Posted on 06/02/2008 1:05:15 AM PDT by ozguy
ISLAMABAD (AFP) — A blast occurred Monday outside the Danish embassy in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, causing casualties, police and security officials said.
"Yes, there has been a blast at the Danish embassy but we are not sure whether it was inside or out," local police official Mohammad Shabir told AFP. Security officials said there were several casualties.
(Excerpt) Read more at afp.google.com ...
They can’t get over cartoons...
ALERT - Pakistan: 8 dead in explosion outside the embassy of Denmark in Islamabad
ISLAMABAD - At least eight people were killed Monday in an explosion caused by a suspected suicide attack outside the embassy of Denmark in Islamabad, according to public television.
Note: The following news brief is a quote:
http://www.dawn.com/2008/06/02/welcome.htm
Eight dead, 12 injured in blast at Danish mission in Pakistan ISLAMABAD, June 2 (Agencies): At least three persons were killed and several injured in a blast outside the Danish embassy in Islamabad on Monday (a private television channel put the latest casualty toll at eight dead and 12 injured). “I have seen three bodies,” Reuters correspondent Kamran Haider said, adding that one body was just inside the gate and two were outside. The blast damaged a wall of the mission and a gate and left a crater on the road. “It appears to have been a car bomb,” he said. Security officials said there were several casualties as well. The force of the blast badly damaged two buildings in front of the embassy and left a huge crater, while the injured were being taken on stretchers, an AFP reporter at the scene said. The explosive wrecked dozens of cars, Dawn News TV’s Arjumand Azhar reported. According to Dawn News TV, interior ministry secretary Kamal Shah confirmed the blast outside the embassy but had no further details. Its footage showed dozens of cars damaged and a large crater as rescue workers removed at least one injured person. (First Posted @ 13:30 PST, Updated @ 14:05 PST)
From an Amazon review of The Looming Tower:
The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (Hardcover)
I saw the author last night at a book signing/lecture, and wrote down some of his main points. I hope it is o.k. with him that I share them here, and what he said, because I found if very fascinating. Mr. Wright is a very intelligent, “gentle” man who obviously cares about things and people, and I found him very likeable, becuase he has a good sense of humor and he did so much research for this book, and travelled extensively. He said he interviewed over 1,000 people in the Arab world for this book.
Some of the main points of what he said:
- The Arabic world is incredibly insular. He said, if you take away oil, the entire Arab world, from Morocco to Pakistan, produces less economically than the Finnish company Nokia (Nokia has less than 8,000 employees). He said, there have been 10,000 books ever translated into Arabic. If you think about that in terms of how many rows of book stacks that would be at a bookstore, it is shocking (I calculate that to be a few stacks of books !). One single Borders in the U.S. thus contains far more books than have ever been translated by Arabic translators (Spain alone translates about 10,000 books a year). Thus, most Arabs are, for our standards, incredibly lacking in resources, to understand our world. Not only that, but their countries censor books and all media. Freedom to assemble basically does not exist in the Arab world, and thus, basic freedoms are lacking.
- There is “gender apartheid” in [most of] the Arab world (particularly Saudi Arabia). Women are mostly not seen in public in Saudi Arabia. Men know very little about women as a result (how to meet them ?). It is pathetic, how little young men know about women. (he said, in Saudi Arabia, the women secretaries at his reporting agency worked in a room below a stairwell, and were basically never seen. he said, you would see Saudi women so covered by a burka, that you could not tell which direction their face was pointing !).
- The author said, in discussion with Arab men, the opinions he expressed, they had never considered, and never heard of. He said, it was like if a martian came down and said things that no one had ever said before and that were new and shocking. And those are normal conversations in the West.
- The Islamists (Al Quida, Muslim Brotherhood, etc.) have no plan. They simply want to destroy things and “take over”. But when asked what their economic plan is, they have none. The only real goal of the Muslim Brotherhood, for example, is the hijab for women (headcovering). Other than that, the muslim brotherhood has no plan or goal for society. “It is like an empty vessle”. Bin Ladin has no plan other than wanting the U.S. out of Saudi Arabia, and blind destruction of things western. How do you deal with unemployment (no answer). Hamas is now in power in “Palestine”, and has found that ruling is very hard. It shows them that they now must have a program, but they don’t have one.
- Pakistan was “the most mysterious country” the author visited. Far from being unstable, it is “very, very stable”, “too stable” (”eerily stable”). He said, the military “owns” Pakistan, and it is run by military families. If you are not in the military, you are basically locked out of Pakistani society. He said, they play a game with the U.S. called “find Bin Ladin”. They constantly get paid by the U.S., and they pretend to look for Bin Ladin. It is all a game to get money from the U.S. He said, there is now a “permanent Al Quida zone” along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and it is very worrying.
- Our U.S. intelligence is basically incapable of dealing with Al Quida. The FBI is staffed by Irish and Italian men, who know those cultures. The Arab applicants are shut out as a “security risk”. Result: no one who really speaks Arabic. The FBI recently graduated 50 new recruits. Only one of them speaks any foreign language. Since the 1970s, U.S. intelligence has been hamstrung and hollowed out. There is no “human intelligence” anymore. There is basically zero hope that the CIA and FBI can deal with Al Quida. Everyone in government realizes that the Dept. of Homeland Security is a joke.
- Clinton really tried to kill Bin Ladin, and should have fired his CIA director after he gave the CIA the order to kill Bin Ladin, and two years later, he was still alive.
- One thing that motivated Wolfowitz and Cheney is that they really believed that Iraq had a hand in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.
- Iraq is a mess. Either way, Al Quida wins. If the U.S. withdrew, it would get much worse.
- Al Quida has very long-term plans, involving “drawing the U.S. in” to the Arab world. They would love it if we attacked Iran, because that would draw Iran in, and their “resources”, into a world-wide fight.
- The author asked Islamic experts in the Arab world, “how will this conflict end”. They mostly said that it is likely that the following will occur: a major western city were to be attacked by nuclear or biological weapon. Wright said, because we live in democracies, the public outcry would be so exterme and harsh, that a counterstrike, “attacking and destroying Mecca, Medina, and various targets in Iran” would be very, very likely, if not a foretold conclusion (!). (the CIA has even gone to Hollywood script writers to ask them for “scenarios”, because they think that those scriptwriters “have more imagination” than bureaucrats at the CIA.
- The way to deal with Bin Ladin, if he were caught: try him before “Sharia courts”. Take him to Kenya and Tanzania and make him confront the 150 Muslims who he blinded by the 1998 bomb blasts. Take him around and try him by sharia law. Take him to Saudi Arabia and ask for his execution. Make him look like he violated his own standards. Don’t kill him, because then you make him a martyr.
http://www.truthusa.com/MoreThanCartoons.html
#
Note: Photo included.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7430721.stm
Page last updated at 07:55 GMT, Monday, 2 June 2008 08:55 UK
“Blast by Pakistan Danish embassy”
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Some Danish embassies around the world have been threatened since a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad was reprinted in Danish newspapers in February.
The cartoons, deemed offensive to Islam, led to worldwide protests when they were first printed in September 2005.”
It is NOT that fanatical of a religion that, say, people would engage in such random violence out of outrage of something like cartoon pictures being harmlessly published.
Thank goodness.
/s
UPDATE:
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iLyZF8ZkV1gWd8e2SHNLHLy-4z9g
“Eight dead in blast at Danish embassy in Pakistan: state TV”
54 minutes ago
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “ISLAMABAD (AFP) — A suspected suicide car bombing outside the Danish embassy in the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Monday killed at least eight people and wounded several others, state television said.
The blast left a huge crater outside the embassy, damaging the building and a nearby development agency. Several cars were destroyed by the force of the explosion and some were on fire, an AFP reporter said.
Denmark had downgraded the embassy and moved out most foreign staff in recent months due to threats linked to a row over the reproduction in February of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in Danish media, diplomatic sources said.
Government-run Pakistan television said at least eight people were killed in the blast and several more injured. “
Note: 2 Photos included.
#
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/06/02/pakistan.blast/index.html
updated 2 minutes ago
“Suicide bomber targets Danish embassy in Pakistan”
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) — A suicide car bomber targeting the Danish Embassy in Pakistan detonated explosives Monday, killing at least eight people, authorities said.”
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “The blast, heard from at least two miles away, sheared off the front wall of the embassy. It also damaged a house across the street.”
<”- Clinton really tried to kill Bin Ladin, and should have fired his CIA director after he gave the CIA the order to kill Bin Ladin, and two years later, he was still alive.
- One thing that motivated Wolfowitz and Cheney is that they really believed that Iraq had a hand in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.
- Iraq is a mess. Either way, Al Quida wins. If the U.S. withdrew, it would get much worse.”>
WHAT A BUNCH OF HORSE PUCKY!!!
One: Bill Clinton treated the Al Qaida threat like it was a legal problem, not a terrorist threat. Clinton was too afraid of being drawn into a war. Hell, WWIII had already started and the fool President didn’t know it!!!
Two: Wolfowitz and Cheney are right; Iraq was involved up to Saddams’s neck.
Three: Iraq is struggling to find its best form of self-governing. This takes time and is messy. It sure was for our nation the first 50-years. What? You expect the Iraqis to be perfect when we sure as Hell were not!!!
Aria — I know someone named Aria. She is an Iranian architect working in Irans nuclear projects. Is that you, Aria? How’s your husband?
I hope there are not secondary explosions.
http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_930.html
Travel Warning
United States Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Washington, DC 20520
This information is current as of today, Mon Jun 02 2008 01:41:06 GMT-0700 (PDT).
PAKISTAN
September 21, 2007
And Clinton tried to squash the documentary about his foolish errors being broadcast, too, didnt he? He was rather redfaced about that airing on TV and showing he and Albright to be abject fools.
i’d love to be an architect - but nah...that’s not me.
I thought most of what the author had to say - especially about the lack of books - was interesting.
Some of his pre-surge predictions haven’t turned out - thankfully. Apparently it’s supposed to be a very good book.
People killing themselves and others in order to crush freedom of speech. High tech tools, Neanderthal culture. We'll be seeing a lot more of this. We'll see it everywhere civilization boarders the wilderness, and we'll see it soon. Welcome to the era of New Barbarism.
It’s not new.
It’s the global jihad.
P.S. Thank you for your service for our country.
Mon,02 Jun 2008
Pakistan
“Eight dead in suicide blast at Danish embassy in Pakistan: State TV”
Rana Jawad, Agence France-Presse
Islamabad, June 02, 2008
June 02, 2008
Islamabad, June 02, 2008
First Published: 12:53 IST(2/6/2008)
Last Updated: 14:11 IST(2/6/2008)
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “There was no immediate comment from Danish officials. Officials from the nearby Netherlands embassy said their staff were unhurt and the building was not affected.”
Gosh, I’m sorry you aren’t my friend. Her husband had been dying of brain cancer (no joke!)
I too, enjoy reading those kinds of books but unfortunately they are usually far behind the info curve by the time they are published. Though what he has said about the general ignorance of ME populations and their lack of access to Western books in Arab translation is true, and very sad.
The jihad isn't new. It's the jihad's ability to use science and technology, funded by capitalism and liberalism, to destroy science, technology, capitalism and liberalism. That's new.
Lenin was on to something when he made his quip about the West selling him the rope he would use to hang us with. Islam has found a way to turn cell phones, automobiles and explosives into smart bombs, and has planned terrorism with internet research, and funded it by unemployed Muslims collecting welfare in Europe. (To say nothing of the effect of oil money in transforming the world's mosques and extremist movements).
It's an amazing blend of savagery and science, all for the purpose of reducing the world to a non-technological, 8th century theocracy.
We're really off the edge of the map.
Another part of mankind will stay firmly grounded in the fourth century, driven by hate and at the end of the day, The Evil One.
The marriage of these two opposite forces can and will be disastrous for this planet. God help us and render these barbarians under our feet.
Note: 1 Video, 1 Photo included.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7430721.stm
Page last updated at 08:56 GMT, Monday, 2 June 2008 09:56 UK
“Blast by Pakistan Danish embassy”
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller called an emergency ministerial meeting following the attack.
The BBC’s Barbara Plett, in Islamabad, says it is alarming for many that the bomber got so close.
The attacker drove onto a small patch of road between the embassy and an office building.
The car’s engine was found a few metres (yards) from the crater.”
They’ve been doing that for a quite a while now, at least since I’ve been following it (9/12/01).
I appreciate your feedback.
Stepping back in time to to photo posted February 14, 2008:
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/images/2008/02/14/danish_cartoons.jpg
A bit Off Topic, but interesting:
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/fitna/index?tab=articles
#
http://www.cphpost.dk/data/19407/Geert_Wilders.gif
FRONT PAGE PHOTO CAPTION - QUOTE:
Dutch MP Geert Wilders, producer of the Islam-critial film Fitna, meets with the press on Sunday before speaking at a Freedom of the Press Society event. The Freedom of the Press Society has awarded its first two annual Sappho awards to Flemming Rose and Kurt Westergaard, both know for their involvement with the Jyllands-Posten Mohammed cartoons.
http://www.cphpost.dk/get/107503.html
“Danish embassy in Pakistan bombed”
02.06.2008 Print article (IE & NS 4+)
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “The Norwegian embassy is currently being evacuated, reports TV2 news.”
Note: Photos included.
http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article2459012.ece
First published: 02 Jun 2008, 11:25
“Bombing sparks evacuation of embassy in Pakistan”
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “”We’re closing the embassy, and moving out all personnel,” Ambassador Aud Marit Wiig told Aftenposten.no.
A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry in Oslo said staff was working to “gain an overview over the situation.” At least eight deaths were reported by 11am Oslo time, with most of the victims believed to be Pakistanis.”
Hiya, Cindy —
Been watching the thread — maybe I’ve missed it, but has there been any indication as to whether any of the casualities were Danish Nationals and/or Embassy personnel??
Local Pakistanis, as far as I can tell.
A child — looked in very bad condition (from a photo I viewed).
UPDATE:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,361348,00.html
“Large Explosion Rocks Pakistan’s Capital, at Least 5 Killed”
Monday, June 02, 2008
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan —
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “A Pakistani intelligence officer tells FOX News one Danish embassy official and four Pakistani security officers were killed in the blast. Witnesses said many more sustained minor injuries from flying debris. It was the second bombing targeting foreigners in the Pakistani capital in less than three months.
There was no immediate information on any foreign casualties.”
Yep, although I have to be candid — I couldn’t find an article or web site yet where anyone has claimed responsibility for this bombing.
” one Danish embassy official and four Pakistani security officers were killed “
Hmmmm...
Sure sounds like there were casualties inside the Embassy — including at least one Danish National... (A Pakistani employed in the embassy would have normally been described as an “embassy worker” - not as an “embassy official”....)
It’s still breaking news, so we’ll see for sure when more details are forthcoming.
“Timeline of major attacks in Pakistan in 2008”
Agence France-Presse
Islamabad, June 02, 2008
First Published: 14:52 IST(2/6/2008)
Last Updated: 14:55 IST(2/6/2008)
How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy.
The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live.
A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property, either as a child, a wife, or a concubine, must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men.
Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities, but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it.
No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilization of ancient Rome.
— Sir Winston Churchill (The River War, first edition, Vol. II, pages 248-50 [London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1899]).
http://www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/region/asiapacific/080602-Danish-embassy
“Suicide attack on Danish embassy in Pakistan
Danish cabinet meeting in emergency session”
02-06-2008
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Denmark had recently downgraded the embassy and moved out most foreign staff due to threats linked to a furore over the reproduction in Danish media in February of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the blast. Pakistan has experienced a lull in suicide attacks since a new government came to power in March and began peace talks with Taliban militants based in Pakistan’s tribal region bordering Afghanistan. A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban movement said he had “no knowledge” about the blast.
Tags: cartoons, Danish, Denmark, Islamabad, Taliban”
UPDATE:
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=105&sid=1160646
“Bomb explodes outside Danish embassy in Pakistan”
June 2, 2008 - 6:57am
By ASIF SHAHZAD
Associated Press Writer
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “The explosion appeared to be a car bomb, police officer Muhammad Ashraf said. Someone parked a car in front of the embassy and it exploded at around 1 p.m, he said.
Officials at two hospitals reported at least five people _ including two policemen _ were killed and 32 wounded in the blast.
Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller said the explosion killed a male Pakistani custodian at the embassy and seriously injured a handyman. Two office workers were also injured, Moeller said.”
What is concerning is that the embassies and diplomats in Islamabad are in a fairly secure diplomatic enclave not accessible to the general public. An insider was probably involved.
We got hit in Karachi last year but they only got as far as an outer parking lot. If they can do this in Islamabad to an embassy, we might soon be next.
Sounds like Denmark needs to do some more diplomacy.
Good grief...Get. Over. The. Cartoons.
UPDATE:
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=105&sid=1160646
“6 die in bomb outside Danish Embassy in Pakistan”
June 2, 2008 - 4:43pm
By NAHAL TOOSI
Associated Press Writer
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - A car bomb exploded outside the Danish Embassy in Islamabad on Monday, killing six people and wounding dozens weeks after al-Qaida issued threats against Denmark over the reprinting of a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad.”
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “The attacker apparently used a fake diplomatic license plate to get the car near the embassy, according to authorities, who were investigating whether it was a suicide attack. Interior Secretary Kamal Shah said evidence indicated the car was a Toyota Corolla carrying 55 pounds of explosives.”
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “The six dead included two Pakistani policemen, as well as a cleaner and a handyman employed by the embassy. At least 35 people were wounded, officials said. Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller said one of the dead may have held a Danish passport, but he did not elaborate.
A Brazilian woman who worked at the Danish embassy was among the wounded. Her injuries were not serious, Brazil’s foreign ministry said.”
Oh well you know, uh, the Koranimals practice a religion of peace. Ha!
UPDATE:
BLOG:
Note: Photo included.
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/06/bombing_near_danish.php
“Bombing near Danish embassy in Islamabad kills eight”
By BILL ROGGIOJune 2, 2008 1:58 PM
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “The bomber appears to have driven a car with diplomatic license plates through security, and parked it in a parking lot next to the Danish embassy. The car bomb was then either detonated remotely or by timer.”
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “The car bomb was believed to have contained about 65 pounds of explosives. The blast left a crater about four feet deep and nine feet wide, and damaged the wall of the Danish embassy as well as the offices of the United Nations Development Program.
All of those reported killed appear to be Pakistanis, however one report indicated a foreign national may have also been killed in the blast.
While no terror group has claimed responsibility for the attack, Pakistani intelligence believes Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, an al Qaeda and Taliban linked group, was behind the attack. Lashkar-i-Jhangvi is a splinter group of the Sipah-e-Sahaba (the Army of Mohamed’s companions), a radical Deobandi group that attacks the Shia minority in Pakistan. The US designated Lashkar-i-Jhangvi a Foreign Terrorist Organization in January 2003, while Pakistan banned the outfit in August 2001, just prior to the September 11 attacks on the US.
Lashkar-i-Jhangvi has been behind several high-profile attacks against foreigners in Pakistan. The groups was behind the kidnapping and brutal murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in 2003, and attack on a Pakistani Navy bus that killed 11 French technicians and three Pakistanis and a car bomb attack on the American consulate that killed 12 Pakistanis in 2002.”
ON THE INTERNET:
http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/pakistan/terroristoutfits/lej.htm
#
http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/searchb10.asp?search=+Lashkar-i-Jhangvi&searchtype=all&B1=Submit
http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/searchb10.asp?search=+Lashkar-e-Jhangvi&searchtype=all&B1=Submit
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