The Terrorist Round-up for 5/22/06 (80 Taliban killed in Airstrikes)

5/22/06

[Straight Vermonter]

	Israeli army soldiers prepare shells for the 155mm mobile artillery piece as it launches shells at Palestinian targets in the Gaza Strip, from a base near Nahal Oz in southern Israel. (AFP/Menahem Kahana)
	Afghan army soldier patrols in southern Kandahar.(AFP/File/John D McHugh)
	Iraqi soldiers and a U.S. soldier from Marine Expeditionary Force take their position during a gun battle with insurgents in Ramadi. (REUTERS/Petty Officer 2nd Class Samuel C. Peterson/Handout)
	A U.S. soldier from the 28th Brigade Combat Team and Iraqi troops use smoke to cover their movements during a gun battle with insurgents in Ramadi. (REUTERS/Petty Officer 2nd Class Samuel C. Peterson/Handout)
	British soldiers take their position after a roadside bomb attack in Basra. (REUTERS/Atef Hassan)
	Italian soldiers stand guard at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Basra, 550 km (341miles) south of Baghdad, Iraq, (REUTERS/Atef Hassan)

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Afghanistan & Pakistan - Large Map

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Up to 80 Taliban Dead in U.S.-Led Strike
By NOOR KHAN

U.S.-led coalition aircraft killed up to 80 suspected Taliban militants in a night airstrike on a rebel stronghold in southern Afghanistan, the coalition said Monday. The local governor said 16 civilians also died.

The coalition confirmed the strike on the village of Azizi in Kandahar province late Sunday and early Monday and said about 50 militants were killed. U.S. commander Lt. Gen. Karl W. Eikenberry told The Associated Press the military was investigating whether some civilians had also died.

The new deaths brought the toll of militants, Afghan forces and coalition soldiers killed to more than 265 since Wednesday, when a storm of violence broke out in the south — among the deadliest combat in Afghanistan since the Taliban's ouster in 2001.

Kandahar Gov. Asadullah Khalid said 16 civilians were killed in Monday's attack and 16 were wounded and taken to hospitals in Kandahar city, a former Taliban stronghold.

"These sort of accidents happen during fighting, especially when the Taliban are hiding in homes," he said. "I urge people not to give shelter to the Taliban."

U.S. military spokesman Col. Tom Collins said the coalition forces targeted a Taliban compound and "we're certain we hit the right target."

"It's common that the enemy fights in close to civilians as a means to protect its own forces," he added.

Many of the wounded sought treatment at Kandahar city's Mirwaise Hospital. One man with blood smeared over his clothes and turban said insurgents had been hiding in an Islamic religious school, or madrassa, in the village after fierce fighting in recent days.

"Helicopters bombed the madrassa and some of the Taliban ran from there and into people's homes. Then those homes were bombed," said Haji Ikhlaf, 40. "I saw 35 to 40 dead Taliban and around 50 dead or wounded civilians."

Another survivor from the village, Zurmina Bibi, who was cradling her wounded 8-month-old baby, said about 10 people were killed in her home, including three or four children.

"There were dead people everywhere," she said, crying.

An example of a mud compound in southern Afghanistan

A doctor, Mohammed Khan, said he had treated 10 people from the village. Moments later, a pickup vehicle pulled up at the hospital with five men lying wounded in the back.

It was not possible for reporters to reach Azizi village because police and foreign troops had blocked off the area, which is about 30 miles southwest of Kandahar.

The village is also known by the name Hajiyan. It is made up of about 30-35 large mud-brick compounds, each housing an extended family with up to 50 members. The village has a mosque and one madrassa, where boys study. It has no electricity and relies on wells for water.

The Taliban resurgence, despite the presence of more than 30,000 foreign troops, including 23,000 from the United States in Afghanistan, has halted postwar reconstruction work in many areas and raised fears for this country's future.

Meanwhile in other violence, Mohammed Ali Jalali, the former governor of eastern Paktika province, was found dead after being kidnapped Sunday, local police chief Abdul Rehman Surjung said. Jalali was a respected tribal elder and a supporter of President Hamid Karzai.

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B-1B strikes Taliban stronghold

B-1B

A B-1B Lancer struck a Taliban-associated compound May 17 near Kandahar, Afghanistan, in support of coalition ground forces conducting operations to detain individuals suspected of terrorist activities.

The bomber responded to an immediate air support request with a GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munition, destroying the compound from which the Taliban members were attacking. Coalition ground forces reported approximately 15 to 20 Taliban were killed from the air strike.

These individuals were active members of the Taliban network and conducted attacks against coalition and Afghan forces. Additionally, they conducted attacks against Afghan government officials and are suspected of constructing improvised explosive devices and training other enemy fighters.

This was the first use of a JDAM by a B-1B in a combat environment. The Air Force recently added a new software package to the bomber that allows it to carry and deliver this guided weapon. The JDAM, a 500-pound bomb, is a precision weapon that allows warfighters to focus their strikes and minimize collateral damage.

“With the new software package and this precision weapon, we can target and eliminate the terrorist threat in close quarters,” said Maj. Gen. Allen Peck, deputy Combined Forces Air Component commander for U.S. Central Command. “We’re able to better support our coalition ground forces,” he said “and significantly reduce the possibility of civilian casualties.”

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Govt claims killing 16 Taliban in Ghazni
Javed Hamim/Najib Khelwatgar

The Defence Ministry Saturday claimed killing 16 Taliban fighters and arresting 10 others in Ghazni and Paktia provinces.

Spokesman for the ministry General Zahir Azimi told Pajhwok Afghan News 16 Taliban were killed in a joint operation by Afghan and coalition forces backed by jet fighters in the Waghaz district and Nanai area in Ghazni. He added the government forces had also captured eight Ak-47 assault rifles left behind by the fleeing Taliban.

Separately, Azimi said the Afghan military had arrested 10 Taliban in the Kota district of the southeastern Paktika province. He said two satellite telephone sets and one motorbike had also been seized by the army. The arrested people had been handed over to the concerned authorities for investigations.

In separate operations in Zurmat district and Machalgho area of the Paktia province, the forces discovered and seized huge quantity of weapons, said the spokesman.

Azimi said in clash in the southern Helmand province, one soldier was killed and four others wounded. He said the clash erupted in the Kajaki district of the province.

Taliban rejected the official claim regarding Ghazni clash and said 14 policemen had been killed in the firefight. Mulla Mohammad Sharif Anas, introducing himself a regional commander of the Taliban, had said Taliban suffered no loses.

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America misjudged the clout of ‘chameleon’

Until recently, Ammar al-Baluchi was considered a peripheral player in al-Qaida, a functionary who made travel arrangements and wired money for terrorists.

But new government disclosures place Baluchi in a larger role in the Sept. 11, 2001, preparations and rank him No. 4 among the conspirators captured by U.S. forces after the terrorist attacks.

Investigators allege that he was instrumental in acquiring a Boeing 747 flight simulator and a Boeing 767 flight-deck video for the terrorists to practice on before heading to the United States.

“He was turning up everywhere we looked — like a chameleon,” one federal agent recalled.

A man of many names, Baluchi — who was captured in Pakistan in April 2003 — seemed to have his hand in everything.

More..

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Iraq - Large Map

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Tips lead Coalition Forces to ‘IED factory;' 6 terrorists killed, 3 detained

Based on tips, Coalition Forces located and killed six terrorists, detained three and destroyed a safe house and multiple weapons caches in Ramadi during a search May 17 for a wanted terrorist known as the “Prince of IEDs.” The troops began taking fire immediately upon their arrival at the site where the al-Qaida leader and his associates were allegedly building improvised explosive devices.

During the course of the fighting, the troops took direct fire from various areas. The forces neutralized the threat with small arms fire, killing six and detaining three terrorists, one of whom was wounded and medically evacuated. The troops ultimately destroyed the identified safe house, which contained a large amount of lethal material, with precision bombs. The forces also attacked a second safe haven, neutralizing the threat by ground and damaging the structure with air strikes.

After securing the targeted safe house, the troops found one heavy machine gun, two medium machine guns, rifles, a pistol, artillery shells, IED material, large oxygen tanks configured as IEDs, a suicide vest, rocket propelled grenades and one launcher. Large amounts of discarded automobile parts were also present in the structure further indicating that cars were likely being configured into vehicle-borne IEDs in keeping with the tips provided to Coalition Forces. Additionally, the troops discovered equipment and material used for making remote controlled IEDs. The terrorists' equipment, weapons and ammunition were destroyed by ground charges and air strikes.

The troops also discovered an unharmed 8-year-old boy inside the safe house after they either killed or detained the terrorists at the primary site. The child told the Soldiers he was being held against his will by these terrorists who abused and made him conduct minor tasks. The forces took the boy to their base, provided him care, and then arranged for transportation for the boy's return to his actual residence.

The targeted individual, “The Prince of IEDs,” is reported to be a financier, an IED maker and a bomb facilitator for al-Qaida in Iraq in Ramadi. Coalition Forces are currently assessing the identities of the dead and detained.

One of the three terrorists detained received a gunshot wound to his shoulder. He was evacuated to a medical facility for further treatment.

(The use of the term "Coalition Forces" usually implies Task Force 145. They get the job of taking out the top targets. The pace of their activities over the last month seems to have increased greatly.)

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Intl. forces start Iraq's withdrawal June -- Al-Maliki (Great news!)

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki announced Monday that multinational forces (MNF) will withdraw from several provinces in his country starting from next June.

Speaking at a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Al-Maliki said the MNF would withdraw from Samara and Amara provinces next month and would accordingly hand over security.

He added that it is expected the withdrawal will be complete this year from most provinces except for Baghdad and Al-Anbar, saying the operation depends on Iraqi security forces being capable of ensuring security.

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Iraqi police arrest university student in Kirkuk

A university student was arrested by the Iraqi police in Kirkuk, Northern Iraq, for carrying out terrorist operations in the city.

Chief of a police station in Kirkuk Colonel Salah Saber told reporters on Monday that several policemen on Sunday arrested Murad Muwafaq in Al-Masli neighborhood where he confessed working for a terrorist organization besides being a university student in Kirkuk. The police officer added that he was arrested after he was seen by a citizen planting an explosive device, where he informed the police which rushed to the scene to defuse it then besieged his house and arrested him.

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Combined raid successful in Muqdadiyah

Iraqi Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division, and troops from 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, captured a small arsenal and detained several men May 20 in Muqdadiyah.

The Soldiers worked together using numerous forms of information to compile a solid operation to capture anti-Iraqi force's cell members and recover whatever munitions they possessed.

Two objectives in the operation bore a large cache that included 19 mortar rounds, more than 4,000 small arms rounds, 34 pounds of bulk explosives, hand grenades, various improvised explosive device-making materials, propaganda materials, RPG warheads and a launcher.

An explosive ordnance disposal team destroyed most of the cache on site and recovered many other pieces for study and future destruction.

Twelve men, all suspected of terrorism in the Diyala province, were detained and taken to a nearby Iraqi detention facility.

Iraqi and Coalition Forces completed this operation with no injuries to any group involved, including the AIF.

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Israel & Palestinian Territories  - Large Map

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Al Qaeda Targets PA Leadership

The Al Qaeda terrorist organization announced that it was responsible for the assassination attempt against the head of PA intelligence, Tarik Abu Rag’iv. Rag’iv was injured yesterday in an explosion in Gaza.

The group pledged to wipe out all the “heretic nonbelievers” in the PA administration, including PA chief Mahmoud Abbas and Mohammed Dahlan, one of his senior deputies.

Both Abbas and Dahlan are members of the Fatah terrorist faction, archrivals of the Islamic Hamas terror group. Hamas, which may have ties to Al Qaeda, has effectively ruled the PA since elections last January.

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Four Arrested in Counter-Terrorism Operations

IDF soldiers involved in counter-terrorism operations throughout Judea and Samaria during the night arrested four terrorists. Arrests were made south of Jenin and near Shechem, as well as in the Ramallah area. Suspects in custody include Hamas and Fatah Tanzim terrorists. No injuries were reported.

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India & Kashmir  - Large Map

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Student held for links with terror outfit

The anti-terrorist squad of the state police picked up a college student, an alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba sympathiser, from Aurangabad in the arms seizure case. The accused, Akif Biyabani, was charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

A Mumbai court remanded him to police custody till May 24. He is the eleventh person to be arrested in the case. A huge haul of 43 kg of RDX, 16 AK-47s and 3,200 live rounds were seized in raids in Aurangabad and Malegaon over the past fortnight.

The police said Biyabani, a second year BSc student, was an associate of prime suspect Zaibuddin Ansari and had visited Nepal last year to meet LeT operatives. Ansari, a Beed resident, is absconding. "Biyabani was linked with the accused," ATS inspector general K P Raghuvanshi told media persons on Sunday.

A resident of Ganesh Colony in Aurangabad, Biyabani ran a hardware business in the same locality and is said to be a friend of Amer Shakeel Ahmed who was arrested on May 9 at the Ellora Ghat, about 25 km from Aurangabad.

Earlier, the ATS had arrested Bilal Razzaq (29) on May 16 from Buddilane in the old city. It is learnt that Amer and others arrested earlier had named Biyabani. Sources said Biyabani was picked up by the ATS after keeping an eye on him for three days.

(India has really rounded up a bunch of terrorists after preventing the attack in Aurangabad. Hopefully this will put a big dent in terrorist operation in India. One of every three terror attacks in the world takes place in India.)

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Outlaws kill Naogon JMB leader (Red on Red violence)
Bogra

Members of the outlawed Purba Banglar Communist Party (PBCP)- Red Flag faction killed a Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) leader at Banshbaria of Raninagar in Naogaon yesterday.

The JMB militant Arif was second-in-command of a camp set up during Siddiqul Islam Bangla Bhai-led terrorist operations in the region.

Police said a group of PBCP men captured Arif after storming his house around 9:45pm and slit his throat in front of his house.

A man, later, claiming to be regional commander of PBCP made a phone call to The Daily Star correspondent and said he was responsible for the killing.

He also said they killed the JMB leader because he had joined JMB and Bangla Bhai and other militants to kill PBCP men during their operations.

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Russia - Large Map (Caucasus)

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Special forces kill two gunmen in south Russia

Special forces killed two rebels on Sunday in the southern Russian region of Dagestan after a firefight lasting several hours, police said.

Three policemen were injured in an attack on the house in the town of Khasavyurt in western Dagestan, in which the gunmen had blockaded themselves earlier on Sunday, said Sergei Solodovnikov, deputy police chief of southern Russia.

"One of the two gunmen were killed included Bulat Abdullayev, who was recently proclaimed the amir (warlord) of the Khasavyurt district," he told reporters in the Dagestani capital of Makhachkala.

"This amir is responsible for at least 10 grave crimes."

Police used an armoured personnel carrier to quell the rebels' fire, Solodovnikov said. The two had been killed after the private two-storey house in which they had barricaded themselves was set ablaze. Blasts were heard inside, he said.

Gun battles are common in Dagestan, a patchwork of ethnic groups and powerful clans bordering Chechnya, where separatist guerrillas have fought Russian rule for more than a decade.

A policeman and two rebels were killed and at least nine other people were injured last Tuesday in a similar battle in Kizilyurt, a town northwest of the Dagestani capital, Makhachkala.

A day later, seven people, including a top local policeman, were killed when a car exploded in Chechnya's other neighbour, Ingushetia.

Rebels, often acting on a host of local and religious grievances, have increasingly taken up arms against local officials in Dagestan.

Russian officials blame the violence on Islamic militants and organised criminals.

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Europe - Large Map

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How $45m secretly bought freedom of foreign hostages (Euroweenies pay terrorists)
By Daniel McGrory

Documents seen by The Times show three countries paid ransoms in spite of denying it in public

France, Italy and Germany sanctioned the payment of $45 million in deals to free nine hostages abducted in Iraq, according to documents seen by The Times.

All three governments have publicly denied paying ransom money. But according to the documents, held by security officials in Baghdad who have played a crucial role in hostage negotiations, sums from $2.5 million to $10 million per person have been paid over the past 21 months. Among those said to have received cash ransoms was the gang responsible for seizing British hostages including Kenneth Bigley, the murdered Liverpool engineer.

The list of payments has also been seen by Western diplomats, who are angered at the behaviour of the three governments, arguing that it encourages organised crime gangs to grab more foreign captives.

“In theory we stand together in not rewarding kidnappers, but in practice it seems some administrations have parted with cash and so it puts other foreign nationals at risk from gangs who are confident that some governments do pay,” one senior envoy in the Iraqi capital said.

More than 250 foreigners have been abducted since the US-led invasion in 2003. At least 44 have been killed; 135 were released, three escaped, six were rescued and the fate of the others remains unknown.

A number of other governments, including those of Turkey, Romania, Sweden and Jordan, are said to have paid for their hostages to be freed, as have some US companies with lucrative reconstruction contracts in Iraq. At least four businessmen with dual US and Iraqi nationality have been returned, allegedly in exchange for payments by their employers. This money is often disguised as “ expenses” paid to trusted go-betweens for costs that they claim to incur.

The release this month of Rene Braunlich and Thomas Nitzschke, two German engineers, for a reported $5 million payment prompted senior Iraqi security officials to seek talks with leading Western diplomats in the capital on how to handle hostage release.

When the men returned home, Alaa al-Hashimi, the Iraqi Ambassador to Germany, revealed that the German Government handed over “a large amount” to free the pair after 99 days in captivity. The kidnappers are understood to have asked for $10 million.

More..

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More than 230 terror suspects free to stay in Britain
David Leppard

MORE than 230 foreigners identified by MI5 and Scotland Yard as suspected terrorists have been allowed to stay in Britain as asylum seekers.

Home Office records show that nearly a quarter of the 963 people arrested in counter-terrorism operations in England and Wales since September 2001 have claimed refugee status, saying their human rights would be violated if they returned to countries such as Algeria, Iraq and Somalia.

While their applications are processed, all are entitled to state benefits such as free housing and legal aid to pursue their claims that they would be persecuted in their home countries.

< snip >

Baroness Cox, a former deputy speaker of the Lords who has been pressing ministers to disclose the statistics, said that allowing so many terror suspects to seek asylum sent the wrong message.

“This is quite a signifiant group of people who could be a threat to society,” she said. “It shows a remarkable lack of due care and vigilance by the government.”

Sir Andrew Green, the former British ambassador to Saudi Arabia and chairman of MigrationWatch UK, an independent think tank, said: “This is clear evidence of the abuse of the asylum system by potential terrorists. We have long urged that we need a much tougher and more realistic approach to applications from countries we know to be potential sources of terrorism.”

Latest Home Office figures show that of the 963 people detained under Britain’s terrorism laws between September 2001 and November 2005, 232 were identified in the department’s records as having applied for asylum, 214 of them before being arrested.

Scotland Yard said an additional 34 people had been arrested as suspected terrorists in the period to March this year, bringing the total number to 997. If one in four has also claimed asylum, that would bring the total of asylum seeking terror suspects to about 240.

The Home Office says most of those arrested are never brought to court. More than half are released without charge while dozens more are charged under other laws with crimes such as murder, grievous bodily harm or the use of firearms.

Several men charged in an alleged plot to target Britain with the deadly poison ricin were asylum seekers. Among them was Algerian-born Kamel Bourgass, the ringleader. He was sentenced to life imprisonment last year for the murder of Stephen Oake, a Manchester special branch officer.

Abu Qatada, a radical Muslim cleric said to be Al-Qaeda’s “ambassador in Europe”, came to Britain as an asylum seeker from Pakistan in 1993. The Home Office is trying to deport him to Jordan, the place of his birth, claiming that his presence is “not conducive to the public good”. It has also emerged that two men charged over the July 21 attacks on London had come to Britain as dependents of asylum seekers from Somalia and Eritrea.

Lord Goldsmith, the attorney-general, said yesterday that he would ask the European Court of Human Rights to review its absolute bar on deporting people to countries where they could face death or torture. Goldsmith said the government wanted to be able to take into account British security considerations.

Experts warned that article 3 of the human rights convention, which is enshrined in the government’s human rights act, meant that it was almost impossible to remove people from Britain even if they were terrorists. “Tony Blair has quite deliberately misled the public in suggesting that we could just remove people suspected or found guilty of terrorism,” said Green.

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Southeast Asia - Large Map

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‘Boulevard of Death’ no more (Good story about post-terror recovery)
By Joan Orendain

It was called “the Boulevard of Death” since 1970.

Today, the road lined with wild coffee trees ringing the island of Jolo does not exude the air of doom and gloom. Happy children welcome visitors with a warm “Hello!” The shift is deliberate and palpable, from body-count syndrome to developing communities, to bring them a better quality of life and economic independence.

The commander of the 3rd Marine Brigade, newly promoted Brigadier General Juancho Sabban, seems determined to make it work. The officer is a town planner, economic strategist and education czar on the island. His work is making itself felt even in the town of Patikul outside the provincial capital and scattered areas where the enemy is beginning to be denied access.

In earlier days, military operations -- “sweep, bomb” -- constituted 80 percent of military activities. Twenty percent comprised civil-military operations, which meant developing communities. There has been a reversal. The Armed Forces mission is now 70 percent CMO and 30 percent combat operations.

“Now, we have higher intelligence,” Sabban says. “The townsfolk tell us, so our selective targets are intelligence-driven. We are able to avoid collateral damage,” which are civilians hurt in the crossfire.

The potential for a booming fisheries and agriculture-based economy is there. One look at the rich, brown loamy soil and the wild cash crops sprouting from it confirms great promise.

Wild abaca -- the world’s finest manila hemp, it is claimed -- is there, along with cassava, coconuts, bananas, durian, lanzones, mangoes and other fruit trees.

< snip >

Is Sabban winning the battle for hearts and minds?

“The civilians protect us,” he says. Several days earlier, they reported where a land mine had been planted.

In the tug of war, “the acme of skill, according to Sun Tzu, is defeating the enemy without firing a shot. Who should they believe, those who give them water, or those taking away their durian and lanzones?” Sabban asks.

More..

[Straight Vermonter]

Let me know if you want on/off the terrorist roundup ping list

Proud member of the:

[Straight Vermonter]

Ping

[MattinNJ]

Gread reading to go with my morning cup of coffee (OK-my second cup)

[Jameison]

Great post.
You are doing an excellent job.

"Up to 80 Taliban Dead in U.S.-Led Strike"

Helen Thomas is going to be a very busy girl tonight.
Naughty girl.

[Smartass]

"Unbelievable!"

Yep...parallels our U.S. Senate giving illegal immigrants
with falsified SS cards, our SS benefits.

 

[Smartass]

A Military Prayer

Many people have never heard a Chaplin give a military prayer. Many of you have never attended a military church service.  Let me warn you that some military prayers are-----striking and strongly worded.  I am also no Chaplin but I would like to say a prayer for our children soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines that are on duty in over 100 countries around the world.
 
My Dear Lord God in heaven:
 
Thank you for letting me come before you, through Jesus Christ, with this petition. On bended knee I humble myself, as Your child. A child of God—a child of Jesus—a child of the Holy Spirit—a child of my parents and a child of the United States of America.
 
I ask your forgiveness my Father for my sins. I ask for your protection from evil. I ask for your love. I know I ask a lot and all You ask for is our love. But Father I come before you now in hard times. In a time of world war, terrorism, false religions, hate and doubt . . . Killing, tyrants, despots, anarchist and people who would lead others into aiding the enemy… The enemy of a righteous God and the only true God.
 
Lord, we have many fine young men and women who are serving their country in these evil times. They are lonely, scared, cold, hot, sleep depraved, hungry and home sick. But they are strong Lord. They are strong in spirit, strong in patriotism and strong in You. Be their rock and their shield my Father.
 
 Give them power over their enemies Lord. May the enemies of our country tremble before your soldiers and may we walk upon their ashes. May the dogs of the street lap up the blood of our enemies and may the vultures of the sky eat of their flesh.
 
Father, I ask that you place the shield of your Spirit around our soldiers. I ask that you comfort them and guide them in their Holy Crusade to rid the world of evil. Be their eyes and ears Lord and let no evil befall them. Grant our armed forces the power to kill the enemy and return home to their loving families.

Lord, comfort the wounded. Take their pain away and replace it with Your grace. Hold them in Your arms and wipe their tears away. Talk with them and let them know that we all love them and are proud of them and support them. Let no word of doubt come to them from traitors in their own country.
 
And my Father, take our honored dead into your bosom . . .  Comfort them in their new duty assignments . . .  Make them soldiers of the Lord God.

May they ride beside the Christ upon His return.

And comfort the ones they leave behind.

May they rejoice in knowing that their loved ones are with You and that our children were always Yours to begin with. And You know best . . . Grant them the comfort of family, friends and a grateful Nation.
 
Father, stand beside us in this world war . . . Be our guiding light. Open the eyes of the doubters and unite us as one Nation under God.
 
In Your Son’s Name
 
Amen

[FreeAtlanta]

A lot of good news in this round up! Thanks!

[nicmarlo]

Amen! Thanks for sharing that!

[csvset]

bump

[Coop]

The new deaths brought the toll of militants, Afghan forces and coalition soldiers killed to more than 265

It's kind of telling that this reporter feels the terrorists, coalition & Afghan soldiers should be treated equally when reporting their deaths.

[Straight Vermonter]

Moral relativism run amok.

[Dinah Lord]

Thank you, Straight Vermonter. This is such a terrific round up. Good stuff.

Cheers - Dinah

[Deetes]

BTTT

[PGalt]

Thanks SV.

[Critical Bill]

Good news and thanx again SM.

[Valin]

Members of the outlawed Purba Banglar Communist Party (PBCP)- Red Flag faction killed a Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) leader at Banshbaria of Raninagar in Naogaon yesterday.


Let's you and him fight.

[Just A Nobody]

Thanks SV - Excellent job, as usual!