Category Archives: Iraq

Iran anniversary ‘punch’ will stun West: Khamenei

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From Google News

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Monday that Iran is set to deliver a “punch” that will stun world powers during this week’s 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution.

“The Iranian nation, with its unity and God’s grace, will punch the arrogance (Western powers) on the 22nd of Bahman (February 11) in a way that will leave them stunned,” Khamenei, who is also Iran’s commander-in-chief, told a gathering of air force personnel.

The country’s top cleric was marking the occasion when Iran’s air force gave its support to revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a key event which led to the toppling of the US-backed shah on February 11, 1979.

His comments came as Iran said it would begin to produce higher enriched uranium from Tuesday, in defiance of Western powers trying to ensure the country’s nuclear drive is peaceful. Continue Reading →

Gen. Peter Pace on the Defenders of Freedom

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Thank you KitmanTV for this excellent recommendation for a video post. Text below verbatim from Kitman’s excellent site

2004 Keeper of The Flame Award
Original site
On Wednesday October 6, 2004, the Center for Security Policy paid tribute to the Defenders of Freedom – the men and women of the U.S. armed services (active duty and reserve), officials of the executive, legislative and judiciary branches, those responsible for the security of our borders and homeland, the first responders, the law enforcement community, intelligence personnel, our allies and industrial base. Accepting the Keeper of the Flame Award on their behalf was the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Peter Pace USMC.

General Pace’s address to the 350-plus attendees at this elegant black-tie dinner held at the Mayflower Hotel was preceded by a welcome from Harry Stonecipher, President and CEO of the Boeing Company, who served as the Dinner’s Chairman. Gen. Pace was introduced by the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, General James Jones, following a powerful address by the Homeland Security Advisor to the President, Fran Townsend. Ms. Townsend also read a congratulatory message from President George W. Bush that read, in part:

“I commend the Center for Security Policy and those attending this dinner for honoring these dedicated patriots. As we continue to fight terrorism and advance liberty, America stands solidly behind the men and women of our Armed Forces. Their courage, commitment, and sacrifice inspire others and help protect our founding ideals…”

In accepting the award, Gen. Pace movingly praised the courage and commitment of those who serve, and in some cases die for, their country. He described particularly poignantly personal reminiscences of the sacrifices men he led in battle have made – and the inspiration they give to all who defend this country today. Gen. Pace expressed deep gratitude for the support given to uniformed personnel and the other Defenders of Freedom by their loved ones.

Among those in attendance for the fifteenth annual Keeper of the Flame Award were: Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Douglas Feith; Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy Peter Rodman; Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Forces Policy John Rood; and Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Proliferation Strategy, Counterproliferation, and Homeland Defense, NSC Robert Joseph.

Members of Congress in attendance included: Keeper of the Flame Award recipients Senator Jon Kyl (1994) and Congressman Christopher Cox (1997); Senator Ted Stevens, Senator Kit Bond and Congressman Norm Dicks.

Other distinguished guests included: Chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors Kenneth Tomlinson; former Chairman of the Defense Policy Board Richard Perle; and former Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Energy and Director of Central Intelligence and 2001 Keeper of the Flame Award recipient Dr. James Schlesinger.

The event concluded with remarks by Center Board of Regent Chairman Terry Elkes. Mr. Elkes joined in thanking Gen. Pace and the men and women he represented on this occasion, and encouraged their continued support through the work of the Center for Security Policy.

Iraq: Iran could have nuclear weapons within weeks

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H/T Gates of Vienna:

From the J Post

Maverick Iraqi politician claims Iran could go nuclear within weeks

Iraqi parliamentarian Mithal al-Alusi is warning that Iran is much closer to attaining nuclear capability than most sources, including the International Atomic Energy Agency and the US State Department, believe. In fact, he predicts the Iranians could have a nuclear capability – and may announce that they have it – as soon as next month.

An Iranian technician works...

An Iranian technician works at the Uranium Conversion Facility just outside the city of Isfahan, 410 kilometers south of Teheran.
Photo: AP [file]

“We are receiving information which says Iran is so close to producing an atom bomb,” Alusi said in an interview earlier this month, the latest in a series of interviews conducted since September. “All the international community, they don’t realize how close [the Iranians] are to the goal… The Iranians will surprise us one day [soon] and say, ‘We have it.'”

Alusi said he cannot reveal his sources of this information, because that would place in grave and imminent danger individuals within the Iranian “establishment” who risked their lives to share it with him.

“I am talking about Iranian insider information. Very clear, from inside Iran,” he said. “There are people within Iran who want to be normal… They know this is a dangerous regime. You see how they treat their own people… Iran is terrorizing the world already. What will they do once they have the bomb and they are stronger?” Continue Reading →

Stratfor: US watching oil field #4 at a distance

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Iraq: U.S. Official Says Military Watching Fauqa Oilfield Events From A Distance
December 23, 2009
A U.S. military official said Dec. 23 the military is watching developments at the No. 4 well of the Fauqa oilfield from a distance, Aswat al-Iraq News Agency reported. The official said the U.S. military will not interfere, saying Iraq can solve the matter by diplomatic means.

Lecture on nuclear weapons manufacture.

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I have posted this before on Vlad a long time ago and made reference to it several times since. However with Iran so much in the news it seems like the right time to repost this rather lucid lecture on what exactly is involved in the making of a nuclear bomb. In fact, once you see this lecture, the headlines will make less sense and the negotiations more. For example, Iran’s newest proposal to trade low enriched U235 for high enriched is absurd and no one is going to accept it and  you are about to learn why. However it may look to the useful idiots that the west is not being fair to Iranian concessions. Watch and enjoy and spread it around. This is the best thing I have seen so far on the subject. Also, I took 6 youtube videos and made one continuous one here on Vimeo so please feel free to embed on your own websites or blogs.

Eeyore for VTB

Truth about nukes from Vlad Tepes on Vimeo.

Iraq: Mosul: Christian buildings attacked, Church of Saint Ephrem levelled

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From ASIANEWS it by way of TROP

At present, there is no information about casualties. Attackers carried out their action in broad daylight without any opposition. The methods used are like those used in the attack against the Bishop’s Palace in 2004. Christian sources say the “attack was like a Mafia warning”, a message to Christians “to leave the city.” The faithful are left with anger, disappointment and fear.

Mosul (AsiaNews) – Explosive devices were detonated this morning at two Christian sites in Mosul, the Church of Saint Ephrem and the Mother House of the Dominican Sisters of Saint Catherine. At present, there are no reports about casualties but the church was entirely destroyed. The convent also suffered damages but it is not known how much. Christian sources in Mosul told AsiaNews that the “attack was like a Mafia warning”, a message to Christians “to get out of the city.”At around 10 am, a commando of about ten gunmen stormed the Church of Saint Ephrem in the al-Jadida neighbourhood, in a new section of the city. Attackers told everyone inside to leave and then calmly proceeded to place explosives around the building. When they were set off the whole structure was levelled. The same thing happened to the Bishop’s Palace in December 2004.

According to early reports, no one among the faithful was hurt in the blast.

After the first operation, the attackers moved to the Mother House of the Dominican Sisters of Saint Catherine, where a second explosion was heard around 10.30 am. For the moment, there are no details about the damages inflicted on the building or any casualties among the nuns.

Sources in Mosul told AsiaNews that the attacks were the work “of a group of about ten people who acted calmly.” Continue Reading →

Obama treats soldiers as cops, terrorists as full US citizens?

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This is ulcer-worthy weirdness. Many possibilities of course for this kind of insane policy to be enforced in the US against it’s own forces, but what comes to my mind first is the notion that President Obama’s fantasy that the Islamic terrorist threat is a law and order matter, means that suddenly all the various branches of the US forces become police. Trained to treat all they encounter as suspects for a crime at worst with expecttions of being the cops who beat Rodney King if they do not act with all respect against people who are evil and dangerous beyond most of our imaginations ability.

From FOX News with a H/T to GOV Weasel Zippers Reportonarrakis

March 31, 2004: Iraqis chant anti-American slogans as the charred and mutilated bodies of U.S. contractors hang from a bridge over the Euphrates River in Fallujah, Iraq.

Navy SEALs have secretly captured one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq — the alleged mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four Blackwater USA security guards in Fallujah in 2004. And three of the SEALs who captured him are now facing criminal charges, sources told FoxNews.com.

The three, all members of the Navy’s elite commando unit, have refused non-judicial punishment — called an admiral’s mast — and have requested a trial by court-martial.

Ahmed Hashim Abed, whom the military code-named “Objective Amber,” told investigators he was punched by his captors — and he had the bloody lip to prove it.

Now, instead of being lauded for bringing to justice a high-value target, three of the SEAL commandos, all enlisted, face assault charges and have retained lawyers.

Matthew McCabe, a Special Operations Petty Officer Second Class (SO-2), is facing three charges: dereliction of performance of duty for willfully failing to safeguard a detainee, making a false official statement, and assault.

Petty Officer Jonathan Keefe, SO-2, is facing charges of dereliction of performance of duty and making a false official statement.

Petty Officer Julio Huertas, SO-1, faces those same charges and an additional charge of impediment of an investigation. Continue Reading →

Glendale ‘honor killing’ victim, 20, just wanted to be normal

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GET R.E.A.L

image5408992x Noor Faleh Almaleki just wanted to be a normal American woman.

The striking 20-year-old from Iraq, who’d lived in the Valley since she was a young girl, wanted her hair and makeup to be perfect, her clothes to be fashionable. She wanted a job, a degree and a husband of her choosing.

On her Facebook page, Noor posted photos of herself and wrote: “I am spectacular,” punctuated with a smiley face emoticon. But Noor’s father had a much different ideal for his daughter: a life in strict line with traditional Iraqi culture.

He made her quit her fast-food restaurant job and arranged for her to marry a man in Iraq she didn’t know, according to friends and family.

Finally, police say, 48-year-old Faleh Hassan Almaleki put an end to what he perceived to be his daughter’s rebellious life. Using his Jeep as a weapon, he allegedly ran her down in a parking lot Oct. 20 in what prosecutors are calling an “honor killing” to cleanse what he considered were indiscretions to the family’s honor.

Noor underwent spinal surgery and was in a coma until her death on Monday. Another woman struck by the Jeep, the mother of Noor’s boyfriend, was expected to survive. Marcella Andregg, a friend for seven years, described Noor as independent, but far from rebellious and always respectful of her parents. She said Noor just wanted to live her own life, but that her father wouldn’t let her.

“His whole persona was very controlling, very strong-minded in the ways he wanted it for her,” Andregg said. “He talked down to her very much, made sure she knew she wasn’t good enough and brought a lot of dishonor to the family.”

Meanwhile, she said, Noor “just wanted to be a normal teenager,” and later, wanted to finish college, marry the man she loved, and have children. Continue Reading →

Woman in suspected ‘honor killing’ dies

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Noor-Faleh-Almaleki The Arizona Republic… A 20-year-old Peoria woman has died of injuries sustained in what prosecutors are calling an “honor killing.”

Faleh Hassan Almaleki, 48, of Glendale, is accused of running over his daughter, Noor Almaleki, and another woman in his Jeep Cherokee because he was infuriated with his daughter for becoming “too Westernized.”

Noor Almaleki died Monday of injuries she received during the Oct. 20 attack.

Peoria police said charges against Almaleki, who is in a Maricopa County jail on two counts of aggravated assault, will be upgraded, though a spokesman wasn’t sure what the exact charges would be.

Social experts say honor killings are an accepted practice in Iraqi tribal society, where family members feel they must kill a woman who shames them by not adhering to traditional Muslim or Iraqi values.

Family members said Almaleki was outraged after his daughter married a man in Iraq but returned to the Valley to live with a boyfriend and his mother in Surprise. The other victim, 43-year-old Amal Edan Khalaf, is apparently the boyfriend’s mother.

Police said Almaleki fled the country after the attack, driving to Mexico and later taking a plane to London. He was detained by British authorities and extradited to Atlanta last week.

Speaking before a Maricopa County judge over the weekend, state prosecutor Stephanie Low said Almaleki has admitted purposefully running down his daughter.

“By his own admission, this was an intentional act and the reason was that his daughter had brought shame on him and his family,” Low said. “This was an attempt at an honor killing.”

Almaleki did not address the accusations and spoke only to ask the judge about getting a court-appointed attorney.

Low said additional family members are suspected of assisting Almaleki in his escape.

“We can’t be naive and ignore that there’s a cultural aspect to this and there may be people who would support him, including his family, but also others who share his beliefs,” she said.

Citing Almaleki’s flight, Low asked the judge to take special precautions to prevent him from running again. Bail was set at $5 million.

Calls to Almaleki’s family members were not returned Monday.

Arizona Man Ran Down Daughter For Becoming ‘Westernized’

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They hate the West. They immigrate to the West . They attempt to murder those who embrace the west. Ya, no problem with Islam.

20-year-old daughter suffered serious injuries

Updated: Wednesday, 21 Oct 2009, 6:26 PM MDT
Published : Wednesday, 21 Oct 2009, 12:27 PM MDT

PEORIA, Ariz. – Peoria police are looking for a father suspected of running down his daughter because she was becoming too “westernized” and was not living according to their traditional Iraqi values.

Peoria police say 48-year-old Faleh Hassan Almaleki of Glendale allegedly ran his daughter down Tuesday at an Arizona Department of Economic Security parking lot in Peoria.

“When I walked out the door I saw two ladies on the ground, so my first thought was some kind of domestic dispute,” says witness Synthia Diaz.

The victim, 20-year-old Noor Faleh Almaleki of Surprise, is hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.

A second woman, Noor Almaleki’s roommate, was also injured. She’s identified as 43-year-old Amal Edan Khalaf, also of Surprise. Khalaf has what are described as non-life threatening injuries.

Faleh Almaleki was last seen driving a grey or silver 2000 Jeep grand Cherokee, Arizona license ADS-9192. He has not yet been apprehended.

Family and friends told Peoria investigators that Almaleki was mad and threatened his daughter for adopting Western ways. Almaleki and his family had moved to Glendale from Iraq

Iraq sends back UK asylum flight

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I suppose parachuting them in is not an option

BBCNEWS…Iraqi asylum seekers sent back to Baghdad by the UK government have been refused re-entry to their homeland, and flown back to Britain.

The flight, carrying about 40 asylum seekers, landed in Baghdad on Thursday. Ten were admitted but the rest were turned away and have now arrived back.

Human rights group Refugee and Migrant Justice said this was “unprecedented”.

The Home Office said it was working with the Iraqi government to iron out issues that caused some to be returned.

The reason for their return, it said, was a matter for the Iraqi authorities.

It is understood that about 80 escorts were also aboard the government-chartered flight.

The asylum seekers are now at Brook House detention centre near Gatwick airport where they are being given legal advice, according to a Refugee and Migrant Justice spokeswoman.

She said: “One would have expected with such a high profile remove, the Home Office would have sorted this out with the Iraqi authorities.

“For such a high profile group to be returned is unprecedented.”

Here is a BBC video showing the burden Greece is forced to endure.

  Continue Reading →

Iraqis Shocked as Atheism Creeps in

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“No one is guiltier than the Americans who brought such ideas to Iraqis.”

atheist-bus1 IslamOnLine…BAGHDAD – Although their number remains insignificant and most of them hid their identity, the fact that some people are leaving Islam and becoming atheists is a troubling news in conservative Iraq.

“I was surprised a couple of weeks ago when my son told me that his colleague at college told him that his father had become an atheist,” Sheik Abdul-Rassoul al-Rabia’a, a religion teacher at Baghdad University, told IslamOnline.net.

Not only did the father abandon his Muslim faith, he wanted his son to follow in his footsteps.

“I suggested to my son bringing his friend home and talked with him that despite his father’s thinking, he should continue to follow his Muslim heart and never deny his God,” al-Rabia’a said.

Linking that to the non-stop violence plaguing the country since the 2003 US invasion, some Iraqis are becoming atheists.

Most of them have had personal incidents involving either themselves or close relatives.

“Iraq is a land without God or any other kind of major protective superior form,” claims one atheist who declined to be named fearing reprisal.

“We have been forgotten and it is better to think only rationally than emotionally. I left behind my old beliefs because it is the only way to protect my children from any harm that God isn’t being able to do.”

Yasser (not his real name) is grouping up with others who have also renounced their faiths.

“When we first decided to organise ourselves, we were only eight people,” he told IOL.

“And after seven months, our number has reached to 34 but many other groups are being formed countrywide according to my contacts in northern and southern Iraq.

“We believe that today in Iraq, there are at least 220 atheists linked to the groups nationwide.”

Caro (not his real name), 41, also claims their numbers are on the rise.

“Each day we are having more followers and maybe one day we will be able to have our own centre where we will be able to discuss our ideas and nature creation.” Continue Reading →

Man appears in court charged with the honour killing of Banaz Mahmod. U.K.

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Wimbledon Guardian.. Tuesday 6th October 2009

A man accused of the murder of 20-year-old Mitcham woman Banaz Mahmod appeared in court today, following his extradition from Iraq.

Mohammed Saleh Ali, 27, was extradited this year to face charges of murder, conspiracy to murder and perverting the course of justice.

He appeared at the Old Bailey via videolink today, and was remanded in custody.

He is due before court again on December 21.

Mitcham resident Banaz Mahmod, 20, was killed in January 2006 after beginning a relationship with a man members of her family did not approve of.

Her dad and uncle were convicted of her murder the following year.

Thanks to R.E.A.L. for this story and more

Calais migrants to get flight home and £1,900

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PD*28827568 Telegraph… As well as a guaranteed place on the plane worth around £500, many of those on board will receive the sum and a guarantee of retraining back in their homeland.

However, there will be nothing to prevent any of them travelling all the way back to France the moment they get to Afghanistan.

It is intended to be the first of many flights which will cost millions of pounds, split between France and Britain.

The aim is to reduce the number of migrants who are massing in Calais, which they use as a springboard to try and get to Britain, where they will claim asylum or disappear into the black economy.

The dramatic development followed last month’s clearing of “The Jungle”, a notorious Calais squatter camp which was filled with mainly young men from Afghanistan.

The French immigration minister hailed the raid as an important step in the battle to make the northern port ‘watertight’ to migrants, but was widely criticised after almost all those arrested were later released.

It now appears that a compromise has been reached with many of them who have agreed to accept the huge cash incentive to go home, even if only briefly. The sums involved are worth hundreds of times more in central Asia than in Britain or France.

The French pulled out of a similar deportation scheme a year ago, with First Lady Carla Bruni among those insisting that it was immoral to send Afghans back to their war-torn country.

But now such arguments appear to have been forgotten, with the first plane – believed to be being supplied by a British firm – taking off from London in the early hours, before stopping to pick up some 250 migrants in Paris. Continue Reading →