ISLAMABAD - Authorities in a Pakistani border province plan to arm villagers with 30,000 rifles and set up an elite police unit to protect a region increasingly besieged by Taliban and al-Qaida militants, an official said Sunday.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's Kurdish president backed his Shiite allies Wednesday by openly supporting a militia that Sunni Arab leaders have accused of killing members of their minority.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's Kurdish president backed his Shiite allies Wednesday by openly supporting a militia that Sunni Arab leaders have accused of killing members of their minority.

BAGHDAD - Iraq's leaders faced their gravest challenge in months Tuesday as Shiite militiamen loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr battled government forces for control of the southern oil capital, fought U.S. and Iraqi troops in Baghdad and unleashed rockets on the Green Zone.

Older Arizonans may soon be able to join the state militia -- to the extent it really exists.

The Pinal County Sheriff's Office allowed a Gilbert man and his militia to patrol the desert in Vekol Valley near Casa Grande over the weekend looking for illegal immigrants participating in criminal activities, but stressed it does not condone such militia efforts.

BAGHDAD - Followers of hardline cleric Muqtada al-Sadr raised the stakes Sunday in the showdown with Iraq's government, refusing to disband their militia. The U.S. military said 40 Shiite militants were killed in fierce fighting in southern Iraq.

Despite some contemporary opinion, there is no historical evidence, except for a bit of Thomas Jefferson’s political writings, that the Second Amendment to the Constitution was designed to ensure that Americans could, if necessary, rise to remove a tyrannical government.

In reply to John K. Walker’s letter concerning the Second Amendment.

The murder rampage in Aurora, Colorado, has caused some to conclude that had more people in the movie theater been armed, perhaps 40 people would have been killed, and that the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution “applies to ONLY those people who are in the militias.”

Notice that General Stanley McChrystal does not support private use of assault weapons. And Stan is the authority on counter terrorism. I was on active duty for seven years, was Unit Property Book officer for 5 years in three different units during which time I held all of my units’ weapons locked up safe and secure in my unit arms rooms. So perhaps our Constitution does permit Congress to require that all civilians who would chose to own military style weapons to secure them in a “well regulated” militia’s arms room! Five weapon safes cost less than $300. If that’s good for the active duty geese, it ought to be good for the ganders, too.

The morons on the Right think the answer to violence in America is to arm more people with guns. The shooting in Aurora, Colorado at the Batman movie premiere is a glaring example of why severe gun control is needed. Everyone beLIEves they can carry a gun. What if someone else had a gun and started shooting in the chaos of that smoke-filled theater. Do we need 40 dead and 100-plus wounded? Twelve or more dead and 50 wounded is too many. The punk had four weapons, one being an assault rifle, tear gas, and a bullet-proof vest. The 2nd Amendment does not apply to every American citizen, unless you are in a militia. Those who love their guns and that 2nd Amendment overlook the militia part. Our founding fathers are most likely turning over in their graves with the direction the Republicans are taking this nation. Our nation is destroying itself through laws that are supposed to protect us. We as a nation — well our politicians on the Right care more about war and the world, than our own people at home. We need to fix our problems before we solve the world’s. Our first fix should be gun control. I’m sure the hate mail will come rolling in if this gets published. So be it. It’s still America, and free speech reigns supreme. Read the 2nd Amendment. Rather, I’ll include it for you all to read. “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

second amendment

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Residents of central Somalia said Thursday that hundreds of Ethiopian troops were patrolling the town of Baidoa in armored vehicles, less than a day after Islamic militants moved near the base of the weak, U.N.-backed government.

In the Bill of Rights, the 2nd Amendment states “Being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” Here we learn that we have a constitutional right to own and carry guns, but with this right comes a big responsibility.

The egomaniacal Shiite Muslim cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, is another Saddam Hussein in the making, and to suppose you could keep hands off this man while he instigates militia violence is absurd.

About Will Durst’s mistaken column about gun control and Senator Diane Feinstein’s rants about assault rifles — what does the 2nd Amendment have to do with hunting or target shooting? Nothing. What does it have to do with citizens defending themselves against a government-controlled militia? EVERYTHING! Just ask the successful Viet Cong, the Cambodian Khmer Rouge, the Taliban, and lots of other grassroots insurgencies. The Founding Fathers knew that, and so do a high percentage of US voters.

In reference to the guest commentary by Bob Beane in the Aug. 22 issue: What makes the opinion of the Second Amendment of a bicycle riding accountant worthy of consideration in a guest commentary? Is he an acquaintance of someone on the paper?

State senators voted Thursday to set up an all-volunteer Homeland Security Force separate from the Arizona National Guard. But exactly who could join and what they would do wasn’t specified.

I have resided in Phoenix since 2004. As an Arizonan, and a Jew, I am appalled at the Republican Senators who allowed avowed anti-Semite, and purported racist, Glenn Spencer to testify before an Arizona Senate committee on March 1.

Let’s face it, the nation’s founders didn’t create the Second Amendment to allow people to kill defenseless, unarmed school children.

It has been reported Senators Adam Driggs and John McComish are preventing SB1112, The 2nd Amendment Preservation Bill, from consideration by the full Senate.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraqi forces backed by U.S. aircraft battled militants Friday in a Shiite stronghold of eastern Baghdad, killing or wounding more than 30 fighters and capturing an extremist leader who was the target of the raid, Iraqi and U.S. officials said.

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The Islamist forces who have controlled Somalia's capital for months abandoned the city Thursday after government forces advanced to within striking distance. Looting broke out and clan leaders called for calm.