Explosions rock Istanbul

[AroundTheWorld]

http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-1111970,00.html

BRITISH CONSULATE HIT

An explosion is reported to have torn through the British consulate and HSBC bank headquarters in Istanbul.

Two more explosions have also been heard, Turkish TV reports.


The third explosion is reported to have been in a residential area.

The Turkish stock exchange has stopped trading.

A British embassy official said "things looked bad" with considerable damage to the consulate.

The blasts come after 23 people died in a double bomb attack on two synagogues in the Turkish capital at the weekend.

[Woofer]

Why is this in the debate and discussion forum?

[IROC it]

It's bound to start a religious debate.:rolleyes:

[AroundTheWorld]

Originally posted by Woofer
Why is this in the debate and discussion forum?

I was not sure where to put it, but as it is a terror attack which is partly politically and partly religiously motivated, I was pretty sure that it would lead to a discussion about how Bush pursues the war against terror, which makes this forum the right one.

Latest reports are that 25 are dead and hundreds injured :(.

[mleahy999]

I thought we had Al Queda on the run. We were told AQ was "decimated".

[giddyup]

Originally posted by mleahy999
I thought we had Al Queda on the run. We were told AQ was "decimated".
I understand that the last guy at the Alamo killed a few Mexican soldiers before he bit the dust too. Ah, the video game generation. You don't just turn it off or hit a re-play button.

[AroundTheWorld]

Originally posted by mleahy999
I thought we had Al Queda on the run. We were told AQ was "decimated".

There you go, Woofer.

[mleahy999]

Originally posted by giddyup
I understand that the last guy at the Alamo killed a few Mexican soldiers before he bit the dust too. Ah, the video game generation. You don't just turn it off or hit a re-play button.

Maybe the meatball making those bold pronouncements might want to reconsider next time. Some of us consider credibility an important factor, which is obviously of no concern to said meatball.

[RocketMan Tex]

Originally posted by mleahy999
Maybe the meatball making those bold pronouncements might want to reconsider next time. Some of us consider credibility an important factor, which is obviously of no concern to said meatball.

Awww, c'mon. How can you not say that he is a "crediblizer"? After all, he is a "unitifier", not a "dividerer".:eek:

[rimrocker]

Originally posted by giddyup
I understand that the last guy at the Alamo killed a few Mexican soldiers before he bit the dust too.

But he never said the Mexicans would welcome him with open arms and that he was really winning.

(And also Giddy... some things are sacrosanct. One of those is real Texans using the Alamo to make a political point. Who are you, Ozzy Osbourne?)

[rimrocker]

On another note...

Anyone besides me wish it were still Constantinople? It's a much cooler word than Istanbul.

[HootOwl]

Originally posted by rimrocker
On another note...

Anyone besides me wish it were still Constantinople? It's a much cooler word than Istanbul.

Istanbul was Constantinople
Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Now it's Turkish delight on a moon-lit night
Every gal in Constantinople
lives in Istanbul, not Constantinople
so if you've got a date in Constantinople
she'll be waiting in Istanbul
Even old New York
was once New Amsterdam
Why they changed it I can't say
People just liked it better that way
So take me back to Constantinople
No, you can't go back to Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Why did Constantinople get the works?
That's nobody's business but the Turks
Istanbul

[giddyup]

Originally posted by rimrocker
But he never said the Mexicans would welcome him with open arms and that he was really winning.

(And also Giddy... some things are sacrosanct. One of those is real Texans using the Alamo to make a political point. Who are you, Ozzy Osbourne?)
No one ever said that every Iraqi would welcome us with open arms. We knew that Saddam had a large contingent of loyalists who had been riding his coattails for decades.

Also the Fedayen are not Iraqis.

[Mr. Clutch]

Originally posted by mleahy999
I thought we had Al Queda on the run. We were told AQ was "decimated".

I thought the War on Terror wasn't necessary. We were told they only hate the US.

[rimrocker]

Originally posted by giddyup
No one ever said that every Iraqi would welcome us with open arms. We knew that Saddam had a large contingent of loyalists who had been riding his coattails for decades.

Also the Fedayen are not Iraqis.

Quit discussing unimportant topics and answer for your desecration of the Alamo by bringing up those brave men in a partisan argument!

http://www.art-posters.net/posters/art/war4600.jpg

[giddyup]

Originally posted by rimrocker
Quit discussing unimportant topics and answer for your desecration of the Alamo by bringing up those brave men in a partisan argument!

http://www.art-posters.net/posters/art/war4600.jpg
In all seriousness, I listen to that soundtrack on a regular basis. The only desecration that I ever unwittingly participate in is when I sing along.

My favorite: Tennessee Babe

[Deckard]

I always liked Richard Widmark. He was excellent in "The Bedford Incident".

Seriously, I think it's terrible that Istanbul is the latest target for Al Queda, assuming it is them. I hope they find those responsible asap. If this continues, there is no telling what Turkey may do. It has a very large military and has never been shy about using it. If they find out what country those responsible are coming from, that country better duck and cover.

[Woofer]

re: Al Qaeda on the run.

Since we never bothered finishing them off early in *Pakistan* now we are stuck with this sorry situation.


Al Qaeda's reach grows, with help from Web

Suspects were named Wednesday in blast that killed 25 in Turkey. Experts see Islamists joining terror group.

By Faye Bowers and Ilene R. Prusher | Staff writers of The Christian Science Monitor

WASHINGTON AND ISTANBUL – Emboldened and perhaps even inspired by the insurgency in Iraq, extremists linked to Al Qaeda are broadening their war against the West and taking an even more ruthless course in doing so.
This past weekend's attacks on Jewish synagogues in Turkey, which government officials now link to Turkish militants trained by Al Qaeda, underscore the point. The secular Muslim country that exists at the crossroads of East and West has had its share of home-grown terror attacks in the past two decades. But it hasn't been hit this hard, with the expertise required to pull off two suicide bombing attacks simultaneously - an Al Qaeda hallmark.


Related stories:

11/17/03

The war on terror may open a Turkish front



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These strikes, along with those earlier this month in Saudi Arabia, point up three dramatic developments, experts and officials say:

• Al Qaeda's reach is wide, in part because of members trained together in terrorist camps.

• Al Qaeda is still relevant, able to pull off attacks either by direct orders or proxy, despite setbacks to its leadership and rank and file.

• The group's trained acolytes - estimated to number about 100,000 - are now willing to kill Muslims, women, children, any part of a population or country they see as either in the way or as subservient to the US.

The attacks "show that Al Qaeda has no compunction about operations that kill Muslims, even women and children and during [the Muslim holy month of] Ramadan," says Bruce Hoffman, an expert on terror at the RAND Corp in Washington. "They see this as a war, and they argue that innocent people tragically die in wars."

But these attacks also provide the West with an opportunity to foster a budding backlash within the Muslim world. If the US and its allies can use a public-information campaign to capitalize on the ruthlessness of Al Qaeda's willingness to kill Muslim brethren - much as Al Qaeda leaders appeal to constituents - a groundswell of ill will toward the group could arise.

"We can't expect it to come up organically, because the terrorists in their propaganda are presenting their side of the story," Mr. Hoffman says. "And with the general enmity felt in many places toward the US, more people may be drawn to Al Qaeda. We have to work actively toward getting them in the fight against terrorism."

Meanwhile, the hunt for those who carried out the recent attacks moved forward Wednesday, as authorities in Istanbul cited DNA evidence implicating two men from southeast Turkey in the bombings that killed 25 people and injured over 300.

Experts on Turkish Islamic movements say that groups affiliated with Al Qaeda have been operating in Turkey for several years. In the mind of Al Qaeda, Turkey is the model of everything a Muslim nation should not be: an officially secular state, and one with ties to the US and Israel.

Initial reports suggest that the two bombers received training in Iran and Pakistan and then fought in Afghanistan - a Pakistani passport was reportedly found at the scene of one of the bombings.

Rusen Cakir, a journalist who covers Muslim fundamentalist groups, says that at least several hundred Turks fought in Afghanistan, possibly far more.

"All of these people who fought before are related directly to Al Qaeda," he says. Others are members of Islamic groups who act independently, but may have "wedded" themselves to Al Qaeda after the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington.

"The Islamist movement here is trying to rejuvenate themselves through new terrorist acts, and at the moment they can get help from Al Qaeda," says Prof. Nilufer Narli, a political sociologist at Kadin Has University.

"There is no evidence that directly links this to Al Qaeda, but Al Qaeda is a loose network," Professor Narli says. "It's like a spider web. The planning of the actual attack is very local, but it is clear that the concept and some assistance is international. Some of the assistance can come in the form of intelligence as well."

From Turkey to Iraq and beyond, there are signs that Al Qaeda has become extremely proficient at getting its message out - through television, newspapers, and the Internet, officials say.

Websites continue to crop up more quickly than the CIA can shut them down. The sites are used as vehicles for recruitment - often showing videos of what Al Qaeda members say depict US abuse of Muslims in Iraq, among other places, at the behest of Israel.

On websites this past weekend, for example, two different militant groups claimed responsibility for the attacks in Turkey and warned of other attacks in the works against the US and its allies. Moreover, an Arab language newspaper based in London published a statement purported to be from the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigrades, affiliated with Al Qaeda. The group claimed responsibility for the attacks in Turkey and went on to threaten the US and its allies.

Indeed, what bin Laden is doing quite well in the Muslim world, officials and experts say, is constantly casting the US as exploiting and repressing Muslims.

Take the situation in Iraq. "Look at it from bin Laden's point of view," says Robert Baer, a former CIA undercover operative who spent many years in the region. Bin Laden's assumption was that the US used Saddam Hussein's possession of weapons of mass destruction as an excuse to invade Iraq. Now that none have been found, he is exploiting that and the fact that US officials now say Hussein was evil and he had to be removed. "They're using that argument to say the US wants to occupy the Middle East on behalf of Israel."

Baer adds that the current operation in Iraq - Iron Hammer - only further strengthens bin Laden's position.

"Now that the US is using F-15s to again bomb civilian neighborhoods, [bin Laden and his associates] immediately point to what [Israeli Prime Minister] Ariel Sharon is doing to the Palestinians and says there's no difference between that and what is happening in Iraq."

A senior intelligence official agrees. "Iraq is an unexpected gift for Al Qaeda," he says. "I think you have the world series of jihad going on now in Iraq."

This is one reason Germany appointed a commissioner for dialogue with Islamic countries. "We need a serious dialogue to close the credibility gap if we want to win the battle for hearts and minds in future generations," says Gunter Mulack, Germany's ambassador to the Islamic world. "Iraq has become an example of occupation and not liberty to [many] Muslims."

[ima_drummer2k]

Originally posted by HootOwl
*They Might Be Giants lyrics*
Thanks, now I can't get that song out of my head. :D

[glynch]

I thought the War on Terror wasn't necessary. We were told they only hate the US.

I think we can all agree we need to fight terrorism.

Unfortuanately Dubya, albeit probably mislead by those who spoon feed the newspaper to him, decided to do an adventure in Iraq which was a distraction from the war on terror.:(

Bless their hearts, I'm sure the neocons are against terror also. It is just that needlessly making everyone hate us and diverting resources to occupying Iraq doesn't help.

[SamFisher]

Originally posted by giddyup
No one ever said that every Iraqi would welcome us with open arms. We knew that Saddam had a large contingent of loyalists who had been riding his coattails for decades.

Also the Fedayen are not Iraqis.

Wrong.

"Iraqi people will welcome U.S. troops in Iraq," Chalabi said. "They would see them as liberators. They believe they are liberators."

"The read we get on the people of Iraq is there is no question but that they want to get rid of Saddam Hussein and they will welcome as liberators the United States when we come to do that. - Dick Cheney, Mar. 16, 2003



chatterbox
Whopper: Donald Rumsfeld
By Timothy Noah
Posted Friday, Nov. 14, 2003, at 12:45 PM PT


"Q: Before the war in Iraq, you stated the case very eloquently and you said, I remember this it was done very well, you said they would welcome us with open arms.

"A: Never said that.

"Q: Never said that?

"A: Never did. You may remember it well, but you're thinking of somebody else. You can't find anywhere me saying anything like either one of those two things you just said I said. I may look like somebody else."

—Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, in a Sept. 25, 2003 interview with Sinclair Broadcasting.

"Q: Do you expect the invasion, if it comes, to be welcomed by the majority of the civilian population of Iraq?

"A: There's obviously the Shia population in Iraq and the Kurdish population in Iraq have been treated very badly by Saddam Hussein's regime, they represent a large fraction of the total. There is no question but that they would be welcomed. Go back to Afghanistan, the people were in the streets playing music, cheering, flying kites, and doing all the things that the Taliban and the Al-Qaeda would not let them do."

—Defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, in a Feb. 20, 2003 interview with PBS's NewsHour

[SamFisher]

more:

March 28, 2003 | Richard Perle, recently resigned chairman of the Defense Policy Board, in a PBS interview July 11, 2002:

"Saddam is much weaker than we think he is. He's weaker militarily. We know he's got about a third of what he had in 1991."

"But it's a house of cards. He rules by fear because he knows there is no underlying support. Support for Saddam, including within his military organization, will collapse at the first whiff of gunpowder. "


Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, in a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars March 11:

"Over and over, we hear reports of Iraqis here in the United States who manage to communicate with their friends and families in Iraq, and what they are hearing is amazing. Their friends and relatives want to know what is taking the Americans so long. When are you coming?"

"In a meeting last week at the White House, one of these Iraqi-Americans said, 'A war with Saddam Hussein would be a war for Iraq, not against Iraq.'"

"The Iraqi people understand what this crisis is about. Like the people of France in the 1940s, they view us as their hoped-for liberator. They know that America will not come as a conqueror. Our plan -- as President Bush has said -- is to 'remain as long as necessary and not a day more.'"

[B-Bob]

Originally posted by HootOwl
...(They Might be Pissants lyrics)
I wish someone would blow those guys up.

I saw them once at a big multi-band gig called X-fest that
brought X out of retirement. TMBG came on before Helmet,
and everyone was slam dancing (best as they could) to the
happy pop tunes. Then, one of those two guys came to
the mike, interrupting a song to a full stop...

"If you guys don't quit slam dancing, we're going to stop
playing!"
The crowd cheered loudly.
"I mean it! Somebody could get hurt!"
More cheering.

Unfortunately, they finished their set.

[ima_drummer2k]

Originally posted by B-Bob
"If you guys don't quit slam dancing, we're going to stop
playing!"
The crowd cheered loudly.
"I mean it! Somebody could get hurt!"
More cheering.
They were probably joking. They're weird like that. :)

[giddyup]

Originally posted by SamFisher
Wrong.
I know you're not naive. Nobody expects every Iraqi citizen to embrace this. Some of them rode Saddam's coattails with provisiion and preferential treatment for decades. They have to be disappointed.

I'm sure you can find just about anybody saying something underneath or beyond what they are saying now. It proves nothing except that people are people.

[IROC it]

Btw - aren't they would be welcomed. (what Rumsfeld said) and they would welcome us with open arms. (what the news reporter said...

Aren't they different in meaning. And isn't the reporter adding to the meaning, and/or putting more promising words in Rumsfeld's mouth?

Just curious.

Welcomed = a "hello"- a cordial, civil greeting.

Welcome with open arms = a "love fest" - a heart felt open display of affection, as in an "open arms" hug or embrace.

There is a difference.

Sometimes a welcome is worn out, in either case, but no said a war wouldn't begin to take a toll and wear the collective conscience of a society down to a "you may leave now" status at best, and possibly even a "go away" status to some.

Again... there is a skewed, unwilling-to-see-reality, choose to believe what we want in a utopian- slant problem here.

We were not in Utopia to begin... and we'll not be when this is over... if it ever is.

We forget the point. No one else will fight the baddies.

[FranchiseBlade]

Originally posted by B-Bob
I wish someone would blow those guys up.

I saw them once at a big multi-band gig called X-fest that
brought X out of retirement. TMBG came on before Helmet,
and everyone was slam dancing (best as they could) to the
happy pop tunes. Then, one of those two guys came to
the mike, interrupting a song to a full stop...

"If you guys don't quit slam dancing, we're going to stop
playing!"
The crowd cheered loudly.
"I mean it! Somebody could get hurt!"
More cheering.

Unfortunately, they finished their set.

Originally posted by HootOwl
*They Might Be Giants lyrics*

Actually that song is a cover. The original song with those same lyrics came out sometime in the 20's or 30's.

As for TMBG trying to stop the slam dancing, I applaude it. Dancing is supposed to go with music. Slam dancing doesn't go with the majority of TMBG songs, so people who were slam dancing were morons. I hate going to concerts and trying to watch and enjoy the band which isn't playing Slam dance appropriate music, and having people there start slam dancing because it's part of the 'scene' and not appreciating the music.

I love X by the way, and would love to have seen that show. How were they live?

[SamFisher]

Originally posted by giddyup
I know you're not naive. Nobody expects every Iraqi citizen to embrace this. Some of them rode Saddam's coattails with provisiion and preferential treatment for decades. They have to be disappointed.

I'm sure you can find just about anybody saying something underneath or beyond what they are saying now. It proves nothing except that people are people.

'We are dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction, and relatively soon" Paul Wolfowitz, March 27, 2003

How many more lies till you reach your tolerance? Or do you even care?

[B-Bob]

Originally posted by FranchiseBlade
I love X by the way, and would love to have seen that show. How were they live?
They were amazing. I've seen them a few times over the decades, and they always leave me wishing they could play another few hours. After their set, I went to get a hotdog at the concessions and there was Excene! She was getting a hotdog too, so we got to chat. She really likes pickle relish, by the way.

Okay, sorry for derailing, and sorry I was mean to TMBG everybody. They were just at the wrong show, playing before Helmet.

On topic, I am not sure why Turkey has become such a prominent El Queso target now. I know they are viewed as "pro-US" for a Muslim nation, but I'm wondering if they have especially bad security holes also. I wonder exactly how much worse this will get?

[giddyup]

Originally posted by SamFisher
'We are dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction, and relatively soon" Paul Wolfowitz, March 27, 2003
Why did that not turn out to be true?

[SamFisher]

Originally posted by giddyup
Why did that not turn out to be true?

For the same reason that unicorns don't exist.

It was fantasy, recited in the form of sworn testimony before Congress.

[giddyup]

Originally posted by SamFisher
For the same reason that unicorns don't exist.

It was fantasy, recited in the form of sworn testimony before Congress.
Let me know when you seriously attempt to answer the queston.

[SamFisher]

Originally posted by giddyup
Let me know when you seriously attempt to answer the queston.

What question? Are you arguing that the reconstruction of Iraq financed itself, relatively quickly?

I doubt you need me to explain that it didn't/hasn't.

[giddyup]

Originally posted by SamFisher

What question?

<b>Why did that not turn out to be true?</b>

Are you arguing that the reconstruction of Iraq financed itself, relatively quickly? I doubt you need me to explain that it didn't/hasn't.

<b>No. I was thinking that some of the terrorist activity which was turned against Iraq's own infrastructure (inclulding oil) had something to do with it. Also, the stronger levels of resistance make it harder to move onto more productive activities.</b>

[SamFisher]

Originally posted by giddyup
Originally posted by SamFisher

What question?

<b>Why did that not turn out to be true?</b>

Are you arguing that the reconstruction of Iraq financed itself, relatively quickly? I doubt you need me to explain that it didn't/hasn't.

<b>No. I was thinking that some of the terrorist activity which was turned against Iraq's own infrastructure (inclulding oil) had something to do with it. Also, the stronger levels of resistance make it harder to move onto more productive activities.</b>

nope.

Iraq's oil industry was in a state of decay before the war. Even at full capacity, it would barely be able to pay for its own renovation, much less Iraq's.

Besides, even if it wasn't true, it was his job to plan for this, and they had several reports/studies by the state dep't, etc that said that this was going to happen, that the reconstruction would be long and costly, etc.

They ignored them, and sold us the BS about the happy ending, open arms, and it paying for itself.

[Woofer]

Originally posted by giddyup
Originally posted by SamFisher



<b>No. I was thinking that some of the terrorist activity which was turned against Iraq's own infrastructure (inclulding oil) had something to do with it. Also, the stronger levels of resistance make it harder to move onto more productive activities.</b>

The fact that there was resistance and looting was entirely within the realm of the Bushies. They had an opportunity to plan for the postwar period and their only plan was that Iraqis would embrace us with open arms so the Bushies did not send enough forces for an occupation. They cannot say it's not our fault, as the occupying power, it is our responsibility to provide security, failure to do so was our mistake and our legal obligation. A simple comparison of the ratio of troops to population similar to the ones used in other peacekeeping operations shows we are understaffed by about 400000 soldiers in Iraq.

[basso]

james taranto on the bombing and the "protestors" in london:

"It seems clear the bombers, by selecting British targets, were trying to send Britain a message: Do not stand with the United States in the war against Islamist terrorists. The 50,000 London protesters were lawfully exercising their democratic freedoms, but their message was the same."

[Major]

"It seems clear the bombers, by selecting British targets, were trying to send Britain a message: Do not stand with the United States in the war against Islamist terrorists. The 50,000 London protesters were lawfully exercising their democratic freedoms, but their message was the same."

What does it say about your leadership when both your friends and enemies dislike you?

[rimrocker]

Apparently, we have a new front in the terror war and an unlimited number of future fronts. Here's the main (and disturbing) quote...

"Terrorists have decided to use Turkey as a front," Bush, on a visit to Britain, told reporters. "Two major explosions. Iraq is a front. Turkey is a front. Anywhere the terrorists think they can strike is a front."
____________________


Bush Says Turkey New Front in 'War on Terror'
Fri Nov 21, 3:20 PM ET Add Top Stories - Reuters to My Yahoo!


By Brian Williams

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - President Bush (news - web sites) said on Friday Turkey had become a battleground in the "war on terror" as police made their first arrests in deadly truck bomb attacks on British targets in Istanbul.

The United States joined Britain in warning its citizens to defer non-essential travel to Turkey over fears of further terror attacks in the country of 70 million following four suicide bombings in the commercial capital in six days.


A statement purporting to come from a unit of Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)'s al Qaeda network said it carried out Thursday's twin strikes on the British consulate and the London-based HSBC bank which killed 27 people and wounded more than 400.


Five days earlier 25 people were killed in similar suicide attacks on Istanbul synagogues, making this the worst week of peacetime violence in Turkey's modern history.


"Terrorists have decided to use Turkey as a front," Bush, on a visit to Britain, told reporters. "Two major explosions. Iraq is a front. Turkey is a front. Anywhere the terrorists think they can strike is a front."


Bush also called Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan to pledge solidarity with Turkey, a key NATO (news - web sites) ally promoted by Washington as a model of Islamic democracy.


Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said some people had been arrested in Thursday's attacks, without giving details.


The Turkish daily Hurriyet said seven people had been arrested in the strikes, which it said were carried out by Turkish suicide bombers. A spokesman at the Istanbul governor's incident room could not confirm the report.


FEAR, DEFIANCE


Many Turks were among the 27 dead, who also included British Consul General Roger Short. Some 24 hours later the mood on the streets of the normally vibrant city was somber.


"Istiklal (Istanbul's main pedestrian thoroughfare) is as crowded as ever today, but there is fear now. People are expecting another explosion could occur at any time," said Ahmet Kerim, 30, whose family gift shop lost its windows in the blast.


Turkey's National Security Council, an advisory body grouping political leaders and influential military commanders, issued a statement on Friday evening after more than five hours of talks.


"International terror will not achieve its aim because our nation and our state are determined to overcome it," said the statement, which also urged global unity against terrorism.


Trade unions announced a series of "peace protests" in major Turkish cities on Saturday to express revulsion at the blasts, which have dented the image of this European Union (news - web sites) candidate on the road to recovery from a 2001 financial crisis.


Expatriates, who are numbered in their thousands in the key financial city bordering Europe and Asia, sounded defiant.


"This is not a September 11 attack. This can happen in Nigeria, America or even Germany," said German Christian Johannes, 33, a partner in a firm working in the energy sector.


HSBC Holdings Plc, Britain's biggest company, said it had resumed service in Turkey despite the blasts. HSBC Bank has about 160 branches in the country.


The HSBC headquarters stood in Istanbul's affluent Levent district, which is dotted with skyscrapers hosting many leading Turkish banks and industrial groups as well as foreign firms.

"This is the heart of the Turkish economy. It is our Wall Street," said banker Hikmet, 32, standing at a police barricade and straining to see the damage inflicted on HSBC by the blast.

CLAIM OF RESPONSIBILITY

A statement apparently from a unit of al Qaeda, the Abu Hafz al-Masri Brigades, and published on the Islamist Web site Al Mujahidoun, said it had carried out the latest attacks. It could not be independently authenticated.

The Abu Hafz claim, in Arabic, said Turkey was targeted because of its membership in the "crusader" NATO alliance and its ties with the "Zionist entity" Israel.

A Turkish group called the Islamic Great Eastern Raiders Front (IBDA-C) has also claimed joint responsibility with al Qaeda for all four Istanbul attacks and warned the network was planning more strikes against the United States and its allies.

Both groups earlier claimed responsibility for the synagogue attacks last Saturday.

Thursday's double strike shocked world markets. Turkish financial markets held their nerve on Friday, with the lira ending slightly firmer though the stock market remained shut. European and U.S. shares recovered some ground. (Additional reporting by Claudia Parsons in Istanbul and Caren Bohan in Sedgefield, England)

[AroundTheWorld]

Many people died and hundreds of innocent people are severely injured.

All of you arguing like petty kids in this thread should be ashamed of yourselves for not showing respect by putting your childish argument above grieving for the innocent people who died in these terrorist attacks.

[Woofer]

Would not have expected this, but the Turkish government actually funded the terrorists, just like the US funded the Taliban. Blowback's a bitch.

Only very top of article excerpted. Link valid for about a week.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8922-2003Nov23.html

Turkish Suspects Tied to Guerrillas
Government's Backing of Islamic Group Arouses Scrutiny After Blasts
By Karl Vick
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, November 24, 2003; Page A01


BINGOL, Turkey, Nov. 23 -- The family of Gokhan Elaltuntas buried him in the dead of night, waiting until 2 a.m. Saturday to inter what bits remained of the soft-eyed young man after he detonated a truckload of fertilizer and petroleum outside an Istanbul synagogue seven days earlier.



"We want to cleanse our surname, because we don't want people to know us as terrorists," said his uncle, Rifat Elaltuntas.

Across town the mother of another suspected bomber, Azad Ekinci, moved out of the apartment where the family had lived for three decades. The family of Mesut Cabuk, whose passport was found in the wreckage outside a second synagogue, remained at home but indisposed. His mother tugged a smiling little boy -- the dead man's son -- through a door she then quietly closed on visiting reporters.

Of the four suspects named in the bombings that traumatized Istanbul, three hailed from this gritty mountain town about 1,000 miles away in Turkey's eastern mountains. Notably religious, each of the suspects bore the markers of Islamic militancy familiar in biographies of suicide bombers, including travel to Pakistan for "religious training."

But in Bingol, many people want answers, not from the shaken families of the accused, but from the government.

Until four years ago, Turkey, a Western-leaning, avowedly secular country, had tacitly encouraged Islamic extremism in this region, judging it a useful tool in a sometimes dirty war against Kurdish separatists. A brutal religious underground group known as Hezbollah received guns from government arsenals, according to official investigations, and several thousand killings widely attributed to the group were officially ignored.

[olliez]

Originally posted by Woofer

Would not have expected this, but the Turkish government
actually funded the terrorists, just like the US funded the Taliban. Blowback's a bitch.
......................



It might be a surprisin news to folks here, but people in Aisa, especially mid-Asia have always known Turkey's close ties with Eastern Islamic Fronts (??). In one of the Chines province, Estern Islamic Fronts openly recruit new bloods, train them in Turkey, provide them with amos (with the backing of Turks government) and carry out bombing, assination, kidnapping....