Current Events and Links

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War in Iraq
Iraq
Wars and Rumors of War
Peace
Terrorism
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Emergency Preparedness

Giuliani: 9/11 Trials in NYC Will Lead to More Terrorism

Nov. 13, 2009 - Attorney General Eric Holder announced that self-proclaimed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other detainees will be moved from the Guantanamo Bay facility in Cuba and will face trial in New York City.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani blasted the Obama administration on Friday for its decision to try five Sept. 11 suspects in New York, saying that such a trial would only encourage terrorists to target the city once again.

Arizona Senators John McCain and Jon Kyl, and Representative Peter King of New York, agreed with Giuliani.

Source: NewsMax

New Yorkers Worry About 'Ripping Scab Open' With 9/11 Detainee Trial - Fox

'Twin Towers' warship enters NY

Nov. 2, 2009 - The newest U.S. warship, the USS New York sailed up the Hudson River close to Ground Zero. It fired a 21-gun salute in tribute to those killed in the 2001 attacks, and will be open for visitors for a limited time. The US Navy will conduct an official commissioning ceremony for the new ship on Saturday.

The bow of the boat contains 7.5 [tons] of melted steel from the fallen buildings of the World Trade Center.

The ship's crest includes images of the Twin Towers ... in which nearly 3,000 people died.

Source: BBC

U.S. New York - Official Commissioning Site

Radical mosque leader killed in FBI shootout

Oct. 29, 2009 - Detroit FBI agents conducted raids Wednesday to capture a home-grown terror cell that had a goal of establishing a separate Islamic nation within the United States. The leader of the Sunni Muslim group, Luqman Ameen Abdullah, 53, leader of the Masjid Al-Haqq mosque in Detroit, was killed in the shootout. Eleven other men were arrested in the raids.

Source:Freep

Al-Qaida Group Claims Responsibility for Baghdad Bombings

Oct. 27, 2009 - Twin bombings in Baghdad killed 150 Iraqis Sunday. An Iraqi branch of al Qaida, which goes by the name of the Islamic State of Iraq took credit for the attacks.

The group, which calls itself the Islamic State of Iraq, posted a message on a Web site Monday claiming its "martyrs" attacked what it called the "refuge of infidels," in an allusion to the sprawling government headquarters near Baghdad's Green Zone.

Source: Voice of America

Eight Years On in Afghanistan, Can the U.S. Still Win?

October 7, 2009 - There have been 239 deaths by U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan this year alone, and most Americans have run out of patience with the war that began eight years ago. President Obama promised to end the war and sent 21,000 more U.S. troops into battle earlier this year. But now the Afghan commander he picked, Army general Stan McChrystal, is asking for 40,000 additional U.S. troops in order to turn things around. Some of the President's advisors doubt the wisdom of approving that request.

Obama will meet behind closed doors for three hours with his Afghan-war advisers on Wednesday. They held a similar session last Friday, and have scheduled a third one for Friday...General McChrystal has been participating in these by video teleconference.

Source: TIME

With Obama Wavering, Congress Seeks to Chart a Course on Afghanistan

Sept. 29, 2009 - President Obama began his term with a new strategy for military success in Afghanistan,

But the President now appears to be wavering in the wake of a report by his top commander there, General Stanley McChrystal, that says 10,000 to 40,000 more troops are needed or the mission "will likely result in failure."

Congress is currently debating amendments to the 2010 defense appropriations bill. Some favor the surge of troops in Afghanistan, while others want a timeline to end our involvement there. Ultimately these are decisions that the president must make.

Source: TIME

McChrystal Talked to Obama Once in 70 Days - NewsMax

U.S. Commander Warns Taliban Getting Stronger

Aug. 10, 2009 - Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top American commander in Afghanistan warned that the Taliban have gained the upper hand there. He said that they have moved beyond their traditional strongholds in southern Afghanistan and now threaten formerly stable areas in the north and west.

The militants are mounting sophisticated attacks that combine roadside bombs with ambushes by small teams of heavily armed militants, causing significant numbers of U.S. fatalities.

July was the bloodiest month of the war for American and British forces, and 12 more American troops have already been killed in August.

Source: Fox

Gen. McChrystal Says Taliban Have Upper Hand - NewsMax

U.S. soldier captured by Taliban: 'I'm afraid'

July 20, 2009 - Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl was captured by Taliban in Afghanistan on June 30. Taliban sources say they will kill him if foreign troops continue targeting civilians in the name of search operations in Ghazni and Paktika province. NATO-led forces and the U.S. military have repeatedly denied targeting civilians.

In a video released by the Taliban, Bergdahl becomes emotional when he speaks of his family.

"I have a very, very good family that I love back home in America, and I miss them every day that I'm gone," he says. "I miss them and I'm afraid I might never see them again."

Source: CNN

Taliban Video of Captured US Soldier (Bowe R. Bergdahl) from Afghanistan - You Tube

Obama lays out new Afghanistan-Pakistan plan; includes additional U.S. troops

Mar. 27, 2009 - President Obama made a formal announcement of US plans to strengthen Afghanistan against terrorist control by sending 4,000 more troops -- on top of the additional 17,000 he's already added to the region. US units will partner with Afghan units to build an Afghan Army of 134,000 and a police force of 82,000 by 2011.

His plans include assistance to Pakistan to enforce efforts to uproot Al-Qaeda and Taliban operations there.

"For the American people," Obama says, the Afghan-Pakistan border has become "the most dangerous place in the world" because of the terrorists' presence there.

Source: USA Today

Bin Laden ex-driver found guilty

Aug. 6, 2008 - The first war crimes trial at Guantanamo Bay has found Salim Hamdan, Osama bin Laden's driver, guilty of eight charges of supporting terrorism. The jury of military officers acquitted him of two separate, more serious, charges of conspiracy.

Hamdan, who is about 40 and was captured in Afghanistan in November 2001, faces a maximum life sentence when the sentencing hearing gets under way later on Wednesday.

He could be sentenced to life in prison. If there is an appeal, the case could go as far as the Supreme Court.

This was the first US war crimes trial since World War II.

Source: BBC

U.S. to Seek Death Penalty for Guantanamo Prisoners With Sept. 11 Ties

Feb. 11, 2008 - Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman announced that six prisoners at Guantanamo Bay will be formally charged, perhaps today, for terror attacks on the United States.

Military prosecutors also will ask for the death penalty for the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans, according to a second official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the charges had not been announced.

One of the prisoners is Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the suspected mastermind of the attack. Another is Mohammed al-Qahtani, who was supposed to be the 20th hijacker, but missed the flight. The others are: Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi; and Walid bin Attash.

Source: Fox