tillman's parents want general's record reviewed from ap: The parents of slain Army Ranger and NFL star Pat Tillman voiced concerns Tuesday that the general who played a role in mischaracterizing his death could be put in charge of military operations in Afghanistan. In a brief interview with The Associated Press, Pat Tillman Sr. accused Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal of covering up the circumstances of the 2004 slaying. "I do believe that guy participated in a falsified homicide investigation," Pat Tillman Sr. said. Separately, Mary Tillman called it "imperative" that McChrystal's record be carefully considered before he is confirmed.
oh, but now al qaeda's global base is pakistan, petraeus says from wsj: Senior leaders of al Qaeda are using sanctuaries in Pakistan's lawless frontier regions to plan new terror attacks and funnel money, manpower and guidance to affiliates around the world, according to a top American military commander. Gen. David Petraeus, who oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said in an interview that Pakistan has become the nerve center of al Qaeda's global operations, allowing the terror group to re-establish its organizational structure and build stronger ties to al Qaeda offshoots in Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, North Africa and parts of Europe. The comments underscore a growing U.S. belief that Pakistan has displaced Afghanistan as al Qaeda's main stronghold. "It is the headquarters of the al Qaeda senior leadership," said the general, who took the helm of the military's Central Command last fall.
update1: pelosi says cia misled lawmakers on torture from mcclatchy: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi charged Thursday that U.S. intelligence officials had misled Congress about the use of torture on terrorism suspects. The California Democrat recalled a September 2002 briefing in which "the only mention of waterboarding at that briefing was that it was not being employed... But we also now know that techniques including waterboarding had already been employed, and that those briefing me in September 2002 gave me inaccurate and incomplete information."
US sailor shot at fifth fleet headquarters from dpa: A US Navy sailor was injured early Saturday by a gunshot at the US Navy's Fifth Fleet Command headquarters in Manama, Bahrain. The sailor, aged 19, was said to be in a stable condition after he suffered a wound to the neck. He was rushed to a local hospital, but US authorities declined to reveal how the incident occurred. "A US Marine is in stable condition following an accidental discharge of a small firearm weapon at the base," base spokesman Lieutenant Nathan Christensen said.
de naald attack: 8th person dies from copycat effect: An eighth person has died in the wake of the assassination attempt on the Dutch Royal Family. The De Naald (in English The Needle), is the obelisk monument in the Dutch city of Apeldoorn that became the final resting place for Karst Tates' automobile... The car rammed into a stone monument (the Masonic structure pictured above) after speeding through the crowd, narrowly missing an open-topped bus carrying Queen Beatrix and other royal family members. Police say the car's driver, identified by Dutch media as Karst Tates, admitted attempting to attack the popular monarch shortly after his car came to a halt. He did not give a motive. The attack on the Queen's Day national holiday raised questions in the Netherlands about the level of security surrounding the royal family. For more on the symbolic linkages, copycat evidence, and video concerning this attack, please click here.
US soldier kills 5 fellow troops in iraq shootout from danger room: Shocking news from Iraq: An American soldier killed five fellow troops in a shooting incident at Camp Liberty, the heavily-fortified U.S. base complex that abuts Baghdad International Airport. Details at this point are scarce, but this looks like an ugly case of fratricide. The Associated Press reports that the shootings happened at a Camp Liberty stress clinic, where troops can receive counseling for combat-related stress or other personal issues. The shooter is reportedly in custody. As The Wall Street Journal’s Yochi Dreazen notes, this is the most deadly single incident involving U.S. troops in Iraq since a truck bomb killed five soldiers in Mosul last month. Camp Liberty is ringed by heavy security, and it’s rather zealously guarded by Ugandan contractors, real sticklers for checking badges. The greatest danger to these mega-bases, at least inside the perimeter, is usually rocket or mortar fire. Unlike the Vietnam War, when “fragging” became commonplace, such cases of fratricide have been extremely rare in Iraq.
from raw replay: Salon’s Mark Benjamin has uncovered a shocking video taken from a soldier’s helmet in Iraq which seems to indicate that a friendly tank caused the death of 2 U.S. troops.
from bbc: Three British troops have been killed in Afghanistan by so-called friendly fire, the Ministry of Defence has said.
The MoD said the soldiers, from 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, were killed at around 1830 local time (1500 BST) on Thursday.
It is understood the soldiers died when US fighter planes, called to support ground troops, dropped a bomb near their patrol in Helmand province.
Two other soldiers were also injured. Next of kin have been informed.
Defence Secretary Des Browne said he was "very saddened" by the death of "three brave men who were tragically killed in what is believed to be a friendly fire incident".
He said such incidents were "rare" and it would be thoroughly investigated.
"We will look at this incident very carefully and make sure the families, who are uppermost in our thoughts, know exactly what happened to their loved ones," he said.
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from ap: The parents of slain Army Ranger and NFL star Pat Tillman voiced concerns Tuesday that the general who played a role in mischaracterizing his death could be put in charge of military operations in Afghanistan. In a brief interview with The Associated Press, Pat Tillman Sr. accused Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal of covering up the circumstances of the 2004 slaying. "I do believe that guy participated in a falsified homicide investigation," Pat Tillman Sr. said. Separately, Mary Tillman called it "imperative" that McChrystal's record be carefully considered before he is confirmed.
