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Locked on 11/01/2005 7:06:52 PM PST by Sidebar Moderator, reason:
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Posted on 10/01/2005 8:27:27 AM PDT by nwctwx
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SNIP:The Chinese manifesto names America specifically, and at any given time, 80% of their missiles are pointed at American cities. They will ally with any nation who will help them bring you down, including Pakistan and Russia, two nations with whom they are now working to build airplanes, destroyers, and ports capable of docking aircraft carriers. Yet you keep trusting these nations…signing roadmaps and treaties with them as if they haven’t already proven over and over again to be untrustworthy. Why? The Palestinians have never kept a treaty or a promise…not once, not ever, yet now you give them legitimate status. They won…they behaved like savages, murdering and destroying, and you rewarded them at the sacrifice of an ally. You are the only nation on earth that has ever called Islam a “religion of peace.” In fact, we laughed so hard the first time we heard your president say it that it was the running joke for the next solid month. I was raised in Islam…there is nothing peaceful about it.
Very telling report.
It needs to be printed out and passed on to all those who think that the terrorist does not have what it requires to make the nuclear bombs and bioweapons......they do, better than we do.
It is all in the communist manifesto 1963...........
ON THE NET...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=china
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=russia
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=iran
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=nkorea
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=northkorea
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=venezuela
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=cuba
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=alqaeda
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=alqaida
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=taliban
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=jihad
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=zetas
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=ms13
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=gangs
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=aclu
This is excellent, hope you repost the article on the new thread. No one should miss reading it.
October 26, 2005 Anti-Terrorism News
Germany convicts terror plotters
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4377808.stm
Car bomb targets Kashmir troops
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4378204.stm
(UK) MI5 'let bomber slip through net'
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,22989-1843471,00.html
Mohammad Siddique Khan, the leader of the four London suicide bombers
who killed 52 people on July 7 had been under surveillance by MI5 last
year, the BBC has claimed.
(Iraq) G.I. says bomb truck was aiming for hotels
http://www.washingtontimes.com/upi/20051026-050723-5207r.htm
Iran’s Ahmadinejad says Israel should be 'wiped off the map'
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2005/October/middleeast_October644.xml§ion=middleeast
(Iraq) Al-qaeda claim Moroccans' kidnapping
http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/zones/sundaytimesNEW/basket6st/basket6st1130320606.aspx
U.S. Passports to Receive Electronic Identification Chips
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/25/AR2005102501624.html
SNIP:Tehran, 26 Oct. (AKI) - A self-styled Islamic Army in Iran has said it would like to elminate 210 journalists in the country. The list, recently circulated in Tehran, includes almost all the independent journalists who have not been recognised by the new government of hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In the few lines preceding the long list of dissident journalists, the authorities promise "to liberate the Islamic revolution" of Ayatollah Khomeini, which has been "taken hostage by the hacks who are in the service of the enemies of Islam." Anyone mentioned in the list "is worthy of death as much as enemies of Allah and his word."
Univ of Pittsburgh hosting free public forum on radical Islamic social movements on 10/28/05
SNIP:PITTSBURGH—The Pittsburgh Social Movements Forum—comprising faculty and students from the sociology departments of the University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University—will host a free public forum titled “Radical Islamic Social Movements,” from noon to 2 p.m. Oct. 28 in Room 4500 of Pitt’s Posvar Hall, 230 S. Bouquet St., Oakland. Charles Kurzman, associate professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will be the main presenter. Kurzman will take questions and comments from the audience following his remarks.
German terror cell could have been halted
SNIP:The formation of a potentially deadly Islamic terror cell could have been prevented if German immigration laws had been implemented correctly, the judge in a high-profile terror case said on Wednesday. Muslim doctor faces prison for charity fraud
SNIP:SYRACUSE, N.Y. The sentence a Syracuse-area Muslim doctor receives tomorrow depends on whether the judges views him as an inattentive humanitarian or a terrorist fundraiser.
Hillsborough School Board votes to eliminate ALL religious holidays from school calendar
SNIP:We are American Muslims, part of the fabric of this country, where equality and justice are taught to us. We would like to see these concepts implemented."
Despite opposition, the board voted to eliminate all religious holidays. Despite the board's decision, students will still be allowed to take days off from school to observe religious holidays. Tests won't be given. Field trips won't be scheduled. And students won't be penalized for missing a day of school.
Muslim leaders worry about the implications for their students.
http://www.umc.pitt.edu:591/m/FMPro?-db=ma&-lay=a&-format=d.html&id=2207&-Find
University of Pittsburgh to Host Public Forum on
Radical Islamic Social Movements Oct. 28
PITTSBURGH—The Pittsburgh Social Movements Forum—comprising faculty and
students from the sociology departments of the University of Pittsburgh and
Duquesne University—will host a free public forum titled “Radical Islamic Social
Movements,” from noon to 2 p.m. Oct. 28 in Room 4500 of Pitt’s Posvar Hall, 230 S.
Bouquet St., Oakland. Charles Kurzman, associate professor of sociology at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will be the main presenter. Kurzman will
take questions and comments from the audience following his remarks.
Topics to be addressed include probing why so few Muslims have joined the global
jihad. “Given the destruction that Islamist violence has wrought, this question may
seem absurd,” says John Markoff, professor and chair of Pitt’s Department of
Sociology. “But it raises an important issue for the study of social movements in
general and Islamic social movements in particular: What happens if we explore the
barriers to participation instead of the causes of participation? This is a wonderful
opportunity to hear a scholar of Islamic movements discuss issues of great and
troubling public concern.”
Kurzman teaches social theory, political sociology, social movements, and the
sociology of Islam. He is currently working on a comparative study of why new
democracies in the early 20th century have failed. His newest research is on global
Islamist mobilizations. Kurzman’s publications include The Unthinkable Revolution in
Iran (Harvard University Press, 2004), Liberal Islam: A Source Book (Oxford
University Press, 1998), and Modernist Islam 1840-1940: A Source Book (Oxford
University Press, 2002).
Funding for this event is provided by Pitt’s School of Arts and Sciences and
University Center for International Studies. For more information about the
presentation or the Pittsburgh Social Movements Forum, call 412-648-7584 or
e-mail Tim Vining at tjv2@pitt.edu.
###
10/26/05/blg
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1601557,00.html
'We don't need
al-Qaida'
Abu Theeb is the leader of a band
of Sunni insurgents that preys on
US targets north of Baghdad. Last
week he openly defied al-Qaida in
Iraq by actively supporting the
referendum. Ghaith Abdul-Ahad
spent five days with him - and
uncovered evidence of a growing
split in the insurgency
Thursday October 27, 2005
The Guardian
Abu Theeb is a tall, handsome, well-built
man with a thin beard and thick eyebrows.
His name is a nom de guerre: it means
Father of the Wolf. He is a farmer during
daylight and a commander of a
mujahideen cell, a group of holy warriors,
at night. He and his men roam the
farmland north of Baghdad in search of
prey - a US armoured Humvee, perhaps,
or an Iraqi army unit. On the eve of last
week's constitutional referendum, Abu
Theeb, the leader of a group of Sunni
insurgents, was to be found in the middle
of a schoolyard in a village north of
Baghdad. The school was to be a polling
centre the next day. He stood flanked by
10 bearded fighters in white robes and
chequered headscarves.
There were a few posters on the walls, and
plastic ribbons marking out lanes where
voters would queue, but other than Abu
Theeb and his men, the building was
deserted. The security guards hired by the
referendum committee in Baghdad had
failed to show up - not all that surprising
an event in one of the most dangerous
areas in Iraq. The local tribe, ie Abu Theeb
and co, are notorious for kidnappings and
executions.
Abu Theeb looked around him, a
commander inspecting the field before
battle. He moved with his men around the
school, inspecting the adjacent streets and
the back gate, looking for weak points,
looking for easy access for a car bomb or
an armed onslaught. The school guard
sheepishly followed the entourage around,
a Kalashnikov on one shoulder.
At one point, Abu Theeb grabbed a piece
of paper and drew a sketch of the school,
marking out where his men should be
posted the next day. He turned to a short,
chubby ginger-haired guy in his 30s with
a big jihadi beard. "You will be the
commander tomorrow," he said.
"Distribute some of our weapons to the
men."
The stakes were high for Abu Theeb and
his men. Al-Qaida forces in Iraq - forces
that are, at least on paper, allies of the
Sunni insurgents - had vowed to kill
anyone who took part in the referendum.
But in the Sunni areas of Iraq, the people
and the local Iraqi insurgents among them
had a different view: they were eager to
vote. There was a widespread sense of
regret about the boycotting of the last
elections, which left the parliament in
Baghdad dominated by Shia and Kurdish
parties - and left the Sunnis, who held the
power in Saddam's Iraq, out in the cold.
The Sunnis wanted to take part in last
week's referendum; they wanted a "no"
vote on the draft constitution.
This left Abu Theeb, a man who has
devoted himself and his resources to
fighting the Americans, in a curious
position. His battle on polling day would
be to secure a safe and smooth voting for
his people - in a referendum organised by
the enemy. In doing so he would be going
up against the al-Qaida forces, and risking
a split in the insurgency in Iraq.
I spent five days with Abu Theeb and his
people last week, and I witnessed a very
curious thing: a bunch of mujahideens
talking politics and urging restraint.
"Politics for us is like filthy dead meat,"
Abu Theeb told me. "We are not allowed to
eat it, but if you are passing through the
desert and your life depends on it, God
says it's OK." This is a profound shift in
thinking for these insurgents, a shift that
might just change the way things develop
in Iraq.
While we were at the school, Abu Theeb
pulled one of his young men aside and
rebuked him for an IED - improvised
explosive device - bombing the night
before: "I thought we agreed that nothing
will happen for the next few days." The
short young man mumbled that it wasn't
his group - someone else must have done
it.
Abu Theeb's village, where the polling
station was based, is a small hamlet that
lies on the banks of the Tigris river north
of Baghdad. A serpent-like road passes
through the village. The palm groves on
either side of the road are pockmarked by
bomb craters.
A couple of thousand Sunni Arabs from
one tribe live here. Everyone is related;
they say they can trace their history back
to the prophet Muhammad. Women are
rarely seen in public and almost everyone
is a fundamentalist Salafi Muslim. The
men sport big bushy beards and wear
ankle-length dishdashas [robes]. Mosques
are scattered everywhere and at prayer
time the place grinds to a halt.
There are two ways into the village. The
official way in takes you through a
100m-long checkpoint of blast walls,
concrete barriers and barbed wire. It is
manned by masked Shia Iraqi soldiers
from the south of the country and
commanded by US soldiers. Cars and
cards are checked regularly and the roads
are closed down, forcing people to drive
for hours through the farmlands around
the village before hitting the main road
again. Driving in and out through this
checkpoint reminds one of a second world
war movie of an eastern European town
under German occupation. The locals call
the checkpoint the Rafah crossing, in
reference to the notorious checkpoint in
Gaza.
Then there is the unofficial way in. A
narrow, bumpy farm road provides the
mujahideens with safe access into the
village away from the weary eyes of the
Iraqi soldiers. This is the road Abu Theeb
took in last week. I went with him on
condition that I did nothing to reveal his
identity or the location of the village. For
the purposes of the assignment, I was
advised to pray, fast and dress like the
men of the village, although I am not
religious.
The road to jihad
Abu Theeb was born in this village four
decades ago. He was one of five brothers
and several sisters and his father was an
illiterate farmer who went everywhere with
his short-wave radio and loved to talk
politics. In the 80s, Abu Theeb's eldest
brother was killed fighting in the Iran-Iraq
war.
Abu Theeb studied law at university in
Baghdad before joining the Institute of
National Security, an elite academy
reserved mostly for Sunni Arabs. It was
the graduates of this academy who were
used to staff Saddam's secret services;
Abu Theeb was a loyal citizen, and he
went on to a job in the security services.
But his nationalism evaporated after
Saddam's invasion of Kuwait. "I hated the
government," he says. "I realised that all
that they were telling us about the nation
and the leader was false. They had no
pride, no honour. I wanted to leave, to
take a long break, so I left the service to
do religious studies."
He joined an Islamic Sharia school to train
as a cleric. There he fell in love with two
subjects: the teachings of Ibn Taimia, the
father of the fundamentalist Salafi school
of thinking, and religious politics. Later,
however, he was obliged to return to his
old job at the Amn al-Aam, the General
Security, one of Saddam's feared security
apparatuses, and there he stayed until the
American occupation toppled the regime.
"When the fall happened, I went to a cleric
I knew who was preaching jihad and
asked him for weapons," he says. "I was
weeping. He said, 'Go away, things are too
dangerous.' I roamed the streets with a
dagger in my pocket. I was too ashamed
to come back home and see my family
while Baghdad was under the occupation,
dead bodies and bullet shells everywhere."
He finally met up with a group of Syrian
volunteers in Baghdad. They, like him,
were looking for a fight with the
Americans. He brought them back to his
home, he says, and formed one of the first
jihadi cells. They got to work.
"When the infidel conquers your home, it's
like seeing your women raped in front of
your eyes and like your religion being
insulted every day," says Abu Theeb.
He joined others and started first with
direct rocket-propelled grenade hits and
small arms attacks on US convoys around
his area, until a fellow Salafi fighter taught
him how to set an IED using primitive
techniques, a TV remote control and some
artillery shells.
A visiting Iraqi army general laid the
ground rules for the group: IEDs were the
most successful weapon, but should
always be laid at least two kilometres
outside the village to spare the people the
wrath of the Americans.
"Everyone was fighting, men who under
Saddam spent years as military deserters
became zealous fighters," says Abu Theeb.
"Something like fire was inside us. We
would go out to fight for days, leaving our
families and wives behind."
He and other Salafi fighters became
known as the Anger Brigade, an insurgent
group that has claimed responsibility for
numerous attacks on US and Iraqi targets
and is involved in kidnapping those who
are perceived as collaborating with the
much-hated occupation.
This is truly a holy war for Abu Theeb. He
tells me how once he was driving to
Baghdad carrying a sack filled with
anti-tank rocket heads for an operation in
Baghdad. He was stopped at a checkpoint
and American soldiers ordered him to step
out and begun a car search. "I prayed to
God," he says. "I told him, 'God, if I am
doing what I am doing for your sake then
spare me this. If it's not, let them get
me.' The American soldier opened the boot
where I had the sack filled with rocket
heads. He moved it aside and started to
search. When he finished and asked me to
leave, I knew then I was blessed by God."
God has not been so merciful with the rest
of his family. One of his brothers and a
nephew have died fighting the Americans;
another brother was killed a month ago as
he was setting an IED on the side of the
road. But Abu Theeb's faith remains
strong.
For more than two years, Abu Theeb had
been taking part in insurgent attacks on
US and Iraqi targets, laying IEDs, carrying
out ambushes and kidnappings. Then,
about eight months ago, a group of Syrian
men visited him. They identified
themselves as part of the al-Qaida group
in Iraq, and they asked for his cooperation
in establishing a foothold for their
organisation in his area. "They told me
that they had support and money and
wanted to open a new front here," says
Abu Theeb. "I said to them, 'What about
the village - do you want this to become a
new Fallujah?'" Abu Theeb didn't want
al-Qaida, even if their aims were
ostensibly the same. "When al-Qaida came
here I was the first to fight it," he says.
"They went to the clerics and said,
'Denounce this man. If not, your blood will
be spilled.' They can kill and slaughter
easily."
Abu Theeb and other Salafi clerics and
leaders of the insurgency north and south
of Baghdad are now talking about a rift - a
split between Iraqi Islamist and
nationalistic insurgent groups, and the
mainly foreign led and supported al-Qaida
forces. They say that al-Qaida initially
gained support among the Sunnis because
of its ferocity and meticulous planning,
and because it had money pouring in from
jihadis all over the Arab world. Made up
mostly of foreign Arabs, it quickly became
the most feared insurgent group in Iraq,
claiming responsibility for the bloodiest
attacks against not only US and Iraqi
forces but also civilians.
"If it wasn't al-Qaida fighting with the
Sunnis in Iraq the whole battle would
have had a different outcome," says Abu
Hafsa, another mujahideen commander
based north of Baghdad. Abu Qutada, a
mujahideen leader based in south
Baghdad, agrees. "Lots of the mujahideen
groups are in need of money and weapons
so they join the umbrella of al-Qaida for
support," he says. But he adds: "They
differ with them in ideology."
The arrival of al-Qaida
The tipping point came when al-Qaida,
known then as the Tawhid al-Jihad,
decided to target the Iraqi police and
army and other Iraqi ministries and
institutions. Its goal was to prevent the
Americans establishing an Iraqi state that
could lead the fight against the insurgency
- and allow the Americans to take a back
seat. "They have experience in fighting
and they did very clever stuff," says Abu
Theeb. "They attacked all the centres of
the Iraqi state and prevented the
Americans from creating a puppet state
that they could hand everything to. The
Iraqi resistance was occupied by fighting
the Americans and couldn't see that
strategic goal."
Perhaps inevitably, though, the insurgents
turned out not to have the same stomach
for Iraqi blood. "Al-Qaida believes that
anyone who doesn't follow the Qur'an
literally is a Kaffir - apostate - and should
be killed," says Abu Theeb. "This is
wrong."
Al-Qaida marked down not only those who
cooperated with the American occupation,
but everyone who worked with the Iraqi
government, police or army, as Kaffirs.
Then they said that the entire Shia
community were Kaffirs. For Sunnis like
Abu Theeb, this was a step too far.
The second serious stumbling block has
been al-Qaida's call for the establishment
of an Islamic state (caliphate) based on
the Taliban model in Afghanistan. This has
already started taking place in towns and
villages where al-Qaida is dominant. "The
resistance now is made up of nationalist
and religious elements," says Abu Theeb.
"By calling for a caliphate you will alienate
not only the resistance but the support we
get from Syria and the gulf countries." The
last thing these countries want is a Taliban
state as a neighbour.
Al-Qaida's policies have drawn a furious
response from the Iraqi security forces
and the Shia militias, and it is Sunnis who
have suffered. Scores have been executed
after being kidnapped by paramilitary
units. In Abu Theeb's area alone, more
than 300 Sunni families have taken refuge
after fleeing Shia areas in Baghdad. "Every
time al-Qaida attacks a Shia mosque we
are making all the Shias our enemies," he
says. "We are cementing them against
us." Later he says: "We have lost more
men to the Shias than we have lost to the
Americans."
This rift in the insurgency has already
gone far beyond angry words. Clashes
erupted between al-Qaida fighters and
Iraqi mujahideen cells after al-Qaida killed
a group of Iraqi insurgents who they
claimed were spying for the Americans.
Back in the village, politics has become a
hot issue. Everywhere - in the mosques
after prayers, at weddings, in the main
market and in private mujahideen circles -
the talk is of politics. Abu Theeb says his
move into politics has come at a price: he
has had to shave off his beard so that he
can visit Baghdad. For weeks he has been
travelling, visiting houses, urging people
to register to vote. "It's a new jihad," he
says. "There is time for fighting and a time
for politics."
I went back to the school with Abu Theeb
on polling day. There was a festival
atmosphere. Two of his guards were
already at their positions, but the rest
were more relaxed - their weapons lay
against the wall and on tables.
"No one will attack," said Abu Theeb.
Inside the classroom that had become the
polling station, an old sheik sat on a
wooden bench. "The judge and the
monitors didn't come from Baghdad - they
said this is a hot area - so the sheik of the
village is going be the monitor," said Abu
Theeb. People began to trickle in. The
officials present soon decided that it was
not realistic to expect the women to come
in, so each man who came in with an ID
card was given a whole stack of ballot
papers. "Nine papers to Haji Abu Hussein,"
shouted a registration official. Another
official sitting on another table handed
Haji Abu Hussein the nine ballots. The
man took his ballots, but instead of voting
in private in the ballot box, he publicly
ticked the "no" boxes, folded the papers,
and then chucked them in the box.
By midday people had stopped coming
and the officials started ticking the boxes
on ballot papers themselves. The next
day, America and the authorities were
crowing about how well the referendum
had gone; yesterday - after a "yes" vote
had been returned - leading Sunni
politicians accused the Shia in the south of
stuffing ballot boxes. Well, some of the
Sunnis in the north are certainly guilty of
it.
Two days after the balloting, Abu Theeb
and two other clerics sat on the floor of a
mosque debating the political future of
their group and the Sunnis in general. "We
should keep all the options open," Abu
Theeb told them. Even a coalition with the
enemy.
AFP
Wed Oct 26, 7:22 PM ET
Iran is providing refuge to around 25 leading members of the Al-Qaeda
terror group including three of Osama bin Laden's sons, a German
magazine reported.
Cicero magazine said Saad, Mohammed and Othman bin Laden as well as
other Al-Qaeda members from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, north
Africa and Europe were living in and around Tehran under the
protection of Iran's Republican Guard.
The magazine quoted a "top-ranking Western secret service agent" as
saying the Al-Qaeda members were free to move around.
"They are not under arrest or house arrest," the unnamed source told
the respected monthly Cicero. "They can do what they like."
Saad bin Laden, who is around 25, is thought to have played a key
financial and logistical role in several Al-Qaeda attacks and is on a
US most-wanted list.
Osama bin Laden is believed to have more than 20 sons by several
wives.
The article was written by journalist Bruno Schirra.
Cicero and Schirra made national headlines in Germany last month when
police raided the magazine's offices and Schirra's Berlin home after
he wrote a story alleging links between Iran and Al-Qaeda's frontman
in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
The police were searching for evidence to identify Schirra's sources
after he quoted classified German documents in that story.
Interior Minister Otto Schily was forced to appear before a
parliamentary committee to explain his order to carry out the raid.
Cicero was launched in March 2004 and describes itself as a "magazine
of political culture".
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20051026/wl_mideast_afp/iranqaedagermany_0
51026215659;_ylt=AlGM1f.vkT.Pj9AznrjfireaOrgF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHN
lYwMlJVRPUCUl
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1510045/posts
RIA Novosti ^ | October 27, 2005
Posted on 10/27/2005 12:44:56 AM PDT by HAL9000
"Russian rocket launched with eight satellites on board"
ARTICLE: "MOSCOW, October 27 (RIA Novosti) - A Kosmos-3M carrier rocket with a Russian Mozhayets-5 educational satellite and seven foreign minisatellites on board was successfully launched from Russia's Plisetsk Space Center at 10:52 Moscow time, a spokesman for the Russian Federal Space Agency said Thursday.
"The launch went smoothly, and all the satellites are set to undock from the Russian carrier rocket at 11:27 Moscow time one by one with an interval of a few seconds," the source said."
===
===
http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/05/front2453670.263888889.html
"Iran set to orbit first satellite; Israel cites military function"
SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM Wednesday, October 26, 2005
"Iran has completed preparations to place its first satellite into orbit."
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Iranian sources said the Sina reconnaissance satellite would be launched from a Russian booster on Oct. 27. They said the Chinese-origin Sina would be launched from Russia's Plesetsk launch site along with satellites from Britain, China and Russia."
===
===
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/638169.html
Last update - 10:08 27/10/2005
"Peres said to set quiz Russian FM on new Iranian satellite"
By Haaretz and the Associated Press
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Vice Premier Shimon Peres will Thursday use a meeting with visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to seek information on a new Iranian satellite, Israel Radio reported. "
===
===
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=CultureAndMedia&loid=8.0.223092618&par=0
"IRAN: ISLAMIC ARMY DEATH THREATS FOR 210 JOURNALISTS"
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Tehran, 26 Oct. (AKI) - A self-styled Islamic Army in Iran has said it would like to elminate 210 journalists in the country. The list, recently circulated in Tehran, includes almost all the independent journalists who have not been recognised by the new government of hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In the few lines preceding the long list of dissident journalists, the authorities promise "to liberate the Islamic revolution" of Ayatollah Khomeini, which has been "taken hostage by the hacks who are in the service of the enemies of Islam." Anyone mentioned in the list "is worthy of death as much as enemies of Allah and his word.""
http://www.dinarstandard.com/current/CorporateRelief1005.htm
Earthquake Jolts Corporate
Responsibility
By Rafi-uddin Shikoh
Oct 25, 2005
Heart wrenching images of
the earthquake disaster in
Northern Pakistan, where
more than 30,000 people
have died and 2,500,000
are without any shelter,
have certainly shaken us
all and it seems the
corporate community is no
exception.
Amongst the outpouring of
individual philanthropy
and relief efforts, what's
encouraging is how some
key businesses; domestic,
regional, and
multinationals---such as
Pakistan International
Airline (national airline),
Aramex (Arab based
regional transport services
provider), Coca-Cola, and
Pepsico are stepping up
and playing a critical role
in saving and
rehabilitating lives.
Pakistan International
Airlines along with many
regional airlines including
Saudi Airlines, Emirates and
Gulf Air have been air-lifting
relief goods from accross
the world. (Image: PIA)
Table: See Corporate
Donor/ Matching
Program List
(Domestic and
International)
How to Donate
Much as the corporate sector played a crucial role
during Hurricane Katrina, where businesses such as
Walmart and Fedex were some of the first
responders; some key businesses are now making
a major impact in the earthquake relief effort in
Pakistan, setting good corporate examples and
raising the bar high for corporate social
responsibility.
Corporation's role during Hurricane Katrina
Corporate world's role is certainly crucial in natural
disasters. After all, they are the true engine of
wealth creation with resources and expertise that
wield significant capabilities, perhaps in many
cases more than the governments. Nothing drove
this point stronger than Hurricane Katrina that hit
the U.S. reminding us how even the most
advanced nations are not always best prepared and
how in the midst of that crisis it was the corporate
sector that played a crucial role.
Fortune magazine, in a recent
cover story, chronicled the
key role corporate America
played in responding to the
hurricane's destruction. Home
Depot (one of the largest
home building supplies
retailer), FedEx (a global next
day courier service provider,)
and Walmart (the largest
retailer and largest company
in the world) were cited as
the key first responders who
played a crucial role in relief
efforts leveraging their
established networks,
resources and expertise.
In addition to donation
$1 million in cash, FedEx
moved approx. 918
tons of relief shipments
to strategic locations
before the storm hit.
(Image: FedEx)
They were able to do so, because as well-run
corporations they had planned and prepared for
such crisis through disaster recovery and crisis
planning. According to the story, Home Depot even
structures its divisions against main disasters they
have to deal with: earthquakes and wildfires in
West United States, blizzards in the North, and
hurricanes in the South.
All in all, nearly 290 large companies have
contributed $250 million in cash and about $500
million in products at fair market value, according
to the Association of Corporate Contributions
Professionals (ACCP, a trade organization for
corporate contributions and community relation
executives.
Equally significant to these contributions has been
corporation's role in providing expertise and
professional assistance for a swift response to the
disaster. A survey by a US communications
company found that 62% of 1044 adults surveyed
say companies are better able to respond to
disasters than government agencies, and 88% said
they have a more favorable impression of
companies that came to the aid of Katrina victims.
Corporate response to Earthquake in South
Asia
With the above in mind, it is obvious how crucial
corporate sector's role is in natural disasters. Even
with more than 30,000 dead, we are still in the
midst of the earthquake calamity in Pakistan,
where more than 65,000 injured and 2,500,000 are
without any shelter and bracing for the ensuing
grueling winter. In the midst of this relief effort,
stories of contributions by key domestic, regional
and even global companies are surfacing that are
worth acknowledging.
Logistics: Domestically,
the national carrier
Pakistan International
Airlines is leading the
charge in airlifting for
free, relief goods from
any of its international
offices. Other local
airlines Air Blue, Aero
Asia and Bhoja Air are
also providing similar
service. Meanwhile, TCS,
the local express courier
service provider has
jumped into the foray by
offering to deliver relief
goods free of cost to the
most trusted local relief
agency, the Abdul Sattar
Edhi Foundation.
From across the Arab
world, ARAMEX, Dubai
based regional
transportation services
provider, is delivering
relief goods free of cost
directly to the Pakistan
Army and the Red
Crescent. They are also
coordinating the
aggregation and airlift of
relief goods from across
the United Arab
Emirates. Regional
airlines Saudi Arabian
Airlines, Gulf Air, and
Emirates have been
facilitating many free
relief frieght
transportation.
Pepsi & Coke have each
donated $2 million in cash
along with providing water
and drinks. TCS, local courier
service is delivering relief
items to local relief Agency,
Edhi.
Meanwhile, Dubai based Airport Emergency Team
along with Aramex have flown into Islamabad to
coordinate the logistics of arranging the
humanitarian aid flying from all over the globe to
Islamabad Airport.
Communications: Mobilink, the leading cellular
services provider and newcomer Telenor are doing
their parts in facilitating voice communication
during this crisis. Mobilink is reported to have
setup a base camp of relief operations in Manshera
and has setup multiple call centers from where
people can call their families. Telenor, a newcomer
to cellular service in Pakistan is providing free
SIMS and services to the Ministry of Interior's
National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC) in order to
ensure connectivity for emergency
communications. It has also made its services
available in Mansehra and Abbottabad on an urgent
basis and is working to set up network access to
Balakot, one of the towns hardest hit by the
calamity.
Monetary Help: Pakistan's Cabinet Committee on
Fund Raising from Business Community for
Earthquake Relief, announced that two weeks into
the earthquake the business community both
domestic and international has contributed $76
million to Pakistan's President Relief Fund. (See the
running list here of domestic and international
companies.)
Multi-nationals such as Coca Cola and Pepsico,
have both made $2 million in donations each, and
are helping address the vital need for clean water
by donating bottled water and other beverages to
the local agencies coordinating relief efforts.
Meanwhile, Honda along with more than $500k in
donations is considering donation of Honda
products such as generators, water pumps and
off-road bikes to assist relief and recovery efforts in
the affected areas. Intel and Citigroup have
announced a $1 million donation each for the relief
efforts. They are also matching dollar to dollar any
of their employee's contributions.
Employees Pitch in
Interestingly, many professionals working at
multi-nationals are doing their parts in encouraging
their employers to contribute. In the US, OPEN
(Organization of Pakistani Entrepreneurs in North
America) even has suggestions and sample letters
for its members to appeal to their employers that
include such technology giants as
SunMicrosystems, eBay, Oracle, Siebel Systems
etc.
Many of their efforts are bearing fruit. According to
OPEN's Silicon Valley Chapter, more than 20 US
global companies have setup employee matching
programs. These include IBM, SUN Microsystems,
SAP, Yahoo!, AMD, CISCO and many more.
In addition, many Pakistani businesses have
announced employees donating a day or two of
their salaries. Pakistan Steel Mills, Muslim
Commercial Bank, and Fatima Group are amongst
such names.
Many lives still to be saved
There's much that can be discussed about how
businesses could contribute more or play a more
systematic role in response to such a calamity; but
for now, it is heartening to acknowledge the
corporations who are doing their parts as
responsible members of their communities.
This calamity is
certainly not over and
surely much needs to
be done immediately.
But for every one of
the survivors who now
have been attended
with proper medicine
for their injuries, or
have a warm tent or
blanket to live in the
ensuing winter, there
are surely many
prayers of thanks.
As God puts it in the
Holy Qur'an, "saving a
life, is like saving
humanity.'
The business
community's role in
this is surely priceless.
UN draft calling on Syria to detain
assassination suspects
Financial Times
Published: October 25 2005 23:41 | Last updated: October 25 2005 23:41
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/2ccc3ed6-45a8-11da-981b-00000e2511c8.html
DRAFT
The Security Council,
PP1. Reaffirming all its previous relevant resolution, in particular
resolutions 1595 (2005), 1373 (2001), 1566 (2004) and 1624 (2005),
PP2. Reiterating its call for the strict respect of the sovereignty,
territorial integrity, unity and political independence of Lebanon
under the sole and exclusive authority of the Government of Lebanon,
PP3. Reaffirming that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations
constitutes one of the most serious threats to peace and security,
PP4. Having examined carefully the report of the IIIC (S/2005/XXX)
concerning its investigation into the 14 February 2005 terrorist
bombing in Beirut, Lebanon, that killed former Lebanese Prime
Minister Rafiq Hariri and 22 others, and caused injury to dozens of
people,
PP5. Commending the IIIC for the outstanding professional work it has
accomplished under difficult circumstances in assisting the Lebanese
authorities in their investigation of all aspects of this terrorist
act,
PP6. Commending also the Lebanese authorities for the full
cooperation they have provided to the Commission in the discharge of
its duties, in accordance with paragraph 3 of resolution 1595 (2005),
PP7. Recalling that pursuant to its relevant resolutions, all States
are required to afford one another the greatest measure of assistance
in connection with criminal investigations or criminal proceedings
relating to terrorist acts, and recalling in particular that it had
requested in its resolution 1595 (2005) all States and all parties to
cooperate fully with the Commission,
PP8. Taking note of the Commission's findings that although the
inquiry has already made considerable progress and achieved
significant results, it is of the utmost importance to continue the
trail both within and outside Lebanon in order to elucidate fully all
aspects of this terrorist act, and in particular to identify and hold
accountable all those who bear responsibility in its planning,
sponsoring, organization and perpetration,
PP9. Mindful of the demand of the Lebanese people that all those
responsible for the terrorist bombing that killed former Lebanese
Prime Minister Rafic Hariri and others be identified and held
accountable,
PP10. Acknowledging in this connection the letter of the Prime
Minister of Lebanon to the Secretary-General of 13 October 2005
(S/2005/651) requesting that the mandate of the IIIC be extended to
enable the Commission to continue to assist the competent Lebanese
authorities in any further investigation of the various dimensions of
the terrorist crime,
PP11. Acknowledging also the concurrent recommendation of the
Commission that continued international assistance is needed to help
the Lebanese authorities get right to the bottom of this terrorist
act, and that a sustained effort on the part of the international
community to establish an assistance and cooperation platform
together with the Lebanese authorities in the field of security and
justice is essential,
PP12. Willing to continue to assist Lebanon in the search for the
truth and in holding those responsible for this terrorist act
accountable for their crime,
PP13. Calling upon all States to extend assistance to the Lebanese
authorities and to the Commission they may need and request in
connection with the inquiry,
PP14. Reaffirming its profound commitment to the national unity and
stability of Lebanon, emphasizing that the future of Lebanon should
be decided through peaceful means by the Lebanese themselves, free of
intimidation and foreign interference, and warning in this regard
that attempts to undermine the stability of Lebanon will not be
tolerated,
PP15. Taking note of the Commission's conclusion that there is
probable cause to believe that the decision to assassinate former
Prime Minister Rafik Hariri could not have been taken without the
approval of Syrian security officials and could not have been
organized without collusion of Lebanese security officials,
PP16. Mindful of the Commission's conclusion that the Government of
Syria's lack of substantive cooperation with the Commission has
impeded the investigation and that Syrian officials have tried to
mislead the investigation by giving false or inaccurate statements,
PP17. Convinced that it is unacceptable that anyone should escape
accountability for an act of terrorism because of his own obstruction
of the investigation or failure to cooperate in good faith,
PP18. Determining that this terrorist act and its implications
constitute a threat to international peace and security,
PP19. Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,
== I ==
OP1. Endorses the report of the Commission (S/2005/XXX) ;
By Mark Turner at the United Nations
The US, France and the UK yesterday circulated a UN Security Council
resolution which
The resolution, which was under the UN's powerful chapter VII
provisions, took note "with extreme concern" the independent
investigation's conclusion that Lebanese and Syrian officials were
involved in the assassination.
It called on all states to place a financial freeze and travel ban on
all individuals designated as "suspected of involvement in the
planning, sponsoring, organization or perpetration of this terrorist
act".
OP4. Determines that any involvement of Syrian officials in this
terrorist act would constitute a serious violation by Syria of its
obligations to refrain from resorting to and supporting terrorism, in
accordance in particular with resolutions 1373 (2001), 1566 (2004)
and 1624 (2005), and that it would amount also to a serious violation
of its obligation to respect the sovereignty and political
independence of Lebanon ;
OP5. Takes note with extreme concern also of the Commission's
conclusion that, while the Syrian authorities have cooperated in form
but not in substance with the Commission, several Syrian officials
tried to mislead the Commission by giving false or inaccurate
information, thus slowing down the inquiry considerably and hindering
the full elucidation of the crime, and determines that Syria's lack
of cooperation to the inquiry constitutes a serious violation of its
obligations under relevant resolutions, including 1373 (2001), 1566
(2004), 1624 (2005) and 1595 (2005) ;
== II ==
OP6. Acknowledges that continued assistance from the IIIC to Lebanon,
as requested by its Government in its letter to the Secretary-General
of 13 October 2005 and recommended by the Commission in its report,
remains necessary to elucidate fully all aspects of this heinous
crime, thus enabling that all those involved in the planning,
sponsoring, organization and perpetration of this terrorist act, as
well as their accomplices, be identified and brought to justice ;
OP7. Welcomes in this regard the decision of the Secretary-General to
extend the mandate of the Commission until 15 December 2005, as
authorized by the Security Council in its resolution 1595 (2005), and
decides that it will extend the mandate further at the request of the
Lebanese Government ;
OP8. Commends the Lebanese authorities for the courageous decisions
they have already taken in relation to the inquiry, including upon
recommendation of the Commission, in particular the arrest and
indictment of former Lebanese security officials suspected of being
involved in the planning, organization and / or perpetration of this
terrorist act, and encourages the Lebanese authorities to persist in
their efforts with the same determination in order to get right to
the bottom of this crime ;
== III ==
OP9. Endorses the Commission's conclusion, based on Syria's suspected
involvement in this terrorist act and lack of adequate cooperation to
the inquiry to date, that it is incumbent upon the Syrian authorities
to clarify a considerable part of the questions which remain
unresolved ;
OP10. Decides in this context that :
a) Syria must detain those Syrian officials or individuals whom the
Commission might consider as suspected of having been involved in
this terrorist act, and make them fully and unconditionally available
to the Commission ;
b) the Commission shall have vis-à-vis Syria the same rights and
authorities as mentioned in paragraph 3 of resolution 1595 (2005),
and Syria must cooperate with the Commission fully and
unconditionally on that basis ;
c) Syria must allow the Commission to interview Syrian officials or
other individuals that the Commission deems relevant to the inquiry
outside of Syria and/or outside the presence of any other Syrian
official if the Commission so requests ;
d) Syria must stop interfering in Lebanese domestic affairs, either
directly or indirectly, refrain from any attempt aimed at
destabilizing Lebanon, and respect scrupulously the sovereignty,
territorial integrity, unity and political independence of this
country ;
OP11. Decides also that Syria must renounce and commit itself
definitively to cease all support for all forms of terrorist action
and all assistance to terrorist groups and to demonstrate this
undertaking through concrete actions ;
== IV ==
OP12. Requests the Commission to report to the Council on the
progress of the inquiry by 15 December 2005, including on the
cooperation received by the Commission from the Syrian authorities,
or anytime before that date if the Commission deems that such
cooperation does not meet the requirements of this resolution ;
OP13. Expresses its intention to consider further measures pursuant
to article 41 of the Charter, if needed, to ensure compliance by
Syria with paragraph 10 above ;
OP14. Expresses its readiness to consider any additional request for
assistance from the Lebanese government to ensure that all those
responsible for this crime are held accountable ;
OP15. Decides to remain seized of the matter.
http://michellemalkin.com/archives/003783.htm
"USA TODAY REMOVES DOCTORED PHOTO"
By Michelle Malkin · October 26, 2005 03:49 PM
http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=57226
Two militants killed, one gives up
Expressindia.com - New Delhi,India
Jammu/Srinagar, October 24: Two Hizbul Mujahideen militants, who went to a house to
kidnap a local girl, were shot dead by a joint party of police and army ...
This is an article that my computer will not read.
granny........
http://aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=2382
Islamists Dismiss Reports of Bin Laden's Death
Asharq Alawsat - London,UK
... on the death of Osama bin Laden "around four ... that security precautions precluded
bin Laden from communicating ... and smuggle videotaped messages while fears for ...
PERSECUTION.ORG
http://www.persecution.org
===
Note: The following text is an exact quote:
---
http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s05100136.htm
ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 2126, Garden Grove, CA 92842-2126 USA
Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net -- E-mail: danjuma1@aol.com
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
CHURCH ADMINISTRATOR AGAIN FINED FOR “UNAUTHORIZED WORSHIP”
By Jeremy Reynalds
Special Correspondent for ASSIST News Service
MINSK, BELARUS (ANS) -- The administrator of the Minsk-based (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minsk) charismatic New Life Church, Vasily Yurevich, has been fined a third time for leading unauthorized worship.
Forum 18 News Service reported that the latest fine was for 3,825,000 Belarusian Rubles (1,727 U.S. dollars). The average wage in Belarus is estimated to be between 100 and 150 U.S. Dollars per month.
The official text of the Oct. 7 local court decision, which Forum 18 reported has been seen by the news service, relies upon police testimony identifying him as the organizer of the congregation's Sept. 4 Sunday service “by his outward appearance.”
Yurevich had argued, Forum 18 reported, that he was on leave at the time, did not enter the church building and was present only to talk to Mayor of Minsk Mikhail Pavlov if he accepted New Life's invitation to speak at the service about the city authorities' recent decision to confiscate the church's land (see www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=640).
While given lesser punishments, Forum 18 reported that a number of other Protestant churches have also reported recent moves by state officials to limit their religious activity on the basis of technical violations (see www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=664).
Yurevich has already been given two similarly large fines for the same offence (see www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=480 and www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=661). Forum 18 reported this time he was found guilty of violating the procedure for conducting religious gatherings as set out in the law on demonstrations. The requirement of state permission for public meetings was extended in 1999 to religious organizations in instances where their gatherings are not held at specially designated religious buildings or sites.
In addition to being refused permission to rent public facilities by district administrations throughout Minsk, Forum 18 reported that New Life has been denied state permission to turn a disused cowshed it purchased in 2002 into a church building as well as to hold services there - on the grounds that it is technically a cowshed. Similar obstacles have not been placed by the authorities against an Orthodox community's use for worship of a disused railway carriage 500 meters (yards) away from the cowshed (see www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=516).
The Administrative Violations Code holds the leader and/or organizer of religious meetings responsible for failing to observe the legal procedure for holding them. In this latest case, Forum 18 reported that Judge Nadezhda Reutskaya accepted police officers' testimony that Yurevich must have been the organiser of the Sept. 4 service.
That, Forum 18 reported, because one policewoman “spoke to him as the person responsible,” “people approached him, he greeted them and invited them to enter the church” and “his outward appearance differed from church members, who were simply dressed while he wore a suit.”
Forum 18 reported that although New Life lawyer Sergei Lukanin and a church member told Minsk's Moscow District Court that Yurevich was speaking to police and journalists outside the church and did not participate in the service, Judge Reutskaya ruled that there was no contradiction between the witness statements and that they all supported his conviction.
Yurevich, who has yet to pay either fine, told Forum 18 that New Life members formally decided on Nov. 21 2004 that they attend church services on their own initiative. He is currently preparing to file an appeal against the latest fine with Minsk City Court.
Speaking to Radio Free Europe in the wake of the fine, New Life's Pastor Vyacheslav Goncharenko - who has also been fined for unsanctioned worship (see www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=530) - insisted that the church would continue to meet for services at its former cowshed. He also pointed out that the congregation was the first to encounter such difficulties, telling Forum 18, “We were the first to be thrown out of houses of culture. The authorities are banking upon dealing with us first in order to intimidate the rest.”
This is not the only instance of a repeat fine been handed down to a church leader. Forum 18 reported that in western Belarus, the pastor of a Pentecostal church in Kobrin (Brest region) was issued a second fine of 25,000 Belarusian roubles (11 U.S. dollars) on Oct. 17 for not having a fire extinguisher of the correct capacity.
“I was told I needed one holding 10 litres, whereas ours holds five or eight,” Forum 18 reported Nikolai Radkovich told the Evangelical Belarus Information Center. “But I believe the main reason for the visit was that our church is unregistered.” Radkovich was fined almost two years ago for leading unregistered worship but encountered no subsequent restrictions (see www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=212).
The Evangelical Belarus Information Center also reported, Forum 18 stated, that in western Belarus the Brest congregation belonging to the Baptist Council of Churches, whose communities refuse on principle to register with the state authorities in post-Soviet countries, prevented the private building which they have used as a prayer house since 1990 from being sealed by the local authorities on Oct.17.
Forum 18 reported that the Baptist Council of Churches said that the owner of the building, Mariya Khotynyuk, reported that she was fined the equivalent of 24 U.S. dollars on Oct. 11 after a health and safety inspector found the building to be in violation of sanitation regulations and subsequently prohibited its use.
Two Baptist Union congregations told Forum 18 about some recent improvements in their situation, however. In Brest region, a church in Orekhovsky village founded three years ago by Baptist missionaries from nearby Divin village, was finally registered by the local authorities after reportedly being refused three times on the basis that “there are already so many Protestant churches.”
Forum 18 reported that on Sept. 9, a second Baptist Union congregation was granted permission by Vitebsk city authorities in north-east Belarus to turn the private building it uses for services into a prayer house, although subsequent reconstruction plans will still have to be approved by the relevant state departments.
According to Forum 18, the restrictive 2002 religion law permits worship only by registered religious organisations in either designated places of worship or venues which have been approved by the local state authorities.
For more background information, see Forum 18's religious freedom survey at www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=478
Jeremy Reynalds is a freelance writer and the founder and director of Joy Junction, New Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter, http://www.joyjunction.org or http://www.christianity.com/joyjunction. He has a master's degree in communication from the University of New Mexico and is a candidate for the Ph.D. in intercultural education at Biola University in Los Angeles. He is married with five children and lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For more information contact: Jeremy Reynalds at jgreynalds@aol.com. Tel: (505) 877-6967 or (505) 400-7145. Note: A black and white JPEG picture of Jeremy Reynalds is available on request from Dan Wooding at danjuma1@aol.com.
** You may republish this story with proper attribution.
Yep, gives me the chills, for sure.
Iran seems awfully busy lately, and hatefully outspoken -- which is probably an understatement.
Note: The following post is an exact quote:
---
http://www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/News_Release.asp?NewsRelease=20051089.txt
NEWS RELEASE
HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND
7115 South Boundary Boulevard
MacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101
Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894
October 26, 2005
Release Number: 05-10-89
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TASK FORCE BAGHDAD SOLDIERS UNCOVER WEAPONS CACHE
TAJI, Iraq -- Task Force Baghdad Soldiers discovered a weapons cache while conducting combat operations north of Baghdad Oct. 24.
Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 13th Armored Regiment attached to 70th Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division excavated more than 120 mortar rounds, 49 tank and artillery rounds, eight cases of small-arms ammunition, dozens of rockets, three boxes of mortar fuses, a rocket-propelled grenade warhead and two anti-aircraft gun barrels.
An explosives ordnance disposal team destroyed the cache to prevent its use against Coalition and Iraqi forces.
Task Force Baghdad Soldiers detained 12 individuals for further questioning about the weapons cache.
THIS STORY HAS ACCOMPANYING PHOTOGRAPHS.
TAJI, Iraq -- Task Force Baghdad Soldiers excavate a weapons cache north of Baghdad Oct. 24. The U.S. Soldiers discovered the cache while conducting combat operations in the area. (U.S. Army photo)
TAJI, Iraq -- Part of a weapons cache is laid out along the ground, awaiting destruction by an explosives ordnance disposal team. Task Force Baghdad Soldiers discovered the cache while conducting combat operations Oct. 24. (U.S. Army photo)
TAJI, Iraq -- Munitions are stacked at a weapons cache site north of Baghdad. Task Force Baghdad Soldiers discovered the cache while conducting combat operations Oct. 24. (U.S. Army photo)
TAJI, Iraq -- Munitions are stacked at a weapons cache site north of Baghdad. Task Force Baghdad Soldiers discovered the cache while conducting combat operations Oct. 24. (U.S. Army photo)
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING THIS RELEASE, CONTACT TASK FORCE BAGHDAD PUBLIC AFFAIRS AT DAVID.ABRAMS@ID3.ARMY.MIL.
-30-
Note: The following post is an exact quote:
---
http://www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/News_Release.asp?NewsRelease=20051091.txt
NEWS RELEASE
HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND
7115 South Boundary Boulevard
MacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101
Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894
October 26, 2005
Release Number: 05-10-91
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MOSUL TERRORISTS CELL LEADER KILLED
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- An al-Qaeda terrorist cell leader who personally assisted in at least three videotaped beheadings and his assistant were killed during a Coalition raid of a suspected safe house in Mosul Oct. 22.
Nashwan Mijhim Muslet (aka Abu Tayir or Abu Zaid) was a senior operational al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorist cell leader who operated specifically in the Mosul area. His cell was known as the primary beheading cell for Abu Talha, the al-Qaeda in Iraq Emir of Mosul who was captured in June, 2005, and Abu Zubayr, second in command to Talha and later Emir of Mosul after Talha was detained. Zubayr was killed in August, 2005.
The beheadings were filmed to intimidate the local population of Mosul as well as Iraqi citizens throughout Iraq. Intelligence reports indicate that Nashwan personally helped Zubayr behead three Mosul citizens during one of the videotaped gatherings.
As a senior operational cell leader, Nashwan was chiefly responsible for attacking Iraqi Security and Coalition forces. These attacks consisted of engaging convoys with small arms fire, rocket propelled grenades, IEDs and VBIEDs.
His cell was also responsible for intimidating Mosul citizens through criminal activities. Nashwan’s cell conducted roadblocks, stopping local citizens to extort money from them or to kidnap family members of businessmen or prominent families to ransom them for money.
Nahi Achmed Obeid Sultan (aka Abu Hassan), assistant to Nashwan, was killed during the raid. He was responsible for providing personal security for Nashwan and running the day-to-day operations of the terrorist cell.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT MULTI-NATIONAL CORPS-IRAQ,
BY E-MAIL AT MNCI-PAO-VICTORYMAINJOC@IRAQ.CENTCOM.MIL.
PHOTOS OF ABU HASSAN AND NASHWAN ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST. E-MAIL CPICPRESSDESK@IRAQ.CENTCOM.MIL.
-30-
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