News From the Long War (V)

Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, our nation has fought a global war against violent extremists who use terrorism as their weapon of choice, and who seek to destroy our free way of life. Our enemies seek weapons of mass destruction and, if they are successful, will likely attempt to use them in their conflict with free people everywhere. Currently, the struggle is centered in Iraq and Afghanistan, but we will need to be prepared and arranged to successfully defend our nation and its interests around the globe for years to come. DOD

Our enemies include all the Muslims who dream of knocking Western Civilization off its perch atop humanityâ€™s dung heap. Islam is fractured into any number of sects, tribes and ethnic groups, but the dream of destroying us cuts across all the fault lines. Islamic terrorists are merely the tip of a very large spear.

The determination behind that fight is real, the hatred is real, and the excuses for doing this are very real in the minds of those who have decided to walk that path. We can respond in two ways: Try to ignore or negotiate with people who do not want to negotiate in good faith, because what they want is our destruction, or to stand up against the darkness of those who see all of us, our way of life, our culture and our aspirations as something worth eliminating.

Either: "And God willing, with the force of God behind it, we shall soon experience a world without the United States and Zionism," Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Or: "With vigilance, determination, courage, we will defeat the enemies of freedom, and we will leave behind a more peaceful world for our children and our grandchildren." GW Bush.

Here's where I will post news and info about the Long War. Let me know if you're interested.

Hours after IDF soldiers returned to Israel from northern Gaza after completing the first stage of Operation Hot Winter, a Grad missile slammed into an apartment building in central Ashkelon on Monday morning. 16 people were treated for shock as three missiles hit the city.

Moments earlier, six Kassam rockets hit the western Negev. One of the rockets landed in Sderot while another landed in a kibbutz. The other four landed in open areas. No one was wounded and no damage was reported.

On Sunday night, Givati Brigade infantry and Armored Corps battalions completed the first stage of the northern Gaza operation which began over the weekend soldiers who had been operating in the territory returned to Israel. However, IDF sources told Israel Radio that counter-terror operations would continue.

IDF officials said that an estimated 100 Palestinians were killed during the operation and some 90 were arrested. On Sunday, IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi said that, contrary to media reports, 90 of the Palestinian fatalities were gunmen.

Link: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1204473064427&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Beleaguered Hamas leaders on Sunday signaled their willingness to reach a cease-fire with Israel, sources close to Hamas said.

IDF troops combat Gaza terrorists

The sources said Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh sent urgent messages to the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia urging them to work toward ending the IDF military operations in the Gaza Strip.

The sources told The Jerusalem Post that Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders also appealed to Turkey to intervene and convince Israel to halt its offensive.

Hamas’s apparent readiness to reach a cease-fire with Israel is seen by some Palestinians as evidence of the Islamist movement’s concern that it may lose control over the Gaza Strip should the military operations continue.

Link: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1204473062644&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

More from Israel.

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IDF operation in Gaza ends, soldiers leaving Strip

First stage of Operation Warm Winter comes to an end, as infantry and armor forces begin to pull out of northern Gaza Strip. ‘The troops faced the missions they were tasked with courageously,’ military source tells Ynet. Meanwhile, IAF continues to strike in Gaza; Palestinians report two gunmen killed

Hanan Greenberg
Latest Update: 03.03.08, 10:52 / Israel News

Infantry and armor forces began pulling out of the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday night, after operating in the area since the weekend, bringing the first stage of Operation Warm Winter to an end.

The Israel Air Force continued to strike in the Strip overnight, however, with Palestinian sources reporting of two gunmen killed.

“The soldiers faced the missions they were tasked with courageously,” a military source told Ynet shortly after the forces left the Palestinian territory.

“Patience is needed in order to reach significant achievements, and we have it. Unfortunately, we also paid a price, but we must know that when handling such battles there is a chance we will also have to pay in the future. Our mission is to defend the citizens, and that’s what we’re doing,” the source added.

Switch to Pakistan.

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Kohat suicide attack death toll rises to 47

03/03/08 KOHAT: The death toll in Darra Adamkhel suicide attack reached 47, while 35 persons were wounded in the incident.

According to official sources notables from five clans of Darra Adamkhel held a Jirga in Zarghon Khel. The suicide bomber struck the assembly immediately after the meeting was ended, killing 30 persons immediately, while 10 critically wounded were succumbed to their injuries at hospitals.

Fifteen critically wounded persons have been transferred to Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, while remaining were shifted to other hospitals of Kohat and Peshawar.

A losing independent candidate of the recent elections Noor Zaman Afridi was also killed in the attack, while father of Senator Razzaq was wounded in the bombing.

The notables in their meeting had decided to burn houses of those tribesmen and impose fine who will provide shelter to foreign miscreants

Security has been tightened in the area after the attack.

The law enforcement agencies have found the head and legs of the suicide bomber.

Three dead persons of the bombing have been identified as Ilyas, Naseem and Dildar.

http://www.pakwatan.com/latest_news1.php?id=6493

Between Hezbollah/Syria, Serbia, and now Hugo, there’s an awful lot of troops hanging out on borders these days....

Venezuela, Ecuador sends troops to Colombian border
reuters ^ | 3/2/08 | various

Posted on 03/02/2008 10:25:05 PM CST by BurbankKarl

Venezuela and Ecuador sent troops to their borders with Colombia on Sunday after their Andean neighbor bombed Colombian rebels inside Ecuador in an attack Caracas said could spark a war.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez also deployed tanks to the frontier, mobilized warplanes and withdrew his diplomats from Bogota in the worst dispute in the unstable region for years.

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa, a close ally of the leftist, anti-U.S. Chavez, expelled Colombia’s ambassador and recalled his own envoy from Bogota in protest over what he said was an intentional violation of his nation’s sovereignty.

Colombia responded to Correa by offering its apologies for the troops crossing the frontier, but said the operation on a jungle rebel camp was necessary because its forces came under fire from inside Ecuador.

But Colombia, a U.S. ally, also said it found documents at the camp that linked Correa to the guerrillas.

(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1979416/posts

Good morning Uncle Ike.

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Hamas claims Gaza “victory” as troops pull back
Mon Mar 3, 2008 4:28am EST

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli troops pulled out of the Gaza Strip on Monday after a U.S. appeal to end days of fighting that killed more than 100 Palestinians and rescue peace talks.

The Hamas Islamists who control the coastal enclave declared “victory” and vowed to continue firing rockets into Israel, launching one into the main southern city of Ashkelon shortly after the troops withdrew. No one was hurt.

A senior Israeli government official said the conflict had entered a “two-day interval” for a visit by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

She is to hold talks in Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Ramallah on Tuesday and Wednesday on moving Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations forward. Washington hopes a Palestinian statehood deal can be reached this year.

“This very limited (Gaza) operation was intended to show Hamas what could happen, what you may call a ‘prequel’,” the Israeli official said.

“If they decide they’ve seen enough and stop the rockets, if they get the message, then we may get into a period of quiet. If they continue to fire the rockets, then there will be more operations like this one or worse,” the official said.

Israel had been under pressure from its ally in Washington to halt the violence after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas suspended U.S.-backed peace talks in protest at the bloodshed.

“The enemy has been defeated,” a spokesman for Hamas’s armed wing said, as Gaza residents streamed out of homes where they had been trapped for the past five days by heavy fighting.

Medical workers and Hamas said about half of the 112 Palestinians killed in the Israeli offensive were civilians.

Many of the civilian casualties came when Israeli missiles fired by helicopters, jets and unmanned drones hit buildings and homes that the army said were used by militants.

In Ramallah, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian during a student demonstration, local residents said. The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

Overnight, Israel carried out several air strikes in the Gaza Strip, killing three militants, medical workers and Hamas said. The army said it had targeted workshops making rockets.

“This operation has run its course,” Israeli Vice Premier Haim Ramon told Army Radio. “There were dozens of deaths among the Hamas terrorists — this is certainly deterrence.”

DEATH TOLL

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri countered: “Gaza will always be a graveyard for the occupation forces.”

Hamas officials said they had found four bodies, including that of an ambulance worker, following the Israeli withdrawal.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had condemned Israel for using “excessive force”, and called on Palestinians to halt their rocket attacks.

bbas, whose Western-backed forces lost control of Gaza to Hamas in June, said he would not resume talks with Olmert until what he called Israeli aggression ended.

“We’re encouraging Israel to exercise caution to avoid the loss of innocent life,” a U.S. State Department spokesman said after Rice spoke to Abbas on Sunday. A White House spokesman said: “The violence needs to stop and the talks need to resume.”

Javier Solana, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, in the region for talks with Israel and the Palestinian Authority, said in Tel Aviv on Sunday: “I think we have to give the message to the two parties, saying that the political process has to continue.”

On Saturday, 61 people including 30 civilians were killed in the bloodiest day for Palestinians since their 1980s uprising.

Two Israeli soldiers were killed in the fighting and on Wednesday an Israeli civilian was killed by a rocket, the first such death since May.

Hamas says it fires rockets in self-defense and that it would stop if Israel halted all military activity in Gaza and the occupied West Bank and ended its blockade of the Gaza Strip.

(Additional reporting by Alastair Macdonald and Dan Williams in Jerusalem and Adam Entous in Tel Aviv; writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

This seemed to me a pretty level headed assessment of the Israeli situtation. (Good morning, Uncle Ike.)

ANALYSIS: Hamas wants lull in Gaza, but only on its own terms

By Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondents

Tags: Israel, Fatah, Gaza Strip

The prevailing opinion in the government and Israel Defense Forces leadership on Sunday was that Hamas wants to end the current round of fighting with Israel. The Palestinians, it is thought, have suffered a nearly intolerable amount of casualties this past week and are looking for a way out of the hostilities.

But it appears that Israel forgot to take into consideration Hamas’ military wing, whose operatives have continued to launch Qassam and Grad Katyusha rockets on the western and northern Negev.

Sunday’s fighting was indeed more limited than the blood-drenched violence on Saturday. But some 40 rockets in one day, in addition to >12 Palestinian fatalities, cannot be considered a return to normal.

In principle, the Israeli view is logical: Hamas is indeed interested in a lull. But at least for the meantime, despite the pressure being exerted by the IDF, the organization is prepared to agree to a cessation of hostility only on its own terms - after it proves that it can withstand Israel’s steamroller.

The importance of the death toll should not be ignored. After the IDF operation in Jabalya, with some 100 Palestinian fatalities in less than a week, the Gaza Strip is thirsty for revenge. Hamas, like Hezbollah, wants to be the one to fire last. It will be able to live with a gradual reduction in shooting, as long as it does not look like it was the one that gave in.

In addition, Hamas is scoring some victories of its own. It managed to paralyze the West Bank, where a full strike was declared, though not on the orders of the Palestinian Authority. The schools shut down and students took to the streets to protest the IDF operation in Gaza on Sunday. Settlers’ cars became targets for stones and firebombs.

Hamas also dominated Palestinian media discourse, with Fatah being attacked on all the television stations ¬ an impressive political victory for the Islamic organization.

The IDF, for its part, is recommending that the government allow a continuation of the offensive. The General Staff is pleased that the army has been allowed to take its gloves off, and envisions a long series of actions. These include additional ground operations of limited scope, a continued aerial hunt for the people involved in manufacturing and launching rockets, and possible attacks on leaders of the Hamas political bureau. The IDF is considering sending more troops into Gaza because the forces there may not suffice.

The primary objective of the Gaza move is to get Ashkelon out of the firing line and to prevent Hamas from launching a large number of Qassams at Sderot in response to the death of every operative. The army’s operations are also meant to provide the basis for a possible decision to embark on an expanded ground offensive, because the IDF will be able to argue that it has tried everything and that it is bringing extensive forces into the Strip only as a last resort.

It seems that those who boast about the IDF’s achievements sometimes confuse efficiency with effectiveness. The fact that the army has been completing its tasks with relative efficiency does not necessarily lead to a fundamental change in the situation. As in previous clashes with the Palestinians, Israel has quickly moved toward a focus on the body count.

Even if there is a gap between the haughty statements of Hamas spokesmen and the movement’s actual situation, it is clear that Hamas sees its losses in a different way than Israel does and that it views the ongoing conflict in the context of a totally different time frame than that envisioned by the impatient Israelis.

Link: http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/959936.html

If the ratio of interdicted smuggled fissile materials to successfully smuggled fissile materials is anywhere near analagous to the narcotics smuggling trade, there’s an awfull lot of the stuff going somewhere - and getting there....

Uranium seized at Indo-Nepal border
Indo-Asian News Service ^ | February 19, 2008 | staff

Posted on 03/02/2008 11:24:41 PM CST by gandalftb

The police on February 18 seized four kg of low-grade uranium and arrested six persons in Supaul district along the Indo-Nepal border.

A police official on February 19 said acting on an intelligence tip-off, four kg of low-grade uranium was seized near Virpur bus stand in Supaul late on February 18 night.

The estimated value of the seized uranium is about Rs.50 million in the international market.

The police said the operation was conducted with the assistance of Seema Suraksha Bal (SSB) personnel. Six persons, including a schoolteacher and a SSB jawan posted in Assam, were arrested.

The police suspect that the seized uranium was being smuggled from Meghalaya to Nepal.

(Excerpt) Read more at hindustantimes.com

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1979423/posts

Forgot all about this one, didn’t we??

Somalia: US aircraft bombed a city, four civilians killed
AFP via translation | March 3, 2008

Posted on 03/03/2008 12:30:32 AM CST by HAL9000

via translation-

ALERT - Somalia: US aircraft bombed a city, four civilians killed
MOGADISCIO - The United States aircraft bombed during the night from Sunday to Monday a city held by Somali Islamists, near the Kenyan border, killing at least four civilians, it was learned from chiefs.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1979437/posts
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and from downthread

To: HAL9000
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/jan/10/alqaida.usa1

US forces launched a third consecutive day of air strikes in Somalia today as a Somali government official said one of three al-Qaida suspects targeted by the raids was believed to have been killed.
The official said the operation was understood to have killed an al-Qaida militant thought to be behind the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed 224 people in all.

etc

5 posted on 03/03/2008 12:38:14 AM CST by maine-iac7 (”,,,but you can’t fool all of the people all the time” LINCOLN)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse ]

There may be some interesting implications in this little story...

N. Korea: Three High-ranking Security Officers Escaped to China; the Authorities on Alert
FNK ^ | 03/03/08 | Kim Dae-sung

Posted on 03/03/2008 3:55:25 AM CST by TigerLikesRooster

/begin my translation
Three High-ranking Security Officers Escaped to China; N. Korean Authorities on Alert
[2008-03-03]

[N. Korean authorities gave an order of shoot-on-sight, and dispatched liquidation squad to China]

In late February, three high-ranking officers of N. Korea’s State Security Department escaped all at once, putting N. Korean authorities under great strain.

On Feb. 27, Mr. Hwang(lieutenant colonel,) a section chief at Overseas Counterintelligence Directorate(2nd Directorate) of State Security Department, Mr. Oh(colonel,) and Mr. Park(lieutenant colonel) had escaped from N. Korea, according to the information conveyed on Mar. 2 by our local correspondent in China.

According to him, these three senior officers were under investigation for leaking state secret, and escaped from State Security Department exploiting lax security. They reportedly left Pyongyang on Feb. 24, and escaped through Shinuiju, Hyesan, and Rajin-Sunbong respectively.

The correspondent said that State Security Department put the entire organization on alert in order to capture them and blocked off all expected route for their escape, but only the one escaping through Hyesan had brief altercation with a security platoon near Baek-am before escaping into Jang-bai, while the other two were able to escape undetected.

The escape from N. Korea of three senior security officers all at once is unprecedented. Fearing enormous intelligence damage if they were to talk, State Security Department reportedly call off the prior order of their arrest and issued the new order of shoot-on-sight.

The local correspondent in China said that security agents from State Security Department and their reinforcement from local security department of N. Hamkyong and Yanggang Provinces are now in border areas of China, zealously tracking down the escaped officers, and they will (publicly) send out leaflets on the escapees.

Cho Seung-woo, the local correspondent in China
Kim Dae-sung

/end my translation

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1979458/posts
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Apparently there are NK forces (don’t think there’s a difference between ‘army’ and ‘police’ over there) physically *on* Chinese soil....

Hmmmmmmmm......

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