Archive for April, 2005

Al-Zarqawi eluded capture but left clues, source says

Our guys apparently came close to nabbing the bastard in February, and they did, in fact, get his laptop computer and over $100,000 worth of Euros. That computer was quite possibly a treasure trove of intel.

But who really knows what it means that they’re releasing this info? It’s all a big game going on under the radar and behind the scenes. We’ll never know a tenth of what the shadow war is all about.

Are they releasing this info now to scare Zarqawi and maybe flush him into the open? That would probably mean that we lost his trail. Of course, maybe we want him to think we lost his trail when we’re actually closing in, so we say that we’re closing in.

Or maybe we want him to think that we’re double bluffing. Or maybe this is for the benefit of the Saudis, since hand-holding didn’t seem to bring oil prices down. And a chief justice of Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Judicial Council is urging Saudis to fight Americans.

Who knows why those shadow warriors do what they do?

Scholar convicted of urging holy war on U.S.

Ali al-Timimi won’t help convince many that Muslims shouldn’t be watched carefully:

Prosecutors said the defendant — a native U.S. citizen who has an international following in some Muslim circles — wielded enormous influence among a group of young Muslim men in northern Virginia who played paintball games in 2000 and 2001 as a means of training for holy war around the globe.

Five days after Sept. 11, al-Timimi addressed a small group of his followers in a secret meeting and warned that the attacks were a harbinger of a final apocalyptic battle between Muslims and non-believers. He said they were required as Muslims to defend the Taliban from a looming U.S. invasion, according to the government.

While nobody ever joined the Taliban, four of the defendant’s followers subsequently traveled to Pakistan in late September 2001 and trained with a militant group called Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Three of them testified that their intention had been to use the training they received from the group to join the Taliban and fight in Afghanistan, and that it was al-Timimi’s speech that inspired them to do so.

Of course, freedom of speech and religious freedom were a big part of the defense.

Al-Timini was convicted of charges including soliciting others to levy war against the United States and inducing others to use firearms in violation of federal law. The firearms convictions require mandatory life imprisonment.

Defense lawyer Edward MacMahon said, “Obviously we’re disappointed in the verdict. We’ll file a motion to set aside the verdict and to request a new trial.”

A new trial might not even be necessary:

Judge Leonie Brinkema agreed to allow al-Timimi to remain free on bond pending his sentencing in July. Prosecutors had argued that federal law required the judge to immediately revoke bond when convicted of such serious charges, but Brinkema said the law allows her discretion “when there is a reasonable basis for reversal” of the convictions on some counts.

Remember, many have suggested that the war on terror should be fought primarily with law enforcement and the courts and not the military.

UPDATE: Kevin at Wizbang writes:

What do Martha Stewart and and Muslim Cleric Ali Al-Timimi, who was convicted of of urging his followers to go to Afghanistan and help the Taliban fight U.S. military forces, have in common?

They’re both free to roam around their house wearing only a electronic monitoring ankle bracelet.

But America won’t be safe if any Bible Banging Judges are approved.

Avengers ‘gun up’ for Iraq duty

Via Argghhh!:

An Army unit preparing to deploy knew its Avenger air defense vehicles weren’t built for ground combat in Iraq, so the Soldiers asked for help.

The Cruise Missile Defense Systems Project Office and prime contractor Boeing delivered.

A six-man team went to Kuwait and modified eight Avenger vehicles for the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment’s Air Defense Artillery Battery which had deployed from Fort Carson, Colo.

Should be a real axe-kicker:

An M3P 50-caliber machine gun is mounted on an Avenger vehicle, but normally Soldiers can’t fire it toward the vehicle’s front at an elevation less than 10 degrees. The team members changed that for the unit.

“We removed the right missile pod and we moved the M3P gun system up to the missile pod’s position,” Lockwood said. “This now allows 360 degrees firing at any angle or elevation. We also increased the magazine capacity from 250 rounds to 600 rounds.

And

Modifying the unit’s Avenger air defense vehicles “greatly enhances their capability at defeating ground targets in their current role,” he said. “Compared to other Humvee-mounted machine guns, our system is gyro-stabilized with a man in the rotating turret which makes it much more adept at engaging targets while on the move.”

Now even these convoy escorts have motion-stabilized weapons, something the RWS-equipped Strykers lack.

And the Avenger’s gunner’s station has the targeting gear (including a HUD) that should make things tough for insurgents.

I’m taking it to mean that the left missile pod has been left as-is, leaving four Stinger missiles available in the unlikely event of an air attack. Seems like a reasonable compromise to me.

I wonder if the left Stinger pod could be modified to fire AT4-type missiles? Seems like that fancy targeting and sensor suite could be useful for more than a .50 cal.

George Lucas reveals that a live-action STAR WARS television series, long rumored and hoped-for, is planned. It will be set between the prequels and the original series. Jar Jar Binks will be the star.

Since you can’t really take anything Lucas ever says very seriously, it’s hard to know what to make of this. (via Blogs of War, of all places)

Pentagon: Soldiers not at fault in Italian’s death

Apparently, the report on the shooting up of the car carrying freed Italian hostage Giuliana Sgrena which killed intelligence agent Nicola Calipari was pretty much on the money.

It seems that no coordination was even attempted with the US military and that soldiers manning the checkpoint acted properly, according to the investigation by the US military but including significant Italian participation.

But.

Italian media reported that while Italian officials participated in the U.S. investigation, it is unclear whether they would endorse the report. News reports in Italy also said officials there do not agree with the findings.

If the Italians don’t endorse the report, its credibility would likely be hurt in Italy.

Italian magistrates are conducting their own unilateral investigation into the shootings and are being given access to the car that carried Calipari and Sgrena in hopes of determining how the soldiers fired on it.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is hanging on by a thread at home. He’s reorganizing his government and Italy will have parliamentary elections next year. The invasion of Iraq, supported strongly by his government, was never very popular with the Italian population.

His swift condemnation of the incident won him support with voters, but now he’s pretty much committed to blaming the US. He’s between Iraq and a hard place, a place many world leaders have found themselves lately. (hat tip to the reader who alerted me to this story)

UPDATE: Expat Yank notes this story, as well. Why isn’t it getting more attention?