizations.

Looks like whole countries are now terror supplicators to you ..

[edc 0]

These people would, and have gladly murdered innocent men, women, and children. They can wait for the rest of their lives for all I care. Its not like these people are just random people pulled off the streets. These were people who were fighting for Al-Quaeda(you'd think I'd know how to spell that by now...) and the Taliban.

The justice system is slow. Even for a murder here in my home town(Wichita, KS ), a murder that occured in the summer or 2002(I think), is just now coming to trial. Imagine having to create cases against hundreds of people, and having to coordinate that with people half way around the world.

I think they should, and they will be charged and brought to justice for their crimes. I think sending them back to their home countries, is a very bad idea. Think of a little while back when we gave the Brits some of their people from Guantanimo. As soon as they were in Britain, what'd the Brit's do? Try them? Nope. Start an investigation? Nope. They set them free. Are those people killing innocent people in Israel, or Iraq, or fighting to disrupt elections in Afghanistan? Or maybe even part of a larger terror plot against the US or Europe? Who knows.

Quote[/b] ]Looks like whole countries are now terror supplicators to you ..

Yep, countries like Iraq(formerly), Iran, and Afghanistan(formerly).

[red oct 2]

9/11 commission has proven that Iraq had no ties to alqaida. alqaida came into iraq after saddams government has been overthrown.

[edc 0]

I never said that Al-Qaeda was connected to Saddam-era Iraq. I said that Iraq/Saddam supported terrorists, which they did, by giving money to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers. They undeniably supported acts of terrorism against Israel. Though this might go better in the mid-east thread.

[Akira 0]

I never said that Al-Qaeda was connected to Saddam-era Iraq. I said that Iraq/Saddam supported terrorists, which they did, by giving money to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers. They undeniably supported acts of terrorism against Israel. Though this might go better in the mid-east thread.

As as been pointed out many times, so does Saudia Arabia, Syria, Jordan, Iran, etc etc.

Have fun invading the entire Middle East. Iraq is going SO well after all.

[denoir 0]

These people would, and have gladly murdered innocent men, women, and children.  They can wait for the rest of their lives for all I care.  Its not like these people are just random people pulled off the streets.  These were people who were fighting for Al-Quaeda(you'd think I'd know how to spell that by now...) and the Taliban.

The justice system is slow.  Even for a murder here in my home town(Wichita, KS ), a murder that occured in the summer or 2002(I think), is just now coming to trial.  Imagine having to create cases against hundreds of people, and having to coordinate that with people half way around the world.

I think they should, and they will be charged and brought to justice for their crimes.  I think sending them back to their home countries, is a very bad idea.  Think of a little while back when we gave the Brits some of their people from Guantanimo.  As soon as they were in Britain, what'd the Brit's do?  Try them? Nope.  Start an investigation?  Nope.  They set them free.  Are those people killing innocent people in Israel, or Iraq, or fighting to disrupt elections in Afghanistan?  Or maybe even part of a larger terror plot against the US or Europe?  Who knows.

Your missing one major point - those people have not been charged with any crimes - much less convicted of any. These can very well be completely innocent people.

The Red Cross reported that in Iraq, about 80% of the people kept locked up had done nothing. They were just at the wrong place at the wrong time and happened to stumble upon soldiers who liked to arrest people.

You can bet that in Afghanistan that number was far higher (lust for revenge for the WTC attacks).

These things should not happen in a civilized society. These are things that happened in Nazi Germany and in the Soviet Union under Stalin. America should not be doing things like that.

What separates us (western democracies) from the terrorists is a fair system with checks and balances to protect the individual. The justice system is slow so that we are reasonably sure that we're not making mistakes. And that's the difference. We don't kill people without reason, as they do. We don't torture people, as they do.

Once you begin making exceptions and using the whole "fight fire with fire" ideology, then you're no better than them. And unfortunately we've seen plenty of that in the past few years.

[BoweryBaker 0]

Why wasn't Iraq carried out like a special operation if Bush didn't want to wait for approval from the united nations?  I am thinking this right now, but I think maybe because of Saddam's high level of security.  I think that special operations should have preceeded the invasion for one.  Two, I think special operations should preceed Iran.

Taken from DOD military dictionary:

Quote[/b] ]

(DOD) Special Operations

Operations conducted in hostile, denied, or politically sensitive environments to achieve military,

diplomatic, informational,

and/or economic objectives employing military capabilities for which there is no broad conventional force requirement.

These operations often require covert, clandestine, or low visibility capabilities.

Special operations are applicable across the range of military operations.

They can be conducted independently or in conjunction with operations of conventional forces or

other government agencies and may include operations through, with, or by indigenous or surrogate forces.

Special operations differ from conventional operations in degree of physical and political risk,

operational techniques, mode of employment, independence from friendly support,

and dependence on detailed operational intelligence and indigenous assets. Also called SO.

[Blake 0]

Quote[/b] ]I am thinking this right now, but I think maybe because of Saddam's high level of security.  I think that special operations should have preceeded the invasion for one.  Two, I think special operations should preceed Iran.

Maybe, but dropping relatively lightly-armed special ops troops in middle of urban area in hostile country hundreds of miles from the friendly lines carries such considerable risks that it could have led to a massacer of the entire force. There was special operation in 1980 against Iran in effort to liberate US hostages and it ended in disaster so those operations really have some serious risks despite the advances in spec ops warfare  since then.

Maybe but just maybe making third front west of Baghdad using one or two full airborne divisions with lavish air support could have contributed to even faster collapse of Saddam Hussein regime and his earlier capture or killing.

But what many people today consider that having ca. same amount of troops as in first Gulf War (400,000-500,000) in the initial 'shock and awe' phase could have made the war shorter and could have prevented widespread anarchy and lawlessness which has been witnessed since the war.

Plus the borders could have been patrolled more efficiently to prevent Iraqi leadership from escaping and preventing foreign fighters from infiltrating Iraq in large numbers.

[theavonlady 2]

Smile and say cheese!

Quote[/b] ]AP: Report Finds Lavish Spending at TSA

Wed Oct 13,11:26 PM ET

By LESLIE MILLER, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - The government agency in charge of airport security spent nearly a half-million dollars on an awards ceremony at a lavish hotel, including $81,000 for plaques and $500 for cheese displays, according to an internal report obtained by The Associated Press.

Awards were presented to 543 Transportation Security Administration employees and 30 organizations, including a "lifetime achievement award" for one worker with the 2-year-old agency. Almost $200,000 was spent on travel and lodging for attendees.

The investigation by the Homeland Security Department's inspector general, Clark Kent Ervin, also found the TSA gave its senior executives bonuses averaging $16,000, higher than at any other federal government agency, and failed to provide adequate justification in more than a third of the 88 cases examined.

The report said lower-level employees were shortchanged, with a far lower percentage receiving bonuses.

"A substantial inequity exists in TSA's performance recognition program between executive and non-executive employees," the report said.

TSA spokeswoman Amy von Walter said the agency believes the bonuses and party were justified "given the hours and productivity of the work force during this critical period."

This year, said von Walter, the TSA will conduct awards ceremonies at individual airports, as well as a much smaller and less expensive event at its headquarters in November.

Congressional skeptics have criticized the TSA's hiring and spending practices during its short existence. Republicans say the agency has grown far larger than they envisioned when it was created following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Ervin also is investigating why the agency's private recruiters worked out of lush resort hotels with golf courses, pools and spas.

Sen. Byron Dorgan (news, bio, voting record), D-N.D., said that he had not seen the full report but that it indicated "a colossal waste of money."

"There's something terribly wrong with that agency," Dorgan said. "Of all the agencies, that's the one that's supposed to be working full-time against terrorist attacks."

The awards banquet, which cost $461,745, was held at the Grand Hyatt, which bills itself as "one of the most magnificent" hotels in the nation's capital. According to the report, the agency chose that site because it was the only hotel available on Nov. 19, 2003, the agency's second anniversary. It also was one of the few places that could accommodate about 600 honorees and as many guests.

While the inspector general noted the agency sought competitive bids for the party planner and chose the company with the lowest estimate, it found the "costs of the ceremony and reception were higher than necessary."

The event planning company, MarCom Group Inc. of Fairfax, Va., was paid $85,552 for its work and given an additional $81,767 for plaques, $5,196 for official photographs, $1,486 for three balloon arches and $1,509 for signs.

The reception included finger food, coffee and cake that averaged $33 per person. Seven cakes cost a total of $1,850; three cheese displays, $1,500.

In a written response, the TSA said the costs "were neither extraordinary nor incurred without careful consideration of the amount, the reasonableness of the cost, and value the activities would have to the employees."

The inspector general also expressed concern that the TSA was more generous than most other federal agencies in awarding bonuses to executives. Federal agencies on average gave cash awards to 49 percent of their executives in 2002, while 76 percent of TSA executives received them in 2003.

The inspector general reviewed 88 employees' files and found that 38 percent "had no individual recommendation and justification for the performance award."

"The legitimacy of such large awards is called into question by the lack of an appropriate selection process and the reliance on boilerplate justifications that could be applicable to anyone," the report said.

The report also noted that fewer than 3 percent of nonexecutive employees received bonuses in 2003.

In its response, the TSA said that executives who got a bonus didn't get a pay increase and weren't eligible for a presidential awards program that can amount to as much as 35 percent of their base pay. The agency agreed, however, that more could be done to equalize treatment of top executives and lower-level employees.

[Blake 0]

Quote[/b] ]The reception included finger food, coffee and cake that averaged $33 per person. Seven cakes cost a total of $1,850; three cheese displays, $1,500.

Mmm I'm getting hungry here. I sure would like to see a picture of such catering...especially those monstrous cakes which must be so big you could hide a AQ suicide squad in one of them.

[ralphwiggum 6]

cheese displays? must be from California. afterall, we have the best cheese. Wisconsin has nothing over us.

I've had chance to see some pilots who were allowed to arm, and show up at the range to practice. they had to buy their own ammunitions. instead of party like those, maybe they can afford to give some better bullets than Wolf.

[Blake 0]

Maybe they should be given a big chunk of cheese at least for compensation...

[theavonlady 2]

While the US claims it is investigating the widely reported news of missing Iraqi radioactive materials and equipment, no one seems to care about something a little closer to home for many of you:

Quote[/b] ]Bulgarian police raid house, discover radioactive containers?

2004/10/1

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP)

Bulgarian police raided a private home and seized a large amount of radioactive material and other so-called "dual use" products with potential nuclear weapons use, the Interior Ministry said Friday.

Police searched the house in the town of Botevgrad, 40 kilometers (25 miles) northeast of Sofia, late Thursday on a tip that it held a cache of radioactive materials. The owner, identified only as Dancho D., 56, was detained as a suspect.

Nuclear experts sent to the site found seven containers of radioactive materials, an ampule of radioactive substance, and two mercury containers, police said.

All radioactive materials were properly kept and did not pose any threat to the environment, police said.

The origin of the radioactive containers was not immediately clear. Police were investigating.

And this was reported 2 weeks ago.

[Balschoiw 0]

Quote[/b] ]And this was reported 2 weeks ago.

Send an email to the CIA. Maybe you just found some of the stuff from Iraq.

[theavonlady 2]

Quote[/b] ]And this was reported 2 weeks ago.

Send an email to the CIA. Maybe you just found some of the stuff from Iraq.  

I bet it's for Bulgarian dentists anyway.

So I feel safe.

[Acecombat 0]

Quote[/b] ]And this was reported 2 weeks ago.

Send an email to the CIA. Maybe you just found some of the stuff from Iraq.  

I bet it's for Bulgarian dentists anyway.

So I feel safe.

It might be General Alexeivich (insert whatever russian long name) Guba , he was nicknamed the dentist too

[iNeo 0]

Quote[/b] ]Chechen Terrorists With Backpacks Cross Into Arizona From Mexico — Report

Created: 13.10.2004 10:06 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 15:44 MSK

U.S. security officials are investigating a recent intelligence report that 25 Chechen militants illegally entered the United States from Mexico in July.

The group, linked to separatists in Chechnya that took part in the deadly Beslan school siege last month, reportedly crossed into a mountainous part of Arizona from northern Mexico, wearing backpacks, The Washington Times reported, citing officials speaking on conditions of anonymity.

The area was said to be difficult for U.S. border guards to monitor.

The intelligence report was supplied to the U.S. government in late August or early September and was based on information from an intelligence source that has been proved reliable in other instances, one official was quoted as saying.

But he added that he did not know whether the report was true.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection was aware of the intelligence report and confirmed it to The Washington Times, but a spokesman said agents were unable to verify it.

After Chechens and other Islamists stormed the school in south Russia, killing over 330 people, the U.S. Education Department issued a warning to school officials to step up security in American schools. The Washington Times was unable to learn whether the warning was related in any way to the report of infiltration by Chechens.

U.S. security officials are on alert for al Qaeda members allegedly planning to cross over into the United States from the south after an operative was reportedly spotted in Mexico.

Chechen separatists have been linked in the past to al Qaeda.

What would they wanna do in the US? They're only "terrorists" cause they fight for freedom which they aren't given by the Russians, where do the Americans come into picture?

I put terrorists in quotation marks cause well yes they occupied a school with kids etc but I'd do the same if my country was suppressed by Finl... no that's unlikely, by Nor.. no... by Denm... nah impossible, let's just say by Russia.

[kerosene 0]

Somebody mentioned in the thread that this came from before

"The last thing they want is a Russian-American alliance in the war on terror, as Washington would look the other way and let Moscow do what they wanted in Chechnya. "

Thats what already happens, even if the rest of the world actually spoke out about what was happening there, the russians arent shy about telling people to mind their own business.

The chechen conflict took on a more religous dimension as the conflict became more vicous and civilian casualties piled up. Now you have Chechen militants operating all over the place, these guys could be more general Islamic militants, rather than it being related directly to Chechnya. I think killing the first guy (Dudayev?) was a mistake, the replacements seem to have gotten progressivley worse.

[Blake 0]

Quote[/b] ]I put terrorists in quotation marks cause well yes they occupied a school with kids etc but I'd do the same if

You're joking right? So we and Norwegians would have had every righ to do the same, hypotetically, to Swedish kids while living under your occupation for centuries?  

You know during the war Russian partisans butchered Finnish men, women and children deliberately and we had 'containment camps' for Russian civilians in occupied areas. But in your view I guess the cause permits every mean.