Posted on 11/01/2001 10:17:26 AM PST by Eric Esot
AFGHANISTAN has declared holy war on Australia. The Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, Abdul Salam Zaeef, last night declared Australia a target for retaliation.
Until yesterday, only the US and Britain had been named as enemies of the Taliban, which harbours Osama bin Laden's terrorist network.
"Any person, any military coming to Afghanistan, for invasion, for fighting the people of Afghanistan, we are ready for a jihad," he said.
"Any people who join with the Americans - they are Americans to us."
Answering Australian journalists, he said jihad applied to anyone who joined America in the war on Afghanistan.
Asked if that included Australians in Australia, he replied: "Yes, yes, yes, this is clear."
Mullah Zaeef said the flow of asylum seekers to Australia would not stop until the attacks against Afghanistan ceased.
More than 1500 Australian troops have been committed to join the US and Britain in the war against terrorism.
Prime Minister John Howard last night said Australia was prepared to meet any threat.
He said increased security measures had been put in place after the September 11 terrorist attacks on America.
"We should not ignore this, but we should not overreact," Mr Howard said.
"My message to the Australian people is one of reassurance, but also one of saying we cannot just be brazenly indifferent to this sort of thing."
The Islamic Council of Victoria last night appealed to Australian Muslims to ignore the declaration of a holy war.
Council president Yasser Soliman called on all Muslims to work towards peace. "I would definitely direct all Muslims to ignore any calls for a holy war against Australia," he said. "Muslims should be working with all sectors of Australia for a holy peace.
"I think the Taliban themselves, speaking as Muslims, would have to admit that killing innocent people is also wrong."
But the Taliban ambassador to Pakistan said Australia was wrong for siding with America.
"If they are joining with Americans in coming to Afghanistan the jihad is clear, (it includes) any person who wants to accompany the forces of America," Mr Zaeef said.
Mr Howard condemned the Taliban for portraying the conflict in religious terms. "It is not an issue of religion, it is an issue of good against evil and fighting evil ought to be a common cause among the great religions of the world, of which Islam is clearly one," he said.
"It is the Taliban that is defining this issue in religious terms, it is not the US and it's not Australia."
The United States and Britain have mounted a non-stop bombing campaign in Afghanistan to weaken the Taliban before a ground assault by opposition forces under US guidance.
Special forces troops, including 150 from Australia's Special Air Service, will conduct surgical strikes deep inside Taliban territory.
The Government's Special Incident Task Force will meet to decide the government's response to the new threat.
That task force, led by the Attorney-General's Department, involves all government security agencies, including Defence, which has been on high alert since the September 11 attacks.
A government source said the jihad comments would certainly alter the security posture.
Australia is already on a high security alert and agencies are prepared for a terrorist attack.
And the women are worse!
Dan
Iraq strikes me in all this as the naughty brother, who, for once not the one in the most trouble, is watching quietly from behind his bedroom door, secretly enjoying the discipline being visited on his wayward sibling.
I note that China has been a bit quiet too, perhaps enjoying the fact that the heat is off it as well. Although, I wouldn't go using the sibling analogy there - maybe a cousin?
20,000 koalas facing cull threat
ECOLOGISTS have called for 20,000 koalas to be slaughtered at one of Australia's most popular tourist destinations.
The koala population on Kangaroo Island, off South Australia, has soared to 33,000 from an estimated 5,000 five years ago, raising concern that the eucalyptus trees the marsupials feed on will soon disappear. A report by the state government's wildlife advisory committee said existing "soft" policies of sterilisation and translocation might not be in the best interests of conservation.
Some ecologists believe mass culling is the only answer. David Paton, of Adelaide University, said that without a cull Kangaroo Island would face a bleak future in which "virtually every tree was dead, and lying underneath those trees were the with carcasses of koalas that had starved to death".
The government said the koala's iconic status made a cull unthinkable.
[schwiiiiick!]
"Now, that's a knife."
Um Think About this...
- They believe one who practices Jihad will gain tremendously in the Hereafter. [93:4] "The Hereafter is far better for you than this first (life.)" The Koran commands: [2:244] You shall fight in the cause of GOD, and know that GOD is Hearer, Knower. [22:78] You shall strive for the cause of GOD as you should strive for His cause.... [ 4:74-75] Those who readily fight in the cause of GOD are those who forsake this world in favor of the Hereafter. Whoever fights in the cause of GOD, then gets killed, or attains victory, we will surely grant him a great recompense. Why should you not fight in the cause of GOD when weak men, women, and children are imploring: "Our Lord, deliver us from this community whose people are oppressive, and be You our Lord and Master."
Didn't bin Laden do that today? Seems I heard a report in which ole Osama said that there were only two banners: The Christian Banner and the Banner of Islam and you could only be under one or the other.
Jihad is only declared on those that oppress the beliefs of Islam. Those that practice Jihad are sacrificial victims for all people of Islam. - Terrorism is our word.
Australia's reputation for heavy drinking is not based on the strength of their beers but rather in the size of their cans.. As for the beer itself; brewed in Canada and shipped to the U.S. so they can still put the word "imported" on the cans.
But seriously...although I'm not an expert on gun law in the US or NZ, it's safe to say we're a lot stricter. A guy recently got convicted of supplying a gun to a minor when he let his son keep his air rifle in his room and the only supervision was that he ask before he used it. The case is on appeal ... I will keep you posted, but I think the law backs this conviction up (just a demonstration of how strict we are).
Walking around upside down and all...
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