A man whom the U.S. described as a key figure in Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula accidentally blew himself up, U.S. military officials told Fox News.

The officials say Nayif Al-Qahtani was “messing with a bomb” when it went off. U.S. officials had been watching him, but Fox News’ sources insist the U.S. had nothing to do with his death.

The money quote is the part about “messing with a bomb”

Yeah, I’ll have a better weekend now

MULLAH OMAR CAPTURED!!!

FROM BIG HOLLYWOOD:

Through key intelligence sources in Afghanistan and Pakistan, I have just learned that reclusive Taliban leader and top Osama bin Laden ally, Mullah Omar has been taken into custody.

According to the State Department’s Rewards for Justice Program there is a bounty of up to $10 million on Omar for sheltering Osama bin-Laden and his al-Qaeda network in the years prior to the September 11 attacks as well as the period during and immediately thereafter.

SIERRA HOTEL !!!

Think again.

From the Army Times:

Note said Hood-style shooting could happen

By Gina Cavallaro – Staff writer
Posted : Monday Nov 23, 2009 10:58:25 EST

A box of hollow-point bullets and an anonymous note threatening an incident like the one at Fort Hood, Texas, were discovered Thursday at Fort Benning, Ga., sparking a criminal investigation and greater police presence, a witness told Army Times.

According to a witness at the scene, a box of 20 hollow-point shells and a handwritten note were found in the motor pool area between 1st Battalion and 2nd Battalion, 29th Infantry, under the 197th Infantry Training Brigade.

“The note said ‘tell the commanding general to call off all charges or there will be a re-enactment of Fort Hood,’ ” the witness told Army Times. He spoke on condition he wouldn’t be identified.

Of course they’re investigating who had a nearly unbelievable dip in their I.Q. that would allow themselves to do something this monstrously, immensely, galactically,  and universally stupid move.  They’re looking for fingerprints and talking to people who’re in trouble in the military.

I just hope they’re beefing up the guard force and the guys and gals on base are wearing their soft body armor.  Don’t forget that for some reason the same military that trusts these guys with tanks, intercontinental ballistic missiles, and fighter jets with machineguns and thermonuclear warheads doesn’t think they can be trusted with a handgun when they’re off duty.  I guess somehow they think they change when the come off the flightline, out of the tank turrets, and up from the missile launch capsules.

Here’s hoping this is just a sick prank.

Hat tip to The Jawa Report

From Fox News:

By Rowan Scarborough

March 31, 2004: Iraqis chant anti-American slogans as the charred and mutilated bodies of U.S. contractors hang from a bridge over the Euphrates River in Fallujah, Iraq.

Navy SEALs have secretly captured one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq — the alleged mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four Blackwater USA security guards in Fallujah in 2004. And three of the SEALs who captured him are now facing criminal charges, sources told FoxNews.com.

The three, all members of the Navy’s elite commando unit, have refused non-judicial punishment — called an admiral’s mast — and have requested a trial by court-martial.

Ahmed Hashim Abed, whom the military code-named “Objective Amber,” told investigators he was punched by his captors — and he had the bloody lip to prove it.

Now, instead of being lauded for bringing to justice a high-value target, three of the SEAL commandos, all enlisted, face assault charges and have retained lawyers.

FoxNews.com obtained the official handwritten statement from one of the three witnesses given on Sept. 3, hours after Abed was captured and still being held at the SEAL base at Camp Baharia. He was later taken to a cell in the U.S.-operated Green Zone in Baghdad.

The SEAL told investigators he had showered after the mission, gone to the kitchen and then decided to look in on the detainee.

“I gave the detainee a glance over and then left,” the SEAL wrote. “I did not notice anything wrong with the detainee and he appeared in good health.”

Lt. Col. Holly Silkman, spokeswoman for the special operations component of U.S. Central Command, confirmed Tuesday to FoxNews.com that three SEALs have been charged in connection with the capture of a detainee. She said their court martial is scheduled for January.

United States Central Command declined to discuss the detainee, but a legal source told FoxNews.com that the detainee was turned over to Iraqi authorities, to whom he made the abuse complaints. He was then returned to American custody. The SEAL leader reported the charge up the chain of command, and an investigation ensued.

So it appears it’s a most wanted terrorist’s word against three Navy SEALs.  And we’re charging the SEALs and trying them in a Court Martial.  I’d like to know how we can be sure that the accuser didn’t injure himself.  After all, it’s guys like him who seem to enjoy blowing themselves up so why not just injure himself and cause havoc in our ranks?

One other question – am I the only one who wants to puke here?

Much will be said about how we shouldn’t look too deeply at the assailant’s religion.  I’m personally sick and tired of this.  Yes, there are many more Muslims who don’t want to do harm to innocent people and we need to keep in mind that America is a nation which embraces freedom of religion.  That said, we need to face a cold, hard fact.  The person who committed mass murder at Fort Hood is a Muslim who is reported to have shouted “Allahu Akbar” or “God is great” before he commenced with the slaughter.

We’re not fighting a religion, but I don’t see anyone who isn’t a member of a particular religion fighting us.  We don’t see anyone else committing suicide to kill many others.  We don’t see anyone else preaching that it’s a good idea to wage physical war on a grand scale in the name of their religion and carrying that out.

The things that disturb me the most about this incident are the things that were missed.  Yes, it’s hindsight, but how else can we learn?

The person who carried out this atrocity posted his sympathies for our enemies online, said that he was a Muslim first and an American second.  This type of behavior needs to be further investigated in the future.

One other thing that I personally think needs to be revisited is the prohibition of anyone except military police from carrying a firearm on a military installation.  I’m not saying that every Tom, Dick, and Harry who comes on the base.  Due to the intrinsic nature of a military base, this wouldn’t be the greatest idea.  But what about the officers?  Why shouldn’t active duty military officers be allowed to either carry firearms openly or concealed?  They would augment the security force and might have minimized this incident if they couldn’t prevent it.

I’ll leave you with some of the reactions from a few of the authors on my blogroll and a request that we all pray for everyone who has been affected by this incident.

From Neptunus Lex:

It’s late, and I’m tired and enduringly appalled – not to mention outraged – by the vicious murders committed upon US soldiers by a man whose paid work it was to care for them. It may not help that I’m fortified by an evening’s dose of Hendricks and tonic, with just a slice of cucumber in it, as is the custom.

Color it truth serum.

But it’s this profile in Bloomberg that set me off:

Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist accused of killing 13 people and wounding 30 others at the Fort Hood Army Base in Texas, regularly described the war on terror as “a war against Islam,” according to a doctor who was in a graduate program with him.

To the extent that radical Islamic terrorists constitute a murderous threat to innocent Americans, Hasan had it exactly right. To the extent that the vast majority of Muslims want only to live their lives in peace, pay their taxes, send their kids to college and mow their lawns he had it exactly wrong. It’s a little more than ironic that Hasan became that which he believed others took him for – a weak dick coward more willing to gun down unarmed American soldiers than care for them in a combat zone.

Perhaps if Hasan had been willing to sacrifice his principles just a smidge and marry a nice Muslim girl who would be happy enough to raise his children for him but didn’t want to sit in the back room under a burkha like chattel, he’d have found more reasons for living than killing. Perhaps.

Of course, finding that perfect woman would have eventually resulted in having to, you know: Get dirty with the fiddly bits. With a woman.

Far better to stew in your resentments.

From Nutnfancy:

nutnfancy (14 hours ago)

Spam Marked as spam

Once again we see the need for the Sheepdog with the Ft Hood incident: always vigilant, always armed, always ready to protect. And again, as I mentioned in my video above, the DoD’s asinine policy of disarming CCW permit holders on base (not allowing carriage on the installation) killed people. This policy has done this before (FAFB, WA as I mentioned) and DoD still insists on political correctness. The Sheepdog sometimes will have to go armed regardless of these “protectionist” regulations. That way the bad guy might have a surprise in these free fire zones these laws create. Thanks all.

From The Armorer at Castle Argghhh!

Absent some stunning twist, it’s clear Major Hasan betrayed his oath. There’s a reason that the oath includes the terms “without mental reservation or purpose of evasion.” He can’t claim a religious exemption. I’m sure he’s going to try – but that, frankly, shouldn’t prevent us from strapping him to a gurney and putting him down like a dog, if that’s what a courts-martial directs.

From Blackfive:

Officer Kimberly Munley is a warrior. When the murderous bastard at Ft. Hood started killing she stopped him and God bless her for that.

I have avoided writing anything about this as my thoughts ought not to be paraded in public. This is a time to honor the dead, care for their families and give our thoughts and prayers to the wounded.

I will only say I’m glad the son of a bitch lived and we get to kill him properly. Do we still have firing squads?

See also the pictures here.

From Digitarii at Pernicious Critters (Army Veteran):

My tears and prayers go out for those at Fort Hood.

For the shooter, I have nothing but contempt. The men and women you hurt and killed will haunt you for the rest of your damned life. You violated your oath as a soldier and as a doctor.

For thy actions, I damn thee as an Oathbreaker. May thy soul be forsaken and imprisoned in ice up to thy rotten nose for thine traitorous actions.

From SwampWoman at A1A South:

From news interviews, the Major was upset and said that muslims should “stand up”. Muslims should not be fighting muslims. He did not want to get deployed. This was reported by his coworkers, but apparently the politically correct military chain of command didn’t want to shake the boat.

Anybody that puts religious ideology above duty to the U.S. should not be in uniform.