Posted on 06/15/2005 7:17:55 PM PDT by TexKat
Oh, hes back from Iran now!!
thanks for the info & pings.
ping to some sweet photos top of this thread.
(#12 not in that category)
From correspondents in
17 June 05
FORMER US secretary of state Colin Powell today defended the invasion of Iraq but admitted America's image had taken a beating and called on the Bush administration to be more sensitive.
Mr Powell said the post-invasion insurgency in Iraq was the most difficult challenge facing the world and the United States, but that 12 years of negotiations with the former Iraqi regime had yielded no results.
"Bush and other leaders... felt the matter had to be dealt with," Mr Powell said in a speech to an Asian leadership forum in the Malaysian capital.
But the former top diplomat, often described as a "dove" among the conservative "hawks" dominating the White House, also called on the current administration to be more conciliatory in its approach.
"I would like the government to speak with a softer voice and listen with a more discerning ear," he said.
The former top diplomat conceded that the US has "massive problems" communicating to the world what it stands for.
"There is a strong tide of resentment in the Muslim world against the United States," he said, adding that US President George W. Bush was "not unmindful" of this and was trying to be less strident in his second term in office.
Mr Powell's speech largely addressed criticism levelled by straight-talking former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who spoke before him at the forum.
Mr Mahathir, a vocal critic of the Iraq invasion, said that countries which used military might instead of diplomacy to resolve conflicts only encouraged more violence.
The use of war was a "primitive" solution to international problems, and Iraq was less secure as a result of the invasion, he said.
"The very people who came up with the United Nations as an instrument of peace unfortunately decided to ignore the UN," he said, referring to the US and its allies going to war with Iraq without the world body's backing.
But Mr Powell said military options were necessary in some circumstances, and a reluctance to use them only encouraged adversaries.
"Soft power doesn't solve all the problems faced by nations," he said."When we are attacked we have to respond."
Mr Powell insisted the US was committed to multilateralism, citing Washington's commitment to talks with North Korea and its efforts to bring rivals India and Pakistan to the table.
"The United States acts in multilateral ways more often than we get credit for," he said.
He outlined three issues which he said were key to winning over the Muslim world: ensuring that Afghanistan remained stable, ending the insurgency in Iraq, and making sure Palestinians were given a fair deal.
Thank you TexKat!
LOL!! Who knows where that rock is the snake is under
Thank you MEG33. How is your (nephew? was it)doing, that was going into the military?
There was a glitch..and I think they worked it out today.
DoD Identifies Marine Casualties No. 610-05 IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 16, 2005
The Department of Defense announced today the death of four Marines who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Lance Cpl. Jonathan R. Flores, 18, of San Antonio, Texas
Cpl. Jesse Jaime, 22, of Henderson, Nev.
Cpl. Tyler S. Trovillion, 23, of Richardson, Texas
Lance Cpl. Dion M. Whitley, 21, of Los Angeles, Calif.
All four Marines died June 15 when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations near Ar Ramadi, Iraq. All four Marines were assigned to 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, their unit was operating with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division of the U.S. Army, which was attached to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).
I have thought Ramadi was under control of Wolf Brigade and secured. It was a surprise when I once saw gunmen on photographs of Internet news source. I wonder how they made it back. Whatever the case is, the city needs a barricade and setup checkpoints.
Yes, that was an earthquake
June 16, 2005
By: North County Times
A moderate earthquake struck Southern California today, the second in less than a week large enough to shake a wide area from Los Angeles to San Diego and counties to the east.
The 1:53 p.m. quake had a preliminary magnitude of 5.3 and was centered near Yucaipa in San Bernardino County, east of Los Angeles.
There were no immediate reports of any damage.
The following information is from the U.S. Geological Survey, Earthquake Hazards Program.
A moderate earthquake occurred at 1:53:25 PM (PDT) on Thursday, June 16, 2005.
The magnitude 5.3 event occurred 5 km (3 miles) NE of Yucaipa, CA.
The hypocentral depth is 12 km ( 8 miles).
Magnitude 5.3 - local magnitude (ML)
Time Thursday, June 16, 2005 at 1:53:25 PM (PDT)
Thursday, June 16, 2005 at 20:53:25 (UTC)
Distance from Yucaipa, CA - 5 km (3 miles) NE (51 degrees)
Mentone, CA - 10 km (6 miles) E (94 degrees)
Redlands, CA - 15 km (9 miles) E (89 degrees)
Moreno Valley, CA - 25 km (16 miles) NE (54 degrees)
Los Angeles Civic Center, CA - 114 km (71 miles) E (89 degrees)
Coordinates 34 deg. 3.5 min. N (34.058N), 117 deg. 0.4 min. W (117.007W)
Depth 12.5 km (7.8 miles)
Location Quality Fair
Location Quality Parameters Nst=115, Nph=115, Dmin=10 km, Rmss=0.3 sec, Erho=0.2 km, Erzz=1 km, Gp=25.2 degrees
More information will be posted when it is made available. For additional information go to www.nctimes.com/earthquake
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/06/16/news/breaking/51605140227.txt
Thursday June 16, 2005 11:16 PM
By FRANK GRIFFITHS - Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A U.S. general on Thursday blamed Iraq's recent spike in bloodshed on a terrorist leader condoning the killing of fellow Muslims, while a suicide car bomber rammed into a truck in Baghdad, killing at least eight police officers and wounding 25 others.
The U.S. military also reported that five Marines and a sailor were killed Wednesday near the volatile western city of Ramadi.
Separately, Staff Sgt. Alberto B. Martinez was charged with murder Wednesday in the deaths last week of two Army officers at a base north of Baghdad, the military said Thursday.
The military initially attributed the June 7 killings of the officers - Capt. Phillip T. Esposito 30, of Suffern, N.Y., and 1st Lt. Louis E. Allen, 34, of Milford, Pa. - to an insurgent mortar attack near Tikrit but said further investigation showed the blast pattern was inconsistent with such an attack.
Jordanian-born terrorist leader Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi's hope to provoke sectarian war suffered a setback Thursday when the Shiite-led parliament and leaders of the disaffected Sunni Arab minority, which is thought to provide the backbone of the insurgency, agreed on a process for drafting Iraq's constitution.
Elsewhere, dozens of hooded insurgents surrounded a downtown mosque in Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, to prevent a meeting of local politicians and tribal leaders on the country's new charter and reconciliation efforts.
``We told them to leave Iraq's issues for us, we are the only ones who can liberate Iraq by fighting infidels and not by holding conferences. And instead of spending money for this conference, they have to give it to us to buy weapons to help our fighting against the Americans,'' a masked man told Iraqi reporters outside the empty mosque.
U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Don Alston took aim at al-Zarqawi, saying the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq is most responsible for the nearly 1,100 violent deaths since the Shiite-led government took office seven weeks ago.
``With Zarqawi's push recently, we certainly see the fantastic rise in the number of civilians killed, given that he has proclaimed that taking out civilians is an acceptable thing,'' said Alston, spokesman for the U.S.-led international military force in Iraq.
Last month, an audiotape said to be from al-Zarqawi denounced the country's majority Shiites as collaborators with the Americans and said it was justified for Muslims to kill such people even if they are Muslims.
Alston's focus on al-Zarqawi, whose small group is blamed for many of the bloodiest attacks and hostage takings in Iraq, apparently was aimed at reinforcing growing dissatisfaction among Iraqis over insurgents targeting civilians. He said that anger has brought an increase in calls to tip lines.
``We are getting reports that cells in his network are concerned about the consequences of this behavior and a consequence of what it has done to the Iraqi people,'' Alston said. ``The Iraqi people are increasingly exposing the insurgency. This is not a popular insurgency.''
He said tips to Iraqi authorities resulted in Tuesday's arrest of Mohammed Khalaf, also known as Abu Talha, who was al-Qaida's leader in Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad.
``This is a major defeat for the al-Qaida terrorist organization in Iraq. Al-Zarqawi's leader in Mosul is out of business,'' Alston said.
As he spoke, Shiite politicians succeeded at including Sunni Arabs in the work of drafting Iraq's new constitution. Senior members of the Shiite-dominated parliament committee writing the charter reached agreement with Sunni groups on their representation on the panel, a political breakthrough just two months before a deadline to prepare the charter.
The stalemate over that issue had threatened Iraq's political process as it was about to enter its final stretch, with two key nationwide votes planned for later this year - a constitutional referendum in October and a general election in December.
The constitutional process, and attempts to open channels with some militant groups not tied to extremists, are touted by the United States and Iraq's government as a way to help defuse the insurgency.
``Those who are terrorists, those who are al-Qaida and al-Zarqawi, and those who are Saddam elements, we have (nothing to) say to them,'' Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said Thursday.
``But other Iraqis who are dissatisfied with something and believe that struggling with weapons will not lead to achieving their demands, we are ready to listen to them and permit them to come back to the democratic process in Iraq.''
Martinez, 37, a supply specialist with the Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the 42nd Infantry Division, a New York-based National Guard unit, is facing two counts of premeditated murder, according to a statement from Multi-National Corps, Iraq.
He was being held at a military jail in Kuwait and has been assigned a military attorney and has the option of hiring a civilian lawyer, the statement said.
The suicide bomber plowed his black sedan at high speed into a truck carrying police officers from checkpoint to checkpoint on the road connecting Baghdad with its airport. The officers were part of an evening replacement shift, said police Maj. Moussa Abdul Karim and medic Najam Abid of the al-Yarmouk hospital.
The Marines died Wednesday after their vehicle was attacked near Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, the military said. A sailor attached to the Marines' unit, the 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, was killed Wednesday in Ramadi by gunfire, the military said.
In other developments:
-Judge Salim Mahmoud al-Haj Alia and his bodyguard were killed by gunmen in eastern Mosul. The al-Qaida-affiliated Ansar al-Sunnah Army claimed responsibility in an Internet posting.
-A roadside bomb in Mosul killed an Iraqi police officer, officials said.
-Police found the bodies of 11 people in two towns in the so-called Triangle of Death, an official said.
Earthquake recorded on a seismograph. An earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter Scale struck east of the US West Coast city of Los Angeles, shaking the second largest US city, the US Geological Survey said(AFP/File/Romeo Gacad)
By PATRICK QUINN, Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A U.S. Army staff sergeant was charged with murdering his two commanding officers last week at a base outside Baghdad, the military said Thursday in what is believed to be the first case of an American soldier in Iraq accused of killing his superiors.
Staff Sgt. Alberto B. Martinez, 37, a supply specialist with the Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the 42nd Infantry Division, New York Army National Guard, was charged Wednesday in connection with the June 7 deaths of the two officers at Forward Operating Base Danger, near Tikrit — Saddam Hussein's hometown 80 miles north of Baghdad.
The officers killed in what was believed to be a "fragging" incident were Capt. Phillip T. Esposito, 30, of Suffern, N.Y., and 1st Lt. Louis E. Allen, 34, of Milford, Pa. Esposito was company commander and Allen, a father of four, served as a company operations officer.
Fragging is a term used to refer to soldiers killing their superiors.
The commanders were killed in what the military first believed was an "indirect fire" attack on the base. An indirect fire attack involves enemy artillery or mortar rounds fired from a location some distance away.
The military first concluded that a mortar round struck a window on the side of the building where Esposito and Allen were.
But a criminal investigation was launched after it was determined that the "blast pattern" at the scene was inconsistent with a mortar attack.
Martinez, of Troy, N.Y., is believed to have used some kind of explosive device, possibly a grenade, military officials said on condition of anonymity because the matter was still under investigation.
Martinez was charged with two counts of premeditated murder, said a statement by the Multinational Task Force in Iraq. Martinez currently is at a military detention facility in Kuwait.
His motive was unclear.
Martinez, who joined the New York Army National Guard in December 1990, deployed to Iraq in May 2004. He has been assigned a military attorney and has the option of hiring a civilian lawyer.
"Staff Sgt. Martinez has been and will continue to be afforded the extensive rights under the Uniformed Code of Military Justice," military spokesman Col. Billy J. Buckner said, according to the statement.
U.S. military officials contacted by The Associated Press in Iraq declined to comment further.
The 42nd Infantry Division took over from the 1st Infantry Division in January and is responsible for a vast section of northern and central Iraq.
Allen was a science teacher at Tuxedo High School in Orange County, N.Y., and was deployed to Iraq just a few weeks ago. He is survived by his wife, Barbara, and four sons, ages 1 to 6.
This is at least the second incident in which a U.S. soldier has been charged with killing his comrades in Iraq. In April, a sergeant in the Army's 101st Airborne Division was convicted of murder and attempted murder for a grenade and rifle attack that killed two officers and wounded 14 soldiers in Kuwait during the opening days of the Iraq invasion in 2003.
Hasan Akbar, a 34-year-old Muslim who was sentenced to death, had told investigators he staged the attack because he was upset that American troops would kill fellow Muslims.
Fragging entered the American lexicon in the Vietnam War.
Such incidents increased late in the 1960s as the strains grew on a draftee army waging an unpopular war. Young men feeling hassled or unnecessarily put in harm's way by their commanders settled their grievances with a fragmentation grenade or a bullet in the back.
Between 1969 and 1971, the Army reported 600 fragging incidents that killed 82 Americans and injured 651. In 1971 alone, there were 1.8 fraggings for every 1,000 American soldiers serving in Vietnam, not including gun and knife assaults.
As President Nixon drew down U.S. forces, troops felt they were fighting a lost cause they were unwilling to die for.
___
Associated Press reporter John J. Lumpkin in Washington contributed to this report.
Members of youth gangs, including MS-13, in prison in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Seventeen suspected members of the feared MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, gang have been arrested by the US authorities in the states of New Jersey and Florida on charges of drug trafficking, document forgery and immigration violations.(AFP/File/Orlando Sierra)
17 alleged MS-13 gang members arrested in New Jersey, Florida
MIAMI (AFP) - Seventeen suspected members of the feared MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, gang have been arrested by the US authorities in the states of New Jersey and Florida on charges of drug trafficking, document forgery and immigration violations.
The alleged gang members were arrested on Wednesday, the majority of the arrests occurred in Elizabeth and Somerset in New Jersey where 10 individuals were detained, according to a Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) statement.
The individuals arrested in New Jersey were trafficking in crack cocaine and false identities, ICE said.
It said Melvin Murillo, a 27-year-old Salvadoran and the suspected head of MS-13 in Elizabeth was detained in the swoop.
Seven of those arrested were from El Salvador, three were from Honduras, two from Colombia, while one was American. The origin of the other four held was not released.
"MS-13 has a reputation in this country and abroad as being among the most vicious and remorseless street gangs. They are relatively new in New Jersey, and we intend to stamp them out before they flourish here," New Jersey Attorney General Christopher Christie said in a statement.
He is not the first, nor the second. There have been others.
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