#1
Time to buy up real estate in the Yeongi-Kongju area!
Posted by: Dar ||
08/11/2004 9:46 Comments ||
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#2
The $45bn move is designed to reduce Seoul's overcrowding and economic dominance over the rest of South Korea.
Would those ten thousand NK artillery pieces that have Seoul within range also have anything to do with this? Self preservation is the main watchword of government hacks everywhere.
#4
tu: Would those ten thousand NK artillery pieces that have Seoul within range also have anything to do with this? Self preservation is the main watchword of government hacks everywhere.
These guys have been taking advantage of American support for far too long. South Vietnam located its capital in Saigon, at the southern edge of the country, rather than at Hue, the traditional imperial capital, in the north. West Germany located its capital in Bonn, in the western part of the country, rather than in Berlin, surrounded by East German territory. But the South Koreans have kept their capital in Seoul. I suspect they are making this move in recognition of the fact that North Korea will eventually do its thing, and Uncle Sam won't be around to bail them out. Good.
Posted by: Formerly Dan ||
08/11/2004 12:33 Comments ||
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#6
I suggest that the S Kors design their new capital to withstand WMD attacks and artillery barrages. Blast-resistant or underground buildings, dispersed along a line perpendicular to the prevailing winds, filtered air handling systems, positive air pressure, emergency power generators with 30 days of fuel, EMP shielding, the latest bio and chem aerosol cloud detectors, etc.
#10
If something goes down in SK, it will be sooner not later...this move is going to take years and years.
The South Koreans should have thought of this 40 years ago.
Too bad. So sad.
Families of Japanese troops deployed in Iraq are having a hard time picking things to send to their loved ones because they cannot send items that violate Islamic law, such as alcohol, magazines with photos of women in swimsuits, and even instant noodles with pork-based ingredients. According to a manual distributed by the Ground Self-Defense Force to families in late July, magazines and videotapes containing images of women in swimsuits are forbidden. All personal videotapes are viewed by customs and any pornography could result in confiscation and even a penalty. The manual also suggests that families black out labels on boxes when sending items carrying well-known brand names, such as Sony and Toshiba, to avoid the parcels from being stolen.
Posted by: TS(vice girl) ||
08/11/2004 9:18:20 AM ||
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#1
They ought to try to send pictures of Islamist erotica instead. Like pictures of goats with shaved asses.
#2
I used to get mail subscribed materials after they had been "reviewed" too. The Saudis employed an army of Pakistanis and Indians and gave them an unlimited supply of black Magic Markers. Magazines and such had pages blacked out (advertising - sex sells) so heavily that multiple pages were forever stuck together. Catalogs had entire sections ripped out - women's clothing and such. Even album covers and tape labels were subject to the Magic Marker treatment. It's simply fucking insane. Make that "Islam is simply fucking insane."
Blacking out the labels won't stop theft - it will heighten curiosity - re-box in another box which has an uninteresting label, like canned goods. I had both incoming and outgoing mail and parcels stolen regularly during my first tour (92-93) in SA. It finally stopped, in my second tour, when I started using TNT - not available before - a shipping service similar to DHL / FedEx. I feel for the families, it's expensive as hell to have only about 40%-50% of your shipments get through - that was my average in SA - I hope they are faring better.
#6
The manual also suggests that families black out labels on boxes when sending items carrying well-known brand names, such as Sony and Toshiba, to avoid the parcels from being stolen.
Maybe someone should conspire with some Japanese individual and fill up a box marked "Panasonic" with pig shit and try shipping it. I'm sure the thieves would get a nice little surprise.
After WWII, the world recoiled in horror at the revelations of the Nuremberg trials and endless film from the death camps. Some of the most revolting pieces of evidence against both the Nazis and the Japanese were the so-called "medical experiments" that were conducted against helpless prisoners. These involved all manner of horrors including testing for effectiveness of diseases and poison gasses. In consequence, international treaties were crafted outlawing use of poison gas for military purposes and against civilian populations and resolutions were passed regarding genocide and mass murder. Never again! So the world said.
But today reports indicate that these despicable experiments continue, hidden in remote, inaccessible North Korea. Much of the credit for publicizing this evidence belongs to acclaimed BBC producer Ewa Ewart, who has released two films on the subject. One, a standard length documentary titled Access to Evil, was screened on Capitol Hill in June and shown on BBC World. The second is a brief, follow-up piece featuring an interview with a defector scientist. Unfortunately neither film has yet been made available for US viewers. Yet it is critically important that Americans understand and appreciate the depth of the horror uncovered.
The experimentation, according to defectors, is designed to forecast exactly how much lethal agent would be required to kill the entire population of Seoul, South Korea. By current estimates that would mean the death or incapacitation of approximately 14 million people. Incredibly many people, including those most concerned, debunk these defectors' testimony. It is common, they say, for North Korean defectors to 'exaggerate' or 'misstate' what they heard or did. In a bizarre twist some South Korean analysts claim that the poison gas experiment stories are intentionally leaked by North Korea in order to use them as additional fear-producing control measures against its own citizens.
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Posted by: tipper ||
08/11/2004 6:02:12 AM ||
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This is why we will fight the next war from Tae'gu (100 miles south of Seoul) or maybe even be completely withdrawn.
General Tommy Franks did what many others do when he visited Bondi -- home suburb of Tim Blair and James Morrow -- got shitfaced.
General Franks revealed in his book he was so confident of Australia's support in Iraq that he told President George W. Bush Canberra could be counted on even if the US made a "unilateral" decision to go to war. He admitted he almost decided to move to Australia after falling in love with Bondi, beer and "beach sheilas" during an R&R break from the Vietnam War -- but then "I sobered up".
#4
Isn't Sydney the, uh, "alternative lifestyle" capital of the world these days?
Posted by: Chris W. ||
08/11/2004 10:42 Comments ||
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#5
Isn't Sydney the, uh, "alternative lifestyle" capital of the world these days?
If one wanders around Oxford St then that sort of thing might be observed. Personally I stay away from there. I always liked the north area myself (Mosman, Lane Cove, Ryde, and Manly, not to mention Pittwater), and a few select places on the south side, such as Balmain, Glebe, Clovelly, Maroubra, and Coogee.
Tuesday, August 10, 2004 Posted: 10:51 AM EDT (1451 GMT) BERLIN, Germany (AP) -- Libya agreed Tuesday to pay $35 million in compensation for victims of a 1986 bombing in Berlin that killed three people and injured 229 others, the Libyan ambassador to Germany said. What's the interest on $35,000,000 over almost 20 years?
The deal came in negotiations in Berlin between Libyan officials and lawyers for German victims of the bombing at the La Belle disco, Ambassador Said Abdulaati told The Associated Press. "This is a good step," he said. He said the deal applies to Germans who were wounded in the April 5, 1986 attack and the family of a Turkish woman who was killed, but not to two U.S. servicemen who also died in the explosion. A German lawyer involved in the talks also said the two sides had settled. "I can confirm that there has been a settlement for $35 million in the La Belle case," Sven Leistikow told The Associated Press by telephone. The latest talks were held at a secret location in Berlin due to bomb threats.
La Belle was a hangout for U.S. soldiers when they were stationed in West Berlin during the city's Cold War division. A Berlin court ruled in 2001 that the bombing was organized by the Libyan secret service and aided by the Libyan Embassy in then-communist East Berlin. It convicted four people of carrying out the bombing, and a federal court upheld their sentences last month. Libya's recent settling of the Pan Am and UTA airliner bombing cases -- part of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's effort to end his country's pariah status -- had raised expectations of compensation for the La Belle bombing. Ghadafi's potential complicity in some of the African genocides make his re-entry into the fold a really bad idea. Once again, America will be perceived as propping up another regional tinpot dictator. Concessions regarding the installation of a democracy and other binding agreements would have been a much wiser move.
Posted by: Zenster ||
08/11/2004 1:12:57 AM ||
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Why don't the Libyans have to pay the families of the two American servicemen that were killed?
One of Pakistan's most influential and religious politicians will travel to Oslo later this month to speak before local Muslims. His party has earlier hailed Osama bin Laden, and he's been denied entry to Belgium and the Netherlands. Norwegian officials, however, appear set to allow him travel to Norway in connection with festivities marking Pakistan's national day on August 14. Norway has a large Pakistani community. The Islamic Cultural Center in Oslo's GrÞnland neighbourhood has invited Qazi Hussain Ahmed, leader of Pakistan's largest religious party, to Oslo. He's scheduled to speak at a religious gathering August 22 and before a Muslim students' organization from the University of Oslo two days later. Interesting links at the link.
Posted by: Seafarious ||
08/11/2004 12:32:47 AM ||
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#1
Any chance he'll fly Air Ukraine?
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/11/2004 0:35 Comments ||
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Time to pick up that load of stolen explosives.
A Bulgarian cracker broke into the website of an Islamist group that claims to have killed two Bulgarian hostages in Iraq and posted a defiant message urging his compatriots to stand firm against terrorism, the daily Bulgarian Monitor reported on Tuesday. "Remain generous, don't be vindictive, whatever the tests to endure," he wrote on the homepage of the Tawhid wal Jihad website, saying that Bulgarians were "chosen by God to bear a noble spirit in this world. Our motto is not an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."
"But keep killing our countrymen and you'll find out why the KGB hired our people to do the dirty work!"
Bulgarian crackers announced last week their intention to "attack" the sites of Islamic extremists threatening Bulgarians with reprisals due to their presence in Iraq. Tawhid wal Jihad's website appeared to be inaccessible on Tuesday.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/11/2004 12:20:06 AM ||
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One of the reasons, the Soviets did not have trouble in Beirut during the 1980s was because they promised to butcher twice as many people as they lost. I guess it takes one to know one.
Posted by: Douglas De Bono ||
08/11/2004 9:12 Comments ||
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From Compass Direct
An apparently deranged young Turk barricaded himself inside the Diyarbakir Evangelical Church in southeast Turkey on July 19, breaking windows and setting fire to curtains, Bibles and cassette tapes until dense smoke finally forced him to surrender to the police. Identified as Medet Arslan, 27, the young man had stopped by the Protestant church that afternoon in Diyarbakir's Lalebey district, where some of the church members offered him tea. As he sat and talked with them, he began to intersperse his conversation with loud quotes of Quranic verses, saying several times that he wanted to become a martyr.
Raising his voice, Arslan began shouting against the mistreatment of Muslims in Iraq, declaring he wanted to kill people and vowing to go to America and fight. Quickly one of the church staff left the fireside room where they were sitting and called the police. Moments later the visitor pulled a long butcher knife out from under his coat and chased after a youth who dashed out of the room, managing to hold the door shut until keys were found to lock the man inside. After several more telephone calls, local police arrived a half-hour later. Arslan barricaded the door, and the police proved unable to reason with the him. Cursing loudly, the man began burning up New Testaments, bookshelves, curtains and whatever else he could find in the room. He also smashed and broke out all the windows in the room.
A fire truck finally came to the scene, where more than 20 police officers had gathered along with local press, but even hosing down Arslan through the windows failed to dissuade him from his standoff. It was only three hours later, when heavy smoke from burning cassette tapes and CDs filled the room, that the attacker begged to be let out of the room and allowed himself to be led away by the police. "After the smoke cleared a little, we went in to find the fireside room charred and burnt books lying around in the water," American Jerry Mattix told Compass. "The walls were black with soot and the stench stifling."
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Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
08/11/2004 12:07:22 AM ||
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" shouting against the mistreatment of Muslims in Iraq, declaring he wanted to kill people "
This is rich - Muslims are doing the mistreatment and killing of each other.
#3
I think the church can apply for compensation at the insurence company if she is insured for fire or get some form of compensation from the municipality. Normally the church should sue the arsonist but I wonder if they can get anything by court from a mentaly deranged person.
Posted by: Murat ||
08/11/2004 5:08 Comments ||
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'mentally deranged' or just fresh out of Quran classes?
Posted by: Howard UK ||
08/11/2004 5:25 Comments ||
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#5
Well if somebody has a history of mental problems he or she is usually classified as 'mentally deranged' Howard, at least here in Turkey.
Posted by: Murat ||
08/11/2004 5:46 Comments ||
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#6
#4 'mentally deranged' or just fresh out of Quran classes?
Posted by: Howard UK 2004-08-11 05:25
Bingo
Posted by: Deb ||
08/11/2004 7:44 Comments ||
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#7
Probably another Fine Product brought to you by the Madrassas of the Religion of Peace.
#11
Murat, my own point was that, as a gesture of reconciliation, it would be a commendable move for local Muslims to organize private compensation. Forgive me if that's not the way I'm betting, however.
President Bush accused Sen. John Kerry on Tuesday of shifting positions on the war with Iraq and, in an unusually personal exchange, told a woman whose brother is headed to Iraq that he doesn't blame her for worrying about his safety. At a rally in Pensacola, Bush noted that his Democratic rival has criticized the war but said Monday that he still would have voted to give Bush the authority to go to war even if he had known that no weapons of mass destruction would be found. Kerry said he doesn't think Bush had adequate plans for winning the war or dealing with its consequences. "Almost two years after he voted for the war in Iraq, and almost 220 days after switching positions to declare himself the anti-war candidate, my opponent has found a new nuance," Bush told a cheering crowd of about 9,000 people. "He now agrees it was the right decision to go into Iraq."
Kerry has consistently said that he does not regret his vote giving Bush the authority to go to war. But Bush advisers want to depict him as a chronic flip-flopper who is not committed to the war on terrorism. Before Bush arrives at each campaign event, audiences are shown a video, produced by the Republican National Committee, tracing what it describes as a history of Kerry reversals on Iraq.
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#3
These idiots are gonna keep screeching lunacy like this and eventually some whack-job is gonna act on it resulting in injury or death. ....and they'll still blame Bush.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
08/11/2004 16:03 Comments ||
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#4
"Disappointed Office Seeker Shot By President"? Why didn't I think of that?
Posted by: James A. Garfield ||
08/11/2004 16:05 Comments ||
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#10
#6 Gavrilo my boy, thanks for coming, your insight and experience could be valuable here.
In the 20s a German newspaper ran a contest for the most sensational possible headline. Most of the entries dealt with things like the Second Coming or a Martian invasion, but the winner was
"Arch-Duke Franz Ferdinand Alive! World War Fought by Mistake."
#11
This raises a legitimate procedural question though. If a candidate dies after the nomination but before the election, who takes his place and how is this decided?
#12
Our own informal poll:
If JFin' croaks before the election, for whatever reason, who would be the most appropriate replacement?
Michael Moore
Ramsey Clark
Cynthia McKinney
Hillary Clinton
Osama bin Laden (no, not eligible)
Noam Chomsky
Al Sharpton
That other John, whatisname? and who would take his place as spare baggage running mate?
Given the feverish outbreak of moonbattery that would follow such an unfortunate event, I think big Al would be the best choice for most Dems. He is credulous, garrulous, has great experience espousing lunatic conspiracy theories, and also benefits from a special media license to act like a fool without penalty.
America's largest synagogue movement is urging the White House to step up its peace efforts in the Middle East and criticizing Congress for passing one-sided pro-Israel resolutions....
Posted by: mhw ||
08/11/2004 11:42:13 AM ||
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The bottom line here is that liberals never learn.
Even though Israleis get whacked by Islamic throwbacks constantly, there is a pacifist PC element that always wants to "understand" the terrorists.
More "Why do they hate us?" syndrome suffering. That's all...
#3
It was only recently (in the last 10 years or so, IIUC) that the Reform movement even admitted that as Jews they might have a connection to Israel. One of the bases of the movement in this country was "Jewish Americans, not American Jews."
I don't get it, but for my parents antisemitism meant a bit more than name calling.
#4
tw - im quite sure the centenial platform, in 1978 (?) recongized a role for Israel in Judaism, though i dont have it handy. And certainly prior to that individual Reform rabbis played an active role as Zionists, notably R. Steven Wise and R. Abba Hillel Silver.
Note, I am NOT now Reform, but theyre not as bad as theyre made out to be.
#5
What does that mean, TOO pro-Israel? That Bush and Congress won't listen to criticism on Israeli policy? Maybe these "reformers" need to think about that a bit. Maybe they need to examine whether what they are saying is sensible, realistic, and constructive, and whether it applies the same standards for self-defense for Israel as apply to the US. Americans will never accept the intifada as legitimate resistance or political expression-it is simply a self-congratulating excuse for murdering a people. If the reformers want a more sympathetic ear in Congress and with Bush, they need to push Palestinians to bear their part of the burden in the Peace Plan by ending all suicide bombings. Until then, we can't hear you.
#8
OCR orthodox-conservative-reform = the vicioous flamewars that were consuming soc.culture.judaism, and, IIRC helped lead to the formation of soc.culture.judaism.moderated.
#10
Sounds like "Catholic American" versus "American Catholic" ...
Posted by: Edward Yee ||
08/11/2004 16:45 Comments ||
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#11
Liberal Hawk -- I spoke with the rabbi this afternoon (#2 daughter's bat mitvah is now on the calendar!) and she said the Reform movement accepted Zionism 30-40 years ago, so you are probably right. Just for the record, I'm not Reform either -- reared as a freethinker in a Conservative synagogue -- but that's where my non-Jewish husband is most comfortable. He sings the Hebrew prayers most beautifully, and knows more about the religion than many of the "natives."
For the rest a very brief and incomplete summary, with no insult intended, so please don't anyone get mad, ok? In chronological order:
Orthodox: original rabbinic Judaism, going back to before Jesus. Kosher means separate dishes for meat and milk, walk to synagogue on the Sabbath, the most rigorous Hebrew School with an emphasis on Bible and Talmud studies. Charity and good works required by God, both within the community and in the wider world.
Chassid: East European ultra orthodox mystics, the ones in NYC with the side curls and black coats, their wives wear wigs, they are a good hearted cult in my humble opinion, but happy. Make available to outsiders free Hebrew School for the kids, matzah at Passover, invite all to join them for services at the synagogue, Sabbath and holiday dinners.
Reform: reject the "unnecessary hedge of customs" that had grown up over the centuries. Pray in the local language, only started teaching the kids Hebrew in this generation, for a long time refused any connection to Israel. Started in the 19th century in Germany, but blossomed here, where I understand it is the largest branch of Judaism. Fond of bacon and lobster with drawn butter in a restaurant for lunch on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement, when Jews are supposed to fast). Tikkun Olam (healing the world) is their watchword, which plays neatly into a liberal outlook.
Conservative: American compromise between the Orthodox and Reform. Modern Hebrew taught for reading Israeli poetry/prose as well as Bible and prayers, Zionist, kosher more likely means just not eating things like pork and shellfish, or separate meat/milk dishes at home but pork chops in a restaurant (no, I can't explain it!). Again charity and good works not just required but expected.
Then there are the Reconstructionists (a 60's movement like unto the Unitarians), Jewish agnostics (happy to argue with God until He proves that He does or does not exist), "Born-again" Jewish Christians (they think they are still Jewish, we disagree), Jewish atheists (they think....as above), and then we get to the real splinter groups!
If you have any questions, Jarhead has been reading Diamont on the subject, and probably knows more than I do by now, so ask him ;-)
Rep. Porter Goss, R-Fla., nominated by President Bush Tuesday to be the new director of central intelligence, is resigning as chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, United Press International has learned. In a move designed to placate critics who have questioned his commitment to intelligence reform and promised him a rough ride in confirmation hearings, Goss "has sent a letter tonight to the Speaker (of the House) temporarily resigning his chairmanship, pending his confirmation," an aide who asked not to be named told UPI Tuesday evening.
#2
critics who have questioned his commitment to intelligence reform and promised him a rough ride in confirmation hearings
This is great! Thanks for another great stick to beat you with, Dems! The GOP should beat this issue like a drum: Democrats are once again playing politics with the very intelligence agency which had been hammered in the wake of the 9/11 investigations. Bush puts up a good man, and the Dems are once again dragging their feet. Even if not one of the unnamed critics is up for re-election in '04, the GOP needs to hammer this point home in the simplest possible language.
EFL.More Dimbo bullshit. Also a nice hack job on Goss by the AP.
President Bush's nomination of Rep. Porter Goss as the next CIA director could lead to tense confirmation hearings, with plenty of questions about the president's national security record and goals, just weeks before the Nov. 2 election. Even as some Democrats praised the nomination of Goss, R-Fla., who gave up his role Tuesday as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, others criticized him as inappropriately partisan for a job that requires relaying objective advice to policy makers. "You must keep the politics out of intelligence," said House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California. "I'm not sure that has been done here." Nancy's a walking example of keeping the intelligence out of politics...
"The selection of a politician — any politician from either party — is a mistake," said Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee. "Having independent, objective intelligence going to the president and the Congress is fundamental to America's national security." Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat who is a member of the Intelligence Committee, said, "I believe the White House may be playing this with a political angle. If they are, it's unfortunate. We still have a responsibility, despite the elections, to ask the hard questions." Those hard questions. Can't they hire another ex-Clinton guy? Stansfield Turner isn't doing much these days. What about him?
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told ABC's "Good Morning America" that Goss "has shown not only the ability but the willingness to point out the failures that existed in our intelligence agencies prior to 9/11." Bush praised Goss, a former CIA officer, as someone who "knows the CIA inside and out" and said he was "the right man to lead this important agency at this critical moment in our nation's history." And now...the hack job:
Goss is one of the wealthiest members of Congress, with assets worth between $6 million and $24 million last year. His biggest holdings included $1 million to $5 million worth of shares each in IBM, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and General Electric Co. He's evil! He's rich! He owns Wal-Mart stock! No mention of Halliburton. We'll keep digging... Continued on Page 49
#1
I was listening to the 5-minute on the hour radio news from ABC news on my car radio when a story announced the nomination of Goss to the CIA. The second thing they did after the announcement was to get Stansfield Turner on and tell why Goss is bad. They did not even give any background on the guy. Nice balanced reporting. Ass-hats.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/11/2004 12:21 Comments ||
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#2
Just 2 months ago, Pelosi sadi she'd suport Goss if nominated and gave a glowing account of his credentials. Yesterday, she dismissed him as a partisan hack...and she talks about leaving politics out the decision. Ahem, Ms Pelosi? STFU!
#3
Just 2 months ago, Pelosi sadi she'd suport Goss if nominated and gave a glowing account of his credentials. Yesterday, she dismissed him as a partisan hack...and she talks about leaving politics out the decision. Ahem, Ms Pelosi? STFU!
#4
Goss is one of the wealthiest members of Congress, with assets worth between $6 million and $24 million last year. His biggest holdings included $1 million to $5 million worth of shares each in IBM, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and General Electric Co.
How often does the press play up Kerry's wealth? Compared to Kerry, this guy's a fricking pauper, but the wording here is intended to make him look like the guy from Monopoly.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
08/11/2004 13:26 Comments ||
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#5
Natural Dhimmicrat extension: ABBN - Anybody But Bush's Nominee
#6
Democrats beware: playing a political game with the CIA director's confirmation hearings will hand the GOP another big, honking stick to beat you with in Senate races across the country.
#10
A6044: What I need to know is: is he "Skull and Bones"? I'll guess in the affirmative.
Dunno. The guy was a Yale graduate during an era when the CIA still recruited mostly from elite Ivy League schools - before patriotism became a dirty word with that set. No one knows for sure whether the guy was a member of Skull and Bones.
EFL: Citing concerns about terrorists crossing the nation's land borders, the Department of Homeland Security announced today that it planned to give border patrol agents sweeping new powers to deport illegal aliens from the frontiers abutting Mexico and Canada without providing the aliens the opportunity to make their case before an immigration judge. The move, which will take effect this month, represents a broad expansion of the authority of the thousands of law enforcement agents who currently patrol the nation's borders. Until now, border patrol agents typically delivered undocumented immigrants to the custody of the immigration courts, where judges determined whether they should be deported or remain in the United States.
Homeland Security officials described the immigration courts — which hear pleas for asylum and other appeals to remain in the country — as sluggish and cumbersome, saying illegal immigrants often wait more than a year before being deported, straining the capacity of detention centers and draining critical resources. Under the new system, immigrants will typically be deported within eight days of their apprehension, officials said. Immigration legislation passed in 1996 allows the immigration service to deport certain groups of illegal aliens without judicial oversight, but until now the agency only permitted officials at the nation's airports and seaports to do so. The new rule will apply to illegal aliens caught within 100 miles of the Mexican and Canadian borders who have spent 14 days or less within the United States. The border agents will focus on deporting third-country nationals, rather than Mexicans or Canadians, and they are expected to begin exercising their new powers on Aug. 24 in Tucson and Laredo, Tex.
It's a start.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/11/2004 9:21:43 AM ||
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"Third-country nationals", so if you're an AQ hard boy with a Canadian or Mexican passport, feel free to stay.
Yeah, it's a start... I guess we should be thankful for that at least.
Posted by: Dar ||
08/11/2004 9:49 Comments ||
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#2
The border agents will focus on deporting third-country nationals, rather than Mexicans or Canadians,..
Like I commented on yesterday's similar post, this is bullshit, and ANY illegal aliens that are found, regardless of where they came from needs to be deported immediately, no questions asked.
#3
Bomb, As I pointed out yesterday -- Isn't this also 'racial profiling'?
I agree, all illegals should be immediately deported - no questions asked - no immigration court (i.e. free pass) because they happen to have made it over the border. Load them on a bus and ship them over the border.
#4
Well, last I heard there are no such thing as Mexican terrorists. Just a bunch of gardeners, farm workers, fast food workers, etc. But I think we should definitely watch for Muslims/Middle Easterners/non-Hispanics.
#5
So how do we give the politicians cover? The majority of US citizens want to eject illegal immigrants but every politician who supports kicking âem out is tarred as a âracistâ. The few people who do speak out often make the matter worse because there is often evidence that they are racist.
Unless non-racist citizen groups come out against illegal immigration the politicians wonât have the political cover they need to enforce the laws.
I suspect change will have to come from the grassroot level. Locals will have to demand that the local and state police enforce immigration law. Deporting felons and gangbangers would be a great start.
I suppose, although it would be working in reverse. Latinos and Canucks are ignored while everybody else gets the quick boot.
Well, last I heard there are no such thing as Mexican terrorists. Just a bunch of gardeners, farm workers, fast food workers, etc.
A terror threat resulting from a border crossing is an outgrowth of the original problem, which is a border THAT IS NOT BEING ENFORCED. I don't give a rat's ass if Mexicans come here to grow stuff for looks or food, or to work at fast food joints (a lot of them don't seem to understand special requests anyway, which makes them of little value other than being ready cheap labor). They don't belong here, and if they want to be here, they need to get in line like everyone else and take their chances.
So how do we give the politicians cover? The majority of US citizens want to eject illegal immigrants but every politician who supports kicking âem out is tarred as a âracistâ.
That's easy - the typical arguments have to be countered. And the typical argument given is "Illegal immgirants do jobs that Americans won't do".
Bullshit. In order to attract non-illegals to do those jobs, employers have to raise wage rates to a point where it makes economical sense for people to do that kind of work, instead of dispensing the pittance now that results in illegal aliens doing that kind of work exclusively. Sure, it might make the resulting product/service more expensive, but that's the reality of things. If someone came right out and said this instead of trying to tiptoe around the subject, I'd bet that a lot of support would be forthcoming.
#8
This laws is fricken weak and I agree w/BAR. Kick them all the hell out. BTW - if the politicians can't take the heat & do what's right for the country then they need to leave office pronto & let somebody else w/the ballz to the job in.
#10
The laws are there. We just need to ENFORCE them. This is very small first step, but is a first step.
Next is to revamp (or dump the current judges on) the immigration courts, which give them a basic free pass, and start streamlining the enforcement process so we can ship them back faster.
From The New York Times, an opinion article by Nicholas Kristof
.... Graham Allison, a Harvard professor [author of a] terrifying new book, Nuclear Terrorism, ... writes that on Oct. 11, 2001, exactly a month after 9/11, aides told President Bush that a C.I.A. source code-named Dragonfire had reported that Al Qaeda had obtained a 10-kiloton nuclear weapon and smuggled it into New York City. The C.I.A. found the report plausible. The weapon had supposedly been stolen from Russia, which indeed has many 10-kiloton weapons. Russia is reported to have lost some of its nuclear materials, and Al Qaeda has mounted a determined effort to get or make such a weapon. And the C.I.A. had picked up Al Qaeda chatter about an "American Hiroshima." President Bush dispatched nuclear experts to New York to search for the weapon and sent Dick Cheney and other officials out of town to ensure the continuity of government in case a weapon exploded in Washington instead. But to avoid panic, the White House told no one in New York City, not even Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Dragonfire's report was wrong, but similar reports - that Al Qaeda has its hands on a nuclear weapon from the former Soviet Union - have regularly surfaced in the intelligence community, even though such a report has never been confirmed. We do know several troubling things: Al Qaeda negotiated for a $1.5 million purchase of uranium (apparently of South African origin) from a retired Sudanese cabinet minister; its envoys traveled repeatedly to Central Asia to buy weapons-grade nuclear materials; and Osama bin Laden's top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, boasted, "We sent our people to Moscow, to Tashkent, to other Central Asian states, and they negotiated, and we purchased some suitcase [nuclear] bombs." ....
William Perry, the former secretary of defense, says there is an even chance of a nuclear terror strike within this decade - that is, in the next six years. "We're racing toward unprecedented catastrophe," Mr. Perry warns. "This is preventable, but we're not doing the things that could prevent it." ....
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
08/11/2004 8:19:22 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
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#1
As it stands, this article is pure political attack on the current administration.
1) Perry gives no backup for his assertion that we are not doing the necessary things to prevent such an attack. In fact, many steps have been taken to deploy sensors that can scan incoming cargo containers, for instance. Is it enough to be certain we don't get hit? Probably not -- for one thing, these sensors were designed and tested quickly and are being built as fast as possible, but it takes time to do so. More to the point, I doubt we can afford what it would take to be certain ... that would amount to shutting down trade, for one thing. So what is at stake is a question of priorities and risk / return tradeoffs - a subject open to different opinions among reasonable and informed people, but not what this article does.
b) As has been said more than once here, it's not at all clear that a Soviet-era suitcase nuke is likely to be in operable condition. Theoretically, if it was tended by a knowledgeable techician with suitable tools and materials, it might be possible. And certainly there are ex-Soviet engineers and technicians willing to sell their services in light of little employment at home. but for this to work the suitcase nukes would have needed to be under this sort of maintenance since their first manufacture and on a regular basis while they are in storage / hiding . Again, possible, but not nearly as cut and dry a threat as the article suggests.
What is so damned frustrating about these issues is that a) there is no single right answer - it's a matter of which risk you think is less likely to bite us and what resources you can deploy - and b) not one of us in the public sphere (and that includes Perry) really knows what the intel currently shows or what has been put in place so far for detection / protection.
Does that mean I am confident we won't be hit? Not at all. Does it mean I think the current administration has called each shot right? Hindsight being 20-20, no doubt we'll find out they didn't.
But it does mean that an article like this is deliberate partisan manipulation of public fears masquerading as a news piece.
#2
Al-Qaida DOES NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I am 100% certain of this for one reason: if they got one they would use it as soon as possible. They would not hesitate to use it. Furthermore they would have to kill to get one, or build one themselves, which they takes a level of sophistication & an amount of resources that they don't possess. I don't believe there are people on this planet that would sell Al-Qaida a nuclear weapon because they would know that they were going to use it for sure and that whoever was on the recieving end of it would hunt anyone involved down and kill them. 50 million dollars is useless if you're not alive to spend it. Besides, I think even the vast majority of the most unsavory characters (thieves, liars, killers, criminals, etc.) have moral misgivings about the detonation of a nuclear device in a modern city. No one would want that on their conscious and it would bring down heat on them like never before seen. It would take a confluence of special circumstances & events (a "perfect storm") such as an extremely large amount of money & a particularly selfish, immoral, remorseless & stupid/suicidal seller/provider of the weapon. So the only realistic way that they would come upon such a weapon would be to take it by force. They would have to amass quite a large strike force and spirit it out of the country quickly. But the response would be unprecedented. If America heard that a nuclear weapon was taken by Islamic militants by force in a given country, we would frickin' invade the country and search house to house until we found it...And least I hope so. I would expect nothing less than the deployement of all 1 million plus soldiers in our arsenal to comb the frickin place. That's what we oughtta do in Afghanistan/Pakistan to find OBL. Just amass 350,000 men and walk arm to arm from Mazar-i-Sharif south to India until we find his ass!
#3
Well said, rkb! The question we need to start asking is WHY is the media so willing to act in such a Soviet/Nazi propaganda-like manner?
Is it just to get Kerry elected? But then you have to ask WHY they want KERRY to be elected. Obviously, the Soviets and the Naziâs picked the candidates that were loyal to their cause (ie: puppets) and sold them to the people. So it seems less a question of whether they are loyal to Kerry than Kerry is loyal to them.
How is it that the only mainstream media news that hits the airwaves is destructive to our society and security. We need to start asking the question of WHO is funding the propaganda that we are daily bombarded with. Iâm beginning to question whether it is the leftist ideologues who drive this destructive agenda or whether those with a destructive agenda are elevating the discourse of the ideologues
#6
Graham Allison is one of those bait-and-switch liberals who sound hawkish while advocating appeasement as the answer to every problem. When action is proposed in one area, they will switch the subject to another area which they claim as more dangerous, but is essentially not susceptible to resolution using anything we have in our arsenal. This is how liberals stall for time in order to help our enemies get stronger.
If al Qaeda had a nuke in-country, they would have detonated it by now. The risk of discovery is too high - these guys are on foreign territory - and every move of theirs is conspicuous. If they're sheltered by local Muslims, there are very few who would agree to having all their friends and family killed. Even though support for the jihad is high among Muslims, most Muslims think other Muslims should fight the Great Satan, given the self-evident justice, in their eyes, of the cause. The whole Kristof article is a hatchet job that sounds hawkish, while advocating action against the strongest of our enemies. The reality is this - when the Russian armies wanted to undermine the Axis war machine on the Eastern Front, it went after the Italians, the Romanians and the Hungarians first, not the German army itself. Thus, going after Iraq first was the right choice, regardless of Graham Allison's delusions of himself as some kind of strategist, rather than a glorified historian. Allison can write, but he's a better writer than he is either a historion or a strategist.
#7
It is hard to build, buy or transport a nuke while looking for RPVs over your shoulder. You never quite know when or when a Hellfire will turn you and your crew into a burning red mist.
Al Qaeda has been rocked back on their heels and they are unlikely to put togeether anything more terrifuing than one of their weddings. They are shitting in the their own backyard while using the net the scare leftists into these ridiculous missives.
#8
Speaking of container ships, I'm more concerned about perfectly non-nuclear fertilizer containers being lit off, a la Texas City in 1947, but in a coordinated way.
#9
Any one else here think Graham Allison just read the dust cover on Tom Clancy's "The Sum of All Fears"?
Follow me here:
1. Dragonfire <-> (SoAF)Spinnaker
2. 10k yield <-> (SoAF)15k yield
3. missing Russian nuke <-> (SoAF)setup to look like missing Russian nuke
4. Arab/Islamic terrrorist <-> ok, that one's definitely in the public domain but you get my point.
#10
"But then you have to ask WHY they want KERRY to be elected."
The underlings of the media (reporters, editors, support staff) believe in the liberal "cause" so they're backing Kerry, and besides, the publishers have ordered them to. Secondly, the publishers know that Kerry will fuck things up when he's elected, and that means there will be more sensational news coverage, which sells papers and air time. To them, Kerry = $$$.
Most media outlets are kind of like most insurance companies--it'd be so great if they did the right thing, but they exist to make a profit, and that's their bottom line. They are businesses first, and foremost, and do what they think will make them money. Everything else is dispensable. The whole "watchdog" on government media ideal is easily sacrificed by publishers who feel it won't increase their profits.
#11
ex-lib: The underlings of the media (reporters, editors, support staff) believe in the liberal "cause" so they're backing Kerry, and besides, the publishers have ordered them to.
I think you can stop right here. Most reporters are liberals. Most people in the publishing business are liberals. I don't think there's any business angle at all - in fact, they are acting against their own business interests. Look at how Fox News is siphoning away audience share from CNN and MSNBC. It's pretty clear that balanced coverage works - but they don't care - it's not about the money - it's about the ideology. And the bias is actually unconscious - a product of the liberal cocoon they live in. As Bernard Goldberg (in his expose of liberalism at CBS) put it - they don't even see their views as liberal - they think that these are moderate views that any right-thinking person should hold.
#12
As mentioned in the first reply by rkb:
IF AL QAEDA HAD A NUCLEAR DEVICE, THEY'D ALREADY HAVE USED IT.
The terrorists are not saving one for a "rainy day." Atom bombs are maintenance intensive pieces of equipment that al Qaeda has neither the expertise, facilities nor equipment to fabricate, service or refurbish. Once in possession of one, they would immediately deploy it before its "best by" date expired.
Equally so, as Kentucky Beef elaborated upon, America will not just take out whatever country harbors those who commit this atrocity, we will then go after the purveyors of said device and reduce them to smoking glass as well. All fissile material has an isotopic fingerprint that can be traced back to an individual breeder reactor. If we are not able to identify the specific fingerprint, it will merely mean that the material came from a very few countries that have not submitted analytic samples. That would be North Korea, Pakistan and, maybe, Israel.
After being attacked with a device whose ancestry we cannot trace, it would be a safe bet that Pakistan and North Korea would be glow-in-the-dark playgrounds for hot neutrons. Any other country we could trace a terrorist device to would probably meet the same fate.
While this in no way assures that terrorists are deterred from attempting a nuclear attack, it certainly discourages most rational people from providing them with one. This is why halting Iran's weapons development drive is so critical. They will neither provide fingerprint samples nor have any compunctions about handing off bombs to the highest bidder. The insane Iranian mullahs are the single greatest threat in modern history and must be stopped.
#14
Zenster: If we are not able to identify the specific fingerprint, it will merely mean that the material came from a very few countries that have not submitted analytic samples. That would be North Korea, Pakistan and, maybe, Israel.
No way Israel can hide anything from us. I expect Israel is crawling with American agents, given that so many Americans have emigrated there.
#15
Zhang Fei, I mentioned Israel only out of a wish to remain accurate. It's North Korea and Pakistan (in that order) that pose the greatest threats as of now. If Iran ever comes online, they will (literally) rocket to the top of our Christmas list.
...Nasir Ahmad al Bahri, known as Abu Jandal, a former Osama Bin Laden bodyguard, interviewed by Al Quds Al Arabi, a London-based, anti-U.S. Arab daily, said last week: "Al-Qaida is no longer an entity but an ideology against America. ... The plan is now to draw the U.S. into a confrontation with all the Islamic peoples. ... Bin Laden and al-Qaida have succeeded in drawing the U.S. into an unequal confrontation, not from a military technology standpoint, but from the ideological aspect. Muslims have now reached the point where they are fed up with the U.S., which lives in prosperity off our nation's resources. I believe the U.S. is heading for its demise. Now that it has found what it wanted, al-Qaida can melt into a new caldron, and a new giant would be reborn, of which al-Qaida would be part. Many of the Islamic world leaders would join it, and the confrontation with the U.S. would be inevitable. Al-Qaida would then not be the leader, but a vanguard army." A veteran of Bosnia and Somalia, Yemeni-born Abu Jandal joined al-Qaida in 1996, the year Bin Laden moved from Sudan to Afghanistan.
The FBI's recent arrests of two imams in Albany following a yearlong sting disclosed their interest in manpads (shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles). But compared to the $100 billion plus the United States spent on intelligence since 9/11, the resources devoted to the FBI's counter-terrorist efforts on the home front are paltry: $1 billion for 2004. Still not much is known about the extent of al-Qaida's sleeper cells in America.
The U.S. government knows more about al-Qaida in Europe, the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia than it does about the self-hating American Muslim admirers of Osama Bin Laden now under the spell of Wahhabi imams. If the most respected member of the Muslim community in Washington, D.C., with easy access to the White House and Congress in the 1990s, can plea bargain his way out of a plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah with over $1 million of Col. Muammar Gadhafi's money, it is a reasonable assumption Abdurahman Alamoudi, a U.S. citizen, is but the tip of the proverbial iceberg. He was on the board of half a dozen "charitable" Muslim foundations in the tri-state region, certified 75 Muslim chaplains for the U.S. Armed Forces, founded and once led the American Muslim Council (AMC), praised by the FBI Director Robert Mueller for its mainstream moderation...
Yet even some of the hard-core apologists for Islamic radicalism may have begun to feel uncomfortable with their bought-and-paid-for Wahhabi agenda. Early in August, the Islamic Saudi Academy (ISA) with campuses in Alexandria and Fairfax, Va., came in for criticism from the Free Muslim Coalition Against Terrorism (www.freemuslims.org), a new group headed by Kamal Nawash. Nawash is a local attorney of Palestinian origin and was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates in 2001 and for the state senate in 2003.
Nawash followed the lead of the Saudi Institute, the independent human rights monitoring center headed by Arabian dissident Ali al-Ahmed (www.saudiinstitute.org), in targeting ISA for indoctrinating its first-grade pupils in the hateful doctrines of Wahhabism. ISA's extremist instruction is not exactly news; the school lost its Virginia accreditation in 2002, and Ali al-Ahmed has been pounding it ever since.
But to the surprise of many, CAIR briefly added its voice to the latest chorus of condemnation. CAIR spokesperson Ibrahim Hooper at first criticized ISA for teaching hatred of Christianity and Judaism, but then backed up and said that while some of the school's curriculum may need changing, it "hardly justified sweeping charges of extremism." Saudi official spokesperson Nail al-Jubeir, brother of the ubiquitous and oleaginous Adel al-Jubeir, reacted with indignation, accusing his fellow-Muslim, Nawash, of⊠bigotry. However, one must admit that for Wahhabis like al-Jubeir and other Saudis, dissenters like Nawash are not necessarily to be considered Muslims at all, and therefore are fair game for all sorts of accusations and threats.
#1
I never agree with Stephen Schwartz. Sure, heâs a great writer and you learn all kinds of things reading him. But the conclusions he draws from the information he provides is always batty.
This article is the perfect example.
Yet even some of the hard-core apologists for Islamic radicalism may have begun to feel uncomfortable with their bought-and-paid-for Wahhabi agenda. Early in August, the Islamic Saudi Academy (ISA) with campuses in Alexandria and Fairfax, Va., came in for criticism from the Free Muslim Coalition Against Terrorism (www.freemuslims.org), a new group headed by Kamal Nawash. Nawash is a local attorney of Palestinian origin and was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates in 2001 and for the state senate in 2003
Hereâs my conclusion, Stephen: The Wahhabi lobby isnât cracking, itâs just throwing another sheepskin on top of itself hoping we wonât notice itâs big ears, pointy nose and sharp teeth.
Posted by: B ||
08/11/2004 10:50 Comments ||
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#2
I consider myself not to be a bigot, but....
Near where I live there is one of these "Islamic Centers". The property backs up to a regular shopping center, with the requisite Supermarlet, McDonalds, Blockbuster Video rental, etc.
Frequently you see some of these wahabis trolling around. They gotta eat, I guess. The "boys" get to dress normally, but at about 13 the girls start their enforced burkazation. So you see burkas in Cypress, Orange County, California, in the Stater Bros parking lot. Um, I am all for religious freedom, but owing to the history of these folks what is in my mind. Woman in a burka in the US. Husband an al-Qaeda. It is now become automatic since not only 9/11, but with events afterwards as well. Frankly, this place should be watched, since according to reports wahabism is on the rise.
So - on Ball Road in Cypress, 1/2 block west of Valley View, there is this "Islamic Center". The burka'd women are seen at the stores in the shopping center next door. Be aware.
#4
I just want to know if anyone can tell which ones are hot.
As for Nawash and similar, they are taking the long view - as was clearly stated by the hubbie in the story the other day about the dippy girl who "married into Islam" - however long it takes. Electing some asshat like Nawash, and he is an asshat because he is a Muslim (I AM an Islam bigot because the actual evidence point in only one direction - fuck their words - dissuade me with actions, asshats) is more of the "camel's nose under the tent" - as was said yesterday. From within, destruction of institutions via numerous means is much simpler. Fuck that noise.
Someday, "Islamic Centers" will be called something else.
#5
LH..I wasnât talking just about Nawash, I was talking about the article as a whole. It gives multiple examples of âsurprisingâ things that the Wahhabi lobby has done and then comes to the strange conclusion that the Wahhabi lobby is cracking. There is little in the article to indicate the lobby isnât up to the same business as ususal. Read the article please.
You seem delighted that Nawash was a Republican. As if the fact that Saudi-funded Wahhabi lobby was able slip a few under the wire to buy influence in the Republican party is more meaningful than their ability to purchase even more influence in the Democratic party. When comparing GOP to Dimâs you might want to pull the Demâs mob-connected, Cynthia McKinney log out of your own eye before you start to snicker.
I find it really astounding that Jews are willing to vote Democratic when the Dems are dancing so close with the devil of virulent anti-Semitism these days.
You might find it interesting to note that the most shocking Jewish hatred I hear in polite society these days is from the Anybody But Bush crowd. Itâs usually disguised as âAnti-Israelâ, but that line is razor thin.
Yes, Iâve heard bigoted statements from the right too, but what I find most disturbing is that on the left side, laughing at anti-Semitic sniping is becoming more accepted and for reasons completely unclear to me those making the offending comments are granted the stamp of brave and cutting, whereas on the right, such comments are generally greeted as one might greet an audible fart.
I also find it strange that the Jewish people I know donât seem to realize that the Any Body But Bush crowd has adopted a very disturbing sense of humor about Jews these days. It might be time for Jewish Americans to take a good long look at the party that slaps them on the back when they are facing them and sticks the knife in when they turn away.
Posted by: B ||
08/11/2004 11:58 Comments ||
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#6
actually B, youve got me wrong. I didnt mean to use Nawash in some Michael Moorish way as an example of eveel Repub saudi loving - I only meant that AFAIK Nawash is a sincere Republican, and NOT a Saudi spy - hes probably Repub for the same reasons lots of Chinese and Mexican immigrants are - hes probably a successful businessman who wants lower taxes - that tends to be what politics is about in Virginia, not the status of KSA or the West Bank. Just a regular guy who happens to be muslim, and happens to be Repub. I wasnt snickering at Repubs, just reminding people that most American muslims are regular guys, which i take it is largely Schwartz's point. You quoted the part about Nawash before you sheepskin comment, so I thought you were indicating Nawash is some sort of secret agent, which AFAIK he aint.
As for Jews, this is a real old debate in the Jewish community - should we vote only on the middle east and antisemitism, or on mainly american issues. Whatever some may say, most Jews are driven be domestic considerations, just like other Americans. In any case Im not up for a long discussion of Jewish voting patterns, or ranting against different political parties.
#7
fair enough..LH. But let me just say that considering how quickly things turned sour in Germany (after Hitler was elected, the pogroms began within weeks..not years), and, I hesitate to say this as it sounds so negative, but considering the alarming climate of anti-Semitism from the ABB/Cynthia McKinney/Al Sharpton/Jessie Jackson/Michael Moore crowd, maybe this is one election where American Jews might want to worry less about homosexual marriage, abortion and focus more on the frightening climate of rising anti-Semitism. The things I'm hearing from the ABB crowd truly shock and truly disturb me.
It seems to that many Jews are still stuck on the past when they were made to feel outside the Christian majority prior to the 60's and they are still busy grinding that axe, while an incoming wmd is headed straight towards them. It might be time to notice that the Democratic party seems just a wee bit too willing to provide the correct coordinates.
As in other aspects of this world, maybe it's time to reevaluate past alliances. Take a look at the headliners in the Democratic party ...and if you are honest with yourself...it should trouble you.
JMHO.
Posted by: B ||
08/11/2004 13:31 Comments ||
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#8
and once again, I am not going to discuss Jewish political views on this forum, for the same reason i try to avoid domestic politics generally on this board - im too isolated, theres too much flaming, etc. This is a place thats useful for discussing Iraq, AQ, and occasionally Islam. The hate makes it impossible to talk sanely about domestic politics. Im not going to get into which side started the hate, or whos worse. I wouldnt discuss domestic politics on moveon.org either.
#9
We don't have that luxury, Liberalhawk.
This is a 2 front war--there's the "real war" of combat overseas and the culture war here at home.
GET USED TO IT.
If you don't think the Dim Libs war on Conservatives and the Bush Administration at home is helping the Enemy in Iraq, check out the latest essay by Steven Den Beste: Terrorism
#10
I will discuss here what i think this site is useful for discussing, as long as the owner allows me.
I would remind everyone that this is a thread about Steven Schwartz article on Wahabism in the US. It is NOT about Dems and Repubs. We got to that only because B misinterpreted my comment on VA local politician (understandably, I was not all that clear) B seems to want to engage me on Jewish voting patterns. I have politely, i think, explained why i dont choose to discuss those here. I would really appreciate it if everyone would let go, and keep to the thread topic. If you want to discuss voting patterns of different ethnic and religious groups im sure you can find an appropriate thread.
#11
Hmm..I wasn't asking you to discuss Jewish political views. One reason is that I don't believe any one particular person represents the views of an entire group.
Secondly...I was just making a point that might be worth your time, as an individual, to consider.
At some point, the Jewish community is going to have to come to terms with the obvious fact that the Democratic party has coopted the Republican party as the party of "shame and blame". And you have to be in a pretty serious state of denial not to notice that the object of the Democrats shame and blame has conveniently morphed from white, conservative, Christians, ... to white conservative Christians who are controlled by the Jews. How do I know that? I suffer through daily rantings from the ABB crowd.
So welcome to the party of people viewed by today's "liberals" as being responsible for every hungry child and every victim of war. Thinking they don't mean you, but rather Israeli's proper, is denial at best and.... considering the past... a potentially very dangerous miscalculation.
Posted by: B ||
08/11/2004 14:51 Comments ||
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#12
Very Clintonian of you to want to keep it all compartmentalized, Lh.
President Bush is the best thing that's happened to Israel in a long time and he's changed the conversation in the Middle East forever from one of fruitless "talks" to productive action.
I heard from a reliable source that 30% of Jews will be voting for him--quite right!
As the Bible says, "He who blesses Israel,I [God] will bless..."
#13
I think you can rest assured that in deciding how to vote i have included all relevant considerations.
Now once again I remind you that this thread is about Schwartz's article, NOT about who LH plans to vote for.
My parents taught me that when somebody says they dont want to discuss something, especially when its something about them, its rude to persist. Quite frankly, if this were a Jewish board, and I encountered someone rudely and obsessively trying to persuade me of something about me personally, when im clearly not interested in discussing the subject at all, Id conclude that they were particularly unassimilated, possibly ultra-Orthodox Jews, since thats a behavior that is more widespread among unassimilated Eastern european jewish immigrants than among Americanized Jews. As a WESTERNIZED American, with Western notions of politeness and individualism and privacy. im gonna have to just say - buzz off, none of your beeswax.
#14
That would be valid, Liberalhawk, if this were your board and you were the only person here we were talking to, but with over 600 people on line right now, that's hardly the case.
#15
Very Clintonian of you to want to keep it all compartmentalized, Lh.
keeping things compartmentalized isnt clintonian, its the essence of internet ettiquette. Theres a reason threads here have titles, you know. Some of us want to talk about the actions of the 1st cavalry, some want to talk about the nuances of Pakistani politics, and some want to rant about Bush and Kerry. While these topics sometimes naturally lead to each other ( a discussion of Pakistani politics might raise the question of whether Kerry has a Pakistani policy) to intrude with whatever you feel like talking about wherever you feel like it is rude - it wastes everyone elses time, and the sites bandwidth.
#16
GJ: but B was specifically addressing me as an individual, which is why i responded to him as an individual.
In any case, whoever is looking at a thread about the Wahabi crackup is presumably looking for info on the wahabi crackup, NOT on which political party is "good for the Jews".
Ok - no one is posting ANYTHING in this thread on Wahabism. Im simply going to ignore it.
Posted by: B ||
08/11/2004 15:08 Comments ||
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#18
BTW, LH, since you consider yourself to be the polite patrol the board....here's a tip: if you don't want to discuss a topic, IGNORE it.
That would be considered more polite than pointing fingers and screeching that by simply addresing you, I was rude. And doesn't it seem a bit absurd for you to make the accusation that I was somehow forcing you to post against your will.
Jeesh..get a grip.
Posted by: B ||
08/11/2004 15:16 Comments ||
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#19
I think Liberalhawk was more concerned that you were forcing him to vote against his will.
Remember the Saudi prince who tried to give Rudy a $10 million check for the 9/11 victims if the US would change its "policies?"
(meaningfully meaning towards being against Israel?)
Rudy told him to "Shove it!"--good thing, too.
What our Democrat pal Liberalhawk is refusing to acknowledge is that "all roads lead back to Rome."
Whether we are talking about our support for Israel, combat in Iraq, preventing attacks here or getting Al Queda and Waahabism out of the country and off the globe, the enemy and the problem is still the same: Islamist/Islamic terrorism.
#22
I'm not sure how Mr. Schwartz came to his conclusions. A slightly more cynical writer might conclude from all this was that was more a matter of 'survival' for the groups and apologists, rather than a twinge of conscience and a revulsion of the Sudanese atrocities.
#23
here's a tip: if you don't want to discuss a topic, IGNORE it.
classic troll response. So what if Im posting on Soc.christianity.episcopalianism, why shouldnt i post my thread about Pakistani politics - after all anyone who isnt interested can just ignore it, right???
Look, weve got thread titles here. The owners have established categories - including one called Homefront:Politics, and one called Homefront:culture wars. Theyve even established seperate pages for broad categories.
But, no, I'll go post anything I want anywhere, no matter how off topic, and anyone who doesnt want to read it can just ignore it.
#24
Itâs the ultimate irony, isnât it liberalhawk? â¦..that you that you are wasting bandwidth and deviating from the topic to shake your finger at me for wasting bandwidth.
Posted by: B ||
08/11/2004 16:01 Comments ||
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#25
Itâs the ultimate irony, isnât it liberalhawk? â¦..that you that you are wasting bandwidth and deviating from the topic to shake your finger at me for wasting bandwidth.
#26
B & Jen, you both sound like a couple of spoiled children w/respect to LH in this thread (not a blanket condemnation). LH, why you continue to respond to them is beyond me.
B I agree that Schwart's conclusion is a leap. There is no cracking of the Wahhabist locus of power in this country. Money supports religious expansion. The Wahabs have the money.
Posted by: remote man ||
08/11/2004 16:05 Comments ||
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#27
excuse me remote man...I'm not usually give to flame wars, but I think you should go back and read the exchange before you join the fray.
Yes, I made the mistake of engaging Liberalhawk, something I usually refrain from doing, just for this very reason. My original posts were thoughtful and polite, if not on topic or even agreeable by liberalhawks standards. Nor was Jen's post rude.
Since when is sliding off topic cause for the type of self-righteous victimization displayed by liberalhawk in this exchange? And then he goes off on in a âI know you are a troll but what am Iâ rant and you blame Jen and I?
Please. Iâm done with this flame war. And liberalhawk..donât worry, I wonât address you again
Posted by: B ||
08/11/2004 16:31 Comments ||
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#28
B & Jen, you both sound like a couple of spoiled children w/respect to LH in this thread (not a blanket condemnation). LH, why you continue to respond to them is beyond me.
This place is going to become useless between now and the election if anyone feels they can post about US domestic politics in any thread.
#30
Thanks, B--I thought we were both civil and polite, too.
Some people here--no names need be mentioned--want to live in a 9/10/01 dreamworld when America (thought it) could obsess over its domestic problems without considering that it applied to the rest of the world and that "foreign" problems like Waahabism weren't ever going to bother us here at home.
Good luck to them.
The rest of us will deal with reality.
#31
amen, Jen. You are right about this: âWhether we are talking about our support for Israel, combat in Iraq, preventing attacks here or getting Al Queda and Waahabism out of the country and off the globe, the enemy and the problem is still the same: Islamist/Islamic terrorism.â
We need to keep that in perspective at all times.
anon..thanks!
Posted by: B ||
08/11/2004 16:54 Comments ||
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lol! Actually, I'm a little embarrassed. Hey LH, if your still around, I'll extend an olive branch from one rantburger to another.
I'm sorry if I touched a nerve. I just find the hate and propaganda of the Michael Moore crowd to be upsetting, but if you don't want to go there, that's your right. I apologize.
Posted by: B ||
08/11/2004 23:09 Comments ||
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From IntelWire, an article by J. M. Berger
In spring 2001, a Web site allegedly linked to al Qaeda told visitors that the Taliban needed to raise $10 million a month in order to repel a chemical weapons attack on Afghanistan by the United States. A Web page on the site advised volunteers on how to carry large amounts of cash through international airports. "Trustworthy members" of local Muslim communities were told to deliver cash monthly to Pakistan, from where it would be transported to Afghanistan. The Web site, azzam.com, is detailed in an indictment filed by U.S. prosecutors last week against Babar Ahmad, a British Webmaster alleged to have used the site to raise funds for terrorism. ....
The Web page strongly urges readers to send cash to the Taliban: "Our analysis, it is a bigger priority for Muslim organisations to help the Taliban at this time than to help any other Muslim cause in the World," including the Palestinians. The page also offers advice on moving large amounts of cash across borders and through airports. ... The site also advised those carrying money to take the cash to Pakistan, where it would be transferred through the Taliban's consulate there. ....
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
08/11/2004 12:24:46 AM ||
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#1
...after the ISI and the various Paki mullahs got their cut, of course.
This website would probably be named after Shaykh Abdullah Azzam, who was one of OBL's professors and mentors. Didn't they form the Mujahedin E Khalq together?
(The MEK- Pakistan, for those of you keeping score...)
Dan Darling is probably exhausted from AEI right now, but this is something that he can probably expand on.
#3
Abdullah Azzam was one of the first Salafist ideologues to set up the idea of a kind of Sunni Islamist internationale modeled after the Comintern (Hassan Turabi and Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman took it a step further and made it ecumenical to include Shi'ites) and he and bin Laden founded the Maktab al-Khidamat (MAK) which was basically the proto al-Qaeda set up to fight the USSR in Afghanistan. I also believe that Hamas counts Azzam as being among one of their guiding lights.
Azzam was eventually assassinated (according to what the US believes, there's more theories on this one than the JFK assassination) by a conspiracy consisting of bin Laden and a number of Egyptian MAK members led by al-Zawahiri who had previously had a falling out with the man on a number of points.
Pre and even post-9/11, Azzam.com was basically the al-Qaeda version of the old Soviet Pravda and used to publish all manner of propaganda, fatwas, and other information in an effort to keep morale up among the faithful and recruit more cannon fodder and moneymen to the cause.
Hope this is useful.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/11/2004 1:48 Comments ||
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#4
Dan,
Thanks, yo!
I just went into "Through Our Enemies' Eyes" and found that I got most of (his) spellings right. So, yay for me. However, is there something more current that you are working off of?
Besides your all-knowing database, which we are still drooling for.
#5
Yet more evidence the mullahs are smoking some heavy shit...
Posted by: Rafael ||
08/11/2004 2:23 Comments ||
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#6
...and recruit more cannon fodder and moneymen to the cause...
Some of which came from the US, if the emails of support that they used to post on that website were indeed real.
Posted by: Rafael ||
08/11/2004 2:27 Comments ||
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#7
HELP! We need to raise $10,000/month to help bring down America!! Send us your last dollar. Suzie sent her last dollar and she won a place in heaven the next day â as well as picked the winning lotto numbers. Send your money today!
I think Iâm going to set up one of these sites and tell them how to smuggle money to my house. Then Iâm going to donate it to the GOP through a non-profit charity, after I take my cut. I mean how easy is this really? As they say, fools and money
Posted by: B ||
08/11/2004 10:16 Comments ||
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#8
What's with the damn begging and pleading? Why don't they host a bake sale or a car wash so I can actually get something for my money!
Posted by: Dar ||
08/11/2004 12:58 Comments ||
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With fighting raging for a fifth day in Najaf, Iraq's interim defense minister yesterday accused Iran of sending weapons to Shi'ite insurgents in the city. Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan, who previously had described Iran as Iraq's "first enemy," made the comments about his country's eastern neighbor during an interview broadcast on the Arab-language television network Al Arabiya. "There are Iranian-made weapons that have been found in the hands of criminals in Najaf who received these weapons from across the Iranian border," Mr. Shaalan said.
Asked whether Iran was still considered the "top enemy" of Iraq, he answered ambiguously. "From far and near, the facts that we have say that what has happened to the Iraqi people is done by the one who is considered the top enemy," he said. "For the first time, the Iraqis see the bodies of children, the body parts of children, the bodies of women and the body parts of women on the street. Yes. This is the truth." Najaf Gov. Adnan al-Zurufi said last week that 80 men who fought U.S. forces at a sprawling cemetery in Najaf were Iranian. "There is Iranian support to al-Sadr's group, and this is no secret," he said on Friday. Iran has denied interfering in Iraq. It says it does not allow fighters to cross into Iraq, but it does not rule out that such people might cross the long border illegally.
Since you don't know about them, you won't mind if we kill them, will you?
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/11/2004 12:51:45 AM ||
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#1
I hope that once GWB is re-elected that this is the first joint (known) military operation between the Jooooos and the imperialist aggressors of the free world (USA).
Well place bunker busters along with some kick ass special forces on both sides (Joooos and USA) should have no trouble ridding these onion head hat wearing muther fuckers from this great place we all know and love as Rantburg Dot Com and itâs Headlines.
I am sick of hearing about these assholes!! Sick I tell ya! The country is screaming for GWB and his Stealth fighters!! The people on the streets of Iran are tired of their oppression. Let the show begin! God Bless you Rantburg.Com and this Country , the greatest nation on earth, The United States of America! (Despite the USAâs Democratic party !!)
Tuesday, 10 August, 2004, 21:29 GMT 22:29 UK
A European Union investigation has found no evidence that donations to the Palestinian Authority (PA) were used to fund terrorism. The EU, which is the biggest single contributor to the PA, launched the inquiry 18 months ago. The results were handed down by the same panel that concluded there was no genocide going on in Sudan.
It followed allegations from Israel and European parliamentarians that money was going to illegal activities. The independent European Anti-Fraud Office said the inquiry was ongoing and final conclusions had not been drawn. "To date, there is no evidence that funds from the non-targeted EU direct budget assistance to the Palestinian Authorities have been used to finance illegal activities, including terrorism," said the anti-fraud office, known as OLAF, in a statement. OLAF had collected evidence from both Israel and the PA - as well as from the International Monetary Fund, which distributes EU funds in the Occupied Territories. Suha Arafat has demurred from providing a deposition in this matter.
The EU was financing the PA's payroll of 125,000 employees until the allegations led to the suspension of direct funding to the PA and the launch of the investigation in February last year. This year, total aid to the Palestinians reached 250m euros (£167m), the European Commission said in July. And Arafat's Swiss bankers thank them wholeheartedly.
Posted by: Zenster ||
08/11/2004 12:54:35 AM ||
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#3
...To date, there is no evidence that funds from the non-targeted EU direct budget assistance to the Palestinian Authorities have been used to finance illegal activities, including terrorism...
All this means is that the auditors haven't found a transaction labeled 'terrorism - 1400 NIS' or something like that. The EU has a lot at stake in pretending to not know about the diversion of funds. If they admit diversion, they may be liable for millions in lawsuits.
#5
This is ridiculous. Every cent that goes to the PA supports terrorism since the PA is a terrorist organization. Of course, the EUros don't mind because it's all the Jooooos fault anyway.
#6
Oh yeah, and the Iraqi oil for food program was on the up and up, too, right? These Europeans are stupid, man. I mean they're so stupid. They almost always consistently take the view which is in opposition to the logical reality.
#7
Nah, they are just being typically EU. They figure if they fund the Islamo-loons against Israel this lot will be less likely to hit them. Well it worked for Spain didn't it?
Posted by: Andrew Ian Dodge ||
08/11/2004 10:07 Comments ||
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#8
If they admit diversion, they may be liable for millions in lawsuits.
Superb point, mhw. Perhaps we need to connect the dots and bankrupt the EU so they can no longer assist our enemies.
Tue Aug 10, 1:07 AM ET MANILA (AFP) - Philippine officials expect a reduction or suspension of development aid from the United States after Manila's early military pullout from Iraq last month, a senior Filipino diplomat has said. The foreign department warned President Gloria Arroyo to expect a backlash after she decided to bring home the small contingent to save kidnapped truck driver Angelo de la Cruz, said the official, who asked not to be named. Washington had criticized the decision as akin to caving in to terrorists. The foreign department is convinced that Washington would reduce or suspend development aid to Manila, the diplomat told reporters. A veritable BGO (Blinding Glimpse of the Obvious)
"But this reprisal will not be drastic. We will feel the effect little by little." US ambassador to Manila Francis Ricciardone told reporters after meeting with Filipino Foreign Secretary Delia Albert on Monday that the "very serious disagreement" between the two allies over the military pullout had had "an impact on our interests and also of the Philippines as well as our allies and the Iraqis." However, he said both the United States and the Philippines were "going to work as hard as we can on all of the things that are important to both of our countries." The US Agency for International Development has provided more than four billion dollars in assistance to Manila, its former colony, over the past 30 years. The Philippines is also the world's fourth largest recipient of US foreign military financing, obtaining 114.46 million dollars last year, according to the US embassy here. Something tells me there might some six million less headed their way next time.
In Washington, the State Department said Monday it was not reviewing the Philippines' status as a "major non-NATO ally" despite the Iraq pullout. Washington conferred the status on the Philippines in October last year to foster cooperation on military research and development and give the Philippines greater access to American defense equipment and supplies.
Posted by: Zenster ||
08/11/2004 1:35:52 AM ||
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#1
"... its former colony" Actually you AFP francophone ass clowns it was Spain's former colony It is a former US protectorate. Having been freed like Cuba and, Perto Rico after Wiliams Randolph Hurst started a war single handedly. Some much to the "Media" and why we should trust them never. Maybe Spain another country of cowards will pick up the slack, infact I insist they do. They are the ones who looted the Philippines and left it a world class shit hole in the first place.
#2
It was also Spanish administration that pulled all the islands into an easy to conceptualize single entity to be called the Philippines. The southern Muslim islanders where therefore incorporated into a single governorship by the same European whim upon which the borders of modern African nations were drawn. Of course that's never been the source of modern problems either. No, never, nada.
Posted by: Don ||
08/11/2004 8:45 Comments ||
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#3
And you can add the entire Middle East - same Euro game. Borders diddled about by Brits and French over tea or cocktails on napkins. There are no "legitimate" borders. Everything is artificial except the people who share some sort of identity. IMHO, the core source of the intractable problems of humanity is this "need" for identity.
#4
Eh, the Spanish invaded the Moslem regions not because they wanted more territory, but because they wanted to stop THE biggest problem afflicting the colony, Muslim piracy and slave-raiding. The bulk of the colonial budget went into defensive measures vs the "Moros" as they were called.
Nothing has changed, really. Most of the Philippine armed forces these days is devoted to fighting or checkmating Muslim rebels.
#5
There are no "legitimate" borders. Everything is artificial except the people who share some sort of identity. IMHO, the core source of the intractable problems of humanity is this "need" for identity.
A former American hostage who returned to the Philippines to testify in court revealed that her Muslim extremist captors violated their own "code of honor" and abused women hostages, court documents showed Tuesday. Missionary Gracia Burnham, from Rose Hill, Kan. near Wichita testified in a local court last Thursday, but for security reasons journalists were not allowed to witness her testimony on her year-long nightmare in the jungles of the southern Philippines. The court released an official transcript Tuesday. Burnham, 45, was abducted by Abu Sayyaf rebels with her husband, Martin, and 18 other people from a Philippine resort on May 27, 2001. She was wounded but was rescued during an army operation on June 7, 2002. Her husband and a Filipino captive were killed in the crossfire during the rescue and a number of hostages, including another American, were beheaded during the captivity. "They were not true to their word," Mrs. Burnham told a prosecution lawyer. "One of the first things they told us on the speedboat was they were talking about their code of honor, how outstanding Muslim men they were."
She quoted one of the Abu Sayyaf leaders, Abu Solaiman, as saying: "Could we ever touch your women? Of course not, the Koran forbids that."
"They lied many times," she added, without giving details. Burnham was invited to testify under a mutual legal assistance treaty between Washington and Manila.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/11/2004 12:44:50 AM ||
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"Could we ever touch your women? Of course not, the Koran forbids that."
Must've poured throught the Koran and found another passage that gave them an out. It usually works out that way.
Iran has issued an extraordinary list of demands to Britain and other European countries, telling them to provide advanced nuclear technology, conventional weapons and a security guarantee against nuclear attack by Israel. Teheran's request, said by British officials to have "gone down very badly", sharply raises the stakes in the crisis over Iran's nuclear programme, which Britain and America believe is aimed at making an atomic bomb.
Iran's move came during crisis talks in Paris this month with senior diplomats from Britain, France and Germany. The "EU-3" were trying to convince Iranian officials to honour an earlier deal to suspend its controversial uranium enrichment programme, which is ostensibly designed to make fuel for nuclear power stations but could also be used to make fissile material for nuclear bombs. Iranian officials refused point-blank to comply, saying they had every right under international law to pursue "peaceful" nuclear technology. They then stunned the Europeans by presenting a letter setting out their own demands.
Iran said the EU-3 should support Iran's quest for "advanced (nuclear) technology, including those with dual use" - a reference to equipment that has both civilian and military applications. The Europeans should "remove impediments" preventing Iran from having such technology, and stick to these commitments even if faced with "legal (or) political . . . limitations", an allusion to American pressure or even future international sanctions against Iran. More astonishingly, Iran said the EU-3 should agree to meet Iran's requirements for conventional weapons and even "provide security assurances" against a nuclear attack on Iran. This is a reference to Israel's nuclear arsenal, believed to include some 200 warheads and long-range missiles to deliver them.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/11/2004 1:01:32 AM ||
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Careful translation of the original Iranian document's Farsi yielded quite another message entirely, which contained only one actual demand:
#6
there were signs yesterday that the next report of Mohammed ElBaradei, the IAEA director general, may give Iran a boost.
Well now, there's a shocker. I'm convinced that he will never condemn an Arab country for pursuing nukes, because #1 he's Muslim and #2 works for the UN.
A near perfect combination of complete incompetance and prejudice.
#8
Wow-what a news article. This is a stunning parting comment-not because we have any reason to doubt El-Baradei's leanings, but because of the danger his leanings put the West in: as time drags on with the international community debating how to respond (this has become the UN trademark) and trying hard to avoid confrontation with Iran, the Iranians may well have the time needed to bring their program to fruition:
However, there were signs yesterday that the next report of Mohammed ElBaradei, the IAEA director general, may give Iran a boost.
#10
"The EU-3 are still debating over how to respond".
This is not true. In the Paris talks the Iranian "wish list" was rebuffed and Iran was given a 13th September deadline to answer open questions about its nuclear ambitions.
The European position is much closer to the U.S. than you may think right now. The case will probably go to the UNSC rather soon.
From what I know about the Paris talks Europe is not willing to accept Iranian nukes. Teheran may think it is safe right now but the mullahs are entering a mine field at this very moment.
#11
"In the Paris talks the Iranian "wish list" was rebuffed and Iran was given a 13th September deadline to answer open questions about its nuclear ambitions."
Thank Christ! (May God forgive my profanity.)
The Iranians scare the crap out of me and I still think they're being given too much time, but...
These Satanic dirtbags are every bit the nuke-rattling jihadi warmongers that Saddam was without the charm and the humor.
#12
Iran is fooked and they know it , shame the Mullahs wanna drag down the civilian into the shite pit they have made for themselves . Eventually they will be surrounded on all 4 sides by folks who are sick of em , but as like iraq , its gonna take a steady 30 years or so to un-brainwash the poor fools who have been stuck in that country and the wishy washy brain tard liberal looney left outside of Iran
my advice to anyone is dont ever listen to a freak in a hat preaching ANY form of religion , eventually they end up as bitter as these guys .. Whats hard for these folks to comprehend is that religion sucks , is outdated , doesnt provide anything but oppression , blinkered vision with a spalsh of hatered against others who dont conform to said religion ..
#13
Iran is fooked and they know it , shame the Mullahs wanna drag down the civilian into the shite pit they have made for themselves . Eventually they will be surrounded on all 4 sides by folks who are sick of em , but as like iraq , its gonna take a steady 30 years or so to un-brainwash the poor fools who have been stuck in that country and the wishy washy brain tard liberal looney left outside of Iran
my advice to anyone is dont ever listen to a freak in a hat preaching ANY form of religion , eventually they end up as bitter as these guys .. Whats hard for these folks to comprehend is that religion sucks , is outdated , doesnt provide anything but oppression , blinkered vision with a spalsh of hatered against others who dont conform to said religion ..
#14
Thanks for the info, TGA. Still, what would the consequence from Paris likely be if Iran didn't answer the open questions about its nuclear ambitions, or better yet, if we got an "unacceptable" answer? No consequence. Is Paris suddenly going to rediscover principles (and cajones)?
#15
Jules, the consequences will be that Europe re-aligns herself with the U.S. position.
This can mean a lot of things. Without the Russians an effective economic embargo is impossible, and even then Iran can still sell its oil to China below World market prices. We'll need a common transatlantic position to make an impact on those two countries. Iran is about to overplay its cards because it thinks Bush can do nothing before the elections (and then Kerry wins). This might be a fatal mistake.
Iran doesn't have nukes yet (this is a credible assessment of German intelligence which happens to be quite good about Iran).
My take: The mullahs cave in rather quickly (and hope for Kerry) or they'll face a military strike on the nuclear sites in THIS year.
#16
What do you think this means, TGA:
"...there were signs yesterday that the next report of Mohammed ElBaradei, the IAEA director general, may give Iran a boost..."?
Given the poor judgment of Europe in many matters over the last decade, I am highly skeptical of what a French, German, and Russian "re-alignment" to US positions would look like. My suspicion is that they would try to play the tough guy for our benefit, and redefine the meaning of "advanced (nuclear) technology, including those with dual use" for the Iranians' benefit. While I am certainly expressing a minority opinion on this site, there are those like myself who feel the Europeans have no idea how their betrayal of us in the Iraq War has damaged their credibility and our alliance with them-even given the understanding that the US cannot stand alone in this world.
#17
TGA, while what you have posted is heartening with respect to Europe's position on this, there is no mention of actually taking Iran's facilities out off-line. The Iranians have consistently lied through their teeth and there is no pronouncement that ElBaradei can possibly make that any longer holds water for a thinking person. Iran cannot be left in possession of a single operating centrifuge or missile launching pad.
What sort of pressure do you see being placed upon Russia? They are cheerfully hawking off advanced (and not so advanced) military hardware to China and North Korea without a backwards glance at their putative European allies. How will they be reined in as regards Iran? Slightly off topic, but how to rein in China, who remains one of the biggest threats of all?
#18
Zenster, we'll see progress and setbacks in the next months. But something is different between Iraq 2002 and Iran 2004.
Europe didn't see Iraq as a threat. It's different with Iran.
To sum up the current positions:
Germany doesn't want Iranian nukes to reach Tel Aviv
France doesn't want Iranian nukes to reach Paris.
The pressure on Russia will be rather discreet. But Russia cannot afford to antagonize the U.S. AND Europe.
The Chinese may like cheap oil from an isolated Iran, but they they have no interest in Iranian nukes either. They also can't afford the Iranian oil flow to be interrupted (which will happen in a full blown conflict).
Of course they can't afford to lose their face either.
This REALLY is a case for quiet and efficient diplomacy.
There is a problem not mentioned yet: Kerry's position on Iran. If Kerry flipflops (and gets elected) the Europeans may look rather stupid.
So, regarding the European position in this issue, don't believe too many things you'll read in the media. The European powers that be take Iran far more seriously than you might believe by their statements. Those who look ahead see Iran (with mullahs) as a major challenge to European security.
#19
TGA, thank you very much for some solid analysis. If China is so dependent upon Iran's oil, it's all the more reason we need to depose the mullahs and thereby interdict any eastward flow of this vital resource.
#20
Zenster, one real obstacle are the Israeli nukes. Now we don't have to discuss that they are vital for Israel's defense and existence, but they do give the mullahs an argument to develop theirs. An argument that unfortunately is even bought by those who don't support the turbans.
That's why Vanunu really was the bigest traitor Israel ever had. Before Vanunu Israel could safely pretend that it had no nukes, or simply not comment, but of course the Arabs and Mullahs knew that Israel had them. Yet they could not bring them into play. An extremely frustrating position (for the Arabs). But ever since Vanunu's treason, Israel does no longer have that line of the defense and the turbans (and the LLL) can justify developing nukes and other WMD.
This creates a real problem in our common Iran policy. Military action against Iran because it develops nukes is not likely to be accepted by the Iranians. If the mullahs manage to play the "nationalist card", Iranians who might otherwise be inclined to celebrate the end of the Islamic Republic might be forced to "rally around the flag" and "defend" their country against the "invaders".
We must find ways to undermine this or an Iranian campaign could turn into a nightmare.
Destabilizing the regime wherever we can, exposing terrorist links etc sounds like a very good idea to me.
One real obstacle is the domestic Anti-American peace lobbies that have been built up in Eurabia over the last several years, if not decades. I don't know Euro politics as well as you, obviously; but if they are democracies, I should think it would be a tough domestic sell to suddenly jump in bed with evil Uncle Sam when Iran has done nothing to anyone.
Posted by: Mr. Davis ||
08/11/2004 21:26 Comments ||
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#22
TGA, it doesn't make sense to "understand" Iran making nukes to "protect" themselves against Israeli nukes, when Israel got the nukes to protect themselves first from hostile regimes--most of them their Islamic neighbors in the region like Iran!--who vowed to wipe out Israel.
You're close to Iran being that kid who throws himself on the mercy of the court because he's an orphan when he's there for killing his parents.
Leave Vanunu alone!
He didn't tell anyone anything they didn't already know.
#24
TGA, forgive me for being too simplistic, but one glaring fact remains:
Israel does not have the avowed intent of obliterating any other Arab nation. Iran has repeatedly announced it's goal of destroying Israel. Make Iran choke down Israeli recognition and a binding peace treaty if they want to have atom bombs. Since they would likely be incapable of doing so, a primary stumbling block would evolve permitting coalition forces to disarm them.
None of this really matters because Iran would still fund Hizbullah and other terrorist groups, thus providing adequate reason to go in and flatten their R&D facilities anyway. In the end, Israel will probably be obliged to act unilaterally and blow Iran's nuclear workshops to hell regardless.
It is beyond me how Iran is able to obtain the least respect from the global community. They have consistently operated in bad faith and been responsible for sponsoring the worst sort of terrorism. This needs to be laid at their doorstep in the form of being denied any opportunity to manufacture WMDs.
#25
I understood it just fine, TGA.
You're trying to say that because Vanunu admitted Israel has nukes, that hostile neighbors like Iran are justified in arming themselves in some imitiation of Mutally Assured Destruction policy...
Your logic is flawed.
Everyone knew Israel had nukes and why--Vanunu didn't tell anyone a thing and he was trying to get Mohammed El Baradei of the IAEA off his back.
(The US probably helped Israel get them.)
There's just nothing that will excuse the Iranians nuking up and if the EU-3 sanctions it, more fool they.
#26
Zenster, I wasn't referring to a "justification" Iran could have in front of the global community. It's about the "justification" the mullahs can force their own people down the throat. (It's true that I read that "Iranian right of self defense crap" in German LLL publications, too)
If push comes to shove military action against Iran will be a lot more difficult if the Iranian "national pride" trumpets their wish to get rid of the mullahs.
There are a lot of Iranians who would really welcome an US intervention.
That's my point about the Israeli nukes. Not that Israel has them but that it has them publicly.
Besides that I'm not sure if Israel has the capacity to take out those nuclear workshops. They don't have the surprise element working for them like in Iraq. And the Iranians probably spread out the vital components of their nuclear programme. Maybe an Israeli attack could do some damage but the risks are high.
#28
Thank you again, TGA. Very enjoyable insights from your side of the pond. If Vanunu had signed secrecy agreements with the Israeli government prior to his going public, I'm surprised they didn't execute him for treason. He effectively toppled an extremely delicate balancing act of one against many in the Middle East.
U.N. nuclear inspectors have determined that traces of enriched uranium found in Iran came into the country on contaminated equipment bought through middlemen and dealers, some of whom were connected to Pakistan's nuclear black market, according to experts and diplomats working on the investigation. The findings do not rule out the possibility that Iran may be concealing a weapons program, but they do lend support to the country's contention that it unknowingly imported tainted equipment.
U.S. officials have cited the residue as proof that Iran was enriching uranium or importing the material as part of a program to build a nuclear bomb, and the new findings could complicate U.S. efforts to muster international pressure on the Islamic republic over its nuclear program. The uranium issue is expected to feature prominently when the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-member board meets in Vienna next month to determine whether Tehran is violating international law.
Just the excuse the IAEA needed to vote to do nothing.
The Bush administration, Iran and Europe's main powers are locked in a standoff in the face of mounting evidence that Tehran has concealed elements of a nuclear program that the country insists is designed to produce peaceful energy. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said recently it was increasingly likely that Iran's behavior would have to be brought up with the U.N. Security Council. But France, Britain and others have been reluctant to do so without clear-cut proof of an Iranian nuclear weapons program. On Monday, President Bush vowed to keep up the pressure on Iran but stopped short of threatening to use force.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/11/2004 12:48:15 AM ||
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#1
Is that the old "My centrifuge slipped in the shower" story?
#3
lol zen, woder when the IAEA will frown and wave thier finger at the mullars
Posted by: Shep UK ||
08/11/2004 2:59 Comments ||
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#4
*raises hand* Umm, 'scuse me, but if the equipment was contaminated with HEU, doesn't that imply that the equipment THEY BOUGHT and imported is CAPABLE of producing HEU? Nuclear power only requires LEU (Low enriched Uranium), so isn't it somewhat overkill to get HEU capable equipment for a minor job?
#5
This is a tough one. Nuclear material can be identified by its ratio of isotopes (commonly referred to as a "signature"), so it's possible that the material in question was identified as having the known signature of Paki material. On the other hand, Ptah has a good point: the equipment can be used to produce HEU (HEU is just LEU that has been processed further). Does the IAEA (or anyone) really doubt that the turbantops are pursuing nuclear weapons? They need to be shut down.
#6
If you hit the IAEA in the face with a baseball bat, they'd want more proof they'd been hit in the face with a baseball bat.
If were depending on these idiots to get this resolved, we're in serious, serious trouble.
#7
Spot, I've been investigating and I do not see where Pakistan has ever submitted and of their enriched isotopes for signature analysis. I'm sure we do not have them from North Korea either. Are you aware of Pakistan having complied with this at all?
Osama bin Laden has called for attacks on targets in the United States and Britain, Pakistani intelligence sources have said, but it is not clear if his appeal was accompanied by more detailed orders. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject, played down a report on Wednesday in the Washington Times that a tape from bin Laden may surface soon that would act as a signal for planned attacks to be launched.
The newspaper, citing U.S. intelligence officials, said al Qaeda would target an American or foreign leader either within the United States or abroad. Pakistani intelligence agencies have been questioning key al Qaeda figures captured in the last month in a crackdown that has yielded a wealth of information about the network's personnel and plots to strike targets inside the country and abroad.
They include Tanzanian Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, wanted for the attacks on U.S. embassies in east Africa in 1998, Qari Saifullah Akhtar, a key al Qaeda operational chief in Pakistan, and computer engineer Mohammad Naeem Noor Khan. "Osama has given the go ahead to target important places and personalities in the U.S., U.K. and Pakistan," one Pakistani intelligence source said.
Khan's laptop computer has proved a treasure trove of information on al Qaeda's plans to launch attacks, including in the United States and on Heathrow airport. He was believed to have acted as a communications middleman between operatives in remote areas of Pakistan and those in Europe and the United States.
Despite claiming a major breakthrough in its war on al Qaeda and allied local militant groups, Pakistan is concerned that the crackdown resulting in the arrests of around 20 of the network's operatives will trigger a violent backlash. Extra checkpoints have been set up in the capital Islamabad and several cabinet ministers have been told to restrict their movements. Pakistan celebrates independence day on Saturday.
Further details emerged on alleged contacts between Ghailani and bin Laden, believed by U.S. officials to be hiding somewhere along the rugged and porous Afghan-Pakistan frontier. Some experts question how able bin Laden is to coordinate live operations, since he is unlikely to be using satellite communications and is on the run from tens of thousands of U.S. and Pakistan troops in the region.
Pakistani intelligence officials say Ghailani admits he saw bin Laden in 2002 and last had contact with him in June, 2003. Ghailani was in Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal area in June, when Pakistani forces launched a major offensive on foreign militants and local tribal allies and he was forced to flee. He went to Gujarat, a city 175 km (110 miles) southeast of Islamabad, where he was captured by authorities last month after a fierce gunbattle.
The officials said Pakistan has learned Ghailani had been training suicide bombers in Gujarat for several weeks with a view to attacking the military airbase at Chaklala, near the capital, and Islamabad airport.
Khan has revealed that Abu Musa al-Hindi, known as Abu Eisa al-Hindi, an al Qaeda suspect seized by police in Britain earlier this month, was in charge of carrying out attacks on the United States and Britain. "They selected many targets in these countries," said an intelligence official. "They wanted to create chaotic conditions in the U.S. during the elections. They had planned a series of terrorist activities in the United States."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/11/2004 12:58:58 PM ||
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#1
oh binny, when will you grow up, oh sorry your dead. well we hope
Posted by: Shep UK ||
08/11/2004 16:05 Comments ||
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#2
Binny I thought you were in a cave in Afghanistan, but when I heard about this deep cave in Croatia, yesterday, I am reasessing my guess is to where you are, especially since they found so many Leeches in the Croatian cave.
Look, you still need dialysis for your kidneys. Leeches won't help.
And if you do try anything wierd, - - well if you thought Tora Bora rattled your nerves, you ain't seen nothin' yet!
#3
Article: The newspaper, citing U.S. intelligence officials, said al Qaeda would target an American or foreign leader either within the United States or abroad.
For a Muslim, this represents a high degree of clarity and specificity.
U.S. intelligence officials say a high-profile political assassination, triggered by the public release of a new message from Osama bin Laden, will lead off the next major al Qaeda terrorist attack, The Washington Times has learned.
The assassination plan is among new details of al Qaeda plots disclosed by U.S. officials familiar with intelligence reports who, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the killing could be carried out against a U.S. or foreign leader either in the United States or abroad.
The officials mentioned Saudi Arabia and Yemen, two nations that are working with the United States in the battle against al Qaeda, as likely locales for the opening assassination.
The planning for the attacks to follow involves "multiple targets in multiple venues" across the United States, one official said.
"We're talking about planning at the screwdriver level," one official said. "It is very detailed."
U.S. and allied counterterrorism officials are pursuing leads on other terrorists based on the data from Khan's seized laptop. At least one arrest in Britain has been made so far, and others are expected, the officials said.
Additionally, U.S. intelligence officials said they think that several al Qaeda terrorists already in the United States are part of the plot, although their identities and locations are not known.
The targets, in addition to the financial institutions in New York, Washington and Newark, N.J., that have been the subject of public warnings, include such economic-related targets as oil and gas facilities with a view toward disrupting the November election.
"The goal of the next attack is twofold: to damage the U.S. economy and to undermine the U.S. election," the official said. "The view of al Qaeda is 'anybody but Bush.'"
The officials also said the terrorist group has begun using female members for preattack surveillance and possibly as suicide bombers, thinking that women will have an easier time getting past security checkpoints at airports, borders and ports.
The al Qaeda attack plans call for bombings using trucks and cars, and hijacked aircraft, including commercial airliners and helicopters.
"There is a particular concern that chemical trucks will be used," one official said.
Regarding the new bin Laden message, the officials said there are intelligence reports, some of them sketchy, that a new tape from the al Qaeda leader will surface soon.
A second U.S. official said one intelligence agency was aware of unconfirmed reports of a new bin Laden tape.
"There may be such a tape, but it hasn't surfaced and we haven't seen it," this official said.
Bin Laden last released a taped message in April. The CIA said that the audiotape probably was the voice of bin Laden and that the mention of the March 11 Madrid train bombings shows that the tape was current.
That tape offered a "truce" for any European state that pledged to stop attacking Muslims and end cooperation with the United States.
Contrary to what some Democratic critics of the Bush administration have said, intelligence officials said the new details of al Qaeda planning were obtained from the Khan laptop. The terrorist group was in the process of updating older attack plans, the officials said.
Frances Townsend, a White House homeland-security adviser, said Sunday that the government has received a steady "stream" of intelligence indicating that an al Qaeda attack is planned.
"What we know now that we didn't know six months ago is that they've done a good deal of planning and surveillance work to accomplish that goal," she said on CBS' "Face the Nation."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/11/2004 1:06:21 PM ||
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The man charged with helping the 11 September plotters "knew nothing about the plan", a German court has heard. Summaries of interviews with al-Qaeda suspects in US custody were read out at the trial of Moroccan Mounir al-Motassadek on Wednesday. The US had earlier said it would not allow its al-Qaeda suspects to testify at Mr Motassadek's retrial. Prosecutors had hoped to use evidence from Ramzi Binalshibh to reverse the quashing of Mr Motassadek's conviction. The summaries were faxed to the court by the US State Department.
Al-Qaeda suspect Mr Binalshibh told US interviewers that "the only members of the Hamburg cell" were himself and hijackers Mohamed Atta, Marwan al-Shehhi and Ziad Jarrah. He said that the activities of the Hamburg group were not known to Mr Motassadek. The summary said that the group was "well known by a number of Arab students" but "Binalshibh said that the people in question had no knowledge and were not participants in any facet of the operative plans of 11 September". Similar evidence from the US led to the acquittal in February 2004 of another Moroccan, Abdelghani Mzoudi, tried on the same charges in Germany.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
08/11/2004 9:30:43 AM ||
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A high-profile political assassination, triggered by a new message from Osama bin Laden, will lead off the next major al Qaeda attack, The Washington Times has reported, citing U.S. intelligence officials. U.S. officials familiar with intelligence reports, speaking on condition of anonymity, disclosed that the assassination plan was among new details of al Qaeda plots and would target a U.S. or foreign leader either in the United States or abroad, according to the newspaper's Wednesday editions. Planning for the attacks to follow involves "multiple targets in multiple venues" across the United States, one official was quoted as saying. "The goal of the next attack is twofold: to damage the U.S. economy and to undermine the U.S. election," the official told the newspaper.
The officials said there are intelligence reports, some of them sketchy, that a new tape from bin Laden would surface soon, the newspaper reported. "The message likely will be the signal for the attack to be launched," one official said. A second U.S. official was cited as saying that one intelligence agency was aware of unconfirmed reports of a new bin Laden tape. "There may be such a tape, but it hasn't surfaced and we haven't seen it," the newspaper quoted the official as saying. The Washington Times reported that the plot was among detailed al Qaeda plans found on a laptop computer belonging to captured al Qaeda suspect Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/11/2004 12:56:21 AM ||
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#5
...Is Al-Q really stupid enough to try an assassination in the US? It seems to me that if anything would guarantee a wrath-of-God level response, it would be them taking even an unsuccessful shot at a politico here.
Now on the other hand, I can see them trying to whack Allied (or even not-so-Allied) leaders and telling them 'unless you rein in the Americans, it'll get worse..." Which, frankly, is something I fear happening, especially in the event of a really solid Bush victory - real, direct, and undisguised attempts to stop us, even with threats of military force. (I know, they can't - but that might not stop them from saying it.)
#8
...if anything would guarantee a wrath-of-God level response...
Perhaps, that's what they want?
Posted by: Rafael ||
08/11/2004 2:19 Comments ||
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...and recruit more cannon fodder and moneymen to the cause...
Some of which came from the US, if the emails of support that they used to post on that website were indeed real.
Posted by: Rafael ||
08/11/2004 2:27 Comments ||
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#10
Anyone want to bet that this new bin Laden tape has him making not a single reference to events that happened after we redecorated his Tora Bora rat hole?
OBL can't even afford a new video camera.
I predict that in November 2004, OBL will stay dead and this will continue into the next year and beyond, pretty much how it has been since the end of 2001.
#11
If there is any truth to this (not any ass. attempts, but the story, leaked to the media), it only shows al-q or their PR makeover people really reeeeaching. Pathetic- "We're planning a super-secret uber duber plot against you and by the time you find out about it...it... will be months too early. so..".
They get Bush. Cheney is in charge until January with nothing to hold him back because he never wanted the top job anyway. And Kerry would have to finish the job, or look weak on terror in comparison -- no way to wiggle out of it.
#16
I ain't buying it. If you look at the assassinations of American, British, Turkish ambassadors, attaches, etc. over the past 20 years in the Middle East, they almost all involve a target that is poorly protected, follows the same routine/path every day and ignored indications that they were being cased.
The notion of throwing a shot at Bush or Kerry runs contrary to this pattern. Both are well protected. Campaign travel plans are public, but it's still difficult to know what exact route a candidate will take to get to the speaking venue.
Naturally, if high profile assassination means a ranking Senator or Representative then it gets easier for the jihadi, but the politicial ramifications of a dead congressman are far less than a dead presidential candidate.
#21
AQ has been ranting the last few weeks about knocking off Berlusconi if Italian troops don't leave Iraq. I think the deadline was the 15th? of this month. Maybe we see attempt on him with along with some attacks there.
~~~ We will create waterfalls of blood that will drag you to their depths. You have condemned your people to that. The infidel Europe has done the same to its people by following America. We will destroy European cities, starting by you, Berlusconi," the statement said.
"The cities will bleed until all of you, European leaders and people, come to your senses. Withdraw your deadly missions from Iraq."
http://seven.com.au/news/worldnews/105204
Posted by: Nick VTX ||
08/11/2004 12:10 Comments ||
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If Osama bin Laden is directing plans for an attack on the United States - as Washington intelligence officials suspect - his instructions are likely coming out of the craggy mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistan on the back of a donkey or under the shawl of an unassuming-looking villager. After the arrests of several top lieutenants, bin Laden and his right hand man, Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahri, have learned their lessons well, Pakistani intelligence officials and international terrorism experts say. They don't use satellite or cellular phones, don't trust anyone outside their innermost circle and never come up for air. Messages from the men likely pass through the hands of many couriers, most of whom have no idea where they originated, before they are turned into e-mails or conveyed by phone calls to other militants.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/11/2004 12:32:40 AM ||
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#1
It just occurred to me, maintaining the myth of BL hiding in a small village between Pakistan and Afghanistan and only communicating by donkey mail is a good way for the AL-QAEDA management to hide the fact that BL is dead from their rank and file.
Posted by: Canaveral Dan ||
08/11/2004 5:58 Comments ||
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#2
How about it being a good way to hide the fact he is living in Urban Pakistan or Iran instead?
#3
OBL is more of an elusive creature than Elvis or Judge Crater. Some savvy IT guy is making all this up from his perch in Atherton. Probably laughing all the way to the bank betting on the price of oil!
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
08/11/2004 7:41 Comments ||
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#4
Messages from the men likely pass through the hands of many couriers, most of whom have no idea where they originated, before they are turned into e-mails or conveyed by phone calls to other militants.
Assuming that there's any truth to the notion that Binny's chest is still heaving, using numerous couriers only delays the day of reckoning, assuming that everyone involved in fighting terrorism is intent on defeating it. Each little uncovered link uncovers another one, which uncovers yet another one, and it goes from there.
Posted by: B ||
08/11/2004 11:02 Comments ||
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#6
his instructions are likely coming out of the craggy mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistan on the back of a donkey or under the shawl of an unassuming-looking villager.
does the said donkey bring back medical supplies to feed his ailing health ? I think it's karmic justice that his life now depends on Western medicine delivered on the back of a donkey
Or perhaps one of his a$$hat friends have given him a new kidney after daisyclippers etc pounded tora bora ..
On a side note , the said donkey is hopefully getting danger money or at least danger straw :P
A Palestinian Authority security overhaul has been largely cosmetic to date, reflecting a lack of political will to engage in serious reform, a senior UN official said yesterday, Undersecretary-General Kieran Prendergast appeared to step back, however, from the tough rhetoric directed toward President Yasser Arafat last month by another top UN aide, in a change in tone that drew praise from a Palestinian diplomat. Palestinian officials had threatened to bar Terje Roed-Larsen, the top UN Middle East diplomat, from their territory after his July 14 briefing to the Security Council singled out Arafat for doing little to implement reforms.
The latest monthly briefing on the Middle East was "obviously much more balanced, much more based on international law and relevant UN resolutions than the one we heard last month," Palestinian UN observer Nasser Al-Kidwa said. Roed-Larsen, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special envoy for the Middle East peace process, had warned in July of a paralyzed Palestinian Authority on the verge of collapse and said security reforms were crucial to restore law and order and the authority's credibility abroad. Prendergast said yesterday that implementation of security reforms demanded by the international community "continues to be slow, and mostly cosmetic. This cannot be explained other than by a lack of political will to advance along that road." Although Arafat agreed in late July to give his prime minister, Ahmed Qorie, full authority over security agencies previously under Interior Ministry control, "ultimate authority and control over all Palestinian Authority security agencies remains with the National Security Council, headed by President Arafat," Prendergast said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2004 10:15:00 PM ||
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#1
Should the title have been UN aide?
Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/12/2004 0:41 Comments ||
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#2
Put another layer of rouge on this pig and parade it before the UN. Call it Suha.
Posted by: ed ||
08/12/2004 1:16 Comments ||
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Wildlife conservationists say Sudanese Arab militiamen with ethnic ties to the Janjaweed in Darfur are killing elephants and white rhinos in Congo. There is increasing fear that the militiamen are poaching animals to fund an on-going civil war in the Upper Nile region of southern Sudan. The Nairobi-based spokeswoman for the International Fund for Animal Welfare, Elizabeth Wamba, says a recent survey of Garamba National Park in eastern Congo shows that 25 elephants and more than a dozen rare northern white rhinos have been slaughtered there in the past year. She says the poaching has reduced the world's northern white rhino population in the wild to fewer than 30. "Garamba is located in the northeast corner of the DRC [Democratic Republic of Congo], so it borders Sudan," she said. "And there have been reports that some Sudan elements have been getting into Garamba for poaching, mainly by foot but, of late, we have also had incidents where some elements have been getting in on horseback." Park officials in Garamba say that they are certain the poachers are Arab Murahaleen militiamen, who come from the same ethnic group as the pro-Khartoum Arab Janjaweed militiamen in the western Darfur region of Sudan. Witnesses say the militiamen are using donkeys to carry ivory and rhino horn back into Sudan.
#4
how about:
"Save rhinos, elephants, and black darfur natives: Kill an Arab militiaman today"
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/11/2004 21:45 Comments ||
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The UN and EU will debate saving folks in Darfur while many thousands die. The Elephant and White Rhino crowd will mobilize immediately to save these animals. I have nothing against elephants and white rhinos, other than being in their way when they pass by. I have big issues with people that put them first vis a vis humans.
A few strategic hits in a military manner will put an end to both issues, but who will volunteer do the dirty work and take the crap from the MSM, LLL, et. al.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/11/2004 21:54 Comments ||
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EFL
SEATTLE - Someone is targeting local mom and pop stores in Seattle, breaking windows and spray-painting graffiti with an anti-war message. Since July 4, they've attacked nearly 20 small businesses. Darlene Jones is putting the best face possible on her Sand Point Way gas station. But behind her paint and the plywood, you can see the windows that someone shattered about 2:30 in the morning. Jones discovered the damage. "The whole entire place was full of glass and I was just shaken up at the time and I didn't know if he was still in there, if they were in there at all," she said. At first she thought they were being robbed. Only later did she discover the vandal didn't want money. He was leaving a message: "Out of Iraq." And he left the same message at seven small businesses throughout Seattle. Nice, peaceful peace protesters.....
Seattle Police are looking in a particular direction, they believe the suspect may come from the Eugene, Ore. area and could have ties to the Northwest Anarchist movement. They hope to have additional pictures or videotape of a suspect available Wednesday.
#1
"Peace now . . . or we'll break your windows and beat you up!"
Posted by: Mike ||
08/11/2004 15:02 Comments ||
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Eugene. Was planning to post the suspicion before I read it in the article. Reminds me of the WTO fiasco there several years ago. Most of the violent protesters were bussed up from Eugene.
At midday here during the hottest month of the year, it's an unseasonably cool 100 degrees, and a light breeze is filtering the effects of the scorching sun. A squad of Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit is nevertheless inside an uncooled tent, where Capt. William M. Vessey of Fort Collins, Colo., is issuing a patrol order. When Vessey finishes, fire-team leaders gather their Marines for initial gear inspections. After checking for their requisite ammunition, first-aid kits, water and flak jackets, they move outside to rehearse their responses to a variety of possible enemy actions. The platoon sergeant, Gunnery Sgt. Michael V. Listopad of Canton, S.D., asks his team leaders to check their Marines' gear one last time.
Two hours after the patrol order was issued, the Marines step off, leaving the relative safety of the base, where the primary threat is mortars and rockets, for the more ominous other-world of snipers, improvised explosive devices and ambushes. On the road, they quickly form a pair of columns, staggering them to deny the enemy even a cluster of two. The Marines immediately begin scanning the area, noting the different terrain and looking for any suspicious activity or possible threats.
While this may resemble a typical drill for any infantryman in Iraq, one thing was missing, though perhaps not so noticeably - the infantrymen. Where one might expect to find grunts, the men whose job it is to close with and destroy the enemy, there walked a motley group of Marines from the MEU's command element, the yeomen who compose the commander's staff sections. From the platoon commander to the point men, they spanned the spectrum of military occupational specialties. Their ranks included an AV-8B Harrier pilot, personnel clerks, signals intelligence communicators, maintenance management clerks, satellite technicians, and a forward observer. Each was a manifestation of the Corps' guiding philosophy: every Marine a rifleman.
#2
Amen, Doc. This is why the Jarines always seem (or are) a more effective patrolling and pacifying force - no one is living in some isolated bubble second-guessing the legs. Kickass.
#6
Some thing do not change, Doc.
I remember reading Dale Dye's 'Run Between The Raindrops' and the Marines taking of The Citadel in Hue City in 1968.
Dye and his partner kinda gave up being Combat Correspondents long before the higher ups suggested it.
Posted by: Jack Deth ||
08/11/2004 18:20 Comments ||
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EFL
...The brigade will distribute approximately 2,200 tons of these supplies among 80,000 family farms in Al Rashid. The agriculture project, which also includes animal vaccinations that took place earlier this summer, cost $600,000. -snip- minutia
"This seed we're giving them is certified seed that introduces a wider gene pool and increases the farmer's yield. The larger their yield, the larger their income. The more crops a farmer can produce, the more jobs are created and food produced." The seed distribution is such a simple project, Cole said, but agriculture affects around 85 percent of Al Rashid's population, so the impact will be enormous. Cole also said that since the seed distribution, mortar fire on Camp Ferrin-Huggins has reduced drastically. "The attacks that we receive here are usually mortars that are fired from fields owned by these farmers," he said. "If you notice that since we started the distribution almost two weeks ago there hasn't been a mortar attack here."
Much of the decrease also comes from talking with the farmers and land-owners during the distribution, said Staff Sgt. Barry Rinehart of the 1st Cavalry. "In exchange for this seed we ask them to tell us if they know of any [anti-Iraqi] activities that are going on," Rinehart said. "They agree to give this information for the seed, and we tell them that we expect it."
"Our main objective is to save U.S. soldier's lives while helping the farmers to be self sufficient," Cole said. With the seed project nearly under their belts, the agriculture team has plans for future areas of improvement in Iraqi agriculture, Cole said. "We conduct a farmers meeting every Sunday morning here. They bring us issues and problems that they are having."
"The farmers have requested assistance with diseases in their vegetables, so our intent is to work with Texas A&M to have their produce disease specialist to assist us in October." With these improvements, the agriculture team and civil affairs hope to help out the people of Al Rashid starting at the lowest level possible. "We're trying our hardest to see that the seed is distributed to the individual farmers," Rinehart said. "If we get it to the individuals who need it the most, we know they will appreciate it and use it, and hopefully that will help bring more stability to the local economy."
Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/11/2004 4:14:45 AM ||
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#1
The agriculture project, which also includes animal vaccinations. . . .
EFL - interesting because it provides perspective on just what kind of condition Iraq's powere grid was in.
Engineers from Iraq and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have breathed new life into a generator near Kirkuk, bringing an additional 17 megawatts of electricity to the country's power grid. The renovation of the generator at the Mullah Abdullah power plant, located 265 km north of Baghdad, is the fifth at the plant to be rehabilitated by Iraqi and Corps engineers... Electricity production in the country averages approximately 4,625 MW, a total that services an estimated 13.9 million Iraqi homes. The demand for electricity in Iraq continues to grow, according to a fact sheet published by the Iraq Ministry of Electricity. "With more than half a million new jobs created, new industries and new factories coming on line and with the sale of thousands of home appliances such as washing machines and air conditioners, Iraq has experienced a rapid increase in electricity demand," the fact sheet reads. "The increase in demand is a good sign of a thriving economy emerging from three decades of isolation. "As demand increases, the Ministry of Electricity will continue to increase the nation's available power," according to the sheet... Since beginning its work in the country nearly a year ago, the Corps has added an additional 1,409 megawatts to the Iraqi national grid. For comaprison here is a link to an article in Power Engineering dated August 26,2002 about an upgate to a turbine in at a facility run by Dayton Power and Light - a small electric utility that services the fifth or six largest metropolis in Ohio. "...DPL Energy operates over 4,600 megawatts of generation capacity..." - almost the same amount as is used in all of Iraq.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/11/2004 4:06:05 AM ||
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From The Wall Street Journal
.... Iraq's Central Bank Governor has said that he issued no counterfeiting complaint against Ahmed Chalabi, contrary to the claims of the accusing judge in this case. As for the murder charges the same judge has levied against Salem [Chalabi] -- a respected lawyer in charge of the tribunal prosecuting Saddam and his henchmen -- even Ahmed's enemies say they find them incredible. ....
Both Chalabis have vigorously denied the charges and questioned the bona fides of the judge. Zuhair al Maliky is a former translator at the Coalition Provisional Authority who was elevated to his current position by the former U.S-appointed governor, L. Paul Bremer. In April Mr. Bremer amended his original order establishing Iraq's Central Criminal Court to eliminate a requirement that judges have five years of prior judicial experience; Mr. Maliky had none. The head of Iraq's union of judges has questioned the court's legitimacy.
This is not the first time Judge Maliky has moved against Mr. Chalabi. In May security forces raided Mr. Chalabi's home and office. Attempts by Mr. Bremer and the White House to paint the raids as an all-Iraqi effort were complicated by the presence of two American employees of Mr. Chalabi, both of whom testified to the presence of plainclothed and uniformed Americans. In response, Judge Maliky issued further warrants for the Americans, absurdly charging them with "obstructing" his investigation.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
08/11/2004 8:27:52 AM ||
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Pakistan will be completed when the Muslim majority states of India would become part of it, said Hafiz Abdul Rehman Makki, Jamaat-ud-Daawa's (JD) head for political affairs, at press conference on Tuesday. He said Kashmir was an integral part of Pakistan and Mujahideen were fighting for its liberation, but Muslim states of Hyderabad, Manawarad and Junagarh in India should not be ignored. "These are also the part of Pakistan. They were occupied by India after partition," he said. He criticised joint cultural shows by Indian and Pakistani artists and demanded a ban on cultural delegations.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
08/11/2004 5:31:07 AM ||
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Former President Gerald R. Ford chose an occasion commemorating his presidency to honor two men who served him in the White House and continue to serve their country today. At an Aug. 9 dinner marking the 30th anniversary of Ford taking office, the Gerald R. Ford Foundation presented the Gerald R. Ford Medal for Distinguished Public Service to Vice President Richard B. Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/11/2004 03:38 ||
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#1
Anyone thinking it was a different Ford Foundation? :-)
Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/11/2004 3:39 Comments ||
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#2
Oh, THAT Ford Foundation! Okay--I'm all better now.
Posted by: Dar ||
08/11/2004 10:49 Comments ||
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#3
That was an eyebrow raiserâ¦for a brief second anyway.
Posted by: B ||
08/11/2004 10:55 Comments ||
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Pakistan has redoubled its campaign against dangerous extremists by pursuing people it trained for covert operations in Afghanistan and Kashmir. Over the weekend, two suspected ringleaders of the Pakistani jihadis were arrested, both allegedly with long-standing links to the country's main spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence. Qari Saifullah Akhtar was brought home Saturday from the Persian Gulf state of Dubai, handcuffed like a common criminal. Maulana Fazalur Rehman Khalil was caught inside Pakistan following a U.S. complaint that he was still recruiting and sending volunteers for the Taliban movement in neighboring Afghanistan.
Tuesday, August 10, 2004 Posted: 12:02 PM EDT (1602 GMT) (CNN) -- An official Iranian news agency Tuesday reported that Iraq's interim prime minister, Ayad Allawi, has been invited to make an official visit to Iran. Come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly.
Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi made the announcement, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency. The neighboring countries fought a bloody war in the 1980s and there have been tensions since. Iran is overwhelmingly Shiite and Shiite Muslims comprise the majority of people in Iraq, which has huge Sunni Muslim and Kurdish populations. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said recently that there is concern among officials about Iran's statements and activities regarding Iraq. Does anyone remember that marvelously oblique term, "unhelpful."
Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose followers are battling U.S. troops, takes his spiritual direction from an ultra-conservative, Iran-based, Iraqi-exile cleric. Also, an Iranian diplomat who disappeared last week apparently has been kidnapped by Islamic militants. Al-Arabiya, the Arabic-language network, aired a video Sunday from a group that identified itself as the Islamic Army of Iraq. The video showed the diplomat, Fereydoun Jahani, but gave no reason for his kidnapping. Kharrazi reportedly said that the incident is being investigated. The investigation is rivaled in priority only by the plucking of nose hairs.
Posted by: Zenster ||
08/11/2004 12:43:36 AM ||
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The ring-leaders of the September 11 attacks in the United States had originally planned to travel to Chechnya to fight Russian federal troops in the breakaway region, before being waylaid into an al Qaeda plot to attack the United States instead, the September 11 commission disclosed in a report cited by The Washington Post.
The 9/11 commission's report on the investigations were published recently and cited previously secret interrogations of cell member Ramzi Binalshibh, revealing that the Hamburg radicals who carried out the attacks had been urged by a passenger on a German train to put off their mission to Chechnya. The mysterious passenger — identified as Khalid Masri — introduced them to Mauritanian businessman Mohamedou Ould Slahi, who later arranged a personal introduction to Osama bin Laden.
The Islamic radicals in the Hamburg cell that included chief hijacker Muhammad Atta had been planning to go to Chechnya and fight along with the Islamic separatist rebels there. Slahi told the men that it was difficult to slip across the border into Chechnya. He encouraged them instead to go to Afghanistan. He assisted with their travel plans and arranged for them to meet operatives for al Qaeda in Pakistan, who in turn arranged a private meeting between Binalshibh and bin Laden in December 1999.
The Chechnya plot, meanwhile, was never realized.
Too bad Vlad can't get the Chechnyan 'fly paper' strategy to work.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
08/11/2004 12:38:06 AM ||
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OBL had to get his people from somewhere. The greater significance is not from where he got his people as much as that the people were not, by any stretch of the imagination, directly oppressed by anyone, but were rather well-off: With more training, the pilots would have gotten good civilian jobs.
Shoots to heck the argument that the Islamic fundo side is motivated by "economics".
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
