Category: War on Terror

A captured Iraqi insurgent has confessed to contacts with neighboring Iran and Syria, two countries that have denied undermining the Iraqi government but have much to fear from success in the fledgling democracy.

An Iraqi militant suspected of involvement in beheadings and other bloody attacks told Iraqi authorities that his group has links with Iran and Syria, according to a tape aired Friday by an Arabic TV station funded by the U.S. government.

Moayad Ahmed Yasseen, leader of Jaish Muhammad, which is Arabic for Muhammad’s Army, was captured nearly two months ago in Fallujah, the former guerrilla stronghold west of Baghdad.

Alhurra television, which has its headquarters in Washington, said the tape of his purported confession was made Dec. 24 and provided to the station by Iraq’s Ministry of Defense.

Iraqi and U.S. officials, including President Bush, have accused Syria and Iran of meddling in Iraq’s affairs and aiding insurgents, a charge both nations vehmently deny. Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said last week that Iraq’s patience was running out with countries that support the insurgency.

Iran?

On the tape, Yasseen, a colonel in Saddam Hussein’s army, said two other former Iraqi military officers belonging to his group were sent “to Iran in April or May, where they met a number of Iranian intelligence officials.” He said they also met with Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

He said Iranian officials provided money, weapons “and, as far as I know, even car bombs” for Jaish Muhammad.

Check on contact and collusion.

Syria?

Yasseen also said he got permission from Saddam — while the former dictator was in hiding after his ouster by the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 — to cross into Syria and meet with a Syrian intelligence officer to ask for money and weapons. He didn’t say if the request was met.

Check on contact, unknown on collusion.

And what of Yasseen’s portion of the “patriots” lauded by some on the Left?

The U.S. military has said Jaish Muhammad appears to be an umbrella group for former Iraqi intelligence agents, army officers, security officials and members of Saddam’s Baath Party.

The group is known to have cooperated with Jordanian terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as well as other Saddam loyalists and al-Qaida supporters. Allawi has accused Jaish Muhammad of killing and beheading a number of Iraqis, Arabs and foreigners in Iraq.

Well, let’s just say they ain’t minutemen fighting for the good of Iraq.

Jordan has backed off delaying the Iraqi vote and now is beginning a Get-out-the-Iraqi-vote drive.

Jordan urged that Iraqi elections proceed as scheduled and called on all Iraqis to seize a “golden opportunity” and go to the polls Jan. 30 to elect an assembly that will write a constitution.

Jordan had previously backed postponing the elections, but Jordanian Foreign Minister Hani al-Mulqi opened a meeting Thursday of foreign ministers of Iraq’s neighbors by urging there be no delay in the landmark ballot.

“From this podium, I call on all factions of the Iraqi people, young and old, men and women, to go to the polls to choose their representatives and draw their own future,” Al-Mulqi said. Failing to do that “will leave the door open for others to choose for them.”

The vote, he said, is “a golden opportunity for all Iraqi men and women to contribute to putting Iraq on the right track, to build the state of law and return security and stability.”

Talk about ingratitude.

Kuwait has arrested up to four members of its armed forces who are suspected of plotting to attack allied troops, a Kuwaiti military spokesman said.

Kuwait has witnessed several small-scale attacks on U.S. troops and civilians in the past three years. But this is the first time in many years that serving members of the armed forces have been detained on such charges.

“The security apparatus in Military Intelligence is investigating some officers following information that they intended to work against friendly troops,” Brig. Youssef al-Mullah said Monday.

“They are fewer than five,” al-Mullah said, adding they were arrested late last week. “A number have been released after investigation.”

He would not say how many remained in custody. Nor would he identify the troops they were suspected of plotting against. But the targeted troops are believed to be American.

The United States stations several thousand troops in Kuwait and used the oil-rich country to launch its March 2003 invasion of Iraq. Kuwait continues to serve as a staging ground for U.S. troops and equipment going into Iraq.

“It is just an investigation,” al-Mullah said. “The military judicial proceedings will take their course.”

Al-Mullah gave no further details.

The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait warned American citizens Dec. 15 that it had “credible information that terrorist groups are developing near-term plans for attacks against unspecified targets in Kuwait.” The embassy urged nationals to exercise caution and report any suspicious activity.

Kuwait has stepped up its internal security in recent days, stationing armed military and police vehicles at street junctions, hotels and embassies.

Seriously, the world of Islam is a festering sore right now.

That is not a condemnation of the religion, but rather a statement on the Arab world that has been built in its name. Radicalism went too long unchecked, generations were raised on poisonous words, blame for self-inflicted suffering was always scapegoated outward.

That an ally would have such snakes in their midst is no surprise and is only more evidence why the Mideast needs an opportunity to embrace democracy, freedom and civilization.

Or die before it can savage all of humanity.

More blood to halt democracy in Iraq.

Insurgents shot and killed Baghdad’s provincial governor and struck at the headquarters of an elite police unit yesterday in a series of attacks against Iraqi government targets aimed at disrupting the January 30 elections.

With only four weeks to go, the increase in violence, particularly in the capital, led to renewed calls for the poll to be delayed. Ghazi al-Yawer, interim president, suggested that the United Nations should decide whether elections would be held on time. However, a senior US state department official said that “absolutely” the elections would go ahead as planned. The security situation was not deteriorating and was actually “a little better” than six weeks ago.

….

Iraq’s electoral commission has also insisted that the Transitional Administrative Law governing the elections states they must be held before January 31, with no mechanism for delay.

The growing insecurity has already diminished participation in the elections. There are virtually no activists out canvassing in the capital and some parties have not even announced a candidate list for fear their members will be targeted.

The shooting of Ali al-Haidari, provincial governor, was the latest in a string of assassinations of local officials that appears to be deterring influential Iraqis, particularly in the Sunni Arab areas, from seeking high-profile political roles. Witnesses said three cars loaded with gunmen pulled alongside Mr Haidari’s four-car motorcade as he drove through the north-east part of the city and then opened fire.

Insurgents associated with the Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claimed responsibility for the killing, warning that “every traitor and supporter of the Jews and Christians” would suffer the same fate.

Do. Not. Delay. The. Vote.

To do so now would trumpet the message that assassination can prevent putting the government into the hands of the Iraqi people.

The U.S. continues to wrestle with detritus of human civilization, that collection of terrorists and pondscum currently being detained at Guantanamo Bay. Neither prisoners of war nor criminals of any real value, what is to be done with them and those to be similarly detained in the future?

A reported plan by the Bush administration to keep some suspected al-Qaeda members imprisoned for a lifetime without trial has come under attack.

The Washington Post newspaper says the Pentagon and the CIA have asked the White House to decide on a more permanent approach for those it was unwilling to set free or turn over to domestic or foreign courts.

Some detentions could potentially last a lifetime, the newspaper said.

Influential senators quickly denounced the idea as probably being unconstitutional.

“It’s a bad idea. So we ought to get over it and we ought to have a very careful, constitutional look at this,” Republican Senator Richard Lugar said.

Democratic Senator Carl Levin, who serves on the Armed Services Committee, cited earlier US Supreme Court decisions.

“There must be some modicum, some semblance of due process… if you’re going to detain people, whether it’s for life or whether it’s for years,” he said.

I have little problem with achieving a “semblance of due process,” assuming there’s any actual applicable definition of the status of these pigs.

The story claims the Defence Department, which holds 500 prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, is about to ask Congress for $25m to build a new, 200-bed prison, dubbed Camp 6.

The newspaper said its purpose will be to hold detainees who are unlikely to ever go through a military tribunal due to a lack of evidence.

The new prison would allow inmates more comfort and freedom than they have now, and would be designed for prisoners the government believes have no more intelligence to share, the newspaper said.

“Since global war on terror is a long-term effort, it makes sense for us to be looking at solutions for long-term problems,” Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, was quoted as saying.

“This has been evolutionary, but we are at a point in time where we have to say, ‘How do you deal with them in the long term?’”

The paper said the outcome of a current review would also affect those expected to be captured in the course of future counterterrorism operations.

One proposal being discussed is transferring many Afghan, Yemeni and Saudi detainees – the majority of the 500 suspects at Guantanamo Bay – to new US-built prisons in their home countries.

Those countries would still run the prisons, but the US State Department, where this idea originated, would monitor them for compliance to human rights standards.

I agree with building more secure but humane facilities for the detainees. Perhaps we should also look for other isolated areas under U.S. control for future facilities.

As to the return of nationals to prisons in their homelands, I am skeptical as to the level of security available for this to be a viable option for any sizable number.

Human rights groups say there is little hard evidence against many of the Guantanamo Bay suspects.

But the Pentagon and the CIA argue that the post-September 11 era requires a new tougher approach and that many of the suspects are hardened terrorists who, if released, would plot fresh atrocities.

In fact, this has already been seen from previous detainees thought harmless enough for release.