Final Post For Tonight -- Military Women

18 Bombs Found, Defused In Indian State Rocked By Blasts

Onlookers stand near a damaged bus after a bomb blast in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad July 26, 2008. (REUTERS/Amit Dave)

From M & C:

New Delhi - India's western state of Gujarat was on high alert Tuesday after police found 18 bombs in Surat city, three days after synchronized blasts killed up to 50 people in the state's main city of Ahmedabad.

Police defused all the bombs which were found in residential areas, in markets and along roads of Surat, which is among the world's biggest diamond-polishing centres and is located 200 kilometres south of Ahmedabad.

Read more ....

My Comment: By the sheer number of bombs being found, this indicates a comprehensive organization at work. It is clear that India is at war with extremists groups, and that the country is not prepared to fight this enemy.

The Barney Theme Song Is Classified As Torture --- Many Parents Agree

Barney the Dinosaur

American Military Could Owe Royalties for Music
Used as Torture Device -- Daily Tech

The Barney Theme Song is one of the tracks on the supposed torture play list

Most people can think of a few songs that simply drive them crazy. The U.S. military is reported to use music as a method of torture against prisoners in the Guantánamo Bay prison. The point of the music, according to the Guardian, is to induce sleep deprivation and drown out screams.

The Guardian has also posted a list of songs it says are used by the U.S. military as torture devices. The list includes songs like Enter Sandman by Metallica, Bodies by Drowning Pool, White America by Eminem, and the Barney Theme Song.

Read more ....

My Comment: A story that has to be read to be believed.

'Martyrs' List' Tallies Mahdi Army's Troubles

A man pushes a cart past a poster of anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Baghdad's Shiite enclave of Sadr City, Iraq, on this Thursday, July 3, 2008 file photo. Loyalists within Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militia network call it the 'martyrs list,' and it's long and growing: At least three dozen senior members killed in slayings or fighting since last summer and nearly 60 others detained.(AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

From Yahoo News/AP:

BAGHDAD - Loyalists within Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militia network call it the "martyrs' list," and it's long and growing: At least three dozen senior members killed in slayings or fighting since last summer and nearly 60 others detained.

The internal document — obtained by The Associated Press — offers a rare look at how the top echelon of the Mahdi Army militia is assessing the sustained blows to its once-mighty shadow state and the challenges to its absentee leader al-Sadr, who is holed up in Iran.

It also underscores the twin pressures on al-Sadr's followers.

Shiite rivals are waging gangland-style hits with diminishing fear of reprisals. Iraqi-led forces, meanwhile, are pressing their advantage against al-Sadr's weakened network — militia cells, quasi-civic groups and street-level operatives who have all crafted reputations as the champions of the Shiite poor.

Read more ....

My Comment: I have no sympathy for these thugs. The sooner they are gone .... the better the people of Iraq will be.

With Friends Like This, Who Needs Enemies

US President George W. Bush (R) walks with Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on the South Lawn of the White House, after meeting in the Oval Office, in Washington, DC, on July 28. The US Congress moved Tuesday to suspend a bid by Bush's administration to shift millions of dollars in aid to Pakistan from counter-terrorism programs to upgrading Islamabad's F-16 fighter jets.(AFP/Saul Loeb)

George Bush blasted by Pakistan PM From the Australian

PAKISTAN'S Prime Minister lashed out at George W. Bush during talks in Washington yesterday, "reproaching" the US President over a US Hellfire drone missile strike inside Pakistani territory only hours before the leaders met.

The missile strike that reportedly killed an al-Qa'ida chemical and biological weapons expert came hours before new Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani met Mr Bush and warned him not to launch "unilateral" strikes on Pakistani soil.

Speaking immediately after his meeting with the US President, Mr Gilani said: "This action should not have been taken by the United States. It's our job because we are fighting the war for ourselves."

Read more .....

Also, Pakistan plans a push into its tribal areas -- L.A. Times

My Comment: Pakistan has lost its credibility when it comes to combating the terrorism that is originating from their country.

They are so wrapped up in their conflict with India, their actions are not only hurting their relations with the U.S. and Nato, but they are also destabilizing their Tribal Areas.

US: Iraqi Fighters Extort, Kidnap To Raise Funds

A U.S. Army soldier from Ghostrider Company, Third Squardron, Second Stryker Cavalry Regiment wipes the sweat from his brow after his platoon searched a rural village during Operation Wolfpack Catseye near Qara Tappah, about 75 miles northeast of Baghdad in Iraq's volatile Diyala province on Tuesday, July 22, 2008. The squadron fanned out near the Iranian border to root out al-Qaida leadership and deny them safe haven as part of a renewed push to secure the Diyala province.(AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

From Yahoo News/AP:

WASHINGTON - Al-Qaida in Iraq is increasingly embracing extortion and kidnapping to finance its operations as cash carried in by its dwindling foreign fighter network is drying up, according to U.S. intelligence and documents captured in Iraq.

Al-Qaida in Iraq's funding scheme could drive an even deeper wedge between the terrorist organization and the Iraqi tribes and others who once joined forces against the U.S.-led invasion and occupation.

The smuggling network that funnels foreign fighters and weapons into Iraq has been under increasing pressure in the past year, squeezed from three sides: by Iraqi tribes, who, repelled by the violence, are making it increasingly difficult for terrorist networks to operate and hide among them; by more effective U.S. and Iraqi military operations, and by governments in the region — notably Saudi Arabia and Morocco — that are cracking down on al-Qaida and the smuggling networks that feed the insurgency.

Read more ....

My Comment: Who wants to pump money into a losing cause? I am sure that there will still be many who will provide funds and resources to help extremists and Al Qaeda groups in Iraq .... but this is just a trickle from what it use to be.

The excitement of Jihad and going to Iraq to fight the infidel is losing its luster. The vast majority of the extremists who are now fighting against coalition and Iraqi forces are doing so because of personal issues. Once they are gone .... there will be no one else to fight.

Love, Blackmail and Rape – How al-Qaeda Grooms Women As ‘Perfect Weapons’

The scene of a suicide bombing at a courthouse and government outpost in central Baquba.

From Times Online:

A woman pretending to be pregnant walks up to a hospital in one of Iraq’s most dangerous regions and blows herself up.

Minutes later a man, also laden with explosives, attacks the rescue workers who rushed to the scene in Diyala province, north of Baghdad. Thirty-two people are killed and 52 wounded.

The co-ordinated bombings that ripped through the town of Baladruz in May are one of twelve attacks involving thirteen women suicide bombers to strike Diyala so far this year – a huge jump, signalling a new tactic by insurgents. US officials suspect that al-Qaeda has built a network of cells that recruit women and turn them into killers.

Read more ....

Previous: Another Female Suicide Bomber Strikes Iraqi Province, Killing 15 Near Courthouse -- New York Times

My Comment: A number of years ago I asked my father on "why did he decide to fight for the Soviet Army in the Second World War". He mentioned that on the day that the war started, he was outside of Kiev and was able to see the German bombing raid hitting the center of the city. He rushed into the center, and was witnessed to the burnt and broken bodies in the street. He joined/was conscripted a week later. But he told me that his "enthusiasm" for the fight was not there .... he just wanted to make sure that he would survive the war with all of his limbs intact.

But what changed .... what made him firmly committed to the fight was what he witnessed in the regions that were formerly occupied by the Nazis. The mass graves, survivor stories, and the complete destruction of cities .... this helped him to realize that he was fighting evil .... and this evil had to be destroyed at all costs. This determination was what changed him and millions of his comrades in the Soviet Army in 1943 .... giving them the drive to begin the battle and slow march to Berlin.

When I hear stories of how Al Qaeda and their sympathizers are now using young women to be rigged as suicide bombers whose goal is to destroy and main innocent families, I remembered what my father told me. Evil comes in many forms .... but when you see it you know what it is ..... and that is why you must fight and win.

American and Iraqi forces are fighting against Al Qaeda members and sympathizers in the Iraqi Province of Diyala tonight. They know the evil that they are fighting .... and they know that they must also win.

Turkey: Airstrikes Hit Kurd Guerrillas In Iraq

From MSNBC:

Military says rebels are 'neutralized' in cave; PKK reports no casualties

ISTANBUL, Turkey - Turkish warplanes attacked Kurdish rebels in Iraq's north on Tuesday, killing a group of guerrillas gathered at a mountain cave, the military said.

The Turkish strikes, which a pro-Kurdish news agency said were followed by shelling from Iran, came two days after bombs planted in an Istanbul neighborhood killed 17 people. The government blamed Kurdish rebels, who denied involvement in the deadliest attack on civilians in five years.

The military said in a statement Tuesday that warplanes attacked rebel targets in northern Iraq, where the leadership of the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, is based. The statement said many of a 40-strong rebel group outside a cave at Mount Qandil were killed.

Read more ....

More News On Turkey And The Kurds

Turkish planes attack rebel Kurds in Iraq -- Yahoo News
Turkey bombs Kurdish areas in Iraq -- Times Of India
Turkish jets 'destroy PKK base' -- AL Jazeera
Turkish military says hits PKK targets in N.Iraq -- Reuters
Rendezvous with the PKK -- BBC News
Kurds are blamed for bombs that killed 17 in Istanbul -- Indepedent
Thousands of Kurds protest in northern Iraqi city -- AFP

My Comment: As life gets better for the Kurds in Northern Iraq, expect pressure from Turkey's and Iran's Kurdish populations on their governments to have the same thing.

An Example Of What Is Coming To Lebanon And Sudan

International Criminal Court Logo

From Ya Liban:

New York - The capture of fugitive war criminal Radovan Karadzic, the Bosnian Serb leader accused before the International Criminal Court (ICC) of genocide against eight thousand Muslims , right in the middle of Europe in 1995, has dimmed the rising voices of Arab masses protesting against justice in the name of national dignity and of those who yelled "conspiracy" upon hearing news of the ICC directing charges of war crimes and genocide in Darfur against Sudan's President Omar Al-Bashir.

Read more ....

My Comment:A good portion of the world's leaders have committed massive atrocities against their own populations. As the International Criminal Court feels more confident on what they can do, I will expect more leaders to be indicted.

But there is a part of me that feels that the General Assembly at the U.N. will soon be putting a stop to this judicial activism.

The End Of the Sri Lankan Civil War Is Now in Sight

Powerful explosions rocked Galle, an important southern tourist and port town in Sri Lanka, apparently extending the war to a stronghold of the Sinhalese majority. The government said suicide boats of the rebel Tamil Tigers, disguised as fishing boats, had been detonated near a navy base.

From Strategy Page:

July 29, 2008: The generals believe that the LTTE is just about finished. Army intelligence estimates that the LTTE has lost two thirds of its military power this year. That includes 9,000 fighters, most of them newly conscripted teenagers. Between losing territory, and Tamils fleeing to government controlled territory, the LTTE only controls about 200,000 civilians in the north. The army believes the LTTE only has about 5,000 armed fighters, and most of these are recently conscripted and poorly trained. The LTTE is also short on ammunition, because of the improved navy interdiction campaign during the last year. The fighting in the north is getting more intense, and causing several hundred casualties a week. But most of these are LTTE losses, and the army has been advancing at the rate of about three kilometers a week.

Read more ....

More News On The Sri Lankan War

Fighting Continues in Sri Lanka Despite Tamil Tiger Cease-Fire -- Voice Of America
Sri Lanka fighting kills 37: government -- AFP
Military: New fighting in northern Sri Lanka kills 34 rebels, 3 soldiers -- International Herald Tribune
Sri Lankan military positions attacked by rebels in north -- China View
Sri Lanka military says kills 34 rebels in fresh fighting -- Reuters
Sri Lankan Army Says Troops Capture Tamil Tiger Satellite Base -- Bloomberg
Lessons from Lanka`s bloodiest year -- SIFY

My Comment: The Strategy Page's analysis on the evolution of the war in Sri Lanka is accurate. The Tiger's LTTE command and control facilities are destroyed or about to be destroyed. Officers have been killed or captured. Most of their soldiers are young and inexperienced. Weapon shipments have been cut, and what they have left is no match for what the Sri Lankan Army has.

This war will be over in all but name by the end of this year. This conflict will now evolve into a terrorist campaign, with small cells bringing the fight to the Sri Lankan military and the majority Sinhalese population.

to truly put an end to this conflict, the Sri Lankan government .... from a position of strength .... should now put out the olive branch for reconciliation. They should meet some of the needs of what the Tamils want .... autonomy, respect of their culture, end of discrimination, etc....

But I have strong doubts and reservations that this will happen. There are no peace makers in Sri Lanka today.