Bill's Bites: December 2006

Sunday, 31 December 2006

A saint is born! Viva San Cojones!

Spanish Bishop:
No, you can’t have an Islamic service in Cordoba Cathedral.
See-Dubya

I might trade them for letting the Pope pray in the Hagia Sophia, but that ain’t gonna happen. Nor have they done anything about this.

It wasn’t just praying, by the way. The Beeb says they “had asked that the cathedral become an ecumenical temple where believers from all faiths could worship.”

Said the Bishop: ...

Now the poor widdle muswims are gonna have their feewings hurt again. Aww. Two important things happened in 1492, Achmed. Remember what the other one was? Andulusia ya no es.

Contributed by Bill Faith on December 31, 2006 at 08:00 PM in Islamism Delenda Est | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Party time for the left!

U.S. death toll in Iraq reaches 3,000

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The death of a Texas soldier, announced Sunday by the Pentagon, raised the number of U.S. military deaths in Iraq to at least 3,000 since the war began, according to an Associated Press count.

The grim milestone was crossed on the final day of 2006 and at the end of the deadliest month for the American military in Iraq in the past 12 months ...

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U.S. sustains 3,000th fatality in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The Pentagon announced the death of a Texas soldier on Sunday, raising the number of U.S. military deaths in Iraq to at least 3,000 since the war began, according to an Associated Press count.

The milestone was crossed on the final day of 2006 ...

American deaths in the war reached the sobering milestone even as the Bush administration sought to overhaul its strategy for an unpopular conflict that shows little sign of abating. ...

Moonbat 1: Bummer 'bout Saddam, man.

Moonbat 2: Yeah, man, bummer.

MB1: Helluva guy. Shoulda just let him keep all that oil.

MB2: Yeah. Helluva guy. Bummer. Oughta hang Bush.

MB3 (rushing in): Grim milestone! Grim milestone! Number 3000! Party time!

MB1: Like, 3000 what, dude?

MB3: 3000 soldiers killed in Iraq! It's party time!

MB1: But they were like, Americans, right?

MB2: They were soldiers, man! If they studied harder they wouldn'ta got stuck Iraq!

MB1: Oh, yeah, right. Party time!

MB2: But it's New Years Eve! We were gonna party anyway!

MB3: Party tomorrow, then.

MB2: But tomorrow we'll still be stoned.

MB1: Party Tuesday!

MB3: But they're buryin' ol' whashisname Tuesday.

MB2: Naw, that's not till Wednesday.

All: Party Tuesday!

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A Couple Other Grim Milestones Missed by the Media Today
Gateway Pundit

The US has sadly lost 3,000 soldiers to date in the 45 months that America has been fighting the War in Iraq.

This grim milestone was presented by the AP and others today- without any historical context, of course.
So for the sake of truth, here are a couple other grim statistics that the media won't be mentioning in their grim milestone reports:

[image]

That's right! During the Clinton years, the US military lost an average of 939 soldiers each year. During the War in Iraq the US has lost an average of 800 soldiers each year- down each of the last two years!

These results were taken from Iraq Coalition Casualties, and Murdoc Online - the Official Department of Defense Report.

You won't see these facts in an AP article!
US Monthly War Fatalities:

[image]

The US lost more soldiers EACH MONTH in World War II and the Civil War than we have last in 3 years 9 months in Iraq!

Only the Revolutionary War where there was little winter fighting and went on for 80 months saw less fatalities per month than the War in Iraq.

[image]

War is hell, but ...

Do go read the whole thing. Maybe You'll learn something.

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A Jacksonian: My reply to various on the 'Grim Milestone'

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Jules Crittenden: Numbers Game: Bush-Whacker Who Totes Up Most Bodies, Most Milestones Wins!

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My 15 seconds:

Contributed by Bill Faith on December 31, 2006 at 06:37 PM in Iraq, Islamism Delenda Est | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Somali jihadis continue to crumble -- Update

See previous: Jihadis crumble as Ethiopians advance (Updated and bumped, again -- jihadis abandon Mogadishu), Somali jihadis continue to crumble

Somali Islamists Shelled near Kismayo
See-Dubya

The residents are fleeing in droves, but the hard-core crazies are staying to fight.

Good reporting from the New York Times on this war, by the way.

New Sisyphus put up a quote from General Sherman the other day that I think appropriate:
“War is the remedy our enemies have chosen, and I say give them all they want.”
The Somali Islamists have chosen war as their remedy. ...

Contributed by Bill Faith on December 31, 2006 at 06:20 PM in Africa, Islamism Delenda Est | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

The Day It Became the Longest War

I can think of about 58,000 reasons for you to go read this and follow the link.

Contributed by Bill Faith on December 31, 2006 at 02:51 PM in Viet Nam | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Bombs in Bangkok

2 killed in Bangkok blasts; New Year's events canceled

BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- Thai authorities have canceled all major New Year's celebrations in Bangkok after at least seven explosions ripped through several areas of the capital, killing two people, police and hospital officials say.

At least 12 other people were wounded in Sunday's attacks, which appeared to have been coordinated, and took place hours before New Year's Eve celebrations at midnight (noon ET).

Major events in Thailand's second largest city, Chiang Mai, have also been canceled.

Chief government spokesman Yongyud Maiyalab warned people to be cautious but not to panic.

One of the blasts occurred at a mall near the Victory Monument in the center of the Thai capital, Reuters reported.

Michelle Malkin has more here.

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Bombs in Bangkok
See-Dubya

Eight bombs went off, total, in shopping centers, supermarkets (Tesco is a British chain, FWIW), and a river pier, with a ninth found and defused. Thai police sent everyone home from New Years’ parties which may have saved a few lives. At this point (2:37 PM Pacific) the toll is two dead, thirty injured.

There’s a reasonable argument to be made that this is about domestic politics. Thailand suffered a military coup earlier this year, and the Bangkok Post describes some ongoing resistance to them of the pyromaniacal persuasion.

Still, unlike the Madrid Airport bomb, this involves a series of blasts with no warning and innocent civilian targets. Looks like the signature of an Al-Qaeda analogue.

Contributed by Bill Faith on December 31, 2006 at 12:30 PM in Islamism Delenda Est | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Former dictator remains in grave but stable condition

Yep, the son of a bitch is still dead. Not a lot of new information at this point but that doesn't mean I can't relish the moment a little longer.

Allahpundit's post here has been updated a couple of times since I last linked it.

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Execution of justice: New year, new goals with Saddam gone
Jules Crittenden

Like many of his own victims, he was handed a red card of death. Most had no such formality. It was an unceremonious bullet to the head, an acid bath or some other prolonged and hideous torture. It was being bound and thrown off the roof. It was being ripped apart by dogs.

Saddam was given dignity not afforded to hundreds of thousands of dead now greeting him on the other side. And when he had been dispatched, witnesses and executioners on this side danced around his body.

From Tripoli to Syria to Teheran to Beirut to Pyongyang, how many of Saddam Hussein’s fellow travelers involuntarily rubbed their own necks as the world was treated to this spectacle of justice for once achieved and not cynically subverted?

Heads up, Khaddafy, Assad and Ahmadinejad. Heads up, the entire rotten, stunted leadership of the People’s Republic of China. Heads up, Kim Jong Il.

The new year is upon us, and we have serious business to attend to. No time to dawdle over a bit of foul refuse by the side of the road. Saddam is behind us. Each of the above-mentioned despots remains to be dealt with in turn, and each poses challenges that will make their own arrival at justice drawn-out and torturous affairs.

Most immediate among our concerns are Iraq and Iran, and there is good news on both fronts of what is in fact one intertwined war. ...

Read Jules's related blog post here.

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Palestinians Missing Saddam and His Fat Checks for Terror
Gateway Pundit

"President Saddam Hussein has recently told the head of the Palestinian political office, Faroq al-Kaddoumi, his decision to raise the sum granted to each family of the martyrs of the Palestinian uprising to $25,000 instead of $10,000."
Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz
Announced at a Baghdad meeting of Arab politicians and businessmen
March 11, 2002
Is it any real surprise then, that the Palestinians would be upset with the demise of the dictator? ...

Here is a smidgen more on Saddam's links to terror that is often overlooked by our media and those on the Left...

The following information is from the Saddam and Terror website: ...

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Savages mourn fascist tyrant
Allahpundit

Twenty pages of photos and counting at Yahoo News, most of them from Palestine, naturally. Just keep scrolling. ...

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An Unseemly Eulogy
Ed Morrissey

The New York Times gives its readers a blow-by-blow description of Saddam Hussein's final moments, which seems especially helpful now that the bootleg video of the execution has hit the viral network. However, the tone of this piece is more suited to the valediction of a national hero than a genocidal dictator, and it makes the Times look as though they are mourning the loss of Saddam Here are a few of the relevant points in the prose:
Saddam Hussein never bowed his head, until his neck snapped. ...

His executioners wore black ski masks, but Mr. Hussein could still see their deep brown skin and hear their dialects, distinct to the Shiite southern part of the country, where he had so brutally repressed two separate uprisings. ...
And so on. If you watch either video, this bears little resemblance to the images seen on television screens or computer monitors. Saddam hardly marched in with his head held high; instead, he looked somewhat nonplussed and nervous, understandably so, as he approached the platform. The entire piece reads like a radical Sunni insurgent history book, circa 2008, and the editors of the Times should have recognized it. Saddam may have faced his execution without tears or begging, but any review of the video shows the descriptions here to be propaganda. ...

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Paul Mirengoff: The thug is dead, long live the thug

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Awww… Did We Hurt Their Pwecious Feewings
by Emperor Misha I

It doesn’t matter how much we all knew it was going to happen, the endless MSM tongue-bathings of Sod’em Insane’s lifeless carcass are already beginning to have the same effect on His Majesty as a large dose of ipecac. To call the endless fawning eulogies talking about how he made the trains run on time and what a miserable childhood he had, not to mention the complaints about how one of the most brutal mass murderers in history didn’t receive a “fair trial” nauseating would be an understatement of cosmic proportions.

In fact, the MSM airheads are so utterly distressed and miserable that you’d think that it was the Hildebeest that had kicked the bucket.

So it’s a nice change to see that we’ve managed to piss off the perpetually seething Arab Street&trade as well. Of course, that too was to be expected. Just as the talking points of al-Zawahiri are virtually indistinguishable from the DNC’s, so are the grievances of howling mobs in the Turd World, almost without fail, identical to those of the MSM. At least as long as the aforementioned mobs of knuckledragging savages are howling at the U.S. (Link thanks to LC & IB Bill Quick).
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Saddam Hussein’s execution on Saturday angered many Arabs, but even some who felt the former Iraqi leader deserved to die voiced a sense of justice denied.
Is that so? How utterly — irrelevant. Not that they don’t have a point, because they do: Justice was, indeed, denied, but that was mainly due to the fact that the executioners were too squeamish to execute the son of a dog in a way commensurate with his crimes. ...

Contributed by Bill Faith on December 31, 2006 at 06:00 AM in Iraq, Islamism Delenda Est | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Stuck ~~in Iraq~~ on dial-up?

You may want to just skip past this one unless you're willing to wait 313 kb for a good laugh. Everyone else click "Continue reading ..."

Contributed by Bill Faith on December 31, 2006 at 03:23 AM in Jean Fraud Kerry | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Saturday, 30 December 2006

Somali jihadis continue to crumble

See previous: Jihadis crumble as Ethiopians advance (Updated and bumped, again -- jihadis abandon Mogadishu)

Ethiopians Take On Last
Somali Islamist Stronghold
See-Dubya

NYT says they’re chugging along toward the city of Kismayo, where the Islamists seem ready to make their stand. They are still in full Baghdad Bob mode:
Sheilk Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, a high-ranking cleric, vowed not to go down without a fight.

“I want to tell you that the Islamic courts are still alive and ready to fight against the enemy of Allah,” Mr. Ahmed told residents of Kismayo in a speech today. “We left Mogadishu in order to prevent bloodshed in the capital, but that does not mean we lost the holy war against our enemy.” ...

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Ethiopia Advances on Somali Islamists’ Last City

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, Dec. 30 – A phalanx of Ethiopian tanks and armored personnel carriers chugged toward the last city occupied by Somalia’s diminished Islamist movement, witnesses said today, setting the stage for one final major battle.

According to residents along Somalia’s coast, the Ethiopian troops, along with soldiers from Somalia’s transitional government, were preparing to seize Kismayo, a port city near the Kenyan border where the Islamist leaders have holed up.

Sheilk Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, a high-ranking cleric, vowed not to go down without a fight.

"I want to tell you that the Islamic courts are still alive and ready to fight against the enemy of Allah," Mr. Ahmed told residents of Kismayo in a speech today. "We left Mogadishu in order to prevent bloodshed in the capital, but that does not mean we lost the holy war against our enemy.” ...

Just two days ago, in a stunning reversal of fortune, Somalia’s transitional government, with the muscle of the Ethiopian military, reclaimed Mogadishu, driving out the Islamist movement which had ruled large swaths of Somalia. More than a thousand people have been killed in the fighting and Somalia’s leaders now face the daunting task of trying to piece together a country that has not had a central government for 15 years. ...

Contributed by Bill Faith on December 30, 2006 at 05:32 PM in Africa, Islamism Delenda Est | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

'OK, so now can we bomb their asses? --- Update

See previous: OK, so now can we bomb their asses?

Iraq releases two Iranian saboteur/spies–over U.S. protests
See-Dubya

Unbelievable. These were not low-level cannon fodder, either:
One of the commanders, identified by officials simply as Chizari, was the third-highest-ranking official of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ al-Quds Brigade, the unit most active in aiding, arming and training groups outside Iran, including Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad, U.S. officials said. The other commander was described as equally significant to Iran’s support of foreign militaries but not as high-ranking.
These dudes were caught with manifests for weapon-smuggling and plans for advanced IEDs–in the compound of an Iraqi Shiite leader who founded the Badr Brigades. Iraq said they had diplomatic immunity and let them go. (Officer Roger Murtaugh was not available to arrange its revocation.) ...

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Iraq Expels 2 Iranians Detained by U.S
American Defense Official Calls Release 'Obviously Troubling'

BAGHDAD, Dec. 29 -- Two senior Iranian operatives who were detained by U.S. forces in Iraq and were strongly suspected of planning attacks against American military forces and Iraqi targets were expelled to Iran on Friday, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials.

The decision to free the men was made by the Iraqi government and has angered U.S. military officials who say the operatives were seeking to foment instability here.

"These are really serious people," said one U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "They were the target of a very focused raid based on intelligence, and it would be hard for one to believe that their activities weren't endorsed by the Iranian government. It's a situation that is obviously troubling."

One of the commanders, identified by officials simply as Chizari, was the third-highest-ranking official of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' al-Quds Brigade, the unit most active in aiding, arming and training groups outside Iran, including Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad, U.S. officials said. The other commander was described as equally significant to Iran's support of foreign militaries but not as high-ranking.

American military forces nabbed the two men in raids last week. Their capture, U.S. officials said, represents the strongest evidence yet that Tehran's Shiite theocracy is meddling in Iraq's affairs and strengthening its relationship with the government in Baghdad. ...

Contributed by Bill Faith on December 30, 2006 at 05:13 PM in Iran, Iraq, Islamism Delenda Est | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Saddam Hussein is still dead.

It ain't the fall that gets you, it's that sudden stop at the end. Ain't that right, Saddam. ... Saddam?

Hang down your head Mad Saddam
Hang down your head and cry
Hang down your head you madman
Poor boy you got to die.

Unfortunately the best video I've located so far stops short of showing the actual moment the floor drops away. If I can get my hands on the whole thing I'll post it and if I find a link to it I'll post that.

[Update 5:07P: Curt has the whole thing here.]

[Update 6:03P: Allahpundit has a better copy of the video here.]

It may be a good day for doing more linking than writing or excerpting, especially since I put off errands I was supposed to run yesterday in Saddam's honor. He'll still be dead when I get back from running them today.

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Don't even think about not reading Jeff Goldstein's post here. (Hat tip: Michelle)

See-Dubya has a good "thoughtful" post here as well.

Lest there be any doubt: I'm not "thoughtful." The son of a bitch needed killin' and I'm glad it's been done.

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Woodward Releases Embargoed Chat with Saddam
Scott Ott

(2006-12-30) -- Reporter Bob Woodward said today he would soon allow his Washington Post editors to publish a secret interview he did in 2005 with former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in which the dictator questioned U.S. President George Bush’s rationale for invading Iraq.

Mr. Woodward, who recently permitted his employer to publish a similar covert interview with the late former President Gerald Ford, said Mr. Hussein agreed to the no-holds-barred chat on the condition that the transcript be embargoed until after he “retired from public life,” which he did earlier today. ...

Read the whole thing, people. It's "fake but accurate."

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Shake a Tree and You Can See How Many Nuts Fall Out
Joe Noory

Remaking the agnostic Saddam as a martyr, a citizen of a non-democracy decries his execution:
This is something which can’t b accepted by the world. It’s against the democracy. It’s so brutal, coz bush & his dogs choose this day for the execution. This is an action is not against Saddam but against the entire Muslims, this will divide the world again.

Sanju, Dubai, UAE
For the record, the Iraqis tried and executed Saddam Hussein, not the US, and not an “International Court.” For the millionth time, sparky: a muslim can be guilty of a crime without you hanging in around the neck of every Muslim in the world.

The Guardian defers to Saddam's lawyers:
The world will know that Saddam Hussein lived honestly, died honestly, and maintained his principles. He did not lie when he declared his trial null.
NYT “blog” commenter Martha can’t wait to see a “leaked” video that implicates America in this: ...

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Gateway Pundit has a good roundup started here. I suspect he's not done with it.

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WMD found hanging from rope in Iraq.

(2006-12-30) — The Pentagon announced this morning that a weapon of mass destruction (WMD) was found today in Baghdad, hanging from a rope on a platform.

“This particular WMD,” a Pentagon spokesman said, “is known to have killed thousands of Iraqis, as well as Iranians, Kuwaitis and some U.S. troops.” ...

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Saddam’s Last Words: Three Different Versions (Plus Video)
Patterico

In updates at the end of this post, Hot Air has video of Saddam being prepared for execution. As a bonus, there are three different stories about what Saddam’s last words were. He said “Allahu Akbar,” or something about Palestine being Arab, or a sarcastic “Muqtada.” Take your pick.

It just goes to show: you can’t get a consistent story about anything out of Iraq — even when the event is videotaped. ...

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Two good posts, and worthy discussion in the comments, at Winds of Change. Click here and here.

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Heidi has some good quotes here.

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Two good ones from Captain Ed:

'Iraq Without Me Is Nothing'

'Assassinated'?

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Bad Eagle Speaks about a bad man
Contributed by George Mellinger

Bad Eagle, aka David Yeagley has no tears for Saddam, none at all.
The Left is myopic. It cannot, or will not see the larger picture. For all it's claims to promote the good of society, indeed a "well-ordered" society, the Left makes it's decisions on animalistic emotionalism. The immediate reactions. The gut level responses. Almost a Pavlov Dog reaction. Leftists are programmed, "trained" if you please, to respond to any sense of prepared, identified wrong, like the dog was trained to respond to the bell. The executed criminal is put to death without a chance to defend himself, physically. Therefore, it looks like a willing sacrifice, a cruel act of the executioners. Ah, but it's not the executioners. It's the law. The people made the law.

The people decided that certain individuals are not worthy of life amongst the people, even among other prisoners. The criminal is only getting exactly what he dealt out to others. ...

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Post Mortem
John Hinderaker

Most reporters covering the execution of Saddam Hussein pay lip service to the fact that he was a "brutal dictator," but John Burns of the New York Times spent time in Iraq over the years, and did serious reporting from there. He observed first-hand the terror that Saddam imposed throughout his reign, and that experience shines through in his excellent article in today's Times: Feared and Pitiless; Fearful and Pitiable. It begins:
NOBODY who experienced Iraq under the tyranny of Saddam Hussein could imagine, at the height of the terror he imposed on his countrymen, ever pitying him. Pitiless himself, he sent hundreds of thousands of his countrymen to miserable deaths, in the wars he started against Iran and Kuwait, in the torture chambers of his secret police, or on the gallows that became an industry at Abu Ghraib and other charnel houses across Iraq. Iraqis who were caught in his spider’s web of evil, and survived, tell of countless tortures, of the psychopathic pleasure the former dictator appeared to take from inflicting suffering and death. ...

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Justice Executed
NRO Editors

Death on a scaffold is the fitting ending for Saddam Hussein. His was a carefully conceived career of mass murder and terror, and an Iraqi court, with Iraqi judges and Iraqi lawyers, has sat in judgment on it. True, they passed sentence on only a small portion of his crimes, and much of the evidence was still to be heard of the genocide he ordered for the Shiites and the Kurds. However, legalistic quibbles or conscientious objections are particularly misplaced. Iraq has long been a failed state, its true condition concealed by a run of dictators, each more brutal than the last.

Nothing can be said for Saddam except that he knew no better than the rule of the gun under which he had always lived. He was to make the most of the opportunities for crime open in the circumstances to anyone of vicious character like him. He was barely adult when revolutionary nationalists staged a coup, and killed virtually all the members of the family hitherto ruling Iraq. At that same time, Saddam declared himself a revolutionary nationalist, but in reality he too was a glorified hit man like the others. In due course, purposefully, he murdered his way to absolute power. As he went to his death, he may have recalled the 22 colleagues and rivals whom he accused of conspiracy with “U.S. imperialism” and whose hanging he one day personally supervised. ...

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A few thoughts on Saddam’s execution
Austin Bay

A few “morning after” thoughts on Saddam’s execution.

The next to last thing Saddam ever expected was a hangman’s noose. The last thing he expected, of course, was a fair trial.

Saddam got both, and yes, despite Ramsey Clark’s clucks and howls, Saddam’s trial was fair. The toppled tyrant got to pose and parade and accuse. He took several pages from the Milosevic book of courtroom antics and dock theatrics, then added a few of his own. Saddam certainly got more than his fair share of global air time.

With Saddam’s execution the myth of the Strong Man takes another major hit. We should all be thankful. The Arab Strong Man, the Serb Strong Man, the Albanian Strong Man, the Somalia Strong Man, the Soviet Strong Man, the fill-in-the-blank Strong Man — the thugs in charge claim that obedience and submission lead to ideological or ethnic or nationalist or tribal or fill-in-the-blank victory. It’s a scam, of course, a scam to obtain and maintain their own power. Ultimately, the tyrant’s show is narcissicism empowered by ruthlessness and the secret police. Saddam’s comment on his way to the gallows is indicative: “On the way to the gallows, according to Ali, “Saddam said, ‘Iraq without me is nothing.’” (From Newsweek’s article which interviewed the videographer who filmed Saddam’s execution.)

The Strong Man expects to die in one of two ways — with a nine millimeter ballot (ie, assassination) — or old age. That has certainly been the case in the Middle East. A public, legal trial followed by court-sentenced execution? That isn’t going to happen unless…unless a democracy replaces a tyranny. This is astonishing news — history altering news. For centuries the terrible yin-yang of tyrant and terrorist has trapped the Middle East. In 2003 the US-led coalition began the difficult but worthy effort of breaking that tyrant’s and terrorist’s trap, and offering another choice in the politically dysfunctional Arab Muslim Middle East.

Saddam’s demise serves as object lesson and example. In late 2003 every Middle Eastern autocrat saw the haggard Saddam pulled from the hole; now they’ve seen him hung. The larger message: To avoid Saddams fate means political liberalization. The message extends beyond the Arab Muslim Middle East. Iran’s mullahs see it. At some reptilian level, destructive despots like Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe also understand it. ...

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MSM warms to brave, courageous Saddam
See-Dubya

Oooh, he was so courageous and brave, the way he faced his execution.

And he made the trains run on time:
Those developments, so unwelcome to the Americans who so easily conquered this nation, showed that Mr. Hussein was also a unifying force whose painful grip held together Iraq’s many ethnicities and sects. Now, three years after his fall, Iraq has descended further into chaos.

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Saddam Is Dead - Why That Matters
By: DJ Drummond

Within a few hours of receiving custody of Saddam Hussein from American authorities, the Iraqi government put him to death. Doubtless this will cause howls of protest from leftists everywhere, that a man proven to be a mass murderer on a most gruesome scale would himself be executed without years of delay and double-talking meant to subvert justice itself or at least deny the victims' families the chance to believe that such men as Saddam would ever be treated as they deserve. But the execution of Saddam Hussein served a compelling notice, one the Left will deny but which is true for all their bitterness; the Rule of Law has come to Iraq.

The Left has tried very hard to deny that truth. The mainstream media revels in showing video of bombings and reporting kidnappings, never noting the stability and economic growth in many parts of Iraq. Kevin McCullough has written a compelling article to show that Iraq is, by any reasonable standard, a clear success. The notion that Iraq is becoming a foothold for democratic republicanism is terrifying for the Left. Enough so that they will denounce even its possibility, much less the growing evidence for it. ...

Contributed by Bill Faith on December 30, 2006 at 10:39 AM in Iraq, Islamism Delenda Est | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Friday, 29 December 2006

Satans Bitch! --- Famous last words: "Allahu Ak-k-k"

Evil men swing like a pendulum do
Soldiers in Humvees, two by two
Weapons of mass death, way back when
The hollow white cheeks of the dead children ...
(With apologies to Roger Miller)

[Update: Thank you 1stCav for the picture to go with my little poem.]

There's a banner at the top of CNN's web site saying Saddam is dead. One less waste of perfectly good oxygen in the world. It's good and well done. I'll have details and reactions as I find them.

"Remember that present I promised you boys if you were bad? Well here he is! Saddam, meet my 'boys.' ... No, sorry your highness, we're fresh out of vasoline. ... OK, who's second?"

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Report: Saddam hanged
See-Dubya

Word just in from al-Arabiya that Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti is dead.

Sic Semper Tyrannis. Watch this space for more details.

Update (AP): Al-Hurra is reporting it too. I’m monitoring Al Jazeera in the expectation that they’ll have the video before American media does. ...

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Michelle: Report: Saddam is dead

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Bryan Preston: Remembering Saddam

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John Hinderaker: Sayonara, Saddam

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Jay Tea: Believe it or not, he's walking on air...

Kim Priestap: Saddam Hussein is Dead

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Patterico: Saddam Hussein Executed

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Ed Morrissey: It's Over (Live Blog)

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Jules Crittenden: Drink Up

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Joe Gandelman has extensive coverage here.

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Vinnie: Saddam Meet Satan, Satan, This Is Saddam

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Pajamas Media has an extensive roundup here.

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Don't miss Greyhawk's thoughts here.

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Confederate Yankee reports that his sources, who have been very reliable so far, say Saddam died at 04:22 Baghdad time, not just before 06:00 like the American media have been reporting. I believe his sources. The American media started reporting Saddam's death when the TV's in their hotel rooms started carrying the Iraqi TV reports of it; simple as that.

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VelvetHammer: Saddam Hangs It Up and Sabbaticals in Hell

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Where’s The Virgins???

Baghdad Ballet, Dance From a Rope, Starring Saddam

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This post continues as Saddam Hussein is still dead.

Contributed by Bill Faith on December 29, 2006 at 09:12 PM in Iraq, Islamism Delenda Est | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Dead by Dawn? (Frequent updates, occasional bumps)

I'm not going to give you an excuse not to read the whole thing by excerpting it. Read it.

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End of a Dictator
Confederate Yankee

According to an anonymous source, the former President of Iraq will be executed by hanging at 12:00 AM midnight on Saturday/ 4:00 PM EST Friday afternoon at an undisclosed location. ...

*** Update and bump. Original timestamp 01:19

Overslept, gonna do a quick link roundup then try to keep this post as up to date as I can till I can start a new one titled "Satan's Bitch!"

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Saddam to hang today? Update: Still in U.S. custody?

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Kim Priestap's tracking the news as it comes in here.

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Curt's tracking the situation here.

James Joyner's on it here.

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CNN: Reports conflict on execution timing

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Michelle's all over the situation.

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Dan Riehl:

Wanted: Saddam - Dead, or Alive?

So Long Saddam

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Tha Anchoress has thoughts on excutions here, Don Surber responds here.

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Captain Ed: Three Years Later, A 'Rush'

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Report: Saddam to be executed by 10 p.m. ET

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Saddam goes court-shopping
Michelle Malkin

In the U.S.:
Lawyers for Saddam Hussein on Friday made a last-minute appeal to an American court to avert execution in Iraq, asking a judge to block his transfer from U.S. custody to the hands of Iraqi officials.

Hussein's lawyers filed documents Friday afternoon asking for an emergency restraining order aimed at stopping the U.S. government from relinquishing custody of the condemned former Iraqi leader to Iraqi officials, a spokeswoman for a federal court in Washington D.C. said. ...

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CQ: The Execution Is A Go For Tonight ... Perhaps

Dafydd ab Hugh: Clinton Judge Has Opportunity to Shine!

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Official: Saddam to be executed tonight

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The official witnesses to Saddam Hussein's impending execution gathered Friday in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone in final preparation for his hanging, as state television broadcast footage of his regime's atrocities.

With U.S. forces on high alert for a surge in violence, the Iraqi government readied all the necessary documents, including a "red card" — an execution order introduced during Saddam's dictatorship. As the hour of his death approached, Saddam received two of his half brothers in his cell on Thursday and was said to have given them his personal belongings and a copy of his will.

Najeeb al-Nueimi, a member of Saddam's legal team in Doha, Qatar, said he too requested a final meeting with the deposed Iraqi leader. "His daughter in Amman was crying, she said 'Take me with you,'" al-Nueimi said late Friday. But he said their request was rejected.

An adviser to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Saddam would be executed before 6 a.m. Saturday, or 10 p.m. Friday EST. Also to be hanged at that time were Saddam's half-brother Barzan Ibrahim and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, the former chief justice of the Revolutionary Court, the adviser said. ...

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CNN: Hussein execution imminent, sources say

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Saddam Hussein will be hanged before dawn on Saturday in Iraq, before 6 a.m. (10 p.m. Friday ET), according to Appeals Judge Munir Haddad.

The paperwork is in order for Hussein's execution, and the judge echoed a widespread belief that the hanging could be imminent.

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Within the hour?

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Gateway Pundit has a great "Why it's the right thing to do" post here.

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Call it off! Yeah, right.

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Brendan Loy: The death of a monster

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U.S. Judge Refuses to Block Saddam Hussein's Execution

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Gateway Pundit quotes Al Arabia as saying Saddam has reached the execution site.

Contributed by Bill Faith on December 29, 2006 at 03:36 PM in Iraq, Islamism Delenda Est | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Airline Security May Cut Corners,
But it’s Sensitive to Hajj Pilgrims
See-Dubya

Al-Qaeda just can’t stop thinking about plots involving airlines, but flaws in out system are still underreported. Michelle and Audrey Hudson of the Washington Times are probably the only MSM types covering these stories. So it’s good to see someone else pick up the torch and run it past the metal detectors:
Screeners, however, list other ways security corners are cut in an effort to get passengers through checkpoints quickly, including:

– Testing fewer carry-on bags by hand-swiping the item with a cloth, which is then analyzed electronically for traces of explosives.

– Reducing random searches of carry-on bags and passengers at checkpoints. That can mean fewer pat-downs or “wanding” of passengers with hand-held metal detectors.

– ...
Unfortunately, if Arutz Sheva has it right, TSA’s brass is making sure its checkers are concentrating on the real issues:
The American Transportation Security Administration has instructed airport security guards to be sensitive to more than 15,000 Muslims traveling to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj Muslim holiday.

Contributed by Bill Faith on December 29, 2006 at 03:23 PM in Islamism Delenda Est | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Small change stuff I won't devote a lot of time to today

WSJ readers respond to Joseph Rago’s blog-bashing

Lefties wonder why U.S. should care about Islamists governing Somalia

Video: HamNation on the Duke lacrosse case

British “Alternative Christmas Message” Muslim is Lapsed Feminist.

(More later I'm sure.)

Contributed by Bill Faith on December 29, 2006 at 03:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

WaPo tells off human-rights protesters about Saddam trial
See-Dubya

The nitpicking about Saddam’s trial is too much for the Washington Post’s editorialists, who tell the human-rights groups to stop whining about procedural details:
…there is something unreal about the cries of foul from human rights groups demanding perfect procedural justice from a country struggling with civil war, daily bombings and death-squad killings. The reality is that by the trial’s end, there was no significant factual dispute between prosecution and defense: Saddam Hussein acknowledged on national television that he had signed the death warrants after only the most cursory look at the evidence against his victims. That, he testified proudly, “is the right of the head of state.” Exactly what would a perfect trial be capable of discovering? ...

Contributed by Bill Faith on December 29, 2006 at 02:09 PM in Iraq, Islamism Delenda Est | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Illegal Immigrant Shooter Of Two Cops Is Now Dead

L.A.P.D. officer Curt has the details:

... And the kicker? He was an illegal immigrant who had been deported THREE times in the past:
Gallegos, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, was deported at least three times, the last one occurring in 1996, according to immigration officials.

Described by police as a "known local thug," his criminal record includes arrests and convictions for a firearms violation, selling or transporting narcotics, among others.
He was last deported in 1996 but since then has been arrested on weapons and drug charges. Our immigration laws at work folks.....ain't it great!

Contributed by Bill Faith on December 29, 2006 at 05:17 AM in Immigration | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

L.A. Times (Almost) Admits Ramadi Airstrike Didn’t Happen

CENTCOM says AP’s "Iraqi police source" isn’t Iraqi police -- Part 26 -- Continued from this post.

LA Times revisits controversial Ramadi airstrike story
See-Dubya

Back in November, blogger Patterico spent a lot of time looking into an incident in Ramadi in which it was alleged in the L.A. Times that U.S. airstrikes killed several civilians. The incident in many ways set the stage for the ongoing questions about coverage of the Hurriya burning and the AP’s reliance on “Capt. Jamil Hussein”.

The U.S. military adamantly denied that any airstrikes had occurred in Ramadi on November 15th, and they still do. Patterico asked for a response from Solomon Moore, the Times reporter who wrote that story, but never received one.

Now Moore has responded. And, well, it looks pretty good for Patterico. The headline is “U.S. Says Ramadi Operations Didn’t Rely On Airstrikes”.

There may have been tragic collateral damage as a result of tank fire (or insurgent fire, come to think of it) that day. But Patterico’s point wasn’t that everything is perfect in Iraq. His point was that the U.S. side of this story wasn’t getting told in the LA Times.

Now it is. ...

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L.A. Times (Almost) Admits Ramadi Airstrike Didn’t Happen
Patterico

The L.A. Times has finally reported the military’s denial of an airstrike in Ramadi on November 13 or 14, in this story.

The paper doesn’t exactly admit that no airstrike occurred in central Ramadi on November 13 or 14. But new interviews done by the paper’s mysterious unnamed Ramadi stringer have Iraqis saying they “assumed” that it was an airstrike that caused the deaths:
Several residents said that they saw helicopters and a jet fighter during the confrontations and assumed that some of the explosions were caused by airstrikes. U.S. ground units are often accompanied by air support during military operations.
The editors also appear to be backing off of the article’s original claim of 15-20 “pulverized” houses:
“Six houses were leveled to the ground and 10 others were damaged to varying degrees,” said Ahmad Hummadi, 50, a laborer. “But all of the houses were abandoned because they were no longer suitable for habitation.”
The editors appear to be demanding immediate answers from the military again:
Marines did not immediately respond to inquiries about the total number of civilian dead . . .
Why would Marines need to “immediately respond” to inquiries in a December 28 update to a November 15 story??

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IBD Wants To Meet “Capt. Jamil Hussein”

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Part 26 of a series. Part 27.

Contributed by Bill Faith on December 29, 2006 at 04:39 AM in Iraq, Islamism Delenda Est, Jamilgate, Media Malpractice | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Thursday, 28 December 2006

More al-AP lies -- So what's new?

Sorta wrapped up in an Old War Dog project but don't miss Dan Riehl's post here. H/T:Curt

Contributed by Bill Faith on December 28, 2006 at 09:26 PM in Iraq, Islamism Delenda Est, Media Malpractice | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Nifong slapped with ethics complaint

Nifong in Trouble
John Hinderaker

The North Carolina bar filed charges today against Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong in connection with the Duke lacrosse prosecution. Nifong apparently has been under investigation since last March. He is charged with making inflammatory comments to the media about the defendants in the case, and with "dishonesty, fraud, deceit and misrepresentation" in connection with the exculpatory DNA evidence that he apparently tried to conceal. Nifong faces penalties ranging up to disbarment.

Our criminal justice system reposes a tremendous amount of discretion in prosecutors. When prosecutors are corrupt, like Nifong or Ronnie Earle of Travis County, Texas, who ruined Tom DeLay's public career, the consequences can be devastating. ...

Allahpundit has more here.

Contributed by Bill Faith on December 28, 2006 at 07:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Iran’s “Oil Weapon” Is A Dud (Updated, bumped)

Iran's Ahmadinejad Far Weaker Than He Lets On
By Victor Davis Hanson

The Iraq Study Group, prominent U.S. Senators and realist diplomats all want America to hold formal talks with the government of Iran. They think Tehran might help the United States disengage from Iraq and the general Middle East mess with dignity. That would be a grave error for a variety of reasons - the most important being that Iran is far shakier than we are.

The world of publicity-hungry Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is not expanding, but shrinking. Despite his supposedly populist credentials, his support at home and abroad will only further weaken as long as the United States continues its steady, calm and quiet pressure on him.

In Iran's city council elections last week, moderate conservative and reformist candidates defeated Ahmadinejad's vehemently anti-American slate of allies. At a recent public meeting, angry Iranian students - tired of theocratic lunacy and repression - shouted down their president.

By supporting terrorists in Iraq and Lebanon, enriching uranium and insanely threatening to destroy a nuclear Israel, Ahmadinejad is only alienating Iranians, who wonder where their once vast oil revenues went and how they can possibly pay for all these wild adventures. ...

*** Update and bump. Original timestamp 02:26

Iran’s “Oil Weapon” Is A Dud
See-Dubya

I head seen references to the recent National Academy of Sciences report about Iran’s crumbling oil infrastructure in a few places–Allah cheerily noted here that Iran will have the bomb by the time the tanks go dry and Iran turns into Mad-Max level anarchy. Ace, pointed out that it was being spun as a reason not to attack Iraq. The AP report he linked quotes the main scientist saying as much:
If the United States can “hold its breath” for a few years it may find Iran a much more conciliatory country, he said. And that, Stern said, is good reason to belay any instinct to take on Iran militarily.

“What they are doing to themselves is much worse than anything we could do,” he said.

“The one thing that would unite the country right now is to bomb them,” Stern said. “Here is one problem that might solve itself.”
That’s a good conservative sentiment; many problems may solve themselves and don’t need meddling with. But another account of the report in today’s Telegraph quotes Prof. Stern saying something else:
“They cannot afford to carry out their threats to shut off oil supplies,” he said. “There is no oil weapon, it’s just a bluff.”
I think that’s very important. Lemme tell you why. ...

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Murdoc has an excellent related post here.

Contributed by Bill Faith on December 28, 2006 at 06:38 PM in Iran, Islamism Delenda Est | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Jihadis crumble as Ethiopians advance
(Updated and bumped, again -- jihadis abandon Mogadishu)

Jihadis crumble as Ethiopians advance on Mogadishu
Allahpundit

Can we get a few battalions of Ethiopians in Iraq?
Islamist forces in Somalia beat a hasty retreat today to their stronghold in Mogadishu, Somalia’s battle-scared capital, crumbling faster than anyone expected after a week of attacks by Ethiopian forces…

The Islamist fighters, who had seemed invincible after taking Mogadishu in June, now seem powerless to stop the steady advance of the Ethiopian-backed forces of the transitional government…

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*** Update and bump. Original timestamp 2006.12.26.16.51

Somali Islamists Still Getting Butts Kicked
See-Dubya

Ethiopia’s trying to beat Israel’s six-day record. Their army is fifteen miles from Mogadishu, and the Islamists are turning tail:
The young fighters of the Shebab, the backbone of the Islamists’ army, whose name comes from the Arabic word for youth, are deserting in droves.

“We can’t resist,” said Musa Abdullahi, 18, who quit his unit after half his comrades were cut down by Ethiopian helicopter gunships. “We thought this fighting would be like the others. It’s not.”
It’s hard when there are armed men with guns shooting back at you instead of women and children running away, Musa.

And here’s one for the “war never solves anything” crowd:
…the goodwill they [the Islamists] earned is being sapped away by their decision to attack the transitional government and declare a holy war against Christian-led Ethiopia. That provoked a crushing counterattack by the Ethiopians, who have the strongest military in East Africa and have sided with the transitional government because Ethiopia views the Islamists as a threat to its own security. ...

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Josh Trevino has an excellent related post here.

*** Update and bump. Previous timestamp 2006.12.27.18:30

Islamists withdraw from Mogadishu

MOGADISHU, Somalia (Reuters) -- A top Somali Islamist leader said on Thursday that all Islamist forces had withdrawn from the capital Mogadishu.

"We have withdrawn all the leaders and members who worked in the capital," Sheikh Sharif Ahmed told Al Jazeera television by telephone.

He said the Somali Islamists remained united and explained the move as a change in tactics in its war against Ethiopian troops, defending the weak interim government.

The retreat came hours after a joint force of Ethiopian and Somali government troops advanced to just 30 km (18 miles) from Mogadishu, threatening to besiege the capital rather than attack it. ...

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Islamic Forces Abandon Mogadishu, Clan Militia Takes Control

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia's Islamic movement abandoned the nation's capital on Thursday, and clan militiamen poured into the streets to take control of Mogadishu, as government forces approached to within 18 miles.

Gunfire echoed through the streets and hundreds of gunmen, who just hours earlier fought for Quranic rule, took off their Islamic uniforms and submitted to the command of clan elders, an AP reporter in Mogadishu said. Some began looting Islamic courts' bases and buildings belonging to Islamic courts officials, witnesses said. ...

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The Fall of Islamist Somalia
Bryan Preston

It’s been tough over the past couple of days not to stand up and do a little dance of joy over Ethiopia’s so far masterful efforts in Somalia. Ethiopia very correctly recognized that the United Islamic Courts, the al Qaeda-backed Islamist movement that took control of Mogadishu and most of Somalia this past summer, represents a threat. So Ethiopia acted. And now Bill Roggio reports that Mogadishu has fallen to the Ethiopian and transitional Somali government forces.
Nine days after the onset of open warfare between the al-Qaeda backed Islamic Courts and the Ethiopian backed Transitional Federal Government, the Islamic Courts have surrendered. “After having crucial and urgent meeting tonight in the capital, the leaders of executive and Shura councils of Islamic Courts Union and deputy leader of executive council of ICU, Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed and Sheik Abdirahman Janaqow resigned and issued a joint press statement over the current situation in Somalia particular in Mogadishu,” reports SomaliNet.
There should be no allowance for any cease-fire talks until the Islamists are well and truly crushed. Keep the UN and the Arab League as far from this fight as possible until it’s truly finished. The Ethiopians and the transitional Somali government forces, fighting together against the Islamists in spite of a history of war between Ethiopia and Somalia, should not make the same mistake Israel and the US have made in Lebanon and Iraq and Afghanistan. They should win the fight outright and dictate terms to the surviving Islamists. Foreign fighters should either be imprisoned and tried for their crimes or, well, imprisoned and tried for their crimes. Anything less, and the Islamists will go to ground and come back with an insurgency in a few months or a year. ...

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Great related commentary here, here and here.

*** Update and bump. Previous timestamp 02:14.

Mogadipshit Taken by Ethiopia
Emporer Darth Misha

Thanks to LC Scott for informing us of this:
Triumphant Somali government forces and their Ethiopian allies marched into Mogadishu after their Islamist rivals abandoned the city.

The flight of the Islamists, who had controlled the Somali capital for six months, represents a dramatic turn-around in the wartorn nation.
How does it feel to be running like rabbits, Pisslamists? You realize that you’ll only die tired, don’t you?
Some Mogadishu residents greeted the arriving government troops, while others hid.
They probably had good reason to hide as well. But, but, weren’t you supposed to face the infidels bravely, greeting martyrdom with a smile on your lips, embracing death and your reward of 72 virgin goats? Come out of hiding, you silly fucks, come out and die. You know you want to.
Parts of the city shook with the sound of gunfire and there were outbreaks of looting after leaders of the Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC) fled its base early in the morning.
“In the name of Allah, the merciful: RUN AWAAAAAY!!!” ...

Contributed by Bill Faith on December 28, 2006 at 05:36 PM in Africa, Islamism Delenda Est | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Cold River: A case study

Glenn Reynolds:

ON MORE THAN ONE OCCASION, I've suggested that the United States should not be trying to serve as an "honest broker" for a peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians on the grounds that the Palestinians are our enemies, and thus we can't and shouldn't be neutral about them.

More evidence that I'm right:
A newly declassified report from 1973 shows that Yasser Arafat personally commanded the terrorist attack that resulted in the murders of Ambassador Cleo Noel and his deputy George Moore, as well as a Belgian diplomat. Moreover, the two murders appear to have been the entire point of Arafat's attack. . . . The State Department had proof all along that Yasser Arafat not only masterminded this attack, but deliberately plotted to kill American diplomats as a means to pressure the US out of the Middle East. In other words, the PLO/Fatah/BSO conducted a terrorist attack on American interests, murdered Americans, and got away with it.
Like I said, our enemies. ...

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