April 18, 2007
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April 17, 2007

I just got an e-mail from Larwyn who says that C-SPAN is reporting that the White House in in full lockdown mode. There is said to have been a suspicious package and it seems that two Secret Service officers have shot each other. Can that be right?
TWO US Secret Service officers were injured today after a gun held by another Secret Service officer was accidentally fired at the White House.This may be one of the most bizarre accidents at the White House. Ever. Far more bizarre than the impulse to stain a fat intern's dress.One officer suffered a shrapnel wound to the face, and the other was wounded in the leg, said spokesman Darrin Blackford.
Neither injury was life threatening.
"It appears that at approximately 2.10pm (4.10am AEST) there was an accidental discharge of a service-issued weapon, which occurred inside the Southwest Gate at a security post near the White House," Mr Blackford said.
President Bush is NOT at the White House. He is in Blacksburg, Virginia, the scene of yesterday's Virginia Tech massacre.
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VIRGINIA TECH GUNMAN HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS A STUDENT OF KOREAN DESCENT NAMED SEUNG HUI CHO. HE WAS CARRYING A BACKPACK WITH A RECEIPT FOR THE PURCHASE OF A HANDGUN
More here
ABCNEWS: April 17, 2007 — Seung Hui Cho, a permanent resident of the United States, a Korean national and a Virginia Tech student has been identified as the gunman in the shootings that left 33 people dead on the Virginia Tech campus Monday, ABC News has learned.Update Fox News is reporting the name is correctly spelled Cho Seunh-Hui and ABC has corrected and edited their story.The student left a "disturbing note" before killing two people in a dorm room, returning to his own room to re-arm and entering a classroom building on the other side of campus to continue his rampage, sources said.
Cho's identitiy has been confirmed with a positive fingerprint match on the guns used in the rampage and with immigration materials. It is believed that he was the shooter in both incidents yesterday. Sources say Cho was carrying a backpack that contained receipts for a March purchase of a Glock 9 mm pistol, sources said. Witnesses had also told authorities that the shooter was carrying a backpack. Sections of chain similar to those used to lock the main doors at Norris Hall, the site of the second shooting that left 31 dead, were found inside a Virginia Tech dormitory, sources confirmed to ABC News.
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April 16, 2007
But how about the minor detail that this “news†might be completely irrelevant to the crime?Context. You'd expect the Brady people to try to add their context, but would hope that neutral reporters wouldn't.A newsman’s job is to report the facts first.
Here's a bit of my own context. The VT shootings come on the heels of the Virginia legislature exempting university campuses from recent changes in the law which make it easier to carry concealed weapons. Experts agree that no student was legally armed and prepared to defend themselves or their classmates from the psycopathic killer.
I add context. You draw your own conclusions.
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Here are some AP images Via ABCNEWS. The first image matches Derek O'Dell's description of the shooter. (update this man only matches the desciption and was not the shooter, he was later released).
Hat Tip :Will

It is reported that the man used two 9mm semi auto pistols. No motive is known at this time. Some reports that he was, "looking for his girlfiend," and a bomb threat was made yesterday. We'll update when we know more.
Cell phone video of from the scene here.
Michelle Malkin reports that a bill designed to stop universitys from making rules to prohibit people with a concealed carry permit from bringing their weapons on capus died in Committee last week.
HB 1572, which would have allowed handguns on college campuses, died in subcommittee.If you outlaw guns then only outlaws will have guns. So Mr. Hincker, feel safe now? If just a few law abiding citizens had been allowed to carry, maybe a few lives would have been saved.A bill that would have given college students and employees the right to carry handguns on campus died with nary a shot being fired in the General Assembly.
House Bill 1572 didn't get through the House Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety. It died Monday in the subcommittee stage, the first of several hurdles bills must overcome before becoming laws.
The bill was proposed by Del. Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah County, on behalf of the Virginia Citizens Defense League. Gilbert was unavailable Monday and spokesman Gary Frink would not comment on the bill's defeat other than to say the issue was dead for this General Assembly session.
Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker was happy to hear the bill was defeated. "I'm sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly's actions because this will help parents, students, faculty and visitors feel safe on our campus."...
...Last spring a Virginia Tech student was disciplined for bringing a handgun to class, despite having a concealed handgun permit. Some gun owners questioned the university's authority, while the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police came out against the presence of guns on campus.
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April 15, 2007
Hanif Kureishi, the author of "My Beautiful Laundrette" and "The Buddha of Suburbia" said watching the videos made him wonder about the man behind the camera:
“The idea started with a joke,†said Kureishi, 52. “I thought, what if you were a cameraman, having to do these kind of jobs and you had a business card that said ‘Weddings and Beheadings’? I thought it was hilarious and told my children about it, but they just stared at me blankly.â€He added: “Seeing the footage, I started to think what about that wobbly camera — what is the story of that bloke trembling behind the camera? You’re only going to get one take, you know, would be the line.â€
Kureishi said he saw the person doing the filming not as a terrorist but as an innocent roped in for his ability to use a video camera, “like any young guy, living in Camden wanting to make movies, except that he happens to be in Baghdadâ€.
The BBC is scheduled to broadcast the story this week on the radio; although one BBC executive voiced concern over the timing which coincides with the reported murder of Alan Johnston, a long-time BBC correpsondent kidnapped in Gaza more than a month ago.
Maybe the terrorists can start adding a laugh track to their beheading videos.
UPDATE: Radio 4 story delayed for BBC man
The BBC has postponed the broadcast of a story about western hostages being executed in Iraq as concern grows for missing BBC journalist Alan Johnston.Weddings and Beheadings was due to be broadcast on Radio 4 this Thursday.
But it was pulled from schedules after Palestinian militants claimed to have killed Mr Johnston, who was abducted at gunpoint in Gaza City on 12 March.
The author, Hanif Kureishi, criticised the decision as censorship, saying: "It all seems rather arbitrary".
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A Gaza group said to be close to Islamist terror organization Al Qaeda has published a flyer claiming that it has executed British journalist Alan Johnston. There is no confirmation of the claim.The caption of the flyer is "An Announcement of the Killing of British Journalist Alan Johnston." An organization called "The Battalions of Jihad and Tawheed in Palestine" says BBC journalist Johnston has been executed and that it intends to release a video of his execution soon.
The announcement makes a connection between Johnston's kidnapping and the jailing of convicted Arab terrorists from Judea, Samaria and Gaza in Israel. It blames the world for not caring about the Arab prisoners and explains that the world "wanted a bloodstained message in order to understand it."
The BBC said it is deeply concerned about this report that they have been unable to verify it.
"We are deeply concerned about what we are hearing -- but we stress, at this stage, it is rumour with no independent verification," the BBC said in a statement after the claim from a previously unknown group that journalist Alan Johnston had been killed.
The alleged murder comes just one day after British journalists voted to boycott Israel over "IDF aggression in Gaza". Apparently this is the thanks they get.
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April 14, 2007


The disturbing images show a woman, speaking in a whispered voice, saying she is a French aid worker who was kidnapped by the Taliban 10 days ago.The Taliban abductors of 2 French aid workers in Afghanistan issued a video Friday in which the captives plead to the French government to accept the conditions set for their release. It did not specify, however, what those demands were.At one point, she pleads for her life. Another man, who identifies himself as Eric, appears on the video making a similar appeal.
The French government has confirmed that these are the missing aid workers.
In an Arabic-language statement posted on the Internet, the Taliban said: "In this film the two French hostages ask the French government and parliament to accept the mujahideen's demands so that they can be freed."The statement said the video was distributed to journalists in the Afghan capital Kabul on Friday. It did not say what the Taliban were demanding.
The Web posting carried pictures of a pale bearded man and a woman wearing a scarf around her head and neck. Another photograph showed a militant with an assault rifle standing next to three sitting blindfolded men -- apparently the three Afghans who went missing along with the pair earlier this month.
The captives --- believed to be Eric Damfreville and a woman identified only as Salma --- run the NGO Terre d'Enfance, which provides education to Afghan children, and a Women's Center which provides vocational training to local women. They were kidnapped on April 5, and had not been heard from since.
We continue to pray for their safety and swift release. We will post the video as soon as it becomes available.
Update by Howie: We have a few more slightly different fames below the fold , including one of the 3 Afghan hostages.
Update II More here Via Reuters:
Please do what they want," said a Frenchwoman who identified herself as Celine in a video CD obtained by Reuters on Saturday.Chad Evans at ITB asks:"Do what they request because they told us that they would kill us. They would, they would cut our head (off) and send it back to France."
Will France make similar demands, thus becoming another state sponsor of terrorism like their fellow EU nation Italy?And the answer is Yes.
"President Chirac during a telephone conversation last night demanded the Afghan president's support to secure the release of two French nationals," Karzai's office said in a statement.When the Italy pressured Karzai to release the reporter for a prisoner swap, many said this could only make things worse. But leaving Daniele Mastrogiacomo to theTaliban? Surely it can't get any worse than that!
It's worse. more...
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April 11, 2007
This is the video shown on Italian TV last night, showing kidnapped reporter Daniele Mastrogiacomo, translator Adjmal Nakshbandi, and driver Sayed Agha, bound and surrounded by Taliban gunmen. The video pauses at the moment when Sayed is thrown to the ground and a sword raised to behead him. It continues moments later with Mastrogiacomo, obviously in shock, pleading for his and Adjaml's life. As we know, he was later released in exchange for 5 Taliban prisoners; Adjmal was beheaded by his captors on Easter Sunday.
This is why we fight. more...
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April 09, 2007
"We'll kill one of the doctors if the government fails to enter negotiations before April 15," Atal said. The fate of four other medics will be decided later, he added.
Atal also confirmed that the Taliban is holding 2 French aid workers and their 3 Afghan assistants who were kidnapped on April 3:
The Taliban say they have been holding a French man and woman along with three Afghans since abducting them in the southwestern province of Nimroz last Tuesday. The guerrillas have not yet made any demand for their release.Atal said Taliban leaders will decide the fate of the French aid workers from Terre d'Enfance (A World for Our Children) in "coming days" as they are now done with Naqshbandi.
H/t George
UPDATE: This doesn't sound good: The kidnapped doctor has political connections, according to AFP:
He [Atal] alleged that the doctor he identified as Khalilullah was a cousin of the governor of Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan. The Taliban will decide the fate of the other four medics later, he said.Nangarhar governor Gul Agha Sherzai is originally from Taliban-dominated Kandahar and was one of several Afghan militia commanders who helped US-led troops to topple the Taliban regime in late 2001.
Prayers for the captives and for our troops fighting these terrorist thugs. more...
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April 08, 2007

Sad news out of Afghanistan: Adjmal Nakshbandi, the translator for Italian journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo, who was abducted last month in Helmand province, has been beheaded by his Taliban captors.
The Taliban said it killed Adjmal because the Afghan government refused to release any more prisoners in exchange for his freedom. President Hamid Karzai was criticized after freeing 5 Taliban terrorists in order to win Mastrogiacomo's release.
Shohaabuddin Atal, a spokesman for Taleban commander Mullah Dadullah, said: "We killed Ajmal today because the government did not respond to our demands."
During the abduction, the Taliban murdered Mastrogiacomo's driver, Sayad Agha, accusing him of spying for the British forces in southern Afghanistan.
The Taliban currently hold at least 10 other captives: 5 government medical workers, as well as 2 French aid workers and their 3 Afghan assistants.
H/t George more...
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April 05, 2007
Prime Minister
Tony Blair welcomed their return but called for continued international pressure on Tehran following the deaths of four servicemen in an attack in
Iraq earlier in the day."Now it is far too early to say that the particular terrorist act that killed our forces was an acted committed by terrorists that were backed by any elements of the Iranian regime, so I make no allegation in respect of that particular incident," Blair said.
Although all of the captured crewman "confessed" to trespassing in Iranian waters, Britain maintains it was operating legally in Iraqi waters. It insists that there was no quid pro quo with the Iranian government.
And in a move perhaps designed to coincide with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Damascus, Syria claimed bragging rights for bringing the incident to a peaceful resolution:
“Syria exercised a sort of quiet diplomacy to solve this problem and encourage dialogue between the two parties,†Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said in Damascus.
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April 04, 2007
TEHRAN, Iran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says he has pardoned the 15 British sailors and marines detained in the Gulf last month.Ahmadinejad also gave medals of honor to the Iranian coast guards who intercepted the 15 British sailors and marines in the Gulf, saying
Iran will never accept tresspassing of its territorial waters."On behalf of the great Iranian people, I want to thank the Iranian Coast Guard who courageously defended and captured those who violated their territorial waters, the president told a press conference.
More to come.
UPDATE:Ahmadinejehad says the pardon is "a gift to the British people":
"On the occasion of the birthday of the great prophet (Muhammad) ... and for the occasion of the passing of Christ, I say the Islamic Republic government and the Iranian people — with all powers and legal right to put the soldiers on trial — forgave those 15," Ahmadinejad said, referring to the Muslim prophet's birthday on March 30 and the Easter season.
The Iranian president said the sailors would be taken to the airport at the conclusion of his press conference; however other Iranian officials said they would be released to the British Embassy in Tehran. The Embassy has been the site of violent protests in the last few days, so we may not be out of the woods yet.
Ahmadinejehad criticized the deployment of British sailor Faye Turney, who is married and has a 3-year-old child:
"How can you justify seeing a mother away from her home, her children? Why don't they respect family values in the West?" he asked of the British government.
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April 03, 2007
Partial transcript of video via Reuters:
"I urge the German people to help me in my difficult situation," said Krause, according to an Arabic translation of her comments, only part of which could be heard.Reuters News Alert:"Germany was safe before it got involved in this satanic coalition with America against what they call terrorism," said Krause, shown sitting on the ground next to her son.
A militant speaking on the video but out of sight said: "We are giving the German government another 10 days to begin withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan or we shall kill this criminal woman and her son who works in the Foreign Ministry of the government of (Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-) Maliki".
DUBAI, April 3 (Reuters) - An Iraqi group holding a German woman and her son hostage said it was giving Germany 10 days to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan, according to a statement posted on the Internet on Tuesday.Laura Mansfield has a complete transcript of the previous video here.The Arrows of Righteousness group also posted a video showing Hannelore Marianne Krause urging Germany to heed the demands of the militants. The group had issued its first ultimatum on March 10, saying it would kill the pair if Berlin failed to pull out its troops in 10 days.
Update: More Frames as well as a translation of the tape, below the fold. more...
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April 02, 2007
From the Times Online:
Iran claimed this morning that all 15 British military personnel seized in the Gulf ten days ago have now admitted illegally entering Iranian waters.New footage was then shown of six more sailors, meaning the majority of the captured personnel have now been paraded and seen "confessing" on Iranian television. Their voices could not be heard.
The broadcast, the morning after two more televised "confessions" from British personnel, a Royal Navy Lieutenant and a Royal Marines Captain, drew an angry reaction from Downing Street, which said the repeated airings would not alter Britain's position in the crisis and that the next move must come from Tehran.
President Bush on Saturday stated his support for the British and said the Iran must return the 15 sailors and Marines:
President Bush on Saturday said Iran's capture of 15 British sailors and marines was "inexcusable" and called for Iran to "give back the hostages" immediately and unconditionally.Bush said Iran plucked the sailors out of Iraqi waters. Iran's president said on Saturday they were in Iranian waters and called Britain and its allies "arrogant and selfish" for not apologising for trespassing.
Meanwhile, Iran was taking offense to President Bush referring to the captives as hostages:
"Any kind of comment by the Americans in support of the British Government will make the situation worse," said Mohammed Ali Hoseyni, a Foreign Ministry spokesman. "Hence, it would be best for the American president to refrain from making ill-judged, nontechnical and nonrational remarks."
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April 01, 2007
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March 30, 2007
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In a new "confession" broadcast on Iranian TV, marine Nathan Thomas Summers apologized for trspassing into Iranian waters, noting that it was the second time the British Navy has done so. That refers to the 2004 incident when Iran seized 8 British sailors and held them for 3 days before releasing them. Britain has denied Iran's claims in both cases.
A second letter from sailor Faye Turney was released, in which she calls on Parliament to withdraw British troops from Iraq:
Representative of the House of Commons.I am writing to inform you of my situation. I am a British Serviceperson currently being held in Iran.
I would like you to know of the treatment I have received whilst here.
The Iranian people are kind, considerate, warm, compassionate and very hospitable. They have brought me no harm, but have looked after me well. I have been fed, clothed and well cared for.
Unfortunately during the course of our mission we entered into Iranian waters. Even through our wrongdoing, they have still treated us well and humanely, which I am and always will be eternally grateful.
I ask the representatives of the House of Commons after the government had promised that this type of incident would not happen again why have they let this occur and why has the government not been questioned over this? Isn't it time for us to start withdrawing our forces from Iraq and let them determine their own future?
Faye Turney
27/3/07
Prime Minister Tony Blair was said to be "livid" over the release of the second letter:
“It is cruel and callous to do this to somebody in this position and playing this kind of game — it is a disgrace,†said the Prime Minister’s spokesman.
UPDATE: A third letter has reportedly been written by Faye Turney to the British people, in which she claims too have been "sacrificed":
Captured sailor Faye Turney says she has been "sacrificed" to the policies of the British and U.S. governments in a third letter released by her Iranian captors today.The letter, addressed to the British people, also said that Turney had been treated well, unlike the prisoners held by the at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
"I'm writing to you as a British serviceperson who has been sent to Iraq, sacrificed due to the intervening policies of the Bush and Blair government," the letter said.
UPDATE II: Video of Second British "Confession"
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March 29, 2007

While protesters in Tehran demanded the execution of the 15 British sailors and Marines abducted last week in Iraqi waters, the Iranian government warned the UK that it's "wrong behaviour" was jeopardizing the chances of seeing the captives released:
He said: "We said that the grounds were ready for the release of a woman among the British sailors. But if we are faced with a fuss and wrong behaviour then this would be suspended and it would not take place,"If Britain follows through with its policies on the 15 Devonport-based sailors and marines detained by Iran on Friday, Mr Larijani said “this case may face a legal path†- a reference to Iran’s prosecuting the sailors in court.
The statement has come after Britain asked the UN Security Council to support a call for the immediate release of the detainees, saying in a statement they were operating in Iraqi waters under a mandate from the Security Council and at the request of Iraq.
Increasing the tension, the Iranian consul in Bassra charged that British soldiers had surrounded his office in the southern Iraqi city this morning and fired shorts into the air in a "provocative act" that "could worsen the situation of the British sailors"."British forces should rely on wisdom and not react because of the British forces’ detention. This reflects negatively on bilateral relations," said Consul-General Mohammed Ridha Nasir Baghban.
Britain denied the allegation. The Ministry of Defence said that the was an exchange of gunfire after UK troops on a foot patrol near the consulate building were ambushed.
UPDATE: Blair: Britain won't negotiate with Iran
UPDATE II: New Footage Released on Iranian TV
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March 28, 2007
UPDATE: Sky News (UK) reports that captured sailors will be paraded on Iranian TV.
UPDATE II: Allah says the price for Turney's release is a taped confession:
The female British sailor detained by Iran along with 14 others after their illegal entry to Iranian waters in the Persian Gulf has apologized to Tehran for the incursion.In an interview to be broadcast later on Wednesday on television, Faye Turney, apologized for the violation of the Iranian sovereignty by the British navy service people on Friday.
She said Iranians have treated her and the other soldiers in a humane, moral manner.
H/t Michelle Malkin
Iran's Foreign Minister said today that Faye Turney, the 26-year-old British sailor who was captured along with 14 male colleagues last week, would be freed on Wednesday or Thursday.
"Today or tomorrow, the lady will be released," Manouchehr Mottaki said Wednesday on the sidelines of an Arab summit that he was attending in the Saudi capital.
The British released the GPS coordinates of the vessels seized by Iran, showing that they were well inside Iraqi waters.
Vice Adm. Charles Style said the British vessels were 1.7 nautical miles inside Iraqi waters when Iran seized the sailors and marines on Friday. He gave the satellite coordinates of the British crew as 29 degrees 50.36 minutes north latitude and 048 degrees 43.08 minutes east longitude, and said it had been confirmed by an Indian-flagged merchant ship boarded by the sailors and marines.Style told reporters that the Iranians had provided a position on Sunday — a location that he said was in Iraqi waters. By Tuesday, Iranian officials had given a revised position 2 miles east, placing the British inside Iranian waters — a claim he said was not verified by global positioning system coordinates.
"It is hard to understand a legitimate reason for this change of coordinates," Style said.
Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said today that Britain is freezing all ties with Iran until the abducted sailors and Marines are released.
"They should not be under any doubt at all about how seriously we regard this act, which is unjustified and wrong," Mrs Beckett said.
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March 27, 2007
“What we are trying to do at the moment is to pursue this through the diplomatic channels and make the Iranian government understand these people have to be released and that there is absolutely no justification whatever for holding them. I hope we manage to get them to realise they have to release them. If not, then this will move into a different phase."
The Iranian government has so far refused the British consular access to the hostages, but says that the 14 men and 1 woman are being treated well:
"They are in completely good health. Rest assured that they have been treated with humanitarian and moral behavior," Mohammad Ali Hosseini, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, told the Associated Press.Mr Hosseini said that only woman sailor among the group, Leading Seaman Faye Turney, was being held apart from the others, to give her privacy. "Definitely all ethics have been observed," he said.
Well, I feel totally confident now.
Meanwhile, oil prices reached their highest point this year yesterday over worries of a UK-Iran showdown.
And in the How-Can-We-Live-Without-Her-Words-of-Wisdom category, Rosie O'Donnell says the incident is being staged by the British to start a war with Iran:
But interesting with the British sailors, there were 15 British sailors and Marines who apparently went into Iranian waters and they were seized by the Iranians. And I have one thing to say: Gulf of Tonkin, Google it. Okay.
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March 26, 2007
Mrs. Krause, who is married to an Iraqi physician, and her son were kidnapped in February by the "Arrows of Righteousness Brigade", who released a video of the pair weeping and begging for their lives. The brave "resistance fighters" threatened to kill the hostages if Germany did not withdraw its 3000 troops from Afghanistan.
An Iraqi spokesman sounded an optimistic note:
"We hope that they can be freed soon so that their suffering will find an end," the army spokesman said about the two who were seized by kidnappers in Baghdad on February 6.
Let's hope to God that the good guys are successful and that the "Arrows of Righteousness" are the ones who will be weeping and begging for their wretched lives.
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Mad Mullahs response: Bite me. more...
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March 24, 2007
A website run by associates of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, reported last night that the Britons would be put before a court and indicted.Referring to them as “insurgentsâ€, the site concluded: “If it is proven that they deliberately entered Iranian territory, they will be charged with espionage. If that is proven, they can expect a very serious penalty since according to Iranian law, espionage is one of the most serious offences.â€
Eight British troops were captured in 2004 and held for 3 days in Tehran, where they were subjected to mock executions and were paraded on Iranian TV before being released.
The Times story also claims that the Brits were grabbed in revenge for the arrest of 5 Revolutionary Guard officers in Iraq earlier this year:
Al-Sharq al-Awsat, a Saudi-owned newspaper based in London, quoted an Iranian military source as saying that the aim was to trade the Royal Marines and sailors for these Guards.The claim was backed by other sources in Tehran. “As soon as the corps’s five members are released, the Britons can go home,†said one source close to the Guards.
According to Ynet News the decision to capture the troops was approved last week by the Iranian General Staff and was introduced by Iran's Supreme Security Council:
The decision was reached after a report submitted to Iran’s ground forces commander warned that information on the activities of the Revolutionary Guards and the “Al-Quds Force†in Iraq was being leaked to British and American intelligence agencies following the arrest of senior “Al-Quds Force†officers by US troops in northern Iraq.The kidnapping of Iran’s Intelligence Ministry envoy in Baghdad and the disappearance of Iranian Colonel Amir Muhammad Shirazi in Turkey (according to Iranian estimations Shirazi was kidnapped by Americans) , also played a part in the decision to kidnap the British soldiers.
Add in the UN sanctions plan that was approved today, and it doesn't look like Iran will be backing down soon. What their ultimate goal might be is hard to tell so far: are they expecting the British to cave, or are they trying to provoke an attack that they would use to justify their nuclear program?
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