Three Americans Captured By Iranians Inside The Iran/Iraq Border?

The news on this is sketchy at best - I have found only one news outlet report on it here from Breitbart which I'm posting in its entirety below but although this sounds fishy as hell....I mean, really...three Americans out on a hike in Iraq happen to cross the border into Iran and get captured? On a hike? Now, the fact this is being reported from the Kurdish run part of northern Iraq makes it a helluva lot more possible so I will wait a bit on final judgement here.

Hopefully, more will come out on this but let's face it...if this is true, President Barack Hussein Obama just had dropped into this lap the test that Joe Biden was talking about. We Americans with any age under our belts remember too clearly what it means when Iranians take Americans hostage. If true, this is NOT going to be a ship's captain held captive by a bunch of hopped up Somali pirates. Welcome to the big leagues, Barry - we're gonna find out what you're made of.

UPDATE: A better report of this incident is now available here at CNN.

Iraq: US investigating report of missing Americans

SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq (AP) - The U.S. State Department says it's investigating reports that three Americans have been detained by Iranians after wandering near the border in the self-ruled Kurdish region in northern Iraq.
Two Kurdish officials say the three Americans apparently were arrested after entering Iranian territory without permission.
One security official says the missing Americans were tourists on an outing.

The official says the three contacted a colleague Friday and said "they had mistakenly entered Iranian territory and troops surrounded them."
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information.
State Department spokesman Robert Wood says the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad is "aware of the report and is investigating."

Video: This Is NOT a Taliban Recruiting Video

Do NOT hold me responsible for this sound track.

Dear Congress, This Is How It's Gonna End

Members of Congress,

This is how it's going to end.

YOU WILL:

• Place a trash can on the steps of the Capitol building, carry out the draft copy of the Healthcare bill to the trash can, drop the proposed bill into the receptacle and set it on fire
• Senators, you will immediately shred any draft, notes or agenda concerning the Cap and Trade legislation
• Representatives, you will immediately begin the process of repealing the Stimulus Bill
• Go back out to that trash can and dump in Gun Bill H.R. 45 and as well, set that on fire
• During your August break, you will ALL spend at least one hour each and every day of your break reading and pondering the Constitution for the United States of America
• Each of you will write out, in pen, a letter to your state's Governor apologizing for you actions and making a solemn vow to your Governor that you fully understand and will follow the 10th Amendment to the Constutition for the United States of America

IF YOU DO NOT DO THIS:

• You will ALL lose your precious seats in Congress

This Is How It's Gonna End

Video: WW2 Vets, People of New York State vs. Commie Democrat Congressman On Healthcare

It's a little long folks - I have both parts here...it is WORTH EVERY MINUTE! I'm surprised this Congressman wasn't taken out on a stretcher for loss of blood. "SILENT NO MORE!"

Iranian Minister Blames Foreign Countries, Especially Great Britain, For Deaths of Iranian Protesters

I often wonder how these clowns in Iran actually make these statements with a straight face but then again, have you ever seen an islamist laugh? The Iranians are now spinning the hundreds of deaths of protesters as being done by foreign countries and they are taking the opportunity to point the biggest finger at Great Britain. From Breitbart, here's the full story:

Iran blames foreign countries for protester deaths

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - The Iranian foreign minister is blaming foreign countries for the deaths of opposition supporters in Iran's post-election turmoil.
Hundreds of thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets since the June 12 presidential election, claiming the vote was fraudulent.
Authorities say some 20 protesters have died in the government crackdown on the protesters, although rights groups say the number is probably far higher.

Manouchehr Mottaki says Western "interventionist countries are accomplices in all the committed crimes and murders."
He didn't explain how they were implicated, but singled out Britain and said its meddling into Iranian affairs was the "worst."
Mottaki's speech before Friday prayers was broadcast by state radio.

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Cash for Clunkers Flunks: No Money, Dealers Not Paid

by Maggie at Maggie's Notebook

Dealers participating in the "Cash for Clunkers" program may not be getting government reimbursement in a timely manner. The program, designed to jump-start auto sales, is having problems.



Adam Lee is a dealer in southern Maine who accepted 100 clunkers and is owed $450,000 from the government. To date, he has received no reimbursements. Mr. Lee, who owns Lee Auto Group, thinks there must be others who have not been paid. Lee stopped accepting clunkers at four of his dealerships.

On July 22nd, the Department of Transportation had "processed" 16,351 transactions in the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) totalling $68.9 million worth of rebates from 22,300 dealers. The government allowed $1 billion for the program which will expire on October 31st or if the money runs out sooner. The $1 billion is to include all administrative costs.

Today, July 30th, Congress announced plans to "suspend" the "cash for clunkers" out-of-fear that the $1 billion could be quickly consumed in rebates for new car purchases. So, is there really $1 billion funded for the program, and how much of that $1 billion will go to the administrative cost of the program?

Edmunds AutoObserver says that as of the morning of July 30th, "$858 million remained to fund the clunkers."

Confusion reigns. The day before the program became active, the EPA got in the act and changed-up the specifications needed for mileage qualifications for the program. After clunker-sellers signed their paperwork, and the EPA did their thing, questions remain. The Department of Transportation switchboard is lighting up with some 56,000 calls each day.

Some dealers are blamed for not calculating the rebate correctly: is it $3,500 or $4,500? One clunker-seller complains that the dealer gave him $4,500 when only $3,500 was due and surprise, surprise - the dealer wants his $1,000 back.

Another complaint: the dealer charged the clunker-seller $1,100 of the rebate for administrative costs. And supposedly, other clunker-buyers are charging interest on the vouchers.

Can we identify another administration with such blatantly irresponsible policies? I'm thinking...still thinking...no, I think we cannot.

Okay, not everyone agrees with me. Michael Jackson, chief executive of AutoNation, Inc. says the program was an "absolute success." 'It's a great stimulus to the economy." But after just one week, the money is nearly, and perhaps completely, exhausted. That's not success, that's poor planning when auto dealers are in the middle of a huge promotion. No word on who pays the promotional expenses. No word about the cost to administer Cash for Clunkers.

Photo above courtesy of the National Clunker Memorial Gallery

Big Brother MegaObamaGovernment Decides Running The Banks, Car Companies, Education and HealthCare Aren't Enough - Now They Will Run Your Food Source

Today, one day after a national food safety bill was rejected narrowly, the House of Representatives have passed the legislation and once again, we see Big Brother invading our lives as citizens of this Republic. Under the guise of "protecting" us poor Americans from the nastiness of salmonella and such from those awful, neglectful food companies, the Leftists in the House (who wouldn't know a field of wheat from a field of turnips) have now created a bureaucracy in the food industry that will further hurt the family farm, will create huge expenses on the manufacturing and processing side and the net result for people like you and me is simple- our food costs will soar. So, you Obama voters and you voters who ensured that the Dems control the House and Senate, congratulations on voting in higher taxes for the country, higher debt for the Republic, fewer jobs, possibly shittier healthcare if that passes and of course now, higher food prices.

I guess it will be humorous to see the Leftist pansies on the upper west side of Manhattan screaming and balling up their fists when their favorite salami or cheese isn't available at their favorite chic deli....

Here's some excerpts from yesterday's story at the Miami Herald that goes into some of the issues of the bill, followed by the story of the bill passing at Breitbart:

We don't need more government to create safe food," said California Republican Rep. Devin Nunes. "I think we've already proven that growing the government doesn't work."

The $3.5 billion measure would boost safety inspections and expand federal authority over how food is grown, processed and distributed. It's the biggest food safety rewrite in many years.
"This legislation will stop Americans from being killed by bad food," said the bill's author, Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich.

"This is just another expansion of federal power without the benefit of careful consideration," said Rep. Frank Lucas of Oklahoma, the senior Republican on the House Agriculture Committee.
Even with the last-minute changes, some agriculture organizations oppose the Food Safety Enhancement Act, citing potential $20,000-a-day fines and the enhanced power that federal authorities would be granted.

House passes far-reaching food safety bill

WASHINGTON (AP) - The House has passed a far-reaching food safety bill in the wake of the recent outbreak of salmonella in peanuts that killed at least nine people.
The legislation would require more government inspections and oversight of food manufacturers and give the Food and Drug Administration new authority to order recalls. It also would require the FDA to develop a system for better tracing food-borne illnesses.

The House passed the bill Thursday a day after rejecting it. Farm-state members had argued that the bill would be too invasive on farms and had pushed colleagues to vote against it as it was considered under a special procedure that requires a two-thirds vote. It was rejected by a few votes.

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Apparently Barney Frank skipped Economics class back when they were discussing "capitalism" and spent that time over in the "KarlMarxRedistribution" class.

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Taliban Assassinate Another Tribal Militia Leader In NW Pakistan

I blogged about the fact that the Taliban would be swift to try and suppress the formation of lashkars (tribal militias) in NW Pakistan and indeed, one of the best ways to do just that is to take out the leaders of those villages where the lashkars have been formed...and that is exactly what happened in the district of Shangla, as a tribal leader was assassinated by 50 Taliban jihadis. From the story here at The Long War Journal, we see this:

The Taliban assassinated a tribal leader who organized resistance to the Taliban in the northwestern district of Shangla.
More than 50 Taliban fighters assaulted the home of Khalil Rehman, a tribal leader who raised a Lashkar, or local militia, to battle the Taliban in the isolated district that borders Swat and Buner. Rehman's son and two others were also wounded in the assault. Two Taliban fighters were killed after police and other security forces responded to the attack

As for the Taliban strategy, this is a good recap of that from the article:

The assassination of Shangla's anti-Taliban tribal leader is part of the Taliban's strategy to destroy any tribal resistance.
The Taliban have viciously responded to efforts by tribal leaders to oppose the spread of extremism in the tribal areas. Tribal opposition has been violently attacked and defeated in Peshawar, Dir, Arakzai, Khyber, and Swat. Suicide bombers have struck at tribal meetings held at mosques, schools, hotels, and homes.
The Taliban perfected this strategy in North and South Waziristan. Tribal leaders who opposed the Taliban were brutally liquidated. The Taliban would execute the leaders and dump their bodies on the roadside with notes pinned to their chests branding them as "US spies" and traitors. The bodies are often mutilated and beheaded.
The Taliban have made very public examples of local leaders who have dared to resist. Last December, the Swat Taliban executed a local tribal leader named Pir Samiullah, then returned to the village to dig up his body and hang it in the town square. The villagers were warned not to remove his body or they would face the same fate

Now, in some of these tactics we really see the influence of al Qaeda in the Taliban operations. Much of this "shock and awe" terror was perfected by al Qaeda in Iraq and although it eventually backfired on al Qaeda there, initially it halted some of the formation of Awakenings in Iraq. Whether or not these tribes in NW Pakistan will continue to rebel against the ruthless Taliban remains to be seen but this latest assassination is telling the people of Shangla that the Taliban are there to stay and the people better fall in line quickly.

Anti-Taliban tribal militia leader assassinated in Pakistan's northwest

The Taliban assassinated a tribal leader who organized resistance to the Taliban in the northwestern district of Shangla.
More than 50 Taliban fighters assaulted the home of Khalil Rehman, a tribal leader who raised a Lashkar, or local militia, to battle the Taliban in the isolated district that borders Swat and Buner. Rehman's son and two others were also wounded in the assault. Two Taliban fighters were killed after police and other security forces responded to the attack, Daily Times reported.
The Taliban established bases in Shangla, Mansehra, Haripur, Battagram, Mardan, Malakand, and Swabi after the military launched operations to clear the Taliban in neighboring Swat, Buner, and Dir.
Taliban units ranging from 50 to 150 fighters fanned out through the districts with no resistance from the military, which claimed it established blocking positions to prevent the Taliban from retreating from the battlefield and bleeding into bordering districts.
The Taliban moved into Shangla in April after cementing control in Swat and Buner. More than 70 Taliban fighters occupied a hospital while others fanned out and took over control of government buildings and an emerald mine.
In May, the Taliban established checkpoints in Chakesar, a vital region that links Shangla to districts to the east. The Shangla tribes threatened to oust the Taliban and raised a lashkar. But the tribes said they did not want the assistance of the government.
"We told the Taliban that the local people would have to fight them if they intruded into the Chakesar area," a tribal leader told The News in May. "We made it clear that the people of Chakesar don’t want security forces in their area and would have to deal with the militants on their own."
The military and locals in Shangla claimed the Taliban retreated into Mansehra in June after the military launched an operation and ejected the Taliban form the emerald mine.
Tribal opposition has been ruthlessly crushed in the past
The assassination of Shangla's anti-Taliban tribal leader is part of the Taliban's strategy to destroy any tribal resistance.
The Taliban have viciously responded to efforts by tribal leaders to oppose the spread of extremism in the tribal areas. Tribal opposition has been violently attacked and defeated in Peshawar, Dir, Arakzai, Khyber, and Swat. Suicide bombers have struck at tribal meetings held at mosques, schools, hotels, and homes.
The Taliban perfected this strategy in North and South Waziristan. Tribal leaders who opposed the Taliban were brutally liquidated. The Taliban would execute the leaders and dump their bodies on the roadside with notes pinned to their chests branding them as "US spies" and traitors. The bodies are often mutilated and beheaded.
The Taliban have made very public examples of local leaders who have dared to resist. Last December, the Swat Taliban executed a local tribal leader named Pir Samiullah, then returned to the village to dig up his body and hang it in the town square. The villagers were warned not to remove his body or they would face the same fate
Samiullah's tribe had been the showcase for Pakistan's "awakening," the indigenous tribal uprising against the Taliban modeled after Iraq's Sunni resistance to al Qaeda and allied jihadi groups. After Samiullah's death and desecration, the Swat tribal resistance collapsed.
Last month, the Taliban also executed Zainuddin Mehsud, a South Waziristan Taliban leader who sided with the government against Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud. Within weeks of denouncing Baitullah as an apostate, Zainuddin was murdered by his bodyguard.

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You Think Political Campaigning Is Tough? Try It As A Woman In Afghanistan

Imagine going out to meet the voters so they can elect you in the next election and they can't even see your face due to the fact you are a woman and must wear the burqa in public? LOL Well, that is what is going on in Afghanistan as more than 300 women are running for elective office and most of them end up only being able to campaign to other women as any interaction of males...well...you know islam, any woman that talks to a male other than their husband must obviously be a whore.

Anyway, it's a fascinating article here from Breitbart. I would like to add that some in the U.S. who had to endure campaign speeches by Claire McCaskill and Barbara Mikulski might be all for burqas being required for women campaigners. :)

Afghan women candidates campaign in burqas

SHIRAK PIRAK, Afghanistan (AP) - Sima Matin's burqa limits her vision. It gives her migraines. Now it's causing another problem: It's hiding her from the voters she hopes will elect her in next month's provincial election.
For women running for office in one of the world's most conservative countries, getting out the vote is an uphill battle against social norms. In a place where most women still wear the burqa and do not speak to men outside their immediate family, female candidates are courting danger simply by putting up posters of their uncovered faces. They risk being called prostitutes for trying to explain their platforms to male voters.

In the Aug. 20 election, two women are running for president and 328 female candidates are vying for seats on the country's 34 provincial councils. In remote villages where women do not work outside the home, they face stiff resistance, from death threats to whisper campaigns accusing them of being bad Muslims.
Whenever she heads to a campaign event, Matin, 36, throws on her burqa. On a recent afternoon, the blue, tent-like fabric billowed behind her as she skirted fields of green shoots at the feet of the rugged mountains in Kapisa province where she is running for a second term on the council. When she reached this village a 20-minute walk away from the nearest road, she ducked into the house of a supporter.
Safely behind the mud walls, she took off the burqa, sat down on a cushion and began explaining her credentials to a group of women. That's the way most of her campaign events go—behind walls, in the company of other women.
"If I try to go to a meeting where there are men, my husband says no," explains Matin. "So how can I campaign? The work I am doing is not just for women. It's also for men. I need to be able to talk to them, too."
Afghanistan's constitution calls for at least 25 percent of seats on provincial councils and at least 27 percent of seats in parliament to be reserved for women. So in most cases, women are running against other women for set-aside seats. But the two presidential candidates are running against men, and there are also many seats open to both men and women.
Of the 3,196 candidates running for provincial seats, about 90 percent—or 2,868—are men.
In some provinces, like Kandahar, the spiritual home of the Taliban, too few women are on the ballot to fill the quota. In Kapisa, where Matin is running, there are three seats reserved for women and six female candidates running. By contrast, more than 60 men are competing for the remaining six seats, which are open to both men and women.
While their male counterparts hold rallies and plaster their districts with posters, female candidates mostly campaign in private, carefully choreographing each foray outside the home. Even women who did not wear the burqa before say they're being forced to put it on to draw less attention to themselves.
Malika Mayeelzada, a 45-year-old teacher, refused to wear the burqa during the Taliban era until militants beat her with a club, breaking her arm. She took it off eight years ago after the fall of the Taliban—only to put it back on when she announced her candidacy for the provincial seat in Parwan, a district of brown hills just west of here.
"When I go into the villages, I'm always trying to encourage my sisters to take off the burqa," she says. "But because of fear for my safety, I can't show my face anymore."
Many female candidates are pushing the limits of what is considered decent by putting up posters of themselves. Their face is shown, though all of them cover their heads with scarves.
Matin says her husband drove her to a photo studio in Kabul and hovered over her as she took her photo, instructing her to pull her veil tightly around her chin so that her hair does not show. But as soon as she put up the poster, a cleric complained, saying the portrait was provocative and un-Islamic because she wore eyeshadow and lipstick.
So in its place, she put up a second poster where she is not wearing makeup—her face washed of all color and her expression blank.
Even so, her husband has asked her not to hang the posters outside. With the exception of a few shops, her posters are distributed to supporters, who put them up behind the walls of their homes.
Those trying to intimidate female candidates also use their families as a pressure point. Last year, militants kidnapped the husband of Nuria Hamady, a female delegate on the council in Baghlan Province. They beat him and said they would come back to kill him if he did not dissuade his wife from running for a second term.
"It became a family problem for me," says Hamady, 36, the mother of nine children. "Now my husband is against me. He no longer wants me to be a candidate. ... What should I do? I'd like to serve my people, but I'm finding it very hard."
Hamady has stopped campaigning and she goes to and from her home and office under armed guard. Another woman running for the Baghlan council recently went into hiding after a hand grenade was thrown into her home.
Women in politics say the obstacles intensify the more public they become. When they stand up to speak, women parliamentarians say they often find that their microphones have been switched off. Water bottles are thrown at them. The most outspoken are met with jeers of "Kill her!"
Malalai Joya, 31, one of the youngest members of parliament, slept in a different house every night after publicly denouncing the fact that numerous former warlords are now in parliament. She has survived five assassination attempts.
Joya says those ordering the violence against women candidates think they can silence them. "You can cut the flower," says Joya. "But you can't stop the spring from coming."
To be sure, there have also been numerous attacks against male candidates, including the assassination in May of a candidate for the provincial council in Khost province who died after a bomb was attached to his car.
But experts say the difference is that women are being targeted specifically because they are women seeking office, whereas men are being threatened for any number of reasons.
"The fact is these attacks on women are to put women in their place," says Theresa De Langis, a manager at the U.N. Development Fund for Women who is helping run a hotline for female candidates in Afghanistan.
While many say attacks on women are intensifying, there are also signs of positive change.
Fawzia Kufi, one of 91 women in Afghanistan's parliament, says that during her campaign for her seat four years ago, her own brothers tore down her posters. Now her image has become so popular in her home province of Badakshan that people tear it down to sell it as a collector's item.
Still, there are many days when she wonders if it's worth it. Last month, Kufi survived a roadside bomb planted ahead of her convoy. She decided to write a farewell letter to her two daughters. Then she placed it in a cupboard and told her eldest—age 11—where to find it if one day she doesn't come home.
It begins, "Dear Shaharzad, Dear Shuhra, we will all die one day. But we can be proud if we died leaving something good behind."

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Radical Islamic Terrorists In Nigeria Go On Killing Spree, 150 People Dead

The attack on Africa by al Qaeda continues to push southward as a radical islamic group in northern Nigeria, who has sworn allegiance to al Qaeda, went on a killing rampage yesterday and killed up to 150 people. We have seen the effects of al Qaeda across the northern tier of Africa in the countries of Somalia, Sudan, Algeria, Morocco and Mauritania and now, we see this push of the muslim horde southward...the best bet is that the continent of Africa will become a blood bath over the next 10 years as the islamists see the largely undefended region as ripe for the taking. Gotta admit that this "religion" of islam has one helluva conversion policy, eh?

Here's the story from Times Online:

Clashes with Islamists who claim to be Taleban kill 150 in Nigeria

Radical Islamists, who claim to be linked to al-Qaeda, have killed more than 150 people in two days of violence in northern Nigeria, news agencies reported.
Residents in the state of Borno said that Islamic militants, loyal to an anti-Western preacher, burnt a police station, a church and a customs office early yesterday.
The attacks came after clashes in the neighbouring, mainly Muslim states of Bauchi and Yobe on Sunday.
The heavily armed sect, which calls itself Taleban, emerged in Nigeria in 2004. Although, it has never been clear if it has proper links to the Taleban in Afghanistan its leaders profess allegiance to and admiration of Osama bin Laden.

“Five policemen have been killed, one police station burnt and 60 Talebans killed,” Ogbonna Onovo, an Inspector-General of the police, told reporters.
The fighting started in Bauchi when police hit back at militants after they attacked a police station at dawn. A gunbattle ensued and 39 people were killed.
There were further clashes in Yobe state, Mr Onovo said.

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Iranian and Taliban Alliance Began BEFORE 9/11

This is pretty significant as the article here at The Long War Journal debunks the idea that the Iranian regime didn't start working with and assisting the Taliban until after the 9/11 attacks and when America went after the Taliban in Afghanistan. New evidence obtained by the interviews and materials of a Taliban jihadi in Gitmo have revealed that in fact, the alliance of the Taliban and Iranians started BEFORE 9/11 - again, this is significant. Look at this section from the article:

According to the US government’s unclassified files, Khairkhwa was installed as the governor of Herat “to improve relations between Iran and the Taliban government.”
By his own admission, Khairkhwa began meeting with the Iranians in early 2000. The US government’s unclassified documents cite at least two instances when Khairkhwa took part in meetings between senior Taliban and Iranian officials: one on January 7, 2000 and a second time in late 2001.

“On 7 January 2000, the detainee and three other Taliban officials attended a meeting with Iranian and Hizbi Islami-Gulbuddin Hekmatyar faction officials [emphasis added]. Topics of discussion included United States intervention in the region, restoration of peace in Afghanistan, and strengthening the Taliban’s nascent ties with Iran.”

Go ahead and read the article - it's pretty fascinating how the relationship actually came to fruition but the important aspect of all this is that there has always been a faction in America who basically have blamed the U.S. intervention in Afghanistan after 9/11 for pushing the Taliban and Iranians together. As an aside here, I guess we should thank our lucky stars that we are going to close Gitmo up because we certainly wouldn't want to gather any more critical information regarding world islamic terror, now would we?

Iran and the Taliban, allies against America

Over the past several years, US military officials have repeatedly pointed out that the Iranian regime provides assistance to the Taliban in Afghanistan. In particular, US officials have noted that the Iranians have shipped arms, including anti-aircraft missiles, to the Taliban on numerous occasions.
For some, this cooperation is surprising. After all, the Shiite Iranians and the Sunni Taliban were not allies in the pre-September 11 world. In fact, they were bitter rivals, even enemies.
The US-led invasion of Afghanistan clearly changed the Iranians' priorities, however. But did the Iranians begin their rapprochement with the Taliban only after September 11? Or, had the groundwork for the type of cooperation we see in Afghanistan today already been laid?The answer to these questions can be found, in part, in the unclassified documents prepared by the US government for Gitmo detainee Khirullah Said Wali Khairkhwa (ISN #579). Khairkhwa is one of more than 200 detainees remaining at Gitmo. His fate will ultimately be decided by the Obama administration's inter-agency review boards.
During Khairkhwa's time at Gitmo, US officials produced several memos for his combatant status review tribunal (CSRT) and administrative review board hearings (ARB). In addition, Khairkhwa testified at his CSRT and one of his ARB hearings. The Defense Department's transcripts of Khairkhwa's testimony, as well as the memos produced by the government, can all be readily found online. (See, for example, The New York Times' web site here.)
Links began well before September 11 attack
The story laid out in the government's memos and in Khairkhwa's own testimony reveals new details about the collusion between Iran and the Taliban. Interestingly, this cooperation began even before the September 11 attacks.
The story begins in 1998 when the Taliban and Iran were on the verge of war. In August of that year, the Taliban slaughtered hundreds of Shiites, including nine Iranian diplomats, in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan. The Iranians responded by positioning thousands of uniformed Revolutionary Guardsmen and other forces on Iran’s easternmost border with Afghanistan. Mullah Omar and Ayatollah Khameini traded verbal barbs in the press. The world openly fretted over the prospect of war.
Enter Khairkhwa. For years, Khairkhwa had been the public voice of the Taliban, acting as its Pashto spokesman and doing interviews with the BBC and Voice of America. Khairkhwa was trusted by the Taliban’s most senior leaders to spin news for their regime. This was no small task given the Taliban’s continual human rights abuses. Khairkhwa was, according to the US government's unclassified files, also the Taliban commander who helped take Mazar-e-Sharif in 1996. At the time, Mazar-e-Sharif was hotly contested territory.
In 1999, the Taliban would trust Khairkhwa with another mission. He was installed as the governor of Afghanistan’s westernmost province of Herat. Khairkhwa served in that capacity until the Taliban’s fall in late 2001.
The US government alleges that during that time Khairkhwa became a major drug trafficker with ties to senior al Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin Laden. Khairkhwa reportedly built three walled compounds that he used to manage his opium trade. And he allegedly oversaw one of Osama bin Laden's training facilities in Herat as well. One US government memo notes that only Khairkhwa or bin Laden himself "could authorize entrance" to the facility, which was one of bin Laden's "most important bases" and "conducted terrorist training two times per week."
Khairkhwa denied that he was a drug dealer and that he had significant ties to senior al Qaeda leaders during his hearings at Gitmo. But it is clear that US intelligence officials did not believe Khairkhwa’s denials. The allegations were repeatedly included in the memos prepared for Khairkhwa’s case.
Khairkhwa assigned a Taliban liaison to Iran
Khairkhwa played another, more provocative role as well.
According to the US government’s unclassified files, Khairkhwa was installed as the governor of Herat “to improve relations between Iran and the Taliban government.”
By his own admission, Khairkhwa began meeting with the Iranians in early 2000. The US government’s unclassified documents cite at least two instances when Khairkhwa took part in meetings between senior Taliban and Iranian officials: one on January 7, 2000 and a second time in late 2001.
The government’s October 7, 2005 ARB summary of evidence memo for Khairkhwa (see here) includes this allegation:
“On 7 January 2000, the detainee and three other Taliban officials attended a meeting with Iranian and Hizbi Islami-Gulbuddin Hikmatyar faction officials. Present at the meeting were Afghan Hizbi Islami-Gulbuddin leader, Gulbuddin Hikmatyar and Ayman Al-Zawahiri [emphasis added]. Topics of discussion included United States intervention in the region, restoration of peace in Afghanistan and strengthening the Taliban’s ties with [the] Iran[ian] government.”
The government’s second and more recent ARB summary of evidence memo (dated June 16, 2006) modified this allegation. U.S. intelligence officials did not allege that Hekmatyar or Zawahiri personally attended the meeting. (See here.) Instead, the government’s allegation reads:
“On 7 January 2000, the detainee and three other Taliban officials attended a meeting with Iranian and Hizbi Islami-Gulbuddin Hekmatyar faction officials [emphasis added]. Topics of discussion included United States intervention in the region, restoration of peace in Afghanistan, and strengthening the Taliban’s nascent ties with Iran.”
It is not clear why the U.S. government removed the part about Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a long-time ally of Osama bin Laden, and top al Qaeda terrorist Ayman al Zawahiri personally attending the meeting. At the time, Hekmatyar was sheltering in Iran under the care of the Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Regardless, the rest of the details about the meeting between the Taliban and the Iranians were substantively unchanged. And a memo prepared for Khairkhwa's third ARB hearing (see here) notes that Khairkhwa did meet with Ayman al Zawahiri to discuss US "intervention" in the region.
During his hearings at Gitmo, Khairkhwa did not deny that he attended the meeting with the Iranians in January of 2000. Khairkhwa also did not deny a second meeting with the Iranians in late 2001. The U.S. government’s Sept. 2, 2004, CSRT summary of evidence memo for Khairkhwa states (see here):
“Detainee was present at a clandestine meeting in October of 2001 between Taliban and Iranian officials in which Iran pledged to assist the Taliban in their war with the United States.”
The government’s unclassified summary of evidence memos for Khairkhwa's first and second ARB hearings (see here and here) allege that the meeting between the Taliban and the Iranians took place in November of 2001, not October.
“In November 2001, the detainee met with an Iranian diplomatic delegation. The Iranian Government was prepared to offer anti-aircraft weapons to the Taliban for use against the United States and Coalition Forces operating in Afghanistan.”
In all likelihood, therefore, this post-September 11 meeting between the Taliban and Iranian officials took place in November and the US government simply refined its allegation in the latter memos. Khairkhwa discussed this post-September 11 meeting with the Iranians during his CSRT hearing. Khairkhwa did not deny attending the meeting or that the Iranians “pledged to assist the Taliban in their war with the United States,” but claimed that he had only set up security for the meeting and was not the only Taliban official present.
Khairkhwa explained:
“Yes, I participated in that meeting with the Iranians. There was a committee that came from Kandahar and I joined them and was just sitting there. They were conducting the meeting. My job was for the security of this committee. I was not the sole representative of this committee to talk with the Iranians. They were responsible; my job was to provide security and safety for the committee.”
Later in his testimony, Khairkhwa made it clear that the Taliban sent a delegation from its central government to attend the meeting. Khairkhwa undoubtedly wanted to downplay his own role in the secret meetings.
"The meeting with the Iranians, it was designed and conducted by the committee that came from Kandahar, which was the central government at the time. I was just a security member," Khairkhwa said.
During his second round ARB hearing, Khairkhwa denied that the Iranians offered anti-aircraft weapons at the November 2001 meeting. He claimed that the Iranians made this offer only at the Jan. 7, 2000 meeting, which took place on Iranian soil. Khairkhwa also denied that any representatives of Hekmatyar's group attended.
"Yes. There was a meeting with the Taliban delegation on Iran's soil," Khairkhwa said. "There were no Gulbuddin representatives."
Khairkhwa told his Gitmo board that the Taliban had difficulty procuring arms because of international sanctions that had been levied against the regime. "The Iranians offered to buy weapons for us because we were on restriction and could not buy them," Khairkhwa explained. "That is the truth."
Khairkhwa also claimed that the arms deal was never consummated. However, history does not bear out Khairkhwa's denial.
In fact, multiple press outlets have reported that the Iranians have been supplying anti-aircraft missiles, mines, and other arms to the Taliban.
There is another important aspect to the meetings between the Iranians and the Taliban that Khairkhwa attended as well. A US government memo produced for Khairkhwa's third ARB hearing notes that in addition to anti-aircraft missiles, the Taliban and Iran negotiated "an open border to Iran for any Arab or Taliban to smuggle money or goods out of Afghanistan."
This, too, came to fruition. For example, Time Magazine reported in early 2002 that Taliban and al Qaeda terrorists slipped across the border into Iran in order to avoid American forces.
Khairkhwa’s testimony and the US government's evidence against Khairkhwa confirm a central point in this Long War against terrorism. Even one-time enemies like the Taliban and Iran can conspire when it comes to countering their mutual enemy: America. And, somewhat surprisingly, they had begun to plan their countermeasures even before the September 11 attacks prompted America's response in the region. According to the US government's files, that planning may have even involved senior terrorists, including al Qaeda's second in command, Ayman al Zawahiri.

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Video: Chickenshit Tactics of the Taliban Revealed

Okay, this is a longish video but worth the time as it reveals how the "mighty" Taliban actually fights. Watch what happens to their attack on an outpost when air support arrives (at about the 5:00 mark) - watch these cowards run into the village and take refuge in a residence (so the Apaches won't attack while in a compound)....then run out to attack again. I've never seen the tactic actually documented like this before.

Female British Police Officers Issued Head Scarves To Wear When Entering British Mosques

Well, the dhimmification of Britain continues at full steam as British police officers, who happen to be female, are being issued standard uniform updates - head scarves for them to wear whenever they need to enter a British mosque. I know, I know....unbelievable. I have to ask the question, is there actually anything that could piss off the muslims in Britain anymore than they already are? I, personally, haven't found a group of immigrants apparently so miserable in their new home than the islamists that have migrated to Great Britain ...but it is apparent that the British government, both national and local, has decided that bad behavior by the muslims should be rewarded with appeasement by the majority. Imagine a classroom of 30 children all eager to learn reading, writing and arithmetic but one student in that classroom consistently decides to throw a temper tantrum and knocks over desks - after a week of this, the teacher and the principal decide that instead of taking the unruly kid out to the playground where he gets a choice between behaving or feeling a belt to his ass, he will have a special half hour session devoted just to him where he gets to stand up in front of the class and talk about himself and gets some candy.

I mean seriously, look at this from the story at the Daily Mail:

Mrs Roberts said: 'It recognises and respects the cultural and religious practices of our communities. This is a very positive addition to the uniform and one which I'm sure will be a welcome item for many of our officers.'

Britain, I don't know if you have it left in ya, but one has to hope that you can take that land back and soon. ( hat tip to Holger reader, Boquisucio)

Very PC police force issues its WPCs with Muslim headscarves complete with badge for mosque visits

Women police officers are being issued with headscarves to wear when they visit a mosque.
They are expected to put the scarfs on shortly before they enter the mosque, in keeping with Islamic custom.
There are two versions - one matches the black of a police officer's uniform, while another goes with the blue uniforms worn by community support officers.
The headscarves are being given out by Avon and Somerset Police, and have the force's emblem sewn on.
They have already been given to seven officers, including Assistant Chief Constable Jackie Roberts, and eight community support officers who work with Muslim groups in the area.
Mrs Roberts said: 'It recognises and respects the cultural and religious practices of our communities. This is a very positive addition to the uniform and one which I'm sure will be a welcome item for many of our officers.'
The force said the scarves, which cost £13, can be used in other religious settings as a mark of respect - for instance to cover the shoulders of a non-uniformed officer in a church.
Islamic custom expects women to cover their head inside a place of worship.
During an official visit last year, the Queen wore a headscarf to tour the crypt and caverns of an historic Islamic shrine in Turkey.
Rashad Azami, Imam and director of the Bath Islamic Society, said: 'It is highly pleasing to see that Avon and Somerset Constabulary is introducing specially designed head coverings for female officers.

'This will go a long way in encouraging a trustful relationship between the police and the Muslim community. The police have been working closely with the Muslim community for the last few years.
'We hope this step will further strengthen the mutual relationship.'

Avon and Somerset Police caused a race row two years ago when it rejected 186 white job applicants at the first stage of selection.
The force received 800 applications for 180 jobs and 'deselected' white males to increase ethnic diversity. Chief Constable Colin Port apologised.
This year, the fire service unveiled full-length skirts, hijab headscarves and long- sleeved shirts for Muslim women recruits to wear in fire stations and for events such as school trips.

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Five Killed In Suicide Bombing In Chechen Capital

We continue to blog here at Holger Awakens about the islamic terror mess that continues to befall Russia and the general region as the latest attack was a suicide bomber in the Chechen capital of Grozny where five people were killed and believe me, it could have been much, much worse. I'm adamant about the fact that in the future, we are going to see an unnerving takeover of this entire region by the islamists as their population continues to skyrocket while the Russian population in the area dwindles consistently.

In the latest attack, from here at France 24, we see where the islamic terrorists again target a densely populated venue....a concert hall. ( Hat tip: chicagodudewhotrades)

'Five dead' in suicide bombing in Grozny


Five people were killed Sunday in a suicide bomb attack in the centre of the Chechen capital Grozny, the Interfax and Itar-TASS news agencies reported, citing local authorities.
The blast occurred at around 5:00 pm (1300 GMT) in front of a concert hall.
"Among the victims were several police officers, who according to initial reports stopped the suicide bomber from entering the venue," Itar-TASS quoted a source in the local security forces as saying.
At least 10 people were wounded, the source said, while Interfax reported that the dead comprised three police officers, a civilian and the suicide bomber.

Seven People In North Carolina Charged With Terrorism

I don't know about you, but I haven't seen this on the MSM much. No big deal I guess...you know...just seven folks living in North Carolina working together to help terrorism inside and outside of America. That's all. The ring leader certainly doesn't have the name of an islamist but let's look at all of the names of the charged from the announcement at Department of Justice:

Daniel Patrick Boyd, 39, a U.S. citizen and resident of North Carolina
Hysen Sherifi, 24, a native of Kosovo and a U.S. legal permanent resident located in North Carolina
Anes Subasic, 33, a naturalized U.S. citizen and resident of North Carolina
Zakariya Boyd, 20, a U.S. citizen and resident of North Carolina
Dylan Boyd, 22, a U.S. citizen and resident of North Carolina
Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan, 22, a U.S. citizen and resident of North Carolina
Ziyad Yaghi, 21, a U.S. citizen and resident of North Carolina

I'll let you read all of the charges against these piglets from the release below but note the following:

According to the indictment, during the period from 1989 through 1992, Daniel Boyd traveled to Pakistan and Afghanistan where he received military-style training in terrorist training camps for the purpose of engaging in violent jihad. Following this training, he allegedly fought in Afghanistan.

Among other acts, the indictment alleges that Daniel Boyd traveled to Gaza in March 2006 and attempted to enter Palestine in order to introduce his son to individuals who also believed that violent jihad was a personal religious obligation. Later, in October 2006, defendant Ziyad Yaghi allegedly departed the United States for Jordan to engage in violent jihad.
In June 2007, Daniel Boyd and several other defendants departed the United States for Israel in an effort to engage in violent jihad, but ultimately returned to the United States after failing in their efforts. According to the indictment, after his return to the United States, Daniel Boyd made false statements twice to federal officials about who he had planned to meet on his trip to Israel.

I'm sure a lot more will be coming out this week on Daniel Boyd but the biggest question is how this guy stayed out of federal prison for so long and it speaks to the question as to how many Daniel Boyds are there in America? How many have gotten a little further than this chump? And now we have Barack Hussein Obama in the White House. Still feel safe, America?

Seven Charged with Terrorism Violations in North Carolina

Seven individuals have been charged with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and conspiring to murder, kidnap, maim and injure persons abroad.
On Wednesday, July 22, 2009, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina returned a sealed seven-count indictment against the following defendants:
Daniel Patrick Boyd, 39, a U.S. citizen and resident of North Carolina
Hysen Sherifi, 24, a native of Kosovo and a U.S. legal permanent resident located in North Carolina
Anes Subasic, 33, a naturalized U.S. citizen and resident of North Carolina
Zakariya Boyd, 20, a U.S. citizen and resident of North Carolina
Dylan Boyd, 22, a U.S. citizen and resident of North Carolina
Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan, 22, a U.S. citizen and resident of North Carolina
Ziyad Yaghi, 21, a U.S. citizen and resident of North Carolina
All the defendants are charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, as well as conspiracy to murder, kidnap, maim and injure persons abroad. In addition, Daniel Boyd, Hysen Sherifi and Zakariya Boyd are each charged with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Daniel Boyd and Dylan Boyd are also each charged with selling a firearm to a convicted felon. Finally, Daniel Boyd is also charged with receiving a firearm through interstate commerce and two counts of making false statements in a terrorism investigation.
The defendants were arrested at various locations this morning by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies. They made their initial appearances today in federal court in Raleigh, N.C. At that time, the indictment was unsealed.
"The indictment alleges that Daniel Boyd is a veteran of terrorist training camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan who, over the past three years, has conspired with others in this country to recruit and help young men travel overseas in order to kill. Given the weapons allegedly involved in this conspiracy and the seriousness of the charges, the many agents, analysts and prosecutors who were able to bring about this case and safely remove these defendants from our streets deserve special thanks," said David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division.
"These charges hammer home the point that terrorists and their supporters are not confined to the remote regions of some far away land but can grow and fester right here at home. Terrorists and their supporters are relentless and constant in their efforts to hurt and kill innocent people across the globe. We must be equally relentless and constant in our efforts to stop them," said U.S. Attorney George E.B. Holding.
"The threat that extremists and radicals pose to America and our allies has not dulled or gone away. These arrests today show there are people living among us, in our communities in North Carolina and around the US, that are honing their skills to carry out acts of murder and mayhem. Their ultimate goal is to wage war on freedom and democracy. The FBI and our law enforcement partners are doing all we can to stop them from thriving and successfully attacking again," said Owen D. Harris, Special Agent in Charge of the Charlotte Division of the FBI. "We will remain vigilant, so must the public. If you see or hear something - act - call your local police department or the FBI. September 11th is not a vague memory for us, nor should it be for anyone."
"The cooperation between federal, state and local authorities throughout this investigation has been outstanding. It is only with our ongoing law enforcement partnership through the Joint Terrorism Task Force in conjunction with North Carolina’s fusion center, ISAAC, that we are able to ensure public safety from these terrorist threats," said North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Director Robin P. Pendergraft.
The Conspiracy
According to the indictment, during the period from 1989 through 1992, Daniel Boyd traveled to Pakistan and Afghanistan where he received military-style training in terrorist training camps for the purpose of engaging in violent jihad. Following this training, he allegedly fought in Afghanistan.
From roughly November 2006 through at least July 2009, the indictment alleges that Daniel Boyd and the other defendants conspired to provide material support and resources to terrorists, including currency, training, transportation and personnel. The defendants also conspired to murder, kidnap, maim and injure persons abroad during this period. The object of the conspiracy, according to the indictment, was to advance violent jihad, including supporting and participating in terrorist activities abroad and committing acts of murder, kidnapping or maiming persons abroad.
The indictment alleges that, as part of the conspiracy, the defendants prepared themselves to engage in violent jihad and were willing to die as martyrs. They also allegedly offered training in weapons and financing, and helped arrange overseas travel and contacts so others could wage violent jihad overseas.
As part of the conspiracy, the indictment further alleges that the defendants raised money to support training efforts, disguised the destination of such monies from the donors, and obtained assault weapons to develop skills with the weapons. Some defendants also allegedly radicalized others to believe that violent jihad was a personal religious obligation.
Recruitment and Travels
Among other acts, the indictment alleges that Daniel Boyd traveled to Gaza in March 2006 and attempted to enter Palestine in order to introduce his son to individuals who also believed that violent jihad was a personal religious obligation. Later, in October 2006, defendant Ziyad Yaghi allegedly departed the United States for Jordan to engage in violent jihad.
In June 2007, Daniel Boyd and several other defendants departed the United States for Israel in an effort to engage in violent jihad, but ultimately returned to the United States after failing in their efforts. According to the indictment, after his return to the United States, Daniel Boyd made false statements twice to federal officials about who he had planned to meet on his trip to Israel.
In February 2008, Daniel Boyd allegedly solicited money to fund the travel of additional individuals overseas to engage in violent jihad and in March 2008, discussed with Anes Subasic preparations to send two individuals abroad for this purpose. He allegedly accepted $500 in cash from defendant Hysen Sherifi to be used to help fund jihad overseas and later showed Sherifi how to operate an AK-47 assault weapon.
In July 2008, Sharifi allegedly departed the United States for Kosovo to engage in violent jihad. According to the indictment, Sharifi later returned to North Carolina in April 2009, for the purpose of soliciting funds and personnel to support the mujihadeen.
Weapons and Training
The indictment also alleges that Daniel Boyd obtained a variety of weapons in furtherance of the conspiracy to murder persons overseas and provide material support to terrorists. These included a Bushmaster M4A3 rifle that Boyd allegedly received illegally via interstate commerce in 2006, as well as an ETA M16 V System C-MAG that he purchased in 2006. In 2007, he allegedly purchased a Ruger mini 14 long gun.
During 2008, the indictment alleges that Boyd purchased a Mossburg 100 ATR .270 rifle, a Llama Camanche III .357 revolver, a Century Arms AK Sporter 7.62 X 39 rifle and a Ruger mini 30 7.62 X 39 rifle. During 2009, Boyd allegedly purchased a Ishmash SAGA .308 rifle, a Century Arms Polish Tantal 5.45 X 39 rifle, a Century Arms C91 rifle .308, a Century Arms M70B1 7.62 X 34 rifle, a Ruger mini 14 5.56 rifle, and a Smith & Wesson MP15 .223 rifle.
The indictment further alleges that in February 2009, Daniel Boyd and his son, Dylan Boyd, knowingly sold a Beretta 9 mm handgun and ammunition to a convicted felon. In addition, the indictment alleges that in June 2009, Daniel Boyd and his son, Zakariya Boyd, used firearms in furtherance of a crime of violence, specifically conspiracy to murder.
Finally, the indictment alleges that Daniel Boyd and several of the defendants practiced military tactics and the use of weapons on private property in Caswell County, N.C., in June and July 2009.
Each of the defendants faces potential life imprisonment if convicted of conspiracy to murder, kidnap, maim and injure persons abroad. In addition, conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists carries a maximum 15 year sentence. The charges of receiving a firearm through interstate commerce and selling a firearm to a convicted felon each carry a maximum 10 year sentence. Making false statements in a terrorism investigation carries a maximum 8 year sentence, while possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence carries a consecutive 5 year sentence.
This investigation is being conducted by the Raleigh Joint Terrorism Task Force of the Charlotte Division of the FBI and NCISAAC, the North Carolina Information Sharing and Analysis Center.
The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Barbara D. Kocher and Jason Cowley of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina, and Trial Attorney Jason Kellhofer, of the Counterterrorism Section in the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains mere allegations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

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The "Rat" Is Out of the Bag - One of the Released Iranian Qods Forces Was A Top Commander

First off, I blogged about this nightmare of a release to begin with but now, the word has leaked out that the whole release of the five Iranian Qods Force personnel from Iraq back to Iran earlier this month was a slight of hand, with an extremely high level Qods Force commander as part of the deal. From the article at The Long War Journal, look at this hair raising excerpt:

Reports initially indicated that five Iranians who were captured by the US in Irbil in northern Iraq in January 2007 were released from custody. But US military intelligence officials told The Long War Journal that Farhadi was disguised as one of the Irbil Five to soften the blow of the release.

Get that? This was literally a deception so that one of the most wanted men that was in custody could be returned to Iran to appease the mullahs. Look at the set up part of this from the article:

A senior Qods Force officer who led one of the three commands in Iraq assigned to attack US and Iraqi forces was one of five Iranians released by the US military on July 9.
Mahmud Farhadi, the leader of the Zafr Command, one of three units subordinate to the Qods Force's Ramazan Corps, was among five Iranians turned over to the Iraqi government and then subsequently turned over to the Iranians.

I just do not understand this, folks. We have an officer of the Qods Force INSIDE of Iraq directing lethal attacks on American troops during the Iraq War and this piece of shit is released back to Iran and I hear no one, NO ONE screaming about this. Well ....I'M SCREAMING ABOUT IT! This sack of shit should have been in a water boarding room instead of back home in Iran being the center of parades. Somebody tell me what we, the U.S., got out of this release? What was the bargaining? This scumbag was released 3 weeks ago and in the meantime, Iranian made rockets were used to kill three Minnesota National Guard troops in Basra....the time to document Iranian-aided deaths of American troops is over...it's a fact, it's out there for all to see. I've said it again, instead of releasing these Qods Force infiltrators back to Iran, there should have been a mission INTO Iran to have taken out several of the Qods Force units as well as more commanders over there.

Here's the message to Iran: "Send your Qods Forces into a war that the U.S. is involved in, kill American troops and you will still get back your forces if they are captured." And we expect them to stop making nuclear weapons?

US released senior Iranian Qods Force commander

A senior Qods Force officer who led one of the three commands in Iraq assigned to attack US and Iraqi forces was one of five Iranians released by the US military on July 9.
Mahmud Farhadi, the leader of the Zafr Command, one of three units subordinate to the Qods Force's Ramazan Corps, was among five Iranians turned over to the Iraqi government and then subsequently turned over to the Iranians.
A spokesman from the Iranian foreign ministry identified Farhadi as one of the five men released on July 9, according to a report on Iranian state-run television.
Reports initially indicated that five Iranians who were captured by the US in Irbil in northern Iraq in January 2007 were released from custody. But US military intelligence officials told The Long War Journal that Farhadi was disguised as one of the Irbil Five to soften the blow of the release.
The US had previously released two members of the Irbil Five in November 2007, according to The Associated Press, but the report received little attention. This "left room for Farhadi to be pawned off as one of the Irbil Five and snuck out the back door," one official told The Long War Journal.
The US captured Farhadi during a raid in the northern Kurdish province of Sulimaniyah on Sept. 20, 2007 [see LWJ report, Captured Iranian Qods Force officer a regional commander in Iraq].
Farhadi's detention caused a row between Iran and Iraq. Iran closed the border after claiming Farhadi was an Iranian trade delegation representative named Agha Farhadi who was visiting Iraq on a sanctioned business trip.
Farhadi is considered one of the three most dangerous Iranian operatives to have been captured in Iraqi since the US began targeting the Iranian-backed Shia terror networks. His role as one of the three theater commanders in the Ramazan Corps means he is directly responsible for planning, coordinating, and executing attacks against US forces.
The Ramazan Corps is responsible for the death of hundreds of US soldiers in Iraq and backed the various uprising by Shia extremist groups. Ten percent of US deaths in Iraq are estimated to have been caused by the Iranian-supplied, armor-piercing explosively-formed projectiles, or EFPs.
US handover of Iranian agents to continue
The US military is slowly and quietly turning over some of the most dangerous Iranian operatives and officers as it draws down in Iraq. The release of Farhadi and the other four Iran operatives was preceded by the release last month of Laith Qazali, the brother of Qais Qazali.
Qais Qazali was the commander of the Qazali network, which is better known as the Asaib al Haq, or the League of the Righteous. Qais' network was behind the January 2007 attack on the Provincial Joint Coordination Center in Karbala, as well as other high-profile terror attacks in Iraq. Five US soldiers were killed during the Karbala attack and subsequent kidnapping attempt. After US and Iraqi security forces closed in on the assault team, the terrorists executed the five US soldiers.
Laith was released as part of negotiations to free five British contractors taken captive by Qais' group. The Brits were kidnapped in early 2007 shortly after Qais was detained by US forces.
The League of the Righteous responded to Laith's release by turning over the bodies of two of the hostages and demanding the return of all of the group's leadership before releasing any other captives. The two hostages were murdered months before their bodies were turned over to the British.
US intelligence officials who directly deal with the Iranian threat in Iraq are dismayed by the release of the Qods Force agents, who they believe will quickly return to initiate attacks on US and Iraqi forces.
The US will continue to release more of these dangerous Iranian agents as time goes by, intelligence officials say.
"If you didn't like the release of Laith and the Irbil Five, you'd better get used to it," one official told The Long War Journal on July 11.

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I Never Thought It Would Come To This!

by Findalis


I was raised to believe that all people living in the United States would be safe and secure in their homes, schools, temples or churches and businesses. But in the last few years it seems that is no longer the case. Especially for Jewish Americans.

We have witnessed an upsurge in the number of violent acts either committed against Jews, such as the attack in Seattle which the killer was given a mistrial. Or the attack on the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC. Then there was the group of American Muslims who planned a series of attacks on Jewish targets.

The authorities did a good job with those, but the Jewish community knows they and our elected leaders allow behavior such as this:

to occur without a word condemning it.

Once, in Europe, Jews finally had enough and took up the sword. American Jews have had enough it seems. They now know that the government will not protect them. They now know that they have to protect themselves. And they are doing just that.

Starting in late July, a group of Israeli combat veterans will be holding a training camp in New York to teach advanced self-defense techniques to Jews in U.S. communities. An increasing number of American Jews have expressed interest in the program following a wave of anti-Semitic incidents worldwide over the past year, organizers report.

The group calls itself Kitat Konenut New York – a reference to the “rapid response teams” active throughout Judea and Samaria. Rapid response teams in Israel, comprised of local civilians who are IDF veterans, have often been the first on the scene of terrorist attacks and other emergencies, and have prevented casualties.

It was founded in 2006 in response to a shooting attack at a Jewish center in Seattle, Washington. One woman was murdered in the attack, and several others were wounded.

Kitat Konenut in action (Israel news photo: Kitat Konenut)

The group is apolitical, and does not take part in demonstrations. “Our agenda is to protect Jews,” says group member Yonatan Stern.

However, the group does have a firmly held political belief. “We believe in the constitutional right to bear arms,” Stern says. Kitat Konenut encourages all American Jews to learn how to use weapons, and to purchase their own firearms for self-defense.

Read the full story here.

I guess this is the sort of unification and change that we were promised under President Obama. It is more like the return to the regime under that great Muslim hero: Adolph Hitler. Seen here with his good pal the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem.


I suppose that the President just forgot about this bit of Muslim history when he made his historic address in Cairo.

Pakistan Government Amazes Again....Arrest Pro-Taliban Key Cleric

This may not seem real "exciting" but actually, it is. This is significant as the Pakistani government today put even more walk in their talk of fighting the Taliban and terror by arresting one of the key pro-Taliban clerics in the NW Provinces of Pakistan, Sufi Muhammed. You'll probably remember this old geezer as the one that put those peace agreements together between the Taliban and the Pakistani government a few months ago - only to allow the Taliban to continue their rape, murder and attacks after the agreements were signed.

This is going to send shockwaves across the Taliban in the NW Provinces as many of them have seen Sufi Muhammed as their "ace in the hole" when the going gets really tough - in other words, when the Taliban are getting the piss hammered out of them by government forces, they send a message to good old Sufi to broker a deal and give them some time to lick their wounds and bury their dead. Well too bad dudes, Sufi is gonna be behind bars soon (we hope, anyway).

At the story at Breitbart, I want to point out a HUGE statement made there:

"At this critical juncture, we cannot allow, we cannot let a person walk free, a person who has supported terrorists," said Mian Iftikhar Hussein, information minister for the North West Frontier Province.
"Instead of keeping his promises by taking steps for the sake of peace, and speaking out against terrorism, he did not utter a single word against terrorists," Iftikhar said in a news conference in Peshawar.

Well, it may have taken a long time, but the Pakistani government seems to have finally wised up but I will hold my full celebration for awhile because banking on the Pakistani government is like playing the stock market at the moment. But this is a huge message to the Taliban and al Qaeda....now the government needs to reinforce this with even more troops and airstrikes in the NW Provinces.

Pakistan arrests influential pro-Taliban cleric

ISLAMABAD (AP) - Police arrested an influential pro-Taliban cleric on Sunday who had brokered a failed peace deal in northern Pakistan's troubled Swat Valley, an indication the government will no longer negotiate with militants.
Authorities accused Sufi Muhammad, father-in-law of Swat's notorious Taliban leader Maulana Fazlullah, of encouraging violence and terrorism.
The peace deal in February imposed Sharia, or Islamic law, in the valley in exchange for an end to two years of fighting. But it was widely seen as handing over control of the valley, once a popular tourist destination, to the Taliban.

The deal collapsed in April when the Taliban advanced south out of Swat, triggering a military offensive and a spree of retaliatory attacks by militants in the northwest and beyond. Some 2 million people fled the region, and although hundreds of thousands have returned in the past two weeks as the military operation winds down, sporadic fighting continues.
"At this critical juncture, we cannot allow, we cannot let a person walk free, a person who has supported terrorists," said Mian Iftikhar Hussein, information minister for the North West Frontier Province.
"Instead of keeping his promises by taking steps for the sake of peace, and speaking out against terrorism, he did not utter a single word against terrorists," Iftikhar said in a news conference in Peshawar.
Muhammad leads a pro-Taliban group known as the Tehrik Nifaz-e-Shariat Mohammedi, or the Movement for the Enforcement of Islamic Law. He was jailed in 2002 but was freed last year after renouncing violence.
But Muhammad himself was not in control of armed militants in Swat, and the Taliban's ability to bounce back from the recent offensive against them will depend more on their leaders, including the cleric's son-in-law. Despite occasional rumors to the contrary, none has been captured or is known to have been killed.
The Taliban were already on the run from the army and so the arrest was unlikely to have any significant impact on the militants themselves, said Mahmood Shah, a former security chief in the tribal region.
"I think they are totally dispirited," he said. "I don't think this arrest will have any effect on them."
But his arrest is a further sign that the government will no longer negotiate with the Taliban—a position likely to please the U.S., which is looking for signs Pakistan is serious about cracking down on militants.
The Pakistan government has already said as much. In June, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had said action, not words, were needed.
"The nation wants peace and the elimination of terrorism in the country, so this is not the time for talks," he had said.
Earlier Sunday, police said they had arrested former lawmaker Shah Abdul Aziz and a suspected Taliban militant in connection with the beheading of Polish geologist Piotr Stanczak, who was kidnapped near the Afghan border last September.
Investigator Malik Tariq Awan told The Associated Press that the two were taken into custody a month ago. He said Aziz, a member of a pro-Taliban religious party elected to parliament's lower house in 2002, is believed to have plotted the abduction.
Stanczak's beheading—shown in a video that surfaced in February—was the first of a westerner in Pakistan since the 2002 killing of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.
The other man detained was identified only as suspected militant Ataullah.
In Islamabad, police spokesman Naim Khan said information gleaned from Ataullah allowed police to raid a hideout in the capital's outskirts, arresting three suspects and seizing weapons and ammunition. Another police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to reveal details of the case, said the men had been planning attacks on government buildings.
Separately, in Swat's main town of Mingora, authorities rescued several teenagers forcibly recruited by the Taliban, Brig. Tahir Khan said. Seven boys, their lower faces covered to prevent them being recognized, appeared to speak to reporters.
One of them, 16-year-old Shaukat Ali, said he had been playing cricket when the Taliban took him.
"They wanted me to become a warrior instead playing cricket, a game of infidels," he said. "They tortured me when I refused. They offered to pay my family every month for my services."