101 green bottles
Post-invasion iraq - - Posted on May, 20 at 8:51 pm by Ken L
Yeehah! We’ve got them on the run!
Al Qaeda crackdown yields 100 ‘critical’ militants
And could this be ‘Mr Big’?
Iraq says senior Qaeda chief seized fleeing crackdown
Still, there are no grounds for complacency cos it looks like there are a few critical militants from AQ still on the loose:
An Australian security expert says tightening security in the lead-up to the Beijing Olympic Games is necessary because of the threat from terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda.
If AQ is as powerful as this after seven years of relentless Global War on Terror, can you imagine what they would have been like without it? I mean it only took four years to beat Tojo and six to put an end to Hitler but Osama still rules his evil empire like a malignant master of the universe.
Of course there’s always some wanker who wants to get his name in the paper:
But Professor Clive Williams from Macquarie University’s centre for counter terrorism says while it might inspire local groups to act, Al Qaeda has become marginalised.
“It’s basically evolved into an organisation which is basically promoting ideals and propagandising and it’s not directly involved in orchestrating operations any more,” he said.
Oh sure Clive. Then how do you explain the 101 critical AQ militants they just caught in Iraq? As reported without dissenting opinion by Our ABC.
We have been blessed indeed to have men such as George W Bush, John Howard and Tony Blair keeping watch over us in these terrifying times.
Posted in Post-invasion iraq |
May 20th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
“All that we have mentioned has made it easy for us to provoke and bait this administration. All that we have to do is to send two mujahidin to the furthest point east to raise a piece of cloth on which is written al-Qaida, in order to make the generals race there to cause America to suffer human, economic, and political losses without their achieving for it anything of note other than some benefits for their private companies.”
~Osama bin Laden, 2004
So far it’s a win-win.
The US gets an excuse to continue it’s ludicrous WoT and ObL gets his ego-trip.
May 20th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
Is it just me or has there actually been a decline in the ‘anti-terrorism’/'anti-refugee’ hysteria with its attendant reports of our heroes busting gangs of ‘them’ who were going to blow us all up and less boatloads of suspect freeloaders invading our sacred waters?
I mean its been 6 months since the protectors were voted out and we don’t appear to have suffered gravely yet.
All quiet on the xenophobic front?
Or just dormant?
May 21st, 2008 at 2:18 am
Something I wrote yesterday on Lav Prod:
I condemn filmmakers for being used as propaganda merchants…remember the patriotic swill in the summer of 2001 called “Pearl Harbour”?…released interestingly by Touchstone, a subsidiary of hmmm…The Walt Disney Company. Brilliant timing before 9/11 i might add…bet the video released later in the year or such was a cool marketing tool for the American military.
Now we’ve got hometown boy Baz Luhrmann making a real EPIC:
AUSTRALIA
(yep, it’s about the land of valuable resources)
The story takes place during the bombing of Darwin in Australia during World War II. Production took place in Sydney, Darwin, Kununurra, and Bowen. The movie will be released on November 13, 2008 in Australia, and on November 14, 2008 in the United States.
(wiki pedia )
20th Century Fox…yes, Mr. (dual citizen) Mogul’s company… has just released the first trailer for Australia.
Let’s hope Baz hates war as much as most of us do.
And I hope for our sake that after all the gorgeous scenes of bombing, romance, heroism & bad English land barons (as opposed to the American heroes in planes)…that we don’t have to undergo a NEW NORMAL a few months later.
I’m hoping Baz will give icky patriotism for mobilising the yoof of Australia’s sake the flick. I liked his ballroom film. That was enuff dancing for me.
—————————-
Let’s hope Fred such films…including the upcoming War in the Pacific mini-series (Spielberg & co.)…& all this chatter about immigration aren’t just a prelude to bigger things to come.
The public have become war weary, dubious & somewhat distanced…but it would only take one BIG EVENT to CHANGE everything. I hope our governments are on top of things…ever vigilant…& not infiltrated by “false flaggers” & saboteurs w/ prolonged conflict, profiteering, religious crusading, defending mythical birth places at all costs…& worries about being dragged into court for war crimes on their minds. These might be strong external & intrinsic motivations for the loops who have been let out of the asylum & into power.
May 21st, 2008 at 7:56 am
The illustrious Prof. Clive Williams says about al Qaeda ““It’s basically evolved into an organisation which is basically promoting ideals and propagandising and it’s not directly involved in orchestrating operations any more.”
Like selling Amway or Tupperware or promoting love-ins, perhaps?
Okay, so if it’s not uncle Al fighting back with sticks and stones in Iraq, then who tf is it: his brother Fred Qaeda? Or cousin Cyril Qaeda?
This guy is an “expert” but can’t decide if the world’s most feared ‘terrorism’ force still exists or doesn’t, while the US still adheres to that stupid Hollywood ideal that their perceived enemy of this month: be it Al, Fred or Cyril, must be an organised army with recognisable uniforms and located in defined hideouts where AQ flags flutter merrily in the breeze.
They still can’t understand that the whole Muslim world detests them and likewise many other societies. Therefore while the Muslim world is, unfortunately, spread throughout the whole world, there’ll always be millions of opponents to American global marauding policies and this absurd war will be without end.
It’s just ridiculous for the US, every time they zap a few AQ’s, to scream how they ‘got the top bosses’. There’s no bosses, just a global dedication to resist the US and die for the cause. No superpower can fight a dedication, and on every continent.
Meanwhile Australia continues to subscribe to these absurd beliefs that we just need to blow up a few more ‘bosses’ then they’ll all be gone.
Another far cheaper alternative would be to forget this idiotic Warren Terra business and give peace a chance, as John Lennon said.
May 21st, 2008 at 10:40 am
I agree. The idea that somehow we’re the defenders of Democracy & young men & women should sacrifice themselves like Spartans against the massing army of the Persians/Iranians until our citizens recognise the GLORY of their sacrifice in Iraq…or in Lebanon (Israelis)…& come together to whip Persian arse is just so BOGUS. Iran was heading into the Democratic camp, gradually, incrementally, in its own way before dumbo Bush & his minions declared them to be part of the Axis of kinda-like NAZIS.
The Busheviks & their traumatised, brain-washed Zionist mates (including SHOW ME THE MONEY & FEVER evangelicals), Corporate blood of workers suckers & Dem puppets on a chain, ignored Irans offer to help hunt down Osama (Boogeyman at Bernies) Bin (CIA-trained)Laden and instead put the Iranian population in a spin & got their backs up…nervously watching the night skies for American flying objects & fireworks courtesy of the pro-business infected military industrial complex.
And ya know why I reckon many in the Iranian/Arab world were in two minds…somewhat reluctant…slow…to buy a ticket for the Democratic Capitalist ship in the 90s?
…’cause Bill Clinton & his blackmailed, morally-defunct mates allowed the growth of Fascist loopy TV & radio…& the violent side of RAP…& the slagginess of types like Jerry Springer…& various celebrity singers & actors/actresses whose “root & rort for rewards” sell to the youth made Marilyn Monroe look like a virgin saint…& the collapse of regulatory systems that previously controlled the corporate mutants from spreading their vile viruses across the society…& world…
and the failure of Bill’s regime to offer appropriate & ‘fair-go’ health-care to their suffering people…and the dopey continuance of Greenspan’s policies that brought about a horrendous & pension damaging dotcom collapse…and the general message sent to the rest of the World regarding his sexual antics.
No independence from oil…no clean energy movement…no GUTS.
The BAD outweighed the GOOD…& it helped kill off AL GORE. Not NADER. Bill Clinton’s policies &/or lack of.
All the HYPE…all the moving speeches…& even the occasional support for Muslim groups, couldn’t hide the fact that the American WAY had become the WRONG WAY.
And Bush just picked up the baton grinning like a maniac…& here we are.
Let’s hope Obama can do better. Pump some FRESH AIR into the sick room that is that Nation. Help the Americans recover from the virus of greed…& intentional negligence…& open their eyes to their spirit of FAIRNESS & TOLERANCE…& in turn, help the World to unite…so children can smile & sleep in PEACE again.
And hopefully Hillary has learnt the lessons…but I wonder.
I wish Ted Kennedy a quick & healthy recovery. The same for the suffering Chinese & Burmese.
May 21st, 2008 at 11:38 am
Slightly OT but can someone here explain why this guy is so popular?
May 21st, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Peter I have no idea why any of the writers at Powerline are popular. Never read them myself.
May 21st, 2008 at 12:41 pm
I reckon the fact that you are querying Obama’s integrity Peter is a darn good reason for people to vote for him. That’s because you’re a troll who has the characteristics of a cyber-stalker…someone who stands on a high chair & gobs on the people…looks away & then mutters “is it raining?” You don’t add to the discourse & necessary debate…you just throw in smoke bombs & spoilers. You & yer mates across the blogs are propagandists sent to promote the bad Corporations wares…& to defend the faith-based bankrupt…a mercenary sent to SELL their opinion & horse in the election…the divide & conquerors with a pot of gold awaiting them under the neon rainbow…
& I reckon some on this blog might have a stronger word for that type of morally vacuous selling. You play the victim game to try & illicit pity & gain attention. But you’re as transparent as the STRAWMAN type of politics you use as a strategy.
Obama, like any other human being, has the right to shift policy & approach if he sees fit…maybe some of the people who heed the words of you & your fellow campaigners should take some time to rethink their positions.
Lest the world be sucked into the same rigged capitalist, all consuming, void that so many Americans are being drawn into day by day, hour upon hour…kicking & screaming & incessantly eating.
No wonder pregnant women everywhere can feel their babies frantically kick inside. Children have a good sense of when things are going to the wolves & vampyrs….when a massive maw has opened up in their community & is gradually drawing them in.
It’s the mainstream media that helps to knock the common-sense out of the children & re-direct their fears. It’s the same group who blind the adults. And plastic food & toxic toy offerings across the Nations’ monster malls & life-sappingmarkets add to the brainwashing process.
I wonder how many al-Qaeda hunters & myth-makers walk into their Gilded Age hotel-based parties & thru the din of clinking glasses & banquet snorting & self-congratulation & profiteering prats to suddenly find themselves moving in slo-motion?…the air seemingly absent of oxygen…as all the smiles of enablers & the sycophants transform into grinning, worm-ridden skulls…and then it seems that time stands still…& one sound dominates over all…the slow, troubling beat, beat, beat…of a blackened heart.
And then the children scream. It’s the dream of the opportunist…war-monger.
phhht…the sound of another green holographic bottle disappearing from the screen.
I thought John McCain showed some integrity today.
May 21st, 2008 at 12:56 pm
I don’t suppose any of youse saw the promo for Baz Luhrmann’s AUSTRALIA on ABC midday news yesterday. The story started off as a story about the strenghth of the $A and ended up as an ad. Subtle?
May 21st, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Come on Ken and Nas you two are just being stubborn. Obama says one thing one day and exactly the opposite the next and you reckon I’m throwing smoke bombs and spoilers???? Get real. Obama has “has the right to shift policy & approach if he sees fit” ie tell the audience exactly what they want to hear and you two suck ups believe the lot.
If Obama had said “yesterday I believed this but now I don’t because…” I’d give him the time of day but no - he just lies to one audience and hopes no-one will notice. And he’s right.
Spin away guys.
May 21st, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Peter, if he was a fruitcake he wouldn’t be ‘plain and simple’.
How long has it been since you ate fruitcake?
May 21st, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Yes Peter I’ve deleted your last two comments. You pushed to see how far you could go by way of offensive personal abuse of other commenters before you got blocked and now you know. Go whine again to your other wingnut buddies about how nobody will ‘debate’ you at RTS.
Have a great life.
May 21st, 2008 at 3:11 pm
Well OK but I wish you would be consistent. I’ve received far more abuse here from you and nas than given.
May 21st, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Fruitcake are a rich dense holiday cake. Made with candied fruit, dried fruit, fruit rind, nuts, spices and Cognac or Brandy.
(Mahalo.com)
hmmm…i’m certainly not rich…but we’re doin’ pretty fine…compared to those poor bloody Palestinians who’ve found themselves displaced because of the Iraq invasion.
I was dense…once…for not realising how freakin’ morally bankrupt Bush/Cheney & Rumsfeld/Wolfowitz & their enablers like Bill Kristol & Faux News types are. Not so dense these days.
My wife loves fruit of all kinds so the fruit part might be right. Fruit can be nutritious.
Nuts? I hope so. The Busheviks claim their sane.
Spicey? As in producing a burning sensation on the taste nerves. Not sure…do I get on your nerves Peter?
My wife reckons I’m hot…but i’ve been telling her to get her vision checked for ages. Love can lead to kindness.
We know that Bush is spicey & hot…Israel & the Gulf States can’t get enuff of him. But is he HOT on the trail of Osama Bin Gone and Disappeared?
Cognac or Brandy…nah…probably got blood more soaked in vodka, whisky, beer & red wine…mostly sober these days…but sometimes, when i’m real stirred up, the smell of A Drop of the Irish emanates from my sparking gray cells.
Not quite a fruitcake i’m afraid Peter.
Maybe more a SPEAKER for those who can’t. And a SPEAKER FOR THE DEAD.
May 21st, 2008 at 3:38 pm
make that “they’re sane”.
Wouldn’t want the pedantic types goin’ all frothy at the mouth like.
Now here’s a good article…talks about the masses of prisoners the USA is keeping locked up related to the War on Terrorism…few green bottles tho i’m afraid…they’re primarily useful for blowing up, shooting, cloning, vanishing acts & fear-mongering…some who have sighted these creatures speak of hairy beasts that move like men but have tendrils of flesh hangin’ from their blood-stained teeth…they are said to hang out & breed in the mountains w/ abominable snowmen and such…only entering cities & urban areas when THE BOX & BUSH whistle for a MONSTER:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19960.htm
(US Holding 27,000 in Secret Overseas Prisons,
Transporting Prisoners to Iraqi Jails to Avoid Media & Legal Scrutiny, By Democracy Now!: Information Clearing House)
A sneak peek:
CLIVE STAFFORD SMITH: Well you know, one thing that my charity, Reprieve, out of London, we’ve been trying to do is track down the real ghost prisoners in this process. And if you look at Guantanamo Bay, 270, roughly, as you mentioned, prisoners in Guantanamo, but according to the most recent official figures, the United States is currently holding 27,000 secret prisoners around the world. So that means that 99 percent of these folk are not in Guantanamo Bay. Now they’re in other prisons elsewhere. And as you mentioned, Bagram has 680. But there’s a huge number of people being held in Iraq, and one of the intriguing aspects of this that doesn’t get much reporting is that the US is bringing people into Iraq from elsewhere to hold them there, simply because that keeps rather annoying people like you, Amy—I mean the media—and also annoying people like me, lawyers, away from the prisoners so they can’t get any sort of legal rights.
And when you look around the world, there’s a huge camp, Camp Lemonier in Djibouti, where a lot of people are being held. Diego Garcia, contrary to the past analysis of the British government, in the Indian Ocean has been used, in my belief, to hold people. And we’ve identified thirty-two prison ships, sort of prison hulks you used to read about in Victorian England, which have been converted to hold prisoners, and we’ve got pictures of them in Lisbon Harbor, for example. And these are holding prisoners around the world, as well. And there’s a bunch of proxy prisons—Morocco, Egypt and Jordan—where this stuff is going on. And this is a huge concern, because the world focus is on Guantanamo Bay, which really is a diversionary tactic in the whole war of terror or war on terror, whatever you’d like to call it. And actually, most of these people who have been severed from their legal rights are in these other secret prisons around the world.
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It get uglier by the day when you rip those carpets up & see what lies beneath.
May 21st, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Then don’t comment here Peter. It’s not a publicly funded broadcast service, nobody says we have to be balanced; nor do we depend on advertising revenue. If you don’t like the company, leave.
May 21st, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Well, I guess my question about fruitcake really pushed him over the edge.
I’m sure there’s a joke in there somewhere, but it escapes me.
May 21st, 2008 at 5:28 pm
There’s definitely a joke on this thread floopmeister…it was created by the Busheviks in their dreary old lab…& has been told again & again at the expense of the Iraqis, Afghanis, Lebanese, Palestinians & the COW soldiers…to mention a few…yep, a joke told over and over again ad-nauseum. It’s even cost us a pretty penny in the telling…quite an expensive performance to go w/ the standup routine.
Good point previously regarding fruitcakes.
Yum…now i wanna go out & get me one of those. My Grandma used to use only the most natural of ingredients & heaps of brandy…then leave it wrapped in a cold pantry for months. I think the first bite mut’ve been my maiden “pissed as a merry Monk” moment.
Crikey, mebbe we should think of banning the darn things. You can never protect the kids too much from bad influences.
“Hand over that grog-laced cake Granny or ya get it…this is a taser & I haven’t had my coffee & brekky yet!!!”
May 23rd, 2008 at 12:58 pm
101 bottles? Shurely shome mishtake here, hic! Aren’t we up to 1001 top aQ leaders captured in ther GWoT?
Perhaps they’re cloning? Or splitting like ameobas?