The Egyptian government has pulled the plug on Al-Zawraa TV - a satellite channel that glorifies the killing of American soldiers in Iraq and encourages the assassination of the Shiite members of its government - and the chairman of the state-owned satellite company it was broadcast on says it was silenced due to a technical problem and not because it promotes terrorism.
Meanwhile, an Egyptian court has silenced blogger Abdel Kareem Nabil Suleiman by sentencing him to four years in prison for criticizing the authoritarianism of Egypt's Sunni clerics, defending Christians, promoting women's rights, and championing freedom of speech and religion. Posted
2:52 AM
by Robert
| | |
'The Redirection.' Read and reread. Agree with Hersh's central thesis. The US is working directly with Sunni nations to contain Iranian influence in the region. Hersh doesn't have a scoop there. I can even buy his assertion that Dick Cheney is running the covert ops side of the strategy and is "spreading money around...to enhance the Sunni capability to resist Shiite influence." But if Hersh thinks that American money is ending up in the hands of Lebanese Salafist groups, he doesn't know the first thing about radical Islam: "These groups are very serious about their salafist jihadist ideology: the pro-American Lebanese government is an agent of the US-Zionist alliance and must be fought, period."
But...But... No! the Afghan Arabs received not one cent directly from the United States. Don't believe me? Fine. Would you believe Ayman al-Zawahiri?
"In order to extend the culture of self-abnegation and martyrdom, the message of martyrdom will be appended to the school books starting next year" said the deputy of martyrs' [children's] affairs in the ministry of education.
To read the Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace (CMIP) report on Iran's global war curriculum click here. Posted
4:07 AM
by Robert
| | |
Iraq Slogger's Eason Jordon emails saying he put the question to Rubaie directly. Considering this was Rubaie's opportunity to put the nearly month-old matter to rest that, folks, is a de facto confirmation of authenticity.
Alphabet city's February 16, coverage of the letter is here.
In the letter, marked "Secret, Personal, and Urgent", Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Malki, following consultations with his National Security Adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie and cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, decides to "hide the leadership of the jaysh al-mahdi (al-Mahdi Army)" in Iran "to prevent them from being arrested or killed at the hands of American forces." The leadership figures, whose names are attached to the letter, are said by Maliki to be connected with Iranian Revolutionary Guard. The prime minister says, "all administrative and security issues regarding the transfer of the leadership have been completed" and that he expects the transfer to be "executed." Copies of the letter are to be forwarded to the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Baghdad, the leadership of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), and the office of the sayyid martyr al-Sadr. The prime minister instructs the three to "please advise." The letter is dated 14 January 2007, and is signed by the prime minister.
click for larger view
[Retired USAF intelligence officer Lt. Col. Rick Francona's translation follows]
In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
Republic of Iraq Office of the Prime Minister
Number: 147/3/3/Q Date: 14/1/ 2007
Secret, Personal, and Urgent
Based on the telephone conversation with His Excellency Muqtada al-Sadr (God bless), and on consultations between myself and the honorable Dr. Muwafaq al-Rabi'i, and to maintain our great accomplishments, and the present conditions, we would like to hide the leadership of the jaysh al-mahdi (al-Mahdi Army), those top leaders connected with Iranian Revolutionary Guard organization – names attached - to prevent them from being arrested or killed at the hands of American forces, for a temporary period of time. It is preferable to send them to Iran until the crisis abates. Likewise, it is preferable to send the second level leadership to the southern governorates, bearing in mind that there are numerous attempts to convince the Americans to maintain the situation as is. All administrative and security issues regarding the transfer of the leadership have been completed.
We expect the execution, please advise.
Regards.
Attached names:
1. 'Abbas al-Kufi 2. 'Amr Muhaysin Khawajah 3. Salim Husayn 4. Azhar al-Maliki 5. Shaykh Farhan al-Sa'idi (al-Najaf) 6. Sayyid Fadil al-Shari'a (consultant to the prime minister) 7. Sayyid Riyadh al-Nuri (al-Najaf) 8. 'Ali Al-Fartusi 9. Haydar al-'Araji 10. Ahmad al-Darajji. 11. 'Amr al-Sa'idi
Copy to:
1. Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran - Baghdad 2. Leadership of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq 3. Office of the sayyid martyr al-Sadr, (God bless)
//signed// Nuri al-Maliki, Prime Minister. ../1/2007 Posted
4:01 PM
by Robert
| | |
What we stand for as Americans could be lost forever if we pull out- how will the world view America after the world watches Iraq tear itself apart and...Al Qaeda and Iran take over an entire country? All of these left-wing groups and out of touch politicians- what do they really think is going to happen if we just pull out like they grandstand about? Those of us who have been here see past this farce...America was built upon the ideology of freedom from oppression, and Iraq today is not just a war, but a battle in a larger war, the war against terror.
Indeed. America would be shamed. But, I might add, the refrain of the anti-war bunch, at home - for whom America is a perpetual source of shame - and abroad, would not change in the event of a premature American withdrawal and the subsequent slaughter: Bush lied, people died.
The overwhelming majority of our sailors, soldiers, marines and guardsmen are in agreement with Sgt. Smith, whose remarks remind me very much of the immortal words of 2nd Lt. Mark Daily - a poet/warrior for the ages. Posted
1:29 PM
by Robert
| | |
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) began calling for a reauthorization of the war early last month and raised it again last week, during a gathering in the office of Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.). Participants included Kerry, Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl M. Levin (Mich.), Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.), Jack Reed (R.I.) and Russell Feingold (Wis.). Those Democratic senators have emerged as an unofficial war council representing the caucus's wide range of views.
The Democrats who make up the "war council" would be well served to heed the advice of moderate Democrats such as Rep. Jim Cooper (TENN) who says Congress "should focus on oversight of the war and stay away from legislation that encroaches on the war powers of the president."
They won't, of course. They will persist in their attempts to micromanage the war because they, and the other defeatists within the party, don't have the spine to oppose it directly.
...if you think we are in the middle of a civil war, cut off funding. If you believe half of what you are saying in these resolutions, then have the courage of your convictions to stop this war by cutting off funding. But, no, no one wants to do that because they do not know how that will play out at home. Everybody is trying to hedge their bets a little bit, bashing this new effort to secure victory, wanting to be seen in history, I guess, or for the next election, that this was not my idea, this was Bush's fault. Bush is not going to Iraq; 21,500 brave young men and women are going to Iraq behind a general who believes he can win.
This is a low point in my time in the Senate.
...Here is the crux of the matter: The reason we are here on a Saturday playing stupid political games while people are over in Iraq trying to win this war is because our colleagues on the other side of the aisle are afraid to take a vote on cutting off funding. I believe what happened in the House in a nonbinding fashion is the worst possible situation for this Congress, but it is a precursor to a movement toward bleeding this war dry in terms of funds and cutting off funding. If I am wrong, then let's have a vote on cutting off funding.
The reason we are not going to have a vote on the Judd Gregg resolution, which is a legitimate position, is because 70-plus Senators will vote for it. The overwhelming majority of this Senate understands that cutting off funding at this crucial time in the war on terror in Iraq is ill-advised, but they don't want to be on the record. The reason they don't want to be on the record is because the radical left will eat Democrat 2008 hopefuls' lunch. They will create a fight on that side of monumental proportions between the radical left and the bloggers of the left who want to get out yesterday. That is why we are having a truncated debate.
Merv Benson: "As usual Biden is disingenuous and wrong. The authorization included much more than WMD. What the Democrats are doing is looking for a new way to lose the war without taking responsibility for the loss."
Dan Riehl: "As Senator Joseph Lieberman recently pointed out, never before in America's history has a Congress attempted to so brazenly undermine an ongoing military effort while our troops were in harms way."
Jim Hoft: "Democrats want our soldiers to only fight Al Qaeda in Iraq that isn't in Iraq! Brilliant!" Posted
11:51 AM
by Robert
| | |
The alleged rape by Shiite policemen of a Sunni woman, Sabreen al-Janabi, has the potential to trigger an even deadlier round of sectarian killings and threaten the Baghdad security plan if the Sunnis retaliate. By Sunnis I mean the fanatics and jihadists.
Whether the woman was raped or is an asymmetrical weapon in a jihadist counterattack against the Baghdad security plan doesn't matter at this point. The damage is done. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Islamic Army in Iraq have both put out statements promising revenge.
In the Arab world, perception trumps facts.
See here for Slogger's roundup of how major US dailies are reporting the story.
Also, Iraqi blogger Konfused Kid has added English subtitles to the - surprise, surprise - Al Jazeera report and posted the video here. Also here, if it doesn't load at his blog.
By the way, today is the first anniversary of the bombing of the Askariya mosque in Samarra.
Now, "If you talk to these sheiks, they'll tell you that they're in no hurry to see the Americans leave al-Anbar," he said.
"One thing Sheikh Sattar keeps saying is he wants al-Anbar to be like Germany and Japan and South Korea were after their respective wars, with a long-term American presence helping ... put them back together," MacFarland said. "The negative example he cites is Vietnam. He says, yeah, so, Vietnam beat the Americans, and what did it get them? You know, 30 years later, they’re still living in poverty."
Freakin' priceless. Shaykh Sattar knows a stronger tribe when he sees one.
Jason at PostPolitical has quite a bit more on Sattar from an Army Colonel here.
Alphabet city featured the Shaykh a couple of days ago here.
Update: The White House switchboard operator should tell Pelosi to call Sattar. The Shaykh will back Cheney up.
Update: ON Point Contributing Editor Andrew Lubin's interview with Shaykh Sattar.
The Islamic State of Iraq's attempt to eliminate Shaykh Sattar with a car bomb outside his house on Monday killed five police officers and six civilians but Sattar was not home.
The brigade’s success is a blueprint many other units are following, and according to MacFarland, the new commander in Iraq, Army Gen. David Petraeus, has instructed it to be disseminated throughout the forces in Iraq.
"If you are active duty, reservist or national guard, please Sign this Appeal."
"As an American currently serving my nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to fully support our mission in Iraq and halt any calls for retreat. I also respectfully urge my political leaders to actively oppose media efforts which embolden my enemy while demoralizing American support at home. The War in Iraq is a necessary and just effort to bring freedom to the Middle East and protect America from further attack."
Nibras Kazimi's 'Insurgents' Dirty Laundry on Air' last week at Talisman Gate not only broke to the English-language blogosphere the news of Al-Zawraa TV's Mishaan al-Jabouri's very public threat to the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) but also underscored a very serious intra-jihadist dispute between indigenous Sunni insurgents and Al Qaeda inside Iraq's Anbar province.
Following up on Nibras' post, Bill Roggio pointed out that Jabouri is aligned with the Islamic Army in Iraq, which, along with Ansar al-Sunnah, the Mujahidin Army, and the Al-Rashidin Army, has refused to join the ISI and pledge allegiance to its emir, Omar Abu al-Baghdadi.
On January 13, 2007 a message demanding retribution for the killing of Ansar al-Sunnah (AAS) fighters by Al-Qaida in Iraq (AQI) was transmitted by AAS' Judicial Committee to AQI's Emir, Abu Hamzah al-Muhajir. Apparently after receiving no response from al-Muhajir, the letter was posted on a private (password protected) online forum on January 22, 2007. The letter was subsequently posted to an unprotected website sympathetic to Iraqi insurgent groups.
The Sunni insurgents are not only enraged by Al Qaeda's kidnapping, torture and execution of rival sheikhs, emirs and mujahids and its killing of soldiers, policemen, civilians, and shoppers in markets but also are concerned that Al Qaeda's tactics undermine national unity and significantly weaken the effort to defeat the American occupiers and drive them from Iraq.
But Al-Qaeda has bigger plans for Iraq than simply driving out the occupiers. When Mishaan al-Jabouri in his Al-Zawraa speech said, "We will not allow Iraq's transformation into a dangerous place that threatens the region's countries, and those brothers who come to you should pursue jihad in their own countries and not in ours if they wish to pursue acts beyond the resistance of the occupation," he could easily have been responding to Ayman al-Zawahiri instead of addressing Omar Abu Omar al-Baghdadi.
As I end my talk, I send my greetings and those of my brothers to our brothers, the Mujahideen in Iraq. And I congratulate them on the establishment of the Islamic State of Iraq, and encourage the Islamic Ummah to back this young, fledgling state, for it -- Allah permitting -- is the gateway to the liberation of Palestine and the restoration of the Islamic Caliphate. And I also encourage all my Mujahid brothers in Iraq to join this blessed caravan to rescue Iraq of the Caliphate from the schemes of the Crusaders and their agents, the traitorous religion-traders, and to ruin what the beggar Abdul Aziz al-Hakim conspired about in Washington with his master, the defender of the defeated cross.
- Ayman al-Zawahiri, 21 December, 2006
This difference of vision on Iraq between the Iraqi Sunni insurgents and the Al Qaeda jihadists is signicant and critical to understanding what's at stake there for the United States. The majority of Sunni insurgent groups wish to drive the Americans out of Iraq and reclaim for Iraq's Sunnis the power they wielded during the Saddam days. To Al Qaeda, on the other hand, victory in Iraq would result in the establishment of the first Islamist State and serve as a launching pad for the restoration of the Caliphate.
It's a distinction that John Murtha, Nancy Pelosi and the majority of liberals are unable to make.
By Lt. Nathan Christensen, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/Commander, U.S. 5th Fleet
USS JOHN C. STENNIS, At Sea (NNS) -- The USS John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group (JCSSG) entered the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations (AOO) Feb.19 to conduct Maritime Security Operations (MSO) in regional waters, as well as to provide support for ground forces operating in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Led by Rear Adm. Kevin Quinn, Commander, Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 3, the strike group includes the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON)21, the guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam (CG 54), guided-missile destroyers USS O'Kane (DDG 77) and USS Preble (DDG 88), and the fast combat-support ship USNS Bridge (T-AOE 10). More than 6,500 Sailors and Marines are assigned to JCSSG.
"The USS John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group is here to help foster stability and security in the region," said Quinn. "We look forward to working with our coalition partners to provide support for ground forces operating in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as conducting maritime security operations that help provide a safe environment for shipping within the region. We are ready, we are sustainable, we are flexible and we provide significant capabilities that contribute to regional peace and security."
MSO help set the conditions for security and stability in the maritime environment, as well as complement the counter-terrorism and security efforts of regional nations. These operations deny international terrorists use of the maritime environment as a venue for attack or to transport personnel, weapons or other material.
U.S. 5th Fleet's AOO encompasses 2.5 million square miles of water and includes the Arabian Gulf, Arabian Sea, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman and parts of the Indian Ocean.
Thousands of British troops have been involved in operations with the Iraqi army against rogue police units, local militias and al-Qaeda groups.
But once that is is finished large scale military patrols will end.
However, a sustantial British force will remain at their permanent base at Basra airport to provide support for Iraqi [forces].
Downing Street and the White House are putting a good face on the British withdrawal but, according to Lt. Col David Eshel (IDF-Ret.) writing at Defense Update last December, any reduction in the British contingent in Basra would impact the US military effort in Iraq:
The highly strategic Basrah region is not only the logistical vital supply gate for coalition forces in Iraq, but due to its strategic location, close to the Shat-al Arab waterway, could clear the way for an Iranian foray into the void.
Iran's first objective implementing its aim would be controlling the strategic Shat-al-Arab waterway and Al Basrah province, which not only dominates all access routes in that region, but would place the US led coalition forces in Iraq in dangerous jeopardy, by virtually threatening their vital logistical supply life-line into central Iraq. Sofar, the only military force still preventing such a threat depended on the relatively limited military British contingent in Basrah. Fortunately, probably with some foresight, the south-central weak links that were the Ukrainian and Bulgarian contingents have recently been replaced by elements of the US 4th Infantry Division, forming up on the overall border region, preventing outflanking of British army positions north of Basrah. But any reduction, or even early withdrawal of the British contingent, would place these forces under severe pressure to stem a growing threat from Iranian-backed insurgency forces in that highly critical region. In order to achieve a strategic land-link to the Iraqi Shi'ite south, Iran must not only destabilise the Al Basrah region, but, first dominate the entire province with loyal elements, which will secure this vital land bridge for Iran's ultimate aims.
In a recent restricted intelligence report, experts estimated that, while world attention is focusing on Iran's nuclear ambitions and Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's fierce rhetoric, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is quietly destablising southern Iraq, and unhinging British military control of Al-Basrah being its first objective. There are already indications, that Telic forces are re-deploying from down-town Basrah to more defensive positions around the perimeter, which may even signal first preparations for a phased withdrawal early next year.
Iranian influence in Iraq has significantly increased over the last year, but has become most pervasive in the Shiite south, where local militia, backed by IRGC have virtually consolidated their control over Al Basrah province and now dominate police, governate council, security apparatuses and even humanitarian organisations. These militias in the city have virtually eliminated nearly all the local opposition. In fact, it is well known to western intelligence community that Iranian revolutionary guard units are sponsors of the Mahdi Army of Moqtada al Sadr and the Badr Brigades of the Supreme Council for the Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI). They are the principal militias of the Shia communities of the south, and are now among the top three or four most powerful private armies in Iraq.
Meanwhile, the National Council of Resistance of Iran continued its intelligence offensive against the mullah regime today when its Foreign Affairs Chairman, Mohammad Mohaddessin, "spoke about critical aspects of the clerical regime's meddling in Iraq." In today's speech, part of a web conference organized by the International Study Committee for Change in Iran, Mohaddessin presented evidence from an alleged top secret IRGC document obtained by sources of the resistance inside Iran and first made public by the NCRI on January 26.
Also, the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis and its strike group joined the USS Eisenhower and its group in the Persian Gulf as US military officials revealed that Iranian patrol boats are probing defensive measures near Iraqi offshore oil terminals and yet another UN deadline calling for Iran to halt uranium enrichment passed with a defiant Tehran vowing not to freeze its nuclear activities unless Western nations halted theirs. Posted
7:07 PM
by Robert
| | |
Over at Hot Air yesterday, Allah Pundit linked to the BBC report revealing US plans to attack Iran and called it "uselessly vague."
I agree. The Beeb is thin on details. Not to worry. This New Statesman report from last week is chock-full of information. "The US army, navy, air force and marines have all prepared battle plans." Here's a teaser covering the USAF's role and capabilities.
Any US general planning to attack Iran can now assume that at least 10,000 targets can be hit in a single raid, with warplanes flying from the US or Diego Garcia. In the past year, unlimited funding for military technology has taken "smart bombs" to a new level.
New "bunker-busting" conventional bombs weigh only 250lb. According to Boeing, the GBU-39 small-diameter bomb "quadruples" the firepower of US warplanes, compared to those in use even as recently as 2003. A single stealth or B-52 bomber can now attack between 150 and 300 individual points to within a metre of accuracy using the global positioning system.
With little military effort, the US air force can hit the last-known position of Iranian military units, political leaders and supposed sites of weapons of mass destruction. One can be sure that, if war comes, George Bush will not want to stand accused of using too little force and allowing Iran to fight back.
"Global Strike" means that, without any obvious signal, what was done to Serbia and Lebanon can be done overnight to the whole of Iran. We, and probably the Iranians, would not know about it until after the bombs fell.
And if you're a liberal, best not side with Bush on Iran or the moonbats will rip you a new one in the comments section. Posted
1:00 AM
by Robert
| | |
Sheikh Abdel Sittar Baziya, head of the Abu Risha tribe and a founder of the movement the Sahawat Al Anbar, or Awakening Council, an alliance pledged to fighting al-Qaeda in Al Anbar province. YURI KOZYREV FOR TIME
Nibras Kazimi posted to his blog Talisman Gate yesterday his translation of a rabidly anti-Al Qaeda speech delivered by Sunni insurgent supporter and funder and former Iraqi MP al-Jabouri (alt: Mish'an al-Juburi) from his Damascus hide-out and aired on his Al-Zawraa TV.
Al-Jabouri's complaints are many, including Al Qaeda's failure to protect Sunnis from Shi'a retaliation after it provoked them and its forcing of Anbar's Sunnis to pledge fealty to the Islamic State of Iraq, but what's really got him steamed is AQ's murder and kidnapping of important Sunnis.
Back in November, 2005, three Anbar Sunni tribes, with US military backing, formed a group called the Anbar Revenge Brigade after concluding "that the best way to reduce the coalition troop presence in their home regions [was] to flush out al-Qaeda elements in their cities." The late Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's Al Qaeda in Iraq then declared the Revenge Brigade tribes guilty of apostasy and, along with the Anbar tribes not aligned with the Revenge Brigade, went to war with them.
Then, in August of last year, according to Col. MacFarland - commander of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division - the Anbar tribal posture shifted dramatically when 12 of Ramadi's 21 tribes joined the coalition security effort (six are considered neutral and three are actively hostile) when Al Qaeda, which had begun targeting Anbar tribal shaykhs, "overplayed its hand":
Al Qaeda in Iraq...kidnapped and killed Sheik Khalid of the Albu Ali Jassim tribe and left his body where it could not be found, preventing the family from burying him within 24 hours as prescribed by Muslim tradition.
At a meeting that month, several sheiks drew up an 11-point declaration vowing to fight al Qaeda, within the rule of law, and declaring solidarity with coalition and government security forces. It is a movement referred to by the tribes as "the Awakening [Sahawat Al Anbar, or Awakening Council]."
And here's where Shaykh Sattar enters the picture.
Al Qaeda "assassinated a lot of the sheiks," said Sheik Ahmed Abureeshah, 41, whose brother, Sheik Sitar, is the driving force behind the initiative. "They killed my father. They killed three of my brothers. They killed 14 other sheiks from different tribes.
"Then we met the sheiks of the tribe one after one, and we decided that we must put our hands together and fight to defeat these criminals."
The tribes sent hundreds of young men to join the police -- more than 1,000 in December and more than that last month, a record recruiting effort for the province.
The men were assigned to police stations in their own tribes' neighborhoods, giving the tribes a vested interest in their success and contributing to unusually high rates of policemen turning up for work. Others were organized into the ERUs, which operate in the countryside while the police remain in the cities.
Improved security, in turn, made it possible for the brigade to pour in reconstruction money, enabling some $3 million in projects to be undertaken.
As the benefits of cooperation became evident, "the tribes began flipping, like a domino effect," Col. MacFarland said. "Almost every week, we get another sheik knocking on our door."
To be sure, Mishaan Al-Jabouri is incensed with Al Qaeda's outrages, but, I suspect, his outburst has less to do with his anger and more to do with his inability to stop them. The only Sunni tribes that have had any success against Abu Omar Baghdadi and the Islamic State of Iraq are aligned with the US military. Al-Jabouri must see the writing on the wall. If the Anbar tribes keep "flipping," Jabouri may very well find the whole of Anbar's indigenous Sunni insurgency aligned with the US. How long, then, before he realizes the fastest course to ending the occupation means becoming our son of a bitch?
That's something you won't see broadcast to the Arab world on Al-Zawraa TV.
Republicans united largely behind Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and refused to allow the measure to be considered unless they could offer an alternative declaring that funding for military personnel in Iraq would not be cut.
Why would Democrats be opposed to amending the resolution to insure our military has the funds it needs?
Because they're cowards.
Lindsey Graham said from the Senate floor, and I paraphrase, that if Democrats were to go on the record against defunding the war, the "radical left" and its bloggers, who want to get out of Iraq yesterday, would eat them for lunch.
And the Democrats who actively court the "radical left?" They're cowards, too.
The Washington Post smacked down John Murtha in an editorial today for a plan he hatched with a coalition of left-wing anti-war activists fronted by Win Without War and MoveCongress.org to "stop the surge by crudely hamstringing the ability of military commanders to deploy troops."
In an interview carried Thursday by the Web site MoveCongress.org, Mr. Murtha said he would attach language to a war funding bill that would prohibit the redeployment of units that have been at home for less than a year, stop the extension of tours beyond 12 months, and prohibit units from shipping out if they do not train with all of their equipment. His aim, he made clear, is not to improve readiness but to "stop the surge." So why not straightforwardly strip the money out of the appropriations bill -- an action Congress is clearly empowered to take -- rather than try to micromanage the Army in a way that may be unconstitutional? Because, Mr. Murtha said, it will deflect accusations that he is trying to do what he is trying to do. "What we are saying will be very hard to find fault with," he said.
Here's how Murtha sums up his "slow bleed strategy," which is backed by Nancy Pelosi:
"They won't be able to continue. They won't be able to do the deployment. They won't have the equipment, they don't have the training and they won't be able to do the work. There's no question in my mind. We have analyzed this and we have come to the conclusion that it can't be done." (audio provided by House Minority Leader John Boehner)
Transcript from the Congressman's website follows.
~
You know, I flew 62 combat missions in the Korean War and 25 missions in the Vietnam War before being shot down.
I had the privilege of serving in the United States Air Force for 29 years, attending the prestigious National War College, and commanding two air bases, among other things.
I mention these stories because I view the debate on the floor not just as a U.S. Congressman elected to serve the good people of the Third District in Texas, but also through the lens of a life-long fighter pilot, student of war, a combat warrior, a leader of men, and a Prisoner of War.
Ironically, this week marks the anniversary that I started a new life – and my freedom from prison in Hanoi.
I spent nearly seven years as a Prisoner of War in Vietnam, more than half of that time in solitary confinement. I flew out of Hanoi on February 12, 1973 with other long-held Prisoners of War – weighing just 140 pounds. And tomorrow – 34 years ago, I had my homecoming to Texas – a truly unspeakable blessing of freedom.
While in solitary confinement, my captors kept me in leg stocks, like the pilgrims… for 72 days.
As you can imagine, they had to carry me out of the stocks because I couldn't walk. The following day, they put me in leg irons...for two and a half years. That’s when you have a tight metal cuff around each ankle – with a foot-long bar connecting the legs.
I still have little feeling in my right arm and my right hand… and my body has never been the same since my nearly 2,500 days of captivity.
But I will never let my physical wounds hold me back.
Instead, I try to see the silver lining. I say that because in some way … I’m living a dream…a hope I had for the future.
From April 16, 1966 to February 12, 1973 – I prayed that I would return home to the loving embrace of my wife, Shirley, and my three kids, Bob, Gini, and Beverly…
And my fellow POWs and I clung to the hope of when – not if – we returned home.
We would spend hours tapping on the adjoining cement walls about what we would do when we got home to America.
We pledged to quit griping about the way the government was running the war in Vietnam and do something about it... We decided that we would run for office and try to make America a better place for all.
So - little did I know back in my rat-infested 3 x 8 dark and filthy cell that 34 years after my departure from Hell on Earth… I would spend the anniversary of my release pleading for a House panel to back my measure to support and fully fund the troops in harm's way….and that just days later I would be on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives surrounded by distinguished veterans urging Congress to support our troops to the hilt.
We POWs were still in Vietnam when Washington cut the funding for Vietnam. I know what it does to morale and mission success. Words can not fully describe the horrendous damage of the anti-American efforts against the war back home to the guys on the ground.
Our captors would blare nasty recordings over the loud speaker of Americans protesting back home…tales of Americans spitting on Vietnam veterans when they came home... and worse.
We must never, ever let that happen again.
The pain inflicted by your country's indifference is tenfold that inflicted by your ruthless captors.
Our troops - and their families – want, need and deserve the full support of the country – and the Congress. Moms and dads watching the news need to know that the Congress will not leave their sons and daughters in harm’s way without support.
Since the President announced his new plan for Iraq last month, there has been steady progress. He changed the rules of engagement and removed political protections.
There are reports we wounded the number two of Al Qaeda and killed his deputy. Yes, Al Qaeda operates in Iraq. It's alleged that top radical jihadist Al-Sadr has fled Iraq - maybe to Iran. And Iraq’s closed its borders with Iran and Syria. The President changed course and offered a new plan …we are making progress. We must seize the opportunity to move forward, not stifle future success.
Debating non-binding resolutions aimed at earning political points only destroys morale, stymies success, and emboldens the enemy.
The grim reality is that this House measure is the first step to cutting funding of the troops…Just ask John Murtha about his 'slow-bleed' plan that hamstrings our troops in harm’s way.
Now it's time to stand up for my friends who did not make it home – and those who fought and died in Iraq - so I can keep my promise that when we got home we would quit griping about the war and do something positive about it…and we must not allow this Congress to leave these troops like the Congress left us.
Today, let my body serve as a brutal reminder that we must not repeat the mistakes of the past...instead learn from them.
We must not cut funding for our troops. We must stick by them. We must support them all the way. To our troops we must remain...always faithful.
God bless you and I salute you all. Thank you.
~
Update:John Hinderaker posts the vid and says what I wanted to say but chickened out...something to do with tears. Posted
6:49 AM
by Robert
| | |
Writing last night on H.Con.Res. 63 he said the vote was "nothing but an opportunity to strike a posture hip with the press corps and the lunatic fringe of the Democrat Party, better known to Democratic politicians as The Base."
The Base. Hmmm. Now where have I heard the term before? Oh yes, it is the English-language equivalent of the Arabic term القاعدة or Al-Qai'dah.
The Democrats and the turncoat Republicans may think they have America's best interests at heart - that is why I cannot accuse them of treason and cowardice - but they are woefully ignorant of the seriousness of the danger the West faces from the Qaidists and Khomenists. The pundits, analysts and experts have said it better than I, but it bears repeating. To withdraw from Iraq is to cede the battle to the Islamists. The argument that the fight is between Sunni and Shia, while true to a degree, misses the point. Iraq is now the epicenter of two momentous clashes. The first is the struggle between the Sunni Qaidists and the Shiite Khomeinists for supremacy within Islam. The second is between Democracy and radical Islam, whether the Sunni or Shiite brand. To withdraw and let fanatical Muslims engage in a death match would ignite a regional war. Yes, it would be calamitous. Tens of thousands would die and the world economy would be wrecked. More important, however, is this: Regardless of which sect prevailed, radical Islam would be the victor and we would be faced with an even more potent threat. We must not withdraw. Our mission must be to stand firm, to fight and to slay the two-headed dragon of radical Islam in Iraq. We must kill it where it lives. Or kill it where we live when it follows us home. Posted
2:33 AM
by Robert
| | |
Letter Said From PM on Plan To Hide Al-Mahdi Leaders in Iran From US Forces
Originally published on 2/1/2007 by Jihadist Websites -- OSC Report in Arabic
Terrorism: Website Claims Iraqi PM and Al-Sadr Will Hide Al-Mahdi Leaders in Iran from US Forces
On 1 February, a website posted a letter allegedly from Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Malki, marked "Secret, Personal, and Urgent", in which the prime minister, following consultations with his National Security Adviser and cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, decided "to hide the leaders and commanders of Al-Mahdi Army in Iran to keep them from getting arrested or killed by US forces". The alleged letter was dated 14 January 2007, and was signed by the prime minister. The letter was posted without comment.
click for larger view
[A translation of the letter follows]
"In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
Republic of Iraq Office of the Prime Minister
Number: 147/3/3/Q Date: 14 January 2007
Secret, Personal, and Urgent
Based on our telephone conversation with His Eminence Muqtada al-Sadr (may God bless him), and consultations between myself and the respected Dr. Muwafaq al-Rabi'i [National Security Adviser], and for the sake of preserving our great accomplishments, and due to the present conditions, we would like to hide the leaders of Al-Mahdi Army from the front line [first tier al-Mahdi leaders] who are systematically connected to the Iranian Republic Guard, names attached, to keep them safe from getting arrested or killed by the American forces, for a period of time, until the crisis is cleared. It is preferred that the leaders from the second line will be sent to the southern provinces, bearing in mind that there are numerous attempts to convince the Americans to keep the situation as is. All administrative and security issues regarding the transfer of these leaders have been prepared.
We expect the implementation [of this order], and confirmation.
With best regards.
The attached names [as published] are:
1. Abbas al-Kufi.
2. Amir Muhaisin Khawajah.
3. Salim Hussein.
4. Azhar al-Maliki.
5. Shaykh Farhan al-Sa'idi/ Al-Najaf.
6. Al-Sayyid [Mister] Fadil al-Shasri'h/ Consultant to the respected PM.
7. Al-Sayyid [Mister] Riad al-Nuri/ Al-Najaf.
8. Ali Al-Fartusi.
9. Haidar al-A'raji.
10. Ahmad al-Daraji.
11. Amir al-Sa'idi.
Copies to:
1. Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
2. Leadership of the Highest Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq.
4. Office of the martyr Al-Sadr, (may God bless him).
Signed by: Nuri al-Malki, Prime Minister. 14/1/2007."
Update at 12:50 pm, ET:Laura Mansfield has emailed me a rough translation via her Blackberry and has asked her sources in Baghdad to authenticate the letter. Rick Francona has also emailed a translation and says his sources in Baghdad say the letter "has been making the rounds in Iraq, and is believed to be a fabrication by the Sunnis to discredit the government." By agreement, I am not at liberty to reveal the identity of their sources.
The upshot: The provenance of the letter is not yet established. Either the letter is an attempt to discredit the Maliki government (Abu Omar al-Baghdadi's Islamic State of Iraq would be my guess as it certainly has the capability) or the letter is legitimate and was leaked by someone within the Iraqi government who is rightly concerned about Iranian influence on the Iraqi government (PM Maliki, NSA Rubbaie and President Talabani all have connections with the IRGC and Qods Force that go back years).
According to prominent Iranian dissident and author Alireza Jafarzadeh, the Khomeinists are using the Mahdi Army in their campaign to export the Islamic revolution to Iraq.
In July 2006 my sources in Iran uncovered facts about Iran's training and support of Iraqi militias, including the Mahdi fighters. In March of that year, 50 members of the Mahdi Army were sent from Basra to Iran for training in explosives, arms, and mines. The director of the training program, an Iranian mullah, told the company, "You are the future of Iraq and you must expel the occupying forces." The group returned to Iraq in two yellow Mercedes Benz buses and organized into a company called Ghassem. My sources also uncovered information aobut a 30-day training course for Mahdi soldiers that began in late May. The Iranian trainers, based in Baghdad, hid the military program under the guise of a series of religious lessons, but the attendees were trained in using hand grenades, RPG-7 rocket launchers, and bombs. In May 2006, another group of 27 Mahdi Army men left Al-Amareh for Iran for training and receiving special instructions from the Qods force.
- "The Iran Threat, President Ahmadinejad and the Coming Nuclear Crisis," Alireza Jafarzadeh, Palgrave Macmillan, 2007
Stay tuned.
Update at 2:05 pm, ET: The Francona translation.
In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
Republic of Iraq Office of the Prime Minister
Number: 147/3/3/Q Date: 14/1/ 2007
Secret, Personal, and Urgent
Based on the telephone conversation with His Excellency Muqtada al-Sadr (God bless), and on consultations between myself and the honorable Dr. Muwafaq al-Rabi'i, and to maintain our great accomplishments, and the present conditions, we would like to hide the leadership of the jaysh al-mahdi (al-Mahdi Army), those top leaders connected with Iranian Revolutionary Guard organization – names attached - to prevent them from being arrested or killed at the hands of American forces, for a temporary period of time. It is preferable to send them to Iran until the crisis abates. Likewise, it is preferable to send the second level leadership to the southern governorates, bearing in mind that there are numerous attempts to convince the Americans to maintain the situation as is. All administrative and security issues regarding the transfer of the leadership have been completed.
We expect the execution, please advise.
Regards.
Attached names:
1. 'Abbas al-Kufi 2. 'Amr Muhaysin Khawajah 3. Salim Husayn 4. Azhar al-Maliki 5. Shaykh Farhan al-Sa'idi (al-Najaf) 6. Sayyid Fadil al-Shari'a (consultant to the prime minister) 7. Sayyid Riyadh al-Nuri (al-Najaf) 8. 'Ali Al-Fartusi 9. Haydar al-'Araji 10. Ahmad al-Darajji. 11. 'Amr al-Sa'idi
Copy to:
1. Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran - Baghdad 2. Leadership of the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq 3. Office of the sayyid martyr al-Sadr, (God bless)
//signed// Nuri al-Maliki, Prime Minister. ../1/2007
Update on Saturday at 2:01 pm, ET: I emailed and spoke to several media oranizations and think tanks yesterday. So far, no response.
Unless someone proves otherwise, I'm considering the letter a fraud. In all honesty, I am hoping it is. If it is authentic, Maliki has only the interests of Iraq's Shia at heart and even darker days await Sunnis who reject the acts of terror by Sunni jihadists and insurgents.
Update on Sunday at 2:40 am, ET: Laura Mansfield emails to say her sources in Baghdad consider the letter to be an attempt to discredit the Maliki government. Still no word on Muqtada's whereabouts however.
More:Iraq Slogger: "CNN cites an Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman as reporting that Iraqi police encountered an insurgent group on the road between Falluja and Samarra and, in a firefight, wounded Abu Ayyub al-Masri and killed Abu Abdullah al-Majamiai."
More: AP (Washington Post) has MOI spokesman and Iraqi Brig. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf confirming that al-Masri was wounded and al-Majamiai killed but adds that "Deputy Interior Minister Maj. Gen. Hussein Ali Kamal said he had no information about such a clash or that al-Masri had been involved." The US military has not commented.
Update: PJM's Richard Miniter breaks the bad news. But do give the link a click. Miniter has some news on al-Qaeda/Islamic State of Iraq's new tactics. Posted
5:09 PM
by Robert
| | |
As Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona (USAF-Ret) recently put it when writing about American blood on Iranian hands: "Rather than bringing them to justice, let's bring justice to them."
Francona, a former USAF intelligence officer fluent in Arabic with extensive operational experience in the Middle East - including tours of duty with the NSA, DIA and CIA - wasn't referring exclusively to Tehran's involvement in attacks on US armed forces inside Iraq by religious fanatics, insurgents and terrorists supported, supplied and financed by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's Qods Force. Murder by Iran in the name of Khomeinism goes back, wayback, has not been limited solely to American nationals and the Qods Force has had a hand in almost every operation.
So here's how we bring the justice. Forget quietly assassinating "radical mullahs and iranian atomic scientists." The Qods Force is the outfit that needs to be dealt with. Since its paper and financial trail cannot be traced directly back to Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to whom it reports, nor to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmdinejad, who helped create it, we need to target Qods Force headquarters.
The significance of striking this particular target is twofold. First, it is a practical target. The Qods Force's Iraq operation is run out of the compound, so it gets hit. It would send the strongest possible message to the mullah regime concerning the seriousness of the United States' commitment to force protection in Iraq. Secondly, it is a symbolic target. The Khomeinist war on America and the West began there 29 years ago.
Think my suggestion is irresponsibly outrageous? Hey, take it up with former CIA Middle East field officer Robert Baer. He mentioned the option of "bombing a Quds Force base in Iran in the name of force protection" yesterday. I simply pointed out the obvious target.
(While we're on the subject of force protection, here is another Tehran site that needs to be smoked: "Within the Ordnance Factories Complex, a subdivision of Iran's Defense Industries Organization, a company named Sattari specializes in making various types of anti-tank mines, including EFP's.")
Update: Rick Francona has some strong remarks for President Bush and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Peter Pace, who both today stopped short of saying that Khamenei and the top echelon of the Iranian government are involved in attacks on US forces in Iraq:
Having worked the "Iranian problem" for many years while in the intelligence community, the thought that the Qods Force could supply weapons and deploy personnel to Iraq without the knowledge and complicity of the Iranian government is ludicrous.
Iranian-made weapons components are being used in roadside bombs that are killing American troops. American forces have detained Qods Force personnel in Iraq, recovered documents indicating their involvement in a variety of operations in Iraq, and captured weapons that were manufactured in Iran. Whether or not the orders came from the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Khamenei, President Ahmadinejad, or the commander of the IRGC, the bottom line is that someone in the Iranian regime authorized these operations.
The president at one point remarked, "I'm going to do something about it."
If it was up to me and I believed that the IRGC Qods Force has American blood on its hands (it does), there would be strikes on IRGC facilities in Iran. How's that for dialogue with Tehran?
Mr. President, just what are you prepared to do?
Well, Lt. Col. Francona, the joint command center of the IRGC in Tehran is located right next door to the Qods Force headquarters. Shall we add it to the target list?
If I may, I would like to point out to the reader that we now have two former intelligence officers with loads of experience in the Middle East, and with the Iranians, who do more than not rule out a strike on IRGC or Qods Force targets inside Iran. Francona and Baer consider it a viable option for dealing with a "mortal enemy."
Update:Robert Baer: The Qods Force are "bad guys - who 100 percent have American blood on their hands."
...cannot the world's most powerful nation deign speak to the resentful and scheming regional power that is Iran? Can we not speak of the interests of others, work to establish a sustained dialogue, and seek to benefit the people of Iran and the region? Could not such a dialogue, properly conducted, begin a process that could, over time, help realign hardened attitudes and polarizing views within the region? And isn't it easier to undertake such a dialogue now, before more die, and more martyrs are created to feed extremist passions? And, finally, if every effort should fail, before we take military action, don't we at least want the moral, legal and political "high ground" of knowing we did everything possible to avert it?
Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona, USAF (Ret) believes Iran to be part of the problem:
The Iraq Study Group report recommends that the United States enter into a direct dialogue with Iran. It is one of the few recommendations with which I agree. I believe Iran to be part of the problem in Iraq, not part of the solution. Therefore, our dialogue should be clear and compelling—cease your support of the Shia militias in Iraq or pay a price.
Only when the Iranian leadership believes that the United States is willing and able to back up the dialogue with force will they ameliorate their behavior.
ABC News and CNN yesterday reported that Muqtada al-Sadr, fearing attack from US forces or assassination from the more extreme elements within his militia, left Iraq for Iran two to three weeks ago taking some of the leadership of his Madhi Army with him.
Letter Said From PM on Plan To Hide Al-Mahdi Leaders in Iran From US Forces
Originally published on 2/1/2007 by Jihadist Websites -- OSC Report in Arabic
Terrorism: Website Claims Iraqi PM and Al-Sadr Will Hide Al-Mahdi Leaders in Iran from US Forces
On 1 February, a website posted a letter allegedly from Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, marked "Secret, Personal, and Urgent", in which the prime minister, following consultations with his National Security Adviser and cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, decided "to hide the leaders and commanders of Al-Mahdi Army in Iran to keep them from getting arrested or killed by US forces". The alleged letter was dated 14 January 2007, and was signed by the prime minister. The letter was posted without comment.
The OSC report says the letter was posted to a jihadist website. Most likely Sunni. If so, it could be an attempt by Sunni jihadist and/or insurgent elements to discredit Maliki's pledge of religious impartiality in Operation Secure Bagdad. In other words, more fanning of sectarian flames.
The other possibility, the document is genuine and Muqtada has not run with his tail between his legs but has been secreted away in Iran with the blessings of PM Maliki and NSA Mowaffak al-Rubaie. Both belong to the Dawa Party which forged it's ties to the Khomeinists during Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's exile in Najaf in the late 1970s.
Update: Michael Howard, the Guardian's staff reporter in Baghdad, provides some new information on Sadr's whereabouts:
Senior commanders of the Mahdi army, the militia loyal to the radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, have been spirited away to Iran to avoid being targeted in the new security push in Baghdad, a high-level Iraqi official told the Guardian yesterday.
On the day the Iraqi government formally launched its crackdown on insurgents and amid disputed claims about the whereabouts of Mr Sadr, the official said the Mahdi army leadership had withdrawn across the border into Iran to regroup and retrain.
"Over the last three weeks, they [Iran] have taken away from Baghdad the first and second-tier military leaders of the Mahdi army," he said. The aim of the Iranians was to "prevent the dismantling of the infrastructure of the Shia militias" in the Iraqi capital - one of the chief aims of the US-backed security drive.
"The strategy is to lie low until the storm passes, and then let them return and fill the vacuum," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The Tehran authorities were "playing a waiting game" until the commanders could return to Baghdad and resume their activities. "All indications are that Moqtada is in Iran, but that is not really the point," he added.
I'm guessing that Howard's unnamed source is a Sunni MP whose greatest fear is the return of a formerly ragtag Shiite militia transformed (regrouped and retrained) into professional fighting unit by the mullah regime. Muqtada's whereabouts is not the news here. The point, if the unnamed source is to be believed, is that the Mahdi army leadership is now a protected military asset of Tehran which Khamenei will redeploy to Baghdad once the Americans withdraw.
Nothing shows the power of an American military force than the retreat of its enemies, especially once they understand that the gloves have come off. The Mahdis didn't choose to regroup in Basra or Najaf -- they went to Iran. That speaks volumes about the courage of the Mahdi "army" and the opportunity to end their terrorist grip on Iraq's capital.
True in the short run. But, why stand and fight the most powerful military on earth and face certain annihilation when all one has to do is wait for the Americans to leave?
Finally, Ed, addressing the question of PM Maliki's participation in Sadr's withdrawal in the face of a looming US crackdown, says, "Maliki didn't have to draw him any pictures." I agree, but the difficulty or ease of Sadr and his lieutenants' return to Baghdad will be dictated by any agreement, or lack thereof, between the Dawa party and the Sadrists.
Update:Associated Press quotes an unnamed Sadrist and an adviser to PM Maliki:
An adviser to Iraq's prime minister said Thursday that radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is in Iran, but denied he fled due to fear of arrest during an escalating security crackdown.
Sami al-Askari said al-Sadr traveled to Iran by land "a few days ago," but gave no further details on how long he would stay in Iran. A member of al-Sadr's bloc in parliament, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of fear of reprisals, said al-Sadr left three weeks ago.
"I confirm that Muqtada al-Sadr is in Iran on a visit," said al-Askari. "But I deny that his visit is a flight."
If Muqtada hasn't fled, then perhaps his exit was arranged. The three weeks time frame fits the The Maliki/Rubaie "hide Muqtada in Iran" scenario.
Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Maliki is double dealing. Don't be surprised, though. After all, the Iranians were the Dawa Party's patrons long before the US appeared.
Update: I have obtained the Maliki letter and a translation. Posted here. Posted
1:49 AM
by Robert
| | |
Brigadier-General Abtahi is commander of Qods Force’s terrorist network in Iraq. Formerly, Abtahi was among IRGC commanders in Lebanon. After the fall of Iraq’s former regime, Abtahi took charge of the activities of the Qods Force in the Persian Gulf region particularly in Iraq. Abtahi uses various front organizations in Iraq, including the Mobin Cultural Headquarters, run entirely by Qods Force, to keep contact with Iraqi elements and groups that are affiliated with the Iranian regime.
The command center for these terrorist networks is the Fajr Base which is located in southwestern Iran and is affiliated with the Qods Force. This Base is the tactical command center for the Qods Force operatives active in southern and central provinces of Iraq. Communications regarding the activities of terrorist networks and that of leaders of Iraqi groups and parties affiliated with Tehran is directed from Fajr Base. The Base is located in the city of Ahwaz in the north of Chahar-Shir Circle (Falake-ye Chahar-Shir). This base is one of the three command centers of the Qods Force for operations in Iraq. The Qods Force is commanded by IRGC Brigadier-General Qassem Soleimani who is stationed in Kazemi Garrison, located within the compound of former American Embassy in Tehran, near the joint command center of the IRGC.
Update:Jules Crittenden: "...look at the past 28 years of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, what we see is that we have been repeatedly bullied by Iran, and provoked by Iran, and Iran barely even bothers to hide what it is doing." Posted
10:57 PM
by Robert
| | |
The Department of Defense laid out today part of its "growing body of evidence" implicating top levels of the Iranian government in the killing of US troops in Iraq. The most barbaric and effective of the weapons the DoD briefers said the IRGC's Qods Force is supplying to terror groups and militias is the explosively formed penetrator (EFP).
Aside from naming three border crossings (at Meran, Amarah and near Basra) no details were provided about where the explosives were manufactured or the Qods Force smuggling network that brought them into Iraq.
Fortunately, that information is available. It comes from the same Iranian organizations that blew the whistle on Iran's nuclear program, the Mujahedin-e-Khalq and the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the political umbrella group with which the MEK is affiliated.
Information I received from my sources associated with the Mujahedin-e-Khalq inside Iran in July 2006 not only confirmed that Iran is building these devices, but identified for the first time the munitions factory complex in north Tehran where the EFP's are produced. Within the Ordnance Factories Complex, a subdivision of Iran's Defense Industries Organization, a company named Sattari specializes in making various types of anti-tank mines, including EFP's. A satellite photo of the Ordnance Factories Complex shows that the facility is accessed through an entrance gate of the Nobonyad Circle in the Nobonyad neighborhood of the Lavizan section of north Tehran. Sattari, along with Sayad Shirazi and Shiroodi, are the three industries producing munitions at the complex. The IRGC's Qods Force secretly orders EFP's from Sattari through a high-security protocol that includes specially designated codes. The Qod's Force utilizes its network of agents within Iraq to deliver the bombs to Iran-backed militias and terrorist groups. In June 2006 the Sadr Movement smuggled several consignments of missiles and explosives into Iraq through the eastern and southern borders with Iran. According to my sources, in June 2006, a large consignment of missiles, including shoulder-operated AA missiles as well as sophisticated IED's manufactured by the Defense Industries Organization, have been smuggled into Iraq through Shalamcheh and Badra border routes. The weapons mostly moved to Sadr City and provided to the Mahdi Army.
The Mahdi Army isn't the only Shia militia in Iraq receiving Iranian produced explosives. In a January briefing in Paris, the NCRI went public with its dossier on Iranian meddling in Iraq that detailed the Qods Force ties SCIRI's Badr Corps.
IRGC Brigadier General Mojtaba Abtahi, based in Fajr garrison in Ahwaz in southern Iran, one of the main bases of the Qods Force in southern Iraq, notifies his contact in Najaf by the name of Hamid Hosseini.
Hamid Hosseini is director of the center affiliated with the Qods Force in Najaf.
On behalf of the Fajr garrison, one team goes to Shalamcheh border region, where in coordination with Iraqi customs agents who belong to the Badr Corps, they obtain the permit to cross the border and drive to the Fajr garrison, where weapons and money is hidden in the car. The car is escorted by Iranian regime's security forces back to the Shalamcheh border and returns to Iraq. To ensure secrecy, Hamid Hosseini uses different vehicles for each mission. Pick-up trucks are the main type of vehicles used for this operation.
An individual by the name of Ahmad Sami Abdol-Majid Alhalali, also known as Abu Majed Al-Basri, with an Iranian name of Ahmad Helali, is currently in charge of Iraqis stationed in Shalamcheh border. He is a veteran member of the IRGC in Iran and of the Qods Force. His personnel code in the Qods payroll list is 1202 and his monthly salary is 2,407,261 Rials.
Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) are the primary types of weapons transferred at this border crossing.
In coordination with Fajr garrison, other weapons and ammunitions are transferred to Iraq through Bostan, Howizeh and Hour-al Azim border crossing in Missan province.
For instance, an operations chief in Baghdad, in contact with commander of a terror network of Badr in Baghdad, said that in November 2006 IEDs entered Iraq from the Basra border crossing. Once he received a number of these devises, he blew them up on December 11, 2006 in Showleh street in front of Javadieh and Rahmanieh as a column of coalition forces was passing by, resulting in the death of coalition forces.
A significant number of IEDs that are manufactured by the clerical regime are sent to Iraq by the Fajr garrison.
IEDs are manufactured in ammunition production section of the Defense Industries located in Lavizan in northern Tehran in three separate industrial sections called Sattari industries, Sayyad Shirazi industries, and Shiroodi industries. Each of these industries has it own specific production.
The orders for manufacturing highly explosive IEDs are given by the Bureau of Operations of the Qods Force to Sattari industries. Engineer Rahimi, deputy director of Sattari industries, is in charge of coordinating these projects.
Intelligence presented by Mr. Jafarzadeh included details of infiltration routes, Iranian proxy contacts, and networks of operatives to move arms, personnel, and money from Iran to Iraq.
Jafarzadeh, author of The Iran Threat: President Ahmadinejad and the Coming Nuclear Crisis, said, intelligence he has received "suggests a sharp increase in Iran's sponsorship of terrorism and sectarian violence, especially in the past few months. The Qods Force secretly trains, finances, and arms an extensive network in Iraq." Jafarzadeh continued, "The Qods Force has embarked on creating a new terrorist infrastructure and is calling it 'Hezbollah' to mimic Lebanon's Hezbollah. This Iraq network operates in Basra and Baghdad and is in contact with the Qods Force and Hezbollah of Lebanon."
Jafarzadeh also specifically described how agents of the Iranian regime transfer money from Iran to Iraq for terrorist operations: "After a Qods Force envoy collects the money in Ahwaz, he is escorted by the Iranian regime's official security force to the Shalamche border crossing between Iran and Iraq, where he is handed over to Qods Force agents in Iraq; these agents escort him to Najaf. In addition, the Qods Force uses its affiliate currency exchange centers to send money to its front institutions and new terror network directly from Qom in Iran to Najaf in Iraq," Jafarzadeh said.
Jafarzadeh also revealed that the Qods Force has set up a front organization, "HQ for Reconstruction of Iraq's Holy Sites," and has been smuggling arms and ammunition to Iraq, disguised as containers intended to rebuild holy Shiites sites.
Jafarzadeh presented the above intelligence at a press conference on Friday, 5 January 2007, at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. A transcript of his remarks is available here.
Update:Iran Watch offers an interesting detail on the three munitions industries (Sattari, Shirazi and Shiroodi) housed at the Tehran Ordnance Factories Complex: They are subsidiaries of the Iranian Ammunition and Metallurgy Industry Group.
Entity Name: Ammunition and Metallurgy Industry Group
Text: Identified by the British government in February 1998 as having procured goods and/or technology for weapons of mass destruction programs, in addition to doing non-proliferation related business; part of the Defense Industries Organization (DIO); manufacture of 125 mm ammunition for the T-72 main battle tank (MBT); manufacture of 100 mm, 105 mm and 120 mm ammunition; development and manufacture of small arms ammunition, mortar bombs, tank and anti-tank munitions, explosives, mines, detonators, fuses, primers, anti-aircraft ammunition; oversees ten subsidiaries, including Shahid Shiroudi Industries, Shahid Sattari Industries, Shahid Sayyad Shirazi Industries, Parchin Ammunition Industries, the 7th of Tir Industrial Complex, Yazd Metallurgy Industries, Khorasan Metallurgy Industries, and Isfahan Ammunition Industries.
Program: Chemical/Biological/Military
Date Entered: 1/26/2004
Date Last Modified: 2/25/2004
Address: Pasdaran Street, P.O. Box 16765-1835, Tehran
The heroes of the Islamic State are watching sadly what is going on in Palestine, whereas Jews are preparing today to pull down the road linking between the Jerusalem and al-Maghareba gate, which means demolishing al-Aqsa mosque...
...We remind our brothers in Palestine that Jihad is the solution...and what was taken by force will not be restored except by force.
Majlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel on Wednesday condemned the desecration of al-Aqsa Mosque by the Zionist Regime, calling on all Muslims, Islamic parliaments, free thinkers and the international and cultural associations to prevent continuation of such an insult.
Speaking at an open session of the Majlis, Haddad-Adel shared grief with the world Muslims, notably Supreme Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, on the tragic incident and said, "Today, that al-Aqsa Mosque is destroyed by the Zionist Regime, the West has kept silence."
The top parliamentarian said the only way to check such a savage act by Israel is wide-reaction of the world of Islam against the aggression.
I suspect the Muslim fanatics themselves would like nothing more than to change the status quo. The wafq (Muslim custodians of the Temple Mount) hold all the keys to the gates save one: the Mugrabi Gate. Then again, knowing the construction there quite possibly could cause a third intifada, the Israelis may be preparing the way to reoccupy Gaza and stop the arming of Hamas by Tehran. Posted
12:58 AM
by Robert
| | |
In a statement posted to the jihadist internet forum muslm.net, the Islamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility for the shootdown yesterday of a Marine CH-46 helicopter in the Qarma area of the Anbar province, north of Fallujah. At the time this goes to post, the US military has confirmed seven deaths but has not confirmed either the ISI claim or if all seven fatalities were US sevicemen or women. It is the third ISI claim of the downing of a US military chopper within the past two weeks.
I'll get to the specifics of why the ISI is AQ. But first, lets take a look at how the American mainstream media characterized the ISI in today's reportage.
New York Times; staff reporters Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Marc Santora and special correspondent Ali Adeeb from Baghdad: "An Internet message from an insurgent group calling itself the Islamic State of Iraq" claimed credit.
CBS News; CBS/AP: "the al Qaeda-affiliated group the Islamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility."
Fox News; carries an AP report: "the Al Qaeda-affiliated group the Islamic State of Iraq" claimed credit.
USA Today; staff writers Oren Dorell and Tom Vanden Brook and AP: "al-Qaeda-linked Sunni insurgents known as the Islamic State of Iraq" claimed credit.
Washington Post; Foreign correspondents Joshua Partlow and Ernesto Londoño and special correspondent Naseer Nouri in Baghdad: "an al-Qaeda-backed Sunni insurgent group called the Islamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility."
CNN; correspondents Jomana Karadsheh, Barbara Starr, Mohammed Tawfeeq and Alessio Vinci: The Islamic State of Iraq which "includes al Qaeda in Iraq" claimed credit.
ABC News; Kim Gamel of AP: "The claim of responsibility came in an Internet statement signed by the Islamic State in Iraq, an umbrella group of several Sunni insurgent groups, including al-Qaida in Iraq."
Notice anything (besides the fact that the NY Times makes no mention at all of Al Qaeda)? With the exception of AP's Kim Gamel and, to a lesser extent, CNN, not one of them grasps the importance of the relationship of AQ to the ISI. But Gamel, who understands the organizational structure of the ISI, short-circuits her understanding by holding to the AP line of using the term insurgents in place of jihadist or terrorist. Al-Qaeda equals terrorists, not insurgents.
Now, to the ISI itself and why it is AQ (for in depth analysis see Kohlmann (here; includes organizational chart), MIPT (here) and Kazimi (here and here).
On 12 October, 2006 the Mujahideen Shura Council (MSC), led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's successor, Shaykh Abu-Hamzah al-Muhajir, announced in a statement that it had allied with various jihadist groups and several Sunni tribal shaykhs.
Known as the Hilf al-Mutayyabin (oath of the scented ones),* this alliance was essentially a jihadist defense pact against its Kurdish, Shiite, Jewish and Christian enemies.
On 15 October, the MSC announced in an audio statement that the Hilf Al-Mutayyabin had established the Islamic States of Iraq. The new state was to be comprised of the provinces of Baghdad, Al-Anbar, Diyala, Kirkuk, Salah-al-Din, Ninawa, and parts of the governorate of Babil and Wasit with Abu Umar al-Baghdadi as emir.
On 10 November, the website of an AQ front group, the Islamic Renewal Organization (tajdeed.org.uk), run by Bin Ladin mouthpiece Muhammad al-Massari out of his London flat, posted several links to an audio message recorded by the ISI's media arm, al-Furqan, in which al-Muhajir pledged his unconditional allegiance to al-Baghdadi and placed his AQ in Iraq and the MSC under the authority of the ISI.
I tell the venerable shaykh, the brave hero, the Qurayshi Hashemite, who is of a Husayni origin [attributes to the tribe and family of the prophet], the leader of the faithful, Abu-Umar al-Baghdadi, I pledge allegiance to you to hear and obey during good and bad times, and in pleasant and unpleasant situations, and this is a promise to say the truth wherever we maybe, not to fear the criticism of anyone in the cause of God. I announce the integration of all the formations that we have established, including the Mujahidin Shura Council, on behalf of my brothers in the council, under the authority of the Islamic State of Iraq, putting at your disposal and direct orders 12,000 fighters, who constitute the army of Al-Qa'ida. All of them have pledged an allegiance to die in the cause of God, as well as more than 10,000 others who are still not fully prepared materially. Their eyes are full of tears out of sadness that they are still unable to contribute. We beseech God that we will be able to be fully prepared, materially and faithfully, for victory in confirmation of the saying of the prophet, may God's peace and blessing be upon him, and as in the [book on the prophet's sayings] Al-Mustadrak [Ala al-Sahih] by Al-Hakim [Abu-Abdallah al-Hakim al-Naysaburi]: The best of the prophet's companions are four, the best of armies are 4,000, and 12,000 fighters will not be defeated because of scarcity. (Originally published on 11/10/2006 by Jihadist Websites -- OSC Report in Arabic)
Finally, al-Baghdadi's position as AQ boss in Iraq was solidified by Ayman al-Zawahiri who, in a 21 December statement and a 30 December audiotape, urged the Muslim nation to back the ISI, with Abu Umar al-Baghdadi as emir, as the first step in the restoration of the caliphate.
As I end my talk, I send my greetings and those of my brothers to our brothers, the Mujahideen in Iraq. And I congratulate them on the establishment of the Islamic State of Iraq, and encourage the Islamic Ummah to back this young, fledgling state, for it -- Allah permitting -- is the gateway to the liberation of Palestine and the restoration of the Islamic Caliphate. And I also encourage all my Mujahid brothers in Iraq to join this blessed caravan to rescue Iraq of the Caliphate from the schemes of the Crusaders and their agents, the traitorous religion-traders, and to ruin what the beggar Abdul Aziz al-Hakim conspired about in Washington with his master, the defender of the defeated cross. (Originally published on 12/21/2006 by Jihadist Websites -- OSC Report in Arabic)
I also congratulate the Muslims in Iraq, who have lifted the head of the Muslim Ummah high with their heroic Jihadi confrontation with the Crusader invaders and their allies, the traitorous religion-traders. And I send my congratulations to the Emir of the Islamic State of Iraq, the Mujahid Shaykh Abu Umar al-Baghdadi and all groups of the champion Mujahideen engaged in Jihad in defense of Iraq of the Caliphate. And I call them to unite and be as one in accordance with the command of Allah, the Most High and Glorious, and His Messenger, peace be upon him. (Originally published on 12/30/2006 by Jihadist Websites -- OSC Report in Arabic)
It is not just that the ISI is AQ. It is much more than that. The Islamic State of Iraq, as Zawahiri says, is intended to be the gateway to the new caliphate. It's very first state. The propaganda value this has in terms of recruitment to jihad cannot be overstated. Whether, as some analysts believe, the establishment of the ISI is more show than substance, what cannot be argued - and the troop-cappers and redeployers on the Hill simply do not understand this - is that Iraq, no - Baghdad, is now the epicenter in the war on terror of the Sunni variety. Call it Qaidism.
It is also, I'm afraid to say, the epicenter of the war on Khomeinism. The export by the mullah regime in Tehran of Khomeini's Islamic Revolution is set down in the Iranian constitution. Like the Sunni Qaidists, the Shiite Khomeinsts believe that it is incumbent upon them to bend the world to the will of Allah - to impose shariah.
Pulling out and letting the two slug it out won't work. No matter which side prevailed, both are committed to the destruction of the United States. And beyond interests of national security, America must not abandon the people of Iraq to religious fanatics, whether Khomeinist or Qaedist.
*"According to classical Islamic sources, hilf al-mutayyabin was an oath of allegiance taken in pre-Islamic times by several clans of the Quraysh tribe, in which they undertook to protect the oppressed and the wronged. The name "oath of the scented ones" apparently derives from the fact that the participants sealed the oath by dipping their hands in perfume and then rubbing them over the Ka'ba. This practice was later adopted by the Prophet Muhammad and incorporated into Islam." (source- DNI/OSC)
Update: Well, I published first but, I must admit, Nibras has outdone me. And, no, having an editor would not have helped me one bit. Read the whole thing. But here's a teaser:
Abu Omar al-Baghdadi made his grand entrance onto the jihadist stage on October 12, 2006, and since then he's delivered two very important speeches — the more recent one came out last week — and has taken credit for much of the spectacular outbreaks of violence in Iraq of late, yet he still can't get his name in print on the pages of the New York Times. Why are the editors and reporters of that paper not telling their readers anything about Iraq's top terrorist?
Ellis, whose mayoral term expires this year, doesn’t rule out future runs for elected office. But he said that he hasn’t considered how his conversion to Islam could affect his political career.
He says he is proud to be an American living in a country based on religious freedom.
Ellis, who was elected Mayor in July 1999, becoming the first black Mayor in the 176-year history of the city, said Muslims shouldn’t be portrayed as bad people simply because of the acts of a few.
"If anybody wants to know about Islam, I can hold an intelligent conversation," Ellis said. "What I've found is how little we know about the religion."
Not a good move politically. But, the US Constitution ensures the Mayor's religious freedom if he wants to follow his heart and not his advisers.
As for the Mayor's intelligent conversations with people who know little about Islam I'm sure he won't forget to inform them what Islamic law has to say about leaving Islam and, for example, converting from Islam to Christianity.
It goes without saying that, leaving Islam is the ugliest and the worst form of disbelief (kufr) in Almighty Allah. It is technically called ridda (apostasy from Islam), and someone who leaves Islam is called a murtadd (apostate).
If a sane person who has reached puberty voluntarily apostatizes from Islam, he deserves to be punished. In such a case, it is obligatory for the caliph (or his representative) to ask him to repent and return to Islam. If he does, it is accepted from him, but if he refuses, he is immediately killed.
Danielle Pletka exposes the numerous resolutions and bills brought forward by the "troop-cappers and conferencers and tribunes of redeployment and training who now dominate the US Congress" for what they are: blueprints for defeat in Iraq.
At the root of the failure to devise better strategies is a flaw: No plan other than Bush's seeks victory. Yes, it is crucial that the Iraqis compromise politically, and indeed, territorial integrity is important. Training the Iraqis is vital if the US is ever to exit Iraq. And fighting terrorism is America's top foreign policy priority. But the prerequisite for all these important pieces to fall into place is security for the people of Iraq.
There is no question that incompetence contributed to the manifest lack of security in and around Baghdad. In order to move forward, however, we must learn from those mistakes. Lesson one: If the Iraqi people cannot trust the Americans or their own armed forces to deliver security, they will turn to the militias and tribes and gangs that will. Lesson two: A light military footprint and efforts to propitiate Sunni insurgents and their sponsors encourages violence. As the US military learned from success at Tal Afar, victory facilitates compromise, and more men mean victory.
Update: John Kerry just smeared US service men and women on the floor of the US Senate. He said that our troops are not motivated. And added that capping troop levels won't effect their mission. Here's my transcription.
Surge doesn't resolve the issue of Iraq. American soldiers cannot solve the issue. Only Iraqi politicians can. We've lost all contact with what's reasonable in this effort. Shia and Sunni politicians are jockeying for position under cover of a US security blanket. The fundamental differences between people who have lived their before we were there and after we will be gone need to be solved. American with guns cannot solve that. Our soldiers are being asked to sacrifice without a reasonable policy on how to conduct this war. The troops understand what their mission is. Capping troop levels won't effect that. Problem with American troops is not training it is motivation. The enemy is motivated, In the streets of Gaza, Beirut Baghdad.
An escalation raises the stakes, provides more targets. Raising the troops sends the message to the enemy that we are desperate, preordaining the failure of diplomacy by signalling to the enemy that they only have to wait for Bush's "hail mary" pass to fail.
My lead-in: Richard Einhorn, in full attack-the-messenger mode, ranting about polluting the discourse even as he does so himself.
It turns out that Michelle Malkin and friends have been up to their old tricks again. You can read all about it at this link to Media Channel, but the short version: it's a bullshit insinuation meant to smear CBS and Logan, who has done some of the finest network reporting on the Bush/Iraq war.
And it worked, My friend, a highly-respected journalist (and rightly so), was gulled into questioning Logan's integrity.
Now before you jump down her/his throat and say, "Your friend should have known better," I should mention that my friend's beat is not Iraq or the Bush administration, or the rightwing. Even so, I'll concede that perhaps s/he should have known better in this particular instance. But the larger point is that there is so much garbage like this being put out every day - Obama the Manchurian Candidate, Clinton the gossip-monger to name a recent set of whoppers - that it is impossible for anyone who is (rightly) skeptical of all public figures and celebrities to separate the truth from ALL the nonsense the rightwing puts out without serious digging.
And that's the objective of slime like Malkin and Co., to pollute the discourse so it cannot be trusted, even when it's telling the truth.
Now, why didn't CBS broadcast Logan's report? I suspect that among the reasons were the one they actually gave out, that it is was too graphic for primetime. Click on the link above and make up your own mind. And I think my friend truly underestimates how much all media, especially CBS, self-censors information that is damaging to Bush, even at this late date. But one thing is certain: Logan's reporting has been excellent and honest. To insinuate that she is serving as a conduit for al Qaeda propaganda is outrageous, even if it's not surprising behavior from Malin.
Let me ask you a question, Richard.
Because it was Michelle Malkin who is largely responsible for publicizing it, do you reject out of hand the possibility that CBS News or Lara Logan knew the clip used in Logan's 'Battle for Haifa Street' was posted one week earlier to an Al Qaeda affiliated website?
In their three statements on the matter, CBS spokesperson Sandy Genelius and CBS Evening News Executive Producer Rome Hartman have yet to answer this question. They deny obtaining the footage from al-Qaeda or any one of a number of AQ message boards it was posted to. Instead, they aver that CBS News cannot identify its video source because to do so would endanger the life of the source.
Further, they stress, the same video from Iraq often shows up in multiple places.
This is a very telling statement. An indirect confirmation of Bryan Preston's video analysis which found that the footage AQ used in its 'Some of the Casualties of the Heretics in Haifa Street After Sunday’s Fighting, January 7, 2007' and the footage Logan used in her 'Battle for Haifa Street' are from the same video mastercopy.
So the question is, was CBS News a willing tool or useful fool?
Either way, we know what Rome Hartman thinks of Al-Furqan, the media arm of the Islamic State of Iraq. In a letter to the NY Post today, Hartman wrote, "video shot in Iraq regularly appears on multiple media outlets." Notice the lack of distinction between the Tiffany Network's news division and a jihadist media outfit? Nice. Real classy.
Some more questions for Richard and all the others who think our questioning of CBS News is "garbage."
Do you know what the Islamic State of Iraq is? Who and what it consists of?
Are you aware of how the idological and political aims of the ISI Qaidists differ from some of the Baathists, Sunni insurgents and Arab nationalists who are not aligned with the ISI?
Are you aware of the split within the Baath party and did you know that a splinter group from the party recently convened a meeting in Damascus with an eye to political involvement in the Iraqi government?
Are you aware that the main faction of the Baath party has thrown in its lot with the Qaidists? (Jihadist rumor has it that that Abu-Umar al-Baghdadi, the emir of the Islamic State of Iraq, is in fact none other Ahmad al-Duri, the son of Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri, the successor to Saddam Hussein as Secretary General of the Baath party. The jihadist rumor mill says the appointment of Ahmad, a mujahid protoge of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, to head the ISI was approved by Ayman Zawahiri and Al-Qa'ida leadership abroad and the Al-Qa'ida Organization in Iraq.")
We've done our digging. Seems you want to sling the mud without doing your own digging. Posted
12:40 AM
by Robert
| | |
The United States military nominates and bestows the medal. However, in rare cases, it is awarded by a special act of Congress. In either case, the MoH is presented by the President on behalf of the Congress.
President Bush said we can stand down in Iraq as the Iraqis stand up. If, as I see it, this means that success in Iraq - for both America and Iraq - hinges upon defeating the terrorists and death squads that flame sectaranism, then the President and Congress should officially recognize acts of uncommon valor by Iraqis which are examples of and contribute to this. Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal need not be American citizens.
Here and here are two candidates. Both gave their lives to stop a suicide bomber. One was a civilian. One was a policeman. They are every much the heroes that Sgt. Smith and Cpl. Dunham are. Posted
3:56 PM
by Robert
| | |
As you can see, youtube had the good sense to pull it. Still up at the slogger. My guess is it's not going anywhere.
If you'd care to see Eason's heroes in action, you know, blowing up Americans, click here. Link to the video is half way down the page.
Update: Eason emails:
Robert,
Your complaint is justified. When I woke up this morning and went to the site, I saw that post and deleted it immediately. I am trying to determine who posted it. Only later did I see your e-mail.
BAGHDAD, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. military in Iraq said it was checking whether a helicopter came down just north of Baghdad on Friday.
"We're looking at reports of a possible aircraft down," a spokeswoman, Lieutenant Colonel Josslyn Aberle, said when asked about reports from residents near the major U.S. air base at Taji that they saw a helicopter come down shortly after dawn. U.S. embassy spokesman Lou Fintor also said: "We're looking into the reports."
Hamas gunmen ambushed a convoy guarded by the Fatah presidential guard and hijacked two trucks filled with tents, medical kits and toilets, security officials said. The United States and some Arab countries had pledged to give equipment and training to the security forces loyal to Abbas.
[...]
In the raid on the Islamic University, a security official affiliated with Fatah said seven Iranian citizens were arrested and an eighth committed suicide. The security official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
No juice there, though. Don't worry. Aaron Klein (where have you gone John Batchelor?) dishes:
Security forces associated with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party today captured seven Iranian military trainers – including a general of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards – at a purported Hamas training facility in the Gaza Strip, Fatah security officials told WND.
The Fatah officials said a raid of the Hamas dominated Islamic University in Gaza yielded the Iranian agents, 1,000 Qassam rockets and equipment to manufacture the Qassams. According to the Fatah officials, one of the Iranian agents attempted suicide prior to his capture.
The officials said initial interrogation of the Iranian agents revealed one is a Revolutionary Guard general.
The grounds of Islamic University are routinely used by Hamas for military training, Palestinian and Israeli sources said.
Gun battles between Fatah and Hamas erupted today after Hamas ambushed a Fatah convoy it said was carrying American weapons. The two factions have engaged in nearly two months of deadly clashes after Abbas called for new Palestinian elections in a move widely seen as an attempt to dismantle the Hamas-led PA.
If confirmed, Fatah's claim of capturing Iranian military agents in Gaza would mark the first time that Iranians were caught operating in the Gaza Strip since Israel's withdrawal from the territory in August, 2005.
Earlier this month, WND quoted Fatah and Israeli intelligence officials stating Hamas members have been flying to Iran for advanced military training with Iranian Revolutionary guard units and Hezbollah militants.
The Israeli officials said they fear the training will greatly improve Hamas' military capability in any future battle with Israeli troops in Gaza. They said Hamas was seeking to learn from Hezbollah military tactics used against Israel during this summer's war in Lebanon.
Read the whole thing. The short version from Abu Ahmed, northern Gaza leader for the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades: "It is only a matter of a small period before Gaza is ready for war." And he's not talking about Fatah.
Update: Hamas says Israel colluding with Abbas against it. The Fatah convoy Hamas attacked was a supply run (tents, portable bathrooms, weapons?) for Abbas' security forces. Three trucks entered Gaza on Wednesday night via the Kerem Shalom crossing and unloaded their cargo in a facility belonging to Abbas' Presidential Guards.
The raid on the Hamas-linked university in Gaza was carried out by national security forces affiliated with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Hundreds of weapons and a lathe for the production of Qassam rockets were seized in the raid.
A Hamas official denied the claim and said there were no Iranian citizens at the university.
The security official also said that during the raid a Hamas commander believed to have orchestrated the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier near the Gaza Strip in June last year suffered serious-to-moderate wounds.
Ahmad Jaabri is believed to have planned the cross-border raid carried out by gunmen of Hamas and two other Palestinian groups on June 12 during which Corp. Gilad Shalit was kidnapped.
Earlier Thursday, Hamas gunmen ambushed a Presidential Guards convoy, seizing weapons and explosives transferred by the United States and Arab countries to Abbas. Fatah denied the claim, saying that two boxes seized by Hamas contained medicines.
Hamas denies Iranians were captured by Fatah. Fatah denies it was transporting weapons supplied by the US and the Saudis and allowed to pass through an Israeli Sanai checkpoint.
More:Haaretz: Fatah claims "at least some of the Iranians were chemical experts."
However, neither the names nor photographs of the Iranians have been released, and Israel Radio reported Friday that the Arab-language media has been cautious in reporting the Fatah charge out of concern that it could be part of a Fatah-Hamas propaganda war.
I wonder how Jazeera is reporting the Hamas claim that Fatah was transporting American supplied weapons?
(IsraelNN.com) Dozens of Fatah terrorists were injured Friday when Hamas forces shelled their outposts with mortar fire, according to reports from Gaza. One report says the outpost attacked belonged to Fatah’s elite “Force 17”.
Battles are raging in several places simultaneously in Gaza, as Hamas seems to be mounting a coordinated attack on Fatah outposts. In some places they have captured the Fatah men and are holding them captive, and in others they have cleared the outposts and blown them up.
AP at Yahoo has recap of the fighting up 'til now. Money-quote:
The mufti of Gaza called for a truce, saying Muslims shedding Muslim blood is "taboo."
No Jew bashing in the mosques today, folks.
More to come, if not from me, then others I'm sure.
Show me the Persians!
Final Update:86 million dollars gets you lots of weapons, er, I mean tents and portable toilets.
Hamas on Wednesday accused the US of promoting civil war among the Palestinians by transferring $86 million to strengthen forces loyal to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
Lt. Michael P. Murphy, a Navy SEAL from Patchogue who died in Afghanistan after risking his life to save his colleagues during a 2005 battle, is being considered for the nation's highest combat award -- the Medal of Honor.
If he is granted the award, Murphy would become only the third person to earn that highest honor since President George W. Bush sent troops to Afghanistan in 2001 and later to Iraq. Often referred to as the Congressional Medal of Honor, the award is presented by the president.
"We have spoken with the Navy and they have confirmed he is under consideration," Rep. Tim Bishop (D-Southampton) said Wednesday. "I can only say it is hard to imagine a more deserving individual."
Murphy's parents, Daniel and Maureen, said they would be honored if their son won the Medal of Honor.
"Michael wasn't into medals and calling attention to himself," Daniel Murphy said. "But all these people are saying Michael's actions are so special he deserves the Medal of Honor."
Murphy, who was 29, was killed in a fierce firefight in mountainous terrain along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. He led a four-man special reconnaissance unit that was secreted into the Hindu Kush mountains along the border in June 2005.
The unit was reported to be trailing a high-ranking terror leader near 10,000-foot peaks when they were ambushed and overrun by scores of insurgent fighters on June 28, according to Newsday interviews and media reports. The newspaper Navy Times reported in October that Murphy's actions -- "far outnumbered and surrounded by enemy" -- were being reviewed for the U.S. Navy's first Medal of Honor awarded since the Vietnam War.
A troop transport helicopter that sped to their rescue with eight Navy SEALs and eight Army commandos aboard crashed after being hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. All aboard were killed. A single member of Murphy's team managed to elude capture, and eventually was reunited with U.S. forces.
Relatives of the SEALS have said the lone American survivor told them that Murphy came to his rescue when he was trapped by insurgents during the battle, according to the interviews and reports.
The survivor also told relatives that Murphy was shot when he climbed to higher ground and into the open to send an electronic call for help. Wounded, Murphy completed the call, then continued fighting. It is this action that is believed to be at the heart of his consideration for the Medal of Honor.
Two of Murphy's colleagues who were killed in the firefight -- Sonar Technician 2/C Matthew G. Axelson and Gunner's Mate 2/C Danny Dietz -- were awarded the Navy Cross, second only to the Medal of Honor, during a posthumous ceremony in September.
The lone survivor, whom the Navy has not named because he has returned to covert duty, also received the Navy Cross in a private ceremony. Conspicuously, Murphy did not receive an award at that time and Navy officials typically do not comment on such matters.
On Wednesday, Cmdr. Gregory Geisen, a Navy spokesman, said Murphy is being considered for a high honor, but he said the Navy would not release any details.
"Lt. Murphy was submitted for an award commensurate with his actions in Afghanistan," Geisen said.
But military observers have said that, based on their understanding of what happened during the firefight, as well as Murphy's actions, he is deserving of the military's highest accolade.
His family and friends describe him as a young man who sought out the toughest unit of the military and persevered until he was named a SEAL. He wore a New York Fire Department patch on his uniform. Last fall, the Patchogue Post Office was renamed in his honor.
"My best guess is that Lt. Murphy will be granted the Medal of Honor based on the fact that three others won the Navy Cross and Murphy was the leader who assured that at least one of them survived," said retired Marine Lt. Col. Matthew Dodd, senior editor of the online magazine "DefenseWatch."
To Daniel Murphy, his son's life and heroic death are a source of comfort.
"I think if he is awarded it, it will be a reflection of what we already know about Michael. His bravery, his focus, his determination, his spirit of never give up."
Click here to listen to Matt from Blackfive describe the battle in which SEALs Murphy, Axelson, Dietz, eight other SEALs and eight Army Task Force 160 members gave their lives for love of country and brother.
During a speech at a July 8, 2005, memorial at the Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Capt. Pete Van Hooser identified the ideals that drove these brave men:
Last week when I was told of their deaths and saw what they were trying to accomplish, I was sad--but not too sad. It was more of a quiet and internal recognition that they had gone to the wall, and there was no hesitation. They were warriors--they are SEALs
We are not callous. We don't have the luxury of expressing our emotions at will. In these times our duty is to press on and finish the fight, for all depends on each man's individual actions.
We answer to a higher moral calling on the path that requires us to take and give life. It is this dedication to ideals greater than self that gives us strength. It is the nurturing of our families that gives us courage. Love is the opposite of fear--it is the bond that is reinforced when we look in the eyes of another SEAL that drives super human endurance. My teammate is more important than I.
A certain beltway wank wrote today that "something is inculcated into the minds of military members from day one of duty...[and] this unanimity of thought and this absolute allegiance to a hierarchy of ideas is and should be foreign in the civilian world."
Huh. I thought it was those very things, loyalty and self-sacrafice, the civilian world could use more of. But what do I know?
Update: Allah has the video of Matt ripping into a certain beltway wank on Jon Gibson's 'Big Story' and Michelle has transcribed a certain beltway wank's meltdown on Gibson's radio show. The audio is at johnny dollar's place. Be sure to listen to the whole thing. Gibson makes great points about Nick Berg and another 30 year hiatus. Posted
8:26 PM
by Robert
| | |
Today's Sun says the plotters planned to snatch their target in Birmingham and "take him to a secret address nine miles [away] — in the town infamous as the home of the Tipton Taliban."
The Tipton Taliban, all former Gitmo detainees, are Ruhal Ahmed, Shafiq Rasul and Asif Iqbal.
And, just like Begg (Charles Johnson has it here), the Tipton Three are darlings of the hard-left's rank and file - With our soul, with our blood, we will sacrifice for you oh exalted moonbaterati - except the Tipton mujahids are superstars, baby.
'Guantanamo' OK for Iran Variety.com, Apr. 30, 2006
Iranian auds could find themselves acquainted with the Gitmo detention camp sooner than they expected -- on the bigscreen that is.
Authorities in Iran have asked Prime Pictures, the Mideast distributor for "The Road to Guantanamo," to release the film there. The move comes despite a series of decrees in recent months by the Iranian regime banning everything from Western films to music.
"They've made us a very good offer. It's three times what they would usually offer," says Hamad Atassi, president of Prime Pictures, who also repped the release of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" in Iran in 2004.
"Guantanamo" producer Andrew Eaton told Variety he was "delighted and overjoyed" with the news. The award-winning pic, co-directed by Michael Winterbottom and Matt Whitecross, follows Brit trio "The Tipton Three" from Pakistan and Afghanistan before being captured by U.S. forces and sent to Gitmo. Winterbottom actually shot a substantial part of the film in Iran.
"We rebuilt Guantanamo in Iran so they're probably quite curious to see what that looks like," says Eaton. (continue reading 'Guantanamo' OK for Iran)
I'm not, of course, claiming that Begg, Ahmed, Rasul and Iqbal are in on the beheading plot or even inspired it. I have no idea. The UK authorities will determine that.
But two cities central to the plot are home to four infamous mujahids. To think that doesn't factor into the mix is to, well, Begg reason.
Yes it's hackneyed and trite, but I'll say it anyway because it accurately characterizes my state of body and mind at the moment: "Excuse me while I go vomit." Posted
10:53 PM
by Robert
| | |
"We have told the Iranians and the Americans, 'We know that you have a problem with each other, but we are asking you, please solve your problems outside Iraq,' " Nuri al-Maliki told CNN.
"We will not accept Iran to use Iraq to attack the American forces," al-Maliki said Wednesday in an exclusive interview with CNN. (Read more of al-Maliki interview)
"We don't want the American forces to take Iraq as a field to attack Iran or Syria," he added.
Asked about the role of Iran in Iraq, al-Maliki said he was confident that Iranian influence was behind attacks on U.S. forces. "It exists, and I assure you it exists," he said.
The infiltration of a secure compound in Karbala by Iranian-backed and trained commandos is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg of Iranian efforts to destabilize Iraq, which were to be outlined today in a Baghdad press conference detailing "shipping documents, serial numbers, maps and other evidence which officials say would irrefutably link Iran to weapons shipments to Iraq." The White House, perhaps sensing a blow to Ahmadinejad and the mullahs would be better held in check or through disagreement over what information should be declassified, is keeping the dossier shut.
Fortunately, there is recently declassified intelligence that "reveals the dimensions of the Iranian regime’s meddling in Iraq and the extent of its network" there. And if the Council on Foreign Relations is going on record in calling them experts ("Some experts estimate as many as thirty thousand Iranian operatives may be in Iraq"), who am I to argue? After all, the National Council of Resistance of Iran has a reputation for whistleblowing.
I couldn't decide what to blockquote. It's all so jaw-droppingly readable. So here it is. The entire transcript. I'll bold two pieces of important information. (To fully understand the why the NCRI is designated as a terrorist organization, pick up Alireza Jafarzadeh's new book. I did. Oh yeah, it was he who outed the mullahattan project.)
National Council of Resistance of Iran – On Friday 26, January, Mohammad Mohaddessin, Chair of Foreign Affairs Committee of the NCRI, held a press conference in Paris to reveal new dimensions of the Iranian regime’s meddling in Iraq and the extent of its network in that country. Here is the text of his speech:
I would like to share with you some untold aspects of the clerical regime’s meddling in Iraq. The documents I am going to present shed light on the scope of the Iranian regime’s meddling in Iraqi affairs.
This document is the list of 32,000 agents of the mullahs’ regime in Iraq who receive monthly salaries from the Iranian regime. These people are currently in effect paid staff of the Revolutionary Guards’ Qods Force. (IRGC-QF)
A top-secret document of the IRGC, it was obtained by the sources of the resistance inside Iran.
A few points on the list: This list only contains details of 31,690 Iraqis who are primarily affiliated with the Badr Brigade of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, also known as SCIRI. But it is not limited to them and includes other individuals and mercenary groups in Iraq.
It contains the Iraqi name and the Iranian name for each individual..
All of these individuals are considered as official members of the IRGC.
The list contains the personnel code, the account number and the amount of monthly salary of each individual in the Iranian currency, Rial.
The list also contains the details of each individual who is hired by the Qods Force according to his personnel file, including the date of recruitment by the IRGC-QF and the Badr Brigade, the unit they served while they were in Iran, their military rank and code of personnel while working for the Qods Force.
I want to reiterate that this list only contains the details of individuals who were hired directly by the Qods Force in Iran and does not include individuals who have been recruited in Iraq in the course of the past four years. So in reality, the actual number of the Iranian regime’s agents in Iraq is much higher than the one on this list.
All these agents continue to be paid even after leaving Iran for Iraq and they continue to receive their salaries as we speak.
The Iranian regime has stationed its agents in all the major provinces of Iraq.
This force was dispatched to Iraq in an organized way and in large groups shortly after the fall of the former Iraqi government in early 2003. They came through major border crossings under the direct command and supervision of the Qods Force, including IRGC Generals Qassem Suleimani, Iraj Masjedi, Ahmad Forouzandeh, and Hamid Taqavi.
The agents of the Iranian regime exposed in this document have an extensive presence and influence in Iraqi government agencies, in particular in the security apparatus some of which they control. They are the very same individuals who abducted two members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, Hossein Pouyan and Mohammad Ali Zahedi in Baghdad in August 2005. They were taken to the Ministry of Interior and subsequently transferred to an unknown location. There has been no news about their whereabouts for the past 18 months.
These same agents blew up the bus carrying Iraqi workers to Camp Ashraf, resulting in the death of 11 innocent Iraqi workers and the wounding of dozens more. These agents also blew up the water pipe-lines of Camp Ashraf several times in the recent past.
Some of these people are among senior political figures of Iraq. They receive monthly salary from the clerical regime, while they are considered as senior officials of the Iraqi government.
There are 481 representatives of Khamenei in the Badr Corps. Some of them hold key positions in the Iraqi government and Parliament. In all of its units, departments and general command, representatives of Khamenei ensure that his orders and directives are carried out. They report directly to Khamenei's Office.
A part of the list contains details on individuals have been transferred from the Badr Corps to other sections. While, officially they are listed as being purged or laid off, some of them have actually been hired by the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) or assigned by the Qods Force to extra-territorial missions. Their names appear on the list.
The 9th Badr Corps still maintains several centers inside Iran and coordinates the arrival and departure of these individuals to and from Iran. The Badr Corps' main headquarters is in Tehran.
How are these agents paid? While stationed in Iran, the budget and salary of the Badr Corps and other Iraqi groups were paid by the General Command of the Armed Forces through Bank Sepah and Ansar-al Mojahedin Bank. Since the transfer of the Badr Forces to Iraq, its budget is being paid by the Qods Force. This budget is under the title of “Budget and salary of extra-territorial forces.”
Members of the Qods Force take the money to border zone in Mehran (in the central sector of the border), where the money is handed over to the Badr agents. Badr agents subsequently take the money to Iraq and transfer it to office of SCIRI in Jaderyieh district of Baghdad.
The individual in charge of finances of SCIRI is named Abu Kawthar.
The representatives of Badr in various provinces go to Baghdad to receive the money.
The office of the personnel of Badr has set up a system in each Iraqi city to distribute the salary of the personnel by designated representatives.
The financial section of the Badr cooperates closely with the accounting and financial bureau of the Qods Force, which is headed by IRGC Brig. Gen. Allahyari. The name of the liaison officer between the Qods Force and Badr Corps is Naghdi.
Transferee of weapons and ammunition to Iraq I would like to outline the manner in which weapons and ammunition are sent to these mercenaries in Iraq by the Iranian regime.
The center affiliated to the Qods Force in Najaf: IRGC Brigadier General Mojtaba Abtahi, based in Fajr garrison in Ahwaz in southern Iran, one of the main bases of the Qods Force in southern Iraq, notifies his contact in Najaf by the name of Hamid Hosseini.
Hamid Hosseini is director of the center affiliated with the Qods Force in Najaf.
On behalf of the Fajr garrison, one team goes to Shalamcheh border region, where in coordination with Iraqi customs agents who belong to the Badr Corps, they obtain the permit to cross the border and drive to the Fajr garrison, where weapons and money is hidden in the car. The car is escorted by Iranian regime’s security forces back to the Shalamcheh border and returns to Iraq. To ensure secrecy, Hamid Hosseini uses different vehicles for each mission. Pick-up trucks are the main type of vehicles used for this operation.
An individual by the name of Ahmad Sami Abdol-Majid Alhalali, also known as Abu Majed Al-Basri, with an Iranian name of Ahmad Helali, is currently in charge of Iraqis stationed in Shalamcheh border. He is a veteran member of the IRGC in Iran and of the Qods Force. His personnel code in the Qods payroll list is 1202 and his monthly salary is 2,407,261 Rials.
Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) are the primary types of weapons transferred at this border crossing.
In coordination with Fajr garrison, other weapons and ammunitions are transferred to Iraq through Bostan, Howizeh and Hour-al Azim border crossing in Missan province.
For instance, an operations chief in Baghdad, in contact with commander of a terror network of Badr in Baghdad, said that in November 2006 IEDs entered Iraq from the Basra border crossing. Once he received a number of these devises, he blew them up on December 11, 2006 in Showleh street in front of Javadieh and Rahmanieh as a column of coalition forces was passing by, resulting in the death of coalition forces.
A significant number of IEDs that are manufactured by the clerical regime are sent to Iraq by the Fajr garrison.
IEDs are manufactured in ammunition production section of the Defense Industries located in Lavizan in northern Tehran in three separate industrial sections called Sattari industries, Sayyad Shirazi industries, and Shiroodi industries. Each of these industries has it own specific production.
The orders for manufacturing highly explosive IEDs are given by the Bureau of Operations of the Qods Force to Sattari industries. Engineer Rahimi, deputy director of Sattari industries, is in charge of coordinating these projects.
Head Quarters for Reconstruction of Iraq's Holy Sites: A major front organization used by Qods force for the delivery of arms and ammunition to Iraq is the Headquarters for Reconstruction of Iraq's Holy Sites. This agency was founded following the overthrow of the former Iraqi government as part of a campaign to provide proper cover for Iranian meddling in Iraq and also as part of the scheme to increase Iran’s leverage in Iraq. This provided an easy and legal cover for extensive activities and coming and going of commanders and agents of the Qods Force.
The Reconstruction HQ has reached agreements with local authorities who are affiliated with the Iranian regime in different Iraqi provinces so that containers of goods arriving from Iran are not inspected at the border and are delivered sealed to Najaf, Karbala and Baghdad. The Qods Force hides arms and ammunitions in these containers. By using this scheme, the Qods Force has been able to transfer weapons freely and easily and provide them to its affiliates in Iraq.
The Headquarters is under the command of a senior Qods Force commander Brig. Gen. Mansour Haqiqat-Pour, with a lot of experience in directing Hezbollah terror networks in Turkey.
In coordination with Gen. Haqiqat-Pour, large caches of weaponry have been transferred in trucks to Iraq under the cover of Headquarters for the Reconstruction of Iraq's Holy Sites.
This command H.Q. in Iraq is currently headed by a Qods Force commander named Khosravi, who is in liaison with the Iraqi government. The HQ for the Reconstruction of Iraq's Holy Sites is in Karbala and has 30 to 50 personnel in border crossing between Mehran and Shalamcheh. These personnel ensure an easy flow of caravans carrying containers of arms from Iran into Iraq.
In order to adequately cover all areas of the operation, branch offices of this HQ have so far been set up in Basra, Al-Amara, Nassiriya, Divaniya, Najaf, Karbala, Al-Kut and Baghdad.
Conclusion: What I have said sheds light on only a small portion of the Iranian regime’s meddling in Iraq.
The clerical regime, faced with intensifying domestic crisis and isolation inside Iran, views its only chance for survival in the establishment of a proxy regime in Iraq and the export of Islamic fundamentalism. By resorting to all sorts of means it is trying to achieve its objective in Iraq.
As scores of prominent Iraqis have underscored, Iraq is facing two occupations, with the Iranian regime being the main occupier.
Two forces are currently arrayed against one another in Iraq: democratic and patriotic forces vs. fundamentalist and extremist forces, organized and led by the Iranian regime, which provides them with extensive financial, military and political support.
5.2 million Iraqis signed a declaration last June in which they said that the only way to establish democracy in Iraq is to cut off the hands of the mullahs’ regime and its agents in Iraq. They expressed their support for the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran in Iraq and the need for their stay in Iraq as a major barrier to the expansion of fundamentalism and terrorism emanating from the clerical regime ruling Iran.
Did CBS and Laura Logan try to pull a fast one? I'd sure like to know. And, no doubt, so would Eason.
Or did the source that hooked CBS News up with video of dead Iraqi soldiers forget to tell them that the "Sunni gunmen" - as Logan put it - who did the whacking were Al-Qaeda jihadists and the footage was bona fide Al Qaeda propaganda, posted to the web a full week before Logan filed her report?
Kinda changes the context of the fighting on Haifa Street, no?
Instead of civilians caught up in sectarian fighting between Sunni gunmen from the hood and Shiite Iraqi soldiers, we have Iraqi and US forces fighting to drive America's - and, I might add, Sunni and Shia Islam's - number one enemy from a major avenue in central Baghdad. An enemy that announced to all that it planned to take the fight to the Iraqi National Guard and police in response to the new Baghdad security plan.
Logan's report is first (runs just over two minutes). Grabs from the Al-Qaeda video follow and are provided by Rusty.
If you want to download it and view, you can do so here (Real Player, 43mb, 8mins).
click for larger view
Update:Michelle wants an explanation from CBS News, too.
Did Lara Logan's piece on the "Battle for Haifa Street," posted to CBSNews.com, include video obtained from Al-Qaeda?
[...]
I asked CBS News Vice President Paul Friedman about the video.
"I can assure you this was not from Al-Qaeda," said Friedman, who declined to identify the source. "Whenever we can identify the source of information or video, we want to do that," he added. "There are some rare cases when we have to protect the source. In this case, we needed to do so, because it’s literally a matter of life and death."
"The fact that same video shows up in more than one place is something that happens every day," said CBS News spokeswoman Sandra Genelius. "We occasionally use video from an Al-Qaeda Web site and we identify it. In this case, we didn't get it from Al-Qaeda, so we didn't identify it as such."
Ok, so an emphatic denial by CBS News that it neither obtained the footage from an al-Qaeda website or operative nor knowingly disseminated AQ propaganda on its website without identifying it as such.
However, there's a second issue that CBS needs to address. Regardless of its denial, the footage is official AQ video. And CBS News cannot claim it is not simply because the footage was not obtained from an AQ field operative or an AQ website or message board.
Which leads me to ask: If CBS News occasionally uses AQ video from jihadist websites - Genelius said "an AQ website" but I won't split hairs - doesn't this suggest at least some familiarity with AQ's product? And what about its methods of collecting that product? Does CBS News have Arabic-fluent researchers or interns or reporters who scour the web in search of AQ product? Or do their sources supply it? Could we have some transparency there, Sandra?
What strikes me as odd is that CBS News would be unaware that AQ was waging an aggressive propaganda campaign simultaneous to its field operations on Haifa Street in response to the Baghdad security plan. For a news organization with a self-admitted record of using jihadist video in its reporting - there is nothing inherently wrong with this if it is identified as such - I find it hard to believe CBS News would have no knowledge of AQ's involvement in the Haifa Street fighting - be it on the ground or in cyberspace. I cannot accept CBS News' dodge of this question by resorting to a closed circle explanation: We didn't obtain the video from AQ or one of its websites but we can't tell who provided it. Yes, I understand that someone's life may be at stake, but how are we, the consumer, to know that CBS is not falling back on a hermetic defense?
How are we to know that CBS' metanarrative of the war in Iraq is not of a kind with AQ's? For by not identifying the footage for what it was - AQ waging holy war against apostates and crusaders with the aim of establishing an Islamic State in Iraq - CBS News handed AQ a propaganda victory by turning a piece of jihadist porn (tame in comparison to most) into the very thing that it wants Americans to believe: The war in Iraq is a religious civil war that does not concern America's national security and it is prudent to withdraw rather than keep throwing blood and treasure into a fight that is not ours.
Who's being duped by whom, I wonder?
Update: Wednesday, Jan. 31, 3:18 ET: Michelle's syndicated column on the subject and the latest response from CBS News Public Eye blogger Brian Montopoli is here.
And, after a thorough technical analysis, Hot Air's Bryan Preston concludes "there is no way" CBS News and/or Logan used footage already edited and released by Al-Qaeda. The footage AQ used in its Some of the Casualties of the Heretics in Haifa Street After Sunday’s Fighting, January 7, 2007 video and the footage Logan used in her Battle for Haifa Street are from the same video source.
For a step by step explanation of Bryan's video investigation and a possible scenario of how CBSNews/LL ended up with AQ's "seconds" see here.
If CBS News' had a legal and binding contract with the American public to provide responsible and honest reporting we would not charge them with malfeasance. It is not guilty of or party to outright sabotage. But it is guilty of misfeasance in that it has performed its journalistic duty inadequately and poorly. Quite poorly.
Over the last several days Shiites from Hassan Nasrallah's Hezbollah clashed with Sunnis loyal to the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora in Beirut.
Shiites lobbed mortars on a school in Baghdad killing 5 Sunni schoolgirls.
US and Iraqi forces killed 250 insurgents (see update below for latest) after beating back an assault, involving hundreds of gunmen, intended to kill senior Shiite clerics, including Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
Hamas and Fatah terrorized residents of Gaza and the West Bank with mutual bombings, shootings and kidnappings.
Hizb ut-Tahrir called on Australian Muslims to kill Muslims (and, of course, non-Muslims) standing in the way of the establishment of an Islamic caliphate.
Taliban members assassinated a coreligionsist in Kabul.
And a Sunni suicide bomber detonated his explosives vest killing 15 and injuring 60 Shiites and Sunnis in Peshawar, Pakistan - including the Peshawar police chief and six police officials - when police stopped him from entering a religous procession near a Shiite mosque.
Who's to blame for all this Muslim on Muslim violence?
Who's responsible for a culture torn apart by centuries of religious hatred and now awash in rivers of blood from sectarian terrorism?
Not Muslims, according to Al-Jazeera.
Update: The Mahdi is coming.
Reuters reports that the governor of Najaf province described the insurgents battling Iraqi and US forces near Najaf as Sunnis but an unnamed Iraqi political source tells the wire service that the fighting involves both Sunni and Shiite insurgents.
Not so, political and security sources tell Reuters, saying the insurgents are "followers of Ahmed Hassani al-Yemeni and described him as an apocalyptic cult leader claiming to be the vanguard of the Mahdi -- a messiah-like figure in Islam whose coming heralds the start of perfect world justice. He had been operating from an office in Najaf until it was raided and closed down about 10 days ago."
First they were Sunnis. Then they were Sunnis and Shiites. Now they are Shiites.
The LA Times adds that the insurgents "are members of various Shiite cults, including one that believes it can hasten the dawn of a new age by committing sins."
Whoever they are, U.S. tanks and aircraft ushered in the dawn of a new age for 250 of them. Posted
12:40 PM
by Robert
| | |
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said here Sunday that Iran was pondering a message received from certain US officials and politicians.
Hosseini made the disclosure as he addressed reporters at his weekly press conference.
"Studies have not led to specific conclusions. If we arrive at a certain result, we will announce it," he said.
Asked what the message was, he refused to say what it was, saying only that "it will be divulged in due time."
Asked to name the US officials or politicians who sent the message, he replied that their names could not also be announced at this time.
Although IRNA doesn't identify the US "politicians" and "officials," the lack of anti-American rhetoric on the part of Iran's state-run news agency leaves little doubt who they are.
Lt. Michael P. Murphy, a Navy SEAL from Patchogue who died in Afghanistan after risking his life to save his colleagues during a 2005 battle, is being considered for the nation's highest combat award -- the Medal of Honor.
