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BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. military officials on Sunday accused the highest levels of the Iranian leadership of arming Shiite militants in Iraq with sophisticated armor-piercing roadside bombs that have killed more than 170 American forces. The military command in Baghdad denied, however, that any newly smuggled Iranian weapons were behind the five U.S. military helicopter crashes since Jan. 20 — four that were shot out of the sky by insurgent gunfire. A fifth crash has tentatively been blamed on mechanical failure. In the same period, two private security company helicopters also have crashed but the cause was unclear. The deadly...

BOGOTA (Reuters) - More than a dozen Colombian politicians agreed in 2001 to cooperate with right-wing paramilitary criminals, says a document revealed on Friday, fueling the country's worst political scandal in years. Three members President Alvaro Uribe's congressional coalition have been sent to prison for their links with the drug-running militias, and more lawmakers were under investigation before paramilitary leader Salvatore Mancuso turned the document over as part of his court case. Signed by militia bosses including Mancuso, who this week admitted he ordered massacres and 336 assassinations in the name of fighting left-wing rebels, the document also carries the...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's prime minister has told Shiite militiamen to surrender their arms or face an all-out assault by U.S.-backed Iraqi forces, senior Iraqi officials said Wednesday, as President Bush said he will commit an additional 21,500 American combat troops to the war. Under pressure from the U.S., Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has agreed to crack down on fighters controlled by his most powerful political ally, Muqtada al-Sadr, a radical Shiite cleric, according to officials. Previously, al-Maliki had resisted the move. "Prime Minister al-Maliki has told everyone that there will be no escape from attack," a senior Shiite legislator...

Reyes appearance on C-Span is very revealing about where he stands and what we can expect as he heads the intel committe in the House.

Iraqi Government taking on militias Tuesday, 21 November 2006 Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, spokesman, Multi-National Force - Iraq. BAGHDAD — Politics is the best means available to the Iraqi Government and Coalition to deal with armed militias in the country, the spokesman for Multi-National Force – Iraq said during a press conference here Monday. Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, spokesman, MNF-I, said Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is dealing with political leaders in the country to disarm the militias, and Coalition officials are supporting that effort. The goal, he said, is that the militias would disband and rely on...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20, 2006 -- Politics is the best means available to the Iraqi government and the coalition to deal with armed militias in the country, a coalition spokesman said in Baghdad today. Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is dealing with political leaders in the country to disarm the militias, and coalition officials are supporting that effort. The goal, he said, is that the militias would disband and rely on local Iraqi security forces for protection and maintaining order. Militias that won’t engage in a political solution will be met with force, the...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16, 2006 -- Illegal armed militias are one of the biggest challenges facing stability efforts in Iraq, but they cannot be defeated by military efforts alone, two of the top U.S. officials who deal with Iraq said here yesterday. The only way to effectively deal with militias is to combine military efforts with serious political reconciliation, Army Gen. John P. Abizaid, commander of U.S. Central Command, and David M. Satterfield, senior advisor to the secretary of state and coordinator for Iraq, said while testifying before the House Armed Services Committee. “I think that militia units and militia...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 24, 2006 – The Iraqi government has plans to demobilize all illegal militias, including radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s so-called “Mahdi Army,” the senior U.S. diplomat in Iraq said today. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki “has agreed to getting rid of the militias,” U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad told reporters at a Baghdad news conference. Illegal militias that commit violence and murder need to be dealt with, Khalilzad said, noting the Iraqi government recognizes that fact. Maliki wants to demobilize all the militias, including al-Sadr’s, Khalilzad said. Yet, he noted, U.S. officials don’t have direct contact with Sadr,...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A political solution must be found to the problem of Iraq's sectarian violence that will lead to militias to "dissolve themselves," Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Thursday ahead of talks with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Al-Maliki is under intensified pressure to find an end to the Shiite-Sunni killings that have torn Iraq apart for months despite the government's calls for militias — many of which have ties to parties in the government — to put down their arms. On route to Baghdad on Thursday, Rice underlined that Iraq's leaders "don't have time for endless debate...

The "Brady Campaign" is trying hard to derail or ruin H.R. 5005, the “FIREARMS CORRECTIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS ACT” ! It would be interesting to know who the 35 Police Chiefs are who aren't willing to admit to the public that they're against the bill. I was initially skeptical that the the Nevada Sheriff's and Chief's Association was supporting the "Brady" bunch on this, so I PERSONALLY confirmed it. Here is the contact information for the association lobbyist and president. Nevada Sheriffs & Chiefs Association Lobbyist, Frank Adams 866-266-9870 Cell, 702/379-6591 President, No. LV Sheriff, Mark Paresi (702) 633-1837 This association...

More proof that Jim Gibbons does not just talk about reforming out of control Gov. Org. agencies, he actually takes steps to expose their abuses. In this archived thread we see that he has even taken BATFE to task, they really hated having to admit to their data-base errors! Link to thread, http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1549185/posts

Iraqi Police in Mosul began specialized training with the Coalition's Police Transition Team in July. Department of Defense photo by Cpl. Richard Vogt. WASHINGTON – The U.S. commander who oversees military operations in the Middle East says extremism “remains a serious danger to global peace and stability” and that the influence of private militias in the Middle East must be curbed. Army Gen. John Abizaid , who leads the U.S. Central Command, told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday that the forces of extremism are strong, ruthless and well-connected and that private militias as “the curse of the...

Thursday, July 20, 2006 · Last updated 12:59 p.m. PT Islamic Court Militias on their trucks with anti aircraft guns in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, Thursday, July 20, 2006. Islamic militia that had moved near the base of Somalia's weak interim government will pull back, a senior official said Thursday. Senior officials of the Supreme Islamic Courts Council have decided to withdraw, a day after their deputy defense chief said they planned to take the only town held by Somalia's internationally recognized interim government The advance on Baidoa, seat of the transitional government, had prompted the transitional government to go on...

BAGHDAD, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Look in the pockets of Iraqis whose jobs take them around Baghdad every day and you are likely to find a clutch of passes and identity cards, one for every police, military or militia checkpoint they may run into. "This one is says I'm Badr, this one I show to police, and I have the American press pass and my ordinary ID. I applied for a Mehdi Army pass on Friday but it hasn't arrived yet," said one Iraqi driver working for a foreign media organisation. "I am Sunni so these passes mean I don't...

I found out today that ATFE has reinstated the ability of Nevada CCW holders to use their Nevada CCW permits as an alternative to the $25 Point Of Sale contact in filling out the form 4473 required with each firearm sale. This is GREAT news, and a testament to the power of gun owner activism. Initially the Nevada Chief's and Sheriff's Association thought they could simply shrug off the results of several of their members failing an ATFE audit. Their failing the audit resulted in ATFE announcing that Nevada CCW's would no longer be accepted in lieu of a requirement...

An e-mail is bouncing around the Internet with photographs of alleged Bolivarian gunmen in an area of Caracas that appears to be 23 de Enero. Many appear to be teenagers, they are wearing Bolivarian t-shirts with Che Guevara's face super-imposed on Venezuela's national colors, and they are armed with Glock 9mm semi-automatic handguns. According to Pensamiento Militar Venezolano 2005, a strategic and tactical military defense document drafted under the direction of President Hugo Chávez, the core mission of these armed youths is to turn Caracas into a kill zone where escualidos will be hunted down systematically if the Chávez regime...

U.S. to Iraq: Curb Use of Shiite Militias Thursday November 17, 2005 11:46 PM By ROBERT H. REID Associated Press Writer BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - The Iraqi government has promised to investigate detention facilities across the country to ensure prisoners are not tortured, the United States said Thursday, sharply warning Iraqi officials against allowing Shiite militias a role in the security services following allegations of torture of Sunni Arabs. The Interior Minister, who is in charge of the facilities and security forces, said torture claims were exaggerated. Sectarian rhetoric sharpened four days after U.S. troops found up to 173 malnourished...

H.R. 800/S. 397 to be voted on today! Call congress ASAP! It is time to pass the Lawful Commerce In Firearms Protection Act, no more delays, let's get it done TODAY! The House is scheduled to bring up H.R. 800/S. 397 for a vote today. (Thursday). We need to continue fighting for the CLEAN version of the bill to protect gun makers from HCI's predatory lawsuits, H.R. 800). It is imperative that you make your last-minute calls to the Hill in support of H.R. 800, especially if you have not done so already. Please ask your Representative to oppose S....

Rise of militias leaves Basra in the balance By Adrian Blomfield in Basra (Filed: 30/09/2005) The people of Basra know it as the "station of death". For the British, however, Jameat police station may be the difference between success and disaster in Iraq. British troops have trained for a ‘doomsday scenario’ in which armed militias take control of the city of Basra Basra was the heartbeat of Iraq's Riviera 30 years ago. Girls wore sunglasses and short skirts; nightclubs flourished on the Corniche, where the glamorous drank arak, once the tipple of choice. Then it found itself close to the...

Last update - 21:12 13/09/2005 PA official: Abbas aims to begin disarming militias By News Agencies Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas aims to start disarming small militant groups soon and will insist that the Hamas faction puts down weapons after January elections, a top aide said on Tuesday. Abbas' chief of staff, Rafiq Husseini, said the PA Chairman wants to end local lawlessness. Israel has also demanded disarmament as a precondition for statehood talks. Husseini said Abbas planned to start by disarming the small armed groups within his own Fatah movement before moving onto bigger, better armed and more disciplined...