Al-Zarqawi eluded raid but left clues, source says By Richard Engel NBC News correspondent Updated: 8:05 a.m. ET April 26, 2005BAGHDAD, Iraq - American special forces were tracking Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of Al-Qaida in Iraq, near the town of Ramadi two months ago, but the Jordanian-born terrorist leader escaped by jumping out of a moving vehicle, a senior U.S. military source tells NBC News. Al-Zarqawi did, however, leave behind several key pieces of intelligence, the source said, the most important of which was his laptop computer. Photos of suspected insurgents released by the military last month were taken from the "My Pictures" folder of that laptop, the source said. It was also full of telephone numbers. Also left behind in the car was a bag with about $100,000 in euro currency. Another bag contained mini, plugin harddrives, the source said, and evidently al-Zarqawi was using these to distribute information to his network in Iraq. |
How could he not anticipate the possibility of having his laptop fall in the hands of our forces? And more importantly, why on earth did he not try to at least make a feeble attempt to encrypt his files rather than simple store them on his (hehe) desktop folder "My Pictures"?
Windows XP is so user-friendly, even a terrorist thug can use it...
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From the AP wire
Ousted Ecuador President Flies to Brazil
By MONTE HAYES, Associated Press WriterQUITO, Ecuador - Ousted Ecuadorean President Lucio Gutierrez flew to political asylum in Brazil on Sunday, four days after he was toppled by massive street protests and sought refuge from angry demonstrators in the Brazilian ambassador's residence.
[...]
Gutierrez's enemies say he should be tried for abuse of power, corruption and the violent repression of protests that prompted Wednesday's congressional vote to remove him from office.
His supporters say he was removed from power illegally, and the Organization of American States has asked Ecuador's new government to explain how Congress justified its decision to remove him for "abandonment of the post" when he was still in the Government Palace issuing orders.
Congress justified dismissing Gutierrez under a constitutional clause allowing lawmakers to remove a president for "abandonment of the post," even though he was still in the Government Palace issuing orders. Backers of the measure argued that since Gutierrez had not faithfully carried out his responsibilities, Congress should declare the presidency vacant.
That's the problem. Congress can just "declare" the presidency vacant and that he did not "fulfill his duties" rather than following their accusations with a judicial process which investigates these claims (Monicagate in the U.S., anyone?). It's no surprise Ecuador has had 3 presidents run out of office since 1997.
In a resolution Friday, the OAS avoided explicit recognition of the government of President Alfredo Palacio, who was sworn in by Congress after Gutierrez was removed. It was not known when the OAS delegation would arrive. So far, no country has recognized the new government as legitimate.Again, no surprises here.
Luis Gomez of NarcoNews has posted, "Analysis from an Ecuadoran Reader," (Fabián Avila)
Enter the NarcoSphere to read his native perspective. (Lo siento gringos, lo es en Espanol)
Okay okay, "sorry gringos, it's in Spanish"
Again, from La Hora:
QUITO--"The new government of Ecuador requires no recognition from the international community because it is complying with a disposition of the Constitution for presidential succession," expressed the National Minister of Defense, General(R)Solón Espinosa, Friday.Meanwhile, Gutiérrez also said via phone to his supporters, that Congress dismissed him "in an unconstitutional way, with 60 votes, without political judgment and without his having abandoned the charge (of the president)."
"There has been no recognition for a simple reason, because the present government is complying with a disposition that is evident in the Constitution of the Republic", he affirmed.Espinosa added that the constitution, "says that when the president abandons the presidency of the Republic, the vice president will assume the functions by the time he leaves." - AFP
Roughly translated from the article printed in La Hora.
"I continue being the President of Ecuador. I am with a clear conscience that I have done these things with honesty, because the same old politicians, the Ecuadorian oligarchy do not want the Courts to be depoliticized. I am not a thief, on the contrary, I charged the debt to the debtors, the delinquents. [sic] (--ed. unable to translate)." indicated Gutiérrez, via telephone to LA HORA MANABITA.If you can read Spanish, continue reading the rest of the article at La Hora.Gutiérrez admitted that by being isolated he cannot formulate statements to the press; nevertheless, he maintained a dialogue with members of Patriotic Society. "The oligarchy does not want an honest President, a President of the people, to continue in the Presidency", he said and demanded the members of his party be solidly united.
From the OAS press release following the convening of the Permanent Council earlier this afternoon:
The Organization of American States (OAS) today decided to send a high-level mission to Ecuador “to work with officials of that country and with all sectors of Ecuadorian society in their effort to strengthen democracy.”I guess "nonintervention" can be translated into "not sending in blue helments like the U.N." but rather provide Democratic cheerleaders to encourage a return to stability of the democratic process.The decision to send the mission was made in accordance with Article 18 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter and in keeping with an invitation issued today by a delegation of Ecuador during a special session of the Permanent Council. The resolution adopted by consensus also refers to the OAS Charter, noting that one of the Organization’s essential purposes is “to promote and consolidate representative democracy, with due respect for the principle of nonintervention." [sic] ... The delegation of Ecuador came to the OAS today “to demand its solidarity” with the Ecuadorian people and government.
P.S. How the heck do you "demand solidarity"??? Solidarity is such a commie word.
You can read the OAS draft resolution on the Ecuadoran crisis here. It's a cute testament to the hope that graduates with degrees in "international relations" have a future in joining organizations who have no power to enforce their friendly little "resolutions" while people riot and loot in the streets.
From Ecuador's La Hora newspaper:
Moscú expresa preocupación por crisis política en EcuadorI don't feel like translating this morning, so here is the Freetranslation.com rough translation (with a few obvious errors fixed).Moscú--El Ministerio ruso de Asuntos Exteriores expresó hoy, viernes, su "preocupación" por la crisis política en Ecuador y se pronunció a favor de una solución en el marco de la Constitución y el orden en ese país andino.
"Moscú sigue con atención el desarrollo de la situación política en Ecuador que se ha agudizado los últimos días", dice la nota del ministerio difundida a la prensa.
Según el Ministerio ruso, la crisis en Ecuador es grave por las manifestaciones masivas en la capital y otras ciudades del país que llevaron a la destitución de Lucio Gutiérrez como presidente y su reemplazo al frente de la jefatura del Estado por el vicepresidente Alfredo Palacio.
"Expresamos nuestra confianza en que la sociedad ecuatoriana podrá salir de la crisis, evitará la violencia y logrará un compromiso en aras de la estabilización y el desarrollo democrático del país", añade la nota.
EFE
The Russian Department of Exterior Matters expressed today, Friday, its "worry" by the political crisis in Ecuador and was pronounced in favor of a solution in the framework of the Constitution and the order in that Andean country.My question is, why the heck does Russia give a flying monkey dookie about Ecuador's troubles?"Moscow continues its attention on the development of the political situation in Ecuador that has been intensified in the last days", the note of the department diffused to the press says.
According to the Russian Department, the crisis in Ecuador is serious by the massive demonstrations in the capital and other cities of the country that carried to the dismissal of Gutiérrez as the president and his replacement by the vice president Alfredo Palacio.
"We express our confidence in which the Ecuadorian society will be able to leave the crisis, will avoid the violence and will achieve a commitment for the sake of the stabilization and the democratic development of the country", adds the note.
I can't locate the article I read on the newswires yesterday, but after SOS Rice returned from her visit to Moscow, there was talk about Russia's new "soft approach" to politics...something about a "department of cultural relations" to "peacefully" and gently deal with Russia's neighbors.
Last time I checked, Ecuador was not a neighbor...unless Putin is stuck in his old Commie Mode and thinks Cuba is still their Caribbean missile silo.
All reporting by Luis Gomez and Dan Feder of NarcoNews (unless otherwise noted).
***'s indicate time elapse between updates. All updates will be added to this blog post so check back here or go to the Narcosphere.
(The MSM can go play in traffic for their lack of coverage)
A few minutes ago, in a private session with the majority of the Ecuadorian congressmen and congresswomen in attendance, has named Alfredo Palacio as the new president of Ecuador.According to reports on Radio Sucre, congresswoman Cinthya Viteri, president of the Congress, swore in Palacio. The former vice president said in his first speech that the people of Ecuador, particularly the people of Quito, decided to end the dictatorship, immorality, arrogance, terror, and fear.
A few moments ago, military sources confirmed that Lucio Gutiérrez has abandoned the Carondelet Palace accompanied by his wife and a few aides. The only information known at the moment is that he has requested political asylum at the Panamanian embassy
***UPDATE***
According to Venezuelas Globovision, Lucio Gutiérrez is indeed in the Brazilian embassy, where he has requested political asylum in that country. He seems to have arrived there by helicopter after protesters prevented him from leaving the coutnry by airplane. Protesters hope to prevent him from leaving the country, in order to bring charges against him in Ecuadorian courts.It is still difficult to know quite what is happening in the wake of Gutiérrez abandoning the presidency. Voices on Radio La Luna, one of the main forces behind the movement in Quito, report rumors that members of the military high command, who earlier had declared their support for Gutiérrez despite the obvious popular rejection of his rule, have decided not to recognizes Palacio as the legitimate president of Ecuador.
It is not clear where Palacio is at the moment, and for some time now he has not appeared at the presidential palace, Carondelet, or made any statement. Callers from the streets have also reported pro-Gutiérrez agents trying to provoke violence in the streets. All this has led some to wonder if the military is preparing a coup detat against the man who legally took the presidency today with the backing of Congress.
Hopefully, Palacios whereabouts will be known soon and nasty rumors of a military coup can be written off as just that.
The headline at the website for the Brazilian daily O Globo reads: Brasil dá asilo ao presidente do Equador ("Brazil gives asylum to president of Ecuador.") (The articles can't be accessed without a subscription.) This is somewhat surprising Venezuela had already denied Gutiérrez asylum, and he was expected to try to head to Panama. He is now hiding out in the Brazilian embassy, with Ecuadorian police under orders to arrest him on sight.The coup scenario described above seems to have been, as hoped, merely rumor. As I listen to Radio La Luna, whoever is speaking now just closed an emotional commentary saying: Last night, we slept under a dictatorship. This morning, we woke up to a dictatorship. But tonight we can sleep in peace. The new president, Alfredo Palacio, has already suggested the possibility of holding a new constitutional assembly, in response to popular demands for creating a new country.
The Organization of American States will hold a special meeting tomorrow to discuss the crisis in Ecuador.
On Thursday, the Organization of American States gave Ecuador a 24-hour deadline to explain how Congress justified dismissing Gutierrez under a constitutional clause allowing legislators to remove a president for "abandonment of the post" while he was still in the Government Palace issuing orders. (AP)¡Ten cuidado, Ecuador! ¡La mala OAS espantosa y grande le atacará!
(Translation of "eh" Spanish: "Watch out, Ecuador! The big bad scary OAS will get you!")
Somewhat amusingly, Ecuador's legislature outted President Abdala Bucaram for "mental incapacity" in 1997.
From an OAS press release:
Permanent Representative of Ecuador, Jaime Barberis, described the recent events in his country and said that the situation in the last hours is by no means a case of “an alteration of constitutional regime that seriously impairs the democratic order.” Barberis added that “it is, on the contrary, a case of presidential succession within the framework established in the political constitution and other laws of the Republic.”