Free Republic

MOGADISHU, Somalia, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Somali insurgents in the al-Qaida affiliated al-Shabaab organization are planning major attacks Saturday to mark an important Ramadan event, an official said.Saturday marks the 17th day of the holy month of Ramadan, a day commemorating the Battle of Badr when the Islamic prophet Mohammad won a decisive battle in Medina in 624.Abdirahman Omar Osman, the Somali information minister, was quoted by CNN International as saying al-Shabaab was keen to mark the day with a major escalation of violence."Al-Shabaab thinks that this is the best day for them to win against us," he said. The...

HUA HIN, Thailand - Many people in the US were surprised to learn that some of the alleged terrorists in the London and Glasgow attacks were medical doctors. But Asians were more interested to learn that they were Indians. India has the world's second largest population of Muslims after Indonesia, but this is the first instance of Indian Muslims being involved in international terrorism. For example, not one Indian citizen is detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where the US keeps terror suspects. Three of the core suspects in the London/Glasgow affair, Kafeel Ahmed, his brother Sabeel Ahmed and their cousin...

WAR PREPARATIONS AND WAR STRATEGY IN THE MIDDLE EAST by J. R. Nyquist The Syrian army has been mobilized and is digging defensive positions. Syrian military leaders have been meeting with Iranian military leaders to coordinate war preparations. The Russians and Chinese have been sending significant arms shipments to Syria, including advanced MiG-31 fighters, Chinese-made C-802 anti-ship missiles, Metis-M and Kornet anti-tank missiles (used to stop the Israeli offensive in Lebanon last year), and sophisticated anti-air missiles. A new generation of Russian weapons, fielded after the “collapse” of the Soviet Union, have strengthened Syria’s overall military position. It is not...

American troops in Baghdad, alongside Iraqi forces, have been engaged in a fierce battle with insurgents over the past several days. The United States, with the support of Iraqi leaders, has developed a plan to stabilize Baghdad and the al-Anbar Province. The President has told Congress that he intends to move an additional six brigades to Iraq for this operation. My own recommendation to President Bush has been to move the 27 Iraqi battalions presently in quiet areas of the country into Baghdad. Further, I have recommended that U.S. troops move to “leverage” their positions, emphasizing advisory teams, intelligence, precision...