News Stories

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

the last time US sent troops into Iraq, the whole world with Europe at the fore front criticizing the US (not that i agree with sending troops myself). Quite frankly I think it is time for the rest of the world to pick up some of the slack.

The Americans never had the tact nor subtlety to deal with terrorists. I remember reading a news article in which the British SAS snatched a terrorist undercover in Libya or Iraq without a single shot, the Yanks literally bombed their way through.

Even the SAD shoot their way through to take the people they want. So much for secrecy.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

The Americans never had the tact nor subtlety to deal with terrorists. I remember reading a news article in which the British SAS snatched a terrorist undercover in Libya or Iraq without a single shot, the Yanks literally bombed their way through.

Even the SAD shoot their way through to take the people they want. So much for secrecy.

Benghazi attack suspect Ahmed Abu Khatallah was watched by U.S. commandos, law enforcement and intelligence for days before his capture, several U.S. officials said Tuesday. Not a single shot was fired when the manhunt was successfully completed over the weekend, U.S. officials said. Abu Khatallah's arrest and detention marks the first by the United States in connection with the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya.


http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/17/world/...pect-captured/

^^ u were saying.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

^^ u were saying.

Yeah I guess they finally learned that they cannot rely on USAF ordinance all the time.

There was another one which the British SAS captured him with the help of MI6 (or it was The Increment which Tomlinson had outlined). I can't seem to find the article anymore.

[SeijiSensei]

Have you not heard about the controversy over American renditions? The CIA has been surreptitiously snatching supposed terrorists off the street and sending them to prison facilities in places like Egypt for well over a decade now.

Not to mention assassinations by drones.

[Xellos-_^]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/30/wo...v=lede-package

Kidnapping Europeans for ransom has become a global business for Al Qaeda, bankrolling its operations across the globe.
While European governments deny paying ransoms, an investigation by The New York Times found that Al Qaeda and its direct affiliates have earned at least $125 million in revenue from kidnappings since 2008, of which $66 million was paid just in the past year.
In various news releases and statements, the United States Treasury Department has cited ransom amounts that, taken together, put the total at around $165 million over the same period.

when is Europe going to grow a backbone?

[Haak]

Still a lot cheaper than military misadventures, I imagine. XP

[risingstar3110]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

the last time US sent troops into Iraq, the whole world with Europe at the fore front criticizing the US (not that i agree with sending troops myself). Quite frankly I think it is time for the rest of the world to pick up some of the slack.

But the current Iraq government was set up and the military was organised and trained by US. Meanswhile Syria military action was seriously hindered by Western support toward the rebel, leading to ISIS growth. Shouldn't they at least feel responsible in some ways? Oh, and recent conflict in Lybia too

I means Saddam and that Lybia dude (name escaped mind.Ghadafi? ) were terrible, but at least they did not publically beheaded enemies soldiers and hang them up as deterrance.

[Der Langrisser]

Originally Posted by risingstar3110

But the current Iraq government was set up and the military was organised and trained by US. Meanswhile Syria military action was seriously hindered by Western support toward the rebel, leading to ISIS growth. Shouldn't they at least feel responsible in some ways? Oh, and recent conflict in Lybia too

I means Saddam and that Lybia dude (name escaped mind.Ghadafi? ) were terrible, but at least they did not publically beheaded enemies soldiers and hang them up as deterrance.

In the case of Saddam, the gassing of a whole town is probably much worse than public beheading.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by Haak

Still a lot cheaper than military misadventures, I imagine. XP

not that either one has anything to do with each other

Negotiators believe that the Qaeda branches have now determined which governments pay.
Of the 53 hostages known to have been taken by Qaeda’s official branches in the past five years, a third were French. And small nations like Austria, Switzerland and Spain, which do not have large expatriate communities in the countries where the kidnappings occur, account for over 20 percent of the victims.
By contrast, only three Americans are known to have been kidnapped by Al Qaeda or its direct affiliates, representing just 5 percent of the total.
“For me, it’s obvious that Al Qaeda is targeting them by nationality,” said Jean-Paul Rouiller, the director of the Geneva Center for Training and Analysis of Terrorism, who helped set up Switzerland’s counterterrorism program. “Hostages are an investment, and you are not going to invest unless you are pretty sure of a payout.”


from same article

US and UK citizen are actually safer form kidnapping because their government don't paid ransom.

[Haak]

No they exchange prisoners instead. XP

[Ithekro]

They exchange prisoners or send rescue missions.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by Haak

No they exchange prisoners instead. XP

how many prisoner exchange vs how many ransom payments?

[Mr Hat and Clogs]

Picture of Gaza (today?).

Spoiler for size, and in case people dont want to see burning buildings:

[risingstar3110]

Originally Posted by Der Langrisser

In the case of Saddam, the gassing of a whole town is probably much worse than public beheading.

The body count may be much lower, but the brutality was way worse.

And it's not just public beheading here. They actual stuck victim heads on the stacks and fences as an example, and let people takes pictures and stuffs.

This world has gone mad

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

when is Europe going to grow a backbone?

Soon. They just found the remains of King Richard at a parking lot. After they resurrect him, we can have another Crusade into the Mideast.

[Der Langrisser]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Soon. They just found the remains of King Richard at a parking lot. After they resurrect him, we can have another Crusade into the Mideast.

Wrong Richard, the one found in the parking lot was Richard III.
The Crusading one, Richard I, have his skeleton resting in Fontevraud abbey, while his (lion)heart rest in Rouen Cathedral's crypt.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Der Langrisser

Wrong Richard, the one found in the parking lot was Richard III.
The Crusading one, Richard I, have his skeleton resting in Fontevraud abbey, while his (lion)heart rest in Rouen Cathedral's crypt.

Doesn't matter. We need another crusade - Mother Nature will be pleased that she does not need to mutate another pathogen to keep the population count in check. [/sarcasm]

Originally Posted by risingstar3110

The body count may be much lower, but the brutality was way worse.

And it's not just public beheading here. They actual stuck victim heads on the stacks and fences as an example, and let people takes pictures and stuffs.

This world has gone mad

When both sides are wrong in a conflict, there is chaos; and there is always opportunity in chaos - in the way of defence stocks.

If I had the capital, maybe I can hire a passport forger to bring the Palestine kids out of there into the US or somewhere and let their parents get peppered - no more anti-semetic or extremist influence means the kids can grow up with a more balanced worldview.

Oh yeah, and I can finally prove that it is a sin to wage war and bear hatred without Allah's permission.

[Haak]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

not that either one has anything to do with each other.

I was talking about rescue missions.

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

how many prisoner exchange vs how many ransom payments?

Is it a quantitative thing? Perhaps in terms of funding the terrorists but we all know the UK and US prefers to do that through banks. XP

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

US and UK citizen are actually safer form kidnapping because their government don't paid ransom.

They may be safer from kidnapping but I doubt they're safer from death.

[JokerD]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Doesn't matter. We need another crusade - Mother Nature will be pleased that she does not need to mutate another pathogen to keep the population count in check. [/sarcasm]

Are you sure?
Ebola: Liberia shuts schools to tackle outbreak

The number of people killed by the virus in West Africa has now reached 672, according to new UN figures.

The BBC's West Africa correspondent Thomas Fessy says treatment facilities have reportedly been overwhelmed in the Liberian capital Monrovia.

Some wards have already filled up, forcing health workers to treat some patients at their homes.

Seems like diseases are going full force to me. Anyway, they is kinda egocentric, since a disease doesn't need to directly kill humans to effect us. Get something that kills off the majority of food crops (plants or animals) and watch us kill each other over food.

[aohige]

Originally Posted by ChainLegacy

Have the "peace talks" ever produced an offer for the current Palestinian territory to become an independent nation?

Really, it comes down to this.



Regardless of the details of the conflict, with hostility on both sides, my sympathy leans towards the side that lost 95% of their land, and the left over 5% or less is under constant infiltration/invasion/colonization from the opposing side.
The 1947 even two-state didn't work out. We get that. But the fact that the "white side" on the map hasn't stop its conquest, even to this very day, is worsening the situation.

I mean really, if one side will not stop until every bit of land is obliterated and conquered, what CAN the other side do?
The passive-aggressive BS stemming from the offensive side, pretending to be a victim of the conflict, is mindboggling hypocrisy.