Radical Preacher Released from Jail - Yes its True !!

Radical preacher Abu Qatada has been released from Long Lartin Prison in Worcestershire after winning his fight against deportation from Britain. The Home Secretary has said she is "extremely disappointed" by the decision. Orla Chennaoui reports.

Extremely disappointed EH !!!

Its an absolute disgrace to allow this individual to be housed in this country, fed and watered at the taxpayers expense and then allowed to be released. After this weeks losses in Afghanistan and this individuals previous convictions in Jordan for terrorism. How is it that the UK is such a soft touch, particularly if you play the political game.

Colchester Pays Tribute to Fallen

SHOPPERS in a garrison town stood in silence today to pay tribute to five paratroopers killed in Afghanistan during the past five days.
The centre of Colchester, Essex, came to a standstill at 11am as soldiers and civilians remembered the dead troops.
A bugler played the Last Post as the chimes of the town hall clock struck 11.

Moments earlier, onlookers had spontaneously applauded the arrival of paratroopers from the dead soldiers’ regiment. and a Union flag in the centre of the town was at half mast.
The victims were all members of the 2nd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment and had left their base in Colchester earlier this year to fight in Afghanistan.
Locals - including old soldiers - gathered outside Colchester Town Hall to pay tribute.
The honour came after soldiers of the Parachute Regiment vowed to fight on last night after it emerged that two more of their men had died.
It was the second tragedy to hit the 2nd Battalion in five days — following the loss of three young soldiers on Sunday.
A senior military source said: "It is a heavy blow for 2 Para to suffer so soon after losing three comrades.
"But they will pick themselves up, fight on and complete their mission."
The latest casualties brought the British death toll in Afghanistan to 102 in seven years.
They died yesterday in a Taliban ambush in Helmand province.
The two privates were hit by small-arms fire during a furious battle.
A third soldier was hit when the militants attacked with rocket propelled grenades and automatic rifles.
The Ministry of Defence said last night: "They were conducting a routine foot patrol in the vicinity of their base at Forward Operating Base Gibraltar in the Upper Gereshk Valley when they came under enemy fire, tragically killing two.
"A third soldier was also injured. They were evacuated to Camp Bastion medical facility where the injured soldier is receiving treatment.
"The soldiers’ next of kin have been informed and have requested a 24 hour period of grace before further details are released."
Officials have not revealed details of the injured soldier’s condition.

1st Woman Soldier to die in Afghanistan

Four UK soldiers, one of them a woman, have died in Afghanistan after their vehicle was caught in an explosion.
The woman, believed to a member of the Intelligence Corps, is the first female UK soldier to have died there.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown praised the bravery of the soldiers, who died east of Lashkar Gah in Helmand Province.
The dead soldiers' next-of-kin have been informed. Their deaths take to nine the number of UK soldiers killed in Afghanistan in the last 10 days.
The Ministry of Defence is not expected to name the soldiers until Thursday.
Since 2001, 106 British soldiers died as a result of operations in Afghanistan.
'Dangerous job'
Three of the soldiers were killed in the blast and another was pronounced dead at the British military base at Camp Bastion.
A fifth soldier wounded in the attack, which happened at 1540 local time on Tuesday, is in a stable condition.
Mr Brown told MPs that he offered his "profound condolences" to the families and friends of those who died.
He said the country was proud of the soldiers.
"They were undertaking the most difficult missions in the most dangerous of countries," he said.
"Our troops are a second to none, the best in the world. They are on the noblest of missions, they are fighting for freedom for the Afghans in their own country and for the world in protecting us from terrorism."
Conservative leader David Cameron told the Commons that there was a risk of the American and Nato operations in Afghanistan "pulling in different directions".
He asked Mr Brown: "Can you tell us what progress is being made in turning them into one single unified command?"
The prime minister responded: "Yes there are changes being made in the military command but yes also we must back up the civilian effort which is the key to giving Afghan people a stake in the future."
The latest deaths are the biggest single loss of British lives in Afghanistan since an RAF Nimrod crash in 2006 which killed 14 servicemen.
BBC defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt said the feeling among British military leaders was that the Taleban were being outgunned and that their command-and-control was disintegrating.
The problem is that this has driven the Taleban to measures such as the latest explosion which are very difficult to defend against, she said.
'Courage shown'
The British army spokesman at Camp Bastion, Lt Col Robin Matthews, said: "While the past week or so has indeed been bruising, and no one would deny that, we must remain fixed on what the strategic imperative is here.
"That is delivering a better life, and progress, to the Afghan people."
He added: "All of us have admiration for the work that both male and female British soldiers are doing here and the courage they are showing, acknowledging the risks that are apparent in this particular part of Afghanistan."
Conservative MP and former infantry officer Patrick Mercer believes more could be done to protect British forces from such attacks.
He said: "If you have off-route mines, roadside bombs, why don't we have the helicopters that are available?
"Helicopters are still vulnerable, but they're not vulnerable to this sort of weapon."
Mr Browne announced this week that British troop numbers in Afghanistan will rise by 230 to a new high of more than 8,000 by next spring.
The new troops will boost protection for UK personnel, improve Afghan security training and aid reconstruction work.
The former head of the Army, Gen Sir Mike Jackson, said on Tuesday that British troops must be prepared to match the "strategic endurance" of the Taleban.
He welcomed the announcement of more troops for Afghanistan, and said it would be wrong to set a time frame on withdrawing forces.
Meanwhile Prince Harry joined 200 service personnel at a memorial service at St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh.
They service was to remember the 24 soldiers who died during the deployment of the 52 Infantry Brigade in Helmand from October 2007 until April this year.

Why Afghanistan ?

When I ask the question why are we in Afghanistan. My thoughts revert to 1982 when it was announced that a British Task Force was on its way to the Falklands to despatch the Argentinians from the Falkland Islands.

I can remember newsreels when members of the Parachute Regiment were questioned as to where the Falkland Islands were. Many thought as did most of the British Public that they were in Scotland. However, to each of the individuals assigned to the task force back then, they did not have the priviledge to question why, and understand the rationale and legality of it all.

I can't speak for all soldiers, but for me, I would love to have participated in the conflict at that time as its what we trained for, irrespective of the consequences. Joining the armed services now leaves little scope not to be assigned to either Afghanistan or Iraq on joining your respective battalion, and not just the one tour either.

Now I am older and wiser I still long for that service comaraderie in an environment that I was trained for. The reality is its not going to happen for me. However, I have two sons, none of whom have an interest in joining up anyway. Having said that, if they had joined up and had been injured or killed whilst serving. I would surely question why we are there and why them.

Having seen those pictures of the three members of the 2 Battalion Parachute Regiment who lost their lives last Sunday in Afghanistan really made me question - What if one of those guys was my son ? Immensley proud of course, but being proud doesn't bring back the son you nurtured as a child. The child that became teenager, feeling his feet and leaving school. The teenager developing into a young man with a full life ahead of him.




I decided to Google how the war started in Afghanistan. Many entries show it was a result of terrorism in particular the Twin Towers being attacked and defeating Osama Bin Ladin and the Taliban. Both the US and the UK stood together initially in deciding to initiate attacks on Afghanistan with various other countries becoming involved also.

Having Googled this item I also noticed that there are various articles stating that the US had already planned operatons against the Taliban prior to 9/11. It makes interesting reading.

Begs the question Why, all the more prominent.

Britain investigates al-Qaida document leak

Wednesday June 11, 2008 6:31 PM
LONDON (AP) - Two secret government documents about al-Qaida and Iraq were left on a London commuter train, British officials said Wednesday.

The British Broadcasting Corp. said the documents were found by a member of the public who handed them to the broadcaster. A police investigation is under way.

In a statement, the government's Cabinet Office said that ``two documents which are marked as secret were left on a train and have subsequently been handed to the BBC.'' The documents were in the possession of a senior intelligence official, the statement said.

It said London's Metropolitan Police was investigating the security breach.
The police force confirmed it was making inquiries into the loss of the documents on Tuesday.

Des Browne MP - Arsehole

Our troops aren't fit for jobs in civvy street, says the man who's meant to be fighting their corner.

Defence Secretary Des Browne faced fresh anger over soldiers' pay last night after suggesting their low wages are justified because many would fail to get better-paid jobs outside the Army.

It comes just a day after General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the Army, complained that soldiers who risk death or injury on the front line are paid less than traffic wardens back home.
A young infantry soldier deployed to Afghanistan will earn £16,227, with operational allowances taking his pay to just over £20,000. That is less than the average £20,526 salary for traffic wardens.
Mr Browne told hundreds of delegates from Legion branches: 'Why don't we pay servicemen and women in a comparative rate to uniformed organisations in civilian street?
'I have to say the honest answer to that, for a number of young people, particularly those who join the Army, before they join the Army, they would not have been accepted by any of these organisations.

'But, because of the formative experiences the services have been for you, as a result of what you have gone through, you can bet your bottom dollar that when you come out of the Forces, you will be acceptable.'

WELL Des it appears you haven't engaged your brain it seems - You have the ability to send in servicemen & women to various parts of the world placing their lives in danger and then knock them by saying that many could not obtain better paid jobs in Civvy St. That will comfort the families who have lost loved ones recently.

Are you for real with you 5 figure salary ? Its people like you who sent young men over the top in The Great War, whilst sipping champagne and having dinner in some of the finest restaurants in London. We all know how The Great War turned out.

Thanks Des - nice to know the services have your support. Someone save their last round (7.62mm) for Des please.

Navy what Navy !

The Ministry of Defence has confirmed it has withdrawn the missile capability of one warship and is planning to do so from another currently on deployment.
HMS Southampton, will return from the South Atlantic in December, and will then join HMS Exeter which has already been stripped of its Sea Dart missiles.
The Portsmouth-based Type 42 destroyers will be taken out of service next year.
The MoD said both vessels would still be able to defend themselves and carry out "a wide range of tasks".
An MoD spokesman said: "This decision has been made after careful consideration and is necessary to ensure support to the longer-running Type 42 destroyers can be sustained properly."
He said HMS Exeter was due to be the next Type 42 to be retired after more than 25 years in the front line and HMS Southampton, which is the second oldest Type 42, will follow in 2009.
He added: "HMS Exeter and HMS Southampton will continue to be capable of a wide range of tasks.
"They are armed with a 4.5in (11cm) gun and close range weapons systems and they carry a Lynx helicopter, which can deploy torpedoes, anti-ship missiles or a machine gun.
"Air defence for the fleet will continue to be provided by the other Type 42 destroyers that will remain in service until gradually replaced by the Daring class Type 45 destroyer, the first of which will enter service in late 2010."

100 British Dead in Afghanistan

The three Parachute Regiment soldiers were on a perimeter patrol under a mile outside their base in Helmand province when they were approached by the suicide bomber.

It is unclear what device the insurgent used but it is believed that the explosives were strapped to his chest.
While foot patrols are used regularly to secure base perimeters it is also known that Taliban spies regular keep watch on movements reporting back by mobile phones or hand-held radios.
If it was a bomber then he would have approached the Paras at speed, possibly not giving them enough time to fire warning shots or fatal rounds that would have killed him.

Even if they did hit him there was a good chance that the huge blast would have caused fatalities from many yards away. But the fighting spirit of the Parachute Regiment was undeterred on Sunday as soldiers A Company, 3 Para, accompanied by the Telegraph, began another mission against the enemy deep in Taliban territory.

The daily dangers faced by troops operating against a determined enemy that is evolving its tactics was emphasised after a booby trap was found close to the patrol. A Royal Military Police soldier crawled to the area and uncovered an 82mm mortar bomb that was probably linked to others.

A few hours later news came over the tactical radio that B Company of 3 Para, who are operating at the other end of the valley in Mizan district, Zabul province, had come under fire by a heavy machine gun, small arms and mortars.

But the Paras, who had used an air assault by helicopter to flush out the enemy, managed to fight off the Taliban in a 90 minute gunfight.

At A Company's base in a mudbrick compound surrounded by villages terrorised by the Taliban and overlooked by steep hills, news filtered in of possible attacks being mounted. Soldiers were "stood to" around their machine gun emplacements as the troops waited for possible probing attacks followed by a main onslaught.

As the hours of darkness continued no assault materialised but it was another tiring night for the Paras who have to be constantly on the alert. Only a day earlier, a machine gunner had opened up on three suspected Taliban who approached to within 250 yards of the compound made up of five main buildings protected by high brick walls, machine gun sangars, mortars and other defences.

The defences were tested to the full when a 20-strong Taliban force attempted to storm a hill-top positions two days ago but were beaten back suffering at least three dead. After one of the biggest helicopter air assaults in the regiment's history, 3 Para has landed at two ends of a mountainous area that is one of the remaining Taliban strongholds.

Every day the Paras have patrolled in the heat into villages and up mountains to flush out the enemy while constantly in danger of roadside bombs or long-distance ambushes. For the coming weeks the paratroopers will be pushed to the limits as they attempt to flush out the insurgents and reassure the local population that they are a force for the good here to end the Taliban's reign of violence.

As we waited for the names of he dead paratroopers to be confirmed a soldier said: "This is a horrible time for us waiting to find out if it's someone you know.

"It is not a good thing to know that anytime now a family's life is about to fall apart

."

Soldiers Pay Row

General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the Army, has called for a pay rise for soldiers after discovering traffic wardens get paid more than those on the frontline.
He said the question of pay was the most important issue facing the Armed Forces today.
More than 20,000 personnel left the Forces last year, many citing the poor salary as their reason. The lowest paid soldiers are on just £12,572 a year while traffic wardens receive a basic salary of £17,000. Servicemen and women were given a pay rise of just 2.6 this year.
The Chief of General Staff also insisted that more money must be spent on soldier's welfare, and on improving their "appalling" accommodation.
And he called for a bigger slice of the national wealth to be spent on defence, the first time a serving Army chief has ever demanded more funding in public.
General Dannatt, 57, said: "You look to see how much a traffic warden is paid and compare that against what a private soldier gets paid. Servicemen go on operations knowing they are putting their lives on the line. It is very hard to put a price on that.
"I'd like to see soldier's pay go up above inflation over the next couple of years.
"Given the insecurity in the world today and what the Armed Forces are being asked to do, then a slightly increased share of the national wealth going to defence would be appropriate.
"I regard what we are doing in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere as non-discretionary - we have got to do those things.
"To make sure that we have Armed Services - in my case an Army - populated by motivated and well-trained people, we have got to look after their individual needs well enough.
"That means things like housing, pay, medical provision and general welfare facilities have got to be good. That's where I would like to see additional resources spent."
General Dannatt first raise the question of the military covenant - the duty of a country to look after it Armed Forces personnel who go to fight - nearly two years ago, saying he did not want the country to "let the Army down."
"Servicemen go on operations knowing they are putting their lives on the line. It is very hard to put a price on that."
General Sir Richard Dannatt, the head of the Army.

German army officers allow top Taliban commander to escape ... because they are not allowed to use lethal force

A Taliban commander with links to the killers of several British soldiers has escaped from German special forces because they were not allowed to shoot.
Elite soldiers from the German KSK had been charged with capturing the terrorist. After spending weeks searching for him, in cooperation with the Afghan army and secret service, they discovered that he was located near the town of Pol-e-Khomri in the north of Afghanistan.
Wearing night-vision goggles, the German team came within a few hundred metres of his hideout before they were discovered by Taliban forces.
It is unclear precisely what happened next, but the Berlin government will not let its soldiers fire shots in Afghanistan in any situation other than self-defence... and the Taliban chief escaped.
If the German soldiers had opened fire they could have ended up on a murder charge.
The incident was reported yesterday by the German news magazine Der Spiegel which warned: "The man and his network are active once again."
It quoted an "incredulous" British officer in Kabul as saying: "The Germans are allowing the most dangerous people to get away and increasing the danger for the Afghans and all foreign forces here."
The Taliban commander was known as the Bagh - lan Bomber after masterminding an attack last year in Baghlan province in which 79 people died.
Nato sources say he has organised roadside bombs in other areas which have struck British military convoys, causing deaths.
One British Special Forces source said: "This is very embarrassing, particularly for the soldiers on the ground who are very professional and dedicated men, but they know they must obey the orders of their government.
"The blame here lies with the politicians, not the men on the ground."
A German defence ministry official said the incident would not change Berlin's policy of the "principle of proportionality". He added: "A fugitive like the Baghlan bomber is not an aggressor and should not be shot unless in self-defence."
A British Special Forces soldier was killed yesterday when a mine or hidden bomb exploded during a foot patrol near Musa Qaleh, Helmand Province.
The UK death toll since military operations began in Afghanistan in 2001 now stands at 96 - almost all since British forces moved into Helmand Province almost two years ago.

A True Stroy - Genetic Warfare

British Army deploys DNA of real-life Rambos - Article

Recruits likely to fail basic training are literally being given a shot in the arm thanks to an amazing new initiative poised to transform them into super-troopers. The Army will, in effect, be turning to the Marines for a drop of the 'right stuff.'

Under a controversial scheme codenamed Proiject Rico, personnel struggling to make the grade can volunteer to be injected with the genes of individuals with proven military prowess, including heroes from the Royal Marines & RAF Regiment.

According to Defence sources, the initiative, being rolled out this month, has been undergoing closed door trials at the Centre of Aviation Medicine for the past five years. It has delivered promising results, with two-thirds of test subjects showing enhanced perfomance and physique.

'We are not talking about turning failing soldiers into Slyvester Stallone or Vin Diesel, and any suggestion that this will provide us with a legion of Hollywood Action Heroes is complete rubbish,'' said an Army clinician involved in the trials.

'However, by harvesting the genes of some of the Services ' top guns', and introducing them into recruits who have a track record of poor perfomance, the long term results suggest an increase in motivation and fitness.'

The process of exttracting DNA from the militaruy elite is painless and involves collecting cells by rolling the tip of a sample collection swab on the inside of both cheeks. This genetic pick-me-up is stored under lock and key at the Centre of Aviation Medicine from where it can requested by clinicians in the Soldier Upgrade Personnel Resource (SUPER) programme.

The identitiesd of Servicemen donating the DNA is never disclosed and only recruits who volunteer will receive the genes, which are introduced via the bloodstream via a series of injections. Medical Chiefs pointesd out that that the shots could be done as a stand alone procedure or as part routine health checks carried out during phase one training. Further injections are given at weekly intervals for a month.

Details of those taking part in RICO have been witheld because of the MoD's strict code of confidentiality to protect troops involved in medical trials. But one 18 year old male participant, back squaded in the early stages of his training at ATR Pirbright, said the treatment had awken a 'killer instinct' in him. He added: ' Full credit to my instructors, they had really tried to get me sorted but my moral was at rock bottom and I was about to throw in the towel. ' After three shots I am more motivated, focused and it's not a drama to get there and mix it up. 'I'm holding my own now thanks to RICO I'm going to do it.'

A Royal Marine veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq, who has participated in the project since 2003 and is continuing to donate, firmly believe the introduction of the Green Beret DNA could improve performance. The 27 year old added: 'It' is an established fact that out tough training regime only attracts the most dedicated and we owe it to the future generations of soldiers past a little bit of our success back through the ranks. I don't have a problem with this scheme as long as our genes are only used for the stated purposes'.

Hushing Up Crisis Of Suicide, Mental Scars

This article is taken from from courant .com about American Veterans; just makes you think that little bit harder as to what WE are doing to address this issue.

Dr. Ira Katz, chief of mental health services for the Department of Veterans Affairs, sent an e-mail to a VA colleague this past February that read:

"Shh! Our suicide prevention coordinators are identifying about 1,000 suicide attempts per month among the veterans we see in our medical facilities. Is this something we should (carefully) address ourselves in some sort of release before somebody stumbles on it?"Unfortunately for the government, somebody did "stumble" on it.

Dr. Katz lied about the numbers before the House of Representatives Veterans' Affairs Committee, grossly understating the number of such suicide attempts. He testified that the number for all of 2007 was 790. He also neglected the Army's own "Suicide Event Report," which disclosed that 2006 saw the highest rate of military suicides in 26 years!

CBS News did its own extensive research, finding that more than 6,250 American veterans took their own lives in 2005 alone. That comes to slightly more than 17 suicides every day.
Most of the data was obtained by discovery in the case of Veterans for Common Sense v. Peake, now pending in U.S. District Court in California. Veterans for Common Sense has spent years seeking this information under the Freedom of Information Act as well as through discovery ancillary to its lawsuit.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am a member of Veterans for Common Sense, and I have an application pending with the VA for an increase of my disability pension as a Purple Heart combat veteran of World War II.The litigation against Veterans Affairs Secretary James Peake is uncovering more than the familiar amalgam of government secrecy, cover-up and deception by still another federal agency.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is vital to the protection and support of our troops. This support has carried an implied exception, namely cost-cutting for veterans' health care after they have served their country.

The Veterans for Common Sense lawsuit has already demonstrated that the VA intentionally misled Congress and the public about the epidemic of veterans' suicides. Here are the facts squeezed out of the government to date:
• 120 veterans commit suicide every week.
• 1,000 veterans attempt suicide while in VA care every month.
• Nearly one in five service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan (approximately 300,000) have post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms or major depression.
• 19 percent of post-Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have been diagnosed with possible traumatic brain injury, according to a Rand Corp. Study in April.
• A higher percentage of these veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder than from any previous war because of "stop loss" or an involuntary extension of service in the military (58,300), multiple tours, greater prevalence of brain injuries, etc.

The Veterans for Common Sense case has already uncovered widespread breakdown of the VA's health care for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The Rand Corp. study demonstrates that, in addition to the 300,000 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans diagnosed with PTSD, an additional 320,000 have sustained physical brain damage resulting from traumatic brain injury. A majority of these injured GIs are receiving no help from the Defense Department or the VA, which are more concerned with covering up such unpleasant facts than providing care and paying disability pensions.

The Rand Corp. study concludes:"Individuals afflicted with these conditions face higher risk for other psychological problems and for attempting suicide. They have higher rates of unhealthy behaviors — such as smoking, overeating and unsafe sex — and higher rates of physical health problems and mortality. ... These conditions can impair relationships, disrupt marriages, aggravate the difficulties of parenting, and cause problems in children that may extend consequences of combat trauma across generations."The Defense Department's Task Force on Mental Health has begun to recognize "daunting and growing" psychological problems among our troops. Nearly 40 percent of our soldiers, a third of our Marines, and half of the National Guard members are presenting with serious mental health issues.The administration and Congress must come to grips with this grave and growing problem among our returning vets.

The suicide rates, domestic violence and the strain on families need to be recognized, and timely health care provided. Proper screening and treatment are essential. Our returning troops are entitled to nothing less.These are the real costs of President Bush's misbegotten and mismanaged wars.

These are the costs that the administration seeks to hide while it attempts to make the test of patriotism the wearing of flag pins in our lapels! It's what is underneath those flag pins that really matters. It is called compassion. It is real patriotism as opposed to the fraud of "Mission Accomplished" and promises of victory.

Emanuel Margolis is an attorney in Stamford, a former chairman of the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut and an adjunct professor of First Amendment law at Quinnipiac Law School.

Coldstreamers Return from Afghanistan

On Saturday 26 April I was privileged to visit Winsdor, and to witness the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards excercising their right to march through the town of Windsor after returning home from their recent service in Afghanistan. With the upmost pride both as a Coldstreamer and civvy I watched with admiration at what these guys had achieved whilst in theatre.

Whilst no lives had been lost, some casulaties had sustained serious injuries. This however, did not detract from the fact that the Battalion saw fit to have these guys attend and lead the parade throught the town of Windsor. Some of the guys had only just returned the night before this parade took place.

Attendence for this parade was absolutely superb with literally thousands in attendence along the route. The recognition from the public, former members of the regiment and civic dignitries and most of all the families was truly humbling. I watched with pride children holding placards with photos of their respective fathers returning home to a hero's welcome.