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Posted on 07/01/2007 2:42:24 PM PDT by nwctwx
NOTE: The following text is a quote:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/07/20070720-4.html
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
July 20, 2007
Executive Order: Interpretation of the Geneva Conventions Common Article 3 as Applied to a Program of Detention and Interrogation Operated by the Central Intelligence Agency
White House News
President Bush Signs Executive Order
By the authority vested in me as President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107 40), the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (Public Law 109 366), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. General Determinations. (a) The United States is engaged in an armed conflict with al Qaeda, the Taliban, and associated forces. Members of al Qaeda were responsible for the attacks on the United States of September 11, 2001, and for many other terrorist attacks, including against the United States, its personnel, and its allies throughout the world. These forces continue to fight the United States and its allies in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere, and they continue to plan additional acts of terror throughout the world. On February 7, 2002, I determined for the United States that members of al Qaeda, the Taliban, and associated forces are unlawful enemy combatants who are not entitled to the protections that the Third Geneva Convention provides to prisoners of war. I hereby reaffirm that determination.
(b) The Military Commissions Act defines certain prohibitions of Common Article 3 for United States law, and it reaffirms and reinforces the authority of the President to interpret the meaning and application of the Geneva Conventions.
Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this order:
(a) “Common Article 3” means Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions.
(b) “Geneva Conventions” means:
(i) the Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field, done at Geneva August 12, 1949 (6 UST 3114);
(ii) the Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea, done at Geneva August 12, 1949 (6 UST 3217);
(iii) the Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, done at Geneva August 12, 1949 (6 UST 3316); and
(iv) the Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, done at Geneva August 12, 1949 (6 UST 3516).
(c) “Cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment” means the cruel, unusual, and inhumane treatment or punishment prohibited by the Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States.
Sec. 3. Compliance of a Central Intelligence Agency Detention and Interrogation Program with Common Article 3. (a) Pursuant to the authority of the President under the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including the Military Commissions Act of 2006, this order interprets the meaning and application of the text of Common Article 3 with respect to certain detentions and interrogations, and shall be treated as authoritative for all purposes as a matter of United States law, including satisfaction of the international obligations of the United States. I hereby determine that Common Article 3 shall apply to a program of detention and interrogation operated by the Central Intelligence Agency as set forth in this section. The requirements set forth in this section shall be applied with respect to detainees in such program without adverse distinction as to their race, color, religion or faith, sex, birth, or wealth.
(b) I hereby determine that a program of detention and interrogation approved by the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency fully complies with the obligations of the United States under Common Article 3, provided that:
(i) the conditions of confinement and interrogation practices of the program do not include:
(A) torture, as defined in section 2340 of title 18, United States Code;
(B) any of the acts prohibited by section 2441(d) of title 18, United States Code, including murder, torture, cruel or inhuman treatment, mutilation or maiming, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, rape, sexual assault or abuse, taking of hostages, or performing of biological experiments;
(C) other acts of violence serious enough to be considered comparable to murder, torture, mutilation, and cruel or inhuman treatment, as defined in section 2441(d) of title 18, United States Code;
(D) any other acts of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment prohibited by the Military Commissions Act (subsection 6(c) of Public Law 109 366) and the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 (section 1003 of Public Law 109 148 and section 1403 of Public Law 109 163);
(E) willful and outrageous acts of personal abuse done for the purpose of humiliating or degrading the individual in a manner so serious that any reasonable person, considering the circumstances, would deem the acts to be beyond the bounds of human decency, such as sexual or sexually indecent acts undertaken for the purpose of humiliation, forcing the individual to perform sexual acts or to pose sexually, threatening the individual with sexual mutilation, or using the individual as a human shield; or
(F) acts intended to denigrate the religion, religious practices, or religious objects of the individual;
(ii) the conditions of confinement and interrogation practices are to be used with an alien detainee who is determined by the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency:
(A) to be a member or part of or supporting al Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated organizations; and
(B) likely to be in possession of information that:
(1) could assist in detecting, mitigating, or preventing terrorist attacks, such as attacks within the United States or against its Armed Forces or other personnel, citizens, or facilities, or against allies or other countries cooperating in the war on terror with the United States, or their armed forces or other personnel, citizens, or facilities; or
(2) could assist in locating the senior leadership of al Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated forces;
(iii) the interrogation practices are determined by the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, based upon professional advice, to be safe for use with each detainee with whom they are used; and
(iv) detainees in the program receive the basic necessities of life, including adequate food and water, shelter from the elements, necessary clothing, protection from extremes of heat and cold, and essential medical care.
(c) The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency shall issue written policies to govern the program, including guidelines for Central Intelligence Agency personnel that implement paragraphs (i)(C), (E), and (F) of subsection 3(b) of this order, and including requirements to ensure:
(i) safe and professional operation of the program;
(ii) the development of an approved plan of interrogation tailored for each detainee in the program to be interrogated, consistent with subsection 3(b)(iv) of this order;
(iii) appropriate training for interrogators and all personnel operating the program;
(iv) effective monitoring of the program, including with respect to medical matters, to ensure the safety of those in the program; and
(v) compliance with applicable law and this order.
Sec. 4. Assignment of Function. With respect to the program addressed in this order, the function of the President under section 6(c)(3) of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 is assigned to the Director of National Intelligence.
Sec. 5. General Provisions. (a) Subject to subsection (b) of this section, this order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity, against the United States, its departments, agencies, or other entities, its officers or employees, or any other person.
(b) Nothing in this order shall be construed to prevent or limit reliance upon this order in a civil, criminal, or administrative proceeding, or otherwise, by the Central Intelligence Agency or by any individual acting on behalf of the Central Intelligence Agency in connection with the program addressed in this order.
GEORGE W. BUSH
THE WHITE HOUSE,
July 20, 2007.
# # #
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=oil
#
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,290241,00.html
(AP)
“Court Orders Shell Oil to Suspend Offshore Drilling in Arctic”
Friday, July 20, 2007
Fyi.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1869422/posts
“Tancredo to Offer Amendment That Would Free Ramos, Compean”
Congressional Web Site ^ | July 18, ‘07 | Press Release
Posted on 07/21/2007 1:09:40 AM PDT by T.L.Sink
Note: The following post is a quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1869430/posts
Two-hour rape and torture of honour killing girl murdered by her family
Daily Mail ^ | 20th July 2007
Posted on 07/21/2007 1:44:54 AM PDT by Lorianne
The father and uncle of honour killing victim Banaz Mahmod were jailed for life today for her murder.
Mahmod Mahmod, 54, was told he will have to serve a minimumn of 20 years while his brother Ari, 51, will have to serve at least 23 years.
Horrific details were revealed yesterday of the last hours of the young Kurdish woman murdered by her family for falling in love with the wrong man.
Banaz Mahmod, 20, was brutally raped and stamped on during a two-hour ordeal before being garotted.
One of her killers, the Old Bailey was told, was 30-year-old Mohamad Hama, who had been recruited by Banaz’s father Mahmod Mahmod, 52, and his brother Ari, 51.
Both were found guilty of murder last month.
The shocking details of the killing came to light when Hama was secretly recorded talking to a friend in prison.
He admitted “slapping” and “f***ing” Banaz, who was subjected to degrading sex acts.
Hama and his friend were heard laughing as he described how she was killed in her family home in Mitcham, South London, with Ari Mahmod “supervising”.
The murderers - two other suspects have fled to Iraq - had been told Banaz would be on her own.
Hama is recorded as saying: “Ari (the uncle) said there is no one there. There was someone there, Biza (her sister). The bastard lied to us.”
He said of the murder: “I swear to God it took him more than two hours. Her soul and her life would not leave.”
Banaz was garotted for five minutes, said Hama, but it took another half an hour for her to die.
Hama said: “The wire was thick and the soul would not just leave like that.
“We could not remove it. All in all it took five minutes (to strangle) her.
“I was kicking and stamping on her neck to get the soul out. I saw her stark naked, without wearing pants or underwear.”
Banaz’s body was packed into a suitcase and buried in a garden in Birmingham, where it was found three months later.
The trial of the two brothers heard that Banaz was killed because she had walked out of an unhappy arranged marriage - which she was forced into at just 17 - and fallen in love with Iranian Kurd Rahmat Suleimani, 28.
The pair had been secretly seeing each other, but her family were furious when they found out because Mr Suleimani was not “immediate family” or a strict Muslim.
Terrified, Banaz wrote to police naming people she said were planning to kill her.
Hama was on the list, the court heard. Two other men named by Banaz have fled the country.
Transcripts of the prison recording were read out at a pre- sentence hearing for Hama, of South Norwood, South London, who pleaded guilty to murdering Banaz at an earlier hearing.
Judge Brian Barker, the Common Serjeant of London, sat to assess the extent of Hama’s involvement.
Victor Temple QC, prosecuting, told the court that Hama, who sat impassively in the dock, took a “leading part” in raping and killing Banaz in January last year then dumping her body.
He was said to have been recorded expressing concern because his fingerprints and DNA were on her body.
He was also concerned that a leaking pipe at the house where she was buried was sending water through the suitcase, possibly uncovering it.
During another taped conversation, Hama joked about Banaz’s hair and elbow sticking out of the suitcase and how a police patrol drove past while he was helping to drag it to a car.
He said: “The road was crowded. The police came past. People were passing by - and we were dragging the bag.
“I almost ran away. Mr Ari (was dragging it) and we were around by each side of him.
“You know what it was, sticking out, her elbow, her hair was falling out so much. That was a stupid thing, a silly thing.”
Defence barrister Malcolm Swift QC claimed Hama became involved only after Banaz’s body had been put in the suitcase.
He told the court there was no direct evidence that Hama was present at the time of the murder - he took part in the planning but “had realised the error of becoming directly involved in the killing”.
Hama’s car was outside his home throughout the morning of the killing and his mobile phone could not be linked to the murder scene.
Mr Swift said Hama got his information on the killing from others, including Ari Mahmod.
Thanks to Liberty Rocks for the ping to this thread:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1836535/posts
“Russia and Nicaragua beginning new stage of relations-Ortega”
itar-tass.com ^ | May 19, 2007
Posted on 05/19/2007 6:29:41 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
MEXICO CITY, May 19 (Itar-Tass)
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2007/s07070134.htm
Friday, July 20, 2007
Officials say Taliban kidnap 23 Korean believers from Afghan bus
By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (ANS) — Twenty-three Korean Christians have been kidnapped from a bus in Afghanistan, officials said on Friday. This is the biggest group of foreigners seized so far in the militant campaign to oust the government and its Western backers.
According to the Reuters news agency, the Taliban have increasingly turned to what Afghan officials call “terror tactics” — kidnapping, suicide attacks and roadside bombs to demonstrate that the Afghan government is incapable of providing security to the people.
“Twenty-three Korean citizens, 18 women and five men, were very carelessly traveling in a chartered bus from Kabul to Kandahar yesterday, on the way to Kandahar their bus was stopped by armed men ... and they took them away,” said Interior Minister spokesman Zemari Bashari.
He said the incident happened in the Qarabagh district of Ghazni province, some 175 km (110 miles) south of Kabul. “We are still investigating which organization they were with, and why they were traveling to Kandahar,” he said.
Reuters reports that a Korean embassy official said a search operation and also negotiations were under way with the kidnappers, who were demanding the release of Taliban prisoners held in Afghan jails. The Taliban said they had seized 18 Koreans.
“They are safe with us, we are investigating them and our demands and reaction will be announced later,” said Taliban spokesman Said Yousuf Ahmadi by telephone from an undisclosed location.
Meanwhile, a South Korean Foreign Ministry official in Seoul said about 20 South Korean Christian volunteers were feared to have been kidnapped by Taliban insurgents, the news agency reported.
Last year, the South Korean government tried to stop a group of 2,000 Korean Christians traveling to Afghanistan for a peace conference, fearing for their safety. But 900 of them still came to Afghanistan, causing an uproar in the staunchly Muslim country — where many accused them of being evangelical missionaries — before they were all deported.
Afghanistan’s ambassador to South Korea was later sacked for issuing the group with visas, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
South Korea has no combat troops in Afghanistan, but has a contingent of 200 engineers, doctors and medical staff.
Two Germans and six Afghans were abducted southwest of Kabul on Wednesday and are still missing, Reuters said.
“The German citizens are safe with us. Our demand is the withdrawal of German troops from Afghanistan and also the release of our prisoners,” said Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi. Germany said it was aware of the Taliban claim.
“We will carefully and calmly pursue developments. All necessary steps have been taken. The emergency task force is working very intensively on a quick release of both men,” a German Foreign Ministry spokesman said in a statement.
The news agency also said that one German national was kidnapped in western Afghanistan this month, but was released unharmed after a few days and the Taliban kidnapped two French aid workers and three of their Afghan colleagues in southwestern Afghanistan in April, but later released them unharmed.
Afghanistan (fgn´stnä, fgänästän´) is a republic with a 2005 estimated population of 29,929,000. The country covers 249,999 sq mi (647,497 sq km) and is located in S central Asia. Afghanistan is bordered by Iran on the west, by Pakistan on the east and south, and by Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan on the north; a narrow strip, the Vakhan (Wakhan), extends in the northeast along Pakistan to the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China. The capital and largest city is Kabul.
** Michael Ireland is an international British freelance journalist. A former reporter with a London newspaper, Michael is the Chief Correspondent for ASSIST News Service of Lake Forest, California. Michael immigrated to the United States in 1982 and became a US citizen in September, 1995. He is married with two children. Michael has also been a frequent contributor to UCB Europe, a British Christian radio station.
** You may republish this story with proper attribution.
http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_2121.html
Travel Warning
United States Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Washington, DC 20520
This information is current as of today, Sat Jul 21 2007 02:13:07 GMT-0700.
AFGHANISTAN
April 04, 2007
PERSECUTION.ORG
http://www.persecution.org
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/index.php?id=1132779
“Exclusive: Hamas, Gaza and the Muslim Brotherhood’s “Project”: (Part One of Two)” by Adrian Morgan
Author: Adrian Morgan
Source: The Family Security Foundation, Inc.
Date: July 10, 2007
#
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/index.php?id=1138226
“Exclusive: Hamas, Gaza and the Muslim Brotherhood’s ‘Project’: (Part Two of Two)” by Adrian Morgan
Author: Adrian Morgan
Source: The Family Security Foundation, Inc.
Date: July 12, 2007
Note: Photos Included.
http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/html/ct_160707e.htm
Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center
at the Israel Intelligence Heritage & Commemoration Center (IICC)
July 15 , 2007
“IDF security forces operating in the Gaza Strip detained a Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist operative involved in the May 2004 attack along the Kissufim road in which a woman and her four daughters were killed.”
http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_922.html
Travel Warning
United States Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Washington, DC 20520
This information is current as of today, Sat Jul 21 2007 02:40:51 GMT-0700.
ISRAEL, THE WEST BANK AND GAZA
July 13, 2007
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3427962,00.html
“Iran to fund Syrian arms deals - report”
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Report says Ahmadinejad, Assad signed agreement according to which Syria will not enter peace talks with Israel in return for military assistance from Islamic Republic, including funding of future arms deals with Russia, North Korea
Roee Nahmias
Published: 07.21.07, 11:06 / Israel News
An Iranian source told the London-based al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper that during their meeting in Damascus last Thursday President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Syrian President Bashar Assad agreed to boost military and political relations between the two countries.
According to the report, published Saturday, Tehran will help Syria fund future arms deals with North Korea and Russia, set up military plants there and back Syria on the Lebanon issue. In return, Assad promised Ahmadinejad to refrain from entering peace talks with Israel.
The two leaders signed a comprehensive agreement on strategic cooperation between Tehran and Damascus, according to which Iran will transfer a billion dollars to Syria for the purchase of 400 advanced T-72 Russian tanks, 18 MiG-31 warplanes, eight Sukhoi fighter jets and eight Mikoyan helicopters.
In addition, Iran will help Syria set up a mid-range missile manufacturing plant and equip the Syrian army with Iranian-made armored vehicles and tanks.
The deal states that the Syrian navy will receive C-801 and C-802 missiles, which were developed by China and are currently being produced also in Iran, as well as training for its air force and navy officers in Iran. Tehran will also assist Syria in developing a nuclear research program and advance its biological weapons capabilities.
‘Summer will bring victories’”
###
###
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3427617,00.html
“Ahmadinejad, Nasrallah meet in Damascus”
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Iranian leader meets Hizbullah secretary-general during Syria visit. In meeting with President Assad, he says Iran and Syria ‘are united against the enemies of both countries.’ Ahmadinejad also set to meet with leaders of terror organizations residing in Damascus
Dudi Cohen
Latest Update: 07.19.07, 21:18 / Israel News
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met with Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in Damascus on Thursday evening, according to the official Iranian news agency IRNA.
Ahmadinejad said during the meeting that “the Lebanese nation can thwart any plot through unity, solidarity and resistance.”
He congratulated Nasrallah for the anniversary of Hizbullah’s “victory” in the Second Lebanon War, saying that “thanks to the victory, while the Zionist regime is becoming weaker every day, Lebanon is enjoying internal serenity.”
In his meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad, the Iranian president said that “Iran and Syria are allies and will remain allies.”
According to Ahmadinejad, Iran and Syria “are united against the enemies of the two countries and the region.”
Asked about the possibility of another war breaking out in the region, the Iranian president replied, “We hope the summer will bring victories to the region’s nations and failures to their enemies.” He refused to elaborate.
The Syrian president said during the press conference that the leaders discussed the developments in the Palestinian arena and ways to bring the Palestinian factions back to the negotiations table.
They also discussed the situation in Iraq and Lebanon.”
http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_3072.html
Travel Warning
United States Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Washington, DC 20520
This information is current as of today, Sat Jul 21 2007 02:50:02 GMT-0700.
LEBANON
June 14, 2007
FAMILY SECURITY MATTERS.org - "EXCLUSIVE: WOULD IRAN TARGET THE AMERICAN MAINLAND? HEZBOLLAH'S TERROR NETWORKS IN US BEAR WATCHING" by Joel Himelfarb (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The U.S. government is offering a $5 million reward for the capture of Mugniyeh, who divides his time between Lebanon and Iran, where he is protected by the Islamic Republic. In their 2005 book "Lightning Out of Lebanon: Hezbollah Terrorists on American Soil," perhaps the most detailed study to date of Hezbollah's operations in this country, authors Tom Diaz and Barbara Newman wrote that Mugniyeh "directs Hezbollah's network of cells in the Western Hemisphere." The FBI and other law-enforcement agencies are loath to talk publicly about specific Hezbollah cells or operatives or to speculate about the possibility that Hezbollah could stage attacks in the United States. "Hezbollah is here, now...."") (April 16, 2007) (Read More...)
TERRORISM-INFO.org.il - INTELLIGENCE AND TERRORISM INFORMATION CENTER at the Israel Intelligence' Heritage & Commemoration Center (IICC): "Following an appeal from the Argentinean Attorney General, Interpol issued international extradition warrants for five senior Iranians and one senior Hezbollah operative. The charge was involvement in the suicide bombing attack of the Jewish community center building (AMIA) in Argentina in 1994.") (March 28, 2007) (Read More...)
TERRORISM-INFO.org.il - INTELLIGENCE AND TERRORISM INFORMATION CENTER at the Center for Special Studies (C.S.S.): "Argentina accuses Iran of responsibility for the Hezbollah terrorist attack which destroyed Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, 1994. The Argentinean Attorney General's office announced it had found Iran responsible for the terrorist attack and an Argentinean judge issued arrest warrants for seven senior Iranians and one senior Hezbollah member" (November 14, 2006) (Read More...)
TIME.com: "COULD A MISSING IRANIAN SPARK A WAR?" by Robert Baer (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "As IRGC commander in Lebanon, Asgari was also one of Hizballah's stepfathers. In the late '80s and early '90s, he was Hizballah Secretary General's Hasan Nasrallah's primary Iranian contact, and certainly in a position now to provide evidence of Nasrallah's involvement in terrorism. Asgari was the primary Iranian contact for one of the world's most lethal and capable terrorists, 'Imad Fa'iz Mughniyah. Mughniyah is indicted in the U.S. for the 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847 and the murder of a Navy diver.") (March 22, 2007) (Read More...)
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12950&Itemid=21
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RELEASE No. 20070720-17
July 20, 2007
3rd HBCT nabs top insurgent
Multi-National Division – Center PAO
BAGHDAD — Soldiers from the 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment detained one of the Multi-National Division-Center’s most wanted insurgents, along with four other individuals early Friday morning near Jisr Diyala.
Leaders from 3-1 Cav. gained intelligence early Friday morning that the known insurgent and a number of his associates were within their area of operations.
Soldiers conducted a surprise raid and captured the individual with no U.S. forces injuries or damage to equipment, by surrounding the house following a 2-mile walk into the suspected insurgent’s neighborhood. It was well-known to the Soldiers that the individual was on the look out for Army aircraft and would move if he heard helicopters approaching.
The detained “high-value individual” is believed to be responsible for the recent increase in explosively formed projectile improvised explosive devices and indirect fire attacks against Coalition Forces east of Baghdad. He is also suspected of intimidating Iraqis that work with U.S. forces, as well as, kidnapping and murdering rivals of his cell.
In addition to his terrorist activities, the detainee is a member of an organized crime network in the Mada’in Qada, which is part of the Baghdad province. Coalition Forces believe the detainee has extorted the local population through his water distribution company and gas station enterprises.
The 3-1 Cav. is assigned to the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team and is from Fort Benning, Ga. The unit deployed to Iraq in March 2007.
-30-
http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12953&Itemid=21
July 21, 2007
Release A070721a
Coalition Forces detain 14
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition Forces detained 14 suspected terrorists during operations targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq networks in central and western Iraq Saturday.
North of Taji, Coalition Forces captured a suspected terrorist and three of his associates believed to facilitate the movement of al-Qaeda in Iraq senior leaders.
During coordinated raids north of Fallujah, Coalition Forces detained five individuals allegedly tied to a senior al-Qaeda in Iraq figure in the Ramadi area who has orchestrated suicide and conventional attacks.
Coalition Forces detained five suspected terrorists northeast of Balad during a raid targeting operatives in a Samarra-area network facilitating the movement of foreigners who participate in terrorist attacks.
“We will not stop targeting the terrorists who seek to disrupt the future the Iraqi people have chosen for their country,” said Maj. Marc Young, an MNF-I spokesperson.
-30-
UPDATING Post no 1826 and the kidnapped Christian Koreans...
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070721/FOREIGN/107210059/1001
“Taliban might execute captives”
ASSOCIATED PRESS
July 21, 2007
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “KABUL, Afghanistan — Taliban militants threatened yesterday to kill at least 18 kidnapped South Korean Christians, including 15 women, within 24 hours unless the Asian nation withdraws its 200 troops from Afghanistan.
In the largest abduction of foreigners since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001, several dozen fighters kidnapped the South Koreans at gunpoint from a bus in Ghazni province on Thursday, said Ali Shah Ahmadzai, the provincial police chief.
“They have got until tomorrow at noon to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan, or otherwise we will kill the 18 Koreans,” Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, who claimed to speak for the Taliban, told the Associated Press yesterday via satellite telephone from an undisclosed location. “Right now they are safe and sound.”
The abductions came a day after two Germans and five Afghan colleagues working on a dam project were kidnapped in central Wardak province.
Mr. Ahmadi said the Taliban were also holding the two Germans, and threatened to kill them if Germany did not withdraw its 3,000 troops from a NATO-led force by noon today.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=nigeria
#
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6908065.stm
Last Updated: Friday, 20 July 2007, 09:36 GMT 10:36 UK
“Lebanese man shot dead in Nigeria”
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Delta militants have carried out a series of attacks and abductions
Unknown gunmen have shot and killed a Lebanese businessman in his house in Nigeria’s oil capital, Port Harcourt, local police say.
Security sources say the businessman was killed during a failed abduction attempt early on Friday.
A police station was also attacked after the shooting and three policemen were wounded, police spokesperson Irejua Barasua told the BBC.
It is not immediately clear whether the two incidents are related.
A large Lebanese community lives in Nigeria, as in many other African countries, but they are mostly in the north, not the Niger Delta.
Kidnapping of foreign workers and attacks on oil pipelines are common in Nigeria’s volatile Niger Delta, where local militants are fighting for local control of the oil wealth.”
http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_928.html
Travel Warning
United States Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Washington, DC 20520
This information is current as of today, Sat Jul 21 2007 03:54:27 GMT-0700.
NIGERIA
January 19, 2007
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