Warrior culture among Norwegians in Afghanistan under scrutiny

Norwegian soldiers in Afghanistan unofficially use the "Punisher-skull" (from the comic/movie The Punisher) as an emblem. It’s got the text "Jokke, we will never forget!" as a tribute to the fellow soldier who got killed by a roadside bomb in January 2010. The senior Taliban leader and bomb making expert suspected of arranging the ambush that killed Claes Joachim Olsson, was himself killed this summer in an operation by Olssons unit.

Soldiers of the "Mek 4" are spray painting buildings of suspected Taliban members as warnings to them. There are reports of several irregualar patrols, where the Norwegian soldiers seem to be seeking fire fights in order to kill enemies "without a clear mandate to do so" by the Army High Command (government/establishment).

Soldiers have also expressed a great feeling of joy (better than sex) when involved in combat: "Seeing the "red mist" in your optics is an incredible feeling"
(a soldier quoted by the newspaper VG http://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/a...artid=10036779 )

"You become so high on adrenaline before you draw the trigger. You want to shoot all the time when you have "verified weapon" and know that the enemy is a legitimate target. When you finally get to fire, you become blood-focused. We do anything to hit, to kill. Sometimes you're lucky, I hit a Taliban warrior in the neck from 2770 meter on february 2 this year - Man, there was cheering!"

The company commander, major Kristian Simonsen, has expressed:
I have utilized the troops with the intention of killing, and we have been successful. I don't reflect on having killed someone. They have chosen to enter the battlefield with the intention to kill us, that makes us equally guilty of the outcome. We are the two parties of a war".

The Telemark Batallion 4th mechanized company's warcry is "Til Valhall!" (To Valhalla!). The warcry was shouted three times by the unit after a flaming speech by an officer in a closed ceremony in relation to Olssons death.

The unit's field priest reacted when he heard about the incident and reported the soldiers "warmongering ethics and dangerous behaviour" to senior officers a while ago.

The Norwegian gouvernment is in flames over this, claiming it to be "a vengeful, and dangerous path" that the soldiers should stop following.

The subject has been a hot potato in the Norwegian press today. The defence minister (labour party) Grete Faremoe is strongly regretting the trend and calls for reactions. The leader of the moderate opposition, Erna Solberg, sees on the other hand no need to panic over the soldier's conduct.

sound like they are doing a damn good job, keep up the good work and tell Political Correctness to go to hell!!

US helos kill 30 Haqqani Network fighters in strikes in Pakistan

US attack helicopters have killed more than 30 Haqqani Network fighters inside Pakistan while repelling a cross-border attack.
US forces struck at the Haqqani Network fighters on Friday after they attacked Combat Outpost Narizah, an Afghan base just eight miles from the Pakistani border in the district of Tani in Khost province.
The Haqqani Network fighters were hit in the Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan, which is just across the Pakistani border.
"An air weapons team in the area observed the enemy fire, and following International Security Assistance Force rules of engagement, crossed into the area of enemy fire," the International Security Assistance Force stated in a press release. "The ISAF aircraft then engaged, killing more than 30 insurgents."
ISAF confirmed that the helicopters struck at the Haqqani Network fighters in Pakistan. The attack helicopters launched their attack "after following the proper rules of engagement under inherent right of self defense," Master Sergeant Matthew Summers, a public affairs official, told The Long War Journal.
On Saturday, ISAF launched a second attack against the Haqqani Network, after taking fire in the border area. "Several additional insurgents" were killed in that attack.
No civilians have been reported killed or injured in either of the attacks.

Wounded in Iraq, Double-amputee Returns to War

ASHOQEH, Afghanistan – When a bomb exploded under Dan Luckett's Army Humvee in Iraq two years ago — blowing off one of his legs and part of his foot — the first thing he thought was: "That's it. You're done. No more Army for you."

But two years later, the 27-year-old Norcross, Georgia, native is back on duty — a double-amputee fighting on the front lines of America's Afghan surge in one of the most dangerous parts of this volatile country.

Afghan soldiers examine Capt. Dan Luckett's prosthetic leg. The soldiers quickly gave him a nickname: "The One-Legged Warlord of Ashaque

Obama joke

A doctor from Israel says: "In Israel the medicine is so advanced that we cut off a man's testicles; we put them into another man, and in 6 weeks he is looking for work."
The German doctor comments: "That's nothing, in Germany we take par...t of the brain out of a person; we put it into another person's head, and in 4 weeks he is looking for work."

A Russian doctor says: "That's nothing either. In Russia we take out half of the heart from a person; we put it into another person's chest, and in 2 weeks he is looking for work."

The U.S. doctor answers immediately: "That's nothing my colleagues, you are way behind us....in the USA (about a year ago) we grabbed a
person with no brains, no heart, and no balls....we made him President of the United States, and now.......the whole country is looking for work!!!!!!"

Pakistan to fight for terrorist release

KARACHI, Pakistan – Pakistan's prime minister called a female scientist convicted of trying to kill U.S. interrogators in Afghanistan "the daughter of the nation" on Friday and vowed to campaign for her release from an American jail.

Police fired tear gas to disburse rock-throwing protesters trying to march to the U.S. Consulate in the country's largest city, Karachi, in one of several demonstrations against the 86-year sentence given to Aafia Siddiqui by a New York court on Thursday.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's comments appeared to be an attempt to manage public anger over the case of the American-trained scientist and mother, which has struck a chord among Islamist groups and ordinary Pakistanis, many of whom are convinced of her innocence.

Gilani said he had lobbied U.S. officials for Siddiqui's release to "improve the U.S. image in Pakistan."

"We all are united, and we want the daughter of the nation to come back to Pakistan," he told parliament, which unanimously adopted a resolution demanding Siddiqui's repatriation.

"I fought for her, my lawyer fought for her and now I will take up this matter on a political level," he said.

Most of the protesters were from Islamist political parties opposed to the government. They criticized the country's leaders for failing to somehow secure her freedom.

One of the largest protests was in the northwestern city of Peshawar, where around 8,000 people gathered.

In Islamabad, 100 people attempting to reach the U.S. Embassy scuffled with police near a five-star hotel, witnesses said.

"Down with America! Jihad, Jihad!" the protesters shouted.

In Karachi, where Siddiqui's family lives, around 400 people briefly battled with police officers who fired several rounds of tear gas, said police Chief Javed Akbr. There were no reports of any injuries.

Siddiqui, 38, was detained in Afghanistan in 2008. She was found guilty of seizing a weapon from one of her captors and trying to shoot U.S. authorities who were interrogating her there.

Many Pakistanis believe claims by Siddiqui's supporters that the U.S. abducted her long before that and kept her in a secret prison for years as it pursued its fight against global terrorism. U.S. officials deny those claims, though they had listed Siddiqui as a suspect wanted for alleged links to al-Qaida before her arrest

not my comment but someone elses, but so true!!!

"Congratulations Americans! Your greedy politicians have given aid to the terrorist nation of Pakistan and nursed this terrorist monster to health. Now they want to kill you. How much more aid and kindness are you going to give to Pakistan? Do they have to slash your throats first before you wake up?"

Ted Nugent Triggers the Vote

Russia Faces Shortage Of Conscripts

Russia's army faces a 15-25 percent shortage of conscripts this year, a newspaper report said Sept. 20, leaving the military understaffed amid a government reform drive.

Fewer than 550,000 men will be drafted into the army this year, bringing its ranks to 750,000-850,000 troops - short of the million-man army foreseen in planning, the daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta reported, citing official estimates
The officer in charge of the army draft, Col. Alexei Knyazev, told the paper about 133,000 young men were evading the draft.

In an attempt to boost the poor numbers, the military has already begun calling up conscripts, although the Kremlin has not yet announced the start of the fall draft period, the paper said.

Last year, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev complained that over 40 percent of those eligible for military service were not fit enough, and draft dodging is widespread across the country today.

All Russian men aged 18 to 27 are required to serve one year in the military.

In practice however, men go to great length to avoid the grueling year of service by exploiting deferments, enrolling in university and sometimes purposefully failing the physical exam.

Often, the exemptions are facilitated by bribes.

Russia has begun to implement sweeping plans to modernize its ailing army by slashing a bloated officer corps and reforming its Soviet-style command structure.

But under the plans, three out of four servicemen would still be conscripts, Medvedev said.

Muslims Arrested for Plot to Kill Pope

The men were arrested during raids at 5.45am at a rubbish depot in central London based on an intelligence tip off received overnight.

The suspects, aged 26, 27, 36, 40 and 50 were arrested by officers from Scotland Yard’s Counter Terrorism Command on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.
They are said to be from a variety of nationalities including a number of Algerian origin.

The depot where they worked is less than a mile from Hyde Park where the Pope was due to hold a prayer vigil tomorrow evening.

As street cleaners they would have been able to move relatively freely and inconspicuously through the London crowds.

Westminster City Council said the men worked for Veolia Environmental Services, a contractor which employs 650 on-street staff to keep Westminster's streets clean and free from rubbish.

The men have been taken to a central London police station where they will be interviewed by detectives.

Searches are being carried out under the Terrorism Act 2000 at the rubbish depot and at residential premises in north and east London.

Sources said that initial searches had not uncovered any bomb-making or hazardous items.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said the arrests were made after they received “information” and added: “Following initial inquiries by detectives a decision was made to arrest the five men.”

Pope Benedict XVI’s security arrangements were reviewed following the arrests and Scotland Yard said “we are satisfied that our current policing plan remains appropriate. The itinerary has not changed.”

There was no change to the terrorism threat level which remains at “severe” meaning that a terrorist attack is highly likely.

The Pope continued with his engagements, unaffected by the developments.

The Pope has been informed of the arrests, Vatican spokesman Fr Lombardi said. He told reporters there was "no need to change anything about the programme with the Pope and the security for this trip".

"The Pope is calm and happy and we go on with this trip with courage and joy," he added.

"We are totally confident in the work of the police and Scotland Yard."

A multimillion-pound operation is in place to protect the Pope during his tour of Scotland, London and the West Midlands, with thousands of officers involved.

The pontiff is also protected by members of the Swiss Guard.

He often travels in the Popemobile, which has a bulletproof glass enclosure. The Vatican abandoned the use of an open-topped vehicle after the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II in 1981.

A spokesman for the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales said: "We have absolute confidence in the security operation to protect both the Pope and the public.

A mosque can be built at ground zero, but a Spanish nightclub can not be called Mecca

The inauguration of a discotheque called Mecca in Spain infuriated Muslims in the country and raised questions about the position of Muslim workers offered jobs in the controversial place.

After 10 years of renovations, an old discotheque in the city of Aguilas in the southwestern province of Murcia opened its doors on June 18 under the name La Meca amid protests from Muslim individuals and organizations, the Arab Spanish newspaper Andalus Press reported Wednesday.


" Muslims pray towards Mecca and it is there that the prophet received the holy Quran. Calling a place for dancing and drinking by that name shows disregard to the feelings of Muslims "
Head of Spanish Federation of Islamic Religious Entities Mohamed Ali
A poll conducted after the inauguration of the discotheque revealed the indignation of Spanish Muslims who viewed the action as disrespectful and prejudiced.

Mohamed Ali, head of the Spanish Federation of Islamic Religious Entities (Federación Española de Entidades Religosas Islámicas- FEERI), said Mecca is the most venerated place for Muslims all over the world.

“Muslims pray towards Mecca and it is there that the prophet received the holy Quran,” he said in a statement. “Calling a place for dancing and drinking by that name shows disregard to the feelings of Muslims.”

The inauguration of La Meca raised questions about Muslims who work there. In fact, a Moroccan man rejected an offer to work in the discotheque in protest of the name.

“It is up to him to decide,” Ali added. “It depends on his financial situation and whether he has the option to work in other places.”


" A discotheque is for worldly pleasures and what takes place inside it, like drinking alcohol, is not in line with the principles of Islam "
Founder of the Committee of Muslim Arbitration and Good Deeds Antonio García Petite.

Antonio García Petite, founder of the Committee of Muslim Arbitration and Good Deeds (Comité de Arbitraje Musulmán y Buenas Prácticas), said that the name Mecca is usually used commercially to refer to a center or destination of a specific activity.

“Expressions like ‘the Mecca of cinema’ and ‘the Mecca of Jazz’… etc. are commonly used without any offence,” he said.

However, he added, it is inappropriate to call a discotheque by that name.

“A discotheque is for worldly pleasures and what takes place inside it, like drinking alcohol, is not in line with the principles of Islam.”

As for the Moroccan worker, Petite said that he acted in accordance with his religious beliefs.

“We do support him in that,” he concluded.

FootBall time again