War On Terror News

Italian CEO admits Chrysler to build plants in China

Russia tightens screws on speech

Russia's upper house of parliament has approved a controversial new draft law on treason that would make it a crime to give harmful information to foreign-based nongovernmental organizations.

The Federation Council passed the measure Wednesday. That move clears the way for President Vladimir Putin to sign it into law, as he is expected to do.

Current law describes high treason as espionage or other assistance to a foreign state damaging Russia's external security.  The new bill expands it to include moves it describes as being against Russia's “constitutional order, sovereignty and territorial and state integrity.''  The new legislation also applies to international organizations as well as foreign states.

Last week, the rights organization Human Rights Watch and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton expressed concern about possible misuse of the proposed law.

Moscow says the new law is meant to strengthen security.

The treason bill passed Russia's lower house of parliament by an overwhelming margin last week.

This follows the swift passage of other Russian laws this year that criminalize slander, restrict web sites unfavorable to the government and tighten restrictions on nongovernmental groups with foreign funding. VoA.

Democracy and Freedom in America and the World

Recent conversations with various people have reminded and re-inforced to me just how out of touch so many have become with the Foundations of the American Liberty, and the very principles of democracy and governance.  Publicly and privately, I have re-iterated that if those that love the Constitution cannot convince the American People of its value, with words, no degree of rebellion will do so.

These conversations have occurred with people of various ages from tweens to 90 year olds, from self-described Communists to Constitutionalists, from those who espouse an even greater expansion of government power and taxation, to those who believe the government has a conspiracy behind every event in the news.  It will never cease to amaze me that some will believe that all corporations are evil, and "the people" would be better served with complete government control, a monopoly, of the same services, rather than the personal choice between various companies that must compete for their purchases.

Nor will my astonishment cease that so many can not see the cause and effect of American jobs being moved to China because they, individually, along with so many others like them continue to purchase cheap Chinese products, rather than buying the few things still Made in America.  They justify their puchase of the cheap Chinese trinkets, with their claim that they can't afford and should not pay for quality products made by their neighbors.  Then they turn around and complain that "corporations" are shipping jobs overseas.  They want higher wages, but fail to recognize that they are unwilling to pay for the higher wages of their neighbors, preferring the cheap prices of goods made by asian kids and Chinese political prisoners.

Some have even suggested to me, that there is no "American culture," that it has been subsumed by consumerism, and that we as a people have become superficial.  In some respects, I am forced to admit their point, even as I observe some of the culture of the South sapped by the same forces, while many old traditions of the South are claimed by its opponents for consumeristic or altruistic reasons, and very different ideologies.

As a kid, my father often took us to the Farmer's Market, where we bought bushels, literally, of fresh produce, from farmers he personally knew, at prices others paid for a few cans of processed food.  My mother would slave over the stove for days, thereafter, with all of us helping, canning and freezing the food we'd eat for the next year.  It was decades before I realized a pressure cooker could be used for "regular cooking."  We had three, and a process for streamlining the process.  Today, people go to the "Farmer's Market," because it's popular to buy "organic" foods, as if the stuff you buy in the supermarket is non-organic matter.  They pay inflated prices.

We almost always had our own garden as well, which produced the fresh food we put on our table, as well as contributed to the canning process.  It wasn't a trendy thing to do.  It was the economical and smart thing to do.  It was the Southern way.  And after years in the military, I remember the surprise of the taste of a garden grown tomato, versus the mass produced stuff I had been eating in the mess hall for years.

Recycling meant re-using and repairing things that today would otherwise be thrown away.  New cars were a rarity, and we fixed our own cars, not to mention changed our own oil.

America does have a distinct culture, even if has been washed over by a culture of consumerism and multiculturlism.  America's culture is one of Freedom, of Liberty, of personal Independence & Responsibility.  It is one of doing what's necessary, and all that one can for themselves, before asking for a handout.  It is a culture of helping your neighbor when he needs help, but not one of being a subject to the whims and largesse of the government, even in a crisis.

My entire life I've heard of the "responsibility" to vote and I would counter that it is a "Right" to vote, but the responsibility is to educate yourself on what and who you are voting for, or against.  I believe we've gotten into the mess we have because too many voters have no idea what the politicians they put in office are doing.  Too many vote solely based on the letter behind the name.  Some I have encountered are still voting based on which party did what to cause the Great Depression, and which they perceive presided over its recovery.  Others vote based on propaganda over things that cannot be changed by the people they are voting for.  There is ZERO chance Roe v. Wade will be overturned.  ZERO.  There is no way a Constitutional Amendment would be passed to ban abortions, and that is the ONLY way that it could be changed.

Our Founders created an alliance of States, formed for a Common Defense.  They purposely and with reason made domestic governance a State responsibility and authority, banning the Federal Government from interfering in State and Local matters.  They immediately passed the Bill of Rights, protecting the People from the Government, based on the inalienable Rights granted every Individual, by "the Creator" as they had previously stated in the Declaration of Independence.

Today, we have widespread support for the suppression of Free Speech, when it supports that with which we disagree.  If it's labeled "hate speech," or argues against the messianic nature of the Politician in Chief, it "should be banned."  We have widespread support for punishing corporations that build their products overseas, because Americans won't pay for the inflated union wages of stuff made here. 

It is time for us, as a Nation, to revisit how the American Culture created the Foundation of Freedom, why the Founders created a system in which the greatest domestic governence was held to the lowest levels, and how the Right to Vote carries with it a Responsibility to know who and what you are voting for and against.

It is that Liberty and Freedom, which created not only the Greatest Country on Earth, but also the Economic and Military Superpower we became.  It allowed penniless orphans to be become the richest men in the world, and allowed the richest heirs to become paupers.

Democracy just means you get a vote in something.  It doesn't in and of itself guarantee you a single Right.  One needs only look at 2009 Iran, or 2012 Russia to see that a vote can have as little positive effect as urinating into the wind.  When the Rights of the People to speak against a government are suppressed, and the choices of politicians limited to those the powermongers at the top choose to allow you to pick, one is not a citizen, but rather a subject of that regime.  Do you think they want to live under the oppressive yoke of their tyrants?  NO, but they have no means (arms) to throw off their chains of bondage.

If the American People wish to maintain their Liberties, and their Rights, and the capability to choose, then they must educate themselves on the people and ideologies of those they put in office, and not just support a letter behind a name.

War in Afghanistan News - 31 Oct 2012

BAGRAM, Afghanistan (Oct. 31, 2012) - Afghan and coalition forces cleared three improvised explosive devices during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, Oct. 30.

Ghazni Province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared two IEDs in Muqer District.

Nangarhar Province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared an IED in Rodat District.

Operations in RC-East are still ongoing. 

Taliban terrorists kill 17 Afghans in 8 days

BAGRAM, Afghanistan (Oct. 30, 2012) – Insurgents caused 17 civilian casualties in eastern Afghanistan from Oct. 21 to Oct. 29. They killed nine Afghans and injured eight others in eight attacks during the week.

Five Afghan civilians were shot by the Taliban on Oct. 26 in Ghazni Province on the first holy day of Eid. According to Afghan reports, insurgents stopped a bus as it was driving on the main road in Andar district, pulled off five individuals, killed them, and left their bodies beside the road.

Ghazni Provincial Governor, Musa Khan Akbarzada, condemned the attack and pointed out that the victims, who were intentionally shot and killed by insurgents, were ordinary workers with no government affiliation. 

“On the first holy day of Eid, insurgents again killed more innocent ordinary civilians who were on their way to be with their families. Insurgents, again with this horrifying act, saddened many Afghan families, especially during Eid days,” said Akbarzada.

Despite the efforts of the enemies of the Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, ISAF forces in eastern Afghanistan remain committed to partnering with their Afghan National Security Forces counterparts to secure a stable and prosperous future for the Afghan people.

Islamists kill 2 more Somali journalists

Gunmen have shot and killed a Somali musician who worked at a radio station and made comments about Islamist terrorists.

Sources say two men killed Warsame Shire Awale late Monday near his home in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

Independent radio journalist Mohamed Mohamud Turyare was shot last week in Mogadishu.

A top official with media rights group Reporters Without Borders said the attack on Turyare stems from the “permanent climate of impunity and hostility toward freedom of information” in Somalia.

He said Somalia and Syria are now the two deadliest countries for the media.

The latest deaths bring to 18 the number of journalists killed in Somalia this year.

Turyare worked for the Shabelle Media Network, which has seen several employees killed in acts of violence in recent years. VoA.

Russia returning to political oppression

A Russian human rights group says the country's leaders are using tactics against the opposition that are reminiscent of those used under Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin during the 1920s and 30s.

In a statement Tuesday, rights group Memorial condemned a growing crackdown on opponents of President Vladimir Putin that has seen a growing protest movement and two members of an anti-Kremlin all-female punk band  sent to prison camps. Several opposition leaders have also been arrested and accused of plotting “mass riots.”

The rights group said the events of recent weeks show that Russian authorities intend to rely on the “language of repression” in dialogue with the opposition, including arrests, courts and camps. It said that again, as in the 1920s and 30s, methods of “fabricating” political processes are in demand.

The Kremlin has consistently maintained that it is operating "within the law" and is merely taking "action against violent, unsanctioned protests in an attempt to strengthen security and keep the public safe."

Memorial's statement comes as Russia marks the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repression. The annual remembrance day has been honored every October 30 since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. It commemorates the anniversary of Stalin's so-called “Great Purge” of 1937, when millions of people were declared “enemies of the state” and sent to labor camps or executed without trial.

Events are being held across Russia Tuesday and in other former Soviet states.

Political analyst Sergei Karaganov, attending a remembrance service in Moscow, says he does not believe the situation in Russia will ever return to the extremes of the past.

“It is bad, there are — and mostly likely will be — persecutions as the country is in a difficult transitional state. But, in my view, a return to the past is impossible. This is against people's genetic structure – the elimination of 30 million people (in the Soviet period).” VoA.

Islamists assassinate Russian Cleric

A Muslim cleric in the Russian region of Dagestan has been shot dead on his way to morning prayers.  His father and brother were also killed.

Russian police say Kalimulla Ibragimov and his relatives were killed in their car Tuesday in the city of Derbent. It is the latest in a series of attacks on clerics in the restive region in the Russian Caucasus.  VoA.

Insider attack targets Brits

NATO says a man wearing an Afghan police uniform has attacked coalition troops in southern Afghanistan in the latest apparent “insider” attack.

The international coalition did not give further details, but Afghan officials said the attacker targeted British soldiers Tuesday in Helmand province.

The incident is the latest in a series of such attacks that threaten to seriously undermine trust between NATO and their Afghan counterparts, as foreign combat troops prepare to complete their withdrawal from Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

At least 53 coalition service members have been killed this year by Afghan soldiers and police or militants disguised as security personnel.  NATO commanders have attributed some of the “insider” attacks to Taliban infiltration, while Troops and Veterans indicate the majority are Taliban infiltrators.

Separately, Afghan election officials say the country's next presidential election will take place on April 5, 2014.

The country's Independent Election Commission announced the date Tuesday, which was given as “Hamal 16, 1393,” according to the Islamic calendar.

President Hamid Karzai is serving his second term and is constitutionally barred from running for re-election.

The upcoming vote is seen as a test of Afghanistan's young democracy. VoA.

Israel accused in Sudanese weapons factory explosion

A U.S.-based monitoring group says satellite images suggest an airstrike caused an explosion at a Sudanese arms factory last week.

The Satellite Sentinel Project released images Tuesday that show six 16-meter-wide craters near the center of the explosion.

The group said the holes are consistent with impact craters created by air-delivered munitions.  It said 40 shipping containers had been stacked in the area where the craters were formed.

Sudan has accused Israel of using warplanes to bomb the arms factory in Khartoum in an attempt to derail Sudan's military capabilities.

Israel's military has not commented on the accusations.

Israel notes that Sudan is a key transit point for arms smuggled through Egypt to Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip.

Iranian state media said two of its warships docked in Sudan on Monday to ensure security for shipping lanes.  It said the vessels were also bringing a message of peace and friendship.

Sudan has denied any other country was involved in the arms factory in Khartoum.

Iran and Sudan have close ties.

Sudan has blamed Israel for previous attacks, including a deadly 2009 air strike on a weapons convoy.

The images released by the Satellite Sentinel Project are not definitive evidence the factory was bombed and provide no clues about who may have been responsible.  The group was founded with support from U.S. actor George Clooney and has used satellite images to monitor destruction of villages by Sudanese troops. VoA.

SCOTUS hears Eavesdropping case

Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States have heard oral arguments in a case challenging the federal government's right to monitor telephone and email conversations between people in the United States and those other countries.

The case, brought by lawyers, journalists and civil rights organizations, including  Amnesty International, challenges a 2008 amendment to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that allows the eavesdropping to take place without a warrant.

They say the program violates the protection against illegal searches and seizures provided under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  They say that fear of surveillance forces people to adopt costly measures to ensure that communications abroad remain confidential.

But the arguments heard by the court focused not on the monitoring, but on whether the defendants have the right to bring their case before the courts.

The government argues that the defendants cannot show that they have personally suffered as a result of the wire-tapping.

Several justices questioned whether anyone would able to contest the law in court because the people targeted for wiretapping are not U.S. citizens and that the Americans being surveilled would never know that their conversations were being monitored.

The wire-tapping program was put into place by former President George W. Bush after the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington to find people with ties to al-Qaida and other terrorist groups.  The program ended in 2007, but it was reinstated by Congress the following year.

The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the case next year. VoA.

War in Afghanistan News - 30 Oct 2012

BAGRAM, Afghanistan (Oct. 30, 2012) - Afghan and coalition forces detained eight insurgents and cleared three improvised explosive devices during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, Oct. 29.

Khowst Province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces detained six insurgents during an engagement in Sabari District. The detained suspects were transferred to a base for questioning.

Paktika Province
Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces detained two insurgents while investigating an IED in Yousef Khel District. The IED was safely cleared and the detained suspects were transferred to a base for questioning.

Afghan Uniformed Police found and safely cleared an IED in Sharan District.

Wardak Province
Afghan National Police and coalition forces found and safely cleared an IED in Maidan Shahr District.

Operations in RC-East are still ongoing. 

Turkish police clash with protestors celebrating Republic Day

Turkish police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse thousands of pro-secular protesters at a banned rally Monday in the capital, Ankara.

Police were responding to protesters trying to break through security barricades.  After the clashes, police allowed the protesters to continue marching.

Officials had initially denied permission for the Republic Day rally, but thousands of people still gathered in the streets, waving flags and chanting slogans.

The holiday marks the founding of Turkey's secular republic.  In recent years, the day's celebrations have become a symbol of the divide between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamist-leaning government and the secular opposition. VoA.

Kenyan police kill 2 Islamist terrorists

Kenyan police have shot and killed two Islamists suspected of having links to the Somalia-based terrorist group al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda affiliate.

Police say the raid took place early Sunday at a house on the outskirts of Mombasa, Kenya's main port city.

Officials say one of the suspects was killed in the house while another man was killed while trying to escape.

The raid was the most recent in a series of confrontations between police, Islamists and separatists along Kenya's coast.

Supporters al-Shabab have carried out several attacks in opposition to Kenya's decision to send troops into Somalia to fight extremist militants there. VoA.

War in Afghanistan News - 29 Oct 2012

BAGRAM, Afghanistan (Oct. 29, 2012) - Afghan and coalition detained 15 insurgents and cleared seven improvised explosive devices during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, Oct. 28.

Khowst Province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces detained 14 insurgents during an engagement in Tagab District. The detained suspects were transferred to a base for questioning.

Khowst Province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared three IEDs, one in Shamal District, one in Tanai District and one in Sabari District.

Laghman Province
Afghan National Police found and safely cleared an IED in Qarghah'i District.

Nangarhar Province
Afghan National Security Forces found and safely cleared two IEDs in Bati Kot District.

Paktya Province
Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces found and safely cleared an IED Dzadran District.

Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces detained an insurgent during an engagement in Gardez District. The detained suspect was transferred to a base for questioning.

Operations in RC-East are still ongoing. 

Taiwanese officer arrested for Espionage

Taiwan confirms a former naval officer is under arrest, charged with spying for China.

A statement from Taiwan's Ministry of Defense says Commander Chang Chih-hsin allegedly collected classified information from the Navy's meteorology and oceanography office.  It says the information was then turned over to unidentified Chinese handlers.

Before retiring Chang was the head of the meteorology and oceanography office's political warfare division.

A defense ministry spokesman says several other officers have also been arrested. 

Taiwanese officials are denying reports that Chang leaked secretive submarine nautical charts and other classified information about the waters surrounding Taiwan. VoA.

France captures Basque terrorist leader

French police have arrested a terrorist commander of the Spanish Basque separatist group ETA, in the latest blow to a movement that has seen its key members detained in Europe in recent years.

The Spanish government said an elite French police unit captured Izaskun Lesaka and her Spanish male companion, also an ETA member, in a raid Sunday at a hotel in the eastern French city of Macon. Both Lesaka and the man were armed. The two are aged in their 30s.

Spain's Interior Ministry said Lesaka is one of the three main leaders of ETA, branded a terrorist group by the European Union and the United States. She is suspected of commanding ETA's military wing.

ETA has been struggling for an independent Basque homeland in northern Spain and southwestern France for decades. It pledged to abandon violence in October 2011, but has refused to give up its weapons and disband as the Spanish government has demanded. At least 800 people have been killed in the separatist conflict.

Hamas fires rockets as Israel defends its citizens

An Israeli air strike on the Gaza Strip before dawn Sunday has hit two Palestinian terrorists, killing one and wounding the other.

An Israeli military statement said its aircraft targeted a rocket-launching site where terrorists were preparing to fire a rocket into southern Israel.

Later Sunday, Israeli officials said rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel without causing any casualties.

The incidents followed a three-day lull between the two sides, bringing some respite from a recent upsurge in cross-border fighting. VoA.

Syrian civil war continues through UN truce

Syrian activists say government aircraft pounded opposition strongholds on the outskirts of Damascus while troops clashed with rebel fighters in several other areas of the country Sunday, leaving a U.N.-backed truce declared for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha largely in tatters.

Amateur videos posted on YouTube appeared to support claims of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that government airstrikes hit the capital city suburbs of Irbin, Harasta and Zamalka.

The Observatory and another activist group, the Local Coordination Committees, said government troops also shelled those areas in an attempt to drive out rebels.

Fighting was also reported near Maaret al-Numan, a town along the Aleppo-Damascus highway that rebels seized earlier this month.  Opposition fighters have also besieged a nearby military base and repeatedly attacked government supply convoys heading there.

The fighting Sunday comes on the third day of what was to be a four-day holiday cease-fire between the government and rebels.

It was to begin on Friday, but 150 people were killed that day. On Saturday, about 50 people were killed.  The number of casualties Sunday was immediately clear.

U.N. special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi arranged the cease-fire so Syrians on all sides could celebrate Eid al-Adha, the holiday marking the end of the annual Muslim pilgrimage to holy sites in Saudi Arabia. VoA.

Suicidal Islamist kills 7 Nigerians in church

Nigerian authorities and witnesses say a suicide car bomber has rammed into a church in the northern city of Kaduna, killing at least seven people and triggering reprisal attacks that killed another two.

The bomber drove a jeep into St Rita's church in Kaduna's Malali district during Sunday morning prayers, causing a large explosion. Rescuers rushed the casualties to hospitals. Witnesses said angry Christian youths armed with machetes and sticks roamed the streets after the bombing, beating two suspected Muslims to death in the religiously-mixed city.

There was no immediate claim of the responsibility for the church blast.

Nigerian Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram has attacked several churches with bombs and guns in the past year. The group claimed responsibility for three church bombings in Kaduna state in June. Those attacks killed at least 50 people and increased sectarian tensions in Kaduna, which is located on a dividing line between Nigeria's predominantly Muslim north and mostly Christian south.

Nigerian authorities blame Boko Haram for the killings of more than 1,500 people including police and government officials since 2009. The terrorists are fighting for Sharia law to be applied across northern Nigeria. VoA.

Benghazi updates

For the most recent developments in the Benghazi terrorist attack coverup: http://thisainthell.us/blog/?p=32593 . Jonn has done a great job in covering this, and it's worth a look back if you haven't been following it.

Indonesia captures 11 Islamists plotting US Embassy attack

Indonesian police say 11 people have been arrested in a suspected plot to attack the U.S. embassy in Jakarta and other domestic and foreign targets.

National police spokesman Suhardi Alius said Saturday the arrests by a special anti-terror unit took place in four provinces. 

Alius said the suspects — members of the newly-formed Harakah Sunni Movement for Indonesian Society — were preparing to launch a series of strikes.  He said targets also included a plaza near the Australian embassy in Jakarta, a local office of the American mining giant Freeport-McMoRan and the U.S. consulate in Surabaya.  A police facility in Central Java was also targeted.

Authorities say evidence from arrest sites include bombs, ammunition, detonators, bomb-making manuals and other explosives materials.

Neither the U.S. nor Australian embassies has commented on the arrests, and it was not immediately disclosed how far the attack plans had advanced.

Earlier this month, Indonesian police said they had uncovered evidence of a planned terrorist attack on dignitaries attending ceremonies on the resort island of Bali marking the 10th anniversary of bombings that killed 202 people.

The October 2002 attacks on two Bali nightclubs were carried out by militants from the al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah group.  The bombings were followed by a wave of terror attacks across Indonesia — the world's most populous Muslim country. VoA.

War in Afghanistan News - 28 Oct 2012

BAGRAM, Afghanistan (Oct. 28, 2012) - Afghan and coalition detained an insurgent and cleared two improvised explosive devices during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, Oct. 27.

Khowst Province
Afghan National Security Forces found and safely cleared two IEDs, one in Gurbuz District and one in Terezayi District.

Afghan Border Police and coalition forces detained an insurgent during an engagement in Terezayi District. The detained suspect was transferred to a base for questioning.

Operations in RC-East are still ongoing. 

Islamist explosions kill 30 Iraqis in Baghdad

UPDATE: A wave of deadly attacks has shattered the peace in Iraq during the Eid al-Adha holiday.

Officials say nearly 30 people were killed in a series of explosions and shootings on Saturday, many of them Shi'ite pilgrims.

The deadliest attacks happened in Baghdad where an explosion at an open-air market and a bus station killed more than 15 people and wounded dozens more, many of then women and children.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attacks.

Sunni insurgents and al-Qaida terrorists have previously targeted Shi'ites in a bid to stir up sectarian strife in Iraq.

ORIGINAL: A wave of deadly attacks has shattered the peace in Iraq, where Muslims are marking the second day of the Eid al-Adha holiday.

Officials say at least 15 people were killed in a series of explosions and shootings on Saturday, many of them Shi'ite pilgrims marking the holiday.

The violence includes a bombing north of Baghdad that killed at least five Shi'ite pilgrims who were in a minibus that was carrying them to a mosque.

Investigators say another explosion at a popular open-air market near the capital killed at least five people, including several children, while a series of attacks elsewhere in Iraq left at least five others dead.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attacks. Sunni insurgents and al-Qaida terrorists have previously targeted Shi'ites in a bid to stir up sectarian strife in Iraq.

365 people were killed in unrest in September, making it the country's deadliest month in two years.

RIP SSG Kashif M Memon, SGT Clinton K Ruiz

The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

          They died of wounds suffered Oct. 25 when their unit was attacked by attackers in Afghan uniforms with small arms fire in Khas Uruzgan, Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan.

          Killed were:

          Staff Sgt.  Kashif  M. Memon, 31, of Houston, Texas.  He was assigned to the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion (Airborne), 95th Civil Affairs Brigade (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.

          Sgt. Clinton K. Ruiz, 22, of Murrieta, Calif.  He was assigned to the 9th Military Information Support Battalion (Airborne), 8th Military Information Support Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.

"He which hath no stomach to this fight let him depart. But we in it shall be remembered. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers!! For he today, that sheds his blood with me, shall always be my brother.” (W.Shakespeare) Rest in peace my Brothers, you have not been forgotten.

Two Iranians win EU Human Rights award

The European Parliament has awarded its prestigious Sakharov Prize for human rights and freedom of thought to two Iranian dissidents.

European Parliament President Martin Schulz announced Friday in Strasbourg, France, that human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and filmmaker Jafar Panahi received the annual prize.

Schulz said the award is a message of “solidarity and recognition to a woman and a man who have not been bowed by fear and intimidation.” 

He said he hopes the two will be able to come to Strasbourg in December to receive their award, and he urged Iranian authorities to make that possible.

Sotoudeh was arrested in 2010 for spreading propaganda and for behavior deemed “detrimental to national security.”  She is serving a six-year jail sentence and is banned from practicing law for 10 years.

Panahi, a winner of international awards for his films, supports Iran's opposition movement.  He is under house arrest and has been banned from making movies or traveling abroad.

Jailed Belarusian dissident Ales Beliatsky and the anti-Kremlin Russian punk band Pussy Riot were also nominated for the Sakharov Prize this year.

Three members of the band were convicted in August on charges of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred,” after bursting into an Orthodox cathedral to stage protest songs against Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.  Two were sentenced to two-year prison terms.

The trio has argued their impromptu performance was political in nature and not an attack on religion.

The Sakharov prize is named for the late Soviet nuclear scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov. VoA.

War in Afghanistan News - 27 Oct 2012

BAGRAM, Afghanistan (Oct. 27, 2012) - Afghan and coalition forces killed seven insurgents, detained six, located a weapons cache and cleared six improvised explosive devices, and an insurgent died when his IED detonated prematurely, during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, Oct. 26.

Ghazni Province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared three IEDs, one in Waghaz District, one in Ghazni District and one in Gelan District.

Kabul Province
Afghan National Police and coalition forces discovered a weapons cache in Sarobi District. The cache contained two suicide vests.

Khowst Province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces killed seven insurgents and wounded one during an engagement in Gurbuz District. The wounded received medical care and was then transferred to a base for questioning.

Laghman Province
An insurgent died when his IED detonated prematurely in Mehtar Lam District.

Nangarhar Province
Afghan Uniformed Police found and safely cleared two IEDs, one in Jalalabad District and one in Mohmand Darah District.

Nuristan Province
Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces detained five insurgents while investigating an IED in Zurmat District. The IED was safely cleared and the detained suspects were transferred to a base for questioning.

Operations in RC-East are still ongoing. 

Paki Family visits victim of Taliban in British hospital

The family of the 15-year-old Pakistani girl shot by the Taliban has visited her in the British hospital where she is being treated for her injuries.

Family members of Malala Yousufzai flew from Pakistan to Britain Thursday and went to see her at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.

Her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, told reporters Friday that Malala is recovering at “encouraging speed and we are very happy.”

The day before, Yousafzai said his daughter will return home to Pakistan after her medical treatment.  They were his first public comments since the October 9 shooting of Malala in Pakistan's northwestern Swat Valley.

Taliban gunmen shot the teenage girl in the head and neck as she left school.  She was internationally recognized for documenting Taliban atrocities in the area near her home and for promoting women's education.

She has been in critical condition since the shooting.

Pakistan's government is paying for all expenses related to her recovery and has pledged to protect her once she returns.  Queen Elizabeth is renowned for its expertise in dealing with her types of injuries.  She has been treated there for nearly two weeks.

Yousafzai's doctors say they expect her to make a good recovery. VoA.

Taliban kill 40 Afghans at Mosque

Officials in northern Afghanistan say a suicide bomb attack on a mosque has killed at least 40 people, in one of the deadliest such attacks in recent months.

Authorities say the bomber struck the mosque in Maymana, the capital of Faryab province, on Friday, at the start of the three-day Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha. 

Local officials say the bomber was targeting a regional police official who was inside the mosque for Eid prayers.  The official reportedly survived the blast, but more than 20 of the dead were security personnel.  Officials say several civilians, including children, were also killed.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but officials blamed the Taliban.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai strongly condemned the attack, saying those behind the bombing were “enemies of Islam and humanity.”  In an earlier statement for the Eid holiday, Mr. Karzai had urged the Taliban to lay down their weapons.

The commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General John Allen, condemned the “heinous act,” which he said is an affront to human life, to religious devotion and to the peaceful aspirations of the Afghan people.

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul also condemned the attack.

Also Friday, the Taliban claimed responsibility for the latest “insider attack” on international forces.

So far this year, at least 53 coalition troops have been killed by members of the Afghan security forces or militants wearing a police or army uniform. VoA.

Obama campaign prefers softer China policy than Romney

A foreign policy adviser to President Barack Obama says Republican Mitt Romney's pledge to label China a currency manipulator on his first day in office is irresponsible and risks upsetting U.S.-China relations.

At a debate Wednesday at Johns Hopkins University, Mr. Obama's former senior Asia policy aide Jeff Bader said it is “astonishing” Mr. Romney would take the step during Beijing's sensitive leadership transition, which begins two days after the November 6 election.

Bader, who serves on the president's re-election committee, said China's new, unelected, Communist Party leaders will “not be in a passive mood for threats and being backed into corners.” He said he guarantees they will “retaliate.”

Romney campaign national security adviser Aaron Friedberg said the U.S. should not “be paralyzed” because of fears of sparking a trade war between the world's two largest economies. He insists the move would not “trigger Armageddon,” arguing that “China is more dependent on the United States than we are on them.”

Washington has long accused Beijing of intentionally keeping the value of its currency low in order to give Chinese companies an unfair advantage over U.S. manufacturers. But the Obama administration has refused to label Beijing a currency manipulator, instead claiming to use pressure and diplomacy to encourage reforms, which has produced no measurable, positive results, while the trade inbalance, and debt to China mounts.VoA.

War in Afghanistan News - 26 Oct 2012

BAGRAM, Afghanistan (Oct. 26, 2012) - Afghan and coalition forces killed an insurgent, detained six, discovered one weapons cache and cleared two improvised explosive devices during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, Oct. 25.

Ghazni Province
Afghan National Army soldiers found and safely cleared an IED in Andar District.

Afghan Uniformed Police and coalition forces discovered a weapons cache in Giro District. The cache contained 10 antipersonnel mines.

A coalition airstrike killed an insurgent in Gelan District in response to an imminent threat towards Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces.

Logar Province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces detained six insurgents during engagements in Pul-E Alam District. The detained suspects were transferred to a base for questioning.

Wardak Province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared an IED in Sayyidabad District.

Operations in RC-East are still ongoing.

VoA: The U.S. military says it is investigating deaths of two after a man wearing an Afghan National Police uniform used his weapon against them.

Military officials said Thursday's incident occurred in Uruzgan province.  It is not clear if the attacker was a member of the Afghan National Security Forces.

The incident bears the hallmark of a so-called “insider attack,” in which Afghan security forces or insurgents disguised in Afghan or coalition uniforms open fire on NATO personnel.  Such attacks have escalated this year, killing more than 50 coalition troops.

Separately, British officials are investigating an incident from Wednesday, in Helmand province.

Local Afghan officials tell the French news agency the incident was the result of “friendly fire,” but British authorities have not confirmed that.

Elsewhere, Afghan officials say security forces killed a senior Taliban commander and 24 of his fighters in northern Afghanistan.

Officials in the governor's office of Faryab province said they sent reinforcements after insurgents attacked a village market.  Five police officers died in the gunbattle.

Authorities say the Taliban commander, Yaar Mohammad, was the insurgent group's “shadow governor” of the region, enforcing the militants' own rule of law outside the central government.

The Taliban have traditionally been active in southern and eastern Afghanistan, but in recent years have spread their insurgency to the country's remote north.

Algerian terrorist convicted to 37 years

A U.S. federal court has sentenced convicted Algerian terrorist Ahmed Ressam to a 37-year-prison term for the 1999 New Year's Eve plot to bomb Los Angeles International Airport.

The court in Seattle, Washington imposed the sentence Wednesday, after prosecutors appealed an earlier 22-year sentence as too lenient.

Prosecutors pushed for stiffer penalties, arguing Ressam continues to pose a threat for reneging on an agreement to provide evidence against other suspects in the bombing plot.  After Ressam withdrew his cooperation, federal prosecutors were forced to drop charges against two suspected co-conspirators.  

Ressam was arrested in December 1999 as he tried to enter the United States from British Columbia, after customs inspectors noted suspicious behavior at a ferry landing in Port Angeles, Washington.

After Ressam tried to flee, authorities found his rental car packed with enough explosives to produce a blast 40 times greater than a typical car bomb.

A jury convicted him in 2001 on nine felony counts and sentenced him to 22 year in prison in 2005.  Prosecutors appealed that sentence after Ressam stopped cooperating in the U.S. probe.

Before reneging on the deal, Ressam was interviewed repeatedly by terrorism investigators in the United States and Europe.  He was credited in a classified FBI report with linking Osama bin Laden lieutenant Abu Zubaydah to the airport bombing plot.  Zubaydah, captured in Pakistan in 2002, remains in U.S. custody at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. VoA.

Russia kills 2 Islamist assassins

Russian security officials say two men killed by police in Tatarstan were suspects in a murder plot targeting a top Muslim cleric.

The two men killed Wednesday in Kazan are said to have been planning a major terrorist attack during Eid al-Adha, the Muslim holiday beginning at sundown Thursday. One member of the federal security forces also died during the gun battle at an apartment building in the provincial capital.

Police and firemen rescued civilians, including several infants, caught up in the security operation in Kazan. The city of more than one million people lies on the Volga River more than 700 kilometers east of Moscow.

Russian intelligence officials say the slain suspects were involved in attacks three months ago that wounded the chief mufti (religious scholar) of Tatarstan, Ildus Faizov, and killed his deputy, Valiulla Yakupov.

Authorities identified the dead men as Robert Valeyev and Ruslan Kashapov. VoA.

BBC faces scrutiny in Child Abuse cases

British police say they have identified 300 potential victims of alleged child abuse by the late BBC entertainer Jimmy Savile.

Police Commander Peter Spindler said Thursday authorities have so far spoken with 130 people, all but two of whom are women. He said the majority of alleged offenses involve Savile but other people might also face similar allegations.

Jimmy Savile, who died last year, was one of Britain's top broadcasters whose popular programs spanned several decades and brought him into contact with children. 

The investigation has rocked the British Broadcasting Corporation, which is facing accusations that it helped cover up sexual abuse by Savile, and possibly by other BBC staff, against children and underage teenagers. VoA.

RIP CWO Michael S Duskin

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

            Chief Warrant Officer Michael S. Duskin, 42, of Orange Park, Fla., died Oct. 23, in Chak District, Wardak Province, Afghanistan, from small arms fire while on dismounted patrol during combat operations.  He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group, Fort Bragg, N. C.

"He which hath no stomach to this fight let him depart. But we in it shall be remembered. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers!! For he today, that sheds his blood with me, shall always be my brother.” (W.Shakespeare) Rest in peace my Brothers, you have not been forgotten.

War in Afghanistan News - 25 Oct 2012

BAGRAM, Afghanistan (Oct. 25, 2012) - Afghan and coalition located two weapons caches and cleared four improvised explosive devices during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, Oct. 24.

Kabul Province
Afghan National Army soldiers found and safely cleared an IED in Sarobi District.

Kapisa Province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces discovered a weapons cache in Mahmud-E Raqi District. The cache contained rockets, a launching pad and spare electrical parts.

Khowst Province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared two IEDs, one in Nadir Shah Kot District and one in Sabari District.

Afghan Border Police and coalition forces discovered a weapons cache in Khowst District. The cache contained blasting caps and radio controlled devices.

Logar Province
Afghan National Army soldiers found and safely cleared an IED in Pul-E Alam District.

Operations in RC-East are still ongoing.

Islamists gun down 16th journalist in Somalia this year

Gunmen have shot dead a Somali television reporter, the 16th journalist killed this year in Somalia.

The National Union of Somali Journalists says Ahmed Farah Ilyas, a reporter for Universal TV, was gunned down late Tuesday in Las Anod district of Somalia's Sool region.  It says the 27-year-old was heading home when unidentified men opened fire on him.

The journalists' union says a radio reporter, Mohamed Mohamud of Shabelle Media Network, survived a shooting attack Sunday in Mogadishu.

Somalia has become one of the most dangerous places for journalists in the world. 

The journalists' union believes the killings are part of a conspiracy and is demanding authorities investigate.

Authorities in chaotic Somalia have made no arrests in connection with the killings. VoA.

LTG Hertling: Iraq still struggling; still fighting terrorists

By Jim Garamone, AFPS. WASHINGTON, Oct. 24, 2012 - It's still too early to tell whether the U.S. effort in Iraq has created an American ally, the commander of U.S. Army Europe and 7th Army said here yesterday.

Lt. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, who served many tours in Iraq, told the Defense Writers Group that it took years for a democratic government to emerge in West Germany following World War II, and he expects many of the same difficulties happening with Iraq.

"I don't know what's going to happen in Iraq," the general said. "I'm hopeful for increasing positive signs."

The Iraqi government still is fighting a complex insurgency in a very tough environment, the general noted. "My friends in Iraq ... are all very hopeful," he said, "but they also understand the challenges they are encountering."

The most encouraging step to date in Iraq is the potential for the rule of law to develop, Hertling said.

"[Iraqi] security forces are competent, but still feeling their way," he said. "Their politicians are increasingly becoming effective in understanding the representative process, but it certainly can't be compared to our government, or even our government 10 years after the Revolutionary War."

Iraq will continue to have struggles in three main areas, the general said: security forces, rule of law and the primacy of political control. "They are still struggling, and it pains me to watch it," he added.

How Iraq does in the future is something that will haunt U.S. veterans of the Iraq war, the general said. "There was a lot of blood and sweat and tears and hard work put into that country by American soldiers," he said. He noted that as U.S. troops leave bases in Germany they have been in since 1945, many Germans have come to thank them for what they and their predecessors did to save the country.

The current generation worked hard in Iraq, and is not feeling particularly appreciated, Hertling said. "That's unfortunate," he added. "It's something that all of our veterans from Iraq, and eventually our veterans from Afghanistan, will struggle with. They worked hard, they fought hard, and they did what they were trying to do to establish workable solutions in those two countries."

Explosion kills 3 terrorists in Pakistan

Pakistani officials say a U.S. drone strike has killed at least 3 people in the country's northwest, near the Afghan border.

Sources say at least two missiles hit near Miran Shah, the main town in the North Waziristan tribal agency, a known stronghold of al-Qaida and Taliban-linked terrorists.

Unofficial reports say a woman was among those killed in Wednesday's attack.

It was one of three such deadly strikes in the region this month.  At least 21 terrorists were killed in the other two attacks.

Pakistan has repeatedly criticized U.S. drone attacks as a violation of the country's sovereignty, but American officials say the strikes are a key tool in defeating terrorists. VoA.

Hamas launches rockets into Israel

Dozens of rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel, wounding several people, while Israeli warplanes have killed four Gaza terrorists in retaliation.

The Israeli military said at least 68 rockets and mortars struck southern Israel on Wednesday, damaging homes and wounding several foreign laborers working in fields near the Gaza border.

It said the barrage began late Tuesday with several other rockets hitting Israeli territory. Israeli authorities closed schools in the border area as a precaution.

Israel carried out a series of retaliatory air strikes on Gaza late Tuesday and Wednesday, killing four Palestinians, including members of the Hamas terrorist group that controls Gaza. The strikes also wounded several others.

Hamas and a smaller terrorist group called the Popular Resistance Committees claimed responsibility for the rocket attacks on Israel, saying they were a response to Israeli aggression.

Early Tuesday, terrorists also set off a bomb along the Gaza-Israel border fence, wounding an Israeli soldier. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed a strong response to that attack.

Hamas members accused Israel of seeking revenge on Gaza for hosting a brief visit by the emir of Qatar earlier Tuesday. It was the first by a head of state to Gaza since Hamas seized power there in 2007. The militant group said the Qatari emir's visit was a victory in its efforts to end its political and economic isolation.

The Gaza-Israel border has seen occasional outbreaks of fighting between terrorists and Israeli forces.