The Iraq thread 4

[theavonlady 2]

How low can you go...

Spillover from unemployment in Afghanistan.

[Tovarish 0]

Loads of assumptions in that news article , what do you guys think?

I don't buy that article. How does a countermeasures system get confused? Those missiles would have been IR guided so there's no radar jamming/spoofing involved and RWR would not have picked them up.In a case like this the crew of the plane might not have ever known what hit them unless the plane was equipped with sensors to detect the heat signature of an incoming missile - and then, conutermeasures don't get confused, they just get dumped.

[bn880 5]

"confuse defenses" is technobabble for the avg. civilian. He means "it rendered the plane's defences ineffective"

FYI, it does not take multiple missiles to achieve this, it can be done with a single missile with proper guidance.

[theavonlady 2]

Would it be possible that at a lower altittude, there was less time for the CM system to react and that missiles exploded nearer to the plane and that brought it down, even if not directly hit?

[bn880 5]

Yes, it is even possible that the missile would hit with the CM deployed.

[theavonlady 2]

Yes, it is even possible that the missile would hit with the CM deployed.

Just like addons.

[bn880 5]

Yep. Exactly like that, funny thing about simulations is sometimes they really can force reality on you.

[Tovarish 0]

"confuse defenses" is technobabble for the avg. civilian. He means "it rendered the plane's defences ineffective"

yeah, you're right, but it makes them (reporters) look less than reliable to anyone who knows anything about anything. Wish they did some actual research . I've seen CNN call an F/A-18 an A-10 - and the reporter was standing about 20 feet from it taxiing on a runway

[theavonlady 2]

I've seen CNN call an F/A-18 an A-10

Just typical of Canadian National News!

[Tovarish 0]

Just typical of Canadian National News!

Yes, it's kind of shameful how we, America's Eskimo neighbours to the South know so little about The States. I mean, we do have all that extra time to learn. Really, we need to stop watching so much TV and talk more!

[theavonlady 2]

How low can you go...

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

Quote[/b] ]

Islamic Radicals Hunt Barbers in Baghdad

Lower:

Quote[/b] ]Women with moustaches 'most popular wife material'

Residents of a Romanian village say women with moustaches are the most sought-after wives.

Villagers in Baleni-Sirbi, Dimbovita county say moustaches are a sign of fidelity and fertility.

Maria Nitoi, who's 47, told the Libertatea newspaper: "I like how I look with the moustache and I'll never shave it. It's a sign I come from a special place."

A male villager said: "We think it's a sign of fertility. Girls with a moustache are the most dutiful and always get married first."

Mrs Nitoi added: "My husband says he loves me as God made me. My aunt has a moustache and there are many other such women in our village. This is how we live here."

[Baphomet 0]

I was just going to post that...

For christ sakes... honestly... targeting people who don't have scraggly beards or sporting a modern haircut? These kooks are completely alienating themselves.

[quicksand 0]

Quote[/b] ]Residents of a Romanian village.......

LMAO!..I have to say that I never expected to come to this forum and read in the Iraqi thread about a village that is 75 km away from where I live.Had a good laugh AvonLady.

Bad that article does scare off eventual tourits,so I want to give an official statement as a Romanian citizen that the case is absolutly not representative for our women

[ralphwiggum 6]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/02/08/rice/index.html

Quote[/b] ]PARIS, France (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice attempted Tuesday to mend the rift between France and the United States over the Iraq war, saying it's "time to turn away from the disagreements of the past."

"It is time to open a new chapter in our relationship and a new chapter in our alliance," Rice said in what was billed as a major foreign policy speech at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris.

"Time and again in our shared history, Americans and Europeans have enjoyed our greatest successes, for ourselves and for others, when we refused to accept an unacceptable status quo -- but instead put our values to work for the cause of freedom," she said.

Rice's visit to France -- her first in her new role of secretary of state -- was seen as an attempt to repair relations strained by France's opposition to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and to engage France and Europe in spreading global freedom. (Full story)

At a news conference later with Rice, French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said the "world is a better place when Europeans and Americans work together."

He echoed Rice's call for a new era in U.S.-Franco relations, in which both countries "exchange their views and analyses while respecting each other's specific views and specific sensitivities."

"I think it's time for a fresh start," Barnier told Rice.

lol....so why this now?

[SpongeBob 0]

Quote[/b] ]Message Board Member Admits to Hoax of US Soldier's Capture

A message is currently in circulation on Jihadist message boards in which an Iraqi by the nickname of "al-Iraqi4" admits to being behind the hoax of the US soldier's capture by the Mujahideen [using a toy soldier that he named John Adam]. While some message board members prayed for the hoaxter's guidance toward righteousness and resorted to God for judgment, others were furious at him for "demoralizing" the members.

Following is the translation of the hoaxter's apology message, written on February 2, 2005:

In the name of God, the Most Merciful and Most Compassionate,

Soldier John Adam is [only] a toy.

I am a 20-year old Iraqi young man. I am unarmed, independent and do not belong to any party or group. I apologize to all the parties and everyone, for I meant nothing by that [no harm].

The picture was a scheme that I made up with a toy that I bought with $5.

Today I am announcing that this news was made up, and that the picture was of a toy that I worked on with the help of some children.

I cannot provide any information about me because, as I mentioned earlier, I am unarmed, and any information about me might jeopardize my life and the lives of my family [members].

My apologies to everyone.

[denoir 0]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/02/08/rice/index.html

Quote[/b] ]PARIS, France (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice attempted Tuesday to mend the rift between France and the United States over the Iraq war, saying it's "time to turn away from the disagreements of the past."

.....

"I think it's time for a fresh start," Barnier told Rice.

lol....so why this now?

The amusing part of that is the reaction it received. Actually the only tangible reaction was from the pro-war, anti-EU British right:

"What do you mean we don't see eye to eye on things?!?!"

"What do you mean by refering to Europe as a nation?!? We're not bloody Europe!!"

So basically, the people against the war ignored her, while she managed to piss off the few supporters Bush has.

Although, I can't blame Rice for her trying. Going the other way around and pointing out the difference of opinion between some of the EU states would only piss people off. It didn't work very well last time TBA tried that. Sure, it made intra-European relations strained and more complicated, but in the end the US was blamed for that from both sides.

At the same time, she had to do something, as the war is bloody expensive for the US and EU money would be most welcome (I think that even TBA has realized by now it won't get any troops). I think however she's approaching it the wrong way. The way to get Europe to like you, isn't by sucking up to the EU or the member states, but by sucking up to the UN. Sign Kyoto or the ICC and you'll get a far friendlier Europe.

The British right wing are correct about one thing: Europe is no nation, and the EU is not a nation state. While there may be some form of national pride in the way on the member state level, there is none on the EU level. The EU is a supranational construct based on a number of common ideals. The way to EU love and money is by paying homage to those ideals - and international cooperation (UN) is a very important ideal.

[Tex -USMC- 0]

lol....so why this now?

Dear Frogs,

Iraq is fine. It's a little hot, but the natives are friendly and always eager to lend a helping hand. Wish your nation's intrinsic cowardice wasn't keeping you from being here.

Love,

Sam

or something to that effect.

[theavonlady 2]

[ralphwiggum 6]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/02/09/iraq.main/index.html

Quote[/b] ]BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Masked gunmen killed an Al-Hurra television correspondent and his 3-year-old son on Wednesday in the southern city of Basra, an Iraqi army official said.

The gunmen sprayed journalist Abdul Hussein Khazaal with bullets in the al-Maaqal neighborhood as he stood outside his house, the official said. Khazaal was standing near a car at the time, waiting for bodyguards to retrieve something inside the house.

Khazaal's wounded son later died in a hospital.

Al-Hurra is an Arab-language TV channel financed by the United States.

Launched in February 2004 Al-Hurra, or The Free, was tailored for Arab audiences to compete with other regional stations like Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya, The Associated Press reported.

Although President Bush said its mission was to "cut through the hateful propaganda that fills the airwaves in the Muslim world," some Muslim clerics have denounced it as propaganda, AP reported.

Also Wednesday, a senior official with Iraq's Interior Ministry had been kidnapped, police said.

Col. Riyadh Gatte Elawi was abducted as he left his house for work in the al-Dora neighborhood of Baghdad, police said.

[Tovarish 0]

Quote[/b] ]Khazaal was standing near a car at the time, waiting for bodyguards to retrieve something inside the house.

This might sound crass but, it shows why you shouldn't use bodyguards as gofers

[theavonlady 2]

Quote[/b] ]Khazaal was standing near a car at the time, waiting for bodyguards to retrieve something inside the house.

This might sound crass but, it shows why you shouldn't use bodyguards as gofers

Or was he in on it all the time?

>insert "Dragnet" themesong here<

[Duke_of_Ray 0]

How low can you go...

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

Quote[/b] ]

Islamic Radicals Hunt Barbers in Baghdad

Mon Feb 7, 2:05 AM ET   Middle East - AP

By OMAR SINAN, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Umm Ali says militants killed her son last month for the most unlikely of reasons: He trims men's beards.

In Baghdad's Dora neighborhood, residents say Sunni Muslim extremists have made barbers the new hunted, accusing them of violating a strict reading of Islamic teachings that say men should keep their beards long.

Some extremists also consider Western-style haircuts an offensive symbol of the hated, secularized culture of Europe and the United States.

To them, sporting a clipped beard or a modern haircut is an infraction worthy of death.

Black banners mourning the dead were strung up in the neighborhood as the unwitting violators fell one after another to the militants' harsh brand of justice. In one month alone, five barbers were shot dead, residents said.

"He was a haircutter. He only cuts hair," Umm Ali said of her son, Sadiq Abdul Hussein. "He was handsome," she said, gazing at a photo of him.

Abdul Hussein was killed after he shrugged off a threat to stop shaving men's beards or lose his life.

A black mourning banner said only that he died due to a "regrettable incident."

Dora's streets are a battleground for rebels fighting U.S. and Iraqi forces. Drive-by shootings targeting government officials are frequent. It's a symbol of the chaos that has followed Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s ouster nearly two years ago.

Masked, gun-totting militants freely roam its streets, issuing orders and threats and meting out punishment to those who challenge them.

Among the many offenses that run afoul of Dora's new extremist gangs are men with long hair, goatees and even sideburns.

Wesam Noori, a 19-year-old art student, is careful to keep his long hair tucked under a hat.

"We are trying to hide our hair under baseball caps or ski hats," he said.

Iraqi Christians have also been targeted here by insurgents who consider them close to American and other foreign occupiers because they share the same religion. Four churches have been attacked in Dora in deadly car bombings.

Islamic militants have also publicly flogged and killed women's hairdressers in several places throughout Iraq (news - web sites).

On Jan. 27, Sadiq Abdul Hussein was cutting a customer's hair when a tall man with a scarf wrapped around his face walked through the door. He opened fire with an assault rifle, killing Abdul Hussein and wounding his customer, Imad Hammad, a 26-year-old engineer.

"I saw the flash from the gun's muzzle and after that I passed out," said Imad, who was shot in the belly.

Imad's father, Hamad al-Dulaimi blamed foreigners for the killings and said they sought to create turmoil here.

"Those Arab extremists are butchering our sons simply to create a disturbance," he said. "We will not be stopped by this sedition."

As if to illustrate his promise that life here couldn't be stopped by violence, a tranquil street scene unfolded on a recent afternoon. Barefoot children kicked around a dented Pepsi can. Mothers sat on front stoops, chatting and gesturing with hands decorated with traditional green tattoos.

But Ali Hussein, a 25-year-old barber who owns a salon in Dora, says the threat is real enough to threaten his livelihood.

Like other barbers, he's gotten the flyers from militants bearing their instructions for how to cut hair and promising death for those who violate the rules.

"They are even forbidding us to hang posters showing the most recent haircuts," Hussein said.

He now cuts customers' hair in secret inside his house.

"I don't want to be killed, but I don't want to be broke either," he said.

This is why that part of the world will never see peace. Atleast not until all those who are like this are wiped of the face of the earth.

[Tex -USMC- 0]

This is why that part of the world will never see peace. Atleast not until all those who are like this are wiped of the face of the earth.

I'm of the opinion that we should convert them all to Christianity and kill those who resist the process- what do you think, DoR?

[Duke_of_Ray 0]

@ Feb. 10 2005,02:25)]

This is why that part of the world will never see peace. Atleast not until all those who are like this are wiped of the face of the earth.

I'm of the opinion that we should convert them all to Christianity and kill those who resist the process- what do you think, DoR?

I think your probably the best froum member ever! Also I think that statement is insane. We should try to make them like beans and if they don't make them eat rice.

[Tex -USMC- 0]

@ Feb. 10 2005,02:25)]

This is why that part of the world will never see peace. Atleast not until all those who are like this are wiped of the face of the earth.

I'm of the opinion that we should convert them all to Christianity and kill those who resist the process- what do you think, DoR?

I think your probably the best froum member ever! Also I think that statement is insane. We should try to make them like beans and if they don't make them eat rice.

Eh, it was worth a shot. Welcome back, DoR.