Turkey Reports Airstrike on Iraq - New York Times

Turkey Reports Airstrike on Iraq - New York Times: "ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- Turkish jet fighters bombed Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq early Sunday, Turkey's military said, marking an escalation of force against the outlawed separatist group. An Iraqi official said the planes attacked several villages, killing one woman."

This is interesting because the US would have had to have allowed it. The US maintains a Combat Air Patrol (CAP) over Iraq. We have good to excellent radar coverage extending well beyond Iraq's borders. The only reason I can see that the CAP didn't drop the Turkish aircraft is that they were told not to.

The Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) is a terrorist organization. The best solution is for the Kurds in Northern Iraq to police the PKK themselves. If they're not going to do that then they're going to keep giving Turkey an excuse to come over the border and handle the problem their own way.

EDIT: BBC quotes a Turkish General as saying the US gave advance approval.

APA Rules on Interrogation Abuse - washingtonpost.com

APA Rules on Interrogation Abuse - washingtonpost.com: "SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 19 -- The American Psychological Association ruled Sunday that psychologists can no longer be associated with several interrogation techniques that have been used against terrorism detainees at U.S. facilities because the methods are immoral, psychologically damaging and counterproductive in eliciting useful information."

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Torture doesn't work. Torture did not work during the inquisition. Torture did not work during the Salem witch hunt. Torture has been the source of demonstrably false information during the war on terror.

A freedom-loving people does not condone torture.

A liberal is a conservative who's been booked...

Accused Al Qaeda operative can't be jailed indefinitely, appeals court rules - Los Angeles Times: "WASHINGTON — In a setback for the Bush administration, a federal appeals court ruled Monday that an alleged Al Qaeda operative arrested in the United States and detained in military custody for four years cannot be held as an enemy combatant."

Americans need to get off their butts and start defending their rights while they still have rights to defend.

Make no mistake, this case is going set an important precedent. Al-Marri was arrested in Illinois on credit card fraud, labeled an "enemy combatant", pulled out of the court system and thrown in the brig on Fort Brag, NC.

Al-Marri is most likely a real-live bad guy. He probably did come here with the intent to do evil. But if al-Marri can be labeled an enemy combatant, stripped of his rights and indefinitely confined without due process, then so can you.

The term habeas corpus dates back to the Magna Carta in 1215 CE. It literally means "to have the body." It is a requirement to show cause for confinement. While our Bill of Rights are amendments to the Constitution, habeas corpus is actually written into Article I. It is a basic human right.

A few words on the difference between a right and a privilege. A right is something you have and a privilege is something you're given. Privileges can be taken away and rights cannot. Freedom must not become a privilege.

The title for this entry is from a joke my dad used to tell: "You know what a liberal is? A conservative who's been booked! Know what a conservative is? A liberal who's been mugged!" The issue of perspective is worth considering. If you were wrongly accused of terrorism, how confident would you be that your liberties were protected?

As an aside, the LA Times has one of the worst "free registration" schemes I've ever seen. If they've put the article behind a log-in screen do a Google search. There's lots of content of equal or better quality out there.

Here we go again

Faulty fax, mistaken as threat, prompts evacuation of stores - The Boston Globe: "ASHLAND -- In a scene reminiscent of the Cartoon Network bomb scare that paralyzed the Boston area in January, police shut down a strip mall yesterday in this small western suburb after employees at a Bank of America branch mistook a botched fax for a bomb threat."

We as a species are really, really bad at risk perception. Yes, terrorists are a threat to your life, but they are not nearly as much of a threat as not wearing your seatbelt or smoking.

Animal rights activist gets 12 years for arsons - Los Angeles Times

Animal rights activist gets 12 years for arsons - Los Angeles Times: "EUGENE, ORE. — A federal judge Thursday sentenced Animal Liberation Front arsonist Kevin Tubbs to prison for more than 12 years, rejecting arguments that he was a minor player just trying to save animals and protect the Earth.

U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken declared that four of the nine fires Tubbs was involved in — at a forest ranger station, a police substation, a dealership selling SUVs and a tree farm — were acts of terrorism intended to influence the conduct of the government or retaliate for government acts. "

Reading the article, it sounds like Tubbs is a dumbass that got in way over his head. Nonetheless, I agree with the judge's ruling.

Let's talk a little about terrorism. I think the term is used way too often. Recently, a Vatican spokesman accused a comedian of terrorism for making fun of the Pope. [here] That's just stupid, but there really is a disagreement on what the word means. Congress in Title 22 United States Code says: "the term “terrorism” means premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents" [here] The US DoD definition is: the calculated use of violence or the threat of violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological. [here] The best attempt I've seen to define terrorism is this Christian Science Monitor article.

Briefly, all terrorist acts are also criminal acts and include a premeditated theatrical element meant to cause fear in a population or a society.

The public perception that you need to be a Muslim to be a terrorist is bigoted and unhelpful.

Activist groups in the United States seem to be increasingly willing to employ violence to achieve their aims. All of these violent acts are crimes, but more seriously, some groups are willing to commit acts of terrorism. When you talk about a terrorist act, the victims are the public at large.

I am baffled when any organizations is able to maintain political legitimacy and support terrorism (explicitly or implicitly). Let's take the phrase "political wing of a terrorist organization." I believe you can take "political wing" out of the phrase without significantly changing its meaning. You either condone terrorism as a means of achieving a goal or you don't. If you condone terrorism then you don't get to play politics. It's like saying you're a vegetarian that eats meat. You can't be a political organization that uses violence. Violence is what criminal organizations use.

Within the US there are two (often intertwined) groups that dance back and forth across the terrorism line; the animal rights and environmental extremists. (I believe our abortion clinic bombers, while intending to cause fear, are still in the "lone nut" category.) I don't understand how they get away with it. I cannot wrap my mind around the "sure, they lit fire to a car dealership, but they were trying to save the environment so it's okay" logical back flip.

For a nice and easy example, it would seem to me that once an organization like PETA got linked to violence their money and support would quickly dry up.

But I'm wrong. It is absolutely possible to victimize a population and have that same population support you.

San Jose Mercury News - Liberty student arrested on bomb charges

San Jose Mercury News - Liberty student arrested on bomb charges: "LYNCHBURG, Va.- A Liberty University student was arrested after telling a family member he had made bombs and planned to attend the funeral of the Rev. Jerry Falwell, authorities said.

Mark David Uhl, 19, was arrested Monday night on charges of manufacturing an explosive device, Major Steve Hutcherson said. A family member notified authorities."

It's not clear what he intended to do with the five improvised explosive devices (IEDs) he had in the trunk of his car. We know that Uhl strongly disagreed with the Westboro Baptist Church and that they sent a small contingent of protesters to the funeral. We do not know if they were the intended target. The Associated Press reporter who wrote this story actually spoke to a roommate of Uhl's, a guy named Jesse Benson. Jesse said Uhl wouldn't have hurt anyone out of respect for Jerry Falwell. I think Jesse has it wrong. A guy with five IEDs in the trunk of his car has murder on his mind. Lesser objectives could be easily achieved with much less dangerous methods.

Mark Uhl was a student at an Evangelical Christian university and was studying to be an Army chaplain. I don't think his Christian beliefs are in question.

Some pretty hateful things were said after the Virginia Polytechnic shooting about it being God's will or God's retribution. Now that we've got a devout Christian with five IEDs in his trunk, I would like to hear what those folks have to say now.

Culture Wars has his MySpace page.

Iraq's al-Qa'ida head killed | News | The Australian

Iraq's al-Qa'ida head killed | News | The Australian: "THE leader of al-Qai'da in Iraq, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, was killed today in an internal fight between insurgents north of Baghdad, the Interior Ministry spokesman said."

Well, saved the taxpayers the cost of a JDAM. Otherwise, nothing to be excited about.

Informed Comment

Informed Comment: "Warren Strobel and Jonathan S. Landay of McClatchy report that the annual State Department on terrorism will report a nearly 30% rise over the previous year, most of it accounted for by attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Of the 14,338 terrorist attacks logged in 2006, 45% were executed in Iraq.