Target Centermass

The French have detained several apparent Islamist terrorist wannabes before they could make their way to Iraq.

A total of 11 suspected Islamic militants have been detained in Paris this week by intelligence agents who believe they have foiled an operation to send volunteers to fight against the US army in Iraq, officials said.

Four young men arrested early yesterday were being held at the headquarters of the domestic intelligence service DST, along with six of the seven people detained on Monday in an high-immigration neighborhood in the northeast of the capital.

One of two women detained on Monday was released yesterday morning, police said.

The identities of the detainees were not disclosed, but officials said that eight of the nine men — all aged between 20 and 24 — were of north African, mainly Algerian, origin with French nationality and all born in Paris. The other was a French convert to Islam.

They were arrested as part of an anti-terrorist investigation launched last September after evidence emerged of a so-called “Iraqi network” recruiting Islamic militants to fight US forces there.

One of those held is considered by police to be a recruiter of young men willing to fight in Iraq. He was described as the brother-in-law of a a member of a terrorist group which was dismantled on the eve of the 1998 football World Cup which France hosted.

Two of his charges were said to be on the point of leaving for Iraq.

[...]

“At the moment it would be wrong to speak of organised networks like there were with Afghanistan,” said a senior official.

“But we are determined to stop young people going to make jihad in Iraq because if they come back they will have greatly enhanced prestige, and be in a position to recruit more people to the cause — or even mount terrorist operations,” he said on condition of anonymity.

Couple this with the recent bust in Germany of two suspected al-Qaida members and tell me Europe doesn’t have a problem. It seems, however, that the Euros are only willing to treat the symptoms rather than actually tackling the disease.

Weather Suspected in Deadly Marines Crash

A top U.S. general said Wednesday there was severe weather at the site of a U.S. Marine helicopter crash in of western Iraq and that he had no reports of enemy fire in the area. President Bush expressed sorrow at the loss of life and said he knew Americans would find the new deaths discouraging.

[...]

Lt. Gen. John Sattler, the top Marine commander in Iraq, said in a videotaped statement from his headquarters in Fallujah, west of Baghdad, that 30 Marines and one Navy sailor were killed. He made no mention of a possible cause and said a recovery team was at the crash site.

Sattler identified the aircraft as a CH-53E Super Stallion, which is the largest helicopter in the American military. He provided no details about the circumstances of the crash; he said the victims were members of the 3rd Marine Aircract Wing and 1st Marine Division but was not more specific.

Vietnamese Helicopter Crashes; 16 Dead

A Vietnamese military helicopter crashed in northern Vietnam shortly after takeoff, killing all 16 people aboard, officials said Thursday.

A loud explosion was heard just minutes after the Russian-made helicopter took off from Me Island off the coast of Thanh Hoa province Wednesday afternoon, officials of Nghe An province said.

The bodies of three crew members and 13 military officers, including the commander of Military Zone 4 based in Nghe An and his deputy, have been recovered.

The military is investigating the cause of the crash.

The military is a dangerous business, even when bullets aren’t flying. My best wishes to the families.

I wonder how one says “pepper spray” in Portuguese.

Tens of thousands of anti-globalization activists converged on southern Brazil Wednesday for what has become an annual ritual of opposition to corporate-sponsored capitalism and the divide between the rich and poor nations.

The annual World Social Forum – a lively gathering of protesters where many sleep in tents or modest guest houses – is held simultaneously with the World Economic Forum, a staid gathering of finance ministers and CEOs of major corporations in the exclusive Swiss ski resort of Davos.

In Brazil, nearly 6,000 groups will plug their causes at the six-day protest, ranging from debt relief for developing countries to distribution of idle land for impoverished Latin American farmers.

In a new rallying cry this year, some protesters compared unfettered capitalism and the U.S.-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq to the tsunami that struck Indian Ocean shores last month, saying the deaths caused in poor countries by First World greed are uncountable.

“It is even more than the numbers killed by the tsunami,” said forum organizer Meena Menon, an activist from India.