CrackerJax
New Member
I don't think the attack was random. That ship was targeted.
out.
out.
you just took an American ship .............
- Thread starter fdd2blk
- Start date
Obama did SHIT to help ......................... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/piracy
"One of them pointed an AK-47 at the back of Phillips, who was tied up and in "imminent danger" of being killed when the commander of the nearby USS Bainbridge made the split-second decision to order his men to shoot, Gortney said. Navy snipers took aim at the pirates' heads and shoulders, he said."
says he "personally approved" ..................
"The operation, personally approved by President Barack Obama, quashed fears the saga could drag on for months and marked a victory for the U.S., which for days seemed powerless to resolve the crisis despite massing helicopter-equipped warships at the scene."
like, they said "hey mister prez. snipers just took out the pirates". he says, "that's cool".
"One of them pointed an AK-47 at the back of Phillips, who was tied up and in "imminent danger" of being killed when the commander of the nearby USS Bainbridge made the split-second decision to order his men to shoot, Gortney said. Navy snipers took aim at the pirates' heads and shoulders, he said."
says he "personally approved" ..................
"The operation, personally approved by President Barack Obama, quashed fears the saga could drag on for months and marked a victory for the U.S., which for days seemed powerless to resolve the crisis despite massing helicopter-equipped warships at the scene."
like, they said "hey mister prez. snipers just took out the pirates". he says, "that's cool".
CrackerJax
New Member
It was a mismatch from the get go.
out.
out.
Johnnyorganic
Well-Known Member
Not forgetting it was a U.S. flagged ship operating in international waters.
Not forgetting the crewmen were union members.
Not forgetting it was a ship full of food and supplies on a humanitarian mission.
Finally, not forgetting the pirates were (presumably) all Muslim engaging in their own brand of commerce.
This episode gives me some hope. The shit went down and President Obama was in charge. The hostage was rescued unharmed, a pirate was captured, and some bad guys were offed in the process.
If the shit had gone wrong, I would lay the blame at President Obama's feet, but I would have at least been comforted by the fact he tried. What would have totally deflated me would have been if he had done nothing.
But he did something. He let the Navy do what is is trained to do - kick ass. For this, President Obama earns my congratulations.
America, Fuck Yeah!
Not forgetting the crewmen were union members.
Not forgetting it was a ship full of food and supplies on a humanitarian mission.
Finally, not forgetting the pirates were (presumably) all Muslim engaging in their own brand of commerce.
This episode gives me some hope. The shit went down and President Obama was in charge. The hostage was rescued unharmed, a pirate was captured, and some bad guys were offed in the process.
If the shit had gone wrong, I would lay the blame at President Obama's feet, but I would have at least been comforted by the fact he tried. What would have totally deflated me would have been if he had done nothing.
But he did something. He let the Navy do what is is trained to do - kick ass. For this, President Obama earns my congratulations.
America, Fuck Yeah!
hence "superpower".
i guess Obama does control the navy. so to speak. he did let them do their job. i'll give him that.
CrackerJax
New Member
Yes, and he showed some forethought by not discussing it, much to the consternation of reporters. The only info those pirates were getting were from the ships surrounding them. Just wish I would see more of this from Obama. Stop bowing to kings!!!
out.
out.
thrawn
Well-Known Member
The conclusion to this ordeal is what will define Obama's actions during the wholse escapade. It will be interesting to see what POTUS does now. I bet twenty that Obama starts lumping Somalia into speeches and press releases involving the war on terrorism and before you know we have predator drones striking "Qaeda" camps.
Big P
Well-Known Member
Silly Pirates, tricks are for kids
Man I heard the captured pirate is like 14 years old
I didnt know my little brother could cause and international incident involving 3 warships and the leader of the free world
U.S. Military Considers Attacks on Somali Pirates Land Bases
By Jeff Bliss
April 13 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. military is considering attacks on pirate bases on land and aid for the Somali people to help stem ship hijackings off Africas east coast, defense officials said.
The military also is drawing up proposals to aid the fledgling Somalia government to train security forces and develop its own coast guard, said the officials, who requested anonymity. The plans will be presented to the Obama administration as it considers a coordinated U.S. government and international response to piracy, the officials said.
The effort follows the freeing yesterday of Richard Phillips, a U.S. cargo ship captain held hostage since April 8 by Somali pirates. Security analysts said making shipping lanes safe would require disrupting the pirates support network on land.
There really isnt a silver-bullet solution other than going into Somalia and rooting out the bases of the pirates, said James Carafano, senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based group.
In 1992, under then-President George H.W. Bush, U.S. forces that landed in Somalia to confront widespread starvation found themselves in the middle of a civil war. Forty-two Americans died before former President Bill Clinton pulled out the troops in 1994.
No such broad military effort is being seriously considered now, the defense officials said.
Need for Somali Support
The defense officials cautioned that any actions, whether diplomatic or military, would need the support of the Somali people, who are traditionally suspicious of foreign intervention.
President Barack Obama, who gave permission for the military operation to free Phillips yesterday, is coordinating the U.S. response to piracy with other countries and the shipping industry to reduce vessels vulnerability to attack, boost operations to foil attacks and prosecute any captured suspects, said a senior administration official.
The administration official, who requested anonymity, declined to provide further details.
U.S. officials said the goal of a response to the piracy problem would be to encourage Somalis to help clamp down on lawlessness and to ease poverty, an outgrowth of 18 years without a strong central government.
One Symptom
Piracy is one symptom of the difficult situation in Somalia, said Laura Tischler, a State Department spokeswoman.
Under discussion are ways to send more direct food and agricultural aid to the country, the defense officials said.
The U.S. militarys African Command, or Africom, could lead the land-based effort. Unlike other commands, Africom doesnt have large military units. It also has only one permanent base, in Djibouti. The staff of Africom is half civilian and half military personnel and includes representatives from the Departments of State, Treasury and Health and Human Services.
Any U.S. actions on the seas may be coordinated by the Fifth Fleet, which is based in Bahrain.
Also, efforts to ferret out pirates may be jointly conducted with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the defense official said.
Joint Partnerships
The U.S. has used a similar partnership between the military and law enforcement to fight drug cartels in South and Central America.
U.S. action would come as new approaches to fight piracy have emerged over the past seven months. In August, countries increased ship escorts and naval patrols around the Gulf of Aden, site of most East African attacks. In December, the United Nations Security Council unanimously passed an anti-piracy resolution.
The UN measure allowed for attacks on pirate land bases and led to the formation of a 28-nation group that has met twice since January to coordinate diplomatic, legal and military efforts.
In January, the U.S. also signed an agreement with Kenya to prosecute suspected pirates handed over by the U.S. military. The U.S. will try anyone who attempts to hijack U.S. ships or hold U.S. captives, Tischler said.
Countries should use existing legal codes, such as the Law of the Sea Treaty and Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation, to develop a process for prosecuting pirates, U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen said.
Ample Legal Requirements
There are ample legal requirements and jurisdiction to be able to take action against these pirates, Allen said yesterday on ABCs This Week. Thats what we should be doing.
The Obama administration also is urging shipping companies and international maritime groups to employ private security forces and take steps such as unbolting ladders that pirates could use to board a vessel.
The U.S. should make sure to involve other countries, international aid organizations and the shipping industry in its plans, security analysts said.
Lack of coordination has been a major reason for the proliferation of piracy incidents, said Yonah Alexander, director of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies International Center for Terrorism Studies, a Washington-based policy group.
Lack of Strategy
Everyone is trying to water their own tree rather than looking at the whole forest, said Alexander, co-author of the soon-to-be-published Terror on the High Seas: From Piracy to Strategic Challenge. The international community doesnt have a coherent, holistic strategy to deal with this.
Current military efforts have had limited success, security analysts said. In January, the U.S. formed Task Force 151, which uses ships, helicopters and Marine Corps snipers to thwart piracy in the region.
In February, the task force prevented pirates from seizing two vessels. It also responded to the seizure of Phillips vessel, the Maersk Alabama, which is operated by Maersk Line, the Norfolk, Virginia-based U.S. unit of Copenhagen-based A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S.
About 25 warships from the European Union, the U.S., Turkey, Russia, India and China have concentrated their efforts to protect the Gulf of Aden.
In response, the pirates have moved south and further out to sea.
Futility
The capture of the Maersk Alabama, which was hijacked 500 miles south of the Gulf of Aden in the Indian Ocean, shows the futility of concentrating security forces solely at sea, said Neil Livingstone, chairman and chief executive officer of ExecutiveAction LLC, a Washington-based anti-terrorism consultant for businesses.
Its a massive area, he said. You cant patrol all of it.
The region Somali pirates operate in is equal in size to the Mediterranean and Red Seas combined.
The U.S. should take as its model the 1801 decision by then-President Thomas Jefferson to send a naval force to assault the land bases of Barbary pirates, who were extorting money from U.S. merchant ships off Libyas coast, security analysts said.
The pirates eventually succumbed to a mixture of U.S. military and diplomatic pressure.
Before taking any action, though, the U.S. should come up with a plan so it isnt caught unprepared like it was during its 1992 Somalia intervention, Carafano said.
We need to be a little more thoughtful and rational this time and develop a detailed strategy, he said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Bliss in Washington [email protected] .
Last Updated: April 12, 2009 22:20 EDT
Man I heard the captured pirate is like 14 years old
I didnt know my little brother could cause and international incident involving 3 warships and the leader of the free worldU.S. Military Considers Attacks on Somali Pirates Land Bases
By Jeff Bliss
April 13 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. military is considering attacks on pirate bases on land and aid for the Somali people to help stem ship hijackings off Africas east coast, defense officials said.
The military also is drawing up proposals to aid the fledgling Somalia government to train security forces and develop its own coast guard, said the officials, who requested anonymity. The plans will be presented to the Obama administration as it considers a coordinated U.S. government and international response to piracy, the officials said.
The effort follows the freeing yesterday of Richard Phillips, a U.S. cargo ship captain held hostage since April 8 by Somali pirates. Security analysts said making shipping lanes safe would require disrupting the pirates support network on land.
There really isnt a silver-bullet solution other than going into Somalia and rooting out the bases of the pirates, said James Carafano, senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based group.
In 1992, under then-President George H.W. Bush, U.S. forces that landed in Somalia to confront widespread starvation found themselves in the middle of a civil war. Forty-two Americans died before former President Bill Clinton pulled out the troops in 1994.
No such broad military effort is being seriously considered now, the defense officials said.
Need for Somali Support
The defense officials cautioned that any actions, whether diplomatic or military, would need the support of the Somali people, who are traditionally suspicious of foreign intervention.
President Barack Obama, who gave permission for the military operation to free Phillips yesterday, is coordinating the U.S. response to piracy with other countries and the shipping industry to reduce vessels vulnerability to attack, boost operations to foil attacks and prosecute any captured suspects, said a senior administration official.
The administration official, who requested anonymity, declined to provide further details.
U.S. officials said the goal of a response to the piracy problem would be to encourage Somalis to help clamp down on lawlessness and to ease poverty, an outgrowth of 18 years without a strong central government.
One Symptom
Piracy is one symptom of the difficult situation in Somalia, said Laura Tischler, a State Department spokeswoman.
Under discussion are ways to send more direct food and agricultural aid to the country, the defense officials said.
The U.S. militarys African Command, or Africom, could lead the land-based effort. Unlike other commands, Africom doesnt have large military units. It also has only one permanent base, in Djibouti. The staff of Africom is half civilian and half military personnel and includes representatives from the Departments of State, Treasury and Health and Human Services.
Any U.S. actions on the seas may be coordinated by the Fifth Fleet, which is based in Bahrain.
Also, efforts to ferret out pirates may be jointly conducted with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the defense official said.
Joint Partnerships
The U.S. has used a similar partnership between the military and law enforcement to fight drug cartels in South and Central America.
U.S. action would come as new approaches to fight piracy have emerged over the past seven months. In August, countries increased ship escorts and naval patrols around the Gulf of Aden, site of most East African attacks. In December, the United Nations Security Council unanimously passed an anti-piracy resolution.
The UN measure allowed for attacks on pirate land bases and led to the formation of a 28-nation group that has met twice since January to coordinate diplomatic, legal and military efforts.
In January, the U.S. also signed an agreement with Kenya to prosecute suspected pirates handed over by the U.S. military. The U.S. will try anyone who attempts to hijack U.S. ships or hold U.S. captives, Tischler said.
Countries should use existing legal codes, such as the Law of the Sea Treaty and Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation, to develop a process for prosecuting pirates, U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen said.
Ample Legal Requirements
There are ample legal requirements and jurisdiction to be able to take action against these pirates, Allen said yesterday on ABCs This Week. Thats what we should be doing.
The Obama administration also is urging shipping companies and international maritime groups to employ private security forces and take steps such as unbolting ladders that pirates could use to board a vessel.
The U.S. should make sure to involve other countries, international aid organizations and the shipping industry in its plans, security analysts said.
Lack of coordination has been a major reason for the proliferation of piracy incidents, said Yonah Alexander, director of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies International Center for Terrorism Studies, a Washington-based policy group.
Lack of Strategy
Everyone is trying to water their own tree rather than looking at the whole forest, said Alexander, co-author of the soon-to-be-published Terror on the High Seas: From Piracy to Strategic Challenge. The international community doesnt have a coherent, holistic strategy to deal with this.
Current military efforts have had limited success, security analysts said. In January, the U.S. formed Task Force 151, which uses ships, helicopters and Marine Corps snipers to thwart piracy in the region.
In February, the task force prevented pirates from seizing two vessels. It also responded to the seizure of Phillips vessel, the Maersk Alabama, which is operated by Maersk Line, the Norfolk, Virginia-based U.S. unit of Copenhagen-based A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S.
About 25 warships from the European Union, the U.S., Turkey, Russia, India and China have concentrated their efforts to protect the Gulf of Aden.
In response, the pirates have moved south and further out to sea.
Futility
The capture of the Maersk Alabama, which was hijacked 500 miles south of the Gulf of Aden in the Indian Ocean, shows the futility of concentrating security forces solely at sea, said Neil Livingstone, chairman and chief executive officer of ExecutiveAction LLC, a Washington-based anti-terrorism consultant for businesses.
Its a massive area, he said. You cant patrol all of it.
The region Somali pirates operate in is equal in size to the Mediterranean and Red Seas combined.
The U.S. should take as its model the 1801 decision by then-President Thomas Jefferson to send a naval force to assault the land bases of Barbary pirates, who were extorting money from U.S. merchant ships off Libyas coast, security analysts said.
The pirates eventually succumbed to a mixture of U.S. military and diplomatic pressure.
Before taking any action, though, the U.S. should come up with a plan so it isnt caught unprepared like it was during its 1992 Somalia intervention, Carafano said.
We need to be a little more thoughtful and rational this time and develop a detailed strategy, he said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Bliss in Washington [email protected] .
Last Updated: April 12, 2009 22:20 EDT
no, seriously .................... http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,514924,00.html
misshestermoffitt
New Member
I'm reading about that. http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/04/13/somalia.pirates.revenge/index.html
We stole their hostages and killed their criminals and now they're mad?
"We have decided to kill U.S. and French sailors if they happen to be among our future hostages,"
WTF, is that?
We stole their hostages and killed their criminals and now they're mad?
"We have decided to kill U.S. and French sailors if they happen to be among our future hostages,"
WTF, is that?
Big P
Well-Known Member
Man seems this 2012 revelations shit is right on schedule. Ill be in for a huge I told you so if that shit happens, a huge I told you so
Israeli President: If talks don't soften Ahmadinejad 'we'll strike him'
President Shimon Peres had some unusually aggressive words for Iran Sunday, seemingly threatening military action if US President Barack Obama's overtures to the Islamic republic fail to bear fruit.
President Shimon Peres.
Photo: AP
SLIDESHOW: Israel & Region | World
In an interview with Kol Hai Radio, Peres also said that the arrest before the weekend of a Hizbullah terror cell in Egypt was a blow to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's power.
"Ahmadinejad recruits forces against us, but there are also forces against him," Peres said. "What happened in Egypt created a fierce opposition and we must unify all his opponents - the Sunnis and the Europeans, as well as those afraid of nuclear weapons and terror."
Peres went on to say that he hoped Obama's call for dialogue with Ahmadinejad would be heeded, but warned that if such talks don't soften the Iranian president's approach "we'll strike him." RELATED
While refusing to go into detail about the military option to foil Iran's nuclear program, Peres did say that Israel couldn't carry out any strike against the Islamic republic without America. "We certainly cannot go it alone, without the US, and we definitely can't go against the US. This would be unnecessary," stressed the president.
Peres also referred to the case of Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, imprisoned in the US, saying that even if Israel had done more, it wouldn't have secured his release as "until now, all our appeals to America have been answered with an iron wall."
Warning that Pakistan is in danger of collapse within months
David Kilcullen... Pakistan keeps him awake at night. Photo: Supplied
PAKISTAN could collapse within months, one of the more influential counter-insurgency voices in Washington says.
The warning comes as the US scrambles to redeploy its military forces and diplomats in an attempt to stem rising violence and anarchy in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
"We have to face the fact that if Pakistan collapses it will dwarf anything we have seen so far in whatever we're calling the war on terror now," said David Kilcullen, a former Australian Army officer who was a specialist adviser for the Bush administration and is now a consultant to the Obama White House.
"You just can't say that you're not going to worry about al-Qaeda taking control of Pakistan and its nukes," he said.
As the US implements a new strategy in Central Asia so comprehensive that some analysts now dub the cross-border conflict "Obama's war", Dr Kilcullen said time was running out for international efforts to pull both countries back from the brink.
When he unveiled his new "Afpak" policy in Washington last month, the US President, Barack Obama, warned that while al-Qaeda would fill the vacuum if Afghanistan collapsed, the terrorist group was already rooted in Pakistan, plotting more attacks on the US.
"The safety of people round the world is at stake," he said.
Laying out the scale of the challenges facing the US in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Dr Kilcullen put the two countries invaded by US-led forces after the September 11 attacks on the US on a par - each had a population of more than 30 million.
"But Pakistan has 173 million people and 100 nuclear weapons, an army which is bigger than the American army, and the headquarters of al-Qaeda sitting in two-thirds of the country which the Government does not control," he told the Herald .
Added to that, the Pakistani security establishment ignored direction from the elected Government in Islamabad as waves of extremist violence spread across the whole country - not only in the tribal wilds of the Afghan border region.
Cautioning against an excessive focus by Western governments on Afghanistan at the expense of Pakistan, Dr Kilcullen said that "the Kabul tail was wagging the dog". Comparing the challenges in the two, he said Afghanistan was a campaign to defend a reconstruction program. "It's not really about al-Qaeda. Afghanistan doesn't worry me. Pakistan does."
But he was hesitant about the level of resources for, and the likely impact of, Washington's new drive to emulate an Iraq-style "surge" by sending an extra 21,000 troops to Afghanistan.
"In Iraq, five brigades went into the centre of Baghdad in five months. In Afghanistan, it will be two combat brigades [across the country] in 12 months. That will have much less of a punch effect than we had in Iraq.
"We can muddle through in Afghanistan. It is problematic and difficult but we know what to do. What we don't know is if we have the time or if we can afford the cost of what needs to be done."
Dr Kilcullen said a fault line had developed in the West's grasp of circumstances on each side of the Durand Line, the disputed border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
"In Afghanistan, it's easy to understand, difficult to execute. But in Pakistan, it is very difficult to understand and it's extremely difficult for us to generate any leverage, because Pakistan does not want our help.
"In a sense there is no Pakistan - no single set of opinion. Pakistan has a military and intelligence establishment that refuses to follow the directions of its civilian leadership. They have a tradition of using regional extremist groups as unconventional counterweights against India's regional influence."
In the absence of a regional diplomatic initiative to build economic and trade confidences before tackling the security issue, the implication, Dr Kilcullen said, was that India alone could not give Pakistan the security guarantees Islamabad required.
The special US envoy Richard Holbrooke has been charged with brokering a regional compact by reaching out to Iran, Russia and China, and Dr Kilcullen said: "This is exactly what he's good at and it could work.
"But will it? It requires regional architecture to give the Pakistani security establishment a sense of security which might make them stop supporting the Taliban," he said.
"The best case scenario is that the US can deal with Afghanistan, with President Obama giving leadership while the extra American troops succeed on the ground - at the same time as Mr Holbrooke seeks a regional security deal," he said. The worst case was that Washington would fail to stabilise Afghanistan, Pakistan would collapse and al-Qaeda would end up running what he called 'Talibanistan.'
"This is not acceptable. You can't have al-Qaeda in control of Pakistan's missiles," he said.
"It's too early to tell which way it will go. We'll start to know about July. That's the peak fighting season and a month from the Afghan presidential election."
Bangkok on brink of anarchy...
A man has been killed in Bangkok today as roughly 5,000 protesters took on the Thai army in violent demonstrations against the government.
The eruption of violence in Bangkok has prompted the UK Foreign Office to warn against travel to the capital.
Minister Sathit Wongnongtoey said the fighting is happening around a market between area residents and hundreds of red-shirted anti-government protesters.
Enlarge
A Thai soldier chases an anti-government protester with baton the demonstrations in Bangkok today
He told a local television station that said two people had been wounded in the confrontation. The fighting took place near the protesters' stronghold outside the prime minister's offices.
Dr. Chatri Charoenchivakul of the official Erawan Emergency Coordination Center said the victim was shot in the chest and two other people were wounded by gun shots.
The death came amid claims the Thai army was firing hundreds of rounds of live ammunition - some into crowds - in a desperate attempt to contain the mass anti-government riots.
The army fired on protesters forcing them to abandon a blockade of a key traffic junction in a first show of strength since an emergency was declared.
Enlarge
Thai firefighters train a hose on a burning bus after anti-government protesters set up the roadblock and set the bus ablaze during the protest today
The red-shirted protesters had torched a bus and thrown scores of Molotv cocktails at security forces faced off at Din Daeng junction before the army finally retaliated, witnesses said.
Bangkok Medical Centre director Peeraphong Saicheau said 77 people were injured in clashes at the junction, which began just before dawn. Two civilians and two soldiers had gunshot wounds.
The junction is a crucial part of Bangkok's traffic system, although Monday is the start of a three-day holiday for the Thai New Year and many people have already left for the provinces.
Financial markets are shut until Thursday because of the holiday.
Enlarge
A soldier carries guns and a rose in his backpack as he helps clear the blockaded road after troops fired on protesters
Enlarge
Soldiers aim water at a blazing bus that formed part of the blockade at the intersection this morning
Troops moved in with water cannon after protesters loyal to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra poured some kind of fuel on the road, threatening to set it ablaze if soldiers acted.
They eventually pushed the protesters out of the junction, detaining several and stripping them of their trademark red shirts.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday declared a state of emergency, ordering soldiers and armoured vehicles on to the streets.
But red-shirted anti-government protesters went unchecked, with angry mobs roaming parts of the capital, some commandeering public buses to barricade major intersections.
Enlarge
Thai army soldiers capture an anti-government protester who tried to drive a bus into their lines during pitched battles on the streets of Bangkok today
Defiant protesters confront police as the violence escalates
Dozens of men furiously smashed cars thought to be carrying the prime minister as he fled the interior ministry after making the emergency decree.
They used poles, a ladder and even flower pots to smash the cars as nearby police in riot gear stood by doing nothing.
Today, up to 49 people were injured in pre-dawn clashes between soldiers and protesters, according to an emergency centre.
The Foreign Office urged anyone considering a trip to the capital or its surrounding areas to 'urgently review their plans'.
British ambassador to Thailand Quinton Quayle told Sky News: 'As the situation is so volatile we are advising British travellers thinking of coming to Bangkok to urgently review their travel plans.
Supporters of ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra force their way past soldiers as the glass door shatters
An anti-government protester waves a flag as tyres burn behind him in Bangkok yesterday
'British residents and visitors to Bangkok are advised to avoid any areas where demonstrations are taking place and to stay indoors as far as possible.'
Singapore, Australia, France, South Korea and Canada have also issued warnings advising citizens against traveling to the region and those already there to stay indoors.
The state of emergency is supposed to ban gatherings of more than five people and forbid reporting that is considered threatening to public order.
But following its introduction, ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra called for a revolution.
A Buddhist monk talks to a soldier keeping watch over supporters of ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
An injured protester is led away by a Thai soldier after a crackdown at Victory Monument in central Bangkok
'Now that they have tanks on the streets, it is time for the people to come out in revolution. And when it is necessary, I will come back to the country,' he said in a telephoned message to followers who surrounded the prime minister's office.
Demonstrators say the prime minister's four-month-old government took power illegitimately.
'It's apparent that we will be surrounded and suppressed by military force. Tear gas and military personnel have been prepared. So we told our people to be ready and be prepared,' said Jakrapop Penkair, a key protest leader.
Enlarge
Two women backed by a sea of protesters face off against Thai soldiers armed with M16 guns in central Bangkok today
Enlarge
Protesters plea for soldiers not to use violence against them outside Government House in Bangkok today
'If they use force, the people will be our weapon. We are not scared. Abhisit must be ousted immediately.'
Prime Minister Abhisit suffered a political humiliation when the summit he had presented as a sign of the country's return to normality had to be cancelled after red-shirted supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin broke into the venue, sending Asian leaders fleeing by helicopter.
Thaksin's supporters say Abhisit only became premier because of a parliamentary stitch-up engineered by the army. They want new elections, which they would be well placed to win.
They believe the military, judiciary and other unelected officials are undermining democracy by interfering in politics.
The Tourism Council of Thailand predicted the country would lose at least 200 billion baht (5.6 billion US dollars) as foreign tourists avoided the country.
That could lead to 200,000 jobs lost at hotels and other travel businesses.
The Prime Minister's driver is injured as they escape the interior ministry after protestors break through security
Demonstrators attack the Prime minister's secretary Niphon Prompan
Trees and street signs are flung towards the car by protestors as the Prime Minister flees the interior ministry
About 812,000 British nationals visited Thailand in 2008, according to the Thai tourism authority.
The country is a magnet for Brits seeking a mix of adventure, culture, beaches and sun.
Advice on the FCO website read: 'In view of the deteriorating security situation anyone considering going to Bangkok should urgently review their plans.
'British residents in, and visitors to, Bangkok are advised to avoid any areas where demonstrations are taking place and to stay indoors as far as possible.'
The FCO estimates that 40,000 British nationals live in Thailand.
Soldiers drive their tanks on the road in Bangkok as protests grow over 'rigged' elections
ECONOMY'S GONE TO POT: HOMEGROWN WEED SALES SOAR BY 60%...
By LARRY CELONA and ANDY GELLER
Last updated: 2:12 am
April 13, 2009
Posted: 1:23 am
April 13, 2009
The economy has gone to pot.
With the nation's fiscal health in the tank, homegrown marijuana operations have soared by 60 percent.
Since Oct. 1, the Drug Enforcement Administration has broken up eight hydroponic pot-growing set-ups around the state -- with five in the Big Apple.
That compares with five for all of the previous fiscal year.
Growing marijuana hydroponically -- in water -- is a lucrative business, said John Gilbride, head of the DEA's New York office.
It is far more potent than the regular stuff -- with a pound going for about $5,000 on the street. A pound of grass smuggled in from Mexico goes for $400 to $1,500.
Of the five "grow ops" smashed in the Apple, four were taken down in The Bronx last week. There were no immediate arrests.
The fifth, in the basement of a house on 237th Street in Queens Village, Queens, was raided on Feb. 24, and firefighter Patrick Murray, 34, was charged with growing 100 plants.
A month later, firefighter Matthew Cody, 27 -- who worked with Murray at Engine Co. 292 in Woodside -- and Cody's brother, Michael, 25, were busted.
A mother and her two sons, 14 and 2, who lived in Murray's house were forced to move when the toddler developed a severe case of hives from the fertilizer used in the growing process.
"He really got sick," said his teen brother. "It was really upsetting."
The five raids netted 830 pounds of pot worth $4.15 million on the street.
you remeber when you were in school and the teacher was sick & they would send in a substitute teacher.
all hell would break lose in the class for some reason the class would collectivly sense the lack of disipline and leadership and begin to just do "whatever"
I think this will may happen on a semi global scale
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Israeli President: If talks don't soften Ahmadinejad 'we'll strike him'
President Shimon Peres had some unusually aggressive words for Iran Sunday, seemingly threatening military action if US President Barack Obama's overtures to the Islamic republic fail to bear fruit.
Photo: AP
SLIDESHOW: Israel & Region | World
In an interview with Kol Hai Radio, Peres also said that the arrest before the weekend of a Hizbullah terror cell in Egypt was a blow to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's power.
"Ahmadinejad recruits forces against us, but there are also forces against him," Peres said. "What happened in Egypt created a fierce opposition and we must unify all his opponents - the Sunnis and the Europeans, as well as those afraid of nuclear weapons and terror."
Peres went on to say that he hoped Obama's call for dialogue with Ahmadinejad would be heeded, but warned that if such talks don't soften the Iranian president's approach "we'll strike him." RELATED
While refusing to go into detail about the military option to foil Iran's nuclear program, Peres did say that Israel couldn't carry out any strike against the Islamic republic without America. "We certainly cannot go it alone, without the US, and we definitely can't go against the US. This would be unnecessary," stressed the president.
Peres also referred to the case of Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, imprisoned in the US, saying that even if Israel had done more, it wouldn't have secured his release as "until now, all our appeals to America have been answered with an iron wall."
Warning that Pakistan is in danger of collapse within months
- Paul McGeough
- April 13, 2009
PAKISTAN could collapse within months, one of the more influential counter-insurgency voices in Washington says.
The warning comes as the US scrambles to redeploy its military forces and diplomats in an attempt to stem rising violence and anarchy in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
"We have to face the fact that if Pakistan collapses it will dwarf anything we have seen so far in whatever we're calling the war on terror now," said David Kilcullen, a former Australian Army officer who was a specialist adviser for the Bush administration and is now a consultant to the Obama White House.
"You just can't say that you're not going to worry about al-Qaeda taking control of Pakistan and its nukes," he said.
As the US implements a new strategy in Central Asia so comprehensive that some analysts now dub the cross-border conflict "Obama's war", Dr Kilcullen said time was running out for international efforts to pull both countries back from the brink.
When he unveiled his new "Afpak" policy in Washington last month, the US President, Barack Obama, warned that while al-Qaeda would fill the vacuum if Afghanistan collapsed, the terrorist group was already rooted in Pakistan, plotting more attacks on the US.
"The safety of people round the world is at stake," he said.
Laying out the scale of the challenges facing the US in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Dr Kilcullen put the two countries invaded by US-led forces after the September 11 attacks on the US on a par - each had a population of more than 30 million.
"But Pakistan has 173 million people and 100 nuclear weapons, an army which is bigger than the American army, and the headquarters of al-Qaeda sitting in two-thirds of the country which the Government does not control," he told the Herald .
Added to that, the Pakistani security establishment ignored direction from the elected Government in Islamabad as waves of extremist violence spread across the whole country - not only in the tribal wilds of the Afghan border region.
Cautioning against an excessive focus by Western governments on Afghanistan at the expense of Pakistan, Dr Kilcullen said that "the Kabul tail was wagging the dog". Comparing the challenges in the two, he said Afghanistan was a campaign to defend a reconstruction program. "It's not really about al-Qaeda. Afghanistan doesn't worry me. Pakistan does."
But he was hesitant about the level of resources for, and the likely impact of, Washington's new drive to emulate an Iraq-style "surge" by sending an extra 21,000 troops to Afghanistan.
"In Iraq, five brigades went into the centre of Baghdad in five months. In Afghanistan, it will be two combat brigades [across the country] in 12 months. That will have much less of a punch effect than we had in Iraq.
"We can muddle through in Afghanistan. It is problematic and difficult but we know what to do. What we don't know is if we have the time or if we can afford the cost of what needs to be done."
Dr Kilcullen said a fault line had developed in the West's grasp of circumstances on each side of the Durand Line, the disputed border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
"In Afghanistan, it's easy to understand, difficult to execute. But in Pakistan, it is very difficult to understand and it's extremely difficult for us to generate any leverage, because Pakistan does not want our help.
"In a sense there is no Pakistan - no single set of opinion. Pakistan has a military and intelligence establishment that refuses to follow the directions of its civilian leadership. They have a tradition of using regional extremist groups as unconventional counterweights against India's regional influence."
In the absence of a regional diplomatic initiative to build economic and trade confidences before tackling the security issue, the implication, Dr Kilcullen said, was that India alone could not give Pakistan the security guarantees Islamabad required.
The special US envoy Richard Holbrooke has been charged with brokering a regional compact by reaching out to Iran, Russia and China, and Dr Kilcullen said: "This is exactly what he's good at and it could work.
"But will it? It requires regional architecture to give the Pakistani security establishment a sense of security which might make them stop supporting the Taliban," he said.
"The best case scenario is that the US can deal with Afghanistan, with President Obama giving leadership while the extra American troops succeed on the ground - at the same time as Mr Holbrooke seeks a regional security deal," he said. The worst case was that Washington would fail to stabilise Afghanistan, Pakistan would collapse and al-Qaeda would end up running what he called 'Talibanistan.'
"This is not acceptable. You can't have al-Qaeda in control of Pakistan's missiles," he said.
"It's too early to tell which way it will go. We'll start to know about July. That's the peak fighting season and a month from the Afghan presidential election."
Bangkok on brink of anarchy...
A man has been killed in Bangkok today as roughly 5,000 protesters took on the Thai army in violent demonstrations against the government.
The eruption of violence in Bangkok has prompted the UK Foreign Office to warn against travel to the capital.
Minister Sathit Wongnongtoey said the fighting is happening around a market between area residents and hundreds of red-shirted anti-government protesters.
Enlarge
A Thai soldier chases an anti-government protester with baton the demonstrations in Bangkok today
He told a local television station that said two people had been wounded in the confrontation. The fighting took place near the protesters' stronghold outside the prime minister's offices.
Dr. Chatri Charoenchivakul of the official Erawan Emergency Coordination Center said the victim was shot in the chest and two other people were wounded by gun shots.
The death came amid claims the Thai army was firing hundreds of rounds of live ammunition - some into crowds - in a desperate attempt to contain the mass anti-government riots.
The army fired on protesters forcing them to abandon a blockade of a key traffic junction in a first show of strength since an emergency was declared.
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Thai firefighters train a hose on a burning bus after anti-government protesters set up the roadblock and set the bus ablaze during the protest today
The red-shirted protesters had torched a bus and thrown scores of Molotv cocktails at security forces faced off at Din Daeng junction before the army finally retaliated, witnesses said.
Bangkok Medical Centre director Peeraphong Saicheau said 77 people were injured in clashes at the junction, which began just before dawn. Two civilians and two soldiers had gunshot wounds.
The junction is a crucial part of Bangkok's traffic system, although Monday is the start of a three-day holiday for the Thai New Year and many people have already left for the provinces.
Financial markets are shut until Thursday because of the holiday.
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A soldier carries guns and a rose in his backpack as he helps clear the blockaded road after troops fired on protesters
Enlarge
Soldiers aim water at a blazing bus that formed part of the blockade at the intersection this morning
Troops moved in with water cannon after protesters loyal to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra poured some kind of fuel on the road, threatening to set it ablaze if soldiers acted.
They eventually pushed the protesters out of the junction, detaining several and stripping them of their trademark red shirts.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday declared a state of emergency, ordering soldiers and armoured vehicles on to the streets.
But red-shirted anti-government protesters went unchecked, with angry mobs roaming parts of the capital, some commandeering public buses to barricade major intersections.
Enlarge
Thai army soldiers capture an anti-government protester who tried to drive a bus into their lines during pitched battles on the streets of Bangkok today
Defiant protesters confront police as the violence escalates
Dozens of men furiously smashed cars thought to be carrying the prime minister as he fled the interior ministry after making the emergency decree.
They used poles, a ladder and even flower pots to smash the cars as nearby police in riot gear stood by doing nothing.
Today, up to 49 people were injured in pre-dawn clashes between soldiers and protesters, according to an emergency centre.
The Foreign Office urged anyone considering a trip to the capital or its surrounding areas to 'urgently review their plans'.
British ambassador to Thailand Quinton Quayle told Sky News: 'As the situation is so volatile we are advising British travellers thinking of coming to Bangkok to urgently review their travel plans.
Supporters of ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra force their way past soldiers as the glass door shatters
An anti-government protester waves a flag as tyres burn behind him in Bangkok yesterday
'British residents and visitors to Bangkok are advised to avoid any areas where demonstrations are taking place and to stay indoors as far as possible.'
Singapore, Australia, France, South Korea and Canada have also issued warnings advising citizens against traveling to the region and those already there to stay indoors.
The state of emergency is supposed to ban gatherings of more than five people and forbid reporting that is considered threatening to public order.
But following its introduction, ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra called for a revolution.
A Buddhist monk talks to a soldier keeping watch over supporters of ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
An injured protester is led away by a Thai soldier after a crackdown at Victory Monument in central Bangkok
'Now that they have tanks on the streets, it is time for the people to come out in revolution. And when it is necessary, I will come back to the country,' he said in a telephoned message to followers who surrounded the prime minister's office.
Demonstrators say the prime minister's four-month-old government took power illegitimately.
'It's apparent that we will be surrounded and suppressed by military force. Tear gas and military personnel have been prepared. So we told our people to be ready and be prepared,' said Jakrapop Penkair, a key protest leader.
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Two women backed by a sea of protesters face off against Thai soldiers armed with M16 guns in central Bangkok today
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Protesters plea for soldiers not to use violence against them outside Government House in Bangkok today
'If they use force, the people will be our weapon. We are not scared. Abhisit must be ousted immediately.'
Prime Minister Abhisit suffered a political humiliation when the summit he had presented as a sign of the country's return to normality had to be cancelled after red-shirted supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin broke into the venue, sending Asian leaders fleeing by helicopter.
Thaksin's supporters say Abhisit only became premier because of a parliamentary stitch-up engineered by the army. They want new elections, which they would be well placed to win.
They believe the military, judiciary and other unelected officials are undermining democracy by interfering in politics.
The Tourism Council of Thailand predicted the country would lose at least 200 billion baht (5.6 billion US dollars) as foreign tourists avoided the country.
That could lead to 200,000 jobs lost at hotels and other travel businesses.
The Prime Minister's driver is injured as they escape the interior ministry after protestors break through security
Demonstrators attack the Prime minister's secretary Niphon Prompan
Trees and street signs are flung towards the car by protestors as the Prime Minister flees the interior ministry
About 812,000 British nationals visited Thailand in 2008, according to the Thai tourism authority.
The country is a magnet for Brits seeking a mix of adventure, culture, beaches and sun.
Advice on the FCO website read: 'In view of the deteriorating security situation anyone considering going to Bangkok should urgently review their plans.
'British residents in, and visitors to, Bangkok are advised to avoid any areas where demonstrations are taking place and to stay indoors as far as possible.'
The FCO estimates that 40,000 British nationals live in Thailand.
Soldiers drive their tanks on the road in Bangkok as protests grow over 'rigged' elections
ECONOMY'S GONE TO POT: HOMEGROWN WEED SALES SOAR BY 60%...
By LARRY CELONA and ANDY GELLER
Last updated: 2:12 am
April 13, 2009
Posted: 1:23 am
April 13, 2009
The economy has gone to pot.
With the nation's fiscal health in the tank, homegrown marijuana operations have soared by 60 percent.
Since Oct. 1, the Drug Enforcement Administration has broken up eight hydroponic pot-growing set-ups around the state -- with five in the Big Apple.
That compares with five for all of the previous fiscal year.
Growing marijuana hydroponically -- in water -- is a lucrative business, said John Gilbride, head of the DEA's New York office.
It is far more potent than the regular stuff -- with a pound going for about $5,000 on the street. A pound of grass smuggled in from Mexico goes for $400 to $1,500.
Of the five "grow ops" smashed in the Apple, four were taken down in The Bronx last week. There were no immediate arrests.
The fifth, in the basement of a house on 237th Street in Queens Village, Queens, was raided on Feb. 24, and firefighter Patrick Murray, 34, was charged with growing 100 plants.
A month later, firefighter Matthew Cody, 27 -- who worked with Murray at Engine Co. 292 in Woodside -- and Cody's brother, Michael, 25, were busted.
A mother and her two sons, 14 and 2, who lived in Murray's house were forced to move when the toddler developed a severe case of hives from the fertilizer used in the growing process.
"He really got sick," said his teen brother. "It was really upsetting."
The five raids netted 830 pounds of pot worth $4.15 million on the street.
you remeber when you were in school and the teacher was sick & they would send in a substitute teacher.
all hell would break lose in the class for some reason the class would collectivly sense the lack of disipline and leadership and begin to just do "whatever"
I think this will may happen on a semi global scale
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Big P
Well-Known Member
Somali insurgents fire mortars at U.S. congressman...
13 Apr 2009 15:27:47 GMT
Source: Reuters
</SPAN> * Somali militants fire mortars towards U.S. congressman
* Police say mortars hit airport, no one injured
* AU spokesman denies attack aimed at Donald Payne happened
(Adds quotes, details)
By Ibrahim Mohamed
MOGADISHU, April 13 (Reuters) - Somali insurgents fired mortars toward U.S. congressman Donald Payne as he left Somalia on Monday after a rare visit by a U.S. politician to the anarchic Horn of Africa nation, police said.
Somalia's capital Mogadishu is one of the world's most dangerous places. U.S. officials have shunned travel to the battle-scarred city due to constant violence.
Somali Internal Security Minister Omar Hashi Aden told Reuters Payne's plane was airborne when the mortars fell. An African Union (AU) spokesman denied the attack on the airport -- which is under AU control -- had happened.
A police officer, however, said mortars struck the airport.
"One mortar landed at the airport when Payne's plane was due to fly and five others after he left, and no one was hurt," an officer at the airstrip told Reuters.
Residents said insurgents and AU soldiers exchanged fire after the attack, killing three people and wounding 12 others near a main market in Mogadishu.
"A mortar dropped exactly where other mortars were fired from. But I cannot make out if those injured ones are the civilians or the ones who fired," said Ahmed, a mechanic.
Payne spoke with the interim government's president and prime minister
during the short visit. AU soldiers provided security for Payne.
He told reporters before leaving for the airport that he was there to "get a first hand report on the situation in Somalia and check the progress that has been made".
VIOLENCE
Payne, 74, a New Jersey Democrat, defended a recent U.S. assault on pirates holding an American hostage off of Somalia's coast that, observers fear, may escalate violence on the seas.
"If there were no pirates, the U.S. government would not have intervened ... Every country has a right to defend its citizens," he said.
Payne is in his 10th term in the U.S. House of Representatives and was first elected in 1988. He is chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus and of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health.
Jendayi Frazer, then the top U.S. diplomat for Africa, became the first high-ranking U.S. official to visit Somalia in more than a decade when she landed in Baidoa in April 2007.
She avoided Mogadishu because of violence there, preferring to meet officials in the provincial town that was then the seat of the Somali parliament.
Payne criticised Ethiopia's invasion of Somalia in late 2006, when Addis Ababa sent thousands of troops to crush an Islamist movement that had taken control of much of the south.
That attack ousted Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, then an Islamist leader in Mogadishu and now president of the government.
U.S. foreign policy toward the Horn of Africa nation has been haunted by a disastrous battle in Mogadishu in 1993 that killed 18 U.S. soldiers. (Writing by Jack Kimball; Editing by Sophie Hares)
13 Apr 2009 15:27:47 GMT
Source: Reuters
</SPAN> * Somali militants fire mortars towards U.S. congressman
* Police say mortars hit airport, no one injured
* AU spokesman denies attack aimed at Donald Payne happened
(Adds quotes, details)
By Ibrahim Mohamed
MOGADISHU, April 13 (Reuters) - Somali insurgents fired mortars toward U.S. congressman Donald Payne as he left Somalia on Monday after a rare visit by a U.S. politician to the anarchic Horn of Africa nation, police said.
Somalia's capital Mogadishu is one of the world's most dangerous places. U.S. officials have shunned travel to the battle-scarred city due to constant violence.
Somali Internal Security Minister Omar Hashi Aden told Reuters Payne's plane was airborne when the mortars fell. An African Union (AU) spokesman denied the attack on the airport -- which is under AU control -- had happened.
A police officer, however, said mortars struck the airport.
"One mortar landed at the airport when Payne's plane was due to fly and five others after he left, and no one was hurt," an officer at the airstrip told Reuters.
Residents said insurgents and AU soldiers exchanged fire after the attack, killing three people and wounding 12 others near a main market in Mogadishu.
"A mortar dropped exactly where other mortars were fired from. But I cannot make out if those injured ones are the civilians or the ones who fired," said Ahmed, a mechanic.
Payne spoke with the interim government's president and prime minister
during the short visit. AU soldiers provided security for Payne.
He told reporters before leaving for the airport that he was there to "get a first hand report on the situation in Somalia and check the progress that has been made".
VIOLENCE
Payne, 74, a New Jersey Democrat, defended a recent U.S. assault on pirates holding an American hostage off of Somalia's coast that, observers fear, may escalate violence on the seas.
"If there were no pirates, the U.S. government would not have intervened ... Every country has a right to defend its citizens," he said.
Payne is in his 10th term in the U.S. House of Representatives and was first elected in 1988. He is chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus and of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health.
Jendayi Frazer, then the top U.S. diplomat for Africa, became the first high-ranking U.S. official to visit Somalia in more than a decade when she landed in Baidoa in April 2007.
She avoided Mogadishu because of violence there, preferring to meet officials in the provincial town that was then the seat of the Somali parliament.
Payne criticised Ethiopia's invasion of Somalia in late 2006, when Addis Ababa sent thousands of troops to crush an Islamist movement that had taken control of much of the south.
That attack ousted Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, then an Islamist leader in Mogadishu and now president of the government.
U.S. foreign policy toward the Horn of Africa nation has been haunted by a disastrous battle in Mogadishu in 1993 that killed 18 U.S. soldiers. (Writing by Jack Kimball; Editing by Sophie Hares)
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tipsgnob
New Member
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medicineman
New Member
Well, It's good to see Obama getting some credit for a job well done. Lord knows, had it gone wrong, he'd certainly have gotten the blame. All you righties were all over him during the incident. Maybe one should hold their tongues untill the conclusion, Eh?