Colombia Misused Red Cross Symbol in Betancourt Rescue
The daring rescue of Ingrid Betancourt from FARC terrorists misused the Red Cross symbol in violation of the Geneva Conventions. A member of the military mission that tricked Colombian rebels into freeing 15 hostages wore the insignia of the International Red Cross during the operation, President Alvaro Uribe said Wednesday. Mr. Uribe said his government had apologized to the Red Cross for ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on July 16, 2008 15:20
Terrorists Attack Beirut U.S. Embassy Vehicle
Terrorists have attacked a vehicle belonging to the U.S. Embassy in Beirut; at least three people are dead. An explosion targeted a U.S. Embassy vehicle Tuesday in northern Beirut, killing at least three Lebanese and injuring an American bystander and a local embassy employee, U.S. and Lebanese officials said. The blast, which damaged the armored SUV and several other vehicles, took ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on January 15, 2008 13:55
Blackwater Softens Logo
Reeling from news portraying the company as reckless killers, Blackwater USA has changed its corporate logo. In the private security business that has made Blackwater USA virtually a household name, being tough is part of the game. Not just for its rifle-carrying contractors but also for its corporate logo. Well, not anymore. The well-armed men remain, but the company’s roughneck logo ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on October 25, 2007 13:37
WWII Interrogators Criticize Today’s Methods
Today's WaPo fronts the story of the most interrogators of WWII, who had a reunion yesterday at Fort Hunt. Not surprisingly, perhaps, the focus is on those who spoke out about the war in Iraq and the interrogation techniques now being used. For six decades, they held their silence. The group of World War II veterans kept a military code ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on October 6, 2007 09:32
Fort Dix Terrorist Plot
A terrorist plot on Fort Dix has been thwarted, AP reports. Six men were planning to attack the Fort Dix Army base and "kill as many soldiers as possible," federal authorities said Tuesday. The men, Yugoslav nationals, were arrested early Tuesday, said Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for the United States Attorney's Office in New Jersey. Like Steven Taylor, my initial take is that ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on May 8, 2007 10:06
Nigeria Pipeline Blast Kills Over 200
Thieves trying to steal gas from a pipeline in Lagos, Nigeria have caused an explosion that has killed over 200 people. At least 200 people were killed Tuesday when a pipeline carrying petroleum products exploded in Nigeria's biggest city of Lagos, a Red Cross official said. The death toll was expected to rise. Ige Oladimeji, a senior official for the ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on December 26, 2006 08:14
Crushing Madonna’s Dissent… in Europe
Madonna is causing a bit of a stir in Europe with her latest concert stunt--appearing in a mock crucifixion as part of her concert tour--leading German officials to consider pressing charges against the pop star: German prosecutors are threatening to monitor Madonna's weekend concert in Duesseldorf to see if she repeats her mock crucifixion scene. The crucifixion scene, which drew fire from ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on August 16, 2006 00:32
Israel and Hezbollah Committing War Crimes
Several in the blogosphere are pointing to a Jerusalem Post piece entitled "Hizbullah committing war crimes." Hizbullah must immediately stop firing rockets into civilian areas in Israel, Human Rights Watch said Saturday. "Lobbing rockets blindly into civilian areas is without doubt a war crime," said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. "Nothing can justify this assault on the most ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on August 6, 2006 08:58
The Deadliest Israeli Air Strike Yet (Video)
It happened today in the southern Lebanon village of Qana: Israeli missiles hit several buildings in a southern Lebanon village as people slept Sunday, killing at least 56, most of them children, in the deadliest attack in 19 days of fighting. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expressed "great sorrow" for the airstrikes but blamed Hezbollah guerrillas for using the area to ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on July 30, 2006 13:20
‘Breathtaking’ Waste and Fraud in Hurricane Aid
Today's New York Times fronts a story entitled "'Breathtaking' Waste and Fraud in Hurricane Aid." Among the many superlatives associated with Hurricane Katrina can now be added this one: it produced one of the most extraordinary displays of scams, schemes and stupefying bureaucratic bungles in modern history, costing taxpayers up to $2 billion. A hotel owner in Sugar Land, Tex., ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on June 27, 2006 10:01
