Note: The folloiwng text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=2715
Afghan Citizens Prevent Terrorist Attack on U.S. Base
American Forces Press Service
KABUL, Afghanistan, Jan. 16, 2007 – Two Afghan citizens prevented a terrorist attack this morning when a vehicle loaded with explosives attempted to crash through the front gate of Camp Phoenix, a U.S. base here.
“Without any regard for their personal safety, a local Afghan security officer and an interpreter immediately recognized that this was a terrorist attack,” said 1st Lt. Cathrin Fraker, a spokeswoman for Task Force Phoenix.
“Together, the two prevented the driver from detonating his explosives after they failed to explode during the crash. With the assistance of the U.S. security forces, they dragged the terrorist from the vehicle, where U.S. security force soldiers then detained him,” she explained.
The area was immediately evacuated, and an explosive ordnance disposal team was called to the scene.
Afghan security force soldiers, with assistance from the Afghan National Police and U.S. soldiers, immediately cordoned off the area and waited for the EOD team to disarm the bomb.
“If it wasn’t for the quick actions of the local nationals working for the U.S. forces, several lives would have been lost,” Army Col. David B. Enyeart, the deputy task force commander, said.
During an attempt to disarm the explosives, the device detonated, but no U.S. or coalition soldiers were injured, Fraker said.
“We are grateful for the bravery and the continued diligence of our Afghan partners and the security force soldiers and who protect this base,” Enyeart said.
(From a Combined Forces Command Afghanistan news release.)
Pakistan's government will close four refugee camps near its border with Afghanistan to help prevent Afghan insurgents from gunrunning and seeking safe haven in the country, Islamabad's ambassador to the United States said yesterday.
Mahmud Ali Durrani said the residents of two of the camps will soon be sent back to Afghanistan as part of a new program to better control the 1,550-mile shared border.
Agreement on the plan was reached Sunday with national and local leaders in what Pakistan calls the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and the Baluchistan section of the country, Mr. Durrani said at a meeting with editors and reporters at The Washington Times.
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http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20070115-115352-6990r.htm
Does CAIR Support Censorship?
January 16, 2007
“I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” Voltaire’s axiom articulates a core principle of any free society. Thus, when my book The Truth About Muhammad was banned in Pakistan, I immediately thought of the Council on American Islamic Relations.
CAIR’s vision, says its website, “is to be a leading advocate for justice and mutual understanding….Since its establishment in 1994, CAIR has worked to promote a positive image of Islam and Muslims in America.” CAIR officials have met with Presidents Clinton and Bush, consulted with the FBI, led sensitivity training seminars for law enforcement authorities nationwide, and are regularly consulted by the media for a moderate Islamic perspective. Since I wrote my book in order to draw attention to the elements of Islam that are being used by jihad terrorists worldwide today to recruit among peaceful Muslims, what group is better situated than CAIR to protest its banning in the name of American pluralism, free and open debate, and a Western Islam that is free of coercion, intimidation, and enforced conformity?
The government of Pakistan banned the book and confiscated all copies and translations because the book, according to the Kuwaiti News Agency, allegedly contains “objectionable material” about Muhammad, the prophet of Islam. Shahid Ahmed, counselor of community affairs at the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, declared: “The book is very, very damaging — let me tell you.”
Excerpted