Last week the U.S. Attorney for Baltimore announced that two complaints and an indictment were unsealed charging six people with conspiring to purchase weapons for the LTTE. The lead agency in the operation was Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This is the second major bust of a Tiger arms purchasing network in the U.S. in two months. Like the previous operation these arrests were the culmination of an impressive operation. The arms purchasers were allowed to sample the merchandise at an arms range in Havre de Grace (a small town not far from Baltimore - or, interestingly, Aberdeen Proving Grounds.) Some of the arrests were actually made in Guam.
On the U.S. side, clearly more resources have been devoted to breaking up LTTE arms buying networks. This is an important development if the terrible civil war that has tormented Sri Lanka for over a quarter century is ever to end. The LTTE is an effective terrorist organization that has carried out over 200 suicide bombings and has also held its own in direct fighting with both the Sri Lankan and Indian militaries.
When interviewed about the previous bust, I stated that the LTTE is capable of hitting the U.S. However, they have historically avoided hitting U.S. targets or even American advisors to Sri Lankan forces to avoid American animus.
One of the key items sought by both LTTE arms-purchasing rings were anti-air missiles (SAMs), indicating that Sri Lankan airpower is a major concern for the Tigers. ...
Gay Patriot on Mary Cheney and "The List".
Despite the failure of this tactic two years ago, leftists are trying to make it work this year, only instead of bringing up the sexuality of a candidate’s child, they’re threatening to “out” gay staffers to prominent Republicans. As Bruce reported earlier today, various gay leftists have been sending copies of the “List” (of gay staffers to leading Republicans) to a variety of social conservative organizations, political allies of the GOP who have a less-than-favorable opinion of homosexuality.
It seems clear they’re doing this to weaken the support of those organizations for the GOP as the mid-term elections approach. If these groups show less enthusiam, Republicans won’t generate the turnout they need in order to hold onto Congress.
Without any concern for the lives of these gay men and women — or even any knowledge of whether these staffers have attempted to lobby their bosses to change their stands on gay issues — gay activists are doing something they believe will hurt the party they love to hate — and so help the real object of their efforts, electing more Democrats. ...
ThreatsWatch: Russia and China in Lebanon.
Russia has airlifted an entire Engineer Battalion into southern Lebanon to function in conjunction with UNIFIL’s mission there under Security Council Resolution 1701. China has 182 PLA soldiers under UNIFIL inside southern Lebanon and has pledged that over 1,000 troops will arrive soon. The two members of the Iranian protectorate in the ongoing Iranian nuclear crisis are uniquely involved in the international efforts in southern Lebanon following the conflict between Israel and the Iranian-sponsored terrorist group Hizballah.
Both China and Russia are actively seeking more active roles in Middle Eastern affairs and are tangibly invested in the Iranian regime; cash-starved Russia principally through the building of the Iranian nuclear facilities and military equipment sales, and energy-hungry China increasingly as an oil-trading partner. ...
