They are terrorists, their accusations are irrelevant.
Bruce Tamil Tigers accuse American Marines of spying * US Embassy spokesman says change of plan was function of allocating right resources [AP 06 January 2005] COLOMBO: Two ships full of Marines and heavy equipment steaming towards Sri Lanka were diverted due to reduced need for aid, officials said, and instead bolstered the US task force off western Sumatra, the area hardest-hit by last week's tsunami. But the highly sensitive nature of the US relief mission in southern Asia was highlighted when a spokesman for Sri Lanka's rebels, the Tamil Tigers - considered a terrorist organisation by Washington - said on Tuesday that the troops were being sent as spies to help put down their insurgency. US officials insisted that the diversion of two ships had nothing to do with the Tamil Tigers' allegations, and that rerouting the USS Bonhomme Richard and the USS Duluth followed the Sri Lankan government scaling down its request for help. The ships will join the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and its battle group off the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where Navy helicopters have flown dozens of relief and evacuation missions. The USS Mount Rushmore, carrying a smaller contingent of Marines, will travel on to Sri Lanka alone. It was expected to cross the Indian Ocean by the weekend. US Embassy spokesman Philip Frayne said the change of plans was "purely a function of allocating the right resources in the right place." "The military presence is strictly for humanitarian purposes," Frayne said. "The military will be operating in the south of the country to clear rubble and rebuild infrastructure and help Sri Lankans to recover from the tragedy." But a Tamil rebel leader claimed that American troops, and those from neighbouring India, being sent to help in the relief effort might use the operation as a cover to spy on the rebels, handing over intelligence to the government to help it fight the insurgents. "The attempt by the American and Indian troops to land in Sri Lanka ... is totally based on their political and military interests," Nallathamby Srikantha told Voice of Tigers radio, the official rebel mouthpiece. The United States and India both officially consider the Tamil Tigers, which control a large portion of Sri Lanka's north and east, to be a terrorist group. ap http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_6-1-2005_pg4_18 ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Give underprivileged students the materials they need to learn. Bring education to life by funding a specific classroom project. http://us.click.yahoo.com/FHLuJD/_WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
