how could they afford that?

Malaysia helped CIA illegally detain Libyans, says report



KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 7 — Malaysia assisted the US Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) illegal detainee transfer programme by detaining two Libyans in 2004, a US-based NGO said in a report last Tuesday.

The Libyan couple was detained by Malaysian authorities for 13 days under “harsh conditions”, according to a report, titled “Globalising Torture: CIA Secret Detention and Extraordinary Rendition”, released by the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI).


File photo of a guard watching over Guantanamo detainees inside the exercise yard at Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba. — Reuters pic
“Malaysia detained and assisted in the extraordinary rendition of Libyan nationals Abu Abdullah al-Sadiq (Abdul Hakim Belhadj) and his wife Fatima Bouchar in 2004 in Kuala Lumpur airport,” said OSJI.
“Bouchar, who was four months’ pregnant at the time, was unable to get medical care,” it added.

OSJI defines “extraordinary rendition” as the illegal transfer of a detainee to a foreign government’s custody for the purposes of detention and interrogation.

The report quoted the CIA’s memorandum, dated March 4, 2004, to Libya as saying “[w]e are working energetically with the Malaysian government to effect the extradition of Abdullah al-Sadiq from Malaysia. The Malaysians have promised to co-operate and arrange for Sadiq’s transfer to our custody.”

OSJI said that torture was a hallmark of the CIA’s secret detention and extraordinary rendition programmes that were conducted outside the US.

“Secret detention and extraordinary rendition operations, designed to be conducted outside the United States under cover of secrecy, could not have been implemented without the active participation of foreign governments. These governments too must be held accountable,” said the report.

OSJI added that Sadiq and Bouchar were told that they could travel to the UK through Bangkok, Thailand, but were detained by Thai authorities upon arrival in Bangkok and subsequently abused by the CIA, after which they were extraordinarily rendered to Libya.

“Bouchar reported she was chained to a wall and not fed for five days, at a time when she was 4½ months; pregnant,” said the report.

The report also noted that two Malaysians — Mohamad Farik Amin and Mohammed Nazir Lep — were detained in Thailand in 2003.

“The US government confirmed in September 2006 that Farik was among 14 ‘high value detainees’ transferred from secret CIA detention to Guantánamo Bay,” said the report.

Nazir was apprehended on suspicion of being involved in the Marriott Hotel bombing in Jakarta and other plots against targets in Southeast Asia.

“According to an ICRC report on ‘high value’ detainees held in secret CIA detention, bin Lep alleged that he was held naked for three to four days in Thailand and nine days in Afghanistan, that he was denied any solid food for the first 11 days after his arrest, that he underwent seven days of prolonged stress standing in Afghanistan, and that he had to defecate and urinate on himself while standing,” said the report.

Both men remain imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay, according to the report.

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysi...ans-says-report

i wanna see his reaction when our special forces breached his front door

Doolittle Raider, WWII Hero, Dies at Age 96


Griffin pictured in the photo on the left with his 'Hell's Cargo' crewmates 1st Lt. Charles S. Meyers Jr., center and Sergeant Everett Hunt. On the right is an image in later years. (Cincinnati.com)

Green Township, OH - Tom Griffin, one of just five surviving Doolittle Raiders, died Tuesday night in his sleep at the Fort Thomas VA hospital. He navigated one of 16 B-25 bombers from an aircraft carrier in the middle of the Pacific during the early dark days of World War II to launch a surprise daylight attack on Tokyo, lifting American morale.

The longtime Green Township, Ohio resident was 96.

By his own count, Mr. Griffin cheated death eight times during World War II. The first time was when he took off in a land-based bomber from the deck of the USS Hornet at 9 a.m. April 18, 1942. The mid-ocean takeoff made history. No land-based bomber had ever taken off from an aircraft carrier in combat. The Raiders made history later that day when they bombed Tokyo in partial payback for Japan's Dec. 7, 1941, surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.

The Raiders have a connection to the Midlands. The group was brought to what is now the Columbia Metropolitan Airport where they were informed of their mission.

Mr. Griffin's plane, which he named, the Whirling Dervish, knocked the lights out in Tokyo. The Whirling Dervish's bombs flattened the Tokyo Gas & Electric plant.

After spending months and traveling thousands of miles behind enemy lines, he returned home - "they gave us three weeks off" - only to be sent on bombing runs from North Africa to Europe. He was shot down and taken prisoner on July 4, 1943, after a mission over Sicily. He was freed nearly two years later.

"Spending the last 22 months of the war in a German prison camp was no fun," Mr. Griffin recalled. His last day in camp was supposed to be his last day on Earth. The Germans had planned to execute all of the prisoners of war on April 30, 1945. But on that day, the camp was liberated by American troops.

"That was a glorious day," Mr. Griffin recalled. "Never saw the sun shining so brightly."

The ranks of the Doolittle Raiders once numbered 80. Mr. Griffin's passing leaves just four survivors. They are: d*** Cole (a Dayton native and the copilot of Gen. Jimmy Doolittle, the leader of the raid and its namesake), Robert Hite, Edward Saylor and David Thatcher.

The remaining Raiders will have their 71st reunion April 17-21 in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., where Mr. Griffin's passing will be noted with a toast and the words: "To those who have gone." He had hoped to attend the event.

"I had also planned to live to be 100," Mr. Griffin said during an interview just after a heart condition landed the retired accountant in the Fort Thomas facility in late November. "But the way I feel, with my ticker, I might have to eat my own words."

He said that with a satisfied smile.

"What a life I've had," Mr. Griffin added, leaning back in an easy chair his sons had installed in his room. "It's a great old life if you can get a good design for living and you can come up at my age and say: 'Well, I didn't do too badly.' "

In anyone's book, he did quite well, as a GI, a husband and a dad.

After the war, Mr. Griffin, a native of Green Bay, Wis., moved to Cincinnati with his wife, Esther. They raised two sons, John and Gary, and he opened an accounting office in Cheviot. His tall, lanky frame was regularly seen walking from his office to the nearby post office.

Mr. Griffin kept quiet about his time as a Doolittle Raider. That ended in 1977. When his son, Gary, was hired to play keyboards with the Beach Boys, the musician told an interviewer, "you should be talking with my dad. He's more important. He's a Doolittle Raider."

With that, Tom Griffin's secret was out. For the next 35 years, he went to schools and hospitals and community groups to tell his stories.

He did not talk about his heroics as a husband. When his wife became ill and needed to go into a nursing home, he visited her every day. He walked from his house to the nursing home, fed his wife and at the end of the day brought home her clothes. At night, he washed and ironed her clothes. Then, he walked them up to her room the next morning. He did that for three years until her death in 2005.

During his 25 years as a public speaker, Mr Griffin was regularly introduced as a "hero."

Every time he heard that word, he would wince, shake his head and humbly decline the title.

"I'm no hero," he said one last time in November in his hospital room.

"I just did my job as best I could."

http://www.wltx.com/news/article/224298/2/...ws%7Cbc%7Clarge

This post has been edited by AKace: Mar 2 2013, 07:09 AM

NGOs to GE hopefuls: Defence budget must be below 1pct

A coalition of 34 NGOs wants the national defence budget to
be slashed to below 1 percent of the gross domestic product
(GDP), as stipulated in their 20-point demand to political
parties and candidates for the coming general election.

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/223201

i've seen a photo of a malaysian soldier using camouflaged M4

the video looks like this?

search "Man Gets His Fingers Cut Off Before Being Beheaded by Narcos". the actual video shows mexican drug cartels torturing their victim and it was posted on 22 feb while the semporna incident happened on 3 march. confirm fake liao. alhamdulillah

This post has been edited by AKace: Mar 8 2013, 12:49 PM

What Are The Lessons Learned from Sabah Invasion?

Malaysian superior and mighty security forces has flushed out the Sulu Sultanate armed invaders – BRAVO to our brave and courageous boys. It was reported 52 of the intruders, together with their general were killed. Although there’re still leftover from the 100 – 500 who came and try to invade Sabah, Malaysian military should have sufficient firepower to neutralize them, once and for all. The best news – none of our security forces personnel was injured since the “Operation Daulat” started with an airstrike by jet fighters of the Royal Malaysian Air Forces. For once, it gets you thinking – what were these intruders thinking – that they could defeat 100,000 Malaysian military forces with their 100 – 500 Rambos?

However, there were confusions and doubts as to the effectiveness of the airstrike as the “mopping up” operations couldn’t find any bodies, according to Agence France Presse. On the other hand, spokesman for sultan Jamalul Kiram III claimed the bomb exploded as far as 1 km away from his men’s location. It would be a magnificent scenario, with intruders watching the fireworks while devouring their barbeque chicken wing 1km away. They even claimed that the airstrike had actually hit Malaysian own soldiers who moved in to the camp left by the intruders.

While every Malaysian is celebrating the victory, the self-proclaimed sultan Jamalul Kiram III is now proposing an exchange of hostages. It seems conflicting reports are making everyone frustrated. Malaysian authorities should be transparent as to the claims made by the intruders. Like it or not, this Sabah invasion issue will not disappear so soon. Nevertheless, what can we learn from this crisis and the weaknesses exposed? The country has lost 8 lives and most importantly the permanent lost-love which is irreplaceable, even with promotions and millions of dollars in assistance funds.


[ 1 ] Chain of Command & Crisis Management

The most sparkling question - can the 8 fallen heroes be avoided, or at least minimized? Based on the ultimate airstrike and ground attack decision which saw no casualties from Malaysian securities forces so far, the answer is obvious. The 8 families could still enjoy their father and husband’s loves, if a clear chain of command and a competent leader was in order in the first place. You do not negotiate with terrorists, let alone sending KFC and Tropicana orange juices to them (*grin*), to the tune of 2 weeks before recognize they’re dangerous. If Cuba were to do the same to Florida, US military would have finished them within hours, the most – mission accomplished.

If there’s one thing that PM Najib should do after this crisis, it is to transfer Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, his cousin, to probably Ministry of Youth and Sports. This man’s incompetence is beyond anyone’s imaginations. In fact, there’s no difference if you put Hishammuddin or Ng Yen Yen in charge of the Sabah invasion crisis management. Both would screw up big time since they tend to use their mouth instead of brains to do the thinking. Regardless of their religion, a terrorist is still a terrorist and you do not negotiate when your sovereignty has been breached. You do not call for a time-out to negotiate for 2-weeks when you’re being raped, do you (*tongue-in-cheek*)?

To make things worse, the chain of command was not visible at all. People do not know if the Home Minister or the IGP (Inspector General of Police) Ismail Omar was in charge initially. Their statements contradicted each other so much so the terrorists were having lots of fun and time exploring their newly invaded land as if they were tourists. Thereafter you’ve Defence Minister Zahid Hamidi and Armed Forces chief Gen Zulkifeli joining the party, and yet there was no clear sign of who was actually in charge of the operation. Once, IGP claimed the airstrike killed 12 Filipino gunmen but later the Armed Forces chief clarified that the 9 bodies of Sulu militants discovered were of those killed in last Friday’s shootout, and not by the air strikes.

Maybe Malaysia has been enjoying too long a peaceful period that the distance instance of war was not considered into the national security SOP. A clear chain of command should be drafted (if there’s none) for such crisis, and if there’s already one, why wasn’t it followed? If their intention was to be front-paged in newspaper as if they’re war hero, politicians should be thrown out from the command centre’s windows. Let the real man do the job.


[ 2 ] Military and Defence Logistic

The Defence Ministry got RM15.2 billion and RM13.7 billion in their 2013 and 2012 annual budget respectively. While the country has a total of 44 fighter aircraft ranging from Sukhoi Su-30, F/A-18 Hornet, MiG-29, Tiger and Hawk, there seems to be a serious lack of military transport aircraft. The country has 16 units of Lockheed C-130 Hercules with capacity of 92 troops each. Considering you need to transport military hardware into the warzone, there’s hardly any decent transportation means to deliver soldiers to the battleline. This was the reason why the request for AirAsia Berhad’s (KLSE: AIRASIA, stock-code 5099) commercial flights to transport more army into Sabah warzone.

Perhaps PM Najib failed his geography or he didn’t know that Peninsula Malaysia and the East Malaysia is separated by South China Sea. If the country can afford a US$75 million Boeing 737-700 for his VIP usage, surely a decent number of military transport aircraft should be in the inventory to transport personnels between Peninsula Malaysia and the East Malaysia, no? As former defence minister, PM Najib should know the importance of such basic necessity. Wouldn’t that be more important than 2 units of Scorpene submarines purchased at the cost of RM3.4 billion? Heck, the money spent on submarines alone can be used to purchase 10 units of Boeing 737-700 with lots of loose change left.

Sure, you may argue that even US military utilizes commercial flights to transport their army. But in the case of US, they only activate such plan during a major operation involving hundreds of thousands of soldiers and tons of hardware equipments. They used it when they need transportation far away, such as in the Middle East. Do you think the US army would be made to check-in at commercial airports before being transported if their own country is invaded? US would be reduced to the size of Singapore if they need 2-weeks to transport army when attacked by Cuba (*grin*).


[ 3 ] Security Loopholes in East Malaysia

Admit it – Sabah and Sarawak are sitting ducks waiting to be invaded anytime by anyone. During the Sabah invasion crisis, up to 7 battalions (about 7,000 soldiers) from Peninsula Malaysia were sent to Sabah. Does that means Sabah alone cannot defend itself from 200 terrorists, since the state does not even have 7,000 soldiers, out of the country’s 100,000 strong army? If Sabah has the numbers, why wasn’t it used instead? Even if Sabah doesn’t have 7,000 soldiers, couldn’t some be sent from Sarawak instead? AirAsia operates between Sabah and Sarawak right?

While Sabah has a long coastline to defend, you do not have to be a genius to figure out where the pirates’ favourite landing points are. Unless they come in using submarine or aircraft carrier, chances are they would be using the same routes as how they migrate illegally into Sabah and subsequently given their “ICs” by former premier Mahathir. If you think the military intelligence does not have this information, then you’re insulting one of the best intelligence units in the world. Furthermore, it’s not as if only Malaysia has coastline on the planet.

Now that Sabah has been breached easily by a mere 200 terrorists, there’s a need to restudy the existing national security scope and coverage. If the Sulu Sultanate managed to invade Sabah about a month ago, chances are they would be able to do it again in the future. They must be stopped at all cost, unless you want to grant more “ICs” to them in exchange for their votes.


[ 4 ] Stop Training Foreign Fighters (Terrorists)

The allegations about Malaysia being training camps for terrorists can be googled on the internet. And it’s a known fact that Malaysia trained many of the MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front) commanders during their war against the Philippine government. Hadji Acmad Bayam, former chief propagandist of the MNLF, revealed to the Manila Bulletin that these MNLF forces may have at their disposal a huge arsenal, which they hid deep in Sabah’s rugged terrain when they returned to the Philippines after their rigid training. He claimed among the firearms are Belgian-made G1 and FAL, which the late Libya leader Colonel Gaddafi supplied through Malaysia.

To add insult to injury, Bayam said he was confident the Malaysian authorities will not able to find the hidden MNLF firearms because they were kept very well by the MNLF commanders who stayed behind in Sabah. Now, before the Malaysian government rubbish such claims, Najib administration should confront his mentor Mahathir about this extremely dangerous allegation, unless he wants to keep a time-bomb behind his backyard. If this is true, Sulu Sultanate followers or any Filipino Malaysians can stage another havoc within Sabah itself, whenever they feel like doing so. The sight of these people who can appear to be an innocent citizen and yet can change to a terrorist with a blink of an eye is absolutely scary.


As of now, it’s still too early to declare a complete victory over the crisis. The Sabah invasion has opened up a new chapter or wound that may not heal as fast as it started. The war is not over yet. But there’re already 8 families who have lost their father’s and husband’s love forever, thanks to politicians’ incompetence and arrogance.

http://www.financetwitter.com/2013/03/what...h-invasion.html

i thought hit man is another term for contract killer