Six distinguished Afghan citizens — editors, government officials, and religious leaders — spent January 21 to February 7 traveling across the United States talking to American Muslims and interfaith-understanding groups. Under the auspices of the US Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs' International Visitor Programme, the six went from Washington, D.C., to New York City to Salt Lake City, Utah, to Portland, Oregon, and Cincinnati, Ohio. The purpose of the program, called "Islam in America," was to enable the visitors, among whom were the editor of the Kabul daily Hewad and the deputy governor of Nangarhar, to talk to American adherents to Islam about the richness and diversity of Muslim culture in the United States, says Washington File. Wonder if they met with CAIR...
The programme was also designed to highlight that tolerance is a primary value in American attitudes toward religion and ethnic minorities. Among the highlights of their visit were an opportunity to meet Secretary of State Colin Powell and talk at length with Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Patricia Harrison. Make 'em feel important...
In Washington, D.C. at Georgetown University, the oldest Roman Catholic college in the United States, participants met with Imam Yahyi Hendi, the university's Muslim chaplain. They also went to the US House of Representatives offices to talk to Jameel Aalim Johnson, an American Muslim and the chief of staff of New York Congressman Gregory Meeks. After visiting Washington, the group traveled west. In Salt Lake City, Utah, the center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon faith), they talked to representatives of the Episcopal and Roman Catholic dioceses as well as the United Religion Initiative, an interfaith organization with centers in 47 countries. They also received a warm welcome from the Utah State Legislature. In Oregon, the delegation spoke to Imam Mohammad Majieb, director of the Muslim Community Center of Portland. At their final destination, Cincinnati, Ohio, they met with the head of the Cincinnati Islamic Center to learn about African-American Muslims. They also took part in a forum at the Brueggeman Center for Interreligious Dialogue at Xavier University, a Jesuit institution. These activities drew the attention of both radio stations and newspapers in Cincinnati. "See? You, too, could have a tolerant society that respects all religions..."
"Piss off, infidels. We don't want to."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
02/22/2003 11:11 am ||
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Real Afghanis are a rational bunch if not under "the influence". By that I mean the Pakistanis and Sauds.
Responding to Afghan President Hamid Karzai's call for disarming the country's warlords, donor states pledged to help Afghanistan disarm militiamen at a conference held in Kabul Saturday. Afghanistan secured more than 50 million dollars in pledges to carry out the disarmament task, in what is seen as a key step in rebuilding the war-torn country. The Afghan president urged representatives from 35 countries and 12 international organizations to "join in a broad partnership to further consolidate our plans to build a peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan." Karzai received enough promises of aid to cover the first year of a three-year 134 million-dollar program, which also seeks to reintegrate former combatants into civil society through the fledgling standing army. They'd better devote some money to countering the Islamists swarming in through the back door, too. Otherwise they'll end up pledging money to buy more arms for a democratic resistance.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
02/22/2003 10:12 am ||
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So, how would an afghani version of the Second Amendment work? Everyone can keep their AK's, but nothing heavier?
A Yemeni air force helicopter crashed in western Yemen on Saturday, killing eight officers and soldiers and injuring four others, a security official said. The official said the helicopter crashed while transporting the 12 men aboard from a military base in the capital San'a to a naval base on the island of Hunaish on the Red Sea. The official said an investigation into the cause of the crash has been launched. He did not provide further details. Poor maintenance is the usual reason, though it could be somebody trying out his now SA-7 to see if it works...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
02/22/2003 05:11 pm ||
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A Saudi man detained on charges of killing a British defence contractor this week could possibly be linked to the al Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden, Saudi security sources said on Saturday. Yemeni-born Saud bin Ali bin Nasser was detained after a gunman shot dead Richard Dent, 37, in Riyadh on Thursday. Dent worked for BAE systems and is the fifth Westerner to be killed in the kingdom since 2000. Saudis blamed most of them on "alk" runners.
"The investigation is still ongoing. We don't know for sure but he (Nasser) could possibly be linked to al Qaeda," one source said. The sources said Nasser had recently travelled to Pakistan. The alleged gunman admitted to admiring bin Laden so much that he named him youngest son Osama, the sources added. That's a hint.
Riyadh said this week it would put 90 of its citizens on trial for belonging to al Qaeda, in what would be the first prosecution of alleged Qaeda members in the secretive kingdom. Some 250 other people are being interrogated on similar charges. Low level cannon fodder, but it's a start.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/22/2003 03:01 pm ||
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Oh, my! That comes as such a surprise! It was so unexpected! Oh, Ethel! My pills, quick!
Posted by: Fred ||
02/22/2003 17:31 Comments ||
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He's shocked! SHOCKED!
A professor of Islamic studies in Britain expressed shock Friday at his indictment in the United States on charges he directed and financed a Palestinian terrorist group, and dismissed the allegations as baseless. "As far as I know, the American officials who made allegations against me presented no evidence whatsoever," Bashir Musa Mohammed Nafi said in a statement. "Y'got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'!"
He said it was "almost amusing they have got things so wrong" but added he and his wife were in "total shock." The indictment announced in Washington on Thursday accuses eight men of operating a criminal racketeering enterprise supporting Palestinian Islamic Jihad since 1984. The charges include conspiracy to kill and maim persons abroad; conspiracy to provide material support and resources to the group; and engaging in various acts of extortion, perjury, obstruction of justice and visa fraud. Each defendant could face life in prison if convicted. Four of those indicted were arrested in the United States, where they were described as setting up a terrorist cell. Three others were said to be residents of Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip. One of them's the head of Islamic Jihad, in Damascus. Figger the odds on getting him in custody...
Nafi, 50, who is originally from Egypt and holds Egyptian and Irish passports, was alleged to be the British leader of Palestinian Jihad. He allegedly also was formerly associated with the World and Islamic Studies Enterprise in Tampa, Fla., which allegedly was involved in supporting terrorism. "I and my family feel absolutely shocked to hear these allegations," Nafi said. You said that before...
"I would like to make it absolutely clear that I am not and have never been a member of any organized political group whether in the Middle East or anywhere else." As Will Rogers put it, "I am not a member of an organized poltical party. I am a Democrat..."
He is a lecturer at Birkbeck College, part of the University of London, and also teaches at the Muslim College in the capital. Earlier, Nafi told Britain's Press Association news agency that he believed he was targeted because of his association with certain individuals. "You're a friend of someone, who's a friend of someone, and that's how it starts," he said. Matter of fact, that is how it starts. Analysts build networks of the target's contacts. If you get a single link, it's maybe coincidence. Two and you've got a possible. Three links and you've got a probable. Anything three or better is considered a winner.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
02/22/2003 09:49 am ||
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The indictment is at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/flm/pr/022003indict.pdf. (via Martin Kramer's SandStorm (http://www.martinkramer.org/pages/899529/).
A man alleged to have helped the 11 September hijackers who were based in Germany is to be formally charged, the German federal prosecutor has said. Abdelghani Mzoudi will be charged in coming weeks "on suspicion of supporting the Hamburg cell", prosecutor Kay Nehm told Der Spiegel magazine. Mr Mzoudi, a 29-year-old Moroccan, was arrested in Hamburg in October and accused of supporting al-Qaeda militants operating from the northern port city. Mr Mzoudi is accused of supporting the Hamburg cell in two ways: By making three money transfers from his bank account to Zakariya Essabar, who allegedly planned to pilot one of the planes but failed to get a US visa
Helping find an apartment for hijacker Marwan al-ShehhiMr Mzoudi is also said to have shared a flat with Mohammed Atta - the alleged leader of the hijackers - along with Marwan al-Shehhi and Ramzi Binalshibh. The cleanup after 9-11 looks like it's going to go on for years. Things like this illustrate one of the problems with "Fourth Generation War." There are lots of Islamists in the world, many of them sitting in their corners and plotting dire revenge for something or other. They form these intricate, often sophisticated networks. Eventually, they Do Something, which if successful means doing something terrible, with lots of dead innocents. The act itself leads to the dissolution of the organization â all the members, and not just the boomers or snuffies, turn out to be expendable.
Not only are the 19 hijackers doorknob dead, but all their contacts and their support network are being rounded up or killed â by the hundreds when we went into Afghanistan.
The Bali bombing exposed virtually the entire Southeast Asian Jemaah Islamiyah organization. Everyone who's not in custody is on the run.
The Yemen boat booms â the USS Cole, and its imitators â exposed that organization, most of which, once the Yemenis got on the stick, have been rounded up or killed.
The reign of terror that started with the Daniel Pearl kidnapping a year ago led to Omar Saeed Sheikh's outfit being rounded up, followed by a small war between the Pak authorities and the combined forces of Harkat ul-Mujaheddin al-Aalmi, Lashkar e-Jhangvi, Sipah e-Sahaba, and sundry other fundo terror groups.
Since all the members of the Moscow theater hostage group died, they're out of the way; we can assume the Russian FSB also rounded up their support network in the wake of the operation.
The Israelis are doing the same thing in the wake of the bombing and killing campaigns last January through March, rounding up hundreds of thugs and controllers, effectively breaking the West Bank terror organizations (and Yasser Arafat in the process).
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
02/22/2003 12:47 am ||
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By Mark Doyle
BBC correspondent, Paris
I was watching a procession of French limousines disgorging a procession of African presidents when I noticed that a colleague of mine, a veteran observer of summits, had started compiling a list of how many kisses each visiting president was getting from Jacques Chirac. You can tell a lot from body language, he explained, especially French body language. I started studying President Chirac more closely and realised my friend was right. Most of the African leaders got three kisses - French-style, right cheek, nod, left cheek, nod, right. But some of them only got two and some got four. There was, literally, a pecking order. Read on. It gets better...
Up for four kisses were special friends of France or countries that for one reason or another fitted the French view of the world. The presidents of the West African states of Senegal and Ghana got the full four kisses each. Both countries have recently held thoroughly democratic elections. The theory did not hold good all the way. The king of Morocco got four pecks and a firm squeeze of the shoulders. The royal dynasty is not renowned for its democratic tendencies, but is a friend of France. It's fellow royalty, y'know...
Further down the scale the leader of Equatorial Guinea only got two kisses. Perhaps one was taken off for human rights abuses and one off for bad governance? We shall never know. Oh, sure we will. Just look it up:
President Teodoro Obiang Nguema was reelected on Sunday [last December] to head Equatorial Guinea for another seven years, amid accusations of fraud by the opposition. In fact opposition candidates withdrew from the elections citing severe flaws, such as intimidation and voters being forced to show their ballots before putting them in the urns.
See? Jacques doesn't need anything from them, so he can notice the smell.
But the body language between the French leader and his counterpart from the central African state of Rwanda was unmistakable. The two men are both tall, very tall, and when they approached each other they stood ramrod straight and shook hands stiffly - and no kisses at all. Kinda like meeting the ex-wife socially...
But there was worse to come in the body language stakes. The most controversial guest in Paris was President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe. The official French line was that it's better to talk face-to-face about human rights abuses than to sweep them under the carpet. There are some more cynical explanations doing the rounds. Like speculation that France checked out Zimbabwe's appalling diplomatic relations with Britain and decided to step in for whatever political and economic advantage it could grab. No! Really? Jacques would do that?
But having Mr Mugabe here was one thing. Being filmed on French television in Mr Mugabe's company is a bit more touchy. France after all, is the land of liberty and fraternity, neither of which are in strong supply in Zimbabwe, and French voters could, potentially, spot the contradiction. Not to mention a few Brit photographers who'd be happy to snap some pix of the buss and then have lotsa fun Photoshopping them...
The solution - body language again. Mr Chirac's right hand shook Mr Mugabe's, but in a limp sort of way, and the Frenchman held his head back. No question of any kisses at all. ... much less a sharing of tongues...
The body language was completed by Mr Chirac using his left hand to usher Mr Mugabe along, out of camera-shot, as soon as possible. This was masterful diplomatic stuff. President Chirac wasn't exactly rude, but he wasn't exactly welcoming either. He somehow got two messages out at once. The first message was for France - we're concerned about the human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. The second message was for Africa - we are ready to talk. And it turned out that the second message was crucial to the main purpose of holding this Franco-African summit which was to become clear later in the day, namely, diplomacy over Iraq. Ahah! Who'da guessed that?
A common statement emerged from the summit, via the French organisers, saying that all the participants agreed with - you've got it - the French position on Iraq. Support the weapons inspectors, urge Iraq to co-operate fully and actively, use force only as a last resort. There is, the declaration concluded, an alternative to war. Which is, of course, talk. And kisses...
By chance three of the countries present in Paris - Angola, Guinea and Cameroon - are currently on the UN Security Council, and their votes could be crucial if and when a second UN resolution is sought. But the overall message was music to Chirac's ears - Africa agrees with France. Or that they expect to get some taxpayers' francs shoved into their pockets...
Of course, all this talking and summitry and body language could easily be overtaken by military action. But no-one can say France hasn't been active in kissing its way along the diplomatic path. But no tongues!
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
02/22/2003 10:58 pm ||
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Speaking of kisses, did you see the warm embrace and cheek kisses that ElBaradei of the IAEA and Khatami of Iran gave each other when Mohammed went there to "inspect" their nukes (prolly to make sure they work)?
Canada has been allowed access to a Canadian teen being held at a U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a representative for Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister said Friday. Omar Khadr, the 16-year-old son of an alleged al-Qaida financier, was captured on July 27 after being wounded during a battle that killed a U.S. soldier and wounded four others. Canada had sought consular access to Khadr since August, but the U.S. government refused. France Bureau, a communications adviser to Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham, wouldn't say whether access was granted to check on Khadr's well-being or whether officials questioned him about his family's alleged terrorist connections. Probably to check on his well-being. The only interest Chretien's government has shown in their terror connections was when he stepped in to get Khadr the Elder out of jug.
"Officials met Mr. Khadr and he seems well," Bureau said. Bureau cited security reasons for giving no further comment. Toldja so.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
02/22/2003 09:11 am ||
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All the Canadians vacation south in the winter anyway. Omar has one of the choicest sea side bungalows available, with no bills for his room and board to boot!
Posted by: Tom Roberts ||
02/22/2003 10:28 Comments ||
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India's Petroleum Minister Ram Naik said that there was no question of speaking with Pakistan on the proposed Indo-Iran oil pipeline as Tehran and New Delhi have decided to undertake a feasibility study for an offshore pipeline which would be outside Pakistan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ). That would also put the pipeline out of the reach of the Pak primitives, who'd take great delight in breaking it at least once a week...
Naik informed Lok Sabha (Lower House of Indian Parliament), "We have not talked to Pakistan and neither do we intend to do so," reported Press Trust of India on Friday. He said the two nations had decided to undertake "an offshore feasibility study for laying the pipeline from Iran to India outside the EEZ of Pakistan". Why would they even think of doing business with an unfriendly power? Makes no sense...
"No decision on an on-land pipeline from Iran to India passing through Pakistan has been taken," he said, adding National Iranian Gas Export Company and Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) have been nominated as the nodal agencies for the pipeline project by the two governments. The two companies had jointly commissioned an offshore pipeline feasibility study and "a decision to take up the project would depend on technical feasibility and economic viability of the project", Indian Petroleum Minister said. To further questions on the estimated expenditure involved in the project and India's share in it, Naik said it would be assessed only after the techno-economic feasibility report was finalized. "We won't know how much it's gonna cost until we take a look and estimate its cost..."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
02/22/2003 11:03 am ||
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Even if the "techno-economic feasibility report" (cool phrase...) does not favor the project, it is sending a message to Pakistan that the way they conduct themselves as a country is going to hurt them economically as the world adjusts itself around nutcase countries. I hope Iran straightens itself up soon, too.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/22/2003 11:31 Comments ||
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good point Paul, if the Paks don't get their act straight...well, think of them as a future Islamic NKorea. On the plus side, the pure entertainment value of an Islamic nutcase KCNA would be wonderful!
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/22/2003 12:45 Comments ||
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I only quote from the Balochistan Post when I can make sense of the articles. Sometimes a couple weeks go by...
Posted by: Fred ||
02/22/2003 15:54 Comments ||
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Top officials of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) countries on Friday struggled over drafting the summit declaration, with India and Pakistan embroiled over definition of terrorism. India has moved an amendment seeking rejection of "state sponsored terrorism" which Pakistan felt was aimed at it, official sources said. "State-sponsored terrorism" by the Pak definition involves using the military to put down terrorist movements. As it happens, India's actions in this area are directed against terror groups which are in fact sponsored by a state. Ain't semantics fun?
To counter India, Pakistan has submitted an alternative text that rejects attempts to portray those involved in movements for the right of self-determination as terrorists. Pakistan reportedly has support from Ecuador, Egypt and Jordan, said PTI. "Movements for the right of self-determination" by the Pak definition includes foreign mercenaries funneled into someone else's territory to kill people and cut their heads off...
Delegates were of the view that the menace of terrorism should be fought in a cooperative manner and attempts were on to reach a consensus on the issue, the sources said. If you can't even agree on what it is, you're not going to do anything about it. But that appears to be the plan, doesn't it?
Malaysian foreign minister said efforts were on to satisfy everyone so that a consensus document was adopted at the end of the two-day summit beginning February 24. The draft on terrorism underscored the need for a long-term effort and sustained universal commitment to deal with the menace. That's learned diplotalk for "everybody should be nice."
It condemned and discouraged any tendency to target specific religions, cultures or nations. And that's learned diplotalk for "don't target us, no matter what we do." The makes the whole thing mush. They could have stayed home and gotten drunk and accomplished more.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
02/22/2003 10:53 am ||
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Concerned over fresh revelations that Pakistan continued its covert support of North Korea's nuclear weapons programme, a prominent US Congressman has said Washington must re-impose sanctions on Islamabad, which continues to have ties with Taliban and terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. Revelations over the last couple of months show that Pakistan has been transferring equipments to support North Korea's nuclear weapons programme in exchange for ballistic missiles, Democratic Congressman Frank Pallone said. I don't know if he's jiggling Bush's elbow, or if it's another â and stronger â hint to Perv to get his house in order...
Pointing out that head of the US State Department's Bureau of Nonproliferation John S Wolf was reviewing Pakistan's role in supporting North Korea's nuclear programme, Pallone said he hoped Wolf will come back with a recommendation that sanctions on Pakistan be re-imposed. "Though Pakistan has been an ally to the US in our war on terrorism, I support immediate steps by the administration to ban all military sales to Pakistan and to re-impose Symington sanctions on Pakistan for assisting a foreign nuclear weapons programme," the New Jersey Congressman wrote recently in a letter to US Secretary of State Colin Powell. Pallone also asked Powell to advise US President George W Bush to publicly acknowledge Washington's commitment to nonproliferation by re-imposing sanctions on Pakistan. Question is, do we still need Pakland enough to turn a blind eye to their stupidities?
Accusing Pakistan President Musharraf of not cracking down on crossborder terrorism, the co-founder of the Congressional India Caucus said the Bush Administration should review its foreign policy towards Pakistan to prevent further escalation of terrorist activity that could cause a threat to South Asian region and possibly the United States. Pallone, in his letter, cited reports that madrassas continue to exist in Pakistan, educating members of militant Islamic groups and that the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence Agency (ISI) - a group with known ties to both the Taliban and militant groups in Kashmir - was working to regroup and strengthen the Taliban in Pakistan. "Musharraf has not lived up to his promise to ensure that madrassas in his country would be eliminated in an effort to achieve an end to terrorism," Pallone said. Shutting down the madrassahs would set the fundos off big-time â Perv caught some high-intensity heat over minor, commonsense efforts to bring them under control. I don't think it's something he can do, even if he wants to. But this certainly serves as another warning. They ignored Nancy and got all huffy. Maybe some congressional interest will get their attention. But I doubt it. They only really talk to each other.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
02/22/2003 10:35 am ||
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I think that cracking down on Pak is a question of timing. We had to make a deal with the devil to get into Afghanistan. Once we deal with Iraq, then we can readjust and get the hell out of this hell hole and dry it up. Follow the money...who is propping up Pak? The US and Sauid Arabia.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/22/2003 11:39 Comments ||
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Pakistan's contribution to the anti-Taliban war was almost worthless. All of the B-52 attacks had to be made from bases on American soil, half the world away. The terror state of Pakistan also convinced the Bush government to offer a Taliban presence in a nominal "broad based government," during the war. Then there was the humiliating armistice agreements forced by Bush-Mushareff on the NA. American troops in Afghanistan, are fighting the very same jihadis that Bush protected.
Gunmen opened fire inside a Shiite mosque in southern Pakistan on Saturday, killing seven worshippers and wounding at least seven others. The motive for the attack was not immediately known, but Shiite Muslims have recently come under attack from Sunni Muslim extremist groups, and authorities have recently arrested several members of the banned Sunni extremist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. "Recently"? Recently in this case means dating from before Pakland was founded. But that's okay. The Shi'ite mullahs of Tehrik-i-Jafria make common cause with Qazi's MMA because they hate us more than they hate the guys killing them at their prayers. Go figger.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
02/22/2003 09:02 am ||
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That can't be, we know muslims don't kill muslims.
#2
Could you imagine Christian denominations gunning each other down? Ooops, never mind -- I almost forgot about Ireland, the U.S. South not so long ago, etc.
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Akram Durraniâs Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal government in the Frontier province has constituted a 21-member committee, Nifaaz-e-Shariat Council, to draft proposals for the Islamisation of the province. The committee is burning the midnight oil in order to crank out a draft of the soon-to-be ordinance. The Council of Islamic Ideology is to vet all the proposals. Sources in the know shared with TFT some of the proposals that the committee has reportedly decided on. And they are quite 'ambitious'
Under the proposed law women will not be allowed to come out of their homes unless they are wearing the Hijab and are chaperoned by a kinsman. They will be encouraged to use traditional methods of hair removal and the sale of hair-removing creams and lotions will be banned. Shops shall not advertise sale of sanitary pads or undergarments and women will not be allowed to purchase such products. Kinsmen, however, may make necessary purchases on their behalf. All use of perfume and makeup will be banned. Husbands are encouraged to physically abuse their wives if these rules are flouted. I guess there isn't much point when noone is allowed to see what women look like anyway
Women will not be allowed to use male tailors. Female tailors alone must measure and stitch clothes for women. Also, no male doctors or nurses will be allowed to treat women patients. Of course, women will not be allowed to model or appear on television. No printed image of women will be allowed. Women guests at hotels will not be allowed to use the swimming pool. And beauty parlours, accused of spreading obscenity in the proposal, shall be banned. Coeducation will also be banned because it promotes Zina (adultery).
Sounds exactly like Talibanland. Naturally, once it's written into law, they expect it to remain in law, even if the MMA is eventually too much for the locals and they get thrown out...
Rajim (stoning to death) will be the punishment for adultery and will be executed in public. Amputation of limbs will be punishment for stealing. Family planning will be declared un-Islamic and sale of contraceptives banned. People would be encouraged to produce more children in order to âstrengthen Islamâ.
Translate that to read: "Women are breeding stock, nothing else. Children are cannon fodder in training, unless they manage to memorize the Koran by age 10, in which case they can become mullahs."
NWFP got the government it deserves. I sure hope all the devout Pashtuns enjoy it. They'll be in power for awhile, after all.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
02/22/2003 08:15 am ||
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When the eventual nuclear exchange between Pakland and India happens, I hope they have a few targetted for the NWFP. It's already becoming radioactive for women, hope it becomes the same for the mullahs. They shouldn't complain: they'll get the martyrdom and desolate wasteland they're tring so hard for
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/22/2003 8:42 Comments ||
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oops ..trying
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/22/2003 8:42 Comments ||
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And if you try very hard,you can almost hear the outraged protests of Western leftists and feminists:___________________________________.
Posted by: El Id ||
02/22/2003 10:52 Comments ||
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Well, folks, this concludes our sneak preview of the joys of Sharia law and life under the Mullahs. Hope you enjoyed our program. Coming to a country near you......if you do nothing.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/22/2003 11:45 Comments ||
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Some Afghanis apparently embrace Islamic religion the way an alchoholic embraces a cocktail and it is quite pathetic
#6
That story can't be true, because a Muslim woman emailed me a couple of weeks ago and told me that women had more rights under Islam than they do here in America.
She also said Muslim women had the vote hundreds of years before American women, but strangely, I've never gotten a response to my letter that asked for citations.
#7
Meryl, bet she emailed from the U.S., with her husband smacking the back of her head for typos and any less-than-enthusiastic denunciation of our satanic western values
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/22/2003 16:26 Comments ||
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Why should the feminists support them? These women are unlikely to support abortion or promotion of a man-hating-lesbian-lifestyle. Best to keep them locked up where they can't get in the way.
The director of a company involved in production of the Al Samoud 2 missile said Saturday that obeying an order from the United Nations to destroy the weapons would deprive Iraq of an important means of defense just as it is being threatened over having illegal means of such "defense".
No Iraqi official has commented publicly on the order Friday from chief weapons inspector Hans Blix that Iraq hand over dozens of Al Samoud 2 missiles and components for destruction, which would begin by March 1. New moon and next due date for Hans' updates
An assistant to Gen. Hossam Mohamed Amin, chief Iraqi liaison officer to the UN inspectors, told The Associated Press on Saturday said he still hadn't seen the chief inspector's letter and couldn't comment. "You know how slow our mail service is... we can't be expected to answer a letter we haven't actually seen and held in our own hands... we should receive it.. oh, around April 30th"
On Saturday, a UN team of inspectors visited the Ibn al-Haithem company, which produces and assembles Al Samoud 2s. After they left, company director Owayed Ahmed Ali said only two of the missiles had been tested above the range allowed by the United Nations. "We've only tested two, and have no reason to believe identical missiles will go as far... our quality control sucks"
"They want to destroy them at a time when we are threatened daily , every minute and every second," he said.
Yep.
"I asked (the inspectors), 'You would destroy a defensive weapon now that we are threatened by the Americans, who might strike at any moment?"' he added. "Some (the French and Germans) said, 'You are right, but we have orders,' while others said, 'You have other means to defend yourself."' Ali said nine inspectors visited the company on Saturday and split into three groups. They entered "workshops, assembly areas and all departments. They tagged some of the missiles that were still being assembled," he said.
I just love these rock-hard place situations...
Mohammed Modhaffar al-Adhami, a member of Iraq's parliament, told The Associated Press on Friday that he believed Iraq would destroy the missiles if so ordered. He said Iraq wanted to avoid what he called the "aggression" threatened by the United States if Iraq fails to comply with the UN's disarmament program. "Iraq will do the maximum in its cooperation to avoid any aggression ... even (destroying) the missiles," al-Adhami said. "We intend to destroy them safely in flight ...over Kuwait, Israel, Saudi arabia, etc...thank you"
Tests of the Al Samoud have determined that the weapon exceeds the 150-kilometer (93-mile) range limit set by UN resolutions adopted at the end of the 1991 Gulf War.
That's supposed to be the max range, not the approximate range...
Iraq's vice president offered to hold a dialogue with the United States, saying in a TV interview broadcast Friday that his country was ready to negotiate if Washington ends talk of war. Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan's interview was aired on Iraq's Al-Shabab Television, which is owned by President Saddam Hussein's son, Odai. Is he the smart one or the (other) crazy one?
He's the one who likes pulling the wings off vultures...
"We are ready for a dialogue with the American administration and ready to build economic relations," he said. "If they abandon aggression, and there is a dialogue that leads to normal relations, achieves mutual interests far away from interference in internal affairs, then we have no objection." The offer, which appeared aimed largely at the Iraqi public, is unlikely to attract a favorable response in Washington, which insists that Saddam first give up his alleged weapons of mass destruction. Saddam insists he already has.
All he has to do is show us. Or he could leave town in the dead of night, clutching a suitcase full of the national treasury, and somebody else could show us.
In Washington, US Secretary of State Colin Powell made an offer of his own Friday, declaring that if the Iraqi leader cooperates with UN disarmament demands, "or if he leaves the country tomorrow, there will be no war."
That's the same thing I just said. I feel like such a diplomat. Can I have my striped pants now?
They'll still have to disarm though
"People are hoping that war can be avoided," Powell said. "I hope it can be avoided. But the one who has the power in his hands to decide whether there will be a war or peace is Saddam Hussein."
He hopes war can be avoided, too. He just doesn't want to do anything to avoid it.
In addition to Ibn al-Haitham, the inspectors headed to eight other sites Saturday including the 7th of April factory, 30 kilometers (20 miles) east of Baghdad, which contributes to some Iraqi missile programs with the development of fuses, the Information Ministry said. Other sites visited included a medical college in the northern city of Mosul, a facility for heavy engineering and a dairy factory, the ministry said. On Friday, nuclear inspectors interviewed an engineer and a magnet specialist, both members of Iraq's former gas centrifuge program, inspectors spokesman Hiro Ueki said. Biological and chemical inspectors also have been trying to interview key Iraqi scientists, but have not conducted an interview since Feb. 7 because of a dispute over whether the scientists can tape the interviews.
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/22/2003 05:28 pm ||
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Stick to your guns, boys!
There's no need to scrap those missiles!
Even if they were designed from the start to violate UNSC resolutions.
Source is Khilafa.com...
In a spacious fifth-floor conference room at Egypt's leading think tank, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States delivered a message that surprised some of Cairo's most prominent intellectuals and analysts. The ambassador, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, said Arabs would blunder by actively backing French and German efforts to forestall a war against Iraq. The Bush administration's contentions that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction and has cultivated links with al Qaeda have substance, they recalled him saying, and Arabs should acknowledge that war is inevitable and begin jockeying for a role in shaping postwar Iraq. "Once we join the club, then we can negotiate what Iraq will be like after the war," Bandar was quoted as saying. "But without being part of the club, then we have no role in the day after." Hopefully, it's too late for that...
After months of impassioned opposition to a U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and attempts to inspire President Saddam Hussein's exile or a coup d'etat by his military, Egypt, Jordan and other Arab states friendly to the United States have begun to privately endorse the gist of Bandar's views, although with less enthusiasm and candor. With war viewed as imminent, these Arab governments have begun taking steps to prepare for its aftermath. "It's gonna happen. Let's see how bad we can screw it up..."
While Syria remains ardently opposed to a U.S. war to destroy Hussein's government, Egypt has markedly softened its opposition and stated that the decision is out of its hands. Jordan's monarch, King Abdullah, concluded as long ago as July that war was inevitable and has moved to prepare his country for its outcome. Saudi Arabia's rulers remain divided but, as Bandar indicated, increasingly have turned their attention to what happens afterward. By screwing around like they have, the Soddies have managed to forfeit a place at the table, though they'll try hard to grab one. Egypt's in the same position. Jordan has been on board since early in the game, mainly because King Abdullah saw the results of his father's butt-buddying with Sammy last time around. That had to hurt. Syria realizes that they're the other Ba'athist regime, a lot more overtly involved with international terrorism than Sammy is.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
02/22/2003 10:22 am ||
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The are right in one way: "But without being part of the club, then we have no role in the day after." The role they will have in the long term is precisely that of Iraq's: Arabia will be shorn of its present kleptocracy and reformed into at least a 19th century federated democracy. Saud delenda est... and welcome to the club.
Posted by: Tom Roberts ||
02/22/2003 10:33 Comments ||
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This article exemplifies how different the Arab world is from Europe. These leaders exist in the real world of pure power politics. The respect American power, accept its exercise as the way the world works and adapt to the new reality. The Franco-German dillydallying and faux moralizing is not really respected.
Assuming we have the will to follow through on Iraq, we'll be in a strong position to squeeze the other players as some of us hope. The French will be irrelevant.
#3
The arabs and especially the Saudis are 12 count 'em 12 years too late. They had a chance to clean up their neighborhood and they blew it. Now the US is stepping in and being the big bad guy because these corrupt "leaders" could not on their own get on some dirty clothes and start shoveling up the big pile of dog s--t that somebody left in the neighborhood.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/22/2003 11:53 Comments ||
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#4
Jordan's monarch, King Abdullah, concluded as long ago as July that war was inevitable and has moved to prepare his country for its outcome.
July? He knew in July? But we're in a Rush to War(tm)! He musta known afore we did!
Hundreds of U.N. humanitarian workers in Iraq are being allowed to leave the country ahead of a likely U.S. invasion, but they have not been asked to evacuate, the United Nations said today. "No evacuation order has been issued, but it was decided earlier this month that we would allow staff that may wish to leave to do so," said a spokesman, Stephane Dujarric. "This is being done on a voluntary basis." It's getting mighty nervous in there...
About 460 staff members, out of a total of some 920 foreign U.N. employees, have left Iraq this month, taking advantage of a new policy allowing them to take time off or pursue training or another mission outside the country, U.N. sources said. The remaining staff members continue to operate in the oil-rich country, one source said. The new policy has had no impact on some 220 U.N. weapons inspectors and their support staff, who continue to search for weapons of mass destruction in a bid to disarm Baghdad under orders from the 15-nation Security Council, U.N. officials said. Most of the international humanitarian staff members in Iraq work under the umbrella of the U.N. oil-for-food program, put in place in 1996 to ease the suffering of Iraqi citizens. Not to worry. The human shields can surely take up the slack...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
02/22/2003 10:03 am ||
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Imagine if the human shields took over the job of inspecting Iraq. They're so stupid Saddam would have a hard time predicting their moves.
With troops deployment in the Gulf region jumping to more than 200,000 in preparation for war, the United States plans to take complete, unilateral control of Iraq after the post-Saddam Hussein era, reported a leading American newspaper on Saturday, February 22. In what seems to be a U-turn from the so-called democratization plans for Post-Saddam Iraq, an interim administration headed by a yet-to-be named American civilian would direct the reconstruction of Iraq and the creation of a "representative" Iraqi government, according to a now-finalized blueprint, reported The Washington Post. Doesn't sound like a U-turn from "so-called" democratization. Sounds more like trying to do it right. Democracy in Iraq requires training wheels. It's not something they've ever been able to do...
Gen. Tommy Franks, the head of the U.S. Central Command, is to maintain military control as long as U.S. troops are there, said the paper. Once security was established and alleged weapons of mass destruction were located and disabled, a U.S. administrator would run the civilian government and direct reconstruction and humanitarian aid. 20 to 25 Iraqis would assist U.S. authorities in a U.S.-appointed "consultative council," with no governing responsibility. That's about what I'd do, if I were writing the plan. Can't leave the Ba'ath in charge, and there's nobody else to put in charge yet. Things still need to be run.
Under a decision finalized last week, Iraqi government officials would be subjected to "de-Baathification," a reference to Hussein's ruling Baath Party, under a program that borrows from the "de-Nazification" program established in Germany after World War II, said The Washington Post. Criteria by which officials would be designated as too tainted to keep their jobs are still being worked on, although they would likely be based more on complicity with the alleged human rights and weapons abuses of the Iraqi regime than corruption, it quoted officials as saying. I doubt anybody wants to keep the kleptocrats around. They just want to get the killers first.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
02/22/2003 09:59 am ||
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Might not be much to steal in the first few months.
Posted by: Tom Roberts ||
02/22/2003 10:34 Comments ||
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Edited for length
Shia Muslims of southern Iraq will mount an uprising against Saddam Hussein as soon as US and British troops invade, according to travellers reaching Iraqi Kurdistan from government-controlled territory yesterday.
"I think there will be an intifada [uprising] in the towns and villages of the south," said one man, from the Shia holy city of Najaf on the Euphrates. The man, who did not want his name published, had left Najaf, south-west of Baghdad, to escape arrest by Iraqi security men the day before and fled by paying bribes at checkpoints.
Another weak point in Sammy's structure...
The same story was repeated by other travellers reaching Iraqi Kurdistan, which is outside the control of the Iraqi government. "If there is any sign of weakness on the part of the government there will be an uprising," a shopkeeper from Baghdad said. That means we have to hit Sammy hard the first couple of days. And then get on the radio and tell everyone that Sammy's missing in action.
He expected that the several million Shia Arabs in the capital would rebel in the districts where they predominate such as Al-Thawra, Al-Zaafarania and Al-Shulla. The Shia Arabs of southern Iraq and Baghdad make up at least 55 per cent of the Iraqi population but have traditionally been denied power by the Sunni Arab minority to which President Hussein belongs. After the 1991 Gulf War they rebelled against the Iraqi leader, capturing all of southern Iraq before the uprising was violently crushed. We should have helped.
We did help, with the no-fly zones. Our foot was in a bucket at the time because of the nature of the coalition — we couldn't enter Iraq to assist them. And we expected the rebellions to succeed. Sammy had actually booked a flight to Algeria when one division decided to back him. Once they did, the others fell in line. I hope division CPs are high on the target list this time.
Kamran Karadaghi, a commentator on Iraqi affairs, said: "I think a rebellion in the south is quite likely because the Shia live in such misery." He said President Saddam's most likely military strategy was to try to defend Baghdad. This would mean stripping southern Iraq of his most loyal units, making it easier for rebels to seize control. Most of the soldiers in the Iraqi regular army are Shia.
If pulls everything back to Baghdad, it can come down to siege warfare. Cut off electricity, cut off water, cut off supplies. Anybody can come out, as long as they're unarmed; nobody can go in.
A rebellion by the Shia would complicate plans by the US for an orderly occupation of Iraq. Earlier in the month, American officials angered representatives of the Iraqi opposition, much of which is Shia and Kurdish, at a meeting in Ankara, Turkey by revealing that America planned a military government for Iraq but would keep in place most of the Sunni establishment that had served President Hussein. First we'll have to remove all the Baathists.
Shia Iraqis are worried that if they rise up too early before the US is fully committed to a land invasion they will be vulnerable to a government counter-offensive as in 1991. "Many people in Najaf are pessimistic about the chances of American action," said a traveller from the city. At the same time he thought those who had joined the Al-Quds militia, which will be the Iraqi government's first line of defence against an uprising, had done so for money. He said many would switch to the rebels.
The al-Quds militia can pretty much we discounted, I think. The Brownshirts didn't do much in WWII...
Any rebellion is likely to be largely spontaneous. After years of fierce oppression none of the Shia political organisations have the strength to co-ordinate an uprising. "I don't think things will be very well organised," Mr Karadaghi said. Understatement!
The problem for the US is much the same as it was in 1991 when President Saddam had been defeated in Kuwait and had lost 14 out of Iraq's 18 provinces to Shia and Kurdish rebels. While the US wanted regime change and the Iraqi leader toppled, it did not want revolutionary change. But if democracy was introduced in Iraq, revolutionary change would be inevitable because Shia and Kurds make up three-quarters of the Iraqi population. Maybe we should just let the Shia and Kurds go their own way, and screw the Sunnis.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2003 08:25 am ||
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Well, you don't want to screw all the Sunnis, just the Ba'athist. You don't want to create another oppressed people when you are done, because you know damn good and well, it will be the US they blame, not the Kurds nor the Shias. You don't want to play the same game with the roles reversed. You want a new game altogether.
Posted by: Ben ||
02/22/2003 2:48 Comments ||
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Anybody can come out, as long as they're unarmed;
Good idea and I bet it was considered by the military planners. Problem is, Sammy will not allow it. His intention will be to inflict as many civilian casualties as possible. Wouldn't be surprised if he told his most loyal devotees to open up on the civies at some point. After all, you can always find traitors, conspirators, and collaborators amongst the people when you're sick in the head.
Let's hope he pulls an Adolf early on.
#3
A big problem is the vast number of people who have worked for Saddam over the last two decades. Probably 5 million Iraqis have taken money from the security police or fingered dissenters or something of that nature. Probably most of these people did it under duress. About 50,000 - 500,000 have actually participated in torture, murder, rape crimes. I will take at least two years of American supervised judicial procedings to sort this out.
#4
Thue Us will probably not occupy Iraq alone but what matters is the future of Iraq. The only real chance for democratic reform would be to allow Turkey to administer the foreign affairs, and defense policies, with other policies reserved to the Iraqis. This would safeguard Iraq from Iranian ambitions and allow the only democratic moslem nation in the world to reform the mess that is Iraq. Americans will only mess up the political structure of the nation, witness the American decision to free all communists in Germany and Japan following WWII.
Posted by: TJ Jackson ||
02/22/2003 23:40 Comments ||
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Washington and London have begun piling pressure on five key African and Latin American members of the UN security council, in an effort to win a nine-vote majority they could then use to manoeuvre France, Russia and China away from vetoing a second resolution authorising war on Iraq. With Bulgaria and Spain already likely backers, American and British diplomats are focusing on Angola, Cameroon, Guinea, and Chile and Mexico. I'm trying to understand how Mexico's President Fox can think that he can dis us on this vote and then expect us to do anything to help him concerning free trade and immigration.
The hope is that if those votes are gained then the veto-wielding major powers who are threatening to oppose an imminent attack might find themselves forced to abstain rather than appear to challenge the majority will of the UN. On Monday Britain and the US will table a draft resolution to the UN security council approving military action. It is expected that the resolution will be voted on on Friday March 7 although the timetable may slip to the following Monday if there are last minute negotiations. Looks like we're going to miss the new moon.
Publication of the draft resolution will form the focus of debates in the Commons and Lords on Wednesday when MPs will vote on a substantive government motion. The last time MPs voted on Iraq on a specific motion more than 50 Labour MPs rebelled.
Hope they're comfortable being the "Galloway faction."
President George Bush, vice-president Dick Cheney and senior state department officials have been in frequent communication with several of the "middle six" - the five African and Latin American countries plus Pakistan, whose trade and aid relationships with the US provide Washington with enormous leverage. A Bush administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Guardian the US was not making economic threats - "but that's not to say these countries are not aware that we provide them with assistance." "Marvin."
"Yes, Mr. Secretary?"
"Please remind the leaders of Pakistan, Angola, Cameroon, Guinea, and Chile and Mexico how much we need their votes."
"Yes, Mr. Secretary."
"And remind them of their economic ties to us."
"Yes, Mr. Secretary."
"And remind them of all the other stuff they depend on us for."
"Yes, Mr. Secretary."
"And remind them of how tenuous all that aid money is."
"Yes, Mr. Secretary."
"But don't threaten them."
"Oh, no sir, Mr. Secretary."
In Latin America, Chile's anti-war stance has remained firm in public, but there are signs of nervousness. Chile's biggest fear is that a no vote could torpedo its free-trade agreement with the US, awaiting ratification by both countries' legislatures. "Remember, Marvin, it wouldn't be polite to threaten them."
"I'll be very polite, Mr. Secretary."
"Just like we're polite with the Frenchies..."
The US has not threatened Mexico overtly. But a no vote could end Mexico's hopes of negotiating a better deal for the millions of Mexican illegal immigrants in the US. "And Marvin, do not even think of telling the Mexicans about that big steel fence someone proposed building between our two countries."
"Absolutely not, Mr. Secretary."
Angola, Guinea and Cameroon were among 52 African nations who voted on Thursday to back France's push to give weapons inspectors more time. But in Angola at least the White House has scented a hawk in the making. Guinea has a history of non-alignment but receives $50m (£32m) a year in US aid, plus arms and military training. Cameroon is also being buffeted by the opposing forces of its two biggest bilateral investors, France and the US. "Remember Marvin, buffet gently."
"Light as a feather, Mr. Secretary."
"And Marvin?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Send another case of gin to M. le President, with our compliments."
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2003 08:31 am ||
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gin *snicker* perhaps a case of California wine as well
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/22/2003 8:55 Comments ||
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"Oh. and Marvin include the fruit cake that Schroeder sent us in with that wine."
"With pleasure sir."
#4
I think the idea of him being in charge of Mexican-Americans is a pipe dream. Maybe the most recent immigrants, and maybe some who fancy themselves as revolutionaries, but the vast majority are simply Americans of Mexican descent.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/22/2003 12:49 Comments ||
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#5
Sounds like the Zimmerman telegraph all over again.. Maybe some people south of the Rio Grande are having pipe dreams of taking back Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Southern California. Only this time, instead of using guns, immigration would be the tool. "Move to the US, my son.. then vote to force the Yanque dogs to return our land."
Isn't there something in the citizenship oath that states you freely foreswear any previous loyalties to foreign countries and rulers? I'd think it would apply in this case...
Posted by: Ed Becerra ||
02/22/2003 21:27 Comments ||
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Washington and Ankara were edging towards a deal last night that could eventually allow American troops to be deployed in south-eastern Turkey, where they will prepare a northern front against Saddam Hussein's regime. But the success of any agreement, likely to include a compensation package of more than $26bn (£16.5bn), may yet depend on a free vote in Turkey's parliament, where large numbers of both opposition and government deputies are vocally anti-war. Guys, I know you were just elected and you're feeling your religious roots and all, but you need to understand something, and this general over here is going to 'plain it to you.
Talks have dragged on between the traditionally close Nato allies for three months and this week degenerated into public haggling about money. Turkey's foreign minister, Yasar Yakis, said yesterday that progress had been made despite there being outstanding issues on military, economic and political matters. "There is very broad agreement. The remaining issues are not that many. If both sides show determination over the weekend, these issues can be resolved." Why do I get the feeling that this is going to cost us more money?
The parliament is due to reconvene on Tuesday and it will have to authorise American use of airbases such as Batman, Diyarbakir and Incerlik if they are to be involved in an assault on Iraq. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, leader of the governing Justice and Development party (AKP), will not instruct his deputies on how to vote, party sources suggested yesterday. Mr Erdogan said that if the issue were sent to parliament, he hoped his "friends would act toward the authorisation". Mr. Erdogan, the good generals want you to recommend this. In fact, they want you to pass it. Now be a good fellow and get on with it.
The AKP has 363 members in the 550-seat assembly. Most of the remaining deputies belong to the Republican People's party which has said it will vote against any deal.
Perhaps they should remind themselves that making their point today will lead to us making our point tomorrow...
The prime minister, Abdullah Gul was upbeat about the prospects of an agreement. "It is certain that we understand [America's] concerns and they understand ours in the best possible way and a result will be reached in the coming days," he told businessmen in Istanbul. Errrrg. How much is this going to cost us?
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2003 08:34 am ||
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If you have to beg for something, then why bother?
#4
As they say, best defense is a good offence, best offence here has two fronts - north and south. (Pay no attention to the western desert, nothing going on there.) Therefore, the billions for turkish agreement are for defense. Plus turkey has been a more reliable friend than most.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/22/2003 13:03 Comments ||
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#5
Additionally, the Turks are essentially being asked to risk the resurrection of the PKK as well as the prospect of their cities being subjected to Saddam's WMDs if Iraq goes nutty when the US invades. Under those kind of circumstances, the Turks asking for a little more money doesn't seem so bad after all.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/22/2003 13:50 Comments ||
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#6
Although basing your objection for the war on a specific dollar sum kind of negates any anti-war sentiments.
Posted by: Jon ||
02/22/2003 14:29 Comments ||
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It just haggling, relax. The Turks will give us what we want, but they're gonna negotiate the best deal they possibly can first. They too remember the last Gulf War, and it's shoddy aftermath.
#8
I've felt from the get-go that Turkey had a legitimate claim on the U.S. for services rendered in the first Gulf War, particularly due to the fact that said services ended up putting the Turkish economy in the tank. The Turks, quite rightly, don't want to risk a similar economic disaster this time around (not to mention that, as Dan says, there's the real chance that Saddam may decide to throw a few Scuds Ankara's way - and Amman's, come to think on it); the Turkish government, as noted in numerous places, also has to deal with a public opinion that is strongly anti-war and therefore has to prove that it's getting the best deal it possibly can from the U.S. Judging from all the signs (including the latest report on Yahoo! News, http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=578&e=3&cid=578&u=/nm/20030222/ts_nm/iraq_turkey_dc), they're just about ready to do the deal. Personally, I'd have suggested that we sweeten the offer by throwing in NAFTA membership, but as it is, it's money for defense, not tribute. And it'll be mighty useful to have a couple of divisions of tough Turkish infantry in northern Iraq to keep the Kurds cool and keep Saddam from getting any funny ideas on that front.
Posted by: Joe ||
02/22/2003 17:34 Comments ||
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#9
a similar economic disaster this time around
Oil rights will more than cover the risk to their economy. I bet they're haggling over this than anything else. Bush has already said he will hold Iraqi oil in trust, and the Turks are saying "yeah that's very nice of you BUT......."
#10
If we are only paying for the Turks defense, then their game of brinksmanship seems a bit odd. If we need nothing from them, then they should be begging, not bargaining. In fact, this whole drama has a fishy smell about it (or is that a rat).
I hope this spectacle of Turkey pulling us around by our ear is all part of the plan - but short of that, it's looking more and more like the turkies are playing a very dangerous game of chicken.
#11
Oil only covers the Turkish economy if the US doesn't back down and there seems to have been a great deal slow-down lately on the diplomatic front as far as US plans for war with Iraq go when it comes to getting UN approval (not that we need it, but that's another story ...). If the US backs down after the Turks agree to let us use their bases, I would tend to think that such an act is going to have extremely negative implications with a lot of their regional trading partners.
Erdogan and Gul honestly strike me as people who are trying to do the right thing (supporting the US) while simultaneously trying to reassure their people that another war isn't going to mean yet more economic troubles, a return of the PKK (especially with the sporadic clashes along the border of late), and the very real possibility of an Iraqi WMD attack on their soil. And since Turkey shares borders with Iraq, keep in mind that such an attack not necessarily come from the air.
Granted, these concerns are going to deprive the US of some cash, but in the long run you need to realize that the Turkish government is taking a great many risks even by offering to host US forces in their country to begin with. Asking for a little cash in recompense is hardly the extortion scheme the media has made it out to be.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/22/2003 23:41 Comments ||
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#12
Whatever, looks like this false drama or posturing is about to end. There is also talk about it , that Generals in Republic of Turkey, (a republican parliamentary democracy - aka one of the first experiments in military democracy, the second one is Pakistan) have threatened the newly elected government that they would strip it of power if it does not allow US troops in good time. ANYWAY...
The Washington Reuters has reported as: âU.S. to Move Troops to Turkey Under Tentative Dealâ dated Saturday February 22, 2003 07:14 PM ET. It is present on web page: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=2271427
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S military hopes to begin moving thousands of troops to Turkey as early as next week to take part in a possible invasion of Iraq under a tentative deal on U.S. aid for Turkey, U.S. defense officials said on Saturday.
"Things seem to be moving forward," one of the officials, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters.
The American officials stressed that a deal was not yet final, but Turkey's parliament was expected to approve it in a vote next week.
In return for allowing U.S. troops to use bases in Turkey to launch an attack on Iraq, the United States is offering Ankara a multibillion-dollar aid package aimed at cushioning its fragile economy against the shock of a possible war.
U.S. officials say the aid package tentatively agreed by both sides would give Turkey $6 billion, of which $1 billion would secure an immediate $10 billion loan.
The roughly $5 billion in U.S. cash assistance remaining would be split into economic grants and military aid. The United States has also offered Ankara up to $1 billion worth of oil from regional allies Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Earlier proposed U.S. aid packages envisaged up to $20 billion in loan guarantees spread over three years, whereas the latest version allows Ankara to take the cash and loans up-front.
At the Bush administration's urging, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Dennis Hastert has privately assured Turkish officials that Congress would move swiftly to approve the aid once a final agreement is reached.
Asked if Turkey and the United States had reached a final deal, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said he had "nothing to report."
"We continue to have good consultations with Turkey and I anticipate they will continue a little longer," Fleischer told reporters in Crawford, Texas where President Bush is spending the weekend at his ranch.
The United States plans to move up to 40,000 troops, most of them from the 4th Infantry Division, to Turkey. The division's heavy equipment, including tanks and other supplies already are on cargo ships headed for Turkey.
The troops would be flown there for quick arrival to join a force of nearly 200,000 U.S. and British military personnel gathered in the Gulf region for a possible invasion of Iraq.â
#13
Everyone keeps saying that their military can strip parliment of their power, but it can't be that cut and dried or we'd already have an answer. It's more like they are playing a game of good cop(generals)/bad cop (parliment)to get the most money they can. But that's dangerous because it inflames their anti-war population, emboldens our enemies and delays our troops. If this isn't just diversion drama, then I think the Turks are playing with a fire that could easily cause someone to get burned.
Authorities are now eyeing the extortion activities of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front as the motive behind the bombing of a market in Kabacan, North Cotabato that killed one person and wounded nine others. The owner one of the shops â Spectrum Electrical Supply â claimed he received a text message and a letter from a certain Abdul M. demanding P40,000 in protection money. Businessman George Manuel claimed that he saw two men standing near his shop shortly before last Thursdayâs explosion. Manuel added that one was seen taking off his backpack when the explosion occurred. The bomb could have exploded before it was planted in front of Manuelâs shop, the report said. Relatives identified the bomber as Erman Mamalogi. "Dammit, Erman! I told you not to jiggle the thing when you took it off!"
"I'm sorry, boss. Gosh. I didn't think Paradise would be so hot."
"Shuddup, Erman. Enjoy your virgin. There's 71 more, just waiting for you."
"She's got... fangs."
The blast damaged the glass display counter and several appliances in Manuelâs store. The damage is estimated at P150,000.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
02/22/2003 05:53 pm ||
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In a direct response to statements by Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu that the military's domestic security role should be reinstated, National Police chief DaâI Bachtiar has insisted that the role remains the province of the police. In a speech to the foreign investment community Thursday, Bachtiar said on four separate occasions that âthe police are responsible for the domestic security of the stateâ. That's the case in all the best states. The fact that it hasn't been so in the past is one of the big reasons why Indonesia hasn't been one of the best states...
Ryamizard had told a press briefing after a closed-door meeting with active and retired top Army officers that âwe are still dealing with disintegration problemsâ. He added that the Army was concerned over the state of Indonesiaâs territorial integrity. Armies should be concerned with repelling invasions and such. They can also be used in putting down rebellions. Other than that, they should be training and stay the hell out of politix.
Former President Abdurrahman Wahid transferred the police out of the Armed Forces Command structure and gave it responsibility for domestic security. Good move.
Police chief Bachtiar, in a 45-minute address to a dinner hosted by Minister for Industry and Trade Rini M.S. Soewandi, also claimed the security position was much improved. In response to a questioner following the address, he said the police expected and would allow demonstrations if the US attacked Iraq, but a close guard would be kept to make sure foreign interests or people were not targeted. The Indon coppers gained a lot of face in the wake of the Bali bombings. The army hasn't got much but a reputation for brutality and a tendency to go out of control.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
02/22/2003 05:48 pm ||
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A pipe bomb explosion killed three teenage boys aged 16 to 18 on Friday in Aceh province, where the government and separatist rebels signed a December peace agreement, military and village officials said on Saturday. "A five-meter homemade pipe bomb blew up in the remote village of Cot Siren, North Aceh, and killed the three schoolboys," military spokesman Maj. Eddi Fernandi told AP. A five meter pipe bomb?
Village head Jafar Abdullah said the boys were on their way to watch a volleyball game in a field near the local district office when they stopped for a rest on top of three pipes that had been there for over a month. Antara reported that the bomb, outside a recently burned-down subdistrict government office, exploded as the youths carried it away. "The three all touched the object but after 10 minutes it exploded," said a resident. He added he did not know what the object was. My guess is that it was a bomb...
"We are unclear on what the motive was but we suspect that the boys planted the bomb and it exploded," Eddi said. Movement spokesman Tengku Jamaika denied that the boys were members of the Free Aceh Movement.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
02/22/2003 05:41 pm ||
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The United Nations Security Council has called on all sides in Ivory Coast's civil conflict to implement a power-sharing accord reached last month. That's how the UN got to be the force for good it is today: forceful leadership, by Gawd. Tell it like it is, take a stand...
The deal, brokered by France, aims to end five months of fighting between government and rebel forces. However it was bitterly criticised by many supporters of President Laurent Gbagbo, who said too much power was being given to rebels. The UN also urged the Ivorian Prime Minister, Seydou Elimane Diarra, to continue efforts to establish a balanced and stable government under the agreement. Yes. That's it! Why didn't we think of that? Just tell everybody to play nice...
A UN fact-finding team is due to begin a 12-day mission to Ivory Coast on Saturday to assess how the world body may contribute to the peace process. Yeppers. A fact-finding team. The solution to the entire problem. And then they can drop all sides into the peace processor and purèe them.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
02/22/2003 10:38 pm ||
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On Saturday, Israeli troops shot dead two Palestinians in an operation in Nablus on the West Bank. Palestinian security officials said the two were killed in the densely-populated casbah district, where the army has imposed a curfew. Israeli military sources quoted by army radio said Walid el-Masri, 22, was killed after he threw a petrol bomb from a house in the casbah, while Sami Halawi, 42, was shot as he approached with a suspicious object. Six Palestinians are reported to have been killed since the Israelis launched "Operation Root Canal" in Nablus on Thursday, sending the army into the casbah to carry out house-to-house searches. "Operation Root Canal"? What're they going to name the next one? "Operation Slipped Disc"? Or "Operation Fractured Elbow"?
Dozens of Palestinians have been arrested and several homes and shops damaged in Nablus - which, like most other major West Bank towns, has been reoccupied since June. Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat has urged the international community to force Israel to stop what he called the "human catastrophe". "It ain't fair. They're better shots than our gunnies."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
02/22/2003 10:34 pm ||
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Israeli forces have entered the Palestinian town of Beit Hanoun in the Gaza Strip. Residents said tanks fired shots and troops imposed a curfew. There are no reports of casualties. The Israeli army would only say that an operation was in progress in the town. On Wednesday, an Israeli was injured when Palestinians fired home-made rockets at an Israeli town from Beit Hanoun, following an overnight incursion into Gaza City which killed 11 people. Wonder what the Paleos thought was gonna happen?
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
02/22/2003 10:29 pm ||
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The Russian Justice Ministry will close the Moscow office of Kuwait's Social Reform Society, which the Supreme Court has classified as a terrorist organization. "As soon as we receive the Supreme Court's ruling, the office of this international organization will be closed, and its property and funds will be confiscated and handed over to the state, as required by the anti-terrorism law," Deputy Justice Minister Yury Sidorenko said on Friday. Social Reform Society is another Muslim Brotherhood "funnel" group, non-violent in itself, but fostering a sense of being wronged as a Muslim, and behind the scenes matching the people who hit on that sense of being wronged with others who want to do something about it â like kill people in large numbers.
Sidorenko recalled that a week ago, the Supreme Court found the Social Reform Society, along with 14 other Islamic groups, to be a terrorist organization. The Federal Security Service (FSB) submitted the list of these organizations to the prosecutor general and send a closure request to the Supreme Court. Sidorenko noted that of the groups on this list, only the Kuwaiti organization's office was officially registered with the Justice Ministry. That was because they're "clean" on the surface. FSB was supposed to be sitting around scratching their heads, trying to figure what interest a Kuwaiti Olde Tyme Religion bunch has in Moscow. Islamists think the rest of us are pretty stoopid. What's sad is how often they're right.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
02/22/2003 06:20 pm ||
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Several Palestinian factions rejected Saturday a proposal to stop terrorist attacks against Israel for one year and vowed to continue their fight until the Palestinians achieve all their goals. Until the last expendable cannon fodder is dead
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Islamic Jihad, Hamas and Fatah's armed wing, Aksa Martyrs' Brigades, said in separate statements that they plan to step up their attacks against Israel in response to an initiative calling for a one-year truce with Israel. The initiative was announced Friday by Mahmoud Abbas, the PLO's No. 2, during an official visit to Russia. Sounds like Fatah's politico wing and armed wing are on different pages?
Palestinian Minister of Local Government Saeb Erakat confirmed Saturday that the Palestinian leadership had decided on a one-year "demilitarisation" of the intifada. maybe he meant they wouldn't wear uniforms? Doh!
"The Palestinian leadership and Fatah accept a year-truce, which was outlined at recent inter-Palestinian talks in Cairo - Abbas was just reiterating this point," Erakat said, referring to a proposal turned down by Hamas and Islamic Jihad during talks in Egypt in January. The document called for a one-year freeze on anti-Israeli operations to allow the peace process to resume on the basis of the roadmap plan drafted by the Quartet, which envisions, among other things, a Palestinian state by 2005. in the "lost quarter" of Saudi Arabia...wear your sand tires fellahs
Abbas said in Moscow that the Palestinian leadership has decided to "demilitarize" the intifada for one year as a step towards implementing the road map plan. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon "wants neither security nor peace, but we must not play his game and give him the pretext to continue attacks on the Palestinian people," Abbas said after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov. Sounds like the current roundup and whackings of the Hamas honchos is working
"That is why the Palestinian leadership has decided to demilitarize the intifada for one year," he added, pointing out that the Palestinians agree with all points of the road map plan. It's a nice road map - Michelin produced it...they're a french company, don't ya know?
A senior Palestinian official told The Jerusalem Post that Abbas's announcement was coordinated in advance with PA Chairman Yasser Arafat. Asked why Arafat hasn't himself come out in public to demand an end to the use of firearms against Israel, the official said, "The President has repeatedly condemned terror, but Israel bears the responsibility for the deterioration of Yasser because of its military actions. How can Arafat call on Palestinians to stop the resistance when the Israelis are killing people every day." Especially when he can't stop the quivering and drooling , and can't put two sentences together? Thank God for Babywipes
Hamas spokesman Dr. Abdel Aziz Rantisi told reporters in Gaza City Saturday that his movement will ignore Abbas's call for a cease-fire and will continue to launch attacks against "the Zionist enemy." We have a new fleet of model airplanes coming in this weekend
He added: "The armed struggle will continue for as long as the occupation continues. We will continue to fire Kassam rockets for as long as the Israeli aggression against our people continues. One of these days we'll really hit something important, and the Zionists will crush us like bugs. That's what we're fighting for....
The Islamic Jihad issued a statement vowing to escalate its terrorist attacks against Israel to thwart any attempt to reach a cease-fire. The Aksa Martyrs Brigades also said in a statement that its members plan to resume their terrorist attacks inside the Green Line. The group said it considers as null and void understandings reached last week with Palestinian Minister of Interior Hani al Hassan, according to which it would suspend its attacks on Israel. Sounds like the start of the Paleo civil war
The groups cited ongoing IDF operations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the killing of 15 Palestinians in the past few days as the main reason for its refusal to stop terrorist attacks. In Damascus which is temporarily a safe haven from which they can make tough threats, the PFLP strongly condemned Abbas's initiative, saying, "The intifada and the armed resistance are acts of self-defense" on behalf of the Palestinians. The group added that Abbas's statements don't reflect the will of the Palestinian people, who want the intifada to continue. Yep, sides are being taken - the Paleo self-destruction starts its' logical endgame
The hard-line positions of the Palestinian factions are expected to reflect negatively on efforts to resume inter-Palestinian talks in Cairo. The consultations, which are aimed at reaching a joint strategy on the future of the intifada, are expected to resume this week. For what it's worth
On Friday, tens of thousands of angry Palestinians marched in the Gaza City funeral procession of a Hamas militant, vowing revenge after a week of violence in which 30 Palestinians were killed. If Sharon were as blood thirsty as they believe, that group of spittle-spewing ululating nutcases would be a smoking hole in the bazaar pavement
"[Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon, prepare the coffins," mourners yelled through loudspeakers. "Revenge is coming soon, in Tel Aviv and Jaffa."
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/22/2003 04:59 pm ||
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Toldja so.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/22/2003 17:02 Comments ||
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yes you did
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/22/2003 17:09 Comments ||
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Is this the same guy that blew himself up with an RC model airplane.
Question:Why is it Israel's fault this D-ass blew himself up?
Kinda sounds like blaming Columbine High Schhol massacre on that great "Evil Entiy"television and it's lacky,Rock and Roll.
#4
the significant part is that Erekat and Abu mazen called for the cease fire, but Arafat didnt. Its not the pals political wing vs their military wing - its their political wing that is divided - and guess what, Arafat is on the violent side. Surpising, at least to me that Erekat endorsed the Abu mazen proposal - i thought he was closer to arafat. A sign that arafat is increasingly isolated. Perhaps his veto of a genuinely indepenednet PM, and his pushing afor a flunky PM is hurting him. THis is the time to play carrot AND stick - the US and Israel WILL take Pal aspirations seriously, BUT ONLY WHEN YASSER IS GONE.
Top negotiator Saeb Erakat confirmed yesterday that the Palestinian leadership had decided on a one-year "demilitarisation" of the uprising against Israel. "The Palestinian leadership and Fatah movement agree with a year-truce which was outlined in the Cairo paper, Abu Mazen was just reiterating this point," said Erakat, referring to a proposal turned down by radical militant groups during talks in Egypt in January. The document called for a one-year freeze on anti-Israeli operations to allow the peace process to resume on the basis of the "roadmap" drafted by the Quartet which envisions, among other things, a Palestinian state by 2005. Mmmm... That carrot sure looks tasty! Lemme... Whoops!
The "truce" seems to involve Fatah. If it includes Hamas and Jihad, we can count on them not adhering to it. Likewise elments within Fatah that are "beyond Yasser's control" like Tanzim and al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. On the off chance that they might, the IDF is expected to cease rounding up or killing the Paleosnuffies. If I was Sharon, and I paid any attention to this at all, I'd tell 'em to expect an answer in three months, unless they broke the "truce" sooner, in which case there would be no need for an answer.
FOLLOWUP: Toldja so â not that it took a lot of brainpower to call it...
Israel has told Hamas to abide by an Egyptian-drafted ceasefire document or face all-out war, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported yesterday. Senior Hamas official Abelaziz Rantissi rejected Israeli threats. Haaretz said Israel sent emissaries last month to inform Hamas officials it was ready to make a gesture if the group were to accept a ceasefire. But the tone hardened on Monday when it warned Hamas against turning down a truce document reportedly being drafted by Egypt's intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, and dubbed the Palestinian "National Project Plan." Why even bother talking to them?
Cairo has hosted several Palestinian inter-factional ceasefire talks since last November. But the meetings have failed to produce results and several hardline groups, including Hamas, have pledged to continue their armed operations against Israel. Hamas official Rantissi, however, denied the existence of any such Egyptian-drafted ceasefire document or contacts with Israeli mediators. "We were not informed of the existence of such document and (have not received) any such message from the Zionist enemy, either written or spoken," Abelaziz Rantissi said. "In fact, we deny they exist, too..."
And Islamic Jihad spokes-man in the Gaza Strip, Sheikh Abdallah Asshami, said his group "cannot abide by a truce ... (while) the crimes of the (Israeli) occupation are continuing... It is up to the occupation forces to come up with a proposal to put an end to its presence and its crimes." "Call us when you have something for us to look at..."
Yasser's been delegitimized, to the point where if anyone said "ceasefire" he'd say "yes!" before they got past the "fire." Sometimes he says yes, even if nobody offers. Sharon has politically pulled the old guy's pants down, knocked him over in the schoolyard, and given him a dutch rub. In the process, he's lost the bit of control he did enjoy, as his prestige was destroyed and his hard boys bumped off. Hamas has oozed into the vacuum, and they're more resilient than Fatah because they have a more flexible leadership oligarchy â Yassin, Rantissi, Zahar, Shanab, and Marzouk up in Lebanon, liaising with Hezbollah and the Syrians, plus whoever's the head of the military wing right now. Hamas has already announced they're ready to take over from Yasser, realizing he's a spent force. So they've become the dangerous enemy â al-Aqsa and Islamic Jihad are both wannabes. If Sharon can drive a wedge between them and Fatah, or if they simply drive it themselves in their Islamic arrogance, the IDF can concentrate on banging them while the next successor organization is a-forming in the background â or concrete steps are taken with someone who pretends to be Fatah, but actually intends to have a Paleostinian state, with the responsibilities of a state.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
02/22/2003 04:53 pm ||
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President Hugo Chavez demanded 20-year prison terms Friday for two prominent opponents who directed a nationwide strike that devastated Venezuela's oil-based economy. Carlos Fernandez, head of Venezuela's largest business chamber, and Carlos Ortega, leader of its biggest labor confederation, are charged with treason and other crimes for the two-month strike, which cost more than $4 billion. Fernandez was arrested by secret police Wednesday and hauled into court Friday. Ortega went into hiding when a judge issued an arrest warrant. I'm surprised. I'd have thought Fernandez was dead. Guess Hugo intends to make an example of him...
Thousands protested Fernandez's arrest in the western oil city of Maracaibo. Hundreds more rallied in Caracas and blocked a highway. Commies like Hugo always bow to the Will of the People™, unless the people want something the commies don't want...
"These oligarchs believed that they were untouchable. There are no untouchables in Venezuela. A criminal is a criminal," Chavez thundered during a ceremony handing land titles to peasants in Trujillo state. Unless he's a commie, of course.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
02/22/2003 09:19 am ||
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PARIS, Feb. 21 (UPI) -- French President Jacques Chirac on Friday outlined a new, more equal partnership between France and Africa that would comprise cooperation on matters ranging from economic development to fighting terrorism and organized crime. that's where the part with Mugabe comes in - they're cooperating as organized crime
"There has been a real evolution, a real modernization in relations between Africa and France," Chirac told reporters at the end of a three-day summit with African leaders in Paris. "We have an approach that is completely new compared to past years -- not that I criticize the past years, but we must adapt to new times."
"Not that there's anything wrong with that..."
gotta watch that public criticism thing after last week.. at least the Africans didn't miss the opportunity to shut up!
Gathering leaders and representatives from 52 African countries, the Paris meeting focused on ways to speed up African development from improving access, potable water and education to securing democracy and the rule of law. democracy and rule of law? like when they force Cote D'Ivoire to give in to unelected rebels to secure French influence and trade
Only Somalia, with no recognized government, was not represented. that statement says it all about Somalia
Chirac called for richer nations to scrap subsidies on agricultural exports to Africa and to establish a 10-year period granting favorable trade terms for African exports. The matter will likely be raised during the G-8 summit of industrialized nations, scheduled for June in Evian, France. they can't feed themselves, don't have enough to export (thanks Bob!), and subsidies on Ag exports to Africa should be scrapped? makes sense... nonsense. And France wants to scrap subsidies to Agriculture? Pot calling Mr. Kettle black?
Even before the Africa summit's opening, the French government announced Africa had returned to the "heart" of France's diplomacy after a decade of disengagement. C'est empire
France's former leftist government had worked under a philosophy of "neither meddling nor indifference" in its relations with Africa, particularly its former colonies. But that policy was left in tatters last fall when conflict broke out in Ivory Coast, the one-time jewel of France's colonial crown. Some 3,000 French soldiers are now stationed in the West African country to keep peace and to protect foreign citizens.
If one approach doesn't work, try something else just as dumb.
Chirac warned African leaders this week that securing and keeping power through violence and intimidation could no longer be tolerated. Unless if the French have commercial interests, then it's hokay
Does that mean they're not going to tolerate the Ivorian rebels? Are the Frenchies going to wipe them out? Or maybe my definition of "tolerate" doesn't translate well into French...
On Friday Robert Menard, head of the Paris-based activist group Reporters Sans Frontieres (Reporters Without Borders), directly challenged the French president to respond to reports that some African leaders were directly implicated in the torture, killing and disappearance of journalists on the continent. "It's true the problem exists, nobody contests it," Chirac acknowledged. "And I can say it was part of the concerns during a large section of the summit and by its participants. It's part of the requirements of a real democracy â that regimes be founded on the respect of others." But Chirac said he believed "step by step ... this progress will be assured." Can anyone tell me what that statement really said?
I think he said that one by one, reporters were going to be bumped off, but I'm not sure...
The French president received a boost for another favorite cause Thursday when the African Union endorsed his call for a peaceful resolution to the Iraqi crisis. He suggested Friday that the United States may ultimately fail to secure U.N. endorsement of a war on Baghdad â a matter that has divided and weakened the security council. But Chirac discounted fears the differences would ultimately render the United Nations obsolete. "I'm not at all worried for the United Nations," the French President said. "One can imagine a war without the United Nations. But it is certain that we cannot imagine peace without the United Nations."
Some of us imagine peace in spite of it...
The Franco-African summit was marked by the controversial presence of Zimbabwe's leader Robert Mugabe, widely criticized for human rights abuses at home. Britain was particularly unhappy about the French invitation, and protesters staged a series of anti-Mugabe demonstrations in Paris.
Might as well have staged them in Lappland, for all the good that sort of thing does...
Equally controversial was the absence of Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo, who appears to have backtracked on peace accords, struck with rebel leaders in Paris last month. Both Chirac and visiting U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan repeated calls for both sides to honor the agreement.
"Oh, oui, Laurent. You should give away your store. We'll â heh heh â guarantee the agreement..."
Annan also urged industrialized and African countries to work to eradicate AIDS, which has crippled the continent. "AIDS is destroying not only the present but the future of Africa by taking away the most productive in society," the U.N. leader said, adding African women, who account for 58 percent of those affected, should be a particular target. "AIDS in Africa today has a woman's face," he said. "If we are going to save Africa, we must save the African woman."
Sounds like a good job for the UN to tackle. What've you been doing all this while, Kofi?
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/22/2003 09:36 am ||
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Jacquouille would like to see himself as a modern-day De Gaulle, the resistance general who was his inspiration, thus the paternalistical neo-colonialism (during the 60's, african independency was nominal only). This delusion is an embarassment to us all, but it may be funny, sometimes : remember the '95 nuclear tests in Mururoa, right before the 50th Hiroshima commemoration ? What a grandiose move. And very clever, too.
#4
Of course the Foul and Foreign French will honor any agreement - just ask the Czechs about that one! And the French still being active in Africa must really make the Algerians happy!
Former '70s radical James Kilgore, who spent decades on the run after his days with the Symbionese Liberation Army, pleaded guilty Friday to federal explosives and passport fraud charges. Kilgore, 55, was captured in South Africa and extradited to the United States in November. He was charged with possession of a pipe bomb found in his Daly City apartment in 1975, and with obtaining a passport under a false name. He faces 10 years in prison for the bomb charge and five for using the birth certificate of a dead baby to obtain a passport in Seattle under a false name. Sentencing was set for June 30. It would be nice if he spent as much time in jug as he spent on the lam...
He also faces murder charges in Sacramento County for an SLA bank robbery in 1975 in which 42-year-old housewife Myrna Opsahl was killed while depositing a church collection. ... But it would be even nicer if he spent as much time in jug as Mrs. Opsahl will spend being dead...
Four other SLA members pleaded guilty in November to Opsahl's murder and were sentenced last week to prison terms ranging from six to eight years. ... So he probably won't get eternity, either...
Authorities said he was the last unaccounted-for member of the revolutionary group that kidnapped newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst to face justice for the SLA's crimes. It'll probably take us 30 years to get the last of the al-Qaeda thugs, too.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
02/22/2003 08:56 am ||
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Could have enjoyed a happy care-free life in hideous capitalistic USA but got stuck in hot Africa, looking over his shoulder. Now he gets even MORE time (even if it's not enough). Next life he'll think twice.
#2
What did "symbiotic" meant, anyway ? I wonder if a new leftist terror generation is going to splinter from the antiglobo mvt ? According to the casual riotings, there seems to be a potential for organized political violence. In Italy, there was already at least one gvt high-ranking official murder claimed by "new red brigades" last year, IIRC.
A federal judge has dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed against The Associated Press and five other news organizations by an Islamic charity whose assets were frozen as part of the government's terrorism investigation. U.S. District Judge David Coar found the news organizations had reported accurately that the government was investigating the Global Relief Foundation of suburban Bridgeview to determine whether it was furnishing support to terrorists. In an 18-page opinion dated Wednesday and made public Friday, Coar said sworn statements by two officials involved in the terrorism investigation "have proven that GRF was in fact under investigation for possible links to terrorism at the time of their news reports." "It ain't libel if it's true, Clem."
An affidavit signed by FBI Special Agent Brent Potter said the government was investigating Global Relief for "its possible ties to terrorist organizations, including al-Qaida, and its possible support of terrorist activities." A similar statement by R. Richard Newcomb, director of the Treasury Department's foreign assets control office, said Global Relief has been under investigation for possible terrorist ties at least since September 2001. Coar relied on the two statements in rendering a summary judgment in favor of the news organizations as well as eight reporters and writers also named as defendants. "In this case, GRF has failed to offer any evidence of falsity which would create a genuine issue of material fact," Coar said in his opinion. "So get the hell out of my courtroom."
Global Relief attorney Roger Simmons said he would recommend to the organization that Coar's opinion be appealed. Sounds like he's getting paid by the hour...
Besides the AP, the organizations named as defendants were: New York Times Co., ABC Inc., The Boston Globe, The New York Daily News and Hearst Communications. Global Relief Foundation has denied repeatedly that it has supported terrorism. It says it raises funds for charitable activities in Muslim countries around the world. "If we give them explosives for free, that's a charitable donation..."
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
02/22/2003 08:49 am ||
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#1
So if Global Relief Foundation's assets are frozen, who is footing the bill for the defense and appeal? Mr. Ashcroft, inquiring minds want to know.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/22/2003 11:25 Comments ||
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Some of President Robert Mugabe's closest allies and relatives have seized farms intended for the resettlement of poor blacks, according to a secret government report prepared by the Zimbabwean vice-president, Joseph Msika, and leaked yesterday to a London newsletter. What a convenient leak. I wonder if Le Monde published it also?
Also very "secret." I read an article in the Zim press about a year ago by one of the kleptocrats legislators, explaining why it was perfectly reasonable that siezed land go to legislators and cabinet members and police officials â they're black Zim-Bob-Weans, too, after all. Nothing to see here, move along.
In one case a senior armed forces officer used troops to forcibly evict 96 resettled families from formerly white-owned land in the rich farming area around Marondera, it says. It says the officer concerned grabbed three farms. Why stop at one?
In another incident a cabinet minister obtained a choice farm by hiring thugs to drive off youths settled on the property as part of an agricultural training programme. They were just training to be farmers, they couldn't possibly need the land.
Three cabinet ministers, four provincial governors, two leading businessmen and members of Mr Mugabe's family are said in the report to have obtained farms by corrupt allocations. The "Land reform and resettlement programme national audit interim report" was completed this month, according to Africa Confidential, which obtained a copy. "We are not surprised by this report at all, it is what we've said all along, that the land seizures were benefiting those high up in Zanu-PF," Wilfred Mhanda, chairman of the Zimbabwe Liberators Platform, said. I agree, the old surprise meter never twitched.
It is the first of three expected to show that Mr Mugabe's "fast track" land theft seizures have caused Zimbabwe's agricultural production to plummet and have largely created the famine affecting nearly 7 million of the country's 12 million people. The misuse of land seized from white farmers is expected to be highlighted in two other reports to be presented to parliament in the coming weeks. Yes, to that ferociously independent Zimbabwean parliament.
Parliamentary sources say that a report from the parliamentary committee on agriculture and land will say that many of the poor black peasants resettled are destitute and getting poor yields because they do not have adequate seeds, tools, fertiliser and training to make good use of their new plots. Wonder where all that stuff went?
The committee toured the country to look at the situation of resettled farmers. It is jointly chaired by the Zanu-PF MP Daniel McKenzie Ncube and the Movement for Democratic Change MP Renson Gasela, who is the opposition party's agriculture spokesman. Another report highlights alarming problems facing the nearly 1 million farm workers and their families who were thrown off the properties that the Mugabe crookssnakesrascals government has seized. Many are homeless and hungry as a result of the chaotic land seizures, according to the report, which should be tabled in parliament soon. The agriculture thug-in-charge minister, Joseph Made, recently admitted that the government had failed to resettle nearly half the farms allocated under the scheme to create a new class of large-scale black farmers. The result is that less than half the land previously cultivated has been farmed this year, according to the Famine Early Warning System Network. The government has already applied to the UN for another year of food relief. Might as well just xerox the aid application, you'll be using it for years to come.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2003 08:08 am ||
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#1
I'd like to see copies on the room service breakfast trays for Bob, Grace, and all the other corrupt (yes, this means you, Jacques) participants in the France - We-Love-You-Africa summit. Might make for some sprayed O.J.?
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/22/2003 8:37 Comments ||
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Zimbabwe used to have a healthy agricultural EXPORT based economy; now they have famine and need the rest of the world to feed them. If anyone doesn't understand "social justice," like this, think of what Stalin did to the Ukraine in the "30's. Also consider that about 90% of whatever aid gets there winds up in the hands of Mugabe or his fawning sycophant toadies. Isn't this like a subsidy for thugocracies?
Posted by: John ||
02/22/2003 11:52 Comments ||
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I still got Zimbabwe in the "Next African Famine" pool. Thanks, Bob. It's looking good.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell has indicated that the United States will resume food aid to North Korea. He said he expected to announce the decision during his four-day tour of East Asia to discuss the escalating tensions with both Iraq and North Korea. The announcement will lead to the resumption of US aid supplies to the World Food Programme that ended three months ago. And in return we get ... ?
The announcement will also coincide with Mr Powell's efforts to encourage Japan, China and South Korea to put pressure on Pyongyang to halt its nuclear weapons programmes.
I hope doing something that dumb is a tactical move to give them time. Tactical moves to gain time have an unfortunate habit of becoming set in concrete, with flimsy reasons behind them and no prospect of removal in front of them...
On Friday, North Korea kept up its recent angry rhetoric, denouncing next month's joint US-South Korean military exercises as a "nuclear test war" and prelude to military attack. The US has repeatedly insisted that the exercises are an annual event, unconnected to the current crisis. "We do it every year, Kim, check your calendar. February, right after Juche, er, January."
Mr Powell said: "We will be making an announcement soon of an initial tranche and then we will monitor World Food Programme needs, what they ask for, to see what our additional contribution will be as we go through the year," he said. "Before this trip is out, I think I'll be able to say more about food." I'd prefer he say something about getting the Chinese to step on their idiot client state.
Shipments of US food aid to North Korea were stopped in December last year as Washington did not have congressional authority to spend aid money in 2003. Permission has now been granted. Omnibus Reconciliation Act was signed last week.
Aid agencies in North Korea have said it is difficult to ensure the food is going where it is most needed. Some foolish leftist looney critics had accused the US of using food as a political tool - suggesting aid was withheld to put pressure on the North Korean government to halt its nuclear programmes. The nuclear standoff between the US and North Korea began late last year when the US accused Pyongyang of continuing its nuclear weapons programme in violation of an international pact. Wasn't just an accusation.
I never have figured why, if somebody's kicking you in the crotch, you should be expected to feed him. But then, I don't have a sense of humor...
Mr Powell is due in Tokyo on Saturday, Beijing on Sunday and Seoul on Monday where he will attend the inauguration of new South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun on Tuesday. Mr Powell is due meet Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Communist Party chief Hu Jintao during his visit to Beijing. Beijing also differs with Washington over North Korea, which sees China as one of its closest allies. The US wants China to become more involved in urging Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear ambitions. But China has called for bilateral talks between Pyongyang and Washington, in line with North Korea's wishes. Clearly they're not ready to step on their idiot client state just yet.
Mr Powell will end his regional tour with Mr Roh's inauguration in Seoul on Tuesday. A US official told Reuters news agency that Washington did not "intend to urge any particular position" on Mr Roh as he needed time to decide his policies. But the outgoing South Korean government is known to favour dialogue rather than sanctions, and Mr Roh warned this week that he was "willing to differ with the United States" if it meant war could be avoided. Differ all you like. You handle your idiot cousins to the north, and we'll just move our guys out of the way.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2003 08:41 am ||
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#1
Let the Chinese and their cousins in the South feed 'em. They're the one's with the most on the line here.
#2
Ya lost me on this one, Colin. Let the Chinese and the South Koreans feed 'em. The North Koreans are not being polite enough for a meal ticket from me.
Posted by: Tom ||
02/22/2003 12:31 Comments ||
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#3
I was rather enjoying their loony rhetoric of the last several weeks. That's gotta be worth something.
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