Jihadunspun: Iraqi Resistance Captures
US General In Ramadi
In the latest news in Iraq, resistance fighters have captured a US general in Ramadi. The Americans went ballistic with this news and closed all roads in and out of the city. Heavy fighting is currently underway.
It appears something major is breaking in the city. Details are just coming in and information is limited as of press time. More details are to come as they are available, inshaAllah.
Friday, August 06, 2004
Thursday, August 05, 2004
IRAQ
Asia Times: When Grozny comes to Fallujah
Do not be surprised to see three or four divisions of the Russian army in the Sunni triangle before year-end, with an announcement just prior to the US presidential election in November. Long rumored (or under negotiation), a Russian deployment of 40,000 soldiers was predicted on July 16 by the US intelligence site www.stratfor.com, and denied by the Russian Foreign Ministry on July 20. Nonetheless, the logic is compelling. Russian support for US occupation forces would make scorched earth of Senator John Kerry's attack on the Bush administration's foreign policy, namely its failure to form effective alliances. For Russian President Vladimir Putin, the chance to make scorched earth of Fallujah is even more tempting.
Do not be surprised to see three or four divisions of the Russian army in the Sunni triangle before year-end, with an announcement just prior to the US presidential election in November. Long rumored (or under negotiation), a Russian deployment of 40,000 soldiers was predicted on July 16 by the US intelligence site www.stratfor.com, and denied by the Russian Foreign Ministry on July 20. Nonetheless, the logic is compelling. Russian support for US occupation forces would make scorched earth of Senator John Kerry's attack on the Bush administration's foreign policy, namely its failure to form effective alliances. For Russian President Vladimir Putin, the chance to make scorched earth of Fallujah is even more tempting.
PROPAGANDA WATCH: USA
Truth Out: Fabricating Terror
Let me get this straight.
Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge came barnstorming out on Sunday with a blizzard of warnings about looming terror attacks against targets in New York, New Jersey and Washington DC. Our nifty color-coded alert system was raised to Orange, or High. Headlines from coast to coast blared the bad news, and the stock market began Monday by giving itself a sound beating.
Late Monday night, however, had articles popping up on the Washington Post and the New York Times. This was the Post's midnight take: "Most of the al-Qaeda surveillance of five financial institutions that led to a new terrorism alert Sunday was conducted before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and authorities are not sure whether the casing of the buildings has continued, numerous intelligence and law enforcement officials said yesterday...'There is nothing right now that we're hearing that is new,' said one senior law enforcement official who was briefed on the alert. 'Why did we go to this level? I still don't know that.'"
The data was three years old.
Let me get this straight.
Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge came barnstorming out on Sunday with a blizzard of warnings about looming terror attacks against targets in New York, New Jersey and Washington DC. Our nifty color-coded alert system was raised to Orange, or High. Headlines from coast to coast blared the bad news, and the stock market began Monday by giving itself a sound beating.
Late Monday night, however, had articles popping up on the Washington Post and the New York Times. This was the Post's midnight take: "Most of the al-Qaeda surveillance of five financial institutions that led to a new terrorism alert Sunday was conducted before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and authorities are not sure whether the casing of the buildings has continued, numerous intelligence and law enforcement officials said yesterday...'There is nothing right now that we're hearing that is new,' said one senior law enforcement official who was briefed on the alert. 'Why did we go to this level? I still don't know that.'"
The data was three years old.
GUANTANAMO: TORTURE
Truth Out: Abu Ghraib General Claims Conspiracy
London - The general who headed the U.S. military prison at Abu Ghraib said in an interview broadcast Tuesday that there had been a conspiracy to prevent her knowing about prisoner abuse at the jail.
Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, who was suspended by the Pentagon in May, has denied knowing about any mistreatment prisoners until photographs surfaced at the end of April. U.S. investigators have not implicated Karpinski directly in any of the abuses.
Karpinski told British Broadcasting Corp. radio that she had information suggesting officials took action to keep her in the dark about the mistreatment.
London - The general who headed the U.S. military prison at Abu Ghraib said in an interview broadcast Tuesday that there had been a conspiracy to prevent her knowing about prisoner abuse at the jail.
Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, who was suspended by the Pentagon in May, has denied knowing about any mistreatment prisoners until photographs surfaced at the end of April. U.S. investigators have not implicated Karpinski directly in any of the abuses.
Karpinski told British Broadcasting Corp. radio that she had information suggesting officials took action to keep her in the dark about the mistreatment.
OSAMA BIN LADEN
Independent: Searching For Osama bin Laden
PESHAWAR -- Somewhere, a man huddles in the shadows, speaking into a tape recorder, bringing his latest message to the outside world. His face is instantly recognisable. There is a $25m price tag on his head, and just a snippet of information on his whereabouts could make a man rich for life. He is the most wanted man in the world, but for more than three years, nobody has been able to find a trace of Osama bin Laden's whereabouts.
With Washington and New York this week on orange alert, and the US releasing what it claims is the most detailed evidence yet of an al-Qa'ida plot to strike inside its borders, the focus is suddenly back on the hunt for Bin Laden. Al-Qa'ida allies are being blamed for the loathsome beheadings of foreigners that have become almost a grisly routine in Iraq. And with a US national election looming and President George Bush doing badly in the polls, the White House is said to be desperate to capture their man in time for November.
...And all the while the world's most wanted man remains silent, hidden. The only thing for sure is that if he has been killed or captured, we'll hear of it well in time for November's elections. But don't bet on it yet.
PESHAWAR -- Somewhere, a man huddles in the shadows, speaking into a tape recorder, bringing his latest message to the outside world. His face is instantly recognisable. There is a $25m price tag on his head, and just a snippet of information on his whereabouts could make a man rich for life. He is the most wanted man in the world, but for more than three years, nobody has been able to find a trace of Osama bin Laden's whereabouts.
With Washington and New York this week on orange alert, and the US releasing what it claims is the most detailed evidence yet of an al-Qa'ida plot to strike inside its borders, the focus is suddenly back on the hunt for Bin Laden. Al-Qa'ida allies are being blamed for the loathsome beheadings of foreigners that have become almost a grisly routine in Iraq. And with a US national election looming and President George Bush doing badly in the polls, the White House is said to be desperate to capture their man in time for November.
...And all the while the world's most wanted man remains silent, hidden. The only thing for sure is that if he has been killed or captured, we'll hear of it well in time for November's elections. But don't bet on it yet.
ISRAEL VS. IRAN
Islamonline: Israeli Attack On Iran To Stir Explosive Autumn
CAIRO (IslamOnline.net) - Israel could launch a massive strike at Iran's nuclear facilities in autumn, creating an explosive situation in the region with a possible fierce response from Tehran, Arab diplomats have expected according to a leading Arabic-language newspaper.
"Exploiting the November US presidential elections and the European concerns, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon could order a strike at Iran's nuclear facilities, similar to the ones Israelis executed in 1981 against Iraq's nuclear weapons program", the diplomats were quoted by the London-based newspaper Al Hayat on Wednesday, August 4.
As Israeli officials have said they will not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, Iran warned of a disastrous retaliation that will "wipe Israel off the face of earth, in the words of the public relations head of the Revolutionary Guards, Commander Seyed Masood Jazayeri on July 26.
CAIRO (IslamOnline.net) - Israel could launch a massive strike at Iran's nuclear facilities in autumn, creating an explosive situation in the region with a possible fierce response from Tehran, Arab diplomats have expected according to a leading Arabic-language newspaper.
"Exploiting the November US presidential elections and the European concerns, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon could order a strike at Iran's nuclear facilities, similar to the ones Israelis executed in 1981 against Iraq's nuclear weapons program", the diplomats were quoted by the London-based newspaper Al Hayat on Wednesday, August 4.
As Israeli officials have said they will not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, Iran warned of a disastrous retaliation that will "wipe Israel off the face of earth, in the words of the public relations head of the Revolutionary Guards, Commander Seyed Masood Jazayeri on July 26.
GUANTANAMO: TORTURE
Guardian: US Abuse At Gitmo Could Be War Crimes - Red Cross
Repeated abuses allegedly suffered by three British prisoners at the hands of US interrogators and guards in the Guant·namo Bay detention camp in Cuba could amount to war crimes, the Red Cross said yesterday.
The organisation, which maintains a rigidly neutral stance in public, took the unusual step of voicing its concerns in uncompromising language after the former detainees, known as the Tipton Three, revealed that they had been beaten, shackled, photographed naked and in one incident questioned at gunpoint while in US custody.
Repeated abuses allegedly suffered by three British prisoners at the hands of US interrogators and guards in the Guant·namo Bay detention camp in Cuba could amount to war crimes, the Red Cross said yesterday.
The organisation, which maintains a rigidly neutral stance in public, took the unusual step of voicing its concerns in uncompromising language after the former detainees, known as the Tipton Three, revealed that they had been beaten, shackled, photographed naked and in one incident questioned at gunpoint while in US custody.
USA: ELECTIONS
Rense: Nader's The One
Are you an authentic human being or a brainwashed media-controlled robot?
I consider it one of the clearest indications that Americans are completely brainwashed and anesthetized in a consumeristic, media-induced coma that Ralph Nader, a man who has accomplished much for the actual benefit of many Americans, is regarded as the illegitimate presidential candidate who can't even get on the ballot in many states, while George W. Bush and John Kerry, two privileged patricians who have never even held a job that wasn't handed to them by their rich friends, and certainly have never done anything significantly positive for humanity, are widely recognized as the only realistic choices for voters in the upcoming election.
Are you an authentic human being or a brainwashed media-controlled robot?
I consider it one of the clearest indications that Americans are completely brainwashed and anesthetized in a consumeristic, media-induced coma that Ralph Nader, a man who has accomplished much for the actual benefit of many Americans, is regarded as the illegitimate presidential candidate who can't even get on the ballot in many states, while George W. Bush and John Kerry, two privileged patricians who have never even held a job that wasn't handed to them by their rich friends, and certainly have never done anything significantly positive for humanity, are widely recognized as the only realistic choices for voters in the upcoming election.
Tuesday, August 03, 2004
SUDAN
Guardian: The mask of altruism disguising a colonial war
Oil will be the driving factor for military intervention in Sudan
If proof were needed that Tony Blair is off the hook over Iraq, it came not during the Commons debate on the Butler report on July 21, but rather at his monthly press conference the following morning. Asked about the crisis in Sudan, Mr Blair replied: "I believe we have a moral responsibility to deal with this and to deal with it by any means that we can." This last phrase means that troops might be sent - as General Sir Mike Jackson, the chief of the general staff, immediately confirmed - and yet the reaction from the usual anti-war campaigners was silence.
Mr Blair has invoked moral necessity for every one of the five wars he has fought in this, surely one of the most bellicose premierships in history. The bombing campaign against Iraq in December 1998, the 74-day bombardment of Yugoslavia in 1999, the intervention in Sierra Leone in the spring of 2000, the attack on Afghanistan in October 2001, and the Iraq war last March were all justified with the bright certainties which shone from the prime minister's eyes. Blair even defended Bill Clinton's attack on the al-Shifa pharmaceuticals factory in Sudan in August 1998, on the entirely bogus grounds that it was really manufacturing anthrax instead of aspirin.
"CHECK IT"
Oil will be the driving factor for military intervention in Sudan
If proof were needed that Tony Blair is off the hook over Iraq, it came not during the Commons debate on the Butler report on July 21, but rather at his monthly press conference the following morning. Asked about the crisis in Sudan, Mr Blair replied: "I believe we have a moral responsibility to deal with this and to deal with it by any means that we can." This last phrase means that troops might be sent - as General Sir Mike Jackson, the chief of the general staff, immediately confirmed - and yet the reaction from the usual anti-war campaigners was silence.
Mr Blair has invoked moral necessity for every one of the five wars he has fought in this, surely one of the most bellicose premierships in history. The bombing campaign against Iraq in December 1998, the 74-day bombardment of Yugoslavia in 1999, the intervention in Sierra Leone in the spring of 2000, the attack on Afghanistan in October 2001, and the Iraq war last March were all justified with the bright certainties which shone from the prime minister's eyes. Blair even defended Bill Clinton's attack on the al-Shifa pharmaceuticals factory in Sudan in August 1998, on the entirely bogus grounds that it was really manufacturing anthrax instead of aspirin.
"CHECK IT"
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Haaretz: 600 New Homes Approved For Occupied West Bank
The Defense Ministry has approved 600 new housing units in Ma'aleh Adumim, the largest West Bank settlement, ministry spokesman Eli Kamir said Monday.
Political sources said the plan could breach an understanding with the United States not to build more homes beyond the existing construction line in West Bank settlements.
The sources said clearance for the housing at Ma'aleh Adumim, a few kilometers east of Jerusalem, was given two months ago by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz.
The Defense Ministry has approved 600 new housing units in Ma'aleh Adumim, the largest West Bank settlement, ministry spokesman Eli Kamir said Monday.
Political sources said the plan could breach an understanding with the United States not to build more homes beyond the existing construction line in West Bank settlements.
The sources said clearance for the housing at Ma'aleh Adumim, a few kilometers east of Jerusalem, was given two months ago by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz.
TORTURE
WRMEA: Rape, Torture, Massacres - The Israelis Did It All First
As the story unfolds in Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, I find myself recalling Mohammad Salah, a Palestinian born in Jerusalem in 1953 who immigrated to the United States in 1971-and soon decided that America was the land of his dreams. If a man worked hard, he and his family could keep the money they earned. And there seemed to be no limit to what he and his wife, Mariam, and their three sons and daughter could do.
I first wrote about Salah's harrowing story in December 1999, and in the five years that have elapsed since then things have not gone much better for him. Nevertheless, he still has an incurable sense of optimism. When I brought up the torture of prisoners in Iraq, Salah's account of what had happened to him in Israel was an almost word-for-word description of the experience of Iraqi prisioners. He also added a few details that he and I had agreed were too horrific for print in 1999.
As the story unfolds in Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, I find myself recalling Mohammad Salah, a Palestinian born in Jerusalem in 1953 who immigrated to the United States in 1971-and soon decided that America was the land of his dreams. If a man worked hard, he and his family could keep the money they earned. And there seemed to be no limit to what he and his wife, Mariam, and their three sons and daughter could do.
I first wrote about Salah's harrowing story in December 1999, and in the five years that have elapsed since then things have not gone much better for him. Nevertheless, he still has an incurable sense of optimism. When I brought up the torture of prisoners in Iraq, Salah's account of what had happened to him in Israel was an almost word-for-word description of the experience of Iraqi prisioners. He also added a few details that he and I had agreed were too horrific for print in 1999.
IRAQ: RESISTANCE
Pakistan Tribune: Heavy US Losses
In Fierce Fallujah Fighting - Report
UNPRECEDENTEDLY FIERCE BATTLES RAGE IN AL-FALLUJAH SUNDAY NIGHT AS RESISTANCE BURNS THE GROUND UNDER THE AGGRESSORS’ FEET
Iraqi Resistance fighters late on Sunday launched a series of varied attacks on the US aggressors in and around al-Fallujah. Iraqi Resistance fighters attacked US aggressors and destroyed two American armored vehicles with rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) on Sunday in al-Fallujah. The local correspondent of Mafkarat al-Islam reported that the first armored vehicle was destroyed south of the industrial zone in the city at 8:30 Mecca time, while the second was destroyed five minutes later in the eastern part of al-‘Askari neighborhood. The attacks left both armored vehicles ablaze and totally destroyed.
After those rocket attacks, US F-16s attacked the areas from which the deadly RPGs were fired. The correspondent wrote in a dispatch posed at 9:55pm Mecca time that the extent of US casualties were unknown, but said that in such circumstances the US troops regularly use armored personnel carriers to transport groups of 8 to 10 soldiers each. The Resistance also fired a number of mortar rounds at the US base east of as-Saqlawiyah, a frequent target of Resistance attacks. The extent of US losses there remained unknown when the correspondent of Mafkarat al-Islam filed his report on the fighting at 10:50pm Sunday Mecca time.
"CHECK IT"
In Fierce Fallujah Fighting - Report
UNPRECEDENTEDLY FIERCE BATTLES RAGE IN AL-FALLUJAH SUNDAY NIGHT AS RESISTANCE BURNS THE GROUND UNDER THE AGGRESSORS’ FEET
Iraqi Resistance fighters late on Sunday launched a series of varied attacks on the US aggressors in and around al-Fallujah. Iraqi Resistance fighters attacked US aggressors and destroyed two American armored vehicles with rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) on Sunday in al-Fallujah. The local correspondent of Mafkarat al-Islam reported that the first armored vehicle was destroyed south of the industrial zone in the city at 8:30 Mecca time, while the second was destroyed five minutes later in the eastern part of al-‘Askari neighborhood. The attacks left both armored vehicles ablaze and totally destroyed.
After those rocket attacks, US F-16s attacked the areas from which the deadly RPGs were fired. The correspondent wrote in a dispatch posed at 9:55pm Mecca time that the extent of US casualties were unknown, but said that in such circumstances the US troops regularly use armored personnel carriers to transport groups of 8 to 10 soldiers each. The Resistance also fired a number of mortar rounds at the US base east of as-Saqlawiyah, a frequent target of Resistance attacks. The extent of US losses there remained unknown when the correspondent of Mafkarat al-Islam filed his report on the fighting at 10:50pm Sunday Mecca time.
"CHECK IT"
Monday, August 02, 2004
IRAQ: ROBERT FISK
Arabnews: Can’t Bush and Blair See Iraq Is About to Explode? Robert Fisk, The Independent
BAGHDAD, 2 August 2004 — The war is a fraud. I’m not talking about the weapons of mass destruction that didn’t exist. Nor the links between Saddam Hussein and Al-Qaeda which didn’t exist. Nor all the other lies upon which we went to war. I’m talking about the new lies.
For just as, before the war, our governments warned us of threats that did not exist, now they hide from us the threats that do exist. Much of Iraq has fallen outside the control of America’s puppet government in Baghdad but we are not told. Hundreds of attacks are made against US troops every month. But unless an American dies, we are not told. This month’s death toll of Iraqis in Baghdad alone has now reached 700 — the worst month since the invasion ended. But we are not told.
The stage management of this catastrophe in Iraq was all too evident at Saddam Hussein’s “trial”. Not only did the US military censor the tapes of the event. Not only did they effectively delete all sound of the 11 other defendants. But the Americans led Saddam Hussein to believe — until he reached the courtroom — that he was on his way to his execution. Indeed, when he entered the room he believed that the judge was there to condemn him to death. This, after all, was the way Saddam ran his own state security courts. No wonder he initially looked “disorientated” — CNN’s helpful description — because, of course, he was meant to look that way. We had made sure of that. Which is why Saddam asked Judge Juhi: “Are you a lawyer? ... Is this a trial?” And swiftly, as he realized that this really was an initial court hearing — not a preliminary to his own hanging — he quickly adopted an attitude of belligerence. But don’t think we’re going to learn much more about Saddam’s future court appearances. Salem Chalabi, the brother of convicted fraudster Ahmad and the man entrusted by the Americans with the tribunal, told the Iraqi press two weeks ago that all media would be excluded from future court hearings. And I can see why. Because if Saddam does a Milosevic, he’ll want to talk about the real intelligence and military connections of his regime — which were primarily with the United States.
"CHECK IT"
BAGHDAD, 2 August 2004 — The war is a fraud. I’m not talking about the weapons of mass destruction that didn’t exist. Nor the links between Saddam Hussein and Al-Qaeda which didn’t exist. Nor all the other lies upon which we went to war. I’m talking about the new lies.
For just as, before the war, our governments warned us of threats that did not exist, now they hide from us the threats that do exist. Much of Iraq has fallen outside the control of America’s puppet government in Baghdad but we are not told. Hundreds of attacks are made against US troops every month. But unless an American dies, we are not told. This month’s death toll of Iraqis in Baghdad alone has now reached 700 — the worst month since the invasion ended. But we are not told.
The stage management of this catastrophe in Iraq was all too evident at Saddam Hussein’s “trial”. Not only did the US military censor the tapes of the event. Not only did they effectively delete all sound of the 11 other defendants. But the Americans led Saddam Hussein to believe — until he reached the courtroom — that he was on his way to his execution. Indeed, when he entered the room he believed that the judge was there to condemn him to death. This, after all, was the way Saddam ran his own state security courts. No wonder he initially looked “disorientated” — CNN’s helpful description — because, of course, he was meant to look that way. We had made sure of that. Which is why Saddam asked Judge Juhi: “Are you a lawyer? ... Is this a trial?” And swiftly, as he realized that this really was an initial court hearing — not a preliminary to his own hanging — he quickly adopted an attitude of belligerence. But don’t think we’re going to learn much more about Saddam’s future court appearances. Salem Chalabi, the brother of convicted fraudster Ahmad and the man entrusted by the Americans with the tribunal, told the Iraqi press two weeks ago that all media would be excluded from future court hearings. And I can see why. Because if Saddam does a Milosevic, he’ll want to talk about the real intelligence and military connections of his regime — which were primarily with the United States.
"CHECK IT"
IRAQ
Reuters: Bombs Sow Fear of More Horror for Iraq's Christians
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Bombings at Iraqi churches did more than kill worshippers, smash tombstones and shatter stained glass -- they destroyed any hope among the Christian community of staying off the hit list for attacks.
"Now, as a Christian I feel like a target," said 40-year-old factory owner, Ayad Zaya, speaking a day after car bombs at five churches killed at least 11 people.
RENSE: Iraqi Muslims Did Not Blow Up Christian Churches
Having discussed the matter in detail with other experts on the Middle East, Christianity in Iraq and on Islam in Iraq, we have all concluded this is not the work of any Muslim group. There has never been any animosity between the Christian and Muslim communities in Iraq, in fact, they have stood toe-to-toe against the American occupation and they have resisted efforts by the Israeli office in Baghdad to become allied with Israel.
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Bombings at Iraqi churches did more than kill worshippers, smash tombstones and shatter stained glass -- they destroyed any hope among the Christian community of staying off the hit list for attacks.
"Now, as a Christian I feel like a target," said 40-year-old factory owner, Ayad Zaya, speaking a day after car bombs at five churches killed at least 11 people.
RENSE: Iraqi Muslims Did Not Blow Up Christian Churches
Having discussed the matter in detail with other experts on the Middle East, Christianity in Iraq and on Islam in Iraq, we have all concluded this is not the work of any Muslim group. There has never been any animosity between the Christian and Muslim communities in Iraq, in fact, they have stood toe-to-toe against the American occupation and they have resisted efforts by the Israeli office in Baghdad to become allied with Israel.
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