A prominent Yemeni opposition official has been shot dead by a member of a rival opposition party in the Arab state. Jarallah Omar, deputy Secretary-General of the Yemeni Socialist Party, was pronounced dead in hospital shortly after the shooting. The Government official identified the gunman as Ali Jarallah, a member of the Islamic opposition Islah Party, known for his criticism of the Government and moderates in his party. "Infidels! Unbelievers! Apostates! Hypocrites! Liars! Thieves! (drool!)
Mr Omar, in his 60s, was shot minutes after he gave a speech at the annual general assembly of the Islah Party in the capital Sanaa. "The gunman went up to Omar after he sat down and shot him several times," one witness said. Maybe it was something he said?
Witnesses earlier said the assailant had been arrested, but officials of the Socialist Party said Jarallah was being held by Islah Party leaders, who refused to hand him over to police. "So he shot him! He was only a politician! What's the big deal? This is Yemen, y'know?"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/28/2002 12:17 pm ||
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ASHINGTON, Dec. 28 â Saudi Arabia has told American military officials that the kingdom would make its airspace, air bases and an important operations center available to the United States in the event of war with Iraq, senior military officials say.
Saudi Arabia was the main staging area for American forces in the 1991 Persian Gulf war, but conflicting public statements by top Saudi officials over the past several months have cast doubt on Saudi Arabia's support for military operations against Iraq this time around.
American commanders now say they have been given private assurances in recent weeks that they will be allowed to run an air war against Iraq from a sophisticated command center at Prince Sultan Air Base outside Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital. It is the same command post that ran the air campaign in Afghanistan.
Because of its nearness to Iraq and large, modern facilities like the Prince Sultan base, Saudi Arabia offers crucial advantages as a staging area for military operations. But because of uncertainty about Saudi cooperation, the Pentagon proceeded with plans to build an alternate air command post in Qatar, where the overall American command for Iraqi operations will be headquartered.
American commanders now say allied refueling, reconnaissance, surveillance and cargo planes will be allowed to fly from Saudi bases, using Saudi airspace on the way to missions in or near Iraq. And these officials are expressing confidence that the Saudis will ultimately allow attack missions, which are more politically sensitive, to be flown from their soil.
In a significant sign of the new cooperation, Saudi officials over the past two months have quietly permitted American warplanes based in the kingdom to bomb targets in southern Iraq in response to Iraqi violations of the no-flight zone there. Previously, those missions were flown out of Kuwait. Hmmm, I wasnt aware of that one. Makes you wonder if there was really any doubt that we were really in arabia at all?
"I firmly believe the Saudis will give us all the cooperation we need, and every indication I have is we're getting pretty much what we've asked for," Gen. John P. Jumper, the Air Force chief of staff, said in an interview. General Jumper? are they putting us on?
Officials in Riyadh and Washington continue to pursue delicate talks on the precise details of any Saudi support. But American officials say that all the Pentagon's requests are now on the table, even the use of Saudi ports and bases for small numbers of American and coalition ground troops.
"It's all an open question," said Senator Chuck Hagel, a Nebraska Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee who traveled to Saudi Arabia this month. Mr. Hagel said the broadest Saudi cooperation hinged on another United Nations Security Council resolution supporting the use of force to disarm Iraq.
"If we stay close to the U.N. and give countries like Saudi Arabia the political cover they need, yes," Mr. Hagel said in a telephone interview. "If the U.S. veers off course and moves toward a unilateral position with the Brits, then that puts those Arab governments in a very difficult spot."
American officials and Middle East experts attribute the improved Saudi cooperation to several factors. As President Bush appears to move closer to ordering an attack against Iraq, Saudi officials do not want to cross a strategic ally at a pivotal time in the countries' relationship.
"They've been longtime strategic partners with the United States," Gen. Richard B. Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during a visit to the Persian Gulf this week.
But more broadly, Saudi officials are trying to repair the damage in American-Saudi relations stemming in part from the fact that 15 of the 19 hijackers in the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States were Saudis. And Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Washington and his wife have been pressed to explain how payments she made to the ailing Jordanian wife of a Saudi man ended up in the hands of two Saudi men who have been under scrutiny for their close ties to hijackers in the Sept. 11 attacks.
Publicly, Saudi officials remain noncommittal about allowing their territory to be used as a staging area for war against Iraq.
Asked whether Saudi Arabia would allow the United States to use its bases in case of war, the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, told CNN last Sunday:Insert poorly translated arabian double talk here: "It depends on the war. If it is a war that is through the United Nations, with consensus on it, we will have to decide on that based on the national interests of Saudi Arabia."
A spokesman for the Saudi Embassy here did not return two phone calls to his office.
None of this particularly disturbs senior American military officials and diplomats, who say they are accustomed to dealing with Saudi sensitivities, and the often conflicting views of the royal family, in private.
"Publicly, we'll never have the Saudis throw a parade and celebrate what they're doing for us. But in the end, they will be there," said a senior military official. Might be because all the little princes go to school in the US, where our "security services" have developed long dossiers made up of the college life.
Given the past uncertainty regarding the Saudi position on use of their bases, however, the Pentagon made contingency plans in the event American forces' access was restricted.
The military built its alternate air command center at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. It is just a few miles from the Central Command headquarters at Camp As Sayliyah where Gen. Tommy R. Franks, commander of American forces in the Persian Gulf region, would direct at least the early phases of any war.
The United States and Britain are stationing dozens of aircraft at a necklace of bases in Persian Gulf countries, including Kuwait, Qatar and Oman. American officials are negotiating with Turkey for use of several bases there and plan to station B-2 stealth bombers overseas for the first time, at Britain's Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean. Diego Garcia - The worlds slowest moving aircraft carrier
But the modern facilities, excellent communications, abundant fuel and supplies, and proximity to Iraq make the Saudi bases among the most attractive to American commanders.
For that reason, American officials, including the United States ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Robert W. Jordan, and the commander of allied air forces in the region, Lt. Gen. T. Michael Moseley of the Air Force, have continued discussions with their Saudi counterparts, including the Saudi ambassador here, Prince Bandar bin Sultan.
"There's been an ongoing dialogue," said Philip Reeker, a State Department spokesman.
American commanders said relations with their Saudi military counterparts had not suffered seriously from the political tensions in American-Saudi relations.
For example, restrictions on American training missions have been loosened in recent months, and Saudi military officers are playing an increasingly important role in the operations center at Prince Sultan, said General Jumper, who visited Saudi Arabia last month and has close ties with its senior military leaders.
"I don't think we should take, from any of the nations over there, their lack of instantly signing up to full cooperation as a sign of anything but them taking a careful approach to what they agreed to do," General Jumper said.
Doesn't Saudi Arabia sound just like a high school cheerleader who just realized no one is going to ask her to the prom?
Posted by: Frank Martin ||
12/28/2002 06:22 pm ||
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#1
Nah, that honor belongs to the French.
By the way, has the Charles DeGaulle left dry dock yet? I'm betting it doesn't make it to the Indian Ocean before it develops mechanical problems.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/28/2002 20:24 Comments ||
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#2
This was my prediction back a few months ago when the Soddies were being real negative. Everyone, including the Frogs and Ruskies love a winner. Everybody who is anybody will be on the bandwagon come early February. Who wants to be left out of the lootin' and tootin' after its all over.
Posted by: Jack ||
12/29/2002 6:35 Comments ||
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IslamOnline & News Agencies
An Iraqi scientist interviewed by U.N. arms inspectors on Friday, December 27, refuted claims he told them that his work was in any way linked to the development of a nuclear weapons program that has been banned by the United Nations and accused them of being capable of "fabricating inventions". "Lies! All lies! I said nossing! No-o-o-ossing! Tell them, Hogan!"
"I have no links with nuclear program," scientist Kadhum Jameel told Iraqi television network al-Shebab by telephone in comments broadcast live. "Please don't kill me, boss!"
After an interview with Jameel, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) spokesman Hiro Ueki claimed the Iraqi scientist had provided the inspectors with details of a military program that could be linked to a clandestine nuclear program. In his daily statement on the inspections underway in Iraq, Ueki alleged Jameel, whom he described as "a metallurgist from a high-visibility state company", had "provided technical details of a military program". "No, I didn't! I was talking about... ummm... something else!"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/28/2002 10:53 am ||
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#1
that'll be his last live broadcast. Hope his family doesn't suffer too much, but he's a dead man walking. Nice of the IAEA to show so much concern....guess how much cooperation we'll get from the rest of the interviews?...right
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/28/2002 11:07 Comments ||
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If this scientist or his family is bumped off, what are the chances that it'll make the news? Anyone care to give odds?
#3
Blix: "What happened again after you interviewed him?"
Underling: "He had some sort of traffic accident. Apparently his car ran into a T-72 tank and was crushed."
Blix: "Anyone else hurt?"
Underling: "Apparently the same tank rolled on and crushed another car containing this scientist's family. They were all killed too."
Blix: "Are T-72's on our list?"
Underling: "No, boss."
Blix: "Well then, send a reminder to the inspection team, and tell them to be careful in the traffic circles!"
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/28/2002 20:30 Comments ||
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The UN nuclear agency says its inspectors will leave North Korea early next week after the communist state said it would expel them and press on with its nuclear plans. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) described North Korea as a country "in defiance of international obligations". Hmmm... That's strange. Usually the IAEA only serves up warm milk...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/28/2002 11:43 am ||
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"...and we will, as always, comply with that defiance." You can always count on the UN to take a hike when it hits the fan.
As rescue teams continued to search for survivors amid the debris of the Chechen Government headquarters in Grozny, devastated in Friday's attack, the emergency ministry said the death toll had risen to 55, with a further 123 injured. The spokesman for the Russian military's anti-terrorist unit in the Northern Caucasus, Ilya Shabalkin, told the ITAR-TASS news agency that the attack was organised by rebel Chechen president Aslan Maskhadov and an Arab mercenary named Abu-Tarik. "A few days earlier we were tipped off about a forthcoming large-scale terrorist act to be carried out in Grozny by a group based in Stariye Atagi and headed by Abu-Tarik," Mr Shabalkin said. So they knew it was coming, just not where...
In a military operation at Stariye Atagi, a village 20 kilometres south of Grozny that Mr Shabalkin said was used as a base for terrorist activities, "we succeeded in killing Abu-Tarik but were unable to prevent the terrorist act," the spokesman said. "Abu, we hardly knew ye..."
The initial tip-off had concerned a meeting between the radical Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev and another Arab named Abu al-Walid, Shabalkin said. On Friday, Mr Shabalkin said the attack was ordered by Basayev and al-Walid and financed by sources in several Arab countries which he did not name. Walid is Khattab's successor. Guess he's picked up his contacts back in the Olde Countrie, too...
And on NTV television yesterday he said Chechen rebels had begun "resorting to so-called Arab methods, in which suicide bombers attempt to penetrate areas where people are gathered and blow themselves up". Perhaps because the Arab control is more naked now...
Russian officials have sought to play up links between the radical Islamist Basayev and the elected rebel President Aslan Maskhadov, particularly during the October 23-26 Moscow theatre siege in which an armed Chechen rebel group took 800 people hostage. Ah! Analysis! I like analysis. It means I don't have to think it out for myself. But Maskhadov was elected "president" of his bandit gang about six years ago, and only a month or two ago resigned the position to become potentate...
The foreign ministry said in a statement that the organisers of the Grozny attack were "part of the global terror network," specifically referring to Al Qaeda. But Andrei Piontkovsky of Moscow's Centre for Strategic Studies said this year's death of Khattab, a Jordanian-born guerrilla with reported links to the Al Qaeda network, meant the Chechens have been forced to become far more self-reliant than in the past. "This was the work of Arabs is a slogan that works well for the Russian propaganda machine," he said. "It may be partially true, but with the death of Khattab, the influence of Arabs (in the Chechen resistance) is diminishing." Piontkovsky's area of expertise apparently doesn't include the Caucasus, or Khattab, or else he's got an agenda, which is more likely. From Khattab's obituary, on Kavkaz.org (the original page is now defunct, which is why I keep these things):
"Khattabâs real name is Samir Saleh Abdullah Al-Suwailem. In his early youth he wanted to study in the United States. Mansour shed light on several aspects of Khattabâs personal life in an interview with Arab News. The interview was conducted at his fatherâs house in Alkhobar in the Eastern Province."
He may have been born in Jordan, but he was raised in Soddy Arabia. When he kicked it, al-Walid took his place, and Walid is another Soddy. World-wide, the Islamist hard boys keep swarming to Chechnya, just like they used to flock to Afghanistan. The "Islamic Republic of Ichkeria" under Maskhadov has become more Islamist and less Caucasian.
Posted by: Steve & Fred ||
12/28/2002 10:53 am ||
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Chechen Press news agency released the statement made by Envoy of President of CRI A. Maskhadov Akhmed Zakayev in regards to the latest events in Jokhar. In his statement Akhmed Zakayev says:
«Being outside of Chechnya, and not being involved in the Russian-Chechen conflict, one can call the blast of the so-called House of Government as a terrorist act, which resulted in multiple victims.
On the other hand, some will regard the events that happened yesterday in the context of the Chechen everyday life as a successful act of retribution on behalf of Chechens. According to their logic, the House of Government is not a residential building, or a school, or a hospital.
The House of Government is the facility under the tightest security on the territory of the Chechen Republic. No doubt, many on the Chechen side viewed that building as a strategic target, as gathering of the most zealous conductors of the anti-Chechen terrorist war.
Chechen Government expresses deep condolences to the relatives of the victims of Russian-Chechen conflict. While condemning any terrorist acts, the Chechen Government insists that Russian-Chechen conflict has no powerful solution. Our appeals to the Russian leadership about peace remain unanswered.
We are calling to the international community to get involved in the situation».
He forgot to say anything about how the Jews were behind it. Better stay at Vanessa's house for awhile, until people forget that little lapse in Islamist protocol.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/28/2002 11:03 am ||
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Chechen Press news agency released the text of the statement made by President of Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (CRI), Amir (Commander-In-Chief) of State Defense Council of CRI Aslan Maskhadov concerning the annihilation of the building of the invaders' puppet administration in Jokhar that happened on December 27, 2002.
Dear fellow countrymen, brothers and sisters!
For the past three and a half years tragic events were the only subjects of my addresses to all of you. You will understand me, this is not the easiest task. Mass death of people, mainly Chechens, that happened today as a result of the blast of the invaders' puppet regime is a nationwide tragedy. Our loved ones are dying every day - somebody's father, mother or sister...
Even though the leadership of Chechen Republic of Ichkeria does not approve any cooperation with the invaders, we are infinitely sorry to hear about the death of one official or another, who serves in puppet structures and in the so-called Chechen police. For us these losses are victims of the Russian aggressors, without which the Chechens would not have had the reason to be divided. As the President I understand that the majority of those who get jobs at the invaders' puppet structures have only one goal - just to survive. Unfortunately, this is not happening.
Our enemies are doing all they can to kill Chechens with the hand of other Chechens. They are working day and night for this sake. Recall the blast of the buses with so-called Chechen special police (OMON) on board, which happened in the capital, or the incident with draftees in Shatoi District, etc. For Russian leadership, which is striving for Chechnya without Chechens, a good Chechen is a dead Chechen. All these labels like «Maskhadovan» for example, «Wahhabite», «Kadyrovan», «Zavgayevan», etc. have a meaning only as long as by using them they can divide us, oppose us to one another and kill us on behalf of one another.
Dear fellow countrymen!
I am calling you to spare yourselves and those around you. On the territory of Chechen Republic of Ichkeria we are dealing with aggressors, who came to exterminate us as a nation. No one must trust them. Beware of them, do not look at them, despise them. Then the deliverance will come quicker. And it will surely come. Chechen fighters will not stop their fight until the last invader leaves our long-suffered land.
I am addressing to those who because of the most severe ordeals and losses decided to follow the path of self-sacrifice. I understand you, but I cannot support you. Neither your deaths, nor deaths of hundreds and thousands of others will stop our enemies. Only with our endurance and nobleness will we achieve the triumph of victory. The Kremlin is using any pretext to tie Chechens to international terrorism, the Kremlin's own child. Our task is not to follow their lead.
I am expressing deep condolences to the relatives of the victims, as well as to the entire Chechen nation concerning the severe losses that all of us have experienced. May the Most High not deprive us of His mercy!»
Jokhar, in case you've forgotten, is the Chechens' name for Grozny. They went ahead and named it after Jokhar Dudaev, who was the founder of the mob.
Aslan's still looking for support from the Redgraves of the world, so he can't stand up and ululate over the deaths, even though Basayev and Walid, his right-hand men, were the planners and executors. If you're going to be hypocritical, I guess, go for pure, unalloyed hypocrisy. There are always those who want to believe.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/28/2002 11:16 am ||
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Source: Tehran Times
Spanish police have arrested an Algerian man suspected of links to a militant Islamic group and who had allegedly trained at Osama bin Laden's camps in Afghanistan, officials said on Friday. Abdelkrim Hammad, alias Aldelnasa, was picked up in the wine-growing region of La Rioja on Thursday on an international arrest warrant. He is wanted in his native Algeria for premeditated murder, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. "The detainee is a very dangerous individual who was trained in the Afghanistan camps controlled by Osama bin Laden where he specialized in handling explosives," the statement said. "In addition, to his terrorist activity in Algeria, he participated as an Islamic combatant in the jihad (holy war) in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Kosovo." The calaboose sounds like a fine place for him, at least until he's handed over to the Algerians. Then he can have a nice repose in the boneyard.
In Europe since the mid-1990s, Hammad has recruited and trained young Arab men for the jihad, and formed part of the logistics network for Islamic groups linked to Algeria's GIA, the ministry said. Anything that hurts GIA is probably good for the rest of us...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/28/2002 11:35 am ||
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#1
Nice Job Spain PD, A bit of advice though. Dont forget to lock the SkyLite window.
xoxoFrenchy
Posted by: Richard ||
12/29/2002 1:32 Comments ||
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TACOMA - A Coast Guard port-security unit from Tacoma will be deployed to the Persian Gulf to provide port security for U.S. forces stationed there, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., announced Friday.
Sen. Murray didn't mention if some of the USCG units would be building day care centers as part of their duties....
The unit's 112 reservists and five active-duty personnel will be used to establish and protect a security zone around U.S. military assets in the gulf, Murray said. Check the ratio there, 112 reserve - 5 active.
The exact date the unit will leave for the Middle East is not known, nor its length of service and location, Murray said. The unit has six deployable small boats.
Posted by: Frank Martin ||
12/28/2002 01:28 pm ||
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The call-up has been quiet, and subtle, and going on for weeks. All over the web, in comments threads, in various other ways, people have been remarking on spouses, friends, family members, or themselves being called up.
Career retired servicemen and women are being called back as well. And now the hospital ship is heading to the Gulf. Think Saddam is marking off days on his calendar with X's? He should be.
#3
112:5 is a pretty honest ratio for a Port Security unit. Not every day you need to keep those Iraqi dolphin-UDT and Frogman teams from blowing up you Aegis cruiser!
Posted by: Jack ||
12/29/2002 6:41 Comments ||
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Source: Nawa-I-waqt, Translated by Jihad Unspun
There are 1100 US soldiers and FBI agents operating in Pakistan and various agents are present temporarily in Karachi, Quetta, Lahore and Peshawar who are simultaneously performing investigation tasks in all four provinces of Pakistan. Oooh! I like that idea!
The FBI is monitoring all the messages through telephone, fax, satellite phone and emails. Three air bases are still being used by the American army. During the raids, American agents use Pakistan Army uniforms and speak local languages fluently. According to a report by a British newspaper Independent, Pakistan is providing all the facilities to FBI and other agencies of coalition countries for their continued operation against Al-Qaeda. That's mighty nice of them. Only way to get off the poop list is to play nice, isn't it?
In this capacity, the FBI is operating with Pakistani agencies and Pakistani agencies have been provided with latest equipment. According to the report, the FBI is still active in all big cities of Pakistan specially Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, Quetta, Bahawalpur and Peshawar. The report further says that Prime Minister Jamali confirmed in a statement that FBI was not involved in the operation against Dr. Jawaid, but the newspaper claims that in this operation American agency, Punjab police and elite forces took part. Probably the Merkins are providing the base intel to drive these operations, while the Paks provide the local linguistic expertise. There aren't many Americans who speak Pashtun, and not many more who speak Urdu. With Arabic we're a lot better. Even with the basic languages, one still has to add technical vocubulary and regional colloquialisms. The Feds in the field are probably there to provide enough presence within the Pak cop shops to inhibit Mahmoud the Weasel from tipping the intended targets. The Paks themselves are much better qualified to batter down doors and engage in shootouts with the local wild-eyed fanatics.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/28/2002 11:30 am ||
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There's FBI agents in Pakistan?
Given the FBI's past performance on home turf, it's hard to determine whether Pakistan is being helped or hurt by their presence.
#2
Why can't we use all those Pakkie taxi drivers in NYC that run around with cabs fitted out with every conceivable US flag display imaginable? Think about all the 7/11's in your town or city that could come up with a well trained linguistic contingent for the FBI and the Joes!
Posted by: Jack ||
12/29/2002 6:44 Comments ||
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Indian Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani said on Friday the government planned to hold talks with the new government in Srinagar and Mujahideen groups on ways to bring peace to occupied Kashmir. A new coalition government assumed power in the held state last month, saying it favoured talks with the All parties Hurriyat Conference, who boycotted last month's elections. "The dialogue will be held with the elected representatives of (held) Jammu and Kashmir for restoration of peace," Advani told reporters in Jammu. "The talks would not remain confined to elected representatives only and could be held with those also who could not either participate in the elections or get elected."
The Hurriyat has in the past refused to meet the Indian government unless Pakistan was included in the dialogue. However, Advani ruled out talks with Islamabad, alleging "Pakistan has reactivated its training camps which it had temporarily closed. The recent spurt in violence...shows the intentions of Pakistan. Infiltration is continuing and the alarming thing is that the component of foreign militants of late has considerably increased and three-fourths are foreign militants." "Foreign militants" would also include Pakistanis. I'd be really interested in knowing what the proportion of Arabs and other riff-raff is. There hasn't been any result from similar talks in the past — at most an agreement with some of the groups, while the others go on ranting and killing at random. The groups who agreed get tired of sitting on the sidelines and then rejoin the festivities.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/28/2002 01:01 pm ||
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Tempo Abdul Wahid Kadungga, known as one of the ideologists behind planner of the Jamaah Islamiyah, was set free on Thursday. He had been questioned for 24 hours and the police did not find evidence that he was involved in the Bali and Makassar bombings. Zainuri Lubis, legal information spokesperson at the National Police, said that Kadungga was arrested based on intelligence data about his involvement in the Bali and Makassar bombing cases. The police merely had 24 hours to question him and they had to release him, as they did not find evidence. Regarding Kadunggaâs involvement in Jemaah Islamiyah, the police do not have authority to arrest someone just because of an organization in which he is involved. âWe have to release him if we do not have strong evidence, no matter what organization he is involved,â he said. They weren't hitting him hard enough, and 24 hours isn't long enough for the giggle juice to properly kick in. We'll be hearing more from Kadungga in the future, you betcha. He just won't be so easy to pick up.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/28/2002 10:53 am ||
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Peace monitors are beginning to take up positions in the Indonesian Province of Aceh. They are going to try to ensure that a ceasefire is observed between Indonesian Government forces and separatist rebels. The two sides signed a peace agreement earlier this month which will grant the province greater autonomy. But almost three weeks after the deal was signed, 10 people have been killed, including a number of civilians. The role of the monitors will be to investigate such incidents and report back to a newly established joint security committee. "Oboy! I'll bet they're gonna be infidels! Hey, Mahmoud! Call that guy in Arabia and put in an order for more ammunition!"
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/28/2002 11:45 am ||
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Two women, one of them the wife of a human rights campaigner, have been shot and wounded in Indonesia's Papua province, an activist says. The women, Else Bonai and Merauje, were travelling on a public minivan near the border with Papua New Guinea when shots were fired at them, Papua human rights group spokesman Elsham Aloy Renwarin says. The shots came from the bush near the border. Else, the wife of Elsham director Johannes Bonai, suffered wounds on both legs while bullets hit Merauje in the left leg and hand. Both are undergoing a surgery at the army hospital in Jayapura. "It was the work of professionals," Mr Renwarin said. Papua deputy police chief Brigadier General Raziman Tarigan has said that Kopassus special forces soldiers were suspected of having carried out the attack. This is one of those fights that mostly falls outside the Islamist model, though Laskar Jihad did send thugs to Papua to stir up trouble with the locals against the independence movement. Papua is chock full of Melanesians, with the western half under Indonesia control and the eastern half the independent nation of Papua-New Guinea. There's a strong independence movement, since the "unanimous" UN-sponsored "free choice" plebiscite of 1969 was shady in construction and the vote wasn't extended to the 700,000 Melanesians. (Our Australian readers probably know a lot more about the situation there than I do...)
On August 31 gunmen opened fire on buses near the US-owned Freeport gold and copper mine in Papua, killing two US teachers and an Indonesian colleague and injuring 18 others. There was a shootout between the Indon coppers and the local bad guys the next day, and a couple weeks later 15 members of the Free PAPUA Movement were jugged, but speculation has been that the killings were done by the army. I suspect that this shooting was by the same people, though I have no idea what the reasoning was behind it, if any.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/28/2002 12:08 pm ||
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At least 12 Filipinos have been killed and nine others wounded in an ambush in the southern Philippines island of Mindanao. Military officials say security guards and employees of the Toronto Ventures mining company were riding aboard a light truck when they were attacked by suspected Muslim separatists. Police in the area say the mining company had previously received extortion demands from the guerrillas. Tell me again the difference between a "guerrilla" and a "crook." I keep forgetting...
Authorities say soldiers have been dispatched to hunt down the attackers while security forces throughout the area have been put on alert.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
12/28/2002 12:12 pm ||
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A senior Bush administration official told CNN Saturday that the White House has a new policy to deal with the increasingly defiant North Korea.
The policy is called "tailored containment" -- a plan to which President Bush has agreed -- and is intended to put maximum financial and political pressure on North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program, the official said. Some components of the policy are already in place. No Soup For You
Under tailored containment, the Bush administration plans to work with the International Atomic Energy Agency to bring North Korea's case before the U.N. Security Council, the official said. It has taken the U.N. 12 years to almost disarm Iraq
The United Nations could declare North Korea in violation of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and perhaps impose economic sanctions, thereby increasing international pressure on North Korea to discontinue its nuclear programs, the official said.
The plan also calls for the United States to encourage North Korea's neighbors to limit or even sever their economic ties with Pyongyang, according to the official. Japan and South Korea have already cut off oil shipments to the country.
The policy has an active military component as well. U.S. vessels could intercept missile shipments from North Korea to cut into their profits from weapons sales, the official said.
The White House insists it will not negotiate with North Korea until it abandons its nuclear weapons programs. A senior Bush administration official said the United States would be willing to hold low-level talks if North Korea had something constructive to say, but as one official put it, "there would be no deal-making."
In other diplomatic moves Saturday, South Korea has sent high-level delegates to China and Russia in a bid to increase pressure on Pyongyang to pull back from its current nuclear stance.
Government officials said Saturday South Korea would also arrange a meeting of tripartite talks with the United States and Japan early next month, the Yonhap news agency reported. Hopefully the South Koreans will have something constructive to say for once, other than the Kissing Ass eeerrrr I mean Sunshine Policy
#1
"...if I were a world conquerer, and had any plans for taking over the world, the first thing I would do would to be to build a great power plant, plutonium power plant, and then I would secretly develop atomic energy for atomic bombs from that power plant."
Senator Johnson (in) Atomic Energy Act of 1946: Hearings before the Senate Special Committee on Atomic Energy, Use, and Control of Atomic Energy, Pt. 2, Dec. 5, 6, 10, 12, 1945 (1946), at 206
Posted by: Richard ||
12/29/2002 1:26 Comments ||
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A senior Bush administration official said the United States would be willing to hold low-level talks if North Korea had something constructive to say, but as one official put it, "there would be no deal-making."
I love it! This is the kind of rhetorical and political hardball that was missing during the first 95% of the Cold War.
South Korea is reluctant to have North Koreaâs nuclear challenge dealt with at the UN Security Council, because it will not only mean a prolonged standoff but also reduce its say in resolving a looming crisis, government officials say.
``If the UNSC stepped in, it would mean the situation will drag on,ââ one government official said. ``That scenario runs counter to our wish to see the Northâs nuclear program resolved peacefully and as soon as possible.ââ
Another official said the involvement of UNSCâs five permanent members _ the United States, China, Russia, France and Britain _ would likely leave little room for Seoul to influence the handling of Pyongyangâs nuclear program. An internal memo by the South Korean Foreign Ministry, however, expected the Northâs nuclear challenge would be forwarded for deliberation at the UNSC by the end of January. We dont care if S.Korea gets nuked, were more worried about who the North is going to sell these materials to.
UNSC is empowered to take a wide range of actions, from the issuance of a resolution to placing trade embargos and authorizing military action.
Seoul is worried it will be shut out from the process of handling the North Korean situation. On Thursday, President Kim Dae-jung said Seoul should take a leading role in the peaceful resolution of the issue, a message government officials say is intended both for Pyongyang, which only looks to the U.S. for dialogue, and for the Bush administration, which insists on its policy of isolating the North.
``We will never make the same mistake of paying billions of dollars for a deal we didnât participate in,ââ Kim was quoted as saying during a function Monday, referring to the 1994 agreement Pyongyang and Washington struck to defuse a nuclear crisis. Under the 1994 Geneva Agreed Framework, the government is obliged to pay more than $3 billion, about 70 percent of the cost of building two light-water reactors for the North, in exchange for its promise to freeze its uranium-based nuclear program. But you have made the same mistake time after time, by promoting progams such as your goofy Sunshine Policy.
Posted by: Richard ||
12/28/2002 08:54 pm ||
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#1
"If the UNSC stepped in, it would mean the situation will drag on," one government official said.
Huh. Kind of makes one realize just what purpose is served by seeking UN "approval" for the U.S. to act.
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