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A powerful car bomb exploded Monday in northern Spain, killing an army officer and wounding six other people in the third attack in 24 hours by suspected members of the Basque separatist group ETA.

And in France, police detained six suspected Basque militants in a probe into the financing of terror attacks in France and Spain.

The attack Monday in the northern town of Santona signaled a new ETA offensive just days after the Spanish Supreme Court outlawed two Basque pro-independence parties on grounds they are linked to ETA. The blast, outside an army academy, blew a huge hole in the ground and caused major damage to buildings and cars in the area.

The Interior Ministry said the explosion occurred shortly after 1 a.m. (2300 GMT Sunday) as the building was being evacuated because of an ETA bomb warning call.

The explosion killed Sergeant-Major Luis Conde de la Cruz, 46. An army captain who was among the six people wounded was in serious condition, a ministry official said. The blast happened as people were being evacuated from the army academy and other buildings following a bomb warning call in the name of ETA to authorities in the neighboring Basque region.

Luis Conde de la Cruz.

Army officer killed by car bomb after ETA warning – International Herald Tribune.

Yesterday two people belonging to the ETA organization were detained in France.

This is the result of speaking with terrorists. A good man has been killed when he was out on vacation with his family, after a very violent week-end with a terrorist attack each day and 10 wounded others, one of them a 70-years-old lady.

Related posts:

• ETA tries to kill a policemen in Vizcaya.

At least in part, Russia’s actions in Georgia amount to payback for the West’s refusal to respect even the most basic Russian interests and an emphatic reassertion of its sphere of influence. Moscow appears to want two things: pre-eminence in its own region and treatment by the United States and NATO as a serious power whose wishes must be respected. Using military force as it did in Georgia is a crude way to make those points, but they were made effectively. The Bush administration’s vocal support for Saakashvili proved to be devoid of substance. Moscow demonstrated that it could coerce a small U.S. ally on its border, and Washington’s response was impotent. The response of NATO and the European Union reflected the same reality. For all the verbal bluster of those organizations, the Europeans, cognizant of their dependence on Russia for energy supplies (among other considerations), do not want a hostile relationship with Moscow.

(…) At the same time, Russia must be careful not to overplay its hand. That possibility arose in late August when Moscow sought an endorsement from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization—the association of Russia, China, and the Central Asian republics—for military intervention in Georgia and the subsequent recognition of independence for South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Much to the dismay of Russian officials, the SCO refused to give its imprimatur. Indeed, the SCO statement expressed the importance of respecting the territorial integrity of countries. That should not have come as a surprise to Moscow. Several of the Central Asian countries have their own secessionist problems and do not wish to see the Kosovo and South Ossetia precedents spread. Even more important, China vehemently opposes secessionism, given its problems with Tibet, Xinjiang, and Taiwan. The SCO summit was a test of will between Moscow and Beijing—and Russia lost.

A NATO e as ambições da Rússia « O Insurgente.

We have more data now about what happened at the beginning of the Russian-Georgian war/conflict. NYT has published some excerpts of a Russian conversation held before Georgian attack that supposedly began the war via ExtremeCentre.org:

Georgia has released intercepted telephone calls purporting to show that part of a Russian armored regiment crossed into the separatist enclave of South Ossetia nearly a full day before Georgia’s attack on the capital, Tskhinvali, late on Aug. 7.

Georgia is trying to counter accusations that the long-simmering standoff over South Ossetia, which borders Russia, tilted to war only after it attacked Tskhinvali. Georgia regards the enclave as its sovereign territory.

The intercepts circulated last week among intelligence agencies in the United States and Europe, part of a Georgian government effort to persuade the West and opposition voices at home that Georgia was under invasion and attacked defensively. Georgia argues that as a tiny and vulnerable nation allied with the West, it deserves extensive military and political support.

Georgia also provided audio files of the intercepts along with English translations to The New York Times, which made its own independent translation from the original Ossetian into Russian and then into English.

(…) Russia has not disputed the veracity of the phone calls, which were apparently made by Ossetian border guards on a private Georgian cellphone network. “Listen, has the armor arrived or what?” a supervisor at the South Ossetian border guard headquarters asked a guard at the tunnel with the surname Gassiev, according to a call that Georgia and the cellphone provider said was intercepted at 3:52 a.m. on Aug. 7.

“The armor and people,” the guard replied. Asked if they had gone through, he said, “Yes, 20 minutes ago; when I called you, they had already arrived.”

Shota Utiashvili, the director of the intelligence analysis team at Georgia’s Interior Ministry, said the calls pointed to a Russian incursion. “This whole conflict has been overshadowed by the debate over who started this war,” he said. “These intercepted recordings show that Russia moved first and that we were defending ourselves.”

Meanwhile a Russian drone has been taken down in Georgia. Moscow has denied it.

Read also what Michael has written for Poligazzette:

(…) Russia considered South Ossetia Russian territory. After all, 9/11 was an attack on the US, on American soil.

Medvedev and Putin know, of course, that the comparison is off, but in a way they are right; namely, 9/11 was a scary event for America. It frightened Americans. Russia too was frightened by Georgia and then especially Western influence in Georgia; it was not the attack against South Ossetia that scared the Russians, it was all the talk in the preceding months about Georgia possibly joining NATO and NATO, therefore, coming increasingly closer to Russia’s border.

Related posts:

• Russian imperialism: is Ukraine next after Georgia?
• Georgia confirms it used cluster ammunition against military targets.
• Rusia cautions the West against making a historical error for defending the Georgian regime.
• Georgia: in state of war over South Ossetia.

About 40 people have been killed in the Somali capital, mostly when shells were fired on the busy Bakara market.

Witnesses say Ethiopian troops fired mortars after insurgents launched simultaneous attacks on the two main African Union peacekeeping bases.

“There is blood everywhere, and human flesh on the walls,” said market trader Abshir Mohamed Ali.

Eleven people were killed when a shell landed in an alleyway, while six family members died overnight, they say.

Correspondents say the clashes are among the fiercest in Mogadishu for several months.

BBC NEWS | Africa | Carnage in Somali market shelling.

Related posts:

• Al-Qaeda-linked Somali Islamists Draws Comparison with Mandela.
• The submission of the Infidel: Al-Qaeda’s Plan B.
• UN worker killed in Somalia.
• Al-Qaeda’s safe havens.

Sudan has started lobbying the UN to block an investigation into alleged war crimes in Darfur by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.

Other African countries are expected to call for the case to be suspended.

International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo says that troops under the president’s command continue to rape women in Darfur.

Opponents of the investigation argue that it is hindering efforts to establish peace in Darfur.

(…)

African Union Chairman Jean Ping told the BBC it was unfair that all those indicted by the ICC so far were African.

“We are not against international justice,” he said.

“It seems that Africa has become a laboratory to test the new international law.”

But Western countries such as the US and the UK say Mr Bashir’s government has backed militias, which they accuse of committing widespread atrocities in Darfur.

BBC NEWS | Africa | Sudan lobbies against Bashir case.

Le Monde.fr reports that Chief Prosecutor Moreno Ocampo has the support of Ban Ki-Moon and of several Arab and Muslim leaders who consider that Bashir must be stopped. We’ll see, though I’m not very optimistic. For me, the fact that this man has been indicted is, in itself, a victory.

Related posts:

• China-Sudan meeting in Beijing.
• Sudanese Army attacks Darfur again while continues to speak to Chad.
• Darfur: UN convoy under attack.
• Sudan army attacks Darfur towns.
• Ex-speedskater’s visa for Olympics, revoked… for his criticism of Chinese involvement in Sudan.
• Support for Darfur mission urged.
• Arab Nations agree on Sudan plan but don’t reveal details about it.
• UN, China: posturing over the indictiment of Sudanese President Al-Bashir.
• Sudanese leader not fearful of ICC charges.
• At last! Sudanese President charged!
• “Sudanese President may be charged with genocide”.
• UN peacekeepers in Sudan killed.

Malaysia’s leading blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin has been ordered to spend two years in detention under internal security laws after being accused of insulting Islam.

His wife, Lee Abdulah, said the founder of the controversial Malaysia Today website had been sent to the Kamunting detention centre in northern Perak state under a detention order signed by the Home Minister.

Abdulah said police had told her “he will remain there for two years with no trial“.

via Infidel Bloggers Alliance.

A magnificent perspective, isn’t it?

Related posts:

• Exposing the Horror of Russia’s Crackdown on the Blogosphere.
• China wants UN to help Trace Sources On Internet.
• Erraji released.
• Moroccan blogger Mohammed Erraji condemned to 2 years in prison and a fine for critizising Moroccan king’s policies.
• Harry’s Place round 2: The White Supremacists.
• More censorship on the blogosphere from Syria.
• Raging against rising Internet repression.
• EU imitating the Great Chinese Wall for internet?
• US blogger charged with insulting Syngapore judge.
• Italy: a blogger is condemned because he didn’t post regularly.
• Canada: Internet providers will begin charging per-site fees.

Morocco’s Supreme Ulemaa Council has condemned the fatwa issued by Sheikh Mohammad Al-Maghraoui permitting marriage to nine-year-old girls

The MEMRI Blog – Full Blog Entry.

Background here.

Well, I would have liked them to condemn that immediately, but at least they have condemned it…

Yemeni comedian Fahd al-Qarni last appeared in the CRIME Report a few months ago, when he was sentenced to jail for a comedy sketch that indirectly mocked Yemen’s president, Ali Abdullah Saleh. Now, after a grassroots campaign for his freedom and his own decision to stand strong in the face of pressure, Al-Qarni has just been released.

In July, al-Qarni was charged with “insulting Yemen’s president” and sentenced to 18 months in jail plus a $2,500 fine. But on September 11 a presidential order called for al-Qarni’s release – only prosecutors demanded he sign a pledge renouncing his controversial comedic work and promising to refrain from political activity. “I decisively refused to abandon one of my political rights guaranteed by the state-constitution, and preferred to stay in jail,” declared al-Qarni.

Last week, prosecutors backed down, releasing the comedian anyway. Al-Qarni, though, knows he may soon be back in the slammer. “Change comes from within prisons but not through dialogue,” he said after his release. “I left my blanket in prison so I may go back if people’s rights are not restored.”

C.R.I.M.E. Report – September 23, 2008.

Background here.

via LaurenceJarvikOnline: Bernard Henri-Levy on Afghanistan. Original article in Gulf News.

First, the Taliban’s state of mind: the fact that they hate the French only a little less than they hate the Americans, and that the clever minds who thought they might get into the Taliban’s good graces by keeping a low profile and being discreet and ingratiating – even collaborating with them – were sadly mistaken.

Then there is the fact that they are not “resistance fighters”, “religious students” or anything of the sort. Instead they are motivated by cynicism, choosing to celebrate a recent military success by displaying trophies and parading around as in ancient times.

(…) for years and years, the French have had elite commandos fighting shoulder to shoulder with the American Special Forces in the Afghan mountains.

The report reminds these people – and this is key – that France is fighting a war over there, a real war that also happens to be as undeclared as the war it fought in Algeria 50 years ago.

Thanks to JCDurbant, we have several statements by French politicians about this (my translation):

This is a policy of aligning under the United States, even when we know the past errors and when we are seeing hte future errors. Marine Le Pen

Not a man, not a coin for an imperialist war! The death in combat, last August, of ten young soldiers has reminded abruptly to French people that, without being consulted, their army is engaged with the American soldiers and those of NATO in a bloody war that brings them painful memories of those held against the Vietnamese and Algerian peoples. French Communists

Sept 20th: demonstrations for the withdrawal of Imperialist troops from Afghanistan LCR

- we say no to any French commitmment to the American interests which are not those of the great majority of the American people who has pronuounced several times against the intervention.

– freedom and independence from the Afghan people based on the right of every people to decide for themselves (note: of course, the Taliban were going to let Afghan people decide freely for themselves). The Workers Party

Well, it’s curious that both far-right and far-left think the same: that this is a war fought for the USA, without remembering French obligations due to NATO treaty and that US fought in the Vietnamese war because French asked them to save their asses.

Related posts:

• French Minister of defense denies reports that denounced French troops’s lack of equipment.
• French troops unprepared for Taliban ambush: report.
• Paris Match Taliban photos shock France.

Ever since the unprecedented catastrophe of the September 11 there has never been, in the West, so much talk about Islamism and the Muslim religion in general. At the same time there has never been so much deliberate misinformation as regards the real nature of the ideology which motivated the kamikazes of Allah to strike right in the heart of the leader of the Western world. Some people have refused, as a matter of principle, to put the words Islam and terrorism together preferring to talk about “chaos” and “terrorist threat” and denouncing the politicization of Islam which is said to have perverted this religion of love. Others, on the contrary, have argued that Islamism is a religious fundamentalism like other fundamentalisms, specifically Jewish and Christian, and the Islamic world will eventually end up by evolving itself and modernising like us. Burying one’s head in the sand and apparently resigned to see the Islamic world give in to barbarism as if the Enlightenment was an Western luxury only different analysts and other Orientalists have in fact been incapable of taking steps against the new totalitarian threat hanging over the West and the democracies.

Islamist totalitarianism, which is neither a fundamentalism nor simply a politicization of Islam but rather both at the same time, is in reality much more explosive and threatening than one can imagine. We are dealing in this case with an ideology of mass destruction, with a war-driven imperialism claiming to be conquering for the sake of spirituality. It’s a religious fanaticism combined with the desire for revenge by the Arabo-Muslim world, the world claiming to be humiliated by colonisation, just like Germany was once humiliated by the Treaty of Versailles. To put it simply, it’s a theocratic and anti-Western totalitarianism of a new kind, the first totalitarianism which has not been invented by European minds and which speaks in the name of the Third World which it would like to bring under its green banner.

(…) Islamism is fundamentally intolerant and racist. Sure, it’s a racism based on religion and not ethnicity but it’s racism nevertheless, clothed, moreover, in the theological legitimacy and, therefore, much harder to fight against. L

“Radical Islam is not a reaction against the “injustices” in Palestine – Blog d’Alexandre del Valle.

Read it all.