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Archive for January 11th, 2007

Jan 11 2007

Somalia Watch: Somalia Strike Missed Al Qaeda Terrorists

Posted by Flap in Al Qaeda, Ethiopia, Somalia

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Meles Zenawi speaks at a news conference in Addis Ababa January 10, 2007. Meles said on Wednesday the United States had struck only once in Somali and denied reports that civilians had been killed in the air attack.

CNN: Official: Somalia strike missed al Qaeda suspects

None of the top three suspected terrorists in Somalia were killed in a U.S. airstrike this week, but Somalis with close ties to al Qaeda were killed, a senior U.S. official in the region said Thursday.

A day earlier, a Somali official had said a U.S. intelligence report had referred to the death of Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, one of the three senior al Qaeda members believed responsible for bombing U.S. embassies in East Africa. But U.S. and Ethiopian troops in southern Somalia were still pursuing the three, the U.S. official said Thursday on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record.

Earlier this week, police at the Kenyan coastal border town of Kiunga arrested the wives and several children of two of the embassy bombing suspects, according to an internal police report seen by The Associated Press Wednesday. The suspects’ relatives had slipped across the border, according to the report.

Residents on Thursday reported new fighting between Islamic militiamen and Somali and Ethiopian forces.

The fighting early Thursday in southern Somalia set off a brush fire, residents said by two-way radio. There were reports of as many as 35 deaths.

The fighting comes after Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said his forces were carrying out mop-up operations against Islamic militants in the extreme southern corner of Somalia and that he expected to withdraw his troops within a few weeks.

It is a shame they have not killed these Al Qaeda thugs but they have their families and are hunting them down like dogs.

In the meantime, the United States is deploying more ships off the coast for more operations.

USS Dwight David Eisenhower

U.S. and Somali officials said Wednesday a small American team has been providing military advice to Ethiopian and Somali forces on the ground. The officials provided little detail and spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.

Somali officials have said the U.S. had a right to strike, and one even called on America to send in ground troops to help root out al Qaeda extremists and the Islamic militia believed to be sheltering them.

The U.S. Navy has moved additional forces into waters off the Somali coast, where they have conducted security missions, monitoring maritime traffic and intercepting and interrogating crew on suspicious ships.

There were five ships Wednesday: the guided missile destroyer USS Ramage, the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier, the guided missile cruisers USS Bunker Hill and USS Anzio, and the amphibious landing ship USS Ashland. Officials said they could use the Ashland as a brig for any captured suspects.

The Islamic Courts have been routed and NO longer pose a threat to Somalia. Again Flap directs the reader to Bill Roggio’s excellent piece on the history of the attempted Islamification of Somalia by the Jihadists and Al Qaeda.

Stay tuned…..

Previous:

Somalia Watch: United States Denies Additional Air Strikes in Somalia

Somalia Watch: Al Qaeda Fazul Abdullah Mohammed Killed in Somalia

Somalia Watch: United States Helicopter Gunships Attack Al-Qaeda Fighters in South Somalia

Somalia Watch: United States Launching New Attacks Against Al Qaeda in Somalia

Somalia Watch: United States Attacking Al Qaeda Positions in Somalia

Somalia Watch: Diplomats Call for Urgent Deployment of Peacekeeping Troops in Somalia

Cox & Forkum: Somalian Front

Somalia Watch: Somalia Offers Islamists Amnesty

Somalia Watch: Mogadishu Retaken by Somali Government Troops

Somalia Watch: A Guide to the Latest Front of the War on Terror

Technorati Tags: Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea,AbuTalhaal-Sudani, GouledHassanDourad, FazulAbdullahMohammed, SalehAliSalehNabhan

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Jan 11 2007

Stop the ACLU Blogburst Watch: Indefensible: 10 Ways The ACLU Is Destroying America

Posted by Flap in ACLU

I just finished reading Indefensible: 10 Ways The ACLU Is Destroying America by Sam Kastensmidt. I highly recommend it for everyone.The book covers most of our own top ten reasons to stop the ACLU, however much more extensively. It covers everything the ACLU stands for. From the agenda of silencing the churches and abortion to the sexualization of childrenâ€¦the book covers it in excellent detail.There have been many great books written on the ACLU. Most focus on the social and religious issues that are under attack. Alan Searsâ€™ book, ACLU Vs. America, focused on mainly on these issues, however it did touch upon how the ACLU attacks our sovereignty. This book, Indefensible, also focuses on the social issues, but I was happy to see that it devoted an entire chapter on how the ACLU is Impeding Americaâ€™s War On Terror. Iâ€™m going to share a few excerpts from sections within that particular chapter.

ACLU Fights Measure To Halt Terroristsâ€™ Funding

Only weeks after the tragedy (911), Congress acted to dismantle the financial infrastructure supporting known terrorist organizations. On October 3, 2001, U.S. Rep. Michael Oxley (OH) introduced the â€œFinancial Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001,â€ seeking to freeze all accounts directly linked to the â€œfinancing of terrorism.â€

The need for such legislation was deemed so vital to national security that it passed the U.S. House on a vote of 421-1. Almost the entire Congress recognized that this legislationâ€™s passage was imperative. Still, on the day before the vote was scheduled, the ACLU delivered letters of opposition to all members of Congress.

â€œWe urge you to oppose the â€˜Financial Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001,â€™â€ the letter began. Why? One portion of the bill made it a federal crime to conceal large amounts of â€œillegally obtainedâ€ cash (over $10,000) while traveling. In a desperate and shameful attempt to justify its stance, the ACLU played the race card. The letter argued, â€œThis provision may impact, disproportionately, people of color and immigrantsâ€¦.[because] these groups of people often have a more difficult time getting access to sources of credit and bank accounts and so use cash transactions more frequently than others do.â€

Under the ACLUâ€™s reasoning, impoverished people would be discriminated against by this bill. The likelihood of impoverished minorities carrying around more than $10,000 in cash and concealing it was supposedly a grave concern for the ACLU. Thankfully the ACLUâ€™s efforts to stop this were unsuccessful.

A little more from the book:

Later in the war, the ACLU actually volunteered its legal services to represent suspected terrorists!

In 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments from several alleged â€œillegal combatants,â€ including two cases involving U.S. citizens and one case involving 14 foreign â€œillegal enemy combatants.â€ The ACLU filed amicus briefs on behalf of the suspected terrorists in each case, arguing that ll â€œenemy combatantsâ€ captured during a time of war should have access to American courtrooms-regardless of their citizenship.

The Pentagon contended that â€œenemy combatantsâ€ should face military tribunals-the standard procedure in all previous international wars. U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olson, whose wife, Barbara Olson, was killed on September 11, when Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon, reminded the Supreme Court Justices that the plaintiffs were requesting a â€œjurisdiction that is not authorized by Congress, does not arise from the Constitution, and has never been exercised by this Court.â€

Though the U.S. Constitution does not extend rights to non-citizen enemy combatants, judicial restraint did not prevent the moder Court from creating this new right out of thin air.

Thankfully this decision was made moot by the passing of the Military Commission Act. However, the ACLUâ€™s war on National Security continues, and giving habeas corpus to non-American citizens is on their New Year Resolution list. It is actually number one on the list, followed by destroying the NSA terrorist surveillance program, and destroying our ability to keep secrets.

Overall the book was well put together and very informative. I highly suggest checking it out.

This was a production of Stop The ACLU Blogburst. If you would like to join us, please email Jay at Jay@stoptheaclu.com or Gribbit at GribbitR@gmail.com. You will be added to our mailing list and blogroll. Over 200 blogs already on-board.

Others Blogging:

Conservative Culture linked with The ACLUâ€™s directed agenda and attack! – Blogburst
Pirate’s Cove linked with Stop The ACLU Blogburst 1/11/07: 10 Ways The ACLU is Destroying America
TMH’s Bacon Bits linked with Indefensible: 10 Ways The ACLU Is Destroying America
Jo’s Cafe linked with Stop the ACLU Blogburst
Stuck On Stupid linked with Stop The ACLU Blogburst
Conservative Thinking linked with STACLU Blogburst
The Uncooperative Blogger linked with Ten Ways ACLU Is Destroying America
Church and State linked with 10 Ways The ACLU is Destroying America
XtremeRightWing linked with Recommended Reading On ACLU
The Wide Awakes linked with Stop The ACLU Book Review